So I've already been making grabby hands at your fantasy AU, but now I also have to know about the mafia one. You know how much I love a good crime story. :) Tellmetellmetellme!
Oooh the Mafia AU, okay, okay. So. That one started out as a moodboard I made a few months ago with a vague story idea attached to it, and while I haven't made much headway with it I do genuinely love the idea and I want to write it. Eventually. Hopefully. We'll see lmao
Anyway! It originally was going to be fluffier than anything else, but it's a Mafia AU, and a good chance for me to get into darker, more dangerous themes than I usually do, so. I think I might go that direction. The premise, though, is still that Bucky is the head of the American branch of the Russian mob; he inherited the role at a much younger age than anyone expected him to, and it's resulted in many people questioning his abilities as a leader, both from within his own organization and from his competitors. People are constantly gunning for his head, and as such, he only has a close-knit group of friends/advisors and no one else close to him. Except for the dog walker, which happens to be Steve Rogers, a total average joe who happened to lose his mid-level marketing job in the last year and has been supplementing his income with whatever odd jobs he can get his hands on, dog-walking included. He's got no clue who James Barnes really is, and it only hits him when he's bringing Captain, James' dog, back to his apartment one day, only to find himself, well. Kidnapped. And dog-napped. Turns out a rival mob thinks he's James' boyfriend and they want to use him for leverage. It's a good thing James loves his dog more than anything else in the world 😉
I do have a snippet of this one!!
Six months into this gig and Steve still whistles to himself when the elevator doors slide open to reveal the interior of James Barnes’ penthouse apartment, which could, theoretically, fit three of Steve’s apartments inside of it with room to spare. Soaring ceilings, plush carpet and sections of gleaming hardwood, furniture with price tags that would more than likely send Steve into cardiac arrest — it all screams excessive wealth and sort of horrifies the part of Steve’s mind that will forever insist socialism should be the ideal, but he has to admit it’s aesthetically beautiful. Barnes might not have decorated himself, but whoever did has a keen eye for details and patterns and just an overall lovely sense of color and composition; the navy and cream color scheme is soothing, offset occasionally by rich browns, and Steve’s fingers itch with the impulse to sketch out the space. Just like they do every day Steve comes here.
As usual, though, he’s not given much time to mourn his lack of sketchbook and pencil — less than a minute after the elevator sounds his arrival, he hears the tell-tale clacking of nails on the floor as Captain barrels out from the bedroom, yipping his doggy approval of Steve’s visit.
Steve drops into a crouch as Captain skids to a stop in front of him, practically standing at attention with his ears pointed straight up and his paws tucked neatly beneath him. His frantically wagging tail gives away his eagerness, though Steve knows he’s not exactly trying to hide it. Captain’s well-trained, and he knows not to move without a command from Steve, but he’s also fifty pounds of stir-crazy husky and he would very much prefer if they go go go as soon as possible.
The grin that splits Steve’s face is irrepressible. He really can’t help it, honest; Captain is by far the easiest (and cutest) dog on his route, and the two of them have gotten on like a house on fire since they were introduced, much to Barnes’ amusement. The guy’s admitted they’re lucky to have Steve, considering Captain had a bad habit of snapping at the last dog walker (and biting, when the person wouldn’t heed Captain’s warnings and tried to grab him), and, well, Steve’s a little smug, alright? He’s always done well with dogs, would own a whole pack of them if he had the space or funds for it, but there’s something about winning over a dog that categorically doesn’t like other people…
That, and the smile James flashed him when he said it did things to Steve’s heart.
When someone you obsessively follow changes their icon...
🤣😉
Oh god 😂 I’m so sorry, I’ve had that exact feeling so many times and it still didn’t occur to me I might be confusing people with the icon change. All I can say is the only constant is probably the icon being some form of Bucky, but, well, that’s not uncommon on tumblr 😅
Gotta stop by and say, while I don't think I've read anything you've written, it's super rare (and exciting) seeing someone cite Mervyn Peake as an inspiration. Especially in fandom! Love that! ❤️
Rules: In a text post, list ten books that have stayed with you in some way. Don’t take but a few minutes, and don’t think too hard — they don’t have to be the “right” or “great” works, just the ones that have touched you. Tag ten people, including me, so I’ll see your list. Make sure you let them know you’ve tagged them.
I was tagged by minka-g, Thank you !
1-The hobbit, J.R.R Tolkien
2- Grimm and Perrault Fairy Tales
3- His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4- Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand
5- Warm bodies, Isaac Marion
6- Flowers for Algernon , Daniel Keyes
7- 1984, George Orwell
8- Twenties Girl, Sophie Kinsella
9- The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
10-Mortal instruments, Cassandra Clare
