#gonna queue this to remind me to read it later
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I Want You - Part 1
Please see the series Masterlist for more details!
Chapter Word Count: 1,221
"Zeffo?" Hera asks.
"I thought that place was abandoned?" Kallus asks, he read about it once in a file back when he was still ISB, but hadn't expected to hear about it again.
"Yes, the Empire went hoping to find powerful Zeffo artifacts, there's a temple there, but they have since largely abandoned it. There's only a skeleton crew left to protect the Empire's technology." Rieekan replies.
"Should be easy pickings then." Zeb says, with a grin. Kallus sends him a warning glare.
"Let's not get too cocky," Kanan says and Kallus relaxes a bit. At least someone has some common sense around here. Rieekan takes this as his queue to call the official meeting to an end and leaves with a passing call of 'good luck'. Kallus doesn't blame him for not wanting to stick around, the Ghost crew's idea of planning finer details involves more bickering than actual planning.
"Kallus, you'll be joining us?" Hera asks.
"Yes,"
"What?" Zeb says, ear flattening a bit. Kallus rolls his eyes, he told Zeb this morning, but apparently he wasn't listening.
"I'll be heading to the main control room to gather data as the rest of you load the Ghost with supplies." Kallus explains.
"And the temple, the artifacts?" Ezra asks hopefully.
"Kanan isn't joining us on this one, he's on Jacen duty. So we are not doing any Jedi stuff." Hera says, and Ezra pouts.
"We can always go again later if it proves to be as deserted as advertised" Hera amends, but it doesn't seem to improve Ezra's mood too much.
After ironing out a few more details they're dismissed to go get ready for the mission.
"Why didn't you tell me you were on this mission before the briefing?" Zeb asks as they split off from the rest of the group to head to their room to pack.
"I did." Kallus replies.
"What? When?" Zeb asks.
"This morning, after breakfast." Kallus reminds him.
"That's not fair, I was distracted." Zeb grumbles.
"I noticed. You were trying to get me distracted as well." Kallus says as he tosses Zeb a smile over his shoulder before punching in the code to their room.
"Well I can't be held accountable for my actions when you tasted like the syrup you stole from my plate."
"Yes, you can."
"Yea? You gonna hold me accountable?" Zeb says with a grin as the door closes behind them. Kallus rolls his eyes and makes his way to his crate in their room, intending to pull his grab bag out. Zeb grabs him from behind before he can get there though and pulls him down onto the bed. Kallus falls on top of the lasat, facing up at the ceiling and sighs.
"This is counterproductive to what we're supposed to be doing." Kallus points out, although he knows it's futile.
"We're already packed," Zeb says as he manhandles Kallus to turn him around.
"And I'd like to double check that everything we need is still packed." Kallus says as he comes face to face with Zeb.
"In a minute," Zeb says before pulling Kallus down into a kiss. He keeps it chaste at least, a quick peck before pulling back to rub their cheeks together, purring slightly.
They stay like that for a minute or two before their comms ping. It's Hera telling them that the Ghost should be ready for take off in an hour and for them to be ready to leave at the same time. They respond saying they'll be there and Zeb finally lets Kallus get up and double check their bags.
"I'll go grab more ration bars, your packs getting low, almost as if someone keeps forgetting that they're not meant for meal substitutes when they're on base."
"I thought we agreed a ration bar is better than nothing." Kallus says.
"Yea, but better doesn't mean good." Zeb argues back before heading out. Kallus doesn't bother with a response. They both know Zeb's vigorous goodbyes have been the reason Kallus couldn't walk down to the mess for a meal on numerous occasions. Not that Kallus is complaining.
-
Zeb however, has found quite a bit to complain about as they make their way to Zeffo.
"Ezra you will go with Kallus to collect the data, Zeb and Sabine you'll be with me collecting supplies, Chopper, you watch the ship and be prepared to run interference or a distraction if needed." Hera explains as they're looking at a projected map of the Zeffo tunnel systems. It's many years out of date, but should be accurate enough for their purposes.
Zeb wants to argue, to say that he'll go with Kal to the control room, but he also knows it'd be unnecessary. So he bites his tongue and reminds himself that Kallus is more than competent enough to do this whole mission alone. Plus Kal won't even be going alone, Ezra will have his back.
Zeb knows he's just being over protective. However, knowing that doesn't stop him from having a bad feeling about all of this. It also doesn't stop him from pulling Kallus to their bunk and scenting him thoroughly after Hera dismisses them and heads back to the cockpit.
-
Kallus knows something is wrong as soon as Ezra pauses and stiffens slightly as they make their way down a darkened tunnel. Would one mission going to plan really be too much to ask for?
"Bridger?" Kallus asks slowly, as the kid closes his eyes.
"I sense the temple, it's like it's calling to me" Ezra explains after a second.
"And you wanna go check it out?" Kallus sighs, he doesn't know how any of this force stuff works, so he can never tell what's actually true and what Ezra's making up to get away with chasing his own curiosity. However, he does know that the kid won't drop it anytime soon.
"Well yea, but-."
"Fine, go."
"Really? But, Hera-" Ezra perks up.
"Like you guys ever listen to each other, just don't get killed." Kallus says. Kallus can handle the one or two troopers he may encounter between here and the control room if Ezra wants to go explore some Jedi thing. It actually may be nicer to complete his tasks in silence instead of listening to the kid complain of boredom.
"Sweet, meet you back at the ship." Ezra says with a grin, before running off. Kallus sighs and continues onwards.
Kallus makes it to the control room with no issues. He transfers the files onto the datastick with no issues. The lack of issues is starting to put him on edge. He knows that Ezra going off on his own wasn't an actual Spectre level plan-deviation, and he can't help but feel like he's waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I was right to feel that way, he thinks as a patrol of stormtroopers find him on his way out. He manages to take them all down, and he thinks that will be the end of it. Except, of course, for the creature that decides to jump out of a hole at that exact moment and knock Kallus off the short hill and onto what appears to be an ice slope.
Kallus doesn't remember much after that as he hits his head on the way down and loses consciousness.
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My journey through Homestuck: Act 1
The gods have chosen me to experience the horrors of Homestuck. I have chosen to do so via comic dub (specifically the Void Over Nexus dub). Here are my takes:
-Okay, I'm still in the kid's bedroom and they are already introducing such complicated mechanics.
-16 minutes in and he's finally left his room. I'm so glad I didn't read this or it would have taken forever
-I'll admit, so far, this does make me feel kinda nostalgic for my childhood. It has an attitude that was common for comic books and cartoons of the 2000s, but has gone away. Reminds me a lot of picking up random comic books from the library as a kid and reading them over and over.
-With some deeper thought, too, this is a pretty accurate description of what it's like to have free time as a kid, how you kind of just goof off doing whatever, but somehow it all feels important. Sort of like how the Lord of the Rings dedicates a lot of pages to walking so that the reader gets a similar feeling to the characters.
-Plus, from what I know from the plot, this is kind of an actually good way to set up a story like this. John's home is important, so the work spends time on it. It's annoying that it takes awhile, but that's why we have comic book dubs.
-okay, tbh, this is a pretty accurate depiction of what (neurodivergent?) childhood thinking is like, at least for my own childhood
-okay, so more on the neurodivergent thinking thing: I love how well the comic integrates strange system but shifts the reader's mindset towards the world of the series well. It reminds me of how I end up seeing the world differently based on my current hyperfixation
-also unrelated, but I thought Stacks were first in first out and Queues were first in last out
-wait, how is this inventory system different!?
-thought on the language: I think the descriptions thus far are kind of hit or miss. It's a hit when we get detailed poetic descriptions of childhood mentality. It's a miss when it becomes so long and pedantic that I can't make heads nor tails of it.
-Is TT… psychic!?
-I love how no one in this series can handle simply having a human body so they need inventories and the ability to move things long distance. Honestly same (oh god I'm beginning to think like the writing style)
-okay, this is just what it's like to play an overly complicated video game for the first time, just in semi-literary form
-I'm kind of terrified of what's gonna happen to the second person narrator later on
-Why are John's eyes shaped like glasses lenses if he doesn't wear them?
-I love how ominous Sberb is quickly becoming
-…OH. I think I'm beginning to realize how this became a massive influence on all media in the 2010s+
-This is the moment where I am wondering if I should turn back, already realizing that it is too late
-Honestly, I can already see how someone could write a paper on how this series fundamentally redefines thought, in and of itself
-why does this series make me want to play Run 2 on coolmathgames.com?
-this is legitimately like non-cyperpunk cyberpunk
-I'll admit that for all that's been happening the meteor is kind of a weird uptick in stakes
-Ah, that's what happens to the second person voice
-I love how the narrator's personality shifts to match Rose's
-Seeing Rose get introduced this late feels like during a first dnd session when your the last character to be introduced at the end of the session
-Rose's captchalogue is pretty based
-okay, I'm gonna say it. Rose is a much more entertaining character than john. She's like if Susie Derkins had a wilder imagination
-Wait… WHAT THE FUCK!?
Overrall I'd say, yeah this is pretty slow. In this format it's honestly worse when they're playing the game than when John is just doing stuff in his house. Those earlier sections almost made me tear up. They didn't, but they got close. I think there is a childlike joythat encapsulates this series thus far, and has been the majority of the charm
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it's almost the weekend! happy thursday, members! i was originally gonna post this on wednesday, but i accidentally deleted my entire post and i didn't want to have to redo it, oops. but i'm just here to give you all a little admin update with the group.
i am continuing to update our masterlist as well as our extracurriculars/sport pages, so please give it a look to make sure things are all correct. we are still in need of captain/co-captions of the new directions, the troubletones, duly noted, and junior varsity. if anything, we might find some leader roles for our mattress episode 1x12, just in time for club photos.
if your character is a captain or has a specific role in our athletics, please shoot me a message through discord or through here.
i have added more characters to our masterlist, such as members from dalton academy. our main cast is filling up quickly, so i am opening more roles in case anyone wants to snag a secondary characters.
please let me know if there's something you'd like added to the main so i can make it available for all of you. click the read more below to read some important details of the group.
future plans as of this week:
i'm planning on making a list of locations in lima ( ex. breadstix, the lima bean, rinky dinks, etc. ) to reference to in case you happen to do private paras and such! and speaking of paras, feel free to do 1 on 1's with other characters to stir up some drama.
and something i'm looking forward to that i think will be tons of fun is doing a "that's what you missed on..." post. it'll just give you guys a recap of the week, catching you up on all the fun connections you guys made and seeing how our redo of each episode ends up being. it'll be posted every sunday!
i am also planning either every friday or saturday to do a meme/prompt day!
in the next week or two, we will be hosting our first event at mckinley! the plot is currently in development, so hopefully we'll have some new friends come our way in the meantime.
a few reminders:
activity checks will perform every monday! if you haven't posted for 6+ days, you will be removed. you will be given a warning if you haven't posted anything in 4-5 days. i ask that everyone replies to each and every starter, just so people don't get left out. if you need a hiatus, don't hesitate to come and ask me.
you are not required to answer questions and/or send questions every day. you can queue them or even save them in your drafts to post later.
after sending in your account, don't forget to turn your askbox and anonymous on. we would love to send some questions in but can't do so unless it's on.
after sending your account in, you have another 48 hours to make a post or at least reply to 2 other starters. if you happen to be busy, please let me know.
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i fucking love queueing posts. love saving something cute only for it to surprise me later. yes i would like to be reminded of a cat in the snow! yes i would love to read that poem again! yes i would like to listen to a fun song and say "omg i remember that one"! yes i would like to lose it once more over the same edit of my blorbo! i queued this post on july 26th and i already know im gonna be so fucking hyped when i see it again on my dash in september or whatever.
thank you time traveling me! immaculate taste bestie <3
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Dude, yesterday I was literaly reminded by netflix to continue the loo and I went “yeah, go fuck yourself netflix, that shit will stay for eternity on 3/4 of 307”.
But I wanted to share my story w/the show. It was recomended to me by a very religious uncle on 2017 who visited us from argentina. I only came around to watch it last september, ‘cos it kept popping up on my ‘series que te gustarán’ queue.
Now, from the moment Lexa appeared onscreen I knew two things, she was the best character of this show and she was gonna die (and soon), so when I got to 307 I most of all felt disappointed about being right.
But, when it hit me later, that this Lexa was the ‘Lexa’ I always read about on those rankings about character deaths and examples of the bury your gays trope, I started reading the story of that backlash and boy I got retroactively pissed, going “oh, those motherfuckers” with each article and post I read about it. And the fact that you guys been this mad/hurt for the last 8 years got me somehow even madder, ‘cos In my mind she’s only been dead less than a year.
But two great things came out of it, on my grieving phase I went to ao3 and it led me to tumblr and to you guys.
And me and the uncle will have one great awkward chat when we meet again, because the first thing I’m gonna say to him is: “so…you knew about the lesbians and didn’t think to start with that? 🤨”
Honestly it made me never trust a mf in the industry ever again. Ever. Showrunners can, will, and do lie right to your face. They do not care about fans at all. At all. They care about viewers because viewers bring in money in one way or another, and they do not give one fuck if you're hate watching or love it or if they have to lie about a storyline to get you to tune in when they know it won't be that. They don't care, and I don't trust a single thing any of them say. Showrunners, writers, producers. Nothing. The loo taught a lot of us that in spades.
Tbh, that's why I'm nervous for these warrior nun fans. I'm not at all invested in the announcement about it becoming movies or whatever because I didn't watch (so I'm sorry but sending me asks about it won't really amount to anything cuz idk anything about it other than it had sapphics 😬), BUT, my cynical gut reaction is: how much you wanna bet they scrub that shit clean of anything queer?
How much you wanna bet they take all the hype that fans have drummed up to get it brought back and use it to completely flip the story into something that's ~cleansed~ of its queerness? Or my favorite tactic - the gay is still there, technically, but it's completely made G rated. Like you're left searching for a hand-holding scene at best 🤨
Idk maybe I'll be proven wrong, honestly hope I am, but that was my first thought. "Yeah they'll give you WN. But it won't be what you actually want."
Why?
Cuz you can't trust these mfs with our stories at all.
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Housekeeping: guide to frequently used tags
Tags presented as used in bold, then followed by " - " then explained in plain text.
All shows will be tagged with their name or a variant of it.
General
#announcements - various podcast related announcements that don't fit elsewhere
#casting call - a show is looking for new cast members.
#behind the scenes - how things work behind the scenes
#bonus episode - bonus episode
#community events - for community and fan events.
#congrats - A show is celebrating a milestone and I wanted to tell them congrats.
#crowdfunding - a post promoting a crowdfunder for new show or show season.
#discord link - link to a show or podcasting related discord [that I will not be using].
#first episode notice - a post notifying the release of the first episode of a show. See also #new show notice.
#incoming - something that's due to happen in the next ~2 hours.
#liveshow - announcement for an upcoming liveshow.
#minisode - minisode.
#music - Individual songs or links to albums from or for various shows.
#new episode notice - a post notifiying the release of a new episode. High use.
#new season notice - a post notifying the release of the first episode of a new season
#new show notice - a post notifying the release of the first episode of a show. See also #first episode notice.
#playlists - curated playlists of music, may be creator or fan-made.
#polls - made or reblogged a poll
#promo - one of those posts where a show tells you about itself and why you should listen.
#promo swap - a show wants to exchange promos with another
#q&a - a Q&A was either posted or the post is calling for people to submit questions for one.
#quiz - personality quizzes, trivia quizzes, and suchlike.
#recipes - recipes for food you can make and perhaps even eat.
#recommendations - I have either written or reblogged a rec list.
#reviews - a review of a show that I or probably someone else wrote.
#streaming - someone's gonna stream something.
#suggested listening - someone has sent me an ask with a show they think I should listen to.
#tabletop - a tabletop game associated with or based on a fiction podcast
#teasers - A link, video, or audio of a teaser. A teaser is a small promo for a show that's not taken from an episode.
#technical advice - technical advice for podcast creation.
#trailer - A link, video, or audio of a trailer. A trailer is a small promo from a show cut from disconnected parts of one or more episodes.
#upcoming - a show that has not yet been released.
#worldbuilding - worldbuilding information for a show.
Personal use
#█████ posts - I made a post. I forget to use this as often as I should.
#ace tag - Asexual podcast stuff.
#aro tag - Aromantic podcast stuff.
#ask game - For those games where people send asks and I forget to reply usually.
#not podcasts - I try not to need this one.
#pawedcasts - dog tag
#podcats - cat tag
#podcasts you should be listening to - I think it's a good listen.
#queue - I queued the post as so not to spam you with a bunch of stuff at once, or set it to post at a specified time.
#sent to me - someone sent me that post.
#tags copied: - I liked the previous tags and so copied them in for you to read as well.
#to delete - I intend to get rid of this later.
#to do - self reminder.
#to listen - for future me.
Content warnings
#ask to tag - I feel like the post might call for a content warning but don't know what, and so am reminding people that they can ask if required.
#animal death - art depicting a recently dead or dying animal. Statistically this is probably a deer. I will never post/rb real animal death.
#blood - art where there's enough blood that I feel like it needs to be tagged, but it's technically not gore.
#body horror - art depicting body horror.
#flashing lights - flashing lights & rapidly cycling colours.
#gore - art depicting gore. I don't forsee ever posting/rbing real gore, but maybe a moodboard will have open heart surgery footage or a podcast creator will post an update with the gnarliest x-ray & stitches pics you've ever seen. Stuff that not everyone wants to see but is also not like, ethically questionable in origin. So let's set aside #real gore just in case.
#trypophobia - things I think might set off trypophobia.
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What all readings you have to complete?
Just needed to know.👀
Don't forget to do a reading on dispatch predictions too. (You can do it later)
Almost forget! thanks for the reminder, i forget to make a draft for it *running to make one*
But for the moment i have queue on how idols view yeji, what is the first thing that attracts stray kids, and the beginning of 2023 for bts. Im working on the dynamics of skz (its gonna take me a while, those kids are super tired and they drain my energy super fast 😭 ) and today im feeling a lot better so gonna try to do some readings because i really miss my deck 😭
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A Jokester Gone Mad
(A Sona Guild Story)
Chapter 2: A Horrible, Horrible Idea
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The lights were out, of course they were. Zabin had torn out their wiring himself. The only light now was the fire seething from his back, hidden within his sweatshirt.
"Ya' know Silence, I only ever heard of the inventor working with tech', never thought I'd be doin' it me'self," Zabin muttered to the wall.
He lit the furnace in the corner of his shop and shoved some spare cans into it.
"You're right Silence, I COULD use my blast seeds," he randomly replied to no one, "But then how do you wager I'd fight off the beast-ies here in the deep dark tunnels o' doom? He hee hee"
Seemingly, as if on queue, the subway car was rustled slightly from something outside.
"See? They agree Silence!" Zabin told no one, "Means this has got to work!"
Zabin hammered away at the cans, they seemed to be easy to melt, and his fire typing prevented him from burning himself. He gleamed a smile of madness as the hammer hit the metal, bam, bam, bam.
"Ya' know Silence, these are only the display cans, they ain't got nothin' in em', nothing at all!" He pulled out a can from his sweatshirt pocket, "These are the reeeeaaal deal tho! Dis' one is... ummm... Heeeeeeyyy. I dun' remember makin' anotha' of these"
The can had an orange label on it "The Blasty Birby" it read.
"Hmmmmmm, that'll probably come in the handies later!" Zabin said with maddened glee, "I do wonder when I found ze' time to... oh. Wait. Thas where I put my secret stash, gotcha! Thanks for reminding me Silence"
Zabin put the can back in his pocket, but noticeably less delicately than he normally would, had his sanity still been intact.
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The first test of his creations failed; attaching them had singed his nubs to a dull grey. The wires didn't connect to him right, didn't connect to his nervous system. How else would he have powered them? He wasn't an electric type, even if he did know Wild Charge. No electric typing meant no easy connection point, no electrical power well within him.
The next test he put on too early, the hot metal not being able to hurt him, but definitely furthering the discoloration of the fur on his nubs. Not like anyone would see them anyway, his plan would conceal them under the metal after all.
Failure, the singes crept further up his arms.
Failure, the singes at the tip of his nubs turned a stark black.
Failure.
Failure.
Failure.
Failure.
His arms were completely consumed in darkness.
Success.
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The dungeon mons' outside were getting restless. Zabin knew it, his madness knew it. They nearly tipped it over a few moments ago. But that was of no concern to Zabin, he was ready.
The many Joltik and Galvantula outside all jumped at a loud "DOOONG!" coming from the door of the strange contraption that had come to rest in their abode a few days ago. The door had been dented from the inside, a 3 fingered fist imprinted deep into the protrusion.
When the second hit came, they were now paying more attention and able to hear a shout of "WIIIIILLLD CHARGE HAHAHA!" before the sound repeated and another heavy indent was made in the door. It happened two more times before, on the 5th impact, the door flew right off and into one of the onlooking Galvantula. The lucky shot just happened to knock said Galvantula out, but Zabin wasn't gonna be able to just rely on chance anymore now that he was out of the subway car.
His audience saw him, a Cyndaquil with slightly more unkempt hair style then usual, blackened fur from his arms to his shoulders, and his new machines of destruction: Two cybernetic arms with 3 pronged hands that concealed his nubs within them, they had been connected to his arms through wires that dug into his skin.
"ANY OF YOU IDIOTIC CHUCKLE BUGS WANNA TUSSLE?" Zabin yelled out before breaking into maniacal laughter.
Then he saw just how many "Idiotic chuckle bugs" there actually were. Despite his appearance, none seemed too phased.
"Silence... I think it's time to improvise..." He whispered over his shoulder to the empty void.
Zabin reached into his sweatshirt's pocket, pulling out one of his many cans and throwing it to the ground.
"HA! SMOKE BOMB!" Zabin said... only to realize it was in fact just an "Ekans in a Cans" as the fake Ekans spread across the floor in front of him, "oh. that's not good."
Apparently his madness had also messed with his ability to identify what kind of can he was grabbing.
The spider mons came at him in a rush, one after the other. His cybernetics may have been able to make up for the strength difference between him and these dungeon mons', but due to how deep into the dungeon they were he knew his endurance would run out before all of theirs. He couldn't keep using Wild Charge 24/7 to keep the cybernetics working at full power forever...
One Joltik was bashed into a wall from one of his hits, KO. Another hit to the wall, KO. Another down, another KO. One smashed on the head mid jump into the floor, KO. A Joltik grabbed at his leg, a Galvantula started closing in. A mild shock from the Joltik. Can't be that bad. Another Joltik rammed their mug straight into Zabin's mechanical fist, KO. One Joltik lunged, Zabin caught them and chucked them into the side of his subway car, KO. The Galvantula was still on it's steady pace. More Joltiks were on him, the shocks getting more and more closer together, soon all of them would shock him at once.
His stamina was waning, he couldn't keep up the precision of KO'ing the small Joltiks, and he knew once that Galvantula got close enough he was done for, not to mention the Joltik dog pile forming over him. His maddened mind still felt the pull of fight or flight, and it really craved the flight option in the current circumstances.
Then he looked down. He saw the webs weaved into the track. This wasn't gonna go his way.
"Silence..." Zabin worried, "I'm not getting out of here am I?"
He wasn't. He was doomed the moment he escaped his subway car. The Galvantula began to charge up, and then discharged the electricity into the surrounding webs. The webs connected to the tracks. The tracks Zabin was standing on.
Everything went black.
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SPN did Market Research for Dean & Cas
Disclaimer: Yes this is a sock for safety reasons. Post is long, but please read it.
No shit there I was checking my email, as you do, and I saw I had a screener from one of the market research groups I’m signed up with. On average, I do a market research thing every 3-4 months because I like non-reportable money. And giving my opinions. And talking to people behind 2 way mirrors without having to go to a police station.
Market research itself was early December, 2016. First email contact with the screener was late October or early November.
I see it’s an “offsite,” meaning a market research company is subcontracted by another company who wants to do the market research at their own facility, but doesn't want to find the participants on their own, so they use the Market research company (in this case Schlesinger and Associates) as an intermediary. I can’t remember if this screener identified itself as being for TV, not all do, some might identify only as entertainment, and some might be even more vague until you get into the screener. Regardless of the identification for the screener (TV or entertainment), I fill out almost every screener I receive unless it’s obvious, from the subject, they won’t want me (ie looking for certain types of professionals)- it didn’t matter, then, if the subject matter was something I particularly like, I would’ve filled it out anyway.
After normal, but more detailed than usual demographics questions, the screener asked about TV habits. Eventually, it said the word “fandom” and asked what TV fandoms I’d count myself in. It was roughly a list of 20 shows and listed “fandom” (defined as I watch every episode and read additional materials about the show. Note this is not what fandom itself would consider fandom, but people most fandom dwellers would still count as GA). Beyond fandom, one could indicate they: watch all episodes but don’t seek out more, watch most episodes, have seen some episodes, watched a few, or haven’t watched. (I just got a screener for soap operas and realized that part was the same and made note). Therefore, fandom, to corporate, are people who watch everything and maybe buy some swag for the show- magazines/shirts. Then, they asked about conventions I might have attended. And then asked about my dream vacation, so I babbled a lot about my dream to go to SDCC (I hadn’t at this point). Supernatural was on the list of shows, so I made sure I answered the essay questions about it, because why not? It was my favorite of what was listed. It was a long screener. I don’t remember the rest. Though sometimes I might remember a detail if a screener reminds me of it. Most fun screener I’ve filled out.
A few days/weeks later, I got a call for step 2- the phone screener for the people that sounded good when filling out the form. And where they try and make sure your answers match or fit that same person who answered them. I passed step 2, and was told there would be homework, and asked ifI’d have time for it, since I would only have so many days to watch the assigned material and write essays about them.
Homework arrives: I have to watch and write essays on all the bonus features of Supernatural S10. There might’ve been something in there from another year, too. And all the bonus features from some season of Big Bang Theory. Essays for all of it, too. And I mean essays, not short answers. It was like the SATs, and I was analyzing blooper reels (among other things). I still don’t get why they wanted essay questions on blooper reels, but I’ll always happily write one again cause that was the funniest essay to have to write!
I had to both print and bring and email all my answers ahead of time. I did not keep them. I’m honestly curious what I might’ve written.
So in December, I get to go to WB’s market research department. Fun fact: the entrance to that building faces what had recently been the Supernatural poster. I check in. At this point I think it’s a group. Because most market research is done in groups. Also they said I was there for the “DVD bonus features study”
I wait in the lobby, but I’m surprised there seem to be very few others around. I don’t think I got there too early, but all the others were taken back before me. And they didn’t seem to be there for the same study. Oh and I wore business casual clothes but had some show-based earrings for fun.
Finally a nice lady brings me back to a room. She turns off the lights and gives me a fancy remote and has me play with a new system for watching bonus features. I had to start with BBT. Then we did something else. Then I was allowed to scroll through and I picked Supernatural, and answered all the things. By this point I figured I would be released soonish because I was supposed to be there only for an hour. And this was at least half an hour at the most. No clock, though and cell phone off. Maybe this part went faster than I remember, but it was less interesting so it felt longer? Or less interesting compared to what came next.
We switch gears. I’m no longer allowed to pick what we watch and talk about my thoughts on if SDCC panels belong in bonus features. (Me: should have a preorder and you get to watch it when the season airs with DVD to arrive when season ends. Silly to watch it after the season when it’s mostly vague spoilers for the first episode or so). Obviously WB doesn’t listen to me about everything.
Oh! In the screener as part of normal demographics, I was asked about my sexuality. It isn’t completely rare (I can talk about another market research where you had to be queer to be part of it), but there were some short answers about representation or something similar. Something that is significant *now,* but at the time I didn’t notice as being too weird. Since they probably had me listed to the people behind the mirror as X (if they even got my name) Y resident, bisexual, age. I very specifically said stuff to her about representation cause I wasn’t gonna miss my shot.
Anyway so we switch from dvd extras and she queues up video from another file.
She puts a scene of Supernatural on and has me watch. Then repeats it. And asks questions about my opinions on what’s happening. Then has me watch and only pay attention to Character D and tell her what I think his emotions are. Then again but with Character C.
Complete torture… lol… at this point I’m confused, but enjoying this torture.
So there I am watching the Crypt scene over and over and analyzing it. And talking about their feelings.
And then I stop her and say something to the effect of “look I’m bi. There’s not a lot of good representation on what being bi is like. But from episode 1 I’ve known Dean is Bi.” And I babbled about how important a macho badass but closeted character is for representation. And that I hoped they did more with that. I included some anecdotes from other lgbtq friends and straight allies and how they all felt as I did- Dean is Bi, Cas is whatever he wants to identify as, and we felt we recognized our experiences on the screen and hoped for continued and louder representation.
Bam. My interviewer was called out of the room by the people behind the mirror. Suddenly I’m getting a whole new set of questions
Like this is the most baffling and amazing thing that's happened to me in years. It imprinted in my mind, and I haven’t mentioned it to too many people, because of the NDA and being afraid to jinx things. But now I don’t feel like it matters to be as quiet. Obviously I don’t want WB to go after me but... market research isn’t unusual, just mostly used for spin-offs or new shows not for plot points of shows already happening. At least, that’s my understanding.
The interviewer comes back after a short discussion with whoever was behind the glass. Asks a few more questions
We’re now very much going into various things about what I’d just said. I took my shot. And apparently it paid off big time. At some point she’s pulled out of the room again and given a paper with more questions. Some were about Dean’s bisexuality, or how I, and anecdotally my friends, saw him as bisexual. Others were about the potential romance. None, that I remember, were about Castiel’s sexuality- I guess that was a given or not important.
I don’t know if any of the writers were behind the glass from the beginning, but I felt like they stalled to get someone there, maybe.
The interviewer was baffled and made sure I knew nothing that was happening was normal. They wanted to ask me more questions than they usually care to get out of their market research volunteers.
So those are the most important parts. Basically almost everything I was asked after that was about character analysis and queerness and a whole bunch of other things that were related (I also mentioned needing more disability rep, too). I was back there for at least 2 hours.
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Ticket to Ride - Part 2
Billy Russo x Reader
A/N: Inspired by The Beatles song of the same name. This takes place in my S1 Punisher AU with Arrogant!Billy in attendance, in which he gets a taste of his own medicine.
Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content, including oral, between consenting adults* in some chapters. Drinking and swearing.
*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.
(My photo edit)
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𝕊𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕞𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟, 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕙
𝕊𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕
𝕊𝕙𝕖'𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕒 𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕖
𝕊𝕙𝕖'𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕒 𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕖
𝕊𝕙𝕖'𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕒 𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖
»»————————————-———- ⚜ ———————————-————-««
The aircraft door opened and you stepped out gratefully onto the air jetty. You weren’t scared of flying, you just didn’t like being cooped up in a flying tube for several hours on end. Up an escalator and along a short corridor and then you were able to see outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The sky was beginning to shade into the colours it would take on for dusk. It looked like it had been a nice day and you hoped the good weather would continue for your stay.
Karen had texted you while you were sitting on the plane at JFK, waiting for it to push back. Frank had told her that Micro had tracked your phone to the airport so boy, were you glad you’d turned off your old phone and switched to the new one when you did. She’d also told you that Billy had asked him to find out where you were headed, and your heart sank. You knew it wouldn’t take long for Micro’s vast and nerdy computer skills to find you but then again, London was a huge city and they’d have no idea whereabouts in it you’d gone to ground, thanks to your new ‘burner phone’.
You were feeling super-excited. This was beginning to feel like an action movie, with you on the run from the bad guys.
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“London??!!” Billy shouted, making Frank quickly move his phone away from his ear on the other end. “Yeah, London,” he replied.
Billy was back at his usual post by the window. “I mean... obviously I knew she was gonna fly somewhere but I thought it would the West coast, Miami, Seattle, Alaska... somewhere like that. But to go to a whole other continent....!!!!” Frank sighed, “Yeah, Bill, sounds like she’s really not keen to bump into you anytime soon.” “Yeah, thanks for remindin’ me.” “Bill, you brought this on yourself, buddy.” “I know!” yelled Billy, “An’ all I wanna do is get her back and make it up to her for the rest of my life, and all I know is she’s in London! Do you know how big that place is?” “Yeah, I do. And t’be honest... I dunno how you’re gonna even try to find her over there.”
There was a silence on the other end of the phone. “I mean...” Frank continued, “I’m guessin’ you are gonna go over there and try to find her, Bill?”
Billy’s shoulder twitched upwards briefly, and he stared intently out the window at the New York skyline.
“Yeah, Frankie... yeah, I damn well am.”
»»————————————-———- ⚜ ———————————-————-««
You’d left two of your big suitcases and the backpacks in a luggage storage facility at JFK, travelling with just the one suitcase and a large shoulder bag. You took the overground Heathrow Express to Paddington before negotiating a change onto the Tube to reach Tower Hill DLR station, boarding one of the driverless trains out to Canary Wharf. Settling back into your seat, feeling pretty proud of yourself for managing not to get hopelessly lost.
Your AirBnB apartment was in a part of the city called Docklands, beside the Thames on the Isle of Dogs. It was an area of shiny skyscraper offices and fancy apartment blocks built round the old docks, and your accommodation for the next two weeks was in one of those. You were suitably impressed when you got inside it... open plan, all trendy furniture and gleaming fittings. Big, big windows with views of the river and the tall buildings.
Your phone chimed and you saw a text from Karen on your notifications. Taking your suitcase and bag into the bedroom, you went back out to the main area and sat on the sofa to read it. Oh. Billy now knew you were in London, and had apparently booked a flight over - he’d be arriving tomorrow. Your heart rate sped up; Billy was a sniper, used to finding, stalking, watching his prey. But, you told yourself, he had no idea whereabouts in the city you were and no way of finding you.
Relax.
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Billy stepped off the Heathrow Express, looking around for signs indicating where the taxi rank was. He’d been looking at the Tube map during the train journey. Nah, fuck that.
He was too wired to even think about getting to London Bridge on the Underground, or ‘Tube’ as he found out Londoners called it. His brain had been working overtime trying to figure out how the hell he was going to find her in a city the size of London. She’d stay central, surely - she wouldn’t head to the suburbs, he felt confident of that.
Getting into the first taxi in the queue, he drawled out, “The Shard, please.” The taxi driver nodded and pulled away from the station without saying anything. Thank fuck, thought Billy, I can’t be dealing with a talker right now. But just as the thought had left his head, the driver’s London accent said, “First time in London, guv?” Billy sighed, “No. No, it isn’t.” In fact it was, but he wasn’t about to tell the driver that. He’d only end up getting taken on the ‘scenic route’, double the time, double the price.
The driver grunted and turned up the radio... really annoying music could now be heard but Billy would take that over inane small talk any day. He looked out of the windows at the city streets and his mind went back to his mission. Mission impossible. Finally he saw the river and the taxi crossed a wide bridge before pulling up outside the lofty skyscraper that was The Shard. According to the blurb he’d read on some travel website it was the tallest in Western Europe, and while there were taller buildings in New York, the shape of this one made it look quite dramatic.
He paid and got out of the taxi with his expensive wheeled duffel bag, heading to the Shangri La entrance of The Shard and going inside. (It’s one of the priciest hotels in London - of course). Checked in at reception on the 35th floor, he was then whisked up to his room on the 52nd by another express lift. The windows were huge and the views spectacular.
Once again, he was gazing out of a window at a cityscape.
Where is she?
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Your first full day, you occupied yourself with getting to know the surrounding area, doing some grocery shopping and sitting on your large balcony, enjoying the view and relaxing with a glass of wine.
Every time a plane went overhead you wondered if Billy was on it - he was due here today. You shook yourself a little, you’d just have to stop thinking about it. He wouldn’t find you.
Your mind wandered unbidden to his recent behaviour. Knowing Billy was a player from day one, you’d still got involved with him. More fool you. Another old cliché.... you thought you’d be the one to change him. And you thought you had. You’d dated him for a few months, he seemed to have ditched his old hound-dog ways and when he’d asked you to move in with him, you’d agreed without thinking it over too deeply.
Now, looking back, it seems like you’d made a big mistake.
»»————————————-———- ⚜ ———————————-————-««
Micro had spent quite some time constructing a query table that he could run against accommodation reservations in London for her arrival day. She had no reason to book under another name and he’d just have to run with that assumption.
When Billy had come directly to him instead of going via Frank to ask that he try and track down her reservation, Micro had been too scared to refuse. Billy still really unsettled him - he always reminded him of a circling predator.
This query would take a while to run. He hit the go button and wandered off to work on another project while it tunnelled its way through layer upon layer of data.
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Billy was pacing his swanky hotel room like a caged panther. He’d given up on the idea of roaming the streets of London trying to spot his target, that was just one dumbass idea. He’d never find her that way, much better to just wait on that geeky twat to come up with the answer with his internet wizardry.
He’d spoken to Frank earlier, who had nothing new to report. Billy wouldn’t allow himself to feel guilty at cutting him out of the loop on his recent ask to Micro. He wasn’t stupid enough to believe that Frank wouldn’t mention it to Karen. Much as he loved him like a brother, Frank was a big sap when it came to Karen and he knew he’d give in and tell her, probably sooner rather than later.
However Frank had told him that Madani had called earlier that day, wanting to know where Billy was and why she couldn’t get in touch with him. Billy had figured out that his girl had got herself a new phone, and he’d followed suit. Which is why Dinah hadn’t been able to reach him. “Whaddya tell her?”he’d asked. “That you were on an overseas operation and were incommunicado.” “Good,” nodded Billy, “....that takes care of that little problem for a while at least,” feeling a sense of relief.
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Frank cut the call, a grim smile on his face. He hadn’t been completely straight with Billy, but it was for his own good. What he’d told Madani, however, had been the unadulterated gospel truth.
He’d said to her that Billy had hared off to Europe in pursuit of his live-in girlfriend, who’d suspected him of cheating on her and left him. He was absolutely determined to get her back.
He’d taken great satisfaction in the dead silence on the other end of the line, eventually punctuated by an angry snort and the call being abruptly ended.
That ‘little problem’ was hopefully taken care of for good.
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Micro looked at his phone as it beeped at him, the notification saying that his query was complete. That had taken much longer than he thought it would. Now he could only hope it hadn’t returned too many matches as he’d thought it prudent to run it on surname only.
He pulled up the results table and was pleased to see that there were only a thousand or so, he’d feared there would be many more. He scrolled through the list and quickly pinpointed the one he’d been looking for.
With a deep sigh he picked up his phone, typed “Wood Wharf, Water St, London E14”, a building and apartment number into a new message, then hit send. It would be the early hours of the following morning in London, so he very much doubted that Billy would leap out of bed and head right over there.
He finished eating his supper, drank a beer and settled down to watch TV when his conscience started bothering him. Should he? He shivered when he thought about what Russo might do to him if he found out.
Popping another bottle of beer open, he sat and contemplated what he should do for quite a while. He suddenly picked up his phone, sending a quick text to Frank telling him about the whole situation and including the fact that Russo now had her London address.
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While you were lounging on your balcony, sipping your wine and watching the world go by, it suddenly occurred to you that this would be a great base to work out of for a while. You messaged the estate agent and extended your stay to one month, with an option to extend if required.
Then, on a whim, you booked a flight to Barcelona early the next morning from City Airport - it was really close to your apartment even if the flights were a bit more expensive. You’d been doing a little research into other destinations to explore, and having a base in London to travel to and from made you feel much more comfortable. The W Barcelona had caught your eye while you’d been browsing for accommodation and as you were only going for a few nights, you’d booked in there.
Feeling extremely pleased with yourself, you got up and went into your bedroom, looking for a folded-up smaller travel bag you knew you’d packed in your luggage. Finding it, you began to choose some outfits for your short trip, thinking what a joy it was that you could now leave your large suitcase here.
But damn, you were going to have to be up early tomorrow. Best to get an early night, you thought, immediately yawning.
»»————————————-———- ⚜ ———————————-————-««
Billy shot up in bed as his phone chimed with Micro’s text. When he read the information in the text, contrary to Micro’s belief he did leap out of bed and started pulling on his clothes (Micro had forgotten that this was an ex-Marine he was dealing with here).
He sat back down on the bed and googled the location. Oh okay, East London.... Docklands. Too far to walk and he didn’t think the Tube ran at this hour. Then he pulled up the Uber app and booked an immediate pick-up.
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Walking into the terminal building at City Airport, you were in the middle of a total yawning fit when a text came in. It was from Karen and you stopped, putting down your bag so you could read it.
Karen: Sorry to tell you this hon, but Billy went direct to Micro 🙄 and intimidated him into finding your London accom. Frank’s told him not to do that again no matter how much he’s shitting himself! Please take care of yourself 💋
You: Bastard 👿 thanks for the heads-up, I will do 😘
Picking your bags up again, you hurried over to one of the automated check-in machines to get your luggage tag.
Whoever had said ‘timing is everything’ had definitely got that right.
»»————————————-———- ⚜ ———————————-————-««
“Oi!!!” yelled an irate male voice. Billy turned his head to see a groggy-looking tousle-haired guy, obviously just having been woken up. “Keep the noise down!”
Billy said nothing, just gave the guy his death stare. His head quickly disappeared back inside his apartment.
After pressing the buttons of a few apartment numbers at the main entrance, someone had buzzed him in and he’d been pounding on her apartment door for the last five minutes. But there was no response, and he knew she wasn’t that heavy a sleeper.
He slid tiredly down onto the floor outside her door. Had she somehow known he was on his way over here? No.... how would she know that?
His head dropped down in momentary defeat and he ran his fingers through his hair, groaning.
She hadn’t moved on already, had she?
»»————————————-———- ⚜ ———————————-————-««
The plane lifted off the tarmac, and immediately you felt a huge sense of relief. You just weren’t ready to see Billy right now - you’d probably kill him if you did, ex-Marine or not.
Now you were off on your next adventure.
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London
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@blackbirddaredevil23 @galaxyjane @omgrachwrites @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @ourloveisforthelovely @swthxrry @odetostep @supernaturalcat7 @obscurilicious @strawb3rrydr3ss
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#billy russo#billy russo x reader#billy russo fanfiction#billy russo imagine#billy russo fanfic#ben barnes#the punisher 💀
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I think I like the idea of 31 for the greens 💚
31. “You can bite me. I like it.”
Okay I admit this one toes the line with the innuendos, but I'm completely fine with that.
Send me a prompt and some characters! Reminder that the challenge is to make everything SFW, so we're getting creative here.
List of prompts
xxx
Buttercup had always known she had merch. As one-third of a former Superhero team, she was bound to accumulate fans over the years. Even now, with her crime-fighting days long behind her and her focus on making a living like any other normal adult, she occasionally encountered echoes of the past: a Girl Power! T-shirt tie-dyed in pink, blue, and green; a set of refrigerator magnets that spelled out her and her sisters’ names; even an old coloring book series full of cartoonish monsters and Superpowered little girls. It was all a little weird, a little cringe, but totally harmless.
Until Butch found out.
“Oh my god, I found your horcrux.”
The popsicle had melted and warped in freezer storage. The face belonged in an acid trip or a Silent Hill movie. Buttercup was sure some demon must have siphoned the ass-end of her soul to make this abomination. “That is the scariest thing I have ever seen.”
“Dude, this thing is amazing.” He licked Buttercup’s frozen popsicle likeness. “Oh my god, it’s cherry flavored.”
“Wow, what are you, fourteen?” Buttercup tried to leave, but Butch chased after her.
“Hey, hey Buttercup.”
“What?”
“Can you feel this?” He gave the popsicle a long lick up the length of its face.
“You are a crime against humanity, you know that?”
“C’mon, just try her!”
“Her? We’re not gendering the ice cream, Butch.”
“She didn’t mean that,” Butch soothed the melting treat.
Buttercup cut through the park on the way back to her office. Butch followed her.
“Okay, okay, but seriously, just try it. It’s kinda sweet, but it’s pretty decent.”
Buttercup eyed the popsicle. Perhaps it had once resembled her, if she were a cartoon, but now it was a mess of green and black and lumpy, bubble gum eyes. A bit of the face dribbled onto the grass.
This was a decision. Someone of sound mind woke up one day and the best idea they had was to make a popsicle inspired by her face. Someone said to themselves hey, I could sell this to some dumb kids or horny dudes and make a killing.
“You know, I should be getting royalties for that.”
Butch chewed on the chunk of hair-shaped popsicle he’d bitten off and his eyes went wide. “Oh shit, you’re totally right! We should sue the manufacturer!”
Or at least get them to discontinue the line so I never have to see this again.
Her phone buzzed. “It’s Ty. I have to get back to work.”
“I’m texting Blossom. I bet there’s someone we can sue.” The remainder of Butch’s popsicle melted into the grass as he typed out a message on his phone.
“Okay, whatever. See you later.”
Buttercup forgot all about her bizarre popsicle likeness as she buried herself in a case for work. Later that evening at the apartment she shared with Butch, she sank into the living room sofa ready to kick back. Butch came at her from behind and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Hey, you wanna Netflix and chill?”
Buttercup grinned. “Yeah. Grab me a beer?” She scrolled through her Netflix queue until Butch returned.
“Got you something special,” he said.
“What?”
It was another demented popsicle. This one’s eyes were completely uneven, and the mouth was too wide, and the hair line had run down into the face due to melting or demonic infestation. Buttercup stared at the face of her frosty doppelgänger and wondered what Dorian Gray had thought when he saw his painting, grotesque from years of absorbing his hedonism: bitch, I lived.
“Wanna try it? Blossom said she can file for an injunction against the manufacturer, so this might be your only chance before they discontinue the line.” Butch wagged the popsicle like a cat’s toy.
“You’re so weird, you know that?”
“Dude, you’re the one not freaking out about how you’re so famous and beloved that they made your face into candy! How cool is that? You’re like the Mona Lisa.”
“If a five-year-old drew her.”
“Hey, don’t go shitting on five-year-olds. I knew a few who punched major dick back in the day.”
Buttercup laughed. “This has to be in the top ten dumbest conversations we’ve ever had.”
“So you want some of this? What’s it gonna be? Please eat me, Buttercup!”
“Oh, come on. Don’t make that voice.”
“I’m so creamy going down.”
She wheezed. “Butch, Jesus Christ.”
“You can bite me. I like it.”
“I’m going to bite you if you don’t knock it off.”
“Bite down on my juicy, cherry center—”
Buttercup shoved a cushion at his face, and he fell onto the floor laughing.
“Noooo, Popsicle-Buttercup! She could’ve been worth millions one day!” he lamented the popsicle now on the floor and collecting rug fibers.
“Popsicle-Buttercup isn’t going to Netflix and chill with you, moron. Clean that up and I’ll get the beers.”
She went to the kitchen to get their drinks while Butch saw to the rug. When she tossed the bottle caps in the trash, however, she saw a bright, blue box crumpled at the top and grew suspicious. Setting the beers aside, she opened the freezer and found eleven more Powerpuff Pops chilling with the frozen french fries and ice cube trays. Misshapen versions of her sisters and herself stared back at her, their runny mouths smiling wide and black.
Buttercup closed the freezer door. “Goddamnit, Butch!”
He cackled like a lunatic when she tackled him on the sofa.
xxx
If you enjoy my writing, check out more of my fics on AO3, link in my profile. I’m currently updating Trinity House and The Alchemy of Us. Thanks for reading!
#powerpuff girls#powerpuff girls fanfic#butchercup#ppg greens#ppg buttercup#ppg butch#september fic prompts
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Do It For the Band, Part Five (fic)
Fandom: Bleach
Pairing: IchiRuki:
Summary: When Tatsuki said she wanted their sophomore album to be the next Rumours, this is NOT what she meant. Band AU. Read Part One, Two, Three, and Four.
Against her better judgement, Tatsuki takes an early flight home the next morning, so she really doesn’t know what went down.
Frankly, between battling her colossal hangover and focusing on not puking on the plane when it hits turbulence: she doesn’t even think about it until later in the week.
Since the tour ended, the band has a week off to just chill and take some time for themselves before regrouping and planning their next move. Tatsuki goes straight home to smoke weed and binge dumb movies on her to-watch queue. Chad and Orihime had plans to stay in their last tour city for a while since they had friends and family there.
And as for Ichigo and Rukia…
Who knows. They’re both such dorks that they’re probably that gross couple who serenade each other in bed, naked, making weird metaphorical lyrics about the sex they just had.
Gross. But kind of sweet.
She makes a point to not think about or reach out to any of them (besides Orihime, of course) the entire week - not that she doesn’t love her team fiercely, but they all need the break away from each other... Especially after they spent all their time together making the album and going on tour, and especially if Ichigo decides to show one of his new Rukia-love ballads to the band upon their return.
Still, she attempts to check in with Ichigo on the fifth day over text.
How ya doin’, tiger?
He doesn’t respond for a few hours, but she doesn’t think much of it. He’s always been sort of a shitty texter, and there’s a strong chance all the raucous love-making isn’t reminding him to check his phone.
She’s on the fourth episode of Terrace House’ newest season, debating whether one of the cast members is a chaotic queen or absolute garbage when she hears the familiar ping of a text message on her phone. She picks it up and reads:
Fine.
Huh.
Not exactly the sunshine-y answer she expected, but then again: it’s Ichigo. He’s not exactly a sunshine-y person, even when - apparently - he’s radiantly happy.
She shrugs, deciding not to push it. She’ll find out soon enough how everything’s going when they have practice in a couple days.
--
Practice is in Chad’s garage, and Ichigo, Chad, and Orihime are already there.
She mostly chats with Orihime, who has so much to update her on about her newest recipes, like natto ice cream and sriracha orange juice, and hey, Tatsuki, what are your thoughts on this newest article I found about robots dominating the planet within the next five years?
Tatsuki glows in the babble, chuckling when she can’t help herself. Says the first sounds… Interesting, the second sounds like maybe she can keep revising it a little, and that last article sounds like it might be from a not so trust-worthy news source.
Her friend tries to argue the source’s credibility when she looks over at Ichigo. He’s silently tuning his guitar, head bent and posture weirdly… Slumped when she catches his eye.
She raises her eyebrows at him without interrupting Orihime’s chatter. You good?
He shrugs, gives a weak smile and thumbs up before returning his attention back to his instrument.
Uh oh.
Ichigo Kurosaki does not do weak smiles… Or thumbs ups, for that matter.
It’s another few minutes before Rukia swings the door open, a bit of a sweaty mess and running out of breath.
“Hi all, I’m so sorry I--”
“You’re late.”
Everyone swings their attention to Ichigo, who observes their keyboardist stone-faced. The shocked silence that follows is short, but suffocating.
Rukia flushes before she blinks, raising her chin. “Yes. As I was saying… I’m sorry I’m running late, everyone. I had a lunch meetup with an old friend that went longer than expected. Please forgive me.”
“Chill, Rukia - you’re fine. You’re only five minutes over.” Tatsuki shoots a look at Ichigo, who’s still ruthlessly eye-ing daggers into Rukia.
What the hell…?
“... Whatever. Let’s just get started. Go over everything to catch back up to speed, and all that.” Ichigo plugs his guitar into the speaker, and Rukia nods as she quickly sets up her keyboard.
Practice from there is…
Like. It’s good. It is. Despite the long break, everyone is still on top of their shit: Tatsuki’s beats are muscle memory by now, and Chad is as on it as he ever was. Ichigo and Rukia are in perfect sync, per usual.
The energy, however, is another story. While there was always some sort of joy and excitement when they all played together, now it’s like the air is stiff, heavy. From behind, Tatsuki can see Rukia keeps trying to look at Ichigo during all the parts they usually harmonize together, to get some sort of connection.
Ichigo doesn’t even remotely glance her way the entire time.
They’re near done with the entire set when Ichigo clears his throat, turning to the rest of them. Urahara has joined them by this point, watching with an unreadable smile as ever.
“So… I think we should scrap Sun and Moon from our main set.”
Orihime lets out a soft gasp. Chad’s fingers accidentally let loose a note on the live bass. Tatsuki chokes on her spit.
“Sun and Moon? You mean our crowd pleaser? The one we always end shows with a bang on?”
“It’s not our only crowd pleaser, we’ve also got some other great ones. I’m just afraid it’s gonna be a one-hit wonder, ya know? And with that note…” He turns to Urahara. “What do you think about us going ahead and starting to write for our sophomore album?”
They gape at him.
Even Urahara raises his eyebrows. “That’s… Well. That was fast.”
“Is it? Our album is more like EP, anyway - just a little longer. Like a warm-up. And it’s good, of course I’m proud of it - everyone worked so hard on it - but, just… Why not start now? Why not take advantage of the momentum we’ve got going on?”
Rukia clears her throat. “Ichigo, that’s… We’ve got such a good grip on what we have -”
“I just think Soul Vibes is static for us. Outdated.” He quickly looks back at her before returning his attention to Urahara.
Rukia looks like she’s been slapped.
“I think we’re more dynamic now, even just in these few short months. And yeah it’s fast, but - we have time, right? To get started on writing?”
“I suppose so.” Urahara looks at Tatsuki and Chad, who both shrug. Something’s really off here, but Tatsuki sort of sees his point. It’s clear Ichigo’s raring to write something new… Why not?
“Sure, if you’d like, I can make some arrangements with the music studio. You and Rukia can go in there and--”
“Actually, I was thinking we can work on some stuff alone before presenting it to the group.” He stops Tatsuki when she begins to sputter. “Look, I know the whole reason for pairing Rukia and I for songwriting was to get us working as a team. But we’re fine now…”
Ichigo looks back at Rukia, and they share a look that’s so… Tatsuki doesn’t know what it is, but she sees Rukia swallow heavily in response.
“We’re fine now.” He repeats grittily. He starts again, stronger: “We collaborated on some cool shit, now I think it’s time to make it a little more diverse like I mentioned earlier. Have my songs, have her songs, have Chad’s songs if he still wants - all threaded together with Tatsuki’s beats. Why not?”
The room is quiet as they contemplate it. It’s not a bad idea, but…
Tatsuki glances over at Rukia, who’s looking down at her hands.
Urahara clicks his tongue.
“Well, Kurosaki, you raise a good argument. I don’t see why not, and I’m not hearing any objections… Just one thing: you’re not striking Sun and Moon quite yet. No arguments! Hear me out.” He stops Ichigo with a hand. “You’re not striking it until any of you come up with a song just as good, if not better. There’s power in that one, you can’t deny it. Make something as rock n’ roll as that and the team will talk. Let’s just… Keep each other in the know, all right?”
The band - Rukia included, albeit softly - agrees, and they start to pack up.
Tatsuki doesn’t know what’s going on; she’s always down for making more jams, she knows Ichigo and Rukia have got more up their sleeves, that Chad definitely deserves to put more of his stuff forward - but that… Look the two vocalists shared…
What happened that night after she left the bar?
She doesn’t have much time to wonder, however, because suddenly she’s shaken out of her thoughts when she hears Ichigo approaching Orihime about whether she wants to go out and get a couple of drinks.
Tatsuki’s heart is too busy falling to see Rukia’s stricken face.
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Stark Spangled Banner
Ch 1. Back Into The Field
Intro: Picking up a few months on from the events of Stark Spangled Man, Katie finds herself on desk bound duty following a disciplinary for ignoring Fury’s orders. But when she’s finally released, and disaster strikes on the first mission she’s run in months, she kinda wishes she’d stayed there.
Warnings: Bad language, mentions of blood, injury, angst and a minor character death.
Pairing: Steve Rogers x Katie Stark
A/N: So here we go. A relaunch of SSB thanks to my other blog being flagged. For those of you who are new, welcome! I hope you enjoy. And to all you current Stark Spangled Readers, welcome back, You might spot a few subtle differences as we go through, as things I’m not happy with have been rewritten but don’t worry, nothing will impact the mine lines in the hot mess that is Stark and Rogers.
As always, please leave your comments or send me messages, asks, anything. I love you all!
Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.
Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist
March 2013.
Any doctor would cry if they visited SHIELD; the caffeine and alcohol intake of pretty much every worker there would way exceed a dose construed to be healthy. Mind you, if you asked any agent whether they’d give up coffee or alcohol, they’d say alcohol in a heartbeat.
Well, most of them.
Katie couldn’t imagine surviving without an ice cold beer on a hot summer’s day, but she also didn’t function until she had her morning cup of Joe. It was a tough choice to make.
Not today though, she needed coffee. And lots of it. After ‘going rogue’ to chase the Mandarin with her brother, month’s later Fury was still pissed and as such was basically giving her the most boring thing he could think of- working through piles of mission reports to analyse and cross reference with others to pick up on common threads .To be honest, she didn’t mind it too much. After the excitement of the festive period she had welcomed a relatively quiet return to work, and didn’t particularly give a shit what Fury thought about her either.
She circling a part of the hard copy of the report she was working on with highlighter pen, before glancing back at her computer screen to cut and paste it into the Scrapbook App she used to trace trends with, letting out a groan. Who was she kidding? Desk duty sucked ass.
*****
Steve’s morning wasn’t going much better.
Whilst he wasn’t desk bound, after a particularly gruelling Ops Training session during which one of the newest kids suffered a broken nose after colliding painfully with a stray shock baton, he was almost wishing he was. Following a quick debrief, he checked his schedule on his phone and found he was free now for the rest of the day so he showered and headed up to find Katie. He found her in her office, paper in her hand as she stared at her computer screen, eyes narrowed. Steve watched her for a moment, taking in the way her nose crinkled as she read something, her bottom lip being dragged under her top teeth as she continued her work, completely unaware he was there. With a groan she dropped the notes she’d been holding to the desk and ran her hand through her dark hair.
Steve felt he was interrupting something, even though he knew he wasn’t, but he also didn’t want to appear like he’d been watching her either, which he totally had. So he gave a little cough and, as she turned round, her pretty face cracking into a smile which he returned.
“Hey! How was training?”
“Don’t ask.” He let out a snort.
“That bad huh?”
“In a fashion.” He nodded, leaning on the door frame. “You had lunch?”
“Nope.”
“Wanna come get some?”
She nodded instantly “God yes. Can we get FroYo after?”
“Yeah but don’t let me pile it with all that crap this time!” he shot her his best playfully disapproving look as he remembered his first trip the Frozen Yoghurt stall. He had loaded his with all sorts of different things and the result had been beyond foul.
Katie gave a laugh and picked up her jacket, shrugging it on. Standing up straight, he moved to allow her to step through the door and followed her to the elevator.
“Stick to chocolate chip, mint and cookie dough.” She said, stepping into it. “Trust me.”
They strode across the foyer and into the early spring sun. Katie pulled her jacket tighter around herself as they crossed the street, shivering a little in the cool breeze.
“How are you just wearing a shirt?” she looked at Steve as he fell into step besides her, making sure he was on the side nearest the road. He noticed that she’d long since given up chiding him on this old fashioned habit after he had revealed it was something he used to do for his mom too, and Bucky’s younger sister. In fact, today, he swore he saw something that looked like a soft smile flicker on her lips when he positioned himself on her left, but as quick as he noticed it, it was gone.
“It’s not too bad.” He grinned. “I’ve been through worse.” He opened the door to the Deli for her and followed her in as they took their place in the queue. After a moment or two he became aware that she was looking at him.
“What?” he asked, turning to her exasperatedly. Katie couldn’t help but grin, she enjoyed winding the usually mild mannered man up
“I’m trying to imagine how you would look with a beard. And with shorter hair.” she mused, causing the Captain to roll his eyes.
“Not gonna happen.”
“What the hair cut or the beard?”
“Neither.”
“Spoil sport.”
“Captain America doesn’t have a beard.” he shook his head.
“No but, Steve Rogers could…”
She was impossible, but Steve couldn’t help but want to laugh. This playfulness was the thing that he enjoyed the most, how she could just treat him like any other punk she knew.
“Did anyone ever tell you you’re exhausting?” he rolled his eyes, a smirk playing on his face as she stepped forward in the queue.
“Yeah, you.” she spun round to face him, grinning “Several times. But you still come back for more.”
“Well I have the distinct impression if I didn’t you’d hunt me down anyway”
They ordered and ate their lunch, Steve filling her in on the ops drill and after Fro-Yo they made arrangements to slob out that evening at his with a film. They walked back to the Triskellion where Katie headed back to her office to continue sifting through the Mount Everest of reports she had to do. As with anything, once she got the bit between her teeth, she completely zoned out. It was only when she heard a gabble of voices all bidding each other goodbye that she looked up from her work. It was dark outside, and past six.
“Shit.” she groaned as the realisation washed over her. She was supposed to be at Steve’s for half past. She clicked to save her work whilst calling him at the same time, phone sandwiched between her cheek and shoulder.
“So…I’m running late.” She apologised the instant he answered. He chuckled.
“I thought that you said the one good thing about being confined to desk duties was that you set the hours.”
“Yeah, well I got caught up in something, but I’m leaving now. Do you want me to grab pizza on the way?”
“Sounds good, not Chicago Style though. I’m hankering for a proper piece of pie.”
“God you’re such a New Yorker.” She rolled her eyes.
“You say it like it’s a bad thing.” His voice took on a mock hurt tone and she could imagine him pouting on the other end of the phone.
“Hmmm, I’m undecided. Right, I’m leaving now. See you soon.”
“Drive safe.”
“What are you my dad?” she snorted at his stern instruction.
“Old enough to be.” he shot back.
“Touche.” she sniggered, cutting the call
*******
“Boring New York style for Mr S Rogers…” she spoke into the intercom at the main door to Steve’s apartment complex and he buzzed her in. By the time she’d climbed the stairs to his floor he was waiting, leaning on the door frame.
“Bout time.” He muttered, taking the boxes off her “Was about to send a search party.”
“Mario’s was packed.” Katie said, kicking off her sneakers and heading straight through to his kitchen to grab a beer out of his fridge without waiting for him to offer, knowing he wouldn’t. He didn’t need to.
Steve headed into the living room, depositing the thee boxes on the coffee table before he sank onto the couch and reached straight in for one of the pepperoni slices. A few moments later Katie flopped down next to him, handing him a beer.
“What we ticking off the list tonight?” she asked.
“A Few Good Men.” he said, nodding at the TV where he had queued the movie up ready.
“Wait, did you manage to navigate that Android box all by yourself?” She looked at him and he sighed.
“I’m not completely useless ya know.”
“Jury’s out.” she teased, curling her legs up onto the sofa next to her.
They watched the movie. Steve got most of the references within it. He chuckled in the right places, and laughed out loud when Katie was unable to stop herself uttering the immortal line You can’t handle the truth. When the credits began to roll, Katie unfolded herself from where she had been sat and they launched into Steve’s favourite part of Movie Nights- the post film analysis.
“Who was the guy who played the colonel, Jessup?” he looked at her.
“Jack Nicholson. Amazing actor. He’s in a few on your list.”
“He was good. And I know he was supposed to be the good guy so to speak but Kaffee annoyed me a little. He was so arrogant.”
“He reminds me of Tony” Katie sniggered.
“Well, I didn’t want to say anything” Steve gave a little smirk and Katie shrugged.
“I get what you mean though. He is an ass, and it pisses me off a little the romance angle they take with him and Galloway. I mean, she’s portrayed as this strong woman, in the male dominated military woman and they still have to go there.”
“It does seem to be a tried and tested format.” Steve nodded, leaning back against the cushions on his couch “Boy meets girl, boy likes girl, boy wins girl over…even the movies I saw back in before I took a sub-zero nap were the same.”
“I suppose it appeals to the hopeless romantic in all of us.” Katie shrugged.
They continued to chat for a bit longer until Katie glanced at her watch, and seeing the time, decided to call it a night. Steve walked her down to her car, he always did without fail, another thing she had given up chiding him for and when he came back upstairs and got in the shower, he found himself straying back to the first time he had seen her, the minute she had stepped into the light in the boxing gym and he’d found himself looking into the greenest eyes he had ever seen in his life.
The more he stood there in the stream of hot water, thinking about her, the more he started to feel something…well…different. And he couldn’t put his finger on it. Was it that he found her attractive? Well of course he did. To be honest, he reckoned you’d have to be blind not to. And if he was totally honest, since he’d seen her the first time in that little boxing gym in New York he had noticed how pretty she was. She had the figure of the stars of his time. Hour glass waist, brunette hair, shapely ass and legs and quite large breasts considering she was so slim. But what did it for him were her eyes. Deep, sparkling emeralds that he could lose himself in quite happily. And that smile, that fucking smile that could make him stop in his tracks when she flashed it.
But it was more than just that, she was…well…just Katie.
It was strange, really, she reminded him so much of Peggy in some ways, but in others she was so different. Both were vivacious, smart, strong willed and beautiful. But where Peggy had been harsh, after a military upbringing, Katie had a softer edge to her. She was still ferocious at times, but she was a people person, and somehow knew exactly how to explain and understand what he was trying to say even when he struggled to himself. She made him feel at ease. With that in mind it wasn’t surprising they had grown so close. He could trust her and knew that she would do anything for him because she was a good person. And she made it so easy to be around, he didn’t feel a shred of awkwardness around her.
He hadn’t thought he’d ever find himself a friend he could be as honest and open with again, one he would happily lay his life on the line for, not just out of a sense of duty but out of a sense of love and friendship.
Who you trying to kid, Rogers?
He knew his feelings went deeper than that. All those times he’d felt irritation at other men looking at her or touching her, all those times he’d looked at her and just wanted to smile because she was just her… the fear he had felt when he had known she was off chasing the Mandarin and he wasn’t able to help…none of that was anything to do with mere friendship.
He leaned his forehead against the tiles of the shower cubicle and groaned. He was crushing on his best friend.
He was so fucked.
*******
Katie’s desk arrest didn’t last much longer. Two weeks later she was catapulted back into the field, on what was supposed to be a simple op, simple by SHIELD standards, anyway. They had a request from the Cuban government – all very hush, hush, of course –to take down a drug lord who ran a cartel SHIELD had tangled with last year.
Katie, in her role as Mission Analyst, read the files and all the intel, pulled together a briefing and delivered it, answering questions that came her way from the team and then handed over to Steve when it was his turn to take the floor. He started issuing out his orders, and informed everyone that the three newest recruits would be joining them as it would be a fairly straight forward op to ease them into.
And it had been, for the most part, until one of those new recruits, Jack Adams, had frozen mid fire fight and as a consequence he’d taken three bullets to the chest. Which shouldn’t have been an issue given the armour they all wore. But when the man failed to get up, Katie knew there was something very, very wrong.
“Adams is down!” she loudly spoke into her radio as she took aim at the hostile responsible. As soon as she was sure the round she had let off had hit her target, she broke cover to get to Adams, as she was closest to him. She skidded to the floor, pressing her hand to his chest and her other reached to his face, turning it to look at her.
“I got you, Adams, look at me.” she urged gently, her hand warm, wet and slick with the young man’s blood. Steve dropped besides her and she turned to face him.
“Armour piercing rounds.” She shook her head. “Steve, I can’t stop the bleeding.” Her tone left the Captain in no doubt as to how worried she was and he looked around frantically for help.
“Medic, NOW! We need emergency evac…”
“Stay with us, Jack.” Katie reached into her belt and retrieved a tab of morphine as he young man’s hand gripped her other whilst she administered the pain relief.
“Son, you’re gonna be fine.” Steve spoke and Adams’ horrified eyes turned to Steve. The soldier swallowed, fighting to keep his face calm. He’d seen that expression so many times on the battle field, the one that told him the man who lay injured knew he was injured beyond repair, that there was nothing to be done for him. But this was now seventy years into the future, medical science had worked so many wonders since then, they had to be able to do something, right?
“RUMLOW WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT MEDIC?” Katie screamed, her tone frantic.
“Still got hostiles on us!” Rumlow replied over the coms. “Evans has taken four down but they’re approaching from the right! We need to cover the medics in and now you’re down there…”
Steve instantly looked round before he looked back at Katie “We’ll have to take him ourselves”
She bit her lip, looking at the young man, then up to Steve again. Everything in their training told them not to move casualties, but Steve knew if they stayed here he was going to bleed out. Katie seemed to come to the same conclusion and she nodded.
“Alright. Brock, we’re coming to you. Have the medics prep the bay on the jet.. Evans, we need top cover.”
“Roger, Cap…”
“Jack, we’re gonna move you now.” Katie looked at him, her voice calm and level as besides her, Steve moved to take the injured man into a lift over his shoulder. Once he had him positioned, he gave a small jerk of his head and Katie picked up his shield in one hand, and her pistol in the other as they broke cover, sprinting across the front of the industrial yard towards the jet. In the corner of his eye, Steve spotted two hostiles moving but before he could shout a warning, Katie had fired off two shots, the thumps and lack of returning fire meaning each bullet had hit its target. Soon they were joined by Rumlow and Rollins who flanked them up the ramp where Katie dropped Steve’s shield to the floor with a clang and offered her hand back to Adams as Steve placed him gently on the stretcher.
“It’s gonna be ok.” Katie soothed him as the medics bustled around, her eyes glancing up every so often to watch what they were doing.
“Can you tell my mom I love her and, and my dad.” Adams was mumbling now and Katie shook her head.
“You can tell them yourself.” She told him fiercely. “You’ll be fine, I promise.”
“We’re locked down outside, local authorities are handling it now.” Rumlow informed Steve who had stepped back from where Katie was knelt by the injured man. “How is he?”
Steve turned to Rumlow, shaking his head sadly. “Not good. He lost a lot of blood.”
At that point Katie suddenly drew back slightly, looking at the hand held in hers, before she glanced at the medic who was sadly shaking his head. Katie’s shoulders slumped as her eyes closed, face screwing up into a pained expression and Steve pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and middle finger as he realised that the young man had lost his final fight.
“Shit.” Rumlow muttered.
“Radio base” Steve turned to Rumlow his voice soft “Let’s get him home.”
*******
Writing mission reports wasn’t Katie’s favourite thing to do, but this one was awful. So she’d treated it like ripping off a band aid, and after a horrific night’s sleep, she’d been at the Triskelion early to get it done. As a result it was little after ten am, she was done for the day and was about to head home until she heard a familiar voice.
“Eat me…eat me…” The voice was accompanied by a bag from her favourite bakery, which was hovering in the space between the door to the office and the frame, before Clint Barton’s head poked round the side, a grin plastered on his face.
“Hey!” She beamed at her friend as he dropped a cup holder containing two coffees and the bag onto her desk before taking a seat, scooting the wheeled chair over the floor towards her.
“Heard you had a rough time of it yesterday so I brought donuts and almond croissants. And coffee.”
“Hawkeye, you are a godsend.” Katie smiled, taking a large drink and leaning back, closing her eyes.
“That the first time you’ve lost a man on a mission?” Clint asked.
“Other than Coulson.” she shrugged. “Shit, Adams was twenty-three Clint. He had his whole life ahead of him.”
Clint watched as she rubbed at her temple before reaching into the bag and pulling out an almond croissant. She couldn’t remember when she had last eaten, it must have at least been before the mission.
“How’s Cap taken it?”
“On the outside he seems okay, but I know he blames himself. Keeps saying he shouldn’t have taken him.” Katie shrugged “He’s gone with Fury to see Adams’ parents. Rather him than me.”
“This job is hard.” Clint said after a moment or two pause. “We fight to keep everyone safe, but y’know, sometimes not everyone makes it. Thing is, if we can’t find a way to deal with that, then maybe next time no one gets saved at all.”
“You mean like Collateral damage?” she snorted, shaking her head.
“No, I mean that everyone one of us that are out in the field know the risks Nova, hell last year 7 of us took on a horde of Aliens in New York. For hours we fought them, and did any of us give a second thought to our own safety? No, because that’s what we do.”
His words made sense. She knew they did, but that didn’t stop the feeling in her stomach that if she had done her research more, maybe she could have spotted something that would have told them about the armour piercing rounds.
*******
Adams’ parents already knew he was dead. Fury had the local authorities call ahead, common practice now, but still, Steve found himself sat on their couch, talking, informing them all about their son’s last moments. They hadn’t shouted, hadn’t screamed or blamed him. Instead, they’d thanked him for what he had done and for bringing him back so they could hold a proper burial.
By the time he got back to base, he was exhausted.
“Here.” Fury handed him a glass of scotch from the bottle he had pulled out of his desk. Steve took it, dropping onto one of the sofas at the side of the large office, Fury settling into the other. Steve knew the drink couldn’t get him drunk, but he liked the momentary buzz he got that lasted all of sixty seconds post sip, and the comforting burn it gave when he swallowed.
The pair of them sat in silence for a few moments before Fury sat forward, his eye fixed on Steve.
“Ever done that before, a death message?” he asked.
“Can’t say I have. Wasn’t really my job back in the day.” Steve shrugged, undoing his tie and popping the top button of his dress shirt.
“Worst part of the job. Doesn’t matter how many times you do it, never gets any easier.” Fury ran his hand over his face, and it struck Steve how tired his boss actually looked.
“Yeah, it isn’t exactly up there with my favourite thing to do.” Steve rolled his tie up and shoved it into the pocket of his old Army uniform pants.
“How’s Nova?” Fury asked.
“She’s upset.” Steve sighed “But she’s strong, she’ll be okay. I’m gonna head over and see how she is later.”
“You two spend a lot of time together outside of work.” Fury commented, innocently enough but there was something in his tone, something that was almost good natured accusation.
“Not a problem is it, Sir?” Steve asked, keeping his face straight.
“No, not at all.” Fury said “Why do you think I partnered you up in the first place? She’s a people person…”
“She’s a good friend.” Steve nodded “We get on.”
“Glad to hear it.” Fury nodded. There was another moment’s pause before he spoke again. “There’s going to be a debrief with the Secretary of Defense tomorrow.”
Steve sighed “If they’re looking to blame someone, the buck stops with me. I should never have taken the kid.”
“Bullshit.” Fury said simply “I’ve read the reports. From what they say, he just froze.”
“He wasn’t experienced enough.”
“Taking risks is part of this job. It’s a dangerous gig.” Fury held his gaze. “It was a straight forward in and out job Captain. What happened was an accident. A tragic one, but an accident none the less. From the reports, neither you nor Stark could have done any more to save his life.”
Steve shrugged, the words were kind but didn’t help him feel any better.
Three glasses of scotch later, Steve shook the director’s hand and left the office, pulling out his phone. He didn’t want to appear like he was checking up on Katie, so he pinged her a text, dressing it up like it was him who needed to see her, which wasn’t a complete lie. He did. He was craving the normality she gave him.
Can I come over? I could do with seeing a friendly face
He read it a few times, before deciding it was casual enough before he sent it. The reply was almost instantaneous.
My door is always open for you. And I made Mac and Cheese. Plenty left.
He couldn’t help but smile. One of the best things about this new life was the food, and her Mac and Cheese was frankly his favourite thing to eat on the planet.
He changed into a pair of sweats and a hoody, hastily making his way to Katie’s penthouse and the smile she gave him when he walked into her place instantly made him feel at ease.
“Hey.” she crossed the space towards him and gave him a hug which he happily melted into, a hug they both needed.
“How did it go?” she asked, pulling away.
“As well as can be expected.” He sighed as he followed her into the kitchen, dropping into the stool on the other side of the breakfast bar. “His mom broke down but they didn’t shout or yell.”
Katie flipped the lid off a beer and handed it to him. He took it, with a nod of thanks and pulled a large swig before he rest his hands on the counter, staring at the bottle.
He was brooding and blaming himself, Katie could tell, so she gently lay her hand on his, reaching over the counter.
“It wasn’t your fault Steve.” she spoke softly and he looked at her.
God, she did that all the time, knew what he was thinking. It gave him the unnerving impression that sometimes she could read his mind.
“I should have spotted that shooter.” he shook his head.
“I’m the fucking mission analyst.” she sighed. “I knew from last time those guys were packing, if I’d done more research, maybe I would have found out about the armour piercing rounds.”
“You can’t seriously blame yourself?” Steve’s frowned.
“Why not?” she shrugged sadly. She’d been over it a million times in her head that day and had come to the same conclusion every time. She should have spotted something, dug further. “I didn’t do my job.”
“Yes, you did.” he implored, his eyes locking onto hers “Your report clearly set out the layout, the learning from previous missions…Adams was just too inexperienced, I should never have taken him.”
There was a pause as the microwave pinged and Katie turned to look at it.
“You know, Clint made a good point before.” she reached in for the plate and the smell of the food made his stomach grumble again as she continued “This job, it’s hard. We fight to keep people safe but not everyone makes it back all the time…and if we can’t learn to live with that then maybe next time no one gets saved.”
“It feels like trading lives.” He took a deep breath as she placed the plate down in front of him “It’s just wrong.”
“I know.” She said, handing him some cutlery and sat down next to him.
“You eaten?” he asked, looking at her, suddenly aware she didn’t have a plate. She nodded.
“Couldn’t have waited until now, I’d have starved to death.” she said, shrugging.
“Hardly.” he replied, mouth full, instantly realising he had said the wrong thing as she narrowed her eyes at him.
“Is that a fat joke?” she asked, making him roll his eyes as he swallowed. That hadn’t been it at all, he was referring to the fact that she never actually stopped eating, despite her tiny frame she gave him a run for his money.
“No, that’s not what I meant. You’re tiny.” he said, almost choking on his food through his protests.
“So now you’re making short jokes?” She shot back. Steve looked at her, dismayed she thought he was being mean to her but then he spotted the look in her eyes and rolled his own.
“Punk.”
“Jerk” she shot back.
It was the perfect way to escape the trauma and stress of the last few days. Once they had finished eating the two of them flopped down on her large L shape sofa, Steve’s legs extended along one side of the L shape, her legs tucked underneath her as she leaned against his shoulder. He couldn’t help but notice the smell of her shampoo…apple, he thought, along with her perfume. Her proximity was making his head buzz but he wasn’t about to move her, the contact was comforting. And it clearly was for her too as about an hour or so into the film- the first in the Lord of The Rings trilogy- he felt her head growing heavy. He glanced down and saw that her eyes were closed and, as he watched, her head slipped slightly. He shifted so that he could catch her gently, and grabbed a cushion from behind him, placing it against his leg. He manoeuvred her head so that she was lay down, gently brushing her hair off her face. She stirred slightly, snuggling down further into the cushion as he absentmindedly rubbed between her shoulder blades as her breathing grew gentle and even.
Steve stayed like that, engrossed in the film right to the end, surprisingly. He had enjoyed it. Katie hadn’t woken up, and he looked down debating whether or not to wake her or simply carry her through to her bedroom. In the end he decided to do neither, instead he reached for the remote as he sifted through to find something else to watch. He didn’t want to leave just yet, he was too comfy and too at ease. Picking one of his favourites, Casablanca, he settled down, getting himself comfy as he immersed himself in the familiar world of Rick’s Café Americain. At one point he felt his eyes growing heavy and he lay his head back, deciding to rest them for just a little while…
****
Katie was jolted awake, quite violently, and as she jerked into an upright position she saw exactly why. Steve was thrashing in his sleep, his face contorted in horror, small murmurs and whimpers slipping from his plump lips. She placed both her hands on his shoulder and shook him. Softly at first, then a bit stronger, trying to rouse him.
“Steve…” she gave him a harsher shake and his eyes flew open, wide in panic and she reached up to cup his face in her hands. “Hey, it’s okay. It was just a dream.”
Her soft voice filled Steve’s senses and, as he realised where he was and whose eyes were looking at him, he took a shaky breath and lay his head back.
Damned it, he’d fallen asleep and had a nightmare. On her sofa.
“Sorry,” he said, his voice croaky, “I err…”
“Don’t apologise, it’s fine.” Katie shook her head gently “I’ll get you a glass of water.”
Whilst she was gone he leaned forward, swinging his legs off the couch so his feet touched the floor, wiping his clammy head with his hands, the memory still flashing through his dream.
Cold air was blasting his hair back…there was a hole in the side of the train…then a flash of light and Bucky flew straight through the hole. “BUCKY…” he yelled, grabbing onto the side of the train, the bar in one hand as he stretched to reach his friend with the other.
“Steve…” The voice was louder, but not loud enough. No, he had to get to Bucky…
But he was gone, Steve was grasping at nothing but air.
Just a dream, Katie had said. It was anything but…
She appeared back in the room with a glass of water and he thanked her as she passed it to him. He took a large gulp, swallowing and was relieved when his breathing began returning to normal.
“You ok?” she asked, kindly as her hand gently knotted into his, her concern evident.
“Yeah, just a nightmare.” he nodded softly “I’ve not had one for a while.”
“Understandable with what’s happened. Wanna tell me what it was about?”
“It was Bucky.” he swallowed thickly “I was replaying the moment he fell. The moment he plummeted to his death from that Hydra train and I didn’t save him.”
Katie stayed silent for a moment before her hand curled round Steve’s shoulder and she pulled him to her, causing him to lay his head on her shoulder. “You know it wasn’t your fault.”
“I should have done more” The guilt ate Steve up every day, that he had survived. Why had he deserved that any more than Bucky?
“How?” she said again. “How could you have done anymore?”
"I should have gone after him.” he said quietly.
“What would’ve changed if you had?” Katie asked. “There’s no way he could have survived that fall.”
“He wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for me.“ He replied, "I should have gone after him, brought him home, done something.”
Katie remained quiet, her hand gently running through his hair which was nice, far too nice. He took a deep breath and sat up moving away from her touch.
"What time is it?”
“Nearly six in the morning” Katie glanced at her watch.
“You’re kidding?” Steve snorted.
“Nope. You want some coffee?” she stood up, stretching her arms above her head.
“Yeah if that’s ok.” he replied, following her to the kitchen. From her body language he could tell she was rolling her eyes, even if she wasn’t facing him.
“I don’t know if your Ma ever told you, but it’s rude to run out on a girl after you spend the night with her.”
“And as you know, I’m useless with women.” he sat down at the barstool on the breakfast bar. He watched her, but he didn’t say anything as she bustled about, throwing some bread in the toaster and then went to the fridge for the butter, marmalade and jam, sliding them onto the island. At that point Steve held his hands up.
“You don’t have to-” he started to say, but she silenced him with a glare, similar to the ones Peggy used to give him, the look that could stop him in his tracks it was that stern.
“Shut up.” she poured them both a cup of the coffee before adding milk and a spoon of sugar to each, passing one to him. The bread popped up from the toaster, and she put it on a plate before sliding it over to him and adding more bread to the machine.
His stomach rumbled and he gave in, smearing butter over his toast. He eyed the jam curiously. He’d had marmalade before but…
He looked at Katie and she nodded. “It’s good.”
So he added some, and after a bite he concluded she was right, and nodded in agreement. Once the next round of toast was done she sat next to him.
“So, when did I fall asleep.” she asked, swallowing her food.
“About an hour into the film.”
She shook her head “What an ass…”
“It wasn’t a problem.” He replied honestly as he took a bite of his breakfast. “To be honest I enjoyed it.”
“What, me drooling on your leg?”
He swallowed, his eyes wide “I meant the film.”
“I know.” she smirked.
*****
Chapter 2
**Original Posting**
#stark spangled banner#relaunch#steve rogers#steve rogers fanfiction#katie stark#steve rogers x ofc#steve rogers x original female character
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