#and coulson rambles - at length

[an-inky-fingered-lass]

mr philip j coulson my good sir you hog the pov spotlight like NO ONE i’ve ever met.

do you think you could maybe..... share with may

as in. like. get her to share with you cause i wrote her experiencing emotions and i think she’s pissed at me now.

(sorry may. that’s a really beautiful paragraph you gave me right there. thank you.)

[yelena-bellova]

Congrats on 900 followers <3 , 7 and 16 for the prompts for daisy/sousa thank youuuu

Whatever Comes After Forever

Plot: A look into Daisy and Daniel’s life after the finale

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: None!

A/N: I got carried away with the domestic Dousy, whoops lol

————

7: “You really were my first and last.”

16: “Will you love me like this forever?”

————

The Astro Ambassadors were currently as far from Earth as they could be.

It was important that they establish good relations with other planets, that was kind of the whole point of their mission. They’d finished up a meeting with the leader of the world they were on, Daisy couldn’t pronounce the name, and he’d told them to go enjoy themselves. Kora had taken some of the rest of their team and headed into town, Daisy was trying her hardest not to worry about her sister. It was a strange adjustment, but with each day they were building a stronger relationship.

“She’s fine, Daisy.”

She turned and looked down to Daniel, eyes closed and relaxed on the blanket they’d brought to the hill. His hand was absentmindedly stroking her back as she sat, where they’d positioned themselves provided a perfect view of the city below. But the view next to her was far more attractive.

“Do we have some psychic-link I’m not aware of or something?” she asked as she laid down next to him, his arm wrapping around her shoulders and drawing her in closer.

“No,” Daniel replied, “I just know you.”

Daisy smiled, admiring the sunset glow that lit up his side profile. After all they’d been through, after a year together, she was still just as crazy about him as she’d been when they began dating. He’d adjusted so quickly to space, he was still in awe of the fact that they were actually there. She’d sneak a glance at him sometimes when they were in the cockpit, his eyes wide and his jaw slackened as he stared out into the cosmos. It was adorable.

Daniel turned his head and opened one eye to her, “You know, it’s rude to stare.”

“Can’t help it,” she smirked.

He smiled softly and wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him. She snuggled into him, her face resting in the crook of his neck and her hand pressed to his firm chest. Daisy had died and gone to Heaven, she was sure of it. There was no way that she could possibly be this lucky.

“I love you,” Daisy said with a kiss to his cheek.

“I love you too,” Daniel replied, squeezing her tightly and pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead.

“Will you love me like this forever?” she asked after a few moments of silence.

“I’ll love you forever and in whatever comes after forever,” he whispered.

Yep, she’d definitely died and gone to Heaven.

————

After they’d returned from their long mission in space, they both decided to take a long break. Kora continued training at SHIELD and under Daisy’s watchful eye, she was flourishing.

Daniel and Daisy decided to take the next step in their relationship and get an apartment together. They’d technically been living together on Zephyr 3 for months, but this felt much more official. They found a place close enough to SHIELD for work but far enough away that they could begin building a life of their own. They’d painted the walls, adorned them with pictures of their adventures in space, and assembled all their furniture. They were flat on their back exhausted.

“I don’t think I can move,” Daisy groaned, she was laid out on their loveseat, her clothes stained with dried blue paint.

Daniel chuckled from their L shaped couch, “The mighty Quake defeated by some bookshelves.”

Daisy craned her neck to glare at him and pointed a finger, “It should be illegal to have that many different types of screws for one piece of furniture.”

Daniel laughed again before slipping back into humming a song on the radio. It was one of the few expensive purchases he’d made, he’d sprung for one that looked like one he’d had in the fifties. It also had a port to plug in your phone which, surprisingly, he used frequently. The Spotify playlist he’d made of all his old favorites was still playing from the kitchen table. Daisy heard him get up but didn’t open her eyes until she sensed him standing over her,

“Dance with me.”

She looked up at him, the sight of his warm eyes and outstretched hand too perfect to turn down. She took his palm and let him pull her to her feet before moving his hands to her waist. Locking hers around his neck, they began to sway slowly to Frank Sinatra’s voice. Daisy tucked her head under Daniel’s chin and relaxed into his body. This was another moment that she felt was too good to be true. Dancing in the apartment she shared with the love of her life with no threats, no danger…Just them.

“Will you love me like this forever?” she asked, looking up to lock eyes with him.

Daniel sighed, admiring his girlfriend in all her glory with her messy bun and paint streaked face. He brought a hand up to cup her cheek, “I’ll love you forever and in whatever comes after forever.”

He leaned down to slide his lips over hers softly, they kept swaying in each other’s arms long after the music had stopped.

—————

“You look gorgeous!”

“Daisy, that dress! Daniel’s going to be all over you as soon as he sees you!”

Daisy giggled at her friends as she took a look at herself in the full length mirror. Even she had to admit, she looked stunning in her sweetheart neckline, strapless, lacy wedding dress.

“Auntie Daisy looks like a princess!” Alya exclaimed, tugging at her mother’s arm.

“Doesn’t she?” Jemma replied, spinning her daughter with one hand while her other rested on her very visible bump.

A knock at the door prompted the women to turn to their attention, May came through.

“It’s about that time,” she announced, “You ready?”

Daisy took a deep breath, “Definitely.”

Yo-Yo, Kira, Jemma and little Alya filed out of the room one by one, all wishing Daisy good luck before taking their places. Daisy waited anxiously for her cue to come, she wasn’t having second thoughts about Daniel, not at all. But just as she’d felt when they got their apartment, it all seemed to good to be true.

Another knock, this time she knew exactly who it was.

“Come in!”

The door opened and revealed Coulson, clothed in a much dressier suit than usual. As soon as he laid eyes on Daisy, tears sprung to his eyes at the sight of her.

“Wow…” he whispered, his voice compromised with emotion.


She rushed across the small dressing room into his arms, needing reassurance that everything was going to be okay.

“Coulson, I’m scared.”

“Why?” he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Daisy shook her head, pressed into his shoulder, “I just feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nothing in my life has ever gone as well as Daniel and I have but what if we go through with this and-and something happens and it ends?”

“Daisy, Daisy,” Coulson soothed as he wrapped her in his arms, “Shh..”

Once her breathing had calmed and she’d stopped rambling, Coulson pulled back to meet her worried eyes,

“There’s no one more deserving of a happy ending than you,” he said confidently, “And it’s waiting for you at the end of that aisle. You have to trust in the fact that you and Daniel are strong enough to make it through whatever lies in your future.”

Daisy hadn’t realized there were tears in her eyes till one dripped down her cheek. Coulson was quick to pull a handkerchief out of his pocket and dab at her face.

“Now,” he began with a smile, “I think they’re waiting on us out there.”

Daisy laughed as she collected herself, locating her bouquet and adjusting her dress.


“Okay, let’s do this,” she said with a genuine smile as she took Coulson’s arm.

They left the dressing room and walked the short distance outside, they could hear the violinist that was playing as the bridal party made their way down the aisle. Soon enough, the song switched to the one Daisy had selected as her bridal march. Coulson looked to her for assurance that she was ready, she exhaled slowly and nodded. They began their walk out towards the aisle, all eyes in their small wedding party turning to her but she was only focused on one pair.

Daniel.

He waited at the end dressed in a very dapper black suit, his hand coming up to his cheek to brush a tear away at the sight of his beautiful fiancé. Suddenly, all of Daisy’s racing thoughts calmed and she couldn’t get to the aisle fast enough. Coulson was right, she had earned her happy ending. Daniel and her could make it through whatever came their way, they’d certainly made it through a lot already.

Once they reached the floral archway, Daisy handed her bouquet to Jemma and Coulson switched positions to stand between Daniel and her. To be honest, neither Daisy nor Daniel could remember a thing he was saying. They were too engrossed in each other until they heard the word ‘vows’ spoken.

Daisy volunteered to go first as Jemma handed her the small folded piece of paper,

“Daniel,” she started, “I never in a million years thought I would end up here. Let alone with someone standing across from me who I had to the travel to find,”

A quiet chorus of chuckles rang out.

“But here we are and here I am saying that I would have crossed a million galaxies, traveled to any decade and taken any risk needed if I knew that it was you waiting at the end of all of it. I love you more than anything in this world and whatever may come, good or bad, I know that I can face it with you by my side.”

Daniel swiped at his eyes again as Daisy handed the paper back to Jemma while he took his from Mack,

“Daisy, I shouldn’t be here. But because of you and the team, I’m standing here ready to begin my new life with you. The new life you gave me. You are my first and my last, my beginning and my ending, you’re my superhero. I promise to always pick you up, to always support you in whatever insane ideas you have and to be there in whatever way you need me, till my last breath,” he took Daisy’s trembling hand, “I will love you in this forever and in whatever comes after forever.”

Tears freely streamed down Daisy’s face as he finished, giving her all the reassurance she needed that they’d be okay. They exchanged their rings, said ‘I do’ and then Coulson proudly told Daniel that he could kiss his bride. He took Daisy into his arms and dipped her as they sealed their marriage in the sweetest of kisses.

This, Daisy thought, this is what forever feels like.

————

They’d retired from field work once they’d found out Daisy was pregnant, two years after their wedding. She’d given birth to twins, they’d named them Phillip Daniel Sousa and Mackenzie Anne Sousa. While completely overwhelmed trying to handle two babies, they were happier than they’d ever been. Daisy doubted her abilities as a mother at first since she’d never had a stable family herself. Daniel refused to let her believe she was anything but the best mom in the world.

After Phillip and Mackenzie’s first birthday, Daniel and Daisy agreed that it was time to move out of the city. Their relocated to upstate New York, buying a small house perfect for their family. Their status in SHIELD changed once more as they became consultants rather than full time agents. Neither of them wanted to give up their work totally, but they put their family first before anything else.

Their children grew up hearing stories of their father’s adventures in the fifties and their mother’s daring tales of traveling through space. When they were ten, they both discovered their Inhuman abilities. Daisy trained them to master their abilities flawlessly, she couldn’t have been prouder of her children. When they were older, Phillip became a SHIELD agent while Mackenzie went to SWORD, she was much more interested in space than her brother.

Decades later, Daniel and Daisy sat on the front porch of their home watching the sunset. Their hair had greyed, their skin had wrinkled and they’d lived through more life than most had. Their love had not only survived, it had flourished and grown stronger. They’d kept their vows to each other each and every day, through thick and thin.

Daisy peeked over at her husband, admiring the sunlight on his face just as she had that day on the planet she still couldn’t pronounce the name of. He caught her and turned to face her, his arm wrapped around her waist tightened as he pulled her closer to him.

“You really were my first and last,” he remarked with a smile.

“And I still would’ve travelled to any galaxy to get to you,” she replied, tracing the still sharp jawline.

Daniel leaned forward and kissed Daisy’s temple, “Happy Anniversary, Quake.”

She wrapped her arm around his middle, “Same to you, Danny Boy.”

————

900 Followers Celebration

[lemonsandstrawberries]

Chocolate Fondue

fandom: Stony (Steve x Tony), side of Bruclintasha (Bruce x Natasha x Clint) and WinterFalcon (Bucky x Sam), MCU

summary: Some things are stronger than super soldiers. Whenever Steve hears the word 'fondue', Tony has to find a seemingly secluded place for some private time.

length: 1 549 words

a/n: inspired by this prompt! hope you like it ;D reblogs, comments and likes are needed and welcomed!

——————–

Chocolate Fondue

"- And then I found him away from the battlefield, holding in his massive hands a little bird nest with eggs inside, mother bird circling above them! He ran off to protect the birds!"

There was a lot of friendly laughter, and a brightly blushing Bruce, as half of the Avengers team gathered around the table in Nat's apartment. All team members had their home in the Avengers Tower, but sometimes everyone needed some privacy, and most of the team had their second home somewhere else like Clint had his farmhouse, Steve his Brooklyn apartment and flat in Washington, while Tony had his Malibu house and numerous other houses. Turned out that Natasha was renting a flat in Manhattan, something she kept hidden quite well, only letting her two lovers on the secret.

"Didn't know you were such a bird lover, Bruce," Tony teased, popping in his mouth a cherry tomato from the salad. Earlier today, he and Steve bumped into Bruce, Clint, and Natasha during shopping and the trio, invited them over for dinner. It was a nice gesture and they happily agreed.

"What can I say, the big guy looks out for the little guys," Bruce replied with a friendly smile, and Natasha affectionately stroked his cheek, something she avoided in public or even in the Tower, but did freely in the comforts of her own house.

"Looks who is talking, remember when you stopped in the middle of the mission to move that grand piano away from the falling rubble?" Steve asked, pointing his question at Tony.

"It was a Louis XV Baroque Style Grand piano! It was an antique" Tony justified himself and the laughter filled the room anew.

"Okay, guys, chocolate cake got burnt, so we are going with an easier option," Clint showed in the doorstep, balancing plates on his head and a platter of freshly cut fruits in one hand, while in the other he was holding some metal cylinder with metal wires and colorful handles sticking out from the inside. Growing up in a circus proved to be useful in housework.

"So, what is the easier option?" Tony asked while Natasha and Bruce started to make room on the table. He didn't notice how stiff and blushing Steve became, already smelling it.

Clint put all the utensils on the empty table and arranged them neatly around the cylinder.

"Chocolate fondue."

The change was sudden and almost hilarious if it wasn't so darn confusing. Steve turned as red as a tomato and looked away and at the ceiling. Tony gargled, and tugged on his collar nervously, showing a bright blush making its way up his neck, and swallowed loud and heavy.

"Ummm…" Tony started, noticing the confused looks from their friends. "We- we, sorry, I remembered I have a meeting now, we gotta run, sorry again, everything was delicious, bye!" Tony rambled in one breath, taking Steve's hand and basically sprinting out of the apartment, door slamming behind them.

"Okay, that was weird," Natasha raised one eyebrow up, not understanding.

"Mhhmmm," Clint muttered, already chewing a marshmallow dipped in chocolate, "they always were weird," he summed up, feeding Bruce a piece of chocolate covered banana. Well, more chocolate for them.

Tony and Steve sprinted down the staircase, Steve still blushing and with zipped lips, almost as if angered, while Tony was running behind him, giggling madly. He only protested when Steve used too much force and almost ripped out the car door.

"Hey!" Tony went to yell at such brutal treatment of his beloved orange Audi, but giggled again when he was pushed into the back seat, door closing, this time gentler, as soon as Steve got inside.

There was no time for talking, and frankly speaking, no need and Steve was already having his hands all over Tony, groping and kissing and biting and pulling down on his jacket.

"Gahd," Tony laughed, feeling too many kisses and too fast, but somehow delighted by such turn of events. "We really need to break you from this," he giggled. Somehow Steve was conditioned to associate the word 'fondue' with 'make out time' and he couldn't help wanting to get into Tony's pants each time he saw or heard it. The smell of melted chocolate wasn't helping either.

Steve breathed heavily and drew away from Tony's neck, that had splashes of red, irritated skin from the hard, dizzying kisses. Those would leave a mark Tony would proudly display in the upcoming days. Next came the shirt, Steve didn't take the time to unbutton and basically ripped the material off of his own chest, something that made Tony's eyes wide and his breath stop when he was face to face with those impressive pectoral muscles. With Tony, it was easier, and Steve yanked his shirt up and pulled above his head, Tony eagerly helping and raising arms up.

"Keep them like this," Steve ordered in a hot whisper, and it was the shock that he said first words since they both left the apartment, that made Tony stay still. Straight and with hands above his head, the shirt crumpled around his elbows. Steve slid his gaze lower and looked at Tony's chest, embellished with a round scar in the middle, the reminder of where once the arc reactor was, and lower, and the wide rib cage that seemed more pronounced with Tony's arms stretched, and the stomach Steve adored so much, soft and warm and inviting, but with a subtle outline of abdominal muscles. Too appetizing.

"Hmp!" Tony twisted his fingers when Steve pressed his warm palm to his chest and slid all the way down to his pant line, initiating a warm up. His breath quickened and he panted softly at the caress. "You know… If you could control yourself better we could go back home first and then you could cover me in chocolate and have a proper dessert..."

Steve's eyes darkened at the image appearing in his head. At the chest covered in chocolate, and Tony's stiff nipples, dark and sweet, like two cherries, ready to nibble and suck. The chocolate dripping and spreading between the ribs, and his tongue licking off the sweetness. Dark, glossy pool in the middle of the stomach, some chocolate staying around Tony's outie belly button and Steve's mouth pressing on top, sucking and licking, and Tony twisting and writhing under him, overwhelmed and whimpering and giggling. And that would be just the start. He could wait and have all this, or be satisfied with what he was offered here and now.

Licking his lips, Steve sunk down, gently nibbling and licking, enjoying every hot breath and whimpered out a giggle, claiming every inch of Tony for himself. After all, there was always seconds. Tony was only grateful, that the car had tinted glasses, yet the steady rocking would give them away later on.

Back in the apartment, Bruce and Nat were cleaning after dinner and washing the dishes together, while Clint was on the phone, way too pleased with his discovery.

"- I am telling you, man, it was hilarious! They started running like Coulson that one time I accidentally shot an arrow into his left butt cheek!"

"Mmmm. You sure it was because of that? Because I know Steve and it doesn't sound like to not be able to not control himself."

"No, no, no, I am positive! Besides, guess what? They didn't even go back to the Tower! The car is still standing here! And even from here I can see it is rocking---"

"OKAY, I don't need to know that!"

"Chocolate fondue, man! Invite them for dinner, serve them that, and enjoy the show! You will thank me later!"

Clint hung up and Bucky was left with a phone in his hand, looking at it with a thoughtful expression. Fondue, huh?

"Hey, Sam!" he called into the apartment, "you know who we didn't see in a while? Steve and Tony. How about a double date?"

"Double date?" Sam walked out of the adjoined kitchen and draped himself over his boyfriend's back. "I thought you don't like double dates, especially with them," he pointed out with a smirk. In contrary to them, Steve and Tony were always obnoxiously over themselves in public places, just like horny teenagers, nothing like the mature and sophisticated relationship Sam and Bucky had.

"I know, but I was thinking we can invite them over here. Have some nice dinner, chat, show them what a great cook you are," Bucky coaxed, putting his head under Sam's chin in an affectionate manner.

"If that's what you want," Sam agreed, "I will plan the menu and you can call them. And will think of the dessert, maybe some meringue -"

"Actually," Bucky interrupted, "I was thinking about chocolate fondue."

"You eat too much chocolate, James," Sam smiled, not surprised at all that Bucky chose this dessert.

"I know, but I want to see it," Bucky said, sounding a little mischievous.

"See what?"

"See - what a great job you will do!"

"Uh-uh. Okay then," Sam half believed his boyfriend and moved away to compare if what they had in the fridge matched with his dinner plan.

Bucky just rubbed his hands together. If what Clint said was true, they would be up for a nice show.

[agl03]

hi do you think season 6 might be our last season. i know the fandom feels betrayed after how the writers killed fitz while telling us it was to be rewarding.I also feel that since whedons never really give their ships a happy ending, they are again going to split them but I'm still not ready to see AOS go.I really need our fandom to fight for the renewal and can the fandom also let the writers know at the cons that killing fitzsimmons is not ok, because that might secure fitzsimmons life.

Hi Anon,

If they already knew Season 6 was intended to be the last season it would have been billed as such, a prime example of a show doing this is Gotham.  They are getting a smaller run of episodes to finish their story and end for good.  

We also are not privy to whatever deals were made with the Season 6 renewal or how long until they would wait to even consider Season 7.   TPTB could like what they see and renew even before the show airs.  They could wait until next year after the summer run to decide.  Or for all we know a Season 7 has already been greenlit and will be filmed when they would normally film the back half of a full season (This option is good because it secures the cast).  I bet something is at the very least in place to secure the talent and make sure they can get who they need/want back when the time is right.  

Disney’s streaming service is set to launch in Fall of 2019.  I would not be at all surprised to see AOS move there or to have a spin-off or two head there after Season 6.  

For someone who does theories and predictions, last season was the season of “Doing the things I said they would never do.”  They had Fitz suffer a split to set up the team fracture and then didn’t properly address his trauma or resolve the relationships (Mack and Daisy especially).  They killed (a version) of Fitz because they had a loophole that would allow them too (they said they would have never done it without the loophole).  And they separated Fitzsimmons…again.  When by their own admission had been done too many times and the writers didn’t think they could pull it off again. 

And while I HATE that they have separated Fitzsimmons again, I’ve made no secret of that, I would have been better with it had I not known that could have been the end.  Looking at the finale as a SEASON and not series finale it made for one heck of a cliffhanger.  I could have dealt with that much better and it’s helping me deal with it now.

In my mind, Fitz is missing and when they find him it will be like he’s come out of the Framework, only this time has no memories of the life he lived there.  It doesn’t change the things that happened or that they were real, good and bad, but he won’t remember it.  How the writers deal with it can either be really cool…or really frustrating.

I also know this fandom, had they not addressed Cryo Fitz he would have become the new Gravitonium.  The thing that the fandom would constantly be asking about.  While the theory side of me would be constantly worried when they would drop that shoe.  Because believe me there are a lot more painful ways they could have taken care of that plot point.

None of that changes the sadness, betrayal, and frustration that many in the Fitzsimmons fandom are still feeling.  I know my faith and trust in the writers has been shattered.  I fought for them and I stood up for them very publicly, encouraged the fandom to have faith in them, to trust them and then they did what I swore they would never do.  Part of me always thought that no matter what they put Fitzsimmons through they’d get that happy ending in the very end.  And then the finale aired and that was very much not the case.  

They have the story they want to tell and sadly this season went with a lot of shock value plot twists.  There is a fine line when it comes to these things between fun and frustrating.  And many fans are to the point where it’s only frustrating and while they love Fitzsimmons they are just tired.  And you know what, I can’t blame them.  I watch this show as an escape and Fitzsimmons are characters I identify with, and I hate to see the crap keep happening to them.  

And it’s tricky to send feedback into the writers.  No one wants to get attacked saying their work is bad.  Nor are the writers like our amazing fic writers that accept prompts and give us 5K of Scottage Fluff.  

They are very well aware of how much Fitzsimmons means to their fans.  That is honestly partly why they are part of such major moments and twists good and bad.  

Fitz has always been one of their if not their favorite fake-out red herring character and in the finale, this went to the extreme his death the fake out to hide Coulson’s and they were going to find Fitz.  I have been at cons (I was in the room when they screened What If and heard the collective screams of horror with the Ophelia twist at the end) and seen interviews where these questions come up.  

They know they can’t do the break them up only to have them get back together trope.  They had to go to extreme lengths to do a love triangle trope…for both of them.   And its because those aren’t options that they go for the physical separations instead.   

But you can send in feedback.  

HERE is the ever so popular ABC Feeback form where you can send in your feedback to the show/network.  I sent my feedback after the finale when I was all raw and crying.  I don’t know if it did any good but it made me feel better to at least get it off my chest.

Bear in mind the writers have been back for over a month now, they have at least a few episodes written and have a good idea of where they are going to take things this season.  Preproduction has started.

Both in feedback and in posts on Social Media emphasize WHY you love Fitzsimmons so much.  WHY you watch the show.  

Focus on the positives

DO NOT call any of the writers out on Social Media personally.

DO NOT threaten or demand things.

Those who are at cons can ask questions but you will likely get toyed with on their answer.  The cast has no control over the story either.  So asking Lil why they do it won’t do any good. 

I’m not ready to let the show go either.  I’m not ready to let go of them or the fandom here.  I still have fun doing the asks, getting insanely excited about promo pics and news, or having a theory hit.  I’m looking forward to Fitzsimmons being reunited.  And I hope the writers paid attention to the feedback they got so far.   I will keep fighting for Season 7 and beyond.  

I hope I answered your question didn’t just ramble at everyone for too long.

[empounce]

Brock Rumlow x Reader

Chapter 9

Chapter 1 . Chapter 2 . Chapter 3 . Chapter 4 . Chapter 5 . Chapter 6 . Chapter 7 . Chapter 8

You follow Lauren, Pierce's assistant, as she leads you to the door. She motions for you to go in, and leaves you to stand there alone.

You take a deep breath, and slowly open the door. Pierce is sitting behind his desk looking over various papers. He doesn't look up, but motions for you to take a seat.

You notice there's a second seat today, one is occupied with a middle-aged looking man. You take the other seat, and exchange a slight nod to the other man.

"This is Agent Coulson." Pierce looks up at the two of you and folds his hands on the desk in front of him. "I'm assigning you to him for a few days. Anything he says, you do it." He stares at you for a moment before returning his attention back to the documents on his desk. "That is all, you may both leave."

You both stand and exit, Coulson jogging forward to open the door for you. You smile in appreciation and wait as he walks out behind you.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He smiles and offers you a hand, you shake it and note that he seems much more energetic outside of Pierce's office. Understandable. "I hear you're on Rumlow's Strike team. That's some badass stuff..like...working with the Captain all the time." His smile widens and he almost seems like a giddy school girl.

You can't help but laugh and smile, his enthusiasm is extremely contagious. "It's definitely exciting, to be honest I was always a huge fan of Steve's. It's almost surreal to know him personally."

Coulson's jaw drops. "You mean...you know know the Captain? You don't just work together, you actually...hangout?"

"Yes?..." You chuckle again at his disbelief. "Maybe I can introduce you to him sometime?"

His eyes go wide. "A-are you s-serious?" He squeals excitedly like a little girl, and you look around to ensure no one is watching.

"Yeah...but you gotta promise not to do that." You laugh, and he nods enthusiastically.

Two days later:

"So I'm sure you're excited to be getting back to normal, I'm sure playing body guard the last few days hasn't exactly been cupcakes and pumpkin lattes." You laugh at Coulson's choice of words, you had gotten rather used to his child-like sense of humor during your time together.

It's kinda nice actually. You frown to yourself as you realize you're going to miss him.

"Oh don't look so sad, Pierce will be glad you passed his little test. Maybe you can go on some real missions now, huh?" He looks excited for a moment, then covers his hand with his mouth as he realizes he said something he shouldn't. "I mean...um...What? Did you hear someone call me?" He turns to flea but you grab his arm.

"Wait...what did you say?" You stand in front of him to block his path.

He fidgets for a moment before glancing around, and waits as someone walks by with a cart of office supplies before pulling you closer to whisper. "I'm not supposed to say anything. Pierce wanted to put you with someone he trusted to sort of test you out, make sure you were really ready. Rumlow vouched for your physical abilities, but he wanted to make sure that in a tough spot you'd be able to think your way out too." He pauses for a moment to glance around again. "But hey, bright side, you passed! So we can forget this conversation ever happened." He stands up straighter and casually fixes his jacket as he changed the subject. "Do you smell donuts? I want donuts. Do you want a donut?" He grabs your arm and tugs you along with him. "Let's go get donuts."

You go to the cafeteria, and as Coulson orders himself donuts you decide on a breakfast burrito.

As you sit, you look up to see Coulson has already devoured two donuts.

"Impressive." You laugh, and he looks at you with glaze flakes stuck around his mouth, making you laugh harder.

"What's so funny?" He asks, reaching up to touch his face before he starts laughing too.

"Thanks for telling me earlier." You whisper to him, leaning across the table slightly. He looks at you with a slightly bewildered expression. "I'm no idiot Coulson, I know you let it slip on purpose."

He smiles and gives you a slight nod.

"You know..." You start, leaning back in your chair with a wicked grin. "Steve is coming over tonight to sort of welcome me back. Maybe you could come by?"

Almost choking on a bite of donut, he nods furiously until he can talk. "Yes!! That would be great. Yes yes yes. Please. Yes."

That evening:

You go to unlock your door, but it's already unlocked. You turn to Coulson, who has tagged along excitedly. "Looks like someone's already here."

He can't hold back the giddy smile any longer, he's practically bouncing in his excitement.

You laugh as you open the door. Steve, members from your team, and various others are standing in your apartment yelling surprise.

You turn to Coulson and narrow your eyes at him.

He take a step back and puts his hands up defensively. "Hey, it wasn't me."

"It was my idea." Steve comes up to you and gives you a hug. "Pierce said you passed his last little test, so I thought-" He motions around at the Congratulations sign and various balloons, then shrugs as he starts to blush.

"Thanks Steve." You hug him again. "I love it. Oh! And there's someone I'd like you to meet." You motion to Coulson, who looks like he might faint from pure joy.

"Hi! I'm Phil Coulson, huge fan." They shake hands, but Coulson doesn't let go. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting you. I have all your playing cards." Still shaking his hand. "I can't believe this is real. I'm rambling aren't I? You would tell me if I was randomly wouldn't you? Oh god, I can't shut up." He looks down at his hand still shaking Steve's. "I'm still shaking your hand. I can't quit. Seriously, someone help."

You laugh as Steve drops his hand.

"Always good to meet a fan." Steve smiles at him. "Would you like for me to autograph those cards?"

Coulson just stares at him for a moment in disbelief before shaking himself and digging around in his jacket pockets.

You shake your head, chuckling as Steve signs various things Coulson hands to him. You move to your kitchen and grab a drink as you watch everyone visit amongst themselves. A few guys from your team are hitting on a few girls from the lab, and failing horribly.

You spend the next few hours mingling and receiving various congratulations from everyone before they pile out of your apartment. Coulson thanks you repeatedly for 'completing his life', which makes Steve blush every time.

Steve stays behind to help you clean up, but has to leave soon after.

You find yourself alone in your apartment, staring out your balcony window as you enjoy the light breeze.

You're interrupted by a knocking at your door. Maybe Steve forgot something?

You open the door and see Rumlow. What's even more confusing is he's not wearing combats. You've never actually seen him wear regular clothes, but he's wearing dark jeans and a white t-shirt.

"I missed the party didn't I." He frowns as he looks behind you to your empty apartment.

You smile slightly, torn between being happy to see him and knowing he's just your commander. You stand aside. "Come on in, there's still cake."

He flashes you a small smile as he steps inside your apartment.

You close the door and turn to find him facing you.

"I um.." He scratches the back of his head, then reaches into his back pocket. "I'm not really good at this, so..here." He pulls out a rectangular black box, and holds it out to you.

You look at the box, then glance up to him.

"It's not just a box you know, there's something inside." He holds the box out further for you to take it.

You wrap your fingers around it. Wow. "It's heavy?" You say, slightly confused, but he just grins at you and nods for you to open it.

You slowly remove the lid, and feel your breath catch as you see what's inside. You run your fingertips along the cool metal. First tracing the beautiful swirls and patterns on the hilt, then the length of the blade itself. When closed it was the length of your palm, but the blade was razor sharp and serrated to be deadly.

You look up at Rumlow, and he nods towards the knife. "Flip it over."

You're confused, but you flip it over to see your initials engraved in intricate lettering on the blade.

"You didn't have to." You breathe.

He shrugs and scratches the back of his head.

You tuck the blade in your pocket and wrap your arms around his neck, tightly hugging him. You must have surprised him because it takes him a moment to embrace you in return.

His cologne smells of leather with a hint of pine, it's intoxicating. You reluctantly pull away and attempt to distract yourself. "So how about some cake?"

He nods and follows you to the kitchen. You hand him a plate with a rather large slice and he looks up at you.

You shrug and pout as you point to the three remaining cakes. "There's SO much left. I can't eat it all by myself." You get a second piece, equally large, for yourself and glance at him. "Well...I could, but then I'd get sick."

He laughs and follows you to the balcony.

"How did you score the view?" He asks through a mouth of cake.

You shrug. "All I did was ask if any rooms had a view."

He shakes his head and takes another large bite. You laugh and he smiles back at you, shrugging. "I like cake, alright?"

He helps you tidy up the kitchen, then asks where the restroom is. You point him in the right direction before heading out on the balcony yourself. You lean against the rails and look out towards the water, letting out a breath and smiling to yourself.

You let your hair down and close your eyes to enjoy the breeze. You feel someone watching, and turn to see Rumlow leaned against the door frame. He looks away and scratches the stubble on his jaw.

"I uh..I had better get going." He glances out at the darkening sky. "It's getting pretty late."

You nod and follow to lock the door after him.

He opens the door and turns to face you. "Thanks for the cake." He smiles wraps an arm around your waist to give you a side hug.

You wrap both your arms around his neck, forcing him to fully embrace you. "Thank you for the blade." You squeeze him tight and kiss his cheek before pulling away.

He blushes slightly. Then tries to play it off by clearing his throat and brushing his fingers back through his hair.

"Goodnight Rumlow." You smile, he nods and returns the smile before leaving.

You lock up and sit on your couch, holding the blade he gave you. It really is gorgeous. even if I'm not entirely sure why he gave it to me. You bite your lip and think of how he watched you at the balcony, and of the time you almost kissed. Then you frown. He's my commander. You sigh and lean your head back, closing your eyes. An extremely handsome one though...

(Not my GIF)

 Chapter 10 .  Chapter 11 . Chapter 12 . Chapter 13 . Chapter 14 . Chapter 15 . Chapter 16 . Chapter 17 . Chapter 18 . Chapter 19 . Chapter 20 . Chapter 21 . Chapter 22 . Chapter 23 . Chapter 24 . Chapter 25 . Chapter 26 . Chapter 27 . Chapter 28 . Chapter 29 . Chapter 30 . Chapter 31

[dontshootmespence]

Out of Nowhere

A/N: A request from @sweetg for a slightly smutty, slightly fluffy fic where the reader already works for the BAU, and Spencer is going on a job interview. After he gets the job, a relationship develops. 

Warnings: Smut

                                                               ----

All of you were already smart. Why did you need to hire a technical genius that couldn’t run and whose marksmanship sucked? “How many people are interviewing for this position?” You asked Hotch. Unfortunately, you were the lowest man on the totem pole, the one who got hired most recently, but you had earned the team’s respect.

“Just two. Dr. Spencer Reid and Dr. Ned Coulson.”

Should you overstep your boundaries? Ok, sidestep. How could you say this? “Okay, Hotch, I don’t want to sound out of line, but why are we hiring someone who’s insanely smart but can run or shoot?”

His tight-lipped smile curled up a little more; he did understand where you were coming from. “I can understand your skepticism, but having someone with an extremely high intellect will allow us to tackle cases from another angle. It’ll give us a perspective that we don’t already have.”

You guessed that made sense. “Alright, I guess I get that. Just...can you make sure whoever it is isn’t completely inept with a gun?” You laughed.

“I’ll do my best.”

                                                             ----

“So, who’s our new guy?” You asked. The week after the interviews, the team could see in his eyes that he had made a decision. “We know you’ve chosen someone. Who is it?”

“Dr. Spencer Reid. He’s 22 years old, has three Ph.D.’s and an IQ of 187, and Y/N , don’t worry, he passed his marksmanship test, if only just.”

That you could handle. “Cool, when does he start?”

“Tomorrow.”

                                                            ----

Oh, this was going to be difficult. Yes, he was a genius, and yes, he also was very physically inept, but he was very sweet, and though you wouldn’t admit it to Hotch or anyone else on the team, but you were developing a little bit of a crush on the team’s new genius. If you had to put money on it, you’d say he had a bit of a crush on you too. Whenever he spoke to you, he blushed like a madman, stammered like he was in high school and just generally couldn’t meet your gaze. “Spencer.” He was sitting at his desk and looked like he was deep in thought. “Hey Spencer!”

His head snapped up from the desktop. “Oh, oh, s-s-sorry, Y/N. W-what is it?”

“Can I get the paperwork from your first case?” As the two young ones, Hotch thought it best to pair you up, so you needed to sign off on some paperwork that he started. “I need to hand it to Hotch by the end of the day today.”

Spencer got up from his desk and nearly tripped over his own feet as he grabbed the pile of paperwork and handed it to you. “Oh, s-s-sorry.” As he handed it over, he averted your gaze and started to ramble.

“You don’t have to be sorry, Spencer. We want you to be comfortable here. Okay?” You took the paperwork from his hands and your fingers brushed up against his. He had soft hands. When he stammered, about to apologize again, you met his gaze and smiled. Hopefully, he’d become more comfortable.

                                                           ----

Spencer had been with the BAU for less than a month, but during that time, he’d become much more at ease with himself. Once or twice, he’d come out with the team, but more often than not, the two of you would find yourselves as the last ones in the bullpen at night, talking for hours about anything from Star Wars to comic books to Einstein’s theory of relativity. “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan is obviously the best of those movies”

“I’m sorry, Spence. I have a soft spot for Star Trek: Generations. I used to watch it with my dad all the time.” This was a recurring theme over the last month - arguing over the best and worst films in fandom. As you entered the elevator, you bumped his body with your hip.

“But that doesn’t mean it’s the best one, it just means your nostalgic for it,” he said. “You wanna grab a slice? I’m hungry.”

Gods, yes. Food was necessary. “Totally, but you didn’t ask for what was the technical best film, yes Wrath of Khan is arguable the best. You asked for favorite. Generations is the favorite because it’s amazing and I used to watch it with my dad.”

“Okay, we need to have a quick question and answer type deal because I need to figure out whether we can actually be friends,” he laughed, pressing the button for the garage floor.

“Oh really?” This was the most out of his shell he’d been since he started.

After deciding to grab a slice at the place down the block, he started the game. “Okay, no thinking, just answering. Ready?”

“Yea, go.”

“Star Trek or Star Wars?”

“Wars.”

“Coffee or tea?”

“Coffee, duh.”

“Legolas or Aragorn?”

“AHHHHH!!! Aragorn! I hate you for making me choose.”

It went on like that, question after question for nearly the entire time they ate. They both preferred autumn over any other season. Y/N was a dog person, while Spencer was a cat person. Both preferred a walk through the woods rather than one on the beach, and would also prefer a quiet night at home as opposed to going out. 

While the questions started out more random, it seemed that as the night wore on, the questions got deeper, until what was the final question. “Love or trust?”

“Trust,” you said without hesitation, “Love can come from trust, but just because you love someone doesn’t mean you trust them.” 

While you were talking, you’d somehow ended up by your car. “Spence, that was fun. We should do that again some time.”

“I’d like that.” The way he blushed made you think he thought of this as a date, and before this moment you hadn’t, but seeing him like this, his face soft and blushing in the shine of the moon, something about it made you admit to yourself that you were crushing on the Doctor.

Leaning up, you quickly pressed your lips to his, pulling away as quickly as you’d approached. “Sorry,” you said. “I just...”

“Don’t apologize,” he said softly. Without another word, he brought his hand to the side of your face and kissed you again, more needy and hungry than before.  While the moon peeked in through the openings in the parking structure, Spencer gently backed you into your car, his hands hesitantly roaming your midsection. 

You whimpered into the kiss when he pulled you closer. “Spence...I...”

“I’m sorry,” he stammered, swallowing back his need as he backed away.

Reaching your hands out, you grabbed his shirt and pulled him back in. “I didn’t mean it like that...I meant...maybe...would you want to come back to my place?” The heat rose in your cheeks. You never blushed? Why the fuck were you blushing? Why were you falling for this lanky nerd boy? 

Spencer quickly gave you a peck on the lips before getting in the passenger seat and driving to your apartment in utter silence with the little but the moonlight to guide you. “Are you s-sure?” He asked as you pulled up.

“Yes. You?”

He nodded, biting his lower lip as his gaze unglued from yours and allowed him to get out of the car.

Once upstairs, his seeming nervousness subsided. His hands effortlessly glided underneath your jacket, peeling it off and throwing it toward the floor. Again, you whimpered into the comfort of his kiss, reveling in the feel of his lips against your skin. “Inside,” you breathed heavily. 

In a torrent of clumsiness and heat, you disrobed each other save for your undergarments and tripped into bed. “That was smooth.”

“Sorry,” he laughed.  “Don’t be. It’s the most fun I’ve had in a while.” Laughing, you turned him over and straddled his thighs, grinding back and forth and feeling his length begin to stiffen even more. The way his eyes bore into you made you feel...wanted. You hadn’t felt that in a while.

His hands slid up your thighs, thumbs teasing at the fabric of the panties you wore. Even the slightest touch had you wanting. As he watched, you reached behind you and unlatched your bra. His breath hitched at the sight and his hands followed, cupping the mounds of flesh and squeezing just slightly - enough to make you whine for him. “Take me,” you breathed. 

Quickly, he removed your panties and threw them to the side before removing his own boxers. You situated yourself back on top of him and pulled a condom from the night stand to sheath him before sinking down onto his length. “Oh,” you said, shaking as your walls molded perfectly around him, “oh fuck.”

A strangled grunt escaped him when you started to move up and down on his length. “I still can’t believe you like Generations more than Wrath of Khan,” he smiled as you bent down to kiss him. “I don’t know if I can be with someone like that.”

Your tongue stuck out slightly from your lips, taking Spencer’s laughter into your mouth. “Is that so?” You contracted your muscles around his length and giggled at the cry that escaped him. “It doesn’t seem like you’re having a problem.”

“Maybe I can make an exception.”

As your bottom half continued moving up and down, contracting tighter and tighter around his length, the laughter subsided; in its place took desperation. “Spencer...please.” You were doing the majority of the work, but your breasts needed attention. Grabbing his hands, you brought them up to your chest, silently telling him exactly what you needed. When his pinched your nipples in between his thumb and forefinger, you arched back, the feeling going straight to your core.

Your cry brought him to sit up, burying his head in your chest as you continued your grinding motions against him. “Will you come for me?” He whispered. The confidence - the 180-degree turn from earlier - made you shiver. He thrusted up into you. Everything became much more frenzied. He needed you and you needed him. Perhaps more importantly, he wanted you and you wanted him. “Y/N, please...come for me.”

Spencer wrapped his hands around your body, which started to shake with the force of your release. “Come with me,” you begged. “Oh fuck.” You gasped when his length hit the deepest parts of you and made the shaking more intense. And when his hand reached between your writhing bodies to touch your sensitive bundle of nerves, you cried out. “Spencer!”

“Fuuuucccckkkk...” he groaned. He hungrily devoured your flesh, peppering your collarbone and chest in kisses that made your body melt. “Oh my god, Y/N...that was...”

“Was it better than you thought from someone who likes Generations more than Wrath of Khan?” You asked, giggling into his mouth as you kissed him and removed yourself from him. “Or someone who likes dogs more than cats?”

“I think I can get over that,” he laughed. When you removed his condom and threw it away, he fell backward into the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “For you, I’ll get over it.”

“I’m honored,” you laughed.

“Should we tell anyone?” He asked. “That is...if this is more than just a one night thing...” He trailed off, his words losing their edge as he spoke. 

It was ironic how you questioned his need to be on the team just a month earlier. “I’m not a one night thing kind of person, Spencer. I was hoping it would be more of a-”

He cut you off, turning into you and taking your mouth in a searing kiss. “Good. Should we tell anyone?”

“Let’s wait a while,” you said honestly. “But in all actuality, they already know.”

@coveofmemories @jamiemelyn @sexualemobitch @unstoppableangel8 @iammostdefinitelyonfire26 @lukeassmanalvez @yoinkpeter @the-slytherin-ice-queen

[seenashwrite]

The Nail: August 2017

The Nail isn’t about perfection. It isn’t about award-level contenders. It’s about seeing focus and effort and hard work radiate off of the screen.

And The Nail’s purpose isn’t to highlight genres of fics or specific ships or pieces written during a certain time frame - the sole focus is quality.

Character dimension. Writing with clever readers in mind. Solid world-building. Tension through boundaries. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion.

And though yours truly - nice to meet you, new folks, I’m Nash! - is editor of the list, the goal is for YOU to curate the content.

Read more about how all this came to be, find past editions, see what factors are considered when constructing the list, and how to get your recommendations in/be a curator HERE.

Hey, ramblers? Let’s get ramblin’.

For your reblogging convenience, here’s The Nail Master Post of Editions!

Quickie Nash Note:

As this project evolves, I'm still determining the best way to present it for easiest reader use.

And so, faithful followers of The Nail, you'll notice a touch of a categorization change-up. The lengths are still the m.o. vs. type ["angst", "fluff", etc.], but are now listed in order of word count, low to high. The rest of the categories remain the same, plus a new one that may or may not appear on every edition [you'll see why!].

I've also put a new page on my blog, mainly for authors, with explanation for things they may question regarding this format - things I’ve mentioned prior, but it takes up too much space. Some of the current FAQs are....

- Why did someone make up a summary/why didn't you use my summary? - Why did someone make up a title for my story/poem? - What are those Q comments? - Is Nash actually reading all of this?

One last thing: The Nail is meant to go out the first full week of each month, and was mostly ready this weekend, however I just wasn't in a jovial, woo-hoo mood, I made a brief post why, I've no doubt each and every one of you understand, but you have my apologies nonetheless as poor time allocation on my part meant this wasn't out at some point during the past week.

XO - Nash.

* ~ * ALL FROM THE WORLD OF "SUPERNATURAL” UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED * ~ *

- SUPERNATURAL SUPERSTARS - Organized by length.

THE BOY KING'S DEMONS  -   @rex-daemoniorum / @vengeuse WORD COUNT - 279

Sam understands that there are exceptions to even his own rules. 

Q: Nice detail, pertinents given painted the picture effectively/no belaboring; through-line present of Sam's ability to relate without spelling it out/written for intelligent readers; complexity of situation related in short amount of space

[Nash Note: Additional shout-out to @azazelsocks, who provided a high-quality prompt, as - if your humble editor may be blunt - most fic prompts are beyond lame. Well done, 'Socks.]

--> I cannot tag these folks, if someone could kindly let them know or give it a go in your reblog

CIRCUMSTANCES -  @jessmoorechesters WORD COUNT - 347 words As years pass, the Moores have often found their thoughts turning to Sam.

Q: While perhaps started as headcanon, reads third-person omniscient; emotional, rambling, almost panicked cadence/style/lack of caps/punctuation absolutely works for this subject matter; nice full-stop short sentence toward end; inclusion of poignant details/no unneeded detail

[Nash Note: I already had this on the list, had a couple informal suggestions to check it out, spotted it more than once in my feed - overall, this resonated with many of you, and rightfully so.]

DESIGNATED DUTIES  -  @fanforfanatic  WORD COUNT - 412

A tale about the seemingly ordinary things we do for one another.

Q: Moves at a crisp clip; heartfelt without bending sappy; several great lines/points of humor, prevents getting too heavy given the short length/action in question; nice cap-off/prompts reader to use imagination while not ending on a proverbial cliffhanger

HELLO, DARLING  -  @whispersandwhiskerburn  WORD COUNT - 789

Crowley and Billie have a little chat.

Q: Excellent use of vocab in descriptions; quick, crisp dialogue; spot-on characterization; kept story moving/pacing well done; didn't waste time on explaining things/rehashing things readers already know from watching the show/written for clever readers

SHAPE OF YOU  -  @winchester-family-business WORD COUNT - 1K [minus song lyrics]

In which Dean walks into a bar, has a drink, meets a woman, and whether it's for now or forever, it's definitely meaningful.

Q: A get-in-and-get-out in the opener, setting the scene with just enough information and moving on to the actual story/no wasting time with a long set-up; excellent use of a "gimmick", re: initial communication; nicely fleshed-out protag who has her own thing going on, which he respects, which is in line with the character we know; took a commonly used set-up and took it to a thoughtful but not belabored/shmoopy place

GOOD NIGHT, LITTLE KING  -  @moonlightcas WORD COUNT - 1.6K

At the age of six, Sam is visited by Lucifer.

Q: in medias res; excellent pacing; perfectly plausible in canon; slightly chilling and pressing and foreboding without being suffocating; timing of the name reveal is Absolutely. Spot. On.

ONE, TWO, THREE  -  @kathaswings  WORD COUNT - 3.4K

A trip to a bookstore turns out to be more than you - or Sam - could have imagined.

Q:  in medias res; structure that would please any screenwriter; meet-cute without being immature/shmoopy/saccharine, specifically - protag didn't turn into a pile of weepies or gigglies/displayed strength; nice choice to include action; solid ending/author knew when to step away from the keyboard

[Nash Note: author's inspiration is revealed post-story, however they kept a light hand/did not merely re-hash source material bit-by-bit & just throw SPN atop it, instead made it their own - points and gold stars for this, always]

SUNDOWN, SUNDOWN  -  @thayerkerbasy  WORD COUNT - 6.2K 

"Crowley was done. After hundreds of years and one last sacrifice, he was done. Except, somehow, he wasn't."

Q: in medias res; spot-on characterization; tackled character departure in unique manner that could have easily gone shmoopy/author demonstrated restraint in walking the emotional line/kept that slightly off-kilter tone; moved at quick clip/efficient structure/fluid; touched on things/events seen in show but did not belabor/used as tool vs. crutch; phenomenal end dialogue/last line

- POEMS & POETICAL PROSE - Mostly quick reads, these are actual poems of any structure & short [< 2K] stories that have a poetic feel to the narrative with appropriate use of poetic verbiage given the subject matter and / or setting; pieces in the less-than-300 words neighborhood are considered quality in their entirety, therefore no "Q" notations; organized by length.

SECOND FALLING  -  @vintagesam  WORD COUNT - 135

"Despite the silence in the church, the earth is deafening."

INTOXICATION  -  @copbydayfangirlbynight  WORD COUNT - 199

"Out of nowhere, these two guys you’ve never seen show up and slip onto the bar stools next to you."

THE LEGEND  -  @quailpower  WORD COUNT - approx. 300 words

Exploring the costs of immortality, and what one angel chooses to do with his time.

JULIET  -  @roxy-davenport  WORD COUNT - 1.7K [minus song lyrics]

A night in the life of Crowley's beloved hellhound.

Q:  HERE [Nash Note: Short version? Knowing when it is appropriate to inject "flowery" verbiage into a narrative. Hint: fits the time period and/or character, is kept crisp, to-the-point, and used sparingly, regardless]  

- MULTI-PARTERS - Stories with a minimum of 2 parts, max of 3-to-4, with modestly sized [1-to-2K] chapters; completed as of this list; organized alphabetically by title. 

None this time! [but I’ve got a couple bookmarked whose wrap-ups appear to be en route]

- SERIES SPOTLIGHT : SUPERNATURAL & SPN CROSS-OVERS - Works that are completed series, as well as ongoing / in progress series, with at least 3 parts published as of/prior to the edition of The Nail in question; unfinished series must have been updated within roughly 6 months of this post;  these are lengthier than multi-parters, getting into a 5K+ range per chapter; organized alphabetically by title.

MISE EN PLACE  -  @sp-oops  

A look inside the ways you  - and the rest of the family - help Dean deal with the effects of the Mark of Cain.

Q: in medias res; quick, crisp dialogue & pace; no heavy-handed/laborious descriptors of setting/emotions, whether internal or verbal; nice character development/casual, easy feel to character interactions; sex fit into plot organically/didn't feel forced; plausible reactions by Dean/Sam/protag regarding the complexities of the residual impacts of the mark; witty humor throughout; nice cap-off/author knew when to step away from the keyboard  

Curated by @smi727 , who said: "Stumbled upon this little beauty of a series recently. I was seriously blown away by the plot, the writing, the reader’s personality, everything! Please Nash, share this wonderful writer with the world!"

- RANDOM FANDOMS -   All types, all lengths, all the things that aren’t SPN but are still pretty damn super; organized alphabetically by title.

AGENT 15  [series in progress]  -  @bellamysgirl

[MARVEL - AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.]

"Agent 15 was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents - that all changed when a mission went terribly wrong... but Coulson found a way to drag her back."

Q: in medias res; moves at a quick clip/no time wasted on extraneous detail; well-done characterization of both known/O.C.; reads as if watching episodes/movie; nice format/use of time flip vs. heavy exposition telling another character about those events; keeps intensity while splashing in moments of camaraderie

VERY MUCH FAEBLOODED [drabble]  -  @mickeyrowan

[POTTERVERSE]

"She knows she’s different. She’s always been different... No place lets her forget this."

Q: Introspective without taking the reader on a deep, angst-filled dive; even-handed character portrayal; tone consistent; nice choice of event highlighting vs. a traditional narrative; well done on complementary kick-off/wrap-up

WHO YOU ARE [one-shot]  -  @blackcaptainrogers

[MARVEL - AVENGERS]

Bucky knows showing love takes on a variety of forms.

Q:  HERE

[Nash Note: Short version? Your audience consists of such variety, it’ll take your breath away. And, well...]

On that piece of white paper, Sam wrote, "Write about me sometime." And I typed something back to her, standing right there in her bedroom. I just typed, "I will.”  ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower  

- ORIGINAL WORKS - Anything from haiku to novella; pieces in the less-than-300 words neighborhood are considered quality in their entirety, therefore no "Q" notations; organized by length.

IT IS SO TIRING TO BE DIVINE  -  @mythaelogy WORD COUNT - 52

"The architecture of your bones was built by conquerors."

MYSTERY GIRL  -  @inkskinned WORD COUNT - 111

"[A] girl who convinces you of magic, who flickers just a little on the edge of reality..."

I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THE STARS IN A MONTH  - @poemsforpersephone  WORD COUNT - 125

"It’s an easy thing, to open a window, to step outside."

A TRADITION  -   @wakor-rising / @wakor  &  @sonatagreen   WORD COUNT - 189

"In peacetime, the ruler grows their hair long. In war, they cut it short."

--> I cannot tag these folks, if someone could kindly let them know or give it a go in your reblog

NEW YORK CITY TO RICHMOND  -  @haleyincarnate  WORD COUNT - 269

"I wonder if he knows that I can see the trying part of him..."

THE HOUSE OF GRUMLY  -  @erinnightwalker  WORD COUNT - 553

"Everyone knew that the Widow Grumly’s granddaughter was a werewolf."

Q: Sharp start with a phenomenal choice of an opening sentence; took a "historical fact", ran with it, and created a captivating world / plot in an incredibly short span of time; formatting, flow, verbiage crisp; nice & layered/written with a clever audience in mind

THE ADVENTURES OF ROXY AND JUJU   - @wheresthekillswitch  WORD COUNT - 2.4K  [part one/series in progress]

"JuJu finally relents and hands over the car keys to Roxy. It couldn’t possibly go more wrong than it did the last time Roxy drove…. right?"

Q: in medias res; crisp dialogue; absolutely engaging, witty characters developed in a short amount of space; vivid descriptors without being heavy-handed; leans into a vignette [character study] feel vs. hashing out a distinct plot; nice intro/kick-off for a series, though if author opts not to proceed, works just fine as stand-a-lone...

[...which is why I broke my own damn series criteria rule, so sue me. -N.]

- STUFF SO CREATIVE & UNIQUE, IT JUST CAN'T BE CATEGORIZED - What it says, organized alphabetically by title.

ENTRIES  - @cardinaleyes

An inside look into the journals of Team Free Will:

DEAN

SAM

CASTIEL

Q: an ongoing pseudo-series with a creative concept; keeps distinct style for each; bonus points regarding convenience for the reader by having a "home" for each character vs. all together in one blog

JEOPARDY

In which Team Free Will plays a game.

It began with a piece of fanart by @lastlabyrinth  ....

....which got some dialogue by @phantomrose96  ....

.... which got a follow-up by @casonly, and a nice wrap-up from  @guntheramvs 

Q: Written with sharp, quick-witted audience in mind; spit-take worthy humor; great characterization, spot-on in fact regarding our host for the evening; crisp, fun dialogue; excellent collaboration by all involved

[h/t  @waywardafbabygirl ]

JOURNAL OF A MAN OF LETTERS  -  @petite-madame

From the creator: "[This is] a diary in first-person narrative written from Sam's point of view. Once a week, I post an art and a ficlet inspired by an episode or a scene. I'm following the show timeline as close as I can but I'm taking liberty with canon here and there."

Q: Extraordinary, above-and-beyond, clearly evident care, devotion, countless hours put into this project, and it has paid off many times over - there is some of the most beautiful art you'll ever see, there are stories [have a sample] that will hit you right in the feels, there are moments ranging from light-hearted to introspection, and you even have an option of platform - go HERE for the LiveJournal headquarters. Phenomenal, top-to-bottom. I am not over-selling this.

TWO AGENTS MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD - @bohoartist & @piecesofscully

[THE X-FILES]

Two agents are missing - follow the twists and turns as clues are examined, leads are followed, and information is exchanged.

Q: The planning and execution throughout was nothing short of excellent; written/developed with smart audience in mind; methodology of storytelling unique and, more importantly, appropriate for how the authors chose to unfold the plot; format/use of images was spot-on; clear through-line and tone; mystery that was engaging, teasing but not frustrating  

[h/t @itssteaksauce ]

*~* Shameless Self-Promotion *~*

Happy Reading!  XO - Nash.

* Authors, I encourage you to express your appreciation to your curator(s). Readers, if you enjoy curator selections & found them to be of quality, I encourage you to not only give the authors feedback, but also thank the curator(s) for bringing the story/series to your attention. I suspect they’ll dig it. *

[alternamarian]

I won't be posting WandaVision spoilers until after one or two more weeks; and since I have no plans to watch the Black Widow movie in theaters (I had no plans even before the pandemic), I think I'll ramble a bit about that character for now — regarding, in particular, the first two Avengers films. I really won’t go very much at length, but this still might be considered a long read; also, since anything said by the weak and ugly about the strong and the beautiful is immediately met with suspicion, I will continue after the break.

I will first address the recent allegations against the writer-director of these films. Considering that I have never been much of a fan of this person or his work (I think I’d be diplomatic to say that I despised Buffy, was bored with Angel and just sort of liked Firefly), perhaps I’d be considered more than inclined to believe what’s been said of him. I certainly see no reason why those who have spoken thus would lie; and none, as far as I can tell, have a reputation of starting drama, as the cool kids say. But reputation, favorable or otherwise, is not an absolute standard. And as of this writing, the allegations remain allegations.They’re most likely true, but that’s as much as I will say for now about the matter. My focus is more on Black Widow.

Not surprisingly, Natasha Romanoff is another character who isn’t among my favorites. Nick Fury described her as ‘comfortable with everything’, and while I do think that’s changed significantly, I still think she will do and say things that I will emphatically disagree with and most definitely not support. None of that changes the fact that I object to her treatment in Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron — particularly in that interrogation scene, and in relation to Bruce Banner. 

Ever since I first watched the film, I’ve been disgusted by what Natasha Romanoff’s been subjected to. I know the interrogation scene, as with other scenes in the shows I’ve listed above, are presented as Girl Power™ moments. And they’ve always struck me as instances of Girl Power™ as just another form of objectification/abuse. Yes, I know Natasha Romanoff says Agent Coulson is interrupting her work. I know she beats up the bad guys, leaving them hanging in chains. She’s nonetheless presented as a piece of flesh for the audience to leer at and leak their fluids over. And I would say the same about how certain female characters have been dealt with in those other shows. After all, a Badass Woman™ is one of the many images commodified for audiences to buy and consume. If that consumption is done in the name of women’s empowerment, then that’s another profit for industries that profit from objectifying persons. (What? Do people think the humanity and personhood of consumers is upheld and maintained in these transactions?)

And in those shots where Black Widow is tied up in a chair — menaced by several men — how many teams of hair and make-up professionals (not to mention post production staff) were deployed to produce that Roughed Up™ aesthetic? — The carefully tousled hair; eye shadow and mascara deftly smudged, and with that tint of lipstick to contrive the exhausted-but-still-sultry look. The subsequent punishing of the interrogators is part of the spectacle of a woman in duress, her smooth skin gleaming with sweat, (half-) wrapped in a form-fitting mini black dress, tied up and presented for the pleasure of the viewer — including the writer-director himself. (No, I would not be surprised if all this was made primarily for his own pleasure. I can’t say for sure if he tells himself that Black Widow’s Baddassery™ justifies the maltreatment, that ‘she can take it’ and therefore it’s all good, or if he likes watching women inflict as well as suffer abuse, but I get the sense he does both.)

Later in the movie, Bruce Banner — who is already established as a sympathetic, well-meaning and very unstable character — understandably loses control of his anger, and so turns into the Hulk and goes after Black Widow. The audience is almost obligated to cheer as the Hulk lets her feel the extent of his rage. After all, didn’t she lie to him when she was sent to recruit him? She’s just getting some well-deserved comeuppance, isn’t she? And no one forced her to be in this mission in the first place: she’s a professional spy participating of her own free will, right? She said so herself: she’s working. And if her job is in the service of humanity, her servicing the viewers is just an added bonus, isn’t it?

All this, of course, makes the subsequent so-called romantic subplot in Age of Ultron all the more outrageous to me. After being so insulted and debased (let no one forget she was also called a ‘mewling quim’), she’s supposed to fall for — and thereafter be abandoned by — Bruce Banner? Really? — Appealing to him with gentling phrases, arousing him with proposals of ditching the Avengers and setting up new identities, murmuring about how they were both turned into monsters by clandestine entities and their life experiences? Really? I, as a viewer and supposed Hopeless Romantic™, am supposed to project myself onto this character with Hollywood-star looks, and gush over this star-cross’d Avenger couple? I expect the writer-director to have gushed repeatedly over his canonized fanfic. But I don’t have to. In fact, I vehemently object to the suggestion.

Welp! I meant this to be a casual post of my disjointed thoughts, and I think I’ve rambled on quite a bit already. So I’ll stop for now. I’ll ramble again about Wanda Maximoff later.