#pure merica

[festivalinhell]

Being trans in Merica:

Watching legislative decisions to make sure I'm still a human

Being told my identity is an ideology or illness

Getting scared about letting medical professionals know I'm trans because now there is a record

Researching DIY HRT while receiving it by legitimate means because those legitimate means might disappear at any moment

Being accused of grooming children because Im visible at all as a queer person

Being assaulted for "bringing that rainbow shit in the wrong hood"

Being scared to tell my employers because it will likely be used against me

Learning about chemical compounding because one can supply themselves for nearly life with pure estradiol (in its uncompounded form it is shelf stable nearly indefinitely) and some compounding ingredients and tools

Figuring out escape routes in all places and ensuring that one can flee their home quickly to get somewhere less phobic

But hey! At least Bud Light did a thing.

[skylarsblue]

If it’s ok could you do some more of the names/reps but some for taller people (some for tell!fem ) if that’s ok I can’t think of any at all and I loved your other ones 😭

(To be honest, it’s hard to come up with names that are based purely on height, but I can give some names that make me think of someone with a more intimidating/imposing figure. Which I associate with being taller. I did my best.)

Liberty; Big lady that symbolizes freedom and peace. Also, ‘merica

Eris; A female goddess of chaos. Could make for an unhinged female König, of sorts.

Kali; A Hindu goddess of time, doomsday, and death. She wears a skirt of arms and a necklace of men’s heads. And though associated most with death & destruction, she’s also associated with motherly love and the creation of the universe.

Oak: Gender neutral for a character that’s just, fucking tall. Like a tree. Also bonus! Perhaps they’re really good with camouflage, kinda like Peta in the Hunger Games. (I haven’t watched/read it since I was like…well, awhile ago, so if I’m remembering wrong I don’t wanna hear it.)

Kong: A kaiju!

Godzilla: A LIZARD kaiju!

Ymir: Also a mythology one for an older male character(most likely). A Norse giant created from the drops of water that formed when the ice of Niflheim met the heat of Muspelheim. He’s fucking MASSIVE. But he was also seen as evil, so-

Damasen: A giant son of Gaia who was seen as rather peaceful, but, destroyed a dragon that was ravaging their country. (Which could make for a very interesting backstory. Perhaps someone who started a resistance of single handedly killed a tyrant in their home country, which gains them attention from Laswell or Price).

Ingens/Immanis: Literally (roughly) “huge”. Though Ingens is “huge” with synonyms of vast, tremendous, gigantic. And Immanis has synonyms of immense, savage, monsterous, and enormous.

[chyna-hd03]

FieldWork #13

This assignment was surprisingly hard for me because I am surrounded by people who live in the same country where they were born, obviously due to different reasons ranging from content with where they're at, financial instability, and even pure laziness. After searching high and low through my family's outdated facebook I found someone who remembers me from when I was younger, as most adults who know of my existence do. Allison Chapman is my Step-grandmother (if that makes sense) shes an immigrant twice moving from Ghana to Canada as an adolescent and from Canada to The United States. As an adolescent everyone knows that their memories are selective for her Ghana to Canada immigration; Fortunately, her Canada to America immigration is easier to recall. To put things into perspective Allison is Lightskinned and has Black hair, nobodies immigration story will be the same but Allison's story begins with a desire for a change of scenery and pace as most people in their 20s are spontaneous while quickly acting on impulse rather than reality, of course, Allison was one of these people but she didn't seek out a smuggler but instead hired and Immigration Agent and chose the completely legal way. Immigration consultants(agents) assist clients with completing documentation and acquiring all permits needed to facilitate their move to another country. You would think that a simple move from Toronto, CA to Detroit, MI would be swift, or maybe not but the process of choosing where to live, paperwork, and moving took 5 years. Three of those years went toward battling life choices and deciding where to go, while the other two were dedicated to paper pushings. Allison made it very apparent that outside of family she felt like she never fit in anywhere because of her appearance and at one point hard to understand her accent, looking different from others is never easy especially when individuals are uneducated. All throughout her life, Allison felt like she had to prove she was Ghanese in fear of being called a fraud or something possibly derogatory. Allison compares her immigration agent to an angel for how smoothly she guided the lengthy process, when Allison was panicking at any time of day the agent would answer and reassure Allison that everything was okay and answered any and all questions she had. Toronto didn't have many push factors for Allison other than the occasional interrogations on her ethnic identity, the number of pull factors that Allison named could've stretched across the world because to the outside eye America is extremely appealing, pull factors like a new start, jobs opportunities, partners that looked different, Economically "stable", new people and so many other things. It's safe to say what drove Allison to good ole 'Merica was freedom not that Toronto was lacking freedom but her whole family was there and when people of your same ethnic background all immigrate to the same place everyone basically knows each other and she says she felt trapped and forever being monitored. I didn't have a whole lot of time to speak with Allison over the break because of the rapid arrival of the holiday. I wanted to shine a light upon the legal and less struggling version of immigration because we usually hear stories of people dying on immigration journies or escaping horrible circumstances but there are people who live in an overall good place and still want to leave.

[feisty-fat-bitch]

If you drive around with big ass American flags hanging off the back of your truck and billowing in the breeze, you don’t look like a patriot. You look like a douchebag.

[fangirlshameblog]

Listen to the journalist's accent. Thank fuck for European gun laws because otherwise our media are just as complicit and cynical about enabling the far right as their American counterparts. See coverage of Boris, Salvini, gross marketing of Orban as "the illiberal leader", the French press' strange indifference to the Front National's many, many corruption scandals, etc.

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch59: We Only Part To Meet Again

Intro: The team hold a memorial for Natasha.

Warnings: “Language!” Angst

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: I’m STILL salty that Nat didn’t get a proper send off in Endgame so I hope I’ve done her justice in this one. We’re so near the end now… *cries*

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.

Chapter 58

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Steve and Katie decided not to tell anyone about their news until both Natasha’s remembrance ceremony and Tony’s funerals were done. For no reason other than they didn’t want any of the attention being placed on them to detract from what the days were about- their friends and family taking time to remember together.  In all fairness, it wasn’t too long time to have to wait.  The only problem however, was that whilst it might have been easy to fool the kids, it was a little less easy to fool Bucky and Sam, especially when the morning of Nat’s memorial, Katie pushed Bucky and Sam out of the way as she ran from the kitchen and emptied her stomach into the downstairs toilet.

“She okay?” Bucky asked looking at Steve as he grabbed a bottle of water for her from the fridge.

“Just nerves, about the memorial.” Steve brushed off Bucky’s concern, and before he could be asked any further questions, he headed out into the hallway just as Katie was emerging from the bathroom. Wordlessly he handed her the bottle and gently cupped her cheek in his hand, and she smiled softly leaning into his touch.

“You were puking the last time we were on a jet together you know.” Sam quipped as they walked back into the kitchen  “Maybe that says something about your flying.” Katie shot back at him, sitting down at the table.

“Nah ah, you’d eaten that dodgy chicken remember?”

Katie nodded and then Bucky gave a scoff.

“You know, you’re almost convincing.” He pointed at her. “You on the other hand,” his point moved to Steve who had reached to open the fridge, pausing as he was caught in his friend’s stare, “still can’t lie for shit. It’s written all over your face.” Katie and Steve exchanged a glance before they looked back to the two men who were both leaning against the counter, mugs of coffee in their hands.

“What’s he lying about?” Sam frowned, looking at Bucky. Bucky simply gave him an exasperated glance.

“Let’s just say it’s more likely to be dodgy sausage than chicken.”

“Buck!” Steve frowned as Katie glared at his best friend. Sam’s face rearranged itself into a look of comprehension and he turned to look at Katie.

“Really?” His eyes flickered from her to Steve. Before they could deny it, Jamie walked into the kitchen with Lucky, the pair of them having been in the garden with Emmy.

“When do we go see Auntie Nat-Nat’s tree?”

“Soon” Steve turned to his son noticing instantly his son’s shoes were filthy. “Do not move a single step more, pal.”

Jamie stood and saluted at his father, the way Tony had taught him to do whenever he was given an order and Katie snorted a laugh. With a roll of his eyes Steve bent down and undid the laces on his sneakers. Jamie kicked them off and ran over to his momma.

“Can I wear my Captain ‘Merica top Auntie Nat-Nat got me?” He asked.

“You can wear what you want today, baby.” Katie kissed his head. At that she looked around. “Absolutely no black.”

“Kinda ironic really seeing as she spent half her life being called Black Widow.” Sam mused.

“Exactly.” Katie nodded. “Today there is no black widow, only Natasha Romanoff.”

At that point Emmy stepped inside holding a ceramic pot which now contained a tulip plant she had dug up from her patch near the shed. “Will this be okay, you know, to plant under her tree?” “I think it’s perfect.” Katie smiled, standing up with Jamie in her arms. “And so would she. She liked tulips. Right young man,” she blew a raspberry on her son’s cheek and he grinned, “shower time.” “Want me to do it?” Steve asked.

“No, I’ll take him. You can deal with these two idiots.” She nodded towards Sam and Bucky. She glanced back at Steve and gave him a soft smile. “Emmy, you need to get ready too, honey.”

Steve watched as his family left the kitchen before he turned to look at Bucky. “You are a pain in my ass, you know that?” “Tell me I’m wrong.” Bucky raised an eyebrow as Steve ran his hands over his face. He looked at his friend and then couldn’t help the small smile that spread across his face.

“Yeah, she’s, we’re pregnant.”

“Fucking hell, punk!” Bucky moved to give the man a hug “That’s great news.”

“Thanks Buck.” Steve grinned, pulling back.

“Yeah nice one, Cap.” Sam beamed, shaking his hand.

“Thanks, but we’re keeping it on the low for the time being. We don’t wanna tell anyone till after Tony’s funeral, it just doesn’t feel right you know.”

Both men made affirmative nods and hand gestures, before Sam looked at Steve.

“How far along?”

Steve hesitated. “Well, we don’t know. It’s kinda complicated.”

“Complicated?” Bucky frowned “What’s complicated about it?”

“We lost one in the snap.” Steve rubbed the back of his neck. “We didn’t even think about it being a possibility, ya know, that it would come back, and we didn’t know Katie was pregnant back then until after. We’ve got a dating scan tomorrow so we’ll know for sure then.”

“So that time when we were on the low, and she thought she was sick…” Sam frowned, “she he was actually pregnant?”

Steve nodded.

“Not bad chicken?”

Steve shook his head.              

“Dude you knocked up your Mrs whilst we were running from the Feds?”  Sam’s eyes widened and Steve let out a sigh.

“It wasn’t exactly planned, Sam.” He rolled his eyes.

**** Steve watched his wife for a moment as she sat on the seat opposite him on the private Stark Jet, scribbling on a piece of paper. She was scribing notes for Tony’s Eulogy and her brow was furrowed as she jotted her ideas down, stopping every so often to wipe a stray tear away from her eyes. He leaned over to tuck her hair behind her ear whilst asking if she needed anything and she shook her head, tapping the pen lightly against her teeth. He dropped his hand to her neck, gently squeezed in a sign of affection and stood up to go and check if Bucky need rescuing from Jamie’s incessant chattering.

“You know it doesn’t seem right, any of this.” Katie spoke quietly, as she looked out of the window. Steve watched her for a second before he sat back down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the small table between them. She turned back to him and sighed. “The world is mourning for Tony, yet the same people who are leaving candles and wreathes and flowers outside the tower don’t seem to give a shit about Natasha. She’s not been mentioned once in the media since the President’s address.” “Sadly, I’m not surprised.” Steve sighed “After we took down SHIELD and all her past secrets were thrown into the spotlight and, well, you know her history. It wasn’t well received. People made assumptions about her, questioned her loyalties, wrongly yes, but they did.” “It’s not fair.” Katie sniffed.

“You’re right, it’s not. It’s unfair and it’s cruel.” Steve nodded, gently reaching out for Katie’s hand. “She gave her life because she believed so firmly that we could succeed and she’s being given no recognition at all. But that’s what today is about. Those of us that did know her, and did care about her, getting the chance to say goodbye properly.”

Katie smiled sadly, her fingers tangling in Steve’s as their hands lay entwined on the table

“And I think she would prefer it this way.” He continued “She was a very private person, unless she was around her friends, her family after all.”

“Yeah.” Katie said, smiling gently. “Maybe you’re right.”

There was a loud yell from the other side of the jet and they both looked over to see Bucky giving Jamie a hi-five as Sam and Emmy leant back in their chairs, throwing their Uno cards onto the table in defeat.  Bucky looked up and caught Steve’s eye, flashing him a small wink.

It wasn’t long before they were landing. Katie felt ridiculously queasy as the jet began to descend and no sooner was she on the concrete of the runway than she threw up to the side of the steps. Emmy gave her a suspicious look, but didn’t say anything as she made her way, her hand around Jamie’s, as they followed Sam and Bucky to the waiting cars, Steve patiently hanging back for his wife to compose herself before they set off on the 30 minute or so drive to Clint’s farm.

There were hugs, hand-shakes and a few tears as the group greeted each other. Banner and Wanda had already arrived before the Rogers-Barnes-Wilson clan did, and it wasn’t long until Fury and Hill walked into the large farmhouse. An hour or so later, Okoye and T’Challa landed shortly followed by Rocket, Nebula and Thor. And finally Lang, Rhodey, Pepper, Happy and Morgan.  As Katie looked round as her niece shot over to hug her ‘Uncle Spangles’, she suddenly felt a warmth in her chest that where was still so much love in and amongst the grief.

They had an hour or so at the house, Jamie and Nathaniel instantly hitting it off and retreating to Nate’s room, emerging thirty minutes later each with a picture for their Auntie Nat. Katie had crouched down next to her son as he had showed her the picture of the woman with the shock of red hair holding a bar of chocolate because “she always gave me chocolate, Momma.”

“Yeah, yeah she did.” Katie smiled, kissing his cheek.

In the mid-afternoon sun, Clint and Laura, with their three kids, led the way down a worn path which led to a small pond not far from the line of trees that surrounded the farm. Clint explained that Natasha liked it here, she often came to visit and stay if there was a little too much going on in her life to cope with and this was her place which was why the tree was planted here. The tree was roughly six feet high at the moment but was already sporting the deep red leaves they had picked it for, and they all knew that over time it would grow and expand. There was a small wooden bench underneath it, with a brass plaque which sported Natasha’s Black Widow symbol, and they had also ordered a small head stone, but that would not be available for a while.

“It’s beautiful Clint.” Katie nodded, her hand falling to the place just underneath her throat and above her chest. “It really is.” “So,” Clint rubbed his neck, clearing his throat. “I thought, those of us that wanted to could just say a few words and,” he looked around and gave a watery smile as he took in the crowd of people, “you know, seeing you all here reminds me of how Nat came into my life. No friends, no family, no connections, and absolutely no desire to change any of that.” “You got that right.” Fury muttered, drawing a few smiles and soft laughs, including a chuckle from Clint.

“Yet here she is, being celebrated and remembered by all of you, all of us, the people whose lives she’s touched and impacted and I guess, well, she did change it after all.”

Steve gave the archer a smile as he turned to look at the tree, his head bowing slightly “Nat, your last name might have been Romanoff but you’ve been part of the Barton family for as long as we can remember. I watched you break free from the horrors of your youth and learn that life didn’t have to always be painful and cruel. You worked tirelessly to build yourself up and always strived to be a better person. I hope you know that,” he paused and looked upwards, taking a deep shaky breath, “you were worthy of being loved. And we did, we loved you so much, still do. Me, Laura, Coops, Lila and Nate.  If it wasn’t for you my family wouldn’t be here, but whilst my heart may have pieced itself back together thanks to them coming home, there’s still a huge hole there where you used to be. And I know that Nate only met you briefly, but he’s gonna know…he’s gonna know all about the woman he’s named after, the bravest woman I have ever known.” He reached out and wiped at his face before his hand gently touched the bark of the tree trunk. “Goodbye, Nat.” At that point Laura stepped forward, her own tears trickling down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms round her husband, their kids all following before Nathanial turned and placed the piece of paper he was holding on the bench, Clint helping him tack it to the back part with a small pin before the stepped back into the crowd.

Almost everyone spoke. Fury and Hill went next, explaining how they had been there from the beginning and watched her as she had transformed from this lethal, master assassin into an Avenger, a leader. And whilst he may not have been so warm to her in the beginning, Fury had come to look at her as a protégée, the person who after Hill and Coulson he trusted the most. And Hill, who had become a friend, one of the first people to join Natasha’s slowly expanding group of confidents in the beginning. Natasha had exceeded any expectations they had of her as a colleague and had been a fiercely loyal friend until the end.

Okoye, Nebula, Rocket, who had only known Nat really for a short time, all respected the woman who was broken and shattered but never gave up wanting to make the world a better place and continually strived to find a way to fix what Thanos had done. They had all forged a friendship with Natasha as they picked up the pieces of a shattered world and strived to keep people safe through the chaos that ensured post snap.

T’Challa, who had seen the fierce loyalty and drive that Natasha possessed first hand, gave a moving short speech, commending her for her courage. “Even if that did mean she knocked me out with a hell of a sting.” He quipped, drawing chuckles from the group. “Her tenacity on the battle field in Wakanda, her strive to protect not only her friends, but billions of strangers, at all costs. An honourable trait.”

Lang, who again hadn’t known her wrong but had found an ally instantly willing to work on his ludicrous Time Heist idea, without whom, “I doubt anyone would have taken me seriously, including Steve” nodded around, and Steve gave him a small smile and a shrug because it was true.  

Bucky, who had tried to kill Natasha on more than one occasion, but could empathise with what she had been through more than most, simply placed his metal hand on the bark of the tree and said something in Russian, which he later explained to Steve and Katie had been a simple thank you and goodbye, not being able to think of anything else to say.

Rhodey who had know Nat as long as Katie had, spoke about how he had watched as she stepped up post the snap, helping Steve lead what was left of their group as they tried to help who was left and “bring peace to a world that was in turmoil”.

Pepper who had also known her as long as Katie had, thanks to her infiltration of Stark Industries spoke about how she’d become a good friend over the years, sharing a “mutual annoyance at Tony’s ridiculous antics” and with Katie and later Wanda the women had joined forces in an otherwise male and testosterone swamped Avengers Tower or Compound.

Wanda and Sam, who had both spent years on the run alongside her. She had helped train them both, fought alongside them both, and saved both their lives more times than they cared to remember. They respected her, and counted her amongst their closest friends.

Thor, he trusted her, infinitely, watching her hold her own against opponents both bigger and stronger on many an occasion. She had never once judged him for the sins of his brother, and with a large clap of lightning he had declared her the “most noble and worthy warrior, one of the greatest I have ever seen”

Bruce, who had trusted her more than he had ever trusted anyone was up next, and he took a moment to gather his own thoughts, before he spoke simply and succinctly, but no less emotionally. “There’s a reason that lullaby never worked for anyone else, Nat, and whilst we never got the chance to explore the feelings we had for one another, I loved you. More than as a friend, and want you to know that my time away for those two years I was stuck as the hulk was not your fault, despite what you thought.”

And then, it was Steve’s turn. The soldier cleared his throat, his hand firmly grasped around Katie’s as they both stepped forward, their kids at their side. His chest was horribly tight as he took a deep breath and began to speak. “Clint’s right Nat, you were a pain in the ass. Specifically my ass for years. Constantly laughing at me for being old fashioned, trying to fix me up on dates until you realised that the person I wanted to be with just happened to be one of your best friends, which then opened up a whole other world of opportunity for your sarcasm and wind ups. You were one of the bravest, kindest people I have ever fought alongside, and we both knew that when we made you godmother to Jamie you’d guide him in the best way you could, even if you did take him for the day and fill him with enough e-numbers to make him bounce of the walls when you returned him.”

He sniffed slightly and Katie lay her head against his shoulder, fighting her own tears. “People often pointed to me as the leader of the Avengers, but I wasn’t. Not really. You were the one that held us all together on more than one occasion, especially when me and Tony were ready to rip each other’s heads off. Your ability to see the best in people is something I can only hope to emulate, and we’re going to miss you. We all are. More than you will ever know.” At that point, his voice cracked and Katie could see he was close to breaking, just as Clint had done.

“Emmy, Jamie why don’t you put your picture and your plant on the bench?” She encouraged gently, “Clint, can you?”

Clint nodded and stepped forward with them both as she took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Steve, pulling him in close.

“I drawed this for you.” She heard Jamie say as Clint helped him tack his photo next to Nathaniel’s before he promised Emmy he would plant the tulips in the ground once her headstone was there.

A silence fell before Katie stepped back and looked up at Steve who gave her a nod to assure her he was okay. Then, realising it was her turn she turned to the tree and looked at the shock of red leaves, smiling softly.

“There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said.” Katie smiled gently “You were an amazing person, inside and out. I’ll never forget how you helped me pick an outfit for my first date with Steve and calmed me down despite the nerves that were flooding my entire system.”

“You never told me that.” Steve frowned, causing the crowd around them to laugh.

“Oh it’s true.” Katie nodded with a smile before she turned back to the tree. “All the ribbings and joking you would do, trying to get the ‘inside details’ as you called them on Captain America, but that’s what friends do right? And we were friends, best friends. I knew I wanted to be your friend the first time I met you when you were undercover in Stark Industries and your floored Happy after Tony insisted you ‘go a few rounds’”

“Thanks, Kiddo.” Happy grumbled, drawing more chuckles.

“You helped us so much when Jamie was a baby, taking him when you could see things were getting too much for me as a new mum, telling me that it was normal to feel a little overwhelmed when I simply thought I was doing a bad job. We couldn’t have done it without you and there’s no better friend I could have had by my side through everything we’ve been through together and done over the past thirteen years.”

Katie looked up at the sky, her tears falling now. “You know, on the jet on the way over me and Steve talked about how cruel it was that you’re not getting the recognition for your part in bringing everyone back that you deserve, but then I see everyone here and,” she choked a little on her words and felt Steve’s arm slide around her waist, “you know, it might not be a public mourning but this, this is the evidence that you were loved, and the people that mattered care and will always care and be thankful that you gave your life so that everyone who’s here could live theirs.  You were so loved Nat, you always will be, and I can only hope you knew and felt that.”

With that her tears began to fall thickly and she turned to Steve, his arms wrapping around her, his large, strong but ever so gently hands held her close to him, one on the base of her back, the other on her head.

There was a soft breeze which ruffled the leaves of the trees in the otherwise completely calm clearing they were in and no one spoke for a moment, until Clint stated that there were drinks and food waiting at the house. With a last glance over her shoulder at Nat’s tree, Katie allowed Steve to guide her down the path, every so often pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

With drinks and full plates, the guests spilled out into grounds of the Barton farm as animated chat began on and around the porch. Katie stuck to apple juice topped up with lemonade in a wine glass, and when Steve had subtly arched an eyebrow in question at the fact she was drinking she’d flicked him off and shook her head gently causing him to snigger a little.

“So,” Pepper sidled up to her, looking at her, “when are you due?”

“What?” Katie asked, a little too quickly.“I don’t know what you’re-.”

“I know that’s not wine.” Pepper gently cut her off. “And I know that you lost a baby in the snap. Maybe I’m putting two and two together here, but…”

Katie sighed and looked at her sister-in-law. “We only found out the other day. We didn’t wanna say anything, not until the memorials and funerals are over. It doesn’t feel right, to be happy about it all. Even though I can’t help it.” “Are you kidding me?” Pepper smiled “Katie, its great news. Something positive to look forward to.”

“Literally” Katie mumbled causing Pepper to grin.

“I knew it!” Emmy’s voice spluttered and Katie groaned and turned to face her. “The baby, it came back?”

“Shhhh” Katie hurriedly quieted her. “We haven’t told anyone yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because we don’t know how far along we are or,” Katie pinched the bridge of her nose. “just not yet Emmy okay? And this isn’t how we wanted you to find out. We were gonna tell you tomorrow after the scan.”

Emmy cocked her head to one side and shrugged, draining the glass of ice tea she was holding before she smiled and wrapped her arms round her mother, the sixteen year old now being almost as tall as she was. “I think it’s great.” Katie smiled and lay her head against her daughters, squeezing her back. “Yeah, yeah it is.”

***** Katie was exhausted after the day’s events and so, once the kids were settled she left the men drinking in the kitchen and headed for a bath.  Steve and Bucky had been drinking the Asgardian stuff all afternoon thanks to Thor bringing a load with him to Clint’s and both the soldiers had been feeling the effects before they headed home, and still were thanks to the stash Steve had in the cabinet and beer fridge.

“You know,” Sam leaned back in his chair, “when you find out how far gone Katie is tomorrow, we’re gonna be able to figure out a point of conception.” “Yeah that’s generally how it works.” Steve rolled his eyes.

“Well you better not have made that baby on my plane.”

“We never had sex on the jet.” Steve sighed.

“No, just dirty old warehouses in the middle of a mission.” Sam shot back.

“Did you have to bring that up?” Steve said exasperatedly.

“Oh now this I gotta hear.” Bucky grinned and turned to look at Sam.

“They left their coms on.” Sam mumbled “Trust me you don’t gotta…”

Bucky gave a loud bark of a laugh as Steve groaned.

“We just got caught up and…” He suddenly stopped, deciding he didn’t have to explain himself. Why the fuck should he? “You know what, I don’t care, have you seen her? I’d bang her every second of the day if I could, she’s fucking gorgeous.”

“Aww thanks baby, but five times in one night was quite enough thanks.” Katie said and all three men whipped round to face her as she quirked an eyebrow smirking, leaning in the doorway dressed as usual in a pair of shorts and one of his shirts. “It was one hell of a wedding night.”

“Five times?” Sam looked at Steve who flushed bright red, but couldn’t help but feel slightly smug.

“And that’s how many times we did it.” She continued as she walked to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water, turning to wink at Steve “Not how many times he made me see stars.”

Sam gave a loud laugh as Bucky grinned, a dirty snigger escaping from his mouth.

“I think I liked it better when you hated each other.” Steve said, glaring at them.

“Aww they picking on you baby?” Katie slid her arms round his neck from behind. He nodded, his hands rubbing over her forearms as they locked at the front of his chest.

“Big time.” He pouted.

“Come to bed and I’ll make it better.” She whispered into his ear and he turned as she straightened up and headed back out of the room. “Night boys.”

There was a pause as Steve looked at Bucky who was chuckling to himself, clearly having overheard.

“I’m gonna,” Steve watched Katie leave, and with that he drained his beer, stood up and headed after her.

Bucky eyed the bottle of alcohol in his hand before he turned to Sam. “Wanna go for a walk, find a bar? I’m in the mood for exploring my old neighbourhood a little.”

“Damned straight.” Sam nodded, standing up “The night is young Frosty. Unlike you.”

“Fuck off.” Bucky shot back, grabbing his jacket and smiling as he felt the leather in his flesh hand.

“Buck, you got a sec?” Katie asked, just before they were about to leave for the airfield.

Bucky paused and looked at Steve who simply gave him a smile. “She’s got something for you.” he said, ushering the kids down the hall with easy commands and large hands.

Bucky made his way into the living room and his mouth turned into a smile as Katie held out his leather jacket, the one he had wrapped her in when he pulled her from the Hydra base in La Ronde what felt like a life time ago.

“I believe this is yours.”

“You kept it?” he said gently.

“Of course I did. I just never had chance to give it you back until now.”

He took it from her, gently running his hand over the collar.

“I also never got chance to thank you for that day, what you did.”

“Anyone would have done the same.” Bucky shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck in an action that reminded her very much of Steve.

“You sure?” Katie gave him a soft smile. “You headed deep into a base full of people who had once hurt you because someone was screaming for help. Someone, and you had no idea it was me. And even if you did, you didn’t know me. Not really.”

“No, but I knew what those bastards were capable of.” Bucky eyed her gently. “I wouldn’t ever leave anyone to suffer at their hands. I just wish I’d gotten there sooner.”

“Did Steve tell you what they did?” She asked gently.

“He doesn’t need to.” Bucky looked down.“Like I said, I know what they’re, what they were capable of.” “You’re a good man James Barnes.” She gave him a soft smile and then stepped forward to give him a hug. “You saved my life. And for that I’ll always be grateful, and so will Steve.”

Bucky smiled slightly as she slipped on the jacket and headed after Sam as they gently left the house, the door closing behind them.

*****

Upstairs, Steve’s hands were already all over his wife, gentle, strong, loving as he softly caressed her stomach, the place his baby was growing. He nuzzled into her neck as she preened at his touch, arching her back. She moved slightly so he could pull the shirt over her head before he gently took her face in his hands, thumbs skating over her cheekbones.

“I hope it’s a girl,” he whispered gently, dropping a kiss to her lips, “and she looks just like her momma.”

“Charmer.” She grinned as he kissed her again, the kiss growing urgent, Steve flicking his tongue over his wife’s lips before he moved to gently trail his mouth down her neck to the spot in between her collar bone, giving it a gentle nip and a suck. It was a well-practiced dance between the pair of them. After ten years of being with one another they both knew the spots to hit, the places to touch, the parts to tease that would undo the other. It was a familiarity, but one that would never get old. Steve would never tire of the way her finger tips trailed down his back, nails gently biting his skin as she made those delectable noises by his ear. Katie would never tire of the way Steve would softly trail every curve of her body, his hands and strong arms cradling her as he lavished affection on her that drove into her very soul, his mouth gently nipping at her neck, his gentle praises that made her keen with affection.

“I love you baby girl, you’re so good to me, so good.” The soft sheets of the bed rustled around them as Steve gently rocked into his wife, causing her to sigh and lay her head back, gazing up at him with a love and lust so deep it almost hurt him to see. He had never been worthy of this love, and never would be. But all he could do was love her back, the way he did, with every single breath he had.

His movements were slow, his hand gently moved to hook her leg around him, finding a deeper seat as he rocked forwards and back again and again, driving deep against her spot as her hands hooked around his neck, pulling him down to kiss her, deeply, softly as she moaned into his mouth.

“Come on baby,” he said gently, his lips moving to her neck, “atta girl, come on.”

Her back arched and her nails dug into the skin of his biceps as she leaned forward slightly, burying her head into the crook of his shoulder to muffle her cries as she came, tightening around him. He upped his pace, ever so slightly, chasing his own release and he came, his lips pressed to hers, a deep, satisfied moan bubbling from his throat into her mouth as his hips stuttered and he rest his forehead against hers, gathering his breath.  He suddenly realised he was led on top of her, his baby in her stomach and he went to move but she caught him softly, her hands straying to his shoulders as she smiled at him, her hands gently moving to rake up through his hair as she pressed a soft kiss to his mouth before she nipped his lip and he practically growled at her.

“Keep doing that,” he muttered “and I’ll be hard again in about five seconds flat.” “I’m counting on it.” She smirked, kissing him again.

*****

“I’m sorry, say that again?” Katie looked at Dr Kellet. The woman smiled and glanced back at her.

“Ten weeks.” She nodded “Give or take. Which makes your due date, roughly the 1st June”

Katie glanced at Steve who was frowning and she knew instantly what was bothering him. He was concerned about the fact she had been pregnant in the fight, and was worried that the snap would have done some lasting damage. Katie wasn’t as concerned, for some inexplicable reason she knew everything was okay and had instead diverted his attention to researching second pregnancies… which he had done with gusto.

The kids were in bed, Bucky and Sam were, actually, Katie had no idea where they were, not that it mattered, they were grown men. They were led on the couch, Katie down one side of the L shape, Steve on the other with his head in his wife’s lap as he glanced at the screen on his phone.

“It says here that you should feel them move sooner than the first time because you know what they feel like…” Steve said, grinning up at her. “Wonder if that means I’ll feel them sooner too?” Katie shrugged, smiling as she ran her hand through Steve’s hair. “No idea.”

“And you’ll carry it lower.” He continued. “Which according to this is a good thing as you’ll breathe easier and eat much more comfortably than you did last time. Although you might be doing the whole constant needing to pee thing sooner, but on the plus side labour is faster.” “Oh joy.” Katie sighed, her nails scratching his scalp slightly.

“And it says here you’re likely to start showing sooner.” A huge grin spread across his face. “I can’t wait!” He shifted slightly so that he was led on his stomach and his head crept under her T-shirt and his nose gently skimmed her lower belly. “Although last time when you started showing, it just looked like you’d eaten too many cheeseburgers…” Katie nipped his arm causing him to yelp out a laugh.

“Are you sure everything is okay?” Steve asked, drawing Katie out of her memories. “Because well, the snap and…”

Dr Kellet smiled and nodded “Your baby is perfectly healthy and normal, everything is perfect.”

Steve nodded, the worry he had instantly felt ebbing from his system and Katie gently laced her fingers between his and glanced back at the screen.

“Ten weeks…” she sighed “How on Earth did I not notice I was that far gone?”

Steve gently kissed the back of her hand. “Honey it doesn’t matter, don’t think on it. Don’t think on any of it.”

“I’ll get you a few copies of the photo.” Dr Kellet nodded.

“Have you had many others in, like this I mean?” Katie asked as the Doctor wiped the cold gel off her stomach “I mean, that have had babies back or…” “You’re the sixth one I’ve seen since everyone came back.” she smiled “Who knew?”

“Could be problematic,” Katie mused “I mean like, what if they are already pregnant again, or like, I dunno, dead against having kids now or…” “Katie…” Steve chuckled “Shut up.”

****

Armed with the two scan photos they headed home and were greeted by an excited Jamie who dragged the pair of them into the living room where he had been building a rocket out of lego with Bucky’s help.

“Everything okay?” Sam looked up from where he as prodding at Katie’s tablet, reading the news.

“Yeah,” Katie smiled, and she looked at Steve who grinned at his friends.

“Roughtly Ten weeks.” He answered the unasked question and Sam frowned.

“Ten weeks…” He mumbled as he did the same maths they had done in the car, a huge shit eating grin crossing his face. “So it was that time on the mission!”

“It’s kinda funny really.” Katie smirked. “Both of them were made through some pretty wild loving up against a wall.” Steve let out a sigh and he shot his wife a filthy look as both Bucky and Sam roared with laughed.

“What was against a wall?” Jamie asked, looking up at her and Steve let out a low groan.

“We’ll give you a minute.” Bucky smiled, standing up as he headed into the kitchen, followed by Sam, both passing Emmy who was returning with a drink for her and Jamie.

“Come here.” Katie settled on the couch and pat the seat next to her. Jamie scrambled up and ran over, jumping up beside her. Steve sat on the other side of him, and Emmy perched on the corner cushion. Katie looked over at Steve who smiled and turned so he was facing his son slightly.

“We have some news, buddy. Some good news.” He gently ran his hand over Jamie’s head “Your mom’s gonna have another baby.” “You’re gonna be a big brother.” Katie smiled as he turned to look up at her, his eyes wide.

“A baby?”

“Yeah.” Katie nodded.

“Isn’t that cool?” Emmy grinned and Jamie nodded before he frowned slightly before he looked back at his dad.

“Where is it?”

“It’s in your momma’s tummy.” Steve answered.

Jamie looked at Katie for a moment, before his frown deepened. “How did it get in there?”

Steve hesitated for a moment, his neck and cheeks flushing as he desperately thought about how he could explain this in a way that was suitable for a three year old’s ears. “Well, I…” “It got there because we’re a family.” Katie cut in, smiling. “And me and your dad love each other very much, so it’s kinda something that happens.”

“Oh.” Jamie nodded, and Steve shot his wife a smile as Jamie grinned. “So when is it gonna be here?”

“Not till early next year.” Katie smiled.

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“We dunno yet pal.” Steve smiled.

“I hope it’s a boy.” Jamie nodded decisively. Katie smiled at Steve before Jamie quipped up again “But I’m not sharing my room or my toys. I don’t like people touching my stuff.”

**** O/S: To The Stars And Back

Chapter 60

 **Original Posting**

[judgebrix]

Smoked Mac 'n Cheese

Smoked Mac 'n Cheese - a little pasta history. Traeger adventures. Not-so-healthy dish. Cheese-galore. American history and iconic dish #howtocook #homechef #familydinner #bbq @traegergrills @LodgeCastIron #merica #cheese

After arriving home from work, I decided to make a large portion of Mac n Cheese for no apparent reason. It wasn’t on my meal plan, purely spontaneous. I felt the urge to create an excellent side dish for my shrimp tacos. Disclaimer – this is not a healthy dish! I do not eat Mac ‘n Cheese but I enjoy making my kids’ favorite dishes instead of buying the premade stuff. As you would have…

[do-angels-dream-of-starry-seas]

As much as I like to shit on my country ('Merica) and talk about how the British seem to have it right (television, no Super Bowl), the one thing that I'll say that I'll die on a hill for is that Celsius is so freaking stupid.

If I go outside during a heat wave and try to guess what it feels like purely on a number scale standpoint and not by any specific degrees, I would guess 90-100, which is what Fahrenheit says too!! But apparently, 100 degree weather is (googles)...

37 DEGREES CELSIUS???

I T S U R E D O E S N ' T F E E L L I K E I T

[aion-rsa]

Marvel’s Avengers Game: Who is MODOK?

https://ift.tt/2ZbfwgZ

When you want to tell a big, epic Avengers story for your big, epic Avengers video game, you have to choose your big bad carefully. At this point, Red Skull, Loki, Ultron, and Thanos are old news. The Marvel Cinematic Universe covered them. Galactus is a bit too big a threat for the first of what Square Enix and Marvel likely hopes will be a whole series of games. Kang the Conqueror hasn’t appeared in the movies, but do you really want your first game to be bogged down by time travel nonsense? Dr. Doom is a little too attached to the Fantastic Four.

Fortunately, Square Enix has finally revealed the main villain for Marvel’s Avengers and it’s a great choice. Taking on the likes of Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Ms. Marvel is none other than MODOK, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing.

MODOK is the perfect mix of a villain who is recognizable and threatening, but also one who hasn’t made an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For good reason, but I’ll get to that in a second.

In the meantime, here’s the trailer where we get some story snippets and see George Tarleton’s gradual transformation from mad scientist to malevolent giant head:

MODOK is a Jack Kirby/Stan Lee original from all the way back in 1967, first appearing in full in Tales of Suspense #94 (he had a teaser cameo in the previous issue, as was the fashion at the time). George Tarleton was a member of Advanced Idea Mechanics, otherwise known as the bad guy organization from Iron Man 3 and the main faction of villains in Marvel’s Avengers. AIM was obsessed with science experiments where the ends justified the means, and upon creating a Cosmic Cube, they used Tarleton as a guinea pig to build some kind of evolved genius being from the Cube’s energies.

And so, MODOK was born. A giant head with a giant brain inside, but normal-sized limbs. A horrific sight with excessive smarts and psionic powers. Naturally, the elephant-sized brain man took over the whole outfit.

Initially, he was a different type of anti-Captain America. He was to brains what Cap was to awn, but was a terrifying mutation instead of the ultimate male model.

While MODOK started off as a Captain America villain, he soon became enemies with pretty much any hero that got in his way – as well as AIM itself sometimes. He took on the Hulk, Iron Man, the Carol Danvers version of Ms. Marvel, Alpha Flight, and so on. He was one of Marvel’s leading mad scientist characters who could be plugged into whatever story and appear threatening to even the newest reader because of his unique appearance. In Spider-Gwen’s alternate reality, MODOK is a giant Donald Trump lookalike called MODAAK (Mental Organism Designed As America’s King).

Yuge head. Very bigly.

While MODOK’s never carried his own solo series, he did have a very entertaining villain-based heist miniseries back in 2007 called Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK’s 11. He’s also getting his own Hulu animated series soon and he’ll be voiced by Patton Oswalt in a comedy about being an unemployed suburban father with a mid-life crisis.

Read more

Games

How Marvel’s Avengers Prequel Comics Set Up the Game

By Rob Leane

Games

How Marvel’s Avengers and Spider-Man Are Shaping the Superhero Games of Tomorrow

By Bernard Boo

MODOK has appeared in countless cartoons and video games, including as a playable fighter in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, where his ultimate plan was to steal and wear Galactus’ helmet. On the cult-favorite animated series Megas XLR, the legendary Bruce Campbell played a MODOK parody named Magnanimous. The Marvel area at Universal’s Islands of Adventure features a giant cutout image of MODOK getting smacked upside the head with Cap’s shield, leading tourists to wonder, “What the hell is that supposed to be?”

So if MODOK is such a big deal, why hasn’t he been in the movies? I suppose, in the end, MODOK is the Aquaman of Marvel. I don’t mean in the thematic counterpart sense (that would be Namor the Sub-Mariner, obviously). It’s just that despite being a classic fixture of comics loved by many fans, casual audiences and people who don’t follow comics might find his design a bit silly. Perfect for animation, but in live-action, a giant head with tiny arms and legs is a really hard sell.

Luckily, we’ve reached Marvel Phase 4 and people are a bit more open to high-concept, weirdo comic characters. Aquaman made all the money in the world by “making him sexy and likable.” Well, I can’t imagine we’re going to get a sexy MODOK (though I did just type that into Google Image Search out of morbid curiosity). It’ll take some effort to make MODOK look formidable and not hilarious or look like pure nightmare fuel for the kids.

What it seems we’re going to get in Marvel’s Avengers seems like a good start. When treated as serious, MODOK can be seen as the ultimate threat: giant brain with giant brain lasers. Considering AIM is supposed to have ties to the upcoming Black Widow movie, perhaps MODOK’s big video game final boss role could be a stepping stone towards doing him right on the big screen.

Marvel’s Avengers launches on Sept. 4 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia. The game is also coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X this holiday.

The post Marvel’s Avengers Game: Who is MODOK? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Comics – Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3eAW8Rh

[sea-dukes-assistant]

Well, she’s the not-Caucasian female activist the Fandom(tm) dreamed about.  There were literally blogs with “phff (Prince Harry fanfiction)” somewhere in the URL that wrote fanfics about this happening.

Ginger Savior has been the public’s Golden Boy ever since his mother was killed.  As such, he’s been perpetually seen/talked about as though he’s still the 7 year old (I’m guessing here, I neither know nor care exactly how old he was) walking behind the caisson.  And so, since “we” have watched him grow up, folks for some weird reason are very interested in his life, some are oddly protective over him.  What is strange to me, is once Prince William got older, because just...quit caring about him.  Precious Baby, however is still touted as Diana’s Son(tm), because fuck William, he’s balding and we don’t care because he’s not hot anymore.  

Anyway.  Point is people are absurdly interested/obsessive over Precious Baby, so naturally anyone he brings home is going to get that same attention, but the only one getting the scrutiny, whether deserved or not.  Never mind that he was also part of the decision to have a relationship/get married, it is entirely “her” fault if it gets fucked up.  Dude’s 35 years old.  If he’s a big enough boy to go to war, he is a big enough boy to make his own decisions.  If it is expected of me to use my TBI as an excuse for my mistakes, he should be expected to not use “because Diana” as his (obviously his press issues are a warranted time to use that because that’s legitimately what happened; I totally get that).

And before anyone comes at me with pitchforks, this is purely my perspective.  I do not in any way keep up with his life, but I am old enough to remember my ma watching the funeral on TV and growing up with the “OMG DIANA AND HER KIDS” mania that never really died down, even in ‘Merica.  By no means am I stating this as 100% fact.

[strawberryspooktacular]

Krampus (2015)

Rating before seeing the movie: Nic: 9 Vic: 9

Rating after seeing the movie: Nic: 9.5 Vic: 9

What you did like about the movie: Grandma and Max.  The physical effects of the dolls. The gingerbread men were cute. All of the effects were great in the film. How Merica’ it was with all the guns and the giant truck. The design of Krampus and the elves. Particularly how their faces were not revealed, just creepy masks.  The yoink. The pure ridiculousness of it and the hilarity. 

What you didn’t like about the movie: The deaths were rushed. Characters were just suddenly not there anymore. The movie went fast for the action and then slow between. 

Particularly memorable scene: Vic: The first glimpses of Krampus Nic: The Omi and Krampus scene

Would you watch it again: Vic: Yes Nic: Yes

[sleepynegress]

Thanks for fielding the godawful discourse about Halle’s age and her onscreen love interests. I saw some folks in the notes try to say that Seb has made “creepy” comments about Shuri -_- and it’s soooo funny how no one bothers to do this white actresses, and sad to see so many POC parroting this self-defeating BS.

I think a lot of us have been through it.  So, I get it.  We didn’t have the luxury of  having innocence for long, if ever because of how the world sees (and doesn’t see) us. So, unfortunately for some, taking on that fight against that personal trauma for the seemingly good sake of others can go beyond the pale.It comes from a good place, because lord knows, others rarely have our backs, so the intent is to uplift and protect one another the absolute hardest.…But there has to be balance between sheltering the baby bird from the rain and allowing them to thrive outside of the nest.  There’s a rarely spoken aspect of black girl and womanhood that is the catch-22 of being considered too tough to really hurt or abuse (why despite absolutely adoring Erica in Stranger Things, I’m still bothered by her characterization). …That extends to sexuality (that old sassy Jezebel thing that’s rooted in rapists and abusers during enslavement victim-blaming) and having to live up to crazy standards of respectable purity/exclusive-sexiness that you see the ashies uplifting a lot these days…  I call it the Ayesha Curry Paradox.….and cotdamn! It’s annoyingly impossible to live up to *either* standard.I was a super-bony and young-looking for a good looong time, tall,  insecure, buck-toothed church-going black girl, who was street-harassed, molested by creepy elders in church *and* a cousin, who was so-called *protected*/expected to be extra-pure because *gud-christian-girl*  and I felt trapped by that for a long time. Which is why I identify with and understand the weird space people see 26 year old Letitia Wright  permanently occupying.  … And why I’m so happy to see she’s landed some good forthcoming adult romantic roles.Being preyed upon while at same time expected to be entertaining “black girl”, who’s untouchable, unaffected, and forever innocent with zero agency…. It’s impossible and unbelievably fucked up.It took a long time for me to get to a place where I could find out who I was apart from the constraints inflicted on me and the coping mechanisms. And to be comfortable with my wants and desires being okay (I’m demi-gray-ace).  Therapy (especially with a good black woman therapist) is a godsend.We all are in different places in the journey.  And a lot of us (and I speak for having been there) still occupy a place of shaming for what others did.  Which is beyond sad and terrible.  …And when it comes to sex and desire, layering the insane ‘Merica madonna/whore degradation (which is WORSE in the internet age) with those impossible standards that black girls and women specifically experience, and you have the clusterfuck that damn near always happens, when a black woman in our culture even lightly brushes up against those spaces.…But emphatically yelling out strict rules that everyone has to follow in regards to what and where a black artist can do and be, *especially* given the hard limits placed upon us *already* is not the way. It’s doing the opposite of what’s intended.And I support our ability to explore and move beyond that.

[kyxgrey]

Christmas is important to me, it always means the world to me.

As a kid we'd decorate on my dad's birthday, the 7th, by watching all the old cartoons and eating finger foods. We'd have BBQ and Jelly lil sausages, crackers and cheese, the works. All the ornaments had stories. Which would be told as we hung them up. I had all mine to hang, my brother hung his, dad hung his, and mom hung hers. Dad had Coca-Cola and Merica and stuff like that. Mom had penguins and random things. Then usually the kids hung up our first ornaments and handmade ones. We all hand special stockings. We'd have red and green multi colored tensel.

On Christmas Eve we'd go to my great aunt's house or my cousins for a family gathering. Then on Christmas Dinner at my uncle's we'd have fried chicken. Christmas Morning dad made huge pancakes with syrup, chocolate for me, and milk. Which we'd eat before opening gifts. Christmas Eve night I'd write a letter to Santa to leave with his milk and cookies in his special cup and plate. I'd demand a potato be left for Comet and if it was foggy or stormy a potato for him and an apple for Rudolph. When I'd wake up the carrot and potato would be gnawed on or mostly gone. Cookies gone nothing but crumbs and no milk. Presents maybe not always a lot but they were there.

I love it because no matter what was wrong mom made sure we had a tree and our traditions. Always made sure I was able to just be a kid and believe in the silly things people make fun of me for clinging on to even now that I'm almost 20. It was important and it was pure and it was Christmas. It was the one time of the year no one fought or was angry. The one time of year I got to sit and be happy and not worry about why Mom and Dad were stressed.

So maybe it's childish to want to still write Santa Claus a letter, to leave a potato and apple. To think having a tree is the most important thing ever. That using our ornaments instead of salt dough ones is better. That not having enough money to do our decorating food tradition or the pancakes and chicken is worth crying over. I'm sure it's extremely childish. But when I think of my mom sitting there looking at bills and crying but making the holidays happy for us it fucking pisses me off I can't do that for her.

[artsistory]

The long way home

TOO MUCH DRIVING! It took an entire day to make it to El Paso. Texas is a flat desert wasteland and by the end of the drive my soul had entirely left my body. Once we got our stuff to the hotel we did the only thing we could think of to revive our spirits and went to the movies! We saw Aladdin and it was surprisingly great. I was relieved to discover that they took out a lot of the racism and actually gave Jasmine stuff to do! I’ll admit that Will Smith as Genie is a nightmare to look at but he was still hecka funny.

Our next day was a less soul-crushing drive back to our first stop: Scottsdale, Arizona! There we reunited with our friend Karma.

But this time Karma’s mom was there too! Hi Pam! 

We hung out and got some yummy dinner. It was pure luxury staying here as we all had our own rooms! Pam even has a little apartment attached to her house that she usually rents out as an Air BnB. (Obviously I called dibs right away and claimed that as my own home for the evening). It felt almost too good to be true. The next morning we caught brunch with our step sister’s mother in law, Denise! I’m not really sure what that would make her to us... But whatever it is, it boils down to family.

We hadn’t seen her in person since our sister’s wedding about 10 years ago! It was so fun to catch up.

And then finally....we were back home. 

There were a few things we had to do over the last few days back in Cali. We had a lot of errands to run to prepare for our big trip overseas. We got haircuts and saw friends. We played with our puppies. We did so MUCH laundry. Most importantly we had to spend time with family! Doing important things like eating:

And also eating!

I was also able to deliver an old friend to my old friend...

And then Brandi and I did what we do best: we procrastinated recording!

While my blogging schedule already tends to be random and unplanned...it may get worse next week because we will be on a cruise! I think it’ll be difficult to get wifi and post while we’re out at sea but don’t worry, I’ll make sure to catch up when we get to port. Tomorrow we set off to Copenhagen! Catch ya in time for turkey day, ‘merica! Bye for now!

[battlereadyarms]

Pure, unadulterated, undercut porn! ------------------------------------------------------- 12% off frame work for military and first responders. battlereadyarms.com -------------------------------------------------------- #battlereadyarms #glock #glock19 #Glock17 #glockfanatics #Glockperfection #teamglock #glocks #stippledglock #glock34 #polymersurgeon #pewpewlife #freedom #gunphotography #customguns #glockowners #shareguns #9mm #merica #molonlabe #pro2a (at New Smyrna Beach, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/By6YO4HA8f8/?igshid=kuh0fm5bfbl1

[cassinixii]

Title: WoM: the Warlock --- completed audition Published: May 13, 2017 | 12:15am Description:

Apologies for the long wait, I don't really have a good excuse. I was busy with stuff, but still, a month is a really long time, and I am truly sorry! ___________________________ World of Monsters || OC Profile

Name: Telperion

Username: @/cassinixii

OC Name: Kazimir Auberon (Born Cenric of Aiwendil)

Age: A lot (or for a less snarky answer, approximately 1443 years old. He looks mid to late 30's though, the magic of... uhh, magic)

Creature: The Warlock

Faceclaim: Dan Stevens

Side: Hidden, and he'll be going to extreme lengths to remain that way.

Why did you pick this side?: Well, since he killed the Professor, it's bit of a no choice matter. However, he's been alive for a very long time, he knows how exposure goes, humans panic and try to kill everyone, and end up killing even their own kind out of fear and hatred, and that was only with burnings at the stake, also drowning and confessions coerced through truly inventive torture, they now have weapons of mass destruction. He's not going to take any chances with those murder-happy freaks.

Occupation: reclusive billionaire, warlock (though there isn't aexactly any pay in the latter)

Personality: His personality is a bit complicated, people evolve and change over time, but unlike our 80ish years, or the 30ish years for when Kaz was originally born, he's had well over a thousand years of change and evolution. There are a couple things left from back then, but not many. He was once very idealistic and pure, optimistic, even naïve, but he's hardened since. He has retained his trait of openly speaking out against injustice, though he sighs a lot now and doesn't spend as much time monologuing or explaining why someone is wrong. He's dry, sarcastic, and reserved, prefers not to interact with people, and when he does he tends to rub them the wrong away. However, he does have a few friends, whom he regularly insults, but would go burn the world if required to protect them. He also likes to call people by the wrong name when they start getting too chummy, to let them know he doesn't really care about them (Ron Swanson is his spirit animal). He has ages of wisdom, and originally tried to impart it on others, specifically those in power, but eventually gave up after watching humans repeat their destructive behaviour over and over again. Despite his overall distrust, dislike, and hatred of others, Kaz is firmly committed to maintaining the balance of the universe, and will both kill and save lives to maintain it, regardless of his personal feelings on a person.

Likes: - mocumentary comedy shows (always watching them on netflix) - Netflix - dark/psychological horror anime (such as hell girl) - meat (loves steak and sausages) - lycoris flowers - Leo Tolstoy - Tolkien

Dislikes: - fake meat - slow internet connections - arrogant people - plotholes - soy anything and everything - unsatisfactory endings (such as parasyte's!) - when movies and shows get the books wrong

Talents/Skills: Could it be magic now, now, now and hold on fast. Could this be the magic at last  (yes, that is a Take That song from 1992. No I was not born, but Kaz was, so there.) Kaz was born with a natural inclination towards magic, and from birth could manipulate many things by simply thinking it, accidentally causing many a objects to move and a few fires here and there. He was also able to learn new spells and rituals at an incredibly fast rate, managing powerful spells within in first few tries. However, despite his vast knowledge and abilities, Kaz tends to rely upon his natural abilities of a telekinetic, and he can instinctively also affect the speed of a moving object, though it's  temperature takes more active thought. He can also physical manifest his telekinetic abilities to send blasts of energy without uttering an incantation. His emotions affect the strength of the blast, ranging from mild incapacitation to fatal, though some of the milder blasts can end in mortal wounds if the attacked hits a wall or some other similar event, and he's developed control of them over the centuries, usually sending a blast of a strength he's determined, but it's possible to emotionally rile him and undermine his control.

Kaz also has telepathetic abilities, able to contact and even mentally, not control, but persuade others into doing behaviours he desires, though someone with a strong will or psychic protections may be able to resist him. He is also able to read anothers thoughts without them ever realizing he was there. He can also sense the presence of the supernatural, whether it be an object, person, or spirit, this ability also helps him easily tap into the natural magical energy all around us. Of the elements, he is in most atune with wind, and uses it almost as often as his telekinetic abilities. He also has a fondness for calling down lightning to strike an enemy. In moments of heightened emotional tension, he can instinctively use powerful spells, which in usual circumstances would require verbal or mental incantations. He is also skilled in defensive magic, capable of forming a mystical shield strong enough to hold against dragonfire.

He also seems to be imortal, or at least has extremely long longevity, and has perpetual youth, he's actually quite interested to compare his genome or dna or whatever (it confuses him a bit to be honest) from now to a century or two later, which he thinks may give him new insight into himself and his weaknesses. Kaz also possesses a considerable amount of natural resilience against magic, once surviving the force of his fatal blast when it was reversed unto him. He is quick to his feet regardless of what ancient and powerful creature may have attacked, though there exceptions, and the more powerful the creature, the longer for him to recover.  

Additionally, having participated in a couple wars over the centuries, he's quite handy with swords and guns, though he struggles with more modern weapons, the last time he took part in battle having been 1815. But, of course, magical combat is where is his true skill with battle lies. Lastly, having lived for centuries, he's fluent in a great number of languages such as English, Russian, Japanese, Norwegian, and many others. Influence of the ages isn't noticeable when he speaks, but when he writes he tends to use old letters or ways of writing.  

Weakness: He's not completely immortal, he's just got an extremely long lifespan, and even he is unsure of when it'll end. Against most creatures, he could survive their attacks with no effort on his part, but the more powerful a being, the more he'd have to actively defend himself. The most sure fire to kill him is a weapon capable of slaying the undead (not zombies, but things like wraiths), or other weapons of a similar or more powerful nature, plunge such a thing into his heart and he'll probably die. He's not entirely sure, he hasn't exactly tried, but it's his best guess.  

Hobbies: - Netflix and chilling on his own   - reading, especially from and about the sengoku period - countdown (hey, he's super old and generally at home, he's the target demographic)

Family: He's had quite a few, he's been around for a long time and has fallen in love and out. But it's been a long time and most of them died, well, the mortals. As for his parents and siblings, they died a long time ago, some lived longer than most, being magical like him, but none seem to have had the same longevity as him. He had many brothers and sisters, around 13 of them, it was the Anglo-Saxon days, everyone had about a million kids, but he was closet to his triplet siblings, Ilse and Rommel, Ilse was the fraternal sibling, however, of the 3, only Kaz had his level of ability. Isle and Rommel had mild elemental manipulation abilities as well as some telepathy, but could not influence the minds of others, only listen and speak.  He's been married or had the ancient equivalent of civil unions (aka, just roommates) a few times, as well as a number of children, most whom he and his then spouse adopted, but he's provided the DNA for 3; his most memorable children (which is a cruel thing to say, but whatever), were his daughter Charlotte, who died in France in 1720, and his son Shiro (later Shiroyasu Date), who died some point after 1780, but before 1803. Shiro was also his youngest and final child.

Bio: Kazimir, or Kaz, was born in, and for the majority of his life remained in what is now Great Britain and Ireland, so he's not being a pretentious dolt when says he's an Anglo-Saxon, he's being literal. Anyway, he was born in 574 in the small village of Aiwendil in the Kingdom of Mercia (present day English Midlands). He was given the name Cenric by his parents, and from birth he displayed great power. As young as infancy he would move toys with his mind, shatter objects when enraged, sets fires accidentally. At 11,  he burnt down an abbey, by accident of course, but he was labelled as a devil child, as well as by his mother, however, he was also considered blessed by those who despised the invading christian faith. He, himself, disliked both schools of thought and began completely isolating himself with the exception of two of his siblings (Ilse and Rommel) and occasionally his father.  At 15, Cenric, Ilse, and Rommel left their small village, wandering around and working where they could, before making their way to Tamworth, where they made the accquaintence of Æscferð (pronounced ash-furth) of Deira, an advisor to King Creoda of Mercia, and a powerful Warlock himself. Æscferð taught Cenric and his siblings many things, though he mostly spent time with Cenric. When Æscferð switched allegiance from the House of Icel to Edwin, King of Deira, and the lord of Æscferð's home, Cenric and Ilse went with him, though Rommel remained with Penda, King of Merica by then. They later faced each other in battle (the Battle of Hatfield), resulting in the death of Æscferð (also Edwin), from which point all three siblings went their seperate ways. Rommel remained with Penda until his death, becoming a skilled general in his army, Ilse followed Cadwallon of Gwynedd for a time, becoming his mistress for a time until his death, after which she disappeared with some druids, as for Cenric, he went back north to the lands of Northumbria, determined to dethrone the king (Penda) whose battle cost him his dearest friend and mentor. He eventually succeeded with Oswiu, King of Bernicia (a sub-kingdom in Northumbria) in the Battle of Winwaed, which temporarily took away Merican dominance, but a lasting and unintentional effect on Cenric's part was the demise of Anglo-Saxon pagamism, and conversion of Mercia.    

However, by this point, Cenric had also become aware of his longetivity, at nearly 80 years old, he looked exactly as he had over 4 and a half decades ago. Once Penda was defeated, he finally visited his twin brother's grave in Merica, before leaving English land for the first time. He spent some centuries in Scandinavia, he went to Kvenland, meeting and befriending Ottar fra Hålogaland, and eventually falling in with some Vikings who were active around Norway. He later fell in love with a female Viking, Ásdís, and the two peacefully settled in Svalbard for a while.

During the mid to late 1500's, he lived in Russia, serving as an advisor to Ivan IV, though he left in 1581 after the Tsar killed Kaz's friend, and Ivan IV's son, Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich. This was the first time he used the name Kazimir, though he returned to England after his friends death, taking Ivan's name, and remained in his home country until after the English civil war. Once Charles II was coronated, he moved to France for a time, he lived at the court of Versailles under the Sun King and later travelled around the country as a Catholic monk, before settling down in Marseille for a bit with his then lover (a regular human), Richard Bordeaux, and their daughter Charlotte. However, Richard and Charlotte both died of the bubonic plague in 1720, after which he left France and has not returned since. After their deaths, he went back to Russia. There he worked as a farmer for a while before befriending Peter the Great, and more significantly, his second wife, Catherine the Great. During her sole reign, under the name Kazimir Ivanovich, he served as her advisor, he left Russia again after her death. He then travelled to Japan, and trained and studied at Shinto and Buddist temples for a while, before befriending his traditional clique of Royals and nobles, namely Yoshimune Tokugawa, and served as a tutor and guardian to his son, Munetake Tokugawa. In Japan, he went by the name Arthur Hanover, though was called various nicknames with the word "foreigner". By the early 1800's, however, Kaz had returned to Europe, participating in the battle of Waterloo in 1815 before returning to England. During the 19th, and much of the 20th century, Kaz became more selfish and isolated. Instead of participating with politics or the now hidden world of magic, he took an interest in inventions and the world of tomorrow, investing heavily in things like locomotives and IBM, and earning a ton of wealth for his "family" (or rather himself). In 1842 he was bestowed with a hereditary earldom (the title being the Earl Wulfar), which his family (or actually he) hold to the day. With his new title and wealth, Kaz settled in the English countryside, slowly buying up the lands that once encompassed his Mercian Village.

Throughout the ages, seeing magic and magical beings being percecuted over and over, being used as weapons, or coercing magical beings into fighting each other, he became conviced that it must remain hidden and in the shadows. It was under Queen Victoria that he began actively taking steps to ensure magic remains hidden and maintaining a certain balance in the universe. It also became his only political and unselfish activity post 1815. It is for this purpose that he keeps track of nosy muggles (he loves that word) and kill them when they get too close, including the late Proffesor Credence.  

Extra: - huge meat eater - possibly addicted to netflix - has too many dvds - There's quite a bit of inspiration from BBC's Merlin, particularly in regards to his magic, and honestly, making this character made me realize how much I miss that show. Time for a marathon rewatch. - As his title is a hereditary peerage, Kaz and his descendants are technically eligible to be members of the house of lords, but have never put their (his) name forth to be considered for a seat in the in house election process. - he is a pagan, mostly, and tends to refer to it as "the old religion", however, his "faith" is heavily influenced by Shinto and Buddhism as well.   - he's extremely loyal to the British Royals, royalist was essentially part of all commoner life for, well, ever, but his loyalty endures even in the modern age despite the decline of royalty's importance. This loyalty generally arises from the mid 1600's, during the English Civil War, which he initially participated in as a Roundhead aka a Parliamentarian. He first was on the radical side of the party, pushing not for a constitutional monarchy, but to abolish the monarchy completely, but his time with Oliver Cromwell and his short lived Republic changed Kaz's mind, though he didn't completely switch to the side of Cavaliers (the royalist party during the civil war), he did become an advocate of constitutional monarchy, and advised Richard Cromwell to resign and he was amongst whose of the opinion that Charles II be invited back, however, he didn't stick around to live under Charles II's, whom he considered extremely distasteful. However, his opinion of his Royals improved in the many of the reigns that followed, particularly under Victoria I, the last person he truly served in any capacity.

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