#{ sh.starter }

[ironandsilk]

Elektra could sense someone there, hovering just close enough that it pricked at her instincts. Made her itch to reach for the sai sheathed on her thigh, wanting the comfort of it in hand against whoever lingered. 

Acknowledging it though or reaching for that sai only gave them power over her. Granted them the privilege of getting to her. And tonight, she was not particularly inclined to grant that to anyone - instead, she refused to look up from her martini, taking a sip before speaking loud enough to ensure the other would hear. 

“Unless you intend on making this worth my while, I suggest you not interrupt my drinking.” 

[soviet-winter-blog]

Dog Days - Open Starter

The day that had been forecast as sunny was instead cloaked by torrential rain. Bucky was making his way back from work and was still thirty blocks away from his apartment. He was drenched to the skin, and the sleeves of his Henley were sticking in the metal plates of his arm, so if anyone bothered to look he could be arrested within the hour. Also, his dog was shivering, which made him irrationally grumpy anyway.

He'd found the husky on the corner of his street on a day not unlike this one. He'd tried to walk past her, but she was the only living thing for weeks to come over to him, and once he found she was missing a leg, he couldn't leave her to rot. Now, he was admittedly attached.

Rooting around in his pocket found he didn’t have enough for a taxi, which was hardly surprising. He ventured into a Starbucks and sat down at an outdoor table with his dog, trying to shield her with the table’s umbrella. Water dripped down his baseball cap, and he knew he looked a sorry sight. Perhaps that was why the stranger came up to him. Bucky glanced upwards and then quickly away again.

"If you work here," he said, "I'll move on in a minute. It's just my... My dog is getting soaked."

[diamondfrost]

“Were you actually going to say something, or just keep staring at me? Because, while it is rather flattering, darling, it’s also a bit creepy.” 

[fairphoenix-blog]

Music rose her soul, lifting her heart with that joyous feeling of hope. She hummed along to the beat, and she swayed slightly to the sound of it all. The world was separate from her; the world was a part of her. She didn’t even notice when another stood before here, trying to pull her from this moment of peace, until they spoke again. “Hmm?” 

[psysoulia-blog]

Searching - Open Starter

In comparison to most of the days Monica had lived through since arriving in New York which were always packed with activities, or at the very least events, this day was a slow one. She had actually woken up early (for once), arrived at work five minutes early, a new record, and had a relatively productive day, up until the point her boss told her he had to let some of the waitresses go. She could have fought to keep her job, but what was the point, considering he’d been angling at letting her go for a while now. No, as usual Monica kept her head held high, passed over her apron and walked confidently out of the restaurant, acting as if she had a clue what she was going to do with her life.

On the way back to her apartment, she stopped in front of NYU. On the phone the previous night, her mother had worriedly asked if she had any friends, for if she had, her mother had never seen them. Monica held up her phone to take the obligatory picture to send back to her mother and reassure her she hadn’t gotten a face tattoo yet, and looked around when her mum sent a text back, ‘show me your friends!! Xx’

In desperation, Monica grabbed the first person she saw. “Take a picture with me,” she said, “and save a life.” Specifically, Monica’s.

[eyesfrontt]

How long had she been sitting there? Natasha didn’t know. She doesn’t think she wanted to know, or else it would become painfully clear how much of her night she had wasted.

This wasn’t the type of place where she’d normally spend her Friday evenings, and truthfully, she didn’t have a clear explanation for what drove her there in the first place. Trying something new for the sake of it, maybe — but there was something familiar about this bar. Not familiar in the sense that she had been there before ( and of course not; on any other night, she wouldn’t even dream of stepping foot in such a dingy, loud, poorly-lit building ) but in the sense that there were thousands, possibly millions, of bars exactly like this and filled with exactly the same types of people she would find here. She took the shot of vodka — she had to represent, didn’t she? — she had been turning in her hand; it was her second one that evening, and it wouldn’t be her last.

And then she noticed a figure wandering across the bar, someone who doing an impressive job of blending in. ( Natasha was almost jealous. ) They weren’t attracting attention, no more than necessary, but they stood out bright and clear to her because Natasha noticed everyone. Her eyebrow rose in the tell-tale way that served as both a subtle hint and a warning that Natasha wanted to make everything a little more interesting, and she abandoned her shot glass — the only giveaway that she had been there and occupied that seat at all. With quiet, paced steps, she approached the figure, and stopped by their side. Glancing to them, she leaned forward to prop her elbows on the bar and spoke in her heavy, low tone.

“Good to see I’m not the only one who’s antisocial here. What’s your drink of choice tonight?”

[agxnt-13-blog]

Time is a warped concept for Sharon. How long has she been confined to her apartment? Has it really been weeks since they placed the ankle monitor on her? When was the last time her hands didn’t ache with a need to be out there, doing something to help fix what she’d done? You’ll stay here until they’re ready to go to trial. There’s a very real chance she’s going crazy. The only thing that helps her is the occasional visits from some of her former teammates: that’s who she expects at her door. Not Steve. Sharon isn’t one to be easily caught off guard, so the wide-eyed stare she gives him for a solid ten seconds is unexpected. Granted, the look is more than warranted: she can’t get over how stupid he is for coming to see her, of all people. She turns away, walking purposefully towards her kitchen but leaving the door open. There’d have been no point in slamming it: he’d come in anyway, and she owes him this, she supposes. Her hands grip the rim of the sink carefully so they won’t shake, and she refuses to look at him. ( “...there’s no way to know what else they planted in there.” ) “You shouldn’t be here.”

[roi-de-cinetique-blog]

King of Nerds || Open

Remy walked through the double doors of Forbidden Planet and went straight to the Pop Funkos. He was planning to buy a box of Game of Thrones Mystery Minis. Like all six of them. He figured he'd grab those and the new issue of Star Wars: Poe Dameron while he was out. Sure, he was in full get up. But it was a late night and Forbidden Planet was open until midnight. "Wha'ya lookin' at, ami?"

[thepxrfectstorm]

Would you mind passing me that box of matches?

[notadamscl-blog]

It isn’t until she gets a text message from Foggy that she notices how long she’s been lost in thought, the time blinking at her at the top of her phone screen. Three hours just looking over files, her own finds, trying to figure out which piece she is missing, trying to form the answers in her tired and overworked brain. 

[elderofknowhere]

“I sometimes question my choices when visiting Earth. I do not mind the planet but the people sometimes surprise you in a not so good way.”

[fairphoenix-blog]

Weird. Strange. Dangerous. In the walls of the training room, the thoughts of her team members usually rang loudly --- directed toward her, they felt even crueler than they would outside. There were few she felt comfortable training with, and Scott Summers happened to be one of them. ( Deep sigh of relief as she realized she would be with him for today’s lesson. ) The room shifted as the training simulation was crafted around them, and she flashed him a timid smile. “Are you ready?” 

[xsymphcny-blog]

With only having just a few days before her high school graduation came along, Poppy was absolutely dreading the college application process for many reasons — for starters, she had the myth of college being the only way to success shoved down her throat since childhood. Second of all, the colleges she was considering applying to were pretty much unaffordable, specially considering her situation. 

Sure, she could obtain a scholarship, but even then, Poppy had gotten mixed results on her SAT exams and her GPA hasn’t been that high as of late. Was all of this really worth it or should she just take a gap year instead? She could just feel her heart drop at the colleges that did accept her applications. 

“And then people wonder why kids drop out. How’s one even supposed to get an education when it’s so damn expensive?”

[xhydraviper-blog]

Viper didn’t consider herself evil, not really. Good and bad were arbitrary terms humanity gave to what they did or did not like. For her, morality did not exist, but rather a spectrum of usefulness. Which is why, she entered a small run down bar, cigarette at her lips, testing the limits of her long life, in search for some sort of alcohol. Yes alcohol would be very useful to her right now.

Running a terrorist organization was not all fighting and guns, which Viper much preferred to the negotiating and paperwork that also came with her position as Madame Hydra. Settling on a stool at the bar, she ordered a whiskey in a low voice, glaring at anyone who spent too long looking at her. They all turned away when faced by the terrorists hard gaze.

Except one. A figure a few seats down didn’t break eye contact, looking at her curiously. Viper tilted her head, and raised an eyebrow before speaking rudely.

“What are you looking at?”

[zhengwoobin]

“That was hilarious, but it wasn’t me.”

[phxser]

Of course.

It was a bitter thought in her mind. Of course, it was just Kitty’s luck that would put her in such a scenario while she was on a mission that was supposed to be simple. Back up shouldn’t have been a requirement and so that’s why she was the only yellow and blue clad individual in the vicinity. She was tearing through the building, her hand clutching tightly to the hand of a mutant much younger than herself. A small girl with a physical mutation who had received so much abuse from her peers, her own family and her entire neighborhood that she’d been forced to flee from her home and live day to day on whatever scraps she could find. 

An easy, phase in, phase out of the building job had turned into mass hysteria. There was a damn mob chasing them now and Kitty was half disappointed that pitchforks weren’t a common thing in this city. Nothing like a good pitchfork wielding mob to make your day, right? No, they had baseball bats and crowbars instead. Great. She could have easily taken them, regardless of most the men in the group being three times her size but she didn’t dare take her eyes off her new charge.

“Excuse me, coming through!” Kitty bellowed as they exited through the other side of the building, crashing back into the crowded streets of New York and pushing through the masses of people to try get some distance.