#is steve punk? no clue

[starman-jpg]

Dirty Little Secret

WC: 4k | TW: None that I can think of

Hey! Long time since I posted something I actually wrote.

Had this idea after listening to this song actually. It sounded fun.

This is not beta read. I would be curious if anyone would want to beta read anything I make before I post it.

If there are any errors, lets pretend like we didn't seem them. Cool?

And for the first time since I got my account, this will be posted on ao3! So feel free to read it here if you want.

Title from "Dirty Little Secret" by The All-American Rejects

Eddie is in Chicago, which is weird.

He’s been to Chicago before. He’s played shows before and has gone clubbing here. That’s not the weird part. It’s weird that he is here and is not expected to do… well, anything. 

He’s on a break from performing for a while. He and the band decided it was about time to relax for the first time in years. They’ve been touring on and off for 5 years and making albums in between so it was time to take a well earned break. 

Gareth, Jeff and Grant all decided to go back to Hawkins to see their families. They all were going to go to Hawkins originally but Eddie backed out at the last minute. 

He was scared to go back. Not because of monsters or anything. But because he didn’t want to run into him. 

He doesn’t know what he would say if he ran into him. Probably some dumb shit that would end up with him heartbroken more or looking like a total idiot. Or both.

So obviously, in order to avoid that situation, he decided to go to Chicago. 

Chicago is not bad, he likes Chicago. He originally moved to Chicago from Hawkins for a couple months before they all got discovered and moved to LA. 

So Chicago is great. But it's not Hawkins. He misses his Uncle Wayne and the kids, who were most definitely not kids anymore. And especially S- Nope! Can’t think about him now. Not now, he needs to relax. 

He walks aimlessly around the city before stopping at a small venue with a line out the door. He asked the people around about who’s playing. 

He learned that they are a semi-local band with a good following. The front man is drop-dead gorgeous, if the girl's squealing was anything to go by. 

Color Eddie intrigued, he’s going to see this band. 

He waited in line, got his last minute ticket and was let into the venue. It was small, but nice. Eddie remembered playing at venues like this. There was a stage already filled with instruments, a huge standing area and balcony area, and a bar that was fully stocked. 

Eddie gladly took advantage of the bar, getting a beer and headed towards the front of the stage. He didn’t have to be on the barricade, but he’d like to be close. Be in the crowd and enjoy the whole experience. 

After a while of waiting, his beer half gone, the lights on stage come to life as the song starts  and the crowd goes wild (it spooks Eddie honestly). Eddie looks at the band and freezes when he sees Robin Buckley behind the drums. 

When did she join a band? 

Shit. Is he here?

He looks frantically around the venue, trying to find that familiar head of hair. 

And as if God himself was enjoying his pain, a familiar voice rings through the venue. 

Let me know that I’ve done wrong

When I’ve known this all along

I go around a time or two 

Just to waste my time with you

Eddie faces the stage and his breath is instantly stolen from his lungs. 

Steve

He- he looks fantastic. 

Tight black jeans that hug all of Eddie’s favorite parts of him. A sleeveless shirt that reveals a generous bit of skin and some of his scars- oh shit, is that a tattoo?

He squints, acting like that will help him see. Steve raises his arm, pushing his hair back and sure enough, there is something on Steve’s ribs that he can’t make out this far away. 

His eyes snap to his face to see a small stud in Steve’s nose. His gaze moves to Steve’s eyes that were lined with black. 

Suddenly those beautiful, hazel eyes that he’s memorized look straight at him. 

Steve, for the most part, doesn’t look surprised and looks away back at the crowd, singing the chorus and bouncing around stage, clearly having fun if that smile says anything.

Steve moves across the stage, singing and kneels in front of the stage, letting the screaming girls, and a couple guys, touch his hand and up his arm. Steve quickly moves away before he is bodily dragged into the crowd, laughing as he sings. 

The chorus goes again and everyone is jumping around, and those who know the lyrics are singing along. Steve smiles, pulls the mic off the stand, and walks along the edge of the stage singing.

The way he feels inside (inside)

Those thoughts I can’t deny (deny)

These sleeping dogs won’t lie (won’t lie)

And all I’ve tried to hide

It’s eating me apart

Trace this line back

Steve holds out the last note, head bent back showing off the veins that pop out of his very biteable neck, before he smiles and dances around the stage some more. His hair is a mess. A very, very hot mess. 

Wait. Did Steve say ‘he’?

He ends up in front of Eddie’s section again, once again looking at him. 

Steve signals and the instruments back off a little as Steve brings the mic to him, almost whispering into it, not breaking eye contact. 

I’ll keep you my dirty little secret (dirty little secret)

Don’t tell anyone or you’ll be just another regret (just another regret)

Steve winks, fucking winks, as he jumps back to the middle of the stage, to finish off the song. 

I’ll keep you my dirty little secret 

Don’t tell anyone or you’ll be just another regret 

(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it)

My dirty little secret , dirty little secret 

Dirty little secret, who has to know? 

Steve whips around to where Eddie is and shrugs, 

Who has to know?

The song ends and the crowd erupts in ear shattering cheers. 

Steve laughs happily, waving to everyone and thanking them. 

Steve talks a little, welcoming everyone and even introducing the band before they start another song. 

The energy is high throughout the whole night. Steve owns the stage. Singing and dancing. And when he pulls out his guitar and starts playing… Well, Eddie is trying his best not to lose it. 

The show ends and the crowd starts shuffling out, but Eddie can’t seem to move his legs. 

When did this all happen? When did Steve become the front man of a band? When did Steve learn the guitar? 

He’s pulled out of his thoughts by a rough tap on his shoulder. 

“Are you Eddie Munson?” A security guard asks. Eddie slowly nods. “Cool. The band has requested to see you. Follow me.” And the guard walks off, not waiting for Eddie. 

Eddie, finally remembering how to walk, rushes to catch up with the guard who snakes around the back and shows Eddie to the green room. The guard knocks on the door and opens it, announcing Eddie’s arrival. After confirmation, he steps back and allows Eddie to shuffle past him into the room. 

He walks in and is instantly bombarded by two very familiar faces.

“Henderson! Little Wheeler! Holy shit hey!” They all hug, laughing. 

Mike steps back first, patting Eddie on the pack, “Eddie! Holy shit it's great seeing you again.” 

Dustin nods, “Yeah, man, it’s been years. How’s everything? How’s your band?”

“Oh! Yeah, it’s great. Everything’s great. The band is just taking a small break to prepare a new album.” He smiles,  “I didn’t- I didn’t see you guys out there.” 

“I work behind the scenes, y’know. Audio stuff for the band. And Mike was on stage. You didn’t see him?” Dustin asks. 

“On- on stage. Holy shit Little Wheeler, coming very far from our first lesson.” 

Mike ducks his head, blushing a little, “Yeah well, had a great teacher, didn’t I?” He gently nudges Eddie, “And when you left, Steve helped.” 

Steve helped? 

“Steve, yeah. Where- where is he? And Buckley! I saw her behind the drums.” 

Dustin was about to answer as the door opened behind him. Eddie turns around and sees Robin enter, “My ears are ringing. Are you talking shit Munson?” She asks playfully, a small smile on her lips. 

“Never Lady Buckley, c’mere.” He opens his arms and Robin throws herself at him, laughing as he rocks them side-to-side. 

They break apart, “When did you learn how to play? You were so good!” He asks, smiling. 

“Aw, thanks Munson, high praise from you. Um, probably like 4 years? Almost 5. I don’t know, it was Steve’s idea. But I enjoy it. Gets rid of all the extra energy, y’know?” She backs up to the couch and sits down, Mike sitting next to her, grabbing his guitar and strumming it idly. 

“You were great. You both were great. All of you were great. Um, where is the rest of your band?” He asks sheepishly. 

“Another part is behind you.” A snippy voice comes from behind him. 

“Max?!” Eddie shouts, and when he turns around, sure enough the little red head is behind him, smirking. “You’re in the band too?” 

She nods, walking to sit next to Robin on the arm of the couch. “Last time I checked.” 

Dustin, who was checking all the equipment, turns around, slightly waving off Eddie, “Don’t mind him Max. He only recognized Robin and Steve. Didn’t even realize Mike was on stage either.” 

Robin looks over at Eddie, her eyebrows raised, a knowing little smile spreading across her face. 

Eddie blushed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Huh… yeah, sorry. But- but you all did so good! I was really impressed.” 

They all thank him and continue catching up. Talking about how Eddie and his band are doing. How he’s doing, specifically. They talk for what feels like hours, but is only really 30 minutes. 

The whole time, Steve is nowhere to be seen. Eddie is getting a bit antsy. 

“Where-” His voice cracks and he quickly clears his throat, “Where’s Steve?” 

The kids (are they considered kids still?) look towards Robin. Robin, who clearly was dreading this question, panics. 

“He’s, um, he…” Her eyes flit around the room before landing behind Eddie, “Oh thank god.” She whispers, mostly to herself.

Eddie was about to question her before that same voice from tonight comes from behind him. 

“Hey, Munson.” 

Eddie turns around and again, the air is gone from his lungs. 

Steve. 

Did he say that outloud, please tell him he didn’t say that outloud. 

Steve is in front of him. Actually in front of him. Within reaching distance of him. He could take two steps and be in his arms. 

If they were still together… of course. 

“Steve… uh, uh… hi.” 

Hi?

Seriously Munson, that’s the best you could come up with after 5 years of not seeing the one man that’s been plaguing your mind since you left. 

Steve laughs softly, smiling, “Hi.” 

Oh! He’s smiling. That perfect, breathtaking smile. 

“Hi.” Eddie cringes at himself, where was all his sauve-ness? This is not being really suave-y. 

Steve takes another step into the room, still smiling (good sign), “I think we’ve established that we’ve greeted each other.” 

Eddie softly laughs, nodding, “Yeah, of course. Um, you were…” 

Great. Fantastic. Beautiful. Breathtaking. Hot. So hot that I can’t keep my thoughts straight (no pun intended).

Steve smirks at him, waiting. What was he waiting for? Right! Finish the goddamn sentence. 

“Fantastic.” He shouts, startling Steve, “Sorry. Um, you were fantastic.” 

Steve laughs again and nods, “Thanks.” Steve looks up and catches Eddie’s eyes.

They’re just looking at each other and everything just seems to be Steve and him. 

Steve and Eddie. 

Oh, how he wishes they could be Steve and Eddie again. 

Someone clears their voice and breaks the two boys' trance with each other.  

Eddie turns and sees Robin and the rest getting off the couch. 

“We,” Robin gestures to the rest of the band, “are going to go… pack up! Yeah! We’re gonna pack up, you two stay here. Catch up. And we’ll… pack. Yeah…” She finishes off lamely before the four of them quickly rush out of the room, slamming the door behind them. 

There is awkwardness between them before Steve sits on the couch, gesturing for Eddie to join him. 

“So!” Eddie starts, trying to break the awkwardness, “You’re in a band. That’s new.”

Steve laughs, music to Eddie’s ears, and nods, “Yeah, um, decided to make one. I wrote down a lot of things, lyrics. I made them into songs in my free time and showed them to Robin. She loved them. Said I should sing them for people.” He laughs again, shaking his head like he’s remembering that day specifically. “She signed me up for an open mic, so I couldn’t back down.” He shrugs, looking at Eddie, “People liked them I guess. Got some requests to come back.

Eddie nods, “Robin said you told her to try the drums?” 

“Obviously, if I was going to sing, she was going to be with me and she absolutely kills on drums. I tried to teach her some chords on guitar, but she would mess up then freak out in her little Robin way, y’know?. Drums were easier for her, the repetitiveness of it all. At least, that’s what she tells me.” 

“And Mike and Max?”

“Ah, well Mike was, um, sad, when you left. He was going to give up guitar since ‘the best guitar teacher in Hawkins’ left. His words, not mine. I ended up helping him too. And Max always wanted to learn the bass. So I helped her out too. We ended up jamming a lot together and the rest is history I suppose.” 

“You-” Eddie stops, struggling to find the words, “I- I never knew you played guitar.” 

“Ah, yeah. Well,” Steve shrugs, “I kinda grew up playing a lot. Loved it. About Middle School I had to stop. My dad didn’t like that I spent most of my time playing music then sports. Said music for idiots who didn’t stand a chance in the real world. So he signed me up for baseball, basketball, and swimming. Didn’t have much time to play. And I liked sports enough, so it wasn’t torture.” Steve plays with the edge of his shirt nervously, “When you left, I picked it back up.” 

Eddie nods, “You never told me. We could’ve played together.” 

Steve sighs, “Yeah, well. You never asked.” Steve shrugs again, trying to smile but it did not come through. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t. Don’t apologize. You didn’t know.” 

Eddie nods, looking at his shoes that could use a good clean. 

It’s this that Eddie really wanted to avoid. The awkwardness. Acting like they don’t know how each other feels or tastes. It’s torture. 

“That song,” Eddie starts, worried, “The one you started with. Is- Was it about… us?” 

Smooth Eddie. Real smooth.

Steve looks around the room, anywhere but Eddie and nods, “Yeah. It is.” 

“Oh.” 

Steve turns to Eddie, causing Eddie to fully look up now, “It-” Steve huffs and starts again, “It helped me. I mean… I couldn’t tell anyone, anything, y’know?. So, I channeled it into something where I could sing it, and no one knew who it was about.” 

“No one knows?” Eddie says, unintentionally sounding relieved. 

Steve rolls his eyes and turns back towards the door, “Yeah Eddie. No one knows, your secret is still safe. Don’t worry.” 

Shit! He’s screwing this up. 

“No! No, no, no. Not like that! Just surprised, is all. Thought you would tell Robin at least.” He tries to joke, which instantly falls and dies on the floor. 

“Figured if you didn’t want people knowing we were a thing together, probably wouldn’t like me telling everyone we were ever a thing.” Steve states like it's a fact, “Plus, your name started getting out there. Didn’t need a scandal so early on.”

“Oh, cool. Thanks.” Eddie cringes, he’s doing this all wrong. Shit, he needs to be fixing this.  

Steve scoffs and shakes his head, “Yeah, no problem.” 

“You could’ve, um, told people… told Robin.” He says sheepishly, hoping it was the right thing to say. It wasn’t. 

Steve gets up from the couch, clearly angry, and turns to look at him. “So, after we were together, I could’ve told people. Great Munson. Thanks for that.” 

Eddie goes to say something but it’s cut off quickly by a still fuming Steve. 

“Eddie, you kept me a secret. For months. No one knew about us! I tried. I tried to just meet your friends, said we could just say we were friends but you freaked until I backed down. I tried dropping stuff off at your trailer when you were sick and you freaked out, saying how people could see me there. How the hell is that supposed to make me feel?

“And I understand, we lived in a small town. But I wasn’t asking for you to kiss me in the middle of town. I was asking you to trust me when I said I knew people who would accept us and protect us if anything got out. But you said no. 

“And it got me thinking. Maybe it’s not because you’re scared. But maybe because it was me.” A tear rolls down Steve’s face, but before Eddie could even think of wiping it away, Steve did it. “I know I was an asshole in high school. But I tried so damn hard to be a better person. I tried so hard to change. And I did change. But it wasn’t enough. Not for you.” 

“Steve…” 

“Did you ever tell anyone Eddie?” Steve stares at him, anger behind his eyes, and a little bit of hope. 

Hope that maybe Eddie did tell someone. Hope that Eddie did love him, but he was just scared of the consequences of society and not because Steve was the problem. 

Eddie froze, and that gave Steve his answer. 

“Of course you didn’t. Didn’t even say we were friends.” Steve shakes his head, crossing his arms and moving further away from him. 

“I’m sorry. I- I did want people to know, eventually, but…”

“You left.” Steve finishes for him, void of emotion. “You left Eddie. We argued that night before. I was tired of hiding and I just wanted to tell Robin, but you freaked. So we argued and you stormed out of my house. You left my house. You left Hawkins.” Steve sniffles and looks at him, “You left me.” 

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“Stop!” Steve shouts, running his hands through his hair, frustrated, “Stop saying you’re sorry. It’s way too late. No one heard from you for 5 years! All we knew is what the news said. We saw you rise to fame and we thought you moved on from us. So we accepted that. I accepted that!” Steve yells, trying his best not to let tears fall. 

“I wanted to come back. I swear, I wanted to come back. I thought about coming back so much. I thought about coming back to-” 

“But you didn’t!” Steve yells again, “You never came back.” 

Steve looks around, trying to discreetly wipe his face, “Leave, Eddie. You need to leave.” 

Eddie freezes, “Steve…” 

“Leave.” Steve says sternly, not even looking at Eddie. 

Eddie nods, he looks up, begging his tears to not fall. He starts for the door in quick strides, wanting to get out of there fast. As he reaches for the door knob he stops. 

He can’t leave. He knew this could end badly, but he’s not running off. Not again. 

He hears Steve scoff, “Eddie, seriously. You need to leave. Right-”

“2,157!” Eddie shouts fast, turning around to see Steve staring at him. 

“What?” 

“2,157. I have thought of nothing but you for 2,157 days.” 

Steve still looks confused. Eddie steps towards him, itching to grab Steve’s hand, but thinks better of it. 

“There has never been a single day where I haven’t thought of you. Your hair. Your eyes. Your smile. Your laugh… I always thought of you, every fucking day.” 

A small tear falls down Steve’s face. Eddie hesitantly reaches out and cups Steve’s face, gently wiping away the tear with his thumb. 

“I’m sorry.” He continues, making sure Steve is looking at him, “I’m sorry that I wasn’t strong enough for us. I was scared. And I ran away the moment I could. And that was so, so, so shitty of me.” He sniffles, feeling his own tears run down his face, “I understand if you want me to leave and never come back. I will. It would break me, but I will. But I can’t leave without telling you…” He looks at the hopeful look in Steve’s eyes, “I love you, Steve Harrington. I always loved you. From the beginning. 

“I shouldn't've made you keep us a secret. I should’ve taken your hand and kissed you senseless in the streets of Hawkins. Who would’ve cared? I would’ve been happy to be seen with you. But, I was too much of a coward too. I should’ve showered you in all the love that I felt for you back then. I should’ve made you feel like no one else would ever love you as much as I did. I should’ve made you happy. And, I’m so, so sorry that I ever made you feel less than that.”  

Steve stayed frozen, more tears falling down his face. 

“Y-you loved me?” Steve croaks out, still looking at Eddie.

Eddie smiles, nodding his head, “Uh huh, still do.” Eddie gently ghosts his thumbs over Steve’s bottom lip, “Still do.” 

Steve smiles, letting out a breathy laugh. 

“I love you, Steve Harrington. So, so much that it kills me.” 

Steve goes quiet. Eddie feels like he catapulted across the line and tries to step back, taking his hand away from Steve’s face. But a hand shoots up and keeps Eddie right where he is. 

Eddie looks up at Steve again

“I love you too.” He whispers, even though they are the only ones in the room, “God Eddie, I love you so much.” 

Eddie’s shoulders relax and he smiles big, bringing his other hand to hold Steve’s face. “Yeah?” He asks softly. 

“Yeah… I love you.” 

Eddie smiles and goes to kiss him before stopping. “I- I can kiss you right? Please say I can kiss you.” 

“Please, Eddie kiss-” 

Eddie doesn’t wait and immediately surges forward to capture his lips. He was expecting something hot and heavy. But it wasn’t that. 

It was better. 

It was the slow movement of lips together. Something that was laced with love that they have been keeping in for years. Just the gentle slide of lips that did not seek to go further. It felt like it lasted forever, but it was only a couple minutes before they pulled apart and just stared at each other. 

“I’m not running away. Not this time. I want you Steve. I need you. And-and if you’ll have me, I’ll make sure I never hurt you. I will hold your hand and-and kiss you in front of the world. And we can tell everyone about us, because I want everyone in this world to know about us and see how happy we make each other.”

“You’re kind of famous Eddie, the world would quite literally know about us. And we still need to be safe. I don’t want you to jeopardize your career-” 

“Screw it! Screw it all! If people don’t like that I’m with another man, that sucks for them. But I’m not hiding us. Not again.” 

“Eddie…” Steve softly says, as if he’s trying to make Eddie see this logically (which he will not, thank you very much). 

“Nope! You can’t change my mind. If my label drops the band we’ll find a new one- or we’ll create one. I have the money. I just… I can’t lose you again.” 

Steve searches his eyes and smiles, “You’re serious? You’d jeopardize your career- your dream- for me?” 

“It's not a dream if you’re not there Stevie.” 

Steve moves and kisses him again, more passionately this time. 

“Okay.” Steve says, breaking apart. 

“Okay?” Eddie asks, “You want this? You want me?” 

Steve smiles, nodding, “It was always you Eds. No one else.” 

Eddie laughs and picks up Steve, spinning around. Steve’s laugh fills the air and Eddie could not be happier than in this moment. 

[buckyalpine]

If it talks like a duck

I’m just in a silly goofy mood, I’m so sorry you have to deal with my shit. Just a lil more of this ridiculousness.  They’re not necessarily related 

Tony: Lets play guess the avenger, I’ll give you guys a clue and you guess who it is. Ass and no brains. 

Bucky: Steve

Steve:???

Bucky: *shrugs* Your plans consist of jumping out of windows and landing on your shield. 

Tony: Correct. Next, a lost puppy on 2 legs

Sam: Bucky

Bucky: What the hell? 

Tony: Bonus round, a lost puppy on 2 legs that blushes and freezes

Sam: Bucky, when y/n is in the same room as him

Bucky: What- no- 

You: Hey, what are you guys doing?

Bucky: *freezes before diving head first into the cushions* 

_____________________________

Tony: Truth or dare Bucky: Why are you like this

Tony: Just pick, 

Bucky: Truth

Tony: Do you have a crush on anyone on the team?

Bucky:…I pick dare

Tony: I dare you to tell me if you have a crush on anyone on the team

Bucky:…I’m putting myself back in cyro

Tony:....

Bucky: STEVE TAKE ME BACK TO RUSSIA 

_______________________________

You: Bucky, could you-

Bucky: yes.

You: oh, uh, are you sure? I was just going to ask if-

Bucky: yes.

You: It’s just that-

Bucky: yes.

A few days later

Sam: How did y/n rope you into taking care of her hamster?

*Hamster sits on his shoulder while they both watch a documentary on Netflix* 

Bucky: *brushes off sunflower seeds off his lap* Don’t ask. 

__________________________________

Sam: If it stares, growls and grunts like a bear, what is it

Steve: Bucky, when Walker talks to y/n

Bucky: Shut up punk

_________________________________

Sam: Two truths and a lie, go

Bucky: I don’t like anyone, my hair is brown and I have a metal arm

Sam: Those are all truths, one is supposed to be-

Bucky: *looks at you with heart eyes*

Sam: OH MY GOD YOU LIKE Y/-

Bucky: *Yeets Sam across the room* 

_________________________________

You: I can’t find my knife, has anyone seen it? I need it for the next mission. 

Sam: Here, take this with you *shoves Bucky by your side* He comes with knives, guns, and a staring problem. Great to shoo away unwanted attention.  

You: *poke his side teasingly* This could do, will you protect me Barnes?

Bucky: *blushes furiously when you slip your hand into his, tugging him to the jet* Always, doll

[bray-washed]

Some of you are gonna hate this, disagree with this, get mad at this. Whatever.

Let me say from the jump: CM Punk, 100% should not have assaulted his coworker. Should not have. That’s a fact.

HOWEVER, and this is in no way excusing the actions but this is not ALL his fault like everyone is saying. This entire scenario was building because TK cannot be a boss, that’s not to say TK is a bad person - by all accounts TK is known to be a good person just not a good boss. In TK’s defense (& being in the wrestling business as a booker & promoter myself) it’s hard to be a boss to your friends, because that’s what happened his employees became his friends and that’s a hard position to be put into; however, that does not mean he needs to neglect his duty as a boss and he clearly has. (& in my opinion, is being taken advantage of by people who are using him for his money but that’s a different conversation)

Watching that footage, it’s clear to see that CM Punk was telling the truth. Point blank, what he said happened that night, happened. So that leads me to believe that everything else leading up to that moment also happened. We can’t (conveniently) hear what’s being said but I would guess Jack said something that angered Punk - neither were really showing aggressive behavior, maybe when Jack went to turn away from Punk in the beginning & Punk pulled him back - but like? Jack was turning away mid conversation if I, as a veteran, was trying to talk to a new kids about something & they turned away from me? Yea, I’d pull them back… cause the entitlement is not happening absolutely now.

Seems to me like Jack Perry was being uncooperative from the get-go. Why? Who knows. That’s the real speculation, Punk will say it’s cause of his “friends” (the Young Bucks) influence which is a fair speculation but it could be anything. Jack Perry is young & dumb & is probably forming some kind of ego of “I know better than the old timers” every wrestler gets that mentality for a little while and they need to grow up & out of that mentality.

Punk comes from the era of wrestling where if you talk shit, you get hit - fuck around & find out, if you will… and I as well come from that era & mentality, being a professional is first on my list so I’ve never gotten into a physical fight but it doesn’t shock me or fill me with rage when it does happen - not saying it should but some people need to have those consequences come to light. Jack fucked around and Jack found out.

Now, whatever Punk said to TK, no clue… I don’t think just watching that that TK can say that he feared for his life there was nothing to fear there. Now, we can’t hear anything & I’m sure yelling was happening… but fearing for his life? Be so for real right now Tony, honey, you run a wrestling locker room… arguing is bound to happen… relax.

Genuinely, this showed most of us nothing & I don’t think it did anything to benefit AEW. AEW is just trying to fight fire with fire, for no reason. If TK wants to run a “business” then… do that. Want to know what WWE 100% would never do? Show footage of a former employee in a fight backstage. When all that nonsense when Punk left happened… did WWE show footage of Punk leaving to “prove a point”? No. Ditto for Steve Austin - who ALSO famously took his ball & went home and WWE has camera crew literally everywhere… there have been TONS of fights most likely caught on camera but we’ll never see them why? Cause they are a business.

I think this was a bad idea all around… but that’s just me.

(But also can we please talk about Samoa Joe just pacing back & forth, minding his business, getting pumped for his match…. I don’t know why but that just made me love him more.)

[justalonelyslytherin]

My Kingdom, Your Kingdom | six

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Pairing: secret king!Steve Rogers x heir apparent!female Reader

Summary: The search for clothing continues. With it, the discovery of more personal things comes.

Warnings: slight mention of parental loss

Wordcount: 4.4k

If you enjoyed reading this, please consider leaving a comment or reblogging. I don’t allow for my content to be copied, translated, or reposted on other websites/apps. Please don’t steal my work.

A/N: The dividers are made by @/firefly-graphics. As you might have noticed (again) this chapter took a long time to be posted. University is still to blame for this. I started working on my thesis but hopefully I'll be able to get back to posting a new chapter every 2-ish weeks!

Taglist: open, in the reblogs, let me know if you want to be added

“Hey Steve, do you have a clue where exactly those clothes are supposed to be? So we got a place to start looking?” Sam’s voice carried out of the room.

"Yeah, punk. We’ll be occupied for the rest of the week if not.” Bucky complained shortly after. It was no surprise he did, she understood as she followed Steve - at last - into the room. 

For a storage room, it was big. And for its proportions, it was well used. The walls were stacked with shelves and drawers that stretched from bottom to ceiling. Every available wall space that wasn’t stacked with furniture had either frames hung on the wall or propped against it.

Even the middle of the room was filled with more clustered space. More shelves to divide the room into smaller sections. She could barely see the other end of the room, the only hint of its end was the soft light coming in from the outside.

There were gaps between the books and other items stacked in the compartments. Through one such crack she spied the blonde hair of her youngest sister as Yelena stood before the middle shelf and eyed what looked to be a toy car carved out of wood.

“There should be a couple of chests or an old cabinet,” Steve drew out slowly and contemplatively as he looked through the room. She had the distinct feeling that he was still overwhelmed. If not from the room itself anymore then from the sheer vastness of it.

“How come all of this is here?” Yelena wanted to know, peeking behind the shelf with furrowed brows. “I thought you rented this place.” 

That caused the men – or rather Sam and Bucky – to laugh. She couldn’t share this amusement and neither could Natasha, as the two sisters shared a look. Back was the uncomfortable twisting in her gut.

“The cabin belongs to my family,” Steve spoke over the quieting laughter of his friends, “the clothes are leftovers from our frequent stays in the past.”

“How can you afford to keep a place like this over the years? Does the crown pay you that well as simple guards?” Natasha’s question had a certain bite to it. If any of them had been offended by the degradation of their jobs, they didn’t show it.

No, instead they took it with humor. Bucky snorted, a pleased and somewhat prideful smirk adorning his lips.

“We are not simple guards. We are the guards.” 

Sam nodded in agreement, a twinning grin on his lips. “We are part of the royal guard. The bodyguards of the king.” 

“Sam.” Steve’s warning, disapproving tone was directed only at his friends while his eyes were focused entirely elsewhere. Her. The hitch of her breath must have been loud enough for the blond beside her to hear. 

It had been a bad enough revelation that they’d been guards in the king's palace in Brooklyn’s capital. This was so much worse. Once more the dreaded feeling returned to the pit of her stomach. She’d lead her sisters directly into the lion's den without meaning to do so. 

“Even so,” Yelena crossed her arms before her chest, nose raised challengingly. She didn’t seem too impressed with the new revelation. Her and Natasha had always been good at masking their surprise. And while Yelena lacked the talent at hiding her pure and childlike excitement, every other emotion she could hide just as well as Natasha behind an unimpressed exterior. “So long as you aren’t the king's best friend I don’t believe your pay to be good enough to be able to afford this place.”

“You are right. But a nobleman rarely needs to worry about money. Right, Steve?” Bucky glanced at his blonde friend and she wanted to close her eyes and be swallowed by the waters of the great lake.

She’d thought too soon. It had gotten even worse. 

Too much. It was all too much. 

“Just shut up for a minute, would you? You are making it worse.” Steve’s bark sounded closer than he had been before. It wasn’t his voice that pulled her out of her spiraling thoughts eventually, it was his hands on her shoulders. Something about the contact between him and her felt so soothing and grounding. Looking up she found him directly in front of her, his eyes already intensely looking at her.

“You gotta stop worryin’.”

His voice was soft and had an unlike drawl to it that she hadn’t heard before. The quip of his lip suggested amusement, maybe teasing but the softness in his eyes told her he wanted to calm her. “I’ll tell you as many times as you need to believe: You guys are safe with us. Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise. And there is nothing that will change this either. Ok?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, pushing his hands away from her in a moment of defense. She kept acting like a spooked goose, honking and running in circles. Time to stop acting like a scared little girl and return back to the soon-to-be ruler of an entire nation. She couldn’t act so foolish. She was a princess. A future queen. Time to act like it. 

“I just didn’t expect you to dump that kind of revelation on us. Again.”

“It’s like us saying we are related to the widovian throne.” Natasha stayed entirely unbothered by her glare for that comment.

“That’d be a shocker,” Sam claimed with a snort. Yeah, wouldn’t it?

“Because it’s impossible,” Steve acclaimed, looking at them with exasperation. If he just knew. “Can we get back to concentrating on the task at hand?”

She could only agree, she wanted to focus on the simple task. One that wouldn’t set her off with more worry and uncertainty about their entire entanglement. Sighing she combed her fingers through her hair, rubbing over her scalp. “Are there any more things you’d like to tell us before I get another shock?”

Steve looked at her apologetically. The shake of his head was all she needed to drop her shoulders and nod. Alright. She could handle it if they didn’t jump another thing onto them. Like one of them being the King's brother.

“I do have some more questions,” Natasha quipped cooly. She was leaning with her shoulder against the middle shelf and looking at the three men with scrutiny. 

“Guess we can answer a couple while we look for the clothes.”

“It’s only fair since we grilled you yesterday. Your turn now,” Sam also agreed, grinning relaxedly. 

“So, where do we start?” Yelena wanted to know, running her fingers over the spine of a couple of books.

“There.” Bucky pointed into a corner left to them, where a couple of chests stood. They didn’t look particularly special, not standing out in any way but the brunette seemed confident in his choice. After all, he knew this place. Maybe he remembered some of the places the clothes had been stored in.

A big cloud of dust took to the air after the thick layer was disrupted  by Sam and Bucky. Each of them had taken to one side of the big chest, scooting the huge wooden construct forward before they’d lifted the heavy lid up. 

The price for it was the beige, gray shimmer in the air, the result of the many particles of dust going everywhere. The two men had been enveloped in it nearly instantly but the rest of them weren’t spared either. Quickly the dust raced to tickle everyone’s noses. It didn’t take long for the sneezes and coughs to erupt.

Natasha – surprisingly – was the fastest to recover from the powdery onslaught and while they still waved their hands in front of their faces or squinted their watering eyes, she leaned with her shoulder against the nearest shelf, looking at the chest.

“So all three of you are noble brats?” Her lips were pulled into a sly and teasing grin. Sam huffed more in surprise than in offense.

“These two–” he nodded towards Steve and Bucky, “–yeah. I’m a simple fisherman’s son from one of the coastal towns.”

The protests coming from said ‘noble brats’ went unheeded by Natasha and Sam. Instead, the redhead continued, undeterred.

“How does a simple fisherman’s son end up as one of the king's bodyguards?”

“Met ‘em in the military.”

“Him? Personally?” She blurted surprised, beating Natasha to the word.

“Yeah we, uhm, we all served in the same unit.” Steve butted in stepping beside her, arms loosely crossed in front of his chest. He glanced over at Sam. The two of them shared a brief and entirely silent conversation before he continued, “He found friends in us, thought us to be loyal. And when our service came to an end he wanted to have his most trusted friends close to him and so he offered us the jobs.” 

She watched their lips twitch up into smiles. There was warmth and pride in their smiles but also in the way they held themselves. 

Natasha, content with the answer and the provided information jumped to the next topic. This time her eyes turned towards the third in their bunch. The brunette was hunched over the chest, one arm bracing himself on the edge of the chest, while his other hand dug around its contents.

“How do you know widovian?” 

Bucky’s head snapped up. He smirked at Natasha, a playful glint shining in his eyes. The redhead wasn’t as amused and neither was she. No, she was very curious to listen to his explanation. There weren’t many people outside of Widovia – and Sokovia – who could speak their national language. Not anymore.

With the complete closure of their borders and their retreat into solitude the lands around them had ceased to show interest in their culture. It was hard for her to imagine that people outside would have still learned to pick up the language.

Why then, did a man born and raised in their enemy country, with no apparent descent from their home, possess the ability to speak their mother tongue? 

“I figured you’d want to know that,” Bucky told them relaxed and confident. He didn’t feel called out, nor scrutinized and he certainly didn’t see anything wrong with it either. Leaning against the chest his eyes jumped from Natasha to Yelena to her. All three were now closely paying attention to him.

“That doesn’t answer the question.” Yelena frowned, raising her eyebrow in return as she waited, rather impatiently, for him to give his answer. A proper one. 

The way he shrugged his shoulders so nonchalantly had her clench her jaw. She knew he wasn’t meaning to offend them but to them it was a matter of offense and pride, and in a smaller part also about safety. Their people inside the borders were only safe as long as those borders stayed impenetrable. Every way that something could slip out could be a way for something – or someone – to slip in too.

“There was an old man,” he started, “who I met after I joined the army. He’d lived in Widovia for many years as an emissary prior to the conflict. Just before Widovia closed its borders he returned home. He taught me.

A little only.”

“Yeah, we can tell. Your pronunciation is shit.” Yelena’s dryness never ceased to amaze. Steve and Sam started laughing while Bucky winced, scratching at his chin in embarrassment. Even her lips quipped up in amusement at the unforgiving words.

“Holy shit is something wrong with you?” There was no heartbeat wasted by her sister as the blonde looked at her suspiciously. At least Yelena had the heart to look concerned and not disgusted. 

“Why?”

“Where is the stern ‘Yelena’?” She should be mad at the way her sister imitated her scolding voice. “Where is the disapproving look for mocking someone? Your usual lecture?”

“Well, you are right. He sounds bad.”

“Like a tyro.” Natasha agreed with another smirk on her lips. 

While Bucky clasped his hand to his chest, looking at the three of them in mocking hurt, acting as if they just ripped out his heart, Steve furrowed his brow and asked “What’s a–what was that word you said?”

“A tyro?” She asked the adorably confused-looking blonde.

“Yeah, that,” he nodded. She could see he wanted to try to pronounce it, the desire, the way the world lay on the tip of his tongue. Yet he refrained from trying, not wanting to make a complete fool out of himself.

“It’s a somewhat mocking, playful term for a beginner. A rookie you would call it?”

“Whatever it means, please just keep calling him that. Especially with that delectable accent of yours. I didn’t know widovian could sound so good and seductive.”

The glare Bucky sent toward Sam was murderous. Surprising – and something she herself didn’t notice but Natasha very well did – was Steve’s lesser but still pronounced glare towards Sam for the flirtatious remark.

“How about less bickering and more looking?” Yelena quipped, pointing towards the chest Bucky leaned against. In his hand, he held something out of fabric. Had he found something already?

When the brunette held it up however it was nothing any of them would be able to wear. The shirt clearly had belonged to either one of them as small boys. Now it looked comically small in the buff man’s hands.

“No luck.”

So they turned towards the next chest to find something in there. While Sam and Bucky cleared the space and freed the chest from everything that had been stacked on top of it, nothing remained to do for the rest of them.

To pass the time waiting she found herself looking around the room. It felt like a treasury. Every book, every little trinket that littered the spaces of the shelves, felt to her like a magnificent find. Each one told a story about the past, about the time Steve spent here, about the other people that used to reside in this place. Not only was it a glimpse into those people’s lives and their beings but also into another culture. Another glimpse at Brooklyn, so personal and intimate.

Her roaming eyes caught the glimpse of a wardrobe through a gap in the shelf. It looked big, reaching over the top of the shelf towards the ceiling. Something about it pulled her in. It had caught her curiosity. 

Slowly she slipped from the preoccupied group. Walking through the opposite aisle between the shelves, she reached the opposite side of the room.

There, before her stood the massive wooden wardrobe in its entire glory. The intricately carved details on its doors held her in awe, the round brass knobs were just as beautifully decorated with swirls and other patterns. It looked magical. Like a wardrobe out of fairytales, ones that held magical clothes and items and ones that held secret passageways to another world beyond their grasp and understanding.

The wood felt smooth and luxurious under her fingers. There was a keyhole out of brass but no key anywhere in sight. Please don’t be locked. 

“You found another place to look through?” For once Steve didn’t startle her. She glanced back as he stepped up, looking at the wardrobe before her. He eyed it from top to bottom, ending on her fingers about to follow the outline of the keyhole. “Think it’s open?”

“I hope so.” Letting her hand drop, she took a step back until she was at level with him. 

“Listen, I’m sorry,” Steve sighed, rubbing his neck as he looked at her in apology. “I didn’t want to scare you…didn’t want those idiots to dump all of that on you guys.” 

There was a smile splitting its way across her lips as Steve mumbled beside her. It was sweet. “It’s not your fault,” she told him, stopping him in his ramblings.

“Well, I should have told you in the first place.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. There was no reason for any of you to bring this up unprompted and there was no way for you to know whether I would react…well like that.” 

Steve looked at her softly, his eyes searching and when they found what they were looking for, he softly but quietly asked, “Why did you react like that?”

Parting her lips she couldn’t come up with any words to answer him, so she closed her mouth again. Her lips pressed together tightly as she thought about it. Why? The answer was fairly simple yet she felt so troubled to pronounce it. 

“It’s my fault if something happens to them,” she told him after a long, contemplative silence. Glancing behind her, through the cracks in the shelves, she spied her sisters. “I can’t let anything happen to them.”

Steve followed her gaze, turning his head back to watch the group of four unlikely individuals. These girls were peculiar. Mystery clouded around them like thick wads of smoke. They were peculiar but also special.

Something told him she was particularly special. Something in the way she held herself, something about the almost unbound curiosity mixed with a distinctive hesitancy she displayed. She was an enigma and it made him all the more curious.

Steve couldn’t deny the strong pull he felt toward this beautiful, mysterious woman. He couldn’t keep away, he couldn’t help seek her out. All he wanted to do was be by her side and look at her. He wanted to make her smile. He wanted to be the one to show her the world. To show her his world. The one that was so familiar to him yet so foreign and strange to her.

“Nothing will happen to you, I promise,” he told her and with a more serious note he added, “I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe.” 

Her eyes softened at his words, the worry in them dissipated. It was replaced by a touch of sadness so heavy that it made Steve’s heart painfully constrict. He wanted to reach out and cradle her in his arms, to wipe the sadness from her beautiful face. The urge to protect them grew only stronger. 

She couldn’t know, she had to believe him to be a silly man with wishful thinking and promises too big to keep. That whatever safety he promised wouldn’t be enough. They’d obviously gone through a lot if she was this hesitant and anticipating danger around every corner. If she only knew what kind of might he held and what he was willing to sacrifice after knowing her for less than two days.

“Shall we try to open it?” She cleared her throat and averted her eyes in favor of gazing back at the wardrobe. A feeling of defeat settled in Steve’s stomach, the ugly sensation churned and growled deeply as he fought to suppress it. 

With a nod, he stepped toward the massive wooden structure. Cool felt the brass knob under his skin, the raised embossments pressed into his palm. With a gnarly squeak, the door gave away, easily following his hand as he pulled the door open. 

A small gust of dust followed. This time however Steve was clever enough to avert his face and spare himself a sneezing fit. When he peered into the belly of the furniture a smile raised on his lips.

“You seem to be very good at finding things.” He stepped to the side, making space for her to peer into the closet beside him. Inside was a multitude of different clothing items both hung and folded. 

“I was already afraid of having to try to squeeze into some of your childhood clothes,” she mumbled with a triumphant smile. Steve snorted, he glanced toward the floor to conceal how big of a smile she brought to his face.

“You surely would have looked fabulous in dinosaur print.”

“Dinosaur print?” She curiously raised an eyebrow. Steve in return blushed and smiled bashfully at her.

“I was obsessed with Dinosaurs, the stars, and the ocean.”

“I’d love to see the ocean at some point,” she mumbled, “Your capital lies on the coast, right?” With a hum Steve nodded. “How is it? Growing up so close to the sea I mean?”

“The view is beautiful, something entirely different to the mountains. 

In the summer the salty breeze travels into the city, and the winds help keep the city cool. There are rivers making their way through parts of the city and people have built small boats to ride through the canals. When the sun hits the waves the water glistens like gems. 

Oh, and the caves along the beaches. Bucky and I used to explore them as children. We imagined them to house all kinds of magic: a sleeping dragon, the buried treasure of a pirate crew, all such things. 

Buck also taught me to sail a boat. We’d sneak out of our beds after bedtime and climb out of our windows, down to the marina where we’d hijack his father’s boat.”

Her breath hitched as she watched him talk about his home. There was a tranquil look on Steve’s face, one of content and fond memories.

“Did you ever get caught?” She whispered. It was almost pitiful to disturb this peaceful look on Steve’s face. Almost, weren’t it for the happy glint in his eyes and smile at her indulgence. 

“Many times. We got into so much trouble but we didn’t care about it. We would do it again after every scolding.” It sounded like he had had a fun childhood. 

For a moment it made her sad, thinking how it would have been had her parents been around longer. Would her sisters and her have had a childhood like that? Would they have been able to be innocent children?

She didn’t want to focus on these thoughts and Steve turned out to be a great help in preventing her from thinking more such depressing things. He continued to tell her about the shenanigans he and Bucky had been up to in their childhood as they gradually shifted their focus on pulling out some of the clothes. 

Happily Steve told her everything that came to his mind, at least until she interrupted his babbling with a deep frown on her face, “I’m not a puppet.”

“Yes,” he answered her, confidently and nearly automatically. Steve was ready to continue his story, the delayed meaning of her words setting in stopped him abruptly. Confusion transformed his features as he stopped his motions and turned to her,

“No…

What?”

“Why would you call me a puppet?” She frowned up at him, her feathers clearly ruffled as she huffed, although he couldn’t understand how that had happened.

“I…didn’t.”

“You called me ‘Doll’,” she stated and it clicked. Warmth flooded Steve and his cheeks began to burn.

“That’s not the same,” he mumbled, yet it was clear this did not explain the situation to her. Instead, Steve found himself opposite of her accusingly raised eyebrow. The same unamused look he had witnessed her giving her younger sister. Steve gulped, not enjoying being on the receiving end of that look one bit. 

“That’s, um…” With a sigh, he bashfully glanced to the floor and rubbed at his neck. He was in trouble. 

Huge Trouble. How could he explain it to her without revealing he had just called her a pet name by accident? A term usually reserved for lovers? Yet it had just slipped out as he had addressed her. 

“Doll is a term of endearment that men call their female friends. It’s a non-specific name.” 

She looked at him doubtfully, a wary glint in her eyes as she looked at him with pursed lips. It didn’t sound quite right to her, he could see it in her expression and it terrified Steve. Desperately and frantically he wracked his brain to find another explanation. One with which he wouldn’t dig himself an even deeper hole. Perhaps a straight-up apology would be best suited. He had to be honest with her and hope she wouldn’t find any insult from it. But before Steve could open his mouth again, she shook her head and mumbled,

“Some of your traditions are weird. Why would it be endearing to call someone a puppet? That's not nice.” There was a remaining hint of disgruntlement in her voice, one that brought out the natural drawl of her widovian. It was a mighty wrong moment to feel like that but the sound of her accent made Steve’s heart flutter.

He couldn’t help but huff out a laugh. He adored her view, and couldn't help but find her reaction to it anything but cute.

Their hunt for clothing in the end turned out to be successful, albeit long. It had taken them the better part of a couple of hours to locate enough items that would be suitable both indoors and outdoors in the freezing, wintery cold.

Sam, Bucky, Yelena, and Natasha had tackled the chests on one side of the room while Steve and she had been isolated on the opposite side of the room. Only when both parties had met at the door to the hallway had her sisters and Steve’s friends even noticed their absence.

Now the girls were on their way out of the room, trailed by the men. Sam and Steve carried the piles of musty and dusty clothing – they’d unanimously decided to chuck all of it into the washer first.

Bucky eyed the clothes in Steve’s arms suspiciously, stopping in the doorframe, he blocked both Steve and Sam from leaving the room. 

“What?” Steve asked, noticing Bucky’s eyes on the clothes in his hands.

“Those are some of your mother’s clothes,” Buck noted and Steve fell silent.

There was a pause before he answered slowly, “Yes.” 

The statement didn’t seem enough for Bucky, however, who raised an eyebrow once more. “They’ll fit and suit her well.”

Sam and Bucky didn’t need to ask who ‘her’ was in this case.

Without saying anything else Steve pushed past Bucky and left the room. It was now Sam’s turn to glance at Bucky, alternating between looking at him and toward where Steve had just stood. 

“You wanna tell me what that was?”

“Steve hasn’t touched any of his mother’s things since she passed away.” 

Sam shrugged his shoulders, so he had gotten over it. What was there to it that Bucky made a big deal out of it? 

“He didn’t allow anyone to touch them. All of Sarah’s belongings were stashed away. He couldn’t bear looking at them and being painfully reminded of his mother not even a week ago.”

[imaginedreamwrite]

Part 2 to this

The sea of red, white & clue cocktail dresses worn by waitresses had no doubt been a shock when you first stepped into the grand ballroom to celebrate his birthday. With no given set of rules about what to wear other than something pretty for Steve, you negated to choose anything even close to the shades of independence.

Instead, you showed up in a gold shimmery dress with thin straps and a corset top. The dress fell below your knees however there was a high slit in the front that gave a soft peek at your knees & thighs, with a fitted skirt that hugged your hips.

It was more expensive than you thought, and if you would have paid for it yourself you would’ve completely turned it down. But you didn’t pay for it yourself, and with the bow wrapped box it came in had also come a honey-laced note from Bucky.

"Can’t wait to see you tonight, darling" the notes message was poignant in your mind, echoing on a loop as you stepped out of the elevator onto the party floor. The atmosphere was upbeat no doubt, however there was something about the crowd and the decorations that made this all feel over the top and convoluted.

Side-stepping the main flow of traffic, and the line to wish Cap a happy birthday, you made your way through the crowd to reach the bar. With a dark beaded clutch in one hand, you used your free hand to start pulling a barstool out from under the bar top.

“You made it,” a hand helped you, one that was as warm as it was large, and a familiar voice whispered in your ear, “you look gorgeous, darling.”

Bucky’s firm chest was pressed against your back, and a flourishing warmth radiating though to you had made you shudder pleasantly. You felt his smirk against your shoulder, the soft brush of his lips against your skin had reduced your nerves to an all time low, and made your stomach flip end over end.

“Did you bring Stevie a good birthday present?” His hands skimmed your waist, fingers flexing against your side while he throughly enjoyed your reaction. “Or are you his birthday present?”

“Bucky stop, I can’t-”

“You’re not at work, doll.” Bucky’s hands climbed your waist to your shoulders where they settled comfortably, and then he leaned around you to speak to the bartender. “All her drinks on my tab, bring them to the room upstairs.”

“Bucky-” you tried to argue and found yourself at a stalemate when he pressed his finger against your lips to cut you off.

“You’re not running out on me and Steve. Not tonight.” Bucky’s hand clutched yours, leading you from the bar through the crowds and further to a set of stairs that led upstairs.

And on the path of Steve Rogers.

“Hey sweetheart,” Steve leaned in to kiss your cheek, a hand slipping around to rest on your back, “nice to see you here.”

“Happy birthday, Captain.” You exhaled softly, desperately trying to ignore the way your heart thrashed and your hands shook. “Big crowd.”

“Empty faces,” Steve shrugged, the corner of his lips forming a smirk as he looked you over, “did you bring me a gift?”

“Bucky gave me the dress—” you turned your head, looking back at Bucky and the twin smirk he shared with Steve.

“—and..?” Steve’s hand cupped your chin, tilting your head back to hold your gaze. “Did you wear something pretty for me?”

You couldn’t verbally answer. Instead you swallowed the lump in your throat and nodded your head, eyes widening with nervousness and excitement.

“Good girl. Buck,” Steve looked past you, hunger and desire and need growing, “we should take this upstairs.”

“Best idea you’ve had lately, punk.”

[bleedingtodeath]

Shit Legion At brother o’heir arena, sometime in the mid 2000s. No clue who took this picture

Crust punk band with members of Dark Era and death vortex. Talk to any oldhead who went to shows in the 2000s and a lot of them will mention the generator show Shit Legion played in bannerman park in the middle of the winter. They released a tape in 2006 via scum tribe records. The uploads of the tape online have the worst audio quality imaginable although there are a few non public rips that sound quite good. Very politically charged lyrics.

LYRIC SHEET:

There is an audio recording of the bannerman park show, and somewhere, in someone’s basement there’s a vhs recording of the show that I’ve heard many older scene goers talk about. It kind of has this urban legend like aura around it.

Shit Legion was Kyle, Kady, John, and Steve.

[aew-kun-age-regression]

-Miscellaneous Masterslist-

(part 2, cause I can't add anymore links to part 1)

Moodboards

Caregiver!Indiana Jones StimBoard (Indiana Jones)

Caregiver!Commander Mills StimBoard (65)

Caregiver!Elmont (Jack The Giant Slayer)

Caregiver!Ahkmenrak (Night at the museum)

Caregiver!Jedediah & Octavius (Night at the museum)

Caregiver!Holly (Red Dwarf)

Caregiver!Larry Daley StimBoard (Night at the museum)

Caregiver!Klaus Mikaelson (The Vampire Diaries)

Caregiver!Elijah Mikaelson (The Vampire Diaries)

Cozy Christmas Moodboard

Twin Stars StimBoard (Sanrio)

Caregiver!Noob Saibot (Mortal Kombat)

Valentine's Day Moodboard

Personal Regression Moodboard

Regressor!Nimona (Nimona)

Caregiver!Larry Daley (Night At The Museum)

Regressor!Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit)

Caregiver!Nicky Harper (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky and Dawn)

Ballet Moodboard

Nostalgia Moodboard

Mermaid StimBoard

Applejack Moodboard (My Little Pony)

Soft Moodboard

Twilight Sparkle Moodboard (My Little Pony)

Rainbow Dash Moodboard (My Little Pony)

2000's Punk Aesthetic Moodboard

Personal Roadtrip Moodboard

Stuffie Moodboard (Roxie - Individuals Stuffie)

Stuffie Moodboard (Yellow Bunny - Individuals Stuffie)

Fluttershy Moodboard (My Little Pony)

Rarity Moodboard (My Little Pony)

Pinkie Pie Moodboard (My Little Pony)

Rainy Day Moodboard

Self Indulgent Nostalgia Moodboard

Famous Five Moodboard

Stuffie StimBoard (Tuppy - Individuals Stuffie)

Self Indulgent Nostalgia Moodboard

Dork Diaries Moodboard

Fem Doll Moodboard

Teen Nostalgia Moodboard

Caregiver!Larry Daley (Night at the museum)

Camp Moodboard

Nature Aesthetic Stimboard

Winx Club Moodboard

Deer Moodboard

Bluey Moodboard

Caregiver!Karlach (Baulders gate 3)

Wild West Themed

Personal Teen/Tween Themed

Summer Themed StimBoard

Teenre Sleepover Themed

Regressor!Princess Peach (Mario)

Babre Themed

Mermaid StimBoard

Caregiver!Steve (Blues Clues)

Neo/Matrix Themed

Caregiver!Donna Noble + Regressor!14th Doctor

Regressor!Arnold Rimmer StimBoard (Red Dwarf)

Nostalgia Moodboard

Regressor!Spider (Heartbreak High)

Summer Themed Moodboard

Personal Teen/Tween Themed StimBoard

Fanfics/Stories

Headcannons

Caregiver!Rosa Diaz Headcannons (Brooklyn 99)

Playlists

Art

Ghoulia Yelps (Monster High)

DNI Banners

Dinosaurs

Jedediah, Ahkmenrak, Octavius, Larry (Night at the museum)

Hiccup Haddock (How to train your dragon)

Havik & Reiko (Mortal Kombat 1)

Kabal (Mortal Kombat 11)

11th Doctor, Amy & Rory Pond (Doctor Who)

JJ Maybank (Outer Banks)

Winx Club

Dork Diaries

Gabby's Dollhouse

Andrew Spencer & Mia Brooks (Love, Victor)

Bunny

Jane Margolis

Paci Icons

Midas (Fortnite)

Dave Lister (Red Dwarf)

Syzoth (Mortal Kombat 1)

Michelangelo (TMNT 2012)

James Conrad (Kong Skull Island)

Carmen Berzatto (The Bear)

Mileena (Mortal Kombat 1 & 11)

Cinnamoroll & Pompompurin (Sanrio)

Sebastian Castellanos (The evil within 2)

Howl Pendragon (Howls Moving Castle)

Victor Salazar (Love, Victor)

Dipper (Gravity Falls)

Spider (Heartbreak High)

Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad)

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (29 Oct-4 Nov 2023)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰 A Night In The Lonesome October (Roger Zelazny) - got a bit of a late start, but did the a-chapter-per-day read thing. Such a fun story and it'd probably been 20 years since I last read it.

😊 with all my skin and bone (unicornpoe) - 54K, stucky no-powers, SHIELD agents, enemies-to-lovers, fake marriage AU. a fun reread for stucky bookclub

😍 A Marvellous Light (The Last Binding #1) (Freya Marske, author; David Thorpe, narrator) - reread in prep for final book, loved picking up on all the hints and clues that make sense from book 2 this time around!

😊 Can't Stop the Grrrls: Confronting Sexist Labels in Music from Ariana Grande to Yoko Ono (Lily E Hirsch) - Solid read but I found I had to parcel it to a chapter every couple of days bc of the rage.

😊 call me sunshine, send me to space (steddieas_shegoes) - 89K, guidance counselor!steve goes to tattoo artist!eddie for his first tattoo and then INSTALOVE! (I love instalove in fic!)

💖💖 +68K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

this is the road to ruin (ghostinthelibrary) - The Witcher: Geraskier, 31K - great worldbuilding to answer the question 'what would Witchers be like in modern day?'

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Hot Ones - Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Hot Ones - Cardi B

Hot Ones - Flea

QI - series T, e3, 5-8

Shakespeare & Hathaway - s1, e2-4

Whitstable Pearl - s1, e3

D20: Burrow's End - "Protect The Light" (s20, e5)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Big Emotions Are So Fun" (s15, e5)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Switched on Pop - Rerecording Taylor Swift's 1989s, Dark Side of the Moon, and Demi Lovato

Re: Dracula - October 29: Something is Going Out

You're Dead to Me - Medieval Ghost Stories

Re: Dracula - October 30: Council of War

⭐ The Sporkful - Sohla El-Waylly Went To Culinary School To “Prove Everyone Wrong”

Re: Dracula - October 31: Latest and Truest Thought

Re: Dracula - November 1: Instinct with Resolution

Vibe Check - That Damn Spooky Yoga Class

Today, Explained - Pope friction

Re: Dracula - November 2: Deadly Peril

Outward - Bob the Drag Queen's Gay Barz

Welcome to Night Vale #237 - Frown Night

⭐ Decoder Ring - Mailbag: The Recorder, Limos, and “Baby on Board” Signs

Ologies with Alie Ward - Neuroparasitology (NATURE ZOMBIES) with Matt Simon

Re: Dracula - November 3: Go On

Dear Prudence - My Friend Tried to Bring Her Kids to A Winery. Help!

What Next: TBD - Biden Goes After AI

Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals - S01E01 The Tale of the Frankenstein

Re: Dracula - November 4: My Jonathan

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Heavy Metal Halloween

DANSE MACABRE [Duran Duran] {2023}

Nightmare Before Christmas (Special Edition) [Various artists] {2006}

Nightmare Revisited [Various artists] {2008}

@door's 'spooky' playlist

Trackula: Psychobilly & Horror Punk

A3/Alabama 3

Yummy Yummy Sugar Sugar

Journey

Presenting The Clash

Presenting David Bowie

Fleetwood Mac

Essential Glam Rock

[secretswiftymarvelfan]

The Demigod From Asgard - Steve Rogers x Reader (Part 57)

Summary: Steve and Bucky manage to find somewhere safe following Siberia while Ross uses any means necessary to get information out of you

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: ANGST! Multiple forms of Torture! Non-Con Touching! Groping! Language!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics​

Series Masterlist / Masterlist

Chapter 57: Battered and Bruised

The jet was silent with the exception of the occasional small groans of pain. Steve had set the jet on autopilot to a county that hadn’t signed the accords. As the jet flew Steve cleaned up both his and Bucky’s injuries. The ones he could anyway. He had no clue what to do about the missing metal arm.

“You okay?” Bucky asks his voice hoarse.

Steve glances over at him before looking back down at the floor “I will be” he sighs.

“Where are we going?” Bucky asks looking over at the front of the jet.

“A safe house, it's off the records, no way to track us there,” Steve says as his eyes caught sight of his helmet and he frowned.

Walking over to one of the gear containers he grabbed the knife and then used it to pry the silver star from his suit free. Holding it in his hand as he looked down at it. He then grabbed his helmet and hit the button for the jet doors. He stood on the edge as the wind rushed past him. He looked down at the forest below before dropping both his helmet and the star of his suit.

“What are you doing?” Bucky asks as the jet doors close once again.

“We all have trackers in our suits, mine was in the helmet and star” Steve explains with a sigh “I’m not sure if Tony will use them or not, at least not now”

“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault” Bucky sighs dropping his head.

“No, I knew how Tony’s parents died years ago and never told him, if I had none of that would have happened,” Steve says shaking his head.

He glances over at Bucky to see the pain and guilt on his face. Steve sighed moving to sit next to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll work this out buck, get everything out of your head, free everyone, it’ll be okay I promise, we went through a lot in the war, we’ll get through this” Steve tells him.

Bucky gives him a weak smile “you were the punk who got us into those situations” he reminds Steve.

Steve chuckles “jerk”.

“Til’ end of the line” Bucky sighs nodding his head slightly.

“End of the line” Steve smiles.

A few hours later Steve landed the jet a few miles out from the safe house. As they pushed the door open you could tell it wasn’t a safe house set up by Tony. Everything was covered in dust, windows were boarded up. When Steve turned the tap on it spluttered for a moment coughing out brown water before finally turning clear. He then tried to flick on the lights, but they didn’t work.

“Looks like it’s gonna be cold showers tonight” Steve sighs turning to face Bucky who had settled himself down on the couch.

“Or no shower at all” Bucky says glancing down at his arm which conveniently sparked at that moment.

“I’m not the best at tech but I might be able to stop that” Steve offers making Bucky huff with laughter.

“You’re more likely to electrocute yourself,” Bucky says making Steve chuckle.

“Maybe we can find someone who’ll keep quiet that can fix it” Steve sighs.

“You think someone would help? the whole world knows about the winter soldier” Bucky asks sceptically.

“I’m sure there’s someone out there that has no clue who you are, let’s just hope they’re nearby,” Steve says with a small smirk.

At that exact moment, someone knocked on the door interrupting them. The pair of them exchanged a glance, Steve holding out his hand to stop Bucky from moving as he slowly made his way to the bordered-up window. As he glanced out, he saw who it was and frowned in confusion.

“Captain, I mean no harm, I’ve come to offer assistance to you and Sergeant Barnes” Steve hears T’Challa call out.

Steve glanced over his shoulder at Bucky who shakes his head. The last time they saw T’Challa was at the airport when he wanted to kill bucky.

“I know about Zemo, I arrested him in Siberia, I heard his confession, I know James didn’t kill my father, I want to help to make up for my wrongdoings” T’Challa continues.

Steve sighs moving over to the door and opening it enough to look out. He eyes T’Challa sceptically trying to see if he had any concealed weapons. He then looks around trying to see if there was anyone hidden in the trees but he couldn’t see anyone.

“I understand your hesitance but please, let me be of service, I believe I can help rid Barnes of the winter soldier,” T’Challa says as Steve looks back over at him.

“How did you find us?” Steve asks.

“Wakanda has technology far beyond anyone else, Mr Stark included, technology I believe can help you, and hide you from the world” T’Challa explains.

Steve glances over his shoulder at Bucky silently asking what he thought. Bucky nods his head pushing himself up from the couch and walking over. Steve looks back over at T’Challa and opens the door fully, still being mentally prepared in case this was all a rouse.

“Thank you,” T’Challa says bowing his head and taking a step aside.

“Mr Barnes please accept my deepest apologies, I was blinded by revenge and took it out on the wrong man,” T’Challa says turning to Bucky.

“You really think you can help, get this out?” Bucky asks pointing to his head.

“Yes I do, my younger sister is intelligent beyond her years, she can fix that too,” T’Challa says with a small smile as he points to Bucky’s arm.

“I have drawn Wakanda out of the Sokovia accords so you may use it to hide from the wrath of Ross as long as you need” T’Challa then adds turning to Steve.

“What about my friends and wife in prison?” Steve asks.

“I’ll try to help with that too” T’Challa agrees “you have my promise”

“Thank you, your highness,” Steve says.

“Please, call me T’Challa, there’s no need for formalities between friends,” T’Challa says making Steve smile.

“Thanks, T’Challa” he smiles.

T’Challa gave them the coordinates to get into Wakanda and a few hours later they were landing in the Capital. When Steve pictured Wakanda he wasn’t sure what he thought it was, but he didn’t expect what he saw.

As they landed T’Challa met them once more introducing them to the Dora Milaje, his mother Ramonda and his sister Shuri.

“Oh yes I can fix this easily” Shuri said as she inspected Bucky’s arm.

“If you’d allow me, I can disable the remanent and allow you both to rest, because you both look like you need it” Shuri offers.

“Shuri!” Ramonda scolds sending her a pointed look.

“What!” Shuri complains.

“Some rest would be great,” Steve says smiling slightly at the exchange.

“Great, Mr Barnes follow me,” Shuri says gesturing for Bucky to follow.

Bucky glances over at Steve, and Steve nods reassuring him that it was fine.

“We have rooms ready for you, but first let’s get you some proper medical attention,” Ramonda tells Steve with a kind smile.

“Thank you” Steve smiled unable to believe his luck.

That night however Steve lay in bed staring at the ceiling feeling incredibly guilty for his luck. Here he was lying in one of the most luxurious beds he’d ever been in while you and the rest of the team were in prison. Probably getting interrogated for information about him. He felt guilty about the fight with Tony, wishing it had ended differently.

He pushed himself up from his bed and walked over to the door that led out to the balcony of his room. As he stepped outside a rush of warm air hit him and he let out a deep sigh. He closed his eyes remembering the last time he felt air like this when you and him were in the Seychelles. What he would give to go back to that moment. As he opened his eyes he looked up at the moon wishing you were here beside him.

It was early the next morning when Steve heard a knock on the door. When he opened the door to find bucky standing there with a tidy awkward smile.

“Hey, Buck what’s up?” Steve asks as he lets him in.

“I spoke to Shuri last night about all this” Bucky says pointing around his head.

“Oh okay, what did she say?” Steve asks putting his hands on his hips.

“She thinks she will take a while to work out how to fix me, at least a few months and I think in the meantime it would be better if I went back under” Bucky explains.

Steve furrows his brows at his best friend “what do you mean?” He asks.

“Everything they put in my head can be activated easily, we saw that with Zemo, we can’t risk anything like that again, it’s just better for everyone” Bucky sighs shaking his head.

“I won’t let that happen,” Steve tells him.

“Steve it’s okay, you don’t need to protect me anymore, I’ve protected you from fights in the past, let me do it again,” Bucky says with a knowing smile.

Steve sighs a small smile playing on his lips “are you sure? Because it’s not like you can change your mind once they do it” Steve asks him.

“I’m sure, it’ll be just like a nap, I won’t even notice the time passing” Bucky reassures him.

“Okay, if that’s what you want” Steve sighs nodding his head.

“I do, I just wish I could help you free everyone” Bucky sighs “but-“

“But it’s too risky, it’s okay I broke you and the rest of the 107th out on my own” Steve points out making Bucky smile.

“Thank you, and I just wanted you to know I’m really happy for you,” Bucky says “I haven’t gotten to know her properly yet, but Y/N seems amazing and I’m glad you found each other”

“Thanks Buck, I did get lucky” Steve sighs smiling over at his friend.

“C’mere” Steve smiles stepping forward to wrap his arms around Bucky.

He smiles as he feels Bucky breathe out a deep sigh of relief, patting Steve on the back.

That afternoon Steve and Bucky were in Shuri’s lab ready for bucky to go back under. Steve stood to the side as he watched the doctors prepare Bucky for the procedure. He wished bucky didn’t have to do this but he knew it was the right call.

“You sure about this?” Steve asks walking over.

“I can’t trust my own mind, so until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head going back under is the best thing for everybody,” Bucky says reassuring Steve.

Steve sighed nodding his head and stepping back as they prepared the machine. Bucky gave him one last nod as he stepped inside.

“See you soon,” Bucky tells him.

“See you soon” Steve smiles.

He stands back watching as the machine closed and cold air rushed in putting Bucky back under. He sighed dropping his head before making his way out of the lab. He stopped in the corridor looking out at Wakanda from the window.

He glanced over when he saw T’Challa come stand beside him.

“Thank you for this,” Steve says.

“Your friend and my father they were both victims, if I can help one of them find peace” T’Challa sighs.

“You know if they find out he’s here they’ll come for him’ Steve warns.

T’Challa smiles “let them try,” he says.

“Your wife and friends, I have discovered that they are in the raft,” T’Challa says turning to face Steve.

“Now if they were for some reason able to escape, I may be able to campaign for deals, house arrests as such if they returned to custody willingly,” T’Challa tells him “I however will not be able to help them escape, that will be up to them and any other help they get”

“Of course, thank you so much, and please focus on Clint and Scott, they have young families,” Steve says nodding his head.

“What about you and your wife?” T’Challa asks.

“As long as we’re together we’ll be fine, whether that’s as outlaws, in prison, house arrest or free” Steve tells him.

“Of course, now how long do you plan to stay in Wakanda,” T’Challa asks.

“A day at most, I have work to do” Steve answers.

“Yes you do, is there anywhere you have in mind that we can drop you off?” T’Challa asks.

Steve smiles to himself already knowing the perfect place to hide “yes I do”

It had been two weeks since your arrest. You had no clue what had happened in Siberia. You guessed something had gone wrong because you were all still here, and Ross’ attempts to get you to talk got more intense.

They had taken you away from the rest of the team. Putting you in solitary confinement. Unlike your last cell, you had no glass door. It was just walls, a metal door with a large one way window that allowed people to see in, but you couldn’t see out. 

You had no clue what time of the day it was. Or what day it was. You were certain they were trying to mess with you. Turning the lights on and off at random points during the day at night. You probably only slept a couple of hours straight at most.

You couldn’t even use meals to work out the time of the day. As they became sporadic and the quantities drop. You were already used to being hungry.

It was the same guards that interrogated you every single day. The one that made your stomach turn. The one who took joy in using the shock collar on you.

“Look sugar, you may as well tell us where he’s hiding because he’s not coming to find you” the guard leaning over the table.

You don’t say anything, turning your head away from him.

“Oh, you don’t know?” He smirks with a faux pout.

“That doctor he was on about, got caught confessing to everything, yet your loving husband is nowhere to be found,” he tells you making you glance over momentarily.

“Maybe he thought he better cut his losses, I heard him and that Carter girl were pretty cosy” he smirk making your jaw clench and eyes close as you composed yourself.

Displeased at your lack of response the guard grabs your jaw forcing you to look at him.

“So sugar, if you want to stop the carter girl from getting to him, you better tell us where he is so we can reunite you” he smirks.

“Although I would miss our time together, maybe I should make the most of it,” he says licking his lips, his gaze dropping down to your chest.

Your arms were restrained so all you could do was pull your jaw from his grasp. However, you didn’t miss the opportunity to hurt him, biting his hand and causing him to yell out in pain.

He ripped his hand free grabbing the remote from your collar and activating it. Your entire body convulses as the electricity ran through your body.

After hours of the same thing, they would finally take you back to your cell. Although your ordeal didn’t end. That night they must have slipped something into your food. As your dreams were plagued by night terrors that had you paralysed in fear.

The worst part was that you were lucid. You knew it was a dream but you were trapped unable to stop any of it. Or wake yourself up. When you did finally wake up you instantly vomited with tears streaming down your face.

The more you refused to talk the more frustrated the guard got. The most frustrated he got the more he took it out on you. Your interrogations used to be sat at a table, but now you were stood up, arms raised above your head attached to the ceiling.

He would alternate between shocking you and hitting you. It was becoming more and more common for them to drag you back to your cell bloodied and bruised. You could tell your ribs were broken, your lip was split daily. One of your eyes was swollen shut.

“I’m getting frustrated with you” the guard growls gripping your throat tightly.

“We both know you have information, and you are going to tell me,” he says finally releasing your throat and making you cough as you gasp in the air.

“I’ll never tell you anything so you may as well kill me” you cough raising your head enough to look at him.

“Don’t test me sugar” he growls punching you in the gut hard.

He then walks behind you and stands right behind you, little to no space between your back and his chest. He gripped your hips tightly pulling them back towards him.

You feel tears prick in the corner of your eyes. Bile rises in your throat as you feel him press against you.

“Plus I’m not done with you yet” he snarls.

You breathe out a shaky breath when he finally steps away, but it was soon replaced with a cry of pain when he slapped your ass.

“Oh did you like that?” He smirks as he walks back around to face you.

You shake your head at him unable to stop your tears from falling.

“Now I think that’s a lie, I think you enjoy all of this you sadist bitch” he smirks tilting his head.

“Good thing I’m enjoying this too,” he says before activating your collar.

Once the electricity stopped he continued to beat you, trying to break you. You would never say anything though, you’d rather die. And right now, as selfish as it was you did wish you were dead.

That night was the first time you left an interrogation unconscious. They dragged your body back to your cell, passing the room where everyone else was. Sam yelled out when he spotted you, cursing at the guards. Once back in your cell they dumped you on the floor ready to start the process again in the morning.

A couple of days later when you were dragged from your cell to the interrogation room instead of being met by your usual guard. You were met by a tired and sickly-looking Ross.

“You look terrible” you mutter as the door shut.

“Your husband and Miss Romanoff have been giving me the run around” Ross sighs leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Romanoff?” You ask confused, last you knew Nat was on Tony’s side.

“She facilitated Rogers and Barnes escape from the airport and attacked the king of Wakanda” Ross explained.

“Well, you have no chance of finding them now if Nat’s involved,” you tell him making him huff.

“She made quite an impression in Hungary” Ross muttered.

You go to raise a brow but wince at the pain that shot through your forehead. Ross catches your eye glancing up and down.

“Have you been seen to by a doctor?” Ross asks.

“You’re the good cop now?” You scoff.

“I have a duty of care for the citizens of my state, even if they are criminals,” Ross tells you with a shrug of his shoulders.

“No, I haven’t,” you say shaking your head.

“I’ll see that you do but first,” Ross says leaning forward “I need any information you have on Rogers, anything at all”

You scoff shaking your head as you looked down. Knowing you’ll only be seen to by a doctor if you spilled.

“Believe it or not, me and Steve never discussed where we’d hide if we became criminals. We talked about saving people’s lives and doing something for the greater good. Something you prevented with the accords” you spit.

You see his jaw clenched as he glared back at you “you’re lying” he states.

“No, I’m not, none of this would have happened if the accords didn’t exist. We wouldn’t have broken the law, because there’d be no law to break. You wouldn’t be making yourself sick looking for Steve or wasting your time asking me questions I don’t have the answers for” you retort glaring back at him.

Ross growls in frustration pushing his chair back harshly, the metal scraping loudly against the floor. He stormed over to the door ripping it open. You could see your guard standing there waiting.

“I don’t care how you do it but break her down, otherwise it’s your job on the line” Ross growls pointing harshly back at you.

“Of course sir, give me a week,” the guard says nodding his head.

“You have 4 days” Ross orders before storming away.

The guard nods before stepping into the room and locking the door behind him.

“You heard him sugar, it’s time to get to work our days together are limited, may as well make the most of them” he smirks cracking his knuckles as he stalked across the room

Sharing is caring so please reblog if you enjoyed this and maybe even leave a comment to make my day!

Series Masterlist / Masterlist

I don’t have a tag list so follow @secretswiftymarvelfanlibrary​ and turn on post notifications for updates!

[crypticsalutations]

A Conversation with Simon Edwards: Bassist, Backing Vocalist, and Co-Lyricist of Saturnalia

Saturnalia. A short lived, Leek based post punk project built between friends in the 1980's, but for Cryptic Salutations they represent so much more; the beginning of an era. Coming across The Cold Night Air deep within the forgotten recesses of YouTube one night a few years ago, I had no clue that a band with only four publicly released tracks would leave such an impression that their very existence would contribute to the birth of an entire blog. This blog. This one right here. When I started sharing tracks, I'd never planned to go in an interviewing direction. I just wanted to share my interest in obscure music with others and find a bunch of cool jams along the way. One thing I noticed consistently, however, was that many of these bands and artists I'd come to enjoy were pretty much faceless. Maybe one obfuscated photo here and there, or names that were seemingly untraceable, and Saturnalia was no exception.

Cover of Inside the Devil's Circle 7" single, previously the only identifiable image of the band online With only one black and white photo, as well as first initials and last names listed in one of their singles, Saturnalia were effectively... nobody. You had to know them to know them, pretty much. For some reason though, this anonymity intrigued me. It was just baffling that a band could drop 4 banger tracks, then disappear into the world without leaving so much as a foot print. Who were they, what was their inception like, and where were they now? This curiosity is almost singlehandedly what changed the direction of Cryptic Salutations. Every few months I would poke around online in attempt to get this thing rolling, but I hit road blocks time and time again. I'd already interviewed the likes of Steinhardt and Jonathan Lemon, so I figured I just wasn't looking hard enough... Until I stumbled upon, hilariously, a Facebook post. A Leek local was sharing his memories of Saturnalia, and also appeared to be part of their local music scene. It was the closest lead I'd ever gotten, so I contacted him, and it magically paid off! To make a long story short, I was put into contact with Simon, who played bass, sang backing vocals, and co-wrote Saturnalia's lyrics, and today he has offered to answer some of my burning questions regarding the how's, why's, and when's of the band. It was exciting enough for me to rise out of the coffin of hiatus-land, so I'm very pleased to bring you the interview here in full! Enjoy! Interview below

Cryptic Salutations: What is the story of Saturnalia’s beginnings?

Simon Edwards: The roots of Saturnalia came from four school friends jamming together in bedrooms and garages, learning to play our instruments, and figuring out how to play together. I played bass guitar, occasional double bass, and did backing vocals, Dave Woodcock played keyboards, Jonathan Kirk was on drums, and Steve 'Spacebat' Masters was on main vocals, guitar and sax.

In the last six months or so of the band's existence, we added a second guitarist, Martin Hedley.

CS: What first got you into music? Who were your inspirations?

Simon: Punk and new wave gave us the impetus to do something, without having to be virtuosos. A couple of the guys had also been into Pink Floyd previously, and later we were all quite open to all kinds of influences. Dave Woodcock and I got quite into jazz theory and tribal sounds. I'd say that some of the band's main contemporary influences were Ultravox (pre-Midge Ure), Psychedelic Furs, Japan, Joy Division, The Stranglers, Talking Heads and Chrome.

New photos courtesy of Simon CS: What was the band’s creative process like?

Simon: Ordinarily, someone would bring a chord sequence or a riff along to a rehearsal, and we'd jam around it, but on occasion Dave W or Spacebat would bring an almost complete idea. The lyrics were written by me or Spacebat, about half-and-half.

CS: Were there ever any live shows, if so, does footage exist, and did you enjoy playing live?

Simon: We played about fifteen or twenty live shows, mostly in our local area, in community halls, pubs, nightclubs, the local university student bar, but we also got to play one gig in London, at the iconic Marquee Club on Wardour Street. I don't believe any live footage exists, but I'd love to be proved wrong!

CS: Where has life taken you since the end of Saturnalia?

Simon: About a year after Saturnalia split up, I moved to London with Martin Hedley and my then girlfriend, and formed a band called Ask Virginia, which lasted a few years, played a few gigs and recorded loads of demos. I then joined Martin's resurrected band, Bible For Dogs, which was a frantic punk-jazz experience. I currently curate and present a specialist music show called Loose Canon, which is broadcast in the UK, Hong Kong and Bulgaria. I'm also a music promoter in my local area, specialising in alternative/indie/post-punk/punk.

Spacebat and Kirk now live about an hour from me, and we still get together now and again for a few drinks and a jam session. Dave Woodcock lives in Canada, but we see each other every couple of years. Martin Hedley lives on the south coast, and is in a horror swamp blues band called The Wattingers.

CS: In your own opinion, what do you think of the music industry then and now?

Simon: In the seventies and eighties, it was so much easier to get people to come out to gigs, at least in a small town, as there was so little else to do. Selling vinyl was so much easier, too – local bands like us would print a thousand or two thousand 7” singles, and easily sell most of them through local record shops.

CS: Of Saturnalia’s four tracks, did you have one that stood out to you as ‘the best?’

Simon: Of the four tracks on the Saturnalia singles, my favourite was 'Girl On The 8th Floor' - I think we'd all found our own musical voices by that point. All four of the original members had a creative hand in putting the song together, and I wrote the lyrics. I feel that the track still holds up well, is very evocative, yet still obviously of its time.

Lyrics from 'Girl On The 8th Floor / The Cold Night Air' 7" single CS: If you could give your past self any advice, what would it be?

Simon: I'd tell my younger self to stick to his guns, not compromise musically, and generally be a bit more pushy.

CS: How was the name ‘Saturnalia’ chosen?

Simon: I really can't remember how the name came about, to be honest, but a three out of four of us voted for it.

CS: Are there any unique stories behind the lyrics? ‘Inside the Devils Circle’ has a particularly interesting narrative.

Simon: 'Devils Circle' was one of Spacebat's lyrics – I seem to think that he got the idea from a film, but I don't remember which one. Most of my own lyrics were written using a variation on Bowie's cut-up technique.

Lyrics from 'Inside the Devil's Circle' 7" single CS: Anything else you’d like to share or promote?

Simon: I'm sending you rehearsal room demos of three more Saturnalia tracks (CS Note: Find the track 'Oh Tara' below!!), which I hope you'll enjoy – feel free to play any of them to your listeners, if you'd like to. I'll also include a studio demo from another band I mentioned, Ask Virginia, from around 1986. Anyone who's interested in current alternative/indie/post-punk etc might like to listen to my radio show, Loose Canon – here's a link to my Soundcloud account, where there are a large number of archive shows: Link

Never before seen 'Oh Tara' rehearsal room demo

[cowandcalf]

McDanno WIP

Still going strong and writing for my McDanno WIP ‘Be Your Very Best At The Darkest Time’ (Soul Swap AU). By the way, I changed my mind about parting the story. I’ll pack everything into one long, wonderful story. My amazing friend with whom I survived three NaNos already, still reads my daily part I’m writing, and she said, how would the story end if I wanted to get my story out for the boys and not what I think should happen because it’s more according what people read? I was so surprised by that question but it’s the best advice I could get.

And by the way, I love how the H50 fandom and the love for McDanno is reviving! So many new posts are floating around, so many new fans are head over heels in love with McDanno. This is so fantastic!

A snipet of my WIP:

"Jesus, Mary. You didn't do anything wrong." Steve chokes out in shock. He has reached his limits of holding it together. Danny can tell. He breaks silently in Mary's arms. His shoulder shook with the pain he tries to push down again. Steve fights to stay strong for Mary. "I'm so sorry, Mary. I never meant to hurt you." He is about to pull back. "Not this time, Punk, you don't pull away when it gets difficult. Cry with me." Mary moves closer to Steve, face buried in his shoulder. She doesn't let Steve pull away and Danny watches how Mary shuffles on her knees closer to Steve. She clambers awkwardly into her brother's lap without taking her arms off his neck. Steve holds her like an injured bird. "What are you doing?" He looks completely taken aback. His arms are full of a tired Mary and it looks like she wants to crawl inside him. She doesn't care if she knees him in the thigh. She shifts around on Steve's legs ignoring his silent 'oofs' and grunts when her pointy elbows poke him in the chest and her scrawny butt, parked now on Steve's sore muscles, makes him twitch. "You haven't – haven't done that since you were a little girl, not more than five years old. It's a little bit . . . you know, you're so much bigger now." "Just let me. I need this." Mary sighs exhaustedly but is also more at peace with the situation. "You have it. I'm here, Mare, okay? I mean it when I say it." Steve's eyes drift over to Danny and with a pleading look, he begs for advice. He looks like he has no clue how to feel about a grown Mary in his lap. Danny signs him to wrap his arms all around Mary and rock her gently. Steve talks with his eyebrows and signals Danny to step closer but he does as told and circles his arms around Mary's fragile body. Danny bites back the grin that threatens to bloom on his lips. Steve is not yet super comfortable with the closeness but Mary doesn't pay zero attention to his discomfort. She forces tenderness and physical contact on him, tearing through any defense technic her brother has developed over the years. For Danny, she means a little wonder how she doesn't fuss over Steve's strict policy to keep the game face on even when emotions threaten to bring him down. She's in need of the protection and power her older brother stands for. And she desperately needs tender human contact. Danny comes to sit on the edge of the mattress. "Mary, don't get spooked, I'm sitting right behind you, okay? It's me, Danny. Can you remember me?" He asks in a soft voice while his eyes are trained on Steve and mouths at him 'hug her – hold her'. He sees the tear tracks on Steve's face and as difficult as the background of this reunion is, Danny sees the love almost as a golden light blossoming between Mary and Steve. Something deep that has been stored away for far too long is unfolding.

Share your WIPs guys. I’d love to read some of your works in progress. If you like of course and feel free to skip it. McDanno is eternal.

@goneahead @stephmcx @mcdannoangelwolf @merlin-wolfgang-trades-hale @murphyhatesme @too-much-in-my-brain and for sure I forgot some of you guys, but feel free to share too!

[griffther]

okay but an au where steve and will accidentally fall into the punk scene together. jonathan buys will some tickets to a concert (the clash broke up in early ‘86 so i’m thinking maybe a ramones show) but jonathan can’t go so steve ends up being the one to take him. steve, who has never listened to a ramones song in his life, has no clue what to expect. and as much as jonathan likes to share his music with will, will doesn’t know jack shit about the punk scene either. so steve and will roll up to the show in their certified Good Boy Clothes and stick out like a sore thumb amidst the mass of leather-wearing punks.

it’s amazing though, they both instantly fall in love with everything about it. the energy of the show is so electric and as two people with pretty bad PTSD, the adrenalin rush they get from something that isn’t a life or death situation is addicting. will already liked the music, it’s just the scene itself that’s new to him. but every part of it is new and surreal to steve. punk rock is SO much different than eddie’s metal music and something about it just scratches an itch in steve’s brain.

steve strikes up a conversation with some of the people around them and he’s expecting these people with crazy hair styles that are covered in leather and spikes and tattoos to be mean and/or abrasive, but they’re so nice?? they explain a ton of shit to him and will and make sure they stay out of the pit and give them music recommendations based on which songs they like. there are also two men that are holding hands? and they even kiss at one point and no one around them bats an eye??? steve and will are absolutely floored and so euphoric.

anyways i just can’t stop thinking about steve and will who never knew people were allowed to be so unapologetically themselves. who didn’t know people were allowed to be so anti-establishment and openly queer. and then they wind up at this show together and it changes their whole fucking lives

[mischivarien]

Sooooo, I randomly started to write Steve angst, on my birthday yes. And I had to share it. All head canons are from various sources and I'm working on gathering them, as theses having been circling in my head for about 11 months now...

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47592025

He doesn't know when it started. Probably when Hargrove smashed a plate onto his head back in '84. Or, no. Most likely when Byers rocked his world by smashing his face in.

It definitely wasn't his first concussion he had gotten. He's had many of those thanks to the many years he was on the basketball team and the one year he tried the football team back in freshman year.

Yea, he doesn't know when the hearing loss, worsening eyesight, or migraines started. When he started to have difficulty with his motor functions, or even when he started to have more trouble with reading and translating between languages.

The hearing loss thats getting so bad, that he can barely hear the kids arguing in the backseat of his car.

Cannot hear the television at movie nights, lea in him utterly confused and ashamed when he doesn't have a clue on what's happening on screen.

The loss so bad, he can't listen to his favorite music. No up-beat disco on lonely car rides or late nights. No indie pop or punk music with Robin in the car on the way to and from places or in her room during 'girl's night'.

His eyesight so bad that he can't see the doors from his spot at the front desk in the bookstore he and robin now work at after Keith fired them for not being present during the entirety of spring break.

Cannot see the drawings Will shows him with a tentative smile late at night while Joyce is at work, bad Jonathan is doing college.

He can't see Eddie's smile when hes hiding behind his notes so the kids can't see his face, otherwise they'd end up guess what might happen during the campaign.

The migraines so bad, he can't get up to go to Robins for the night and watch random shows on her television set while they paint each other's nails and talk about anything and everything while trying to be quiet, minding Robins parents sleeping down the hall.

The pain so bad that if he strains his eyes or ears too much, the pain will become worse, to the point he has to camp out in the bathroom, sitting close to the toilet with how nauseous he is, not able to stand, or he'd faint.

So bad, he can't listen to music at a high volume. Can't listen to the kids rambling about their interests, or listen to everyone enjoying the campaigns Eddie, Will, or Erica come up with, having to step out of the room and find a way to drown out all the noises.

Having to leave the basketball team, and the swimming team soon after, because his coordinations were off, and his legs and arms wouldn't cooperate with him a dn the water.

He's unable to get the courage to paint with how shaky his hands are, unable to get the desired strokes he was once able to create seamlessly.

Being terrified to drive, because one wrong move, one bad shake of his body or one random spasm, and he could end up swerving or crashing. Terrified he could hurt himself moe, or worse, hurt anyone else who's in the car with him.

His reading comprehension getting worse than it was before, the floating letters and mixed up words not registering like they used to. How he can't even try to read, or else his eyes will start to water, and his ears will start ringing with the effort to understand, causing a migraine to flare up.

Being unable to tell if he's talking in English, Italian, or French. Barely knowing if what he's saying is lining up with what he wants to say.

He knows it's bad, he's seen doctors and specialists about everything.

Hearing aids, so that he would be able to hear at least something.

Glasses, so he could enjoy life with better sight.

Medication to help the migraines and uncoordinated movements, so he could live a "normal" life.

Therapists to help with his response to these 'new changes' in his life and to help him gain back confidence in himself.

He's seen them, he's talked with them.he just can't afford those things. How would he? When he can barely afford food for the month. Can barely afford to pay rent for his small apartment at the edge of Hawkins.

He knows he needs those things, knows he has people he can ask for help.

But.

He's not ready to get help. He just wants to sit in the pain a little longer, thinks he deserves it after everything he's done in the last few years, good or bad.

He'll ask the Munson's, or the Hopper-Byers, the Buckleys, Wheelers, Hendersons, the Sinclairs, or Aunt Flo and Phil.

He will.

He's just not ready yet.

[the-kneesbees]

i look like if steve from blues clues listened to pop punk

[weneverlearn]

George & Tammy & the Maggots

I'm not one to often offer up yet another internet opinion about yet another streaming series, as we have way too many of both.

I will quickly state that I thought the recent George & Tammy biopic (Showtime) was beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and while apparently based on daughter Georgette Jones' book, The Three of Us, wisely paired the story down to the titular stars' love-ish story. The hazy cinematography, consistently vulnerable closeups, and lack of overdeveloping their pre-hookup life left it all as a narcotized dream -- not unlike how those two drifted through their beautifully damaged artistic and romantic life.

Unlike nearly every streaming series I have ever seen, I did not think George & Tammy was too long, though of course it could've used some editing here or there.

To a more pertinent point of my usual pursuits, one of the series top visual scenes was also an incredible use of a classic "Killed By Death" punk song -- something that happens numerically in the exact opposite proportion to how many goddamn streaming series are out there.

In the opening scene of the final episode, Tammy (played by Jessica Chastain) is seen running through woods and up to a stranger's house, saying something about how some men kidnapped and beat her. All the while the scuzzed-out keys, guitars, and cheekily sneer of The Maggots' 1980 SF punk classic, "Let's Get, Let's Get Tammy Wynette", chases down Tammy too.

It's the kind of jarring surprise the series definitely needed at that point (it is a mostly sad, morose tale and telling), and nearly knocked me off my couch. That, along with the generally excellent use of music all along showed this series had a stronger clue than most TV/streaming productions that still somehow rely on boomer-era hits or obvious current pop.

The story arc was at 1978, not only when Wynette was ensconced in the worst drug and husband abusive moment of her life, but also right when punk rock and a host of other modern musics were making her music irrelevant. The series did not delve into many pop cultural connections like that. Again, it was probably smart to stay in the insular worlds of the pair's personal heartbreak. But simply using The Maggots' track was a wild way to have the sonic world that was developing far past them creep into their dark bubble.

Now to my ears and assumptions, since I first heard "Let's Get, Let's Get Tammy Wynette" in the early '90s, I was a party to the era that critiqued the mid-century mores that Wynette's signature song -- the seemingly non-feminist statement, "Stand By Your Man" -- espoused. Right up to Hillary Clinton's famous 1992 supposed putdown of said song, Wynette seemed a relic, someone to be scoffed at, and The Maggots song did that most viciously, if underground.

I've always heard it as one of those proudly rude punk sentiments of the early days that aimed to severely offend, sarcastically suggesting killing the "Stand By Your Man" lady -- with a female singer no less, which gave an otherwise obscure, one-off 7" punk single more heft.

I'm old enough to remember, circa Clinton's comment, fans and industry types trying to defend Wynette and "Stand By Your Man," usually with pretty toothless justifications. To me, the song might as well have been from 100 years ago, and Clinton's comment was a societal no brainer. If anything, it seemed irrelevant to reference some old song; not to mention I kind of thought that taking that tune at complete face value -- when sung with such sad desperation -- seemed to be condescending to people's ability to digest the layers of an old pop song.

I never really knew much about the story of Wynette's involvement in her 1978 "kidnapping," which was later revealed as a hoax that her fifth fucking horrible husband, and songwriter of some of her biggest hits, George Richey (played creepily by Steve Zahn in the series) concocted to not only cover up having beat the hell out of her, but to then use it as hype for an upcoming tour. (Supposedly, details are still sketchy to this day, and disagreements about the story between Wynette's family and Richey remained past his death in 2010.)

The series does a good job of re-contextualizing Wynette -- historically a pop culture icon of spousal subjugation -- not only as a victim of patriarchal strictures, but as a drug addict making the usual fucked-up decisions.

In one quick small scene, as Wynette is heading through a throng of fans towards the tour bus, one female fan asks if women should really be like her songs, and always support their man, to which Wynette responds, "They're just pretty love songs, darlin', I wouldn't think about them too much." Chastain offers some brief, amazing facial expressions which show the many layers the better of all those depressing, drunken, violent, seemingly submissive country classics can contain, and that her thirst for stardom via repression has her questioning the same as that fan.

In its gauzy way, George & Tammy does make an argument for the complex, unexplainable, in-the-moment emotions of many old country songs, while not letting Wynette off for her terrible choices, of which there were just as many made as the legendarily self-immolating George Jones -- played, it must be said, incredibly by Michael Shannon who, admittedly, I'd watch read the phonebook.

Then I see this today, a comment below the above YouTube clip of "Let's Get, Let's Get Tammy Wynette":

"Found this post by one of The Maggots members: "yes the original maggots did put out an apparently highly collectable record in 1980 called "lets get, lets get, tammy wynette!!!" a song i wrote from the kidnappers point of view, after a bizarre "kidnapping" incident in the late 70s (later found to be an elaborate hoax concocted by tammy to cover up for her abusive husband kicking her ass...) no wonder she was pissed when this guy i knew asked her to sign a copy of it at an autograph session at marriots great america amusement park...she actually threw his record and started screaming, and they escorted him out, sans autograph...."

Nevertheless, be it feminist punk screed or silly playacting, whoever chose that Maggots track and got it into a major streaming series should be given an award, and should call me soon so we can collaborate on getting better songs into streaming shows. I mean how many more times do we have to hear "White Room," "I Feel Good," or "Firework"?!

[themowearchives]

Press Archive, Part 5

Live Review, October 2007

Club Bohemia at the Cantab, Cambridge MA 9/15/07, with Corolla Deville and Lyres

My Own Worst Enemy is pleasant enough-downright respectable even. Their stylistic influences are fairly subtle (meaning I haven't got a clue here). What's particularly odd is they're going with two guitars and no bass. Either that or I'm standing too far back. Genuinely impressive is the fact that they successfully pull off a Patti Smith cover-something from Radio Ethiopia I think [Nope, I checked for you and the only Patti Smith cover they do is 'Redondo Beach' from Horses ... Ed.] Can you recall anyone pulling off a Patti Smith song well? Not me, boy. (Frank Strom)

FFanzeen: Rock 'n' Roll with Integrity

Live Review, October 2007

Club Bohemia at the Cantab, Cambridge MA 9/15/07, with Corolla Deville and Lyres

I was too late to see the opening act, Corolla Deville, but got there just in time for another band I didn't know, My Own Worst Enemy (a.k.a. MOWE). Sharing the lead are Sue and Steve on guitars, and AJ on drums (yep, no bass). The camaraderie between Sue and Steve is obvious, and they play off each other well. The songs are spirited, and well written with sharp melody lines and biting lyrics. Sue stomps her foot for emphasis every once in a while, and it sure does look like they're having fun up there. Definitely an indie sound (yeah, I know that's a cliche term, but they possess what made it important in the first place), going along with other quirky college radio friendly intones like the Pixies, the Neighborhoods, and Salem 66 (though not as quirky). Less morose than most indie bands of the style, they tend towards uptempos and less dissonance. They did a great cover of Patti Smith's Redendo Beach, to which I danced with Nancy...nothing like dancing to a song about suicide. I'm glad I got to see them, and hope I get to see MOWE on a New York stage. (Robert Barry Francos)

Brett Milano, music writer/author, Sound of Our Town

Total Action CD Review, October 2007

Total Action is the kind of pop record they just don't make anymore; full of fresh sounds and great hooks, with some careful thought between the lines. Leaders Sue and Steve are music nuts who do their influences proud, and they fooled me into thinking their shimmering folk-rocker "Snowflake" was a long-lost 60's nugget. Elsewhere they mix their country and their Velvets up with a lot of vital three-chord stomp. Call it garage rock if you must; but Sue's vocals leave no doubt that garage is in a pretty exotic neighborhood.

The Noise

Total Action CD Review, October 2007

This is a very ambitious and extremely busy production replete with arrangements slopping over with cowbells, tambourines, glockenspiel, and Sue and Steve's inimitable vocalizing; it almost sounds like the band barricaded itself inside of a 32-track studio, held Pete Weiss at gunpoint, and ordered him to go apeshit. Ahem. Anyway, this collection puts me in mind of all those great, underrated all-American garage-punk bands of the 1960s like The Outsiders, the Gants, The Music Machine, and Richard and the Young Lions; just listen to Come On or Turn it On and tell me that they couldn't pass muster on any of the Nuggets collections. Listen to Green Apple and tell me it isn't a local classic nearly on a par with Prettiest Girl. And Catherine the Waitress, replete with backwards-masked cymbals evokes the frenzy of the early Feelies. The album also offers welcome subtleties: earlier songs, like Snowflake and For Her are given bright new textures; the slow-burning duet Lose Your Mind works its way into a frenetically clattering show-stopping climax, and the heart-rending Pay Attention to Me might well be the band's masterpiece. This may be one of the best albums of the year. (Francis DiMenno)

The Noise

Live Review of Total Action CD Release Party, with John Powhida International Airport, Lucky 57 and Temper, Abbey Lounge, November 2, 2007

I didn't expect food, but there are veggie wraps and scones to be washed down with free beer before we get to the music. And look, a bunch of my softball buddies are here for the event...The CD release trio, My Own Worst Enemy, sets up and is ready to mow(e) us down. They break out of the starting blocks with 'Come On,' a Ramones-like rocker from their brand spankin' new Total Action. Sue's wearing the formal gown she had on for the inside photo for their story in The Noise. Steve plays his Danelectro through two amps to create a wide sonic range to replace the lack of a bass. A.J. supplies more than the beat - he's a damn fine background vocalist, and he can blow a harmonic while drumming. Softballer Al Janik leans over and says, "ladies and gentlemen, Bob Dylan." Okay, Bob doesn't play drums. Must be something in Al's beer...like alcohol. "Pay Attention To Me" has a mellow start that has a mighty build to it with Sue belting out 'I've been waiting all these years.' They follow that with my favorite MOWE tune, "Snowflake"- with it's big guitar dynamics. And by sets' end we learn that both Sue and John Powhida have crushes on David Minehan. (T Max)