#so when do you think we'll have the first candidate forced to drop out of any race because they said a slur in livestreamed gamer rage

[doomdoomofdoom]

"Living in unprecedented times" needs to stop being a euphemism and start referring to stuff like AOC and Tim Walz stream Madden on twitch.

[warblogs17282]

It can't just be me that thinks this show is starting to hint at friendships/support networks for Stolas right? I have two people in mind when I think about this.

For Vassago I have: certified good boy, also a prince, also gay like Stolas, and him being a prince could (although I have no evidence to back this claim up) potentially imply Vassago had to go through similar stuff to Stolas, like getting forced into an arranged marriage for example, which gives the potential for Vassago to be able to relate to Stolas on some things, making him a potential candidate to be a support figure and/or friend to Stolas, although we'll have to see Vassago more first before I can draw any solid conclusions.

For Moxxie I have: The musicals, we know that both Blitz and Millie don't actually enjoy the musicals, but I suspect that Stolas would enjoy musicals for a few reasons. 1: Because Stolas is like a Disney princess. 2: Bryce Pinkham is a Broadway star and 3: We've seen Stolas sing his heart out a few times now in beautiful ways, so there's a decent shot that Stolas would enjoy musicals in canon, giving Moxxie and Stolas a common activity they could do together to bond and as friends.

I will give you that Stolas has not referred to Moxxie and Millie by name yet, and has talked down to Moxxie and Millie in s1 e2, but I honestly see the potential of them being friends.

and honestly, probably IMP in general if Stolas ends up working there, because I feel like they're dropping hints that Stolas may end up working at IMP.

In s2 e6, we have this scene, aka the famous 'I love words' scene.

and IMP don't exactly appear to be doing great at managing their paperwork, so doing all the paperwork and shit just sounds right up Stolas' alley tbh.

Working at IMP would give Stolas a chance to bond and potentially become friends with the other people working there, mainly Moxxie and Millie.

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

Whumptober Day 20 - Lost & Found

“Kitchen is cleared out.” Effortlessly, Chris settled the final box full of heavy pans next to the others labeled kitchen, then straightened up with his hands on his hips. “What's next on the list?”

“I was thinking bedroom.”

“Sounds good. You start on that. I'll get more boxes out of the Jeep.”

“Thank you.”

“I should be thanking you. You're the one that's packing up all of your stuff to move in with me.”

“Tiny apartment or a quaint house in the woods.”

“You think it's quaint?”

With a roll of his eyes, Leon tossed the keys right at Chris's face knowing the other would easily catch them before they made contact. “Is there another word you would use to describe it?”

“No. I'll go get the boxes.”

“That's what I thought.”

The chuckle that rumbled out of Chris disappeared with the click of the door shutting behind him. A fond sigh slipped through his lips as he turned away from the front door to tackle clearing out his bedroom. While he didn't have time to amass many things over the years, his bedroom held most of what he did collect. They were hidden away in drawers and shoeboxes shoved in the back of his tiny closet behind the clothes.

Despite the temptation to pull them all out and wait for the boxes to pack them all away, he forced himself to sit in the middle of the pile and start going through them. The first couple contained gifts from Claire and Sherry that he immediately set aside in the keep pile. A few held old clothes and equipment so outdated that he shoved it to the side to be thrown away later. He wasn't prepared for the next to drive a dagger in his heart.

For a moment, all he could do was stare at the contents, then his shaking hands lifted a worn leather jacket out. Hidden beneath were a collection of knives and guns and a plain tin box that he took out next. His finger toyed uncertainly with the latch before he finally flicked it open to reveal the contents. The photos were faded and creased from being tucked away in pockets, but he could still clearly make out each one. Some of them smiling, other serious expressions, a few candid moments caught when the other was too preoccupied to expect it.

At the very bottom was one he vividly remembered taking on complete accident, but loving it the most out of all them. Unlike the others, it was in pristine condition and had been handled with the utmost care. His own confused face focused intently on the camera, while Jack draped over his back looking a combination of mildly amused and annoyed. The spiral of thoughts into what followed the picture being taken were interrupted by a throat clearing right in his ear.

“Leon?”

“Yeah?” The wrinkle of concern in Chris's forehead sent a wave of guilt through him for not working on packing. “Sorry. I got a little distracted. I still need to go through a few of these. Those I'm going to keep. Those-”

Chris snatched the hand Leon had been in the middle of pointing with as he dropped into a squat next to him, being careful of the photos on the ground as he did so. “Hey, calm down. We have time. There's no need to rush.”

“I have to be out by noon.”

“The only thing left is your bathroom. I think we'll be fine. What did you find?”

“It's nothing. I should have tossed this a long time ago. There's no point keeping it.”

“I don't believe that.” A finger brushed along his cheek to wipe away a tear Leon hadn't noticed, then Chris settled on the floor next to him and delicately took the photo from him. “Who is this?”

“Jack. He's dead.”

“You look... I'd say happy, but I think we both know that's a lie. It's more of a constipated expression.”

“It was a new camera! I was trying to figure out how it worked.”

“You obviously figured it out.”

“Shut up.”

Arms circled his waist at the same time Chris dipped his head down to press a kiss to Leon's cheek. “Is there a reason you don't talk about him?”

“We didn't end things well. I killed him.”

“I'm sorry.”

“He was working for Umbrella and infected. There weren't a lot of options.”

“Doesn't mean it was easy, or that it didn't hurt.”

“He faked his death. I didn't even know he was alive.”

“Come here.” The arms around him shifted to pull him into Chris's lap and tuck him securely against his muscular body. “I'm sorry. I am. I know how hard it can be thinking that your partner is dead, then finding them different than you remember.”

“We weren't just partners.”

“I know, but I've been fortunate enough that I've never had to go through that. You've always come home. I can sympathize with you, but I can't claim to understand that part of it.”

“Looking back on it, we didn't exactly have the healthiest of relationships.”

“That doesn't change your feelings in the moment. The way you felt about that, and still do, matters.”

After taking a moment to breath, Leon pulled back enough to meet Chris's eyes while still wrapped up as much as possible. “I don't know what to do with all this. There's no reason to keep it, but...”

“How about we pack this up with the rest of your stuff and put it in the attic at our house? You can always make up your mind later.”

“Thank you, Chris.”

“You're welcome. Now, we should get moving. Are you good to go through the rest of these to figure out what you want to keep while I pack what you've done?”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“We'll be out of here in no time.”

“And I'll be taking over your space.”

“Our space.” Chris stole a kiss on the way to his feet with a handsome smile that Leon could never resist. “I did get rid of a few things to make sure you have space to claim as yours. If it's not enough, you can tell me.”

“I can't wait.”

[lokis-army-77]

If You Please

Chapter four

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 1860

I'm bad at writing descriptions, so this is basically a reader insert into The First Avenger and then we'll see how it goes from there.

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After about thirty minutes of driving, we made it out of the tunnel, after another hour we made it to the camp. When the car was finally parked I slid out of the back seat and straightened my skirt. I looked over the top of the car at Peggy, she motioned for me to follow her. She led us to one of the army's many jeeps.

“The project recruits are in the training field, we’ll have to drive over to them." She hoisted herself up into the cab and I quickly followed suit. The ride to the training field was short, but in the few minutes, it took us to get there a wave of anxiety crashed onto me.

The thought of seeing Steve here was panic-inducing. I had only just seen him a few hours before but having him see me in the job that I had kept secret from him was not fun. I had a feeling that this was going to be a long day.

As the jeep came to a stop I could see the line of recruits and there stood Steve right in the middle of them. He wasn't that hard to miss, he did stick out like a sore thumb. I leaned up between Peggy and the driver and said, "I don't think i can do this right now."

Peggy looked over her shoulder at me, "you can do this Roger's, there is nothing to worry about. Let's just go do our job." I took a deep breath and nodded, exiting the jeep.

I trailed slowly behind Peggy and stopped just out of Steve's view. I watched while she introduced herself to the line of men. As she walked down the line one of the men commented on her accent. Turning to ask his name he responded with, "Gilmore Hodge, your majesty."

Peggy then asked him to step forward and once he had done so, he was swiftly met with a punch to the face. I let a small laugh out as he fell backward.

“Agent Carter, I see you’re breaking in the candidates. I also see that you’ve brought Agent Rogers as well,” Colonel Phillips called out as he and Dr. Erskine came towards the group. We both quickly gave him a salute. With the mention of my name, I knew my cover was blown and I walked out to where Peggy and Coronel Phillips stood and introduced myself. My eyes fell on Steve who looked utterly shocked.

The Coronel then proceeds to give his small speech about how we would win the war because we have “the best men”. When he noticed Steve he also added “and because they are going to get better.” He continued by telling the men about the SSR and what the goal of the program was. When the words super-soldier were said, I could see the men take a sharp breath in and puff their chests out. From the looks of it, I could already tell these men were not what a super-soldier should be. I continued to watch Steve as he sent me questioning looks. I mouthed to him that I would explain later and he nodded slightly.

After the Coronel’s speech was when the real work began. They went straight into training exercises, push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, every exercise you could think of. I stood back and watched, only chiming in when I saw one of the men slacking or doing something incorrectly. Steve was in the middle of the group, trying his hardest to keep up with the others, but he never quit.

Once night fell the recruits were sent off to the canteen for supper. They all trotted off in a group but Steve didn’t move from the spot he had been in. I looked over at him and sighed. I waved Peggy on and walked over to my brother. He started to speak but I quickly interrupted him. “Before you say anything I want to say I’m sorry for keeping this from you, I was legally forbidden from saying anything to you.”

He stood there for a minute processing, mouth opening and closing like he was going to say something but then quickly thought better of it. He raked his hands through his hair and exhaled heavily. “I.. I have no idea what to say. When did you even have the time to join the SSR?” He asked, sounding a little cross.

“Do you remember when I started taking night classes down at the community college? Well, I was actually in training here with the SSR. I’m not really sure how it happened, it just did. I really wanted to tell you so bad, but I couldn’t. I hope you understand why.” My head hung low as I spoke, this and my engagement were the only two things I have ever kept from my brother and to have one less thing weighing on my mind felt like a relief.

“I understand, you only did what was asked of you,” he spoke calmly and pulled me into a hug.

“Thank you, Stevie.” I gave him a tight hug back. I let go and started to walk to the canteen. “Now, here I am your superior, I can't be giving you special treatment because you’re my big brother.”

“I wouldn’t want you to. So do I just call you Agent Rogers from now on? I'm not going to lie, that's a little weird,” He laughed, falling into step with me.

“Yes that's exactly what you should call me and I’ll just call you Rogers from now on, maybe with a little more force.” I chuckled and shook my head, “I have a meeting to get to so go get some supper and get your things unpacked. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning at 0600, soldier.” I turned to my right and headed for the main office building of the camp.

Over the next few days, Peggy and I watched over the training of the recruits. I watched as Steve lagged behind in every exercise and obstacle, but he managed to pull through. He used his smarts to get through some of the tasks, unlike the others who relied on their brute force. Dr. Erskine kept a close eye on him whenever he was present on the training field. I knew that Steve was his one and only choice out of the group to help further the experiment we were conducting.

Today was no different than any other, I peered at the men doing seats of burpees in the midday heat. “Let's go girlies! Faster! My grandmother can do these faster than this!” I yelled, pacing back and forth behind the group. To my right, I noticed the

Coronel and Dr. Erskine had arrived. They were deep in a conversation when I heard Peggy shout from the front of the group and I turned back to watch the men do their exercises.

The next thing I knew someone was shouting “grenade”. The whole area went into a panic. I spotted the grenade and started towards it in hopes to reduce the damage it would do if it was just left to sit. Before I could reach it, Steve dove on top of it.

“Get away! Get back!” he yelled. I dropped to my knees next to him, my heart pounded in anxiety but the explosion never came. I realized that it was a dud, one of the grenades used to train with. Steve uncurled himself out of his position and looked over at Colonel Phillips and Dr. Erskine, “Is this a test?” I grabbed his arm and pulled him up to his feet with me.

“Well, that was interesting. I can’t believe you would jump on a grenade Steve,” I shook my head.

“You’re one to talk, I saw you running straight for it too. Even when I was on top of it you still stayed. I told you to get away,” he chided.

“Steve don’t scold me, I couldn't just let you blow up. That was really brave of you though. Not many people would do what you just did.”

“Mr. Rogers, Agent Rogers, please come see me for a moment,” called Dr. Erskine. Steve and I looked at one another and then walked over to the doctor. “Come, follow me.” He led us to a jeep where we hopped in and were taken to one of the office buildings.

Inside the office, Dr. Erskine pointed at two chairs for us to sit in while he went behind his desk and took his seat. “I’ll just get right to the point. Mr. Rogers, I believe you will be the best candidate for this operation. You too Agent Rogers. I believe you both will be the best options for what we are trying to do here.” He explained to us. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This project was supposed to only have one participant, not two.

“If I may, I thought this was only going to be carried out on only one person, why choose the both of us,” I questioned.

Dr. Erskine looked at Steve and then at me. “This is my experiment, I can choose however many test subjects I would like to perform on. Not only that but you both displayed what I would like a candidate for the experiment to have, and that's courage and a good heart. Agent Rogers I’ve known you for a couple years now and I have had you in mind for this for a while,” He paused and looked down at the papers on his desk, “I also believe that since I did some testing with your blood work that the success rate will be greater since the two of you are siblings.”

Steve and I nodded as we listened to what he was telling us. He continued to recount to us what he had experienced with Hitler and Johann Schmidt. He told us of the unfinished serum that Schmidt had taken and that there were dire consequences, he had gained power and strength but at what cost?

“The serum,” he paused, “the serum amplifies what is on the inside, not just physicality. Good becomes great and bad becomes worse. Not only did I choose you because of what I have seen in you but because I know that someone who is weak or has been looked down upon knows the value of strength and compassion, unlike the bully who has had power his whole life.” He poured himself a drink and then two more for us. “Just promise me that whatever happens in the lab tomorrow, you two will stay good-hearted and true to yourself, do not become the perfect soldiers they want you to be. Now, drink up, you have a procedure tomorrow no liquids or food will be allowed after 10 o’clock tonight.” He handed us our glasses and then he picked his own up. I glanced at Steve and after raising my glass in a toast I slung my head back and felt the burn of the alcohol sliding down my throat.