I don't like bullies.

A roleplaying blog for pre-supersoldier serum Steve Rogers, affiliated with Citta Alveare. Indie friendly. (Rollover gif for more links) Housed in District Zeta. Rank: Citizen

[herestothelittleguys]

ahawkwardguy:

He wasn’t surprised at the confusion. In fact, Clint currently held an expression that mirrored that. Now squinting at Steve, the archer stepped about him in a circle, glancing over his physical form.

“…Steve Rogers… I’ve come across dangerous creatures that had the ability to change their skin to look like the spitting image of my friends… I’d be worried but… you’re not the spitting image of the Steve Rogers I know…”

Perplexed, the man finally paused in his aimless circling and stroked at the stubble on his chin. “…you’re so …scrawny… but you’re Steve? Same name, same birthday, your face looks - but thats it…”

Wow. You try to get to know a guy and he calls you scrawny right off the bat. He should have expected this, honestly.

Bristling at the blatant inspection, Steve uncurled one of his hands from their instinctive fists to give probably the most sarcastic ‘thank you’ sign anyone has ever made. He’s flattered. Really, he is.

Meanwhile, Daisy stirred from her comfortable flop across Clint’s feet to come to her master’s aid in the form of leaning heavily against his legs. “Boof,” she boofed quietly, a warm and sandy weight that threatened to knock him over.

Giving her a head scratch seemed to drain some of the anger out of Steve’s system, and it was with much less bitterness that he haltingly signed-

“That guy’s me, from the...in the... what’s the sign for future, again?”

☞ guy → is ← me.... plus ☛ time??? ← 👍help ☜

[herestothelittleguys]

direheterosis:

“Oh..? Well, I suppose that makes sense…”

Her eyes drifted from the liquid expanse over to the wooden structure that led into the water. 

She hesitated once more at the shoreline, staring without focus. “Is there much water on Earth? Lordran was upon a mountainous plinth, the ocean was rarely even discussed…” Her first steps into the water were the slowest, her tail coiled in reflex as the cool liquid touched her feet. From there it was easy enough to sidle deeper, until the water was up to her waist. Both of her hands gripped the boardwalk. Tightly. 

“Most of the Earth is water, actually,” Steve said as they walked along the beach. “The city where I’m from, New York, is surrounded by it. A lot of it’s on what’s technically islands.”

As they stepped into the ocean, the cool waves that slapped against Steve’s skinny legs did little to dispel the memories of the frigid labyrinth, so it wasn’t until he was up to his chest in the shallows that he noticed Pris’ clear discomfort.

He gave himself a mental shake. Okay, Rogers, focus. She’s nervous as hell so the first order of business should be to get her comfortable being in the water.

“Alright so, lesson one. Blowing bubbles. Repeat after me... And, uh, don’t breathe in any seawater.”

With that, he closed his eyes and dunked the lower half of his face into the ocean, spraying an obnoxiously loud gurgle of bubbles through his nose. He looked like an idiot, but that was the idea.

[herestothelittleguys]

ossifrxge:

     「 Oh man. Did it ever remind Lazarus of gunfire. The round of noise from the firecracker had the feathers along his body standing on end, Lazarus continuing to try and grimace through it for Steve’s sake. Thank a higher power, Steve, that this man doesn’t have a vindictive bone in his body. Another low squeal wrenches itself out of his throat and he has to nod at his friends suggestion.  」

      “If you don’t mind,” He said, even despite his stress his tone remained calm and so quiet it was almost lost in the general cacophony of this great American tradition. 

        “I don’t mean to offend you but I don’t think this is.. my thing.” 

「 He looked at Steve pitifully before his attention was tore away to a loud explosion in the sky, face lost somewhere between discomfort and not quite amazement. The colours were pretty. Those he could enjoy. But it was.. everything else that wasn’t sitting well with him.  Which was a shame, considering how much everyone else seemed to be enjoying them.」

Aw, damn, there were the sad bird eyes. You wouldn’t think someone with solid red sclera could pull off a decent kicked-puppydog look but, well, there they were.

“Don’t give me that look. C’mon, let’s go. I was startin’ to get tired of all the noise, anyway,” Steve said. As he walked away he waved his hand to both dismiss Laz’s concerns and indicate the hullabaloo surrounding them. “You ain’t offending anybody. It’s not like all these fireworks are for me, or something.”

He hadn’t believed that particular lie since he was in short pants. A long time ago and in a place very different from this one.

Just for your birthday, Stevie. Look, there’s another one! Make a wish!

He frowned as he started down the steps of the underground entrance to District Zeta’s elevator. Already the celebration sounded muffled and distant as the tunnel swallowed him up.

Steve was actually glad to be leaving the festivities early, he found. But only because his bad ear was starting to ring and Laz was uncomfortable. 

That was all. Really.

[ahawkwardguy]

Clint’s eyes darted to the movement of Steve’s hand, then glancing back to his face. Some people had figured it out rather easily, and so far it only seemed to be the people with that certain kind of experience.

“…is your birthday the forth of July?”

☞ → you - ↓ ↺ birth ↷ day - 4 - J - U - L - Y ? ☜

He spoke, as well as signed, simply to answer Steves hunch.

[herestothelittleguys]

The little jolt of satisfaction Steve got as Clint began to sign back quickly faded into confusion as the guy... correctly guessed his birthday?

He tilted his left ear forward a bit to make sure he catches the answer to this one, a single thick brow raised in confusion. Steve’s own signing was slow and a little clumsy, but he managed to get his meaning across, finishing with probably a few too many question mark finger quirks.

“Yeah, it is, how did you...?”

☞ yes ?  → you ↑ know 👍⇊ how ???? ☜ 

[yourehereforeverassassin-blog]

His body moves on its own–Connor lunges forward, popsicle dangling from his mouth all the while, a single arm motioning forward to haul Steve against him and backwards. He stoops down with haste, the other arm extending downwards and grasping at the book. 

His balance, however, chooses to fail him now of all moments. The sketchbook is hurled towards the wooden walkway, only for the two of them to plunge into the water immediately afterwards.

The scent of salt overwhelms for a moment–he doesn’t waste a moment however, instead reaching for Steve’s hand, gripping him by the arm to ensure his safety.

A silence lingers as they both do no more than merely float. He opens his mouth to speak at last…the popsicle slipping from his mouth and plopping into the water.

“…Steve.”

“Your work is incredible…! You are truly skilled.”

[herestothelittleguys]

As he fell, Steve felt himself yanked backwards into something solid and warm. He looks down to see another pair of legs flailing through the air alongside his own before they both hit the water. It wasn’t a very hard impact, cushioned as he was by Connor’s torso, but it was still cold enough to drive the breath out of him.

Surfacing with a gasp and a splutter, he ignores the hand on his arm as he frantically looks around for his sketchbook- only to look up and see one corner of it peeking innocently just over the edge of the boardwalk. Dry and safe.

With a groan of relief, Steve flops backwards to lay lethargically on the surface of the water. For a long moment he floats, skinny limbs spread starfish-like, before Connor speaks and something else plunks into the water with them.

Steve cracks open an eye to see the frozen treat bobbing sadly in the ocean. He reaches out with the arm not in Connor’s grip, grabs it by the stick, and uses the cold end to poke the other man in the chin.

“Thanks,” he deadpans. Normally he’d be more flustered than this, but falling ass over teakettle off of a dock really takes it out of a guy.

[beautyfoundinoblivion-blog]

“Meatball.” He slides into a seat at the table, waiting for Steve to reveal which sandwich is which.  He could have probably eaten both sandwiches, but this looked suspiciously like an “eat and talk” session.

[herestothelittleguys]

It certainly does look like he’s trying to ply Beauty for information with sandwiches, but that turns out not to be the case. After Steve pushes one of the wax paper bundles over to the other man and opens his own, the apartment is only filled with the sound of chewing.

Steve does pause once to frown, as if he is about to speak, but he just ducks his head again and keeps eating. Is it that he can’t think of anything to say? Or is he waiting to see if Beauty even wants to talk?

[ahawkwardguy]

As Clint now stood captive by dog weights, he wiped the slobber on his arms and hands off on the beach trunks he wore. Which didn’t exactly work as well as a towel would but it got rid of some.

(s t eve rod g er s) Weird.

He grasped the offered hand and gave it a shake. “…Rogers? …Steve Rogers? Is that right??”

[herestothelittleguys]

The dog slobber that Clint transferred to him via the handshake was absentmindedly rubbed away onto the tie-dye of his shirt. 

He could have sworn he’d said his name pretty clearly. Maybe it wasn’t the dog zone, before...

Acting on a hunch, Steve subtly nodded his wrist in the ASL ‘yes’ at the same time he nodded his head. If he was wrong and the guy asks about it he could always say he was adjusting his grip on Daisy’s leash or something.

[direheterosis]

“So it is also like a river? But thou cannot see where it is flowing…” Her head turned to look back out across the water “Big things… Like the labyrinth I wonder…”

“Not all big things art mean, I think it will be okay. So… Ah, yes, if thou may..! I would like that! Thank thee.” Swaying against the sand her tail brushed a faint cloud behind her. “Art thou ready? I may enter… Lacking haste…”

[herestothelittleguys]

Like the labyrinth? Steve frowns uncomfortably out at the ocean and whatever might be lurking beneath the waves. They better not be like... 

Despite the July sun, the cool sand under his feet- slightly damp, as were all things in those massive stone tunnels beneath the city- made him shiver a little.

“Yeah, I’m...” he answers distractedly, then snaps back to the present. “No, wait- let’s go over to the boardwalk so you can hold onto one of the support posts while you practice. I won’t be able to anchor you myself, much.”

[beautyfoundinoblivion-blog]

He had no idea how hungry he was until Steve said that word.  He nudges the door open the rest of the way with a foot.

[herestothelittleguys]

“It’s only a coupl’a submarines,” Steve says as he ambles inside. “But hey, better than nothin’, right?”

As he opens the bag, the smell of marinara and toasted bread immediately starts permeating the apartment. “You want meatball or pastrami?”

[beautyfoundinoblivion-blog]

The door opens just enough to reveal part of Beauty’s face.

“… What?”

[herestothelittleguys]

Brandishing the paper bag directly in front of Beauty’s one visible eye, Steve says one word.

“Sandwiches.”

[herestothelittleguys]

“Hey Beau,” Steve called through the apartment door, rapping it with the knuckles of the hand that wasn’t holding a brown paper bag. “It’s me. You in there?”

[herestothelittleguys]

Squinting at the screen of his phone, Steve caught up with the transcripts of the court case everyone seemed to be talking about, and frowned.

This was terrible. Since meeting the guy, he’d always thought it’d be only a matter of time before Beauty had a run in with the law, but he never imagined it’d be under these circumstances. Time to pay the fella a visit.

[yourehereforeverassassin-blog]

What is he doing, he wonders.

He sees him from afar, sitting atop the boardwalk with what appears to be a sketchbook at hand. At peace, solitary yet…it was a lonesome sight.

Popsicles in hand, he gradually approches him–and soundlessly so. He stoops, just a slight bit, peering over his shoulder as he furrows a brow and motions an orange popsicle towards Steve.

“Might I ask what you are drawing?”

[herestothelittleguys]

A figure in shades of graphite, neither masculine nor feminine, is waist deep in the ocean, and their hands trail serenely in the waves as they look off into the horizon. Below the surface of the water, their torso abruptly shifts into a huge mass of tentacles that loop downward and fade into the darkly shaded depths at the bottom of the page.

Connor only gets a brief glimpse of it, however, because as soon as the strange orange object bobs into his field of vision Steve startles and drops his sketchbook.

It tumbles out of his hands and towards the actual ocean, and Steve lunges after it with a cry of dismay- forgetting that, sitting on the edge of the dock as he is, he would fall in right after it.

[ahawkwardguy]

(_ name(is) Daisy - you can say hi _ _ if you want-)

And that was all Clint needed to know before he was on his knees, rubbing this beautiful giant dog behind the ears. “Daisy? Is your name Daisy? Hey Daisy, you’re a good girl huh?” There was a nudge to his elbow, and he was turning his attention back to Lucky. With a laugh and an arm around his dog, rubbing at his back. “Aww don’t worry boy you still get the pizza.”

After a moment of looking like the crazy dog-lover he was, Clint was standing again and brushing the sand off his knees. “Sorry sorry,” Really shouldn’t be too enthusiastic about greeting other people’s dogs. He was then turning a crooked smile to his company. “So Daisy huh? Cute name, cute dog…” A gesture to the unleashed canine now sitting on his own foot. “This is Lucky…” 

“oh ‘n I’m Clint.”

[herestothelittleguys]

True to Steve’s word, Daisy wasted no time in slobbering all over the man’s forearms and even his face, if he let her, in a series of joyful licks. As Clint stood, she joined Lucky in flopping ecstatically onto his feet. You ain’t goin’ nowhere, pal.

Then there was Steve, who was watching the proceedings with a small smile that turned abruptly less goofy and more wry when Clint turned his attention from the dogs to him.

“Steve Rogers,” he said simply, offering the hand still holding Daisy’s floral leash for him to shake.

[generaladvisorywarning-archive]

“Oh heavens no. When I said damages I was talking about the initial attacks from the monsters themselves. We usually don’t purposefully hunt them after all, and only step in when they’re actively doing harm.”

He flashes a dangerous looking smile.

“Besides if I ever did find out that the others were damaging the livelihoods of Sindrians while drunk they’d have to answer for it personally.” in blood

[herestothelittleguys]

That... was a pretty intimidating expression, actually. Steve suddenly found it that much easier to imagine Ja’far as the general of some faroff island nation.

“Can’t imagine that’d go well for them,” he mused as he stepped into the shade of a nearby palm tree, blessedly cool in comparison to the rest of the beach.

“So... Sindrians, as in Sinbad? Are all your kings named after your country, or is it the other way around?”

[direheterosis]

“Er, well…”

“…Honestly, I am not sure. This is the first time I have seen… The sea. I know it is only big water, but it feels… Different.” She turned her head to look down at her friend, moving her hand to block the sun from his eyes.

“I do not know how to ‘swim’”

[herestothelittleguys]

The blinding light vanishes as she shields his face from the sun, and he gives her a small, grateful smile before humming thoughtfully.

“It is pretty different than a lake, though- there are currents and stuff that can pull you under. Plus, I don’t know if you’ve seen ‘em, but there are things out there in the water that I don’t think we should tangle with. Big things.”

“But, if we stick to the shallows, they probably won’t bother us.... What I’m trying to say is, I could show you how to swim, if you want.”

[ossifrxge]

     “I’m fine,” He managed grind out between clenched teeth. It wasn’t that big  of a problem, really. Just incredibly loud and not at all what he was expecting. He could deal with it, really. 

「  Though when one of the fireworks let out a particularly hellacious sounding scream, he was right back to baring his teeth and his wings were slowly rising as if he was about to make a run for it. 

       This wasn’t the worst thing Lazarus had ever been through. Not by a long shot. But Steve had asked him to attend ..whatever this torture was and he didn’t plan on just leaving the guy hanging. That was bad manners and the avian was raised better than that.  

         So instead, he swallowed down how uncomfortable he was and gave his friend an expression that was more of a wince than a smile.  」

       “This, this is normal custom, yes? You celebrate your country by setting it on fire?” 

[herestothelittleguys]

“Well, then you put it that way... yeah, I guess. It’s supposed to represent the gunfire and explosions of the Revolutionary War. Except, you know, for all the different colors,” Steve mused. He winced a little himself as another firecracker snapped off somewhere in the trees, a series of staccato pops that bounced off of the trunks all around them.

As he watched his friend coil into himself, a feathery spring growing tenser by the minute, Steve reconsidered his plan to introduce Laz to the more explosive American traditions. 

“...Alright, so, this was a bad idea,” he admitted, mouth pulled sheepishly to the side.  “Wanna get outta here?”