DEL, I HAVE A FEELING WE'RE NOT IN PRESTON ANYMORE
SUMMARY: It’s been a while since we’ve been allowed to travel. Man, these pandemic times are hard. But we still have our imagination left, though travelling somewhere over the rainbow might be taking things a little too far.
WARNINGS: None that I know of.
A/N: This is my contribution to @what-is-your-plan-today’s CATFA 10th ANNIVERSARY CHALLENGE, or at least the first part of it. It may be a two or even three-parter. My prompt was number 40. “What is this?” “Steak” “What’s in it?” “Cow”. But it doesn’t appear in this part yet.
That said, this is also a special gift for my partner in crime and sister from another mister’s birthday @what-is-your-plan-today. I LOVE YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUN!
Katie felt dizzy. She couldn’t quite discern if she was asleep or awake, it felt like that stage on your sleep when you’re trying hard to awake from a bad dream but to no avail. Or was she dead? It felt like everything she was feeling was real. She could hear her own breathing and the thumps of her heart on her heaving chest and she was particularly aware of her head throbbing.
That was it! Katie recalled being hit on her head by a flying shovel when she took shelter at the stables after the heavens had broken above the yard and a gust of wind had torn the wooden door open sending the rusty tool hard against her.
Katie tried to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy but when she managed to open her eyes, she was blinded by the bright light seeping through the pieces of wood of what had been the barn door, which lay now unhinged against the fringe. There was no way she could be dead. She had been hit hard on her head, that was true and the pounding on her head was there to remind her but then again… Dead can’t see, right? Nor hear for that matter, she thought when, as if on cue, Del snorted by her side. Katie winced in pain as she snapped her head to check Del was really there and when she cleared her throat to talk to her pony the words got stuck on her dry throat. Wait… How was that? Dead can’t say shit!
“Hi there, Del. You ok?”
The birds were chirping when Katie stepped outside the barn followed by Delilah. She couldn’t but gape at the lush vegetation in front of her. Was it ever like that here? It sure wasn’t. She walked a few steps closer to the flower beds and spotted a small stream of fresh water which she was absolutely certain hadn’t been at the yard before the storm and turn to look at Delilah which was graciously tugging a tall sunflower with her teeth.
“Del… I feel like we’re not in Preston anymore.”
The loyal pony neighed at her owner’s words as Katie twirled with a smile on her face, taking everything in.
“We must have gone through the portal!” she exclaimed.
Then suddenly a brightly glowing sphere appeared above the yard and it was fast approaching her as it floated in the sky. Katie took a couple of steps back when the now pink shaded bubble was about to land in front of her, only to reveal a tall, dark-haired woman clad in purplish and dark clothes. She didn’t look friendly at all, with her disheveled, kind of blowing, dark curls and her side smirk but there was something about her, maybe the ivory brooch over the upper button of her shirt, that compelled Katie to trust the woman.
“Now I’m sure we’re not in Preston.” Katie said more to herself than to Del, as the woman took a few steps towards her.
“Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” the woman asked Katie, leaning too close to her face for her liking.
There was something off about the way she spoke, Katie thought. It wasn’t about her voice, it was more like her tone. It was just as if she was one of those characters in a 50’s sitcom. As if she was waiting for the laughs of a fake audience or a round of canned applause.
“Who me?” Katie asked, trying to buy herself some time.
For some reason Katie didn’t want to be in the woman’s bad books. But when she nodded, Katie had no choice but to admit she might have mistaken her for someone else.
“Why, I’m not a witch at all.” Katie offered, trying to sound unimpressed.
“How? Aren’t you Dorothy?” the woman asked with a frown.
“No, I’m Katie?”
“Dottie?”
“Nah-ha, Katie.”
“So, you aren’t Dorothy Gale, from Kansas?” the woman insisted one last time.
“No! I told you…” Katie was beginning to get annoyed by the insistence of the dumb bitch, or should she say witch. “I’m Katie, Katie Dale from Preston and I…”
“Stupid runes!” the woman cut Katie off. “I knew the moment I cast the spell they didn’t like the bloody room. Should have changed the wallpaper.”
“What? What room and what are ru…”
“Well, is that the witch?” The woman turned to look at Delilah, ignoring whatever question Katie was trying to ask.
“Who, Del?” Katie frowned. “Del is my pony.”
“Now, I’m a little muddled.” The woman mused as she looked around as if trying to spot that Dorothy she was looking for.
Katie then took advantage of the woman puzzled expression and uneasiness and tilted her head before asking. “Who are you?”
The woman instantly looked back at Katie, her dark eyes sparkling, and gave her a wicked smile before answering.
“Oh, my bad. The name’s Agatha, Agatha Harkness. Lovely to finally meet you, my dear.”
“Thanks. I think.” Katie offered her a small smile. “Where am I, Agatha?”
“Not there yet, my dear.” Agatha brushed Katie’s questioning off with a wave of her hand before continuing. “The Munchkins called me coz a new witch has just dropped a house on the Wicked Witch of the East.”
“The Wicked Witch of the East?” Katie asked, she would be damned if she was understanding anything that Agatha woman was saying.
“Yes. Oh, maybe you know her by her first name. Wanda? Rings any bells?” Agatha asked, hoping that annoying creature would stop questioning her for once and would give her some answers instead.
But Katie just shook her head. “Nope. She’s from the East?”
“East of Europe. Sokovia? No?” Agatha sighed. “You know nothing, Katie Dale. It’s in the way to everywhere special. Anyways, there’s the house and here you are and that’s all that’s of the Wicked Witch of the West.”
Katie looked in the direction Agatha was pointing with her manicured finger and saw the barn and underneath of it a couple of human legs, clad in a pair of black and white striped tights and a pair of amazing ruby slippers on their feet.
“Did I do that? I’m so sorry…” Katie started to apologize only to be interrupted by Agatha again.
“Oh, don’t be dear. She didn’t see that coming.” Agatha grinned. “For a witch she didn’t have much vision of the future, if you catch my drift.”
At that Agatha winked at Katie before erupting in laughter. Katie just stood there, blinking at the woman whose laughter died when she saw the girl’s puzzled expression.
“Sorry.” Agatha cleared her throat. “Too soon? Anyways, the Munchkins are very grateful coz you freed them from the Wicked Witch of the West.”
“But if you please what are the Munchkins?” Katie wanted to know, it was not the first time Agatha mentioned them and she was curious now.
“You’re full of questions, aren’t you?” Agatha scoffed. “The Munchkins are the people who live in this land. Since they were banished from their former realm, that is. Asgard anyone? No. Jesus, I don’t know why I bother asking you.”
“Asgard…” Katie pondered.
“Yes, this is New Asgard and you’re now their new superhero. Like Batman, sort of. Well, you have a horse so we could say you’re their Valkyrie” Agatha snorted, looking Katie up and down. “It’s all right. You may all come out and thank her!”
As soon as Agatha summoned the so-called Munchkins a lot of little people dressed in colourful outfits started appearing from behind the trees and inside the shrubberies and everywhere possible and crowded around Katie, greeting and thanking her, making her feel a bit uncomfortable and the invasion of her personal space.
“Don’t be scared, dear. They might look petty and tiny to you, but rest assure they don’t court chaos.” Agatha appeased Katie.
Katie then saw a pair of the little men had jumped on Del’s back and were looking at her intently.
“As Mayor of the Munchkin city…” the one with a big hat on his hand and an equally big pocket watch spoke. “In the county of the land of Oz, I welcome you most regally…”
“But we have to certify the Witch’s death!” the other one interrupted.
“Oh yes! Excuse us.” The mayor apologized to Katie. “It’s just we’ve already had experiences with mischievous, not-really-dead acquaintances. Coroner, please!”
Then another man holding a parchment approached them. “She’s really most sincerely dead.” He declared, as all the Munchkins started cheering.
“Then this is a Day of Independence for all the Munchkins and their descendants!” the mayor shouted for everyone to hear.
And then, in the blink of an eye, everyone was dancing and chanting as they took Katie and Del through the small colorful town.
But the merriment didn’t last long as suddenly there was an explosion and all the Munchkins started screaming and running for shelter.
It was then that Katie saw her. She was wearing a crimson leather outfit with a matching pointy headband on her head. Her skin was glowing red.
“I thought you said she was dead.” Katie turned to speak to Agatha, concern written all over her face.
“That was her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East. This is the Wicked Witch of the West, duh. She’s worse than the other one was.” Agatha explained.
“Who killed my sister?” the Scarlet Witch asked the two women in an unfriendly tone. “Who killed the Witch of the East? Was it you?” she asked again, pointing directly at Katie.
“Me? Nope. It was an accident.” Katie fought back.
“An accident?” the Scarlet Witch demanded as she started to move her fingers in a way little red sparkles were coming from them. “Well, my pretty little, I can cause accidents too!”
“Aren’t you forgetting the ruby slippers?” Agatha chimed in, causing Katie to turn to look at her.
“The slippers, yes!” the Scarlet Witch exclaimed as she walked towards the remains of her sister “I’ve always wanted those. They match my outfit more than hers.”
But just as she was about to grab the shoes, these disappeared from her sister feet which rolled backwards into her legs and underneath the barn.
“Where are they? They’re gone! What have you done to them?” the Witch shouted as she stood up and approached the two women, glaring at them. “Give them back to me or I’ll…”
“Too late. There they are and there they’ll stay” Agatha cut her off as pointed at Katie’s feet with a grin.
Katie then look down at her feet and she gasped. “Hey, where are my riding boots? I hope you kept them safe. They were new.”
Agatha rolled her eyes at Katie just as the Witch protested again.
Katie felt Agatha pat her shoulder with pride before she spoke. “Be gone, Witch! Do it before someone drops a house on you too… or slaps you on the face with a planet for that matter!”
The Wicked Witch of the West groaned at Agatha’s words but fought back and started threatening Katie and Del before she rolled around herself and was gone with an explosion followed by thick red smoke and fire.
“Argh, flame on!” Agatha snorted. “Oh, what a smell of sulfur. I’m afraid you’ve made a rather bad enemy in the Wicked Witch of the West. The sooner you get out of Oz altogether the safer you’ll sleep, my dear.”
“I’d give anything to get out of Oz altogether. But what is the way back to Preston? I sure can’t go the same way I came.” Katie wondered.
“No, that’s true.” Agatha agreed. “The only person who might know is the Wonderful Wizard of Oz himself.”
“The Wizard of Oz?” Katie asked as she frowned. “Is he a wizard or a sorcerer?”
“You got me. He lives in the Emerald city tho. That’s a long journey from here.” Agatha explained. “You can always ride that pony of yours but I should warn you the road is a bit slippery and you may fall so you’d better walk.”
“Walk?” Katie shrieked. “But those are two-inch heels! If I walk that much in them, my feet will fall off.”
“Don’t be a pussy, Katie. Just remember, never let those ruby slippers off your feet for a moment or you will be at the mercy of the Wicked Witch of the West.” Agatha explained, before placing a soft kiss on Katie’s forehead.
“But how do I start for Emerald city?”
“It’s always best to start at the beginning. Haven’t I taught you anything, you twat!” Agatha rolled her eyes at Katie. “All you do is follow the Blue Tesseract Road.”
That feeling when you want to just shut adulting and life out and sit with your WIPs to finish and new thots (becuase you finally have ideas after 84 years) and hash them out with your bestie but you can't because adulting and life?
Intro: Katie takes some time to reflect on Steve’s life during the war before meeting him on the jet as they depart for the Hellicarrier. When they get a lock on Loki, the two take their first mission together and the Captain can’t help but be a little impressed at what he sees.
Warnings: Bad Langauge…and Loki!
Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.
Now if you remember a while ago I asked how you guys would like to celebrate and this is what I’ve come up with! If you remember my 2.5k Followers Writing Challenge and Exchange its kinda similar to that but I’ve made some improvements!
What is going to happen is I am going to open up my askbox/dms for requests!
To make this manageable and allow me to complete as many as possible I will only be accepting requests in these following forms:
1) A question about a character or series
For example: How would X characters feel about Y character doing XYZ?
2) A What If…. For one of my series
For example: What If the character for X series met 10 years prior
3) A request using a maximum of 3 of the prompts below (the list is hella long so I’ve put it below the cut!)
For Example: Ari Levinson / Mob AU / You won’t get away so easy
If I receive a request that does not fall into one of these three categories then I will not fulfill it!
And because I like for everyone to be able to get involved if you yourself are a writer/want to give writing a go and you like any of the below prompts feel free to use them (the max of 3 doesn’t apply to you guys) all I ask is that you tag me, use the hashtag Niamh Loves You 3000, use appropriate warnings and let me know which ones you’re using so I can keep my eye out!
If you are writing a fic using the below prompts I ask you to follow these rules:
No sexual relations with minors, no somnophilia, necrophilia, incest, toilet stuff, snuff, or beastiality!
Dark Fics are allowed (Non-Con/Dub-Con) but they MUST BE APPROPRIATELY TAGGED!
Any creation MUST BE ORIGINAL! No stealing, stealing is bad!
The creation if part of a series must be able to be read as a stand alone!
No word limit! If it’s over 500 please use the read more function!
All the prompts are below the cut, remember its a max of three, but you can mix and match as you like so the possibilities are endless!
Characters:
Chris Evans
Steve Rogers
Andy Barber
Frank Adler
Ari Levinson
Curtis Everett
Johnny Storm
Jake Jensen
Ransom Drysdale
Any other Chris Evans character
Trope:
Fake Dating
Only One Bed
Enemies to Lovers
Friends to Lovers
Cuddling for warmth
Trapped together
Mistaken Identity
One night only
Love Triangle
Fated Mates
Childhood Sweethearts
Grumpy x Sunshine
Forbinned Love
Forced Proximity
WILDCARD! (You can pick an Trope not listed!)
AU:
A/B/O AU
Mob AU
Sports team AU
College AU
Emergency Service AU
(Medieval) Royalty AU
(Modern) Royalty AU
Pornstar AU
Fairytale / Fantasy AU
Biker AU
Soulmate AU
Band/Musician AU
WILDCARD! (You can pick an AU not listed!)
Dialogue:
"I told you not to touch that"
"I'm tired of answering that question"
"Why didn't they come?"
"I'm so sick of pretending everything's okay"
"don't just stand there! do something!"
"do you remember that night in [insert place]?"
"is there a problem here gentlemen?"
"what on earth happened here?"
"there's blood everywhere"
"Get in the van!"
"I'm not saying you're a bad cook, but even the flies in the kitchen wear gas masks."
"I may be a terrible dancer, but I've got great moves in bed."
"I'm not high maintenance; I'm just low tolerance for mediocrity."
"I love the sound of your voice and the way you say my name."
"Being with you feels like coming home."
“You're not the person I thought you were."
"I never imagined my life without you."
"I never got to say goodbye."
"I'm so glad you're here to point out my flaws. I would never have noticed them on my own."
"Oh, don't worry about being late. We'll just sit here and wait for you forever."
"I'm sorry. Did I ask for your opinion?"
"Why do you always insist on seeing the worst in people?"
"It's not my fault you can't handle the truth."
"You don't know what I'm capable of."
"I'll do whatever it takes to get what I want."
"You think you're better than me, but you're not."
"I'll use anyone I need to achieve my goals."
"You've made a huge mistake, and now you're going to pay for it."
"Don't you realize how much you've hurt everyone around you?"
"you have no idea what you do to me"
"don't you dare go slow"
"I don't think I'll be able to walk tomorrow"
"move and you won't be coming tonight"
"hands behind you're back"
"Beg for it"
"you can take it, you've done it before"
"I'm going to fucking ruin you"
"do you think you deserve a reward/punishment?"
"show me how much you missed me"
"Are you holding back? don't"
"shall we put your mouth to better use?"
"Slowly, I'm not going anywhere"
"I said I'd take care of you"
"Please, I can't sit still"
So there’s absolutely so many to pick from covering fluff, comedy, angst and smut 😉 don’t forget to follow the rules I’ve set out above!!
It's hard to believe that in just a couple of days this year is over.
And what a fucking year it has been.
While the last 3 years have been hell, then the last 18 months, and just when I didn't think it could get any worse, literally the last 12 months have seen some of the worst and darkest parts of my life.
I'm talking deeply dark, personal shit that only a select couple here know I barely survived. Things that brought me to the point of was my life even worth continuing.
I'm begging for 2024 to be kind to me. I'm pleading that it shows me joy and personal peace. I pray that it brings me better health both mentally, physically and emotionally. I ask that it continues to give me the supportive relationships that my closest circle provides. I hope it brings healing in the areas I seek it most.
But with all these things I look to happen for myself, I hope they happen for you reading this as well.
Be kind to yourself, grace is your best friend. Find your joy in this new season and thrive on it. I know what I'm looking for and to do. What I want to set forth here on this hellsite and IRL. Here's to hoping you can do that too.
If it's writing, reading, drawing, creating, or simply touching the ground and breathing the fresh air, just enjoy the fuck out of it.
