#ceremonicls

[sevenbulletsavior]

@ceremonicls sent a text - [TEXT] - so this is my number, but don’t save my name as anything sketchy.

[ SMS 📲 Unknown Sender ] Who is this??

[ SMS 📲 Unknown Sender ] Wait, is this Mr. “Don’t tell Nat I call her Nat”?

[ SMS 📲 Big Mouth Agent Boy ] Now what makes you think I would give you a sketchy name?

[storyuntrue]

      𝑶𝒏   𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕   𝒉𝒊𝒔   𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅   gives   a   short   chase   to   hers   before   stopping,   his   lips   opening   with   an   argument   ready   to   be   released   before   he   seals   them   shut   into   a   pout.   Well,   Dean   wanted   to   finish   the   round   before   she   snatched   his   phone   away,   but   this   was   exactly   what   he   asked   for.   Begged   for   it,   even.   So   asking   Jo   to   give   it   back   so   his   last   life   would   not   go   to   waste   seemed   counterproductive.   

      “I   don’t   know,   I   was   stuck   on   a   level   and   I   needed   only   one   more   move   to   finish   it,”   he   downright   whines.   Somewhere   in   the   back   of   his   mind   there   is   a   thought   that   he   should   probably   put   on   a   more   tough   act,   but   he’s   several   whisky   neats   in   and   it   takes   him   a   bit   longer   than   usual   to   listen   to   that   idea.   Several seconds later,   he   tries   to   save   face,   voice   gruffer   than   before:   “How   ‘bout   you   bring   me   another   drink   and   I’ll   think   about   that   twenty   bucks   for   ya?”   

@ceremonicls — cont. ( x )

[sevenbulletsavior]

Charming, intelligent, gentlemanly: Steve Rogers was all of these things, and perhaps that was why his tone seemed the most incredulous when he posed the question: ❛ are you asking me out on a date? ❜ @ceremonicls looked at her with what seemed to be confusion, and honestly? It made Karen smile.

Steve wasn't expecting that, of course. Why would he expect her to ask him out? He was technically a wanted criminal and his life was meant to be lived in the shadows, hidden away from the world at large because he dared to go against those who claimed they were only doing what was best for others. Asking him out on a date seemed pointless (they couldn't go anywhere fancy), but Karen was asking because she wanted to, because a life in the shadows was not a life worth living if it meant living it in solitude.

"Obviously, and you're going to say yes."

There it was, that patented smile of her own, and Karen took a sip of her coffee before settling the cup back into the saucer it was resting in. "And we'll go to some cute little hole in the wall place where no one knows us and have an amazing time and get a great meal out of it in the process."

[storyuntrue]

@ceremonicls: suit yourself. you'll regret it tomorrow. (for au 1 bartender jo)

      “𝑵𝒐.   𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔   𝒏𝒐   𝒘𝒂𝒚.”   Dean’s   adamant   about   his   decision,   a   firm   shake   of   his   head   just   solidifying   it.   There’s   a   crooked   grin   on   his   lips   too,   far   too   cocky   and   just   ever   so   slightly   tipsy.   It   has   been   a   while   since   he   had   faced   the   day   sober,   and   at   this   point   it’s   well   into   the   night.   “There   is   no   way   you   can   win   against   me   in   poker,   okay?   I’m   a   pro,   sweetheart,   you   cannot   beat   me.”   

      Perhaps   that   confidence   of   his   is   just   a   little   too   defensive,   a   little   too   stubborn and guarded.   Those   who   knew   him   really   well   could   try   and   poke   holes   into   it,   could   call   him   out.   Which   is   why   he’s   trying   to   disengage   from   this   challenge   altogether.   “Playing   you   would   be   like   taking   candy   from   a   baby.”   

[m0tel]

continued with @ceremonicls from here

oh, shit. straight to business, then.

he does what reads as the next most helpful thing -- sparing an argument -- and hauls the vamp chunks off the pavement and onto the grass. there's give to the earth, muddy and sticky from dew, so they're looking at a sloppy job. nothing back-breaking. an hour tops. when she wanders back, he flicks his fingers for the shovel.

"look, you did the hard part, i can -- just give 'er here. i got it." hard to tell if she's really that mad, or shook up, or what. they're still a few hours from daylight. nothing but the end went easy. he takes a beat, shoots her a careful side eye not to pressure.

"you okay?"

[lcstpaths]

you shouldn't believe everything you hear. (from natasha to clark)

"AND WHAT IF I HEAR EVERYTHING?" He's gotten better about it over the years - blocking it all out - but there were slips. If he got overwhelmed, if the mental shields he'd erected around himself dropped, things seemed to slip through. There was a part of him that didn't necessarily hate it - because whenever his own attachments to people got him worried, he knew he could listen for their heartbeat, somewhere in the world. But sometimes it was too much. And he was too overwhelmed. Which was one of the biggest reasons his father had worked so hard to keep him and what he was, a secret. "What then?"

[storyuntrue]

@ceremonicls: if there is one thing i learned in my life, you can’t control what other people are going to do. (from sharon to bucky)

A   squint   to   his   eyes,   his   lips   pursing   just   a   touch;   Bucky   doesn’t   entirely   agree   with   her   there.   Well,   it   goes   both   ways   —   against   her   point   and   in   support   of   it.   “Well,   as   someone   who’s   been   controlled   for   decades,   I   gotta   say   you   most   definitely   can   control   people,   but   the   price   of   that   is   they’ll   end   up   hating   you.   If   you   want   them   to   like   you,   however,   better   let   them   have   their   own   free   will.”   Bucky   nods   to   himself,   then   stops,   thinking   for   a   moment.   And   then   with   a   breath   taken   he   adds:   “Though   that   doesn’t   exactly   guarantee   that   they   will   like   you.   But   you   have   a   better   chance   that   way   anyways.”   

[storyuntrue]

@ceremonicls: ❛  remind  me  what  i’m  getting  out  of  this  again ?  ❜ (from mason to eve)

“Aside   from   getting   paid,   you   mean?”   Eve   freezes   in   her   spot,   in   the   process   of   carefully   tucking   a   gun   behind   her   back.   Taking   a   moment   to   think,   brow   furrowing   over   her   eyes;   what   sort   of   answer   should   she   be   giving?   A   testament   of   righteousness   or   justice?   A   call   for   revenge?   Neither   of   these   were   the   reason   for   Mason   being   there   —   Eve   just   needed   her   help   tracking   the   Ghost   down,   that’s   all.   “What   do   you   want   to   hear?   I’ll   tell   you   anything   you   want,   as   long   as   you   stick   around.”