#sandy stuff

[sternbagel]

So I commissioned the lovely, wonderful @annaleigh to do this image of Sandy & Al I’ve had rattling around in my head for a couple months and it’s so so so good!!!!!!!!! I love it so much and haven’t stopped staring at it (and probably won’t for the next week at least).  🤩 🤩 🤩 🤩

[sternbagel]

Let's see, what's a good one...oh! Richard and Edmund used to do post-curtain call bits after performances of Hamlet where they revealed they (as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) actually faked their deaths and survived and then screwed around and did dumb things to entertain the crowd to lighten the mood after the dark play.

Okay akdjdmmmmdjdk that is so pure and fantastic and I love them.

None of my OCs have theater backgrounds, but Sandy was a college gymnast, so she’s always had a thing for crowd pleasing and theatrics. Which translates Not Well™️ for whoever she’s hanging around at that point in time. Especially because most of the people she’s around are like super serious heroes with not a lot of down time. Sometimes, though, she’ll do kind of what Richard and Edmund do and try to get a laugh out of them, even for just a moment of comic relief.

[sternbagel]

So because I’ve tied my OC’s backstory so intricately (yet fairly loosely, all on purpose) into the entirety of the MCU, I’m making a timeline of her life in relation to major events.

And I know I wrote this, but damn did I just make myself sad

[sternbagel]

🖊 *chanting* Sandy! Sandy! Sandy!

I can talk ALL DAY about my favorite chaotic bastard 😂😂

So when she was with SHIELD (after the collapse, before they got Mace as the new director), she lived in LA for a few months and ended up having a few innocent run ins with the future Ghost Rider. (I know you personally didn’t watch AOS) And then when she finally rejoined SHIELD and right before she left for the final time to go find Frank again, the team told her about the whole escapade with him and a homocidal AI and a San Junipero-like program called the Framework and she was fucking PISSED. A) because she missed the whole thing with Robbie becoming the Devil’s Minion and then he just up and disappears into Hell and B) Trip was in the Framework so she’s having lots of feeling about that.

She and Trip weren’t ever a thing really, but they flirted a lot when they were around and she visited HQ. There was potential but, like with Bobbi (gonna touch on that stuff in Chapter 10) missed opportunities and what ifs weigh heavy on her. So her first month back with Frank, he ended up being Responsible™️ and dragging her to Curtis once a week because she will not go to therapy on her own unless it’s Sam. Who, at this point, she can’t see.

This is all useless info really lmao but I have like so many of her little adventures floating around in my head

[sternbagel]

The only scar Hazel has is the bite mark on the back of her right shoulder. She has enhanced healing abilities from being a vampire and it prevents her from scarring

Oh interesting!! 👀

Sandy has a few little scars littering her body, but they’re pretty faint (mostly due to her tanned complexion) and are covered up by her everyday clothes. Impossible to avoid in her line of work, and the more visible ones are because of her shoddy field work; she’s not the best when it comes to medicine and the like (having a brain fart for the correct terms). The only one that’s usually visible is the one on her right eyebrow, which is hard to cover up, but it’s definitely noticeable when she’s not wearing makeup (which is often).

[sternbagel]

Me anytime I have mangoes/something mango flavored: this one’s for Sandy

[sternbagel]

finally getting around to looking through all those face claim directories I reblogged a while back 

I was looking for one for America Chavez (front runner is Cierra Ramirez but nothing’s totally decided yet), and I always forget that Victoria Justice (Sandy’s face claim; in face only because Victoria is very skinny but Sandy is beefy) is part Puerto Rican. Which makes me wanna add tidbits of her calling her grandma her abuela and stuff into the story. Not a lot of her pre-SHIELD life is set in stone so...

Wanna use Arden Cho for Kate Bishop since someone a long time ago mentioned her playing Kate in the MCU and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, buuuuut she’s like 34 and I’m keeping Kate and America close to their early 20′s. Arden looks really young yeah but still. 

If I decide not to go with Arden, I like Kelsey Asbille Chow; as a plus, she was in Wind River and, if I remember the characters correctly, was Jon Bernthal’s girlfriend, whose murder was being investigated by Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner. So... yeah. Not that I really wanna keep Renner as a face claim in this story but still. Ironic lol

Legit don’t remember the names of my fc’s for Leticia & Jonah after I used them for that one meme I made so I had to look them up lmaoooo.  It’s Izabelle Leite and Tom Austen

[sternbagel]

"I'll meet you halfway" with Sandy and Sam?

I KEPT IT SHORT YO. Which I never do lmao. And this needs some heavy editing later on, but here ya go! Thank you!!!

–

“Sandy, no.”

“Sandy, yes.”

“You can’t stay in all day again.”

It’s been like this for three days. Sandy crawls out of bed, plants herself on the couch or as close to the fireplace as she can, and barely budges the whole day except to go to the bathroom or grab food. That and the fact that she occasionally laughs at something on her phone are promising signs, because it means this isn’t the worst episode she’s gone through. But Sam wants to get her back to herself as soon as he can.

Ten am the morning of the fourth day has Sam standing in front of her as she’s curled up in her favorite sherpa blanket. His arms are crossed, but his shoulders are slumped in worry. Sure, it is cold as balls outside, and sure, she’s made it very clear every chance she gets that she hates snow, but still. They have things they need to do, and Sam’s getting anxious about having to leave her by herself and explain her absence at the meeting. The United Nations have very stringent requests under normal circumstances, and in matters the Avengers are concerned, they’re even more adamant that their instructions be followed to a perfect T. It’s irritating as hell for both Sam and Sandy as well as the rest of the team. And Sam, as the new Captain America, is trying so hard to create a tentative but working relationship with the governments of the world. In order to do that, he needs all of his teammates to cooperate. And they are.

All except for his girlfriend. Even though she was obviously going to be third to only Bucky and Nat in hatred of the government, refusing to even step foot outside their apartment is putting a serious wrench in his plans.

Even if they hadn’t been summoned to Vienna, her behavior would still be very troubling. 

“You’re freaking me out a bit,” Sam continues. “When was the last time you did any sort of exercise?”

She pulls the blanket down enough to uncover her nose and mouth, which is pulling to one side in a grimace. “Last week.”

“Which, if I remember correctly, is your longest dry spell since…”

“Yeah, I know,” she groans. It may have led her to Sam, but that doesn’t mean Sandy enjoys thinking about 2013.

“You need to get up and moving, okay? We both know you’ll feel better. If it helps, the weather report in Vienna shows it’s gonna be warmer than it is here.”

She perks up slightly at that, sapphire eyes brightening the slightest. Sam nearly breathes a sigh of relief, but her next words cause him to frown more. “But politicians.”

They both know she’s partially doing this because she’s Sandy, but there is actual dread in her tone. 

“None of us are happy about that, believe me. But you’re not alone. None of us are.”

“Yeah,” is all she offers, gaze settling on the fireplace. 

“I know you’re not feeling great in the first place and this weather isn’t helping, but work with me, honey.” He sighs and slides into the seat beside her. Instinctively, she leans into him as he wraps his arms around her. “I hate seeing you like this.”

“I know, and I hate being like this.” The embrace does make her feel a bit better, but she knows she’ll unfortunately need a bit more external motivation to move. 

Sam nuzzles the crown of her head quietly for a moment. Truthfully, they need another vacation, even if it is just for a few days. The last few months have been brutal and exhausting. The world is still fragile, and losing five years, each in different ways, is constantly taking a toll on both of them. So Sam tries something. 

“Well, how about this? You come with me, suffer through the meeting with me and Shuri and T’Challa and Bucky and Nat and Tony, and I’ll meet you halfway.” When she hums curiously, he goes on. “Been awhile since we’ve been to our place in Wakanda. World will survive for a couple days on its own.”

A laugh bubbles up from her throat as she leans back to see his face. “Sam, don’t say that out loud. The world is definitely gonna go to shit now and we’re not gonna get a vacation at all. Good job.” 

“So is that still a no?”

She lets a moment pass where she pretends to mull it over. The instant he uttered the phrase our place in Wakanda, her mind was made up. Sunshine, great food, and a few days of privacy with Sam, stuff that’s been in severely short supply since he came back? That reward is plenty of motivation to sit through whatever bullshit the UN throws at them.

“At this point, I’m too tired to care if the world goes to shit. So let’s go watch from the comfort of Wakanda.”

Sam breathes a sigh of relief. “Good. I was afraid I’d have to tie you up and drag you with me.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” Before he can reply, only managing a half-hearted eye roll, she pulls him in and kisses him, long and slow and sweet. The godforsaken chill in the air ebbs, slowly replaced with Sam’s love and warmth. 

When they finally break for air, Sam asks, “Better?”

“Minutely,” she says after a thoughtful purse of the lips.

“Hey, I’ll take any improvement I can get,” he chuckles. As cheesy as it sounds to Sandy, the toothy grin he flashes shines brighter than a thousand suns, warming every inch of her, making that burden of those five years she did nothing but fail seem like just a fever dream. 

That’s just his way, isn’t it? In life or in death, in sickness or in health, he’s always there, propelling her forward. Reminding her that he loves her in his own way. 

And she’ll be damned if she’s going to waste any more precious time not trying to do the same for him.

“You think we have time to stop in Belgium?” she asks, burying her face in his neck and smiling when his grip tightens. “You should get yourself some chocolate.”

“Maybe? I mean you know how much I love Neuhaus chocolate, so I’m not objecting, but what brought that on?”

“Meeting you halfway.”