closed starter for @sting-likea-stinger
Kate was enveloped in a mess of blankets and piles scattered about her apartment floor. She laid on her side, blankets pulled up over her head. “Cassie, just go on patrol without me.” With a flair for the dramatic, she continued, “I will never escape my cozy prison. This is my life now.”
closed starter for @mutantspeedster
Kate was tired, exhausted really, and she hadn’t slept in nearly thirty hours. She gave Tommy a glance, her annoyance and exhaustion barely concealed. “I love you, Tommy, but don’t fucking talk to be unless you brought me some coffee.”
andhwall:
ok so maybe he’s not supposed to be in here, but … he’s never used a real bow and arrow (well, not extensively. there was that one time he tried to learn in preparation for the idol star athletic championships, but…) and he’s kind of curious. he uses one made from his energy while he’s hwall, but obviously that doesn’t compare to a real bow and arrow. especially with draw weights, he’s never done that. so he gingerly fiddles with the strings of some practice bows, before sighing and taking his place in front of a target, empty handed.
his hands glow softly, a lilac energy emerging, before he raises his arms and a bow and arrow appears in his hands. his form isn’t perfect - but when he looses the fake arrow, it lands nicely in the center ring of the target. and dissipates into the air. and for the next hour, this repeats, the easiness of the motions bringing him peace and calm.
No matter what skills she developed and no matter what fancy equipment she got over the years, Kate preferred to have a real bow and arrow in her hands, not even the Kree bow and arrow that Noh Varr let her borrow when she needed it. There was something about the weight of the bow in her hand, the feeling of the drawstring against her face, the rush when she let the arrow fly that she could never get enough of. Nothing matched the peace she felt when she shooting her own bow and arrow.
Watching someone else with a bow had never quite felt the same, not even close to it really. Still, she waited for her turn in the archery range when she arrived. “Those are some fancy arrows you have there. Mine are the boring kind you actually have to collect after shooting.”
“Alright. He’s lucky.” Noh could have easily caught up with the guy, but he wasn’t going to go after him if Kate said no. “Ramen isn’t so bad though, far as meals go.” He tries to be positive in the only way he knew how.
It was ridiculous really, her tendency to rely on herself until things got too dicey for herself. After all these years, she had nothing left to prove. Except they still cared her princess. “Oh yeah ramen is the best out of cheap food. Much better than ketchup soup.”
“Listen, I can teach you how to fly a plane.” Carol sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “But, I need you to be sure. Like willing to sign a waiver kind of sure.”
“I will totally sign the waiver, Carol, but I’m not really seeing a point. I’m a natural at almost everything. And, also, would sue if I get hurt? Cassie? That might make Cerry date night awkward.”
tofuisms:
* closed starter for @nvthawkguy / “more guys should be bi. it’s 2019. it’s like, get over yourselves!”
“you and i both know it all leads back, in the end, to toxic male masculinity and how they have to perceive themselves,” she sighed, agreeing with the sentiment but finding it all, as a whole, a source of exasperation. “don’t get me wrong - you’re so right. my dad is, like, a bajillion years old, and he’s, like, at least bi. if HE can be open about his sexuality, it shouldn’t be that hard.”
“toxic masculinity feels like one of the real supervillains of the world. Do you know how many asshole men I fought that could’ve not been criminals if they just talked out their issues every once in a while.” Kate said. At the end of the day, her job existed mostly because people couldn’t be bothered to face their own emotions. “2019 is the year for self-reflection. And for more guys to be bi, of course.”
wowbobs:
❝ oh, infidelity. y’know, it doesn’t age well, but you’re quite young. very forgivable. ❞ she shakes her head. bobbi doesn’t know enough to judge. she was young, once. ❝ and what do you want to do about it, kate ? ❞
“Forgivable, yeah, sure.” Kate didn’t blame Cassie for anything. They were younger, less mature and less experienced in regards to romance. She was, however, beating herself up over her inability to establish the boundaries between friend and romantic interest. “Oh, you know, pretend like everything is okay and eat a lot of ice cream.”
“aw, no, come on,” there’s a frown on scott’s features as he watches a line of ants get disrupted on their way back to their colony. he knows the world isn’t very kind to the effort of ants but his empathy for them after spending so much time working and living with them is pretty high. “don’t bother them, they’re not bothering you. look, see, that one’s carrying like, half a cookie. that’s super impressive, isn’t it?”
Admittedly, Kate had never understood Cassie and Scott’s thing with ants. She had, however, always respected it and by extension, she had learned to respect the insects that had once had her calling the exterminator. However, she did still understand the reasons they left people’s skin crawling “Get moving, asshat.” She said to the person bothering the ants. “They are on their way out, anyway.” With a laugh, she turned to Scott. “Oh yeah, half a cookie is super impressive.”
Noh looks over at the person walking away. “I can go after him for you if you would like. I can make sure he doesn’t get away.” He doesn’t like seeing Kate upset he will admit too. Well — didn’t like seeing any of his friends like that. He bends down to help her pick up the pieces.
Kate shook her head. She picked up the sim card, thankfully still intact. “Asshole probably didn’t do much but force me to eat ramen for dinner instead of take out for a week.” And she had gotten used to handling men like this since she first became a P.I. “It’s not worth it.”
tommy wasn’t sure who he expected to be the otherside of the bar, but it certainly wasn’t kate bishop. clearing his throat in hopes of grounding himself, tommy attempted to turn back on the charm. “keep tellin’ me i’m pretty, bishop, it’s music to my ears.” tommy dramatically batted his eyes at her. “what’re you doing ‘round these parts, princess?”
“Careful, I’ll have to stop if I think it might make your ego even bigger.” Kate smirked. She rolled her eyes. “You do know I’m a seasoned P.I., right? Have been for quite some time.” And she had lacked the wealth that earned her her status as princess for almost as long. “I’m also a superhero. Safe to say I have been to seedier place than this bar.” To be fair, she had been to seedier place when she was rich and a teen and rebellious.
“that limit does not exist,” cassie states resolutely, a quick shrug, “i dunno, like… around there yeah. and hey– you could be both. Jan was a fashion designer and hero so y’know, there is room in the fashion industry for both. we already know you could be a designer,” they expand their arms in a little show off, since kate had helped them pick out this very outfit.
“I think all the constant cuts and bruises might not be the most appealing to whoever hires models—” At the moment, she had bandaids on her forehead and left cheek. “—But I’ll be sure to keep that in mind if I ever retire from this superhero thing.” She laughed. “Fashion designer might work. A P.I.-superhero-fashion-designer is quite the combo.”
admittedly, ava didn’t realize who she was dealing with at first. all she saw was some asshole guy knock something that sounded expensive out of a girl’s hands. that’s all it took for ava to stop in her tracks on her way home, “hey, dickbag!” ava shouts at the guy, stepping in front of him with crossed arms, “you wanna apologize?” she glares and man, tilting her head, “sounds like you got a little more to answer for.” her gaze moved to the other woman, the one that shouted, and a dawning of realization comes over her at who it is. still, ava doesn’t budge from in front of the man, leveling a hard ‘i dare you’ look at him.
Ava Barton was the person Kate least expected to come to her aid, the two always seeming arguing or avoiding each other—no matter how difficult the latter seemed to be at times. She wasn’t going to turn down the help, thought. Even if she had to swallow down the reflexive ‘i have the situation under control’. “I wouldn’t waste your breath. The assholes who work with my dad don’t tend to have the depth required to say sorry.” She said. When Ava looked at her, she nearly expected the other woman to leave her to handle this on her own. Women stuck together however. “Oh, just the usual, corrupt business practices and selling your soul to the one and only Derek Bishop. Nothing I’m not used to handling.”
ofgerrys:
“okay, look, I’ll hit a guy with a bow. it’ll be like a club. a boomerang that doesn’t come back.” this was hopeless. gerry had just been- interested in getting to know kate better. they’d always been together in groups, or at least with cassie. maybe they had hung out like- twice on their own? so he asked about archery, an activity that he had never been great at, but he happened to know that she was excellent at. it would be like if she asked him to take her on a plane with him piloting, or perhaps to sonic for an ice cream blast. it would be in his element. gerry postured himself again. “alright- if i hit the target-” he wanted to suggest that they leave and do something else, but that was not thoughtful at all. he was here for her, to get to know her. not eat ice cream. his fingers wrapped around the rest. “i dunno kate- maybe the sights are off. not suited to my hight. I’m holding it correctly?” ( @nvthawkguy )
Kate was only vaguely horrified. He didn’t even have her bow, that she trusted only with Clint (don’t tell him that). “Yeah, no. That’s a terrible idea. Stick to arrows unless you are really in a bind.” She had heard worse suggestion about what to do with a bow. Not all criminals were creative with their banter and insults. “Are you going to finish that thought or?” It wasn’t that Kate had ever had negative feelings about Gerry, at least beyond whatever her possessiveness over her status as Cassie’s best best friend has inspired. It was just the two had never really clicked. At the time, her friend group had been limited mostly to the Young Avengers and other young heroes. She had never cared much to expand it no matter how friendly she had always been. She rolled her eyes. “No one’s good at archery right away. It’s something you learn to do, not something you naturally good idea.” Even the great Hawkeye had had to practice with a bow the first few times she picked it up. “Just aim and shoot.”
ANDY: i’m so hype for school to be over. my brain is legit melting. ANDY: can’t wait to sit on a beach somewhere pretty. ANDY: what are ur summer plans?
KATE: oh the usual superhero antics KATE: fingers crossed I can make it the beach KATE: fingers crosses there’s not a rogue landshark attack if i do
“if you’re not gonna buy any drinks, you better tip me.” he huffed, leaning against the bar. “this is gonna shock you, but i ain’t getting paid to stand ere and look pretty.”
“In that case, I’ll take the cheapest beer you have. That way I should have enough to drink and tip. It’s a win-win.” Kate grinned. “Are you sure that’s the case? You are very pretty. It’s probably great for business.”
sammorzz:
“well. aren’t you just the shit then?”
“Of course I am. I make up for my lack of superpowers with an abundance of confidence. It’s worked great for me in the past.”
❝ i posted on instagram twenty minutes ago, and it only has 12k likes so far, ❞ winona spoke, conspiratorial. she pouted and looked at them with big, brown eyes. ❝ be honest. have i grown ugly ? irrelevant ? ❞
“Maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit. Audiences get bored faster than a speedster runs.” The effort she put into her instagram wasn’t ever going to be the type of thing that Kate admitted, her brand one of effortless.
