American Punchline Ch 66

A TJ Hammond/Steve Rogers Crossover

You can find the previous chapters here (or on AO3).

Chapter 66

As their small caravan maneuvered toward the back entrance to the convention center everyone caught sight of the crowd amassed out front. It was a full hour before the doors were scheduled to open, but there were hundreds if not thousands huddled in the brisk DC morning.

“Are those protest signs I see?” Steve groaned. They’d been expecting this.

“They are, but notice they are being held at bay.” Tony commented. “It’s a little outside their normal duties, but when they caught wind of what we were putting together a couple of the Patriot Guard groups reached out to see if they could assist. Apparently, they were expecting the Westboro idiots just like we were.”

“Remind me to find a way to thank them.” Steve noted to the group with him.

“I’m sure they’d appreciate the thought,” Tony started. “But don’t stress too much about it. After their call they received a rather sizeable donation to help support their efforts.”

“Thanks, Tony.” TJ replied as he squeezed Steve’s hand.

“JARVIS is having coffee and donuts delivered momentarily for the crowd.” Pepper shifted the focus to something more positive than Westboro’s inevitable protest. “We can’t do much at this point, but that makes the wait a bit more pleasant.”

“That’s perfect.” Steve hopped out of the SUV as they stopped beside the door, reaching back to give TJ and Natasha each a hand as they slipped out behind him. “If everything is in order and any of the volunteers are free maybe I could take a small team out to start pre-registering people.”

“Emily confirmed everything is exactly as it should be and the majority of volunteers are already checked in.” Pepper grinned. “Let’s stash our stuff, grab what we need, and head out front.”

“I didn’t mean you needed to freeze …”

Pepper glared at him before he could finish.

“Right. In that case, let’s go.” Steve followed without further argument.

Better Part 4

A Captain America Civil War Fic

Alternate ending for CACW. Set immediately after the big fight scene between Bucky, Steve, and Tony. A bit of possible reconciliation inspired by Kodaline’s Better.

Read previous parts here (1), here (2), and here (3) or on AO3.

Better

“Is it normal for them to be so tired?” W’Kabi fell in step with the latest arrival to Wakanda. “I thought given their enhancements they would be more energetic by now.”

Natasha considered the question a moment before replying. “Rogers and Barnes both heal faster than normal, but their bodies do still require time to recover. From what T’Challa told me they were in pretty bad shape when they arrived here. Stark’s not enhanced and shouldn’t have been fighting so soon after his last injury, so he’s gonna have to be patient.”

She could see the Wakandan was still concerned.

“It’s only been three days since they got here. Normally, yes, the soldiers would likely be back at it, but I’m guessing they are just as mentally and emotionally drained from everything as they are physically. I promise you they’ll be okay.”

W’Kabi nodded, smiling at her. “Thank you. I suppose it must seem strange that I worry, but it is clear my King holds them in high regard and they have been through so much already. I do not want to see more harm come to them … to any of you.”

“Well, let’s hope that your King can convince enough of the other leaders to think the same way.”

“He will.” W’Kabi paused in front of a door. “He must.” Pushing the door open, he motioned Natasha forward.

I might be hiding in the truck during football practice working on the next chapter of American Punchline. Not that you guys are interested in silly things like that ....

Not again ...

It seems like I’ve been getting quite a few of these tag things lately. 

I was tagged by @fresh-hell-mel because she’s my sister and she’s fucking evil into sharing like that.  

Where do you publish your work? My early fanfics are on FanFiction.net, but for the most part I’ve moved over to AO3 these days. 

What medium/application/etc. do you write in or with? I use Scrivener for all my writing (fanfic and original). Though I also have notebooks that I carry around and am scribbling in when my laptop isn’t with me.

Do you collaborate with others? I don’t do true “collaboration” but work with my sister to bounce ideas off each other until the original concepts we come up with actual work into something worth investing time into. <- stealing Mel’s answer here because yeah, that’s how we roll.

How much editing do you do before you publish? All I’ve published so far is fanfac, and depending on the piece it goes through me, Mel, and another beta reader before going live. Other times, it is just my eyes on it. 

For my original works in progress, there’s a lot more review and editing happening.

Do you listen to music when you write? It depends. Sometimes I will actually have it playing while writings, other times I prefer to write in the quiet. That being said, I have writing playlists or individual songs tied to everything I write. I will listen to them every chance I get when contemplating ideas or making notes and planning. I also tend it end up with various shorter fics that were spawned unexpectedly out of a song I happened to hear.

How do you decide what to write about? Usually, I don’t decide as much as the story and/or characters decide. Other writers should know exactly what I mean by that. <- stealing this one too. My characters are really good at hijacking my plans and making them their own. On a broader level, I write whatever idea the muse decides to drop into my head.

When do you write? Whenever the words are flowing and I can actually get away from all the rest of my responsibilities long enough to do it. Sometimes it may only be a few minutes at a time.

How often do you write? See above. I’d love to say daily, and sometimes I do. Other times, I may go days or even weeks without being able to write a single thing. I just try to go with the flow.

Do you take requests? Why/why not? I haven’t written any to date, but given my current collection of Avengers (heavy on Stucky) one shots that I keep adding to, I’m not opposed.

Is there any genre or type of story you want to write but are hesitant to? I’d love to write a period piece, but I always feel like I’d muck it up because I don’t have the time to do the research justice in order to make it believable. 

Any inspirational quotes, videos, tricks, articles, etc. that help you stay motivated?

My sister is probably my biggest source of writing motivation. She was the first person to know I was writing (I always swore I was incapable of creative writing). Probably the biggest thing I’ve learned from her - don’t be afraid to let the characters drive the story even if it’s not the direction you expected. 

I’ve also really appreciated the idea of giving myself permission to write whatever the story is that’s in my head at the moment. Sometimes it means I’m bouncing between projects, but rather than try to force one I let myself follow the muse. I suppose it might be different if i were writing for a living and had deadlines, but since I’m not I’m going to stick with that approach.

Since I know I have a few writers lurking around here, I’ll tag @steverogersnotebook @brendaonao3 @sebastiansin-221b @just-call-me-mrs-captain

Chris Evans Edit - This may be the perfect pic / edit for the MC in my current WIP original fiction. I feel highly motivated to write when this is up on screen.

Because some things just need to be shared - @steverogersnotebook @tiana-danced-with-bucky @just-call-me-mrs-captain sergeantmistress @marvelmistress2015 @captaincorruptor @writersblockstanfever