Meanderings of a Fandom Magpie

So..um...

2020.

Yeah. That. The less said, the better, right? :)

In fannish things, I finally finished "The Ability to Stop". The series beginning with that story has now spawned two WIPs, one of which is for Fandom Trumps Hate from 2020 and I'm aiming to get that done within then next couple of months (FINALLY!) The other WIP is what was supposed to be the epilogue for "The Ability to Stop", and it'll get done when it gets done. I also have a story coming up from my winning bidder on Marvel Trumps Hate, which is second in priority now. So suffice it to say, I'm very glad the muse is chatty. :)

It's been a trying time, personally, professionally, and all points in between. I'm just hoping that 2021 is going to be a better year for all of us. 

..from Chapter 10 of "The Ability to Stop," which is coming right along :D

--//--

Bucky recalled the solidity of the Barton’s home, which had sat vacant for a similar length of time. It hadn’t needed much in the way of repairs either. “I’m sure they won’t.” He folded his arms. “So…White Wolf, Shuri?”

She might have flushed, but it was difficult to tell. “It’s…well, you’ve become a bit of a legend. The White Wolf is from one of ours; a protector, a guardian, made lame defending the pack, but who still keeps fighting.”

Bucky didn’t blush easily the way Steve did; never had, but he felt the back of his neck growing hot. “And did you know about this?” he asked Steve.

Steve grinned, the bastard. “I might have, yeah. Wanda told me in one of her letters that Samkelo called you that. Looks like it might have stuck.”

...from Chapter 10 of "The Ability to Stop":

[Content-warning for mentions of standard Winter Soldier trauma]

--//--

“But what about the kids?” Bucky asked. “How am I’m going to be safe around them? How?”

“Because under all the pressure in the world, under pain and torture and dehumanization, you didn’t take that shot.”

“But I took others,” Bucky insisted. “I know I killed kids. I killed whomever they wanted. Some I don’t even remember, but I will, one day. Is Dr. Methuli going to be able to help me live with that?”

Steve remembered the first man he’d killed when he hadn’t intended to---he’d lobbed the shield at a German soldier standing guard over a Hydra munitions dump during the war. Meaning to disable the man, he’d nearly decapitated him instead. “I don’t know, Buck,” Steve said softly. “But if you don’t return to him, you’ll never find out what he can help you live with.”

Bucky eyed him. “Never thought I’d hear you arguing for therapy.”

Viwe had helped him with the memory of the German soldier, and untold others whose deaths formed the residue of his nightmares. The healers here respected that war caused trauma. “It’s not like I haven’t told some grisly stories of my own to Viwe. Come on, pal. Let’s head home.”

Now that my Cap RBB 2019 is done and posted, I'm back on "The Ability to Stop," specifically Chapter 10, which is going to be the last of that story (plus the epilogue.) However (*twirls fake mustache, looks shifty*) it's not the last in that series. ;-)

I've also had a couple of requests for stories in the universe of my RBB story, "Home is the Hunter." Because I left a bunch of things open, just in case ...and given that now all our AUs are canon (*cough, Endgame, cough*) I can see myself going there too. Eventually. But for now, TATS is going to have my full attention. I'm frankly stoked that people want to read more in the "Home is the Hunter" 'verse though...it was my first RBB story ever and I'm really happy that there's that much interest in it.

Which brings me to...

FANDOM.

Earlier today, I was hanging out with my daughter in the manga section at "Barnes and Noble." She was telling me that one of her classmates was reading "V for Vendetta" and all of a sudden, this creepy guy in his mid-20s (who isn't a B&N employee, so...) starts mansplaining anti-heroes to her. Dude. Must you? She doesn't care. I don't care. We were just having a conversation..and you weren't invited. I think he was harmless, and he didn't follow us, but it was seriously off-putting. And as I mentioned, creepy.

And it occurred to me then, as it does sometimes, that she's growing up and entering a larger world. This guy...harmless. Weird, but harmless. The next one? Maybe not.

I'm trying not to raise her in fear, of course---but this world isn't a safe place. I wish it was. And I can't protect her. The most I can do is try to guide her through it.

From Chapter 10 of "The Ability to Stop":

--//--

“I didn’t trust my own mind,” Clint told him. His gaze was knowing and far too old for his years. “You know how that is, I’d imagine. Yeah, he helped me---at least he helped me start to separate what Loki had done to me from who I was. That was how Loki worked; he made you do those things because you wanted to please him, the bastard.”

Bucky remembered Alexander Pierce’s honeyed words. “I get it,” he said softly.

“You’re probably the only one who would,” Clint agreed. He stared down at the ground, unseeing. “I won’t say the recovery from that was fun or easy but knowing my mind was my own again? It helped.”

So, my RBB is off to my beta and my posting date is June 6 (gulp). Which means I'm back working on "The Ability to Stop"--specifically, chapter 10, which is going to be the last chapter before the epilogue. It's 18 pages and counting and if you read "The House You Live In"....well, some parts of this chapter are definitely going to be familiar ;-) (Of course, I also write LONG chapters, so...18 pages is not even half, I don't think.)

I started writing TATS mainly to deal with my post-CACW feelz (and also, my annoyance at the epic number of plot holes in the writing.) Two years and some change later, and it's becoming a thing now that I think...yeah, I could keep writing in this 'verse, sure. But this story is just about done. OMG. :D

From Chapter 10 of "The Ability to Stop" (because I'm not sure how much I'll be online tomorrow)

--//--

“Dr. Methuli and I have been asked to consult---on a part-time basis---with Samkelo to help him better understand the mental health needs of refugees. We have taken them in before, on a small scale, case-by-case basis, but with our new king’s policy of openness, we both see that responsibility expanding in the years to come. While your particular situation is unique---”

“God, I hope,” Steve muttered under his breath.

Viwe smiled. “You do have an unusual perspective, you must admit. Anything you could tell me will be useful. And I will only reveal the specifics of what you tell me with your consent.”

...and some updates.

But first, the six sentences, from my RBB:

“Art school. Can I…do that? I’ve got a high school diploma from 1935 and a baptismal record instead of a birth certificate because I was born at home,” Steve answered. “None of which I can actually show to anyone because nobody would believe it.” He remembered that particular conversation with one of SHIELD’s liaisons vividly (“We’re just here to help you, Captain Rogers,” said in a way that had set off almost all of Steve’s alarms) and it was probably no coincidence that the same liaison had balked at returning what remained of Steve’s property (dog tags, Peggy’s compass) from the Valkyrie because he needed to “learn to live in this century.”

---//---

And now for updates:

Chapter Ten (the LAST CHAPTER...I think...) of "The Ability to Stop" now has a title ("Every New Beginning") and is...not anywhere near done. I don't expect to get much done on it until after I finish my RBB.

The RBB story is currently 11,613 words and 28 pages long. Which, considering the hellscape that was my life in the last couple of weeks, is something of a miracle. I think I have one more chapter on that too, then the epilogue. :)

My Super Fluffy Stucky Story (for Escapologist's Birthday,) "Illuminated Cities at the Center of Me"...is at least started. :)

Chapter Nine of "The Ability to Stop" is here. 

I'm right at 130,000 words. Holy hell. :D

Thanks for reading if you're so inclined :D

(Slightly more than six sentences, from Chapter Nine, which is finally ALMOST DONE.)

--//--


“I could have called you home,” T'Challa said in a tone that said he’d strongly considered it. “But Baba…he was so proud of the work you were doing. He would have wanted you to stay there.”

Nakia turned to quirk an eyebrow at him. “Your father… he did not want Wakanda openly involved in the outside world, not until the aid mission to Lagos.”

T’Challa acknowledged this; he’d attended the same council debates. “Yes. But… he was proud of what you were accomplishing. And he would have wanted you to stay and finish. So…I did not call you home.”

It would have been disastrous had he tried, Nakia knew. She and her team had had months tied up in the op---investigations, planning, false IDs and covers, all the logistics involved in breaking up one of the largest trafficking rings in Africa. Had he called her, she would have gone, and willingly, but…Nakia was suddenly glad he’d made the decision for her. “I understand,” she told him. “And it pleases me to think your father did as well.”