mucked: (☂ call off the search for your soul)
Peggy Carter ([personal profile] mucked) wrote in [community profile] entrancelogs2018-02-01 07:03 am

open » i've got an atlas in my hands

Who: Peggy Carter + YOU
Where: Library, Rabbit Hole Diner, and other locations.
When: Early Feb
Rating: PG-13; will warn for changes in individual threads.
Summary: A catch-all for the first half of the month. There are some open prompts under the cut, but I'm also posting some closed starters in the comments. Hit me up if you'd like something other than the options below.
The Story:
[ DURING february's first few days, peggy pays a few productive visits to the »LIBRARY. she arrives armed with a scrap pressed into her palm. the paper is thin and torn, jagged, from a puzzle book -- folded in threes with precision and hard corners forced onto its asymmetrical shape. while she walks from stack to stack she traces the list's edge with the pad of her thumb. in reality, she doesn't need it. she'd long-since memorizes the book titles recommended to her in order to bring her loosely up to speed with popular science. so the list is a flimsy talisman, maybe, but during these visits it represents purpose. forward momentum.

her reading list is accumulated over multiple days, as though some reflexive defense mechanism convinces peggy to take her time. patience is rarely her strongest suit but she nevertheless makes an effort, knowing that a rush will only leave her rudderless and once again without distraction. to that end, she allows herself to wander off-path. maybe she's come for non-fiction, but she detours through a shelf of thrillers and mysteries and adventure stories.

she touches the spines as she passes them by -- her little list peeking between her knuckles like an ace at the ready. peggy never intends to appear lost but catch her at an odd moment and she might want some help. after all, stark never gave her author names to go with the titles.

LATER, with her coursework assembled, she goes elsewhere to conduct her reading. a great deal of it happens behind her bedroom door as she readjusts to a solitary life now that jane has returned to her husband. but some of it happens at the »DINER. with a whole booth claimed for herself, she sits with the dust jacket removed so bystanders can't easily discern what she's reading stephen hawking's a brief history of time, incidentally. it takes some two or three chapters to really dig into work she couldn't already recognize in passing -- and, on occasion, she offers up an audible scoff when she finds herself confronted with a colourful explanation of scientific discovery which nevertheless somehow manages to neglect howard stark's contribution.

she orders a plate of chips (hot; crispy; salted) and implores the wait-staff to keep them coming. instead of tea, she asks for a milkshake. not a quarter of an hour passes before she's cracked open a journal and uncapped a pen. her annotations are, for the time being, made in pitman shorthand -- and so appear as a series of near shapeless scribbles to those who aren't fluent. even so, there's no secrecy behind that choice. merely a swell of impatience after she'd worked so hard to contain it earlier.

and yet peggy's not averse to interruptions. not exactly. she may not be the most welcoming conversation partner, nor is she particularly fond of idle chatter, but she doesn't chase off interruptions or inquiries.

OTHERWISE, known associates and strangers alike are free to run into her »OUT & ABOUT. whether she's 'commuting' from quarters to library or grabbing a quick breakfast in the dining room early in the morning. she doesn't have a precise schedule (on most days) but she's not impossible to chance upon. she's nearly always immaculate -- from heel to hair-pins. having a project in hand puts her in a better mood. ]
outstandingbalance: (pic#10792662)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-12 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
Are you sure you want to do that? In my experience, it has a way of turning into a competition.

[It's an out. A way of letting Peggy be polite and still walk the invitation back if she'd prefer.

A funny thing. Natasha might be an Avenger and a spy, but in some ways she still has the old habits when it comes to avoiding confrontations. Feral cat survival instincts masquerading as bravado.

Natasha recognizes the slip as it comes out of her mouth, but doesn't wince.]


I'm game if you are.
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[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-13 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
How many guesses do I get on who upgraded that for you? [With a wryly cocked eyebrow.] Suppose as long as it's just showing off and not a competition, I wouldn't mind seeing what that can do.
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[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-14 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
I like a good mystery. [A little a smile.] I'm more interested in seeing what you can do with that anyway.
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[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-15 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
That does take some getting used to. Neater. Quieter. Less evidence.

[All important details in their line of work.]

But it doesn't feel the same, does it?
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[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-17 06:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[The look Natasha returns says clearly, me? Brow cocked just a little before she takes the weapon. She holds it in her hands, turning over in a quick inspection.]

That's one way to show it off.

[And one way for Natasha to show off as well. If she choose too.

She takes an extra moment to sight before firing.]


Yeah, would have been nice to have ne of these in the tower.
outstandingbalance: (pic#9477602)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-19 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
Did you ask for it, or did Tony just start upgrading your things without your permission?

[Because he's Tony, and he would. She fires off a couple more rounds showing off the same steady aim—he lack of kick back helps—before she passes the piece back.]

Remind me to show the widow's bites sometime.
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[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-19 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
One of many toys. I'd say even less conventional than that. At least at the moment.

[Not one Natasha actually uses for them often, either.]

I'm sure you know how specialized equipment is.
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[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-19 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
Electricity. Those, and the stings. Different systems, both effective. Non lethal, usually.

[Depending on how you follow up with them.]

Not that I haven't had my experience with poison.
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[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-20 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
[There are times when you want to keep a target alive. And they're only as nonlethal as the follow up.]

That's not without its uses either. [She arches an eyebrow though.] Probably not as easy to hide up your sleeve though.
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[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-21 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah? What kind of things did he come up with?

[Father and son have a lot in common, but not everything.]

I'm sure he put his own spin on things.
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[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-24 05:57 am (UTC)(link)
A heated garrote, hm? Sounds like a fun trick. [Natasha has a soft spot for a good garrote, insofar as one can have a soft spot for clandestine murder weapons.]

It's almost too bad. No one has time for seduction and drugged lipstick anymore.
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[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2018-03-25 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
I wouldn't say I enjoy it exactly, but there's something to be said for it. Tends to leave fewer bodies. If you do it right, people don't even know they've been had.

Not until it's too late, anyway.

[The other way tends to leave more bodies.]

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