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shittykawagirl97 · 3 years

Text

Phoenix (6/6)

Words: 3582

Pairing: Steve McGarrett/Danny Williams, Chin go Kelly/Malia Waincroft, Kono Kalakaua/Adam Noshimuri

Summary: Malia's Funeral. Chin and Alyssa philosophically drink. Danny and Steve bickering.

⚠ Set during and after 3.02 ⚠

Funerals, whiskey, and tears.

Alyssa hated death.

She loathed it with all her heart, not because of death per se or the gigantic hole someone left in your life without knowing it, she hated death because of the consequences that it had on the living.

The loneliness, the sorrow, the tears, the cold, the heartache, the mental and emotional breakdown; Alyssa abhorred seeing the people she cared for in that kind of pain because she felt and saw it too many times. Any professional would have said it was kinda unhealthy, at that point.

Death was Alyssa's solo, steady, companion in her life and she despised it.

At the first funeral she attended, she was six and no one had to explain to her what had happened or what was happening. She knew that her Nonno Alberto wasn't sleeping in the casket and she felt like she would have never been able to talk to him ever again, but she was okay with that in a strange way.

She was sad, obviously, but after her mother and sister talked to her, she accepted that it was a fact that no one could change.

What had broken her into a pathetic whine was the devastation that she could see on her parents and sister's faces; she didn't want them to feel that way, she wanted them to smile, to laugh, to enjoy the food it was passed around, but she was six and she couldn't do anything to help.

That broke her spirit and her little heart.

In the mare eight years after, Alyssa attended other four family funerals. The last one, when she was fourteen, was her mother's.

For the first time, she didn't just saw the agony in her grannies' faces or her dad's or her sister's; Alyssa felt it, felt the voidness in her chest, the crack in her soul, the ultimate clusterfuck of emotion that her brain was, one moment she was crying for her loss and the next she was hysterically laughing.

Everyone was telling her to be strong. To be courageous. To be there for her dad, but she just wanted to disappear, to stop feeling, to lose herself into the void.

Everything was too much and she didn't know how to copy. The sun was too bright, the sorrow of the people gathered too fake, the emotions too troublesome and Alyssa just turned it all off.

It took hours, a panic attack at the thought of never being able to feel again, and a hurtful headshot with her cousin's forehead to evade the nothingness and being able to feel again. Years later she would have learned that she had her first emotional overload that day.

But death wasn't done with her.

Her mother's cousin, her mother's aunt, her two grannies, her father's aunt, all died before her twenty-second birthday.

Death wasn't a stranger to Alyssa but she now could handle the aftermath.

At least, that was what she thought before Danny's call.

It had been a long work night. She had just finished examining a young boy that was brought into ER at an hour where you can't tell if it is too late or too soon when her phone ringed. Danny's voice cracked when he told her about Malia's death.

Alyssa was so out of it that she breakdown in the middle of ER. The nurses had to take her phone and tell Danny to come, take her home. Her blond friends didn't leave her alone that night: he brought her to his home and tackle her on the couch, under soft sheets. Told her to wake him if there was anything she needed.

Alyssa the world became blurred after that.

Danny was always present. Showing up on her doorstep every time he could, bringing her something to eat or drink; they passed the hours sitting on her couch silently drinking their sorrow away. She knew Steve was away for a few days – this time the idiot told them – and when one afternoon Danny showed up with his brunette partner, she just buried herself in the hug that Steve was offering.

It was only a couple of hours later and a call away that Alyssa learned that Doris McGarrett was alive and being watched by Catherine, Steve's ex. That afternoon she learned that Danny had to thought for Grace once again, too.

It took Chin a couple of weeks to organize Malia's surfer funeral ceremony and he asked for her help. He knew how strongly tied Alyssa and Malia had become during the past year and it would be offensive to not include her in it.

They met at a twenty-four hours diner and set together almost all nights; they needed someone to talk to, to mourn and cry with. Someone that could understand the hole Malia left behind at a hundred per cent.

Sometimes Steve showed up, no words, just a cup of coffee and his presence - the worst nights his strong arm could have been found over Alyssa's shoulders. Other times Danny followed him and there were a lot of words included, but they were soft and warm. She found herself smiling softly at the couple more and more times alongside Chin.

And then the day came.

The sky was impeccably blue, no trace of clouds, and the sun could break a stone. Alyssa, wearing her most elegant black suit, was standing on the beach barefoot; in the water, a few meters away, Chin was releasing Malia's ashes. Her eyes were burning because of the tears but she stood rigid, head high, paying her silent respect to one of the best women she ever met in her life.

At her right, Danny was squeezing her forearm to remind her that she was not alone in that. Alyssa breathed shakingly and throw a rapid glance in his direction.

Danny's expression was contracted and his jaw was rigid, tightly closed; his eyes were dark and shiny, a little tear had escaped his left eye but he wouldn't wipe it away: one hand closed around her arm and the other was tightly buried into Steve's suit.

Steve, on the other side of the blonde, had an arm around his boyfriend's waist and was whispering things, trying to console the other man. For all the things that had happened in the last few days, Alyssa was really happy that at least these two were finally together.

Kono was at her left and had taken residence against Alyssa's shoulder, hold protectively by her arm; the woman hadn't yet won against the demons that were telling her that Malia's death was her fault and for that, she hadn't been able to be at his cousin's side in the water. Alyssa had promised Chin to keep an eye on her.

Behind them, a little distant, there were Adam and Cathrine.

Alyssa had yet to meet Kono's man but she knew was told that between him and Chin there wasn't a good relationship; that alone explained why, even though Adam wanted to be there for Kono, he was standing respectfully away. Everyone was pretending he wasn't there – no one wanted to witness a fistfight at a funeral – but now and then Kono would look back and waved a hand to tell him she was alright. Alyssa looked at him only a handful of times, their meeting every time and she nodded, just once, to tell him that his girlfriend was alright.

Cathrine was an entirely different story: she wanted to help Steve but stood back a little from them because she didn't know Malia personally and didn't want to intrude.

In the water, the surfers started shouting and splashing the water.

Malia was gone.

The wake had been good. A lot of people passed by for condolences and even more arrived armed with alcohol.

Alyssa, Kono, Danny, and Steve helped Chin in every way they can – from taking the food from a newly arrived woman to greetings people when Chin hid for a moment – but when their common friend would bench them because "I'm suffering not an invalid", Danny had an entire argument against that, they would find themselves in a corner of the room mourning and sharing stories about Malia.

Alyssa brought the glass to her lips and sipped the brown beverage. She wasn't a whiskey woman – rum, rum was her go-to for the sourest nights – but it was the strongest alcoholic drink that had been left around.

Not even two hours in and Five-0, minus Chin, was called away for a case. Alyssa found herself alone, with not a lot of booze left around: the Kelly-Kalakaua clan turned out to be composed of pro-drinker.

Snatching away a glass, and the last but already opened bottle of whiskey, she went outside and sat on the porch's steps. It was only two weeks and she already missed Malia as she would have missed a limb.

There was a huge void in her life, in her work, in her daily activity by now. It was said that you understood what you had after you had lost it; Alyssa always thought she had understood what she had in Malia – a coworker, a friend, a sister – and yet she felt like she had just lost a piece of who she was.

She felt desperation, rage, sadness, and numbness; she felt it all at once or nothing at all.

God! She felt precisely the same as at her mother's funeral. This time, though, she had booze to drown herself in.

Her phone vibrated again but she ignored Steve's text: the brunette wanted an update on her and Chin, every five minutes. Yeah, she was starting to understand why Danny was always in yelling mode.

She sipped again at the whiskey – no but seriously, why no one had brought rum? – and looked nowhere and everywhere.

«Are you okay?» Chin's voice asked her. Alyssa looked over and watched the man stumbled towards her and slumped (fell) next to her (almost on her). When had he become so drunk?

«Shouldn't be me to ask you that?» She retorted, settling him the best she could.

«Meh. I am good for now: the Okolehao helped». He raised his still full glass. «But you are not drunk, not speaking, and starting at nothing».

Alyssa smirked and sipped from her glass.

«What are you? A policeman?»

Chin's elbow found a new home in her left side. Hard. Ouch.

«I'm not so gone that I can't see you burying your emotion under your scary amount of sarcasm», he warned. «I had worked with Steve and Danny for over two years now, I am trained. And Malia complained about it. A lot. And loud enough».

Alyssa snorted. Gosh, that woman!

They settled in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

Chin knew that Alyssa was dangerously similar to Steve when it came to coping mechanisms: where his boss coped from trauma with an insane dose of recklessness, the woman used a foolish amount of sarcasm.

Just like Danny... A lot like Danny.

Chin looked at the dark-haired woman and couldn't stop himself from thinking that she was what Steve and Danny's child would have been like. Grace had saved herself from becoming that thank to Rachel.

«I thought I become good at managing it», Alyssa's voice brought Chin back to the present.

«Managing what?»

«Death, mourning... The void». She answered with a tight tone before dipping the whiskey, trying to force down the knot that was forming in her throat.

«Death is death, Lyss, there is no way around».

She snorted before drinking again. «Didn't I know that».

Chin cringed at her level of sarcasm. Malia, during a rare night spent on the couch with Netflix and ice cream, had confessed to him that she was preoccupied with her new co-worker's coping mechanism. Steve and Danny hadn't yet become her patients at that point.

The two women weren't even friends but, because Malia was the only one that Alyssa respect enough to not insult, their boss had asked Malia to talk to the younger woman. She had made a nurse cry that day, after blowing up for a stupid reason; Alyssa had probably been at her breaking point because she opened up to Malia the instant she asked her what was wrong. The unhealthy amount of sarcasm used during the explanation – it had been her mother's death anniversary – had left Malia on edge for the rest of the day.

«I'm sorry», Chin mumble apologetically.

Alyssa winced.

«God, Chin. No!» She exclaimed, passing a hand on her face. «Don't ever apologize for something like that. Your sorrow isn't less real than mine cause I had a lot of people taken from me! That is a very, very wrong idea to have!»

«And yet, you're undermining your own only because you attended more funerals than me!» He threw back at her. «Losing a loved one is never easy! Even after fifty damn funerals».

Alyssa shakingly breathed in and filled her now empty glass. She needed a lot more alcohol in her to be able to survive that discussion.

«Death touched me when I was a baby, Chin», she gulped down a good amount of the brown beverage, burning her throat. «I grew up with death breathing down my neck. Wherever I look there was death in a way or another. That scars you for life; the only way out of that ache is accepting.

Accepting that death is real. Death is everywhere, at any given moment, and we can't do shit about it. Life's meaning is death and that's it».

Chin watched her eyes puffing and reddening with unleashed tears, he drunk.

«I understand what you mean but I think you are wrong on two things».

«Enlight me, please», Alyssa's tone was sarcastic but her face was grim: she honestly grew up thinking that she hadn't any more rights to feel the loss of a loved one because she had lost too many.

Chin's heart strung at the revelation. He wanted to kill every idiot that made her feel that way and then protect her a lot more: she was a beautiful person, with a gigantic heart; she didn't deserve all the suffering she had been through.

«First», he choked out, «I think that we can do something about death. Yeah, we can't save anyone and death is the destination of everyone's life... But we can help to make their life a little bit longer and a little bit safer. I become a cop cause of that and you wouldn't be such a good doctor if you didn't think the same. At least, subconsciously».

«Second», his voice lower, careful and full of affection, «I think that death can help us understand life better. Can let us appreciate what we have a lot more, never giving someone for granted. I thought that I had the rest of my life to spend with Malia and I feel that I hadn't told her enough how much I love her».

Alyssa shook her head vigorously.

«Malia knew how much you loved her, Chin. She never questioned your seriousness or your resolve. She comprehended how much you were giving her and she worshipped it.

«Never, ever guilt yourself with her death. Please, please, believe me when I tell you that Malia loved you with every inch of herself, despite knowing that one day you could have died in action or that your work could have followed you home. She knew what she was going up to and she never regretted any of that. That was the kind of love she was willing to give you and the kind of love she knew you were giving her every single second of your life».

Chin sipped from his glass and closed his eyes, trying to contain his tears but losing miserably when one ran down his sharp cheekbone. He didn't even try to wipe it away, too tired.

«I wasn't the only one she loved, Lyss», he remarked. «She thought of you as the little sister she never had. She cared about you as much as you cared for her. Yeah, maybe you didn't know her for long, but you have the same rights as me to be upset. To be angry. To be sad.

«She was your friend and you can be broken because of her death. No matter how many people you lose or how many funerals you attended».

Alyssa felt her eyes stung like bitches and didn't fight the tears or the emotional breakdown. She sobbed loudly, hiding her face with her free hand, letting herself honestly mourning her best friend for the first time since she had been told she had died.

Suddenly, a weight was left from her shoulders, and Chin was there to keep her together. She didn't know what he had done to deserve such good friends but she was thankful for them all.

Chin embraced her for what felt like forever, encouraging her to let go of everything, before the sobs subsided and she stopped crying. They stayed like that – her head on his shoulder and his arm around her shoulders – a little more afterwards, just to know that they were not alone.

The only sound was the neverending buzz of her phone.

«Are you going to respond to Steve's text?» Chin asked after the umpteenth notification.

«Nope, he should learn a little bit of patience». Alyssa responded truthfully. «And I am enjoying my mental picture of Danny bitching at him at every new text».

Chin snorted.

«I think you forget who you are talking about in that bottle of whiskey you stole».

Alyssa scuffed and admitted to herself that she was starting to feel a little tipsy; it was a good feeling. For the first time in days, she felt the void inside her subsided a little bit.

«He has a job to do and he should stay focus on it», she smirked. «We have alcohol to keep us at bay and each other, obviously, because misery loves company».

The dark-haired man laughed at that.

«You would have been right if you were talking about anyone else, but you talking about Steve McGarrett here. He will terrify someone for life just to being able to return here immediately and smother us with worries. If you think that Danny will not partner up with him on this, I will say you drunk too much».

The woman rolled her eyes and was ready to retort that yes, Steve and Danny were practically insane and unstoppable when worried for their ohana but this was different because they knew where they were; when the rumble of an engine tore the quiet air in half and suddenly a silver Camaro was stopping in front of Chin's house with a dangerous screech.

The car went silent a moment after and the first thing the two cuddling friends heard was Danny's scared-pitched ranting. Immediately, they couldn't understand the single words – obstructed by the car door – but then Steve swiftly got out of the vehicle and Danny followed him.

«I was screaming for my life you Neandertal animal!» He was wailing, waving his hands everywhere after closing the car door. «You went up to the red zone of the speedo and never come down! You are officially insane and I should have dragged you to a psychiatrist some time like yesterday!»

«I was preoccupied!» Steve ranted back, now at Danny's side with an I-can't–understand–why-are-you-shouting-at-me face. «She isn't answering her phone! Everything could have happened!».

Danny made a large and circular gesture with his hand and ended up indicating Chin and Alyssa.

«They are drunk, you shmuck! They are at a wake, they are grieving the loss of a very special woman in their life, they are crying, and they are drinking an unhealthy amount of alcohol! Just look at them, they are fine!»

Steve let his gaze follow Danny's hands and he finally noticed that the sources of his concerns, cuddling on the front step of Chin's house. Their glasses were half empty, the whiskey in the bottle was dangerously close to the bottom, and their cheeks were stained with dried tears.

No dangerous whatsoever.

He felt his face flush and shyly waved a hand in their direction.

Alyssa laughed out loud at that because, yeah, Chin was right and she had forgotten who Steve was: a closet mother hen. Hell, if she didn't love him for that.

Chin joined in her laugh and she caught the shitty smut grin that Danny was giving his boyfriend.

Alyssa felt alive and at home. She felt secure like she could be herself even in the worst moment of all with her Ohana around.

She hadn't to hide her sadness and sorrow anymore because now she had insane, lovely people that would help through all of it.

Part (1/2/3/4/5/6)

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feather-dancer · 4 years

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Trollhunters Fanfic Recommendations - Part 3

Somehow there is now a third one of these because I read far far too much fanfic and have no regrets about it. It’s with great pleasure I can also announce I’ve been digging around for Trans Jim fics and found some gems while I was at it that have been included below.

You can find Part 1 of my fanfic recommendations here!

And Part 2 here!

Plus one shameless plug for my own current fics.

General Trollhunters

(And you're my Arcadia.) - All you need to know is it’s Jilaire post Season 3 and one line in particular made me burst out laughing.

Bitter[sweet] - Sometimes the thing you need most is just a really good friend when your body plain sucks. Contains Trans Jim and is delightful.

the red book - Far beyond the humble days of Season 3 and after living beyond his human family and friends, Jim has started to forget who he was and that he was ever just a human kid.

The Halls of Arcadia High - When Strickler disappeared in Season 1, his absence was felt in many ways even in the form of a humble piano left un-played.

Not - Not!Enrique isn’t his name yet it’s what they call him anyway. An albatross reminding him of what was taken before he even had a chance to start.

On the Radio - The final telling of the Janus Order.

Gay stories for Tales of Arcadia - Yeah I’m pretty sure you can guess where this is going, LGBTQ+ rep!

Through the Fires - There was a before time, one where Gunmar still roamed free and Deya had yet to be chosen let alone felled. These are the words of the humble witnesses of that war, from the changelings to the trolls who would oppose them.

Trollhunters: A Series of Disjointed Drabbles - This is so cute and fluffy I might just spontaneously combust.

Insomnolence - It is after the final battle and Jim has a lot of thoughts.

another tragedy - Anxiety is a bastard, it gives a lot of bad thoughts but sometimes there is a little bit of truth buried beneath it all and it whispers all about how you can keeping doing the wrong things for the right reasons. Season 2.

i will always hold you close (but i will learn to let you go) - Sometimes the hardest thing you can do is learning when to let go. Sometimes however, even when you want to they hold back even tighter. Season 2.

your eyes look like coming home - Toby has been the witness from the start of just how close Jim has been to death multiple times over and how Jim he is about the whole thing. It scares him how this time might be it, again and again. Season 2.

The Collected Tellings of Shigir and Other Changeling Folktales - I don’t actually know which category to put this under so I’m going the to heck with it route instead. Does exactly what it says on the tin for your Changeling lore needs, some of which will be off-hand mentioned or outright appear during the fantastic Terpsichore - The Comedy of the Danse Macabre - ACT I.

Please note: The main fic is Stricklake if that’s not your cup of tea, the folktales however can be enjoyed regardless.

~~~

Stricklake

all that dazzling dawn has put asunder - The sequel to in my sleep i dreamed of waking, this is filled with delightful fluff, internal panicking and the joys of trying to explain how you’re a not and how that does not change the fact Strickler is still a was. Being a changeling in these strange after times are difficult even before the other baggage involved but at least you're still here to start.

Two Pisces in Alto Mare - When in Rome as part of a study trip abroad, you meet the most curious people sometimes and by fluke or nature you may even do so more than once.

Filling The Gaps - Possibly a bit of an unusual mention but! These are little pieces of Fallout that were going on while our eyes were following elsewhere and boy it can hurt.

Rehearsals and DvD Bonus Features - Another from the home of Terpsichore - The Comedy of the Danse Macabre - ACT I which is being listed here because it does have Stricklake in it. Some things don’t make the cut with writing fanfic, either because the plot wandered off, it doesn’t fit right or it’s some backstory you haven’t quite figured out where it can be naturally brought up yet and in this case they’ve found themselves a home. Be warned, one particular chapter is explicit and has been marked as such in warnings in the chapter summary.

~~~

Alternate Universes

(Un)Becoming - Not technically an AU in the conventional sense but I’m putting it under here anyway. It’s Unbecoming, as ever the road to hell is paved with good intentions but as Jim threw in the towel the storm that’s coming will not be stopped. However, what if others caught glimpses of a world that still had a human Trollhunter to defend it?

Steve the Kind - Steve became the Trollhunter but how the adventure unfolds differently than when Jim was at the helm might just surprise you. Very slow burn Steve and Jim that in a rather refreshing change doesn’t throw Claire under the bus for it to happen. Praise be.

31 Days in the Darklands - Strickmar that somehow kinda works?? It helps with Gunmar having the space to breathe outside of getting Morgana out and be more of his own character. Storywise, in order to rescue Jim from the Darklands Strickler broke a deal that would cost his own freedom and now has to somehow maintain a treaty between three very different factions all the while keeping his own neck intact. The intense distrust in changelings continues on to boot but hey, nobody said politics was easy.

Building Bridges - So Gunmar is distinctly of the more Eldritch variety with dream powers, the ability to easily see through lies for the true emotions and thoughts, Bular has the Insight as well to a lesser extent and everyone has somehow managed to hop onto Stricklander’s bandwagon of we must protect Jim Lake Jr. at all costs. Now the race is on as both sides try to sway the young Trollhunter to their way of thinking and the Trollmarket has no idea how dangerously badly they’re doing so far.

Lost Souls - A fic written in variable snapshots. Jim was kidnapped and changed by Merlin far earlier to be his Champion to ensure he did the “right thing” while Barbara in desperation to find her son falls into the hands of Morgana thus mother and son become enemies without even realising it.

Faithfully - Barbara died overseas and yet somehow Jim still managed to make his way back to Arcadia to become the next Trollhunter. This road is far harder for it as a seemingly homeless orphan though on the flipside he keeps on acquiring dads. Contains Trans Jim, timeline variable snapshots and I love it very much.

The Burning - There was a fire, it killed Barbara and Jim was thought dead as well. Nobody could have guessed the feral half changeling that is running around like a cryptid is the very much alive Jim.

Finding Daylight - Jim is a very low ranking changeling, terrified of Bular and his home amounts to little more than a spot in the woods. Things started to go pear shaped for him when he accidentally stumbled over Blinky and only more so when the amulet picks him after Kanjigar is felled. Tis not a kind world for a changeling child out there and he has nobody really to help watch his back until he stumbles on a potential maybe.

~~~

The bonus shoutout for an excellent MSA fic

A Sleep Like Death - Who wouldn’t want to go visit a tower you’ve inherited apparently and has haunted as all hell all over it? Not Vivi that’s for sure. Poor Arthur is just along for the ride and then things start to get really weird when they find it’s still occupied and thinks Arthur is his jailor.

#Trollhunters

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nothingbutfangirlsmut · 3 years

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The Girl out of Time

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Background: Willow Roffe was born and raised in Brooklyn. She lived her life as happily as she could with her two childhood best friends Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers. When they both left her to join the military she tried to continue with life but that didn't get to happen for her for the simple fact that she meant something to James Buchanan Barnes.

Rating: Story will be overall MATURE but not every chapter. There will be strong language, talk of both mental and physical abuse, some good ole angst, and smut. There will be a warning at the beginning of the chapter when it includes smut.

Chapter 40

I had Steve drop Sarah and I off at the complex. Neither of us wanted to be in that cramped car any longer. Plus it would be nice to have the entire complex to ourselves for once.

“Mommy, did Morgan’s daddy not want to help us?” Sarah asked after we both sat on the couch.

“No sweetie. He would help us if he could be he has to be there for Morgan and her mommy.” I said softly.

Sarah had said many times how awesome and heroic Tony was. She looked up to the man. I couldn’t tell her he didn’t want to help us. I understand his reasoning. I would probably feel the same way if I was in his place. Unfortunately I’m not in his place. Sarah doesn’t have her dad to look out for us like Tony looks out for his family.

“Morgan’s lucky to have her daddy.” Sarah said softly.

I wrapped my arms around her pulling her into my chest. I kissed the top of her head.

“She is very lucky.” I whispered into her hair.

Sarah pulled out of the hug then kissed my cheek.

“At least we have uncle Stevie. No one’s as cool as him.” She said with a bright smile.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“He wasn’t always cool. When I first met Stevie when we were kids he was a tiny thing and not at all cool but he was and still is the best friend I could have ever asked for.” I told her smiling at my memories.

“Really? I can’t imagine Captain America not being cool.” She said in complete disbelief.

I laughed again.

“Well, he wasn’t always Captain America. We were in our twenties when he became the hero you know him as.” I told her.

“What was it like when you were a kid?” She asked curiously.

“It was a completely different world. It was almost a hundred years ago now that I was a kid. We didn’t have any of the cool stuff you have. Life was simple and kind of boring. The only fun I had was when I was with Stevie and Jamie.” I smiled.

“Daddy was with you back then? Wait, your a hundred years old?” She asked in shock.

I laughed even harder this time.

“Well, yea, technically I’m one hundred and six years old. Stevie is one hundred and five years old.” I said smiling down at her.

“Woah, that’s old.” She said in astonishment.

“It is indeed but I think I look good for my old age.” I chuckled.

“Definitely! You’re the prettiest mommy!” Sarah nodded enthusiastically.

“You’re so sweet.” I pinched her cheek.

“What was daddy like when you were kids?” She asked suddenly.

Just the thought of James as a kid made me smile.

“He was always protecting me and Stevie. Steve use to get picked on a lot but James was always there and if he wasn’t there then I was. Your dad was the most attractive man even back then. He was funny, charismatic, and brave. When we woke up here in the 21st century he was a completely different person but slowly he found himself. It wasn’t until we found out I was pregnant with you that he really became himself again.” I explained.

“So daddy knew he was going to be a dad?” She asked.

“Oh yes, he was so excited. He couldn’t wait to meet you.” I smiled more of a sad smile at that thought.

“That’s enough question for now little soldier. How about we go outside and play for a bit?” I asked changing the subject.

“Okay!” She cheered jumping up from her seat.

I sighed then quickly followed her outside to the jungle gym Steve had put in for her. I sat on the bench watching her play and run her energy out. I wish there were more kids around. It must be so lonely for her.

I heard the car’s engine before I saw it. Behind the car was a large truck with none other than hulk sitting in the back. That’s strange. Why is he hulk right now? I stood up watching both vehicles pull up. Steve and Scott in the car and Nat driving the truck.

“Hulk!” Sarah shouted excitedly.

I watched her run over to the green giant as he climbed out of the truck. He high fived her the best he could with his hand that was as big as her.

“What’s going on with Banner?” I asked Steve quietly.

“Um, he’s merged with Hulk. Banner’s mind and Hulk’s body. Kinda freaky though.” Steve said watching the doctor walk over to us with Sarah close on his heels.

“So what now?” I asked the group.

“Now we time travel.” Scott said with a large grin.

“This is gonna go well.” I told Steve after Scott and Bruce walked inside.

It didn’t take Bruce and Scott long to make their little time machine set up. Steve, Nat, Sarah, and I kept our distance until they were done. Scott suited up then met us back in the room.

“Okay, here we go. Time travel test number one. Scott, fire up the, uh, van thing.” Bruce told Scott.

Scott opened the back doors of the van. The inside instantly lit up with some kind of vortex looking thing.

“Breakers are set. Emergency generators are on standby.” Steve told Bruce.

“Good, because if we blow the grid, I don’t want to loose, uh, tiny here in the 1950s.” Bruce said.

“Excuse me?” Scott asked in shock.

“He’s kidding. You can’t say things like that.” Nat scolded the giant.

“It was a bad joke.” Bruce told Scott.

Scott did not look reassured at all. I don’t blame him. Bruce and Nat had a quick whispered conversations then Bruce gave Scott the thumbs up.

“We’re good! Get your helmet on Scott. I’m gonna send you back a week let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in 10 seconds. Make sense?” Bruce asked Scott.

“Perfectly not confusing.” Scott nodded.

“This is not gonna be good.” I said quietly shaking my head.

“Good luck, Scott. You got this.” Steve told him.

“You’re right. I do, Captain America.” Scott said proudly.

He disappeared suddenly into the vortex or quantum realm.

“On a count of three. Three, two, one.” Bruce said then pushed a few buttons quickly.

A body appeared suddenly but it wasn’t Scott. It looked like a teenage boy.

“Guys, this doesn’t feel right.” The boy said.

“What is this? What’s going on?” Steve asked Bruce.

“Who is that?” Nat asked.

“I think it’s The funny man.” Sarah said.

“Hold on” Bruce said as he pushed more buttons.

“Is that Scott?” Nat asked.

“Yes, it’s Scott.” The boy said.

He disappeared again.

“What’s going on Bruce?” Nat asked in confusion.

Another body appeared.

“Oh, my back!” The old man shouted.

“Old funny man!” Sarah giggled.

“What is this?” Nat asked Bruce again.

“Hold on a second. Could I get a little space here?” Bruce asked causing Steve and Nat to back off.

“Can you bring him back?” Steve asked.

“I’m working on it?” Bruce snapped.

The old man disappeared then a much smaller body appeared.

“It’s a baby” Steve said with no surprise on his face.

“It’s Scott” Bruce told him.

“As a baby” Steve corrected.

“He’ll grow.” Bruce shrugged.

“Bring Scott back.” Steve said in exasperation.

“When I say kill the power, kill the power.” Bruce told Nat.

“Oh, my god.” Nat rolled her eyes.

She took off to the back of the room to do as he said.

“I told you this wasn’t going to be good right?” I asked Steve quietly.

“Yes you did.” He sighed crossing his arms over his chest.

“And.. kill it!” Bruce shouted.

The baby disappeared then was replaced with a normal looking Scott Lang.

“Funny man!” Sarah shouted.

“Somebody peed my pants. But I don’t know if it was baby me or old me. Or just me me.” Scott said slowly.

“Yep that’s him.” I said simply.

“Time travel!” Bruce shouted excitedly.

I grabbed Sarah then headed back into the complex.

“What? I see this as an absolute win.” Bruce shouted.

Nat, Steve, Sarah, and I grouped in the kitchen. Each of us but Sarah making a sound of exhaustion.

“I don’t think that could have been worse.” Nat groaned.

“He could have not come back at all.” I said simply.

“That’s fair” Nat nodded.

“We need to get the team together. We have a real shot here.” Steve said as he tapped his fingers on the counter.

“Want me to make the call?” Nat asked.

“Yea and find out where Barton is.” Steve told her.

Both of them left the room in opposite directions.

“Does this mean we are gonna save daddy?” Sarah asked.

“I think it means they are going to try.” I told her softly.

—

#nothingbutfangirlsmut #fanfiction #steve rogers #bucky barnes #bucky fanfic #bucky x reader #the girl out of time #bucky imagine #james buchanan barnes #bucky x you

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krisroley · 3 years

Text

February 9th, 2021

One Small Moment

Today I want to talk to some specific friends who I won't name, but I'm fairly sure that this will apply to way more of just them.

First things first, I'm not going to insult your intelligence by giving you a bunch of platitudes. In my experience, they're nothing but empty calories. Filler and no substance, they're designed to make the person giving them feel better, not the person who needs help. In some cases, people who need help end up feeling worse. I'm one of those people, so I absolutely understand the feeling. So, no bullshit from me. Cool? Moving on.

Let me describe my lack of bona fides right upfront. I'm a guy with a high school education and one year of college because I let my dick do the thinking up to the point that I ended up homeless and friendless. I tried to follow in my Dad's footsteps and join the military and washed right out after six months because I have a mouth bigger than my brain. I come from a family that describing as dysfunctional is exceedingly generous. My dad had anger issues, my mother was a narcissist manipulator, as is my brother. He's got a criminal record and is probably on his way back to prison for at least 12 years as I write this. I'm the voice of reason in my family, and as I have said repeatedly, this should scare the fuck out of you. I got married at 24, and I had three kids by the age of 30. I've been dirt poor most of that time. At this stage of my life, I believe that I am an undiagnosed case of autism from the 1970s because my kids--all of them--are on the spectrum. I didn't have a bad childhood if you looked at it from one angle, but I had a horrible one if you looked at it from the inside out. I inherited my Dad's anger issues and my mother's narcissism. I was a horrible husband for years until my wife walked out on me in 2005. It made me face myself in a way I had not seen before, and I couldn't take it. I had a nervous breakdown. My wife thought I was worth saving, and I am forever grateful for it. I promised I would work on my issues, and I have. Three times in my life, I thought I was at the end of my rope. Not from a thought of suicide ideation, just that there was nowhere else to turn. No one else to ask for help. No one else I could lean on. Just Roley.

That moment right there is the point. The entire lesson. One small moment when your brain says, "Well, you're really fucked now, aren't you?" There is only one answer to that question, and that answer is yes because if you answer no, you ain't there yet. Trust me on this. You have to answer yes. This is the moment where you're accountable to no one but you, and you cannot lie to yourself. You can TRY. It ain't gonna work. Not for long.

Let's not bullshit ourselves. There is a lot of work in repairing a life that you fucked up on your own. You climb up out of a hole for years before you ever see daylight. I was a shut-in for two years because I thought it better that the world forgets about me. I tried to make a living from home in 2006-2007, but this world we live in hadn't come to pass yet, and I was living a fantasy. It made me feel worse that I couldn't provide for my family, but I could barely function as a human at that point. So I decided to do the only work I was capable of: Working on myself. I read every self-help book and mental health book I could lay my hands on. I dug deep into myself to try to figure out why I was the person I was, how I became that way, and the answer was straightforward. First, I thought I was absolutely normal. My behavior, though abhorrent, was how I was raised. My parents treated each other and us kids horribly, but it wasn't physically abusive save for a couple of times I'll keep to myself. I grew up in the same environment I perpetuated. I was continuing a cycle. Secondly, to accept that fact and to change meant work I wasn't ready to take on. But human psychology is a lot like a car in that regard; you can do the work now, or you can do it later, but it's going to cost you a lot more. In my case, it almost cost me everything. It was the third of those three times that I faced myself in the mirror and heard that voice, and this was the time I said yes.

For two-thirds of my life, my story is a story of failure, of self-hatred, of being a bad example. But from the age of 35 to 50, it's a story of repair and redemption. I'll put my humble path to today up against anyone's and dare them to do the work I've done to heal myself and come out who I am today. I'm still married to the same woman for over 25 years now. I've got three amazing kids who I adore. Up until May of this year, I had what I consider to be a dream job until COVID ate it, but I'm still with the same company, and I'm going to bust whatever amount of ass it takes to get my job back or demonstrate the skills I learned there to someone else who's willing to take me. I have a sense of self-worth and purpose that I've never had before, and I'm not taking being a call center tech support agent for the rest of my life. It is a means to an end, and it is not my life's work. I know what that is. It's helping you in the best way I know how: By being not the example of how to fix it, but from showing you by my example, it CAN BE FIXED that you can go from being a person full of anger and self-loathing and cruel behavior to being a person of kindness and compassion and love for people. That you can go from being a person who has no prospects to a person who can go to a job every day that fulfills them personally and professionally. That you can go from being a person who hasn't got their shit together at all to a person that can get morning to night without falling apart at the seams. This is my road, and my lane, but it's big enough for you, and I want you on this road with me. Some of you are gifted and talented beyond description, but the world doesn't know it yet because you have these problems. I know. I get it. I also see who you are, and the world deserves to see you as well. I had no one else to turn to at that last moment, so I did what I had to do. Myself. I'm asking you to take a walk with me because I don't want you to have to do it on your own. I may not know your way home, but I can get you as far as Anchorhead. You can get transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you're going.

I had to get one joke in there somehow.

Did Joe Know About This?

On the heels of the news of Joe Budden maybe-kinda-sorta-moving his show to Patreon (which is weird since it looks like it’s being hosted on Libsyn now), Spotify has announced plans for multiple business models for podcasts, possibly to include ad-supported subscriptions and a la carte options. These may be discussed at a live stream event later in February.

Asked if Spotify thought customers would be willing to pay for podcasts, Ek on the earnings call responded that he believed there were several new models that could be explored.

“I think we’re in the early days of seeing the long-term evolvement of how we can monetize audio on the internet. I’ve said this before, but I don’t believe that it’s a one-size-fits-all,” he said. “I believe, in fact, that we will have all business models, and that’s the future for all media companies — that you will have ad-supported subscriptions and à la carte sort of in the same space, of all media companies in the future.”

“And you should definitely expect Spotify to follow that strategy and that pattern,” Ek added, more definitively.

The answer seemed to indicate that Spotify is considering some of the ideas in that recent survey — of getting consumers to pay for some podcasts, instead of accessing them all for free or having them bundled into their music subscription.

I wonder if Budden was aware of this and balked. Would there be a revenue split between Spotify and the creators, and what’s the ratio? Now that I think of it, isn’t that what they’ve been crying about re: Apple?

For more than a year, Spotify has been making noise about Apple’s unchecked power over the App Store, and in March 2019, it filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission. Spotify claims Apple’s practice of taking 30 percent of an app’s revenue is unjustified, and says the company operates as a monopoly on iOS.

Suddenly, I find this Budden/Spotify deal more intriguing.

Wait, You Can Make Money Doing That?

Julie Miller from Vanity Fair writes about Hollywood coming over to the Pod Side for ‘fun and profit’:

…entertainment types began orbiting the audio space about two years ago in earnest, as the number of Americans listening to podcasts every month headed toward the 100 million it is today. It was also around 2018 that agencies like CAA began incorporating audio deals into their development packages. One insider estimates that many celebrities could get a six-figure guarantee per year, with the biggest actors receiving between $1 million and $3 million to launch an unscripted podcast. Scripted projects offer less up-front money but can be adapted into TV shows, films, books, and so on.

For the record, I am Steve Jobs, “Podcasts are Amateur Hour" Years Old. For years, podcasting was seen as less-than, so when I see stories like this, the little imp of the perverse in the back of my head tosses a bone at every true media elitist who, strangely, has a podcast now..

How About Not Doing That?

Chris Curran over at PES has a question about your thin mouth:

When I’m doing my fine-tuned editing on a podcast episode I use TwistedWave or Sound Forge because they allow me to VERY QUICKLY zoom in, highlight very small things like single mouthclicks, and delete them.

When I try to make the same kind of edit in a DAW (Reaper and others) it takes forever.

What say you?

For the most part, my workflow tends to remove mouth clicks, or at the very least minimize them. If they still show up through my noise gate, I highlight and remove them. I can’t say this happens often because I like to make sure I keep some water near me while I’m recording. The single biggest thing you can do to prevent mouth clicks is to keep hydrated. Remember, you can’t fix it in Post if it never happens in the first place.

Shot Of The Day

#Joe Budden #Spotify #Monetization #Podcasts #Hollywood #Vanity Fair #Julie Miller #Podcast Engineering School #Mouthclicks #PES

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cocos-cocoapuffsarenotforsale · 5 years

Text

No More Lying

MASTERLIST

Pairings: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader, Dad!Tony x Daughter!Reader

Characters: Reader, Peter Parker, Tony Stark, MJ, Ned, Carol Danvers

Warnings: Lying, Bruises (on Reader), worried!Peter, worried!Tony, Dad!Tony, Stark!Reader, fluff, Teen!Reader,

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“Y/n! C’mon time for school!” Your dad calls from the kitchen. Little did he know you had been up for hours by now. But you still had to pretend you were barely rolling out of bed to keep up the rouse.

“Coming!” You shout back before giving yourself a super quick once over in the mirror to make sure that none of your bruises were visible. Questions from your dad were the last thing you needed after how early you were up and how tired you were.

“Morning kiddo!” You dad greets you when you walk into the kitchen.

“Morning,” you huff before taking your seat next to your father and dropping your head down into your arms on the counter top.

“Better perk up kid, you have to leave for school in twenty minutes.” Uncle Steve tells you as he flips a couple pancakes on to your plate and slides it towards you. You go to reach for them when your father grabs your back and tugs your shirt up a little.

“Dad what are you doing?” You ask shocked.

“What the hell happened to you?” He asks you, his voice a mix of rage and concern.

“Oh that, it’s nothing really don’t worry about it Dad.” Shit, shit, shit you think to yourself. You should’ve been more careful, now that he had seen the bruises the questions would start. And not just from your dad, but all the Avengers, your boyfriend Peter included.

“Really cause my kid is covered in bruises and I have no clue where she got them from and she’s being really evasive with me. So don’t tell me not to worry about it.” He growled.

“Dad, seriously, it’s nothing. I just tripped on the stairs at school yesterday, it’s fine. I gotta get going now. Bye Dad! Bye Steve!” You shout running towards the door.

“We are gonna talk about this after school young lady!” Your father shouts after you but you just ignore it. Hopefully some big mission will come up and distract him from you and give you more time to come up with a good story.

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TIME SKIP TO SCHOOL

“Hey Y/n/n!” Your boyfriend Peter waves you over towards him and your other friends. Peter and you had been dating for about a year and a half and you were one of the privileged few who knew his secret.

“Hey baby!” You reply giving him a quick peck on the lips.

“Ready for our English Lit quiz today?” Peter asks you.

“Shit, I totally spaced on that.” You groan slapping your hand to your forehead.

“You never forget that stuff. Are you feeling alright? You’ve been acting kinda strange lately.” Peter asks you concern covering his face.

“I’m fine just a little tired I guess.” You say running your hands through your hair suddenly you hear Peter, Ned and MJ all gasp.

“What?” You ask looking at their shocked face.

“Y/n what happened?” Peter asks.

“What do you mean?” You ask playing confused.

“Y/n/n your stomach is covered in dark bruises and on your upper arms too.” MJ answers motioning to your stomach.

“Oh yeah, I tripped down some stairs yesterday no big.” You answer trying to downplay it and move on as quickly as possible. You couldn’t tell them because then Peter would tell your dad and then they both would force you to stop training. Especially if they found out who you were training with. Your father didn’t trust Carol Danvers for whatever reason and Peter tended to side with him on everything, that included.

“You need to be more careful.” Ned laughs totally buying your story. MJ on the other hand looks suspicious and Peter looks downright distraught.

“Can I speak to you in private for a moment?” Peter asks harshly. You gulp and then nod knowing it will only raise more questions if you refuse. He grabs your arm gently and tugs you to an empty storage closet.

“Well?” Peter asks impatiently.

“Well what Parker?” You ask frustrated. God why could he never just let it go.

“Are you gonna tell me how you really got those bruises?” He asks stone faced. Shit he actually is mad.

“I just told you.”

“Don’t play dumb Y/n. I know that story about tripping down the stairs was a load of bullshit. We don’t lie to each other. That is the number one rule in our relationship. We never lie to each other. So tell me what’s really going on?” Peter whisper yells at you.

“Peter please just stop.” Then the bell rings and you rush out towards English Lit. Unfortunately Peter had class with you and sat right next to you so you were stuck enduring his glares for an hour.

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Time Skip to After School

“Y/n! Wait up!” Peter shouts at you as he jogs to catch up with you before you can get into your dad’s car.

“What Peter?” You huffed in annoyance.

“Can we talk?” He asks looking desperate. From his eyes you can see he had been crying earlier.

“I have to go I have a lot of homework.” You turn to get in the car but Peter grabs your arm stopping you.

“Please.” He begs.

“Parker, why don’t you come over for a bit I need to talk to you about some things?” Your father asks. Peter nods in agreement and you hop in the car and slam the door shut totally pissed that your dad has to interfere.

The car ride back to the compound is incredibly awkward and mostly silent. Once you arrive at the compound you throw your car door open and slam it shut running straight for your room.

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Peter’s POV

We get back to the compound and Y/n jumps out of the car and runs into the house. Mr. Stark shoots me a dark glare.

“Alright Parker why the hell is going on with my kid?!” Mr. Stark growled at me.

“I don’t know I swear. She’s been distant the last couple weeks and today she flat out lied to me. We never lie to each other. It’s the one rule we have.” I reply slightly terrified from the glare he is sending my way.

“Did you give her those bruises?” He hisses barely controlling himself.

“No! Absolutely not! I just noticed them today at school on her abdomen and upper arms. She made up some bullshit story about tripping down some stairs. I would never hurt her Mr. Stark. I love her.” I can’t believe Mr. Stark would ever think that I would hurt Y/n. I could never harm her, she’s the best thing in my life and the only person who truly knows me.

“Then we need to figure out what’s wrong with our girl.” Mr. Stark replies and the two of us walk into the compound and towards Y/n’s room. Suddenly Y/n storms out of her room with some blonde lady chasing her.

“Y/n I thought you told him! He’s been calling everyone all day panicking and rallying the troops to figure out who’s hurting you!” The blonde woman yells.

“Carol I can’t tell them! They’ll make me stop! And I need to do this!” Y/n yells back then she whips around and sees me and her dad standing there and her jaw drops.

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YOUR POV

When you get to your room you slam the door shut and turn around to discover a very pissed off looking Carol Danvers sitting on your bed.

“Carol what are you doing here?” You ask slightly annoyed.

“I just found out that you were not entirely truthful with me regarding our training sessions.” She replies. I have had enough I turn and walk out of my room.

“Y/n I thought you told him! He’s been calling everyone all day panicking and rallying the troops to figure out who’s hurting you!” Carol shouts running after you.

“Carol I can’t tell them! They’ll make me stop! And I need to do this!” You yell back. When you turn around you see a very confused Peter and a very unhappy father staring back at you.

“Carol why are you here?” Tony asks her.

“Dad, Peter, the reason I have the bruises is because I’ve been training with Carol lately. I wanted to prove I could take care of myself and be strong.” You explain figuring you kinda have to come clean now.

“Now that you’ve told him I’ll be off.” Carol announces before shooting off to wherever she needs to be.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Peter asks.

“Because I knew you would tell my dad and I figured he would make me stop.” You reply guilt ridden. You broke the one rule Peter and you had. You lied to him.

“I wouldn’t have made you quite Y/n. I may not have been thrilled but I wouldn’t have made you quite. But do you have to work with Danvers? Why not Steve or Rhodes or hell me?” Your dad asks you.

“Because Carol is the best. If I can be trained by her I know I have the best chance and she doesn’t take it easy on me like your buddies would. She’s tough on me and I need it.” You explain.

“You can keep training with her but I want someone else in on the sessions to keep an eye on you.” Your father concedes knowing he wouldn’t win this battle.

“Fine. Can we have a moment?” You ask your father, motioning to Peter. Your dad rolls his eyes but walks out of the room leaving you alone with Peter.

“Why did you lie? We promised we would never lie.” Peter asks heartbroken.

“Peter I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I never should have lied to you. But this was really important to me.” You try and explain cupping his cheek in your hand.

“Do you think I can’t protect you?” He murmurs.

“I know you can protect me Peter! This isn’t about you. It’s about me and be as strong as I can be so you and my dad don’t worry about me so much and can worry about saving the world rather than me. I love you and I trust you but I need to be able to hold my own Peter.” You press a kiss against his lips and wrap your arms around his neck pulling him close.

When you break apart he looks practically giddy.

“What?” You ask slightly confused by his expression.

“You said you love me.” He giggles.

“I loooove you, Peter Parker!” You shout giggling.

“And I loooove you Y/n Stark!” Peter shouts back wrapping you up in his arms and twirling your around.

“Promise me something?” Peter asks when he sets you back down.

“Anything.”

“No more lying.” He pleads.

“No more lying.” You promise him. Peter pull you in close and presses a soft kiss against your forehead.

“I love you baby.”

“I love you too Peter.”

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theyearoftheking · 4 years

Text

Book Thirty-One: Four Past Midnight

You know you’re in for a good time when you crack open a collection of novellas, and the introduction discusses the 1989 Milwaukee Brewers, and specifically Robin Yount.

I am not really a baseball fan. I will admit to going to games just to tailgate, get snacks and drink an overpriced beer. I own some cute Milwaukee Brewers merch, and love a brat with stadium sauce. That’s the extent of my fandom. You’ll never find me being a baseball bandwagon junkie.

But.

Every late 30-40 something raised in Milwaukee has really fond memories of County Stadium (our old, humble stadium) before Miller Park took over (Sorry, refuse to call it Am-Fam Field, or whatever the hell its new name is). And we have fond memories of Robin Yount, Paul Moliter- the OG Brew Crew. Warm and fuzzies all around.

Steve drops one hell of a Wisconsin reference when he talks about watching a Brewers/Red Sox game (Brewers won, btw), and the announcers are talking about how old Robin Yount is. Steve almost flies out of his recliner when he realizes Robin started playing baseball the same year he published his first novel. They’re the same age!! Robin Yount can’t be old, because if he’s old, ergo, Steve is old.

Time is a funny thing. I write this as I’m a week away from turning forty. Ugh. It hurts so bad.

Four Past Midnight was another home run (ha!) collection of novellas. I told another constant reader this past week that the novella is really where Steve shines. It’s long enough to create some magic, but short enough to keep the editing tight. I didn’t love this collection as much as Different Seasons, but The Sun Dog might be my new favorite story ever... and it set the scene for Needful Things, which I’m now one hundred pages into. The flow from one story to the other is masterful.

The collection kicks off with The Langoliers, which I mostly remember because it was a campy television miniseries in 1995.

Basically, a bunch of people are on a red-eye flight, and Dinah Bellman, a little blind girl wakes up to find most of the people on the plane (including her caretaker Aunt) have disappeared. All their jewelry and belongings have been left behind, but it’s like they’ve been body-snatched out of thin air. Oh, the pilot was langolier-ed too. Thankfully, one of the other passengers on the plane, Brian Engle, just so happens to be a pilot, and attempts to land the plane. But, there are no lights, he’s not getting any response from any major airports... so landing at Boston Logan isn’t going to be a thing. He (of course) needs to re-route to Bangor.

At this point, Craig Toomer is losing his shit. He NEEDS to be in Boston to meet with a bank about some shady shit with some bonds. He’s not having this Bangor thing. So, he sits in his seat and sulks, ripping pieces of paper into thin strips (legit serial killer behavior), and remembering horror stories his dad used to tell him about monsters called the Langoliers.

Aaaand that’s where the title comes from.

The plane lands in Bangor, the airport is empty, the food has no taste and the beers have no carbonation. Noises are both muffled and amplified, and planes won’t go. So, Brian fuels up the original plane they were on, loads everyone inside; and takes off again. The passengers realize they need to be asleep to fly through the time/space continuum, so Brian lowers the cabin pressure, they all go to sleep (except for the dashing Nick Hopewell who bravely offers to fly the plane through the rip), and they make it safely to the other side, where life slowly starts back up again.

The end.

Then, there’s Secret Window, Secret Garden; which I also remember because of the Johnny Depp movie, which I had forgotten most of until my husband thought he’d summarize the plot of The Dark Half for me. He got it totally wrong, and ended up describing SWSG instead; thus ruining the surprise I forgot I already knew about. Welcome to marriage, kids. Lesson learned: if you haven’t seen The Secret Window, just wait and read the novella instead.

Best-selling author Morton Rainey answers his door one afternoon, and finds a Faulkner-esque gentleman in a wide-brimmed hat, accusing him of plagiarism. “You stole my story!” John Shooter tells him. Mort is supes confused, and has no idea what Shooter is talking about. He’s even able to prove he wrote and published the story a few years before Shooter wrote it.

“Prove it,” Shooter taunts him.

And then the story takes a left turn into Crazyville, when Shooter starts killing people, starting Mort’s ex-wife’s house on fire, and trying to kill Mort.

But here’s the twist.

Ready?

Shooter is Mort.

Mort is Shooter.

God damn, I wish my husband hadn’t reminded me of this spoiler, it would have been more epic to discover on my own. But it’s an excellent slight-of-hand on Steve’s part. Well done.

And then we get to The Library Policeman... which I really loved until I got to the part about the policeman anally raping small children who don’t turn their books in on time. That jumped the shark just a little bit. But prior to that cringefest, the idea of Library Policeman was fun. And in my world of enforcing rental policies, and returning books in beautiful, unblemished condition; I’m all for some library police. Maybe just ones with better social distancing, though...

And then we arrive to Sun Dog, the real winner of the collection. Steve starts the story with a brief introduction that covers the strange history of Castle Rock. This is a great refresher if you’re new to the universe, or haven’t read thirty-one Steve books in five months. No judgement.

Kevin Delevan receives a Sun 660 Polaroid camera for this fifteenth birthday. He takes a family picture, and notices a dog in the snapshot. A dog his family doesn’t own, and doesn’t know. Thinking it’s a fluke, he takes a few more pictures, and the dog keeps showing up, but is moving in each picture.

A few days later, Kevin takes the camera over to Reginald “Pop” Merrill at the Emporium Galorium. Pop fixes cameras and clocks, and also acts as the local loan shark, and seller of odd things. Pop inspects the camera, and sees nothing wrong with it. But he knows darkness when he sees it, and after a quick swap; he ends up with the Sun Dog camera, and sends Kevin home with another one.

Pop tries selling the camera to collectors of the dark and odd, but no one wants it. He’s starting to stress, because he knows it’s only a matter of time before the camera unleashes its true dark potential.

Kevin wakes up from a nightmare and realized Pop pulled a fast one on him. He gets to the Emporium Galorium just as the dog is trying to emerge from the film, and Kevin is able to kill it, and the shop starts on fire. But, it’s not the last strange thing to happen in Castle Rock...

I’m not going to lie, I finished Sun Dog at about 8pm last night, and promptly dived into Needful Things. Y’all... it might be my favorite Steve book ever. Too soon to say for sure, but damn it’s dark and twisty. Stay tuned.

In addition to the Brewers reference, there was one Dark Tower reference in The Library Police, “...lookin’ as fierce as a gunslinger in an old Western movie...”

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 25

Total Dark Tower References: 23

Book Grade: A+

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

The Talisman: A+

Misery: A+

Different Seasons: A+

It: A+

Four Past Midnight: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

The Drawing of the Three: A-

Nightmares in the Sky: B+

The Dark Half: B+

Skeleton Crew: B+

The Dead Zone: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Running Man: C+

Thinner: C+

Dark Visions: C+

The Eyes of the Dragon: C+

The Long Walk: C+

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Rage: C

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Roadwork: D

Christine: D

The Tommyknockers: D-

I hope everyone is continuing to social distance and quarantine well. I’m headed back to work in another week... kinda hoping it doesn’t cut into my reading time. But reality is a cruel thing sometimes...

Long Days and Pleasant Nights, Rebecca

#stephen king #constant readers #castle rock #the langoliers #sun dog #secret window secret garden #secret window #library police #the dark tower #milwaukee brewers #county stadium #needful things

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killinbills · 5 years

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hi! i’m currently struggling with the summary for my fic like i don’t want to make it boring with barley anything but i also don’t wanna i reveal everything (did that even make sense¿) any advice?

(this was sent weeks ago and im so sorry it took me so long to respond!!)

right ok so, when i write a summary, in the first summary i make sure to introduce the main character especially. (im gonna use clueless, morningstar, and ruby ruby as an example) (the only reason im using a few is bc i want to show that there are lots of different ways of writing a summary, it really depends on the story)

this is super long so read under the cut xo

CLUELESS: OK, SO, BRIAR CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH — she did not mean to act out the second she stepped foot in Beauxbatons, her grandparents deciding that Hogwarts (for ‘reasons unknown’) was no longer good enough for her and her little brother. She did not mean to find out that her grandparents had forced her and her brother out of the country to avoid them from meeting their father, who had become the newest D.A.D.A. professor… Nor did she mean to get so angry by this that she, well, gave her best friends a run for their money. Fireworks lighting up the dining hall, statues transfigured to resemble David Bowie — everything she remembered her best friends talking about doing, she did, putting her own twist on it (hence David Bowie… and Freddie Mercury… and ABBA…)

MORNINGSTAR: HERE’S THE DEAL — Isabelle Oswald is, sort-of, a changeling. The daughter of the devil given to a human man, a rich lawyer in the Upper East Side, who couldn’t have another kid. Her best friend Riley says that it isn’t really a changeling, more like a demon, but anyway. All Isabelle knows is that she’s pretty much a vampire, swap the blood-sucking for a general need to feed off of energy. And she supposes that’s where her 'birth name’ came from, Moroi Morningstar, but again, whatever. The main issue on the table isn’t so much Isabelle’s weird, but rather, Isabelle doesn’t have to be evil, so she isn’t going to — like, sure, her birth father was a fallen angel, but that doesn’t mean she is. It’s the same as those creeps that are half-angel. (The only saint she needs is Laurent, thanks!)

RUBY, RUBY: RUBY SULLIVAN likes to do the right thing — and she knows this sounds like bullshit, what with associating herself with Carol and Tommy, but for some reason her best friend Steve likes them and that’s enough for her to stomach them. But she likes to do good. Her dad always says stuff about karma and Ruby hopes that if she’s good to the world, the world will be good back… And by “good back,” she means that she’ll get into a good college, or at least find a way to escape Hawkins… And maybe, along the way, Ruby will be able to finally stand up for herself…

so in the first paragraph, i’ve introduced the main character and the situation that they’re in. it’s not so much the actual plot, but like, it’s some background on the character and what’s going on, and also it gives the readers an idea of where the story’s going to start. also, if when you’re writing about what’s going on with your character, if you can find the opportunity to mention other details

“the newest D.A.D.A. professor” = remus is briar’s dad, and “her best friends a run for their money” = if you’re a fan of hp you can gather she’s friends with the twins

“she’s pretty much a vampire” then the specifics introduce isabelle’s powers, and the description about her dad and her origin also explain what’s going on. also, you’re introduced to her best friend riley, and although she’s introduced anyway in the actual story and you don’t need to introduce every single character, riley is important and by having her in the intro puts some emphasis on that

“likes to do the right thing” so ok you know ruby’s motivation already, but also the fact that she’s friends with carol, tommy, and steve. with “escape hawkins” and “stand up for herself,” you can also gather that in this story, you’re gonna have a character that wants to leave her hometown and wants to stand up for themselves (a lot of this does focus more on my next point tho)

then, this is optional, but if possible, you can introduce the character’s personality and, uh, character. obviously this depends on your writing style and whether or not when you’re writing the summary you can add it in without it sound strange, but if possible, introduce the readers to your character. (it’s not like u want them to read a whole story about them)

examples:

from clueless you can gather that briar’s rebellious but also what music she likes. tbh this summary doesn’t show this point as much as the others but that’s okay!! sometimes one summary will have lots of background or introducing the character’s personality and sometimes it won’t!! it depends on the story you’re writing!!

for izzy however, you can get her personality. the informal language (”kid,” “blood-sucking,” “those creeps”) kinda give the sense that izzy’s the opposite of serious, and again that sort of language in a way shows izzy’s age a little? also, the same goes with the “but whatever,” and “but anyway.” like izzy as a character is quite carefree and bubbly. and then, with “the only saint she needs is laurent, thanks!” introduces a couple of things: izzy makes remarks, izzy is rich (bc she’s mentioning a luxury brand like it’s a brand she’s accustomed to), and izzy can be materialistic. like. the only saint she needs is laurent. she’s what madonna was singing about in material girl likeee

with ruby it’s a lot more obivous, and also a lot more stressed? so like in the intro to ruby ruby it shows: ruby wants to do the right thing (so her morals), ruby’s an optimistic character (”she hopes”), and she wants to stand up for herself. because with ruby ruby, the full introduction introduces all of the sullivans, the paragraph for each character was sort of more “yo this is this one” and much less of “this is the full story.” for ruby ruby, the full story’s introduced a lot more in the final paragraph

normally when i write a introduction i stick to two paragraphs and then maybe one sentence right at the end, which often becomes the short summary for the full thing. so in the second paragraph, i introduce the plot. not all of it, but enough to get a reader interested.

CLUELESS: But things take a turn at the end of the school year, when Madame Maxime pulls her aside and informs her of the Triwizard Tournament, a game where Beauxbatons competes against Durmstrang Institute and Hogwarts. And, in the words of Madame Maxime herself — “the school will burn down if I leave you here, so, you are coming, too.”

Fair enough.

MORNINGSTAR: The thing is, though — Isabelle doesn’t want to become a superhero. There are lots of other ways to improve the world, and if anything, she wishes she could keep her powers as hidden as possible. But, when things start to go upside down, it becomes a lot less difficult to stay secret. More and more monsters begin cropping up in her side of the woods, girls from her high school are disappearing left, right, and centre, with the explanation of “We want Morningstar” — and to top it off, her heart skips a beat every time she runs into the kid called Spiderman, even though they’ve managed to be on opposite ends of the civil war between the Avengers…

Life’s hard when you’re the devil’s daughter.

RUBY, RUBY: So when Will Byers goes missing, both Ruby and Lisa are thrown into the deep end. Whilst Ruby’s helping his older brother Jonathan, Lisa’s forced to speak to her own friends again, upon noticing the weird girl that she and Ruby helped escape from the restaurant earlier that week. And now, both girls are living up to their parents’ life lesson of “the most important thing is being good,” even if it means they’re hurtling towards the life their parents escaped from all those years ago…

normally it starts with, “so when this happens,” and it won’t introduce all of the plot, but it’ll introduce part of it.

like, with clueless, in the intro you learn that briar’s going back to hogwarts. you don’t know she becomes a werewolf, you don’t know that she starts to have doubts about preferring hogwarts to beauxbatons, a lot of the plot is unknown, but there’s still enough for a reader to like the sounds of it, and keep on reading.

same with morningstar. it carries on the explaining from the first paragraph but then, you find out that monsters are appearing (but not which ones) and that girls are going missing because someone wants isabelle, but you don’t know why. the stuff’s introduced, in enough detail for a reader to be interested, and then i introduced the love interest. like your readers don’t need to know every single detail off the bat, just enough to be interested

then with ruby ruby. ruby and her little sister are going to be involved with the main story in stranger things. you know who they’ll be hanging out with, but you don’t really know why, nor do you know the rest of the details. at the end i mentioned that their parents were connected with the upside down at one point, but you don’t know what they actually did. just that they were involved. it’s just enough for the reader to be like, “oh shit” and want to read the actual chapters

so, in summary:

introduce your character (because it’s that kid that’s gonna attract readers at the end of the day)

introduce the plot but not in much detail. just enough for readers to be intrigued

make sure the intro reflects upon the story like,,,, don’t give me a fun introduction when the actual story is sad and serious u know

i know it’s super difficult to actually write a summary but i try to keep things in mind when i’m writing mine. like i always want to make sure that the introduction properly reflects upon the story and the character. and again, a lot of the stuff i talked about i don’t make sure to include, it’s more like, i’ll be conscious of the words i’m using when i’m writing it. also a lot of my intros are pretty informal but that’s because my narrative style’s definitely influenced by reading too much meg cabot and lisi harrison when i was little lmao

also!! when you’re writing a summary don’t be afraid to have a look at others. like don’t copy them but look at how different people have written them. like even with three of mine, there’s some variety. there’s no harm in reading others to get a feel of what to write yourself

hope this helps!! :-)

ask me questions!!

also: clueless, morningstar, ruby ruby

#asks #bioodflood #writing help

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aspiestvmusings · 5 years

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FFH vs MCU: PARALLELS

PARALLELS & CALLBACKS & OTHER LITTLE THINGS: FFH & MCU:

WARNING...SUPER LONG TEXT POST! THAT INCLUDES JUST A TINY AMOUNT OF THE MANY MANY PARALLELS, CALLBACKS... etc

Peter’s secret superhero identity (Spider-Man) revealed (not by him/his choice) in the end of FFH & Tony’s secret superhero identity (Iron Man) revealed by him/by his choice in the end of IM1

Peter’s/The movies last words/line in FFH being “What the F*--” as the screen goes to black (as he sees the “news” on screen) & Aunt May’s/The movies last words in HC being “What the FU--” as the screen goes to black (when she sees Peter in his Spidey costume).

The “BLIP” video edit “in memoriam” broadcast ending with comment /by Betty, i think) that it’s time to move on... seems to hint at Endgame lines “Some people move on.../You gotta move on...” by Steve

AC/DC’s “Back in Black” - the song/band that plays during some iconic Tony/Iron Man moments in past film(s) & the song that plays during the Happy/Peter airplane above the tulip field scene as Peter is about to make himself a new suit. Even though Peter thinks it’s Led Zeppelin #ILoveLedZeppelin as he hears the song starting ;)

Tony’s glasses: “To/For the next/new Tony Stark” - Tony’s special glasses now belong to Peter. And they have a feature that had previously not been revealed - they include an AI named E.D.I.T.H (Even Dead Im The Hero”, cause Tony loved his acronyms)

Tony & acronyms: from J.A.R.V.I.S. to B.A.R.F. to E.D.I.T.H. in “Far From Home”

Tony wanting to build a “suit of armour” around the world/Earth, but being denied in past Avengers films & then literally building/creating a suit of armour around the people he cares about - Rhodey’s suit, Pepper’s suit, Peter’s suit + re-making CA’s shield by/in Endgame. And as revealed in FFH he also did build a suit of armour around the planet - he has tech & satellites that is weaponized & ready to protect the planet from outside (or inside) threats. He wanted to be prepared for (another) Thanos-level threat & he wanted to leave behind a defence system...

Peter using Stark tech to build a new suit in FFH (and Happy watching him & seeing so much Tony in him - in how he uses the tech and all that...) and Tony building his Iron Man suit in IM1 - the holographic tech used - visual parallels PS. Tom Holland has said that he re-watched RDJ’s scene rom first IM in prep for filming his scene & tried to mimic the movements & all...the parallels & similarity are on purpose

Peter/Happy in FFH vs Tony/Happy in MCU - friendship and being supportive, while providing transportation & backup to the superhero, also...

Peter doubting in himself & in his leader abilities (bearing the heavy burden of being the Earth’s mightiest hero & protector) in FFH...the same way Tony struggled with becoming/being the Earth’s protector

Peter having PTSD/anxiety (after the events of the BLIP/SNAPS & his mentor’s, Tony's death) & being pressured by the public... and not being able to take the pressure... escaping the “press conference” at aunt May’s charity event in FFH & Tony having PTSD/anxiety (after the events on NY battle & the vision of the future & finding out that there are great threats lurking in the universe..) and being pressured by the public...and not being able to take the pressure... escaping the diner/table in IM3, when kids come to him...the hero..for an autograph.

Peter making mistakes on the way.. when learning to be the superhero the world needs (trusting Mysterio, his new friend & giving over the powerful tech to him) in FFH & Tony making mistakes on the way in all the MCU films.

Peter being betrayed by someone he trusted (his new “friend” Quentin Beck aka Mysterio) in FFH & Tony being betrayed by his old friend & business partner, Obadiah Stane in IM1.

Peter not answering phone calls from important people - sending “Fury” to voicemail (ghosting Nick Fury) in FFH & Tony not liking answering the phone/talking to important people on the phone - putting them on hold (cause he just likes to put people on the hold) - example: Coulson in A1

The murals & street art in Europe as Peter walks by a wall art with flowers & candles in front of it dedicated to Iron Man/Tony Stark in FFH & the shadows of the six people who died mimicking “wall art” in Iron Man 3 being a visual parallel to that scene with candles (and flowers) in front of it..to remember those who are gone...but not forgotten.

Peter using the Tower Bridge sign as shield & that tech (DIY project made of car engine & drone bits...) as the hammer on the “Bridge fight scene” in FFH as a visual parallel to Steve holding his shield & Thor’s hammer during the final battle in Endgame.

All three MCU main heroes - Tony (his arc reactor), Thor (his hammer) & Steve (his shield) were represented & could be visually seen during that bridge scene... as Peter prepares to fight the bad guy...

Peter going through many “dimensions” during the Berlin “safe house” illusion scene in FFH being visually similar to Dr. Strange & other MCU films visuals of other dimensions/universes - the mirror dimension, the many other dimensions seen... Infinite illusions scene....

Peter not having his Spidey-sense (Peter tingle) - one of his superhero abilities not working in FFH... for a while (because of his emotional state - grieving his mentor) & Bruce not having access to Hulk - his ability to turn into Hulk/go green not working during Avengers 3 (because of his emotional state - after the events of past films)

Peter ending up in Netherlands/Holland (PS. while many people use Holland to talk about all of Netherlands, Holland actually refers to certain parts...two provinces that together “form” & are called Holland)... because Peter/Spiderman is portrayed by Tom Holland. #funfacts

Percentages - MJ was only 67/76% certain that Peter is Spider-Man in FFH & Tony saying Pepper should give herself 12% of the credit for the Stark Tower & Pepper saying she was having 12% of a moment” in A1.

Tony saying “You reached the Live Model Decoy of Tony Stark” when agent Coulson gets through to him on the phone in A1 & Nick Fury basically using “live model decoys” for himself & Maria Hill in FFH.

Mysterio and his illusions - making others see things that aren’t: Peter seeing dying Quentin Beck on the ground at the Tower Bridge, when the real Quentin is actually standing next to him, ready to shoot him, but peter sensing it & stopping him in FFH & Loki & his illusions - making others see things in a twisted way: agent Coulson seeing Loki in front of him, when he approaches with the new blaster weapon, when Loki is actually behind him & he doesn’t see the attack coming in A1.

“Appearances can be deceiving” was meant to hint at both Mysterio not being who he is & also Fury & Hill being not who they seem... That they’re actually skrulls (working for Fury)

Happy’s surfboard mention/clue to Fury... when he calls him to warn about Mysterio’s deception is a reference to the skrull first looks in Captain Marvel... when they arrive. They first take the form of a group of surfers...cause these are the first people they see on the beach...

The spiders crawling on Zombie IM in the illusion created by Mysterio in that FFH scene are according to someone who paid better attention & knows spider species better than me... apparently Black Widow spiders... IF so then that is a visual reference to BOTH characters who sacrificed themselves...all in one scene.

ETA: Mysterio in FFH was not who he seemed to be to the public & he wasn’t a man...but a Team... kinda... & The Mandarin in IM3 was not who he seemed to be to the public & he wasn’t a man...but a Team...kinda. Quentin Beck pretended to be Mysterio (a caped superhero) in FFH ... using movie magic & mo-cap suits and visual tricks & Trevor Slattery pretended to be The Mandarin in IM3.. he was a paid actor, playing the role of the bad guy, The Mandarin.

ETA: Peter & MJ/Michelle in FFH vs Tony & Pepper in MCU films...there are both story/plot & visual parallels. Both ladies are taller (basically) than their partner (both Tony & Peter are...kinda...tiny/short). And both knew the man before the hero in the suit. And both were (at least at first)not a fan of the superhero “flying” and all (both Pepper & MJ’s reaction to Tony & Peter taking them to “fly” was pretty much the same...they were not fans of it #NeverDoThatAgain #omgICantTakeThisAnymore

ETA: all the drones (dummy suits built by Ivan) in Iron Man 2 VS all the drones used to create the illusions in FFH

Fire “monster” (Elemental: Fire) being one of the “bad guys” in FFH (Spidey fighting fire) & Fire “monster” (the “Extremis” that turns the host bodies into hot fire/fire hot) being one of the “bad guys tools” in IM3 (Tony fighting Extremis)

Tony “creating” his ..and Peter’s enemies in many/almost all Iron Man/MCU films & FFH: Tony's dad vs Vanko’s das and Tony vs Vanko in IM2, Tony vs Killian & Maya in IM3, Tony/Avengers vs ULTRON in A2 (Wanda + Pietro vs Tony/Avengers in A2), Tony vs Charlie Spencer’s mom in CA. CW) The Vulture vs Peter in SM1: HC...and now Mysterio/Beck vs “new Tony Stark” aka Peter in FFH.

Peter being all alone (with just one ally/friend - Happy)...and creating a suit for himself...from scratch (using tech) on the plane in Holland in FFH & Tony being all alone (with just one ally/friend)...and creating a suit for himself...from scratch... from a box of scraps...in the cave in IM1.

Not to mention all the little details, callback, parallels & similarities..connected to the (original) comics, to past/other Spider-Man films - JJJ as the “news” man, the multi-verse menton, every single Spidey costume from MCU making their appearance again, multiple Spideys all in one scene, LMD (Live Model Decoys)...etc etc...

#SPOILER #ffhspoilers #far from home spoilers #Spiderman: Far from Home #Far From Home #Spiderman Far from Home #MCU #Peter Parker #Tony Stark #Spiderman #Ironman #Spider-Man #Iron Man #MASTER POST #LONG POST

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slytherinfinity · 5 years

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ENDGAME SPOILERS!!

Okay I saw Endgame last night and I need to vent... AHHHHHH!!! haha I have so many mixed emotions and I don’t even know. Also I typed this on mobile so sorry for any typos.

So I first saw Iron Man when I was 11, and it was so cool. I grew up watching all of these movies. At first, Cap was my favorite bc he was ~cute~ and I was a young teen girl and so were all my friends. I also loved Loki for this reason haha. Then I saw Iron Man 3 and LOVED IT. I bought it on DVD as soon as it came out. Tony Stark was amazing, but also he dealt with anxiety and panic attacks? His and Pepper’s relationship was everything as well, and also his and Happy’s and Rhodey’s friendships. Tony felt real and human and relatable, and it was cool he was able to overcome so much even with all of his trauma. In AOU he just wanted to protect his team, and no one truly listened to or respected him or tried to understand him, and he ended up with more trauma and guilt. I just wanted him to have a happy ending. Then he met Peter and it brought me hope, after all the Civil War crap. Infinity War was crushing but not completely because I knew another movie was coming out, so there was still some hope. But then Endgame. Honestly... I’m still processing, but I don’t think I’m happy with it. And for more reasons than just Tony, though I’ll talk about that first. His storyline just seemed... blah. He gets back, gets to yell at Steve, and then goes and lives in seclusion with Pepper and has a kid. Yet you know that even with that life he’s still depressed and guilt-ridden. It’s how Pepper knows he won’t stop. So he does his best to help, time travels or whatever (honestly that whole part is still kinda confusing to me- it created alternate timelines, but what are the implications of that- and also for the rest of the MCU??) and then Tony comes back and it looks like they’ve succeeded. I was expecting him to notice something off about Nebula, tbh. But anyway, final battle, and we all know what happens. He makes the sacrifice play. He dies. Pepper says it’s okay, but I just can’t agree. He already made the sacrifice play in the first movie. I think it should have been Steve or someone else in this one to do it. If all Tony’s pain and trauma has been building to this- I just feel empty inside. It’s not a satisfying end. Sure, he saved the universe, but I feel like Strange literally could have like left a message saying don’t send Nebula to the past and all of that would have been avoided. It felt so pointless. They’d already won. Tony also only got to reunite with Peter for like 30 mins, which is lame, and will bring a whole lot more trauma to him. He didn’t even get to see Morgan again. Ughhh I’m just annoyed. And then Steve?? He just goes to live in the past?? The whole movie he’s been saying he doesn’t move on, and then he literally never does, he never grows from there. He doesn’t really develop at all. It’s true- he never truly moved on from the past, and so that means... he’ll just go live there??? I think a better move would be to have him grow to accept his life and try to be happy and actually move on. Or, like I said earlier, he could have realized he can’t move on and made that sacrifice play himself in order to allow others to live and move on. I think that would have been a more satisfying arc to his story. And it would show the love he actually has for Tony- to allow Tony to live with his family and show that he heard and understood what Tony said at the beginning of the movie. (Also, they never had a real conversation where they made up. It was like they kind had that “do you trust me” moment but Steve never truly apologized and I feel like we got jipped out of a good heartfelt moment between those two.) Also- the Natasha sacrifice was sad, but I’m not totally surprised by it. It feels like a very her thing to do, to save her family and Clint’s. But then after everyone got mad and had a quick moment of silence, it was kind of forgotten?? Like they could have even had a memorial or small tribute at Ton’s funeral or elsewhere but like put something in?? It feels like she was just kind of brushed aside. (Also- I didn’t like BruceNat at first but grew to be okay with it, but then it never became anything? Bruce made himself into Professor Hulk and there was no real closure or conversation between him and Natasha? So like... what. was. the. point???) Again, everything with her just wasn’t that satisfying, but it’s something I may grow to view differently. I did enjoy Clint’s arc and I actually think they did a great job with him. Probably the strongest arc of the movie, actually. The way they handled Thor kind of annoyed me. I think it’s perfectly understandable that he would end up like that. He’s lost his family and most of his kingdom, and he feels responsible. I don’t have a problem with that. I have a problem with how the movie and the characters responded to that. Judgmental looks and jokes... like I’ll be honest, I did chuckle at Rhodey’s Cheez Whiz joke, but now I regret that. Like being fat is funny, haha look at Thor, he’s out of shape! Uhh yeah he’s depressed! And Rhodey should know better, being friends with Tony, he should know how to handle anxiety and depression. Nobody was really trying to help or even talk to Thor much, they really just wanted him to help them. Like he was clearly struggling, and yet that was used as a joke... it makes me sad. And also Thor never even looked back at Loki? The convo with his mom was nice though. But that reminds me? Was Loki’s infinity war death actually real then? Bc ugh. I’d be more willing to accept him being permanently dead if it wasn’t in such a lame way. Daggers, seriously?? Loki has freakin magic, and he’s smart!! He could have duplicated himself or something, and that type of lame death is so unsatisfying. Also. Captain. Freaking. Marvel. I went to the movie in a Captain Marvel T-Shirt, hers is one of the first actual comics I read, and I loved her movie. I was soooo excited to see her in this movie and become part of the team and to have some really fun banter with everyone. But then she just... disappears for basically the whole movie and hardly speaks at all (thinking about it- I think all the female characters speaking overall was wayyy low compared to mens which is sad) and she blows up the big ship at the end and that’s basically it. She didn’t really join the team, and she could have been so helpful! You’re telling me they didn’t make a way to communicate with her and they didn’t want to include her in their time travel adventures?? She could have had a funny interaction with Nick in 2012, or stopped Nebula from getting taken in 2014, or helped out more overall, idk. But she should have been a bigger part of the team. They hyped her up so much when she was hardly in the movie at all, which was extremely disappointing. Like I feel so cheated about this. This is something I’ll probably be bitter about for a while tbh... ugh she’s a queen and deserves so much more haha. Also Okoye and Wong would have been useful assets for the time travel and yet they were hardly in the movie at all? So many underutilized characters smh.... (Also I know this would be impossible and the point of the movie is for the main Marvel characters but you’re telling me that in 5 years, there was no random like French or Chinese or any other country’s scientist that could have developed time travel or another method of reversing the snap? Or someone from one of the bazillion planets out there? Like there have to have been other smart people/aliens who went all Liam Neeson after the snap and were out for revenge and solutions and they could have come up with something in those five years. But again, I know that wouldn’t work for the movie...) I just feel that a conclusion to the first real era and characters of Marvel should be more satisfying. But that’s just me, I know there are people who are plenty happy with it, and I think that’s valid. These are just my thoughts. Also, that was a long rant but I don’t want to be completely negative. Here’s some things I did enjoy. -Clint’s arc. Again, I felt it was really strong and emotional and hit all the right notes. They did a good job with him and I’m glad he got to go back to his family. -Nebula. She’s grown so much y’all. I do wish she got the final blow on Thanos, and that she clicked the button to go to the present faster so Thanos couldn’t come after them, but other than that I thought her storyline was great. She’s awesome. -That moment with all the female characters after Peter got hurt. I cheered. Marvel has so many amazing women and it was great to see them all together. I kinda wish they were given more lines and screen time though but this moment was super cool. -Morgan was adorable and I love her. -Pepper’s understanding of Tony was also great. She knew he needed to do something if he could, especially for Peter, she’s grown so much and she loves her mans I love her. -Almost the whole 2012 time travel thing was great. Some good humor and nostalgia, it was fun, I really liked it. The Loki alternate timeline would be cool to explore and I wonder if that’s what the show will be about. -Wanda had a great moment against Thanos. -Okay, while I do think that whole final battle was ultimately pointless and could have easily been avoided, the moment when T’Challa and the Guardians and everyone came in through the portals was amazingly epic and beautiful and powerful. The audience cheered and I did too. It was a cool scene. -Tony and Nebula in the ship at the beginning was great. -If Steve isn’t gonna be Cap anymore, Sam deserves it and I’m glad they went with him. -The Ancient One, Frigga, and other’s cameos were pretty cool. I liked those moments. -Tony’s convo with Howard was great. I like that he got a little bit of closure with his dad. There’s probably more but I’ve written a lot so I need to be done haha. Let me know your thoughts!! :)

#avengers endgame #endgame #endgame spoilers #avengers endame spoilers #spoilers #tony stark #captain america #Captain Marvel #thor #natasha romanoff #clint barton #I really just needed to vent #sorry y'all #so many emotions #I don't even really know how I feel #ughhhh #mostly just sad I think

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hymn2000 · 5 years

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Chiquitita - MCU AU fanfic - C4

Story summary: Something strange is happening. Someone from space has made their way to Earth, armed with a strange weapon. Targeting teenagers, their ray gun, when fired, turns the victim into a toddler. The Avengers set out to stop this, and find a way to reverse the effects. However, they don’t all come out of the battle unscathed.

Previous chapters: 1 2 3

Part of my Frostiron and Spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: de-aging, family stuff, corporal punishment (early chapters only), mental health stuff, hurt/comfort

Chapter 4 - Baby

For a moment all anyone could do was stare. Thor was the first to move, wisely taking the ray gun and moving it out of reach. The little boy looked up at him, and then looked round the room. His little eyebrows furrowed, but he stayed quiet, and sat where he was.

“...Fuck” Clint breathed. “Oh. My. Fucking-”

“Maybe that language isn’t best in front of a toddler” Steve said hurriedly.

“Oh my god. Oh my GOD. This is all my fault” Tony said, his eyes fixed on the little boy. “Oh my god. Oh my god”

He couldn’t move. He felt sick. This couldn’t be real; it couldn’t be happening. This was just some cruel trick of the eye. Maybe he’d fallen asleep, maybe-

“He’s cute” Wanda said, kneeling down in front of the toddler. “Hello, little one”

Peter smiled, pushing himself to his feet and falling into her arms. Wanda held him carefully.

“Wow, this is not what I expected” she looked at Tony, and then at Loki. “Loki?”

Loki took a deep breath. “I.. I have no idea what just happened”

“Fuck. Fuck” Tony said. “I can’t look after a toddler! Oh my god, this can’t be happening. This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, this can’t-”

“Tony, breathe” Loki said. “We need to breathe. We just need to breathe, and figure this out”

“What the fuck is there to figure out?!”

“Hey, you can’t keep shouting and swearing in front of him” Carol said firmly.

“My son has just- he’s just... Oh my god”

Peter wriggled out of Wanda’s arms and tottered over to Tony, holding his arms up to him. Tony just stared down at him, trying to keep his breathing level. This wasn’t real. There was no way this could be real.

“Uh, Tony” Loki said. “He wants a hug”

Tony looked at him, and at the little boy, and back to him. He shook his head.

“...I can’t”

“Tony, y-”

“Daddy!” the toddler spoke, stretching his arms up as much as he could. “Daddy!”

Tony barely blinked, just kept staring. This wasn’t real. Oh god, but it was. Those horrible news stories he’d feared so much were more than just Things That Happened To Other People: it was his reality now. His son was a toddler. And he had a voice.

“Tony!” Loki persisted. “You can’t just ignore him!”

Tony didn’t say anything, and Peter’s eyes filled with tears. Loki couldn’t stand it, and he shifted over and picked the little boy up himself, holding him close.

“Shh, don’t cry” he said gently. “I’ve got you”

The toddler hesitated for a moment, but quickly settled and cuddled into his dad. Loki looked at Tony, who was staring at him as though he was holding a bomb.

“What?”

“You’re shaking” Tony said dumbly.

“I’m scared” Loki said. “I don’t know what to do”

“Hey, if all the other parents can do it, nothing’s gonna stop you” Carol said, sitting down beside Loki and carefully taking Peter from him. “Hey, baby. Why don’t you go over to Uncle Bruce? He’s just gonna have a little look at you, ok?”

“Ok, mumma” little Peter nodded.

Carol put him down, and he toddled off obediently to Bruce. Carol took Loki’s hand, and looked at him and Tony hard.

“You’re going to have to do this whether you like it or not” she said. “I know it’s weird and scary and-”

“Don’t try to preach to us!” Tony snapped. “My son just got blasted by that bloody ray gun! Why did you let him touch it, hey? All of you, why-”

“Hey, you didn’t exactly snatch it off him either” Nat said. “He dropped it, and he grabbed the wrong bit when he caught it. It. Was. An. Accident”

“I knew we shouldn’t’ve let him get involved! This never would’ve happened if we’d just-”

“Tony, are you listening to yourself?” Loki interrupted. “I’m scared too. All of us are just as shocked as you are. None of us can comprehend this either”

“All of you need to stop shouting” Bruce said, sat on the floor with little Peter on his knee. “You’re scaring him”

The room went quiet, no one daring to make eye contact with each other. They all watched Bruce, who was speaking quietly to the toddler, looking him over and tickling his tummy to make him laugh.

“How old is he?” Steve asked, breaking the silence.

“All the others were three, right?” Carol said.

“Yes, but he looks kinda small, don’t you think?” Steve said.

“He’s not that small” Carol said.

Bruce nodded. “How old are you, Peter?”

Peter looked at him, and held up his thumb and two fingers. “This old!”

“There we are” Bruce said, nodding. “He’s three”

“Is he.. is he ok?” Loki asked, his voice still shaking.

“He’s fine” Bruce said. “Even those cuts from today have gone. He seems healthy enough. I’d still do what everyone else was advised to do and take him to your GP for a full check-up”

“Don’t talk about it like it’s permanent” Tony said.

“Tony, be realistic” Bruce said, ruffling Peter’s hair and letting him go. “Thor, you don’t know how long the reversal is gonna take, right?”

“None. I can only promise we’ll do our best. I’m sorry, I need to go” he said, looking down at the ray gun in his hand. “This needs to leave Earth. I need to take it to Asgard”

No one had any objections. Thor left, and Peter watched him go. He looked at everyone. They were all talking, but he didn’t understand what they were all talking about. So he ignored them, and instead went to tackle a Very Real Problem. He toddled back over to Tony, and tugged on his trouser leg.

“I’m hungry” he said.

Tony just looked at him. Peter pouted.

“Daddy, I’m hungry!”

“Well what am I supposed to do about it?”

“Tony!” Loki snapped. “You can’t speak to him like that! Go and get him something to eat”

“Well I don’t know what to feed him, do I?”

“How can you not know what to feed him? It’s not rocket science” Loki scowled.

Tony didn’t make any effort to move, and Loki growled in annoyance.

“Oh for the love of god! Fine, I’ll go and make him something, if you’re going to be so useless” he snapped, getting up.

“What are you having a go at me for?! I’ve never looked after a toddler before”

“I thought you were supposed to be a genius?” Loki said, taking Tony’s chin in his hand and tilting his head, pretending to peer into his ear. “Ah, just as I thought: no common sense whatsoever”

“Oh, piss off, Loki”

“Fine, I’ll go and grab our son something to eat, and while I’m in the kitchen, you” he picked Peter up. “Can give this a cuddle”

“No, wait, I don’t want him!”

“You can’t say that!” the room chorused, fixing him with a stony glare.

Loki put Peter into Tony’s arms, and Tony couldn’t exactly push him away. Loki went out to the kitchen, and Tony grabbed Peter under the arms, and held him at arms length.

“Uuhh... Right. Marvel?” he stood up and put the toddler down on Carol’s lap.

Carol sighed, but hugged the boy close. “You won’t be able to pass him off on other people all the time”

“Tony, for gods sake” Bruce sighed. “He’s your kid”

Tony sat back down, and stayed quiet.

Loki wasn’t too happy to find Peter on Carol’s lap instead of Tony’s. He put the plate down on the arm of the sofa and took the little boy from Carol. He glared at Tony. Tony pretended not to notice.

“Right, lets get you fed, little boy” Loki said, settling Peter down on the sofa and putting the plate on his lap. “There you are. Here, I’ll just put the straw in your juice. There you are”

Peter happily settled down to eat. Loki made sure he was ok, went over to Bruce, snatched his newspaper, and returned to smack Tony over the head with it.

“Ow! Hey, what are you playing at?!”

“You really couldn’t hold him for five minutes?”

“Oh, shut up, Loki: everyone else has spent the last five minutes having a go at me; I don’t need you doing it too”

“What’s gotten into you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, am I the only one who’s seeing what’s going on here?” Tony snapped. “Our son just got turned into a toddler. Literally like, twenty minutes ago. Am I not allowed to freak out?”

“We’re all freaking out” Clint said. “But we’re not ignoring the kid because of it”

“It’s not Peter’s fault” Loki said. “It was an accident. He grabbed the wrong bit of the gun”

“Don’t you think I know that?! I was the one who made him jump!” Tony shouted.

“Hey, you’re scaring him” Steve said. “Be quiet, or talk civilly”

“He’s just a baby” Wanda said.

“That’s exactly the problem! I didn’t adopt a baby, or a toddler: I adopted a teenager!”

Loki looked at him. “When we adopted Peter, we committed to looking after him no matter what”

“Uh, ‘no matter what’ didn’t include the possibility of him suddenly becoming a toddler. I don’t know how to look after a toddler!”

“Oh, and I do?”

“Loki, don’t you work with kids at the hospital?” Steve said.

“Mothers and babies, mainly” Loki said.

“What about your sabbatical?” Steve said. “That childrens’ home?”

“That was mainly older kids. There was only two toddlers there, twins, and were very attached to one of the other care workers. I’ve not worked with toddlers properly, and not at all for a long time” Loki sighed.

“You two were thinking about IVF again though, right?” Clint said. “Didn’t you read anything?”

“Can we not talk about the clinic, please?” Tony said. “...I glanced at some baby stuff, that’s all”

Clint looked at Loki. “What about you?”

“I’ve read a lot of stuff. I have a lot of ideas. But I’ve never put it into practice”

He was suddenly distracted by Peter, who had just squeezed his drinks carton and ended up spurting apple juice all over his face and neck.

“Oh dear, that was a bit silly” Loki said, whipping out a handkerchief and mopping the boy up.

Tony watched them together. Loki looked so collected, like he knew exactly what he was doing, despite what he’d said. He couldn’t deal with this. He stood up and stormed out of the room.

Peace and quiet wasn’t a viable option with so many people in the house. Loki joined Tony in the kitchen, closely followed by Clint, Natasha, and Carol. Nat had little Peter balanced on her hip.

“Can I not have five minutes to myself?” Tony said tiredly.

“You can’t run away from this” Loki said. “Like it or not, we’ve got a toddler to look after. He’s gonna need more looking after than teenage Peter”

“I can’t. I didn’t even know... What did you feed him?”

“A jam sandwich and a chocolate biscuit”

“See, I didn’t even think of that. I just can’t do this!”

“You haven’t got a choice” Nat said, moving Peter to her other hip. “He needs you”

Tony looked at her, and looked away quickly.

“He could be a toddler for weeks, or months. That’s what Thor said” Clint said. “You need to get prepared”

“He’s right, Tony” Loki said. “We need to go shopping”

“Why?!”

“What do you mean, why?” Loki snapped. “Think about all the things he’ll need”

Clint sat down at the breakfast bar. Carol went and stood beside Tony.

“You’re gonna have to step up. I know it’s scary. But don’t they say that no one knows what they’re doing when it comes to parenting?”

“It’s not the same” Tony said. “I really don’t think I can do this”

Loki sighed and put his arms round Tony. Tony hugged him back, burying his face in his shoulder, trembling.

“I know” Loki said. “I’m scared too. But it is what it is. We’ve got no choice but to just get on with it. We’re still parents, first and foremost”

Tony just clung to him, trying hard not to cry.

“Is daddy ok?”

Loki looked over at Peter and Nat, and smiled slightly.

“Don’t worry, sweetie: daddy’s just feeling a little odd. He’ll be ok in a minute”

Tony leant against the counter, staring into space. Nat still had Peter. Carol was close by Loki. Tony wasn’t saying anything.

Clint cleared his throat, and poked Loki with a notepad, interrupting their conversation. Loki turned and took it from him. He looked at him quizzically, and then down at the notepad.

“Oh..!”

“It’s by no means exhaustive” Clint said.

“What is it?” Tony said, his voice shaky.

“It’s- um, it’s a shopping list”

“I’ve just tried to put down all the stuff I know my kids had when they were toddlers, and some other obvious bits” Clint said. “Sorry it’s kinda long”

“Well, we’re not short of money, and I was expecting to need a lot” Loki said. He took a deep breath. “Thank you”

“No worries... Look, I know we don’t really get along, but you’re a good dad. I know you are. I think you’ll be fine, but like, hey, I’ve got three kids. I can offer some advice if you need it”

“Thank you, I appreciate that”

“Aww Clint, you can be useful sometimes then” Nat teased.

“Hey, I gotta be good for something”

“You’d better go shopping sooner rather than later” Carol said. “It’s just barely afternoon, but shopping can take a long time”

“You’re all missing one crucial detail” Tony said scornfully. “How are we supposed to take a toddler shopping? Don’t you need car seats for them?”

“Yeah, speaking of that” Bruce appeared in the doorway, and came and handed Tony the keys to one of his cars. “It’s all set up, and checked”

Tony stared at him. “You... you bought a car seat?”

“I knew you’d need one” Bruce said. “You’ll need to take him with you”

“I... thank you” Tony took the keys from him. “Thanks...”

“Hey, it’s the least I could do. The kid means a lot to me, too” Bruce said. “I’ve sorted the press release too. Everyone will find out soon anyway. It’s hit a little paper, but it won’t be in the big news until tonight. I’ve altered the story, of course”

Loki put a hand on Bruce’s arm. “Thank you”

“Hey, no problem. Are you going now then?”

“Yes” Loki nodded at Tony. “I’m just going to get ready”

He swept out of the kitchen, and Tony looked at Carol for help.

“What?”

“I don’t know about this”

“He needs supplies. You’ll be fine. Look” she looked at Peter, who had been quietly playing with Nat’s keys all the while they were in the kitchen. “He’s good as gold”

Tony allowed himself to look at the boy properly. He looked happy enough, cuddled against Nat, concentrating on her keys. He really did look tiny. He had the same sweet eyes and soft curls and funny mannerisms that Tony knew so well, but it wasn’t really of any comfort. He knew it was Peter, but he still didn’t quite want to believe it. He wasn’t ready for this kind of change. Even his plans of mini golf or go-karting on Sunday had been pushed off the table. And what about everything else he’d planned or wanted to do? What about those nights down in the lab, working till all-hours with his son at his side? What about school? What about swim team? What about all their jokes and memories? His son, his teenage son, was gone. And now there was just this toddler, and he wasn’t at all sure about that.

He tore his eyes away, and slipped his feet into a pair of shoes he’d left by the kitchen door. He pulled on a hooded jacket, shoved his wallet and phone into his pocket, and kept the car keys in his hand. Loki came back into the room, jacket and shoes on, wallet and phone in his pockets.

“I’m not sure about this” Tony said.

“We’ll hold down the fort here” Bruce said. “Or, some of us will. Don’t worry about it”

Tony swallowed hard, and nodded. “Right...”

“Right” Loki said, taking Peter from Nat and trying to pass him to Tony.

“Loki! I can’t-”

“I’m going to let go of him in two seconds, and if you don’t have hold of him, he’ll get hurt, and guess whose fault it’ll be?”

Tony had no choice but to take hold of Peter, and only when he was sure he was holding him properly, did Loki let go.

“Hi daddy” Peter smiled.

Tony barely looked at him.

“Shall we be off, then?” Loki said. “See you later, everyone”

“Yeah, see you later” Tony said.

Tony tried to pass Peter to Loki once they got back down to the garage, but Loki wouldn’t let him.

“I’m sure you can put him in his seat” Loki said. “I need to take my pill”

“Alright then” Tony said, pretending to be brave.

He opened the back door of the car, looking at the child seat.

“Uhh. Right, let’s see if we can figure this out” Tony said to himself. “Right”

He sat the toddler down on the seat and started fiddling with the straps.

“Right, ok. So, uhh... Ah, so this bit goes here, and that bit goes there, and...” Tony mumbled to himself. “Ah! There, got it”

No sooner had he clipped everything together than Peter started squeaking. Tony was a little taken aback.

“What?”

“What’s the matter with him?” Loki asked, screwing the lid back on his water bottle and getting back out of the car.

“I don’t know. Maybe he just doesn’t like the car seat”

Loki carefully moved Tony out of the way.

“What’s the matter, chick?” he said to Peter.

“I want to get out! I want to get out!” Peter squawked. “I don’t like it!”

“You have to stay in the seat, sweetheart” Loki said. He went to tweak the straps, but stopped. “Flippin’ ‘eck Tony, no wonder he’s upset!”

“What’s up?”

“Did you not check these straps? You could barely slip a slice of paper under these” Loki said, loosening the straps. “Poor little Peter”

“Sorry, a slice of paper?”

“Shut up, Tony” Loki said. “There, is that better, darling?”

Peter nodded. “Mm-hmm”

“Good. Ok sweetheart, hands on your knees, ok?”

Peter looked at him, and then did as he was told. Loki closed the door, and looked at Tony.

“What?”

“Why ask him to do that?”

“So I knew his hands are out of the way while I closed the door, of course” Loki said, climbing into the front of the car.

Tony sighed and went round to the drivers side. He sighed again as he closed the door.

“Fine, let’s go. Have you got that list?”

“It’s in my pocket” Loki said.

“Good”

Peter started fussing within a couple of minutes of the car starting.

“What’s the matter with him?” Tony hissed.

“How should I know? Maybe he’s just upset” Loki said.

He paused, and then turned the radio on. Peter soon fell quiet, listening to the music. Tony glanced at Loki.

“How did you know what to do?”

“It was just a guess” Loki said.

“Hmm” Tony looked at Peter in the rear view mirror. “I still can’t get my head around this”

“Me neither” Loki said. “But we’ve no choice but to deal with it”

“You said we need a lot of stuff”

“Yes. But it has to be done”

Tony nodded, and concentrated on watching the road. Keep Calm And Carry On, he told himself. Keep Calm. And Carry On.

Peter started fussing again when they got out of the car. Tony unplugged him from his car seat but gave him to Loki.

“I’ll hold the basket” he said firmly.

“Fine” Loki said. “Peter, stop squeaking”

“I wanna walk!!”

“Wait until we’re in the shop” Loki said.

“I WANNA WALK!”

“In a minute, chick”

“People are gonna think we’re right scrubbers” Tony said. “He hasn’t got any shoes on”

“Well, there was nothing we could do about that” Loki said. “He’ll have shoes by the time we’re done here. Besides, everyone knows who you are, and even if they did see, they wouldn’t care”

“Mm. Anyway, can you shut him up?”

“Tony, that doesn’t help” Loki said, struggling to keep hold of the wriggling little boy.

Mercifully, the new surroundings inside the shop were enough of a distraction for Peter that he went quiet and stop struggling, instead craning round to look at everything.

“Right, uh... Where’s that list?”

Loki took the notepad from his pocket and handed it to Tony. Tony looked it over, biting his lip.

“Uuhhh... Shall we start upstairs then?”

“Probably a good idea” Loki said.

They went up the escalator to the clothing section, and as soon as he saw the first tiny t-shirt, Tony felt completely out of his depth.

“Ok, uhh... Wait, what size is he?”

“Well, he’s three, isn’t he?” Loki said. “So there’s only really two sizes he can be. We’ll just have to try something on him to find out”

“Oh right, ok. Uhh...”

Loki sat Peter down on a nearby chair. “Stay”

He grabbed a couple of plain black t-shirts from a nearby rack.

“What if he just fusses?” Tony asked.

“We’ll live” Loki said, pulling Peter’s shirt off and shoving the 2-3 years black tee over his head.

“Well, that fits, anyway. Sorted”

“I don’t know” Loki said, slipping his finger under the sleeve. “Little kids move around such a lot, and these are quite slim-fitting. Maybe it’d be better having some room to move”

He took that shirt off him and tried the 3-4 years one. Even Tony could tell that it was a better fit.

“3-4, then” Tony said.

“Yep, I’d stick with that” Loki said, putting Peter back into his own shirt.

“I’ve got a question” Tony said.

“What?” Loki said, picking Peter back up.

“Why did his clothes shrink too?”

Loki stopped for a moment, mouth open. “You know, I didn’t even really notice. Just call it a small mercy”

“Mm” Tony consulted the list, and laughed nervously. “I’ve got no idea where to begin here”

“Neither do I. We’ll just have to guess” Loki said.

“Daddy, put me down!” Peter said. “I wanna walk!”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea” Tony said.

“He’s safe enough walking in socks as long as he’s inside” Loki said, putting the boy down.

Peter was off like a rocket, shooting down the aisle towards the tills, and back again, running in circles round his parents before rushing off towards the escalators. Loki grabbed him quickly.

“Woah there, little roadrunner” he said to the giggling toddler. “Stay away from this bit, ok?”

“Why?”

“Because it’s dangerous. Stay close to us” Loki said.

Peter ran back to Tony, jumping up and down on the spot.

“Was I fast? I was fast, right? The fastest?”

Tony just blinked at him.

“Yes, you were incredibly fast” Loki said, patting him on the head. “Right, let’s find you some clothes”

“Boring!” Peter said, sticking his tongue out at Loki.

“Not boring” Loki said. “Come on; you can help choose”

Peter didn’t seem too sure about the idea. Tony started feeling a bit more comfortable while he and Loki talked and started filling their shopping basket with little jeans and t-shirts and button-ups and anything else they found that was either essential or very cute. They got a little too involved in their own conversation, and forgot to keep an eye on Peter.

“There’s actually some super cute stuff here” Tony said. “Wait, how do we work out shoe sizes?”

“He’ll have to try them on. Hey, Peter, sweetie, lets- Peter?” He spun round. “Oh heck”

“You lost him?”

“Uh, we lost him! Don’t worry; he can’t have gone far”

Loki was fully ready to go into a major panic. He rushed to the main aisle, and near enough fainted with relief to see his tiny boy sat at the end of the aisle. He rushed over to him.

“Hey, where did you go? We told you to stay close!” Loki said. “What have you got there?”

“I don’t know”

Loki carefully took the sunglasses and sequin sunhat from him, setting them back on a nearby shelf. Peter looked at him, offended.

“Don’t give me that look” Loki said, hoicking the boy up into his arms.

“You found him, then” Tony said.

Loki nodded. “It would appear so”

“So... shoes?”

Finding shoes and slippers to fit Peter was easier than expected. The sales assistant made a big fuss of him, which Peter liked, and he found liked the sizing tool, even though having his feet moved tickled.

“Well, that’s something else ticked off the list” Tony said, crossing out shoes and slippers. “So, next is... pyjamas?”

“Ok. Oh, Peter! Don’t go running off again!”

They caught up to him over by another wall. He had something in his hands again.

“What have you found?” Loki asked.

“Big rocket!” Peter grinned.

He held up the big soft toy. It was indeed a rocket, bright red and yellow, with a little porthole stuck closed with velcro that could be opened to show a little astronaut behind it. It was very soft, and almost half Peter’s size.

“How lovely” Tony said, although it didn’t sound like he meant it. “Put it back now”

“It’s mine!”

Tony sighed, taking the rocket from him and putting it back on the shelf. Well, Peter didn’t like that. He opened his mouth and yelled.

“Hey, there’s no need for that noise!” Tony snapped.

Peter just yelled louder. “ROCKET! I WANT MY ROCKET! I WANT MY ROCKET!”

“It’s not yours!” Tony said.

“ROCKET!” Peter howled, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I WANT MY ROCKET! MY ROCKET! I WANT IT, I WANT IT, I WANT IT!”

“Stop! Loki, help me out here”

“Peter, shush. Daddy said no”

“I WANT IT! I WANT IT, I WANT IT, I WANT IT!” Peter shrieked, stamping his little feet on the floor. “I WANT THE ROCKET! GIVE ME ROCKET! GIVE ME ROCKET! I WANT-”

“Peter, no” Loki said firmly.

Peter lay down on the floor and screamed. “I WANT IT! I WANT IT! IT’S NOT FAIR! IT’S NOT FAIR! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I WANT THE ROCKET! I WANT THE ROCKET! I WANT-”

“Ok, ok, fine! Just shut up!”

Tony grabbed the rocket from the shelf and gave it back to Peter. Peter stopped crying as soon as the toy was back in his hands. He sat up, hugging the rocket to his chest.

“Good god, my hearts still thumping” Tony said, breathing deeply. “Is this what having a toddler is like?”

“I think tantrums are a part of it” Loki said, breathing out. “Flippin’ ‘eck, and we thought regular Peter’s tantrums were bad. At least he never kicks off in public”

Peter stood up, the rocket tight under his arm. He took Loki’s hand.

“Funny, he looks so sweet now” Loki said, squeezing his hand. He took a deep breath. “Let’s go and find you some pyjamas, shall we, sweetheart?”

Peter nodded. “Rocket...”

Loki looked at Tony. “I think this is going to be a challenge”

“Oh honey, you’re not the first person to give in to a screaming toddler”

They all spun round, looking at the owner of the voice.

“I once had to buy my little girl a bar of dog chocolate because she wouldn’t stop screaming, and I got my son a golfing magazine for the same reason. He still doesn’t know what golf is” the lady laughed. “I saw the article about your kid”

“Oh” Tony said. “Yeah...”

“Weird situation, right?” the lady said. “You’ll be fine; just laugh about it and don’t let people without kids tell you what to do”

“Well, I can get on board with that notion” Loki said.

“Cool to meet you, Tony” the lady smiled, rifling in her handbag for a notebook. “Hey, is it ok if I grab a quick autograph?”

“Oh. Of course”

Tony had a little conversation with the lady, signing her notebook and taking a selfie with her, and quite happy to do it.

“Thank you for being cool” the lady said. “Good luck with the kid”

Peter was back to being good as gold. He stood rubbing his nose against the soft material of the rocket while his parents talked, and he didn’t fuss when they held things up against him to see how they looked.

“Oh Tony, look at this. Would it be too silly if we got this?”

“Uhh. No, that is pretty cute” Tony said, looking at the teddy bear onesie. “It’s basically the same colour as his hair”

“It matches so cutely” Loki said, holding it up against the boy. “Aww! It has to be done. I love all these things with bear ears”

Tony laughed, and let him put it in the basket. He got the notepad out, checking the list.

“Socks, vests, underwear, normal clothes, coat, pyjamas, dressing gown, shoes, slippers... I think that’s everything for clothes" Tony said.

“I think so too. What do you think, Peter?”

“Blanket”

“Ok, we can find you a blanket” Loki said. “We’ve got an overflowing basket there: I think we’ll be ok, at least for now. So, I think it’s just all the non-clothing items to get now”

“Yeah... Shall we go and pay?”

Loki nodded. “Good idea. We’ll go downstairs for the other stuff afterwards. So-”

“Wait a minute” Tony interrupted. “Do we need to get... nappies?”

“Uh. I shouldn’t think so” Loki said. “Most kids are toilet-trained at this age”

“But aren’t some kids still like, well, bed-wetters?”

“Well, yes, some: not all. We can always put a towel under him tonight and if we’ve got any problems, we can go from there”

“Right” Tony said. “Well, I’ll trust your judgement”

He cleared his throat, adjusted his hold on the basket, and headed towards the upstairs tills.

Peter was surprisingly good about having the rocket taken off him at the till. He was cute and quiet, which was a relief for Tony especially. He did, however, insist he wanted to keep walking, so they sat him down and put a pair of his new shoes on so they didn’t have to worry about his feet. Loki looked at Tony, seeing him much calmer. He kissed him on the cheek and squeezed his hand. If Tony kept this up, they’d be ok. He knew it.

Downstairs was a bit more of a challenge. Tony was utterly clueless about childrens’ dinnerware, not to mention toiletries. Besides that, Peter was at the perfect height to start grabbing things from the lower shelves, and Loki was constantly on the runaround trying to keep him under control.

“Here, give him this” Tony said, retrieving the rocket from one of the shopping bags. “He won’t be able to grab things with his hands full”

“Oh, I’m an idiot” Loki said, giving Peter the rocket. “Good thinking”

Peter squealed excitedly and hugged the rocket against his chest. It seemed to have the desired effect.

“Do we really need to have plastic plates and bowls and stuff?” Tony said.

“Toddlers and china don’t exactly mix. I’m rather fond of our crockery, thank you very much” Loki said, dropping a plastic dining set into the basket. “We’d better get a good amount”

“Ok, ok. I’ll let you choose” Tony said. “So, plates, bowls, cutlery. Uhhh... Bibs?”

“He’s probably a bit old for that” Loki said, and then remembered the juice incident from earlier. “Ah, sippy cups”

“Really?”

“Yes, I think it’s a good idea. I’ll get a couple of regular plastic kids cups, but I think on the whole, sippy cups are the best bet. Ok... I think that’s it for kitchen stuff. Aside from food”

“What? I did a food shop like, three days ago”

“Well, yes, but there’s some things we buy that he probably won’t eat, or shouldn’t eat. He’ll need some kiddie-snacks and stuff like that”

“What, like, follow on milk?” Tony said.

“He’s more than old enough for cows milk” Loki said. “We’ll do the food shopping another time, get a proper list sorted”

“You’re getting really into this, aren’t you?”

“I’m just trying to be thorough” Loki said. “I’m scared of getting things wrong”

Tony squeezed his hand. “Stop panicking. You’re brilliant”

“I’m not so sure” Loki said, steering Peter away from a free-standing display. “Anyway, kids toiletries. Remind me to get baby wipes. Oh, and some toys”

“Why does he need toys?”

“He needs things to play with, Tony” Loki said. “He’s a little kid now”

“He’s got loads of cuddly toys at home, and we’ve just bought him that rocket. I’m not turning our house into a play school” Tony said.

“...Bath toys, then. We’ll get him some little boats and ducks and things like that. Ok?”

Tony nodded. “Fine. Oh, and he wanted a blanket”

“Right. Ok. Anything else, little boy?”

Peter looked up at him. “Tooth”

“What do you mean?” Tony asked.

“Ah, toothbrush, toothpaste. Good catch, chick. Right” Loki said. “Let’s get this haul finished”

“Daddy?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“I’m tired”

“Ah” Loki looked at Tony. “We should try to finish up soon. I think this little boy is ready for a nap”

#my writing #fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #frostiron #irondad and spiderson

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themyskira · 5 years

Text

The Life of Captain Marvel - issue #1

So here we are. Issue #1 of The Life of Captain Marvel, the miniseries that was touted as a bold new origin story that would change everything we thought we knew about Carol Danvers.

And it starts strong by exploiting family violence, trauma, mental illness and traumatic brain injury for melodramatic effect, with no intention of dealing with any of these complex themes in any depth or sensitivity.

For all that, infuriatingly little actually happens in this first issue. No exaggeration, the issue actually includes a stretch of nine months wherein Carol essentially does nothing except mope and grow her hair out. The dang plot doesn’t even arrive until the final seven pages.

Content warning: This issue begins with a flashback to Joe Danvers verbally abusing and hitting his kids. I haven’t included any images, but I talk at some length about Margaret Stohl’s abysmal handling of themes of abuse and family violence. Just a heads up.

The story opens on a flashback to an idyllic childhood holiday in Harpswell, Maine. There’s a montage of Carol and her brothers flying kites, wrestling each other, splashing in the water and stuffing their faces with candy, while adult Carol muses that she used to think her family was perfect.

Then the flashback takes a turn. One of Carol’s brothers rips the kite from her hand, tearing it. Their father, Joe, descends on the boys in a rage and begins verbally abusing and physically beating them as Carol looks on, because — surprise! — it’s Traumatic Past Retcon time!

Goodbye Joe Danvers, well-meaning but hard-headed dad who’s never understood his daughter and whose approval always seems to be out of reach. Hello Joe Danvers v. 2.0, scary unpredictable drunk who hit his kids and terrorised his entire family. Aren’t comics fun?

The flashbacks are interspersed with shots of Carol in the present day, where she’s battling supervillains Tanalth and Moonstone. As the flashback progresses, present-day Carol lashes out violently, alarming friends and foes alike.

“That’s why fighting’s easier than remembering. I tell myself that if I’m strong enough… I’ll beat the memories down so hard they’ll never come back.”

What’s strange to me about this page is the way it deliberately draws a parallel between Joe, snarling and raising his fist to strike his powerless young children, and Carol, snarling and raising her fist to strike down a powerful villain. By implication, it places Carol in the role of abuser, indicating an intergenerational cycle of violence.

Which of course is never explored or discussed beyond this, because Stohl doesn’t want to actually talk about the lasting impacts and terrible toll of family violence, she just wants to exploit it for THE DRAMAS.

As Joe whales on his sons, kid!Carol tries to run to their defence, only to be held back by mother Marie, who tells her, “You’ll just make it worse. Now’s not the time.”

We will be told numerous times over the course of this book what an incredible, loving mother Marie Danvers is, and how she’s prepared to sacrifice everything for Carol. Her actions, though? Her actions consistently portray a woman whose number one interest is in not creating more work or emotional angst for herself, even when it means hanging Carol out to dry.

This is not to say that Marie isn’t a victim as well in this scenario: though she never fears for her life or safety (she could pummel Joe into the ground without breaking a sweat), it could well be that constant gaslighting and emotional abuse have left her feeling unable to oppose her husband in anything.

It could well be, but that is nuance that Stohl is not interested in exploring, and all we get throughout this miniseries is Marie making excuses for Joe’s abusive behaviour and prioritising her own comfort over Carol’s emotional wellbeing and safety.

So anyway, flashback!Marie says “Now’s not the time”, and in the present day Carol shrieks “WHEN - IS - THE TIME?!” while damn near beating Moonstone into a pulp.

The other Avengers are disturbed by this.

Iron Man: Hey, Carol? Could you maybe leave a little something on the plate for… you know… bad guy jail? Black Panther: Would you call that rage… disproportionate?

hellooooo unfortunate paternalistic implications. A female superhero has a hysterical outburst on the battlefield, while her almost exclusively male colleagues look on in bewilderment. (‘This is why women can’t be superheroes, they’re too emotional!!!’)

Cap and T’Challa have to physically pull Carol off Moonstone, as Carol begins to hyperventilate.

Adding to our list of things that this series has zero interest in exploring:

What it’s like to experience a panic attack or traumatic flashback

What it’s like to live with an anxiety disorder

What it’s like to live with trauma

The Carol of this story is not a woman living with trauma and mental illness, she is a woman who swoons hysterically whenever the narrative starts drag a bit. Her panic attacks are purely a plot device used to ratchet up the dramatic tension at convenient moments, and it’s some of the most insensitive handling of mental illness I’ve seen in comics for a while.

Next comes the obligatory scene of Carol getting a full medical in Tony’s lab, only for Tony to throw his hands up and declare, ‘welp, there’s nothing physically wrong with you, are you sure there’s not something else going on????’. Because apparently neither Tony — who has personal experience with trauma — nor Steve — who lived through a FUCKING WAR — know PTSD when it’s punching them (well, Tanalth and Moonstone) in the face.

I mean REALLY.

Tony: Look, the breathing thing is probably some kinda nervous tic.

hi, hello, person with an anxiety disorder here, please do not tell somebody having a full-blown panic attack that it’s just a ‘nervous tic’, you absolute insensitive fuckstick.

Carol: [sigh] It’s… Father’s Day. Not my favourite day of the year, you know?

waitwaitwait, so CAROL recognised that she’d triggered and experienced a traumatic flashback, but for some reason decided to play dumb about it until she’d after she’d had a pointless medical examination??

Tony tells Carol she needs to get herself sorted out or else somebody is going to get hurt, so she goes to visit her mother and younger brother Joe Junior at the family’s holiday home in Maine.

Carol flies into town past a sign that reads, “Harpswell Sound / Summer Home of Captain Marvel” Carol: [narration] Oh, brother.

‘Oh, brother’ is right. I guess at least it isn’t as embarrassing as the time Stohl introduced a D-grade Captain Marvel TV series.

“Sugar’s Donuts / Official Donut of Captain Marvel”

hoookay yep that’s a bit much now.

At the donut shop, Carol runs into childhood friend Louis Lee, who’s grown into a Designated Love Interest with an obnoxious phonetically-spelled accent

“Better keep that to yah self, Ms. Danvers. Wouldn’t wantitah get out that yah cheatin’ on us…”

I despise him already.

Carol goes up to the house and hangs out with her mother and brother. Over dinner, Marie and JJ ask her why she’s dropped by so suddenly. Carol evades and JJ blows up at her because apparently he’s been holding in some anger about how he feels she abandoned the family and didn’t even bother to come home when their dad was terminally ill. (Which, hey, here’s another potentially rich thread to explore — PITY IT NEVER COMES UP BETWEEN THEM EVER AGAIN.)

Carol shoots back that he knows full well she was avoiding home because of their abusive father, only to be interrupted by the door slamming as their mother walks out.

…eeeeeexcept apparently that was an art mistake, because the very next page is Carol chasing after her brother, the one who actually stormed out. She finds him at their father’s grave, drinking booze.

He offers his recovering alcoholic sister the bottle, and when she lightly turns it down he gripes that she’d always thought she was better than everybody else and she should feel free to piss off any time now. Then he gets into his car and Carol lets him drive home drunk like the responsible person she is.

“Part of me knew I should go after Joe Jr. I mean, nobody in my family was any good with a bottle.”

WHAT IN THE HELL, CAROL.

But nah, see, she has more important things to do, like scream at her dead father and desecrate his headstone, because that’s sure not going to upset her family further, nope.

Her little tantrum is interrupted by the sound of tyres screeching and a car plunging off a bridge because YOU FUCKING MORON you stood there and watched your brother stagger drunk into his car and made the conscious decision that ‘nah, I’m gonna let this one play out’.

and ohohohohoho how ~poetic~! He crashed right through the ‘Summer Home of Captain Marvel’

god I hate everything in this comic.

JJ is rushed to hospital, where he is diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, leaving him in a catatonic state.

And of course, Stohl’s Carol makes it all about her-fucking-self.

“In an instant, everything changes. You ruin someone’s life… it ruins yours right back. You’d give everything to have gone after him… and acted like the hero you’re supposed to be.”

Yes, JJ is in a coma with a traumatic brain injury, but let’s talk about how his near-fatal car accident ruined Carol’s life.

Anyway— NINE MONTHS LATER.

No, really.

We just skip over nine months.

Wherein apparently Carol has been doing nothing but poor-me-ing over her brother’s hospital bed.

Like.

She gave up her entire life and career.

Stopped saving the world.

Stopped interacting with everybody.

Just sat by JJ’s hospital bed looking melancholy and growing her hair out so that comic bros would stop complaining that she looked like a lesbian.

Tony tries texting her and she turns off her phone. So he appears beside her in an explosion of pixels.

which-- how?!?

There’s no visible technology at work here, nothing to indicate what’s projecting his image or enabling the two of them to communicate. Tony might as well be speaking to Carol via magic, for all we can tell.

Christ, it’s a superhero comic, it’s not like you have to work that hard to sell it to the reader. Two lines of dialogue: ‘What the actual hell, Tony?’ ‘Well, you wouldn’t return my calls, so I [insert technobabble here].’ That’s all you need. How lazy can you get?

Tony asks her to come back to the Avengers — we miss you, we need you, this isn’t good for you, etc. — and Carol’s like, ‘nah, I’m too busy wallowing in self-pity’.

And yes, like Carol’s PTSD and panic attacks, like the family violence, JJ’s brain injury exists solely here as a plot device. It’s not a disability he lives with or a trauma he survives, it’s a vehicle to bring melodrama to Carol’s story and a weakly-fabricated excuse for Carol to stay with the family and discover what she’s about to discover.

Because now it’s time to bring the still-catatonic JJ back home. And since the downstairs living room is more accessible than his upstairs bedroom, he’ll be taking the couch, where Carol has been crashing.

Yes, even though Carol has her own childhood bedroom in this house — we see it next issue — she has been couch-surfing for nine months. But now that somebody else has claimed her spot, she’s got to move into… JJ’s bedroom.

So she goes up the room and rather rudely starts going through her catatonic brother’s wardrobe and pulling his clothes out to make room for her own shit. Again, I cannot stress enough that she had her own bedroom in this house. She’s just… weirdly choosing to impose on everybody else.

In the wardrobe, Carol finds a box belonging to her dead father. The box contains a love letter, in Joe’s handwriting, addressed to a woman who is not his wife — along with what is obviously a piece of alien technology.

This is a comic with a goddamn identity crisis. It keeps tossing out plot hooks, only to abandon them pages later in favour of the next shiny idea.

It begins by announcing, ‘This is a story about Carol returning home and confronting her childhood trauma.’ Then it abruptly swerves: ‘wait, scratch that, this is a story about Carol struggling to hold her fractured family together after her brother is hurt in an accident she had the power to prevent’, and then, ‘hold up hold up what we meant to say was, this is a story about Carol discovering a hidden truth about her family and parentage’.

It’s like Stohl doesn’t know editing exists. Because spoiler alert: this story is not about either of those first two things. The first fifteen pages of this issue are a dead fucking weight. They do not need to be there, and in fact a lot of problems could have been solved by cutting them.

Carol decides to spend some time with her family because she’s working through some personal shit, and discovers a letter hinting that her late father was leading a double life. That’s it; that’s the story.

All these convoluted logistics around who gets the couch and who gets the bedroom? Not necessary. Again, Carol has a bedroom in this house. Since she’s not around much, it makes sense that Marie might be using it as a general storage space. So: Carol is staying in her old room and has to shift a few boxes to make space. In the process, her dad’s shoebox gets knocked loose from whatever nook it was stuffed into. THERE. EASY. DONE. PLOT UNLOCKED.

Like, the car accident actually makes it harder to get Carol to that point. The only reason I can see for it being there at all is to force the passage of time so that Carol can grow her hair out and dudebros can stop complaining that she’s unattractive. Because I guess it just never occurred to anybody that they could draw her with long hair to start with?

But ‘oh no, the aliens and the superpowers I can accept, but in the last comic I read Carol had short hair and I AM SORRY BUT there is NO WAY human hair grows that fast, this is BEYOND THE PALE’.

Oh, and can we talk about how Carol’s response to finding OBVIOUS ALIEN TECHNOLOGY is to go, ‘huh, I wonder what this is, let’s see if I can open it by smashing it repeatedly with a hammer’??

Carol: Huh. Let’s see if we can open it. [starts bashing the device wildly] Gah! Why — won’t — you— Marie: [off-panel] Carol! Can you help me with Joe’s tube? Carol: [wandering off as the device activates] Coming, Ma!

And then IMMEDIATELY GETS DISTRACTED AND WANDERS THE FUCK OFF, failing to notice that the OBVIOUS ALIEN DEVICE has suddenly activated and is now beeping ominously????

So while Carol blunders around obliviously, the obvious alien device sends a signal to a galaxy far far away, which in turn activates what is seriously and embarrassingly called a Kree Kleaner. A small spherical vessel orbiting a distant planet lights up and begin speeding towards Earth, while inside some kind of Kree cyborg gestates and grows to maturity at a rapid rate.

Meanwhile Carol sits by the sea with Digital Tony and mopes that “I knew my family wasn’t perfect… but I thought love was”.

you.

you fucking.

Look, I recognise that trauma is complicated and that family shit is even more so. I know people process and cope with things in different ways and at different speeds. And for Carol to suddenly discover that, on top of all the grief he was causing at home, her father was leading some kind of secret life with another women, must surely feel fucking horrible and bring up a lot of deeply painful memories.

But her reaction doesn’t gel with everything Stohl has told us about Carol’s relationship with her father.

We’ve been told that Joseph Danvers was a physically and verbally abusive alcoholic who terrorised his family to the point where, to this day, Carol struggles with PTSD and anxiety attacks. We’ve been told that Carol thinks of him as a mean, violent drunk who even in death haunts her family. She doesn’t understand why her mother stayed with him or why her brother still defends him, when all he ever did was make all of them feel small and powerless.

The idea that Carol would think all of this and yet still be totally blindsided to learn that Joe and Marie’s marriage was not a true-love-fairytale-romance is utterly, outrageously laughable.

Stohl presents the letter as bombshell that overturns everything Carol thought she knew about her family, indicating that Joe was leading a secret life she never knew about. It’s not. All it is is a confirmation of everything we’re told Carol already thinks about her father: that he was a cruel, self-absorbed bastard who treated his family like crap. You know what is a fucking bombshell?

The fact that Joe Danvers apparently had personal access to OBVIOUS ALIEN TECHNOLOGY.

AND AS FOR THIS LINE.

“And like they say, families were made to be broken.”

literally nobody says this.

I even checked, just to be fair to this comic, on the off-chance that it was in fact a thing.

One of the six search results is somebody on instagram quoting this comic. The other five are all related to the title of a single playlist on 8tracks.

But hey, like they say, Margaret Stohl is a fucking hack.

#comics talk #the days of our lives of captain marvel

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barnesthesarge · 5 years

Text

For the Children! (3)

Bucky X Reader

“Dad! This is important! Please pay attention!” He rolled his eyes and grinned.

“Y/N, I’m sure whatever you made is wonderful.” He shot you a wink and you groaned.

“I’m talking about my dress.” Your brother came out of the elevator and looked at you strangely.

“What’s with the fancy getup? I thought I was just coming for dinner.” You suddenly glared at your dad and he shrugged.

“Y/N, I thought it would be good if he met Bu—“

“You thought wrong. Y/B/N, you have to leave. I’m having company tonight and the last thing I need is you being there to ruin everything.” He gasped in shock and was about to say something just as snarky back but the elevator opened again and Bucky stepped out, he froze when Y/B/N stepped away in shock.

“This is your company?” He asked and gulped. “Y/N can we talk in the kitchen?” You rolled your eyes.

“No. You can leave. I told you.” Bucky held a wine bottle tightly and you could see his discomfort. “Come on in Bucky, I hope you like Italian food. You know my dad, make yourself at home.” You linked arms with him and brought him into the kitchen. “I’m gonna get rid of him.” You whispered and excused yourself.

“Y/N, I can’t fucking believe you, you’re not just endangering yourself, you’re endangering this whole family, including me.” You chuckled loudly and started shoving him into the elevator.

“Bye. I hope the door hits you on the way out. Tell the doorman I said hi.” The doors shut before he could say anything else and you went back into the kitchen. Your father had disappeared to his room to get dressed.

Bucky gazed at you uncomfortably and you sighed, “That’s my brother. He’s kinda the worst, I’m sorry about him.” He frowned.

“He doesn’t like me.” You sat down beside him and rubbed his arm.

“I don’t like him, and he’s not very nice, so don’t fuss about it. His opinion is garbage.” Your dad came into the kitchen on his cane, now wearing a suit.

You took in Bucky’s appearance, he was wearing a navy blue suit jacket with a white button up, the top two buttons undone. His eyes up close had tiny flecks of gray, his hair was slicked back.

“Nice to see you again Bucky, how are you?” You got up to get the lasagna out of the oven.

“I’m alright, how are you?” Bucky replied, you liked seeing him speak so smoothly, it made your heart race. The two men began talking while you delivered dinner to the table.

You got three wine glasses down and a bottle opener, “Buck, could you pass me the wine you got? Thank you.” You opened it and poured everyone a glass. “Alright who wants some first?”

“Ooh me! You’ve been making the house smell so good for hours, you’ve really outdone yourself dear.” You blushed softly and Bucky pulled the chair beside him out for you.

“Go on and sit, I can serve myself doll, thank you for inviting me.” You nodded and sat down, whatever wine he had brought was delicious.

——————————

Bucky couldn’t believe how lucky he was, Y/N and her dad actually liked him. He stayed long after dessert just to talk, laugh, and tell stories. He couldn’t believe how much he learned about Y/N just from her dad trying to embarrass her. Bucky thought each story was cute.

“What about you Buck? Where’d you grow up?” Mr. Y/L/N asked, and he took another sip of tea.

“Brooklyn actually, in the fourties with Steve.” Y/N remained studying him and he smiled at her. She looked gorgeous tonight, wearing a long sleeved red dress, it brought out her Y/E/C eyes showing off specks of [color]. He just about swooned whenever he looked at her.

Soon it was nine pm, and Bucky knew he had to start heading home, although he didn’t want to. “I’ll walk you down, yeah?” Y/N suggested and Bucky nodded.

Once they were alone in the elevator she spoke up, “Thank you for sticking around tonight. I know my dad and I can be a handful, but he really likes you. I got into a big deal a couple years back with someone who didn’t want to be around me and used me, so my dad has been pretty protective since, but I can tell he likes you. My brother doesn’t trust me anymore because of it, that’s why I don’t get along with him.” Bucky grabbed your hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I don’t know how anyone could’ve done that to you. For the record, being around you and your dad is the most refreshing thing I’ve had in a while. I’m not a big people person, but you guys are great to be around.” He stopped in front of a motorcycle. “This is me.”

“That’s pretty punk of you.” She raised an eyebrow and tsk-ed, “it’s awesome. I’ve never ridden one before.”

“Maybe you can go on a ride with me tomorrow then? Have another pre-date?” Bucky bit his lip and stared down at her blushing face.

“That sounds like a plan. Just text me the details. Thanks again for coming.” She went on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek, “Make sure you wear a helmet.” Bucky was so flustered he barely said goodbye as could only watch as she got back on the elevator and waved at him sweetly.

Y/N Y/L/N was going to be the death of him.

——————————

“So you’re one-hundred percent capable of driving this with me on the back too?” You asked Bucky again nervously and he rolled his eyes, a cheeky grin on display.

“Yeah doll, I’m more than one-hundred percent capable. Now put your helmet on, all you got to do is hold onto me and lean when I do.” You huffed, mumbling an ‘That sounds easier said than done’ and Bucky spoke up, “You were the one who wanted to ride with me doll. I can go get us a car if you want, but today’s adventure can’t wait forever.”

You put the helmet on and waited for Bucky to get on, once he was on you wrapped your arms around his waist and leaned your torso onto his back. “Like this?”

“Yeah doll, are you ready?” You said yes and he started the engine, the motorcycle hummed loudly, you put your feet up and completely let yourself mirror Bucky’s movements.

Bucky was comfortable to wrap around, and he felt safe, eventually you got the courage to look around while he was driving. The ride was quicker than you imagined, and Bucky pulled into a rundown building parking lot.

“Alright and this is where I murder you.” He informed, helping you off the bike, you rolled your eyes and giggled, “Alright the gig is up, we’re gonna take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty.” Your face lit up and you smiled.

“Okay you’re the best.” You grabbed his hand and let him lead you inside, he checked in and you both sat down.

“So, how’s my driving?” Bucky questioned, nudging you with his shoulder.

“That was very thrilling, I actually had a lot of fun once I got passed the part that we were in an open vehicle with just a helmet for protection.” You teased and he smirked, “Plus whoever my driver was, was kinda cute. Smelled good too.”

“Hmm, maybe I’ll have to ask him where he got his cologne if you like it so much.” Bucky pretended to be offended and you squeezed his hand.

“Thank you for today Buck, going on pre-dates with you is pretty fun.” You swore your insides burned when he blushed and turned away bashfully.

A man came in calling for everyone to board the ferry so you linked arms with Bucky and walked quickly to the dock to get good seats. Within ten minutes the ferry was moving and the safety talk was over. You then noticed why everyone was bundled up so much, it was freezing.

“Buck, you didn’t happen to bring your motorcycle gloves with us did you?” Bucky pulled them out of his pocket with his eyebrows raised.

“Someone’ cold?” He winked and you reached for them with a nod, he pulled them away and smirked, “It’ll cost you.”

“What’s your price? I’m sure it’s better than freezing to death.” Bucky grinned and handed you the gloves.

“I’m thinking that maybe you can come back to the Tower with me? Maybe meet a couple friends of mine?” You slipped the gloves on and sighed softly, they were lined with wool on the inside, and while they were too big for your hands, it was nice.

“Sure, what friends are we referring to?” Bucky noticed you still shivering and took off his leather jacket, wrapping it around your shoulders, “Bucky I don’t want you getting cold, it’s alright.” You went to hand it back to him but he chuckled.

“Doll if I get cold I’ll just huddle with you, I run pretty hot though so I’m alright. And I’m thinking my friend Steve and his friend Sam.”

“You said that funny.” You grabbed Bucky’s flesh hand and wrapped your gloved hand around it, “Like you don’t like Sam.” Bucky nodded and shrugged.

“You’ll understand when you meet him. Oh and if you get any colder just let me know, I’ll just give you my sweater, I mean I’ll be shirtless but they don’t have any policies against it apparently.” You smacked Bucky on the arm playfully and he grinned, “Better yet, my shoes.”

“Don’t make me fight you in front of all these people, for the love of god, Buck.” His smile only grew.

“You realize you’re only encouraging me, right?”

“That’s exactly what I’m not trying to do, and I mean it, I actually will throw hands with you. It doesn’t matter you got a fancy arm, I will take you down.” Bucky smirked.

“Fancy arm huh?” Bucky took his metal hand and pressed it onto the back of your neck, making you squeal, it was like ice. Bucky giggled and tried to do it again, you felt your heart fluttering, and the people around you stare.

“Bucky quit it! I’m gonna fight you!” He stopped with a proud beam on his face, “If you ever do that again I’ll actually destroy you with my bare hands.”

“I don’t know about that doll, you don’t seem like much of a threat to me.” You gasped offendedly.

“Okay that’s it, this date is over. I’m taking the life raft home.”

“Oh you didn’t hear? It’s actually a life boat.” You glared at Bucky, barely containing a laugh before it came out.

“You’re the worst.”

“The best, you mean.”

——————————

After the tour, the boat ride back was even colder, and Bucky actually considered giving Y/N his shirt. He could tell she was freezing and he felt so bad that they’d be riding on a motorcycle with no heater. He couldn’t stop thinking about how comfortable he felt around her, she didn’t even cower in fear when he put his metal arm on her. He kept seeing it in his head, her head thrown back laughing while he pressed his cold hand on her. In an effort to keep her warm, Bucky wrapped his arms around her and kept her back against his chest.

Pretty soon they arrived back at the building, and Bucky rushed her off the boat to get her somewhere to eat and get warm. They both got onto the motorcycle and he sped off, cherishing the feeling of her pressed against his back, and her hands resting on his chest. Bucky’s heart was swelled in size and it wouldn’t stop racing, he figured she could feel it.

He took a turn and pulled into an alleyway behind a restaurant, she climbed off the motorcycle and pulled her helmet off, Y/N adjusted her pants and looked at him blushing when she realized he was staring.

“What? Do I have helmet hair?” She asked with a teasing grin. Bucky rolled his eyes and stepped forward to link arms with her.

“Wouldn’t matter if you did, too pretty for anyone to notice.” Her cheeks reddened and Bucky inhaled sharply, he hadn’t meant for that to come out.

Y/N didn’t say anything until they sat down at a table, opting for a cup of hot tea. “I’ve lived in New York my whole life, and yet I’ve never been to the Statue of Liberty. Thanks for taking me.” She reached across the table and squeezed his hand and Bucky’s heart began racing.

“Anytime doll.” Bucky was starting to feel something awful creeping up, a bout of anxiety. It was starting to become heavier and suddenly Y/N looked up him softly.

“Buck? You wanna head home?” It was as if she read his mind. He nodded quickly and slammed a five dollar bill onto the table, leaving with Y/N in tow quickly. They climbed onto his motorcycle and he sped off toward the Avenger’s Tower.

——————————

You noticed how fast Bucky’s heart was beating on the ride back to his place. You weren’t sure what caused it but you started rubbing circles softly onto his collar bones, and you hoped it was helping. Soon he pulled into a parking garage and pulled up to a normal looking security checkpoint. He flashed a wave with his metal hand and he was buzzed in and went through a maze of halls into a smaller garage with only a couple other vehicles.

“Where are we? Pan’s labyrinth?” You asked and Bucky chuckled.

“This is the official Avenger’s parking only, it’s set away from the public because this is the only elevator that connects to our living quarters. Come on dollface, you can come meet my punk friend Steve.” Bucky’s calmer demeanor made you smile and grab his hand.

“Ya’know Buck, I just noticed your hair somehow got wind whipped, looks pretty cute.” You commented and he blushed, instead focusing on the elevator buttons.

“You should see yours.” He grinned teasingly and your smile fell slightly.

“Is it bad?” You didn’t want to make a bad impression.

“No, it’s just a lil’ messy, it’s alright I’m sure only Sam will tease you, if that. I might knock his teeth out before he gets the chance.”

“Just ‘cause?” You asked and Bucky nodded with a shrug.

The doors opened and Bucky dragged you into what looked like a normal living room, you could see a kitchen and dining room, and there was even a downstairs area. Large windows surrounded the living room area and you shuddered at the height. You could see a hallway with several different doors, which you assumed was everyone’s rooms.

“Bucky?” A soft male voice called and a blonde head peaked around a corner, Steve Rogers came out from behind it with a polite grin, “You must be Y/N!” He held out his hand and you shook it, when none other than The Falcon himself came out.

“Oh I gotta get some of this. This is the Y/N Bucky always talks about?” You blushed at the thought of Bucky telling his friends about you, but decided that since this was Sam Wilson he was probably just trying to take a jab at Bucky.

“Yes Sam, obviously she’s the famous Y/N. Besides I told Steve those things, not you.” Bucky shoved Sam’s shoulder, stopping him from his inspecting gazes.

“Oh shut up tin man! When you talk about Y/N, everyone hears it! Oh and,” Sam smirked and fixed his gaze back on you, “You’re prettier than I expected, but god knows why you’d get with him, and..” he gazed up at your hair, “I guess Bucky wasn’t lying when he said you’d be traveling by motorcycle, you must either have a death wish, or..yeah a death wish, I’ve seen him drive, he’s fucking crazy!” You raised your eyebrows as Steve frowned.

“Sam why don’t you go get the girls instead of trying to embarrass Bucky. They seem like they’ve had a fun date, now don’t go ruining it.” Sam rolled his eyes muttering about how he’s just having some fun, while Steve has his arms crossed. “I’m sorry about him, him and Bucky have a different kind of friendship.”

“I see why you were talking about punching his teeth out Buck.” You followed Bucky into the kitchen when you heard doors opening and foot steps in the hallway.

“Holy shit Barnes I thought you were lying when you said you were bringing a girl home!” You turned around to see Scarlet Witch and Black Widow, who we’re both staring at you in amazement.

“Come on guys! Stop roasting me in front of Y/N!” Bucky growled desperately and smiled offendedly.

You could tell you were already going to love being around the Avengers.

——————————

A/N: Happy Holidays everyone!!

TAGLIST (message me to be added!): @yikestrauma @farfromjustordinary @thechaoticargonaut @buckybarnesxoxo @unknownuserhasjoined @slender--spirit

#bucky barnes #james barnes #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #marvel #bucky imagine #mcu #bucky x reader #bucky x you #fanfiction

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harringtons-writer · 6 years

Text

time after time [2]

Requested: no, but you always can! ☻☻

Pairing: Steve Harrington x reader (romantic) + the kids (friendship)

Word count: 2034 (wow)

Warning(s): doesn’t follow the storyline completely, swearing, angst, blood, cute and fluffy.

Summary: time after time life seems to bring you and Steve Harrington back together maybe that’s why you two start to catch feelings for each other.

A/n: part two!! thanks, for the support on the first part!! I made it extra long, so enjoy!! next chapter will be a more fluffy one ;) let me know what you think!! ♥♥

Also read: part 1

(Not my gif)

you groaned hearing your alarm clock go off, you barely slept after last night events, dragging yourself out of bed you walked downstairs to take breakfast. “good morning, mum, dad, Miss Henderson?” you yawn-questioned pouring in some milk “not so good morning.” your mam gave you a disapproving look while placing her hands on her hips. “where did you run of last night?” you were amazed, how could they know? you became a master sneaking out of the house through the years, that’s when you’re realised why miss Henderson was standing in your kitchen. “uh, I was with Toff.” you made up, she was your best friend after all so that would make a believable story. “don’t lie to your mother, young lady.” your dad looked up from his paper.

the tv was playing in the background and you wondered why. it couldn’t be your younger brother, he had made himself the habit to sleep-in, making it your job to wake him up. when he started throwing things at your head, you gathered your savings to buy him an alarm clock of his own.

“don’t I deserve a good morning?” Dustin’s head popped up in the kitchen door. “I asked you to stay in the living room, Dustin.” Miss Henderson was always loving towards her son but something in her voice sounded disappointed. “I wanted to see Y/n,” he whined. “morning, dusty.” you smiled.

“Dusty told me everything after I caught him sneaking into his room.” Dustin rolled his eyes. “speaking of throwing me under the bus.” he gave his mom a dirty look and disappeared as fast as he appeared. Dustin was a smart kid, he would never tell his mom what really happened. “that little shit.” you mumbled, trying to figure out which lie he made up.

just in time your brother walked in “mom, Y/n is swearing again.” Pete noted as he whipped the sleep out of his eyes. “language.” your mom sighed apologizing for your behaviour to Miss Henderson “stay out of it.” your younger brother seemed to have fun getting you into more trouble.

“we know about Steve and you.” Steve and me? you spat your milk back in the cup. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” you gave everyone in the room a confused look. “we know you sneaked out to go hang out with that Harrington boy and begged Dustin to come because they’re good friends.” your dad wasn’t fond of the Harrington family, something to do with his own high school years.

“is he your secret boyfriend?” Pete clapped in his hands already guessing the answer was yes and knowing you would get in trouble not telling it to your parents “that’s not…ok, I was seeing Steve.” you knew there was no way talking you out of this one.

“young love is Beautifull dear,” Miss Henderson grabbed your hands. “I’m not mad at all, but your parents needed to know.” she smiled letting go off your hands, you fake smiled back “Dustin is a sweet kid, he just doesn’t want to lie to his mom.” she put on her coat and let herself out.

“did she forgot Dustin?” you thought out loud. “no, I promised you would drop him off at school.” you mouth fell open. “shit, school.” you ran upstairs, forgetting it was a school day. good for you, your parents were friends with Miss Henderson.

“you’re in big trouble, young lady,” Pete giggled behinds your mom’s back. “Pete, enough!” your dad shoot him a look. “but yes, your mom and I decided no more sneaking out and surely no more boys.” great, there goes your chance ever getting a boyfriend again.

you jogged to the living room and shot Dustin an I’m-going-to-kill you look, he jumped up knowing he better got his ass in the car as fast as possible. “we’re off.” your mom kissed your forehead “no more stupid stuff.”

“they think I’m fucking dating Harrington.” you spat out as soon Dustin closed the door. “is that so bad? you would rather have me tell mom the truth?” your mind wandered off to last night. Steve holding you close to him and you not totally hating it. “better than this shit story.” you chuckled.

“got caught last night?” Steves' voice echoed through the hallway. “how do you know?” you hissed, sharing the blame on him. “the only times you drive Dustin to school, you’re in deep trouble, like that one time you crashed your fathers’ car into mines.” he giggled. “we get it, you didn’t. I almost made it out without trouble only if Dustin didn’t spill his guts. maybe you should prepare yourself for his mom visit instead of making fun of us.” Steves’ smile dropped. “No, no, please don’t make her come over, my dad would kill me,” he begged. “I don’t know man, she gave Y/n this whole ‘young love is beautiful but your parents need to know’ talk, I think you deserve one too” Dustin shrugged his shoulders. “what did you tell her?” he got curious. “that you and Y/n sneaked out to see each other and I had to chaperone.” he looked at you and then back at Dustin. “they think we’re a thing.” he pointed back on forth you and him and giggled.

“so I catched something along the lines, you and Steve being an item?” Toff started. “what?” you almost choked on your green apple “the great halls of Hawkins high school speak, Y/n.” you shook your head. “I mean, we don’t blame you. have you seen…his everything.”

you waited for Dustin at your car and drove him home. “only dare to ask me for help if its an emergency.” you hugged him goodbye. “I promise.” he got out of the car and ran to his house, you waited to drive till he was inside.

to your surprise, that emergency would come sooner than you think.

you laid stretched out on your bed overthinking when you heard little ticks on your bedroom window. “Dustin, what’s up?” you sighed, banging your head to something. “Steve?” you questioned. “shit your nose is bleeding.” you lifted him up in your room. “come in kids!” you whisper-yelled.

Steve mumbled something before blacking out “he said, I’m not feeling well.” Lucas was sure. “no, he said, don’t ring the bell.” Dustin corrected “why would he say that?” Lucas shot back. “have no clue man.” you rolled your eyes. “grab something to stop the bleeding in the bathroom, please be quiet.” you demanded while placing Steves’ head on your thighs, squeezing his nose.

“Max, Mike what were you all doing under my bedroom window?” you asked, hoping they all just wanted to hang out. “we wouldn’t let you miss our campfire.” Mike simply said. “which means, we are burning the upside down, down.” Max informed me. “you’re house was the last stop.”

Lucas and Dustin ran in with toilet rolls, towels, disinfectant and patches. “god damn, It’s just a bloody nose.” you fixed Steve up as he was slowly coming back. “thanks, sweet cheeks.” you were sure he was still numb from of the collision.

“you all want me grounded for life.” you rolled your eyes getting in Steves’ car. “I’ll make up and excuse next time.” Max slid next to you. “one that doesn’t include Steve.” the kids laughed.

you arrived at the hole hopper made before, you grabbed the robe out of the trunk and followed the rest. Steve went down first so he could catch the kids. you held the rope firmly as the kids went down. “can I come down?” you asked before sliding down, Steve grabbing your waist as he said, “got you.”

you walked a few minutes when you heard that awful screeching sound again. the whole group froze and waited a few seconds. what a joke, you just arrived. “dart?” Dustin asked surprised as if he would answer, he kind of did. he jumped up from a corner and screeched once more. you looked over at Dustin, who was strangely calm. “easy, boy.” he pulled something out of his bag. “he’s crazy.” Max whispered. “no, he is awesome.” Steve whispered back. “here’s your favourite.” he gave the nougat to dart while waving we could pass. “goodbye, my friend.” Dustin said, catching up with the group.

“thanks for fixing my face up.” Steve suddenly felt the need to thank you. “you already did that, sweet cheeks.” you chuckled as you shined your way through the tunnels, Steve and you offered to walk upfront since you felt responsible for this kids. “huh?” he clearly didn’t remember. “I’ll tell you later.” you stopped arriving at the spot.

all of the sudden two demogorgons jumped in front of Steve and you, lucky the kids were a little behind. “stay where you are!” Steve yelled in their direction. you looked for anything you could find to defend the two of you when you realised it was time for the coarse resources.

“hide!” you yelled ducking to the ground throwing the hand-bomb to the Demogorgons. a loud boom was heard causing a bleep in everyone ears for a while.

“that really worked?” you got up, checking on the kids and Steve. “everybody ok?”

“holy, shit that was badass, Y/n” Dustin's’ hugged your side, when he realised the other kids were staring, he let go “like you just went ‘hide’, threw the bomb and then they were gone.” Lucas followed. “awesome!” Mike and Max decided to shout with excitement.

“where did you get that? you could have got hurt!” Steve wasn’t so excited “you’re not the only one hopper is giving gifts and I’m fine.” you brushed off. “I’m serious, Y/n. don’t do that ever again.” he looked you up and down to check you were alright.

“and you really need to stop getting Demogorgon blood all over your face.” he walked over to you and whipped it away with his thumbs just like he did yesterday, only now he didn’t pull you closer. you wondered if it was the presence of the kids “I kinda think it’s a look.” you giggled.

a few minutes all petrol buses were poured and it was campfire time. “light it up!” Steve gave the sign and the kids through the lighters in. “run!” you sprinted to a safer place and watched how the whole place got up in flames.

“let’s go back, this place gives me the creeps,” you informed and made your way back to the opening. on the way, you made small talk with Mike, Lucas and Max but you couldn’t help listening to what Dustin and Steve were on about.

“you’re telling me, you knew here since you were kids?” Dustin was surprised. “Yup, I guess young Steve wasn’t ready for girls like Y/n yet.” you wanted to look back and join the conversation but that wasn’t a good idea. “so old steve is?” Dustin giggled. “I’m thinking about it, I never really saw how amazing she was untill I saw her killing a Demogorgon for the second time.” you looked down, smiling.

you helped the kids up and just when they wanted to pull you up, that annoying screeching sounds echoed back on the walls. “quick, Y/n.” Steve tried pushing you up but you resisted. “I’m not leaving you here.” he sighed. “stubborn as always.” the demogorgons came in sight and you hugged Steve tight. “I think you’re pretty amazing too,” you whispered only for him to hear as you squeezed each other but to your surprise, the flock past in a hurry, not giving you one look. “something is up.” you could here mike whisper in fear. only after a while, you both dared to break the hug. “we need to talk.” Steve said before pushing you up.

the car ride gave everyone some time to think when your stomach growled causing some giggles “what? I’m hungry, as hell.” you couldn’t help it, you skipped dinner. “let’s make a stop at my house, no parents anyway.” Steve smiled taking the turn to his house.

that’s how you ended up on Steves’ couch, his arm around your shoulder and the kids nibbling on some candy bars and you wouldn't have it any other way.

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thefinalexperiment · 6 years

Text

The Final Experiment Chapter 21: Bug Boy

A/N: Hello there! I managed to whip this up somehow, and I’m really pretty proud of this part. My next goal is to get another part written for MM&M, but I should also spend some time on my random fandoms blog @ouat-in-spare-oom-of-rivendell because I have totally (accidentally) abandoned my LOTR series over there... Oops. Anyway, now that we’re finally getting into the plot 21 chapters later, here we go! I added the cover, and please excuse me trying a new formatting style.

Pairing: Peter Parker x OC

Word Count: 3,090

Previous parts: 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–10–11–12–13–14–15–16–17–18–19--20

@after-avenging-hours @casameanlock @nicolejones412 @dashingdetectivetimelady @putnamcountyspellingbee @theblackqueen-ofmyheart @sundayon-fire

Tags:

@mla02 @shamvictoria11 @fanficcrapforme @procrastinatingvirgo @arie-tfw

“So, you gonna go back or what?”

“I don’t know what you mean, Scott…” I muttered, my tone dangerous as I sat beside him.

By the small inclination of his head and the ever-so-slight downward twitch of his mouth, I deduced that he rolled his eyes. Funny, how often he seemed to do that when I dodged a subject.

“Kaitlynn, it’s been a year… They need to know you’re okay.”

“Scott, I’m sure the Professor is very thorough in his progress reports. The know all they need to. Besides, I have stuff I can’t leave here…”

“Nobody said you had to stay there. Come on, just a visit. It’s end of term, not like you’d be missing any school stuff when it’s summer. Besides… you know where we’ve been headed lately.”

I sighed. I knew exactly what he meant… We had been trying to make a relationship work for almost as long as I had been here, but the truth about the nature of it was becoming harder and harder to deny.

“Yeah… You’re one of the closest people to me, Scott.”

“But not in that way,” he finished.

I nodded. “Best friends then?”

He chuckled and nodded. “Best friends.”

“Besides,” I grinned, “I’ve seen the way Jean looks at you…”

At first he seemed confused, but then his cheeks turned slightly pink and he rubbed the back of his neck, grumbling incoherently.

“Mhm… That’s what I thought.”

“You know, I know you changed the subject.”

“Did not.”

“Did too and you know it.”

“Did not, slander and calumny!”

“Kaitlynn, you can’t just quote Pirates of the Caribbean at me and think that I’m going to drop it.”

I suddenly became very fixated on a particular blade of grass. “Scott… In three days, it’ll be a year since they saw me, a year since I went psycho and went on a murder spree.”

He shrugged. “All the more reason to see them. They’re the closest thing to family you’ve got, don’t take that for granted.”

A silence settled while I thought over his suggestion. Could I really face the Avengers after all this time? Sure, they hadn’t seen me in almost a year, but that wasn’t even close to getting a clean slate. Even so… I suppose I did owe them this, after all the trouble I’d caused.

“Fine.” Grinning, Scott looked like he was about to say something, so I cut him off. “I hate you.”

“You know you love me, Kaitlynn.”

“Whatever.”

~Avengers Tower~

“What made her change her mind? A year ago today, we handed her over to the Academy and now she’s coming back? It just doesn’t make sense, Nat…” Steve was pacing and thinking aloud, addressing Natasha, but not really speaking to her.

Nat, who was reclining on the couch, simply shrugged. “I think we should just be glad she’s setting foot here again. She didn’t have to see us at all.” She pause for a moment, then, “Has anyone told Loki?”

Steve shot her a look.

“Look, Cap, I know nobody here is his biggest fan, but he was her friend. He deserves this reunion just as much as we do.”

“He doesn’t deserve anything, except maybe solitary confinement.”

Natasha just rolle her eyes and rose from her seat. “Whatever… Well, I’m gathering the team, and whether or not you approve, that includes Loki.”

~Kaitlynn~

I shifted in my seat, nervously adjusting my gloves as the aircraft docked at the new base somewhere in upstate New York. They’d changed locations not long after I left, something about one of Tony's dad's old warehouses. A small, small part of me was excited to see everyone, but the rest of me was just an overwhelming feeling of I don’t want to be here. I felt sick to my stomach, wishing that time would slow down so I didn’t have to do this. Unfortunately for me, however, it was too late.

I wandered into the new commons area, which was a bit of a living room and a kitchen combined. How ironic, I thought, to be reuniting in the same way that I’d first met them all. The new setting reflected my own new persona. Just like the first time, Wanda was the first to notice me. When the rest of them looked over, there were a lot of mixed emotions. I noticed that Barnes wasn’t there, but though I thought it was strange, I didn’t feel like questioning it.

What I did question, however, was the young man I didn’t recognize. He was standing halfway behind Tony, nervously shifting his weight. He had dark hair and puppy-brown eyes… And he was kinda cute, which was not helping my nerves in any way at all.

Trying to make the situation a little less tense, I attempted a joke. “Replacing me with this kid? Can he even fight?”

I was met with an uncertain silence. It was obvious that they didn’t know whether or not to tread carefully around me any more. The new guy was the only one to react. His eyes went wide and he started stuttering adorably, trying to explain why he was here and that he was definitely-not-replacing-anybody.

I laughed softly at his expression, and the others gaped at me in disbelief.

“What?” I asked, shrugging. “It’s not like the symbiote sucked out my ability to laugh…”

The atmosphere relaxed, and it was then that a familiar Asgardian strolled up to the group, fashionably late as per usual.

“Kaitlynn…”

I nodded in acknowledgement to Loki, allowing myself a small smile. It was easy to relax when he was around. He knew what it was like to be in my shoes.

“So… new guy, what’s your name?” I paused, taking a moment to look him over. As the deductions formed a story, I smirked. “Ohhh, you’re that Bug Boy, the NYC vigilante…”

His eyes went wide again, and he resumed the stuttering routine for a bit. Eventually, he coughed awkwardly and muttered, “Spider-M-- I-I’m Spider-Man…”

“Mm…” I drawled,“I think Bug Boy suits you better.”

Flustered, he tripped over what he wanted to say before coming to a conclusion. “Fine then… Ice Girl.”

I blinked in surprise. I had expected that they’d have told him about me, but I’d thought that he’d be afraid of me or disgusted by me when they inevitably told him the worst. No, I realized, he’s just too innocent to feel the gravity of my actions. He was only around 18, about two years older than me.

“You’re cute,” I remarked. When the others looked at me in confusion, I calmly covered my slip of the tongue without giving myself away. “You’re like a little puppy, tripping over its own feet… But you gotta get over the whole ‘friendliness and trust’ thing, it’s gonna get you killed.”

He opened and closed his mouth a few times before apparently deciding he couldn’t respond to that. “I’m Peter... Peter Parker.”

I clicked my tongue and tsked jokingly, ”You’re Bug Boy… Now you know who I am, obviously.”

Peter grinned and retorted, “Yeah… you’re the Ice Girl.” His playful expression clearly said Two can play at this game.

Tony, apparently having decided to finally break up the little not-quite-flirting session, cleared his throat. “Well, I think I speak for everyone when I say that it’s good to see you, Sherlock. At least, good to see you not on a murder kick. That sort of puts a damper on any reunion, ya know?”

“You’re telling me…” I muttered, tugging at my gloves. Silence settled again.

“Well this is delightful,” Loki finally spoke, “But I do believe I’ll excuse myself from this macabre mood.”

“Not until you tell me why Barnes is avoiding me.”

Loki stopped in his tracks. “You should ask him yourself…” And with that, he strolled away.

“He’s… changed… since you left,” Steve admitted. “But not because of that. Fury showed up and confronted him about a file… Buck never told us what was in it, but that was when he started hiding himself away.”

I rolled my eyes. “Probably some seventy-year-old murder that suddenly has modern consequences… I can go talk him out of this. After all, I know a thing or two about homicidal tendencies as a result of outside forces.”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t see how it could hurt. He’s in his room, go out and to the left then take two rights, it’ll be the second door on the right.”

Smirking, I headed that way, leaving them with one last joking comment. “You know, if you had said no, I would’ve just hacked SHIELD to figure out what that file was… That’s a little game I like to play with Director Coulson, ya know? See how many files I can read before he has Daisy upgrade their firewall…” With that little admission of my involvement with SHIELD during the past year, a cacophony of confused voices followed me down the hall.

“Wait--”

“Did she just--”

“Director Coulson?!”

As I neared Bucky’s room, I thought over what I’d said about hacking SHIELD. I was the best at what I did, even better than Agent Johnson, and I knew that that was the only reason Coulson didn’t just tag me with a fancy anti-tech bracelet. It really was a little game, a practice exercise for the two of us computer geniuses. I never did any harm, never leaked any files. There was only one that I had never been able to access, like Daisy had been tasked specifically with keeping me out of that one at all costs. But, of course, that only made me want to crack it even more.

When I reached the door, I took breath, then knocked.

“Steve, I’m not coming to see her. Go away.” He yanked the door open to find me casually leaning against the frame.

“Looks like you are, actually… So what’s up with you, Barnes? Something’s got you in a mood.”

“Kaitlynn…” He regarded me differently he had than before, but that wasn’t a surprise; all of the Avengers did now.

No, what I found strange was the difference between how he and the others acted around me. Everyone else seemed cautious, unsure because they didn’t know the new person I had become. With Bucky, however, it wasn’t just that. Whatever Fury had brought him made him… guilty. He was watching me carefully, as if he was looking for something.

Shaking my head in confusion, I just decided to ask the obvious question. “What did Fury show you?”

Bucky’s expression hardened. “Nothing. You should go now.”

He tried to close the door, but I stopped him. “I don’t think so, James.” I mentally remarked how he flinched ever so slightly when I used that name. “What was in that file? B2WS8499, right? It’s a file that popped up about four months after I left. The one file I can’t ever crack…” Nothing in his countenance changed, but a muscle in his jaw clenched and confirmed my thoughts. “I knew it… What was it?”

Finally, Bucky sighed and relented, “Someone that I hurt.”

I shrugged, not seeing the problem. “Yeah… You hurt a lot of people. What’s so different about this one?”

By the pained look he gave me, I realized that that probably wasn’t a great statement to make when trying to comfort an ex-brainwashed assassin.

“This one… It was more recent than the others. And it’s sort of… come back to haunt me now. While you were gone, I remembered it on my own, but Fury… He found out about it, but he dug deeper and found something even I never knew.”

“Well why haven’t you talked to anyone about it? Steve? Natasha? You and her are Russian-speaking buddies, right? Trade secrets in your secret language and braid each other’s hair?” He seemed a little tense about my bringing up Natasha, but I shrugged it off. “Whatever, but I still say you need to tell someone. Take it from me, keeping secrets is how you lose yourself. And the ones you care about…”

Sighing, he looked up at me. “I’ll think about it. Thank you… Kait.”

That made me pause. I had never had a nickname before, and I found that I didn’t dislike it. “Uhh… Yeah, no problem…” Awkwardly, I backed away and went to leave.

“Mind if I join you?” I looked back at him. “I kinda owe it to the others after disappearing on ‘em.”

I nodded, and Bucky stood to follow me back to the commons area. The others had spread out, no longer really gathered, but doing their own thing. Wanda was at the stove with Vision, trying to explain something over a simmering pot. Bruce stood by the coffee pot, waiting for the water to boil, and Tony was sitting half on the table, fiddling with a hologram from his watch. That Peter Parker kid was lingering in the background, awkwardly glancing around. Steve and Natasha, who were exchanging quiet words on the couch, looked up when we walked in. Their surprise at seeing Bucky was evident, but they didn’t do anything but nod in acknowledgement to his presence.

I nudged him towards them, then went to snag a taste of whatever Wanda was making. It felt a lot like old times, with how she used to jokingly chase me out of the kitchen with her powers whenever I’d steal her ingredients. I noticed the barest hint of amusement tugging at the corner of her mouth as I darted away with my prize. As I moved towards the table to talk to Tony, I was intercepted by Peter.

“Hey Bug Boy, what’s up?” I asked casually.

“Ice Girl… I just wanted to say hi. Again. I mean, get to know you better, I mean. I… I said that twice, didn’t I?”

Laughing softly, I nodded. “You did…”

He shuffled a bit, looking at the ground. “So… How about it? Maybe like… Over ice cream or s-something? I know a great place downtown… Or is ice cream too on the nose? I didn’t mean to make a cold pun, I swear!”

And as he rambled on, it was then that I realized… this little puppy had a crush. On me. I had no idea how to handle this. Scott and I had sort of gotten together by accident when we were both in a rough place, but this… Peter was older than me, true, but he just felt so young in comparison. He hadn’t been through the things I had; life was still enjoyable and not as dark for him.

I took an uncertain breath, then responded with a heavy tone. “Look… I’m not a nice person, Peter… All I can do is hurt you. It’s just better for everyone if you don’t get too close.”

He shook his head. “I don’t believe that. You might’ve had some bad stuff in your past, but I don’t think you’re as bad as you think you are.”

I paused to consider his words but resolutely shook my head. “No. You’re the kinda kid who wants a hand-holding, perfect relationship with chaste kisses and sappy words, but I can’t be that person. I can’t even risk so much as a high five without my gloves on. You haven’t seen as much of the world’s kick-in-the-teeth habits as I have.”

“My uncle died,” he retorted, his tone even and quiet. “Because of me.”

I nodded slowly. “Ah, so that’s who it was... You must live with your aunt, then? Since your parents are dead?”

I wasn’t trying to be rude, honest. After my mutation revealed itself, I discovered that when I made deductions, it was hard to avoid just blurting them out.

Peter frowned, looking slightly hurt. I immediately felt guilty, which was new.

“How about we just agree that we’ve both had some rough things happen to us?” Then, he gave me a small, sympathetic smile. “You might not know how to deal with it in a… non-hurtful way, but I still think I’d like to get to know you for you. And… maybe you should try to drop this whole ‘tough’ act, cause I don’t really buy it. I think you just wanna keep people out cause you’re scared.”

“Looks like I’m not the only one who can deduce,” I joked in a soft tone. Then, I let myself smirk slightly, in the way that said I was impressed with his gall. “You win, Bug Boy. I guess that means I owe you one first date.”

“First?” he asked, grinning.

I smirked. “Don’t push your luck… We’ll see about a second after.”

“After what?”

“After the first, of course. Don’t they teach math at your fancy private school, Bug Boy?” I teased, smirking.

“Clever deduction, Ice Girl… Bet you can’t say which school though,” he retorted.

I tilted my head, pretending to think about it. “Hm… Midtown Science?”

“Oh come on! There’s no way that’s possible… Lucky guess, has to be.”

“Well, actually--” But just as I was about to launch into an explanation of how I had been able to rattle off the name, I felt someone watching us. I looked over to see Bucky sitting next to Nat and Steve… giving Peter what could only be described as a Murder Face. Trailing off, I watched the soldier curiously until he noticed the incredulous look I was giving him. He shifted awkwardly and looked down at the floor.

Peter was likewise confused. “Uh… Should I be worried?”

“Nah… At least, I don’t think so…”

“You don’t sound very sure…” he muttered, seeming mildly terrified at the thought of having unknowingly slighted an ex-assassin.

I shrugged. “Oh well, how about we go somewhere then?”

He gave me a funny look, kind of amused at my nonchalant attitude, then shook his head and chuckled softly. “Okay… I guess if he’s gonna kill me, I might as well get to go out with a pretty girl first, right?”

That one actually made me blush. Unable to find words for a reply, I just nodded. When he offered me his hand, I hesitated, but he just grinned like there wasn’t a care in the world. His smile was infectious, and after a second, I relented, making sure my gloves were on properly first.

As we left, I noticed Bucky watching us, his eyes narrowed and dark. I didn’t understand his behaviour, but one thing I was certain of was that I definitely needed to know what was in file B2WS8499.

Next Part

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inawickedlittletown · 5 years

Text

Walking The Wire (166/167)

Summary: Tony Stark always knew about Peter Parker. He didn’t know that Peter was going to get superpowers and become Spider-Man, but he always knew about Peter because Peter was his son.

This will span from pre-Iron Man up through the rest of the MCU (eventually including Infinity War) and will be for the most part canon compliant except where I’ve taken some liberties and interpreted canon a certain way.

Pairings: Pepper/Tony, Tony/Steve (endgame), Tony/Mary (past)

A/N: If you want me to tag you when I post new chapters let me know. This fic is also on AO3

I used Collider’s MCU timeline to stay canon and the title of this fic is an Imagine Dragons song that is just so fitting for Peter and Tony

@findmeinthestarss

Masterpost

Chapter One Hundred Sixty Five

“I’m a really big fan,” Peter said.

Thor was really really tall. He was also more muscular than Peter had expected when standing up close and yet there were his biceps. May was right about them being something to admire because they were huge. All of Thor was kind of just big. Even, it seemed, his personality. Maybe that just came with the territory of being a god.

“I’ve been told that, Peter son of Stark,” Thor said. “You have your own fans, I hear.”

“Um, I guess so--”

Sam next to Peter chuckled. Peter glared at him. The reception was in full swing. There was music playing -- something from the eighties because Quill had decided that he needed to have some input with the music but no one really seemed to mind. His dad and Steve were dancing. Everyone was still eating or finishing up and Peter had finally had his chance to meet Thor. At last.

“So is it true that only you can wield the hammer? Well, the axe now?”

Thor nodded. He didn’t seem at all bothered by Peter talking to him and asking questions.

“Only someone worthy can lift it,” Thor said. “Would you like a try?”

Peter shook his head at once. Eyes wide. “No. No. I don’t think I could--”

Thor chuckled. “All the Avengers tried once. Your father came close.”

“My father? Really? What was he wearing the armor while he tried or something?”

Thor chuckled. “Not that father. The other one.”

“Oh. Well, yeah, I could see Steve maybe being able to do it.”

It would have been fitting, too, Peter thought. Steve was probably worthy.

Peter asked Thor about the other Asgardians and how they were settling into Earth and it was nice to listen to Thor explain how different “Midgard” was to his home planet. But it seemed like his people were settling in fine.

“They have Valkyrie, she’s a good leader,” Thor said. He motioned towards the Asgardian that was currently playing some sort of drinking game with Rocket and Quill.

He talked to him for a while and Thor seemed entertained by Peter even after Dr. Banner joined them. Peter was also quite star struck by the mild mannered Bruce Banner and Peter had a whole lot of questions to ask him that were more science related and he could tell that Dr. Banner was curious about him and his powers.

“You’ll just need to stop by my lab sometime, Peter, I’m sure we’ll have lots to talk about.”

“Yes. Definitely. I’m so down for that.”

He only left them when he spotted Ned waving him over. Ned and Michelle were sitting with May and Pepper and Happy. It was in many ways the most normal table at the reception. May still got on really well with Pepper, and they were mid-conversation when Peter approached the table.

“Hey,” Ned said, “were you just talking to Thor? That is so cool.”

Peter laughed. “Yeah, it kind of was. He’s very different but nice.”

“So, the crush will remain alive and well,” Michelle said with a smirk.

“It’s not a crush,” Peter muttered. “I kinda -- no, it’s not important. Are you guys having a good time?” He pulled a chair from another table to sit down between them.

“We are,” Michelle said. “I am. This has been -- I never expected to go to anything quite like this.”

“Nor I,” May said, but she was smiling.

“It’s a crazy world the one that Tony Stark inhabits,” Pepper said. “Never a dull moment. I don’t know how Steve’s going to deal with it.”

Bucky happened to be passing at that moment and he stopped. “Stevie is just as much of a mess, that’s how. They’re kind of perfect for each other.”

They really were. When Peter looked for them, he spotted them at their table and they were talking to each other. Steve laughed at something and his dad smiled and there was just so much love and fondness in their eyes when they looked at each other. It was kind of amazing to see two people so in love.

---

When we met, I didn’t see you. But when I started looking, I couldn’t stop seeing you. You make the world brighter, Tony Stark, and I selfishly want to keep you forever. You gave me a home, a family, and a future. I love you. I will always love you.

---

The whole of it was a success. Tony had had a few doubts with the rain and then with Pepper having the bad news that their DJ cancelled. But in the end, everything turned out fine. As Friday predicted the rain stopped and then Peter Quill had stepped up and dealt with the music and somehow nothing went amiss. He and Steve were married and Tony was happier than he could ever remember being.

All his friends -- his family -- had come. Scott and his ex-wife, wife’s new husband, and daughter. His girlfriend Hope and the Pyms. Clint and his brood. A lot of the people that Tony actually respected from SI including Agent and Sharon Carter -- although she wasn’t really Shield anymore these days. All the of The Avengers. The Guardians of the Galaxy. T’Challa and Shuri. Even Strange and Wong had shown up. Fury and Maria Hill had made it and Carol had returned from space just in time.

“This everything you wanted?” he asked Steve as they slow danced.

Steve was a careful dancer, wary of stepping on Tony. Wary of skills that he thought he didn’t have even though he moved more like a dancer than a fighter when in the middle of battle. It was a matter of how he seemed to overthink his every step. He didn’t trust himself.

“You are everything I wanted,” Steve whispered. “This is just nice -- having everyone here.”

“Sappy. You’re getting sappy in your old age, husband.”

“I am not the oldest one in this relationship, husband,” Steve said.

Tony tutted at him. “Just because you were in ice,” Tony whispered back. “Something I will always be grateful for.”

“Is it everything you wanted?” Steve asked.

Tony shrugged his shoulders and he spun them, looking around at the other dancing couples. Clint and Laura. Scott and Hope. Natasha was trying to get Nebula to dance with her to not avail. Gamora was over in a more secluded area with Quill. Then there was everyone else mingling around them. Pepper and Happy laughing at a table with Rhodey. He spotted Peter with his friends. Thor was talking to Shuri and Tony would have loved to know how that was going. Then, he spotted May talking to Bruce.

“Yeah. You at my side. All of our friends. Our son.”

Steve’s eyes met his. “Our son,” he repeated.

Tony kissed him, chaste and quick. He pressed their foreheads together. “Steve, you jumped off a cliff to bring him back to me even though you had no idea if you’d survive it because you love him just as much as I do. He’s yours too.”

Steve smiled and nodded. They’d discussed it before a few times,but it was nice to bring it up again. “Yeah, he is. We talked about it before the ceremony.”

“Of course you did. He loves you too, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. I didn’t think I needed to hear it from him, but when he said it, it was one of the best feelings in the world.”

Peter laughed from the table he was at -- joined by Bucky and Sam -- and for a while Tony just watched him and he remembered once not expecting to ever get to meet or be a part of Peter’s life at all. But he had met him and formed a relationship with him. He’d brought him back after Thanos snapped him from existence.

Steve kissed his temple and pulled at his hand. Tony followed, walking beside him towards Peter who immediately got up and hugged him first and then Steve, staying between them for a moment once May got out her phone to take a picture.

“Be sure to send that to me,” Tony said.

“Of course,” May said.

When Peter moved away, again, Tony drifted closer to Steve, pressed against his side. Peter glanced back at them and Tony just smiled at him and then looked to Steve again. He was so so lucky.

---

I once thought I’d be alone forever. I didn’t think I’d ever even meet my son much less someone I would want to share him with. Not until you, Steve Rogers. There are no words to describe the relief I feel at having you at my side. This is for as long as the universe allows and even beyond that. I love you.

---

The rest of the night went well. There were speeches at some point and Peter could tell that Bucky had gotten into some of Thor’s Asgardian mead because he seemed a little drunk when he gave his.

“Super soldiers aren’t supposed to get drunk, are they?” Ned asked.

“No. Not unless it’s alien mead.” He motioned towards Thor and the other Asgardians.

Rhodey had given a best man’s speech too -- a more coherent one. Peter really intended to spend more time with him and ask him about stories about his dad when they were both in MIT because he knew they had to be good. And despite officiating the wedding, Pepper had had a few things to add to Rhodey’s speech as well. Peter was just glad that he didn’t have to make one.

All in all, the wedding was perfect. It was towards the end of the night that his dad got up to talk.

“I want to thank everyone for being here. It’s been a long few months for a lot of us but the world is finally set right and we can only hope that it will remain so. Today I married the love of my life -- a man for another era entirely and one I’ve loved and hated my entire life. He brings out the best in me and I hope I do the same for him. And I’m just glad I get to share this with all of you. With my friends, my teammates, and our son.”

He paused them, to glance around at everyone.

“My dear husband and I are going to take off, now, but the party can keep going. There is a lot to celebrate and plenty of cake.”

Before leaving, his dad and Steve stopped where Peter was standing with a plate of cake.

“Have a good night,” Peter said and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Don’t be cheeky, child,” his dad said.

Peter hugged his dad first and then Steve.

“I’m really happy for you,” Peter whispered.

His dad kissed the top of his head. “Love you kid. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

The party kept going after they left. Thor and the other Asgardians were still drinking. Quill kept up his playlist and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Peter spotted Natasha dancing with one of Clint’s kids. Scott was dancing with his daughter. It was cute.

“This was nice,” MJ said. “Thanks for the invite.”

Peter nodded. “I’m glad you came. Did you--” he motioned at the dance floor, “did you want to dance? I mean, it’s okay if you don’t, but there’s really nothing else to do and I think May said we’d be leaving soon too so--”

MJ grabbed his hand and Peter trailed off, his eyes widened and when he looked at her she just laughed and then tugged him along.

“You ramble a lot,” she said.

Peter didn’t know what song was playing because it was something too old for him to actually know, but it was soft and easy to dance to even if it still made him just a little nervous when MJ turned to him. But moments later, his arms were around her waist and her arms were over his shoulders and as nervous as it made him, MJ felt good in his arms. She smelled like something flowery.

It felt like the moment lasted mere seconds but also forever and when it was over and Peter pulled back, he smiled at her and she smiled back.

“That was...that was nice,” Peter said.

“Yeah…”

It was awkward. Everything was just so awkward. It was lucky that Ned appeared then and he clapped Peter on the shoulder.

“Good, found you two. May thinks it might be a good time to go.”

“Oh,” Peter said. “Yeah, sure.”

Although his dad and Steve were going to some fancy hotel for the night and Peter had had the option to stay at the compound with Bucky and Sam and the rest, he’d decided to spend the night with May instead. He hadn’t gotten to see much of her since the first time he went to see her and it also meant spending a bit more time with Ned and MJ on the drive to Queens.

May had insisted on driving instead of letting Happy pick her up or letting Doctor Strange bring them over through a portal, but Peter didn’t mind the drive. They found her soon enough. She was talking to Happy and Pepper and Peter was surprised to see how weirdly cozy they looked.

He gave Pepper a hug and high fived Happy and then said his goodbyes to Natasha and Bucky but only because he saw them as they were heading out. He wasn’t sure how much longer the party would go for, but everyone still seemed to be having fun.

“It wasn’t as overthetop as I thought it was going to be,” May said as they set out.

Peter shrugged. “Pepper and the wedding planner had a lot to do with that. Also how fast they had to arrange things.”

“Well, it was nice,” MJ said. “I had a great time.”

She met his eyes and Peter ducked his head and then they all got into May’s car. Ned told them all about how he’d managed to talk to Sam for a while and how cool he was and it was easy to let Ned just fill the silence.

The topic of conversation drifted away from the wedding to other things eventually and everything just felt normal. MJ even tried to bring up decathlon.

“We’re not even in school right now,” Ned said. “We don’t have to worry about it.”

“I just want us to do well, Ned, and as captain that falls on me. All I’m saying is that Peter can’t slack off because of his spiderness.”

“Hey! I went to all the practices last year.”

“He did,” Ned said.

After they dropped off Ned and MJ, Peter leaned back into his seat. He was actually feeling quite tired from the day and he wasn’t expecting for May to want to talk to him about anything.

“You know, for a while there I hated that you knew the truth,” May said. “I didn’t trust Tony Stark to really know what was best for you. I figured he would take you away. I guess, well, he sort of did. But he also didn’t keep you away and after Ben -- I’m really glad you get to have him be your father. Your dad. And from the state he was in when you were gone, I know that he loves you and that he needs you just as much.”

“May, I--”

May reached over and grabbed his hand. “You have a big family, actually, and I’m really glad you do.”

Peter nodded, thinking about everyone at the wedding. Most of them he could consider family. A big superhero family and some of them weren’t even human.

“I guess I do,” Peter said.

---

“I don’t even want to know how much money you spent on this place. Especially when we could have just gone back to the tower seeing as no one is there.”

Tony just chuckled. Steve had been nagging him about their post-wedding plans since he’d learned of them earlier in the day, but Tony wanted to end the night in style by which he meant with a surprise.

“I really love hearing you put down all my romantic plans,” Tony said, but shot Steve a grin.

“I just don’t think it’s necessary,” Steve said.

Tony nodded. “I kind of figured you’d feel that way. But have I mentioned how much I enjoy seeing you riled up over something that doesn’t even matter?”

Although Tony was in the driver’s seat, it was Friday that had control of the car and so Tony felt entirely safe turning to look at his new husband. “I did something a little crazy,” he said.

Steve’s suit looked as pristine on him as it had in the beginning of the night and the way he looked at Tony was with a warmth fondness rather than any real annoyance. They were both so sappy and in love and it was kind of disgusting.

“Crazy how?” Steve asked.

“Crazy as in, Peter is right, and we do deserve to have a honeymoon. Even a small one. And if we do it in another time, then Peter won’t have a chance to get into any real trouble.”

Steve shook his head. “Tony, you’re...where -- no, when are we even going?”

“Any time you want. Anywhere you want. As long as we’re together.”

“Together,” Steve said. “I like the sound of that.”

Epilogue

#peter and tony #peter and tony fic #mcuwriting #mcu fic #iron dad #iron dad and spider son #stony #stony fic #marvel

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