Not So Lonely
“Are you lonely?”
Stephen blinked, glancing up from his book at the question. Peter was staring at him, the expression on his face genuinely curious.
“Why would you ask that?” Stephen asked. He didn’t quite mean for the words to come out defensively, but he also couldn’t quite help it. The question poked at old wounds; new wounds; festering, bleeding wounds.
Peter shrugged, gaze diverting as though he was suddenly fascinated by the bookshelves they were surrounded by, as though he hadn’t scoured the whole library dozens of times looking for who knew what.
“Just curious. I think Mr. Stark is sometimes, and I worry about him.”
Stephen wasn’t quite sure if that was meant as a subject change, an explanation, or a distraction. Either way, Stephen felt the need to answer the question. With a lie, of course, but answer it nonetheless. “I’m not lonely, Peter.” The gaping emptiness of the sanctum seemed a direct contrast to his words, but Peter wouldn’t know that. “I’m used to being alone, I prefer it that way.” A truth and a lie and a truth in a lie and a lie that was the truth and Stephen wasn’t sure what was what.
Peter frowned. “Okay,” he answered. Stephen got the sense that Peter didn’t quite believe him.
Stephen forced himself to smile. “Really, Peter, I’m not lonely. I’ve got Kamar-Taj.” And it was true. But the role of a Sanctum Master was one that created a distance. He was a part of a community, a community he loved, one he was grateful to have, but it was different.
“Okay,” Peter repeated. He sounded just as disbelieving as the first time and Stephen decided that another denial wouldn’t do either of them any good, so he just turned back to his book.
Peter had to leave not long later, saying something about patrol.
Stephen made an absent goodbye as Peter left, mostly distracted and used to Peter coming and going as he pleased.
But the moment Peter was gone, Stephen found himself distracted, Peter’s question coming back.
Was he lonely?
The answer was yes.
It was an annoying part of his personal growth, because Stephen had never been lonely as a neurosurgeon. Not necessarily because he’d had more people around him that cared, but because back then he hadn’t enough space in his life for more than just him.
It was one of the few ways in which his personal growth felt almost like a curse.
He sighed, leaning his head back against his chair, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
His phone ringing drew him out of his own head. It took him a minute to find his phone, he’d been using it earlier and had somehow buried it in books. He glanced at the screen. Tony.
“Hey,” Tony said the moment Stephen picked up the phone. “You okay?”
Stephen blinked, confused. “What?”
“Are you okay?” Tony repeated. “Peter sounded worried about you when he called me.”
Stephen felt an embarrassed flush cross his face at the words. “I’m fine. He just got it in his head that I was lonely or something like that. I corrected him, but you know Peter, as soon as he gets a thought in his head it’s hard for him to let it go.”
Tony hummed, sounding about as believing as Peter had. Which was to say not at all. “Look, Peter likes you, and he’s kind of an interfering busybody.”
That didn’t come as much of a surprise. Peter had the tendency to get over invested in things; it wasn’t a surprise that that extended into people. Stephen wasn’t sure how he felt about the fact that he was one of the people that Peter got over invested in.
“He has nothing to interfere with.”
Tony was quiet for a moment. “You okay with opening up a portal and letting me come over?”
Stephen’s first instinct was to say no, because he knew exactly why he would be coming over and he didn’t need the pity. But he also had a hard time refusing Tony things. “Sure. Where am I opening up a portal to.”
“My bedroom,” Tony said.
Stephen found a flush crossing his face. He’d opened up a portal into Tony’s bedroom before. There had been an incident with a feverish Tony and FRIDAY asking for Stephen’s help to get him to bed, but this felt very different given that Tony wasn’t currently sick.
Still, he opened the portal, trying not to react when he realized that Tony was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt looking like he’d been minutes away from crawling into bed. “You don’t have to—“
Tony ignored him, stepping through the portal and sprawling out in the nearest chair. Tony glanced over the books on the table with an absent sort of curiosity. He didn’t say anything though, moving one of them over and opening it.
“You don’t need to do this,” Stephen said quietly, knowing exactly what this was.
Tony glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Have you considered that I want to?” Tony asked, and there was no denying that the words were genuine. “I like spending time with you, Stephen.” He hesitated a moment, biting his lip before he reached out across the table, resting his hand gently on Stephen’s hand where it sat on on the book. "I want to. If you want that."
Stephen stared at it for a long moment, heart pounding in his chest for no discernible reason. Slowly he turned his hand, gently catching Tony’s hand in his own.
“You mean that?” Stephen asked, voice quiet.
Tony smiled at him, soft and warm. Stephen found himself smiling back, unable to help himself. “Yeah, Stephen, I do.”
Maybe neither of them had to be lonely.
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Learning that fans hated Applejack and called her "boring" is crazyyy to me because I genuinely, unironically believe AJ's the most complex character in the main six.
Backstory-wise, she was born into a family of famers/blue collar workers who helped found the town she lives in. She grew up a habitual liar until she had the bad habit traumatized outta her. She lost both her parents and was orphaned at a young age, having to step up as her baby sister's mother figure. She's the only person in the main gang who's experienced this level of loss and grief (A Royal Problem reveals that AJ dreams about memories of being held by her parents as a baby). She moved to Manhattan to live with her wealthy family members, only to realize she'll never fit in or be accepted, even amongst her own family. The earlier seasons imply she and her family had money problems too (In The Ticket Master, AJ wants to go to the gala to earn money to buy new farm equipment and afford hip surgery for her grandma).
Personality-wise, she's a total people-pleaser/steamroller (with an occasional savior complex) who places her self worth on her independence and usefulness for other people, causing her to become a complete workaholic. In Applebuck Season, AJ stops taking care of herself because of her obsessive responsibilities for others and becomes completely dysfunctional. In Apple Family Reunion, AJ has a tearful breakdown because in she thinks she dishonored her family and tarnished her reputation as a potential leader –– an expectation and anxiety that's directly tied to her deceased parents, as shown in the episode's ending scene. In The Last Roundup, AJ abandons her family and friends out of shame because believes she failed them by not earning 1st place in a rodeo competition. She completely spirals emotionally when she isn't able to fulfill her duties toward others. Her need to be the best manifests in intense pride and competitiveness when others challenge her. And when her pride's broken, she cowers and physically hides herself.
Moreover, it's strongly implied that AJ has a deep-seated anger. The comics explore her ranting outbursts more. EQG also obviously has AJ yelling at and insulting Rarity in a jealous fit just to hurt her feelings (with a line that I could write a whole dissection on). And I'm certain I read in a post somewhere that in a Gameloft event, AJ's negative traits are listed as anger.
Subtextually, a lot of these flaws and anxieties can be (retroactively) linked to her parents' death, forcing her to grow up too quickly to become the adult/caregiver of the family (especially after her big brother becomes semiverbal). Notice how throughout the series, she's constantly acting as the "mom friend" of the group (despite everything, she manages to be the most emotionally mature of the bunch). Notice how AJ'll switch to a quieter, calmer tone when her friends are panicking and use soothing prompts and questions to talk them through their emotions/problems; something she'd definitely pick up while raising a child. Same with her stoicism and reluctance at crying or releasing emotions (something Pinkie explicitly points out). She also had a childhood relationship with Rara (which, if you were to give a queer reading, could easy be interpreted as her first 'aha' crush), who eventually left her life. (Interestingly enough, AJ also has an angry outburst with Rara for the same exact reasons as with EQG Rarity; jealous, upset that someone else is using and changing her). It's not hard to imagine an AJ with separation anxiety stemming from her mother and childhood friend/crush leaving. I'm also not above reading into AJ's relationship with her little sister (Y'all ever think about how AB never got to know her parents, even though she shares her father's colors and her mother's curly hair?).
AJ's stubbornness is a symptom of growing up too quickly as well. Who else to play with your baby sister when your brother goes nonverbal (not to discount Big Mac's role in raising AB)? Who else to wake up in the middle of the night to care for your crying baby sister when your grandma needs her rest? When you need to be 100% all the time for your family, you tend to become hard-stuck with a sense of moral superiority. You know what's best because you have to be your best because if you're aren't your best, then everything'll inevitably fall apart and it'll be your fault. And if you don't know what's best –– if you've been wrong the whole time –– that means you haven't been your best, which means you've failed the people who rely on you, which means you can't fulfill your role in the family/society, which makes you worthless . We've seen time and time again how this compulsive need to be right for the sake of others becomes self-destructive (Apple Family Reunion, Sound of Silence, all competitions against RD). We've seen in The Last Roundup how, when no longer at her best, AJ would rather remove herself from her community than confront them because she no longer feels of use to them.
But I guess it is kinda weird that AJ has "masculine" traits and isn't interested in men at all. It's totally justified that an aggressively straight, misogynistic male fandom would characterize her as a "boring background character." /s
At the time of writing this, it's 4:46AM.
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I know the full arsenal update is out and hype for that but I just found the gutterman's poem in 7-2 and I HAVE to type about it because its night where I am and I cant wake up my friends to rant about Ultrakill.
Anyway, absolutely indescribable how we have the thoughts of a machine just laid bear in a secret for the first and maybe last time. The fact that a machine made for merciless slaughter could not only feel sadness for the person powering it but also WRITE a POEM? A machine made art??? The knowledge that they understand how cruel it is to make a human a blood battery, recognize it as torture, but also feel gratitude for the life they've been given?? It was known that machines had a sense of aesthetic from Swordsmachine and Mindflayer's entries but. Goddamn. The gutterman refers to the human as their mother and it states it CRIED when it crushed her skull as it hoped it would redeem its life.
Also the excerpt, "I know I know you would hate me so, and mother of me, I do too." Does this mean the Gutterman hated itself as much as the human? Did it hate the human instead along with the feelings of love and gratitude? Probably the former. Gutterman angst is so in.
V2's mannerisms and Swordsmachine's data entry are intresting, but a gutterman's eulogy for its prisoner and its attempt at redemption is another level. Actual machine thought process recorded!! Sapient lifeform that knows only war and death! The fact that the gutterman crushing the human's skull seemed to be out of mercy. Ough.
Noone has to interact I havent proof read this I am just RANTING this is CRAZY HAKITA HOW COULD YOU AND THE TEAM DO THIS
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