#i am the only man alive who cares more about dyne than most of the other antagonists

[sleepsentry]

Forget "toxic yaoi" cloud x seph

I suggest "doomed bara" barret x dyne

[ironhusband]

Just Friends?

Who else is feeling angsty? 

~~~

“We’re just friends.” 

Stephen hears those words at least once a week, and still, they don’t ever stop stinging. It’s not that Stephen hates being friends with Tony. No, being friends with Tony means laughing at some joke only they can understand, it means creating new things with ease only they can manage, it’s having race cars like they just got their license in a way only they don’t consider reckless. So, no, Stephen doesn’t hate being friends with Tony. 

It’s just that he wants more than that. 

Sure, he already gets the easy chemistry, the flirting, the sex. But he wants more than that. He wants Tony cuddling with him until Stephen’s eyes drift close, he wants arguments in the kitchen and the living room about which dinner and which movie, that end with Tony kissing him, and he wants being told by Tony “I love you” and being called by him honey. And most of all, he wants that longing look that Tony gives Pepper and Rhodey, the look Stephen hopes Tony secretly gives him. 

“Stephen is my business date. Y’know, we made these prosthetics together, I think he deserves a dinner and a movie,” Tony jokes and the investors laugh. 

Stephen forces out a smile, and teases back, “only if you don’t choose the movie.” 

Tony smiles at him, oh so brightly. Stephen almost sighs with longing. “Ah, well, I guess just dinner then.” 

The investors continue chuckling, and the topic of the conversation moves back on to the reason they are all here today. Stephen drones it out as Tony talks details with the investors. 

To be honest, he should be listening. After all, it’s his project, and he should be a part of persuading these buyers. He cares so much about the prosthetics, he and Tony worked for six months on it, sacrificing other parts of their career and social life. But as Stephen looks at Tony, as Stephen remembers how Tony thinks of him, as Stephen knows all this flirting isn’t serious... it turns out he cares more about Tony. 

He hates it. 

“-I’m just the showman, though. Stephen knows more about this part, honestly. So, Stephen, would you care to jump in?” 

Stephen blinks, focusing back on the present and less on his thoughts. He clears his throat and improvises on the spot, “actually, you seem to be handling it as good as you can. I think I might go talk to some other people.” 

Before Tony, or anyone else could object, Stephen cuts through the crowd and heads straight out of the room. 

~~~

Stephen has known the solution to this problem for a while. He has known it ever since he realized he was in love with Tony. 

The solution was to run away. Cut things off with Tony and focus back on his career. It was the easiest way to fall out of love with Tony, to stop this path to heartbreak, to not wear his heart on his sleeve. It was the smart thing to do. It was what he usually does. Why isn’t he doing it? 

Tony is like the sun. Everything and everyone orbits around him, whether they like to or not. And Tony? Tony pretends to like it, Tony pretends that it’s by design, pretends that it’s how it’s supposed to be, but underneath all that, when you know the real Tony... he’s not the sun. You’re not drawn to regardless of your choice. He’s just someone you feel lucky to be near. 

Stephen likes to think he’s different, but Tony continues proving to him again and again, that he’s not. 

“Hey,” Tony pops out of nowhere, and Stephen tries to bring back that mask. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Trying the disappearing Houdini act?” 

Tony’s smile is the kind of smile to make you think he’s the most charming man alive. When his smile is real... the effects are even worse. 

He doesn't show it, however. “Always count on Tony Stark to avoid his responsibilities of impressing a room full of people, to chase a man who disappeared.” 

Tony’s smile becomes a little less wide, but no less bright, “well, you know how those rich people are. Fun to play with, but get boring very quickly after they give you their money.” 

Stephen looks pointedly at Tony, “yes, I do know those rich people.” 

Tony gives him the finger and Stephen chuckles. “You’re an asshole. I was just about to say I’d much rather be with you.” 

Stephen softens. Tony has a way of making him do that. Stephen hates it more than everything. So of course, he ruins it, “well, of course, you would want to be with me, I’m the only one asshole enough to match you.” 

Tony laughs, sitting next to him, looking directly at Stephen. 

A lot of people find Stephen to be a jerk, or heartless, or hiding his emotions with sarcasm. Some of it isn’t untrue but... Tony sees through all that. He knows that him being a dick is just a mask for him being a sweetheart. He knows because he does the same. 

At least that’s what Stephen thinks the look Tony is giving Stephen right now means. 

Tony looks intently into his eyes, his stare soft and soul-searching. His gaze falls to Stephen’s lips, and Tony leans in, calloused fingers on Stephen's chin gently encouraging him to do the same as Tony. When their lips evidently touch it’s different. It’s... slow and relaxed. All they do is kiss, a mess of lips, and muted desires. It’s gentle butterfly kisses. No one is trying to angle their heads for better access, no one is trying to involve tounges, no one is trying to make it anything deeper than a gentle kiss. It’s just lips connecting with lips. 

Stephen should hate it. It’s intimate and destructive and barely a kiss. They’re kissing like two teenagers scared to do anything more. But instead, he doesn’t hate it. Instead, it’s everything he’s ever wanted. 

Then Tony tries to sneak in his tongue, and Stephen is immediately reminded that they don’t have those kinds of kisses. 

Stephen breaks it off. 

Tony watches as Stephen stands up, seeming in the midst of his own personal storm, as Tony is too shocked by the rejection to process it. “Hey, are you-” 

“Seriously, Tony?!” Stephen snaps, cutting him off, “Is that what I am to you? A friend you can flirt with and tell all those romantic things to, and then fuck and leave like you don’t give a shit?” 

Stunned, Tony replies, “I thought... I thought that was the agreement, yes.” Stephen glares at him, unamused, “stop it.” 

“Sorry,” Tony mutters, and then a little louder, repeats, “sorry. Stephen, what is going on with you?” 

Stephen paces, too upset to stand still, “you know, I thought I could be okay with this, but it turns out I can’t. I can’t just be some whore you’re fucking. I can’t just be a friend to you, either. I want to be with you. Completely with you.”  

Tony’s mouth opens and closes a few times, until he finally settles for, “where is this coming for?” 

Stephen stares at him for a moment, stopping his pacing, trying to see how serious Tony is. And then he realizes... it's obvious. He’s totally serious about never being serious about him. Stephen laughs, “of course! How could I ever think you’d want to be with me? I’m not Rhodey or Pepper after all! How could I even compare?” 

“Hey, you leave them out of this!” 

“Then you leave the bullshit behind and answer my question!” Stephen challenges back.

“What question?”

Stephen snorts, “what question...?! The question of if you want to be with me or not!” 

“Why are you getting so pissed off?!” Tony yells right back, “from the moment you confessed your feelings for me, you’ve done nothing but be a complete piece of shit!”

Stephen pauses, realizing Tony was right. If he ever wanted a chance with Tony... he picked the worst possible way to word it. Stephen inhales, trying to gather the courage to look honestly in Tony’s eyes and say the words that feel to him more like an admission of guilt and not love. “I...” Stephen carefully says, trying not to look away from Tony’s eyes, emotions he can’t explain in them, “I want to be with you. I’m in love with you.” Stephen knows the emotion in Tony's eyes right now is hesitation. “Do you feel the same way? Do you want to be with me, too? Yes or no?”

Tony takes a while to answer, thinking long and hard, seemingly preparing some sort of speech in his head. Stephen wants to yell the answer out of him, but before his patience is brought to its limit, Tony answers. 

“No,” he says only.

Stephen takes a deep breath, trying to force back tears that were coming. “Okay,” he replies, “then we’re done here.” 

Stephen doesn’t wait for Tony to respond (if he even bothered to do that) as he walks away from him, preparing to leave the building. 

There is nothing Stephen wants more, however, than to look back.

~~~

Stephen doesn’t know, maybe he never will know, but as he walked away, Tony looks at him. The same kind of look Tony gives Pepper and Rhodey. The same kind of look Stephen wants. The same kind of look Tony never dares to do expect when Stephen isn’t watching.

Tagging mutuals: 

@salty-ironstrange-shipper @lgbtonystarks @atypical-snowman @carrottheluvmachine @van-dyne @amethyst-noir @babywarg

[takaraphoenix]

For the ask game marvel

Thanks for asking! ^^

Top 5 favourite characters: Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Janet van Dyne, Okoye, Carol Danvers

Other characters you like: Ororo Munroe, Gwen Stacy, Miles Morales, Darcy Lewis, Hope van Dyne

Least favourite characters:MCU!W@nda

Otps: Loki/Tony, Bucky/Tony, Thor/Tony

Notps: Tony/Pepper, Peter/Michelle, MCU!Steve/Tony, Steve/Bucky, Valkyrie/Carol, honestly it’s actually a pretty long list so we’ll leave it at a Top Five

Favourite friendships: TONY AND RHODEY!!! Also Peter and Miles in a “they’re the same age”-setting

Favourite family:THE IRON FAM

Favourite episodes: doesn’t have episodes

Favourite season/book/movie: listen, it may be basic but Avengers. The first one. Like, that was all the MCU was about. Forming that team. It may not be the best movie by various definitions, but it’s my favorite because it sums up what Marvel should be all about for me

Favourite quotes: not really a quote-kinda-gal. Like, there are these often quoted quips and stuff from the MCU but nothing that I’d really say means a lot to me

Best musical moment: an Avengers musical would be awesome :O

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: That hero shot. In the first Avengers when after all these years, those heroes all came together and we got that shot of them all together

When it really disappointed you: *cough* so often. But the worst offenders are Age of Ultron and Thor Ragnarok. Like. Just. Everything about these two movies. AoU’s only redeeming quality was Vision and Ragnarok just flat-out didn’t have any redeeming qualities.

Saddest moment: WHEN TONY DIED. I CRIED. A LOT ;-;

Most well done character death: If I am allowed to use the deleted scene instead of the one that ended up in the movie, then Tony’s death. Because him dying and everyone kneeling before him was amazing??

Favourite guest star: JARVIS. JARVIS IN THAT ENDGAME

Favourite cast member: Kat Dennings

Character you wish was still alive: ANTHONY EDWARD STARK

One thing you hope really happens: that Captain Marvel makes Carol/Maria canon, because Marvel promised more LGBT rep, with new AND existing characters and if you wanna retcon anyone into being rep, genuinely NONE from the MCU offer it better than the two women who raised a child together, lived together and spent the entire movie being each other’s anchor??

Most shocking twist: that Captain America was wrong in his own movie :D man I was dreading Civil War because if it’s Civil War but Captain America then surely they will give Steve the moral high ground and have Tony be in the wrong - and then they just made Steve the fuck-up and Tony the reasonable one and it still feels like a blessing (though I still think this shouldn’t have been a Captain America movie. It should have been an Avengers movie...)

When did you start watching/reading?: I watched it when Iron Man first came out, but like... casually. I only started caring - and caught up with the ones I was missing - when Avengers came out

Best animal/creature: are... are there animals in this franchise...? Because I just genuinely do not recall any, aside from Valkyrie’s outta-nowhere pegasus in Endgame...

Favourite location: ooof Wakanda probably?

Trope you wish they would stop using: miscommunication and distrust. Like. The Avengers movies were supposed to be about a team, but we didn’t have A SINGLE actual Avengers movie where they were just a team. Every single one had miscommunication, distrust and betrayal among the team and it was tiresome and stupid. There should have been at the very least ONE proper Avengers movie where it’s the Avengers, united as one team, facing a threat together

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: the interwoven universe. I mean, these phases lined up pretty well while so many other franchise attempts fail because they can’t build it up and rush it too much

Funniest moments: the majority of things Tony Stark says :D and also Okoye, just her being a whole mood

Couple you would like to see: I’d be over the moon if, once they introduce the X-Men, T’Challa/Ororo could become canon? Also the further above mentioned Carol/Maria. And when they’re giving Valkyrie a girlfriend next Thor, I really hope it’s gonna be Sif

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: Freema Agyeman as Ororo Munroe. She’d be the perfect age to be with Chadwick’s T’Challa, she is a gorgeous badass and I really want to see her in it??

Favourite outfit: that Infinity War nanotech Iron Man suit

Favourite item: the Cloak of Levitation

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?:uuuhm... Huh. No, I actually don’t...

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: I would be a human. Maybe working for Darcy? :D

Most boring plotline: ...Ant-Man and the Wasp, like I genuinely can’t remember what that movie was about, beyond getting Janet out...??

Most laughably bad moment:ooof there were so many, most of them in Ragnarok, really. That movie was one laughably bad moment after the other

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: mh, I don’t know??

Most layered character: Tony Stark, unsurprisingly so considering who you asked xD

Most one dimensional character: the majority of villains

Scariest moment: not really scary

Grossest moment: can’t think of one?

Best looking male: M’Baku

Best looking female: Gamora? Sif? Okoye? Hope? Why would you make a weak-minded lesbian choose

Who you’re crushing on (if any): Hope and Okoye

Favourite cast moment: I don’t really care for these things ^^°

Favourite transportation: flying with the Iron Man suit?

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): I don’t know

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: I mean there are probably a ton, to be quite frank, and most are linked to the flusterfuck of timetravel Endgame put in there :D

Best promo: I don’t really follow these things; I don’t even watch trailers if I can avoid them

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: Avengers, that team-shot

IN DEPTH FANDOM QUESTIONS

[bevioletskies]

Could you maybe write a fic about Mantis and The Wasp teamup (like Evangeline Lily said once)? Love your fics💜

Takes place post-Avengers 4 in a magical universe where everyone is alive and well except for Thanos, who is super dead. Cameo appearances by Scott, Hank, and Janet, with a few mentions of the Avengers and the Guardians here and there.ao3 | word count: 3.9k

Despite spending her entire life wanting to be a hero just like her parents, Hope was determined to stay as far away from the Avengers as she possibly could. Most of it was because of her admittedly shallow dislike of Tony Stark, purely for the way his father had treated hers; another factor was Scott skipping out of their partnership - and relationship - to go running around Germany with Captain America and without her. Then the entire universe was in danger, and Hope didn’t really have the luxury of choosing who to fight with. And well, she also sort of died, but that was beside the point.

Now that the universe was back to some semblance of normal, Hope’s priorities were as follows - continue strengthening her newfound good relationship with her dad, spend quality time with her mom and catch her up on everything she’d missed, restore the good name of Pym Technologies, and enjoy her budding relationship with Scott. She had no interest in mingling with any other so-called heroes, especially not with the government still nipping at their heels, wanting them to cut a new deal.

Then, one evening, the Guardians quite literally came crashing down to Earth.

“The Benatar never did have a great braking system,” Peter Quill had reportedly said to the swarm of SHIELD agents that came for them.

Thankfully, they landed in the vicinity of Avengers Headquarters as (mostly) planned. They were invited back to “Terra”, as they called it, for Tony and Pepper’s wedding, an event that Hope and Scott were also invited to and were attending mostly out of politeness (though Scott was genuinely excited to hang out with the Avengers off-duty, the fanboy that he was). Their ship caused minimal damage - a scuff across the lawn that made Tony bemoan the days that he only had to worry about Thor’s unorthodox method of transportation - but it was enough of a signal that it was time to summon all the heroes to upstate New York. And by “summoned”, it meant a Quinjet touching down outside of Scott’s place (and sort of Hope’s, too, now that they were giving domestic cohabitation a try).

“This is gonna be awesome,” Scott said brightly, carrying both his and Hope’s overnight bags out the door despite her insisting she could take care of her own. “You sure your parents don’t wanna come with us?”

“And have Dad come face-to-face with another Stark? I think I’ll pass,” Hope remarked wryly.

When they arrived at the Avengers complex, it reminded Hope somewhat of the old Pym Tech labs - bright white walls, long stretches of glass and steel, with agents, engineers, and scientists scurrying around with somewhere more important to be. She and Scott were settled in a guest room, then ushered to an expansive outdoor patio where they were suddenly faced with just about everyone who they’d fought alongside in the battle against Thanos.

After some awkward “hello”s and “how are you”s, the two of them lingered on the outside of the circle of people who clearly knew each other pretty well, laughing and swapping stories as they dug into the buffet spread of artisanal meats and cheeses, fruit, and tea sandwiches. “Hello!” Mantis suddenly popped up out of nowhere, carrying a plate laden with food, a sunny smile on her face. “Are you not eating?”

“I will in a bit,” Hope said, smiling in return. It was hard not to when Mantis was so infectiously cheerful. “How are you? I heard you had a rough landing coming back here.”

“I do not trust Rocket and Peter when they try to fly the ship at the same time,” Mantis whispered conspiratorially. “They fight so much. You are so lucky to be working in a partnership instead of a group. Then you do not have to listen to so many people talking and yelling at the same time.”

“Oh, I feel like Scott talks enough for three people,” Hope replied, knowing full well he was standing behind her.

“Hey,” he protested in mock offense. “I’m down to at least…two.”

“Can you grab me a plate?” Hope requested. Scott shook his head half-amusedly but went to do it regardless. “But you guys work in pairs sometimes, right?”

“Sometimes,” Mantis agreed. “Gamora has been teaching me how to fight, but I am still not really a fighter. I am most useful in missions where we have to mentally manipulate people.”

“Interesting,” Hope hummed, quirking an eyebrow. “So, say I were having trouble trying to convince someone of something…like certain members of the government who are still after me and Scott because we haven’t signed the Sokovia Accords…”

“I might be able to change their minds,” Mantis nodded. She paused. “Wait, are you asking me or telling me?”

“Well, it’s not the most…legal thing I’ve ever done, but honestly? I’ve been acting outside of the ‘law’ for a while now, mostly because I don’t agree with it,” Hope admitted. “I have a sit-down meeting with some Accord representatives in a few days. I’m supposed to turn in my suit and sign some papers so they can put me on probation before they ‘let me’ be a reserve Avenger.”

“I am staying on Terra for another week or so,” Mantis offered. “Do not tell anyone, but the only reason we are staying this long is so that Peter can take us to his hometown. He wants to propose to Gamora at his mother’s grave.”

“Who’s proposing?” Scott returned with two overloaded plates of food and the corner of a puff pastry hanging out of his mouth. Hope and Mantis simultaneously shushed him. “Oh, sorry. What’re we talkin’ about?”

“Hope was telling me about your troubles with the Sokovia Accords, and I think I can help,” Mantis explained.

“Really? That would be amazing,” Scott exclaimed, letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “They’ve been comin’ after us for the research, the equipment, the suits…they even started keeping watch outside of my house, even when my daughter’s home. It’s not cool.”

“I don’t want things to get too messy, though,” Hope added, patting Scott’s arm sympathetically. Nothing had terrified him quite as much as the time Cassie had shrieked from her bedroom at 3 AM when she noticed a strange man on the sidewalk, seemingly looking right at her through the window. “If this was just about knocking some heads around until I get answers, I could do it in a heartbeat. But for this…I want them to feel like they came to the right conclusion on their own, if you get what I mean.”

Mantis grinned. “Of course. So, what’s the plan?”______

The wedding went about as smoothly as expected. That is to say, a villain of the week popped up during the rehearsal dinner, making Pepper even more anxious than she already was, but once the bad guys were disposed of, courtesy of Peter Parker’s quick feet and even quicker mind, the weekend practically flew by. Hope even enjoyed herself despite her initial reservations towards Stark. The company was good, the entertainment was engaging, and Scott said something rather interesting while they were slow-dancing during the reception.

“I wonder what my second wedding will be like,” he pondered aloud.

Hope looked at him curiously. “Is that so?” He only grinned at her softly in his very Scott-like way, and she could only return it with a smile of her own, both flustered and pleased at the same time.

Then, Wednesday rolled around and Hope was back in a pantsuit and perfectly coiffed hair, feeling a little uneasy with the remnants of her old self. She knew she had changed quite a bit over the past few years, letting herself be happy and relaxed and open again after spending so long wallowing in grief and misplaced anger. Being reminded of her tightly-wound corporate persona made her all the more grateful for how much more comfortable she was with herself now.

“Thank you all for meeting me here,” Hope said diligently, settling down into her chair. The representatives that were sat before her glanced around the office, looking dubiously at their surroundings.

“I thought Pym Tech was defunct,” one of them commented. Hope’s smile tightened.

“My dad decided it was time to resurrect his life’s work,” she said cooly. “And I think it would be appropriate to reinstate him as CEO, don’t you?”

“From what I remember - and correct me if I’m wrong, it’s been a while - you were the deciding vote, Chairwoman,” another said mockingly.

The third one cleared her throat sharply, glaring at her companions in warning. “Let’s not get off-topic here. Miss Van Dyne, your suit?”

“My assistant is bringing it in,” Hope said, folding her arms neatly on the surface of her desk. “And if you don’t mind me asking while we wait for her to get here, is there a reason you asked to meet without my partner?”

They exchanged uncomfortable looks, almost like they were dreading answering the question. “Mister Lang has…a history,” one of them said carefully. “At this point, I don’t know if we can offer him the same deal as we’re offering you.”

“Scott and I are a team. You don’t get to pick and choose,” Hope protested.

“Actually, that’s exactly what it means, Miss Van Dyne,” the woman replied. “Once we’ve cleared both you and your parents - ”

“My parents? My mom wasn’t even here when the Accords were created. And she worked for SHIELD!”

“And we all saw SHIELD for what it really was, so who’s to say she was on the right side?” the second man said dryly, and it took all of Hope’s willpower not to knock him clean across the room.

“Don’t talk about my mom like that,” Hope said through gritted teeth. “My parents are not to be touched, and Scott and I are a package deal. I won’t settle for anything less.”

“You seem to think you have the upper hand here, Miss Van Dyne, and I can assure you that you don’t,” the first agent said, narrowing his eyes at her. “You violated the Accords multiple times - unauthorized use of a powered suit, interference with - ”

The door to Hope’s office suddenly swung open, and her assistant came striding in with an armored briefcase in hand, smiling beatifically. “Good afternoon, Miss Van Dyne, I am sorry it took so long.”

Hope let out a slow breath to calm herself down before she could really lose her temper. “That’s alright, bring it over here.” It was then that the agents looked at her assistant and did a double take in near-perfect synchronicity. “Is something wrong, agents?”

“That’s - ”

“Is there a problem?” Hope smirked. Mantis blinked.

“Alright, we’ll entertain you for a moment,” the woman sighed. “Are you trying to tell us that an alien from a…peacekeeping team of her own is now your assistant?”

“She’s staying on Earth for a little while and wanted to learn the culture, so I offered to let her shadow me,” Hope said, unlocking the briefcase and turning it towards them with the lid open. “Is this what you were looking for?”

“Yes, but - ”

“Wait, is that the right one?” The second man leaned in a little closer, trying to place whether it was really the suit they were looking for. “If you’re trying to con us, we have no choice but to search your office until we find your actual suit.”

“Are you sure? Look again,” Mantis said soothingly. She drummed her fingers in a precise pattern on the surface of Hope’s desk as she leaned against it. The three of them blinked slowly, almost like they were in a trance. “There is no need to be agitated. Hope is only worried about the well-being of her loved ones, that is all. Do you not worry about your loved ones like she does?”

“…yes.” The first agent settled back in his seat, looking remorseful. “I apologize for my colleague’s comment about your mother. I’m sure the work she did at SHIELD was very important to the world and your family.”

Hope glanced over at Mantis, barely daring to take a breath in case it gave away the ruse. “Thank you. It was.” She bowed her head. “I don’t mean to be hostile, I know you’re just doing your jobs, but I want to look out for the people I care about. And I appreciate the chance to be reserve Avengers, but Scott and I work best as partners, not members of a team.”

The woman pursed her lips. “When we spoke with Mister Stark and Captain Rogers, they vouched for you both. Are you going against their endorsement, then?”

“No, we just don’t - ”

“I can tell this isn’t your suit, by the way. I’ve seen enough footage and photographs to know every last detail of the real thing,” the woman concluded, getting to her feet with a disappointed sigh. “You know what? I can tell we aren’t getting everything we need today. Bring us the real one, and we can discuss your new terms another time. I have a feeling they’ve changed…again.”______ 

“I am sorry it did not work,” Mantis offered sadly about an hour later. She and Hope were now sitting in the lab, having lunch, watching Hank and Scott squabble over something mundane in the distance while Janet tried to mediate as best she could while also getting increasingly exasperated. “The woman’s mind was very strong. I could not appeal to her nature the way that I did with the others.”

“It’s not your fault,” Hope reassured her. “It was a stretch for me to think I could convince them in the first place.”

“You said something about ‘knocking heads’, right?” Mantis asked.

“I’m not going to beat anyone up, Mantis,” Hope chuckled, shaking her head. “There’s a time and place for it, and this isn’t one of those times. It’s not worth it. I’ve already dug a deep enough hole as it is.”

“But you want to get your suit back, don’t you?” Mantis persisted. “And you know where they took it. Maybe you can go get it, while I talk to the agents again and see if I can at least convince them to talk to you and Scott together.”

“That’s…actually not a bad idea.” Hope glanced across the room at her parents. “Should he come with us?”

“I’m telling you, Hank, I didn’t do it!”

“I swear to god, Scott, I saw you - ”

“Go easy on the boy, Henry, I’m sure he didn’t mean to.”

“That ‘boy’ is sleeping with our daughter, I wouldn’t exactly call him a boy - ”

“Never mind,” Hope sighed, rubbing at her temples; she could feel the beginnings of a headache starting to form. “But before we go, let me jump in there before Dad castrates him.”

An hour later, Hope and Mantis arrived at the storage facility, both unusually nervous given their usual demeanors. They stopped several feet from the gates, with Hope shrinking down and zipping through in search of an external vent, while Mantis tentatively approached the security booth.

“Hello, I am here on behalf of Pym Technologies and I have a meeting with some Accord representatives,” Mantis recited neatly, albeit loudly, causing the speaker to screech with feedback. The guard winced, waving her through after a brief glance at the ID badge Hope had given her.

“Not so loud.” Hope’s voice came through the earpiece, nearly invisible beneath Mantis’s hair.

“Sorry,” Mantis said sheepishly. “Peter took us to a drive-thru in Missouri where he had to shout to be heard. We ended up with three more orders of curly fries than we were supposed to. Are you inside yet?”

“Yes. Trying to follow the air conditioning system to figure out where their warehouse storage is located.”

“Mantis!” The moment she stepped into the lobby of the building, she was greeted by the three agents, who looked just as surprised to see her as she was startled by them. “You know, I really thought someone was pulling our leg when we got the call.”

“I would not play such a joke on you,” Mantis said, smiling politely. “I just wanted to talk.”

“My office, then,” the woman replied. They went into an elevator and through a series of hallways until they finally settled in a room, all while Mantis could hear Hope quietly muttering to herself through the line in fervent concentration. “So what’s this all about? Why are you really working for Van Dyne?”

“What she said is true. I want to learn more about the culture here. You see, my leader is like a big brother to me, and he came from this planet. It means a lot to him, and I want to understand him better. Hope seemed like the best candidate for me to follow around,” Mantis explained.

“Why is that?” the first man asked curiously.

“She is not a super spy, she does not have magical powers. She is a normal person who is very brave and strong, all on her own,” Mantis said thoughtfully.

“You really think that?” Hope sounded half-distracted, half-touched.

“She’s also violated a lot of laws,” the second man added.

“I do not know very much about these Accords. I have only heard about them from my friends.” Mantis glanced down at her hands, twisting her fingers in her lap. “I know that you think you have good intentions, but sometimes it hurts them more than it helps. I know that they have fought each other because they do not agree, and they have had to run and hide and help people from the shadows instead of in the light. I know that in some ways, they still have not fully forgiven each other for everything they have said and done. I also know that you have scared people who have had nothing to do with it, like Scott’s daughter.”

“We had no intention of - ”

“I do not understand Terrans very well, but I guess I do not understand much of anything,” she continued ruefully. “I grew up in isolation for most of my life, watching my master hurt children for not being what he wanted. He would only let them have one try before killing them where they stood. I think they deserved a second chance, don’t you?”

“Van Dyne and Lang have had plenty of chances if that’s what you’re trying to insinuate,” the woman said smoothly.

“But you have not let them explain themselves together,” Mantis pointed out. “I heard that you arrested Scott when he did not fully understand the consequences of the fight in Germany.”

“Is that what he told you?” Hope muttered in her ear.

“And Hope and Doctor Pym didn’t even know he was gone until you started chasing them, too,” Mantis added.

“Dammit, I see the case but it’s got a motion trigger. I’m gonna have to switch them out at the exact right time.”

“Like Indiana Jones?” Mantis exclaimed, her eyes widening when she realized what she’d done.

The agents stared at her like she’d sprouted even more antennae than she already had. “…I’m sorry?”

“Mantis,” Hope hissed.

“Peter showed me that movie once. I think there were chases in it, right?” She blinked innocently.

“…right.”

Hope shook her head, annoyed but still impressed that Mantis was well-versed enough to make the reference. The sight before her felt just about as foreboding as the golden idol. She could feel sweat beginning to form on her brow, feeling burdened by both the half-finished prototype suit she was wearing, and the case tucked underneath her arm, waiting to be traded for the real thing.

She swallowed thickly, flying closer to the spot where her suit was sitting, but not so close as to set off the alarm. There was a vague buzzing in her head of Mantis’s ramblings; she seemed to be on a tangent about her fascination with Terran pop culture and Scott and Hope’s predicament at the same time.

“You got this,” Hope muttered to herself, taking a deep breath. She braced herself, lifting both her arms up with her finger on the size trigger in her glove. In one fluid motion, she swept the real case under her left arm, shrinking it down until it was no bigger than a fingernail, grew the prototype case to its full size, and slotted it neatly in place. The motion trigger light flickered briefly, then continued on as if nothing happened. She exhaled. “I did it. Heading back outside now.”

“And that is why they are very under-appreciated compared to the Avengers. Just because they have not saved an entire city from an alien invasion on their own - also, I do not like the way you say the word ‘alien’ - ”

“Oh, Mantis,” Hope sighed with a relieved chuckle.

Mantis exited the building ten minutes later with an unusual amount of pride in her step, meeting up with Hope back where they had started. “You got your suit back?”

Hope held it up triumphantly between her pointer finger and her thumb, so miniscule that Mantis had to squint to really see it. “How did it go in there?”

“They agreed to meet with both of you next week,” Mantis said happily. “And they will stop surveilling Scott’s house.”

“That’s great! How did you manage to get them to agree?” Hope exclaimed.

“I told them I would not leave until they did.” Mantis chewed her lip. “And I may have accidentally used my sleep powers when that man got too close to me.” Hope groaned. “He scared me!”

“At least we got what we wanted,” Hope sighed. She reached out to squeeze Mantis’s arm. “Hey…thank you.”

“Of course,” Mantis grinned. “I do not like seeing my friends get hurt.”

“We are friends, aren’t we?” Hope smiled back. “And friends take other friends to dinner so she can learn more about Terran culture. That is, if you’re free.”

Mantis’s eyes widened. “I am! I think if I go back to my team now, all I will hear about is the engagement, and I have heard plenty .”

“Good.” Hope gestured towards the car waiting for them a little further down the road. “I hope you’ll like tacos.”______

Hope winced as the front door creaked open slowly, almost painfully - she needed to talk to Scott about greasing the hinges, along with another half-dozen home improvement projects they could really use - and kicked off her shoes, tiptoeing up the stairs. She briefly disappeared into the bathroom to change, brush her teeth, and wash her face, holding her breath while she slipped under the duvet, trying not to disturb him.

“Whashappening?”

She sighed in defeat. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you. Just go back to sleep.”

“No, hey, tell me…tell me how it went.” Scott yawned, rolling over to face her, blinking sleepily. She smiled, settling down comfortably into the pillows.

“Long story short, I got my suit back, and we have a meeting with them. Together.”

“How?” he mumbled; he was already starting to drift off again.

“Mantis went to talk to them while I shrunk down in the prototype suit - I didn’t have the same problems that you did, by the way - and went through the vent. She started off talking about how she wanted to learn more about our culture and somehow tied the Accords back to her upbringing, and…” She was interrupted by a snort, courtesy of Scott’s tendency to snore loudly and unashamedly. Hope chuckled amusedly, leaning over to briefly kiss him on the cheek before properly snuggling in underneath the blanket, warm and content. “Never mind. I’m sure this will make for an interesting story another time.”

[aion-rsa]

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Complete Marvel Universe Easter Eggs and Reference Guide

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We're tracking down every Marvel reference in Ant-Man and the Wasp! Here's a complete guide for you.

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Gavin Jasper

Ant-Man and The Wasp

Aug 4, 2018

Marvel

After seeing everything build up into Avengers: Infinity War, the Marvel Cinematic Universe hits another big milestone with its twentieth movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp. Peyton Reed’s sequel to 2015’s Ant-Man (AKA the moment when we just kind of accepted that Marvel could get away with nearly any concept and make it a hit) is in theaters now and acts as both a follow-up to the original and Scott Lang’s misadventures in Captain America: Civil War.

Absent in Infinity War, Ant-Man only got a shout-out as being under house arrest. Now we get to see what that’s all about, taking place a short while before that big blockbuster. Here are some Easter eggs and references from Scott Lang’s Day Off.

Lots of spoilers coming!

THE WASP/JANET VAN DYNE

Clever thing about the movie is that the title has a double-meaning. It’s both about Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne as well as Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne. Janet had a short scene in Ant-Man in full costume in a flashback, but here she’s an actual character. Janet first appeared in Tales to Astonish #44 back in 1963. Much like Hank, Janet was one of the original members of the Avengers and was even the one who came up with the team name at the end of the first issue.

Wasp’s movie death/disappearance is, in retrospect, very similar to Bucky Barnes’ comic book death in the sense that she sacrificed herself and seemingly died to prevent an enemy rocket from killing innocents. Her return has more in common with Brian Michael Bendis’ run on Avengers.

In the story Secret Invasion, Wasp was infected with tainted Pym Particles that turned her into a living bomb. Thor prevented her from causing massive destruction, but she still dispersed into nothingness. Towards the end of Bendis’ run, she was able to communicate with several Avengers and let them know that she was in fact alive and marooned in the Microverse. Hank and the others were then able to rescue her and bring her back to the normal world.

GHOST

Ghost was introduced in Iron Man #219 (1987) by David Michelinie and Bob Layton. While the appearance and powers are on-point, the comic and movie versions are pretty different. For one, the comic villain is a white male and is obsessed with destroying corporations. His real name has never been revealed, but according to his origin, he was a brilliant programmer who was exploited, manipulated, and almost murdered by his bosses. While mostly a villain, he spent a good amount of time as an anti-hero member of the Thunderbolts.

As far as I know, Ava Starr is a brand new character. Her father, on the other hand, is Egghead. Introduced in Tales to Astonish #28 (1962) by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Larry Lieber, Egghead was your run-of-the-mill mad scientist. But hey, he was a regular thorn in the side of Hank Pym, so that’s something.

BILL FOSTER

Hank Pym’s old friend first showed up in the pages of Avengers #32 (1966) and almost a decade later, he became a superhero. In the movie, he mentions working on something called Project Goliath, based on enlarging people, which is fitting since his hero monikers have included Black Goliath and just plain Goliath. He’s basically most well-known for being the big casualty of the Civil War comic series.

Er, as long as you don’t count Captain America in the aftermath.

JAMES WOO

FBI agent James Woo has a long history in Marvel Comics. Originally appearing in Yellow Claw #1 (1956) by Al Feldstein and Joe Maneely, Jimmy Woo was an agent out to oppose the Yellow Claw, one of your usual “yellow peril” racist comic villains of that era. He was later turned into a SHIELD agent and had a role in a task force put together to stop Godzilla back when said monster had its own Marvel series.

Woo is mostly known for leading the Agents of Atlas, a team of obscure and forgotten comic characters from the 1950s. Originally, it was a one-off story from the What If series back in the 70s, but the concept was brought into canon in the mid-00s. Listen, if dorky SHIELD agent Phil Coulson can get a TV spinoff, I think dorky FBI agent James Woo can get an Agents of Atlas spinoff. The world is ready for Gorilla Man and his robot buddy.

Even though this is Woo’s first actual MCU appearance, he did get namedropped on Agents of SHIELD as being a contact on Melinda May’s cell.

SONNY BURCH

Much like Ghost, Burch is another Iron Man villain being repurposed for Ant-Man. In the comics, Burch was only around for a single storyline back in 2003-2004. Introduced in Iron Man #73 by John Jackson Miller, Jorge Lucas, and Phillip Tan, Burch had more in common with the film version of Justin Hammer than his own movie counterpart. Burch was a businessman who exploited a legal loophole that gave him ownership of some older Stark armor tech. Caring more for profits than regulations and quality, he tried to exploit this technology and it became publicly disastrous. He ended up shooting himself rather than face charges.

GEOFFREY BALLARD

Although he didn’t get much screentime, the FBI agent contacted by Burch and given the tip to catch Hank and Hope is a supervillain in the comics. With the villain name Centurion, he debuted in Black Goliath #4 (1976) by Chris Claremont, Rick Buckler, and Don Heck. Even though he first showed up in Bill Foster’s comic, he ended up being more of a Ms. Marvel villain.

MISCELLANEOUS

- Scott’s daughter Cassie early on remarks, “I wish we could shrink for real.” Much like with Bucky Barnes wielding the shield and Jim Rhodes cracking wise at the silver Iron Man armor, this sounds like foreshadowing. Teenage Cassie followed in her father’s footsteps in the comics as Stature, a member of the Young Avengers. With the rumors of Cassie being a teenager in Avengers 4, we’ll see if there’s more to this quote than meets the eye.

- While being kidnapped, Scott is watching Animal House (1978). More specifically, he’s watching a scene where Pintlo (Tom Hulce) and Dave Jennings (Donald Sutherland) have a pot-fueled discussion about how there are galaxies within atoms.

- Kurt talks up Baba Yaga, a bogeywoman of Russian folklore. She has at least made some appearances in Marvel Comics, usually in relation to Captain Britain.

- Luis makes a strained reference to the Budweiser “Wassap” commercials which aired...in 1999. Almost 20 years ago. Oh my God. Why am I just now recognizing these gray hairs?

- When Bill Foster notices a bunch of ants crawling through the lab, he lets out a hammy, “It’s them!” At first glance, this might seem like a basic line, but it’s almost definitely a subtle joke reference to Them!, the 1954 movie about giant ants. The same film is being watched by Scott, Hope, and Cassie at the end of the movie.

- According to his cameo, Stan Lee apparently did a lot of acid back in the 60s. Sounds about right.

- The mid-credits scene takes place during the final moments of Avengers: Infinity War after Thanos snapped his fingers. While Scott survives, Hank, Janet, and Hope aren’t so lucky. Even alive, Scott is stranded and the post-credits stinger adds a question mark to, “Ant-Man and the Wasp will return.”

Any other references you noticed? Sound off in the comments!

Gavin Jasper is going to be a good boy for the rest of this year and then ask Santa for an Agents of Atlas movie. Follow Gavin on Twitter!

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