#rebecca banner

[dappercat123]

I want to talk about these pages from the cates hulk run

Because despite my hatred of the cates run, a feeling I’m sure a lot of hulk favs share, these pages are REALLY good. And it does something I wish more hulk storye’s would do which is to flesh out who Rebecca banner was when she was alive.

Even immortal hulk as much as I loved it didn’t do much with Rebecca, like Batman’s parents or uncle Ben I know Rebecca exists to die. But both with uncle Ben and Batman’s parents it’s usually shown how they influenced their respective hero’s outside of just their deaths. But still the only times we ever really see Rebecca is when she’s getting beaten.

Aside from this scene and her temporary revival in the Chaos king storyline. We never see who Rebecca is when she isn’t getting beaten or dying.

I want more scenes like this of Rebecca when she was alive, the good times she had with Bruce that make her death at Brian’s hands more tragic. Make her a bit more of a person in her own right rather then just a prop.

And the fact that a moment this good came out of the fuckin cates run is even more astounding to me.

[soupsandstars]

hulk sketches from today

[goodoldfashionedengineer]

I am watching Daisy Jones & the Six rn, a fictional band which was really popular in the 70s but had a fallout and no one answered why, until 20 years later when they interview the band members and people involved with them, a documentary of sorts.

And I love that sort of thing.

So, idea: Bruce was a brilliant scientist and one day, he disappeared from the face of the earth (on the day of the gamma bomb test). They make a documentary about Bruce Banner in the 80s/90s.

None of his still living family members wanted to participate.

They pull in some other people.

Elementary school teacher: "He was gifted from a young age. Always on top of his class. Could read before he was four years old. But he wasn't really sociable. He didn't have any friends, no. The other kids quickly saw him as a target and ganged up on him."

"It was usually his mom who picked him up. Brian Banner, his father, was known to... Not be a pleasant person. A very angry and also insecure man.”

Former neighbor, “The neighborhood wasn't really a community. Except for church services, maybe. But yeah, you could hear screams from the Banner house very often. Mr and Mrs Banner went out a lot and the boy stayed with the Nanny. Highly unpleasant person as well. You didn't see her often but you knew that you just didn't want to talk with her.”

Bartender, “Brian Banner was a regular. Nobody liked him because he got really aggressive when drunk. And loud. He would often complain about his son, making claims about him being a monster. It was at these moments I was glad he was at the bar instead of at home.”

Former neighbor: “Rebecca did sport a black eye every now and then, no amount of make-uo was going to conceal that. Plus she wore long-sleeved shirts even in summer. She was a good woman. She didn't deserve what happened to her. But yes, the clues that something like this could happen were there.”

Reporter: “What happened?”

Police Officer #1: “We got a call. An accident with one person dead. We arrived at the scene and we all knew that this was no accident.”

Police Officer #2: “He was still kneeling beside her bleeding body. His hands, his face, his clothes, they were all covered in blood. I gave him a blanket, guided him away to our car. He didn't show any signs of emotions. But tears were running down his face. Suddenly, he said ‘She didn’t slip. "He killed her’.”

Police Officer #3: “I remember him. I couldn't ever forget that case. I was with him at the station while we waited for his aunt. He was sitting there all alone, wrapped in a blanket so I decided to get him a hot chocolate. You could see that he had it tough in life. There were bruises on his arms, some handshapped. I brought the hot chocolate over to him and he was holding out his arm. Was muttering something along the lines of ‘I can't find it’. I never understood it.”

Reporter: “You were his middle school teacher?”

Teacher #1: “Yes, I was.”

Reporter: “What do you remember about him?”

Teacher #1: “He was a real troublemaker. Not because of his grades, but he would cause scenes because he only ever wanted to work alone, which backfired multiple times. And his constant mumbling!”

Reporter: “Mumbling?”

Teacher: “Yes! He would talk to himself so often, even during class! And then he had the audacity to not even pay attention to the lesson!”

Schoolmate #1: “I was in the same class as him.”

“Ohh, yes, he mumbled to himself so often! Not even himself, his imaginary friend. Imaginary friend! We were teenagers and the guy still had an imaginary friend. Probably because no one else would willingly spend time with him.”

“Hulk. He always called him Hulk, yeah. Even wrote that name down in his notebook he always carried around.”

“He had this notebook and he would write in it whenever he could. Even during class.”

“I don't know what he wrote in it anymore. Some sort of equations.”

Carla, schoolmate: “He stepped in when Ken, the school bully, harrassed me. He didn't have to do that, but he did anyway.”

“Well, they… they beat him up. He had to go to the hospital. Broken ribs. But once he came back, he asked me if I was okay!”

“What I said? Erm, stuff I regret saying. I don't want to talk about it. We were teenagers and I had a lot to deal with already. I had my own insecurities and your reputation was really important back in school. It wasn't fair, yes, but I was just a girl.”

“He was a good person. Sure, he was weird, but he did not deserve to be bullied. Nobody does.”

Reporter: “How do you know Bruce Banner?”

Former college student #1: “We were roommates during college.”

Reporter: “What was he like?”

Former college student #1: “Smart. Passionate. Awkward. He was great at what he did, a real favorite amongst teachers. He studied with Stoddard, another gamma scientist. Stoddard was always jealous of Banner, because he worked much harder but Banner was the one who got all the praise.”

“It wasn't that Banner was lazy, he was just a genius who just instantly understood everything it seemed. When he had a problem, he would immediately try to solve it.”

Reporter: “How do you know Bruce Banner?”

“We were friends during college.”

“We had a study group in college and we would spend the weekends together too sometimes.”

“We were all nerds, which is why it was so easy to talk together. The rest? They didn't understand us. But we understood each other.”

Former college student #3: “We had fun sharing our interests, sharing knowledge, getting into rambles, going into hypothetical scenarios.”

Former college student #2: *rubbing the back of his neck* “What we would do in our free time together? Ehh.”

Former college student #3: “Drugs.”

Former college student #2: “It was the 70s and burnt out college students. I’m sure that’s all that you need.”

Former college student #1: “Once, I hadn't seen him for three days. I didn't think much of it until he came back. He looked really shaken up and spaced-out. Told me he was at a cafe three towns over. Apparently he had no idea how he got there and just walked back.”

“If he went to parties? Usually not. Except when he did. See, most of the time he was really timid. He was sure of himself, but still introverted. But when he did go out? The guy went all the way. Would even ask me if I wanted to come with him, which I declined. He was like a completely different person.”

Former college student #2: “We had a great time together. Parties were so fun! He really knew how to charm the ladies. It was like Clark Kent and Superman, one second an unassuming guy, the next, he knew how to read the room and what to say to people to get what he wants as if he could read their minds.”

Former college student #3: “Sometimes we would drive to a casino, he would make some money and afterwards we would get something to eat.”

Former college student #2: “And sometimes… Sometimes it seemed more like possession than a superpower. I remember one time we were in the car, mentally not 100% present and he asked really panicked ‘Where am I? How did I get here?’. And that whole confident demeanor? It was gone.”

Former college student #1: “Yes, this was not the only occurrence. Sometimes he would become… childish? He would talk in a few word sentences. I blamed it on sleep deprivation but when I asked him about it, he told me he didn't remember.”

Journalist: “What happened after Dr. Banner’s college time is mostly speculation. What we do know is that he tried to get funding for his research but was declined. As to what his idea consisted of, we have no idea. Eventually he would join the government and this was the last officially known thing about him. His contact with friends and family members became less and less. Of course, he had co-workers that would probably know more, but even the ones working with him are mostly classified and the ones we do know of were unable to be contacted. Eventually a missing person report was filed - and immediately closed. Did he die? Is he held captive? Did he see something he was not supposed to see? As of now, we don't have the answers. But there is hope that we one day will.”

[o-kaythislooksbad]

ailesswhumptober day 21: drugged / ambulance ride / "this will make you feel better, okay?"

chapter 7 / 7 of you fall and you crawl and you break | not rated, chose not to warn

bruce screams as the needle pierces his skin. he screams as he watches his red blood go into the tubes, and screams as the doctor tells him to stop screaming, and he screams in his dreams after his papa slapped him to sleep.

there's something wrong with his blood, with him, that makes bruce always have to go to the doctor. at least that's what papa and the nurse say. mama says no, that bruce is perfectly healthy and a good boy, but they don't like listening to mama.

in his dreams, a voice speaks over his screams. it's not mean, yelling for him to stop, but it's not gentle, either. it's just somehow loud enough that bruce can hear its words even when his ears ring and he can't even hear himself anymore. it doesn't tell him anything bad, only confusing, saying things like bruce is its child and destined for things with big, scary-sounding names. it speaks of taking over bodies and destroying relationships, of something called an apocalypse and bringing hell to earth, of hollowing out bruce's soul and burying itself there. 

bruce wakes up screaming, and can't even stop when mama cries and asks him so, so nicely to please be quiet, or he'll make himself sick again, and no one wants to go back to the doctor, do they? 

"this will make you feel better, okay?" mama says, holding a bottle to his lips. 

he latches on to it, 'cause his throat is sore and bottles are nice, and sighs a little as he finally calms down. he hiccups a few times, causing some of the water to dribble down his neck and make his skin itchy, but he has no reason to cry about that. his skin is already itchy from the pajamas and blanket stuck to his body with sweat, but itchy is an outside feeling, and he's mostly okay with those. it's the inside feelings, of thin needles and wider pieces of cold metal checking his temperature, that really make bruce upset.

he closes his eyes as he drinks the cool water, letting it push down all the pictures in his head of the fiery below-place full of glowing green doors and bleeding red earth. he's almost done with the bottle, almost nice and sleepy, when a hand snatches it from his mouth. 

"what in the world do you think you're doing?" papa shouts the question, but it doesn't sound like he wants an answer. "for christ's sake, rebecca, he's not a baby. he doesn't need this."

bruce untangles himself from his blanket and slowly sits up. his head hurts, and even though he's not thirsty anymore, the slight weight of the bottle in his hands and against his tongue helped him settle down. maybe if he reaches a little bit, he can take the bottle back from papa's hand. 

"he turned two last week!"

"exactly!" papa throws the bottle against the wall, sending shards of plastic across the room along with shattering any hope of bruce ever getting it back.

bruce watches in quiet sadness as the rubber nipple bounces a couple times on the floor. it's still in one piece, but there's no way it's ever gonna be able to be part of a bottle again. he's little and stupid, but bruce is big enough and smart enough about the way that papa works - he's gonna turn the entire house upside down and inside out until every bit of bruce's baby things are collected into the trash. 

dejected, but not surprised, bruce slumps back down onto his sweaty sheets and curls up into a ball. papa keeps shouting at mama, but bruce doesn't have guardian to keep him back. he hasn't heard from goblin in a while, either, and glow's nice but can't do anything to help. bruce falls asleep, shivering in his crib, and returns to nightmares of the below-place and his body being torn apart.

hulk screams as the needles pierce his skin. he screams as he watches his green blood flow into a dozen vials, as other syringes inject him with cocktails of what he assumes to be antipsychotics and sedatives, based on previous 'tests.' he screams as the officer tells him to stop screaming, and snarls and bites at the officer instead, causing him to back off for a moment before returning with a cattle prod. 

hulk eyes it with curiosity and skepticism rather than fear. there's something wrong with his blood, with him, that always leads hulk back to an examination room full of people hell-bent on breaking him to figure out what that thing is. hulk and bruce have tried countless times to say that they're healthy and more or less fine as long as people leave them alone, but the officers and scientists and whoever else turns up for the spectacle don't like listening to them.

it's much more entertaining to ignore them rather than speak once it's clear they won't listen.

the officer with the cattle prod proceeds to poke hulk with it, in an attempt to elicit a response more than anything else, and hulk decides to just watch the scene play out. he's been here before and he'll be here again, and he's already figured out an escape plan, so he might as well see what's in store for him. 

staying quiet, it turns out, frightens the officer more than the screaming. hulk raises an eyebrow at some of the more inventive experimentations, rolls his eyes at others, and his silent judgment causes an air of unease to fill the room. 

he falls asleep at some point after the blood draws and electrocution, and wakes up to find his shins partially detached from his knees and a tray over his chest displaying his lungs and a couple of fingers. it's not painful - when will these fools learn that hulk can't be hurt? - but the lingering dreams plague him as the so-called surgeons continue their operation.

in his sleep, a voice reminiscent of brian's mingled with sterns', monotonously and maniacally detailing a plan for taking over the universe. it spoke with certainty, as if its scheme is inexorable, which almost made hulk laugh; there ain't anything in this universe that can compete with his sheer force of will. the voice called itself the one below all and spoke of using hulk to break the world, for no other reason than causing destruction for its own sake and tormenting bruce's soul in the process.

hulk attributes the nightmares to the drugs swimming through his veins. if there's even the slightest hint of truth to the one below all being anything other than an imaginary creature, then there's a chance he might be up against something with the potential to actually damage him, and he has no idea how to combat it. 

he can, however, hurt the med team before breaking out of their facility, and smiles as rips off his restraints and lets out a blood-curdling scream.

[gammacousin]

Elaine Walters: “Great film. Great choice, Sue. I'll definitely be able to sleep tonight.”

Rebecca Banner: *horrified* “What kind of movie is this?!”

Susan Drake: *to the screen* “RIP HIS THROAT OUT!”

Elaine Walters: “It’s a musical, Becca.”

[sorrythatwasmean]

Bruce's Mom in She-Hulk??

At the family dinner, they specifically name Jen's Aunt Rebecca twice. The captions name her at least 3 times.

Who is Rebecca Banner in the comics? Bruce's mother.

(tw: domestic abuse, child abuse, character death)

Bruce's dad Brian killed her when she attempted to take Bruce and leave her abusive husband. And this event is the reason Bruce has Dissociative Identity Disorder formerly known as "that Multiple Personality thing." Those formidable years of pain and suffering was the start of Bruce's rage. Hulk existed before gamma because a little boy lost his mother.

They say "Rebecca" in Jen's show, in that one scene twice.They have Jennifer Walters' mother's name right. I may be over thinking this, but now I have theories:

A) Everything after KEVIN is an illusion and Jen needs to escape in Season 2.Is it The Leader and mind control? Both Jen and Bruce lost their mothers in comics. Think about it: The family dinner. The picture perfect ending. Bruce actually having a peaceful reunion with his son.

I don't like this one because Matt and Jen is great. She deserves a win.

B) In comics, Susan and Elaine were Brian Banner's sisters. Elaine married Jen's Dad. Susan raised Bruce and in my opinion, is the main reason Bruce is a compassionate and caring person.

So another option is Brian Banner is dead or in jail. Aunt Susan and Rebecca raised Bruce.

This is acceptable.

C) This is gonna bug me. That's too happy. This is Bruce Banner and Marvel.

Is World War Hulk gonna happen? In the comics, merged personality Hulk aka Professor Hulk was Bruce in control and Hulk and Joe Fixit aka Grey Hulk's personalities merged. And merged Hulk was smart but he was also arrogant and over-confident at times. This tracks with training-to-be-Hulk-but-is-kinda-a-jerk Bruce.

What would shake Bruce's convenient happy ending? I've written before on how I don't find merged Hulk a satisfactory ending of his arc, but what would make Bruce lose control again? His mother isn't his mother. His mother is a Skrull. Or his memory has been messed with. Or Jen is in trouble.

It would be the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Bruce Banner went from broken-hearted and pushed into a deep dark hole by Natasha Romanoff in Ultron to waking up on Sakaar. And that rolled directly into Ragnarok on Asgard, the attack on the Asgardian refugee vessel the Statesman in Infinity War. Bruce in Endgame had Tony and Natasha in his Infinity Stone brainstorm room.

He lost both of them. And then the only other character we've seen in the MCU spend any significant time with him-- Thor --left the planet to deal with his own issues.

Bruce wasn't drinking on the beach property his dead friend gave him because he's at peace. He was trying to live his life and honor all the people he has lost.

Cousin Jen would be the person he cares about that he can actually love back. If she was in danger or his mother wasn't his mother, that would be more than enough to tip the scales.

[catstuxedo]

Hulk-Girl 6-29

[thelibraryghost]

A Young Person's Introduction to Late 19th-Century Western Fashion

hello fellow youths

General information Banner, Bernadette. "Exposing Victorian Influencers Who 'Facetuned' Their Photos. (Photo Manipulation was EVERYWHERE)." YouTube. July 17, 2021. English Heritage. "Fashion Through History: Episode 1 – Victorians." YouTube. February 9, 2023. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "100 Years of Fashion // The Fashionable Plus Size Silhouette from 1820-1910." YouTube. June 5, 2021. Victoria and Albert Museum. "100 Years of Fashionable Womenswear: 1830s – 1930s | V&A." YouTube. July 18, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Victorian Fashion Is Not What You Think It Is." YouTube. March 19, 2019.

Accessories Banner, Bernadette. ""Afro-Victorian": Bringing Historical Black Women's Dress into the 21st Century w Cheyney McKnight." YouTube. October 20, 2021. Cox, Abby. "A Fashion Historian Explains the History of the Handbag." YouTube. January 26, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "Dangerous Things in Victorian Pockets : Mens Pocket History." YouTube. March 2, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Controversial History of Color Season Analysis." YouTube. November 4, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Disgusting and Creepy Victorian Fashion Trends." YouTube. October 17, 2018.

Bustles and hoopskirts Donner, Morgan. "Weirdest Victorian Invention: The Bustle-Chair (and we made one)." YouTube. November 20, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "100 Years of Underwear // The Changing Plus Size Shape from Regency to Victorian to Edwardian." YouTube. May 1, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "All About Bustles! A Deep Dive into 1870s Fashions." YouTube. December 26, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "Why were Victorian Hips Controversial?" YouTube. September 12, 2021.

Cosmetics Birchwood, Vasi. "1800s Makeup Is Not What You Think." YouTube. July 21, 2023. English Heritage. "Queen Victoria Makeup Tutorial | History Inspired | Feat. Amber Butchart and Rebecca Butterworth." YouTube. May 20, 2019. Zebrowska, Karolina. "I Used Only Victorian Cosmetics For a Week." YouTube. July 26, 2023.

Fabrics Rudolph, Nicole. "Did Silk Spontaneously Combust in the Victorian Era?" YouTube. August 8, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Elastic." YouTube. July 4, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Truth About Arsenic in the Victorian Era." YouTube. January 24, 2021.

Gowns Bullat, Samantha. "Dress Historian Analyzes Victorian Mourning Clothing of the Mid-19th Century." YouTube. March 14, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "All About 1860's Fashion // What did Civil War-era fashion look like?" YouTube. November 12, 2022. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "How did fashion evolve from 1850-1859? // 1850's Fashion Deep Dive." YouTube. October 1, 2022. Rudolph, Nicole. "Victorian Fast Fashion? The Truth about the History of Disposable Clothing." YouTube. February 6, 2022. SnappyDragon. "Were the Pre-Raphaelites painting accurate medieval dress . . . or Victorian fairtytalecore?" YouTube. April 26, 2024. Zebrowska, Karolina. "19th Century Fashion - How To Tell Different Decades Apart?" YouTube. November 17, 2017.

Hair care and styling Banner, Bernadette. "Following a Victorian Home Made Hair Care Routine (1889)." YouTube. September 11, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Getting Dressed in an 1888 Daisy Costume // Easy Bustle-Era Hair Tutorial." YouTube. November 13, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Getting Dressed in the 1870s & 1874 Hairstyle Tutorial." YouTube. February 23, 2020. Rudolph, Nicole. "Why did Victorian Women Cut their Hair Short?" YouTube. December 18, 2022. Laundry and housekeeping English Heritage. "A Tour of the Laundry - The Victorian Way." YouTube. September 6, 2019. English Heritage. "How to Wash Up - The Victorian Way." YouTube. March 18, 2021. English Heritage. "Laying the Table at Christmas – The Victorian Way." YouTube. December 14, 2022. Walkley, Christina, and Vanda Foster. Crinolines and Crimping Irons: Victorian Clothes: How They Were Cleaned and Cared for. Peter Owen Limited: London, 1978.

Outerwear and working wear Birchwood, Vasi. "What Irish Working Women Wore in the Late 19th Century | I Made the Clothing of My Irish Ancestors." YouTube. June 23, 2023. English Heritage. "The Real Mrs Crocombe | Part Four: A Victorian Cook's Outfit." YouTube. July 5, 2018. Stowell, Lauren. "It's Hot: Let's Look At Some Bathing Suits." American Duchess. August 18, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Jeans, T-shirts, and Hoodies: Time Travel 101." YouTube. March 20, 2022. Zebrowska, Karolina. "The 1851 Women's Pants That Made The Victorians Go Crazy." YouTube. March 2, 2020.

Shoes Rudolph, Nicole. "100 years of Antique Boots." YouTube. February 10, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "How to Make Regency & Victorian Shoes: Beginner Shoemaking." YouTube. June 27, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Myth of Tiny Feet "Back Then"." YouTube. September 26, 2021.

Undergarments Banner, Bernadette. "I Wore a (Medical) Corset for 5 Years. How do Victorian Corsets Compare?" YouTube. November 7, 2020. Banner, Bernadette. "Making Some Frilly Victorian Underwear || 1890s Combinations." YouTube. February 9, 2019. Birchwood, Vasi. "What Victorians Wore to Bed." YouTube. May 5, 2023. Cox, Abby. "I made weird Victorian underwear (it's a knit onesie) & a pretty 1890s corset || historical sewing." YouTube. March 21, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "How 8 Different Historical Corsets Affect the Same Plus Size Body." YouTube. December 12, 2020. Rudolph, Nicole. "100 Years of Corset History: How 8 Corsets affect the same body." YouTube. November 29, 2020. Zebrowska, Karolina. "How Did Victorian Ladies Stay Warm in Winter? || THE EXPERIMENT." YouTube. January 22, 2021. Zebrowska, Karolina. "How Did Victorian Women Deal With Their Periods?" YouTube. October 17, 2019.

[minimutty]

Teatime with Baby Lucius! Since there is no Baby Raven to dote on, adult Raven is the next best thing 😅

I'd like to image Raven tries to at least watch over the kid and subtly dotes on him, even though Baby Lucius is like 500x stronger than him.

Not even 5 seconds later:

Raven: I'm not mad at you, but I'm not happy either...

Baby Lucius: I beg your forgiveness, please! I'm so sorry!

Raven: Yeah, I heard you the first 50 times. Don't worry about it, just... get me a towel, please.

--

Lucius: I'm surprised how lenient you were to him, Lord Raymond!

Raven: He's just a kid and he's learning. I don't have anything against him, and he is just as stubborn as you. ...Can you get me a change of clothes, though?

Lucius: Hahah, of course, my Lord.

[skygirl999]

A New Background 🌅

[yeyayeya]

This is hours late but-

When I saw this my mind instantly went to Alm and Faye and thought we were getting the Ram Village kids, but looking at it closer it doesn’t seem to be the case

Faye’s hair doesn’t match on who the girl is one the right, and the boy’s hair also does not match Alm at all, and even the sword which I assume is a rapier doesn’t seem to be something Alm would have

My mind went to Eli and if that’s the case and if we get FE7 kiddos I’m gonna die

[soupsandstars]

Cool down sketch that sort of snowballed

[goodoldfashionedengineer]

Dayton Ohio, a Life-Time ago

Fixit had mesmerized all the creaking spots on the steps. He was walking down one last time, very confident without even looking and even twirling around on the last one.

Mom was entering the room and watched as well. "What are you doing, Bruce?", she asked with a non-smile. He thought he had never seen her smile before.

His first idea was to say "playing" but then he remembered that he was supposed to be a man.

Take it like a man, you freak! This is your fault!

Instead, he settled on "Strutting"

"Why are you strutting?", Mom replied. She had make-up under her eyes. She should sleep more. But father's, no, Brian's presence, wouldn't let her. He knew that.

Mom came back to look after the bruises. She shouldn't but she did anyway. She took care of them, gave him a kiss on the head and then she left, followed by screaming. He didn't remember the rest.

Tonight he wouldn't make her worry because tonight he wouldn't be caught. He had the upper hand this time. And he would keep it this way, he made sure of it.

He knew all the best hiding spots the old man would never look for. When it was safe again, he knew just where to step to go unnoticed.

Only if the situation calls for it he would run. Only cowards ran away. Cowards who didn't understand the big picture called life, but just their own personal hell.

"Saw the men doing it on TV"

That the men weren't "honorable" ones, but mobsters didn't he mention. He knew what to say. And what not to say. He got this.

She seemed pleased and let herself down onto an armchair, still watching him.

Fixit would keep them safe tonight.

[o-kaythislooksbad]

ailesswhumptober day 18: mind control / possession / "everybody will end up despising you"

chapter 4 / 7 of you fall and you crawl and you break | not rated, chose not to warn

glow gently rotates above the crib. its faint pink light casts a warm halo around bruce, and a slow smile forms on his lips as he watches the star. the smile becomes a giggle, bubbly and pleasant to his ears, and soon his mama looks down and returns the smile.

"there you are! there's my happy little bruce." mama's smile is brighter than glow, basking her in pale yellow moonlight. 

"rebecca! we're going to be late for the ceremony. you better not be with the baby."

"that's what the nurse is for," she whispers as he shouts it. "i know, brian! i'm only getting my pocketbook."

she kisses bruce on his nose before disappearing, leaving him with glow. glow is nice and always there for bruce, but it can't protect him from the nurse.

guardian tried, once upon a time, but it isn't much bigger than bruce and got slammed across the floor. bruce followed moments later, his fall barely cushioned by guardian's soft body, and stayed there for a long, long time. he hadn't even been able to sit up on his own then, and had to wait for the nurse to pick him up and drop him back into his playpen when she heard the car enter the driveway.

the nurse is never happy to see bruce. her mouth sometimes grins, and her voice sometimes sounds his mama's sing-songy voice, but her eyes are always empty and dark like papa's. no wonder he decided to bring her into their house to help take care of baby bruce.

"you know the drill, young man," the nurse says. "you stay in your crib, you keep your mouth shut, and if i catch even a whiff of crap coming from you, i'm taking you out back to get hosed down."

she puts a bottle in his mouth, and bruce blinks up at her in confusion. his hands know how to hold the bottle, that's not the problem, but whatever is flowing into his mouth is sour and makes his head hurt. he falls into a dreamless sleep for a long, long time. 

bruce clutches guardian tightly against his chest. as long as the stuffed toy is in his arms, papa can't poke them and take his blood. 

that doesn't stop him from opening bruce's mouth to swab it for germs and make sure that bruce is clean. the swabs get dunked into tall glasses, change color, and make papa very, very angry. 

"you're a pathetic little freak of nature," he says, making bruce curl up and scoot further backwards on the table. "everybody will end up despising you," he sneers. "i wish i'd killed you in your crib when i had the chance, but she's attached to you now and your bed's too close to the floor for a fall to hurt. although," he reaches forward, "who's to say you haven't yet learned not to climb on papa's desk?"

goblin roars, startling brian away. 

"nothing but a freak," he mutters, but doesn't come any closer. 

glow gently rotates above the bed. its faint pink light is more white than pink now, and watching the star slowly turn around the ceiling makes bruce frown. glow is supposed to glow, to be warm and keep him safe, but it fades a bit each night. 

soon, glow will be nothing but a memory, and memories can't protect him.

guardian can't protect him much now, either; its soft body was too weak to withstand the daily routine of playing on the swings and making toy cars crash and being squeezed and dragged around by bruce. 

goblin, though, has no problem keeping up with bruce. it bares its teeth and growls at anything remotely close to hurting bruce, sometimes scaring other kids away. it folds its arms and sets its jaw, stares down anyone foolish enough to try touching bruce, and leaps at them if they try touching rebecca.

"the radiation must've altered your mind as well," brian mutters, looking at the newest test results on his desk. "combined with your mother's inferior DNA… there's no wonder you turned out this way." he turns to bruce, who sits silently on the nearby chair. "do you understand what i'm telling you, freak? there's no place for you on this earth."

bruce closes his eyes and doesn't say anything. there's no point in talking, not when no one's gonna listen to him. or worse, listen long enough to dislike his words and then rinse his mouth out with soap or slap the words outta him. 

he opens his eyes and watches the sun set. the view would be nice, if he remembered climbing up the billboard and didn't wake up with a migraine and vertigo. he's got nowhere else to be, not for a while, and drifts back to sleep beneath the pink-tinged sky.

someone lays a hand on his arm, and guardian has them in a headlock before they can hurt bruce. 

"geez, banner," leonard says, easily slipping out of the choke hold, "for a nerd, you've got some mad reflexes. not strong enough to make 'em count, but," he shrugs, "impressive." 

there's nothing to do but nod. by the time len's got himself seated in the lab beside bruce, all traces of emotion are beyond him. he's exhausted, even though he's barely done anything all morning, and must be imagining things if he thinks his old stuffed creature has anything to do with what just happened. 

bruce sets off the bomb and unintentionally lets goblin off its chain. it tears effortlessly through walls, holds jeeps in its palm as if they're nothing but baseballs, and releases decades of repressed and suppressed screams. goblin's freedom is short-lived, but its memory is eternal. 

"this is a big day, not just for us here at gamma base, but for the entire united states and its military." ross spoke for several more minutes before he dismissed the troops and pulled bruce aside. "i wasn't speaking out of my ass, boy," he said. "this has the potential to be the era's greatest achievement or worst failure. if you succeed, it'll be the talk of the town. you fail, and everybody will end up despising you."

goblin roars as it lifts general ross's office out of the block. it knows thunderbolt isn't the same monster as brian, but brian's long gone. the world hadn't missed him, and it won't miss the general, either. goblin roars, its fierce cries amplified by something buried deep below the earth, and uses all the strength of its new body to show the world what happens when they mess with bruce banner.

[gammacousin]

Rebecca Banner: “Everyone? Meet my Baby.”

Elaine Walters: “That’s not a baby; that's a pig! Forget it, Becca. I said we could take in your cousin’s baby; I didn't realize he was a pig.”

Rebecca Banner: “Come on Elaine. Isn't Baby the prettiest pig you ever met?”

Susan Banner: “Elaine! Make it go away!”

Rebecca Banner: “But Susan! Baby comes with everything he needs to have an amazing life with us. $100,000 to cover all expenses-.”

Susan Banner: “Say that number again?”

Elaine Walters: “Forget it.”

Susan Banner: “How long do pigs live?”

Rebecca Banner: “25 years.”

Elaine Walters: “Forget it.”

Rebecca Banner: “Of course, Baby is 29-.”

Elaine Walters: “Welcome Baby!”

[banner-david]

God I should start writing that endgame what if/fix it fic I started writing in 2019 where Bruce's character isn't shit or Prof