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whatstruthgottodowithit · 2 years ago

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I Don’t Care

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Tony Stark x Female Reader

Characters: Tony Stark, You, Female Reader, Howard Stark

Word Count: 1368 // Rating: Teen & Up

Summary: 'Cause I don't care, When I'm with my baby, yeah

Tags/ Warnings: My Writing, Halloween Challenge, Writing Challenge, Songfics, Marvel, Pre Stark Deaths, Kisses, Established Relationship, Feelings of Inadequecy, Arguing, Dancing, Parties, Teasing, Fluff, Angst, Tony and Howard’s Tense Relationship, I Don’t Care // Ed Sheeran

Notes: This is part of my writing Challenge for Halloween 2022. All fics are based off of songs I love. The aim is to write one fic a day for 15 days straight. I’m doing a similar thing for Christmas but they will all be headcanons [requests welcome for that] Enjoy x

15 DAYS OF SONGFICS FOR HALLOWEEN (OCT 15TH - OCT 31ST)

‘Tell me again why we have to be at this thing,’ Tony said as he took a sip of champagne. ‘Because your Dad’s the head of the company,’ I said, ‘and I love free food.’ ‘Ah, I might have known there would be an ulterior motive with you,’ he said looking down at me with a wry smile. ‘Well actually,’ I said taking a small sip of my own drink, ‘there’s more than one.’ ‘Oh yeah?’ he asked quirking an eyebrow. ‘Yeah,’ I smiled as I looked out into the crowd. There were at least a hundred people in this grand function room. What the function was actually for I couldn’t tell you. All I had been told was that the Starks expected Tony to be present which meant I also had to attend for…moral support. People milled around boozing and schmoozing but we stayed on the fringes. Tony hated these functions. He hated that his Dad forced him to participate. That he made him rub shoulders with the rich and sometimes famous. Tony nudged me apparently impatient enough not to ask me what my motives were.

‘What?’ I toyed with him pretending I didn’t know what his question was going to be. ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘spill your reasons.’ ‘Well number one is obviously free food,’ I said. ‘Obviously.’ ‘And free booze comes a close second,’ I said. ‘Naturally,’ he smirked. ‘And,’ I said leaning in so I could whisper in his ear, ‘you look hot in a tux.’ ‘Oh really?’ he said. I nodded and grabbed his glass from his hand downing the drink in one. He raised his eyebrows as he watched me. I placed it down on the table beside us and grabbed his hand. ‘Yeah,’ I said after a minute, ‘and because you do look so good tonight…I think you should dance with me.’ ‘Oh I don’t dance,’ Tony said as I grabbed him by the hand and started tugging him towards the dance floor. ‘Oh come on,’ I said tugging hard but he dug his heels in and I struggled to move him.

‘Tony Stark doesn’t dance,’ he said pulling me back to him. His hands fell on my hips and he tried to pull me in to kiss him but I leaned out of his way and folded my arms across my chest. ‘Babe,’ he grumbled but I turned my head away. ‘I don’t make out with people at parties,’ I said. ‘Oh I have some memories that dispute that fact,’ he chuckled leaning in so his face was mere inches from mine. ‘Well if you’re not gonna dance with me then memories will be all you have to rely on tonight,’ I said. ‘You really want me to dance with you?’ he grumbled. I turned my head to him with a massive grin plastered all over my face. ‘More than anything,’ I said in a sickeningly sweet voice that sounded completely unlike me.

Tony sighed and offered his hand up which I grabbed with gusto as I led him through the crowd of people. There were plenty of people standing around socialising and networking but there was a small dancefloor just past the crowd that had a few couples on it, blowing off some steam. As we got to it the song changed to a slow song I didn’t recognise. Tony pulled me into him, wrapping one hand around my waist and the other holding my other hand. He stood up straight as he gently moved us round the dancefloor in complete rhythm with the music. I watched him closely. His brown eyes were watching the people around him, not me, but he seemed not to be interested in them rather he was focusing on the dance.

‘Are you counting the beats?’ I said with a giggle. ‘You asked me to dance with you,’ he said as if it were obvious. ‘Tony Stark,’ I said with faux shock, ‘are you a secret dancer?’ ‘I said I don’t dance not that I can’t,’ he said looking at me properly. He was leading us expertly in a slow yet elegant dance that fit perfectly with the classical music theme that the band was putting out. ‘Oh I bet you know them all don’t you,’ I giggled, ‘the fox trot, the waltz, ooh can you jive?!’

He looked away from me and pursed his lips as if he was sucking on a lemon before he mumbled quietly, ‘my mom made me take a class with all genres okay?’

I burst into a fit of giggles attracting attention from all around us. Tony scowled but there was a smile behind his eyes. ‘Oh I can just picture you as a little dancer,’ I sighed, ‘bet you impressed all the girls huh?’ ‘Well, it was me and twenty other posh kids all of which were girls so yeah. I did alright,’ he chuckled. ‘Well I’m happy you picked me to be your dance partner tonight,’ I said moving so my arms were wrapped around his neck. His hands slipped to my hips as he pulled me into him. We weren’t properly dancing now just rotating in a slow circle. His big brown eyes were watching me with adoration that made my heart swell.

‘I’d always pick you,’ he said leaning down. His nose bumped against mine a little before he captured my lips between his soft ones. I leaned into it until my tongue probed his bottom lip begging him to let me deepen the kiss. He did and I felt his hands travel down under my ass, cupping it gently. Finally, with a sigh of contentment, we broke apart. Before we could kiss again someone appeared at the side of us. An older gentleman with a pencil moustache, white hair and the same gorgeous brown eyes as Tony. Howard Stark.

‘This isn’t a frat house Anthony,’ he said with a tight smile that widened as someone passed by us. ‘Mr Stark I’m sorry it was me-’ I started but Tony cut me off, ‘don’t bother.’ ‘Tony,’ Howard said with a warning in his voice. ‘Whatever,’ Tony sneered, ‘you know what how about we just get out of your way?’

And before anyone else could say anything Tony was storming off through the dancefloor, practically dragging me across behind him as I teetered along in my high heels. I had to jog to keep pace with him as he took us out of the grand room into a smaller one that adjoined it. There were a couple of spare tables and chairs inside. A beat-up old couch sat in the corner and he flopped down onto it with a thud. I clambered onto the seat beside him and tucked myself into him. I pushed my dress off my legs so I could swing them across his legs as I wrapped my arms around his neck, stroking his hair softly. We sat there for a moment in silence.

‘Are you okay?’ I said after a moment. ‘Yeah,�� he grumbled. ‘I mean really?’ I said, ‘because you don't have to lie to me. If you’re not okay I-’ ‘Y/N really I’m fine,’ he said kissing my cheek. ‘Really?’ I asked quietly. ‘Yeah,’ he said fiddling with the edge of my dress, ‘he just bugs me is all.’ ‘I know,’ I said sadly. I knew Tony and his father didn’t have the best relationship but I had to admit, it seemed whatever Tony did was never good enough. ‘He just always has something to complain about. Something’s always wrong. Or I’ve always messed up somehow,’ he said. ‘Not to me,’ I said as my fingers ran through his soft brown locks. ‘I know, I could tell from that kiss,’ he smirked. ‘Hey maybe your dad was right,’ I said, ‘who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t broken us up.’ ‘Sure would’ve made this party more exciting that’s for sure,’ Tony chuckled. ‘I bet you wouldn’t even care,’ I said. ‘I never do,’ he said, ‘not when I’m with you. Nothing else matters.’ ‘Tony Stark are you going soft on me?’ I giggled. ‘Maybe,’ he said, ‘but even if I am I don’t care.’ ‘Me either.’

#my writing #marvel #marvel fic #tony stark #young Tony Stark #tony stark fic #tony stark x reader #tony stark x female reader #anthony stark #kissing #I dont care #lyrics #song fic #halloween #halloween writing challenge #halloween challenge

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imeternallylove · 3 years ago

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Blood toxicity: 24% [1/3] - Tony Stark

[IRON MAN 2 / Transcripts: x]

a whole story in this film

Tony Stark x Reader

24%ㅣ53%ㅣ0%

genre: slight angst(a bit arguing) and fluff

warning: mention of death, strong language

words: 2,873 words

(gifs not mine)

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The United States Capitol, 9 a.m. Tony was summoned to the Capitol for a meeting with the Senate Armed Forces Committee, where he was told to hand over the Iron Man armor for military use, citing the development of similar suits around the world as an explanation. Senator Stern, the committee's chairman, attempted to persuade Stark to hand over the Iron Man Armor as a weapon. However, Stark, Rhodey, and Y/L/N, the new CEO of Stark Industries, sought to reject, claiming that the armor was not a weapon. However, if he wore a high-tech prosthetic and the armor was identical to him, the petition would be equivalent to slavery or prostitution.

"I invited one of my most trusted colleagues who can tell us what will benefit Iron Man. Is it okay if I introduce her to you, Your Honor?" Standing up, Rhodey inquired. "Yes, Colonel Rhodes, you may." Senator Stern expressed his displeasure by saying.

"I may present Ms. Y/N Y/L/N" While pushing the door open and seeing everyone gazing, you overheard Rhodey say. As you approached them, Tony looked surprised. "Why, Rhodey?" Tony got up and approached you. You sit on his seat by pressing your shoulder against his. "Stop." You told him sharply, and he sat down in his chair once again. You smiled at them on the speaker. "Good morning, committee."

"Uh-Oh, Uh-O." Hammer stands up and looks at you. "You're Honor. If I may inquire, what is she doing here? Y/L/N is the CEO. For all we know, she will try to defend Anthony Stark—" You cut him off. "I was invited on behalf of a company in-house lawyer. We don't even have to defend Mr. Stark. He invented the suit for his self-defense, and he had the right to refuse any offer or coercion," you said, pushing Tony's hand away from your waist.

"So, Ms. Y/L/N, why are you here?" Stern yelled. You reach forward and jam your finger on the table. "That is the most useless thing I've ever heard. So, in my opinion, Mr. Stark has and continues to have proprietary ownership of all Mark versions on all platforms. He has the authority to use this card. Okay, I guess I'll never find out what the secret major of this hearing was. But, on behalf of the company, we firmly believe Iron Man is not a weapon. The invaluable abilities bringing us a better life: In terms of safety, stability includes military resources nationwide, without any organization or contribution." Rhodey grins. "We would say that Iron Man will keep us all safe, and are you sure it would be nice if you confiscated it?"

"I'm not a weapon expert, Miss. We have a weapon expert on our team. And now I'd like to speak with Mr. Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor." Stern stated.

"Let the record show that I saw Mr. Hammer enter the chamber, and I'm wondering if and when any actual experts will be present." Tony holds your hands beneath the table, but you don't seem impressed. "No?" his mouth says. And all you do is shake your head.

Hammer took a seat on the edge of the desk. "Absolutely. I'm no expert. I defer to you, Anthony. You're the wonder boy. But I want to remind the new CEO of Stark Industries, Y/N Y/L/N. Senator, if I may. I may well not be an expert, but do you know who was the expert? His dad. Howard Stark, to us all, and the military-industrial age." Hammer stands up again. But Tony cuts him off. His elbow is pressed up against the table. "Oh. Hello. It's so nice to humbly relax in the United States Capitol. But you're the SASC working with a military contractor. Force me to attend a Senate hearing - you just said you're not an expert on weapons? I didn't understand it." You take a look at Tony, who appears uneasy when Hammer mentions his father.

"Let's just be clear, Anthony. You were no flower child. You were a lion. We all know why we're here. In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet, he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted. Ms. Y/L/N, you know what?" Your eyes rolled up when he mentioned you. "I do. I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America." Hammer added.

Tony is looking away as he converses with Rhodey. "He had finished his homework." Then you begin. "That's a lot of time squandered. Mr. Senator, this was an illegal seizure of trademark property that we all wanted you to explain. We're on the air, so either surrounds the reporter or drop it." You maintain your composure as Stern looks around the room at his colleagues. Your phone suddenly vibrates. It's Agent Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D., and he's sent you a message saying, 'I'm here, Miss.' You quickly turn to look behind you to see where he is.

"What's wrong, baby?" Tony pushes in closer to you, and your nose brushes up against his. He makes an attempt to kiss your cheek. You shove him away from you. "Just stay, Tony," you leave Tony behind and travel to Agent Coulson.

"Mr. Stark, could we pick up now where we left off? Mr. Stark. Please." Tony turns around from where he was trying to keep an eye on you as if you were trying to scold him. You and Coulson are standing together, with a bodyguard behind you two. "Yes, dear?" He takes a breather. "Well, you say it's a weapon but for me, it depends on how you define the word weapon. She asked you to explain why you need to borrow my suit." Tony makes a point at you, which irritates you.

"Let's talk about The Iron Man weapon."

"Huh? My device does not fit that description. It's a high-tech prosthesis. That is… That is… That’s the aptest description I can make of it." Tony shrugs his shoulders. "The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over me which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you're in. You can't have it." The audience erupts in laughter. He beams with pride as he waves his arms.

You groan exasperatedly at Tony for being such a jerk. You decide to walk past the people inside until you reach Tony, who is staring at your pouty faces. "Are you mad at me?"

"You must stop it right now, Tony," you offer him your device. Everyone in the court is looking at you two, so you grip his shoulder and try to whisper. "It's a blessing we have him." Agent Coulson is greeted by Tony, who gives him a friendly wave. He pulls you back as you're about to move, and you can't move. "Okay. Do it, and I'll reward you with a first-" He interrupted. "Your first kiss?" You nod, his eyes widen with delight, and his face is flushed with overreaction. Then you're humiliated and leave.

Tony is doing something on your device, his sparkling eyes on yours. "Hold on a second buddy. Let me see something here." He connects your gadget to the screen that displays the images 'Welcome Mr. Stark.' "Oh. Boy. I'm too good. I commandeered your screens. I need them. Time for a little transparency. Now, I believe it is in a bad way."

"What is he doing?" Stern takes a leisurely look around the room. Tony is the one who speaks up. "If you will direct your attention to said screens, I believe that's North Korea." Video of a suit from Hammer Industries. It falls over and clearly doesn't work very well at all. The crowd exclaimed.

Stern is now panicking gazing around. "Can you turn that off? Take it off." Then, the one who into the muddle, Hammer stands up.

"Iran, next." The following video demonstrates the suit's ability to fly. For all of five seconds before crashing and catching fire, judging by the smoke. Hammer is standing near the screen, looking for the off switch. "Oh. God."

That is mocked by Tony and Rhodey. "No grave threat here. Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in the game? Justin, you're on TV. Focus up." In the same video apparent Hammer. He speaking loudly. "Okay, give me a left twist. Left's good. Turn to the right. Oh, shit. Oh, shit"

You're now far enough away from the ruckus to stand beside Agent Coulson. You gave Coulson a kind smile. "Thank you so much for your assistance. Thank you so much for all of your assistance." You have a worried expression on your face as you glance at Tony. He was speaking to the committee at the time. "That is exactly what we do. As of the previous six months." Coulson extends his hand to shake yours. You firmly grasp it. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave. Ms. Y/L/N, take care of his mess. We'll get in touch with you soon."

You laughed and nodded. "Well, I guess it's the same line as six months ago." Coulson grins and walks away, leaving you to concentrate on Tony. As you can see, he gets up and turns around to face the crowd. "Wow. Yeah, I'd say most countries, five, ten years away. Hammer Industries, twenty. Now. I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe. America is secure. Do you want my property? You can't have it. But I did you a big favor? I've successfully privatized world peace. What more do you want? For now! I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns." Everyone stands up and starts talking at the same time as he makes peace signs with both hands.

"[Beep] you, Mr. Stark. [Beep] you, buddy. We're adjourned. We're adjourned for today."

Tony puts on his sunglasses. Rhodey is still seated and has the same expression on his face as you. Basically, you're both fed up with Tony's inability to take serious matters seriously and thus spoil everything. At the very least, Rhodey grins. Tony approaches you, talking to the cameraman. "My bond is with the people. And I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of myself. If there's one thing I've proven it's that-" He removes his sunglasses and throws his arms around your waist before leading you out the door. Rhodey keeps in touch with you two. His actions were completely uninteresting to you. "You can count on me to pleasure myself!" Tony effortlessly drags you over to the outside.

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"Wake up, Daddy's home." Tony claps his hands in his workshop. And Jarvis greeted him by playing the tune 'Should I Stay or Should I Go?' "Welcome home, sir. Congratulations on the Expo opening ceremonies. They were such a success, as was your Senate hearing. And may I say how refreshing it is to finally see you in a video with your clothing on, sir."

Dum-U is attempting to prepare a smoothie using chlorophyll. Without the use of a blender lid. "U!" Tony spotting at the mess. Dum-U knocks over the blender, he tried. "I swear to God I'll dismantle you. I'll soak your motherboard. I'll turn you into a wine rack."

Dum-U looks down, sad.

"How many ounces a day of this gobbledegook am I supposed to drink?" While Jarvis informs, Tony downs green liquid and tryna drink it. "We are up to 80 ounces a day to counteract the symptoms, sir."

Tony conducts a palladium test. After calculating the amount of chlorophyll Tony should drink every day to combat the symptoms of his boss's Palladium poisoning, Jarvis begins informing: "Blood toxicity: 24%. It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition. Another core has been depleted." Tony removes the Arc Reactor from the chest. The corroded and somewhat smoldering core pops out. "God, running out quick."

"I have run simulations on every known element, and none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core. You are running out of both time and options. Unfortunately, the device that's keeping you alive is also killing you." Tony adds a new core to the mix. It's silver, which indicates how badly the previous one was damaged. In the chest, Arc Reactor is replaced. Damaged veins surround the Arc Reactor, which is visible and growing outward. It takes up almost his entire chest.

"Sir, Miss Y/L/N is approaching. I recommend that you inform her-"

"Mute," Tony instantly ordered the lab's systems to shut down. Computers went to screen saver after he re-tucked his shirt to cover all the blue lines. He noticed you wearing the same pajamas as last night and wearing a clay mask with cucumber thin slices on your face. You punch in a code and slam the door shut, enraged. He directs your attention to you. "Uh-ah. Don't."

You walked in. "Are you serious? Is this some kind of joke?"

"What?"

"What are you thinking?" You charge ahead of him, confrontational. "I'm going to have to find something to smack your skull with. Really." You take out a locking plier and throw a walk-dart at him. Tony lets out a gasp. "Hey! Hey, I'm thinking I'm busy. And you're angry about something. Do you have the sniffles? Is that real clay? Baby, put that plier down."

"It's Sunday! Today is my day off. Pepper summoned me to the office immediately! Tony, what the hell is going on?" You stood with your arms akimbo and a grimace on your face as you looked at him.

"Baby. Are you the CEO, and you're just waking up? It is ten o'clock. You have one hour left." You strolled around the lab to the snack area, both of you. You're right behind him. "Why today?"

"They're best, the Boy Scouts of America." He's going to shoot the ball over your head into the hoop, but you grab it and swish it around quickly. He should pay more attention to you. "Boy Scouts of America and the ceremonies opening?"

"Yes. It is a worthwhile organization. I didn't physically check the crates but, basically, yes. And it’s not "our" collection, it's my collection before you are appointed CEO two days ago. No offense." He drags you to the coffee shop by the waist. "Actually, it's four. And, considering the ten years I spent curating it, I believe I have the right to call it "our" collection."

"It was a tax write-off. I needed that. You make a name for yourself. Peacefully, the world rejoiced." He offers you coffee, which you decline. "Sorry, I haven't brushed my teeth yet. There are only approximately 8,011 items about which I need to speak with your behavior. First, the Expo is a complete waste of time. Second, you are not my boss. You refer to me as the CEO and always put my opinion down."

"I need you to wear the Iron Man mask until you're feeling better. Is that okay?" Tony doesn't give you a chance to yell at him; instead, he picks up an Iron Man painting and ignores you. "Wow. Look at that. That's modern art. That's going up. I'm gonna put this up right now. This is vital."

Your patience is ready to run out. "Stark is in complete disarray because of your KINDNESS donation. Do you understand that?" He gives you a hug. "No. Our stocks have never been higher." You give a tiny nod and take his squid hand away. "Yes, from a managerial standpoint." only compel you to face him. "You are… Well, if's messy then let's double back-"

"What?!" Tony moves his gaze away from yours once more. "Don't be mad, please. Let's move on to another subject." Tony is now standing on a desk about to take down the picture of you two at Disneyland to put the Iron Man picture up. "No, no, no, no. You are not taking down our picture and hanging that up."

"I'm not taking it down. I'm just replacing it with this. And our rest here. See?"

"All right. Fine!" You are now enraged. "I'll complete all of my schedules today. My condition is that we need to go to London tomorrow before going to Monaco." Tony is about to argue with you when you tilt your head. "Jarvis, could you please check what time we should fly to London to arrive in Monaco on time?"

"For the time being, I assume you should fly tomorrow at 5, spend 18 hours in London, and then arrive in Monaco at the correct time, Miss." Dum- U brings you a tray with London's travel guidelines, as well as a champagne bottle and glasses. When you saw his puzzled expression, you burst out laughing.

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#tony stark #tony x reader #tony stark fluff #tony stark x reader #tony stark fanfiction #iron man #iron man x you #iron man x reader #iron man x y/n #iron man imagine #iron man fanfiction

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mesillusionssousecstasy · 3 years ago

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Euphoria: 2x08 (quotes)

1. Lexi & Fez: “- Well, why would I want anybody knowin’ what I’m thinkin’ or feelin’? - I don’t know. - You can connect with people who have similar interests. I just feel like people be sharin’ way too much on there. - Online? - Yeah. They be ruinin’ the mystery, you know? Like, say if I like a girl, I wanna find out what she’s about on my own, you know? I don’t wanna google the scraps. I wanna, I wanna peel back the layers. - Yeah, but, like why would you wanna waste time getting to know someone if you don’t have anything in common with them? - We don’t really have nothin’ in common.”

2. Lexi’s assistant: “- What act are we in? - Don’t question it. That’s the brillance of Lexi Howard.”

3. Rue and Elliot: “- So, you know, whatever happened. However it happened, you know, however... it got to be... whatever it is... I think you might’ve accidentally saved my life, thank God it did. ‘Cause I wouldn’t be here to tell you that I forgive you. And that feels really, really nice because I have a lot of “I’m sorry’s” to do. But not a lot of “I forgive you’s.” So...thank you for that. - Do you think we can still be friends? - You know you’re the one who said we weren’t any good for each other. I still think that.”

4. Lexi and her assistant: “- It’s the only thing I’ve ever done and it’s a disaster. - It could be worse. - How? - It could be boring. - That’s true. - Art should be dangerous.“

5. Nate and his dad: “- You know what I think we have in common? When we both get off on hurting other people. What do ya think? That’s not fair. You don’t get to ruin our lives. And then, just... move on and get to be happier. Eleven years old...I found these videos of my dad fucking hookers in a motel room. I had this recurring nightmare, just over and over... and in it, he was fuckin’ me the way that he fucked them. And instead of loving me, you fuckin’ hated me for it.”

6. Rue about her dad: “I watched you die and all I could think about was how none of it felt real. What if.. the reason if felt like a movie was because I wanted to believe that losing you... is a part of a larger story. One that maybe I could maybe I could still shape. I... I remember a couple of days before you passed away. You told me that if I ever wanted to be with you all I would have to do is close my eyes and we’d be together. You said that memories exist outside of time and have no beginning or end. You said as long as I live you’ll be with me forever.”

7. Rue and Lexi: “I think your play was the first time I was able to look at my life and not hate myself for everything I’ve done. - What do you mean? - I don’t know. I think I’ve been through a lot. And I don’t know what to do with it. But you’ve been through a lot and you know what to do with it. - I don’t know about that. - Lex, look what you made. I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know how to get to where you are. But I just wanted you to know that seeing it meant the world to me. When my dad died, everybody would tell me that he died for a reason. That shit used to piss me off. I would literally wanna fucking strangle them. But I think what they’re actually saying is that you gotta give it a reason. You gotta five all this shit a reason.”

8. Simply Rue: “Jules was my first love. I’d like to remember it that way. I don’t know if that’s actually true, though. I think I was high for too much of it. I know it wasn’t easy for her. And I hope she forgives me. I stayed clean through the rest of the school year. I wish I could say that was a decision I made. In some ways, it was just easier. The thought of maybe being a good person is what keeps me trying to be a good person. Maybe there’s something to that.”

#quote #quotation #citation #quotes #euphoria 2x08 #euphoria #euphoria season 2 #hbo tv series #hbo euphoria #euphoria hbo #euphoria quotes #rue bennett

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sophieakatz · 3 years ago

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Thursday Thoughts: Marvel What If’s Women Problem

Welcome back to the feminist rant!

I really didn’t intend to spend three weeks in a row writing about the Marvel animated series What If…? But I wanted to see this through.

Last week we talked about this show’s abundant use of the “fridged woman” trope. However, a show doesn’t need to kill its female characters in order to fail them.

Remember that time I made up a feminist movie test? I call it the “Want Test.” You can read the full explanation here, but here’s the summary:

This test requires that a film (or, in this case, an episode of a TV show) has at least one named female character. After watching the show, ask, “Does what the named female character want matter to the plot?” Then, score the movie based on the answer to this question.

If the answer is “Yes, what the named female character wants matters to the plot,” then give the movie a checkmark!”

If the answer is “Yes, AND this is true of multiple named female characters,” then the movie gets a check-plus. If these characters help each other get what they want, the movie gets a check-double-plus!

If the answer is “Yes, BUT her wants are an obstacle to a male character’s goal,” then the movie gets a check-minus. The woman may matter to the plot, but her importance is centered on her relationship to a male character and how much he matters to the plot. Often movies with a check-minus involve a male protagonist actively trying to stop a female character from getting what she wants; while she has an impact on the world around her, the movie isn’t rooting for the woman.

If the answer is “No, what she wants doesn’t matter,” then the movie fails the test. Give it a minus.

Okay, now let’s talk about Marvel What If. Once again, there are spoilers for the first seven episodes of this show below the cut, and some discussion of the plot points in the movies these episodes are based on.

When I compare the first seven episodes of What If to the Want Test, they each barely scrape their way to a check-minus (though after my rant last week, I’m tempted to edit my test so that a show that fridges a female character automatically fails). In summary, it does not matter what most of the named female characters want. Each episode has a single woman whose wants do affect the plot, but what she wants is always some kind of obstacle to a male character’s goal. Even when the women of What If survive the episode, the male characters’ feelings are the primary engine of the show.

As I neared the end of Episode Six, “What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?” I said to myself, “Well, at least Pepper and Shuri aren’t dead.” But then, in the last minute of the episode, Shuri and Pepper meet and state their intent to take down Killmonger. And I said to myself, “Okay, so why didn’t we get THAT episode?”

Sure, it’s cool to see two smart girls teaming up, but they don’t get to do anything! This episode repeatedly puts Pepper and Shuri down. Every time they express suspicion of Killmonger, someone contradicts them. What they want does not matter. They are obstacles to the men, and they are easily pushed aside, and so all they can do is stand in the background and watch while the boys run around and play war games.

If your named female characters only matter in the last scene of the show, then they don’t really matter. This episode wasn’t about the women at all. It was about the men killing each other and making each other sad.

I really don’t want to say much about the seventh episode, “What If… Thor Were an Only Child?”

What I will say is, “Why, why, WHY is Dr. Jane Foster more concerned about hurting the hot guy’s feelings than she is about how the hot guy is about to cause the end of the world?”

And I will also say, “Why does Captain Marvel need to be nice to Thor at the end of the episode after he spent the entire episode being a jackass to her?”

And I will end this section of the blog post by saying, “Frigga deserves so much better than any man in her family has ever given her.”

The second episode of this show, “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?” might be my favorite episode. Mainly because it’s the only one I genuinely liked while I was watching it. It was fun, and I was happy to hear Chadwick Boseman’s voice one more time. Overall, it’s a lovely tribute to both the actor and his character.

But, for me, liking this episode required ignoring a big problem: Nebula and Thanos’s relationship.

We don’t know exactly when in this timeline T’Challa met Thanos and convinced him to give up on the “murder half the universe” plan. But we do know that even before Thanos collected the Infinity Stones, he was roaming the universe slaughtering millions. We know he committed genocide against Gamora’s people the day he “adopted” her, and it’s safe to assume he did the same to Nebula’s. We know that he raised Gamora and Nebula to fight each other, and every time Nebula lost a fight, he replaced a part of her body with cybernetics, constantly torturing her.

What If never tells us that that Thanos did not abuse his daughters. It never tells us that he did not slaughter millions, including his daughters’ birth families. But it does tell us that Thanos is Nebula’s father. And he wouldn’t be her father if he hadn’t been roaming the universe killing people.

In this episode, we see an adult Nebula who seems to think her dad is annoying, but any feelings she might have about how genuinely terrible he is – feelings she was freely willing to admit in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies – go completely unmentioned.

Thanos and Nebula’s relationship is played for laughs, like they just need to get over their past and hug it out. That bothers me a lot. It’s like the show is saying that Nebula’s pain doesn’t matter. What matters is that Thanos is sad she doesn’t want to hang out with him.

I should also point out that in Avengers: Infinity War, Gamora gets fridged. Her feelings are unimportant to the plot; her stated desire to die before she can be used as a part of Thanos’s plot is mocked and discarded. When she is murdered, the moment of her death is all about how it would hurt Thanos to kill her. Gamora’s death also serves as motivation for Peter Quill to sabotage the other heroes’ efforts to stop Thanos.

Gamora is nowhere to be seen in this episode of What If. The women that Thanos abused really don’t matter here at all.

I’ve been putting off talking about this show’s pilot episode, “What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?” This episode was… You know, it was fun, in a very similar way to how the Star Lord T’Challa episode was fun. I can’t lie and say I didn’t like seeing super buff Peggy Carter beat the crap out of Nazis. That was a lot of fun.

But the thing I couldn’t stop thinking while watching was, “This isn’t Peggy’s story. It’s Steve’s!”

Peggy Carter may have gotten the super serum in this reality, but Steve Rogers is still the main driving force of the plot. Peggy goes to Germany to save Steve’s best friend. She works with Steve’s allies, the Howling Commandoes, instead of finding her own. Steve’s issues and emotions are central to everything Peggy does; she may say in dialogue that she wants to end the war, but what we see is that Steve is her motivation. In fact, he’s everyone’s motivation – in the scene where Peggy, Bucky, Howard, and the Howling Commandoes decide to go take down Red Skull, they all go around the table and say that they’re doing it “for Steve.” Not because ending the war is the right thing to do, not because they care about the millions of people murdered and tortured by the Nazis – but because they care about Steve.

When I first heard about this show, I thought that Steve was going to die, and that would be why Captain Carter would exist. The interesting/ironic thing here is that the episode pokes at the idea of fridging Steve, but it doesn’t quite have the guts to go through with it. Everyone thinks that Steve died on the train, but then they find him in Red Skull’s castle, and he’s totally fine! Killing off Captain America would have been an interesting, powerful new direction to take the story. But this episode doesn’t seem interested in taking new directions. It seems more interested in showing how things would stay the same even if Steve didn’t get the serum, even if Peggy switched careers from secret agent to superhero, even if Bucky never became the Winter Soldier, even if Red Skull decided to open a portal to tentacle hell. Things just stay the same.

And I don’t get the point of presenting us with a show where there are “endless possibilities” if things are just going to stay the same. If Peggy Carter will still be a side character in Steve Roger’s story. If Hank Pym’s grief still matters more than Janet and Hope Van Dyne’s lives. If Thanos will still never be held accountable for abusing Gamora and Nebula. If Doctor Strange is still an arrogant jackass. If the only realities we see are ones where men get to act and feel, and women get to be plot devices.

The truth is that the Watcher just isn’t interested in showing us realities where women live and thrive in their own right. For all its emphasis on how different decisions can cause dramatic changes to reality, the creators of What If have no real investment in making different decisions in how they portray female characters. It’s just more of the same.

I’m done thinking about this show. Let’s talk about something else next week, okay?

Be good to yourself, be kind to each other, and you’ll hear from me again soon!

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css1992 · 4 years ago

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could u do more high school au's pls? I was thinking maybe rich popular peter who seems untouchable and then grungy tony who just doesnt care for appearances and hes been pining after peter his whole school life

could u make it so that tony is rich and everyone knows it but he just doesn't care about his money and doesnt act rich so it's one of those things that u know but dont acknowledge. also if tony's daddy issues made an appearance id be so happy ty.

I’m so sorry for the delay, but I really do hope this scratches your itch!

***

He had that sort of beauty that almost hurt to look at. So pure and soft. Pink cheeks, small eyes that squinted when he laughed – which was often –; brown, wavy hair, so shiny and silky-looking; thin, pink lips, always stretched in a smile. He had the most beautiful smile Tony had ever seen, too. Honest and wide, happy.

He was never alone. Of course he wasn’t. He was too magnetic, there were always people drawn to his light, following him around, laughing at his jokes, making him laugh in return. Everyone seemed to want a piece of him, a scrap of his attention. And he, being the lovely human being that he was, made room for anyone who wished to bask in his light.

Jocks liked him. Peter was great at team sports, he was light on his feet and good with his hands. He wasn’t in any teams, though, claimed he didn’t have the time, but he was always picked first in P.E. group activities. Tony knew, watched him at practice way too often – from a distance, of course, as he did his stretches and sit-ups with Rhodes.

Nerds liked him, too. He was really smart, an asset to the Decathlon team, and was always willing to help anyone having trouble in class. Even the weirdos from drama club, glee club and the school band loved him – he never made fun of them, on the contrary, he was always very vocal about how talented they were and how he wished he could be a part of their clubs, too.

Girls swooned at him. He was kind and sweet, a good listener, and gorgeous. Guys weren’t immune to his charms, either. The ones Tony knew for a fact that were gay or bi didn’t even try to pretend they didn’t watch him when he walked down the halls, but even supposedly straight guys, like Steve Rogers, sneaked a peek now and then, face flushed, if he was wearing specially tight jeans.

Tony was jealous of all those people, but he learned to deal with it. He’d been, well, admiring him from a distance for years. He was used to seeing people make passes at him, ask him out. Peter was discreet, though. If he ever dated anyone, nobody ever heard anything about it. He was a mystery, Tony wasn’t even sure if he was gay, straight, bi or whatever – there were rumors that he had made out with Wade Wilson in freshman year, but neither of them confirmed or denied it. Tony hated the guy anyway.

“If you keep staring, people are gonna know you’re in love and not actually dead inside,” Rhodey spoke up right next to him, taking a huge bite of his tuna sandwich. Tony averted his gaze from Peter’s table for a minute and looked at his friend, annoyed. “It’s gonna ruin your whole aesthetic.”

“Very funny,” He rolled his eyes and looked back at Peter. There were so many people around him he could barely catch a glimpse of his smile, which was annoying.

His dad’s company, Parker Innovations, had just released a new phone a few weeks earlier, it was ridiculous how many people thought they could get one for free if they kissed his ass hard enough. At least Tony didn’t have to endure that kind of nonsense anymore. People in that school learned very early on that even though he was related to Howard Stark, he wanted nothing to do with the guy – or his company, or his money. They also learned sucking up to him did nothing but annoy him, so they kind of just forgot he existed over time and he blended right in with everyone else – a blessing in its own right.

“Rhodey is right, you’re drooling, it’s a little embarrassing,” Natasha looked at him with boredom as she nibbled on her fries. “You should just ask him out, you’ve been pining for ages.”

“I’m not pining,” he huffed, irritated, and the redhead smirked, raising a perfectly manicured brow.

“Right, yearning might be more accurate. Bruce?” She glanced at their other friend who scratched his chin, pretending to think about it.

“I think obsessing sounds more like it. Rhodey?”

“Fuck you guys,” he barked before they could keep the game going, and all three laughed at him. Someone got up from Peter’s table and he caught a glimpse of his beautiful face, their eyes made contact for half a second and Tony looked away.

“No, but seriously, Tones. Just go talk to him, he’s a great guy, I’m sure he wouldn’t be an ass about it.” Bruce adjusted his glasses and said that like it was simple. Like he would have the guts to do it if he was in Tony’s position – he wouldn’t, he’d pined for Thor, an exchange student, for a year, and never worked up the courage to ask him out. The guy went back to Norway or whatever and Bruce never even said hi to him.

“I know, of course he wouldn’t, but I don’t wanna be one of those people begging for his attention, just look at that.” He pointed at the little crowd around him, people were almost literally fighting for his attention, the poor guy could barely finish his lunch. “It’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah, but you’re not them,” Natasha said that like it was the most obvious thing in the world and Tony frowned.

“How am I different?”

“You’re a certified genius, you and him have similar interests and you look hot in a ‘I’m gonna fuck you raw in the back of my car’ kinda way. I don’t know, maybe he’s into that.” The redhead shrugged, again, saying all that like it was obvious and an unquestionable truth.

“Yeah, right, sounds just like him,” Tony scoffed.

Peter was perfect in so many ways – perfect face, perfect body, perfect grades, Tony was sure he pooped out candy or something – of course he wouldn’t go for a guy like him. He had a bad reputation, he was in detention more often than not and people in general considered him an asshole – all because he didn’t partake in their little games of social climbing or whatever. No, Peter wouldn’t go for his grungy ass. He’d probably go for all American, apple pie, boy-next-door Steve Rogers.

“No, she’s right, I’ve seen him looking at you several times.” Bruce pointed out, not for the first time, and Tony scoffed.

“Oh, yeah? When?”

“AP chemistry class. I’m his lab partner, remember?” How could Tony forget? As Mr. Erskine called out their names, Tony prayed to a God he didn’t even believe in that he’d be paired up with Peter, but no such luck. “He stares at you whenever he has a chance or an excuse. You know, when you blow things up, for example.”

“Yeah, which is why he must stare, he must be afraid for his life.” Tony hated to admit that he was way more prone to causing explosive accidents when Peter was in the room. It was fucking embarrassing.

He sighed, drinking the last of his coke. No matter what his friends said, he knew he didn’t stand a chance with Peter. He was… Untouchable. He was too good for him, Tony wasn’t even sure he’d want to taint him if he had a chance – no, scratch that, he definitely would.

He chose to watch him from afar, allowing himself a few fantasies and daydreams. He had this really stupid and lame one, where he walked up to Peter in the hall, people just parted to let him through, then he gave him his trademark, lopsided grin and asked him out. Peter smiled brightly up at him, holding his books to his chest, cheeks flushed, eyelashes fluttering as he whispered a shy “yes” and leaned up to kiss him. Yeah. That was the whole fantasy.

Peter was so untouchable to him that he didn’t even dare to dream further than that. Of course when he was alone in his room, late at night, relieving himself, a few… less pure fantasies popped up unsolicited, but he felt so guilty then, dirty even, like he was disrespecting him somehow. It was all very confusing, but he still came, shamefully, to the thought of his beautiful face scrunched up in pleasure as dream-Tony fucked him.

The bell rang and everyone hurried to get to their next period, Peter was no different, he gathered his things and stood up, looking around the cafeteria like he was looking for someone. Their eyes met again for a second, but Tony quickly looked away, grabbing his backpack in a hurry to leave.

It was Thursday, the worst day of the week for him, none of his friends were free to hang out with him until later, so he either had to head home and deal with Howard or he had to find somewhere to be for a couple of hours, until Rhodey was done with football practice so they could go to his place. That day, Tony decided to just stay by his car, smoking a cigarette and singing along to Black Sabath’s Iron Man, it wasn’t like he had anywhere to go. He was so distracted watching the smoke dissipate into thin air that he didn’t notice when someone approached, and jumped almost a foot in the air when they spoke.

“Aren’t you afraid of getting caught smoking on school grounds?” Tony almost dropped dead when he registered the angelic voice. He was already having a heart attack as it was, but the boy was so close and he had that beautiful smile in place, blushing cheeks and all. It took almost a full minute for him to calm himself down.

“I won’t tell if you don’t.” The older teen answered when he finally found his voice and got his breath under control enough not to make a fool of himself. Peter smiled wider, biting his lower lip.

“Your secret is safe with me.” He fake whispered, leaning a little into the older boy’s space and he almost choked on nothing. Peter’s smell was inebriating, expensive and sweet, but not overly so – perfect. He recomposed himself quickly, though, and nodded, but didn’t say anything else. He wasn’t sure why Peter was talking to him and, frankly, he was too fucking nervous to think of anything cool to say. The younger teen deflated a little faced with Tony’s silence; he looked around, seeming a little lost. “You’re Tony, right?”

Fuck, the way he said his name. His name. It was fucking music to his ears, the most beautiful tune. But how did he even know his name? Sure, he was Tony Stark, so not really anonymous, but people often forgot about it.

“Yeah. And you’re Peter.” Tony didn’t play games, he didn’t even try to pretend like he didn’t know who Peter was. It would be dumb anyway, everybody knew him. The other boy nodded shyly, it looked like he wanted to say something else, but he kept biting his lips and looking around nervously. Tony frowned. “Is everything okay?”

“No. I mean, yeah, sure, it’s fine, it’s just, uhm. I have a flat tire and the wheel bolts are really tight and I couldn’t get them off, so I thought – I mean, could you, uh –“ He gestured wildly as he stuttered out his answer, looking in the general direction of his flashy, cherry red sports car. “I mean, it’s okay if you’re busy, but I –“

“Sure, I’ll help, don’t worry.” Tony threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stepped on it. He was a little more at ease now that he knew why Peter was talking to him – he just needed help – and the best thing was, Tony was really good with cars. Of course, one didn’t need to have a PhD in mechanics to change a tire, but it still made him feel really good that he would be able to help properly.

“Thanks, you’re a life saver.” The chirpy attitude was back, as well as the smile, it made Tony’s heart flutter. He nodded sharply, looking away from his face, and gestured for Peter to lead the way.

When they reached his car, Tony whistled lowly, crouching down to look at the completely flat tire, as he tried to find the source of the problem. He was surprised to notice a two-inch cut on the surface of it, and it didn’t seem accidental.

“Fuck, Peter, it looks like someone sliced your tire.” When he looked up at the younger boy, he didn’t look surprised, but nervous. It was an odd reaction. Tony wondered if Peter already knew that – maybe he knew who did it and was scared of them? It made Tony’s blood boil. Why would anyone do that to Peter?

“Wh-what? How do you know that?” He bit his lower lip nervously, scratching his arm, and Tony frowned, worried.

“Here, look.” He gestured for Peter to crouch down next to him and pointed at the cut. “This is clearly a stab mark. Judging by the size and shape of it, I’d say this was probably done with a pocketknife.”

“Oh. Yeah, of course. Clearly.” He face-palmed, like he felt stupid, maybe for not seeing it before, but Tony still worried.

“If you want, I could go with you to the administration. We can ask them to check the security cameras. I think that one might have caught whoever did this.” He pointed at a security camera nearby, Tony knew where all of them were in the parking lot area – he’d been caught smoking way too many times not to know.

“What? There are –? I mean, look, it’s okay, it’s probably just someone trying to play a prank, it’s no big deal, it’s fine.” He stood up quickly, shaking his head, and Tony was positive he felt threatened somehow, he was acting so weird.

“If you’re sure… But if you change your mind, I’ll go with you, ok?” Tony stood up and took off his leather jacket. The weather was nice, just a bit chilly, so he was wearing a thin, white t-shirt with short sleeves underneath. He thought he heard Peter’s breath hitch for a second, but it was probably just his imagination. “Can you hold this for me?” He held out his jacket and the boy blushed, blinking rapidly.

“S-sure.”

Tony bit his bottom lip to refrain from asking, again, if everything was fine. Peter looked so freaking nervous, he was even sweating a little at the temples. Tony was positive he knew who did that to his car, but didn’t want to tell him for some reason. Maybe he wanted to protect whoever did it, maybe it was a boyfriend, or an ex. He gritted his teeth, hands closing in fists, but didn’t say anything, just crouched down and got to work.

The first bolt came off easily, it wasn’t tight at all, so he thought maybe Peter had already loosened it when he tried earlier. The second and third ones came off just as easily, though, only the fourth one was a little trickier, but nothing the younger teen couldn’t have handled himself. Tony thought maybe he hadn’t tried too hard, maybe he was afraid the person who did that would show up or something. He was so glad he was there to help, he wondered if Peter felt safe with him around, and the thought made him feel oddly proud and protective of him.

He made quick work of changing the tires, making sure not to screw the bolts too tight, then put the sliced one in the trunk of the car. When he turned around to look at Peter, he was looking intently at him, almost hypnotized, holding his jacket close to his chest like it was a puppy.

“All done.” Tony smiled and the boy seemed to snap out of a trance.

“Oh, thank you so much, really, you’re too kind.” He smiled broadly and the older teen scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Don’t mention it.” They were silent for a few seconds after that, but Peter kept holding his jacket and didn’t make any move to give it back to him. “Uhm, could I–?” He gestured towards the jacket and again the boy jumped up in surprise.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, here.” He handed it to him and quickly crossed his empty arms over his chest. “So, uhm,… Your dad is having a gala this weekend, right? Are you gonna be there?” Ah, so Peter did know who he was, not just his first name. The older teen leaned against the car and stuck his hands in his pockets, shrugging.

“Not if I can help it.” He smirked, trying to act cool, but now that he didn’t have anything to do with his hands, he was growing nervous.

“Oh,” Peter looked… disappointed? He dropped his gaze to the floor, shuffling his feet, and Tony stood up straight, frowning.

“Why?”

“Nothing, it’s just – my parents are going, so I thought I’d tag along to, you know... but it’s okay.” He kicked an imaginary rock and avoided Tony’s eyes. The older teen stared at him with wide eyes, heart beating fast – what was the end of that sentence? Peter couldn’t possibly mean–

“I don’t – what, you’d go to, like, hang out with me or something?” He felt stupid when he stumbled on the words, but Peter didn’t seem to notice, his cheeks were burning red and he was looking anywhere else but at Tony.

“I mean, you must have much better things to do, of course, I was just –” He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head, finally looking up at Tony. “Sorry, just forget about it, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“No, wait!” He rushed to interrupt him and Peter looked back at him with huge, Bambi eyes. Tony coughed awkwardly, blushing a little. “I mean, like, uhm… If you – would you wanna go as my date? To the gala?” He blurted out, finally, because what the hell. The worst that could happen was Peter say no, and he could deal with it. He would survive, for sure. It wouldn’t be a big deal. Really. It wouldn’t.

But he didn’t say no, he smiled broadly, eyes twinkling in excitement.

“I’d love to!” He answered quickly, and Tony’s heart fluttered, Peter looked genuinely happy. “Could you – uhm, text me what color of tie you’ll be wearing? If you want! I understand if you think it’s lame, but I thought–”

“No, it’s fine.” His heart was beating so loud, Peter Fucking Parker wanted to coordinate ties with him, it was fucking corny and cliché and he loved it. “Uhm, here, give me your number.” He fished his phone from his back pocket and gave it to the younger teen.

“Cool.” Peter typed in his number and as soon as he gave his phone back, Tony sent him a smiley face so he would have his number, too. “Cool, cool, cool...” He rocked on the balls of his feet and looked around, like he was looking for something else to say.

“So… Do you have to be home soon or…?” Tony stuck his hands in his pockets again, wondering if maybe he was pushing his luck, but Peter shook his head quickly.

“Not really, no, my parents don’t really mind what time I get home as long as I let them know. You?”

“They don’t really care.” He shrugged, taking one step closer to Peter. “So… are you hungry, by any chance?”

“I’m starving.” He nodded, looking up at Tony in anticipation. It drove the butterflies in his stomach crazy.

“I know a place where they serve great burgers. We could go in my car and I could drop you off here on our way back, I’m just a little worried someone is gonna try to fuck up your car again. I mean, what if they’re targeting you or something?” Just the mention of what happened earlier made Peter nervous. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his bomber jacket and shook his head.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, I’m sure it’s fine.” He didn’t look worried, though, at least not anymore.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, trust me, I am.” Tony found the sudden change odd, but thought maybe he was just trying to play it cool, so he let it go.

“Okay, then, c’mon, my car is right there,” Tony gestured to his car and Peter smiled, taking his hands off his pockets. When he did, though, something slipped out and fell to the ground with a metallic noise. Tony quickly crouched down to get it for him, when he noticed what it was. “Wh – is that…?” He frowned, examining the pocketknife as if it was alien material. He was confused at first, because Peter didn’t seem like the kind of guy to carry one around, but then it dawned on him. When he looked at the younger teen, his face was so red it looked like he was about to explode.

“Uhm… If I told you I’ve never seen this before in my life would you believe it?” He chuckled nervously, scratching his arm, as Tony stood up. The older teen raised a brow at him.”Sorry, I just – I wanted an excuse to talk to you.” He said quietly, dropping his gaze.

“You know, you could have gone with the weather or whatever.” Tony answered, amused, and it made the younger boy look up at him.

“You’re just very intimidating,” He looked at him with huge, scared eyes, and Tony cocked his head to the side.

“Me?” He raised a brow.

“Yeah.” Peter answered pointedly, and Tony smirked, offering him his knife back.

“You do realize you just sliced your own tire so you’d have an excuse to talk to me, right? And I’m intimidating?” He joked, but Peter didn’t seem to find it funny. He winced and covered his face with his hands, clearly embarrassed.

“You must think I’m such a freak,” He groaned, voice muffled by his palms.

“Hey, hey, yes, I do think you’re a freak.” He grabbed Peter’s thin wrists and marveled at how perfectly they fit in his hands. He definitely saved that thought for later. “But you’re a really cute one.” He grinned and Peter chuckled, a delicate flush rising onto his cheeks.

“I feel stupid.” He admitted, worrying his bottom lip, but Tony shook his head, working up the nerve to cup Peter’s face in his hand.

“I feel flattered,” He said, honestly, and Peter’s breath hitched. He stared up at Tony, eyelashes fluttering, moist, pink lips slightly open. The older teen leaned down slowly and when the Peter closed his eyes, their lips touched. Just like in his fantasies, Peter tasted sweet, his lips were soft and his arms circled Tony’s neck in a warm embrace. When they parted, Tony smiled down at him, stroking his blushing cheek. “Just promise that if this doesn’t work out you won’t, like, key my car or something.”

“Oh, God,” he groaned, but they both laughed out loud, as they walked hand in hand across the parking lot.

#starker #high school au

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irondad-defensesquad · 6 months ago

Text

What Irondad fics I would like to read!

Since I made my fic rec list, I decided to do the opposite - what concepts I want to read, so you guys can give me your recs, if you have any! Feel free to reblog, for that matter!

More might be added.

These are all very personal choices, of course, lmao.

Alright, these are what I would like to read:

DISCLAIMER: I will already preface that I don't read Avengers Family fics. This is just my preference and I respect everyone who likes them.

Protective Tony. I just live for protectiveness, lmao. Though I personally wouldn't want it to go too far. I know Tony can be an invasive person but sometimes I feel like some fanfictions go way too far - dare I say to the point of making Tony look abusive. I already have a controlling parent so I wouldn't like to read that 😓

Peter (accidentally) calling Tony "Uncle Ben". Him accidentally calling Tony "Dad" is quite common in fanfiction, but I'm surprised that I don't see many stories where Peter refers to him as his deceased uncle. The latter honestly makes a lot more sense to me than Peter calling Tony "Dad" (after all, Peter's dad died when he was very young, and Peter spent more time with Uncle Ben in his childhood). Anyway, that could happen in any scenario - in the heat of the moment (an argument), something casual, or when Peter is dreaming/feverish/hurt. Honestly, just any parallels between Uncle Ben and Tony is fine by me!

Peter dealing with self-harm and/or suicidal thoughts. No, I do not want to read anything graphic. I look forward to the comfort. I would like to see Peter confiding in Tony (and more characters too!). Sadly, I've read fics where Tony is way too harsh on Peter, which is odd to me since Tony would definitely know how it is to hide your feelings from others (Iron Man 2, anyone?). Not that he would perfectly know how to handle that, but y'know. That's just me, though!

Bullying. I suppose there are quite a few fanfics of Peter being bullied, but they don't always work for me. In some of them, Tony picks a fight with Flash, which is... wow. Don't do that, lmao. I can see him getting angry but not to this extent. I just want Tony to be there for Peter, no need for confrontations.

BONUS: Tony's past with bullying. I can understand why this is barely brought up in fanworks, because the MCU itself never quite showed Tony's past to us, only in the tie-in comics (which are mostly Howard treating him like garbage IIRC). In the first comics, however, Tony was bullied by the other kids in boarding school. I feel like he would relate to Peter if he found out about the latter's experience (even if they're not the same, of course).

Anti Steve/Anti Team Cap fics. I think some are way too OOC to me, and while I've read fics where Peter defends Tony from Steve and Team Cap, again, I don't think a confrontation is necessary. Or at least I would like the adult characters to handle that, like Rhodey, Happy or Pepper. It's pretty unfair that a fifteen-year-old is fighting a bunch of grown adults and no one else supports him. With that said, I want something similar to what I look in fics about bullying: like Peter learning about Siberia, not necessarily through Tony. Maybe Rhodey can tell him. Tony would probably not want to bring it up to Peter. Basically, I would like an analysis to how Team Cap/the Avengers treated Tony. I guess something deeper in this sense. I just love character studies.

Jarvis! Can be A.I. Jarvis, but I want more Edwin Jarvis! Sure, we all write about Tony not wanting to be like Howard, but I want Tony to remember Jarvis fondly, and perhaps we find out that he got a lot of parental skills from the butler. Maybe some flashbacks to Tony's past, maybe parallels... I don't often read Biodad fics as you all probably know, but feel free to send those too!

Vision!! I am such a Vision fan, you have no idea. I would've loved to see him interacting with Peter and especially Tony. He was such an intriguing character to me, and I would love to see stories that do him more justice.

Rhodey and Peter!!! I just love Rhodey and I need to read more fics with him. I'm all for Ironhusbands too! Rhodey telling Peter about MIT would be so sweet. Perhaps Peter confiding in him when he can't get to Tony for any reason...

Peter meeting Howard and Maria. Bonus if Peter isn't related to Tony. That's not a concept I see often...

Yinsen! He's also one of my faves, I would love to read an Alive Yinsen AU. And I would love him to meet Peter somehow (whether Tony is his bio dad or not).

Miles Morales! Can be a Spider-Verse crossover or not, but I like MCU Miles fics in particular (since he was sort of confirmed to exist in the MCU thanks to a Homecoming deleted scene). I like seeing Peter mentoring Miles, or even Miles and Tony bonding directly. If it's a crossover, I can imagine Miles being reminded of Peter B. once he meets Tony.

BONUS: Miles and Morgan! Not sure why I love imagining these two interacting, but if there are any stories with them, please send them to me!!

The Guardians of the Galaxy! After reading a comic where Tony joins them, I love seeing them being friends in the MCU. The guardians are my favorite hero team, tbh.

Nebula! I'm sad that her friendship with Tony wasn't given more screentime, they had such a sweet bond. And I would've loved to see her and Peter being friends. Maybe they could bond over wanting to protect Tony from Thanos, something like that.

Asexual Peter. I've always loved this headcanon! Bonus if Tony is also queer (I personally see him as bisexual, which is canon in some of the comics, I believe).

Trans Peter. I'm not trans myself (I'm non-binary though), but I like this headcanon too! My most self-indulgent need is seeing characters getting help for their menstrual cramps (because I sure know how painful they can be). But it doesn't have to be just that, anything with Trans Peter is great!

Post-Homecoming fics that mention Liz. There are a lot of fics where Tony finds out about the warehouse, but very few of them touch on Liz or the fact Toomes is her dad. It kinda sucks that Liz was basically forgotten after Homecoming. I would like to see more of her, even if it's just through mentions.

Touch-starved Peter. Because I am touch-starved. That's it. Give that boy some hugs and cuddles.

Just domestic fluff in general, can include other characters like Pepper, Morgan, Aunt May, Happy, Rhodey, Vision...

Post-NWH but Tony is alive. Ironic considering I never saw No Way Home and I will keep it like that LMAO, but fics where Tony somehow comes back or has been alive all this time... then he has to find Peter to understand what's happening... or maybe he also forgot Peter but he has these sparks in his memories... I even wrote two fics with nearly the same premise, so you can see how much I like this concept, lmao.

Peter giving Tony forehead kisses! That is so rare to find, I don't remember reading this before.

Presumed dead. Mostly Peter being supposedly dead. I'm a sucker for this trope.

... well, I guess this is it for now. Thanks for reading this far if you have! :)

#lotus speaks #irondad #ironfam #suicide mention tw #self-harm mention tw #self harm mention tw #sh mention tw #death mention tw #if this shows up in any other tags...#clowns will be blocked.#anti starker

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lovelyirony · 4 years ago

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@peachy-keener incredibly late, but better that than never, right?

Rhodey has mourned Tony far more often than you should mourn for a friend. He mourned him when he was lost to Afghanistan, cried far too many tears than he actually let on. He cried and mourned when he saw the crossword puzzle creeping along his chest at a steady rate, because he knew what that meant, but they never mentioned it.

His heart leaped into his throat when he saw the news of Tony going into space, hurtling back down at a speed that no one could really come back from, but he did.

And he mourned when Tony went back up into space for a second time and didn’t come back down. When people disappeared, and Rhodey and Pepper had to lean on each other as they grieved. As they buried an empty casket and held far too much hope that he would come back.

But then he did. Tony came back, and their hearts sang. Rhodey and Pepper couldn’t stop touching his shoulder lightly, pulling him into hugs whenever he needed one. They wanted to hide him away from the world, and he didn’t mind much.

They didn’t talk about space. They didn’t talk about it, just focused on getting him better.

And then they bring Morgan into the world. She has Pepper’s nose and Tony’s inquisitive eyes, and Rhodey is ready to be the doting uncle. He holds her as Pepper and Tony drag their feet upstairs to get some much-needed sleep, and Rhodey promises that he won’t let harm come to Morgan.

He should’ve promised no harm to any of the family.

Tony is tired, and he has saved the world before.

“I…am…Iron Man.”

His last symphony. His last stand.

Rhodey knows he’s not coming back from this one, not with how far away they are.

He passes on and it’s time, but Rhodey hates how bitter his throat feels. Tony just saved the world and as shitty a want as it is, Rhodey wishes—he almost wishes—that he hadn’t.

“We both knew he would be the one,” Pepper whispers as they’re on the plane ride home. Happy is with Morgan, and they have to tell her that dad isn’t coming back.

That affects him more than he thought it could.

She’s still young. Maybe it won’t be bad. God, she’s going to have a lot to live up to. It reminds him of Tony a year after they graduated college, complaining about how much of a legacy Howard had left behind, how he couldn’t fill his shoes.

“You don’t fill someone else’s shoes, you buy your own damn shoes,” Rhodey had told him at the time.

He wonders when Morgan will need that advice.

They have a private funeral. It’s the team and the family.

He notices one kid there that he wasn’t expecting—Harley Keener.

Tony had told him all about Harley.

“He’s smart, and an asshole,” he had said while they were on the balcony.

“Oh, so he’s you?” Rhodey responded, grinning as Tony sent him a dirty look.

“Not the point, and no. We are not alike.”

“I guarantee that you are.”

“Hmph.”

While Rhodey had never seen Harley in person, Tony had shown him pictures and called him frequently. Keener was a smart kid, miles above everyone in his small town. He’s been able to keep up with all of Tony’s light jabs and able to launch back some of his own. Rhodey’s laughed as he was in the kitchen, listening to them.

And this.

Rhodey hates mourning. And so when the bouquet gets pushed out onto the lake, when everyone coalesces into their own groups, he watches everyone.

Pepper is surrounded with Morgan and people wishing her well before they leave. Happy and May surround Peter, who’s eyes have been rimmed with red every single day now.

And Harley…he doesn’t know anyone here. He’s never met half the people.

So Rhodey approaches him.

“You may not know me. I’m Rhodey.”

“I know who you are,” Harley says, although his tone is even. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“So am I,” Rhodey says.

Neither of them have cried. They both don’t like crying. (They don’t know that about each other yet.)

They stand together for a moment, and Rhodey turns towards him.

“What brought you all the way here?”

“May or may not have been someone else’s car,” Harley says. “May not have been the best idea.”

Rhodey laughs.

“It’s what Tony would’ve done.”

The past lays thick on his tongue as they stand there together.

“I, um. I don’t mean to be rude. But, uh. Hotels are all full here, and I’m really not looking forward to crashing in the car. Do you know a place I could stay around here?”

“Come with me,” Rhodey says. “I have a place not too far from here.”

Rhodey’s place isn’t the secluded cabin that Tony had built.

“Jealous?” he asked Rhodey, grinning.

“Of course,” Rhodey scoffs. He’s jealous—just not of the cabin. He’s jealous about—

“Rhodey, good to see you again,” Pepper says. She has a hand cradled around her stomach. “What do you think of this place?”

“Good views and better people,” Rhodey responds, smiling. Wishing he was smiling about something else.

But that doesn’t matter now.

His place is an apartment that has another bedroom, because he was a fool and thought that Tony would need another place to crash, but he has a house and a wife and a daughter. So then it became Morgan’s room.

Some of her toys are still here, and a note from Tony. Rhodey sweeps it out of the room before Harley can see it, and moves some of the toys to underneath the bed.

“It’s not much, but it’ll do,” he says.

“This is more than enough,” Harley answers, dropping a backpack that looks like it should’ve been replaced about two years ago.

Rhodey doesn’t know what to say. Just says that he’ll order a pizza and he’ll call Harley when it’s here.

It’s from Tony’s favorite place in the area. Well, really Morgan’s. But Tony loves whatever someone else loves. That’s why his favorite Mexican restaurant was Rhodey’s favorite. The pizza is good.

He calls Harley, and they eat together.

“When Tony and I first ordered a pizza from college, he ate it with a fork and knife,” Rhodey says.

Harley grins.

“What, like a full-fledged socialite?”

“Yup. Had to ask him what the hell he was doing and practically teach him how to hold a pizza. He couldn’t do it for a month, and finally broke down around midterm season of college.”

Harley cracks a grin.

They trade stories back and forth.

Harley made Tony like two country songs, which amazed Rhodey. He tells him all about Tony’s first lab, and the cursed poster of Bruce Lee on the wall that got warped in the factory production, so his legs were stretched a bit too long, and the proportions were totally messed up.

In the morning, Rhodey is in his chair. This is usual routine, but he fears it might be a bit more routine now since Tony isn’t here to fix him up. None of the doctors even come close to the mobility the braces give, and they weren’t exactly doing one-hundred-percent after the big fight.

(And Rhodey feels guilty, that his thoughts are on this.)

Harley takes one look at them and suggests two different ways to fix them.

He’s a hell of a lot like Tony.

“Let’s get to work,” Rhodey says. “After breakfast.”

Harley and Rhodey take their eggs the same way: over-easy. With a piece of toast. Fruit’s on the side, a glass of juice to the right. It’s weirdly similar. But Harley likes strawberries over blueberries.

“You the reason why Tony likes blueberries?” Harley asks. “Or, uh, liked blueberries?”

“Yeah,” Rhodey says. “I am. He couldn’t get enough of them after we went blueberry-picking.”

“You went blueberry-picking?”

“Not all of our trips were extravagant,” Rhodey says. “I’ll tell you more about it when we get to the garage.”

Tony’s lab was always a bit more futuristic, and Rhodey liked the basics.

“Glad I can actually find the tools here,” Harley murmurs. “Tony’s organization was a shit-show.”

“He never could do it,” Rhodey says, laughing.

They work on the braces. Harley makes leaps and bounds and assumes and then is correct and gets a little grin when he’s right.

Rhodey thinks he picked that up from Tony.

“I’ll probably need to go to Tony’s lab space to pick up some stuff,” Harley says.

“We can go tomorrow,” Rhodey says. “It’s Morgan’s dinner and bath time right now, and if she still hates baths as much as I remember, Pepper’s gonna be exhausted after that.”

“I just. I don’t wanna invade your space for too long,” Harley says, uncomfortable.

“It’s for the best,” Rhodey says. “But I don’t wanna keep you any longer than you want to be kept here.”

“I like it here.”

“You do?”

Harley looks up at him, shuffling his beat-up sneakers together. Reminds Rhodey of how Tony used to tease him about his shoes.

“Dude. Your shoes are duct-taped together. It’s orange duct-tape. Are you joking me?”

“They can last a little longer!” Rhodey protests. “And I don’t need new shoes. These are fine.”

“You can afford them,” Tony deadpans. “I know Mama’s gonna kick your ass if you show up in those when you visit next weekend.”

“She won’t kick my ass,” Rhodey grumbles.

Tony rolls his eyes, but leaves a kiss on the forehead for him.

“I gotta go to class. Love you!”

The responding “love you too” goes unnoticed and unheard.

The next day, Rhodey and Harley are awkwardly waiting outside of the house.

Morgan hugs Rhodey tight.

“I’ve missed you!” she says. “I made a Lego castle.”

“You did?” Rhodey asks, smiling. “Well, you’ll have to show me.”

Morgan looks hesitantly at Harley.

“This is your cousin, Harley,” Rhodey says. “He’s the one from real far away. You remember where?”

“Tennessee,” Morgan says proudly.

Harley looks surprised.

“He…told her about me?”

“He told Morgan about everyone,” Pepper says quietly. “Tony loved you.”

Harley doesn’t say anything, just smiles as Morgan nods and still drags Rhodey to go see her structure that he’s built.

Pepper lets Harley into the garage, to yell if he needs anything. Her breath hitches as she sees the pictures and she sees the tools still lying haphazardly across.

Harley doesn’t know what to respond. He just walks forward.

He likes seeing what Tony was up to here. It feels like a better tribute to his memory than the flowers. They were a nice touch, but this…this is the Tony that he knew. That he knows.

Rhodey, after seeing Morgan’s impressive structure and checking in with Pepper (who is not doing well, but that’s…unfortunately expected), he goes over to Harley.

He looks so damn natural in the garage. He looks like Tony for a moment. For a moment, Rhodey can see Tony sifting through all the different drawers where he never kept anything organized, the small little furrow to his brow that he would get.

For a moment, Harley is Tony, kind of.

“Find what you need, kiddo?”

“Yeah,” Harley says, putting one of the smaller screwdriver behind his ear like Tony used to do. “You ready to go, or are we gonna stay for a while?”

“You know the way back home?”

“I…think so.”

“GPS already has it locked in for you. I gotta talk with Pepper some.”

Harley nods, already raising his hands up for the keys. Rhodey tosses them, and for a moment Harley reminds him a lot of himself.

Rhodey sits down with Pepper while they watch Morgan color a picture.

“She had a bad day yesterday,” Pepper says. “Dying is…it’s unfair.”

“I know,” Rhodey responds. “But at least Tony left her a message. And she has you and Happy and I.”

“But is it enough?” Pepper asks.

“No,” Rhodey answers. “When someone leaves, nothing is ever enough. But we work with what we are given.”

“We’ve never been good at that,” Pepper says, voice watery with grief.

They never have been, Tony and Pepper. Tony because he’s used to doing the impossible, Pepper because she’s always had to work with more than what she was given. That’s just what running a company like Stark Industries did to her.

Rhodey…he’s never been one for the impossible, he just rolls with the punches.

Tony never could. That’s why he stood against Stane, against Vanko, against his own death. It’s why Pepper adjusted to it.

Rhodey doesn’t know what to tell her other than that. So he asks her if she wants him to cook dinner, and she says no.

“Gives me a sense of routine,” Pepper says. “I’m working on writing down all of his recipes for Morgan.”

“I’ll bring some of my own by next visit,” Rhodey says.

He’s pretty sure right now, she’s only living for Morgan. Tony was the love of her life, even if sometimes she rolled her eyes at his antics. They fit well together. They fit so well together.

He swallows the jealousy down his throat, wills it to just leave, and texts Harley to come pick him up.

He gets there, and Rhodey doesn’t say much as he gets himself into the car.

“Pepper doing okay?”

“As good as she can be. She’s cooking dinner, so that’s an improvement.”

“Good. What are we having for dinner?”

Rhodey thinks about what they have in the pantry. Harley will probably need more than they eat.

“We need to stop at the grocery store.”

Harley nods, and Rhodey tells him where to go. Harley drives with the self-assurance that all new teens have, and it’s half-terrifying, half-exhilarating. It reminds Rhodey of when Tony would let him drive his fancy cars and he’d almost have a heart-attack the whole time.

This is payback.

“How did you get your license?” Rhodey wheezes.

“I didn’t,” Harley says with a shrug.

“Next stop: the DMV.”

“DMV doesn’t matter, Rhodey,” he says, tossing him the keys as they get out of the car. “What are we getting?”

“Lots of pasta. What kind of fruit do you like? Vegetables?”

“Do we need vegetables?” Harley says, scrunching up his face.

“Yes,” he answers, laughing. “We can do a small portion, but we still need vegetables.”

Harley sighs, but gets a grocery cart and they start going.

They get everything in a good sense of time, and Rhodey sneaks in a good amount of candy, which isn’t so much a sneaky thing, because Harley sees the whole thing and sneaks in his own choice, which are those weirdly spicy snacks that will probably absolutely wreck an intestinal system if one eats too much of them.

“When is your mom expecting you back?” Rhodey asks as they unload the car.

“Sometime this week,” Harley says. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen when I came here, if anyone would need anything. Looks like they don’t.”

“Well I need your help with cooking dinner,” Rhodey says. “Put my strainer on the top shelf, and no way in hell can I reach it now. Plus, you’ve been helping me out with my braces. You’re doing good, kid.”

Harley nods and doesn’t say anything back.

Rhodey gets it.

They eat spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. They don’t talk much until they’re washing the dishes (Rhodey hates the dishwasher and uses it for storage more than anything), and Harley looks at him.

Really looks at him.

“You miss him a lot, don’t you?”

Rhodey stops washing the plate.

“Yeah.”

No point in denying it. No point in doing any of that when someone dies. You miss them or you lie very badly and say you don’t miss them.

“What was your favorite thing about him?” Harley asks.

“I can’t choose one.”

“Then tell me about all of them. I never really got to hear a lot from you about your college days.”

“Well let’s start off with the premise that everything Tony told you about me is a lie,” Rhodey jokes. “But I met this skinny little kid my first day of move-in, and I was also a skinny little kid, so we wreaked havoc in the dining hall. They had it set up buffet-style, so…”

Harley listens with rapt attention, laughing at all the right parts and interjecting with his own opinion on the matters at hand.

He tells Rhodey about Rose Hill. He tells him about his mother and his sister, about Tony who has always been awkward as hell around people he wanted to impress.

Rhodey tells him about the time that Tony was gone, the first time. How it felt like part of his heart was out of its body, how he went nearly crazy trying to find him.

They talk and the spaghetti gets cold, and they have to refill water glasses because they’ve talked so much.

Rhodey ends up cleaning up the kitchen after Harley goes to bed, and he hums Tony’s favorite song as he does it. Tony always had some sort of music going when he was cleaning, although he’d usually get side-tracked if one of his many, many favorite songs came on, and leave a dish half-cleaned as he danced.

He misses Tony a hell of a lot.

But as he cleans up and he checks up on Harley, who’s fallen asleep on the couch with his arms at a very weird angle, he realizes something, and that is that this kid will need him for a long time.

He’s a genius, just like he and Tony are. (Were? He’s not sure. Doesn’t want to think about using the past tense.) But Harley needs help. He needs someone who can help him with his future, and Rhodey can do that.

He wants to do that.

So when Harley packs up everything to head back to Tennessee, Rhodey gives him his number and a couple of road trip snacks.

“I’m here for you, alright?” he says, smiling as Harley gets the last of his stuff into the car.

“I know,” Harley says. “I’ll call you when I need something.”

“Or if you just want to talk,” Rhodey responds. “Don’t do anything stupid without consulting me.”

“Oh come on,” he whines. “I don’t do anything stupid.”

Two months later, he gets a phone call that is trying to be casual.

“Hi Harley,” Rhodey starts out, “what are you doing in public airspace?”

“Um, that’s not me?” Harley says, but Rhodey can hear the whistling of the wind that he remembers from when Tony pulled the same trick.

“I’ll come up with an excuse for you,” Rhodey sighs. “Just…get here. I know that you probably forgot some stupid, obvious thing.”

“I resent that remark!”

“And you resemble it,” he says with a laugh. “Please tell me you remembered the icing problem.”

“The…icing problem?”

“Drop your altitude!” Rhodey barks.

“But then I might get caught!”

“You telling me you can’t go faster than a fighter jet?”

“…no.”

Rhodey laughs. Of course Harley would factor that but not icing.

“Alright, circle back. I got you.”

“Promise?”

“As long as you don’t do anything stupid.”

“You can handle stupid.”

#harley keener #tony stark #rhodey #one-sided rhodeytony :(#pepper potts #morgan stark #awkward dynamics!#lovelyirony writes #harley is like both rhodey and tony!!!! i love that #i hope i did this justice

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teaandatale · 4 years ago

Note

Hello I’m late to the party but pls tell me more about SteggyDiplomatic???

Late Reply to WIP Game

Hehehe, I thought you might be the one to ask me about this one. SO, it’s not quite what you were thinking I’m sure, BUT congrats, you picked the one SUPER SECRET STEGGY FIC IDEA that I put on that WIP list.

Why super secret? Idk, my brain decides some fic ideas need to stay super hush hush until they are fully realized. Also because in my head this one is a saga, where I have literally have it in mind that there will be 3 Parts to this long fic. As is the preview here.

Also this one kind of goes real dark, so read on at your discretion.

Basic Synopsis: Peggy & Steve are both children of Diplomatic parents. Steve’s father is a particularly powerful politician. That’s how they meet, as children in some Diplomatic Day Care while at some UN Conference or Summit, or similar. Steve gets picked on by some of the other kids (Gilmore Hodge in particular) and Peggy, who is already a mouthy wise-cracking 6 or 7 year old, has paid attention enough to her brother and parents using big words to use them to her advantage. Because their parents work closely, they end up crossing paths more and more as the years go on. They also start sending each other pen pals letters when they are separated, developing their own code. They’re each others first crushes, and in their teens, while the Carters are in NYC for UN meetings, the unsaid things between them becomes an understanding. They go on a museum date and Peggy gives Steve his first kiss in Central Park. By the time they graduate high school, they’re pretty serious, to the point where Peggy decides to move to New York to attend college. The fic would follow their lives into adulthood, and their growing relationship.

Because Steve’s dad has a military background along with his political work, Steve ends up following in the “Family Business” in a somewhat SHIELD like organization... But one that definitely is quietly overrun by Hydra. Peggy also follows into Diplomatic work, and creates her own ties to SHIELD. There they meet Howard Stark much as we know him in canon, as well as the Jarvises. Steve & Peggy start to think about the future, carving one out for each other -- starting a family away from the Diplomatic life, away from NYC.

But then a series of tragic and mysterious events occur. Bucky’s unit gets targeted and he’s KIA. The organization’s Steve’s father runs, dark side begins to come to light. Then Steve’s mother contracts a mysterious illness and passes away. While Steve is grieving, Peggy starts to put together some pieces of intel, especially from her side of SHIELD. She knows something isn’t right about Steve’s father. And once she’s onto him, Steve’s father starts to sow seeds of doubt and poison Peggy’s image in his son’s eyes. Peggy fights it. Until she finds out she’s pregnant. But she never gets a chance to tell Steve. Whatever his father’s toxic influence strength, it’s taken hold in Steve, to the point of him saying he could never love her. Peggy, at her wit’s end, needing to regroup and figure out how to move forward with becoming a mother, leaves him a letter with the sonogram. Steve never opens it.

Flash forward to Part 2.

The Rogers men have done their part to isolate Peggy, Steve having been successfully radicalized by his father, taking his place as second in control, engaging in the heinous side of SHIELD. Months and months go by... And Steve eventually, away from the influence of his father, happens upon Peggy’s letter. He reads it, and whatever hate his father created melts away. She was pregnant. That’s what she had been trying to tell him that last time they met. Steve reevaluates everything Peggy had been trying to tell him about Steve, about his father. He confronts his father, carefully avoiding mention of the baby.

“You think I don’t know you knocked her up? If my efforts to make sure that bastard child isn’t miscarried didn’t work, she’ll still be stuck with the bastard of a bastard. Unmarried and a stain on her family. You will never see them. Never,” his father says. “Besides, do you really think she would want anything else to do with you? Not once she hears all the horrible acts that Steven G. Rogers took credit for. Oh yes son, I planned for all contingencies.”

It’s the first time Steve fights him directly, physically leaving scars on his father’s face and has the flee, branded a fugitive from justice now that his father has falsified Steve’s involvement and blasted it through all media.

Steve doesn’t care. He’s done with the family operation. Done with the toxic family that turned him against the love of his life. That was pregnant with his child. If he still had a child... He hopes so. He’s lost too many people already.

With Natasha & Sam’s help, after shaving his face and head and overall changing his appearance, he leaves for the UK, in hopes of tracking Peggy Carter down. Only there’s no trace of her. Or a child. Anywhere. She’s become a ghost.

In the middle of nowhere England, alone, tracking any lead he can find, he clutches Peggy’s letter to his chest, and hopes he can rectify this one day, to make amends for betraying the one person who always saw him for who he was. He keeps a low profile in shitholes in London, trying to find the Carter family, while avoiding his father’s radar. He starts to realize even Peggy had secrets he didn’t know about.

Years go by without a trace... Until there’s a scent on the trail...

Peggy’s kept this particular fake public safe house for years. And though she doesn’t really live in it, even in the dark, one night she knows something is not right. She fakes taking off her coat, setting down her purse until she’s got her weapon loaded. She can’t deny that her heart is in her throat. There, in the dark of the kitchen, a split second after she flips the light on, is Steve sitting at her table, hunched in the chair, jaw tight, and eyes of a wild animal. He’s grizzled, and looks dangerous. Even if she’s expected this to come, fearing this the second word got out that he went missing, she’s terrified. His mouth turns into a grimace letting out a single sound.

“Wh-”

Peggy aims her hidden weapon and shoots. His eyes go wide and he’s crying out in pain. She remains standing, tall and steady, gun at the ready. His fingers come up to feel the dart embedded in his neck.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Peggy,” she hears, each subsequent word more slurred than the one before. What shocks her most is his tone, hardly mad that she shot him, more annoyed than anything. It was the tone of Steve, her Steve, not the monster. He slumps over the top of the kitchen table. She blinks, watching him for a moment, hesitating until finally, a minute later, she calls Stark for reinforcements. She doesn’t cry, does not move an inch, not until the vehicle pulls up in the drive.

And... I’ll leave you there ;)

#about fic #steggy #my brain has many ideas just little time #thesokovianaccords

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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990 Review: Still Possesses Turtle Power After All These Years

Cowabunga all you happy people! I freaking love the Teenage Ninja Turtles. I grew up with it from Turtles in Time, which was my first video game, to the 2003 cartoon, which I covered the first three episodes of last month, and on to present day as I re-read the idw comics after finally reading the original eastman and laird run of mirage, and impatiently waiting for Shredder’s Revenge to come out after a LONG drout of no good TMNT games. I”m a fan of these heroes four, their dynamic as a family, the endless possiblities that come from it’s long history and ablitlity to go anywhere in any genre, and the wonderful goofy shit that happens when you have a franchise about mutant turtles learning ninjitsu from a rat and fighting a dude covered in knife covered samurai armor.

So with me finally covering the guys after almost a year last month and with a new movie set to debut at some point this year, I had the bright idea to revisit the FIRST TMNT movie after way too many years of not watching it. This movie is anear and dear to my heart: When I first started getting into the boys big as a kid with the 2003 cartoon, I badly wanted more turtles. But back then it wasn’t nearly as easy to glom onto some more of the sewer shock pizza kings: Streaming sites with all the cartoons on them weren’t all that accesable, dvd’s were expensive for the 87 cartoon, Mirage wasn’t reprinting the comics in any meaningful way and my local comic shop didn’t have any at all and I could only play the SNES when my brother had it set up on occasion like at our Grandma’s farm.

As you probably guessed though there was one exception: the original 1990 movie, which I got at Walmart for 5 bucks and haven’t let go of since. It was one of my first dvds and is still one of my most precious. Said film hit the spot just right as like my beloved 2003 series, it was a mildly goofy but still fucking cool adaptation that stuck closer to the mirage comics, even more than the 2003 series would, while taking a few queues from the 87 series. This film is as precious to me as the 2003 series and a with a brand new movie coming up, I figured it was the exact right time to dig into this classic: what makes it still good to this day, what’s fun to point and laugh at, and how the heck Jim Henson got involved in this. So join me under the cut as I take a look at my boys first theatrical outing and why I still love watching a turtle.

No One Wanted To Make This: Before we get into the film itself some background. As usual I struggled a bit, but thankfully found some help in the form of this Hollywood Reporter article. It’s a fascinating read worth your time, providing an oral history of the film from the people who worked on it.

The film was the baby of Gary Propper, a surfer dude and road manager for the prop comic Gallagher, aka that guy who used to smash watermelons but now has instead opted to smash what little’s left of his career by being a homophobic douchenozzle. He found an ally in Showtime producer Kim Dawson who’d produced Gallagher’s special. I don’t think there will be more of an 80′s sentence than “Gallagher’s surfer dude agent wanted to make a teenage mutant ninja turtles movie”. Propper was a huge fan of the comics, and with Dawson’s help convinced Laird and Eastman to let them option it to studios.

It may come as a shock to you but the road agent for a homophobic watermelon man and a producer at a niche cable channel wanting to make a movie based on an underground comic book about masked turtles at a time when the two most recent comic book movies were Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and Howard the Duck, did not go well. Every door in Hollywood got slammed in their face, even Fox> Even the eventual backer of the film, Golden Harvest, a hong kong action film studio, took months to convince to actually back the film.

Things did not get easier from there: The films writer Bobby Herbeck had trouble getting a story agreed on because Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s working relationship had deteroiated horribly from the stress so naturally the two could not agree on a damn thing and argued with each other. Peter Laird made a tense siutation even worse by constnatly sniping at Herbeck and feeling he was a “Hollywood outsider infringing on his vision and characters”

Granted the script was apparently not great... but Pete still comes off as a pretnetious ass who views his weird indie comic as THE HIGHEST OF HIGH CALLINGS HOW DARE YOU SOIL IT. And continued to be kind of a prick like this throughout the rest of his time with the property.

Thankfully the film found i’ts voice, vision and director in Steve Barron. Barron was a music video guy who knew the producers and while reluctant, eventually dove into the project rightfully thinking the film would need to be a mix of the mirage comics and 87 cartoon, keeping aprils’ reporter job, the turtles lvoe of pizza and their iconic color coding from the cartoon but adapting several stories from the comics as the backbone of the film. The guys liked barron MUCH better and things ran smoother.

Barron also brought in one of the film’s biggest selling points and it’s most valuable asset: it’s triumphantly awesome Jim Henson costumes. Barron had worked with good old Jim on the music videos for Labyrinth, and while it took some convincing since the comics were violent as hell and that wasn’t Jim’s style, Barron eventually got him on board. This naturally doubled the budget, but given Henson’s costumes STILL hold up today and look better than the cgi used in the platinum dunes films... it was a good call. And this was brand new tech for jim, having to invent tons of new ideas and mechanisms just to make the things work, and said things still were absolute hell on the actors. Jim later ended up not liking the film for being too violent... which I find hilarious given how many muppets got eaten or blowed up real good on his show but regardless, I thank this legendary and wonderful man as without him this film WOULD NOT have worked. The costumes here look great, feel realistic, and you can’t tell the actors were dubbed much less horribly suffering in those suits. Much like Disney Land.

The film would get picked up for distribution by New Line, and despite i’ts weird as hell origins and the long shot it had.. the film was a MASSIVE hit at the box office, owing to a combination of Batman 89 the previous year having proved comic book movies can work for audiences, the cartoon’s runaway sucess, and a massive marketing campaign. The film made it’s mark. So now we know how we got here let’s get into the film itself.

What’s the Story Morning Glory?:

So the story for this one is largely cobbled together from some of the more notable arcs Eastman and Laird did before handing off the book to others full time as the stress of the company and the mounting tension with each other made it near impossible to work together on the book itself.

To Save time i’m just going through what hte movie takes from the comics plot wise now to save me the trouble later:The movie takes elements from the first issue (The Turtles, Splinter and Shredder’s backstories, Shredder being fully human and the main antagonist, Shredder’s design and the final rooftop showdown that results in Shredder’s death), second and third, (April’s apartment over her dad’s old store and the turtles moving in when their home is ransacked and splinter has gone missing), the rapheal micro series (A tounge in cheek way of cashing in on the Mini-Series craze of the 80s, a one shot by modern standards and something that’s tragically been underused as an idea as only TMNT and MLP have used the idea at IDW, Raph meeting casey and their fight with one another), the return of shredder arc (One of the turtles being ambushed and mobbed by the foot and then thrown though a sky light (Leo in the comic and Raph here), the turtles being horribly outnumbered by them, Casey coming ot the rescue and metting the non-raph turtles for the first time, and them being forced to escape when the place goes up in flames), their exile to northampton (April writing in a journal, casey working on a car with one of the guys and one of hte guys looking over hteir injured brother), and finally, their triumphant return which was very loosely adapted as there are no deformed shredder clones and shredder not being dead yet in this version was not brought back by a colony of super science worms.

So as for how this all comes together: Our story takes place in New York: A crimewave is high with muggings mysterious. There are a ton of phantom thefts going around and at most people have been seeing teens responsibile. And the police.. are at about this level of useful:

The only person doing something is April O’Neil, played by Judith Hoag. Hoag is easily the standout of the film, giving us a strong, confident woman with a wonderful sense of humor. She honestly might be my faviorite April O Neil, and given we’ve had some great ones with 2003, 2012 and Rise, that’s not something I say lightly. I honestly wish I’d recognized her in more stuff as she was both on Nashville and the mom in the Halloween Town films, and most recently was on the ScFy show the magicians. She’s a talented lady and i’m glad she’s still goin.

April is a reporter for Channel 3 like the cartoon, though for some weird reason her boss from the cartoon is replaced by Charles Pennigton, played by Jay Patterson, whose currently dealing with his troubled son Danny, played by Micheal Turney. Pennington is horribly useless at both jobs: At work he tries to ease April off calling out Chief Sterns, who refuses to listen to April’s evidence gathered from japanese immigrants that the crimes resemble similar ones in japan in favor of trying to get charles to shut her up. Danny meanwhile is a member of the foot becase his dad thinks shouting out him and talking about him like he’s not there and generally being a dipstick will actually do anything to help him.

I love the concept for the foot here. In addition to being a Ninja Violence Gang as always, they now recruit new members by finding kids without families or with troubled family lives and giving them a sense of family with the foot, and sweeting the bargin with a giant cave filled with arcade machines, a skate ramp and general late 80′s early 90′s kids goodies. Is it rediculous? Yes. Is it also clever as it gives Shredder an easy army of plausably deniable theives that he can pick the best out of to put in his elite that will be tirelessly loyal to him and him alone? Also yes.

So April being public about this stuff gets her attacked, which naturally leads to our heroes coming in, first in the shadows and later directly when April wont’ give up on the case and Shredder sends some ninjas to go shut her up.. which he does weirdly as the guy jsut slaps her and tells her to cut it out like he’s on a domestically abusive episode of Full House. Raph saves her, and we get the turtles origin.. though weirdly they cut it in half. We get the ooze portion but Splinter’s past with Saki, Saki’s murder of his master and his master’s partern Tang Shen is left for later in the film and the fact Shredder’s saki is treated as a big twist despite the fact the biggest audience for the film would be kids... and kids would’ve been familiar with the cartoon where the giant brain monster routinely screeches out saki at the shredder. Maybe Barron just thought he was an alcoholic I don’t know. It just would’ve made more sense to have it all at once and let the audeince put it together.

April becomes good friends with the turtles over a night of frozen pizza and camradrie, but the Splinters return home to find it ransacked, Splinter kidnapped by the foot, and are forced to Stay with april. Charles meanwhile tries to get April to backoff because he made a deal with the police to clear Danny’s record, without TELLING her any of this mind you, but I will save my rage on that little plot point for in a bit as Danny who he drug along sees the turtles and tells the Shredder.

So we get the return of the shredder arc as Raph goes through a window, our heroes fight valiantly, and Raph’s friend Casey who he met earlier shows up, the two having bonded as all true friends do.. by beating the shit out of each other ending with raph shouting DAMNNNNNNN really big and dramatically into the sky for some reason. The Turtles and friends escape with an injured raph from April’s burning second hand store. She had a second hand store it was poorly established and only there because she had it in the comics.

Our heroes retreat to a farm April’s grandma owned in Northampton, Massachutes, where Mirage was located at the time the original comics where they were exiled to the place were written and a location that has been a staple of the turtles ever since. The turtles slowly recover, lick their wounds, talk about who hooked up with who on gilligans island etc, before Leo connects with Splinter via meditation, who tells them to come back. Splinter also starts to connect with Danny and convinces him to swtich sides.. or at the very least squat in the boys old home.

The boys return home, find danny, and prepare, Danny goes back and ends up giving away the Turtles are home.. but the turtles are ready and in an awesome sequence kick the fuck out of the foot squad sent for them with some well prepared steam vents. Casey goes to get splinter since Danny told them and with Danny’s help, finds him, since Danny found out they were gonna kill him. Casey beats up Tatsu, shredder’s right hand man, and they get him out.

We get our final fight which is awesome up until the climax.. which is splinter casually tripping shredder with nunchucks and thier bloody history being kind of rushed and unsatsifying. Casey crushes shredder with a garbage truck, April gets her job back, more on that in a moment, she and casey hook up, and we end with the fucking awesome song T-U-R-T-L-E Power by partners in cryme. Seriously check it out it’s fucking triumphant.

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The song is just good.. cheesy? Sure but that’s half the fun. It’s the gold standard for movie theme songs for them and stacks up handily with the various animated series themes.. all of which slap. Okay... ALMOST all of which slap. Fast Forwards is aggressively medicore, which is doubly suprising to me since 4kids was REALLY damn good with theme songs. It was one of the three things they were best at along with finding VERY talented voice actors and setting japan based works in america because merica dammit.

The plot is very solid: It skilfully packed half of eastman and laird’s run on TMNT into 90 mintues while adding things like April’s job at channel 9, the way the foot recurited kids etc. The plot flows well for hte most part and apart from one annoying subplot we’ll get to never has a moment that feel unecessary or dosen’t pay off later. And the stellar plot and fun pacing of it helps boilster the characters that do work... and help paper over the ones that are so thin the’yd fall down a grate...

Our Heroes, Villains and Annoying Middle Aged Guys:

Yeahhhh character is hit and miss here. Some are rather strong, others are the bare basics for the character their adapting and most are just to serve the plot but some work some don’t, So let’s talk about it starting with our boys:

Raph is the most fleshed out of the turtles, being the main focus of the first 2/3 of the film, and having his anger be part of what SHOULD be a character arc, learning to temper it. And while granted MOST TMNT properties do this, to the point that Rise Raph is so loveable in part because his boisterous bruiser big bro attitude is a refreshing break from the usual grumpus we get. But at the time this hadn’t been done in every version but the 87 cartoon, so exploring it was valid.. but despite saying this should be a thing htey just forget about it and the most plot relevance he gets is going thorugh a window. He dosen’t really get a resolution.. his arc just kind of stops dead for the final half and it’s one of the film’s weaker points, one I only just now noticed on this rewatch. He’s still the most entertaining.

Leo is the weakest of the turtles. He really lacks a personality here mostly just being leader and while his spirtual side is touched on, it’s mostly a plot device. He’s just kinda the leader because he was in the comics to the point Partners in Cryme called Raph the leader. His role in getting taken out by the foot was taken by Raph, so he just has.. nothing to do for most of the film other than gripe at raph ocasionally and say orders. He’s probably the worst Leo i’ve seen outside of Next Mutation. I prefice that because after watching Phelous’ review it’s VERY clear those four are the worst versions of the characters, and no personality is still better than either having your team do nothing or yelling at them as your personality. I chalk this up to the Mirage Leo, and the mirage turtles to a poit being kind of bland. Not TERRIBLE characters, especially for the time, but not nearly as fleshed out or individualized as they woudl be in other adpatations, and with most traits LEo DID have, like his badassery flat out gone, he’s just.. nothing here.

Mikey and Donnie are a double act here with both sharing a brain. Interestingly instead of his normal genius character, Donnie is Mikey’s best friend and the two simply trade jokes and schtick together. The two are interchangable.. but easily the best part of the film and a lot of the most memorable gags and lines, from Ninja Kick the Damn Rabbit! to “Do you like Penicllin on your pizza”, are from them. Thier there almost entirely as comic relief but it works, with both clealry being more modled ont he 87 cartoon turtles, a move that helps lighten the mood in darker moments. Their just genuinely charming and it’s intresting to see such a diffrent version of Donnie, and other incarnations, specifically the 2003 and Rise versions, would retain the sarcastic edge.

Splinter is splinter. That’s about it, he’s peformed well and the puppet is amazing but he gets kidnapped a half an hour in and outside of influcencing Denny, more on that in a moment, and finishing Shredder he dosen’t do much but spout exposition. He’s not bad or anything, but he’s essentially a rodent shaped plot device. He was also puppeted by Kevin CLash, aka the guy who does Elmo. So there you go.

April on the other hand.. is truly excellent. This might be my faviorite April. Judith’s april nicely blends the cartoon and mirage versions: She has the cartoons energy and job, but the comics sheer will and casual nature. Judith just oozes personality and her April is just a joy to watch, from her breezy chemistry filled interactions with the guys to her confrntation with Chief Sterns, knowing she’ll get thrown out by the asshole. She’s confident, and even when afraid dosen’t back down to her attackers and even helps out during the sewer ambush. I mean it’s a pot on the head but still it’s neat. She’s easily the best part of the flim and the most fleshed out of the cast. The worst I can say is they kinda shove her store from the comics, Second Time Around, in there for no other reason than it was in the comics: It dosen’t come up until it’s needed for the foot’s assault on her place. But overall.. she’s just fantastic to watch.

Speaking of fantastic to watch, Elias Koteas is fantastic as Casey. Seriously he’s only second to the 2003 version in my eyes, getting the concept of a testorone filled average guy who decided to just go out and hit people with sports equipment after watching too much A-Team.. I mean that part of it’s not in this version but it’s implied, just right. Like judith, Elias is just really funny to watch and his big scenes, showing up just in time during the foot assault on april’s place and his fight with Tatsu are some of the best parts of the film, the former taken directly from the comics. This version isn’t without problems: His friendship with Raph, his most endearing aspect and one that has been carried throughout eveyr version Casey’s important, with the only exception so far being rise and we have a movie to fix that, is absent here. HE does save the guy, but they don’t really bond or anything. In fact he disappears for about half an hour after his big fight with Raph. But... again he’s just so damn entertaining, down to his JOSEEEEEEEEEEE Conseco bats (There was a two for one sale!).

Shredder is just a LITTLE better than splinter, if only because his actor projects a true aura of menace and I feel this version had some influence on the pants crappingly terrifying 2003 version. And the idea of the foot recurting teenagers like I said is a good one: He gives them home and a cause, they give him plausably deniable backup. And his fight with the boys in the climax is really awesome... the conclusion sucks but otherwise h’es okay. Not the deepest villian, but he has enough presence to be enjoyable.

His right hand man Tatsu, whose been adapted ocasionally since this and reimaigned as Natsu in the IDW comics, a female version, is also fine. He’s your standard grimacing goon but has enough presence to work.

So that brings us to the penningtons. Charles, april’s boss at the station and his son Danny who’s joined the foot as he feels his dad dosen’t love him. Charles..is about as interesting and likeable as a dog turd and is the worst aspect of the film. No debate there, he just sucks. He sucks so hard he’s classified as a black hole. The film wants you to see him as a put upon wokring dad whose frustrated with his son’s increased moodiness, skipping school and crminal undertakings and just wants to help him and loves him deep down. The problem is his actor’s delivery instead of concerned.. is just pissed. He just seems pissy and upset about the whole thing and comes off like he’s only mad about Danny doing this because he’s embarassing him and not because you know, it’s bad. When confronting Danny about stealing, he dosen’t consider MAYBE he’s part of a gang or needs help, but just wonders “Why are you stealing when I give you stuff”. Because, Dipshit, sometimes kids do crimes not because they need the stuff but because they WANT to, and because they want to act the fuck out.

The most he does for the kid is agree to try and get April to back off the police when Cheif Sterns offers to let Danny go and not put him on record in exchange for it. The problem.. is this makes him even MORE unsympathetic. While I do get wanting to help your child, I do and it’s a sucky position... he again should be sympathetic.. but he handles the thing so badly it sucks. He just tells april to ease off, with no reason given, then fires her when she SHOCKINGLY dosen’t give up taking the guy whose refusing to take her hard work seriously or actually solve the crime wave problem to task for his shitty behavior as ANY person facing a shitty, corrput cop would. She just wants to hold him acountable and get him to actually do something. He clearly knows her on a personal level too as he talks about his issues with his son freely with her, something you don’t do with an employee unless their also a friend on some level.

He could have TOLD april what was going on. She’d be furious at Stern’s naked corrpution and prioritizing shutting her up over actually solving crimes.. and thus put at least some of that energy into shutting him down or finding a way around it, going to the papers or something like that. Even in 1990 pre-internet, there were ways to get around Sterns blackmail and expose him so someone who’d actually do the job could get the job. Instead he just comes off as a selfish coward who rather than try and fight the guy blatantly abusing his power and using Charles own son as barganing chip, goes along with it because it’s the easier option to simply bow to him instead of TRY and stop this. And it’s not like he’s even going after a beloved public figure or someone who could hide behind his rep: Sterns was blatantly failing a crime wave, April had called him out on his failrues and coverups multiple times. The public was against sterns.. finding out he tried to blackmail the media into shutting up about him would PROBABLY end him... I only say probably not because the public wouldn’t skewer him, but because police tend to escape consequences for blatantly murdering someone on a daily basis and Andrew Cumo is STILl mayor over in new york, the same city this movie takes place, 31 years later, depsite EVERYONE asking him to resign over a long history of sexual harassment and a more recent but still horrible history of hiding death numbers. I don’t doubt people being stupid enough to ignore this or the bilaws with cops being stacked enough for him to get away with it, but just because someone gets away with a crime dosen’t mean you shoudln’t try and go after them in the first place. Fuck. Charles. Pennington.

Danny on the other hand is FAR more interesting and I think gets way too much flack when it comes to this subplot. Unlike his dad, whose dead weight, Danny is intresting: He provides a POV character for the foot’s MO in the film of taking in wayward teens, and his character arc is pretty engaging, slowly realizing the foot dosen’t care and that hte turtles are the good guys. HIs actor does a great job and while not the biggest presence, he’s not a bad addition to clan hamaoto and I wish other adaptations would find a way to use him. The pull between doing the right thing and his found family is a good struggle. My only real issue with his plot is the moviies flawed aseop about family. It tries to contrast shredder and his using the kids blatnatly with Splinter and Charles really loving their sons. And it works with Splinter and the kids because despite being a tad strict, Splinter clearly loves his sons and works with them to help them. The problem is ENTIRELY with Charles and Danny. As I said Charles love comes off as transasctional: He either thinks he can buy it or just expects it because he shot a bunch of goop into Danny’s mom after two minutes of disapointment. It dosen’t work with them because neither option is good for Danny. His father is neglectful, chooses throwing his jounralistic integrity out the window over talking to his son or his best friend about another way, and abrasive. Danny is no saint, he does do crimes, but it’s clearly a result of a shitty upbringing and the shredder and co actually offeirng him the love he desperatly craves. Danny goes to the foot because his dad is bad at his job but the film never adresses that and just expects Danny to go back to his dad because the plot says so. Danny would HONESTLY be better off with Splinter. No really. Sure he’d have to live in the sewers.. but he did so for a few weeks in the course of the movie. He’s fine down there. Splitner actually cares about him and took an intrest to him and knows how to raise a child. Let him become the fifth turtle. An aseop about family is not a bad thing: Loaded subject that it can be given how many outright abusive families exist, i’m one of the lucky ones who dosen’t have that issue, family is an important thing and can be a source of comfort and support. But this film tells you you should love and respect someone who does not love, respect or value you because he spent a minute in your mom’s vagina and that’s not how family should work and is outright dangerous to kids in an abusive situation. Love the film otherwise but fuck this aseop skyhigh.

Final thoughts:

Overall though.. the film is bodacious. It’s funny, well paced, has an awesome cast, and outside of a certain bald asswipe... it’s a really good superhero film. Is it the best i’ve seen? Nope. Not even close and character wise most of them are as thin as a wet paper bag covered in ranch dressing. But it’s still a fun as hell with awesome corepgraphy, a killer soundtrack, seriously the soundtrack is damn excellent and only didn’t get it’s own section because I didn’t have enough to say and some of the best effects work i’ve seen in a film in the turtle suits. If you haven’t seen it I urge you to check it out: it’s a breezy 90 minutes, it’s on hbo max and it’s a shell of a time. Will I do the next film?

We’ll see how this one does like wise and such, but I will be doing the rise film whenever it comes out this year. So look for that and keep possesing turtle power my dudes. If you liked this review subscirbe for more, join my patreon to keep this blog a chugging, comission a review if you have more turtle stuff you want me to cover, and comment on this. What do you think of the movie, what are your thoughts on the review, what can I do better, what other turtle stuff would you like me to cover/ Let me know and i’ll see you at hte next rainbow.

#teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles 1990 #leonardo #raphael #donetello #michealangelo #casey jones #april o'neil #the shredder #oroku saki #new line cinema #golden harvest #film #90's movies #the 90's #partners in cryme #judith hoag

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carelessannie · 3 years ago

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here’s the second part of my winteriron mermay au! enjoy!

while we’re devoting full time to floating chapter two: boy you better do it soon

Rating: M (for now) Word Count: 6.8K Relationships: Tony x Bucky Warnings: Smut adjacent (unintentional sex toys), sexual tension, profanity, kinda drug/alcohol use Read on AO3 Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

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His eyes blink open slowly. It’s strange to wake up without a blinding headache. Actually, it’s strange to wake up without any pain. And with the sun shining in his face.

To his left, he sees a small form on the water’s surface. In his mind’s eye he knows the form is familiar, knows that there should be someone inside— but it slips quickly, evading his memory as the dark form fades over the horizon.

Tony shakes his head. He smacks his lips.

Where is he?

First of all, he’s definitely not in the ocean. It seems like he’s resting on some type of rock formation, with just his tail hydrated in the water. Interesting. He seems to be inside a cove, the shelter working wonders to hide him from the mid-afternoon sun.

Secondly, he’s alone. He never travels alone, especially not to the shore. It hurts to try and remember, but reality slams into him like an orca whale. Rhodey and Pepper. The exploration to colonize. The fucking Tiger Sharks, dammit! Tony’s tail slaps the surface of the water in frustration, and he lets his body slip into the shallow pool.

He hopes the sharks didn’t get his friends. The memory of the fight is hazy at best, but he knows he shouldn’t be feeling this good afterwards— he’s pretty sure he got hit at least once. There are no scratches or bruises anywhere on his body, and it’s confusing that he doesn’t even have a headache.

That’s a problem for later, though. Now, Tony needs to find his friends— or, what remains of his friends. He swims out of the cove and down, through the reefs. Fish seem to be tentatively peeking out of their hiding spots, and he follows the empty spaces to trace the path a shark might have taken. He whistles, sharp and quick, to try and map out the figures in the surrounding area, and is satisfied when his call is returned with a low chirp. Thank the sea.

“Rhodey!” he hollers, pushing through the crowded reef, searching wildly for his closest friend, his faithful number two. As Tony breaks into the clearing, he freezes at the sight in front of him.

Rhodey and Pepper are swimming territorial circles around all three Tiger Sharks— and, from the looks of it, all three are dead.

“Tony!” Pepper notices him first and beckons him closer. When he swims up, she throws her arms around his neck, sobbing briefly into his shoulder, before reeling back and lightly slapping his arm, “How dare you worry me like that! I was sure all we’d find were scales— how did you get away?”

“I…” Tony tries to remember, he really does, but the only things coming to mind are brilliant blue eyes, an ethereal glow, and a deep, alluring voice, “I think someone saved me. But, by the time I woke up, they were gone.”

“You didn’t recognize them?” Rhodey swims closer, looking him up and down, inspecting for injuries.

“No, I don’t… I don’t think they’re part of the Kingdom,” Tony murmurs, reaching up to subconsciously play with his signet ring. His memory is usually so sharp, it’s strange that—

“Holy shit, Tony— look!” Pepper interrupts, pointing at his chest. He looks down, but all he can see is a slight illumination around his sternum.

“What—”

“Stay still,” Rhodey snaps, gently lifting the ring off of his skin. Pepper reaches in to trace a delicate circle on his chest, and both of his friends look awestruck. And afraid. He tries to crane his neck and see, but all he notices is that the glow fades the longer the ring is kept from touching his body. Rhodey hums, thoughtfully, “Seems like the ring is enchanted. I haven’t encountered a witch in ages— but I guess one came out of hiding to save you.”

“I guess. Pep, do you have a mirror?” The longer Rhodey holds the ring, the tighter Tony’s chest feels. He plucks it out of Rhodey’s hand as Pepper pulls a mirror out of her satchel, turning it around so Tony can take a look.

His signet ring lays in the center of his chest, a steady weight, and radiates a faint glow. It’s more concerning that, surrounding the ring, there’s a few inches of light emanating from under his skin. Tony reaches up to trace it— the gold ring and blue haze, so similar to the eyes he remembers saving him. Still, nothing hurts, and Tony pushes the mirror away.

He ignores their concerned looks and starts to tie up the sharks, concentrating on getting them back to the Kingdom before any larger predators arrive to investigate. After a moment, both of them swim down to help him, shouldering the bodies and heading back towards the Kingdom’s butcher.

It’s a few more minutes before Tony breaks the silence, giving his friends a break, “So, uh… do you think I’ll be a lanternfish forever?” He throws them a smirk and laughs at Pepper’s exasperated sigh.

Rhodey bumps into his shoulder, “You have trouble blending in as it is— at least now we’ll be able to keep track of you… in night clubs.”

Tony gwuafs, offended, and shoves at Rhodey’s shoulder. With everyone happy and laughing, it’s easy to forget about his mysterious savior and the inevitable conversation he’s going to have with his father later on. They head straight for the butcher when they enter the city, several citizens cheering and praising their kill. Tony knows he’ll get the credit for it, even though it was Rhodey and Pepper who slew the sharks, so he takes off as soon as they drop the bodies, heading to the castle to see the King.

---

Hours later, Tony sits at the far perimeter between two sentinels, staring out into the open ocean. The nocturnal fish have emerged, sending an eerie glow onto the city as the lights dim, throwing the Kingdom into gentle darkness. It does nothing to soothe Tony’s anger.

He takes Pepper’s satchel, full of rocks and shells and other samples from their journey, and dumps it over the side of the wall. Useless. It’s almost as if his dad doesn’t even want to explore anymore, just sending Tony out to keep him distracted. And he knows that’s probably the case, he’s not stupid, but he can tell there’s something deeper his dad isn’t telling him.

Well, fuck ‘im. Tony’s more than capable of figuring it out on his own.

For now, he stares out into the distance, throwing a silent Tony pity party.

There’s movement in the distance. At first, Tony thinks it’s debris. It’s not uncommon for items to fall from the surface— but this object suddenly twists, and he sees… shit, he sees arms. Fuck. It’s a person.

“Stay alert,” he instructs the guard on his right, “I’m gonna check it out.”

Tony takes off into the dark, distantly aware that one of the guards is hot on his tail, and heads straight for the figure still drifting towards the ocean floor. He slows down as he approaches, thankful for the light in his chest that illuminates his surroundings. When he gets to the spot, sand is settling in a cloud around where the figure landed. It takes a moment for everything to clear, and Tony waits patiently, the guard at his side prepared with a weapon.

It’s a man. “Holy shit,” Tony breathes out, swimming closer to the limp body stretched across the sand and rock.

“Be careful, your Highness,” his guard warns, and Tony waves his hand in dismissal.

The man landed facing away from him, giving Tony a good view of strong, muscular shoulders and wavy, shoulder-length hair, half tied back behind his ears in a small knot. His back rises and falls, expanding with slow breaths that reassure the man’s gentle sleep. He leans over and pulls on his shoulder, carefully turning him onto his back.

He’s absolutely gorgeous. Lips slightly parted and turned down in sleep, his face is utterly serene. His lashes are dark and cast a delicate shadow over sharp cheekbones, sprinkled with a tasteful amount of scruff, not quite enough to hide his full jawline and smooth, tanned skin. Tony can’t help himself— he reaches down and cups the man’s jaw, brushing his thumb over full lips and wishing he could look into this man’s eyes.

With a gasp, the man jerks awake, and Tony gets his wish. Deep, electric gray eyes bore into his own, the handsome face overtaken with shock and confusion as he bolts upright, pushing Tony away and looking around frantically.

“Hey, hey— it’s alright. You’re okay, please don’t panic,” Tony tries to calm him down, sighing in relief when the man turns his focus back on Tony, still looking desperate and confused, “My name’s Tony, you’re outside Howard’s Northern Kingdom— can you… can you tell me your name? Where you came from?”

The man shakes his head. He’s shaking slightly, and Tony watches as he runs his hands over his chest, his hips, and his silver and crimson tail— as if grounding himself in the present. Tony understands and gives the guy some space.

He hates the devastated look in the man’s stunning eyes, but is grateful when he croaks out, “The… the Northern Kingdom? Under water?”

Tony snickers, motioning around, “For now, yeah— that’s where sea life generally lives.”

The man nods, a little too quickly, “Right, I… of course, right. My name…” he grimaces, as though it’s painful to remember, “I’m James, but… but people call me Bucky.”

“Bucky,” Tony repeats, liking the sound of this stranger’s voice, somehow familiar, “I’m Tony, and King Howard is my father. Unfortunately, before I can help you out, I’m gonna need to know why you’re here, or where you’re from,” he gestures to the guard behind him, “otherwise this guy’s not gonna let you come home with me.”

Bucky’s smile is a revelation as it breaks over his face. Tony feels something twist in his chest as he ducks his head, looking up at Bucky through his lashes and watching the other man’s cheeks flush pink in delight. Oh, Tony likes this a lot.

“Well, I’m… I’m from…” the smile falls from Bucky’s face as he concentrates, a painful grimace maring his features again, “The Kingdom of Brooklyn, and my brother is the King. His name is Steve. And I… I don’t know why I’m here,” his brow furrows and a small whimper leaves his throat as he concentrates harder, and Tony has to stop it.

“Hey, Bucky? Please don’t— don't’ hurt yourself, okay?” He grins in approval as Bucky relaxes, “We can work on it, sweetheart, for now, what you’ve given me should be sufficient. I’ve never heard of Brooklyn, but if you’re a Prince and not one of our enemies, our King shouldn’t have a problem with offering you temporary residence.”

“I… okay,” Bucky agrees, looking down at his hands, “I don’t want to impose.”

Tony holds out a hand and pulls Bucky along with him. They swim back through the gate and into the city— most families are already tucked into their homes for the night, so no one sees them on their way back to the castle. Bucky looks absolutely stunned, barely talking during their journey, and it amuses Tony to no end. Obviously whatever Kingdom he’s from is small and underdeveloped in technology and population.

They travel shoulder to shoulder, and Tony can’t help but feel a familiar warmth when their arms brush against each other, the ring around his neck pulsing brighter. It seems like Bucky notices it too, but the expression on his face is difficult to read.

“So this is a weird question,” Tony starts, fiddling with the ring as he studies Bucky’s face. The other man smiles encouragingly, so Tony continues, “have we… met before? Like, specifically earlier today?”

Bucky stops suddenly, looking at Tony as if he’s actively growing another tail. For a moment his face looks surprised, filled with recognition, but it quickly disappears as Bucky hunches over and lets out a pained gasp, clutching desperately at his head. Tony has no idea what to do— and in panic, he pulls Bucky closer, wrapping the larger man in his arms.

“Shh, I’m so sorry,” Tony whispers, trying to soothe away the pain. Bucky is trembling like a leaf in his arms, and he’s helpless to do anything about it. He’s also aware that they’re drifting in between several dwellings, and Tony needs to get them inside, soon.

Soft, red-rimmed eyes blink up at him, and Tony brings up his hand to push a few wayward strands of hair out of Bucky’s face. Even upset and in pain, this man is flawless. He sniffles and blinks a few times, struggling to turn a reassuring smile up at Tony.

“T-thank you,” he murmurs, face flushing pink again in embarrassment, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Everything is… familiar. But I can’t remember you, I’m sorry.”

Tony clicks his tongue, following the blush with his fingers and enjoying the close press of their bodies, “It’s okay, Bucky— we’ll figure it out.”

---

They make it back to the castle in one piece, and Tony knows it’s going to be best to present his guest to the King immediately. He knows his presence isn’t welcome due to the argument earlier in the evening, but the consequences will be worse if Tony tries to hide what he’s found.

The two of them wait outside of the King’s rooms as a steward leaves to announce them to his father. Tony tries to fill Bucky in on procedures, but it seems his guest is already familiar with a number of expectations and etiquette.

“Oh, and remember to tuck your tail as well. And if he tells you to be informal, he really means you can call him ‘Your Grace,’ not to call him Howard. He’ll hate that.” Tony rambles, listing off everything he can think of.

“Wait,” Bucky stops him, “tuck my… tail? Why?”

Tony chuckles, backing up slightly to face Bucky. He looks around to make sure no others are watching— it would be improper for the Prince to bow, even in jest— and when he’s satisfied that the coast is clear, tucks himself into a formal bow.

“Oh,” Bucky breathes, and Tony unfolds himself, his smile erased completely by the intensity in Bucky’s eyes. Fuck. “That’s… that was…”

And then smoothly, gracefully, Bucky mirrors his bow, curling his tail forward, dipping his head, and crossing one arm over his chest respectfully. Tony is speechless. The show of respect— even casually— from this breathtaking man, has him breathing deep to keep his desire at bay.

It seems as though Bucky’s having a similar problem. As he unfolds from his bow, Tony can see his pupils blown wide, the scales around his groin flushed pink in arousal. Tony can bet his own scales look the same, and tries to laugh, tries to calm them down as he backs away slightly. It won’t help either of them to see the King looking like this.

Of course that’s the moment the King’s steward chooses to return, giving both of them a disapproving once over before opening the door wide, “His Majesty will see you in his library.”

Okay, not the worst then. If Tony was in deep shit, Howard would just see them in the drawing room. At least Tony likes the library.

He leads Bucky down the hall and into the library, hiding a smile at the awe clearly written on Bucky’s face. He takes a second look, trying to view his father’s library with fresh eyes, but has trouble when his gaze keeps landing on the handsome man swimming next to him.

Howard is reclining near a window, absently eating a few fermented algae— his usual method of winding down from a difficult day. As the King looks their way, a piece of algae still in his fingers, Bucky dips into a formal bow. Triton, he looks good like that. Tony dips his head, informally, and both of them straighten up a moment later.

“What is it, Anthony?” his dad sighs, putting the piece of algae on his tongue to dissolve. Tony suddenly feels parched, but holds his arm out to present Bucky regardless.

“An hour ago, as I was watching the border of our Kingdom, a figure fell from the surface. I went to investigate with a guard, and we found James, here, unconscious and unarmed. James claims to be a prince from a Kingdom called Brooklyn, with a King named Steve, and is seeking asylum until he can resume his travels. His mind is damaged, and I wish to extend my care and hospitality towards him for the duration of his stay.”

The King looks at both of them, his face refusing to give anything away, but Tony knows from experience that he’s much more perceptive than Tony gives him credit for. He crosses his arms and addresses Bucky, “Prince James, then,” he says, testing out the title, “if not hostile, what are your intentions towards my Kingdom and my son?”

Bucky ducks his head and nods, “My intentions are to know your Kingdom and know your son, if he so desires, Your Majesty. I am healing and recovering my memories, and once I’ve reclaimed my original destination, I shall depart immediately.”

Howard nods, satisfied with this answer. He points to the small pail on his side table, “Anthony, would you bring your… friend a refreshment?”

Tony spares Bucky a shrug and swims over to the chilled container, lifting it slightly to scoop out a small bundle of algae into a glass, trapping them quickly with a lid. He grabs a few for himself and makes his way over to where Bucky floats, his eyes wide and curious as Tony hands over the refreshment.

Bucky looks down at the cup in his hands, obviously and adorably lost. Tony glances over at Howard— his dad looking between them in amusement— and touches Bucky’s shoulder, catching his gaze and motioning for him to follow Tony’s example.

Reaching into his glass, Tony fishes out a piece of algae, showing Bucky how it sticks slightly to his finger. Bucky copies him, and grabs a smaller piece in between his forefinger and thumb. Tony wishes he could feed the bit to Bucky himself, place it on his tongue and feel his pretty pink lips suck it from his hand.

Instead, he quickly places it on his own tongue, humming happily as the sweet and sour algae dissolves, sending a warm shiver down into his belly, clearing his head and heating him up from the inside out. Damn, his dad always has the best shit.

He turns his attention back to Bucky, watching intently as he follows suit and places the morsel in his mouth. His eyebrows shoot up, he looks down at the cup in shock— as if the remaining algae could provide some explanation— and then, to Tony’s dismay, Bucky lets out a guttural groan, eyes fluttering shut in pleasure as his cheeks hollow out, lips curling tight around his fingers while he sucks them clean.

Tony is having something close to a stroke, and his dad is laughing loudly in front of them, obviously finding Tony’s distress amusing. He’s going to commit regicide, and it’s going to be slow and painful and bloody.

He overcompensates by taking the lid off his glass and throwing the rest of the algae back, breathing deep as the sensation hits him all at once. As he sways a bit in place, he catches Bucky staring at him in amusement.

“Anthony,” his father sighs, shaking his head in annoyance, “do whatever you must. He can stay… in your rooms, primarily. Or in the guest lodging— as long as you have security on him at all times. Get Jarvis to set up residence wherever you’d like, Anthony. Just don’t let me hear it, and don’t let me see it.”

Bucky is frozen with another algae halfway to his mouth, flushed red and eyes wide. Tony is convinced that flustered is his natural state. Before his dad can embarrass them further, Tony takes Bucky’s hand and excuses them, swimming quickly back down the hallway.

He doesn’t stop until they reach his rooms and slam the door. They’re already cackling before they hit the nest, and Tony can’t catch his breath. He rolls over and tucks close into Bucky’s side, enjoying how his chest shakes as they laugh together.

“What the fuck did I just eat, Tony,” Bucky wheezes, and Tony loses it again, ducking his face into Bucky’s neck and sobbing into his skin.

“Fer… fermented algae, baby.”

“I— I can’t believe… it tasted like…” and Bucky’s voice cuts off, his body stilling. Tony looks up to see what happened, and Bucky is staring straight forward, unmoving. Frozen.

“Bucky? What did… what did it taste like?”

“It. I can’t…” And again, Bucky’s face contorts, breath stuttering as his hands come up to cradle his face, sighing in pain. Tony immediately pulls his hands away and replaces them with his own, massaging his temples until he’s met with deep, gray pools of sweet relief.

“Don’t push it, honey,” Tony purrs, resting his body gently on top of Bucky’s, rubbing their noses together and blowing a few bubbles, making Bucky giggle and relax. He lays his head down on Bucky’s chest, before realizing how close they are together— and how little they’ve actually gotten to know each other.

“Dammit,” he curses, pushing off of Bucky’s chest and floating away, “we don’t— shit. I don’t even know you. You have no idea who you even are. I am so sorry, I just fed you an unknown substance, oh seas,”

“Tony, it’s okay—”

“I’ll get you your own room, I promise. You don’t have to put up with—”

“Tony! Hey,” Bucky swims off the nest and presses him up against the ceiling, pinning his shoulders and staring into his eyes, “I remember who I am, I just can’t recall where my home is. I know the name of my brother, and my best friends. I have a…” small grimace, “pet named Alpine. I’m a scientist and a Prince, and I’m almost completely convinced that I’m—”

He pauses, a familiar blush traveling down his chest and filling his cheeks. Tony blinks down at him, “That you’re what?”

“That I’m already, irreversibly infatuated with you.”

Tony feels the ring around his neck pulse, bright and hot on his skin, as if agreeing with the sentiment. He wants to respond, really does, but everything is too new, too important. Bucky is too important.

They’re close, though. Tails brushing together, bubbles of air mixing and joining in front of their faces. Tony can hear his own heartbeat, frantic and longing for the man in front of him. Bucky reaches up, acting as if he wants to touch the ring, but he hesitates. His fingers flex, his eyes blink rapidly, and then he’s reaching into Tony’s hair, pulling on strands tenderly and cradling his face in strong, sure hands.

And Tony just melts in his palms, an absolute jellyfish for this mysterious stranger. The tension between them is heavy, thick and magnetic. He drifts into Bucky’s space and tries to watch for a sign, any sign, but his eyes are closed— when did his eyes close? And then their scales rub together, catching and pulling, tearing a desperate moan from Tony’s lips. There’s a hand in his hair and eyelashes on his cheek, and their lips— their breath—

“I can’t,” Tony whispers, forcing his eyes open to watch Bucky frown in confusion. “I’m sorry, I’m crazy about you, but you deserve…” and he can’t remember, right now, everything that Bucky deserves, but he knows it’s a lot.

“Oh, I… Okay. I get it,” Bucky nods, devastating resignation taking over his handsome features, “I’m not… I can’t…”

“Can we just sleep? Talk and spend the day together in the morning?” Tony suggests, like an adult. Bucky nods, suddenly yawning and glancing up at Tony sheepishly.

“Sounds perfect, Anthony,” he smirks, chuckling again as Tony swats at him playfully.

It only takes a few minutes to set up a guest room for Bucky, fit already with a flawlessly woven nesting kit and other amenities. Tony even makes sure to include a pail of chilled algae, ugly laughing when Bucky discovers it by the dressing mirror.

The next day comes soon enough, and Tony has enough sense to cancel his engagements, asking his steward to clear his schedule and plan a tour of the kingdom for the two of them.

Before Bucky wakes— Tony assumes he’s still asleep in the guest suite— he has the royal gardeners collect fragments of coral and deep sea sponges to present to his new… friend. He asks for crimson and gold, colors not only of Tony’s scales, but also of Bucky’s as well.

When the arrangements arrive, he spends a few minutes weaving them together with a few ties from his nest and small strands of his hair, intimate details that he’s sure Bucky will love.

He waits in his living space for Bucky to join him. The windows are thrown open, letting a gentle morning current sweep through, and Tony sits with the coral and sponges draped over his arms. And he waits.

After a few minutes, he’s done waiting. He calls his steward to check on Bucky, and watches as the boy disappears down the hallway. There’s a knock, the faint sound of the door being opened, and then low, urgent voices. The steward swims back to him, looking guilty.

“He sends his apologies. He says that he’s not used to rising without direct light, and missed the wake up call completely. He should be around in a few moments, sir.”

“Oh, yes— that’s fine,” Tony places the arrangement in front of him and dismisses the steward, choosing to pick on the assorted breakfast foods instead.

It’s only a few moments before Bucky joins him, looking absolutely delicious and well rested. He sits next to Tony— very close, actually— and takes a suspicious look at the meal prepared for them.

“It’s… fish? For breakfast?”

Tony’s surprised again by his confusion, “Yes, honey, we generally eat fish for breakfast. If you’d like, I can have the cook crack you open a few clams instead? Oh, he makes the best sweet clam mix— it’s to die for,”

“No, no that’s fine,” Bucky waves his hands, reaching for an assortment of fresh eel instead, “these should be… these should be good.”

Tony watches in glee as Bucky slurps down the eel, grimacing and gagging slightly when it hits his tongue. He hides a smile when Bucky sits up straighter, obviously testing the flavor on his palette, before turning to Tony and putting his hands on his hips.

“Okay, but… why was that so good?”

Tony splutters, “You ass! You had me fooled— thinking you didn’t like fish for breakfast, like a fucking lunatic.”

Bucky chuckles, but it doesn’t quite meet his eyes. For a moment, he looks so lost and confused that all Tony can do is urge him to eat more fish, shoving three or four more plates in his face.

After they finish eating, Tony picks up his arrangement, feeling like a guppy as he hands it to Bucky, waiting for his reaction. Bucky— seas bless him— gives him a lopsided smile, holding the coral and sponges like they’re about to bite him. It’s confusing.

“Thank you, Tony. I’m not… I’m not supposed to eat it, right?”

“What?” Tony chokes, throwing his head back in laughter, “no, honey. It’s a gift. To admire. From my gardens.”

Bucky’s eyebrows draw close as he concentrates, something from his memory probably slipping away again, so Tony takes the arrangement from him. He sets it on the table, perfect decoration for the room, and grabs Bucky’s hand, leading him out of their rooms.

“Let’s go,” Tony urges, giving Bucky a reassuring wink as they head into the city.

Their day is incredible. Tony had no doubts before that the two of them would get along, would laugh and talk and joke as naturally as breathing. He’s proud of his Kingdom, too. Welcoming Bucky and treating him like a Prince— draping chains of flowering wildlife around his neck and offering them both assortments of salted meats— shark and squid and flounder— and dozens of fine jewels and beads.

If Tony purchases a number of those jewels for Bucky, it’s no one’s business but his.

He’s enraptured by the way Bucky experiences things. He’s always gasping and blushing as if each moment is special, new and unique, instead of normal and mundane. Tony feels drunk on it. He wants to spoil Bucky rotten, hoard all of his reactions to himself and make sure Bucky is always smiling like this— happy and soft and warm.

So Tony might be a little infatuated as well. He’s not supposed to fall in love this quickly, especially not with a stranger, but he feels inexplicably drawn to Bucky, as if by fate.

The days after pass similarly. Even when Tony has to resume his responsibilities, they still spend most of the day together— Bucky helping him delegate and problem solve issues in the Kingdom.

There are some bad days for Bucky— when he tries to remember too much and ends up with headaches that won’t go away. It’s especially bad when Tony leaves with Pepper and Rhodey to explore near the surface. Bucky refuses to go with them and spends those days in his room, clutching his head and sleeping restlessly. Tony thinks he may have repressed trauma that’s related to the surface, to the day Tony found him, but without access to his memories, it’s hard to know for sure.

Even with a few bad days in the mix, most of the time they spend together is indescribable, and, after only two weeks, Tony already has the crown jeweler fashioning traditional courting gifts for Bucky.

He whistles on the way to pick them up, swimming faster than usual, and even doing a few twirls when the excitement is just too much. As he inspects each piece, he knows the smile on his face is ridiculously wide. They’re perfect. He can’t help but imagine Bucky wearing each item, draped and adorned with metal and jewels and his family crest.

Bucky’s lounging in the garden when Tony finally finds him, admiring the array of coral on the south side of the palace. His hair is tied back— half up half down, framing his face beautifully— and he looks up when Tony swims into view.

“Hey, honey,” Tony greets, silently hating himself for being so soft around this man, “do you have a minute?”

“For you, I have all the time in the world.”

Tony ducks his head, the warm twist in his chest pulling him towards Bucky, and he watches the other man swim over from under his eyelashes. Once Bucky is in front of him, Tony hands him the box, looking at his face patiently for a reaction.

He turns it over, and looks at Tony, confused. “What’s this?”

“Oh, sorry,” Tony touches the lid, trailing his fingers over the crest engraved there, “it’s um… they’re traditional jewels I had crafted… for you.”

Bucky still looks unsure, “Okay,” he says, toying with the clasp on the box, “is there a special occasion, Tony?”

Tony just shakes his head, giving Bucky a reassuring smile, “Just open it— you’ll see.”

He gets a small smile in return, and Bucky lifts the lid, revealing the intricate set of jewels— chains and cuffs and clamps, all symbolizing Tony’s intent to court Bucky.

Unfortunately, Bucky looks absolutely horrified. He extends his arms, pushing the box away, and looks up into Tony’s eyes, “I… what the fuck, Tony?”

“... what?”

Bucky puts the gifts back into Tony’s hands and crosses his arms, “I’m sorry if you misunderstood our relationship, but I’m not… interested in this. I don’t want this. At least not yet.”

“Oh,” Tony is shocked still, gripping the box tightly in his arms, “I just… I thought we were…”

But Bucky is shaking his head, “I like you, Tony. I’m probably even falling in love with you. But I’m just not into that. I have a few friends who are, but we’d have to be… I don’t know, married or something, before I’d want to talk about that.”

Tony looks down into the box, suddenly confused, “Bucky, what do you think I’m trying to do?”

“Those are… aren’t those—” Bucky flushes, all the way down his chest and bites into his lip, “— like… for sex?”

What?

“No?” he is so confused, and a little offended. Why would anyone use these things for sex? Sure, they can be sexy, but—

“Tony, in what other context would I wear these?” Bucky pulls out a strand of jewels connected together with a chain, two fasteners at the ends to hold them in place.

“You’d wear them when we go out.”

“Tony! These are nipple clamps!” Bucky shakes them a little bit, trying to emphasize his point. Tony, for his part, doesn’t see the issue.

“Yes? But they’re traditional, not sexy.”

And then it looks like something dawns on Bucky— his face lights up and he chuckles, dropping the jewels back in the box and reaching forward to touch Tony’s face, tenderly scratching behind his ears.

“Tony— I need you to tell me, as if I’m a child and have no idea what’s going on, exactly what these gifts mean.”

And then Tony gets it. Wherever Bucky’s from, he’s never seen courting gifts like these. Damn, he’s such an idiot.

“They’re family jewels, forged with precious stone and metal, to create the traditional set of courting gifts presented by a royal family member to their potential spouse. Or consort, I guess. But yeah, it’s… I’m basically asking if I can court you, officially. And if you accept them and wear them in public, it’s a symbol of our relationship and eventual engagement.”

“Fuck,” Bucky curses, still playing with Tony’s hair, “yeah, yes— I’ll wear them for you. I’d love nothing more than to be yours, Tony. I just… do I need to give you something in return? For you to wear?”

“Actually, half of those pieces are for me,” Tony replies, pressing his cheek into Bucky’s hand. “If you’d like, we can try them on?”

“Sure, darling, let’s go try them.”

---

Tony can definitely see now why Bucky would think these jewels were made for sex. They lay each item out on Tony’s dressing table, organizing them neatly, and Tony has Bucky float in front of him, keeping his arms outstretched in front of the mirror so he can adorn Bucky with each jewel.

“So, first is the necklace— set with gold and twenty-five rubies,” he explains, draping the necklace around Bucky’s neck and clasping it underneath his hairline. He can’t resist, and places a delicate kiss on top of the clasp.

“Next is the belt,” he says, bringing his arms around Bucky’s waist to set the belt just above his scale-line, “usually these are more feminine in design, but I’ve had a larger crest engraved to rest over… well— let’s just say it implies masculinity.”

Tony busies himself with fastening the belt around Bucky’s waist and ignores the laugh he gets. He straightens up and hooks his chin over Bucky’s shoulder—

“Shit, you look beautiful.”

Bucky gives him a shy smile and turns his head to look into Tony’s eyes. He could get lost in those eyes, drowning daily in pools of ocean blue and gray.

Tony clears his throat and pulls back, “Okay, next we have, uh—” Triton, “the chest piece.”

He doesn’t even bother explaining this one, focusing on attaching it and quickly moving on before he can embarrass himself. Tony brings the chain around, holding it in place in front of Bucky’s chest. Unfortunately, his nipples are soft and there’s no visible place for a hold. Tony huffs and uses his left hand to reach out, lining up steadily, before quickly pinching Bucky’s nipple.

“Shit!” Bucky curses, looking down in surprise, but Tony is fast— attaching the first clip before Bucky can react. He keeps up a string of curses, gingerly touching the left clamp, and Tony uses his distraction to attach the second clip to Bucky’s now straining and hard right nipple. He backs up a bit to give Bucky space, waiting for the other man to calm down until he stops cursing and curiously touches the chest piece.

Bucky looks divine. Each chain floats lightly, reflecting light and casting shadow onto his pink skin, darker than usual due to residual embarrassment. Regardless, seeing Bucky in his jewels and colors is doing something to him.

“Only a few more,” he murmurs, picking up the wrist cuffs and motioning for Bucky to extend his arms. Bucky still looks overwhelmed— a mix of anger and confusion and arousal, probably— but Tony slips the cuffs on, fastening them snugly, and hooks a few rings around Bucky’s fingers, attached with delicate chains.

“Tony—” Bucky breathes, twisting his wrists to admire the jewelry. Tony’s determined to finish this, so he ignores his impulse— to touch and touch and touch and touch.

The last items are a set of jewels for his ears and a head piece. “Can you move your hair, Bucky?”

When Bucky obliges, Tony goes to thread the jewels, only to notice that Bucky’s ears are perfectly smooth. He feels around just to be positive, and Bucky giggles a bit at the sensation.

“So, we have a bit of a problem,” Tony backs up, showing Bucky the ear jewelry.

“Oh.”

“— if you don’t want to wear them, I won’t ask—”

“No, I…” Bucky feels around his own ears, pinching and tugging the lobes, “is there a way to fashion them with clips, like…” he motions to his chest, refusing to meet Tony’s eyes.

“Yes! Here, it shouldn’t be a difficult change, either,” Tony swims to his main doors, handing the jewels to his steward with a quick word of instruction for the craftsman. He swims back to see Bucky admiring the headpiece.

Tony takes it from his hands, giving him a reassuring smile, and Bucky dips his head forward. With perfect access, Tony lays the headpiece over Bucky’s dark waves, securing it behind his ears with two pins, and adjusting the chains and jewels to lay perfectly across his forehead.

It’s too much. Tony lets out a shuddering breath, finally finished with the gifts, and leans his head against Bucky’s, closing his eyes and holding on to Bucky’s shoulders.

“You look gorgeous, Bucky. I can’t believe you’re wearing my colors… that you’d agree to this.”

He feels a light touch on the back of his neck, and holds on tighter. Bucky pulls away— causing Tony to open his eyes, following his movement— and he draws Tony closer, dotting a kiss to his temple. They stay like that for a few more moments, enjoy the closeness and warmth, before Bucky chuckles and drifts away fully, turning back to the box.

“Alright— now how do I put these on you?”

Bucky holds up two cuffs, identical to the ones he put on earlier, and tilts his head. Tony grins and extends his arms, guiding Bucky gently in how to slip on the cuffs, tighten them, and attach the rings. When they’re fastened, Tony is captivated by the sight of both pairs of jewels shimmering in the light, practically shouting their attachment to each other.

The final pieces for Tony to wear are a necklace— similar to Bucky’s, but with a space for the signet ring around his neck— and a matching sash and belt. Bucky helps him put them on, and soon they’re floating and facing the mirror, mouths agape.

“Absolutely perfect,” Bucky murmurs, eyes never leaving Tony’s in their reflection.

Tony inhales slightly, “I know, the jewels are stunning.”

“No, darling,” Bucky turns him and looks down into his eyes, “it’s us. We’re a perfect match.”

He can’t help but smile, his stomach twisting with affection as he loops his arms around Bucky’s neck, pulling them close enough that their bodies are touching, tail to shoulder. Bucky gasps, the motion pulling on the chain across his chest, and suddenly all Tony can think about is getting his mouth on this man, wringing every drop of pleasure from him, watching him come apart with Tony’s name on his lips like a prayer—

“Your Highness, my apologies, but the King would see you in his drawing room.”

Tony laughs— unbelievable, “Tell the King I’ll see him within the hour,” he answers, never taking his gaze off Bucky, his dark, deep eyes, shining like the sea—

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but the King insists on your immediate attention.”

“Shit,” Tony curses, letting Bucky go and turning to follow the steward from the room. He looks back, giving one last promise, “I’ll be back in a moment, I swear,” before disappearing out the door, heading down the hall to meet his father.

#winteriron #tony x bucky #bucky barnes #tony stark #mermay #starkbucks #tony/bucky #mermay 2021 #fluffy awkward cute boys #mermay au #mer!tony #mer!bucky #wip update #i haven’t edited this so i’m sorry if there are errors #i’ll do that later

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chasing-classics · 4 years ago

Text

I See You, I Love You- Lexi x Reader

Pairing(s): Lexi Howard x Reader

Warning(s): language

Summary: Lexi has been in Cassie’s shadow for as long as she can remember so she’s given up on the idea that you, her best friend, could ever be interested in her. At the winter formal, you show her exactly how you feel.

A/N: Lexi Howard is a fucking saint and she deserves the absolute best! She needs more love lol

‘’What did you think of the dance?’’ you beamed, sitting down next to your best friend.

Lexi offered her signature smile, that little twinkle in her eyes shining bright and taking your breath away.

‘’You were great, as always,’’ she nodded, holding her geometry book to her chest as she smiled down at the floor.

That was typical Lexi. She and you came from two completely different worlds and personalities. You were outgoing, the class clown and the life of every party. Lexi was the bookworm, the quiet girl with the heart of gold. And you loved her more than anything in this world. You had become fast friends with the Howard sisters, Cassie and you had similar interests and personalities so you two clicked immediately in elementary school. Nearly everyday after school was spent at your house or at the mall growing up. You easily considered Cassie one of your best friends, but it had been Lexi you had fallen in love with.

Unbeknownst to you, Lexi had fallen just as hard. She remembered feeling something different towards you growing up, but watching all of the attention Cass would get from guys and the pressure from her mother to ‘’bag a man’’ made it difficult to come forward with her feelings towards you. It wasn’t like her mom was homophobic or anything, and she absolutely adored you and was charmed by your witty humor, but she had always been in her sister’s shadow for as long as she could remember. How could she suddenly, after ten years of friendship, come clean about her feelings towards one of her closest friends? How could she possibly jeopardize that, when she was so used to being second-best to Cass? How could you ever see her more than what she was; plain-Jane Lexi.

‘’Are you going to the formal tonight?’’ you playfully bumped her shoulder with yours as you two took your time walking to your car.

‘’Yeah, want to pick me up?’’ she smiled, tucking a tendril of wavy brown hair behind her ear.

‘’Abso-fucking-lutely,’’ you grinned, opening the car door for her.

This was it, this was going to be the night you were going to confess your feelings to Lexi. After you had chickened out about asking her to the formal, Maddy, BB, Kat, and Cass all gave you the stern pep-talk you so desperately needed. ‘So are you just going to wait around until some loser makes a move on her?’ Maddy scoffed. Your eyes furrowed in both jealousy and protectiveness. ‘It’s true, I saw Chris Rivas talking to her in P.E today,’ BB added, taking a hit of her vape. You clenched your jaw at the thought of that meat head anywhere near Lexi. Cassie grabbed your hand encouragingly, a small smile on her glossy lips. ‘She likes you back, y/n. Just. . .just tell her how you feel.’ And so you were. As you walked up to the porch of the Howards’ house, makeup done to your liking and your dress looked absolutely stunning.

‘’Y/N! Oh honey you look stunning,’’ Miss Howards exclaimed, the typical half-empty wine glass in her hands. You smiled, giving her a hug as she welcomed you inside. Cassie came down the stairs first, dressed in a simple but elegant blue gown. You squealed and hugged your best friend, the two of you trading compliments and joy.

‘’Oh my gosh, Lex,’’ Miss Howards’ voice broke the two of you apart, you turning around to look up the stairs. Your jaw dropped and you swore your heart actually stopped beating for a few seconds.

She was beautiful. She looked like a princess, only better. She had an embarrassed smile on her face, her cheeks quickly turning into a rosy pink color. You smiled when you noticed her nose crinkle up, the same way she always did whenever she was embarrassed.

‘’You look beautiful,’’ was all you could manage to get out, still in a daze. She laughed a bit, looking down at the ground. Neither of you noticed the knowing smile on Cassie and Miss Howards’ face.

‘’Take good care of my daughter, y/n,’’ she called out as the three of you flooded into your car. You gave her a cheeky grin, nodding as you made sure Lex and Cass were buckled up.

‘’Always!’’ you called out, watching the older woman put her wine glass away to wave to you three.

The gym was packed, sweaty bodies were dancing and grinding in every which way you could imagine. You were currently sitting at the table with the girls, smiling as Lexi played and toyed with your charm bracelet out of boredom.

‘’I’m going to go get a drink, Rue, you should come,’’ Jules announced, causing you to quirk a brow.

‘’Huh? Ohhh, Oh! Yeah! Coming,’’ Rue grinned, winking at you.

‘’I should go apologize to Ethan,’’ Kat sighed, offering you an encouraging smile.

‘’I’m going to go kick Nate’s ass, enjoy you guys,’’ Maddy sent a quick smile as she glared daggers at the Neanderthal currently fingering some random blonde on the dance floor.

‘’I’m going to suck dick,’’ BB coughed, smirking as she blew out a cloud and swayed away with some random baseball player.

‘’I’m going to watch,’’ Cassie was the last to leave, the two of you now alone in your big empty table.

‘’Well that’s weird,’’ Lexi laughed, raising an eyebrow in confusion at the dispersed group. You shrugged, smiling back at her. ‘’You still got me,’’ you offered. Lexi nodded, smiling and leaning closer to you. You felt your face flush as you realized how close you two were, and the two of you cleared your throat; praying that the other couldn’t sense how fucking nervous you both were. ‘It’s now or never,’ you relented in your head. You turned in your seat so that you completely faced Lexi, her sitting up straight as she noticed your change in attitude.

‘’Y/n? You ok?’’

‘’N-no. I mean, yes! Well, sort of. Fuck this isn’t how it was supposed to start,’’ you huffed, pinching your brows together in frustration. You froze when you felt Lexi’s soft hands hold yours down from your face, her eyes searching yours as if she could read your thoughts.

‘’How what was supposed to start?’’ she asked softly.

You thumbed at her hand, sighing. You looked her right in the eye, taking a gulp and trying to remember the girls’ words of encouragement.

‘’Lexi. . .I’m in love with you.’’

Her eyes widened in shock, her grip on your hands became slightly looser as your heart clamored in your chest.

‘’I’ve been in love with you since fourth grade, when you helped me the day Nate Jacobs gave me a bloody nose from that football. I loved you then, I loved you when you could barely say one fucking sentence the day you got your braces, I loved you when you told me Rue couldn’t kiss for shit, I loved you when you came over at my house in the middle of the night crying about your dad, I loved you when you made me chicken noodle soup when I was sick with the flu last summer, and I love you now. I probably always will. I love everything you do and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you without making it weird between us, because I’d hate myself if I ever lost you. . .and now I’m rambling, but. . .it’s true. . . I love you.’’

You felt your body shake as Lexi processed your words. On one hand the weight had been lifted off of your shoulders. The burden of carrying such a heavy secret had finally ceased to exist, dissipating into thin air. On the other hand, though, you were terrified of what Lexi’s reaction would be.

‘’Y/n. . .you don’t mean that.’’

You were crushed, physically deflating. ‘’W-what?’’ you whispered, trying not to allow your voice to crack. Lexi shakily sighed, eyes glossy with unshed tears as she looked at the dance floor to avert your devastated gaze.

‘’My whole life, I’ve been runner up. I’ve never been enough. Nobody has ever really seen me. And you, you’re so wonderful. You shine in a crowd, everyone loves you. Everyone sees you. And as much as I love you too. . .which I do. I fucking love you so much, I’m not enough for you. I’ll never be enough,’’ tears streamed down her pale cheeks and when you went to brush them away, Lexi sniffled and pulled away.

‘’Lex. . .I want this, I want you. Why can’t you see that?’’ you whimpered, heart breaking at the sight of her crying.

‘’Y/n, I’ve never been enough for anyone. Not my parents. Not our friends. I don’t want this to be the same,’’ she was close to sobbing as she stood up, pushing her way through the crowd toward the exit.

‘’Lexi!’’ you called out, panicking. You had come this far, confessed this much. You couldn’t let her leave feeling like this, like you didn’t see her. Without thinking, you made a bee-line for the stage, abruptly cutting off the DJ and grabbing the microphone.

‘’Hello? Sorry, sorry guys I just. . . I really need to say something,’’ you exhaled, closing your eyes momentarily to gather your courage. You opened them and right away found Lexi, stunned and tears running down her cheeks as she looked at you like you had lost your mind. At this point, you weren’t sure she was wrong.

‘’That girl over there, the one in the black dress. With the most beautiful fucking eyes and smile you’ve ever seen,’’ you started, someone moving the spotlight so that it rested on Lexi’s general direction.

‘’Yeah, that’s her. Lexi. Listen. . .I don’t know if she’ll hate me for doing this. And if you do, Lex, I understand. But the last thing I’m going to do is let you leave without showing you how much you mean to me. I’m not afraid if the whole fucking school knows it, I’ll say it to anyone who will listen. Lexi Howard is the most beautiful, the most down-to-Earth, kindest, funniest, most loyal person you’d ever hope to meet. Those are just some of the reasons I fell in love with her when we were in fourth grade. And as much as I thought I loved her back then, that’s absolutely nothing to how much I love her now,’’ tears cascaded down your cheeks, you felt the entire school looking at you but all you focused on was Lexi.

Her mouth hung open, tears still glossy in her eyes as she stood there, listening to every word you said. The shadow of a smile on her red lips.

‘’You’re worried that you’re not enough for me? Lexi. . .you are everything. I see you, I love you. And I’m not going to stop just because you’re scared. I don’t care how long it takes, I’m going to prove it to you that I’m not going anywhere,’’ you smiled through your tears. You could vaguely see her smile, hands covering her mouth soon after as she began taking small steps towards you.

You gently handed the mic back to the DJ, who you could’ve sworn was choking back a few tears of his own (whether it was from being faded or actually moved by your speech, you didn’t know) and began walking towards Lexi. Nothing around you mattered other than the girl you were walking towards. Not the whole school who was clapping and cheering, not the girls crying out of joy and merriment, not even the fact that your makeup was absolutely fucked due to your emotional outburst.

‘’Lex please don’t hate-‘’ your eyes flew open when she tackled you into a mind-blowing kiss, her hands caressing the back of your head as she crashed her lips onto yours.

You quickly kissed back, holding the side of her face as the world completely faded from your view. You didn’t know how long you stood there in the middle of the dancefloor, kissing your dream girl like it was a bad high school musical deleted scene. But you didn’t give two shits.

‘’I love you too,’’ she whispered, staring into your eyes as you held each other. You nodded, smiling as a new wave of tears threatened to escape. She smiled back, the two of you kissing and smiling, wrapped around in each other’s gentle embrace. Wrapped around in the start of your new forever.

#euphoria #lexi howard #euphoria fic #fluff #rue bennett #cassie howard #maddy perez #euphoria hbo #lexi euphoria #maude apatow

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