#which is a real issue for Tony because of his need to just be a man (with all the baggage that concept has) but a man made of iron

[navybrat817]

Feel the Pulse Beat: Intro

Pairing: Old Money!Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader

Summary: Bucky didn't want to go to Tony's club, but he'll be glad he did by the end of the night.

Word Count: Almost 2.3k

Warnings: Swearing, frenemy behavior, family issues, bit of world building, Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?)

A/N: Oh, look, lovelies! A new AU no one asked for. ❤️ Not beta read and written on my phone, so any and all mistakes are my own. Divider by the talented @saradika-graphics . Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

“Why am I even here?” Bucky asked, eying the neon sign for Extremis. The one and only Tony Stark owned the club. A mix of people in clothes that ranged from expensive suits to revealing dresses stood in line with the hopes of getting in. “Because I have a car I could be working on as we speak.”

He could fit in at clubs, but he’d take greasing up his hands over dressing up any day. With cars, he didn’t have to pretend to be anything other than himself. There was no need to impress people who didn’t care about him beyond his name or fortune.

Steve, his best friend, sighed. “Because we promised Tony we’d show up. He’s our friend.”

“You promised, not me. He’s more your friend than mine and he acts like I wronged him in another life or something,” Bucky said. Tony didn't outright hate him, but didn’t seem to care for him and loved to give him a hard time. “I doubt he’ll notice if I skip this.”

“He will notice and he’s not that bad,” Steve said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I swear, between Tony and Sam, it’s like you go out of your way to not be friends with our friends.”

Bucky didn’t comment on Sam for the time being. “Not that bad? Tony has the biggest ego in the city. I’m surprised he didn’t call the place 'Anthony’s' or plaster his name all over the building,” he said, tilting his head. “Given the outside, it wouldn't surprise me if the inside was just as bad.”

Steve snorted, used to his humor after all these years. “You’re in a mood,” he said. Bucky didn’t deny it. “Let me guess: another argument with your dad?”

Bucky hesitated. “What else is new?” He wished he could clock the guy, but he was his old man.

George Barnes couldn’t wrap his mind around why his son preferred cars to the boardroom and networking. Or why he chose to “destroy” his body with tattoos. Or why he wasn't dating an elitist. It was like he couldn’t stand that Bucky wasn't just another version of him. Thank God for his mom who encouraged him to forge his own path and respected his choices.

And, yes, she occasionally allowed him access to the family funds if he wanted or needed them because she adored him.

“I'm sorry,” Steve said, clapping him on the shoulder.

They had grown up together, which meant they either witnessed or heard the ups and downs of their families. Steve wasn’t just his best friend, he was like a brother to him. He knew how his dad could get. And his dad was a good man most days, but he could also be a real pain in the ass.

“Don’t be. Not your fault,” he replied, looking at the sign again. “Never is.”

“It may not be my fault, but it doesn't mean I don’t care,” he said. He was lucky to have a friend like him. “Come on.”

Bucky felt eyes on them as they bypassed the line and approached the man at the door. Even if their names weren't on the list, the confidence he and his best friend carried would've been enough to pique the security’s curiosity. They also had enough money in their pockets to not necessarily flaunt their wealth, but to show that they had it. The same applied to their suits.

“Steve Rogers,” his best friend stated with just the right touch of pride. It was a fine line to walk between confidence and arrogance and he did it well. “And Bucky Barnes.”

“You’re on the list, but those aren’t the names the boss gave me and he won't let you in without them,” he said, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“Aww, that’s too bad.” Bucky shrugged. It was the kind of shit Tony liked to pull and he wasn't in the mood to play. “Let’s go, punk.”

Steve held out an arm to stop him. “Just wait, jerk,” he said, shaking his head as he looked at the bouncer. “Golden Boy and Tinman?”

The bouncer to his credit looked thoroughly unimpressed instead of amused when he stepped aside to let them in. Bucky grit his teeth anyway, anger coursing through his veins. “That fucking-”

“Hey. It’s just Tony being Tony.” Steve trying to placate him wasn't working. “It’s better than Cyborg, right?”

Tinman. Cyborg. Tony tried to say the nicknames were because his left sleeve looked like a metal arm, but the man said in passing once that he was cold. Heartless. Just because Bucky didn’t show his emotions to people he didn't care for didn’t mean he didn’t have them.

“Tony being Tony doesn’t give him a pass to be a dick, Golden Boy,” he said, holding up a finger. “One hour. You get one fucking hour.”

“Please, don’t call me that,” Steve begged. The man with a heart of gold to match his hair and a pair of fists ready to strike for anyone who needed defending. Everyone in their circle looked to him as a man who always tried to do the right thing. “And fine. One hour.”

As they walked further into the club, vibrant energy surrounded them. Red and yellow lights cast a warm glow to create a welcoming ambience, while plush seats and sleek decor added a touch of glamor and sultriness. The bar, illuminated and inviting, beckoned patrons to select their drinks. The music was perfectly balanced, not too loud or overwhelming, allowing for easy conversation amidst the lively atmosphere.

Bucky didn’t want to give Tony too much credit and make his head swell more, but it was a nice place.

“So, where are we sitting?” He asked.

As if on cue, a woman in a smart black dress approached. Not a single hair out of place. “Pepper, good to see you,” Steve smiled at her. Bucky recognized her now. Tony’s personal assistant, had been for years. She did her job well and the man’s schedule and life would fall apart if he didn’t have her around.

“Good to see you, too. And you two are the first to arrive,” she smiled. “Right this way, please.”

Bucky looked around again as Pepper led them to a quiet VIP area flanked by a couple of guards. The space was just as bright as the main room, but above the center table hung a large, modern crystal chandelier: a focal point that hinted at the Stark fortune. The small stage set up at the back of the room surprised him. Was it for performers or merely for show?

“About time you showed up,” a voice interrupted his thoughts. Tony Stark, the man himself, sat in the middle of a sofa with a glass of whiskey in hand. With his three piece suit and perfectly trimmed dark goatee, he looked very much like the king of one of his many castles. Even had on a pair of his signature sunglasses because who didn't like wearing sunglasses indoors? “Or did it take you old men a while to figure out the names? Told Sy not to let you in without them.”

An apologetic look crossed Pepper’s face. “For the record, I told him not to do that,” she said, gesturing for them to sit. Bucky opted to sit in a chair that he didn't want to admit was extremely comfortable. “But he never listens to me.”

“You still love me,” Tony called after her as she left the area. “No hard feelings about the nicknames, right? It’s all in good fun.”

Bucky huffed as Steve took a seat beside Tony, effectively dividing them. “First the nicknames, and now you call us old men? You look older than we do,” Bucky said, pointing to Tony’s hair. “In fact, I think I see some gray you missed on your dye job.”

As Bucky got older, he had come to love the gray in his own beard and hair. It was a good look. Maybe the right girl would appreciate it.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Barnes. Always a pleasure.”

“Stark,” he said, baring his teeth in a wolfish grin. “Never a pleasure.”

“Cut it out,” Steve chastised, giving Bucky an exasperated look, which only earned him a shrug in response. Did he expect him to play nice when he didn't want to be there? “Tony, the place looks great.”

“Of course it does, Rogers. Did you expect anything less? Though it’s always nice to get a compliment from you.” Tony set his drink down and tapped the screen of his phone, causing the red and yellow lights to switch to blue and white. “That’s your cue, Barnes.”

“Nice lights,” he mumbled, leaning his chin on his hand. One hour…

Tony scoffed. “Would it kill you to give a real compliment, or are you holding back because I own it?”

Bucky narrowed his eyes. “Does my opinion even matter? You already think it’s perfect. I’m sure everyone else has kissed your ass about it, and I don’t feel like chapping my lips.”

Tony sat up straighter. “If I really wanted my ass kissed, I’d call your little sister,” he sneered, nudging Steve’s arm. “She’s free, right?”

“Tony, stop.” Steve warned when Bucky's jaw clenched.

“What?” Tony smirked more. “I heard she just got out of a relationship and maybe I can help her get over that broken heart.”

Bucky almost got out of his seat. Becca was a sweetheart and Tony didn't deserve to breathe the same air as her. “You even think about touching her, I’ll break your fucking-”

“Hey! That’s enough.” Steve sounded pissed off enough that they shut up. “Tony, he’s not trying to be a dick. He just wanted to work on a car tonight. Doesn't mean you need to bring his sister into it,” Steve said to Tony in a calmer tone, giving Bucky another look. “And you know he wouldn't fool around with Becca. You’re letting your fight with your dad get to you.”

Bucky slowly exhaled. “I know.” He felt a pinch of guilt. He had let his dad sour his mood and dismissed Tony’s club when Tony was at least nice enough to extend an invitation. It also wasn't fair to make Steve play referee when he deserved a fun night. “And I think we’re all varying degrees of dicks here.”

Unexpected respect and understanding filled Tony’s eyes, replacing his usual disdain. “Rather tinker with something than hang out here? I get it. And asshole fathers, I get that, too,” he said, downing the remainder of his glass. Bucky had nearly forgotten that Tony had issues with his own dad. “But let’s be serious, we all know I’m the biggest dick here.”

That brought a chuckle out of all three of them. It was the closest thing to an apology. “I would drink to that if I had one,” Bucky joked.

Tony tapped the screen of his phone again in a short pattern and the middle of the table rose up to reveal a decanter and empty glasses. “Top shelf and on the house even though you can afford it.”

“We’re still going to tip. You can give it to the staff working tonight,” Steve offered, pouring each of them a glass and passing one over. “And now that we’ve gotten some of the unpleasantness out of the way, can we get on with the evening? Please?”

The men nodded, but Bucky still needed more than one stiff drink to get him through the hour. At least Tony brought out the good stuff for them to indulge. “I have to ask, where are the rest of your friends?” He expected the VIP section to be overflowing with his usual crowd instead of being nearly empty.

“On their way,” Tony said, waving a hand toward the stage. “I wanted you two to get a private show with my new star because I have a feeling you’ll appreciate her talent more than the others. And when I say this one is special, I mean it. Voice and body of an angel. Or a siren. Whatever you’re into.”

Bucky and Steve exchanged a look. A new star? That was why he wanted them to stop by? “Have you slept with her?” Steve asked pointedly. Bucky almost asked the same question. Tony had a reputation for a reason and being a member of his staff wouldn’t stop him from trying.

“Nope. Not this one. Not for lack of trying,” Tony said, checking the time before the lights dimmed. “She told me to ‘kindly fuck off’ when I hit on her and I gave her a raise because why the hell not?”

Bucky’s eyebrows shot up. “She turned you down? I like her already,” He smirked, instantly intrigued by this mystery woman who didn't fall for Tony’s charms like so many others. “I may even have to buy her a drink.”

“Just wait ‘til you hear her sing, Tinman,” Tony said, resting back against the sofa. “Even you will love her.”

A spotlight illuminated the stage when soft music began to play. The curtain opened wide enough for a stunning figure in a long red dress to step through. Bucky leaned forward in his chair, captivated by your beauty. His heart raced, and his throat went dry as your gaze met his. He tightened his grip on the glass, nearly downing it in one gulp as you moved toward the microphone, but couldn't look away as you smiled.

Where the hell did Tony find someone so enchanting?

Bucky waited with bated breath before you began to sing. One note. That was all it took. He was lost. Gone.

Yours.

Oh, I just had to end the intro there. 😇 I wonder what our reader is like and what she'll think of Bucky. @targaryenvampireslayer @yenzys-lucky-charm @ghotifishreads @tavners @holacia3 a certain edit may come into play later... 😏 Love and thanks for reading! ❤️

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[a-spes]

| DEVIOUS LIES — Part one (3.842 words).

| Summary — Anon Request — When your friend asked you out for a drink, you didn't think much about it. Yet, maybe you should've, because that night ruined your life. It has been two years, and you can't stop think about what you lost. Your job, your friends, your lover, and even your mind was left in that motel room.

| Tags & warnings — Avenger!Natasha Romanoff x Avenger!Reader, AoS!OC x Avenger!Reader, Other Avengers, angst without comfort, cheating, mental health issues, suicidal ideations, self depreciation.

| MOODBOARD — ✧ — MASTERLIST — ✧ — TO SAY SOMETHING

| Part one. Part two. Part three. the scars in our hearts (bonus part).

“I am really not sure we should do that, Stark”, you repeated for what may be the tenth time since you picked up the phone, “it sounds like a really, really, bad idea, and you know, I am not sure sh~”

“Come on!” he said, cutting short your ramblings.

Your thoughts are racing, your mind imagining all the things that could go wrong. It is an endless series of “what ifs” that is only stopped by Tony’s voice. You both knew that if he lets you think too much, he would lose his battle. It’s a risky plan he wants to drag you in. 

“I am sure you are dying to say yes,” he added when you didn’t answer him, and you could hear his petty smile through the phone. As he sensed that you were about to accept, the man tried to convince you with one last argument, “she won’t know anything, I promise. None of them will, I thought about everything,” he assured you, and you believed him.

He was right, you wanted to say yes, but you couldn’t get yourself to say the word aloud. There are too many ways for it to end badly, and you really don’t need to make your situation worse than it already is. Two years ago, you lost everything. None of your teammates tried to understand your situation, they didn’t give you a chance to explain what happened. Instead, they threw you away from the team, and the tower, without giving it a second thought, as if you were just garbage.

Maybe that’s what you are.

Sometimes, when you think about the events, you surprise yourself by siding with them. It’s easier to think that you deserve what they are doing to you than to accept the injustice of the situation, which you can’t do anything about. After all, the proof was against you. You’ve seen the pictures, everyone has seen them, and they felt so real that your certainties have faltered. How to convince them that you are innocent when you are not even sure yourself? Eventually, you gave in, it is a battle you couldn’t win.

“When is it, already?” you sighed, eventually giving in. An argument against Tony Stark was another battle you knew you couldn’t win.

The man has been the only exception. He has watched over you from afar, and believed your version of the events. For once, he has listened, and it means the world to you. So even if you try to not wince at the enthusiasm he lets out on the other end of the phone, a part of you is happy. It doesn’t matter if things don't go well, at least that would have pleased the billionaire, and you owe it to him, even if you couldn’t match his enthusiasm, too anxious for that.

For a second, you thought about changing your mind. Your fingers were a centimeter away from the interphone, but you haven’t rung the bell yet. It would be so easy to listen to your instinct that is screaming at you to run away. It would be so easy to break the promise you’ve made to Tony, he wouldn’t mind right? Yes, despite the disappointment, he would understand that you couldn’t do that. It was too early and too much. You shouldn’t even have taken that call, it is always a bad idea to trust a billionaire, especially when his last name is Stark.

The last time you’ve set foot in the Avengers Tower, it has been two years ago. You haven’t seen them since, only their pictures in the news. One time, you’ve thought about going to one of those press conferences they hold sometimes, but you knew you wouldn’t be welcome — Maybe they even added your name to the list of bans. You aren’t welcome anywhere near them, they made it clear when they threw you away.

It is as if all the years spent by their side have been erased. Even the world seems to have forgotten your name. It is almost as if you have never been a part of the Avengers, as if you’ve never existed, and it was just something you mind made.

Maybe it’s for the best, you thought.

Yet, here you are. In front of the building you left years ago, promising to yourself that you’ll never come back in here. That day, you felt so humiliated that you swore to yourself that you wouldn’t add the shame to crawl back at their feet, begging for their forgiveness. No, no matter how bad you were craving to throw yourself in their arms, you won’t. Never, ever. Except that, sometimes, circumstances change, and you find yourself unable to refuse your friend’s crazy invitation, despite the dangerousness of his plan.

“Pl- please, ‘tasha, let me ex~,” you were begging the woman. It wasn’t your kind but exceptional situations call for exceptional reactions, and the one you found yourself in certainly was. 

Tears aren’t your style either, nor it’s Natasha’s. Yet, both of your cheeks are stained with them, your eyes reddened. She is angry, and you are frustrated. She is full of hatred, and you are full of despair. But, today, something broke in both your hearts.

“Shut up,” she said firmly, not giving you a chance to explain yourself. She didn’t want to hear a word from your bullshit. None of them want to. “You’ve lost the right to call me that way,” she added, spitting every one of those hate-filled words in your face, “honestly, you’ve even lost the right to talk to me. I don’t want to hear your voice or to see your face ever again. Did I make myself clear?” she yelled. You would have never thought that she could speak to you in such an angry, hateful tone, and yet, here you are.

She has, indeed, made her intentions clear. When you came home, you found your clothes scattered on the pavement in front of the tower. She hasn’t waited for your explanations before deciding to throw all your belongings away. You were quick to follow them, you barely stepped into the building that she was here to drag you out of the building.

You have never seen your loved one in such a state. She isn’t even acknowledging your pleas for her to slow down, or at least to loosen her grip on your arm. But she doesn’t care. She doesn’t care anymore if you were hurt, or if you were stumbling on your feet — If she had to drag you out by the hair, she would do it without hesitating. 

The Natasha that was scared she could hurt you was long gone. She wasn’t the one that swore to protect you anymore, you’ve seen in her gaze that the promises she made no longer stand. She has a stern, harsh expression painted on her face, and it was your fault. She hadn’t hit you, not yet, but you could still feel how her nails are digging into your skin, leaving a mark that will stay for days. It is a reminder of what you’ve lost that day, not that you could forget.

A second later, you collide with concrete. She throws you on the ground, alongside your belongings, with all the strength she has — And she is a former russian spy, so she’s got plenty. The force of the gesture causes you to stumble over your own feet and fall, scraping your hands and knees in the process. You don’t even try to get up. Dejected, you remain on the ground, barely daring to turn around to see her one last time.

“Don’t you dare to come back, you are not welcome here anymore,” she said before walking away, and disappearing behind the doors of the tower. You wanted to say something but the words didn’t come out, nothing you could say felt right.

It is the last time you’ve seen her, and as pitiful as it is, you have long cherished this last contact with the redhead. No matter how violent and hateful it has been, it was still the last time you’ve touched the love of your life, and you missed it the moment she let go of your arm. Her, and her touch. Despite everything, despite the years, you still needed her presence by your side, and it doesn’t matter if your relationship has to be brutal, you are ready to accept anything if it means being close to her for a few more days.

The rest of the team stayed here until you left. Your eyes met theirs, pleading them to at least say something, but you didn’t get the help you were looking for, their hatred toward you matching Natasha’s. Clint, Steve and Sam, they are all people that you thought were your friends, except they didn’t hesitate a second before siding with the redhead.

Steve has been the first one to leave, almost running after the woman. Before they disappear in the elevator, you’ve caught his hand resting on her shoulder. You should be the one to touch her like that, the one to hold and comfort her, but this right has been taken from you, and maybe you deserve it. You broke the trust she put in you, one that she doesn’t grant easily.

You’ve always known it was a bad idea. In fact, since the moment he suggested that you should come to Natasha’s birthday, you’ve had a bad feeling about it. He thought that it would help you, knowing that you had been living in isolation since you’ve left the team, and a part of you believed him. The same part that never stopped hoping that things could go back to the way they were. 

Until today.

If there is something you’ve learned from that experience, it’s that things will never be as they were because it’s nothing more than a pipe dream. The past two years, you have continuously dreamed about that moment, when you would eventually see her again. You’ve even made up a whole apology speech, one that would erase all your mistakes, and if it’s not enough, then maybe you would have begged them until they forgive you — Promises be damned. In any case, it would have ended with a hug with Natasha, a happy reunion after all those years spent apart. 

Except that none of that happened, because reality isn’t fiction, and you don’t deserve a happy ending. To be fair, you could have never imagined that the reunion would go like this, that you wouldn’t even be able to exchange a word with them because they had no idea that you were here. You couldn’t have imagined that the barriers you have built over the last few years would crumble the moment you set foot in the tower that once was your home.

The tears were streaming down your face, hidden behind that ridiculous mascot costume Tony had forced you to wear. He assured you that it was all part of his plan, the one that’s supposed to make everything better, but honestly, you’ve never felt so ridiculous and pitiful than when you put on that costume that’s supposed to look like a cartoon version of Natasha. That is the genius idea Tony’s came up with a few weeks ago ; having you wear a suit so that you could attend Natasha’s birthday party without anyone knowing.

You thought that you were strong enough to face them, but it turned out that you weren’t. There is nothing that hurts more than realizing you are nothing more than a stranger in your own house. An intruder, that’s exactly what you are. You should enjoy the moment, but you can’t, your heart races, fearing they could guess you’re the one behind the costume.

You were watching them from the corner of the terrace where you found refuge after giving them a little show, and you noticed that all of them, without exception, had a bright smile on their faces. You should be glad that they overcame the difficulties of life, right?

Then why is the only thing you are feeling agonizing jealousy?

Because you were slowly realizing that things changed after you left them, and maybe it was for the best. That’s what you’ve heard them saying in an interview they held a few months after your departure — “Yes, the team has undergone some changements, and we believe it’s for the best” — and maybe they were right, because you don’t remember seeing them being so peaceful in the past. They never clearly said that you’ve been banned from the team, nor they talked publicly about the events that lead to your departure, but people weren’t stupid, they guessed that it was because of something you did.

All days are the same since.

You wake up early, but it’s not the sign of a healthy life, only of a light sleep that is disturbed by the slightest noise and glint of sunlight. The thought of a new day only makes you sigh, what’s the point when every day is the same? They are all filled with loneliness and misery, and you are not sure you have the strength to deal with that, so you don’t move an inch, waiting for the night to come again. 

Sometimes, you get out of the bed you’ve been rotting in, but it’s not before you are so hungry that your whole body is uncontrollably shaking. That's the only time you leave the darkness of your flat, when you go to that small shop at the end of the street to get something to eat. You would buy anything and everything here, but especially junk food that can be eaten quickly. Most of the time, it’s PastaBox or anything with chocolate,  the papers piling up in the kitchen as the days go by, but you’ve never had the heart to take down the overflowing bin.

Waking up, rotting in bed, eating a bit if you are really hungry, going back to rot in your bed, then crying until Morpheus comes to get you, that’s now what your days are.

It’s a strange situation. You have mourned people before, but never someone who’s still alive, never your whole life, never yourself. You are still alive. You know it because you are still breathing and your heart is beating, but it feels like you are not anymore. You don’t even want to cry anymore, you are just laying here, waiting for something to happen, anything. Maybe death. Maybe it’ll eventually come for you, and that moment will be the sweetest. It would be a relief, and not only for yourself.

You don’t want to think about the fact that it may not be. What would be the point in suffering if it’s not to get a threat at the end? The possibility that nothing will come after that life feels unfair, and scary. When you are not finding comfort in your death, you are looking for it by imagining a universe where your life with Natasha wouldn’t have ended that way, where none of that happened.

These are the thoughts that lull you to sleep every night, but the next day, when you wake up, the ache in your heart is back. It never seems to fade away, the pain being as strong as it was on the first day. If anything, it got worse. You are aware that every day that passes takes you further away from those ideals, dashing your hopes of getting your old life back. Your despair grew as you realized that all you were doing was pulling away from the love of your life, and there was nothing you could do to get her back. 

What is going to happen when you’re going to forget about how it feels being close to her?

What if you forget everything? Her voice, smile, and the smell of her clothes? 

The few times you are getting out of your apartment, you are walking with your head down, hiding behind the hood of your sweatshirt, and today isn’t an exception. The weather isn’t that cold, but the collar of your sweatshirt is still up to your chin, leaving only your eyes for the world to see. The ones that are fixed to your feet, avoiding to look around.

You used to do that to avoid paparazzi and insistent fans the days you were too tired to interact with the world, but you are now doing it to avoid problems. Your face and name have been all over the news after, and not for good reasons. People had no idea what had really happened, but their imaginations had no trouble imagining the worst and spreading rumors. It has been years, but the world still hasn't forgiven you for things you’ve never done.

In a few days, the way people see you changed drastically. You went from being one of the country’s greatest heroes to being canceled. The smiles turned into hateful looks, compliments into insults, and although no one has tried to hit you, you prefer to keep a low profile. The fall has been painful, but it isn’t surprising.

How could you expect strangers to believe you when even your oldest friends didn’t?

You have never been their favorite anyway, and you are perfectly aware of that. You are not a former spy, nor are you a genius or an enhanced human. You have nothing special, and the world knows your name only because of your teammates. It’s not a big surprise that they prefer them, and decided to side with the real Avengers.

But maybe they’re right. Maybe things are better that way, because you are not sure you deserve being loved. What you’ve tried to say to ‘tasha is true, you can’t remember what happened that night — At least, not the details that matters —, and that is the worst in your situation. The doubt creeping inside of you, and the guilt mixed with the frustration because you're as likely to be innocent as guilty.

Did you do it?

Did you cheat on her for real?

You are walking as fast as you can, only wanting to get home as quickly as possible, shaking your head in an attempt to get rid of those poisonous thoughts. You didn’t stay long at the party, barely half an hour has elapsed before you decided that you had enough. At least you’ve seen her blowing the candles, even if you left without saying a word to the woman. The thought crossed your mind for a second before you decided it was safer not to break the peace she had built up.

She deserves to be happy, even if it means that you are not a part of her life anymore. 

The only trace of your passage that you have left is a black box. You have hesitated to leave it on the pile of gifts, as she would know it was from you, but it didn’t feel right to keep for yourself the gift you were supposed to give her two years ago. It isn’t yours. You wished you could have stayed longer, just to see her reaction when she opens the box, just to see her smile one last time, to make her smile one last time before saying goodbye forever.

That night, you’ve been crying uncontrollably, and so did you the following days until you have no more tears to shed. Gladly, thanks to Fury, you have a bed to spend your days in. The man has been kind enough to pay for your rent until things get back to normal — That’s the promise he has made to you, that he will quickly find a solution. 

A new place for you to work at, in another country, far from everything you’ve known, where you weren’t hated by everyone: that’s the solution he came up with. “The furthest you are from the Avengers, the better it is. At least for a few months, we need things to calm down,” he told you that day, and you agreed. Not that you had a choice because if you had, maybe you would’ve said no. But there was no choice but to accept to leave everything you’ve ever known behind you — Your family, your friends, your memories. 

Did you for real?

That story is sticking to your skin, and the memories to your mind. Whenever you are going, people are glancing at you, and you are sure it’s because they know. Whenever you are going, all you can see is a glimpse of your past, ghosts that are haunting your present. The world will never forget, nor forgive your mistakes, and you understand them, because you don’t think you can either.

Every morning, when you wake up, it is the first thing you are thinking about. Every night, when you are about to sleep, it is the last one, until it becomes an obsession. Except it didn’t give you your memories back. The opposite has even happened, your mind confusing what you remember with what you've been told, trying to fill the gaps.

At one point, you were so desperate that you almost asked Fury, or Tony, if they didn’t have some technology that could help you to recover your memories. You’ve even thought about asking Wanda, but it was impossible to reach the woman, and maybe it’s for the best. You can’t deny that a part of you is scared of what you might find. You’ve once read that, sometimes, the brain keeps some memories away for a good reason — It is a response to trauma.

But for you, you were sure it was alcohol. You don’t remember how many drinks you had that night, but probably a lot if you can’t remember how the evening ended. The last thing you remember is talking with Astrid, one of your colleagues from SHIELD that invited you for a drink. The next time you remember is when you wake up in that motel. From the moment you opened your eyes, everything happened so fast.

You couldn’t take your eyes out of the pictures which were hung up all over the offices, you even kept some of those. But they are the worst. The thing you can see on those, the two of you in that stupid bed, her kissing your throat, and even more, it feels so foreign. Your brain refuses to accept that you are the one in the pictures. Yet, it's undeniable proof of what you've done that night. 

You are so lost that it hurts your brain. 

Sometimes, you wish that someone was here. Anyone that would take your hand, and guide you through this story. Most of the time, you imagine that it’s her, Natasha. That she is here, holding you in her arms, whispering in your ears that everything is going to be okay, exactly as she used to do. 

Then, you realize that she is not here, and everything crumbles again. 

| MOODBOARD — ✧ — MASTERLIST — ✧ — TO SAY SOMETHING

| Part one. Part two. Part three. the scars in our hearts (bonus part).

| Taglist — @m0nsterqzzz, @marvelwomenarehot0

[legalandnotease]

So I am gonna wade in on the controversy surrounding the Thunderbolts PC scene.

A lot of people are angry about Bucky and Sam's apparent fallout over the use of The Avengers name- and inevitiably the blame falls on Bucky.

Honestly? I think the real issue is that some fans think Bucky and Sam's relationship is still the same as it was The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when Sam was basically Bucky's only friend and Bucky was dependent on him.

4-5 years have passed in universe since then, and Bucky now has other friends, connections and his own team. Which means he can't just go around making decisions without consulting them (he's not Tony Stark after all). He has to take account of what his teammates actually want: its not just about Sam anymore.

Its kind of interesting in a way: fans have said that Bucky needs to have his own life and make his own choices and yet the moment he does something which Sam disapproves of, he's lambasted for it.

Which is why I think the real issue isn't that Bucky and Sam have apparently had a falling out: its that Bucky has stepped out of Sam's shadow and is doing his own thing. He's not just Same's sidekick anymore. He's making his own choices, forming his own team, in the public eye as his own man.

Its not just Sam though: we've been so used to Bucky being the supporting role and playing second fiddle to someone else for so long that now he's acting independently its jarring, even shocking.

Bucky doesn't have to have Sam (or anyone else's) approval or permission anymore. Nobody has exclusive rights to tell Bucky what he can do, who he can associate with and who he can work for. That makes people mad.

And don't even get me started about the people loudly complaining about Bucky/The Thunderbolts "working for Val" because that's not what's happening even in the movie.

The Post-Credit scene is set 14 months after the movie: anything could have happened in that time. Val might not even still be alive at that point. Even if she is, it seems the Thunderbolts are only using her for money but she definately doesn't control them (they have the knowledge to bring her down after all).

If your issue is government control then you clearly have a short memory. In Brave New World Ross was asking Sam to form his own Avengers team. Meaning they would have been subject to the government and Ross: who was as bad as if not worse than Val.

Nobody raised objection to that. So, apparently, Sam creating an Avengers team at the behest of a politician and subject to the government isn't a problem.

But Bucky leading a team which pay lip service to the government but are really autonomous and under nobody's control except their own is obectionable.

Yeah that's called a double standard.

[inkedbydesire]

Love On The Brain Pt 1 (18+)

Jimmy Uso x Black Fem OC

Warning: 18+ Content, sexual language, MINORS DO NOT ENTER

Summary: Somewhere between his irresistible smile, cheesy jokes, and mind-numbing sex, Navae's five-month whirlwind with Jonathan Fatu had turned her into that friend (the one the group chat secretly dragged behind her back). So wrapped up in her situationship, Navae didn't even notice how often she was flaking on plans, showing up late, ducking out early, or not showing up at all. It wasn't like her, and her friends noticed. Convinced Jonathan was the root of the problem, they staged a full-blown friendtervention. After being called out for trading in her day ones for a man she barely knew, Navae knew she had to make a change and fast. So when girls' weekend rolled around again, she vowed to be fully present and accounted for. Nothing was going to stop her from walking out her front door ….. except, of course, the case of her missing keys.

Word Count: 3.3k

A/N: Another one for Jimmy cause he’s sorta kinda my muse. Sorry for yapping but I can’t write any form of smut without giving them a reason for humping on each other (my bad 😂). But majority of the smut will be in Part 2. This is mainly just setting the scene. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors or typos.

*************************************************

"Bitch I swear if you don't make it tonight we're cutting you off."

Toni's words came out jokingly, but Navae couldn't help but feel the underlying seriousness. Especially after the impromptu "friendtervention" she endured last week. She wasn't used to being on the receiving end of those things. Normally, she was the one staging the interventions, hoping to reel a straying girlfriend back to herself. So imagine her shock when Toni, Lauryn, and Kaci pulled up to her apartment and sat her down like she was the star of an A&E special and told her they were officially fed up with her shenanigans. For the first time in over five years of friendship, they had a real issue with her. And the issue had a name: Jonathan Fatu.

"He got you acting different."

Navae could still hear the way Toni said it, her nose scrunched in disapproval. Kaci and Lauryn stationed beside her, nodding in silent agreement. And then came the list. They pointed out a record of missed Sunday brunches, flaked plans, and early exits from girls' nights. Traditions Navae used to ride hard for, tossed aside the minute Jonathan called or texted. And so on and so forth.

With everything laid out in front of her, Navae had no choice but to face reality. Her girls had good reason to feel a certain way towards her. It was like she had been in a dark room for the last few months and somebody had finally opened a window. What was on the outside wasn't all that pretty.

Navae instantly realized that she didn't want to be that girl. The one losing herself in a man and neglecting her friendships. She especially didn't want to be that girl for a man she didn't have a solid commitment with because it had only been a handful of months since he entered her life.

Seeing no point in arguing against her girls, Navae only promised to do better, which is why making it to their favorite hangout spot tonight was a must. She had to prove to them and herself that Jonathan didn't have her mind completely gone. Okay... maybe he had her a little ditzy, but she was still in control.

Right?

"Toni, relax. I will be there. I'm literally doing my hair right now, and I will be heading out in another 20 to 25 minutes," Navae stated as she used her curling iron to bring volume back to her hair.

"Alright, Navae," Toni responded in a doubtful tone that slightly hurt Navae's feelings, but she quickly pushed it aside. She just had to prove her wrong. Once Toni was off her line, Navae resumed the Spotify playlist that had been entertaining her while she was getting ready.

"Baby it's you, you're the one I love, you're the one I need, you're the only one I see," Navae's voice was like nails on a chalkboard as she sang along with Beyoncé while finger-combing her curls into the desired direction. Just as she grabbed a handful of hair and tossed it over her shoulder, checking herself out, Jonathan appeared in the doorway of the bathroom.

"Damn, I thought somebody was back here killing a cat," he joked, leaning against the doorframe and watching her through the reflection of the bathroom mirror.

"Hardy har har," Navae shot back with a playful eye roll.

"Go find somebody to play with, Jonathan," she added as she shifted her focus back on her hair, attempting to dismiss him while pretending his presence didn't affect her.

Jonathan didn't like that. He was well aware of the hold he had on her because it was the same hold he felt she had on him.

He stepped closer, slid behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I wanna play with you," he stated as he rested his chin on her shoulder. The air in the bathroom thickened. Navae knew he meant that in more ways than one. Déjà vu hit her like a tidal wave as their eyes locked through the glass. Suddenly, her mind went back to their very first encounter.

It was at the birthday bash of a friend of a friend. Kaci knew the guy and thought it would be fun, so everyone tagged along. Thirty minutes after arriving with her girls, Navae started getting the eerie feeling that she was being watched. She tried ignoring it at first, but she couldn't shake it, so she scanned the party. It didn't take her long to spot him. He was standing across the room with a group of what she assumed were his friends. They were laughing and talking around him, but his eyes were deadlocked on her. And when she caught him staring, there was zero shame in his game. He didn't look away. He just kept on watching.

Typically, Navae would be annoyed by someone, especially a man, eyeing her like she was the last source of food on the planet, but she didn't mind it once she got a good look at him. Damn is all she could repeat in her head because she couldn't pull out an adjective strong enough to describe him. Her eyes traveled from the fitted cap on his head down to the clean white Air Force 1's on his feet. Now she was the one eyeing him like she wanted to take a bite.

And maybe she did.

It was the Hennessy she had been sipping since arrival that made her bold enough to walk up to him. She pulled him aside from his friends and asked him what he was looking at.

When all he did was smile, flashing the grill he was sporting at her, Navae didn't know to what extent just yet, but she was already a goner.

One thing led to another, and before the night was over, she found herself ducked off in a bathroom with him so deep inside of her you would've thought they were long-lost lovers, not two people who had just met that night. Even to this day, when Navae closed her eyes, she could still feel his breath against her ear as he repeatedly praised her for how wet she was and how good she was taking him.

She was a complete stranger, but he was in her ear, guiding her like they had known each other in a past life.

Navae didn't partake in many one-night stands. In fact, her encounter with Jonathan was only the second time she allowed herself to be that adventurous. She didn't know what it was about him that made her throw caution to the wind, but she was glad she did.

What transpired between her and him wasn't supposed to go past that night, though. They were supposed to part ways and never see each other again. But what happened in that bathroom was so electrifying that they ended up exchanging numbers, with Jonathan promising Navae that she hadn't seen nothing yet. He told her to just wait until he could really take his time with her. Navae found herself anticipating the hell out of it.

They talked for about a week before making plans to see each other again. Now, Navae wasn't a stranger to sex at all and had a few different sexual encounters with a couple of men. So, of course, part of her went into the night with Jonathan thinking some of it was just him talking himself up. She had a few dudes say what they would or could do, yet she was left basically unfulfilled. So she wasn't expecting anything above what she and Jonathan shared in that bathroom. That wasn't a bad thing, though, because it was a great experience.

But Jesus, did Jonathan live up to his words and a whole lot more. Navae had never cum so much in one night in her life. She lost count and damn near went brain dead after her seventh orgasm, and Jonathan just wasn't letting up. She had never had a man who prioritized her pleasure over his in such a way. It was like his next breath depended on how hard he could make her cum.

It got so intense in that bedroom that Navae vividly remembered telling him that she loved him. It still embarrassed her to this day because she had only known the man for a week. And to this day, he still hasn't let her live it down.

Jonathan put something on her that night that had her still paying the price today. She never meant to start being neglectful with her best friends, but it was like when Jonathan wanted her, she couldn't say no. Or it was more like certain parts of her body couldn't say no.

On top of that, Jonathan was extremely funny and charming. Over the course of five months, there was genuinely never a dull moment with him. They hadn't quite made it official yet, but Jonathan constantly assured Navae that she was the only person he was currently pursuing. And since meeting him, she couldn't even think about anybody else.

Jonathan was a ton of amazing things, but behind his knee-buckling smile and those beautiful dark eyes, Navae saw a deep possessiveness. It should've been a red flag, but it just turned her on more. The way Jonathan wanted her when he wanted her and didn't care if she made plans with God himself. That wasn't his problem. With his career and hers, their time together weekly was already limited. So when they both had free time, he wasn't too keen on sharing her with anybody else. Not even with people she knew well before him.

So many times Navae would tell him she had plans, but his favorite line was, "What that got to do with me, Navae?"

So many times she would actually go through the process of getting ready, only to have her hair messed up by how he liked to run his fingers through it while praising her for sucking his dick or throwing it back just right. Or only to have her makeup ruined by the tears she couldn't contain when he was so deep inside her it felt like he was taking a piece of her soul every time he pulled out.

Navae couldn't help but feel like Jonathan had a thing for watching her get ready just so he could be the one to undo her. That's what she thinks gets him off the most. Watching her get ready, knowing he was about to pull every move so she wouldn't even make it out the door.

There were days when she would actually make it to an event, though. Late sometimes, but she would be there. Only to end up leaving early because Jonathan would constantly be texting the filthiest things to her phone, telling her how much he needed her. And Navae always felt like she needed him in that way too, so it was nearly impossible not to give in. Even when she hadn't spent more than an hour with her friends all week.

God, she had become a terrible friend. If anyone else in the friend group were behaving this way, she would be so irritated.

It was beyond necessary that she showed and proved tonight. It wouldn't instantly fix things and put her back in everyone's good graces, but it would show that they were still just as important to her.

So Navae had to be there tonight, and she couldn't let anyone or anything stray her from that path. But here Jonathan was with his arms around her, trying to do just that. Earlier when they talked, she told him there was no point in his coming over tonight because she would be gone for hours. She and her girls were hitting up one of their favorite clubs and planned to party all night like old times. Pre-Jonathan times. But still, he showed up at her apartment about an hour ago smelling just as good as he looked, ready to call her bluff.

"You better play with yourself. I'm about to go. You already know that," Navae said to him while maneuvering out of his arms. Something she didn't necessarily want to do but had to because he was intentionally pressing his bulge against her ass. He wasn't even hard, and she could feel it. She pushed away images of the mini baseball bat he was walking around calling a penis and told herself that she had to stay focused.

Unplugging her curling iron, she looked around for what else she had to do and was happy that it wasn't much. With her hair and makeup finished, all she had to do was spray on some perfume and add a few pieces of jewelry. Then she could be out the door.

But little did she know, Jonathan had already taken one look at the way the jersey dress clinging to her body barely covered her ass and the thigh-high boots, and decided that she wasn't leaving his sight. He didn't care where she thought she was going, all he knew was that all her hard work was about to be for nothing. Well... never mind, she would definitely be getting something for it.

She looked too fucking good, and no way was some other dude at a club about to enjoy looking at her while he was stuck at her apartment thinking about every position he would rather be putting her in. He had been on the road for damn near the whole week, and all he could think about was seeing Navae.

Touching Navae.

Tasting Navae.

Being inside Navae.

He needed it bad.

And now that he was here, he wasn't trying to wait until she came back from the club too drunk or tired to get the treatment she deserved. She told him about how her friends were getting on her about the time they spent together, but he didn't see it as his issue. It wasn't his fault that Navae had bad time management skills. But what they said must've really gotten to her because she was acting a little different tonight. Anytime he touched her, she moved like she just did. And she wasn't allowing him to kiss on her or be near her for too long.

Jonathan sensed that old moves wouldn't get her to give in to the inevitable tonight, so he had to think of something else.

He took one last look at her spraying on the perfume that lingered well after she left the room before retreating to her living room. He sat down on the couch to think for a moment. Navae was determined as hell to go clubbing tonight, but he was even more determined to have his tongue wrapped around her clit in the next fifteen minutes, so... somebody had to win.

His eyes shifted around the living room before they landed on her keys on the floor near the coffee table. He noticed that Navae had a habit of walking into the house and tossing her keys without worrying about where they landed until she was about to leave again. Jonathan couldn't control the smile that crept on his face as he leaned forward and grabbed her keys. He slid them into the pocket of his sweatpants before leaning back into the couch cushions.

Just then, Navae slid on her last bracelet. She gave herself one last once-over in the mirror before grabbing the purse she matched with her outfit. Easing her phone inside her bag, she entered the living room.

"Baby, I'm about to leave," she announced to Jonathan as she walked over to where he was sitting.

"Awww, don't look like that. I'll be back," she joked as she stood in front of him as he looked up at her. She knew the look in his eyes all too well. It was an unquenchable hunger that she wasn't trying to get caught up in. At least not right now. She leaned down and ditched a kiss for a hug because she didn't want to mess up her lips. Once Jonathan had her in his arms, he softly kissed her on the neck while grabbing a handful of her ass.

Navae let it ride for a few moments before breaking away before she had to go and change her panties.

"I'll see you later, Jon," she told him, walking towards the front door. She was so close, but then she looked and didn't see her keys dangling from the hook by the door. She almost burst out laughing, remembering that she never uses the damn thing anyway. She adjusted her purse on her shoulder, then turned around and walked back towards her coffee table. But she didn't see them there either. She looked around it but still came up with nothing. All she remembered was this morning she tossed them damn keys towards something. The coffee table? The kitchen counter? The stand in her room? She checked all those places before returning to where she started with nothing.

"You seen my keys?" she asked Jonathan, who was still sitting on the couch. Now he had her remote in his hand, flipping through the channels.

"Nah... but I told you about just throwing them anywhere," he responded, not feeling any remorse for the fact that the keys she was going all over her apartment searching for were sitting in his pocket.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can you help me look for them?" Navae asked, a little frustrated. The last thing she needed was a lecture from him. Yes, she would do the same thing at his house, resulting in them having to search for her keys each time she was about to leave. No, she didn't need to be reminded of that right now.

"Yeah, but come here right quick," Jonathan told Navae as he put the remote down, realizing that now was his opportunity to reel her in. Navae walked back over and stood in front of him after dropping her purse on the coffee table.

"Yes?" she asked him.

"I did something to you?" he questioned her, knowing damn well she wasn't mad at him or anything. But he needed a way to get her on the hook. He placed his hands on her hips, looking up at her as she looked down at him with her hands resting on his shoulders.

"Why you think that?" Navae asked, confused. Yes, she had been a little standoffish today because she didn't want to get caught up in him, but she didn't think he would view that as her having a problem with him.

"I don't know," Jonathan answered with a shrug.

"You just been acting a lil funny today. You ain't gave me a kiss or nothing since I been here. Every time I try to touch you, you walk off from me. That shit got me feeling like you got a problem with me," Jonathan said, laying it on thick. He did feel a little bad for playing with her head for his benefit, but he figured each time he got her to cum would be his way of making it up. They both would win in the end.

"We're fine, Jon. I'm not upset with you about anything. I was just focused on getting ready," Navae reassured him as she stroked his beard, feeling bad that her actions made him feel that way.

"Feel better?" she asked him to ensure they were okay. With everything going on with her girls, the last thing she was prepared for was an issue with him. Although she knew her friends would probably be happy to see him go.

"I will be once you give me a kiss," Jonathan told her, then flashed a reassuring smile her way to let her know they were straight. He had no intentions to upset her too badly. He just needed an angle to keep her from making him wait longer for what he needed.

"Do you see this?" Navae said while waving her hand towards her face. "It took a minute to get it right. I can't mess it up."

"You got more than one set of lips, Navae."

To Be Continued……

Part 2

[uniiiquehecrt]

I'm thinking in terms of actual real life experiences I've had when I say this, but I'd imagine part of what makes being a Thor enjoyer so frustrating in 2024/MCU's phase 4+ era is that... you're effectively not allowed to enjoy your favorite superhero.

I once had a conversation with a close friend of mine during a casual outing, and without going into very many details, this particular person is an enjoyer of Ragnarok, and enjoys Tailka's work overall. Now, I should say right off the bat: there is nothing wrong with these opinions. Everyone is entitled to like what they like and enjoy the work of creators just the same as other people are allowed to dislike them. For this particular post, I'm not here to get into fandom wars or "reasons why taika waititi is a terrible director" beef. I have other posts in line for that. But what I will say is that I already knew this about my friend, so it never surprised me when the topic of Thor came up that it would be a point of disagreement.

The issue I've found that continues to circle in the general space of "being a Thor fan" came when I expressed that I don't like Ragnarok, I do think Thor was funnier (and just better overall) before Ragnarok and therefore Taika's involvement, and quite frankly Taika had very little business taking on the mantle of director of a superhero franchise he has never liked or understood in his life just because he had mouths to feed. (There are other opportunities to fulfill that. And filmmakers know going into this industry that it's all gig-based and - if they're smart anyways - work around that.) I hadn't even gotten a chance to go through all of the reasons WHY I feel that way, of which I have had before compiled an organized list of about 16 talking points off the top of my head, so as far as that particular discussion goes... it didn't go anywhere. We were busy at the time.

But namely what I want to talk about is this:

The response I was given, in summary, was something along the lines of "well I think Thor was boring, and he wasn't my cup of tea, so I'm glad he changed."

But, you see, there's just ONE small issue with that: Thor isn't meant for everyone.

In fact, no character is meant for everyone. So why is it that Thor needs to change to be "for everyone" and be the MCU normies' "cup of tea" when no other character has to? Why does he need to lose his core identity (both as a character, as a franchise, you name it, it's been done) just because people like my friend don't understand him as well as Tony Stark or Spider-Man? And why should Thor fans have tow watch their favorite superhero get stripped down and turned into something completely divorced from the character, world and cast we were first involved with from the beginning?

Nobody at any point has been able to answer me that besides "well just because I didn't like Thor personally."

Iron Man won't appeal to everyone. Neither does Captain America, neither does Spider-Man, beloved as even Spidey is. They have their own quirks, their own villains, their own storylines... Every superhero has a core to them that their stories revolve around. He's from DC, but Superman, for instance, has the core of: love, justice and the American Way. Therefore, his stories revolve around challenging that core, and making Superman prove it. Steve Rogers/Captain America has a similar core. Justice, freedom and the American Way, is what I'd mostly boil his core down to. Thor's is "love" all around. I've written about that '(here)' in my post about his 2011 themes. Maybe it's different for other fans, but for me personally? I adore that about Thor. It's one of the many reasons I'm drawn to him over any other marvel Super besides Spider-Man. (not you tom holland ... yes you andrew garfield...)

So when I go to Thor for entertainment, I'm going to him above the other superheros because I want a story that revolves around HIS core and how Thor goes about reckoning with his challenges. I also go to MCU Thor specifically for his quiet, kind, regal nature. I come to him for his gravitas, his passion, his relationships with his cast of companions.

I go to him for high-sci-fi action/adventure, or for the "what if we took norse mythology and made it an alien superhero" route they took him in for the MCU. I go to Thor because he IS different from the rest of the Avengers... and that's the point.

So when someone says to me: "Well Thor wasn't for me so I'm glad he changed", or "Well I really liked Ragnarok because Thor kind of become more in line with the other Avengers"... they're fundamentally missing the point of why Thor has a fanbase at all.

[crazysandwich]

Tony Stark’s Legacy Isn’t Up for Debate

Okay, I need to talk about Tony Stark because I need to get this off my chest. Fair warning, this might be a bit controversial.

Disclaimer: I haven’t watched Ironheart yet, and I know I’m reacting to a single line taken out of context. Also, no spoilers in this post aside from that one line I’ll be talking about. So if you haven’t seen Ironheart yet either, don’t worry. I’m not going into anything else from the show. But these are just the thoughts that came to me after hearing it. I’ve seen a lot of clips on TikTok around the line, “Do you think Tony Stark would be Tony Stark if he wasn’t a billionaire?” and honestly, my issue here is mostly with the writing. Not with Ironheart as a character. Again, I haven’t seen the full series so I’m not judging her. But this isn’t the first time I’ve noticed this pattern.

There are a lot of great characters in the MCU with so much potential for good storytelling. But can we stop diminishing the impact that the original characters had? Specifically, Tony Stark, in this case. Let’s be real. He was a big deal. Huge. And we shouldn’t forget that. Move forward, yes. Create new stories, yes. But don’t erase what came before.

Lately, it feels like some writers are trying to push Tony into the background or treat him like a secondary figure. That just doesn’t sit right with me. You can’t rewrite the fact that he had one of the most significant character arcs in the MCU. Fans remember his story, his growth, his sacrifices, every iconic line.

And let’s not forget, Tony Stark’s entire arc was about proving he was more than just a billionaire. Yes, that was part of his identity, but it wasn’t the full story. Over ten years and multiple films, he showed again and again that he was willing to put others before himself, that he could grow, take responsibility, and make real sacrifices. That was the core of his character growth. From a self-centered weapons manufacturer to someone who snapped his fingers to save the universe. He didn’t just coast on his wealth. He evolved. That’s why people connected with him. That’s why it hurts to see that reduced to just "billionaire" as if that was all he ever was.

We literally turned “Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!” into a cult quote. It was so iconic that it even got referenced again in a Spider-Man movie. Did the writers, producers, or anyone at Marvel forget how big of an impact that had? Why are they trying to downplay him now? It comes off as disrespectful.

Again, no hate to Ironheart. I’m excited to watch the series, and I’ll go in with an open mind. But this weird energy around dismissing Tony Stark needs to stop.

It’s not even just this show. I remember The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (which I loved, by the way, one of my favorites), and there was that part early on where it’s revealed the Avengers weren’t on a traditional salary, despite Tony’s financial support. And I get it, it’s part of the plot, but come on. He literally funded their headquarters, tech, suits, operations, and probably their living expenses too. The man gave them two whole buildings. What more was he supposed to do, run payroll on top of all that?

Yes, a formal salary would have been nice, but let’s not act like he left everyone high and dry. It feels like the writers are using him as an easy target lately, and I don’t get it.

Anyway, this turned into a full-on rant, haha. I just had to share these thoughts. Not sure if anyone else feels the same. Once again, no hate to Ironheart, I believe she has a lot of potential, and I have high hopes for the series. Just please stop disrespecting the OGs. If you want to create better and newer characters, do it. But don’t erase the ones who built the foundation.

[marq-lynch]

As someone who got into AEW via fixating on MJF and has spent the last eight months obsessed with Hangman and Swerve this upcoming feud was made for Meeeee and I cannot Wait to watch MJF beat the snot out of Hangman's hypocritical face in person in a couple weeks.

There are so many layers to this feud and things they could have made the core, but the one they're going with is Authenticity? No. Even better. It's Verisimilitude. Possibly my favorite word in the English language: having the appearance of truth. It's not about who's most Real. Things that are verasimiliar are often not factual but portray a Truth, like a fake blood on TV that's the wrong color because humans don't want to believe that real blood is that candy coated firehouse red, they want something more sensual with a bit of chocolate syrup mixed in to make it darker. It's about what, and in this case Who, Feels Most Real and is therefore most deserving of our appreciation.

Is it the bullied little boy who never had a friend and shoved everyone away before they could hurt him first and who just desperately wants unconditional love, and who has been rejected every time he tries to reach for it from the audience, mentors, mentees, fiances, & his one and only friend? Who opened himself up to the world and tried to grow, to improve, to let himself be vulnerable one more time in the spots he knew were softest only to have everything he loved and valued ripped away.

Or is it the other ball of self-esteem issues, the anxiety riddled ball of imposter syndrome that has whittled itself down to a core that has always been there, of burning Rage at himself and the injustices of the world around him that he has allowed to consume and isolate him, feeding his worst tendencies for addiction and obsession.

The relationship both have with the audience is Insane, and neither is healthy. They both obsessively need us and shape their entire identity around what the world thinks of them, while insisting to themselves and us that they aren't. They're just aware of their responsibility as a champion, or no longer going to care what people think, but somehow those 'I don't care what you think' protests only last so long and they're caught up in obsessions over audience chants and signs against them again.

And then there's the Swerve of it all. My 'Swerve the Realest'. The Other Man who just about one year ago also had the audience decide 'yes, you're a heel, but you're so damn cool we've decided you can do whatever the fuck you want'. Swerve, genuinely, did nothing wrong. Except... He lost at Revolution, and stood in a ring, in front of Tony Shiavone, and admitted, "I've done some pretty terrible things here" and "I'm not a good person... But for the first time ever it felt like people were really rooting for me."

Swerve, as far as we know, has never lied to the audience. He's beaten up teenagers, broken and entered, broken arms, and left things out, but never lied. He is Swerve the Realest.

Meanwhile Hangman, who raged that "[Swerve] never paid for it, and they loved him for it" is now having crowds cheer itemized lists of his crimes from an irate MJF, and staring him in the face telling him that he's never run from his problems (which has been his entire arc) or ever once lied to the audience, all while he wears the same outfit through Feb 2025 he wore March 2nd 2024, the day before Revolution last year, when he first hobbled to the ring on a crutch, told the audience he was always truthful with them, that he couldn't compete the next day. Then when Swerve came out and listed his own crimes flat out to Samoa Joe the day before his first title shot, Hangman beat him unconscious with the crutch, showing he'd been fine, and screaming an apology later for lying but saying he would Rather Die than let Swerve win it himself, and Rather Die than not win it himself.

The next day he tapped out to Samoa Joe. Y'know. Like a Liar.

[gunsandspaceships]

MCU Timeline: Iron Man 2. Part 1

This timeline is based on dates from the movie and not on Fury's Big Week (see the reason here).

Here's the classification of date consistency in the MCU Phase 1 (within the movies):

IM1, Thor, CA:TFA and The Avengers - good. Almost no issues.

The Incredible Hulk - some issues and a few barely visible wrong dates.

IM2 - absolute mess.

Let's start by finding out the month and year of the main events of the movie.

Month: May. What evidence we have: 1) one of the events is Tony's birthday, May 29; 2) The Monaco Grand Prix always takes place in May. The Historique races (which we see in the movie) take place before the main Grand Prix - in early May; 3) one of the screens in Tony's lab says it's May; 4) the weather and people's clothing also correspond to May.

Year: 2010. This is where things get really confusing. Because in the movie there are at least 3 versions of what year the events take place: 1) version of written sources (documents, computer screens) that consistently point to 2010; 2) Pepper Potts' version (IM1 took place "last year", which was February-May 2008, so IM2, she says, is May 2009); 3) Justin Hammer's version, who is absolutely sure that Tony became Iron Man only 6 months ago, so according to him it is November-December 2008, which contradicts everything else. Since most sources, as well as logic, point to 2010, this is the most likely version.

Now let's move on to the timeline.

The first f*ck up in the movie (chronologically): Anton Vanko's date of birth is mentioned once, and it is February 15, 1943. This is literally impossible. According to the same screen, in the early 1950s, Anton was already 20-30 years old and was a scientist at the Electrotechnical Institute in the USSR. More realistic year would be ~1925.

Early 1950s - Anton Vanko works on nuclear energy in the USSR.

October 1963 - Vanko defects from the USSR and seeks asylum in the United States.

Here we have the second f*ck up in props - the newspaper says 1966, but JARVIS said it's 1963, which is also confirmed by the date on Tony's screen. JARVIS's version is more realistic, so we'll go with that. And come on, Marvel. Citizenship right away? Why not the presidency?

June 26, 1967 - Anton is found guilty of espionage and deported.

August 2 or February 15, 1969 - Ivan Vanko is born.

Ivan's prison tattoo on his fingers is his birth year. There are several references to Ivan's birth date in the movie, and they are all different. So we'll use his tattoo, as it's a more reliable source. About the month and day - we have two options. The JARVIS search results give us 15.02, but as you may have noticed, this is the same day as Anton's birthday in the same search results. So I doubt that they were both born on the same day of the same month. The prop guys just put the same numbers in and forgot about it. Good f*cking job. Another possibility is the date on Vanko's fake passport - August 2. Since the document is fake, I have no idea if any of the dates on it are real. And it's unlikely that anyone would need his DOB anyway. Do we have any Ivan fans here?

~1970 - Anton Vanko is sent to Siberia for 20 years.

May 29, 1970 - Anthony Edward Stark is born 🎉

September 15, 1973 - Howard films the Intro to Stark Expo 1974 and the message for Tony.

1974 - the last Stark Expo until 2010.

~1990 - Anton is released and returns to Moscow.

December 2, 1993 - Ivan is sentenced to 15 years in prison for selling weapons-grade plutonium to Pakistan.

Late 1990s (before 2000) - Virginia Potts becomes Pepper, and Tony's PA.

May 25, 2008 - "I am Iron Man" press conference.

August 2008 - an article about Tony's arc reactor in Scientific American.

Note: There is a real issue of this magazine from August 2008 with the same articles except for the article on the arc reactor.

December 2008:

After serving 15 years, Ivan is released from prison.

Anton Vanko dies.

If anyone doubts that it's May in the screenshot, you're right. This is how winter looks like, not May. Yes, even in Russia, Marvel.

On TV they say Tony is giving the "I am Iron Man" press conference "Now", but this is impossible: 1) As we have established, it was on May 25, not in winter. 2) In Moscow it would be night (remember time zones). But we were clearly shown that it was daytime. 3) This is a live broadcast for CNN, not for Russian news. 4) It can't even be "Live" and "Breaking News" at the same time because he hasn't even said the words yet! Come on, Marvel. Logic was lost during the production of this movie.

So, based on the notes above, I conclude the following: 1) The news is not new. It is a recording. 2) The first scene takes place in December 2008.

A few days later - Ivan begins work on his arc reactor.

Here's the third f*ck up:

On the Forbes cover, which we already saw in IM1, the date "January 1990" appeared, which was not there before. But this is not the main issue. The main one is that Howard was still alive in 1990 and ran his company himself. So Tony could not "take reign at 21" at that time. He wasn't even 21 yet, and he couldn't be. Marvel shouldn't have changed the cover in the first place. January also contradicts other sources that show Stane was interim CEO for several months, not just one.

December 2008 - Tony is named "Time's Person of the Year".

Note: This is an edited cover of the actual "Time's Person of the Year 2008".

December 2008 - December 2009 - Vanko works on his reactor.

May 2008 - May 2010:

All the following events:

Some details of the events from the newspapers on Vanko's wall:

Tony saves a mother of three from a fire.

January 2009 - Tony saves the crew of a Russian submarine ("miracle submarine").

Pepper gives an interview about Tony, the suit and her figure (very important).

August 5, 2009 - Hammer tests his suit in Reno, Nevada.

September 13, 2009 - Saudi Arabia tests a prototype of its suit.

Early April (snow) 2010 - Vanko receives a fake passport and a ticket to the Monaco Grand Prix.

Shortly before May 2010 - Natasha is "hired" by Stark Industries.

December 2009 - May 2010 - Vanko works on his exoskeleton and whips.

Here we come to the infamous "6 months later" problem. And the main question: 6 months from what? a) "I am Iron Man" in IM1? b) Anton's death in December 2008 or c) The day Ivan finished working on his reactor?

As we have already established, it cannot be 6 months from IM1 (May 2008), as it contradicts literally everything. The date of Hammer's test also shows that it can't be 6 months from IM1 because there was already more than 6 months between the press conference and the test. So Justin should do some fact checking before his speech next time.

6 months since Anton's death (December 2008) would fit better into the timeline. It would also match the month of Tony's birthday and Pepper's version of what year IM2 takes place:

But it's still the wrong year. All other sources give us 2010, not 2009.

And finally, the best version is 6 months from the day Ivan finished his reactor. We already know that IM2 is mostly set in May 2010, so we just count back 6 months and get December 2009. It took Ivan a whole year to build what Tony was able to build in a few days in a cave and with a serious medical condition.

Part 2

MCU Timeline: The Infinity Saga

[turneradora]

NEW US MAGAZINE INTERVIEW with Aidan about Rivals

Family life is not always what you think !…… 🤨🤨

Aidan speaks about Declan, his wife Maud (Victoria Smurfit) and Cameron (Nafessa Williams)

Aidan Turner Rivals season 2:

Disney

Rivals ended on a shocking note and now Aidan Turner is weighing in on Declan’s potential future with Cameron, that steamy kiss between Rupert and Taggie and more.

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Turner, 41, started by addressing his character, Declan, ending the first season on a high — only to find out that his wife, Maud (Victoria Smurfit), was leaving for an acting opportunity.

“[Their relationship] feels very real. It feels very truthful. It suddenly feels like the things that a lot of couples go through in marriages. You can so quickly not see that person anymore,” Turner said about how Declan and Maud’s relationship diminished throughout the season. “The person is there and you’re cohabiting but you don’t see the person, don’t really engage in what they’re going through and aren’t present emotionally.”

The actor developed the context before diving into season 1, adding, “Life got pretty busy for them and pretty stressful and taking them in different directions. There’s all sorts of tangents happening and they just haven’t really caught up with themselves. I don’t think Declan has really seen that [and when he has] it is fleeting. He’s in and out of seeing that for many years. He’s neglected his family and he’s neglected his wife.”

Following Maud’s years of unhappiness, Turner wasn’t surprised when Declan‘s marriage ultimately fell apart.

“She’s sacrificed a lot. It’s slowly dawning on Declan — it comes in waves where he’ll get a lot of it and then he’ll sort of try to shake it up because of the guilt and the shame that’s surrounded with that and get busy again. Then it’ll come back again,” he explained. “It’s by the end of the season that it’s really dawning on him the damage that he’s caused.”

Turner isn’t putting all the blame on Declan though. “I don’t think he’s entirely 100 percent to blame for all of it but there’s a lion’s share,” he added. “We always got the sense [off screen] that you have to play everything quite truthfully. It could be high, you can stylize it and turn up the volume on everything, but it needs to be rooted in concrete and it needs to be authentic.”

Based on Jilly Cooper’s novel of the same name, Disney+ and Hulu’s Rivals centers around a feud between two men fighting for control of a television station in 1980s Britain. Turner’s character, Declan, finds himself in the middle of Rupert (Alex Hassell) and Tony’s (David Tennant) rush to the finish line, which ultimately affects his personal life.

It always felt to me that Declan has a very complicated and complex relationship with his wife and with his family. But it always felt very real to me. So I always had a door in that didn’t feel like I needed to struggle for it. He is a good guy, essentially,” Turner noted to Us. “He loves his family and he just wants to be with him. But of course there’s ego and there’s all of these other things that get complicated. Life is tricky and complicated and not what you think it’s going to be. It’s just an understanding of that.”

Not every viewer found themselves rooting for Declan and Maud to make it. In fact, others picked up on some chemistry between Declan and Cameron (Nafessa Williams) that seemed undeniable

With the Cameron situation, they work very well together. And in the [book], there’s a project they’re both working on outside of the country that brings them both away,” Turner teased to Us. “And I think their friendship and their relationship is put to the test. That is all I can say. I don’t want to say too much.”

There’s also the small issue of Declan warning Rupert about not touching his daughter Taggie. Rupert tried to stay away from Taggie for most of the season but the fan-favorite couple ultimately gave in during the finale and shared a very romantic kiss.

It’s two sides of the same thing that can go either way. Declan really respects Rupert and he sees value in Rupert. I think they are friends and that friendship and that bond is getting tighter,” Turner said. “But he has told him to stay away from his daughter.”

He continued: “I think he’s going to find that [kiss] very, very difficult. I don’t think it’s something he would accept. There could be a moment there — there could be a big moment.”

Rivals is currently streaming on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally

[alexistalkscomics]

The Ultimates #5 is one of the best comics of the year!!!!

Today, I finally had the privilege of being able to read the most recent issue of Ultimates after having to wait longer than usual to read last week’s releases due to delivery delays but my G-d!, was it worth the wait???

This issue sees the introduction of the new Ultimate Universe’s (Earth 6160) version of Hawkeye who as you can obviously see from the pages above, is not the traditional Clint Barton incarnation of Hawkeye. Instead, we are introduced to Charli Ramsey (They/Them), an Indigenous American person of Lakota heritage who found the costume and gear that was intended for Clint Barton after he threw it away as we saw in the first issue.

Whilst I was already curious about who exactly Ultimate Hawkeye was going to be upon seeing the solicitation for this issue, I was not expecting to love this version of the character so much.

Rooting Charli’s motivation in the historical struggles of Indigenous people that are still ongoing today is a great move on the part of writer Deniz Camp that makes the character feel more real as they’re motivated by the idea of rising up against a real injustice that’s still occurring today in our world and it’s also helps to add to the incredible world building that Camp has been doing in Ultimates by showing that despite the alternate history compared to the more grounded Earth 616 of the mainstream Marvel Universe, Earth 6160 is still representing the world outside of our window in some of the worst ways.

I also greatly enjoyed how a central theme of this issue was the nature of destiny and if Charli should even be allowed to be Hawkeye just because Tony’s files say that they don’t meet the criteria needed to be a hero in his eyes as it helps to build up the brewing conflict in Ultimates as to whether or not the ultimate goal (pun not intended) of Tony and Doom’s revolution is to simply free Earth 6160 from the control of the Maker’s council or to merely make it into a world that more closely resembles Earth 616 even if that isn’t what this universe truly needs because of how different it is to other versions of the Marvel Universe.

The only major flaw that I would say that this issue really has is in regards to its pacing. Due to having to commit to the single issue story format of the other Ultimate comics, the pacing for this story feels a bit faster than it had to be. I really think that this story could have benefited a lot from being a two-partner instead. Having an extra issue to tell this story could have really helped Camp to further flesh out Charli’s characterisation and also build on their dynamic with Cap and explore how both of them are attempting to represent and fight for the same ideals despite Steve’s uniform representing a symbol of subjugation in the eyes of many people which is something that is briefly focused on in the actual issue.

Overall, I would highly recommend picking this issue up either in print (to support your local comic book stores) or in digital format or both if you’re fond of Marvel Comics’ free digital code program where physical single issues come with codes for free digital editions that can be redeemed on their website and then read on the Marvel Unlimited app.

9/10

[moved-to-thanatologie]

yeah okay, but i wanna talk a minute about how lichdom is actually the bad ending for emmrich a second, because i just played through the last part of his personal quest agaiin, and i've been chewing on it for the last, like, week.

so, you can romanticize it all you want, but emmrich changes after lichdom, which...you know, can be expected, but it's not in a good way. in a shallow sense he has more of a temper, he's more...i'm sorry, i don't think the overprotectiveness of rook is exactly ~so romantic~, i think it's...not great, to put it lightly. it's a little guilt-trippy about how he'll have to mourn them forever if they die, which...newsflash, he's gonna be doing that anyway. and on that shallow level there's just a layer of ickiness to it that i think some people just are...overlooking.

the fact that it's his life's work notwithstanding, like...this isn't the same healing and head on confrontation other companions get for what's eating at them, it's enabling emmrich's aversion to looking the facts dead (no pun intended) in the face: people die. he'll die one day, too, and literally nothing is forever, no matter what promise lichdom makes. like there's some banter with lucanis that i don't have exact quotes for at the moment, but it basically boils down to the fact that if you spend all your time reaching for undeath and hoping to return one day, you're ignoring and wasting the life you can have in the here and now and it's passing you by, which is...i mean, is that not it? is that not exactly what emmrich's doing? and i mean, if there's anyone to point that out, it's probably lucanis.

then there's hezenkoss, who has absolutely fed his fears, and if you search your heart you'll know it to be true. like @ofeluvians and i were talking about, i don't think it was ever a real, true friendship, i think it was almost entirely one-sded (boy, is that ever a character quirk i'm familiar with, i say, looking pointedly at 616 tony stark - ask me how!), and his insecurities were exacerbated to at least some degree. emmrich says himself that johanna never had an easy time of making friends, and if you read the flame eternal you can see she was acerbic even then, and not exactly what i would call compassionate to either emmrich or the spirits they were dealing with.

there's the fact that he was taken into a place that terrified him after his parents died, and i don't think it's necessarily some lofty, grand, scholarly thing that makes the memorial gardens his favorite place in the grand necropolis, i think it's because - out of all of it that we at least get to see - it's actually the most peaceful and least scary. just like i don't think it's hugely a shocker that his favorite spirits are definitely the wisps, which, by and large are manifestations of curiosity and by and large harmless.

i think, instead of a paralyzing fear of death, it's anxiety. like...big anxiety resulting from trauma that's never been addressed (his parents' deaths) and loneliness to a degree (manfred). he's so eager to share things with people, there's a recipe from his mother he passes on to lucanis (which i'm sure was a what's your favorite food conversation), or his books with taash and bellara. his skills to help neve solve a murder. going camping with harding. even the dad talks with davrin have shades of this, funny as it is. he...speaks to people on their level, i think, to a degree, once he knows what their level and their comfort level is (taash). he can empathize with situations he'll never actually experience himself. and it's like he says, a good instructor never makes a student feel inferior.

it's the loneliness thing i wanna circle back to a second, though, because it's my ultimate point: for all of this, for all of his flaws and his fears and his kindness, what the heart of his actual issue that needs addressing is is that loneliness. if you bring manfred back, he'll tell rook, you know, that he has pangs for what might have been, but seeing manfred grow and his excitement for his new magic and getting to be an apprentice mage is something he wouldn't change for the world. if unromanced he stumbles into one, anyway, full of adventure that wouldn't necessarily be the kind he'd find himself in, in his daily, normal life. his genuine distress toward the beginning, after he's recruited, when he feels like he's being judged and shut out (his commentary on other people's commentary on his skulls and manfred, his and taash's issues finally coming to a head).

like this man is lonely, y'all, and looking for human connection, and i don't think he entirely realizes it as the core of that overwhelming sense of dread. thinking about all his little notes in the codices, like...outside of lecture notes there's always some mention of someone from the veilguard in them, davrin and silly questions, or harding and burning the dead, or how davrin showed him flowers he's only seen in herbalism books and how excited he is for that. and if he turns to lichdom, he loses all of that. he loses manfred, and he does not get over it. instead he gets, like, five minutes of euphoria and then it's people finding him crying over manfred in his room and the deep regret when even spite confronts him about how manfred should be there.

so...yeah. that's a lot of words to say i don't think lichdom solves anything, and in fact actually probably makes things worse, because sure, he gets to live forever. with everyone around him that he loves dying, no manfred, and in the end he'll still end up alone, which is the core of the issue, i think.

[tonystarchive]

IRONDAD & SPIDER-SON WHUMP MASTERLIST—PART 1

Last Updated: September 2023

As promised, here is my long overdue Irondad Whump Masterlist! This list took an embarrassing amount of time to compile and over forty pages in my Google Docs (!!!!!).

Due to the sheer amount of fics, I will be posting in parts. Within these posts, each fic will categorized by its most prevalent trope/theme.

I hope the work from these talented contributors brings as much whumpy joy to you as they do to me!

Also, a very special shoutout to my most treasured Irondad authors iron_spider, for_the_night, madasthesea, losingmymindtonight, AdVitemAeternum, MotherKarizma, and so many more! This post is dedicated to you. ♡ 

Adoption/Tony Stark is Peter Parker’s Biological Father

5 Times Tony Acted Like Peter’s Dad by for_the_night

Summary: “And the one time he actually was." *Featuring an award evening, nightmares, a father-son field trip, appendicitis, and a very special gift—oh, and SO many forehead kisses.*

Alive and Healing by Watermeloness

Summary: “‘...bank robbery gone wrong in Queens. We’re receiving live footage from the crime site, where a 15-year-old teenager has been severely injured. Witnesses report a young boy getting shot after trying to stop the perpetrators. The last we’ve heard, his state is critical and he’s being rushed to…’ Statistically, there are a lot of 15-year-old teenagers in Queens. The city is filled with 15-year-old teenagers that are all brave in their own ways. This doesn’t have to be their teenager. But Peter is not picking up his phone.”

Dad Is Just A Word (You Give It Meaning) by madasthesea

Summary: “Father's Day, two years after May dies. Peter has something special to give and something important to say.”

For Want of a Dad (In Need of a Son) by GhostInTheBAU

Summary: “So, have you given the camping trip any more thought?’ Ned asks, and he groans internally at the change in subject.  He'd much rather go back to talking about his non-existent love life, thanks.  The trip is during spring break—a four-day long trek out into the wilderness, camping and hiking and gathering who even knows what, learning all about nature and the great outdoors. But the real kicker?  It's an event specifically designed for fathers and their sons, which is something Peter doesn't have, and something he will never be. Not again." Or: Peter longs to have a deeper relationship with his mentor, a more meaningful connection; but he's managed to convince himself that the only reason Tony Stark spends any time with him at all is purely because of his enhancement. Because of Spider-Man.

Homebound by AdVitamAeternam

Summary: “Shortly after Homecoming, Peter starts having panic attacks. Tony happens to have some experience with those. What do you do when everyone around you has a tendency to die? What do you do when the last person, the most precious, the one you absolutely cannot lose, maybe wants you? Do you give in, or do you run? Do you take what they offer, or do you keep them as far away from the disaster that is your life as you can?”

I Love You More Than Anything Series by iron_spider

Summary: “The highs and lows of Tony unexpectedly becoming a single dad at 31—from Peter’s early baby years, all the way past the defeat of Thanos”

I’ll Always Protect You (Even If You Don’t Want Me To) by JAWorley

Summary: “So much changed with Peter’s body chemistry after the bite that new things are still coming up that surprise him. One day he and Tony are having a fight and Peter is so stressed out he ends up having a seizure. Seizures… great, so that’s a thing now, and Tony has decided that the best thing is for Peter to stop being Spider-Man. The more the seizures happen, the more protective Tony becomes. All Peter wants is to have his life back." Or: May asks Tony to take joint custody of Peter to help with the Spider-Man thing and this new stress seizure issue. Peter learns that sometimes parents do what’s necessary even if it’s not a popular choice with their kids.

Questions of Science, Science and Progress (Do Not Speak As Loud As My Heart) by l_u_c_k_y_c_l_o_v_e_r

Summary: “I had to find you, tell you I need you. Tell you I set you apart." Or: Peter stays with Tony for a few weeks, and the pair get into all kinds of shenanigans. And maybe, just maybe, those few weeks will usher in something more.

These Days I’ll Sit On Cornerstones by Finny3120

Summary: “Tony was ill-prepared to find that the vigilante he'd recruited was a 14-year-old boy. He was even less prepared for Peter Parker to be mute. But Peter hasn't spoken since his uncle died. And the more Tony works with the teen, the less it matters to him. He hears Peter just fine.” 

You’re Stuck With Me by for_the_night

Summary: “I’m adopting you. I don’t care what you have to say.’ Peter gaped. Of all of the entrances he’d expected from Mister Stark after being alone in a hospital room for hours, that wasn’t one of them." Or: Peter gets taken to hospital with a ruptured appendix and Tony comes to a daunting realization of just how little hold he has on the kid outside of Medbay.

Alternate Universe

My Baby, My Baby by SpaceCowboysFromMars

Summary: “Silence falls over them like a warm blanket. Distantly, there’s commotion down on the street as people walk home from clubs. Peter thinks Tony might be his best friend in the whole world. After a long, peaceful moment, Tony says, voice dripping with warmth, ‘Night, kid.’  ‘Goodnight, Mr. Stark." Or: Tony and Peter in the middle of the night, in five alternate universes.

Visiting Hours by Sara (ctrsara)

Summary: “Boss?’ Tony jolted out of his half-asleep state. ‘What’s up, FRI?’ ‘There is a visitor here to see you.’ Tony jumped up. Anyone he knew would usually call or text first, so he was immediately on alert.   ‘Who is it, FRI?’ ‘I need you to have an open mind, and know that I do not believe this person is any threat.’ Oh, yeah, that made him feel better.  ‘Excuse me? How about you let me decide that, Watson?’ He started walking towards the door, activating his watch gauntlet.   ‘Wait, Boss.’ He was annoyed, but he trusted his AI enough to stop and listen. ‘I also need you to know that I have performed biometric scanning, and this person is who they appear to be. However, they insist they’re not from our universe, and that is the part I don’t understand." — In a universe where he never invented time travel, and never brought anyone back, Tony Stark gets a late-night visitor he never could have expected. Prompt taken from @idk-bruh-20 Irondad fic idea #97 on Tumblr. Idea from @derpmallow.

What The Heart Knows by AdVitamAeternam

Summary: “When Peter wakes up, his head is being assaulted by a sledgehammer. He has no idea where he is. He has no idea what happened to him. He has no idea who he is, other than ‘Peter.’ But then, he looks over at the man who is scrutinizing him with worried eyes, and he knows who the man is. That's his dad." Or: The one where Peter gets hit over the head really, really hard and has temporary amnesia, and makes a very reasonable assumption based on the data presented to him.

Angst

A Far Green Country by madasthesea

Summary: “He just wanted Peter to be happy. More than anything in the world, he wanted Peter to be happy. Oh, Tony thought as that realization sunk down into the pit of his stomach and took root. I love him.”

A River To Skate Away On by frostysunflowers

Summary: “Peter has survived a spider bite, a building falling on him, turning to dust and being a teenager. He can handle anything. Except being forgotten.”

Agape by canon irondad (tomlinsoul)

Summary: “It's Tony's first date night with Pepper since the Snap, and Peter can't wait to spend some quality time with his little sister. Too bad a pair of hapless intruders, head trauma, and a panicked helicopter ride throw a spanner in the works." Whumptober 2022 Day 8: Head Trauma + Day 7: Seizures + Day 19: Repeatedly Passing Out + BTHB: Big Brother Instinct

Broken Heart Syndrome by iron_spider

Summary: “Tony is clearly really upset, the kind of upset that Peter’s only seen the likes of a couple of times, and it’s too close after everything happening to really talk about it. He can definitely see that now.  ‘I’m sorry,’ Peter says. ‘I’m sorry, I should have answered—’ ‘Yeah, you should have answered!’ Tony yells. His bottom lip is trembling and he shakes his head, his eyes wild. He runs his hand over his forehead. ‘Okay, okay, I’ll know for next time,’ Peter says. He doesn’t know what’s gonna make this better. Probably nothing. ‘There better not be a next time,’ Tony says, dropping his hand from his face. ‘God, like this? Pete, no one knew where he was but you, and you—you kept it that way so nobody knew what the hell was happening, and you—you weren’t answering, kid, and that asshole sent me all that shit plucked directly from my nightmares, and I was trying to be strong for May because she was worried, too, and you—and you, I—I thought I wasn’t gonna ever—I thought—Jesus, Peter, you don’t think, you don’t—’ Tony bends over, clutching at his arm and breathing hard through his mouth.”

Dead In There, You’re Dead In There by iron_spider

Summary: “Peter, you’ve been acting insane for the past however many days and it’s giving me an ulcer, what’s going on, what did I do? Tell me. Tell me and I’ll fix it.’ Peter is still stalking around, and Friday is listing off his injuries, from a concussion to broken ribs to a sprained ankle, and Tony feels sick looking at it all. ‘You’ll fix it,’ Peter says, glancing over at him with pure disdain, the look bookended by matching explosions somewhere behind them. ‘Yeah it’s something you can’t fix, if it happens, nope, can’t fix it, it would just—but you’re just saying—’ Tony starts forward towards him. ‘Pete, explain to me what’s happening, please.’ ‘The protocol, the protocol,’ Peter insists, waving his hands through the air. Tony shakes his head. ‘The protocol?’ ‘The Avalon Protocol, Tony,’ Peter spits out, with venom.”

Dead-Eyed by iron_spider

Summary: “Hey,’ Tony says, fast, into the phone. ‘Everything alr—’ ‘Hey, no, I don’t know where he is,’ MJ says, in a rush of breath. ‘I don’t know where he is, Tony, and I know I have access to that tracking thing, but it feels weird for me to do that, and it doesn’t feel weird for you to do that, so you should do that. And find him and tell me what’s going on.’ ‘Okay, calm down,’ Tony says, getting up and stepping back from his workstation. ‘You know you can’t tell me to calm down, because I’m calm, and I’m always calmer than you because you’re like, inherently, not calm. At all, about anything, but especially about your family—’ ‘Okay, this is not calm,’ Tony says, starting to pace, even though he’s not calm either, she’s right. She sighs loudly in his ear. ‘When was the last time you saw him?”

Earthly Dust From Off Thee Shaken by ExpectoPatronum

Summary: “It had started with leaving his bedroom light on at night before he went to sleep. For a while, that had been enough. But then it wasn't.”

“Forever” by WithACherryOnTop

Summary: “Peter could feel the darkness creeping up on him again, like it had only moments earlier in the Avengers Compound bullpen. ‘‘ony.’ ‘Just go to sleep, bud.’ Tony gently scratched his nails at the nape of Peter’s neck. Peter collapsed bonelessly in Tony’s arms, all evidence of the tears, crying, and sobs hidden except for a stained shirt and the boy’s even, congested breaths. Tony wiped a hand over his face, a bit flustered. ‘Wow. That went way worse than I expected." Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel and/or Sony. I do not give permission for this work to be copied and/or posted to any other sites.

Gonna Pick Up The Pieces by orphan_account

Summary: “I don’t want to talk to you,’ Peter says. He’s been hiding for the better part of an hour, sitting in the cabin’s laundry room, wedged between the washer and the dryer. Something about the sounds coming off of them calms him, weirdly. The swish of water, the rumble of the motors, cotton rubbing cotton, the button on a pair of jeans dinging the side of the barrel.  ‘That’s bullshit,’ Tony says. ‘You always want to talk to me.’ As true as that usually is, this time it rings discordant and tense. Peter clenches his jaw. ‘Not really,’ he says. ‘You just sorta assume that.’ ‘Of course I do. I make for lovely conversation.’ ‘Eh.”

Head’s On The Fritz by augustheart

Summary: "Hello?’ ‘Tony?’ ‘The one and only. What’s up, kiddo?’ The answer rises up in Peter's throat. Stops at the back of his tongue and wobbles there, heavy and leaden. He wants to spit it out, to cough it into the unbearable silence, to not be loud—but, to be steady. ‘I—’ he says. He trembles. ‘Can you—come over? Please?" Or: Tony makes things better

Hold Me Together by An_Odd_Idea

Summary: “Peter still doesn’t feel quite solid. Sometimes Tony can’t believe he’s really there either. They cope.”

I Have You by sweetspiderstew

Summary: “Tony has Peter all to himself, and there's nothing else like some good quality time in the workshop, but little mishaps happen, and there's a lot of hugging.”

I’ll Be Right Here by An_Odd_Idea

Summary: “Peter has a nightmare, and Tony goes to be sure he’s okay. It’s not the first one of its kind.” 

It Came At Night by Marvelous_Writer

Summary: “What’s supposed to be a normal weekend visit to the Compound turns into one of disaster when unexpected visitors show up." (Set after Spider-Man: Homecoming) Whumptober Day Five: Gunpoint

It’s Time to Leave (and Turn to Dust) by hopeless_hope

Summary: "We’re going to help you, I promise, but you’ve got to trust me. Do you trust me?’ Peter looks at his mentor, fear written across his face. He raises a shaking hand back to Tony’s chest, and Tony places his hand over the kid’s. Peter closes his eyes and feels the hard surface of the arc reactor against his palm.  Peter doesn’t like soft things, but this isn’t soft. It’s solid and steady and strong and feels like a truth he can believe in. It feels like presence.  ‘Yeah, I trust you." (In which Peter has trouble coping with the events of Infinity War, but a certain Tony Stark is there to help.)

Meltdown by inkinmyheartandonthepage

Summary: “You said two-thirty,’ Peter said, acting as if he hadn’t heard Tony. ‘I forgot that you changed it to two thirty and not three.’ Tony took a step towards Peter. ‘Hey, Pete. It’s fine. You’re not that late kiddo. Hell, I’ve been to board meetings hours late.’ The joke didn’t land, and Peter’s eyes started to well with tears. He took in a hiccupping breath. ‘Oh god. I forgot. I forgot." Or: Peter isn't coping after Titan and has been doing everything to keep busy and not think about it. Everything comes to head when he forgets that a time was changed in his busy schedule leading to a meltdown.

Mine, And Yours by crowkag

Summary: “Is it Peter?’ He was met with loaded silence. The anxiety spark became an anxiety plunge and twist. ‘Happy. Is it Peter?’ ‘It’s… well. Who else would it be, right?’ ‘Hogan.’ He hated this. The spark, the plunge, the twist. The tension creeping from his shoulder blades, clawing down arms both flesh and metal, somehow, someway, and bunching up inside his palms. The hysteria of it all. ‘It’s—alright, I won’t sugarcoat it. The kid’s alive, but he got shot, Tony. Twice." Or: Tony reunites with Peter in a less-than-ideal manner.

Relax, Just Breathe by hailfire_73

Summary: “Tony,’ said Peter, lifting his head from the glass, his stubbornness spent. ‘I don’t feel so—’ ‘Do not,’ said Tony, through gritted teeth, and meeting Peter’s eyes in the rearview mirror. He had just one hand on the steering wheel as he drove them into the night. ‘Finish that sentence.’ Morgan leaned over, hung out of her booster seat, and whispered, ‘It gives dad attacks." Or: The Starks go on a road trip that goes wrong when Peter gets food poisoning from questionable carnival food.

Scars Can Heal And Reveal Just Where You Are by parkrstark

Summary: “Jesus Christ, Pete,’ the voice says again, and it's not just a voice. It's a voice that belongs to the shadow. The shadow is light in the dark. It's warm. ‘What are you doing on the floor? You're lucky you're by your bed or else it would have been you breaking my fall.’ Peter blinks at the shadow and can't tell if he's comforted or irritated by the new company. ‘What? No quip about me breaking a hip?’ There's silence. ‘Peter?" 

Shots Ring Out by itsluckyyou

Summary: “Peter Parker had training. Training to deal with robbers, petty crime, and possible alien invasions. Nothing could have possibly trained him for this, though." Or: There's a shooter wandering the halls of Midtown School of Science and Technology.

The Pills (They Gotta Go) by searchingforstars

Summary: “Tony. What are these?’ Tony glances up. Sees the packs of pills clenched in Peter’s fist. He’s sure some of them must be dust judging by the force that Peter is holding them with. ‘My pills?’ ‘Why are they sitting at the back of the pantry?’ Peter asks, voice dangerously low." Or: Tony decides taking his medication is optional. Peter strongly disagrees.

We All Have A Hunger by MotherKarizma

Summary: “Morgan,’ he croaked, throat afire, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘Hey—hey, it’s okay, I’m just…’ ‘You’re sick.’ She mustered up something like bravery, using it to straighten her back and plaster a very grown-up look on her face. ‘I’ll get Daddy!’ ‘No!’ Morgan jumped, eyes wide. Peter fought to calm his voice. He offered her a smile that couldn’t have been convincing, not even to a five-year-old. ‘No, you don’t have to. I feel better  now. You don’t have to tell him.’ Morgan’s lips wobbled. Peter knew what her fake pout looked like well enough to know this wasn’t it. ‘Petey…’ Peter had a lot of reasons to feel guilty. He felt guilty for scaring her. He felt guilty for forgetting to lock his bedroom door, for making scaring her a possibility. He kind of, in a way, felt guilty for doing it in the first place, though not nearly enough to stop. But more than anything, he felt guilty for this: ‘Morgan, promise me you won’t tell him. He…he won’t let us swim anymore if you do. And I’m not sick, my tummy just hurt a little bit, but I’m all better now. Promise me you won’t tell him, okay?’ ‘But…’ ‘Morgan. Promise.”

We’re Here by An_Odd_Idea

Summary: “Comfortember prompt 3: Nightmares Peter has nightmares about when Thanos stabbed Tony on Titan”

Who Needs a Happy New Year When You Can Have a Happy Forever? by searchingforstars

Summary: “Peter's already feeling insecure about his place in Stark family holiday traditions, but it turns out it doesn't really matter because New Year’s Eve is significantly less fun when you’re a pair of PTSD-riddled superheroes, anyway." Or: Tony has a panic attack in a Burger King.

Without You (I Was Broken) by parkrstark

Summary: "How did you get shot? You just webbed me up 5 stories from being shot!’ ‘D-Didn’t know it was coming.’  ‘Dammit, Peter! This isn’t the first time your spidey sense hasn’t worked. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt because Rhodey told me I was being insane. Why didn’t you tell me it wasn’t always working? You shouldn’t go out into battle like this when your powers are being wonky and—’ ‘You’re here.’ ‘What?’ ‘You’re here.’ He takes a deep breath. ‘I don’t...I can’t really feel the danger when you’re around."

[sineala]

Hi Sine, have you read the new Ultimates (2024)? Any thoughts? I'm currently on the fence, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I have read the new Ultimates! I have actually been keeping up with it since Ultimate Invasion, so I've read Ultimate Invasion and Ultimate Universe and am also mostly keeping up with Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Black Panther, and Ultimate X-Men, but since none of those three are really my corner of comics fandom I think I am less qualified to speak to how they are going since I don't generally follow their 616 counterparts and wasn't reading them in the original-flavor Ultimate universe either.

I think the actual Ultimates comic itself has a surprising amount of potential and I'm liking it a lot more than I expected to like it considering that we are only two issues in and the fact that I'd literally never heard of the writer before did not fill me with a lot of confidence. But, y'know, I'm here for Steve and Tony and if Steve and Tony are friends I am, in that regard, fairly easy to please.

So I like the team dynamic so far, but from the beginning I haven't really been a fan of the worldbuilding, and I think a lot of my problems with the worldbuilding would be fixed if they simply had not also called this Ultimates, but as we all know, it is forbidden for Marvel to come up with new names for anything ever.

See, the original Ultimates had a pretty clear and relatively unique mission statement: it was meant to be a low-continuity universe, set in something closer to the real world than 616 is, with grittier and more realistic storylines. The idea was that fans could read and enjoy this universe without needing to know decades of backstory. And, sure, if you knew the backstories there would often be little Easter Eggs, but you're totally capable of reading and enjoying Ults 1, say, if you don't know why the Hulk is gray or why Hank and Jan have a terrible relationship. Because within the context of Ults, that's just how things are. Sure, they're that way because of things that happened in 616, but you don't need to know that.

The original Ults is also gritty and grimdark and polarizing. A lot of people don't like it. The new Ults universe has almost nothing in common with it except that the Maker (Reed Richards) originally hails from Earth-1610. Which, as it happens, does affect the plot a lot, but old Ults and new Ults are different things, and I think the shared name actually hurts new Ults. Because, when you think about it, who's going to want to read this? You've got the people who liked old Ults and are sad that this isn't it. And then you've got the people who didn't like old Ults and have been avoiding this universe because they assume it's the same one. So who's left? People who just like the name "Ultimates?" People who are willing to take a chance on anything Marvel releases? I just feel like there are probably fewer of those people.

I know that the new Ults universe was supposed to be Donny Cates' project before he had to leave due to medical issues, and that Ultimate Invasion was then taken over by Hickman. And honestly I would have liked to see Cates' take, because I wasn't a big fan of Hickman's Ults run, mostly because I didn't like the Maker -- so I'm not, you know, really thrilled that the one thing that gets kept from Earth-1610 is my least favorite character.

The new Ults universe has also pretty much abandoned the two things I thought were the big draw of old Ults: a more "realistic" setting as well as a low amount of continuity. As you probably know, the premise of new Ults is that the Maker goes universe-hopping, gets to Earth-6160, decides that's good enough, stops there, and proceeds to epically fuck shit up. He has his City going, just like 1610. The Earth now has a handful of massive countries, which I guess makes it easier for a shadowy cabal to rule them. So we are definitely abandoning any kind of real-world…geopolitical similarity. Britain and France are the same country; Captain Britain speaks French. China and Japan are the same country. The US fell apart in the 60s. I mean, it's not necessary to use real places in superhero comics -- DC and its array of fictional cities seems to be doing fine -- but it seems weird to do it here when that was supposed to be part of the attraction of Ults (and later on, the MCU, which pulled a lot from Ults). It's a thing people like to read. It gives you a little more investment, I think, as a reader.

The Maker's goal is to prevent superheroes from showing up at all by taking them off the playing field. He gets there at some point after WWII -- because Steve was still Captain America and got iced -- but before the modern Marvel universe kicks off. The Maker is clearly going after as many people as he can. He prevents Peter Parker from being bitten by the spider. He has a creepy museum/mausoleum where he collects artifacts and corpses of dead heroes; for example, we see an adamantium skeleton that is presumably Wolverine's.

Of course, the heroes aren't going to stand for this. Which heroes, you ask? Who's left? Well… mostly Tony, actually. In this universe, Tony is very young and has more of an MCU-influenced backstory in terms of his relationship to his father and to Obadiah Stane. He's also Iron Lad. So, yes, this is a Kang thing. He has help from this universe's Reed (who is masked like Doom) and they're going to assemble the Ultimates and get back as many heroes as they can. Tony finds middle-aged Peter Parker (who is married to MJ and, oh, yeah, Uncle Ben's still alive) and gets him a spider. They are going to fix the world and make everything right.

Is this fun? I think so! I am down for a plot where Tony restores superheroes to his world. However, the thing it isn't is low-continuity. Unlike original Ults, there is so so so much continuity just embedded into the worldbuilding. We see the Maker's big list of characters he's gotten rid of. You're already supposed to know who these people are.

If you pick up the original Ults, let's say Millar's Ults 1 & 2, you don't need to know anything about anything. Sure, like I said, there are lots of things in it that are callbacks to 616, but you don't actually need to know what they are to understand the plot. But everything in new Ults is, within the plot, a reference to something else in the multiverse. They're putting things back the way they were. To do that, you actually need to know something about the way things were. Some of this stuff is going to be obvious to most people who are even vaguely familiar with comics -- I don't read Spider-Man, generally, and even I know it's a big deal that Uncle Ben is alive. But not all the changes are as big as that, and if you don't know them, it's confusing. Ultimate X-Men is all about a teenage schoolgirl named Hisako, in the country presumably formerly known as Japan. "Mutants" don't seem to be a recognized group of people. She doesn't know anything about her powers and I didn't even know she was a mutant until someone told me that was Armor, a mutant obscure enough that I only vaguely remembered her after I was told her name. I spent all of issue 1 wondering who this character was and why I was reading a horror comic about her classmates dying and what she had to do with anything. Apparently she's a mutant and I would know that if I had kept up with X-Men.

Over in the realm of the Ultimates themselves, the worldbuilding has a lot of stuff I wouldn't bank on people just knowing. Does a casual fan know who Iron Lad is? It's probably going to matter! The FCBD issue features Steve liberating Jim Hammond from the Maker's storage. Now, I am very fond of the Invaders and I was thrilled that someone here at Marvel remembered Jim Hammond, but I would bet that a lot of people reading this don't know who Jim Hammond is or why Steve wants to find him. Similarly, I thought Midas was a great villain for Ultimates #2 but I also read a discussion thread where someone asked who he was and three people in a row managed to extremely confidently misidentify Midas' origin and what decade of comics he was from. The earliest they got was the 90s. (Iron Man #17 is from 1969, guys. Also the first appearance of Whitney Frost as Madame Masque, which is why I know it.)

(Skipping ahead a little to the Ultimates team itself, you can take Hank and Jan as an example. They're both recruited in Ultimates #1 and Hank learns about what he's like on other worlds and his first concern is whether he's going to hurt Jan if he becomes a superhero. To fully understand this plot point, you actually need to know what Hank has done, because otherwise you don't actually know what he is upset about -- and that means you need to be familiar with a bunch of other comics. In the old Ults, Hank just hits Jan. Yes, Mark Millar went for the gritty, edgy choice. But it's also a choice that doesn't require you to know anything about Hank hitting Jan in any other universe. It just matters that it's happening here.)

This is a roundabout way of saying that, after Ultimate Invasion and Ultimate Universe, and seeing the starts of the other Ultimate comics, I didn't have high hopes for the new Ultimates comic, and I also had never heard of the writer, which didn't really help.

And then I started reading the new Ultimates comics and I know we've only got two issues but I honestly really like them. Like I said, I am here for the high-continuity new universe; I don't think that's necessarily going to be a winning long-term move in terms of getting new Ults fans, but, like, I am in this fandom partly because I like being in fandoms with massive amounts of continuity.

Jan is great. Did I say that already? No? Jan is so great.

And, of course, I am a Steve/Tony fan, so I am here for the Steve/Tony dynamic and I think it's really interesting. Steve wants to have a revolution. Hell yeah. I'll definitely read that Captain America. He knows the world's wrong and he wants to fix it. 1610 Steve -- in early canon, at least -- just kind of exuded depression from every pore and Did Not Want To Be Here but he was a soldier, goddammit, and he was going to run the mission. 616 Steve was a little more lost, still sad, but kind of keeping that to himself as much as possible and trying to just find meaning in leading the team and the things the team was doing. This new guy seems more like that. but sadder. because the world is way more fucked up. I mean, he woke up and learned America didn't exist anymore, which has to be a downer.

I'm still not a fan of the Iron Lad thing, but the letter Tony writes to Howard is pretty amazing.

It's interesting that Tony is younger and so much less experienced than Steve. He's clearly smart, of course, but it's clear they're not great at teamwork yet -- not because they don't like each other, but because they don't know each other well enough, which I think is interesting and which I haven't really seen in canon, because this wasn't a thing Marvel was going to show us in 1964. But, like, we've had multiple fight scenes where they aren't quite pulling off the plan as intended -- say, when they're rescuing Jim Hammond and no one else can do what Steve is asking so he just does it himself. Or in #1, Steve telling Tony that his recruiting plan isn't going to work, and Tony not listening, and then, surprise, it doesn't work. Or in #2, when Tony tries to tell Steve that his suit modification will drain all his power if he uses it, and he doesn't manage to tell Steve this, so he does the thing when Steve tells him to do it and then, surprise, he has no power. Like, that doesn't happen in 616. Either 616 Tony does the stupid thing without ever telling Steve because he knows Steve would tell him no, or he just flat-out tells Steve no because he's not afraid to disagree with him, or he asks Steve for advice and actually follows it. They don't do this. So this is pretty fun. It's different. Maybe Tony is a little intimidated by Captain America? We shall see!

I'm a little grumpy that Ults is making me like (presumably) Teen Tony, though. I did not like The Crossing! I really did not!

So, yeah, it's interesting! Looking forward to seeing more of it! It could all go wrong, of course, and two issues is kind of a small sample size, but so far I'm into it.

[havenesc]

OMG I'm very 👀👀 right now like!! why Jason gotta be immortal? if Sofia is Jay's benefactor, is Talia out of the picture?? AND DICK!! tell us more about their hatership! what is up with that?!?!?

WOOMPH OKAY so. first question is a heavy hitter.

Jason being immortal has been a fascinating concept to me, especially with regard to the ending of the UtrH comic (the famous batarang to the neck) and Jason's subtle yet canonical suicidal ideations. The multitude of layers it would add if Bruce had -- accidentally -- killed his son directly in the altercation. Jason's recklessness increasing because who gives a shit. He can die over and over and over. He died once and he came back and he died again and keeps coming back and he wishes he would stop coming back but here he is, vision pin-light green, crawling back to the land of the living and at some points it is against his will.

A more frank answer is that I love angst, I love whump, I think it's interesting to look at complicated familial relationships that get even more complicated because Dick and Bruce have very real, horrible opportunities to watch Jason die in real time and his revival never fixes the genuine issues they have. It doesn't save anything. It never will. There has to be more to repairing the broken relationship between father and son than just the opportunity to try an endless amount of times, but the tragedy of Bruce and Jay is that they will never see eye to eye. It doesn't matter how many opportunities they get.

The same concepts carry over to Sofia, who by this point has seen/caused death and knows it intimately. Sofia knows Jason died. Selina grieved for him. To have the Red Hood show up, to have Jason Todd show up in her life? Bruce's kid she met once or twice whenever she managed to get in the door at a gala, and out of obligation or just general amusement of pissing Bruce off, the one she sent flowers to for his birthday, not thinking a thing of it, until the damn kid sent back a hand-written thank you note?? He's alive??

Not only that, but he's handed her an opportunity to use an unkillable asset. Jason can't stay dead. He can go up against whoever she needs him to go up against and it doesn't matter if he gets killed. He'll get the job done.

(There is also. The uh. Minor infraction of killing him off of an extremely lucky shot the first time they ever cross paths. Twice. Jason's both horrified to find out he can revive and pissed off because the first time did the job, didn't need the second (third) death, thanks, and Sofia's smoking like a freight train.)

Honestly I haven't given a ton of thought to Talia's involvement -- I just reread Lost Days not too long ago and I think while Talia does care, to some degree, about Jason, Jason is a vessel to Bruce, and I imagine there's only so much she can participate in on Gotham soil without tipping Bruce off.

Sofia does not give a fu-huck about that. Not in the beginning. She's trying to keep the Red Hood on a leash and keep him off her neck, because she's heard about what he's done to others. They are working off a professional "you scratch my back I'll scratch yours" type of relationship. It has to be mutually beneficial for it to work. She'll help Jason get after Bruce on grounds of getting what she wants -- the fallout of Batman's potential demise is just an extra tip for the bill. Talia might be there behind the curtain, but Sofia's on the ground, so-to-speak.

I made a half-cracked post about Dick resenting Sofia for having Tony Zucco on payroll, which is in zero way canon or has any supporting evidence obviously, but regardless of that I think Dick would carry a "I don't like you, because you're a crime lord" level of neutral dislike for her that upticks real fast into outright disdain when Jason returns.

Dick thinks Sofia is an enabler and that she's not aware of the consequences Jason directly suffers by helping her; he thinks she willfully wants to isolate Jason from the family (which she does, but not for the reasons he thinks). He blames her for Jason's self-sabotaging ways, he blames her for being one of the reasons why Jason can never come home and integrate, and in turn because Dick is who he is, he blames himself for not being able to push all the buttons in the correct order to bring Jason back into the fold.

Sofia thinks Dick is Bruce's enabler and, considering Dick actually reminds her so much of Alberto, if push comes to shove, Dick is absolutely not choosing Jason. He will pick Bruce every single time, just like Alberto chose Carmine while lamenting Sofia's position. There is love and there is hatred in the hypocrisy. Each of them believe they know Jason better than the other and each of them think the other is less superior emotionally. They get into the ugliest, nastiest barbed-wire-word fights you've ever seen and walk away from them injured. Jason knows they don't like each other, but he does not have any idea the level of vicious these two go.

But they also work together when it matters. Sofia knows she cannot offer Jason comfort; that job is Dick's. Dick knows he cannot be utilitarian when the situation calls for it; Sofia can. Dick will hold Jason's dying body in his hands while Sofia pulls the trigger.

(And in the time it takes Jason to come back to them, they are so ugly with one another it would put a season finale of Real Housewives to shame.)

They both have to come to ugly terms that they both want what's best for Jason, but their definitions of "best" are vastly different. And they will hate each other for it.

[crazycurly-77]

Bob (9/24)

This is written in the style of the series 24.

Events occur in real time.

Hour 9 of 24: 06:00 am - 07:00 am

06:18:45 a.m.

Somewhere on the open sea:

Don carefully landed the helicopter on the yacht in the middle of the Atlantic. Luckily the sea was calm that morning so there were no problems.

As a typical billionaire's yacht it was conspicuous, but things like that cruised the waters in the area quite often and almost all of them had a helicopter on board.

Don had to admit, the camouflage was brilliant. No one would search it or even suspect anything.

The first officer came to inspect the machine and was visibly pleased.

Very good. Then hopefully they would get their money soon and be able to leave before anyone else had any strange ideas.

He couldn't explain it, but he had a strange feeling. Something wasn't right here, but he had no idea what it was.

06:21:23 a.m.

Quantico, conference room:

"Okay, so you don't have any witnesses for last night," Gibbs repeated your statement.

"Have you been in contact with your colleague, the second test pilot?" he wanted to know.

"No. As far as I know, he called in sick last night and I was in meetings all day in preparation for the upcoming tests," you replied, now a little annoyed.

Sure, the case had to be solved, but the constant questioning was getting on your nerves. The guy acted as if you had done something wrong just because you flew the thing.

"Didn't you get suspicious while working with Don? Maybe you're in cahoots with him?!” the Colonel suddenly snapped.

You'd had enough. You turned to him very slowly and looked at him with a piercing gaze.

“What do you actually want from me? YOU are the one who lost an expensive helicopter. I have to say...respect. You have to do it first, not everyone can,” you stated sarcastically.

Your reaction piqued Gibbs' interest. He loved sarcasm and you stood up to your superiors, something only a few dare to do. But of course, as a pilot you certainly need a good dose of self-confidence.

Tony, on the other hand, could hardly hold back his laughter. Such a statement could easily have come from his boss.

But his good mood vanished suddenly when Fuller jumped up and stomped threateningly towards you: “Don't you dare accuse me of anything. You worm. You're just a pilot, and a woman at that. You have nothing to say.”

“You're the biggest a...hole on earth, and narrow-minded at that! Your rank is probably just bought,” you yelled back.

Then you two squabblers flinched, because Gibbs hit the table with all his might and yelled:

“How can you lose a multimillion-dollar helicopter? It went 'poof' and suddenly it was gone, right? And where is the guard reinforcement? They still haven't turned up. In addition, the admiral's body has disappeared. He probably got up and just ran away, or how am I supposed to imagine that? Also: where the hell is the second test pilot? And what makes this machine so special?”

Everyone looked at him in amazement and there was absolute silence.

At a normal volume he finally continued: “So: what makes this helicopter so special?”

"It has a stealth mode that makes it invisible to radar, it has a whisper mode so it can approach without being noticed, and it has a new missile system," you explained.

“It’s virtually unbeatable, which is why it mustn’t fall into the wrong hands,” added Fuller. 

“We need someone who knows their way around the machine. “Y/L/N, you come with us to NCIS headquarters and help us,” said Gibbs.

06:56:43 a.m.

NCIS HQ, Washington D.C.:

Heads were running hot in the office.

Two things had gone missing and there were no traces or clues.

In addition, the second test pilot was still nowhere to be found. That was very suspicious, but the bottom line was that there were several suspects whose backgrounds and possible motives needed to be thoroughly investigated.

So Gibbs assigned the tasks accordingly: "DiNozzo, issue a nationwide manhunt for Don Holding."

“He's a few hours ahead and could be anywhere,” you pointed out.

Gibbs looked at you sharply, thought for a moment, looked back at Tony and then corrected himself: “Initiate an international manhunt for him.”

“Yes, boss,” he confirmed and picked up the phone.

Then Gibbs looked at you and instructed you to write down all the people who had anything to do with the helicopter.

You all had a lot of work ahead of you and Gibbs first got himself a coffee the way he liked it best: hot and strong.

06:59:21 a.m. ...the clock was ticking...

----------------------------------------

Here you will find the other chapters of this story.

Back to the overview of this story

Back to the main Masterlist

Back to the alternative Masterlist

----------------------------------------

Tags: @ilovemark1951, @hobby27

----------------------------------------

[the-last-rat-standing]

NCIS S21E02- The Stories We Leave Behind

Is that too harsh? Maybe it's too harsh.

Let me preface this by saying, I can only imagine how hard it must've been to write and film this episode. It's one reason why I don't write DeathFics, and those are only fictional people. Writing the passing of a real person, a friend and a colleague? Must be one of the hardest things to do as a writer.

So maybe that's why this felt so incredibly flat. Maybe trying to find that balance between dealing with the death and moving on dulled the emotional punch of it all? Because beyond the opening and closing, this was barely more than a clip episode shows throw in the middle of a season to save money. And of those flashbacks, we could only get ones with 3 characters who are still on the show, because Knight, Parker and even Torres didn't really know him. (I'll mention the Gibbs flashback in a second.) So you had this random assortment of clips that were supposed to engender emotions, but did the opposite in a way- because they weren't immediate reactions (they were memories), it actually lessened the emotional impact. You know what flashback would've been a kick to the gut? How about someone mention Cate, and then show us the clip of Ducky and Cate together? Then you would've gotten the one-two punch of 2 beloved characters now gone. Because if you're going to show a scene between Gibbs and Ducky that no one was present to see (using Ducky's journals as your 'out'), you could've shown Cate or Jenny or Ziva.

By not showing the funeral, fans missed out on a proper send off and a true tie-in with the past. I know Brian Dietzen said they didn't want it to be crammed full of guest stars, but the only guest star we got was a 3 minute cameo by Michael Weatherly?? If they'd had a funeral, they could've filled the church with faces we remembered and given characters/actors a chance to pay their respects. Imagine the nostalgia in seeing Hollis Mann, Jordan Hampton, Gerald Jackson, Ziva David (would've made sense since they brought Tony back), Abby Sciuto (I know, there are off-screen problems w/PP), Rachel Cranston, etc. I know Jessica Walter has also passed away, but what about the rest of Ducky's detective group? What about Jack Sloane? Yes, I know these may have added more storytelling time (particularly Abby and Jack) but did we need McGee's poison ivy flashback?

Other issues:

What happens to Nicholas Mallard? You know, Ducky's half-brother.

What happens to Gibbs' house?

What was the actual proof that the senator was dirty? I mean, real forensic proof? I didn't seem to hear anything other than Parker reading off the autopsy report and the Marine. Or I guess we're just meant to think that ruined his career? Because they didn't charge him with murder or anything.

The entire story hinged on McGee remembering one of the pictures hid a safe? Like Ducky's only clue to an important case was a cryptic line in his journal? smh

This was... this was just not good. One of, if not THE most beloved character on this show and we got a clip episode.

Which brings me back to the Gibbs flashback: As soon as they showed the picture of Gibbs and Ducky on the bookshelf, I knew we weren't going to see Mark. And that disappoints me more than it should, really. After tonight, we should never, ever see Gibbs on this show again, because there will be no bigger reason for him to return than Ducky's death, and he didn't show. Any reason after tonight will be bullshit and a slap in the face to the fans who supported and fell in love with the Gibbs/Ducky friendship. I'm so bitterly disappointed.