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qcomicsy · 7 months

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I think a thing that people get wrong about Jason's anger is that it's not explosive.

It's cold. Jason isn't the type of person who storms off at every little thing or goes throwing tantrums and setting things on fire blindfully.

He's the type of person who's very practical. He keeps to himself, always. You rarely see issues where Jason's anger is reactive at the moment where the trigger happens to him. If you see his character up close, most of the time when he's triggered his reaction is calm. Even cold.

He gets triggered -> He keeps to himself → He makes a plan → And then he reacts.

Jason's anger being something explosive and out of character and out of place is actually how other people (characters) see it, because they have no idea on how it's playing out on Jason's head.

And that's a thing you can see operating since he was a child.

Where the only exceptions about this effect is either when someone he believes needs his help is involved.

See Nightwing Annual (2021)

But In Batman #411 when Jason learns the fact that Two-Face was responsible for his father's death and Bruce was keeping that from him as a secret his first reaction isn't to blow up on him.

Was to seethe.

Bruce goes up home after dealing with a Two-Face case (in my field we call that poetic irony) and asks Alfred where Jason is, Alfred's answer is that he's been sleeping all day (which is a conclusion that Alfred drew probably after going to check on Jason and seeing him in fact on his bed all day).

But when you see the next panel, even though he is on the bed, He's fully awake and both his expression and his body language shows that he's in fact angry.

This is the first time he appears again in the comics after learning that Two Face killed his dad.

Jason doesn't go towards Bruce immediately to demand an explanation or ask why he did this, or even to throw the truth on his face.

(Which could be debatable that that's something the Dick would usually do, but I'm not that literate on Dick's comics)

His reaction wasn't immediate.

His reaction was to go to his bed and stay quiet. Jason stayed calm and collected the whole trip until meeting Two Face again.

But the moment Jason as Robin has the opportunity to get his hands on Two-Face he does this

From Bruce, and maybe Alfred's perspective it could be interpreted as out of place or him storming off.

But it isn't. Jason was able to keep his cool (even though he shut off), until he was face a face to Two Face.

Does that mean he planned that to happen?

That's debatable, in any moment of this issue it is shown that Jason was actually planning to get to Two Face and do this. I my personal opinion, other and much more plausible explanation is: That he was in fact trying to keep to himself but couldn't hold back the moment that he saw his dad's murder.

You can see the same thing happening as Jason learns that Batman got another Robin in Red Hood: Lost Days.

Talia asks "You all right?" and Jason's first answer is "Sure Why Wouldn't I Be Alright?"

When he's alone he finally has the moment to break down.

(Actually both Red Hood: The lost days and Batman: Under the Red Hood are great case studies on how that usually play out on Jason's head.)

Jason is way more in control of his emotions than people ever give him credit for. The thing is that Jason holds it back until he either blows off or is capable to throw it back in someone's face.

#I didn't finish not even half of my thoughts in here but I'm going to publish it before it gets drag in my 182828383 drafts #if you disagree lets fist fight at six am #jason todd #q rambles #character study #writing Jason Todd #← this is not a guide this is literally the tag I use to organize things #q screams at the void #q rants

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biggest-gaudiest-patronuses · 2 months

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got a worm nibbling my brain. can someone help me find a piece of obscure media?

webcomic/indie comic from the 2010s. basically a sci-fi short story about a young girl (with red hair?) who was being raised by scientists as part of an experiment. she receives a haircut/has her head shaved, in preparation for her annual brain scan/testing. it is revealed that while her body is human, her "brain" is artificial, made of computer implants throughout her skull and spine. at some point her biological mother (also a scientist on the same campus?) encounters her and is repulsed, viewing her as a machine who has murdered her daughter.

it was very poignant and it bruised my heart and i can NOT find it anywhere

#i thought it was made by the creator of 'O Human Star' for some reason but apparently not?#goddammit goddammit goddammit #'i don't have to write down the title of this piece of media i encountered in my formative years bc i'll always remember it'#*cut to ten years later frantic googling*#fun fact 'a.i.' is now a completely useless search term #google in general is useless #and stuff i read 3+ years ago regularly vanishes from the internet #bookmarks are not enough! if you like indie media--download that shit! buy digital/physical copies while you can #save it to the cloud back it up and organize that shit!!!#keep a list of the stuff you read (organized by date/media type and possibly with keywords if you want it to be useful longterm)#(or a spreadsheet even if you're like me and rabidly consume short stories/comics like a pack of amnesiac piranhas on a feeding frenzy)#(that stuff PILES UP over the years ok. if you wanna make sure you'll be able to find it again a decade later--curation is key)#because art WILL touch your soul and then vanish into the void leaving naught but a 404 Error in its wake #i am an old man shaking my fist at the kids on my lawn but the kids on my lawn are me and my longterm digital planning skills circa 2012

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figs-oliomedley · 1 year

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What a wacky group of characters! I sure hope nothing tragic happens to them :)

“where are they” BACKGROUNDS ARE HARD

also @keeperofthebox I stole your Harumi design I hope you don’t mind :]

little style guide I made for myself while drawing

go crazy go stupid

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triptych-of-voids · 5 months

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Medic kisses archamedies on the lforeheas

natürlich! he gets the most kisses of all

#i love archimedes so much banging my fists on the table and wailing and sobbing pretty bird best friend #doodles #replies from the void #tf2 #tf2 medic #tf2 archimedes #the doc is in

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eroguron0nsense · 5 months

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Modern College AU where Rayleigh is Ace's prof (his parents are still dead, the ASL brothers are fostered together) and spends every goddamn day having an internal crisis over the fact that his best friend/first love's son is right there in front of him every time he goes to work, and he knew the second he saw that boy walking into Sociology 310: Diversity of Family and Kinship Structures that he was Roger and Rouge's child, but doesn't know how to talk to him about it or whether he should bring it up at all

#silvers rayleigh #portgas d ace #portgas d rouge #modern au #one piece #gol d roger #asl brothers #fanfiction #robin is clover's TA in his course on archaeology of the void century #that has nothing to do with the post #I just wanted to specify it #jinbei is an equity advisor #dark king rayleigh #fire fist ace

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applepies-and-starlight · 3 months

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OK LOOK THIS MIGHT JUST BE A COINCIDENCE, BUT-

#void screaming #limbus company #fist image is from canto iv dungeon's start #second is from canto v's dungeon #notice how c5 leans heavily on color storytelling

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akkivee · 2 days

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*OTOME VOICE* THEY ARE THE QUEENS

#vee queued to fill the void #WAKING UP TO GREAT NEWS FEELS AMAZING LMAO #NO MORE NEMU.PNG WE HAVE REAL WOMEN IN OUR HOME #ichijiku………… her lips are so pouty how does she look so powerful but also looks like she’s tragic i’m—#i need—#i might be biting my fist at the thought of nemu next to uehara samatoki lmao #and there’s so much life in stage otome’s eyes LOL i already love her AND THEM I CAN T WAIT TO SEE MORE #WOMEN LETS GO LETS GO WOMEN LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

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noose-lion · 1 year

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Mans is built

#why no one ever talk about hiw athletic this man is #he literally swung out and under a helicopter #this mans ability is to rip pages out of a book #hes basically just fight ablity users with guns and fists #and grenades #kunikida #doppo kunikida #bsd kunikida #my stuff #screaming into the void #and the void screams back #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bungou gay dogs #bsd analysis #jester thinks

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anachronistic-falsehood · 3 months

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it's ok whiskey, richas pomme and phil will go to get cellbit and baghs and surely everything will be fine. he will be back and nothing wrong will happen after that ever. nope. it's all gonna be good!!!!!

HIS SON AND HIS NIECE AND HIS TEAM LEADER WILL COME BACK AND RESCUE HIM AND BAGHERA AND HE WILL GO HOME AND HE WILL NOT GET ARRESTED AND HIS HUSBAND WILL TURN BACK INTO A HUMAN AND THEY WILL RENEW THEIR VOWS AND HE WILL MEET THE NEW EGGS AND REALIZE HE HAS A NEW SON AND A NEW NIECE AND HE WILL LOVE THEM VERY MUCH AND EVERYTHING WILL BE HAPPY AND NOTHING WILL BE SAD (MANIFESTING)

#whiskey yelling into the void #clenching my fists EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE #SURELY HE WON'T LOSE HIS MIND UPON SEEING HIS SON AND ASSUME THAT IT'S SOME KIND OF HALLUCINATION OR A TRICK FROM THE FEDERATION #SURELY HE AND BAGHERA WON'T AUTOMATICALLY TRY TO ATTACK THEIR RESCUE TEAM BECAUSE THEY CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S REAL #SURELY IF AND WHEN THEY DO COME HOME CELLBIT WON'T GET ARRESTED FOR TERRIBLE CRIMES #SURELY NONE OF THAT WILL HAPPEN

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nitrokiraru · 2 months

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some pics of the lamento stage play that i found via twitter!

it looks soooo good from the clips on the hashtag 😭😭 still can’t believe we got a stage play before a dam eng localization

sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6

#bardo is so…OkqksksnKaj BITES FIST #it’s SOOO CUTE I LOVE IT #lamento: beyond the void #lamento beyond the void #nitro+chiral

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mamamittens · 1 year

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They got a crush~

But how do they act? How did they realize?

SFW

Ace

Boy doesn't realize shit. He's really obvious about to everyone but himself. He's more touchy with you than literally anyone else. He laughs louder, shows off harder, and is generally a lowkey mess. Until it's suddenly made so much worse.

He's talking about his little brother in the East Blue who's going to be the Pirate King--no cap--and realizes that he really can't wait to introduce you two. Two so very dear and important people to himself. And then it hits. Hard. He wants Luffy to meet his 'dad' and 'brothers' sure, but he needs Luffy to like you and the other way around.

Because he really likes you.

He never lives down how close the Moby was to sinking due to the fire Ace immediately created turning into a bonfire. Of course, this clues everyone else into the fact that he's realized his feelings but if anyone missed it, Ace avoiding you like the plague while staring at you from around corners would have done it.

Now, whether or not you confront him, this stalking phase won't last forever because Ace misses you. He misses being next to you. Enjoying your company and not just the echo of your laugh.

And so, Ace, with his heart on his sleeve, tells you the truth of his name. And he cries and laughs and kisses you when he realizes that you don't care.

He doesn't let go of your hand for hours. Marvels at the steady pulse in your wrist--proof that someone so perfectly alive would want him with all his issues. When he's down low he can never bring himself to seriously push you away because the thought of you leaving for real breaks him. He's not magically better just because you return his feelings but... life doesn't seem so hopeless when you take his hand. His blood doesn't seem so corrupt anymore when you kiss his cheek in the morning without thinking. Late one night he holds you close and whispers something against your skin.

Thank you for loving me.

Marco

He's more self aware than Ace, so he's got that going for him. But it does take a bit for him to confirm that he has serious feelings for you. In the meantime, any chance he gets, he spends time with you. Mostly little chitchat, watching you in the corner of his eye. Measuring his own reaction to you. How often his heart skips when you say his name with a laugh. The pride he feels when you focus all your attention on him with admiration. He wants to amaze you and reassure you all at once.

He holds the fond feelings your smile gives him. How he thinks about you even when he should be working on paperwork. He holds it close to his chest while he decides if this is something he wants to cherish alone or try and see if it doesn't turn into something bigger. It's when he can't imagine living his life without at least trying that he decides.

Those that know him well can probably guess he's caught feelings but he's pretty chill about it while thinking it over. Though his reaction to you getting overwhelmed in a fight is... certainly telling. He's never far from you in battle. Not hovering but definitely not more than a heartbeat away.

And then one day, just as the sun was setting, Marco goes up to you. Casually leaning against the railing as he tells you about his feelings. Bears his heart like he could heal instantly if it broke. He's open to the possibility of acceptance or rejection. He's a grown man. He can handle it. It's a risk, but he's beyond caring about anything beyond you in this moment.

The look of surprise and relief when you respond in kind is just a fraction of the warmth in Marco's chest when he kisses you for the first--but certainly not the last--time. Every chance he gets, he holds you close. Feeling you breathing against his side as he works, the warm brush of hands in greeting when you pass by. He follows you without thought simply because he's already decided there's nowhere else he'd rather be.

Thatch

He knows himself pretty well. When he first saw you, he knew he was in trouble immediately. Actually talking to you just confirmed it. Although he was kind of in denial for a bit, desperately hoping that his ridiculous heart would just chill the fuck out if he gave it time.

It did not.

And he was in the middle of a monotonous kitchen chore, dicing vegetables for stew, when he realized he didn't want it to. He wanted to feel his heart stutter everytime you said his name. His head to always turn in your direction when you laugh. His hand to reflexively guide itself to yours when you walked side by side or gravitate to your back so he could feel your heartbeat in his palm.

And he was man enough to admit he wanted you to feel that way too. He was madly, ridiculously in love and not ashamed of it in the least. And when he realized that, he became very familiar with the aftertaste of yearning on his tongue while wondering if you could taste it too when you said his name. He wanted to share everything with you that your gentle hands could hold and everything else could rest safely in his.

Of course, he couldn't just tell you his feelings.

He had to make a whole thing of it.

In fact, you knew what he was up to long before the main course of a private meal because subtlety was far from Thatch's vocabulary. Anymore roses and candles and you'd think he was proposing--oh no he's going to be so fucking dramatic about proposing you could already tell. The confession barely left his lips before you laughed and kissed him silent, much to his utter surprise.

He did whoop with joy as he lifted you into a spinning hug, and yes it was very loud. Whoever somehow missed his obvious affection before now certainly didn't miss it afterwards. Kisses to your head/hair/hand/shoulder/literally anywhere near him when you happened to be close. Gentle touches and endless fond smiles.

Thatch is absolutely living his best life and is making sure you never regret returning his feelings--even if he's put out that you didn't let him recite his whole speech before responding. No, he still hasn't caught on to the fact that he was painfully obvious. But that's just part of his charm, I suppose.

#one piece #one piece headcanons #one piece marco #one piece thatch #one piece ace #x reader #marco the phoenix #fire fist ace #three men three very different reactions to having a crush #one piece fluff #your honor i love them #been sitting on this for days thinking it over #thatch is the biggest romantic in action but Marco writes poetry in his head #Ace is just an endless scream into the void as he grapples with his emotions #someone help him

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turtle-steverogers · 10 months

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Okay so I've have this idea ever since I watched Endgame and I can't figure out how to make it work pothole wise but I have to share with you.

So you know the part where Tony and Steve go back in time to the 1970s? Ever since I watched that I was like "What if something goes wrong and they accidentally end up in Steve's childhood instead??" I know you like A+ parenting from Joseph Rogers and I can't stop thinking about Steve and Tony's tumbling on top of a scene between little Steve and angry Joe Rogers.

Just imagine, first they're simply standing in front of like, a run-down building and they're both kind of confused of why they're there but then they see this little tiny kid playing with marbles or something next to the street. And Tony is busy processing the fact that they're in the wrong year and that the kid looks like Steve and that he looks so small and thin.

So he doesn't realize that Steve tenses up when they hear a shout from the building. And they look up to see a burly man come out looking mad and maybe a little bit drunk and little Steve scrambled to pick up his marbles but Joe grab him first and is yelling at him with his fingers in a vice grip around his arm.

And Tony looks at Steve and Steve is pale as a sheet and doing that thing where you revert back to how you were in that time because you haven't processed any of the feelings you had then, and Tony figures out what's going on in a horrifying abrupt flash of realization.

(And then maybe Tony steps into confront the dad, despite knowing it's going to influence the timeline. I don't know about that though because it will just cause more problems for little Steve once they leave so maybe he tries and then big Steve is like no don't! And then they have to talk about it.)

Like I said I can't figure out how to write this scene because it doesn't make any sense for both of them to somehow land in the 1920s and also how on Earth are they going to get to the '70s if they run out of Pym particles etc but I don't care because I want to see it so bad.

Oh god, logistics be damned, because i’m just picturing the scene

“Ah, shit--”

“What the hell?”

It happens so fast that Steve loses his footing, crashing backwards and nearly bringing both him and Tony down as he’s yanked bodily into an alleyway. He stumbles, straightens, blinking hard against the blood rushing from his head before Tony’s grip on his arm tightens hard enough that Steve winces.

“We’re in the wrong place,” Tony says.

“What?” Steve is certain he must have heard him wrong. He must have, because the city is loud around them and cars are whirring by in what has to be afternoon traffic, children yelling down the street, some kid hawking papers and kicking up a flock of pigeons as he shouts, “Paper! Getcha paper! Family dies in horrific car accident, went straight offa the Bridge! Two cents!”

And it’s a lie. Steve knows it’s a lie, because he used to lie to sell papers for the entire two years he hawked them back in ‘25, because his dad was blowing all their money on whiskey and gin and they needed to eat.

“Oh god.” He turns, head on a slow swivel, looking around.

He knows this alleyway. He knows this street, the buildings, tall and laden with clotheslines, running from fire escape to fire escape like veins bleeding life into the city.

They’re in the wrong place. They’re in the wrong time.

He looks at Tony, who looks just as stricken as he looks back.

“We messed up,” Tony says. “Big time. Except we totally didn’t mess up, because I am positively certain that we put in the right date and time and this isn’t New Jersey, this definitely isn’t New Jersey.”

“No, it’s not,” Steve agrees, and he looks at the street. Dares to look, because he knows if he angles himself just right, he’ll see his old building. The one he lived in with his ma and dad, then just his ma, then eventually Bucky and--

He squeezes his eyes shut. He needs to think. About the mission, about the Pym Particles that were evidently wasted when someone or something sent them to the wrong place and time. Not about the familiar smell of the city street. Dust and motor oil and the faint scent of boiled corn. Not about ghosts that are drifting around him. Not about the fact that if he cranes his neck just so…

“We need to-- I don’t know what we need to do, but we need to do something. Fuck, what year is it even? We’re-- where are we? I don’t even know where we--”

“Brooklyn,” Steve says, opening his eyes. He can’t quite breathe, the reality of the situation settling in. Tugging at his ribcage. He’s going to vomit, he thinks. Maybe. “I don’t know when, but we’re in Brooklyn. Sometime around my time.”

“Okay, so this is definitely targeted, because that is way too specific to be a random mistaken coincidence,” Tony rambles, tapping frantically on his Time-Space GPS.

It’s no use. Steve knows it’s no use, because they’re out of Pym Particles. Collectively. And there’s no way of letting the others know about their predicament.

They’re stuck. They’re well and truly stuck.

Steve should feel more panicked, he knows that, but he’s stuck, incapable of moving. Of feeling anything other than abject horror as he finally gives into the urge to shift his gaze, lean slightly to the side, and look around toward his old building.

Kneeling on the front steps is a little boy, knobbly knees folded on the ground as he leans over, rolling some marbles around on the ground with great focus. His blond hair is dirty, falling in front of his eyes, which he reaches up to push out of the way, and Steve recognizes his clothes-- the brown, wool shorts he liked to wear and a ratty gray button up pulled out of the waistband. He’s barefoot, because it’s warm out, and it never mattered if he was wearing shoes or not when it was warm out. In fact, it made his leg braces easier to wear, which are fastened around his legs at an uncomfortable angle.

“1924,” he says.

Tony stops his rambling, and Steve realizes he's been talking to him.

“What?”

“It’s 1924.”

Tony frowns, looking at him. “How do you know?” He follows Steve’s gaze, then freezes next to him. “Oh my god, that’s not-- is that--”

“Yeah,” Steve says, feeling like he might pass out as he watches his little self shift around, tugging at the straps of his leg braces, trying to stop them from digging into his calves so hard. His fingers flex at his side, and he can almost still feel the dull ache in his knees. “That’s me. Fuck. Oh my god.”

And he remembers this. Remembers the way the marbles felt in his hand, remembers being sad because Bucky had been out of town with his family that week, so he had no one to play with. Remembers what’s about to happen next--

“Fuck, there you are, boy!”

Steve can just make out the words over the throng of the city, knows people are looking, but it’s not out of the ordinary for the time, so no one is stopping. No one in the city ever stops. Not for business that isn’t theirs.

“Oh my god,” Tony says next to him, and Steve’s eyes are glued on the scene as a man comes barreling out of the building, burly and tall and looming, going straight for the little boy on the steps. The stuff of Steve’s nightmares, all wild eyed and sweaty. He’d been real mean that week. Work had laid him off when he failed to show up for the millionth time, too drunk to know up from down, and Steve and his marbles had paid the price. “Is that-- who’s that?”

Steve swallows, tastes biles, makes his throat work.

“My dad.”

There’s a pause. They’re both still watching as his dad yanks on his little self’s arm. The marbles slip out of his grip. He starts crying as a few tumble down the drain, and he tries to yank himself away, tries to go after them, but he’s too little.

“I thought he died in the war.”

Steve sways. He doesn’t know how he’s still standing. All the blood has rushed away from his head, pooling in his stomach, making it churn. He hasn’t thought about his dad in years. Hasn’t let himself.

“Yeah,” he says. “He might as well have.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

His dad is dragging him up the steps, slapping him hard across the face when he starts to wail.

“That fucker,” Tony spits next to him, taking a few steps forward, and he sounds angrier than Steve has heard in a while. It startles him, and he reaches out, grabs Tony’s bicep.

“Tony, wait-- what are you--”

“Shit, I can’t just let him--”

They tussle for a moment as Steve manages to drag Tony back. He can’t let him go out there, can’t let him mess up the timeline.

“You’re gonna fuck this up worse for us if you go out there,” Steve says, backing them both further into the alleyway.

He doesn’t need to look to know he’s gone deadweight, crying on his way up the steps, his dad wrestling with him to stand up, quit crying, quit being a goddamn sissy.

Tony’s expression is stricken, eyes wide and tight and Steve kicks himself, remembering that Howard had not been kind either. At least from what he’s gathered. He has never considered him and Tony to be much the same in any sense, but maybe they share more pain than he thought.

“Besides, if you go out there and try to help, he’s only going to-- he’s gonna--” Steve stops talking, mouth too dry.

He remembers the time George Barnes had tried to intervene after Bucky had told him that Steve’s dad hit him sometimes. The beating he’d gotten that night for messing with his dad’s reputation had been debilitating. He’d had to miss school for two days, and Bucky had cried when he saw him next, apologizing for getting him hurt.

Steve had hugged him, and they’d been okay. But no one had ever tried to intervene again.

Tony studies his face, and Steve can’t look him in the eye. Abruptly, he lets go of Tony’s arm, lungs compressing. He never wanted anyone to know, and it feels like his entire soul is on display, all old pains and exposed skin. Hand-shaped bruises and cigarette burns on the ghost of himself.

He’s told himself it’s fine. War had been worse, watching his home get ravaged by aliens had been worse. But he’s learning that there is no worse. No quantifying pain. Not when it raised him.

“Okay,” Tony says, his tone quiet. Understanding. “Okay. I’m sorry.”

Steve shifts, looks down at the ground.

“It’s fine,” he says, then clears his throat. He needs to focus. They need to focus. “We need to figure out how to get the fuck out of here.”

Tony shakes himself, even though he still looks deeply disturbed.

“Right,” he says, looking down at the Time-Space GPS. “Okay, right, okay.”

Steve turns, casting one last glance to the stoop of the rundown building. It’s empty now, and he closes his eyes, letting the tears well. He’s scared, he realizes. As scared as he was in that moment, confused why his dad hates him and sad that he lost his marbles. He wants to cry for that little boy. He wants to pull him into a hug and tell him that he’s not dirty or bad. That the pain will wane, then wax again.

That he will survive, and keep going, just like he always does.

They find the glitch in the system, the diversion sent from some future version of evil to throw them off the scent of the Pym Particles. It’s easy enough to maneuver their way through Camp Lehigh and get more, once they make it there, then the world ends again and Steve watches his friends nearly die and his shield breaks.

It’s hell. Concentrated, fast moving hell.

And then the world is still again.

He’s tired, he thinks as he sits on Tony’s dock. The rest of the team are inside, celebrating another win. Celebrating him passing a new shield off to Sam-- one Tony had graciously crafted him once they made it back home.

He’d slipped away some time after toasts were being made, waving Bucky away when he tried to follow. He needs to be alone, just for a bit. He needs to breathe, to watch the water ripple beneath his feet and listen to dragonflies buzz over the water.

It isn’t often that he’s taken the time to slow down. To breathe, and appreciate the world as it is, whole and teeming with life. He thinks maybe now that he’s retired, he ought to do that more.

Maybe he’ll take up hiking. Or something. Maybe Bucky will join him, always being one for adventure himself. Rolling up his jeans to wade out into the waters of Coney Island, just so he can feel the sand between his toes, Becca on his back, kicking the water and splashing Steve, who’d been following close behind.

“Spangles, I thought I’d find you out here, looking all morose and contemplative.”

Steve looks over to see Tony approaching him, limping, his arm still in a sling. It had been a near catastrophic feat, using his own gauntlet to snap Thanos out of existence, but he’d done it and made it out alive.

“Yup, that’s me, morose and contemplative Steve.” He shifts over, letting Tony sit.

It feels final in a way. Like they’re finally past whatever barrier kept them at odds for so many years. It seems that this time, the world ending had finally cemented their trust in each other.

“Saw you slip away from the party,” Tony says. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just needed some quiet,” Steve says. They’re sitting close enough that Steve can hear Tony’s heartbeat with his enhanced hearing. It’s a comfort. “How’s your arm?”

“Oh, you know, a little achy, a little crisp. I still haven’t been able to truly wash it, aside from sponge baths, so it’s definitely a little ripe, too, but it’s getting there.”

Steve snorts, long since used to Tony’s chronic oversharing.

“Well, I’m glad it doesn’t hurt too bad?”

“Not too bad, no,” Tony says. It’s quiet for a moment, and they watch a gray heron land on a log. Steve takes a mental picture of it to draw later. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Was your dad like that a lot?”

Steve sighs. He’s been wondering when this would come up. They didn’t talk about it after the fact-- there hadn’t been any time-- but the space between them has felt thick with the unsaid, even with everything going on.

“Yeah.”

“Shit.” He hears the shake in Tony’s voice, and looks at him. “How old were you when we were there?”

“Six,” Steve says. “It was three days before my birthday.”

“I’m sorry,” Tony says. “Did anyone know?”

“Bucky did, but no one else. He died when I was nine, and I told everyone after that that he’d died in the war. It messed him up good.”

“Damn,” Tony says. “Look, I know we’ve had our moments. Like, really tough moments, but I care about you, yeah? I give a damn, even if I’m still learning the correct ways to show that.” He shakes his head, licks his lips. Steve watches him, holding his breath. “Just… I’m here for you, okay? I know what it’s like having a shitty dad, and mine never-- never hurt me like that, but he messed me up plenty good in other ways. So if you ever, I don’t know, want to talk about it, or just need someone who you don’t have to explain yourself to, I’m here.”

It’s the most vulnerable they’ve voluntarily been around each other, and Steve reaches out, placing his hand over Tony’s on the pier. The one that isn’t injured. His skin is warm. They’re both here, broken parts of a whole. With an exhale, Steve feels like they’ve finished a chapter, ready to start a new one, on the same page.

“Thank you, Tony. I’m here, too.”

#the steve tony make-up ficlet i thought id never write #ugh anything w joseph just has the potential to be so *clenches fist* this idea stuck w me so long dude #steve rogers #tony stark #mikey answers #mutuals <333 #mikey screams into the void #avengers fic #tw child abuse #tw abuse

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