Story: "Birthday Girl" (Part 9 of 18)
May. 1st, 2013 12:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis story is a sequel to "Love Is for Children," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," and "Touching Moments," "Splash," and "Coming Around."
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Hulk, Steve Rogers, Betty Ross, JARVIS.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Inferences of past child abuse. Current environment is safe.
Summary: Doombots crash a beautiful spring day in the park. The Avengers clean up the mess. This includes Natasha's rather confused longing for something she never had: a birthday party.
Notes: Asexual character (Clint). Aromantic character (Natasha). Asexual relationship. Teamwork. Canon-typical violence. Friendship. Confusion. Hulk is a genius too. Fluff. Making up for lost time. Birthday. Cultural traditions. Games. Gifts. Cake. The cake is never a lie! Tickling. Trust issues. Safety and security. Non-sexual touching and intimacy. Personal growth. Family of choice.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8. Skip to Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18.
"Birthday Girl" Part 9
As promised, Uncle Phil made arrangements for the birthday party. After securing Natka's permission, he issued the rest of the invitations himself so as to minimize stress all around. He notified SHIELD to contact the Fantastic Four in case of incident, and not to interrupt the Avengers during the relevant date, on pain of death by a thousand paperwork cuts. JARVIS turned the whole of cyberspace upside-down without finding a match for the cake, and finally resorted to calling caterers in Moscow until he found someone willing to share the recipe in exchange for a contract to cater a Stark Industries event.
Uncle Phil put careful thought into planning the party and its activities. He wanted to create a blend of traditional and contemporary, things that Natka might have encountered in an ordinary Russian childhood and things particular to New York now. He also hoped to balance the inherent whimsy of a birthday party with Natka's personal sense of reserve. With a little luck, she'll play along if we don't push too far, Phil thought.
They wore party clothes instead of pajamas this time. This meant that Steve was in a button-down shirt and neatly pressed trousers, an example that Phil followed himself. Tony and Bruce wore jeans and t-shirts with cartoons, Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles respectively. Clint insisted on short pants and suspenders for reasons that he refused to disclose. Betty requested a party dress that, to Phil, looked like a fluffy pink cake topper. Natka, as the birthday girl, chose a nice white blouse and trim navy-blue trousers ... over the most ridiculously impractical pair of floppy powder-blue glitter-gel sandals that Phil had ever seen.
She could never run in those, Phil mused, watching Natka kick her heels lazily against the couch. The shoes flapped loosely with every swing of her feet. He had never known her to wear something she couldn't run in if she had to, even in a secure location. Then the realization hit him, squeezing his heart like a velvet fist. Oh. She's wearing them to remind herself that she feels safe -- that she doesn't have to run here. For that alone, he could count the party a success.
Phil included his "little ones" in the decorating process. First they made a Happy Birthday banner. They cut balloon shapes from colorful paper and gave each a ribbon tail. Next Tony ran off giant letters on a portable printer. Natka and Clint cut out the letters.
Steve and Betty did most of the coloring -- she was quite good at staying inside the lines, even if she had little skill at drawing freehand. Bruce pasted one letter on each shape. Then they strung all the letters together with more ribbon.
Finally Steve, as the tallest, went to hang the banner on the wall. "Use the masking tape from the craft supplies; that won't damage the paint," JARVIS prompted. Steve was still trying to learn appropriate uses for the nearly infinite array of supplies in the tower. He was used to making do with much less, and sometimes the results were not optimal.
* * *
Notes:
This is Tony's t-shirt.
This is Bruce's t-shirt.
Betty's dress looks something like this.
EDIT: ReticentGrace found similar dresses for women, one asymmetrical and one even. I think Betty would go for this pink and white one. She likes things that are a little frilly but not completely over the top.
Here are Natka's sandals.
Clothes can express feelings. Here are some tips on showing emotion through clothes.
Read the instructions for making birthday banners.
[To be continued in Part 10 ...]
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Hulk, Steve Rogers, Betty Ross, JARVIS.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Inferences of past child abuse. Current environment is safe.
Summary: Doombots crash a beautiful spring day in the park. The Avengers clean up the mess. This includes Natasha's rather confused longing for something she never had: a birthday party.
Notes: Asexual character (Clint). Aromantic character (Natasha). Asexual relationship. Teamwork. Canon-typical violence. Friendship. Confusion. Hulk is a genius too. Fluff. Making up for lost time. Birthday. Cultural traditions. Games. Gifts. Cake. The cake is never a lie! Tickling. Trust issues. Safety and security. Non-sexual touching and intimacy. Personal growth. Family of choice.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8. Skip to Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18.
"Birthday Girl" Part 9
As promised, Uncle Phil made arrangements for the birthday party. After securing Natka's permission, he issued the rest of the invitations himself so as to minimize stress all around. He notified SHIELD to contact the Fantastic Four in case of incident, and not to interrupt the Avengers during the relevant date, on pain of death by a thousand paperwork cuts. JARVIS turned the whole of cyberspace upside-down without finding a match for the cake, and finally resorted to calling caterers in Moscow until he found someone willing to share the recipe in exchange for a contract to cater a Stark Industries event.
Uncle Phil put careful thought into planning the party and its activities. He wanted to create a blend of traditional and contemporary, things that Natka might have encountered in an ordinary Russian childhood and things particular to New York now. He also hoped to balance the inherent whimsy of a birthday party with Natka's personal sense of reserve. With a little luck, she'll play along if we don't push too far, Phil thought.
They wore party clothes instead of pajamas this time. This meant that Steve was in a button-down shirt and neatly pressed trousers, an example that Phil followed himself. Tony and Bruce wore jeans and t-shirts with cartoons, Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles respectively. Clint insisted on short pants and suspenders for reasons that he refused to disclose. Betty requested a party dress that, to Phil, looked like a fluffy pink cake topper. Natka, as the birthday girl, chose a nice white blouse and trim navy-blue trousers ... over the most ridiculously impractical pair of floppy powder-blue glitter-gel sandals that Phil had ever seen.
She could never run in those, Phil mused, watching Natka kick her heels lazily against the couch. The shoes flapped loosely with every swing of her feet. He had never known her to wear something she couldn't run in if she had to, even in a secure location. Then the realization hit him, squeezing his heart like a velvet fist. Oh. She's wearing them to remind herself that she feels safe -- that she doesn't have to run here. For that alone, he could count the party a success.
Phil included his "little ones" in the decorating process. First they made a Happy Birthday banner. They cut balloon shapes from colorful paper and gave each a ribbon tail. Next Tony ran off giant letters on a portable printer. Natka and Clint cut out the letters.
Steve and Betty did most of the coloring -- she was quite good at staying inside the lines, even if she had little skill at drawing freehand. Bruce pasted one letter on each shape. Then they strung all the letters together with more ribbon.
Finally Steve, as the tallest, went to hang the banner on the wall. "Use the masking tape from the craft supplies; that won't damage the paint," JARVIS prompted. Steve was still trying to learn appropriate uses for the nearly infinite array of supplies in the tower. He was used to making do with much less, and sometimes the results were not optimal.
* * *
Notes:
This is Tony's t-shirt.
This is Bruce's t-shirt.
Betty's dress looks something like this.
EDIT: ReticentGrace found similar dresses for women, one asymmetrical and one even. I think Betty would go for this pink and white one. She likes things that are a little frilly but not completely over the top.
Here are Natka's sandals.
Clothes can express feelings. Here are some tips on showing emotion through clothes.
Read the instructions for making birthday banners.
[To be continued in Part 10 ...]
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-01 06:26 am (UTC)You're welcome!
Date: 2013-05-01 10:11 pm (UTC)Re: You're welcome!
Date: 2014-06-18 10:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-01 12:16 pm (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2013-05-02 07:17 am (UTC)I often use clothing or other accessories to say something about characters. In this case, the Avengers all have a 'look' or sometimes more than one, established onscreen. So Steve dresses neatly and conservatively when he can, and carries it really well. Bruce scruffs around in thrift shop clothes even when he doesn't have to. Tony often wears ratty clothes at home and then high fashion when he goes out. Clint is fairly practical, occasionally whimsical. Natasha tends toward sleek, either professional or combat-ready. Betty can do dressy, lab-practical or backwoods-practical.
There are some interesting contrasts, like how Steve immediately upgraded his clothing as soon as he could afford to do so, but focused on presenting a good image -- so he'd still skip things like pajamas because they were neither crucial nor visible. Bruce on the other hand remains reluctant to buy new clothes, or many clothes at all, because he keeps thinking the Other Guy will just shred them and doesn't really feel like he deserves nice things anyhow. Betty likes girly clothes, whereas Natasha -- who has to be one of the hottest women alive -- really doesn't, and only dresses for sexy effect when work requires it.
*chuckle* And then Natasha goes and does something outrageously unexpected like wearing ludicrous flip-flops.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2013-05-09 11:09 am (UTC)I often wish I had enough money to say what I wanted with my clothes! Mostly what they say at the moment is "I can't afford clothes" :/
Also, I know it wasn't this chapter but can I express my extreme happiness that Natka loves non-standard cake - my favourite cake is fruitcake, which people think is totally inappropriate for birthdays. It blows my mind that people can have this discussion with me where they say "pick any cake, it's your birthday!" and then be all "that's not the RIGHT CHOICE!!!!" and make me pick again. WTF!? I like marzipan on it too, so I totally empathise that Natka loves wedding cake :)
Re: Yay!
Date: 2013-05-10 11:28 pm (UTC)I think you're right. Dressed-up Tony is public-face Tony, one way or another.
*chuckle* But I'll bet he's gone home and straight to the lab and forgotten that he's in a fancy suit.
>> I often wish I had enough money to say what I wanted with my clothes! Mostly what they say at the moment is "I can't afford clothes" :/ <<
Bummer. I don't have much to spend on clothes, but I do watch for things I like to be cheap and therefore available.
>> It blows my mind that people can have this discussion with me where they say "pick any cake, it's your birthday!" and then be all "that's not the RIGHT CHOICE!!!!" and make me pick again. <<
I think that's mean. The birthday person gets to pick what they want for cake and meal. If other people have dietary concerns, there may need to be some negotiation -- or a spare cake -- but there's no point asking if you're not going to let the request stand.
If somebody blows off my first pick for an arbitrary rather than a safety reason, I often won't pick again. I'll say, "I'm not going to play a guessing game with invisible rules. You don't really want my opinion, so YOU pick. I'll eat before I come." They whine about that, but it gets the fucking point across.
>> I like marzipan on it too, so I totally empathise that Natka loves wedding cake :) <<
I hope you enjoy the make-up birthday cake in the park, then. There are marzipan links for shopping, recipe, and sculpting.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-01 04:46 pm (UTC)And now, I'm going to go waste an hour looking at all the T-shirts and feeling nostalgic...
Thoughts
Date: 2013-05-02 06:20 am (UTC)*laugh* Whatever makes you happy. I'm not into shoes myself, just the minimum for practical needs. It's too much of a blighted nuisance for me to find something that fits comfortably, is practical, and doesn't look like hell.
>>And now, I'm going to go waste an hour looking at all the T-shirts and feeling nostalgic...<<
I did love looking at the shirts to find something suitable for each of the characters!
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-01 07:35 pm (UTC)Uh-HUH! I was thinking the same thing and nodding my head along with Phil. :-) :-) :-) *
* Sometimes, too much of a good thing can be wonderful.
Yay!
Date: 2013-05-02 07:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-08-07 10:46 pm (UTC)Also if you think about how it *feels* to wear silly, girly, impractical shoes, she's not only broadcasting for others to see, but the very *feel* of new flip-flops shoes on feet accustomed to only, say, heels or boots... Natka is kinesthetically reminding herself with her choice, that she is safe, and this is something new, relaxed and fun... Just look at how she's swinging her feet!
Also, now I want to know why Clint is in short pants with suspenders.
~_^?
(no subject)
Date: 2013-08-07 11:43 pm (UTC)Lederhosen?
Thank you!
Date: 2013-08-08 06:54 am (UTC)I'm glad this worked for you.
>> Also if you think about how it *feels* to wear silly, girly, impractical shoes, she's not only broadcasting for others to see, but the very *feel* of new flip-flops shoes on feet accustomed to only, say, heels or boots... Natka is kinesthetically reminding herself with her choice, that she is safe, and this is something new, relaxed and fun... <<
That's it precisely. She relies on clothes to help her keep in role, because she doesn't have a very secure sense of self. But in this case it's a pleasure ...
>> Just look at how she's swinging her feet! <<
... which is why she keeps reminding herself of it by doing that.
>> Also, now I want to know why Clint is in short pants with suspenders. <<
I'm not entirely certain, but I suspect it comes from the circus. Some of the costumes have similar slightly archaic motifs.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2013-12-26 04:35 pm (UTC)Maybe eight-year old Clint, Circus performer, is showing up here for his little sister Natka.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2013-12-26 08:12 pm (UTC)I think the timeline goes Orphanage, Ran Away to Circus (with Barney), Life of Crime (coerced or convinced by Barney), SHIELD. Canon may vary on these points.
>> Maybe eight-year old Clint, Circus performer, is showing up here for his little sister Natka. <<
Anyhow, yes, Clint is drawing on his circus experience here; he was there at least as early as his tweens, so not far off from his Little age.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2013-12-27 04:30 am (UTC)BTW I don't know why I have *kidnap* in my head for how Clint left the orphanage. I may be mixing up a story I read (I am a big Clint fan and tend to look for well written back-stories for him) with canon. Really, it is more likely that Clint followed Barney (his big brother, whom he still trusted) away from the orphanage rather than Barney *taking* him away.
But thanks so much for including the detail of Clint's outfit, and it's meaning, in the story!
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2013-12-27 05:03 am (UTC)Yeah, once somebody replies to a comment, it can't be edited anymore. That's a nuisance.
>> BTW I don't know why I have *kidnap* in my head for how Clint left the orphanage. I may be mixing up a story I read (I am a big Clint fan and tend to look for well written back-stories for him) with canon. <<
It's possible. Canon is varied for many Marvel characters. The relationship between Clint and Barney is very complicated, with a mess of healthy and really unhealthy aspects. I don't think Clint is necessarily a reliable narrator for what happened between them, because he was so young for most of it, Barney often tried to mislead him, and Clint saw things through his own wishful thinking until quite late.
>> Really, it is more likely that Clint followed Barney (his big brother, whom he still trusted) away from the orphanage rather than Barney *taking* him away. <<
I suspect that Clint still wanted to be with Barney then ... but Barney probably talked him into doing things that weren't very prudent. It's murky. Barney got worse as time went on, and that was really hard on Clint. Plus some of the people at the circus were horrible, although others were nice to them.
>> But thanks so much for including the detail of Clint's outfit, and it's meaning, in the story! <<
I'm glad I could help. Clint just doesn't talk about his past very much. As the series progresses, though, you can see more starting to peek out. He's starting to feel safe enough to explore the parts that hurt, and sometimes another person's experience will draw out comments from him.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-01 11:52 pm (UTC)*hugs*
Date: 2013-05-02 01:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-02 01:14 pm (UTC)Clothes as individual expression as oppose to uniform or costume or camouflage -- its nice to do dress up.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-02 01:14 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2013-05-03 08:26 am (UTC)I'm glad this worked for you.
>> This is low stress -- nothing depends on a banner -- low cost which is important for Bruce and Steve -- modular -- so if a letter isn't quite right another one can be created without scrapping the banner -- <<
Brilliant analysis, yes; I hadn't even though of all these consciously, but they fit.
>>and gets everyone involved using their particular skills. Tony has the printer but Steve does the art, Natka and Clint handle the sharp instruments. <<
This is the part that I focused on, an expression of their teamwork as they each do what they do well.
>>Clothes as individual expression as oppose to uniform or costume or camouflage -- its nice to do dress up.<<
Yes. Some of them really haven't had much opportunity for that.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-03-06 12:00 am (UTC)JARVIS is awesomesauce. And these little touches really build up for the story later in the series... *huggles the snarky AI*
Thank you!
Date: 2014-03-06 03:18 am (UTC)He's very good and very determined about finding things for people he cares about...
>> and the line last chapter about a sentient, fiercely protective, friendly security system... <<
... and you really don't want to mess with them. Unfortunately the Avengers have a lot of stupid enemies.
>> JARVIS is awesomesauce. <<
Yay! I'm glad you like him so much.
>> And these little touches really build up for the story later in the series... *huggles the snarky AI* <<
Hee!