![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis story belongs to the series Love Is For Children which includes "Love Is for Children," "Hairpins," "Blended," "Am I Not," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys,""Saudades," "Querencia," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," "Touching Moments," "Splash," "Coming Around," "Birthday Girl," "No Winter Lasts Forever," "Hide and Seek," "Kernel Error," "Happy Hour," "Green Eggs and Hulk," and "kintsukuroi."
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Nick Fury
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Minor character death. Bullying. Fighting. Suicide attempt (minor character).
Summary: This is the story of how a little boy named Flip grows up to save the world a lot.
Notes: Hurt/comfort. Family. Fluff and angst. Accidents. Emotional whump. Disability. Sibling relationship. Nonsexual love. Parentification. Manipulation. Coping skills. Asking for help and getting it. Hope. Protection. Caregiving. Competence. Toys and games. Comic books. Fixing things. Martial arts. Gentleness. Trust. Role models. Military. BAMF Phil Coulson.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23. Skip to Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29.
"Little and Broken, but Still Good" Part 24
Mom is nervous, of course, when Phil tells her his plan. "I worry about you," she says.
Phil rolls his eyes. "Aw, Mom."
"Don't look at me like that, young man," she says. "I'm your mother; it's my job to worry about you."
"The money is good. I can send most of it home for you and Alexa," Phil says. "The Marines offer all kinds of training. Plus I can get into college this way, if I want to do that later. I'm in great shape now, thanks to karate."
"Nevermind all that. Is this what you want to do?" Mom asks, looking him in the eyes.
Phil meets her clear gray gaze. "Yes, it is. The Marine who spoke at our school, he came up to me after assembly. He picked me out of all the students there. I kinda want to see if he's right. I want to know what he knows. He's an impressive guy."
"So are you," Mom says.
"Not yet," Phil says, "but I want to be."
"Then I support your decision," Mom says.
Telling Alexa is harder, because she doesn't understand complex concepts as well, but she understands emotions just fine. She cries all over Phil. She knows that he's going away for a long time, somewhere not very safe. Phil lets her cry, because she's not wrong. When she finally winds down, he tries again to explain.
"It's not about keeping me safe. It's about keeping everyone else safe, like I used to do for you with the bullies," Phil says. "Now I want to protect people against even bigger bullies. Only to do that, I need a lot more training, so I have to go away to a special school."
"I'll miss you," Alexa whines.
"I'll miss you too," Phil says. "But you'll have your new puppies to keep you company." Alexa has taken a job bringing up puppies for a guide dog program, teaching them basic commands until they're old enough to learn more. She has a knack with animals, always seeming to know what they need. "When I come home on leave, we'll see each other then, and you can tell me all about the big smart dogs you've raised."
"I guess so," Alexa says.
When Phil reports for training, he still has the keychain that Alexa gave him when he got his driver's license at sixteen. It's a replica of Captain America's shield. "To keep you safe," she had said, and it's a silly superstition, but he's never had a wreck with it. The shield is battered and scratched now, the red and blue enamel chipped away from the chrome in places, but he doesn't care. He keeps it anyway. And he gets through basic training without any significant injuries, which is more than can be said for a lot of the guys.
* * *
Notes:
Worrying is part of a mother's job. There are tips to cut down on excess worry.
Although it's not often studied, some young adults do support their parents and/or siblings financially. This is especially true when there's a disabled relative, or when the family isn't well off but someone gets a better job. Managing relationships between siblings of different abilities takes extra care too.
Knowing what you want is important for making a satisfactory life. There are thought processes and exercises to help. Then you need to know where to start.
Guide dogs are customarily raised by volunteers for socializing and basic obedience. Then they return to the school for advanced guide training.
[To be continued in Part 25 ...]
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Nick Fury
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Minor character death. Bullying. Fighting. Suicide attempt (minor character).
Summary: This is the story of how a little boy named Flip grows up to save the world a lot.
Notes: Hurt/comfort. Family. Fluff and angst. Accidents. Emotional whump. Disability. Sibling relationship. Nonsexual love. Parentification. Manipulation. Coping skills. Asking for help and getting it. Hope. Protection. Caregiving. Competence. Toys and games. Comic books. Fixing things. Martial arts. Gentleness. Trust. Role models. Military. BAMF Phil Coulson.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23. Skip to Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29.
"Little and Broken, but Still Good" Part 24
Mom is nervous, of course, when Phil tells her his plan. "I worry about you," she says.
Phil rolls his eyes. "Aw, Mom."
"Don't look at me like that, young man," she says. "I'm your mother; it's my job to worry about you."
"The money is good. I can send most of it home for you and Alexa," Phil says. "The Marines offer all kinds of training. Plus I can get into college this way, if I want to do that later. I'm in great shape now, thanks to karate."
"Nevermind all that. Is this what you want to do?" Mom asks, looking him in the eyes.
Phil meets her clear gray gaze. "Yes, it is. The Marine who spoke at our school, he came up to me after assembly. He picked me out of all the students there. I kinda want to see if he's right. I want to know what he knows. He's an impressive guy."
"So are you," Mom says.
"Not yet," Phil says, "but I want to be."
"Then I support your decision," Mom says.
Telling Alexa is harder, because she doesn't understand complex concepts as well, but she understands emotions just fine. She cries all over Phil. She knows that he's going away for a long time, somewhere not very safe. Phil lets her cry, because she's not wrong. When she finally winds down, he tries again to explain.
"It's not about keeping me safe. It's about keeping everyone else safe, like I used to do for you with the bullies," Phil says. "Now I want to protect people against even bigger bullies. Only to do that, I need a lot more training, so I have to go away to a special school."
"I'll miss you," Alexa whines.
"I'll miss you too," Phil says. "But you'll have your new puppies to keep you company." Alexa has taken a job bringing up puppies for a guide dog program, teaching them basic commands until they're old enough to learn more. She has a knack with animals, always seeming to know what they need. "When I come home on leave, we'll see each other then, and you can tell me all about the big smart dogs you've raised."
"I guess so," Alexa says.
When Phil reports for training, he still has the keychain that Alexa gave him when he got his driver's license at sixteen. It's a replica of Captain America's shield. "To keep you safe," she had said, and it's a silly superstition, but he's never had a wreck with it. The shield is battered and scratched now, the red and blue enamel chipped away from the chrome in places, but he doesn't care. He keeps it anyway. And he gets through basic training without any significant injuries, which is more than can be said for a lot of the guys.
* * *
Notes:
Worrying is part of a mother's job. There are tips to cut down on excess worry.
Although it's not often studied, some young adults do support their parents and/or siblings financially. This is especially true when there's a disabled relative, or when the family isn't well off but someone gets a better job. Managing relationships between siblings of different abilities takes extra care too.
Knowing what you want is important for making a satisfactory life. There are thought processes and exercises to help. Then you need to know where to start.
Guide dogs are customarily raised by volunteers for socializing and basic obedience. Then they return to the school for advanced guide training.
[To be continued in Part 25 ...]
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-25 06:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-25 11:41 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2014-07-30 05:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-25 11:53 am (UTC)*falls over laughing* I use that line on my (very grown-up) kids all the time!
I really love this characterization of Phil - so wise, so emotionally gentle and nurturing, but physically up the challenges. I'm enjoying this very much.
Thank you!
Date: 2014-07-30 05:47 am (UTC)Thanks for the voice of experience.
>> I really love this characterization of Phil - so wise, so emotionally gentle and nurturing, but physically up the challenges. I'm enjoying this very much. <<
Yay! I tried to keep him close to canon, show how he got that way, and still add more depth than he really got in the movies.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-25 01:31 pm (UTC)Yes...
Date: 2014-07-28 05:38 am (UTC)I'm glad to hear that!
>> I like Phil's reasoning for joining the Marines -- money, curiousity, explore a bit more about the world and himself. <<
I wanted something that would fit with his character, and why people typically join the Marines.
>> Phil has been doing karate for some time by now. He should be able to identify other martial artists by the way that they move -- perhaps that's what the recruiter picked up. <<
It was that, and his situational awareness. Ordinary high school students do not have such collected grace nor alertness. Ordinary people don't see it, either, but anyone with training or experience can pick out others in a crowd. I've been clocked that way, and had people be surprised because it doesn't fit with the way I look and I didn't get it from the more common sources.
Mother's jobs
Date: 2014-07-25 01:34 pm (UTC)But it makes me wonder where Alexa and her mother are in "present tense"- post CA:Winter Soldier. As if checking up on an old acquaintance. Doesn't that say a lot about well-developed characters?
Phil is thinking about his career in the right way-- what will it do for me (first) and THEN what will it let me do for my family. That's a tough concept for someone his age to really manage-- It's good to see that all of his earlier, and earlier-than-usual emotional maturity is paying off for him in a BIG way here.
LOVELY!
Re: Mother's jobs
Date: 2014-07-25 09:36 pm (UTC)Yay!
>> And she has managed remarkably well, dealing with the very different needs of her kids without making one of them feel left out, or burdened, or resentful in a hundred other ways. <<
It helps that they had a great family before it got wrecked in the accident, so they were able to rebuild into a different but healthy configuration. They had some bumps along the way but mostly they've done a fine job.
So as an adult, Phil is better prepared to deal with serious crash-and-burn scenarios.
>> But it makes me wonder where Alexa and her mother are in "present tense"- post CA:Winter Soldier. As if checking up on an old acquaintance. Doesn't that say a lot about well-developed characters? <<
Indeed it does. I'm not sure, in CA:WS Marvelverse. In LIFC, they're both alive and well, but Phil has absolutely buried the connections to keep them safe. He still goes home for visits, but he doesn't talk or usually even think about his family when not with them. They're sequestered. Far as I know, the only other people in Phil's worklife who know about them are Nick Fury and Clint Barton. *chuckle* And Mrs. Coulson is dominant to both of them, so nobody's going to blab. Loki wasn't even able to get it out of Clint because Clint dropboxed his most-critical data and let Loki play around with things that were valuable but less precious.
I do have notes for possibly bringing Phil's family to meet the Avengers, but that would be a lot farther downline.
>> Phil is thinking about his career in the right way-- what will it do for me (first) and THEN what will it let me do for my family. <<
Yes, exactly. A healthy person, or society, will always balance individual or collective needs, because it doesn't work if pushed too far in either direction.
>> That's a tough concept for someone his age to really manage-- It's good to see that all of his earlier, and earlier-than-usual emotional maturity is paying off for him in a BIG way here. <<
Sooth. Phil can do this, because he has been building up his sense of duty, intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, coping methods, etc. for years. He has a solid foundation to put it on.
>> LOVELY! <<
Thank you.
Re: Mother's jobs
Date: 2014-07-25 10:12 pm (UTC)I'm so glad they're safe, and I /really/ want to have them show up in LIFC now!
Debating how to ask for it, some other payday.
Re: Mother's jobs
Date: 2014-07-25 10:18 pm (UTC)Yes, exactly. Consider how apeshit Phil went over Loki touching Clint. Now move that a couple notches up a logarithmic scale. Consider that Phil hamstrung Loki with three words. Mrs. Coulson would have butchered him.
Which means that if those lines ever cross, Phil and Clint will have to make it clear that Loki is with them now.
>> I'm so glad they're safe, and I /really/ want to have them show up in LIFC now! <<
Yay!
>> Debating how to ask for it, some other payday. <<
The idea that I have is very much a downline story. They won't fit sooner. But there's also the story of how Phil meets Clint, and why it is that Clint is only the second SHIELD person to know about Phil's family.
Re: Mother's jobs
Date: 2014-07-25 10:23 pm (UTC)Re: Mother's jobs
Date: 2014-07-25 10:36 pm (UTC)That's exactly what prompts Phil to make the connection; he's run through everything he can think of to mesh Clint into new relationships, but Clint's history is so mangled it's not working very well. So Phil does the sensible thing and refers the matter to expert backup.
>> Me, I'd set it up so that Clint has to play bodyguard (regs, y'know...) for an injured Phil. *G* I'm just saying. <<
It takes a lot longer for their relationship to mature to a mutual level of support, and for that matter, for Clint to develop the maturity to take care of someone else.
I have a few notes for bringing in Natasha too. Clint freaked when Phil explained that Natasha had already attached to Clint, and that Clint couldn't simply hand her off to Phil and be done with it.
Re: Mother's jobs
Date: 2014-07-25 10:49 pm (UTC)Re: Mother's jobs
Date: 2014-07-25 10:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-25 08:57 pm (UTC)Can't wait to read more!
-Katie
Thank you!
Date: 2014-07-28 05:35 am (UTC)