Story: "Up the Water Spout" Part 4
Sep. 5th, 2014 12:23 am![[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," "kintsukuroi," and "Little and Broken, but Still Good."
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Natasha Romanova, Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Betty Ross, Bucky Barnes.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Mention of human trafficking and nonconsensual drug use. Slightly offstage sexual violence. Dubcon/Noncon.
Summary: Sometimes the Black Widow needs to hunt, and sometimes she needs help settling her personality afterwards. Uncle Phil arranges an extra ageplay session.
Notes: Hurt/comfort. Family. Fluff and angst. BAMF!Black Widow. Black Widow is creepy. Spiders. Coping skills. Asking for help and getting it. Hope. Nonsexual ageplay. Caregiving. Competence. Girl stuff. Toys and games. Gentleness. Trust. #coulsonlives
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Skip to Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9.
Here begins the ageplay! If you were skipping tense parts, you can dive in now.
"Up the Water Spout" Part 4
It was not Saturday, but when Uncle Phil came to Natasha's room in his bathrobe, she perked up instantly. She set aside the copy of Boro: Rags and Tatters from the Far North of Japan which she had been reading. Her gaze roved over his outfit, sans bathobe, the World's Mightiest Uncle t-shirt matched with a pair of track pants.
"Are we going to play a game today?" Natasha asked.
"Several games," Phil replied, handing her a small pile of fabric. "Please change into these play clothes, and choose comfortable shoes. Then I'll take you down to the gym."
"Okay," she said, and hurried to the bathroom.
When Natka came out, she spun on her toes, now clad in white sneakers. The play dress had a white knit bodice and a black-and-white gingham skirt, trimmed in red to match the red leggings.
"What do you think?" Phil asked.
"I love them," Natka said, smiling. "Thank you, Uncle Phil!"
"I'm happy to hear that," Phil said. "Come with me now." He took her by the hand, and she followed willingly. In the elevator, she bounced a little, busy on her feet in a way that Natasha was not.
When they reached the door of the gym, Phil turned to Natka and said, "I've asked Betty to join us today. Instead of her usual six, she's going to be playing eight to your seven. I want you to explore some of the things a little girl usually gets to enjoy with other girls."
Natka scuffed one sneaker against the floor, making it squeak. "But I don't like girl things," she whined. The very edge of her lower lip stuck out.
Uncle Phil was so delighted to see her bringing out genuine childhood emotions that he almost smiled, which was definitely not the appropriate response to whining. "You don't know that, because you haven't tried them all," he said patiently. "You have liked some but not others. That's okay. Today we're going to try a few new ones. If you don't like them, then you don't have to do them again -- but you do have to try them first before you get to decide whether or not you like them."
"Okaaayyy," Natka said, her tone grudging.
Uncle Phil pushed her into the gym with a gentle hand on her back. Inside, Bucky sat on a bench next to Betty. She wore a wrap-neck dress, its collar country blue, the white fabric scattered with many flowers, some in blue and others with rainbow petals. Her knit leggings were also country blue, with sneakers the same plain white as Natka's. A blue silk flower had been safety-pinned to the laces of the left shoe.
Betty promptly sprang off the bench and skipped over to them. "Hi!" she said. "Uncle Buck waited with me until you got here."
"No trouble at all," Uncle Buck said, his voice a little slower and deeper than usual. He gave Uncle Phil a brisk handshake. "I'll be on my way. I owe Tony some time in the shop." The door closed quietly behind him.
* * *
Notes:
Boro: Rags and Tatters from the Far North of Japan is a book on patchwork clothes.
See Natka's play clothes. Gingham is a checkered fabric.
Understand why children whine and how to respond.
Children learn through play. There are ways to encourage them to try new things.
The games girls play have changed over time, but many remain the same.
Betty's play clothes are in this set. Dress children for playtime in something cheerful, comfortable, and durable. It's no fun if you're worried about ruining a fancy outfit.
[To be continued in Part 5 ...]
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Natasha Romanova, Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Betty Ross, Bucky Barnes.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Mention of human trafficking and nonconsensual drug use. Slightly offstage sexual violence. Dubcon/Noncon.
Summary: Sometimes the Black Widow needs to hunt, and sometimes she needs help settling her personality afterwards. Uncle Phil arranges an extra ageplay session.
Notes: Hurt/comfort. Family. Fluff and angst. BAMF!Black Widow. Black Widow is creepy. Spiders. Coping skills. Asking for help and getting it. Hope. Nonsexual ageplay. Caregiving. Competence. Girl stuff. Toys and games. Gentleness. Trust. #coulsonlives
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Skip to Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9.
Here begins the ageplay! If you were skipping tense parts, you can dive in now.
"Up the Water Spout" Part 4
It was not Saturday, but when Uncle Phil came to Natasha's room in his bathrobe, she perked up instantly. She set aside the copy of Boro: Rags and Tatters from the Far North of Japan which she had been reading. Her gaze roved over his outfit, sans bathobe, the World's Mightiest Uncle t-shirt matched with a pair of track pants.
"Are we going to play a game today?" Natasha asked.
"Several games," Phil replied, handing her a small pile of fabric. "Please change into these play clothes, and choose comfortable shoes. Then I'll take you down to the gym."
"Okay," she said, and hurried to the bathroom.
When Natka came out, she spun on her toes, now clad in white sneakers. The play dress had a white knit bodice and a black-and-white gingham skirt, trimmed in red to match the red leggings.
"What do you think?" Phil asked.
"I love them," Natka said, smiling. "Thank you, Uncle Phil!"
"I'm happy to hear that," Phil said. "Come with me now." He took her by the hand, and she followed willingly. In the elevator, she bounced a little, busy on her feet in a way that Natasha was not.
When they reached the door of the gym, Phil turned to Natka and said, "I've asked Betty to join us today. Instead of her usual six, she's going to be playing eight to your seven. I want you to explore some of the things a little girl usually gets to enjoy with other girls."
Natka scuffed one sneaker against the floor, making it squeak. "But I don't like girl things," she whined. The very edge of her lower lip stuck out.
Uncle Phil was so delighted to see her bringing out genuine childhood emotions that he almost smiled, which was definitely not the appropriate response to whining. "You don't know that, because you haven't tried them all," he said patiently. "You have liked some but not others. That's okay. Today we're going to try a few new ones. If you don't like them, then you don't have to do them again -- but you do have to try them first before you get to decide whether or not you like them."
"Okaaayyy," Natka said, her tone grudging.
Uncle Phil pushed her into the gym with a gentle hand on her back. Inside, Bucky sat on a bench next to Betty. She wore a wrap-neck dress, its collar country blue, the white fabric scattered with many flowers, some in blue and others with rainbow petals. Her knit leggings were also country blue, with sneakers the same plain white as Natka's. A blue silk flower had been safety-pinned to the laces of the left shoe.
Betty promptly sprang off the bench and skipped over to them. "Hi!" she said. "Uncle Buck waited with me until you got here."
"No trouble at all," Uncle Buck said, his voice a little slower and deeper than usual. He gave Uncle Phil a brisk handshake. "I'll be on my way. I owe Tony some time in the shop." The door closed quietly behind him.
* * *
Notes:
Boro: Rags and Tatters from the Far North of Japan is a book on patchwork clothes.
See Natka's play clothes. Gingham is a checkered fabric.
Understand why children whine and how to respond.
Children learn through play. There are ways to encourage them to try new things.
The games girls play have changed over time, but many remain the same.
Betty's play clothes are in this set. Dress children for playtime in something cheerful, comfortable, and durable. It's no fun if you're worried about ruining a fancy outfit.
[To be continued in Part 5 ...]
Bucky!
Date: 2014-09-05 08:45 am (UTC)This story was unsettling me, but also needed right now. Natasha shows with her issues, PTSD, I can't remember the more emphatic word at the moment, some of what I'm dealing with on the spectrum, rebuilding after a breakdown. :-/
Play time is great!
Re: Bucky!
Date: 2014-09-05 08:56 am (UTC)Yay! One of the things I've noticed in this series is that the Avengers don't seem to do ageplay alone, and furthermore, don't like to leave each other alone under those circumstances. So if someone is Little, there is usually someone Big keeping an eye on them while they're vulnerable. It's not quite like subspace in kink, but there's an openness to agespace that means people can get in over their heads emotionally, sometimes very fast. Ideally, supervision keeps that within safe bounds.
>> This story was unsettling me, but also needed right now. <<
*hugs* I hope the sweeter parts will help.
>> Natasha shows with her issues, PTSD, I can't remember the more emphatic word at the moment, <<
Prolonged Duress Stress Disorder?
>> some of what I'm dealing with on the spectrum, rebuilding after a breakdown. :-/ <<
:( That sounds stressful. I hope you have support folks.
>> Play time is great! <<
Sooth. I think it will help to sort out some of what's going on inside.
Re: Bucky!
Date: 2014-09-05 12:19 pm (UTC)All of them need to get used to the idea that there is someone Big that can be trusted and will look out for them. Most of them hadn't had that experience. Bucky and Steve maybe had that a bit, but most of the time they depended only on each other.
There is no use being little and helpless and having no one to play with, or protect you. The Avengers won't let anyone small and vulnerable alone if they can help it.
Re: Bucky!
Date: 2014-09-05 01:40 pm (UTC)Betty, with her own history of crappy parenting, set out to systematically recover and rebuild her life and herself, shoring up the damaged and weak spots with hard work and competent counseling/therapy. So it's her turn to be the Big for Natka, and I love the idea.
Re: Bucky!
Date: 2014-09-06 07:21 pm (UTC)Yes, that's true. The older kids and the nuns would look for 'junior helpers' with promise. Steve kind of appointed himself, size be damned.
>> Betty, with her own history of crappy parenting, set out to systematically recover and rebuild her life and herself, shoring up the damaged and weak spots with hard work and competent counseling/therapy. <<
Sooth. She and Phil seem to be the only ones who really took to therapy, and she is the only one who did it on her own initiative She decided that her situation sucked, researched how to fix it, and then did that. BAMF Betty goes BAMF all over your misogynistic abusive culture.
>> So it's her turn to be the Big for Natka, and I love the idea. <<
It's interesting how some of the characters are a lot better at switching up and down than others.
Re: Bucky!
Date: 2014-09-07 09:11 am (UTC)Yes, that's true. I think they're getting use to the ageplay now, enough that they can start exploring different aspects of it, such as experimenting with who is Little or Big in different combinations. That they don't have just one person they can trust, but a whole bunch, so that multiple needs can be covered at the same time by different people. There's a huge sense of relief in that.
>> Most of them hadn't had that experience. Bucky and Steve maybe had that a bit, but most of the time they depended only on each other. <<
True. Steve and Bucky had some good parenting, just didn't last long enough. That did give them the concept of a healthy family, so they know how to replicate it now.
>> There is no use being little and helpless and having no one to play with, or protect you. <<
Sooth. A lot of what they get out of this is just being able to be Little and helpless, and it's safe. No one will hurt them or let them be hurt. They can explore why it's fun and freeing to be like this.
>> The Avengers won't let anyone small and vulnerable alone if they can help it. <<
Yeah, I think most heroes feel that way. They like being able to shelter each other.
Re: Bucky!
Date: 2014-09-05 08:12 pm (UTC)Stressful, but as I said before, I was just operating on autopilot until I did have some more support and folks who are helping me and are gentle while my head's a mess.
Bibliotherapy to the rescue! I wish it was Monday already. :-)
Re: Bucky!
Date: 2014-09-06 07:15 pm (UTC)I find it useful to distinguish between the trauma of a single incident vs. multiple incidents over time. It's harder to fix PDSD because the repetition means the brain interprets safety as a "lull" not as a new standard. That's why what is classed as PTSD becomes much more prevalent after 2+ tours of duty than just one. Most people can bounce back from one really bad thing. When bad things keep happening, far fewer people can remain resilient; they tend to pancake down to a more atavistic level and stay there.
>> Stressful, but as I said before, I was just operating on autopilot until I did have some more support and folks who are helping me and are gentle while my head's a mess. <<
It's good to have backup.
>> Bibliotherapy to the rescue! I wish it was Monday already. :-) <<
I'm glad the reading helps.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-05 12:54 pm (UTC)Yes...
Date: 2014-09-07 09:14 am (UTC)I missed it too, so I was really glad to get this story. I'll try to watch for other solos.
>> Would you please clarify your updating schedule? I had thought it was Monday, Wednesday, Friday, but sometimes there's not an update on Wednesday. Thanks! -ER <<
The general plan is M-W-F, yes. Sometimes the net is down and I can't post. Wednesday is the most likely day to miss, because I do the Poetry Fishbowl on the first Tuesday of each month, and I don't always have time to post then. I don't make promises about fanfic, because I have to be able to push it aside for paying projects sometimes. If there's a gap, just check back the next day or two. Even a net outage rarely lasts more than 2-3 days.
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-09-07 03:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-05 12:57 pm (UTC)The 'try it before you decide you don't like it' technique works with new foods, too.
Yay!
Date: 2014-09-08 05:24 am (UTC)I'm happy to hear that.
>> The 'try it before you decide you don't like it' technique works with new foods, too. <<
Yes, that's where most people first encounter the technique.
Ooh, lovey!
Date: 2014-09-05 01:36 pm (UTC)Curiosity wins out: WHY is there a flower safety-pinned to only one shoe? Oh, and remind me again when you're going to post the next part, plleeeez?
Re: Ooh, lovey!
Date: 2014-09-07 08:42 am (UTC)Yay!
>> Curiosity wins out: WHY is there a flower safety-pinned to only one shoe? <<
Because it's cute. You can put flowers on both, but sometimes that looks overdone. Depends on the flowers.
>> Oh, and remind me again when you're going to post the next part, plleeeez? <<
It should go up on Monday. Typical schedule is M-W-F. Sometimes I miss a day if the net is down or it's a fishbowl week. I don't make promises about fanfic because it gets pushed out of the way for paying work.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-05 11:48 pm (UTC)You're welcome!
Date: 2014-09-06 07:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-06 09:04 am (UTC)Yes...
Date: 2014-09-06 09:23 am (UTC)That's true. In Natka's case, she often has trouble identifying her needs, because of her deprived background. So the whining is actually a good sign -- it means that she can recognize something she wants or needs.
>> When the actual need behind it is met, the whining tends to go away after a bit. <<
Also true. Uncle Phil is very good at taking care of his Littles. Natka will learn that, even though she might not always get her own way, she will always get her needs met. Uncle Phil will help her figure out who she is and what she likes.
Earworm :D
Date: 2014-09-07 04:04 pm (UTC)On a more positive note, I think Natka is really sweet, and I love it when she gets some individual time with Uncle Phil. Betty is a great character as well. As an added consideration, interaction between Natka and Betty is probably your biggest way of passing the Bechdel test in this series. I know you tend to include more female characters in your original work (Path of the Paladins comes to mind), but the Avengers fandom has limited options, especially since Natasha is the only woman in the team. It's frustrating that so few of the movies pass the test - I think the two Thors and Iron Man 3 are the only ones!
- Kaylin
Re: Earworm :D
Date: 2014-09-08 07:05 am (UTC)Sorry about that.
>> On a more positive note, I think Natka is really sweet, and I love it when she gets some individual time with Uncle Phil. <<
Yay! She needs the development.
>> Betty is a great character as well. As an added consideration, interaction between Natka and Betty is probably your biggest way of passing the Bechdel test in this series. <<
I think that's true. At some point I might also explore Natalie & Pepper, because they clearly bonded in Iron Man 2. But that relationship has as many rocks in it as Natalie & Tony, which is not fixed yet, they're just both damn good at sequestering.
>> I know you tend to include more female characters in your original work (Path of the Paladins comes to mind), <<
Yes, that's true. I've got a
>> but the Avengers fandom has limited options, especially since Natasha is the only woman in the team. It's frustrating that so few of the movies pass the test - I think the two Thors and Iron Man 3 are the only ones! <<
Agreed, that's frustrating. Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier passed with Hill and Romanova discussing some of the dangerplot stuff. I wish we could have more of that because they are BAMFs.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-10-23 07:54 pm (UTC)