Story: "Up the Water Spout" Part 13
Sep. 26th, 2014 12:10 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, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12. Skip to Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18.
"Up the Water Spout" Part 13
To Phil's amazement, Betty actually caught Natka and pinned her to the mat with such skill that Natka was obliged to use her enhanced strength to squirm loose. "How in the world did you manage that?" Phil asked.
"Oh, Bruce and I used to go freerunning together, and I have a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu," Betty said airily. A spark of mischief twinkled in her eyes.
"You will teach me that," Natka said as she straightened her play clothes.
Phil cleared his throat. "Ask nicely, Natka."
"I would like to learn from you," Natka said to Betty. "If you agree to teach me, I will trade you lessons from any of the things that I know."
"Sounds like fun," Betty said.
Phil reached down to pick up the abandoned spider puppet. The toy was nine inches long, easily large enough to hide a person's hand, and beautifully made. It had shiny black eyes and spinnerets. Tiny threads gave it a hairy appearance, with the body done in chocolate and the legs in a brighter fawn, much like a real tarantula. Phil slipped his hand inside the glove, but could not quite manage the disturbing imitation of arachnid motion that Natka had produced.
"Give it back to me, and I will show you how," Natka said.
"All right," Phil said, and passed her the puppet.
"The tarantulas I have studied move slowly except when pouncing or fleeing. They like to feel their way along, like this," Natka said. The spider puppet crept forward, its fluffy feet tapping the floor before settling into place. Then a different pair of feet would move.
Phil, who had once hidden in a crate of bananas that turned out to have a tarantula inside it, required a conscious effort to smooth down the hairs on his neck. He refused to back away, though. "Very impressive," he said.
"Thank you," Natka said. She pulled off the spider puppet and left it inert in her lap.
"So what did you think of today's games?" Phil asked.
"They were ... interesting," Natka said. "I think I liked the hula hoops best. I wish to try spinning more of the small ones. I may go back to the jump rope and the hopscotch sometimes."
"What about the hand-clapping games?" Betty asked.
Natka shrugged. "They are all right, but not a favorite. It is good to know in case I ever need it. Then again, what you said about practicing teamwork has merit."
Phil knew that her limited understanding of a typical childhood sometimes caused problems. It was one of many personal issues that game night, and these extra ageplay sessions, helped to overcome. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better," Natka said. "I'm a little tired, but my body doesn't feel like I put it on backwards anymore." She poked a her tummy, a wrinkle forming between her eyebrows. "This feels stiff and sore in strange places. I rarely get this way from exercise."
Betty chuckled. "You used your muscles in a lot of new ways today, especially your middle when you were twirling the hoops. That will do it."
"Both of you go take a nice warm shower, and that should help," Phil said. "Then put on your big-girl clothes. We're done for today." The locker rooms held a selection of workout and casual clothes, so that people could change regardless of whether they'd brought anything to the gym with them. He'd need to collect the play clothes afterwards, though; he didn't want those going down the laundry chute.
Natka and Betty hugged him. "Thank you, Uncle Phil," they chorused. Then they trotted off to the locker room.
Phil stretched, feeling the tug of protesting muscles from his own efforts with the hula hoop. Mostly, though, he just felt grateful that he'd found a way to deal with the aftermath of a sticky mission. Humming a little to himself, he headed for the showers.
* * *
Notes:
Freerunning is a sport, but it also neatly describes how Bruce-and-Hulk scramble away from pursuers.
Brazilian jiu jitsu is designed to give a small practitioner an advantage against larger, stronger opponents. It is famous for emphasizing floor work.
Friendship relies on give-and-take as friends do favors for each other. Know how to ask for a favor the right way.
It's important to take care of yourself after a workout. There are different advantages to a hot or cold shower.
[To be continued in Part 14 ...]
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, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12. Skip to Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18.
"Up the Water Spout" Part 13
To Phil's amazement, Betty actually caught Natka and pinned her to the mat with such skill that Natka was obliged to use her enhanced strength to squirm loose. "How in the world did you manage that?" Phil asked.
"Oh, Bruce and I used to go freerunning together, and I have a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu," Betty said airily. A spark of mischief twinkled in her eyes.
"You will teach me that," Natka said as she straightened her play clothes.
Phil cleared his throat. "Ask nicely, Natka."
"I would like to learn from you," Natka said to Betty. "If you agree to teach me, I will trade you lessons from any of the things that I know."
"Sounds like fun," Betty said.
Phil reached down to pick up the abandoned spider puppet. The toy was nine inches long, easily large enough to hide a person's hand, and beautifully made. It had shiny black eyes and spinnerets. Tiny threads gave it a hairy appearance, with the body done in chocolate and the legs in a brighter fawn, much like a real tarantula. Phil slipped his hand inside the glove, but could not quite manage the disturbing imitation of arachnid motion that Natka had produced.
"Give it back to me, and I will show you how," Natka said.
"All right," Phil said, and passed her the puppet.
"The tarantulas I have studied move slowly except when pouncing or fleeing. They like to feel their way along, like this," Natka said. The spider puppet crept forward, its fluffy feet tapping the floor before settling into place. Then a different pair of feet would move.
Phil, who had once hidden in a crate of bananas that turned out to have a tarantula inside it, required a conscious effort to smooth down the hairs on his neck. He refused to back away, though. "Very impressive," he said.
"Thank you," Natka said. She pulled off the spider puppet and left it inert in her lap.
"So what did you think of today's games?" Phil asked.
"They were ... interesting," Natka said. "I think I liked the hula hoops best. I wish to try spinning more of the small ones. I may go back to the jump rope and the hopscotch sometimes."
"What about the hand-clapping games?" Betty asked.
Natka shrugged. "They are all right, but not a favorite. It is good to know in case I ever need it. Then again, what you said about practicing teamwork has merit."
Phil knew that her limited understanding of a typical childhood sometimes caused problems. It was one of many personal issues that game night, and these extra ageplay sessions, helped to overcome. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better," Natka said. "I'm a little tired, but my body doesn't feel like I put it on backwards anymore." She poked a her tummy, a wrinkle forming between her eyebrows. "This feels stiff and sore in strange places. I rarely get this way from exercise."
Betty chuckled. "You used your muscles in a lot of new ways today, especially your middle when you were twirling the hoops. That will do it."
"Both of you go take a nice warm shower, and that should help," Phil said. "Then put on your big-girl clothes. We're done for today." The locker rooms held a selection of workout and casual clothes, so that people could change regardless of whether they'd brought anything to the gym with them. He'd need to collect the play clothes afterwards, though; he didn't want those going down the laundry chute.
Natka and Betty hugged him. "Thank you, Uncle Phil," they chorused. Then they trotted off to the locker room.
Phil stretched, feeling the tug of protesting muscles from his own efforts with the hula hoop. Mostly, though, he just felt grateful that he'd found a way to deal with the aftermath of a sticky mission. Humming a little to himself, he headed for the showers.
* * *
Notes:
Freerunning is a sport, but it also neatly describes how Bruce-and-Hulk scramble away from pursuers.
Brazilian jiu jitsu is designed to give a small practitioner an advantage against larger, stronger opponents. It is famous for emphasizing floor work.
Friendship relies on give-and-take as friends do favors for each other. Know how to ask for a favor the right way.
It's important to take care of yourself after a workout. There are different advantages to a hot or cold shower.
[To be continued in Part 14 ...]
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-26 04:23 pm (UTC)"my body doesn't feel like I put it on backwards anymore": love it :-)
Thank you!
Date: 2014-09-26 08:16 pm (UTC)I figure that while Natasha can usually shift fluently between different personas, sometimes her memories don't fit comfortably after the change. The closest I could get to describing that feeling was putting on the right clothes the wrong way. Things bunch and pull and it's really aggravating.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2014-09-26 10:54 pm (UTC)Oh yes. Very good analogy. For me, especially if my underwear is old and saggy and stuff doesn't match the edges.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2014-09-26 11:01 pm (UTC)Amazing!!
Date: 2014-09-26 10:02 pm (UTC)Re: Amazing!!
Date: 2014-09-27 02:58 am (UTC)Thank you!
>> i think this is the first time that i have posted. <<
New feedback is always welcome.
>> i have read it since the beginning and have learned from it and recommended it to others... <<
I appreciate the signal boost very much.
>> one thing that i would love to see is more BAMF betty. :) <<
I am a big fan of BAMF!Betty. It just takes certain things to bring it out, because she's rather quiet in other ways and has done some serious work to wash out as much of her father's influence as possible. But still: don't make her angry, you wouldn't like her when she's angry.
I do have some ideas for more BAMF!Betty later in the series.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-27 12:19 am (UTC)Yes...
Date: 2014-09-27 02:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
My only musing is that, for a kidfic style story and myself being sick at this time (Nasty virus! Shoo!), I was surprised not to find anyone - Little or Big - falling sick. Heh. Anyway, this is a truly fantastic series! I'd take off my hat and offer a standing ovation if I could.
-MadameK
Thank you!
Date: 2014-09-27 11:57 pm (UTC)Wow.
>> Your notes and details were very intriguing, informative, and even enlightening in some cases. <<
I'm happy to hear that.
>> Various people's skin hunger and Natasha's emotional side pertained to me in particular. I figured my touch-starvation, as I called it (funny how similar I named it, even with never hearing of skin-hunger), wasn't a solitary case in the world, but it's nice to know the proper name. <<
Touch-starvation and skin-hunger are often used as synonyms, and both are in active if somewhat obscure use. More subtly, skin-hunger is the need for contact, and touch-starvation is what happens if people don't get enough.
>> Albeit, I don't seem to have an exact reason for it. <<
Generally speaking, humans need touch, although there are a few who really prefer to avoid it. That's just part of how a primate body runs. There are lots of reasons why that need might not get met.
>> Hearing about flat affect, emotional numbness, etc. and seeing how Natasha dealt spiked interest as well. <<
That's good to know.
>> Thanks for all the research you put into this and shared with us readers! I'm certainly coming away more aware and curious about various topics than before. <<
You're welcome!
>> My only musing is that, for a kidfic style story and myself being sick at this time (Nasty virus! Shoo!), I was surprised not to find anyone - Little or Big - falling sick. Heh. <<
It doesn't happen often; most of them are pretty sturdy now. But this is something I'd like to explore later in the series.
>> Anyway, this is a truly fantastic series! I'd take off my hat and offer a standing ovation if I could. <<
*bow, flourish* Happy to be of service.
Re-reading
Date: 2014-09-28 02:13 am (UTC)There's always some little detail to notice, some link in the footnotes that I didn't follow earlier, etc.
This time, what I noticed most was Phil's satisfaction in the results they achieved, rather than following up on the protective/caretaking part of Uncle Phil's job (the clothing not going to the regular laundry service, for example).
Re: Re-reading
Date: 2014-09-28 06:49 am (UTC)I'm sorry your week sucked, but glad I could help.
>> I think what I like best about the whole series is that I /can/ reread it, without feeling like I'm reviewing the obvious. <<
That's good to hear. I love stories like that, both reading and writing.
>> There's always some little detail to notice, some link in the footnotes that I didn't follow earlier, etc. <<
Yay!
>> This time, what I noticed most was Phil's satisfaction in the results they achieved, rather than following up on the protective/caretaking part of Uncle Phil's <<
Sooth. He knows how to appreciate the little steps.
>> job (the clothing not going to the regular laundry service, for example). <<
There are some other glimpses of how Phil handles ageplay clothes very carefully.