Story: "Up the Water Spout" Part 16
Oct. 3rd, 2014 12:01 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, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15. Skip to Part 18, Part 19, Part 20.
"Up the Water Spout" Part 16
When they got home, Happy and Phil helped Natasha carry everything to the apartment that she and Clint shared. Clint was down in the shooting range with Bucky, and not sufficiently intrigued by the new addition to stop early. Natasha invited Bruce up because he was familiar both with exotic creatures and with assembling a wide variety of equipment.
Bruce helped her set up a broad terrarium with a thick substrate for burrowing. One corner held a water dish, the other a large driftwood stump for hiding. Other fixtures made it possible to monitor and control the temperature and humidity. Bruce connected the back of the spider tank with a smaller tank of crickets, by way of a tunnel which could be opened or closed.
Then Natasha released the giant white knee tarantula into her new home. As the name implied, she was dark brown, almost black, with striking white bands at the joints of her many legs. Already a generous palm size, she could grow to the width of a large man's spread hand when mature. The spider scuttled around the terrarium, exploring her new home.
Phil watched the installation from a safe distance. He wasn't really afraid of tarantulas. He just preferred not to get any on him. The one in the banana crate hadn't bitten him, but had left him with an unpleasant rash. Phil found the care instructions reassuring, though, as most experts recommended against handling pet arachnids.
"I love the sound of crickets," Bruce admitted as he finished the fittings on their cage. The small brown insects crawled over several sheets of cardboard inside it. "As long as the crickets keep chirping, you know everything is safe, because they stop when they feel threatened. They're very sensitive about that. Sometimes I bring a few from the lab up to my bedroom, if I'm having trouble with sleeping. It's better than, you know, just racking out in the lab like I used to."
Natasha laid her hand on his shoulder. "You may come and visit my terrarium any time, tarantula, crickets, and all," she said warmly. "Shall we test the feeding mechanism?"
It was actually automated, so that JARVIS could take care of the tarantula if necessary, but it also had a manual control for Natasha's benefit. She touched the cricket icon on her Starkphone. Soft clicking sounds emerged as the cricket enclosure opened and then closed, trapping a pair of crickets in the adjoining tunnel. Then the far end opened to release them into the terrarium.
Moments later, the tarantula pounced on a cricket and devoured it with surprisingly loud crunchy sounds. Natasha's eyes lit up as she watched. Her lips parted, and she licked the lower one.
"Cool," Bruce whispered, watching the spider eat.
The crickets in their own little case continued to sing. "I'm glad that listening to my crickets helps you feel safe," Natasha said to Bruce.
"You do too," he said softly as he leaned against her.
Natasha reached an arm around him. "It's mutual."
"Collective," Phil added, hugging both of them.
In the terrarium, the brown-and-white spider sat in full view, feeling no need to hide.
* * *
Notes:
Handling pet tarantulas is possible but not a great idea. They are rather fragile, they can bite, and they have urticating hairs which cause irritation.
Crickets chirp when they feel safe, and fall silent in response to vibrations that may signal danger. Some people find this sound a soothing indicator of security, so it appears in nature soundtracks for relaxation. Several types of crickets are raised as live food for pets. There are automatic feeders for fish and turtles, although so far the cricket-related feeding tools are manual.
The Brazilian white knee tarantula is relatively easy to maintain, does not tend to hide, and therefore makes an excellent choice for novice arachnid keepers.
[To be continued in Part 17 ...]
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, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15. Skip to Part 18, Part 19, Part 20.
"Up the Water Spout" Part 16
When they got home, Happy and Phil helped Natasha carry everything to the apartment that she and Clint shared. Clint was down in the shooting range with Bucky, and not sufficiently intrigued by the new addition to stop early. Natasha invited Bruce up because he was familiar both with exotic creatures and with assembling a wide variety of equipment.
Bruce helped her set up a broad terrarium with a thick substrate for burrowing. One corner held a water dish, the other a large driftwood stump for hiding. Other fixtures made it possible to monitor and control the temperature and humidity. Bruce connected the back of the spider tank with a smaller tank of crickets, by way of a tunnel which could be opened or closed.
Then Natasha released the giant white knee tarantula into her new home. As the name implied, she was dark brown, almost black, with striking white bands at the joints of her many legs. Already a generous palm size, she could grow to the width of a large man's spread hand when mature. The spider scuttled around the terrarium, exploring her new home.
Phil watched the installation from a safe distance. He wasn't really afraid of tarantulas. He just preferred not to get any on him. The one in the banana crate hadn't bitten him, but had left him with an unpleasant rash. Phil found the care instructions reassuring, though, as most experts recommended against handling pet arachnids.
"I love the sound of crickets," Bruce admitted as he finished the fittings on their cage. The small brown insects crawled over several sheets of cardboard inside it. "As long as the crickets keep chirping, you know everything is safe, because they stop when they feel threatened. They're very sensitive about that. Sometimes I bring a few from the lab up to my bedroom, if I'm having trouble with sleeping. It's better than, you know, just racking out in the lab like I used to."
Natasha laid her hand on his shoulder. "You may come and visit my terrarium any time, tarantula, crickets, and all," she said warmly. "Shall we test the feeding mechanism?"
It was actually automated, so that JARVIS could take care of the tarantula if necessary, but it also had a manual control for Natasha's benefit. She touched the cricket icon on her Starkphone. Soft clicking sounds emerged as the cricket enclosure opened and then closed, trapping a pair of crickets in the adjoining tunnel. Then the far end opened to release them into the terrarium.
Moments later, the tarantula pounced on a cricket and devoured it with surprisingly loud crunchy sounds. Natasha's eyes lit up as she watched. Her lips parted, and she licked the lower one.
"Cool," Bruce whispered, watching the spider eat.
The crickets in their own little case continued to sing. "I'm glad that listening to my crickets helps you feel safe," Natasha said to Bruce.
"You do too," he said softly as he leaned against her.
Natasha reached an arm around him. "It's mutual."
"Collective," Phil added, hugging both of them.
In the terrarium, the brown-and-white spider sat in full view, feeling no need to hide.
* * *
Notes:
Handling pet tarantulas is possible but not a great idea. They are rather fragile, they can bite, and they have urticating hairs which cause irritation.
Crickets chirp when they feel safe, and fall silent in response to vibrations that may signal danger. Some people find this sound a soothing indicator of security, so it appears in nature soundtracks for relaxation. Several types of crickets are raised as live food for pets. There are automatic feeders for fish and turtles, although so far the cricket-related feeding tools are manual.
The Brazilian white knee tarantula is relatively easy to maintain, does not tend to hide, and therefore makes an excellent choice for novice arachnid keepers.
[To be continued in Part 17 ...]
(no subject)
Date: 2014-10-03 05:31 am (UTC)But I'd love to sit and watch a tarantula anytime but supper time.
-Wynjara
*laugh*
Date: 2014-10-03 05:52 am (UTC)nice spider
Date: 2014-10-03 06:52 am (UTC)interesting...
Shira
Universal Date: Tuesday, October 3. 12014 H.E. (Holocene Era)
(no subject)
Date: 2014-10-03 07:59 am (UTC)Fixed!
Date: 2014-10-03 08:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-10-03 08:02 am (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2014-10-03 08:05 am (UTC)crickets
Date: 2014-10-03 10:07 am (UTC)Me, I was with Phil--- standing by the door taking very careful breaths!
I like the way this wrapped up, but it's a little obvious, compared to other endings in the series. Ironic, as almost nothing about Natasha or Natka is obvious.
Re: crickets
Date: 2014-10-04 06:10 am (UTC)That's okay.
>> My sons absolutely adored a reptile shop which had a veritable army of snakes and lizards, with a huge supply of live crickets for food. Of course, the boys /loved/ being allowed to feed the snakes and watch them eat. <<
I love feeding time at the zoo. I'm also prone to tossing insects into the webs of orb weavers which are plentiful around here.
>> Me, I was with Phil--- standing by the door taking very careful breaths! <<
I'm not afraid of spiders, but I am wary of those which are large and fast. I do not want them on me. Docile spiders in the house and in the way, I'll move outside, because they're beneficial. Aggressive wolf spiders the size of a quarter, charging at me across the carpet, get splatted and told "Better luck next life."
Pet arachnids in a secure container, no problem, I enjoy watching them.
It's when I was working on Phil's feelings about tarantulas, and some of the reader comments, that made me notice there's almost nothing written about this level of fear -- where it's not enough to interfere with activities but is a distraction that would be nice to mash down to an ignorable level. So I wrote a little bit extra after this, which was the original end of the story. And then there are the bonus scenes with Daredevil and Spiderman.
>> I like the way this wrapped up, but it's a little obvious, compared to other endings in the series. Ironic, as almost nothing about Natasha or Natka is obvious. <<
This one wasn't meant to be mysterious, or even particularly tense, but was rather about delving into and exploring things which were already there and are newly coming to light. So yes, if you've been paying attention, it's easier to predict where that goes.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-10-04 01:59 pm (UTC)Well...
Date: 2014-10-05 01:18 am (UTC)Spiders do bite, and many which are not dangerous are still extremely unpleasant. Some spider bites are no worse than a mosquito bite but many of them are like a wasp sting. A few can digest a non-trivial amount of flesh. 0_o
Being wary of something that has hurt you in the past is sensible. It's only a problem if it interferes with everyday life or otherwise makes you really uncomfortable.
It was a warning bite, so...
Date: 2014-10-18 11:53 pm (UTC)