>> This is so sweet- I love big brother!Bucky, and litle brother!Stevie is so adorably sweet. <<
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed this so much.
>> Bucky's immediate acceptance of Bruce just warmed my heart too. <<
Bucky is very family-oriented, and he already had a mental map of "get deployed, come home to new kid" because that happened a lot. It helps that big-Bruce has been doing a lot for Bucky, so they already had the beginnings of a bond. Once Steve mentioned the in-game relationship, Bucky was willing to go along with that.
>> I have to say, it may be because Tony's my favorite so I focus on him, but I'm now worried about him. <<
Well, you're not wrong.
>> Clint and Natasha are brother and sister. Bucky and Steve are brothers, and Bruce is their cousin. Tony is the only one without a 'family' tie with the rest of the kids, and the image of him hugging himself (which I don't think was even intended as a sad moment) while everyone else hugged someone else made me feel so bad for him. <<
The odd thing is, Tony has a family bond, he just doesn't acknowledge it that way during game night. Tony treats Bruce as his little brother. It's so strong that, unlike Steve and Bucky, they can't reverse their ages; it makes them uncomfortable. Tony will say "science bro," but when he came into the first game night, he didn't make the jump.
Tony and Bruce both have wretched family backgrounds. So do Clint and Natasha, but they had longer with Phil as their handler to work through some of that and bond with each other. It still took them until well into the ageplay practice before they decided to make it official. Tony and Bruce are farther behind. It took everything Tony had just to go to the door and ask if he could join. Bruce also made a major effort to reach out to Steve, probably because he's keenly aware of Steve's loneliness. But Tony and Bruce are afraid to look closely at or name formally the relationship they had, because their experience of family ties was so painful, and they feel like poking at this bond will make it disappear or bite them. It's probably not even a conscious decision on their part.
And Tony sitting by himself? He's not a joiner. He also has a lot of experience with rejection, including from other Avengers. He still hasn't entirely worked through that stuff. So yes, there are times when he'll include himself out -- which can be perfectly healthy, or really really not.
Tony also has issues of overcontrol and self-denial, counterbalanced against the times when he has NO control at all. He can't seem to find the middle ground on his own. That's likely part of what you're picking up here: Tony holding himself back to make room for Bucky. This is not, you perceive, one of Tony's better ideas. This is first game night is a comfortable resolution for the story, and a lot of wonderful fluff and family feels, with just a little grit when you can sense issues that aren't fully resolved yet.
The next story in progress is Tony-centric. If Tony's your favorite, I think you'll like it, when it's not ripping your heart out.
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dancing_serpent
Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2013-07-24 07:28 am (UTC)Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed this so much.
>> Bucky's immediate acceptance of Bruce just warmed my heart too. <<
Bucky is very family-oriented, and he already had a mental map of "get deployed, come home to new kid" because that happened a lot. It helps that big-Bruce has been doing a lot for Bucky, so they already had the beginnings of a bond. Once Steve mentioned the in-game relationship, Bucky was willing to go along with that.
>> I have to say, it may be because Tony's my favorite so I focus on him, but I'm now worried about him. <<
Well, you're not wrong.
>> Clint and Natasha are brother and sister. Bucky and Steve are brothers, and Bruce is their cousin. Tony is the only one without a 'family' tie with the rest of the kids, and the image of him hugging himself (which I don't think was even intended as a sad moment) while everyone else hugged someone else made me feel so bad for him. <<
The odd thing is, Tony has a family bond, he just doesn't acknowledge it that way during game night. Tony treats Bruce as his little brother. It's so strong that, unlike Steve and Bucky, they can't reverse their ages; it makes them uncomfortable. Tony will say "science bro," but when he came into the first game night, he didn't make the jump.
Tony and Bruce both have wretched family backgrounds. So do Clint and Natasha, but they had longer with Phil as their handler to work through some of that and bond with each other. It still took them until well into the ageplay practice before they decided to make it official. Tony and Bruce are farther behind. It took everything Tony had just to go to the door and ask if he could join. Bruce also made a major effort to reach out to Steve, probably because he's keenly aware of Steve's loneliness. But Tony and Bruce are afraid to look closely at or name formally the relationship they had, because their experience of family ties was so painful, and they feel like poking at this bond will make it disappear or bite them. It's probably not even a conscious decision on their part.
And Tony sitting by himself? He's not a joiner. He also has a lot of experience with rejection, including from other Avengers. He still hasn't entirely worked through that stuff. So yes, there are times when he'll include himself out -- which can be perfectly healthy, or really really not.
Tony also has issues of overcontrol and self-denial, counterbalanced against the times when he has NO control at all. He can't seem to find the middle ground on his own. That's likely part of what you're picking up here: Tony holding himself back to make room for Bucky. This is not, you perceive, one of Tony's better ideas. This is first game night is a comfortable resolution for the story, and a lot of wonderful fluff and family feels, with just a little grit when you can sense issues that aren't fully resolved yet.
The next story in progress is Tony-centric. If Tony's your favorite, I think you'll like it, when it's not ripping your heart out.