ysabetwordsmith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2014-02-10 12:08 am
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2014-02-10 12:08 am
Story: "Green Eggs and Hulk" Part 1
This story belongs to the series Love Is For Children which includes "Love Is for Children," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys," "Saudades," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," "Touching Moments," "Splash," "Coming Around," "Birthday Girl," "No Winter Lasts Forever," "Hide and Seek," "Kernel Error," and "Happy Hour."
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Bruce Banner, Hulk, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Phil Coulson, Natasha Romanova, Clint Barton.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Canon-typical violence. This story is mostly fluff.
Summary: The Avengers fight some giant birds. After smashing the ones on the ground, Hulk gets bored. Agent Coulson reads him a story.
Notes: Birds. Teamwork. Team as family. Friendship. Multiplicity/Plurality. Communication. Anger management issues. Storytelling. Reading. Books. Hope. Nonsexual ageplay. Love. Bruce Banner needs a hug. Hulk needs a hug. #coulsonlives.
So ... slight change of plans. Audience interaction led to this short, fluffy story which chronologically follows "Hide and Seek." I want to post it now, because we've recently done some other out-of-sequence stuff. I have "Hairpins," the Phil and JARVIS retrospective story, which is complete and will post later. I'm also still working on the big piece about getting Bucky back into action. Sorry for the scramble, and I hope you enjoy this story.
Skip to Part 3, Part 4.
"Green Eggs and Hulk" Part 1
Hulk comes out to fight. City has bird problem. Hulk is confused. He thinks of pigeons and sparrows. Why need Hulk?
Bruce thinks of big birds with sharp beaks and claws. Inside their head are paintings of nasty birds and pictures of old bones.
Then first bird finds Hulk. Bird looks Hulk right in face! Hulk has never seen other bird so big and mean. Black feathers flash green in sun. "Hulk-bird," he says.
"Hulk, smash the birds!" says Star Man.
Hulk is happy to smash. He swings his big fist. Hulk-bird jumps away. It screams at him. Hulk roars back.
Hulk-bird is fast. Hulk is faster. He catches Hulk-bird and smashes it. Hulk spits out feathers and looks for new bird.
He smashes one, two, three Hulk-birds. He can count little bit.
Then two beaks peck on Hulk at once. He does not like that. Hulk roars. Birdie shoots one Hulk-bird. Hulk smashes other.
Hulk finds egg in park. Egg is big and green like Hulk. There is no fighting right here. Hulk stops to think. Maybe egg come from Hulk-bird.
Team needs to know about that. Hulk uses talky thing that Tinman made for him. "Hulk find egg," he says. "Big. Green. Hulk smash?"
Agent says, "No, don't smash it. I'll send someone to pick it up. Go smash more birds."
Hulk-birds are more fun to smash than eggs. Hulk goes. He fights hard. Hulk-birds peck him but Hulk is hard to hurt. Hulk is strongest!
One Hulk-bird grabs Red. Hulk squeezes it by neck. Hulk-bird drops Red. Hulk smells blood. Red limps away. Hulk squeezes until flapping stops. Hulk angry! HULK SMASH!
Soon there are no more Hulk-birds to fight. Hulk kicks last one again. Feathers fly. Hulk sneezes.
"Iron Man, bogey incoming on your six!" shouts Birdie.
"Hawkeye, get me ID on that plane," Tinman says.
"That's not an airplane, it's a fucking condor!" Birdie says.
Hulk looks. Birdie is right. Hulk-bird is size of plane. Hulk jumps, but Hulk-bird is too high to smash.
"I got this!" Tinman says.
Hulk stops jumping. Team is good. Tinman can smash way-high things. Hulk watches. Tinman flies away after plane-bird.
City is empty now. Hulk-birds all dead. Fire hydrant makes water. Hulk drinks from hydrant. Broken glass tinkles. Half a car honks and flashes. Boring.
"No more smash?" Hulk asks. "Bruce now?"
"No more smashing at the moment, Hulk, but we need you to wait a little longer," says Agent. "More of the birds might come."
Hulk humphs to himself and sits down. "Time?"
"It's four twenty-three in the afternoon," says Agent.
Not quite suppertime. Hulk is hungry anyway. Fighting is hard work. "Hulk wait," he says. He wants to be good for team.
So Hulk waits. Cloud goes over sun. Water from hydrant stops. Cloud goes away. Hulk picks feathers off himself. Feathers are bloody and itchy.
"Time?" Hulk asks.
"It's four twenty-eight, five minutes after the last time you asked," says Agent. "Are you bored? I can come keep you company."
* * *
Notes:
This story comes courtesy of audience discussion following Saudades."librarygeek mentioned in a comment, "I don't see Bruce getting poetry yet, I think. It would take emotional skills that Bruce doesn't have?" Then peoriapeoriawhereart said in another comment, "I think this worked for Bruce, because while he might not turn to poetry, I think it's in there. He's swimming in emotions, he just doesn't express them." That got me thinking that Hulk would love poetry, which led to me thinking about Dr. Seuss in some specific contexts, which are set later in the series. So then Anonymous (Kellyc) protested, "May I just say that it is NOT too early to have someone read Hulk Dr. Seuss? Because it really, really isn't." I thought about that further, and eventually came up with a current place to start this.
The giant birds are inspired by "terror birds" and extinct condors, so some of them are flightless while others can fly. Yes, there have been Hulk-sized birds and small-plane-sized birds.
Giant birds lay giant eggs. The largest known eggs came from the extinct elephant bird, up to three feet long, which is about the size that Hulk finds. The largest eggs laid by living birds come from ostriches.
Boredom is a challenge, especially for young children. It's important for children to learn how to entertain themselves. There are lots of fun options. A key problem for Hulk is that he has almost no life experience of his own. Bruce only lets him out willingly for fighting. So of course Hulk gets bored when there's nothing left to smash! He needs to learn about doing other things, and the team helps with that.
[To be continued in Part 2 ...]
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Bruce Banner, Hulk, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Phil Coulson, Natasha Romanova, Clint Barton.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Canon-typical violence. This story is mostly fluff.
Summary: The Avengers fight some giant birds. After smashing the ones on the ground, Hulk gets bored. Agent Coulson reads him a story.
Notes: Birds. Teamwork. Team as family. Friendship. Multiplicity/Plurality. Communication. Anger management issues. Storytelling. Reading. Books. Hope. Nonsexual ageplay. Love. Bruce Banner needs a hug. Hulk needs a hug. #coulsonlives.
So ... slight change of plans. Audience interaction led to this short, fluffy story which chronologically follows "Hide and Seek." I want to post it now, because we've recently done some other out-of-sequence stuff. I have "Hairpins," the Phil and JARVIS retrospective story, which is complete and will post later. I'm also still working on the big piece about getting Bucky back into action. Sorry for the scramble, and I hope you enjoy this story.
Skip to Part 3, Part 4.
"Green Eggs and Hulk" Part 1
Hulk comes out to fight. City has bird problem. Hulk is confused. He thinks of pigeons and sparrows. Why need Hulk?
Bruce thinks of big birds with sharp beaks and claws. Inside their head are paintings of nasty birds and pictures of old bones.
Then first bird finds Hulk. Bird looks Hulk right in face! Hulk has never seen other bird so big and mean. Black feathers flash green in sun. "Hulk-bird," he says.
"Hulk, smash the birds!" says Star Man.
Hulk is happy to smash. He swings his big fist. Hulk-bird jumps away. It screams at him. Hulk roars back.
Hulk-bird is fast. Hulk is faster. He catches Hulk-bird and smashes it. Hulk spits out feathers and looks for new bird.
He smashes one, two, three Hulk-birds. He can count little bit.
Then two beaks peck on Hulk at once. He does not like that. Hulk roars. Birdie shoots one Hulk-bird. Hulk smashes other.
Hulk finds egg in park. Egg is big and green like Hulk. There is no fighting right here. Hulk stops to think. Maybe egg come from Hulk-bird.
Team needs to know about that. Hulk uses talky thing that Tinman made for him. "Hulk find egg," he says. "Big. Green. Hulk smash?"
Agent says, "No, don't smash it. I'll send someone to pick it up. Go smash more birds."
Hulk-birds are more fun to smash than eggs. Hulk goes. He fights hard. Hulk-birds peck him but Hulk is hard to hurt. Hulk is strongest!
One Hulk-bird grabs Red. Hulk squeezes it by neck. Hulk-bird drops Red. Hulk smells blood. Red limps away. Hulk squeezes until flapping stops. Hulk angry! HULK SMASH!
Soon there are no more Hulk-birds to fight. Hulk kicks last one again. Feathers fly. Hulk sneezes.
"Iron Man, bogey incoming on your six!" shouts Birdie.
"Hawkeye, get me ID on that plane," Tinman says.
"That's not an airplane, it's a fucking condor!" Birdie says.
Hulk looks. Birdie is right. Hulk-bird is size of plane. Hulk jumps, but Hulk-bird is too high to smash.
"I got this!" Tinman says.
Hulk stops jumping. Team is good. Tinman can smash way-high things. Hulk watches. Tinman flies away after plane-bird.
City is empty now. Hulk-birds all dead. Fire hydrant makes water. Hulk drinks from hydrant. Broken glass tinkles. Half a car honks and flashes. Boring.
"No more smash?" Hulk asks. "Bruce now?"
"No more smashing at the moment, Hulk, but we need you to wait a little longer," says Agent. "More of the birds might come."
Hulk humphs to himself and sits down. "Time?"
"It's four twenty-three in the afternoon," says Agent.
Not quite suppertime. Hulk is hungry anyway. Fighting is hard work. "Hulk wait," he says. He wants to be good for team.
So Hulk waits. Cloud goes over sun. Water from hydrant stops. Cloud goes away. Hulk picks feathers off himself. Feathers are bloody and itchy.
"Time?" Hulk asks.
"It's four twenty-eight, five minutes after the last time you asked," says Agent. "Are you bored? I can come keep you company."
* * *
Notes:
This story comes courtesy of audience discussion following Saudades."
librarygeek mentioned in a comment, "I don't see Bruce getting poetry yet, I think. It would take emotional skills that Bruce doesn't have?" Then peoriapeoriawhereart said in another comment, "I think this worked for Bruce, because while he might not turn to poetry, I think it's in there. He's swimming in emotions, he just doesn't express them." That got me thinking that Hulk would love poetry, which led to me thinking about Dr. Seuss in some specific contexts, which are set later in the series. So then Anonymous (Kellyc) protested, "May I just say that it is NOT too early to have someone read Hulk Dr. Seuss? Because it really, really isn't." I thought about that further, and eventually came up with a current place to start this. The giant birds are inspired by "terror birds" and extinct condors, so some of them are flightless while others can fly. Yes, there have been Hulk-sized birds and small-plane-sized birds.
Giant birds lay giant eggs. The largest known eggs came from the extinct elephant bird, up to three feet long, which is about the size that Hulk finds. The largest eggs laid by living birds come from ostriches.
Boredom is a challenge, especially for young children. It's important for children to learn how to entertain themselves. There are lots of fun options. A key problem for Hulk is that he has almost no life experience of his own. Bruce only lets him out willingly for fighting. So of course Hulk gets bored when there's nothing left to smash! He needs to learn about doing other things, and the team helps with that.
[To be continued in Part 2 ...]
no subject
And yeah, I'm still around and still reading. Just been busy lately. All that said ...
I am half expecting Hulk to decide to keep the egg and make the bird a pet, but this is probably my recent (very fluffy) Hulk-centric Avengers fic reading that's talking.
Thoughts
I figured that people would be happy with more fic, but that folks looking forward to the Phil and JARVIS piece that I explicitly advertised might be disappointed at having to wait another week for that. I might be, if someone promised one goodie but delivered another. I try to avoid doing that to my readers. I really thought I had it in the can here, but then another piece came at the last minute and it just felt right to follow the Bruce piece with a Hulk piece, bitter to sweet.
>> And yeah, I'm still around and still reading. Just been busy lately. All that said ... <<
I'm happy to hear that! I've missed you. I know how it goes, though.
>> I am half expecting Hulk to decide to keep the egg and make the bird a pet, but this is probably my recent (very fluffy) Hulk-centric Avengers fic reading that's talking. <<
You're not so far off-track there. I do have an idea about giant birds, different ones, interacting with the team. I don't know if I'll ever find a place to put it. I thought about putting it here, but it didn't fit; there's a strong dark undertow in that one.
from mutt
(Anonymous) 2014-02-10 08:01 am (UTC)(link)Re: from mutt
no subject
and yes... poor Hulk doesn't get out much so he deserves a fic of his own!
Thank you!
I'm glad you liked this. Yes, it's a challenge to write Hulk's perspective and still convey the gist of the larger action. He's not stupid, just has a particular perspective.
>> and yes... poor Hulk doesn't get out much so he deserves a fic of his own! <<
Hulk needs to get out more. He needs new and different experiences, not just fighting. Bruce is still dragging his feet, and in terms of their multiple system, he is a crappy host. Hulk is doing more of the headwork and almost all of the safekeeping. Things are getting better though.
So yeah, I realized that it was time for another Hulk story so we could see how much he's grown.
Bruce/Hulk
I may have said this before but your conceptualization of Hulk as a separate plural identity makes so much sense. It particularly struck me today in the toddler-esque way Hulk speaks and (sometimes) interacts. It's Extremely common when people experience childhood trauma, especially in very early childhood, for a part of themselves to essentially be "stuck" in that time. Bruce very likely began to conceptualize Hulk, his protector, as a very young child in the midst of severe abuse so it makes perfect sense that Hulk is still in some ways that "toddler-self."
Re: Bruce/Hulk
I'm glad you like it so much.
>> I may have said this before but your conceptualization of Hulk as a separate plural identity makes so much sense. <<
I think you have, yes, but it's still fun to discuss.
>> It particularly struck me today in the toddler-esque way Hulk speaks and (sometimes) interacts. <<
Those are some of the canonical features that I used to extrapolate this effect. So I look at toddler diction, as well as Hulk canon, for his dialog. Those two-word modifier/noun or noun/verb expressions are typical of toddler speech.
>> It's Extremely common when people experience childhood trauma, especially in very early childhood, for a part of themselves to essentially be "stuck" in that time. <<
Yes, exactly.
>> Bruce very likely began to conceptualize Hulk, his protector, as a very young child in the midst of severe abuse so it makes perfect sense that Hulk is still in some ways that "toddler-self." <<
Honestly, both of them are stuck at toddler age in some ways, although it's far more obvious with Hulk. But look at Bruce's tendency to sulk, and his near-total incomprehension of emotions and social interactions. Neither of them got the kind of socializing that allowed them to develop proper people skills. It shows. And they're both still very food-oriented and safety-conscious too.
I'm not entirely sure whether they were born multiple or split very early, but the abuse certainly polarized them into their current roles with Hulk as protector and Bruce as negotiator. Hulk's threat-response is flight/fight and Bruce's is fawn/flight. Between the two of them they manage to stay alive.
no subject
I enjoy your writing from Hulk's perspective, all broad strokes and nicknames.
Thank you!
I had fun with the Hulk-birds.
If you like giant birds in general, we have some in Torn World too. You can read a brief description of the avian ecosystem.
>> I enjoy your writing from Hulk's perspective, all broad strokes and nicknames. <<
Yay! I'm happy to hear that. Hulk makes a good contrast to the other characters.
no subject
(Anonymous) 2014-02-10 03:32 pm (UTC)(link)- dogsnameisfrank
Thank you!
Yay! That's good to hear. I would like to write more about Hulk in the future too.
>> I love the way you write him and treat his character, so I did a happy-spastic-chair-dance when I saw this. <<
*laugh* I'm glad it got you so excited.
>> Thank you so much for sharing with us, I look forward to the next part! <<
*bow, flourish* Happy to be of service.
no subject
Thoughts
I'm happy to hear that.
>> I experience Bruce/Hulk as the same person having different TAB-y-ness, which aligns with my experience of loss of cognitive function, balance, and physical ability when I have vertigo. <<
Could you unpack that acronym for me, please?
Bruce-and-Hulk can be interpreted in many different ways. I actually like most of them. I tend to write them as a multiple system, but not always the same configuration. One of the ways a plural person can manifest is when a child experiences severe trauma and their personality splits into parts so they can handle the problem. So that fits with the backstory of Bruce-and-Hulk in canon.
Something else I've taken to doing with them is sensory-processing disorder. I've always gotten an inkling of that from canon, but it got nailed down hard in The Avengers when Bruce said, "I'm exposed, like a nerve. It's a nightmare." So your mention of vertigo and its effects also intrigues me.
>> As a result separating Bruce and Hulk for purposes of describing their emotional responses and experiences makes it hard for me to integrate that new telling of their stories with my model of the character. <<
I'm sorry for the confusion.
It might help if I clarify that they're kind of like Siamese twins conjoined across the whole body. They're different people, but not separate people. Their souls are joined at the root. They share one body, even though it can shapeshift now so they each look different when fronting. They share one brain, and it's a genius brain, so they're both genius people -- but they favor different parts of the brain, so Bruce is a logical genius whereas Hulk is an emotional and physical genius. Two who are one, and yet still two. And that's exactly why Bruce shows confusion over their dual identity, sometimes conflating Bruce with Hulk and other times divorcing himselves as much as possible.
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no subject
Thank you!
no subject
Hulk hungry.
Hey! Much meat here! Dead Hulk-birds BIG!!
Well...
I'm glad to offer people a new story. I regret that I promised them a different story first. I try not to do that, because it can annoy people.
>> Hulk hungry.
Hey! Much meat here! Dead Hulk-birds BIG!! <<
*laugh* And if this had happened in the middle of nowhere, that's probably how it would have ended. Fortunately more conventional food is available.
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no subject
Thank you!
no subject
Thank you!
I'm happy to hear that.
>> And <3 at the idea of someone (I'm guessing Phil) reading Dr. Suess to him. :) <<
Yes, it will be Phil this time. I may have other people read to Hulk in other stories.
no subject
(Anonymous) 2014-02-11 07:13 am (UTC)(link)(Though Ysabet- I was rereading everything and... are you ever thinking of reintroducing Thor and Loki? )
Thank you!
Yay! I'm glad you liked it.
>> (Though Ysabet- I was rereading everything and... are you ever thinking of reintroducing Thor and Loki? ) <<
Yes, I would like to do that if I have time to carry the series that far. The catch is, first I need to wrap up some major plot threads to make room for them.
At this point, having done some other breakstep stories, I'm trying to think of something involving either or both of them that would fit with the series and not wreck anything, so we'd have a little taste of them here. It's going to take a while to get where I can introduce them.
Re: Thank you!
no subject
That is all ;-)
Thank you!
no subject
Thank you!
no subject
(Anonymous) 2014-02-13 12:49 am (UTC)(link)Yay!
I'm happy to hear that.
>> How he see's things and people helps to focus on the emotion in the story, for me at least. <<
Yes, Hulk has a very different focus than most of the Avengers. He concentrates on feelings and relationships, physical actions, and sensory input. The more complex reasoning behind a fight rarely interests him -- but if you look closely, you'll see that he's a capable strategist. Hulk is starting to learn cooperative skills and teamwork. Consider that he's only had a team for a few months, and he only comes out briefly. That's quite fast.
>> I suppose that makes sense as he is the more emotional one of the two. <<
Very much so. Hulk is an emotional genius. Bruce is an intellectual genius who finds emotions variously confusing or alarming. Hulk feels; Bruce thinks. They reason in totally different ways.
When they learn how to cooperate fluently, they'll be able to use the whole brain at once. That will be awesome.
no subject
Inarticulate comments "r" us today. But thank you :)
You're welcome!
no subject
On another note, I have always thought of Bruce-and-Hulk as multiples, two persons in one changeable body.
Thank you!
I'm glad you like this so much.
>> I love Hulk, so much. I want to huggle him. <<
He's one of my favorite characters, and has been for decades. I know Bruce-and-Hulk the best of any of the Avengers. So my interpretation spans many different canon iterations. But Mark Ruffalo is my new favorite, because he brings out the broken side so beautifully.
>> I love seeing things from his perspective. I love that you and the team are kind to him. <<
Hulk needs kindness in order to be himself. He is innately gentle and compassionate, like Bruce, but he also has a fiercely protective side. I want Hulk to have opportunities to be more than just a weapon -- to be a hero, to be a friend. Plus the whole game night purpose is about reclaiming what was lost, enjoying healthy childhood experiences. Hulk deserves hugs and soda and someone reading him books.
>> On another note, I have always thought of Bruce-and-Hulk as multiples, two persons in one changeable body. <<
Yay! I love finding people who share my perspective in that regard. I've always seen Bruce-and-Hulk as plural. They are clearly connected, deep down, yet they have such different personalities. They're like siamese twins conjoined at the whole body -- what one of my other writer-friends refers to as "dual twins."
Re: Thank you!
Re: Thank you!