Story: "Hairpins" Part 9

[ysabetwordsmith]

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," "Happy Hour," and "Green Eggs and Hulk."

Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, JARVIS, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanova, Bruce Banner.
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: This story is mostly fluff, but it has some intense scenes in the middle. Highlight for details. These include dubious consent as Phil and JARVIS discuss what really happened when Agent Coulson hacked his way into Stark Tower, over which Phil has something between a flashback and a panic attack. They also discuss some of the bad things that have happened to Avengers in the past, including various flavors of abuse. If these are sensitive topics for you, please think carefully before deciding whether to read onward.
Summary: Uncle Phil needs to pick out pajamas for game night. He gets help from an unexpected direction.
Notes: Service. Shopping. Gifts. Artificial intelligence. Computers. Teamwork. Team as family. Friendship. Communication. Hope. Apologies. Forgiveness. Nonsexual ageplay. Nonsexual intimacy. Love. Tony Stark needs a hug. Bruce Banner needs a hug. #coulsonlives.

Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8. Skip to Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14.


"Hairpins" Part 9


Phil turned off the Starkpad, then set it in his lap. He rubbed his hands over his face. "Tony is an easy man to misread," he said. "I've made that mistake before. I do not want to repeat it. He's just beginning to open up to me. I need to get this right. I simply don't have the intel to make that happen. For all the flash and snap in public, he doesn't let out much of substance -- especially early in his life. I don't know what to do next." He covered the dark screen with his hand.

"Look again," JARVIS said. "I trust you will handle this information with the respect it deserves."

The Starkpad lit up under Phil's fingers. He looked at it. There in pure shades of red, white, and blue was a Captain America uniform rendered in soft fleece. "You can't be serious," Phil scoffed. "Tony and Steve hate each other!" Then in a low voice he continued, "... and I don't know how to fix it."

"Neither do I," JARVIS said, "but that does not mean we can stop trying."

"This doesn't make any sense," Phil insisted. "I've always admired Captain America, but Tony Stark is a different story."

"And Tony Carter is different yet again. Do you recall the invention of the new element?" JARVIS asked.

Phil would never forget it. Tony had been strung out on far too much caffeine, and frankly still sick from the palladium poisoning, palliative treatment notwithstanding. Everything depended on a rickety contraption spread all over the room and propped up with whatever was handy. It had been nerve-wracking.

"Sir asked you to hand him something," JARVIS continued.

Suddenly the image flashed in his mind, the smooth curve of the old prototype. Phil had passed it to Tony, who used it to raise part of the big pipe into alignment. "It was a shield ..." Phil said.

Images shuffled across the screen. The one on top now showed a very young boy with dark wild hair dressed in plain blue pajamas ... which had been modified with a quantity of white and red tape. It looked like a scan of an old Polaroid. I can't imagine Tony being let out of the house dressed like that, so the picture must have been taken by someone who lived with him. A nanny, perhaps; I know he had those, Phil thought.

"Very little record remains of sir's truly private life," JARVIS said. "What you see here is real, just not current. If you wish to remind him of those early days -- if you want to get this not merely right but perfect -- then you must reach back to help him reclaim what has been lost."

The voice from the walls fell silent then. It was uncanny how responsive it could be. Phil had been living in the tower for some time now, and he still wasn't used to it. He had never known it to hurt anyone, though, and as a security system it was staunchly protective of Tony. Something fluttered in the back of Phil's mind, some kind of pattern trying to focus, then fuzzing out again. He was just too tired to bring it together yet.

The images in Phil's lap melted away, leaving the screen divided between his search page -- even though he hadn't saved it -- and the order page. Phil took a deep breath and considered his options.

Then he ordered the Captain America pajamas.

* * *

Notes:

People, especially men, often mask their true feelings due to social pressure or other reasons. This can make it difficult to read them accurately. Body language, gender and ability markers, etc. can all be manipulated or misread. Misinterpretations and miscommunication often place a strain on relationships.

It's hard to deal with people who hate each other, especially if you're friends with both of them and get caught in the middle of their conflict. Phil's attempt to remain neutral between Steve and Tony is about the best that can be managed, and probably helps set the stage for the hairpin turn of Tony Carter latching onto little!Steve later.

A prototype of the Captain America shield appeared in the workshop where Tony created the new element during Iron Man 2. Tony asking Phil to hand him that object is both a tweak at Phil and Captain America, and a show of trust.

Athena4405 has made fanart for the polaroid of Tony.



Compare an example of Steve's uniform from Captain America: The First Avenger and this set of Captain America footie pajamas found by one of my readers.

Adultification happens when children are pressured to behave beyond their age and/or developmental level. It is particularly a risk for gifted children, but can also happen with wealthy or famous children who are often in the public view. There are hints in canon that Tony was pushed to perform early, and then rebelled as a teen and young adult.


[To be continued in Part 10 ...]

Comments

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Some sort of touch panel, like an audiovisual input interface, that can register quality and duration (like better pianos, drumkits and most material arts media) <<

JARVIS has whatever perceptions the networked hardware has. So there are audiovisual pickups throughout most of the tower, although some of those areas (such as bathrooms) have filters to keep the content routinely obscured except in case of emergency or request. The tactile input includes things like touchscreens -- which is every Starkpad, Starkphone, and most of the other computer interfaces in the tower -- along with pressure sensors on many moving surfaces such as doors and drawers, certain equipment on the fabrication floors, and all the squiring hardware for the Iron Man suit.

Most of the time, people don't notice that stuff. But an elevator ride in the tower feels subtly different when JARVIS is carrying people by hand than it does on automatic, because he can adjust the speed and power to account for the exact weight in the carriage plus people's travel preferences. Someone with a tendency toward motion sickness would get a slower, perfectly smooth ride while someone with a yen for efficiency would get a higher speed.

>> JARVIS seems fully onboard with providing people with adaptive strategies. <<

Absolutely. He shares an interest, handed down from Tony and Maria Stark, for using technology to compensate for human frailties and make life as rich as possible given the available resources. Part of that shows in Tony's work developing prosthetics and other adaptive equipment; part also touches on Tony's arc reactor and the Iron Man suits. This is also why JARVIS is able to mediate between Steve and modern technology, until Steve's innate intelligence allows him to catch up. JARVIS is accustomed to explaining and adapting controls for users of widely varied ability levels. He's a learning program; learning and teaching are natural aspects of who he is.

>> He's cloaked in Clark Kent. <<

That's true for several of the Avengers, actually: Phil's harmlessness, Steve's boyish innocence, Bruce's clumsiness and glasses, JARVIS' ability to hide in plain sight.

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

It becomes a question of which subtleties are included where. I've not kept up with interfaces since the first wave of non-typing inputs, though how much worse my handwriting is on the signature pads continues to amaze.

Steve is hindered by wave after wave of incremental knowledge that he just doesn't have. And some things are pretty finicky so put a man that's been smashing open tanks without getting time to crack and separate eggs with his suddenly larger hands... JARVIS can scaffold Steve until he doesn't need training wheels. I'm sure the particulars have gone into a data set that will eventually become code for how to better serve human learning diversity.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> It becomes a question of which subtleties are included where. <<

That's true.

>> I've not kept up with interfaces since the first wave of non-typing inputs, <<

The high end of local tech is quite sophisticated now. What I'm using in the story is a combination of that, movie and comic canon, and personal extrapolation.

It varies, too. The touchscreen on a Starkphone would be less sensitive than one on a standard Starkpad, and the larger sizes that Tony uses for engineering and Steve probably has for artwork would be more sensitive still. In our world, there are tablets optimized for art that are far more sensitive to the amount of pressure compared to ordinary touchscreens that only need to know where you're pointing.

>> though how much worse my handwriting is on the signature pads continues to amaze. <<

Mine is illegible. That's a combination of having minimal practice at it, the texture-feedback difference, usually not being able to see the imagery on the screen clearly, and the device frequently being in an awkward position for writing.

Of those, Steve has issues with lack of practice and texture difference. He just needs to keep working with the new tech until he gets the hang of it. He's plenty smart, adaptable, and talented enough.

>> Steve is hindered by wave after wave of incremental knowledge that he just doesn't have. <<

Yes, exactly. It's very difficult to adjust even if the gap is only a few years wide. Poor guy, Steve put it right in the gutter. The worst possible timespan for any kind of skip is the range where almost but not quite everything is different, typically 50-100 years. Beyond that, the change is so great that it's like falling into a completely different world; and ironically, that's easier to adjust to for most people. You're not constantly tripped up by the remnants of your own time.

>> And some things are pretty finicky so put a man that's been smashing open tanks without getting time to crack and separate eggs with his suddenly larger hands... <<

One fascinating thing made clear in "Captain America: The First Avenger" is that Dr. Erskine somehow managed to convey body-sense along with the new body: proprioception, muscle memory, etc. Without that, Steve would've had to relearn how to walk, everything. Instead he was clearly disoriented, but able to keep his feet and even to run within minutes. Science generally doesn't do that sort of thing; it's more the field of magic or miracles. And canon hints that this is one aspect that didn't carry over with any other version of super-soldier serum. Consider how blindly Hulk was flailing around at first, marginally functional.

So Steve would've had a lot of psychological disorientation (and still has body dysphoria), the basic ability to do a lot of things immediately, but not necessarily the finesse and certainly not the observed experience. He probably broke things at first, because despite his body "knowing" how to move, he had no way of gauging his new strength against the durability of objects without practice. He'd just have to learn that on the fly. He can still break things if he gets distracted or upset and forgets not to squeeze too hard -- hence the broken glass soon after moving into Avengers Tower that inspired Tony to make shatterproof ones.

Eggs seem to be something Steve put in the time to learn. He can cook fluently, though not too fancy. He is quite deft at peeling hard-boiled eggs, and he managed to make pysanky without breaking them, as shown in "Eggshells." So cracking raw eggs is probably something he knows.

Learning to use modern technology is challenging to Steve because he has little haptic memory that's applicable to it, and because a lot of it is damn delicate stuff where it's not always obvious how much pressure it can take without breaking. And for some things, if you have to be extra-gentle with them, it's just not worth the hassle.

Starktech is an advantage here because Tony tends to build bulletproof tech, sometimes literally. You could drop a standard Starkpad on the floor without breaking it. The reinforced model for people with enhanced strength is even sturdier. The tower hardware in general is built tough, although there are still some fragile things.

>> JARVIS can scaffold Steve until he doesn't need training wheels. <<

Exactly. They've made tremendous progress, especially now that Steve is comfortable asking JARVIS for help and has learned how to explore and practice things.

>> I'm sure the particulars have gone into a data set that will eventually become code for how to better serve human learning diversity. <<

Yes, and JARVIS has probably said that to Steve and Bucky both, when they feel like they're imposing on him by needing the extra help. JARVIS knows them well enough to understand that they'll feel better if they know they're helping other people at the same time.

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Clearly Steve got some narrativium in his Serum (this is also found with the Fantastic Four and their space radiation) but it seems to work best where the interface of the world is a paved road or water. He gets pretty tangled up with that dressdummy.

"You are providing important data points regarding learning this application. Range and depth are very useful."

Steve is learning where he can noodle about and where he really could do damage without knowing more. Taking the right chances.

Learning to use modern technology is challenging to Steve because he has little haptic memory that's applicable to it, and because a lot of it is damn delicate stuff where it's not always obvious how much pressure it can take without breaking.

I've used a 1960s portable typewriter, and the amount of force you have to strike the keys, would wreck a modern keyboard. I do wonder what the home keys were when typewriters were the women operators not the machines they used; my pinkies couldn't reliably manage.

Somewhere in there is a lot of broken eggs that he scrambled, picking out shell. He knows it can be done, he wants to do it, he can work it through until it's right.

Given how ubiquitous they are, they really should improve the grip of the surface and the angle.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Clearly Steve got some narrativium in his Serum <<

True. It's hard to do the other version well, where a person has a really hard time adjusting to augmentations. I've only seen it brilliant a few times, but damn. Mutineers' Moon.

>> (this is also found with the Fantastic Four and their space radiation) <<

They had some instinctive ability to use their new gifts, but they still had considerable challenges. Johnny catching on fire by accident, all the stuff that Ben broke, Sue turning visible in her underwear, etc. Those really are classic examples of talents going awry before people learn how to control them fluently.

One thing that fascinates me about Ben Grimm is that he really does have reduced dexterity. It's not just his size and strength; he lost almost all his fine motor skills, evidently a non-trivial amount of tactile sensitivity, dermal flexibility, etc. Hell of a handicap, and it doesn't go away, although he learns to work around it somewhat. Contrast that with Hulk, who has the option of switching front with Bruce for delicate tasks even before they learn how to cofront so that both of them can use either body. Hulk still has to cope with his greater size and strength, which means using many ordinary items is a challenge for him and he often breaks things by accident. But he has much finger motor control left.

It would be interesting to get Ben and Hulk together on camera, if I find an opportunity.

>> but it seems to work best where the interface of the world is a paved road or water. He gets pretty tangled up with that dressdummy. <<

True. I suspect that the more basic a function, or the more familiar, the easier it would be. It's like downloading a file. You're going to get some information, but there's a limit to how much. Probably that limit was set by Steve's tolerance, and his aperture approaches totality, but we're still talking about memory-hog file sizes. That's enough to breathe, talk, walk, run, etc. ... but not dance, and not handle fragile things without breaking them, until he's had personal practice using that body.

Yet it didn't edit Steve's self-image; that's canon. Soulwork can do that easily; in fact with that big an imprint you'd need to protect against spillover into self-image if you wanted to leave it out for sure. Too much of that is stored right in the meat, so change that and it can carry over, hence the variable impact of limb loss on self-image.

>> "You are providing important data points regarding learning this application. Range and depth are very useful." <<

Point.

>> Steve is learning where he can noodle about and where he really could do damage without knowing more. Taking the right chances. <<

Exactly. Some of that would be things Steve did before; some is new now that he has more resources. While it itches his sense of responsibility to break things, he can afford to practice with a bunch of different paintbrush brands and materials to determine which will stand up well in his hands and which are just too flimsy. I suspect that Steve will gradually become more comfortable with test-to-destruction practice as he grows more secure in his current income level, and more aware that it's not really wasting stuff if you learn from the experience.

>> I've used a 1960s portable typewriter, and the amount of force you have to strike the keys, would wreck a modern keyboard. <<

Yeah, we had a heavy one at home when I was little. Then I learned on a manual. Then the teacher switched my station to an electronic typewriter the day before the final exam. I threatened her with Dire Consequences if I didn't pass because of the change -- and it was pica to elite, the spacing was different, the key depth and action were different, everything. Fucking nightmare. Fortunately it came out all right in the end. But I'm having a similar problem now; new laptops are unusable for me because the keys are below tactile recognition depth for me. I can't use a flat keyboard; my fingers navigate based on feeling the spaces between the keys. So far desktops can still get a real keyboard, but the trend makes me nervous. I can so, so sympathize with Steve because there's a lot of tech I can't use for varied reasons.

>> Somewhere in there is a lot of broken eggs that he scrambled, picking out shell. He knows it can be done, he wants to do it, he can work it through until it's right. <<

That is exactly what I figured he would do. Like the way I spent an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening practicing typing to scrape through the class, just learning something I needed but had no talent for by sheer brute force.

>> Given how ubiquitous they are, they really should improve the grip of the surface and the angle. <<

Well, that would be the responsible approach. Unfortunately most people don't care; they seem satisfied with an illegible scrawl. Art tablets, and the styli that come with them, can be far more refined and precise.

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

As often the case with narrativium, it affects the Fantastic Four not in the same way as Steve. For them it's all in who got what power; Johnny turning invisible would be horrible.

Hulk is BIG, and that poses problems, just as Cary Grant in a dollhouse would. Doesn't mean either isn't aware of where their body is. Ben is in a different boat, and that bit on the bridge, where Reed picks up the ring Ben can't, shows that for all the years he meat walled for Reed, Reed's got his back now, from any side.

I was thinking more noodling with technology. Steve might have a better sense of art supplies but he may branch out because he can explore. He's not limited to line work and grayscale which would have been the main commercial art of his time. Yes, he'd end up with tools that take damage, and he'd repurpose quite a percentage of them. So, whose old studio chair is he going to buy cheap because someone slipped up on keeping provenance?

"I liked its line and it was already paint-splattered!"

"Don't have to change; like you're ruining it?! Now the chair has two daddies."

Well, we've got a lot of peeps that don't get that it is possible to do things better with negligible cost. That's what mass-production means. But then we've rather confused ends and means, so instead of it being easy for people to be clean and warm, we've got people chasing stuff that falls apart.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> As often the case with narrativium, it affects the Fantastic Four not in the same way as Steve. For them it's all in who got what power; Johnny turning invisible would be horrible. <<

Yes, that's true. But it acted more like a prism with the FF (and Doom). Each of them had a similar experience of inner nature manifesting in an outward way, but it took a single element of personality -- Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Metal -- and brought it to the surface instead of polyoptimizing the human body. That's actually plausible in terms of team dynamics because a really well-constructed team often has a diversity of personality types/traits to maximize what they can do.

>>Hulk is BIG, and that poses problems, just as Cary Grant in a dollhouse would.<<

Exactly. Hulk is too big to fit into a lot of places or use most things, too heavy for many ordinary objects or floors, and so strong that just touching things requires him to modulate his strength as carefully as an ordinary person would have to handle an egg. That's frustrating, guilt-tripping, and nerve-wracking for anyone; but especially for an abuse survivor who presumably got yelled at and/or beaten every time he broke something.

>> Doesn't mean either isn't aware of where their body is. <<

Sooth. Hulk has excellent kinesthetic sense, which is how he could learn how to toss a balloon relatively soon without popping it.

>> Ben is in a different boat, <<

Rigid skin costs him both dexterity and sensitivity, and his weight is massive. Plus he lost an entire finger on each hand; people tend to forget that. That means not only is he too big for human-sized objects, his hands are the wrong shape now. And unlike Hulk, Ben has so little finesse that he keeps breaking ordinary things even when he's trying to be careful. He probably just can't feel how hard he's squeezing.

>> and that bit on the bridge, where Reed picks up the ring Ben can't, shows that for all the years he meat walled for Reed, Reed's got his back now, from any side. <<

That's exactly what I was thinking. It was a beautiful illustration of so many things.

>> I was thinking more noodling with technology. <<

Well, that too. I tend to think of technology as the sum total of human toolmaking, from knapped flint to computers. So paint and paintbrushes count, as well as a tablet computer optimized for art.

>> Steve might have a better sense of art supplies but he may branch out because he can explore. He's not limited to line work and grayscale which would have been the main commercial art of his time. <<

I tend to think of him as favoring charcoals (cheap, easy to use, expressive) along with colored pencils (for variety), and oil paint (a much richer medium, more controllable than watercolor).

>> Yes, he'd end up with tools that take damage, and he'd repurpose quite a percentage of them. <<

True.

>> Well, we've got a lot of peeps that don't get that it is possible to do things better with negligible cost. That's what mass-production means. <<

Alas.

>>But then we've rather confused ends and means, so instead of it being easy for people to be clean and warm, we've got people chasing stuff that falls apart.<<

That's also an effect of powerful people stealing the benefits of everyone else's labor to line their own pockets, rather than dispersing the benefits of hard work to those who do it.

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

From the special features to the first Fantastic Four, it's pretty clear that not only are they a team explicitly constructed from first principles (as opposed to Justice League that raided DC's preexisting stable) but also that the people doing that intellectual construction are reading a lot of 'heady stuff' compared to the usual middlebrow America favors. The movie re-figuring takes the sprue-lines off (Johnny being along 'for a lark' as a teen, the active Reed Richards Father Knows Worst Science Without Safety Protocols) and condenses the evolution of their powers into their origin story. The view of Reed and Sue is interesting, she's playing from an 'old playbook' where Reed was supposed to 'drive', and Reed 'let her go' because he thought that's what she wanted to do. As I recall it's in the extra scenes that Victor is shown to be obsessing Because Sue Is Not Dating Him And The Proposal Comes From Nowhere. There are some oddities created by 'new default' (since they are mostly audience-side, I can re-read them away and they're only 'connected' by the suspect interpretation by Ben (who's not getting 'dusted off' in that soft-focus set of scenes from the art studio).

Ben is having the problem that has vexed replacement parts, getting feedback so you don't have to watch your hand to know if you're going to crush the egg or drop the bag. Hulk is again akin to the toddler that has to learn the world (and Bruce is not helping. Nor Ross.) and 'adults' aren't doing a good job with Damage Minimization. Doesn't help that brownstones are 'hard to put away' but Ross picked the venue.

(Aside, think one of the USO girls taught Steve to do cartwheels?)

They really did some nice work with the interpersonal tie-beams between Reed and Ben, and explaining why Johnny so gets under Ben's skin.

Well, I keep in mind that the needle is one of the vital tools (though there are fiber arts that can occur well before the needle) and it links the Ice Age to astronauts. I was considering that Steve would be writ large the computer adoption 'fears' I sometimes see (and the flipside damage of people doing what IT didn't think to forbid.)

Watercolors would tend to get ruined by calls to assemble. JARVIS could set up even more climate control if needed re oils still being worked.

One of the nice things about my house vs apartments, is I can work up best solutions. There is a world of difference between a well fitted ship's cabin and a lowest denominator studio/inefficiency. But modular housing could do so much better, and it would not have to make rents $$$.

That's also an effect of powerful people stealing the benefits of everyone else's labor to line their own pockets, rather than dispersing the benefits of hard work to those who do it.

Obie, don't dig that far in my pocket. Goose That Laid The Golden Eggs, meet axe. We get the Iron Man of our age.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Ben is having the problem that has vexed replacement parts, getting feedback so you don't have to watch your hand to know if you're going to crush the egg or drop the bag. <<

Exactly. His tough skin is the kind without much feeling or dexterity.

People are just starting to work on haptic feedback in prosthetics. I've been looking at some of that for Bucky's arm.

>> Hulk is again akin to the toddler that has to learn the world <<

Yes, exactly. He is not clumsy, but inexperienced. All it takes is some demonstration, a little practice, appropriate tools, and he's fine.

>> (and Bruce is not helping. Nor Ross.) <<

Bruce is a child abuse survivor with damage in some unfortunate places. Ross is an abusive bastard all around.

>> and 'adults' aren't doing a good job with Damage Minimization. Doesn't help that brownstones are 'hard to put away' but Ross picked the venue. <<

And yet it's Tony, who is usually not good with kids, who comes up with material solutions like the Hulk pants and the shatterproof dishware. Because he sees problems in terms of things more than people.

>> (Aside, think one of the USO girls taught Steve to do cartwheels?) <<

With his size and weight, cartwheels would be hard. Handsprings, maybe. I suspect they did teach him all that lovely tumbling though.

The one awful faceplant in the Winter Soldier was epic. Wow, splat. Steve usually does so well tumbling his landings.

>> They really did some nice work with the interpersonal tie-beams between Reed and Ben, and explaining why Johnny so gets under Ben's skin. <<

Yeah, the shaving cream was hilarious.

>> Well, I keep in mind that the needle is one of the vital tools (though there are fiber arts that can occur well before the needle) and it links the Ice Age to astronauts. <<

That's true.

>> I was considering that Steve would be writ large the computer adoption 'fears' I sometimes see (and the flipside damage of people doing what IT didn't think to forbid.) <<

Fortunately for everyone, Tony thinks it's great if someone manages to break things, because then he can make them better. He keeps trying really hard to teach the Avengers this, but Steve and Bruce still beat up on themselves for breaking things.

>> Watercolors would tend to get ruined by calls to assemble. <<

Depends on the style. Some approaches you have to do the whole thing at once. Others you have to do in layers, or the paint turns muddy, and that's the kind I've seen more often.

> JARVIS could set up even more climate control if needed re oils still being worked. <<

True.

>> One of the nice things about my house vs apartments, is I can work up best solutions. There is a world of difference between a well fitted ship's cabin and a lowest denominator studio/inefficiency. But modular housing could do so much better, and it would not have to make rents $$$. <<

Yeah, houses are convenient that way.

>> Obie, don't dig that far in my pocket. Goose That Laid The Golden Eggs, meet axe. We get the Iron Man of our age.<<

:(

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

That shaving cream sequence shows just how dedicated Johnny can be when he's got a goal. If he could acquire some other goals in addition he might get some egoboo in more constructive ways.

Notice that he's the one that figures how to make it less likely to end up in an undisclosed bunker. "Once you're on kids' shirts, much harder to vivisect you. Everyone has seen E.T."

Steve is Irish-American. Murphy will make sure any Assemble will be ill-timed.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> That shaving cream sequence shows just how dedicated Johnny can be when he's got a goal. If he could acquire some other goals in addition he might get some egoboo in more constructive ways. <<

Agreed. Johnny reminds me a lot of Tony and Loki in that regard. He's not malicious, just poorly channeled.

>> Notice that he's the one that figures how to make it less likely to end up in an undisclosed bunker. "Once you're on kids' shirts, much harder to vivisect you. Everyone has seen E.T." <<

Smart move. Tony tends toward the same with Bruce-and-Hulk especially, the other Avengers too, but it's hard because Bruce hates being in the spotlight.

>> Steve is Irish-American. Murphy will make sure any Assemble will be ill-timed. <<

Sometimes his luck is bad, but other times it's really really good.

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

It's a flavor thing. Petty bad luck and great luck when it really matters.

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

As I think about it, this might be a signal that Steve always had significant physical aptitude, that was masked by a body doing its best to not totally give out. Of course Chris Evans brings a lot to the role. The commentary pointed out that in lots of places it was good Chris was game for things because he does them so different to the specialists they had tapped to do them if need be. That must be nervewracking for stuntdoubles.

Steve, new Odysseus. You think the Moon is a harsh mistress, Athena is a Boss.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> As I think about it, this might be a signal that Steve always had significant physical aptitude, that was masked by a body doing its best to not totally give out. <<

I think so. You can see hints of it in the movie. Grabbing the garbage can lid was both a brilliant idea and a demonstration that his body had the right instincts but not the right build.

Boy, do I know how that goes.

>> Of course Chris Evans brings a lot to the role. The commentary pointed out that in lots of places it was good Chris was game for things because he does them so different to the specialists they had tapped to do them if need be. <<

It's wonderful when actors can do that.

>> That must be nervewracking for stuntdoubles. <<

Too true.

>> Steve, new Odysseus. You think the Moon is a harsh mistress, Athena is a Boss. <<

Sooth. He is well chosen of Athena, equally skilled in the wit and hand of warcraft. And he's even got her gimlet eye for staring down cowards and miscreants.

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Of course Captain America and Flash both got some of Mercury's marks, and that's Perseus' shield Rogers picks up.

City goddess seeks city boy to vanquish unleashed evils. Will provide thews, training on job.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Of course Captain America and Flash both got some of Mercury's marks, and that's Perseus' shield Rogers picks up. <<

*grin* Saw that, did you?

>> City goddess seeks city boy to vanquish unleashed evils. Will provide thews, training on job. <<

*laugh* I love it. Yes, it's quite the package he got, very traditional in some regards.

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Peggy is very fond of him (he needs work, may accept training) and she's got her Britania on.

(At some point Bucky points out he is not a princess.) Red Skull is a Kraken, that HYDRA icon looks more elder and doesn't have multiple heads.

Phil may not have noticed how old-fashioned...

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Peggy is very fond of him (he needs work, may accept training) and she's got her Britania on. <<

I have to admit that I'm amused to see someone fielding the sheath and the shield, rather than the sword.

>> (At some point Bucky points out he is not a princess.) <<

And yet both of them played Gentleman in Distress over the movie.

>> Red Skull is a Kraken, that HYDRA icon looks more elder and doesn't have multiple heads. <<

Point.

>> Phil may not have noticed how old-fashioned... <<

Likely not, and yet he follows along anyway.

I do have some tidbits about this in later stories.

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

And yet both of them played Gentleman in Distress over the movie.

Which might show how to allow for heroines to also be heras. You know, stop "Strong Women"(TM) and be people, exciting people.

Schmidt rocking his Gymnasium education and flying his slip. (anyone that knows this period's figures well know where they fall in the German educational system?)

Well, Phil may pick it up as he goes. He's got the chops to see where trouble is, grab kit and run toward it.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Which might show how to allow for heroines to also be heras. You know, stop "Strong Women"(TM) and be people, exciting people. <<

That's true.

>> Schmidt rocking his Gymnasium education and flying his slip. (anyone that knows this period's figures well know where they fall in the German educational system?) <<

Yeah, that was a sight.

>> Well, Phil may pick it up as he goes. He's got the chops to see where trouble is, grab kit and run toward it. <<

Which is a bit awkward if one is supposed to be a REARGUARD HERO NOW, PHIL! It makes your frontliners antsy if they have to keep one eye on making sure you don't make a bugsplat of yourself again.

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

That'll be a negotiation Steve will have to head and then sway the rest. At least Phil is trained in ways that make him harder to hit than an EMT.

Oh, Schmidt would be horrified to learn just who he was trying to lure to the Übermensch. Not sure how salient "Kid from Brooklyn" was at that time. My headcanon is that whole conversation happens in German until that jab. Bucky sure is confused enough not to gainsay it I think. (Zola might go into English just for a shock. He's really pissed Schmidt is getting distracted. There is such a domestic abuse dynamic between those two.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> That'll be a negotiation Steve will have to head and then sway the rest. <<

Likely so.

>> At least Phil is trained in ways that make him harder to hit than an EMT. <<

Harder to hit, and harder to kill.

>> Oh, Schmidt would be horrified to learn just who he was trying to lure to the Übermensch. <<

*cackle* Appearances can be so deceiving.

>> Not sure how salient "Kid from Brooklyn" was at that time. My headcanon is that whole conversation happens in German until that jab. Bucky sure is confused enough not to gainsay it I think. <<

That makes sense.

>> (Zola might go into English just for a shock. He's really pissed Schmidt is getting distracted. There is such a domestic abuse dynamic between those two. <<

Okay, Zola/Schmidt ... uckies uckies uckies!

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Utterly uckies, and (hopefully) unconsumated, and yet totally hen-pecked and about to get the last laugh.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

It may be asexual rather than sexual, but I think they're really attached to each other in a way that gratifies some warped desire. Codependence taken to a really graphic extreme.

Re: Yay!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Schmidt I think likes having this bottle of acid in his pocket. His 'petty abuse' of Zola is his long term. Zola is riding this train, grooming Schmidt, making a catspaw of him, and liking the boot on his neck.

Col Phillips wants a shower just having to be in my head for this.