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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," and "kintsukuroi."
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Nick Fury
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Minor character death. Bullying. Fighting. Suicide attempt (minor character).
Summary: This is the story of how a little boy named Flip grows up to save the world a lot.
Notes: Hurt/comfort. Family. Fluff and angst. Accidents. Emotional whump. Disability. Sibling relationship. Nonsexual love. Parentification. Manipulation. Coping skills. Asking for help and getting it. Hope. Protection. Caregiving. Competence. Toys and games. Comic books. Fixing things. Martial arts. Gentleness. Trust. Role models. Military. BAMF Phil Coulson.
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, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31, Part 32, Part 33.
"Little and Broken, but Still Good" Part 34
Working at SHIELD means life is never boring and rarely quiet. Phil saves the world a lot, but he does it from the shadows, a ninja hero disappearing before anyone even realizes what really happened, let alone who did it. He's no one special. He's just a guy in a suit, invisible as a janitor. He comes, he cleans up the mess, he goes.
The work is not without cost. Sometimes Phil struggles to maintain his balance between gentleness and ferocity. He holds aikido in one hand and ninjutsu in the other. He's even learning how to blend them together. He tries to use the least possible force to meet his goals, and mostly, he succeeds. Others aren't so lucky.
Phil watches his friend Agent Fury move up the ranks. Agent Fury spends less time in the field and more in clandestine meetings. He becomes Assistant Director, and Phil sees even less of him. After Director Carter retires, Director Fury takes over command. It's harder for Phil to get through to him about ethical concerns, but Phil never gives up.
Of course, Phil earns promotions of his own. It becomes a tradition for him to spend the first few weeks at a new level just going through paperwork that isn't visible to lower security ratings, so that he can improve the forms as needed. Sometimes he discovers things that aren't even covered, so he invents whole new forms to organize that information. Phil becomes quietly famous as a red-tape ninja, not just a martial artist. Nobody wants to get into a paperwork war with him. The new girl, a thoughtful sort named Maria Hill, refers to Phil as "the lost bureaucrat of Byzantium," as if he's some kind of macguffin in an archeology flick. But she helps him keep Director Fury on an even keel, so Phil just smiles blandly and tolerates the nickname.
As a handler, Phil learns how to manage even the most challenging assets -- which, naturally, gets him put in charge of ever more complicated people. Other agents say that he is the mightiest handler SHIELD has ever known. Phil acquires first one and then another damaged assassin, pulling them out of the mercenary life into the shelter of SHIELD. He never gets tired of bringing people in from the cold.
Director Fury and Agent Coulson may butt heads sometimes, but underneath, the connection between Nick and Phil survives. There are compromises, there are sacrifices, and Phil mourns what the job he loves is doing to the friend he admires. But they don't let that stop them. They can't afford to. The world needs them.
A counter-assassination effort almost goes awry when enemy forces get to the target's car and rig it to explode. Phil notices a suspicious smudge on the door in time to tackle the target, but the blast knocks them both into a fire hydrant. The dazed diplomat mumbles her thanks as SHIELD backup scrapes Phil off the pavement.
Phil's last thought before losing consciousness is, Well, there go another four to eight weeks of recovery time before I can get back to my job.
* * *
Notes:
Here you can see hints of what Phil does for SHIELD as "The Cleaner" and "The Fixer" in addition to the more BAMF flavors of fieldwork. He's a guy who makes problems not be problems anymore.
The ethics of compromise reflect on a person's moral character. It's very easy to sacrifice principles in pursuit of goals. This is especially a hazard in certain professional contexts, and it's said that everyone has a price.
Byzantium was legendary for its intricate bureaucracy.
A car bomb, whether triggered by ignition or remote control, is a popular way to get rid of people. An astute observer may notice signs of tampering.
[To be concluded in Part 35 ...]
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Nick Fury
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Minor character death. Bullying. Fighting. Suicide attempt (minor character).
Summary: This is the story of how a little boy named Flip grows up to save the world a lot.
Notes: Hurt/comfort. Family. Fluff and angst. Accidents. Emotional whump. Disability. Sibling relationship. Nonsexual love. Parentification. Manipulation. Coping skills. Asking for help and getting it. Hope. Protection. Caregiving. Competence. Toys and games. Comic books. Fixing things. Martial arts. Gentleness. Trust. Role models. Military. BAMF Phil Coulson.
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, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31, Part 32, Part 33.
"Little and Broken, but Still Good" Part 34
Working at SHIELD means life is never boring and rarely quiet. Phil saves the world a lot, but he does it from the shadows, a ninja hero disappearing before anyone even realizes what really happened, let alone who did it. He's no one special. He's just a guy in a suit, invisible as a janitor. He comes, he cleans up the mess, he goes.
The work is not without cost. Sometimes Phil struggles to maintain his balance between gentleness and ferocity. He holds aikido in one hand and ninjutsu in the other. He's even learning how to blend them together. He tries to use the least possible force to meet his goals, and mostly, he succeeds. Others aren't so lucky.
Phil watches his friend Agent Fury move up the ranks. Agent Fury spends less time in the field and more in clandestine meetings. He becomes Assistant Director, and Phil sees even less of him. After Director Carter retires, Director Fury takes over command. It's harder for Phil to get through to him about ethical concerns, but Phil never gives up.
Of course, Phil earns promotions of his own. It becomes a tradition for him to spend the first few weeks at a new level just going through paperwork that isn't visible to lower security ratings, so that he can improve the forms as needed. Sometimes he discovers things that aren't even covered, so he invents whole new forms to organize that information. Phil becomes quietly famous as a red-tape ninja, not just a martial artist. Nobody wants to get into a paperwork war with him. The new girl, a thoughtful sort named Maria Hill, refers to Phil as "the lost bureaucrat of Byzantium," as if he's some kind of macguffin in an archeology flick. But she helps him keep Director Fury on an even keel, so Phil just smiles blandly and tolerates the nickname.
As a handler, Phil learns how to manage even the most challenging assets -- which, naturally, gets him put in charge of ever more complicated people. Other agents say that he is the mightiest handler SHIELD has ever known. Phil acquires first one and then another damaged assassin, pulling them out of the mercenary life into the shelter of SHIELD. He never gets tired of bringing people in from the cold.
Director Fury and Agent Coulson may butt heads sometimes, but underneath, the connection between Nick and Phil survives. There are compromises, there are sacrifices, and Phil mourns what the job he loves is doing to the friend he admires. But they don't let that stop them. They can't afford to. The world needs them.
A counter-assassination effort almost goes awry when enemy forces get to the target's car and rig it to explode. Phil notices a suspicious smudge on the door in time to tackle the target, but the blast knocks them both into a fire hydrant. The dazed diplomat mumbles her thanks as SHIELD backup scrapes Phil off the pavement.
Phil's last thought before losing consciousness is, Well, there go another four to eight weeks of recovery time before I can get back to my job.
* * *
Notes:
Here you can see hints of what Phil does for SHIELD as "The Cleaner" and "The Fixer" in addition to the more BAMF flavors of fieldwork. He's a guy who makes problems not be problems anymore.
The ethics of compromise reflect on a person's moral character. It's very easy to sacrifice principles in pursuit of goals. This is especially a hazard in certain professional contexts, and it's said that everyone has a price.
Byzantium was legendary for its intricate bureaucracy.
A car bomb, whether triggered by ignition or remote control, is a popular way to get rid of people. An astute observer may notice signs of tampering.
[To be concluded in Part 35 ...]
