Tony, Rhodey, and the kids in Invincible Iron Man(2015) #11

shark vs the universe

JVL
h
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"

Love Begins

ellievsbear
almost home

pixel skylines
AnasAbdin
Show & Tell
ojovivo

Kaledo Art

roma★
Stranger Things

祝日 / Permanent Vacation
Keni
noise dept.

Origami Around

❣ Chile in a Photography ❣

seen from Philippines
seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from Australia

seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from Brazil
seen from Ireland
seen from United States
@machinewar68
Tony, Rhodey, and the kids in Invincible Iron Man(2015) #11
boom! you lookin’ for this?
the-m3chanic:
“I don’t know,” Tony said, something that he had always had a problem admitting. He was supposed to know everything. He was surrounded by super-soldiers and demi-gods. The only power he had was his brain. If Tony couldn’t figure something out, what hope was there? He was useless if he didn’t get all of the pieces of the puzzle and almost immediately work out how to put them together. He had to admit, though, as he had admitted to Jessica, that things were getting more difficult now. His mind was weary, his thoughts blurred. He used to take a drink to sharpen his wits, to make himself understand the question and figure out an answer, but now he couldn’t just stop at one. He was in a perpetual state of drunkenness, unsure of where to turn to. He could rely on Pepper, on Rhodes, on Jessica and Sharon and the Avengers, but they couldn’t help him any more than he could help himself.
He felt useless. It was a recurring thought. Every time he picked up a glass, or tipped back a bottle, he thought about how he had watched his friend drop from the sky. He remembered how he was sick every time he thought about Rhodes in the cave, when he considered the fact that he might go back to Malibu after he got out of the desert and have to live a life without his best friend by his side. He couldn’t do it. He knew now that he wouldn’t have been able to be Iron Man without Rhodes. “Danvers has fought them before, you know? She has the most experience out of everyone, except maybe the Guardians, though Quill is a bit put out about the whole thing too.” Tony didn’t want to admit that Peter seemed almost worried about the invasion, because that only reaffirmed that Tony should be bricking it as well.
Tony laughed, but it was void of humour. “That sounds like a pretty good option,” he admitted, looking up at his friend. There were so many things he wanted to say to him, so many questions he wanted to ask, words that hung at the end of his tongue and had been there for so long now that he had no idea how to ask them. Instead he just sighed and leaned back in his chair. “When you told me to enjoy it while it lasted, I didn’t really think an alien invasion would be what ended it,” he joked, perhaps a little badly, but it was the best he had in situations like this. “You sure you want to stick around for this? I know you have family. You could … you could get out of dodge. Bring Pepper with you. I can handle this here, if you wanted.”
Rhodes had known things were bad, it was impossible to not notice the perpetual smell of whiskey or another equally strong alcohol coming from Tony, ignoring it, however, was easier. The side effects of the pressure of having the world crumbling down around you and most of who once upon a time considered themselves your friends, turning their backs on you, hadn't been kind to the genius. It didn't help that Tony was his worst enemy, that he put so much stress on himself, that he had a vision of what he should be that was impossible to live up to. Yes, Rhodes had known things were bad. But he had never imagined they were so bad. Tony never admitted he didn't know something, not directly. Words were twisted, meetings suddenly forgotten brought up, and poor excuses made. But an 'I don't know' was something never before Rhodes had heard from Tony's lips. At least, not that he could remember.
Danvers and the Guardians. He didn't particularly know well or care about any of them. He had enough people in his life to worry about and for what Tony had shared about them, they were more than capable of taking care of themselves. "And yet she didn't see this coming." The old consolation of finding reassurance in the fact that somebody else had failed to do something that you haven't been capable of doing wasn't the best approach. Especially not to someone like Tony. But Rhodes was trying to point out that if even someone with experience in the is and extensive knowledge hadn't seen it coming, there was no way Tony, who knew no more about aliens than he knew about cooking, could have foreseeing Skrulls invading the Earth. "And neither did the Guardians. This is not your fault, Tones."
He almost slapped Tony. Almost. But the fact that he managed to control himself didn't mean he wasn't any less offended. "I'm a soldier, Stark." He spat, arms crossing over his chest and his upper body language taking a defensive stance. "I have been in over one hundred missions. Every time knowing it could be the last. I don't run away from battles. No matter how dangerous they might be." He knew where this was coming from. But just because it was coming from a place full of concern, guilt, and remorse, it didn't make it any less insulting. "Nothing has changed." For a brief moment, he stared at his legs. “Nothing.”
madripccr:
( ✉ → Colonel Handsome ) Justice. ( ✉ → Colonel Handsome ) Bullshit. He would have told me. ( ✉ → Colonel Handsome ) I’ve read your file. I’d be a fool to underestimate you. ( ✉ → Colonel Handsome ) How about you let me suggest it first? Or even better, tell me what you think I was about to say?
{ text;; Lara Croft } That’s the least personal reply I have ever heard. { text;; Lara Croft } Maybe he was too embarrassed to admit it. { text;; Lara Croft } And how exactly had you access my file? It's supposed to be classified. { text;; Lara Croft } I don't even want to hear it. Or say it.
noredbull:
“Oh, you’re gonna be like that?” Sam asked, clutching his chest in mock hurt. “Thank me, curse me, all the same thing,” Sam said, managing a smile in Rhodey’s direction. The two men had been close before the Accords, bonding over the Air Force and their shared experiences with that, and he hoped that someday, maybe while they fought the aliens, they’d be able to get back there. “Stark’s adopted the Spider Kid, right?” Sam asked, a genuine grin forming. “I wasn’t sure how he’d react to seeing me around, especially with him and Steve’s … um, disagreement.” Were they talking about Tony now, or Rhodes?
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Rhodes responded, feigning innocence and ignorance. However, the expression only lasted a few minutes in his face, soon his whole and undivided attention was back on the wings. It was easier to focus on the task at hand that on Sam. They had been close once, now there were more things dividing them than bringing them together. "Eh? Yeah. Peter. He's a good kid." A nod followed his words. "You're not Rogers."
spydcrwoman:
“I’m not so sure about that,” she shot back, still smirking. “I’m not an engineer, but I’m pretty sure the red wire goes over there.”
James stared at the red wire and to where she was pointing. Indeed, it went over there. "Are you sure you aren't an engineer?" He asked, in an amused tone.
pagingkarxnpage:
[ text;; Mr. J Rhodes ] Maybe it’s easier to pretend it’s cut and dry. There’s less complications that way.
[ text;; Karen Page ] Life is not easy.
vpeppxrpotts:
[ text;; Mr. Reliable ] Or a new position.
[ text;; Miss Potts ] Starting with new security might be easier.
[text] You make me want to be better.
(✉ → Tones): And you make me want to hit my head against the wall. (✉ → Tones): What have you done this time?
Sam Wilson & James Rhodes // Aesthetic
Sorry for the inconvenience, we’re trying to save the world.
@noredbull
alpha dad luke making sure maia is okay.
the-m3chanic:
( ✉ → honey bear ) my fcae is supre truswothry!!! ( ✉ → honey bear ) alllll byyyyyy myyyysseeelllfff? :( :(
( ✉️ ➡️ Tones ) That doesn’t make it pretty. ( ✉️ ➡️ Tones ) Don’t wanna be? Too bad.
bloodcfsilver:
Silver nodded, taking the seat across from the man. She wanted to correct him on the idea of their being on first name basis – she used her first name to avoid confusion with her father, not out of friendliness – but one of the first things mercenaries learned was not to argue. ‘The customer’s always right,’ so to say. “James,” she repeated with another polite nod.
It wasn’t rare for military men to contact her, but this situation was a bit different than most. Typically, they’d meet somewhere a tad more official than a coffee shop. Silver doubted that this meeting was military sanctioned. Truthfully, she wasn’t even sure if Rhodes intended to hire her or if he simply wanted to ‘catch up’ with a former acquaintance’s daughter. She hoped for the former. She’d never been particularly good at entertaining her father’s friends, nor did she have any real desire to.
“Sure,” she shrugged. It seemed a waste to meet in a coffee shop and not sample the coffee, after all. “Whatever you recommend.” One thing she’d learned in all her travels was how not to be picky.
Rhodes wasn't a big fan of ordering for others. It was a personal act. Especially when said other person was a woman he had just meet and knew nothing about. Well, that wasn't completely fair. He did know a few things about her. But the stories that circulated around about the new and incredibly promising young mercenary didn't exactly involve her favorite drink.
When the waitress approached them, a cherry blonde in her mid-thirties with a face covered in freckles and bright red lipstip framing a bright smile, asking them if they were ready to order, her pink notebook covered in glitter waiting for her to write their order down, Rhodes politely requested to know what were the house recommendations. He ordered his usual black coffee for him and the coffee the woman kept talking wonders about for Silver. With the firm promise that she would be back soon with their drinks, the blonde turned on her heels and left Silver and Rhodes submerged in a tight silence.
He ran a hand through his untamed hair and offered the woman sitting in front of him a friendly smile. "I suppose you're wondering why I requested to meet you here." He started. "I know it's not a very usual place for a meeting."
the-m3chanic:
For a long time in the cave – basically the entire time in the cave – Tony had thought Rhodes was dead. Convinced himself of it, really, hadn’t even allowed a modicum of hope to sink in because he knew when he got home, if he got home, that hope being crushed would be too much for him to bear. He had called out to him when the shots started firing, had immediately thought of him as the car in front burst into elaborate flames, and amidst admiring the powerful nature of the weapon, an explosion that seemed so intimately familiar that he had to have built the cause of it, he had thought of his friend, how his name would be the last thing he’d said.
When Rhodes walked over the hill in Afghanistan, when the helicopter landed in front of him and Rhodes ran to him, pulled him into a hug even as he was aching all over, not caring that he was covered in motor oil and blood and sweat and even more blood, Tony had felt as if everything in the world crashed together into a single, conceivable second. Everything, his entire life, had seemed so disorganised. Chaos stitched together with the worst possible choices. But that moment, that moment was so simple. Rhodes was there as he had always been, and he was holding him, and everything was going to be okay. He was going to go home and he was going to work it out, and everything would be fine, because it had to be. He had his best friend.
For a long time, Tony had been the one who was sick, the one who was dying, the one who couldn’t fight as hard as he wanted to. Rhodes was always stronger, faster, better at throwing a leg over the wall and dragging Tony behind him. Now, the tides had turned. Tony’s heart was full of holes but it was beating hard and strong. Rhodey’s legs were damaged, and a part of him couldn’t stop blaming himself. Yet Rhodes still took Tony’s hand in his, and Tony squeezed it gently.
“That almost sounded like comfort,” he teased, forcing a small smile onto his face. “I’ve been talking about aliens for years, Rhodes. I should have looked into more species of them, talked to Carol more, maybe even went out to space.” The only reason he hadn’t was because he was afraid. Same as everything. “I should have had contingency plans in place. What is the army thinking of the whole thing?”
Rhodes almost wanted to reassure Tony that this, and by this, he meant being stuck in a wheelchair, wasn't a problem he needed to solve. He had seen Tony work endlessly in projects that both fascinated and obsessed him, work until he passed out of exhaustion work until he almost lost his mind. When he found a new project he put his everything into it. He didn't know when to stop, didn't know how to only work half ways. Besides, his legs weren't a puzzle that could be put together after hours of careful consideration. It wasn't as simple as glueing a cup after it fell to the ground and broke into one million tiny pieces. It required time and effort and despite how much his friend and everyone else wanted to help only Rhodes could do it. All Tony could do was be his side and that was something that left you feeling powerless. Rhodes knew it very well, he had spent years watching Tony behave in a less than healthy way, had watched his friend wasting his potential, build a reputation of a moralless playboy more interested in having fun and engrossing his list of love conquest than in fighting to make the world a better place. And during all those years all he could do was watch and stand by Tony's side, no matter what.
Now the tables were turned. It was Tony's turn to watch and be there, silently supporting him. It could be hard to believe but something as simple as just remaining by his side made things much better. That's the true basis of friendship. You didn't need to solve your friend's problems, just stand under the storm with them until the sun opens its way through the clouds.
And now Tony had one more thing to add to the already impossible weight on his shoulders. No one could have possibly seen it coming. No one had seen it coming. And yet Tony blamed himself for not being able to do what any other human being, and not so human, hadn't been able to do. There were many who shared this sentiment. People with hearts too big for their own good. "And how were you supposed to do that exactly?" He wondered, one brow raised. "There isn't a section in the library you can consult. Hell, Tones, our knowledge about Asgardian is filled under 'Mythology'. Mythology for fuck's sake!" He shook his head. "And what was Danvers supposed to tell you, eh?" He sighed. "You can't have contingency plans for something you don't know exist. If you follow that route you'll end living underground in an anti-bombs bunker with enough food and supplies to survive any kind of apocalypse."
the-m3chanic:
( ✉ → honey bear ) one good relationship is a win!! ( ✉ → honey bear ) i dont trust ur great ideas ( ✉ → honey bear ) tell me about it. my life is a sitcom ( ✉ → honey bear ) ur trying to lecture me about safety. but subtly ( ✉ → honey bear ) i can feel it, sweetheart ( ✉ → honey bear ) my liver is useless to me anyway. i have never touched a drop of alcohol in my life
( ✉️ ➡️ Tones ) One good relationship is luck. ( ✉️ ➡️ Tones ) Says the man who destroyed his Maserati. ( ✉️ ➡️ Tones ) You’re the blonde white girl. ( ✉️ ➡️ Tones ) Am I? Maybe it’s your subconscious telling you to be safe. ( ✉️ ➡️ Tones ) This is me rolling my eyes at you harder. ( ✉️ ➡️ Tones ) True. You should donate it to science. Healthiest liver ever seen. It would be a huge discovery.
akagoddammit:
(✉️ ➡️ that rhodes): & yet i constantly am. guess im just optimistic that way (✉️ ➡️ that rhodes): that was a joke, in case that wasnt clear (✉️ ➡️ that rhodes): thats what friends are for ig. & thnx. appreciate that. (✉️ ➡️ that rhodes): good goddamn luck. (✉️ ➡️ that rhodes): i really wanna crash the little meeting between him & ty & just deck him in the face, how bad a plan is that
{ text;; Jessica} Humanity is full of surprises, I'll give you that. { text;; Jessica} No problem. Tony's girlfriends are by extension, my friends. { text;; Jessica} I think it's the best plan I've heard in a while. You should go for it.