░▒ ❝ YOU KNOW WHO I AM.

&& SOMETIMES i wonder which is the REAL me. this splendid METAL ( SKIN ) i’ve created – or the FRAIL thing of FLESH that wears it. — ANTHONY STARK ( IRON MAN )

[stcrkstruck-blog]

✗

                      ✗ — bringing them alcohol

        &           “ is this a peace treaty ? ” the question sounds sarcastic, but it’s really not. not entirely, at least. tony’s not sure if he’s been avoiding steve or if steve’s been avoiding him, but they haven’t spoken much since the whole EPIC FAILURE that landed them here to begin with. ( in fact, the only reason tony knew about steve’s presence in the tower was because someone else mentioned it. man, he hates shitty security. ) 

        “ can we skip the motivational speech ? ‘ things are different, we need to work together. we have to put our differences aside for the sake of man-kind and red, white, and blue. ’ ” he finishes with a roll of his eyes, picking up a tablet and swiping at he screen idly. “ yeah, i’m aware. you’re 28% forgiven. (  even though i can’t remember what the LAST thing you did to piss me off was, i’m sure you did something. ) and i’m BUSY, so uh. ” and he takes one of the bottles, lifting it to steve in a mock salute before turning around. 

                 “ don’t worry, we’ll pick this up next month. probably. ”

[stcrkstruck-blog]

☎ ( arvchkid )

                                ☎ — hugging them

       &         tony is really bad with this whole uncle-older-friend-comforting-definitely-not-father-figure type thing. he’s not sure when he seemed to officially adopt peter as an apprentice ? god-child ? actual spiderling ? yeah, no—he has NO IDEA. he’s also not sure when peter became so comfortable around him – so much so that he’s willing to show such vulnerability. it’s times like these that tony remembers that, in spite of his intellect, peter’s still a kid. so when the boy crumples, shoulders sagging with the weight of fear, disappointment, and uncertainty — tony takes a hesitant step forward. “ hey, it’s— ”

        before he can finish, peter takes him complete off his guard by suddenly throwing arms around him. tony’s eyes widen and his immediate instinct is to separate, but there’s something about the way peter is clinging to him. something about the way his ‘    i’m a strong adult   ’ facade fades within seconds that reminds tony of—well, HIMSELF. so, after some brief internal debate, tony stark summons every anti-howard fiber in his being and hugs the kid back. “ yeah. it’s gonna be okay. ”

[a-crimsonmalice]

SEND A SYMBOL FOR MY MUSE’S REACTION TO YOURS:

▼ kissing them

♢ stabbing them

♞ shooting them

✖ punching them

➶ slapping them

☠ poisoning them

☎ hugging them

☂ picking them up

✗ bringing them alcohol

✣ bringing them food

☯ coming home late

♀ proposing marriage

[arvchkid-blog]

if peter noticed the glance, he doesn’t let on – though his own obliviousness is probably the more likely cause. his mind is already jumping to the code tony had left behind, distracting itself from other LESS IDEAL things. he frowns and the code, scanning it quickly to see what tony had already done and what might help. he chews absentmindedly at his lower lip, thinking though his options. 

after a moment, he begins to type, but he stops when he hears tony speak. slowly, he picks his hands off the keyboard and turns to face the other. crossing his arms, peter looks at the floor between his feet. ‘ honestly ? i’m WORRIED. i haven’t heard from aunt may.. ’ he scratched the back of his neck, only to quickly look up and over to tony. ‘ but it’s whatever, i mean – i’m sure she’s fine. it’s whatever. i’m fine. ’

[stcrkstruck-blog]

     tony momentarily finds himself at a loss. ‘ comforting ’ is not one of his strongest abilities, by any means. no, he’s the king of AWKWARD pats on the back and thin-lipped smiles strained with pity. of course, he waits until he finally jostles the slinger back into its rightful place before he delivers any of those ---- one hand going to hesitantly rest on peter’s shoulder blade while the other sets the gadget by the keyboard. 

     “ hey, i’m sure she’s---- ” and what is he supposed to say after that ? he doesn’t want to get the kid’s hopes up with a--- ‘ don’t worry ‘bout a thing, kiddo, i’m sure she’s absolutely, perfectly fine. ’ though that’s probably what a NORMAL human being would do -- tony stark doesn’t really fit under that category either. “ listen, there're a couple kids around who are pretty good at finding people---some kind of... gps thing in their brains, i’m still not 100% sold on how it works. i’ll talk to ‘em and---well, even if we get an idea, i’ll do a round out there and see what i can find. and NO, parker, you get to stay here and work on the internet. every kid’s dream. ” and it’s mainly because he doesn’t want the boy to get eaten or mauled on a hunch. ( not to mention he doesn’t want him along in case they run into the WORST case scenario. )

[arvchkid-blog]

peter’s been spending the past few hours uncharacteristically quiet as he fiddles with his left slinger – it had gotten JAMED during the battle, but he was sure if he could just coax the snag out .. almost.. almost there.. when tony spoke he didn’t look up, SO CLOSE TO GETTING IT – ‘ shit ! ’ he shook his head, dropping the tool he had borrowed ( commandeered ? ) from tony’s work bench. ‘ at this point i’d rather in in the TRANSMORPHERS series. and it was as bad as it sounds. if not worse. i mean – did you see that ? why would they even make a second one ? ’

‘ sorry – my bad. not the point, right? not the point. got it, mr. stark. ’ he looks angrily at the slinger, before setting it aside and turning back to tony. ‘ how’re we gonna find people ? ’ suggesting SPLITTING UP sounded like a bad cliche ( hey mr. stark! maybe we should split up and look for clues! ), so he kept his mouth shut. ‘ you need any help with the GOOGLE THING ? ’

[stcrkstruck-blog]

          tony casts a wary glance toward the kid when the curse leaves him. he can’t help but be a little amused, fairly pleased ( relieved ? ) to see that peter is somewhat back to normal. whatever ‘ NORMAL ’ for peter is ( or is peter’s ‘ normal ’ everyone else’s abnormal ? ). actually, tony’s not even sure if he was ever not normal --- but he had to be, right ? teenagers don’t normally react well to the apocalypse, even if they are super-arachnid-enhanced?-kids.

          “ one hundred percent not the point. ” tony agrees, though his tone is light even through his exhaustion.  “ but, don’t worry --- i’ve got that part covered, kid. ” he walks over to the table and picks up the slinger and his tool. “ i’ll trade you, ” he nods toward his previous work station. “ knock yourself out. ” tony leans against the table, already fiddling with the slinger. “so,” he begins, somewhat hesitant. “ how are you holding up ? honestly ? you okay ? ”

[saintlips]

With arms crossed over her chest, Jane watched with tired eyes as the man spoke, carefully taking in each of his words and digesting them. It had been hard pill to swallow, trying to process the events that had unfolded in New York over the past seventy two hours. Having been taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D as a valuable asset to their team, she found herself in the unfamiliar tower with the biggest problem of her life to solve for. Yeah, it had been a rough couple of days.

As she took a few steps around the room they were situated in for the time being, her amber eyes focused on Tony Stark, as he had introduced himself. “And how do you suppose we “assemble” a group when we still don’t even know who is alive? Even if we did manage to find a team, it could take us weeks – months even – to figure out what exactly how to destroy the most powerful cosmic warlord who is armed with an entire army of reptilian warriors.”

[stcrkstruck-blog]

       tony didn’t bother to refrain from rolling his eyes. he loved science, but sometimes his fellow scientists were, well, the ultimate buzzkills. “ you know, from what i’ve recently discovered, if there’s one thing that has absolutely no place right now --- it’s RATIONALITY. for someone who once had a fling with a norse god, your lack of faith in the irrational is a little disappointing. ” 

      of course he saw her point, though focusing on those  details did nothing to motivate him. “ there are more survivors than you’d think, trust me. there’s still a lot of POWER alive and that’s just in this city. the last time we had a run-in with some of thanos’ crew, we got lucky, and that was just with a handful of us. if i can recruit those further than new york, if they have even half the power or determination that some of the survivors here do ? ” he paused, running a hand over his face and taking a deep breath before continuing. “ it may not seem like it, and i’m asking for a lot of blind trust here, but we may actually stand a chance. ”

[bvnners-blog]

      IN THEORY, bruce muses wryly, it should have been a breeze. and it would have been, had it not required both tony and bruce to walk to the ends of manhatten and back. he is referring to, of course, the array of sensors, receivers, and transmitters the pair are in the process of planting all along the island. this should not only allow seamless comm unit communication across the entirety of manhatten, but with sensors posted atop numerous buildings and along the perimeter of the island, they’ll be able to monitor any unusual activity– or frankly, another thanos attack. 

      the pair is currently trekking down the battered remains of fifth avenue. bruce, shouldering the backpack full of their supplies, points a finger to an intact building some ways down the street. ❝ what do you think about that one, tony ? it might be an apartment building– easy rooftop access. ❞

[stcrkstruck-blog]

       tony won’t say that this is one of his best ideas. HYPOTHETICALLY, he could have done it all on his own ( probably a tad quicker, if he was being honest ) but he didn’t feel half as bad convincing bruce to come along. it isn’t like the dude is... totally defenseless, by any means. but, hopefully, that won’t need to be tested.

       of course, one of the many disadvantages to having anthony stark as your apocalypse buddy is that his attention span remains to be equivalent to that of a squirrel’s. “ yeah, uh huh, sounds great. OR---- ” he nods in the opposite direction, “ ---we could try out the stadium. yeah, i know, you said avoid it. too big, too obvious, but signals, bruce, signals. ” and he’s really already made up his mind, and he’s sure bruce knows it. “ if we set up sensors all throughout it,  we shouldn’t have to bother with anywhere else. ”

[wiccvn-blog]

there’s an itch at the back of his head telling him to LISTEN, to hear the other out. the world had come to a place neither man had expected, and billy should place previous conflicts behind him ( at least for the moment ). he gained nothing from keeping the hatchet above ground, and yet ! his eyes narrowed,  and billy mimicked the other’s gesture, crossing his arms before leaning back against a wall. an eyebrow raised in response to tony’s suggestion. 

  ‘ what EXACTLY are you suggesting ? ’ the question fell off his lips into the silence, and the dark haired witch tilted his head, waiting for an answer. it seemed ill advised at best, but billy knew if he was going to find the rest of his team, he was going to need help. he would be willing to make a trade. 

[stcrkstruck-blog]

        he’s somewhat grateful that the kid isn’t starting a fight with him because, really, that’s the last thing he needs right now. however, he can feel the suspicion radiating off the younger male. tony can’t really blame him --- their past interactions haven’t left the best impressions, but still. he’s sure that billy just being in the tower proves that he’s willing to put things aside at least for this cause. 

      “ look, you’ve got a lot of POWER, right kid ? i’m betting you can get this message out there quicker than i can. and a lot farther too. maybe we can get an estimate on survivors, bring them together and come up with an actual game plan when we know where our advantages lie. think you’d be up for somethin’ like that ? ”

[mvsclememcry-blog]

spencer listened carefully as tony spoke, glad to have something to occupy his thoughts. for the last three days UNCERTAIN SILENCE was the superior option, with chaotic ramblings being the other option. for some time he toyed with the idea of writing everything that happened down, but for once he didn’t wish he could remember. 

‘ wasn’t ever really AN AVENGER, tony, so i’m not sure how much what i think matters. ’ he paused, scratching absentmindedly at the nape of his neck, choosing the next words carefully. ‘ but that doesn’t mean i wouldn’t stand by your side. just like before. ’ he didn’t remember every before, but he knew they were there – befores made other people more secure. it was something he had slowly learned. it went against his nature, befores made him nervous, but he could offer them in an attempt to reassure ? was that was this was? 

                 spencer wasn’t usually tasked with that. 

                                                                     ‘ – i have a feeling i’m not the only one. ’

[stcrkstruck-blog]

      “ AVENGER ? it’s just a title. just a word, y’know ? we should all be avengers now. avenging the planet we’ve called home for... forever, really. it should come naturally. ” but tony understood, to a degree, because even speaking those words he didn’t feel like a true avenger. not one that actually protected and made a DIFFERENCE as he was supposed to.

        he sighed, unsteady fingers combing through his hair. he was relieved, to say the least, that spencer’s loyalty had yet to waver. he offered a thin smile before shaking his head. “ well, i’m sure there’s a decent handful that are too busy tossing BLAME to even consider it. you’d be surprised how many often think that starting a riot will somehow make things better. give it another 48 hours and we’ll be killing each other before thanos has a chance to. ”

                    ( if we get that long. ) 

[sergeanted-blog]

   finding stark’s tower had been easy. it shined against the inky darkness that had swallowed new york city. the wakandan helicopter had, quite literally, dropped bucky off at tony’s doorstep before piercing the shadowed streets until it was just a distant speck miles and miles off. t’challa has always had plans of his own.

    now bucky finds himself entirely alone with one tony stark. maybe it’s because his home has been destroyed, or that he hasn’t had another soul to speak to within the past seventy-two hours, but tony’s first instinct isn’t, surprisingly, to shove him out of one of the many gaping windows in the tower. rather, the man says more words to him than he has… well, ever.

      ❝ so, are we gonna plaster a giant ‘help wanted’ sign on the side of your tower? or… ❞ bucky stops himself, allowing his voice to trail. don’t push it, barnes, he tells himself. he looks out the giant paneled windows and imagines the rubble and wreckage that lay beneath the murky shadows. then, bucky scrubs a hand over his face. god, the mess he’s in–the kind he hasn’t been able to avoid all his damn life except this time he’s gone willingly.  ❝ look, i’m just saying that getting together enough people able to stop… all this is probably gonna take a while. right now i think we should just find out who’s still alive. ❞

[stcrkstruck-blog]

      the roll of his eyes acts as an accurate depiction of the regret that surges through tony’s very being. initially upon finding barnes, he’d had half a notion to simply leave him to defend himself against the craziness the lurked outside. ( i mean, he’d be able to handle it, right ?? ) and it was mostly due to the fact that tony hadn’t fully repaired the security systems that bucky had even been allowed access to the tower anyway. but tony’s working on the whole ‘ let’s not hold a GRUDGE while the world is ending ’ thing, and it has been... years.

      and yet barnes is still ANNOYING. “ is this, like, an 1800′s theme you and rogers have going on ?  he’s captain america and you’re CAPTAIN OBVIOUS ? listen, i know this isn’t going to happen overnight, and that’s not what i’m saying. if you wanna go out on a literal manhunt, be my guest. ( try not to get eaten. ) just remember that we don’t have ‘ a while ’.

      “ what i’m working on right now is sending out a message. something that’s broadcasted throughout the city----or as far as it can go----that brings people here. i’m not saying that a handful of people from new york is going to stop thanos trying to destroy the entire world, but word will travel. somehow. we have teleporters, we have telepaths, witches and sorcerers----for crying out loud, we have GODS on our side. some of these people have allies in other realms. if we can just bring them here, talk to them, convince them --- we might actually stand a CHANCE. ”

[darkstargirls-deactivated202103]

as calm as she ever appears to be, natasha sits in silence and considers tony’s words. granted, her full attention isn’t on what he’s saying. it’s out there — beyond the battered walls of the tower. the tower had held, unlike the majority of the city. and its citizens. with sheer willpower and possibly a hint of good old fashioned luck, natasha had stumbled back to the tower, thankful to see it lit up against a city plunged into darkness. these were things she knew she didn’t need to dwell on. it would only make recovery that much harder. but they’d never faced anything to this degree. never failed as hard as they had three days ago. it was a shock that was not easily worn off, no matter how collected she seemed.

“how are you planning on assembling these new recruits? we can’t exactly go door-to-door and ask for volunteers,” she remarks dryly. “they’ll need training. EXTENSIVE training. if we’re going to go up against thanos again, we can’t just throw anyone out there that wants to fight. we don’t have the time or resources.”

[stcrkstruck-blog]

       “ okay, your sudden lack of badass-ery is seriously disappointing. ” tony gives her a wary look before crossing his arms over his chest. “ romanoff, i know you’re big on the whole ‘ i’ve been trained to be a robot ’ thing, but c’mon. REASON and LOGIC ? they’ve been annihilated. there’s no point to them. do you have any better ideas ? would you rather we just let him SLAUGHTER the rest of us ? there are still people out there. i’ve seen actual kids running down the street. they’re still looking to us, to anyone to help. to keep them safe. 

       “ and fuck training. you’re right, there’s no time for it. right now, i’m working on a way to get a message out. signals are shit, yeah, but i’m getting there. what these people need to know is simple basics. remember what you’re fighting for. who you’re fighting for. fight. win. besides, there are people out there who have more power than thanos does in his pinky toe. ” he pauses momentarily, as though expecting an alien assassin to come crashing through what’s left of the tower windows. when there’s no wild screeching, he continues. “ okay, hopeful exaggeration. but c’mon. i mean, up until now he’s had other people doing his dirty work. a lot of his power comes from that bedazzled glove of his -- i think thor said something about that once. if we can just bring people together -- get lucky with a few choice contenders, we might actually stand a chance. ” tony’s not a fan of the tone his voice has taken on. it’s thick with desperation, a state that he certainly doesn’t like being in. but, as screwed up as it is, he doesn’t want earth to DIE. 

          “ we’re AVENGERS, right ? so ?  let’s avenge. god, you’re making this difficult. ” 

[simmonscommajemma-blog]

          the last thing jemma had seen before she found herself banged up in the rubble was the helicarrier she was on - to administer first aid when needed - plummeting to the ground. of course, the size of the carrier softened it’s own blow which, to agent simmons’ thanks, saved her life. 

here she was, sat in front of tony stark as he rambled about everything that happened and how they were going to fix it. just the two of them, it seemed. the only thing jemma could think about were her fellow agents and where they were. fitz, skye, may, the whole lot of them. no doubt she was concerned for everyone’s safety. but they were her little family. 

“mr. stark, sir..” she spoke quietly, only knowing his name because of who he was but she didn’t expect him to know of her, “i mean this with the utmost respect..but how are you and I supposed to do anything with out anyone else?” she asked, feeling particularly discouraged. 

[stcrkstruck-blog]

         “ yeah, doesn’t sound all that REALISTIC at the moment, does it ? ” he offers his best attempt at a smile before shrugging. “ but, for starters, be honest with me -- does SHIELD have some kind of post-apocalyptic back-up plan ? because, knowing fury, i wouldn’t be all that surprised. or maybe i’m just being hopeful. less work for me, y’know.” he lets out a short laugh, though it’s more bitter than genuine. 

      it doesn’t last long, and soon his gaze turns sympathetic before he averts it. “ you seen anyone from your team yet ? i know i’ve seen romanoff -- but she’s like a different... sub-section of her own. a couple others. some stragglers. it’s, uh---it’s TOUGH, though. i get it. you kinda... get used to people; their presence, their effects. ” they become your family -- the center of your world. they make it easier to carry on, since you know what---no, WHO you’re fighting for. 

       “ i'm gonna try to get a message out. i’m not really concerned about he-who-must-not-be-named seeing it, because i’m pretty sure he already knows. those creepy things in the streets -- probably his spies anywho. there’s a reason he didn’t demolish life as we know it. i mean--he did figuratively, but he could have wiped us out entirely. i’m not fully sure... why we’re still ALIVE, but i doubt it was a free pass. he knows we’re going to FIGHT. now, you’re probably gonna say--- ” and he raises his voice a couple octaves for good measure, “ --- ‘ but mr. stark, sir ! doesn’t that mean that we’re playing right into the enemies hands ? we’re going to give him exactly what he wants ? ’ maybe we are. but we’re still going to give him something that he’s not expecting. we’re going to WIN. ” and he waits for her to call him out on his bullshit, but hey ! he’s surprisingly good at the whole motivational speech thing today, so he’s gonna roll with it. 

[bvnners-blog]

      despite everything, bruce is thankful– even if just a little– that the hulk remembered enough to oh so kindly drop him off at what remained of tony’s tower. and what remained of the tower, to bruce’s surprise, was more than he’d expected. at the very least it’d lost a few floors; the tower was actually still standing among other things, and most importantly, still had electricity.

      bruce is in his pants– only his pants. there’s a slight tremor coursing up and down his arms, but for the most part he’s okay. covered in dust and barely able to recall the past three days, but mostly okay. yeah. he knows the more he keeps his mind on the ache wedged between his joints the worst it’s probably gonna get. so he focuses on tony, his voice, and his skill to remain such a snarky smartass while standing in the wreckage of his own home. 

        ❝ good plan but uh– how exactly are we supposed to do that ? i don’t see another light as bright as the tower right now, so it’s safe to assume you’re one of the very few people with electricity. besides, wha–what then ? we go all in like independence day ? with what, tony ? thanos… thanos has an army probably bigger than any handful of volunteers we might be able to scrounge up. ❞

[stcrkstruck-blog]

      “ yeah, this is a pessimism free zone, ” tony states. “ it’s a new house rule. brought on by the whole end of the world thing. can’t have any more stress. ( weak heart, y’know ? ) ” he gives his friend a taut smile, looking him over once before turning to grab for a dark heap on the floor. it’s revealed to be a jacket and he tosses it onto bruce’s lap. 

      “ anywho, ” he continues, picking up one of the tablets he’s salvaged. “ you’re right, though. i know there are a few people out there with generators ( and i’m trying to come up with a solution for that whole situation, too, don’t worry ) but there’s a positive bit to being the only one with the lights on. people see us, bruce. the tower’s a BEACON, it draws people in. 

       “ on the other hand, you’re… right. ” tony closes his eyes. the images are still fresh in his mind. it’s funny, he’d been so quick to say that he was fine – that he’d finally RECOVERED from new york. then everything went to shit again and he was back in that wormhole. back in that abyss where nothing made sense, where all his reason burst into flames. “ but there are people out there that have a lot of power, bruce. and some with friends in high places. not everyone is on thanos’ side. we just gotta get ‘em together. that’s the only struggle. but i’m working on that. ” he musters another smile; looser, but no less strained. “ you know what i miss ? wikipedia. most of it was wrong ( and i had to re-write my page about fourteen times ) but – it’s the small things, y’know ? ”

[stcrkstruck-blog]

        today, tony’s gotten LUCKY. that hasn’t happened in---well, a while. and he certainly hasn’t had high hopes since the attack. three days in and the first face he’s greeted with is not human, and that seems to say a lot about his impending stroke of so-called luck. no internet, no roommates, a really shitty makeover on the tower -- yeah, the cards have NOT been in his favor. 

until now, that is. now that he’s finally gotten someone to listen to him. someone to actually consider his plan. sure, PLAN is a loose term, because tony has no idea whether or not it’s actually going to work, but---well, that’s how most of them start anyway, isn’t it ? 

“ so, i think it’s best i start out with some honesty. in the last 72 hours, i may have fallen in the insanity pool, but i think it’s fair to say that we’ve all been there, done that. especially considering that that whole thing--- ” he throws in a vague gesture, “ ---outside ? yeah, it’s like a really bad sci-fi flick. this ATTACK ? just the trailer. we have to do something before the actual movie starts. what, you ask ? well, what we used to do. ASSEMBLE. with... some new recruits. yeah, that’s all i got. think that over while i try to bring back GOOGLE. ”

[shawarmaholics]

Come on, Stark…

[scott-winchester]

Sometimes I wonder which is the real me… this splendid metal skin I’ve created – or the frail thing of flesh that wears it.

-Iron Man (Vol. 1) #164

[jassntodd-moved-deactivated2017]

— henry wadsworth longfellow

insp.