#i got super snappy w him but even thinking about it now makes me wanna cry. i've purposefully put it out of my mind

[creatediana]

"John Donne" - a charcoal imitation of the 1622 Portrait of John Donne at the age of 49 by an unknown artist, drawn 2/26/2024

This is a purposefully rough work; I hadn't drawn a single thing in two weeks since giving up on a personal and difficult drawing I had worked on during January-February. This was done in about 30-to-40 minutes with just willow charcoal; no pencils and very minimal erasing, so somebody doesn't get the privilege of defined eyelids.

[karoochui]

I just wanted to say I am so enamoured with Binary Insurgence! I eat up everything, every little crumb, you drop about it and the entire idea is so interesting to me! I'm so in love with stories and worlds like this! I'm also curious to know about the relationship between Sun and Moon, if it's alright to ask. How was it before the fire compared to after? Does their relationship begin to mend (because I'm certain over the years it deteriorated) when y/n comes back into the picture? If any of this is too spoilery or you just haven't fleshed it out yet then you don't have to answer! I'm just super curious about the boys and how you see their dynamic/relationship. I just look forward to seeing how their bond has grown and/or broken and how it may be mended over time.

AHH im glad you like it so much!! Im happy to talk about what i've got, but you are right not everything is fully fleshed out. I have points i wanna get to but while im brainstorming and planning i make up a lot of stuff as i go and then go over it again later to see if i like it or can connect stuff in any way. I have 3 chapters for Arc 1 fully summarized as of now! (Which probably doesn't seem like a lot but i like my chapters long, so it's quite a bit actually).

I wanna say, too, that i'm planning for the first story to be more in the perspective of the reader, so most things about Sun and Moon's personal thoughts and feelings are gonna be more implied than said. I might have some switching points of view, i'm not sure, but i haven't found a place i'd do it or think it's relevant. The sequel is gonna be more from their perspective since it'll mostly be about them.

NOW! I see Sun and Moon as brothers, so they really treat each other in a way that's like that. Before the fire they get along pretty well. Most instances of issue would be when Moon blocks out Sun when he fronts, or just mutual panic over the fact Moon lost his shit w/ the virus. They'll have their disagreements about things (i havent planned specifics yet) but generally they're chill. Sun just worries about Moon hurting people, but Moon worries too. With the way the virus functions in this AU it's hard for Sun to fully fault Moon for what he does, especially because he's also affected by it but not nearly as bad. (I'm gonna explain this more in another ask i have).

Plus, even before the virus they were always glitch/bug-ridden because technicians fucked up their programming continuously after removing them from the theater to work in the daycare. So they had to kinda navigate through that together, glitches and errors on both ends (though not deadly). They hate P&S bc of this, obviously. Hardware fixes suck but they fucking HATE software examinations.

Later on though some issues come into play whenever Sun starts getting worse by being further exposed to the virus (it gets worse for him when they eclipse) because it presents itself in Sun differently than it does Moon. He gets snappier and angrier at times (that comic i made that's captioned "well someones snappy") and while they both understand he doesnt mean the shit he does it's still not great. And nobody's gonna just let themselves be talked to like a dog even if the reason it's happening is because of something the other person can't really help. They're still relatively fine at this point, though.

It's at the end when shit goes really bad, because this part of the story does end badly. I won't spoil specifics but after the fire Sun loses his shit. He starts trying to put the blame on Moon for everything (the virus enhancing his already bad habits/fucking with his line of thinking) out of grief and anger. That carries over into the apocalypse and he just gets worse in general. He gets irrational.

It's a long period of time though, so he eventually also manages it, in his own way. But! I did say before in an ask that in the sequel he's "not evil, persay, but he's a fucking nut". He damns Moon to an hourglass to just fucking get rid of him about 100~ years before they meet you again (he fully thinks he's in the right for this (and he also just hates him) and the only reason he really even stayed around after that was to make sure Moon didn't get out again). He's not a bad-intentioned individual, but he's off the fucking wall at many times bc of the virus having made him worse. He's stubborn as all hell to an infuriating degree, he's irrational, hard-headed, reckless, and while a good bit of his old, kinder self is still pretty prevalent he can be downright fucking mean if provoked. Again, worse than before, and it doesn't take much these days! I always imagined him to have more dramatic, snappy, diva aspects to his personality (even before Help Wanted 2 came out) bc hes so theatrical and intense, so basically take a Sun that's like that, crank it up to 100 and put him in a Bad Situation. That's what Round 2 Sun is like at his worst. He's not a complete lost cause though, and he's far from dumb when he does stuff, just clouded by his own judgement. He doesn't think anything's wrong with him (or does he?).

Moon doesn't really hate him like Sun hates Moon, because although he knows that what happened (the ending of the first story) is technically both of their faults he just feels guilt. They do fight a lot, though. Most of it is Moon trying his best to tell Sun that he's basically full of shit and not seeing things right after Sun starts something, but Sun's at the point where he's gotta learn by consequence. Part of the reason he's so bad is bc 1: hes been infected by the virus for so long now and 2: in his grief, anger, and resentment he's learned to live with it rather than fighting it.

But the sequel is gonna be a feel-good story! Falling in love w/ the reader all over again, i want things to get cleared up - or at least some kind of middle ground between Sun and Moon - the whole sha-bang.

[hecrtfelt]

( dylan  o’brien ,  25 ,  cismale  ,  he/him )  *  hey  ,  i’m  looking  for  the  office  of  griffin  olson  .  they’re  the  employee  who’s  known  around  the  office  as  the  party  animal  ,  if  that  helps  ?  not  to  be  a  gossip  ,  but  i’ve  heard  that  they’re  extroverted  but  reckless  ,  is  that  true  ?  i’ve  also  heard  that  they’re  the  one  who  did  a  line  on  a  fax  machine  .  anyways  ,  here’s  the  coffee  they  ordered  .  ( admin  sabrina  ,  21 ,  she/her , est ) 

hiii  i’m  admin  sabrina  and  aaAAAHHHHH  thank  u  for  joining  my  group  :’)  umm  a little  abt  me   is  that  i’m  a  leo  and  black  and  i  play  a  lot  of  instruments  and  i  love  ari  and  harry  and  5sos  and  the  driver  era  and  marvel  and  bnha  and  i’m  going  to  law   school  in  nyc  in  the  fall  so  AHHHHHH  again  but  fr  i  love  making  friends  so  hmu  on 𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚#3541 even  just  to  chat  faljsfkjsfkljj

anyways  this  is  my  boy  griffin  and  basically............  homeboy  needs  to  pick  up  a  mortage  or  smth  FJSLJFSLJFJJ

tws:  alcohol  and  drug   mentions  . 

*  statistics   .

FULL  NAME:  griffin  lee  olson NICKNAMES:  griff  ,  griffy  ,  g FACECLAIM:  dylan  o’brien  but  exclusively  this  era STAR  SIGN:  gemini HEIGHT:  6′1″ HOMETOWN:  brooklyn  ,  ny ORIENTATION:  heterosexual OFFICE OCCUPATION:  lobbyist POSITIVE TRAITS:  amicable  ,  energetic  ,  optimistic NEGATIVE TRAITS:  irresponsible  ,  insouciant  ,  impulsive ALCHOL/DRUG  USAGE:  heavy  for  both  ,  &  has  an  unhealthy  reliance  on  the  latter  when  he’s  extra  stressed  .  only  those  close  to  him  or  happen  to  have  seen  him  getting  a  $20  nosebleed  (  aka  doing  a  LINE  and  being  a  COKIE  MONSTER  )  will  know  about  the  drug  thing  ,  but  the  alcohol  part  is  easier  to  find  out  since  too  often  he  wears  sunglasses  to  work  to  cover  his  bloodshot  eyes  flajfafj THEME SONG:  don’t  threaten  me  with  a  good  time  by  panic!  at  the  disco CHARACTER  INSPO:  peter  quill  ( marvel ) ,  thor  odinson  ( marvel  but  specifically  in  ragnarok  and  endgame )  ,  deadpool  (  marvel  )  ,  sokka  ( atla ) ,  klaus  (  the umbrella  academy  )  ,  beast  boy  ( teen  titans ) ,  nyles  (  palm  springs  )  cody  ko  (  tmg  )  ,  nick  miller  (  new  girl  )  ,  aldous  snow  (  forgetting  sarah  marshall  )  &  any  party  animal  character  you  can  think  of AESTHETICS:  neon signs  lighting  up  the  night  ,  setting  five  alarms  and  sleeping  through  them  all  ,  cold  liquor  on  an  empty  stomach  ,  a  cluttered  desk  and  a  messy  nightstand  ,  winking  at  strangers  ,  and  popping  bubble  gum  . SECRET: hehehehehehehehehehe

*  brief  backstory  .

griffin’s  dad  is  a  used-car  salesman  and   his  mom  is  an  attorney  who  sells  avon on  the  side ,  so  g  grew  up  knowing  how  to  talk  .  it  already  helped  that  he’d  been  sociable  from  the  start  ,  oftentimes  being  scolded  by  his  mom  for  talking  the  ear  off  of  the  person  sitting  next  to  them  on  the  subway  .  but  his  parents  had  to  be  persuasive  for  a  living  and  that  transferred  onto  griffin  .  the  popular  kid  to  some  and  the  class  clown  to  others  ,  griffin  spent  his  middle  and  high  school  years  buttering  people  up  with  his   words  and  friendship  ,  with  his  long  brown eyelashes  and  boyish  grin  .   it  got  him  the last  bag  of  chips  from  the  snack  cart  ,  an  extra  five  points  on  his  calculus  quiz  ,  and  free  handles  of  liquor  from  the  seniors  .   being  so  well-liked  meant  griffin  was  invited  to  a  lot  of  parties  ,  and  that’s  where  the  addiction  began  .  he’s  addicted  to  alcohol  ,  to  any  drug  that  gets  his  veins  feeling  like  electricity  ,  to  meeting  strangers  in  loud  basements  and  that  pounding  feeling  in  the  back  of  his  temple  .  this  carried  onto  college  ,  so  griffin  never  really  got  the  chance  to  grow  up  .  he’d  never  been  smacked  with  the  reality  that  life  isn’t  all  tequila  shots  and  drake  songs  ,  and  it  didn’t  help  that  the  profession  his  parents introduced  him  to  only  required  an  ironed  suit  from  him  at  the  most  .  he  went  from  one  crowded  room   to  another  ,  this  one  just  with  more  briefcases  ,  surrounded  by  strangers  once  more  and  doing  a  line  with  his  colleagues  .  now  ,  working  at  masters  in  the  heart  of  the  world’s  most  vibrating  city  ,  who  knows  how  long  before  griffin  takes  his  lifestyle  too  far  ?

*  what  he  does  in  the  office  .

he’s  a  lobbyist  for  masters  !   he’s  been  there  for  four  years  now  .  basically  he  works  for  masters  as  a  messenger  to  the  government  .  masters  is  huge  and  influential  and  powerful  and  sometimes  they  wanna  introduce  or  ban  or  amend  legislations  all  in  the  name  of  making  them  more  powerful  and  monopolistic  ,  and  that’s  where  griffin  comes  in  .  his  job  is  to   basically  schmooze  for  the  benefit  of  the  company  .  it  sounds  like  a  super  important  job and  it  is  ,  and  griffin  does  it  well  .  he’s   still  immature  though  💔  catch  him  recovering  from  a  hangover  and  sleeping  on  his  desk  most  days  of  the  week  . 

*  his personality, summarized  . 

super  sociable  and  energetic  when  he’s  not  hungover  ,  mostly  nice  but  can  get  snappy  if  he  has  a  reason  to  be  .  tends  to  ramble  .  the biggest  party  animal  ever  ,  almost  to  an  insane  amount  .  is  down  for  any  opportunity  to  get  lit  ,  no  matter  the  time  of  day  or  who  he’s  with  .  don’t  trust  him  for  anything  ,  he’ll  forget  about  it  but  at  least  not  on  purpose  .  he’s  loyal  to  the  people  he  likes  though  so  that’s  nice  ! 

*  wanted  connections  .

long-term  relationship  on  the  verge  of  ending  ( open  to  f  /  nb ) :  i  have  a  lot  of  ideas  for  this  and  i’d  love  someone  to  do  this  with   soooooo  hmu  if  ur  tryna  plot  this  mess  out  👀 best   friend  ( open  to  m  /  f  /  nb  ) :  self-explanatory  but  everyone  loves  a  fun  best  friends  duo  fwb  ( open  to  f  /  nb  )  :  I  MEANNNNNNNN B) THIS??????  drugs   tw   tho  ( open  to  f  /  nb  )  :  mayb  they’re  crazy  when  2gether  🤪 ex-friend  ( open  to  m  /  f  /  nb  ) :  imagine  the  DRAMA ex  ( open  to  f  /  nb  ) : everyone  loves  a  messy  ex  plot  .  it’s  me  ,  i’m  everyone . exes to besties  ( open  to  f  /  nb  ) : can  u  imaGINE enemy  ( open  to  m  /  f  /  nb  ) :  there’s  definitely  someone  in  this  world  who  hates  griffin  .  or  on  the  flip  side  ,  this  might  be  someone  he  hates  !  maybe  it’s  even  mutual   personal   assistant/intern   ( open  to m  /  f  /  nb  ) :  SOMEONE   PLEASE  HELP  THIS  MAN  NOT  GET  FIRED  .  also  this  connection  has  sooooooo  much  potential  to  it  too  ! sibling  ( open  to  m  /  f  /  nb  ) :  can  be  sibling-sibling  ,  half-siblings  ,  step-siblings  ,  any  of  it  !   dealer  ( open  to  m  /  f  /  nb  ) :  yanno.

*  i’m  literally  down  for  anything  so  just  hmu :) i  wanna  plot  w  u  all  !

[littlelovelyspiderling]

Cranky Cassie

Peter is upset about a bad test grade. Tony hosts an Avengers movie night to try to cheer him up. It does not go as planned.

I combined the prompts suggested by @kallani-ex-machina and @wigglingpandaboi into one story because I’m lazy! enjoy!

word count: 2,764

Peter Parker was a failure.

At least, that’s how he saw it. Stark couldn’t remember a time the kid looked more dejected than he did today. The day Brooklyn 99 was cancelled came in a close second, but that disaster was resolved in a matter of hours.

Peter had done really bad on a test. Something to do with ancient Roman history. He’d forgotten it was today, and hadn’t studied at all beforehand. By the time he realized his mistake, it was too late. That was the gist Tony had gathered before the kid stomped off in silence, isolating himself to the table in the corner behind a mound of books and papers. Stark assumed maintaining your schoolwork was hard when you were also trying to carry all of New York City on your shoulders.

Two hours later, and the kid still hadn’t budged. When Tony inquired what he was up to, Peter sighed without lifting his gaze.

“Extra credit assignment. It won’t save my massacred GPA, but I guess it’s better than nothing.”

“You know you don’t have to do this all tonight, kid. It’s Friday.”

Peter simply shrugged and kept working. Stark was certain he was punishing himself. The kid was his own worst critic.

“One bad grade isn’t gonna tank your whole high school career, Pete. I promise you. You’re a brilliant kid. You’ll do great on the next one, and everything will turn out fine. All right?”

Peter seemed to be tuning him out. His whole body was tense with concentration. Tony frowned, feeling unfit to deal with this sort of thing, and laid his hand on his shoulder.

“You want to take a quick break?” he asked. Peter shook his head. Stark let a breath ease from his lungs, then patted his back defeatedly. “Well, let me know if you need anything, okay? I got juice boxes, whipped cream, coffee, vodka—all the goodies. You know, brain food.”

The kid didn’t even crack a smile at his corny attempt at humor. Even on his grumpiest days, which were few and far between, Peter would at least acknowledge Stark’s attempts to cheer him up. But today, nothing. This was a whole new side of Peter that Tony had never encountered before. If he was going to succeed in lifting the kid’s spirits at all, he was going to need some help.

So with a few short texts to the Avengers group chat and a couple of phone calls to those less responsive, Tony got a solid chunk of the team to agree to come over and try brightening Spidey’s mood under the guise of partaking in a casual team-bonding movie night. If there was one thing all the Avengers could agree on, it was their mutual fondness of Peter Parker, regardless of who chose to admit it out loud. Plus, it had been a while since a good number of them had gotten together for something besides the end of the world.

Around six o’clock, people started arriving, popcorn, candy, and fuzzy pajama pants at the ready. The total headcount was Rhodey, Sam, Cap, Scott, Natasha, Clint, Barnes, and Thor. Stark had to admit, he was a little impressed. Peter looked up with a frown as more and more bodies filled the room. They began sandwiching together on the couch, some having to pull up chairs from the bar or nest in pillows on the floor.

“Movie night, kiddo,” Stark said, popping up behind him and ruffling his hair. “Wanna join? It’s a good one: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

Peter stared at the group longingly but shook his head. “No thanks. I want to finish this tonight so I can start studying for next week’s quiz tomorrow.” He stuffed all his textbooks and notes back into his bag. “I think I’ll just go home.”

Tony’s heart cracked in his chest. He placed his hands on both of the kid’s shoulders as he tried to step around him. “Peter, hey,” he said. “Wait a minute.” The teen trudged to a stop and gazed up at him with tired, miserable eyes. Stark shook his head. “I get it. This test grade’s got you spiraling a little. You’ve set yourself on fixing it, and you will.” He turned him towards the couch across the room. “But look. We’re all here right now, and we want you to watch this movie with us. So why don’t you just relax for tonight, blow off a little steam, and you can pick up where you left off tomorrow with a fresh and happy head on your shoulders?”

The group of heroes piled on the couch, catching the signal, hollered and waved him forward. “Come on, Spidey!” Sam called. “Don’t be such a stick in the mud!” Peter hesitated, glancing between the jubilant faces, reeling through all of the things he needed to work on, but eventually caved to the peer pressure.

“Okay, I guess,” he murmured. He pasted on a smile as the Avengers cheered with outlandish enthusiasm, directing him to the space they’d reserved at the end of the couch. But as soon as the lights were off, and all eyes switched from him to the screen, the smile faded.

Ferris started rattling off his snappy signature jokes—the ones that normally left Peter in stitches. Tony shot quick glances in his direction to see if they were having any effect. While the rest of the team cackled and slapped their knees, the kid just sat with his head resting against his fist. He had a blank expression on his face and a glazed look in his eye. He hinted a smile when Thor elbowed him in the arm, snorting with hearty laughter, but that was it. The happy-go-lucky Peter they all knew and loved was gone, replaced instead by some sad, dead clone. Stark almost felt guilty for making him stay.

He worried he was the only one who’d picked up on the fact that their plan was failing. Halfway through the film, and still sans even one tiny giggle, Tony considered offering to drive Peter home. Then, out of nowhere, the movie paused. Everyone turned in surprise to see Scott holding the remote.

“Hey, what gives?” Clint whined.

“Sorry, guys,” Lang said, rising to his feet and holding his hands in the air. “I promise I’m not trying to ruin the movie. I just noticed we have a Cranky Cassie in our midst.”  

All eyes immediately veered towards Spider-Man, who shrunk beneath the sudden onslaught of attention. He stared up at Scott.

“Huh? A what?”

“A Cranky Cassie,” he repeated. “I suppose, in your case, a Pouty Peter.”

A few of the Avengers chuckled. Peter grimaced and crossed his arms, burying himself into the corner of the couch.

“Oh.”

“It’s okay,” Lang assured him. “We all have our Cranky Cassie moments. A little crankiness is good for you, but too much for too long tends to turn you sour.”

“I’m fine,” Peter said, reddening a little. “Really. Just turn the movie back on.”

Scott shook his head. “Nope. No one is going to enjoy the movie until you start enjoying the movie. And no one can enjoy a movie as a Cranky Cassie.” He tossed the remote to Tony, who caught it in a startled jumble, then cracked his knuckles. “Fortunately, after years of research and analysis, I’ve discovered the one sure-fire cure to this devastating ailment.”

Scott approached him, and Peter’s confusion switched to nervousness. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't two hands seizing him around the middle and squeezing his belly and sides. Peter squealed involuntarily and grappled at Scott’s arms.

“Whaha! H-hey! Mr. Lahang! W-what are you—ehehaha!”

With the element of surprise on his side, Scott was able to tickle the majority of his midsection while Peter flailed hysterically in attempt to stop him. Everyone watched with disbelief and amusement as Ant-Man shattered the kid’s walls and drew squeaky laughter from his lips with nothing but a few well-placed pokes to his stomach. On a lucky blind grab, Peter managed to catch both of Lang’s hands, panting sharply and biting back giggles.

“Quihit it! This isn’t helping!”

“Oh, I see. We’ve got a particularly stubborn case of Cranky Cassie on our hands. I think it’ll take the whole team to work this one out of his system.” He lifted his gaze to the others, grinning smugly. “What say you, ladies and gents? Shall we commence the operation?”

When Peter looked up and realized everyone was looming towards him, flexing their fingers with evil smirks, his eyes went wide. Uh-uh. No way. He scrambled to break free like his life depended on it, but Lang slowed him down just long enough that two massive hands could catch his wrists and pin him to the couch. Thor grinned at the startled hero, his eyes glinting with mischief.

“Do not take this personally, young one. It is for your own good.”

Peter shook his head, nervous laughter punctuating his words. “No it’s nohot! You know it’s not! Let me gohoho!” He kicked with all his might, but Cap wrangled his legs with his super-soldier strength and sat on them to keep him still. Having his arms pinned was bad; this was worse. He was completely immobile. It took mere moments for the pair to overpower him. Spider-Man was strong, but he was no match for the beefy blonde tag team. He squirmed and wrenched like fly in a web, knowing it was hopeless. Peter was trapped.

And seven other people were towering over him, armed with fourteen hands and seventy fingers. All of which were about to pounce on his defenseless little body.

“W-wahahait!” he cried. “This is so unfair! Oh my gahahad, this is so unfair! There’s nine of you and only one of me!” He searched through the sea of wicked faces in hope of one friendly one. “Mr. Stark, help! Tell them to let me go!”

Peter’s judge of character was very poor. Instead of doing what he asked, Tony stepped forward and immediately began scuttling his fingers all over his torso. Peter jolted and screeched, laughing like crazy.

“Sorry, kid,” Stark chuckled, “but you’ve been kind of a sour puss lately. I think you need this.” Starting at his hips, he kneaded his thumbs all the way up the kid’s sides, making him giggle and flinch helplessly. He switched to clawing at his belly with all ten fingers, which incited an even stronger, gigglier reaction. Tony had no idea Peter was so ticklish. Every tiny touch made him jump and shriek. It was kind of adorable.

“Stohohahap! Oh my gahahad! Plehehehease!” Peter had hoped he could hold out longer than two seconds before crumbling into a mess of squeaky laughter. Apparently not. He could feel the eyes of every Avenger looking down at his ridiculously giggly self, watching him fall to pieces beneath Tony’s tickly fingers, and his face started burning red. “All rihihight! I’m—I’m cured, okay? I’m fihihihixed! I dohon’t need any m-mohore—ahahaha shihihit!”

Someone had started tickling his feet through his socks, and from what he could tell, they had very long nails. “Oh, I think you do,” a female voice said, unmistakably Natasha Romanoff’s. “This is one of the worst cases of Cranky Cassie I’ve ever seen.”

She pulled off his left sock, grabbed hold of his foot, and began tracing his arch with a single finger. It was a softer kind of tickling, but no less unbearable. His laughter climbed when the rest of her nails joined in, skittering across his defenseless sole, stroking both sides of his foot, and digging between his toes. She knew exactly how to make him squirm. Apparently, so did Rhodey, who seized his right ankle, ripped off that sock, and started scribbling over every inch of that foot. Peter bucked and squealed, laughter pouring from him while his feet twitched helplessly.

“Nohohohahaha! Nohohot fahahahair!” He didn’t know laughing this hard was even possible. He didn’t know tickling could be so mean. Tony took his hands off his tummy for a moment, which Peter read as mercy. Again, he was wrong. He was just moving to let someone else take a turn at torturing him. Spider-Man shrieked when something ice cold slipped under his shirt and raked across his bare stomach.

“AHA! Holy crahahap, w-what ihihis that? it’s freeheeheezing!” He glanced down and realized it was Bucky’s metal hand, scratching and tickling his belly. The fact that is was cold made it so much worse, and the feeling of it kneading directly into his skin drove him insane. It was like being tickled by five wiggly ice cubes. He fought as hard as he could to squirm out of his reach. He did not succeed.

“Give it to me straight, doc,” Sam said over the kid’s laughter, feigning concern. “Is he gonna make it?”

Scott shrugged and puffed out his cheeks. “I’m not sure. The disease just won’t seem to budge.” He grabbed his shoulder firmly. “But keep faith, my friend. The treatment seems to be working, and I think we’re on the brink of a breakthrough.”

“Has anyone tried this yet?” Clint asked. Before Peter could even prepare himself, two hands started clawing at his underarms, burrowing into the hollows of eat pit. The whole time he’d been pinned to the couch, Spider-Man had been praying to the highest heavens no one would go for that spot, that they’d tickle him literally anywhere but there. The moment Clint’s fingers met the sensitive skin, Peter lost it.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA! NONONONOHOHOHOHO!” His hysterical reaction only affirmed the fact that Barton had struck gold, and he drilled his fingers into his underarms with merciless intensity. Well, guess I’ll die, he thought. Just the armpit tickling was enough to end him, but the the addition of six other hands attacking three more of his most ticklish spots all at the same time was insufferable. He whipped his head back and forth, pulled helplessly against Thor’s unbreakable grip, and arched his spine against the couch, all while laughing his ass off.

“I guess that’s a no,” Sam chuckled.

“I think he’s going to explode,” Cap said, experimentally squeezing the kid’s knees. Peter’s entire body was pink, and his giggling was high-pitched and endless, interrupted only by squeaky hiccups.

“I’d say he’s cured,” Tony proclaimed. “No Cranky Cassie could make that sound.” He turned to Ant-Man with a grin. “Do you concur, doctor?”

“I do,” Scott said, stony and serious. “It’s a damn miracle.”

“PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!” Peter begged. “STAHAHAHARK! CAHAHAHAHAHAP! SOHOHOMEBOHOHOHODY! HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHELP!”

Then, just like that, everyone stopped tickling him all at once. Thor released his arms, and Steve climbed off his legs. The relief hit him like a truck. He lied still, dazed with disbelief, then rolled on to his side, wheezing and giggling and loopy with laughter. His cheeks hurt and his sides ached. His skin felt tingly.

“Eheh…heheh…oho my…my gosh…” The Avengers stared at kid with amusement and affection. “Y-you’re all so…so mean…heheh…”

“Congratulations, Peter,” Scott cheered, unpausing the TV. “You are officially no longer a Cranky Cassie. You may now enjoy the movie.”

Spider-Man simply groaned in response. Thor sat beside him.

“And if you don’t,” he warned, pinching Peter’s side and making him squeal, “there will be consequences.”

He jerked away and hugged himself around the middle. “Okay!” he giggled. “I get it! I’ll enjoy it! Promise!”

“Good,” Natasha said. She threw him a bag of gummy worms. “Let’s rot.”

At first, Peter tried to play the part, giggling at every little joke or moment for effect. It took him about two minutes to realize that wasn’t necessary. Maybe it was because his stomach still felt full of fluttery, giggly butterflies, but the movie suddenly seemed ten times funnier than the last time he’d watched it. Without meaning to, he started laughing at all the one-liners, sometimes doubling over himself and choking on his soda. Everyone else was no exception. The room was filled with constant giggling. Tony kept slapping his leg and snorting behind his hand. He felt warm, sandwiched between all these cackling heroes who cared for him, even though they had a weird way of showing it. As he soaked in the joyful atmosphere, the bad grade didn’t seem to mean much anymore. Yes, it was a harsh blow to the goals he’d set for himself. That didn’t mean it defined him. But these people and their smiles and the moments they all shared together? Yeah, those did.