On Wednesday, I threw up links to all of my MCU-related meta. Today, I'm going to direct you to my MCU-related fan fiction just for the hell of it:
DSM-V
Five times people worried about Tony after New York -- and one time he worried about himself.
(The first three sections are set between Avengers (2012) and Iron Man 3. The last two are set during Iron Man 3. As you can probably guess, this 5+1 was my attempt to accurately explore Tony's PTSD. And the response has been pretty positive, so I think I got it right.)
Closure
Tony and Steve talk the night before the Time Heist.
(This one-shot is set during Endgame. It was meant to partially satisfy my yen for canon-compliant explorations of Tony's relationship with Steve. It was also my first MCU story.)
Pallbearers
The rest of the world arrived at the ruins of the Avengers compound not long after the battle’s sudden end. CNN. MSNBC. Fox. Every local news outlet in the state of New York. Medical crews. And Damage Control, of course, to pick through whatever was left.
Some perfunctory interviews were conducted. Basic facts were laid out in clipped, hurried syllables for the curious, frightened reporters who gathered at the scene. Some of those reporters were left at a loss for words.
Everyone, it seemed, wanted to talk to Captain America. But the leader of the Avengers was no longer there. He had already left on a Quinjet with Pepper Potts-Stark and seven others. Seven volunteers for another mission.
Word rippled out into the ether: Iron Man had fallen. Tony Stark had died to save us all.
And eight witnesses wanted to help his wife bring him home.
--*--
Or: Ten reflections on a life.
(This was me self-indulgently celebrating Tony Stark as a character and a hero in the wake of his sacrifice in Endgame. Like I said, I just get very emotional about Endgame. Even one year later, I'm still not over it.)
The World's Gone Dark (But for You, I'll Light a Candle)
After Thanos defeats the Avengers, Tony Stark's spirit is broken. He falls.
But then he finds a reason to rise again -- and become the man his family needs.
--*--
Or: Snapshots of Tony's life in the first year after the Snap.
(This is a 23K-word novella set during the five-year time gap in Endgame. As I explain in the introductory notes, it's my take on how Tony might've processed his trauma and prepared for fatherhood. It starts off angsty -- but eventually shades into shameless domestic fluff. And honestly, I'm pretty proud I was able to write a story this long. I'm generally a one-shot wonder.)
The Deep End
It felt like he was sucking the air in through a straw, but Tony obeyed his interior Dr. Nolan. Once. Twice. Three times. He shook. He ran through complex physics equations in his head as Morgan shrieked.
He didn’t have this. He didn’t have this at all. He was miles away from being ready.
And worse? He was completely on his own.
--*--
Welcome to fatherhood, Tony Stark!
(This teeny ficlet was inspired by something that actually happened to my dad shortly after I was born — though in his case, Mom was rushed to the hospital with a kidney stone, not appendicitis. Obviously, it's also set during the five-year time gap.)
Two Roads Diverged
June 21, 1970.
June 16, 2019.
Two fathers. Two paths.
--*--
Or: Tony Stark's first Father's Day.
(This one compares Tony's involved parenthood with Howard's emotional distance. Tony's bits are set during the gap and incidentally lay the groundwork for another story I'm already planning.)
By the summer of 2019, Tony had fought terrorists, Asgardian gods, space leviathans, Hydra goons, supersoldiers, and giant purple aliens with delusions of grandeur — and had narrowly cheated death every time.
This story isn’t about one of those epic battles, though. This story is about that time Mother Nature tried to kill him — and how Tony dealt with the aftermath.
(This next "gap fic" started as an excuse to write Tony whump -- but domestic fluff snuck in as well.)
Tony gets into trouble at the local Christmas market — and unfortunately, Morgan is with him.
(A "gap fic" in which I try to write some actual plot.)
One morning in November, Tony's honeymoon ends: Morgan hits her "no" phase. And as it turns out, navigating discipline is far more difficult than Tony's audiobooks make it out to be — especially when you have daddy issues a mile wide.
(A "gap fic" inspired by some other stories my parents have told me about my early childhood.)
There were no classic warning signs. That's why Tony didn't recognize his developing heart attack for what it was.
(More hurt/comfort set in my gap-verse.)
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