fastcarried

FASTCARRIED: a private, independent, mutuals only roleplay blog for TOMMY SHEPHERD / SPEED from YOUNG AVENGERS based on EARTH-616.

written by CRYS since 2014.

blog is affiliated with @bowcarried​ & @legacycarried​

That trickster's grin of his twitched for just a second. It's an indication of him making the right choice of not saying the first petulant thought that crossed his mind (even if he loves seeing that silent snarl of hers in response). Instead, he watched her in silence for a moment, his hands finding their way into his hoodie while running through endless responses in his head.

It's a difficult situation to navigate, especially when ignoring the terrible is his preference. It's not healthy, some would say, and maybe they're right; but it was definitely the easier option. After a lifetime of so much misery, pain, and heartache, couldn't they pick the path of least resistance and just enjoy what little fun there is in their lives?

After all, acknowledging all the suffering and sorrow is what splintered the team when they were kids.

It's unnatural for him to be as quiet for this long. Only a few seconds had past, but a lifetime of silence has past him by as struggled to find the right thing to say. He was never really good at this; he sort of envied Teddy in this regard because of his uncanny ability to know what the say, even if it sometimes felt like he was reading off a Hallmark card.

"Well... I don't know what you want me to do about that." Honesty might be the right call here, he thought. She could be having this conversation with anyone, but she chose to have it with him, so she can't be looking for a neat and tidy response.

"I mean, you've met me, right?" He huffed, his lips pulled briefly into a wry smirk before bony fingers push his away from his face. "Look, I know I'm not the best when it comes to—" His waved his hand in front of him. "—figuring out feelings and crap, but..."

Yet another lifetime of silence flew past him while gazing upon his friend, his shoulder's sagging. "...But if you need my help making things genuinely okay in your life, so you can stop pretending and finally live the life you deserve to have... then I'll do that."

He disappeared, hopefully before his words can really sink in, and suddenly reappeared with his arm around her shoulders and a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

“That’s what I’m sayin’, dude!” Tommy smirks, gesturing between the two of them. “I mean, one: some of us workout a lot and should be showing things off more often. Two: it’s hotter than Mephisto’s Hell-time Funhouse out here and I’m tired of sweating all the time. And three—” He held up three fingers for emphasis.

There, in his hand, just above the garbage disposal, is the airpod in question. The delicate, precious, and most importantly— expensive airpod. A relieved sigh escapes him with more dramatics than is called for as he closes his fist, hand withdrawing. “I feel like I’m going through deja vu because didn’t this exact thing happen last week? And didn’t I already call you a bonehead for headbanging while doing dishes?”

him taking care of pandemonium in whatever issue this is (i’m not gonna pretend i have time to read things anymore lmao) is so important. here’s one of the people who’s responsible for the inexplainable life he lives, someone who caused his mom an unspeakable amount of pain, and yet here’s tommy, taking responsibility for him as if he’s an aging relative. there’s no malice, resentment, or bitterness, just genuine affection and that’s a great way to show how he sees the world.

tommy grew up with his back against the wall; biological parents didn’t give two shits about him and neither did society what with him being a “problem child” and a mutant. they took one look at him, the mistakes he made, and decided that he deserved to struggle for the rest of his life, so he knows first hand the toll judgement can take on someone.

and then he’s seen it with his own family; the way x-men and avengers treated wanda, how they and the inhumans treated pietro, how the world at large treat his grandfather. he’s seen the unspeakable pain and trauma that ostracizing justice does to people time and time again... and all he wants to do is end the cycle.

he didn’t get here alone, though. after all, it was billy who said he was just some sad old man living on his own after the two of them discovered them. the young avengers didn’t make tommy compassionate, they simply helped him bring that part of him to the surface. he went from being someone ready and willing to kill soldiers and aliens in his first appearance, to feeling remorse over “not being good enough” at saving more people during seige, to someone who’s making sure that someone who should be a lifelong enemy is living a happy, content, and safe life because he watched his first real friends do just that all on their own.