As always, I love the little touches you add to the character's actions to inform their personalities. The things they do with their hands illustrate their states of mind.
The way you flesh out Henry is great, too. He's an actor, yet somehow I never thought about him watching anything. Television and movies are going to be a major part of his life -- they have to be. This is who he is, what he does. For Pepper, whose passions are different, she's flailing a bit in his pop culture world. They have fun together, it is simple, but it is also lacking in intimacy. I'm glad there was more to their relationship not working than just 'He's not Tony' or the creepy impression aspect. Henry doesn't give enough of himself for Pepper's taste. I am sure there are plenty of people out there that would be just fine with the way Henry expresses himself, but Pepper needs someone uncensored. You show the cracks in Pepper/Henry while simultaneously showing a foundation for Pepper/Tony that isn't boiling down to who the hero is or who the OTP are.
Meanwhile, there is still an aspect of who the OTP is and you never let us forget how much Pepper really cares for Tony, or how attracted to him she is. But there is still more going on that just the chemistry.
I love Tony's attitude towards the whole thing, especially the point that he argues his interest was implied over and over. That doesn't cut it. That's meaningless. He can't abstain from making a concrete overture and then get mad that it doesn't go his way. But he does, because he either honestly does think its enough or he's unwilling to try.
And then there is nudity which is obviously the best way to resolve anything!! I love that he just goes for it and I love that afterwards, the much-vaulted implied interest still isn't doing it for Pepper. She's not convinced that he's interested in dating her, despite all evidence to the contrary.
Henry is a stand up guy. Thank you for writing him. I think for most writers on this prompt, there would be a temptation to make him the bad guy, and he just never is.
Tony and his short notice expectations are perfect. He's only going to be so considerate! I love how he advocated for the Pepper character in the series -- he's not going to let the series depict Pepper as anything but brilliant and composed. That says so much about how he perceives her and how he respects her. It's a fine line, but he can respect her while also enjoying the actress' cleavage.
And the final two lines made me squeal. Loudly. (I also particularly enjoyed “Then stop putting things in my mouth, line-wise.)
Thank you for the thoughtful comment. I'm so glad you liked it, because of course I wrote it for you so I hoped you would. :) I love Henry so much in the comics, and I really wanted to do justice to the alternate version of him I created here, while still working towards the inevitable ending.
I wrote several drafts of the breakup scene, with Henry showing a pretty diverse range of emotions, but in the end this was how it came out. I was a little worried I wasn't giving him enough time on the page, but the first half of the story was devoted largely to him so I felt like it was all right that Tony's presence dominated this half.
Anyhow! I'm happy you're happy. And I got so excited about all of your prompts in the exchange that I may or may not go back and write the others.
As always, I love the little touches you add to the character's actions to inform their personalities. The things they do with their hands illustrate their states of mind.
The way you flesh out Henry is great, too. He's an actor, yet somehow I never thought about him watching anything. Television and movies are going to be a major part of his life -- they have to be. This is who he is, what he does. For Pepper, whose passions are different, she's flailing a bit in his pop culture world. They have fun together, it is simple, but it is also lacking in intimacy. I'm glad there was more to their relationship not working than just 'He's not Tony' or the creepy impression aspect. Henry doesn't give enough of himself for Pepper's taste. I am sure there are plenty of people out there that would be just fine with the way Henry expresses himself, but Pepper needs someone uncensored. You show the cracks in Pepper/Henry while simultaneously showing a foundation for Pepper/Tony that isn't boiling down to who the hero is or who the OTP are.
Meanwhile, there is still an aspect of who the OTP is and you never let us forget how much Pepper really cares for Tony, or how attracted to him she is. But there is still more going on that just the chemistry.
I love Tony's attitude towards the whole thing, especially the point that he argues his interest was implied over and over. That doesn't cut it. That's meaningless. He can't abstain from making a concrete overture and then get mad that it doesn't go his way. But he does, because he either honestly does think its enough or he's unwilling to try.
And then there is nudity which is obviously the best way to resolve anything!! I love that he just goes for it and I love that afterwards, the much-vaulted implied interest still isn't doing it for Pepper. She's not convinced that he's interested in dating her, despite all evidence to the contrary.
Henry is a stand up guy. Thank you for writing him. I think for most writers on this prompt, there would be a temptation to make him the bad guy, and he just never is.
Tony and his short notice expectations are perfect. He's only going to be so considerate! I love how he advocated for the Pepper character in the series -- he's not going to let the series depict Pepper as anything but brilliant and composed. That says so much about how he perceives her and how he respects her. It's a fine line, but he can respect her while also enjoying the actress' cleavage.
And the final two lines made me squeal. Loudly. (I also particularly enjoyed “Then stop putting things in my mouth, line-wise.)
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I wrote several drafts of the breakup scene, with Henry showing a pretty diverse range of emotions, but in the end this was how it came out. I was a little worried I wasn't giving him enough time on the page, but the first half of the story was devoted largely to him so I felt like it was all right that Tony's presence dominated this half.
Anyhow! I'm happy you're happy. And I got so excited about all of your prompts in the exchange that I may or may not go back and write the others.
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