A/N: I don't own Marvel. Also, this site really needs an "Ego" character tag.
Your father would be so proud of you.
That's what Ellinor's mother told her when she came home from the training center, top marks in her class.
That's what Gareth's grandparents told him when he had his first kill on a hunt.
That's what Jaila promised herself when her mother yelled at her for only coming second in a race.
Your father would be so proud.
And he is.
He is so proud of Sarai's beautiful face.
He is so proud of Thane's wonderful voice.
He is so proud of Manna's telepathic gifts.
For that shining instant when he first sees them, he is always so, so proud.
Surely, this one must be his child in truth, he thinks every time.
So he tries to teach them how to use the light.
I'll make you proud, Maren promises.
They all promise that.
He gives them time. He tries to train them.
It becomes evident that they are all failures. All unworthy of his name.
When he gently tells Nora that it appears she does not have the gift, her lower lip juts out, and tears shudder in her eyes.
I wanted to make you proud.
I wanted that too, he tells her, and then he sends a tendril of light through her chest.
He sends her down to where the others lie. He keeps all his children near his heart, even though they are all such disappointments.
(Peter was never first in a class in his life. Peter has gone on no ritual hunts. Peter was never athletic until his survival depended on it. Peter is not stunningly beautiful, his singing voice is merely sufficient, and he has no telepathic gifts.)
(His father hears about the Infinity Stone and knows he must be a Celestial. He is very proud.)
(Yondu watches him save the galaxy and pull a trick worthy of the greatest of Ravagers. He is also very proud.)
(But then, for Yondu, this is hardly a new development.)