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wiypt-writes · 4 years ago

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Stark Spangled Banner

Ch23: In The Flesh Part 2: Unwelcome Distractions

Summary: The Avengers are hot on the trail of Ultron...but once again, things don’t go according to plan and a tangle with the Maximoff twins leaves the team shaken.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Bad language, violence and crazy assed robots.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

A/N: Huge credit to @angrybirdcr for these stunning edits which perfectly capture Steve and Katie’s visions...

Chapter 23 Part 1

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

The normal schedule at the tower was utterly disrupted the next morning. Maria had come to Katie and Steve’s floor to inform them the team was assembling in the lab and had given them both a quick briefing. The previous night they had been able to reboot most of the servers, and the environmental controls of the tower were finally online again, but there was still no trace of the sceptre or the robots. Thor was busy trying to get help from someone on Asgard, Clint was working with some old contacts to see if he could get anything, whilst Tony and Bruce were trying to track him from the lab where Katie had a suspicion they would probably had been all night

The elevator doors opened with a ding; Steve, Katie and Maria exiting and she continued her report on what she had found out about Ultron so far, following them up the stairs as she did.

“He’s all over the globe. Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs. Reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place,”

“Fatalities?” asked Steve.

“Only when engaged,” replied Hill, beginning to type on her tablet while she continued to talk. “Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, things moving on their own, and 'something too fast to see’.”

“Maximoffs.” Katie concluded.

“That makes sense he’d go to them. They have someone in common,” Steve said nodding as they reached the top of the stairs.

“Not anymore.” Maria replied handing the tablet over to Steve. On it was a picture of Strucker lying on his bed in his cell; dead. On the wall behind him, the word 'peace’ was painted in blood.

“Bit of a mixed message don’t you think?” Steve asked.

“Is it? I mean if it were my mission, world peace, I’d probably take out Strucker too.” Katie shrugged as Steve looked at her, before glancing back down at the tablet in my hands. “Ultron could be in any system, he could be pulling planes down out of the sky if he wanted.” she sighed, “What if he’s just doing what he’s supposed to?”

"If I thought Ultron was bringing peace I’d hang up my shield.” He shook his head, leaning against the banister.

“Would you?” Maria questioned curiously. Steve looked at her, taking a deep breath and cocking his head slightly to the right.

“Let me know if he leaves any more messages.” he said simply, ending the conversation.

Katie shot Maria a look, mouthed thanks at her and then headed after him.

As they walked towards the lab they both heard Clint talking on the phone to someone, apparently someone with authority.

“I answer to you. Yes Ma’am.”

He looked over, saw the Captain and ended the call. “I gotta go…” He looked at Katie, then Steve, waved the phone and said “Girlfriend.”

“Any of your old contacts come through?” Steve asked, seemingly on the outside accepting his explanation, although they both knew full well he had been talking to his wife. Only Steve wasn’t supposed to know that.

“Still waiting.”

“Wait faster.” Steve said simply, turning and heading off down towards the lab. Clint shot Katie a look before he glanced down his phone and headed off in the opposite direction. Katie caught up with Steve who cast a glance over his shoulder at Barton.

“Girlfriend.” He quipped and she laughed

“I know, as far as cover stories go, explaining away your wife as a girlfriend is pretty lame.” They entered the lab and immediately could her a gabble of voices as Rhodey was talking to Natasha and Tony through one of the screens.

“If you hear something we need to hear it too.” Nat said as Steve strode past towards Thor who was pacing behind where Banner sat at a computer.

“That goes for you too, watch your six.” Rhodey replied.

“Any help from on high?” Steve asked, as Thor walked down the few steps into the lower part of the lab. He shook his head.

“He’s either away from his post or he’s been ordered not to answer” Thor said, striding across the floor as they both turned to walk back towards Katie “Ultron can’t hide forever”

“He’s not exactly hiding.” Katie said, handing Thor the tablet. He glared down at the offending item and the picture it was displaying.

“What’s this?” Tony asked moving to get a closer look only to have the tablet slapped into his chest by the obviously still annoyed God.

“It’s a message,” Steve replied. “Ultron killed Strucker.”

“And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us,” Tony said sarcastically waving the tablet.

“This is good…” Nat glanced at the picture, her brows knitting together.

“No, it’s not good!” Banner shook his head as he rounded her chair

“No, Nat’s right, he’s showing us his hand, this isn’t his pattern” Katie nodded down to the tablet on the desk. “I mean why send a message when you’ve already given a speech?“

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss” Steve concluded.

“I bet he-” Natasha mumbled searching something on the computers. “Yeah, everything we had on Strucker’s been wiped.”

“And that’s good?” Banner asked, as everyone looked at him.

“Yes because he didn’t wipe everything” Tony said suddenly.

Moments later they were all in a room where a bunch of paper files were kept, files that had been rescued from SHIELD. They pulled the boxes containing information on Strucker and it seemed from most of them that he had gone rogue long before the events a few months prior.

“Strucker had a lot of friends.” Katie mumbled as besides her Thor was throwing random files across the room after deciding they were of no use.

“Well these people are all horrible.” Bruce commented digging through his own box.

“Wait,” Tony said pointing to the file Thor was flipping through. “I know that guy. From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms.”

Steve stopped what he was doing to shoot Tony with a glare

“There are conventions. Alright?” Tony explained “You meet people. I didn’t sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab”

“What’s this?” Thor questioned, pointing towards one of the pictures of the man Tony had found. I peered over at it too.

“Uh, it’s a tattoo, I don’t think he had it,” Tony said

“No, those are tattoos, this is a brand,” Thor corrected, pointing towards a spot on the man’s neck right underneath of his left ear which obviously was a mark that had been burned there as it still looked red and raw in the picture.

“Yeah,” said Bruce as he placed himself in front of the computer, quickly searching what the mark meant. “It’s a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief’. In a much less friendly way.”

“What dialect?” Steve asked.

“Uh, Wak- wakanada – Wakandan,” Bruce said jumbling the pronunciation a few times before getting it right.

Katie swallowed and looked at Tony. “Tony, if this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trace goods…"

“I thought your father said he got the last of it,” Steve said, cottoning on.

“I don’t follow,” Bruce interjected. “What comes out of Wakanda?”

Steve, Katie and Tony all shared a look before Steve looked back at Bruce and stood to the side gesturing to his shield.

“The strongest metal on Earth”

*****

Ulysses Klaue’s warehouse was located in an old ship in a Salvage Yard off the African coast. Unfortunately Ultron, fresh from the murder of Strucker, had gotten there first, along with the Maximoffs

The fight had started, Katie and Tony both tangling in the air with Iron Legion bots and Ultron himself as everyone else took them out on the ground also trying to deal with the Maximoff twins, which was proving easier said than done.

"The girl tried to warp my mind,” Thor grunted, over the comms,“Take special care I doubt a human can keep her at bay, fortunately I am mighty.”

“Where is she?” Katie asked, looking round, her heat scanners showing her nothing.

“Thor?” Steve bellowed into his earpiece “Thor, do you read me?”

Thor didn’t answer.

Taking down another bot, Katie flew off down the hallway, in search of the god, but was knocked sideways by something into a pile of scrap metal. She stood up and prepared to take off again but, the world became dark, dim and gloomy. She paused, suddenly wary, trying to remember why she had come here in the first place.

She was in a church, at the end of the aisle. Steve was stood at the front, Bucky next to him. Both in smart suits. She frowned as she started to walk towards them when music started and everyone stood up. Katie was beyond confused, and she turned in the direction everyone was looking at to see Peggy Carter walking down the Aisle, in a beautiful white gown. She looked just as she did in the 40s photos Katie had seen.

But she didn’t belong like this, in the time. As Peggy glided past her, she turned to see Steve looking at the woman, his face smiling, features soft. And Katie felt he entire world collapse around her as Peggy reached the front of the aisle and Steve took her hands in his.

“Steve…” she managed to croak out. The Soldier looked at her from where he was stood and he smiled kindly at her.

“I hope you understand…”

“You love me.” Katie choked out and Steve shook his head.

“You could never be enough.” He said, shrugging “I’m sorry. It’s her, it’s always been her. You were merely a welcome distraction”

“No, no…that’s not fair, you said I was, you said I was yours…” she cried, dropping to her knees as the world shook around her.

Steve had seen Katie get knocked sideways out of the air, and was heading down to help when suddenly, he felt cold. Everything in front of his eyes seemed so far away, and a wave of calm spread over him. There was no rush, was there?

He was in a ballroom in the 1940s, loud jazz music hit his ears and the sounds of people laughing and joking. He tentatively stepped forward through the crowd but flinched when an explosion flashed near him. No, not an explosion, a camera. Then there was a gunshot. No, not a gunshot, a bottle being uncorked. Confused he looked around and saw a man lying on the ground, his friend dabbing at blood on his shirt, but it wasn’t blood. Steve looked again and he saw it was red wine.

All around him, people were celebrating, but all he saw was war and death.

Then, a very familiar laugh made him turn and he saw his girl in a gorgeous pink dress and she was being spun round the dance floor by Bucky. His face was creased into a wide smile, both his arms intact as he whirled Katie around the floor. She looked the same as she always had, but…she didn’t belong in this time of his life.

“Are you ready for our dance?” another familiar voice spoke as a hand tapped his shoulder. He spun round to find Peggy stood there, in a blue dress, her outfit and hair and make-up belonged here, in the 40s, in his past, but Katie didn’t. His eyes turned back to Bucky and Katie who were now swaying slowly, foreheads pressed together and he could do nothing but stare as Bucky dropped a kiss to his girl’s lips.

Then he was dancing with Peggy, but he had to stop, this wasn’t right.

She was his girl, not Bucky’s. He was with her, not Peggy. He needed to get to Katie…

“What’s wrong?” Peggy asked him. “The war’s over Steve,“ she told him smiling, "all of them.” She added. “We can go home. Imagine it.”

The party in the ballroom stopped. Everyone disappeared and the room went deathly silent.

He gave a loud gasp, it felt like he had plunged into an icy lake. He blinked, resisting the urge to vomit, taking deep breaths and slowly everything came back into focus and then he remembered where he was and why. The fight, Ultron, the warning from Thor….and Katie, where was she? He staggered to his feet, and stumbling slightly set off to find her.

She wasn’t far away, she was knelt on a walkway just below him suffering the effects of her own vision. Steve swung down a level, gently landing in front of her and knelt down on all fours.

“Katie…”

She could hear a familiar voice talking, through the fog and suddenly it cleared as if someone had poured a bucket of iced water over her head. She blinked, before she let out a groan of pain and dropped forward, grasping at the rough metal of the walkway beneath her palms- somehow and for a reason she didn’t know, she was knelt on the floor on all fours, and no longer in her suit. Every inch of her body was aching and her head felt like it was full of cotton wool and horrible lights were flashing behind her eyeballs, like she had had the worst migraine ever.

“Hey, you’re alright…” Steve said as she sat back on her heels, his hands either side of her face as she drew her eyes up to look at us.

“You’re …” she reached out to touch his chest, feeling the roughness of his uniform under my skin. “You’re still with me?”

“Yeah, baby course I am.” He said, frowning slightly, wondering what the hell the Maximoff kid had forced her to see. Deciding there was plenty of time to discuss that later he waited with her quietly whilst her breathing began to even out. She let out another groan, scrunching her eyes shut as the pain behind her eyes became too much and she lurched sharply to the left, throwing up all over the metal walk way.

Steve gently rubbed her back as she retched again, groaning in pain.

“It’s ok…” he soothed gently “I got you…” Eventually she stopped and the throbbing in her temple subsided somewhat and she wiped my mouth, sitting back down on the floor harshly. “What happened?” she whispered.

“The Maximoff girl.” Steve said gently by means of an explanation, his hand reached round to gently stroke her hair.

“It was… it was so real.” She mumbled, glancing around.

“I know, tell me about It.” Steve swallowed, kissing her clammy forehead. Katie was surprised to find he was shaking slightly as well, drops of cold sweat were beaded across his brow “We need to get back to the ship. Can you stand?”

“Yeah” she said, and together they stood. Katie was a little bit shaky at first but Steve held her up and took a deep breath, shooting a furtive glance around.

“Clint?” Steve spoke in to the coms as Katie got back into her suit.

“Cap, you back with us?”

“Yeah, how is everyone?” He asked as they made their way slowly up the stairs. Katie didn’t trust herself to fly. Instead she kept the face plate open, needing the fresh air.

“Nat’s in a bad way, she’s still not out of it.” Clint replied. “What about Nova?”

“I’m alright.” She said, shakily as they left the warehouse, blinking in the light of the sun, the light making her heave again and she bent over, emptying what little was left in her stomach on the floor. “Sorry…” she mumbled as she straightened up and turned to Steve who shook his head.

“Nothing to be sorry for, Doll.” He assured, looking at her, hands reaching out to gently stroke her face. He looked around and spoke, mopping at his brow. “Thor?”

“I’m here.” the God’s voice came, he also sounded shaky. “That witch, she warped my mind after all. Her power… I’ve never seen or felt anything like it.”

“Tony?” Steve asked as we set off walking, slowly, across the sandy stretch to where the jet was parked.

“She got to Banner.” Tony said over the coms. “And whatever she showed him… well, Hulk just levelled a local town…”

“Casualties?” Steve sighed, looking at Katie.

“I dare say a fair few.” Tony replied. “Veronica and I did our best.”

As they reached the jet Thor landed next to them bringing Clint who in turn was carrying Nat. It was clear to see that everybody, bar Clint was severely shaken. It was a blessing that at least one of them had presence of mind. Clint got the jet off the ground, tracked Tony’s whereabouts and helped get a semi-conscious Bruce settled while Tony took off the suit. It all seemed very distant to Katie and Steve, who both felt like they were watching the interior of the jet through a fog.

“It was always her,” Steve’s voice echoed in Katie’s ears, and it hurt, a deathly pain deep in her being. She tried to swallow, tried to breathe, but the sickening panic she had felt during her vision threatened to wash over her again. Besides her Steve wasn’t faring much better. Bucky dropped a kiss to his girl’s lips. He moved slightly in his seat. It was an involuntary move, almost like he had been startled by something, which he had been, and Katie spotted it. She unclipped her belt, stood up and gently sat on his lap, pressing her head into the crook of his neck, shivering. He pulled her closer, kissed the top of her head and the pair of them just stayed there, not a word uttered between them.

Katie fell asleep, and when she woke up it was dark through the front of the window, showing they’d crossed time-zones. She was still on Steve’s lap, his head was lolling against the head-rest of the chair, his arms still around her whilst he also slept. Gently she untangled herself from him, and stood up, stretching. Clint was still piloting the jet to wherever it was they were headed and Tony was looking at something on a tablet a few seats away.

“Hey kiddo.” He placed his arm round her as he settled into the seat next to him. “Feel better?”

She shrugged.

“Well you’re doing better than Nat” he said, and Katie looked over. She was sat, staring at the floor. Her eyes darting to the sides every so often.

“She still not come round?” Katie asked, laying her head on her brother’s shoulder.

“She’s with us. But she’s really shaken…hasn’t said a word.”

“Seems I got off relatively lightly” Katie mumbled as she glanced over at Steve who was still asleep.

“Wanna talk about it?” Tony asked, his chin resting on her head.

“Erm… I saw Steve and Peggy” she muttered, looking down at her engagement ring, twirling it round her finger “it sounds silly but… they were getting married and I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t with me. Then he told me…” She trailed off, swallowing, she felt sick again.

“You know none of its true, right?” Tony said, his eyes locking onto hers “He loves you, not Peggy. The Maximoff brat is messing with your head.

“I know…” The tears sprang forth into her eyes. “ But it was so real, physical, I could touch things and people. I can’t explain it.”

“You don’t need to…” Tony shook his head, gently reaching out and wiping her tears away with his thumb. “I had one, at Strucker’s base when we got the Sceptre.”

“I knew something else had happened to you” Katie sighed “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I thought it was just a funny turn but now I know it was her. I saw you all dead. I felt it. The whole world too. Because of me. I didn’t do enough.”

Katie slid her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

“So that’s why you restarted the Ultron thing again” she said gently

“Yeah… really worked out that didn’t it.” He sighed.

“We’ll fix it.” Katie replied softly, shrugging as she sat up.

“How do you know?” Tony looked at her with eyes that were so like her father’s. She could do nothing but shrug back.

“Because we have to.”

*****

It was dawn as they all stepped off the jet and followed Clint as he confidently led them up to the porch of a large farmhouse, literally in the middle of a field. The sleep seemed to have done most people good, although Natasha was still not quite right, so Clint supported her as they walked up the path. Steve had his arm round Katie’s shoulder; hers in turn was round his waist, but not for support, for comfort.

“What is this place?” Thor asked looking around at the farmhouse and its surroundings.

“A safe house?” Tony responded unsure.

“Let’s hope.” Clint opened the door and stepped inside, with everyone else curiously following close behind. “Honey? I’m home.”

To nearly everyone’s surprise, a woman, who Katie figured was Clint’s wife, walked out from the kitchen and into the living room. She had long brown hair and was holding a bunch of colouring books in one hand, but one thing that was hard to miss was that she was very pregnant.

“I brought company. Sorry I didn’t call ahead.” Clint told the woman as he walked up to her and gave her a kiss.

“This is an agent of some kind.” Tony muttered pointing at the couple.

“Guys, this is Laura.”

“Hi,” she greeted awkwardly, “I know all of your names.”

Tony not knowing how else to react just gave a small wave that was just as awkward.

“Oh, incoming!” Clint warned as the thudding of feet and loud voices of young children hit their ears. A boy and a girl hurried into the living room, both running over to Clint as they yelled “daddy”.

Steve’s face was a picture, despite herself Katie almost laughed at the genuine-fake shock he wore across his features.

“Hi sweetheart! Hey buddy!” exclaimed Clint while kissing the top of their heads. “How are you guys doing?”

“These are smaller agents.” Tony said, adding to his previous statement.

“Did you bring Aunty Nat?” the little girl questioned.

Nat stepped forward, suddenly finding her feet. “Why don’t you hug her and find out?”

“Sorry for barging in on you.” Steve said, always one for keeping his manners.

“Yeah we would have called ahead, but we were too busy having no idea you existed.” Tony remarked with his usual sarcasm. Katie shot him a look.

“Yeah well Fury helped me set this up when I joined.” Clint explained, his arm around his wife. “Kept it off SHIELD’s files and I’d like to keep it that way. I figured it’s a good place to lay low.”

Thor, who had been extremely quiet since arriving, made to step closer to the group but a loud crunching noise stopped him. Katie and Steve looked down and he raised his boot seeing the lego house he had just crushed. He glanced upwards and caught Steve’s eye, then Katie’s as he kicked the broken pieces underneath the table. Then a toaster popped and all 3 of them glanced at it, before Thor turned and hastily left the room. Katie looked at Steve and the pair of them followed Thor out.

“Thor,” Steve said, and he stopped dead.

“I saw something, in that dream.” he explained. “I need answers, I won’t find them here.”

“Be careful” Katie said to him, he nodded and then with a whirl of his hammer he was gone.

They both turned to go back into the house when Steve stopped dead, the image of that damned vision flashing in front of his eyes.

“We can go home…imagine that”

He was home, with Katie, there was no home without her…

Katie, who had been heading back into the house, noticed Steve had stopped. She turned to look at him, his face was glazed slightly, a look on his face she knew extremely well, the one he got whenever he was thinking about his past.

“It’s always been her.”

Katie tried to ignore the flash back and gently spoke to him, her voice shaky.

“Steve?”

He suddenly focussed and looked at her, smiling softly.

“Walk with me?” he said, inclining his head away from the house.

Katie nodded with a swallow, taking his outstretched hand, the pair of them heading down a worn path through the field outside the house. Neither of them said a word for a while, they just walked taking in the large fields and the various trees and shrubs and they reached a clearing which was clearly where the family spent a lot of time. There was a picnic bench to the right of a large oak tree which sported an archery target, 3 arrows currently protruding from the middle circle. 2 bikes lay propped the trunk under the target and a baseball glove lay discarded on the floor.

Frankly Katie loved the levelheadedness of it. Steve loved the normality of it.

“You know, all I ever wanted was to join the army, hold down a good job, have a wife and a family…” Steve broke the silence as they both walked towards the bench. Katie looked up at him as he glanced around. “I mean a farm was never really what I imagined but…”

“A town house in Brooklyn?” She smiled softly as she took a seat.

Steve shrugged. “It doesn’t matter where, I just want to build a life with you, whatever madness that brings with it.”

Katie turned her face away, blinking away the tears. She knew her vision hadn’t been real, she knew it was all a dream but there was part of her that would never stop wondering, whether given the chance he would go back and live his life over with Peggy. Was he settling here for second best?

“Sweetheart?” Steve asked, his voice cracking slightly.

“I’m sorry just, she really did a number on me and now my head is all over and…” she looked at him as he moved so that he had one leg either side of the seat and he was turned side on to face her.

“What did she make you see?”

She took a deep breath and told him, by the time she got to the part about him saying she wasn’t enough and was a mere distraction, she was really biting back the sobs as Steve reached out and pulled her to him. She pressed her face into his chest, breathing him in, relishing his touch and the fact he was real, and there with her.

“Seems like she got us all pretty bad.” Steve said, his voice thick.

“What did you see?” Katie asked quietly.

“She showed me a dance.” He took a deep breath his arms still around her “But it was back in the 1940s. You, me, Peggy and Bucky were there.”

“Dancing?” she frowned “In the 1940s?”

“Yeah, I know. For once you were the one out of time.” He mused gently, looking at her for a second before he carried on “But you were dancing with Bucky, you were with Bucky, and I was with Peggy and she was telling me the war was over and that I could go home…”

“Maybe my vision wasn’t that far off after all.” Katie sniffed gently.

He pulled back from her slightly, and frowned. “What do you mean?”

“No matter how much I try to ignore it, how much I love you there’s always going to be part of you that’s back there, and a wishing you and Peggy had gotten your dance…”

Steve blew out a breath through his nose, shaking his head. She’d got this all wrong “Baby that’s not what I saw, at all…”

“You know sometimes I notice that look in your eyes, that haunted look like you’re somewhere else…” she continued, looking at her hands “I convince myself I’m seeing things because the thought that you might be wishing you could be elsewhere breaks my heart…”

“Baby, I-“

“If I am second best then, fine, I get it but I need to know….” she looked at him through her tears. “If you knew then, what you know now, and had the chance to… would you do things differently?”

He took a deep breath and moved slightly, reaching into his pocket for something. When he turned round Katie noticed he had the compass with Peggy’s photo inside it in his hands.

“You will never be second best.” He shook his head as he turned the compass over, in his hand. “That dream I had was awful.” He sighed “Not because Peggy was with me but because you weren’t.”

He clicked open his compass and passed it to her. The black and white picture of Peggy was gone, and inside was a photo she instantly recognised as one they’d gotten from a photo booth in Coney Island on her birthday last year. They were both looking cross eyed into the camera, happy and carefree, joking and playing. An hour or so post the photo being taken, he’d asked her to marry him.

“I changed it over the moment we got back that day.” He said gently, “I love that photo, it reminds me of just how much you make me smile and that I can just be me around you. I don’t have to be Cap or anyone else, just Steve.” HE reached out with his still gloved hand to brush her hair behind her ear. “You wanna know what my biggest fear is? Losing you.”

She glanced up at him, her eyes searching his but even as she did she knew he was telling the truth. Steve didn’t lie.

”That part of my life with Peggy is over, and it’s okay. I can live without it, but I cannot live without you.” He sighed, his voice slightly choked and he moved his hands up to wipe the tears off her cheeks that she wasn’t even aware she had shed. “So would I do things differently? Not one fucking second.” He gently pulled her face to meet his in a soft kiss and whispered. “Please believe me, kitten.”

“I do.” She nodded as her lips met his again, melting into his hold. She kissed him back, urgently, needy and he was happy to oblige, his arms wrapping round her, pulling her into him.

“Bet I look a right state.” She pulled away, her head resting against his. He chuckled slightly.

“Well we could both probably do with a shower.” HE nodded, looking up over at the house, “Why don’t you go back in? I’ll grab us some stuff from the jet.”

She nodded and he kissed her forehead once more as the two of them headed in opposite directions. Steve watched her go heaving out another sigh as he stood up. Frankly it said something about their deep rooted issues that their visions took them both to losing one another to other people and not death. Especially after everything that had happed the last year and what was going on right around them now with Ultron. But it also made perfect sense, neither of them could face being without the other. They’d fallen in deep, real deep, and whilst in some ways it was frightening in others it was so, so right.

There was absolutely no doubt in his heart at all where Katie sat in his life. And that was forefront and centre. He just hope she realised that too.

By the time Steve had made it back she was already asleep on the bed in the spare room Clint had directed him to. Dropping the bag gently to the floor so as not to disturb her he headed into the bathroom and stripped off out of his suit. He lay his forehead against the cool tiles, the warm water was soothing as he washed away the grime of the fight. He dried off, changed into a pair of jeans and an under-armour shirt and headed back into the bedroom. Katie was still out of it, and deciding that a nap seemed like a damned good idea he slipped onto the bed besides her. Sliding one arm underneath her he pulled her back so her back was pressed into his chest, his other arm gently draped over her, his hand tangling with hers.

“I love you so fucking much.” He mumbled into her neck as he closed his eyes “So much.”

***** Chapter 24 Part 1

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #steve rogers fic #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers x ofc #mcu #mcu fanfic #the avengers #chris evans #chris evans characters

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cinebration · 4 years ago

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Requests! *Open 48 Hours*

To celebrate reaching 600+ followers, I am open for requests for 48 hours! *Requests close Wednesday, December 2nd, 4:30pm PST (12:30am GMT)*

Rules

Send to my ask box! Please keep in mind that these requests are meant to be one-shot drabbles.

No smut. No pregnancy fics or A/B/O fics. No crossover fics. No actor x reader. Other AUs acceptable.

Identify the gender of the reader if you want something other than female.

Because I try to remain as true to character as possible, I reserve the right to reject or tweak requests to keep the characters in character.

Below are character lists divided by actors and fandoms.

By Actor

Henry Cavill: Napoleon Solo, August Walker, Captain Syverson, Geralt of Rivia, Sherlock Holmes

Ewan McGregor: Roman Sionis, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Camerlengo Patrick McKenna

Christian Bale: Bruce Wayne, John Preston, Patrick Bateman, Alfred Borden

Tom Hardy: Eames, Eddie Brock, Alfie Solomons, James Keziah Delaney, Bob (The Drop), Forrest Bondurant, Tuck, Tommy Conlon

By Fandom

DCEU: Roman Sionis, Victor Zsasz (BoP), Dr. Crane/Scarecrow (Nolan’s Batman trilogy), Ra’s al Ghul (Batman Begins/Gotham), Arthur Curry, Dr. Shivana

MCU: Loki, Clint Barton, Ulysses Klaue, Doctor Strange, Quentin Beck, Thor

X-Men: Charles Xavier, Erik Lensherr, Logan/Wolverine, Remy Lebeau/Gambit

Star Wars: Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kylo Ren, DJ

Misc: Illya Kuryakin, Lestat, Herbert West

#requests #Henry Cavill x Reader #Ewan McGregor x Reader #Christian Bale x Reader #Tom Hardy x Reader #MCU #DCEU #X-Men #Star Wars #Interview with the Vampire #Re-Animator

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penpatronuswhump · 4 years ago

Photo

WHUMPTOBER 2020

No. 17

Fandom: Avengers

Whumpee: Peter Parker

Caregiver: Tony Stark

Title: Blackmail, Bullets, Blood

By: PenPatronus // PenPatronusAooO

Steve was so concerned about Tony that he followed him one night. Tony walked to a small Stark Industries warehouse eight blocks from the Tower at two in the morning. Peeking through a dusty window, Steve watched as Tony loaded wooden crate after wooden crate into a white Stark Industries van. When Tony went to leave, when the garage door opened, there was Cap standing there illuminated by the headlights with his hands at his hips, looking like a mother who just caught her son’s hand in the cookie jar.

Tony stuck his head out of the driver’s side window and shouted, “Out of my way, Rogers!”

“I can’t do that, Stark,” Steve called back. “Not until you tell me why you’re sneaking out missiles in the middle of the night.”

“It’s none of your damn business where I’m going with my own inventory, Rogers,” Tony spat back. Tony jumped out of the van and pushed Steve in the chest. “Now get out of here!”

Steve caught Tony’s wrists when Stark went in to push him again. “Where are you taking those missiles? I thought Stark Industries was done with arms dealing. Who are you selling these to?”

“Selling them?” Tony laughed. He put his hands on his knees and laughed harder. “Selling them…”

In the bright light, Cap noticed that Tony’s skin was white and shiny with sweat. He appeared to have lost a few pounds and the crescents beneath his eyes were darker than usual. “Tony, what’s wrong with you?”

Tony wiped his eyes with his flannel shirt sleeve. “Nothing.”

“You’re upset and you’re hiding something from me.”

“I’m hiding a lot of things from you. You’ll have to be more specific.”

“Tony…”

“Cap, I really need to get going.” Stark checked his watch. “I can’t be late.”

“Fine. I’ll go with you. I’m driving.” Steve went to pass Tony, but Stark grabbed him by the shoulders.

“Listen to me. Just… Just listen, Steve. I can’t get you involved in this. Nobody can get involved in this. It’s just between me and…” Tony sighed.

“Tony, I’m your friend.” Steve put his hands on Tony’s shoulders. “I just want to help.”

“You can’t help me,” Tony whispered. “This is the only way. This… This…” Tony’s face crumpled. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. “He took the kid.”

“Parker? Who?”

“Klaue. Ulysses Klaue, the arms dealer. He has Peter. And if I don’t keep giving him missiles, he’ll kill him.” Arms fell away, and Stark took his phone out of his pocket. He opened an app Cap didn’t recognize, and showed a live feed of a prison cell. In it, a very skinny, very disheveled, very dirty Peter Parker sat in the corner with his arms around his legs, staring at the wall. “Klaue gives him one bite of bread and one sip of water for every missile I give him. And if I don’t get there soon, Peter won’t have anything to eat in the morning.”

“He’s practically starving him,” Cap said. His face turned red. “Tony, we’re getting him out of there. Right now.”

Stark shook his head. “Klaue said that if he sniffs even the slightest bit of trouble, he’ll kill the kid without a second thought. If one security guard sees us, if one alarm goes off – Pete’s dead.”

Steve nodded. He gave it some thought – eyebrows frowning. “We’re going to need some help, then, aren’t we?”

“Steve, no, I…” Tony put his face in his hands, then suddenly whirled around and punched the truck with his bare fist. “I can’t risk the kid! This is the only way to keep him alive.”

“Tony, Klaue will eventually kill him, no matter what. We gotta get him out now.”

Tony took three deep, settling breaths. “You’re right,” he decided. “You’re always right, Cap. So… What do we do?”

“What we’re gonna do,” said Steve, “is rescue Parker and take down Klaue at the same time. And, fortunately, we have some very Ninja-like assassins who can get the kid out before Klaue even knows we’re there.”

----------

Tony stood on the dock outside Klaue’s seaside warehouse and watched the arms dealer’s men unload the missiles from the van. The only light was the moon over the water and one flickering snot-colored lightbulb above the entrance. Tony pulled his baseball cap down and folded his arms against his chest. Autumn was just about to exit the stage, and the East Coast had been promised an extra cold winter.

Klaue emerged from his office wearing a pit-stained white button down shirt over dirty jeans. He had a toothpick in his mouth and an assault rifle over his shoulder. “Mr. Stark,” he greeted, “my most loyal supplier. I’m told you’re five missiles short today.”

Tony held up his palms. “My own supplier let me down, Klaue. But I brought you something to make up for it. Look in the back seat.” Klaue nodded at his henchmen. One opened the van and an unconscious, tied-up, beat-up Steve Rogers came tumbling out, rolling across the wooden dock.

Klaue clapped his hands together. “Quite a gift!” he exclaimed. “I know some underground scientists who will pay quite a lot for a specimen like this.” He motioned for his henchmen. Tony expected Klaue to order them to take Steve inside but, instead, they lifted him to his feet. Klaue approached Steve, said, “I know you’re awake, Captain,” and smacked Steve across the face. Cap coughed and spit out a tooth.

“Let me guess what your plan was,” Klaue said, attention back on Tony. “I put Rogers in the same cell with Parker, together with their combined strength they break through the bars, and then they sneak out – escaping from under my nose, yes?”

Tony pursed his lips together so hard that they turned white. “Listen, Klaue, I just want the kid. I’ll give you whatever you ask, just give me the kid back.”

“We all want things, Stark. I want to own a Caribbean island. And, I’m only five mil short of it. And now, here you are, interfering with my dream, trying to take it away.” Klaue shook his head. “Tisk, tisk,” he said, waggling his forefinger. “I told you I’d kill the kid if you interfered. But, I think I’ll do you one better. I think, right in front of your eyes, I’ll kill all four of them.”

“Four?”

A garage door opened and a half dozen henchmen wearing thick jackets and caps over their faces exited with a very bloodied, very beat up Peter, Clint, and Natasha. Klaue gave the order to stand them next to Cap, then he ordered all four of them to their knees. His goons pushed them down and aimed guns at their backs.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark,” Peter whimpered.

Tony shook his head. “I let you down, kid. I’m so, so sorry.”

Klaue was soaking up the moment like sunshine. “This is lovely. Half the world wants you all dead and here I am, little old me, holding each of your lives in my hands. I really should sell tickets to this.”

“Enough, Klaue,” Tony barked. “I want my team free. I’ll give you anything, anything you want.”

“Anything, huh?” Klaue tapped his chin. “What if what I want is for you to see your friends die?” He nodded at his henchman. “Kill Barton.”

“NO!” Tony screamed. He was too late. The henchman shot Clint in the back. Barton collapsed forward onto the dock. He didn’t move.

“Clint!” Nat sobbed.

Klaue suddenly cocked and aimed his weapon. “Who’s next?” he asked, aiming the gun first at Peter, and then at Natasha, and then at Steve. “Which one of your friends is next?”

Tony saw movement in his peripheral vision, and it took all his concentration not to look at the roof of the warehouse. “Klaue?” Tony said, his posture straight now, his classic smirk back on his face, “would you like to guess what happens when a warehouse full of volatile weapons gets hit by a bolt of lightning?” Tony looked up at the roof.

Klaue followed his gaze. Thor waved down at the crowd, then raised his hammer.

“Get him!” Klaus screamed, and he and all his henchmen turned to fire. At that precise moment Bruce Banner, who’d disguised himself as the very goon who shot Barton in his bulletproof vest, pivoted and hit Klaue in the shoulder with a bullet. Klaue tumbled backwards off the dock and into the water. His rifle spat a half-dozen times as he fell.

Natasha flipped to her feet. Barton rolled over and somersaulted backwards. Steve broke out of his bonds instantly. While those three kept the henchmen from shooting Thor, Peter sprinted into Tony’s arms. Stark caught him and lifted him off his feet, so happy was he. “Into the van, kid,” Tony ordered. “Everyone in the van, now!” he shouted. He could feel the dock rumbling as more of Klaue’s goons were heading their way. Barton, Banner, and Rogers dove into the back of the white van. Natasha got in the driver’s seat while Tony pushed Peter into the back seat. Tony yanked the door shut and shouted, “Heads down!”

Outside, Thor rose into the air, summoned lightning, and slammed it down into the weapons compound. The place exploded in a massive mushroom cloud. But seconds before it did, Thor picked up the van and flew it out of danger. He set it on the street six blocks away and opened the door, revealing his disheveled but whole friends. “Sorry I was late,” the god said. “I was with Jane and I didn’t get your message and... Why didn’t you wait for me?”

“Because we had to get there by a deadline!” Tony shouted at him. He sat against the far door with his arms around Peter, who was leaning back against him. “You cut it pretty damn close you big Norse piece of—” Tony felt something warm on his shirt. He looked down and saw dark liquid against his shoulder. It was blood, blood that wasn’t his. One of Klaue’s shots had hit a target.

“PETE!”

Peter had gone limp. He fell back into Tony’s arms, smearing blood from his shot up shoulder down the rest of Tony’s shirt. Stark tossed his hat away and adjusted Peter’s body so that the kid was cradled in his lap. “Nat! Hospital! Now!” Tony shouted.

A tear slid down Peter’s cheek. “Thanks for coming for me,” he said between hitched breaths. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“Kid, hang on, we’ll get you some help in a second, in just a second, all right?”

Peter licked his white lips. “It hurts,” he whispered.

Tony’s heart clenched like a fist. He looked at his wide-eyed friends who were just as helpless as he was. “Hang on, kid,” was all he could think to say. Adrenaline burned through him and his face flushed. “Just hang on, Pete.”

---------

May exited Peter’s hospital room with a fake smile that instantly disintegrated once she was sure she was out of her nephew’s eyeline. Tony stood up from a hallway bench and she hugged him. “He’s so brave,” she sobbed in his ear. “He’s incredible.”

Tony nodded. He sniffed, and then held May at arm’s length. “He is. He’s an incredible kid.”

“He wants to talk to you.”

“Ok.” Tony took a deep breath. “Ok.”

The kid was asleep when he walked in, so Tony had time to sit in a chair beside the bed and relive every moment of the “rescue.” He should’ve done better. He should’ve acted faster. He should’ve this, he should’ve that…

“Mr. Stark?”

Tony shot to his feet. He leaned over the hospital bed and smiled at Peter without showing his teeth. “Hey, kid. How ya feeling?”

Tears sprung to Peter’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” he cried. “I’m so sorry. None of this would’ve happened if it weren’t for me. The others – are they all right? God, Mr. Stark, I’m so sorry. I deserve to be—”

Tony held up his finger and made a sound that resembled a game show buzzer. “Don’t,” he ordered softly. “Don’t do that, kid. That’s a dark road I’ve traveled, and I won’t let you go down it. None of this was your fault, you understand? None of it. And the others are fine. You’re fine. Everything’s fine.”

Peter frowned at him. “Mr. Stark? Are you fine? You’re—you’re crying.”

Tony didn’t even realize it. He wiped his eyes dry. “Joyful tears, kid.” Then, without thinking about it, he leaned in and kissed the kid on the forehead. “Glad you’re ok,” he whispered, “so glad, Pete.”

The End

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jtargaryen18 · 5 years ago

Text

Coming soon... His Consort

Saturdayish?

You watched as the group of them approached the small passenger airplane and relief flooded you to see that they’d all returned. Ulysses Klaue, your boss for better or worse over the last year, reached the side of the aircraft with Linda. Her boyfriend and your boss's latest associate, Erik Killmonger, wasn’t far behind them. Linda climbed into the passenger seat at the front of the plane, casting a worried look back at you.

Wait. What was wrong?

Klaue, the man who’d taken you in after he’d gotten your father killed, was shouting back at Erik. You couldn’t make out what they were saying. But terror gripped you when Erik shot and killed Ryan before he could climb into the pilot’s side to fly you all out.

Then Klaue grabbed Linda and violently pulled her from the craft, holding her before him with a gun to her head.

Oh shit. Something was very wrong.

Erik shot at Klaue through Linda while you watched in horror. What the fuck?

The bullet didn’t make it through Linda to get to Klaue and your boss climbed out from under her, scrambling away as Erik continued shooting at him and followed. Shots rang out as they scrambled across the small airstrip.

You didn’t know how this was going to go. From what you’d seen, you knew who was more likely to return to the plane and it wasn’t your boss. And you’d never thought Erik particularly liked you. It was in your best interest to get out of there.

With your heart racing in your chest, you scrambled towards the front of the plane and tried to make it out the pilot’s door. A strong hand grabbed the front of your jacket and jerked you like a rag doll.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the tall brunet asked. He was as tall and built as Erik with handsome features but cold blue eyes.

Who the fuck was this?

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I need to get out of here,” you told him meaningfully. “Please, just let me go. I didn’t see or hear a fucking thing, okay?”

He smiled then, his gaze roaming over you in a way that left you feeling uncomfortable. Then he roughly shoved you back into the cabin of the aircraft.

“I don’t think so,” he told you, climbing into the pilot’s seat and shutting the door.

You watched as he started the plane.

Yeah. Nope.

You were proud of yourself for darting out the other side and managing to avoid the reach of the man who was in Klaue’s plane. You hit the ground, climbed to your feet and took off running. You had a hand on the .380 at your hip, ready to draw on anyone who stopped you.

You never saw him coming. Strong arms wrapped around you from behind, jerking you off your feet and hauling you back toward the plane.

You went wild, kicking, thrashing in his hold but he was able to hang onto you. You tried to get your hand around to your hip for your piece, but he plucked it out of your holster a beat before he roughly threw you through the side door of the plane on your face.

You pulled yourself up onto your hands and knees, just in time to see Erik hold up your gun and grin. “I’ll hang onto this.”

You watched as he shoved it into the front of his pants and climbed in with you, slamming the side door as the man up front reached across to secure the front passenger door.

Erik pushed you back down, grabbing your wrists and cuffing them behind your back.

“Please,” you pleaded. “Just let me go. I don’t know what Klaue did, but I don’t want to be part of it.”

He’s probably going to fucking kill me too. What is he waiting for?

Leaning close to you, the deep voice was too close to your ear. “Good. You’ve got a new boss now.”

What?

Erik hauled you up like you weighed nothing, a field mouse in a panther’s clutches. He pushed you into one of the passenger seats and strapped you in. Grinning, he got on your eye level and had your heart hammering in your chest.

His dark eyes glittered in the fading light of the day and they were beautiful. He was beautiful. But behind that beauty was a man who was cold, calculated, unpredictable, and deadly.

“You going to be my new girl?” he asked with that smile. You’d watched him use that smile so many times to play Linda, to charm women and men to get exactly what he wanted. “No, my new consort.”

“Consort?” you asked him, confused.

“A king needs loyal subjects,” was all he said.

King?

“But Linda…”

“She’s dead,” Erik pointed out. “But you’re going to be a good girl, right?”

Your heart flew. Oh, God. What did that mean?

“Ransom, get us up in the air,” he called to the pilot.

Erik winked before making his way to the front passenger seat. As he did, your gaze met that of the pilot in one of the mirrors. He smirked at you.

“She looks fun,” Ransom told him as he worked at the controls.

“We’re going to find out,” Erik said as he strapped himself in.

#Challenge time #Erik Killmonger #Ransom Drysdale #Reader #She's in trouble

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beatrice-otter · 5 years ago

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Longfic Recs

So, over in fictional_fans, melannen is doing a collaborative set of longfic recs for while we're all staying inside and physically isolated from one another. Here's my first set of contributions. Almost all of these are over 50k, and many of the ones who say they're shorter are just the first stories in their series. But there are a few shorter ones that I couldn't not rec.

DC:

Nature and Nurture (109065 words) by lurkinglurkerwholurks Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Batman & Red Hood, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Bruce Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon & Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon & Dick Grayson Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Red Hood (DCU), Nightwing, Oracle (DCU), Alfred Pennyworth, Damian Wayne, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain, Selina Kyle, Harvey Dent Additional Tags: Distressing screams, Jason Todd is Red Hood, In which Red Hood panics mildly, Age Regression/De-Aging, But not cutesy de-aging, There are hugs and kisses though, Rated for Profanity, It was Jason of course, Mention of loss of parents, Angst, Angst and Feels, Mention of canon drug use, Mild Blood, Surprise the profanity is also Bruce, Angst and Hurt/Comfort Summary: It was a no good, very bad night all around, and it kept getting worse. In which the writer explores some classic tropes, indulges in some BatFam feels, and explores the effects of nature and nurture on the psyche of one Bruce Thomas Wayne. I Wanna Kiss You Like They Do In The Movies (4745 words) by Cy_kun Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Underage Relationships: Damian Wayne/Colin Wilkes Characters: Colin Wilkes, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Fluff, Humor, tiny boyfriends, with tiny crushes, Bruce really doesn't understand his son's smol future husband, they're both ten, so obviously no sex, I mention Christmas once so this will probably count as my Christmas story Series: Part 1 of Son of Batman Summary: "Mr Batman, can I marry Damian?" Or, the one where Colin can't stop thinking about kissing Damian, and for some reason thinks Bruce can handle that. Countless Roads (231868 words) by nirejseki, robininthelabyrinth Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Mick Rory/Leonard Snart Characters: Leonard Snart, Mick Rory, Leonard Snart's Mother, Lisa Snart, Lewis Snart, Barry Allen, Wally West, Jefferson "Jax" Jackson, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Eobard Thawne | Harrison Wells, Nora Allen, Zoom, Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells, Ronnie Raymond, Martin Stein, Earth-2 Ronnie Raymond, Earth-2 Caitlin Snow, Earth-3 Jay Garrick, Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, Rip Hunter, Kendra Saunders, Carter Hall, Time Masters (DC's Legends of Tomorrow), Time Wraiths (The Flash), George "Digger" Harkness Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, DEADFIC, Very Long Fic, Canonical Child Abuse, Canon-Typical Violence, not a slow burn Summary: Due to a family curse (which some call a gift), Leonard Snart has more life than he knows what to do with – and that gives him the ability to see, speak to, and even share with the various ghosts that are always surrounding him.

Sure, said curse also means he’s going to die sooner rather than later, just like his mother, but in the meantime Len has no intention of letting superheroes, time travelers, a surprisingly charming pyromaniac, and a lot of ghosts get in the way of him having a nice, successful career as a professional thief.

Sometimes I wish I could fly, Like a bird up in the sky (8815 words) by fresne Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kal-el/Lois Lane Characters: Kal-el, Lois Lane Additional Tags: Character of Color, Biracial Character, Chromatic!Superman, Chromatic Character, Dark Agenda, Racebending Revenge Challenge, Podfic Available Summary: Written for the Racebending Challenge. For the challenge to depict a white character as a chromatic character, Kryptonians are black and Kal-El landed in Kansas in the Action Comic timeline.

This one's a WIP, but it is such an interesting idea, skillfully written, that I couldn't resist reccing it.

Robins and Other Flightless Birds (84920 words) by Ionaperidot Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent Characters: Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain, Damian Wayne, Kate Kane, Talia al Ghul, Athanasia al Ghul Additional Tags: Dad Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson is a Talon, catatonic jason, tim drake was joker junior, bruce wayne's messiah complex, in which bruce runs around the multiverse collecting orphans, Kon and Selina and Oliver Queen are around, and various assorted Justice League members Series: Part 1 of Flightless Birds Summary: It begins with another Bruce, looking around his cave and asking, “So where are the kids?”

Bruce has never thought about having a family before. But once the idea occurs to him, it's hard to think about anything else.

Latchkey (54546 words) by goldkirk Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, more to be added as the story progresses, Ace the Bat-Hound Additional Tags: Tim Drake-centric, Kid Tim Drake, Listen I play fast and loose with canon, Bruce is charmed by Tim’s genius and stupid brain, Tim Drake Needs a Hug, Child Neglect, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Warnings will be posted as necessary with each chapter, Batfamily (DCU), none character deaths with left found family, in this house we love and appreciate therapy lessons and trauma recovery, and also proper care and keeping of children, Tim Drake Gets a Hug, Sibling Bonding, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Stalker Tim Drake, You think DICK is a mama hen? get ready for not-dead Jason Todd!!!!!, Jewish Bruce Wayne, Jewish Tim Drake, lots and lots of comfort Summary: Or, How Tim Drake Found A Family, Became A Photojournalist, Learned To Love Coffee, and Grew Up, not necessarily in that order.

Tim Drake is thirteen, runs the famous BatWatch blog that has spiraled hilariously out of control, has absentee parents that suit his purposes just fine, is training himself to run the streets at night, and is doing absolutely peachy, thank you. Alfred and Jason disagree, and get Dick and Bruce involved in figuring out their weird nextdoor neighbor kid’s life. Everything goes uphill from there.

If You Don't Grow (105707 words) by GeneratorCat Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Clark Kent, Kon-El | Conner Kent, Bart Allen Additional Tags: good big brother Dick, Healing, Slow Burn, Tim and Jason are kids at the start of this but worry not- nothing happens for a while, tags to be added as the story develops, Past Abuse, Smoking, Dick is trying his best, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Someone gets punched, but they deserve it, Tim starts off a little brat, but then gets some sweet sweet character development, though don't be mistaken he's still a mischievous boy, Embarrassment, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Homeschooling, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dick has anger issues, talking! about feelings!, has been described as: Lots of broken birds being rehabilitated by each other, and i must agree, Batman!Dick, lots of hugs, awkward sex talks, Demisexual Tim Drake, Knitting, Found Family, Cuddles, we getting soft y'all, Pining, Bruce is trying, Perceived Homophobia, Abandonment Issues, even more awkward sex talks, graysexual Jason Todd, embarrassing dad Dick Grayson, god they're so in love, god jason is an idiot, Accidental Boner, someone gets punched again, Fix-it fic, First Kiss, Masturbation, Jason Todd's sweet sixteen Summary: “I need to take care of myself. I can take care of myself.” “You shouldn’t have to, you’re just a kid.” God, does Dick know that. He knows what it feels like to be doing things you shouldn’t have to do at such a young age. About feeling like you have to take care of yourself, be strong and useful.

He knows now it’s bullshit.

(Officer Dick Grayson meets Jason on the street.) ((Alternatively titled: In which Dick pulls a Bruce))

one day this will all be yours (32586 words) by suzukiblu Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kon-El | Conner Kent & Lex Luthor, Clark Kent & Kon-El | Conner Kent, Superboy & Team, Kon-El | Conner Kent/M'gann M'orzz Characters: Kon-El | Conner Kent, Lex Luthor, Clark Kent, M'gann M'orzz, Kaldur'ahm (DCU), Dick Grayson, Artemis Crock, Wally West, Mercy Graves Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Timeline, Family Drama, Family Feels, Found Family, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Protectiveness, Amnesia, Temporary Amnesia, Father-Son Relationship, Two Fathers, Parent-Child Relationship, Team as Family, Team Bonding, Kidnapping, Flashbacks Summary: “You know, I used to think if I had different parents my life would be different,” Artemis says neutrally as she lines up a shot, and Superboy looks away from the punching bag, a little surprised to hear her speak.

Marvel:

god loves everybody, don't remind me (70381 words) by napricot Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Erik Killmonger & T'Challa Characters: Erik Killmonger, T'Challa (Marvel), T'Chaka (Marvel), Ramonda (Marvel), Shuri (Marvel), Okoye (Marvel), Nakia (Black Panther), N'Jobu (Marvel), Erik Killmonger's Mother, Bast, Linda (Black Panther movies), W'Kabi (Marvel), Ulysses Klaue, Everett Ross, Zuri (Marvel) Additional Tags: Time Loop, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Wakanda (Marvel), Djalia | Ancestral Plane (Marvel), Erik Killmonger Lives, Family Summary: N’Jadaka didn’t believe in the gods of his people. But belief was not a prerequisite of the gods’ attention, and the blood of the Panther tribe ran in N’Jadaka’s veins. Bast took hold of his soul in her mighty jaws and lifted it free of his body. She gave him a warning shake, just as she would a misbehaving kitten, and set him back. With one careful claw, she tweaked his path through time into a twisting loop. Wayward and abandoned though he was, N’Jadaka was still of her tribe. He could set things right, if given the chance.

Erik gets a do-over. Erik gets a lot of do-overs. Or: Erik Killmonger's own personal version of Groundhog Day, only with a lot more murder, dying, trips to the ancestral plane, awkward family conversations, and divine intervention.

If They Haven't Learned Your Name (237623 words) by silentwalrus Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers Characters: Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Natasha Romanova, Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Pepper Potts, Maria Hill, Clint Barton, Nick Fury, Peggy Carter, Phil Coulson, Thor Additional Tags: Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, standard Winter Soldier trauma umbrella, POV Alternating, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Weirdness, Llamas, Bucky Barnes Has A Complicated Relationship With UFOs, Thirty Korean Grandmothers, Steve And Sam Vs. Canoe, Natasha Is Taking It Personally, Consent Issues, One (1) Orgasm, Podfic Available, Russian Translation Available, do not copy to another site Summary: Steve gets out of the hospital in two days, but just barely. “I’m fine,” he tells Sam, Nurse Eunjung and the phalanx of doctors assigned to make sure Captain America didn’t bleed out and die and get bad PR all over their nice clean hospital. “I have an advanced healing factor. It’s fine. See? I’m standing.”

“That is not standing,” Sam tells him.

“You’re bending the IV stand,” Nurse Eunjung adds pointedly. “Let go and sit down, they don’t grow on trees.”

aka Steve and Bucky's Global Honeymoon Revenge World Tour.

You Would Be In Clover (126894 words) by ChibiSquirt Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson Characters: Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Howard Stark, Peggy Carter, Sharon Carter (Marvel), Natasha Romanov (Marvel) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Gay Bucky Barnes, Female Steve Rogers, Marriage Proposal, Marriage of Convenience, Religion, Miscarriage, Smoking, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Sexism, Closeted Character, Open Marriage, Crossdressing, Howard Stark/Steve Rogers (minor ship), Bucky Barnes/Others (offscreen), Polyamory, Vaginal Fingering, Penis In Vagina Sex, Oral Sex, Mutual Masturbation, Rimming, Consensual Sex, First Time, First Kiss, Period-Typical Racism, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Genderswap, Genderbending Summary: Sarah “Gwen” Rogers was nineteen when she married Bucky Barnes, and she knew at the time just how stupid it was: it wasn’t exactly a brilliant move to marry a man who could never love her, even—or especially—when she knew that she was in love with him.

Neither of them could have predicted the war that came, and if they had, then they sure as hell couldn’t have predicted what would happen when Gwen volunteered for Project: Rebirth.

fight like girls for our place at the table (52110 words) by napricot Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sharon Carter/Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Sharon Carter Characters:Sharon Carter (Marvel), Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Steve Rogers, Nick Fury, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Peggy Carter, Antoine Triplett, James "Bucky" Barnes Additional Tags: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, POV Sharon Carter (Marvel), Slow Burn, Surveillance, Double Dating, Bucky Barnes' Attempts at Being a Wingman, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Time Summary: “Am I on Cap watch because of who my aunt is?” Sharon asks Fury point-blank the second she sits in his office.

“That’s part of the reason, yeah,” Fury says. Sharon narrows her eyes at him, and opens her mouth to object. “But not all of the reason. This isn’t a demotion.”

“It sure feels like a demotion. You’re taking me out of the field and out of intel analysis to babysit Captain America.”

How Sharon Carter gets her groove back, fucks up some Nazis, and gets the girl, with unasked for assists from a super soldier couple.

Châtelaine et senêschale (21859 words) by Feather Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Pepper Potts & Original Female Character Characters: Pepper Potts, Tony Stark, Original Female Character Additional Tags: Pepper Potts and her team of badass ladies, ladies in the Tower, hypercompetent women, people with absurdly high IQ, Pepper wants to save the world, Pepper runs a super-efficient company, acute traumatic stress disorder, Post-Battle of New York, Post-Iron Man 3, Pepper is kind of not okay, quietly retconning implausible/insulting canon moments, Tony's terrible people skills Series: Part 1 of Settle in and find your home Summary: A quintet of essential moments including the Stark Industries Chief Legal Officer.

This is the first in a series of stories about side characters in Your Blue Eyed Boys, a massive Stucky series dealing seriously with Bucky's trauma. YBEB is awesome, but Settle in and find your home is even better.

Where the Need is Greatest (19717 words) by Niitza Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers Characters: Steve Rogers, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, Tony Stark, Original Characters Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Steve Rogers vs. the American Military, paramedic steve rogers, Médicins Sans Frontières | Doctors Without Borders, Syria, Syrian Civil War, Hydra, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Implied/Referenced Torture, POV Alternating, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Somewhat dark humor, Nick Fury Doesn't Get Paid Enough For This Shit, Humanitarian Intervention, Implied/Referenced Violence, Timeline What Timeline, Podfic Available, do not copy to another site Summary: In which Steve Rogers takes one look at the history of American military interventions since the end of World War II and nopes straight out of it, follows in his Ma's footsteps to become a paramedic, joins Doctors Without Borders, gets sent on an unsanctioned humanitarian mission to Syria, and somehow still ends up being a determining factor in Hydra's downfall - all of this without throwing a single punch. Somehow, he's okay with it.

This one's short, but oh, so good

Scents and Sensibility: The Working Assassin's Guide to Supersoldier Seduction(93216 words) by skellerbvvt, silentwalrus, galwednesday Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers Characters: Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Melinda May, Maria Hill, James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers Additional Tags: Clownfish ABO, Everyone Has A Peen And A Vageen, Gender Spectrum Society, Scents & Smells, Courtship, Alternate Universe, One Thousand And One Blankets, Pod People But Not Like That, Precious Idiot Virgin Winter Soldier, Institutionalized Softism, Curtain Fic, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, Bathing/Washing, Melon Tending, Transformative Works Welcome, do not copy to another site Summary: Captain America wakes up from the ice in 2013. The Winter Soldier wakes up in 2009, or rather defects from HYDRA, for a value of defect that’s closer to decimate. He ends up working for SHIELD. In April 2014, he’s assigned to Captain America’s mission as a sniper.

Steve’s just trying to get some kind of life together. Bucky is too, or at least he was until tall, blond and Captain shows up and starts just - being there, all the time. It’s terrible. It’s the worst. He has to do something about it.

the other side of infinity (84282 words) by tielan Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Nick Fury & Maria Hill, Maria Hill & Sam Wilson & Bucky Barnes & Wanda Maximoff, Maria Hill & Jane Foster, Peter Quill & Groot & Mantis & Drax, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Nick Fury & T'Challa, Maria Hill/Steve Rogers, Maria Hill & Sam Wilson Characters: Maria Hill, Nick Fury, T'Challa, Sam Wilson (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, Peter Parker, Stephen Strange, Jane Foster (Marvel), Loki (Marvel), Brunnhilde | Valkyrie (Marvel), Hela (Marvel), Groot (Marvel), Mantis (Marvel), Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Carol Danvers, Hulk (Marvel), Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Thor (Marvel), Ayo (Marvel), Wanda Maximoff, Vision (Marvel), Chewie | Goose (Marvel) Additional Tags: Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), action-adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Infinity Gems, Infinity Gauntlet, Sacrifice, Fan theories, Avengers: Infinity War Fix-It, Eventual Happy Ending, infinity war fix-it, this really is my endgame, Trope: Against All Odds, Infinity (Marvel), Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Infinity Stone Soul World (Marvel), Soul Gem (Marvel) Summary: On the other side of the moment, those turned to dust may no longer be 'alive', but they're damn well not helpless. This is the story of how they saved themselves.

when i die i’ll sacrifice (more than enough for the afterlife) (41322 words) by notcaycepollard Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, Natasha Romanov & Sam Wilson Characters: Natasha Romanov (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Maria Hill, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Post-Endgame, Various Background Relationships - Freeform, Red Room (Marvel), discussion of Red Room reproductive violence, Pining, spot the Marvel cameos, Family, animal cruelty mention, animal death mention Series: Part 1 of a flame in two cupped hands Summary: The fall is longer than Natasha expects. It’s tears cold on her face, teeth bitten all the way through her lip and the taste of copper in her mouth; she’s falling and falling and then, bracing for impact—she wakes up.

Downton Abbey:

Halo Effect (81331 words) by Alex51324 Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Thomas Barrow/Original Male Character(s), Thomas Barrow & Anna Bates Characters: Thomas Barrow, Anna Bates, John Bates Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, season one AU, Edwardian Gays, Historical Accuracy, Great War, Period-Typical Homophobia Series: Part 1 of Halo Effect Summary: The Halo Effect is the tendency for a positive impression in one area to produce a more generous or optimistic interpretation of ambiguous information in other areas. When Thomas rescues Lady Mary from the nefarious attentions of Turkish houseguest Kemal Pamuk, his employers and coworkers begin to see him differently...and Things Get Better.

A Season One AU diverging from canon in Episode 3, The One Where The Turkish Gentleman Dies in Mary's Bed.

Star Wars:

Hindsight is Not Perfect (61864 words) by DAsObiQuiet Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Shmi Skywalker, Watto (Star Wars), Qui-Gon Jinn, Padmé Amidala, Yoda, Siri Tachi, Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Finis Valorum, Panaka (Star Wars), Mace Windu Additional Tags: Time Travel, Fix-It of Sorts, Time Travel Fix-It, Redemption, Well he tries Series: Part 1 of Force of Many Sights Summary: Paved with good intentions or not, the road back from Hell is a difficult, slippery slope for those who choose to walk it as Anakin has. Now he has to face the consequences of his choices, avoid suspicion of everyone from the Jedi Council to Palpatine and try to prevent the future from turning out as badly Before all while somehow finding a way to balance the Force... again!

Shape-Changer (2330 words) by Fialleril Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader, Palpatine, Shmi Skywalker, Kitster Banai, a Tatooine wise woman Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Double Agent Vader, Storytelling, Tatooine Slave Culture, Small Acts of Resistance, Tricksters, Worldbuilding, Original Mythology Series: Part 1 of Double Agent Vader Summary: His Master liked to say that Vader was born in fire on Mustafar. But Ekkreth was born in the desert.

New Lands for the Living (50241 words) by SassySnowperson Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Poe Dameron/Luke Skywalker Characters: Poe Dameron, Luke Skywalker, Owen Lars, Beru Whitesun, Winter Celchu, Leia Organa, Bodhi Rook Additional Tags: Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, POV Poe Dameron, Marriage of Convenience, Slow Burn, (with a fast marriage), Pining for Spouse, Action/Adventure, Angst and Humor, Canon-Typical Violence, Additional Warnings In Author's Note Summary: The war is over, and nobody won. With the galaxy on the verge of destruction, Poe Dameron hatches a desperate plan—go back in time. But Poe's plan quickly goes awry, and he finds himself on the run from local authorities. The only plan to keep him safe is…extreme, to say the least.

"Can't get you citizenship documents," the man muttered, his voice clearer now that it wasn't muffled by the scarf. Poe took a deep breath and forced himself to think. He looked back at his would-be rescuer.

Who was shoving the scarf back from the top his head, revealing a face that Poe knew. That lots of people knew. Kriff, that everyone knew, trillions upon trillions of sapients in the galaxy would recognize that face.

Luke Skywalker—as fresh-faced and young as the day he became the successful destroyer of the Death Star—was standing in front of him.

Fuck.

"Need a land grant to get a moisture farmer licence, can't even get you a travel visa without citizenship documents…Hm," the legend said, sighing. "Yeah. I think we're going to have to get married."

Things You Missed in History Class (3713 words) by Grey_Bard Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Finn (Star Wars), Rey (Star Wars) Additional Tags: Time Travel Fix-It Summary: Having traveled back in time, Rey and Finn have decided to set right what once went wrong. Too bad they have no idea what actually once went wrong.

This one is short but it is SO GOOD, HOLY COW

Imperial Radch

Fragments (30130 words) by pipistrelle Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Awn Elming & Justice of Toren One Esk, Awn Elming/Justice of Toren One Esk Characters: Awn Elming, Justice of Toren (Imperial Radch), Justice of Toren One Esk Four Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives but not quite, Fix-It, imagine if the dumbest and most lovestruck segment of One Esk ran away with Awn and had a picnic, that's where this fic lives, Awn survives, lots of talking, and swearing, a little bit of plot but not much, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Pining, Worldbuilding, Fake Marriage, kind of, Queerplatonic Relationships Summary: “We're fleeing Radch space. Of course we’re fleeing Radch space, I refused an order and you...” She paused. Then, very clearly and feelingly, she said, “Fuck.” Sometimes the path of justice and beneficence is clear. Sometimes you have to make your own.

Check, Please!

From the Ground Up (167381 words) by Rianne Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kent "Parse" Parson/Original Male Character(s) Characters: Kent "Parse" Parson, Original Male Character(s), Original Characters, Jeff "Swoops" Troy, Las Vegas Aces (Ensemble), Original Male Character(s) of Color, Original Female Character(s) Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Mental Health Issues, Panic Attacks, Anxiety, Angst, Fluff, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Until it's resolved that is, Hockey, (Obviously), Eventual Smut, Slurs Series: Part 1 of Kent Parson deserves nice things Summary: Kent has a pretty good life. It’s been a couple years since the Aces last won a cup, but he’s still at the height of his career. He has an apartment with a stunning view over Vegas, a best friend who’s always dragging him to basketball games, a cat to cuddle with, and more money than he could ever spend.

Everything is fine.

So it won’t be a problem at all if he strikes up a friendship with that guy he meets at the All-Star party.

Tomas enjoyed the years he spent in Minnesota, but he’s ready for a new life in a different city. It means he’ll be even further from his friends and family in Quebec, and he’s not sure he’s going to adapt well to the desert. But he’ll have his new job to distract him, and he’s never minded the challenge of developing a new circle of friends and acquaintances.

He doesn’t expect Kent Parson to be part of that.

Like Real People Do (153388 words) by xiaq Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kent "Parse" Parson/omc, Kent Parson/OMC, Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann Characters: Kent "Parse" Parson, Swoops (Check Please!), Eric Bittle, Jack Zimmermann, Alexei "Tater" Mashkov, OMC Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Alternate Universe - College/University, figure skating, Sharing a Bed, Friends to Lovers, Coming Out, Hockey, NCAA hockey, Disabled Character, service dog, Happy Ending, Fluff, Banter, I just want Kent Parson to be happy ok, Living Together, Domestic Fluff, NHL, Closeted Character, Angst with a Happy Ending, but only like 2 chapters of REAL angst, TBI, Injury, Injury Recovery, parsepositive, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, idiots to lovers Summary: Parson gestures with his spoon toward Hawke. “So am I allowed to ask about the service dog or is that not PC?”

“My medical history is more of a 3rd date conversation," Eli says.

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Because. No one sticks around afterward and I like to live in glorious denial for a short period beforehand.”

It comes out more self-deprecating than he intended.

Parson looks…thoughtful. “Well, does this count as one or two?

“Pardon?”

“This. Ice cream. I mean, technically it’s a second location, but still the same night. So is this one date or two?”

“One,” Eli says firmly. “If it’s happening within the same three-hour period.”

“You’re the expert,” Parson says, which, he’s really, really, not, but ok.

“So still two dates to go then?” Parson continues.

“I—what?”

“We’ve got a roadie coming up but then we’re home for almost two weeks. When does your semester start?”

“You want to do this again?” Eli asks.

Parson stops idly twirling his spoon.

“You don’t?”

He does, Eli realizes. He really does. Because apparently he actually likes Kent fucking Parson.

Original Work

Superstition (16000 words) by Superstition_hockey Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: OC/OC Additional Tags: Hockey Gods, Bromance to Romance, Codependent Bros for Life, Accidental Marriage, Homophobia in sports, Homophobic Language, Sexist Language, Hockey typical violence, Unsafe Sex, Oral Sex, Frottage Series: Part 1 of Superstition Summary: He thinks about the times he’s heard his dad, his aunts and uncles, cousins, sports casters on the news joking about the hockey gods, wonders if they’re real. Maybe they are. Maybe if he works hard enough, gives them enough sweat and blood and time…

Mulan

primped and polished till you glow with pride (11363 words) by VagabondDawn Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Fa Mulan/Li Shang Characters: Fa Mulan (Disney), Li Shang, Fa Zhou Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage Series: Part 1 of primped and polished Summary: Fa Zhou gets offered an advisory position in the Imperial City instead of riding to war and Fa Mulan finds her second attempt at Matchmaking goes better than the first.

Chronicles of Narnia

No Ordinary Letter (5680 words) by Transposable_Element Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Aravis, Kidrash Tarkaan, Peridan (Narnia), Shar (Narnia OMC), Shasta | Cor Additional Tags: Calormen, Family, Cultural Differences Series: Part 1 of Love and Honor Summary: Aravis begins the process of reconciling with her father.

Silmarillion/Lord of the Rings

And What Happened After (73740 words) by thearrogantemu Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bilbo Baggins & Frodo Baggins, Bilbo Baggins & Manwë Súlimo, Frodo Baggins & Fëanor, Samwise Gamgee & Maglor, Frodo Baggins & Sam Gamgee Characters: Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Elrond, Mandos | Námo, Manwë, Fëanor, Sam Gamgee, Sons of Fëanor, Maglor, Nerdanel, Celebrimbor Additional Tags: Valinor, Fourth Age, after the end, Gandalf and his strategic hobbit deployment, Third Theme, There and Back Again Again, Very Long Conversations, Backpacking in the Blessed Realm, Long-Overdue Punches, Westron as a Second Language, Sassing cosmic superbeings, Life-Changing Road Trip with Feanor, Kierkegaardian Existentialism, Reconciliation, Halls of Mandos, Potato Diplomacy, Everyone Telling Stories, Arda Remade Series: Part 5 of The Splintered Light Summary: “My dear Mr. Baggins, you cannot possibly imagine I have brought you across the boundaries of the sundered world, bending every law of gods and men, over land and over sea and through the fathomless heights, for your health? Well, I did, of course I did, and I’d do it again. But it was not for your own good only that I brought you here. I have been on this world a very long time, Mr. Baggins, and if there is one thing that I have learned about the Wise and the Great, it’s that they benefit from the company of hobbits, and it’s the wisest and greatest who have most need of them.”

Star Trek

A Better World (17671 words) by weakinteraction Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Benjamin Maxwell/Alynna Nechayev Characters: Alynna Nechayev, Benjamin Maxwell, Edward Jellico, Ro Laren, Odo (Star Trek) Additional Tags: guest appearances from various other 24th-century Trek characters, Time Travel Fix-It Summary: Alynna Nechayev does not give up easily, in any timeline.

Laid Bare (37013 words) by sixbeforelunch Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: William Riker & Deanna Troi, Taurik/Original Female Character(s) Characters: Deanna Troi, William Riker, Beverly Crusher, Taurik (Star Trek), Original *Characters Additional Tags: Psychology, Mental Health Issues, Eating Disorders, Domestic Violence, Anxiety Attacks, Aliens, First Contact, child endangerment, Pregnancy, Telepathy, Vulcan Culture Summary: Deanna Troi unravels a psychological mystery.

Lewis (TV)

A Place I May Go Both In and Out Of (49458 words) by kvikindi Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James Hathaway & Robert Lewis, James Hathaway & Nell Hathaway, Robert Lewis & Nell Hathaway, Laura Hobson/Robert Lewis Characters: James Hathaway, Robert Lewis, Laura Hobson, Nell Hathaway, Lizzie Maddox, Lyn Lewis, Lyn Lewis's Son, Hathaway's Band Additional Tags: Catholicism, Found Families, discussion of suicide, Allusions to abuse, Giftedness, Gun Violence, Physical Trauma, Recovery, Urban Foxes, Post-Canon, Dysfunctional Family, Happy Ending, Christmas Summary: Lewis thought it was amazing, in retrospect, that no one had ever shot Hathaway before.

Big Hero 6/The Martian

Big Hero Martian (42621 words) by althor42 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Hiro Hamada, Baymax (Marvel), Cass Hamada, Mark Watney, Annie Montrose, Gogo Tomago, Wasabi-No Ginger, Fred | Fredzilla, Melissa Lewis (The Martian), Alex Vogel, Chris Beck, Beth Johanssen, Rick Martinez (The Martian), Teddy Sanders Additional Tags: hiro goes on a rescue mission, so it's on mars, small details, just build a ship, nbd Summary: There would have been no rescue for Mark, if NASA had not noticed he was still alive. Unless of course, a certain Big Hero noticed instead.

Temeraire/Pride and Prejudice

A Monstrous Regiment (94904 words) by AMarguerite Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Characters: Elizabeth Bennet, Colonel Fitzwilliam (Pride and Prejudice), Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington, Jane Roland, Jane Fairfax, Frederick Wentworth, Fitzwilliam Darcy, George Wickham, Georgiana Darcy, Charlotte Lucas, William Price, Excidium, Gherni, Arkady (Temeraire), Perscitia, Captain Harville (Persuasion) Additional Tags: badass Elizabeth Bennet, Napoleonic Wars, Dragon Riders, Regency, Battle, War, Feminist Themes, Colonel Fitzwilliam has some period-appropriate Opinions that get overturned, so be forewarned, he's a good dude though, he learns, Age of Sail, alternate title: Charlotte's Great Escape Series: Part 1 of A Monstrous Regiment Summary: General Wellington selects Colonel Fitzwilliam for a very singular honor during the Spanish Campaign: working with dragons-- and, in particular, with Captain Elizabeth Bennet, of His Majesty's Dragon, the Longwing Wollstonecraft.

Temeraire/ Pride and Prejudice crossover entirely to have Elizabeth Bennet as a dragon captain during the Peninsular War, with Charlotte Lucas as her uber-capable first lieutenant.

Pride and Prejudice

An Ever-Fixed Mark (190537 words) by AMarguerite Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet/Colonel Fitzwilliam, Jane Bennet/Charles Bingley Characters: Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam (Pride and Prejudice), Georgiana Darcy, Catherine de Bourgh, Anne de Bourgh, Charlotte Lucas, William Collins (Pride and Prejudice), Maria Lucas, Jane Bennet, Charles Bingley, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet, Lydia Bennet, Kitty Bennet, George Wickham, Duke of Wellington, Mary Crawford, Mary Bennet, Caroline Bingley, William Elliot (Persuasion), Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility), Marianne Dashwood, Eliza (Sense and Sensibility), Henry Tilney, Catherine Morland, Frederick Wentworth, Anne Elliot, Elizabeth Elliot, Arthur Wellesley Additional Tags: Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Comedy, Deconstruction, Napoleonic Wars, Regency, Regency Romance, Pining, badass Elizabeth Bennet, Miscarriage, 19th Century Medicine, Battle Of Waterloo, battlefield descriptions, Mention of Surgery, medicine sure was fun before germ theory, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Sexism, Elizabeth Bennet/ Mud, is the true OTP, Feminist Themes, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Grief/Mourning, Slow Burn, Reaaaally slow burn, Burn so slow it takes like six chapters to defrost first, Biphobia Series: Part 1 of An Ever-Fixed Mark Summary: One would think that having the name of one's soulmate appear on one's wrist on one's sixteenth birthday would make matrimony much less complicated. It mostly does not. And not at all for Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourne.

(A deconstruction of the "soulmate identifying mark" trope, using "Pride and Prejudice." Trigger warnings in the tags.)

Teen Wolf

Wolf Moon (93757 words) by pocketmumbles Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Derek Hale/Scott McCall Characters: Scott McCall, Derek Hale Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Minor Character Death, Fix-It Series: Part 1 of Wolf Moon 'verse Summary: On the night of 2013’s Wolf Moon, eighteen-year-old Scott McCall travels back in time to change Derek’s past and, hopefully, their future.

The morning after 2003’s Wolf Moon, fifteen-year-old Derek Hale wakes up after meeting a teen wolf named Scott. And then the story really begins.

(Or, the time travel story that isn’t about the time travel at all, but rather a complete rewriting of canon spanning fifteen years and every character along the way. Canon divergent/AU after Season 3B.)

Harry Potter

Swung by Serafim (352345 words) by flamethrower Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Relationships: Arthur Weasley/Molly Weasley, Andromeda Black Tonks/Ted Tonks, Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter Characters: Harry Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, Narcissa Black Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Dobby, Kreacher (Harry Potter), Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Bill Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, Fleur Delacour, Percy Weasley, Viktor Krum, Luna Lovegood, Rubeus Hagrid, Pomona Sprout, Lily Evans Potter, James Potter, OFC, OMC Additional Tags: I am not listing the entire cast of the HP universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Chamber of Secrets, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape Friendship, there is a tag for it yay!, also not listing relationships, Too confusing, Discussion of Past Child Abuse, The World Is Not Black And White, GFY, Don't copy to another site, seriously if those two actually were together at the end of this fic it would be in the tags okay?, and I don't tag the other relationships because they're spoilers, but before I get yelled at AGAIN, this isn't Snarry fic okay?, it has potential to become that if you squint, but I am not tagging for a romantic relationship that isn't there! Series: Part 1 of Swung by Serafim Summary: In 1993, Gilderoy Lockhart points a stolen wand at Harry Potter and Ron Weasley with the intent to Obliviate them.

The wand doesn't backfire. Gilderoy's "discovery" of the Chamber of Secrets is a short-term success.

Other consequences are not short-term at all.

Blood Magic (334522 words) by GatewayGirl Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter, Remus Lupin/Severus Snape, Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape Characters: Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley Additional Tags: Severitus, Dark Arts, Secrets Series: Part 1 of Blood Summary: Blood magic was supposed to keep Harry safe, but his relatives are expendable. Blood magic was supposed to keep Harry looking like his adoptive father, but it's wearing off. Blood is a bond, but so is the memory of hate -- or love.

pick it up, pick it all up and start again (69328 words) by Annerb Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley Characters: Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Bill Weasley, Fleur Delacour, Percy Weasley, Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s), Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Charlie Weasley, George Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Hannah Abbott Additional Tags: mostly canon ships, Sequel, Angst, Recovery, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Drama, Slytherin Ginny Weasley, Post-War, Canon Era, Not Epilogue Compliant, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD Series: Part 1 of Armistice Series Summary: The thing about war is that it never ends. Not really. The battlefields just change locations. Harry and Ginny after the war. (Sequel to The Changeling)

Valdemar

Enemy, It's Cold Outside (5121 words) by MueraRashaye Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Original Male Herald, Original Male Sunpriest Additional Tags: Friendship across borders, Canon Compliant, War with Ancar, Tasteless jokes about Fires, Some timeline shifting Series: Part 1 of Friends Across Borders Summary: Inns in Hardorn border towns are neutral grounds, so long as the Sunsguard don't see the Herald and the Valdemarans don't see the priests. Usually this works fine, but one evening found Valdemarans with a Herald and Sunsguard with a priest at the same inn. Two groups of guards signal their outliers, and their outliers reluctantly retreat to the stables for a frigid night.

Turns out, it's too cold to kill ancient enemies. Much easier to swap drinks and tales under a night-long truce, figuring nothing will change in the morning.

And it doesn't. Not yet. But, it just might.

The Goblin Emperor

A Complete Education (57380 words) by bomberqueen17 Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Csethiro Ceredin/Maia Drazhar Characters: Csethiro Ceredin, Maia Drazhar, Cala Athmaza, Kiru Athmaza, Deret Beshelar, Telimezh (The Goblin Emperor) Additional Tags: Canon Compliant, Canon Continuation, Sexual Education, Household Politics, The Emperor's Dav, Past Abuse, Misunderstandings, the fantasy of a world where everybody has good intentions Series: Part 1 of Continuing Education Summary: Preparing for the Emperor's wedding, everyone has some things they need to learn about.

#fanfiction #fanfic #fic rec

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pass-the-bechdel · 6 years ago

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Marvel Cinematic Universe: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, once.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Seven (30.43% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Sixteen.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

Significantly flawed, and well-known in fandom for it. Unpopular opinion? I still think it’s better than the first Avengers film.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Natasha and Laura pass in a single-line trade. It’s sooo close to not counting.

Female characters:

Natasha Romanoff.

Wanda Maximoff.

Maria Hill.

Helen Cho.

Peggy Carter.

Laura Barton.

FRIDAY.

Male characters:

Tony Stark.

Steve Rogers.

JARVIS.

Thor.

Clint Barton.

Strucker.

Pietro Maximoff.

Bruce Banner.

Ultron.

Sam Wilson.

James Rhodes.

Ulysses Klaue.

Heimdall.

Nick Fury.

Erik Selvig.

Vision.

OTHER NOTES:

Everyone talking about Strucker like we already know who he is...

The “Shit!”/”Language!” gag was funnier before they hung a lantern on it. Not least because it takes almost a full minute before Tony harks back to it (fifty seconds, actually. I checked). If you’re gonna make a Thing out of it, you gotta follow up immediately, not after fifty seconds of cutting around to different character intros and action shots and a whole lot of other dialogue.

Urrgghh, ok, I’m going to break my standing rule about not discussing source material, because we gotta acknowledge the colossal wrongness of re-writing the Maximoff twins - canonically Jewish Romani - as willing volunteers in a Nazi science experiment. It gets worse the more you think about it. There are a few things about this movie which generated significant negative outcry, and this incredibly offensive decision is one of them.

Tony and Thor fighting over who has a better girlfriend does have a certain charm to it. If you’re gonna have a testosterone-off, it might as well be about how great your partner is.

I got a zero out of ten on this out-of-nowhere forced romance crap with Natasha and Bruce. We’ll come back to this later.

“I will be reinstituting Prima Nocta,” Tony declares, as he prepares to lift Thor’s hammer and thereby theoretically take charge of the Nine Realms. Primae noctis (believed to in fact be a myth) refers to a supposed Dark-Ages law that granted lords the ‘right’ to take the virginity of any newlywed peasant woman who lived on their land. So, this is a wonderful little rape joke from Tony (or, y’know, not so little, since primae noctis in reality would make Tony a serial rapist). Ha ha ha ha. Hilarious. Good one.

I’m really mad about the parts here that are total garbage, because mostly, the revels sequence has a nice low-key quality to it, good solid team dynamics.

I can’t fucking believe that they played the ‘and then Bruce falls with his face in Natasha’s cleavage!’ gag. I cannot believe it. Is this a disgusting frat-boy comedy from the nineties?

Honestly, Tony, just shut up and admit that you KNEW from the get-go that it was wrong to try and make Ultron happen (that is why you kept it secret from everyone else to begin with); don’t try to defend the decision now that you’ve got a ‘murderbot’ on your hands. Take responsibility for a bad choice instead of talking shit about how you had to and everyone else is just too short-sighted, damn it!

Andy Serkis is delightful.

The Iron Man/Hulk fight absolutely KILLS the momentum of this film. It goes for way the fuck too long (eight minutes) and has no narrative significance at all. Pro tip for action scenes: they should always be driving the story somewhere. You can pull off eighty minutes of action so long as your plot is advancing alongside/within it.

Also, Iron Man causes a huge amount of additional damage during this fight, in the service of the aforementioned pointless action. His efforts to minimise Hulk’s effects are extremely poor, and calling in his relief organisation to clean up after the fact does not negate that.

Gotta love that throwing a wife and kids at Hawkeye at the same time as we suddenly start pushing this Natasha/Bruce thing. That’s not transparent at all. I also understand this to be a major deviation from Clint’s identity in the comics, and very unpopular with fans for that reason, but regardless; reinventing him as a family man to reset the romantic blather after baiting fans with the possibility of Clint/Natasha in the first Avengers movie is such a shitty move. I was not invested in the ship myself and would have loved to have them reinforce the just-friends relationship between Hawkeye and Black Widow, because there are not enough platonic friendships between compatible men and women in fiction, but 'they’re not interested in each other because they’re busy with someone else!’ is a weak reinforcement indeed. Less forced romances, and definitely less token wifey who exists for no other Goddamn reason at all. This comes out of nowhere, and not in a clever-surprise kind of way.

“You still think you’re the only monster on the team?” Natasha says, after telling Bruce about her sterilisation. This earned a HUGE backlash, and for good reason - despite all arguments about how what Natasha meant was that her being raised to be an assassin makes her a monster, the direct implication of her words as they are phrased and as the discussion is structured is that her inability to have children makes her monstrous, and that’s deeply offensive. It’s also completely in keeping with a narrative which is often played out against women, in which their value as people is attributed directly to their ability to produce offspring, so it’s not even like this outrageous implication of monstrosity - the corruption of what it means to be female! - is that unusual. It’s awful, but not unusual. Add on the fact that 1) Natasha’s nightmare-flashes specifically foregrounded her sterilisation over all other details of her training, supporting the idea that she believes that it’s what makes her irredeemable (instead of, y’know, all the murdering and stuff), and 2) this is Joss Whedon’s work and he is OBSESSED with highlighting the womanhood of his female characters and treating it like their defining trait while also variously punishing them for it, and you’ve got every reason to interpret this terrible fucking line as exactly the heinous thing it (presumably, unwittingly) seems to be.

Steve ripping a log in half with his bare hands is the funniest thing in this whole movie.

Thor’s brief side-adventure with Erik Selvig is pretty out-of-place. He just...goes for a swim in a convenient magic pond that Selvig chances to know about. Seems normal.

Ultron is full of such boring, empty rhetoric. Reminds me of Loki in The Avengers, with all that sound-and-fury.

I love Paul Bettany.

Man, they sure do find Natasha instantly. It’s almost like making a damsel-in-distress of her who needs to be rescued by the team was completely meaningless...

Breaking my no-BTS rule (since I already have done for this movie at this point) because it’s well-known how Joss Whedon ordered Elizabeth Olsen not to show exertion or ‘ugly emotion’ on her face in this film, because God forbid she compromise her attractiveness by being human. Joss Whedon is not human; he’s fucking trash.

The final fight sure does just, y’know, get to a point where it ends. They really did not ratchet up the tension over the course of the Sokovia conflict, it just goes along until it stops (also, they say Sokovia is a country, but then they never call the city anything else, it’s just Sokovia. Is the city conveniently named after the country (very confusing), or is it a city-country, like The Vatican? I kinda assume it’s option three, which is that no one bothered to care because it’s just some fake European placeholder anyway and we’re not supposed to notice such a dumb oversight).

“I was born yesterday.” This is the best quip in this whole thinks-it-is-way-wittier-than-it-is movie.

Helen Cho deserved better than to be a prop rapidly dismissed and then just trotted past at the end for an ‘oh, she survived, btw’.

Back when I reviewed the first Avengers movie, I said that I considered that film to be heavily overrated, so maybe it’s not such a surprise that I actually like this one better. The two primary problems I had with that first film were the overly simplistic plot, and the fact that most of the characters were OOC compared to previous films, and this movie does do better on both scores, so I feel more engaged by it, and less annoyed. That said...this movie has still got a lot of problems, and those include iffy characterisation and a plot with various holes, nonsensical complications, and conveniently ignored or smoothed-down dynamics. When I say I like this movie better than the first one, I mean just that: I like this better. That does not mean I am here to sing its praises.

The tacked-on romance is part of the problem - for Clint as well as Natasha (but especially for Natasha). After Hawkeye was so heavily under-used in the first film (and his slightly-ambiguous relationship with Black Widow was the only human element that made him a character instead of a prop), Age of Ultron attempts to compensate by giving Clint a personal life, in the form of a magically-appearing heavily-pregnant wife and a pair of nameless children. The function of this family appears to be 1) to give Clint a reason to not be interested in Natasha, and 2) to ‘humanise’ him by giving him something to fight for and get home to, because we all know nothing legitimises a character quite like some otherwise-irrelevant dependents. Want a man to seem lovable and important? Give him a pregnant wife. That’s what women are for, anyway, right? To enhance a man’s story? In this case, to provide a man whose purpose in the story has been contested with insta-personality, because ‘he’s secretly a family man, ooh, twist!’ is way better than having to spend time on giving him something to do in the plot that is actually meaningful in some way. Great logic. Makes Hawkeye super dynamic, right?

Natasha, unsurprisingly, is hit much, much harder. As the only female avenger and one of only two prominent female characters in a cast which has seven-to-nine male characters of equal or greater importance/screen time (YMMV on whether or not you think Fury and Vision count for that list), the pressure is already on for Natasha to be served up a quality narrative, because if she doesn’t get one, well...she doesn’t have six-to-eight alternative characters to pull the weight for her gender. The best solve for this problem would be to avoid the ‘Token Woman’ cliche in the first place, but since we missed that boat...not having the personal story of your only primary female character revolve completely around her womanhood and her catering to heteronormative expectations of a love interest would have been a good choice. This weird, forced, chemistry-free thing with Bruce Banner? Was the worst thing they could have used to define Natasha’s presence in the film. It sticks out like a sore thumb every time they have an awkward interaction, and it leads in to that atrocious ‘monstrous infertility’ element (though that particular egregious mistake could have been included with or without a romantic blunder, it...probably wouldn’t be, and we’d all be the better off). Even the Hulk-whisperer part of the relationship - while not awful on its own with all the unnecessary romance and Unresolved Sexual Not-Tension removed - serves to highlight Natasha’s female-ness by making her the soft maternal figure for the team, because God forbid one of the other male members of the team be asked to ASMR-speak to the Hulk while delicately caressing his hand. If Natasha’s presence in the first Avengers film leaned too heavily on her gender identity as a defining trait (and it did), this movie doesn’t fix that problem at all: it doubles down on it.

The good news for most of the excess of male characters is, they by-and-large don’t feel as OOC as they did in the first film. The boorish romantic entanglement aside, Bruce Banner is still a naturalistic character highlight (all credit to Mark Ruffalo, who probably doesn’t know how to turn in a bad performance in the first place), and Thor’s dialogue is way less ridiculous this time ‘round, so he lands a lot closer to his personality from previous films simply by virtue of sounding like the same guy (unfortunately, the plot does not have the faintest idea what it wants to do with him as a character). Steve Rogers is still being written as if being Captain America is his character, which is a fundamental misunderstanding of his identity, albeit one which conveniently allows him to behave in a stereotypical self-righteously bland manner, thus avoiding the need for any nuance in his perspective or actions. This borderline fanfic-flamer ‘Captain America is my least favourite character so I’m going to write him as a boring stick-in-the-mud and then hopefully no one else will like him either!’ approach doesn’t grate quite as badly as it did in the first Avengers, and it can’t cancel out the innate level-headed charm of Chris Evans, so as disappointing as the bias is, it’s still a better balance here than it was last time. The one character who is not so flatteringly handled, however? Also happens to be the one who was arguably handled best last time, and unfortunately, he’s the one who is essentially treated as the ‘lead’.

The big problem for Tony Stark is that this movie is not interested in digging in to the pathos of any character, it’s all-flash-no-substance on that front, and Tony really, really needed a less heavy-handed slathering of ‘afraid of what might come (feat. messiah complex)’ to motivate his actions and reactions in this film, because without any exploration he’s basically just a billionaire kid playing with matches. If this were an Iron Man film (either the first or third one, anyway), we’d get into some tasty deconstruction of Tony’s mental state and confront his hubris, etc, and - crucially, most crucial of all, it’s a mainstay of all his past stories in the MCU - Tony would own up to his mistakes, listen to the advice of those around him, and take contrite steps toward fixing the problem not just in the direct sense of ‘beating the bad guy’, but also in the personal and emotional sense of working on his own flaws and making amends with the people he hurt along the way. This movie offers none of that. To begin with, Tony’s ‘I know best and I will not be taking any questions’ approach to creating Ultron feels like a significant step backwards in his character development so far (Iron Man 3 was specifically about addressing his PTSD and associated tumultuous emotions surrounding the fear of imminent alien invasion, so his reactionary and secretive behaviour in this film feels particularly out-of-touch with a mental reality Tony has been explicitly working on for the past couple of years); Tony is actively aware that it’s a bad call and thus hides it from the other Avengers until it’s too late, and then he’s bizarrely unrepentant about his mistake. Worst of all, he actually attempts to repeat that mistake, only worse, late in the film (the fact that his idiotic ‘mad scientist’ pep talk actually convinces Bruce to help him again is the weakest character moment for Bruce outside of the aforementioned romance crap). The plot rewards Tony’s second, far worse mistake, in the creation of Vision, who turns out to be ‘worthy of wielding Thor’s Hammer’ and whatnot and conveniently provides every necessary skill to defeat Ultron in a deus ex machina so overt you could use it as a textbook example, so even though Tony had absolutely no way of knowing that he’d get a good result this time and almost every reason to believe he’d just compound the existing problem, his reckless disregard for the literal safety of the planet is treated like a good thing because it happens to work out this time, and they just kinda sweep under the rug the fact that Tony is playing God (and being uncharacteristically stupid and selfish about it - in other films, Tony is normally only reckless with his own safety, and it’s when his actions spill out into unintended consequences for others that he realises the error of his ways and cues up a positive learning curve; it’s what makes him palatable). At the end of the film, once Ultron is gone and Tony has thrown some dispassionate wads of cash into ‘relief efforts’, he strolls and quips and eventually drives off into the sunset in his expensive car, with nary a mention of, I dunno, maybe a little guilty conscience? Maybe a hint of having learned a valuable lesson? The closest he gets is just suggesting that it might be time he retires from Avenging, but neither he nor anyone else lets on that there’s a need for serious self-reflection. The Tony Stark in this movie is the nightmarish male-fantasy version of the character, the playboy with the cool tech and no limits who does whatever he wants and then...literally rides off into the sunset in the end, no muss, no fuss. He’s kinda like a complete reversion to his original self, pre-Iron Man, frittering money around and designing weapons of mass destruction while convincing himself he’s bringing peace to the world one explosion at a time, but that Tony has no business here, seven years of character development down the track.

While we’re talking iffy characterisation, we should also segue into plot, and that’s something we can do easily enough by looking at our villain, Ultron. Calling Ultron an actual character feels...ambitious. He’s a CGI robot full of empty rhetoric and, you guessed it, more of those quips that this movie has in place of any meaningful dialogue. I’d call him self-fellating, but he ain’t got nothing to fellate, so instead he just blathers a lot in a manner that sounds vaguely poetically intelligent but is, upon a moment’s consideration, just vapid nonsense (much like Loki in the first Avengers, as noted above, but at least Loki had the benefit of a flesh-and-blood actor delivering his lines with conviction; James Spader does solid work as the voice of Ultron, but trying to make a CGI robot who spouts a school-kid’s attempt at edgy philosophy sound like a genuine menace is an uphill battle). Speaking of genuine menace, I assume the reason the film is called Age of Ultron is because A Couple of Days of Ultron Causing Disturbances in a Handful of Specific Locations was too much. For all the big talk (and there is..so much), Ultron doesn’t get up to all that much trouble, most notably in the sense that he apparently has his code all over the internet and yet he doesn’t bother stirring up a single ounce of chaos with that ungodly power. Why bother including this as an element of the character if it achieves zero story? Is it purely to make Ultron seem ~unstoppable~ because he keeps downloading into new robots? Because it didn’t really land, y’all. They try to play it like a big victory for the good guys when Vision burns Ultron out of the ‘net, but in context it’s meaningless because he didn’t do anything while he was there. Pretty much everything about Ultron was all talk, little to no action - even a whole bunch of the trouble he did cause happened off-screen, with Maria Hill just popping in to let us know that ‘there are reports of metal men stealing shit’. Cheers, cool. And you know, Ultron makes a song and dance about how he’s going to save the world by ‘ending the Avengers’, but then he...does not pursue that at all. He tries to make himself a pretty body, the Avengers thwart him, and then he enacts a doomsday machine to destroy all life on Earth. Like every other aspect of the character, the whole ‘end the Avengers’ schtick is just white noise, there’s no meaning in it. Ultron is just a same-old-same ‘What if Artificial Intelligence wants to WIPE US OUT?!’ cliche, and maybe that’s what he was in the comics too, I don’t know, but it’s the job of the film to tell that story in a dynamic way, and they had two and a half hours to do it. And yet.

There should be more to this than a nondescript placeholder villain concept and a series of action set pieces that just kinda happen until they stop. At least the first Avengers had some variety in each of its action sequences, using the location and the different skills and weapons of its antagonists, whereas this one is just ‘there are robots and the good guys punched and shot them until they were all broken, the end’. Even making the city fly in the end doesn’t actually make it interesting, not least because the characters spend most of their time running around the (weirdly, perfectly stable) streets not having to deal with any consequences of being up in the air anyway, and the doomsday device is too nebulous to ratchet up any real tension about figuring out how to deal with it. The conflicts with the Maximoff twins have at least some spark of life in them, but the characters themselves are treated to an over-simplified and very contrived narrative arc that uses what they do and what they know more as plot devices than as details of actual people’s lives, leading to a cheap death for Pietro so that Wanda will be distracted enough to abandon the big ol’ doomsday button, and it’s just all so convenient. There’s no heart in any of it, and it makes the moments that try to have heart all the more embarrassing and out-of-place (don’t even get me started on what a prescribed attempt at tugging the heart-strings it is to have Hawkeye name his magnificently well-timed newborn after Pietro, because DAMN). When I said I liked this movie better than the first Avengers, I meant just that: I like this better. That’s not to suggest that it is significantly better in any sense, because it isn’t, and I can’t even argue that this one has a better story, because honestly, it doesn’t. The first film made more sense, it was just less interesting to watch, and the things about it that were contrived were contrived in different ways. The first film was weaker and more irritating on character, and character is always the most important part of a story for me, so as annoyed as I am by the major character blunders in Age of Ultron, I’m still not as annoyed as I was after The Avengers. That is damning with the faintest of praise; this is just not a particularly good movie, it makes a poor use of its cast at the best of times, delivers a sub-par action extravaganza, and the script is not half as witty as it gleefully convinces itself that it is. It comes as no surprise, I’m sure, that I am very glad a certain writer/director departed the franchise after disappointing everyone with this outing. I say I like this better than the first Avengers, but gee, it’s a close call.

#Avengers: Age of Ultron #Marvel Cinematic Universe #Bechdel Test #female representation #MCU #Age of Ultron #Avengers

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the-eyes-of-andyserkis · 1 year ago

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Well, I don't know what happened, but my original post with these gifs seems to have disappeared! I thought the link was just dead, but the rest of them are working, and when I scroll through my dash I don't see it at all! 😭

So here you go again, an excuse to drool over this man on a Friday morning. 😘

[Part One] | [Part Two] | [Part Three] I [Part Four]

#ulysses klaue #the klaue brainrot is real #never not thinking about that man #when the shot pans from his hand and up to his face #i become unwell #his profile jfc #the blorbo #from my show #gif set #gifs by me #mcu gifs #age of ultron #black panther #andy serkis #where did my post go tumblr??#there were a lot of notes on that one #🥺

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damn-stark · 6 years ago

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Lost way ch.4

I was hiding as Pietro and Wanda went to talk to a man called Ulysses Klaue about something he had the we needed. I hid because I knew that they would come after us. In the distance i could here talking. They were here. I tried to get closer to be a hundred percent sure and I was. I saw black widow and Hawkeye hiding behind. So very quietly got closer to them. They didn’t see me or hear me which made what I was about to do easier. Once I heard them fighting out there it was my chance before they went out there to fight to.

“ pain.” I murmured quietly. They both fell to their knees. I just smirked. “ you feel that the pain I can make way worse but I want you to feel the way I felt first...you see the pain I felt when I saw what you all did to my family was small at first..... But it started hurting more and more just like how you’re feeling now. And well you will pay for what you did to them.”

“ wa—t—ch ooo—ut.” Black widow struggled to say.

“ you can still talk well It must not hurt then.” I said as I made it worse. And then I felt a burning pain in my arm I saw my arm making me lose my concetration I looked at my injury and saw that I was grazed. When I looked where it came from I saw men with guns coming my way. I got swords out. I noticed that those were the men that were already here. I moved out of the way as they were shooting. I left leaving the two behind to deal with it.

When I got to where the real fight was I saw that captain America had Pietro cornered. I jumped down and landed behind him. When he heard me he turned. But I immediately made him feel pain. Pietro saw Wanda and gave me the signal. Pietro then fastly took him to where Wanda was.

“ you again.” Black widow said as she saw me come in front of her. She got her gun out she was probably going to shoot me but Wanda then got in her brain.

“ yea it’s me.” I said as she was out of it.

We then moved on to Hawkeye.

“ okay Ill distract him and you get to him from behind.” I told Wanda the plan as we saw Hawkeye. I got up and was about to make him feel pain but he shot with an arrow that electrified me. He got the arrow off but I still felt weird and with a massive headache. I felt weak. I was going to warn Wanda but he did the same to her. Pietro then picked us both up and then took us away. Wanda and I both had massive headaches.

“ I’m going to kill that guy.” Pietro said as he was kneeled next to his sister.

“ no we stick to the plan.” I said.

“ yea we need to finish the plan. I want the big one.” Wanda also said as she turned to look at the jet. We got up slowly and then went headed towards Bruce Banner. We didn’t need to do much. Once Wanda did what she had to do we left.

“ do you think it worked?” I asked Wanda.

“ it did by now they should be seeing their worst fears.”

We were in Seoul, South Korea waiting for Ultrons new body to get made. As I got close to the cradle. I saw it being made. It looked amazing. I couldn’t help but feel in awe by the creation.

“ ahhh!”

I heard Wanda scream in pain beside me. I know I didn’t do that so I quickly moved to where she was. Pietro and me were both by her side.

“ what happened?” I asked her.

“ how could you? You said we would destroy the avengers make a better world.” Wanda said to Ultron.

I was starting to get confused by what she was starting to say.

“ when everyone is dead?.” Wanda finished saying.

“ the human race will have every opportunity to improve.”

I know understood. He wanted to take down the avengers but he also wanted to destroy the world along with them.

I want to get rid of the avengers yes but I can’t destroy the world along with it. But I I also can’t let my family’s death not get justice. I back away from Wanda and Pietro. I know they’re going to leave I just know it. But i can’t go with them at least not til i see the avengers go down. I look over at the twins Pietro gave me look and i knew what it meant. I just simply looked away. And before I knew it he zoomed off.

We were in truck getting away from the avengers. They were trying to take Ultrons cradle. I heard one of them land on top of the truck. Ultron blasted them revealing captain America. He was hanging from the door. I get close to the edge of the truck. And I made him immediatly feel pain. He let go of the door and fell on top of a car. I used my telekinisis and flipped the car that he was on top of. Ultron flew out and fought with him.

I can’t fly so I had to stay put. The robots flew out leaving me alone. Great. Black widow jumped in and kicked me. Making me fly across the other side of the truck. I was about to use my pain illusion on her but we both then were falling towards the ground as the truck flew up. I grabbed on to the cradle so I wouldn’t fly out. As we were now flying straight black widow started ripping the handles that were keeping the cradle stuck in here. I didn’t try to stop her . I wanted her not that cradle. She got the cradle loose she climbed on.

“ you’re not leaving.” I said as I got up I was behind her so she kicked me sending me flying off the truck. I was free falling now. I was going to land in the jet but I then felt something grab me. I looked up and saw Ultron. He had Black widow in one hand and me in the other.

I was sitting by where Black widow was unconscious on the ground. When she got up Ultron started talking to her. He talked a lot so I didn’t pay much attention. Until he started talking about meteors and how one meteor can destroy and kill human race. That really left me thinking about what I wanted. I wanted kill the Avengers but at what cost. Is it really worth ending the world for this. But I stayed quiet thinking.

“ what are you doing here?” Black widow said to me from behind the bars. I ignored her. “ are you really going to follow him around letting him destroy the world? At what cost all for a revenge story? You can stop him. And after you do then you can continue on trying to kill me. If you don’t then you won’t have anyone.”

I got up not wanting to hear another word. In the inside I knew she was right but I didn’t want to hear it.

I got my chain out from underneath my clothes and looked at the cross that was on it. It reminded me of my family of my brother especially. ‘don’t lose your way.’

I was next to Ultron he was working on something that I didn’t pay much attention to.

“ you’re doing good. Thank you for being the only one to see the vision.” He said as he contined working. “ you know when I first saw you I was confused you weren’t related to the twins. So it kept me wondering why you were there because In the records I saw that He experimented on the twins and not you..... but once I looked further in I saw that you were one of his experiments... there’s barely anything of you in the files he has....”

“ I know my parents left after I was born they couldn’t continue the research.” I pitched in.

“ hmmm why do you want the avengers dead again? I get why the twins did but you?” When I looked into what you told me about what happened it didn’t line up. In the files he had it said that Strucker had killed them. He wanted his experiment back. At first I was confused but once I saw what you could do with your mind I got it. You’re to powerful to let go.”

“ what?” I asked confuesed at what he had just said about my parents.

“ you know you can make people believe that they’re in pain... it’s great work what he did on you. Even before he had the gem.”

“ Strucker...... He he killed them?” I had tears in my eyes.

“ you didn’t know?” Ultron asked. He stopped working and looked at me. “ I thought I’m sorry my mistake.” He said as he chuckled. He then hit me hard on the head making me go unconscious.

When I woke up I was on the ground. I got up and felt dizzy and had a bad headache.

“ hey you okay?” Black widow said. I backed up into the wall. “ he hit you pretty hard.”

“ I’m fine.” I snapped.

It all started coming back what he said to me. The truth about my parents. I started crying to myself as I remebered everything I did for strucker. I put my head in hands.

“ that’s why you tried killing us... strucker lied to you he got inside your head.” She said quietly to me. I didn’t talk to her. I was just in my thoughts .

“ Natasha?! Natasha?!” I heard someone yell in the distance.

“ Bruce?!” She got up and went up and stood next to door. Bruce banner then showed up. He glanced over at me before paying full attention to Black widow. They managed to open the door. As she was walking out she looked over at me. I was still sitting in the corner.

“ let’s go.” She said to me.

“ no.... I can’t I belong here.... In this cage.” She came towards me.

“ no you don’t you were played by them... I get it... that wasn’t you.”

“ but It was! It was me who killed those people for some silly revenge. I killed them.”

“ they got to you... they got inside your head. You can’t let get to you... not no more. Everything you did is in the past now. It doesn’t matter what you did or what you were.”

I raised my head and looked at her I had tears rolling down my cheeks.

“ you can either join us and become and avenger or stay here.”

‘ it’s your responsibility’ ‘ I promise I’ll help those who need help.’ ‘ I promise hermano’

I wiped the tears from eyes and got up.

“ I’m ready.”

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sonofnjobu · 7 years ago

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Say My Name Part 5

A/N: I’m so excited about this! I can’t even handle it. I had to break this chapter up in to two parts though cause it was getting too long. But! That means you have a part 6 to look forward to that is coming very soon!

Reader is Black. If you enjoy my writing, please reblog it.

Plot: Erik said he was coming to get you and he’s a man of his word.

CW: death mention, torture mention, imprisonment, running alongside canon

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

“I’m sorry, Erik!” Linda cried, this time with Ulysses Klaue’s arm around her neck and his gun to her head. He’d heard that from her a lot, recently.

“It’ll be okay,” he said to himself before shooting Linda in the head.

Erik had left her body there, electing instead to bring Klaue’s body as his bargaining chip into Wakanda. He left her passport on her chest in the hopes that her body could be returned to her loved ones. He wasn’t a complete animal.

He made a mental note to carve a scar in to his skin for her later as he flew the tiny hanger plane south west towards Wakanda.

After days of travel, Erik’s heart soared as he touched down on Wakandan soil for the first time. This was the closest he had felt to his father since his murder. It was also the closest he’d felt to you since you’d been abducted: a feeling accentuated when the kimoyo beads on his wrist lit up and your face appeared.

“Welcome home, N’Jadaka.”

Once his father’s death had been avenged and he’d won the mantles of king and Black Panther from T’Challa, finding you was Erik’s first priority. With the flames of the burning heart shaped herbs dancing in his eyes, he turned to the shaman woman.

“Y/N. Where is she?”

The old woman shrunk back as he spoke, a look of confusion on her face. She obviously did not know you, but was afraid to upset him.

“The prisoners. Where do they keep them?” Erik tried again.

“We do not have prisoners in Wakanda,” she informed him. She scrambled to appease him as he glared. Her hands shot to her neck. “But we do have an old prison that has been out of use for generations.”

The shaman was wrong. The prison had not been out of use for generations. It was very much populated and running. Erik had a feeling that it was kept secret from the general population, as there was one singular guard posted at the entrance of the jail.

It was old, however; completely unlike modern Wakandan technology. The prisoners were housed in one giant, rotating column operated by a singular hand crank. Each cell was shaped like a wedge, and prisoners only received daylight if they were fortunate enough to have their cell line up with the lone exit. Aside from that they were left in the dark with their own thoughts. The walls separating the cells were solid, so inmates could not even communicate with one another.

It was barbaric and inhumane.

Erik found himself hoping that you weren’t here.

“Y/N. Rogue War Dog,” Erik informed the guard.

The man simply nodded and moved to the hand crank. He cranked with all of his might. The cylindrical structure began to move. It creaked and squealed as it turned. The prisoners inside moaned and wailed as their cells passed by the door, desperate to be let out.

“Y/N?” he muttered, his voice breaking as the tower came to a screeching halt. He strained his eyes to see in to the dark and dingy cell. He didn’t even notice that he was holding his breath.

“Hey, babe.”

Erik exhaled sharply, as you came in to view. You limped slightly as you approached him, shielding your eyes from the unfamiliar light. You’d lost some weight and were visibly exhausted, but you smiled when you saw him. Your soul was still intact. You were alive. He wasn’t too late.

Erik let out an unexpected sob. A few tears escaped him and ran down his face.

“Get this door open! Get her out!” he barked at the guard.

The man rushed over, a ring of keys jingling in his shaky hand. He struggled to find the right key. After his fifth try, Erik stepped forward, pushed him out of the way and ripped the door from its hinges with his newfound strength. He reached for you and pulled you out in to the hallway as though he feared that if you continued to stand within the cell, you’d be locked away from him again.

“I knew you’d come and get me,” you sighed, melting a bit in his arms.

“Y/N! Are you alright?” was all he managed to get out before immediately looking you over. His hands ran over your body, checking for damages. He lifted your shirt to find your back littered with scars from lashings.

You chucked lightly. “Now we match.”

Erik’s face darkened as he traced his fingers over the poorly tended to cuts.

“Who did this to you?” he demanded, ice in his voice.

Your eyes drifted over to the prison guard who stood shaking in the corner. His knuckles blanched from his tight grip on the key ring. He looked at you with pleading eyes, so unlike the cruel ones he usually gave you.

“It was him,” you whispered.

Identified, the man instantly dropped to his knees.

“I am sorry, my King!” he pleaded. “I was simply following the orders of our Late King T’Chaka!”

Erik tensed at the name. It would never be spoken in these halls again.

The guard looked up slightly, and gestured at you.

“She is…” He corrected himself. “WAS a traitor, sir.”

You lifted your chin and curled your lips in disgust. You were hardly a traitor to Wakanda. You were a visionary. A revolutionist. You had been doing good, and this man did evil under the façade of loyalty.

You looked to Erik, ready for him to end this man for what he’d done to you. But Erik remained still.

“I understand,” Erik replied. Your eyes widened in shock. “You were simply following orders.”

The guard let out a sigh of relief, dropping his head slightly. He recognized how close he had come to death in that moment.

“Meet us in the throne room this evening,” Erik demanded of him. The guard scrambled back to his feet, a thankful smile on his face.

“But first, release all of these prisoners.”

“But, sir!” the guard balked. “Rotating this cage on every level will take ages. There are over 150 prisoners and I must turn the crank myself.”

“Then you had better get started,” Erik sneered. “You are expected in the throne room at 8.”

Erik grabbed your hand and began to walk away. You limped behind him for a bit before he swept you up in his arms bridal style and carried you all of the way back to the palace.

Erik ran you a hot oatmeal bath to soothe your skin. The two of you sat in silence as the tub filled and Erik expertly cleaned out your wounds. You hissed and pulled back as the disinfectant hit some of your fresher lashes.

“I’m sorry,” Erik whispered, unsure of how to talk to you. He’d gotten so used to you not actually responding, to you not actually being right in front of him, that he found himself shy.

He led you carefully to the bath, mindful of your limp and gingerly lowered you in to the water.

You flexed your toes in the cloudy water. It had been months since you’d felt anything but concrete beneath your feet.

Erik sat behind you on the lip of the tub and ran water over your hair. He diligently detangled it and rubbed your scalp with his fingertips. He took note of how much longer your hair had gotten as he lathered it with shampoo.

You hadn’t the entire time you’d been imprisoned, but you suddenly began to cry. You didn’t know what set you off. But here, in this moment, you felt safe to do so for the first time. You pulled your knees up to your chest and clutched them tightly. The first few tears were silent, but a shuddering breath in gave you away.

Erik stopped abruptly, worried he’d hurt you. He watched as your back racked with sobs.

The relief he had felt upon finding you alive was replaced with fury for the injustices you suffered. He held it in and didn’t let his heartbreak show while he continued to clean you, hoping the warm water would bring you comfort.

He eventually finished and helped you out of the bath. He wrapped you in a warm robe and sat you down on a plush vanity stool.

How stark in contrast your life was now to the past six months.

Erik propped himself on one knee to level with you. He took a deep breath as he prepared to speak to the real you and not the one on his wrist.

“I did it, Y/N,” he started. “I avenged my father. I became the Black Panther. Wakanda is mine.”

You smiled at him, pride growing in your chest.

“And I never… NEVER could have done it without you. Your drive, your grit, your resilience are all unmatched,” Erik professed, never losing eye contact with you.

“I owe a debt to you, Wakanda owes a debt to you, and the world owes a debt to you. And I want you to have it. The world. It’s changing and needs you to lead it… to make it better like you made me better.”

You hastily wiped your eyes as tears threatened you again.

“You are already my queen, Y/N,” Erik continued. “But will you be my wife?”

The first true smile he’d seen from you flashed across your face as you clutched his hands.

“Yes!” you exclaimed.

Erik stared at you with the silliest grin on his face. Like a child who had just won a game.

“What?” you questioned him.

“I was kind of expecting you to say ‘I do not know. Ask a different question;’” he joked as he removed his father’s ring from his necklace. He slid it on to your finger.

“Meet me in the throne room at 8.”

A/N: If anyone wants a visual reference to the jail cell, here it is.

[Part 6]

[Masterlist]

#Erik Killmonger #Erik Killmonger x reader #Erik Killmonger smut #Erik Stevens x reader #Erik Killmonger x you #Erik Stevens x you #Erik Stevens #N'Jadaka #N'Jadaka Udaku #N'Jadaka fanfiction #N'Jadaka x reader #Erik Killmonger fanfiction #killmonger fanfiction #Black panther fanfiction #smutmonger #angstmonger #Black reader #Black!reader

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ussthunderquack · 6 years ago

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Roaring Twenties Mafia AU

Maximoff Twins: Russian orphan immigrants, hired by the Hydra Gang as the youngest hitman and hitwoman in America. Wanda dresses in ruby flapper gear.

After Pietro is gunned down in a gang fight, Wanda ends up in a mental institution. She is “rescued” by....

Hawkeye: Low-level mob sniper, who turned to crime to support his family. His wife Laura turns a blind eye to her husband’s dark work, but it’s eating away at her day by day.

Steve Rogers: Like many WWI vets, he couldn’t find legitimate work, and turned to crime. At first wanting to protect the innocent, he started a vigilante gang, consisting of himself, Bucky, Hawkeye, Sam and Wanda. However, Steve’s ideas of “heroism” were often extreme, and self-centered. His old flame Peggy Carter distances herself from him and marries someone else. Steve has a brief affair with her underage niece Sharon, before admitting he’s in love with Bucky.

Sam Wilson: Ex-Airforce pilot from WWI, Sam went to crime for the same reason as Hawkeye. Sam wants to keep crime and danger to a minimum for the most part, but feels lucky enough to have any place to stay and work that he can never ultimately stand up to Steve.

Bucky Barnes: Shell-shocked vet and childhood friend of Steve Rogers, he is one of New York’s most vicious hitmen for years, before Steve finds and recruits him for his gang. After Steve’s radical antics make things worse though, Bucky jumps ship to the Black Panther gang, and takes the new hitman name White Wolf. And yes, he killed Tony’s parents, and in this ‘verse he might actually have been partially in control of himself when he did it. Things are gonna get ugly.

Tony Stark: Rival gang leader to Steve Rogers, ruling New York City, Tony specializes in inventing and selling weapons, among other items like cars and radios. This in addition to the obvious business of booze, naturally. Once extremely reckless, he now believes in doing things the careful business way, and is continuously frustrated by Steve’s erratic “vigilante” antics (that often make things much worse).

Peter Parker: Adorkable newsie orphan, eager to help Mr. Stark with his “business,” without knowing its full dark extent

Jarvis: Tony’s butler, who gets shot and killed during a gang fight

Pepper Potts: Tony’s secretary, and later wife. Because this is the mafia, he isn’t very faithful to her.

Friday: Tony’s new secretary, and mistress Stephen Strange: Back-alley doctor, willing to patch up injured gangsters, and give birth control to women. (Note: “Birth control” does not necessarily mean abortion; in the 1920s, literal birth control was literally illegal.) After Tony and Steve’s gangs go to war, Strange declares himself uninvolved and willing to treat both sides, but clearly has a bias towards Tony. Yes, they are also screwing around.

T’Challa: Second-generation immigrant from Wakanda, he lives in a Wakandan-American neighborhood, where everyone wears Wakandan-styled 1920s outfits. After his father is killed, he takes over the Black Panther gang. He causes some controversy when he takes in Bucky Barnes, the first ever white boy to join the Black Panther gang.

Nakia: Enthusiastic dancer, feminist and Civil Rights activist, Nakia is constantly urging T’Challa to take his efforts beyond self-serving crime, and urges him to use his power and influence for more important and selfless matters

Okoye: Badass hit-woman disguised as a flapper

Shuri: Spunky flapper girl and inventor, brilliant mechanic, loyal to her big brother’s Black Panther gang. She ends up with the white newsie Peter Parker, and things get complicated from there.

Everett Ross: Low-level Prohibition Agent, who ends up getting corrupted and working as a double-agent for the Black Panther gang, feeding them info on the FBI from within

Ulysses Klaue: Weapons dealer who tries to rob both Tony Stark and Erik Killmonger. He doesn’t last long.

Erik Killmonger: T’Challa’s bitter cousin, determined to take over the Black Panther gang for himself, and make the entire crimminal underworld far more violent

Natasha Romanoff: Femme fatale flapper of the sultry Jordan Baker variety, who is secretly one of the deadliest hit-women and spies in the country. She works for...

Nick Fury: The ultimate boss of all the bosses, ruling all organized crime in America. Or trying to anyway. The black eyepatch and coat are now accompanied by a matching fedora.

Ava Starr: Enthusiastic dancer at speak-easies, she is secretly dying of an illness that she needs to buy medicine illegally for. To afford this, she works as a spy and bootlegger.

Thor: World-famous heavyweight boxing champion, who, while not a member of any gang, is “affiliated” with several, due in no small part to his love for booze and his willingness to rough people up for money. .

Loki: Thor’s sketchier adopted brother, trying to worm his way into politics using every illegal method imaginable and then some. He also has the hots for Tony Stark.

Bruce Banner: shell-shocked WWI vet who developed a split personality from his trauma. His main personality, Bruce Banner, works in a lab brewing illegal alcohol for Tony Stark’s business. His other personality, “the Hulk,” is a feared hitman and part-time boxer (often pitted against Thor)

Thaddeus Ross: Radical Prohibition Agent, who really has it in for Bruce Banner. Ultra-conservative, he embodies all the common bigotries of the ‘20s up to infinity. He despises the 19th Amendment, the flapper movement, and jazz.

Betty Ross: Thaddeus’s innocent yet surprisingly rebellious daughter. She has an affair with Bruce Banner, and continues to help him and others in illegal dealings against her psychotic father.

Peggy Carter: One of the first female lawyers in America, she helped Steve out of sticky spots years ago. But as he’s grown more extreme and violent, she’s distanced herself from him, much to his chagrin. Eventually, she wants nothing more than to put all of these other characters behind bars.

Sharon Carter: Peggy’s underage niece, who Steve has an affair with, because Mafia show.

Peter Quill: Captain of a rum-running boat, delivering illegal booze from foreign countries. He does a lot of business with Stark’s gang.

Rocket Raccoon and Groot: Classic bootleggers

Gamora: Everyone things she’s Quill’s moll, but it’s more the other way around. She is so the one in charge.

“Mantis:” Innocent, Asian immigrant, who was initially manipulated into working for the vicious crime lord Ego, but now has better work aboard Peter Quill’s rum-running ship. She is an adorable bubbly flapper, who earned the nickname “Mantis” due to her cute yet feisty nature.

Drax: Heavyweight champion turned hitman, whose wife and daughter were killed by Thanos’s gang

Jane Foster: A young woman going to college for science, and fighting sexism at every turn. She’s not really interested in the flapper culture, but is very big on suffrage and feminism. She falls in love with Thor, but dumps him after gradually learning about his involvement with crime, and deciding she can’t handle that.

Darcy Lewis: Jane’s flapper roommate, who ends up having affairs with damn near everyone, male and female.

Erik Selvig: Swedish immigrant and Jane and Darcy’s professor at college, he ends up having some dealings with the mob, and was once blackmailed into brewing booze for Loki’s business; but overall Erik has managed to keep his hands relatively clean for the most part.

Scott Lang: Bootlegger and heist expert who mostly works for the Pym/Van Dyne family speakeasy. He was briefly a part of Steve Rogers’ gang, but after landing in prison for that, decided to stick to small-time crime.

Hope Van Dyne: Businesswoman training to someday take over her parents’ speakeasy and booze trade

Carol Danvers: Female aviator and party-animal flapper, she enters the world of crime after discovering the corruption among the government she used to work for

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dellaliz19 · 7 years ago

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Black Panther movie review: spoilers!

So, I just went and saw Black Panther and yes, it deserves all the praise it’s getting. So, you know the drill, pros and (few) cons, here we go!

Pros:

1) The general look of Wakanda is stunning. It’s a perfect blend of “city of the future meets African heritage” and it’s just amazing to see it brought to life. The technology is visually so engaging, and it’s great that so much of the sets are really utilized. The fight in the mine with the train, for example is a really efficient way to not just have a fight in an empty field (or airport 😐) but to actually make use of the premise you’ve set up.

2) Shuri is perfect and that is final. But seriously, Shuri is such a great character. Her relationship with T’Challa feels so real. The scene with her remote driving the car while T’Challa is on top of it is some of the most amazing and imaginative team work I’ve ever seen on film, and it was great. And it’s fantastic that her intellect and technical skill are so celebrated, and that no one ever looks down on her for it. As a woman myself in a STEM field, I’m all for celebrating smart, capable women of science and Shuri is a great role model for little girls. Also, she’s the Queen of Memes, and I love her.

3) The Dora Miljae. The powerful women don’t stop with Shuri: the Dora Miljae are finally on full display, and I’m so on board with it! I love that the King’s personal guard are these strong, capable women, who kick some serious freaking ass. Point these ladies in the direction of Thanos and then just give everyone else the day off, they’ve got it handled.

4) Andy Serkis is clearly having the time of his life. His Ulysses Klaue is the fun, devil may care kind of villain the MCU could use some more of. He’s irreverent, in it for the money and just loving every second of being a bad guy. Thematically, I understand why he had to die, but damn, he was just so much fun to watch. I know Serkis is the undisputed motion capture king, but can we please let him act more with his real face?!

5) Speaking of villains the MCU could use more like, Eric Killmonger is the perfect villain for this story. His arc was personal and related to T’Challa: he was the dark mirror image of who T’Challa could be, and Michael B Jordan hit it out of the park. I can’t say I ever rooted for him, but I definitely identified with his belief that the powerful have a responsibility to protect the marginalized. I think it’s important that the movie made it clear that it wasn’t so much his ideology that was wrong, but his methods, and that that hatred had warped his ideals somewhat: that he had killed his own people and that he wanted to punish the world. And it was important to that it was clear that his beliefs impacted and helped change and shape T’Challa’s own actions. Killmonger was the “we make our own demons” villain finally done right, and his last line was so powerful and so in character.

6) Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross finally found his rhythm. He’s clearly the story’s comedic “straight man” but he was really well integrated into the narrative, and he never feels out of place or takes up too much screen time. His hero moment in the flight drone thing was a really fitting culmination to his character developed in this movie, and I’d enjoy seeing him in more MCU movies.

7) Danai Gurira’s Okoye is a definite stand out character. She gets great fight scenes, is compelling and wise and she’s a fabulously funny character as well. I would let her kick my ass any freaking day of the week.

8) Suprise Sterling K. Brown is always a treat. I loved his scenes in the spirit world with his son, and his flashbacks in the apartment were really powerful. In very short order we’re made to feel his entire arc, and how his living amongst oppressed people of his own race affected his ideology and his struggle to reconcile that with his loyalty to his country and his brother and that’s very much due to the strength of Brown’s performance.

8) Winston Duke’s M’Baku is definitely the other stand out character. He’s introduced in this very brutal, no nonsense way, and somehow he ends up being the funniest character by the end? His “I’m just kidding we’re vegetarians” line got an honestly to gosh snort out of me, and he was a great story beat in showing the traditional side of Wakanada vs the technological side, and how T’Challa will be a different king than his father.

9) It was nice to see Bucky, but to only have him be the post credits stinger. It’s clearly establishing why he’s awake and around for Infinity War, but I’m glad he wasn’t in the whole movie. Black Panther really let T’Challa and it’s characters be the star, and including Ross was a good way to tie it into the MCU without taking that focus away from where it needed to be.

10) Honestly, the whole cast does great work with their characters. Chadwick Boseman has really made T’Challa his own, and he’s a great character. Angela Basset is always good, and Lupita Nyong’o is also fantastic. I especially like that, for a Marvel romance, she and T’Challa don’t waste time on the will they/won’t they. They find a common goal, and then they’re united. I like it. Another.

Cons (these are pretty minor!)

1) Vibranium is starting to feel like “fairy dust.” Have a problem? Vibrainium will fix it. Shot in the spine? Stick a ball of that in there! (also, like T’Challa couldn’t take two seconds to throw a little of that Rhodey’s way?) Want to make super holograms? Use some of that. And so on. This one isn’t a massive point to me: clearly the in universe explaination is that the secret government white guys in the 40’s only had imaginations large enough to make a frisbee out of it, but it does almost reach the point of feeling like a writing crutch. Vibrainium does everything, so sure, it can do that thing! Again, not major for me, because the world Wakanda paints is so cool, but it did kind of bug me.

2) Forrest Whitaker’s wise man mentor Zuri is fine, but he’s probably the character most unchanged from his general stereotype. He’s a shaman, he’s wise, he dies. His character history is good though and very thematically relevant, and Whitaker does a good job with what he’s given.

3) Daniel Kaluuya’s W’Kabi could have used a little bit more background, especially in regards to his relationship with Okoye. He’s basically only given the motivation of wanting Klaue dead, and when Killmonger delivers him that he’s just suddenly on board with all this world conquering and murder in a way that seems out of proportion for the character we’ve seen. And he and Okoye really needed more introduction to their relationship, given that their falling on either sides of this civil war is a significant plot point. All we get is her calling him “my love” and he returning it: that meeting on the battlefield would have been a lot more powerful if we’d been able to see them be domestic and interact.

4) The bloodlessness. This isn’t the director or the movie’s fault really, it’s the MPAA but the fact that PG-13 movies can’t have too much blood is...kind of noticeable here. I think it might be because the Dora Miljae all use penatrative weapons and many other characters do as well, but if you have a giant fight with spears and no one is bleeding then it feels a little bit...empty. Like, Killmonger slits the throat of one of the Dora in front of Okoye there’s no blood. Again, I get why it��s happening, and I’m not blaming the movie, but it’s something that I definitely noticed, and although I’m not asking for gore I felt the total lack of blood detracted a little of the realness from the fights.

Obviously, Black Panther is a movie that has a very deliberate point to make about race. And, I say this as a white woman: I’m so glad it does. As a woman, watching Wonder Woman was an incredibly empowering and momentous thing for me. To be able to see a story about a strong, powerful good woman on screen - someone I could identify with, and picture myself as - made me feel like I could do anything, and I think everyone, no matter your race, colour, creed, gender, sexual orientation, should get to have that moment. And so no, Black Panther wasn’t going to be a movie that gave me that moment, but I’m so, so glad it’s clearly doing so for so many people. Black Panther is a movie that celebrates black excellence and also tells an engaging and powerful story, and I’m happy to be able to enjoy and celebrate that with everyone.

So, final verdict: 9/10 for me. In a universe that is getting increasingly crowded and teetering on the edge of fatigued, Black Panther is something new and different and wonderful that everyone can enjoy.

Bonus: best lines.

“WHAT ARE THOSE?!?”

“Are we in Wakanda?” “No, we’re in Kansas.”

“Don’t freeze.” “I never freeze.” Lands. Freezes. “Ngh...hi.”

“Bury me in the ocean with all my ancestors who jumped from the ships because they knew drowning was better than living in bondage.”

“No tears for me?” “Nah, everybody dies. That’s just how life is around here.”

“Are you recording this?” “For science.” T’Challa flies across the room. “Delete that clip!”

“What, do you have a mixtape coming out?” “I can send you a SoundCloud link if you want?” “Please don’t make me listen to your music.”

“Oh good, another broken white boy for us to fix!”

“If he touches you again, I am going to impale him to that desk.”

Also if Infinity War doesn’t include a scene where Tony Stark ends up in Shuri’s lab and she’s like, “aw, that’s so cute, your hologram reminds me of the stuff I was making when I was 5,” while Tony loudly just loses his geek mind, then what even is the point of it all?

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