#avengers endgame alternate

[buckbuckb]

of all the fanfiction plots handed to us on a silver platter, endgame steve telling 2012 steve that bucky is alive has to be the least taken advantage of. because WHY can i count on one hand all the alternate reality 2012 stucky fanfictions. i NEED more fics where baby steve (27 & still freshly mourning the loss of his best friend and love of his life) sets out to find him earlier?!! and he would be much more reckless about it too. if i had the imaginative ability i would already be on my 3rd 200k on this au

[corralinesage]

Learning you by heart (13/?)

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!! May 2025 treat you well<3

Chapter 13: Parallel, parallel

You spent a good amount of time on the couch, watching any Christmas movies that you found on TV while surfing through the channels, indulging yourselves on an entire bowl of chocolate truffles to ensure you didn’t go hungry while sipping on refills of coffee. You were cuddled up in the corner of the couch in the same spot as the night before, Natasha’s head on your chest, cushioned by your breasts, your hand in her hair, a blanket covering your tangled up legs. You couldn’t have asked for anything better. You couldn’t have dreamt of anything more fulfilling and comforting than that very moment as her warmth seeped into your body and stirred up the colorful emotions inside you. There was nowhere else you would have rather been, no one else you would have rather been with. Every single aspect of that shared moment was perfect, undeniably beautiful.

You had lit up the candle you had received as a gift and put it on the coffee table, the bright yellow light flickering gently, the scent of cinnamon and clove only strengthening the smell of gingerbread that wafted through the entire house, mixing with the perfume you had immediately tried onto the inside of your wrist. The smell was sweet, slightly spicy in a way that you recognized to be typical for Natasha. She liked earthy, rich scents with a hint of sweetness, something that you hadn’t realized would suit you so well. You were wearing the thick socks Natasha had gifted you, warm beneath her and the blanket, sucking on a candy cane. The low lighting of the living room was delicate and cozy, the Christmas tree shining silently in the corner, your attention seeming to gravitate toward it every once in a while, as if to make sure that the tree was still in its rightful spot before returning to the cartoon Grinch you were watching, the colorful images flashing before you on the TV. Natasha was humming quietly to the well-known song in the movie, your arms automatically tightening around her to hold the adorable sight just a little closer to your chest. She was undeniably charming without even trying, the low humming warranting a kiss onto the top of her head. She pulled back from your chest to see your face, smiling at you in the most intimate and vulnerable way you had ever seen anyone smile. She crawled just a little higher on top of you, her lips only barely reaching your chin to give it an affectionate peck. After that you couldn’t help but to lift your head off the pillow to reach her properly, your hand that was in her curls guiding her into a firm kiss that made you feel like you couldn’t quite breathe properly.

When the morning turned into afternoon, you finally got up from the couch, deciding to help Wanda with the party preparations after she ushered you off the couch and made you tidy up the living room from the dishes, candy and gift wrappers. You and Natasha moved into the kitchen to clean and help Wanda with anything you could while she ran around the house following some schedule that you and Natasha were not a part of. It was rather amusing to watch Wanda fuss over the smallest of details in the strive for perfection despite the fact that all the people who were coming over were friends and family who expected quite positively nothing extravagant from Wanda. All they wanted was to spend time with their loved ones during the holidays, but Wanda was known for overshooting when it came to showing off her cooking and baking skills as well as hospitality. She loved to be the backbone of any get-together. She liked preparing food and trying out new recipes that she could potentially incorporate into her business. She also happened to strive off of people’s comments and praise regarding all her hard work. A good few hours later of you helping Wanda, it was finally time to go get ready for the party before the guests would arrive.

“What do you think I should wear?” You turned to Natasha expectantly after pulling open the doors to your wardrobe.

“Hmm, maybe something casual?” She suggested, taking a seat on the edge of your freshly made bed, going through her small purse that somehow fit way more items than you would’ve ever believed. You skimmed through the clothes in your closet, looking for something fancy, but nothing over the top. “You could put on a cute sweater and some nice trousers.” You grinned brightly at the suggestion as you laid your eyes on an item that fit the description at least partly. You pulled the sweater on without further consideration, leaving your plain pajama pants on.

“I’ve got just the thing”, you announced in excitement, amusement practically dripping from your voice, prompting Natasha to raise her eyes from the contents of her bag to see your clothing of choice. She burst into laughter at the sight of the familiar sweater, her gaze immediately dipping down to the mistletoe dangling above your belt line. The look on your face was one filled with pure joy as Natasha stood up from the bed to come closer to you, clearly lured in by the message on the sweater. She could barely hold in her chuckles as she stood before you, pulling on the hem of the sweater to take a proper look at the horribly ugly Christmas sweater.

“Oh, but I can’t have anyone else end up beneath this mistletoe. This one is just for me”, she hummed as if to herself, her eyes meeting yours.

“You’re under the mistletoe”, you whispered knowingly, your smirk wider than the Grinch’s.

“I am, indeed.” Her eyes remained on yours as she let go of the sweater, her hands finding your waist. She knelt slowly before you, her touch moving down to massage your hips and buttocks in a gentle caress. You could barely hold in your excitement, her sultry eyes staring up at you, her lower lip clamped between her teeth as she leaned forward, pressing her lips right below the mistletoe, a very visceral spark of electricity shooting through you at the gentle touch of her lips even through two layers of fabric, your knees turning into jelly from the simple kiss.

“I might just have to go with this one”, you breathed out weakly. It was rather easy to tell that you were ridiculously affected by Natasha’s touch, your body seeming to lean closer to her in search for more.

“If you keep this on, we’ll never make it downstairs”, she retorted in a gentle warning that made you giggle.

“Better take it off then. This thing is dangerous”, you mumbled in amusement, pulling the knitted fabric up your torso as Natasha stood up from the floor.

“I don’t think it’s the sweater, detka (baby)”, she mused quietly. “It’s you that’s dangerous.” She allowed her nails to scrape over your bare abdomen, your muscles contracting at the teasing touch, a small gasp sounding from you, prompting Natasha to look up at you, only to find the sweater still draped over your head, the mistletoe placed right over your forehead, an expectant smile on your face. She chuckled softly, the sound getting muffled by your lips as she kissed you, ensuring that you got a proper kiss to think about while you spent the night at a socially acceptable distance from each other.

Friends and family started to slowly find their ways to the brownstone an hour later after you and Natasha had finished getting ready. You ended up wearing a simple pair of trousers, as Natasha had suggested, paired with a slightly tamer sweater, putting on light makeup just for the joy of getting ready. You borrowed Natasha your makeup and hair care products that she hadn’t been able to bring with her because her change of clothing took up most of the space in her purse. She wore a short, tight skirt that reached her mid thighs, leaving a good amount of room for her toned legs to shine, the silky skin covered by sheer, black tights. On the top half, she wore a thin, white blouse that was form fitting but not tight. The sleeves were slightly looser around her wrists, giving the shirt an elegant look to it. She looked beautiful, irresistible, really, but that had nothing to do with her outfit and everything to do with her natural beauty, her face, her body, her personality.

Welcoming guests was unexpectedly entertaining for Natasha. Monica was the first to arrive which immediately made you and Natasha glance at each other knowingly, both of you thrilled to see Wanda blush like a fool as she accepted the red roses Monica had brought her. It was finally Wanda’s turn to be sappy and foolish around her crush, you and Natasha enjoying the show immensely until more guests started to appear at the doorstep. Natasha watched with her mouth agape as Steve Rogers and his shocking physique and height, or rather lack thereof, walked in with James Barnes in tow, shortly after followed by Clint and Laura Barton with their children. Natasha’s chest ached. She could barely breathe, her heart hammering inside her ribcage from utter shock at who exactly the guests were. Never in a million years had she expected to encounter more of the people she loved so dearly in another life, perhaps in every life —she was yet to find out. The living room filled quickly, Thor striding in with Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis. The final guest of the day was Pietro Maximoff, Natasha’s jaw nearly unhinging all together. She hadn’t seen Pietro in years, his traumatic death crossing her mind as the charming man pulled Wanda into a tight hug, kissing her hair as he swayed her gently. It felt beyond surreal, perhaps even more so as Natasha slowly became aware of just how far the similarities of the reality reached.

You got glasses of Prosecco once everyone had arrived and set their gifts beneath the Christmas tree, Natasha’s gaze going around the room as you all raised a toast for Christmas. They all clearly knew one another, Natasha turning out to be the only new addition to the group of people, but she was welcomed as warmly as ever by everyone. You were all gathered in the living room, illuminated by candles and Christmas lights, the conversation naturally picking up as the guests started to catch up with one another. Natasha learned a lot from simply sitting quietly beside you on the couch and listening to the cheerful chatting from others. Thor was a regular client at the bakery, years of consistent interaction with Wanda having led to random parties and invitations that had also allowed Wanda to befriend Jane and Darcy as well. Steve worked at the bakery and often hung out with Wanda during breaks. Bucky was a regular there because he was best friends with Steve and worked a block away as an engineer. Natasha’s gaze shifted to the only kids in the room, her eyes focusing on Lila who was a good eight years younger from the sixteen-year-old Natasha had left behind in her original reality. Lila was clearly the youngest of the three, the two older boys, whom she knew as Cooper and Nathaniel, lost in some kind of game that resembled rock-paper-scissors. Natasha could barely look at the children, memories from her previous reality flashing through her mind. She couldn’t look at Clint, the lump in her throat preventing her from making any contact with her best friend.

“Mommy, can I have more apple juice?” Lila asked quietly, poking her mother’s leg impatiently, holding her empty glass in her hand. Laura, who was sitting right next to you, was deep in conversation, lacking patience to even look Lila’s way. The girl poked her mother a little harder.

“Lilian!” Laura’s voice was chastising, but she didn’t seem entirely mad. “Why don’t you ask Cooper or Noah?” A part of Natasha felt a sense of grief from knowing that her presence had never reached the Barton family which had left the second-born boy with a different name.

“I was just going to go refill my glass. Why don’t you come with me?” Natasha said suddenly, just loudly enough for Lila to hear. The girl seemed taken aback by such an offer from a stranger, her eyes shifting to Laura for approval.

“What a nice offer from Natasha”, Laura said in a very typical voice used with kids as she did her best to persuade Lila. Natasha swallowed back her sudden tears, glancing away to blink her eyes dry. She should have fought harder back then. It should have been her. “Don’t you think so too, Lilian?” Natasha frowned almost imperceptibly at the name but let the observation slide by. Lila nodded her head, giving Natasha the permission to offer her hand to Lila. You looked fondly after them as Natasha and Lila went into the kitchen to find more apple juice for the latter. When they returned, Lila was giggling in excitement, a spark of joy in her eyes. You couldn’t help but to smile. It came to you as no surprise that Natasha was good with children and had won the girl over in such a short amount of time. She was such a charmer, after all.

You had more drinks and snacks that worked as appetizers for the Christmas dinner, Natasha and you going from one person to another to allow Natasha to get acquainted with everyone, so that you could all feel equally included. Once Wanda had everything ready in the dining room, she invited her guests to sit at the table and dig into the warm dinner. You all squished yourselves to sit around the medium-sized table that was far too large for you and Wanda alone, yet not enough to fit the large number of guests. The dinner was rather traditional, made up of different types of casseroles, refreshing side salads, and roasted meat. It was perfectly normal, and perfectly comforting. You and Natasha sat near Clint whom Natasha was conversing with after finally plucking up the courage to face him. He and Laura kept up a lively discussion about how they had met, their family, and how they knew Wanda. Apparently, they had known each other for years through the Maximoff family and liked to come over for Christmas every once in a while to stay in touch with Wanda and Pietro. Natasha struggled to focus on what Clint was saying, her mind straying every chance it got to remind her of what his fate had been in another life. She tried her best to counter such grim memories with better ones, ones that brought her comfort, but seeing him right there in front of her was all too jarring to deal with, her mind returning over and over again to the pain she had caused for the Barton family, until she finally managed to force herself to focus back on Clint’s story. She made a conscious effort to pay attention to positive details about he and Laura’s personalities to prevent herself from bursting into tears. She could easily spot all the familiar characteristics in Clint and Laura’s dynamic, but there were also many differences that stuck out. Clint’s humor, to Natasha’s surprise, was cleverer than the common dad jokes that Natasha had gotten used to over the years. Laura was sterner with the kids, which caused them to gravitate more toward their father, especially when asking for more sweets. Natasha noticed that she got along with the Barton’s very well, unexpectedly well. The interaction felt rather natural. Nothing felt forced, nothing felt all that strange. They were just a nice family willing to open up enough to let Natasha in, something that had always been very typical for Clint.

The kids exited the table first, far too impatient to linger around after finishing their plates of food. The boys, with Lila in tow, moved into the living room to play, Wanda providing them with paper and crayons in case they felt the need to express themselves in an artistic form, the conversation carrying on uninterrupted. You were genuinely pleased to see Natasha get along with the guests, relieved that she seemed to enjoy herself even when put in situations where she was surrounded mostly by complete strangers. It made you feel like the chances of keeping Natasha in your life for a longer period of time were entirely on the table for you. There would be no obstacles or hindrances when she had no trouble infiltrating herself into your life. You looked at her as you speared some green beans a bit absentmindedly onto your fork, observing the way she was communicating with Clint. She was fully absorbed into Clint’s story up until she felt a gentle poke against her arm. Natasha turned around to her left where she had felt the interruption, met with Lila and her shy smile as she handed Natasha a piece of paper.

“Wow, what’s this?” Natasha marveled rather animatedly, eyeing the drawing of a woman surrounded by butterflies and flowers. The parallel was almost overwhelming. All the times Lila had shown Natasha the most colorful and creative drawings found the forefront of her mind.

“You.” Lila bounced slightly on her toes, clearly impatient to hear Natasha’s verdict. “I drew your pretty outfit and hair.” Lila pointed at the image for emphasis.

“I can see that”, Natasha hummed in an impressed tone, nodding her head in approval, focusing strictly on the present moment to remain unaffected by the pain of her past. “This is beautiful”, she praised Lila, taking in all the details of the messy drawing. “Is that my bracelet?” Lila nodded enthusiastically. “Wow. You’re incredibly talented.” Natasha took another look at the bright red scribbles that made up her hair, the grey smudges that represented her shirt, and the brown square and black twigs that were meant to be her dress and tights. Lila giggled quietly before snatching the drawing from Natasha and returning to the coffee table to continue drawing. You grinned at Natasha knowingly.

“Looks like you’ve got a fan.” She chuckled softly at your comment, going back to her dinner and the conversation with Clint, eager to learn more about what he did for a living to hopefully distract herself further.

For dessert, Wanda had made cookies and cakes of all sorts to please everyone. There was cheesecake with cranberry sauce, chocolate lava cake, chocolate chip cookies, frosted gingerbreads, chocolate confectionery, and mini cinnamon rolls, the table packed with all the dishes to ensure nobody went hungry on Christmas Day. The amount of food was overwhelming but when it was evenly distributed among all the guests, it slowly disappeared from the table bite by bite. The next conversation Natasha found herself in was with Steve and Bucky. She found it difficult to not ogle at Steve and his rather scrawny appearance in comparison to the person Natasha had known before. Steve wasn’t quite as skinny and frail as he had been during the Second World War. He looked healthy and well nourished, but he was far from the hunk of a man Captain America was, although Natasha had to admit that there was a good amount of muscle on him, at least compared to the frail and sick version of him she had only seen pictures of. The dynamic between him and Bucky was much lighter and jovial than she had ever witnessed before. Their demeanors were more boyish, but they had a certain air of old souls about them despite belonging into the same age range as the rest of them, excluding Clint and Laura. Steve wasn’t as reserved as Captain Rogers had always been. He was up to date with the world and seemed to be truly in his element. It was nice to see him really reflect a sense of belonging in the world. It brought Natasha peace to know that his past wasn’t as troubled as it had been in her reality.

You all returned into the living room to lounge around after no one could bear to take another bite no matter how delicious the food was. Pietro and Thor’s loud laughter boomed throughout the entire first floor, accompanied by Jane and Darcy’s higher pitched giggles, music playing from the stereos as half of the guests whined about how full they were. It made you grin brightly. Never before had you experienced such a Christmas, having previously failed to see the beauty of simply coming together to celebrate the holiday season and the end of the year with those you loved the most. You followed Natasha toward the living room, but instead of taking a seat to join the others, she turned to you.

“I’m gonna go into the bathroom real quick”, she hummed in passing, pecking your lips briefly before heading up the stairs. You took a step toward an empty seat in the living room, but felt a hand on your shoulder before you could slip away from the kitchen.

“Hey, Lila found this from under the couch”, Wanda said, handing a black, leather wallet to you. You immediately recognized it to be Natasha’s from the golden clasp that held the coin pocket shut.

“Oh, thanks. I’ll take it upstairs”, you hummed, immediately heading toward the staircase.

You popped open the button of the wallet that held together the leather flaps, slightly unsure why you did so, your curious eyes taking a peek inside. Something white slipped out from the flat pocket of the wallet, a piece of paper of some sort landing on the wooden steps, letting out a slight slap when it connected with the sleek surface. You stopped in your tracks in the middle of the stairs, reaching down for what you realized to be a Polaroid picture, carefully picking it up as you slowly continued to walk up the stairs. You flipped the image around, your heartbeat thudding in your ears as the world slowed down around you. It was like your surroundings suddenly went completely silent. Nothing else outside of you existed as you made it into your room, freezing in your tracks, staring down at the printed picture in your hands. It was no more than the size of the palm of your hand yet held a significance like no other. You felt like you couldn’t quite breathe properly, the ragged inhales you took demanding twice the energy that breathing normally did. You couldn’t believe your eyes, the shock you experienced opening your eyelids so far that you felt like your eyeballs might pop out. You were in that picture. You were in that picture with Natasha, in Natasha’s arms, donning a summer dress that you didn’t own, both of you basking in the summer sunlight that you had never experienced with Natasha before. She was hugging you from behind, holding you against her, her cheek pressed tightly against yours as you both grinned at the camera. You looked different, your hair color was different, your demeanor was different enough for you to understand that it wasn’t you that you were looking at, yet the resemblance was uncanny. It was you.

[rainbowsuitcase]

What If... in Endgame's Alternative 2012 Timeline, Steve doesn’t believe his double. Though he agonizes over it for a long time, he ultimately writes it off as Loki messing with him. He was there, he saw Bucky die, it’s not possible.

But then he fights the Winter Soldier on the bridge and the mask comes off and Steve realizes he’s failed his best friend. Again.

[arisfruity]

whatever souls are made of by @atypical-snowman actually altered my brain chemistry yall

the author put so much thought and planning and just sheer intent into it and that's crazy balls to me

the way tony is crazy self sacrificing, the way he's so observant and caring, the way stephens disability added to his character and was written in such a seamless way-

and on top of that the plot itself is so intricate you'd think you'd get lost, but i forgot i was reading a fanfic for a while and a whole movie was just playing in my head

author, you have my heart

[korraofthereef]

WE LIVE BECAUSE OF HIM

synopsis : what if on the final recording Tony left for his family, he largely mentions that the entire reason he did everything he did was for his kids. Plural. As in Morgan and Peter Parker.

Except. . . No one knows who Peter Parker is…

it’s been a while, but Pepper misses hearing her late husband’s voice so she pulls out that one specific recording. The one that mentions a boy no one knows exists.

Should I work on this fic? Yes… no…?

[hjbirthdaywishes]

August 11, 2024

Happy 41 Birthday to Chris Hemsworth.

[bluueejayart]

People have asked about my Wanda redraws, my fancasts, my character depictions, and more. I’ve mentioned before that my art, redraws, and fan casts all exist in a fundamental alternate universe to the current story the main marvel cinematic universe exists in, so!

I’ve decided to reshare my current working bluueejayart mcu au / bluueejayart mcu redraw universe ! It’s a work in progress so so,e stuff might not be as cleanly explained as I’d like, but yeah! I’ve shared a version of this on Instagram but this is my most updated version, thanks for reading!

[eyeus-writes]

Title: A Leap Away (10/12) Fandom: Thor (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) Pairing: Thor / Loki Rating: NC-17 Words: 1891 (this chapter) Summary: “This is crazy,” says Steve, not mincing words. They were speaking of leaping through time to bring Loki back, in a wild attempt to win the war. “This plan is crazy.”

“Perhaps ‘crazy’,” Thor growls, “is the very thing we need.”

A/N: Post-Infinity War 1 AU. The Avengers find their resources scattered, their technology constrained, and a victory in the wake of Thanos’ destruction impossible—or is it?

* NEW CHAPTER on AO3 *

[triscribeaucollection]

The Big One

So.

I’ve managed to get myself back into an MCU mindset, and have decided The Time Has Come to start working on my master fix-it fic. Or rather, what’s going to become my master fix-it fic series.

The to-do list so far includes:

-Natasha comes back after Steve returns the Soul Stone, but thanks to time travel screwiness she pops back into the Compound with everyone else and participates in the final battle against Thanos

-Tony still sacrifices himself, BUT! Another version of him, from a timeline where they lost the final fight and Thanos decided to be petty by erasing the entire human race from existence except Tony, gets brought to this universe a couple years later. Supposedly the two are nearly identical up to that fight, so he’s more than a little alarmed when no one recognizes the name Peter Parker

-Steve puts all the Stones back and comes home, passes on the shield to Sam, and moves on with his life instead of that bullshit ending that made no damn sense for his characterization

(-I have yet to watch Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so I dunno what will or won’t remain the same with those two, but I can promise There Will Be Shenanigans)

-WandaVision mostly plays out as per canon, but dagnabit, I want my Scarlet Witch to remain a superhero and a decent person. So! She stumbles across America Chavez, they find a universe where Agatha won and kept Billy and Tommy around as pets/servants, kick her ass, and bring the boys back with them to start a new life

-Eventually Vision will return as well, with newly constructed Viv as a peace offering. The twins are quite taken with their android sister and immediately start figuring out the best ways to get into trouble together

-May Parker receives medical attention soon enough to survive her wounds, albeit in a coma; Peter can’t legally visit her in the hospital but sneaks in a few times as Spider-man, and I promise I’ll eventually have her wake up for their tearful reunion, just gotta get through a few other things first

-Back to Tony: it’s a little awkward, feeling like he’s taking over another man’s life, but Morgan’s delighted by this turn of events and that’s really hard for anyone else to argue with. Even so, as grateful as he is to get his family back, Tony can’t help but feel frantic over what the heck happened to his other kid. The photo of him and Peter is still in the kitchen, and Pepper recognizes it when he shows her, knows that it’s been there ever since they moved into the house, but she has no clue who the kid is

-Eventually we get a big family reunion style event with all the Avengers and spouses and kids, new and old, and from there find a way to bring Peter back into the fold with a handy dandy loophole to restore memories of him at the same time. There will be fluff. There will be tears. There will be old characters and extra ones, a few gratuitous mentions and some background cameos, and I’ll find a way to wrap it all up with a big bow

...

-With an Epilogue, of course, featuring my Champions kids, because they’ve given us a fantastic Kamala Khan and I need to build on that

[sundry-whovengerslocked]

Avengers: Endgame

hypothesis: Steve and Natasha are both alive and young at the end of endgame.

facts:

the way they explained time travel and the multiverse, Steve would not have been able to return to his own timeline if significant changes had been made.

when retrieving the soul stone, Clint and Natasha were told it's a trade of "a soul for a soul"

the present-day soul stone was destroyed by Thanos, and Gamora did not return.

observation:

the only things we were shown on screen for sure were 1) Steve leaving to return the infinity stones to preserve the timeline 2) him dancing with Peggy and 3) him appearing to come back as an old man, and refusing to answer questions.

theory:

when Steve returned the stones, the "soul for a soul" deal was enacted in reverse - therefore Natasha should have come back.

based on the explanation, the only way Steve could have come back to this timeline was if little to no changes were made in the past. (therefore not creating another branch in time)

Steve had a dance with Peggy to say goodbye, then returned to the present with Natasha, both the same age as when they left.

Steve used the same technology that Natasha did in CATWS to disguise himself as an old man.

conclusion: it's very much possible that Steve and Natasha came back alive and well, but faked their endings to 1) maintain their cover to go on a secret mission 2) escape responsibilities and retire or 3) for shits and giggles.

secondary hypothesis: if Steve ever gets spotted in public he whispers "no one will ever believe you" and promptly disappears.

[widow-writer]

Just Don't

When Natashas on her period and training alone don't try.

Canon divergent

It's a bright morning in stark tower, a morning that should be quiet and not interrupted by noise. But this was not a normal morning, it was the morning of the 13th.

Some may ask why the 13th is such a special date, but Clint knows very well what the 13th is. Every month like some kind of clockwork, Natasha starts her period on the 13th. And every time she train all da by herself because she's pissed off at everything and everyone for no reason other than her own uterus trying to murder her. Clint being Natashas best friend for almost a decade knows just what to do to handle his spider when she's got venom in her veins.

Clint usually slept in till 10 am when Natasha was like this, not only was he catching up on lost sleep from raising his kids with Laura when he got to go home, but he was giving his fiery redhead some time to burn off some of the anger before he got up and came to her rescue.

But sometimes being lazy was to someone's detriment because none of the other men knew that Natasha was on her period or that she even had one at all, they were all under the persuasion that she had graduated the red room and had a hysterectomy as the result. This was what they were told and Natasha never corrected them because it kept them from asking about her period just for being a little extra moody. They just assumed she was moody and went on with their lives. But this morning a certain tin man made his grave mistake.

With the sounds of gunshots Tony rose frustrated, it was barely 9 am and yet Natasha was at her training. He pulled on some pants and rolled out of bed going to ask the widow what her reason was for training before the whole tower had arisen.

Natasha set the smoking gums down when she hears Tony enter the range.

"Leave now Tony, I'm in no mood," Natasha said keeping her head firmly tilted down.

"why should I? Hmm I own this tower and can do as I please" tony said in his usual snark with a little extra due to how long he's been awake and the extreme lack of his morning coffee.

"I'm not in the mood for company, now go" Natasha growled reloading the magazine in one of her guns.

"why not?" Tony asked

"because I want to beat the shit out of everyone and I don't know why," Natasha said with an anger in her tone.

Tony looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"who lit the fire under your ass this morning?" Tony asked

"currently you if you don't leave," Natasha growled again. Aiming her gun and firing two shots with startling accuracy.

Tony peered at the target and saw her accuracy and paled.

"I suggest leaving if you don't want to turn into target practice tin man," the spy said in an unsettlingly calm tone.

Tony backed out keeping an insanely close eye on her gun.

Clint was pouring a cup of coffee when Tony emerged from the elevator.

"Your bestie is scary," Tony said sitting with his coffee and flinching lightly when he heard gunshots again.

"she training?" Clint asked noting what day it was today.

"go see for yourself legolas" Tony said

Clint did as Tony suggested and went to the range.

"Widow. Love. It's Hawkeye," Clint announced entering the range. He always called her love when she was like this, it usually softened her kill drive.

"hey Clint," Natasha sighed letting herself be dragged into a hug by the slightly shorter man.

"is it that time again?" He asked.

"yeah, Tony came in and pissed me off. I'm almost out of tampons, and I feel like murdering people" Natasha told with a sigh

"it'll be ok spider, go lock yourself in your room with some cheesy Russian movies I'll be back in an hour with everything you need." Clint said hoping a murder mission and a box of tampons and bar of chocolate would lighten her mood.

Clint left for the store and went to his favorite department store with a hunting section. He grabbed tampons, chocolate, and enough ammunition for Natashas gun for the next month (or next two weeks depending on how murdery she's feeling). He also grabbed some powder for Natashas latex suits after they get cleaned later today. The cashier looked at him questioningly in the checkout lane because he had such an obscure collection of items.

"I have an assassin girlfriend, she's on her period and she was out of ammo and wanted to head to the gun range later," the cashier looked away quickly and rung up Clint's items.

After he returned to the tower he went to nick fury to get Natasha a mission that would satisfy her murdery tendencies.

"here you go Barton, she'll have to find and kill this man without anyone noticing her, or getting a good look at her face. Tony developed a mask that'll cover her mouth and nose, her eyes will be uncovered and her hair will be out but trying to identify her on those alone. Almost impossible unless you’re a Russian level spy." Nick told

Clint said his thanks and returned to his spider.

“Natka, I have a mission for you to complete. And I brought you everything you need.” Clint said as he entered the room to find Natasha throwing her daggers at the dartboard on her wall.

“Thanks Clint." Natasha said exiting as she read the mission file.

When she left the tower she was in her all black leather suit with not only her close range gun but her sniper as well. Tony had given her the mask he had developed no questions asked. It was a face covering that gave the user room to breathe comfortably and filtered CO2 out of the mask efficiently. It's exterior was a matte black with a red hourglass on the sides. The hourglass was hardly larger than a dime so it didn't make her a sitting duck for being too obviously out of place.

While Natasha went full on ninja, Clint stayed at their home and made her bed. He also made her a silly care basket with a heating pad, candy, tampons and a handwritten coupon for a free back massage any day of her period for the next year. Goofy but meaningful.

Clint left her some cozy pajamas out for when she returns and got started on her favorite period meal: grilled chicken Alfredo with potato puffs and seared vegetables.

Hopefully that'd lighten her mood

Hope you enjoy ❤️

[wolvesandfoxes25]

You know... I've been back on my Stony kick, rewatching the movies... and can't help but really hate Endgame. Don't get me wrong, I loved my Stony scenes, but damn, most everything else is like... but why? ⬇️

I'm gonna get backlash for this, but I don't care. Morgan Stark seemed really unnecessary, now that I really look at it. Adorable, but kinda unnecessary. If they don't bring her back in the later MCU, she was used for an emotional response following Tony's death. And honestly, I feel they glossed over Tony's sadness for Peter being gone by wedging her in there. And... how is it fair for his daughter that he gets killed off when she's 5? Idk.

Natasha dying. Natasha dying that way, honestly, Natasha dying at all. And how they couldn't bury her. And don't even get me going about the new Guardians of the Galaxy, SPOILER: and how they managed to bring Gamora back? Who died EXACTLY the way Natasha did. The team needed her.

The hulk. Enough said.

Making Thors depression into a big joke. Making his alcohol abuse into a big joke. Glossing over how he legit lost EVERYTHING. Really bothers me. Bothered me then and bothers me more now.

Howard. Stark. Look...idgaf what the movie tries to push, Howard was a bad dad. He neglected Tony, gave him negative attention, always made him feel inferior and never showed him any affection whatsoever. And they want me to believe that what? He held him in this high regard and loved him more than anything? Yeah, no. I don't.

Would have enjoyed seeing more of how the blip affected everyday life.

More scenes with the Avengers rebonding.

Pepper should've gone in the snap. Yep, I said it. And it corresponds mostly with the bullet above here..⬆️ We deserved to see Tony bond more with his team, wish we could've seen him discover time travel with them. Instead it was randomly at home? Ok then.

Tony's death. But I know why it happened :(

Steve's ending. I could write a dissertation about how ooc that was for him, but I won't. Hated it for Steve, hated it for Peggy and found it rather creepy. You kissed that woman once, never dated her, and you go back in time to be with her? Not knowing if it'll even work out? No. That's ridiculous. And you leave Bucky and Sam behind? After all that crap in CW, you leave them behind? Nah. Boo on you, Steve. And man, the Russos reasoning regarding this end is the BIGGEST mindfuck ever.

What exactly HAPPENED to Steve? Did he die in the falcon show? I thought he was a super soldier? How the hell long was he in the past? He looked 75 years old, but Bucky looks 30? I don't get it. It's like the biology of the serum was reworked for this. 🤐 And done badly.

I guess Daniel Sousa is obsolete, huh? The man who actually had time to get to know and love Peggy? 🤷‍♀️ guess so...

That's all I can think about right now... but yeah, Endgame leaves me really depressed because I feel everything after has been subpar regarding the MCU franchise.

It could've been so much better...

[kayvsworld]

everything i learn abt infinity war and engame makes me feel like i am actively hallucinating

[fvzzyelf]

“I would never lie; I willfully participated in a campaign of misinformation.”

so said the liar! kurt is far from impressed. should he be? so many in this world are self-professed fans of this man and yet something about him in person is making kurt's skin itch.

or that could be the suit he was current wearing, something he had never worn before because he never had the money for such things. his nicest outfit had been khakis he had to cut up for his tail to fit through and a thrifted polo shirt that was now too small on his broader shoulders.

"ach, whatever you say," he grumbled sourly. "when can i remove .... this..?"

he gestured to the whole of himself, the fitted jacket, the tie, the crisp oxford shirt, all too much just then. his anxiety was making him feel too hot and having a layer of fur under all of this didn't help.

not that tony could see the fur, not that he could see a tail carefully wrapped in such a way that it ached a little against his thigh and made getting fitted for the suit a terror. he had refused to be measured the old fashioned way and told the tailor he would use the digital method.

the inducer, seemingly a men's gold watch on his wrist, felt hot too, as if it was being used too much.

he was okay being known as a new addition to this growing team, known merely as a man with teleportation and heightened agility, but no one knew the truth that lurked under forge's invention. kurt had never been on any public facing team like others, and so the world did not know and did not fear what they surely would think of as hellish and demonic and certainly not fit for one of the many new avenger teams being created post war.

[ronearoundblindly]

The Stark Legacy (19)

Delight, part of Book II: Mind (see previous or series)

Summary: The compound deals with everyday challenges alongside holiday struggles.

Warnings for canon-level language and discussion of drugs and abuse. Rated Teen, 15+ ONLY, please.

CHAPTER NINETEEN—December 2038

“Ok, guys,” Peter Parker started energetically, “I gotta get back to decorate the tree tonight, so here’s what I got so far.”

“Go ahead,” Steve allowed.

“Bad batch of drugs is killing kidnapped homeless people, and now some of the same drug has been interspersed in huge illegal shipments around the world,” Peter rambled.

“Why didn’t we catch this earlier?” Bucky was given exactly the time it took to walk from the quinjet to the conference room to settle in. After yesterday’s all-nighter and a long flight, he was in a sharp mood.

“I found out when I ran into two kids who were experimented on,” Peter said.

“Romanoff and Thor got very little out of the drug’s creator,” Steve added. “We’ve had this professor in custody for a while,” he continued, sliding a file over to Bucky, “and he’s a full-blown nut job, with too many connections. It’s been a joke trying to track all the crime this guy might be involved in.”

“Seriously,” Bucky mumbled, “I’ve been sunning myself instead of helping with this?”

“Buck, we’ve got dozens of agents,” Steve snapped. He had rested no better than his friend. “T’Challa needed you more than us.”

Bucky scanned the file. “You have to be joking. D-Lite?”

“Yup.” Peter checked his watch.

“That sounds like an off-brand soda.”

Steve sighed in frustration. “Parker has two informants, Tandy and Tyrone, was it? They told us where the experiments took place, past tense, and now we are trying to help them control…whatever it was that triggered in them by this heroin substitute.”

“Whoever it doesn’t change, it kills flat out.” Peter’s face sank, remembering the stories he’d heard from his young recruits. “And it gets a little weirder because the survivors said that Professor Marshall was helped by a demon.”

“What the hell—”

“Yup. Basically. Named despair, at least that’s what Marshall called him, it, whatever.” Peter looked at his watch again and punched in something on the table’s comms. “And that’s it for me, so Natasha can go from here. Bye.” He bolted to the door, yelling a “Merry Christmas” to everyone on his path out. 

Steve leaned over. “He told me earlier that Christmas is the only time his teenager isn’t a ‘total douche,’ his words, so he’s a bit excited to go home.”

Nat’s face popped up in familiar blue. 

“Boys, I’m sending you new info that we’ve gathered, but,” Nat paused, “this is a mess. Only a fraction of these shipments have been tampered with, and there is no way to test all of it. We’ve got to destroy everything we find. You can imagine how many friends we’ve made.”

“And the other doctor affiliated with Marshall?” Steve sorted a few windows on his tablet.

“Clint was tracking Dorcas until the trail went cold. It’s like he actually disappeared into the ocean. We asked King Namor to keep a guard up just in case. The Sub-Mariner said he’d heard a legend of D’Spayre,” Nat cleared her throat, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but according to Atlantian lore, the demon D’Spayre was created from the fear their ancestors experienced when the whole kingdom sunk into the ocean. Hell of a bedtime story.”

“Well, the devil attacked us last year, so…” Bucky was going to need some time to absorb all this, line the players up on the field in his mind. “Alright, let’s get more details from Clint. Fresh eyes can’t hurt.”

“He’s states-side now,” Nat clarified.

Bucky looked at Steve. His friend shrugged. “And Sharon is waiting for me at the house,” Steve said, tentatively, “her rule when I came back. Home for the holidays unless…you know, disaster.”

“Guess it’s just me, Doc, and Wilson,” Bucky grumbled. “When does Stark get back?”

Nat pursed her holographic lips. “Gamora and Rocket send us subspace messages, but Tony’s been out of range for weeks. There’s a whole other problem…I’ll have to…we don’t know much, so I’d like us to wait for Stark to brief us. We’ve got enough to handle now.”

“Fine,” Steve allowed again, “keep us posted.” Nat’s form vanished.

Bucky leaned farther back in the conference room chair, sorting through what he’d just heard and known for a while.

“I think I liked being lower on the totem pole,” he said tightly. “There was a lot less to worry about. Go here, kill this guy. Go there, one more. Chill out and do nothing for a few months—”

“Buck,” his oldest friend interrupted, leaning forward with hands intertwined, “maybe you shouldn’t joyfully reminisce about single kills, yeah?”

Bucky swallowed inside his clenched jaw.

“For right now, I need you and Sam to work together,” Steve continued.

“She’s in Wakanda,” he replied quickly.

“Actually, both of them. Big Sam seems to respond well to Lil’Sam, and I think she can help him focus during training.”

“I should have just brought her with me,” Bucky mumbled.

Steve sat up. “Wait. So who…”

It only occurred to Bucky as Steve trailed off. No one had invited Samantha home. No one had even thought to do so just in case. All the pieces moved on the chess board and swiveled right past her. Her only remaining family was zipping through space somewhere. Clint hadn’t known he’d be back until the last minute. Natasha was flying around constantly. Bruce—

As if summoned by the thought, Banner pressed the door open with his back and looked up from his tablet. “Hey, gang, can we talk about Sam?” Bruce looked up over his glasses, unaware of his timeliness.

Steve’s expression said it all. “Shit.”

Samuel Wilson shoveled food into his mouth as if he were starving. A few people wandered in and out of the kitchen while Bucky looked on, mortified.

“You’re gonna get sick, buddy,” Bucky said as if he too would be sick.

“I’m in training, man. I lost so much muscle mass—it’s a bitch to put back on.” Sam gulped from the huge water bottle he carried everywhere.

“Glad to see your mood improved after sleep.”

“Bite me,” Falcon coughed between fork-fulls.

He ignored that rousing invitation. “You seemed to respond well to Samantha,” Bucky started.

“Lil’ Sam,” the hungry, hungry hippo corrected.

 “—so I thought she could help us out the next few flights. What do you think?”

“Whatever.” Sam continued to eat. Bruce had warned Bucky not to expect much real interaction from Wilson. After waking up, the onslaught of high brain activity had plateaued, and his personality was still recovering, if it was coming back at all. Wilson’s moods still jumped around, and his focus was erratic. Bruce had suggested trying some unconventional, new methods of acclimating Falcon back into the team. This was as good of an idea as any other.

To Bucky’s surprise, Samantha jumped at the chance to help, and he could she her projection sitting on the disc in the yard as he and Falcon approached. He was even more surprised when Little Sam took the reins right away.

“Tell you what, Big Sam,” she started, smiling, an odd thing to see for the first time on a projection. It seemed foreign somehow. “You beat me at cards, and you can skip flying today. Deal?”

Wilson perked up immediately. He stood straighter. He smirked. He bounced in his step, what he’d several times described to Bucky as ‘swagger.’ “You’re on. That’s what I’m talking about. See?” He glared at Bucky, “not everything has to be serious.”

Samantha dealt cards onto her platform, scooting off to lean only her face and arms into the projection, and Falcon took off his flight pack and curled up in front of the circle like a kid with a new toy. Bucky watched for a few minutes. Wilson stayed excited, fun, sarcastic, and competitive, but even when Samantha had a good hand that beat his, Wilson playful congratulated her. He never got cranky; he never snapped at her. Bucky left them outside, keeping a watchful eye from just inside the building. He couldn’t tell who was winning the entire time because they both seemed so genuinely excited for each other. The two Sams clearly joked and chided each other, talked animatedly, and finally, both threw up their hands in shock.

Samantha did a small victory dance while Wilson pressed his comm. “Alright, Barnes, it’s flight time. Fair and square.”

The whole practice was derailed by Samantha’s intermittent challenges for Falcon to fly in a certain way or pattern, once was hands flat by his sides like Iron Man launching, another was a figure eight, but Bucky didn’t mind as soon as he figured out what she was doing. He never caught her eye to confirm, but Samantha deliberately asked Wilson questions during flight, rehashed old memories, and left small details for Wilson to correct. Bucky suspected she was testing him, yet Wilson became his old self for the first time in half a year.

Sixty minutes became ninety. Ninety minutes became three hours, and still, Falcon flew strong. He’d successfully flown by a neural link alone twice without noticing because Samantha suggested he show off his dance moves. After a particularly fluid, in-flight Bruno Mars impression, Bucky clapped for Falcon’s achievement, assuming Samantha was equally impressed. When he turned to look, however, she wasn’t on the platform anymore. He could only see a combat boot on its side at the circle's edge.

“Sam,” he called, “did you trip?”

The foot did not move.

“Samantha,” Bucky tried with more urgency, “are you okay? Say something. We can’t see you.”

There was a quiet moan, and the foot dragged off out of view. “Ow…”

“Seriously, are you alright?”

“Lil’ Sam, come on. What’s up?” Wilson sauntered up. “You still got two left feet?” Bucky could hear the calm tone, but Wilson’s face showed only concern. They stood looking into thin air, helpless, unable to even reach out a hand.

Finally, a hand stuck itself into their view and gave a shaky thumbs up. A strained chuckle vibrated through the speakers. “I—I—just I need to eat is all.” Her voice was too quiet.

“What the hell? How long has it been since you ate?” Bucky put his hand to his forehead, demanding, “go into my place and eat something. You fainted.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll go lie down too.”

“I’ll send someone to check on you,” Bucky added.

“No,” Samantha said, leaning into the circle, her face stern, “I’m not built like you guys. I’ll just rest and see you tomorrow.” She switched off the platform from Wakanda.

“What’s wrong with Lil’ Sam?” Wilson stopped immediately in front of Bucky, so close Bucky could feel his breath. “Is she sick? Why didn’t she come home? She should be here.” The anger rose quickly in his voice.

Bucky raised his arms defensively without touching Sam. “Honestly, I don’t know. I wasn’t told to bring her back, and—” He stopped, himself a little hurt by the reality. “No one…” Wanted her home? That was a cruel way to put what seemed like a simple oversight. Asked her home? Did a Stark actually need to be asked to do anything? She could feasibly do whatever the hell she wanted, and did from what he saw. Remembered her? Bucky had to admit that he repeatedly forgot about Sam until he found a use for her today. “You’ll see her tomorrow, Sam. I’ll make sure of it. She’s fine. I’m looking after her.”

Falcon stormed off, knocking him against the shoulder hard as he passed. “You better,” he hissed and mumbled about food on his way inside. The quick turn of his friend’s dark mood shocked Bucky. They’d been doing so well.

Bucky thought back to years ago when Wilson had been so ashamed of falling out of touch with Samantha. How close had they really been? He flicked back through the recording of their card game. 

“—I definitely taught you how to bluff better than that—”

“—when you trained me to beat Nate with that trick shot before his basketball tryouts? He was pissed for weeks—I studied all the birds around the farm. I was gonna tell you all about them on your next visit—”

“—I should have taught you a good punch for those kids who called you that—”

It reminded Bucky of all the fellow soldiers at Lehigh who took over parenting him after his father’s accident. He had pieces of friendship and advice from everyone, but he remembered how sometimes the niceties only made him feel his loss more deeply. No single person could replace his father, and the more and more support he got, the more alone he felt when no one was around. His own father had died though; how did Sam feel knowing her father was still alive but took no part in raising her?

Bucky had always understood Stark’s perspective, perhaps because he felt so deeply responsible for how Tony became the man he was. Tony lost his parents to violent, evil forces, and after a period of burying his head in a bottle, he worked constantly to stop that from happening to anyone else. It was a full-time, all-time, forever job that only grew bigger and more complicated as the years went on. Now Earth needed two super soldiers, demigods, aliens, lab accidents, young drug-created recruits, and a veritable army of Inhumans running whole departments in every region just to keep evil at bay. Giving up on that to raise just one child alone, without her mother, the love of his own life, was such a foreign skill set, why wouldn’t he have outsourced it? 

After all the pain he put those he assassinated through, Bucky would never choose to be tortured by reliving what he’d done to their families. He would admit it, go through it for their benefit if he must, but if he didn’t have to, he would hide in a shitty apartment in Romania. Which is exactly what he did once. So Bucky had never blamed Tony for living separately from his daughter. Bucky shoved his head in the sand, hoping the world would heal and move forward without him; Tony dove head-first into protecting the whole world and hoped his daughter would be safer for it.

She was safer, in a way, but Samantha wasn’t really Tony’s kid anymore. She wasn’t really anyone’s kid entirely, and even though the responsibility had been spread thin over a dozen or so people over the years, no one, in particular, claimed her. Big Sam and Little Sam had obviously started a friendship that looked like family, but it died somewhere over the last decade. Bucky stood mesmerized by the ease at which the Sams picked up interacting with each other; he’d never seen Samantha so comfortable, friendly even. It was a little unnerving, like watching a stage performance before the curtain closed.

The footage paused when a message from Samantha popped up on his tablet. “Big Sam counts cards without knowing it. Can be distracted from doing it, but is capable of complex cognitive tasks he could not previously do. Tell Bruce.”

So, she really was testing him. Smart girl.

[Chapter 20: Nourish]

[mellpenscorner]

A solution to the last scene in Endgame...

(taken from this longer post of mine)

Instead of an offhand comment and an awkward pat >> Steve and Bucky share a longer hug. Instead of Steve sounding like he’s brushing off Bucky’s feelings >> Bucky is the one who tells Steve “it’s gonna be ok,” reassuring him that he’s fine with Steve’s decision. Instead of Old Man Steve coming back and wrecking the previously stated Time Travel Rules >> Steve goes to return the stones and doesn’t come back at all. Instead of Bucky looking #disappointedbutnotsurprised >> while Bruce and Sam are freaking out, Bucky assures them that this was Steve’s plan. Instead of Bucky not talking to Steve and Steve handing Sam some miraculously un-broken shield >> Bucky pulls Sam aside and presents him with the pieces of the shield that Steve had all those years. Sam offers them back to Bucky, who insists that Steve wanted Sam to have the shield. Instead of us having no idea if Steve even told Bucky what he was going to do >> Sam asks where Steve went, and Bucky smiles and says he got a life. 

We still cut to Steve and Peggy dancing.