#clint at this point is going for a record in debt

[movedto-mastcrmarksman]

❝ Do you have a kink for losing money on me? I'm starting to think that you do. ❞ There is no way he was paying a dime for the drones, considering the fact that he's just shot down and kicked another drone. Now the Tin Can Man was not suppose to see him do that; he was going to try to frame this seagull that's flown way too inland or on teenagers. Teenagers were always good scapegoats, especially the ones in his neighborhood.

See he could be doing his paperwork, but there's a rebellion to be fought here. Given he has accumulated over ten years worth of paperwork (in his defense once again, reality was reset once or twice), at this point he was fighting for his life and country to be forgiven for creating a massive problem with the Foundation's system.

That, and all his requisition requests for completely necessary cans of shaving cream or banana cream pies for groceries.

At this point, Tony should be thanking him for the public service he was doing. Being wildly defiant (truthfully he was overwhelmed with all the paperwork which only led to further accumulation; it's a pitfall trap he keeps falling in) was his middle name.

Clint laughs, but he knows that was no empty threat. He can't ever blame inebriation anymore for admitting that Tony Stark was hot; gorgeously handsome, and it wasn't entirely part of the well duh, people magazine said so, and more in the the still has a photo saved of Tony lounging by the West Coast Compound's poolside kind of photo. He looked really good in that photo (for a lot of reasons).

❝ No, really, do you have a thing for harassing me specifically? It's starting to feel pretty personal the millions of dollars, are we up to the billions, you spend on me. ❞

No way in hell is he confirming that it was the hot thing; Tony really won't let him leave it down. If all the Avengers ended up in a retirement home, he's sure that Tony's gimmick would be reminding every nurse that Clint Barton found him hot ONCE.

"Is it because of the drones I had harassing you about that paperwork that you used for target practice, or is it because you admitted you think I'm hot out loud. Unclear." Ugh. How many times does he have to stress to the Foundation: Paperless! Paperless paperwork, there's an app now and everything for this stuff, he knows because he wrote it himself to make this - flipping through a file folder an inch thing bristling with those color coded sticky tabs - a relic of the past. And yet here he is anyway, having to put his eyeballs on and sign off on actual hardcopy requisitions requests.

Again.

"If it's the first thing, do you want me to hit you with the bill now, or when it starts to accrue interest, because those drones cost actual real people money." He pulls out a paper from the stack in the folder and scowls at it. Who the hell is requesting five cases of balloons a pallet of shaving cream cans, absolutely not. No predictive ability needed to see where that shit's going. "If it's the second thing, no, I'm never going to let you forget it, so don't bother."

[wanderingthroughwonder]

Miranda’s Fic Recs

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while because I just have a lot of fics in different fandoms that I truly enjoy. These are mostly long fics because that’s what I read the most. Fandoms included: Teen Wolf, Harry Potter, MCU, Star Trek, Kingsman, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Find them below! (Some fanfic spoilers ahead)

So I’m starting with completed fics and then I have a few not completed fics at the end that I’m just really liking.

Embers by Vathara

Rating: Not Rated, Word Count: 704,200 Fandom: A:TLA

Dragon’s fire is not so easily extinguished; when Zuko rediscovers a lost firebending technique, shifting flames can shift the world....

This is an Avatar: The Last Airbender rewrite. It’s Zuko centric and it splits off while Zuko and Uncle Iroh are on the run and Zuko learns of healing firebending. The world building is so good and interesting and the whole fic does a great job of reimagining the A:TLA world. You meet a lot of new characters that are super well written and fit the world nicely.

The Debt of Time by ShayaLonnie

Rating: E, Word Count: 715,940, Fandom: Harry Potter, Ship: Hermione/Sirius

When Hermione finds a way to bring Sirius back from the veil, her actions change the rest of the war. Little does she know her spell restoring him to life provokes magic she doesn’t understand and sets her on a path that ends with a Time-Turner.

This fic is so good and I’ve reread it before. I love Hermione centric fics and this is definitely one. When she goes back in time she goes through school again with the Marauders and it’s so good you guys. I think the fic does such a good job of showing her grow with these new people. The relationships in this fic are so intense and I love them.

Hook, Yarn, Sinker by pprfaith

Rating: Not Rated, Word Count: 65,675, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Peter

Stiles is happy with his store, his hobbies, his friends. Peter’s just trying to figure out how to raise his nieces and nephews without fucking them up too badly.

Paths cross.

This is the first in a series of fics. It’s a Human AU with aged up Stiles and friends but with little kids Derek, Laura, and Cora. This fic is a good time and sweet and honestly low stakes which is so nice to have these days. I think a lot of Steter fics are more intense and I enjoy them but this is such a nice change of pace where you really get to know the characters in these fairly different circumstances. The whole series word count is 161,859.

A Sequence That You Never Learned by AnnaTaylor

Rating: E, Word Count: 64,624, Fandom: Star Trek: AOS, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock 

“Spock,” Jim breathes out, completely overwhelmed by the gesture—not quite believing that Spock knows him so well, that he’s already started researching, that he trusts Jim with a member of his own endangered species.

When Jim gets it in his head to adopt an eight-year-old Vulcan, Spock presents a logical solution to the issue of Jim’s of humanity: marriage to a Vulcan citizen.

This was one of my first Spirk fics and I honestly love kid fics. Vulcan kids are so different from Jim, but I love the idea that Vulcans still love him anyway. This is such a great Fake Marriage fic.

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out by mia6363

Rating: E, Word Count: 13,232, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles centric but technically Stiles/Peter 

Commander Stilinski looks like he fell out of a propaganda video, his armor still smoking as he pulled off his helmet and handed it off to First Officer Argent. He had a few bruises down his neck but his smile was bright.

“Glad to see you safe and sound, Mr. Hale. I’d hate for Derek to lose a member of his family.”

“I told you,” Derek snapped at his superior, “he’s not worth this, Commander.”

This is the shortest fic on my list but I love this take. It’s got a Star Trek vibe and I LOVE how everyone is made into these different aliens. Stiles being human here is so interesting and it reminds me of those “humans are the craziest of the aliens” posts. It’s got multiple POVs and I think they’re written really well and do a great job of coming together.

Where Thou Art, That is Home by ShanaStoryteller 

Rating: Various, Word Count: 94,108, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

Stiles is 10 when he saves the Hales from their burning home and Derek from a wolfsbane bullet, and this establishes a pattern that seems to continue indefinitely.

“Then he’s facing a burning home, and he wraps the hood of his sweatshirt around his mouth before he pushes the door open and steps inside. There’s Mr. Hale asleep - he hope asleep - on the couch, next to - Stiles thinks that’s his brother but there are so many Hales, who can keep track. He rushes over and starts shaking him, can see the rise and fall of the man’s chest so he knows he’s alive, but he’s not waking up. He shoves away his hood so he can shout, “Mr. Hale! You have to get up, there’s a fire! Mr. Hale, get up!” Nothing, he’s not even twitching, both of them taking in deep even breathes like they’re having the most peaceful of rest, and Stiles is going to cry. “Wake up, wake up, wake up!”

There’s a moment where all Stiles can here is the blood rushing in his ears and not the roar of the flames or the creak of wood, then with a violent, silent pop it’s all back and both men are gasping awake, eyes open and jumping to their feet.”

This is another series! It creates a Hales Survive AU and it’s got BAMF!Stiles. The Hales in this fic are so interesting and it’s an expanded family from what we see in canon. Magic!Stiles is written so well in this fic and things get intense but it’s so good.

Counterpart by sara_holmes

Rating: M, Word Count: 217,400, Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ship: Steve/Tony 

coun•ter•part [koun-ter-pahrt] [noun] 1. a person or thing closely resembling another, especially in function. 2. a copy; duplicate. 3. one of two parts that fit, complete, or complement one another. 

Just because Hydra used the DNA of a Captain America from another dimension to create a lab-grown, six-year-old super-soldier, it doesn't mean that said six-year old super-soldier is biologically Steve's, right? 

(Where Steve wants to ban Clint from bringing things home from alternative dimensions, until he doesn't.)

This is an amazing kid fic. Things are so messed up because of how the kids was raised up to the point they find him.I love Tony so much in this fic but also you sympathize a bit with Steve. The kid whose name I will leave out is my absolute favorite. This is also a series!

Fallout by Whisper91 kingsman

Rating: E, Word Count: 164,971, Fandom: Kingsman, Ship: Eggsy/Harry/Merlin 

As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin is a registered Dominant. It's on his driver's licence. It's on his National Insurance card. Hell, it's even on his bloomin' GCSE certificates. And the fact that it's all a load of bollocks is a secret Eggsy had intended to take to his grave. 

Course, he hadn't been expectin' a bloody sub-drop to sweep in and knock him on his arse in the wake of the Valentine Massacre. Turns out grief and adrenaline ain't a good combination.

I really enjoy the dynamics between the three of them. D/s fics are always so amazingly well built and I love fics like this where they’re hiding their dynamic. I think this fic does a great job of going further with the D/S world and giving it more biologically. I just reread this fic recently because I love how it’s done. 

It’s Insanity But... by rosepetals42

Rating: M, Word Count: 71,477, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

The doorbell interrupts what had turned out to be quite the epic shoe hunt but, really, he’s grateful for the break. Or at least, he is until he heads down the stairs to grab the door, trips over a stuffed animal of some kind, bashes his head on the wall and barely manages to catch himself from falling down the entire flight of stairs. As with all things, Stiles would like to state, for the record, that this is Scott’s fault. 

Or: Scott and Stiles are raising seven children. Derek is the entertainer they hire for a birthday party (not a clown though, he’s very specific on that fact.)

This fic is such a good time! I love two bro’s raising kids together. It’s a hilarious setup and also just so good for the Stiles and Scott dynamic. Each chapter is like a slice of life. Some chapters are more about the kids and some are about Stiles and Derek. It’s just a fun fic and I love that it’s still got werewolves because I think a lot of fics that focus more on regular stuff go full on human AU. Keeping werewolves is much more fun and it’s so well handled here!

So Wise We Grow by Deastar 

Rating: M, Word Count: 81,248, Fandom: Star Trek, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock 

”Commander Spock, we have located your son,” the Vulcan lady on the screen says, which would be great, except Jim can tell by the look on Spock’s face that he’s never heard of this kid before in his life. “If it is expedient, the child will be sent to join you on the Enterprise within the week.”

This fic is two long chapters. Again, I love kid fic and this one does such a great job. We’ve got pining and hurt/comfort and all kinds of good feels here. There’s one line about t’hy’la that is just *chefs kiss* so good and hits you hard.

Play It Again by metisket 

Rating: T, Word Count: 63,206, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

In which Stiles goes along with one of Derek’s plans and ends up in an alternate universe as a result. He should’ve known better. He did know better, actually, and that means he has no one to blame but himself. “Laura wants to lure the kid in with food and kindness and make a pet of him, like a feral cat. Derek wants to have him arrested for stalking. They’re at an impasse. (And the rest of the family is staying emphatically out of it in a way that suggest bets have been placed.)”

This is fairly Stiles centric. It really looks into the emotions of jumping universes. The alive Hale family is so good and it’s magic!Stiles which is always interesting. What I think makes it extra good is that in a lot of universe jump or time travel fics it’s more about adjusting to how things will be now. But this fic does that while also having the new universe with its own problems. It’s just fun to see Stiles deal with all these things.

Happy Lights by LadyShadowDrake

Rating: E, Word Count: 108,237, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Mixed 

An interdimensional portal opens over New York and drops a tentacled alien in the middle of Central Park. The Avengers are called out to investigate, and hopefully return the visitor home. Steve has been brushing up on his diplomacy, but he never expected to be a liaison to an alien in such an intimate capacity, or that the alien would be so friendly, and the unusual visit turns into the world's best team-building exercise.

This is a series that is so much fun. The alien (aka the colony) is so interesting and sweet in the long run. I love seeing the team grow and as you go through the series you really get to see more of them coming together. This is just a playful fic that you can have a good time reading.

Magpie by waldorph

Rating: E, Word Count: 57,648, Fandom: Star Trek: AOS, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock

Spock met Jim when he was 7 and Jim was 6. It has since been generally agreed that this was a mistake (or: the one where they grew up together and things are simultaneously better and worse for it).

This is such a deep dive of both Spock and Jim. It’s them growing up together and it splits off some as far as events that happen in canon. It ends before they become Starfleet. I think this fic creates such an interesting bond between Spock and Jim. I also really love where it goes as far as Spock not having grown up alone on Vulcan.

These are the unfinished fics. The first two are in progress and the last one seems to be abandoned.

Survival is a Talent by ShanaStoryteller 

Rating: T, Word Count: 353,015, Fandom: Harry Potter, Ship: Harry/Draco 

In the middle of their second year, Draco and Harry discover they're soulmates and do their best to keep it a secret from everyone. 

Their best isn't perfect. 

~ 

“Are you trying to get killed, Potter?” Malfoy drawls, stalking forward. Quick as a serpent himself, he reaches out and grabs the snake just below the head. It thrashes in his grip, but is no longer able to bite anyone. “This is a poisonous snake, and I doubt anyone brought a bezoar with them.” 

Harry glares. He opens his mouth, and feels the beginning the snake’s language pass his lips, and this isn’t what he wants, what’s the point of insulting Malfoy if he can’t understand him – 

Malfoy’s eyes widen. He slaps his hand over Harry’s mouth, “Potter, what the hell–”

This fic is in progress updated within 2020. It’s a rewrite of the Harry Potter series where Harry and Draco are soulmates. As you can imagine, that changes some things. I love this so much, I’ve read it like 3 or 4 times now. The characterization is amazing and I love the differences we see. Harry is Indian in this fic and the way it ties in is so good. You really get to see the difference in culture as well between muggleborns and blood traitor families and the purebloods.   

You great unfinished symphony (you sent for me) by ketchupcrisp

Rating: E, Word Count: 227,792, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Steve/Tony and also the whole Team 

The last thing Steve Rogers ever expected to see on a Wednesday afternoon was his (their) dead submissive tumbling out of a portal and practically into Phil’s lap, very much alive and frantic about Soul Stones and timelines and some other version of the team.

This is an AU but like literally. Tony comes from the universe we know into a D/S universe. The worldbuilding here - again like I think a lot of D/s fics excel at - is so good. It starts with everything a mess and things are intense. There’s multiple POVs which I think is really helpful in a fic like this where the relationships are so tangled. 

Born From the Earth by venusm 

Rating: E, Word Count: 277,602, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Tony Centric, Steve/Tony 

Tony Stark's born an omega in a world where that means he's supposed to follow certain social rules. He becomes Iron Man anyway: Fuck biology.

If only his biology (and the world) would quit fucking him back.

To start off, some warnings: this fic gets a bit messed up. It’s an Omega verse in the worst possible way at certain points. It’s not a fluffy fic. It also doesn’t get that far into the Stony stuff because it’s unfinished. Honestly I’m worried this writer has died and I’ve gone through the comments and looked for them online to see if they’re out there and just not writing but I haven’t found any proof of that. BUT ANYWAYS. This fic is intense but it’s such an interesting take on Omega fics. It gets pretty dark but that darkness is pre-Steve and I’m hopeful that one day it might get finished so I can see where it was going to go. 

[fablesrose]

Of Kings and Shadows XVII

Description: Y/n, a girl who seems to have found her calling. Being a SHIELD agent is like a dream come true. With a friendship starting to form with the Avengers, she’s the Queen of the world! What could go wrong?

Pairings: Avengers x reader, Loki x reader (eventually)

Notes: On Wattpad –> Here

Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Say what now?" Tony rocked back and forth on his heels to his toes, growing impatient.

Fury slid the file towards him on his desk, "I need you to look for any weak spots on these machines so we can take them down easily on your next mission."

Tony visibly clenched and released his fists, trying to stay calm, "And what happened to looking for Y/n?"

Fury took a deep breath, knowing this was going to get messy, "I'm sorry, but it's been too long with no leads. That can't be our main focus anymore, we have more pressing matters to attend to."

"So you're just going to give up on her?!"

"No, Tony, but we have to accept that we might not find her. We have missions that we need executing and oh I don't know, taking down Hydra!"

Tony's face started to turn red, "All these people!" He pointed towards where Shield agents were working just down the hall, "are just expendable to you aren't they!? All just little pawns ready to be sacrificed for your little game!"

Fury slammed his hands on the desk, "I cared about her too Tony!" The room became eerily quiet, the only sound was heavy breathing. "She was a good agent, I just can't put all of my resources into finding her anymore."

Tony rubbed his face in his hand while nodding his head in understanding. He took a couple of steps towards the desk and slid the file into his hand. He said in a whisper, "I'll look this over, get it back to you soon as I can..." He turned back towards the door, head slightly bowed.

"Tony."

"Yes?" He didn't turn around, only tilting his head towards the director.

Fury opened a drawer, "It-- It's been checked for sensitive Shield information, so if you want to keep it for her..." He gently placed a phone on the desk, making sure to give Tony his space.

Tony turned back around slowly, eyes flickering from the phone to Fury who took a step back. He picked it up gently and gave it a quick once over. The case was worn, well used. There was a crack or two in the glass screen protector, but the phone itself was in good condition. He sucked his teeth for a moment before patting his hand and pointing at Fury with the phone. He didn't say anything, but neither of them needed to. He exited the office and closed the door behind him.

Once Fury was alone he sat heavily in his chair. He didn't know what he was going to do with them. They were already hard to keep under wraps but trying to get them to work now was going to be a nightmare. Fury wasn't sure if he should be glad that he got Tony done early on. He was sure the most vocal, but the others can be challenging in entirely worse and different ways. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, closing his eye, it was going to be a hard couple of weeks and Fury needed all the rest he could get.

The file stared at Tony, the metal shavings and oil residue leaving stains around the corners. He really should be working on it, but instead, the lovingly used smartphone in his hand was occupying his mind. He didn't know exactly what to do, even if he acted like it. If there was one thing he did know, however, it was technology. Tony made sure he had Jarvis back up all the information, the notes, the pictures, the music that she lived by.

Tony tried multiple times to open the file to review it, but he found himself picking up the smartphone again and again. He was puzzled at first as he was sure she had a passcode to keep us, snoopy people, out, but she didn't have one when Fury passed it over. Not that it would make much of a difference since both Tony and Natasha were skilled at hacking with Clint having somewhat of a hand for it. Tony wasn't sure what Loki's abilities were, but he wouldn't put it past him. The rest of the team didn't have the technical ability or desire to pry... on Y/n at least. He came to the conclusion that since Shield looked through it they took the passcode off.

He kept flipping through somewhat familiar pictures and smiling at the old songs.

He wasn't the only one who wasn't moving on from the loss.

Natasha kept hacking into Shield and into the compound. She found all the security tapes with Y/n on them. Both Tony and Fury knew about it, but once they saw what she was looking at they let her be. She kept watching the footage, sometimes freezing the frame to see her smiling face, other times watching some of the happy moments together over and over again. Tony sometimes joined her. Not in person, but he would tap into her hacking session and watch what memories she would dig up. She was rarely alone while watching the recordings. Clint would join her. They sat in silence, hearts aching in tune, what would have happened if they had never dragged her into their missions? What if they were never friends in the first place? Fortunately, or maybe less so, they knew they couldn't turn back time, and loss was not new to them. With how long she had been gone, all they could do was hope she was dead, or if she wasn't, that she hasn't been suffering.

Thor was having a hard time wrapping his head around how to cope. He knew she was gone, but his concept of loss seemed different than the others. Maybe it was because he was a god and he perceived time differently. Maybe he came to peace with it more easily, honor, bravery, a true warrior, all that jazz. Or maybe he just had more time and experience to learn to hide it better. Despite his jovial exterior, most seemed to forget that he was from outside of human understanding.

Bruce buried himself in his work. He didn't want to talk to anyone, and if he did talk about Y/n everyone noticed an unnatural color rising up his neck. She was always kind to him, even if they were on a different page most of the time. He would have to leave the compound more often then he used to, get some fresh air. Tony didn't comment or complain when Bruce requested a jet to take him to a deserted wasteland. Sometimes it's best to just let it out and heaven knows the consequences to him bottling up the tension.

Steve never claimed to be close to her. He never claimed to be coping either. He hid behind his veteran demeanor, his captain mask. Steve tried to fall into his formal numbness, going to his go-to, "she was a good soldier." That was, at least, until Tony snarled at him, "We are not soldiers!"

Loki made sure to tread carefully. He knew first hand how much she meant to the rest of them and the means they would go to defend her. He mellowed down the snark and even most of his presence for a while. He was well aware of how much he grated on the others. The rest of the team didn't look any closer at his behavior and just let him be. Loki wasn't sure if he was grateful for that or not.

They all hit a little harder, ran a little faster, and worked a little longer. Caution was thrown to the wind, while also being increased ten-fold. Every camera was double, triple checked to be operational. Battles started to look more bloody, more messy, but oh so more satisfying. Backs were covered like an ironclad, but their own defenses had holes.

They knew it couldn't last forever, wouldn't last forever. They had to move on. This wasn't the first time they had lost someone, far from it. They also knew it was going to be far from the last time. For now, they took pleasure in beating, bruising, breaking, cutting, killing, bleeding. They used their anger for a little chaotic good.

The faint click and sliding sound of the shop door opening caused Tony to raise his head. He finally opened the file and started to review it, but the phone was sitting delicately under his fingertips on the bench.

Loki walked in, his footsteps light, but his shoulders not so much. The tension grew in the room, both men could feel it. Both knew that something better be apocalyptic for Loki to disturb Tony. And that was usually the only time Loki even tried.

"What do you want?" Tony was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially when he noticed the submissive body language that was so much different than when he usually saw him, but after the meeting with Fury and the stirred emotions of looking through the phone, Loki was standing on thin ice.

Loki started picking at his palm, "I- I heard Fury allowed you to possess Y/n's phone."

"Yes?" There was no reason for Tony to be angry, yet, but everything was grating on his nerves anyway.

Loki could hear the strain in Tony's voice and how he was trying to hold back. He tried to not be bothersome, but there was nothing Loki could do better. His eyes found their way to the phone just under Tony's fingers and he gestured a hand towards it, "May I?"

"Why do you care?! Are you going to break it like you almost broke her, huh?!" Tony exploded, his voice echoed around the machinery making his loud voice sound even louder. Tony wasn't sure why he brought it up. They had all gotten past it. No one really held a grudge from it anymore. Tony tried to reel himself in, but it wasn't working very well. He felt his throat clench and his eyes started to sting. He didn't say anything else for fear of what would slip out.

Tony didn't notice that Loki was slouching slightly until he straightened himself. His submissive demeanor faded, but he didn't turn aggressive, yet. "Y/n defended me when she had the power to leave me be and get injured, maybe die. I had yet to repay that debt. She was kind to me despite what I did to her. I understand your emotional state is tender at the moment. My apologies, I will take my leave." He silently turned around and began to head for the door.

Tony swallowed both his emotions and his pride, "No, wait, Loki."

Loki turned to the side so he could converse with Tony.

"I... I'm sorry," he nodded his head to himself, not sure what else to say. He tapped the phone screen gently with one of his fingers, thinking. After a couple of seconds, he picked it up from off the table, he held it out to Loki, "Here, take it."

Loki hesitated for a moment, that soft body language returned when he carefully took the phone from Tony's hand. He looked it over slowly, holding it with both hands. He turned the phone on and noticed there was no password. His eyes flashed with a bit of confusion, but then softened when he was able to see what apps she had. Loki's finger hovered above the music app when he came to it. He looked back up at Tony who was watching him curiously, "She liked her music, did she not?"

Tony let out a huff, "Yeah, I guess she did."

Loki nodded distractedly. He didn't say anything else before exiting the room just as quietly as he entered.

Tony puffed his cheeks and slowly let out a big breath while releasing the tension in his body. He looked at the clean rectangle on the table where the phone once rested. He sighed and attempted to focus on the file that he got from Fury but with Loki's visit his mind returned to Y/n.

"Jarvis, double your efforts on searching for Y/n. I want you looking at everything, especially any Hydra communication we have access to. We have to pick up Shield's slack."

"Of course sir."

TAG LIST: 

[twilightoftheapprentice]

I’ve been in the MCU fandom since it was just the Iron Man fandom because those were the only movies that were out, so in honor of the end of the Infinity Saga, here are some memories of what it was like in the MCU fandom just after it got big on here circa 2012-13:

I’m pretty sure we just called ourselves the Marvel fandom at that time. I don’t think MCU really became a widely used term until after GOTG came out. 

Seeing the phrase, “Love is for children, I owe him a debt” at least five times a day

People were also very into Nat needing to wipe the red out of her ledger

75% of the fandom thought Loki was the hottest person in those movies

Widespread dissatisfaction with the lack of a Black Widow movie. It was what everyone was talking about post-Avengers. If I hadn’t actually watched us go from that to complete apathy when it was finally announced five years later, I wouldn’t believe it.

The oft-discussed fanfics where everyone was just kicking it in Avengers tower

The fandom’s most pressing question was what happened in Budapest. It was a runner up to “chilling in Avengers Tower” in terms of the amount of fic written about it. 

Stony was the big slash ship  

Clintasha was the big het ship. I don’t think any other het ship has ever achieved that level of prominence in the MCU. Almost everyone shipped Clintasha.

I also remember a lot of people shipping Tony/Loki, a truly unfortunate amount of Thorki, and then Clint/Coulson for some reason? 

Thinking Clint Barton or Maria Hill might be important at some point

The fandom treating Joss Whedon like a god. I know there were already people out there talking about his issues, but as a whole, fandom didn’t really turn against him until AoU came out.

Thor was almost universally considered the boring one

The campaign to save Coulson. I rewatched recently and he wasn’t in the movies as much as I remembered. Why did we love him so much?

Not knowing the tesseract or the Chittauri sceptre were infinity stones and not thinking the solo movies were really related to each other

The gif of the Hulk flinging Loki around that was clearly made from a cam recording

The movie theater that accidentally displayed a fan-made Thorki poster for Thor: The Dark World

The collective shock when Mark Ruffalo was cast as Bruce Banner and the following debate over whether he would be able to live up to Edward Norton’s performance

Marvel and Harry Potter getting lumped in with Superwholock to create one unholy megafandom

Bonus: A couple things I remember from the pre-Avengers fandom, 2009-2011

No one knew these movies were supposed to take place in a shared universe until Tony Stark showed up at the end of Incredible Hulk

Prior to Captain America coming out in 2011, Pepperony was actually a huge ship. I remember being at the midnight premier of Iron Man 2 and the entire theater applauding and cheering when they kissed because we’d all been waiting for it for two years (Ant-Man should have taken notes honestly).

When the post-credits scene in Iron Man 2 showed Mjolnir, the entire theater went wild because a lot of people were finding out for the first time that there was going to be a Thor movie. It has been publicly greenlit two years before, but people weren’t carefully watching Marvel Studios’ every move at the time, so anyone who wasn’t big into the comics pretty much missed the announcement. Captain America’s shield showing up in Iron Man 2 was a big deal for the same reason.

[caps-lockdown]

Operation: Man Flu Part Five

Operation: Man Flu part five!

This is it folks the last installment of this fic! I’m constantly blown away from all of the kind words from all of you, especially since I’m new to this whole writing thing. I truly loved writing this, and even though I am SUPER sad to see it go, I’m really excited for what’s to come! Enjoy!

Pairings: Steve x Shield Agent Female Reader!

Words: 4,150

Ratings/Warnings: I’m going to put hard R here for the whole thing because there’s going to be cussing, mentions of sickness, alcohol consumption, physical fights, mental breakdowns. Jealousy, love triangles (sort of), and lots of crude humor. Just strap in.

Also no Beta so my mistakes are my only thing to claim, I don’t own any characters either, with the exception of the reader, a doctor, and some random characters here and there.

It is in Y/N (Your Name) L/N (Last Name) format. Enjoy!

Part 5

Monday 1130 Hours

“Where are they?” Sam questioned, tapping his foot impatiently as he and the rest of The Avengers sat at the table for their Monday morning meeting. Y/N was never “one to be late, and the fact that Steve “Mr. Punctuality.” Rogers was with her made it worse.

Tony sighed, clearly annoyed. “I’m sure they’re fine Wilson, take a pill.”

“But what if something happened to them last night? They never came back to the Tower!”

“Again, I’m sure they’re fine. If they were smart they probably ran far away from all of you man children when they had the chance.” Pepper added, sticking her tongue to Sam when he glared at her, before going back to staring at the large doors.

It was true, neither you nor the good captain were seen after you had left mid-afternoon the day before to get coffee. You were nice enough to have the rest of the team’s orders delivered, but even your phone went straight to voicemail when Sam and Nat tried calling you. It was beginning to worry your close friend, who had never expected you of all people to act this way. He just hoped you had a good reason.

As if on cue, you pushed through the doors that lead into the briefing room, a tired but elated looking Captain America at your heels. Everyone didn’t take long to notice your joined hands, and you felt a surge of pride when the room burst out in hollers and cheers.

“So sorry we’re late.” You quickly apologized, noting the glare both Sam and Tony were sporting towards you. “Traffic was murder. But we brought lunch!” You slammed the many paper bags on the table, Steve following suit with a case of soda.

“No, you don’t get to go M.I.A for nearly twenty four hours and expect us to just forgive you!” Sam huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “You didn’t call! You didn’t come home! You didn’t even leave a note! Where the hell were you Y/N? You worried us sick!”

“I would like to add here that Sam was the only one really worried about you. But he was extremely annoying about it.” Tony deadpanned, glancing over to the food and eyes instantly becoming wide. “Wait…are those cheeseburgers? From Kay’s?”

“As an apology for ditching you all last night.” You nodded, noticing the brunette licking his lips and slowly making his way to the table.

“You’re not out of this by a long shot Y/N. Explain yourselves!!” Sam clucked his tongue and pointed his finger at the two of you.

“We didn’t mean to stay out so late, honest.” You started, looking at the ground before meeting your friend’s inquisitive stare. “We just went for coffee…” Your heart raced as Steve lifted your joined hands to place a kiss on the back of your hand.

“Which lead to a walk in central park. Which lead to dinner.” The blonde added, you feeling all sorts of fuzzy when he didn’t break eye contact. “And then a night in with movies. Y/N here overslept and I didn’t have the heart to wake her. You guys did run her ragged the last few days. “

“You spent the whole afternoon and evening together? Alone? And all you did was eat and watch movies?” Bucky stated, obviously in some kind of shock at his best friend.

“Hey we had to make up for lost time.” Came your quick remark, giving Steve a quick kiss while the ladies almost sighed blissfully at the two of you. Bucky and Sam still looked skeptical, but Tony had full on forgotten about the whole conversation at hand, pulling a cheeseburger and fries out of the bag and wasting no time stuffing his face.

“What the hell Stark?” Sam growled, you laughing as Tony looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Who’s side are you on man?”

“I got Kay’s Wilson, all is forgiven on my end.” Tony muffled out, bits of burger falling out while the rest of the team joined in on the laughter.

“Traitor.” Sam muttered bitterly as you sat down next to him, Steve taking the seat opposite you.

“I’m so sorry Sam I really am. I know I should have called or texted I just.” You sighed, forcing yourself to look at him straight on. “I promise to let you know in the future.”

Your close friend leaned in closer to you. “Annnnd?”

“Annnnd I’ll give you all the juicy details later.” You whispered. Sam wasted no time clapping his hands and nodding at you, opening a bag and grabbing his own food. Everyone else followed suit besides you and Steve, the two of you grabbing breakfast before you came in.

“We can be friends again then!” You snorted as he bit into a french fry, groaning at the deep fried perfection.

“Now that that’s cleared up, I’m happy for you two by the way.” You gave a small smile to the red head at the front of the room. “Y/N you did mention that you had some footage from this weekend you wanted to play for me?” Pepper asked, and you had almost forgotten about the video you had recorded using Sam’s phone. Quickly snatching his cellular device, you made short work of finding a way to cast the clip onto the large screen. Everyone erupted in chuckles and laughs as Pepper watched her husband in horror.

“Do you have a kiss for your favorite hero sweetheart, or are you going to make me beg?”

“I honestly don’t remember this happening at all!” Tony cried out, watching Nat slap him hard across the face in the video, it shortly ending because you couldn’t stop laughing.

“You don’t remember a thing?” Nat asked, a perfectly arched eyebrow raised at the confused man.

“No…but that explains why my cheek hurt so damn much the next day.” He mumbled, another wave of laughter coming over the room.

“Man it really does look better in HD.” Clint called out, everyone agreeing with him. Tony meanwhile was trying (in vain) to suffocate himself with one of the empty burger joint bags.

“I really don’t think that will ever get old.” Bucky chuckled, pretending to wipe a fake tear from his eye. “Y/N I really don’t know how to thank you for that. Or this weekend for that matter.”

“Yes that’s correct, we are in your debt.” Your eyes moved to the god of thunder, shaking your head. “No no we insist. Anything you wish, we must try to make it up to you. Handling all of us was a major feat, and we owe you.”

You put a finger to your chin, pondering for a few moments before looking at Steve with a mischievous smirk, “Well, there is one thing I’ve always wanted to do…”

One month Later, 1700 hours

Nat stared down at her outfit. “Laser tag Y/N? Seriously? What are we, ten?”

You giggled, bouncing up and down on the balls of your feet as you stood in the foyer of the arena. You could hear the techno music blaring through the walls, all of you barely able to hear the gangly teen as he went over the “Rules” of laser tag. You calmly readjusted the vest, looking to your group of friends and beaming at them. Tony and Pepper rented the whole place for two full hours, complete with a pizza party afterwards.

“Yep! This is what I wanted, so deal! Now who’s gonna be the team captains?” Your eyes immediately shot to Steve, who was buckling the rest of his vest shut. “I volunteer Rogers!”

“Then I naturally, must be the other Captain.” Tony cut in, causing you to roll your eyes.

“Sure Stark, whatever floats your boat.”

“Do I get to pick first then too? That would also float my boat.” Stark’s remark earned an exasperated groan from you. The absolute gull of this man was going to drive you to commit murder today.

“Sure, unless Rogers has any complaints?”

“None from me Doll, let Tony have his fun.” The blonde smirked to you, your face flushing when he gave you gave your hand a squeeze.

“Great! Then I pick Y/N!” You choked on nothing, whipping your head around to see Tony sporting the biggest smile you’ve ever seen.

“Fine, then I get Pepper.” Came Steve’s cool reply, you suddenly feeling like this wasn’t a good idea.

“Bucky.” Stark pointed at the soldier, Bucky grumbling to himself about having his best friend ditch him for a Stark. The two of them continued picking until their teams had been formed. Team Tony consisted of Stark, You, Bucky, Clint, and Bruce. Steve had Sam, Nat, Pepper, and Thor. The teen signaled it was time to head in, you sidling up to Steve to wish him good luck.

“Take it easy on me out there? I don’t have as much on field training as Captain America.” You pleaded, the blonde shaking his head at you.

“Sorry Doll, no promises.”

“Can I give you a kiss for good luck?” Your eyes darted to his lips and then back to his eyes, Steve chuckling as he closed the distance between the two of you.

“Well I won’t say no to my best girl.” You leaned in, only to be ripped away from him by a cocky looking Tony.

“NO FRATENIZING WITH THE ENEMY Y/N!” Offering a small smile you were pulled into the arena, your team heading up to the upper level while Steve and his team stayed on the ground. Tony handed each of you your own communications ear piece, which you were more than thankful for, knowing Nat had brought enough for everyone earlier that day.

“Check check is this thing on?” You spoke into it softly, the static clearing out once everyone had theirs on.

“Hear you loud and clear sweetheart.” You smiled at Steve’s voice. At least you’d be able to hear him.

“Yea Y/N, prepare to lose!” Sam’s taunt crackled in your ear, you smirking as both Clint and Bucky took to perching on opposite sides of the room, giving your team a much needed advantage with Nat and Steve working together.

“Alright everyone, no cheating of any kind will be tolerated. This is your only warning.” Bruce threatened, all of you agreeing as the teenager outside began the countdown. Crouching low, you made yourself extremely small, fitting into a dark corner which gave you full visual access to both ramps coming up to the floor.

“Three…Two…One…GO!”

The loud techno music from earlier came as an assault to your ears from the sound system, the walls vibrating as the bass matched the beat of your heart. You could hear the sounds of other’s vest’s being hit, the game starting out with a bang.

“Is that all you got Rogers? I’ve seen better shots from seven year olds on Call of Duty!” Tony taunted, you watching as he ducked behind a large neon green barrel while your blonde boyfriend came running up the ramp to your left. A large flash of light to your right resulted in you bringing a hand up to your mouth to conceal your laughter. Sam had rushed the other side and caught Stark, shooting him square in the back.

“So you want to play dirty huh?” Tony asked before slipping into the darkness while his vest counted down the reset time. Well that can’t be good.

Meanwhile Nat was dodging shots from Clint and Bucky, flipping her way across the bottom floor while Bruce and Thor just kept shooting at one another from behind half walls. You could hear their laughter, happy that at least some people hadn’t been taking the game so seriously. Slowly creeping out of your hole, you made your way to the ledge, aiming your weapon carefully. Steadying your breathing you squeezed the trigger of the gun, pulling it when your target was in sight.

“What the hell? Who shot me?!” Nat yelled into the earpiece, you standing up to your full height and looking over the ledge.

“Gotta think faster than that Red.” Her eyes came up to yours, narrowing into slits as you blew her a kiss. Panic quickly set into your veins as she began making her way to the upper level, quickly scaling up one of the half walls and touching down maybe five feet in front of you.

“Fast enough for you L/N?”

Letting out a nervous chuckle you turned around. “You’ve got to be shitting me.” Pepper and Thor grinned at your fallen face, Pepper not wasting time and shooting you.

“Nice shot Missus Stark.”

“Thanks Lightning bolt.” You flipped them the middle finger, stomping off to find another hiding spot before your vest signaled to the others you were fair game again. The carnage continued on for another fifteen minutes, everyone getting really into the trash talk.

“Hey where’s Stark at?” Sam asked, you realizing you hadn’t heard from your captain in a while. “Tonnnnyy…oh Tooonnnyyy…Come out come out wherever you are…” Sam sung quietly, jumping into dark spots of the arena in search of him.

“Please never sing again Wilson. My ears are bleeding here.” Came Stark’s reply, you laughing as Sam’s voice cracked in annoyance.

“And what the hell are you doing?” You jumped at Sam’s bark, looking around to see if you could find the two of them.

“Obviously I’m busy. Go get your own hiding space.”

“That’s CHEATING! YOU’RE CHEATING!” The two teams ceased in an instant, all of you looking to the far left side of the room, Sam with his hands on his hips in rage.

“Who’s cheating?” Thor inquired, sidling up to you while Steve called for a time out.

“Seems like mister billionaire couldn’t stop himself from upgrading his laser.” Sam accused, Tony looking up at everyone while the lights came up. You could see the laser had been partially disassembled, and the genius had very much been tinkering with it.

“Come on, seriously? It was a few simple rules and you couldn’t follow one? You’re supposed to be Captain!” Clint snapped into the comms link, you looking up to see him wipe his face with his hands. Everyone on your team were feeling extremely pissed off at the current situation.

“I say we throw him out of the game.” Bruce suggested, Sam and Nat nodding in approval.

“What?! No come on guys, I just feel naked without my suit!”Came the billionaire’s half-assed plea, Steve having none of it.

“Tony rules are rules. You’re out pal.” You couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled out of you as Bruce and Steve hoisted the sitting Stark to his feet, Tony whining the whole way out of the arena. You shook your head, looking to the remaining members of your team.

“Well I’m not surprised, but who’s going to be Captain now?” Bucky questioned into the earpiece, Clint looking over at him with a shrug.

“I volunteer as tribute!” You raised your hand, Sam bursting into laughter while Nat shook her head.

“This isn’t hunger games Y/N. And you don’t need a bigger ego.” You pouted openly at Nat and your other so called “Friends”. Sam only nodded between laughs.

“She’s right Y/N. Not to mention the fact that you can’t seem to hit the broad side of a barn.”

“Hey now guys, let’s not be rude it was Y/N’s idea.” You beamed at Steve as he walked back towards the group, the music beginning to grow louder again. “You can be Captain Y/N. It’s not like you’re going to win anyway.” Amusement danced in his eyes while your face fell slack. “Sorry sweetheart. No hard feelings?”

“You’re going to eat those words Rogers, and I’ll be holding the fork when you do.” You growled, anger setting your adrenaline on fire as he gave you a playful wink.

“Promise?”

“Would you two please quit with the foreplay and get back to the game? Geesh. Save it for the bedroom.” Sam pushed you aside, heading back into the fray as the sounds of lasers and yelling became the background vocals to the room shaking music. You smirked at the tall blonde as the room began to darken, you using it to your advantage and running your hand up his left arm. You could hear him take in a sharp breath, closing his eyes while you lightly traced his muscles with your fingertips. You let your hand cruise up to his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze before letting it graze along his back muscles, watching them tense under your touch.

“May the odds be ever in your favor, Captain.” You whispered hotly at him, rushing to duck into a small tunnel when he whipped around to grab at you. Covering your mouth you went back into stealth mode, managing to score a couple times by shooting Sam and Thor without them figuring out where you were. It wasn’t that you were a terrible shot, you just hated shooting without concentrating. You couldn’t fire on a whim, not that there was anything wrong with that. Just made laser tag very difficult.

“On your six L/N.” Your head snapped as Tony’s voice rang into the comms link, you narrowly avoiding a shot from Pepper and retaliating with a shot of your own, nailing her in the shoulder. “Sorry honey. I love you.” The female Stark only responded by flipping off the nearest camera, plunging back into the darkness.

“No interference Stark.” You squinted to see Nat’s figure coming into view, chuckling at how seriously she was taking this. “Time for some payback Y/N.” You didn’t have time to react as the redhead knocked your gun out of your hand, pulling up her own to take a shot at you. “Any last words?”

Smirking you brought your chin up to glare at her defiantly, looking above you. “Just one. Barton.” Moving within an instant you moved her gun out of the way in time for Clint to shoot her from the top part of the arena. Giving him an air high-five you ran the opposite direction, laughing the whole way. You could hear Nat screaming obscenities to Clint without using her earpiece. I owe you one Barton.

~~~Sometime later~~~

“Alright guys, your scores are nearly tied, you can still pull this win out Y/N. Just focus. And don’t get shot.” You rolled your eyes as Tony continued his commentary, the game getting to you and wearing you down. You couldn’t help but feel like your head was in a fog for some reason, your movements becoming slower. Trying to shake it off, you continued to hide in your safe space, listening to the others still battling it out.

“You gonna come out of your ivory tower up there Barnes and face me like a man or are you too chicken shit?” Your pulse began to pick up at the sound of Steve’s gravelly taunt on your comms link, you bringing a hand up to fan yourself. Jesus this man was going to be the death of you. Was it hot in here or was it just your gorgeous boyfriend? His “take charge” tone always did wonderful things for you physically, but you were honest to god glad this wasn’t directed your way. You’d surely turn into a puddle if it had been.

“Rogers you are only saying that to impress Y/N. We both know I’d kick your ass six ways from Sunday.” Bucky scoffed, “But if you insist on embarrassing your girl, then I will be happy to oblige.” Noticing movement above you, silently you began to scope out the best viewing point for the show that was about to go down.

“I’m calling a personal truce, just so I can watch this.” Sam said, placing his laser gun to his side, everyone else of both teams following suit. That didn’t include you. You kept to the right, staying hidden and watching from afar. Steve and Bucky met in the middle of the ground floor, only a few barrels and a half wall separating them. Steve had this look in his eyes that made you go a little weak in the knees. He looked so determined, jaw tight to match Bucky’s calculating stare. That’s the guy you were dating. And you couldn’t root for him right now.

“Let’s dance Stevie.” Bucky called before rushing forward, diving over a barrel and taking a well aim shot at Rogers. The blonde ducked to dodge the shot, and did so, but barely. He took to running to take cover behind the half wall, the one that was currently in front of where you were crouching. You took this moment to admire his amazing backside, thanking the big guy upstairs that for the last month you got to go home to that fine specimen. God bless America’s Ass.

“What’s the time left Tony?” You whispered into your ear piece, trying not to reveal your prime location of perverted real estate.

“Fifteen seconds. Both of your teams are tied. Someone needs to shoot someone already.” Tony complained, tired of watching the two men dodge shots and miss their own.

“No problem.” Was all you said, stepping out of the shadows and aiming your weapon carefully. Taking no time you pulled the trigger, nailing Sam, Nat, and Thor within seconds. Pepper was out of your range so you settled on your beloved blonde boyfriend, watching as he turned around as the clock counted down.

“Sorry sweetheart. No hard feelings?” Pulling the trigger you watched as he failed to move in time and the beam of green light hit him in the chest. The alarm sounding the end of the game was muted to you from your heart thumping in your ears. Not sparing Steve a second glance you walked confidently out of the arena, your team cheering for you. Tony clapped you into a one armed hug when you reached the main lobby, already having helped himself to some pizza and beer.

“That was incredible Y/N! That’s how you play laser tag! I’m sorry I doubted you.” Bucky congratulated you, your other teammates chanting your name. Taking a bow you laughed as a very sad Steve entered your line of sight, pouting and holding his chest like he had actually been shot.

“Come on it’s just a game sweetheart. I would never actually shoot you.” You cooed, but it came out a bit raspy.

“You alright Y/N?” His demeanor changed at an instant, taking in your slightly labored breathing with a worried glance.

“I’m…I’m fine Steve.” You coughed out. “Just different air than in the arena.”

“Don’t be getting sick on me.” He chided, you waving him off and going to load up a paper plate with breadsticks and stuffed crust pizza.

~~~Two Days Later~~~

“Gentlemen, seriously. I’m fine.” You got out in between sneezes, looking around your bed to find Earth’s Mightiest Heroes staring at you. “Doc says it’s just the flu. It’ll be over in a few days.”

“Then we shall help you recover!” Thor shouted, you wincing as the god of thunder took off out of Steve’s room. You had stayed over after your victory, waking up at two a.m with a fever and the shakes. Of course your boyfriend was nothing short of amazing, bringing Doctor Hooper to check on you. He got you whatever you needed after Hooper diagnosed you. Word had spread quickly that you had fallen ill and now you had to deal with these men all over again.

“Do you need your pillows fluffed?” Bucky asked, Sam running into the room like his ass was on fire.

“Does your grams chicken noodle soup recipe say two carrots?” You held up a weak two fingers.

“I picked you up the cherry medicine, I hope it tastes better than the foul purple liquid did.” Thor returned, handing you the small shot glass of medicine which you downed instantly.

“I brought fresh, cold water.” Tony chimed in, placing the bottles on the table. Your heart swelled with appreciation as Steve stood at your side, smiling down at you. You sighed as his hand brushed through your hair lightly.

“I’m not leaving you. I promise Y/N.” His voice was soft, filled with tenderness as you recalled saying those same words to the super soldier when he was sick.

“Thanks Steve. I don’t deserve you. Any of you.” You corrected yourself, the men around you smiling before breaking apart to help make you more comfortable.

“Just don’t ask us to make sure you don’t die in the shower Y/N. That’s officially Roger’s job.” Sam chuckled, walking back out of the room to check on the soup.

“Damn right it is.” Steve whispered, dropping down to kiss your forehead while you started to drift off. There were perks to being sick after all.

The End

Tag list: @kaytizzle @cuffski @giggleberts

[thepartyresponsible]

another fill! this one is for @plantgrapes, who asked for a bodyguard and rockstar au with clint and jason. i got a little carried away, so i’m just posting a snippet of it now. i’ll post the rest of it on ao3 later.

“No, come on,” Clint says, horrorstruck, betrayed. “Coulson, please. Come on.”

“You have your assignment.” Coulson doesn’t even blink as he pushes the folder another inch or two across the desk. “I’d focus on packing, Barton. Your flight leaves in an hour.”

Clint hunches forward in his chair, buries his head in the hand that’s not currently wrapped in a brace. Beside him, he can hear Natasha doing that thing she does, where she politely clears her throat instead of laughing in his face.

“Too bad, Barton,” she says. “Maybe you should stop jumping off buildings.”

“Yeah,” Clint mumbles, “or maybe I should aim for the sidewalk instead of the dumpster.”

“We’re all very sorry,” Natasha says, not quite rolling her eyes, “that you have to spend the next four weeks hanging out with rock stars instead of hunting war criminals in Somalia.”

Coulson drops another file on the desk. “Don’t be too sorry,” he says. “You’re going too.”

The smile evaporates from Natasha’s face. “What,” she says, flat, disbelieving. For that one, beautiful moment, this whole clusterfuck is almost worth it, and then Clint remembers: rock stars, tour buses, bodyguard duty, and it’s not worth it at all.

Clint skims the file, but reading while flying always gives him a headache, so he decides, as usual, to let Nat take care of all the complicated interpersonal bullshit. He knows all he needs to know. Someone with money is trying to kill at least two members of The Outlaws, and SHIELD’s involved because someone, somewhere, called in a favor.

Or maybe because someone, somewhere, is holding a grudge. It’s difficult to tell if their primary objective is supposed to be protecting the band or eliminating the hitman. Even Coulson hedged, when Clint asked.

“Well, here’s something redemptive,” Natasha tells him, as Clint fusses with the tray table and considers faking a heart attack. “They’re French history scholars.”

“No,” Clint says, “stop it.”

“Their latest single,” she continues, holding up her phone, “is about guillotines.”

Clint squints at the cover art on the screen. “Is that the president?” he asks. “Is that the president’s head in a basket?”

She nods, mouth curling up. “It’s called ‘Let Them Eat Debt.’”

Clint considers that for a long moment and then nods. “Listen,” he says, “about our suicide pact.”

“We don’t have one,” she says, as she reaches into his hoodie pocket to steal his headphones.

“Yeah,” he says, “that’s what we need to talk about.”

She shakes her head, still smiling, and hands him one of the earbuds. “Calm down,” she advises. “They’re not that terrible.”

“Nat,” he says, as she starts the first track, “I can already tell this is shit. You can’t dance to this.”

“You can’t dance at all,” she reminds him, because she’s cruel, and merciless, and can dance to anything, at any time, no matter how much vodka she’s had or how much blood she’s lost. “Now, stop whining, and listen.”

They aren’t terrible. They’re just young, and pissed off, and loud about it, and Clint has no patience for that kind of thing.

“I was right,” he says, when the song ends. “You can’t dance to that.”

“You can’t,” Natasha repeats, as she scrolls through the available albums. “I’m going to play this the next time we get a raid. The only thing it’s missing is gunfire. And arterial spray.”

Clint is assigned to the lead singer. Nat gets the drummer, a nervy combat vet who voluntarily goes by “Bucky,” has a prototype prosthetic, suspiciously nice hair, and PTSD.

“Can we switch?” the singer asks, hand in the air like they’re in high school. He’s Jason Todd, and, as far as Clint could tell from his file, his hobbies are limited to playing music, being unfairly attractive, and getting into fights with anyone who holds still long enough.

“Depends,” Natasha says, with a shrug. “Why?”

“For symmetry.” He jerks a thumb over his shoulder, toward Barnes, and then nods toward Clint. “They’d look great together. I mean, they even fucked up the same arm.”

“Jesus,” Barnes says, closing his eyes. “Jason, come on.”

“He might as well look good,” Jason says, shrugging. “Because he’s sure as fuck not needed for anything else.”

“Hell, Nat,” Clint says, shoving his good hand in the pocket of his jeans so he won’t be tempted to throttle this guy where he sits. “It’s almost like we’re not wanted here.”

“We were hired to do a job.” Natasha smiles at the singer, flashing teeth. “We are going to do that job,” she says, “and you are going to survive until the end of our contract.”

“You can both look after Bucky,” Jason says. “I’m fine on my own.”

“Jason,” Bucky says, quiet. He’s got that exposed nerve look to him, the listlessness that comes from being burned out, hyperaware for too long. He presses his lips together, gives Jason a look that’s a little too raw, edging toward pleading.

Jason stares back for a long moment. Clint reflects on how it’s going to be a real bitch, explaining to Coulson that he beat up Jason Todd for being mean to his own bandmate. And then Jason sighs, deflates, and runs a hand through his hair.

“Alright,” he says, narrowing his eyes at Clint. “But if you fall in love with me, I’m not singing you any Goddamn Whitney Houston songs.”

“Yeah,” Clint says, rolling his eyes. “That’s really not going to be a problem.”

Jason, somehow, gets to introduce them to the band. Allegedly, they’re undercover because there’s a chance some member of the crew is responsible for the murder attempts. Clint thinks it probably has more to do with Jason not being ready to admit that he can’t fight the whole world by himself.

“This is Natalie,” Jason says, pointing at Nat. “She’s a photojournalist. She’s working with Bucky. And Artemis, for the record, I already asked, and she’s in a committed relationship, so we’re preemptively enforcing the three-foot rule.”

Artemis looks up from her laptop. She eyes Natasha thoughtfully for a moment and then refocuses on her screen. “The three-foot rule is only for Harper,” she says. “About you.”

“Bullshit,” the last bandmate says, dragging himself off the couch. He’s Roy Harper, redheaded, gangly, and allegedly in recovery, although Clint hasn’t seen a sober man wear a backwards trucker hat since the early 2000s. “Jay loves it when I get handsy with him. The three-foot rule was about you and the paparazzi. And also those girls who followed Bucky into a bathroom once.”

“Into a bathroom?” Clint tips his head, feigns contemplation. “It sounds like you guys need some kind of security team.”

“What for?” Roy asks, blinking. “We’ve got Jay.”

Jason gives Clint an absolutely insufferable smirk and then says, “This is Clint. He’s, I dunno. My assistant, I guess.”

Roy assesses Clint, and his eyes stall out on the brace around his wrist. “Shit, what happened to your hand?”

What happened is Clint broke his wrist after he dropped from a three-story building and had a disagreement with the fire escape on the way down. What happened is Natasha was in the street, vulnerable, and he drew fire from two separate helicopters armed with machine guns.

What happened is classified.

Clint opens his mouth to give some kind of bland, believable lie, and then Jason starts talking.

“He’s, just.” Jason waves his hand, dismissive at first and then oddly graphic at the end of it. “He’s really bad at jerking off.”

There’s a long, pregnant pause. Clint spends most of it fantasizing about punching Jason in the back of the head. Bucky levels a glare Jason’s direction that suggests he’s having similar thoughts.

“Wow,” Roy whispers, staring at Clint. A curious, considering look crosses his face, and then he runs his tongue over his lip and gives him a weird little wave. “Well,” he says, “if you need any coaching--”

“Three-foot rule,” Jason says, immediately. “Jesus Christ, Roy.”

“I can just talk him through it,” Roy says, wide-eyed and earnest. He looks at Clint, and, somehow, he’s just sincere enough that it’s impossible to take offense. “From however many feet away you want,” he says. “Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Thanks,” Clint says, nonplussed.

“Don’t give up on your dreams,” Roy tells him.

“Okay,” Jason says. “We’re done.”

“I’m sorry about Roy,” Jason tells him, later, in a tone that implies he’s sure as hell not sorry about Roy, and, also, Clint can go fuck himself if he has a problem. “He’s not always—it’s been awhile since he had to talk to strangers when he wasn’t high out of his fucking mind, so. He’s not great at it. Sometimes.”

Clint’s faintly surprised that Jason made it all the way through that explanation. He’s seen people spit out teeth with more grace and good cheer. “Honestly,” he says, “Harper’s fine. You’re a bit of an asshole, but I don’t have a problem with Roy.”

“Good,” Jason says. He squints at him, chin ducked, jaw tight. Clint keeps his hands open and relaxed at his sides, can’t for the life of him figure out if this guy wants to fight him or not. “He’s my best friend,” Jason says. “I mean, there’s Bucky and Artemis. Who are also my best friends.”

“Sure,” Clint says. “Look, I just told you. I don’t have a problem with any of them. You’re the only one who’s pissing me off.”

Jason stares at him for a beat, and then another, and then, finally, he relaxes. “Fine,” he says. “I don’t give a fuck what you think about me.”

The fact that he cares what Clint thinks about the others is the first thing about Jason Todd that Clint’s actually liked. Other than his jawline, and how tight he wears his jeans.

“Good talk,” Clint says. “Now let’s talk about those unlicensed firearms I found in your tour bus.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about those. They won’t trace back to any of us.” Jason raises his eyebrows at Clint’s expression and seems to think further explanation is required. “I stole them,” he says, “from a bunch of drug dealers in Gotham.”

Usually, when Clint accuses someone of illegal activity, they have the decency to deny it once or twice. He’s caught, wrong-footed, because he hadn’t actually found any guns, hasn’t had any opportunity to search the tour bus, and what the hell did he mean he stole from them drug dealers in Gotham.

“Shit,” Jason says, narrowing his eyes. “You aren’t law enforcement, are you?”

“You know,” Clint says, philosophically, “the hardest part of being a bodyguard is protecting the client from themselves.”

“Oh, suck it up, Costner,” Jason says, rolling his eyes. “At least you didn’t work for any of those dealers.”

[imaginesofeverykind]

Quiet || Peter Parker x Reader ||

Characters: Peter Parker x Fem!Avenger!Reader

Fandom: MCU/Spiderman

Request: Hella yeah bless MY FIRST PETER ONE BuT @rafeadderall ur a gem I lov u [can i request a peter parker x reader where the reader is like super shy and reserved in his class or whatever and then he sees her again but on team cap lol? if u can? love u xoxoxoxox] (Requests are always open guys! Send Em through!)

Prompt: You typically keep to yourself at school, however, you have a secret that no one knows about you. You’re different, Just like Peter Parker was different. You both discover each other’s identity during the epic showdown between Team Ironman and Team Captain America. 

Tags: @rafeadderall (if you want to be tagged to get a notification when I post message me!)

Word Count: 2,902

Spoilers: Na, unless you haven’t seen Civil War then

A/N: Yes so my first Peter Parker Imagine, god bless Spider-Man: Homecoming it was such a great movie!!! This however is based off of Civil War so no spoilers unless you haven’t seen Civil War!

PART 2

Y/N sat quietly in her seat in the incredibly silent classroom. The only sounds were the ever so subtle scratching sounds of pen on paper as the other kids in the classroom attempted to nail their Spanish quiz. Of course, Y/N and one other student had already finished the quiz in record timing. That other student being Peter Parker. Both the two were in the top five percent of students who excelled well in any given task. 

They were also the only two students of the entire school to have secrets. Y/N since she was born was incredibly gifted, gifted with enhanced superhuman abilities and given that she was born with that she was able to hide it, hide it a lot better than Peter could despite him doing a well enough job keeping his Spiderman life a secret. Numerous occasions he was almost caught being Spiderman not just by Y/N but others too, like his friend Ned and Aunt May but somehow he still kept his identity well hidden. 

Peter liked Y/N not necessarily in a romantic way, but he appreciated her wits and intellect. He was nice to her but he wouldn’t go as far to say he had a crush on her, sure she was cute and all but it may have been because she was so quiet and to herself that tarnished that idea from Peters mind. Y/N felt mutually the same toward him, appreciating his dedication and smarts. 

The two locked eyes while waiting for everyone else to finish, offering each other a smile before averting their attention elsewhere. It wasn’t long until the others finished and the room was no longer silent and the students were off to their next class. Chemistry. Today’s Chemistry class was a lot different from the others, this time Mrs Cobwell had assigned projects to the class in pairs.

As luck would have it, both Peter and Y/N were paired and were just as awkward as they were when waving to the other down the hall. Now seated next to each other one would have to initiate conversation eventually seeing as both weren’t extroverted enough for that. Peter gulped and opened his mouth to speak. 

“S-so… uh… we could – we could do this… formula…” Peter pointed at his text book, her eyes gazed down to where he was pointing and nodded. “Sure.” The word slipped from her mouth, she was never a really nervous person, awkward for sure but not nervous. Unlike Peter, she didn’t tend to stammer over her words, but she often found it cute when he did. 

Suprised she uttered a word, Peter was left with his mouth agape and couldn’t form a coherent sentence. His eyes were racing around the room to find his friend Ned for some form of assistance, however, Ned had his back facing him as he worked with his partner Michelle. “Uh-um O-okay cool.”

She smiled and wrote down the formula and how they were to break it down individually before experimenting with the actual chemicals involved. The remainder of the class was spent silently working together, only occasionally exchanging words. Despite her silent demeanour, Y/N was one of the few people that actually understood where Peter’s tangents went, what he was thinking and how he was going to calculate things. 

It was a surprising day for sure, while their little interactions would be more frequent, Peter was glad to have been partnered with Y/N. She too had a unique way of thinking and he could most definitely understand how she thought. It was a little step into a friendship that was sure to blossom after the weekend. 

When school finally finished it was always a rush to get home for not just Y/N but for Peter too. For different reasons of course. Y/N lived in the outskirts of Brooklyn and often was quite the trek to get home within a reasonable time due to traffic and the occasional train delay. However today, her rush to get home was postponed by a call from a familiar old friend. 

Steve Rogers. "Hey - Steve? It's good to hear from you, how is everything?..... you know... you're basically a war criminal now..." she whispered the last bit, she was concerned, to say the least. After hearing of the Sokovia accords and Steve going AWOL. He chuckled over the other side of the line, "yeah - well actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Steve Rogers and Y/N had a rich history, he had met her in the aftermath of the Chitauri attempted an invasion. 

Discovering her abilities and offering assistance to her as she grew older. Y/N developed a strong bond with him given that he was able to relate to what she was going through. Steve, however, kept her well hidden from the other Avengers as she was only just a teenager barely sixteen yet. Despite this, he was fully aware that she was capable of much more than an average girl her age. 

She could take fierce punches and also give them, she was built like Natasha, himself and Bucky. 

“Oh... you’re not in trouble are you?” She frowned, pushing past people on the streets as she made her way back to her home. “well... depends on what you mean by trouble... I need your help.” Steve was calm and collected for someone with a bounty on his head by half of the Avengers. Her eyes widened and she stopped in the bustling street of outer Brooklyn. “My Help? What for?” 

“I don’t like asking you to do this, but Tony isn’t going to stop until I'm arrested until Bucky is arrested. I’ve asked as many people as I can to help us, we have to stop this Zemo guy or else a lot of people could die.” Steve felt guilty for asking a fifteen-year-old girl for assistance, but she was more than capable of helping. 

“What do you need me to do?” She questioned, picking her feet up in a much brisker walk as her heart pounded in her chest. “I need you to be able to help stop Tony and whoever he’s got with him, we need to do this. I understand it’s a lot to ask-.” She cut him off and smiled, although he couldn’t see it, “Steve, it’s fine I owe you anyway, after everything you’ve done for me.” 

Steve was relieved, yet remained guilty, he now had to be extra careful knowing that two of his forming two were young teenage girls. They both could handle it, but if anything bad happened it would be on him. “Just give me the instructions and I’ll be there.” She added, finally reaching her apartment building. 

“Pack your things, Clint and Wanda are on their way to you now.” Steve instructed to which she obliged and raised her eyebrow, “Clint? Clint’s back?” She had never met Clint Barton, but she had heard stories of him, much like the stories she heard of the other Avengers. Last she heard of Clint he settled down with Kids. “Just this once.” Steve assured, “I’ll see you in Germany. Thank you again.” 

“Anything for you Steve.” She hung up and raced to her apartment, trying to explain to her parents a feasible excuse to why she was going away for the weekend. 

The van was crammed with Clint, Wanda, Scott and Y/N as it parked in the sixth bay of a parking garage. It was surreal for Y/N to be meeting some of the Avengers. Clint noticed that she appeared to be nervous, chewing on her lip and looking at things to keep her mind at bay. “Hey, Steve’s told me great things about you, kid. You’ve got this.” He assured her, which made her smile. 

“Speaking of, here they come now.” Wanda pointed out as a busted up old car park’s beside them. Scott Lang, laid uncomfortably in the back as he tried to catch some sleep before the anticipated showdown. Hopefully, they wouldn’t need to fight anyone but Helmut Zemo. Clint was the first to get out of the car, curtly nodding to his old friend, “Cap.” 

Both Wanda and Y/N were next to exit the van, greeting Steve, Bucky and Sam. “You know I wouldn’t have called if I had any other choice.” Steve was grateful that so many of his friends came to his aid yet remained guilty. “Hey man, you’re doing me a favour, besides I owe a debt.” 

“Thanks for having my back.” Steve looks to the three kindly. “It was time I get off my ass,” Wanda assured, happy to be free from the confining walls of the Avengers HQ. “You’ve done a lot for me, I’m always going to be here to back you.” Y/N smiled, both Bucky and Sam were surprised to see someone so young, they weren’t sure how they felt about Steve putting so much trust into someone so young. “Where did you find her?” Sam queried looking to Steve. 

“Long story - how’s our other recruit?” He asked, referring to the drowsy Scott Lang in the back of the van. “He’s rarin’ to go. Had to put a little coffee in him, but... he should be good.” Clint opened the door to the van, jolting awake Scott. Groggily he picks himself out of the van, “what time zone is this?” 

Eventually, he exchanges a handshake with Steve, now being definitely alert after meeting his hero. “Captain America.” A look of amazement washes over him, it was strange to see the interaction between him and Steve for Y/N. So many people were amazed by him and yet she only knew him as the man who’s been a close friend of hers for quite some time. 

With all welcomes aside, an announcement rung their attention. Being in German Bucky was able to translate it for everyone who,  “They’re evacuating the airport.” Everyone exchanged a worried glance, Sam eyed Steve, “Stark.” he was positive that they would have to face off in a reluctant battle. “Stark?” Scott questioned, seemingly out of the loop than everyone else.

“Suit up.” 

“Oh I see you’re recruiting little girls now, huh?” Tony taunted, seeing Y/N stand confidently beside him. She was clad in black, a mask covering part of her face courtesy of Steve who didn’t want her Identity known by Tony, knowing he would use that against her. “Wow I pegged you for an asshole but I didn’t know you were a sexist asshole.” The words left her lips, the mask covering her face giving her more confidence. 

“Whatever it takes for you to back off.” Steve warned, Tony was surprised by the mouth on her but he was growing tired of the chit chat. “Anyways. Ross gave me thirty-six hours to bring you in. That was twenty-four hours ago. Can you help a brother out?” Steve shook his head, standing ground. “You’re after the wrong guy.” 

“Your Judgement is askew. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday.” Tony argued, his point was rather valid but nonetheless the wrong point. “And there are five more super soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't.” 

Y/N nodded, she always believed in sacrificing a few to save the many, and without The Avengers the world would no longer exist. “Steve... you know what's about to happen. Do you really wanna punch your way out of this one? And drag a kid into this?” Natasha was selective with her words, of course, she was being a little hypocritical given Tony had a kid up his sleeve. 

“All right, I've run out of patience. Underoos!” Tony Shouted, out of nowhere Peter Parker in a new and improved web slinging outfit flips over Steve and Y/N, successfully taking his shield and tying his hands together. “Nice job, kid.” Tony complimented. 

“Thanks. Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's just the new suit... Well, it's nothing, Mr Stark. It's-It's perfect. Thank you.” Peter rambled on, he was trying his hardest to impress Tony Stark given that he gave Peter this opportunity and a new suit. “Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation.” Tony made clear. 

Steve looked down at Y/N as if he was mentally telling her that she should focus on the kid on Tony’s side. More talking between the two sides ensued, both Tony and Steve reluctant to throw the first punch, but eventually it had to be done eventually. He held his hands up as Clint shoots through the webs and he looks to Peter, “Alright Lang.” 

Now the action and chaos began. “The kids all yours, keep away from Tony. Good luck.” Steve smiled at Y/N before dashing off, she took a deep breath and launched herself quite a long distance, landing in front of Peter. Neither of them recognises each other. “Oh - hey, I don’t want to hurt you! It’s just not cool to hit a girl.” He put his hands up in defence trying to be friendly. 

“Seriously what’s with you assholes? Fine-.” she gritted winding a hand back and sucker punching him in the face with enough force to drive him back several feet and stumble into a car, leaving a dent. “Wow-okay your strong... really strong...” He muttered to himself in a daze, still pressed up against the car. 

She stalked over to him, winding up another punch only he dodge it in time making her punch through the car’s metal exterior. He outstretched his hands and webbed her arm to the car so she couldn’t break free. “Could you do me a favour and just... stay there... I’d appreciate that.” Peter held up his hands and started to slowly back away toward the action elsewhere. 

Y/N shook her head and grimaced, using the adhesive of the webs to help her lift up the heavy car and lobbing it across the tarmac at Peter. “Oh God.” His eyes widened at the incoming vehicle, he just managed to catch it before it could crush him. “That's a -- that’s a nice throw you got there, you play baseball?” He gritted, still holding the car above his head before throwing it off to the side. 

“Need a hand, kid?” Tony’s voice startled both of them, he pointed his hand toward Y/N ready to fire off a shot but she pounced off the ground beneath her and hooked herself onto the back of his suit. Peter’s eyes widened, “Mr Stark!” seeing her trying to pull plates of metal from the armour. “I see you don’t like to play fair.” Tony grimaced and elbowed her in the face, she grunted and loosened her grip on him before falling well over thirty feet. 

Her body hit the ground leaving a sizable little crater around her. She hadn’t realised that the mask she once wore on her face was now gone as she laid in rubble collecting her thoughts. Peter was standing quite a distance away, unsure whether to check to see if she was alright or not, Tony picked up on his hesitation. 

“I suggest you do something before she starts kicking your ass again,” Tony instructed before whizzing over to Rhodey and Vision. Peter slowly picked up his pace making his way over to her, when he was close enough he was sure surprised. “Holy -- Y/N?” He was confused, to say the least. Kneeling down beside her as he examined the blood oozing from her nose. 

She peered up at Peter, still not knowing it was him. She drew back a hand and let her knuckles jam into his face, knocking him back with the force of the punch. “How do you know my name? Huh?” Quickly scrambling to her feet to regain composure. Her eyes were hard on the red and blue figure as he shook his head, trying to get out of the daze he was in. 

Winding up another punch, he stuck his hands up and shook his head, “w-w-wait wait - wait! Don’t punch, it’s me -- it’s me -,” he desperately tore the mask off his head, not wanting to get punched yet again by her, “- it’s Peter.” She stared at him for a moment, letting the situation sink in and she drew back her fist. “Peter? Parker? Oh my god.” She ran her hands through her hair, “you’re Spiderman?” 

Peter was taken back by this, he had never heard her talk so much ever since he knew her. It was almost surreal to see that the girl who was so often reserved and quiet was talking normally and she just kicked his ass. “Y-yeah and you’re... well... not like everyone else...” he pointed out making her laugh in relief and smile. 

In that moment the two no longer had to deal with their abilities on their own. Peter had met someone almost exactly like him and it was the very girl who he’d partnered with in a chemistry project. Y/N also now had someone to trust and confide in when things went awry. Neither of them suspected it, they couldn’t really, but now that they knew each other's secret it was the beginnings of an everlasting friendship. 

[queenlyfae]

I’ve got Red in my Ledger: An Exploration of Black Widow’s debts

“I’ve been compromised. I’ve got red on my ledger. Now I need to wipe it out.” In the film Avengers, Black Widow, in an attempt to interrogate Loki, comes to him under the guise of pleading for Clint, saying the above line. Now, normally this would mean two things: The Red Room, where she was trained, has marked her for her entire life. She aims to finally be free of the influence. Blood. She’s a former assassin, and the blood of her victims run deep. While both of those are probably true, there’s probably a different reason: She has a lot of debt, very likely to both Nick Fury and Hawkeye.

BACKGROUND “I’m Russian…or was.” According to Winter Solider was born Natalia Alianovna Romanoff, on November 22nd, 1984. In some MCU info, her birth city was given as Stalingrad, Vogograd.1. We don’t know much about her past life, if she had any family such as parents or siblings, if they’re alive or dead. One fact we do know is that she was very young when she got recruited.   Now of course, from what we learn from Agent Carter, the Red Room was a branch of the KGB, the Soviet Union security agency. According to official records, the KGB was around from 1954 to 1991.2            This means that Natalia was only seven when the KGB dissolved, but it’s entirely possible that The Red Room was self-operational at this point. In addition to her ballet training (as seen in a flashback in Age of Ultron), she was taught various martial arts, such as Karate, Akido, and Judo, and has also shown proficiency in multiple styles of Kung Fu. during her time here, she quickly picked up mastery in English, French, Latin (according to Iron Man 2) and at least several different languages. Oh, and weapons training.            When Natalia ‘graduated’ from the program, she was put under and had very likely a radical hysterectomy. We can assume that she was very likely in her late teens when this happened3. I’m going on the idea of a radical hysterectomy because while a regular hysterectomy removes simply the ovaries, she could still have children via a donated egg/IVF. Radical removes all chances of this. This is done because as Natasha states in Age of Ultron, a baby could be the difference between a mission for your country, and defecting.            From the way she talks about it, the operation was something she didn’t consent too, and was devastated by this.   THE RED IN HER LEDGER “Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Dreykov’s daughter?Sao Paolo? The hospital fire?” Shortly after the recovery from her operation4, Natalia was made a field agent and started working. It’s possible she could be working for the Federal Security Service, but then again, she could be an agent for The Red Room itself. During her tenure as an Agent, she committed several offenses and caused (likely) international incidents, in such places as Sao Paolo, and with such people as the daughter of someone named Dreykov. One incident that gave her attention was a fire in a hospital.            A Black Widow tie in comic suggested that the hospital incident was a cover up for an assassination. To make it look like an accident, Natalia started a fire, however it soon got out of control and killed several people.            Now of course, in a deleted scene for Winter Solider, Alexander Pearce suggests an incident involving a ‘Children’s Ward.’ this suggests to me that quite possibly this could be connecting to the previously mentioned Hospital Fire, in that the fire spread to the children’s ward of the hospital, but until Marvel decides to cover it in a future movie/tv series, I’m just grasping at straws here. ON S.H.I.E.L. D’S RADAR ”I have a very specific skill set. I didn’t care who I used it for, or on. Igot on S.H.I.E.L. D’s radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me, he made a different call.” At some point, Natalia got the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D, an international intelligence agency primarily based in Washington D.C., radar, likely due to the reputation she had built up over the past several years. Because she was a growing threat to society, Nick Fury, likely under the orders of Alexander Pearce/The World Security Council, gave the orders to Clint Barton to take her out. Burton, being a loyal shield agent, went to do so, but once he encountered her, couldn’t do it. He instead suggested to Nick Fury that they attempt to recruit her. You see Fury respects Burton on a level the previous Avengers haven’t seen. We see this in Age of Ultron, where Burton mentions to the other Avengers that when Fury came to recruit him, Burton requested that Fury allow for Laura and their unborn child to be kept off the files. Fury did so, even allowing Burton to set up his family in a home somewhere in rural America (despite the farm scenes being filmed in England) though it would be correct to assume that Clint, at least before the events of Avengers, probably keeps an apartment in Washington D.C. for overnight trips. We’re unclear as to when Natalia joined S.H.I.E.L.D, but she very likely she joined sometime before 20095, given how she said in Winter Solider (set in 2014) she was already working for S.H.I.E.L.D. when she encountered Bucky as the Winter Solider during an operation in 2009. Whatever the case, the defection must had been a hard one to make, for she was leaving the only life she ever knew to start over in a country where she only knew one person. However, this worked in her favor because Clint saw the poteinal in her. The two of them became more than just friends, they became family. She owes him her life and much more. DEBTS NEED TO BE PAID “Truth is a matter of circumstance.” Now of course, Nick Fury, despite forming a close father/daughter like relationship with Natalia, who know goes by Natasha, keeps her just close enough where she feels like she can trust him, but just far away.            We see this in Winter Solider, where Fury fakes his own death and not only makes Rogers believe it, but Natasha as well. “But they cut you open.” She protests. She owes her life to not only Clint, but Fury as well. Had somehow, she screwed up, not only would Clint had likely lost his job, but this would have been a red mark on Fury’s ledger as well.            Now, it’s very likely that the Russian’s did not to take to Natasha’s defection lightly. Knowing Natasha, she very likely burnt several bridges when she did leave, leaving the Russians thirsting for revenge. However, because she was under the protection of Fury, any attempts to kill her as long as he was alive, were useless.            At the end of Winter Solider, all the S.H.E.I.L.D files go online, exposing the fact that Hydra has been a part of the agency since the beginning, as well as all the identies of everyone who’s ever worked there. While most of the workers seem to rebound just fine, with Maria, whom Fury was probably grooming for his position before Winter Solider, getting a job at Stark Industries and Sharon Carter getting a job at the FBI, Natasha’s future is up in the air.            For not only are all her covers blown, but the fact she testified in front of Congress and with Fury dead, those covers wouldn’t be able to protect her even If she wanted too, they know what she looks like now. She’s a moving target at this point.            Like she says at the end of Winter Solider, “I blew all my covers, I gotta go figure out a new one.” This new Natasha is who we see in Age of Ultron and Civil War, more confident, more open about her past. One where her ledger, is painted black.6 — NOTES 1-    The comic refers to Volgograd as Stalingrad, despite the city not being called that since 1961. 2-    After 1991, the KGB was reorganized into the Federal Counterintelligence Service, later reorganized into the Federal Security Service. 3-    Most of Europe, including Russia, the standard age of consent is age 16. While Marvel may want us to think that she’s about 18/19 when the procedure is done, it’s quite possible she could have been around 16 when it was performed, perhaps even younger. A non-tie in comic suggested usually the life expectancy for a Red Room graduate was around 22/23, so it’s possible for the organization to try and milk as much service they could get out of them before they died, usually in the field. 4-    A Radical Hysterectomy is only done in real life if cancer is present due to the sudden loss of hormones the body will experience. The average recovery time is six or more weeks, but wouldn’t be surprise if she was up and moving within three weeks, possibly less. If you could get up and walk, you can walk off the pain 5-    if she began acting as a Russian spy between the ages of 16-18, that means she went active sometime between 2000-2002. The actor who plays Cooper Burton, was 12 in 2015, which was when Age of Ultron came out, meaning if Cooper was the same age as the actor portraying him, he was about 11/12, putting a birth year at 2003. This suggests that Hawkeye became active around 2002/2003, which suggests Natasha probably defected sometime 2005/2006.

6-    In Accountant terms, Red means debt, while “in the black” means your balance is positive. This suggests the saying “red in my ledger”. Of course, paint it black is an old Rolling Stones song for all you younglings.

[hcafilm19]

Seidou Rys - Part C - arts inspiration

My arts inspiration is: Anthony & Joseph Russo

Why they inspire me?

They inspire me because of their success with directing they Avengers films which is also my favourite franchise. They also inspire me because of the in depth story lines and plots in the films and how they tie together in the end (Endgame).  

Picture of the Russo brothers at San Diego Comic Con

What do they make or do and how?

The Russo brothers read the comics before making their films but do not completely follow comic book story lines but instead take ideas from comics and develop into their own. If they followed he exact storyline from the comics it would be dull and boring to direct.

What do other people think of their work?

Reddit Review of Russo brothers:

“So Endgame is the biggest hit of all time and Disney is riding high, but I'm most interested in the two dudes behind it. They inexplicably got into this position after a couple feature flops and some good TV work (I remember laughing when I saw them on the Winter Soldier shortlist) and although I love what they did with Arrested Development and Community, I'm hard pressed to remember a time that filmmakers this thoroughly uninteresting got so big. They're not even really anonymous-but-dedicated workmen in the vein of Ron Howard or Clint Eastwood, their Marvel films are often choppily edited and lazily staged. I happen to like those movies quite a bit, but everything that works there seems to be in the script or the actors' improv. I don't see what they're bringing to the table. Now that they're going to have blank check authority in Hollywood, some of the only people who will be allowed to make whatever they want”. 

My opinion on this review:

Personally i think this review is putting forward an opinion of their own but i disagree because the cgi in Endgame is on a level not many other movies were able to match. With the actors being able to improvise at times it brings out their acting skills as sticking to a script is hard especially Robert Downey Jr who at times has a decent amount of improvised lines during the film. In conclusion I disagree completely with these points and think the Russo brothers have put a lot on the table when it came to making the film.  

 What I like about their work.

I like the fact that every film can easily develop into another without any confusion. For example ‘Infinity War’ went into ‘Endgame’ with the snap and most super heroes and half of the universe disappearing and after at the beginning of Endgame it starts in the same place ‘Infinity War’ finished.

What I have found out about their career/technique.

The Russo brothers started their career on the film festival circuit, and struggled to finance their first independent, low budget film, called “Pieces”. Swimming in debt, they were eventually called by filmmaker and producer Steven Soderbergh, who had seen "Pieces" at the Slamdance Film Festival and wanted to produce their next film. From their they took on TV projects, primarily sitcoms such as "Arrested Development", "Happy Endings", and "Community”.

Now the Russo brothers have moved on to filming bigger films like Avengers: Endgame which completely smashed box office records. 

Picture of the Russo brothers at Avengers: Infinity War Reveal 

[bettydgunter90]

3 Tax Tips from Clint Coons

When you’ve helped thousands of clients prepare successful tax strategies, you’re likely to have a trove of insight to share. Such is the case for Clint Coons, a founding partner at Anderson Business Advisors.

As Tax Day looms, Think Realty caught up with Coons to learn some of his broader tax advice for real estate investors. It’s important to note that every person’s and business’s situation is different and that you consult with a certified public accountant before filing your taxes.

1. Maintain detailed records and stay organized

One pitfall that Coons sees often is investors’ lack of detailed bookkeeping. Don’t make your life a nightmare when April 15th rolls around.  Ensure that you keep records of cashflow, expenses, profit and losses, and other key performance indicators.

“Keep good books and records — that’s number one,” Coons said. “I see that as a problem for a lot of real estate investors. Keeping strong books and records is key to making planning and return prep go much smoother.”

Keeping that vital information, however, isn’t enough. Real estate investors must also be well organized and should have a process for how to receive and maintain their data to make tax filing easier and to maximize their returns.

Let’s look at deductions for expenses and how to track them, for example.

Working from home: Home offices are common for real estate investors. There are two important conditions to consider before tapping this deduction. The Internal Revenue Service states you “must regularly use part of your home exclusively for conducting business. For example, if you use an extra room to run your business, you can take a home office deduction for that extra room.” Also, investors must show that “you use your home as your principal place of business. If you conduct business at a location outside of your home, but also use your home substantially and regularly to conduct business, you may qualify for a home office deduction.”

Mileage: Your mileage can rack up when you’re driving between your properties. Starting on Jan. 1, 2020, the IRS allows citizens to write off 57.5 cents per mile driven for business use. There are a variety of mobile apps investors can use to make this tracking task easier, including Everlance, MileIQ, Hurdlr, and many others.

Interest: Investors can also write off interest that accrues on loans. Investors should be able to deduct home mortgage interest, points, and mortgage insurance premiums. Recent regulatory changes have set the limit of deductions of up to $750,000 in mortgage debt.

Depreciation: The IRS allows taxpayers to claim residential properties will depreciate over 27.5 years, meaning that at the end of each year, the value of improvements — also known as capital expenses for renovations — divided by 27.5 can be deducted from taxable income for 27.5 years. In other words, you can reduce income taxes because of your properties’ depreciation.

2. Cost segregation

Coons said, “While it depends on the type of investor, folks should consider a cost segregation strategy.” This seemingly little-known tax-planning strategy can enable real estate investors to not only realize cashflow more quickly but also simultaneously reduce tax liability.

Commercial or residential properties often depreciate over 39 years or 27.5 years, while personal property or land improvements typically depreciate over 5 to 15 years. The tax strategy reclassifies parts of a building to personal property or land improvements, thereby allowing them to depreciate within a shorter time period than the building as a whole.

As Coons mentioned, however, cost segregation is not for every type of investor. Cost segregation studies can be quite expensive, and investors may not reap the cost in tax savings via depreciation or even through the property’s sale. Consult with an attorney or CPA to see if cost segregation is a good idea for you.

3. Set up the right business structure

Once again, every investor’s situation is different. But regardless of your real estate investing goals or strategy, Coons said it’s important to have the right structure for your business.

For example, if you’re a fix-and-flip investor buying and selling properties in your home state, Coons recommends this scenario:

You, the investor, have set up a C-Corporation in the state in which you reside, and you plan to buy and sell property through that entity. To have more asset protection for your growing brand, flippers should consider setting up Limited Liability Companies that are owned 100 percent by the C-Corp.

Then, rather than purchasing properties through the C-Corp, use one of your LLCs to purchase and sell the property. After the property sells, dissolve the LLC to limit the potential harm to your broader organization. A C-Corp can establish and dissolve as many LLCs as it’d like, thereby allowing an investor to protect assets throughout their organization, he added.

“The reason is I don’t want to be in the middle of a flip three years from now and somebody comes back and sues me for something that occurred three years earlier because it could seriously disrupt my business,” Coons said. “By dissolving the limited liability company, you’re making it go away because people would say ‘Well, he’s out of business. That LLC is no longer working.’”

You can learn more about Coons’ recommendations and strategies on the Anderson Business Advisors YouTube channel.

The post 3 Tax Tips from Clint Coons appeared first on Think Realty | A Real Estate of Mind.

from Real Estate Tips https://thinkrealty.com/tax-tips/

[frontstreet1]

Vegas Shooter Had Interest In Guns, Video Poker, Real Estate

This undated photo provided by Eric Paddock shows his brother, Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock. On Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest Festival killing dozens and wounding hundreds. (Courtesy of Eric Paddock via AP)

MESQUITE, Nev. — Stephen Paddock had a penchant for guns, high-limit video poker and real estate deals. His father was a notorious fugitive bank robber. He had a recent live-in girlfriend and two ex-wives and seemed to live a comfortable life in a Nevada retirement community.

His life is the subject of a sprawling investigation into what drove him to show up at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino with at least 10 suitcases filled with guns and open fire from his 32nd floor suite on a country music festival, killing 59 people and injuring nearly 530. Law enforcement and family members could not explain what would motivate a one-time accountant with no known criminal record to inflict so much carnage. Las Vegas police said he had 23 guns at the hotel, including semiautomatic rifles, and 19 at his home along with thousands of rounds of ammunition.

The 64-year-old gunman killed himself in the hotel room before authorities arrived.

On the surface, Paddock didn’t seem like a typical mass murderer, said Clint Van Zandt, a former FBI hostage negotiator and supervisor in the bureau’s behavioral science unit. Paddock is much older than the typical shooter and was not known to be suffering from mental illness.

The brother of the gunman in the mass shooting Sunday night at a music concert in Las Vegas said there’s no logic to explain the shooting. Eric Paddock said his brother played video poker to “stay at home in the casino.″ (Oct. 2)

“My challenge is, I don’t see any of the classic indicators, so far, that would suggest, ’OK, he’s on the road either to suicide or homicide or both,” Van Zandt said.

Nevertheless, his actions suggest that he had planned the attacks for at least a period of days.

Some of the rifles had scopes, the sheriff said. And authorities found two gun stocks that could have let him modify weapons to make them fully automatic, according to two U.S. officials briefed by law enforcement who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still unfolding.

“He knew what he wanted to do. He knew how he was going to do it, and it doesn’t seem like he had any kind of escape plan at all,” Van Zandt said.

Asked about a potential motive, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said he could not “get into the mind of a psychopath at this point.”

“I can’t even make something up,” his bewildered brother, Eric Paddock, told reporters Monday. “There’s just nothing.”

Public records offered no hint of financial distress or criminal history, though multiple people who knew him said he was a big gambler.

“No affiliation, no religion, no politics. He never cared about any of that stuff,” Eric Paddock said as he alternately wept and shouted. “He was a guy who had money. He went on cruises and gambled.”

Eric Paddock also told The Associated Press that he had not talked to his brother in six months and last heard from him when Stephen checked in briefly by text message after Hurricane Irma. Their mother spoke with him about two weeks ago, and when he found out recently that she needed a walker, he sent her one, Eric Paddock said.

Eric Paddock recalled receiving a recent text from his brother showing “a picture that he won $40,000 on a slot machine. But that’s the way he played.”

He described his brother as a multimillionaire and said they had business dealings and owned property together. He said he was not aware that his brother had gambling debts.

“He had substantial wealth. He’d tell me when he’d win. He’d grouse when he’d lost. He never said he’d lost $4 million or something. I think he would have told me.”

Heavily armed police searched Paddock’s home Monday in Mesquite, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas near the Arizona border, looking for clues. Paddock lived there with his 62-year-old girlfriend, who authorities said was out of the country when the shooting happened. Eric Paddock described her as kindly and said she sometimes sent cookies to his mother.

Police also searched a two-bedroom home Paddock owned in a retirement community in Reno, 500 miles from Mesquite.

While Stephen Paddock appeared to have no criminal history, his father was a notorious bank robber, Eric Paddock said. Benjamin Hoskins Paddock tried to run down an FBI agent with his car in Las Vegas in 1960 and wound up on the agency’s most wanted list after escaping from a federal prison in Texas in 1968, when Stephen Paddock was a teen.

The oldest of four children, Paddock was 7 when his father was arrested for the robberies. A neighbor, Eva Price, took him swimming while FBI agents searched the family home.

She told the Tucson Citizen at the time: “We’re trying to keep Steve from knowing his father is held as a bank robber. I hardly know the family, but Steve is a nice boy. It’s a terrible thing.”

An FBI poster issued after the escape said Benjamin Hoskins Paddock had been “diagnosed as psychopathic” and should be considered “armed and very dangerous.” He’d been serving a 20-year sentence for a string of bank robberies in Phoenix.

The elder Paddock remained on the lam for nearly a decade, living under an assumed name in Oregon. Investigators found him in 1978 after he attracted publicity for opening the state’s first licensed bingo parlor. He died in 1998.

Stephen Paddock bought his one-story, three-bedroom home in a newly built Mesquite subdivision for $369,000, in 2015, property records show. Past court filings and recorded deeds in California and Texas suggest he co-owned rental property.

He previously lived in another Mesquite — the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, Texas — from 2004 to 2012, according to Mesquite, Texas, police Lt. Brian Parrish. Paddock owned at least three separate rental properties, Parrish said, and there was no indication the police department had any contact with him over that time.

He has been divorced at least twice, including marriages that ended in 1980 and 1990. One of the ex-wives lives in Southern California, where a large gathering of reporters congregated in her neighborhood. Los Angeles police Sgt. Cort Bishop said she did not want to speak with journalists. He relayed that the two had not been in contact for a long time and did not have children.

In 2012, Paddock sued the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Resorts in Nevada, saying he slipped and fell on a wet floor there. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed by a judge and settled by arbitration.

Reached by telephone, Paddock’s lawyer at the time, Jared R. Richards, said he could not comment because of client confidentiality concerns.

By KEN RITTER and GENE JOHNSON - Oct 3 8:OO AM EDT

___

Johnson reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers Terrance Harris and Tamara Lush in Orlando, Florida; Jennifer Kay in Miami; Florida; Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C.; Mike Balsamo in Las Vegas; David Warren in Dallas; Michael Sisak in Philadelphia; Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City; Jeff Donn in Plymouth, Massachusetts; Sadie Gurman and Eric Tucker in Washington; and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

___

For complete coverage of the Las Vegas shooting, click here: https://apnews.com/tag/LasVegasmassshooting .

[multifandomfanficreclist]

Avengers et al Recs

A Ghost SR/Logan A Life of Dreams PC/CB A Partial Dictionary of the 21st Century A Reasonable Conclusion TS/BB Advantages L/Th Ain't No Grave SR/BB All I've Got Left PC/CB Amazing Grace DL/CB Anchor Point C/D Another Last Chance SR/BB Arc Tremors Armed and Dangerous TS/BB/SR Arms and the Man (T/A) As Is PC/CB Bad Romance Barton's Sniper Club CB/BB Basic Bitches (CB/DL) Bea's Recs Billionaire Hooker (TS/SR) Black Coffee (PC/DL) Black Coffee (PC/DL) Blue Coat Bluebirds SR/TS Built Friends, Family Assigned Catch a Falling Star CB Sniper Club CB/BB Clint rec list Clint rec list Clint/Coulson lists Darcy Recs Date Night in A&E SR/BB Deadlocks and Daggers (TS/L) Debt TS/L Deep in the Heart TS/SR BB/CB Direction Series DL/SR DL: Agent of Shield DL/SR Don't Look Too Closely TS/SR Drown (Loki) Eight Months T/L End of My Rope TS/BB Enough to go Around Everything She Didn't Know DL/SR/BB Exit Wounds TS/L Gift of Asylum C/D Gonna Follow Me (SR/BB) Half Step Behind TS/L Happy Lights Hard Wired Assassin SR/BB Hearts and Bones SR/DL Heat (NR/BB) Honour Bound Honour Bound How SR got his groove back SR/DL Howling Commandos TS/SR I Fix Your Shit I'll Keep You Safe CB/BB I'll Pick Up the Slack - T/J I'm gonna be a part of it (BB/DL) I've got you blood... PC/CB Ice and Fire DL/SR/JBB If I Don't Wake Up (CB/SR) Infinite coffee SR/BB Iron Hard Man TS/BB Irreconcilable Differences BB/TS It Only Hurts When I Breathe TS/SR Just Stay Alive SR/S/BB Known Associates Like an Arrow Through a Flock of Doves PC/CB Line of Sight CB/PC Lion and Lamb DL/BB Lokasenna Long Range Reconnaissance (PC/CB) Lost Boys Love, Life, Empire (Thor/Quill) Magnetic TS/PP/SR Magnetic TS/PP/SR Male Order Brides CB/PC Marry Fuck Kill More Man Than You My Blue Eyed Boy SR/BB Natural Selection Never Cease To Fly TS/L Not About Superheroes TS/SR Not Defeated TS/L Off the Record TS/L On Nesting + On Attraction (CB/BB) Phil/Clint recs Phlint Recs Poppies of the Field BB/SR Problem Child PC/CB Pull Apart the Dark SR/BB Ready, Fire, Aim T/S Rec list Recs Recs by pairing Recs, multifandom but lots of Avengers Sanctity of Patience PC/CB Sandwich Verse Sandwich Verse SR/JB Second Law SR/BB Second Law SR/BB Semaphore T/S Series Shake It Out TS/BB et al Shatter T/L She Blinded Me With Political Science (DL/BB) She Who Must be Obeyed Simple, Not Easy C/D Sirens and Thunder SR/BB Sleeper DL/SR/BB Slow Growth Investment C/C/N Slow Work (SR/BB) Solve for X (TS/L) Something More Important. SR/BB wip Soul Meets Body CB/PC Sparklers SR/BB SR/BB/NR Star Spangled Hawks Stereobone TS/L Taking Action Taking Action Teach What You Know BB/SR That Which Your Seek DL/BB The Best of Three Worlds The Between Spaces TS/L The caged Hawk CB/SR The Daily Rogers The Honour Bound The Most Amazing Things TS/SR The Twice Told Tale TS/SR Through The Glass CB/PC Til We Get It Right BB/SW Tiny Spaces Unusual Weather (SR/BB) Waiting in the Wings (CB/PC) War, Children SR/BB Watch and Learn CB/PC What I Used to Be SR/BB Winter's Children BB/SR Without a Net CB/PC Words May Fail CB/PC You Might Need It Someday (CB/DL)

[bettydgunter90]

3 Tax Tips from Clint Coons

When you’ve helped thousands of clients prepare successful tax strategies, you’re likely to have a trove of insight to share. Such is the case for Clint Coons, a founding partner at Anderson Business Advisors.

As Tax Day looms, Think Realty caught up with Coons to learn some of his broader tax advice for real estate investors. It’s important to note that every person’s and business’s situation is different and that you consult with a certified public accountant before filing your taxes.

1. Maintain detailed records and stay organized

One pitfall that Coons sees often is investors’ lack of detailed bookkeeping. Don’t make your life a nightmare when April 15th rolls around.  Ensure that you keep records of cashflow, expenses, profit and losses, and other key performance indicators.

“Keep good books and records — that’s number one,” Coons said. “I see that as a problem for a lot of real estate investors. Keeping strong books and records is key to making planning and return prep go much smoother.”

Keeping that vital information, however, isn’t enough. Real estate investors must also be well organized and should have a process for how to receive and maintain their data to make tax filing easier and to maximize their returns.

Let’s look at deductions for expenses and how to track them, for example.

Working from home: Home offices are common for real estate investors. There are two important conditions to consider before tapping this deduction. The Internal Revenue Service states you “must regularly use part of your home exclusively for conducting business. For example, if you use an extra room to run your business, you can take a home office deduction for that extra room.” Also, investors must show that “you use your home as your principal place of business. If you conduct business at a location outside of your home, but also use your home substantially and regularly to conduct business, you may qualify for a home office deduction.”

Mileage: Your mileage can rack up when you’re driving between your properties. Starting on Jan. 1, 2020, the IRS allows citizens to write off 57.5 cents per mile driven for business use. There are a variety of mobile apps investors can use to make this tracking task easier, including Everlance, MileIQ, Hurdlr, and many others.

Interest: Investors can also write off interest that accrues on loans. Investors should be able to deduct home mortgage interest, points, and mortgage insurance premiums. Recent regulatory changes have set the limit of deductions of up to $750,000 in mortgage debt.

Depreciation: The IRS allows taxpayers to claim residential properties will depreciate over 27.5 years, meaning that at the end of each year, the value of improvements — also known as capital expenses for renovations — divided by 27.5 can be deducted from taxable income for 27.5 years. In other words, you can reduce income taxes because of your properties’ depreciation.

2. Cost segregation

Coons said, “While it depends on the type of investor, folks should consider a cost segregation strategy.” This seemingly little-known tax-planning strategy can enable real estate investors to not only realize cashflow more quickly but also simultaneously reduce tax liability.

Commercial or residential properties often depreciate over 39 years or 27.5 years, while personal property or land improvements typically depreciate over 5 to 15 years. The tax strategy reclassifies parts of a building to personal property or land improvements, thereby allowing them to depreciate within a shorter time period than the building as a whole.

As Coons mentioned, however, cost segregation is not for every type of investor. Cost segregation studies can be quite expensive, and investors may not reap the cost in tax savings via depreciation or even through the property’s sale. Consult with an attorney or CPA to see if cost segregation is a good idea for you.

3. Set up the right business structure

Once again, every investor’s situation is different. But regardless of your real estate investing goals or strategy, Coons said it’s important to have the right structure for your business.

For example, if you’re a fix-and-flip investor buying and selling properties in your home state, Coons recommends this scenario:

You, the investor, have set up a C-Corporation in the state in which you reside, and you plan to buy and sell property through that entity. To have more asset protection for your growing brand, flippers should consider setting up Limited Liability Companies that are owned 100 percent by the C-Corp.

Then, rather than purchasing properties through the C-Corp, use one of your LLCs to purchase and sell the property. After the property sells, dissolve the LLC to limit the potential harm to your broader organization. A C-Corp can establish and dissolve as many LLCs as it’d like, thereby allowing an investor to protect assets throughout their organization, he added.

“The reason is I don’t want to be in the middle of a flip three years from now and somebody comes back and sues me for something that occurred three years earlier because it could seriously disrupt my business,” Coons said. “By dissolving the limited liability company, you’re making it go away because people would say ‘Well, he’s out of business. That LLC is no longer working.’”

You can learn more about Coons’ recommendations and strategies on the Anderson Business Advisors YouTube channel.

The post 3 Tax Tips from Clint Coons appeared first on Think Realty | A Real Estate of Mind.

from Real Estate Tips https://thinkrealty.com/tax-tips/