#the return of the Civil War gauntlet

[petite-madame]

Tony - (2024)

One of the latest RDJ pictures from Esquire gave some serious Tony vibes.

[coldgoldlazarus]

Something else I've come back to while thinking about my theoretical Metroid II re-remake, is another interesting thematic element of the descent.

I commented in a previous post several weeks back, that it's kinda interesting how for the most part Samus Returns and AM2R are pretty similar in how they interpreted most of the areas, with the distinct exception of The Tower. But on looking back at fully-detailed stitched map for Return Of Samus, it actually makes a lot of sense, and I was somewhat underselling the strength of its design before. The fact that the remakes mostly match up on what's a temple, what's a factory, and so on, stems in no small part from the tilework in the original game.

(Even the divergence between interpretations of The Tower comes from emphasizing different aspects; AM2R focuses more on the interior with all the beams, and the lake of acid/lava at the bottom, to make it a weapons facility and geothermal plant, while Samus Returns instead focuses on the twisting vines and thorns climbing up from the surrounding caves, to make it into a marshy jungle.)

---

But taking a step back to look at the big picture, there's a very very interesting progression as you delve deeper. The first section you visit seems to be a temple or a place of residence. Some weapons in the basement, and expansions out the wazoo, but the actual area is pretty innocious.

Second area, some sort of water processing facility given the pipes and the lake out back, which AM2R stuck close to, while Samus Returns reenvisioned it as more of a big dam structure. I actually like that slight modification a lot and will be incorporating that, partially because it fits slightly better with the following thematic progression IMO.

The third and fourth areas are sorta thematically linked with two sides of manufacturing; the factory, and the mines supplying it with raw materials. Here we see a more heavily industrious side to the Chozo, something AM2R in particular picked up on and emphasized further in a lot of ways.

Then there's The Tower. Has one of every beam, sits atop a lake of lava, thorny vines growing up the sides of the cavern it resides in. Setting aside both of the remakes' more colorful interpretations, there's something just very grandiose and dark about it, and one area where MII's level of screen crunch is kind of a detriment to fully appreciating. And I think, even in the absence of the need for redundant beams, AM2R had the right idea in labeling this a weapons facility.

(Following this is where AM2R inserts the Distribution Center. I love it, and it is a great extension of the industry idea, but in hindsight the placement after the Tower feels a little bit awkward.)

Long long tunnel, classic Metroid bubble area and Omega gauntlet. This all seems to be nature, so less relevant to this discussion, though the bit in the middle where the first Omega is introduced is something I wanna shine a spotlight on in a later post. Anyway, it's a long remote trek away from all the other places of civilization, ending with ascending a huge abyss to the final facility built above it.

And that final location, where the Queen resides, is a lab. Even before it was ever explicitly stated anywhere that the Chozo created the Metroids, I have zero doubt that the implications here were intended when the game was originally made. But it's an especially interesting thing when you look at the sequence it is the capstone to.

It's easy to miss otherwise, but looking at them all in context to each other, you wind up with a clear progression in the roles each facility plays. Simple hallmarks of civilization, to mild use of nature for that civilization, to heavier industry, to war. And beyond that, genetic engineering and extinction.

The Ice Beam is available again in the laboratory, behind a shattered statue. A gameplay convenience, but also a key piece of storytelling.

[yanderes-galore]

could you do a general concept for Steve Rogers/ Captain America (maybe between Civil War and Infinite War)?

Yeah, sure! I'll do that Cap as he has matured a lot around that time. I hope I get his character right.

Sorry this mostly focuses on how he acts between Infinity War and Endgame- There was more angst ^^;

Spoiler warning for Captain America: Civil War, Avengers Infinity War, and maybe Endgame.

Yandere! Steve Rogers Concept (Civil War - Infinity War Era)

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Mass death, Manipulation, Grief, Paranoia, Obsession, Overprotective behavior, Fear of death, Guilt-trip, Feeling of helplessness, Steve is a broken man more than anything in this.

Well, he certainly has a different thought of you in both Civil War and Infinity War.

Between those two movies he's treated as a war criminal and goes into hiding.

He probably met you before Civil War, perhaps around Avengers or Winter Soldier time.

He's adored you ever since and wanted to play hero for you.

He's naturally compassionate and protective towards you.

He's like that the entire time you know him.

Steve feels he's happy as long as you're safe.

Where's a better place than beside him?

Then the events of Civil War shake this fantasy he has with you.

You've been beside him for the events of Ultron, he already expects you to see his side in this.

You do, luckily, as of now he hasn't shown any yandere behavior you can really predict.

When the Avengers split, you promise Steve you'd do whatever you can to help him.

Even if it places you in prison.

Steve is Manipulative, Protective, Obsessive, Dedicated, and Caring prior to Infinity War.

He dedicates himself to seeing you happy, safe, and smiling in his arms.

He tries his hardest to keep you out of the hands of Tony's team.

He doesn't want you hurt because he has beef.

Steve would try to tell you to stay out of the way and help from afar.

He loves that you want to help, but Tony will definitely find you if he drags you with him.

He only returns to you when the events of Civil War settle.

The government sees him as a war criminal, he loses the flashy outfit and goes with something more subtle.

Most of your time with Steve is in hiding.

He knows he shouldn't put you through this... but you stay around because you still do care for him.

Things start getting bad when Infinity War happens.

More specifically, after it but before Endgame.

Infinity War leaves Steve a mess.

He's lost so much.

Perhaps you survive, the gauntlet deciding you'll be spared.

Steve never lets you go.

He doesn't think he could ever.

Bucky and Sam? Gone.

Gone like half of everyone else.

His grip on you when he sees you is tight.

Friend or lover... he doesn't care.

He knows now he can't lose you too.

Infinity War breaks Steve.

Mentally, his heroics are tossed aside and he's ready to do anything to keep you.

Steve is no longer the Steve you knew.

He's a paranoid shell of a man.

Thanos has done his job, yes, but anything could take you away from him.

Whenever he holds you, it's like he's scared to let go.

He's just happy the universe spared your life... if it didn't... well...

He isn't sure what he'd do.

Steve clings to you because you're one of the last things he holds dear.

He forgets personal space and privacy.

To him, it no longer matters.

Which causes him to be suffocating.

He guilts you into staying beside him.

He can't let you go after everything that has happened.

This makes him manipulative, pulling at your heart when he holds onto you.

Tears hit your shoulder and you realize how much he's affected by this.

The feelings of regret... guilt... loss.

Manipulating you becomes easy.

His overprotective behavior was a bit suffocating before.

He might as well be smothering you now.

He trusts no one around you except the remaining Avengers.

Even then, he wants to be the only one around you most of the time.

When he does find somewhere to live again he keeps you there with him.

There's a good chance your family is gone, too.

You might as well stay with him despite his behavior.

He's obsessive over you as you're the last one he has.

He can't connect to the others as much as he does you.

He keeps you to his chest, petting your head, as if you're his only comfort.

Perhaps you are now.

Despite him isolating you, saying he's all you have/need.

He's caring.

Steve still cares deeply for you.

Even if the others say he's obsessive.

Deep down, they can't blame him.

The world has changed.

They've lost.

Steve is just clinging to all he has left and you aren't entirely sure if you can/want to leave him.

Even if they fixed this, if they brought everyone back...

His grip will still be tight, he'll still guilt you into staying...

Steve will probably still never leave your side ever again.

[sanguinesorcery]

One might argue Markesh is supposed to be in the audience hall.

It's usually his job, after all, standing at his Empress' left hand side to offer her small subtle cues and ticks to help keep her tongue civil or alert her to any audial details that might be trying to fly under the radar. Most of those in nearby island nations know the Ariad family and know that no matter which one stands as Empire figurehead, they are not a force with which to be reckoned, whether it be literal, metaphorical, or especially political. But there are those from outlying nations or kingdoms who would seek to still try to undermine their authority in some way, usually on their own turf. The High Empress has words for those who attempt these little tactics and disrespects:

Cannon Fodder.

And usually, Markesh would agree. But he isn't where he should be right now, at his Empress' side, doing his job. So agreement is unnecessary.

It's been some time since both his aunt -the head Regent on the Isles- and Her Imperial Grace disappeared behind closed doors into the war room with a very bizarre individual claiming to be monarch of some other tiny nation. Strange name, strange accents, strange appearances, overall setting the younger Regent's hackles to raise. He knows he should be in there, he wants to be in there, but he has to concede to his Empress' will and take the consideration that Auntie Ildra knows what she's doing.

Which leaves Markesh with nothing to do right now. And that is generally a bad thing.

He does what he usually does in this scenario, turning on the heel of one boot with hands behind his back to at least look official, with his head lofted and his ears straight up ... and he marches his way in the general direction of the kitchens. Dejected cadence out of the marbled halls from the war room and into the cavernous main foyer, his steps sound brighter now ticking along over the mosaic in the floor, the circular yanna of the goddess Katya, the embodiment of war.

A fierce deity if ever there was one, though she has not been seen for many generations, her invocative sigil is still there to bless the warlord and their family with her presence. Perhaps one day she will return, but for now, the circular motif of overlapping geometric shapes in her specific patterns will remind them of her.

He asks the blessings now, a playful little tone of voice to guide him in what he is about to do. But his Empress must eat, he reasons, and that is good enough for him to consider braving the gauntlet that are the Imperial kitchens.

@sinshosted || Starter Call feat Markesh

[crossbonescrossout]

Prompt lists

Starting on some of the nuts and bolts of making tic tac tales cards. I figure there will be a number of general categories used in all cards, and some that people will request (theoretically, you could even ask for two or three of a catagory you really like, and they would be placed to not appear in the same line.)

So far for general, I have :

Place - Triskelon, Stark Tower, helicarrier, Avengers Compound, Siberian base, Lagos,

Event - Loki's invasion, Dark Elf Invasion, Ultron, Thor's banishment, Civil War, The Snap, the return, Insight, Culver battle, Abomination battle, Stark Expo

Character - Peirce, Fury, Romanoff, Rogers, Barton, Rollins, Winter Soldier, Sharon Carter, Hill, Sam Wilson, 

Weapon - handgun, shock sticks, sniper rifle, powered gauntlets, boot knife, 

Image - I don't accumulate image files, so I'll need help on this one. My vague plan is to place an image in the center spot, but allow everyone to choose another square to swap it with, so you can place the prompt you vibe with most in the point of most connections.

If you have suggestions for other good generic categories or additions for these, by all means say so!

Optional but generic categories I've thought of : AUs, Romance, Smut, Whump, Action. If anyone has other suggestions and/or can recomend good lists for these, lemme know.

Some custom optional categories : Tropes, as in ones specifically applied to Rumlow. HYDRA, people places slogans etc. Hydra Trash Party would be common tropes, objects and maybe some of the more widely used OCs? Grillo-verse because there's a reasonably common fic type using other Frank Grillo roles for crossovers, twins and/or Multiverse shenanigans.

Thoughts, suggestions, desire to make one or more categories your own?

[strixcattus]

D&D plot idea:

While travelling, the PCs find themselves passing through territories controlled by a league of clans or city-states or similar small, organized civilization. The city-states all band together under a united identity for matters of dealing with larger nations, shared enemies, and inter-state policy (though that last one is dependent on them cooperating enough to enforce it), but between them there are constant rivalries and petty squabbles which occasionally snowball into greater conflicts.

One of those inter-state policies, a particularly important one outlined in the league's most fundamental legal documents, lies in ownership of magic items—if a state creates a magical item, it belongs to that state, and if the league as a whole is in a cooperative, enforcing mood, theft of a state's magic items is forbidden.

The PCs end up taking advantage of one state's hospitality, and during their stay end up either advertently or inadvertently listening in on a meeting of the state's leadership.

Evidently a sacred weapon of the state has been stolen by their rivals. The weapon in question is the Claws of the Grizzly, a set of magical gauntlets formed by the forelimbs of a brown bear. When worn, they provide respectable bonuses to Strength and Constitution, as well as a 2d6 attack with either hand.

I made this item in roughly half an hour. Please point out anything silly.

Usually something only given out to respected warriors in battle, but now it's in their rivals' hands and they can't safely send a cohort to retrieve it—someone in the other state has certainly already attuned to it, and against the mundane weapons that are all the state has left, it's too risky to attempt anything small-scale. At worst, it might spiral into war, and everyone knows the rival state is more powerful.

Technically, the league as a whole should resolve this conflict on its own, as per its fundamental legal code, but in practice it can rarely get along, and the rival state holds a lot of sway due to its size and strength. There may be no way to get the gauntlets back... until they remember the PCs.

What better way for the PCs to repay the hospitality they've been shown than by heading into rival territory—as an unknown, seemingly neutral party—and having them steal back the gauntlets and return them to their rightful hands?

Or, in other words, the PCs need to defend the city-state's constitutional right to bear arms.

[rockislandadultreads]

LGBTQIA+ Pride Month: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Recommendations

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve.

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

If you look hard enough at old photographs, we're there in the background: healers in the trenches; Suffragettes; Bletchley Park oracles; land girls and resistance fighters. Why is it we help in times of crisis? We have a gift. We are stronger than Mundanes, plain and simple.

At the dawn of their adolescence, on the eve of the summer solstice, four young girls--Helena, Leonie, Niamh and Elle--took the oath to join Her Majesty's Royal Coven, established by Queen Elizabeth I as a covert government department. Now, decades later, the witch community is still reeling from a civil war and Helena is now the reigning High Priestess of the organization. Yet Helena is the only one of her friend group still enmeshed in the stale bureaucracy of HMRC. Elle is trying to pretend she's a normal housewife, and Niamh has become a country vet, using her powers to heal sick animals. In what Helena perceives as the deepest betrayal, Leonie has defected to start her own more inclusive and intersectional coven, Diaspora. And now Helena has a bigger problem. A young warlock of extraordinary capabilities has been captured by authorities and seems to threaten the very existence of HMRC. With conflicting beliefs over the best course of action, the four friends must decide where their loyalties lie: with preserving tradition, or doing what is right.

This is the first volume in the “Her Majesty’s Royal Coven” series.

The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood 

Two years ago, Csorwe and Shuthmili defied the wizard Belthandros Sethennai and stole his gauntlets. The gauntlets have made Shuthmili extraordinarily powerful, but they're beginning to take a sinister toll on her. She and Csorwe travel to a distant world to discover how to use the gauntlets safely, but when an old enemy arrives on the scene, Shuthmili finds herself torn between clinging to her humanity and embracing eldritch power.

Meanwhile, Tal Charossa returns to Tlaanthothe to find that Sethennai has gone missing. As well as being a wizard of unimaginable power, Sethennai is Tal's old boss and former lover, and Tal wants nothing to do with him. When a magical catastrophe befalls the city, Tal tries to run rather than face his past, but soon learns that something even worse may lurk in the future. Throughout the worlds of the Echo Maze, fragments of an undead goddess begin to awaken, and not all confrontations can be put off forever...

This is the second volume in “The Serpent Gates” series.

Màgòdiz by Gabe Calderón

Everything that was green and good is gone, scorched away by a war that no one living remembers. The small surviving human population scavenges to get by; they cannot read or write and lack the tools or knowledge to rebuild. The only ones with any power are the mindless Enforcers, controlled by the Madjideye, a faceless, formless spiritual entity that has infiltrated the world to subjugate the human population.

A’tugwewinu is the last survivor of the Andwànikàdjigan. On the run from the Madjideye with her lover, Bèl, a descendant of the Warrior Nation, they seek to share what the world has forgotten: stories. In Pasakamate, both Shkitagen, the firekeeper of his generation, and his life’s heart, Nitàwesì, whose hands mend bones and cure sickness, attempt to find a home where they can raise children in peace, without fear of slavers or rising waters. In Zhōng yang, Riordan wheels around just fine, leading xir gang of misfits in hopes of surviving until the next meal. However, Elite Enforcer H-09761 (Yun Seo, who was abducted as a child, then tortured and brainwashed into servitude) is determined to arrest Riordan for theft of resources and will stop at nothing to bring xir to the Madjideye. In a ruined world, six people collide, discovering family and foe, navigating friendship and love, and reclaiming the sacredness of the gifts they carry.

[mkcosplayorcovid-19prevention]

Asm collection... /Spider-Woman/ Spider-Gwen/ Miles Morales

Vol. 1: Coming Home (#30-35/471-476)

Vol. 2: Revelations (#36-39/477-480)

Vol. 3: Until the Stars Turn Cold (#40-45/481-486)

Vol. 4: The Life and Death of Spiders (#46-50/487-491)

Vol. 5: Unintended Consequences (#51-56/492-497)

Vol. 6: Happy Birthday (#57–58,500-502/498-502)

Vol. 7: The Book of Ezekiel (#503–508)

Vol. 8: Sins Past (#509–514)

Vol. 9: Skin Deep (#515–518)

Vol. 10: New Avengers (#519–524)

Spider-Man: The Other (#525–528; Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1–4; Marvel Knights Spider-Man #19–22)

Civil War: The Road to Civil War (#529–531; New Avengers: Illuminati (one-shot); Fantastic Four #536–537) ( read 📚)

Vol. 11: Civil War (#532–538) (read 📚)

Vol. 12: Back in Black (#539–543; Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #17–23, Annual #1)

Peter Parker, Spider-Man: Back In Black

Spider-Man: One More Day (#544–545; Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24; The Sensational Spider-Man #41; Marvel Spotlight: Spider-Man – One More Day/Brand New Day)

Brand New Day Vol. 1 (#546–551; The Amazing Spider-Man: Swing Shift (Director's Cut); Venom Super-Special)

Brand New Day Vol. 2 (#552–558)

Brand New Day Vol. 3 (#559–563)

Kraven's First Hunt (#564–567; The Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #1 (story #2)

New Ways to Die (#568–573; Marvel Spotlight: Spider-Man – Brand New Day)

Crime and Punisher (#574–577; The Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #1 (story #1)

Death and Dating (#578–583, Annual #35/1)

Election Day (#584–588; The Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #1 (story #3), 3 (story #1); The Amazing Spider-Man Presidents' Day Special)

24/7 (#589–594; The Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #2)

American Son (#595–599; material from The Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #3)

Died in Your Arms Tonight (#600–601, Annual #36; material from Amazing Spider-Man Family #7)

Red-Headed Stranger (#602–605)

Return of the Black Cat (#606–611; material from Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #1)

The Gauntlet Book 1: Electro and Sandman (#612–616; Dark Reign: The List – The Amazing Spider-Man; Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #2 (Electro story)

The Gauntlet Book 2: Rhino and Mysterio (#617–621; Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #3–4)

The Gauntlet Book 3: Vulture and Morbius (#622–625; Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #2, 5 (Vulture story)

The Gauntlet Book 4: Juggernaut (#229–230, 626–629)

The Gauntlet Book 5: Lizard (#629–633; Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #6)

Spider-Man: Grim Hunt (#634–637; The Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #3; Spider-Man: Grim Hunt – The Kraven Saga; Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #7)

One Moment in Time (#638–641)

Origin of the Species (#642–647; Spider-Man Saga; Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #12)

Big Time (#648–651)

Matters of Life and Death (#652–657, 654.1)

Spider-Man: The Fantastic Spider-Man (#658–662)

Spider-Man: The Return Of Anti-Venom (#663–665; Free Comic Book Day 2011: Spider-Man)

Spider-Man: Spider-Island (#666–673; Venom (2011) #6–8, Spider-Island: Deadly Foes; Infested prologues from #659–660 and 662–665)

Spider-Island Companion hc

Spider-Man: Flying Blind (#674–677; Daredevil #8)

Spider-Man: Trouble on the Horizon (#678–681, 679.)

Spider-Man: Ends of the Earth (#682–687; Amazing Spider-Man: Ends of the Earth #1; Avenging Spider-Man #8)

Spider-Man: Lizard – No Turning Back (#688–691; Untold Tales of Spider-Man #9)

Spider-Man: Danger Zone (#692–697; Avenging Spider-Man #11)

Spider-Man: Dying Wish (#698–700)

Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business

Spider-Man: Life StorySpider-Man: Life Story

The Amazing Spider-Man Full Circle

Superior Spider-Man Hardcovers dan Slott

Vol. 1

Vol. 2

Vol. 3

Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 hc Dan Slott

Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 hc Dan Slott

Amazing Spider-Man Worldwide hc Dan slott...

Vol. 1

Vol. 2

Vol. 3

Amazing Spider-Man Venom INC.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: WORLDWIDE VOL. 7 sc

The Red Goblin HC

Spider-Man / Fantastic Four

Marvel Knights Spider-Man: Fight Night

Fear Itself: Spider-man

Civil War II Amazing Spider-Man

Spider-Men (read 📚)

X-men/Spider-man

Spider-men 2 (read 📚)

Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine

Secret Invasion: Amazing Spider-Man

Edge of Spider-Verse (2014)

Marvel 1602: Spider-man

Sensational Spider-Man Vol. 1: Feral

Spider-Verse hc

Spider-Verse Warzones!

The Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Omnibus vol. 1

SPIDER-GEDDON

SPIDER-GEDDON: EDGE OF SPIDER-GEDDON

Amazing Spider-Man Beyond Omnibus (reading 📚)

SPIDER-GWEN OMNIBUS

Spider-Woman: Origins

Spider-Woman: Agent of S. W. O. R. D

Spider-Woman: vol. 2 New Duds

Spider-Woman 1: Baby Talk

Spider-Woman: Shifting Gears Vol. 2: Civil War II

Spider-Woman: Shifting Gears Vol. 3: Scare Tactics

Ultimate Spider-man: Ultimate Six (Read 📚)

Spider-Man by Chip Zdarsky Omnibus

[thedrown]

Ghosts of The Separatists- Clan Sevelis

 The family of Sikha and Noma’s flyboy friend Amato, Mandalorian clan Sevelis is a fragmented shadow of it’s former self with the future of their legacy laid solely upon Amato’s shoulders...

  The current patriarch and matriarch of the clan are Amato’s parents, Amadeo Sevelis and Okka Maro. Amadeo was groomed essentially from birth to be the heir and future leader of the clan and took to this position as a young man choosing to answer the call of Jaster Mereel’s True Mandalorians in the pursuit of true honour. Before this his kin were little more than an obscure clan who found a niche in offering military training to various Outer Rim worlds left to fend off pirates alone. Unglamorous and not terribly well paying either, the True Mandalorians instead offered a chance for clan Sevelis to rise to something greater and in doing so become apart of uplifting all Mandalorians in the process. In preparation for their new duties Amadeo left his compatriots to prepare their armory and assets as he travelled to Makeb seeking out an old legend told to him by his father. On a remote floating island there would be an ancient warrior clad in the armour of a bygone era of Mandalorian glory and tribulation whom would determine if Amadeo was worthy to undertake this new endeavour in his clan’s leadership.  After months on the planet he would return to Mandalore sporting weathered and battered armour barely in one piece, but he returned triumphant and ready to pledge himself and his kin to real honour. While his clan subsequently gained respect and a level of prestige for their valor during the ensuing civil war with Tor Vizsla’s Death Watch, the disaster at Galidraan all but eradicated their numbers as well as any hope of enduring the post-war struggle of an ever changing Mandalore. Reduced to only a few families, distant and otherwise, Sevelis was crippled and just to survive Amadeo was lucky to join House Skirata as a vassal. Though this carried the image of being accepted moreso for pity than merit only deepening this dark time for them. With all this in mind it came to Amadeo that with the birth of his son there was only one avenue for his future, the future of their entire clan.

 Amato’s mother on the other hand married into Sevelis with her union to Amadeo. Unlike the Sevelis who sought out greater accolades, the Maro family instead operated outside the usual clan and house dynamics of many Mandalorians. As the name implies, they were but a single large, multi-generational family who were exceptionally aggressive fighters that could be found on the harshest worlds and serving the most ruthless warlords. Their reputation for chasing danger was only tempered by their encouragement of marrying off many of each succesive generation into larger houses and clans counter to trying to grow their own as most would. To the Maros it was a very simple principle: individual excellence in the combat arts to the highest discpline and to then “teach” others by adding their way of life into other clans irrelevant how small the effect. If even just their immediate child grew into the Maro mold then that was considered earning their place of honour in the family legacy.   Okka was no different, she was a fierce walking arsenal favouring slimmed yet heavy armour sealed tightly to the body and reinforced throughout while her weapon of choice are two large blaster cannon pods mounted to her gauntlets. It’s unclear how she met Amadeo though rumours abound they were on opposite ends of a bounty and in their competing efforts eventually came together over the mutual frustration of being unable to best the other in direct combat. Whatever the true story, they were and still remain a happily married couple with Okka’s unique background of individuality making her lack the stresses of her future obsessed husband. This made her only a slightly less overbearing guardian to Amato however as while she didnt put on the emotional burden of their entire clan onto him, she did throw him into the lion’s den when it came to developing his skills as a warrior. Yet despite this, Amato always felt closer to his mother due to her encouragement for his small achievments unlike his largely withdrawn father; something that made an unexpected incident the impetus for Amato finally returning to confront his Mandalorian heritage and define it by his own terms.

[unhingedmarvelandclassicwhobuff]

There were two other much smaller fics that were clearly inspired by the one that I told you about, so because I hate myself, I summed up those too:

Clint gets berated for the “breaking back” comment on the Raft

Clint explodes at Steve and Nat for not calling Tony to help with the Info Dump

Tony berates Steve for judging him for knowing Klaue

Steve is detained for sympathizing with the Maximoffs (because they think he might be mind-controlled)

Bruce kills Wanda and Pietro in their fight at the tower, and no one cares but Steve

Bucky explodes at Steve and Sam in the warehouse when he learns about Wanda

Team Cap is arrested and lectured after the airport fight

Tony refuses to give Wanda a second chance because it was not his bomb that killed her parents. Wanda is executed

Wanda is detained and executed after the battle of Sokovia

Tony explodes at Sam on the Raft

Rhodey explodes at Steve and co for being in Lagos illegally

Tony has a stroke in Siberia and is forced to put the arc reactor back in. He sends a message to Steve in Wakanda about this, and Steve is kicked out in disgrace

Sharon is arrested for trying to steal Steve and Sam’s gear, and Team Cap is arrested

Agent Ross refuses to let T’Challa take Klaue to Wakanda

Vision meets with Wanda after Civil War, but betrays her and takes her to the Raft

Steve is hated by the whole world for the Info Dump

Rhodey explodes at Team Cap when they return to the Compound

Tony ousts Nat from her cover in Iron Man 2 and humiliates her

Steve is berated for his “then we’ll lose together” comment in AoU

T’Challa is horrified to learn that Steve and Bucky left Tony to die in Siberia and rushes to save him

Bruce explodes at the Avengers for letting Wanda join them

Valkyrie and Bruce discuss Natasha’s betrayal of him in Sokovia (honestly, fair enough)

Tony and Jarvis hack SHIELD after Iron Man 2 and learn about Bucky, so they destroy the entire organization (because apparently it’s fine when Tony does it)

FRIDAY convinces Vision that he is in an abusive relationship with Wanda, so he takes her powers and gets her arrested

Steve is a carrier of tuberculosis and doesn’t care that he endangers everyone (I think you’ve gone over this one)

Ramonda lectures T’Challa for his actions in Civil War

Jane, Darcy, and Erik call Tony during Thor The Dark World and he helps them fight the Dark Elves

SHIELD was manipulating Bruce, Steve, and Tony, so they team up against Fury

Scott is arrested and lectured for breaking into the Avengers Compound

T’Challa is arrested and lectured for the chase in Korea, so Killmonger wins

Steve and co are locked out of the hangar on their way to Lagos and get lectured by Karen Page. Wanda is arrested and later Frank Castle kills her.

Tony refuses to let Wanda become an Avenger and Frank Castle kills her

Agent Ross is lectured for refusing to grant Bucky a lawyer

Steve doesn’t actually care about Wanda and only used her to set a precedent for Bucky, and when she finds out she turns on him.

Rhodey forcibly recruits Clint and Scott to fight in Wakanda

Steve is a Skrull in Winter Soldier and Goose eats the Skrull

Steve and co find that their funds have been cut off by Tony and act like spoiled brats about it. Also they get lectured by a Veteran

Wanda takes a call from Christine Everhart at the Avengers Compound and turns on Steve when she is told about the chase in Bucharest

Team Cap returns to the US and finds that Tony has completely moved on from them. Also they get lectured by Jennifer Walters, and eventually get arrested again.

Jarvis finds out that Peggy knew about what happened to the Starks and Tony confronts her about it

Clint gets killed as a result of the Info Dump, so Laura turns her back on Natasha and names her son Anthony

Luis is there when Scott gets out of the Quantum Realm and gives him a recap of the last 5 years

Rhodey gets the Gauntlet and does the final Snap

Instead of staying in the past Steve hooks up with that waitress from the first Avengers movie

Tony explodes at Steve in Siberia and Bucky refuses to fight

Sam is only anti-Accords because when he and Riley had that accident he was in fact brainwashed by Hydra.

Vision tries to bond with Tony, and through a series of events this results in Thor murdering Wanda

T’Challa refuses to allow Steve and Bucky into Wakanda and gets them and Team Cap arrested

Strucker and List kill Wanda and Pietro before they can grow too powerful

Tony survives the final battle, and Steve realizes what a terrible person he is while returning the Stones

Quill has the idea to do a human chain like on Xandar when Tony takes the Gauntlet, and everyone lives

Alexander Pierce is ousted from power, so SHIELD ends up helping Tony during Iron Man 3

Matt Murdock lectures the Avengers for not supporting the Accords

Steve and Nat are arrested for the Info Dump

Sam realizes that Steve is manipulating Sharon and convinces Wanda to turn on him

Hope talks Scott out of helping Team Cap

Hank is berated for blaming Howard Stark for stealing his work

Quentin Beck and his team decide to oust Wanda instead of Tony

Wanda accidentally kills Clint at the Compound and goes full House of M out of grief

Bucky apologizes to Tony in Siberia, and Tony makes sure that the rest of Team Cap is given amnesty because Steve lied to them

Tony explodes at Bruce at the Sanctum

Clint and Nat turn on Team Cap when they visit the Barton farm

Heimdall senses Thanos before he reaches the Statesman and expends all his energy opening a Bifrost portal to Earth

Wanda is executed and the world celebrates her death

(continuation of 62) the Asgardians arrive on Earth and warn Tony about Thanos 

The Avengers notice that Nebula has been replaced with her past self and react accordingly

Coulson gave Tony some combat lessons that he uses during the airport fight

Peter tells his classmates about what happened to Steve and they are horrified

Vanko gets pulverized by a racecar on the track

Some of these are harmless enough, but a lot of them are blatant spite-fic

And the other one:

After the fuel truck explosion, Tony throws in the towel, destroys the Quin-Jet, and tells Ross he can do whatever he wants to Team Cap

Tony explodes at Steve and Nat for not calling him to help with the Info Dump, tells Nat she can never be an Avenger again, and says without a shred of irony that he has no red in his ledger. 

Clint turns on Wanda after she throws Nat, switching sides and stopping Team Cap from escaping

Rhodey explodes at Wanda for being scared of the Accords, claiming that she deserves to be locked up

Steve “sees reason” and doesn’t give Wanda amnesty, knocking her out and taking her captive. (I guess Pietro willingly surrendered).

Tony is in the Compound when Wanda flees, and lectures her before she goes

T’Challa kills Nat at the airport, and Clint breaks down when he finds out

The Raft is actually being completely rational by putting Wanda in a straitjacket and shock collar because apparently she loves to mindrape people.

Rhodey confronts Tony about recruiting Peter, but the conversation ends with him agreeing it was a good idea

Tony refuses to let Wanda become an Avenger and she is imprisoned for life

Nat goes to the bar with Steve and lectures him for going off of Sharon’s intel

Rhodey explodes at Team Cap when they come to the Compound in IW, and seriously argues that they should kill Vision because he is completely useless and they might get Jarvis back

Tony is hit by Vision’s laser, and Rhodey blames Natasha for it, making sure she gets imprisoned, then he gets Steve and Bucky’s destination and gives it to Ross.

Tony gets Donald Trump to yell at Team Cap (tbf, this one was labeled as crack).

Hydra abducted Tony in Siberia, and turned him into a weapon called the Mechanic. Everyone is mad at Steve when they find out

Tony explodes at Steve during the pen scene, berating him for harboring a Nazi (Wanda) and for being an imperialist, then decides to hang them out to dry

Bucky turns on Steve in Siberia and helps Tony arrest him

Instead of lashing out, Tony reacts joyously at the fact that he can finally prove Team Cap is evil, and makes sure all of them get arrested

Team Cap takes refuge in Wakanda, where at T’Challa and Steve’s request, they absolutely humiliate Wanda by forcing her to dress up as a little girl. Steve sees no issue with this because he is fine with calling her a kid.

Tony agrees to not join the Avengers, and takes pleasure in denying them whenever they ask him for something

Tony completely runs rings around Wakanda, threatening to expose them to the world unless they hand over Bucky and Wanda.

Stephen Strange shows up in Wakanda and tells Team Cap that Tony died in Siberia. He also tells them that the Snap is going to happen, who will die, and that there is nothing they can do to stop it because Tony is dead.

Tony hands Nat over to the Dora Milaje and gloats to her

Tony decides to stop trying to help Steve when he says Wanda is a kid, and tells Rhodey to cut ties with Team Cap altogether so Ross can legally detain all of them.

Rhodey explodes at Vision, telling him he is an embarrassment to Jarvis’s legacy, and that if he doesn’t want to be branded a criminal he needs to cut ties with Wanda completely.

Sam explodes at Steve for offering Wanda a place on the team, calling her a Nazi, and decides that Steve is not trustworthy.

President Ellis pardons Team Cap, and Tony warns him that it is career suicide

Stark sees Fury’s assessment of him and explodes at Fury for accepting Steve and Nat but not him

Tony refuses to go on the Time Heist, saying that he will never work with Steve again. It is still a success, and the Snap is still undone, so I don’t really know what the purpose of this one was.

Tony talks Vision into convincing Wanda to destroy the Mind Stone. When she does this, Jarvis reawakens, as the “corruption” was coming from the stone. Also, Wanda’s powers are gone, because fuck you.

Team Cap returns to America, and Tony tells them that the Compound is his property that they now have a restraining order against. 

Bucky not seeking help means he doesn’t care about collateral damage, and Tony lectures him and Steve for it

Tony gets video evidence that Wanda is in fact a loyal agent of Hydra who tortured innocents for them and compelled him to make Ultron.

Tony locates Wakanda and sends the Iron Legion, where they easily take down the shield and expose the country to the world.

Tony finds Natasha’s SHIELD file; she was hired personally by Peggy Carter (who made a deal with Obadiah Stane, who was a Hydra flunky, to cover up the deaths of Howard and Maria).

Tony refuses to help with the damage in Bucharest, and sends Wanda to Nigeria to be punished.

Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy explode at Steve over his plan to go back in time. 

Sam and Clint turn on Team Cap and realize Tony was right all along

Pepper is with Tony when Mrs. Spencer confronts him, and deconstructs the entire story (she is in fact a woman named Mariah Jameson who was presumably working for Ross), but Tony is still pro-Accords and makes sure Team Cap is detained.

Tony sees Natasha for who she really is when they first meet

Team Cap is pardoned, but Tony talks down to all of them and says none of them are good people

META: Tony sees all the fanfiction about him and he and Steve gawk at it

Tony went to prison for six months for making Ultron, and when he returns he absolutely freaks out seeing Wanda

Tony gets mad at Sam for being dismissive of Vision’s statement during the Accords discussion, and takes the opportunity to explode at everyone about the Info Dump

Tony created a weapon specifically for destroying the Mind Stone just in case that ever came up, and he uses it on Vision with zero hesitation.

Tony lectures Team Cap for believing Ross was the one in charge

Tony accepts the “intent matters” argument, and still arrests Wanda because he didn’t intend to cause the death of her parents.

[primordialpaper]

Thinking of Me, But Just the Same

An alternate take on, or fanfiction of a fanfiction, @jinxquickfoot‘s fic The One Where Wanda is Tony’s Weakness. Highly recommend giving it a read. I don’t know if I’m going to be getting any further than what I have here, so I thought I’d just post what I’ve come up with so far.

To avoid any confusion, it should be noted that both of these fics chose to overlook Wanda’s age being retconned, so she’s 18 years old here, as she was heavily implied to have been up until WV. We also don’t talk about MoM or M*chael W*ldron in this house. Also, this takes place after AoU, pre-Civil War.

<Here, Tony’s just found the team, sans one member, after a fairly similar series of events to the original fic. They’re in a secure holding cell, with him standing outside.>

Tony began applying a steady repulsor beam to the thick metal barrier, only for the entire team to shout their protests.

He looked up to find Steve staring at him, fists pressed to whiteness against the glass between them. He’d lost his helmet, and was sporting a few cuts and bruises around his face, but his eyes were alight with distress. Tony knew what that look meant. The average beating wouldn’t cause Steve Rogers any concern. But hurting someone under his command? That was a surefire way to put such an expression on his face.

“Tony, no! Forget about us! Get-”

He was cut off when, from behind the door against the far wall, there came a scream.

Wanda.

Tony had known from his scans on the outside that the youngest of the New Avengers was likely in pain, but he found himself utterly unprepared to hear the audible result. It was a piercing, blood-chilling cry of agony that he could feel skitter over his nerves like an electrical impulse.

(At the behest of some kind of morbid curiosity, Tony had once gone looking through the files they had uncovered at Strucker’s base. The twins had been sixteen when they’d undergone experimentation. Pietro Maximoff had not lived to reach the age of majority, dying just two months prior.)

Tony considered the variables before him. His and FRIDAY’s little trick with the sensors wouldn’t last forever, and the rest of the hired guns would soon return in force. It was obvious he needed to get the others out of their cage. Iron Man alone wasn’t enough to blast their way out, and with Wanda clearly incapacitated, they had the best chance of getting out of this with everyone free and able to fight.

But Wanda needed help, now.

His plan came together with little prompting.

In one swift maneuver, Tony stepped out of his armor, keeping one of the gauntlets curled around his forearm while the main suit continued boring through the team’s cell.

“I’ve got her, Cap. You guys catch up when you can.”

Ignoring the surge of objections from his team, Tony stalked across the room, charging his repulsor to a hair's breadth away from firing before kicking the door open.

Inside was much the same as the previous rooms; concrete walls and floors, exposed plumbing, except with the addition of clusters of ancient looking lab equipment. And the fact that it was all bathed in lurid, gleaming scarlet.

A handful of men in white coats were standing at various stations, reading monitors and going over displays, with the majority gathered around the table in the middle of the room. It was there Tony could see Wanda, strapped down and writhing while it looked as if her power was being visibly torn from beneath her skin. Wisps of red leaked from her eyes, her mouth, poured out like blood from the center of her chest, all of it being funneled into a deep indigo prism that jutted out of the ground before her.

All while she screamed.

The guard nearest to Tony received a concentrated repulsor blast to the face before he could even raise his gun. The scientists quickly fled as he made his way over to them, inadvertently providing cover from the remaining goons trying to get a clear shot at him. Tony allowed himself a certain level of callousness in the way he ensured no one in the room was left standing. People who could do something like this, treat a teenager like some kind of lab rat, didn’t deserve to have him pull his punches.

In short order, he found himself stepping over unconscious evil-doers as he quickly made his way towards Wanda. She didn’t look good, hooked up to various sensors and IVs doing God knows what, wrists rubbed raw and bleeding in their restraints, along with some kind of collar around her neck. Tony tried to catch her eyes, flickering erratically between pale green and crimson, but she seemed unable to focus, merely tossing her head from side to side while her face twisted in pain. Despite the scientists all being down for the count, the purple obelisk- whatever the hell it was- was still doing its damnedest to bleed Wanda dry.

Tony would have to do something about that.

“Hang on, kid.” he urged lowly, unsure if Wanda could even understand him at the moment, before placing himself between her and the crystal. He couldn’t move her, not with the energy still pouring over her body like a personal electric fence, and it was highly unlikely that this thing was going to go quietly.

But he was an engineer. He’d weathered enough sparks and stray cinders in his time to feel more apt to withstand the blowback than the dazed young woman behind him.

Tony kept that thought in mind as he released the largest blast his gauntlet could muster at the crystal.

The resulting explosion as the prism shattered made his concentrated beam of high density muons- the equivalent of over a hundred pounds of TNT narrowed down to the atomic level- look like a cheap sparkler in comparison.

An eruption of scarlet energy surged outwards, crashing against Tony like a tidal wave, without even the hope of standing his ground. As if in slow motion, Tony could feel himself get hurled off his feet. His eyes burned, even when he closed them against the blinding red light, and his skin felt like it was going to fly off his body.

Nothing, though, could compare to the inferno raging within his skull. Thousands of blazing needles scored his brain, every synapse beaming like a supernova. His mind was expanding beyond his capacity to understand, greedily swallowing every shred of new information that made its way into his grasp. He could feel the presence of every living thing in the building, the way their existence was bearing down on his perception from all angles.

His head collided with the ground, and, if he had any space left for his own thoughts in his brain, he would’ve welcomed the unconsciousness that followed.

<End of chapter>

Ever since Afghanistan, Tony had been a troubled sleeper. If it wasn’t nightmares, he found himself shooting awake at the smallest sound, reaching for the gauntlet he kept near his bed. Having Pepper helped, like it did in regard to most things, but he couldn’t find any trace of her vanilla scented shampoo on the pillow next to him.

“- be fine. They both will.”

“- fell from a wormhole and lived,”

“- brain activity on this scale,”

That didn’t stop him from dragging the thing over his head in an attempt to block out the noise. The inside of his skull was pounding in a way that put decades of partying and subsequent hangovers to shame, and he wanted no part of the waking world. Regardless, soft snatches of conversations kept worming their way into his ears, just faint enough for him to register, no matter how firmly he buried his head.

He didn’t know where he was (certainly not at home in bed. The thread count of the sheet he was lying on was appalling compared to his standards.), or why his brain felt like it had been stomped on, and the hushed chorus of whispers around him was making it hard to think. Had he left the TV on in the other room or something?

“- hell did they do to you, kid,”

“- Stark and that girl were brought in,”

“- to have her here, she freaks me out,”

One voice, however, managed to drown out the others. It started with a sigh, followed by a plaintive, “If only you were awake, Tony. Then you could have one of these smoothies I so thoughtfully prepared.”

Tony knew that voice. He also knew there was no hope in disguising his wakefulness from someone trained to read even the smallest cues in a person’s body language. Begrudgingly, Tony lurched into a sitting position, blinking his eyes open to see Natasha reclining casually across from him, feet propped up on the chair beside the one she’d claimed, a paper tray holding three smoothies resting in her lap.

The furniture here was tacky and drab, the walls even more starkly white than the butterfly bandage holding shut the cut on Natasha’s chin... They were in the Compound’s medical wing? Why...

The memory of before: Rhodey’s distress signal, flying off into an unknown situation, finding the others, finding Wanda, the overwhelming surge of red... it all came rushing back to him alongside a burst of adrenaline, and Tony was rocking his weight back to shoot to his feet, only for Natasha’s cool, firm hands to find his shoulders before he could even rise an inch off his cot.

“Easy,” she urged, guiding him to sit back down. Trading her grip on his shoulders for a lighter hold on his hand, she deftly passed him one of the smoothies (of course, not a drop had been spilled during the move from her lap to Tony’s bed), encouraging his fingers to wrap around it before she stepped back. “Everyone’s fine, and I can give you the rundown of what happened. But I had to fight for my life with that blender to make these, so you better appreciate them.”

Tony was actually quite parched (and not at all concerned about what Natasha would do if he didn’t accept her offering), so he took a few gulps of the smoothie, only to make a face.

“Raspberries?”

“What’s wrong with raspberries?” Natasha’s tone had the barest hint of defensiveness.

“They’re a poor man’s blueberries.”

<After Natasha brings him up to speed, and some filler, Tony makes a seemingly innocuous comment.>

“What?” there was something in Natasha’s voice, a wariness, that set Tony on edge. It was unlike her to reveal her disquiet so easily.

“You said you were going to send in Rogers,” Tony reminded her. Why did she seem so unsettled? “I’m sorry I made fun of your raspberries, alright? Just spare me having to listen to-”

“Tony,” the spy interrupted, gravely meeting his eyes. “I didn’t say that. I thought it.”

Tony would’ve denied it, called her bluff as part of some kind of prank or practical joke, if he couldn’t inexplicably feel the genuine apprehension bleeding off of her. It was like a noxious odor, wafting over to him whether he wanted to perceive it or not, and assaulting his senses like some kind of mental second-hand smoke.

Unbeknownst to him, hairline fractures began to crawl up the window beside the door.

“That’s- I-” Tony could feel his heartbeat picking up, evidenced by the rising pitch and frequency of the sounds coming from the nearby monitor.

Those noises were merely one of several currently vying for his attention. 

He could hear dozens of staff members bustling about, their thoughts a senseless cacophony of “<em>Where are those files I</em>-” and “definitely going to need a drink after-” and “If I have to answer one more-”.

He could hear Natasha, speaking lowly into a com unit on her wrist, something about “evacuate non-essential personnel,” and “reduce the risk of overstimulation,”.

He could hear his pulse thundering in his ears, growing louder when he clamped his hands over them. But not loud enough to drown out the sound of everything else.

<Here is where I’d elaborate more on the debilitating surge of telepathic feedback Tony is getting, as well as Nat doing her best to calm him down because she’s a good friend.>

Two streams of thought; one desperately chanting no, no, no, please no, and the other a wordless, blustery cocktail of concern and responsibility, were fast approaching. Tony lifted his head in time to see Wanda skid to a stop outside his door, Steve at her heels.

The girl, unsurprisingly, had the look of someone who’d recently been held captive by a troupe of mad scientists. Clad in a tank top and sweatpants, with bandages wrapped around her wrists and neck where the restraints had been, she was pale and unsteady on her feet, holding on to the doorframe while Steve put a hand on her elbow.

“I felt it,” she gasped, and sought out Tony with impossibly large eyes. “Just before it faded, I could feel it. Did it- Are you...”

“Wanda’s powers aren’t working.” Steve explained, glancing worriedly at his fellow Avengers. “She said she could sense them in this direction right after she woke up, but now she can’t pick up anything. Nat, that order you sent out, was it-”

The sound of fabric tearing brought the conversation to a halt.

Tony, along with everyone else in the room, glanced down to where his hand was fisted in the sheet of his cot. The cloth in his grip had started to fray, fluttering weakly as wisps of red leaked from his hold. Out of instinct, he jerked his hand away, only to be left with a pulsing mass of red energy hovering in his palm.

The same power that usually shone from Wanda’s hands.

It wasn’t instinct, but pure unbridled panic this time, that drove Tony to try and shake his hand free of the unwelcome substance, before he could remember he’d seen Wanda flatten cars with smaller gestures.

A bead of red light zipped from his palm, striking- and absolutely obliterating- the window to his room.

Steve lurched forward to yank Wanda back from the shower of glass when she’d- no doubt instinctively- raised her hand to craft a shield with her power. Power that she no longer had. Power that was currently winding through Tony’s bloodstream, wrenching open his mind to the thoughts and feelings of everyone around him.

“Fuck!” Tony forced his dangerous appendages to resume gripping the mattress, where they couldn’t be directed at anyone else in the room.

He could taste their fear, running thick like blood down the back of his throat. Fear and concern and guilt. The guilt stood out loudest of all, blaring from the one person who should have known how loud she was being.

Tucked against Steve’s chest (he hadn’t released her, wary of the glass covered ground and the girl’s lack of shoes), Wanda managed to bring a hand to her mouth, staring at Tony while he had no choice but to hear the one phrase repeating on loop in her head.

There’s nothing more horrifying than a miracle.

<This will be in the following chapter, and occurs when Tony’s made aware that Wanda’s powers are in fact magical in nature, rather than a feat of science like they’d all initially thought. The current team of Avengers know this (and didn’t tell Tony purely due to a clerical error, this is not a “sometimes my teammates don’t tell me things” moment) because someone paid them a visit.>

“Dr. Strange came to us a few months ago on behalf of his community of magic users, the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj. The doctor expressed some rather...” Vision pursed his lips, drumming his fingers against the countertop in an uncharacteristic show of irritation. “uncharitable notions regarding Miss Maximoff and her abilities, and suggested she’d be more suited to instruction under him and his fellow practitioners rather than the Avengers.”

<After some discussion, Dr. Strange enters the scene by portal.>

“Miss Maximoff,” Strange’s gaze wasn’t exactly cold, but it was certainly more reserved as he looked at Wanda. “I don’t suppose you’ve changed your mind about our offer to study at Kamar-Taj?”

Wanda, for all her apparent unease following the loss of her powers, still regarded Strange with an upturned chin and steady eyes.

“While I live and until I die, I am an Avenger, Doctor. That’s not going to change.”

Strange sighed, like he’d expected as much. “Of course not. Well,” he shifted his gaze to the room at large. “how might I be of assistance to Earth’s mightiest heroes?”

Any points the man might have scored with Tony on the basis of his (admittedly very nicely groomed) facial hair fell away upon the realization that he might be, in fact, a grade A asshole. In an effort to let cooler heads prevail, though, he stayed silent and allowed Vision to detail exactly how they’d come to find themselves in their current situation, beginning with the team’s capture and ending with their discovery that Wanda’s powers had found a new host in Tony.

Dr. Strange fixed him with a look of surprise, bordering on grudging respect, even. “You withstood a discharge of unbridled Chaos magic, without your suit or any defenses, and you’re still in one piece?”

Tony shrugged. “They don’t call me Iron Man for nothing.”

<After more conversation, Strange again tries to sell Wanda on his idea of moving to Kamar-Taj, this time with fraying patience. He’s motivated by logic here, and isn't trying to be unkind, but he’s not one for coddling.>

“And the next time your lack of understanding of your magic becomes an issue?” Strange challenged, his voice hard. “When the consequences might not be so easily undone? Your commitment to your team is admirable, but you fail to realize how dangerous an untrained sorcerer can be.”

Tony liked to think that, even if he hadn’t been supernaturally aware of how- behind her stoic expression- Wanda deeply feared Strange’s words to be true, he still would’ve stepped in. Nothing about Strange’s tone, or the sight of a grown man looming over a teenager, sat right with him, necessitating Tony to interject with a drawl of, “You know, if this is how you are with kids, I don’t think your whole ‘birthday party magician’ shtick is going to work out.”

<In a later chapter, Tony and Wanda try to practice, with unsatisfactory results.>

They were using wooden blocks to practice with because, for reasons she failed to disclose, Wanda found something about it morbidly amusing.

<The training session goes poorly.>

When the blocks started lightly smoking as Tony’s frustration mounted, he got up and let them clatter to the floor, hands curling into fists as he began tersely pacing from one side of the room to the other. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wanda stoop to pick up the cubes, frowning at him like she was disappointed with his obvious agitation.

“Your emotions are sabotaging your control.” she noted bluntly. “The magic will respond to your feelings sooner than it’ll listen to your orders.”

“You keep saying that.” Tony griped testily. “When are you going to tell me how I’m supposed to control what I feel?” turning back around to face her, he threw up his hands, feeling like he was on the precipice of hysterics or a nervous breakdown. He was tired (even more so than usual), his head ached (along with his hands, eyes, and chest), and he couldn’t even set foot in his workshop for fear these new powers would trash his designs (or even worse, his bots).

Having to self-exile from his own lab was particularly grating. He was used to building things, had been doing it his whole life, ever since he could pick up a hammer. Tony Stark was an inventor, first and foremost, and it was one of the only things that could pull him out of his head when everything became too much. Except now, if he wasn’t careful, he ran the risk of destroying everything he touched. 

His emotions, things he’d spent years fighting to both ignore and deal with, were more volatile than ever, and were susceptible in the worst way to his powers and how they left him permanently exposed to the thoughts and feelings of everyone around him.

“I am telling you, you just aren’t listening.” the young woman gritted out, glowering at him. Wanda, too, seemed to be reaching the end of her patience. What she had to be frustrated about, Tony couldn’t guess.

<More arguing>

“And I’m surprised to hear about self-control from the weapon of mass destruction!”

Speaking of the thoughts and feelings of those around him, no sooner had the words left Tony’s mouth, then he was assaulted by a wave of hurt from the girl in front of him. Immediately, Tony knew he’d crossed a line just then. To Wanda’s credit, her face only conveyed a blank kind of shock, lips parted wordlessly. Lips she then fiercely pressed together into a firm line, before turning on her heel and stalking towards the door.

“Wait, kid-” Tony could already feel shame beginning to crawl up his spine. Was he really not above taking his frustration out on a girl not even in her twenties? He began walking after her. “I-”

The wooden block sent rocketing in his direction halted his pursuit. An instinctive flash of red caught it mid-air, but the intention behind it was enough to keep Tony from attempting to follow her.

With a sigh, he allowed the block to clatter to the ground.

And he’d called Dr. Strange bad with kids.

<In the following chapter, Tony tries to make things right.>

Finding his young houseguest was remarkably easy, truth be told. All Tony had to do was follow the sound of overwhelming angst until he reached the door to a rarely used guest room on the west side of the mansion. As he approached, he militantly stifled his reception to outside input like he’d been instructed, aware of just how little Wanda likely wanted to be read now of all times.

Standing at the threshold, Tony found himself utterly unsure of what to do. He couldn’t hear any sound coming from the other side (thank God. The thought of having to console a crying teenage girl terrified him.) and he knew better than trying to probe mentally for clues.

<More of Tony lamenting his stunted emotional growth and lack of knowledge on how to proceed.>

Tony glanced at the handle, and was unsurprised to see the lock had been engaged. What was more, his new senses told him that Wanda had actually gone a step further and seated herself on the floor with her back braced against the door. Both gestures seemed rather futile, he noted cynically. Even if Tony wasn’t currently packing more than enough power to level this entire building, a locked door and a broody teenager wouldn’t pose much of an obstacle to an Iron Man suit if he really wanted inside. Then, it occurred to him that perhaps Wanda was banking on the idea that, even if Tony would’ve disregarded the door being locked, he’d be unwilling to force it open if she was seated on the other side and in harm’s way.

The extra security measures weren’t necessary. Regardless of the events that lead to this moment, Tony couldn’t imagine himself ever barging into someone’s space uninvited after an argument. Especially if that someone was the newly depowered, skittish, woefully young woman he was currently hosting. He wasn’t completely tactless, after all. (Not to mention Pepper, Steve, and Natasha would all be lined up to take his head, he was certain).

Not that he could blame Wanda for doubting his character at the moment.

His knees not protesting in the slightest, Tony lowered himself to the floor, before maneuvering to sit back against the door in a reflection of the girl on the other side. 

At this close proximity, he had to consciously divert his attention away from the thoughts and emotions he could pick up through the thin barrier of the door between them.

[gerudospiriit]

[I've apparently caught an I Just Want to Write About Nabooru bug, so shower thoughts led to wanting to write a sort of general timeline for what happens with her post OoT:

Nabooru returns to the desert and her people (I don't subscribe to the sages being killed or forced to remain in their temples forever because I Don't Like That) and explains what happened concerning Hyrule, Ganondorf, and herself. Since she helped to, for all intents and purposes, kill their king, she was arrested and imprisoned until the Elite could make a decision on her fate.

The Gerudo hold their version of a memorial service for the fallen king.

After close to a week, the Elite present Nabooru with her sentence: the seemingly endless gauntlet of monsters known as the Kavi Dorova (Cave of Ordeals), the next best thing to an outright execution since only one person was known to survive it. If she managed to complete it and live, after a six month probationary period, her status and rank would be returned, and she would undertake the trials that would earn her the title of chief.

Nabooru undertakes the Kavi Dorova and survives, escaping with her life hanging by a mere thread. The daily guard sent there returned her to the fortress where she was nursed back to health over several weeks.

During her probationary period, Nabooru keeps herself busy with all manner of tasks, from guard and stable duties to teaching and training other Gerudo.

Six months later, she completes the trials to become chief (one of which is traversing the desert to all of their gods monuments to pray; I might come up with more later) and takes on the role.

Her focus during her tenure is first and foremost keeping the Gerudo alive from both the elements of the desert and the growing threat of Hyrule's distaste for them. This means focusing on truly mastering their desert home and making their home more sustainable, now that they can travel further west without the constantly raging sandstorms, and dealing with bridging and mending relationships abroad to at least an unhostile level. On that note, she also focuses on re-establishing the Gerudo as a sovereign power rather than one united under the singular, Hylian banner as the treaty after the Civil War established. Additionally, she wants to tackle a ton of projects that will better then lives of her people and allow them to be independent, from stuff like rebuilding the temples/shrines they could not maintain to creating Gerudo Town (only better than it is in botw/totk because I'm so bothered by how tiny it is???). Basically, the goal, as it always was for her, was to get the Gerudo to a place where they are self-sufficient and the are LIVING not just surviving.]

[simplepetal]

The Rose Files Universe:

Dropped the links below for easier navigation.

The Rose Files

• Love In The Midst Of War

Rose Matthews wanted nothing more than to live her life in peace. Away from SHIELD and safe from HYDRA.

Befriending and falling in love with Bucky Barnes derailed all of that.

Funny enough, she didn't mind it one bit.

This is the story of how they found love in the midst of war.

Covers the six months they had together leading up to CA: Civil War all the way through Avengers Endgame. With some Agents of SHIELD canon sprinkled in for extra spice.

• The Price Of Freedom

Having grown weary of SHIELD, long-time agent Rose Matthews gears up for an early retirement from the organization while preparing to join certain super soldier on a new adventure.

However, she has one last mission to complete.

Her mission?

Locate her sister, fellow SHIELD agent Jessica Matthews.

Should be simple right? Not when her disappearance is connected to reported sightings of the long thought-to-be-dead God of Mischief.

And when Skrulls get involved, it becomes a race to save everything Rose cares about while preventing what could be a war between worlds.

• We're Gonna Be Timeless

(Link will be added once I've started posting chapters)

Rose and Bucky Barnes are dragged out of retirement to help a new team stop the re-emergence of HYDRA. But not everything is as it seems. A former ally makes a villainous turn, family turns on each other, secrets come to light and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. It will take the combined strength of Rose, Bucky, and their allies to save the world from HYDRA.

What If...? Rose Files Edition

• The Falcon, The Winter Soldier, and The Mercenary

(Link will be added once I've started posting chapters)

Follow me and ponder the question... What If?

What If Rose Matthews left SHIELD after returning from the Blip?

(This story explores an alternate universe where in Rose successfully left SHIELD earlier and got dragged into the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.)

• Bucky's Girls

(Link will be added once I've started posting chapters)

Follow me and ponder the question... What If?

What if Rose and Bucky didn't stay together in Bucharest?

(This story explores an alternate universe where in Rose left Bucharest after encountering Bucky.)

• Right Here Waiting

(Link will be added once I've started posting chapters)

Follow me and ponder the question... What If?

What if Rose wasn't lost in the Snap?

(This story explores an alternate universe where in Rose didn't get dusted after Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet)

• The Winter Rose

(Link will be added once I've started posting chapters)

Follow me and ponder the question... What If?

What if Bucky ran away with Rose after SHIELD fell?

(This story explores an alternate universe where in Bucky chose to stay with Rose after the Fall of SHIELD)

[studiomkm]

Okay, got a prologue written. Enjoy...

Long ago, during the era of the Hero of Time, the Gerudo were known throughout Hyrule as fierce warriors and noble thieves who practiced unusual magicks, most often used to create mystical artifacts such as the Silver Gauntlets and the Mirror Shield used by that Era’s Link. Only a single male was ever born amongst the Gerudo every 100 years until Ganondorf, a man so evil that it was rumored he was the reincarnation of an ancient demon, somehow broke that cycle.

In the wake of his defeat, the Gerudo were desperate to distance themselves from the dark legacy he’d stained their honor with. The Gerudo were known as fierce warriors and noble thieves but if they wished to retain relations with and within Hyrule, they would need to bend the knee to the royal family. Thus it was decreed by that King of Hyrule that the Gerudo were to abandon their thievery and their mystic origins.

Not all Gerudo were willing to capitulate to those demands. After all, was not the great Gerudo chief Nabooru as instrumental in defeating Ganondorf as the other Sages? Did the legacy of their skill as thieves and the mighty spiritual magic flowing through their veins truly deserve to die because of the selfishness of two kings? Many Gerudo thought the price was too high to pay and the tribe splintered to the brink of civil war.

It was wise, patient Nabooru in her old age who managed to prevent the Gerudo from spilling their sisters’ blood. In her final decree as Gerudo Chief, she split the Gerudo in twain. Those who remained in Hyrule would do as its king requested and abandon their ways as thieves and sorceresses but she also hid away those Gerudo who would keep those very legacies alive.

The separated tribe, who would later come to call themselves the Na’abu Gerudo in honor of wise Nabooru, were eventually forgotten by their sisters in Hyrule due to the great secrecy that protected them but never forgot themselves. Nabooru was given a place of honor as a venerated ancestor along with the Hero of Time who had defeated Ganondorf with her. Her policy of allowing even men to earn their place as Gerudo lived on in the Na’abu tribe and thus did Gerudo husbands and brothers come to be.

It was thought that the two tribes would never again meet, that they would remain forever separate, but the return of Ganon to plague Hyrule three times in barely over a century warranted concern from the Chief and elders of the Na’abu tribe. They could not let his evil threaten their sisters in Hyrule, even if that meant that their secret would be broken.

One of them would have to travel to Hyrule… but who?

Currently trying to create a post-TOTK Zelda fanfic thanks to the inspiring works of @growingupgerudo here on Tumblr and Sokkas_First_Fangirl on AO3 (I don’t know if they have a tumblr so feel free to point me to it if they do)

Premise, you ask? (I don’t actually care whether or not you asked)

What if the Gerudo split into 2 groups after the era of Ocarina of Time? The warriors we see in BOTW/TOTK and another group that wanted to keep their origins as noble thieves who moved far away

[gokailyger84]

Decided to do a little fic rec list, since I’m reaching the rereading phase of my ironstrange obsession.

This list consists of ironstrange fics, where they go into the past and try to fix things.  Several are unfinished and may never be completed and while that can be disheartening, I can’t say that I regret reading them.

(these are not in any particular order.  They’re all ridiculously amazing.  Also providing my own summaries so y’all can give them more of a chance.  Be sure to read all the tags and ratings)

The Futurist  by shadowscribe        (unfinished)

After Tony’s funeral, Stephen uses some of the stones to travel to a parallel universe where he dies in the car crash.  He saves Tony in Siberia and tells him his goal is for Tony to be happy.        

       De Novo  by MagiQueen   (unfinished)      

Tony dies in Siberia.  Stephen from a future lost to Thanos, travels back in time to save Tony, knowing he is key to victory.  Something goes wrong and they are both sent back in time to before the first Avengers movie.  (this one got me on board with Friday being more than just an AI)

     for a hundred visions and revisions  by   aventria, iluxia     (unfinished)

Stephen is unsatisfied with the state of the world after the defeat of Thanos.  An encounter with Morgan Stark, has him drowning in guilt.  He finds a way to go back in time.  First to after the first snap and picks up Tony when Pepper is pregnant, then they go further back and pick up Loki from the beginning of Infinity War.  The three return back to just before Iron Man 2 and make changes to avoid the future Stephen came from.  (this is one that really hurts that it will likely never be completed.  It’s just so good! Especially the beautifully growing bond between Stephen and Tony)

     A Blast to the Past by SassyAngel    (unfinished)

  Tony snaps in Endgame to get rid of Thanos.  He’s somehow thrown back into the past, just before Civil War.  Stephen shows up, sensing the infinity stones which are still in the gauntlet and demands an explanation.  Tony is vague with his answers, intent on doing everything on his own but eventually let’s Stephen in(he’s pretty persistent).   Tony builds a new team and gains the family he’s wanted and builds a better future for himself.    

       Anew.   by    IViv         (complete)

Tony dies in Siberia.  He wakes up in the past during Iron Man 2, due to a future intervention. Tony is determined to do things right this time and seamlessly pulls Stephen into his chaotic life.  (this is the fic series that got me hooked on time travel fix it fics.  It’s so good and so intricate and their are four parts and they are all complete!!!)

Back to the Future Rules Apply    by   atypicalsnowman     (complete)

Tony comes to Stephen for help with the civil war.  Stephen reluctantly refuses and comes to regret it.  Using a spell to save Tony, things continue up to Infinity Way, ending up with them losing in a very different way and the infinity stones intervene, giving them a chance to redo Infinity War.  (the whole reason for this fic still cracks me up.  I have never seen such determination to explain a weird moment with a certain character)

     Tether   by   Shortsnout       (complete)

On the flying donut, headed towards Titan, Stephen ends up jumping back and forth through time, learning more and more about Tony. (this one was so interesting and such a different way of having Stephen fall in love with Tony.  most use the 14 mil futures for his love but I gotta say this was a great and fresh take on that concept.)        

     We Can Do Better   by Zeethulhu       (ongoing.  updated weekly)

Infinity War ends up being the losing timeline and not giving up, Stephen manages to send himself and Tony to the past to the moments of their births.  The two grow up separately and together and make changes along the way, making sure that they will win against Thanos next time. ( man, this fic. this fic right here. i have no words for how amazing this story is.  Usually, i can’t stand pre-canon fics but this one has made me want to go back to all the college and high school aus i skipped.  this story is super long and it just now reached the first Iron Man but it is worth it.  the journey is amazing!)

     code my love, soul born  by graveltotempo    (complete)

After Tony’s funeral, guilt-ridden Stephen makes a bitter Friday a body and sends her into the past before Age of Ultron. As Tony Stark’s daughter, she works to change the future and make sure her Boss doesn’t die this time around. (i had skipped this one before because, i couldn’t wrap my head around Friday being a main character but De Novo changed that for me.  I really liked the development she went through, especially with how she regards Stephen and it was a nice change of pace to see things from an AI’s perceptive and how Tony having a daughter shifts things.)

Well, that’s pretty much it for the time travel ones.  I may have missed some but these really stood out to me.  

I many do another rec list for fics that have Stephen present in Tony’s life from the beginning(Iron Man).  There are some really good ones for that plot point. 

Off the top of my head definitions of indefinable things      by  w_space    is one of the really good ones.  (frustratingly unfinished though)

[stephanieromanoff]

Being Wanda and Pietro’s little sister would include (Endgame)

Age of Ultron | Civil War | Infinity War

It passed almost a month before Tony and Nebula were found by Captain Marvel.

When he returned to Earth, the first thing he said to Steve was “I lost them. I lost the kids.”

In that moment Natasha knew you were gone as well.

She’s never felt so much pain before.

She lost you. She lost her daughter. Her only one. She lost her only chance of being a mother.

The team grieved each of them in their own way.

Tony and Pepper started a family. Morgan. Tony made sure she knew about you and Peter.

Steve worked at a support group.

And Natasha, besides not giving up her hope to bring you back, created an orphanage for kids who’d lost their parents to the Snap.

And then five years had passed.

And Scott Lang returned.

He gave everyone hope again.

The team was reunited again. This time for the time travel to bring the stones.

Natasha promised herself she’d do anything to bring back her daughter again.

She kept her promise.

The Avengers had all the stones, and then Hulk snapped.

You were confused. You woke up, and not even a second later you saw Peter, and Strange, and he told you both you had a war to win.

You were back at where once was the Avengers compound. It was all destroyed.

You had no time to process what just happened, you just knew you had to fight.

It was all so quick. You heard Steve saying “Avengers! Assemble” then you all fought.

And then you saw someone you longed to see. Your sister.

She almost beat up Thanos.

Captain Marvel showed up and basically saved everyone’s asses.

Before you knew you saw Tony using a gauntlet and holding all the stones.

With just a snap of his fingers, everyone of Thanos’ army disappeared.

You saw Tony die right before your eyes.

The first thing you did after everything was more calm and after you and Wanda were reunited again, was to look for your mother. Nat.

“Clint where’s Nat?” You said, looking everywhere looking for her.

He hadn’t the courage to break your heart to tell you the truth. He didn’t even have the courage to look you in the eye. He just cried.

“Where is my mom?” You screamed while you sobbed. But you knew the answer already.

Clint just gave you a tight hug and tried to calm you while you sobbed on his shoulder.

With everyone back to life and Thanos defeated, a few days later Tony’s funeral happened.

You stayed beside Wanda, the only family you had now. You hugged her as tight as you could, and silently cried during the ceremony.

After the funeral, you, Clint and Wanda talked about the ones you’ve lost. Your brother. Vision. Tony. And your mother.

“I never got the chance to tell her I loved her.” It’s what you said to Clint.

“She knew, Y/N.”