#yelena centric

[themculibrary]

I'm looking for a fic where nat and yelena have just been brought into shield by clint. I can't remember if they are both teenagers or if just yelena is. It was pretty long, like >100k words

I remember basically nothing else lol, do you have any idea what this could be?

could it be this fic?

i won't let go of your hand (ao3) - Charlie_Balle eventual maria/natasha N/R, 258k

Summary: Yelena Belova was seventeen when her sister broke her out of the Red Room. She was seventeen when her sister brings home the man sent to kill her. She was seventeen when she became the youngest SHIELD agent known to date. 

[thursdayygrrrl]

from the sidelines

⌦ .｡.:*♡

characters: natasha romanoff, wanda maximoff (wandanat)

genre: fluff, slight angst

warnings: swearing, mentions of blood & guns, breakdowns/crying

summary: When Wanda comes into Natasha’s life, she gives the widow something to lose.

word count: 3,859

a/n: this is my first time writing for nat/something nat-centric and, technically, wandanat too! this was inspired by sidelines by phoebe bridgers because i think that song is suuuuper underappreciated and that it was a good fit for them (lyrics are in bold and italics). it’s been a while since i last wrote anything for fun and not for uni, so please be kind. i also don’t know much about gardening so some of the language might not be accurate. you can read it on ao3 (here) or under the cut. i hope you enjoy :>

I’m not afraid of anything at all

If there was one thing constant about Natasha, it was the lack of fear. It wasn’t inherent, but was a habit developed essential for her survival. She learned that pretty quickly. One moment of hesitance, no matter how short, could mean life or death. 

There were other times she felt brave without risking her life though. Like when she first dyed her hair. She chose the color blue because it reminded her of the sky. The horizon always looked limitless, a reminder that there could be more to life than what she had already experienced. She remembers making that choice and following through with it. It made her feel in control of something, amidst all the other things she had no power over.

───── ⴵ⋅ᗢ⋅ⴵ ─────

‘Cause nothing ever shakes me, nothing makes me cry

Not a plane going down in the ocean and drowning

One of her most vivid memories is flying the plane with Melina. The night was normal at first. She was playing tag with her younger sister until she fell and hurt her knee. Then, they watched the fireflies and went inside to help with dinner. Alexei arrived and they started eating. It all felt so nice, so normal until he said they were going on a big adventure. Her appetite disappeared. Yelena was excited, oblivious to what it actually meant. She didn’t have the heart or the chance to tell her.

The drive out was tense and quiet, save for American Pie playing in the background. She watched the scenes change outside her window from the suburbs to highways. They had to move fast, but she felt sluggish, overwhelmed with everything going on. She remembers holding on to a photobooth strip of her and Yelena before finally running to get on the plane after being urged by Alexei. The sound of sirens and the whirring of engines, her heartbeat hammering in her chest, filled her ears. Gunshots started sounding off. One hit Melina’s shoulder.

“I need you up here,” She said through gritted teeth. Natasha clambered beside her. 

She was wincing in pain while giving instructions to pull right. 

“Mom, you’ve got blood on you,” Her voice came out strangled, and that tight feeling came along with tears forming in her eyes. She didn’t cry often but she knew she hated the physiological sensations that came with it.

“It’s okay, baby.” Two more cars directly in front of them appeared in the distance. “Hit the accelerator there.”

She did as she was told, speeding the plane up. She faltered when a few more shots were fired at them.

“Hold it steady, hold it steady.” More shots, the headlights ahead were blindingly bright. “You’re gonna pull back at 55 knots.” They started counting in unison. Alexei popped one of the cars’ tires with a bullet, causing them to crash into each other.

“Pull back, you can do it! Pull back, all your strength...” Part of the plane grazes with the bottom of the now-upturned car. But they were finally off the ground. Flying. A sense of relief washes over her.

Considering the past few hours, the rest of the flight went smoothly. They landed somewhere remote, it felt like the middle of nowhere. Alexei carried Melina to a stretcher held by some soldiers she and Yelena ran after. After a short exchange of words with the older woman, she remembers wrangling a gun from someone, unwanted tears threatening to fall from her eyes again, and Yelena’s small form hiding behind her.

“I don’t wanna go back there.”

A needle was buried deep into her neck. She was then thrown into a shipping container with other girls. Masked people were pointing rifles at them, shouting and violently wrenching Yelena from her hold. There was a man, he knelt to meet her eyes. Rough and calloused hands held her face. 

“The Red Room is your home now.”

───── ⴵ⋅ᗢ⋅ⴵ ─────

Watched the world from the sidelines

Had nothing to prove

Natasha had just started getting used to being “normal,” just another child in midwestern America. She was going to school, being around other kids, having a family until it was all ripped away. Even though it was all a lie, she couldn’t say it wasn’t important to her.

Being back in the Red Room was a regimented, isolating existence. No one was able to speak to each other for long. Schedules were planned down to the minute. Excruciating physical training, including hand-to-hand combat, ballet, acrobatics, and weapons training, pushed them to their limits, sometimes even beyond. 

The mutilation, both psychological and physical, was the worst of all. They broke down each girl’s hope and willpower if any were even left. They were treated like objects, mere faceless weapons they could manipulate as a means to an evil end. The ones who survived were considered lucky, the prime of their batches, and given an operation. They called it “graduation,” but everyone knew what that meant.

At some point, she was able to get out. Her time with the KGB, then in S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers was filled with twists and turns. It was a lot of battles, moral disputes, and political agendas. There was even a time when she had to expose her own seedy past, much to her discomfort, but it was for the greater good. She didn’t mind as long as it was for the well-being of others.

───── ⴵ⋅ᗢ⋅ⴵ ─────

‘Til you came into my life

Gave me something to lose

Now that she thinks of it, the first time she interacted with Wanda was horrible. The witch inflicted a vision, memories that she was trying to bury and leave behind, when she was weakened and vulnerable. There were snippets of a conversation with Madame B. The graduation ceremony. It made her feel like a monster all over again.

The next time they interacted was in the Battle of Sokovia. She remembers regrouping with Steve, but not expecting the very same witch to make an appearance. Despite all the chaos, the jacket she wore looked familiar.

“Is that my jacket?” Natasha gestured at the younger woman, frowning slightly.

“She’s with us,” Steve said.

“That still doesn’t explain the jacket.” 

Natasha was persistent. She didn’t shop for clothes often, never dressing up unless she wanted or had to, so this red jacket was special. It was one of the first few things she bought for herself. Wanda, now awkward and unsure of what to do, ran off. The rest of the battle felt like a blur of robots and rubble.

Since then, Wanda joined the Avengers. The younger woman mostly kept to herself when not on missions, watching sitcoms in her room. Vision would talk to her sometimes. Other times, the widow herself would do so. Natasha understood she needed space and time to cope with everything she’d been through but didn’t want to leave her fully isolated. 

Their conversations, if you could even call them that, were awkward at first. Natasha would ramble on about whatever, trying to fill the silence.

“There’s breakfast in the kitchen.”

Wanda looks up from her book only to be met with a small, warm smile on the assassin’s face.

“It’s the usual American stuff. Eggs, bacon, sugary cereal, some fruit. Pretty sure Clint’s making waffles too,” Natasha points to the door with her thumb. “You should eat with us. Bond with the team, all that stuff that Steve goes on about. We’ll have training after.”

Wanda hums in contemplation. Then, she nods. It’s the slightest motion that one would miss if they didn’t pay enough attention. Natasha nods back and turns to leave the room. The witch’s voice catches her off-guard, though.

“I’ll come with you.”

It’s raspy in the best way possible, with a hint of her Sokovian accent lingering. It’s a sound that Natasha decides she would like to hear more often. Her smile grows ever so slightly as she gestures for her to walk together.

───

When Natasha started helping in Wanda’s hand-to-hand combat training, the two became closer literally and figuratively. In one memorable session, from when Wanda still wasn’t as skilled at combat as she is now, Natasha was able to pin her down. Her lithe fingers wrapped around the other woman’s wrists while she used her thighs to straddle. All to restrict movement, of course. The flustered expression on the witch’s face could not be more obvious.

Their sessions consisted of a warm-up, some rounds of sparring, and a cooldown. After barely surviving this particularly challenging one, Wanda lands on the bench with a sigh. “Fuck… You kicked my ass today, Tasha. No fair,” She says through heavy breaths, leaning back and wiping the sweat from her brow.

Natasha shrugs and smiles as she sits beside her, reaching for a bottle of water across from the younger woman. Her torso brushes with her thigh, making the Sokovian lose her breath all over again.

“Please. I went easy on you. Besides, it’s revenge for taking my jacket,” Natasha says as she sits back up and takes a sip of water.

Wanda stands on slightly wobbly legs while a breathy laugh escapes her lips. “You’re really still holding that grudge?” She raises her hands playfully, “In my defense, Steve threw it at me and told me to put it on. It was a hectic time, you know.” 

Natasha smirks and shakes her head as they both move to gather their bags and leave. The assassin offers her hand. 

“Let me carry your stuff. It’s the least I can do. Look, you can barely stand.”

“It’s okay, Tasha. I go—” 

“Come on,” The widow urges. A knowing look is on her face. 

Wanda’s face becomes flushed, more so than it already was. It looks like she hopes Natasha won’t notice, but she does anyway. She raises her eyebrow teasingly.

“Did the workout take you out that bad, Wands?”

The nickname doesn’t help at all. Wanda rolls her eyes playfully as she hands her duffel bag over. Natasha slings both bags over her shoulder and they start walking together.

“Remind me again why I have to keep doing the hand-to-hand stuff? I literally move things with my mind.”

“If you use your mind, why do you do the thing with your hands then?” Natasha tries to mimic the witch’s signature hand movements with her free hand. This earns her a lighthearted push. 

“Oh, you know I’m just kidding. We both know you can’t just rely on your magic all the time. I want you to be able to fend for yourself if anything happens. Yeah?”

Wanda groans exaggeratedly, “Ugh. Okay, yes, you have a point.”

She chuckles at this. The pair, now embraced by a comfortable silence, walks to the elevator of the compound. As they enter, Natasha wraps her free arm around Wanda’s shoulder. She squeezes slightly, firm muscles under her touch, bringing her closer and looking into her eyes. 

“Wanna have lunch with me today?”

Wanda raises her eyebrow, “Can we watch I Love Lucy while we eat?”

Natasha nods and hands over her bag. “Of course.”

They smile warmly at each other, parting ways to freshen up before meeting again later.

───

Natasha and Wanda have seen each other at different points in their lives. Happy, sad, and everything else in between. But the Lagos Incident was a whole other thing. Natasha herself was a witness to how Wanda had been doing so well before it. To watch the immense guilt, self-loathing, and depression come over the witch after the incident, after slowly building herself back up, was heartbreaking for the widow.

Old habits die hard. Wanda becomes a recluse again. However, instead of sitcoms accompanying her, it was the news. She couldn’t help but keep watching coverage of it as if being constantly reminded of this tragedy was helping anyone.

Steve already spoke with her, Natasha knows this, but she decides to give a different type of comfort to the person she’s grown to love. A silent one, one that speaks through actions. 

On days Wanda doesn’t leave her room, Natasha knows she isn’t eating so she goes up and brings food. Nine times out of ten, it’s a peanut butter sandwich because it’s all she can make without setting the kitchen on fire. Ten times out of ten, it’s returned with just a few bites taken out. It doesn’t matter, Natasha is just happy to provide her with even the littlest bit of sustenance.

On nights Wanda can’t sleep, evident by the faint light escaping from her room, Natasha stays up with her. She takes it upon herself to change the channels on Wanda’s television or switch it off. She puts on some music instead, knowing that noise is a welcome distraction to her spiraling thoughts. Other times, Wanda motions for Natasha to her bed. The contact of skin on skin, the physical reminder that she isn’t alone helps Wanda relax even if it’s only for a few hours. Most nights, the feeling of Natasha’s body pressed up against Wanda’s is enough to lull her to sleep. 

And when it’s not, when she falls into that spiral once more, Natasha’s always there to wipe away her tears and pull her out of it.

“So many people… All those lives lost because I-I couldn’t—” Wanda sobs, breaking down in the familiar hold of strong arms.

Natasha squeezes just a little bit tighter. She speaks softly, interrupting the younger woman, “I know, Wands. I know. But you have to stop blaming yourself, okay? We’ve all hurt people and we’ve all made mistakes. Even if we mean well. And you did mean well. It’s just sometimes things work out in ways we don’t anticipate.”

The consoling words fall on deaf ears. Wanda shakes her head and cries even harder while burying herself deeper into the embrace. Her voice is muffled, repeated pleas of repentance, “It’s my fault, it’s my fault, it’s all my fault… T-tasha, it’s all my fault…” Unsure what to say now, Natasha resorts to her instinct instead. It has never failed her. She starts to rock Wanda gently, pressing a soothing kiss to the top of the younger woman’s head. A quiet, melodic hum resonates from her lips. She continues until Wanda’s breathing evens out and until sleep takes over both of them.

───

A soft stream of sunlight seeps into the room, awakening the Russian. She looks down at the sleeping figure in her arms. Wanda looks so peaceful right now, Natasha thinks. She would do anything to conserve this moment, this feeling of serenity for her. To take away all her pain, heartache, and afflictions. Realistically, she knows she can’t accomplish that. The best she can do is just be there for her. 

It’s been a few minutes since and she feels Wanda stir slightly, who immediately snuggles closer and remains asleep. A warm feeling settles in her body, first in her chest then it spreads all over. She recalls feeling this way many times before, but only ever with Wanda. It’s at this exact instance she finally fully realizes what this is.

I’m in love. 

She bites her lip in contemplation, quiet realization, as Wanda’s eyes flutter open. Hazy green eyes look into clear ones and a mumbled phrase reaches her ears. “Your thoughts are getting loud, Tasha. Are you okay?”

Broken from her trance, she looks down at Wanda. “Yeah, I am. Um. I just�� I have something to tell you.” She shifts to lean against the headboard. Now is as perfect a time as any, she thinks. 

Wanda’s eyebrows stitch together in a frown as she rubs the sleep from her eyes. She sits up, mostly leaning her weight on the other woman, while trying to decipher the look on her face. The Russian waits for a sign of approval from the Sokovian. Wanda nods and hums.

“I’m going to be direct about this, Wands.”

She takes a deep breath in.

“I like that we’ve grown close, that we consider each other as friends. I like doing things for you and with you and I like helping you, giving you what I have. Time, insight, comfort, whatever. Watching sitcoms with you, sleeping next to you, and waking up in your bed. I like your voice and your ringed hands, how graceful they look when you use your powers. The way your nose scrunches up and your bunny teeth show when you smile. How your accent slips when you say certain words and how you say my name. The way you carry yourself. How you care so much about others… If you let me, I would care for you for the rest of time.”

Natasha finishes with a sharp exhale, only now realizing her rambling. Losing control was one of the things she never wanted to experience again, but this time was different. Finally letting these thoughts flow through and out of her felt cathartic. 

Wanda’s voice is quiet, “You would?” 

Natasha nods, “Always.”

She says it without hesitation. Because she is wholly certain that she has no other answer. Why would there be?

Wanda becomes silent. An unreadable expression appears on her face as she takes in Natasha’s words. Her posture straightens slightly. Tension is now in the air and a silence begins to settle. 

Natasha screws her eyes shut, willing the tears in her eyes to stop forming. She was just about to take everything back, apologize for even saying anything, before getting interrupted. She feels slim fingers gently hold her face. Wanda strokes Natasha’s cheek, her thumb moving in slow, circular motions while she speaks.

“Tasha, hey, please don’t cry,” Wanda looks at her pleadingly, leaning in closer.

Natasha blinks rapidly, brows furrowing together. “I’m sorry. I got nervous because you weren’t saying anything and I… I don’t want to lose you.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I just had to take a minute because I didn’t realize you felt this way. Trust you won’t lose me, please.” She looks away. Her touch slows down and ceases as her hands fall to her lap. “I just don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“You didn’t have to do anything, moya lyubov.” Natasha holds Wanda’s hands, “I mean everything I just said. I love you, Wanda.” 

She waits for a response with bated breath. Before she knows it, she feels supple lips capture her own. 

It’s tender yet electric. It’s everything she’s ever imagined and more. It’s simply perfect.

Natasha closes her eyes and deepens the kiss. She cradles Wanda’s jaw and feels the brunette melt into her touch. They pull away seconds later, foreheads touching as they catch their breath. Wanda says softly, “I love you too, Natasha. You don’t know how long I have been wanting to say that.”

───── ⴵ⋅ᗢ⋅ⴵ ─────

Now I know what it feels like

To wanna go outside

It was a calm morning, both women following a routine established over the past few months. Natasha would wake up early and then proceed to training, leaving Wanda to sleep in. By the time she’d be back, Wanda was up and just finishing preparing breakfast. They’d eat together, talk about their plans for the day, and decide what to do from there. Some days they’d spend together while, on others, they’d have separate activities. 

“Detka! Come here, please!”

Natasha was working on some reports when she heard Wanda call out. She looks at the clock and decides now is a perfect time to take a break anyway. She hums as she stands up and stretches her limbs before leaving the room.

Wanda had been tending to the garden in the compound for some time now. She started with small pots of herbs and then moved to random vegetables after discovering she had a gift for raising plants. Lately, she also added flowers and various houseplants to her catalog. Being out in the sun, getting her hands dirty, and nurturing these plants was hard work, but it was work Wanda loved.

Natasha makes a couple of peanut butter sandwiches and pours two glasses of cold water on a tray, then carries it over to the sliding door leading to the garden. She places it down on a table outside and her eyes immediately search for Wanda. It’s an irresistible sight, her beloved’s face beaming and surrounded by greenery. She even thinks she sees her talking to the plants.

She smiles to herself while appreciating the view until Wanda realizes she’s arrived. She gets waved over, “Tasha!” The excitement in the witch’s voice is barely contained as Natasha walks towards her. 

She wraps an arm around Wanda, bringing her closer and kissing her forehead, “Hi, kotenok. I brought over some snacks and water if you wanted them. What is it you wanted me to see?”

Wanda pulls off her gardening gloves, places them in her pocket, and brushes her hands over her pants. She mumbles a quick thank you before taking Natasha’s hand in one of her own and using the other to cover her eyes.

“Close your eyes. I want this to be a surprise.” 

Natasha plays along, using her free hand to help cover her eyes. “Okay. Just make sure I don’t trip, yeah?”

Wanda giggles as she leads Natasha by the hand, “Don’t worry, detka, I got you.” 

They walk slowly, up a few steps, and stop. Wanda takes a deep breath, “Okay, now.”

When their hands uncover Natasha’s eyes, she is met with vibrant blooms of various colors against a green background of bushes. It’s a masterful arrangement of asters, marigolds, hydrangeas, wildflowers, and many more. She gasps, breath taken away by the gorgeous sight. 

“You did all this by yourself?” 

The Sokovian nods sheepishly, “Yeah. I read somewhere that getting them all to bloom like this would be challenging, but I think I did decently.”

Natasha squeezes her hand, “It’s more than decent. It looks stunning, Wands. You did an amazing job.”

Wanda’s arm wraps around Natasha’s waist, her head rests on her shoulder. A satisfied sigh leaves her lips. They remain silent, basking in each other’s presence and the garden view.

“If you’re like this with plants, I can only imagine how well you’d be with kids,” Natasha muses. 

Wanda lifts her head and looks at Natasha, her shoulders raised slightly, “What if, at some point, you won’t have to imagine?”

Small smiles grow on both of their faces. They share a knowing look before assuming their previous positions. “Someday, lyubov, someday.”

Natasha used to feel the need to keep busy, keep moving because she thought anything too constant would be taken away from her again. Though she never admitted it to anyone, not even herself, the thought of settling down and starting a family of her own was terrifying.

But not anymore. Everything felt so much easier with Wanda. It now truly felt like anything was possible. The lack of fear forced onto her when she was younger came from a dark place of abuse and indifference. Now, it comes naturally. It comes from love.

[cybersat]

I've been thinking a lot about how alien Yelena must have felt after escaping the Red Room. Natasha had Clint, but who had Yelena? Alexei and Melina had roughly the same experience as her, so it's not like they could offer any help.

Dreykov's modern Red Room gives much stronger militarization vibes than what its been insinuated for Natasha's Red Room era (which has mostly been portrayed as a spy with kinda honey-pot-ish missions) and I imagine Yelena wouldn't have those little "out-of-the-red-room" moments to explore her own identity like I typically see in natasha centric fanfic.

I can't help but imagine post-Red Room Yelena trying on cutesy summer dresses and wearing strange makeup trying to find whatever fits, because asking what feels right might be too much.

You know, summer dresses and combat boots. Pink mascara and strong, muddy eyeliner. Temporary hair colors for when she's not contracted out by Valentina on an undercover mission.

I bet Yelena would try crochet. Read some romance books in hopes of trying to "get" it. Go to all the New York tourist traps, and end up buying an "I *heart* New York" shirt as memorabilia. She can't really share with anyone, because no one would get the profound significance of wearing a silly shirt that she got at a gift shop for a few dollars when she was issued a few sets of standard sports clothes twice a year for years.

What's right, what's wrong? The Red Room's certainly wrong by anyone's standard, but what about everything else? It must be absolutely daunting to face a world where everyone else has had the opportunity to agree or disagree, to say yes or no, to say I like it or I don't like it, throughout their life and since they were a kid.

[luna-rainbow]

I watched S2E02 of What If

Someone in the animation department really adores the Winter Soldier. He is gorgeously animated (as GIFs have shown), even though his screen time is incredibly short. The way the light and shadows play across his face and eyes is incredibly faithful to the CATWS movies, and perfectly captures the sense of threat he brings in CATWS.

Overall, the episode is fairly neutral, and does bring up an interesting parallel universe where Bucky broke free in the 80s, which...might change the entire trajectory of Tony, Nat and Yelena's lives.

But, maybe because my impression is coloured by other episodes of What If and what's coming, I can't help but think this is another attempt at "correcting" fan perception around Howard Stark and Peggy Carter's culpability. Look! They weren't involved! It was the Russians!

But like that other Peggy-centric episode of What If, the more they tried to whitewash her, the worse it seems? They recognised him on sight, with the damn mask on, something even Steve wasn't able to do in CATWS, because unlike Steve they knew he was alive all along. Peggy makes references to "the rumours", while Howard dismisses it because there's hardly a man in there (or something along those lines) and "we've got bigger fish to fry".

They knew all along but they never thought it was anywhere in their priorities to investigate or try to rescue the longest serving POW or Steve's best friend. But they have no qualms using Bucky's emotional attachment to Steve when it serves their purpose.

Because why would they. No matter how you whitewash their characters, they're still power-obsessed individuals who never cared who was hurt in their way.

PS: as a former seiyuu-con, Atwell's voice acting really is...bad. Stood out like a sore thumb because everyone was so much better than her. SebStan was pulling his usual Winter Soldier voice here rather than the young Bucky voice he used for the other episode of What If, but I'm not sure if it's a conscious choice.

[synergysilhouette]

10 unpopular MCU opinions/hot takes

Well, I'm just assuming these are. No idea whether or not the masses feel this way with me or not, so let's assume these are unpopular. Now, I can't remember EVERY detail about evry movie, so I'm sure someone will have something to say if I'm incorrect about some details, but as of now, here are my feelings on it.

Wanda should've been the villain of an Avengers film--I cannot stress enough how frustrating it was to give her an amazing arc in "Wandavision" just for it to be torn down like that in "Dr. Strange." Having her slowly become a villain (or at least swing on a pendulum) would've been a greater arc for her, and someone who manipulates reality should be the top priority for every superhero on the planet, imo.

2. No more racebending--Even if it doesn't affect the story, I am a stickler for characters' appearances and backgrounds matching their OG selves (unless for whatever reason that was controversial). Never was a fan of racebending with adapted works, particularly visual works like comics. This isn't to say the actor isn't talented or that I liked/disliked the movie any more, though (though it may have been distracting). In another world, the MCU would've had the X-Men from the get-go and Elizabeth Olsen would've made an unforgettable Jean Grey while an actress of Romani (or at least Indian) became a star playing Wanda.

3. We didn't need another Thor movie, and if we did, it shouldn't have been like "Love and Thunder"--I always felt like if they wanted to do a comedy film, doing it with Gorr wasn't the best idea. I do feel like making Thor comedic was a poor decision for the MCU in general.

4. Bucky should be leading the Thunderbolts--While I like Yelena, she's much more new, and Bucky having character growth in my opinion means he should be leading a team, not working for another one. Plus he led the Thunderbolts in the comics at one point, so there's no reason for him not to here.

5. "What If" didn't need to end at 3 seasons--While I think they kinda fell off with season 2's finale (too much focus on Captain Carter, Strange Supreme's villainy feeling as rushed as Wanda, and not doing another Guardians of the Multiverse), I don't think it needed to end. If anything, the show could've existed as the gateway to new characters like Kahhori as well as giving the OG MCU stars opportunities to appear while the next-gen MCU stars got their own films.

6. The MCU is way too Avengers-centric--I know that's a kind of "Duh" statement, but it does make the world feel smaller when everything ties back to the Avengers. Their movies are the big events, even though other teams/team-ups should be just as important when it's not revolving around certain members. In fact--

7. The X-Men are either gonna be overused or underused--It's not exactly easy to throw in a whole race of evolved humans, and the prejudice they face is gonna be a consistent problem. Having a mutant movie every 3-5 years between other heroic adventures is gonna feel off to me, unless they find a way to include mutants with other heroes (in which case, it's gonna feel like they're taking over). That had their own cinematic universe, so that kinda shows how much space they take up--and that's assuming we don't just get bombarded with an oversaturation of Wolverine content.

8. There is WAY too much focus on Spiderman--Obviously he's Marvel's most valuable property, but I feel like he's a superhero who's had A LOT of content in the past 25 years alone. IDK if the rumors of him having another trilogy are true, but that feels more of a financial decision than a creative one, taking away slots from other heroes and characters who could be getting attention (even if it wasn't Peter Parker as Spiderman).

9. "She-Hulk" was not that bad--Granted, I found the messages they were trying to convey about sexism a bit heavy-handed, and the finale was frustrating, but I still found it enjoyable. Not great, but still good.

10. Magic feels almost alien and underrated in the MCU--I know this is a huge hot-take, but no more than the other ones. The MCU largely focuses on science fiction, and it all kinda feels a bit more cohesive, whereas the more fantastical films feel like the odd ones out. There are different versions of fantasy here (divine power like the Asgardians, learned magic like with Dr. Strange, and inherent witch-akin magic like with Wanda and Billy), and as a result, many of them feel underused outside of the film where a magical character is the focus, which aren't as many in contrast to the more science-fiction nature of the MCU.

[unicyclehippo]

re: that tumblr post about how fanfic doesn't have to change someone's life, I'm here to assure you that your fanfics have absolutely brightened my day and changed my brain chemistry (for the better). I read and loved your "a soul is a wild thing" fic despite knowing nothing about critical role, and am secretly sending vibes to the universe for you to one day be inspired to write a warrior nun daemon AU because I would DEVOUR anything you write for that. And Yelena is a huge comfort character of mine, so I am cherishing your portrayal of her in "devil in a red dress" and am especially savoring your words in that fic as someone who loves the way that you write her and would like to (hopefully) eventually write either a bishova fic or a Yelena centric fic. And your fic "never did hear the voice of god, only that of my love" rewrote my brain chemistry (in a good way) and I maybe possibly reread it every few months both for the AvaLil chemistry and to once more admire your lovely writing techniques. so yeah, just in case you were wondering what sort of effect your writing has on readers (its always a good effect) <3

😮😮😮😵😵😵 ME??????? wow…..wow!!!!!!!

i can say nothing of wn daemon au unfortunately the only thing im still working on for that is the xmas fake dating au (& very slowly)

never did hear the voice of god tho. so much of that is written & it’s rly good but im such a silly coward when it comes to posting smut, which it immediately launches into. maybe one day. we shall see

as for bishova, the brain rot will last as long as it lasts but i have at FOUR fics that i have been putting a lot of time & attention into—devil in a red dress, kate timeloop bishop (self explanatory), natasha comes back fic (also largely self explanatory), & arranged marriage au which is ALSO dragonrider au. so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ hopefully i will be able to share some of those soon. I’ve actually written like….150k since November for them lmao but it’s scattered across like 15 aus so I rly have to like. focus my attention before i can post stuff. the lamentations

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

The 'Language is Stupid' Game

Okay, so, I've been rereading your Marvel fics, specifically the Peter-centric ones. And they gave me an idea. What if Peter is sleeping over at his friend's house---let's say with his two besties MJ & Ned---and poor Spider Baby has a nightmare related to his superhero duties as Spiderman? It's a pretty bad nightmare, and he jolts awake, very confused and scared and a bit freaked out. Maybe his friends comfort him cause they already know he's Spiderman and goes through a lot bc of what being a superhero entails. Platonic all the way. Found family shenanigans. Anyway, no pressure to write it! Had it on my mind and wanted to share <3 Take care, Asbod! – anon

Read on Ao3

Warnings: peter has a nightmare/panic attack

Pairings: gen

Word Count: 3205

Peter wakes up from a nightmare during a sleepover with Ned and MJ. After a few moments of let's-all-be-glad-we're-alright cuddles, MJ has a rather unconventional solution for how to pass the time.

Can't breathe. Can't breathe. Can't breathe can't move can't breathe can't move can't let them down acan't stop now can't fail can't breathe can't move can't move can't fail can't can't can't can't—

"Peter. Peter."

There's a hand on his shoulder. The hand is made of concrete. His spine is going to break. He can't breathe. He can't move. He can't stop. He can't breathe—

"Shit, get the blanket off of him."

"I'm trying, I'm trying!"

"Peter? Pete, it's okay. It's okay, you're okay, you're fine."

He's not fine. His spine is about to break. He's about to fail and he can't fail, he can't move, he can't breathe—

"Peter," he hears again, the voice quiet and soft in his ear, "hey, it's okay. You're okay. Can you hear me?"

He gasps. His chest spasms. His hand shoots out in front of him and hits something—soft?

"Oh, shit, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm—hh, I'm fine. I'm good. Is he…?"

"Peter? Hey, Peter, wake up, it's just a nightmare."

Peter blinks. He blinks and one of his hands automatically goes to his neck to try and loosen his costume, but he's not wearing his costume, he's just in a t-shirt and he's…he's in a bed? He gasps again, his throat on fire, and something swims into view in front of him.

"Hey, there he is," he hears as a face appears, "hey, Pete, you back with us? You okay?"

"M—MJ?"

"Yeah, Pete, it's me. Ned's…Ned's on the floor."

A blurry thing sticks up from the other side of a mound of some more blurry things and waves. Ned's arm, probably. Peter blinks. His chest is still on fire too. He looks down at his hand. It's shaking. Why is his hand shaking?

"Hey." He looks up. MJ's still looking at him like he's about to disappear into the floor. "Hey, Peter, can you—can you do one of your grounding tests?"

"Um—" shit, is that what I sound like?— "yeah, yeah, that's…that's probably a good idea."

"Great. Can you, uh, can you tell me five things that you can see?"

"There's a, uh, there's a blue pillow over there that has that weird scorch mark from where we tried to make bottle rockets with the Stark Tech, there's the crack in the ceiling from where we didn't know that I could jump that high, there's the, uh, there's the blanket that Ned's grandma brought us 'cause she thought we'd be cold, there's the watch Yelena gave us last week, and there's the, um…there's the charging cord you ripped apart when you stole it from that Zionist guy at the library."

"Okay. And four things you can hear?"

"Uh…" He closes his eyes only for his chest to tighten right away and they snap open. "Uh, I'm—I'm talking, the air conditioner's going, there's—there are cars outside, and uh, the uh—the light in the bathroom's buzzing again."

"What about touch?"

He fumbles a bit on the blanket—one, nice and soft—to get the charm thing Wanda gave him from where it came off during the nightmare—two, hard and cool to the touch—and then hesitantly reaches out for MJ. She takes his hand and holds hit tight—three.

"Okay, good," she says when he tells her, "and smell?"

He sniffs a few times and has to sniffle through some of the gross nightmare crying stuff. "Uh, someone next door's making pizza again and they didn't close their windows. And, uh, I think your grandma left the candle on in the hall again?"

"Oh, shit." Ned scrambles up and ducks outside.

"And taste?"

He licks his lips. Something coppery catches on the edge of his tongue and his eyes widen. "Blood?"

"Come here, let me see." MJ squints at him. "I think you just bit your lip. You're okay."

"Okay."

"You feel any better?"

"Yeah," he says as Ned comes back in and crawls onto the bed too, "yeah, I think—I think I got it. I, uh, I'm sorry, I just—"

"Hey, you don't need to apologize." Ned shuffles closer. "You're a superhero. You're gonna have shitty nightmares. That's how it works."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you guys have to—"

"Have to what?" MJ narrows her eyes. "Have to be your friends? Have to support you when you have nightmares?"

"I just meant that—"

"Have to treat you like a person who needs support sometimes because we're all human and we have to do that?"

"Okay, okay," he mumbles, shoving her shoulder with their clasped hands, "you made your point."

"Good."

He blinks a few more times, the phantom pain from the nightmare still wreaking havoc on his shoulders. Ned shifts again to get the blanket out from under him and push it on the ground.

"Can I have some water?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's right here." Ned reaches over and picks up his water bottle.

"Thanks. Hey, uh, why were on the floor earlier?"

"Oh, you know," Ned says in that way that he always does when he's trying to hide something and failing miserably, "just, uh, thought I'd give you guys some space."

Peter frowns. He goes back over the last few minutes until his eyes widen. "Oh, shit, did I push you off?"

"What? No, no…okay, maybe, but! It wasn't your fault and it didn't even hurt that bad. Well—the falling off the bed hurt more than the punch. I mean, it wasn't like it hurt bad, it didn't even—okay, well, I don't think I have a bruise or anything. Or—maybe just one. Just one! But it's not your fault," he says when Peter looks even more distraught, "it's not, okay? I'm not mad, I don't blame you, I'm all good. It's like what Dr. Strange said, right? I'm a rubber ball! Everything just bounces off of me!"

"That wasn't what he meant, I don't think," Peter says, reaching out for him too, "are you—you're seriously good? I didn't mean to—"

"I know, I know. And I'm totally fine. Seriously." Ned takes his hand and makes him fist bump. "See? All good, Peter, we're all good."

"Okay."

Outside, a car drives by and a cat runs down the alley, meowing its protest.

"Well, hey," MJ says, reaching down to her backpack, "since none of us are gonna go to sleep for a while, let's play a game."

Ned glances at Peter, who nods. "Sure. I like games. What game are we playing?"

"It's called Language is Stupid." MJ takes out her notebook and flips to a blank page. "Okay, everyone write down five songs you know that the rest of us will know."

Peter takes the notebook and pen with a shaky hand and writes down five songs. He passes it to Ned, who passes it back to MJ. When she's written the last song, she rips out the page and tears all of the song titles into individual strips of paper.

"Ned, where's your hat?"

"It's in the closet, hold on."

"Thanks." She puts all the pieces into the hat and gives it a shake. "Okay, everyone pick one. Don't show anyone else."

Peter takes a piece of paper, glancing at it. "Just one, right?"

"Yeah, just one for now. Okay, now what we're gonna do is put the lyrics of the song up until the first chorus into Google Translate a shit ton of times and then read it out so the other people can guess what song it is."

"Wait, why is this game called Language is Stupid?"

"You'll see. Ready?"

"Wait, hold on, I need my phone."

"Can you hand me mine too?"

"Dude, you have a Spiderman case?"

"Yeah, my best friend's Spiderman, I can have a Spiderman case."

"Thanks, dude."

"Are you two ready?" They nod. "Okay. You have five minutes, go."

The next five minutes are spent peppered with various snickers and noises of confusion before MJ calls time. Peter shakes his head, looking down at his results and Ned fully snorts into his hand while MJ scribbles a makeshift scoreboard on a new page.

"Okay, who wants to go first?"

"Me." Ned sits up a little taller. "You guys aren't ready for this."

"Bring it on."

"We are talking about insects. Words fail me I will say one thing We saw that today It was too far I came with your wife, didn't I?

I like it I like it It will be left behind One or two days."

"I'm sorry, you did what with my wife?"

"Why are we talking about insects? What song is this?" Peter laughs incredulously. "What the—read it again, read it again."

"That's literally—okay," MJ says when Ned reads it again—they have to take a pause about halfway through because Ned's laughing too hard to be understandable—"maybe we should be looking more at the patterns of the sentences than the words themselves."

"So it's a lot of short sentences that sort of repeat but not really." Peter steeples his fingers under his chin. "'I like it…I like it…' What was the ending?"

"'One or two days.'"

"Wait, wait, wait, no way, is that 'Take on Me?'"

"No fucking way," Peter groans as Ned laughs and nods. "How the fuck did you get that? And where the hell did the insects come from?"

"'Cause it's—well, I don't know about the insects, but the wife thing—the actual lyric is 'I'll be coming for your love,' or something like that. So if it went through a bunch of times and turned into 'wife—'"

"Yeah, MJ got it."

"Sweet. So that's one point for me…"

Ned laughs as Peter shakes his head and flops onto his shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy, you'll get the next one."

"Dude, this game is way harder than I thought it was gonna be."

"Okay, me next." MJ squints at her phone. "I think this one is easier than Ned's was."

"Oh, good."

"Ready?"

"Yep."

"Go for it."

"You are my light a desirable feeling Believe me when I tell you This is what I want

But our two worlds are different. I can't hold your heart When you speak This is what I want

Please explain the reasons for this. Not bad, but sad Please explain the reasons for this. This is wrong. Please explain the reasons for this. I don't want to hear what you have to say. This is what I want."

"Oh, come on, this is way easier!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, that's fucking…Backstreet Boys Brooklyn 99 song. What's it called…" Peter flaps his hand. "'I Want it That Way,' that one."

"Yeah, you got it."

"Not bad, but sad," Ned sings, "this is wrong,' dude, that's so much better than the original."

"I will have no Backstreet Boy slander in this bed, sir."

"This is my house!"

"Then you should know better."

"That's one point for Peter," MJ says, ignoring the two of them, "okay, Peter, your go."

"Alright, you two better get ready for this one."

"Bring it on."

Peter hides a grin. "Imagine you are walking down the hall. I didn't hear, no, I didn't hear any sound. "Easy marriage!" Happy marriage!" - But unfortunately he bit the poor groom.

"Did you hear the door slam?!" No, it's better to approach it with kindness and understanding. "Didn't you hear someone knocking on the door?" I ended the conversation. No, it's my heart."

When he looks up from his phone, both Ned and MJ are staring at him like he's grown two heads. He smiles and tilts his head.

"Well?"

"I'm sorry, I thought we were playing the Google Translate the lyrics game, not who can read the most edgy indie poetry game."

"What the—are you sure this is a song that we all know?"

"Yeah, you guys know it."

"And this is like—this is the first verse and the chorus, right, this isn't like the weird coda of the extended version that's only available on the physical album from 1978, right?" Peter nods, still grinning. "What the—okay, you need to read it again."

Peter reads it again. And again. And each time MJ looks closer and closer to hitting him with a pillow and Ned looks more and more like he's never heard a single song in his life.

"Okay, wait, can we get a hint?"

"It's one of the ones you wrote down."

"Me? Why did I do this to myself?"

"Ned, quick, tell me what songs you wrote down."

"I don't remember!"

"How do you not remember, it was less that ten minutes ago."

"It is the middle of the night, my brain is so offline right now."

"Pssh, what kind of high school student are you?"

"The kind that doesn't know what song this is supposed to be!"

Peter stifles a giggle. MJ rolls her eyes, throwing her hands up and leaning off the edge of the bed. Ned screws his face up and starts muttering to himself, probably trying to remember what it was he wrote down.

"Ugh, Pete, just read it one more time."

"Imagine you are walking down the hall—"

"Oh, wait!" Ned shouts loud enough that they all have to have an 'oh shit' moment before he continues in a stage whisper. "It's the Panic! At the Disco song!"

MJ sits up. "It's the what?"

"The one with the wedding! The poor groomsbride is a—wait, what did that change to?"

"But unfortunately he bit the poor groom."

"What the fuck is that?"

"I don't know, it changed itself to—hey!" He splutters when a pillow hits him in the face. "What was that for?"

"You know what you did."

"This game was your idea!"

"Shut up. Ned gets that point."

Ned's still shaking his head like he has no idea how they got here, which to be perfectly honest, neither does Peter. They exchange a quick fistbump while MJ reaches for the hat again.

"All tied up after round one, let's do another one."

They keep playing. MJ gets them all equally angry about her version of 'Rain on Me,' they have to have a full pause so they can all asphyxiate from laughter at Ned's 'Somebody That I Used to Know,' and Peter's pretty sure he should take a picture of MJ's face as her contact photo when he reads out Google Translate's take on 'Rocketman.'

"That's homophobic, that's what that is."

"Come on, MJ, don't you want the slogan to be 'We will kill you?'" He dodges another pillow. "Rocketman…is the only one here…"

"You suck."

Eventually, they're down to the last one. MJ has 6 points, Ned has 3, Peter has 5. Ned's the last one to go and if the way he hasn't stopped snickering is anything to go by, they're in for it.

"We are not strangers You know the rules as well as I do. So I think so You can't meet anyone else I'll let you know what's on my mind You have to think about it I won't give it to you

I won't give it to you I won't give it to you I won't make you cry I don't want to stop I won't lie to you and I won't hurt you."

For long seconds after he finishes reading, no one says anything. He looks up from his phone, still giggling. Peter is stone-faced. MJ isn't so much as breathing.

"Well? What do you guys think it is?"

"You think you're clever?"

"I didn't write this one down!"

"You think you're really funny, huh?"

"I don't know what's so funny about this one."

"I'm disowning you as my best friend."

"Aw, Pete…"

"Friendship with Ned ended, MJ is my best friend now."

"Aw, but the song says—" Ned doesn't get to finish because MJ throws a pillow at him. "Hey!"

"You will not," she continues, picking up another pillow, "Rickroll us via Google Translate in this decade."

"I won't give it to you, I won't give it to you—hey!" He grabs a pillow and swats back. "Stay back!"

"Oh, yeah? Peter, help me!"

"In the name of decent memery and standards for clickbait, I cast thee out!"

Ned squawks—and nearly falls off the bed again—before he manages to hit either of them with the pillows. The room fills with the sound of rustling blankets and the thwomp of pillows hitting things as the hat tumbles to the ground, spilling bits of paper everywhere. MJ's notebook is the next to go. Phones clunk onto the floor, someone's leg ends up over the headboard, and eventually the three of them get so tangled up in the blankets they can't even move anymore. Peter lies there, panting, still breathless with laughter.

"Hey," Ned calls after a few seconds, still heaving too, "so who won?"

"Oh, uh—nah, fuck it, I can't reach."

"I think MJ, you won."

She raises one arm and lets it flop over her face. "Yay. Victory is mine."

Ned and Peter golf clap. She flips them both off.

"Hey, Peter?" Ned nudges him. "You feel better?"

He blinks. That's right, he'd had a nightmare. That's what started all of this. But even as sleep tugs at him, he doesn't feel as though he's about to fall back into any sort of spiral. Instead, the whole room just feels…fuzzy. Like the way the house feels when you fall asleep on the couch during a party and someone carries you to bed. Like it's safe. Like he's just a normal kid having a sleepover with his friends and he gets to be tired now.

"Peter?"

"Yeah," he mumbles, "yeah, yeah, I'm…I'm all good now."

MJ extricates herself from the worst of the blanket tangle and lies down next to him. "You wanna try to sleep some more?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

"Ned, get up here."

"Coming, coming."

The three of them manage to sort the blankets out enough to actually get under them. Ned reaches over to turn off the light. Peter stares up at the crack in the ceiling, drifting towards sleep, when the best idea occurs to him.

"Hey, guys," he mumbles, words already slurring, "we should…we sh'ld play this game with the 'vengers this weekend."

"Go to sleep, Pete, tell us dumb ideas tomorrow."

"'S not dumb…it'd be fun."

"Only if Ned and I get to hide when the pillow fight starts."

"Deal."

[quietlyimplode]

Clintasha Advent (7)

Prompt: Clint/Nat - walking Lucky when it starts to snow.

For/Prompter: @broken--bow

Warnings: despondency/sadness/being emotionally triggered

Word count: 738

A/N: i know you asked for Clint/Nat and this is kind of alluding to the relationship, but more Nat centric. Likely not what you were expecting but what came out today <3 I hope it’s okay.

.

There’s a heaviness on her.

The day was all wrong, and disappointment on what couldn’t be fixed; hurt.

She hated being let down.

She hates even more that she had hoped that she wouldn’t be let down, and knew that she would in the same breath.

Despite what she hoped, there was no way that Yelena would come.

Even if she wanted to.

Grief bubbles.

.

Natasha feels despondent.

She finds herself pacing in the house, wasting time, wanting to find peace in sleep to make the feelings stop, but knowing it would worry Clint if she did.

Instead, she told him she was fine.

Sad; but okay. She wasn’t lying but then again, it’s not like she was being truthful to herself when she said the words.

Grief bubbles.

Yelena would maybe appear again.

One day.

.

The day drones.

Clint, of course, had tried to help, but there was no fixing the sad that pulled, the slight desolation and despondency that she knew was just a part of her.

He helps her to eat by cooking.

He distracts her with anecdotes and stories

It was, easier, perhaps to keep at bay when everything wasn’t piled on top of her.

It’s not just Yelena, she determines eventually.

Natasha thinks that maybe she just feels sad.

She’d been looking forward to the day.

Had hope for it.

Maybe that was her first mistake.

The one day off, that had promised and started with some good in it, some hope and delight.

The day had not ended as it started.

Grief bubbles.

Natasha sighs.

Grabbing the lead, she puts it on Lucky.

Clint appears at the door and she waved him off.

“I just need to clear my head,” she tells him, biting her lip.

He heads back into the study to finish his paperwork, and calls out to her to not be too long.

She doesn’t plan to be.

.

It’s cold.

She adjusts her beanie and gloves.

Her skin started crawling an hour ago and she hoped the fresh air will help.

The sadness that had been chasing her since the afternoon threatens.

The grief that had been simmering, bubbling, growling, makes itself known.

She walks on.

A soft trigger maybe.

An emotional trigger.

Worse than obvious external ones, her internal triggers forced her to analyse what had happened and why she was feeling the way she was.

Sad.

Despondent.

Grief ridden.

The cold air, Lucky in hand, gave her that space.

As soon as she steps out the door, Natasha feels the tears in her eyes.

Steps towards the street, make her breathing uneven and by the time she gets to the park, there’s tears falling.

Lucky trots happily beside her, unaware of her sadness. His tail wags and hits her leg on every second step and she tries to bring her emotions back under control.

The therapist would tell her to keep going, keep crying until it was spent, but she’s not quite ready for the heaving emotions that threaten.

Natasha breathes heavily.

She doesn’t like crying so openly.

She knows she needs to get it back under control before she heads back.

There’s still time.

They head down past the park towards the grocery story that has Clint’s favourite ice cream.

She focuses on her breathing, wiping at her face.

In and out.

It stops the tears.

If she doesn’t think of the trigger, she can ignore the feeling.

Lucky stops at the traffic lights.

He looks up and she looks up with him, trusting his intuition.

The first drop of snow lands on her nose.

The second on her face.

Then, more.

It seems to Natasha that the heaviness in sky, in the world; had also had to let it go.

Unable to hold onto it anymore.

She’s appreciative.

The world is in solidarity.

Slowing her breathing more at they walk, Natasha starts the walk back home.

.

“It’s snowing?” Clint asks as she walks through the door.

Natasha nods.

She doesn’t feel like speaking.

She takes the lead off Lucky, pats him and whispers to him that he’s a good dog.

She’s glad she can go to bed soon.

“The heaters on,” Clint tells her.

She’s thankful.

The sadness sits, but after the tears it doesn’t feel so heavy.

Maybe there’s more to be said for letting it out.

Natasha sighs, sits on the couch, and hopes that tomorrow will be lighter.

.

1/ Clint/Nat/Laura + traditions

2/ Clintasha + temporary blindness

3/ Clint/Nat/Maria + traditions

4/ Natasha and Yelena watch the stars

5/ Clintasha - stab wounds + wrapping presents

6/ Clint/Nat + Maria - gift buying (early shield days)

[dc-marvel-crossovers]

More information here.

For our purposes, a “pool noodle” is a relationship tag that comes up with less than 30 hits on Ao3. Platonic (&) relationships count! Any and all crossover pairings with under 30 existing fics are welcome.

Our next theme, starting Saturday, is "who run the world? girls!" aka anything female-centric!

Prompts for new fic:

Natasha Romanoff/Talia Al Ghul

Birds of Prey crossover 

Genderswap 

Amanda Waller puts together an all-female team 

Captain Britain Peggy Carter

Powerpuff Girls AU 

Diana Prince in SHIELD 

Selina Kyle as a Widow  

Coulson recruits Cassandra Cain

If you'd like to participate, but not as a writer, you can make fanwork for an existing fic! We have an Ao3 collection here. The bookmarks are pool noodle fics whose authors have given permission for art, podfic, playlists, and moodboards inspired by their work.

Below are a few that specifically fit this theme, for fanwork and/or just for your reading enjoyment! Please feel free to share your own recs and tag us, or submit rec posts here for us to publish during feedback week.

I'll Take The Dangerous One by @wyxan - Yelena Belova/Stephanie Brown, teen

it was cool (but it was all pretend) by @capriciouswrites - Natasha Romanov & Bruce Wayne, teen

A Spider And An Archer Go Batty by @river9noble - Natasha Romanov/Bruce Wayne, mature

not alone (like you think you are) by @mightymightygnomepriest - Natasha Romanov/Diana Prince, explicit

birds fly (why can't I?) by @capriciouswrites - Natasha Romanov/Jason Todd, mature

Seal of Approval by @there-must-be-a-lock - Natasha Romanov/Jason Todd, general

early next mornin' ('bout a half past nine) by @capriciouswrites - Karen Page & Jason Todd, mature

Take a bite of my heart tonight by @wyxan - Michelle Jones/Peter Parker/Tim Drake, explicit

kiss me like your boyfriend by @mightymightygnomepriest - Michelle Jones/Peter Parker/Tim Drake, explicit

[bluesylveon2]

AOT Season 4 The Final Chapters Thoughts:

Crunchyroll won't let me screenshot so I will write out my thoughts instead:

I like how this part of Season 4 is Armin-centric. The first part was dedicated to Eren and then the second part was dedicated to Mikasa

Yall I lowkey forgot Armin gets kidnapped by the okapi titan

The cgi continues to improve for aot. However, you can tell MAPPA's budget went to jjk because of the amount of fanservice they are giving 😂

The Survey Corps vs past titans shifters fight was so good!!! I liked watching it more than reading it because you could see what happens in the action. Also the scene with Pieck running toward the Warhammer titan was hilarious

I like the detail of the gray people and the colored baby. The baby represents the future and it being colored represents the hope of getting through the Rumbling. I like how everything became colored once the titans stopped moving.

Levi finally killing Zeke was satisfying. Now Zeke can be reborn as Toji in jjk because we know stuff is going down there too lol

Can I just say that I love the aruani scenes? Like Annie immediately asks where's Armin but tries to play it off and Mikasa was not buying it! Then there was the other part where Annie saves Armin and AHHHH I loved it!! Her dad better be impressed if Annie got with Armin cause he is so cool

Okay that hallucigenia thing needed to go. We don't even know where it went after Eren died. We assume it died with him because everyone turned back to normal. Also, I guess every titan had a piece of hallucigenia in them, specifically in their spine that connects their CNS and their PNS. It turning others into titans was it's way to "multiply" and keep it alive

The eremika kiss was not as creepy as I remember in the manga. The lighting helped it a lot. I remember reading that part and questioning what was Isayama thinking when he wrote that

I like to think of Eren as Lelouch from Code Geass, except Lelouch lived to see the effects of what he did. Eren had no choice but to die after wiping out 80% of humanity.

On that thought, there was one part where Armin was like "we can't have conflict if we destroy the outside world." Well, we already saw at the beginning of S4 that is not the case. There will always be conflict in the world. We even see it today. Sure, Eren could have killed everyone, but you still have conflict within Paradis. We saw it already with the Jaegerists. Eren helped his friends have a peaceful life but that would end eventually once they passed.

I sobbed at the part with everyone reuniting. It was sweet in the manga, it was sweet now

Historia's daughter is so cute!!!!

I like the ending even if it is slightly different from the manga. Of course you get the 104 + Pieck coming to Paradis (Jean looking great as always lol), Mikasa seeing birb Eren, Onyakopon and Yelena (finally) helping out, Levi with the kids, and Falco/Gabi planting a tree to signify new beginnings

Now...my only complaint about this episode was the credits. WHY DID THEY MAKE IT SMALL??? i WANTED TO KNOW WHO MIKASA MARRIED!!!! I liked the detail with the other kid tho. The boy sees the tree with a hole and walks in. I think this is Isayama's way of showing that titans can return and Eren would be the new Ymir. I'm not too certain, but it would suck for Eren because he would not be free. Maybe the kid could be the new Ymir? Who knows? My question would be how would titans survive modern day. Obviously they would evolve, but can they survive modern technology. We may not use swords much anymore but there is nuclear technology.

(Edit: it is possible Mikasa married Jean based on what we see in the anime/manga. I feel like that's not a good ending for either one of them because a) Mikasa's heart belongs to Eren. It's like Rose from the Titanic. Basically, Mikasa won't love Jean or whoever she married fully. b) Jean seems to be busy conducting the peace talks with the others. Idk if he would have time for Mikasa unless they were both cool with it. c) I think it's just not a good ending for either of them. I felt bad for Mikasa throughout the whole episode and that as her ending is...idk...I would feel even bad for her)

I know Isayama is done with the series but i have questions I want answered!!! 😭 Still, I got into this fandom back in 2013 and it has been a good 10 years. I met a lot of great people from the fandom who I still talk to today. Aot is my favorite anime and I plan on rewatching the anime or buy the manga in the future. Now it is time for me to go to the next fandom aka twst lol

[hanszoe]

disclaimer that snk contains fundamentally problematic premises, themes and messages. isayama is a citizen of a country that committed terrible war crimes and culturally is not much better today, which is reflected in his own ideals and morals as depicted through his storytelling as well as in corroborative statements made by him about japanese imperialism. i recognize that he is not much more ignorant than the average racial majority in any imperialist country or beneficiary thereof, but i personally believe in individual responsibility and the possibility for a better world which will only be formed through accountability. with that said, it should be clear that i disagree with almost every message of the narrative. i am just here because i am in love with hansi.

on use of my translations: repost is fine as long as you do not edit or claim as your own, especially not to misgender or misspell hansi's name. would prefer to be credited in case someone has a question, but without is also fine.

cause it keeps coming up: generally, i dislike levi and eruri fan centrism and believe it is inseparable from the reason why hansi was killed. please do not tag me in levi or eruri centric metas, especially not to use hansi as a comparison to their relationship. eruri is subtextually canon, and i believe isayama had a responsibility to address it explicitly the same way he had a responsibility to address hansi's gender identity, but far too often is hansi ignored, sidelined, and regarded as less important by fans, and belittled and discredited by one of the men in the pairing. misogyny and transphobia are not negated by gay identity. i will always defend it, but too little do i see the same extended to femininity and genderqueerness. if levi being nonstraight is canon to you based on author commentary, hansi being genderqueer must also non-negotiably be so. i do not feel prejudice against any eruri fan nor do i dislike the pairing, but if you feel targeted by criticism of cispatriarchy then this blog is probably not for you.

-isayama has requested hansi's english pronouns be they/them ("avoid gendered pronouns") or "at least" he and she with equal frequency. using single gender for them is misgendering them (which kodansha usa and many other "official" sources do). please do not send me asks or tag me in posts misgendering them. -hansi's (smartpass) commentary on their romantic preferences is that "everyone sure likes that kind of topic".

if you're curious about my overall interpretation of parts of the narrative, please read my narrative analysis masterlist.

below are my page translations/commentary: -Hansi's conversation with squad Levi in 52 -Marlene’s comment to Hansi about Keith, its context and elaboration on the meaning of 憧れ -Full translation and commentary on the first 7 pages of 126 and additional commentary on misinterpretations of 大人しく and grammatical nuance of ん(の) in hansi's response -Correction of the mistranslation of Hansi's dialog to Yelena at the beginning of 132 -The last part of Levi's thought soliloquy in 136 and commentary on his use of お前ら

hansi-related: -name romanization (not my research) -estimated birth and training entry year -everything gender related -eye injury

translations -scenes of sheltering from rain volume 6 [originally 7] Nanaba & Hansi Zoe and discrepancies between my translation and the official english translation -hansi talking about being uncomfortable wearing a gendered uniform in the junior high spinoff -qna about hansi from the SnK 15th anniversary edition of Bessatsu Magazine

other -why is hansi depicted as fetishizing transfemininity in official derivative material -what did isayama mean by "female in the anime"

poetry that reminds me of hansi -october by louise glück -september by jennifer michael hecht -the poem by franz wright -meditations in an emergency by cameron awkward-rich -straw house, straw dog by richard siken

also my character songs how i feel about hansi are foreigner's god by hozier and je te laisserai des mots by patrick watson. foreigner's god for their shameless wonder, loving despite unbelievable suppression, the way our pasts are indelible influences on us, the nameless impression of power of the institution that hurt them in a way irremediable by me, and the pure grief of it transcending language. and je te laisserai des mots for how lonesome that loving ends up being, how it must be left unseen, unfelt in the hidden places, only to be held in quiet moments when you're alone (embrasse-moi can mean anything from "hold me" to "kiss me").

[the-widow-sisters]

Hiyya! Could you write“Stop staring at me" with Yelena and Darcy, please?

A/N: Thank you so much for the request!!! This one was a little short, but hopefully still good! 🥰🥰🥰 I'm not sure when the last time it was that I wrote some one-on-one content with Darcy and Yelena, so hopefully I'm not totally rusty.

Hope you enjoy! 😊

Word Count: 1.2k+

   “Stop staring at me,” Yelena grumbled, shooting Darcy a sideways glare.

   “What?” Darcy furrowed her brow as she asked the question, shaken from her thoughts as she more fully focused her gaze on Yelena. Yelena pointed at her briefly before returning her hand to the controller for the gaming console she was currently on.

   “Stop staring.”

   “What are you talking about?” Darcy tried to play dumb.

   “You. Are staring. At me,” Yelena told her, slowing it down as she tried to tell Darcy exactly what she meant. Darcy scoffed, shaking her head as she continued to at least attempt to deny Yelena’s accusations despite the truth in them.

   “No, I’m not!” Darcy defended.

   “I can feel all four of your eyes like they’re crawling on my skin or something,” Yelena hunched her shoulders, shivering a little for emphasis.

   “Look, I was in thought, and you happened to be where my eyes landed.”

   The truth was that Yelena’s birthday was coming up and Darcy was trying to think of something to buy for her. Her thoughts, since they had been Yelena-centric, had naturally led to her staring at Yelena as she lost herself in thought.

   Obviously, Yelena had not been appreciative of the attention.

   “Yeah, well, keep your eyes in yourself. I know I am hot and all the good things and you probably wish you looked as good as me, but stop looking,” Yelena informed her plainly, and Darcy narrowed her eyes at her.

   “You’re deflecting because you’re uncomfortable with the attention you’re getting. You don’t know how to react to it, so you resort to sarcasm to avoid your feelings of awkwardness and self-doubt,”

   Yelena paused her game, stopping as she looked at Darcy with a threat in her eyes.

   “Don’t start that psycho stuff with me. I am tired of it. You were being good, and now you’re back to doing it again,” Yelena warned, and Darcy just largely ignored her.

   “First, you stare like a weirdo, and now you are analyzing me. Ugh,” Yelena grumbled, moving to grab her phone as she checked it.

   Darcy took in a soft breath, debating what she was about to say. She knew she needed to get an idea of what to get for Yelena, and she figured that the best way to figure out what Yelena might want would be to ask her. At least in a manner of speaking.

   Darcy looked down at her lap before looking back up at Yelena and setting her plan into motion.

   “Okay… So I’ve got a friend that’s got a birthday coming up, and—”

   “Kate Bishop’s birthday isn’t any time soon,” Yelena pointed out, her brow furrowed. Honestly, Darcy was impressed that Yelena kept such good track of Kate’s birthday.

   “I wasn’t talking about Kate,” Darcy replied, starting to continue speaking before Yelena interjected once more.

   “You have other friends besides Kate Bishop?” Yelena raised an eyebrow, just the barest smirk at the corners of her lips, and Darcy squinted at her, setting her jaw a little.

   “Look, you know what—”

   “Keep going, keep going. Your panties are getting wound up.”

   Darcy just stared at her blankly for a moment before shaking her head tiredly.

   “I’m not even going to ask about that. But listen, an old friend from grad school is having a birthday, and I was wondering what you thought would be a good idea to get for her.”

   “Bah. You’re asking the wrong person for that kind of advice,” Yelena dismissed, and Darcy sighed with a nod.

   “Yeah, maybe so, but you’re here and convenient, so deal with it.”

   “Can’t you ask Kate Bishop? Or Natasha?” Yelena grumbled, the sound almost a whine. Darcy scoffed, deciding that she would pull out a bit of reverse psychology from her plethora of tricks.

   “Yeah, you’re right. You probably don’t know anything about this, and probably wouldn’t do nearly as well with it as Kate or Natasha would,” Darcy casually pointed out, lifting her phone as if she were going to text as she watched Yelena from her peripheral vision.

   Yelena let out an indignant scoff, a moment of silence following her noise before she spoke up with evident offense in her tone.

   “Well, what does your friend like to do?” Yelena asked, a petulance within her words that almost made Darcy laugh.

   Darcy held back her smirk as she looked up at Yelena, pleased that her trick had worked on the blonde. Yelena was watching her intently and Darcy could see the challenge in her gaze.

   “I don’t know. She likes video games and food, and she’s really just kind of a hard person to buy for.”

   “She does not sound that hard to buy for. If she likes video games, why don’t you get her that new car racing game?” Yelena suggested as if it were obvious.

   “What’s that called?” Darcy asked, looking at Yelena as she drew her knees up so that Yelena could not see the phone propped on her legs where she was ready to type Yelena’s gift suggestions.

   “It’s Adrenaline Rush 4,” Yelena told her, and Darcy nodded to her, typing it quickly as she tried to mostly keep her attentions on Yelena rather than her phone so that she could avoid rousing suspicions.

   “Okay. I’ll keep that in mind when I’m buying for her,” Darcy nodded, and Yelena shrugged, looking rather proud of herself as she sat back into the couch more fully.

   “Yeah. If you need any more advice from the expert, you just let me know,” Yelena smirked confidently, reaching down as she grasped the controller in her hands.

   “Actually—”

   “I didn’t really mean it,” Yelena shook her head swiftly, looking at Darcy unhappily.

   “Yeah, I didn’t figure you did, but I’m taking you up on it anyway. Look, she also likes visiting army surplus stores, so do you have any good suggestions with that? I know you go to them, too,” Darcy acknowledged, and Yelena grumbled some dismissive noise.

   “Leave my army surplus alone. But if you want to go with that, then one thing you can never go wrong with is a vest. Especially the ones that are lined with that really soft material. Those are perfect,” Yelena gushed a little over the vests, her eyes having just a bit of a sparkle at the mere discussion of vests.

   However, after just a moment, a thought seemed to occur to her.

   “Wait… What was your friend doing in grad school? She sounds really cool, and not at all like someone you would hang out with,” Yelena chuckled just after the insult, looking at Darcy curiously.

   Darcy offered a tight-lipped smile, shrugging.

   “Yeah… We have a strange relationship, but somehow we’re still friends despite all our differences,” Darcy explained.

   It was the truth. Yelena and her were weird, but she still felt like they were friends even though things were weird. Darcy scooted up toward the edge of the couch, tapping her fingers on the cushions as she tried to think of a way to escape so she could go and look for these things Yelena suggested to her.

   “Welp, I’ve got to go to the bathroom, so… See you later,” Darcy smiled awkwardly, getting up quickly as she started to head out.

   “Be careful, you are starting to take up Kate Bishop’s ways,” Yelena warned as she left, and Darcy offered her a very obviously fake laugh.

   “Ha, ha.”

   Well, at least now she had some ideas.

[mthofferings2023]

sumbacky

See sumbacky’s existing works here and here.

Preferred contact methods: Email: lynette.vo768@gmail.com Twitter: bunetties Tumblr: sumbacky

Preferred organizations: - Center for Reproductive Rights - Clean Air Task Force - International Rescue Committee - Partners In Health - Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) (See the list of approved organizations here)

Will create works that contain: Fluff, romance, mild nsfw/smut, AUs, character interactions, animals, canon-compliant

Will not create works that contain: Heavy angst, dark themes, mecha, difficult/complex backgrounds, gore, omegaverse, kids

  -- Art --

Auction ID: 1004

Will create works for the following relationships: Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson - MCU Joaquín Torres/Sam Wilson - MCU Miles Morales/Gwen Stacy - Spider-Verse (animated films) Yelena Belova/Kate Bishop - MCU Hobie Brown & Miles Morales & Pavitr Prabhakar & Gwen Stacy - Spider-Verse (animated films) Thor-centric - MCU Sam Wilson-centric - MCU Yelena Belova-centric - MCU

Work Description: I’m offering one digital illustration of the characters listed (up to two and will ONLY draw four characters if it's those Spiderverse characters). The file will be a high resolution png and will be sent via email. The winning bid will receive a digital artwork according to the tiers below: $10-20: Half-body (B&W/single block colour) $20-30: Full-body (B&W/single block colour) $30-40: Half-body (full colour) $40-50: Half-body (full colour) + detailed background $50+: Full body (full colour) + detailed background The $10-$40 tiers will have a simple background with little detail, the focus being on the characters. I prefer that you provide me visual or detailed descriptions of your piece. If the scene you'd like me to draw is from a fic, please send me the link of the fic - I'm more than happy to read the whole fic to get a grasp of the story/vibes to encapsulate that one scene for you.

Ratings: Gen, Teen, Mature

Can pods bid on this auction? Yes - Podbids welcome!

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

The auction runs from October 22 (12 AM ET) to October 28 (11:59:59 PM ET). Visit marveltrumpshate.com during Auction Week to view all of our auctions and to place your bids!

[cybersat]

2024 Fic Year in Review

I saw some people post about their "2024 fic year in review" and I wanted to hop in.

Alas, my fic year in review:

I've been really busy this year (after all, nothing is going to top the wordcount of the year I was locked inside because of a global pandemic) but I still managed to sneak in some writing and some exciting stories for a total of 57,347 words.

I started the year with Grant Me Absolution , a short adult-themed encounter between Matt Murdock and Natasha inspired in their comic book relationship but taking place in the MCU Universe, around the time Natasha went solo after Civil War. It was so much fun writing and my first attempt at writing an erotic fic (rather than adding scenes to a plot-centric fic). But make no mistake, I still managed to sneak in some character analysis and plot. I'm really happy people have liked it and have left nice comments. Thank you people, it helps keep me motivated and write more!

During the first half of the year I added a few chapters to Arcana, were Sam Wilson sends Bucky out to investigate the suspicious deaths of a few ex-intelligence operators and he finds Natasha Romanoff alive and living off the grid. The story is still under development and its been tons of fun. I'm such a BuckyNat fan but writing them as their MCU versions were they are barely acquaintances is a nice change of dynamics. There is so much to be done in this story though, I wish I could transfer my ideas telepathically to the screen so I didn't have to put on the work. Either way, people have left really encouraging comments and I love it!

I guess this is cheating because its technically not within 2024 but I'm going to talk about it anyway. I posted a fifth chapter for Retrieve, where Yelena and Kate spend Thanksgiving at the Barton household. That's it. That's the fic. Domestic-avengers-esque content. New-age domestic avengers content, that's it.

Believe it or not, the last update I did to Non Nocere was by the end of 2023. In this fic Wanda bursts Wundagore and teleports to the Barton household. Depressed, ashamed and guiltridden, the Bartons try to help her overcome her darkest moment. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I am working on it, still. It's not abandoned. But I want to do it justice. Be patient ;D

WGTW is a beast. I was hoping to continue to write in this Hydra Won AU in Braving the Fight but I've been struggling with it. I wouldn't say its abandoned but its coming along quite slowly. Other ships and dynamics have been taking most of my attention.

Finally, Lovely Little Fool. This is the last fic I updated in 2024. It is a prelude to Grant Me Absolution, I just found the Mattasha dynamic too interesting and wanted to keep writing about it. The first chapter of it is posted and the second chapter is in the works.

Thank you to everyone that has left kudos and commented, I love to hear about how you enjoyed my works! See you this 2025 <3

[thebestpeopleinlifearefreefic]

as promised the yelena centric chapter is now yours 🩶

[yelenasdiary]

what ive loved abt ur stories is ur not afraid to put yelena or kate as leading ladies in ur stories. but unfortunately i feel like on this app to be successful or have a lot of hits is write wanda or nat smut. which is fine but i completely understand how hard the motivation must be when yelena or kate stories get less attention. i say for this series give the tumblr ppl what they want: a wanda or nat centric story. but pls dont give up doing oneshots with yelena and kate leading. but for traction and more ppl to find ur writing cos ur a great writer i say do a nat story or whatever so ppl can find ur yelena and kate stories

It’s honestly so hard and it sucks!! While I completely understand that Nat & Wanda are more loved and adored characters. They are OG characters so I completely understand it, but you’re right, it honestly fucking sucks knowing if you put a lot of time and effort into something and knowing at it’ll only be cared about if it’s certain characters is so un-motivating.

I’ve tried it and it clearly didn’t work. I always knew that my little western would’ve been 10x better if it was Nat or Wanda with reader. I tried to ignore it and just go with the flow but it just didn’t stick and I hate knowing it gets over looked because one of simple factor.

I’ll never stop writing Yelena or Kate as leading characters, I love them so much! I obviously love Nat & Wanda aswell, I’ve always just wanted to try something different and not just do what’s popular…something a little more refreshing or something idk haha

But yeah, a series with Nat and/or Wanda seems to be the best way to go about it 🥰