19 October 2012 @ 04:42 pm
All the things Friday: The Team edition  
hello dearest bar, I shall be your Friday host for the day. Today? Today we're going to discuss* all the things Clint/Natasha plus team (* discussion, but also welcome are fic recs, fanart, cast photos, videos, icons, comment fics, anything you find fun and nice and happy inducing and it has to do with our two favorite assassins and the team!Avengers). :)

Few thoughts from me at the beginning - one of the best things in The Avengers, in my opinion, is group dynamic between all main characters - I wouldn't even call it team dynamics, at least not until the final battle. The film presented us a group of truly extraordinary (and also quite frakked up) individuals who really had to struggle to reach a common ground and fight the mayhem at the same time. It's always interesting to notice that, among these people, two of them already have an established connection - once we got Clint back it was obvious, oh so obvious, that he and Natasha feel good around each other. They're already a team within a team, and it shows. During the final battle we saw all the pieces sliding into place. One of the interesting things I always notice and think about is how seamlessly Clint fits in, even though he just "jumped in" among the rest of them. I'd say it shows a lot about Clint's skills, training, and confidence; and also that he is capable being a flawless team player. (Also. I always find it interesting, how Natasha's primary motivation is to get Clint back, but the further the plot goes, the more she seems to realize that she needs to do the right thing, aka help the rest of Avengers to defeat Loki. After Clint wakes up, he seems to follow her (into the war), and in a way they become each other's motivation to join the fight, and Avengers.)

So. What do you think about the team? Do you think Clint and Natasha fit into the team easily, or are there bumps along the road' What do you think about team dynamic, which are your favorite friendships? Who is the prankster and who is the grumpy cat? Do you like team!fics, do you have any recs? If you write fics yourself, do you like writing about teamy moments, various Avengers friendships, jokes, bickering and so on? Who will adjust to the team with more ease, Clint or Natasha and why? There are more topics, I am sure, these are just the first things that pop to my mind. Feel free to add more things to the table, I don't want to overwhelm you.

Happy Friday and rock on!
 
 
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[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 04:11 pm (UTC)
I'll start by admitting that I'm a sucker for fics that have the team all moving into "Avengers" Tower. That said, I don't really see that happening, or see the team bonding together, in any kind of instantaneous fashion.

Can anyone recommend fics that explore them coming together/moving into the tower?
[identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 04:14 pm (UTC)
Hm. I'm afraid i'm not good for fic recs ( [livejournal.com profile] cybermathwitch could be better for this, and [livejournal.com profile] inkvoices as well) - but here is one fun bit. At the end of the movie, Tony and Pepper are looking over designs for other Avengers apartments. So, moving into the Tower is sort of canon, or there's at least intent and good will on Tony's part. WHICH I LOVE.

Also agreed on the bonding thing. They definitely won't be bonding quickly, but that's something I do enjoy about them.
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 05:31 pm (UTC)
I'd noticed during the scene with Tony and Pepper looking over the Tower plans that you could see a Quinjet. I guess I'll have to watch the movie again and pay closer attention!
[identity profile] delle.livejournal.com on October 20th, 2012 01:20 am (UTC)
I saw a screenshot somewhere. You have to look fast, but Thor's hammer is the top floor, Clint's bow is the 2nd level down, then (I think, it's been a while since I stared at the screencap) Steve (shield), Tony (mask), Natasha (belt emblem) and lowest level is Hulk.
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on October 20th, 2012 05:50 am (UTC)
I found it -- thanks for the heads-up! I don't think I would have caught that just from watching the movie. But I think I'll watch it again, just to try!
[identity profile] hiddencait.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 04:27 pm (UTC)
I have a couple actually! Very little shipper-type relationships but lots of the team as a whole.

http://archiveofourown.org/series/19228 This is the "Offers of Home" series and it is a blast for seeing the whole time find a safe place. It actually goes pretty heavily into the Pretender and SG1 fandoms, and the most recent part crosses into the Nolan-verse Batman fandome, but the first 5 are strictly Avengers fic!

Another that has an absolutely fantastic view of the team ending up living together (though in Malibu instead of the tower) is "Life as a Treehouse" but as it's got Clint/Coulson and Tony/Steve I'm not sure this comm has the audience for it lol.
[identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 04:31 pm (UTC)
but as it's got Clint/Coulson and Tony/Steve I'm not sure this comm has the audience for it lol

Well, I suppose there are people here who like all kinds of stuff, but we're here mostly for C/N. Do you know any fics that focus on two of them - ship, friendship ...? And that it involves the team?
[identity profile] hiddencait.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 04:37 pm (UTC)
I haven't really seen any that focus on C/N while still having the whole team come together. That's one of the types of fics I think we may be missing as a fandom.

The very best of the Clint/Tasha fics I've seen have had them either pre-Avengers and coming together as SHIELD agents and partners, or else they're post-Avengers and completely separate from the team while they work out their emotional aftermath. And like I said, some of those are utterly stunning, but we do miss the team dynamic with the focus on just the pair.
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 06:58 pm (UTC)
Thanks for the recs!
[identity profile] hiddencait.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 07:43 pm (UTC)
My pleasure!
[identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 04:43 pm (UTC)
Okay I lied, I do have a rec - I managed to find this fic which has utterly wonderful team moments - the best story about team bonding I've read so far - Of Languages (http://archiveofourown.org/works/410746) by QueenRiley. It does deal with The Tower but not directly. However it's a wonderful read.

I've done some fics that involve the team myself, I can link you to them if you want.
[identity profile] hiddencait.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 04:46 pm (UTC)
Ooo I have no read that one! *scampers*
[identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 04:51 pm (UTC)
It's really a wonderful story! Very worth reading. Also, if it's true and there's a lack of team!fic with C/N in there, or focusing on C/N, we might need to rectify this situation.
[identity profile] hiddencait.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 05:10 pm (UTC)
Score - I'll be reading it for sure then.

And yeah, I haven't seen any if so. I mean even fics like Kobayashi Maru - we start with the team already functioning/living together in the tower. Tasha might not be comfortable with the concept, but the Avengers are a team by that point ya know?

My faves for C/T are We Were Emergencies on AO3 and Stray over at ffn - and both have Clint and Tasha completely sequestered for pretty much the entire fic.

So yeah, I think it should be rectified lol. Though damned if I'd know where to begin. I think I need to get my SS story in the works so I'm forced to get write Clint's POV and interaction with Tasha before I try to tackle something like this.

OH! That reminds me of a topic - anyone else know that Tasha tends to get written FAR more deadpan and emotionless then she actually is in Avengers?

I watched again after buying the bluray finally and that fact struck me. I mean she shows buckets of emotion really, plus she's cracking snark with everyone from Coulson to Banner to Steve. Clint's one of the few she doesn't crack a joke with, and that's just because of the very dark situation Clint's recovering from. That just strikes me as odd considering the way fandom almost always portrays her.
[identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 05:18 pm (UTC)
Since I wrote Kobayashi I can tell you more about "behind the scenes" - LOL - Natasha and Clint are still sort of "separate", especially when their... problem happens. Clint has started to bond with Thor and Steve , but the bonding process is far from done when he and Natasha have to face this very serious situation. And they're also hiding it from everyone, except Bruce knows what's going on, but Bruce is tactful and doesn't tell anything. And then it's Tony who figures it out and is like "okay, this isn't how a team is supposed to work". And then does some really wonderful things for Natasha in particular. The bonding is happening all through the fic, and it's finalized during the lockdown scene.

That's at least how I wanted it to come through :)

Can you link me to that story on FF net?

As for your question, I assume most people are trying to show she's big on self control and controlling her emotions. It's a tricky task to write her, I'd say. But I agree with you, she shows lots of emotions in the movie. It's really good to remember that.
[identity profile] hiddencait.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 05:37 pm (UTC)
LOL yeah I figured you could lol. But it still felt like the team was very involved despite Natasha when I was reading it some how? Who knows - the reader always gets something different than the author completely plans lol.

And yup! http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8170081/1/Stray That author is fantastic, but she's only written for a few fandoms. Tis sad. I'm hoping she'll dive into the Avengers fandom but Stray's it so far and it's not finished either.

Yeah, that may be why I've had such a hard time approaching her, because the fannon has put one image of her in my head but the movie puts another. I'll have to see if I can figure out how to balance that.
[identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 06:06 pm (UTC)
That's what I said - the team was/is involved. Natasha learns to be comfortable with that and to accept it. I hoped that's how it comes through.

I think the best approach is to find an interpretation you feel comfortable with. I tend to write her as emotional, but guarded around most people.
[identity profile] sunny-serenity.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 08:54 pm (UTC)
that's because natasha and all women who are in anything are emotionless robots. gods! why don't more people get that?! [/sarcasm]

it irritates me when she's written like that. her performance may be too subtle for most people to get. i can't tell you how many times i've had the 'I WAS SURPRISED THAT I LIKED THE GIRL HERO IN A SUMMER ACTION MOVIE' conversation. just... ugh. sit down fandom.
[identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on October 20th, 2012 04:52 am (UTC)
Her performance was incredible. She delivered so many emotions, and it was subtle and complex and I suppose many people just... skim over that because they're used to expect simplistic characterization in an action movie.

UGHHH. Those comments! Ugh.
(no subject) - [identity profile] sunny-serenity.livejournal.com on October 22nd, 2012 07:27 am (UTC)
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 04:58 pm (UTC)
OH -- Of Languages is one of my favorites!

Link away -- please!! =D
[identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 05:10 pm (UTC)
:)

First there was a babyfic of doom (http://archiveofourown.org/works/465017) followed with this one (http://archiveofourown.org/works/511949) and then this one (http://archiveofourown.org/works/484209). The team is featured in all of them, and being part of the team is essential. Hopefully it's your cup of tea, I know it's not everyone's.
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on October 23rd, 2012 03:14 pm (UTC)
Sorry it's taken me so long to reply to this! Thanks for the links!

Babyfic of doom? How about babyfic of awesome, covered with awesomesauce, with two sides of fic-awesomeness? Oh, and covered with awesome-sprinkles.

I had to go back and read them all again -- so many things to LOVE!
[identity profile] roboticonograph.livejournal.com on October 19th, 2012 10:30 pm (UTC)
I'm actually working on a piece called "Meet the Avengers" that explores the team learning to work together as a team and moving into the tower. I wanted it to be four or five short stories, focusing on different members of the team, and I have two of those already written.

The story is told from Pepper's point of view, because I thought it would be interesting to have an outside observer watching the team come together, but there is some background C/N threaded throughout each of the stories.

The main problem I'm having is that I started writing the story before I saw Avengers, and now the end gag of my first story doesn't work. SAD TROMBONE.
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on October 20th, 2012 01:09 am (UTC)
Sounds like a great read!
[identity profile] roboticonograph.livejournal.com on October 20th, 2012 01:51 am (UTC)
I hope it will be, if I can ever get it finished!