Oh, the FEELs that I have about this one!!! (And kadollan and I might actually be writing an HP fusion story so we may have talked extensively about this very point.

So.

Natasha - Slytherin, no question.
Clint - also Slytherin. He's a survivor, and he's sneaky.
Tony - "I have a plan. Attack!" (Does this ring a bell? The Gryffindor motto should really be "Everyone on three!") Total Gryff.
Bruce - Ravenclaw (again, this didn't take any real thought on our parts.)
Pepper - she's never had a problem doing what needs to be done, and while she'd probably make a damn good Slytherin, she's absolutely a Gryffindor.
Jane and Betty are both Ravenclaws, hands down. (Yeah, the scientist thing is kind of a gimme, and I could make a case for Betty being a Gryff, but in the end, I think Ravenclaw is the best fit.)
Darcy (well, ok, my headcanon Darcy) is totally a Slytherin.
Loki would also be a Slytherin.

Now we get to the tricky part of all of this, Steve and Thor.

And I lobby really, really hard to put both of them in Hufflepuff. Thor, because what we see time and again from him is loyalty - particularly to Loki, but also to the friends he makes along the way. Yes, he's strong and brave, but the loyalty thing... that's what I've gotta go with.

And for Steve, again, there's a loyalty aspect, and also a talent aspect. Between the two, I'd have to put him in hufflepuff. Which also kind of fits with his "starting out as an underdog" storyline.

We've done Peggy and Bucky, too - I think Bucky ended up a Gryff and Peggy a 'Puff, but I could have that backwards? Or mistaken, it's been a minute.

OMT, I love this!!! Such delicious thoughts to kick around.

*must go off to ponder and enjoy*

:-)

I particularly like your thoughts on Thor. Hmmm... And like I said, I can certainly see that argument for Tony.

SO MUCH FUN to ponder. :D

It really is! I <3 it so much - it's a neat set of worlds to meld. I think the tentative plan (among others) is that when Nat and Clint end up trying out for Quidditch (either inadvertently or on purpose, I'm not sure which) they try to take Nat on as a Seeker and Clint as a Beater - and the two of them end up switching pretty soon after. Because while they look the parts, their talents are quite the opposite.

Okay, so now I totally want to read that. :D *grabby hands* :-p!

Please write this. *brings out Clint-level puppy-dog eyes* I need more AU fic in my life.

I love all of these sortings but I think Peggy's a total Gryff. She's a woman officer in WWII. You didn't get there without an insane amount of guts. Plus, the whole playing chicken with the HYDRA officer trying to mow her down in the street and not flinching at all.

"Everyone on three!"

I honestly don't remember where Peggy sorted, because she's one of the ones that kadollan is actually writing (we split them all up) - but I can definitely see your point there. :D

I definitely see Clint as a Hufflepuff. Everyone knows Hufflepuffs are secret badasses. ;)

Fuck Yeah Black Widow made a good case for comics!Natasha being a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw, because she's actually not that ambitious at all (http://fuckyeahblackwidow.tumblr.com/post/30049902372/ive-actually-answered-this-a-few-times-before#notes). She didn't choose to be a spy, it was forced on her, and she became the best spy in the world through talent and a need to survive.

Movie!Natasha is not the same character as comics!Natasha, so I go back and forth between Slytherin and Ravenclaw for her.

Everyone knows Hufflepuffs are secret badasses. ;) Well, YEAH! Funny thing is while I am a longtime waver of the Hufflepuff banner, my bff always claimed Slytherin until Pottermore sorted her into Hufflepuff. She was a little taken aback until I reminded her that there are many evil!badass Hufflepuff wandering around, hiding beneath a mild exterior. She then fully embraced the Hufflepuff ethos. :D (And she really is loyal, just, all those things, too.) :-)

Fascinating link, btw. Outstanding point about her not choosing her life or even to be the best at it. Surviving out of necessity like that and through your wits...definitely cases to be made for either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. I would say in the movie!verse, she's a Slytherin. In the comic!verse, though, based on what that post described, I'd say Ravenclaw.

VERY COOL STUFF!!!

Pottermore sorted me into Gryffindor, which really surprised me. I thought I would be a Ravenclaw.

I don't see movie!Natasha as that ambitious either, I think they dropped enough hints that her skills were forced on her. I see her as survivalist more than ambitious, but that might be my comics knowledge creeping in. I think I see her more as a Ravenclaw in the movies as well as the comics.

I read one fic where she was a Hufflepuff, which threw me at first but then it made a weird amount of sense. Again this is based on my own interpretation, but I think she's fiercely loyal to Clint, even to a fault. There is some truth in "your world in the balance and you bargain for one man," even though she was putting on an act at the time.

Her skills might be forced on her, but I got the impression that she got out of the Red Room, and then chose to use them (made a name for herself, didn't care who she used her skills for, etc), and it was that which lead to SHIELD tracking her down. If she'd just vanished and found a quiet job, I don't think SHIELD would really care. But she chose (as I see it) to be a free-lance assassin, and she chose to make that name, and that to me speaks of ambition (among...other things admittedly).

I'm basing this all on my own headcanon (so YMMV), so I have Natasha as a survivor above all things, and she's ruthless in that, which could be a Slytherin trait. I guess she could be ambitious in that she's learned she needs to be the best in order to survive. And I do see her taking a certain level of pride in her skills.

I guess I see the ability to be cold, calculating, quick thinking and to a certain extent emotionally detached from the task at hand (not that Natasha is inherently emotionally detached, you know how much I hate that trope!) as Ravenclaw traits, which is why I go between Slytherin and Ravenclaw for movie!Natasha.

I see Maria Hill as a Gryffindor. I know a little bit of her comics background, though it's patchy and I ignore bits and pieces of it at will in my WIP about her and Natasha, but she's got the bravery thing down in spades. After all, she was a Marine who got hired by SHIELD by being a BAMF at Madripoor. Not saying all Marines are Gryffindors, just that "Everyone on three!" really fits with her character. The movie showed she's not really all that cunning, which knocks out Slytherin and Ravenclaw for me. Hufflepuff? Maybe, but there are cutscenes in the film where she's not exactly showing great loyalty (I'm grateful those scenes were cut; I like Maria being a bit of a hard-edged woman with some real reservations about the superabilities/reliance upon superheroes, but the movie cutscenes pushed that likability down a little too much).

She is ambitious (in the comics, she runs SHIELD), so she could theoretically be a Slytherin, I guess, but her lack of cunning still rings Gryffindor for me.

Hi new friend!! :D *waves*

VERY interesting treatise on Maria Hill. Exactly the kind of thing I was wondering. I remember reading in various fics that she ends up in charge of SHIELD, which does immediately make one think Slytherin, but many a Gryffindor has been known to run corporations, as well (Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, as well, for that matter.) I could definitely go with your Gryffindor assessment - love it!

Thank you. I've given Maria Hill probably too much thought since the movie came out. But a friend of mine has pointed out that she COULD be a Slytherin and she is ambitious enough for it, maybe, in the film (there's not much characterization). And I could concede, but I think a true Slytherin would've been better at manipulating Fury. Unless Fury likes having somebody contrary as his 2IC and then Maria Hill is playing it pitch perfect so that she can someday take over.

That sound is Maria Hill's possible brilliance giving me a headache. ;) This is why I'm a Ravenclaw. I prefer books to people.

I'm sorry, all I heard was WIP about Natasha and Maria. Sounds awesome!

That's the great thing about sorting - you can make an argument for any house!

And then every argument basically gets overlooked when the character asks the hat, "Can I be in Hufflepuff?" Right? ;)

About the WIP, if you're curious about it, I've posted the first part (there are six) that I wrote for a challenge. I haven't advertised here because I won't be able to write the next five parts until November and it doesn't get Clint/Natasha-y until the third part, though Clint is in all six parts. And he's funny. I've got it on my LJ right here (http://frea-o.livejournal.com/4478.html) if you wanna see. It's a lot of Maria and Natasha figuring out each other, SHIELD, how to be taken seriously in tight uniforms, romance, and saving the world.

I like Steve as Gryffindor (being a natural leader of men) but he certainly is a friend to the Hufflepuff! Gryffindor has to be a given for him but he could have very easily been in Hufflepuff.

I love lists like this. I never knew how much I missed "housing" people until we started talking about this in this comm. So wonderful!

Maria is a hard one. She's loyal... to a certain extent. She has ideals but I see her as a person who isn't totally married to them. She does what needs to be done in whatever situation and puts herself out on the front lines. While she's a leader of people, is she really someone who works WITH them? Will she do anything to get the result she wants?

I love your breakdown of Clint and Natasha! I need THIS IN MY LIFE. *sits down to wait patiently* Do you need anything? Cookies? Milk? New wand?

I am with you - I TOTALLY love lists like this! (I once got to sort my family members into houses, even. Fascinating!) :D

I love your breakdown of Clint and Natasha! I need THIS IN MY LIFE. *sits down to wait patiently* Do you need anything? Cookies? Milk? New wand? Will work for fic. HEE!

Anytime - SO GLAD/GRATEFUL/WICKED THRILLED to ponder with like-minded barflies!!!

Totally agreed about Clint as Hufflepuff and Natasha as Slytherin.

Personally, I'd actually stick all the science geeks - Tony and Bruce and Jane - into Ravenclaw, which is actually also were I see Pepper.

I'd put Coulson in Gryffindor, because while I think his bravery is very quiet, I think it runs strong and deep (and I think it says a lot about him that he picked Captain America to fangirl over).

Maria I'd also put in Gryffindor - she's straightforward and ethical in a way that reads as Gryffindor to me.

I agree with Clint and Natasha, absolutely.

Jane as Ravenclaw, yesss, she's all about THE SCIENCE.

Fury I see as either Hufflepuff (he is very his people and protective) or Syltherin; Coulson either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor; Hill Gryffindor; Steve I could see either Ravenclaw (why does everyone forget Steve and his books) or Gryffindor, depending on when he was sorted, and same with Tony but with Ravenclaw or Syltherin; agree with Bruce re; Ravenclaw.

Peggy Carter is such a Gryffindor. So much a Gryffindor (hello shooting a man in a car who is headed straight towards her and is going to hit her). Which. I. Oh, damn, suddenly I want to write fic where Peggy is an ex-witch who left the Wizarding World due to being angry with their BS.

Thor I see ultimately as a Hufflepuff, but he could be Gryffindor as well - again, depends on which way the Hat chooses.

I think at age 11, being sorted, Thor would be a Gryffindor, for the "courting war" and absolute Right and Wrong aspects of his personality, but he grows into a Hufflepuff through his movie, when he realizes how simplistic his lust for battle was.

Ohhhh, yes, that's an excellent point.

Oh, completely agreed. Excellent point. He does have some Hufflepuff in him, but I'd go with Gryffindor (they also show a lot of loyalty).

- which does lead me into my problems with the Houses, which *shuts up*

But, yes, I'll go with Gryffindor, with 11yo!Loki going into Ravenclaw.

Steve is a Hufflepuff and I won't hear otherwise. His whole reasoning for taking the serum is that he dislikes bullies- he's brave, sure, but he falls much more on the "fair" side of things. (I may have been known to call him Captain Hufflepuff at times. I regret nothing.)

I also cast Fury as a Dumbledore-style Gryffindor. If you think about how secretive and manipulate Dumbledore was to Harry, all the expectations he piled on, there are a lot of similarities there. Fury isn't necessarily ambitious or cunning, but he certainly is about Right and Wrong and I think the black-and-white mentality is more Gryffindor than Slytherin.

OH OH OH. AGREED ABOUT STEVE. COMPLETE HUFFLEPUFF. Actually, I will probably use "Captain Hufflepuff" in fic, it just seems like something Tony would call him.

I think Gryffindors and Slytherins are like... two sides of the same medal. Harry wasn't above manipulating people when it got the job done, and as far as I'm concerned Fury can nicely fit into Gryffindor. *nods*

I actually watched Captain America for the first time with a person who I met through a sorting comm, and we have been calling him Captain Hufflepuff since the first time he showed up.

To me, the distinction of Hogwarts houses is all about what a person values- Harry was super curious and would have actually made a great Ravenclaw for his knowledge thirst, but he valued boldness and bravery too much to go anywhere but Gryffindor. (Hermione would have been an awesome Slytherin, but that's another argument.)

Yeah, your own personal values - and I think your choices - are what ultimately makes the distinction. *nods* Even though Steve is a brave fighter, he values kindness and peaceful solution to things, doesn't like bullies etc. He wouldn't fight if he didn't have to, I think. Typical Hufflepuff. *G*

Ooh! Would you link this over on metavengers? It's right up our Diagon alley. ^_^

(and in the meantime I'll think about how I'd sort 'em...)

Clint - Hufflepuff! For all the reasons you mentioned plus we're the closest to the food.

Natasha - Ravenclaw. I think the Sorting Hat measures innate talents and Natasha's deal is that she is extremely smart. Depending on her backstory this was used to make her sneaky and manipulative etc. Her adaptability made her take on lots of Slytherin traits but at her heart she's a bookworm with not that much actual ambition (more competitiveness/ survivor instinct). I have lots of feelings about this.

Pepper Potts - Slytherin. Ambitious and efficient she is the embodiment of Slytherin =/= evil. Muggleborn and pretty professors think she's going to be eaten alive in the house and she proves them all wrong.

Maria Hill - Depends where they take the character. Can see any outcome.

Bruce - Ravenclaw!

Jane - Ravenclaw!

Steve - Gryffindor!

Coulson - Hufflepuff!

Thor - Gryffindor! (Well I would go Hufflepuff, but I'm trying to give the lions some love)

Tony - pre-cave definitely Slytherin. Post-cave I'm not quite sure.

Re: Hufflepuffs being closest to the food: My friend's oldest daughter (18) sorted on pottermore and had very much wanted to be Hufflepuff for that very reason:and was promptly sorted Slytherin. Her mother looked at her when she complained and was like "You wanted to sort Hufflepuff because of the advantage it would give you. Why are you surprised?"

likewise, husband was annoyed that it was so "easy to manipulate" the test into giving him Slytherin, and fails to see why that's funny and appropriate. Heeheehee.

rofl. Sorting shenanngians with Pottermore are always fun. It took me about three seconds before accepting Hufflepuff (I'd never thought of it, but I was like "huh- logical." Like your husband I also though the test was easy to manipulate, but chose not to, which is I guess why I avoided Slytherin :P

I can see Nat as a Slytherin though- especially if she came from a pureblood family and asked the hat to put her there.

Oh I did a meme not too long ago where I had to sort various characters into Hogwarts houses. Anyway, my short version would be this:

Natasha - Slytherin
Clint - Hufflepuff
Steve - Hufflepuff
Thor - Gryffindor
Tony - Slytherin
Bruce - Ravenclaw

Here be more detailed thoughts I used in that meme of mine; and I'm bit lazy right now (and also have to leave house really quickly, but I want to share all the thinky thoughts!)

Steve - he is a brave soul, but Huflepuffs are brave as well - they're just not loudly brave as Gryffindors are. He is honest, loyal, hard working and genuine; his heroism is of a quiet and humble kind; all of that belongs to Hufflepuff house. He can show compassion, he dislikes unfairness (think - his answer to the question of he wants to kill Nazis - that's typical, typical Hufflepuff), and most of all, you can rely on him. maybe it helps to compare him with Thor, who is a Goryffindor poster boy. Or Ron Weasley, or Fred and George. Gryffindors have a bit of recklessness in them, and I don't think Steve does. He is a peaceful man, his primary motivation isn't the fight, isn't heroism, it's righting the wrongs. His weapon is a shield. His loyalty is fierce but selective; think of his reactions to Tony - it takes a while until Steve is convinced that Tony is, in fact, a good guy who would lay himself down on a wire. Steve is a tough one, I think, but when he said "I hate bullies I don't care where they're from", that solidified him as a Hufflepuff for me.

Tony - a Slytherin poster child. He is definitely the best that Slytherin house can offer - smart, cunning, picks his fights, ambitious, powerful, classy. He's arrogant, but that arrogance is a mask, beneath is a good man who will do good things. He just doesn't want to be called a hero; and he doesn't want it because he doesn't believe he is one. Oh, he does like flash and glitter, but that's different than being a hero. That's hollow stuff, beneath his classy, fine, playboy bravado is a lonely man with daddy issues who feels so very alone. I heart Tony because I can relate *points to icon* We Slytherin people are tough on the outside, and very soft on the inside. I heart how he reacted to Bruce - he was the only one to approach poor man and face him, mostly because Tony knows how it feels to live with a monster inside you, only Tony is Iron Man's monster. Slytherin loyalty is selective, but once it's given, it's forever, no matter what. When everyone thought they'll never see bruce again, Tony kept asking, in the middle of a battle, "Is Banner here?"

Clint - could make the sorting hat take a minute or two to ponder where to put him - maybe. Someone might say that he's a Gryffindor because he doesn't even bat an eye during the entire fight in Manhattan. That guy is fearless in action, but he lacks the loud, I'm - a - star mentality of a Gryffindor. he rather wouldn't be seen; he prefers being up there, observing, essentially, doing his work. So, Hufflepuff. Is Clint nice? I think he is, once he gets to know people; he is definitely less approachable than Ryan or Carson, but I can imagine three of them getting along rather well. I think he's the example of the toughest that Hufflepuff house can offer; I also see him as genuine and honest, and someone you can rely on, but his loyalty isn't free. It has to be earned, and you can see that aspect nicely hinted at in his interactions with Natasha. You just have to wonder what happened between them to make their bond so solid - I love that scene when he wakes up, and Natasha is there (obviously!), and whatever they have, it's incredibly solid. Her devotion to him is strong and even painful at times, his loyalty to her is steady and, I think, endless, and it's amazing how he recognizes her during their fight even while he was under Loki's control. (I just heart them! And I better stop blabbing about them, because this might turn into a shipper manifesto).

Natasha - a "combat - Slytherin". You don't want this girl after you. Her ambition isn't oriented towards achieving status, it's focused on getting the job done, so whatever her goal is, she will reach it. She is also, determined, subtle, she comes prepared (that's basically, what Natasha is all about), she fits the goal justifies the means mentality. She's pretty ruthless when she needs to be, and she can separate herself from the things she does - in fact, she can separate her different selves, she can operate under entire identities which are temporary, while keeping the real self somewhere inside. She is loyal, but her loyalty is selective (and that's also a typical trait of the house). When Natasha takes one for the team (but not really for the team, it's more for Clint), it hurts. I think that the loyalty she feels toward her partner (romantic or not) expands to the team during the film, so both of these feelings are the motivation for her decision to go into a war; that's why she becomes a soldier. Slytherins are usually more loyal to people than to ideas, we really don't weep over regimes falling, but they (we! I heart my house!) we'd do anything to keep our loved ones safe, and it usually means more to us than keeping the world safe.

(also? Slytherin myself. *nods*)

For some reason, this came to my mind on my daily trip in to work and I talked myself in to Steve being a Hufflepuff.

Let me explain how I got there.

Gryffindor values courage, bravery, nerve and chivalry. Its mascot is the lion, and its colours are scarlet and gold. The Gryffindor motto is "Their daring, nerve and chivalry set Gryffindors apart". (wikipedia)

Hufflepuff values hard work, patience, justice, and loyalty. The house mascot is the badger, and canary yellow and black are its colours. The Hufflepuff motto is "Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil". (wikipedia)

Yes, Steve is brave and has courage like no one else but those aren't what he's all about. Those are what people see. I think his heart is about justice (for everyone, mind you) and loyalty (to his country and to his friends). He works well with others and nows how to bring out the best of his entire team. He's concerned about civilians during a fight (did anyone see anyone else (other than Clint) worried about civilians?).

Steve is not about "this is the way we're doing it, team." He's very much about "how will we all work together? and what is best for everyone?"

I think that are all my points.

I have actually been won over to theidea that Steve is a Hufflepuff. I think I may have subconsciously shied away from it at first because I try not to let my ridiculously strong fan girl feelings about Hufflepuffs influence everything I think and do on occasion. :)

Your description does a particularly good job of explaining why Steve is a Hufflepuff though, and I am fully and completely on the bandwagon. :)

It's kind of how I usually just make everyone a Ravenclaw! *grins* I totally get it!