So I'm on the bandwagon of "less is more" and "keep it ambiguous." As much as I would LOVE to know what happened in Budapest, how the two met, and so many other details.... I'm really ok not having a canon answer. I've always been drawn more towards the secondary/tertiary characters, in part because they are vague, you don't know *everything* about them and that leaves a lot up to the imagination. I mean, look at what fandom has come up with based on the little snippets we were given in the movie! I feel like if we have canon answers then that puts a damper on things (that may be a little selfish idk but its how I feel ;)

But I still definitely want shipper moments in the movie :D Also, I think it would be cool if they ended up being secretly married. The whole will they/won't they lets dance around our feelings thing, while enjoyable to watch at times, has been done so many times it can get old, especially if its dragged out for season after season (I know this is a movie and not a tv show, but that's how the analogy went in my head ;) It would be refreshing/change of pace to have them be already together. You can still have tension and drama, but it would be different.

The other things I would like out of this movie are more character bonding moments. Does Tony finish his tower with floors for every Avenger? Who is actually living there at the start of the movie? We know the science bros bonded, but what about the others? Natasha and Steve? Clint and Tony? Thor and Steve? I would like to see the team bonding and coming together without an approaching alien invasion forcing them to unite.

and of course, tons of witty banter and dialog :D and is it too much to ask for Coulson to come back in a non lame cliche way? Because that would be awesome! I loved Coulson, and him coming back/not being dead could serve some plot points, maybe further the divide between SHIELD and the Avengers, further cementing their distrust in Fury, etc.

Also, I have a feeling things will be way more epic, especially after we get IM3, Thor2, and CA2... more epic in the sense that the main battles may take place away from Earth/ in outer space/other realms/Asgard? Which made me realize just how much I need to see Sif and Natasha be all badass and awesome together!

Everything you said!

I agree that it would be so much fun to find out they are already together. I think it wouldn't diminish the interest there, especially since they are obviously putting themselves in danger. There would be plenty of natural points to create tension.

I also agree with the the kind of non-traditional pairing interactions. I really want Clint to bond with someone because he had next to no interactions with the team in Avengers (understandable bc of plot). I want more. And Natasha and Steve seem like they would be bffs and I want to see that. They are both quiet, fish out of the water type people.

Finally, I also love what you said about being drawn to side characters. Those are always the characters I care most about (which means a lot of my fave characters die) because they are the ones you have more wiggle room to imagine their back stories and what forms their character. They are often the most interesting characters too, that don't fall into archetypes.

"I also agree with the the kind of non-traditional pairing interactions. I really want Clint to bond with someone because he had next to no interactions with the team in Avengers (understandable bc of plot). I want more."

EXACTLY. This is why I'm working on a post-New York fic that has Clint do precisely that. I mean, just take Thor -- their only real direct interaction is when Clint points an arrow at his throat and, while waiting for the kill order, says "I'm starting to root for this guy." And then Thor's baby brother screws with his mind. Sounds like the beginning of a beautiful friendship to me ... (Fanfiction gold dust, I say.)

But yeah, the Tony-Steve and Tony-Bruce moments in Avengers were great; let's have more of that in other configurations! I hope that's what Whedon meant when he said he'd be going deeper.

Thor! I just read for the first time a story recently where they were good friends and I thought about it and makes sense. I'm kind of surprised there aren't more stories that include interactions between the two. They would definitely have some things to talk about. I can't wait for you to post the post-New York story. I love the idea of Clint kind of finding his place with the team and interacting with them. In my personal headcanon I think that Coulson wanted Natasha and Clint to be part of the Avengers initiative because he wanted them to have a bigger support network besides their team of three. I want both Clint and Natasha to interact with the team and maybe see that there are other people they can trust besides each other.

I too love what you are doing in your post-New York story and can not wait to read more! Because its scenes like that/conversations like that that I think need to happen/would love to see that sadly may not make it into the film :( Its like I said in my comment to your latest chapter, I *loved* the Pepper and Clint conversation about Coulson- it was very well done and felt true to the characters, and something that I feel should happen so both of them can come to terms with what happened to Coulson, and maybe they can bond a bit in the process.... but it will probably never be in the film *crosses fingers anyway*

In my personal headcanon I think that Coulson wanted Natasha and Clint to be part of the Avengers initiative because he wanted them to have a bigger support network besides their team of three. I want both Clint and Natasha to interact with the team and maybe see that there are other people they can trust besides each other.

omg all the feels for your headcanon!! that... that makes so much sense and I love it! and yes I want them to interact and see that there are other people to trust besides each other, *especially* since Coulson is no longer there :(
and can we get more Pepper and Natasha bonding and being awesome together like in IM2?

Thanks Jenny!! Your comments (both here and on AO3) really mean a lot. :-) I'm almost done with the Thor chapter in "Skies Over Manhattan" -- may be able to post Monday or Tuesday.

In Chapter 4, I think Bruce and Natasha will have a bit of a chat ...

aww dude *hugs* Thank you! I'm glad to hear it! and you are totally welcome!! :) Glad I can be of some service *grins*

oooh very interesting and intriguing! can't wait to read these chapters :D Thor, and then Bruce and Natasha.... sweet :)

*grins* :)

Yes exactly! The interest would still be there, and there would be tons of potential for angst, tension, and drama. If its going to be anything like the last movie there will be no shortage of epic and intense fight scenes, with plenty of opportunity for tension, it just won't be UST which I'm ok with ;)

So many fics have delved into team bonding and non traditional pairing interactions, and they have been awesome! But I really want to see this acted out on film too! Oh I totally agree, Natasha and Steve seem like they would be bffs, and that is with or without the whole Winter Soldier/Bucky thing. and I'm interested to see who Clint would bond with now that he isn't all brainwashed :( Does Tony make him extra awesome arrows? What kind of conversation would he have with Thor? These are the things I want to see.

aww thank you :) I'm glad we are like minded on this! So many times I'll read the same books/watch the same shows as my friends and they'll be really into the main character, which is understandable, but I'll be sitting there going... but what about X and X side character?? I want a show about them! and I'll get funny looks >_> ;)
But yeah exactly, they are often more interesting, they don't fall into certain molds and archetypes, and since we often don't know that much about them, its a lot of fun to make up their backgrounds/what motivates them/etc. (They are also prone to dying though :/ Ah the perils of being a secondary/tertiary character!!) case in point *points to your icon which is awesome btw* so no lie, those two were my favorite characters in the book... I honestly could not care less about the love triangle/main characters.... I wanted to know more about the side characters, Alice and Jasper in particular ;) I went through my reading fanfic stage for those books, and really everything I read was about the side characters, because I felt they were way more interesting ;)

I go back and forth who would be Clint's bff, there's arguments for all of them. I think he and Steve would bond over the military stuff. I think Tony and him would prank each other and have fun fun being snarky. He and Bruce would bond over both knowing how it feels to not be in control. And then Thor, obviously with the whole Loki thing would have a lot to talk about. I think that's the beauty of Clint, and how the movies have been a little vague about his character, he could work with just about everybody.

I'm completely with you about the side characters. I get so excited for sometimes really minor characters and my friends think I'm so weird. In the books pretty much every Cullen was my favorite but I especially loved Jasper, Alice, and Carlisle (which I realize is pretty much half the family, lol). Jasper and Alice's relationship was perfect, I loved the hints of how strong their bond is. Pretty much all the fanfiction I read for that fandom was Jasper centered. I refused to read Edward/Bella because it was in the books so I didn't really care. It got to the point that I actually got into Jasper/Bella, not shipping it canon wise, but it was just fun to read all of the fanfiction, and it was fun to see all of the back stories.