ATTF: Outsider P0Vs

[jacedesbff.livejournal.com]

Not too long ago my family was sitting around watching “The Avengers” (because who doesn’t do that on occasion because REASONS) when a Clint/Natasha moment came onscreen. I don’t even remember which one it was, but I do remember my stepdad calming announcing to the room, “They have a history. You can tell.” His tone making it very clear what kind of history our favorite assassin pair has.

So if the 70-year-old retired schoolteacher can intuit Clint and Natasha’s relationship based solely on the canon that is “The Avengers”, what do the people who live and operate in said assassins’ universe think? What about people who see them only once in a while? Other superheroes? Average folks? SHIELD agents? Submit your recs – all types welcome!

To help things along, I provide the following:

The Doctor Is In: http://archiveofourown.org/works/468481 (all Avenger’s POV)
Hurry Up and Wait: http://archiveofourown.org/works/685824 (Steve’s POV)
The Skies Over Manhattan: http://archiveofourown.org/works/574373 (Steve’s POV)
[Title in Russian]: http://archiveofourown.org/works/571642 (Loki POV)
Of Languages: http://archiveofourown.org/works/410746 (all Avenger’s POV)
Looking for You (Or Anyone Like You): http://archiveofourown.org/works/458311 (Pepper POV)
Snapshots: http://archiveofourown.org/works/308916 (surveillance techs watch all of the Avengers, Clint and Natasha included)

(I'm posting from my phone because I'm at work. Hopefully it works!)

Comments

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

When I first saw the movie, I had no idea who Barton was. I didn't know the character, I didn't know the actor. I knew (very obvious, and of course the convo with Loki spelled it out)she was absolutely in love with him but wasn't sure if he felt the same. I didn't know who this guy was, but he looked way older, so I thought maybe they had a mentor/mentee thing going on and she fell in love. But now of course I can see the mutual tenderness in his expression looking at her.

Going to check out those fics now, thanks!

[jacedesbff.livejournal.com]

I totally walked out with a new OTP, but I'm like that. :-) I wasn't able to quite put it into words right away, but I read in a fic later that essentially Black Widow assembled the Avengers to get her man back, and that's pretty much how I interpreted the movie. But then I'm a 'shipper. :D

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

I wish I could say I shipped them immediately, but honestly, they were the characters I paid the least bit of attention to...crazy, right??? I was just thinking "man, I'm glad Natasha has a love interest, now she won't be trying to break up Tony and Pepper." Clearly I misinterprted/misremembered IM2 like a fool.

But then I saw the movie 4 times in the theater and by the end, I was all about them. Also, the scene where Clint dives off the building became one of my favorites and made me interested in his character, haha.

[franztastisch]

OH God, I LOVE outside POVs so will be keeping an eye out here.

But the best one I ahve found so far is the utterly fantastic The Observable Universe by Sarea Okelani. Jane POV and utterly glorious in every way.

Also, Perspectives by ittykat. POV all Avengers plus Maria.

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

YES to the Observable Universe. I just re-read it the other day, and am still ticked that you can only kudo once.

[franztastisch]

I want to be able to kudos individual chapters. But I can't so I settle for comments along the lines of "OH MY GOD THIS JUST GOT BETTER"

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

Just about to rec Observable Universe. One of my faves!

[jacedesbff.livejournal.com]

I can't believe I forgot that one - it's one of my favorites! :D Thanks so much for sharing! And I'm off to check out Perspectives. :D

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

I love this one and just re-read it now...yup, still love it!!

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

My fingers are itching to do an itty bitty outsider POV ficlet. But it's Friday and family movie night ("Highlander" finally got here, from amazon!!!) and because it isn't snowing yet we're having a BBQ first, and the other family is about to get here, so I won't have time to do it NOW. Is tomorrow okay? :-)

PS: Thanks for sticking "The Skies Over Manhattan" in among the recs! :-)

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

PS: All the kudos to your stepdad!!

[jacedesbff.livejournal.com]

I was so proud of him. It's pretty funny. He had no idea how much he made my day!

[jacedesbff.livejournal.com]

Love to get it when you have time!

And of course! :D It can't all be Paris and B'elanna. LOL

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

I'm always fascinated by how much people think Natasha shows to the outside world, because she was that combination of expressive and deceptive in Avengers. I think by the time of Captain America 2, she and Steve are tight (and how Steve responds to the revelation of secrets about her past will be interesting), but I wonder if she has any relationship at all with Bruce or Tony. And if she and Steve have been buddy-copping around, where does that leave Clint?

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

I look forward to a Steve comment on That Arrow Necklace. It's such an obvious piece of her costume, and then there's That Kiss (unless it ends up on the cutting room floor?) -- he just HAS to say something about the relationship ...

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

I still think That Kiss is them baiting Bucky. I'm still on the Maria/ Steve shipping, even though it will probs never be canon with Sharon Carter joining (which is an awesome thing. More women in the MCU universe!).

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

Interesting theory -- I was thinking it would be a cover to escape chasers of some sort (who wouldn't expect them to act like a couple).

But yes! on Sharon Carter (played by Haylee Attwell with modern hair?) -- having written her, I'd like to see her (if only to see how far I was off the mark...).

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

I always felt the kissing to avoid chasers bit was sort of silly, because PDAs draw more attention than two people just standing there, but that could be it given movie logic. :)

Casting spoiler: she's actually going to be played by Emily VanCamp

[jacedesbff.livejournal.com]

So true.

And really? I (a) wanted Haylee Atwell back and (b) am not a huge fan of Emily VanCamp as an actress, but that's just me. Marvel as a studio has made excellent casting decisions so far, so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. We shall see soon, I'm sure!

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

Casting is the one spot where I absolutely trust Marvel, so I'm hoping it works out. I think in the long run it will be better for the actress to be different, so Steve is actually falling for a new person, instead of trying to recreate an old romance/ turn Sharon into a substitute for Peggy.

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

Very valid point!

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

I'm curious, how do you think they were baiting Bucky? I thought it was that they were trying to hide their faces. I love how they are dressed like college students.

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

I get the hiding their faces things, maybe from face recognition software in a security camera? But also I think Bucky is tracking them, and will see the kiss, and Natasha is hoping to provoke an emotional response. IDK. It's fun to speculate.

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

Me too!!! Aaaaahhhh, i want this movie right now.

I still can't believe she has that necklace. Its so unbelievabley cute.

[jacedesbff.livejournal.com]

IKR?? :D

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Jade, my dad did the exact same thing! He couldn't stop talking about Black Widow and Hawkeye (like me, I think he finds badass normals more interesting than super-powered heroes). It's weird when a non-fandom person starts shipping, and doesn't even realize it.

[jacedesbff.livejournal.com]

It's weird when a non-fandom person starts shipping, and doesn't even realize it. Exactly!!! :D It was so incredibly funny. I was thinking, "He's a 'shipper and he doesn't even know it! Score!!" :-)

[sugar-fey.livejournal.com]

People who picked up on Clint/Natasha-ness:

My mum.
My ex.
My current boyfriend.
Several friends.
My tutoring student.

COMPLETELY WITHOUT ANY PROMPTING FROM ME. As in, they said stuff like "is something going on between them?" or "I think he/she is in love with him/her."

I'm so proud. *wipes tear*

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

A lot of the friends I went to the movie with did the same thing (we ended up planning a Black Widow movie with Hawkeye as the love interest on the way back). One of my sisters ships it as much as I do and the other doesn't ship it at all, on account of the age difference.

To be honest, I don't really care that much about the ships in canon, as long as they are true to the characters, but at least our ship isn't just a complete figment of our imagination.

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

It's all in the acting. When chemistry like that ignites, it burns right through the screen. I could read volumes in her eyes, and his voice.

[jacedesbff.livejournal.com]

THIS.

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

Speaking of his voice, I have the movie on my phone and have been "listening" to it as I doze off at night (that's not weird, is it? ;)), and OMG his voice. Seriously. His voice.

All the actors have great voices and expressions, but yeah. His is something else.

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

I kind of get the sense that she is somewhat fond of Tony...some of her reactions in The Avengers, like when he arrives in Germany, and his comment about being a genius billionaire philantropist playboy.

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think she likes Tony too, but like doesn't necessary translate into trust.

[jacedesbff.livejournal.com]

Interesting observations... Hmmm...

[inkvoices]

May I rec to the three of you this wonderful fic of Natasha and Tony: Best Kept Secret by AlchemyAlice. Summary: In which there is a secret friendship, and Tony can’t deal with feelings, so Natasha has to do it for him. These two features may or may not be related.

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

Awww, great fic. thanks for the rec!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_samalander/]

I feel weird about self-reccing, but I wrote outsider POV for secret Santa last year; Wild Dedication (http://archiveofourown.org/works/631706) (Teen, no warnings) is 5 people who knew exactly what Clint and Natasha were up to and one who really wished he didn't.

(POVs are Maria Hill, Coulson, An OC Agent, Thor, Pepper, and Bucky. Past Bucky/Natasha angst is a special treat for erryone.)

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

Speaking of self-reccing, I just remembered a fic I wrote that totally fits this ATTF. The perspectives are an OC, Coulson and Maria, and it's mostly their perspective on Clint. Three Different Perspectives on Hawkeye and Black Widow (http://archiveofourown.org/works/637194)

Self-reccing is totally more classy when it's done together ;)

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

Self-reccing is totally more classy when it's done together ;)

Hear, hear.

In that vein, may I submit for your consideration "Two If By Land" (http://archiveofourown.org/works/907537) (from the 2013 Promptathon) and "The Pool" (http://archiveofourown.org/works/581081), which is basically the Clint and Natasha relationship as seen, talked about and taken bets on by their fellow SHIELD agents ... ;-)

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

So funny!!!! I loved this. And now want to see a naked Clint locked outside a door.

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

Thanks :)

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

Read it, loved it!!! That was truly terrific! (Wild Dedication)

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

Self-recs rock! I somehow managed to miss this one ... and now I've read it. Loved it, too. :-)