ALL THE THINGS FALL: FREE-FOR-ALL

[frea-o.livejournal.com]

Greetings, Best Bar on Earth, from both enigma731 and me!

I feel like I should kick off this post by apologizing to the Southern Hemisphere because this post is allllll about the things we love about the autumnal season. Warm sweaters. Pumpkin spice everything. Halloween and all of the great costumes and terrible B-movies that play on the cable channels all month. The leaves changing. That nip of chill in the air. Bonfires, hayrides, new constellations. Fall is my favorite season, for all of these reasons and much more that I can’t list without completely derailing this post.

So today, I thought, we should celebrate Fall. And even better, we should celebrate our favorite assassins and Fall. What do Clint and Natasha think about it? Which one of them secretly marks the calendar for the first pumpkin spice latte? Does Clint hate this season because it means the return of sleeves? Does Natasha have a favorite garroting scarf? (Answer: no. She has three, you nitwit) Where do our spies stand on Halloween? Do they ignore it or do they put Tony Stark’s costumes to shame?

Some sample prompts:

Fury has sent out a memo that the Annual SHIELD Halloween Party is this Friday, and participation is mandatory.

Nobody is more surprised than Natasha when Clint wants to go on a roadtrip to go watch the leaves change—or vice versa!

So grab a cup of cider and bring us your headcanons, your picspams, your autumn-themed icons and badges and banners, or just why you love (or hate) Fall. Bring me Halloween costume ideas, fanfiction prompts and recs, your reasons why Clint and Natasha might not even like the season or why they love it more than Tony Stark loves robots. Let’s celebrate! This is a free-for-all, after all!

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)
5. Place spoilers under a cut, please. That includes things from Thor 2 and the Captain America: Winter Soldier trailer that premiered yesterday. We have a whole post here for reactions!

Comments

Trick Or Treat "Houses" Post Here!

[frea-o.livejournal.com]

To celebrate Halloween, I've "opened" my blog to trick-or-treaters, and I know several others have, too. So let's start a neighborhood! My post is here (http://frea-o.livejournal.com/50587.html) for you to come get treats!

Re: Trick Or Treat "Houses" Post Here!

[enigma731.livejournal.com]

Mine: http://enigma731.livejournal.com/328788.html#comments

Also feel free to friend me, bar patrons. My LJ is sadly vacant these days.

Re: Trick Or Treat "Houses" Post Here!

[shenshen77.livejournal.com]

Mine is here (http://shenshen77.livejournal.com/14638.html) :D

And I can always use some more friends too, so feel free to friend me if you are so inclined.

Re: Trick Or Treat "Houses" Post Here!

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

Mine: http://hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com/50992.html

Also, feel free to friend me as well :)

Re: Trick Or Treat "Houses" Post Here!

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

Me too! And here's the post (I just un-flocked it):

And here is where you find the post (http://alphaflyer.livejournal.com/27624.html)

But do feel free to send me a friend ping -- members of this bar will be friended right back! :-)


PS: I can't spell today.

[enigma731.livejournal.com]

I have a head canon that early on in their friendship, Clint decided he needed to educate Natasha on all the things she missed out on, including made for TV horror movies. I can just picture him trying hopelessly to explain why the movies are a thing of beauty while Natasha relentlessly picks apart the total lack of logic. "But why would anyone go check out the creepy basement noise without a weapon? It's basically a kill box." "Not everyone's a trained assassin, Nat. Just enjoy the damn movie."

[anuna-81.livejournal.com]

"but how can i enjoy something that hurts logic?!"

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

This makes me think that I would love to see a totally trope-y horror movie-esque fic where Natasha takes out the big scary Michael Mayers/Jason-type bad guy in about five minutes ;)

[shenshen77.livejournal.com]

I have this headcanon that Natasha hates fall because it means the return of long sleeves... Clint is actually quite content with the return of cooler weather as it means pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin pie ;)

[enigma731.livejournal.com]

I totally think Clint is the one who gets excited about lattes. I think Natasha might have some level of disdain for dessert coffees.

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

Fall! I love that candy part and pretty trees, but can leave the pumpkin flavored things.

So, any one have interesting costume ideas? I'm being lazy and going as a generic zombie.

[enigma731.livejournal.com]

I'm not dressing up this year, but I was a zombie brain surgeon a few years ago and it was one of my favorite costumes ever. http://enigma731.livejournal.com/274349.html

[anuna-81.livejournal.com]

I don't really have headcanons regarding fall so I might pick up some around here :) But I somehow thing Clint enjoys cooler weather and Natasha enjoys the vivid sights of nature in the fall. :)

[enigma731.livejournal.com]

Do you think they do anything like hiking? Or running outside? Do they ever actually go on vacation?

The Contest, Rated G, No Warnings, 523 words

[frea-o.livejournal.com]

Natasha felt her jaw crack at the force of her yawn as she climbed down the ladder that led up to the loft area of Clint’s apartment. She’d heard him get up and rustle around down in the lower part, and the fact that it was Clint and not somebody else meant she’d been able to get back to a light doze. But the noises had roused her curiosity too much for sleep, so, hair in disarray and trailing the blanket from the bed because it was getting chillier in the loft and Clint didn’t seem to recognize cold temperatures at all, she wandered over to check it out.

What she saw made her eyebrow go up.

“Coffee’s on the stove,” Clint said as he set the second hollowed out pumpkin on the newspaper next to the first.

“Mm.” Natasha poured herself a cup and wrinkled her nose at the pumpkin spice creamer next to the pot. She took a long sip as she studied her partner, who was fiddling with the pumpkin placement still. He’d eschewed his shirt, though he had his “light” quiver strapped to his back and an arm-guard bracing one forearm. Whatever he planned to do, he was going to be shooting left-handed. Speaking of which… “What’s going on?”

Clint grinned over his shoulder. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not as such.”

“Pumpkin carving contest.”

She caught the knife he tossed her without looking at it and just looked at him.

“Kids are coming by to trick or treat tonight, Nat. If there aren’t any pumpkins outside the door, how will they not know this is the coolest apartment in the building?” Apparently satisfied with the pumpkin, Clint walked over to join her in the kitchen area and picked up his coffee. “Rules are you can carve whatever you like but the pumpkin has to be the scariest thing you can think of, and no peeking at each other’s pumpkin.”

Natasha took another sip of coffee, considering. She’d never actually carved a pumpkin before. “Who’s the judge?”

“The kids, of course. And no bribing them with candy.”

“Would I do that?”

“Gleefully and without hesitation.” He tasted a bit like pumpkin himself when he kissed her, but Natasha found she didn’t mind as much. “Ready?”

“You’re going down,” Natasha told him, flipping the knife around to a better grip as she eyed her pumpkin. The move had nearly made a trainee wet himself the week before, but Clint just grinned and moved to the other side of the apartment, giving himself as much room from the two pumpkins on the table as he could.

Clint pulled the first arrow out of his quiver and nocked it. “Go!” he said.

The knife and the arrow hit the two pumpkins at the same time. Several hours later, the candy bowl in front of the apartment stood empty. Surrounded by the leftover wrappers, the two assassins couldn’t help but concede that it was a tie, though Clint pointed out that maybe next year, they would get better results if they didn’t ask children to pick between two pumpkins with Nick Fury’s face on them.

Re: The Contest, Rated G, No Warnings, 523 words

[shenshen77.livejournal.com]

Bwahahah, this is so cute! And fluffy :D And I love it!

[bugeyedmonster.livejournal.com]

Now I want to hear all about Natasha's garroting scarves, and how Tony is slightly intimidated every time she wears them.

[frea-o.livejournal.com]

He didn't think anything of it until one day in the break room, he heard Sharon Carter, Maria Hill, and Natasha discussing the tensile strength of various types of yarn and how cute some of the scarves made from that yarn can be. They never explicitly connected the two, but now Tony eyes Natasha's favorite red scarf with something approaching trepidation...

Fic: Seasons of Change, no warnings, rated G

[charmingalias4.livejournal.com]

I wrote a little short fic based around the idea of fall and posted it at my journal

http://charmingalias4.livejournal.com/1423.html

Re: Fic: Seasons of Change, no warnings, rated G

[spyforaday.livejournal.com]

Your short fic made me smile right along with Nat. I could feel the cool breeze and picture the trees. Really, I could (because your description was perfect and because I was sitting out on my deck enjoying a glass of crisp chardonnay as the breeze was blowing orange and yellow and red leaves around my feet while I read your story). Very nicely done!!

[happilydancing.livejournal.com]

So after the battle of NY, you KNOW people start dressing up as Hawkeye and Black Widow (and the other Avengers of course) for Halloween. That has to be odd for them.

[enigma731.livejournal.com]

Frea might have made me write a version of that a few weeks ago. ;) http://archiveofourown.org/works/982144/chapters/1942910 (G, no warnings)

[anuna-81.livejournal.com]

Headcanon!

Natasha likes scarves - the ordinary, pretty ones. Clint gets her one wherever he travels.

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

Headcanon accepted. You can find different pretty bits of cloth all over the world... and each one has a story.

[sugar-fey.livejournal.com]

I must admit, being Australian I don't really get the autumn/fall thing, or the Halloween thing. Australian seasons go something like: Spring=Hot, Summer=Fucking Hot, Autumn=Getting Cooler, Winter=Cold. Our seasons aren't that distinct, and it seems like I'm missing out!

I do have a Cold Weather C/N headcanon:

Early in their partnership, Natasha had a rough mission that brought up a lot of bad memories for her. Afterwards in the car, Clint noticed she was shivering so he gave her his hoodie.

She didn't say anything, but she never gave the hoodie back. It stays at the back of her drawer at home and she slips it on whenever she needs warmth and comfort, especially after a mission. She'd never admit it, but it's like a hug.

When she and Clint finally get together, he finds the hoodie. He thinks it's incredibly sexy when she wears his clothes. ;)

[sweetwatersong.livejournal.com]

I vote for a thread/post about how they celebrate autumn when they're someplace without it! Did anyone say Antarctica, or South America? ;)

But man, I love the stealing/sharing clothes cliche, and this makes me smile. :) Five bucks if you can figure out what Clint could wear from her wardrobe in return!

Autumn Days; G; no warnings

[franztastisch]

Natasha wears autumn colours; her leather jackets are mostly brown, not black, as are her boots. She likes reds and oranges and yellows and she knows which shades work best with whatever colour hair she has at the time. They're her comfort clothes, picked to blend it rather than stand out - though Clint has always argued that she stands out whatever she's wearing.

One day in mid October Clint rents a car. He packs it with thermos' of tea and coffee, tartan blankets and walking boots; Natasha's are brown, his are green. He asks her if she trusts him, and at her immediate responce of 'yes', he bundles her into the car.

They get out in the aspen forests of New England. The trees clad in autumn leaves, and autumn colours coat the ground. The two are separated by pilliars of silver white and Clint thinks Natasha, with leaves in her hair and a smile on her face, has never looked more beautiful.

Re: Autumn Days; G; no warnings

[frea-o.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is so marvelously picturesque. Headcanon accepted. *happy sigh*

Raindrops don't dance ...

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

The problem with fall, is it's followed by winter, which in my part of Canada can be 5 months long and Seriously Hideous. And what was swirling in front of my car window on my way home tonight was NOT rain.

But ... until the white stuff falls, this is what Clint's favourite perching tree would currently look like: (http://s1294.photobucket.com/user/AlphaFlyer/media/DSC_0766_zps05334adf.jpg.html)

Re: Raindrops don't dance ...

[enigma731.livejournal.com]

Jealoussssss. Our leaves haven't turned yet.

[morrighangw.livejournal.com]

I love fall weather in my part of the southwest. It's nice and cool in the mornings and then warms up to the 70s, which is sooooo wonderful after a scorching hot summer (100+ degrees at the peak, yuck). Unfortunately, it only lasts for two months at most, and then it just becomes cold and miserable for a while before the temperatures start to creep up again.

I also love the time around Halloween at work. We have a Halloween weekend and it is a mad, crazy dash to get things ready in time. I've been carving pumpkins like crazy in what free time I've had the past two days and there's still quite a few to finish. The majority of them will probably end up destroyed by the end of the weekend, but if my critters have fun, then it's totally worth it. =D

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

Yes, pumpkins -- I have two ready to carve, but need to but a couple more ... And the candy. Yikes. Bringing candy into my house is like inviting Bruce Banner into a pressurized metal container ...

One of my favourite Halloween stories involves Canadian and US Embassies around the world, in countries where Halloween isn't celebrated. People decorate the embassies and the office doors and the staff's children go trick-or-treating there, in a safe environment where everyone celebrates with them. I can't count the number of bags of Halloween candy I've shlepped to distant places during business travel in October, so that folks would have North American things to hand out.

Head cannons, halloween specials + parties PG rated at most, no warnings

[dragonacesg7.livejournal.com]

I have a headcannon that once Clint had sat her down to watch all the 'kids' specials she fell in love with some of them. I think she'd love Nightmare Before Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

I see Clint liking Garfield's Halloween for some reason.

I also see Nat wearing costumes for the party that make Clint insane with probably stipulations on certain activities, such as leering and groping, not allowed at work parties.
But then Clint finds his own costumes, like Phantom of the Opera so he's in a sharp suit/tux, something he rarely wears, to fight back.

Re: Head cannons, halloween specials + parties PG rated at most, no warnings

[enigma731.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm, yes please Clint in a suit.