21 March 2014 @ 12:00 pm
ATTF: Endgames  
This post was written and contributed by the love [livejournal.com profile] crazy4orcas, who will hopefully be able to come play later in the weekend. :)

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a great week. Please belly on up to the bar and help yourself to a drink.

The theme for today’s ATTF is Clint and Natasha’s endgame, and endgame can mean a few different things. How do you see their careers at SHIELD ending? How do you see their Avenger’s days ending? Do they retire from both, go off the grid and spend the rest of their days living off the land in the backwoods of some small European country? Or does their endgame involve something more tragic?

I’m somewhat partial to the idea that with the Avenger’s they have the option to pick and choose their SHIELD missions and eventually leave SHIELD altogether. Then after one too many close calls, they give up the Avenger’s and with Tony’s help they drop out of sight. Shortly after that, Stark Industries gets into the development of both commercial and private security systems. Clint and Natasha are living on a private island and running the new branch of Stark Industries from there. They’re also running what’s fondly known as the Avenger’s B & B, where Avengers come to rest and recuperate from serious injury. The location is idyllic, the company is great and Clint is an amazing cook, but otherwise the service well and truly sucks. I also see them doing a fair bit of traveling, taking time to visit all those places they’ve been before, but doing so to take in the sights, food and history. Natasha enjoys coming up with their cover stories for these trips.

Got any fic recs for us? And please warn if your rec includes a Major Character Death.


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.)
 
 
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[identity profile] philstar22.livejournal.com on March 21st, 2014 05:19 pm (UTC)
Personally, I can see Clint eventually retiring, and retiring sooner than Natasha, and maybe teaching something. LIke maybe teaching new SHIELD agents or something. WIth Natasha, I have a hard time imagining her retiring. I think she'll keep going as long as she possibly can. At that point, she'll be kind of miserable at first because she hates retirement. Not sure what she'll do next. Maybe teach too, or maybe write a book or something.
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on March 23rd, 2014 02:56 am (UTC)
I like the idea of them going into training agents too. Can you imagine the looks of horror on the faces of Natasha's first batch of trainees when the realize their instructor is the Black Widow?
[identity profile] spyforaday.livejournal.com on March 21st, 2014 07:09 pm (UTC)
I love your idea and file it -- along with thousands of other tremendous ideas I've read by you fine folks -- under the heading of "why didn't I think of that?" I contemplated this topic for a story idea once, but the fic took a turn I didn't see coming and ended up on a different track. I'm sure that's never happened to anybody else, right? ;)
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on March 23rd, 2014 03:00 am (UTC)
I'm totally a Happily Ever After kinda person, and this idea seemed to fit both with that and with Clint and Natasha still keeping somewhat active. :)
[identity profile] happilydancing.livejournal.com on March 21st, 2014 08:25 pm (UTC)
Oooh, I love the private island idea!! And of course at some point it gets targeted or they are called out of retirement to save the day or what-have-you. Once an Avanger, always an Avenger.

I agree with the comment of seeing Clint retiring first...I know being a sniper doesn't take THAT MUCH out of him since he is trained so well, but the hand-to-hand stuff, well to use a cliche, he isn't exactly a spring chicken. MCU-Clint is an interesting contrast the the 616 Clint who I think is a perpetual young hot-head.

And I'm just picturing an elderly Natasha with a very special necklace (not going to focus on whether C is alive or has passed, b/c I don't want to make myself sad at work) that she still wears after all these years.
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on March 23rd, 2014 03:05 am (UTC)
Yes, once an Avenger, always an Avenger!
[identity profile] sugar-fey.livejournal.com on March 21st, 2014 08:44 pm (UTC)
Oooh, great topic!

I agree with the comments about Clint retiring before Natasha. He is a bit older than her and I wouldn't be surprised if he's a bit burnt out after being brainwashed by Loki. I think he'd try a desk job but hate it, so he gets transferred to training baby agents.

As for Natasha, I really like the idea of her mentoring young female agents. In the comics Natasha has been a mentor of sorts to a few young female superheroes, and I'd love to see that carry over into the MCU.
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on March 23rd, 2014 03:14 am (UTC)
I like the mentor/training idea too. Maybe they'd even transition into leading teams of their own?

And agree with you on Clint being burned out after Loki.
[identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on March 21st, 2014 09:47 pm (UTC)
Oh God, right up my alley. I love the topic! *rubs hands* I think they definitely retire at some point - because of age, injuries or having enough of world - saving, so instead they're going to do some enjoying of that same world they saved so many times over. Aaand I can see them both being mentor type of figures, helping train baby agents, or living on an island, or chasing tornadoes, or even climbing mountains and spending hours in the silence. I can see them do almost anything - from living an unremarkable, nearly anonymous life with house full of pets or kids (their own or adopted) - because they've had their fair share of remarkable and exciting (read: life threatening), so they don't mind some peace and quiet and being ordinary. I can see them running back to rescue when they're needed (Clint in particular), or teaching young people how to become good defenders of the world.

But I mostly imagine them as tornado hunters. Because of reasons. :D
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on March 23rd, 2014 03:22 am (UTC)
Give us ALL THE OPTIONS! =D Love all these ideas, especially the adopted kids. I can also see them getting involved with some kind of children's organization. Imagine Natasha running a self-defense class, or teaching ballet. And Clint teaching archery.

Tornado hunters! Excellent! But I've also recently seen Twister so maybe that has something to do with wanting to see that.
franztastisch: bench[personal profile] franztastisch on March 21st, 2014 10:00 pm (UTC)
*in wanders Franz to lower the mood*

I've always seen them dying on the job. Clint probably dies first, but both of them die on the job eventually.

(This is MCU, I feel I should point out. I don't really headcanon for 616 or anything. In fact, I've never got into a fandom for anything other than a TV show or a film. I have no idea why that is but there you go.)

Anyway, I actually have a story like this, but I haven't posted it yet so I can't share it. :P
[identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on March 21st, 2014 10:07 pm (UTC)
Yeah, I kinda agree ... however reluctantly. See the rec I stuck into my comment, below yours ...

Look forward to your story. Your Sad Stuff always makes me sob in the most cathartic way...
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[identity profile] happilydancing.livejournal.com on March 21st, 2014 10:10 pm (UTC)
I can see them dying on the job, but then Coulson died on the job and now is leading a young team so I guess one doesn't really negate the other, haha.
(no subject) - [personal profile] franztastisch on March 21st, 2014 10:11 pm (UTC) Expand
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(no subject) - [identity profile] happilydancing.livejournal.com on March 23rd, 2014 12:27 am (UTC)
franztastisch: winchester[personal profile] franztastisch on March 21st, 2014 10:18 pm (UTC)
Remembered some fic! All come with the warning of MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH.

After the Circle of Us by SomeTorist
When "a couple of master assassins" becomes just one.

One Last Time by [livejournal.com profile] snack_size (TW: cancer)
In a crap stroke of fate, Clint finds out he's dying.

Edited 2014-03-21 10:25 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/_samalander/ on March 21st, 2014 10:38 pm (UTC)
Right there with you. Theirs is not a job you retire from.
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(no subject) - [personal profile] franztastisch on March 22nd, 2014 11:54 am (UTC)
[identity profile] enigma731.livejournal.com on March 21st, 2014 11:17 pm (UTC)
I agree. Much as I hate the thought, I can't convince myself otherwise.
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on March 23rd, 2014 03:34 am (UTC)
At times when I'm in a more realistic frame of mind, I agree with you -- they both go out on the job. But luckily for me and my jones for "Happily Ever After", those times are few and far between!

Thanks for the recs, I braced myself and gave them a read, they were really well done. Although there must have been a problem with my computer because they got REALLY blurry at the end and I had a hard time focusing on the monitor.
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[identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on March 21st, 2014 10:03 pm (UTC)
Oh, so many versions of getting to the place where I am in life ... (except #4, I'm so not there yet):

1. The first thing that went was his shoulder. It was small tweaks at first, almost gentle nudges, timed almost as if to remind him of its existence in pride and gratitude.

But then, almost from one day to the next, he suddenly couldn't pull back the bow string as far as he used to. It was when that resulted in his arrow falling short of the mark that he consulted SHIELD medical -- surreptitiously, of course, holding on to the illusion of doctor-patient confidentiality that inevitably morphed into a memo on Fury's desk.

The MRI told the truth -- even Clint could see that. His rotator cuff was disintegrating.

"You're too young to have a shoulder replacement," the doctor said gently. And unlike with knees, It's a new surgery, and we don't know how long it lasts, or whether we can do it more than once."

Clint looked at his bow, his life, and his throat went dry.


Ick, that's depressing.

2. "Aren't you sick of having some Councilman who's never set foot in a war zone telling you what's an acceptable risk, or how many dead civilians constitutes proportionate collateral damage?" Clint snarled and turned to Natasha. "The way this is going, your ledger is going to remain in the red until the dawn of time."

"So what do you suggest?" she asks, softly, knowing the answer already and grateful that he gave her that opening -- the opening she knows he has been eyeing ever since Freetown.


But I like [livejournal.com profile] happilydancing's idea of getting called out of retirement, a la REDs (Retired, Extremely Dangerous).

3. "Stark. You doing anything this weekend? No? You heard about Thor? Him and Loki ... Yes, I know they're still spring chickens and we're ... well, whatever we are. Doesn't mean we can't go in and cut him the hell out of that iceberg, does it? Tash is in. Who's going to suspect a bunch of senior citizens of packing heat?"

And then there's the Really Depressing Option, the blaze-of-glory one that always leaves me a sobbing wreck, so I don't ever envision writing it.

4. But this is a fabulous, devastating version of the death!fic (and yes, that's a warning. MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH BRING HANKIES AND SPONGES): johnnydicaprio'sJust Take Me With You When You go (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8333031/1/just-take-me-with-you-when-you-go)




Edited 2014-03-21 11:14 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on March 23rd, 2014 04:16 am (UTC)
*pokes Alpha* more for #3? And #2? And how Clint moves on in #1?

I have to admit, for #2, I imagining some kind of coup d'etat with Clint and Natasha ending up on the World Security Council.

No need to do anything with #4 -- we can pretend that never happens, right?
inkvoices: avengers:nobody dies[personal profile] inkvoices on March 21st, 2014 10:50 pm (UTC)
I didn't actually have any headcanon or thoughts for this. Some material, like The Hunger Games or The Walking Dead, leads to me thinking about conclusions or mortality, but the Marvel universe to me, both films and comics, is never something that makes me think about endings. Because the good guys win and people don't stay dead and there's always the next adventure, and the next person to put on the costume.

But now you have me thinking about it *grins*. So. I can see them both dying on the job. Or one dying before the other. Or one or them dying from someone prosaic, so unheroic, so normal, like cancer or pneumonia. I can see them both living to a ripe old age, on a tropical island, in isolated wilderness, or Avengers head quarters training up new recruits. Or just in any old city volunteering in youth centres and helping strays. I can see them having a family or not. I can see Natasha being a spy in her old age like I imagine Peggy Carter could have been (if she wasn't busy being in charge at SHIELD) and Clint being amused by the stories she comes home with. I can see the reality of the wear on their bodies and of their job, the happy endings, the crack like the Retired and Extremely Dangerous lot.

I heard a funny thing the other day, one of our politicians refering to death as 'when retirement comes to an end'. I can see them retiring and dying or not retiring and dying. (Or not dying at all - hey, isn't there a fic somewhere where Thor gives everyone mystical apples that he really shouldn't have? And reincarnation fics?) And the only thing I have headcanon for? That getting there is one hell of a ride :D
franztastisch: change my world[personal profile] franztastisch on March 22nd, 2014 11:56 am (UTC)
You're just covering all your bases, aren't you? :P
(no subject) - [identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on March 22nd, 2014 04:04 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] inkvoices on March 23rd, 2014 01:38 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on March 22nd, 2014 04:03 pm (UTC)
Did you mention reincarnation fics?? Are there any? Because if there are, I would like to read them.

Also, it seems that you can imagine a whole lot of different endgames for them, just like I do.
(no subject) - [personal profile] inkvoices on March 23rd, 2014 01:50 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] happilydancing.livejournal.com on March 22nd, 2014 06:08 pm (UTC)
Haha, love the icon!
(no subject) - [personal profile] inkvoices on March 23rd, 2014 01:40 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on March 23rd, 2014 03:54 am (UTC)
YES! To all of this -- options, glorious options!

And now that REDs has been mentioned a couple of times, I REALLY want a fic of that. I'm seeing Tony, Clint, probably Bruce and Natasha (depending on her enhancements) muttering under their breath about how Thor and Steve haven't aged.
(no subject) - [personal profile] inkvoices on March 23rd, 2014 01:53 pm (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on March 23rd, 2014 11:22 pm (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [personal profile] inkvoices on March 26th, 2014 10:00 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com on March 21st, 2014 11:56 pm (UTC)
In the MCU I think Natasha will always have her finger on the pulse of what's going on, but will be less active in the field one she hits late middle age. Clint will retire, but get into enough trouble on his own to keep things interesting.

But in comics, everyone sticks around, so we don't have to worry about it. :)
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on March 23rd, 2014 03:40 am (UTC)
Yes, Clint wouldn't be able to keep himself out of trouble would he?

And you've given me the image of Natasha keeping in touch with Maria (Director Hill eventually) and passing on bits of information she comes across.