18 July 2014 @ 11:22 am
ATTF: Team Relations!  
So here I was wondering whether I picked a good topic for this week’s ATTF, and then Providence throws me this picture (courtesy of Entertainment Weekly):

Team pic


I thought Natasha should be the one holding the glass in the corner -- just because she had to be there somewhere, please -- but then someone said it was actually Thor, so I theorized that Natasha was off to the right, conspiring with Pepper how they could get Hawkeye to sit like a normal human, or at least take his #$%%^@! boots off the couch.


All in all, we had a pretty good squee fest over the pic itself already, so let’s take this whole thing to the next level – namely the fictional!  Monsters, magic, and a place where Clint and Natasha are together (lovers maybe already, maybe even married, or just BFFs eying each other when they think the other isn't looking) -- but also part of the Avengers as a team.  And that means they have to relate to the others somehow, and they to the assassins (that little bubble they created around themselves at the Shawarma place can't last forever ...).

When I started out in this fandom, I thought that whole idea of the team living together in the same place was nuts.  (Seriously?  Adults going back to dorm-style living?)  But that was before I realized that (a) it was actually comics canon, and (b) fics about that could be huge amounts of fun.   But so can fics where they’re stuck on missions with the team (or individual members).

  • How does Clint learn to fit in with/talk to a bunch of people whom (in the MCU at least) he first met when he was shooting at them, and next when he was shooting with them?

  • How does Natasha cope living with five guys, one more devastatingly gorgeous, anti-social and damaged than the next (Does that toilet seat ever stay down?  Does she flee to Pepper or Maria for sanity breaks?)

  • Do they feel compelled to keep their relationship a secret, or do they really don’t care where they get caught in ‘recreational activities? (Who figures out first that they’re an item? How does Bruce get Tony to pony up on their bet when he successfully picked the garage as 'the next place' where they'll be discovered in flagrante?)

  • How do the other Avengers look at our assassins?  Ddo they feel protective of their humanity, especially when one of them gets hurt?  Jealous because Clint and Natasha have a partner?  Bewildered by their ability to communicate epically on Tony’s latest failings with the mere twitch of an eyebrow?

  • And what about that ‘other’ team, namely Coulson’s?  Do Clint and Natasha know/have views on/had missions with some of its members?

  • How do team dynamics change after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

So, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to give us your recs, self-recs, ficlets, meta, deep thinky thoughts, POV musings – but especially recs, ‘coz there’s lots of great stuff out there and it’s summer and I may not have read them all yet.
To start off, here are a couple of my all time faves involving the entire team, discovering things about Clint and Natasha in one, and each other in the second:

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Assumptions by [livejournal.com profile] jacedesbff:  The team discovers that Clint and Natasha are, in fact, married.  (Not rated, but nothing untoward happens)

Culture and Other Balls of Twine, by [livejournal.com profile] lithiumdoll:  Post-New York – Tony insists on a road trip, and one by one everybody shows up.  Fury rolls his eyes. (Rated G)

Five Times Natasha Throws Up On One Of Her Teammates by [livejournal.com profile] allthatglistens:  The title says it all.  A really enjoyable read.  (Rated T)

The Exchange [livejournal.com profile] slynn:  Clint "borrows" books.  Bruce does not respond well.  Touching, moving, beautiful -- especially if you love books  (Rated T)

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There are of course many more, and I will probably stick some more into the comments as they come to mind.

And don’t forget these essentials:

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.)
 
 
Current Mood: Headed for the beach!!
Current Location: Prince Edward County, Ontario
 
 
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ext_36286[identity profile] allisnow.livejournal.com on July 19th, 2014 12:47 am (UTC)
I think after SHIELD, working with/around a bunch of guys wouldn't be an issue for Natasha. I do think the lack of command structure would be a hurdle for Natasha, as well as Clint and Steve (whereas Tony and Thor are used to calling the shots, and Bruce is pretty much a loner). I think the hardest part would be the clashing personalities, such as we saw on the Helicarrier in Avengers (and obviously Loki had something to do with that, but the underlying tensions were still there) and the fact that when you commit to work with a team, and people are relying on you to save the world on occasion, you can't just tell them to STFU. Well, you can, but it tends not to go over well.

On a fangirl note, really really looking forward to seeing Clint interact with the group, since he got so little chance to do that in the first movie. :D
[identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on July 19th, 2014 01:52 am (UTC)
Absolutely!!

"Friend Archer! What a pleasure to meet you."

"Actually, I met you before this, Thor."

"In truth? Surely I would remember an encounter with a warrior such as yourself."

"Maybe not. At the time you were rolling around in the mud, trying to lift that hammer of yours, and I was way up on a crane waiting for orders to kill you."

"I like this meeting far better, Friend Archer."

"No shit. You want to finish my shawarma?"



ext_36286[identity profile] allisnow.livejournal.com on July 19th, 2014 01:54 am (UTC)
lol yes. Although in the shwarma scene I imagine them communicating mostly in grunts and exhausted gestures.
[identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on July 19th, 2014 01:58 am (UTC)
Well, mostly. (Which is why I haven't ever bothered trying to write it up ...) But I think Thor is the polite sort, and may have wanted to make pro forma conversation at some point, at least with the guy he knew got screwed over by his Baby Bro.
ext_36286[identity profile] allisnow.livejournal.com on July 19th, 2014 01:59 am (UTC)
Thor: ...

Clint: ...

/awkward

Thor: He's-

Clint: Adopted. I heard.
[identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on July 19th, 2014 02:05 am (UTC)
Perfection. Or, as Natasha would put it, "..."
ext_36286[identity profile] allisnow.livejournal.com on July 19th, 2014 02:09 am (UTC)
lol indeed.
[identity profile] avenging-archer.livejournal.com on July 25th, 2014 02:27 am (UTC)
LJ needs a like button. :) Hilarious!
[identity profile] happilydancing.livejournal.com on July 19th, 2014 04:00 am (UTC)
Clint is interesting b/c even though he plays the rank game, I kinda feel like he likes calling the shots himself. I can see friction when he disagrees with the other Avengers...I mean, there will of course be friction whenever anyone disagrees, but he seems a bit more surly than the other characters.