Previous | Memories | Tell Someone | Next
 
scribblemyname
scribblemyname
[be_compromised]
05 September 2014 @ 08:56 am
ATTF: Imprinting  
Happy Friday, everyone!

So one of the things I find interesting when dealing in a particular pairing is how fanfic writers 'imprint' so to speak on some of the first epic fics we love for that particular pairing. Otherwise known as, I fell in love with many pairings due to reading epic fics and have met other fanfic writers for those pairings that imprinted on the same fics I did. Certain headcanons are never the same after you read certain fics.

My friends dragged me kicking and screaming (by accident) into the Avengers fandom and Clint and Natasha in particular, but as much as I accept most major branches of characterization for the characters, I imprinted hard, hard, hard on ohladybegood's series, forgeries and fire. Though other fics for these characters have struck me as so, so right since, I've noticed that the ones that work the most for me, that hit me the hardest in reading or writing are the ones that fall in line with the characterizations in these two fics. (Her writing style didn't hurt either.)

Did you imprint any characterizations of Clint and/or Natasha at the beginning of this fandom? Are there any fics that to you are just right or that you strive to match in your own writing?

Obviously, we all write our own headcanons and characterizations and make the writing our own, but care to share your influences or the authors and fics that gobsmack you with their perfection?


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.)
Tags: , , ,
 
31 comments | Leave a comment
 
( Post a new comment )
[identity profile] happilydancing.livejournal.com on September 5th, 2014 08:53 pm (UTC)
Ooooh, this is such an interesting topic!!! For me, after I watched Avengers a few times, I was like "hmm" about Clint and Natasha b/c they obviously had something so strong between them and I was curious about their backstory and read some fics here and there that got me even more interested...what got me HOOKED and I re-read ALL THE FRICKEN TIME (I literally was re-reading it last night) was the Red Thread Series by Anuna and Cybermathwitch. I would put that up there with actual MCU in my headcanon of what "My Natasha and Clint" are. Its the fic that made me seek out and find this forum in the first place. Its just seriously the most loveliest thing ever.
scribblemyname[personal profile] scribblemyname on September 8th, 2014 03:36 am (UTC)
I do looooooooove that series. I'm so glad you reminded me of it!
i was born difficult for myself: Avengers Clint roof[personal profile] geckoholic on September 5th, 2014 09:58 pm (UTC)
Although I've been on the fringes of this fandom for like four years or so, I didn't *really* dive in until this year, and I'm still kinda in the imprinting phase I guess. Though for me it's less a certain fic with this ship; I've found the hivemind for them to be pretty consistent (which is impressive, given how we have so little actual canon from the MCU and so much pick-your-poison backstory from the comics) so it's more about imprinting on that? Or maybe I just landed in the 'right' corner and there's more versions out there, lol.

Edited 2014-09-05 10:01 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] happilydancing.livejournal.com on September 5th, 2014 10:52 pm (UTC)
Yeah, its crazy, we know more about Justin Hammer than Clint Barton lol.
i was born difficult for myself: Avengers Hawkeye[personal profile] geckoholic on September 6th, 2014 06:40 pm (UTC)
IKR? That's just so WRONG.
[identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on September 6th, 2014 03:45 am (UTC)
You're right about the hivemind thing -- at least in the Clint/Natasha corner of the fandom. In other shipping 'verses there are some creatures that I barely recognize as either Clint or Natasha, except for the names. (Although that can arguably be because the hivemind imprinted me?)
i was born difficult for myself: Avengers Clint/Nat fake[personal profile] geckoholic on September 6th, 2014 06:42 pm (UTC)
Yeah, same. Maybe that's a testament of just how much of an imprint we received? But yeah, for example, if a fic treats Clint and Nat as vague acquaintances, I'll start side-eyeing. No matter if one ships it or not, these two ARE important to one another, and brushing that away just makes me go bzuuh??
scribblemyname[personal profile] scribblemyname on September 8th, 2014 03:41 am (UTC)
I do like this corner of fandom, but even here I find some of those "branches": like those who write a little Fraction in their Clint (coffee addict, prone to disaster), those who write super competent, mature, self-controlled Clint (more my thing), those who write quiet, socially awkward, somewhat more sentimental Clint, those who write socially forward, friendly, more sleeps around type Clint. Then there's Natasha who comes in flavors still working on figuring out emotion, super competent working but not so much personal life, then way ahead of the game in personal life, more fun and snarky, more serious and quiet, etc., etc.

I like most branches, but I have the one that I lean toward believing in, which I'd love to say came solely from the movie and my logic applied to said movie (and does in a way?) but I think was also influenced heavily by how I entered fandom.

But yes, this is a lovely spot of fandom and I aim more for be_compromised writers because overall, the quality is muuuuch better.
i was born difficult for myself: Marvel Clint Noto[personal profile] geckoholic on September 8th, 2014 08:32 pm (UTC)
Sure, there's nuances. /nods/ I'm with you on the preferred Clint, at least when it comes to the MCU version, since I'm actually trying to keep my Clints apart (I'd actually say my favorite is the comics/616 version, maybe partly because I just *know* him better, but I don't really ship THAT Clint with Natasha, so he's sort of not so relevant when it comes to my entanglements with Clint/Nat). So I don't like it when they're too mixed, and the same goes for Natasha. But I'm generally weird and figure each character out anew for every fic I write, it's not, like, all part of some overarching headcanon. Lol, chances are I'm making this all much more complicated than it has to be. Point is, yeah, there's always bound to be variations, simply because no two people have the exact same headcanons, but I've encountered pleasantly little of that 'omg who even ARE these people' within the Clint/Nat I've read so far.

Heeh, I found a majority of the Clint/Nat I've read lately (as in, since Marvel actually became my main playground) either through this comm or through bookmarks of the fav writers I found here, soooooo. XD Not generally big on venturing from a safe space, once I found it, when it comes to sources for fic.
[identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on September 10th, 2014 12:41 am (UTC)
I am so with you on finding a fic "safe space". I don't have a lot of time to read, so I can't really afford trawling through dross to come up with a pearl. I adore the folks on this comm, and when I venture out beyond their writing, it's to their recs ([livejournal.com profile] astridv has the best ones!). Plus a handful of others I've subscribed to, and bookmarks or (on FFN) favourites of people I trust.
i was born difficult for myself: Avengers Nat BW[personal profile] geckoholic on September 10th, 2014 09:58 pm (UTC)
OMG you're so evil, I went to investigate her recs and spent a good hour and a half in her AO3 bookmarks this afternoon. (Which is to say, thank you. XD)
[identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on September 6th, 2014 12:34 am (UTC)
Well, one of the first Clint/Natasha stories I read was Gyzym's "We Were Emergencies" and ... I know many people look at it as seminal, but I couldn't see it. I found it disjointed and ended up skimming through the last third. The closest I can come to an imprint is [livejournal.com profile] allisnow's "An Arrow, Discarded", which sang to me in such a way that I had to write my own post-Loki Clint story. After I'd done that, all head canon I had was my own....
[identity profile] sneakronicity.livejournal.com on September 7th, 2014 01:08 am (UTC)
I'm usually a lurker, but I'm trying to actually get involved in the community more, and this post is a good place as any. I just often feel like there is something wrong with me because it seems like almost everyone sees We Were Emergencies as THE Clint/Natasha fic and I just... didn't feel it. The way the characters were portrayed there weren't how I see them. It's just a relief sometimes to see that I'm not the only one, and that maybe my view of them isn't so skewed as I've started to believe.

As for me, I really got into the fandom through RP, not fic, so most of the characterizations are ones I developed in that manner with several different people.
[identity profile] isthisrubble.livejournal.com on September 7th, 2014 09:46 am (UTC)
when I first read We Were Emergencies I thought it was amazing, but I suppose my taste in characterising has changed since I first read it, because it holds less appeal now
[identity profile] sneakronicity.livejournal.com on September 8th, 2014 01:26 am (UTC)
It's interesting how preference and taste can change over time. Thanks for commenting! It helps me feel less like I'm somehow doing it all wrong when I see them differently.
[identity profile] sugar-fey.livejournal.com on September 8th, 2014 11:19 pm (UTC)
I love We Were Emergencies, and I don't think you're doing it wrong if you didn't like it. I don't think one fic ever works for all people, and it shouldn't. I'm actually resistant to the idea of hivemind fanon, I think it restricts creativity and makes people feel bad if they don't interpret the characters that way, which can contribute to fandom being unfun. I'm all about fandom being fun.

I think different interpretations of characters are good. My Natasha might not be Gyzym's Natasha or AlphaFlyer's Natasha or your Natasha, but that's okay, because I love all of those Natashas. Variety is good! It gets boring if all fics are the same headcanons rehashed over and over again. I'm happy to read a fic where the characters are slightly different to how I interpret them, so long as I think the characterisation is within the realm of possibility given what we see in canon.

TL/DR: We all have our tastes, and there's nothing wrong with you if you don't like a popular fic.
[identity profile] sneakronicity.livejournal.com on September 8th, 2014 11:29 pm (UTC)
*snuggles* thanks hon, I appreciate that. Sometimes it just feels like that, you know?

I'm primarily an RPer and have played with so many people over the years, often as the same characters. I've even against characters I usually play, and I don't like to look at them as better or worse (unless they totally miss the mark), but simply different, and I have lots of fun playing of so many different interpretations. I guess fic is like that too. Just when I find myself in that, like, 1% that sees things differently I start to wonder, you know? Sometimes a little reassurance is just nice.
scribblemyname[personal profile] scribblemyname on September 8th, 2014 03:50 am (UTC)
I forgot about that story and its companion piece but whenever I'm remdinded of them and/or stumble across them again, yes, I am gobsmacked, and yes, they imprinted on my too. There was another one too back in the day... (was on Tumblr and I recced it on my LJ, which is not searchable :headdesk: will find later)

I admit that I never got through "We Were Emergencies." I hated the premise, so I couldn't read the fic.
scribblemyname[personal profile] scribblemyname on September 8th, 2014 05:20 am (UTC)
Knew I'd find it eventually: http://okayophelia.tumblr.com/post/22524644684/fic-thorazine-for-the-lady-knives-for-the-gentleman. First fic of them I ever read and understood. Not my favorite by any stretch now, but an influence.
[identity profile] redbrunja.livejournal.com on September 6th, 2014 10:36 am (UTC)
Short answer, YES.

Long answer, We Were Emergencies is the only Budapest story I need. All other Budapest stories go home.
scribblemyname[personal profile] scribblemyname on September 8th, 2014 03:51 am (UTC)
LOL Just love how you said that.

I've never been as into Budapest as a genre (though there are a couple fics...)
[identity profile] redbrunja.livejournal.com on September 8th, 2014 03:55 am (UTC)
Yeah, I feel like it's the kind of situation where no answer (i.e. no 'what happened in Budapest fic/movie/etc') could ever be satisfying and the best possible answer is NOT knowing what happened in Budapest.

Unless, of course, We Were Emergencies.
[identity profile] sppowell.livejournal.com on September 7th, 2014 01:28 am (UTC)
I usually stay on the sidelines but thought I would chime in with my two cents. My imprint started with Workerbee73's 'Teenage Makeout' series. It was a phenomenal fic that became my head-canon of our two favorite avengers. Alas, that fic and all her other fabulous ones have disappeared. Currently, NyxEtoile and OlivesAwl's series 'Somewhere They can't Find Me' has imprinted in my head pretty hard.

Edited 2014-09-07 01:29 am (UTC)
[identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on September 7th, 2014 02:10 pm (UTC)
That's the series that got me into LJ, and be_compromised, and awoke me to the endless possibilities of the Clint/Natasha relationship. :-)
scribblemyname[personal profile] scribblemyname on September 8th, 2014 03:52 am (UTC)
I do looooooove that new series. :pouts: I came to this fandom too late to read "Teenage Makeout."
[identity profile] isthisrubble.livejournal.com on September 7th, 2014 09:51 am (UTC)
the first fic I remember reading over and over was The Skies Over Manhattan by Alphaflyer, but to be honest I love how they write Clint and Nat and always point people over to Alphaflyer's ao3 when I can
[identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on September 7th, 2014 02:07 pm (UTC)
That ... just made my Sunday morning. *hugs*
scribblemyname[personal profile] scribblemyname on September 8th, 2014 03:53 am (UTC)
I swear, if I want to send someone else to understand the awesomeness of Natasha and Clint, I will always pick alphaflyer and ohladybegood: one for the grounded and the other for the poetic.
[identity profile] alphaflyer.livejournal.com on September 10th, 2014 12:44 am (UTC)
is speechless... Thank you! <3
[identity profile] crazy4orcas.livejournal.com on September 7th, 2014 09:53 pm (UTC)
I stumbled into Avengers and Clint/Natasha fic first -- and I don't remember the web-surfing trail I followed to get there. I practically overdosed on fic the first couple of weeks. That's how I found my way into [livejournal.com profile] be_compromised, I kept running across fics that mentioned the 2012 promptathon. I read just about everything I could find that paired Clint and Natasha, whether it was good, bad, or somewhere in between. I don't think I can pick out one or two that really defined the characters for me. I think that's also why I don't really have any hard and fast headcanons for them either.

I can pinpoint the fic that lead me to get more involved in the fandom and to leave lurkerdom behind. That would be [livejournal.com profile] anuna_81's Kobayashi Maru (http://archiveofourown.org/works/465017). Something about that fic and how it was written really grabbed me and I actually mustered up enough gumption to send anuna a message about it. She was so very kind, we bounced ideas back and forth and it really gave me the push I needed to participate in the Clint/Natasha fandom.
scribblemyname[personal profile] scribblemyname on September 8th, 2014 03:55 am (UTC)
:le sigh: I loved that fic of anuna's. And I've had pairings I did that with too: I hit a lot of fics all at once and I developed a flexible interpretation. It's easier in a way, for writing and reading.