Everything that Bee said *grins*. Sorry, I've just read all of small acts in one go and I think I've lost my ability to anything lol. But. I love the storytelling, a fitting end as an epilogue with that 'here is a story, here has been a story' vibe and also that it's fairy tale in tone and style, because fairy tales are at their origins dark and often prettied up and toned down for children, so you could say that Clint and Natasha in this verse have been that dark fariy tale, but prettied up to outsiders or not seen as they truely are by outsiders, perhaps just seen, as Coulson says, 'in love' when love is for children, a childish version of the story. And then this is twisty fairy tale, twisted from the classic. I mean, a thin fairy tales generally have in common is that there's a good girl who gets told don't talk to strangers, don't stray from the path, don't touch the spindle, don't. And then if they do, if they're bad, then bad things happen. And there's a Prince and love and a rescue. Here the emphasis is not on any bad thing that the girl has done and there's no rescuing and no one love and things are complicated. The bad thing she has done is not to be claimed and claims herself? Yeah, not awake and articulate enough any more, but fairy tales!

I haven't read Deathless. This is a thing now added to my to read list :)

Then we have the ritual of a story, and a style of story that is in and of itself ritualistic, in a series that has been about rituals, religious, worshipping, devotion, trust, BDSM, rituals. And at the end She lets him kiss her as she lifts her wrists above her head She LET'S him, such a big thing for me in all of this, that it's also been about Natasha agreeing, giving, consenting. And almost coming full circle here Clint does not need to tie her down to make her stop, to end the 'advance and retreat', but she volunteers to stop, maybe not even to be tied, but to be in that position. Once he caught her and tied her down. Once she offered him a rope for him to tie her down in a different way. Now she offers him her wrists, her bare wrists.

Also, y'know, fantastic writing :D <3

My gosh, I need sleep. Then at some point I need to put all my thoughts together and pass them to Bee and Bob. Poor souls, heh.

so you could say that Clint and Natasha in this verse have been that dark fariy tale, but prettied up to outsiders or not seen as they truely are by outsiders, perhaps just seen, as Coulson says, 'in love' when love is for children, a childish version of the story.


OH MAH GAWD YOU HAVE JUST BROKEN MY BRAIN IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY.

**DIES**

HELLO, METAPHOR FOR THIS ENTIRE STORY.

**DIES AGAIN**

It kind of killed me when at the end of sweet days of sugar Clint is all ramble and long document and Coulson just sums it up with 'he's in love' and I know my automatic reaction to that has become 'love is for children' but in this case I said it and then went, no, hang on, this isn't that childish kind of love and Coulson I know is being succint, but he makes it sound so much less and no, that's not it. It's that outside of view of, oh yeah, this is love, just as Loki says 'is this love' like it's an insult and Natasha calls it as one. But yeah, they are the dark side of the original fairy tale, the wild thing, the off the map, but the thing so ritualised and embedded in culture and society, so a part of how we work, that it's prettied up and gifted to children. 'This is what love is' only it isn't.

Anyway, yeah, you GUYS, the three of you made me toss words all over the place. And kill Bee! Well, it was at least 1/3 her fault ;)