sakura_no_miko

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Steve/Tony, Natasha/Pepper, Thor/Jane

Warnings: explicit sex (gay), angst, jealousy issues, some violence towards (mostly supernatural) animals

Other notes: Big Bang entry, fanart, alternate universe, ensemble, getting the team together

Length: 87k

Summary: Steve wakes up in the 21st Century. He doesn’t think much of it, and it’s dubious about him. He meets a Norse God, joins a superhero team, and feels terribly awkward about the whole monument at Arlington he’s rendered obsolete by not being dead. Meanwhile, Tony is trying to make his mark on history by being the man who finally drove Nick Fury over the edge.

If it’s not terribly evident, this is a run of “alternate ways the Avengers might have gotten together.” I love how you can tell almost exactly when each of these fics was written by little clues from the preceding movies. Gift of Asylum was probably after Thor, but before Cap. Tomorrow branches off after the teaser at the end of Cap, but before Avengers.

I like that this fic shows one of the advantages to fandom over the films. For one, you have so much more space. You can only do so much in a two hour film, even if projects like Lord of the Rings challenged that considerably. This fic wraps up elements from Thor, Iron Man 2, and Captain America, and the pacing allows for each part to be developed. Justin Hammer is still a smarmy jerk in over his head, Loki is ambiguously evil, and the Red Skull is menacing yet still somewhat ineffective. You can feel the fandom love in this fic, the attention to details and the wanting to pick up loose threads and tie them together.

Speaking of loose threads, Frigga has a brief cameo and is pretty awesome. You’ll get that reference if you read the fic.

I could gush over characterization in this fic forever. Tony–I feel like the movies have been focusing on Tony a lot, probably because RDJ just oozes charisma, but even in the Avengers film, I was thinking, really, we need Tony to learn a lesson about sacrifice and teamwork again? I mean, I love RDJ, and I loved Tony, but he’s gotten way more time in the spotlight than anyone else, know what I mean? Yet in this fic it feels a bit more organic. Tony has to face that his relationships don’t work, that he’s lost Pepper and might be on the path to losing Steve. He has to face that Steve is unhappy when he goes off solo to try and ‘save’ him instead of paying attention to his teammates. But Tony’s struggles are balanced off enough with Steve’s, and Loki’s, and a few other guys, so it doesn’t feel quite so lopsided.

Steve and Tony’s relationship is full of stupid miscommunications and bad decisions. It’s lovely to read, even if you want to bang their heads together every so often.

Is it possible for a fic to have too many good things to talk about? I’m feeling winded and I haven’t even scratched the surface. I’ve rec'ced this author before, and probably will again. It’s a wonderful, long, detailed, world-building fic. just go read it.

(Looking for more fic recs?)
Originally posted on 11/05/12