#be-compromised

[cassiesinsanity]

Y'all the @be-compromised group chat on discord is the bestest and on todays ATTF (All The Things Friday) we are having a lively chat on what got us all hooked on Clintasha! (or also having some crackling discourse on our favorite - or not - topic of Boxed Cake mix!)

JOIN US!

[heroofshield]

Leave It To the Professionals, Darling

For @be-compromised's promptathon where there was the prompt of 'No Capes' line from The Incredibles. This is a variation where Edna designs the costumes for the Avengers.

--

Clint stepped out of the elevator into the common room of Avengers tower and heard voices drifting out from the kitchen. Walking closer, he recognized Natasha's laughter- her real one and not the one she used on marks. Rounding the corner, he stopped when he saw the jet black hair and the person it belonged to sitting at the table, her back to him.

"What is Edna doing here...she doesn't make house visits." he thought while trying to softly retreat the same way he'd come, but as he turned the heel of his shoe softly scraped the corner of the wall.

Slightly flinching at the sound, he saw Natasha's eyes snap up and lock with his- a mischievous smile appearing over the rim of her mug. "Clint!" She said called out, setting her mug on the table. "Nice to see you, look who's here."

Clint just shot daggers at Natasha with is eyes while forcing a smile as Edna Mode, costume designer to a majority of the superhero community (and a couture designer in the fashion world) snapped her head around to face him and peered over her large glasses to look at him. "Hey, Edna." he gave a feeble wave while wondering if he could fake an emergency or just book it to the elevator.

"Clinton!" Edna exclaimed, hopping off the chair and making a beeline towards him. "I was just telling Natasha here that it's been ages since she's asked for a new suit." she paused for a second while glancing up at Clint before saying, "Same for you. We can go over ideas since I'm here. Think of it as a free consultation."

"Uh...yeah." Clint scratched the back of his head while avoiding Edna's eye. "I'm good...but thanks."

"Good!?" Edna exclaimed, straightening up and making her bob haircut bounce slightly at the movement. "How are you 'good?' I saw that fight you had with Loki in the park. I know you ripped your costume from that, so what better time to get a new one!?"

Clint made a face as he inwardly squirmed while Edna went on. Steeling himself, he said, "I already have some designs that I came up-"

"No!" Edna interrupted in her European accent that was always difficult to place. "Do not tell me that you came up with your own designs. Remember that hideous polyester...dress you first wore?"

"Hey, it wasn't a dress- it was a singlet with a V-neck."

Edna turned her face away while sniffing, "A V-neck so deep it went all the way to your waist. Besides, that shade of purple isn't your color."

Natasha smothered a laugh at the roast, enjoying watching Edna go for Clint's old carney outfit.

"And you," Edna turned on her heel to glare at Natasha. "shouldn't be one to laugh. That bodysuit with mesh?"

"Hey, that outfit wasn't that bad. I had a nice little cape with it." Natasha protested, ignoring the smirk that appeared on Clint's face at the tables being turned.

"And how many times did you get that cape snagged on something? Like I tell all my clients, no capes!" Edna waved her cigarette holder in the air between them. "Honestly, that is why you come to me. A professional who knows what they're doing." she jabbed the end of the holder at Clint. "You are getting a new suit, something that will be more durable for fighting a God!"

Edna then walked past Clint towards the elevator while saying over her shoulder, "Natasha, darling, the tea was wonderful- we should do it again sometime. Next time at my place. Ciao."

Clint waited until the elevator doors closed with a ding before letting out an exhale and slightly slumping- feeling Natasha's hand gently patting his back.

"You know that whatever she comes up with will be really good."

"Yeah, but she's so...exhausting at times."

Natasha let a slightly amused smile play across her lips at the statement, "But that's why she's as good as she is, that's her superpower."

Clint snorted at the remark but didn't disagree.

[quietlyimplode]

Written for the @be-compromised promptathon, for the prompt “quiet my fears with the touch of your hand” by @archers-and-spies but wouldn’t occur at all without @wheelsup-sevenup ‘s amazing art (here) which inspired this.

Also @broken--bow ty for the sanity.

.

quiet my fears with the touch of your hand

Word count: 552

PG (I guess?)

Nil warnings - panic attacks if anything

.

There’s a pit in Natasha’s stomach.

It feels like it grows every time she breathes in, her chest constricting as she takes a deep breath trying to expand her lungs against it.

She’s not sure what the feeling is.

Fear, maybe.

Grief too perhaps.

Though why it should be the latter, she’s not too sure.

It’s okay.

Everything is okay.

She just needs to relay that to her brain, to stop the panic. Glancing at Clint, he seems oblivious to her internal struggle of needing breath and the underlying panic.

But that’s how it should be.

No one should be able to tell.

Isn’t that what all the lessons were about? The way they taught her to mask her feelings, to not show how she was feeling?

Natasha takes another shaky breath.

Clint, still oblivious, hands her water, and she holds onto it, trying to get heart heart rate under control.

You’re okay, she thinks, everything is okay.

She touches her fingers to each other, knowing the movement is small enough that Clint won’t notice but helps to give her something to focus on.

The jacket over her feels too hot, but does it’s job in covering the bandages over her arm, as they wait for the bus.

The fear that growls low, sits tight but doesn’t grow, no one has come, no one is chasing them. She shouldn’t be scared.

Glancing at Clint, he continues to chew on his apple, and glances back to her, offering her some.

She shakes her head and smiles shallowly.

Breathe, she reminds herself.

She slows her breath deliberately, counting as she does it.

3.

Breathe in.

2.

Hold.

1.

Let it go.

Her chest opens a little.

Clint stands from his squat, and starts talking.

She’s functional enough that she can smile when needed, answer his questions and nod.

He doesn’t know the panic that beats at her.

Panic that shouldn’t even be there.

There’s no reason for it.

She wants to lie down.

It feels like she’s been fighting this, and the adrenaline that keeps dumping through her keeps escalating it.

Clint waves the bus down.

His bandaged hand white against the darkness of night.

It does the trick and they’re loaded onto the bus quickly.

Taking their seats, Natasha feels her face burn, overheating as adrenaline pushes it’s way through her veins.

Her chest starts to constrict again.

She’s not built for this worry.

She’s not built to be a part of this world when all it gives her it’s constant stress and panic.

And then Clint rests his head in her lap.

Her chest releases minimally; the weight of him providing the deep pressure her body craves. Unconsciously, he touches her hand.

3.

2.

1.

Even when he doesn’t know the thoughts in her head and wind up of her body, he seems to know how to help.

Breathe, she reminds herself, as she forgets again.

She takes off her jacket, now they’re seated and in a smaller; safer environment.

One hour til they’re at the safe house, and she can have a shower, and either panic for real or ground herself properly.

Sixty minutes.

Natasha yawns.

They’re moving.

She’ll wake if anything changes.

She trusts her body to do that, at least.

Resting her head on Clint’s back, she closes her eyes gently.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

[be-compromised]

(art by the wonderful @harishe-art​)

Welcome to the be_compromised Remix Exchange 2022!

WHAT IS A REMIX?

A remix is, essentially, fanfiction of fanfiction - you create a fic using a fic written by the person you have matched with as a starting point. Examples of remixes include writing the story from another character’s perspective, an interlude between scenes, taking the fic in another direction after a certain point (what if this character did X instead of Y?), setting the fic in an alternate universe, etc. In exchange, a person who matches with you will remix one of your fics. WHERE IS THIS HAPPENING? This entire exchange will be done through AO3. As such, you will need an AO3 account to take part, even if you don't have a DW account. A separate post will go out on the day signups open, on both DW and tumblr, with a link to the signups page, and your assignment will be emailed to you using the email address linked to your AO3 account. As such, please make sure that this is an email you check regularly, or at least make sure you check it around the time assignments are due to be sent out.

TIMELINE

Monday 28th February: Signups open

Saturday 5th March: Signups close

Sunday 6th March: Assignments sent out

Sunday 17th April: Fanworks due

Sunday 24th April: Fanworks revealed (this may be earlier if all words are submitted on time)

THE RULES

To take part in this exchange you must have written minimum three Marvel stories, two of which must contain either Clint or Natasha as main characters.

Though we are primarily a Clint/Nat community, we accept stories with either characters in other relationships as long as both Clint and Natasha feature heavily. Similarly, we accept OT3s that include both Clint and Natasha.

Wordcount: minimum 1000 words, maximum 10,000 words.

Fics written for previous be_compromised Remixes are automatically exempt from this remix. You cannot remix these stories.

You must adhere to any Do Not Wants (DNWs) your match provides when writing your remix. These can be found in the Additional Information box of your assignment.

Fics must be complete when posting.

There is no penalisation for needing to drop out, but please give us as much warning as you can. There are no formal pinch hitters for this exchange, so we'll need time to organise cover.

This is not an anonymous exchange.

You don't have to be a member of the be_compromised community or have a DreamWidth account to take part, but we do however ask that you follow the be_compromised community rules if you take part in this exchange (tl;dr - no character/ship bashing, RPF, or plagiarism.)

If you have any questions, please leave a comment HERE on our DreamWidth. Anonymous commenting is enabled.

Have fun!

[alphaflyer]

GUYS!! Sign up and write some Clint-and/or-Natasha fic in the best Comm out there! What are you waiting for??

[alphaflyer]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

My contribution to the @be-compromised Remix Exchange.  I hope @quidnunc-life doesn’t mind the Extreme Lengths to which I took that whole remix thing...  But I did love the pace and tone of the original - the wonderful call me any, anytime - and the idea of Natasha falling for Clint and his life somewhat remotely and through a series of wrong turns, and with a fair bit of push from third parties.

Image credit Phil Noto 

[alphaflyer]

C’mon, y’all - join the Clintasha-themed virtual scavenger hunt over on @be-compromised!

We are looking for things that you think match or represent any of the following items (and we welcome more than one entry per item!):

1. Red 2. Budapest 3. Pizza 4. Kiss 5. Arrow 6. Costume 7. Ballet 8. Pet 9. Spies 10. Coffee 11. Purple 12. Hot

PS:  ATTF = all the things Friday - but these things last all week!