When I Had Nothing

Hey there, I'm Chrystal and I read entirely too much fanfiction. I can be persuaded to read almost any pairing as long as it's well written. For the most part, I'm going to try to do completed fics, with infrequent WIP being thoroughly started Series. Some of the posts are just fics that I intend to read. Please do send me a fic you'd like me to read. Or go scream at me about your latest read on my primary blog.

[mcworm]

JUST SAW A FED-EX DRIVER JUMP OUR OF HIS TRUCK AT A REDLIGHT AND RUN UP TO A SECOND FED-EX TRUCK (THREE CARS AHEAD) AND THE GUY LEANED OUT AND THEY JUST KISSED ON THE LIPS? HELLO?

[nudityandnerdery]

Shipping done right.

[tinyuglyworld]

Lioness Devouring a Man, Phoenician Ivory Panel, c. 9th-8th century BCE. From the palace of Ashurnasirpal II, Nimrud, northern Mesopotamia, Iraq.

[stripedroseandsketchpads]

@whatthewhenjustmighthavebeen

[themightyneed]

[hijerking]

im contributing to this meme

[sobeitjayt]

The person that made the Nahlaters candy really should invest in better wrapping paper cause if i gotta swallow one more piece of paper attached to that damn candy ima cough up a notebook

[observando]

[cat-chicken-deactivated20130302]

[fuckboyroy69]

MEN OF TUMBLR I LOVE YOU

[oliverending]

[yeahmicah]

[sunshine-summer123]

This just made my night. Thank you!!!!!!

[yourlocalsadbean-deactivated201]

I CANT BREATHE STOP

[charliexoxof-deactivated2020101]

Bahahaha this is lovely.

[hopeless-nec-romantic]

OMG

[themightyneed]

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

Tony and Pepper attempt a friends-with-benefits arrangement. Post-IM2.

Ugh, oh my God, this was wonderful. Tony wants a relationship, but Pepper offers fwb instead, so of course Tony says yes. The funny thing is he knows that he wants more from the get go but seeing as he knows he’s not going to get it, Tony squashes that train of thought quickly.

The moment of Tony looking around like When the HELL did I fall in love with Pepper? What is happening? How did that happen? takes place fairly quickly, so most of the fic is spent looking at him like Oh you poor bastard and at Pepper thinking so.. what’s the hold up?

The resolution of the hold up is pretty great too. There’s a bit more plot after that (smut and plot together oh, lovely). The admits to utilizing the fairly hot sex for character development which really just hits all of my fancies. Tony puts his whole mind to it and has trouble switching gears, Pepper switches gears like a pro but isn’t very controlled in the midst of activities.

This is really, really great. I need to hang out in the Pepperony tag more often. 

[themightyneed]

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

Felicity is abducted in the middle of the night, and awakens to a series of shocks, revelations, and mysteries.

I’ve been informed that this is a very intense fic to hop into Arrow Fanfiction at. Ah, well. I did the thing, it was very strongly advertised on my dash.

This is a Felicity Story. It’s her thought process, her fears, hopes, desires, and efforts. The premise focuses very little on the Very Unhappy Young Man who wants to hurt her and the other one who is probably dying to save her. 

Felicity is kidnapped in the middle of the night and when she is confronted by her kidnapper, it turns out to be Tommy Merlyn, who isn’t dead and is now working with the League of Assassins. But why? Shit if I know, and Felicity is rapidly running out of fucks to give about the why. The interactions between Tommy and Felicity are so well done, it’s borderline Stockholm Syndrome, but it’s not. Tommy is still pertaining of enough of himself to throw Felicity off for a bit, but she doesn’t forget. She plots and he... may forget a little bit. 

Felicity isn’t helplessly damselling, she’s just overpowered. The League is being very careful about her. The premise is that she is the only one on the Team who could find her, so she’s fucked. 

This has been updated recently (this month I believe) and hasn’t been abandoned. Aside from the kidnapping and captivity, have a couple of warnings for Non-consensual drug use which is a doozy, Felicity’s discomfort with her captivity is very well written, and past child abuse which is not so much of a doozy although the conversation about it is pretty long. 

Bite your nails with me, the suspense is awesome. 

[themightyneed]

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

While Tony's off settling into wedded bliss, Rampage take a break from retirement.

This is a mildly dubious consent offshoot inspired by Secrets of a Successful Marriage  

It’s just kissing and it is mostly harmless. Pepper is reckless as hell and gets bored when Tony tries to give up villainy. In an attempt to blow off steam, she gets surrounded by Avengers and at some point there is make outage with Sam. This one’s a quickie but I could do with another 60k of Pepper being awesome. 

[themightyneed]

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

Tony Stark lives a double life; he's secretly the supervillain known as Iron Man. But his loving husband Steve has a few secrets of his own, as Tony is about to discover.

OMG so I think my favorite thing about this is Pepper because she’s an adrenaline junkie and awesome and she makes Tony sweat worrying about her. Pepper is Rampage, Tony’s sidekick. She is flawless. 

Anyway this does have a Mr. and Mrs. Smith feel to it, when they’re figuring out where the lies are. It’s wonderful as Tony goes through figuring out how to get out of the mess he’s in, dealing with Steve having lied, and through the fic you see the allowances and tricks Tony put in place as a Villain.

Another favorite thing (aside from the sex and fluff of course) is the differences in the armors. Tony’s is all flash bang, potential and speed, very well rounded. Rhodey’s is of course a beefed up War Machine, gritty and awesome. Pepper’s suit is a mix, allowing for her need to both fuck shit up and deal with whatever comes her way. 

Also, also, also, it’s really cool seeing Tony notice the similarities that he’d missed or other people miss when he knows the secret identities. There’s barely any angst in this, really (at least compared to my other recs.)

[themightyneed]

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

Stiles is a morally ambiguous mischief demon, occasionally helping out a rag-tag pack of werewolves. Derek is a little bit hung up on him. 

Mark me down as scared and horny, oh, and Derek too. This fic is kind of terrifying, but I also have a weak stomach for that kind of thing. If you don’t mind demon fic this should be fairly tame for you. 

Stiles isn’t best friends with Scott in this one. He just shows up out of nowhere, a mischief demon that feels like helping out the pack here and there. They’re pretty wary of him because mischief demon but Beacon Hills is still a center of danger and whatnot, so they’re not going to bother him until he starts being a problem.

Given that, Derek is drawn to him. Seriously, self preservation instinct is a nonexistent thing with him. Stiles... cares... in his own way. Honestly, it’s the basic insult you and prod you to show my affection thing with a creepier undertone.  There is a copious amount of snark and Derek’s take on the sex is a mixture of intense desire and bad-wrong. 

Note, there’s a little of a dom-sub theme. Like the demon aspect, it’s fairly light seeing as I don’t have much stomach for it.  

[themightyneed]

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

Distantly, Tony hears Clint say something like, “No, I definitely heard he was an equal opportunist. Like, equal-equal, no preference. Hey Tones, who are you attracted to more, dudes or chicks?”

He calls the last part out to Tony, who runs the words over in his mind and unthinkingly says, “I’ve actually never been attracted to anyone, it’s really worrying.”

(Or, Demisexual and Demiromantic Tony Stark.)

Honestly, I don’t know why we don’t have more Demisexual Tony Stark in fandom because this is wonderful. 

Tony and Tasha are besties which I adore. This is Stony and Steve has oblivious but trying to be respectful. Tony has a TruFax Crush and has no idea how to deal. (it’s perf, he’s like HOW DO YOU PEOPLE FUNCTION!?) 

There are a few misunderstandings. It works

[themightyneed]

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

In the wake of IM2, while Tony and Pepper are in New York starting work on Stark Tower, Rhodey stops by the Malibu house for a word with JARVIS. About secrets and loyalties, and the reasons why.

Quick break in the trend of Angst w/ Happy Ending. We all know that JARVIS is a person, right? Well, it takes a really, intensely, good fic to really drive that home. This is a prequel to the JARVIS series which basically deals heavily in JARVIS’ POV and his interactions with his creator (his partner, his best friend, but I’ll let him explain that nuance to you) and those that his creator allows into their lives. 

JARVIS is basically sentient to very, extensively dangerous levels. He knows this, but not many other people do. He can empathize with Bruce in the knowledge of his own potential for disaster. The series follows JARVIS and his self awareness in any given situation. (Also, when the Avengers themselves find out about the extent of his awareness.)

This first installment is JARVIS talking to Rhodey about Tony’s near death experience and keeping deathbed secrets for him. Rhodey already knows how... I don’t want to say humane, but I don’t really know what word to use (I’m trying not to just write HE FEELS -gross sobbing-) how sentient JARVIS is, but he didn't consider having JARVIS’ kindness directed towards him. 

There are a lot of Tony the Creator feels, Bruce finds a home, Avengers bonding, etc. The whole thing is just severely emotional, really. It’s a heavy trip and it’s not angsty but it will make you cry anyway. (Happy tears, really).

[themightyneed]

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

“Thoughts, Coulson?” Fury asked, finger tapping idly on Barton’s file.

“He’s dangerous. He has trust issues that we may not be able to breach, he will not like working with others, he will lie to us about his motivations every chance he gets and, most likely, be successful every time.” Coulson’s gaze drifted back to the empty chair Barton had chosen earlier, boxed in the corner yet protected on as many sides as possible. “It won’t be easy, but if we can win his loyalty he has the potential to be the asset we’re looking for.”

Fury agreed, though neither of them would ever dream that they already had Barton’s loyalty, or that the price it cost was so steep.

It has come to my attention that I tend to rec angst with a happy ending.

WELL, good to have a tradition, I guess. Here’s the thing. Clint ends up being forced to not only serve Agent Douchenozzle, but he also can’t tell anyone about it. His priority is Douchenozzle first, and whomever he decides second and so on, putting Clint at the bottom of this list. There is a brief discussion of suicide warning because you can guess how happy Clint is about this. There is also a dub-con warning- it’s het and non-graphic, also not too traumatizing seeing as the situation is complex. It’s something he wanted to do, he just didn’t realize there wasn’t a choice until after, which left a very unsettled feeling.

In spite of his forced servitude, Clint loves Coulson, respects Fury, would walk on coals for whichever of the Avengers. He can’t actually save himself and everyone has to get together to not only figure it out (THIS is the most frustrating part) but help him. Regardless of the complications, Clint does pull out all of the levels of badassery and he does figure out how to circumvent his servitude in a lot of little ways. 

This fic is really really beautiful in a look at how strong my baby is way. And everybody gets together for him and respects his decisions. It’s a glorious fic, really it is. 

[themightyneed]

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

In an attempt to rein in the son that remains to her after Thor's banishment, Frigga arranges a marriage between two old friends in the hopes that they can work together to heal an eroded realm. On Earth, a prince searches for identity after his world is turned upside-down. And in the darkness, something stirs. 

 Lana says that whatever I say about this fic will do it justice. Lana is wrong, in the way she only ever is when talking about HOW FUCKING FLAWLESS this fic is.

Frigga knows that Loki is politely ignoring his undying love for Sif. She also knows that Sif has put her crush on Loki in a box (and put that box in another box, and mailed that box to herself, and every time she questions what’s in that box, she smashes it with a hammer. Rinse and repeat). When Loki succeeds Odin, post Thor Banishment, Frigga wants to keep Loki from the deep end, so she proves that she taught the Trickster God all he knows and arranges a marriage to Sif so that he has more enjoyable, rewarding and non-destructive things to do than whatever it is he wanted to use the Bifrost for; also, Sif gets a loving husband out of it- WIN WIN! can solidify his rule by wedding a respected warrior of the realm. She feeds Sif this the Realms need you line. Which is true, despite the fact that it ommits a bit of info! - nod nod-

Loki does exactly what his mother expects him to do, as does Sif. But of course it’s not that easy. Loki is still VERY traumatized because he’s a Jotunn and everyone lied, Sif did not and does not want to be a fucking Lady of the Realm, let alone a fucking Queen, NO I WILL NOT WEAR ANOTHER JEWEL ENCRUSTED FUCKING DRESS. -puts on dress- Loki doesn’t know how to deal with Sif’s shit and she doesn’t know how to deal with his. Ahhh, newlyweds.

THOR still needs to get that wonderful character development from the first movie. YIKES. Not to mention, Loki is not all that special in that all is well because Loki hasn’t gone batshit...yet. The forces of evil give no shits. They are coming and they are relentless. (Honestly, one of my favorite parts is the WHO IS THIS, WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO HURT MY BABIES, HOW THE FUCK ARE WE GOING TO STOP THIS GUY)

This is a Sifki fic first and foremost, although the other couples are WONDROUS. There will be feels between literally every person, Frigga is A BOSS, Odin makes bad life choices but he does love his sons (but CHRIST Odin, SIT THE FUCK DOWN. GO BACK TO SLEEP), Avengers do play a big part- more so in later installments. I’m told the beginning is a little tough what with the attention to detail- it is relevant later and it’s beautiful. Shhhhh, just read the pretty words and bask. 

The series is VERY long so far, but incomplete. IT IS NOT ABANDONED. I will be screaming on my primary blog whenever the latest installment Relativity is updated. The shit is hitting the fan in a major way. (IN FIN ITY  GEMS. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. WHY CAN’T GOOD PEOPLE HAVE NICE THINGS?!) There are also plenty of headcanons and ficlets on her blog. 

GO FORTH. SEND ME YOUR TEARS WHEN YOU’RE DONE.

Looking at her tags, Lana has tagged that she has HUGE plotholes. Ignore Lana, the plot is the best part. They are unresolved story arcs that she gets to and/or teases you about being aware of until she gets to them. She knows this. Silly girl. 

[themightyneed]

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

This is an Allison centric fic that I was enthusiastically recommended. Allison is my boothang (as much as Scallison chafes me a bit) so yeah. I'll get to it.

[themightyneed]

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

An AU of an AU.

Darcy Lewis is thirteen years old when she meets her soul mate. It turns out that he's a brainwashed assassin working for HYDRA. And it further turns out that HYDRA thinks it might be useful to have their assassin's soul mate on hand.

This has all of the warnings that a Winter Soldier or Black Widow fic would entail. Seriously, this is a clutch your pillow and crier, somewhat tempered by undying love. The authors notes go into much more detail, but the pain and agony of Bucky's backstory is not sugar coated in the least. 

That said, Hydra creates the dynamic duo with Darcy and Bucky. They can lax on the brainwashing a little because they don't have to convince either of them to obey. This allows for a bit more personality in the Assets, which makes for absoutely stunning dynamics. I swear they are the fucking cutest, okay? Bucky has echoes of his 1930s ladies man, Darcy is born in the 70s - I think- and she is still quirky and chattery. They can turn it off. They have to. It's terrifying. But they also get time to just be together in between missions.

Now, I feel it's necessary to note that Darcy is very different from Tasha. Darcy's skillset is less manipulation and more brute force. Personally, I think it's because she's not too fond of the "what do you want me to be" thing. She falls more along the lines of "this is what I am and I can make you like it". 

The fact that it's a world of soulmates does come into play beyond just Bucky and Darcy. The character development is AMAZING. This is part of a series that goes up until right before Age of Ultron- don't forget to subscribe as I'm pretty sure the author might add on at a later date.