topaz119 | Monday recs

I... have lost count of how many bookmarks I have in my Things That Made Me Happy tag, but here's the oldest page on the tag. On the plus side, I actually made it up to the post-Winter Soldier reading binge, so hey, I'm only about 10 months behind at this point (which is to say that, as usual, you've probably seen the bulk of these, but there might be a few you missed, or a few you might enjoy re-reading.) I add my standard disclaimers that I very much hope I managed to comment or--at the very least--leave kudos (while logged in) on all of these, but in the (very) likely case that I missed one or two: Thank you! I loved your story!

All previous bookmarks are on

topaz119, where they are tagged and sortable (closing in on 900!)

That We Do Not Speak, by

thatdamneddame, The Avengers | MCU, Clint/Coulson, ~19,000 words, Mature === Post-Avengers fix-it where Clint can still hear the Tesseract talking to him and what it's telling him doesn't fit with what the rest of the world is saying.

Still Better than I Spy, by

out_there, The Avengers | MCU, Clint/Coulson, ~1300 words, Teen === If I say this is a quick, fun read, you shouldn't take that as a back-handed compliment, because it is *hard* to get a tone like that right, especially when the rest of the story involves being trapped in a collapsed building and revealing feelings long kept secret.

Between the shadow and the soul, by

viverella, MCU, Clint/Natasha, ~11,900 words, Teen === I always have time for another good version of how Strike Team Delta turned into Clintasha.

Five Things Darcy Loves About Working For SHIELD, by

teand, The Avengers | MCU, Darcy/Steve, Clint/Coulson, Tony/Pepper, ~49,600 words, Mature === Darcy does like working for SHIELD and she's got a very nice neighbor named Steve for when she has a tiny bit of free time. (The inevitable revelation and fall-out are not glossed over, but neither are they dragged out. It's right there in the Goldilocks region, juuuuust right.) Also, there are aliens! (Not CA: TWS-compliant.)

Hawkeye and Anklebiter, by

copperbadge, Avengers | MCU, Clint/Coulson, ~14,900 words, Teen === Pre- and post-Avengers kidfic of the superfun sort. Budapest leaves Hawkeye with a baby girl. Coulson is at his un-flappable best here.

We're Just A Bunch Of Space Cases, by

hariboo, Avengers | MCU, gen, ~4800 words, Teen === Jane and Tony build a warp drive. (There was Asgardian mead involved, in case you were wondering.)

Unknown Unknowns, by

eleanor_lavish, Avengers | Agents of SHIELD | MCU, Clint/Coulson, ~6900 words, Mature === Memory-erasing is tricky stuff, especially when people are good at keeping secrets from the world at large in the first place.

MARRY, FUCK, KILL, by

sevenfoxes, post-Avengers MCU, Darcy/Steve, ~5100 words, Mature === Pulls in some of the characters introduced in Cap2 but little of the angst. As the summary says: The ladies of SHIELD play Marry, Fuck, Kill, with amusing results.

A Bureaucratic Nighmare, by

Mikey, pre-Avengers MCU, Clint/Coulson, ~23,900 words, Explicit === I really, seriously loved this slight twist to canon and how that twist plays out across the rest of the familiar landscape. Also! when I went back to write this up, I discovered the accompanying podfic, done by

podcath, which is all kinds of awesome.

We'll Run Like We're Awesome, by

themonkeycabal, Thor / Avengers | MCU, gen, with a little Tony/Pepper, ~83,100 words, Teen === I have no idea where the Darcy-is-Tony's-daughter trope came from, but this particular series (because there are 9 stories, including a WIP sequel) sucked me in enough that I might have let my kids eat barbecued potato chips for breakfast so they'd leave me alone while I read.

HD 181068, by

Saathi1013, Thor / Avengers | MCU, Darcy/Jane/Thor, ~9500 words, Mature === Super-charming and sweet without being cloying. Darcy and Jane feel very real and Thor is awesome.

Party of Six, by

niobium, The Avengers | MCU, gen-ish Tony/Pepper, Jane/Thor, ~4300 words, Teen === Team bonding through dinner, which hits two of my most favorite things in fic (food & found families, yay!)

where the air is rarified, by

siria, post Cap 2 MCU, Darcy/Sam, ~5500 words, Teen === Super-fun and zippy story of how Sam ended up with the snarky intern, with bonus crisp cameos by the rest of the team.

Safe House, by

alphaflyer, Captain America: The Winter Soldier | MCU, gen, Maria Hill, Clint Barton, ~2700 words, Teen === Post-DC, everybody needs a place to crash.

your blue-eyed boys, by

Feather, Captain America: The Winter Soldier | MCU, Bucky/Steve, Betty/Bruce, Tony/Pepper, ~123,100 words, Mature === Bucky comes to find Steve, we've all read that story, but this is the version that doesn't pull any punches. Just... mind the warnings. (Winter Soldier fix-it, version: as much angst as I can take, hopeful ending, Elizabeth Ross rocks.)

leave the gun on the table, by

traincat, Captain America: The Winter Soldier | MCU, Bucky/Clint, ~38,800 words, Mature === Bucky starts to adjust to the 21st Century, but he can't quite shake the feeling that there's some really bad shit that's still buried in his brain. (Winter Soldier fix-it, version: mid-to-high-level angst, happy ending, paired off with Clint.) I also really like the second story in the series, too, which focuses on Clint dealing with the Winter Soldier fall-out (or not dealing, you know. It *is* Clint Barton we're dealing with. Bonus points for a semi-messed-up Mockingbird who feels very 616 (ie, understandably damaged but still very bad-ass.))

How can a loser ever win, by

sirona, Captain America: The Winter Soldier | MCU, Bucky/Steve, ~12,500 words, Mature === The Winter Soldier, lacking any other plan, goes to find the man on the bridge (Winter Soldier fix-it, version: mid-level angst, happy ending.)

Maybe Home Is Somewhere I'm Going, by

astolat, Captain America: The Winter Soldier | MCU, Sam/Steve, ~11,600 words, Explicit === The search for Bucky ends up taking Sam & Steve through Sam's family. (Winter Soldier fix-it, version: Steve Rogers gets a family.)

Brothers In Arms, by

copperbadge, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, gen with background Tony/Pepper, ~11,400 words, Teen === Winter Soldier fix-it, version: robot dog! (ie, Tony has some good ideas.)

Murder Road Trip by

impertinence, Captain America: The Winter Soldier | MCU, Sam/Steve, Bucky/Natasha, ~49,000 words (2 stories), Explicit === Post Cap 2, Sam and Steve don't find Bucky, Bucky finds them, and moves in with them. Sam doesn't know which is worse, that he's trying to help a brainwashed ex-assassin re-integrate into the world, or that he's really hopelessly in love with Steve. And then Natasha offers her own, inimitable brand of assistance. Less flip than that description makes it sound. (Winter Soldier fix-it, version: roommates!)

no heart to recall by

KiaraSayre, Captain America: The Winter Soldier | MCU, Steve/Bucky, ~15,400 words, Mature === The Winter Soldier needs to keep himself alive until HYDRA can find him and the best way he can think of to do that is to attach himself to Captain America. It doesn't quite work out the way he thought it would. Rating more for angst and violence and subject matter rather than sex. (Winter Soldier fix-it, version: dinosaurs and hobbits)

between our bodies there's a battlefield, by

thingswithwings, post Cap 2 MCU, Sam/Steve, ~4800 words, Explicit === Post Winter Soldier angst and sex, with a sharp, knowing Sam POV.

The Earl of Sandwich Was Kind of a Dick, by

freneticfloetry, Sleepy Hollow, gen, ~1200 words, Teen === Ichabod finds one thing the future has gotten right.

Ergonomic, by

sobrecogimiento, Supernatural, Sam/Dean, ~19,300 words, Explicit === Please don't take this the wrong way, but only Dean Winchester would obsess over his brother's underwear. Because you know that's really not out of the realm of possibility.