sherryillk | (no subject)

Current Mood: tired

(no subject)

So a while back I got into 00Q stories and although I was doing my systematic devouring of fanfics as I'm often found doing when I get into a new fandom, I found myself reading a Tony Stark/Bruce Banner story. I won't bore you with the details of how that happened since I hadn't even considered their relationship on any level, not even subconscious, but suffice to say, I had been craving very specific stories and one of theirs happened to be one of them. And that's when my eyes were opened to the awesomeness of that pairing.

I had always though that THE Iron Man/Avengers pairing would have to be Tony/Steve and while I've been seeing them around lately, it's never appealed to me. Mostly because I find Captain America to be quite boring. And old since the reboot hasn't really happened yet. Anyway, I never saw the allure of Tony/Steve even though I could see why some people would be into it. But Tony and Bruce? It hits all of my science kinks. And they had some amazing interaction in The Avengers, so that's even better. So now I've been in a week long Tony/Bruce hole even though I had been in the middle of 00Q (I really must get back to that eventually).

There's just so much angst on both sides of this pairing and you know how I love sob stories. And they're both such damaged, lonely, depressing men that the thought of them finding happiness together makes me kinda giddy.

Also? They're both surprisingly mature. I say this because Tony Stark is not generally someone people would call mature in any shape or form but when it comes to life and living, he's an adult who is really perceptive. And Bruce is too. It's so refreshing, especially in really well-written stories because I've been reading stories with rather youngish (under 30) characters for so long, it sometimes feel like I'm reading stories about people who haven't properly lived or matured. It's something I miss from the first couple of pairings I was into -- Jack and Daniel, Methos and Duncan, people who have lived and lost, have had and maintain mature relationships with people. Their perspective of the world is different from younger characters -- hell, it's different from my perspective as a fellow under 30. And sometimes it's nice reading about people like that.

And then this leads to fact that I should probably read proper novels again... And I feel bad that fanfic is basically my only source of reading these days... But who has time to read all the fanfics that they want AND all the published books that interest them too? I'm having hard enough time juggling two fandoms because I'm basically forsaking one for the other right now... And this is also with me getting less sleep because I can't stop reading Tony/Bruce fics. Damn, they're such a good pairing...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I love Tony/Bruce! :D I haven't read any fics of them ~ could you link me to a few of your favorites? =~.~=

They're really awesome! I love geniuses so it's even better that there's two of them!

And yes, definitely! I'm at work now so I can't at the moment but I'll get you a list tonight. ^^ Right now I'm obsessed with this one WiP that's so satisfying...aside from the fact that it hasn't been updated in four months. T_T But I'm still going to recommend it because what's there is amazingly good.

Okay, some of the ones that I've liked so far:

Part I:

The aforementioned WiP, Myogenic Contractions of the Cardiac Cycle: http://archiveofourown.org/works/645079/chapters/1171630
Basically, it's a play on Cinderella and it starts off with Bruce meeting Tony at a science conference in Switzerland before Tony becomes Iron Man but after Bruce has his accident and is on the run from the US government.

Bittersweet: http://archiveofourown.org/works/883597
A soul mate story with Bruce and Tony as an established couple when Tony "connects" with his soul mate, Steve Rogers.

What We Pretend to Be: http://archiveofourown.org/works/714383/chapters/1321979
The Avengers team gets dosed with the Super Soldier serum (that both Steve and Bruce took) and how they deal with the effects. Although, it's pretty gen for most of the story and the relationship between Bruce and Tony start very slow and isn't the focus, it's a pretty good read.

Pygmalion Avenged: http://archiveofourown.org/works/755613
This is the story that got me hooked on Tony/Bruce. It's also a WiP (thankfully, this one was updated this month so I have much better hopes that it's still on-going), and explores the idea of Tony and Bruce in a BDSM relationship. I don't know if you go for that but it's pretty tame (so far) with Tony taking control of Bruce while in sexual situations so he doesn't Hulk out.

Quantum Computation and the Physics of Entanglement: http://archiveofourown.org/works/867729
A short oneshot that has Tony and Rhodey publishing a science paper that Bruce blind critiques. Of course, when it gets back to Tony, he decides he has to find out who is critiquing him.

Of Trebuchets and Broken Families: http://archiveofourown.org/works/854347
Another short, but cute oneshot that has Tony and Bruce meeting as children and then realizing it when they were adults.

Towards A New Anthropology (or, The Care and Feeding of Particle Physicists): http://archiveofourown.org/works/779227
I'm not sure if this is supposed to be Gen or if Tony is just moving really slowly but it should have one more chapter left to be posted so maybe they actually make a move in that last chapter. But this is about Tony and Bruce after the Battle of New York.

Alternative Therapy with Dr. Bruce Banner: http://archiveofourown.org/works/805738
Yet another oneshot that's mostly Gen taking place after Iron Man 3 with Tony still suffering from PTSD. But it has trolling physics conferences and late night chocolate synthesis so it's really quite good.

Surviving the Dark: http://archiveofourown.org/series/44412
This is a series of three stories with Bruce as someone suffering from depression. And there's a bit of self-harm in it.

shake it out: http://archiveofourown.org/series/44337
A series that starts off with Bruce coming to live with Tony after the Battle of New York, meeting Spider Man (reboot version), and then through Iron Man 3. The last story is about Peter Parker and Wade Wilson and since I never saw the rebooted Spider Man, I skipped it.

Heartbeat: http://archiveofourown.org/works/781121
A lovely, very mature story about having grown-up relationships and maintaining them. Pepper breaks up with Tony, Tony has an unseen thing with Steve, and then Tony makes a life with Bruce, despite many misunderstands and twists and turns of their relationship. But they figure it out despite all that.

I read all of what's out for Myogenic, I love love love it!! Man, it's killing me that it's not complete... I want to see Bruce and Tony meet again.

Gaaah so yes, thank you for the recs!!! i just started Bittersweet. *going in order*

And Part II:

Silence isn't Golden, It's Green: http://archiveofourown.org/works/744541
Hilarious oneshot on how Tony gets Bruce to live with him in Stark Tower. It's pre-slash, so really tame.

Seriously, ANYTHING from enigmaticblue: http://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticblue/pseuds/enigmaticblue/works?fandom_id=414093
But I particularly like A Marriage of Convenience: http://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticblue/pseuds/enigmaticblue/works?fandom_id=414093
and the Restraint 'verse: http://archiveofourown.org/series/32688

Divvy Up: http://archiveofourown.org/works/713875
Tony and Bruce accidentally develop a telepathic connection where they can channel each other's personalities and emotions.

Irreconcilable Differences: http://archiveofourown.org/works/592408
The one story that I've read that really fleshes out the Hulk as a character. It's heartbreaking and long, but it's BRILLIANT.

Fruit as Metaphors: http://archiveofourown.org/series/37347
A twoshot series that has Bruce giving into his wanderlust urges, even after getting with Tony. And the first story is basically the breakup between Pepper and Tony.

Invisible Gorilla Testing: http://archiveofourown.org/series/36466
Probably my favorite series so far. It's a high school AU with Tony and Bruce as best friends, Bruce in a relationship with Betty, and with Tony absolutely and totally in love with his best friend. But Bruce is completely oblivious, even if Betty isn't.

Shield Brothers: http://archiveofourown.org/series/35964
Series that starts off right after The Avengers that has Tony and Bruce in a casual relationship and moving into more.

The Consultants: http://archiveofourown.org/works/652279
I don't know if you watch White Collar, but this is a crossover between it and Marvel. And luckily for me, it's not one where Neal and Peter are in a relationship (since I really do like Peter's wife, it never appealed to me). It's in the POV of Neal so even though Bruce and Tony are in an establish relationship, it's really seeing it from an outside, outside POV so it's a bit subtle. But it's really well-written and is a wonderful blend of both universes.

A Spork in the Road: http://archiveofourown.org/series/34564
A look at what if Bruce never became the Hulk but still ends up being the guy SHIELD asks to find the Tesseract.

No Force in the Universe Can Stop Me: http://archiveofourown.org/works/534253
An AU that has Obadiah Stane kidnapping Tony at the end of the first Iron Man and imprisoning Tony to force him to continue making weapons for Stark Industries. Bruce, while on the lam, hacks into Stark Industries looking for info on the Hulkbusters and finds the hidden code Tony placed in the programming asking for help. It's pretty gen and they don't seem to ever go anywhere with their relationship but it's left open at the end so maybe there's hope for a sequel eventually...

Hmm..hopefully I didn't go too overboard... >

uwahaha so many! XD I will slowly read through them ♥ Thank you I love recs!!

Yeah...Around the time that I realized I would exceed comment limits, I knew I was probably doing too much. But there were just so many good stories that I could bear to cut any of them...

I agree with you on Tony/Steve being too bland. Because of that, got hooked on Tony/Loki right away. There are some excellent stories with this pairing.

I keep trying to move onto proper novels too (original gay fiction, mostly) but each and every time I conclude that there are more good authors writing slash fanfiction than original slash.

How do you feel about Will/Hannibal, by the way? That's my most recent obsession :)

I've read a few Tony/Loki, but it's usually in the context of Tony/Bruce/Loki since my Loki pairing is Thor/Loki... Generally, Severus is the only character I've had more than on OTP for and so far, it's held true...

Yes, exactly! There are good original gay fiction out there, and I will always be a romance fan, but whenever I read something that isn't fanfic, I just feel like the satisfaction I get isn't as immediate. :\ When time is premium, I rather not invest more time into something than I have to...

And oh my god, Will/Hannibal... *shudders* I did watch Hannibal to the end even though all my instincts told me I should be running from that show. It was just so creepy... I never watched any of the movies so I never knew much outside of it being about a cannibal serial killer... I just didn't realize it was also so full of horror. I didn't think that show could creep me out more than it did and then I saw the Will/Hannibal pairing at AO3 and that just made it even worse. o.O I can't even conceive of it and now that I am, I don't think I could read any of their stories...

There is also a problem with how many original stories lack much of a plot... Fanfic authors mostly try to tell a story when they write a longer one. A lot of original authors simply write long, porn-y PWPs, and there is only so many times I can read sex scenes where nothing but names change.

I totally understand how Will/Hannibal may seem too creepy. In fact, with my preference for happy endings, I have to pay particular attention to the endings of all stories in the fandom before reading - the number of unhappy endings is extremely high, due to the nature of the pairing. But there is some quality fiction here that is not to be missed. If you ever find the nerve to try something, I recommend The Way a Knife Loves a Heart by Linpatootie (http://archiveofourown.org/works/828998). This one is my personal favorite.

I prepared myself for this pairing by reading a lot of Bond/Silva. Quite a few authors moved on from Skyfall to Hannibal so I suppose I'm not the only one who found similarities....

Oh Silva... *shudders* That's also another creepy character... I don't think I could ever read a fic that has him with Bond, even if it was set before M forsook him. That, and I just find Javiar Bardem really unsettling... :\ Besides, I still plan on getting back to the stack of 00Q fics that I've put on hold while I devour everything that is Tony/Bruce.

I don't know if I can conceive of a happy ending when it comes to Will/Hannibal. I think it would have to be both of them being evil together and it's happily ever after while embarking on a life of murder and mayhem...sorta like it's their happily ever after while it's the rest of ours horrific nightmare. Or some sort of AU where Hannibal isn't as messed up as he is but that seems like it would be messing with the very essence of Hannibal too much so it's probably not even worth it.

There have been a few fics where Silva has been involved with Bond before the China events. Also a couple of fics where he sort of mindfucks Bond to his side (including a particularly excellent amnesia fic). And one awesome AU where Silva is the new M, much to Bond's vexation. I keep planning to post a rec list, maybe I'll finally get around to it.

You are correct: of what I read of Hannibal fics, happy endings usually have Hannibal converting Will into a serial killer. The only exceptions I can think of are fics where they are together in the end but Will is unaware of Hannibal's gastronomic preferences. Two of these stories use the Alpha/Omega premise, which explains Will's blindness to a certain degree. I can hardly imagine a convincing fic where Hannibal would be reformed. He's too set in his ways to change. There are a few AU WiPs (featuring Hannibal as advisor to prince Will, a mobster, a Duke in a Snow White setting...) which may not feature cannibalism but it remains to be seen.

Yeah, that sort of happy ending isn't what I would consider good reading... I don't generally like being creeped out and I get influenced by these sort of things easily so I try to avoid exposing myself to things that would give me nightmares... >.< There's a reason why I avoid horror movies like crazy. To this day, the only horror movies I've seen the first three Child's Play and that was because it was a marathon on TV and I just COULDN'T LOOK AWAY and boy did I pay for that... It scarred me so badly as a kid that I was really surprised I even tried Hannibal...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only