Avengers (2012): "Eyes Open" (Clint/Natasha)
Title: Eyes Open
Author/Artist: Koren M. (cybermathwitch)
Disclaimer: Not mine. If they were, there'd already be a Black Widow/Hawkeye movie.
Pairing: Clint/Natasha
Rating: Adult 17+
Warnings: language, sexual content, mild D/s content
Spoilers: None
Type: Stand-Alone
Word Count: 853
Summary: Any mission should be approached with eyes wide open. Clint wants to ( Read more... )
Author/Artist: Koren M. (cybermathwitch)
Disclaimer: Not mine. If they were, there'd already be a Black Widow/Hawkeye movie.
Pairing: Clint/Natasha
Rating: Adult 17+
Warnings: language, sexual content, mild D/s content
Spoilers: None
Type: Stand-Alone
Word Count: 853
Summary: Any mission should be approached with eyes wide open. Clint wants to ( Read more... )
Well... like I told helikedmyshoes (I'm c&p-ing because I have work in a minute): It was *supposed* to be a mission where they go undercover at a bdsm club, because the guy they want to get information from is incredibly paranoid about his security and all - but he (at least purports to be) a Dom who likes redheads (and because he's a bad guy, and the asshole-ish kind of Dom, it wouldn't occur to him that a sub might be able to play him on the level needed to be a threat. So, they were supposed to go in, get him interested in Tasha, and so on, with the hopes that he might invite her back to his place so they could get inside.
So. But somewhere along the way I realized that these two like the power exchange, that's fine, but don't care about/for impact or pain play or more formal scenes. And if they're bored with it, writing it (by which I mean all the later bits when they're undercover) is going to be dead boring, too. :-/
That said? I keep getting bits of your headcanon from our discussion here and here rattling around in my head. I'm just not sure what to do with it.
This part, in particular: Choosing to temporarily give up control would be a big gesture of trust on Natasha's part, and even a relief for her. And Clint's in control in this situation precisely because he doesn't need to be. was VERY MUCH where I was seeing some of this go. This Natasha has done bdsm games on Red Room missions, but even though maybe 80-90% of her psyche was being a sub, there was a bit that was on alert, the agent/assassin part of her. Clint is the first person she's ever trusted (in any way) enough to really believe that he's got a situation handled and could (and *would*) protect her if she let go for a little while, whether that means getting some sleep or getting lost in a book, or subspace. So, getting into a submissive headspace with him (before or after the mission, because obviously during the mission she'd be working and still have that awareness) would be the first time she really, truly experienced that letting go.
And I still absolutely see them switching, but I don't know that I see Clint (if he's the one tied up) ever getting into a sub headspace. With him, it's more about the resistance/struggling (like what Bee so expertly showed in Teenage Makeout FIc or in Black, Red, and Gold from the prompt-a-thon. Still amazing, and a huge show of trust (and still seriously hot).
I want to play with this dynamic more, I'm just not sure this mission was the way to do it.
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HEADCANON ACCEPTED. Seriously, if you ever want to write more about this I would love to read it. She trusts him not to take advantage of her because of the connection and relationship they've built together and because at heart he is a good man (not a nice man, but a good one), and she trusts him to handle a situation if it should arise because she trusts and respects his abilities. THERE'S SO MUCH TRUST GAAAAAH I CANNOT HANDLE THESE FEELINGS.
And I still absolutely see them switching, but I don't know that I see Clint (if he's the one tied up) ever getting into a sub headspace. With him, it's more about the resistance/struggling
Oh, YES. Tell me more. ;) It's all about the resistance/struggling, and the fact that he could break out if he really wanted to but chooses not to. It's as much a struggle against his own instincts and willpower as it is against the bonds.
I want to play with this dynamic more
Please do! PLEEEEEEEEEEASE? *puppy dog eyes*
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So - this is a thing that's relevant to, oh, ALL THE STORIES THAT I'M WRITING WRITE NOW ahem. Except in all of them, I'm trying to figure out *why*. Why does she trust him so much? I mean, yes, absolutely she's right too, and he's amazing (and I <3 and absolutely agree with good vs. nice as you put it) but how does she get to that realization? It's not just sparing her life. I'm trying to figure out how to get her from this horribly manipulated, damaged woman to someone that can trust someone so completely she can literally turn off everything and just trust him. From two (or three) different angles, and just... ::ALL THE FEELS::
I think there's at least some small part of it that even Nat doesn't understand about what made him different, and I think in some way it's a leap of faith on her part even though she doesn't do those so much as a rule. It's the rest that's making me a little batty right about now.
And I still absolutely see them switching, but I don't know that I see Clint (if he's the one tied up) ever getting into a sub headspace. With him, it's more about the resistance/struggling
Oh, YES. Tell me more. ;) It's all about the resistance/struggling, and the fact that he could break out if he really wanted to but chooses not to. It's as much a struggle against his own instincts and willpower as it is against the bonds.
::gets comfy, because I <3 this point::
So... considering this, what do they get out of it? Where is the appeal (besides, ok, fucking hot, ahem)? Or... ok. I can see the appeal for Tasha in submitting to someone where she really can turn everything off. And he doesn't *have* to have control (as you said) but I absolutely see him being floored that she's willing to do that, seeing it as more of a statement of trust and affection than anything she could say out loud. So it would really, really appeal to him. What else does it do for him? And she gets the release. What does she get from dominating him and seeing him willing to restrain himself in that manner - knowing as she would that it's not a natural state for him? Does it reaffirm for her his devotion and feelings? Is it a way that he also tests himself, perhaps?
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Oh, wow. I can't think of anything right now, but I'd love to know more.
What does she get from dominating him and seeing him willing to restrain himself in that manner - knowing as she would that it's not a natural state for him? Does it reaffirm for her his devotion and feelings? Is it a way that he also tests himself, perhaps?
I think in both cases, her submitting and him submitting, it's all about consent and mutual respect. Nat submitting wouldn't appeal to Clint if it wasn't completely consensual (because apart from not being the point, he is so not That Guy). The fact that she wants to, that she enjoys it, is a big gesture of trust for both of them.
As for him submitting, I think the whole point is that he can break free if he really wanted to, but he doesn't want to. I see them both as adrenaline junkies, and I think Clint would really enjoy testing how far he could be pushed against his own instincts to move. And for Nat, having him consent to her will when it goes against his natural state would reaffirm his devotion, that he respects her and cares for her enough to go against his instincts for her. Does that make sense?
There's a quote from the novel Deathless that I think sums up things nicely (the context isn't actually sexual, but the meaning is similar), where a man is tied up in the full knowledge that he could easily escape if her wanted to, and his wife replies
"What proof would it be if you couldn't get out? ...There is only one question: Who is to rule? And that is never answered with words. You will not move. You will not loosen my knots. You will suffer for me, as I suffered for you. Then I will know your submission to me is total, and true. That you are worthy of me."
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