selenak

Having arrived at the APs for the holidays, I'm having a busy time as always. Here are a few links collected over the last week or so:

Remember me praising Adrian Lester in Red Velvet, a play about Ira Aldridge, first black Othello on the London stage and Shakespearean theatre star with a heavy price to play for his 19th century stardom? Here he is performing a scene from said play, albeit not in costume.

You know, I haven't read a biography of Benjamin Franklin yet, I only know him from fictional presentations (he's a main character in on of Lion Feuchtwanger's novels, and of course features heavily in anything about the American Revolution), but one of these days, I really must get around to that. Check out his advice to a young man as to why it makes more sense to take an older mistress than to take a younger one!

And now for a few Cap 2 inspired tales, the descriptions of which are all spoilery, so they must go under a cut.

None of these are about Bucky, btw. I'm just saying.

No Angel (3661 words) by Domenika Marzione
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel (Movies)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Sam Wilson (Marvel), Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov
Additional Tags: Backstory, Missing Scene, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Spoilers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Action/Adventure, Military Backstory, Military
Summary:

The flightpath of Sam Wilson from Afghanistan to DC.

Sam Wilson was introduced to the MCU in this film, and what an endearing character he is! Good to see fanfic focused on him.

The Space Between (1185 words) by Ralkana
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America (Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Nick Fury/Natasha Romanov
Characters: Natasha Romanov, Nick Fury
Additional Tags: Missing Scene, Established Relationship, Spoilers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Spoilers
Summary:

In the midst of chaos, they share a moment at rest.

One of the (many) things in the movie that struck me was that Natasha's loyalty to Nick Fury was way more than a neutral respect for the boss. His "death" was evidently a terrible blow to her, and she was also affected by the later discovery that he hadn't trusted her with the truth. So I was glad to find a story giving them a "missing scene" talking about this. (BTW, despite the / tag, they're not presented as lovers.)

And lastly, two different takes on Maria Hill, whose presence in the film was a welcome surprise to me

Inauguration (1982 words) by Zelos
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel (Movies), Captain America (Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Maria Hill, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton, Coda - Character
Summary:

Someone has to keep the pieces together, and it sure as hell wasn’t Stark.

Spoilers for Captain America: the Winter Soldier.

Hidden In Plain Sight (1150 words) by tielan
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Captain America (Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Nick Fury & Maria Hill
Characters: Nick Fury, Maria Hill
Additional Tags: Missing Scene, Maria is a BAMF
Summary:

Nobody notices a woman who walks one step behind a man.