(no subject)

[ysobel]

So the whole MCU/XMFC Charles-and-Erik-help-Steve-save-Bucky soulbonding fic is still gnawing at my ankles, though it's taken me this long to rewatch CA:TFA and CA:TWS.

Problem is, I can't figure out where exactly to set it.

Option A: Right after Steve learns the Winter Soldier is Bucky. They get arrested by Evil!SHIELD and then rescued by Maria Hill and taken to the zombie!Fury's batcave, and plausibly they could split forces, because taking the Winter Soldier out is relevant to taking HYDRA out, and using Charles and Erik to capture and deprogram him is probably easier than taking him out in battle. Problem: Steve is too ... Cap-ish ... to allow personal preferences (aka his (as yet unannounced/unknown to him) soulbond with Bucky) to take precedence over duty (stopping Evil!SHIELD from killing everybody). Which means he can't help capture Bucky or hover worriedly over him.

Option B: Sort of like option A, except that Charles and Erik don't track Bucky down until he's dragging Steve out of the water.

Problem: why the fuck aren't the X-Men involved with the fight against SHIELD, do I have to rewrite the whole second half of the movie augh. Though flight mutants would be super helpful in the whole "fly to the ships" part.

Option C: Steve goes to Charles and Erik after the movie's over. Charles could maybe track Bucky down through Cerebro -- either because soulbond, which is a valid reason for everything, or because serumed individuals like Steve and Bucky show up, much like mutants do but not quite the same, and so are easy to track.

Problem: How do I handwavium the lack of X-Men involvement in any of the MCU events. I mean, CA:TFA sure, Charles and Erik are literally children for most of the movie and the X-Men as a group doesn't exist, but the Battle of New York?

Also problem, only not really because it doesn't affect things much: I keep visualizing Charles and Erik as the younger versions rather than the older, even though by necessity they would be older. Except I'm using DOFP timeline which invalidates the first three movies, flail. WHY SO HARD I JUST WANT SPARKLY RAINBOW SOULBONDS

Comments

[sineala]

IDK if stealing comics plots is helpful, but the comics X-Men do things like officially remain neutral about Superhuman Registration on the basis of things like "where the fuck were the rest of you when it was Mutant Registration, and when the Sentinels were only killing us?" so maybe they decide to officially sit out Insight because they're bitter about how none of them (or whoever the good guys were at the time -- IDK when you're setting this?) came to help the mutants when they needed it. They can't afford to get hurt anymore? Or something?

[ysobel]

Stealing comics plots is v. helpful, yes. And hmm, that could even provide Extra Drama (tm), because ... hmmm. *dangles carrots for plotbunnies*

Though I wonder whether any of the Insight targets were mutants. (I mean, in the hybrid universe, since in the MCU mutants don't exist.)

...I wonder if I can get this written before the next MCU movie comes out, heh. Because I'm sure that will just add complications. On multiple levels.

[sineala]

I feel like they'd definitely want to target at least some of the mutants. I mean, they have all that targeting capability for a reason, right?

You've got a month! Go go go! :)

[ysobel]

Also:

none of them (or whoever the good guys were at the time -- IDK when you're setting this?) came to help the mutants when they needed it.

is cracking me the hell up because I have dofp!Erik in my head raging at the modern!MCU folk about the events prior to and during dofp, except the MCU folk are all kind of unfazed, and when there's a pause Steve just shrugs and says "on ice. Literally," and Natasha says "working for the Russians," and Bucky smirks and says "all of the above", and Falcon just kind of gives a don't-look-at-me,-man expression, and Charles just facepalms...