Enough Rope
is a Marvel Cinematic Universe fanfic by Amber_and_Ash
Tony can't get himself back from Siberia, and it takes the night for him to be rescued. While waiting to see if he'll die of hypothermia, he realises something for the first time. It wasn't that he failed because he hadn't tried hard enough. He had failed because he had tried too hard. His so-called team-mates had formed the habit of blaming Tony for everything because he had let them. He had shouldered the blame, let them attack him without consequence, and cleaned up after their mess, all so they could continue to feel self-righteous in peace. But it wasn't just him they were attacking, and saving the world didn't give them a free pass to be the very bullies that Steve claimed to fight against.
Tony woke up in hospital, still sustained by the relief of his realisation. Things sucked, but they would get better. He was Tony Stark, and no challenge was too much for him. It was odd how much easier it was to plot when he actually did intend ways to manipulate the ex-Avengers into falling in line. And since that was what they seemed convinced he was doing all along, they didn't deserve a warning that it would now be true.
Not to be confused with the Australian interview series hosted by Andrew Denton.
Tropes you can find in this story:
- Accusation Fic: As you can see from elsewhere in this page, this story is not kind to "Team Cap" in general and Steve Rogers in specific at all.
- Boring, but Practical: At one point, Tony tells Rhodes to guess which act of his saved the most lives. While Rhodes guesses it was sending the nuke bound for New York through the Chitauri portal, Tony corrects him that it was inventing mosquito repelling fabric. Because of the clothes, screens, and nets made from that fabric (the last of which Tony donates in mass to charities), mosquito born diseases have almost been eradicated.
- Broken Pedestal: Captain Rogers to his team and by the world at large. The Rogue Avengers are seen as this as well.
- Completed Fic: The fic ended July 30, 2017.
- Destructive Saviour: Other countries view the Rogue Avengers as this because they don't appreciate having vigilantes smashing around their property regardless of whether said vigilantes are doing "what's right."
- Disabled in the Adaptation: Spending hours semi-conscious in an abandoned Siberian bunker in a suit with no power leaves Tony badly frost bitten, to the extent his fingertips have to be amputated.
- It's All About Me: Steve Rogers will always ignore experts on any situation because of an almost pathological need to be the one others turn to for answers, thus refusing to turn to anyone else for answers. Because he's horrendous at diplomacy or public relations, he tries to solve all his problems with violence, even if it's the worst possible solution (such as protesting the Sokovia Accords). Finally, when Tony donates Steve's shield to a Captain America exhibit, Steve starts planning to steal it and (because vibranium is sacred to Wakandans) brainwash T'Challa into allowing him to keep it.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Despite her Never My Fault tendencies, Wanda Maximoff is right when calls out Steve for talking about clearing their names while wanting to use her powers to commit more crimes, especially since said crimes aren't even For the Greater Good but to help Steve steal back his shield then brainwash T'Challa into allowing them to keep it despite vibranium being sacred to Wakandans.
- Never My Fault: Steve and Wanda have this belief.
- Out-of-Character Alert: An odd variation occurs when Clint feels a sudden surge of fury towards Tony for basically saying he'll help the other members of Team Cap, but he can't help Wanda if she doesn't show remorse for her actions. Almost instantly Clint finds himself wondering why he's angry as all Tony did was say that he couldn't work miracles.
- The Paragon: Deconstructed with Steve Rogers. Because of his reputation and how he influences others, his followers are mainly following him because of who he is and they don't question him. Also because Steve is convinced that he's always picking the morally good option and inspiring others around him to do the right thing, he is incapable of seeing situations that involve Grey-and-Gray Morality. This has caused a lot problems for those that follow him and the world at large.
- Paranoia Fuel: Because it's proven that Wanda cannot completely control her powers, and that she often unconsciously projects her emotions and opinions onto others, everyone who ever interacted with her is left wondering how many of their own thoughts and actions were their own, and how many were influenced by her. Clint in particular is left wondering how much she affected him, and how much of it affected his actions when he should have known better. While they initially claim otherwise, Scott and Clint aren't certain she never influenced them.
- Power Incontinence: Wanda's powers react to her emotions sometimes, causing her to influence the minds of others.
- Pride: Steve's Fatal Flaw, in a nutshell.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite how they treated him, Tony Stark does his best to help out most of the rogue Avengers. In particular, once Clint calls him, Tony first apologizes for not keeping him appraised of things regarding the Accords then offers his help to get Clint a plea deal and makes sure he knows what Clint wants out of it, such as whether Clint wants to retire again or if he wants to be an international or United States only hero.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: This is the ultimate fate of Steve in the epilogue chapter. In order to minimize the amount of collateral and political damage he was doing, he was "offered" the chance to become an ambassador to Asgard who would work alongside their armies as a proven warrior. Given that Asgard's warrior culture is more in line with Steve's morals, he's much happier than most who get this Trope (to the point he doesn't even realize he was played). Everyone else is just glad he's not causing any more trouble on Earth.
- Retired Badass: Deconstructed with Clint. He spent years serving his country as an Agent of SHIELD, working to protect his wife and eventual kids, and managed to help quite a few people over the course of his career and eventually became a Superhero who helped save the entire world from aliens and robots. When he retired after the fall of SHIELD and the Ultron affair, he was cut off from his old friends and support network, he was left struggling with trauma and grief related anger issues without professional help, and went from being an important figure in the world, to an ineffective farmhand struggling to help his wife around their home while aware of his own mental spiral but unable to stop it. This lead to him throwing his lot in with Steve when he called without thinking about what he was doing, and also sees him agree to work with Coulson as part of his community service, just so he can be useful doing something again.
- Selective Obliviousness: Lampshaded when Clint wonders how he never realized what was going on with the Avengers until an outside source spelled it out. In particular, when Steve threw his shield at Tony's head because Wanda claimed he was making another Ultron, Steve committed attempted murder on the word of a terrorist.
- Stating the Simple Solution: A number of people suggest easier methods for Steve to fight the Sokovia Accords, such as speaking against them at the UN meeting or even staging a hunger strike. At the time, Captain America still had a lot of political influence if he'd chosen to use it.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: After the members of Team Captain America return to the United States, Tony subtly plays up his disability to make Steve more sympathetic, which causes the man to go after Tony's critics.
