Darcy Lewis
Lemme talk to you about my (possibly completely irrational) deep and abiding love for Darcy Lewis from Thor (2011).
I am aware that Darcy is a minor character in a splashy Marvel Studios superhero movie. She does not have super-powers like Sif, mad martial arts skillz like the Black Widow, or Dr Jane Foster's giant squishy science-filled brain.
What Darcy has is the ability to take everything in and just get on with shit. Usually accompanied by snark and hilarious facial expressions.
You hit a half-naked guy with your van, who is 7 feet tall and starts yelling shit at the sky in the middle of the New Mexico desert, while accompanied only by a crazy hot astrophysicist who weighs 100lbs soaking wet, and another academic up in his 60s whom you suspect has a flask of vodka on his person and has been tippling all night? TASE HIM.
You lose the half-naked bo-hunk, and your boss suggests you scour the surrounding area for him because he may have fallen through a wormhole? You check your taser's batteries and are ready to roll.
Your boss' godfather keeps trying to shut her down by pointing out that no way is the half-naked bo-hunk the god of thunder cos that shit is totes impossible when you live in a universe where an alcoholic dilettante playboy built a flying suit of armour out of scrap in a cave? You whip out Clarke's Third Law and tell him to STFU.
Darcy Lewis gets shit done. She helps evac a town when a giant robot from space attacks it. She's there to back up Jane when she is ready to go postal on S.H.I.E.L.D. for boxing up and confiscating her homebrewed magic science stuff. She's hilarious, she's loyal, and she's slightly obsessed with her iPod.
If Wendy Watson ever needs a Middlegirl, I am seriously submitting Darcy Lewis as an excellent choice.
Fandom has adopted Darcy Lewis, and with good reason. Darcy is a character with whom we can identify, a quirky girl we can imagine living with, working with, and hanging out with The Avengers on a daily basis. She is us, if we were cooler/thinner/prettier/younger and fictional. In a good way, not a creepy Self-Insert way. She's the Miles O'Brien of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cool enough to be invited to the party, but not so cool we're intimidated by her.
By pairing Jane with Darcy, Thor is grounded in reality, because there is someone there whose reaction to jack-booted government Special Ops MIBs invading their home is "GODDAMMIT, I JUST DLOADED 30 SONGS TO THAT IPOD!" Not to mention thanks to Darcy and Jane, Thor passes the Bechdel test in the first 45 seconds of the movie. You can say many things about the other films in the MCU (Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk). Sadly, "chock full of awesome ladies plural" is not one of them. But Thor is another kettle of awesome entirely, and if you haven't seen it, I can whole-heartedly recommend it.
Kat Dennings is a rare awesome curvy girl on American TV (check out her sitcom 2 Broke Girls if you do not believe me), with massive indie cred, as well as mainstream success in the aforementioned 2 Broke Girls (which fills a hole left in my soul by the cancellation of both The Middleman and Eastwick in terms of sromance onna telly). She played Robert Downey Jr's daughter in that movie where she punched Pavel Chekov's V-card. (It's called Charlie Bartlett and you should Netflix it.) She also was super-awesome in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, where she spent the night chasing after Scott Pilgrim while in a van with an adorable gay lead singer, in search of her totally drunk girlfriend.
Having taken MCU fanfic by storm, Darcy Lewis isn't just a side-kick. She isn't just a mascot. She's who we'd want to be, if we were standing next to Steve Rogers (assuming there was no restraining order). She says the things we wish we could say to Loki Odinson and Tony Stark. She makes out with the hot archer we wish we could make out with (again with the restraining order. but seriously, have you seen Jeremy Renner's ARMS???). She rocks S.H.I.E.L.D.'s world as Coulson's assistant. She does body-shots off the Norse Goddess of War. And she does it all in bulky sweaters, glasses, and with wry humour. (And a taser.)
Here is a story I wrote, into which I poured all my love of the character:
Simple, Not Easy (60176 words) by LJC
Darcy should have seen it coming. She couldn't hang around the spandex crowd forever and not end up with a great big target painted on her back eventually. She was just surprised it took Loki so long.
And here are some Darcy stories which I think you might enjoy:
Darcy-centric
Five People who Caught Darcy Doodling (1238 words) by seawench
Darcy can't always taser people to work out her frustration.
With A Little Help From My Friends (3105 words) by lucdarling
Darcy Lewis has tased a literal god but that didn't help her last week. That's where the Avengers come in. Darcy has a lot to learn but she's got the best teachers.
saved until last (3754 words) by Mira_Jade
"I believe that you owed my grandmother a dance, soldier." When a figure straight from Peggy Carter's bedtime stories shows up, Darcy Lewis has no choice but to see the tale concluded.
64 Colors (2049 words) by victoria_p
Darcy's life is weird, but she kind of likes it.
The Anaconda Plan (900 words) by zeplum
Darcy didn't start out as a poli-sci major.
Under Ether (4025 words) by Lunik
Loki is captured by SHIELD and deemed not fit to be left alone while on painkillers and in handcuffs. Now he's Darcy's problem.
Darcy/Clint Barton
Gift of Asylum (47183 words) by carleton97 & Sister_Wolf
The story of how Darcy Lewis accidentally helps found the Avengers while having an epic, failboaty romance with that dude she nailed in a bar two years ago. Tasers, jackbooted thugs, Tony Stark, and life-altering job offers are par for the course when you help discover an alien/god dude with amazing pecs.
Just Temporary, Ma'am (4654 words) by sutlers
In which Darcy procures a fake boyfriend in order to get Jane off her tits about this "Darcy doesn't have any friends" thing. Which is ridiculous, Darcy has over 300 friends.
Compelling Distraction (2684 words) by eli
"Oh my god, SHIELD sent us Robin Hood."
Cut To Fit (3211 words) by kellifer_fic
When Jane moves into the mansion, she takes Darcy with her.
the best of life is but intoxication (4741 words) by kellifer_fic
Where Steve and Darcy are platonic BFFs and Tony and Clint just aren't buying it.
Even a Miracle Needs a Hand (11087 words) by victoria_p
When Darcy takes Clint home for the holidays as her fake boyfriend, he charms his way into the family, and into her pants heart.
Darcy/Steve Rogers
you and your high top sneakers and your sailor tattoos (5871 words) by victoria_p
In which Darcy Lewis punches Captain America's v-card. Yeah, she can't believe it either.
An Old Solution (12033 words) by listedheart
Darcy helps Steve learn about the modern world.
Darcy/Jane Foster
The Spheres Are in Commotion (1481 words) by nonisland
On the days when she remembers that some people make good life decisions and it's possible she should try to be among them, Darcy still isn't sure how she ended up interning for Jane.
Darcy as Supporting Cast
A little bit of your taste (in my mouth) (20299 words) by sirona & ellievolia
Coffee Shop AU. In which Clint owns the coffee shop that makes the best damn coffee Phil has ever tasted, and things only go downhill from there.
that's not a skirt, girl, that's a sawn-off shotgun (1755 words) by lanyon
Darcy's like a Bond girl and Clint can't quite figure out if she's the good type or the bad type but he knows she's the sort of one you want to have in your lifeboat at the end of the movie.
ETA: Please share your Darcy fic and meta recs in comments!
I am aware that Darcy is a minor character in a splashy Marvel Studios superhero movie. She does not have super-powers like Sif, mad martial arts skillz like the Black Widow, or Dr Jane Foster's giant squishy science-filled brain.
What Darcy has is the ability to take everything in and just get on with shit. Usually accompanied by snark and hilarious facial expressions.
You hit a half-naked guy with your van, who is 7 feet tall and starts yelling shit at the sky in the middle of the New Mexico desert, while accompanied only by a crazy hot astrophysicist who weighs 100lbs soaking wet, and another academic up in his 60s whom you suspect has a flask of vodka on his person and has been tippling all night? TASE HIM.
You lose the half-naked bo-hunk, and your boss suggests you scour the surrounding area for him because he may have fallen through a wormhole? You check your taser's batteries and are ready to roll.
Your boss' godfather keeps trying to shut her down by pointing out that no way is the half-naked bo-hunk the god of thunder cos that shit is totes impossible when you live in a universe where an alcoholic dilettante playboy built a flying suit of armour out of scrap in a cave? You whip out Clarke's Third Law and tell him to STFU.
Darcy Lewis gets shit done. She helps evac a town when a giant robot from space attacks it. She's there to back up Jane when she is ready to go postal on S.H.I.E.L.D. for boxing up and confiscating her homebrewed magic science stuff. She's hilarious, she's loyal, and she's slightly obsessed with her iPod.
If Wendy Watson ever needs a Middlegirl, I am seriously submitting Darcy Lewis as an excellent choice.
Fandom has adopted Darcy Lewis, and with good reason. Darcy is a character with whom we can identify, a quirky girl we can imagine living with, working with, and hanging out with The Avengers on a daily basis. She is us, if we were cooler/thinner/prettier/younger and fictional. In a good way, not a creepy Self-Insert way. She's the Miles O'Brien of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cool enough to be invited to the party, but not so cool we're intimidated by her.
By pairing Jane with Darcy, Thor is grounded in reality, because there is someone there whose reaction to jack-booted government Special Ops MIBs invading their home is "GODDAMMIT, I JUST DLOADED 30 SONGS TO THAT IPOD!" Not to mention thanks to Darcy and Jane, Thor passes the Bechdel test in the first 45 seconds of the movie. You can say many things about the other films in the MCU (Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk). Sadly, "chock full of awesome ladies plural" is not one of them. But Thor is another kettle of awesome entirely, and if you haven't seen it, I can whole-heartedly recommend it.
Kat Dennings is a rare awesome curvy girl on American TV (check out her sitcom 2 Broke Girls if you do not believe me), with massive indie cred, as well as mainstream success in the aforementioned 2 Broke Girls (which fills a hole left in my soul by the cancellation of both The Middleman and Eastwick in terms of sromance onna telly). She played Robert Downey Jr's daughter in that movie where she punched Pavel Chekov's V-card. (It's called Charlie Bartlett and you should Netflix it.) She also was super-awesome in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, where she spent the night chasing after Scott Pilgrim while in a van with an adorable gay lead singer, in search of her totally drunk girlfriend.
Having taken MCU fanfic by storm, Darcy Lewis isn't just a side-kick. She isn't just a mascot. She's who we'd want to be, if we were standing next to Steve Rogers (assuming there was no restraining order). She says the things we wish we could say to Loki Odinson and Tony Stark. She makes out with the hot archer we wish we could make out with (again with the restraining order. but seriously, have you seen Jeremy Renner's ARMS???). She rocks S.H.I.E.L.D.'s world as Coulson's assistant. She does body-shots off the Norse Goddess of War. And she does it all in bulky sweaters, glasses, and with wry humour. (And a taser.)
Here is a story I wrote, into which I poured all my love of the character:
Simple, Not Easy (60176 words) by LJC
Darcy should have seen it coming. She couldn't hang around the spandex crowd forever and not end up with a great big target painted on her back eventually. She was just surprised it took Loki so long.
And here are some Darcy stories which I think you might enjoy:
Darcy-centric
Five People who Caught Darcy Doodling (1238 words) by seawench
Darcy can't always taser people to work out her frustration.
With A Little Help From My Friends (3105 words) by lucdarling
Darcy Lewis has tased a literal god but that didn't help her last week. That's where the Avengers come in. Darcy has a lot to learn but she's got the best teachers.
saved until last (3754 words) by Mira_Jade
"I believe that you owed my grandmother a dance, soldier." When a figure straight from Peggy Carter's bedtime stories shows up, Darcy Lewis has no choice but to see the tale concluded.
64 Colors (2049 words) by victoria_p
Darcy's life is weird, but she kind of likes it.
The Anaconda Plan (900 words) by zeplum
Darcy didn't start out as a poli-sci major.
Under Ether (4025 words) by Lunik
Loki is captured by SHIELD and deemed not fit to be left alone while on painkillers and in handcuffs. Now he's Darcy's problem.
Darcy/Clint Barton
Gift of Asylum (47183 words) by carleton97 & Sister_Wolf
The story of how Darcy Lewis accidentally helps found the Avengers while having an epic, failboaty romance with that dude she nailed in a bar two years ago. Tasers, jackbooted thugs, Tony Stark, and life-altering job offers are par for the course when you help discover an alien/god dude with amazing pecs.
Just Temporary, Ma'am (4654 words) by sutlers
In which Darcy procures a fake boyfriend in order to get Jane off her tits about this "Darcy doesn't have any friends" thing. Which is ridiculous, Darcy has over 300 friends.
Compelling Distraction (2684 words) by eli
"Oh my god, SHIELD sent us Robin Hood."
Cut To Fit (3211 words) by kellifer_fic
When Jane moves into the mansion, she takes Darcy with her.
the best of life is but intoxication (4741 words) by kellifer_fic
Where Steve and Darcy are platonic BFFs and Tony and Clint just aren't buying it.
Even a Miracle Needs a Hand (11087 words) by victoria_p
When Darcy takes Clint home for the holidays as her fake boyfriend, he charms his way into the family, and into her pants heart.
Darcy/Steve Rogers
you and your high top sneakers and your sailor tattoos (5871 words) by victoria_p
In which Darcy Lewis punches Captain America's v-card. Yeah, she can't believe it either.
An Old Solution (12033 words) by listedheart
Darcy helps Steve learn about the modern world.
Darcy/Jane Foster
The Spheres Are in Commotion (1481 words) by nonisland
On the days when she remembers that some people make good life decisions and it's possible she should try to be among them, Darcy still isn't sure how she ended up interning for Jane.
Darcy as Supporting Cast
A little bit of your taste (in my mouth) (20299 words) by sirona & ellievolia
Coffee Shop AU. In which Clint owns the coffee shop that makes the best damn coffee Phil has ever tasted, and things only go downhill from there.
that's not a skirt, girl, that's a sawn-off shotgun (1755 words) by lanyon
Darcy's like a Bond girl and Clint can't quite figure out if she's the good type or the bad type but he knows she's the sort of one you want to have in your lifeboat at the end of the movie.
ETA: Please share your Darcy fic and meta recs in comments!