#up until the 90s (I can't believe I can say that) the saddest section you're gonna have

[pastafossa]

I’ve just started reading trt like just started on the kidnapping arc just started and I’m loving it, but do you think you could lay out a list of all the arcs that have happened up until now and which ones hurst the most? Just cause I’m a little squirmy when it comes to angst and I wanna know when to expect it :D

I can! Absolutely! I keep meaning to make an index one day I'll do that. I'll be a little vague for spoilers but still open about the angsty parts. I'll also put it behind a spoiler wall for anyone who doesn't want to see it!

Matt, seen here identifying the spoilers below that Keep Reading bar...

Kidnapping arc: right now you're on the kidnapping arc! Lots of cuddling and softness after that arc (ch12-13).

Devil-Hunt: fun chapters with their version of hide and seek (affectionately called Devil-Hunt) for ch14-15! No angst, only joy.

Old Friend Visit🌧️: Next bit of drama pops back up around ch16-19 with a visit from an old friend. Bit of angst, maybe 1-2 sad rainy clouds out of 5.

Matt Gets Slashed By Nobu And Then Argues With Foggy🌧️🌧️🌧️: general sadness as we touch on Matt getting shredded by Nobu canonically and his and Foggy's fight starting at ch20. That's always depressing (canonically 5 of 5 sad rainy clouds) but no worries, we comfort him through it. There's a little bit of him being, understandably, sad and miserable, so a bit of angst, but there's a lot of comfort and cuddling and such there too to balance it - and that weekend of caretaking ends around ch26.

Various Non-Angst Arcs: Basically comfort comfort, growing relationship, some plot stuff with SHIELD, dealing with canonical events, no major bad vibes. (Ch27-31)

Away Chapters🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️: Next bit of angst has been, up until now, one of the rougher points to go through. You'll get your first hint of it starting at the end of Ch32. Buildup to Ch34 in which Reader/Jane... has to leave town for a very specific reason, and thus say goodbye for a bit. That leads us into the Away Chapters arc - what they're both up to, how they're both dealing with the separation, important plot events, etc. Fairly angsty and sad, but it's with the understanding (on both their parts) that the separation is temporary. Separation ends in Ch42 in a way that deserves fireworks!

Various Non-Angst Arcs: Lots of cuddling after that, dealing with the separation, and with any injuries that might have been gained, some plot stuff. Slight bit of angst having to do with our Mortal Enemy White Coat Asshole, but nothing major. Ch43-48.

Hypothermia arc: from ch49-52! Maybe 1 rainy cloudy? Not really though. Mostly just good god, matt, what the fuck.

Fuck-ton of Romance Arcs: Lots of romance-y things after this! Romance romance romance. Ch53-62!

Woops it looked like you almost died arc🌧️🌧️: Ch63-65 involves a short angsty, very close call and an argument about it arc, so some angst because Almost Died. Maybe 2-3 clouds. Def not 5 clouds though.

Devil-Hunt arc: More Devil-Hunt because it's fun. Zero clouds, only fun.

Buildup bits and pieces of angst 🌧️ to 🌧️🌧️🌧️: OK so this next arc's a little trickier since it's leading to a big reveal and I've set it up way ahead of time. This one involves pieces of angst slowly woven in and building up in between other more chill events - Starting around 68... what happened in Los Angeles with the fire, aaaaall of that is going to start creeping in and making itself known. You'll get, say, an angsty scene about it in Ch70 but only for the first section, while the rest of the chapter is not all that angsty. At first it's mostly woven in between other arcs - a Big Visit from a friend (Ch68-73)🌧️🌧️, dealing with some bounty hunters (ch76-78), some smut (ch78-79), and lots of Matt being very loving and soft and supportive in between. Short angsty moments range between 1 cloud and 3 clouds out of five.

You'll know you're getting close to the Angst Dive when Frank canonically shoots Matt between the eyes (Ch83🌧️🌧️) and he loses his hearing temporarily. We're gonna obviously have some comfort and caretaking and soft discussions (ch84-90) though before we get into the fire stuff, because Matt deserves it.

Los Angeles Fire Comes Out🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️: Once you hit Ch91... We're gonna slowly begin our descent into true Five Cloud Angst territory. This is the arc we're in now so I can't say how many chapters it will take, although I'm estimating another 2-3 update cycles depending on how much time I have with moving. This will likely be our darkest, angsty-est section yet - there will be misunderstandings, miscommunication, a lot of Matt's insecurity and self-loathing unintentionally crashing together with Reader/Jane's guilt and insecurity. There will be tears, hurt, and some brokenness. I will promise, though, that the storm of it will be over by morning in the fic - so our lovely couple just has to get through one night and then things will get easier (there will be comfort, cuddling, emotional comfort smut, all the good stuff). A lot of readers are waiting until this section is done to read through it, so if you're looking to do the same, I'm tagging each of these angsty updates with raincloud emojis in the tumblr updates and in the chapter summaries! There will be a little sunshine symbol when we come out of it. <3 After that, you can expect softer things for a bit because I always try to give ya'll a bunch of happy breathing room between the heavy stuff. No perma-gloom here!

As for what's in the future... I know the angsty points that are coming, just not what chapters precisely! I try to add an angst warning but if you ever need to know if the current arc will be depressing or sad, feel free to ask and I'll let you know!

#ask response #the red thread #angst #the red thread spoilers #like not if you've read up until current obvs #but if you have *not* read and want to go in blind then yeah there's mildddd spoilers although I did my best #up until the 90s (I can't believe I can say that) the saddest section you're gonna have #is the Away Chapters #that arc is quite sad although I try to weave some less angsty stuff in #there are various exciting plot things and stuff with shield #AND A CAR CHASE #but yeah the sad is there #that would be on and off 4 clouds of sadness #The area we're in now is 5 clouds #although I guess even that's not as bad as it could be since I'm not killing anyone #(death is like idk 8 clouds and we will never see 8 clouds) #(breakup is idk 7 clouds maybe?) #(i need to create a cloud scale) #(except I am like the fujita scale of angst clouds) #(because i mostly measure the strength based on the aftermath) #(did I cry a little? Did I get a few comments saying they cried? 3 clouds!) #(i could call it the enhanced pasta scale like the enhanced fujita scale) #(where am i what am i doing) #(this got off track and now i'm in tag nebraska wtf)