captainwidowspring

[captainwidowspring]

A year ago today, Wanda Maximoff died in more ways than one

I mean, I miss her EVERY day, but today it’s been worse.

[captainwidowspring]

Catnap in the sun

This is for a lovely prompt by nefhiriel at avengersgen:

Bucky has spent far too much time locked up underground/going on night time missions. Cue rehabilitation involving a LOT of cat-naps in the sun. He doesn’t even need a chair. He just follows the shifting sunbeams around and sits down on the floor and closes his eyes and enjoys the sunshine. And falls asleep. And amuses everyone, a lot.

Click for bigger!

[captainwidowspring]

“everybody in the world expects me to be something and I don’t wanna fail them.”

[captainwidowspring]

[captainwidowspring]

[captainwidowspring]

I see everyone talking about puppy love.

They praise the hounds for their devotion and loyalty.

Yet what about cat love?

Cats are fiercely devoted. They will stay by you when you need it most. They will curl next to you and watch over you in the night.

Cats are giving. They bring gifts to you in the form of prey because they fear you can't hunt. They meow because they want to communicate with you. They purr to express their content.

Cats are silly. They'll roll around and zoom to make you laugh. They value comfort and will give you comfort in return.

So what about cat love? It may not be as energetic as dog love, but it's just as devoted and deep. Cats will be by your side just to be with you. Cats will fend for you. So what about cat love?

[captainwidowspring]

At this hearing I stand before my fellow members of the Tortured Poets Department With a summary of my findings "In Summation" (19th Apr 2024)

[captainwidowspring]

First of all:

"To this day my most hated scene in WandaVision is the confrontation outside the Hex. It's just there to make the audience think Wanda is fully in control and couldn't care less about what she's doing."

Maybe that's part of the reason for the scene's presence, but there's actually another, dumber reason why that scene is there. During the scene, Wanda drags the missile that Hayward fired at her with her out of the hex, and throws it at him, saying, "Is this yours?" This is important because it's a plot coupon: Wanda's energy remains on the missile, and with the missile now in his possession, Hayward later uses this energy to resurrect White Vision.

This situation is dumb because Wanda's energy has never remained on things like that before. For example, in Age of Ultron, none of the Ultron bots that were killed in Wanda's explosion of grief had any residual energy on them after the explosion. And it makes sense, considering that Wanda's energy comes into existence through her, so if she's not sustaining it then it's not there. (That is, of course, assuming that she hasn't commanded her magic to do something like when she gave the Avengers nightmares, in which case it would do the thing before fading. But something like the swift destruction of a missile wouldn't warrant sustained energy.) There would only be energy on the missile if Wanda was putting it there, and since she was giving the missile back to Hayward, she wouldn't do that. That so clearly only happened in order to give Hayward the means to revive White Vision that it's ridiculous. But in any case, that was the primary purpose of the confrontation outside the hex; any work that scene did in making it seem to the audience like Wanda was fully in control of the situation was just a by-product.

Now, for me, Evan Peters showing up definitely had the potential to be a good thing, though not because I was hoping that the show was going to introduce mutants or anything. For me, it was as simple as the fact that I love Peter Maximoff—he is one of my favorite characters—so I would have been thrilled to see him interact with Wanda, another one of my favorite characters, especially since he does actually have a connection with her. And given that, in the relatively few times that Peter appears in the X-Men movies, he really isn't treated very well, the show had the chance to be a reprieve from that. Instead, however, not only is the person we're intentionally led to believe is Peter Maximoff not actually him, but also, the show basically mocks anyone who was thinking/hoping it was him by making the name they gave him into a joke, and then having the character laugh about it. That wasn't funny, it was just plain cruel. And due to the reveal, I can't even really appreciate the time that the character implied to be Peter got to spend with Wanda, because it wasn't Peter, it was an imposter. So I feel you, because I, too, have a strong dislike for that whole situation for a reason which seems to be different than everyone else's.

I think it is quite understandable that you fell for the show's misdirection when you were watching it during the release. For there are indeed multiple times where the show prioritizes audience intrigue over actually telling a good story, and even times when the show seems to be actively trying to convince the audience that Wanda is in control of the situation, despite the fact that they know she isn't. So if one doesn't go into the show knowing the whole story, it is easy to be fooled. In fact, that also might be part of the reason why so many people still think that the whole Westview incident was intentional, because the show did seem to want people to think that, and people who dislike Wanda would be less likely to readily accept the truth that she was having a mental breakdown.

The thing is, due to a variety of factors, the show has mixed messaging. On one hand, there are some things in the show that do show that Wanda had no idea what was going on, and other things that can be explained by her mental state: but on the other hand, there are some things that are clearly just there for audience intrigue, or plot coupon purposes. This means that it's not that difficult for some people to take away the wrong message, even though the right one is ultimately made fairly clear.

The quote you mentioned from episode 7 is one example of this, where Wanda says, rather jarringly, "Look, we’ve all been there, right?Letting our fear and anger get the best of us, intentionally expanding the borders of the false world we created." This very much makes it seem like she knows what is going on, even though we know she doesn't, and the quote implies a level of awareness that she isn't really shown to have elsewhere. Now, upon closer inspection of the quote, I can tell why they did it: they wanted Wanda to say something that was relatable, followed by something that wasn't relatable at all and was specific only to her. But I feel like they could have had her say something such as, "Letting our fear and anger get the best of us, having our Halloween night get rudely interrupted by our partner almost dying." This would basically have the same effect, without introducing all the problems that the actual quote causes.

So yeah. I definitely agree with you that Wanda deserved better than what WandaVision gave her, and it would have been preferable if she never got put in such a horrible situation: but at least we got a chance to have a show where Wanda was respected and appreciated, something her other appearances did not manage to do enough of. And at least, with her not being in the MCU anymore at the moment, there's less of a chance that Marvel will continue to drag her through the mud. But no matter what happens, the MCU will fail to strike hatred into the hearts of we who love Wanda, and we will continue to esteem and value her.

Since we're now in the time period of WandaVision's fourth anniversary, I'm gonna go on a rant about how much I hated the experience of watching it as it was being released

As I've mentioned before, starting in mid-2019 I started to become worried that Marvel would try to go the comic route and twist Wanda into a villain. It got so bad that I had nightmares about it. So you can imagine how nervous I was knowing that she was getting a show where Vision was apparently alive again.

While for the first few episodes I was able to appreciate how good the sitcom recreations were, it was incredibly frustrating to be getting a Wanda show where she's acting absolutely nothing like herself.

I still remember the first time my heart dropped and I thought "Fuck. They're doing it." was at the end of episode 2 when time rewinds. The moment is edited to make it look like Wanda did it intentionally (though retroactively there's no way that's possible), and that was the start of a downward spiral of me thinking Marvel was seriously doing what I was scared they were doing.

I'm still more than a little amazed that Marvel had so little faith in the audience that after just three episodes they slammed on the brakes and painstakingly spelled out exactly what questions the audience should be asking. That feels like a studio-mandated choice.

Another big moment that made my blood run cold was the very end of episode 4, because again, the scene where Wanda throws Monica out is framed like she knows exactly what's going on and doesn't care. And then Monica saying "it's all Wanda" at the end... Let's just say four years ago today was a pretty bad day for me.

Episode 5 was the worst of it for me. Not only was that the episode where they hammer in just how torturous the mind control is, but it's also the episode where Wanda herself is at her absolute worst, as we've gone over in painstaking detail. To this day my most hated scene in WandaVision is the confrontation outside the Hex. It's just there to make the audience think Wanda is fully in control and couldn't care less about what she's doing. I don't care how well-executed the scene is, to even insinuate that Wanda would ever intentionally hurt innocents is enough to send me into a blind rage.

And just to cap it all off, the Fake Pietro reveal at the end made my heart sink for another reason entirely. 99% of the discourse I saw online during those weeks was little more than people theorizing/hoping that the show would be a plot device to introduce mutants or the Fantastic Four or the X-Men or a dozen other fucking things that have nothing to do with Wanda. So while for basically everyone else Evan Peters showing up was a massive vindication, for me it was confirmation that this show really didn't care about Wanda and was mainly focused on setting up future projects. At the time I distinctly remember coming to the conclusion after episode 5 that the main function of the show was to cement Wanda as a villain so she could be used as one in a later movie.

Things didn't get much better in episode 6. Vision wandering around and seeing all the frozen people in unending agony again made me want to vomit, because at that point I still thought Wanda knew about it and didn't care. The scene where he "wakes up Agnes" just solidified that for me. Wanda saying she didn't know how she did any of this didn't help much, as I immediately figured she was lying through her teeth. Granted I wasn't paying a ton of attention to her mannerisms or body language during that scene that prove otherwise. Wanda expanding the Hex was another nightmare-come-alive moment for me, because I sincerely thought it meant she was fully aware of how to control it and what it did.

Episode 7 wasn't any better either. It upset me greatly to see Wanda casually note right at the start that she knew she had created the Hex, and I think by this point I had sort of dejectedly accepted that the woman I loved was dead and an amoral monster who had no problem with casual torture had taken her place.

Even Agatha showing up didn't make me perk up, because I immediately thought she was just another creation of the Hex for Wanda to use as a scapegoat.

So as I think you can tell, this show's misdirection worked hook line and sinker on me, and I hate it for that, because it was baiting me into thinking my literal worst nightmare was coming true right before my eyes.

I went into episode 8 with a numb acceptance that this show had murdered Wanda for the sake of using her as a big bad later on. So you can imagine the gigantic whiplash I got when it ended up being a respectful, tear-jerking depiction of her that suddenly removed the veil and revealed she truly didn't know what was going on at all.

The finale was equally heartwrenching for me, choppiness and all. It was... more than a little upsetting to see the people of Westview confront Wanda with what had been happening and to see her just as confused and horrified as I was, and by the end of that scene I was crying right along with her. I shouldn't have to reiterate how much I love what little interactions Wanda gets with her family before the Hex collapses.

Seeing how many people online had the exact opposite reaction to me, where they were loving the show until episode 8, just made me feel like the only person who truly cared about Wanda.

So, TLDR, on initial release I was HATING WandaVision for 80% of its duration, and it only won me over in the final two episodes by showing me that the creators truly did understand Wanda. I still don't consider it to be worthy of her glory, but those last two episodes are pretty much the closest the MCU will likely ever come to having a good showing of Wanda as the hero she truly is.

[captainwidowspring]

I've been thinking about something for the past two years. Many people have said that John's medals are too much for him at only about thirty-five years old, according to the real situation.

But the world of Marvel can be more than just a war between people. There are also terrorist attacks from aliens, humanoid robots and other living or non-living things.

Avengers is not the only armed forces in the world, and they can't take care of everywhere and everyone. There are still armies in this world. And John is a soldier. His "too many" medals may have been earned from his outstanding performance in battles where there were none in reality.

Maybe when the Avengers were fighting aliens in New York. John was leading soldiers in another place, fighting alien beings he had never seen before (or never thought really existed in the world) and holding out to the end.

The battle between the soldiers and the "big three" was just not filmed, not non-existent.

--And I think John really needs a good break.

[captainwidowspring]

“I’m just Steve. And that’s all I need to take you down”.

Yes. Yes. YES.

The serum didn’t ever make the outside match the inside: Steve had always been enough.

[captainwidowspring]

[captainwidowspring]

[captainwidowspring]

reblog to tell your mutual you’re proud of them and it’ll all work out

[captainwidowspring]

Heard somebody say a while back that all non-Americans are against Captain America in Civil War.

Sounds like a sweeping generalization because... well, I am not American and I am agaisnt the Accords because of the horrible implications for human rights.

Just asking you for a second opinion though!

I think I've seen that meta float around some time ago. Written by a Tony Stan I believe? Followed by an excellent thesis length rebuttal from chirpingtiger

It was kind of what inspired my post about American imperialism in the MCU, and how Tony was representative of that domineering worldview.

I think the person making that argument was banking on the "117 countries ratified the Accords" and their flawed understanding that the UN was representative of the people of the world.

If the MCU UN is anything like ours, there are currently 193 member countries of the UN (obviously MCU would include fictional Wakanda and Sokovia). Only 25 of 167 rated nations are truly democratic, while 50 others are "flawed democracies", including the U.S. Yes, that shocked me as well. 59 of those 167 countries are determined to be authoritarian regimes.

What that means is that the delegate from these countries do not represent what their constituents want. They may or may not vote in the best interests of their country and people. UN voting is also well known for countries forming little cliques, usually by exchange of economic promises, in order to get more votes on a preferred issue.

117 countries - we have no idea who those countries even are. We have no idea why the other 70+ countries voted no, and whether they had far more valid reasons to do so. We have no idea if the 117 nations who voted yes because they truly believed in the issue or was offered some sort of bargain by a bigger sovereign power.

Honestly, the movie hand-waved the Accords in the hopes people would be too distracted by the action to question what it actually stood for. The buzzword used by Tony is accountability, and I think that's what a lot of people snagged on. Who doesn't think that powerful people, especially those from America, whose military like to get their nose in everyone's business, and with whom the Avengers seem to be associated -- who doesn't think checks and balances need to be in place?

The devil is in the (non-existent canon) detail, though. Because what that suggests is the Avengers has been functioning as a private entity (how??) and General Ross's proposal is only intended to get them more firmly enmeshed with American interests.

So yeah, it makes no sense that "non American people", who want more accountability for the American military, would be against Captain America, who was acting directly in defiance to the Lieutenant General of the US Army.

[captainwidowspring]

The above post has some really good tags (and, since that post has since been deleted, it's a good thing I preserved them!):

#the ignorance and privilege on display#heads up insisting a person isnt disabled because of adaptive devices is ableist and shitty#that goes for mattmurdoch too#the man is blind and can only read and use his mobile phone due to adaptive technologies#he's a capable badass and still blind#i think i know what this is#its this insistence that these heroes cant be disabled cos thatd make them less badass wouldnt it?#they cant be disabled cos they can kick ass right?#never mind that some of the most badass and capable people i know irl ARE disabled

@luna-rainbow also had some really nice tags:

#a movie where you see his arm being sawn off#another movie where you see his arm being blown off#a 3rd cameo movie where he walks around with no arm#a 4th movie where he is farming with no arm until given a prosthesis#but bucky’s prosthesis caN bLoCk BuLLeTs#??? so? he’s still missing an arm#and let’s not forget that the narrative treats his disability like punishment#when he ‘behaves badly’ that arm can be removed from him#and the neurocog disorder — yes one movie where we see him zapped into amnesia#a 2nd movie where he turns amnesiac from a series of code words#and a series we see him weeping over the effect of the words being removed#as well as the effects of ptsd#but people are still adamant he does not have a disability

bucky has a disability??

he doesn’t have an arm.

[captainwidowspring]

Fan theory: Tony Stark tried to murder Bucky because he could not tolerate having not just one, but two better-looking people in the world. Also he was madly jealous of Bucky's hair because- who wouldn't be?

LMAO thanks for the laugh XDD

Let's not forget he's also insanely (and canonically) jealous of Steve's perfect teeth XD

[captainwidowspring]

Still one of my favorite puns we've done.