#<- guy who is definitely not looking excuses not to watch the loki trailer

[tyrannuspitch]

Reread Hammered today. Personal top three moments

Young Thor being compared to a puppy four entire times. (Mostly stage directions.)

Freyja: Thor, have you any proof to back up this accusation? (Thor simply gestures to Loki as if to say, “I mean, c’mon.”)

Thor: Am I my brother’s keeper? / All: Yes.

[watcherinwater]

So I definitely liked some of it. But once again we barely got any new information. Just an FYI though, it’s been confirmed there’s going to be a season 2 so I guess it’s not too bad that they’re going so slowly. But I still wish they would give us more background. We barely saw anything of Sylvie/Loki’s childhood and we still don’t know what her nexus event was-is it because she knew she was adopted? Because she was born a girl in her prime form?

They just came and took her-and yes don’t be surprised the TVA would hurt a child-look at who they are. Loki is alive and appears to be in some Loki variant dimension (is the black guy a Loki or a Thor? He had a hammer so I can’t really tell). Classic Loki, Kid Loki, Alligator Loki! Love it. I wonder if Mobius is in some Mobius variant dimension? We see him later in the trailer so he’s not dead either.

I kept hearing how this episode was going to be weird and do new stuff but honestly I feel like I waited through the whole thing to get the best scene at the end. Would’ve been nice to see the other Lokis in the beginning. They better all be in the next two episodes for all the screen time!

Can we have one goddamn episode where Loki doesn’t get beat up?!

We don’t have to see him constantly throwing people left and right but can we have one fight that he actually wins?! Where is the whole “we’re going to see his powers in a new way?” Dude can stop a building but he hardly ever even tries to fight back?! After growing up in Asgard? And he gets hurt that easily? Can be thrown by a human? This is the guy who was able to handle Captain America, who even held his own with Thor for a while; who fucking survived the Hulk and got back up? Who “packed a wallop”? You’re telling me a punch from memory Sif hurts him that much? What the hell is wrong with this? I keep waiting for BAMF Loki with at least some new powers and I’m tired of hearing “Oh just wait for the next episode”. And don’t write me and give me excuses-this part-which is my main beef with the show-is basically just bad writing. I heard the head writer never watched any of the previous Loki movies before making the series. I thought that was a joke, but now I’m not so sure.

Btw memory Sif, instead of screaming about what he did to you, wait until he’s asleep and cut off one side of the hair on his head. Don’t get mad-get even. That’s actually the best approach with someone like Loki. Many pranksters-even when they go too far-have a weird way of respecting people who stand up to them using their own methods. 

While Loki definitely has some narcissistic traits, (and it looks like it’s going to get turned up to 11 if they go with Sylki 🤔) I wouldn’t say he’s an entire narcissist or that that defines him. Hello-look at where he grew up. Asgard is literally a narcissistic planet built on lies and a racial superiority complex. Royalty especially is going to be that way. Funny how Loki is usually the only one held accountable for Asgard’s sins.

I’ve always seen him more as a borderline with passive aggressive traits. One of those people who act superior because they’ve had too in the environment they’ve grown up in, been indoctrinated into it-and on some level believe it- but on another level hate themselves and try to cover it up with more grandstanding. His pranks were ways of passively-aggressively acting out when he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) act out in other ways. Emotionally neglected kids often do stupid and sometimes mean shit for attention because even bad attention is better than none. Loki at first hated the idea of other Lokis too and wanted to be the only one. They tried this narcissist stuff on Tony Stark too and while he definitely had some traits he wasn’t full blown either. And look how that turned out-Tony helped save the universe.

B-15 finding her memories and conscience because of Sylvie. She seems like she used to be a nice person and not the sadistic cop she came off as before. I’m guessing the TVA brainwashes it’s cops to be mean and aggressive. Ugh. Renslayer knows everybody’s a variant and she’s covering it up. It would seem she’s a variant herself because she used to be a time cop. Why cover it up? What does she know? She seems very conflicted-especially toward Mobius. It really hurt her to vaporize him. I’m thinking she’s in love with him. Mobislayer? I’m very happy Mobius is freeing himself and helping and I know we will see him again; but I have some serious issues with some of the stuff he did in this episode.

The time keepers being fake doesn’t surprise me. But who is really running the show? Will we find out next week? At the rate they’re going I’m not so sure-but at least we’re getting a season 2.



[lady-of-lies]

The birthday

A/N: ok, so this is a fic I found in my draft from like two years ago so it is a really bad one but I thought, why not?

y/n = your name

y/b/d = your birthday

y/h/t = your hometown

n/n = Nick name 

If I missed anything plz tell me!

Prompt: none!

Word count: 3083 (What the heck happened)

Warnings: fluff

Tom hiddleston x teen!reade

This was it. I was going to be in the new Avengers movie. And on top of that I was going to work with my idol, Tom Hiddleston. Now you may wonder how a teenage girl from y/h/t ended up here, and the answer is really simple. my mum have a relative living in New York and I live with her for the time being until I am old enough to get something of my own. The reason I was here in San diego was because of comic con, I had finally managed to get tickets and were, of course, a bit overly excited.

Somehow I had managed to get lost on my way to a panel and ended up in a completely different building. Don't ask me how. In that building they held some sort of audition, long story short I got dragged in on it and ended up with the role as the Cheshire cat, an orphan with abilities similar to the fairy tale character that ends up in Loki’s care.

Today was my first day on a movie set ever and to say I was nervous was an understatement.

I had brought my headphones and my favourite book for entertainment between takes and if necessary, also to calm me down. I was met by the director at the entrance and he introduced me to a nice looking woman called Daisy that were going to act as my guide for today so I would get the ropes and learn my way around the, very big set.

She first showed me to my trailer I was going to stay in and then continued with all the different stages and trailers I would need to know my way to. At the end she led me back to my trailer and gave me my manuscript for the movie. I hadn't really thought about how big of a movie this was and especially now when I saw that my role was quite important and also pretty demanding. My first scene wasn't until until tomorrow so I settled in in my new portable home for the time being.

In the morning after I was even more nervous, if that was even possible. It was time for my first appearence and I was seated in the makeup trailer getting ready when a tall figure entered. A tall figure I would recognize everywhere. Tom Hiddleston. He sat down in the stool next to mine and eyed me for a second before speaking. His voice were soft and cautious, as if not to scare me.

“ Hello darling, I haven't seen you before, are you new here? “

“ Yeah, I am. I arrived here yesterday, My name is y/n, and I already know who you are. “ I said with a smile “ sorry that sounded creepy “

I said shyly looking down. he reached out his hand and shook mine, he introduced himself in a very formal manner, his British accent coming out in a very thick layer.

“ No, it's okay, when you have this job it kind of comes with it to be noticed “ he sent me a reassuring smile

“ I'm sorry but how old are you? You just seem so young “

“ I'm y/a “

“ y/a really? and who are you playing? “

“ I'm playing Hannah the Cheshire cat “

“ Ahh, ofcourse, you are the mystery actor we were expecting today “

“ mystery? you mean they didn't tell you anything about me? “

“ Not a thing “

That must be why the audition was held so late. Or they  didn’t tell anyone who the actor would be because the audition was held so late. Right when I was going to ask something else Daisy reappeared at the door and dragged me away to costume. This woman wasn’t much for words and even if she was gentle or late was not frequently used in her vocabulary.

********

I had now been here for almost six months and started to feel at home, I had gotten to know all the actors involved, Chris H and Tom the most, and were currently sitting beside main stage and reading a book I had gotten as a birthday gift. Yepp today, y/b was my birthday. One of the few things I didn't tell anyone here. Birthdays had never been a big deal to me, why start now?  I was so far away in my thoughts that I didn't hear Tom appear until he waved his hand in front of my face.

“ Hey n/n, you still with me? “

n/n was the nickname everyone called me, and I have to admit I liked it. It made me feel like I was a part of the family, that I was a part of something. A bit cryptic I answered him back that I was in fact, still here, I had just zoned out a bit. Thinking. He looked at me with apologetic eyes. Whatever he wanted to say must be sensitive, I thought.

“ Speaking of thinking me and the others have done some thinking and…  We have come to the conclusion that we have celebrated nearly everyone's birthday except yours. Now, you don't have to tell me if you don’t want to but…”

I didn’t let him finish and cut him of mid-sentence.

“ It’s okay, I just didn't think it was that big of a deal I mean I am just me after all “

for a moment my smile faltered but I quickly covered it up. Tom looked a bit upset when the words left my mouth. I don’t know why, why would someone as special as him care about me?

“ Not that big of a deal!!!  Now you listen to me y/f/n to celebrate your birthday is a very big of a deal especially when you are young. And on set birthdays are special because it brings the family together and we celebrates everyones birthdays, even Downey lets us celebrate his!”

By now Tom was really upset and it was all my fault. I felt more guilty than ever before. Maybe I should have told him sooner, or at least not made him feel like this, but now it was definitely too late and that is also what I told him.looking down.

“ Y/N. Y/N, look at me “

he gently shook my shoulders and lifted my shin up so my teary eyes met his kind, blue orbs.

“ I didn't mean to make you upset “

“ you didn't make me upset “

“ Are you sure? I’m sorry I- “

“ Don't apologize. What exactly did you mean by to late? “

I looked down in my book sheepishly as I told him that my birthday was today. He looked surprised then a emotion I couldn’t read flashed through his eyes. He excused himself before leaving in a hurry, it wasn't until later in the afternoon I heard from Tom again, not in person though, just a simple text.

Hey n/n

get to the city hotel at 7pm

tonight bring a sleeping bag a pillow and your

pj:s the receptionist shows the way

/Tom

Now what in holy hell did that man have in mind now.

*********

As I entered the city hotel with my bag the receptionist looked up. it was a young woman looking not so much older then myself. She asked for my name and a look of recognition came onto her face. She walked up to me from behind the counter with a key card and a kind looking smile. She told me to follow her as she started her way to the elevator, holding the door for me. We went all the way up to the top floor and I followed her to the end of the corridor until we stopped in front of a door with the word Penthouse on it. Surely I am not staying here, right?

The young lady gave me the key and sent me a smile before walking back to the elevator.

It couldn't hurt to check it out right? I mean it wasn't my fault if the receptionist gave me the wrong room. As I opened the door and entered the light flickered on and my on set family all jumped out from their hiding places. Everyone was there. Tom and Tom, Sebastian, Mark, Mackie, scarlett, Benedict, Robert and all of the Chrises. I could already see how this would end up in some sort of chrisis. When they all screamed surprise at the top of their lungs I was crying of happiness already. Tom came up to me and gave me a hug.

“ No, No, No you were not supposed to cry “

“ Sorry, it's just that no one has ever done something like this to me before”

“ Well you deserve it kiddo” Robert said as he came up to the two of us. That made me laugh as I dried my eyes.

“ Do you ever stop acting like Tony? “ that's when Mackie walked up and gave me a hug.

“ You know he doesn't act he is Tony stark for real” That just made everyone laugh. “ Well what do you want to do first? there is movies, presents, games and cake.”

“ Games?, do you guys have a wii here?”

“ of course we do” Benedict said and pointed me to a box beside the big screen TV.

When I searched through the box without finding the one I was looking for I was just about to give up when I reached the bottom. There it was, The best game ever, Just dance. I asked everyone in an expectant manner if it was ok if we played it. The only response I got was that since it was my birthday, we could do whatever I desired. I cheerfully put in the game in the player took the remote and faced the others.

“ Okay we need to clear the space in front of the TV “

just as I finished my sentence everybody helped pushing the furniture to the walls. The space that were left were huge, it was almost as big as a regular apartment living room without any furniture. when I started the game Tom (Holland) spoke up.

“ Hey since you are the birthday girl here you should play the first round to open it all up “

“ Sure “

was all I said before turning to the TV to select a song. I choose the hardest level that were available which just happened to be OMG by coach Celine . (Watch this to understand what i mean)

“ You sure you should take the hardest level kid? why not start with something easier? “

Robert asked. And that's when it hit me. I haven't told them I have danced since the age of 7 or the fact that I have played this a million times before. I only turned my head in the direction of the sofas and smiled wickedly at them all. I turned around slow enough to see the questioning looks everyone had on and it was hilarious to say the least. I took my pose and danced my heart out just to show of a little bit and as usual I reach the platinum score.

When the song ended and I turned around to face the others the looks of pure surprise on their faces made me smile even bigger. Tom (Hiddleston) rose to his feet and walked up to me with a serious face.

“ Why didn't you tell me you could dance like that”

“ Nobody asked me “ I said with a playful look in my eyes. we played for hours, until I were the last one standing and Chris H declared it was time for cake. The cake they had bought were beautiful. And it was my favourite kind. Marzipan. On top it was two candles shaped as y/a and around on the sides they had gotten the person who made it write the text from the ring of power from Lord of the rings and The hobbit.

“ Okay who knows about my obsession for The hobbit? “

everyone gave me that “really” look.

“ come on n/n that's all you could talk about when you saw that Benedict were in the cast “ Tom (Hiddleston) Answered.

When the cake were eaten and the wishes were wished we placed the living room furniture back to normal and spread out our sleeping bags. There was enough room for all of us in the penthouse and we had all chosen one to sleep in later but we ended up having a Hobbit marathon and everyone fell asleep close to the end of the second movie. It was understandable though, almost everyone had worked since early in the morning and the clock was way past midnight.

I suspected it was pretty close to 3 in the morning before the last movie in the trilogy ended. After turning the TV and DVD of I started sneaking out of Toms arms. I had ended up sharing sofa with the one and only god of mischief himself and curled myself up against his chest. When I got out of the living room I could relax. Nobody had caught me. I didn't feel sleepy yet so I walked out on the balcony and looked at the city lights, It is beautiful this high up. I was so caught up in my thoughts again to notice that Tom (Hiddleston) was stepping out through the door too.

“ Why are you standing out here alone? “

I twirled around in surprise but calmed down when I saw that it was just Tom. The tall man had become a little of a father figure to me the more I got to know him, but I would never tell him that. I didn't feel like explaining why I didn't really like my birthday so I came up with the quickest lie I could muster, Which was that I needed some fresh air. Very original.

On my 5th birthday my dad had told my mum he was leaving her. And after that nothing were the same again. After my dad left, money was tight, She had gotten fired from her job and we lost our house. The flat we got was not in a child proof miljoe and so my mum took the last of her savings to send me to her relative here in New york. I haven't heard from her or my dad since. I had quite often wondered how it was to have a real father. I had Anna, mums relative on some level, and she was my mom now, she had custody of me, but I knew that she didn't really want me living there for much longer.

“ You don't have to tell me n/n, but I know you and something is wrong. I have seen how you've been acting today and something is troubling you, care to tell me what? “

Tom came to a stop beside me leaning against the railing.

“ it's stupid “ I said, wanting a father was just a stupid wish and he would surely laugh at me.

“ If its makes you upset it is not stupid “ he answered.

After a lot of thought I decided to tell him the whole story. The whole time I talked he just stood there listening and when I finished he just hugged me and told me that it wasn’t stupid at all, and asked me why I didn’t tell him sooner. that's  when I just said it. Maybe it would destroy our friendship, or whatever you could call this relationship, but then fine. I told him that I was scare of what he would think since he was like a father to me, and I didn’t want to lose him too. He cut me of before I could finish.

“ How about we say I am your father then?”

It took a while before my brain could process what he had just said.

“ You mean like you acting like my father?”

his answer really surprised me but made me the happiest I had been in a long time.

“ No, I mean like me being your father, you can come live with me after the filming, I know you don’t really have a home here in America, or anywhere, based on what you’ve told me. And if you like it, maybe we could even make it official”

By now I was crying rivers but I didn't care because somebody wanted me. Somebody in this evil world actually wanted me for being ME. I  couldn’t believe it and I was sure it was either a terrible joke or a very vivid dream, but I didn’t care.

“ you would do that for me? “

“ A thousand times over because you are like a daughter to me so why not do it real ? “

A year later....

Tom were true to his word that night on my y/a birthday and he actually adopted me. I even changed my last name to Hiddleston just to make it feel real. And as I suspected Anna hadn't put up much of a fight when I talked to her about it. She was actually happy for me and since she saw how much it meant to me she signed the documents without any resistance. For the first time in my life I felt at home and safe. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met Tom, my father.

We were currently standing on the set of my new job. After the Avengers I had told him that I didn't think acting was the right thing for me and brought up a long lost dream of mine. Being in the dance crew to the Just dance yearly update. I was in full makeup and costume, I actually looked ridiculous covered in the white body paint. I was waiting for my song ‘Thumbs’ with sabrina carpenter to come on, I had practiced for this moment for months, and I can honestly say it was the second best three minutes of my life. After my filming was done I met up with my father for movie night. One of many to come.

Permanent tag list:

@theincaprincess

@indelwen-of-mirkwood

@gaia-writes-stuff

@deepestfirefun

@sdavid09

@themarauderstheoutsidersandpeggy

[demigodofhoolemere]

Spoiler filled version. Seriously. You’ve been warned.

~~~

OH BOY. OH BOY. OHHHHHHHHH BOY.

I.... I cannot. I don’t know where to begin. So much happened. Some things I saw coming, some things I didn’t.

To echo my spoiler free review, it’s EMOTIONAL. I don’t think I ever stopped crying the whole movie. It started right from the get-go and did not let up until I walked out of the theater.

In regards to deaths:

- Called it that Heimdall was going to die (and that it would be him that Thor screams about), but it still wasn’t easy to watch. I adore him, especially since Ragnarok. I’m just glad that his death had weight rather than just getting killed in the same fell swoop as the rest of their people, and that he was given his due and proper recognition that he deserves because Thor was specifically avenging him when he almost killed Thanos. (Certainly better than what the Warriors Three got. Not that I’m still upset about that or anything...)

- I completely expected Loki to die, and as time went on it became clearer that it would happen quickly. While it leaves many wishes unfulfilled (like actually having a decent sized role to play or meeting other heroes and gaining some understanding from them - not necessarily forgiveness because that’s a big ask, but at least understanding - and perhaps even making friends), I can’t argue with the way they did it. I understand why they did what they did and though I’m kind of traumatized, I’m not mad like I thought I would be. My heart is very broken and I’m not sure I’ve ever sobbed quite that hard over a fictional death (and quite frankly it probably ranks as the most I’ve ever sobbed over fiction, unless I’m forgetting something, but either way it’s up there and it was certainly the most audible), and I wish there were a way to undo it but I get the feeling that this will be permanent (annoyingly driven home by Thanos immediately proclaiming that there will be no resurrections), and... weirdly enough, even though I’m destroyed, I think I can also be at peace with that because of the way it was done. He got to stick it to Thanos. He got to save his brother. He got to reclaim his identity as a son of Odin. He got his turn to brag that he’s got the Hulk on his side. I think he was very much finally back to being the Loki he used to be, the person he was in his youth with Thor, and he’s embraced that inside of him and he’s embraced fighting for what he believes in, what he cares about, and he’s back to being the voice of wisdom and even optimism (”the sun will shine on us again” fun fact I am actually a very dead person writing this). That’s all I ever wanted as an end for Loki. That said, I would not have chosen to have him choked to death. Something quicker and less painful to watch would have been preferable. The image of Loki having the life choked out of him, his veins popping and his eyes bugging out, hearing the crack of his bones, seeing his motionless body and lifeless eyes.... that’s going to haunt my dreams for a long time. Utterly horrific and I don’t think he deserved to be in that much pain in the end. He’s paid his dues, let him have a little more peace than to have his neck caved in by his torturer as he’s forced to look him in the eye as the last thing he ever sees. And seeing poor Thor crawling to his body and crying... I can’t take it. Letting Loki make his choice and have a heroic last stand, that’s emotionally satisfying, and if he doesn’t come back then I think his story ended the only way it was really bound to end and I can find peace in that (though there will 10000% be days where I will make up literally anything as an excuse to bring him back, because I’m me and I love him, and that may well end up being every day considering my emotions have been giving me whiplash for the last few hours alone). I just wish the visual were not as sickening to watch. And, I mean, while I’m discussing what I would change, I wouldn’t let him die to begin with. I love and appreciate the sacrifice, but if I could make it so he didn’t have to die at all, I’d pick that without hesitation. And if they happen to want to bring him back miraculously (unlikely but... whatever), I would be very happy. It’d have to be in a way that doesn’t undercut his sacrifice, because that was very meaningful for him as a character - though we would still know that he did choose to do it in the original version of reality, so no matter what they changed, his heart would have always been in that place anyway and that’s what matters. I care more that he lives. I’m devastated and I just want him back.

- I definitely predicted that Gamora would be kidnapped by Thanos, because there were trailer clips where she’s with Peter, Drax, and Mantis, but in clips that seemed to take place later on, she was mysterious absent. But opposite to what I expected, Gamora was definitely in much more danger than Nebula. Now, I have a feeling that we’ll still see Gamora again, but that didn’t make it less horrifying to see anyway. I love her and she was in so much anguish this whole movie, it broke my heart. Undone or not, seeing her lifeless body was awful, and so was poor Peter’s reaction to her death. He was so broken and it hurt so much to see.

- You gotta make me watch Vision die twice in the span of, like, 3 minutes? Thanks for that double heart attack. Like Gamora, I have hope that he might be able to come back, but it’s still horrifying to watch, in two different and equally traumatic ways. I don’t like seeing his body become a lifeless lump of machinery. He’s more than that.

- I expect everyone that died in the half-the-universe culling will be restored. I’d be much more concerned if so many of the ones taken away were not ones who I know come back in the future. Still awful, of course, but I definitely felt those deaths much less, because at that point, you have to undo something like that. It’s the ones who died otherwise that I’m really worried for, because even though I’m holding onto hope, I know that some things will be permanent, and it’s not likely to be the deaths of half of the entire universe.

Other emotions:

- I was wondering if that Asgardian distress signal was Loki, it was just too staticky for me to be sure (and you KNOW the audio really is scratchy when I’m not completely certain that I’m hearing Tom Hiddleston’s voice), but apparently it really was him which really really hurts. EDIT: I forgot exactly what he said in the distress signal and HOLY CRAP I’M HURTING EVEN WORSE. “Please, help us, there are families on board, innocent people, children.” KILL ME!!!!

- Seeing more of Gamora’s backstory and seeing her let all of her emotions loose absolutely wrecked me.

- I loved seeing Thor finally break down after all he’s lost. Totally broke my heart, and really puts in perspective how alone he is now. I loved that Rocket was trying so hard to help him find something good that he could still have left, and genuinely listened to him.

- What is it with one half of a couple asking the other one to kill them?! First Gamora with Peter, then Vision with Wanda. You’re killing me here, guys, I’m not strong enough for that kind of angst.

- My levels of ‘oh man Tony could die’ have fluctuated a lot over time, and going into the movie now I honestly couldn’t tell you one way or the other whether I expected him to live or not, but seeing him stabbed was TERRIFYING. In a weird way I also sort of figured they’d find a way to fix it, which is completely contradictory to my concerns for his life, but for some reason when it came down to the moment, despite my horror, I felt like they wouldn’t go through with it, which I’m endlessly thankful for (he could still die in Avengers 4 but I’m not going there). I’ve never been so indebted to Stephen (it feels a little like Luke Alvez on Criminal Minds, in that he keeps doing awesome things to protect other characters and it just makes you go ‘oh thank goodness, that’s another one I owe you my life for’). I relate to Stephen because I, too, would risk half the universe for Tony Stark. (And I was very glad to see him have a difficult time when actually faced with the choice between the universe and an individual - he’s a very logical and moral character and he has to have his priorities, but the way he’d previously stated that he wouldn’t hesitate was insensitively worded and just didn’t feel right, because the core of Stephen’s character is the desire to preserve life, no one is any less important than others. He is first and foremost a doctor, and he wouldn’t be able to stand by and watch someone die if there was something he could do. Even if he chooses the majority in the end, he would still have serious struggle.) Of course, I totally think that Stephen giving over the Time Stone was not only about Tony, and definitely about reaching the outcome where they win. His last words were, “There was only one way,” (or something to that effect, I don’t trust my memory for exact dialogue) which tells me that he saw that doing this would eventually lead to something that would end up saving them.

- Steve watched Bucky die again. Rocket watched Groot die again. Okoye watched her king and friend die. The Guardians watched each other die. Everyone watched people they cared about be decimated to flakes. Thanks for that.

- WHEN PETER WAS THE LAST TO GO AND HE WAS JUST CLINGING DESPERATELY TO TONY AND CRYING THAT HE DOESN’T WANT TO GO, HE WAS JUST A VULNERABLE CHILD BEGGING FOR THE COMFORT OF A FATHER, I CAN’T I CAN’T

- TONY’S WORST FEAR IS EVERYONE DYING WHILE HE HAS TO LIVE WITH IT AND NOW IT’S HAPPENED RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS EYES

- I just can’t help but feel ill for Tom Hiddleston, I know how much he loves and genuinely cares for and empathizes for Loki, how much of his soul he’s poured into him. I can’t imagine how he must feel to say goodbye to the character and especially to film that scene.

Character interactions:

- Character interactions were so so good. Old friends got to have more time together and lots of new dynamics were created. I truly appreciate the attention given to these relationships, because this is a very character-driven movie, and cinematic universe, and the only way this was gonna work was to work with the characters not just as individuals but as friends and allies. There were a couple of dynamics that I’d have liked to see more of (specifically Stephen and Peter P, because their friendship in comics is so sweet and longstanding and I was just expecting more than there was), but I’m very pleased with what we got.

- Wanda and Vision are faves of mine and seeing them together always makes me happy (until it makes me sad, of course). I loved the development of their relationship, they’re so precious and they made me cry so many times.

- I loved what was done with Peter and Gamora. They kissed, they said their ‘I love you’s, there was such deep understanding and partnership between them, and it got so emotional so many times. It’s all I could have asked for.

- Never expected to have a new brotp of Thor and Rocket but I love it. It was interesting to see their different humors come together, and especially lovely to see more emotional moments.

- Tony and Stephen is probably the dynamic I was most looking forward to and I wasn’t disappointed. Their bickering was a lot of fun, and they got to have some wonderful serious moments as well. All in all, the start of a beautiful Awesome Facial Hair Bros relationship.

- Gamora and Nebula’s concern for each other just destroyed me.

- Thor and Loki also killed me of course. Some things never change with time and my feelings about those two is one of those.

- I’m so glad they expanded upon Stephen and Wong’s friendship! Such casual and domestic stuff like needing money for food or sharing a favorite ice cream flavor. Exactly what I wanted.

- Tony and Peter P being father and son messes me up so much, I love them.

- Absolutely adored the dynamic between Wanda, Okoye, and Natasha. Gonna need more of this friendship.

- Lots of other things that I might add when I remember them

Things that shocked me:

- Clint genuinely was not in this movie. When the Russos said they’ve planned a long game for him I kind of figured it would be part of this, not just Avengers 4. Even just five seconds of screentime? End credits scene? No Scott either? Ok then. I guess the big secret of why they’re not in trailers or on posters actually is because they’re literally not in it at all.

- Speaking of the end credits scene, I lost my freaking mind and nearly shrieked out loud when I saw the Captain Marvel logo. I figured it had to be her that Nick was calling. I’m so glad that Carol is coming, I can’t even express it.

- RED SKULL?!?! My jaw has never dropped so low so quickly. I wondered if he would ever come back in the future but this was totally unexpected.

- By some sort of complete and total miracle, Steve LIVED. He was the one I was most geared up to lose, and I still fully expect him to die in Avengers 4, but for now he’s actually freaking alive which is truly the last thing I ever saw coming, and quite the relief. Nothing makes you appreciate a character quite like thinking they’re going to die.

- Have to say, I expected Ebony Maw to be a bigger problem. Not that I’m disappointed, I’m glad he’s out of the way so I don’t have to worry about him anymore, but I was really expecting them to pull something where Stephen gets taken over by him like the Infinity comics. Good for Stephen though, so I’m certainly glad to be wrong in this case.

Hope:

- Unless Avengers 4 undoes it, which doesn’t feel likely, I don’t have much hope for Loki outside of my very anxiously pretending that he can get up and walk it off, but while logic says his chances are slim, the rest of me can’t say goodbye to him just yet and I can’t write him off as permanently dead until Avengers 4 does whatever it does. There’s a long shot possibility that is him suddenly having the ability to create tangible copies and so it could be a copy that he sent to make Thanos think he’s killed Loki and meanwhile the real one would be out looking for help and going unsearched for because they wouldn’t know to search for him. Obviously a long shot that requires suspension of disbelief in regards to his powers, and I’m sure it won’t happen, but to save him I’d totally be willing to overlook a nonsensical solution. Have Stephen go back in time far enough that it can be changed. I don’t care. If they wanted to, I think you could find a way to do it without being ridiculous. He did disappear for a few minutes and suddenly came back to talk to Thanos when he could’ve left (not that he’d leave Thor, though, unless he knew EXACTLY what he was doing). No matter what happens, this stuff is definitely what I’m gonna use when I find myself needing to pretend that he’s fine. (I do wonder if part of the reason I’m somehow calm about it at the moment even though it so thoroughly destroyed me is because my emotions about it were way too strong and now my mind is trying to reject reality in order to protect itself.)

- Gamora could still come back if Thanos is able to do it, or if it gets undone by whatever the heck is happening in Avengers 4. I sincerely hope so, because she doesn’t deserve what happened to her at all. Now that she finally has family and people who love her and would never hurt her, she should not have to just be used as a sacrifice by her abusive “father”.

- They seemed to be setting up the idea that Vision can survive without the Mind Stone, and Shuri was working on the way to achieve it, so there’s still a chance that she could somehow revive him. The grayscale and the chunk out of his forehead looks bad, but it’s potentially fixable, 1) because it’s Shuri and 2) because while Vision is very human, his body is still mechanical, and machines can be rebooted.

- Again, I expect that the folks who crumbled away will be brought back. You can’t really pull something like that without undoing it.

Miscellaneous:

- I really liked how many shots looked like they could have just been live action comic panels. One thing that stuck out to me in particular was Drax as a pile of parts and Mantis as a ribbon. Totally the kind of insanity you’d find in the pages of a comic.

- Loved seeing Stephen’s various uses of magic. So much of it felt and looked VERY comics-like. My favorite has to be him sitting cross-legged in midair, because he does that so constantly in comics and it made me so happy to see come to life. I almost missed what Tony and Peter Q were talking about because I was just so happy looking at Stephen floating in the background. And he had that more eloquent way of speaking as well. “Hither to undreamt of” is totally something he’d say.

- Those ten seconds of Stephen in comfy, casual clothes. I always forget that he would actually ever wear anything but that same outfit anymore.

- That brief interaction between Bucky and Rocket made my entire life.

- “Wong, you’re officially invited to my wedding!”

- I loved Rhodey sticking it to General Ross.

- SOME SERIOUS IRON BABY FORESHADOWING, DON’T LET ME DOWN AVENGERS 4

- Loved seeing Gamora singing to the music, so sweet.

- Peter Parker is adorable. Nothing to add. He’s just precious.

- Sam was a gift as always.

- I love that Mantis has been told the story of the great hero Kevin Bacon. Also that was so cute with the Peters talking about Footloose, though it quickly becomes disheartening for poor Peter Q.

- I loved the moment between T’Challa and M’Baku and that they consider each other brothers now.

- My love for the Cloak of Levitation knows no bounds. (Here’s a question: did the Cloak disappear because Stephen was wearing it, or did it just happen to be part of the half anyway?)

- I love seeing Bucky having adjusted to a more Wakandan way of living and actually being healthy and happy and SMILING. He’s finally becoming himself again and I’m so happy for him.

- Soul Stone finally revealed!

- Very interested in whatever the heck is happening with Bruce and Hulk. And I’m glad that they finally seem to be confirming that they are two separate beings, because the rest of the MCU up to this point has been really unclear about that, they go back and forth on what the case is.

- Also very interested in further interactions between the survivors. Tony and Nebula sounds like a fascinating dynamic and I can’t wait to see how they figure out a way to get off of Titan, and you’ve got characters like Rocket and Thor who have completely lost their families and are now stuck in Wakanda with the interesting assortment of remaining Avengers.

- I just can’t wait to see what the heck happens in Avengers 4, especially what parts the remaining characters have to play and particularly the ones who had little screen time or weren’t present at all.

- There’s a certain satisfaction in Tony finally being proven right about future alien threats.

- Also GREAT satisfaction in other characters finally learning about and acknowledging that Thanos was behind New York.

- “I am Groot.” “I am Steve Rogers.”

- It’s hilarious and adorable to me that Groot-speak is genuinely an elective language class on Asgard and that Thor took it.

- So awful seeing Nebula pulled apart, and to realize the extent of her replacements.

- Such cruel irony that Stephen gets tortured by what was designed to be a surgery tool.

- TONY JUST BEING A WONDERFUL PERSON AND TAKING THE TIME TO HELP A WOMAN UP AND MAKING SURE THE GUY WHO CRASHED HIS CAR GOT HELP, I LOVE HIM

- Will probably add more

~~~

This movie was completely heartbreaking, for sure. But it was done in a way that respected the characters and their stories, and for that I can’t be as upset as I expected to be. I’m weirdly at peace with what happened, despite the effect it’s all had on me (probably shock). There are things I expect to be undone in Avengers 4, and things that most likely will not, and much as that pains me I think, shockingly, I might actually be able to handle it (eventually, I’m still reeling right now) because of the way they did everything. This was really a very good movie and I’m glad that my faith in the Russo brothers’ ability to pull such a thing off was not misplaced. The plot was fascinating, the pacing was excellent, the acting was incredibly moving as always. Aside from the pain, and somehow even during the pain at times, I actually had a good time.

[imjustthemechanic]

The French Mistake

Part 1/? - A Visitor Part 2/? - The Kulturhistorisk Museum Heist Part 3/? - Cutscene Part 4/? - The Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 5/? - Breathless

Saving the world will have to wait a few hours - there are pick-ups to film.

The most obvious solution, of course, was to do exactly the opposite of whatever it was Loki had done to get them here.  The obvious problem with that solution was that they had no idea how to do that.

“We’ll need the rune stone and the tesseract,” Steve observed.  “The rune stone will be in the museum, probably, but if the Avengers are just a movie in this universe, then where’s the tesseract?”

“Maybe in storage with SHIELD,” Nat suggested.  “Maybe in Asgard.  Maybe at the bottom of the ocean, there’s no way to tell from here.”

None of those were comforting possibilities.  “Once we have them, we’ll have to figure out how to program the rune stone,” Steve went on, remembering how Loki had worked with the gold pieces he’d inserted in it.

“Loki obviously knew how to do that, and Thor might, too,” Nat said.  “I don’t think even Loki is foolish enough to do something like universe-hopping without a fallback plan, so we can probably assume he can get us back even if Thor can’t.  We just have to find him.”

“And make him,” said Steve, who suspected they’d have a hard time making Loki do anything.

“But if they’ve ended up where their actors were, like we did,” Nat held up the notes she’d made, “then we have their names.  That’s a good start.”

“Then let’s not waste any more time,” said Steve.

He closed the laptop and stood, but just then, Dodger began to bark.  A moment later, somebody knocked on the trailer door.  Steve glanced at Natasha, who shrugged, so he got up and went to answer it.

The caller was as tall, thin man with a mustache, who immediately leaned down to give the dog a head rub.  “Hey, Dodger!” he said with a smile, then straightened up to talk to Steve.  “Thought I’d let you know, it’s almost two.  Ridley needs you two back in makeup.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Steve.  “Tell him we’ll be right there.”

He shut the door again and went to the closet to grab something more weather-appropriate than his track suit – but when he happened to look out the bedroom window, he saw that the stranger had not left.  He was standing at the door, waiting for them.  The trailer had only one door, and the windows didn’t open far enough for Steve to climb out.  He momentarily considered just knocking the guy out and fleeing, but as Natasha had said, these people really weren’t a threat.  They were just trying to make a movie, and had no idea that their stars were no longer their stars…

… and, Steve realized, he still couldn’t tell them.  In their own universe, Steve and Natasha would have been arrested if they’d told anyone their real names.  In this one, they would probably be considered insane.

“You got any ideas?” he asked Nat.

“Bide our time and wait for an opportunity,” she replied.  “When we get a chance to leave without having to make a big production out of it, we’ll leave.”

“So we just go on set?  And do what?” asked Steve.  “We don’t even know what movie we’re making.”

“It’s called Breathless,” Nat replied authoritatively.  “Ridley Scott is directing.  It’s loosely based on an incident on the Space Station Mir in 1997, when there was a fire and explosion.  I read the script pages they gave me,” she added.

Of course she had.  Nat never missed an opportunity to learn something.  “You’re taking this very well,” Steve observed.

“Believe it or not, this isn’t my first alternate universe,” said Nat.  “Last time, though, we had an open portal home whenever we needed it.”

The man with the mustache, who said his name was Henry, led them into another trailer parked just outside the building.  This one was much more utilitarian, boxy and windowless, and inside was a row of mirrors and makeup tables, separated by cubicle partitions.  Henry got Steve and Natasha settled at two of these, and the woman named Maddy returned with cups of coffee to pass out.

“Okay,” she said, handing one to Steve.  “Since the Russian doesn’t meet ScarJo’s high standards, instead we’re gonna grab some extra close-ups.  Chris, we’ll get you into a pre-fire EVA helmet on greenscreen two, for the first cargo bay sequence.”  She gave him a couple of pages, and then moved on.  “Scarlett, you’ll be in a post-fire B jumpsuit for Olga’s message to her brother.  Tabitha!” she called out.

“Already on it!” a voice replied from just outside.

Henry got to work, wiping old makeup off Steve’s face and dabbing a new layer on.  Meanwhile, a woman with dark hair in a pixie cut, who turned out to be the previously unseen Tabitha, brought in the costumes.  Steve’s was a big cumbersome thing that he recognized as the upper half of a spacesuit.  She hung it on a hook on the wall, and went on to deliver costumes to the rest of the cast.

Steve looked down at the pages he’d been given.  These ones had bent corners and multiple corrections in blue pen, as if they’d been used before.  His eye caught the highlighted words Rankin gazes in awe at the blue vista of Earth, and he felt his stomach turn inside-out all over again.

This was no good.  Steve could do a lot of things, but acting wasn’t one of them.  He couldn’t even tell little white lies, much less simulate gazing in awe at anything.  If he couldn’t make I don’t know sound convincing, what the hell was he supposed to do with it’s like you could reach out and touch it?

Maddy came back to look over Steve’s shoulder while Henry worked on his face.  “Any questions?” she asked.

The first one that sprang to mind was can I be excused?, but Steve suspected he already knew what the answer would be.  “Where’s Dodger?” he asked.  Who looked after the dog while the owner was filming?

“Relax,” Henry assured him.  “Paulette will take him for his walk, on schedule.”

Through the partition, Steve could hear Natasha laughing at something one of her own assistants had said.  “Oh, that sounds just like Mark!” she said delightedly.

Steve wondered who Mark was.  Then he wondered if Natasha knew.

The makeup took an awfully long time.  Steve had seen both Natasha and Peggy do their faces up inside of ten minutes and come out looking fabulous, but this took nearly forty-five, and as far as Steve could tell from his reflection he looked no different at the end of it than he had at the beginning.  Next, Tabitha and Henry helped Steve into his half-a-spacesuit, which weighed far more than it looked like it did, and led him back into the studio building.

The long process had at least given him time to look at the lines he was expected to say, and it looked as if all that was happening in the scene was Matt Rankin looking at the earth and talking about how cool it was.  Steve was starting to tell himself that he could do that.  When he’d done the Captain America movies in the 40’s, he’d been playing himself – it hadn’t been very good, but when filming a scene he’d been able to look back at the real events it was based on, and try to imitate what he’d said or felt at the time.  He’d never actually seen the earth from space, of course, but he could remember the awe of watching the Chi’Tauri vessels come through the wormhole or something like that.  If he just got himself into the right headspace, it couldn’t be that hard…

Henry and Tabitha showed him into a room where there was a green wall, and positioned him in front of it.  A camera rig rolled right up to his face, making him lean away involuntarily.

“Okay,” said a woman standing next to the camera.  “Let’s start with the wordless ones.  Awe at the blue vista, please.”

Steve blinked and looked around.  “Where is it?” he asked.

“Where’s what?” said the woman.

“The blue vista,” he clarified.  “What am I supposed to look at?”

“Same as last time,” she said, as if this were reassuring or even comprehensible.  “Right there.”

She pointed at the ceiling.  There was another green panel up there.

Steve felt his moment of confidence drain away.  How was he supposed to express awe at the blue vista when all he was looking at was a green panel?  “It’s not even blue!” he protested.

“You’re an actor,” the woman replied.  “Use your imagination.  “Lights!”

The ambient light in the room went out, and a huge cluster of blue-white bulbs came on overhead.  In the heavy spacesuit costume, Steve immediately felt like he was overheating.

He tried, though.  The best thing he could come up with to imagine was the opening sequence from the Planet Earth documentary series, which definitely featured a blue vista rolling by.  He could sort of imagine actually being in space with that looming over him.  Before he could really get into it, though, the camera moved even closer, and he couldn’t stop himself from looking directly into the lens.

“Cut!” said the woman.  “Try it again.”

It was no good, though.  The camera was right there.  He couldn’t not look at it – if he tried, he became paranoid that it would run right over him.  Then there was the inescapable knowledge that he was being watched.  That was what Steve had always hated most about the War Bonds ads, or any television appearance, the constant presence of the staring audience.  He’d had to take Peggy’s advice and pretend there was a one-way mirror between them.  The whole thing just made him feel so silly.

Eventually the second-unit director got fed up and decided to try something else.  One of the grips read out what was supposed to be dialogue from mission control, while Steve, in the role of Mission Specialist Matt Rankin, replied.

“How’s the view, Rankin?” the script-reader asked.

Steve took a deep breath.  “Spectacular.  It’s like I could reach out and touch it.”

“Can you see your house from up there?”

“I can see everybody’s house from up here,” said Steve.

“Cut,” sighed the second-unit director.  “Try it again.  A little passion, Chris?  This isn’t Captain America’s Fitness Challenge.”

Steve wanted to retract his head into the spacesuit costume like a turtle into its shell.  Why couldn’t he have landed in an alternate universe where people didn’t remember Captain America’s Fitness Challenge?

At last the second-unit director gave up in disgust and told everybody to take a break.  Henry and Tabitha helped Steve out of the heavy spacesuit costume and gave him a bottle of water to re-hydrate after standing under the hot studio lights.  As he stood there chugging it, wiggling uncomfortably in a shirt practically pasted to him by sweat, Ridley Scott entered the room.

“How’s it going?”

“We’re having an Off Day,” the second-unit director said, looking at Steve out of the sides of her eyes.

“I’m… just not feeling it,” said Steve.  “I need to go look at some space pictures or something.”

“Apparently we used up all our good work in that stunt this morning,” Scott grumbled.  “Scarlett’s suddenly having trouble deciding what a Russian accent sounds like.”

From out in the hall came Natasha’s voice.  “Russia has the surface area of the moon,” she said.  “If you want a ‘Russian accent’, you need to be more specific.”

Steve finished his water and wiped his forehead.  “Could I get another one of these?” he asked hopefully.

There was a cooler in the makeup trailer with water and sodas in it.  Steve dug a second bottle out, and downed it while Natasha lounged in one of the chairs examining her fingernails, seemingly having a great time playing the spoiled starlet.

“How’d you do?” she asked Steve with a smirk.

“I’m not sure I’m speaking to you,” said Steve.  He mopped his forehead with the edge of his t-shirt.  “I don’t think I need to, anyway, you were probably watching the whole thing.”

“Actually, no,” said Nat, “but I’m hoping we can see the dailies!  Anyway.”  She sat up and held out her phone.  “I didn’t learn anything about the tesseract, but that’s not surprising.  I did manage to learn, though, that Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor, is currently on sabbatical with his family in Australia.”

The picture she’d found was of a smiling man in a jacket and tie, with short blond hair and beard stubble.  He did look like Thor, although it was strange to see him with his hair cut.  “I thought I was Chris,” said Steve.

“Apparently there’s a lot of Chris around here,” said Nat.

“Any sign of a chance to escape yet?” Steve asked.  It couldn’t come fast enough.

“A little more bad acting from you ought to do the trick,” Natasha said.  “Sooner or later they’ll just give up.”

“I’m glad I’m good for something,” said Steve.

There was a knock on the door, and without waiting for an answer, another studio employee leaned into the makeup trailer.  This was a thin young woman with long, limp blonde hair under a pink knitted hat.  “Excuse me, Scarlett?” she said to Nat.  “Your husband’s here.”

[burdenedwithgloriousfandoms]

my thoughts on Thor: Ragnarok

SPOILERS AHEAD (duh)

- Loki

- LOKI

- LOKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

- where the fuck was Sif?

- Loki stabbing people with his horns as well as his knife was badass and amazing

- Hela really loves spiky things

- Fenrir was kinda cute

- the rock guy played by Taika Waititi was AWESOME 

- Nick Fury is gonna be pissed at Thor for stealing ‘his look’ and the Avengers are all going to be going OMG THOR WTF HAPPENED WHAT WHAT WHAT

- damn I really did love Asgard why’d you have to destroy it???

- I’ve always loved Heimdall and he was just so badass in this move I loved him even more

- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WILL HULK STAY HULK I NEED MY BANNER I NEED MY SCIENCE BROS

- Loki definitely nicked the tesseract (watch the infinity war trailer peeps)

- the first after credit scene... I reckon Infinity War will have them captured by Thanos near the start, Loki gives Thanos the tesseract (but hopefully he tricks him :D) and Thor gets smashed all the way to the Guardians’ ship

- I really loved Thor and Loki being bros and Loki being kinda awkward about it but Thor is just like ‘ya come and get a hug’

-WHERE WAS JOTUN LOKI OKAY I NEED HIM TO DO THAT JOTUN SHIT PLEASE WE HAVEN’T SEEN IT SINCE THOR 1 OKAY MARVEL STOP IGNORING THE FACT HE’S A FROST GIANT!

- mandatory Chris Hemsworth shirtless scene DAYUM THO

- the Valkyrie was awesome omg (i loved how we all expected her to be badass straight up but nope she’s drunk and falls off a ramp)

- I really loved the humour of the movie XDDDDDD Taika Waititi is AWESOME (lol and even Loki thought calling a wormhole space junk dumping thing the devil’s anus was funny)

- GIVE US INFINITY WAR ALREADY

- the lost eye makeup could have been heaps better

- THE AMOUNT OF SCENES THAT WERE EDITED IN THE TRAILERS SO THEY DIDN’T GIVE STUFF AWAY IT WAS LIKE BASICALLY EVERY SCENE WAS DIFFERENT AND WHAAAATTTT MARVEL THIS IS NOT OKAY

- LOKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

- saw the tlj trailer before the movie and several of my friends were screaming because Reylo

- LOKI

- and now I’m gonna rant about Loki’s costumes and Frost Giant stuff:

I loved Loki’s outfits in this movie omg yesssssss

I did miss his Dark World outfit though… I really love it.

(Also the fact it seems kinda weird seeing Loki wearing pants that aren’t partially covered by the rest of his costume… or maybe that’s only me who thinks that)

I did love how they used a similar helmet as the one in Agent of Asgard, and how it implied stuff. I also loved his clothes towards the beginning of the movie, the green, more casual Asgardian clothes. They remind me of his prison outfit from Dark World, but more leather and more his style.

And although the blue was okay, I didn’t like the fact they seemed to use it without a lot of thought for the character. Blue is an important colour in the Loki parts of Thor movies, at least the first one. I was really hoping they’d mention some stuff about y’know, that whole frost giant thing that they haven’t brought up since Thor 1… I mean they did mention it in the play thingy but come on! We could have at least got to see Loki in his Frost Giant form, or have him revert back to it when fighting Hela, cuz he’s been avoiding the topic for a while now. He could have been forced to use his ice powers (pretty sure he should have some ice powers even though he used the casket to freeze Heimdall in Thor… well, if his excuse is that he hadn’t known he was a Frost Giant for long he should have got used to it by now and it should be a big thing for him to use them (and as a bonus revert to his blue form) and that could have been shown by him facing Hela and deciding he needs to bc they’re all going to die)

The Avengers probably don’t even know what species he is. I think it’s a bit lazy of Marvel to bring up something so important and only use it in one movie.

Or… maybe they’re just waiting til Infinity War (I bloody hope they do, because I’m getting the nasty impression Loki’s going to either die or disappear off after Thor dies or some shit)