#Negativity In Regard To: The MCU

[kismetconstellations]

🔥 + anything Zac Efron related, please & thank you :)

(You can ignore the first one. I should really read instructions all the way through before sending in asks)

No worries. You are totally fine. ^//^

Let's hope this doesn't get too inflammatory.

I'm not a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a variety of reasons, and would prefer Zac never be a part of it.

I think Zac's indie dramas are infinitely more fascinating than his mainstream comedies (they also come with the added bonus of not humiliating and disrespecting him while also objectifying him at every turn), and hope that he continues to do more of them.

Honestly, anything that keeps him out of Hollywood and away from the toxicity of the industry is all right with me.

Seeing his malnourished Baywatch physique continually held up as some sort of "ideal" upsets me to my core. All the more so, knowing just how negatively the whole experience affected him, contributing to his depression and insomnia and causing him to tear up on-camera when he was finally able to eat carbs, again.

This will come as absolutely no shock to anyone who has been following me since 2016, when the world was treated to, as I like to call them, High School Musical Shitstorm: Parts Un and Deux, but I strongly feel that Zac doesn't owe the collective High School Musical fandom any reprisals of his role as the heart and soul of the franchise. Especially when so many people who consider themselves a part of that fanbase are all too keen to minimize or outright ignore Zac and Troy's significance to the original trilogy's success, mock and deride both of them as "boring" or worse, and leave nasty comments like this--

-- on social media posts of members of the cast reuniting. (Please do not seek out or bother any of the people in the above screenshot, by the way. I don't believe that you or any of my other followers would, but it's still a necessary precaution, just in case. Please be kind, everyone. Even when others are not.) I know it's immature and petty on my end, but I don't see why people who behave this way and treat Zac's professional attempts to distance himself from this franchise with scorn and further mockery, even though his past reputation as a "tween heartthrob" still colors directors' perceptions of him, resulting in him needing to prove himself worthy nearly twenty years on, should be rewarded. I feel for the fans who crave a High School Musical reunion because it would take them back to a simpler, happier time in their lives, but the films are right there and always will be there to be revisited at any time. The past is the past for a reason, and Zac, just like anyone else, should be allowed to move on.

Zac was perfectly cast as Phillip Carlyle. There is no one else who could have brought Phillip to life as immaculately, and no actor more deserving of the career revitalization The Greatest Showman delivered tenfold. My sympathies go out to Jeremy Jordan if he legitimately did have to sing live demos of "all of Hugh's songs", as well as Phillip's, before the studio executives while recovering from a nasty bout of laryngitis. That does not, however, make him entitled to a role he never so much as considered auditioning for.

Zac, on the other hand, had already been involved with the production for four years, alluding to a potential upcoming role in a movie musical as early as 2015, and contacting studios on director Michael Gracey's behalf to assist him, Hugh, and the rest of the crew in getting the green light.

Thus, you can imagine how thoroughly it rankles me to see fans of Mr. Jordan insinuating that Zac, a legitimate triple threat, was an inferior choice made to secure the support of Zac's larger fanbase, or- even more deluded- to placate the "ego" of show business veteran Hugh Jackman, who was supposedly "threatened" by Mr. Jordan's vocal prowess.

The Greatest Showman Cast is superior to the High School Musical Cast; in terms of talent, camaraderie, and maturity. You don't see any of them making backhanded comments years later about Zac being their "worst on-screen kiss", or their "favorite scene" with Zac being one where his character was "so dumb". (Even though Troy was very obviously emotionally manipulated into believing that something was going on with Ryan and Gabriella, by Gabriella. That's such a low, douchebaggy thing to say, and my already minimal respect for Lucas Grabeel has dropped to near non-existent because of it.)

---

And, I think that's about it. Thank you so very much for asking, and I sincerely apologize a million times over for it taking me so long to post this response! I've been quite busy babysitting my niece and tending to personal affairs, and haven't had the energy to properly run this blog. But, I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things, and put more lovely things onto my followers' dashboards.

I appreciate your patience, and I hope that these answers prove to be worth the wait. ❤

[kiestrokes]

rant under the cut

bigBIG feelings about this lately:

if you don't vibe with something that someone else likes and is posting about.

move tf along.

quit shitting on things that bring others joy, just because you do not understand the hype. it's giving lack of empathy and human fucking decency.

this is obviously within reason and I'm not talking about shit that is a hard no (i.e. racism, pedophilia, etc.) <- HARD NO, just to be crystal clear.

about to take all my grown ass friends to see Barbie. sit the fuck down and listen up bitches, because we are TOO grown to still be having this conversation.

sometimes those silly little things are what is holding a person together.

I didn't make it to 29 to still be shamed for the things I love.

Sorry.

[musette22]

may i ask why haven’t you watched tfatws? i’ve recently started following you, you don’t watch mcu anymore?

Hi there! Of course you can ask, I don't mind at all. I understand why you'd wonder about that, seeing as this blog is quite heavy on the marvel-related content lol. Basically, I stopped watching mcu movies and shows after Endgame, because it pretty much destroyed all faith I had left in marvel thanks to the way it (in my opinion) royally fucked up Steve's character arc and made all the wrong calls regarding his relationship with Bucky.

It just made me so unbelievably sad and angry, and I hated that, because I genuinely believe that fandom should be about what makes you happy and that was just not the case for me for a while there. So eventually I just decided that it was just better for me to distance myself from canon the mcu, and focus on the things that did still bring me joy, i.e. the headcanons and stories that we as a fandom have created, based on the canon material but diverging enough from it too to make it actually - in my opinion - good and enjoyable (I usually just call it fanon, though I know that's got inherently negative connotations too, but you know what I mean).

I've always been a Stucky shipper first and foremost. Those two boys are a package deal for me, and thinking about - let alone seeing - one of them without the other genuinely upsets me. So unfortunately, that means I can't enjoy any new Bucky content in the mcu anymore either, because it's Bucky in a world where Steve left him, and that's just not a world I want any part of, if that makes sense. So I'm sticking with my own version of events, which is that Bucky and Steve are enjoying life together somewhere, and I'm just going to leave the new movies and shows for others to enjoy!

[maedelin]

Negative Romys (bc I know there must be chill ones out there) @ Roguneto in Xmen 97: “NOOOOOO HOW COULD THE WRITERS DO THIS AND DESTROY ROGUE X REMY?! POOR GAMBIT!!!”

Me: *side-eying all of the Marvel material that clearly shows that Romy content severely outnumbering Roguneto content by a landslide and the same Roguneto content winding up being ruined anyway by later writers just because they can* “Ah, yes…poor Gambit…”

All jokes aside, I wonder if the Romys’ concern is that if Roguneto is positively received = somehow becoming canon in the comics later? Because I know Marvel (and DC) has a history of taking a few things that the movies/shows/ side comics have done that were well received by fans or were anticipated to be well received ahead of time by fans and sometimes the companies themselves and incorporating them into the comics later

(ex. X-23 from X-Men Evolution to actual comics, Tony Stark’s personality eventually just becoming Robert Downey Jr as a comic book character, Samuel Jackson!Nick Fury from Ultimate Marvel to MCU to secret son of original Nick Fury and goes by the same name, Magneto’s Helmet protecting him from telepathy in Xmen First Class Movie to comics, Comic!Rogue’s real first name being a combination of her movie self’s name and that actress’s first name, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver not being related to Magneto after all bc their movie selves weren’t, Gwen Stacy’s fun alternative existence as Spider-Gwen/Woman , Miles Morales’s (yay!) existence, Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal of Loki influencing the comic version of him to become a sad little meow meow, Age of Apocalypse’s version of Changling/Morph being brought into X-Men 97, etc)

, but if one truly counts all of the slight/significant changes Marvel Comics have made to the main timeline because of other material, it’s REALLY not a lot.

There’s no need for anyone who ships Romy (which I also ship in addition to Roguneto bc yay multishipping!) to feel threatened by potential romantic alternatives.

And just in case the romantic ships might be altered after all (not likely): if the Multiverse is a thing, maybe we consider it’s not the end of the world if the relationships in the X-Men animated universe is not 100% going to follow how they played out in the comics.

ALSO also, when all else fails, they can just develop their writing/art skills and make fix-it aus 😆

The chaotic neutral part of me actually kinda still hopes that enough people with get on board with Roguneto though so that the comics will see the enthusiasm for them and bring them back in the main universe and shake things up again or in one of the official alternate universes and give them the love and respect the pairing deserves 🤪

I really appreciate your comments. I suppose there could be concerns from the Romy contingent regarding this. Sadly, I think at this point corporate IP is too dedicated to keeping the status quo maintained as it is for the longest time.

I agree with you, I see her relationship with Magneto as brief trysts in the mainstream universe, and an occasional AU marriage reveal. I think that Rogue and Gambit will remain a couple in the mainstream universe despite this current twist in the '97 series. There's too much time and money spent into the material, merchandise, and story that's been built for Romy in reality across various media, and in the perception of people's memories which sometimes have a rosy nostalgic glow. It takes a lot to re-educate an audience and I don't see corporations having that time and patience.

Jean and Scott will always remain together. Meggan and Brian are a duo for all time. Sue and Reed Richards are going to stay married.

No matter what, the story will always return to that. In this reboot, I think it's to give Magneto an extra angle and further reason to stay at the mansion if you leave in doubt his and Rogue's activities on and off camera.

I think my biggest complaint is how there's a circling of the wagons around Rogue when anyone (but particularly Magneto) is interested in her. It frustrates me because I believe characters should experience a lot of different relationships. It builds for a more well rounded person in reality, and a better character in the story. But with Rogue, why isn't she allowed to have other romantic encounters? Why must there be a strange arguments about age, about experience? These are traumatized beautiful people with fancy abilities in a soap opera. With capes. (And occasional opera gloves)

In short, I believe that instead of one ship, a character deserves an armada. I agree, alternate universe pairings would be fun too!

I too enjoy drama and can't wait to see how the show plays out this romance.

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

tEaM cAp BaD, tOnY gOoD

The fact that takes like this are still being spewed 7 years after Civil War maddens me.

OMG where do I even start... You know, maybe this is the result of the MCU not knowing where they stand in regards to heroism. In the past we used to watch superhero movies that were very clear on defending the heroes and keeping the villains accountable, but for some reason the MCU seems to enjoy questioning their heroes and framing them in a negative light while justifying the bad guys - so I'm not surprised to read these takes.

OP says "Hydra didn't hide themselves after the reveal". Uh, yes, they did, actually. And with good reason. If you have been infiltrating an American intelligence agency for decades and you're finally outed, why exactly would anyone go out there and happily advertise they're Hydra? That... makes no sense.

I honestly have no interest in talking about "Did Wanda and Pietro know or not?". I'll just leave this here.

In the same comment OP shows his anger at Wanda for not facing any consequences for her actions, he defends Stark "not selling more weapons" as enough accountability for his. So he can spend his whole life willfully ignorant of where his wealth is coming from, he only decides to stop selling when those weapons kill Americans (he didn't give a fuck if they hurt other people), he can literally tell the government to suck it when they request his tech (which I'm okay with, but damn, nice display of hypocrisy right there when these stans claim the heroes are awful for not signing the Accords in CW)... and all this shit is enough for Stark to be off the hook?

They want Wanda, sometimes even Steve, to be jailed and punished but when it comes to Stark, if he pouts for a while they call it a day and that's enough accountability for him 🤦‍♀️

OP's line about Edith is even worse: "Edith is designed as a planetary defense system." I always think of Zola's line in TWS whenever I read a take like that one: "HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security."

More control doesn't equate more safety, it tends to cause the opposite thing, actually. But of course NWH never addressed the morality of this device so many fans think its existence okay. If they had handled it like Nolan did their ideas would be different. Edith is another Project Insight and Stark was still defending this "control is safety" years after CW 👇

That's Hydra rhetoric. I couldn't care less if it's a so-called "hero" saying it, that line could be said by Zola or Red Skull or Rumlow, that's how messed up it is. But all of a sudden it's Stark saying it and that makes it okay?

OP: "Steve Rogers [...] solves problems by punching things [...] He has no fucking idea how to handle a situation involving a bioweapon or a terrorist." Tell me you don't understand Steve's character without telling me you don't understand him. This stan is one of those who thinks Steve is just a buff guy with no brains who can only punch his way out of things, which is hilarious because he has been shown to be the exact opposite of that.

A guy who figured out how to take that flag from Camp Lehigh, who could easily tell he was being deceived after being defrosted when that Shield woman approached him in the med bay, who figured out Loki's sceptre worked like a Hydra weapon (linking the space and mind stones & how they worked), who knows military regulations well enough to know where a building is built in the wrong place, who can figure out he's going to be attacked in an elevator after only a few seconds...

Sure, he only knows how to punch things 🙄

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Is It Really That Bad?

Women leading superhero films has a long and troubled history even before losers online decided to make it their life’s mission to bully Academy Award-winning actress Brie Larson for the crime of being in a mediocre MCU movie. 2004’s Catwoman is the film that is usually pointed to as the movie that poisoned the well in regards to superheroine blockbusters, but it takes two to tango; the following year’s Elektra is just as much to blame for the negative perception of these sorts of films.

And how could it not be? It was rushed into production, Jennifer Garner really didn’t want to do it but was contractually obligated, it was supposed to be rated R until more contractual obligations nipped that idea in the bud, and on top of everything else it was a sequel/spin-off to a movie that was already extremely unpopular (Daredevil vindication was a long way’s off at that point). With all that in mind, is it any wonder that it’s one of the lowest grossing films to ever be based off of a Marvel comic? The only films that did worse were Punisher: War Zone, Man-Thing, and The New Mutants. Even the Howard the Duck movie did better than this shit!

The career of director Rob Bowman as tanked because of this film, with his credits being relegated to TV. Garner, meanwhile, fared just as poorly, with her career cooling off and leading roles not being a thing for her after that point. But worst of all is the career of the poor boat house in this movie, as it ended up appearing in Fifty Shades of Grey. And obviously this film dragged down the idea of a woman headlining a superhero flick for about a decade until Genocide Barbie Gal Gadot stepped into Wonder Woman’s boots. And while Catwoman would receive better adaptations on the big screen, Elektra would get no such chance…

...Until it was revealed that Garner was reprising her role in, of all things, Deadpool & Wolverine.

While the film isn’t out as of the time of this review, the announcement of her presence in it really got me intrigued about the last time she donned the red ninja outfit. I’m a huge apologist for early to mid-2000s superhero garbage, so it only made sense to check it out in preparation for the massive Marvel crossover Deadpool was about to deliver. And you know what question I always ask when going in to an infamous film like this: Is it really that bad?

THE GOOD

This film is just hilariously corny when it wants to be. I think when it does stupid stuff other superhero films of the time did, it tends to do them at least a little better. For instance, like Ghost Rider it has a quirky miniboss squad full of boring flat characters who exist for Elektra to kill. But while the ones in Ghost Rider are completely forgettable and bland, this film at least has some striking visuals with Tattoo and hot forceful lesbian murder smooching with Typhoid Mary, something I’m sure awoke things in the five people who watched this.

Garner herself is really, really trying, and to her credit most of the action scenes she’s in are pretty ok when they aren’t being edited to death. As I watched the unrated version, the brief glimpses of insight into her backstory are nice, and I do love that bright red costume on her. If nothing else, she does sell how cool Elektra is supposed to be with how she carries herself, even if the writing isn’t doing her many favors.

The final act is where things really get fun, because we have a big stupid battle against magical tattoos, teleporting ninjas, and genuinely the funniest possible way to kill a villain ever. I legitimately burst out laughing when I saw this:

THE BAD

Unfortunately, no matter how funny Typhoid Mary taking a knife to the forehead after saying her only two lines in the movie, two lines that actually give her more character than every other villain in the film, it can’t really completely save the film from its two massive, crippling issues.

Literally everyone in this movie is a fucking moron. The biggest moron is easily Elektra’s buddy, who sacrifices himself so Elektra can escape from the bad guys… but his sacrifice is pointless because they pull the info from his mind with psyhcic powers. He would’ve been better off running away with them! But it’s not like the villains are much smarter; one of them chops down a tree, and then almost immediately forgets this and walks into its path before getting crushed to death. It is genuinely absurd how dumb these characters manage to get. The dumbest of them all, however, has to be Stick. I genuinely have no idea what the fuck this man is trying to accomplish at any point, because he is recklessly gambling with people’s lives here.

But hey, dumb decisions are fine in a trashy 2000s superhero movie as long as they lead to some enjoyably dumb scenarios, right? Well, about that… Barring a couple of ridiculously goofy action scenes, this film is pretty bereft of memorable corniness. Remember how I said the minibosses in Ghost Rider were not as good as the ones here? Sure, maybe it’s true, but no amount of murderous lesbian smooching makes this movie more memorable than Ghost Rider, which features over a dozen insane Nicolas Cage moments. But maybe that’s cheating, it’s not fair to compare a Jennifer Garner vehicle to a Nicolas Cage one… so how about Catwoman? As absolutely shoddy as that movie is, there are a bunch of cringey, campy scenes that have helped earn the movie at least a handful of ironic fans. There’s just nothing like that in Elektra. It’s trashy and stupid in safe, unimpressive ways for the most part, and it doesn’t do anything at all to really stand out from the crowd.

IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

Yeah, I guess it’s bad, but the level of bad that it is is greatly exaggerated.

The movie I’d most compare this to is, of all things, Morbius. I love Morbius more than most people, and even I’m willing to admit it’s multiple bright spots of trashy charm are interspersed with the dullest shit imaginable, and Elektra has a similar issue. It’s just so goddamn unmemorable and dull for the most part, with only the final act being packed full of silly nonsense to latch onto. But even that comparison isn’t great, because Milo was sprinkled throughout Morbius and was genuinely hilarious the whole way through, while Elektra just plods along until it remembers to actually be a little cool for the finale.

I guess really the film is less “bad” and more “not good.” Like if you throw this on in the background as noise while you do something else, it’s not the worst you could do, though even then something like Black Adam would probably be better. If you want to watch a trashy 2000s superhero film, I guess it’s not unwatachably unpleasant, but why wouldn’t you watch Catwoman or Ghost Rider instead? It just is in such an unenviable position where it’s the bottom of the bottom of the barrel, the least engaging super-schlock ever made, a movie not good enough to be vindicated but not bad enough to deserve the hate it gets. Elektra is just a film that exists. That’s all there is to it and aside from the single funny death, I have no strong feelings about this movie. I think a solid 4 is where this belongs. Not good enough to be average, not bad enough to be awful, it’s just there.

All this being said, I’m honestly very excited to see Garner become a teleporting ninja assassin again. Every comic character who was in a crappy adaptation deserves a second shot, be it as a new character (Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger) or as a reprisal that improves on the untapped potential that was there (Jamie Foxx’s Electro in No Way Home). I’m rooting for Garner to get her due, and for Electra to get the respect she truly deserves… But I just don’t really think this movie’s going to be getting a reappraisal no matter how good she ends up doing.

[laninasinamor]

If Shuri & Namor were to have children. Do you think they’d inherit their father’s mutant gene?

thank you for the very interesting question!

we’ll have to keep some things in mind so bare with me (im also basing most of my knowledge off the mcu bc idk the comics like that and the lore is extensive!)

disclaimer: i am not a scientist or genealogist and i dont know science like that so dont treat this answer with huge significance

this is for fun so let’s begin!

1. mcu namor was born from human parents. however his mother, Fen, ingested a vibranium plant infused concoction while pregnant which forever altered his dna, in turn making him a mutant. it changed his physiology (drawing oxygen thru his skin and the air) and anatomy (winged ankles, pointed ears etc.)

(An example, even though it’s a very negative example 🥲 would be babies exposed to alcohol while in the womb. “Alcohol passes easily from a mother's bloodstream into her developing baby's blood. Alcohol present in a developing baby's bloodstream can interfere with the development of the brain and other critical organs, structures, and physiological systems.”

so the drink entered Fen’s bloodstream directly presenting in namor’s blood, enhancing his development and led to changes in physiology.

~ for my brain’s sake, i’d consider mcu namor a full on mutant.

…

2. mcu shuri’s black panther genes are a bit more complicated. within the mcu we know that only the person ingesting the heart shaped herb will gain the strength of the black panther. and it was never mentioned that it could be passed thru offspring (given king t’chaka had shuri & t’challa while he was the black panther but they turned out normal.)

not to mention that shuri’s heart shaped herb is synthetic and made from the same plant Fen, namor’s mother, ingested. and king t’chaka procreated with a normal human as well so we dont know the consequences of procreating with a mutant whilst being black panther. 🤷‍♀️

~ even though shuri gained the superhuman strength and abilities of the black panther. i believe genetically and anatomically she still most resembles a human.

…

according to the marvel fandom database, “breeding between homo superior[mutants] and humans can result in both mutant and "flat-scans" children” and “as mutants and humans aren't really separate species or race, but are only humans possessing or not the X-Gene.”

if in fact namor is regarded as a mutant and shuri is a human who gained superhuman abilities, their children would have a 50/50 chance of being born mutant or plainly human.

in addition mutant children born to a mutant parent will not necessarily have the same power(s) as their parent; however, examples of children with the same power(s) as their parents are not uncommon.

so who knows, maybe namor and shuri’s babies will gain new abilities and features!

hope i answered ur question as best i could 😊

love this new ship and all the people within its new community 💚💙💜💛

[wolvesandfoxes25]

You know... I've been back on my Stony kick, rewatching the movies... and can't help but really hate Endgame. Don't get me wrong, I loved my Stony scenes, but damn, most everything else is like... but why? ⬇️

I'm gonna get backlash for this, but I don't care. Morgan Stark seemed really unnecessary, now that I really look at it. Adorable, but kinda unnecessary. If they don't bring her back in the later MCU, she was used for an emotional response following Tony's death. And honestly, I feel they glossed over Tony's sadness for Peter being gone by wedging her in there. And... how is it fair for his daughter that he gets killed off when she's 5? Idk.

Natasha dying. Natasha dying that way, honestly, Natasha dying at all. And how they couldn't bury her. And don't even get me going about the new Guardians of the Galaxy, SPOILER: and how they managed to bring Gamora back? Who died EXACTLY the way Natasha did. The team needed her.

The hulk. Enough said.

Making Thors depression into a big joke. Making his alcohol abuse into a big joke. Glossing over how he legit lost EVERYTHING. Really bothers me. Bothered me then and bothers me more now.

Howard. Stark. Look...idgaf what the movie tries to push, Howard was a bad dad. He neglected Tony, gave him negative attention, always made him feel inferior and never showed him any affection whatsoever. And they want me to believe that what? He held him in this high regard and loved him more than anything? Yeah, no. I don't.

Would have enjoyed seeing more of how the blip affected everyday life.

More scenes with the Avengers rebonding.

Pepper should've gone in the snap. Yep, I said it. And it corresponds mostly with the bullet above here..⬆️ We deserved to see Tony bond more with his team, wish we could've seen him discover time travel with them. Instead it was randomly at home? Ok then.

Tony's death. But I know why it happened :(

Steve's ending. I could write a dissertation about how ooc that was for him, but I won't. Hated it for Steve, hated it for Peggy and found it rather creepy. You kissed that woman once, never dated her, and you go back in time to be with her? Not knowing if it'll even work out? No. That's ridiculous. And you leave Bucky and Sam behind? After all that crap in CW, you leave them behind? Nah. Boo on you, Steve. And man, the Russos reasoning regarding this end is the BIGGEST mindfuck ever.

What exactly HAPPENED to Steve? Did he die in the falcon show? I thought he was a super soldier? How the hell long was he in the past? He looked 75 years old, but Bucky looks 30? I don't get it. It's like the biology of the serum was reworked for this. 🤐 And done badly.

I guess Daniel Sousa is obsolete, huh? The man who actually had time to get to know and love Peggy? 🤷‍♀️ guess so...

That's all I can think about right now... but yeah, Endgame leaves me really depressed because I feel everything after has been subpar regarding the MCU franchise.

It could've been so much better...

[t4tails]

Can't find the link but there was an interview with Moore about (MCU/DCEU) comic book movies where he says he regrets having written The Killing Joke and Watchmen because he knows it was part of what lead to the current state of comics and in a way to all the comic book movies like the MCU, and he thinks those are enabling right wing ideologies

ah thats shitty :/ i cant speak for killing joke (and im aware of its issues in regards to barbaras treatment) but watchmen seemed pretty clearly critical of right wing politics and its negative effects on both the believer and others. then again i should never underestimate peoples ability to think a piece of media is endorsing them instead of the exact opposite

[thenexusofsouls]

I’m sorry you’re going through a rough time, Silence. Don’t feel bad if you need to break or downsize muses - this is just a hobby, after all, and you need to do what’s best for you. We’ll all still be waiting when you get back. Bucky and I send our love :)

__________

{i am the caretaker of souls} Okay, but one of the muses I’ve lost inspiration for is Natasha, so you see my problem, heh. I don’t know what happened, she just went so quiet a while back. It’s not anything you did at all, so please don’t think that. Sometimes it just happens that muses leave the building, heh. For anyone who would like to know which muses would be on the chopping block across my blogs, I’ll talk a bit about it below the cut. Because I can. =P

But yeah, as far as Natasha, I’ve been trying to squeeze out some muse here and there and respond to what I can get her motivated for, but a lot of times I reach down into the muse well and it’s just dry. I do kindof look at all my asks each week, though, to see if anything grabs the muse, and if it does, I work on it, because I do feel bad that you’ve sent in so many things that I just haven’t been able to reply to. So I’ll keep trying here and there, and who knows, maybe she’ll come back fully at some point.

Veridian on this blog has gone quiet for a long time now, and I’m sure if I look at my list, there are others who have zero activity that I can cut just to mentally downsize things. It’d be easy to cut Ardeth, Luther, and Vincent, because my activity there is fairly low, but I adore all of the threads I have with @illbringthechaosmagic and a few others, and I’m pretty sure I’m the only person actively writing those three characters on T.umb.lr so I’d like to keep doing so. Kindof a labor of love, you know? So at least right now, they’re not going anywhere.

As far as MCU muses, I think I have the same problem with Natasha, Wanda, Clint, Vision, and Pietro right now… lack of new content. I really get inspired by new content, it helps to revive things for me a bit, so when there isn’t any in years, I feel like my muses get stale. I know I could read comics if I wanted to, but honestly I just don’t have the time right now, or the brain to then sort out the differences between MCU and comic versions and choose what my interpretation will then be.

Pietro was really waning there for a while, but he got saved by the “Speedster of the Galaxy” AU because that to me was like new content, heh. It was just content that me and Mantis-mun and others were creating and contributing to instead of official content, which is fine, it’s great! That’s what we’re here for! Plus I love his ship with @starcchild, and that overlaps with my Tony muse here, which is still going strong. So Pietro is safe for now. XD

Wanda… my muse comes and goes for her but lately it just hasn’t been there. I adored DSMoM, but 99% of people I write with didn’t, and I think the negative backlash from the fandom regarding that movie kindof… tempered my muse a bit. Because I felt like I had to hold back or not talk about it or write about it, when I really wanted to. I was excited and inspired to go in all these new directions with Wanda, only to then still be writing during the same points in her timeline that I had been for a few years already. So that’s what’s been preventing my muse for her from really taking off. Anything that I can really get into or that feels new in an exciting way, I’ll jump on it, but lately I’ve been struggling with her. I do love the threads I have with @illbringthechaosmagic and @multiversalstarlight on Wanda’s blog, though, so that’s helped sustain her for a while.

Clint here on this blog… only has one thread right now, and that’s just fine with me, heh. If not for that one thread, he’d be cut. I still haven’t watched the Hawkeye series, mainly because I lost interest, so that gives you an idea of how long my muse for him has been waning. But the one thread I have with @sadiebrin is very cool and I can manage to squeeze out one thread a week with Clint for that. XD

I would love to bring back Red and White Vision, since they’ve been on hiatus for a few months now due to a lack of muse. I feel like it’s been enough of a break and I could maybe get back into them, but… no time, unfortunately. I’d need to cut some other muses that are taking up a lot of time in order to make time for Vision, and I just don’t see that happening. Maybe if I put Wanda on hiatus for a bit, but Pietro’s activity is really high and they’re all on the same day, so… who knows.

I have been toying with the idea of having an MCU multimuse and putting ALL my MCU muses on there, so that if I didn’t have muse for someone on that day, then I could skip them in favor of working on someone I did, but at this point, they’re so established on their own blogs and here on this one that I just feel like… it’d scatter and mess up where all my shit it stored, heh. I have issues with organization and how I think of things as far as what feels neat and calm and organized to me, heh, and that would drive me crazy to have things split everywhere. But on the other hand, it would really help to lump all my MCU people together on one blog.

Question: If I made another side blog mumu for just MCU people, put them all there, and wrote for them on hmm… probably Mondays, and then removed the MCU muses from this blog and wrote all non-MCU people here… what do you think of that? Would you guys like that, hate that, you don’t care…? I’m not asking you to make the decision for me, I’m just curious. I’m a little worried that a new blog might attract more attention and interaction, though, and I really can’t expand my writing partners too much right now, I’ve got enough on my plate. I guess I could just say something like “closed for new partners” or something, I dunno. Thoughts?

Imma stop rambling now omg. Actually ranting about all this helped release some stress and distract me for a while, so that was good, haha. Anyone who’s read this far, thank you, you’re the best. XD

[hawkzeyes]

I feel like I should make this very well known because I have a bunch of ppl following me from that Clintasha post (and I’ve clicked to see their blogs and they seem MCU centered). I am not friendly to the MCU, ESPECIALLY with the shit they’re pulling right now regarding the Israeli superhero. BDS has asked us to boycott so you can follow me but this is my official post you’ll not be hearing about the MCU from me unless it’s negative.

[tarnishedxknight]

♡ [ for the whole gang! ]

{out of dalmasca} Yay! Everybody gets some positivity and love! Okay let's go. =)

For every " ♡" I get I'll give tip on how to win my muse's heart:

BASCH

Be understanding of his traumas. Depending on where he’s at in his timeline, Basch has suffered a number of traumas his reactions to which are things he sees as shameful or weaknesses. Panic attacks, nightmares, and things of that nature were, in his time, not seen the same way they are today. He often had to hide them, downplay them, pretend like nothing was wrong… and this was exhausting to him. In addition, when people did see him in a compromised state, he was often judged for it. If you want to win Basch’s heart, one of the most major things you can do for him is understand. Make him feel safe when he's having a bad time of it. Tell him he’s normal and his feelings are valid. Tell him it’s okay to cry or be afraid, that he’s not insane or broken. These are things he’s never been told in Ivalice, and it will make a huge impression on him if you do.

ASHELIA

Do not treat her like a damsel in distress, don’t infantilize her, don’t tell her she can’t do anything, and definitely don’t make reference to her being female in a negative way. Ashe has had to deal with a lot of oppression and sexism in her life with regard to having others try to dictate her life for her or tell her that she can’t do certain things because she’s a woman. If you want to get to Ashe’s heart, empower her. Whether it’s through comments and encouragement, or by actually helping her to achieve her goals, she wants to feel capable and strong, not like everyone who ever told her women can’t do as much as men might’ve been right. Even if she needs help with something, show her how to do it herself, or do it alongside her, don’t just take the reins and do it for her. That sort of thing frustrates her to no end. A faster way to her heart is to be someone who empowers her to learn and do on her own.

NOAH

If he suddenly shows you his vulnerable side… play it cool! Drawing attention to it, mocking it, or even showing too much sympathy will make him feel embarrassed and then angry. If he’s gotten to a point with you where he’s willing to let you see him vulnerable, the way to keep that door to his heart open is to acknowledge it, but also not make a big deal about it. If you play your cards right during those first couple times he shows you his vulnerable side, you’ll win him pretty quickly after that, because he’ll feel safer with you and more comfortable opening up even more.

DRACE

Respect that she is a strong, independent, capable, proud woman, and never undermine that or make her feel like she is less-than. She’s worked very hard to be seen as equal to men, and for her position as Judge Magister, and even in an MCU verse where such titles are no longer relevant, she still carries an air of authority and confidence about her that demands respect. A quick way to her heart is accepting her for who she is, and never trying to change or control her. If you aren’t interested in being with an extremely strong and self-assured person, then Drace is not for you, heh.

CAELEN

Talk weapons and leather with him. Seriously, he'll chew your ear off for hours about them, haha. Smithing and leatherworking are his passions, so if you show interest in that or ask him questions about it, that’s an instant in with him. He loves crafting things, working with his hands, and he loves pretty looking weapons. Let him show you and talk about something he's made and he will just melt, heh. Especially in his MCU verse, if you let him reminisce about such things or even help him to continue doing it in modern times, he will be very grateful and you will endear yourself to him, big time.

MUNOH

So… Munoh doesn’t fall in love in the way humans think of it, but they can come to care a lot about a human’s welfare and future enough to want to take care of them.

Something that will facilitate an emotional attachment between Munoh and a human is them genuinely being grateful and happy about their advice, assistance, guidance, etc. Munoh loves to help good humans (or other beings too, not just humes) realize their goals, ambitions, or dreams in life. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing their friend happy, fulfilled, or grateful for something Munoh had a hand in helping them accomplish. It makes them so happy emotionally that you will quickly become one of their favorites if you express your thanks and gratitude to them in a sincere way and as often as you like.

[kitcat-italica]

Goddammit, I wasn't going to say anything more about this. And I don't like sharing too much negativity on here. And I probably should let it go.

But I'm still so mad about Good Omens.

It stung a little when I first saw the spoilers of what happened in Season 2. So I thought I'd wait until I cooled off, then decide whether I wanted to actually watch the season. Every time I checked in with myself about it, I still wasn't done being hurt.

But instead of the hurt and anger fading, it's just gotten stronger as the weeks have gone by. Which tells me that something else is going on here. And I think it's this:

Something that was once safe, is no longer safe for me.

I'm so tired, so very very fucking tired, of media doing a heel-face-turn of tone, retching up stomach-dropping plot turns, slapping out out-of-character developments in its protagonists, and in general not following through on the original promise the story was based on. The promise of 'this will ultimately arrive at XYZ general conclusion or point or feeling.' Even if there's struggling and surprises along the way, there's a promise there. I'm not saying the story has to be predictable or handle the audience with kid-gloves. I'm not explaining my point very well; writers, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. The Promise of the story that it will keep from the outset.

For me, Good Omens had an ending. It ended with a kid and his friends saving the world, and an angel and a demon toasting the planet and the human race that lived on it with flutes of champagne. It celebrated humanity, and all our wacky characters came away from it happy. And yes there was an open canvas ahead of them of what came next, but it left me with a sense of joy and celebration. It was safe.

That's just it. It was a safe place for me, emotionally.

And now, it's not safe anymore.

Now it's all betrayal and desperation and heartbreak and slowed-down gifs explaining every tremble of a messy divorce, and I just can't. I'm so fucking done with stories not following through on their promise. I'm tired of having my emotional safe places ripped away from me, and then have everyone else say 'why are you mad, it's not the actual end of the story.' You know what, you're right, the story ended in 1990 when the book was published, and in 2019 when that one book was wonderfully adapted to one miniseries of TV.

I'm not going to watch Season 2. I'm not going to engage in any fandom activities regarding it. Maybe one day I'll dip my toe back into writing fanfic based on book/S1; right now that still feels too painful. I stopped writing the MCU fanfic after Infinity War/Endgame, and it's been going on 4 years since that hiatus. We'll see how long this one ends up lasting.

My safe happy corner of the internet is gone. And I'm fucking furious about it.

[essayofthoughts]

for the choose violence ask meme: 8, 10, 13

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

That Ripley assaulted Percy. There is literally no evidence - arguably negative evidence with how untraumatised Percy is regarding the prospect of sex, especially given how we know he has processed exactly none of his trauma til the end of the campaign -, it isn't in character for Ripley's impersonal style, and it's such an annoying fandom trend that if one person (especially someone of a different gender) physically traumatised and hurt another, it has to be rape.

Bitch, she tortured him. I think that's enough trauma on it's own!

10. worst part of fanon

Would it be lazy/cowardly to just point at the above? Genuinely, that one really gets my goat specifically. I have personal resentment and dislike for that one.

Otherwise... idk. I stay pretty disconnected from anything that isn't my specific blorbo interests because I have encountered Shit in my previous fandoms and I am not in the mood to get in a fucking fight.

I guess the one I've been seeing lately, that you've spoken about Burr, about how a portion of the fandom seems set on vilifying the Prime Deities due to C3 stuff I have minimal knowledge of. I had one person come into the comments section of one of my fics once, saying they thought the RQ was being set up as a future big bad and like... no? God of Death =/= evil? Death is a natural process? You gotta learn to grieve and move on with it? Don't join the LessWrong nutjobs who've Roko's Basilisk'd themselves into irrational fear of death; just like. Acknowledge you will die. It's okay. It just means you gotta do things while you have a chance - and then, at the end of your life, you get to look back at it all and rest. Your body feeds the earth and the plants. New life comes forth - existence continues.

I believe in Death very much in the Discworld form - a necessity and not a cruelty, and based on how Matt played the RQ I am inclined to think he sits in the same boat!

Don't villainise the characters the DM has been very clear are benevolent! Maybe complicated, maybe flawed - but that doesn't make them villains. We're all flawed, bitch. You're flawed. I'm flawed. It's the consequence of being a goddamn person!

13. worst blorboficiation

Fuck if I know. I don't pay attention to any blorbos but my own for a reason. I avoid discourse for a reason. I saw how the tonky stans were about Wanda in MCU fandom and frankly fuck that. If other people are being irrational about their blorbos they can do it over there, several thousand miles away, where I can fucking ignore them.

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

Okay, here's the thing... The problem with posts like this one is that it doesn't differentiate between criticism and hate.

The hate is not worth mentioning, some people want the MCU to fail and will hate on it no matter what they do or how they do it (I'm perfectly fine with that by the way, but these people are not fans, so they shouldn't be part of the discussion to begin with).

I will admit that there was this aura of... greatness... during the Infinity Saga that is nowhere to be seen nowadays. Perhaps it's superhero fatigue, perhaps it's due to the lack of quality of some projects (not all, not even close imo), perhaps the fact that certain series and movies have been so utterly bad that they broke the romanticism or connection some of us had with Marvel until that point (it happened to me with EG and even more so with the Loki series).

With that said, to claim that we're hard to please now as if the MCU had been perfect pre-EG is just plain wrong. There are movies that were done with no respect for previous canon or characterization (Ragnarok), movies that ruined the framing, sidelined the title character and had a horrible underlying message regarding rights and liberties (CW), a movie that ruins every single character it touches (EG)... and that's just to name a few.

The main difference between that and what we have now I'd say is that the MCU had a clear path during the Infinity Saga and, while not perfect by any means, it knew the story it wanted to tell and every movie led us straight to it... but nowadays it's all over the place. It doesn't feel connected anymore because we have so many movies, series, specials + we have writers who don't watch previous canon + the inconsistencies are off the charts.

I do agree that Secret Invasion's one-on-one conversations were pretty amazing, I love that it was dialogue-heavy and I genuinely enjoyed all the eps.. until the finale came. But I don't see what's wrong with genuine criticism.

Now, that comment that it's hard to engage with MCU fans nowadays (because we're all too critical now)... my, my. Marvel is still insanely popular and they have a huge fanbase and so many fans out there speak positively of every single thing they release... this claim that it's hard to engage with positive fans is insane to me 😂

Every critical fan who dares to voice their opinion against Marvel is met with accusations of some kind of bigotry, called a hater, or we're basically insulted all the way out of certain sites for daring to criticize a movie/show. If anything this sounds to me like OP believes what Marvel has been doing lately, playing the victim and complaining that "everyone" is criticizing them nowadays. And even though I have no evidence, I feel if we were to compare the positive vs negative opinions, the former would win by a landslide. They're still huge... they just want to play the victim card to avoid criticism.

[noys-boise]

So tell me about beverly

are you sure you're ready for this? are you absolutely sure?

okay so Beverly Switzler otherwise known as my most beloved special girl who i would commit murder for is a character from the 1976 Howard the duck comic series who then appeared alongside I'm pretty sure every iteration of Howard except the mcu unsurprisingly :/ (and maybe some irrelevant side stuff idk). She is narratively integral to the Howard the duck story. This is undebatable, even in the one htd comic where she's not a recurring character she still appears at one point and that's honestly what i see people talk about most when they talk about the 2016 htd run. that's how important she is.

But I should probably start at the beginning. Warning, Howard the duck lore is weird to say the least.

So Bev's first appearance was in the very first issue of Howard's solo comic series (he did appear in Adventure into fear and Giant-sized Man-thing beforehand but that's a story for another day) and she started off strong with being imprisoned by a financial wizard (also known as a cosmic accountant. I'm not making any of this up, he is as over the top as you'd imagine) but Howard found her inside the wizard's tower built out of credit cards of which he was planning to jump off because idk if i mentioned before this duck was very suicidal at this point. Howard doesn't manage to save her though so instead they both get sent to this? alternate universe? i think? where they have to find a gem key or something. And they bond immediately because turns out a human woman and a duck from another world can have a lot more in common than you'd think. I'm not going to elaborate much more on their escape because this post is already going to be way too long but I'll just say they work really well together and Steve Gerber (the writer of htd) saw that and readers saw that and so Beverly stayed in these comics for the rest of the run except for the two times she got written out, more on that later.

She's incredibly tolerant, honestly to a fault like she just let Howard live with him without any conditions forever as if it's nothing, she's generally really positive which contrasts Howard's negativity well and she's just really damn adorable. She also values her agency more than anything which sucks for her because the narrative doesn't treat her very well on that regard, it is strongly implied that her parents tried to shelter her a lot and she's kind of trying to prove her maturity and she refuses to conform to any societal rules. which explains a lot imo.

Now, like i said the narrative doesn't always treat her very well. Largely because this is the 70s and these comics were written by a man (who i have a love-hate parasocial relationship with despite him being very much dead). Wait first i do have to give him one credit on this, even though Bev originally worked as a nude model she was relatively not that sexualized at all. Which good for feminism, bad for my by now very obvious crush on her. Maybe I am kind of guilty too huh. She has been harassed by creeps more than once (she did also defended herself more than once, good for her) she got kidnapped a lot especially early on and i couldn't be writing this without going into the doctor bong arc which does feature some of the most questionable decisions by Gerber. i need to start a new paragraph for this.

So doctor bong (yes that's the name he uses no it's not a drug reference actually i think I've made a post about this once) is considered Howard's arch nemesis. He wears a bell on his head that can paralyze and allegedly even kill people, he makes weird genetically mutated creatures including Fifi the sexy french maid duck who then dies (i don't want to get into it) he has a past in journalism and he just so happens to have had a crush on Beverly since college. And that's a problem because he's very much an incel. He kidnaps Beverly and threatens to kill Howard if she refuses to marry him. So she agrees reluctantly which results in her being out of the story for the majority of the original run and when she does officially return it's after Gerber has left. now the really questionable part is that my beloathed Steve Gerber actually started to imply that Bev might even be enjoying this arranged marriage which not only directly contradicts most of her previous characterization but is also just generally really not believable. I actually don't want to talk about this more right now because it always gets me worked up.

Seriously though as badly as the narrative tends to treat her she's amazing, and without a doubt the second most iconic Howard the duck character after Howard himself. marvel has actually made a few attempts to replace her for some reason but it never worked for them because why would it.

I could go into more detail about her later iterations because contrary to how i tend to act I'm not actually a Gerber purist, I'm kind of neutral on this argument (wait i think i should elaborate on this. a lot of people believe no one can write Howard the duck after Steve Gerber. Which is a statement i only half agree with. I do believe it's never been the same without him, but I do like some of the Howard stuff not written by him. Hell i even enjoy the movie in its way.) but I'm already drawing this post out too much and I'm going on unrelated side rants and i think i should just stop. Oh wait one more thing. She canonically studied theatre. As in original htd run canon. And she did do a play in the 2007 run. I just felt like that should be mentioned because theatre is my religion.