#especially since a big part of shuri's character is her love of family and her people

[guardianbee]

namor/shuri being compared to re.ylo just proves most people on this website have zero media literacy skills AND that they've only watched four movies and three books on constant repeat.

[heamarvel]

Holiday Movie Challenge Prompt and Badge lists

Hellooooo shippers of all Marvel ships!

This marks the kickoff to HEA (Happily Ever After) Marvel’s Holiday Movie Challenge! If you don’t know us, we’re a group of crafty mods under the direction of our own personal Pepper Potts ( @betheflame​​ ), so really, this is going to be great fun, and we hope that you’ll join us!

A brief intro to our event:

At no point do you need to sign up for this event. You are not beholden to post anything, even if you say that you will. This is a guiltless, fun event!

Pick a prompt, any prompt!

Interpret the prompt any which way you wish. We have prompt examples available for people to peruse on our blog and on our Discord, if you’re in need of a few examples.

Write (or art, podfic, or moodboard, etc.) any ship you want, even polyamorous relationships of any number or type (even if the prompts contain just two characters!).

Include additions from our badge list if you wish! They function like video game achievements (think World of Warcraft, or Xbox) and you will be rewarded with little achievement badges designed by the wonderful @kocuria​ that you can display anywhere you please.

The collection will open on November 1st and close on December 24th.

Around then we will provide a Google form to submit the badge info and other info for your fic.

BUT REMEMBER! All contributions to this event must have a Happily Ever After as per holiday movie standards (doesn’t mean there can’t be tons of angst and pain in the middle, though).

For any further info, please check out our Holiday Movie Challenge page, our Prompt and Badge page, our Frequently Asked Questions page, or ask us questions on Tumblr, Twitter, or on Discord! (Links on Tumblr.) 

But that’s enough mod-splaining, let’s take a look under the cut at the prompts and badges that we’ve been eagerly waiting to share with you!

*We have included both (1) images to download and save as well as (2) text for those who prefer or need that medium! The images are at the bottom of this post.

Here’s a separate post with just the images.

Prompts

1. Character A is a big city lawyer who swore to never go back to their hometown. Suddenly, their grandfather dies and leaves them the family Christmas Tree farm. They’re determined to go back and shut down the farm. Character B runs the farm and is determined to save it.

2. After losing their job as an au pair in New York, Character A accepts a position as a nanny in the castle of a small European principality no one has ever heard of. Character B is a single parent & ruler of the country.

3. When architect and Christmas amateur Character A finds themselves hosting their family for Christmas, they recruit holiday coordinator Character B to bring holiday joy to their home.

4. A high-powered executive reconsiders their priorities when car trouble leads them to Christmas Valley, a town in love with Christmas.

5. Two new students at nearby university, Character A and Character B, meet the first day of classes and become study partners. A local bookstore becomes a close part of their lives as their relationship grows.

6. Character A - a famous author who writes about how to stay single - is forced to look after their niece and nephew over the holidays. With the help of their Christmas-loving neighbor, Character B, they learn to find love and the Christmas spirit.

7. A young royal (Character A) escapes their entourage to explore New York City over Christmas. They meet Character B who shows the beautiful stranger their side of the city.

8. As Christmas approaches, Character A (the Lizzie Bennet character), a New York event planner, is sent to a quaint, small town to organize their holiday festival. When they arrive, they find Character B (the Darcy character), a high-profile billionaire lacking in holiday spirit, in the process of selling the charming estate they hoped to use as a venue.

9. An anxious bride-to-be (Character A, “bride” is non-gender assigned) throws in with broken-hearted and cynical Character B and a happily married couple for an emergency ride to NYC from New England.

10. Character A has to go to their cousin’s holiday wedding that’s taking place a year to the day they were left at the altar. Unable to face going alone, they con Character B into going “just as friends.”

11. When a restless young married Character A is granted a wish by a Christmas Angel to be single again, they soon discover their new life isn't what they bargained for, and embark on a quest to win Character B back.

12. Character A and Character B have been archrivals ever since a memorable fight over a coveted Christmas recital solo in elementary school. Now adults, they work side-by-side at the same school where they still constantly compete over everything. As the holiday season approaches, the entire school is getting into the spirit with the annual fundraising festival, which will feature an exciting new event - a teacher Christmas Cookie Bake-Off, judged by a tough five-star chef.

13. Character A inherited a toy factory. The town needs the factory to stay open, but they have no interest in being tied to their hometown. Especially when they find out that Character B - who broke their heart in high school - is the town’s mayor.

14. A WWII era nurse (Character A) is transported in time to 2019 and meets Character B who helps them discover the bonds of family and that the true meaning of Christmas is timeless.

15. Stranded at an airport at Christmastime, Character A accepts a ride from Character B, who has just rented the last car in town.

Badges

Length

500

1k

5k

10k

15k

20k+

Ships

We’ll be custom-making the badges for whatever ship you choose to bring to the table! (Just keep in mind our limits: no underage, no non-con, no nazis.) Popular ship or rarepair+, this group of multishipping mods would love to see whatever you choose to write!

General fic elements

Baking/Cooking

Needing a passport

Non-abled character

Neuro-diverse character

Passes the Bechdel Test

Set outside the United States

Addresses a legitimate societal ill/charity/cause

Character learns a craft as a coping mechanism

Someone eats popcorn in a dramatic scene

Mention or include a Hallmark store or movie

Character is tracing their genealogy

Character writes fanfiction

Character learns a new skill

NSFW

A/B/O

Sentinels & Guides

Soulmate-Identifying Marks

Historical AU: Scottish or Irish clans

Historical AU: Ancient Rome or Greece

Historical AU: Regency or Victorian

Historical AU: American West

Inclusion of animal other than a dog, cat, or horse

‘It Takes a Village’ (town or community helps them hook up)

Use of holiday other than Christmas - including non-winter holidays

One sentence or more spoken in a language other than Russian

Discussion on classic literature and/or classic rock ‘n’ roll

Write a pairing you’ve never written before

Holiday Movie and general tropes

Inversion/Subversion of any trope

Main character has a cuddly dog

Presence of a small town festival

'And they were roommates!'

Fake Relationship

Only One Bed

Snowball fight

Ice skating or Ice hockey

Interrupted first kiss

Stories from childhood

Sassy/nosy best friend

Conniving co-worker

Kid as matchmaker

Single parent

Holiday specific

Yule log

Playing Dreidel

Holiday movie pick: Die Hard

Use of the phrase “Santa! I know him!”

Home Alone style shenanigans, serious or not

Trying to balance an egg on the Solstice

A non-Jewish character mixes up Passover and Hanukkah

Writing format/style

Outsider POV

First Person POV

Text Message/Chat Room

3+ perspectives in one story

Dialogue Only

Epistolary

Avengers stereotypes/fanon

Thor is foreign

Bots as children

Tony has insomnia

Tony Is Worthy (of Mjolnir)

Tony as a non-Iron Man mechanic

Ceiling vent Clint Barton

Budapest Explanation

Natasha is a scary spy/likes sneaking

Super-Nanny Phil Coulson

Peter Parker being a klutz

Peter and Shuri team up on Tony

Bruce has anger management problems

Avengers Movie Night

Darcy uses her taser

Bucky speaks Russian

Steve and/or Bucky need to play catch up on modern and pop culture

Shrunkyclunks (Modern Steve/CA & non-Avenger Bucky)

Shrinkyclinks (Modern Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier & non-CA Steve)

Side Character speaking role (any apply): Dr. Doom, Reed Richards, Galactus, Ghost Rider, Frank Castle, any Inhuman, any Runaway, Sif or one of the Warriors Three, Frigga, Amora or Lorelei

Set in a Marvel canon universe (even if not canon-compliant), for example: 1872, Noir

Mod Requests

Supernatural creatures

Gender swapped MC

Someone wears a tiara

Someone wears a kimono

Long-distance relationship

Snuggling to keep warm

1940s AU

Disclaimer: The above plot summaries in the prompt list belong to numerous movies in the Hallmark catalogue. We do not claim to own them, and are not making any money off of this, nor are we being paid by Hallmark to run this event.

Additionally, as of December 14th, 2019, we are no longer associating with Hallmark even in name, due to their poor choice to cave to pressure and remove an advertisement of a gentle, loving same-sex kiss occurring at their own wedding. We cannot and will not abide that.

[blackmissfrizzle]

A Tale of Two Soldiers Part 6

Title: A Tale of Two Soldiers Part 6

Characters: Erik x reader, Bucky x reader

Summary: Erik and Bucky come to save you.

Word Count: 5703

Warnings: Sexual assault and sex trafficking (Plesse don’t read if they’re triggers for you even though it does not go into depth.) Violence and a little torture

A/N: no keep reading link since I’m on mobile.

You awoke with a pounding headache, it was worst than the time you were matching drink for drink with Steve. Whatever room you were in the air was freezing and it didn’t help that Marcus or whoever he was working with left you in your lingerie set.

As you were coming to, you heard a murmur of voices. You got up to investigate where the voices were coming from. With each closer step you heard a bunch of:

‘She’s up’

‘She’s coming’

‘Is that Y/N’

‘Isn’t she an avenger’

When you found the voices, they belong to a group of women, scratch that not all of them were women. The youngest seemed to be about 11. All of them were in skimpy shorts and crop tops. Judging from their outfits, your new environment, and your abduction you just got caught in a fucking sex trafficking ring. Great, Bucky and Erik weren’t going to let you out your sight after this.

A young girl with big doe eyes tentatively walked to you.”Are you here to save us? You’re Y/N, the avenger, right?” Her eyes were filled with hope and you didn’t want to tell her the truth and break her heart but you also didn’t want to lie to her and give her false hope.

You didn’t know if it was luck or not but a girl who looked like life hardened her answered for you. “Does she look like she’s here to save us? She’s for sell just like us!”

To make yourself smaller you kneeled down to the other girl’s level. “She’s right. I’m here against my will. But, I got some powerful friends and they’ll find us sooner than later.”

Suddenly, you heard a loud slam of a door and the clicking of heels against the tile floor. A man in a full Armani suit was surrounded by his bodyguards appeared. He seem like the type of man to brag about his accomplishments and flaunt his wealth, especially with women. And if they didn’t do as he asked, he’ll call them anything but a child of God.

“I see that you met your new roommates,” the man stated smugly.

Already tired of the bullshit you punched ole dude in his smug face. In return you received a kick in the gut that caused you to fall to the ground.

Armani suit bent down and jerked your chin so you could look into his emotionless eyes. “They were already ordered not to hit you in the face. We don’t want to damage our money maker.”

“You’re really selling me and these girls? Oh, you don’t know what trouble you just got yourself into asshole.”

“Trouble? I don't think so. You’re gonna be worth more than all of them combined. Someone as beautiful and strong as you. You’re gonna make me a rich man.”

“Let’s say if you get the chance to sell me, you’re not gonna live long enough to spend it. My dad’s a senator, my uncles are War Machine and Ironman, my best friends are Captain America and Black Widow, and my boyfriends are the two most ruthless killers ever. I’m starting to feel bad for you bro.” You shrugged at the man and smirked.

“I knew you were a little slut.” He gripped your face harder to the point you thought he would break some of your teeth and then he gave you a bruising kiss. In return you head butted him, which he seemed to enjoy from his evil chuckle. “I wish I could keep you for myself. Do you know what’s the most satisfying thing about my job?”

“I don’t know. You get your tiny dick sucked? You must be overcompensating for something,” you sneered.

The big bad grabbed your hand and put it on his rather unimpressive hard on.”I assure you I’m not overcompensating for anything.” Great, not only were you kidnapped by an asshole but he was delusional as well.

“Anyway, my favorite thing about my job is dousing out fires. Now, your average sex trafficker wants to get easy girls. Girls who won’t put up fight. But me personally, I like it when my girls got fight in em, because I enjoy putting them out. I love when a break down a girl and make her submit. The more fight she had the better. And you, Ms. Y/L/N are one of the strongest women I ever had and to bend you to my will until I submit,” he took a deep inhale and palmed himself. “I would pay good money for that, but you’re the product and I can’t make money if I use my own product. But no worries, there are buyers out there with similar viewpoints as mines and they’ll pay a pretty penny for you. So, I’m not scared because I’ll have enough money in the world not to worry about your friends and family.”

As Armani suit gave his bad guy monologue, you found a random pipe on the floor behind you. Despite your better judgement you grabbed the pipe and whacked the smug smirk off your captors face. “I’m glad you like your girls with fight because I gotta whole lotta fight in me.”

When he faced you, you finally saw the anger in him instead of that giddiness he had earlier. “Make sure you don’t hit her in the face. Remember that’s our money maker, but everything else is fair game.” While he ordered his men to do their worst his eyes never left yours until he exited the room.

Soon as their boss left, the goons started pounding at you. Some used their fists, some used their feet, some used the butt of a gun, and some used a pipe. No matter what they were using, pain reverberated throughout your body. Although, you were in immense pain you refused to give these monsters the satisfaction of your screams in pain, so you suffered in silence. The only thing that could be heard were their grunts and vile words towards you. It wasn’t until you blacked out with thoughts of Bucky and Erik saving you were you able to escape the pain.

——

Charles automatically noticed something was wrong when you didn’t show for the family photo shoot. Even though you hated doing things like these you were always 30 minutes early, just in case someone needed help with something. So when his baby girl wasn’t there when he got there, he ordered his crazy daughter, Casey to track you down.

That was two days ago and there was still no word from you. HPD inform your parents that they couldn’t find Marcus, who you were last seen with and now he was officially a person of interest.

The whole family was gathered in the living room with the Wakandans, James Warren, Tony, Rhodey, and Detective Johnson from HPD.

“We have an update on your daughter’s case,” the detective informed the Y/L/N family as he handed a folder to your father.

His knees buckled once he saw what was inside. It was photos of you in your lingerie, posed for sell. The pictures got worse as he saw all the bruises on your body.

Your mother got a look as well and she instantly wailed. “Who would do this to my baby?”

Tired of being in the dark, Erik took the photos from your dad. When he saw them he was fuming and he knew just who to blame.

Throwing the photos at Bucky, Erik stormed towards Bucky and sucker punched him.”Its your fault! I was stupid enough to listen to you and let her go to that damn auction! Now look, Barnes she’s caught in a sex trafficking ring!”

Everyone except the Wakandans perked up at the mention of Barnes. “Bucky Barnes?” Tony and your mom questioned.

Bucky was outed now, so he took the nano mask off. “I’m just as pissed as you, Stevens and I blame myself more than you ever could.” Then Bucky turned his gaze towards Tony and your mom, “But all of you have a choice. You either can turn me in over duty or some personal vendetta or you let me be Winter Soldier and bring our girl home and kill those sons of bitches.”

Regrettably, Tony conceded to Bucky. He was far too worried about you to get back at Bucky and he knew how much those bastards needed to pay and the Winter Soldier was what they needed.

“Who took those photos,” Rhodey asked gravelly.

“We believe it’s Richard Dominguez. He just took over the Dominguez crime family and expanded into sex trafficking, which his recently deceased father was against.” Detective Johnson informed the room.

“What about this Marcus nigga?” Erik asked. He was ready to kill someone and if he couldn’t get to Dominguez then Marcus would have to do.

The detective felt uncomfortable under Erik’s murderous gaze. “Umm...we can’t find him.”

“Then what the fuck you niggas good for? Oh wait never mind y’all good for killing innocent black people.”

“Cousin!” T’Challa admonished his younger cousin.

Erik just shrugged his shoulders because he believed he told no lie. He looked at Shuri and nodded his head at her. “Lil cuz, can you find this Marcus dude if we give you his picture?”

Shuri looked at Erik as if he grew a second head. Did he know who he was talking to?”

“My bad, cuz,” Erik quickly apologized once he saw the look on Shuri’s face. “Can you find him quickly is what I meant to ask.”

“Give me the picture and I’ll tell you his last location within 30 minutes, cousin,” the Wakandan princess stated.

Detective Johnson handed a photo of Marcus to Shuri and she promptly went to work.

---

Everything hurt. You were sure that you had a couple of broken ribs. The girls took turns looking after you and in that time they told you who held the group captive. It was some dude named Richard Dominguez and he was fairly new to the game.

The door squealed open and the girls hid in their respective corners. You thought it was Dominguez coming to gloat about the offers he got for you, but it was a woman instead. She reminded you of a Kim Kardashian wannabe. Nothing on the woman was real. Her ass was disproportionate to her thighs, her lips looked as if they were stung by bees, and her tan was so dark that she was nearly the same color as you.

“So, you’re the one my husband can’t shut up about. He keeps on talking about your beauty, but from where I’m standing, darling, you ain’t that beautiful.” The woman sneered at you as she inspected you.

If her physical appearance didn’t put you off, her attitude did the job for you. Annoyed with the woman you sighed, “Don’t tell me your ok with this? And please don’t tell me you’re jealous.”

“Ok? Sweetie, I’m ecstatic with anything that allows me to afford my lifestyle. I would sell my own grandmother if it meant I could live like this. Honey, why would I ever be jealous of you?”

What a delusional one this chick was. You laughed at her and proceeded to read her. “Listen, sweetie, ummm, everything on your body is predominantly features of a black woman and under all that tanning lotion, you’re clearly not a black woman. You literally just came in here and called me ugly for having the same features you have that your plastic surgeon did a botch job on.”

You stood up face to face with Dominguez’s wife and even in your diminished shape she was frightened by you. “I bet your bitchass husband is fantsizing about me while he’s fucking you,” a look of embrassement from the woman confirmed your hunch and you contined. “I’m gonna go as far and say he called out my name on accident. Man, it must suck to be you.”

The wannabe was in tears by now and she ran out the room. Usually, you wouldn’t revel in the fact that a husband was mentally cheating on his wife, but since she was compliant, you didn’t feel an ounce of guilt.

Once again the door creaked open and this time it was Dominguez and he was pissed. He stormed towards you and punched you in the gut. “You made my wife upset, you little cunt! Be glad that you are of value to me or you be dead.”

You knew Dominguez didn’t care about his wife, but she must’ve gave him an earful and that set him off. Holding yourself back, you smirked at the man. “I don’t know what’s worse for you. Me getting to you and killing you or the Winter Soldier and Killmonger killing you. Either way you end up dead and you better pray that nothing happens to me, because those two I mentioned are nothing nice to play with.”

All the blood drained from Dominguez’s face when you mentioned the Winter Soldier. He didn’t know about Killmonger, but he didn’t sound fun and now suddenly he was fearing for his life.

His silence stuck with you and you knew you had him. You decided to taunt Dominiguez some more. “Remember when I said boyfriends? I was talking about them. So, even if I end up getting sold, you won’t be spending any of the money.”

Richard continued to keep his mouth shut as he tried to calmly exit the room. When he was outside the door, he ordered his head of security to hire more guards in case the Winter Soldier came looking for him. Now he had to get rid of you much quicker than he would like to, because he refused to be a victim of the infamous Winter Soldier.

---

Shuri came through and she was able to locate Marcus in 15 minutes instead of 30, and the team had him in their custody no less than 45 minutes.

Bucky was sharpening his knife trying to calm himself before interrogating Marcus when Tony approached him. “I know you hate me, Stark, but I love Y/N, so don’t be mad at her when we get her back. She was just doing what she believed what was right by protecting me.”

Tony held back his disdain for Bucky. He had to admit that he admired how fiercely Bucky wanted to fight for you. “Barnes, I’m not here to fight you. Y/N would whoop my ass if I did right now. I just wanted to say I appreciate how you’re fighting to get her back and that none of this is your fault.” Bucky drew his brows in confusion at Tony’s statement. Did Stark really compliment him?

“I know. I know. It doesn’t sound like me. But you can’t fight at your best if you keep thinking its your fault that Y/N is captured. You were ok with Y/N going to the auction, because you knew she was going to do it anyway. Don’t beat yourself up over that,” Tony advised the soldier.

“Thanks.”

“I still hate you by the way. I’ll just hate you less once we get her back.” Tony effectively killed the chance of any reconciliation between the two and left the room

As Tony and Bucky were having a moment, Rhodey was talking to Erik trying to calm him down. “You can’t just go in there and start beating on the dude.”

Erik looked at Rhodey in disbelief, “Oh, I can’t? Watch me.” Erik was walking to the door that Marcus was behind and Rhodey pulled him back before he turned the handle.

“You need to calm down and do it quickly! I’m not letting you blow the only lead we have on finding my niece. Do you understand me?” This was the first time Erik seen the older man lose his cool. He heard from you how your Uncle James was always the chill one despite how crazy our mom or Uncle Tony could be. So, he knew he needed to calm down for the sake of your uncle.

“A’ight. I’m sorry, man. I just need to find her asap.”

Rhodey understood the young man’s urgency. He clapped his shoulder and warned Erik. “We need Marcus alive. The cops need someone to arrest.”

Erik caught Rhodey’s drift. He wouldn’t he able to kill Marcus but whoever was the real culprit was fair game.

When Erik finally gathered himself together he went to the door where Bucky was at and entered the room. The two killers had to school their faces as they entered the room. It smelled of bodily fluids and the heat in the room made it no better.

Marcus was sitting in the middle of the room in his own mess. He was a nervous mess because he didn’t know who kidnapped him and then the crazies had a jaguar and wolf snapping in his face.

“They miss their mom and they know you have something to do with her being missing.” Marcus instantly recognized the man talking. He was the Winter Soldier and he was casually flipping a knife around.

Soon as he recognized Bucky Barnes, Marcus soiled himself once again. Erik scrunched up his face in disgust and pinched his nose. “Really, nigga? You already pissed now you gotta shit! I bet you didn’t have that same energy when you let Y/N go.”

“Look man, I didn’t have a choice,” Marcus yelled in desperation.

Pissed off, Bucky echoed Marcus. “No choice!” Bucky kicked Marcus’s chair, causing him to fall and have Apollo and Artemis growl in his face.

“Are you really gonna let em eat him?” Erik pointed to the predators.

“They haven’t ate all day and he’s obviously no help. Is that a problem?”

“Nah, it’s chow time.” Erik broke out into a smile while Apollo and Artemis widen their jaws for their new meal.

“She’s in Huntsville! Dominguez has a bunch of land out there, but he has a small army. He’ll know you’re coming.”

“We don’t care!” Bucky yelled already texting T’Challa with the information.

Erik bent down to Marcus. “Before I rock yo shit, why did you betray her?”

Marcus was a sobbing mess by now, he feared for his life. “I had a gambling debt at one of Dominguez’s underground casinos. He said it’ll clear my debt and I could get a little extra if I help him get her. Y/N’s an Avenger, I thought she would be out by now.”

As Bucky heard Marcus’s explanation, he crushed the door knob in frustration. What kind of man traded his friend for money? He took his knife out and aimed it at Marcus and cut off the top of his ear.

Annoyed that Bucky threw the knife so close to his face, Erik reprimanded him. “You had to throw it next to my face?” Bucky nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and exited the room. Erik quickly followed Bucky after he punched Marcus to silence his wails.

Thanks to Bucky texting the intel while they were still with Marcus, Shuri had the location of Dominguez. Everyone suited up as soon as a plan was formed, even though Bucky and Erik just wanted to go in guns blazing.

“You know we don’t plan on bringing Dominguez alive.” Bucky warned your parents.

Your mother left her husband’s side and for the first time looked Bucky in the eye. “I don’t give a damn. If he’s begging for mercy, you better let him bleed out. Just bring back my baby girl.” Now Erik and Bucky understood where you got a fierceness from.

Both men gave a head nod and a yes ma’am to her and left to go save their girl.

—-

You were getting anxious. If it was just you held captive, you would’ve already escaped and killed Dominguez, but you weren’t. The other girls were your responsibility and you promised them all that you would get them out safely and alive.

“Miss. Y/N, are your friends going to save us?” Lexie, the 10 year old asked you with hope in her eyes.

“Of course, honey. They’ll be here soon. If we get lucky, we might get to see the Scarlet Witch.”

Santana being the pessimist she was told the child not to get her hopes up. You were on the verge to cuss Santana out, but you heard gunshots and the screams of Dominguez’s guards.

A smile broke out on your face, help had came. You ordered the girls to grab the shivs they made in the past days.

All of you gathered together and were approaching the door when you heard footsteps by the door. You pushed the girls behind you and got in your fighting stance.

You abandoned your stance and fell to the floor in relief when you saw Steve, Nat, Sam, and Wanda at the door.

“It’s okay. I got you,” Steve hugged you being mindful of your injuries. You hugged everyone else and asked Wanda where Vision was. She told you he joined Tony and should be here soon.

“This family reunion is great, but we got people shooting at us and we need to get these girls to safety,” Nat reminded everyone.

“Nat’s right. You guys get the girls out and I’ll handle Dominguez.” You offered to your former teammates.

Steve was heavily against the idea. He claimed that you would be outnumber and your injuries would be a clear disadvantage. But you weren’t hearing none of it. You needed to kill Dominguez and your friends couldn’t get caught since they were still fugitives.

In the middle of your argument with Steve, your sword Shuri made for your birthday was suddenly in your hand. Then you heard the roar of Artemis and the howl of Apollo.

You smiled at your friends. “Game time, bitches.” This time Steve didn’t argue with you when you ordered them to get the girls to safety. He knew Bucky was there to save you and nothing would get in his way.

Thanks to your sword being made out of vibranium you easily dodge bullets and sliced through Dominguez’s henchmen. Your goal was to kill your captor and everyone who helped him, and you weren’t leaving the base til you did.

Taking two stairs at a time, you ran into the master bedroom and found Dominguez’s wife frantically throwing clothes, shoes, and jewelry into a duffel bag.

“Materialistic to the end, huh?” Your chuckle halted her packing. Immediately she was begging for her life and in that moment you truly didn’t know if you would leave her alive. You asked yourself WWCAD (what would Captain America do?) and regrettably you only knocked her out with a vase.

As you were tying up Richard’s wife, he came running into the room seeking refuge. Once he spotted you, he pointed his gun at you. “Damn, I thought you would’ve killed her. She knows too much about the operation.”

Dang, this man really didn’t care about anyone except himself. “You know I would say I feel bad for her, but she’s as guilty as you are.”

“Then maybe you should give me the same punishment as her,” he tried to bargain with you.

“Too late,” you stated and then you charged the man.

Your fight ended up in the hallway and near the railing. Dominguez and you were dodging each other’s hits. You lunged to stab him, but he fell over the railing but he grabbed you to bring you with him. You were expecting to feel the coolness of the marble floor, but instead you felt the familiar warmth of strong arms.

“I got you, princess.” Tears threatened to spill out when you saw Bucky and Erik. You kissed Erik and murmur a bunch of I love you. Then you jumped out of his arms and limped towards Bucky to do the same.

Unfortunately, your reunion got cut short by the groans of Dominguez. Erik and Bucky instantly got in defense mode but you had to pull them back. As much as you understood their anger, this was your kill.

You slammed your foot into Dominguez’s chest to stop him from getting up. “Remember when I told you I didn’t know if it was worse for you if I got to you if they got to you,” you pointed towards the two soldiers. He gave no answer, but looked at you in pure hatred.

“Well, I forgot about a third option and I’m gonna go with them, cuz they’ll kill you slower than I ever could.” Confusion and then fear crossed Dominguez’s face as he saw the jaguar and wolf prowling towards him out of the shadows.

While Apollo and Artemis were snarling in his face, you bent down to his ear and whispered, “You know my favorite thing about you douchebag dudes is the fear on your face once you know you lost and how you’re gonna die soon. It’s the best feeling.” You patted his chest as you smugly mocked his first conversation he had with you.

Once you started walking away you heard the crunching and breaking of his bones and his cries of pain as Apollo and Artemis ripped into him.

The adrenaline must’ve stopped pumping through you, because you fell to the ground before either Bucky or Erik could get to you. Blood was seeping out of your stomach when the boys reached you. Each of them were yelling it wasn’t your time yet as you repeatedly told them you were sorry. Luckily, Erik managed to insert a Kimoyo bead into your wound to stop the bleeding. And once again you blacked out as you have done so many times this week.

—-

“You’re very lucky Mr. and Mrs. Y/L/N based on all your daughter’s injuries she should be dead,” you heard the doctor inform your parents.

“Thank God!” Your mother praised as she sat in the chair next to your bed.

“Ummm, but is it necessary for them being here?” You could only assume that the doctor was referring to Apollo and Artemis, since you could sense their presence.

“They stay,” Erik ordered leaving no room for negotiations.

A few moments later and you felt your eyes flutter open. No one noticed that you were awake until they heard you groan in pain.

Your first words were where was Bucky and Erik.

Erik left his corner in the room and ran up to you. “Hey, princess. I’m right here and Barnes not here right now. We have too many eyes on us right now.”

Usually you would be understanding, but you didn’t feel complete until you had both men by your side. So, you pleaded with Erik to get him and he was about to comply when Secretary Ross entered your hospital room.

Automatically, you were on the defense and tried to sit up despite the pain you were in. Last time you saw Ross, you cussed him out so you doubted he would be happy to see you again.

“Y/L/N, it’s good to see you’re doing well.”

“What do you want,” you croaked out.

Ross widen his stance in an attempt to intimidate you. “We have reports from the other girls you saved and they said that Steve Rogers and the others were there helping them. Do you know where they have could’ve gone? And please don’t lie, the girls did say you did talk to Rogers.”

Your monitor was beeping quickly indicating the spike in your blood pressure. At this point, Ross was more than a thorn in your side and he was getting dangerously close to be on your kill list.

It also must’ve been your mother’s breaking point, because she jumped out of her seat and was in Ross’s face. “Are you fucking kidding me!!!” Your mama had to be furious to be cussing. You only heard her cuss a handful of times in her lifetime. “My daughter is in the damn hospital barely escaping death and you’re worried about capturing damn Captain America??? My baby girl is right, that heart attack must’ve fucked with your head more than you thought. Now I suggest you get out of this room or that wolf and jaguar are gonna have a new chew toy.”

Ross made the smart decision of leaving the room with no protests. You knew your mom could be scary, but for her to successfully threaten the Secretary of State, she earned a new level of respect from you.

“Damn, Mrs. Y/L/N remind me not to piss you off.” Erik laughed in admiration.

While looking at you and giving you a motherly caress, your mama replied to Erik. “I don’t play about my kids, even the ones who give me the most headaches. So, it’s best you and Barnes remember that.”

You almost couldn’t contain your excitement. That warning your mama gave Erik was also a seal of approval for both of them to date you. Who would’ve thought your mama would be open to you dating an assassin.

For a while you talked with your family. Shannon tried to apologize for unknowingly helping you get kidnapped, but you threatened to burn all her wigs if she tried apologizing again. That quickly got her to shut up.

The nurse came by and told everyone that visiting hours were over. Everyone left except Erik and when she tried to get him to leave, he gave her a deadly stare until she scurried off.

Running your fingers through Erik’s dreads calmed you and him. It was very possible that you wouldn’t have survived and never had the chance to see each other again.

Tears were forming in Erik’s eyes and this was the second time you saw him cry. Between sniffles Erik spoke for the first time since you two been left alone. “I almost lost you, Y/N. That scared the shit out of me. I’m about to ask T’Challa to assign a Dora to follow you when me or Barnes are not around.”

Half of you was grateful that you had a man that cared that much about you, but the other half was annoyed that you were about to get a 24 hour detail after this whole debacle. “I’m safe, E. But don’t you think it may be a little extreme to have someone watching me all the time?”

“Hell no.” Welp, there’s goes any negotiation. You didn’t have the energy to fight Erik on the topic, so you let it go for now.

Erik jokes with you for a bit to lift your spirits, but he knew eventually you would ask for Bucky again. He told you what you already suspected which was that Bucky felt guilty about your abduction and was avoiding you. You told Erik to get Bucky and tell him if he refused to come you would never speak to him again.

Within 10 minutes, Bucky was sulking in your room. Erik excused himself, knowing that you two needed this intimate moment and appreciative that he spent time with you already.

“You two seem really close now,” you pointed out to Bucky after Erik clapped his shoulder.

Seemingly nervous, his metal hand scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, when the girl you both love gets kidnapped it brings enemies closer.”

Bucky made no attempt to get near you and it broke your heart. In the time you needed him the most he refused to be there for you, but you understood it, he was still blaming himself.

“Doll, I really shouldn’t be here.”

“Why?”

“It’s not safe. I heard that Ross came by looking for intel. Someone can come by and turn me in.”

Although, it was a valid concern, you knew that wasn’t the real reason Bucky thought he shouldn’t be there. “I have my own hospital floor and Tony made sure everyone signed a NDA, so try again, Barnes.”

This time Bucky moved towards you and you could see the pain in his eyes. Hell, you practically felt the pain rolling off of him onto you.

Bucky was crying by the time he sat next to you. He laid his head on your stomach and you could feel his tears seeping through your hospital gown.

When he finally composed himself, Bucky spoke.”Fuck doll, if I hadn’t encouraged you to go to that damn auction you wouldn’t be in this damn hospital bed.”

You lifted his chin to get his attention. “I’m only gonna say this once. It’s not your fault. I was gonna go with or without your permission.”

Bucky opened his mouth to apologize, but you held up your hand to stop him. “James Buchanan Barnes if you are fixing those gifted lips of yours to apologize, I promise you I will cut off your dick and you know how much I love it, baby. You wouldn’t want to do that to me, would you, babe?”

Laughter filled the air and it was music to your ears. Bucky’s laugh was low like his voice but it held a certain lightness that Bucky must’ve retained before joining the army.

“Ok no more apologies. But you’re gonna have someone with you at all times just to make me feel better.”

“I basically told her the same thing and she didn’t argue with me,” Erik added while he was standing in the doorway eating some jello-o.

You rolled your eyes in annoyance at the two men. They really thought you were gonna comply with them. “I didn’t argue with you because I’m too mentally tired to do so. But watch, once I’m feeling better I’m cussing both of you out for trying to tell me what to do.”

Both muttered a ‘we’ll see’ and laughed at you. Throughout the entire night the boys kept you entertained and not once did they argue. It was a rare occurrence for Bucky and Erik get along and you hoped for more of it in the future.

Sleep eventually claimed you and you were glad that you had your two favorite men by your side as it always should be

Tags: @blackreaders-assemble @destinio1 @lildashofmelanin @nickidub718 @dumbchick @chaneajoyyy @wakanda-inspired @blackpinup22 @pastelastronomy24 @cyrioussoul @valkyriesnymph @bitchacho25 @yoyolovesbucky @toniilaney @euphoric05 @marvelmaree @dessianna1

[lauraisblogging]

ACTORS AND ACTRESSES IN QUESTION

This is going to be my favourite portion of this process, especially with my interest in getting to know the people behind the characters. I feel like I should focus on around 5 female actresses and then 5 male actors, meaning I’m gathering enough content but not too much that it’s overwhelming. 

1. Florence Pugh

Pugh is an English born actress who made her acting debut in 2014 in the film ‘The Falling’, but then began to gain recognition for her work in ‘Lady Macbeth’ (2016). 

Though her real breakthrough didn’t happen until 2019, her portrayal of the wrestler Paige in the biographical sports movie ‘Fighting with My Family’ produced by Dwayne Johnson. Following her success from ‘Fighting with My Family’, one of her strongest pieces ‘Midsommar’ was released with her portraying an emotionally damaged woman Dani. She finally peaked with her portrayal of Amy March in ‘Little Women’, which resulted in her receiving not only a BAFTA nomination but also an Academy Award nomination. 

While these are some of her best pieces of work have you heard about her upcoming movies or her past pieces that didn’t receive half as much recognition. 

2. Victoria Pedretti

Pedretti is an American born actress who made her acting debut in 2014, participating in two short films. During this time she was focused on her studies, though once she graduated she was represented by The Gersh Agency.

Some of you may know her for her portrayal of Eleanor Crain in the hit Netflix horror series ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ which was released in 2018, this resulted in her receiving both Saturn Award and MTV Award nominations. Though her real climb to success didn’t really begin until 2019 in which she starred in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, then in the same year gained real recognition for her portrayal of Love Quinn in the Netflix Thriller ‘You’ and will return to the role for the third Season. 

While this is what she’s best known for you should check out some of her beginning projects, as well as those up and coming.

3. Ana De Armas

De Armas is a Cuban-Spanish actress who made her acting debut back in 2006, in the Spanish film ‘Una rosa de Francia’. Following this she went on to star in the television show El Internado from 2007-2010. 

She then began the transition to working in American films, her first being ‘Knock Knock’, which also starred Keanu Reeves. After this she made starred in two other movies, before making her initial breakthrough as the AI hologram Joi in Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Her next big hit was in the mystery film Knives Out (2019), starring as Marta Cabrera.

While this is what she’s known for she has a vast selection of other great projects, as well as her upcoming work in ‘Deep Water’ and the drama film ‘Blonde’ which is all about Marilyn. 

4. Letitia Wright

Wright is a Guyanese-English actress who began her professional career in 2011, starring in multiple British TV shows including Doctor Who, Black Mirror and Humans. 

In 2015 she began to make her breakthrough after starring in the award-winning film ‘Urban Hymn, following this her portrayal of Shuri in ‘Black Panther’ was the beginning of her global recognition. With this she reprised the role in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In 2019 she received the BAFTA Rising Star Award. 

Although her role of Shuri in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is what she’s known for, she has a number of upcoming projects outside of it. Just to name a few would be ‘Guava Island’, ‘Death on the Nile’ or the recently announced project ‘The Silent Twins’ based on the true story of June and Jennifer Gibbons.

5. Maya Hawke

Hawke is an American actress and model, known for being the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. In 2017 she made her screen debut as Jo March in the BBC adaption of ‘Little Women’.

Though she gained real recognition in 2019 from her portrayal of Robin Buckley in the third season of ‘Stranger Things’. In the beginning Hawke was the main actress being consider for Sofia Coppola’s adaption of ‘The Little Mermaid’ but Universal pictures had other ideas. Another key point of Hawke’s career was her role in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’. 

As well as reprising her role of Robin in the next season ‘Stranger Things’, she also starred in ‘Human Capital’ and has the upcoming project ‘Mainstream’. Aside from filmography she’s also releasing music on the side. 

1. Daniel Kaluuya

Kaluuya is both a British actor and writer, who started his career as a teenager in the theatre. He made appearances in the hit television series ‘Skins’, in which he also wrote a few episodes for. He began to gain real recognition after starring as the lead in ‘Sucker Punch’, an award winning playwright. 

He then began progressing onto the silver screen, starring in ‘Black Mirror’ and two BBC series’ ‘Psychoville’ and ‘The Fades’. Following these projects he made steps towards film as Agent Colin Tucker in ‘Johnny English Reborn’ and Black Death in ‘Kick-Ass’. Though in saying this his breakthrough role came with ‘Get Out’, a horror movie that attracted critical acclaim, resulting in reviews highlighting the strength of his acting abilities. Following the success of ‘Get Out’ his next hit came with ‘Black Panther’ which was impactful to many, globally. 

While this only covers a few of Kaluuya’s successes and what he is known for, he has a number of other projects worth checking out such as ‘Widows’, ‘Queen & Slim’ and even an upcoming Fred Hampton project which currently remains untitled. 

2. George MacKay

Mackay is a British actor who started his acting career at an early age, after being discovered by an acting scout in 2002 asking if he’d be interested in starring in P.J. Hogan’s adaption of ‘Peter Pan’, which ended up being his big break. 

Following this he went on to star in ‘The Thief Lord’, which was a film adaption of Cornelia Funke’s best selling novel. His focus changed television projects before once again delving into film. In 2008 he starred in the movie ‘Defiance’ and although he ended up injured before even shooting his first scene, he was eager to still eager started. He started gaining real recognition in 2013, in which he portrayed Eddie in ‘How I Live Now’ alongside Saorise Ronan, followed by the role of Davy in the musical film ‘Sunshine on Leith. 

Some of his work that’s definitely work checking out would be ‘Pride’, covering the journey of a young 20 year old and the struggles of being gay in homophobic Britain, ‘Where Hands Touch’, which is about the relationship between a member of Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany and a biracial girl. His most recent piece of work which gained recognition was his role of William Schofield, a young World War I soldier in ‘1917′.

3. Kedar Williams-Stirling

Williams-Stirling is a British actor who began his professional career in 2007 starring in an episode of ‘The Bill’, since then he’s worked on multiple projects in both film and television. 

He started to gain recognition after his roles in the British films ‘Shank’ and ‘Montana’, another key part of the beginning of his career was his role in the CBBC television series ‘Wolfblood. Williams-Stirling began to become familiar with a wider audience of people with his role in ‘Sex Education’, alongside Gillian Anderson and Asa Butterfield.

While this is what he’s known for he’s had quite a few other projects such as ‘Will’, ‘Two Graves’ and ‘Changeland’. 

4. Dacre Montgomery 

Montgomery is an Australian born actor best known for his portrayal of Jason Lee Scott in ‘Power Rangers. Alongside acting he also uses his spare time to share his poetry via his podcast “DKMH”.

He started his professional career in 2010, starring in a short film called ‘Betrand the Terrible’ and then in 2011 starred in a TV Pilot entitled ‘Family Tree’. As well as doing short films he also had a part in a music video for an Australian deathcore band. 

His breakthrough onto the big screen came with ‘Power Rangers’, starring as the Red Ranger. He also reached an even wider audience in 2017 thanks to his portrayal of Billy Hargrove in Netflix’s hit series ‘Stranger Things’, reprising the role in 2019. Another project he was a part of was ‘The True History of the Kelly Gang’, alongside Nicholas Hoult and Russell Crowe. 

While this is what he’s known for he has a few other projects called ‘A Few Less Men’, ‘Better Watch Out’ and the upcoming project ‘The Broken Heart Gallery’.

5. Logan Lerman

Lerman is an American actor who is best known his portrayal of Percy Jackson. He started his career early staring in the likes of advertisements and commercials before moving towards the series ‘Jack & Bobby’, followed by the movies ‘The Butterfly Effect’ and ‘Hoot’. 

He began to gain recognition for his roles in ‘3:10 to Yuma’, ‘The Number 23′, ‘Meet Bill’ and of course ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightening Thief’. With such a vast filmography focusing on various different genres, he went from starring in ‘The Three Musketeers’ one year to starring in ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ the next. The height of his career was in the late 2000s, early 2010s after this time the amount of projects he had slowed down slightly. Alongside acting he’s also featured as an executive producer in both ‘Indignation’ and ‘The Vanishing of Sidney Hall’. 

Recently Lerman has made it back onto our screens through the Amazon Prime series ‘Hunters’, as well as the upcoming film project ‘Shirley’.

[thatwitchrevan]

Okay so here’s my general impression of Endgame, aka what I liked and didn’t like. This post has ALL the spoilers (or at least a lot of them.)

Things I didn’t like:

Carol’s parts in the movie were way too brief. I understand this movie was mainly about sending off the original Avengers but I really thought there’d be more Carol!!!

I also wanted more Valkyrie.

Steve’s ending was...not at all satisfying to me. Seeing him as an old man was jarring and the way they did the scene felt cheesy and if they expected me to be happy about him going back to live with Peggy I’m...not. It’s not that I don’t like Peggy but I literally haven’t been invested in their relationship since the end of The First Avenger. At least not romantically. Steve’s scenes with Peg in Civil War were good and I was heartbroken when she died. I like her as a character. But I’m so far from convinced that she was the great love of Steve’s life that he was always meant to be with. If that’s the case why wasn’t there more than a literally five seconds foreshadowing that he’d go back? I liked the scene where he saw her in shield hq and they should’ve left it at that.

Because here’s the thing. Not only has Peggy not been upheld as The Significant Person in Steve’s life, but he has other people that are right there in 2023 that he should give a second thought to. All the surviving Avengers, for one, but particularly Bucky and Sam. You’re telling me Steve loves Peggy SOOOOO much after not seeing her for over a decade and not having been in a relationship with her for much longer, that he would abandon his best friends without ever telling them he wasn’t coming back, RIGHT AFTER they had just come back from the dead and he’d mourned them for five years??? really??? nah absolutely not. There isn’t any way in hell Steve Rogers would ditch his best friends for his ex like that. Are you kidding me. I hate it. 

Natasha?????? Didn’t get??? a funeral??? SHE SHOULD HAVE A STATUE. A MEMORIAL. She sacrificed herself for a CHANCE to save the world and she gets nothing except a few solemn words between Avengers? why didn’t they at least give her and Tony a joint funeral are you fucking kidding me all the same people could’ve come. 

Don’t tell me Fury wouldn’t speak at Nat’s funeral. AND CLINT. AIUDNUDNAUIDND

The fact that instead of resetting the timeline (which I understand why they couldn’t do that) they brought everyone back five years later with all the consequences of millions of people disappearing from existence temporarily is fucking with my head and given the way everything was handled in this movie I highly doubt it’s going to be satisfyingly addressed in future ones. Like listen - May lived without Peter FOR FIVE YEARS. That’s just an example.

I’m really really really sad they didn’t bring Loki and our original Gamora and Vision back. They didn’t even really discuss it. Thor said NOTHING about wanting his brother back. I don’t even think he said he missed him?? We spent this whole hiatus thinking about if and how those characters might also be revived and Endgame gave only the barest shrug in response to those questions and hopes. Those characters’ stories got NOTHING satisfying to tie them up. I’m so disappointed.

The fact that Nat didn’t get to see the massive team up at the end makes me emo.

Things I liked:

Morgan Stark is absolutely precious and I love her and I too would tell all the Avengers to fuck off and let the world continue to burn in order to protect her.

Seriously I haven’t been able to get over the fact that they gave Tony and Pepper a beautiful baby girl. The pure happiness I felt when realizing that TONY HAD A CHILD was...unparalleled. I literally cannot. He loves her SO MUCH. He wanted her SO MUCH. He wanted to be a dad, and a good one. and he was. He was the best dad. i’m crying. 

“I love you 3000″

Morgan is an absolute angel 

NAT NAT NAT my baby my love

she’s so fucking sad the whole time. her expression when they killed Thanos and realized there was nothing left to do destroyed me. And post time skip??? her crying over her sandwich and smiling at Steve with ALL the sadness in the world in her eyes and trying to keep up with being an Avenger even though it kind of feels like there’s no point anymore, because she HAS to? you can see her survivor’s guilt. She knows the world’s already ended and she’s one of the ones who has to go one. She knows her best friend lost his family and is out there losing himself too. She knows half of her family is never coming back. I can’t handle how sad she is or how strong she is for going on anyway. She’s amazing.

and it KILLS me that she died but if it had to happen I’m glad it was the way she wanted. she saved the world one more time.

Bruce was so good the whole time. I love seeing him and Hulk coexist, I love his nearly ever-present sweet little smile, how much he appreciates what and who he still has, how he’s still trying to be optimistic. Bruce has been through a lot, including suicidal depression, and here he is doing his goddamn best and SMILING. I’m just?? so proud and I love him he’s come so far.

I love all the tender little moments??? Nebula and Tony playing tabletop football (and the way he very calmly, non-judgmentally says ‘you don’t have to do that’ when she thinks it’s a fight at first) and taking care of each other (she lets him have the rations?? covers him with a blanket?? is this fanfic that I wrote in my dreams??); Bruce reminding Thor how he helped him when he was in a bad place (and his goddamn smile when he says it, so full of love and care?? Bruce adores him and just wants to help him I cry); Steve trying to cheer Nat up and them just being friends; Rhodey and Nat being buddies and looking out for each other; Rocket and Nebula holding hands; Tony crushing Peter in a hug; Carol meeting Peter and giving this kid she just met a smile and their whole exchange...I could go on. Just Avengers being friends and loving each other and being wholesome and overwhelmingly platonic?? aijdnauidnhuadn

And also painful as fuck like see: the ENTIRE scene between Nat and Clint before she throws herself off. Particularly the forehead rest and how they go right into fighting each other (again). THEY’RE BEST FRIENDS AND THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH.

Thor talking to Frigga again was???? Everything. I love them both so much. Especially how she told him to stop being who he’s supposed to be and be who he is.

Also the fact that Korg and Miek and Brunnhilde are still there for Thor even after five years of being in a Depression Cave? amazing. 

Nebula is so important. My love for Nebula has grown with every one of her appearances and this movie gave me so much of what I wanted for her....character growth, making new friends, tender/ funny scenes, getting to see her relax. Her reaction banter with Rhodey was great to see. Just the fact that she’s loosened up enough and learned to trust enough to joke with these people and be friendly with them, even if she is still Nebula about it......im love her. And she genuinely became an Avenger like she was just as determined to fix things as the others and she didn’t hesitate to shoot alt Nebula to protect Gamora. She’s fucking perfect lots more Nebula please.

Let’s talk about the big fight scene. 

as soon as I heard “on your left” i was freaking THE FUCK out.

Sam is a dramatic magnificent man and I love him. 

and Steve!

guys he finally fucking said it

they assembled guys

ALL of them 

(except nat)

jainkjandknadkjandkjandkjadn 

and my FAVORITE part of the Battle was Wanda

She went ALL OUT on Thanos and I just enjoyed it so so so much

Carol was also amazing and I think I ascended when she took that headbutt without a flinch...without even blinking...GODDESS

and the team up?? “don’t worry, she has help” I DIED Y’ALL 

for a moment I was in badass female character heaven where all was right in the world

Rescue was particularly awesome I’ve been waiting for that for YEARS and she was AMAZING

And seeing Shuri, Okoye, and Valkyrie acting as Avengers was!! good shit

and alright I’m heartbroken that Tony died but again, it was the way I would’ve wanted him to go. He saved the world one more time! and at least I got to see him with a fucking infinity gaunlet

watching Thanos die not once but twice was. extremely satisfying.

SAM. IS. FUCKING. CAPTAIN. AMERICA. (no not like that. I mean also like that but. you know what I mean.)

a lack of end credits scenes is the best way to pour salt in the wounds of me.

but I did cry at original Avengers bit of the credits. particularly Scarlet and Robert’s.

[allisonbaelfire]

Light In The Shadows

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader, Bucky Barnes!Best Friend x Reader Summary: 3 years ago, you fought alongside your fiance, Steve Rogers, against your own team to stand up for what you believe in. You sacrificed yourself and got captured, so that Steve and Bucky could stop Zemo from re-activating the remaining Winter Soldiers. Your team and you were taken into custody by Ross. After Steve freed you, he brought you to Wakanda and disappeared without saying a word.

Word Count: 4,194

Authors Note: This Story is for @marvelatmytrash‘s writing challenge! Congrats to your followers and thank you for being you!

I got the prompt, “I’ve never felt this way about anyone... but that doesn’t make it right.” / This Story takes place during Infinity War. (I really tried to make it a One Shot but there will be a part 2)

_______________________________________________

1 Year after Civil War:

“Y/N, stop thinking!” Okoye commanded as she threw you to the ground effortlessly.

You quickly got up. “Again.”

The general shook her head and came in front of you. “Y/N, you’ve become an excellent and intelligent warrior, especially since I have been training with you. Do not feign stupidity to risk a concussion. You’re not here.” She spoke, retrieving your knife from your hand.

You refused to admit it but Okoye was right. Normally, she couldn’t take you down so quick. Before you came to Wakanda, you were already skilled in fighting. After all, you had been an Avenger for a few years but with Okoye’s training, your abilities grew.

“Not only are you somewhere else with your thoughts but your heart is not here either. Take the day off.”

Even though you were absolutely sure you hadn’t informed anyone on today’s date, it seemed like Okoye would know how hard it was for you to push through. Today was the day Steve Roger's proposed to you two years ago.

“I’m sorry.” You apologized while holding back tears.

You hated that you were still in pain whenever you thought about the lost love of your life. You didn’t want to be a woman that pitied oneself. Instead of mourning and asking you every day why, you trained with Okoye and T'Challa to repress your grief. 

Okoye gave you a small smile. She was about to leave the training room when Shuri stormed through the door with a grin. “He’s awake.” the princess announced.

You didn’t need anymore words to comprehend what Shuri meant, for you followed her out of the room.

**************************************

Both you and Shuri zigzagged the halls of the palace until you jogged into the throne room. Your eyes recognized the silhouette of a good ole friend, a tear of joy rolling down your cheeks.

“Hey Bucky.” You greeted as you walked towards him.

You couldn’t believe your eyes once he turned around. His familiar features carried a warm vibe. He still possessed the brunette long hair and everything else about him seemed healthy. Somehow, he appeared to be truly happy.

Bucky took slow but confident strides up to you. Other people were in the room but you couldn’t care less when you jumped into his arms. Your face buried itself into his neck, your eyes releasing tears. You were so relieved to see him.

Bucky pecked your head. “I’ve missed you too doll.” By the sound of his tone, you knew how true his words were. “So where’s my punk?” He asked, gently placed you down.

The good mood washed away instantly with silence engulfing the room. No one dared to say a word. It was as if everyone but Bucky stopped breathing at his question.

It’s been a year since your fiancé left you without saying a word. This was after Bucky insisted being placed in cryogenic storage. He didn’t know, like nearly everyone in Wakanda, that the name Steve Rogers wasn’t allowed to be said near you. He couldn’t know that his question triggered pain internally for you.

T'challa cleared his throat. “Shuri, why don’t you show Y/N her new suit while I guide Mr. Barnes through Wakanda?” His sister guided you out of the room with a gentle grasp of your hand.

************************************** 2 Years After Civil War:

Not much had changed after Bucky awoke except that his presence made you Wakanda feel like home. Before he woke up, everyone tried to make you feel comfortable but it didn’t work. You missed your home, the Avengers, and above all, Steve. With Bucky, it was like having your own big brother.

“You’re such a boaster, Barnes.” You laughed with your back to the ground and your belly facing the sky.

“It’s not my fault that you still don’t know how to use your skills against me in a fair fight.” He helped you stand. “Or I’m just too good.”

You rolled your eyes. “Fair fight, huh? What about our fights are fair? You have your vibranium arm!” You hissed playfully. “Do you see me using my fire suit? No, I take all the beatings. If I’d put on my suit and stopped going easy on you, you’d never take me down again. Old man.” “Ah is that so, Doll?” He teased. You smirked.

“I agree with her but I’d put both of you down and I wouldn’t need my suit.” T’challa throw in as he entered the garden. “Why don’t you two use the training room like everyone else?”

“First thing, we’re not like everyone, my friend.” Bucky tapped T’Challa’s shoulder. “And training outside in the middle of Wakanda on a sunny day is way better.”

“And second, you have the power of the Black Panther.” You added. “Without it, I’d put you down just like I’d do with our White Wolf here.”

T’Challa attempted a serious face but broke character at Bucky’s laughter.

 “Anyways I just wanted to check on you Y/N.” T’Challa admitted.

Once again, your euphoric state diminished. You knew his reasoning for checking up on you. He was about to leave Wakanda for a few weeks felt guilty for leaving you alone. Today marked the second year for Steve disappearing.

You nodded to let him know that you were thankful. You wanted to move forward. T’challa gave you a kiss on your forehead in understanding before excusing himself.

Bucky was confused at first but remembered the date. He embraced you. “I’m sorry. I forgot.”

It took one year, and Bucky was your best friend. He knew your darkest secrets, your weirdest habits, your favorite places in Wakanda, how you fought, and so much more. But you also knew all about him. You knew what he did, how guilty he still felt, and in many sleepless nights, you had to remind him that he was not the monster he thought he was. While Shuri helped to clear his mind of Hydra, your friendship helped Bucky discover himself. You helped each other heal.

“Okay, I’m gonna tell you something. You should stop.”

You brows rose. “With what?”

“There’s no way to say this nicely but I’ll try.” Bucky deeply inhaled, grabbing your shoulders firmly. “Y/N, you have got to stop crying about Steve. We both haven’t heard from him and as much as it pains me to say it, I don’t know if we ever will. Steve is my best friend. I’m very grateful for everything he’s done for me but what he did to you and how much you struggle, my friend would’ve never done this. That’s not the man I know. Not the man who told me how much he loved you. He doesn’t deserve to be in your thoughts any longer.”

You were surprised at Bucky’s words because you knew from the sleepless nights you two shared when he had nightmares, how much Steve meant to him. The reason why you two were so close based on the stories Steve told you about his best friend and since he was awake and doing better, it was like you’d known him your entire life. To hear Bucky say those things about Steve made you wonder if he was right.

“We were together for over six years.. I am who I am because of him. I wanted to marry that man. I just don’t know how to put this behind me.” You started crying. “I still love him.”

Bucky was the only one who you refused to lie to. With him, you stopped pretending that everything was alright. Even after two years, the pain hardly diminished.

Bucky wiped your tears away, “And I am who I am now because of you. Y/N, you’ve got to know one thing: you’re my family and we have each other. I’ll never leave you, okay?”

He engulfed you in his arms once more. Bucky was always afraid of hurting people, so you knew that he meant what he said by the hug.

**************************************

3 Years after Civil War:

“But Y/N, you need a superhero name!” Shuri rejoiced. “I mean look at you! Discreetly running around the world saving people with Bucky and my brother. Even Bucky has some sort of a nickname.” She smiled. “How about Dinora?”

You looked at her confused. “Why? What does that even mean?” 

“It means the light of the fire.” Bucky answered why playing with Shuri’s tech.

Over the last two years Bucky and you found your place in Wakanda. Bucky was a new man. He was happy and the nightmares ceased. Everything finally fell into place.  

“Stop touching that Wolfie!” Shuri snatched one of her devices from him. “How do you even know the meaning of that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Look at her. Y/N looks like bright lavain her suit (X) .” Bucky replied. Shuri only raised an eyebrow. “Fine. I Googled it.”

 “I shouldn’t have shown you the Internet.” she shook her head.

You grinned. “Okay, I’ll take the name. Only if you stop getting on my nerves about it.” 

Nakia came into the lab. “Shuri, we have a situation.” You furrowed your brows at the queen. “They’re here.”

You whipped your head around to face Bucky and Shuri. “Who’s here?”

Nakia didn’t speak. She figured you would know who she was speaking of without forcing herself to say the name for her sister in-law. Shuri was still confused. Bucky was ready to hold you back if you took a step towards the door.

Shuri chose the name Dinora for a reason. You’ve always been like fire but more like lava that would destroy anything if someone hurt you or those you loved. Steve had hurt you. And Bucky didn’t want to watch what you, his family now, would do to your ex-fiancé, his best friend who had always been like a brother.

**************************************

Before the Palace:

The King was aware of the guests in Wakanda. He was prepared to welcome them with the Dora Milaje behind. The Quinjet landed in front of the palace. As he saw the man who crushed your heart exit the ship, he became torn. He knew when you’d find out that Steve was back and T’Challa allowed it, you’d be really disappointed in T’Challa. He didn’t want that because you had become family to him. However, T’Challa also knew that Steve wouldn’t be here if he didn’t have a good reason.

“You’re very brave, my friend.” the king praised as he shook Steve’s hand.

“Maybe coming back here wasn’t so brave. More so of stupid.” Okoye muttered. T’Challa heard her remark and smirked.

“Excuse you?” Natasha asked. The king wasn’t the only one who caught Okoye’s words.

Steve threw Natasha a look. “It’s fine. I understand.” He replied with his hung head low. “Could we talk inside? Maybe I can explain everything.”

T’challa nodded. “You know that she’ll be back at the beginning? When Y/N sees him, right?” Okoye whispered to her King.

T’challa grinned. “No, she won’t. Y/N is much stronger now and we will not allow him or anyone else to hurt her once more. She is one of us now. I do not care who brought her here.”

**************************************

Hours went by and the king understood the urgent visit of Steve and his teammates. It was clear that they’d stay much longer than he thought. T’Challa was speechless at first after Steve explained the situation.

“We have to do this together, otherwise no one will survive this.” Steve begged for his help. “Thanos is looking for Infinity Stones. Our friend Vision carries one of those” Steve stated as Vision and Wanda came forward to display the stone on his head. “We need Wakanda’s help to save him, find the other stones-”

T’Challa believed every word he had heard but that didn’t make his situation any easier. To be honest, he was overwhelmed. A Titan he had never heard of threatened his world. But you were now a part of T’Challa’s family. He was loyal to Wakanda and his family first before anything else.

But he knew he couldn’t spare you this fight. You were one of the best warriors he had. He had to put aside his feelings and decide as a king that Wakanda, and that included you, would fight alongside Steve and the Avengers.

“Not on my watch.” Shuri thundered as she came into the room. She was furious with her brother. “How dare you help this man! You know how long it took us to help Y/N!”

Sam and Natasha glanced at each other in confusion. “What’s with Y/N?”

“He broke her heart.” Shuri replied. “As he left her here without a word.”

T’Challa carefully observed Steve’s face. Steve opened his mouth to speak but T’Challa stopped him. “Shuri that’s enough.”

She glared at T’Challa. He claimed to always protect you and Bucky but now he’d force you to fight with Steve? Shuri didn’t understand. She saw in the eyes of her brother that she shouldn’t say anything now but that never stopped her before. What stopped her was Bucky who joined the room.

Steve smiled at the sight of his best friend. “Hey Buck, how are you?”

“Not bad for the end of the world.” He smiled as he hugged Steve.

“How do you know whats going on?” Shuri questioned.

“He’d be here if not.” Bucky replied looking Steve into his eyes to show him that he was relieved to see him alive but that he was mad at his best friend for what he did to you.

**************************************

A few days later:

Steve, T’Challa and the others informed everyone on their reasoning for being in Wakanda here and why they needed you.

You, however, didn’t leave the training room ever since Steve sat a foot on Wakanda. You managed to hide yourself well. You only came out when you needed sleep or food and then you were running into the woods. You laid yourself down somewhere where no one could’ve found you easily and when you had to eat, you ate berries or hunted.

Everything seemed better than sitting with you Ex-Fiance at a dinner table.

The only one who found you sometimes was Bucky. He explained everything to you and told you that Steve really wanted to talk. But you didn’t want to hear anything else, not even from Bucky. So, you hid in places where even Bucky couldn’t find you. You understood why you had to fight alongside Steve but that didn’t mean you couldn’t hide until the fight began. You climbed up a tree and rested on a limb.

“So when do you plan on coming out? And saying hi.” A female voice asked below you.

You recognized the woman immediately. “How about never? How did you find me Natasha?” You sighed.

Natasha climbed up. “Did you forget who taught you how to hide? I’d find you everywhere.”

“That was a long time ago.” You replied coolly, still not looking at her.

“I still found you, didn’t I?” She smirked. “I’ve missed you.”

You feigned a laugh. “Yeah? Why didn’t you come visit me then, huh?”

“Y/N, you don’t understand.” Natasha spokes softly.

“What exactly? That my future husband left me or that my best friends didn’t even care to write a letter on where they were or if they’re even alive?” You looked at her, trying not to cry as you saw your former best friend.

“We didn’t know what happened, Y/N. We wanted to protect you. You should really talk to Steve and give him a chance to explain. You both might never get the chance again.” Natasha responded and jumped off the branch. “He’s in the palace talking with T’Challa about the plan.” Then she left.

“Damn it, Natasha...” You said as you thought over her words. She was right, it was time to face him.

You jumped out of the tree and made your way towards the palace.

**************************************

You gave yourself two hours to clean up and prepare for the talk. You then made your way to Steve. But you weren’t prepared for what you saw the moment you opened the door to the throne room.

You recognized Steve as he stood next to Bucky and T’Challa as they went over the plan to the others. He stood with the back to you at first but as he noticed that nobody was listening to him anymore and were looking to the door, he turned around. There were so many thoughts in your mind as you looked into his beautiful ocean eyes.

You checked him out, noticing he had changed. He still wore his old suit but without the white star in the middle; it looked as if he had ripped it off. His blond hair was longer than he usually wore it. All those years when you two were together and he had a beard. You tried to hide how hard it was for you to see him. But everyone knew that in the moment he had turned around, your heart broke into a thousand pieces and you didn’t know how to fix it this time

Bucky could tell that you were to break any second. He pushed pass Steve and made his way to you. He grabbed your hand and didn’t say a word but that was enough for you.

Bucky slowly walked you over to stand in front of Steve. The tall blond man deeply inhaled. It wasn’t easy for him to see you either. When you stood in front of him, Bucky released your hand and gestured to everyone in the room to give you and Steve some space.

**************************************

At first no one said a word. You two stared and kept your distance.

He genuinely smiled. “You look gorgeous.” Steve finally broke the silence.

Hearing his deep voice for the first time in three years awoke some memories. Mostly good ones. Like when he told you “I love you” every morning when you woke up next to each other or every night when you went into bed together again.

Steve saw how close you were to breaking down. He couldn’t help himself and wrapped his arms gently around you. He missed you. He knew how much he had hurt you because you weren’t a woman that’d cry just by seeing a person. Steve couldn’t bear the thought of what you must have been through because of him.

You didn’t understand why he’d do that. Why would he think he had any right to touch you, to hold you like he still loved you? But you didn’t fight him. You forgot how good it felt and how much you missed holding the man you adored and loved more than anything. After a few minutes you pushed him away.

You took a deep breath and wiped some tears out of your face. “Why?” You asked him. You couldn’t manage to say anything else.

“Because I wanted you to have a life.” He answered with his head down to hide his tears from you. “Me and the others are refugee’s now... we don’t stay in a motel longer than we have to. We can’t go home.”

“Think of something better than that Rogers.” You demanded. “I can’t go back either, remember? I could’ve come with you!”

“But I didn’t want this life for you!” Steve shouted as he looked at you. “You deserved more than that, I promised you more than that.” You saw his tears and didn’t know how to respond.

“So you decided to leave me by myself?” You questioned.

He shook his head. “I didn’t. I saw how close Bucky and you were. You helped each other, that’s good.”  Steve sounded a bit jealous.

“Don’t you dare be jealous and drag him into this, he has nothing to do with your mistake!”

Steve took a breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to live like I had to and believe me I didn’t want to leave you but I, I—”

“-You had to save the world.” You added. “Yeah. I’ve heard that before but last time I was allowed to come with you and fight with our best friends.”

That was it. Steve grabbed your hand and dropped to his knees. He held your hands close to his forehead. You never expected this to happen. He was always a caring person except the one time he got on his knees, when he proposed, he’d never do that.

“I love you and I’m sorry for what I did. I’d change it if I could. I thought here, you could have a better life than to be always on the run. But don’t think for a second I stopped loving you because I never did.” He cried. “I need you by my side and I always knew that but I was too afraid to come back again.”

You knelt in front of him and gently touched his cheek. “You can’t imagine how much I love you, Steve Rogers.” You made him look into your eyes. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone.. but that doesn’t make it right.”

You stood up and made your way to the door but you stopped before opening it. “I have to think about everything.”

Steve nodded. He understood but was relieved that you didn’t shut the door for you two for good. He’d give you the time you needed, even if that meant his whole life. Steve never wanted to hurt you and he knows that he had to win your trust back.

“I love you.” He said behind you but you were already out of the door.

___________________________

Sorry for some grammar mistakes, I’ll take care of them in a few days!

_______________________________________

Taglist: @marvelatmytrash @disneymarina @redjamesboy @wehaveabucky 

OS Taglist: @hayleyyyatwell

_______________________________________

[gotgifsandmusings]

Full musings on Infinity War

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings: I'm just waiting for your thoughts on Thanos. I know there will be thoughts.

Ha, there are thoughts indeed. I was thinking of recording a video about it, but my mic seems to be messed up from the journey, and Griffin’s mic picks up everything...

Alright, fuck it, I’ll just write everything I was thinking about Infinity War, because overall I’d call it a frustrating viewing experience.

FULL MOVIE SPOILERS are below the cut, so you have been warned.

Very warned.

Okay then, let’s get into it.

I want to be able to have a neatly packaged thesis statement of “I did/didn’t like it,” but I do think my dissatisfaction with it is a bit more nuanced? Like, I was viscerally annoyed sitting through Ragnarok, and a lot of that were thanks to the expectations I had going into it. Here, I kind of didn’t care that much and didn’t read spoilers for that reason. Griffin was super hype to see it, I knew Lindsay Ellis didn’t react favorably to it on Twitter, and those two things alone were my only basis for any expectations.

I tend to have my mind wander think, “am I liking this?” during a movie screening. Had I been asked during this one, I couldn’t have clearly answered at all, at least not until the very end. There were some jokes and dialogue I laughed at, the action pieces always felt earned by the context, though not necessarily incredibly engaging. It was a mixed bag, maybe, but it was more just me kind of nodding along at the direction. Not in a “cool” way, but more a, “okay here’s what they’re doing now.” It became very obvious Thanos was going to get the all stones this movie, and equally obvious that it was not going to be fully resolved, so it was really the question of how and where the final action piece would fall.

Gamora’s death was some bullshit. I sort of felt like it sucked out the emotional tension, since this is just big purple dude from space beaming in with stones who doesn’t have any direct connection to 98% of the characters. But even more than that, I was having trouble understanding what they were going for there at all.

I didn’t see GOTG2, though I want to. However, I do know about the familial dynamics with Gamora and Nebula and Thanos. I think Gamora giving up the soul stone location to save her was seeded, at least from what I understand went down. And frankly, I can even track Gamora kissing Peter given the stakes, given she asked him to kill her, and so on. What loses me was why they painted her death as a sacrifice of Thanos’s, because it’s 100% clear this guy is an abuser to her and Nebula, and then even backing out of this, he’s 100% incapable of empathy, which is why his solution to ~famine~ is a glove that can literally do anything (like...you know...make resources more plentiful or increase education about birth control or something), and his solution is still “equal opportunity genocide.”

So that Gamora was explicitly shown to us to be someone he loved to get the soul stone sends all kinds of really dangerous messages, and also does it banking on the believability of his philosophical commitment to thinning the herd. Except that philosophy itself falls apart with minor scrutiny. His planet fell apart because of thin resources, so he can extrapolate that to the universe? And he really believes just arbitrarily murdering half the population would do anything, without addressing birth rates, or power structions, or anything at all?

It was just so, so, so weak as a motivation for him. And I’m absolutely flabbergasted critics are seriously comparing Thanos to Killmonger as two villains with “understandable” motivations. These are two massively different scales of understandability, right?? How is there any basis for comparison other than to say, “wow Thanos is a shitty villain after Killmonger.”?

The problem is, Thanos was the closest thing we had to a movie protagonist, since it was his journey. But there’s nothing remotely sympathetic about what he’s trying to accomplish, or particularly logical, and to have him be the one to “sacrifice” to get there was like...for what? Otherwise we wouldn’t have believed how hardcore he was?

I think how much this movie lands for someone is going to fall entirely on their view of Thanos. I wasn’t impressed and I don’t understand why this is the guy they built towards, and specifically him and the infinity gauntlet.

Because yeah, that damned gauntlet. I really can’t stand unclear power scaling like that. The gauntlet can do anything with all the stones in it, but minus two of them, Dr. Strange can go toe-to-toe with Thanos? It’s just...the fights became increasingly irrelevant because Stones of Random Power so things happen that need to happen just because. They are one of the most profoundly uninteresting plot devices I can think of.

Oh also? Hands down the worst moment was when Starlord was so full of Manpain about Gamora that he ruined Peter Parker and Tony Stark almost getting the gauntlet off Thanos. Just utter horseshit there. Not to mention even going with the mapain, he could have just shot him in the face or slit his throat instead of punching him, and then boom, movie over.

Idk, that moment, along with Gamora’s death earned heavy eyerolls. There are so many more inventive ways to have those guys lose a fight to him, or to have Thanos obtain the soul stone, and I don’t see her dead body being the necessity for any of them. Especially with the soul stone. Maybe Thanos creates some kind of illusion using the reality stone where Gamora thinks she has to get the soul stone in her possession to save Nebula, and then Thanos is able to take it. Idfk. Just...why this?

(Also the Guardians felt super off to me. I know stuff happened in GOTG2, but it seemed obvious they weren’t being penned by their usual writer.)

I do want to address the darkness of this movie. I got one ask saying it was acedia at its finest, and another saying that no, the thesis of the movie was that every life is important (Steve says this to Vision) and we fight for something saving or whatever. I lean more with the acedia anon.

If anyone is reading this and doesn’t know the spoilers, the movie ends with Thanos, having assembled all of the stones, snapping his fingers and killing half of the universe. The finger snap itself is mentioned as the threat and how easy it’d be fore him to do it at least 5 times, so it was certainly seeded. Then, we get a lovely sequence where we watch half the Wakandaans turn to dust, T’Challa among them, along with half the Avengers: bye bye Sam, Bucky, Elizabeth Olsen, every Guardian of the Galaxy except Rocket, Dr. Strange, and Peter Parker. That’s after already watching Vision, Gamora, Loki, and Heimdall get killed by Thanos.

Like yes, everyone knows this is not going to stand. We are shown about two minutes before this charming sequences Thanos going back in time because he has the time infinity plot device, and we also know Avengers 4, GOTG 3, Black Panther 2, the next Spiderman follow-up, and so on are in the works.

Oh except children in the audience. There was a BAWLING 7-year-old outside the theater, and what do you tell them? “Don’t worry, it’s just the Russo brothers doing it because they can, and they want to seem edgy and bold”? It’s not bold. It’s kind of the biggest cop-out possible, because we know nothing is permanent now, it’s probable everyone who died in this is brought back (...maybe Loki or Heimdall or all of the Asgardians are exceptions? maybe?), and it was basically just an exercise in the limitations of the movie medium for comic narratives.

But thank god we got to watch all of our heroes horrifically die with everyone reacting to them. Like good god, the very young Peter Parker had to be given time to freak out about how he feels sick and doesn’t want to go? What was the point of that? Or was that the reserved take, and in the full cut there was actually a death scene for Princess Shuri too or something.

Speaking of Shuri and Wakanda, I do want to say that I think there’s an element of this that’s in poor taste. Black Panther is *still* airing in theaters, and there have been how many pieces coming out about the importance of representation and what Wakanda meant to so many viewers. So the fact that it was in Wakanda when we see half the population dying... Like, I do like that Wakandans were given an instrumental role in end-of-the-world stakes. But then that meant that yeah, you’d watch half of them crumble to dust in that sequence. Yes, you know that half of San Diego is also crumbling to dust, but it’s a little more viscerally upsetting to see it.

And honestly, why couldn’t T’Challa have been a living Avenger in this? Why was his death particularly necessary? The body count of black characters was kind of high across the board when you take into account Heimdall and Sam (and out-of-universe Zoe Saldana as Gamora. Oh and then Nick Fury in the post-credits. Also is Valkyrie implied to have been with the half of the Asgardians that lived, or did she die off-screen? Cause I’m not sure I imagine her *not* fighting back.). I’m not sure if this is a point of contention with viewers for the most part, but there was just something about T’Challa’s unceremonious death alongside half his country where you’re like, “seriously, why is this what they’re showing now?”

Because guess what? It wasn’t an effective ending! We KNOW it’s being turned back, especially given the utterly ridiculous volume of deaths with key characters who we know have movies. You know what would have been a better ending for this? Just...Thanos snapping. That’s it. “You should have aimed for my head. *Snap*.” Cut to black.

There was no reason I can think of to have been this explicit about everyone’s deaths when they’re just temporary anyway. “Hey kids, enjoy your horror-free entertainment!” Especially Peter Parker’s death. That really, really felt like acedia at its finest.

Because part of the thing with acedia, as Gretchen has so eloquently explained, is that it’s a dark kind of writing where nothing really matters, bad shit just happens. And boy if *that* wasn’t the actual thesis statement of the movie.

Steve said that no, you save every life because that’s what you fight for. But that point was heavily undercut multiple times in the film. There seemed to be countless situations where a character had to either kill or consider killing someone they loved for the greater good (or not saving someone they loved, or giving Thanos keys to something really bad). It was utilitarianism vs. the power of emotional connection, and it was constant. Frankly, it was pretty cohesive.

Except magic man got magic gauntlet and did magic thing, so choice was rendered completely useless.

All told, once this movie is put together with Avengers 4, it’s possible there is some message that works to this end. But right now we essentially got half a movie based around an incredibly weak motivation that we know is all going to be back-dialed anyway. But thank god we got to traumatize kids in the name of ~boldness~ in the process.   

Loki gave over the Tesseract but tried to kill Thanos, and got punished for it. Peter pulled the trigger to kill Gamora like she asked and got punished for it. Gamora tried to stab herself and got punished for it. Gamora tried to save Nebula at the cost of an infinity stone and got punished for it. Trying to save Vision didn’t work. Trying to not save Vision didn’t work. 

Nothing mattered. Except apparently Thanos “sacrificing” Gamora. Wow, what commitment to bullshit philosophy and a laughable “solution” to a problem that is at best, temporary in nature.

This was a downer of a film, and not in a way that made me interested to see the resolution. I just want this out of Marvel’s system. It was event comics writing at its worst, and using an event that never could have really worked for this medium with this schedule of releases.

So okay, fine, my thesis statement is: I really didn’t like it. The longer I think about it the more annoyed I am. Had it ended five minutes earlier, I would have had major issues with it, but it would have been more of an “...okay then” kind of thing. Gamora got the shortest end of the stick, from what I can see. But nothing really came together, and the climax with the RANDOM EVIL ARMY was just going through the motions.

Honestly? If I had to sit through this or Dark World again, I’d choose the latter in a heartbeat. That was a mess and often boring in places, but at least the climax was inventive and fun, and there was lip-service to character development. This was just...an event. Can’t wait for it to not matter at all!

[saviourfinn]

First thoughts/remarks about Black Panther

so i just saw Black Panther tonight and I loved it!!

Major Spoilers under the cut.

Critics were right when they said Black Panther isn’t your typical blockbuster action movie. It’s packed with phenomenal action scenes, yes. But it’s so much more than that. It’s also a spy movie, a movie about civil war and allegiances, a movie about the conflict between traditions and globalization, a movie about family feuds à la game of throne, and about what to do in the face of oppression. To be honest, it barely feels like a Marvel movie, which is so refreshing. I’m gonna go ahead and talk about several points, it’s gonna be disorganized because i’m tired but who cares.

Wakanda is. so. freaking. awesome. All of it is very afrofuturistic,which is awesome. I love the fact that they didn’t make the whole country into a technological marvel, you see the technologically advanced city, yes, but also the small villages, the shepherds in the countryside etc. Despite the city being super modern, there’s still red soil in the streets, and as an african it really felt like home (or what home could have been without the colonization). I loved how the Wakandan people dress, a mix between traditional clothes and modern clothes, the elder wearing more traditional clothes and the young people (esp Shuri) being more adventurous and afropunk in their aesthetic.

I loved Wakandan’s tradition to access the throne. The whole ceremony and trials were really impressive.

I loved how the tribes were all different, they all had different particularities, purposes and ways of life. Just like most african countries (and a lot of other countries), Wakandans aren’t made up of one singular group, and all these tribes can and have come in conflict, which is one of the main themes of the movie.

Brooooooooooooooooooooooo, the Wakandan tech????????????????????????? So fucking awesome. The members of the Tribe of the Door all wear a thick, colourful piece of fabric draped around their shoulders, and i thought it was just their Aesthetic until they raised it with an arm and it created a freaking electromagnetic shield!!!! There’s vibranium in their clothes and thanks to it they can summon a shield whenever they want I lost my freaking mind in the theater during this scene i’m not gonna lie.

The women in this movie were so awesome, especially Shuri, Okoye and Nakia. They are all complex characters with different values, purposes and motivations, and they all get a lot of screentime. They aren’t defined by their relationship to T’challa, but by their personal convictions. One of the main themes of the movie is allegiance, and to whom/what you are loyal to. Okoye is loyal to her country and the vow she took as a Dora Milaje to protect the throne, and watching her stick to her ideals despite being torn from the inside by her feelings is just heartbreaking. Nakia is loyal to her moral compass and her belief that those who can help others should help them, and everything she does is driven by this mindset.

Even though i always loved the fact that Nakia would be T’challa’s love interest, I was a little worried that the “love interest” part would swallow other parts of her character. It wasn’t the case at all. Sure, she has feelings for T’challa and deeply cares about him, but she would never sacrifice her ideals and moral values for his sake. Actually, at the end of his character development, T’challa is the one who ends up seeing the world like Nakia does.

I love the playful relationship between the characters. Most of the main characters know each other since childhood or their teenage years, and it shows. Okoye and Shuri teases T’challa all the time, and they all behave like a big family.

Shuri. Oh my god, Shuri. A lot of critics said that Michal B Jordan’s Killmonger was the stand out of the movie, but even if i loved his character, i don’t agree. Shuri is. She’s captivating, funny and resourceful, and every one of her scenes is a breath of fresh air. She’s a genius and at only 16, she’s the leader of Wakanda’s technological and medical department. She has her own huge lab in the middle of a vibranium mine, and literally all of the cool tech in the movie is made by her. She’s clearly passionate about what she does, and every time she talks about one of her inventions, her eyes light up and she’s so proud. She’s also a multitasker because during a fight scene, not only does she fight herself, but she has to give instructions to her brother and to another character so that they can win their own fights lmao. But despite being a genius and having a lot of responsibilities, she’s obviously still a kid. She’s always joking and teasing people, and like every teenager she isn’t a big fan of lengthy traditional events. She’s eager to get into action, as her young age prevents her from going on the field, and she wants to discover the world. She is very close to T’challa, their relationship is adorable, and she never misses a chance to make fun of him. Really, Shuri is so much fun.

Black women on screen!!!! So much of them!!! 3 of them being main characters!! It’s so rare for a Marvel movie to have more than 1 main female character, let alone pass the Bechdel test, let alone have black women in speaking roles. They were so badass and layered characters, truly thank you Ryan Coogler for my life.

Erik Killmonger. Such a great, complex villain. He reminds me a lot of the character Lorenzaccio : an anti-hero who, to be able to get his revenge, behaved like his enemy, just to lose himself and turn into the very monster/villain he hates. He raises excellent questions to T’challa and the Wakandan government : they always had the resources and ability to help other people, and yet they never did. When their neighbours got enslaved and colonized, they just hid, and not once during centuries did they try to help. What should one do in the face of their neighbours being in trouble? Should you isolate yourself, ignoring others’ suffering to ensure your people’s safety? Or should you help those in need? After all, who can say if some african countries couldn’t have resisted colonization if they had had access to Wakanda’s tech. Erik wants justice, but in the way of reclaiming it he became a bloodthirsty killer. And the narrative made it clear that he wasn’t born that way, he could’ve turned good. But after his father died, King T’chaka left him all alone to grow up in Oakland’s ghetto, and all the violence and suffering + his abandonment helped turn him into a resentful, angry man. And when he accuses Wakanda of abandoning other black people, he isn’t just talking about them. He’s also talking about himself, who got abandoned by his own family.

Another great thing about Erik : he also represents (at least for me) the diaspora. He’s half-american and half-Wakandan, and he lived in the US for his entire life, so Wakandan people consider him p much like a foreigner --despite the fact that he is also Wakandan.

T’challa’s journey during this movie was to realize that his father (and the government) weren’t as kind and selfless as he thought, and that he had to make a choice. As a king, he can either keep on maintaining his predecessors’ isolationist politic, or open his borders to try and help people in crisis. He realizes that he can’t stand by and watch innocents get murdered while the Wakandans are all nice and cozy in their country, not anymore. He saw how abandonment and violence shaped Killmonger, and he realizes that the only way to help people is to be compassionate. And in the actual political/social climate, where people close their borders to refugees and turn a blind eye to minorities being oppressed, it’s a really important decision.

Black Panther talks about a lot of real-life problems : what to do in time of crisis -- build walls or build bridges?, the brutal oppression of African Americans, the kidnapping and abuse of Nigerian women by terrorists (there’s a scene where Nakia and T’challa save women who were being abducted by those terrorists), etc.

Negative points (because nothing is perfect) :

They could have developed W’Kabi more so that we understand him and his motivations better. I understand that we couldn’t have 4 hours of movie lol, but the result is that his character is somewhat flat compared to others.

They speak with an african accent, and yet they pronounce the “T’” wrong lmao. Most actors are not native so i don’t hold it against them, but during the first few minutes it distracted me from the movie. They pronounce it T-ee-challa when "T’cha” is supposed to be pronounced like in the word “chat”. But again, it’s just a pet peeve because every day i hear europeans pronounce african names wrong.

Other remarks :

I’m so sorry for Erik/T’challa shippers... y’all are gonna have to cancel your ship, Coogler did you dirty à la George Lucas lmao

There’s a cool scene where Nakia is wearing a hijab and she’s beating up bad guys, it’s so rare to see a hijabi woman in an action scene it was awesome (she doesn’t wear the hijab all the time, just in that scene, but still).

I probably forgot/left out a lot of stuff, but that’s all for now!

shout out to my sister @wouriqueen who brought up a lot of relevant points!

[real-words-from-rahema]

An Analysis of Black Panther: The Amazingly Good and the Extremely Problematic

After traveling around the world, primarily in Africa for the last six months, I enjoyed seeing the aspects of East African, South African and West African culture featured in the film. Representations of their clothing, their landscapes, their ways of being, their connection to the land. I was especially hyped about the Gqom song played near the beginning of the film in the lab, as well as the use of isiXhosa language. I did though wonder what someone living in Africa would think about these elements being thrown together as part of one country. But since Wakanda is a fictional place, I decided that this approach made sense as a way to make Wakanda more ambiguous, though the accents and use of Xhosa made it seem South African.

And then, of course, there are the women in the movie. They were strong, they were intelligent, they were beautiful AND they were main characters. They were not last minute additions simply brought on to add sex appeal; they made the movie. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen this level of Black female grandeur in a film...have I ever seen this level of Black female grandeur in a film? I’m not sure if “Set It Off” counts…”Waiting to Exhale” maybe? Anyway, the essence of women in the film was one of my favorite aspects. I'm also hyped that Letitia Wright, who played Shuri, is Guyanese, because yes, Black people come from South America too! And we can't forget Winston Duke from Tobago! (All my Caribbeans stand up!)

My second favorite element in the film is how it addressed the micro-aggressions of well-meaning white folks. Let’s look at CIA agent Ross, played by Martin Freeman. I didn’t trust Ross at first because, well... he was weird. He assured T’Challa that he had everything under control with Klaw, when, well...he didn’t. He made cultural offences such as patting T’Challa’s arm as if he was a boy, looking at traditional rituals and speaking directly to the leader of the Jabari people as if he had any type of say so on what should happen next in the serious matter at hand (he was shut up rather quickly there wasn’t he). Now to be honest I thought Ross was going to snitch and get all the Vibraniam taken away from Wakanda, and I was super surprised when he demonstrated loyalty and made himself useful. Of course, the movie had to include a half cool white dude.

And there was more "checking of white folk" in the museum scene in which the art curator is reminded that everything on display was stolen from Africa, and her lack of knowledge about the objects is highlighted when she doesn't know the true origin of the objects on display. I'm obviously always here for striking down White arrogance.

On a completely different note, I deeply appreciated what I deemed a metaphor for Africans’ role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade through T’Chaka’s actions. We see that T’Challa is disappointed when he learns that his father T’Chaka did nothing to help the child left behind after T'Chaka killed his father. He had a hand in that child’s situation but did nothing so that he could save face in his kingdom. And we all know that at least in some countries there were agreements between Europeans and African rulers during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which are more often than not ignored. T’Chaka did not see the child as one of Wakanda’s, in his eyes, he was something else entirely. Which is in many ways how the Black American is viewed today. I appreciated that inclusion so much as it’s often overlooked.

And then Black Panther sheds light on the judgment and policing of Black actions. When Black Panther gets Klaw in his hands he is ready to murk him for killing his father, reeking havoc on Wakanda and the rest of the world for 30 years. But the cameras are out and no one is going to give that explanation on CNN if he goes through with it. He is told by his general that the world is watching and thus he knows what he must do, let the crazy, racist, white dude go into custody to get questioned and treated like a human though his job in life has been to dehumanize others. We see this in society everytime a White male shoots up a school and murders numerous people. He gets out alive somehow (unless he commits suicide) while Black men don’t know if they will make it through a traffic stop.

So yeah, I dug all of the elements highlighted above. Now here comes the parts I didn’t dig so much.

Let’s look at the role of the Black American in the movie. Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Wakandan name N’Jadaka) was left fatherless after his father was murdered in Oakland. Hmmm…interesting. Stevens grows up angry, joins the military, and becomes a top killer in that institution. Okay, okay, better than a street thug killer, he went the classy route. He teams up with a filthy, ghetto, White dude named Klaw and tricks him into helping him find Wakanda. Hmm, I’m sure there was a better way to go back to the motherland but okay. When Stevens gets to Wakanda, things start to get real 1800s Liberia. For those that don’t know, in the early 1800s freed American slaves - with the support of the American Colonization Society - emigrated to Liberia and…well…did their part to colonize the indigenous Liberian people into their American way of life. This as I’m sure you guessed, turned out horribly and lent to the chaos that we see in Liberia today. And back to Black Panther in which we see Stevens come to claim his long-lost seat in the royal family and once he gains that seat in a traditional battle, makes orders that don’t align with Wakandan culture, deeming their way of life as weak. This leads to rifts within Wakanda, hence big fight scene at the end of the film.

Okay so, if this was put in there for historical purposes, like to remind us of Liberia and what can happen when we try to use colonizing ways (whether knowingly or unknowingly) when relating to and working with each other as a Black people, okay. But I can’t ignore the divisive notions here and the jab the movie seems to take at the Black Panther Movement in the United States.

Stevens is from Oakland (where the Black Panther Movement started) and lived with a father that had an idea of liberating his people from poverty, police brutality, etc. At the beginning of the movie, we see the father and his friend making some type of plan to push that resolve with weapons. Here is where I’m going to stop the tape. The Black Panther Movement in the United States is deemed by the larger white society as a terrorist group, with the sole purpose of attacking White people - which is not true at all. Black Panthers were armed in their communities as protective measures against police brutality, and they may have engaged in attacks on empty buildings to get attention to help solve issues in their communities since the voting polls were doing nothing, though due to all the FBI corruption that came into play while trying to silence Black Panther members, I’m not sure if these “attacks” were really originated by Black Panthers or were staged to justify arrests and exiles. We also can’t forget all the health care, food, and educational support that Black Panthers provided in their communities

So with that view in mind Stevens wanting to have his wardogs and spies armed isn’t such insane idea. They are a trained group of people that know how and when to use weapons. Now I may need to see the movie again, but I thought that he wanted those in need around the world, those under attack right now to be able to defend themselves. It seems like other people heard something different. At no point did I hear him say, “Go KILL THEM ALL!” Now obviously Stevens' approach was one of arrogance and ignorance and thus even if protection was the message he went about it the wrong way, but again there you have it - Angry, lost, Black man, on a rampage. Stevens was literally all of White fear wrapped up in a f*ck boi bow. Like, it kind of hurt to see my brethren portrayed as that because that’s not who we are and revenge is not what most people want. We just don’t want to die at the hands of the police twice a day or something like that.

And then we have the really weird White people approved ending in which Black Panther’s answer to all this injustice is to do what? Open a community center y’all! Well hot damn that’s an advanced idea, right? And oh wait, he also decided to share his technology with nations all over the world! Does that include nations that colonized others? Oh, yes! Yes, it does! Like really? Black Panther doesn’t understand that colonizers are just going to steal their ideas and use it as theirs, like they’ve done for...like...ever?? I mean that ending was I’m sorry, don’t take my Black card, but it was trash. They can attack Boko Haram at the beginning of the movie (which makes sense) but not do anything about violent white supremacy. SMDH. I got questions.

I just want to say again, I loved the beauty and vibrancy of the people, land, the music. I get the impact it’s having on the film industry, and I understand what the film was going for. I also can’t expect for a Marvel film to answer every political question that exists today. But I can’t let my fictional (not really fictional) African American brother get dragged like that on the big screen. And I’m going to ask that Black American and African beef be squashed next movie, mmmhhh k? Thanks.

[theemichelleb]

Avengers: Endgame - Movie Review

I actually saw this movie opening weekend and decided to give everyone a chance to watch before publishing because I know just how important this film was for my generation and those Marvel fans before us. I definitely do not want to ruin anything for anyone so if you have not seen the movie yet DO NOT READ THIS and don’t watch the trailer for the new Spiderman Movie. It will truly ruin your day, LOL.

That was your warning….

Now, for those of you that are not HUGE Marvel fans, if you’re wondering… Yes, I did sit through the 3 hours and 2 minutes of awesomeness known as Avengers: Endgame. Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY! The movie was awesome and everything I imagined it would be. It didn’t even feel like I was sitting there for 3 hours.

I think it was only right for the writers to end the story line with Tony Stark the same way they started this decade of awesomeness with him, and he deserved that spotlight. We have waited 10 years for the powerhouse that was Thanos to come and conquer or be conquered, I had no idea Infinity War and Endgame would play out they way they did, but I think it was genius. I love movies that don’t have the fairy tale happy ending and leave us with scars because that’s how real life is; it hurts, makes us cry, and makes us question how we’re going to move forward after this. I mean, I didn’t cry or anything, and I definitely can’t wait for whatever Marvel has next in our heroes respective story lines, but life isn’t perfect and I admire movies that show these worlds in a more realistic light.

Leaving out of Infinity War, I knew Gamora was gone… although they’ve found a way to bring her back to close out the Guardians franchise without a missing piece. I also knew Thanos had to die and our beloved heroes would need to be brought back to life… there was too much money and too many franchises riding on their main characters being brought back from the dead; especially T-Challa because the black community was going to have a riot if our beloved Black Panther was knocked out of the MCU after ONE self titled film of cinematic genius.

But here is where I have to acknowledge Stan Lee’s amazingness and how I almost dropped a tear to see he actually got to end the game with Endgame… truly iconic and he will be missed.

So! Avenger’s: Endgame… where to start? It’s definitely clear to say if you did not follow the entire franchise with all of the individual story lines that tie into the Avenger’s, you’re going to be lost at some parts during the movie. We took trips back to the first Guardians of the Galaxy, the first Avenger’s movie, Doctor Strange, Thor: The Dark World, Avenger’s: Infinity War, and I know I’m missing a few others but those were the big ones for me that were traveled back to. But honestly, just watch all of the movies to get the entire experience and learn who each character is, there are 22 movies included in the Avenger’s MCU, although I don’t really count the Incredible Hulk (2008)… Bruce Banner/The Hulk isn’t even portrayed by Mark Ruffalo in that movie and I personally don’t think it has anything to do with the series other than it’s an origin story for The Hulk; but, watch at your own discretion and choose if you agree on your own.

Now, don’t be confused. I completely 100% believe that the movies are corny and cheesy, some more than others, but that’s the beauty of taking your childhood comic book characters and making them real; just take a look at the Transformer’s dynasty… Optimus Prime is about as corny as it gets but we still love him on film! Let me not get off topic, though. My least favorite films from the Avenger’s universe are the first two Thor movies (although Ragnorak was absolutely amazing and saved Thor’s story line in my eyes), Iron Man 3 was okay I could have done without it, Spiderman: Homecoming, and Ant-Man… I know those last two may make some people unhappy, but you can definitely share your views in the comments below! I’d love a good conversation on this. My faves, however, consisted of Black Panther, all 3 of the Captain America Movies, Guardians of the Galaxy 1, Thor: Ragnorak, and all of the Avenger’s movies. All the rest were good for what was needed to move the story along, including those that I didn’t care for much.

Only thing I don’t care for are how the movies end with plot holes that are later “filled” in future movies, I think that’s Marvel’s attempt to cover their tracks, but those holes could be left purposely to leave space for flexibility in upcoming movies. There were a couple holes in the plot for Endgame that I’m just not convinced of, however.

If Thanos’ past self is killed, shouldn’t the affects of Infinity War be erased? If he’s dead before he can snap his fingers the first time, technically he never erased half of the universe’s population, which then means Endgame didn’t occur and we should be sent back 5 years prior as though nothing ever happened. I could believe that only those heroes that participated in fixing the timeline would remember what actually happened.

If Gamora died in Infinity War, but her past self was brought forward when Thanos came to the future in Endgame, technically Thanos could not have killed her to get the Death Stone in Infinity War, which also means he never erased half of the universe’s population. I guess they could spin this as since she’s still alive it doesn’t make a difference… still a plot hole to me.

Where did Loki go? He got hold of the tesseract when the team went back to 2012 to get it and the staff, but of course things did not go as planned and he disappeared. I just want to know when we are going to discuss how that throws off the time line, because if he disappears he technically never winds up in jail in Asgard.

I’m sure there’s some round about way to explain all of these, but I’m just letting it be known that it doesn’t completely make sense. Time travel is a complicated nonexistent thing to understand as is, so I won’t sit too much on what was off about it because there was so much more that was right about it.

I was talking to somebody about the movie and appreciated just how amazing the women were in this film, yet again, displaying just how D.O.P.E. we are in real life and the way we always come through in the clutch. Okoye, Shuri, Valkyrie, Wanda/Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, Pepper Potts, and our beloved Black Widow, may she rest in peace, kill the game in the movie and aren’t just side kicks. This goes back to my excitement about Black Panther… I don’t care what anybody says or who chooses to believe that movie wasn’t a big deal, it was a HUGE deal to me and the emphasis of D.O.P.E. black women was truly out of this world. They seriously carried that trend through the end of the Avenger’s story.

In particular, let’s highlight Black Widow and her sacrifice to save the world. There truly was no question about who would have to die between her and Hawkeye, unfortunately. They were quite the pair but he had something tangible to gain from saving the world, his family; she, on the other hand, was able to save all of her friends and give his family back to him by sacrificing herself. She had waited and obsessed over how to save the world for FIVE years and this was it; Hawkeye went through the world killing bad guys to remedy the curse that was Thanos. I think it was a beautiful second chance for him. He not only got his family back but his best friend gave her life so he could find his way again and become the hero she knew he was.

This is why I’m so hooked on how D.O.P.E. we are as women!

Captain America also got a loving ending to his story and I appreciate how the baton was passed to Sam Wilson, a glorious black man. Could this be foreshadowing to a branch off for Captain America movies?? I tell you one thing, these crazies in the world today better not start ANY NONSENSE about there being a black Captain America the way they did about Idris Elba being the black James Bond…. and that’s that on that.

For my dear Iron Man… Tony Stark you have truly achieved the level of acknowledgment and heroism that you chased after with your escape from captivity in 2009 and we appreciate you for your sacrifice and getting that 1 in 14,000,605 chance to beat Thanos right! Tony Stark’s path has taken many turns that I didn’t expect it to take following him through the years, but I’m glad he reached the goal he was fighting for in the movie primarily; to save his family. The procession shown at his funeral to close out the movie was so beautifully laid out the only thing that could have made it better was if Stan Lee had made a cameo. I think it was genius how the pan through all of the characters at the funeral was a parallel of the comic book opening for all of the Marvel movies. I think the best part about how Tony is honored is that Pepper was by his side in the fight against Thanos and he had daughter that I’m most certain is going to follow in his footsteps in both brains and courage. His legacy will definitely live on into new movies and through the characters that we got back.

There are truly so many other things that can be said about the movie. Overall, it was the best ending for this struggle to survive than I could have imagined. It truly made the last 10 years worth while, and I appreciate the growth of Marvel over the years in their execution of all of these movies. They sought out to tell an amazing story and ended up with an epic playing field that has provided a ridiculous amount of growth and development for the company. The casting has definitely been A-1, the plots are intriguing, the scripts have gotten more believable, and execution was always pretty on point but have gotten even more intense and engaging for the audience.

The movie is a must see. If you haven’t gotten into Superhero movies, it’s okay but if you want to give something new a chance now’s the time. You can watch the entire story be told from beginning to end and there are so many ways to find the order to watch all 22 movies so the story flows and you’re not lost.

Happy Binge Watching!

[flicksnfilms]

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment - the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.

Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Writer: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (screenplay), Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (Marvel comics), Jim Starlin, George Pérez, Ron Lim (comic book story) Cast: fucking everybody IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Official Site

Watched: on 25 April, at the IMAX cinema, and 28 April, and 01 May

Reaction: ± Thanos demands my silence. I will say that i wasn’t half as prepared as i though i was. I'll edit this in like a week with my actual reaction since i assume by then it'll be far enough down any follower's (who hasn't watched - IN A WHOLE WEEK AFTER RELEASE!) dashboard to not be seen unless you're looking specifically at this blog.

Memorable aspect of the movie: + So many things. (Soon.)

Would I recommend it? > Fuck. Yes.

[EDIT:] So, reaction. After more than a month because i haven’t been on in a while, and under the cut because it’s hella long (like, super fucking long) and rambling in my geeky joy. :D It’s in 3 parts, from the three times i watched it.

[Take 1] ± It was an EXCELLENT, WELL BALANCED FILM. They have the Marvel Cinematic Universe formula down pat of comedy and drama, action and reaction. It’s so perfect and fun to watch. They were able to give the gigantic cast fairly equal screen time as well as balancing the personalities on screen. [See bonus content at the very end.]. That they split up the teams and threw them with other franchises was a great choice for both balance and dynamic. The visuals -- cinematography, CGI, costume, make up, set design --, as always, are a feast, with the coloration of the film striking a balance between all the different tones from each individual franchise. 

[Take 2] Memorable [aspect] moments of the movie: + D:  “I am Loki, Prince of Asgard... Odinson.” + XD “I’ll get you a metaphysical ham on rye.” + Doctor Strange and Tony’s interactions. It was interesting repartee and good chemistry. + Stark-raving Hazelnut and Hunka-Hulk-a Burning Love. I need to try these flavours, and also i need to know the flavours for every other Avenger. + <3 Tony brings the stupid flip phone around with him! AND there’s a message!! + XD “Squidward” + XD “Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of the wizards.” + XD Bruce trying to beat Hulk out.  + “Wong, you’re invited to my wedding.” + XD The singing. Mean faces. “Language. ... Ever since you got a little sap.” OMG. You GOT a little sap. Oh, puberty. “ XD “He is not a dude. You are a dude. He is a man. A handsome, muscular man.” “It’s like a pirate made a baby with an angel.” “God man.” + XD Mantis’s attack form. + XD Quill’s jealousy and mimicking. + “All words are made up words.” Well, that’s actually a good point. + “Is there a 4 digit code? A birthday perhaps” Thor’s really gotten into Midgard culture eh? (Which is a good carry over from Thor: Ragnarok.) + XD Rabbit. Tree. Morons. Ah, Thor’s nicknames. It’s fun, cause he doesn’t mean them maliciously and he says them with such regal diction that they feel kind of acceptable as nicknames. + The intro sequences for the rogue Avengers. STEVE!!! <3 And Sam! And Nat!! The whole fight sequence too! + D:  “Where to, Cap?” “Home.” !!! (ESPECIALLY IF YOU REWATCH AGE OF ULTRON AND SEE HOW STEVE REACTS TO SAM SAYING “Home is home,” AT THE PARTY. TT_TT )  + “The kid watches more movies.” Well, that’s a good enough strategy. + “WHAT ARE THOSE??” The two teenagers use the same (meme) phrasing. + “Doctor. Do you concur?” + <3 “I’m not looking for forgiveness. And I’m way past asking permission. Earth just lost its best defender, so we’re here to fight. If you want to stand in our way, we’ll fight you too.” ICONIC. STEVEN FUCKING ROGERS, EVERYONE. + <3 The reunion greetings with Rhodey.” + XD “This is awkward.” + XD “It was an elective.” I NEED TO KNOW WHAT OTHER ELECTIVES THEY OFFERED ON ASGARD, PLEASE. + “I am Groot?” Evidently translates to: Are we there yet? The question of all kids in travelling vehicles everywhere. + D:  “What more do I have to lose?”  + Giant Peter Dinklage. So weird. + D:  Quill and Gamora. + Quill actually got Thanos’s approval. So like, thanks, dad? Hahaha. + “We don’t trade lives.”  + Nebula. What a badass. + XD “Blanket of death” + XD “Where is Gamora?” “Who is Gamora?” “Why is Gamora?” + “You’re from Earth?” “I’m from Missouri.” “Missouri is on Earth, dumbass.” + XD “Kick names. Take ass.” + Tony’s face. He’s so done with everyone. + Rhodey & Bruce. Ahh, what are friends for. XD + Steve & Bucky. Both of you are “hundred year old, semi-stable soldier”s. + Shuri! Wakanda! Man, i love this place. It’s great. + D:  Gamora!! + “Get out of the way, Sammy.” SAMMY! + Thor jumping onto and then sitting on the pod. What a cutie. + “It’ll kill you.” “Not if I don’t die.” “Yes, that’s what killing you means.” + XD “Magic! More magic! Magic with a kick!” + Bucky & Rocket + “New haircut?” “I see you’ve copied my beard.” This is SO MUCH better knowing they ad-libbed it.  + “This is my friend, Tree.” “I am Groot.” “I am Steve Rogers.” Of fucking course. Such a polite cutie pie, this guy. + XD Okoye’s reactions, and the “Why was she up there all this time?” + “She’s not alone.” FUCK YEAH. LET’S GO LADIES!! + “Oh, screw you, you big green asshole. I’ll do it myself.” Banner is super funny, situationally in this film. + “Tony Stark.” “You know me?” Hell yeah, you deserve to be acknowledged all over the universe, Tony. + The power of Doctor Strange and the mystic arts. SO COOL.  + Tony ran out of nanoparticles! O_o + D:  Wanda & Vision + “Steve?” TT___TT D: Bucky! Sam! My King! “Steady, Quill.” “I don’t wanna go!” TT__TT FEELS.

[Take 3] ± The familial hits get me more than the romantic ones. My reactions per viewing gave me three different experiences; It was personal, then intellectual, them empathic, in that order, for me. There are some moments i paid particular attention to, for a few characters:

Loki gets to come full circle with the “We have a Hulk,” line along with his redemption arc continuing on in from Thor: Ragnarok. Thor is an odd amalgamation of Shakespearean proper and slangy modern. “A little bit.” “So cool.” “I bid thee farewell and good luck, morons.” “Bye.”

The interplay between Tony and Strange. Excellent. It’s a real battle of egos at the beginning which turns to a mutual respect. Tony is a true leader. He intuits other people’s emotional reactions and attempts to keep them in line long enough to complete the goal.

A lot of shots in the Avengers compound are just Steve’s reactions. What bearing will this have? How does he feel about the cost?? Are they showing how tired he is from paying for his decisions?

The kid’s all heart. The first thing Peter does, once their plan goes awry, is try to save everyone even if he can’t remember their names. Okoye is a warrior to the core. She refuses to attach even these fuckers from behind. Bruce is such a goof and it shows now that he can’t disappear mid-scene. “Oh, you guys are so screwed!” And all the talking-to he gives Hulk.

Thanos’s voice really goes soft for Gamora, as a child, and the “I’m sorry, daughter.” “Tony Stark. ... You have my respect. I will wipe out half of humanity. I hope they remember you.” That’s amazing. The cost, the deterioration, is up to his arm and his neck. That’s an interesting detail which kind of implies that the Infinity Gauntlet (in the MCU at least) can only be used for something of this scale a few, if not only one, times.

I love that Marvel is really invested in antagonists that aren’t villains purely for the sake of being evil, but are fleshed out beings with emotions and purpose and passion, even if their goals are morally misguided. They have complex backstories and three dimensional personalities. Their goals are logical and intelligent, if a little beyond what’s reasonable. Their thought processes within the realm of imagination but a step too far for civilians and heroes.

The ending of this film is superb. I’ve seen many a peer say they think it’s too short or unresolved but i think they fail to appreciate the story. That sometimes the “good guys” don’t or can’t win (for now). That there are outcomes we’d rather not fathom and costs we’d rather not pay. But they happen. And the MCU gets this. That things happen and there’s a balance to it. There’s collateral and there’s gains and losses. And not just for the protagonist. (But for every character.)

Thanos achieved his goal, but at great personal cost. He won but lost all at once. Likewise, Killmonger achieved some of his goals but failed at others, died but did it with dignity in his eyes; Hela brought was released from her bonds and gained power but didn’t wind up ruling Asgard as it was swallowed by Ragnarok; Zemo sowed discord and ripped the Avengers apart from the inside, but was prevented from shooting himself and joining his family. 

[BONUS:] In some of my movie reviews i talk about the characters and their stories in relation to Joseph Campbell’s Heroic Monomyth. And, i dunno, i suppose it my complete emotional roller coaster watching this film along with all the geek out moments, i completely missed its inclusion in this, given that the beginning of the monomyth takes place before the beginning of this film. I was delighted to find it pointed out to me in this post by The Screen Junkies - The Dailies Facebook. It’s a really good breakdown of the way the writers (maybe intentionally) incorporated the Heroic Monomyth in Infinity War despite it featuring like 7000 characters and all of Hollywood. :)

[ellenlucasonlinedatingblog]

Sexuality in Color: Wakandan Women and Sexism in Black Panther

It’s been just over a month and a half since the movie Black Panther premiered in theaters, and it continues to be the number one movie five weekends in a row, and seventh highest in domestic U.S. box office history. This landmark movie has had an incredibly positive effect on the mainstream public. It is challenging Hollywood’s diversity and inclusivity issues; providing a positive representation of a modern African landscape beyond the war-torn and poverty-ridden stereotype that is ubiquitous in Western culture; and tackling issues of personal and national identity through the lens of diaspora.

But I’m not here to talk about those things, which are thoughtfully discussed in the links above. Instead, I’d like to talk about how gender dynamics and sexism do and don’t play a part in Black Panther. Why? Because a blockbuster film’s impact doesn’t just come from its cultural diversity or overtly positive messaging; small choices in aesthetics, dialogue, and character development can create representation that is deeply (and often subconsciously significant) to how each viewer relates to their own sense of self and gendered experiences.

First, let’s talk about The Good, in the form of the Dora Milaje, or the female bodyguards assigned to protect the Black Panther (and/or whomever holds the throne of Wakanda). Let’s take a second to celebrate how wonderful it is that these Secret Service agents are a group of badass warrior women from various Wakandan tribes, rather than a bunch of men in boring black suits and earpieces, like I’m used to seeing in blockbuster movies. In fact, to touch on costuming for a little bit longer, I just have to appreciate how beautiful (and practical) the costumes were. In looking at Okoye’s outfit, we see that unlike many female superheroes/warriors onscreen, her outfit is designed to provide coverage and flexibility for combat.

There is much debate about how the outfits of women in comics range from the impractical to the impossible, reflecting just how much these aesthetics cater to the men who would look at and sexualize these women, rather than the women who would see themselves represented as heroes and fighters. Rather than putting the Dora Milaje into tiny unitards or skin-tight jumpsuits that tend to draw the viewer’s eyes primarily to the women’s body shape, the costume designers chose to put together outfits that were functional first. The fact that these women dress like warriors and act like warriors mean that they are seen as formidable forces and valued for more than their aesthetic addition to the scenes. However, it should be acknowledged that historically, Black women who play fighters or warriors in comics or onscreen adaptations have often been forced into a hypersexualized “Amazonian warrior” stereotype (think Grace Jones in A View To A Kill, X-Men’s Storm, Pam Grier in Foxy Brown). While the Dora Milaje don’t show as much skin or aren’t as inherently sexual as their predecessors, it’s worth thinking about the history of racialized sexism and asking ourselves if they overcome or simply contribute to harmful stereotypes about Black women’s bodies.

Another Good Thing about Black Panther is Shuri, T’Challa’s younger sister, the princess of Wakanda, and possibly my favorite young woman on this green Earth of ours. Damon Young over at The Root highlights some great things about Princess Shuri, in that she is a shining force of pure joy, intelligence, and passion that essentially holds Wakanda together. Even at her young age, she has taken over the role of chief scientist for Wakanda, inventing new technological uses for vibranium that eventually allow for T’Challa to claim ultimate victory over Killmonger. That super-cool and high-tech Black Panther suit that provides protection and stores up kinetic energy with every impact, collapsible down to a beautiful silver necklace? That exists thanks to the dedication and ingenuity of a 16-year-old Disney princess in a lab coat. All without ever wearing revealing outfits, performing sexual innuendos, or interacting with a love interest. Take that, sexism.

The actress, Letitia Wright, said that her hope was that young women of color who watch the movie might see her role and think, “I’m not a superhero, but I can be a scientist or build the next spaceship, like Shuri.” I can only imagine the number of young black and brown girls that got to look up at the screen in the movie theater and see a bright and beautiful potential version of their grown-up selves. I know it would have made a big difference to me as a kid, especially now that I know Letitia Wright shares my same heritage – she is Guyanese! For someone who’s only ever met one Guyanese person outside of Guyana in their entire life, it’s a pretty big deal to me.

But for all that Okoye, Princess Shuri, and the other women in Wakanda defy sexist and racist stereotypes about Black women and women in movies in general, they face some of the same oppressive treatment that accompanies those lived experiences off-screen. Here come the Not-So-Good Things. CIA Agent Everett Ross, one of the only two main roles in the film played by white actors, seems very surprised when he wakes up in the Wakandan tech lab to see Shuri working on her projects and supervising his healing process. While there’s no outright dialogue beyond the sarcastic exchange of “Is this Wakanda?” “No, it’s Kansas,” it seems at that very moment that not only is he reconciling the fact that Wakanda is actually technologically advanced far beyond any place that he’s ever known, but that this young woman is in charge of this technology.

If we could read his thoughts, they might be similar to: What is this young girl doing here? She can’t possibly be the head scientist overseeing everything. Who’s in charge here? Shuri ends up explaining everything to him, guiding him and teaching him about Wakanda every step of the way, even through the final battle scene. This flips the script on the traditional sexist narrative in which a heroic white man swoops in and saves the day while the women and children of color cower in the corner and wait to be saved. There are examples of Ross talking over others and being culturally insensitive all over the movie, but one of my other favorite moments includes when Okoye and T’Challa are speaking in Xhosa in front of Ross, and he asks T’Challa, “Does she speak English?,” referring to Okoye. In return, in true take-no-crap fashion, she responds directly to Ross, “When she wants to.” She shuts down an ignorant question and demonstrates herself as empowered and much, much more sharp and aware than Ross gives her credit for.

I really appreciated seeing the reversal of an all-too-common power dynamic of white men speaking over women of color while also preserving those moments of tension and awkwardness between Ross and the other characters. As far as I’m concerned, these were teaching moments, in which we the public can learn from examples of a well-intentioned white male “ally” who oversteps boundaries and treats others as inferior purely out of ignorance. These are tangible examples of women of color actively combatting sexism and sexual racism, rather than just passively being witness to them. And beyond that, there are many examples throughout the movie of Okoye, Shuri, Nakia, and other Wakandan women being respected and honored as members of the community. Even in the way that Angela Basset’s queen mother character, Ramonda, walks through the room shows the command and respect that she is given by the men and women of Wakanda alike. I personally saw my own family’s matriarchal tendencies reflected in that Wakandan throne room, and I appreciated that the power and wisdom of women of color was at the center of it all.

But then along comes the movie’s villain, Eric Killmonger. There is a lot of debate out there about Killmonger’s approach to racial justice and the Wakandan revolution, and what I think of his political strategy is neither here nor there. But several of the strongest examples of misogyny in this movie came from his character’s willingness to commit violence against the Black women around him. Not even halfway through the movie, he murders the nameless young woman that he is traveling with simply because she is another person who might complicate his plans for domination. There is no regret or remorse shown by Killmonger – perhaps he viewed her as “collateral damage.” He goes on to ignore the proper rituals of respect that appear to be customary for Wakandan culture and chokes one of his female elders who disagrees with his orders. He injures Nakia, and cruelly and intentionally murders one of the Dora Milaje in front of Okoye. And, as icing on the cake, he almost kills Shuri, backing her up against a ledge, calling her “princess” as he advances on her while she lies cornered on the ground.

For all that he preaches about unity and justice for his fellow Wakandans and Black folks worldwide, almost every interaction that we see Killmonger have with the women around him is drenched in toxic masculinity. In watching these scenes, I found myself wondering, why was this targeted violence against women included in this movie? What does this say about Killmonger’s views towards women and other marginalized folks within his community, and what does this mean for this amazing movie to include this violence? Perhaps it was intended to shed some light on the way that women of color are often spoken over or demonized even within their communities, which would represent an important step towards addressing the intersections of gender and violence in communities of color. But a more simple and disappointing reason may be more plausible; maybe these examples of violence were intended to serve as yet another facet of Killmonger’s evil-ness as a villain.

Personally, I believe that that would be the equivalent of a cop-out. Rather than taking the time to address how a person who is dedicated to combatting oppression and lifting up their community can also subconsciously enact the very violence they are trying to prevent, reducing that person to a static, all-around “bad guy,” who enacts “bad-guy” violence, denies the dynamic and conflicting characteristics that make up real people’s experiences outside of film scripts. What the intentions of the writers and directors are, I can’t say. I can only speak to what it feels like to look on the screen and see, like I constantly see around me, women of color being hurt and killed at the hands of the men around them.

At the risk of sounding like all the other thinkpieces that have come out (and continue to come out) after the movie’s release, I am grateful for both sides of the spectrum of gendered experiences displayed in Black Panther. I believe that representation (of both positive, stereotype-shattering dialogue/roles, and of the tricky-to-downright-deadly aspects of sexism and violence against women of color) generates conversation and imagines futures that are different than the everyday experiences of marginalized folks. Since the movie has come out, I’ve seen multiple pieces that reflect on toxic masculinity and gendered violence in Black Panther, and have had a few eye-opening conversations with other friends of color about how seeing these representations impacted their own sense of self and community. I would love to watch hours on hours of footage of life in Wakanda and the women of the Dora Milaje being badasses without seeing a single instance of sexism or gendered violence, but I am grateful for the representation of the bullshit that women and femmes of color have to put up with in real life every day. It’s a good reminder of all the work there is to be done, in Wakanda and everywhere else.

Know of a blog, organization, or resource that belongs here? Send it to our curator, Al (that's me!), at al AT scarleteen DOT com.

Interested in contributing as a guest writer for our Sexuality in Color series, or any other part of Scarleteen? Check out our information for writers and then take it from there! Queer and trans writers of color of varied abilities and experiences are always strongly encouraged to apply.

sexuality in color

racism

sexism

misogynoir

movies

pop culture

superheroes

violence

toxic masculinity

racial justice

from MeetPositives SM Feed 4 https://ift.tt/2pSrxaA via IFTTT