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hanscom · 4 years ago

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reddie enemies to lovers

(I keep trying to convince myself to finish this, but it hasn’t happened yet and it’s been over a year since I started it. So here, have some hockey enemies to friends nonsense.

Fair warning: this is the same game as we all know and love, but the ins and outs of professional hockey detailed here are made up. I don’t know the specifics about what goes on off the ice, okay? Correct me if you must, but I highly encourage you to just embrace the fact that I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about.

Also, I love you all, still and forever. Thanks for following me even after all this time.)

Pairing: Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak Rating: T Word count: 2,948

It’s cold in the arena.

It’s worse, down on the ice. The air is sharp and stinging on his face, in his lungs. His skates are steady under his feet. The lights are blazing overhead. He can’t smell much except the sweaty inside of his helmet, but he imagines it smells like popcorn and hoppy beer. It smells like game day. It smells like home.

Richie doesn’t think there could be anything better than this.

He’s skating backwards around the rink, gliding fast across the freshly buffed ice, content in the knowledge that no one is going to run into him. His team has gotten pretty good at working around him. They’re starting to become a pretty effortless unit, for the most part. It’s something Richie is pretty fucking proud of.

He whooshes past Ben and around one of the rookies, shouting joyful nonsense that echoes off the ice. They yell back at him, but he can’t make out the words over the sound of his skates and the blood rushing in his ears.

And then Stan skates out from the tunnel and into his way. Richie twists fast to the side, digging down, slowing to a quick stop. Ice sprays up under his blades. Stan, unimpressed as always, doesn’t move. “Are you done showing off?” he asks, his mouthguard hanging from his helmet. The only time he ever takes it out on the ice is to give Richie a hard time.

“What’s that?” Richie says. “I can’t hear you from down there.”

Stan is the smallest guy on the team. He’s almost a solid foot shorter than Richie, and he’s constantly sore as fuck about it. Richie doesn’t get it. If Stan were any bigger, any less quick on his feet, he wouldn’t be half the player he is. Stan’s a winger. His entire hockey career revolves around being fast. And, anyway, Richie’s kind of big for a centerman, but you don’t hear him bitching about it.

They’re close to the goal. Mike is standing there in the crease, suited up, his hulking equipment making him look massive. “Are we really doing this again?” he calls, but he’s laughing about it.

Richie digs his skates in, gliding an easy circle around the goal. “We sure are,” he says, grinning. “You know Stan plays a better game when he’s pissed off.”

“I could play a better game than you in a coma,” Stan shouts. His face is red, some combination of cold air and actual anger. Stan’s normally a pretty level-headed guy, but Richie gets under his skin, shakes him up, makes him mad. His game has gotten a thousand times more aggressive since they met. Bill sometimes jokes about putting him on defense, but he never will. Stan as Richie’s left wing is pretty much the only reason the Portland Pioneers ever score.

It’s not that their right wing is bad, exactly. He’s just… not good. Richie can say that. He’s not the captain, like Bill. He’s not even an alternate, like Stan and Ben. He doesn’t have to be diplomatic. He doesn’t have to play nice. Hockey’s not a nice sport. Hockey’s about being fast and smart and violent. Right winger Patrick Hockstetter might be mean as hell, but he’s also slow as fuck and dumb as a box of rocks. Richie can work with a lot of things, but he can’t fix stupid.

But Richie’s trying not to think about it. He doesn’t need to go into the game expecting Patrick to fuck it up for them (again). It’s bad luck. And Albany’s a good team. Richie has to focus if he’s going to pull this one out.

—

The Pioneers lose in overtime, which is devastating. Losing always sucks, but it’s even worse, watching Albany celebrate on their ice.

Afterward, the locker room is quiet for a long time, aside from the five minutes Coach spends yelling at them for their admittedly awful performance. When he retreats back to his office, the team slowly strips out of their equipment, made sluggish by defeat. They’re all tired. Richie is already starting to ache, his body finally registering all the time he spent up against the boards. Bill and Ben are in even worse shape. Both of them already have bruises blooming across their ribs, across their backs. Albany played rough. The Pioneers haven’t had to fight that dirty in a long time. It makes the loss feel even worse, somehow.

Richie has just finished dragging on his street clothes when Bill finally speaks up. He has changed into the full three-piece suit he wears to impress the media circus waiting outside for him, and his hair is still damp from the shower. He looks sort of ridiculous, standing there in full monkey costume in front of the team, who are all in various states of undress. But he’s still the captain, so when Bill tells them to listen up, they do.

“You guys played really hard tonight,” he says. He’s trying to sound light-hearted, uplifting, but Richie has known him for a long time now. He’s just as crushed by the loss as everyone else — probably more so. There’s a small waver in his voice that says it all. “I know this isn’t the outcome we wanted, but that doesn’t change how well you all played.”

Richie looks down. It’s sort of worse, knowing they did well but lost anyway. They gave it their all, but it wasn’t good enough. It fucking sucks. Richie sort of wants to punch something. He sort of wants to sleep for a few days straight.

He really, really, really wants a right winger who can shoot a decent shot.

It’s not a very charitable thought. Patrick has played worse games than this one. But Richie’s too tired to play nice, and he can’t stop replaying all the shots they missed, all the times he was open and so was the goal but the puck was nowhere to be found and neither was Patrick.

Richie thinks, without meaning to, about Albany’s right winger. Thinks about the way he had sped across the ice, faster than Richie, faster even than Stan. He’d played a good game. A damn good game. Richie sort of really hates him for it, which isn’t fair. It’s not that guy’s fault Richie doesn’t have a solid line. But he is most of the reason Albany scored and scored and scored again, so Richie reserves the right to hate him, just a little.

Stan and Mike ask him out for a drink, but he declines. He wouldn’t be good company, and besides, he’s beat. So he bids them goodbye and leaves out the back, ball cap pulled low over his eyes to hopefully deter anyone from recognizing him. It works. He gets home without incident, makes himself a late dinner, and flips on the TV to watch a few highlights, because he’s an obsessive masochist. Pittsburgh beats Chicago, then Nashville loses to Dallas, and then he’s watching himself skate furiously down the length of the Pioneers’ rink. He groans, but doesn’t fumble for the remote. Helplessly, hopelessly, he watches Patrick lag behind. He watches Albany’s defense wrestle the puck away without much of a fight. He watches that tiny fucking demon of a right winger swoop in, taking control of the puck with an ease Richie can’t help but admire. God, the guy’s good.

The announcers call him Eddie Kaspbrak. The name sounds familiar, in the way that all good players sound familiar. Richie can only watch so many highlights in a night without picking up on a few things, and this is clearly not the first beautiful pass Kaspbrak has ever made. Richie makes a face and finally shuts the television off. He doesn’t need to relive Kaspbrak’s seamless pass to center, that perfect shot down the crease, the way Mike’s knee guards slapped to the ice a split-second too late. It was hard enough to watch in real time.

One day, he’s going to have a right wing like Kaspbrak, who can keep up and knows how to bank a shot. But today isn’t that day, so he gives up and goes to bed, upset and pissed off and stoking his quiet, irrational grudge against Eddie Kaspbrak.

—

Trade negotiations roll around. Richie tries not to worry about it, but he does. Everyone does.

In the end, it’s Patrick. Which isn’t surprising, exactly, but feels so much like everything Richie has ever wanted that it scares him. He finds himself waiting for the other shoe to drop.

In late February, two weeks before the trade deadline, it does. Bill makes the announcement after a rough, sweaty afternoon practice. Richie is tired as fuck, still breathing heavy, but all the air jams up in his throat when Bill breaks the news.

The Portland Pioneers have acquired Eddie Kaspbrak.

—

Kaspbrak, in person and without all his gear, is even smaller than he looks on the ice.

He’s younger-looking than Richie expects. They’re the same age, but Richie has taken a few good hits over the years that have knocked his face a little out of whack. He has a crooked nose, twisted teeth. The entire left side of his jaw had to be painstakingly rebuilt three years ago when he took a puck to the face, which left his smile sort of lopsided.

Eddie doesn’t look like he’s ever taken a hit. He has a smooth, even face. Nice teeth. He’s good-looking, is all Richie’s saying. Richie didn’t expect it. He’s not sure why it catches him off-guard.

They meet for the first time off the ice the day the Pioneers are scheduled to play Carolina. Morning skate is optional, but Richie drags himself in anyway because Bill expects him to, and Richie’s a sucker who doesn’t want to disappoint his captain, even after all this time. It’s not even that early when he stumbles in but he feels bleary and sluggish, pulling on his gear without participating much in the locker talk. Stan tries to rile him up a few times, but gives up fast when Richie refuses to take the bait. Mike nudges him when he walks past. “Rough night?” he asks, grinning like he knows the answer. Richie spent his night with a microwaved pizza and the highlights reel, but that’s nobody’s damn business, so he shrugs.

And then Bill comes out of Coach’s office. The team doesn’t exactly snap to attention whenever he’s around, but the chatter dies down to a dull murmur. Especially when someone follows him out.

Kaspbrak is wearing street clothes — sneakers, jeans, a fucking polo shirt. Richie wonders if that’s the sort of thing he always wears or if he dressed up for them. He looks more comfortable than he probably should, standing in front of a group of strangers who, up until this point, have only known him as an opponent. He’s smiling. He is just — really good-looking. Richie is sort of hung up on it.

“This,” Bill announces, “is Eddie. He’s going to practice with us this morning.”

The season hasn’t even officially ended. Patrick got pulled from the roster when the trade was announced, but he’s still around. His locker’s not even empty. Richie doesn’t like the guy or anything, but that has to be a tough pill to swallow. Richie can’t even imagine what being replaced like that would feel like.

On the other hand, he really, really wants to get out on the ice with Kaspbrak. He wants to see what the guy can do, up close and personal.

It’s a tough thing, being both impressed and annoyed by the sight of someone. It’s made worse by the way Bill stares him down until he manages to force a smile in Eddie’s direction. Kaspbrak grins back at him, easy. His teeth are stupidly perfect. None of them are chipped or anything. Richie can’t remember the last time he met a hockey player with a perfect face. Something about it freaks him out.

Bill claps Eddie on the shoulder. “Welcome to the team,” he says. Most of the guys echo the sentiment. Richie mumbles something that sounds close enough and finishes lacing up his skates.

He doesn’t have to play nice with Kaspbrak. He just has to play well with Kaspbrak. There’s a big difference, and Richie is clinging stubbornly to it.

—

The thing is, Kaspbrak is really fucking good.

Richie knew. Of course he knew. He hardly ever lets the losses get to him, because God knows there have been too many to remember them all over the years, but he’s been hung up on the Albany game for months now. He’s watched the playback more than once, and has most of Albany’s season saved to his DVR.

But it’s different in person. Kaspbrak is so fast. So steady on his feet. Richie hasn’t been impressed by something as simple as skating since he was a kid, but the way Kaspbrak does it shakes him up. The guy skates like a dream. Richie is so jealous, and so impressed, and so fucking confused. He’s spent the better part of the season hating this guy, and now he’s here, gliding around Richie in wide circles, lapping Bill and Ben and even Stan, looking like maybe he’s not even making much of an effort.

Morning skate is easy, most of the time. Everyone wants to be at their best for that night’s game, and half the team didn’t even show. But Eddie throws the dynamic off, makes them all a little hot and hungry for some actual play, and before Richie knows it, Mike and his rookie are guarding opposing nets and Richie’s facing off with Bill, staring at him through the grate of his helmet, his mouthguard clenched between his teeth. It’s not a real scrimmage. They don’t have enough players to run a real game. But Richie doesn’t care, because Stan volunteered as Bill’s winger, which left Kaspbrak all for Richie. Richie can feel him, on his right, just outside the face-off circle. Richie has this weird, sudden urge to look back at him, but then the puck is on the ground and there’s no time.

Bill is a vicious center. He’s not as fast as Richie, but he’s stronger. There’s a reason he plays defense. His body is one solid line of muscle, and he’s not afraid of using it. He shoulder-checks Richie, almost knocks him off balance with the force of it, but Richie bares his teeth and refuses to give up ground. Bill is probably a better player than Richie is in the long run, but Richie is the best center the team has ever had. He wrestles the puck out of Bill’s reach and bears down on the ice, shooting across the rink. Eddie is ahead of him. Richie hasn’t had a winger faster than him in so long he almost forgets to make the pass.

Eddie doesn’t hesitate. He moves like a blur, so fast it’s hard to keep track of his stick against the puck, driving it effortlessly forward. Mike is braced in the crease, his big body held wide, but he’s just not quick enough. Eddie comes at him from the side, bent down, stick jumping from one side of the puck to the other. And then it’s over. One second, he’s barreling down the rink, and the next, the puck is in the net — a perfect backhand shot.

It’s just practice. There’s no cheering, no booming announcement, no music. But Richie feels the same way he always does, his pulse loud in his ears, his heart tight in his chest.

“Kaspbrak!” he roars. “You son of a bitch!”

Eddie has the kind of smile that could melt the ice. He looks so pleased, so proud. Richie skates to him and throws an arm around his shoulder, smacking his helmet.

“We went easy on you!” Stan shouts, because he’s a sore loser.

“You kidding?” Richie yells back. “You couldn’t have caught him if you tried!”

Eddie’s shoulders shake. Richie leans into him, grinning, thrilled beyond measure. They drift a little on the ice, aimless, anchored together.

“It won’t happen again,” Bill says. He’s a competitive motherfucker, which makes him a great player and an even better captain. It won’t be easy, getting the puck away from him again.

Eddie grins up at Richie like maybe he’s up for the challenge.

—

Eddie scores two more times. He insists that they don’t call it a hat trick, considering it’s just practice and he’s scared of jinxing it. Richie doesn’t care what they call it. All he knows is Eddie scored three fucking times, and he assisted all of them. He doesn’t even mind that he wasn’t the one to make the shots. It’s better, almost, watching Eddie do it.

Bill lets morning skate go longer than normal, probably hoping to pull out a single goal, but after awhile he finally calls them off the ice. Richie is dripping with sweat when he peels himself out of his equipment. He didn’t realize how hard he’d been working. It hadn’t felt like much, being out there on the ice, falling into Eddie’s rhythm, into his gravity.

Eddie hangs back while everyone files out, looking around like maybe he’s still taking everything in. His hair is wet from the shower and his face is flushed. Richie nudges him on his way out. “Sure you can’t play with us tonight?” he asks. It’s not possible, but it makes Eddie beam.

“Won’t be long,” Eddie assures him.

Richie doesn’t say so, but he can’t fucking wait.

#reddie #it fic #sometimes i write things

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ijustwant2write · 5 years ago

Text

The Butterfly Effect-Bucky Barnes x Powers!Reader

(GIF credit to @rubyslaugh and UGH I LOVE THIS ONE)

Masterlist

Requested by anonymous

Summary: Okie so this is kinda a request but idk exactly what I want 😂 so basically like the reader is an avenger cause she got powers on accident in a lab (like banner) and she has the ability to control plants and like nature and bugs, and basically when ever Bucky is around butterflies form and start flying around her and the rest of the teams realizes but he’s oblivious. Eventually she admits her feelings but he’s not sure cause he’s scared to hurt her, but the end up together? Thank youuuu 💗

Characters: Bucky Barnes x Powers!Reader, mentions of Avengers

Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name

Warnings: slight swearing, mention of injuries, fluff

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tenderly watering the plants in the greenhouse, I smiled as they instantly lifted around me, growing a few centimetres taller, a little more vibrant in colour. Ever since the accident, my love for gardening grew, as well as my observations. My (dream) job had been working in a lab with different plants, some common and some rare; we were developing ways to grow vegetation quicker to help with problems such as deforestation. However, the company in charge and supplying the money for this huge project didn’t care as much as the scientists did, using radioactive chemicals as well as many other unknown substances. Of course we had protested about this but they didn’t listen. And for some reason, I was the one who took the fall. It was all a big accident, they were testing the substance without my permission, and I I tried to stop them it had spilt all over me. Then I discovered my new abilities.

Plants responded to me, I was able to control them, and now I could even form them out of my bare hands! Recently, insects had also started to respond to me, and one night after a wonderful dream, I awoke to find a butterfly unfolding in my hand. It was truly beautiful, but I had had to keep it a secret. Though I must have not done a good job of that seeing as I was recruited by the Avengers. I had never thought about fighting with plants, however after they showed me the aggression I could use behind it, I found that I was creating massive, twisted vines, enough to crush bones, to pull up the ground and split it open. The grounds weren’t looking too neat after that.

“Hey, (Y/N)! There you are.” Scott announced as he walked into the greenhouse, a wilted cactus in his hand.

“Hi, oh, he’s not looking too good there.”

“Yeah, that’s what I actually came here for.”

“Scott, that’s one of the easiest plants to look after, what happened?”

“Hey, it’s hard being a superhero and a plant mom too!”

“You can’t keep coming to me for help when a plant starts dying.”

“It’s only happened twice before. Please, I will take care of it.”

I sighed before taking the cactus from him, concentrating on making it better. It slowly straightened itself, a beautiful green colour slowly creeping up from the bottom of the plant to the top, the soil now a dark brown and wet. I handed it back over, feeling like a mother telling off their child.

“Thanks (Y/N). Foods ready by the way.”

As I followed him, I had one of those cliche moments; who would ever imagine being in a situation like this? An accident in a lab gave me powers and here I was, fighting with the Avengers; I was an Avenger! All my life I had been the nerdy girl, obsessed with vegetation, friendly but quiet, never speaking up unless absolutely necessary. Yet here I was, surrounded by these amazing people, not only amazing because of their powers and strengths, because of who they were and how they had accepted me.

In a rare event that everyone was at the base (Steve, Tony, Nat, Clint and Bucky just back from a mission), we were all able to sit down and eat together. Wanda had taken on the role of chef here, a passion she had relighted to keep her happy and busy. She had plated up, some of the team already sat down. I went to grab a plate, bumping into Bucky. Immediately I retracted my hand, suddenly my usual composure tensing, heart beating slightly louder.

“Sorry, you get yours first.”

“Sorry.” I hated how quiet my voice was.

As I went to pick up the plate, three small appeared in my hand. I flinched as I saw them, causing them to flutter away. Wanda opened a window, watching as they flew outside.

“Sorry.” I repeated.“I didn’t actually mean to do that.”

Taking the food, I scurried to sit down, getting into the seat between Tony and Scott. Why had that happened? Was it just an absentminded thought? Was it nerves? Whatever it was, it was making me feel embarrassed for some reason, though no one said anything or even look bothered. Yes, I was an over-thinker, but I had done that in front of Bucky.

No one could deny the alarmingly good looks of the former Winter Soldier. He was the typical strong silent type, mysterious and brooding at first until you got to know him. At first he had observed me, wondering what I would be like as a part of this team, as did the others. But once I was welcomed, his true colours showed. He was a sweetheart, he would always help me with whatever I needed, reassure me that I was meant to be here. He even tried gardening once but complained when the soil got into the metal of his arm. But I knew a relationship would never happen. We were Avengers, and although Scott and Clint had families, I didn’t see Bucky wanting that, understandable when you look back to what he had been through. It was another secret for me to keep from the world.

The next morning, I joined Wanda and Nat in training, still thinking about the butterfly incident. It was distracting, and I didn’t know why I couldn’t just push it to the back of my mind. My own thoughts were pissing me off. Sighing to myself, I started warming up beside the others. I was too nervous at times, I needed more confidence in myself, I needed-

“Morning Bucky.” Wanda greeted him.

Fuck.

Great, just great. Just the distraction I needed. He was lovely enough just standing there, but working out? God that was another story. I smiled at him, making my way to the treadmill. Concentrate. Keep your mind focused. Don’t think about him, don’t wonder if he’s looking at you, if he’s lifting those extremely heavy weights....I hated myself sometimes.

“(Y/N)!” Nat startled me, suddenly beside me. I managed to keep my balance, still running.“Do you mind?”

“What?”

“The butterflies again!”

I looked around me, eyes widening and gasping as I saw the amount of butterflies around me. As I realised that there were definitely almost twenty of them, I lost my footing, falling onto my arm as the treadmill threw me off it. Screaming as I thudded onto the floor, I felt hot tears already falling down my cheeks, curling up into a ball when pain surged through me. Everyone fussed around me, giving me space once the shock passed.

“(Y/N), are you OK?” Nat asked, looking at my arm.

I winced.“It’s just my arm.”

“Your foot doesn’t look too good either.” Wanda pointed out.

“It’s fine.” I moved it, crying out when I realised she was right.

“I’ll take you to the hospital ward, there’s no way you’ll be able to get there by yourself.” Bucky said, already manoeuvring me into his arms.

“I’ll message Dr Cho, get her ready for you.” Nat got her phone out, texting away as Bucky stood up, holding me carefully.

I tried to not cry, not wanting to look any worse in front of Bucky, but it was extremely hard when I couldn’t feel my arm and my foot was throbbing. I had one arm wrapped around his neck, the bad on tucked into my torso, trying not to lean into him. I was stiff in his arms, desperately thinking about anything other than Bucky, especially now and how he was so easily holding me; what a man.

“Oh, they’re back.” He smiled, nodding his head to the two butterflies appearing, they rested on my hair, and I huffed. God, would this nightmare ever end?

“I’m so sorry. This must be so annoying for everyone.”

“I mean, it’s kind of pretty. At least it’s not flies or wasps, or any other annoying bugs.”

“I mean, I guess so.”

“How come they’re appearing so often? It’s never happened before.”

“Uh, I’m not actually sure. Maybe I’m not as in control of my powers, though I don’t know how that would happen.”

“Maybe you’re overworking.”

“Maybe.”

Dr Cho was waiting for me, gesturing towards the bed Bucky could place me on. When he asked if he should stay, I insisted that he leave. He didn’t need to see me like this anymore, and we didn’t need anymore butterflies in this place. Bucky reluctantly left, a kind smile on his face as he walked away. I let out a sigh of relief, happy that Dr Cho wanted to assess my injuries straight away. When she informed me that I had a minor sprain to the foot and a bad bruising on my arm, I groaned, pissed off at my own clumsiness. She advised that I use a wheelchair to get around (seeing as I couldn’t use crutches yet because of my arm), but when she asked if Bucky should come back, I immediately refused. She was surprised by my snappy tone, though brushed it off as I text Natasha to come get me. I seriously needed my girlfriends right now.

Nat wheeled me to my room, only speaking of my injuries until we got inside. With her help, we hauled myself onto the bed, propping my foot on top of pillows. She sat beside me, both of us resting against the headboard; my head lulled to the side, finding Nat already looking up at me.

“Nat, what do I do?” I moaned.

“What do you mean?”

“The butterflies, they keep appearing.”

“And we all know why.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“To everyone but him.”

“What if he’s playing dumb because he thinks I’m weird?”

“How can you be weird here? You’ve got super soldiers, secret spies, a girl with telekinetic powers, a man who shrinks, a hulk-”

I laughed.“OK, I get it. Still, I just don’t think he would be interest in a relationship.”

“Why?” she whined.

“Superheroes don’t date, especially not each other. Plus, have you seen him? No one would ever put us together.”

“Except everyone living in this facility right now.”

I hid my face in my hands.“Nat, stop getting my hopes up!”

“What, it’s cute! There are butterflies erupting from you every time you see him, it’s the sweetest thing in the world!”

“It’s mortifying.”

“Stop it! You put yourself down too much.”

“I’m being realistic.”

Before we could continue our endless cycle of arguing, someone knocked on the door. I called them in, nerves kicking in again as Bucky poked his head around the door. I glanced at Nat who had a smug smile on her face, instantly wriggling off the bed. I couldn’t say anything, not in front of Bucky.

“What good timing Bucky! I was about to get some more painkillers, you can keep (Y/N) company!” Natasha practically skipped out of the room, and I knew she was wearing a smirk.

Bucky shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked over, looking down at my foot.“I heard it’s sprained.”

“Yeah, it’s not too serious though. About four or five weeks resting.”

“Well I know where you’ll be spending all of that time.” He perched on the bed next to me.

“Where?”

“In your greenhouse of course. You’re in there for all of your free time anyway.”

I giggled.“I just miss my career, that’s all.”

“You always had a connection with plants, even before your powers. It’s obvious.”

I looked down at my hands, my head hurting from stopping the butterflies showing.“Thank you for earlier. It was sweet of you to take me to Dr Cho.”

“Just call me your knight in shining armour.”

I hesitated, wondering if I should just bring up the elephant in the room.“Bucky...you, uh....you must have noticed all the butterflies suddenly appearing.”

He slowly nodded.“Yeah?”

Oh my god, I’m an actual idiot. Can I even form a sentence anymore?

“Well, they only seem to be here when I’m near you and....well, uh....I think it’s for a reason.”

He stayed silent, only making me more nervous.

“I-I know the reason. I have feelings for you, and I think because I’ve been hiding them, it’s thrown off my control on my powers; and instead of admitting these feelings before, my powers have taken over to express myself.”

He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and I seriously could have burst out crying there and then.“(Y/N), I....”

He doesn’t feel the same. That’s it, I’ve ruined everything.

“I won’t lie and say that I’ve never thought about it.” He ducked his head down, but I could see a small smile.“But why me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, with everything that’s ever happened, I just.....(Y/N), you’re delicate and I’m...I’m not.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m not saying I don’t like you. It’s the total opposite. But, I’d be scared to hurt you.”

“Hurt me? How would you hurt me?”

“I don’t know. I don’t really want to think too far into it.”

“I’m sorry Bucky, if you don’t want this then-”

“That’s the thing, I do. I’m conflicted with myself. I guess....after everything that’s happened to me, it seems bizarre that anyone would want to be with me in that way.”

“How could you say that? All of your past, it wasn’t you, it was HYDRA. You’ve turned your life around so much since then.”

“I always thought that I would just focus on my work and then whatever happened, happened, My love life was just forgotten. Until you showed up that is.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, something happened when I laid eyes on you. You were beautiful, extremely smart and you wanted to do the best you could in any situation, despite it all being scary and new. I really respected you, I still do. I think if it were possible, there would be butterflies coming from me too.”

I sheepishly smiled, blushing profusely.“So, what are you saying?”

“(Y/N), are you sure you would want me?”

“I’m certain, I wouldn’t have even started a conversation like this if I wasn’t.”

“I..I’m not even sure what to say.”

“Say yes. Let’s make a go of this. I’m not a confident person, so right now I’m really shocked I’m even saying this all right now.”

He gleamed that gorgeous smile.“Then yes.”

As we smiled at each other, I felt something tickle my hand. Opening it up, we both looked down, a beautiful light red butterfly opening it’s wings. This had to be a sign, or at least something to add to the mood.

“I think this might stop the butterflies for now.”

“I hope so, but what if it has the opposite effect? What if more come?”

“Then we’ll be living in that greenhouse of yours.”

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagines #bucky barnes one shot #winter soldier #winter soldier imagine #winter soldier imagines #winter soldier one shot #winter soldier x reader #marvel #marvel imagine #marvel imagines #marvel one shot #marvel x reader #marvel comics #marvel cinematic universe

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thearabkhaleesi · 5 years ago

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D23 EXPO 2019 - DAY 1 - DISNEY+ PANEL

On the first day of Disney’s D23 Expo this year, Disney hosted a huge panel on their upcoming streaming service, Disney+, which is set to launch this November. Here’s everything you need to know from the Disney+ panel.

THE MANDALORIAN 💫

The trailer for THE MANDALORIAN has finally been released!💫 The Mandalorian is the upcoming live action series set in the Star Wars universe, taking place after the events of Return of the Jedi and before the Force Awakens, following a lone Mandalorian gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy💫 Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian, and the show also stars Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers, Taika Waititi, and Ming-Na Wen. The first season will consist of 8 episodes and each episode will be released on it own this November when Disney+ launches (aka the season won’t drop all at once).

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OBI WAN KENOBI SERIES CONFIRMED🌟

After many rumors & reports, it has finally been confirmed at D23 by the man himself & Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy: Ewan McGregor is in OFFICIALLY REPRISING HIS ROLE AS OBI-WAN KENOBI IN A SERIES FOR DISNEY+!😱🌟 McGregor of course portrayed the role of the wise Jedi originated by Alec Guiness in the Star Wars prequels, and there were talks of an Obi-Wan standalone film for years, following the character after the events of Revenge of the Sith but before A New Hope. However, after Solo: A Star Wars Story, Disney & Lucasfilm have said that they’re taking a break from producing standalone Star Wars movies and seem to have shifted focus to TV series. The Obi Wan series will likely take place between Episodes 3 & 4, following a middle-aged version of the character. That’s all we know so far & honestly I’m THRILLED! Obi Wan is one of my absolute favorite Star Wars characters & I’d love to see it! I saw the news break when in line for a ride at Disney and screamed “YES!!” Click here to see a video of the announcement

LADY AND THE TRAMP MOVIE TRAILER🍝

The trailer for the live action Lady & the Tramp movie is here! Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux voice Lady and the Tramp, with Janelle Monae as Peg, Ashley Jensen as Jock, Benedict Wong as Bull and Sam Elliot as Trusty. Lady and the Tramp will be available to stream on Disney+ the day the service launches on November 12th🐶🍝

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NOELLE 🎄

The first trailer for “Noelle”, a Disney+ original Christmas movie has been released! The film follows Noelle (Anna Kendrick), the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Claus, who goes on a journey to find her brother after he runs away from taking on the role of Santa Claus. The movie also stars Billy Eichner and Bill Hader. Noelle will be available to stream on Disney+ the day the service launches on November 12🎄

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HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE MUSICAL: THE SERIES🎶

It’s not a remake, it’s not a sequel or spin-off of the popular Disney Channel movie from 2006. “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” is a mockumentary series based on the High School Musical films, following “a group of students at East High who stage a performance of High School Musical for their winter theater production, only to realize that there is as much drama that happens offstage as there is onstage.” It’s a bit weird to imagine, but the trailer helps clarify exactly what it is (a fake reality show about kids who put on a High School Musical show in East High). The show will be released on Disney+ when it launches on November 12🎶

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The World According to Jeff Goldblum🌍

The World According to Jeff Goldblum is an upcoming National Geographic show for Disney+, and follows famous actor (& internet sensation) Jeff Goldblum, as he explores & learns about various things in the world. It’s pretty much self-explanatory & everything we need in life. The more Goldblum the better. The show is going to be available when Disney+ launches on November 12🌍

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LIZZIE MCGUIRE💘

HEY NOW - LIZZIE MCGUIRE IS COMING BACK!🤩💘Hilary Duff is officially reprising her role from the hit 2000s Disney Channel show, in a sequel series that follows Lizzie as a millennial 30 year old living in NYC! The show will have the same animated Lizzie persona from the original show! This is what dreams are made of! I was OBSESSED with Lizzie McGuire growing up - I CAN’T WAIT!😭 No details on when it’ll be released or if any of the other actors from the show are reprising their roles just yet. Who else is excited??🙋🏼‍♀️

3 NEW MARVEL SERIES: MS. MARVEL, SHE-HULK, AND MOONKNIGHT

As part of the Disney+ panel held yesterday at Disney’s D23 Expo, the company announced that THREE more new Marvel TV shows are in the works for the company’s streaming service!

Ms. Marvel⚡️ A while back MCU head Kevin Feige teased that Ms. Marvel will be introduced to the MCU at some point, most likely after Captain Marvel. since the characters are connected, and it looks like that was true! A Ms. Marvel TV show is in the works for Disney+, following Kamala Khan, a young Muslim Pakistani-American girl with superpowers! She will have a TV show AND will be in the movies😭

She-Hulk💚 Disney also announced another TV show is in the works for Disney+ following SHE-HULK! She-Hulk is Bruce Banner’s cousin who acquired a different version of his Hulk condition…

Moon Knight🌑 It seems to me there were rumors & demands of a Moon Knight project for a while & Disney has just confirmed that they’re indeed producing a TV show based on the character! Marc Spector is a former US Marine & boxer who left the military to become an international mercenary but is granted a second chance at life by an Egyptian goddess after a near-death experience, but he is also granted enhanced strength and durability, & so decides to become a vigilante crime-fighter. Sadly it doesn’t seem like the Netflix Marvel shows will be making the move to Disney+ with more seasons, they weren’t even brought up. But Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, and Moon Knight are currently all set to be in Phase 4 of the MCU (2020-2021 release), along with many other Marvel shows on Disney+ that were previously announced including The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, WandaVision, What If, Loki, & Hawkeye. Unfortunately no casting news for the new shows, but we did find out that Wyatt Russell is joining The Falcon & The Winter Soldier where Sharon Carter will also be making an appearance, Kat Dennings is returning to the MCU through the WandaVision TV show reprising her role from the Thor movie.

(image below from The Wrap)

Here’s the other little bits of news you need to know from the Disney+ panel!

Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) is producing a show for Disney+ called “Diary of A Female President” following a young Hispanic girl who grows up to be President🇺🇸

A new Muppets show is coming to Disney+ called “Muppets Now” - it’ll be a short form unscripted variety series coming in 2020🐸

The upcoming seventh season of Clone Wars will hit Disney+ February 2020💫

Pixar is developing a series of shorts for Disney+ called “Forky Asks A Question”, following the new character Forky from Toy Story 4 as he asks important life questions like “what is love” and “what is cheese”. Some other Toy Story characters are likely to appear🍴

It was previously announced that a new show would be coming to Disney+ that’a set in the Monsters Inc universe, and now we know “Monsters At Work” will take place place 6 months after Monsters Inc, following a new graduate from Monsters University who goes on to work at Monsters Inc. The voice cast from the original are returning to reprise their roles👁

A new Phineas & Ferb movie called “Phineas & Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe” is coming to Disney+, wherePhineas & Ferb travel across the galaxy to rescue their sister Candance “who has been abducted by aliens & has found utopia in a far-off planet free of her pesky little brothers💥

Kristen Bell is executive producing a new reality show for Disney+ called “Encore!” & it’s “about everyday adults who previously used to do high school theatre being able to go back to their roots and do a show again”🎶Click here for the trailer

A game show called “Be Our Chef” is coming to Disney+ food challenges with the winning dish being served at Disney World🍽

Guests at D23 got first looks at 3 other Disney+ movies:

a coming of age movie called Stargirl starring Grace Vanderwall

“Timmy Failure Mistakes Were Made”

& “Togo” a film about an Alaskan dogsled team

Check out my main account on Instagram @thearabkhaleesi for more!

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bubbletimestories · 5 years ago

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Don’t take him away from me (Irondad)

Summary: Tony is obsessed with Peter's disappearance and wants to bring him back at any cost. He moves away from his loved ones, sinks into depression and asks for Wong's help to save Peter.

Warnings: Major character death (?), sadness

Themes: death, father-son relationship, magic, hope, sacrifice, love, Saving Peter Parker

Translated with Google trad ^^’

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Ashes became a phobia for some, an obsession for everyone. They refused to cremate the dead, and chimney fires became rare even in the coldest winter. How could it have been otherwise?

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, but it’s impossible. As a guardian of the Sanctum, I cannot let you do it. ”

The whole world plunged into silence, as if the shock had taken people off the floor at the same time as their loved ones.

“We have to go ahead, Tony, to maintain a semblance of order. Take back your armour; we will be the Iron men. ”

A national mourning ceremony was organized when people ceased to hope. Captain America gave a long speech in memory of the missing, recalling that we had to keep courage, words without meaning, even for him. The world was not at war, it had lost without even being able to fight. They had failed. It was a month after the Purge.

________________________________________________________________

“The occult powers are not a toy, Mr. Stark, I cannot do anything for you. We all lost someone but that does not give us all the rights. I am sorry. ”

Bruce Banner embarked on research to understand where half of the Universe could have disappeared. He spent all his time there, perhaps to forget that he had lost a part of himself. But we had to face the facts: there was nothing to do, for Hulk as for the others. It was six months after the Purge.

________________________________________________________________

“Tony, you have to … that you stop feeling guilty about what happened. It was not your fault, it was nobody’s fault. Darling… ”

The remaining superheroes returned to service at the same time that the criminals woke up. A semblance of normality had returned, even though Absence was still strongly felt.

“No, Mr. Stark, I refuse to participate in that. The consequences are too uncertain, it is never good to play with life. We, guardians, learned it in pain. It’s no. ”

Thor had managed to find the survivors of Asgard and install them on a small planet to rebuild a kingdom, supported by Valkyrie and Korg. Despite his new responsibilities, he tried to return to see his friend as often as possible. Unfortunately, Point Break always found the genie in the same state: bitter, gnawed by guilt and obstinate not to see the truth. It was a year after the Purge.

________________________________________________________________

- Tony, that cannot continue. I cannot continue … to see you destroy youself. This obsession you have … It’s impossible.

Pepper looks at the impassive figure of the one she no longer recognizes, whom she cannot understand. She had tried with all her strength to support him, to push him forward, to overcome the horrors he had lived, but as much to speak to a wall.

The engagement ring tinkles on the glass table; this break up is different from the previous ones, it is an adieu. After taking a last look at the playboy, Pepper walks away to leave this room too dark, too quiet. Tony’s throaty voice suddenly stops her:

- Will you keep your word?

-Yes. If you succeed … he will officially be your heir.

She refrains from telling him once again that it’s madness. Oh what good would it be ? The door closes without Tony moving a centimetre. He knew it would happen, how could he blame Pepper after all he did? Somehow, it’s better that way, that they separate before…. he does what he has to do. Thoughtfully, he touches his side, where a long scar bears witness to the events of a year ago. A year already … and even more.

Outside, the sea crashes on the rocks under a stormy sky, as if the Sun itself was absent. Hard to believe he was hit by a moon… An umpteenth time, the superhero wonders how a single being could trigger so much chaos, so much suffering. But it’s no longer time to think about it, Tony Stark has never been one to feel sorry for himself, and he’s not going to start today. Not now that Wong has yielded.

The billionaire genie finally gets up, surprises his reflection in the bay window, the drawn features, the hair where pierce some silver threads, and especially his eyes surrounded where shines a flame of determination almost disturbing. To mourn, he can’t, not totally. Not while May Parker hates him. And rightly so: he was supposed to protect her nephew. Every day for months, she pursued him with her anger, her hate, and her sorrow, like a more seductive harpy. It was reminiscent of Tony Stark’s memories of Sokovi’s bitter victory and collateral damages. At the time, he wanted to use the government to fix his mistakes. It was not enough. He did not feel involved enough but today it’s different, he’s ready for anything.

The rain begins to fall while the man in armour joins the Sanctum of New York whose window shines like a gigantic eye watching over the city. Memories come back, his meeting with a man he could not know very long but who resembled him on many points. He, perhaps, has found a way to not die, floating for eternity in a parallel dimension.

- I’m sure your friend teleported to a beach in the Pacific, Wong. He looked smart enough for that.

Tony walks in the door, arranges his rain-soaked hair until the wizard deigns to arrive. It does not take long before he appears, frowning as usual, living figure of disapproval.

- You should refrain from this kind of joke or I may change my mind.

- I just made a guess, no need to come to the threat.

Wong does not answer anything, guides his guest through a series of corridors, the sound of their footsteps choked by oriental rugs. However, the mystic librarian ends up breaking the silence, visibly worried.

- Are you sure you want to do that?

Silly question, it’s been more than a year since the billionaire harassed him without his determination ever faltering and yet, Wong listed the risks more than once. But he supposes that for Tony Stark, life is a gigantic bet. His host does not even bother to answer, it’s so obvious. When the kid di …when he disappeared, it was as if he had taken some of his mentor with him, something broke and the man in armour wanted only one thing: bring him back whatever it costs. Banner told him it was hopeless, Captain asked him to mourn, but it was impossible. When it was not May who was shouting her hate, he saw the teenager’s face in his nightmares. Now he has planned everything. Pepper will run the business until he’s ready, Rhodey will look after him and train him with the other heroes, Banner will take care of the scientific part … He’s been thinking about it for months now and now that Wong has accepted, he will be able to bring back Peter. Wherever he is.

Where Tony expects to see incense, bones, mysterious symbols, in short, all the paraphernalia of resurrection, he finds only one manuscript and the master of the mystical arts donning a double ring. It would not be Wong, you could think of a scam.

- You’ll only have a few minutes to find it. After that, you will both be lost.

- Oh, I thought you were going to announce bad news ..., jokes Tony with a smile but without the spark of irony that always lit his eyes once. Not really knowing what else to do, he stands in front of the librarian, waiting, noting that the wizard carefully avoids his eye with emotion. It would be almost touching.

Wong takes a breath and circles in the air with his fingertips, articulating inaudible words for the man in front of him. This could be any teleport spell at first. But the sparks are usually of a color of fire and not of a deep blue, what we see through the portal is not a gigantic dark expanse. Tony stares for a moment, hoping to see something, a silhouette or even a shape but nothing stands out in the dark.

“Mr. Stark, is it too late to go to the bathroom?»

He probably would have said something like that … if he had been there.

To think thus of the teenager revives the determination of the hero, a moment frozen by apprehension, he turns to Wong to send him a last salute.

- Thank you very much and above all, take care of him. I do not want to have to come and kick your ass.

And without waiting for the answer of the wizard, he crosses the portal quickly, no hesitating anymore.

When Tony Stark had imagined this moment, he had envisioned an intense cold, the same that takes us when we die. But on the other side of the mirror, there is neither cold nor heat, only emptiness and an absence of sensations. All around the billionaire, a deafening silence spreads into the darkness, as if there was nothing else in the world than this visitor. After the shock of discovery, Tony decides to move forward, heart beating and thinking only of the one he must find at any cost. Under his feet, the ground is wrinkled like the surface of a pond but the billionaire is not careful, focused on his mission.

- Underoos !

His voice pierces the ambient calmness, scatters in the void before the silence falls. It is then that a pale color task is formed a few meters from the Avenger, blurry but very real, standing out against the dark background. Gradually, the task becomes clearer, as if you were focusing on it. Peter looks around him, a picture less and less flickering with each heartbeat. Looking as after a long sleep, he blinks, tries to understand where he is. On his face passes a flood of emotions as he remembers his last moments, the battle, the defeat, his death. His whole body trembles and he curls up, hiding nothing of his fear because he believes himself alone, lost forever. My god, he’s dead … so it looks like this after?

Tony slowly approaches the teenager, losing nothing of the confusion that moves him and makes him blind to what surrounds him. He kneels right in front of him, stroking his hair like a little child, making him jump.

- Mr Stark?!

The large hazel eyes express both surprise and immense joy in recognizing their hero and this reaction expresses such innocence that Tony’s heart is tightening. It is because of him that the little one suffers all this … but this ordeal ends, he will go home.

- It’s over…

Without really knowing why, Peter feels he can reassure himself, that his mentor has found a solution and that he can trust him. It’s Iron Man, he always succeeds.

The seconds go by and Tony knows they do not have a lot of time before … being separated again. Then he draws the young man against him, serves him in his arms with more emotion than he would like. No door to open to serve as an excuse, it is a real hug this time. Taken by surprise, Peter does not react immediately as this gesture seems strange to him on the part he admires. Then he puts his arms around him, gives him back his embrace, burying his face against the scarred chest. Nightmares can’t reach him now, everything will be better.

The portal reopens too early, far too early for Tony’s taste. Seeing the sapphire sparks, his first movement is to squeeze the boy closer to his heart, so that they will never be separated again. Then he regains his composure, pushes Peter aside to look into his eyes.

- You’re going home now. Your aunt must make a blood of ink.

- Mr Stark?

Something in the attitude of his mentor worries suddenly the teenager who scans the face of Tony in search of an explanation. It is at this moment that Wong passes his arms through the portal to catch the young man and pull him towards him. Reflexively, Peter clings to the arm of his hero, suddenly sensing that they will be separated.

- No, Mr Stark!

Tony smiles painfully, hoping to be a little reassuring even though he’s never been good at these things.

-It will be fine.

And with a sharp gesture, he recoils to let go of his protégé who screams, tears in his eyes.

-Dad!

The portal closes on him, leaving Tony Stark in the dark, alone but reassured. Now, the little one is safe.

#Don'ttakehimawayfromme #irondad #fic #saving Peter Parker #love #father-son

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bubblesthemonsterartist · 6 years ago

Note

Cat in the Cradle: is the witch really going to give up that easily, having been thwarted once by Obi?

Prompts are currently closed while I catch up. I will announce when I am open! :)

A/N: An installment of Our Place in the Stars.Takes place after Nightmares.

Content Warning: This entire series has allusions to ahistory of sex work and involuntary servitude. This chapter is no different.

He wishes he took Miss’s orders to sleep a little lessseriously last night.

For now that his fast has been broken, with so few hoursto boot, he is delirious, disoriented, and dizzy. The motion of his hands andhis mind no longer work in perfect concert with the other, the distancebetween one place and the next is longer than his memory.

But the draught had done it’s duty, lulling him to slumber deeper than he had any right to.

(“Take this,” Miss says, pushing the steaming mug intonumb hands. The brew is black. Nothing good ever came from a medicine that wasbrewed to black. “It will help.”

Eyeing is dubiously, he takes a delicate sniff, thenrears back, nose traveling up his face to escape it. “Can I take it tomorrow?”

“Obi,” she huffs. “You haven’t slept through the night indays. This will help.”

He peers up at her from under the veil of his lashes, ather puffed up cheeks and her tiny body forming a barrier between him and thedoor. Then back down to the drink.

“I’m fine, Miss,” he smiles, every beautiful tooth baredas he holds the cup back towards her. “Our walk was very refreshing. I think Ican sleep just fine without it now.”

She crosses her arms, staring down at him.

Wilting, Obi cradles the mug against his chest. Takes in the potion again. Hecan already taste the bitter that hovers in the air, the particular mix ofherbs meant to numb his brain to something approaching quiet. It looks like ascrying mirror, it is so thick, like something a traveling nomad would brew to tell him that he would soon come into a fortune if he would part ways with just a little bit more gold.

A little twigthat the strainer didn’t catch floats about its depths.

Oh well. Nothing to be done about it. “Down the hatch,”he mutters, and tilts his head back to take it whole.

Ye gods, what is inthis? He only manages about half the draught before his tongue rebels, throatclosing against it, and then he’s coughing, liquid spraying as the mugdisappears from his hands. Swallowing, he bends over his knees, gasping betweeneach wrack of breath that escapes his body.

Miss is already sitting on the bed next to him. “See?”she tries, patting him on the back as he rubs the moisture from his eyes. “Itwasn’t that bad!”

If he could sit up straight, he tell her with his facewhat he thought. As it is, he has to find his words.

“Au contraire,” he wheezes, wiping off the liquid drippingfrom his chin with the back of his sleeve. “It’s worse.”)

But if his men notice, they don’t say anything. Makiricertainly doesn’t, instructing him in passing to oversee the security for the meetings.

So he does. Just… alone.

(“Are you sure, commander?” Jirou asked, leaning inclose. “I can send one of those idiots to take care of sweeping the meetinghalls.”

Obi thinks of Hiro, with his round, boyish face and hiswide smile. Of Kune, with his new wife and a baby on the way. Of Shinto, hissoft voice and brass laugh. Each and every one of them didn’t sleep for two nights in a row after he told them about his first days in Laxdo.

“I’m sure.” Obi claps his second on the shoulder, smilefirmly in place. “Though if I’m bewitched again, it’s your responsibility getme the best scratching post and only the finest collar.”

Jirou grunts, crossing his hulking arms in disapproval,but he says, “Would you like it to be belled or spiked?”)

It’s not a hard task, not in this city, where a glare ora pointed look is enough to send any busy bodies scrambling. After scatteringthe third anthropologist and the second historian from their hiding places, he thinks that the wingmight be close to ready.

Though, he muses, rounding the corner. He might have totake extra precautions from keeping that biologist from returning to her study spacethat shouldn’t have ever been a study place in the first place.

(“But it’s quiet here! And all the study rooms in thelibrary are taken. I’m working on my thesis,” the woman whines in a way that reminds him too much of Suzu,piling one paper on top of another so slowly that he might tear out his ownhair. “Are you sure I can’t stay? I’m only taking up a corner!”

Obi smiles through grit teeth. “Only if you desire to beturned into a mouse. There’s a Samese witch here, you know.”

Her lips press together in a thoughtful manner, the roundlenses of her glasses making her grey eyes enormous. “I always wondered howtransfiguration affected the body. If it existed, I mean,” she mulls, hands staying upon her task. “Doyou think it is even possible to make something the size of a human intosomething as small as a mouse? I imagine I would have to be turned intosomething of like size, maybe a wolf. There’s so many bones in the human body,though. Do you think they break to condense into a smaller form? Or fusetogether? I wonder if the internal organs mo-”

He really should have known not to give her that option.“Mistress Kazune,” he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Please leave. Now.”)

The room at the end of the hall is the last, and most obnoxious.The carved teak has been primed to shine, the glossy surface of the tablereflecting the centerpiece of evergreens. Circling, he runs his fingers underthe edge, ducking down to check the legs of each chair and each cushion, when asudden blast of cold air sends the curtains of the far wall billowing.

Skin prickling, Obi bristles, crossing over to close thebalcony door. For a city so northward, so obsessed with every burner going at all times,you would think they would only open themselves to the out-of-doors to thespring, but it is a constant battle to explain to his Miss’s maids that doorsand windows lock for a reason-

Clucking his tongue, Obi pushes aside the curtain,grabbing hold of the knob.

“Leave that open, if you will. The air is so stagnant in theserooms. It’s like no one ever uses them.”

Obi has not spoken Samese in years. Has not evenpracticed the syllables on his tongue. But, as Garrack and Shidan and everyscholar he’s ever met is so prone to pointing out, his memory is excellent.

Slowly, he cranes his head, looks over his shoulder. It’snot often that someone is able to sneak up on him, but if anyone were to, itwould have to be-

Them.

Between her two hulking guards, the red of her veils burnagainst gray stone. Her other guard, the giant dog who stands as high as themeeting table, sniffs at the floor. Eyes following, Obi hopes that it is not inspiredto take a piss. It would really be a hassle to put the maids through securityagain on such short notice just because of a little puddle.

“Thank you. It is… refreshing,” she says, hands claspingtogether. Then, with a twist of her head, her voice lowers. Carries authoritywhen she says to her companions, “Leave us.”

Back drawing up straight, Obi’s shoulders go so tightthat it is pain. And her guards don’t so much as answer as grunt, turningtowards the exit. Obi moves to follow.

“No, no.” Something in her voice trembles, sounds amused. “Not you.”

It’s nothing short of an order, though, and while he hasnot been- been that since he was aboy, his joints lock up, rooting him to place and staring helplessly as thedoors close behind the two behemoths. And he wishes, just once, that Miss washere. Or Jirou. Or even Makiri. That someone was present that would rescue him,too.

The touch of a wet nose to the back of his hand bringshim back to himself, eyes coming back to focus on two brown eyes and a lollingtongue staring up at him.

“And what about him?” he asks, voice as dry as a two daytrek across a desert.

The dog licks its great maw, tail giving two quickshakes, and then it- it licks at hishand. Like a connoisseur of flesh. Like it’s testing if he is going to need a little seasoning before enjoying a mid-day snack of escaped-slave a-la-mode.

“Her,” the witch corrects. “What’s wrong? Does the littlekitten not like the big dog?”

She laughs, pleased with herself and Obi’s jaw ticks asher pet nuzzles at him, sliding its nose underneath his palm.

“Come now, it’s a joke,” she tsks, patting her leg, andhis assailant is immediately called away. “I’m very funny.”

Subtly turning his hand towards his trousers, he rubs offthe lingering sensation. “As you say.”

She hums, floating towards him, and his heart gives threeloud bangs inside the cavern of his chest.

“Don’t.”

Obi pauses, blinking, and he- he takes stock of himself,tries to figure out what he has done, and-

His left hand flexes around steel, the tip of his pinkytouching leather behind his back. His heart still races, though, his mind stillscreaming danger! so he lets themlinger, lets them hold that reassuring cold of tempered metal still tucked awayin his belt.

“You,” she sighs, dipping her head to catch his eyes. Heturns them further away. “You’re one of ours, aren’t you?”

His lip curls, fingers wrapping around a hilt. “Never.”

Arms crossing, she straightens herself and he can feelthe weight of her glare like a physical touch. “No need to hiss, kitten. I knowyou belong to her.”

Blinking, Obi forgets himself, head snapping in herdirection, but she’s moving away, looking towards the window at the snowfallblanketing Lyrias.

“Still, though,” she comments, voice distant. “You are a brave little one, living so closeto the border. It would just take the wrong set of eyes and a greedy hand tocarry you back.”

A cold sheen of sweat spreads across his face, and it’snot like- not like he didn’t know that. Not like he didn’t weigh thepossibilities when he followed his Mistress from the safety of the south to theuncertainty of the north, but still- It’s been years since the wars. Yearssince someone has seen another with a face like his in these lands, and- “Noone here knows.”

“Kitten,” she looks her shoulder at him, and he’s madebreathless, the light striking through the material of her veils just so he cansee the white of her eyes. “Everyone knows.”

The cold sickly feeling spreads, eyes watering as ifpunched straight to the nose. “Then why? Why,” he swallows, words battling fordominance between the world he was born to and the world his mistress insistedwas reality. But, despite Miss’s insistence, her tempered demands that he believeher and not them, he can think of no better word. “Why enchant me?”

“Ah, that… embarrassment.” She sighs, rolling hershoulders. “That was not meant for you.”

Obi stares, lost, then whispers, “Then why her?”

She hums, and fabric ripples as she moves, as she comescloser. “She makes herself too small. Like you.”

He’s not expecting it, though he should. He’s far too outof practice, unable to stand still any longer as those above him take him into appraisal, holding hisjaw between forefinger and thumb, turning his head one way then the next,prying back lips to check teeth and pressing on the skin below his eyes tocheck for yellowing. So when her hand appears, still gloved in that thickfabric and so near to his face, he roots himself to the ground. And waits.

After several breaths, his eyes slowly flutter open – hehadn’t even known he closed them – and he- stares at her. At the way her handhovers between them.

“Your witch,” she says slowly, carefully. “She treats youright?”

Obi rears back. “My mistress,”he hisses, “is only kind. Even if I were to deserve-”

He cuts himself off, biting his tongue. But it’s toolate. He’s revealed too much. Stirred up too many memories of that day in theforest, of how she bowed to his failure, asked him to fail her again-

Her hand lowers. “And why would you deserve it?”

Brows furrowing, he blinks at her, trying to figure outwhat she’s about, why should would ask him to state the obvious. “I’m cursed.”

She tsks, breath strong enough to move her veil. “Nowthat’s some lie.”

He stares at her. “But- in Wati-”

“Wati.” Shespits out the name like it’s a blasphemy, drawing herself up while he shrinks.Even though she is no taller than Miss, he is like a boy before her. “Thatcountry of heretics? Why would you go to such a place?”

Gaping, he stumbles over his words, “It wasn’tintentional. I just crossed the steppes and-”

A noise, not unlike the grumble of an aggrieved camel,vibrates from beneath the veils. “What gives warmth to this world?” she clips.

It’s a struggle to remain standing, to not follow the urge to sit at her feet,to retain and recite like the schoolboy he used to watch through open windows in the summer, but that’s not what she wants. He doesn’t think so, atleast. Obi’s lips part and, for once in his life, he is unsure of whether tospeak.

Palms smacking together, she raises her voice. “I askedyou a question, kitten. What gives warmth to this world?”

His mind, the sure thing that it is, goes perfectlyblank. “The, ah, sun?”

“Yes!”

Obi jolts at her enthusiasm, the way she claps her glovedhands in praise instead of as a method for drawing his attention. And issomewhat shamed with that pleased little warmth that blooms in his chest.

“The sun gives light to this world,” she says, her voice softening.“Grows the plants that the animals eat. Melts the snow at the end of winter.And what color is this sun?”

“I- Uhm.”

“What color are your eyes, kitten?”

Swallowing, Obi shakes his head, backs a few steps awayand- and this can’t be happening. This has to be some sort of dream. Some sortof new nightmare. She can’t be serious.

“You have eyes like a leopard that are the color of thesun,” she says earnestly, closing the distance he creates. “Why would that becursed?”

His mouth parts to answer, so sure, so very sure that sheis wrong. That he is right. But he can’t. Not before a Red Witch, of all people.

“My- my Master. When I was a boy. He kept me hidden, toldme I would only do harm if I left his house.” Not that it stopped him fromtrying. The marks that etch up and down his calves are proof enough of that. “BeforeI- I left, he said I was damned. That’s why the temples wouldn’t have me.”

“Sit, boy.”

He stares at her, so lost, so disbelieving. “But-“

“I said sit.”

It’s been years since he was so easily beckoned, but hedoes what she wills, tumbling to the ground, legs barely crossed, and she- she joins him.

“Look at me.”

His eyes try to latch on to anything but the color ofred.

“Look.”

There is nothing else to latch onto, so he does.

“I feel warm just looking at you. Blessed,”she says, so simply. Like she isn’t tearing down and putting back together hisentire world. “Just like when I stand next to your witch. Though I am starting to see why the two ofyou found the other.”

His mind rebels. Screeches and spits. No matter what she said, he still has his memories. He knows the way people’s eyes fell from his when he looked upon him is the truth. The way the others scurried from his path is not a lie. It isn’t his imagination that remembers the whispers into ears and the exchange of coin - the goldthe same color, they said, as his eyes.

Whata lucky find, they murmur, touching his chin to tilt his head back. Hewill bring so much more of it.

“But my Master-”

“He lied to you,” she interrupts. And her words arefinal. Law. Touched with the heat of anger. “He was selfish. Kept you from oursight. All of them did.”

He shifts, uncomfortable, until the slippery slide of herglove touches his face and he jolts, staring straight into the veil.

“If we had known-” She clucks her tongue, thumb smoothingdown his cheek, and he’s been a man for years – years longer than he shouldhave been – but it takes every last bit of his will not to bow forward, to not buryhis face in her lap and let her soothe whatever hurt she could find. “If we hadknown, you would have been brought to the coven, been given a true Mistress.And oh, how we would have spoiled such a face as yours.”

His shakes, and- this room is cold, suddenly. So cold.“But I-”

“Hush,” she commands, a single finger to his mouth. “You would have beeneducated and dressed well, never knowing cold save when you went outside toplay. Been given a bed of your own alongside the other little boys blessed justlike you. And we would have protected you, little one. We would have made sureyou were safe.”

“I-” His voice chokes out and he shakes his head to clearit. “That sounds… nice.”

“It’s the will of the gods that we witches shelter you,”she says, so certain. Like she didn’t lay every single dream of his since he wastaken from his parents at his feet. “That a foreign one found you that is proofenough, hmm?”

To his everlasting horror, his eyes blur, leaking withouthis will, but he can’t look away. So he simply nods.

“So lucky,” shemurmurs, almost to herself as she runs her fingers through his hair. He’s followsthe touch, helpless. “That’s the reason your Master kept you like he did,child. He was trying to keep that luck for himself.”

He weak, so weak. And it’s that weakness that makes himask, “But how can I be lucky if I can’t-” Heat prickles his face, the beginningof a blush more mortifying than him purring like a housecat on his mistresseslap, but he pushes forward. “I can’t- be touched. Even by those that I want totouch me.”

The snort, he is not expecting. “Spirits,” she mutters, headtilting towards the ceiling and the boreholes of stones above them. “You sendme here to find an unimaginable treasure in this desolate place and it is ashorny as a young buck in the spring.”

His lips twitch, but then he flattens them, mustering upsomething like a glare that only makes her laugh more.

“Kitten,” she sighs, moving closer. “You don’t seem to becomplaining right now. Are you sure you can’t stand to be touched?”

He stares at her, uncomprehending, but then her handmoves again, carding through the bristles of his hair and he- his eyes pulsewide, mouth falling slack.

“All wounds can be healed, little one,” she cooes, thesilk of her gloves brushing his temples, smoothing down his neck.

He stares. “But-”

“Your woundscan be healed.”

Obi shakes his head, the whole world trembling beneathhim. “That’s not- it’s not-“

“That doesn’t mean they go away,” she whispers, takinghis hands between hers, thumbs rubbing along the lines of his knuckles. Across the memory of pain. “Woundsscar. Especially ones that have been left to fester. But that doesn’t mean theywill never close. You just have to stop picking at them.”

His mouth opens and shut, unsure of how to work. Unsurehow to pass the enormity of what he’s feeling, so he says, “You’re not going todrug me again, are you?”

All at once, she sags, the weight of her palm heavy inhis lap as she slaps the other to her forehead, but his chest- it feels lighter. He thinks he just made her laugh. Hehopes he did.

“That enchantment wasn’t meant for you,” she says, flat.“But the spirits work in mysterious ways.”

His lip twitches. “Is that a no or-”

If he could see her face now, he is certain he would haveearned himself a full glare. It’s a wonder that this knowledge doesn’t terrify him.That he finds himself breathing so easily when it would be nothing for her tostrike him down. “I don’t think either of us would survive that humiliationshould it happen again.”

He opens his mouth to protest, but then he remembers whatit had felt like, waking up on his mistress’s lap, how warm she had been, howsoft and giving, and the exact way that his heart had shattered with the simpleknowledge that he could not bear it.

“Unless you would like more gifts of catnip. I heard that it can be particularly daunting to keep the stockrooms in the pharmacy stocked in the winter. Really, your King should learn how to better manage his roads-“

Flushing, he bites back, “Point taken.”

Humming, she says, “Glad to know we’re on the same page, then.”

He eyes her, words carefully chosen. “It may be one ofthe few places that we are.”

Her hand clasps his, fingers wrapping the back of hishand and she squeezes. Hard. “Come early tonight. To the ritual. I will haveyour brothers show you what should have been yours.”

Before he can answer, he has a face full of dog, it’sgiant paws crawling up his thighs and great pink tongue lapping at his cheek sosuddenly he nearly topples over. It’s the shock of the door banging open thatkeeps him upright, that keeps him from scrambling away from the cumbersome thing,and he turns his head, wide eyed and shocked to find Lady Haki and Lord Makiri staringat him.

The great dumb creature, having done its duty ofembarrassing him further, leaves him, barking twice at the newcomers as ittrots up to the Arleon heirs.

“Ah,” the witch says, clapping her hands together. “Excellenttiming. I was just about to teach your young kitten here the secrets of uswitches. I’m glad you stopped me.”

“We are eager to continue the exchange.” Mistress Haki’sface is cool, composed, but he sees himself reflected in the tail of her gaze,the look she casts over him concerned. “When we heard you came early, it wasdecided that we need not wait.”

“Very good, very good,” The witch hums, a pleased noise,smacking her lap and levering herself up. “No need to waste any more precioustime.”

#bubbleswrites #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #obiyuki #brothel backstoy au #claudeng80

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the-only-villain-here-is-me · 6 years ago

Text

The Aftermath

Fandom: MCU

Pairing: None

Warnings: Violence, Language, Very Very Sad.(You've Been Warned)

Note: I cried like a baby writing this because Marvel can't just let my faves be happy for once and now I'm the one making my babes sad, dark, and brooding.

Summary: After the snap, what occurs after such a catastrophic event? Will tensions rise between our heroes or will they break down their walls and invite each other in? This is the aftermath...

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The worst had happened and they were unable to stop it. With the snap of his mere fingers, the devilish Mad Titan brought half the universe to nothing more than wisps of dust.

They had searched; of course; they weren't ready to give up so soon on bringing back their loved ones.

After the snap, they gazed upon the destruction he brought about and the only corpse they had to bury; the Vision. His lifeless image stayed with them; kept some of them up at night even.

Steve had sunk to his knees in the place where his best friend; the man he had just finally regained back from the brink; had perished. He was just a pile of ashes and nothing more.

No one dared bother the mourning man, even after they lead him back to his quarters to stay. The sobs of their leader were just background fuzz to their own traumas; they were shell shocked, angry, frightened, and struggled to hold back their own tears.

Natasha threw herself back into the gym the second they walked through those doors; anyone who tried to talk with the eerily quiet assassin were met with a grunt in acknowledgement or mainly, silence; aside from the repetitous thumps of her bare, bruised and bloody knuckles against the leather bag.

They were broken; but tried their hardest to piece themselves back together. No one had been able to locate Tony in those days after the snap and they had unanimously voted to stay in Wakanda to help with the clean up; it gave them something to focus on.

Bruce blamed himself; for not being able to do more, although he knew in his heart that the Titan wouldn't have been felled by the Hulk alone. He locked himself in one of the labs, basking in the silence as he researched tirelessly ways to recover his friends. He was sure it just had to be science and he knew science. He wouldn't stop until he unlocked the truth.

Shuri would occasionally hover in the doorway, jumping in to assist wordlessly when he needed help with some variables. She would bump him out of her way gently and examine the problem, pretending for just a moment that her brother would stop by and urge her to return to her room for some much needed sleep.

She, of course; knew that wouldn't be the case and so she didn't sleep, at least until Bruce banned her from the lab.

They had gotten into quite the fight over that; tensions already high and boiling over into things that usually wouldn't matter so much.

"This is my lab; you don't get to tell me what to do!" She had screamed, a big fat lump sitting in her throat as her voice cracked on the next part, "You're not my brother!"

Bruce had apologized profusely, but she ignored him as she decided to return to her room in order to avoid speaking to anyone further.

Okoye never was far from the Princess either; although she did keep a little distance as instructed.

She felt guilty, that T'Challa had slipped through her fingers as dust as he tried to help her rise. She knew she couldn't have changed the outcome; but that didn't stop her from wanting to protect his sister with everything she could muster. Sort of as an unofficial last request to her King.

Thor had become the rock, of sorts. He still mourned his brother and friends, but his facade was much stronger; the cracks sealed with a layer of wisecracks and reassuring pats on the backs of his quiet comrades.

When he retired to his quarters, though; that was a whole other story. His dreams were plagued with the dull, emerald eyes of his mischievous brother. Every time he attempted to picture his brother back at his trickful ways, all he saw was his pale corpse devoid of any breath.

In his nightmares, he watched as Thanos squeezed the life from his brother; helpless.

"Br-rot-ther...h-help me!" Loki would choke out, his eyes pleading.

When the Mad Titan released his grip, his body would tumble to the floor like a rag doll; his limbs splayed awkwardly.

Slowly, his brother would turn to face him and with nothing but distaste in his dull eyes, would utter, "You let me die!"

Thor woke up in cold sweats after these and took to staring out the window the remainder of the night; glaring up into the stars as he plotted the slow and painful ways he would bring Thanos to his knees.

The day Tony returned, with Nebula in tow; Rocket had rushed in; hoping to see the rest of the Guardians.

"They're gone," She had deadpanned before storming off.

Bruce had pulled Tony into a bear hug when he saw the man walk in. The broken man hadn't reciprocated the action; his eyes dull and glassy; as if he was stumbling through a haze.

Steve had taken that exact moment to exit his room, his eyes still red and cheeks swollen, his lips set in an unmoving line.

They met eyes, from across the room and Steve pulled away from the intense staring match first, flicking his head to look at a spot on the wall.

"He's dead too, isn't he?" Tony had questioned, the first sentence he had let slip past his lips ever since they arrived.

Steve merely nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly.

The others steeled themselves for an outburst, their bodies rigid as they waited for the two to explode at one another after being thrown back into a still smoldering fire of anger.

Then Tony did something unexpected; he stepped forward and placed his hand on the Captain's shoulder, nodding his head slightly.

"We're going to get that purple son of a bitch, even if it's the last thing we do Cap," He muttered before taking off soundlessly down the hall to the lab to fix up his wound properly.

He met a tired Rhodey at the end of the hall, still fuming after having had spoken to General Ross.

General Ross had been spewing an angry tirade about how the Avengers had let down the world and this is not how a team acts and blah blah blah.

"With all due respect, sir; half of the team you're talking about were considered fugitives by you five minutes ago and now you want to complain that they weren't doing their jobs?" He had scoffed angrily, ending the call before he could really let the man know what he thought.

He was the only person left to deal with the hellish late night calls from pissed off U.S Government Officials who knew jack squat and it had been taking a toll. Not to mention that the press couldn't stop ringing him for juicy details about the catastrophe.

"Good to see you in one piece Tony," He chuckled at the man, pulling him into a brief one armed hug.

"Have you heard anything about Pepper?" Tony questioned him, his eyes wide in worry over the fate of his fiance.

"She's fine Tony, we got her set up in a safe house," Rhodey had murmured.

"The kid- he's gone," Tony added, his voice cracking.

"We'll get him back Tony," Rhodey had promised; knowing good and well he was in no position to be making such promises.

Two years since he had made that promise.

Things still hadn't changed.

Tony headed back to New York eventually, noting the city streets were nearly empty as he made his way down them; watching the clean up crews fixing the destruction.

He and Pepper pushed the wedding as he searched day and night for Thanos.

One such night, he found himself staring up into the sky littered with stars due to the drastic transformation of New York City's skyline due to less emission.

"Man up asshole; I want to talk!" He screamed up into the night as a cool breeze tickled his face.

The balcony remained quiet, and he had shaken his head at the half hearted try.

He should of been happy that night; when Pepper announced she was pregnant. He should of been ecstatic at the news.

He just felt, oddly empty. Thanos had taken the one thing he had longed for and turned it into runner up to getting Peter back to his distraught Aunt May.

"Morgan Parker," He offered, gazing into her eyes as tears welled up in his.

She had pulled him into a hug and he felt safe. Safe had usually taken on a new meaning for him, but this; this was safe.

Steve got himself an apartment in Brooklyn for dirt cheap with all the real estate popping up seemingly over night.

It was a one room studio; all he had was a bed, a bare kitchen, and a table with three chairs.

He had a stack of sketch pads under his bed, tucked into a rusted metal box. Page after page was filled with the images of his dead friends.

Bucky, Wanda, Sam, Vision. He was almost obsessive as he tried to draw them into beautiful scenes.

Vision and Wanda with their heads tossed back, frozen in mid-laughter. Bucky curled up in a raggedy arm chair, feet slung over the side as he read, brows furrowed; To Kill A Mockingbird. Sam rolling his eyes jokingly or paused in a sort of still as he threw a water balloon.

He refused to take them out when anyone came over; locking the box and hanging the key under his shirt, close to his heart.

Natasha came over a lot; more than anyone else had. Mainly, she visited between missions.

He would often wake up to find the woman passed out against the wall in a sitting position, snoring gently as the cuts all over her body spilled over and bruises painted her pale skin.

He would pull the blanket from his own bed and lie it over her lap, attempting to ignore her strangled cries that erupted as she slept fitfully.

She also had a lot on her plate as she helped Clint out; as Laura and Lila had perished in the snap; leaving him to care for Cooper and Nathaniel.

Clint was pissed, to say the least, that even after he retired; his old life still pulled him back in like a moth to a goddamn flame.

He couldn't exact his revenge; his kids were his number one priority. Instead, he entrusted Natasha with being his eyes, ears, and legs.

She would go out and bring him back information on Thanos, all while balancing bedtime stories and dinner time.

Clint would have envied how strong she was if he didn't know how hard she was trying to keep it together in the first place. He knew she was just as broken as he was, no matter how hard she tried to mask it.

"You know; you can cry Nat," He had told her one day after a fight over her well being.

"Crying doesn't get your family or our friends back Clint," She had huffed back pointedly, storming from the house.

She had went to see Bruce at the compound, wanting to talk.

Bruce resided at the compound with Thor, Nebula, Rocket and Rhodey, but he rarely talked to anyone as he chose to throw himself into his work.

"Nat," He greeted the woman with a nod as she stormed in, fluttering the papers around her.

"Why did you leave?" She deadpanned, although she could still feel the unfamiliar sensation of a lump in her throat.

"Nat- I- I really don't know," He had stammered.

"BULLSHIT!" She broke down, slamming her fist against the glass table, sending it through.

Her hand was cut up, skin shredded and pain dulled as adrenaline coursed through her veins, as she took out her rage at the shitstorm that had erupted in their lives those past couple years; that tore them apart, pulled them and molded them into people she didn't recognize.

Bruce wordlessly patched her up as she stared out the window with angry tears prickling the corners of her eyes.

He pretended not to notice.

That was all any of them had been doing.

Pretending.

Pretending it didn't hurt.

Pretending they were moving on.

Pretending they were tough enough to contain it.

Pretending they weren't self medicating.

With booze...

With love...

With obsessions...

They couldn't think of the consequences during battle; they had to fight.

This was the battle that was littered with the consequences and choices.

This was the inner battle.

This was the aftermath.

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orderoftheavengers · 7 years ago

Photo

The Other Guy

BRUTUS “BRUCE” BANNER

Summary: Ilvermorny potions prodigy, turned giant green werewolf.

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw

Ilvermorny House: Horned Serpent

Species: Human, werewolf (unique, potion-created breed) Blood status: Muggle-born

Wand: Womping Willow wood, 15 inches, unicorn tail hair

Broom: Tinderblast (not the fastest, but the most durable)

Familiar: Cute little barn owl named Ruffalo/Ruffles

Specialty: Potions

Patronus: Brown Bear

A New Kind of Werewolf

When Brutus "Bruce" Banner was in his first year at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he was taking potions class with the sixth years. His house was Horned Serpent, the egghead house. He was dating Zarabeth "Betty" Ross, of Thunderbird (the "warrior" house), daughter of auror Thaddeus Ross. For his final project of his first year, Bruce was working on an assignment that involved creating a potion that would grant the drinker some impressive powers. Wanting to go above and beyond, Bruce tried to re-create the super-auror serum that had resulted in Steve "the Captain" Rodgers.

Now, mixing the saliva of a werewolf and the blood of a troll into the Polyjuice potion, adding a dash of Doxy venom, a few hairs from a Metamorphmagus, and dropping in a dragon scale to finish it off, and then testing this concoction on yourself probably doesn't sound like a very Horned Serpent or Ravenclaw thing to do. But for an eleven-year-old, Bruce was showing some stunning genius, and took more precautions than most first years in his place would've.

Still, the results were catastrophic. And green. And furry.

On the Run

Thaddeus Ross became obsessed with "containing" the "monster," or worse. (Which is obviously kind of fucked up, since Bruce was still not even twelve yet.) Obviously the Ministry of Magic wasn't going to let Thaddeus kill a kid, but even they couldn't completely control the overzealous auror. Thaddeus's daughter Betty helped Bruce flee Ivermorny. Bruce tried hiding out in some magical communities at first, but soon discovered that the more magic there was around him, the more likely he was to lose control. Maybe it was physical contact with extra magic that made the wolf harder to control, or maybe it was just the stress of being in a community where everyone knew what he was. But in any case, Bruce fled the wizarding world, and lived among muggles in various foreign countries, usually in the sketchiest parts of the cities. A muggleborn, Bruce was already somewhat estranged from his parents, and didn't feel much loss in cutting contact with them.

While hiding out in a muggle favela in Brazil, he kept regular owl-contact with a mysterious pen-pal who went by "Professor Blue," who helped Bruce come up with temporary antidotes for his condition. The now twelve-year-old wizard supported himself mixing colorful paints for those kickass favela buildings, and made a few friends. His next-door-and-one-square-up neighbor was a snake who apparently knew Harry Potter. (Communication between Bruce and his scaly neighbor was limited though, as Bruce didn't speak Parselmouth and the Snake could barely write in Portuguese.) Thaddeus eventually found Bruce, and rode into battle astride a Portugues Longsnout. The dragon's flames however had no affect on the giant green werwolf. Fortunately, no muggles were hurt in the battle, except a group of drug lords who'd just assumed they were hallucinating and didn't get out of the way. Bruce fled into the rain-forest, where he transformed back into a human. He wandered alone for a while until he happened on a friendly chuppacabra that agreed to give him a lift. The chuppacabra didn't speak Protuguese, but told Bruce in Spanish that he wasn't in Brazil anymore. Figuring hiding out wasn't working, Bruce decided to go back to Ivelmorny where most of his old research was, and continue working on a cure. The chuppacabra gave Bruce a ride all the way back to the States, stopping for a few portions of goat for lunch along the way. Bruce reunited with Betty, and together they traveled overseas to Hogwarts to meet "Professor Blue." How did Bruce figure that was where Blue would be? Well in all his letters he kept mentioning "tea" and "ugly Christmas jumpers," and regularly had to be reminded that the asshole chasing Bruce was not a "Slytherin." When they finally met, Blue--actually a forth year named Samuel Sterns--was very disappointed to learn his cover had been blown so easily. (It appears that while Ravenclaws are usually brilliant in some areas, a lot of them lack some ingenuity outside the lab.) While the three worked on finding a cure for Bruce, the Sorting Hat dropped by to inform Betty that she was a Gryffindor, and Bruce a Ravenclaw. (Betty had a mind for science yes, but that was overriden by the courage and fortitude she'd inherited from her homicidally brave father; it takes a Gryffindor to go after a Hulk, and an even bigger Gryffindor to love one.)

Ross caught up to them again, now with a Chinese Fireball. A massive battle ensued all over Hogwarts' grounds. While on his defensive rampage, Wolf-Hulk wound up toppling a few castle towers, uprooting the Whomping Willow, and flinging the Giant Squid through the wall of the Great Hall (insert sushi joke). The Quidditch pitch was also pretty much decimated. This was not a good day for groundskeeper Argus Filch. The battle finally ended when Professor Neville Longbottom (now teaching herbology) announced via microphone-wand-spell that if Thaddeus didn't break off his attack ASAP, he'd call the Ministry on him and he'd have all of his medals and mustache confiscated indefinitely. The Ministry of Magic had arrived by then, and took Betty and Bruce into custody.

Unbeknown to our heroes, a neighbor back at the favela named Emil Blonsky had witnessed Bruce transform into "the incredible green furry," and was overcome with awe and envy. He tracked the heroes to Hogwarts, and cornered Sterns in his lab, demanding the Ravenclaw transform him into a badass like Bruce. Sterns immediately replied, "Holy balls, you look JUST like that guy from 'Four Roo--'" Blonsky's hand around his throat cut him off. Sterns reluctantly agreed to inject Blonsky with Bruce's blood, and then ran for cover (all the way down to the dungeons, past some Slytherins entering thier common room, and diving under a green-and-silver sofa where Tony Stark was reading a dirty "Veela" magazine).

Blonsky transformed not into a green wolf-ogre, but instead, an orange ogre-troll. He bellowed, "I AM ABOMINATION BITCHES!!!!" to the un-phased Hogwarts populace (who witnessed stuff like this every other week), and then promptly began smashing down the towers, Quidditch stadium and Whomping Willow that Argus Filch had just finally finished repairing.

Everyone in Hogwarst was quickly evacuated to Hogsmeade, so Bruce could smash-fight Abomination without worrying too much about collateral damage. Betty however secretly stayed behind, and at the end of the battle, begged Bruce not to kill Abomination.

"Bruce please, he's already died in 'Reservoir Dogs'..."

"Huh?"

"I AM NOT TIM ROTH!"

Bruce punched Blonsky, shutting him up.</b>

The Ministry of Magic quickly arrived to the scene and transformed Blonsky/Abomination into a ferret, before taking him into custody. Ross was about to order his dragon to blast another fireball at the Hulk-Wolf; but seeing human Bruce hugging his daughter, Ross finally admitted to himself, "Maybe there is something a little bit wrong with trying to kill or arrest a twelve-year-old..." The Ministry still wanted Bruce in custody though, and Bruce was forced to flee again after bidding Betty a tear-jerker farewell. After the credits, Thaddeus then went to the Three Broomsticks to get drunk and smoke a cigar; Tony Stark attempted to make a cameo, but didn't get one sentence out before Rosmerta noticed the firwewisky margarita in the underage Slytherin student's hand, and chucked him out.

Order of the Avengers

Bruce went back to hiding out amongst muggles, this time in Asia. The stress of trying to keep the wolf repressed resulted in half a head of gray hair before the poor little wizard was old enough to be bar-mitzvahed. Things got so low that at one point, he stood before a mirror and attempted to cast Avada Kadavara on himself. The "other guy" spit the green death-blast out (incinerating a nearby adult video store and causing a mass UFO conspiracy in the area). So he got passed his depression, and moved on by helping people. He used his magic to cure diseases for sick muggles in the slums of the third world, ignoring the Ministry's rules completely. Then one day, a redhead confronted him with a wand, and introduced herself as Natasha Romanoff. She wasn't here to kill him. She was here to recruit him for the Order of the Avengers. The program was at Hogwarts, so he'd have to go back to school; but at least it wouldn't be the school where his accident had happened, with all the bad memories. Bruce finally gave in, and began classes as a third-year Ravenclaw. Bruce contributed both brains and brawn to the Order, and became "potions bros" with Tony Stark. Bruce learned the hard way that while Ravenclaws and Slytherins make great lab partners, the latter can be a very bad influence on the former. If Bruce had a knut for every time Tony talked him into some experiment that backfired on them, he'd be richer than Harry Potter.

Bruce's other closest friend was fellow Ravenclaw Natasha, who had once been brainwashed by Death Eaters. She and Bruce bonded over the fact that at heart, they're both Ravenclaws, but have been transformed into some kind of monster or another against their will. They began dating, but no one's sure if they're still a thing, or if it was just a fling.

Detention With the Grand Master

In his final year at Hogwarts, Bruce, along with Thor, had to miss out on the epic illegal Quidditch match the other Avengers arranged. (Fortunately, it sounds like Thor and Bruce didn’t miss much, as the whole “civil war” game was less of a “deep clash of ideals” than a “drunken brawl fueled by Idiot Balls.”)

Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. Actually, most of the Avengers were behind in that class. But when Professor Masters--AKA “the Grand Master”--assigned all the failures to detention in the Dark Forrest, Bruce was the only one studious enough, and Thor the only one concerned with his fighting skills enough, to obediently attend their detention instead of playing Quidditch.

In detention, the Grand Master--Hogwarts’ latest eccentric D.A.D.A. professor--forced various badass students to duel each other, for cheering crowds of cheering centaurs, unicorns, merfolk, and other strange creatures. And while wearing ridiculously fruity gladiator outfits. (And the Grand Master’s henchmen will tell you, forcing a giant green wolf into Roman armor is no cakewalk.) Bruce and Thor had an epic duel, before the werewolf noticed Loki, and made like a pooch chasing a screaming, squealing car.

But the group wound up having to play Hooky after all, with Thor’s homeland at stake. Bruce helped Thor and Loki defeat their evil half-sister Hela, and almost caught himself a break....

As if.

Waning Powers

A regular werewolf will change with the moon no matter what. But Bruce was no regular werewolf. The potion that had transformed him had contained hairs from not only werewolves, but Metamorphmagi as well. And those who knew Nymphadora Tonks know that a Metamorphmagus’s powers can be affected by their mood.

Thanos gave the green wolf such a frightening beating, that the “monster” refused to “come out” afterwards, even when Bruce desperately needed him to. Thus, Bruce was forced to fight like a boring regular wizard, on a broom with a wand. Green asshole.

But after Thanos’s Dusting Curse murders half of Bruce’s friends, and half the universe he’d worked so hard to redeem himself by protecting, the wolf returned full-force...

Professor Wolf

With help from Tony and Shuri, and his own Ravenclaw cleverness, Bruce finally found a way to make peace with “the other guy.” He now walked around in the form of a furry green humanoid, taking the name “Professor Wolf.” Since Thanos’s curse and following tyrannical rule exposed the magical world to the Mugggles, Professor Wolf gained some new Muggle fangirls, mainly from the segments of Muggledom that frequented DeviantArt and Fur Affinity.

Time Travel

Deep in Snape’s old Potions dungeon, Tony, Bruce, Rocket, and Shuri–who was not Dusted!–all get together to brainstorm how to use the Spirit Realm for Time Travel (since Thanos destroyed all the Time Turners).

The four geniuses exchange ingenuity and banter, and it is brilliant. Rocket, a niffler, is enamored with Tony’s chest amulet, and steals it, causing some health problems for Tony. This angers Professor Wolf, who chases the niffler/raccoon hybrid around the lab until he catches him and makes him into a violent chew toy.

Shuri snags Rocket from the Wolf, and the amulet from Rocket. Struck with inspiration, the Wakandan princess makes some adjustments to the amulet, to Tony’s embarrassment and begrudging awe. This leads to a “eureka!” moment for the four of them, in regards to the Time Travel problem, and they finally get it solved.

Ravenclaw to Ravenclaw

Bruce gets the Time Stone from fellow a Ravenclaw, the Ancient One. Not battle or trickery is needed for this one; just honest, Ravencalw-to-Ravenclaw reasoning. When Bruce tells her about Strange sacrificing the Time Stone to save Tony, she realizes what this must mean, and hands the Stone over to Bruce.

After losing the Ravenclaw closest to him--Natasha Romanoff--Bruce is as devastated as Clint. Professor Wolf roars, and tosses a bench into the lake. The kids sitting on the bench, Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley, barely react, as they too were close with Nat and are mourning her. Even the Giant Squid is too sad to be bothered by the littering of his lake.

But later, when Bruce is fighting Thanos in the final battle, something extraordinary happens...

Bruce and the Wolf fight Thanos once more, now together, and wielding the red Infinity Wand. Professor Wolf is struggling to simply turn Thanos and his minions to dust, but it’s one Infinity Wand up against another. As the two Infinity Wands blast against each other, a light begins to glow in the middle of the two spells. Bruce suddenly hears a familiar voice, half in his head. “Bruce, give someone else a turn.” Natasha–or a ghostly version of her–is emerging from the middle of the two Infinity Wands’ spells. “Priori Incantatem!” shouts Shuri, from her blue-and-silver panther broom. “Or something like it! Two sets of Infinity Stones blasting against each other, their past spells are regurgitating!” The moment of shock distracts Bruce long enough for Thanos to blast him to the ground. The grape bastard is about to pick up the other Infinity Wand, but spirit-Nat delivers a kick to his face. It’s not a huge amount of damage–she only has the typical strength of a very angry poltergeist–but it buys enough time for Spidey to swing by and snag up the wand with his web, and the battle continues...

Epilogue

Bruce, Sam and Bucky have a brief scare, when it seems that Steve has massacred the timeline for personal gain; but this false Steve turns out to be only a Boggart. The real Steve has returned just a few minutes after schedule, and has only made one tiny change to the timeline; saving Nat.

Professor Wolf is now in the dungeons of Hogwarts, teaching Potions. Bruce can alternate between any of his three forms at will, and actually tends to teach in his boring, adorkable human form (with only the green tail).

Wand, broom, etc. Ollivander has crafted for Bruce a wand from a branch of the Whomping Willow, the only wood green-Bruce can't instantly snap in half. It contains a unicorn hair. Bruce's broom is a Tinderblast; though not as fast as some other models, it's highly resilient, so Bruce can ride it even if he transforms. Bruce's Patronus is a bear (all Patronuses are silver, so Black, Brown, or Polar isn't really a factor here). His specialty, obviously, is potions--his initial first-year accident notwithstanding. A/N: Bruce was blessedly easy to sort, draw, and write a Potter AU for. Tony and Dr. Strange are too overflowing with Slytherin-style heroism for me to let them go to waste as Ravenclaws, just because they happen to be geniuses. Bruce on the other hand, his personality and powers really do revolve around his mind--even his Hulk related ones.f

#bruce banner #hulk #hogwarts house #ravenclaw #werewolf #chibi #hogwarts #potterverse #harry potter #order of the avengers #incredible hulk #mark ruffalo

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eddycurrents · 7 years ago

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For the week of 11 December 2017

Quick Bits:

Amazing Spider-Man #792 continues the “Venom Inc.” crossover and it’s just as much fun as the Alpha issue. Ryan Stegman also provides art for this issue and he proves once again why he’s one of the best at Marvel, particularly when it comes to illustrating Spider-Man. The interplay between Flash, now as Anti-Venom, and Peter is an interesting dynamic, especially with how far Flash has come since high school, and it’s well-explored here.

| Published by Marvel

Animosity #11 gets into some of the divisions that have occurred following the Wake, some of the different groupings and reactions to animals other than humans gaining a spoken voice, and illustrates what animals will find acceptable in propagating their own survival. In this case the subjugation of bees, because they can’t be heard, because they’re little.

| Published by AfterShock

The Archies #3 throws some more kindling on the fire for the troubles of the band, both figuratively and literally.

| Published by Archie Comics

Astonisher #3 is interesting in that just as it looks like Magnus is finally getting the hang of the superheroics, dedicating himself to something more than just his own self-interest, a huge monkey wrench is thrown in his way. Other than just the red worm infecting those affected by the meteorite, there seems to be another insidiousness in the title. Alex de Campi is doing some great work here, both with plot and character.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Black Panther: Long Live the King #1 is a digital first comic from Nnedi Okorafor and André Lima Araújo and it’s wonderful. Okorafor sets up an interesting mystery amidst what could be a natural disaster, could be something more, as Wakanda’s capital is struck by an earthquake. T’Challa sees a Lovecraftian monstrosity during the quake, but he seems to be the only one, leading others to question his leadership. Aided by Chris O’Halloran’s colours, Araújo’s artwork is just the icing on top.

| Published by Marvel

Bloodshot Salvation #4 is a flashback issue spotlighting the trouble childhood of Project Omen’s director, the Scarred Man, and his brother, the man who will become Rampage. This issue is wholly illustrated by Mico Suayan, with Diego Rodriguez, and it’s as beautiful as the story itself is troubling.

| Published by Valiant

Brilliant Trash #2 takes us a bit deeper into the world of genetically modified superbeings, mixed a bit with social media and political activism, but not too far. We get glimpses of both sides in this battle, introducing us to more of the players, but we’re still left wondering what’s actually going on.

| Published by AfterShock

Coyotes #2 delivers on the promise of the first issue, following it up with more compelling storytelling, delving deeper into the mythology of the coyotes, where they’re likely coming from, the Victorias, and Red’s family. Sean Lewis and Caitlin Yarsky have something amazing here, with some strong world-building, fascinating characters, and stunning artwork.

| Published by Image

The Damned #6 begins a new old story-arc, reprinting the Prodigal Sons arc from the second mini-series, now with colours by Bill Crabtree. I think it’s still worth it for the colour if you’ve already read the originals.

| Published by Oni Press

Giants #1 is a fairly impressive debut from Carlos and Miguel Valderrama. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where kaiju rule the surface of the Earth and humans have taken to the underground, forming gangs to survive. Gogi and Zedo are two kids trying to join the Bloodwolves, serving as our entrance point to this world and giving the book a bit of heart.

| Published by Dark Horse

Grass Kings #10 switches to Maria’s perspective this time as she and Shelly discuss what’s been going on in the investigation into Jen Handel’s death, deciding that it’s time to confront Archie in what he knows. Once again, I’m highly impressed by how Matt Kindt is telling this story, as a mix of Robert Altman and Geoffrey Chaucer, using an ensemble mosaic to propel the narrative.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Harrow County #28 features Emmy versus Kammi for all the marbles, with an ending that you don’t necessarily see coming, which is going to leave you questioning what Cullen Bunn has just done to us.

| Published by Dark Horse

Judas #1 is one of the most beautiful looking books this month thanks to the stunning artwork by Jakub Rebelka. His art was one of the highlights of Namesake and now he’s elevating this series. I particularly like the black halo following Judas’ death, it’s just a little touch that adds a lot. The story itself by Jeff Loveness is also interesting, giving a kind of bleak, existential crisis from the point of view of Judas Iscariot, trying to figure out his afterlife and how he fit into the story of Jesus’ death.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Jughead: The Hunger #2 nicely expands upon the factions, adding new players and family members to broaden the story, just as Jughead is recognized by a store clerk, drawing down upon himself the police. Frank Tieri’s setting up the pieces for what should be an interesting confrontation between the Coopers and Jughead.

| Published by Archie Comics / Archie’s Madhouse Presents

Kid Lobotomy #3 starts getting to the root of Kid’s metamorphosis and Kafka obsession, while unearthing some of the skeletons of Big Daddy and the Suites’ closets. All through Peter Milligan’s nutty story, Tess Fowler’s art brings it to life wonderfully.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Maestros #3 gives Will and the world a giant pile of crap as Rygol and Mardok join forces to destroy his capital and kill his people. Just when we thought Steve Skroce’s mad fantasy story couldn’t get stranger, it does.

| Published by Image

Monstro Mechanica #1 is off to a good start. The premise of Leonardo building a robot is interesting, as is his assistant, Isabel, allowing it to learn and grow despite Leonardo’s instructions otherwise, but it’s the political intrigue that’s really going to hook you. Along with the art, Chris Evenhuis has a clean, smooth style that really suits the subject matter.

| Published by AfterShock

Port of Earth #2 gets into the implications that the corporations signed the deal with the aliens and sold out the Earth on the basis of sheer greed. It’s not far-fetched, given the current political climate, but there’s also a hint that the port was going to happen anyway, the deal being the only thing that kept humans alive. The bulk of this issue, though, deals with our POV ESA security agents continuing to chase down the rogue alien “visitor”. From it, it appears that there’s a broader scheme hatching.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Retcon #4...so...aliens. And we’re done.

| Published by Image

Rumble #1 is something I’ve been looking forward to since John Arcudi announced that James Harren was leaving the title and David Rubín was taking over. I absolutely loved the team of Arcudi and Harren, and they really made the first volume of Rumble something unique, but Rubín is probably my favourite new-ish artist to begin working in the North American market in recent years. His art and style is just stunning and fresh, making every character and scene he illustrates something interesting. And he does not disappoint in this first issue.

Arcudi’s humour and quirks, the monstrous and odd characters, the setting, all perfectly mesh with Rubín‘s artwork creating something special. There is a recap of sorts for new readers, albeit biased, so you need not have read the first volume. I still recommend reading it though.

| Published by Image

Runaways #4 is actually a nice moment of respite for the reunited youngsters, as they get introduced to Molly’s grandmother and actually get to relax and be safe for an afternoon. I suspect that the revelation of what Molly’s grandmother has been up to, what they’ve been hinting at since the first issue, is going to be nefarious, but still...somewhat happy issue. Plus, Kris Anka draws some of the best cats.

| Published by Marvel

Slots #3 gives us Stanley’s first fight, as well as giving a look at how Les is an asshole to his “friends”.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Star Wars #40 shows some cracks appearing in the alliance between the Rebels and the remnants of Saw Gerrera’s extremists on Jedha, as Benthic takes a particularly lethal approach to defending what remains of the planet. The artwork this issue, from Salvador Larroca with colours by Guru e-FX, is very impressive.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: Aliens: Dead Orbit #4, All-New Wolverine #28, Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #11, Cable #152, Daredevil #596, Dept. H #21, The Despicable Deadpool #290, DuckTales #4, Falcon #3, Gravetrancers #1, Hack/Slash vs. Vampirella #3, Invader Zim #26, Jean Grey #10, Jenny Finn #2, Killer Instinct #3, Punisher #219, Royal City #8, Royals #12, Secret Warriors #10, She-Hulk #160, Sheena: Queen of the Jungle #4, Slam!: The Next Jam #4, Superb #5, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #27, Weapon X #12, The Wicked & The Divine Christmas Annual, X-Men Blue #17

Recommended Collections: Amazing Spider-Man: The Clone Conspiracy, Bitch Planet: Triple Feature, Brave Chef Brianna, The Defenders - Volume 1: Diamonds are Forever, Faith and the Future Force, Kim & Kim - Volume 2: Love is a Battlefield, Lady Killer - Volume 2, Lobster Johnson - Volume 5: Pirate’s Ghost, Misfit City - Volume 1, Motor Girl - Volume 2: No Man Left Behind, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man - Volume 1: Into Twilight, Rocket: Blue River Score, Star Trek: Boldly Go - Volume 2, There’s Nothing There

d. emerson eddy understands the mysterious nature of the Schwartz. No, he will not teach you.

#This Week in Comics

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ramajmedia · 5 years ago

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10 Supporting MCU Characters That Could Return In A Big Way

D23 2019 brought a lot of surprises. Not only did we find out that we would be getting some brand new Disney Plus MCU series, there were also a few shocking casting announcements that very few could have predicted. While there are some high profile cases such as Kit Harrington starring as the Black Knight, or Gemma Chang returning to a completely different Marvel role, a couple of other casting choices flew under the radar.

RELATED: Disney+: 10 Things You Should Know About Ms. Marvel

The return of both Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo to WandaVision shows that Marvel is willing to dive deep into their list of supporting characters, in order to keep fleshing out the universe they have created. With the unexpected return of these characters, we're taking a look at some supporting characters that could return in a much bigger way during the next few phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

10 LADY SIF

It's no secret that Lady Sif certainly has her fans. The Asgardian warrior has been absent from recent films after a scheduling conflict meant that she could not appear alongside the Warriors Three in Thor: Ragnarok. This was probably good news for the adventurer however, as her brethren were killed in combat fighting against Hela. Sif was said to have perished during the snap, but will of course be around once again.

There's plenty of potential for Sif to now return, perhaps in the Loki series or Thor: Love and Thunder. Fans have been speculating that Sif could in fact be the Queen that Valkyrie has been searching for, marking a triumphant return to the franchise.

9 HARLEY KEENER

Avengers: Endgame saw the surprising return of another supporting character that had a much larger role during Shane Black's Iron Man 3. The young inventor Harley Keener was briefly seen during the funeral of Tony Stark. The producers over at Marvel Studios clearly felt it was important to continue to show the connection between the two characters.

Harley may be in for a much larger role in the MCU. With a successor to Iron Man probably inbound, it makes sense that Harley is part of that journey. The Young Avengers are supposedly coming, with the addition of Kate Bishop and Cassie Lang to the MCU, so it's possible Harley joins them as their in house inventor and mechanic.

8 ARNIM ZOLA

Zola had a completely hidden cameo in Endgame thanks to the production crew behind the visual effects in the film. This recent reveal has only reminded fans just how good the character is though. We last saw Zola in his computer form in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

RELATED: Disney+: 10 Things You Should Know About She-Hulk Before the Premiere

Zola has actually appeared in many more MCU properties than people might realise over the years and he is set to voice the animated version of the character for Disney Plus. However, with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier clearly bringing back many other supporting characters, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to see Zemo written back into the universe.Someone so obsessed with surviving probably has a backup stored somewhere!

7 RICHARD MADISON

A random choice, perhaps, and maybe one that readers don't even remember! During Thor: The Dark World, Jane Foster starts looking for other romantic partners and goes on a date with Richard, portrayed by the fantastic Chris O'Dowd. It would certainly be brilliant to see Richard return due to the charismatic actor behind the character, but what larger role could Richard actually play in such a vast universe?

It's been a while since we've seen Jane Foster and there's every possibility that she could have reconnected with Richard. With Jane becoming the new Mighty Thor, from a storytelling perspective, there needs to be a character that follows her on that journey and reacts to what's happening alongside her.

6 LEONARD SAMSON

The Incredible Hulk is a largely forgotten entry in the MCU. The movie has been partially salvaged, however, with William Hurt's recent reprisal of Thunderbolt Ross and Martin Starr's strange ongoing role in the MCU. There are a lot of great characters featured in the film, however.

Leonard Samson is one such example. The psychiatrist boyfriend of Betty Ross put himself in the way of the Hulk due to his jealousy over his girlfriend and Bruce Banner. Portrayed by the wonderful Ty Burrell, the character has probably gone through a lot since these events. There's definitely a role in the MCU for a superhero psychiatrist and we could see Samson's superhero alter-ego!

5 CHRISTINE EVERHART

Christine Everhart has actually been featured in quite a few MCU properties, especially in her role with WHIH, the fictional news station in the franchise. There seems to be a real potential to flesh out this character, who audiences will be familiar with.

RELATED: 6 Characters We'll Miss From The MCU's Spider-Man (& 4 We Won't)

By now, Everhart is probably at the top of her field and looking for the latest scoop on any case Jennifer could be working on. The two could share both a friendship and a professional relationship that could add a new dynamic to the show.

4 RHOMANN DEY

It was mentioned that Thanos had completely wiped out the Nova Corps and the planet Xander during his quest for the Infinity Stones. The means that Dey's family and friends are all likely dead, but there's a real possibility that Dey actually survived himself and is now looking for any kind of revenge in the universe.

In the comics, it is Dey who passes down the moniker of Nova, and this could very well be his role in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. It's also the perfect way to finally introduce Nova into the MCU.

3 NAKIA

Lupita Nyong'o is an absolute star and it's a travesty that her character Nakia hasn't appeared since the original Black Panther. It is almost certain that she'll return for the sequel, though. Nakia's story was already complex in the franchise, with the activist and spy feeling like Wakanda can do more for the world.

With the events of the last five years, she could have completely shifted in perspective, perhaps feeling like she was wrong and Wakanda should have stayed protected and hidden after its losses. Maybe she feels like even more could be done and it's now too late. Whatever the case, we could see her transition into a more villainous character.

2 KRAGLIN OBFONTERI

Kraglin's honorary position with the Guardians, his role with the Ravagers and relationship with Yondu have all made him a fan favourite of the galactic series. ,It really wouldn't be surprising if he had an even more extended role in the finale part of the Galaxy trilogy set to release in phase 5.

There's a lot more that Kraglin could do, from rising the ranks in the Ravegers to perhaps even becoming a fully fledged member of the team. Now with the use of the fin and arrow it's clear that James Gunn wants to explore the character some more and give him a larger and more dangerous role.

1 JANET VAN DYNE

You don't cast Michelle Pfeiffer without having a larger plan for her character. The return of the original Wasp was a big moment for Ant-Man fans, but the character has only since briefly appeared in the funeral scene. However, there must be more that Van Dyne can do in the larger MCU and there's surely a place for her to appear again.

What's strange is that we haven't heard anything about an Ant-Man and the Wasp sequel, which means the places she could appear are limited. But there's still a lot of story to be told there and Peyton Reed is probably eager to get back to work on the characters he loves. Maybe Van Dyne could serve as a mentor figure for a new female hero joining the MCU on Disney Plus?

NEXT: 10 Other MCU Characters Who Might Be Worthy Of Wielding Thor's Hammer

source https://screenrant.com/mcu-supporting-characters-cameos-may-return-phase-4-beyond/

#screenrant

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kittykatknits · 7 years ago

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Thanks @everythingjonsa for tagging and asking me about my Jonsa story. This is going to be rambling in nature, so I’ll apologize for that now.

My opinions and feelings about the characters and ship are almost entirely influenced by the books. I started on the series based upon a suggestion by my husband and a close friend. At the time, only the first two books of the series were out and I read them in a marathon over the course of a few days.

I fell in love with Jon from his very first appearance on the page and my affection for his character has never wavered. As for Sansa, it was during the hand’s tourney when the Hound was taking her back to the RK. Here is this hulking and frightening figure who tells her the truth behind his burns and Sansa is no longer afraid of him but FOR him. It’s such a fantastic moment for her. The empathy she displayed in that scene made me fall in love with her instantly and my feelings for her have only grown over the years.

So, for the first two books, I had no shipping thoughts at all, it was not why I read the books. Then, the third book was published and I read it during another marathon session. I read the RW in the middle of the night all by myself, I can still remember the shock and grief, the horror of what was on those pages. So, I made myself finish the book but felt pretty miserable by the end of it.

Foolishly, I thought the next book would be out within a few years. Then, Martin started telling fans that he was dropping the gap and “making progress” but kept missing his promised finish dates. I put the series away and forgot it existed until aFfC was published. I picked it up and absolutely LOVED the way Jon was presented through Sam’s POV chapter. It added so much depth to him for me. Anyways, I got to Sansa’s final chapter in that book where she expresses surprise that Jon is LC and thinks to herself it would be so sweet to see him again. Right then and there, I knew they would be the first two Starks to reunite. I did a fist pump when the show proved that theory right. Around this time, I joined a fan site that no longer exists.

So, anyways, the show was announced on GRRM’s not a blog (or at least that is how I first heard about it) and I started to get more excited about the books again. Did some re-reads, got more active in fan communities, joined Live Journal, and started looking into the books in more detail. I still didn’t think of shipping any of the characters, this just didn’t feel like the series for it. Somehow, I stumbled on to someone’s personal web site that had Jonsa fic on it, maybe 2009? It was a post-canon fic where they rebuild WF together and slowly fall in love. That was my introduction to the possibility although I had never heard of shipping before. On Live Journal, I stumbled into some early aSoIaF fic events and read some Jonsa fic which I loved. I would say I was intrigued by the possibility but not a shipper.

It was maybe a year after aDwD was published, that I even heard of the word shipping. There were some threads started over on w.org that talked about the possibility. I was intrigued but convinced it would never happen. There was a breaking point for me during a discussion on Sansa and Tyrion (barf) when I realized that I would take Jon and Sansa over that pairing any day, and, well, my interest went up again.

I was so excited for the show, to see my beloved characters come to life. But, by then, I had been living with them as they were in book canon for so long, it's hard to seem them on the screen. It still is. I sorta watched seasons 3-4, got really pissed off at season five (massive nerd raging), and had decided to quit altogether and wait for Winds to be released. Then, I heard online, somewhere, that Jon and Sansa would reunite and I was Down. For. That. My theory was proving true, the possibility of seeing all those long ago fics I had read actually happening. The possibility that the meta I had read years ago might actually be right. I was so here for that possibility.

So, I decided to watch season 6 and then they hugged. And I re-watched them hug and I re-watched it and I re-watched it. See where I’m going with it? I went through the season cheering them on. After the season ended, I re-watched all the episodes that had them in it. I was on the ship. Seeing all of this on screen combined with what I had been flirting with for years, yep, I fell and fell hard.

I joined tumblr to look at pics and I saw pics of Richard and Kit (those who know me know how I feel about those two) and I was becoming obsessed. Towards the end of the year, I decided to look at fic once more so I wandered over to ao3 at random one day. The first fic I read was Lost and Found by Janina. It’s a modern AU but Jon and Sansa where so much like the canon characters, I was blown away. So, I stalked her on tumblr and got up the courage to start writing my own stuff.

I have been writing Jonsa fic since the beginning of the year and I thoroughly enjoy it. Writing fic has pushed me further down the well so I’m pretty much obsessed at this stage. I’ve got a spreadsheet of fic ideas, head canon, and a fool’s hope. So, now I’m on tumblr looking for new pictures of Richard and Kit and writing pretty much constantly.

Now, whatever happens, whether another book is published, or the direction the show takes, I don’t care. They are my OTP and I’m going to keep writing.

The biggest bonus of all this is that I’ve met several other shippers who are so much fun to talk too, who support each other with writing, and get excited over the same things that I do. I’ve been in fandom for these books for a long time now, but it is fun for me now in a way it never has been.

So, that’s my long rambling answer. For those of you who read to the bottom, thank you for your interest! @everythingjonsa - thank you again. I hope this is what you were looking for.

#my jonsa story

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riotborn · 8 years ago

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Some people might call him crazy ( read: Kaminari ) for actually wanting to spend time with Class 1-A’s one and only Bakugou Katsuki, but as far as he’s concerned, Bakugou’s a pretty cool guy. Or, at least, as cool as a guy can be when constantly telling those around him to ‘eat shit and die’. Against all odds, Kirishima likes him. He enjoys spending time with him, and considers him his closest friend, something he likes to think that goes both ways. And it’s with this friendship in mind that he finds himself merrily knocking at Bakugou’s door one evening, without even the slightest hint of trepidation in his actions.

Kirishima’s lips lift into a grin the moment the door swings inward to reveal a somewhat grouchy looking Bakugou ( he’s pretty sure that’s just his normal expression, though ), a hand lifting in greeting as he speaks, “ Yo, Bakugou! Hey— so my mom sent this up a couple days back, and I figured we could probably watch it now we’ve got some free time... ” With a flourish, he proudly holds up the DVD case for Bakugou to see, the blood red kanji printed against the hulking, terrifying image of Godzilla reading ‘Shin Godzilla’.

It’s one of Kirishima’s favourites, an instant Godzilla classic in his eyes. He still remembers the day it was announced, remembers begging his mother to take him to see it after obsessively watching the trailer at least ten times a day up until it’s cinematic release. He ended up having to wait until the home release, but it had been worth it. It immediately catapulted it’s way up into Kirishima’s top ten favourite films and it’s remained there ever since.

His grin widens, clenching an excited fist against his chest. “ What d’you say, man? Wanna watch it with me? I’ve got my laptop all set up in my room and some snacks if you’re feelin’ hungry! ”

@hecksplosive // starter call!

#hecksplosive #` ★ .* — IN CHARACTER » reporting for duty!#` ★ .* — VERSE 01 » on the path to becoming a hero!#` ★ .* — HECKSPLOSIVE / 01.#( RUBS MY HANDS TOGETHER. it begins. /the gay begins/.#also Kiri nerding out over Godzilla but y'know #ima scream @ you about these nerds over discord but lemme know if you want anything changed !!!! )

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yahoo-movies-uk · 8 years ago

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20 daft extras who nearly spoiled their scenes

It's tough to break into showbusiness, so you wouldn't begrudge an extra their opportunity to get noticed on the set of a big production. However, these guys took it too far, taking their background work to the foreground and committing a cardinal sin: drawing focus from the talent.

Behold: the extras who almost ruined their movies...

Dunsmirk

When the first teaser for Christopher Nolan’s WW2 epic ‘Dunkirk’ hit the web, many were quick to point out one background artist who’d clearly missed the memo that he was supposed to be scared during this scene.

While all the troops around him are visibly terrified by the sound of a German plane swooping in to rain fire and death upon them, this guy looks like he’s just spotted a giant Spongebob hot air balloon floating by. Somehow we doubt he’ll make the final cut when it comes to cinemas in 2017.

"Batmaaaan! Ehhhhh!"

When it came for Batman to make his entrance in 'Batman Forever', the occasion was noted the moment Val Kilmer smashed through the ceiling in full costume.

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We didn't need this speccy guy leaning over Nicole Kidman's shoulder announcing: "Batman! Ehhhhh!"

Clumsy stormtrooper

Possibly the most famous errant extra ever captured on celluloid, the clumsy stormtrooper has become part of 'Star Wars' lore ever since he bonked his head on the way into the Death Star control room. Famous revisionist George Lucas refused to alter the shot, instead adding a sound effect for the Special Edition in 1997.

'Teen Wolf' flasher

You have to wait until the very last scene of 'Teen Wolf' to see her – and you only see it's a her in the widescreen edition on DVD – but this brave extra managed to damped Michael J Fox's victory bundle by having her jeans unzipped, briefly flashing her crotch. Notice the guy waving the 'Beavers' flag for added effect.

'Quantum Of Solace' weird street sweeper

We can only imagine this broom-wielding extra was told by Marc Forster to lightly glide his brush above the ground so as not to make any noise while 'sweeping'. Unfortunately, he missed by a good foot, making it look like he's fighting off imaginary dogs with his broom.

'Die Hard 2' roly poly guy

No one likes being in airports at the best of times, so when there is terrorist activity, it's understandable the masses would panic. This guy, however, was clearly so afraid that he lost control of his legs, causing him to flop helplessly around on the floor, rolling around like a Portuguese footballer. Yellow card for simulation.

Smiling 'Jaws' extra

Fear affects people differently. Some people freeze, some people are spurred into action. This extra on the set of 'Jaws' reacted unlike any other when informed of a killer shark in the area – by playfully romping into the sea with a stupid smile plastered all over his face. Here's hoping he left a smiling corpse.

'The Last Samurai' who got kicked in the nuts

Nothing sours a serious period epic like a horse kicking a samurai in the plums. Considering all the extras in the shot and how difficult it is to wrangle horses, we reckon director Ed Zwick saw this and thought "Sod it. No one will notice. Print it!" We noticed.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

There's no other way to say it: this distracting extra in dance drama 'Breakin'' is Jean-Claude Van Damme, and he's dancing like a prat wearing a lycra bodysuit. Just try and focus on anything else.

Frances McDormand's scene stealer

Fittingly, given the title of the movie she was appearing in, the over-the-top extra who appears over the shoulder of Frances McDormand during the graduation scene in 'Almost Famous' did find a modicum of fame, when Cameron Crowe pointed her out in his director's commentary for the DVD, saying she does "exactly what extras shouldn't do".

'Star Trek Into Darkness' smiling extra

Blink and you'd miss him, but the first trailer for 'Star Trek Into Darkness' contained a split-second shot of a futuristic San Francisco resident staring at the camera and smiling like a goof while two colossal spacecrafts smashed into his city. Hyuk hyuk.

'Mr Nanny' background extra washes dog

This one is just too bizarre: during one scene of 'Mr Nanny', as Hulk Hogan rides his motorbike down the street, one cut shows a strange man standing on the waterfront behind him, casually tossing his dog into a lake. Was he washing it? Trying to drown it? Why was it in the movie? How did nobody spot it? Why is Hulk Hogan in a movie again?

'The Dark Knight Rises'... quite easily

Poor Christopher Nolan: all those expertly choreographed fight scenes in 'The Dark Knight Rises', and this henchman extra goes and spoils the whole shebang by crumpling like a sack of potatoes despite being about six feet away from the 'fatal' blow. Still, having Anne Hathaway in leather in the foreground will tend to catch people's attention.

'Cliffhanger''s smile of death

This one's a bit of a cheat as it's not an extra but actor Ralph Waite who flubs a scene in 'Cliffhanger', by smiling during the film's most traumatic scene – the bit where Sylvester Stallone's girlfriend plummets to her death. Could it be a rather unfortunate grimace? Maybe the character of Frank was actually the Grim Reaper? So many theories.

Blofeld's cat

They say 'Never work with children or animals' but we feel it's necessary to add 'especially cats, because cats are the worst'. Just look at the furry little critter in 'You Only Live Twice' trying to escape Blofeld's clutches: those claws are dug all the way in to Donald Pleasence's arm. Having a crazed cat scratching you will tend to undermine your evil plan.

The kid who spoils 'North By Northwest'

Kids are dumb. Look no further than this scene from 'North By Northwest' for proof: the small kid sitting at a table in the background has obviously been told that a gun is about to go off, but sticks his fingers in his ears a good five seconds before it's discharged. Nice going, idiot. We hope he grew up knowing he ruined one of the best films ever made.

'Back To The Future III' crotch kid

Doc Brown's kid Verne certainly made an impression with his minute or so of screen time at the end of 'Back To The Future III'. No sooner has his dad introduced him to Marty, he's beckoning the camera towards him and pointing at his crotch, like some demented junior swagged-out rapper. Turns out he was just signalling that he needed the loo, but still.

Batman cop super agrees

During a scene in The 'Dark Knight' which Harvey Dent addresses the Gotham PD, one disgruntled officer yells "No more dead cops!" At this point, the extra in front of him agrees so vigorously, his eyebrows appear to try and escape off the top of his head.

'Gladiator's smiling extras

Ridley Scott took to his 'Gladiator' DVD commentary to bemoan these guys – extras smiling like goons in the opening battle as the Romans rush the Germanic tribesmen. Background artist rule number one: if you are appearing in a war or battle scene, don't smile. Wars and battles are supposed to be sad. Lesson over.

"Hey Malkovich! Think fast!"

Incredibly, one of 'Being John Malkovich''s funniest scenes was entirely improvised by an extra, who lobbed an empty can of beer at Malkovich's head and yelled "Hey Malkovich, think fast!" as he chatted to John Cusack on the New Jersey turnpike. The scene wasn't in the script, and instead of being punished, the extra was paid.

- 28 Amazing Star Wars Facts - Incredible Titanic Trivia - Frozen In-Jokes You May Have Missed

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#news #features #extras #movie extras #gaffes #bloopers #movies

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ethanalter · 8 years ago

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2017 Sundance Film Festival Preview: 23 Movies We Can't Wait to See

As the first major film festival of every calendar year, the Sundance Film Festival always sets the conversation for the films that serious movie buffs will be seeking out and debating for the next 12 months. And the 2017 edition, which runs from January 19-29 in the festival’s longtime home base of Park City, Utah, will be no different. Yahoo Movies combed through the 181-entry line-up to pick the 23 features we’re most excited to see at this year’s festival. And check back here often for our continuing coverage from Park City.

Salma Hayek in ‘Beatriz at Dinner’ (Photo: Sundance Institute)

Beatriz at Dinner The dynamic duo behind the 2000 Sundance sensation Chuck & Buck, writer Mike White and director Miguel Arteta, re-team for another off-kilter comedy. After her car breaks down, holistic health expert, Beatriz (Salma Hayek), is stranded at a client’s house as a celebratory dinner party is about to begin. Over the course of the evening, she becomes increasingly obsessed with one of the partygoers, Doug (John Lithgow). And, as Chuck & Buck fans know, obsession is fertile territory for White and Arteta.

Before I Fall Ry Russo-Young’s adaption of Lauren Oliver’s bestselling novel puts a YA spin on the “live, die, repeat” school of movies like Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow. Zoey Deutch stars as Sam, a high school Queen Bee who finds herself reliving the day of her death over and over again. Open Road Films will release this cult hit-in-the-making in March.

Zoe Kazan and Kumail Nanjiani in ‘The Big Sick’ (Photo: Sundance Institute)

The Big Sick Silicon Valley and Twitterverse funnyman Kumail Nanjiani co-wrote this rom-com with wife Emily V. Gordon based on their real-life coupling. He’s an aspiring comedian whose one-night stand with a grad student (Zoe Kazan) blossoms into a full-fledged relationship, much to the chagrin of his Muslim parents. Directed by The State creator Michael Showalter and produced by King of Comedy Judd Apatow, the film also features Ray Romano and Holly Hunter.

Burning Sands Welcome to Hell Week, frat-house style. Gerrard McMurray’s scalding debut feature takes audiences inside an African-American college fraternity as a new group of pledges, led by promising freshman Zurich (Trevor Jackson), endures emotional and physical abuse in the name of brotherhood. Look for a supporting turn from Moonlight star Trevante Rhodes.

Crown Heights After impressive supporting roles in Short Term 12 and Selma, LaKeith Stanfield (fresh off those sick dance moves celebrating Atlanta‘s win at the Golden Globes) lands his first starring role. He flexes a Trinidadian accent as Colin Warner, the real-life Brooklyn man who spent 20 years in prison after being falsely convicted of murder. The drama, written and directed by Matt Ruskin, follows the efforts of Warner’s best friend Carl King (Nnamdi Asomugha) to clear his name.

‘The Discovery’ (Photo: Sundance Institute)

The Discovery Sundance is never short on promising premises, and this one has us intrigued. It’s touted as a love story set in a world where the afterlife has been scientifically proven, which has set off a rash of suicides by people eager to get to the other side. Directed by Charlie McDowell, who brought the twisty sci-fi romance The One I Love to the fest in 2014, the ensemble features McDowell’s longtime girlfriend Rooney Mara, Jason Segel, Jesse Plemons, Riley Keough, and the Sundance Kid himself, Robert Redford.

Fun Mom Dinner Like Sundance’s indie response to the raunchy 2016 box office hit Bad Moms, this comedy unites Toni Collette, Molly Shannon, Katie Aselton, and Bridgett Everett as four preschool mothers who bond over the course of a wine-soaked, weed-clouded evening out. Written by Julie Yaeger Rudd (wife of Paul Rudd) and directed by Alethea Jones (making her feature debut), the film counts both the Ant-Man star and Adam Scott (who also appears) as producers.

A Ghost Story Three years ago, the trio of David Lowery, Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara teamed up for the breakout Sundance favorite, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. Now, they’re reuniting for the haunting tale of a dead man (Affleck) who returns from the hereafter to watch his lover (Mara) grow old without him. Despite the tragic subject matter, Affleck will have something to smile about during Sundance: his name will almost certainly be among the Best Actor candidates when Oscar nominations are announced on Jan. 24.

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power Al Gore’s slideshow-driven global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth defied all expectations in 2006 when it earned $24 million at the U.S. box office, blockbuster numbers for a doc. Sundance 2017 will open with this sequel to the influential film, which also headlines the festival’s inaugural “Climates” section.

Jessica Williams in ‘The Incredible Jessica James’ (Photo: Sundance Institute)

The Incredible Jessica James Popular Daily Show alum Jessica Williams headlines her first film, playing a New York twentysomething struggling to get over a break-up and make it as a playwright. The fest’s closing night film is written and directed by Jim C. Strouse, a Sundance regular with entries like Grace Is Gone, People Places Things and The Hollars. Expect Jessica James to capture love and heartbreak in the same poignant, sharply funny fashion.

Ingrid Goes West The perils of social media connections are explored in this dark comedy from first-time feature director Matt Spicer, who cowrote with David Branson Smith. Parks and Rec alum Aubrey Plaza plays a mentally disturbed young woman who becomes so obsessed with an online “influencer” (Avengers star Elizabeth Olsen) she moves to Los Angeles to befriend her — and we can only assume, “single white female” her. Look for our reaction on Twitter.

Jenny Slate in ‘Landline’ (Photo: Sundance Institute)

Landline Gillian Robespierre and Jenny Slate’s follow-up to the 2014 Sundance favorite Obvious Child transports audiences back to that magical, mythical world known as the 1990s. While Dana (Slate) sows her wild oats as her wedding day approaches, her sister Ali (Abby Quinn) indulges in Party Girl-era New York City nightlife. For true ‘90s authenticity, we expect a soundtrack filled with equal parts TLC, Hootie and the Blowfish and Gin Blossoms.

The Little Hours Real-life comedy power couples unite. Engaged item Dave Franco and Alison Brie costar with Aubrey Plaza, whose boyfriend Jeff Baena (Life After Beth, Joshy) wrote and directed this Middle Ages-set laugher about three nuns (Brie, Plaza, and Don’t Think Twice breakout Kate Micucci) whose chaste existence is thrown into upheaval by the arrival of a studly day laborer. Baena based on the story on The Decameron, the novellas of 14th-century author Giovanni Boccaccio.

‘Nobody Speak’ (Photo: Sundance Institute)

Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press With a wave of newsroom closings and charges of “fake news” flying around almost daily, the journalism industry is facing serious challenges in the coming years. Brian Knappenberger’s unnervingly timely documentary seeks to use one specific case — Hulk Hogan’s high-profile lawsuit against now-defunct website Gawker — to speak to the larger ramifications of living in an America in which the “free press” isn’t truly free.

Person to Person Dustin Guy Defa (who brought a short film by the same name to Sundance in 2014) wrote and directed this collage of intersecting tales of New Yorkers on the go. A newspaperman (Michael Cera) mentors a rookie reporter (Broad City‘s Abbi Jacobson) on the crime beat; a teenager (Tavi Gevinson) critiques her best friend’s new boyfriend; a slacker (George Sample III) offers an apology for posting nude pics of his ex-girlfriend; and a vinyl junkie (Craig Butta) chases a lead on a rare record.

The Polka King Just take one look at the title and tell us this doesn’t look like a vehicle tailor-made for Jack Black? The School of Rock and Bernie funnyman plays real-life Pennsylvania polka singer Jan Lewan, who (inadvertently?) operates a Ponzi scheme that will inevitably be his undoing. Jenny Slate, Jason Schwartzman, Jacki Weaver, and J.B. Smoove costar in this tragi-comedy from writer-directors Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky (Infinitely Polar Bear).

Nicholas Hoult as J.D. Salinger in ‘Rebel in the Rye’ (Photo: Sundance Institute)

Rebel in the Rye Suggested alternate title: Holden Caulfield Begins. Writer/director Danny Strong (one of the masterminds behind the hit Fox series, Empire) revisits the formative years of future Catcher in the Rye novelist J.D. Salinger (Nicholas Hoult), when he was just a struggling writer romancing Hollywood royalty, Oona O’Neill (Zoey Deutch).

Roxanne Roxanne You wouldn’t necessarily think old-school rapper Roxanne Shanté (Chanté Adams) would be next in line for the hip-hop biopic treatment after the likes of Biggie, Tupac, and NWA, but all the more reason this drama about the groundbreaking Queens emcee deserves its props. From the producing team behind the 2015 Sundance breakout Dope (including Pharrell Williams and Forest Whitaker), the Michael Larnell-directed film also features Nia Long and Moonlight costar Mahershala Ali.

78/52 Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho gets the Room 237 treatment with Alexandre O. Philippe’s shot-by-shot deep dive into the film’s notorious shower scene. Instead of Shining “truthers,” though, Philippe relies on directors like Guillermo del Toro and Peter Bogdanovich to analyze the art and science behind this nightmare-inducing sequence, which has been putting viewers off taking regular showers since 1960.

To the Bone Prolific TV writer/producer, Marti Noxon — whose small screen credits range from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Unreal — makes her feature filmmaking debut with the highly personal story of a 20-year-old woman (Lily Collins) wrestling with a serious eating disorder. With Noxon at the helm, not to mention skilled supporting players like Keanu Reeves and Lili Taylor in the ensemble, there’s little chance that To the Bone will play like an afterschool special.

Michelle Pfeiffer and Kiefer Sutherland in ‘Where Is Kyra’ (Photo: Sundance Institute)

Where Is Kyra? We’ve lived through the McConaissance; maybe 2017 will be the Pfeiffersance? With roles in Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express and Darren Aronofsky’s Mother in the coming months, Michelle Pfeiffer begins the year with a star turn in Andrew Dosunmu’s drama about grief-stricken, emotionally unstable woman whose reliance on the kindness of a stranger (Kiefer Sutherland) takes a dark turn.

Wilson Daniel Clowes’ 2010 darkly amusing graphic novel about an aging crank jumps off the page and onto the screen, with Woody Harrelson in the title role and writer/director Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins) behind the camera. General audiences will have a chance to see Wilson in March courtesy of Fox Searchlight, but Sundance crowds will be the first to know whether Johnson has done Ghost World-level justice to Clowes’ work.

XX Even as horror anthologies like V/H/S and The ABCs of Death have proliferated, female filmmakers are too rarely invited to join in the gory fun. Enter XX, which serves up four scary stories helmed by women, including Karyn Kusama (The Invitation), Roxanne Benjamin (Southbound), Annie Clark (a.k.a. St. Vincent) and Jovanka Vuckovic (The Captured Bird). It’s well past time for a horror movie to shatter that glass ceiling…and then use the resulting shards to draw some serious blood.

#sundance film festival #_revsp:wp.yahoo.movies.us #_author:Ethan Alter #_uuid:30987dd7-6d93-3847-9d15-a67d2a926b1d #_lmsid:a0Vd000000AE7lXEAT

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placetobenation · 5 years ago

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A new year has begun and along with it comes a new decade, but don’t say goodbye to the 2010s just yet as we here at the Place To Be Nation want to take a look back at the decade that just passed us by before we get too far into the 2020s. In this article I will be talking about everything that happened in the world of wrestling throughout the 2010s, this includes both the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the moments that made us go holy shit and the ones that just made us go WTF, so sit back and relax and get ready for what could end up being quite a lengthy article.

The First Monday of the Decade It didn’t take long for the decade to deliver a memorable moment as on the first Monday of 2010 we saw not one, but two wrestling shows battling for supremacy as for the first time since March 2001 WWE Raw faced competition from another wrestling company as TNA tried their hands at starting up another Monday Night War. In late 2009, TNA brought in Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff to see if they could turn the company around and make it a viable competitor to the WWE and one of the very first moves made by Hogan and Bischoff was to immediately move Impact to Monday nights. The January 4 show was a test run to see how well it would do against the juggernaut that was WWE Raw and if it did well enough they would be given that Monday time slot every week. Despite the January 4 show not beating Raw in the ratings they were still able to win over the Spike TV executives and were given that weekly Monday slot (which started in March), however, the company was far from ready to make such a monumental move so quickly and the creative decisions made by Hogan, Bischoff, & Vince Russo (who was writing in TNA at the time) weren’t going to get them there anytime soon. Hogan and Bischoff chose not to take full advantage of the talented roster TNA had at that time and instead brought in a lot of Hogan’s buddies from the past including The Nasty Boys, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, & Sean Waltman among others, but what they didn’t realize was that by 2010 wrestling fans were tired of seeing stars of the past and were more interested in TNA’s current roster. There were other decisions made by Hogan and Bischoff such as getting rid of the six-sided ring, having Abyss obsessed over Hogan’s Hall of Fame ring, trying to restart the NWO, and having AJ Styles be nothing more than a Ric Flair cosplayer that was just a slap in the face of what made TNA unique and made the fans fall in love with the promotion. Needless to say, the ratings were nowhere near high enough to compete with Raw and by May the decision was made by the network to move back to Thursdays. TNA Wrestling wasn’t the only one making history on January 4th, 2010 as over in WWE we got the long-awaited and highly anticipated return of Bret Hart to the WWE after a 12 year absence, and if that wasn’t special enough on its own we got Bret making amends with Shawn Michaels who for the longest time he held a grudge against due to Shawn Michaels’s role in the Montreal Screwjob. While “The Hitman” was a shell of his former self due to past health problems such as having several strokes it was still heartwarming to see him finally come back to the WWE. Bret would engage in a feud with Vince McMahon that would last until WrestleMania XXVI when the two, unfortunately, had one of the worst WrestleMania matches of all time. After WrestleMania, Bret would continue to pop up throughout 2010 and would even be involved in a few more matches until he finally faded out of the spotlight with the exception of one-off appearances sprinkled in throughout the next nine years, including a second Hall of Fame induction in 2019 as part of the Hart Foundation.

The Biggest Returns and One Big Debut of the Decade The Rock Bret Hart wouldn’t be the only big name that would return to wrestling in this decade as the following year the WWE wanted to have someone host WrestleMania XXVII and that man would not only be one of the biggest stars in WWE history but is also currently one of the biggest stars in Hollywood as we finally got the return of The Rock after a 7-year absence. The Rock would host WrestleMania, but more importantly, he would cost John Cena the WWE Championship in the main event of that show and this would lead to a match being made the following night on RAW for the following year’s WrestleMania XXVIII between these two WWE megastars which was titled “Once In A Lifetime”, this was a huge moment as never before in WWE has a match been publicly announced a year in advance. The Rock and Cena would trade jabs at each other throughout the year and would even team up at Survivor Series against the team of The Miz & R-Truth. The match itself delivered as The Rock put on a great showing despite being away from the ring for seven years and even was able to pick up the win, this wouldn’t be all we would see of The Rock in this decade, as he would return at Royal Rumble 2013 where he would end the 434-day title reign of CM Punk only to lose it to John Cena at WrestleMania XXIX. Brock Lesnar The next big return would come the night after WrestleMania XXVIII when Brock Lesnar returned after a successful run in the UFC where he was the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Lesnar would bring a whole new feel to the show as anytime he was in the ring he brought a sense of realism and legitimacy that nobody else on the roster could provide. Lesnar’s run would be a mixed bag as most of his matches have been great but there is a handful that had a ton of hype and interest behind them but once the bell rang the match was highly disappointing. Lesnar would realign with Paul Heyman who had managed him during his first stint in the WWE back in 2002. Heyman would serve as the mouthpiece and hype man for Lesnar. Lesnar would have several high profile matches throughout 2012 & 2013 with John Cena, Triple H, & CM Punk. At WrestleMania XXX Lesnar would shock the world and make history at the same time when he became the 1 in 21-1 as he ended the WrestleMania winning streak of The Undertaker, as memorable as the moment was the match itself left a lot to be desired due to the fact that Undertaker suffered a concussion early on in the match and as expected the match never recovered after this. Lesnar and Undertaker would redeem themselves in the summer of 2015 when they had a two match series that included a Hell in a Cell match that exceeded all expectations given Undertaker’s physical condition at that time.

After conquering the streak Lesnar would then set his sites on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship as he would defeat John Cena at SummerSlam in what is likely the most high profile squash match of all time and in that match Lesnar repeatedly hit Cena with German suplexes and coined his new catchphrase of “Suplex City” and from that moment on Lesnar would heavily rely on German suplexes during his matches to the point where it affected the quality of his matches. Over the next five years, Lesnar would reign as the World Champion on Raw, however, thanks to his very lucrative contract that allows him to work a very limited amount of dates per year Raw would be void of a World Champion for the majority of the time over those five years. Lesnar would feud with Roman Reigns on and off from 2015-2018 in a feud that felt like it would never end, and for some strange reason Reigns never beat Lesnar in any of these matches despite the fact that WWE wanted Reigns to become their next big star. Lesnar is definitely a very polarizing figure in the WWE but whether you love him or hate him, the fact is that he draws interest and without him WWE’s drawing power on their bigger shows would be significantly less than it already is.

Sting The next person I will be talking about actually made his long-awaited debut in the WWE rather than a return. At the end of Survivor Series 2014, after Triple H had Pedigreed Dolph Ziggler (who was representing Team Cena) and rolled Seth Rollins on top of him, we hear the ruffling of feathers and the sound of a crow which mean that for the first time in his 29 year career the man known as Sting would finally make his debut on a WWE show. Sting would attack Triple H and roll Ziggler on top of Rollins to give Team Cena the win, which meant the Authority was gone…well for a few months at least. This would lead to a feud between Triple H and Sting which would culminate in a match at WrestleMania 31. The match between Sting and Triple H at WrestleMania 31 was nothing but an overbooked mess that served no other purpose than for Vince and Triple H to give one last kick in the nuts to the legacy of WCW. The match was fine at first as the two veterans were having a good match that kept the fans attention, however, once Sting started getting the best of Triple H we saw DX come out and eventually when the numbers get to be too much Sting gets help from the NWO (Hogan, Hall, & Nash). The match ends with Triple H landing a sledgehammer shot on Sting as he went for the Stinger Splash. So let’s review they took a match between two guys who actually could still go in the ring despite their age and threw in a bunch of smoke a mirrors and then on top of that the smoke and mirrors they used made no sense as the NWO would never help out Sting as he was their top rival back in WCW. It would have been so easy to find three WCW guys to run in and help Sting and then at least that part of the match would’ve made sense, but you can chalk that up to Vince not knowing or caring about anything about the history of WCW and nobody around him caring to fact check it and I’m sure Triple H didn’t care either as it got his Kliq buddies Hall and Nash on the show. If the whole NWO debacle wasn’t bad enough the fact that they had Sting immediately get to his feet after being hit by a sledgehammer just so he could shake hands with Triple H just so they could have the image of a WCW guy looking inferior to a WWE guy on their biggest show. If they were going to treat Sting this was why not just go ahead and do the Sting vs Undertaker match, then at least fans could’ve got that dream match they always wanted to see. This would not be the last we saw of Sting as he would return in late August to set up a match against WWE World Champion Seth Rollins for the Clash of Champions PPV in September, during the match Rollins would hit Sting with a buckle bomb that would end up causing Sting to have a serious neck injury that would lead to him having to retire and thus cutting his WWE career short which means we will never get to see the Sting vs Undertaker dream match. Sting would go on to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of its 2016 class.

Goldberg The final person we are going to talk about is Goldberg would make his return in late 2016 as part of a deal with 2K Sports which is the company over WWE’s video game franchise. After months of Goldberg and Brock Lesnar exchanging words online and at media events hyping up the video game we finally got the official return of Goldberg in a WWE ring on October 17. Goldberg would accept the challenge that Lesnar’s advocate Paul Heyman laid out the week before and said that Lesnar would be next and would be last. He would also make it perfectly clear that he is doing this so that his son can see him wrestle and this would lead to him bringing his son into the ring and having some very awkward moments which included his son taking his shirt off. The match between the two behemoths would take place at Survivor Series. Goldberg would make short work of Lesnar as he would beat “The Beast” in a shocking 1:26. The night after Survivor Series Goldberg would declare his entry into the 2017 Royal Rumble as he wanted to see if he could have one last run as a champion. Goldberg would end up eliminating Lesnar in the Royal Rumble only to be eliminated himself by The Undertaker a few moments later.

Goldberg would end up winning the Universal Championship at Fastlane 2017 from Kevin Owens after Owens was distracted by Chris Jericho who he had turned on a couple of weeks prior. At WrestleMania, we would have the final showdown between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar and this time the Universal Championship is on the line. The match would go on to be one of if not the best sub-five-minute matches of all time as it was pretty much like a WWE video game where both guys are repeatedly hitting their finishers. After seven German suplexes and an F5 Lesnar would end up beating Goldberg and winning the Universal Title in what would be Goldberg’s first clean loss in his entire career. The night after WrestleMania 33 Goldberg would bid the fans farewell while also leaving the door open for a potential match later on down the road. Goldberg would be the headline inductee into the 2018 class of the WWE Hall of Fame. Goldberg would return once again in 2019 where he would be working for blood money as he would face The Undertaker at Super Showdown in Saudi Arabia. This dream match would end up becoming a nightmare (which is a common theme on these Suadi Arabia shows) as before he came to the ring Goldberg stupidly headbutted his door to get hyped up for the match and in doing so gave himself a concussion and this would result in Goldberg locking on an awful looking leg bar, Goldberg getting busted open after hitting the ring post, and then Goldberg almost kills Undertaker as he drops him right on his head when he goes for the Jackhammer, and to close out the match Goldberg causes both he and Taker to fall when he goes for a Tombstone. This match was so bad that both men had to have matches in the following months to repair their reputation and show they weren’t the drizzling shits like the match in Saudi showed them to be. Goldberg’s last match of the decade would be when he faced Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam in a quick Goldberg style squash match where he came out the victor.

The Rise and Fall of Straight Edge in the 2010s The 2010s were the decade where many of the independent wrestling stars of the mid-2000s got their time to shine in the WWE. The one person who is most deserving of the praise for paving the way for all the indy stars to get a shot in the WWE would be CM Punk and although he had already been in the WWE for four years prior to the beginning of the 2010s it wasn’t until 2011 when he really rose to prominence and became the talk of the wrestling world. On June 27, 2011 Punk cut a promo which would become known as “The Pipe Bomb” where he rips into Vince McMahon and how the WWE is run, he also mentions that the WWE will be just as bad after Vince dies since Triple H and Stephanie McMahon will be running things and they are no better. Punk then goes on to say that when he wins the title he will be taking it with him as his contract will be running out that same night. This would lead to one of the most anticipated matches in WWE history as CM Punk would take on John Cena at Money in the Bank in front of a raucous crowd in Punk’s hometown of Chicago IL. After a fantastic match Punk would win the title and held up his promise as he took the title with him, this would lead to him showing up at different places with the title and everything was going great as fans were loving the story being told, however, this would soon change. On the episode of Raw where WWE would crown a new champion, we saw the return of CM Punk which came only one week after Money in the Bank (this was disappointing as they really could’ve stretched out the story of Punk being gone) that would lead to a rematch at SummerSlam to crown the undisputed WWE Champion. Punk would win the title at SummerSlam, but after the match, Kevin Nash would come out and attack Punk which would lead to Alberto Del Rio cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and winning the title at the end of SummerSlam. All of that hype and attention that Punk had garnered over the past two months was for nothing as it all leads to Nash returning and feuding with Triple H and a mundane title reign for Alberto Del Rio. The WWE would put the title back on Punk in November as a bit of a consolation prize for screwing up the whole “Summer of Punk” angle, however, despite Punk being the champion he was never the main focus for the WWE as John Cena still held that spot. The highlight for Punk’s title run would be his feud with Daniel Bryan in the summer of 2012 including a great match at Over the Limit. The feud between Punk and Bryan would also involve AJ Lee in what was one of the WWE’s most entertaining love triangles as all three had great chemistry with each other. Punk would hole the title until Royal Rumble 2013 when he lost it to The Rock. Punk’s title reign would become the 6th longest WWE Title reign of all time as it would last for 434 days. The loss to The Rock would be the beginning of Punk’s frustrations with the company that would eventually lead to him walk out of the company in January 2014. Punk would explain the reasons as to why he left in an interview done by his former best friend Colt Cabana on his Art of Wrestling podcast. Punk said that the main reason he left was due to health issues and WWE’s lack of care of those issues as he had a potentially life-threatening lump on his back that the WWE doctors ignored, he also suffered from broken ribs, bad knees, and multiple concussions. Despite Punk walking out, he wasn’t officially fired from the company until June and of all days they chose his wedding day to deliver this news. Other reasons that Punk chose to leave stem from him not getting the main event match at WrestleMania and on top of that he got paid less than the other wrestlers in the top three matches at WrestleMania XXIX. Punk would state that he would never work with WWE again and had lost his passion for wrestling.

After leaving WWE, Punk would dabble in acting and comic book writing, but the most memorable thing from his post WWE career would be his short tenure in the UFC where he lost both of his fights in devastating fashion. Despite saying he would never come back to WWE he has put a foot in the door to a potential return as he has joined a WWE centered panel show called WWE Backstage on Fox Sports 1 where he has a role of a special contributor and analyst. While Punk’s contract is with Fox and not with WWE, the fact that he is on a WWE centered show means that a potential return to a WWE ring isn’t completely out of the question, like it had been the past five years. The Inspirational Story of the GOAT There have been many fan favorites in pro wrestling history, but very very few of them can connect with the fans like Daniel Bryan did in the 2010s. Bryan made his WWE debut in 2010 as part of the old TV show version of NXT where the rookies all had pros and each week someone would be eliminated and while Bryan didn’t win he was the clear fan favorite of the first season. Bryan’s pro during NXT was The Miz who was envious that his rookie was a better wrestler than he was, this would turn into a long-running feud that would be on and off throughout the decade. Bryan would make his Raw debut as apart of the Nexus stable that was comprised of the entire cast of the first season of NXT. As part of the debut, the Nexus would completely destroy the ringside area as well as everyone around it and during this Bryan would choke out ring announcer Justin Roberts with his tie, this action would lead to Bryan getting fired due to the choke being deemed too violent. Bryan would return a couple of months later as the mystery man to join Team WWE against The Nexus as SummerSlam.

Bryan would float around the mid card throughout the rest of 2010 and into 2011 and even won the United States title along the way. Bryan would win the 2011 SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase which he would end up cashing in on The Big Show at TLC 2011 to win the World Heavyweight Championship despite saying earlier in the year that he was going to cash it in at WrestleMania XXVIII. The title win would turn Bryan into an arrogant heel who constantly found sneaky ways to retain his title against opponents much bigger than him like The Big Show and Mark Henry. During this run as World Heavyweight Champion Bryan would introduce the Yes Chant which would instantly get over with the fans and become a pivotal part of Bryan’s career. Bryan would lose the title to Sheamus at WrestleMania XXVIII in 8 seconds which didn’t sit well with the fans as by this time they had fallen in love with Bryan and to see him get this kind of treatment at WrestleMania felt very wrong, however, in retrospect it may have been the best thing to happen for Bryan as this was the real start of the Daniel Bryan underdog story that would culminate two years later. In the fall of 2012, Bryan would form an unlikely team with Kane (at the time the two were feuding against each other and CM Punk in a love quadrangle over AJ Lee) after the two were ordered to go to anger management by AJ Lee who was the Raw General Manager at the time. The skits with Bryan and Kane in anger management were absolutely hilarious and was some of the best comedy that WWE had done in years. Not only were they great at playing off each other in these skits but they also had Dr. Shelby who was over the anger management meetings and was a great comedic addition to the story. Bryan and Kane would become known as Team Hell No and would be one of the most over acts WWE had. One of the most over moments involving Team Hell No didn’t even come during a match it came when they kept teasing they were going to hug it out like they had been taught by Dr. Shelby, but when one went in to hug the other would back away they would continue doing this for a few minutes and held the attention of the crowd the entire time, once they finally did hug they received a huge pop. The fact that just a simple hug got that kind of reaction just shows how over they were. Team Hell No would officially turn Bryan back to being a babyface, but in reality, he was still a babyface in the heart of the fans even when he was considered a heel. Team Hell No would team together until around mid-2013 when the Daniel Bryan underdog story really starts escalating. At SummerSlam 2013 Bryan would face off against John Cena and after one hell of a match Bryan would end up winning the WWE Championship, however, after the match Triple H who was the special referee turned on Bryan which lead to Randy Orton cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and winning the title. Over the next few months, Bryan would either keep getting screwed out of winning the title or he would win it and then the decision would be reversed the next night on Raw. By the end of the year Bryan didn’t just have a fanbase behind him he had a movement as you couldn’t find a wrestling fan that wasn’t pissed off about how he was being treated. There was no better example of this than on December 9, 2013 episode of Raw where they were having a big WWE & World Heavyweight Championship ceremony as the titles were going to be unified at TLC 2013 and you had a who’s who of former WWE & World Champions (Cena, Punk, Show, Hart, Henry, Michaels, Christian, Mysterio, etc) and the only one the fans were chanting for was Bryan and it wasn’t just a quick chant that faded after a minute it was quite lengthy and was holding up the show as you couldn’t hear whoever was talking.

The frustration from the fans came to a head at the Royal Rumble as after giving Bray Wyatt the best singles match of his career, the fans were salivating for Bryan to enter the Royal Rumble match and win it, however, he wasn’t apart of the match and this led to poor Rey Mysterio being booed as the number 30 entrant as everyone wanted it to be Bryan. WWE decided that despite all the fans clearly being behind Bryan that the returning Batista was the best way to go and he was set to face Randy Orton at WrestleMania, but despite Batista returning after a four-year absence the fans didn’t give two shits about seeing that match. By this point, the fans were taking over shows with their chants for Bryan and eventually it finally worked and Bryan was worked into the main event angle, despite those in WWE saying they had him factored in that spot from the start which has been proven to be a load of BS when in 2020 Punk posted on Twitter a run sheet of what the matches were for WrestleMania XXX with 6 weeks until the show and it shows Bryan was scheduled to face Sheamus, this would be the third year (2011, 2012, & 2014) where Bryan was to wrestle Sheamus and I’m not sure why WWE was so obsessed with doing that match. It was eventually laid out where Bryan had to face Triple H in a match at WrestleMania and the winner of that would be added to the Orton vs Batista match, Bryan would win both matches with fantastic performances in both and would become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, which produced one of the loudest pops in WWE history and the sight of everyone in the Mercedes Benz Superdome doing the YES! Chant was something that gave you goosebumps and teary eyes to know that both Bryan and the fans hard work had paid off and he was finally living his dream. The moment of Bryan winning the title at WrestleMania was great, but unfortunately, that title reign would be cut short when a month after WrestleMania Bryan had to leave to have neck surgery and after some back and forth on whether he would be ready in time to defend the title he eventually had to relinquish it in June. Bryan still had not regained full strength in his arm months after the surgery and despite doctors wanting to do surgery once again and many saying he would never wrestle again Bryan underwent some Muscle Activation Techniques which regained the strength in the arm and in November 2014 we saw the return of the GOAT and by January he was back in the ring. Bryan would immediately become the fan-favorite once again and this time he was in the Royal Rumble, but was eliminated quite early in the match and once again fans didn’t give two shits about the winner which would be Roman Reigns and the heat this year was even worse than the year prior. Bryan would go on to become Intercontinental Champion after winning a ladder match at WrestleMania, which was ludacris that he was in a mid-card match after everything that happened last year and how him being over hadn’t changed at all, but by this point, WWE had moved on to trying to make Roman Reigns the next top star. Bryan wouldn’t get to enjoy his run as Intercontinental Champion for long as just like the previous year he would once again be sidelined with an injury. After a lot of rumors and some he said she said throughout the rest of 2015 Bryan would sadly announce his retirement in February 2016. The official reason for his retirement was that he had a lesion on the temporoparietal region of his brain which was caused by having many concussions, however, despite hearing this news, Bryan wasn’t ready to call it quits for good. Bryan would go on a journey to find a way to get back into the ring as he went to many of the top medical professionals in the country and surprisingly he kept passing all these tests, but WWE’s doctor Joseph Maroon refused to clear him. Bryan would eventually ask for his release from WWE as he was going to try and seek work with another company such as ROH, New Japan, CMLL, etc but Vince refused to release Bryan. Bryan would do some work with WWE over the next couple of years as a commentator for the Cruiserweight Classic as well as being SmackDown General Manager, but while all this was happening Bryan hadn’t stopped his pursuit to get cleared as he still wanted to be in the ring doing what he loved. Bryan’s hard work, determination, and overall hard headedness finally paid off as after many evaluations Bryan would be cleared by independent neurosurgeons, neurologists, concussion experts, and most importantly WWE’s own Dr. Maroon and on March 20, it was announced that Bryan was cleared for in-ring action much to the delight of wrestling fans everywhere. Since his return in 2018 Bryan hasn’t slowed down at all. Bryan was finally able to get an extended run as WWE Champion as an eco-friendly obsessed heel character which he knocked out of the park. It’s hard to think of someone in wrestling that has had a more roller coaster ten year period than Bryan has had, but through the highs and the lows he always gave everything he had in him to entertain the fans and his passion for the wrestling business never deterred and that is why he is the GOAT. The resurgence of the Lion and the magic Bullet that helped bring it back to life Going into the decade New Japan Pro Wrestling wasn’t anywhere close to being the dominant promotion in Japan like they had been in years prior or would become by the end of this decade as there wasn’t really any interest in the product and Hiroshi Tanahashi was pretty much the sole draw for the company and those around him weren’t setting the world on fire, even Shinsuke Nakamura who was the champion going into 2010 was far from being the Shinsuke Nakamura that we are familiar with today. It wouldn’t be until 2012 before the promotion finally started to climb back up the ladder of success, this escalation would begin when Kazuchika Okada made his return from excursion and right away started a decade long feud against Hiroshi Tanahashi. Okada and Tanahashi would trade the IWGP Championship back and forth and also headlined Wrestle Kingdom three times. In 2013 Gedo would become the head booker of NJPW and thanks to his booking NJPW would once again rise to become the dominant promotion that wrestlers wanted to work for in order to prove they were the very best and fans would go out of their way to watch as NJPW were once again putting out must-see matches. Another major factor that helped put NJPW back in the spotlight was The Bullet Club, in fact, if Okada vs Tanahashi was the spark that lit the fire that helped NJPW shine so bright in the 2010s then Bullet Club was like pouring gasoline on that fire because there was no wrestling show you could go to whether it was in Japan or America where there wasn’t someone in the crowd wearing a Bullet Club shirt that’s how popular they would become. Not only did Bullet Club help New Japan, but in the long run the popularity of the stable and the members in it would end up changing the wrestling landscape in America in quite a monumental way. The Bullet Club was formed in the spring of 2013 when Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) turned on his long time partner Ryusuke Taguchi and other NJPW babyfaces, he was helped in this attack by King Fale who would later be renamed Bad Luck Fale. A few weeks later the duo would be joined by both Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga in an attack on NJPW’s ace Hiroshi Tanahashi. These four men would be the founding members of Bullet Club which were an all gaijin (foreigner) stable that planned to wreak havoc on all the NJPW mainstays, the group would be compared to the NWO as they didn’t shy away from cheating in their matches or running in during matches causing disqualifications which were highly frowned upon by NJPW. In October 2013 the Bullet Club would gain two very important members that would go on to be a pivotal part of the long term success of the faction, those two men would be The Young Bucks. At almost one year to the day of the formation of the Bullet Club, there would be a major shakeup as The Young Bucks would turn on Devitt during his blow-off match against Ryusuke Taguchi and the very next day Devitt would leave the promotion as he was on his way to WWE. With Devitt’s departure that left the Bullet Club without a leader, but this wouldn’t last long as AJ Styles (who debuted on the same show where Devitt was kicked out) became the new leader. Unlike Devitt, Styles was able to capture the IWGP Championship when he defeated Kazuchika Okada in May at the Wrestling Dontaku show when Yujiro Takahashi turned on Okada and joined the Bullet Club making him the faction’s sole non-gaijin member. The Bullet Club was at the top of their game around this time and by the end of June, they would hold all four of the heavyweight titles, however, by October they would lose them all. In November they would gain their next big acquisition when Kenny Omega joined the Bullet Club and dominated the junior heavyweight division. Throughout 2015 the faction would continue to reign over the promotion and any time they would lose a title they would win it right back, this would include Styles becoming a 2x IWGP Champion when he beat Hiroshi Tanahashi in February at New Beginning in Osaka only to lose it once again just five months later to Kazuchika Okada at Dominion. At Wrestle Kingdom X Styles would be unsuccessful in trying to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura in a highly praised and critically acclaimed match. After the show it was announced that Styles would be leaving NJPW and just like Devitt before him he was headed to the WWE, Gallows and Anderson would be joining AJ eventually but they stuck around for a few more months. The night after Wrestle Kingdom Styles was kicked out of the club and Kenny Omega would step up as the new leader of The Bullet Club, this would also mark the end of Omega’s time in the Junior Heavyweight division as he was ready to go after the top prize in the promotion, but first, he would start with going after Nakamura’s Intercontinental Title. While Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks were in the Bullet Club they would create their own group within the Bullet Club called The Elite, the reason for this was to set themselves apart from the rest of the Bullet Club who they felt were nothing but a parody of older factions like the NWO and DX and also Omega felt that after Styles, Anderson, & Gallows left, the faction wasn’t the same anymore. Throughout 2016 the Bullet Club would add quite a few more members to its ranks including Adam Cole, Adam “Hangman” Page, & Cody. In August the Bullet Club would make history once again when Kenny Omega became the first gaijin to ever win the G1 Climax tournament which would lead to him facing Kazuchika Okada in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom XI in January 2017 which would end up being the first in a series of matches that were so good that Dave Meltzer had to break his five-star scale that he uses to rate matches as he gave their matches six stars and above. In May Adam Cole was kicked out of the group and replaced with Marty Scurll. There would be a civil war within the Bullet Club with Cody and Kenny Omega competing to be the leader of the faction while the rest of the faction was left to choose a side, however, the Bucks were stuck in the middle as they were best friends with both Cody and Omega. The night after Wrestle Kingdom at the New Years Dash show Omega would run to save Kota Ibushi from a beating from the Bullet Club as he and Ibushi had ties back to when they both worked for the DDT promotion. Over the next few months, the Bullet Club members would face each other in matches while the Guerillas of Destiny and Bad Luck Fale decided to stay out of all the drama and keep to themselves. Cody and Omega would face each other in April at the ROH event Supercard of Honor XII which Cody won due to the Bucks accidentally costing Omega the match. Omega would finally defeat Kazuchika Okada to win the IWGP Championship in a ⅔ falls match at Dominion in June, after the match, the Young Bucks would solidify their allegiance with Omega and those three along with Ibushi would form a group called The Golden Elite.

Omega would retain his title in a match against Cody at the G1 Special a month later. After the match The Guerillas of Destiny & Haku turned on The Elite and then would turn on other members of the Bullet Club when they came to the rescue, finally Cody came down and the Tongans gave him an open shot but instead Cody went after the Tongans which led to him getting laid out as well and with that the feud between Omega and Cody came to an end. The Tongans would declare themselves the real Bullet Club and over the next few months, Taiji Ishimori would join the club as would Gedo & Jado which was a total shock at they turned on their Chaos leader Kazuchika Okada after Gedo had been Okada’s, right-hand man. By the end of 2018 Cody, Omega, The Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, & Hangman Page removed themselves from the Bullet Club and were solely going by the brand name of The Elite. The Elite would part ways from New Japan Pro Wrestling after Wrestle Kingdom 13 as they had much bigger things they needed to put their full attention into. With both Omega and Cody gone from the company, the Bullet Club would need a new leader. In December 2018 Tama Tonga would reveal that Jay White was the new leader of the Bullet Club and after a win over Okada at Wrestle Kingdom he would go on to win the IWGP Championship from Hiroshi Tanahashi at the New Beginning in Osaka show. While the Bullet Club continues to be a force in New Japan it seems like the hype and the popularity of the stable has died down quite a bit since the departures of The Elite members. One reason for the decline in popularity of the Bullet Club could be the fact that the stable had hit its peak and was starting to overstay their welcome, another reason could be due to the increase in popularity of Tetsuya Naito’s group Los Ingobernables de Japon, the third reason could just be the fact that the fans don’t invest in Jay White as the leader of the group like they did Devitt, Styles, & Omega.

I don’t think it’s out of the question to say that the Bullet Club belongs on the list of top wrestling factions of all time with the likes of the Four Horsemen, the NWO, the Dangerous Alliance, & DX. The popularity of the Bullet Club was without a doubt a huge factor when it came to NJPW finally getting back on their feet as they were the perfect gaijin foils for the NJPW mainstays to feud against as they were the complete opposite of everything NJPW stood for as they didn’t shy away from cheating to pick up a win, yet at the same time they could tear down the house and put on fantastic matches with the likes of Okada, Tanahashi, Naito, etc when they needed to and that was how they finally started gaining the respect of the NJPW fans and gained immense popularity. If it were not for the Bullet Club (or The Elite to be more specific) the New Japan expansion into America probably wouldn’t have gone as smoothly as it certainly helped to have names that the American fans who didn’t watch New Japan were familiar with.

While they are often compared to the NWO I think it’s safe to say that the Bullet Club has done more for the entire wrestling business than the NWO ever did as many former members of the Bullet Club have gone on to do even bigger things with the most notable being the guys in The Elite starting their own promotion, but I will talk more about that in Part 2. It’s also highly unlikely that guys like AJ Styles, Finn Balor, & Adam Cole would’ve been featured as highly as they have been in WWE had they not reached the level of popularity they did in the Bullet Club, in fact, WWE doesn’t shy away from mentioning their time in Japan and have even tried to capitalize on the Bullet Club fandom by putting AJ with Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows and calling them The Club (later changed to The OC) as well as renaming marketing Balor’s fanbase as “The Balor Club”, but neither attempt at capitalizing on these men’s past successes have caught on or have been as fruitful as they had hoped because everyone sees it as forced and nobody will ever be able to recreate the lightning in the bottle that was the Bullet Club when the stable was in its prime. This concludes Part 1 of my look back at the 2010s but be on the lookout for Part 2 where I will be covering more of the biggest news stories in the world of wrestling.

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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