#i like markus/natasha too

[theflavorofmyautismisspicy]

Why I like Vanessa/Natasha

Here’s some incoherent thoughts about why I think they have a lot of potential together (and also some thoughts about their characters in general I kinda just went off with this at times)

They share the same struggle since both of them get judged for their hobby because it’s not something that’s seen as “traditionally female”, with Nessie being into soccer and Nata being into skateboarding. Something I also find very interesting is that due to this Vanessa hates pink high heels as she feels like they represent what the world is expecting her to be just because she’s a girl and Natasha hates pink ballet shoes for the same reason. Maybe pink shoes were just the only thing that the writers could think of to represent a thing girls are expected to be interested in, but I still think them both having hate for such a specific thing really just shows similar their struggle is. They also have similarities in their personalities, they’re both shown to be stubborn, moody, sarcastic, have hard time accepting help from others, passionate about sports and they both also have a softer side to them.

Speaking of which, I know a few people have already talked about this but it was honestly just such a missed opportunity from the show to not have these two become friends😭 Like they could’ve bonded over the struggle they share, it would’ve been great for Vanessa to get a female friend (maybe a controversial opinion but I’ve actually always interpreted Vanessa being able to let go of her internalized misogyny at the end of s1e4. Like that episode is painful with its “strong female character is when a girl hates other girls and is more like one of the boys”, even as a child it left a bad taste in my mouth. It’s very much this clip from Sonic Boom https://youtu.be/dWBn0nS8s0A?si=HxN5Xq90vPPQrLE0 expect the writers stopped listening before Knuckles started speaking. However I don’t think internalized misogyny was really a problem that Vanessa had through the series, I don’t really think she acts like that way in the other episodes, but maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part. However the writers could have made the internalized misogyny not being a thing she deals with anymore more clear, if that was their intention like I hope it was, by giving her a female friend). I think it would’ve also been great for Natasha’s character and especially her redemption arc if she bonded with Vanessa and even made amends to her since that’s who she caused most problems for. It has always bothered me how that was just never acknowledged so having them fix things between them would’ve been so good. Have them skate and play soccer together !!

Okay now it’s time for me to sound a bit delusional and say that these two had some very gay enemies tension in some scenes. Like the “hey Adora” sort of tension.

I couldn’t stop thinking about this scene after I first saw it when I was like 8 but I couldn’t understand why. Peak antagonist flirting with the hero

Yeah that’s the look everyone gives to their enemy

Natasha, did you really just go to hang out next to Teufelstopf on your free time just in case Vanessa would ride by and you could yell a few mean words at her? Man you’re obsessed🤨

Can’t believe toxic yuri was invented by a kids show about soccer.

And lastly to tie it all together, I just think these two have a dynamic you could use in a lot of different ways in fanworks. There’s the whole enemies with gay tension and evil flirting I just talked about. The whole “hey Adora” dynamic is always interesting. There’s the possibility to give these two what the writers didn’t dare to do and have them bond with each others and realize they’re actually quite similar. Enemies to friends to lovers with Natasha facing the fact that her dislike toward Vanessa was probably born from her jealousy towards her (like her thinking “she’s a girl yet she’s allowed to play soccer but I’m also a girl and I’m not allowed to skate? If I can’t have that neither can she!”) and then having a redemption arc and becoming friends with Vanessa and then falling for her. If you think internalized misogyny was still a thing Vanessa struggled even after her introduction episode (all though I personally don’t agree with that, I’m not surprised people read it that way, the show fell really flat with its “feminist” message) have her unlearn it thanks to her friendship with Natasha and then realize “wow I’ve been suppressing my true feelings and I actually want to kiss girls, especially Natasha”. They could light pink shoes on fire together and call it a date. Maybe make them date in secret because their friend groups don’t get along and create a Romeo and Juliet like situation for them to deal with. Or have them be sporty girlfriends in an established relationship that watch each other play and then flirt.

So yeah in conclusion, girls should kiss girls👍👍

[farasen]

That anon that called Marlon/Kong and Natasha/Nessie "bunch/sieger ships" was so enlightened, I never thought that the ships were similar but now i kind of see it ...... we really got robbed of the reaction the bunch had to the one canon bunch/Sieger dynamic with Markus dating Natasha, because even tho she was rarely part of the big bullying activities (unless it came to Nessie of course) she still kind of is part of the Siegers??? She does hang out with them? Idk. It always frustrated me that that was never addressed (the weird resolving of the Michi conflict is not Canon to me, i choose to ignore it because it was so weak). Also, as much as I like Marlon/Kong: if that ever happened Leon would kill both of them. Which makes it even more juicy because ~*forbidden romance*~ but man the absolute chaos.

I hope you are feeling better health-wise btw!!!

They thought they'd made "Romeo and Juliette" episode with Markus/Natasha but it was actually Kong's episode.

I agree that their reaction was too soft. Well, perhaps, it's because Natasha didn't really bother the boys most of the time, but then again, she bothered Vanessa A LOT. If Leon would kill both Marlon and Kong, then Vanessa would kill anyone from the group who would date Natasha. But all we've got is salty comments from her and a judgmental stare as Natasha waved at Markus and walked away.

I said it before and I'll say it again: as much as I like Markus/Natasha, I'd rather have an episode focused on Nessie's and Natasha's relationships, how they talk through all the shit that happened between them, an episode where Natasha at least apologizes idk.

But sure whatever.

Honestly the whole singers arc is so flawed. Especially Kong. Like, we see his other side that he can be nice, and they even become sort of friends, but two episodes later he framed the bunch for vandalism. Okay bro, that just waters down his character development.

And overall the "forgiveness" thing is hard to believe. DUDES!! THEY ALMOST KILLED JOJO, KIDNAPPED DENIZ AND BULLIED YOU, ARE YOU NUTS????

Nah I don't believe this shit. So I like to think that even though they're on better terms now, they still have beef (and their appearance at the final game was just Natasha who forced them to come.)

PS: Yeah I feel a bit better now. My temperature still doesn't fall lower than 37 but at least it's not as high as it was.

[iamhellborn]

I love how the entire fandom agrees that "Under Suspicion" is a low point of the show's writing... It really exposes the lack of continuity that the show suffers from in some aspects. It's a kids show, of course, and the main focus appears to be on creating episodes that can somewhat work on their own, but as a fan it feels like such a weak spot. (Less severe examples of this are Nessie's soccer shoes that she throws into the well during the Oracle episode and that end up magically reappearing?) If I had to do a rewrite of the show, I would definitely pay more attention to the development of the relationship between the bunch and also between the bunch and the Siegers -- the whole "almost murder + kidnapping" thing also gets adressed way too little in my opinion. (As somebody pointed out: They see each other every day in school. What would that feel like???) Under suspicion could easily be improved by maybe showing Kong show some regret or even try to push back again's Michi's + Paul-Moritz' idea. Which could be a really interesting way to juxtapose the mostly healthy and fun found family/friend group vibes of the bunch with a friend group where the loyalty to one another gets abused in order to bully other people -- similarly to Markus and Deniz, whose "betrayal" of the bunch meant loneliness and alienation, Kong would also face exile from his established friend group if he turned against Michi. Ultimately, the Sieger are kind of the evil version of the Soccer Bunch, and I feel like there could have been more exploration of that idea. I could also get into how there is an element of similarity between Leon and Michi in that they both are willing to go to great lengths to show their superiority. Just that Leon is obviously less of a morally bankrupt and criminal asshole about it.

Haha, I agree with everything you said. Either they could have changed the episode with Kong trying to be a “Good guy” while also being victimized by peer pressure, or just changed the episode’s plot completely. I mean, since it was one of Vanessa’s narratives, they could have taken the opportunity to make a redemption arc between her and Natasha? Even though I like her and Markus, it’s a bit weird that he started dating the girl who bullied his friend even though she didn’t apologize for her past behavior. Giving Vanessa a female friend would also be a good character development. But no, the writers couldn’t think of that, and gave us this instead.

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Iron Man 2: Part Three

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~1.9k

Warnings: canon violence and angst

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

x

After the press conference, you and Tony headed back to his house in Malibu. You need some space from Tony so you head down to his lab and sit in silence. Tony is dying and there is nothing you can do about it. You promised Howard you'd look after him but how can you when he won't accept it? Thinking about Howard brings you to Steve and how you wish he was here. Thinking about Steve brings you to Bucky and how much you'd give your life to have him here with you. It doesn't matter what you do, you can't ever escape his ghost.

How can you help Tony without knowing anything about science? You know nothing about Palladium or what could it be replaced with. Markus created the serum inside you. Even when he didn't have the Tesseract, he still made you a shapeshifter. You've met a lot of aliens in your day but you never asked to know about their genetic makeup—not even Carol. Bruce wanted your help with his creation of the Hulk but you really didn't know how to help except be there for moral support.

The thought of losing Tony brings back all those unpleasant memories of when you lose the people closest to you. Tony's impulsive and he's the only person who can make him see that what he's doing is dangerous and reckless.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Tony asks when he walks into the lab. In response, you hold up the blood toxicity device. There are no words to amount to how sad you are. "I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"Can't you be serious for one fucking second? Please?"

"Fine! I'm dying. People die, Y/N! You of all people should know that."

"Not you," you shake your head. "Not this young. The only reason you're dying is because of that thing in your chest."

"So, it's my fault we got captured in the first place? It's my fault for having deadly shrapnel in my heart?"

"No, Tony, it's not your fault. It's not your fault you're dying. What is your fault is having that thing in your chest and doing nothing about it. You're just accepting your end when you might have a chance to do something about it. I'm trying to think of a suitable replacement for Palladium, but you're not making it easy for me. It's not like I can go back in time to gather more information. It's like you're not even trying to become better. You're acting out because you think it's the end when it doesn't have to be."

"Look at what you are, Y/N. You're an alien with magical powers. If you don't have anything, what makes you think I do?"

"You remind me of me, Tony. I've been with you and your family for twenty years. I've seen you grow and learn from your mistakes faster than anyone. I may have defeated one person from making a huge mistake, but you've saved millions. If we put our heads together, we might have something. I need you to work with me on this."

"Give me one good reason I should."

"I'm the one that promised your dad that I'd protect you."

"Not good enough."

"In my entire life, I've lost seven people that were practically family. Hell, two of them were. I'm a thousand years old, Tony. Death is kind of in the job description. I bleed death and only seven have made an impact. Eight if you continue down this road. There will come a day when I lose you but it's not going to be now. Please don't make it now."

"What else am I supposed to do?" he sighs, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"For starters, you can keep drinking that disgusting shit Jarvis told you to drink. Then we go from there. Baby steps, but I need you to put in the effort."

"Jarvis, how many ounces a day of this shit am I supposed to drink?" Tony addresses his home system.

His entire computer network fires up and Jarvis is ready to help and to work. Since he's a computer, he came up with this concoction that counteracts the effects the palladium has on Tony.

"We are up to eighty ounces a day to counteract the symptoms, sir."

"Check palladium levels, please," you politely order.

"Blood toxicity is twenty-four percent. It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition. Another core has been depleted."

Tony plops down in his chair and you grab the small chest that's near his main computer. You open it to reveal five new cores just waiting to be replaced with the one in his chest. Tony lifts his shirt up and takes out the arc reactor. Out pops a rusted and slightly smoking core. It's not good to have this thing in his body, but it's going to take a lot more than you to change his mind. 

He's stubborn, just like his dad.

"God, they're running out quick."

"Yeah, because you keep using that fucking machine. You're not going to live forever, Tony. There will be a point where you'll run out of juice."

"It seems like you live forever."

"I'll die just like everyone else. It'll take a few thousand years before it happens, but it will."

"I have run simulations on every known element, and none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core," Jarvis informs.

You hand Tony a new core. It's silver and shiny but most importantly, it shows just how damaging it is to Tony when compared to the one that just came out. He replaces the old core with the new one and places the arc reactor in his chest.

"Jarvis, there has to be something. Even knowing where I'm from, you have to know something."

"Unfortunately not, Miss Y/N. He is running out of both time and options. Unfortunately, the device that's keeping him alive is also killing him."

All around the arc reactor are lines protruding from the device itself. It looks like a digital game of Tetris, but you know it's the poison from the element seeping into his bloodstream.

Pepper walks down the stairs to the lab without knowing what's going on inside of it.

"Miss Potts is approaching. I recommend that you inform her--"

"Mute," Tony cuts him off and the computer switches to the screensaver.

"Tony, you really have to tell her. What's going to happen when you're suddenly gone? She's going to start asking questions and I--"

"Is this a joke?" Pepper interrupts when she walks inside. "What are you thinking?"

"What is it?" you ask.

"What are you thinking?" she sniffles.

"Hey, I'm thinking I'm busy and you're angry about something. Do you have the sniffles? I don't want to get sick."

"Did you just donate our entire modern art collection to the..."

"...Boy Scouts of America?" Tony says it with her at the exact same time.

"You did what?" you ask in shock.

"Yes. It is a worthwhile organization. I didn't physically check the crates but basically, yes. Plus, it's not our collection, it's my collection. No offense," he shrugs.

"No, you know what? I think I'm actually entitled to say our collection considering the time that I put in, over ten years, curating that."

"It was a tax write-off. I needed that."

"Tony, stop," you whisper but he ignores you.

See, this is what you're talking about. He's dying and he feels like giving away all of his shit is better than actually dealing with his problems like a mature adult.

"You know, there's only about eight thousand and eleven things that I really need to talk to you about. The Expo is a gigantic waste of time," she coughs into her elbow.

"I need you to wear a surgical mask until you're feeling better. Is that okay?"

"That's rude," she sighs.

"Yeah, I agree with her," you cross your arms.

"There's nothing more important to me than the Expo. It's my primary point of concern. I don't know why you're--"

"The Expo is your ego gone crazy," you say for Pepper.

Tony's mind is clearly elsewhere because when he spots one of his Iron Man paintings, he picks it up and marvels at it.

"Wow. Look at that. That's modern art. That's going up," he grins and walks to the other side of the lab. You and Pepper make eye contact before following him like lost puppies. "I'm gonna put this up right now. This is vital."

"You've got to be kidding me," you groan.

"Stark Industries is in complete disarray. Do you understand that?" Pepper tries to put this in his thick head.

"No. Our stocks have never been higher."

"Yes, from a managerial standpoint--"

"Let's move to another subject," he shrugs.

He approaches one of his lab tables and climbs on top of it. On the wall next to him is a painting of a thick black line then been sold for millions. You can create something better than that in your sleep but you don't comment on it. He reaches for the painting and Pepper visibly freaks out.

"No, no, no, no. You are not taking down the Barnett Newman and hanging that up."

"I'm not taking it down. I'm just replacing it."

He takes it off the wall and replaces it with the Iron Man painting.

"Okay, fine. My point is, we have already awarded contracts to the wind farm people," Pepper changes the subject.

"Yeah. Don't say 'wind farm'. I'm already feeling gassy."

"Not to mention the plastic plantation tree, which was your idea by the way. Those people are on payroll..."

"Everything was my idea," he scoffs.

"...and you won't make a decision," she finishes even though he interrupted her mid-sentence.

"I don't care about the liberal agenda anymore. It's boring. Boring. I'm giving you a boring alert," he jumps off the desk and onto the floor. "You do it. Excellent idea. I just figured this out. You run the company."

"Yeah, I'm trying to run the company," she sighs.

"Well, stop trying to do it and do it."

"You won't give me the information..."

"I'm not asking you to try..."

"...in order to..."

"I'm asking you to physically do it. I need you to do it," Tony says louder than her to stop her from talking.

"I am trying to do it!"

"Pepper, you're not listening to me!"

"No, you aren't listening to me," she argues in frustration.

"I'm trying to make you CEO. Why won't you let me?" he asks calmly.

"Have you been drinking?" she asks after a moment of silence.

"No, that's just his personality," you scoff.

"I hereby irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately. Yeah, done deal. Okay? I've actually given this a fair amount of thought, believe it or not."

One of the robots brings him a tray with a bottle of champagne and three glasses on it.

"I'm doing a bit of headhunting, so to speak, trying to figure out who a worthy successor would be. I realized it was you. It's always been you," he says sincerely.

Even though you're not romantically involved with Tony, you feel a ping in your heart at his words. It's always been you. It's always been you, Bucky. You have got to move on. The man is dead for God's sake, and it's been over seventy years. Pepper sits down in shock and confusion, and Tony pours the champagne into the three glasses.

"I thought there'd be a legal issue but I'm capable of appointing my successor. My successor being you." He hands both you and Pepper a drink but you can't seem to take a sip. "Congratulations? Take it, just take it."

"I don't know what to think," she finally says.

"Don't think, drink," he smiles and takes a sip of his own drink.

Will you ever find love like he has for her? Will you ever find love with someone who will last longer than eight years? Maybe if Carol never left, you'd still be with her. Would she still want you? Would you still want her? You haven't had true happiness since Bucky died. Will you ever find it again?

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[iron-niffler]

I was reading some interviews about Endgame just bc and

In Infinity War, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) says there’s only one way to beat Thanos and Endgame reveals that way meant Tony’s death. Did you ever consider letting him live and having Captain America/Steve Rogers wield the gauntlet and die instead?

Markus: We considered ways to let Tony live and whether there was a story there. But (dying) was the last thing he needed to do to become a fully-realized hero. There was never a better story than that. As for Captain America, he was willing to kill himself twice in his first movie. So it didn’t seem like a particularly interesting thing to have him do.

I'm sorry WHAT did you say Markus?!?!

"dying was the last thing he needed to do to become a fully-realized hero"

So apparently

Tony Stark

has never been willing

to die to save people or even been established as a full hero

or at least he hasn't been willing enough to appease the screenwriters

who knew? certainly not anyone who watched the movies. why don't you two scriptwriters watch the entire MCU (including the movie that you wrote) then get back to me on this :)

Logically I understand why the writers wanted to kill him off (doesn't mean i like it) but they shouldn't erase all the things that he's done over the past 15 years (10 or so years actively superheroing) to try and play his death as the act that established him as a hero. he's been working to protect people at any cost for a decade now this isn't the first time he's done something that includes risking his life for others. His death may be his most heroic act but it was by no means his first.

Yes his death helped to show the end of an era, but do you know what could have shown the start of a new era? Tony deciding to hang up the armor for good now that the threat that had haunted him for years has been vanquished and helping out on the sidelines, never really appearing on screen or anything but definitely there as a support link offering advice and counsels to the new generation of heroes, even if they only show it through text messages or name drops.

Maybe they mean "fully realized" as having reached the height of his heroics (which doesn't really make sense but hey), but "fully realized" normally is used to describe something "complete or total" so apparently Tony wasn't a complete hero until he freaking died even though he demonstrated the willingness to die for others multiple times across the MCU, or this was just badly phrased. Tony is an imperfect person who he pushes past his flaws and tries to make up for his mistakes that's part of his character's appeal. He's not a hero because he's perfect, he's a hero because he's an imperfect human being who recognizes his flaws and pushes past them in order to grow as a person and help others.

Apparently Tony wasn't a "complete" hero so I guess that's why they saw it fit to give him an incomplete happy ending; five years of domestic living overshadowed by heavy losses before he finally got his whole family back together and then had to sacrifice himself to save everyone.

Also for some reason the Steve portion of the response just makes me angrier. Or rather they really went "no we can't kill Steve! he was ready to die TWICE in his first movie! People are probably bored of him sacrificing himself!" and then turn around and kill one of the characters who has been struggling for over a decade and is just trying his best who has nearly died like every other movie he's in in an effort to protect people. (Also I'm pretty sure Tony was willing to die multiple times in Iron Man or at least accepting of his potential fate such as refusing to make weapons for terrorists even under torture and presumably the threat of death, making his primary focus to get Stane away from civilians, even if it meant completely depleting his power supply which is keeping him alive running the numbers and accepting the risk of death due to either falling from an extremely high altitude or a painful death from the shrapnel and finally telling Pepper to hit the button to blow the reactor while he's still on the roof.)

"There never was a better story than that": sure maybe this was the best story in a "make you cry sad and emotional way" but there are SO MANY other avenues and messages that you could send by letting him live. Show the message of being able to work through and overcome trauma and personal issues and live a happy life. Give us the escapist reality most members of the fandom crave; seeing you fave struggle for years than be able to overcome the issues and be happy acting as a beacon of hope for the fans who relate to them. Give Tony the happy ending that he and the audience that stuck by his side for any amount of time be it several months or that grew up with Tony deserved. Just let him be happy please. He's gone through so much, just let him rest (and not in a way that includes him dying)

*I'm sure there's a different way to interpret this but that's how I'm reading it as so if you disagree please don't come yell at me*

also at one point in time they considered letting tony live

(sorry this just annoyed me and I had to vent so tumblr rant 😅)

[multifandomhotspot]

Who I'll write for

Detroit: Become Human

Connor

Markus

Kara

Chloe

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Newt Scamander

Queenie Goldstein

Credence Barebone

Star Wars

Ahsoka Tano

Rey Skywalker

House MD

Gregory House

Remy "Thirteen" Hadley

Lawrence Kutner

Allison Cameron

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Tony Stark/Iron Man (platonic only)

Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow

Steve Rogers/Captain America (platonic only)

Wanda Maximoff

T'Challa/Black Panther

Michelle Jones/MJ

Jurassic World

Owen Grady

Into the Spider-Verse

Miles Morales

Peter B. Parker

Gwen Stacy

Spider-Man Ps4

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Siren

Ryn Fisher

Undertale

Sans

Papyrus

Read Dead Redemption 2

Arthur Morgan

Charles Smith

Lenny Summers

How to Train Your Dragon

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

Astrid Hofferson

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Aloy

The Arcana

Asra

Muriel

Julian

Portia

Nadia

Tangled

Rapunzel

Eugene

Cassandra

Varian

Big Hero Six

Tadashi Hamada

Honey Lemon

Avatar

Jake Sully

Neytiri

Neteyam

Lo'ak

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic (games/comics, movie, Prime, or Boom)

Shadow (games/comics, Prime, or Boom)

Silver

Amy (games/comics or Boom)

Rouge

Knuckles (game/comics, movie, or Boom)

Sticks

Blaze

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Leonardo (2003, 2012, Bayverse, or Rise)

Raphael (2003, 2012, Bayverse, or Rise)

Donatello (2003, 2012, Bayverse, or Rise)

Michelangelo (2003, 2012, Bayverse, or Rise)

Splinter (platonic only) (2003, 2012, Bayverse or Rise)

Big Mama

April O'Neil (2003, Bayverse, or Rise)

Casey Jones (2003, 2012, or Rise)

Rules

I will write pretty much anything from fluff to angst to smut

I absolutely will not write any smut for underage characters

You can request other characters from the listed fandoms but I may or may not write for them. Some characters are not listed because A) I don't know enough about them, B) I don't like them, or C) they're far too young for me to consider writing for them. But I may have forgotten some characters I will write for so it can't hurt to ask

For headcanons, you can request as many characters as you want so long as they're in the same fandom

For oneshots, one character at a time please

Matchups are accepted but please give a very detailed description of your personality, hobbies, and likes/dislikes. I would much rather have 3 novel worthy asks in my inbox then have a one sentence description. Also, one fandom at a time for this please

If you wanna ask questions about the author, be my guest but I have to warn you, I'm an oversharer

[justsomeclintasha]

“You can come in.” Natasha hovers in the doorway for a brief moment before perching on the edge of his bed. Her eyes rake in his room. Books are everywhere- falling off the bookshelf, stacked on the floor.

A page turns. He’s resting comfortably against the headboard, a paperback in his hands. She moves a little further onto the bed, but he ignores her. It’s like when a cat decides to trust you and you don’t want to scare it away. Her fingers pick at a loose thread on his blanket. Purple, much like the shirt he’s wearing, or the hoodie thrown over the chair at his desk. Not that he uses the desk. There are books and empty coffee mugs blocking any usable work space.

Another page turns. She swallows, watching him. She wants to trust him, she really does, because she’s here in his bed, in nothing but shorts and an oversized tshirt and it would be so easy for him to grab her and-

He turns the page. It’s like he doesn’t even care that she’s there. No. That’s not true. He cares, just not in the way she’s used to.

“What are you reading?”

“The Book Thief.”

“That’s a good one.”

“Do you like to read?”

“Yes.”

“You’re welcome to any of them.” He waves a hand absently around the room, indicating what he would call his library. Her eyes flick over the titles. Cautiously, she leans back against the headboard, her shoulder barely brushing his. He doesn’t tense. A shaky breath leaves her chest. On the verge of panic, she squeezes her eyes shut.

When was the last time she willingly let herself be this close to someone? The last time she let her guard down? She can’t remember. Has she ever? What if-

“People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and its ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations, with each passing moment.” Softly, he reads aloud to her. She tries to swallow the lump in her throat.

“A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spat blues. Murky darknesses. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them.”

“Stop.”

“Too much?” It’s enough of an answer when she wipes her eyes, surprised to find them damp with tears. Testing the waters, she lays her cheek on his shoulder. “It’s alright,” he confirms.

“I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for.” He’s wrong. She has everything to be sorry for. Her life should be one big apology. She blinks her eyes towards the ceiling, trying to make the tears stop.

She should leave. Why is she even here? In his room? On his bed? What does she want? Trust? Forgiveness? Frustrated, she wipes her eyes again.

“Do you want me to-?”

“Yes,” she whispers, not caring what he was about to offer. “Please. Yes.” The crack in her voice urges more tears, and despite it he wraps her in his arms, holding her against his chest in a way that’s firm, but not restricting, and she muffles a sob in his purple shirt.

“Let it out,” he murmurs against her hair. The minutes pass like hours. A calloused hand rhythmically rubs her back. Up. Down. Repeat. At some point she tries to time her breathing with his. Make it steady. Breathe. The tears run out. She needs to apologize.

“Your shirt-“

“Is fine. Do you want to lay down?” She nods, afraid to meet his eyes. “Do you want me to stay?” Another nod. Keeping a distance between them, he covers her with a blanket. She tugs it to her chin, curling up against his side. For the first time in a long time, she isn’t afraid.

“Will you read to me?”

“Of course.” He picks up the book, turning back to where he left off, and she falls asleep to the sound of his voice.

Note: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is one of my favorite books. Check it out if you haven’t read it.

[multiversxwhore]

Sam Willson Head Cannon

☾☾☾Hello! Hope you enjoy what you’re about to read, I would appreciate it if you like, and reblog my work here on tumblr. Please do not share my work anywhere else, and if you see it has been, or someone is claiming the work as their own please tell me. My master list is linked in my bio. Links to my ao3, is pinned to my page. ☽☽☽

Pairings: Sam Wilson x Black!oc Genre: Romance Warnings: mentions of a racial slur, other than that pure fluff

What it would be like having both Sam, and Bucky in your life.

Every Black family in America knows what “washday” is, and you two had a lot of washing to do. You and Sam were absolutely beaten from the week's work, all of Sam’s missions caused a lot of “hands on”work. Meaning he’s probably eating up at least four bad guys this time, Sam had bad guys coming out of his orifices that’s how bad it got this week.

You didn’t even wanna get started on your week at the office, being a lawyer is great, until some Titan shows up and causes the worst cosmic upset in all of time. It was all types of lawsuits for emotional trauma, people fighting over property because apparently not everyone got snapped back into the place where they disappeared.

“Ya know all of this wouldn’t be a problem if that negro didn’t Big Bang us all out of existence.” My colleague Markus complained at his desk next to me, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“How do you know Thanos is Black?” I ask him just to humor myself, this was one of the great things about working for a law firm that’s predominantly Black, Black people jokes.

“We’ll…he’s purple isn’t he?” Markus asked me, I nodded my head silently following a long.

“Is that not a man of color?” I shouldn’t have laughed so hard but it made too much sense, in the middle of all this hell, that laugh was long over.

“Shut up, you’re a fool.” I look back at that day often, I missed Markus as my partner, but when he started getting too funny Sam quickly cut that off. “The only Black man that’s gonna make you laugh that much is me damn it.” Sure enough since that day Sam keeps a smile on my face no matter what, even when he’s not feeling his best.

“I’m home…finally.” Sam’s voice came from the front door, I met him half way in the living room cold bear already in hand. I pared that with a sweet kiss on his cheek, and he hummed tired as all hell. “Hey, how many you beat up this time?” I asked him trying to lighten his mood, he looked at me from the side of his eye.

“At least four, I’m gonna be throwing up bad guys all weekend and, it feels like the army stopped doing their job just because they have an avenger available.” He complains, rightfully so, even though they successfully brought everyone of the civilians back…the team took some heavy casualties. Tony died, Natasha died, Steve retired, and then died. Thor is in “retirement” Peter got into some mess, then got himself exposed to the world, Dr.Strange is around somewhere hopefully. All I can do is give him some words of encouragement.

“Well, unfortunately you’re the only man for the job right now honey, and you’re doing a damn good one. It’s hard, I know, but the price for this is that T’Shuana can grow up in a more peaceful world. It won’t be perfect, but you are fighting for true freedom, and peace.” I said looking at him in his dark brown eyes, I meant everything that I said. Sam’s strong will, and warming empathetic nature is one of the things that drew me to him.

He pulls me in closer on his lap, his arms wrapped around my hips and thighs. I lean in to kiss him, right before our lips can touch the front door burst open. “It’s wash day!” A little girl's loud voice comes through the front door, Bucky comes in behind her embarrassed by her behavior. “Shauna, I keep telling you not to do that.” He scolds her from the kitchen table, I instantly hop into mommy mode.

“Shauna Niairy Wilson, what the hell I tell you about busting through my front door like you’re the damn police!” I shout making my way through the house into the kitchen where my daughter stood frozen at the counter scared for her life.

“The only one shouting, and slamming doors open is me, do you understand me young lady?” She carefully placed the gallon of milk back on the counter straightening up like a soldier. “Yes ma��am.” I shake my head knowing she’s got that funny bone in her like her father, that girl can never miss an opportunity to perform.

“And that’s why I tell you not to do that.” Bucky finally speaks up, teasing the little girl. She pokes her tongue out at him, suddenly she pulls a hairball out from her pocket and flings it at Bucky from across the table. It was so fast I barely noticed it happened, of course Bucky being a super soldier he caught it in his hand.

I know this child did not just throw a hairball at this white man. I think to myself in disbelief, I would have laughed if I wasn’t so upset about her acting like a bae bae kid.

“Ugh no fair, do both your arms have fast reflexes, why did I have to have an assassin for an uncle, why couldn’t you be a fat bald guy.” Sam enters the kitchen with his arms up about to scold his child, unfortunately having a mutant that can read minds means that you can’t keep anything from them.

Sam knew she meant well, but Bucky’s days with HYDRA was something everyone chose to leave in the past.

“T, it’s not cool that you use your powers on people like that, ya know you are really pushing it today, what’s up with that dude?” Sam asked her, I see why Sam was her favorite parent, his discipline was more soft, stern, but softer. He says it’s because Shauna is a girl, and if the rest of the world is gonna treat her like shit, he wants to be the one man in her life that will remind her of how a real man is supposed to act.

“I can’t help it, sometimes you guys thoughts are kind of loud.” T’Shauana explains, and I can feel let getting aggravated, that was the second time she had gotten fussed at since she got home, and apparently it was upsetting her more than usual.

“Nah it’s cool, the brat kinda has a point, we kinda are like the incredibles, none of us are normal. That’s okay though, it’s way more cool, I mean do you really want a fat bald outta shape uncle. Or would you rather have a cool retired Russian spy uncle that can also do this! Come here you punk!” With his metal arm Bucky snatches T’Shauna out of her seat and raises her in the air. She starts giggling uncontrollably, he looks at her with a disgusted face, and in return she makes growling animal noises.

Sam joins in as Bucky carefully tosses her into Sam, and he pretends to do some wrestling move on her. Her face turning red, from too much, I notice the furniture starting to slightly shake and move on their own accord. This usually happens when Shuana gets too overwhelmed with one emotion, she loses control. Deciding to call it, I clap my hands together, speaking up so they all can hear me.

“Alright you three that’s enough, I didn’t pay for tickets to a wrestling show, since we have Bucky here, and before he can sneak away I have a surprise.” I call out, as I grab a firm hold on Bucky’s flesh shoulder, my thumb hovering over his chakra point. I give him my mommy warning glare, on cue he straightens up, I knew Bucky could escape me if he truly wished to. “Washday is being postponed, till further notice-“ I get cut off by Sam and Shuana.

“Yes!” They shouted at the same time, Bucky chuckled at their behavior. He already knew what I was gonna ask him, there was a loom in his eye I hadn’t seen before. Not looking too much into it, I get back to my point.

“Like I was saying it’s postponed, but y’all better stay on your toes, it can be reinstated at any point in time. You better be nice to me or you’re gonna be cleaning my baseboards with a butter knife. Anyway Bucky you’re staying over for dinner, and spending the night?” It was stated as a question, but my eyes told him it was definitely a demand. Which Bucky could still say now and all I could do is beg him to reconsider.

I wanted Bucky to be a part of our family so badly, mainly because I worry about him a lot, and he has no family left. He doesn’t deserve to be alone, I wanted Bucky to have family again, and he’s so good with T’Shuana.

I threw the puppy dog eyes at him, my eyes even got watery, if this man turned me down I was gonna burst into tears.

“Ugh fine, I guess I kinda enjoy taking T’Shauna to school, and stuff. Plus I’m unemployed so I got time.” He says the last part so Sam can hear, to which Sam rolls his eyes slightly jealous that no one is constantly calling on the winter soider to do missions. If Bucky takes a job, it’s because he chooses to.

“Alright Vale, what are we making.” I grin with excitement, popping myself off the counter, and springing into action in the kitchen. Bucky is the only person I know that is able to keep up with me in the kitchen. Not only did he love cooking, but he is good with a knife. Sam understood my relationship with Bucky, in a lot of ways he reminded me of my big brother. Because of that, I can’t let Bucky go, he’s the way I can still hold on to my twin who I lost during that fight with Ultron in Sokovia.

“Hey you alright Valentina, looks like you got salt in your eye.” Bucky jokes, his flesh arm on my shoulder, I warmly smile at him, and he reflects my expression; Bucky decides to move on to the next topic as he starts cutting up some pieces of roast.

Later that night after a great dinner, I walked around the house to check everything. I made sure all the doors are locked, even though anyone would be a fool to try to break in this home. I do it anyway just because we have T’Shuana now, and I won’t ever expect her to have to fight as a child like I had to.

I come past her room and see Bucky passed out on the floor next to Shuana’s bed. One of her Naruto plush toys in one hand, and a razor sharp blade in the other. I smirk, and pull out my phone taking a photo, there’s no way I’d ever forget this moment. Knowing Bucky is a light sleeper, and still crazy as all hell, I tip toe away from the room holding my breath.

Walking into the kitchen, I see Sam sitting there with a mixing bowl half filled with tonight’s dinner. He looks up at me, but he doesn’t bother to stop eating though.

“You keep eating like that, and you won’t fit in that Captain America suit.” I joke as I pull up a chair across from him, I place a hand on his strong bicep. His eating pauses, as he thinks about what I just said.

“Good! No Vale that’s a great idea.” He says, his face lights up at the possibility, I just shake my head and laugh at his foolishness.

“I don’t really wanna talk about this Captain America stuff anymore, I wanna give up, but everybody wants this from me…even Bucky.” I sigh, I’ve had to break up a few arguments between the two about the shield, and quite honestly I too was getting fed up. Neither one of them was understanding the other, and selfishly I needed to fix their friendship for my own sake.

“Bucky…is soul searching just like you Sam, maybe not for the same reason, but he’s looking for that purpose. The last 20 years of his life have been nothing but war, and violence. He’s committed so many crimes against his will, yet he still gets blamed for them by the public. One of the ways he feels he is righting his wrongs is by agreeing to give you that shield, that title Captain America. That title is Power Sam. Steve, and Bucky decided to hand that power to a Black man…you may think you don’t want that label, but what really happened in Paris? Because I know, I know that man John Walker murdered a civilian in front of a lot of people, and he did it with that shield. He’s destroying everything that was built, he’s destroying the legacy of Isaiah Bradley. Men like Isaiah stay in the dark, when men like you don’t step up to the spotlight they deserve to have.” Sam had nothing to say, yet again Valentina left him speechless, he’s come to learn it’s a natural gift of hers.

They both just sat there in the kitchen for a while longer, holding each other’s hands. Sam made a mental note to leave her some more money to get her nails re done again. He knew how you liked your nails, long with designs on them. He took your hands, and brought them up to his face with the palms upwards. He kissed them softly, savoring the smell of the Shea butter lotion she puts on every night for bed.

She told Sam she does that so he can have something soft and scented to sleep next to when he comes to bed. He chuckles at your in-depth thoughtfulness, Sam loved you so much, sometimes he doesn’t know how he got so lucky.

[crazybutgood]

Book club tag game

Thank you for the tag @coffeedrgn87 and @goblinmatriarch 💕 My list is probably gonna disappoint jfhhjf I haven't been reading many non-academic books for a while. Mostly webcomics, graphic novels, plays, and some poetry nowadays. And because of my major and other modules I take, I'm actually reading a lot of books/book chapters/essays but they're purely for academics so, yeah. But anyway:

Last book I bought: Fieldnotes of a Psychiatrist by Chong Siow Ann

Borrowed: The better angels of our nature : why violence has declined by Steven Pinker. (I borrowed this last semester before I realised we are given access to everything, including books, online 🤦‍♀️)

Was gifted: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig

Gave/lent to someone: I am the messenger by Markus Zusak. It's my favourite book and I lend it out so much to whoever I manage to convince to read it lol

Started: The Last Sun by K. D. Edwards

Finished: is it counted if it's poetry hfhshhj: Pluto:Poems by Gulzar

Gave five stars: The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason

Didn't finish: too many failed attempts at getting back into reading books. English, Natasha Pulley's books,, latest was The Bedlam Stacks iirc. Hindi, श्रीकांत (Srikanth) by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Maybe I should restart Srikanth actually, it might help? I made significant progress with it, and I did finish Pluto, so maybe sticking to Hindi for now will help

No pressure tagging @curlyy-hair-dont-care @makeitp1nk @teacup-tai @whataboutmyfries @julcheninred @tenthousandyearsx @vukovich if you want to do this, and anyone else who would like to as well!

[doux-amer]

Okay, so I no longer have the energy to discuss Marvel stuff at length, but I enjoyed Black Widow, to my surprise. I went in with low expectations, but it ended up being solid. Was it a groundbreaking movie? No. But I’d rank it as one of the best MCU films and it felt like a nice change of pace from your standard MCU fare. The film avoided prioritizing action over character arcs and didn't interrupt the story with unnecessary and often distracting humor.  It's become increasingly obvious over recent years just how much the MCU has started to suffer from what made it unique and innovative in the first place—an interconnected cinematic universe. Everything feels like it's a stepping stone to some big event (hah, in that way, it's emulating the comics well), with characters's stories hastily and sloppily pushed aside for The Main Team Event TM. 

And that's why Black Widow worked. It didn't have world-ending stakes. It wasn't about one Big Bad (the big bad in this story, much like in CA:TWS, is the system which is why the "main boss" didn't have to be impressive and intimidating on his own). The story felt quiet and contemplative in between the action scenes. It was very intimate and the story benefited tremendously from that. What happened in this movie was something that would mean very little to anyone other than the people directly involved and would go unnoticed. 

This isn't something that the whole world will know about and praise her for, and no one treats it as such, both in terms of the characters and the people behind the film. With the exception of a few lines and moments, this film isn't cringeworthy, in-your-face, and ultimately shallow GIRL POWER GIRLBOSS OMG FEMINISM which Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman (and that one stupid as hell scene in IW) both leaned into and imo, were either hindered by or even suffered from. This story is very much one about the patriarchy, misogyny, agency, etc., but it tries to see what the personal ramifications are and how sickening and even banal it all is. It’s about how the world works and treats women, no matter who they are. It’s about how Dreykov, for all his power, is a dime a dozen. The world made it possible for men like Dreykov to exist and do harm. The world goes on without him there, and in the wake of his death and the destruction of the Red Room, his victims still have to deal with all the pain and figure out what they want to do, how they want to do it, and who they want to be afterwards.

Obviously, we also got to see more of Natasha and who she is, what makes her tick, and how her past formed the person she is now. And yes, I dislike Scarjo so I was ready to not care about the movie, but god, I love Natasha and miss her so badly. I ended up unexpectedly crying when the film started and didn't stop until the opening credits ended, not even because something was sad but because that was Natasha! When kid Natasha whipped out her gun and shielded Yelena, I recognized both that skill and heart instantly and it hit me hard. You got that repeatedly throughout the film, and it knits together all the little pieces of Natasha we got throughout the decade. It gives her consistency and strengthens what we already know drives her: her desire to atone and protect and her yearning for a family.

The supporting cast was good too. You could tell they had fun and you could tell they had the acting chops. I get very leery of actors who go over the top in the MCU because almost all the time, it ends up backfiring and undermining their character, but David Harbour had a lot of fun with Alexei and it never bothered me. And I think that's because, behind all of the bombast, there was real emotion behind it that he took seriously and the others did as well. Rachel Weisz...I mean, I don't think I need to say anything more. You expect her to be good and of course she was. And Florence? Yes, this might not be 616 Yelena in many, many ways and I can see how that's upsetting to people (this applies to the Taskmaster as well), but if you see MCU Yelena as her own person, man. Florence overshadows Scarjo which, well, isn't surprising considering her brilliance, but I will say, though, that part of it is because Yelena is a much more energetic character whereas Natasha is more introverted and even a little awkward and shy at times. 

I loved the relationships and they all felt real to me. When they said they were a family? I believed them. When you saw them grapple with what they'd done in the past and what they did to each other and to other people? That felt real too. 

And the action scenes! Wow, did I miss actually good fight choreography after three horrible shows full of goofy af fight scenes that had bad choreography and were terribly shot (the less we talk about Loki, the better, though TFATWS, which probably should have had the slickest shots had by far the worst cinematography). The fights were engaging and you really sensed the urgency and danger in every fight. I felt like Natasha was in danger, that she would get hurt. The hits HURT and you could tell how painful that walloping was (with the exception of the ridiculous scene where Dreykov punched her repeatedly in the face and there was no sign of impact). Everyone felt very human and very easy to break. 

The flow was great and maybe it was slow for some people, but I liked that. I liked that the story took its time to unfold. I liked that you didn't sense any impatience or panic. Everything happened in its own time, but it never dragged for me. There was a great balance between emotional, quiet moments and bursts of action, and neither felt like they undermined the other, a frequent issue I have with MCU works (yet again, one of the best examples and most recent ones is Loki; I hated the fight sequences because they felt so unnecessary and they truly disrupted the flow of things).

Were there things that I wish we got more of or thought could have been tightened up better? Yeah. I wish we got to see more of the Widows, for one thing. I also think it would have been interesting for Natasha to mull over the brainwashing she had versus what Yelena went through; what Yelena went through was much worse and similar to what Bucky went through, but Yelena has the excuse of being a victim with little to no free will whereas Natasha? She was psychologically messed with, but she wasn't being mind controlled. It would've been interesting to see that explored more in depth. I wish we got to see more of the Taskmaster. Etc. etc.

More than anything, though, what left me sad and disappointed after my initial joy and feeling of enjoyment dissipated, was the fact that this came too late. This is a movie that should have come right after CW, and we should have gotten a Black Widow movie right after the Avengers and before TWS or at least after TWS. This is, by far, the most unanimous take and it makes me wonder how everyone at Marvel feels about that, that this is, more than anything, the opinion that's being echoed consistently amongst reviewers and moviegoers alike. And it will never ever ever ever ever fail to piss me off that Markus, McFeely, and the Russos didn't know the Black Widow movie was going to even happen and they ended up offing her. That's a massive decision and I don't know, MAYBE you should have had some more communication! Maybe if that happened, Natasha wouldn't have been fridged (she shouldn't have been in the first place, and one of the things I deeply appreciated about this movie was that it pushed back on the wrongs that male directors and writers have done to her (e.g., Whedon's awful approach to her forced sterilization in AoU, the Russos and M&M saying Clint couldn't die because he had a family as if someone who isn't a parent is less important and less deserving to live and as if Natasha's relationships didn't matter)). Maybe we would have gotten more solo movies with her. We can still get more BW movies, sure, but Natasha herself deserved more. 

And that's why, despite thinking this is one of the best movies of the MCU even if the story itself isn't particularly sensational and not being blown away by it (again, I didn't think it was impressive, but I thought it was very solid), despite being pleasantly surprised by the fact that I enjoyed a MCU movie which is rare for me and walking away with barely anything to be disappointed about let alone upset about, despite thinking that this is the story Natasha deserved and being relieved and happy that this is what she got and this is how she's going to go out, I was still left sad for what could have been and what she deserved. 

[farasen]

Since there's Vanessa discourse again, I wanna share my thoughts, too. I'm gonna talk about animated series, cause I can't remember what was in the films and I genuinely don't know what's going on in the books.

Oh my lord, this "strong girl" representation is so shit. Who thought it was a good idea to start a "feminist" episode with a quote "I hate girls"??? And her attitude doesn't seem to change throughout the series since she doesn't get any female friends, only enemies.

Vanessa on its own is an okay-ish character Ig? I think the problem is how it all was represented in the show. Like, she literally said boys were the best, which is quite humiliating. Yeah-yeah, boys acknowledge that girls can be strong as well in the end, yet Vanessa herself considers them weak.

You know, I love Markus/Natasha, but, honestly, if there was an episode focused on Nessie's relationships with Natasha, it would make the situation so much better. And I don't even mean romantically, she genuinely needs some female friends. Wouldn't it have been nice, if they had some adventures together and slowly realized that each of them is not that huge of a bitch and they can actually befriend each other? Idk, I want more good female friendship on the TV.

Well, it is what it is. I understand why some girls might find her as a good woman character, cause she does have some good qualities, but if you look at the whole picture it's kinda eh.

[theflavorofmyautismisspicy]

1.Probably Markus, he’ll inherit a lot of money in the future

2.Jojo but only consensually, he has two hands and a heart full of love, also Natasha because she’s dating both Markus and Vanessa, trust me she just called and verified this information

3.Marlon and Raban have brain but Vanessa has the apocalypse survivor vibes so I’ll go with her

4.Honestly the whole team makes canonically some legally dubious things but I’ll go with Leon. Also Michi cause have you seen his criminal record. That’s a serial killer in the making

5.Might go with Leon on this because impulse decisions, kinda like to imagine Markus or Deniz getting ones too as teenagers as a way to rebel

6.Marlon is shown to be diplomatic and a good decision maker but i don’t know if that job would really interest him

7.I’ll go with Leon again but honestly exaggerating some things in a job interview is pretty common so perhaps they all would

8.Honestly the whole team makes me kinda go “I love you guys but a lot of you are the kind of people who are susceptible to falling in with a cult”. But I’d say Jojo and Leon because issues

9.Vanessa has acting talent, kinda like to imagine that she would win best actress by acting as the final girl in some horror movie

10.Raban. Let him run a crypto scam

Most likely to with the DWK characters

Most likely to…

…become a millionaire

…date more than one person at a time

…survive an alien abduction

…get arrested

…get a (embarrassing) tattoo

…become a president/prime minister

…lie in a job interview

…join a cult

…win an Oscar

…start a business

[thesharondefenseleague]

While fandom had a really misogynistic reaction to Sharon and imo Sharon was always gonna experience some hate, I will die on the hill that the movies make you think she was less important than she actually was.

If you watch say Civil War and you summarize what Sharon did its alot. But beyond the speech on the funeral most of this is delivered by casual exposition. It's not the kinda scene that resonates with you.

Her big moment action wise is the fight with Bucky. But in that moment is not just her . First it's Bucky vs Tony which is a extended sequence 25 seconds. Then Sharon attacks but she's tag teaming with Natasha and you only really see Bucky face react to Natasha's hits not Sharon's like it lingers he staggers back Sharon in the tag team tossed aside in 9 seconds we assume knocked out. Natasha continues fighting him 10 more secs till Bucky slams her down choking her she rasps " you could at least recognize me " making everyone wonder wait do they have a connection now? Before T'Challa takes over you cut to Natasha still choking back to fight with T'Challa who is very effective against Bucky till he runs away.

Sharon participated in this fight but the focus of the fight and all the big moments were with Tony, T'Challa and Nat. Sure Sharon is bad ass still in the fight and if you are a fan. But key words are if you are a fan. Chances are if you aren't already and you are reflecting on this fight you will remember Tony Nat and T'Challa more.

And that could be a microcosom for her whole role in that movie. Even when the script might call for her to be important she's not as important or relevant as the other characters in the framing. There's a disconnect from her importantance in the story on paper and what you see depicted on screen. But movies are a visual medium so if it isn't depicted in important seeming moments that character feels less important. That's not on the audience that's on the creators.

And I feel like while some fans deserve to be called out so do creators and they often aren't as much as they should be.

I mean, Sharon literally saved Bucky’s life by finding the one piece of evidence that actually pointed to where Bucky was hiding and delivered it to Steve and Sam first so they could get to him before the authorities did because the order was to shoot on sight, but that’s still not a conversation people want to have.

But the Markus & McFeely cannot write women at all, and them getting paired with the Russos made it much worse. The only reason I am grateful Sharon gets little screen time from them is because the less of her they write, the less character assassination is committed against her. Instead they used two Cap movies and Avengers 3-4 to murder Natasha’s character, then bring her back to keep on killing her character in new ways. The biggest evidence of how bad they are with women is Cap 1 with Peggy. Seriously, AoS saved her character from being remembered as “that British lady who shot at Cap because she saw him kissing another girl”. (And AC was good to her until s2e02, when they made the rest of the season about who Peggy will date, which no one needed to know in a show about a woman trying to make herself known as an independent badass in the 40s, but whatever, the show had other problems too.) And just like Nat, they kill her off (literally instead of character assassination) but bring her back to ruin her character even further because these writers and directors cannot write women and I hate it that they get praise for being the worst writers/directors for these women.

~Mod R

[aliverse]

@reyskestis

Android Lovers Unite

Kids Struggling To Live Up To Their Fathers Unite

Did they meet through the DPD or some sort of Android rights function? Could be either.

They debate about Star Wars a lot

The fact that they don’t have huge biases against androids actually give them a better case solving average than the rest (bc they’re not blinded by prejudice and therefore can consider all evidence)

On the Halloween costume front, may I present; Markus as Sam, Logan as Sharon, Connor as Bucky, and Arah as Natasha. (I don’t ship these things but they’re the thoughts I had lol)

Logan buys Arah & Connor a fish as a house-warming gift after they move in together (bc I better get that happy ending), specifically a Dwarf Gourami

Arah was the first person Logan confessed to having feelings for Markus too, before either of them knew about deviancy.

Complaining over their stubborn police partners and how they’ve somehow become their emotional crutches (Logan is Hank’s emotional crutch and Arah is Gavin’s)

Logan trying to flirt with Connor and Arah for each other

And then my favorite way to develop relationships/get the feel of the dynamic, incorrect quotes:

(I wish I knew how to do keep reading on mobile but alas)

Logan: Hey Connor, I like your shirt.

Connor: It was made for me by Cyberlife

Logan: Was it on sale?

Connor, confused: It’s standard issue from Cyberlife.

Logan: Haha I bet Arah would like it 100% off

Connor, even more confused: That would be a horrible way to run a business—

Logan: This would be easier if you’d stick to the script

Connor, about to malfunction from confusion: I detect no script in my database

Arah: Logan please stop, you’re killing me. You’re killing your best friend.

———

Gavin: Not all men—

Logan: You’re right, Markus would never do this.

Arah: Or Connor.

———

Logan: Has Arah ever yelled at you?

Connor: I’m not scared of—

Logan: So no

———

Hank, to Logan: You can’t make everyone like you, you’re not Arah.

Gavin: Not everybody likes Arah

Logan: WHO DOESN’T LIKE ARAH?!

Gavin: Nobody, I was just—

Logan: I NEED NAMES NOW

———

*getting Logan ready for a first date with Markus*

Logan: Can I tell him he looks good?

Arah: Sure

Logan: Can I tell him I missed him?

Arah: Maybe, if he asks.

Logan: Can I show him an oil painting I made of us surrounded by our children and grandchildren?

Arah: ...

Arah: I’d save that for the second date.

———

Logan: What are you doing?

Arah: I’m trying to hack into Hank’s computer but his security question is “how will I die?”

Logan: Try “alone”

Arah: I’m in!

[pessimisticlatte]

Rosie’s quarantine/in general book recommendations

The Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer

Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas

The Folk of the Air Series - Holly Black

The Mortal Instruments - Cassandra Clare

The Infernal Devices - Cassandra Clare

The Dark Artifices - Cassandra Clare

The Truthwitch Series - Susan Dennard

Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo (read six of crows first though)

Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy

Girls of Paper and Fire - Natasha Ngan

The Shannara Chronicles - Terry Brooks

The Rithmatist - Brandon Sanderson

The Queen’s Rising - Rebecca Ross

To Kill a Kingdom - Alexandra Christo

Heartless - Marissa Meyer

The Selection Series - Kiera Cass

School of Good and Evil Series - Soman Chainani

The rest of us just live here - Patrick Ness

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Heart of Brass - Felicity Banks (Felicity is an Australian author who writes novels in a steampunk world, i love her stuff and i think everyone should go check it out)

Keys to the Kindgom - Garth Nix

The Princess Bride - William Goldman

The Deltora Quest Series - Emily Rodda (another Australian author whose books i adore)

The Caraval Series - Stephanie Garber

Divergent Series - Veronica Roth

Shadow of the Fox - Julie Kagawa

Eligible - Curtis Sittenfeld (if you like pride and prejudice, you might like this modernised version of it, i know i loved it and i’m a massive austen nerd)

Anything Austen

Anything Terry Pratchet

Anything Neil Gaiman (Sandman and American Gods especially says my dad, they’re his two favourite Gaiman books)

House of Earth and Blood - Sarah J. Maas

The Bartimaeus Chronicles - Johnathan Stroud

The Uglies Series - Scott Westerfeld

The Alchemist Series - Michael Scott

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

The Witcher Series - Andrej Sapkowski

Harry Potter - J.K Rowling (for those of you who haven’t read it)

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Percy Jackson Series - Rick Riordan

Magnus Chase Series - Rick Riordan

The Kane Chronicles - Rick Riordan

Heroes of Olympus Series - Rick Riordan

Anything John Green

i hope i may have given you some ideas for things to read while stuck at home! most, if not all, of these books are available in ebook (i’m reading the Bartimaeus Chronicles on my kindle) and audiobook somewhere. as promised, a picture of my messy ass bookshelf complete with needle (arya stark’s sword) sitting on top of everything and the catspaw dagger (valyrian steel dagger arya uses in season 8 of GoT that was 3D printed for me by a very good friend) because there’s no where in my room i trust them to go and not break and/or disappear completely (the woe of being a cosplayer with too many cosplans)

the trials of apollo series by rick riordan was intentionally left out cause no one wants to be crying over that in the midst of a pandemic

[canmom]

Animation Night 21 - Black American animation

It is once again the hour of Thursday, which means it’s time for Animation Night! Tonight the focus is work by Black directors and animators, primarily American ones (though working with studios from all over). Huge thanks go to Natalia @holymoley for planning this one and picking most of the things we’re going to watch!

Content note: a large proportion of tonight’s films direct engages with anti-Black racism. I’ll try to give specific content warnings for each bit, but that’s going to be a theme throughout.

1: An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012, dir. Terence Nance)

The first film we have to watch tonight is one that’s not been often seen outside of film festivals, which is a shame because it features creative animation in a variety of styles.

Oversimplification is a blend of live action and animation (a very technically challenging thing to do, which I need to do a full night on at some point!). Its story is kind of metafictional, playing with the medium; the main character is explicitly a fictionalised version of the director, Terence Nance. I’m not 100% sure how we’ll find the story, whether it will be too het; but in any case, it presents the introspective meditation of a filmmaker about a time he was stood up in a relationship, and then made a film about it and showed it to the woman who stood him up.

You can read a bit about the film’s style and plot from this glowing BFI review, but let’s talk specifically about animation! It’s drawing heavily on afrofuturist art - the BFI mention Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sun Ra and Barkley L. Hendricks as influences, though for all I know they could just be pulling the biggest names! - but in any case, this means the animated sections have a unique style with a ton of texture, using many different methods including (from a glance through) stop-motion and digital collage.

The animation seems to have a collaboration from animators around the world. Quite a lot of them were apparently volunteers since the film was not well-funded. In an interview with Filmmaker magazine, Nance describes some of the process:

Filmmaker: Once you had a clear idea of all the elements you would need, who did you reach out to help you execute those? I know you did have a few other collaborators on the more involved animated aspects, correct?

Nance: Yes. The key people were this guy Markus Kempken, a German animator who I gave a lot of animation to in different stages of development. Not to sink to far into animation lingo, but I’d give him layout frames, storyboards and concept art and the project files for some things and he’d flesh it out into full movement. I worked with a lot of my interns on doing the really early hard work of drawing or painting every frame on paper for each of the sections. I think one of the most cohesive collaborations was with an animator and a puppet designer, Leo and Natasha. They’re based in England and they worked on the stop motion section remotely out there while I was here. So, yes, there were a few key collaborators as the years went on and I think one of the most cohesive things was the little factory we had at MOCATA, which is where we made the movie with myself and about five interns. Hannah Buck was the main one, and Jeanne Mailloux. They were constantly working, making frames, without pay, literally for years. That was the one that was the most intensive and it was hard because I didn’t really know what I was doing. I know how to make it but I don’t really have any money, I don’t know how to produce it and I was doing it myself so there was definitely a learning curve.

I’m going to be very curious to see the result!

2: Fleischer Bros., antiblackness & animation history, and responses to it (The Story of OJ)

Researching animated films by Black artists, you end up finding... there really aren’t very many. In the last couple of years, we’ve had the work of Peter Ramsay with films like Into the Spider-Verse (our last feature tonight), but before he got to direct Rise of the Guardians, there was very little. Animated films centring on Black characters, like The Princess and the Frog, or even adaptations of African mythology like the Kirikou series in France, would inevitably turn out to have white people in direction and frequely most other creative roles.

This is because, to put it mildly, the situation for Black artists in the animation industry is still horrendous. Black artists rarely get to have any sort of creative control; at best you see cartoons like Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe and Infinity Train inviting Black artists on for voice work and music, but leaving writing, direction and character design decisions in overwhelmingly white hands.

Some of this has to do with the same conditions that cut across industries - overt discrimination in hiring and promotion and funding, and disproportionate lack of financial access to animation schools. But in the case of animation, it probably also has to do with the medium’s history - which has from the outset been really mindbogglingly racist. Since some of the animation work we’ll be watching tonight is a direct response to that history, I’m gonna talk about that briefly here.

Most of the earliest animated films were closely connected to American vaudeville, a descendent of the minstrel shows, and this has had a lasting impact on what gets animated. As Yussef Cole wrote in 2017 in an article about Cuphead:

Instead, I see a game that’s haunted by ghosts; not those confined to its macabre boss fights, but the specter of black culture, appropriated first by the minstrel set then by the Fleischers, Disney and others -twisted into the caricatures that have helped define American cartoons for the better part of a century.

One of the first artists to make a name for himself with animation, James Stuart Blackton, would often animate in real time during vaudeville shows. In 1907 he produced his “Lightning-Sketches,” which involved converting the written word “Coon” into a minstrel caricature and “Cohen” into an anti-semitic stereotype. Vaudeville theater, which evolved out of the remnants of minstrel shows, often employed stereotypes and racist caricatures such as these for comedic effect. Many animators frequented vaudeville theaters after work, and were inspired by its methods.

The truth is racist stereotypes make for easy laughs (ask any faux-edgy comedian). And animation has always been a comedy-centric medium. In his book, Birth of an Industry, Nicholas Sammond writes:

“The stereotypical depiction… borrowing both from well-established graphic traditions and from minstrelsy, variety shows and vaudeville, also traded on an economy of efficiency in which characters immediately telegraphed their seemingly inherent natures and from that their place in the gag.”

Many early cartoon characters were tricksters, layabouts, and thieves, archetypes born from the depiction of the lazy slaves minstrel shows specialized in.

Those early animators, as well as being as racist as any group of largely white people at the time, found appeal in the exaggerated motions of the vaudeville performers. Many of them drew straight-up blackface caricatures, but even those who didn’t were influenced by the style. Early ‘rubber hose’ characters, including the famous Mickey Mouse, are directly minstrel characters despite superficial differences, as Nickolas Sammond discusses in his book Birth of an Industry. (A book that seems incredibly interesting and wide-reaching but I don’t have time to read in the next hour before Animation Night >< )

This is not to say the relation of early animators to Black performers was all overtly hostile, but it was inevitably filtered through stereotypes. The Fleischer brothers, in particular, made an enormous amount of early rubber-hose animations (notably the Betty Boop series), depicting gorgeously lively worlds where just about every object and surface gets a face and a little loop. Gorgeously lively... until the racist caricatures show up. Watching a Fleischer short is a total crapshoot: could be delightful, could be appalling.

In some of their best-known work, they had some major help: Cab Calloway, a jazz artist with a really cool unique dance style, was often used as a subject for rotoscoping. I have struggled to find good information about what the experience of working with the Fleischers was like for Calloway, or what he thought about the completed shorts. In any case, looking back, it does rather feel like the Fleischers benefited a lot from Black artists, but for their part mostly did a lot of harm. Yussef Cole writes:

Calloway is an electric performer and cartoons like the Fleischer’s 1933 films The Old Man of the Mountain and Betty Boop in Snow White do far better justice to his inimitable style. At the same time, these examples feature his voice in the body of an old white man and a white-faced clown, respectively. When it comes time for cartoons to represent him as a human being, his lips balloon up, his eyes grow, and he is forced into the minstrel mold, the only way that animation studios seemed to be able to envision black characters for decades.

Over the decades since, there was a backlash against these old racist cartoons, and some of them even got banned from distribution, or edited to remove the most overtly racist parts. For example, Disney’s Fantasia was edited, and the “censored eleven” Warner Bros cartoons were taken down altogether. However, these stereotypes still haunt us.

To see a modern response to this history, we have the music video to Jay-Z’s The Story of O.J, a modern animation which pastiches those early cartoons to underline the song’s discussion of antiblackness, interspersing them with images of the minstrel caricatures facing the racism those cartoons elided.

The video was animated by ‘The Mill’, who write a little bit (in corporate-speak) about it here. Somehow they managed to turn the entire thing around in just six weeks, which is a hell of a feat.

[cn: the song, as well as like... being a very direct explicit discussion of antiblackness, has one throwaway antisemitic line]

3. The Boondocks, episode 1

The next big thing I have to show is The Boondocks, written and directed by Aaron McGruder. Originally a syndicated comic strip, it became an animesque series - though it’s overtly leftist and political in a way that’s extremely unusual for American animation.

The Boondocks centres on two brothers, Huey and Riley Freeman, living with their grandad. Huey is a hardcore 10-year-old leftist, Riley is an aspiring rapper, and they get up to various misadventures. It’s a sitcom, but compared to other American animated sitcoms, this is one whose aesthetic is a lot more embedded in the world - and one which feels a lot more alive and pointed, rather than tediously cynical. The main political flaw in it, from what I know at the moment, is a bizarre streak of 9/11 trutherism, but I guess that’s what the Bush era was like!

Like AtlA, a fair bit of animation was outsourced to Korean studios (Dong Woo, Moi and MIR), but at least in the first season a lot was done directly by the American studio Adelaide, and McGruder’s studio Rebel Base. Adelaide mostly seems to have made various TV cartoons in the past in the usual American style, but their work on The Boondocks takes heavily after anime: perspective-accurate, 3D scenes, cel shading, mildly-exaggerated faces with a variety of complex expressions, and alternating scenes of limited animation to save budget for a few exceptionally expressive, fluid scenes.

Plan is to watch the first episode. Unfortunately the 1080p version I found is very obviously an upscale, but it’s clear enough.

4. The PJs, episode 1

In a similar vein to The Boondocks, we have another animated sitcom, but this time stop motion. The PJs is a project led by Larry Wilmore, Steve Tompkins, and Eddie Murphy, who has often lent his voice to animation (inevitably, mostly put in nonhuman characters like Shrek’s Donkey) but not as often had the chance to direct it.

PJs is short for Projects; the sitcom centres on a Black family living in a public housing project, the main character being the superintendent who maintains the project. The cast is kind of sprawling across 44 episodes, but we’ll check out the first one. (I’m running out of time, so I can’t provide more research here).

5. Into The Spider-Verse (dir. Peter Ramsay, Bob Persichetti, Rodney Rothman)

CG animated films in recent decades have kind of fallen into a bit of a mould: smooth, rounded CG animals, celebrity voices, not a lot of flair or interest. Thankfully, this got shaken up a lot in 2018, with Into The Spider-Verse showing an absolutely breathtaking interpretation of “comic book style”, with vivid saturated colours, incredible 2D particle effects, brilliant use of hand-drawn expressions on CG characters, and just impeccable cinematography and editing. Visually, they absolutely killed it with this movie.

Spider-Verse is pretty much what the title suggests, a story about a Spiderman multiverse: its main character is Miles Morales, a Black boy from one of the many interconnected Marvel earths. In Miles’s world, their version of white Spiderman (Peter Parker) dies abruptly, only for another, much less impressive Peter Parker to suddenly come crashing into his universe. Before long it becomes apparent that there are a whole variety of Spider-people (in styles ranging from film noir to anime) crashing Miles’s universe, and a sinister conspiracy that is affecting all of them - so naturally Miles has to take up the Spider mantle himself and become leader of the ensemble cast.

Narratively and politically, though, Into the Spider-Verse might feel like a step back, as Natalia is planning to discuss: while Black animators have finally gotten to work at the big companies with serious budgets, Spider-Verse’s story is much more palatable and corporate-friendly than something overtly challenging like The Boondocks. That’s going to be a discussion we’ll have in a couple of hours though... because we’re due to start the films in like ten minutes.

6. Short films and music videos

To wrap up, we have some short films and music videos by Black artists: Dear Basketball by Kobe Bryan, considering his career on retirement; and Hair Love, dir. Matthew A. Cherry, about a dad attempting to help his daughter style her hair. Then, to wrap up, Natalia gave me quite a large collection of music videos - we’ll get through as many as we have time for, and then save the rest for future nights.

When and where

Animation Night 21 will be at twitch.tv/canmom... at 7pm UK time, which is to say pretty much right fucking now lmao. and I started this post several hours ago and all ><