#i wish the thor films had followed their original course and had thor finally Realize what asgard was in the third film rather than just.

[unityrain24]

ok i'm just still so caught up on how horrifyingly pro-colonialism op is. What? WHAT???

"Jotunheim is in ruins. It’s like a frosty desert in the MCU. If your patron state was covered in gold and bathed in the warmth of the sun with giant structures and a wealthy society, would you really shirk their help?

This one angers me the most. A) a cold habit is a good thing for the Jotnar, as well as any other cold-climate species. B) WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS IN RUINS????

Asgard is a serious colonialist/imperialist state. They view themselves as superior, and uphold their self-imposed duty of keeping other, "inferior" races in-check- whether that be conquering or outright genocide. Jotunheim is desolate because of war and the fact that Asgard took the Casket of Ancient Winters from them. They don't ever explain exactly what it is, but it is clear that is can produce ice, and Odin described it as "the source of their power." When we visit Jotunheim on Thor's coronation day a thousand years after the casket was taken, the whole planet seems to be unstable and falling apart.

And are you really implying that kingdom/country/planet should be grateful when another, more powerful state wants to take them over? For what? "Security"? That is just their word for power, for complete control. For the fact that they are "have gold"? Those riches will not go to their subjects. And it's not even like that gold is theirs. That gold was stolen, pillaged as a show of power and wealth from places they have conquered, enslaved, and/or killed. What other reasons would you have? To "save" these people from their "savage" ways? To help them "advance"? Or perhaps by some "divine right"?

Are these your reactions when you learn of the European colonists coming to America? Stealing land and gold and goods? Spreading christianity and deadly diseases? Following the Manifest Destiny? Dehumanizing, lying, murdering, slaughtering, raping, all while having the audacity to call the native people "savages?"

No one should want that. No one should be grateful for that.

"Also, at your point of Loki’s disgust for himself and for the Jotnar springs out of the fact that Odin didn’t think he was ready to learn about his true birth, and (ohmygods) did it turn out that he was right?? Because Loki completely flipped shit and completely lost sight of Odin’s intentions, as well as jumping to conclusions that completely threw his ambition into a spiral."

Why do you think it was so disgusting for loki? Why do you think it gave him a mental breakdown? Aside from the fact that being lied to about that your whole life would be hard for anyone (and it would be valid)(seriously, you shouldn't go about adoption by hiding the fact that they are adopted), Loki's was far, far worse. Loki's learning of his heritage was paired with immense racism, that then turned into internalized racism. Racism doesnt just happen in a void. Those are beliefs and thoughts and behaviours that are taught and perpetuated. Loki grew up in a place that viewed the Jotnar as subhuman- not even as animals, but as monsters.

Don't say shit about "odin didnt tall loki bc loki wouldn't be able to handle it" when it was odin's actions that made Loki unable to handle it. Odin is the one that continue his father's and his realm's legacy of conquering and genocide. Odin is the one that stole an innocent baby from the temple of the world he was dominating (the heir, no less). Odin is the one who purged Loki of all signs of is true heritage. Odin is the one who said nothing when every person on Asgard perpetuated the racism, dehumanization, evilness, and death-worthiness against the Jotnar. Odin is the one who specifically painted the Jotnar as inherintally and all evil when telling of past battles.

Loki's breakdown was not his fualt in the slightest. Every reason for his mental decline had a reason, an external reason. Blaming Loki and making him out to be some selfish, whiny, emotional, spoiled brat is just... so wrong. He was put into a terrible situation, suffered from it, and you make fun of him? (And your condemnation of him doesn't happen in a void. Your victim-blaming of a fictional character perpectuates victim-blaming of people in real life).

"Odin gave him a home, Odin gave him a family, Odin gave him a chance at life, and maybe even a chance at the throne of a kingdom he did not remember belonging to. Odin gave Loki opportunity for something greater—something kinder—than he was given at birth, and Loki threw it back in his face."

Again, are you saying that someone stolen from their homeland by colonistic, imperialistic, pro-genocide conqueres, taken to their home, stropped of all identity, raised to hate those of your (unknown) homeland, be the unfafoured, neglected son, and give up your entire self in an effort to prove yourself worthy is something to be grateful for?

Loki's story was a tragedy, even in just the first film. Its something you cry about, because how different would you be in the same situation?

And you defend Odin?

[star-spangled-steve]

His New Partner

Chapter 5: The Friends

Series Masterlist

Previous Chapter

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Words: 1845

Warnings: Motorcycle riding, a bit of jealous!Steve, a bit of insecure!Steve, cheesy couple talk, fluff.

A/N: Nothing really, just I hope you enjoy this chapter!

It was a beautiful Sunday evening in August, 2012. The sun was shining, the birds where chirping, and the warmth was relaxing. Y/N had her arms tightly wrapped around Steve’s waist, and her helmet-clad head rested lightly against his upper back.

The pair had just finished a date at the movies, and were driving home on his motorcycle. A local Manhattan theatre was playing a re-run of ‘Grease’, a classic that Steve had never seen. He remembered Y/N saying how much she enjoyed it, and thought it would be a fun idea to see it together.

After the film, that Steve had surprisingly enjoyed, he told her he’d give her a ride home. That’s how it usually went for the couple. Steve would pick her up, they’d go out, and he’d bring her back. They had been dating for three months now, and Y/N had still never been to the Avengers Tower. Not that she minded, anyways. The thought of going there was actually quite nerve-wracking to her. 

Which is why Y/N was quite shocked when instead of turning left where Steve was supposed to, he turned right. Right towards the Tower. She was going to speak up over the loud sound of the ride to ask what he was doing, but decided against it because she didn’t want to distract him while driving.

But when the rumbling of the bike finally came to a stop, Y/N noticed that they were inside of a parking garage. 

Steve got off the vehicle, turned to her with open arms and exclaimed “Surprise!”

“Steve, are you serious?” She worried, still sitting on the motorcycle.

“Of course I’m serious.” He stated. “It’s the perfect time, everybody is around today. Even Thor is here on business, or something.”

Y/N puffed.

Steve had no clue what the problem was. “Why do you look so unimpressed?”

“What if they don’t like me?” She asked.

“C’mon.” Steve stuck out his hands. “Come on, Y/N.”

After a moment she begrudgingly accepted them, and he helped her stand to her feet.

“Look, sweetie,” Steve started, brushing a piece of hair out of her face, “they haven’t even met you yet and they’re already crazy about you. You have nothing to worry about.”

“They’re crazy about me?”

“Very much so.” He stated. “The more that I’m out with you, the less I’m here to boss them around.”

Y/N giggled and tucked her head in his chest. “Alright fine,” she looked up at him, “let’s go do this.”

“That’s the spirit.” Steve grabbed her hand and lead her to the downstairs entrance. Once they got inside, they hopped on the elevator and Steve pressed a floor number. A floor number higher than anything Y/N had ever been on before.

“Woah.” She gulped. “That’s a-That’s a pretty high number there, Stevie.”

Steve looked a bit confused at what she was implying, until there was a huge smirk appearing on his attractive face. “Awe, baby. Are you afraid of heights?”

“Possibly... just a tad.” Y/N said in a small voice.

“Don’t worry, eventually you won’t even notice anymore.” He stated, pulling her smaller form into his side.

After what seemed like forever, the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened up. Steve gestured for Y/N to go out in front of him, and he followed behind her before grabbing her hand again.

“They should be around here somewhere.” He spoke as he looked around.

“It’s really, really nice in here.” She marvelled.

“Why thank you,” Steve and Y/N both heard from behind them. “I designed it myself.”

Y/N instantly turned her head, only to see one of the most well known faces on the planet. Tony Stark.

“Oh-Oh my goodness.” She let go of Steve and stuck out her hand. “Hi, Mr. Stark. I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Y/N.”

Tony shook her offered hand as he said, “Of course I remember you. You’re the little woman that stole Rogers’ heart.”

She looked at her boyfriend hesitantly and puffed out a breath, “I guess so.”

“I thought I’d bring her here so she could meet everybody.” Steve spoke.

“Well then we must call everybody down, shouldn’t we?” Tony inquired before speaking out “J.A.R.V.I.S.? Tell everybody to come down for a mandatory team meeting.”

“Who’s Jared?” Y/N whispered to Steve, obviously misinterpreting what Stark said.

“J.A.R.V.I.S. is Tony’s artificial intelligence system.” He explained to her.

“Wow, look how much you’ve grown.” The billionaire remarked, making Steve roll his eyes.

The conversation was then interrupted the by elevator doors opening up, revealing a redhead and a man with brown spiky hair. Y/N recognized them to be Black Widow and Hawkeye. The two looked pretty sweaty in their workout gear, contrasting greatly with Tony’s three piece suit.

“You guys better make this quick,” Hawkeye started “I was almost beating Nat.”

“You wish.” Black Widow chimed in, not having noticed Y/N yet.

Finally one of them acknowledged her. “Well, well, well, who’s this?” The man asked.

“This,” Steve told them, “is Y/N, my girl. Y/N, meet Clint and Natasha.”

“Hello, nice to meet you.” She said, shaking both their hands.

“Wow, she’s even cuter in person.” Clint remarked.

Natasha shook her head at his antics. “What he means to say, is that we love your show.”

“Oh!” Y/N giggled. “Thank you so mu-“

“Sorry, we’re little late.” A thick, Australian accent interrupted her. “Dr. Banner was just helping me out with something.” 

The group turned to look as a tall blonde man entered the room, along with a short brunette. 

“Who’s she?” The blonde continued. 

“Steve’s girlfriend.” Said Clint.

“Y/N,” Steve added, “this is Thor and Bruce.”

“Hello.” The scientist smiled.

“Nice to meet you both.” She beamed, shaking Bruce’s hand and then moving to Thor’s. But instead, Thor took her hand and placed a chaste kiss on the back on it.

“It’s a delight to be in the presence of your beauty, Miss Y/N.” He spoke with his deep, husky voice.

“Oh boy.” She slightly gasped.

Steve instinctively wrapped his arm around Y/N, pulling her into his side. Natasha smirked from the other side of the room, knowing exactly what little game he was playing.

“Well then, I guess Y/N and I should be heading out. It was nice to see you all, she had a great time.” Steve jealously insisted.

“Wait, wait a second, Rogers.” Stark chimed in. “You brought her here to get to know us, and yet all she knows so far are our names.”

“Ya, Steve. Relax, stay a while.” Natasha remarked.

Steve looked to Y/N, trying to see what she wanted to do.

“I wouldn’t mind staying.” She adorably told him.

Ah, those damn eyes, Steve thought to himself. “Ya sure, I guess we can stay.” He stated.

Everyone cheered and moved to sit down on the couches.

“So, how long have you two been together now?” Bruce questioned them.

“Three months.” Y/N said.

“Ever since the Battle of New York.” Steve reminded them.

“Oh, right yes. I remember that.” Thor added. “We were helping Stark off the ground when we heard the feminine screams come from a distance.”

“If I also remember correctly,” Tony smirked, “Thor was the one who originally said he’d go help her, and then Steve insisted that he would go instead.”

Thor chuckled, “Imagine if it really was me who went and got you, then perhaps you two wouldn’t even be together!”

The whole group laughed except for Steve.

“Ha. Funny.” He fumed.

“Relax, honey.” Y/N said, putting her hand on his knee. “They’re just kidding.”

“Awe, ‘honey’.” Clint remarked. “You two are pretty cute, I’ll give you that.”

“What?” Y/N quipped. “He is my honey. You now why? Because he’s sooo sweet!” She giggled.

“Then I guess that makes you my baby.” Steve added, playing along. “You know why? Because you’re so adorable, and precious, and-“

“Okay, guys.” Tony deadpanned. “This is just getting disgusting now.”

*****

“Wait, so Clint was mind controlled by your brother, Thor?” Y/N inquired.

“Yes. Ever since childhood, Loki has been quite rebellious.”

“Rebellious? Rebellious is even the half of it, pal.” Clint exclaimed. “He brainwashed me!”

“Relax, birdbrain.” Stark stepped in. “All Natasha had to do was knock you on your head and you were out of it.”

Y/N let out a laugh, stopping to yawn halfway through.

“We should probably go. Looks like someone’s getting sleepy.” Steve told them.

Y/N nodded, “Ya, and I have to work early tomorrow.”

“Awe, it was kind of nice having another female around.” Natasha complained.

“I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” Steve said, looking at Y/N for consent.

“Yes, for sure. There’s no getting rid of me now.” She joked, causing the group to laugh.

And with that they all said goodbye to Y/N, and Steve drove her home.

The couple were walking from were Steve parked his bike across the street, to the front door of Y/N’s building. She always insisted that she could do it alone, but he wouldn’t let her, deeming it unsafe. A comfortable silence washed over the pair until Steve decided break it. This specific thought has been wracking his brain for hours, and he needed to know Y/N’s opinion.

“Do you find Thor attractive?” He blurted out.

Y/N giggled, “Wha-Where is this coming from?”

“Nothing, it’s just… I’ve heard from the general consensus that most females find him attractive.” Steve continued as they walked, hand in hand. “And I was just wondering if you did too.”

“Well yes, Thor is a good-looking man.” Y/N explained. “But no, that does not mean that I’m attracted to him.”

“He sure seemed pretty attracted to you.” Steve mumbled.

“That is so not true, he was just being polite!” She laughed. “He literally just said he had a girlfriend, Steve.”

“Ya, ya, I know. I’m sorry.” He apologized. Steve never meant to sound so insecure. It’s just what most people didn’t realize, is that underneath the hard, muscly exterior, lived the 95 lb. asthmatic, who would pay anything for just one girl to look at him. And now he had one. One that was beautiful, intelligent, and kind-hearted. It would just kill him if someone took her away.

Y/N seemed to always pick up on exactly what Steve was thinking, call it her superpower. And right now, she knew exactly what he needed to hear. 

“Look, Stevie,” she spoke as they stopped at the lobby door, “I’m not going to leave you. Not for some Asgardian god, not for anybody.” She leaned in, wrapped her arms around his neck, and softy said to him with a smile, “I’m the luckiest girl in the world to be dating a man like you. A good man. I’m not just going to give that up.”

“You’re amazing.” He told her.

“Maybe.” Y/N said with a small smirk before Steve passionately kissed her, unexpectedly slamming her against the wall of the building. Y/N moaned in his mouth before they separated.

“Sorry for that.” He said, looking down at her.

“And stop apologizing for everything.” She giggled.

“Right, sorry.”

Next Chapter

Feedback is always welcome!❤️

[imagine-loki]

Giftless

TITLE: Giftless CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 22/50

AUTHOR: nekoamamori ORIGINAL IMAGINE: 

Imagine that you are Stark’s niece and you secretly share a strong relationship with Loki since he entered the crew. One day you get hurt so bad during a mission that you are about to die.  Loki knows a spell that will save you and share his immortality with you but you and he will be linked forever sharing thoughts, pain, emotions…

RATING: T NOTES/WARNINGS:  Also on AO3 click here

Things were fairly quiet until Fury came to talk to all of the supers (and you) one morning in March. “Listen up! This is a reminder that the producers from the Avengers movies will be on campus shooting their next film, starting today. This place will be crawling with actors, cameras, and all sorts of crap we usually don’t have to deal with.”  Fury and the team let them film pieces of the movies at the tower, provided they didn’t interfere with their operations and only filmed anyone from the tower with permission and only when that person was in costume. They let you be extras and side characters occasionally, and sometimes the supers even used their powers on film to cut down on the CGI budget.  You were sure Fury got something out of this, but he never said what it was. “They won’t be in the building except during scheduled times, which you’ll have plenty of notice about. Any time you go outside, you must be in costume. I don’t want anyone’s secret identities compromised. Ironman, Loki, Kat, you’re excused from that of course.” Tony’s secret identity had already been compromised, everyone knew who you were thanks to Tony, and Loki didn’t have a secret identity, nor did he care to.

Loki took you out that day to a matinee ballet. He wore his perfect all-black suit again and convinced you to wear the green dress he had gotten you. It was still just cool enough to wear it. The ballet was amazing, you couldn’t believe how effortless they made dancing on their toes look.

You were walking back to the compound from the parking lot when you were stopped by the film crew. That wasn’t atypical, they would reroute people who were in jeopardy of getting in the way of their shots.  “Tom! Good! You’re already in costume, come on, your scene is up!” one of the producers got ahold of Loki and led him towards the cameras and the set that had been set up on your property. 

Apparently, they had gotten Loki confused with his actor. Loki looked over at you apologetically, but let them lead him away, unwilling to harm the mortals. You followed as far as you could. You had a feeling this was going to be fun.

/How long before they figure out you’re not Tom?/ you thought at him. He turned to you with a glint in his eye and a smirk. He was going to keep the game up as long as possible. 

They actually ran a few takes of the scene (how Loki knew the lines you didn’t know) before the real Tom showed up between takes. He walked straight over to Loki, thinking he was a stunt double. They were both wearing the infamous black suit of sexy. No wonder the film crew had gotten confused.  They looked at each other and both started laughing after a moment when they figured out what was going on. One of them went back to doing takes of the scene, the other came over to stand with you and watch. He put his arm around you gently.

You looked up and laughed. “You’re not Loki,” you told him softly. It was Tom, the actor, not your boyfriend. You knew the difference immediately.  Tom was warm where Loki ran cold due to his heritage.  

Tom laughed and held his hands up in surrender.  “I apologize for touching you without permission. Loki said you would find it amusing,” he explained immediately. He was a perfect gentleman after all.  His accent wasn’t quite as honey sounding as Loki’s most of the time, but it was really close. They also looked nearly identical.

“It’s alright. Loki was right. It was amusing,” you replied with a warm smile. It was a fun joke. “I’m sorry about him. They thought he was you and dragged him over to do the scene. Since then…” you shrugged as if that were enough explanation. “I think he’s trying to see how long it will take them to figure out that he’s not you,”

“You’re the only one who’s noticed so far. I’m disappointed in Chris. We’ve done how many movies together? He should know better.” Tom sighed in exasperation at his coworker.  Chris was the actor who played Thor. It took a few more scenes before Chris finally did figure out that Loki wasn’t Tom.

“Who are you?” he boomed in his Thor voice. “You’re not Tom!” he accused, probably thinking Loki was a stunt double. 

Loki did the character’s head bow and held up his hands in surrender with his trademark smirk.

“Game’s over,” Tom said sadly. “It was a fun game too. Thank you for keeping you company, Miss -?” he asked politely, though of course he knew who you were.

“Y/N Stark,” you filled in, just as politely.  You could play the game to let him properly introduce yourselves.  “Trade you autographs?” you asked with a grin. He chuckled and you did exchange autographs.

“I best go rescue Loki and do my job,” he said once the autographs had been exchanged. Chris was still shouting, but it was in fun and the crew was laughing at Loki’s antics since he was showing them some magic tricks. Loki and Tom posed for pictures before work began again. The crew let you stick around and watch the taping, which was a lot of fun, especially since you got to meet and hang out with the other actors as well.

Tom came back over to you on a break between scenes. Loki summoned him a cup of tea, which Tom accepted with appreciation. “Do you two want to pretend to be me and Kelly for the next scene?” he asked while he sat with you and enjoyed his tea. Kelly was the one playing Sigyn, Loki’s romantic interest.

“Won’t the production crew get mad about being tricked twice in one day?” you asked. You were also really recognizable. 

Tom shook his head.  “Not on this one. You’re a dead ringer for Kelly in costume. I think the designers used you as inspiration for the character design. Trust me, this scene will be perfect for you two,” Tom said with a grin. It was far too close to Loki’s Cheshire Cat grin.  You were quickly finding that he could be just as mischievous as his character. You and Loki agreed to try it and Tom went off to have a word with Kelly. She grinned and gave you a thumbs up. She came over to sit with you until the break was over.

“Tom! Kelly! You’re up!” the director called. Loki took your hand and the two of you went over instead of the actual actors. You were nervous about this trick, sure you were going to be caught. It seemed too important for you to be playing around with. You weren’t an actress, and didn’t know Kelly’s lines or anything.

You shouldn’t have bothered worrying. The entire scene was you running to Loki and him kissing you deeply. It took a couple takes to get it just right, but the kiss was a really good one and the director seem pleased, until he realized that neither of you were his actors.

“Tom!” he yelled, mock-glaring over at Tom and Kelly who were drinking tea and watching the fun. “He’s doing your job better than you are!” he called, laughing. The entire crew started laughing again.

“But they’re already dating. I figured they could do the kiss scene justice,” Tom replied innocently as he came over. He looked you over. “Great job, by the way,” he told you. “Are you going to the comic con tomorrow?” You shook your head while Loki just looked confused. Tom handed you two passes he just happened to be carrying. “Come in costume to Hall H at noon. I promise you some fun,” he told you, which was all the enticement Loki needed to go to the event. 

“What is a comic con?” Loki asked as you finally walked into the compound.

“People dress up as comic book and movie characters. There’s shops and talks about the comics,” you tried to explain.  It was an experience one kinda had to go to in order to understand it.  

“It sounds like fun. We should attend,” Loki replied.  He just wanted to see what Tom had up his sleeve, but he would enjoy the rest of the con as well. 

“You’ll have to make our costumes,” you reminded him. He nodded. That was no big deal for him.

*

The next day you went to the convention in full costume. The same costumes you’d been in for the movie. You found Tom and Kelly in costume in Hall H just before noon. “You made it!” Tom lit up in excitement. He handed Loki a sheet of paper while Kelly handed one to you. Both of them were grinning. “Here are your lines. You’ll get the cues from Mark there,” he pointed at one of the guys at the presenter’s table. You looked over at Loki and both of you exchanged a glance wondering what you had gotten yourselves into. “We have parts to play too,” Tom reassured you. They went to go get ready for their parts while you read over you part and grinned. 

This would be fun, indeed.

You stood off stage while the crowd filed in to the conference hall. You were nervous, and kept clutching on to Loki’s hand. “You’ll be fine, love. This is just for fun,” he reminded you. “There is no reason to be nervous.” You wished you believed him, but you didn’t want to mess this up. There were lots of fans counting on you and you really weren’t an actress.  Loki was the one with the flair for drama.

The presenter started his speech about the Avengers movies and how well they did and all sorts of nonsense to talk about the new movie coming out.  “We are currently in production on the latest installment-” The lights suddenly went out. That was Loki’s cue. He walked out onto the stage to begin his own speech.

“People of New York, look how far you have fallen!” He announced. “Look how you huddle, scared in the dark, waiting for your saviors to come. They are not coming to rescue you this day. All you have is me!” The lights came back on to reveal Loki standing in the middle of the stage. The crowd roared. “I am Loki of Asgard and I am burdened with glorious purpose. Swear loyalty to me, swear your city over to me, and you shall live in riches in my kingdom. Kneel to your overlord!” he boomed. You saw his expression that he was enjoying every moment of this. “I said KNEEL~!” He used magic to amplify his voice even more than the room should have allowed. At once the cheering roaring crowd dropped to their knees in front of him.

That was your cue. You straightened your spine, gathered your courage, and stormed out onto the stage. “LOKI!” you shouted as you stomped toward him. He looked over at you, shocked and acting sheepish and embarrassed. He gave you an elegant bow while the crowd called:

“Sigyn!” 

You raised a hand to them and they fell silent at once. “Are you pretending to rule these mortals again?” you demanded of Loki.

“Of course not, my love!” he protested, rising from his bow and trying to look innocent. “I would not!”

You looked out at the crowd, glad that you was blinded by the lights and couldn’t actually see them. “Was he, dear mortals?” you asked them, calmly, sweetly, gently. They roared in cheers and applause. “There is my answer, Loki,” you replied, turning back to him.

“But, darling~” he started. You glared, your hands on your hips.  The perfect picture of an insulted angry wife.

“Don’t you ‘darling’ me, Loki Odinson,” Loki went by Odinson to get the people to accept him if nothing else.  “Back home with you, now!” you ordered, pointing off stage.

“My love, they need someone to rule over them!” he protested. You snapped your fingers and pointed again off stage.

“Be gone with you. They shall have their ruler,” you turned back to the crowd. “Won’t you, my dears?” They all roared in applause while Loki skulked off toward off stage, his head hung in shame.

“IMPOSTERS!” Came a roar from the crowd. The lights changed and a spotlight appeared on Tom and Kelly, who stormed up towards the stage from the back of the auditorium. There were even more cheers from the crowd as they realized what was going on.  “Foolish mortals allowing yourselves to be tricked by such amateurs. I am your God. The true Loki of Asgard and you shall kneel before me!” Loki took your hand and teleported you off stage where you could watch the rest of the act from the sidelines. At the end, a trailer for the new movie was shown, and you and  Loki were brought back out on stage to bow to cheers from the crowd.

“That was a lot of fun,” you told Tom and Kelly after the event, once the audience had cleared. “Thank you for letting us do it,” they both smiled and said how it had been partially the director’s idea. He thought it would be good publicity. You ended up getting Tom’s and Kelly’s phone numbers and friending them on social media, promising that you’d keep in touch, especially through their production of the new movie on location. They were great fun to be around.  You found you couldn’t be terribly surprised that you’d become fast friends with them already.

[estelofimladris]

Queerness and Death in The Magicians by SE Fleenor (The Removed Syfy Article)

[ NOTE: This article is being reposted in its entirety because it was removed by the Syfy website where it was originally posted. I (estelofimladris) did not write it, but still had it open after its removal. Please read and enjoy - send the writer, S.E. Fleenor, some love if you can. ]

by S.E. Fleenor

SPOILERS FOR THE MAGICIANS SEASON 4 FINALE!

By now you already know that The Magicians’ Quentin Coldwater died in the Season 4 finale. Yes, D-E-D, dead. There’s no resurrection in the works and no trick of astral projection or Niffin state of higher being can bring sweet, depressed, narcissistic Quentin back.

The decision to kill off a major character — the major character, if the Lev Grossman novels still mean anything (they don’t) — is almost always controversial. But we live in the day and age of Game of Thronesand The Walking Dead and Thanos snapping half of the Avengers (and the universe) into nothingness. Any character could die at any moment (and sometimes all of the characters could die at any moment) and that’s the brave, new, kill-happy world our media is made in.

So, why does it matter that Quentin is dead?

Well, my friends, let’s revisit a little trope we like to call Bury Your Gays. Throughout media representations of queer folks, reaching back to 19th-century Victorian novels, the formula has been about the same: An LGBTQ+ character is introduced, they reveal their sexuality or an attraction to a specific person, and then they die, die, die, often horrifically. This trope is also called Dead Lesbian Syndrome due to the overwhelming number of queer women who have been slaughtered onscreen — not exactly the representation queer women have been begging for.

Back when archaic censorship laws ruled the page and the screen, writing about queer characters was taboo and the only way queer writers, or folks who wanted to create queer characters, could include LGBTQ+ characters was by portraying them unfavorably. Queer characters could exist, but only as a warning of what a “perverted” life would bring you. So, in order to get some kind of representation, LGBTQ+ characters had to suffer.

Sounds a little rough, huh? Like who would really bury their gays? Oh, just Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood, The 100, The Walking Dead, The Expanse, Jessica Jones, Xena, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica, Hex, Torchwood, Hemlock Grove, Teen Wolf, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Dracula, The Vampire Diaries, Arrow, Salem, American Horror Story, Ascension, Lost Girl, Scream, The Shannara Chronicles, The Exorcist, Van Helsing, Doctor Who, Gotham, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Purge, and last but not least (and not for the first time): The Magicians.

Let it be noted that I have only included science fiction, fantasy, and horror TV shows on this list and only those that I know about. The list is much, much longer when you include non-genre TV shows and film. (Autostraddle has a very complete list of queer women on TV who have been killed off, for those of you who feel like being sad.)

Oh, did you recognize a bunch of queer-friendly shows in that list? Does that somehow feel like a violation of the promise made when a series goes out of its damn way to present itself as queer and feminist?

EXACTLY. And, that, my sweet babies, is why people are pissed about the death of Quentin Coldwater, generally speaking. We’re sick of seeing queer characters die over and over again. But, what specifically about the death of Quentin is so frustrating? I’m so glad you asked.

Full disclosure: I'm not going to get into the creators' rationale for killing off Quentin. I've read all the interviews with the creators and with Jason Ralph, who plays Quentin, and they all read like a whole lot of familiar BS. (At least Hale Appelman, who plays Eliot, gets it.)

In the first season of The Magicians, Quentin, Eliot, and Margot have a threesome. It’s the first time Quentin has sex with a man, as far as we know, and it’s the first time we see him start to confront his queerness. In Season 3’s “A Life in the Day,” Quentin and Eliot end up in a different Fillory, from before they were born, where they must solve an unsolvable puzzle. As they spend a lifetime working on the mosaic, they fall in love, raise a child, and make their queer family work. Upon returning to the main timeline, barely a word is spoken about their encounter, and queer folks everywhere braced ourselves for that experience to be treated as an anomaly from another timeline. (Another weird queer trope where characters get to be LGBTQ+, but only elsewhere or else when or, or, or…)

Season 4 brought unexpected twists and turns, such as Eliot being trapped inside his own mind by the Monster. With that, many a fan prepared to let Queliot rest. And, then “Escape from the Happy Place,” took us into Eliot’s mind and — after exploring a lot of deep trauma that has a particularly queer flavor to it — back to the day Eliot and Quentin came back from their lifetime in Fillory. As they sit on the steps of the throne room, Memory Quentin and Memory Eliot talk about what happened between them. Memory Quentin asks Memory Eliot why they shouldn’t try to be together, saying “Who gets proof of concept like that?”

Eliot kisses Memory Quentin hard on the mouth and then walks through the door that will allow him to take control of his body for a moment. In the real world, face to face with Quentin, Eliot gets a signal out that he’s still alive. He looks at Quentin and repeats the question Quentin had asked him, following it with, “Peaches and plums, motherf*cker.” When he realizes who he’s looking at, Quentin hesitates, a look of surprise and longing washing over his face.

This deeply emotional and compelling storyline appeared at the same time that Quentin finally officially rebuffed Alice’s advances, telling her he no longer wanted to be together, that he could never see her the same way again.

Then, after all that work, after all the maturation the characters undergo, the series undoes everything, shoehorning in a last-minute declaration of love between Quentin and Alice and killing off Quentin when he uses magic in the Mirror Realm, without ever seeing Eliot again. Quentin then goes to the Underworld branch of the library and meets with Penny 40 while reminiscing over his life and pondering over whether or not he died by suicide. (The treatment of suicide in the episode is problematic and deeply offensive.)

There are probably as many critiques of this ending as there are people who watched it, but I’m going to focus on the main issues that stood out to me.

The series has gone out of its way to confirm Quentin as queer and tease the possibility of a queer love story.

Queer viewers are used to surviving off subtext and tend to be fairly generous in what we’ll accept. Seriously, many a queer considers Thor: Ragnarok to be part of the queer canon when it’s not even implied onscreen that anyone is queer, and have you seen people shipping Carol and Maria in Captain Marvel? Maybe it’s because we’re used to being served scraps that the Bury Your Gays trope feels so pointed. Oh, you’re not happy with the almosts and the could-haves and the alternate timelines of queerness? Well, then we’ll make your characters queer and just murder ‘em right up.

After Season 3, The Magicians could have never acknowledged the relationship between Quentin and Eliot that takes place in another timeline or they could have shrugged and been like, “Must have been the opium in the air!” They’d already done as much with the threesome in Season 1 and all but ignoring Quentin's queerness in the episodes that follow. The series didn’t have to confirm that Quentin wanted to follow his attraction to Eliot and give being together a try. But, The Magiciansdid. The series took the time onscreen to show Eliot and Quentin kissing again, to show Eliot declaring his love for Quentin in their own code, and to show Quentin dedicate his time to helping Eliot get free.

Furthermore, how messed up is it that the series spends a significant amount of time dredging up the trauma of Eliot’s queer youth only to make him realize his biggest regret is how he treated Quentin, just for Quentin to be forced back into the closet? An episode that was deeply evocative and affirming of queerness smacks of voyeurism when taken in the context of the finale.

At the last minute, after confirming his queerness, the series forces a relationship between Quentin and Alice.

It’s hard not to see the last ditch shoving of Quentin and Alice together as an attempt to shove Quentin himself back in the closet. Season 4 shows Quentin rejecting and wanting to be apart from Alice, only for him to decide that he loves her and wants to give their relationship another try because? Honestly, I’m not sure what rationale he uses because it MAKES NO SENSE. And, what the hell does he think of imprisoned-in-his-own-body Eliot while making this decision? To judge from the series, not a whole hell of a lot.

It’s totally cool if queer or bisexual characters date people of different genders — that’s not the issue. The issue is that without a moment of hesitation, Quentin whiplashes from his lover who he knows is trapped by the Monster and cannot see, hear, or reach him to his ex-girlfriend who he has distanced himself from due to her selfish behavior.

In the context of his death, I like to call this particularly messed up turn of events “Bury Your Gays and Stomp On Their Graves” because all the work that had been done to show Quentin’s coming to terms with his own sexuality is undone shortly before he dies.

There are other ways to write a character off a series.

A lot of people fall back on bad faith arguments like: what is a show supposed to do when an actor no longer wishes to appear in the series?

The answer, of course, is: ANYTHING ELSE. They could have done literally anything else to write Quentin out of the show and release Jason Ralph from his commitment. The Magicians takes place in a world WHERE MAGIC EXISTS, where characters leave the main story to go on their own adventures, and where average human beings can become gods. There’s no excuse for falling into lazy storytelling and reifying a trope that has been well-documented and mourned for a long time.

In the novels, Quentin gets kicked out of Fillory and decides to use his discipline, minor mendings, to build a new world for himself and Alice. He essentially walks through a door and never comes back. THAT WOULD HAVE WORKED and it wouldn’t do the work of retraumatizing queer audiences.

It comes down to this: To ignore the wider implications of making a character specifically queer, having him return to his prior unhealthy relationship with a woman, and then killing him off is a disservice to queer people everywhere. It is, at once, a declaration of the meaninglessness of the queer experience and an unforgivable reminder of the expendability of queer lives.

Series like The Magicians (and before it, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) trade on their reputations as queer and feminist shows. We watch them for their powerful women and their kickass queer characters and their storylines that affirm the power of survival. And what do they give us in return? They bury their gays.

Does that mean that all LGBTQ+ characters should be immortal? The rational response would be: of course not. Up until today I may have agreed with that argument, but right now I’m feeling a little less generous. It’s 20-f*cking-19 and there is no excuse for Bury Your Gays to pop up in a progressive TV show. Maybe until series and creators who make their money off queer characters and queer fandom take responsibility for how they use the lives and bodies of queer people, maybe until then, all LGBTQ+ characters should be immortal.

I’m pretty damn sick of watching every character who loves like me, who looks like me, who explores the bounds of their sexuality like me, die. I’m sick of watching characters bust down the doors of the closets that held them back only to have their queerness erased or elided through their deaths. I’m sick of watching relationships between men and women blossom onscreen only to see queer relationships torn apart by death.

Queer people deserve happy endings. We deserve them in real life and we deserve to see them onscreen and we deserve them now.

Until that’s the norm, you better damn well consider any queer character you create immortal. Because if you don’t, we queers will f*cking haunt your basic ass.

[eerythingisshaka]

I made this post on Monday, and just now got around to edit and post

I’m basically going through the whole plot of Endgame and how I felt, I just had to hammer it out.   If you haven’t seen it yet, please come back when you have! First things first, I did not cry!  I feel like I’m in the minority, and I swear I am a devoted MCU fan and love Tony and Cap and them, but I did not cry and I’m so disappointed with myself!  I got more emotional thinking about it in the days leading to the premiere than I did while viewing.  I think it was too entertaining for me to find it sad?  Not like movies I cry at aren’t entertaining but the action and substance was making my nerd heart pitter patter so much, I was over the moon and couldn’t come down.  I will say though, ever since watching Endgame, every past Marvel movie makes me somewhat emotional.  This whole thing is like a high school graduation, like I’m never gonna see my friends together again like this, an era is over!  All I have are memories, aaaaggghhhh!

That being said. the movie grips me from the beginning with the song Dear Mr. Fantasy by Traffic.  Marvel has some pretty good picks for songs to set the tone for their movies, to this day this song kinda pulls at my heart strings because of its message 

 Dear Mr. Fantasy play us a tune

Something to make us all happy

Do anything, take us out of this gloom

So of course, we all felt this way with the ending of Infinity War, having so many of our faves being sacrificed to dust for Thanos’ plan of rectifying what he saw as the decrepit state of the universe.  Walking away from part one with the villain winning was a fresh slap to my face and a year of agony to find out how the heroes pull this off in the end.  Take us out of our gloom Marvel! 

And the characters must feel the same, as the film opens with Clint and his daughter doing some archery in their yard as a very American lunch of mayo and mustard hot dogs are being served.  As his daughter Lilah is putting things away, Clint calls out to her only to see dust and turns again to his family with the same result.  So much for freedom from our gloom, right?  In case you somehow forgot, this little scene gives us a friendly reminder of what we were left with in 2018.  If that’s not enough, Nebula and Tony playing the little hand goal, paper flick game that is just darling to witness.  Nebula plays like a rehabilitated puppy still unsure about being around humans as Tony instructs her like a child on every development of the game.  Her little perk up when he announces her win is so cute as they shake hands, finally sealing her character development from ruthless, blood-thirsty appeaser of a sadistic father, to a more stoic, regretful soft spoken but hoarse matured version of herself.  All the while, Tony is beginning to starve from being malnourished and depleting oxygen.  Nebula sets him in a piloting chair as he drifts off, losing consciousness until the homie we have all assumed would be coming appears as a glow in his irises, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel.  

Carol flies the ship back to Tony’s compound where Cap, Rhodey, Natasha, and Pepper wait for him to descend.  We get a moment with him and Cap that is sweet as Cap walks him down, Tony tells him he lost Peter Parker, an obviously huge loss for this to be the first thing he mentions.  The warmth is lost quickly though as the next step of Tony’s grief comes afoot: anger and finger pointing.  Tony, on an IV and all, is relentless as he festers in bitterness while lashing out at Cap and company that the fight was lost and even encouraged by Cap because they were together.  This optimism is obviously not enough for Tony, who grows weary of Cap’s positivity, opting that he finish the work alone or that Danvers takes on the task herself before collapsing from exhaustion.

Carol, Thor and the gang have a slight dick measuring contest on kicking Thanos’ ass once and for all before Nebula offers to take them straight to him.  And where is he?  Why on a farm on a planet in the galaxy, nursing his wounds from the snap.   His entire right side is burned to a crisp due to the snap, and at the same time has obliterated the stones much to their dismay.  Thor wastes no time in chopping off Thanos’ head, a little too late but satisfying none the less.  However, in the end, the stones are nowhere to be found, the last person to have them is dead, and no one from the snaps is back yet.  Cue music!

So, the gloom we are supposed to be rescued from, when does that start right?  Not for another five years according to a time lapse card.  Our heroes have no means of figuring out the solution to the snap; Cap forms a support group for survivor’s, Natasha has grown out her blonde hair and is constantly checking in on happenings around the world, and universe since the snap, jumping at even the mention of an earthquake.  Rhodey briefs her on a terrible killing spree of gang members that appear to have a style that is well known to them as Clint Barton’s aka Hawkeye.  Despite Rhodey’s hesitance Natasha insists he keeps an eye on him, inferring that she may track him down eventually.  (Quick side note here, something to be seen as a possible plot flaw:  Hawkeye’s bloodlust and disregard for lives after losing his whole family in the snap isn’t dug into very deeply after this.  Rhodey said it’s so bad he didn’t even wanna find him!  But there wasn’t any in fighting or push back after that between them.  He has one instance of almost interacting with his family on a test run for time travel which is against the rules, but other than that he isn’t killing people recklessly or even triggered to tears or drinking incessantly over his loss.  But more on Thor in a minute). 

If it hadn’t been for that rat running across the panel in Scott Lang’s van to activate his return from the Quantum realm who knows how long, if ever, would they figure out the means of traveling back to get the stones.  I was so glad I watched Antman and Wasp right before seeing Endgame, so I knew the van, Cassie, and a little bit about the Quantum Realm.  I’m actually upset that I didn’t realize the realm could be used for their benefit because I was always betting on the Time Stone being the corrector in all this, but anyway.  Scott returns highly confused as he realizes the state of the world since his entrapment in the realm.  Seeing his baby girl become a young lady was a powerful scene to witness, and had my heart dent a little bit, but I held it together.  Soon after that, Scott makes his way to find Cap and Natasha, explaining how 5 years was really five hours for him, so time is different in the realm which could possibly mean something for them getting the dusted back.  At one point in the movie, I’m blanking on which comes first but for now I’ll dive into this bit, we are reintroduced to Bruce Banner as Hulk…as one person.  I completely forgot that we didn’t see Bruce in trailers, which is for this reason.  Comic book followers would know, but there is a iteration of Bruce Banner becoming Professor Hulk, so he functions as his normal scientist self, while also being a big green being.  Oddly enough, it does not take long for me to grow accustomed to The Bruce Hulk hybrid, he is hilarious and sweet and more confident even then he was as a regular man despite his appearance.  He has fans, people love him and this is a far cry from when we are introduced to him in the original Avengers as Nat tracks him down somewhere in Southeast Asia, a nervous wreck loner who is quick to anger.  I could see this Hulk being fanfic fodder, not my cup of tea, but he was just that damn appealing, I could see it.

But even with Bruce’s brain, time travel isn’t exactly hammered down as an absolute possibility so they reach out to another source on the matter.  Which brings me to my love/hate relationship with Tony.  I ADORE that he finally had a baby with Pepper, Morgan “Cussin Queen” Stark.  Tony is living his best life in the natural air in his log cabin, as off grid as he possibly can be before Black Widow, Cap, and Lang pull up to question the possibilities ahead of them.  The strength of his cold shoulder gave me an insatiable chill down my spine.  Tony is the King of Petty, but rarely passive so I was surprised by that moment of mean girl attitude from him.  But luckily he served up something to drink (I’m thinking it’s iced coffee or chocolate milk.  I’m still confused by what that held.)  Tony basically tells them they are crazy and hoping for nothing, because he’s good where he is.  He has his girls and no stress which is honestly what the Avengers always seem to guarantee for him since joining the group with SHIELD under Nick Fury’s insistence years ago.  I do wish I could remember the theories and scientific laws he said would be fucked up with their plan, just to see if they are real ones but also I love when Tony just spouts his knowledge like it’s IKEA instructions.  He makes it seem so simple until you have to break it down, and up until this point Scott seemed like the smartest one on the team but really Tony could’ve been figured this out if he wasn’t so granola now, which is great and happy for him, but he really did give up very quickly.  Once again, probably good reason, self-care.  But still.

Gotta say, I love a selfish Tony though.  Quick shoutout to Robert Downey Jr. in showing his chops by bringing the emotional fortitude to this Disney movie.  The man has been THROUGH IT and has had enough.  Tony only has so much optimism in him that the cheerleading squad can provide before his is completely done and baby was DONE.

But without Tony’s help they test run moving through the quantum realm only to discover what Tony says later, that time kept moving though Scott instead of him moving through time, making him a baby, and old man, a kid again, and back to an adult.  But with a fancy time GPS Tony doctor’s up on the fly after discovering that the group isn’t crazy about the time travel being an option, they are good to go like it’s day one!  (Another side note to Paul Rudd aka Scott Lang giving us much needed comic relief.  I have never laughed so hard at my precious baby trying to eat a taco in my life. Also, Cap’s yeehaw attire in this scene?  The checkered white shirt with his dark jeans pulled up?  Truly save the horse and ride the cowboy instead man.)  

Now at this point we have to check in on Thor, our sweet pirate angel.  How has he fared?  Him, Valkyrie, and the surviving Asgardians establish their own town  on Earth.  Thor and Rocket go to find him, with a preview from Valkyrie of what Thor’s mental state is by the piles of beer kegs outside.  So, when they enter his home, giving a wave to Korg and Miek playing video games on the couch, Thor tumbles out behind Thor and Rocket reaching for another cold on, camera to his back.  By now we can see his hair is overgrown and greasy, and his midsection has a new pair of love handles we aren’t used to seeing on our svelte, brutish god of thunder.  So when he turns around, audience erupts in the theaters, as do I, to see him now looking like a melted ice cream cone with a beer belly that somehow still has some toned abs on top if you look closely, paired with some man titties to complete all billowing over his pajama pants to complete his depression ensemble.  This was more shocking to me than the Hulk/Banner hybrid reveal.  We hadn’t seen an image of Thor outside of him giving Carol Danvers the Stormbreaker scare test in the previews, so thanks for another surprise.  Despite his crumbling emotional stability at even the mention of Thanos’ name (tip of the hat to Chris Hemsworth for making my heartache with every crack in his voice), I have to get on my soapbox and say Thor’s body is beautiful!  He is a supreme King, deliciously made who can still smash any pair of cheeks to ash and dust with the power Mjolnir in each thrust quicker than any counterfeit gauntlet.  Just watch him later on, you’ll see!  I’d have that belly slapping on top of me in a quantum realm millisecond after he takes a shower and attends therapy.  A lil pudge ain’t killed no part of his power, whew.  Don’t make me shout.

Back to plot, with the promise of beer, Thor the Dude tags along to start the plan of going back to retrieve infinity stones.  After a synopsis of each one and where they were located, the crew drums up the plan to retrieve each stone from the past, bring them back to the future to put into a new gauntlet  and snap the other half of life’s creatures back.  This part of the movie is so stellar because if you have watched past Marvel movies (the first Avengers, Gaurdians of the Galaxy, Captain America First Avenger, and Thor Dark World) you will recognize the scenes that are featured with their past selves going through their past-current scenes.  Natasha and Clint go to Vormir for the Soul stone, which I am surprised Nebula did not warn them that someone would have to die to retrieve it.  What if two characters that didn’t love each other went for the Soul stone, is it over and done?  But luckily, or unluckily, Clint and Natasha are able to get the stone with a sacrifice of Natasha’s life (who honestly sacrificed herself but it counted.  And I need so much more clarity on the specs of the soul stone, it ain’t even funny.  Will we ever see what the realm Gamora and Black Widow are in is like?)  These two characters have been last on my list always so the scene was crazy watching them battle back and forth for a chance at ending their lives but the end result didn’t hit my heart but still great.  I kinda would’ve wished little Gamora was there again to talk to us.  

Then Hulk has to go see Ancient One to retrieve the time stone, which she will not relinquish until Hulk says that Strange gave it up willingly.  On his word alone, she gives it to him, sensing the imminent danger that could come that is worse than the alternate reality she faces for not having the time stone with her.  Then Rhodey and Nebula go to Morag for the Power Stone.  So this is the first sign of overall trouble in their plan because apparently having two Nebula’s mix memory frequencies that reveal the whole entire plan to Thanos.  I thought for sure at some point that Nebula’s eye was gonna have to be dug out to ensure the completion of the mission but it winds up that Nebula and Gamora take her hostage before past Nebula takes current Nebula’s place with the crew going back with their stones, none the wiser.  Not even Rhodey gives her a check in like “why did you not come back with me when I jetted back to the future?  what happened?”  Nothing!  The death of Natasha kind of takes precedent over anything else and leave Nebula to finish off bringing Thanos back with her to wreak havoc.  

Lastly, Cap, Tony, and Scott are in New York circa Avengers number 1, fighting the space aliens and keeping Loki from the tesseract.  And I am not exaggerating when I say this part of movie is possibly the greatest cinematic feature I have ever seen, or will ever see my natural life.  You have Tony, creeping in the shadows to get Antman ready to help retrieve the tesseract, all the while admiring Cap’s ass!  He does it, critiquing that his outfit does nothing for his ass, when we all know nothing holds back them cheeks from making an appearance.  Scott, ever the voice of standom, downplays Tony’s critique and coins his rear end as “America’s Ass”.  I EXPLODED.  Ever since Captain America: the First Avenger, I have pined, no, thirsted, nay, LUSTED for that man in Marvel cinema.  He has the BAWDY to be Cap, and never slacks.  I have also always been a big fan of Tony and Cap having a torrid love affair that Marvel refused to implement but teases anytime they stare deeply into each other’s eyes or argue feistily until they are nose to nose, just get a room you two!  Ten points to Gryffindor for feeding the fans what they want!

So, New York is the only place that doesn’t go smoothly, as Cap retrieves the scepter containing the Mind Stone after a quick “Hail Hydra” to throw off the double agent SHIELD opponents from Winter Soldier.  All this time, Tony and Scott lose the tesseract in a freak incident that causes the case to fall into Loki’s vicinity, who picks up the cube and disappears to God knows where.  And it is never figured out where past Loki goes, or what timeline he creates for himself now that he has the tesseract at his disposal with no one to oppose him.  That is another thing I would love to know, all these alternate realities that have been constructed due to them tinkering with time, what happens?  What damage is done to the Ancient One without time?  What does Loki do with space?  How is Jane and Asgard without the reality stone ravaging her?  (Rocket got it btw as Thor got caught up talking to his mother, which was a very sweet scene and really amplified her character for me to love her more than I already had).  But at least Cap got the scepter until he is met with his past Cap, leading to my most favorite fight scene in the MCU.  Something about those two classic suits running at each other with the cacophony of the shields, and current Cap saying some choice expletives now and getting tired of the bullshit while past Cap still has all that giddy up and pure heart and “I can do this all day” attitude is an exceptional treat to be had.  I love Cap’s development, as much as he has stayed the same, he has changed, grown more into his age even, getting weary with the world but never losing his positive outlook, just shifting his focus gradually.  But to correct the tesseract blunder, Tony and Cap go back to 1970 to get the original tesseract from SHIELD in its infancy.  Both Tony and Cap have a soft moment.  Tony see’s his father who talks to him about his expecting wife (aka baby Tony) and Cap sees Peggy again in her youthful glory, panging our heartstrings.  But in the end, the supplies are collected and they move on.

So after they get the stones, they construct the gauntlet out of Tony’s suit Iron man material and it is decided that Hulk must do the snap since gamma radiation is part of the stones and so is he. It is not a simple easy thing as he writhes in pain and burns under the pressure of power but does the snap anyway and successfully brings back half the world.  This win is shortlived once Thanos bombards the compound and sends Nebula off to retrieve the stones.  This is the start of the longest game of flag football/hot potato/rugby adjacent.  Hawkeye has the gauntlet at first as everyone tries to pull themselves from the rubble (side note:  seeing Rocket so distressed shook me.  He is usually so cool and wily, getting out of so much bullshit that his helplessness when he couldn’t breathe almost sent me over).

So since they retrieved the stones, it’s not like they change their past, just create alternate realities.  Once they return them, things go back to normal again.  So Hulk uses the gauntlet to bring back the rest of the population again, we just don’t see them yet until later.  Past Nebula gets killed by current Nebula after Gamora helps current Nebula out to stop Thanos because as we know from Infinity War, Gamora never wanted Thanos to find them all.  Thor, Cap, and Tony all team up to spar with Thanos who was waiting patiently for the gauntlet to be brought to him.  Much to my dismay, the fight is very even, no side truly overpowers the other.  Thor really wants to put in work, but can’t quite get through until Cap does what I have been waiting for since Ultron: HE PICKS UP MJOLNIR!  (which Thor took back from Asgard in his time travel).  Wheew, I coulda passed out when I saw Cap wielding that thing like it’s his the star spangled banner itself, sending lightning down on Thanos, busting him upside his head and all!  I was spent and feeling aftershocks until Thanos gets the upperhand again and bombards his shield with that weak ass helicopter blade sword thing.  It breaks the shield up!  Which is made of vibranium!  THE STRONGEST METAL IN THE UNIVERSE!  This how I know Russo’s were just grasping at straws; the only thing I can say is since Tony made him that one after the snap, he probably used bootleg vibranium because obviously nobody called Wakanda for input on a damn thing to make this mission happen which is a rant I can say on a completely separate post.  Sure, take T’Challa and Shuri in the snap, it’s not like the whole country isn’t composed of melanated geniuses that could give y’all a lesson on quantum physics that would make your central nervous system dry out.  No, don’t call Wakanda to make vibranium anything for y’all to help in the fight, it’s cool cuz y’all didn’t try and clean up anything after shit hit the fan!  I wanted a 10 minute Wakanda clean up scene: I got DUST.  The underutilization of such a great people while at the same time using them frivilously is a *blink blink* mindfuck.  But I digress again!

Once Cap seems to be against the wall, he tightens his shield band around his arm and says slap me bitch.  But before it continues,  Sam gives him a quick “on your left” signaling the return of everyone, with first none other than our Wakandan royalty: T’Challa, Okoye, and Shuri.  Dr. Strange’s portals open up as populations come to join the fight from Gaurdians and Asgard, Wakanda and other Marvel movies.  The fight scene that begins I can’t wait to own at home becuase I know I have to pause and slow motion to capture everything.  Someone said Howard the Duck is in the fight which I HAVE to see. Can you imagine getting your ass impaled by a cartoon space duck? 

The game of keep the gauntlet from Thanos continues as Spiderman, T’Challa, and others all have a go at running the guantlet away from Thanos.  This is a part that I kind of have to think to remember.  I know that Antman and Wasp had to spark up the quantum realm van and I think the plan was to send the gauntlet into it, but I’m not sure.  Eventually Tony is alerted by Strange that the one in 14 million chance at winning is upon them and Tony goes ham to get the gauntlet from Thanos, who nearly succeeds but Tony yeets them off the glove and onto his suit, proclaiming himself as Iron Man one last time before snapping the bad half of the population into obliteration.  All the bad aliens and Thanos dust away, leaving the original population the watch them float away.  However Tony’s sacrifice is his life as he dies after goodbyes from Peter, Pepper and Rhodey.  

The funeral occurs with everyone there, even the kid from Iron Man 3.  This is a really emotional scene, especially seeing Tony left a last message in case of his demise, ending it with telling Morgan “I Said What I Said” Stark that he loves her 3000.  Once again, I almost got choked up there, but it just wouldn’t happen. One thing that took me out were Wakanda’s outfits at the funeral.  All black everything, but the fit and the make of Okoye and Shuri’s dresses?  With the gold accessories????  I can’t mourn when all that beauty is in my face!

And in the end, Cap goes back in time to send the stones back to where they belong but stays in the past to reunite with Peggy, finally bust her open and returns as an old man to give his shield to Falcon and that is it!

I almost got choked up just now thinking about that last scene but I still didn’t cry.  A tear came down when the end credits showed the actors pictures and their signatures of the original Avengers though.  There will never be a better Cap or Iron Man bruh, taking that to my grave.

 I’ve been in this MCU life for just about the whole length of it; watching these amazing superhero action flicks for the fun of it before recognizing the structure of each film forming towards an ending so grand. “You see where you’re going? Now let’s focus on how you get there.” This is a statement that is about to be my mantra for life! This is a huge project for a studio to put together properly, having all of our superheroes in one place, sewn together with the journey of the infinity stones to take out the big purple meanie Thanos who is hellbent on controlling the universe the easy way (50% of all living creatures annihilated) or the hard way (100% gone, starting from scratch).

But Marvel has given me so much great entertainment to look forward to.  Ever since I graduated high school, it’s been the May or November of each year, what’s Marvel putting out next? And it’s gonna be tough not expecting an Avengers film anymore, but I’ll be here for the new build up of superheroes, supporting Black Panther still of course as well.  I will miss the Cap thirst, wardrobe really did their part in this one with the Black sweater, the grey Henley, the yeehaw outfit previously mentioned and EVERY CAP UNIFORM HE HAS WORN!  I love this fucking fandom.  

And now I just wonder where past Gamora went, because she came to the present and “present” Gamora died at Vormir so we have a Gamora alive now but she went MIA, or did she get snapped back when Tony snapped all the henchmen back?  Thor at the end joins the GOTG  or Asgardians of the Galaxy, so I can’t wait to see how they fair in I assume GOTG 3.  How will Falcon do as the new Cap?  What does Bucky do now??  He was the original ride or die for Cap until he became Winter Soldier, but Cap was very forgiving of him in all that.  Yet, his closure seems open for anything, he got no special stuff in the end so maybe more for him?  How is Spiderman and the whole teenage snap population going back to school when it is five years in the future but they are the same age?  Where did Valkyrie keep her Pegasus this entire time?  When Cap went back to Vormir, what was his reunion with Red Skull like?  And what did Thanos do with the stones before they were destroyed?  They said he used them again and that’s how they found him at the beginning but on what? Answer these questions for me please!  

If you made it this far, I love ya 3000 and I owe you cheeseburgers (oh God TONY!!!)

[otterskin8]

Thoughts on Endgame

Hey everyone else had an opinion, I thought I’d try having one too! 

Spoilers Follow

Honestly, sometimes it feels a little like everything is on fire whenever I stroll into the fandom and I’ve just got a dopey grin on my face as everyone runs around screaming. 

 I came out of the theatre having had a good time and pleased that certain things were tied off nicely for certain characters. I like the Russos fine but have wanted them to show more personal flair in their work. In this film, in particular, the second act, I thought they really did - there was a lovely, meandering quality to the film that allowed for a lot of humour and fun character beats. It was unexpected and felt like - well, Community (also nice to see those cameos, I loved that show). I really hope to see more of that quirky sense of pathos and fun in their future work. 

This ended up being more a celebration of what the MCU’s accomplished so far than necessarily a finale for all of that. It was, as I expected, mostly a goodbye to Cap and Tony. I like both characters (though I still have my frustrations with them as well), and I pretty much predicted this ending when I placed my bets in 2017 (Cap finally decides he doesn’t have to be a soldier forever and retires, as he deserves, and gets to be a man again, while Tony finally does get the family he wanted but loses it so he can be the new Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben in that franchise. We’ll see if my prediction of a JARVIS-Tony computer program comes true. Maybe Riri Williams breaks into his lab and he appears over her shoulder like Clippy. ‘I see you are trying to steal all my old schematics. Would you like some help with that?’ You heard it here first, folks.) Best of all, Nebz was even more front and centred than I hope possible. She carried the heart of the film and delivered. I loved her confusion, half-regret and grief at Thanos’ first death (such a great shot, her with his head in her arms) to her final victory over herself. I particularly appreciated the opening on her and Tony, where she gets a taste of what it’s like to actually have a caring dad. It makes Tony’s final killing of Thanos feel more right in the story - the flawed father figure who rose up and put children first above his own ambitions kills the one who always put his ambitions first. That cute triangle game Nebula and Tony played explained so much about both of them. So, so good.

I loved Professor Hulk. I wish we’d seen him come to be - he was robbed of that culmination - but I’ve never wanted to hug the guy more. I think he was a fascinating sign of the guilt Banner had. I really loved how the time jump allowed these massive changes in the characters, that they took some big risks to their recognizability. I found that very rewarding. 

The same goes for Thor. My gosh, I loved what they did. I’d bet money that Hemsworth pitched it too, this seems like an idea he’d have. Thor is, of course, my favourite Avenger. It is often painful to watch him sidelined in the Avengers films since the series’ original, more grounded flavour made him an odd player out, preferring to showcase Steve and Tony. He was the unloved member of the trilogy. The same could be said about this film, but honestly Thor is given everything I ever wanted him to deal with in this film. His trauma finally caught up with him and he can’t hide it anymore, and it’s wonderfully heartfelt and funny and sweet and subverts all those ‘paragon of manliness’ tenants Thor has represented throughout history. His strength in this film comes not from being told to ‘buck up’ by Rocket (I loved that his attempt to pep talk and slap Thor into readiness was a total failure), nor from his body, nor, even, from his own mind. Thor gets to run crying to his mum and that’s treated as the healthy and correct thing to do. A necessary thing, even. Frigga delivers the best line in the film (sorry Love You 3000, you get a solid second). 

“Everyone fails at who they’re supposed to be.” I think that hits everyone. It certainly did me. The expectations put on us all, by ourselves, our parents, the needs of our age - they are as crushing as a hammer on your chest. 

Thor is the MVP of this film aside from Nebula. He gets to show the most range, the lowest of the lows and funniest of highs, in the very same scene and often at the very same time. It’s tragicomedy at its finest, which is what I come to the MCU Thor for. The incredible vulnerability combined with excellent comedic timing made this a performance that stands out in the arc. I was also surprised to see this huge, large, film of the century took time to go back to a sadly maligned chapter in its saga - Thor: The Dark World (my problems with it are manifold but I am tired of hearing it called the ‘worst’. That is not true. I know you all forgot about it, but the Incredible Hulk is still technically in the MCU, and there are plenty of other weak chapters that don’t manage to push their characters’ stories forward at all.) Not only that, but it patched one of my main criticisms of that film - that Thor had no time with his mother and their relationship didn’t feel explored enough. And that Thor needed to cry more. I come for man tears, that was what Branagh promised me and frankly I was getting dehydrated of late. So thank you End Game, I am quenched for now. 

I’m sure this will come up in the big long thing I’m doing about the overall themes of the MCU (Dads and Legacy mostly), but this film managed to address some questions the MCU has posed in entry after entry. Thor’s journey has been shaped by his father, and his search for his father’s approval. Sometimes he was found lacking, and other times he realized he needed to abandon that approval to do the right thing, but always he was trapped in the legacy of that father - the mistakes that father had made, and what his father wanted him to become. This film suggests a wonderful alternative to Thor - that he is also his mother’s son, and her desire is for him to be himself first. Once he hears that, he’s able to call Mjölnir - a sign that he also has his father’s approval, after all. No, I do not mind that the hammer came back from the dead for a little fun - it had meaning and significance in its scenes. (Although I still don’t get what’s the big deal of Steve lifting it - it’s a bit a jerk of a hammer, have you seen the list of who else could pick that thing up? Hela, Odin, Thor. All morally gray people. ‘Worthy’ seems to be a matter of conviction, confidence, and desire to act. Not inherent goodness. Eh.) I love that Frigga, long shuffled to the back of the Thor franchise, is given such a key and beautiful moment in this monster film. I love that she gets to be mischevious, fun, hint a little more at her backstory (witches, eh?) and play psychiatrist to a son who really needs her. I always wanted more of these two, and was CONVINCED I’d never get it. I think I’ve died and gone to Valhalla. 

Are there a few lines I wish were cut? Yes, there are some unkind words I wish had been altered - they are unnecessarily cruel and reflect badly on the characters who say them (in particular WM - dude. C’mon.) Rocket’s fine, though - that’s who he is (and that behaviour is changing) and he is not rewarded for his crass treatment. It fails.  Further lessons for character development - trauma isn’t fixed with violence. Pay attention, Rabbit. There are also plenty of plot holes and weird questions. Why can the tesseract suddenly be used without a device? Doesn’t that mean Loki could’ve teleported everyone to safety in IW? Speaking of, why did Thor not try harder to communicate with Loki or steal him from another timeline? I feel like an explanation was called for. It also kinda sucks that IW ended with Thor avenging Heimdall (awesome dude, I love him a lot, but...really? That’s the death they directly reference in Thor’s big moment? I thought they’d use Heimdall there and have Loki be more at the forefront of Thor’s mind in this one, but he seems more banished from his thoughts than Thanos’ name). But eh, at the end of the day, this isn’t meant to be the ending for either Thor or his brother. That’s the best part. I get to ride this train for years to come, and hopefully many more good things are coming. (Although I’m getting bad juju from every announcement I hear about the Loki series so far, so here’s hoping I don’t look back at laugh bitterly at my past self’s optimism.) 

I do hope that when Thor’s story does eventually come to an end that it’s in his own franchise. I feel like ending Cap and Tony’s story here is big and fun and all, but the Thor films began very intimately (somehow THOR might be the smallest film Branagh ever directed) and I hope to see them end that way. And I hope that even with the Loki series doing its own thing and Thor off with the Guardians that the two will be allowed to come back together again for something meaty before the end.

This film did right by my faves, and while it’s unwieldy, lopsided and imperfect it manages to set up the fictional people I care about for interesting things. Here’s to another decade of watching these actors barely age.

P.S. I am genuinely concerned that Eternals is going to hook me. Hmm. I can only hope they don’t do the Arthurian Legends or Egyptian Mythology as well. I’ll be sunk.