#like I do wish the show had engaged a bit more directly with the racial aspect of the abuse

[aubstacle-of-course]

OHUOUGHSJSJSK okay no I finally hit the anti-rgu post and I am going to chew everything to little pieces

[heresathreebee]

Strawberry Soda

Marvel's Ava Starr x Reader

Summary: the 'reformed' SHIELD assassin that's been visiting your favorite self help minimart is really cute. 

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Warning(s): +13 | no-snap AU, post-Ant Man and the Wasp. Flirt (?), gender neutral reader, Ava did nothing wrong and is therefore in no need of reformation/redemption.

Author's note: I tend to write with black, poc and afab characteristics in mind, but if the gender-neutral and racially-ambiguous boots fit, feel free to wear 'em! Absolutely no editing went into the making of this fic so please enjoy responsibly

She's been coming here for a month and you can't stop looking. Always with her hood up or a hat obscuring her face, but she could never truly hide eyes like that. All your life, you've never given weight to the world's obsession with light eyes. Maybe it was in small part jealousy as a result of your upbringing, but it was also that there was more to a person than their eyes. This woman just might have changed your mind. 

Not the color of them necessarily (it was a jumble of not quite green and not quite grey, you think it changed with their surroundings). No, it was the sharpness, the intensity, like ice and fire in them. They had never landed on you, but everywhere they landed and every time they landed somewhat close to you, you felt panic sweep up your body from your toes to your stomach. And every time she turned away, you realized you were holding your breath and you hear that Art Garfunkel song playing in your head. 

Yeah, you might have a slight crush on her. 

Every time Bright Eyes comes in she does the same thing. She plucks a bag of sour gummy worms from the rack and pockets them. She goes to the back wall and assesses the many drink types and flavors in the fridges. Picks something, pays for it, then leaves. 

You are by no means shy, and she's not the only person you've observed in this store. And yet you're still working up the nerve to say something to her (code for debating if you should even say something at all), and you've spent too much time observing and debating that you feel like a bit of a creep at this point. 

Today (or tonight? It was still pretty early) she's actually in your way. Most people seem to steer clear of one another in here, never ever engaging another person unless absolutely necessary, and here you are, awkwardly watching her select her drink of the day. And she's in no rush either; you can see her bright eyes scanning lazily the rows of monster, budlight, snapple, and redbull. She's never seemed quite taken by sugary sodas, however– 

"Here," you hear yourself say as you reach around her. You've been up all night and need a boost to keep you going just a little bit longer before you crash for the day. You pluck the strongest red bull you could see and an additional glass of pink liquid. 

"This is strawberry soda," you advised, "it's not American so it's got less carbonation and sugar content in it," 

You rasp and press the cool glass of Ramune into her hand and your sleep addled brain cannot help but remark on how soft her skin is. 

"Thank you." For a second you fear that you said that last part out loud, and you are momentarily distracted by her accent, and then when you part your lips to apologize, the drag of your skin alerts you that she was probably thank you for the drink. 

You try to hum in acknowledgement but it comes out more like an embarrassing grunt (she is smiling at you at least). That's when you realize her eyes are on you. Bright Eyes is looking directly at you… and yet you feel none of the apprehension you felt from before. 

"My pleasure." You walk with her to the self-help counter where she enters in the Ramune, the gummy worms, and the red bull. She locks eyes in a gentle glare as if to say 'don't you dare argue' so of course it sends a thrilling shiver through your body and you let her buy your drink for you. 

There's this momentum going, it's your first conversation with her and you're not ready for it to end. Unconsciously, you crack open your red bull and chug it. Maybe the bitter tangy beverage will help you to think of something to say. 

You're in luck when instead of starting to leave, Ava looked over the unusual instructions for opening ramune bottles. You watched her read, then examine the top, then read again and look to you with mild confusion. 

"I know," you say sympathetically. "I can show you if you like?" 

She hands you the drink and watches you with calculating coolness. You pop the center cap out, flip it and just for dramatic effect, slam a fist to pop the glass marble into the top chamber. "Violá," you sing. 

Ava takes the glass and a small sip. You watch the marble roll at the opening, too large to escape and more of a hindrance to your notorious chugging method of consumption. You're rambling about it before you realize. 

"I think it's supposed to keep it mixed, or possibly force you to drink it slower. You know, savor it a little bit. Not my style, but I do think the marble is fancy. I just wish it was easier to take out, I'd have a hundred." 

Bright Eyes chuckled, nearly spitting out the pink drink and having to cover her mouth with her hand. "That so? Hmm." 

She seemed exactly as reluctant to end this interaction as you were. You stepped out the door onto the sidewalk together (you hold the door open, of course). Neither of you quite knows how to move on and you're a little relieved to see your feelings reflected in her eyes. 

You offer your name. "I come here all the time, nobody's ever offered to buy me a drink, so, thank you." 

"I'm… Ava," she stutters. "I'll, uh, see you around then?" 

"I sure hope so." You look up the street and find the city street beginning to come alive as people commute from home to work, and when you turn back, Ava presses something cold into your hand as she says goodbye. You don't look at it until she disappears into a sea of dog walkers. Your brow furrowed in confusion as you rolled the glass marble in between your fingers. "How did she…?" 

Someday you'll have a glass jar full of them. 

Next

[metalgearkong]

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier - TV Review

5/1/21 ***spoilers***

Created by Malcomb Spellman, directed by Kari Skogland

Out of all the announced Disney+ MCU shows, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier seemed to be the most out of left field. Two sidekicks from the later 2 Captain America movies pair up and get their own show? What made their bormance so special? I mean, I like them well enough, but what is it that warrants a show? With all of it now said and done, this show is not what I expected, in a good way, but I can't say it lived up to its own potential. It brings up a lot of controversial subjects--stuff I really found interesting and progressive, but it doesn't fully commit. That being said, I'm glad it exists, and it takes many steps in the right direction.

6 months after Avengers Endgame, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) are returning to every day life, and the problems that come along with it. Bucky in particular is attending strict therapy to repair mental damage from decades of being Hydra's Winter Soldier. Sam is working with his sister and her boating shrimp business. As it turns out, the Avengers didn't technically receive a salary. Strange beings who they worked with, and i assumed Tony Stark or government funding supported the Avengers. Who built their base, made their suits, equipment, and how have the Avengers gotten by so far? The idea is brought up, but the show never comes around and fully explores this interesting point.

The Falcon the the Winter Soldier is only 6 episodes long, compared to WandaVision at 8. I feel like this show needed to be as longer for the numerous ideas it brings up and doesn't have time to flesh out. The main conflict of this series is the fight against the Flag Smashers. A revolutionary group, they want to return the world to what it was during the "blip." They want a worldwide policy of nations without borders. This is a really cool concept and something I could get behind, but yet again it's an interesting idea that is never sufficiently fleshed out. What (according to the Flash Smashers) was so great about the state of the world during the blip? What did nations do around the world that makes the Flag Smashers want to return to the way of life? Did people receive more finances and property? Did socialism thrive? None of this is ever expanded upon.

I also didn't care much for Karli Morgenthau, the leader of the Flag Smashers. Apparently their whole side story had to be changed last minute due to the covid-19 pandemic, and their inconsistent dialog and motivation shows this fact. I never bought actress Erin Kellyman as a revolutionary which thousands of people would follow and kill for, nor did I buy her as a juiced-up super soldier. The best character to come out of this show is John Walker as the government approved new Captain America. Wyatt Russell plays the character extremely well, and it's engaging to see a villain which so easily could have been one-dimensional develop into a more rounded person. He did however get a stupid small redemption in the final episode, but this "good guy" moment is wedged between him brutally killing an unarmed person in public, and joining what looks to be a "Dark Avengers" squad. For a show with progressive ideas, John Walker killing a civilian in a fit of rage should have been a point of no return.

My favorite aspect of The Falcon & the Winter Solider are the racial aspects it brings up. Finally we have a big mainstream company and mainstream show directly making light of the unfair bias and poorer treatment of minorities, especially black men. To see it happen even to an Avenger (Sam) was really cool, and fourth-wall breaking. Sam also discovers a man named Izayah who was a test subject, along with other black men, for the original super soldier serum in WWII. Izayah's mistreatment and his disenfranchised view of the United States is some of the best stuff in the entire show. Everything is all about living up to the legacy of Steve Rogers, but Izayah thinks no black man should even want to bear the stars and stripes. I hope this trend continues as it hangs a lampshade on something broad entertainment should address.

The action and cinematography also evoke my favorite corner of the MCU: everything directed by the Russo Brothers. The fight choreography is visceral without having to be flashy or larger than life (until the end). It was also great to see Sam Wilson reject the shield at the beginning of the show, thinking he would never live up to the mantle. His humility and growth throughout the show is also some of the best stuff to see. He truly is a man of the people, and the next best person besides Steve Rogers who truly can be and deserves to be the new Captain America. Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) also reemerges from Captain America: Civil War, but his character is totally retconned into being a Baron (comics accurate) with huge amounts of wealth and resources. I didn't like his character as much as I did in Civil War, as an everyday soldier tearing the Avengers apart is more compelling than a rich and powerful supervillain doing the same thing. He also had a dumb moment where he wore his purple ski mask for literally one action scene (less than a minute or two) and took it off never to be seen again.

Sharon Carter also makes an appearance, but I don't think the character, nor her twist being the Power Broker meant anything to me. It could be this show going a bit too far with its story threads. Carter has never been a charismatic character to me, and I'm wondering how they'll keep her interesting in the MCU going forward. She is the icing on the cake for too numerous and too weak of villains in this series. I also didn't think it was consistent of honorable of her character to go down a bad path especially knowing the lineage of Peggy Carter. I'm curious where this aspect of the story will go, but I'm not holding my breath. I wish this show cut out some of its threads in order to focus on some of its very good core ideas, especially only at 6 episodes.

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier has a lot of interesting ideas and brings up a lot of important ideas. I didn't expect this show to be critical of racial treatment, police brutality, and government overreach. To eventually see Sam evolve into the new Captain America and believing it down to the atom is the best thing to witness about this story. Bucky gets the short end of the stick, and while he does go through healing, I wish he had more great action or dialog scenes. The Falcon & the Winter soldier sets up future stuff, as the MCU does best. Sharon Carter might be some kind of bad guy going forward, the Dark Avengers seem to be forming, and Sam Wilson as Captain America may go on to lead a new generation of Avengers. The show is far from perfect, and sadly doesn't commit to some of its best ideas. I would watch another season, but hope it would have a slightly sharper script.

7/10