#since i’ve watched them up until endgame

[yantao-enthusiast]

chat, i want free premium on soundmap so not to sound like a scam or anything but if you don’t have soundmap, send me your phone number through dms (obviously i won’t share it and you don’t share mine and we’re all good in the neighborhood) and sign up for soundmap through my link and get your first song and i will write you a 200 word blurb of anything you want! original fiction or fanfiction character x character or x reader, whatever, you got it baby. also first 8 takers obviously that’s that me espresso

[mell0bee]

critter followers i will have u KNOW. last thursday i was all caught up and i could have watched live but i decided not to for whatever reason and this week has been crazy busy for me (11hr shift today due to science taking forever) so i’m not caught up now (sad).

& just now im ready to close tumblr and go to sleep (due to the aforementioned 11hr shift) but i see some mutuals vaugeblogging about a Big Thing happening tonight and i am in fact nosy and like to look at the tag sometimes so i check the tag to see what’s going on. i was thinking “ehhh it’s probably nothing out of left field, maybe dorian is finally coming back or something. it’s not like imodna is gonna go canon or anything, but i need to check on the 0.01% chance that it does.”

& then

what

girl what

you’re telling me what??

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - The Heat is Rising

Sorry this late, blah blah real life actual job blah blah.

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

June 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Wandee Goodday (Sat YT) ep 8 of 12 - Why is it so good?! It’s unfair. Cause I know pain must be incoming. Also... Yak moved to the "rao" pronoun for his confession! SO ADORABLE!!!!! Can you see me kicking my feet and squealing with joy on this side of the screen? Well I am. 

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 2 of 12 - I think I'm finding this show a lot funnier than the show is trying to be. The pose in the doorway. The sparkle pants. The creaking of the leather. It’s all hilarious. The foot massage. So silly. Simultaniously, full of thirst. Yay! I like thirst. Not entirely sure why he’s dicking him around and not dicking him out but hey the tension is fun. Also the shot staging is very good. Very yaoi. Lin going to have so much power in this relationship once he starts trying on seduction for size. All just to say, it’s good and I’m enjoying it.

My Stand-In (Fri iQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - you know I'm enjoying it a lot, so a surprise to see a Star Hunter beat it out? It's just MosBank are SERVING classic BL and I am a sucker for that kinda smut. Back to Stand-In...

It’s sad and a little complicated and interesting. And I’m still enjoying it very much. But this episode was mostly a rehash of information we already had been given, it was slow. Although since the acting is so good in this particular show, I didn’t mind it as much as I might have in a pulp piece, for example. 

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 3 of 12 - I’m very much enjoying this. Not quite as much as I initially enjoyed the JBL version. But I’m liking a lot. There’s something particularly high school teen YA angst about this IP. Even more so than something like Make it Right or Love Sick. It’s just the cringe reactions and the constant embarrassments and the roller coaster of emotions that each character goes through in every scene. I forgot how exhausting it is to be a teen.

We Are Cute (Weds iQIYI) ep 12 of 16 - We Are Cute continues to be very cute indeed. Honestly Phum doesn’t need to flirt with Peem, Peem is already in love. The learning about each other is fun, but the fact that Phum still constantly communicates via kissing is great. I love that we have a couple whose love language is smooches. TanFang endgame is my favorite, I fucking LOVE them. But... NO SINGING. Worst fake band ever? Place docked in BL standing this week for that alone.

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 10 - It's fine I guess? Trash watch here.

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) ep 5 of 12 - It’s ridiculous and they're very cute and I kind of don’t know what’s going on. But the young one getting his first dildo and skipping with excitement was utterly adorable. And it is the first rep we’ve got for such a thing in this genre. So good on you little pulp!

Only Boo! (Sun YT) ep 11 of 12 - Everything felt a little rushed and oddly paced in this episode. Not entirely sure why K came back to him. Anyway, I hope it’s all explained in the finale.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

At 25:00 in Akasaka AKA 25 Ji Akasaka de (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 10fin - I’ve made no secret about the fact that I haven’t been wild about this show.

Here’s a few things I enjoyed about the final episode: Uke initiated the sex scene!! Lots of tenderness. Long takes plus the absence of (and then very gentle introduction of) music. Unexpectedly high heat. Condom rep! The gayest bedroom layout ever. What I didn’t like: The absolute pinnacle of frustration for P'ABL on the other side of the screen wanting to grab the leads and shake them until their teeth rattled and scream "FOR THE LOVE, just TALK to each other!"  Oh but they are so cute and SO POLITE when the finally do reconcile! 

In conclusion:

A BL about the making of a BL where the famous one has a crush on the obscure one. It’s already been done.  Recently. By Japan. I would be tempted to say "better" but I didn’t like the first version either. At least this was less stalkery? Look, this show was fine. Just, in a word: cool, unengaging, and frustrating. OK that was 3 words. But they’re apt. A lackluster offering with a great ending. How to rate that? I despaired but ended up on 7/10 - do better Japan, I know you can.

Blue Boys (Korea YouTube) - it got its part 2, thank the BL gods, rounding this one into an 8 ep series. Still short (those eps barely scrape 10 min at most) but a solid little offering.

Charming reunion romance full of class + coming out struggles and great chemistry all of which was let down by a curtailed length. Had it just been given some legs, it could have grown wings and taken flight, but in the end it is simply too short. Still enjoyable and certainly worth your time. Cause ya don't need much of it. 8/10 RECOMMENDED

It's airing but...

The Last Time (Thai Fri YT?) - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something. Can't find it.

OMG Vampire (Thai Sun ???) 10 eps - I've put the search on hold for a bit and y'all can let me know if it's worth tracking down.

In case you missed it

I mean you were under a rock on Tues Jan 18th Thailand's senate passed the Marriage Equality Bill. As of typing this, the King still has to sign it into law, but he's unlikely to veto. So it's a matter of time before everything is official. Thailand follows Nepal (2024) and Taiwan (2019). Both of those were judicial, Thailand's is legislative.

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru 2 AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai 2 Haime! (Japan movie) - Continued the (frankly) lackadaisical story from part 1 and was meant to drop yesterday. We thought maybe Gaga, but nothing so far.

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. Devastated this hasn't had international distribution.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Last of the June Releases

6/26 The Rebound (Thai Weds Gaga) - MeenPing are back in their 3rd BL together, a basketball based romance (Meen was a national basketball player, so yay for that). I like this pair better than most (I still do miss Meen with Est but Est has a fantastic looking new BL coming from GMMTV so yeah...) Anyway I'm up for a sports romance starring a man who, yah know, actually played that sport so... I'm game (pun intended).

6/26 I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) 10 eps - A new series adaptation of beloved yaoi I Hear the Sunspot (first adaptation was feature film Silhouette of Your Voice 2017).

6/30 The Trainee (Thailand Sun YouTube) 12 eps- office romance between a boss/employee featuring OffGun. Taking over Boo's spot for GMMTV.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Lip touch! So sexy. So rare from Korea. Blue Boys.

I do love a meta call out moment.

Tiny idiots (affectionate)

Love their kisses. Such a great side couple.

All Wandee.

(Last week)

QUICK NOTE: I'm flying international back next weekend and the damn thing is gonna take like 72 hours or whatever insanity. Needless to say, I may not get to this round-up for ages. So don't panic, I'm not dead just sleeping.

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember.

[owlgirl495]

ok, so i know i rarely actually post my own words on here but with the last 911 episode i’ve been wanting to say something.

i’ve been reading a lot of what people have written (and i’ve added my own thoughts in the tags of many posts) but now that i’ve had time to process a little, see what others are saying, and talk to my irl friends about it a little, there’s one thing that i’ve only seen mentioned like once and i wanna talk about some more. more people have probably mentioned this and i just probably haven’t seen it and these thoughts are subject to change and all that but here we go:

it makes me really upset how little of buck and tommy’s relationship we actually got to see. and i know that they can’t focus on a side plot like that for a super long time and that it’s not the bucktommy show but i was actually okay with only getting scraps until the breakup and here’s kind of why.

they’ve been dating for six months. SIX MONTHS. and they seem to know NOTHING about each other. and i truly didn’t get this vibe until the last episode (8x06) and i think that’s why it feels so off for me.

at the end of season 7 they looked like they were really trying to get to know each other both on and off screen, they were talking about important things with each other, and actually trying to have real conversations. and then in season 8 there’s just none of that.

i didn’t think anything of it at first because i figured they just had those conversations off-screen in the FOUR MONTHS we didn’t see. but with 8x06 it truly feels like they didn’t have a single real conversation that we hadn’t seen.

8x06 shows us that they don’t know about each others’ exs at all, buck doesn’t know how tommy views his sexuality, tommy doesn’t know that buck hates basketball, so what exactly have they been talking about outside of the silly goofyness of 911 subplots for six months??

tbh i understand having them break up (i really wanted them to be endgame but i understand if that was never actually the plan) but the way they broke up felt so wrong.

i would’ve even understood if the real reason they had broken up was because after six months they realized that they don’t actually know anything about each other but even so, until 8x06, that was never indicated. they had a couple serious conversations with each other in season 7 and since there were no hints either way, i had assumed those had continued off-screen.

to have a well-liked couple with a decent amount of screen time break up without showing us pretty much any of the actual downfall of the relationship, giving what felt like a shoehorned in reason for the breakup, and only giving us last minute hints at the possible actual reason for the relationship ending feels shitty, if i’m being real.

i know it’s just a fictional show and it’s not that serious but this really hurt. i hate how much i let this get to me but i really let this show get my hopes up. it was my main form of escapism and something that consistently made me happy outside of things in my everyday life that have been stressing me out. i thought i could sink a little further into it after the results of the election but now it’s no longer the same form of comfort for me.

i’ll probably still continue watching the show and i absolutely adore all the people i’ve gotten to interact with (even in my really small way of interacting) through this fandom but 911 does feel a little tainted for me at the moment.

i’m probably missing some stuff here and a lot of this is just rambling but that’s it for now, i hope you are all doing okay and hanging on to whatever you can to make this a little easier <3

[alpydk]

I know you've been back and forth about Gale smut, but can I maybe request angsty smut?

Gale 100% sure he's gonna use the orb at the endgame, but fooling Tav into thinking he had been convinced. The night before the last battle, Tav thinking it might be their last night but Gale *knowing* it is.

Hello anon. Thank you for this prompt. I'll admit, it's been a challenge and I'll admit this is more like 90% angst and 10% maybe smut... You'll see what I mean.

Lose you

Word Count - 1221 words - C/W Angst, death, last night.

‘Cause I’m gonna lose ya Yes, I’m gonna lose ya If I’m gonna lose ya I’ll lose you now for good

Gale loved Tav more than he ever thought was possible. He loved how she looked at the world, eyes bright and optimistic, how she saw the good in everyone she met. Everyone could be redeemed of the mistakes they had made at some point in their lives, whether it be Kethric cursed for giving everything for another, Astarion’s tactful advances learnt from a life of pain, whether it was Gale himself and the greatest of all folles.

But what are forgiveness and redemption with no sacrifice? Kethric had ended up dead, Astarion still a spawn living off woodland animals. Gale had sacrificed nothing, at least nothing he could see. A year in solitude was but the consequence of my actions, not a sacrifice. The crown was a distant pipedream that even if he reforged, he could not wield. Unworthy of wielding. No, fate had dictated long ago what his sacrifice would be, and even with Tav’s compelling words and Elminster’s belief that destiny could be manipulated, Gale did not see it for himself. He knew what he had to do. He’d known since that very first day with the book.

“You think too much.”

Tav was right. In recent weeks he had been thinking too much: of life, death, of Gods and planes, and the pain. Will I be given a place at Mystra’s side, or will I walk the Fugue Plane without relief until I'm met with Kelemvor’s judgement? When the end comes, will it be but an instant of burning nerves as I’ve experienced in recent months, a candle snuffed out without hesitation? Or will it be the dull ache of the orb’s pressure building within my ribs, the seconds stretching for eternity as each molecule of my existence is torn apart piece by piece? Gale chuckled at her words; thoughts abandoned. “Maybe, but to think too much, my love, should never be a cause for concern.”

Sitting beside him, she took his hand in her soft palm. She had seen his scrawled letters, words of farewell, of a future he wouldn’t be a part of, and it pained her to think he could even consider leaving them, leaving her. “It is when I know what your mind often travels to.”

 “And what might my mind be travelling to right now?”

To look upon your eyes, your hair, your skin. To see each curve of your body under the dawn’s light. To touch you. To hear your breathing as you sleep. To make you laugh. To make you cry. To love you and no other. To lose you.

She smirked at his words, the playfulness in his tone not going unmissed. Maybe the letters had been written during darker moments, ones before their night at Moonrise. He’d told her he was grateful for meeting her, told her he loved her. He’d invited her to Waterdeep to meet his family. The future was there and maybe it was her who was overthinking things. “I could think of one or two things.” Tav slipped her hand from his, bringing it to the trailing weave of the orb upon his chest. For so many nights she had placed heated kisses along the darkened lines, felt the rise and fall of his chest with each heightened emotion, made him forget his goddess. And for a thousand more nights to follow, Tav would do the same.  

“Maybe a demonstration is in order, hm?” Gale leant back, watching the way her hair tumbled down above him as she positioned herself. He felt the way her fingertips traced along his chest, his robe removed and abandoned. The tender touch of her lips upon his, the scent of wine on her breath. How he longed to change fate. To hold you close on stormy nights. To see you smile as you taste my cooking. To dance with you. To hear you read poetry in the dim light of my study. To feel your head on my shoulder as we watch the sunset. To love you. To lose you.

Her dress was gone, the candlelight letting shadows dance upon her flesh. She looked at him in the same way she saw the world. He could be forgiven, redeemed. In her eyes, he already was, and she wanted to show him that.

Wishing he could tell her the truth; he buried his face in the crook of her neck. The scent of poppies hung in her hair, and he tried to memorise it. He tried to remember each minute detail of her form: the shade of her hair under the light, the flush of her cheeks as she gave into the tides consuming her, the quiet moan as he stroked her body with the soft pad of his thumb. If only they could stay in that one moment, an eternity with Tav as his goddess, the stars their followers, each whisper from his lips a new prayer devoted to her. If only...

“Tav... If something untoward, shall we say, were to happen to me-”

She gazed down at him, the slow rhythmic movements of her hips coming to a hesitant halt upon hearing his words. “Don’t talk like that.”

“I merely need assurance,” Gale replied, an unwilling sliver of emotion escaping him. Please tell me you will find someone else. You will fall in love and smile at them as you smile at me. Tell me you will not need me.  

“You’re not going anywhere.” Tav was so sure of her words. They would fight the Netherbrain and all of them would survive. They would not sacrifice anyone. They were not pieces on a lanceboard to be thrown away at the whims of the gods. They, he was more than that.

“How can you be so sure?”

He felt the slow roll of her hips, the warmth of her body as she grew closer to him. Wrapping his arms around her, Gale held her tightly. He would not let go of her, would not let go of this moment, of their last night together. He would remember every gasp, every whine, every bead of sweat that merged with the salted tears that pricked at his eyes. When the time comes, I want the last thing I see to be you. To see you as you are now. To feel you as you are now. To not lose you.

 “Because I love you,” she moaned softly, her eyes closing with the building heat between them. She knew there was always a chance something could go wrong, but those doubts had no place in their world right now. There was only the love she could show him, the meaning in living.

“I love you too.”

What else could he say that night before his sacrifice was made? Their last night could not be one of pain and sadness. It had to be spent in the way it was, with heated kisses and stars of their own creation. It had to be the last memory they shared, one that would smother out the darkness to follow, one that he could picture as the conjured dagger pierced his heart. To hear your voice. To see you smile. To love you. To lose you.

[nattetheshipper]

This shipping war has ruined the show

This post is for Buctommy shippers and Buddie shippers this ain’t a ship hating post!

I am NERVOUS for the next two eps i might just not watch any eps until the conclusion of the bucktommy drama is over cause i cant handle the stress of “are they finna break up” “are they endgame” “has all this shipping been for nothing” like brother i was a HARDCORE buddie shipper like i breathed buddie i had a shrine on my wall and everything but when Tommy was introduced i kinda just jumped ships. I think it’s because i have been waiting for buddie since S3 came out (i started watching at S2) and i was getting tired of not having my ship be cannon, but now i’m kinda nervous that BuckTommy ain’t going to last and like if we getting real here.

Generally the BuckTommy ship and the Buddie ship and the shipping wars ruined the show for me i wish i just kept on watching it normally and never joined tumblr, like i used to just watch the show cause i liked it and it was the best thing ever.

My “favourite show” now feels it’s like tainted cause now watching it feels like i’m only watching it to see who’s winning the shipping wars and who’s losing and it sucks watching the show for that and i feel like i got no motivation to watch the show.

I honestly couldn’t care less to watch unless it’s about these ships and it makes me feel like a fake fan almost which bums me out i dont have anything to watch so i’m trying to find new shows incase the side of the shipping war im on loses, because i’ve put everything on the ship so i know i’ll just stop watching which yes i know sounds toxic but ig i’m just toxic then idk and it makes me sad that the show has been ruined for me because of the ships to the point it’s not even my favourite show anymore.

Also it fucking sucks watching everyone argue over ships and ik i make jokes about buddie fans but at the end of the day people should be able to ship whatever they want without other people generally hating someone over it and sending them horrible messages making horrible things just because they are angry. It makes no sense to me and i’m getting tired of this bullshit in this toxic horrible fandom.

[canichangemyblogname]

@trans-buckleyy (this is my main), I got into watching 911 ~September 2022 and looking back through some of my old message/posts about it I was talking about how the gifs I'd seen on tumblr made me think buddie were together. So yeah I definitely got 'baited'/misled by the fans (I didn't start watching for buddie specifically, they just came up on my dash the most) - I commented at the time that a lot of the posts on tumblr about 911 felt like they were only through the lens of buddie shippers so I can see how so many people were misled, fortunately for me the illusion shattered as soon as I actually started watching the show. Though there's been a massive shift in attitude, when I first joined the fandom most people were happy shipping buddie and not believing it would ever become canon, now it seems like everyone has convinced themselves it will. Imo they're kind of setting themselves up for disappointment.

I’m sure I’ve said this before on my blog: capitalism combined with the white supremacist suppression, homogenization, or sterilization of cultures & traditions leads people to make consumption and products part of their identity. Fiction and fandom fill a need to belong that often replace real support systems and community (this is why so many in fandom feel lonely). Rather than a hobby, fandom is part of some people’s identity. So, pushback against popular fan interpretations— or fanon— can feel like a personal attack.

It seems to me that the blogs that just do fandom things to do fandom things—like shipping, that are happy to delineate between canon and fanon, and that understand that fanon is fanon and will likely never go canon are also the same blogs that love things like “rare-pairs” and “multi-shipping.” They seem to approach it from a “it’s never that serious” mentality and really just seem to want to have fun with it. It’s a hobby, not part of how they define themselves. Hobbies and interests are welcome to change, whereas people see identity as fixed and deterministic (it’s not, but that’s a whole other discussion).

There’s been a massive shift in attitude because the landscape has changed. Many of the most hard-core fans have staked their group belonging and (fandom) worldview around buddie. It was *the* singular 9-1-1 fanon relationship (the rest are all canon). It brought them together with people, people who they now see celebrating more on-screen queer representation. They feel spurned. Videos are surfacing of some of the most hard-core sobbing over Buck being confirmed as bi, but not getting buddie. They're telling their audience/followers that if buddie never goes canon, their quality of life will decrease, and they’re repeating many of the same things you (and many other fans) mention: they were led to believe this was a done deal, a foregone conclusion. How does one admit they’re likely wrong about “endgame” when they’ve spent the better part of 6 years supporting this and believing in it? They’re having far more difficulty accepting this than you did. Unlike you, actually watching the show did not set their expectations for what canon will likely be.

I also think there has been a massive shift in the way fandoms approach shipping since the end of Supernatural. A good chunk of the SPN fandom simply stopped watching the show, but continued creating for it. The fandom still dominates on fan-driven sites despite the show now being off-air for 4 years. Many SPN fans had largely given up on canon, preferring fanon, and admitted as such. Until “Destiel” went “canon.” (It didn’t, not really and not technically.) People shifted to this idea that they— the fans— could pressure networks and producers to canonize their ship (they can’t) or make decisions the fandom, a very niche part of an audience, would prefer (they can't). After Buck was confirmed bi, some of the most popular takes were, “This is revolutionary! Just 4 years ago, Supernatural was queerbaiting us all to superhell, and now we have 9-1-1 making a character bi 7 seasons in."

Ultimately, this idea they can pressure shows into making fanon a reality reveals that they have no concept of how television shows are made and produced or how decisions are made at the production and network levels. They are not going to persuade a network plus every writer, every producer, and every showrunner involved to agree to do what they want. But we still see fans in fandom believe they can get all these people to make decisions for the sake of fandom. Just look at the Our Flag Means Death fandom and their billboard fiascos.

Because buddie is part of how this subset of 9-1-1 fans define their sense of belonging, if Buck is in a relationship with anyone other than Eddie, this threatens their community and their relationship with the media itself. Tommy is to these 9-1-1 fans what Eddie was to Buck in 02x01: competition. This is why this same group treated the actresses who played former love interests like shit, too, including death threats and attempts to doxx or "cancel" them. Everything that challenges their (fandom) worldview must be removed. They can't and won't get the network to budge, so maybe they can try to get the actors themselves to quit or the producers to budge. After all, they have "direct" access to these individuals (they don't).

This all seems fantastical just writing about it. The logic doesn't logic, but logic isn't going to logic when social media creates parasocial relationships. Social media makes it seem like we plebians are closer to the patrician class because of how we're exposed to personal aspects of their lives. Repeated exposure to a media persona causes a media user to develop illusions of intimacy, friendship, and identification, and the more prevalent social media is in the media user's life, the more parasocial the online relationship becomes. So if your belonging and part of your sense-of-self identify with being a buddie shipper, then so, too, does the media persona, leading to people like Oliver Stark or Tim Minear being "number one buddie defenders" (they don’t care, y'all, I promise).

Now, add to this the way that m/m shipping has been constructed as inherently subversive (despite the reductive and sometimes regressive tropes that slash-fic uses) and as a form of activism, and you now have people not just identifying with shipping and staking their well-being on a ship, but also believing it is a morally righteous cause to campaign for. To them, they're fighting for representation and the expansion of queer stories. So, when the network and show expand queer representation without them or their ship, they're confronted with the reality that what they're doing doesn't do a damn bit of help. They're forced to ask themselves if their feverish promotion of and support for this ship may not have been about representation. I've seen some of them conclude that 1.) being forced to look critically at shipping is just misogyny because the majority of people in these fandom spaces are women, 2.) they're a queer woman, so, of course, it was about representation, they support and care about queer men and are an m/m ally (yet reblog posts about shooting us if we flirt with men in ways they don't like with the excuse "I'm a woman, I'm allowed to hate men"), 3.) actually, the buddie ship is "superior" representation because it is culturally diverse because Eddie's Latino (yea tokenization!!).

This all plays a large part in why they aren't taking it well when called out for homophobia and the xenophobic hypersexualization of Latino men because, to them, shipping culturally diverse m/m relationships is inherently "progressive" and "subversive" (again, despite the reductive and regressive tropes they use in their writing). They don't need to look critically at what they're saying or how they're hurting marginalized men because they believe they are putting moral pressure on the networks to be more progressive or subversive. Meanwhile, they're drawing rhetoric and ideas from existing queerphobic worldviews and legal structures (like echoing the rhetoric similar to gay panic, a US legal strategy to excuse crimes such as murder and assault on the grounds that the victim being queer led the perp to violence - a.k.a shooting a man for the way he flirted with another man) to tear down canon queer representation, just as they previously used misogynistic tropes to tear down Ana or Taylor or Ali or Marisol.

TL;DR— Many factors have contributed to the wide meltdown and "fandom schism" we've witnessed, not just the fact that some people explicitly started watching for buddie and have skipped whole swaths of the show to fit a "buddie interpretation."

[bellaramseysgf]

Chapter 1 (B.B)

Warning(s); brief mention of death,Bucky ghosted reader,ENDGAME SPOILERS,TFATWS SPOILERS,mentions of bucky’s nightmares,sewing,coffee drinking.

Pairing(s); Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary; You and Bucky finally meet again, let’s just say old habits die hard.

A/n; first chapter to my series!! Longest thing I’ve written in awhile I’m so excited to share this with you!! Lmk if I missed any warnings!

Reblogs and cmts are appreciated!!

After haven taken care of the Karli Situation Bucky and Sam both decided to just lay low for a while. Lucky for them Sarah said she knew a girl they could stay with until they wanted to leave.

Buck was packing up the few things he brought with him when Sarah called from the kitchen "Hey! My friends here" they walked into the kitchen.

There in all her 'glory' stood you. "Hey, Buck" she said and I realized she knew I was here. He replied with just your name. "right...so I'll put our stuff in the car." Sam said carrying bags past you both.

"You're fucking kidding me" Bucky huffed and Sarah looked between you two. "This..is a thing?" She asked "yes" "no" you both spoke at the same time. "Not anymore" buck corrected her and you rolled your eyes.

"Are you coming?" You asked walking out the door.

You were in the driver seat and sam was in the passenger so buck just slid into the back and you all left. Not much was said mainly just music cutting through the silence.

You pulled up to a gated house stopping to type in a code. You were never one to really spend money, how the hell did you get a fucking mansion?

“this is awesome" Sam said watching as the gravel road lead up to a 2 story house. It was made of white paneling and I recognized it immediately. "You still live with your parents?" Bucky said laughing a bit.

"No, I live by myself since they died" you said rather coldly and bucky stopped his laughter. You adored her parents it must've been hard for you going through their death alone. Most of the avengers quit speaking to you after the blip.

You were shocked finding out they defeated thanos, no one really thought of you for help. You seem to be holding yourself fine though.

You parked climbing out of the car you unlocked the front door and they carried their few bags inside. "Bedrooms are down the hall,bathrooms to your left right before the stairs." You were speaking more to Sam.

You were up late that night trying to fix a tear in one of your dresses. You had Gone downstairs to get another cup of coffee when you could hear Bucky groaning in pain. You -quietly- walked down the hall his door was open. You walked inside seeing him drenched in sweat, he had taken the bed sheets off the bed and was sleeping in the floor.

"Buck?" You called but it didn't wake him, you knelt down next to him pushing your hand against his chest. "Buck!" I called a little louder. He wasn’t waking up, you shook him a bit "Bucky!" He finally jumped awake panting as he sat up his hand gripped your wrist.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He asked looking over at you as he was catching his breath "you sounded like you were in pain...I was just making sure you were alright." He shoved your hand. "I'm fine." He said coldly.

You sighed and stood up walking out of his room. The fucks wrong with him,why's he acting like that. You sighed and went back upstairs with your coffee fixing my dress.

It had probably been 40 or so minutes when there was a knock on your door,you had already gotten in bed. You slid out of my bed and opened the door. "What Buck?" You asked and he rubbed the back of his neck looking at you. "Bucky it's almost 2 am what do you need?" You asked and he finally let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry for how I talked to you." He said refusing to look at you "is that all?" You asked. He shook his head and you waited for him to continue "Bucky I'm going to bed" you said and left the door open walking back to bed.

You climbed back into the warmth of you white comforter pulling it up to your shoulders. You heard Bucky shift and then your door close. Soon after you felt your bed sink and blinked your eyes open to see him sitting on the bed.

You pulled the comforter back and opened your arms for him. He slid inside the blankets and into your arms, his back was to you so you spooned him.

He still smelled like the most comforting scent you’ve ever smelled. You didn't pull him closer just let your hands rest where they were.

Before long you could hear Bucky's snores and smiled to yourself. After the blip you moved back in with your parents,without Bucky you felt like you had no reason to fight anymore. Five years later you got a call from Steve saying Bucky was back and they had saved the world. He also told you Tony and Nat had both died which crushed you.

You tried to reach out to Bucky multiple times but was ignored. You met Sarah through her sons school,you were painting a mural there a few months ago. You became fast friends but you didn't even know Sam and her knew each other.

Until she called asking if they could stay with you. You said yes because rather selfishly you knew Bucky couldn't ignore you anymore if he was living with you.

After you knew for sure he was asleep you shifted closer to him pressing your head against his back breathing in his warm scent. It always put you right to sleep,it still did.

[theimprobable1]

Listen, I haven’t read the Shadow and Bone books and I’ve only seen the show once so I’m not going to write fic for it, BUT if I were to write one it would be about the obvious endgame ship which is Alina/Mal/Nikolai and it would go something like this:

Mal spends about a year at sea. Alina and Nikolai get together in the meantime but at the same time Mal’s absence makes it clear to both him and Alina that what they feel for each other is real.  Alina isn’t sure how to resolve the situation without hurting one or both of them and breaking half of her own heart in the process, but once Mal gets back he’s immediately like “I left and lost my chance, you two fell in love, I get it, I’m stepping aside” while Nikolai is like “You’re childhood sweethearts, I’m not trying to compete with that, I get it, I’m stepping aside.”

And before Alina can jump in to suggest that maybe no one needs to step aside because she has two hands, Mal and Nikolai are in the middle of an almost-argument about which one of them is hotter and more deserving of Alina, both taking the other’s side. And as Alina watches them hurl compliments at each other while getting closer and closer until they are nearly chest to chest, memories replay in her mind and something finally clicks.

“Huh,” she says, realising that maybe no one’s heart needs to get broken after all.

Mal and Nikolai tear their eyes from each other’s lips to look at her.

“Sorry,” Alina says with a smirk, “don’t let me interrupt your flirting.”

Which finally wakes them up to how close they’re standing and what they’ve been saying, and they jump apart. Nikolai, who has been aware of his attraction for Mal since the moment Mal said “north is that way” but is convinced it’s one-sided, thinks he’s failed to keep his feelings in check and overstepped a boundary and starts apologising, he didn’t mean to make anyone uncomfortable, this was so inappropriate of him, it will never happen again, etc. etc.

Meanwhile Mal, who’s never even begun to process what he feels around Nikolai, is instinctively like “we’re not flirting” but Alina just raises her eyebrows at him and he realises, maybe they are. And he looks at Nikolai who’s still stumbling through what sounds like a love confession wrapped in an apology, and suddenly there’s only one thing he can do. He looks at Alina, who nods in encouragement, eyes shining, and then he grabs Nikolai’s face and shuts him up with a kiss.

And then the three of them live happily ever after, thank you goodbye.

[bananaactivity]

i saw benjay could you perhaps elaborate please i want to know more of your thoughts on them

(also what are your thoughts on poly ships)

FIC INCOMING: Rebound relationship with actual feelings attached ( it’s still unhealthy though)

For poly ships I’d say that I don’t know much on the inner workings of them. I support it tho, irl and in fandom.

As for Ben and Jay it’s not something the actual series has any hints to. So all my thoughts rely on the circumstances of my AU.

(The characters attend college and Auradon is like a gated community opposed to the isle of the lost being a prison island ig.)

Mal and Evie are endgame in my AU however before they get there Ben and Mal have something going on. It goes up until the second movie where they break up, and this time they stay broken up and during the Evie/Mal lovers ballad they actually get together and they also still save Ben and return to Auradon.

Technically that means that Evie cheated on Doug but Doug and Chad deal with that together for a min. As for Ben he’s really distraught and lonely. And Jay has pent up emotions from his beef with his arch rival. So here’s the small excerpt for that:

A couple of weeks post the battle with the Sea VKs Ben was still holed up in his personal dorm suite. It was a bit strained those first days since they got back. He was the future king and all, it was because of him that the four of them could attend Auradon Uni at all. But he just…disappeared. He didn’t come to class or lunch or see anyone at all. A shame he was choosing to hide his face, if Jay was a hot prince who had it all he’d show his face every day. But he wasn’t worried they’d be kicked out. Ben was too sweet. His friends couldn’t see that though.

“ Someone has to check in the poor dear. It’s very well likely he could snap and send us off campus! I’ve spent a year’s time on my studies! I’m not throwing all that time spent away over a failed relationship, do you know how many designs I could have come up with in all that time!” Carlos was flippant as usual. One moment he had concerns over Ben’s wellbeing the next he was screaming about his clothes. “Carly don’t bug out, Ben wouldnt do that I’ve known him forever!” Chad, Carlos’ new little puppy dog. He played with his rats Patch and Rajah letting them crawl on Carlos. They were the best of friends after rooming together that first year. They’d had such fun together they requested to room again this year. Jay couldn’t be too mad at that, he was a good friend to Carlos and he had a good point.

Evie was antsy. “ Maybe Chad has a point guys, Mal and Him weren’t dating before he let us attend ADU?” Mal squeezed her hand, they had been extra lovey dovey now that they were together. Jay would never tell them this but it made him jealous, his long standing romantic interest had just been confirmed to be an impossibility when they left The Isle. “ Guys why is this even a conversation? Not only is prince Pretty boy too nice to kick us out he’s also too smart. As much as you don’t want to admit it, letting us attend ADU was a political move. He’s showing his future people that he’s gonna foster change when he’s in office. He won’t take that back and I’m sure he’ll be fine. Though why you’d stop snogging a face like Ben’s I don’t get. He looks like a good kisser.” Jay joked

He then sighed feeling he had quelled the situation. That didn’t last long before Mal spoke. “ Jay you go check on him.” “ What!” Great. “Yes Jay. You were the closest with him after me, weren’t you? I doubt he wants to see his ex or his exs girlfriend.” Jays mouth was agape. He appreciated Ben but Jay could hardly call himself a reassuring person. “ What about Carlos?!” Carlos sneered at them and got up in a huff knocking down Rajah the rat who plopped into Chads lap with a squeak“I wouldn’t have come over here to eat with you peasants if you were going to outsource me for your dirty work! Let’s go get dinner Chad! I’m feeling Italian cuisine.” Jay watched him walk off with a willing Chad trailing after him, rats in tow.

Mal looked back at him with big eyes. “Please Jay I just want you to check. I don’t want to be the reason we lose our futures here. We have a chance to be something other than…” She trailed off. “Fine. Mal. I’ll check on him but I’m telling you he won’t kick us out.” “ Thank you Jay.” Jay got up and left, before he had to endure his friend’s being all mushy and happy.

“ Benjamin Florian Beast open the fuck up.” Jay was banging on his friend’s Blackwood door. Sometimes the villain in Jay dreamed of stealing the door right off its hinges and selling it on the Isle. But Ben had become his best friend, Carlos and Chad had been so close that Jay felt a little shafted. Evie and Mal had already been distant when they dated their previous partners and now that they were with each other it was no different. Ben was his closest up until now. The door creaked open. And Ben peeked out. Surveying him he looked tired and yet irritatingly pretty. Jay couldn’t believe it, he’d showered at least but the tears and bed head were very apparent as well as the dark sleepy eyes. “Jay?” His voice was a little cracked and his eyes began watering. “Oh. Uhh hey man, I’m just here to check on you.” Ben’s eyes watered more and his lips trembled. “ Uhh Ben….” Jay stretched his arms out to the prince. At the slightest reach for him Ben flailed into his arms and sobbed. “ Oh my god Ben ,really?” Ben wasn’t a stick he had some weight to him but it was nothing Jay couldn’t handle and held him tight and hosted him up to carry him back into the room. Closing the door behind them for some privacy.

Jay attempted to let him down but Ben held on tighter and refused to let go, sobbing into his arms and mumbling incoherently. Jay sighed and and rubbed his back as he got more and more wet. After a bit the mumbling stoped yet still with many tears and heavy breath Ben started talking coherently “ Do you think I was really in love Jay Jay?” He sighed, it was nice to hear his nickname again… it made him feel special. “ I dunno maybe?” He had said he wasn’t good at reassuring people. “Really Jay. I’m asking you for real.” Ben moved his head back to look at Jays face, he still refused to let go of him it was much more intimate than what was normal. Jays heart beat harder and he felt awkward all of a sudden.

“ I don’t know Ben… Benji. I can’t tell you how you felt. But I can tell you that a lot of us are worried about you being holed by yourself up in here. It’s not good for you to be in a small space on your own like this for so long. Especially after the Isle.” This wasn’t entirely true. The others were scared of some retroactive revenge, Jay thought he’d be okay up until he became a water collector. And it was an even bigger lie that Ben was trapped in a small space. His prince dorm was very large with a huge bed a special shower room and large foyer with a mini kitchen and high ceilings with large windows. Spoiled pretty boy. “ I won’t be alone if you stay with me.” Jay stiffened and looked back down to the tearful man still clinging to him.

His hazel eyes refused to move from Jays and Jay was sure if he made any attempt to move from his grasp Ben would rather strangle him than let him leave. “ Okay Benji, I’ll stay. We can talk.” Ben sighed and sunk his head back into Jays chest still refusing to let go. “Thank you.” Eventually Jay managed to move them to the huge ass bed, his legs were getting tired and yet Ben still wouldn’t let him go. After sitting in tearful silence with his head rested on Jays shoulder Ben started talking again. “ I… I don’t want to be alone.” Jay laid his hand on Ben’s arm. “ Ben we’re in our twenties we have all the time in the world.” Exasperated Ben pushed his head up, still refusing to let go he glared up at Jay.

“Easy for you to say you meat head. I’m a gonna be king, people are going to be all over me in the media asking about my royal spouse!” He was cute when he was fussing about something silly, he’d always do that during game practice. “ So what dumbass aren’t you the prince? Just execute them!” Jay scoffed. He really wasn’t a very helpful, they should’ve sent Evie. “ No you goof!” Ben twisted onto his knees on the bed and completely turned to face Jay. “ That’s not who I wanna be! They all believed that Mal would be my queen and now I’m alone and I don’t know who I could possibly… I don’t want to be alone!”

Ben pushed into Jays arm and was getting teary eyed again. “ I thought… I don’t know why I tried to marry her… it’s only been a year? Audrey was awful and I saw a way out… but I still really appreciated Mal. No I… I…” The tears were flowing again. “ I miss Tourney. I wish I was Captain again, but I spent all that time with Mal. I always felt guilty when I was with her. “ He was rambling now and Jay wasn’t sure what to do. Ben was practically pinning him to the bed. “ Jay I don’t want to be alone, I don’t want to be a bad ruler.” Jay wasn’t sure what to do but look stupidly at the pretty prince bawling his eyes out all over him again.” I don’t know anymore, I just want to go back to playing Tourney with the guys. I miss Tourney and I miss you.” That last part hit Jay like a truck.

The tearful hazel eyes were boring into his with so much intensity Jay was staring to falter. “Ben don’t cr-“ And then most startling event of that night. Ben smashed lips onto Jays. It was sudden and shocking to Jay but he leaned into it. Ben moved his hands up Jays arms to his shoulders and around his neck. Bold ass prince. Jay reciprocated and bent his hands to Ben’s waist as they deepened the kiss. Ben tasted like a salty ocean and his lips were soft and just as talented as Jay figured they were. The kiss hadn’t yet fuzzed his brain fully and he pulled away. “ Are you okay Ben? This is. I don’t wan-.” He drifted off as he looked at Ben. His face was still wet but his skin was flushed pink. His eyes though, were heavy lidded and he was breathing heavily before he spoke. His eyelashes were sparkling with tears and his eyes were red from crying. He was still so pretty, Jay was sure he wasn’t that pretty when he cried.“ You don’t mind this do you.” Ben moved his hands down Jays shoulders to his arms that were still holding on tightly to Ben’s waist. It was a complete 180 and Jay was confused and sure that he was just as flush as his friends. “ I… yea… No. But you were just crying, I don’t know if you need this.” Ben kissed him again slowly and moved his lips to Jays cheek. His heart was faltering and he couldn’t exactly remember what he was meant to be doing. “ I do need this- if you’re okay with that.” Jay was nearly mush, this was sudden… but he understood where Ben was coming from. Jay had only just in the past month realized that his feelings for his nemeses was t just hate. But it was too late, and here was his close friend just like him, lonely, and gorgeous, coming on to him harder then anyone had before. Was it too soon, and what was right and wrong, was fading out of his mind.

It was gone from Ben’s mind too the moment he made the choice to kiss his friend. They’d deal with whatever consequences after they regained sensible thought. For now though this was good. Jay moved Ben’s face from his cheek and pressed his. Lips back onto his. He was completely pinned by Ben on his soft huge ass bed. Ben’s hands moved back to the top of Jays shoulders and in turn Jay moved back to his waist. He felt a tongue testing the waters at the edge of his lip and he let it in immediately. Savoring the taste and melting further into the kiss. Exactly how far was too far wasn’t really on their minds. How they let it get this far that weren’t concerned about. Running from what was truly ailing them, they sunk further into the other’s lips and let sensations override their systems. They both indulged into the fuzziness that blurred rational thought and consciousness and continued on.

Waking up the next morning Ben was straddled atop Jay, who was expecting some sort of talk on how it couldn’t happen again. Ben woke up and looked staight into warm brown eyes surveying him. Jay poised himself to speak but Ben kissed him before he could get anything out. Sliding down Jays cheek as he spoke “ I had a nice time last night, it really cleared things up for me… if you’re okay with it… we could do it again?” Jay considered this. His friends had asked him to check and make sure they wouldn’t all be thrown out of Uni. If this was the way to ensure their sense of safety… he couldn’t say he didn’t like the feeling. It was so intense he almost couldn’t trace the pain of Harry that lingered in his mind. Why couldn’t he finally have someone to himself like his friends. He could. He leaned into another long kiss. Ben sighed in relief and returned the kiss before Jay pulled away to give a proper answer- “I could get used to this.”

Yeah that’s like, the inciting incident for a whirlwind of a relationship. If you think it happened so fast… yeah that’s how it felt for them too bro. There’s missing elements from unreleased outlines I have, up until now there’s tension and flirty elements to the way they would talk and hang out before this happens. That’s why Ben says he misses Jay. And Jay figures out that his hatred of Harry was actually an intense crush ,but Uma and Harry had their own thing happening leading up until the seaside battle for Ben. So they’re both having intense revaluations and Ben decided to push out those feelings by coming onto Jay who he already had a small bro crush thing with. So it’s a little unhealthy but they think they need it. Will they work through it?? Who knows. Well I know but I’m not saying after that long ass post.

[blues-valentine]

pws/rinis are still going w the “pw and rini would’ve been endgame if it wasn’t for olivia” claiming “justice for ej” and just being bitter individuals is hilarious. they had a year to cope.

I think it’s a choice to still engage in a media you don’t like and being bitter about it and continue clinging to a statement that is untrue.

A thing I’ve learn from years of watching TV shows is that paying attention to the storytelling is essential and what has been true to HSMTMTS is that most of the times what you see it’s not exactly what the show is telling you. They're actually great with subtext. I've said this before, the typical audience for HSMTMTS severely lacks media literacy because they've missed the most obvious signs in storytelling 101 that I feel like an unbiased person would pick up on.

PWs/Rinis are only watching the show at face value because if they dig deeper they would be forced to admit the narrative build around Ricky and Gina has been stronger than any ship in that show. The effort and attention to detail build into their story line and dialogue is very telling. Rina gets the most foreshadowing and parallels out of every couple since Season 1. So, some be purposely misreading the signs and would hold onto any idea to make it true.

A creator of a show does not film a whole confession scene, in this case between Ricky and Gina (at the same time he filmed the Ricky and Nini confession) for a couple they are not planning. Everything in TV cost time and money. A creator doesn’t give a ship a whole secret plot that only them know to create suspense for a mid-season finale reveal if they aren’t planning on moving forward with them. After that flashback on 206 was revelead. It was a wrap. Truly, people that interpreted that as closure don't know how to read subtext at all.

The IRL drama + the hit hadn’t blow up yet when they wrote Season 2 and when they were filming the first episodes of the season. 201 already foreshadows how Ricky and Nini were not going to work out. I had said this several times. It was there on neon signs. Ricky and Nini were not build to be the "happily ever after" couple. There’s an actual interview from the creator saying he wants to portray realistic breakups in teen media.

Nini and Ricky were going to break up and end exactly how it ended at the end of Season 2, had Olivia stayed or not. PW was build to fail since day 1. There were multiple neon signs on 2B that literally tells you this. 209 is full of them. Gina used EJ to move on and because he was the easier route. He was the safest seat on the plane (literally). Gina hadn't moved on from Ricky. The fact that Ricky and Nini broke up on 208 and later Gina and EJ became basically the romantic plot on 209 is storytelling 101. I could tell you how this choice in narrative always ends up in teen dramas. Ricky and Gina were always the couple being kept apart for narrative and therefore the endgame.

Also, creators having to cut screen time of a ship or dynamic in order to build another one is never a good sign. They knew PW would not be believable if they keep Ricky and Gina interacting and Season 3 proves this.

And even if Ricky and Nini + EJ and Gina were the planned endgames when the show was originally created. Things change. HSMTMTS is not the first show that changes ships during filming the moment unexpected actors show superior chemistry and it won’t be the last. Dawson’s Creek says hello. It’s been told before Gina was going to be a plot device for Rini until her chemistry with Josh on 105 was too good to waste and so there were changes. PWs and Rinis conventionally forget this statement was made. Sofia Wylie was rooting for Rina since Season 1 and she has always delivered on that.

PWs (mostly ex Rinis) continue being bitter Rini isn’t endgame and use Olivia as their consolation narrative. The other side of PWs have EJ as their favorite character and have proved they don't care about Gina on her own. Rinis supported PW because as long as PW was a thing, in their minds Rini was still a possibility.

[vadertyrannus]

Zendaya's MJ will definitely return in the second MCU Spider-Man Trilogy

Ever since the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, people have wondered whether MJ (played by Zendaya) will return in the next trilogy, and for those who know she will, whether she should.

I'm making this post to not only prove that yes, she will, but also debunk common arguments against her returning.

Foreshadowing in the movie

MJ's return is directly foreshadowed quite a few times in No Way Home.

"If you don’t, I’m just gonna figure it out. I’ve done it before, I can do it again."

MJ tells Peter she loves him. Then Peter is about to tell her he loves her too, but MJ interrupts him, telling him to wait until he sees her again. If this was the end of their arc, the writers wouldn't leave this thread open. You can't set up something and have no payoff.

The way MJ looks at and acts around Peter in the pastry shop scene. She has that same look in her eyes that she always has when she looks at Peter (probably a symptom of Zendaya loving Tom Holland in real life, but still). The way she smiles, brushes her hair, is nervous around him while at the same time open (being willing to talk about going to MIT) seems to indicate that MJ is naturally comfortable with him and maybe even has a crush on him.

And finally, right here, which is by far the most obvious example and the nail in the coffin.

The final shot of the scene is MJ having a lingering sense of recognition, and this is specifically pointed out in the script. Very, very blatant foreshadowing. So much so that I find it so weird that so many people seem to miss it.

It's as she said, "If you don't, I'm just gonna figure it out."

If this was her final scene, this scene would have much more finality. It wouldn’t end holding on MJ, but rather Peter leaving. This is basic cinematic language.

The final shot of a scene is always the most important, because it’s the last impression it leaves on you. And here, they chose to emphasize MJ recognizing Peter the most.

All of this is clear set up for MJ remembering Peter and the two eventually rekindling their relationship.

MJ is Peter's true love

The fact is, MJ needs to come back. It's inevitable. Expecting MJ to actually be gone is like expecting Spider-Man to have stayed dead after Infinity War.

It's very clear watching both Far From Home and No Way Home, both of which focus a lot on their relationship, that Michelle Jones is Peter Parker’s endgame love interest and an incredibly important character to this iteration of Spider-Man.

I plan on making a separate post later going into more detail, but it's important enough to shortly elaborate on here.

Peter and MJ are truly in love with each other and meant to be together. They’re perfect for one another, have amazing chemistry, love each other to no bounds, and support each other every step of the way.

Peter always puts MJ's well-being before his own, and MJ is so loyal she'll bring a mace to help Peter fight killer drones, and refuses to leave his side when facing 5 villains. And I mean she literally won't leave his side; like, she wants to be right there with him, even when it's that dangerous, because she's that brave and she cares about him that much.

Peter and MJ are alike and while also complimenting each other in all the right ways. MJ is as soft, sweet, caring, strong, intelligent and loyal as Peter. At the same time, MJ’s introverted, collected and pragmatic self compliments Peter’s more extroverted, energetic, and idealistic self perfectly, creating a symbiosis between them.

They bring out the best in each other. Because of Peter, MJ is able to come out of her shell and be vulnerable (her arc in Far From Home). And in the same way Peter supports and brings out the best in MJ, MJ encourages and supports Peter when he needs it to most by always being there for him, being level-headed and comforting in crisis situations.

Their kiss in No Way Home perfectly conveys the image of two true lovers, with the way their bodies create a heart shape and the contrast created by the sun in the background.

Peter and MJ are bound together.

Both Far From Home and No Way Home dedicate a lot to the Peter and MJ relationship, and during the promotion of both Far From Home and No Way Home, images of them were used constantly to advertise the movie, reinforcing that Peter and MJ are ultimately the heart and soul of those two movies.

And even though MJ didn't have much screen time in Homecoming, she was emphasized a lot in the promos and almost every scene with her foreshadows her relationship with Peter in some way. Zendaya's MJ is essential to MCU Spider-Man.

Her not returning would also be a disservice to her character. MJ is her own person with her own agency and desires. The MCU Spider-Man movies have been very consistent with portraying that. To just ditch MJ instead of giving her the ending she deserves, to be with the one she loves the most? To disregard what she made Peter promise to do? Terrible writing.

It's also a disservice to Peter's character. Spider-Man is supposed to end up happy. Peter should get to be with the one he loves the most.

Michelle Jones-Watson is the MCU version of Mary Jane Watson

Michelle Jones-Watson is a reimaging of Mary Jane Watson, and the definitive MJ of the MCU. They're not gonna bring in "the real MJ". Zendaya is the real MJ.

I really shouldn't have to go any further then pointing out that her name is literally MJ Watson. But I will.

Again this will be it's own post eventually, but it's still important enough to shortly talk about here.

This reimagining of MJ shares many core elements with her comic book counterpart.

Both are progressive rebellious characters, Mary Jane being a party girl (which in the 60s was considered progressive) while Michelle Jones is a liberal and activist who has unconventional interests (being interested in conspiracy theories and morbid topics).

They both have a troubled past (especially with their fathers).

Michelle's arc is basically the same as Mary Jane from the comics; dropping a façade she created to hide her vulnerable self, opening up her true caring self to Peter.

Both are their version of Peter’s perfect match.

They're both strong-willed and loyal, sticking with Peter no matter what.

There’s also been several easter eggs connecting Michelle to Mary Jane.

Michelle's birthday (revealed on her passport during FFH promo) is the same day the comic Mary Jane first appeared in was released.

In Far From Home, there’s a license plate on the bridge where Peter and Michelle kiss for the first time that reads “TASM 143”. This is a nod to the issue in which Peter kisses Mary Jane for the first time in the comics, The Amazing Spider-Man #143.

She wears two outfits with tigers on them in Far From Home (nod to Mary Jane's famous line).

Zendaya’s blatant “Face it, Tiger…” post while having red hair during the Far From Home press. And all the other times she's dyed her hair red for Spider-Man press, too (she did it again for NWH promo once).

MJ has always been Peter's true love in every Spider-Man iteration. It was true in the comics (before the current terrible writers ruined it). It was true in the Raimi trilogy. It was going to be true in the Webb films (Mary Jane was gonna be introduced in TASM 3). It was true in Into the Spider-Verse. And it's true here too.

MJ is to Spider-Man what Lois Lane is to Superman. You can't have one without the other.

Definitive statements from Executives

In the Deadline article regarding Jon Watts leaving Fantastic Four, on April 29, 2022, this statement was made.

Sony and its Spider-Man producers have made it clear they expect to reunite Watts with Holland and Zendaya to continue the series.

This was the statement that prompted The Direct's article (among others) in which this news spread and more people realized that Zendaya is likely coming back.

This was reinforced in another interview directly with Tom Rothman, head of Sony, less then a month later.

ROTHMAN: We hope to get working on the next Spider-Man movie. DEADLINE: With Jon Watts, Tom Holland and Zendaya returning? ROTHMAN: That whole group, we hope.

This confirms that the studio wants Zendaya to return. They've made up their mind, creatively. At this point, whether Zendaya returns or not is up to her.

It makes sense that the studio wants her back so bad. Zendaya not only has a ton of star power, but it also dating Tom Holland in real life. Her name is gonna get people in seats.

Statements from Actors

If Tom Holland is coming back for another trilogy, Zendaya's coming back too. Statements from Tom Holland also confirm that she was always gonna come back from the beginning.

Tom Holland stated in an interview with GQ on April 15, 2021 (a month after shooting No Way Home) he will not do another movie without Jon Watts, Jake Batalon, and Zendaya.

So he’d say yes? “Absolutely. One hundred per cent, yes.” Any renegotiation clauses? “We’d need to keep the same core team. The director, Jon Watts, is as much Spider-Man as I am. Zendaya, Jacob [Batalon].”

While he might be exaggerating when implying that he would outright refuse if they all also didn't come back, it emphasizes the importance to which he views the director and his co-stars role in the MCU Spider-Man series. Including Zendaya.

A month later, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he stated:

“We were all treating No Way Home as the end of a franchise, let's say. I think if we were lucky enough to dive into these characters again, you'd be seeing a very different version. It would no longer be the Homecoming trilogy. We would give it some time and try to build something different and tonally change the films."

Notice how he says these characters. Plural. Not just him, but also the other MCU Spider-Man characters, meaning MJ and Ned (I mean, it's not like it can mean anyone else).

These statements from Holland are pretty consistently pointing to the same narrative, that all three actors would return if they continued the series.

It's unlikely these statements were made to prevent spoilers. Not only because they align with what's been said after NWH's release, but also because they tried to build up suspense about whether MJ would die in trailers and TV spots and these statements wouldn't match up with that agenda. It's obvious that these statements were made without any studio influence.

This is also corroborated by this statement from Zendaya during the press tour:

ZENDAYA: “Well, we have no idea what the future of us or this Spider-Man franchise is or will be […] if there’s a world where we continue and grow with the characters, that would be beautiful [...]" TOM: “Yeah you said that perfectly.”

They’re talking as a pair, as if returning would mean both of them.

I also think the body language and facial expressions of the two reveals a lot about their feelings on the matter.

It looks like the two know more then they're letting on.

You can hear and see Zendaya’s voice and eyes brighten up when she talks about returning. She has a very positive tone.

Tom looks directly at her as she’s talking about returning whereas most of the time he’s looking down at the ground.

Zendaya looks directly at Tom after saying that continuing the series and both of their characters would be beautiful. If she’s looking at her boyfriend, the person she loves most, directly in the eyes as she’s saying it then it’s probably true, that’s just basic psychology.

Another pretty telling quote also comes from Zendaya. After making the Time100 list for 2022, Zendaya in her interview stated about No Way Home:

“The perfect way to, maybe I don’t know end our trilogy, there’s people that are more in charge then I am so I don’t know what the future holds so I’m just saying.”

Notice how she pins the decision on the executives and not herself. As if she's already made up her mind. This was likely recorded before the executive's decision was made (or at least, before she was aware of it); they record these interviews well in advance.

The fact that she says "our trilogy" is also very telling. She clearly misspoke when she said trilogy, because whether they make a 4th movie or not it’d still be the end of the trilogy. Since she immediately started talking about how they might continue, as if correcting herself, she obviously meant to say series or franchise. It’s not just Tom’s Spider-Man series, it’s hers too.

Zendaya has repeatedly stated and shown that she loves doing the Spider-Man movies. Especially since, you know, the lead is her boyfriend. We don't even have to infer this, she literally said working with Tom is one of her favorite things about playing MJ. She even said she wanted a happy ending for Peter and MJ in this interview.

I am certain that Zendaya will sign on for the next MCU Spider-Man trilogy once given the contract, if she hasn't already.

Statements from Leakers

A very reliable leaker known as Ember, who now runs a Twitter page called Cult of Ember (formally Culture Spider), has stated that Zendaya will definitively be returning, meaning that she has officially signed on.

Now, I don't want to put too much stock on leakers. IMO they should always be taken with some level of uncertainty. At the same time, Ember leaked costumes from No Way Home well in advanced (among other things). She's pretty reliable. She's also the one responsible for the leak that Tom Holland has signed a new 6 picture deal.

The leak about Zendaya signing on also seems to line up with the fact that she just finished filming Dune 2 at the time. Perfect timing to be signing a new contract.

Ember had been saying for awhile that the studio wants Zendaya to return, the exact same thing stated by Sony chairman Tom Rothman.

This was also corroborated by another leaker.

Whether you believe the leakers or not is up to you. I wouldn't take their word as gospel. But they are very consistent and it makes a lot of sense, especially considering all the other evidence.

Addressing arguments against her coming back

"It would undo the consequences of No Way Home"

And Avengers: Endgame undid the consequences of Infinity War (as well as Captain America: Civil War). Your point?

Ending their relationship like this would be a disservice to both of their characters. Neither of them deserve this ending. It's too severe. Peter and MJ have earned their happy ending. And you can have consequences as a result of all this while still having Peter and MJ together again, just like how Endgame did it.

There are plenty of consequences of No Way Home that will stick. The death of Aunt May is obviously permanent, as is the loss of all of the Stark Tech.

"It undoes Peter's choice"

Spider-Man 2's ending also undid Peter's choice at the end of Spider-Man (2002). The same choice Peter makes at the end of No Way Home. Your point?

The point of Spider-Man isn't that he always loses everything, the point of Spider-Man is that he's willing to sacrifice things and gets rewarded for it eventually. He always gets the happy ending.

The "I need to keep the one I love away to protect them" trope never sticks with superheroes. They deserve to be happy, and it's also patronizing and takes away agency from the woman.

Peter made a promise to MJ and he did a disservice to her not fulfilling it.

I find it so odd that the some fans are so willing to have Peter undo his choice to protect Mary Jane by leaving her out of his life in the Raimi trilogy, but want so badly for Peter to keep Michelle out of his life for the same reasons here.

I wonder if there's an underlying issue with some fans mindsets that would explain this...

"It's too soon"

The majority of the fanbase agrees she should come back but thinks she shouldn't come back until the 5th or 6th movie. I do respect this opinion as at least it acknowledges that she's obviously coming back, but at the same time, I can't say I agree entirely.

Like yeah, obviously they shouldn’t get back together within the first 20 minutes of the 4th movie, but at the end? Absolutely.

What other arc is Peter gonna have in the 4th movie other then learning to open up again? Making new friends and having a new girlfriend and putting them at risk is a shitty thing to do when you ditched the ones you had and didn't fulfill a promise you made to them to protect them.

I think it's pretty obvious that Peter's arc is gonna be opening up again, and he's gonna tell MJ the truth at the end of the 4th film.

The longer Peter waits to tell MJ the truth, the harder the relationship would be to repair and the more upset MJ would be at him waiting so long. To me, at least, it seems like something that would be way smarter to resolve sooner rather then later.

Either that, or MJ's gonna figure it out herself and she's gonna be like a detective throughout the movie. Still, though, I think she deserves the truth from Peter.

"You're just a delusional Spideychelle/Tomdaya shipper"

Congratulations, you not only didn't address any of my evidence or points, but you also devolved into ad hominem, the worst thing you can do in any argument.

You just admitted defeat. Thanks for letting me win so easily!

I'm not sure if you're aware but insulting me personally doesn't suddenly make all of the proof disappear. Sorry :)

So there it is, definitive proof that MJ's coming back. If you read the entire thing, congratulations and thank you for reading. And MCU Peter and MJ FTW!

[atiredfangirl]

Why do you dislike Bucktommy and Tommy so much? Is it due to his last behaviour, or better yet, that he didn't stick up for Chim and Hen and was, therefore compliant? If this is the case, aren't they showing that he has changed by showing that he is now cool with Hen and Chim? I'm asking as a black queer person.

Or is it because they've become quite popular in a matter of weeks? If so shouldn't people be allowed to ship, write and enjoy what they want?

Also, isn't it hypocritical of you to ship Buddie when the actor who plays Eddie has expressed some awful racist and homophobic views and things?

Since I had never posted about Tommy on this app before today, I am assuming you found me on Twitter and came here to ask this anonymously, but if you follow my Twitter, you can see that I did not hate Tommy or Bucktommy to begin with.

Yes, I was hesitant when they brought him back because of his history with Chimney and Hen, but I was not one of the fans that “hated” him. I was willing to give the character another chance. But I also haven’t forgotten if “honestly if I thought about you at all, I probably wouldn’t” or how he was compliant with what went down at the 118 before Bobby arrived.

But I was willing to forgive that because he seemed to have changed a lot! When 7x04 aired, I retweeted several tweets supporting them because even if I am a Buddie shipper, I can respect that this is a big deal for Buck and I’m really and truly a Buck stan at heart. Literally just want the man to be happy.

Then 7x05 aired, and after seeing how nervous Buck was, he still made that stupid little closet joke in front of Eddie, knowing damn well Buck wasn’t out to Eddie. That wasn’t okay with me (also as a Queer woman), and then he leaves Buck alone on the sidewalk, doesn’t even tell him until the Uber is there that he called one for himself.

And now I’m watching the sneak peeks for 7x06 and he’s put zero effort into dressing up for the party (being on call is a weak excuse - it’s not like he’s going up in the helicopter in jeans and a Henley - he’s gonna have to change either way) and even the Henley comment felt condescending and rude.

I’m not delusional, I’m well aware Buddie may never happen, but either way, there’s no way the writers are writing bucktommy as endgame either, so it’s not like it’s coming from a place of fearing he’s a threat to Buddie. I just don’t like him for Buck. It’s not new or personal - I’ve had reasons to dislike literally all of buck’s love interests. I just wasn’t particularly active on social media about this show before this season, even though I’ve been watching it since it began.

As for Ryan, I don’t associate the actor with the character. I learned a long time ago that if you want to enjoy fandoms and ships, it’s very important to separate characters from actors.

[dragonfly0808]

Some of my Top Ships for Valentine’s Day!

This was supposed to be like 5 ships but shit got a little bit out of hand…

In no particular order:

Helia x Flora (Winx Club): they were my first OTP, it’s a classic, we know it, we love it, they invented the word adorkable. They are just… chef’s kiss

Callum x Rayla (the Dragon Prince): they are… my everything. From their very first interaction I was like… oh. They just balance each other out so well and it’s so much fun to watch them fall in love and grow together even if there have been a few… bumps in the road recently… they are my babies.

Runaan x Ethari (the Dragon Prince): WHERE IS MY SPIN OFF?! I NEED TO SEE HOW THESE TWO FELL IN LOVE! They just… the second Ethari was introduced these two had my heart and I just… I can’t even describe what it is about them that just gets me right there.

Lizzie x Daring (Ever After High): I said what I said. No regrets. Should’ve been endgame. You don’t get it, they get to be their real selfs when they’re with each other! The fucking potential! We only got 5 min in the webisodes and like a few dialogues in the books but they will forever live rent free in my brain.

Zuko x Katara (Avatar): …was this one predictable? I feel like this one was predictable, it just made so much sense with their respective characters, story lines and everything about them was just set up so perfectly but just never paid off. But yeah… these two were PERFECTION, up until they didn’t end up together somehow.

Percy x Annabeth (Percy Jackson): Come on, this is THE ship. I apologize in advance for the person I will become when the show comes out cause I’ll only be talking about them for a very long time.

Luka x Marinette (Miraculous Ladybug): You don’t understand how much I mean it when I say that I will go down with this ship. Luka is just… the cutest? And like… Marinette? Being supported? Being loved? Getting to have someone on her side that doesn’t feel like she owes them anything? Is this a potential OTP? Yes, yes it is.

Inej x Kaz (Six of Crows): I don’t think I have to say anything here. These two are just… wow. They would both kill for each other and… I love that it’s not an ‘I can fix them’ relationship, it’s a ‘I will change and be better for them’ relationship and I just…they are the pinnacle of romance.

Raven x Beast Boy (Teen Titans/Comics): Come on… do I have to say anything else? These two were made for each other! They understand each other in a way that almost no one else can, they both have dark sides that could take them over but they fight it, be it in different ways. And I just… they deserved so much more.

Mateo x Rufus (They Both Die at the End): If you haven’t read this book… it’s one of my faves but you shouldn’t read it unless you’re in a somewhat stable mental place ajajjajajja. But these two were just… ugh. I usually despise insta-love with every inch of my being but it worked so well for these two I just- AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

Sophie x Gideon (Shadowhunters: Infernal Devices): These two I feel like are underrated in the fandom. Like, come on! In my personal opinion, they have the best love story in Shadowhunters. I’ve loved them since I was 9 and they are just so… they are just so good with each other? I love them. Every single moment of their relationship slaps.

Ron x Hermione (Harry Potter): They invented hesitant friends to friends to best friends to lovers. And they were done so wrong in the movies. Can anyone recommend me fics with them as the central focus? The Harry Potter part of AO3 is a fucking mess and I’ve found like two and I need more!

Luz x Amity / Hunter x Willow / Eda x Raine (The Owl House): How the fuck did a single show give me 3 new OTP’s? I’ve got no fucking idea but somehow they did it. I adore this show, I cannot wait for the finale. All the love stories are just… top tier just… wow. Lumity are the perfect enemies to lovers arc, Huntlow are just… so cute and perfect and of course we have Eda and Raine who are just iconic and IF I DON’T GET A KISS I AM GOING TO-

Wednesday x Tyler (Wednesday): COME AT ME BRO (please don’t), I love when people say they shouldn’t be together cause *SPOILERS* like… this is Wednesday Adams we’re talking about, if anything it makes it better! I love this ship. Their dynamic is just superior to me. Crazy x different kind of crazy? Perfection.

Charles Xavier x Erik (X-men): X-MEN WERE FUCKING COWARDS. That’s all I’ll say about that. I deserved so much better.

Rarity x Apple Jack (Equestria Girls): My fave sapphics, they were girlfriends. Farm girl x fashionista? Fucking genius. The aesthetics and dynamics are just perfect. The heavens open up and you can hear the choir when there’s a plot line revolving around their… ‘friendship’.

Nam-ra x Su-hyeok (All of us are dead): They are just… so fucking precious? He runs towards zombies to protect her and they are both crushing on each other from a distance, trying not to be obvious and it is so cute and so precious and just… I can’t wait for s2.

Stiles x Lydia (Teen Wolf): I’m not watching the movie. I refuse to. These two had 14 year old me in a choke hold.

Barry x Caitlin (The Flash): yes, I’m that person. Seasons 1-4 I still held on to hope. I love these two, just two nerds supporting each other and being THE team. This was truly so much potential.

Sarah x Leonard (Legends of Tomorrow): *sobs* they were just… so unexpected but they also made so much sense?

Hiccup x Astrid (How to Train Your Dragon): They were my obsession for a good while, Race to the Edge gave me way too much serotonin. I cried violently watching the last movie I just- they were so good. Their whole character development in Race to the Edge? Absolute fucking hold.

Winter x Jacin (The Lunar Chronicles): These two are just… childhood best friends to lovers, I’d kill and die for you, we know we love each other but we’ll never admit it and just be teaseful and then when they finally kiss it’s just so intense I was fucking fainting. I love them.

Dominick x Erika (Barbie, The Princess and the Pauper): They invented romance and they are the only insta-love love story that I will accept.

Robin x Regina (Once Upon a Time): I will die angry. Srly, they were just… perfect for each other? The definition of true love and they understood each other, Robin was so good for her and he believed so much in her and they loved each other in such a pure way and just… also they were just hot as fuck together I mean, they had me questioning my sexuality.

Starfire x Robin/Nightwing (Teen Titans/DC Comics/DC Movies): I don’t even know how to describe the amount of serotonin these two give me, they just make sense to me and I love them.

Kid Flash x Jinx (Teen Titans): They had 1 episode and they made history.

Artemis x Kid Flash (Young Justice): …I’m still waiting… fuck me… THEY WERE JUST SO FUCKING GOOD AAAAAAAHHHHHH- The way they annoyed each other but slowly grew to trust each other and then became friends and you can’t even pin point the exact moment they start falling in love because it just happens so naturally and so organically and it’s just- AAAAAHHHHHHHH

Impulse x Blue Beetle (Young Justice): Bart is in love with Jaimie and he is not subtle about it at all. Jaimie is a bit oblivious but you know that he is just as much in love if not even more

Jonathan x Nancy (Stranger Things): I swear yall’ if they really redo the triangle next season, I’m going to riot cause these two, their story is so well done in the first 3 seasons and it’s just like… what the fuck ya know?

Mike x Eleven (Stranger Things): I don’t care what anyone says, I still love them.

Lucas x Max (Stranger Things): …ow? I honestly don’t know what else to say.

Ben x Evie/Harry x Uma (Descendants): YOU KNOW I’M RIGHT, DID YOU WATCH CHILLIN LIKE A VILLAIN/WHAT’S MY NAME?! THE CHEMISTRY WAS LITERALLY DRIPPING OFF OF THEM. HE WAS SO HAPPY EVERYTIME HE SAW HER AND THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN GOLD TOGETHER.

Lucas x Maya (Girl Meets World): I am so tired… these two were just… so good together, the chemistry, the story line, Maya accepting the ‘bad’ side of Lucas in a way that Riley never did and him just being there for her no matter what ‘I could never hurt you’ I just… why?

Veronica x JD (Heathers the Musical): Listen… hear me out… I know that he was kinda crazy but… they were kind of an iconic duo okay? Freeze Your Brain? Dead Girl Walking? Our Love Is God? Seventeen? Meant to Be Yours? I Am Damaged? Sorry was I… not supposed to ship them after listening to those? I love them. I’m allowed to have at least one kinda-toxic-if-you-think-about-it-ship.

Juliette x Warner (Shatter Me): They created sexual tension. Every single scene slaps and their arc is just perfect and I love them and they are just… they are so intense but in the best way possible.

[lizzie-is-here]

like the dawn

part xix- the endgame

“just because you are soft doesn’t mean you are not a force. honey and wildfire are both the color gold.” - victoria erickson

summary: you’re in the endgame now, and you’re making it out alive. even if you have to take on an army.

wordcount: 4.2k

warnings: violence, cussing, angst, endgame events, um idk what else

taglist: @whelvedfeelingsstuff @sebsgirl71479 @rebloggingmyrecs @babyblublossom @local-mr-frog @thenyxsky @capsiclesdoll @moonlightreader649 @saranghaey @almosttoopizza @itsprashimusic @yourfavunsub

a/n: one more part left! i’ve really enjoyed writing this series and i’m very sad to see it end, but i’m excited to see what’s next. hope you all enjoy, and i love u so much 🫶

previous part | series masterlist | next part

When everyone arrives back on the platform and safely in 2023, you’re more than excited.

You haven’t been so close to your boys in five years. But now there’s a glowing cube in your hand that you haven’t seen since the 40s and everyone’s here-

“Where’s Natasha?” you ask, watching Clint fall to his knees.

He says nothing, staring into the ground.

And that’s answer enough.

———————————————————————

The funeral is the next day. Just you, Tony, Thor, Bruce, and Clint.

Tony is just more determined to bring everyone back. Thor’s convinced you can bring her back. Bruce is… angry in a way that’s more human than Hulk.

Barton is heartbroken.

The grief rolls away from him in waves, and it’s impossible to ignore.

After the service at the compound lake, you head back to your old room, sitting down and staring at the blank walls.

A knock comes from the door.

The archer himself, still in the outfit from the funeral and tear stains still streaking down his face.

He sits next to you, looking around the room. The bed that’s larger than needed, the three pillows. The way you keep glancing at the walls for pictures that don’t hang there anymore.

Or maybe you’re looking around for people. For ghosts.

“How do you do it?” he asks. Live with the ghosts, he means.

“You’ve been doing it, too.”

Clint knows you’re right. He lost his entire family, and now his best friend. But he had Nat for those five years, and even then he went berserk.

He killed with no morals, just crude vigilantism for five long years. All over the world, he left dead bodies and power vacuums waiting to be filled by the next person corrupt enough to take on the role. He was a plague, sweeping through gangs and mobs and cutting them off at the knees with bloody tactics better left in foggy memory.

You hid in a cabin in Romania and adopted chickens.

And you were completely alone.

You shrug, mouth opening and closing a few times as you struggle for the words.

Swallowing, you take a deep breath. “I don’t. The pain hasn’t gone away.” He nods. “I think of them every second, every day. Even if I don’t want to admit it.”

“Do you know I dream of them?”

Clint pauses. “What do you mean?”

“Of our life before the war. Sometimes it’s memories, sometimes it’s all made up.” You chuckle a bit. “I dreamt that we were back- back then, one time. And I woke up convinced I was back in that little apartment.”

He can’t relate. Clint wishes he could have dreamt of his family, but he never saw them other than in pictures.

“I think those dreams were worse than the nightmares,” you finally say.

The hole Natasha Romanoff is leaving proves to be bigger than can ever be filled. For now, it feels bottomless. But one day, the hole won’t be so deep. Until then, you have to keep your head above water, even if you’re barely treading.

The two of you sit in silence, waiting for something that doesn’t come.

———————————————————————

“All right, the glove’s ready.”

Tony and Rocket carefully lift the new gauntlet. It’s Stark tech, hot-rod red as usual.

“Question is, who’s gonna snap their freakin’ fingers?” the raccoon asks. You go to speak, but Thor beats you to it.

“I’ll do it,” he says, hands shaking. In one hand, he’s clinging to Mjolnir, retrieved from the past. You’ve never touched the weapon. Ever since you learned how the hammer works, you’ve avoided it. You don’t need Asgardian magic to remind you of your crimes.

Despite Thor’s gumption, it’s clear to everyone that he’s in no state to even be awake, much less wielding the most powerful things in the universe.

“It’s okay.”

He hurries towards the glove, but you and Tony stop him before he can snatch it up.

“Thor, just wait,” you say. “We haven’t decided who’s gonna put the glove on yet.” The god laughs.

“Oh, I’m sorry. What, we’re all just sitting around and waiting for the right opportunity?”

“We should at least discuss it,” Scott agrees. Thor doesn’t relent, growing desperate as he rambles.

“I’m the strongest Avenger, okay?” he says. “So, this responsibility falls upon me. It’s my duty.”

When Tony steps in to talk him down, you turn your gaze back to the gauntlet. Just like in Wakanda, power flows off of it in waves. Without a wielder, however, its power is more of an ambient thrum than an overwhelming force.

If anyone else snaps, they’d be left with permanent damage. It could kill someone. Another friend, gone. Just like that.

The gauntlet is in your hands faster than you can blink.

“(Y/N)?” Tony’s voice is muffled.

You know that your healing would save you from any injuries.

You could bring everyone back.

Your boys.

“What are you talking about?” Scott asks. You didn’t even realize you were talking out loud.

Tony carefully grabs the gauntlet. “(Y/N), put the glove down.”

And you snap out of it, letting him take the stones away. Your fingertips pulse with power.

“I would survive,” you mutter. “I’d heal faster than I’d die.”

“Healing isn’t gonna do much for you,” Bruce says before nodding to Thor. “And neither will lightning. It’s gotta be me.”

“You saw what those stones did to Thanos. They almost killed him,” he continues. “The radiation coming off the stones is mostly gamma, though. It’s like… I was made for this.”

Everyone glances at each other. He makes a good point. Finally, Tony sighs and relents.

With everyone in place, Bruce picks up the gauntlet.

“Good to go, yeah?” Tony asks. When Bruce nods, the genius finalizes the plan. “Remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago, you’re just bringing them back to now, today. Don’t change anything from the last five years.”

“Got it.”

The room begins to go on lockdown, and you summon a shield of light in one hand, while readying your healing with the other.

“Everyone comes home.”

The glove expands to fit Bruce’s hand, and as soon as it’s locked on, that endless power returns. The doctor screams in pain, falling to one knee as his skin starts singeing under the heat.

“Take it off! Take it off!” Thor shouts, but you hold a hand out.

“Bruce, are you okay?” you ask. Eventually, he nods, lifting his hand.

And he snaps.

…then immediately collapses on the floor.

You start healing his arm as soon as possible, struggling to contain the damage. There are so many burnt nerves, so many blisters.

It takes a few minutes, and even then he’s still passed out.

You stand up as the team hovers around him, watching the doors open again. Your heart feels lighter.

Clint’s phone starts ringing, and everything starts to feel right again. From the windows, Scott pipes up.

“Guys… I think it worked.”

You smile, before the hairs on your neck rise.

A quick glance up is all you need to spot Thanos’s ship, giant and covering the compound.

You barely manage to throw a shield over yourself when the missile hits. When the rubble stops, you’re the only one atop the ruined building.

Flinging a hand to your earpiece, you take a shaky gasp. “Guys? Anyone, please. Are you all okay?”

All you get in response is vague screaming, so you huff, shake out your hands, and get ready for the fight of your life.

From your hiding spot, you watch Nebula, definitely not your Nebula, head towards a returned Thanos. Whatever happened on her excursion to the past, it brought them here.

The Mad Titan sits, sword planted in the ground, and waits.

Rage boils under your skin as you watch him. He’s nonchalant, calm, and confident. Maybe he’s not the same Thanos, but he took the loves of your life. You want nothing more than to kill him again.

However, as far as your rage will carry you, you know you’ll need help.

You take your place on a hill, shortly followed by Tony and Thor.

“What’s he been doing?” the former asks.

Thor shakes his head. “Absolutely nothing.”

“And the stones?” you ask. Tony points to the ground.

“Somewhere under all this. All I know is he doesn’t have ‘em.”

When you suggest fighting him, the god of Thunder sighs again. “You know it’s a trap, right?”

“Yeah. I just don’t care all that much.”

“Good. As long as we’re all in agreement.”

Thunder crackles as the clouds begin to spiral and Thor reaches out each hand. With the lightning come Mjolnir and Stormbreaker, flying into his hands. He doesn’t even flinch as the electricity dances across his body.

“Let’s kill him properly this time.”

The three of you descend, slowly approaching Thanos.

“You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you?” He nods, smirking. “Back to me.”

“I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you’ve shown me that that’s impossible. As long as there are those who remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist.”

“We certainly will,” you say.

“I’m thankful. Because now I know what I must do. I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then, with the stones you’ve collected for me… create a new one, teeming with life, that knows not of what it has lost but only what it has been given.” He grabs his sword. “A grateful universe.”

You shrug your bow into your hands. “Born out of blood.”

“They’ll never know it. Because you won’t be alive to tell them.”

You, Tony, and Thor all strike at once. Flashes of electricity, light, and repulsors flicker in time to clangs of metal.

Even if Thanos is huge, the three of you are nimble. You dart and weave around his blade, firing at weak spots as the other two sink everything into their strikes.

Thor charges up Tony, who attacks and in turn gives you an opening. But then Tony’s knocked out and tossed to the rubble. The god rushes in to help, but gets pinned and Thanos starts sinking Thor’s own axe into his chest.

You have to hold the line.

Tossing the bow to the side, you charge the titan. A flash of light in his eyes distracts him, and something pulls your hand.

An instinct? No, that’s not the right word. The action isn’t familiar, or a usual response.

It’s an intuition.

The unfamiliar tug extends your palm, and something comes flying to your outstretched hand. Closer, closer, until you don’t have to look over to know what lands in your grip.

Mjolnir.

The hammer crackles to life and you feel like you’ve just been injected with pure caffeine. It’s a high like no other. Absolutely euphoric.

In the reflection of the weapon, you can see your eyes glowing in gold and blue.

The rest of the universe falls away. It feels selfish to admit, but you don’t give a damn right now about what happens to the rest of the galaxies. You’re doing this for Earth. For your friends.

For Natasha. For Wanda, and Sam, and T’Challa. For Steven Grant Rogers and James Bucky Barnes.

You fly up, watching Thanos ready his sword. Your powers combined with Thor’s are too much to even contain, and residual energy starts escaping your hands and seeping into the hammer.

You bring down Mjolnir on Thanos with such force that it knocks his sword from his hands and drives him into the dirt.

With a twirl of the wrist, you strike him across the jaw, flipping away as he jumps up.

It’s a careful dance as you fight the man destined on destroying this entire universe. Not just you, not just the Avengers. Everyone. And you’re standing between him and his goal.

Gold light and light blue electricity dance around your body as you move, radiating from you like a deadly whirlwind.

With a flying blow that knocks him onto his back again, you set a foot on his chest.

“I killed you once. I dragged it out that time.” You shoot a pulse of electricity through your planted foot that you can feel shock his nerves. “That was before I had five years to think about it. Alone,” you snap.

“I won’t take so long this time.” When you flash a smirk, you think you can see a bit of fear in his eyes.

One hand flies down to Thanos’s forehead and you unleash the pent-up energy.

His head starts overheating and he screams, clawing at your hand. It doesn’t do much, seeing as every time his fingers touch you, lighting burns his hands. But then he manages to grab his sword and slam it against you, sending you flying back.

Your wings take the brunt of the landing, but you stand anyway. It’s not like you have any other option.

Now that Thanos has his sword again, you’re on even footing. Blows are parried and your hands are lightning-quick, literally and figuratively.

But you’re human beneath everything.

And you’re tiring.

He sneaks in a blow that cuts your arm and lays you out in the dirt yards away, Mjolnir flying from your hands as you cough.

You gasp for air as he slowly stalks toward you. Fighting to get up proves harder than ever.

So instead, you roll onto your side, healing the gushing wound.

“In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter… it was never personal.”

You lift your head to glare at the titan.

“But I’ll tell you now, what I’m about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet? I’m gonna enjoy it very, very much.”

Behind him, an army descends from his ships. Thousands of soldiers.

Tony isn’t getting up. Neither is Thor. For all you know, the rest of the team is dead under your feet.

You rise, reaching your freshly-healed arm down to your side and feeling the familiar thrum of your powers.

You extend your wings to their full reach, casting a soft shadow behind you. For once, you appreciate their darkness.

The neverending enemy in front of you is an omen of death.

But so are you.

For once, the Angel of Death doesn’t seem like such a horrible title.

You only hope your boys will be okay when you’re gone.

With a long-suffering sigh, you slowly start your way towards the enemy line, when the silent comm in your ear crackles to life.

“I thought you knew better than to do anything stupid until we got back?”

When you whip your head back to where a soft glow is growing, that adrenaline rush is back all over again.

The first to emerge from the portal are T’Challa, Shuri, and Okoye. The king nods to you, and you can spot the full Wakandan army behind them.

Sam flies out as dozens more portals emerge, dotting the sky.

Dr. Strange, the family of Rocket. Peter’s with them, smiling as if he’d never died.

You watch in awe. Some of the people emerging from the rings, you don’t even recognize. But you’re all here for the same reason. You held the line.

And then you see them.

Up until that point, you’d stayed calm. You’re tired, bruised, and relieved beyond imagination.

But as soon as you make eye contact with Steve and Bucky you’re running towards them.

When you finally reach them, they catch you with open arms.

“Welcome back,” you whisper, clinging on and never intending on letting go. You pull away anyway.

“I’m sorry,” Steve asks. Bucky agrees, still holding your hand.

You laugh, tears spilling over. “What for? Your back!”

“We’re sorry you had to be alone,” Bucky presses. Nodding, you turn back to the army that you quite honestly forgot was there.

“All that matters now is that you’re here,” you conclude, reaching out a hand. That same tug, and Mjolnir returns just like before.

You gesture to Steve, who’s gaping at the weapon in your grasp.

“Go on. You do it better anyways.”

He nods, shouting over the noises of both sides.

“Avengers…”

“…assemble.”

Everyone surges forward at once, the two sides colliding in a mess of yelling and blasts. You spot Tony and Pepper in complimentary suits, destroying Thanos’s smaller ships.

Thor takes out waves of aliens with lightning strikes, and the Dora Milaje take down enemies with strategic precision.

You join the god, catching his ax when it comes towards you instead of the hammer.

He frowns. “No, no, give me that. You have the little one.” You oblige, swapping weapons and taking to the sky as lightning trails behind you.

A Leviathan veers in your direction, sharp teeth glinting as you speed up. You toss Mjolnir down its throat, conjuring lightning that explodes the whole creature from the inside.

You reach out for the hammer to return to your hand, but just as it reaches you, it flies away.

“Dammit, I was using that, Thor,” you mutter, watching it sail to his hand.

You summon an arrow, tossing it into the fray and manipulating it from the ground. It cuts through the air faster than energy blasts, and you send it straight through a larger ship that crashes to the ground.

“You need to keep up with this, it’s vintage.” You whirl around to see Steve holding up your bow. He smiles. “C’mon, I’m more of a shield guy, myself.”

You roll your eyes, smirking and taking it.

“We’re vintage, Stevie. Where is Buck, anyway?”

The blond points a bit away, where your other lover is furiously struggling to tie his hair up in a half-bun.

“Cap!” Clint shouts over comms. “What do you want me to do with this damn thing?” The glove.

You block an alien charging you two, holding it off as Steve responds.

“Get those stones as far away as possible!”

You fire a blast down its throat as Bruce yells from nearby.

“No! We need to get ‘em back where they came from,” he says.

You grunt, shoving more enemies back. “We can’t do that. Thanos destroyed the machine.”

“Hold on!” Scott towers above the battlefield, but shrinks down as soon as he talks. “That wasn’t our only time machine.”

A distant melody plays.

You press your earpiece. “Anyone see an ugly brown van out here?”

An unfamiliar voice responds. “Yes, but you’re not gonna like where it’s parked!”

Scott and Tony start talking, hashing out a plan to reactivate the tunnel. Meanwhile, you hurry towards Bucky.

He ducks long enough for you to shoot an arrow at a hoverbike flying at you both.

“You’re bleeding,” you scold. He willingly offers up his flesh arm, letting you mend the skin with ease.

“You look the same,” he whispers. You glance up in confusion. “Everyone else looks older. Stark. Barton.”

In the midst of the battlefield, he kisses your forehead.

“You haven’t changed one bit.”

You shrug. “Well, at least that serum’s worth something.”

Across the field, you see a red glow. Thanos rises in the air by Wanda’s magic, and he starts screaming in pain almost immediately.

He shouts out, and you can see the main ship above readying its guns.

“Steve!” you yell, beckoning the blond over. You throw up a shield just as fire rains down on both sides, explosions racking the ground.

Suddenly, the guns turn to the sky.

A beam of lights shoots through the main ship, exploding the inside.

A saving grace.

“Danvers,” you pant into the comm. “Welcome back.”

“Good to be back, Agent.”

Steve and Bucky both raise an eyebrow.

“‘Agent’?” the former teases. You push him, running to where Carol landed.

You gently help Peter to his feet as he passes the gauntlet off to the veteran, healing his scratches.

“I don’t know how you’re gonna get through all of that.” He winces as you heal his nose.

“Don’t worry,” Wanda says as she lands beside him. On a winged horse, a woman descends as well.

“She’s got help,” Okoye finishes. Along comes Pepper, Hope, and Shuri. You grin and turn back to the teen.

“Stay safe, okay? You’ve done a great job, now let us finish this up,” you tell him as he nods. “Steve and Buck are over there, keep an eye on them for me?”

He dutifully runs off and you tap your earpiece to speak just to your boys.

“I sent Peter over to you two. Keep an eye on him, please.”

They respond in the affirmative, and you return your focus on the task at hand.

As the group charges forward at the titan, you all attack at once. You and Wanda sling twin blasts, gold and scarlet colliding against the enemy line before Gamora and Okoye go in with a sword and spear.

The valkyrie slices down the side of a leviathan as Carol blasts through the explosions. She collided with Thanos, and the resulting explosion rocks the ground.

The gauntlet is on the ground. Tony and Thanos both run for it, and when the genius is tossed to the side, Thor takes his place. Even the god is shrugged off.

Steve and Bucky are beside you in an instant. The shield, the gun, the bow.

Just like before.

You don’t have to speak to move in tandem.

Steve tosses the shield and you blast it forward. Bucky throws a knife that you retrieve. Steve distracts Thanos long enough for Bucky to kick the gauntlet further away.

It’s a triad of blows, and you manage to fight the titan to a standstill for a while.

But the moment you slip up, he takes the advantage again. Bucky is tossed at least 20 feet, and Steve is punted into the ground and punched in the face.

With a swing of the arm, you push the titan back before shooting out a hand.

Alien anatomy may be strange, but it’s not hard to locate a knee.

You focus your powers on the bone, and you pull.

The bone pops out of the socket with a sickening pop, and Thanos screams. Before you can give the other knee the same treatment, he grabs one of your wings and throws you.

You shout out as you hit the ground, rolling to a stop a few feet away. Cussing and groaning under your breath, you try to blink away the tears.

As you lay on the ground, you fire random bursts of light in hope to keep the gauntlet away from Thanos.

Tony takes over when you can’t anymore. You watch the man, more human than any of the rest of you, wrestle with the titan. He gets flung away, but you see him cradling something in his hands.

Thanos raises his arm, but you can see the back of his hand. The stones are missing.

“I am inevitable,” he hisses.

When he snaps, all that comes is an empty clang.

Tony sits up, and the Infinity Stones take their places on his hand in a gauntlet of his own.

“And I…” he pauses to gasp for breath. “…Am Iron Man.”

All around you, Thanos’s army starts dissolving to dust, just as half of the universe did five years ago. The titan sits down, but your focus is on the billionaire.

He stumbles towards you and you guide him to a nearby rock. Tony sits down, or rather, collapses on the ground as you kneel beside him.

You’re tired, but you push through the fatigue.

“What’re you doing, kid?” he whispers. If not for your enhanced hearing, you wouldn’t have been able to make out the words.

“You saved me.” You wince as your wing, still broken, twinges. “So I’m saving you.”

The damage on his right arm is too much. You can heal the worst of the injuries, but the damage in the arm is too great to save. And he’s too human.

The burns on his face are healing, and his pulse is weak, but you’re confident that it’s not stopping any time soon.

“Tony? Oh, thank fuck.” Rhodey, Pepper, and Peter come running as you step away, stumbling slightly.

You turn around to meet the gaze of Steve and Bucky. It’s a sigh of relief every time you see them. They both pull you into a hug, pausing when you wince.

“Are you hurt?” the former asks.

You nod, head resting against this chest. “Big purple bitch broke my wing.” It's fully healed by now, but the soreness will last.

The brunet chuckles, carefully running a hand up and down your back.

“You poor thing,” he chides.

You shrug. “I’ll be alright. Plus, I’m going to be using it to get breakfast in bed for at least two weeks.”

“You were alone for so long,” Steve says, tone growing serious before he laughs. “I think breakfast in bed is guaranteed for the next two months.”

You both slyly glance at Bucky, who’s still fussing over your non-injured wing.

“I’ll make as many pancakes as you two want,” he says.

Thor and Rhodey help Tony limp to a jet, and the rest of the massive army disperses in kind. Peter waves to you three from the quinjet.

“Come on! We’re gonna head to the tower.”

You and your boys link pinkies, and head towards the jet.

Hand in hand, heading home.

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

Okay so my general mru timetravel saga phase thing. + how I’m doing the YA.

Since I think focusing on timetravel instead of the multiverse would have been a better next saga since timetravel was set up formerly.

Also, champions and Runaways will likely feature but I need to defamiliarise myself with the comics to feel more comfortable deciding on HOW. But I’ll get to it, just not in this post.

(Ramble below the cut)

First Phase:

I would make the first phase AFTER endgame extremely chill. More grounded, focus on a smaller group of heroes and the affects of the snap. TFATWS would be my preferred first project but obviously could change when I go to write it. Maybe seven projects in all? Keep it small. Six main solo projects, an avengers team up. I want to make it clear that things aren’t running as smoothly as they could be post-Thanos, there’s a lot of tension, the team isn’t quite… teaming.

Steve shows up as cameos in TFATWS and the avengers teamup, but not to take away from the focus of Sam being the new Cap. He’s more of an… advisor. He has experience, but that’s all he’s got to offer. He’s done with the fight. I don’t think he should’ve died in endgame personally bc I think people need a main avengers to continue showing up to really keep their investment until another character proves worthy enough for focus.

Eli is the first Young Avenger to be included, which would make a whole ‘oooo Young avengers maybe??’ But he’s played off like a cameo that’s there because Isaiah is there, no need to rush into the YA.

Kamala is also showing up. Ms Marvel wouldn’t be a MAIN solo project and would be kind of hinted to be disconnected until Carol shows up in the last episode.

There will also probably be a Hawkeye series but I don’t want any of the YA to be heroes before the YA. So Kate will likely cameo but I don’t want her to be a Hawkeye yet. That’s YA stuff. It can wait.

Second Phase:

A little more funky now. The Marvels is a good guide to take for the balance of funky and grounded. Sure it’s in space but it’s a pretty typical movie, nothing too big. Of course, the marvels = Teddy introduction. I’ve not watched the movie yet (literally on the way there now) so I can’t promise how I’ll introduce him, but it’ll probably be a small ‘cameo type’ thing.

The phase starts on a lighter note but slowly degrades, the avengers are slipping apart. It ends on a Loki s1.

Introduction of Kid Loki also. And I’ll probably do Sylvie differently. But with the demolition of the sacred timeline, there comes chaos in the storyline.

Introduction of the champions might occur here, whilst things are still light and dandy. Depends on what I can swing.

Third Phase:

House of M. Wandavision, obviously, introduces the Twins. They’ll probably remain toddlers though, to keep them little and cute, plus terrible twos + superpowers would make it obvious she’s crazy when she CHOSE that. They’re the two YA introduced this phase, no America until the multiverse unfortunately.

The avengers are slowly falling apart even further, Loki s2, and then, bosh, kangs. Not THE Kang, though. Other kangs. Fighting aaa. Some avengers probably die, Scott definitely does. They win and have to fight THE Kang, don’t win, Kang escapes.

Idk how to explain my idea for that film considering I haven’t properly planned it. But, basic idea is that he WILL come back.

Phase four:

No avengers. They fell apart, like they did for infinity war. If things like this keep happening, there’s no point anymore. Womp womp everything sucks. Some people, like Sam, are trying to keep everyone together but it’s so… hard. They wonder if they’re really just making things worse. They probably are.

Yeah there are solo projects. But it’s mostly pretty dismal. They’re trying to prepare to fight kang but they know they’ll lose. In the final solo project, there’s an end credit scene. Someone in a suit appears in dark streets and picks up a loose newspaper. ‘The avengers disbanded’. In a robotic-ish voice: oh no.

And then, final avengers movie of the saga. Except… it opens up to kids being assholes and oh wait this is just an adaptation of the first Young Avengers comic with some more emphasis on the avengers. Why have a huge crossover movie when teenagers can stab people? This isn’t to say there won’t be any closure for other storylines, I just don’t think every storyline needs to end in an AVENGERS storyline. The big crossover movie will probably be phase 3’s big Kang gang up movie, with everyone fighting their own time travelling war lord. But Kang’s death belongs to Nate. So that’s how it’ll be. Other superhero team ups will probably happen. But the big bad will be slain by those who now carry the avengers torch. It’s to me the only way to actually get people interested in the Young Avengers.

Some post saga notes:

There are some things that will be included. Like fantastic four and Xmen. It’s just a little difficult to try and explain how they fit it without going into masses of detail.

The next saga will likely be multiverse based. The Young Avengers are pretty well prepped for that kind of storyline. I’ll likely reallocate TLAT to this saga. Multiverse works better for god-based movies than time travel. It’ll probably include Children’s Crusade and YA vol2 for some of the avengers movies.