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shutupineedtothink · 23 days ago

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More ep 8 + 9 thoughts, in no particular order:

Rio looks at Agatha the way Agatha looks at other people when they say something angry or misunderstood or untrue about her — mainly, hurt. It’s fine, I’m fine. By not accepting her nature, Agatha’s doing the exact same thing to Rio that people have been doing to her for centuries and if that ain’t trauma i don’t know what is.

I’ve heard people say it was out of character for Rio to go all evil witch in ep 8, but I think it was a choice. She was so hurt by the deal Agatha wanted from her to never see her again, she said you know what, fine. You think I’m evil? I’ll be evil. Let’s play. But even as she puts on this show she’s saying things like I’m the natural order of all things and you love me, and why don’t you want me? And again, this is an Agatha move. Putting on the show of the evil witch to hide her pain underneath. Calls back to ep 1 too, when she says I can’t kill you, but I can make you wish you were dead.

I tend to kill my coven members. So do I. — That boy and Agatha are mirrors what did I tell you. 🙌🏼

I still can’t quite wrap my head around what she was thinking when she tried to give him up to Rio. Did she see him start to turn himself in and know that that’s what Rio needed him to do, so she changed to her evil side to make him second guess himself? Or did she genuinely think screw this in that moment and then changed her mind? I don’t know, and I don’t think we’re supposed to know, and that’s really interesting actually.

And Billy! Basically manipulates her into sacrificing herself for him using Nicky! My dude you really aren’t that nice. In that sense… he really got all of them killed.

I say more about this in my general show overview post which is coming soon, but once I was able to let go of where I thought Agatha should go as a character, I realized a couple things: a) her journey isn’t over, so this wasn’t supposed to feel like a complete arc and b) I think the point of her character is that you just can’t pin her down in one category or another. She’s not fully evil, she’s definitely not good but she can make good choices, she’s not a complete villain but she’s not a hero or anti-hero either. She’s truly unique in the MCU in that sense. And interestingly, it seems like Billy is going in a similar direction. We’ll see.

So Agatha is the “maiden mother crone” of the last episode right? We’ve now seen her in all three stages, she was the mother up until she died and now is the crone as a ghost playing the Guide to Billy. I’m gonna go with that.

There’s a .2 second look of pain on Agatha’s face when Rio tells her Lilia is dead. That’s when she found out. She does care about them, she’s just definitely not going to show it in front of anyone else.

Lots of great line repetitions in these last two eps (covenless witch, get used to this feeling, etc), but one I could have used again was Rio’s “te veo” — she does say the line about watching Agatha just as closely as you watch everyone else, which was great. But idk I wanted that to come back one more time.

See my previous post for my Nicky thoughts but it seems like the more discourse comes out the more we all agree that is Rio’s child just as much as Agatha’s. The question then becomes, was he just created from their love and magic, or for some other reason? Personally I would love to see more play out with Nicky and him possibly being “a demon, or an agent of Mephisto” and that’s why Agatha can’t face him. She needed more time to figure out how to change his fate but she couldn’t. It’s almost a Bucky/winter soldier situation, but instead of hydra it’s literally the Marvel god of the underworld controlling him. There’s a movie in there somewhere for sure. (MCU witch movie??)

The music banged in these eps especially the choral opening to ep 9, so cool.

Am I the only one wondering why Agatha is RunNInG when she’s in labor? Like where’s she going, who’s she running from? Just an interesting opening.

It’s Agatha All Along in several ways: Agatha (and Nicky) originated the ballad, Agatha used the ballad to kill witches for centuries, she was telling the truth all along about the road not existing, she was the one who bound Jen, and she knew all along it was Billy who made the road. Not exactly the character transformation I was gunning for, but I see the vision now.

The Peggy Carter cosplay I live 🤌

I still don’t think Agatha outright intentionally killed Alice. I still think she either genuinely didn’t have control in that moment, or Billy subconsciously made her do it to make her the villain. (Edit, Jac basically confirmed option 1)

I LOVE that she’s a conwoman. It makes so much sense for her character and even in a more genuinely evil context I love a con.

Agatha says she was going to kill them in her basement on day 1, but Lilia stopped them. If they didn’t attack her, would she have found another way to take their power? Idk but it seems more to me like she’s just trying to make Billy feel better.

I’m itching for more, but I do love the emotional moment between them in the basement at the end. Agatha lets just a little bit of her true feelings peek through, and Billy gets a little perspective as well.

Ok, I’ve now listened to the full 3.5 hour House of R pod on the finale, including their interview with Jac Schaeffer, and she confirmed a lot of my thoughts here so. Nice.

OMG Jac said this thing about the Road being Agatha’s lie that Billy made real and I got CHILLS

I’m expecting some baller fan edits for this show now that it’s over absolutely can’t wait

I could probably say more, and if I think of more stuff I’ll add it in comments. But also look out for that full show review post.

#agatha all along #agatha harkness #agatha all along spoilers #rio vidal #billy maximoff #AgathaRio #jac Schaeffer really said everybody arced out on this show except Agatha #really great interview on House of R pod seriously check it out

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chantsdemarins · 8 months ago

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😅Real Villain Training [Tom Hiddleston circa 2012 X Fem.Reader]

Chapter three of Breath of the Æsir is almost here. I’m SO sorry for the wait! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy a very brief Tom story...

Honestly, I pledged to myself, no more Tom stories just focus on Loki. But I think I just can't help it. Especially when slutty inspiration like this photo comes my way (@lokischambermaid and @lokisgoodgirl 😳)

I am humbled by this era of Tom. In 2024 he is a husband/father/seasoned iconic actor in perpetual good cheer, but in 2012, he was a bad boy. As always please reblog and comment if you feel inspired!

Summary: Tom is hanging out with some real jerks for a new role, and he runs into you, literally. Your depression has caused your life to turn a little black and white, could this handsome stranger possibly add some color back? (at least to your cheeks🥵).

Smut factor: I hope...HOT 🔥

(Authors note: I have no concrete proof he was in fact a bad boy so please don't take seriously my young Tom plot themes of drugs and sex, which once again appear here. I could be totally wrong about him. It's art! It's a fabrication! Also, this story does involve mental health!)

I also don't know who would want to be on a tag list for a Tom fic these days! These are a few people who might be interested?? @lokischambermaid @mochie85 @mischief2sarawr @lokisgoodgirl @wheredafandomat @sailorholly @mrs-illyrian-baby @superficialdomina @gigglingtiggerv2 @fictive-sl0th @muddyorbs @tbhiddlestan83 @huntress-artemiss @smolvenger @kikster606 @mjsthrillernp @hiroyukinasukawa

Los Angeles, 2012

That afternoon, the rooftop pool at the Saint Avalon was a pink swirl of bathing beauties in early spring. Tom tried to focus on his deadpan conversation with his agent, but polka dots and silly cocktails danced around him. He pushed his Ray-Bans back into place, his sweat—or perhaps nervousness—causing them to slowly slide off his nose.

"Serious British actor succumbs to being typecast as a Norse sociopath. That's where this is headed, Tom, if we don’t do something, get you something else.” “Do you really want to be known only for Marvel?” he repeated his plea. The words just weren’t sinking in.

Tom laughed and inadvertently tried to change the subject. "Have you been to the La Brea Tar Pits yet, John? It’s wild—10,000 years' worth of dire wolf bones.”

His stare remained galvanized by the poolside girls. They just didn't look like that in London. Number one, the sunshine. Number two, the tans. Number three, well, his girlfriend—or ex-girlfriend, rather—made it hard to look too long at anyone else. So had he ever found himself at a rooftop pool party, he wouldn't have had the chance he was having now.

“Tom, are you paying attention? This is important. You're only here for a week, and we need to move on this role. I need to know if you're a yes.” The truth was, Tom was suddenly filthy rich with his own money for the first time in his life. He really loved being a Norse sociopath and already had big ideas for Loki’s eventual character arc into becoming an anti-hero someday. He had filled three journals on his bedside stand with his ideas for Loki.

His agent tried again, “Just hang out with Giorgio. It’s less than a month. Then the movie should be a very easy shoot. You get to embed yourself with some real hedge fund cats.” Tom’s attention snapped back. “Wait, I like that.” “Right? It’s like if Loki worked on Wall Street.” “Well…” Tom hesitated. He didn’t think Loki would actually ever bore himself that way. Those guys were boring to Tom and to Loki.

His poor agent was right, though. He did need another role. Things had gone so well; filming for the next Avengers movie was starting this summer. If he could find another gig, a time filler, a totally different genre, it really would be the best for his career. “Then a play next,” the agent mused, taking a sip of his own cocktail. “Shakespeare, or something 70s.” “70s? As in the 1570s? Or the 1970s?” “Tom.” “How should I know?” Tom laughed to himself, eyes still canvassing the poolside display around him. His agent leaned across his lawn chair and placed his hand on Tom’s shoulder. “So, you’ll do it?”

Two Weeks Later

Deep down, he knew he didn’t have the dissociation required for the job. He was too corporeal, too embodied. Years of being a long-distance runner and a trained athlete had fastened his mind, heart, and soul firmly into his muscles. He clearly wouldn’t be able to hide his feelings in his highly emotive, sensitive body. That was the first thing he noticed about the guys he was forced to hang out with for this role. They were covered up with their suits and sexist jokes. It was like they had Hadrian’s Wall around them. Which was, in fact, what exactly led to his sudden departure from the bar at Rue 23.

He had been embedded with short and loud Glen, buzz-cut Ellis, and the tall and lanky, just like him, Brad Nelson. There were a few others, but they were too milquetoast to be memorable. Role be damned. He left so fast the thick glass door almost hit a nice young couple as he bolted into the cold Los Angeles spring night.

He wasn’t dressed right; in his haste to leave London, he didn’t remember that California got into the 40s after the sun went down. He didn’t even pack a suit coat. Thank God he remembered to grab his leather pack from under the bar. It contained exactly five cigarettes, a finicky Zippo, his aftershave, a white t-shirt, and a travel toothbrush. There might also be a rolled-up Popular Mechanics magazine from the Burbank airport, something he never would be caught dead reading at Heathrow.

He also hadn’t done so much coke since he was in college. Why was LA always so incredibly cliché? He couldn’t blame Luke. He couldn’t blame anyone but himself for this role. He said yes when he was distracted. He was in over his head. They had hired these real blokes to make sure Tom looked authentic when they started filming next month, and given his intense drive for perfection, he had agreed that it was “brilliant” of the casting director to force the eight of them to spend these weeks in Los Angeles and one week in Manhattan, in a true immersive centrifuge of shallow materiality.

The night spun around him, a neon ball of yarn, teasing open his pupils until his eyes were black and not at all blue. As he walked, he ran his large hands down the surface of his body, the material of his shirt feeling like a fancy pillowcase from a boutique hotel.

One finger lingered over his jawline, tracing it as he brought his hands back up to his face. Engrossed in the comfort of his form a moment too long, he was distracted once again. This part of LA seemed to always be full of clusters of locals and tourists, laughing and talking. He was unfortunately moving against the flow of the crowd, a wayward salmon when he almost ran straight into you.

“Watch where you're going!” you yelled, dropping your purse onto the dirty LA sidewalk. It opened enough for your things to tumble out. Tom immediately stopped and bent down to help you, but you batted his hands away. “What the hell? I can pick up my own damn Chapstick,” you scolded. “Ma’am, I am so sorry, I am obviously not from here, and I am a little overwhelmed,” he rattled off. “Why is that obvious?” “My accent, of course.” “I didn’t honestly notice,” you spoke as you inspected the tall man’s face with squinting eyes.

You, of course, did immediately notice the timbre of his voice, his height, and the buttons on his tight shirt which looked like they were in the process of unbuttoning themselves. “Would you believe I’ve been doing coke all night with a bunch of Wall Street assholes at the Rue 23, and I had to get the fuck out of there,” he continued, not sure if you were listening, but you were definitely looking at him, so he continued.

“So now I am wandering the streets of Beverly Hills, and I haven’t the foggiest how the rest of my night will go.” You shuffled your feet for a moment before speaking. You had been heading home after a long day at work. You felt genuinely unprepared for navigating a handsome foreigner in the right direction. Yet there was a certain appeal to a man suddenly without his ship or his crew, so to speak. So you didn’t immediately walk away.

He had been shuffled from the airport to the bar in a hired car, he tried to explain, and his sense of direction bordered on problematic. Further, his flip phone was really only good for texting, and that even took way too long most days. He really did seem high, overwhelmed, and a little lost. He also seemed the type unable to handle any silence in a conversation.

“Do you live far?” he said after suffering through 30 seconds of no discourse. “It’s LA, everything is far.” “Fair enough,” Tom muttered sheepishly, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt, which were still somehow unbuttoning themselves. He thought he had bought the right size shirt. Maybe not.

You realized that if you were to ask this too-high, too-hot British man back to your apartment, you would inevitably cave and end up sleeping with him just because he caught you in this particular moment of your life. It was an in-between time. You weren't quite your old self and your new self that you'd been working so hard on, hadn't emerged yet.

“Want to grab something to eat?” You finally offered a neutral segue. That seemed to be just what the man needed to hear. His demeanor calmed. “Oh sure, yes, I could go for a big American cheeseburger, honestly.” “Okay then, let’s go to Patty’s on Vine, we can walk,” you said as you pulled at his shirt to turn him toward the right direction. He bristled at the feeling of your touch.

His whole body was even more sensitive than usual. You looked like the queen of the ancient British Iceni to him. In truth, he didn’t much care for the California look. He loved that you appeared out of nowhere and you looked like Boudica, not like Gwyneth Paltrow. Even though he was sure he heard she was nice. RDJ seemed to really love her.

The diner where you were headed was the second-tier after-hours hang, so it wasn’t populated with the usual crowd, not yet at least. You had some time before you would be inundated, and perhaps before someone would recognize him, which you still did not. You could ask him, of course. Although, sometimes in Los Angeles, the worst part is knowing who someone is.

Although Tom being Tom was unable to resist personal questions. “Tell me a little bit about yourself, just a little,” he had to ask as the night air propelled him quickly down the sidewalk. You considered telling him about your job, but it was just how you paid the bills. Your passions were your passions and not for a stranger. So you decided to be a little goth. It couldn't hurt.

“I have something like anhedonia, I suppose,” you finally said. Tom seemed to know what you meant right away. “The inability to feel?” He spoke. “More classically refined, which results in numbness, making capturing interior somatic sensations nearly impossible,” you clarified. “Sounds like you are depressed,” Tom flattened out your creative retelling of your current state. “Maybe,” although you weren't sure of his simple label. "You think it will pass?" Tom continued, ever the optimist.

You considered one way to try and test if this state you'd been in could possibly change, would be to see if he could provoke feelings of passion or at least some kind of low-grade horniness. You’d been feeling functionally blank for a while now.

He was stunning, after all.

He seemed game for anything, his amphetamine grin taking up the majority of his handsome face. He looked so lovely under the hanging light in your dingy booth. You ate the two-egg special you ordered and watched him devour his American cheeseburger with genuine joy.

“So, you're here to practice for a new part?” You sincerely tried to keep the conversation flowing despite the growing desire to test your theory. “Yes, they want me to branch out. In my career, there’s the fear I am already 'type-casted,' I guess you could say.” “Type-casted? So early on?”

He looked young to you. Possibly younger than you actually. “Yes, I had a big role as a villain, it really blew up, but, he's like a mythological comic book one. I am misunderstood mostly. I mean my character, not me.” "Sure." You nodded in understanding and agreed even if you didn’t quite pick up what he was putting down. You wondered if he had ever seen 'The Last Starfighter.' A favorite movie of yours, you rarely shared with anyone else. Or had he been in that? Your mind wandered. You really didn't recognize him, but you also didn't want to offend him by this fact.

“So how would this role be redefining your abilities? If you are playing a heartless hedge fund dude, isn’t that also a kind of villain? Maybe that is why you got this part.” Tom pondered your insight. He again fell into overthinking and was only a text away from bailing on the entire endeavor. He was becoming that kind of guy, emotionally uneven under his elite veneer.

“I guess they feel like I don’t have the chops to be a 'real world' baddie.” “I needed more practice.” “You don’t?” you said very timidly, suddenly you weren’t hungry anymore. You gently pushed your plate aside so you could focus.

You realized his bromance compadres would find him eventually. Another LA truth: it was hard to get truly lost for long. You had been studying his face during the conversation. His pale complexion was slowly becoming flushed in small increments. Was it shyness or a hidden boldness he was bursting to demonstrate, you couldn't tell.

You had worn your espadrilles today, maybe it wasn’t the right season yet, but they always went so well with your outfit-a flowery dress from H&M. Gently and playfully, you kicked one of them off your foot, making a soft thud. Tom dipped his eyes beneath the table for only a moment and brought them back to you, a new flash of crimson emerging. Why were you taking off your shoes? Maybe your feet hurt from the walk?

He picked up his water and chugged almost all of it.

Your right leg lifted up and found purchase exactly between his, landing on the soft seat. Tom chuckled nervously and grabbed your foot. “Just what are you doing?” “I thought you were in training to be a real villain. Or did I misunderstand that?” You teased. Tom’s sincerity and earnestness were effulgent. “Oh no, I am, I really want the part, I need this role.” Suddenly when the idea of something illicit going on beneath the table loomed, he was not reticent about this new role. “Then you better continue to practice.” You laughed, your own smile forming across your face. “How long do we have until they find you?” You inched your foot closer to his crotch.

Tom took a deep breath in and pulled out his flip phone eyes squinting, trying to see the rectangle text banner across the tiny screen. He held the phone up to you. “Can you read this at all?” You grabbed it from him, feeling his hand shaking a little. It was charming. He was nervous.

You read the tiny screen aloud, “Not really, something about where are you at…you wanker, we are about to call your agent." It did say exactly that, and you wondered if possibly Tom was throwing away this role. Were you watching him collapse his career before your eyes? “Are you one for self-sabotage Tom?” The question seemed to catch him off guard. Maybe no one had asked him so bluntly. “Maybe,” he said after a long minute of typing something on the seemingly minute phone with his long fingers and even larger hands. “Just like I am possibly depressed," you offered. He looked up and sat his phone down. “Yes, I think so. Just like that.”

Incoming

Just then the waitress came by filled your water glasses and gave you another quick refill of coffee. Your chosen sobriety was a strange foil to Tom’s imbibed stimulant cocktail which showed no sign of waning. “So, are we on?” He finally said after biting his bottom lip, for what seemed like a year, until it was slightly puffy.

“For what? A staring contest?” You offered, laughing nervously too, your foot still stationed between his thighs. You wondered what you could accomplish at this hour with the looming threat of an incursion at any moment.

The glimmer in his dilated orbs registered that Tom was now aligned in a mission of testing the perpetuity of your anhedonic state. Suddenly under the table, you felt his long legs spread yours apart, like opening a long-closed window that had been painted over.

You gasped but didn’t say anything. He laughed and widened his legs further. You moved your eyes to watch him under the table, his hand reaching down to adjust his cock, which was obviously becoming hard.

At that moment you wanted to jump over to his side of the booth, you wanted to concede and take him to your far away apartment in embarrassing Marina Del Rey.

Tom went silent and finally let go of your bare foot, he had been holding it so hard with his other hand, that you were sure it would be bruised. You immediately placed it on his now impossibly hard cock, tenting his pants obscenely. Honestly, you’d never given a “foot job” before and only seen something like this in a French film once. You had no idea what you were doing.

You slowly began to move your foot up and down his length, which was quite impressive and required more force than you had anticipated. You curled your toes around him to try and create more friction, dragging your heel just at the base.

You placed your hands on the edge of the diner seat so you could put some real weight into getting him off. That seemed to work, and Tom let out a guttural moan. He quickly grabbed your water glass and drank it in addition to his own.

“Should I stop?” You let yourself wonder out loud. “Are you crazy? No.” Was Tom’s quick reply. “Does this feel good?” “Fuck yes.” His voice was breathy, and he shifted in his seat, daring to look around at the customers, but none showed any sign of noticing anything other than themselves. “But this isn’t fair,” he spoke again softly, panting. “How so?” “Because I am um, I am receiving.” “Aren’t you supposed to be a selfish cold surface-level junior business asshole?” “Yes.” “Then this is what they do, they get foot jobs in diners, amongst other perks of course,” you laughed. “Shit, you’re right,” Tom barely squeaked out.

Just then the diner door opened, and you could see the dim faces of the guys he had been partying with. They finally found him. “Don’t look now but your Republican friends have arrived.” Tom’s flush became pale. “Should I stop?” You checked in again. “No.” His response was as clear as mid-day.

So, you increased your speed, you took a deep breath. You were so turned on at this point. You were positive there would be a wet spot on the cracked vinyl seat. You lifted your skirt up further. Tom noticed and peered beneath the table again. He saw your hand brush past your underwear and a finger curl inside the lace trim. You matched his erratic breathing to your motions as you fucked yourself intently. His eyes were glued to you, his fists almost punching into the flimsy placemats. You laughed to yourself about the chances of you both coming in public, surely, he wouldn’t, or you couldn’t.

You were about to mention that perhaps you should stop. When suddenly Tom let out a muffled cry. His breath hitched. You could feel moisture beneath the bottom of your toes as you brought your foot back to the tip of his generous cock once more. “Ah, I see,” you laughed. "Well looks like we are done here." There was no more time to discuss what just happened. The bros had spotted him and you and made their way to your back corner.

Tom closed his eyes in what looked like a silent prayer. He had just had one of the best orgasms of his life. The short blond one with cropped hair spoke up, “Hiddleston, where the fuck have you been, your agency was about to call the cops, which would have been lame.”

“Hiddleston,” you said his surname out loud. Realizing you never got his last name. Tom looked at you with both lust and remorse. Then turned back to the assholes. “You found me, good work,” he said assuredly. “Well we gotta go dick we have a strip club that closes at 3am and it’s in the contract that we take you there.”

Tom slowly got up and used one of his long fingers to expertly untuck that white button-down shirt to conceal the mess you had both made. He looked your way, the pale blue of his eyes returning.

You exchanged numbers for the pleasantry of it, as the assholes looked on impatiently, probably wondering why Tom was wasting his time on a girl who looked like Boudica, but that's just what assholes do you remembered. Although you really didn’t expect to hear from him again. To your surprise right before dawn, perhaps as he was leaving said strip club, a text came over your Blackberry.

“I hope you felt something, I know I did.” Shit.

You did feel something, a lot of things actually. Tom had brought something back to the solemnly plain bagel of your life. You quickly wrote back.

"Don't let the bros see you texting me Tom, you laughed knowing he was probably squinting and barely able to see your words. You picture all of them looking over his shoulder.

"They went home. Can I come over? I feel like we aren't done quite yet. My asshole-in-training self expires at sunrise and I turn back into the real me. Is that okay?" You blinked a few times just to make sure you saw that correctly. "So you're actually Cinderella," you laughed nervously.

You managed to type your address and push send before pulling your covers over your head and screaming quietly enough to not wake up your still-slumbering roommates. You then looked around your room in quiet delightful horror, you had about 30 minutes to hide all your dirty clothes from the past three months under your bed...

#Tom Hiddleston #Tom Hiddleston x Reader #Tom Hiddleston fan fic #foot lover #meet cute

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tabswrites · 4 months ago

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OC Origins Tag!

I’ve been waiting so patiently for this to come around. Thanks to @pandoras-comment-box for sharing some interesting origins here!

Tagging: @rachaellawrites @finickyfelix @kaatiba @sarahlizziewrites @kaylinalexanderbooks if any of you want to share how your ocs came to be!

This is by no means comprehensive so if anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask!

It’s Mara Time: Around the time I got the idea for ToL, I was watching The Owl House. I was not expecting to love that show as much as I do, but specifically I love Eda the Owl Lady. She became an outlaw for refusing to join a coven, preferring to live in exile so she can practice magic the way she wants to. She also happens to have a curse that transforms her into an owl beast—hence Cloud, the owl-faced smoke creature!

I really liked the idea of an exile teaching herself magic, so the vague idea of Mara was born from that. Her name comes from Mara Jade, a fiery redhead who taught young me the meaning of the word antihero. The complexity of her various arcs throughout the Star Wars EU left an impact on me. I’ve always wanted a character that felt larger than life, larger than anything.

In terms of her magic and overall aesthetic, I went first to Nico Minoru, one of my fave comic characters ever. Lyrica Okano’s portrayal of her in Marvel’s Runaways lives rent free in my head. I love that her darkness is her power, I love her passion, I love that her fierceness hides how much she cares.

(Lyrica Okano as Nico)

And I’m sure some of you saw this coming, but I was also inspired by Maleficent (the Angie Jolie version). The scene where she wakes up and finds that her best friend had taken her wings and she’s just sobbing, as a kid I couldn’t figure out if she was crying because it hurt or because he had betrayed her. It stuck me with me, and of course, years later, eventually inspired Oliver and Mara’s complicated past.

(Angelina Jolie as Maleficient)

My thoughts for Mara’s appearance were basically: Disney witch before she becomes a villain. I intend for Mara’s appearance to get creepier and more bestial as the story goes on, which is definitely misleading. I want her to still be a hero, just a creepy one.

#wip: tomb of light #oc origins tag #oc: mara #tag games

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cru5h-cascades · 10 months ago

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hi I’ve become addicted to your idea for a Splatoon superhero game spinoff.

Ok but hear me out, Nintendo has made it clear that they’re willing to break into new genres with Splatoon, given Side Order’s roguelike elements.

And with the Switch 2 (which, ignoring rumors, has to be somewhat more powerful than the Switch), they’ll want a game to show off the power of the console. TOTK just came out, so Zelda is out. And Mario always has to be somewhat safe, so…

What if, for the Splatoon spinoff (let’s call it Splatoon: Rogue), it’s a superhero open-world game similar to Marvel’s Spider-Man, where the player can travel through the city freely, stopping criminals and villains? And I’m going to talk about my concept featuring Paul Mizuta, which I’ll fully detail in a post later that I’ll tag you in if you’re okay with it.

But with my concept, it would be a visually impressive game with solid combat and an open world to set the standard for Switch 2 games going forward. No instant fast travel like Spider-Man 2, we’re not quite there yet, but still impressive.

Thoughts?

Pretty good idea! I feel like if the devs wanna expand the world a bit more, they have to do it litterally. Let the players find new bits of lore wherever they go! There's so much potential for a new story arc and new gameplay mechanics that can really spice up the next game! I really hope that the next game gives us something really interesting both lore and gameplay wise like showing off some cool new enemies or hell explaining the spooky stuff that happens in multiplayer stages during splatfests (I've been working on my idea of the vigilante story myself; still gotta do a post about it tho!). Just something we haven't seen yet (and I really hope that the next game isn't like RotM; they hyped up Deep Cut's magic powers and stuff for nothing in the campaign. to be honest I think it'd be cooler if they were like loyal employees of Mr. Grizz, sent to Alterna to take down the NSS. THEN it actually make sense for them to be there.)

(also yea I'm totally cool with you tagging me in a post ^w^)

#splatoon

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pumpkinstrawbrew · 3 months ago

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favorite jack o/ lantern? or no specific preference?

i don’t think, that i’m strong enough to pick just one tbh. but if i had to really narrow it down, i’d say i have two favorite jack o’ lanterns! i will exclude macendale from here, since well, jason is jason. i love him as jack, i love him as hobgoblin. i like him as a demogoblin. he can have whatever form, really. i love him as king loser in the comicverse an’ as a dangerous, ambitious sociopath in TAS.

but as for my fav jacks, it’ll be these two.

*i find it funny how those panels are literally mirror one another*

the classic boi, daniel. the mad jack. an’ more modern take on jack from agent venom's comics. they both really stand out, when you compare them to their predecessors or those who came after.

i kinda disappointed with how the whole mad jack arc was resolved, but it was to be expected. once the writer changes, you instantly notice the difference. it happened with modern jack as well. the way his character was treated after rick remender’s ran is just … not the same to put it mildly. but overall, i love the emotional bone of their main arcs.

i love how daniel is supposed to be mysterio’s student an’ that he essentially tries to fit into the role of the villain, despite how it was shown that he at times struggled to play the part. i love the journey of jack o’ lantern, who trains himself to become ruthless, rather than him being like that from the get-go for once. it provides an interesting contrast to steven, who is just well, an asshole. he doesn’t care who he has to hurt to get what he wants. he just likes money. or to macendale, who can’t help the way he is, despite how it’s smth that causes him a certain amount of grief. an' then, enters danial.

his motivation is of a different nature. he doesn’t do things for money. nor is he a sociopath per say. his loss an’ personal offense is what drives him. which was a good fuel to peter’s own backstory. after all, uncle ben’s death is what made peter feel like he has to become a hero. on other hand, mysterio’s death is what made daniel to put on the mad jack costume. in a way, it’s interesting that daniel is actually genuinely remorseful, that he an’ spidey cannot be on the same side. in the beginning of his mad jack era, he was still more daniel, than jack. which is smth that slowly changes later on. an’ i love that bit too. it’s always interesting to see how the villain's mental state slowly worsens an’ they get more an’ more unhinged. the mystery around who jack actually was, remained pretty intriguing too. 'till certain point he almost felt like a spector of some sort, rather than a man. *beck's cousin was there too, but as far as i understand, she wore jack's costume only one time an' it was toward the very end. as her usual methods of operating things seem to imply, she's more of a mastermind who works in the shadows. rather than going out there an' doing dirty work*

anyways, i genuinely think, that if they kept daniel as mad jack permanently an’ kept adding things to his arc an’ character, he could have joined the row of spidey’s main rogues. esp bc while jacks tend to jump all over marvel’s properties as side villain, they work best, when their enemy is arachnid folk of some kind. be it spidey or agent venom. not only visually, it matches better, but also their gadgets an' style of fighting works best, when they have a hero, who can chase them in the air.

i also think that daniel has the most goated classic jack design too. a mask that moves an’ changes expressions. clawed, long fingers. that is some good stuff! when i first saw him, i was like ooohh, so cool. wow. the way he was written an’ the way, he interacted with spidey was also very pleasant, so naturally, it put him on top of my retro, classic jacks list.

in comparison to this 'staning from first sight', the crime master’s jack was the sort of character, i wasn’t expecting to love at all. when i went into reading agent venom *specifically rick remender ran*, i was pretty much expecting to not like what they did with jack there. but it was pretty much sold to me, as jack being one of the main villains of the series, so i was at the very least willing to give it a try. an’ i was surprised with what i’ve got. esp since this jack was literally crafted specifically to fit flash vs them just taking jack o’ lantern’s persona an’ not being creative with it at all *which i assumed they would do* an’ i also was surprised at how dark everything that surrounds that jack was. starting from the sheer fact, that he’s not a mercenary, but essentially a serial killer an’ ending up with his backstory.

while i saw people complaining that it wasn’t as gritty as jack teased it to be … once you give it a bit of thought, it actually is hella gritty in nature. a mentally ill child gets kidnapped an’ groomed by a psychopath, who later on uses jack’s brainwashed loyalty to him as a handy tool. it’s bluntly obvious, that the crime master doesn’t truly care about him at all. an’ since jack is pretty much an unreliable narrator, it’s unclear how much he leaves out an’ what the true nature of his an’ crime master’s relationships is. i kinda like how remender left a lot of space for hcs an’ speculations about certain details of jack’s upbringing. an’ it makes sense why jack not only downplayed the severity of his past, but also why he told the story in the way he did. i think, partly he doesn’t view it as messed up, bc the crime master told him, that keeping him hostage was needed for them to form a bond. an’ i also think, that jack wanted flash to see him as cool, an’ edgy an’ merciless killer or smth childish like that, rather than view him as a person, who doesn’t know any better.

i won’t get into tangles about that, bc it would become more of flash/jack thing, rather than me talking about jack only. but i love the striking difference in how different he is compared to daniel, an’ how their emotions while complex, also manifest differently. an’ where daniel is a proper adult, who picks his path with knowledge of what it means. jack was literally forcefully put into his position, since he was a kid. he still could have turned out the way he is, if he didn’t met crime master, but he also could have not. an’ it’s smth that won’t ever be known.

anyhow, thank you for asking me about jacks! i love those lil guys. i feel like they an’ in general, all of spidey’s goblinoids aren’t appreciated enough in fanon spaces.

#❓#jack o' lantern

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jademight · 2 years ago

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What are your thoughts on the fact Bruce canonically almost blew up his school?

One thing that bugs me is I’m not a huge fan of the idea ross had been undoing his education for so long, I don’t like the idea that Bruce was somehow “coerced” into becoming a weapon designer for so long, especially since it contradicts the way ross talks about Bruce during his time on the gamma bomb project

Oh yeah that's from Tempus Fugit, right? I will freely admit to avoiding that mini-arc because of what I know of it in terms of its story. (I'm not a fan of stories that immediately retcon what came before. At least wait till the body is cold, ya kno?)

I am also not a fan of Marvel’s occasional habit of ‘Oh Bruce Banner is the true villain and Hulk is protecting us from him’ angle. I understand the vision, Bruce being a powder keg that’s been stewing for decades till the Gamma Bomb made him detonate makes sense, I know it has its fans, but I just don’t like it. Personal taste thing, 100 percent.

Yeah I’m not a fan of stories that retcon in ‘Oh their paths have been intertwined for a long time, its all been planned!’, it rarely ever works in my eyes. Makes the Hand of the Author too overt, removes a lot of agency from the characters themselves because it makes everything predestined to a degree. There’s more fun to be had with the approach of ‘these characters have all been living separate lives until That One Event that made them forever linked’, there’s more drama to be mined that way rather than ‘Ah yes you see I knew you were coming this WHOLE time.’

#I'm just REALLY not a fan of that mini arc #it is also my own bias towards the Bruce Jones run and my adoration for it #I love PAD but I'm reaaaaaally not a fan of him just coming in to retcon the FUCK out of the previous run and just dip #like what was the rEASON

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elfdragon12 · 26 days ago

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There was a post I remember from a while ago, and to paraphrase part of it:

“The reason most redemption arcs fall flat is that people aren’t writing redemption arcs, they’re writing characters they want to be forgiven.” And I think that hits a lot of nails on a lot of heads. In terms of both the other characters and the audience. Focusing more on how to make a character someone who must be liked rather than the story they’re supposedly trying to tell. Or why the redemption is there in the first place.

The sad part is the “reason” for Megatron is pretty obvious. He’s popular and Hasbro likes money. Same reason he likely became more sympathetic in the first place. I’m honestly kind of curious how that worked out for them. There are clearly plenty of people who ate it up, but also plenty who enjoy Megatron because he’s a Big Metal Bastard. And likely a lot who enjoy both.

That said I also think it’s telling that “redemption arcs” tend to only happen to villains who are viewed as “deserving” it. More sympathetic backstories, more tragic reasons, etc. Whether real or imagined. Despite the fact it theoretically could happen to anyone. I think part of this is the trend of looking at characters as people, which is fun for fandom stuff and connecting to the material, rather than narrative tools, which is helpful for actual critique or writing.

In a more general sense when you can figure out which character is the writer’s favourite the quality of things… tends to go down. Which isn’t entirely relevant to the discussion but I’ve personally noticed it happening more with villains.

Yes, I agree with this.

Megatron redemption arcs do not work for me because of this. It's like prozd's Vegetalo sketches. Sure, Megatron did terrible things in past, but look! He writes poetry and helps Minimus set up holiday decorations/has a human friend now! Clearly, if anyone who hasn't let go of his (extremely recent) atrocities, they're the bad guy!

Also the question of which antagonists are more "deserving" of redemption arcs are a big part of why I didn't want anything to do with the Krakoa arc in the X-Men comics. Watching Hellfire Club members and MR. SINISTER sentence Sabretooth is extremely frustrating!

A big part of this, at least in these franchises, is that there are a lot of fanboys becoming writers now, though it's sometimes longtime writers who develop an ego. (coughFurmancough) It's really obvious in Marvel and DC with Batman and Wolverine. It's a big toss up on how well this turns out. Interestingly, Beast Wars is the best written Transformers show (my sister will argue for Rescue Bots) and, although Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio became more interested as time went on, neither were Transformers fans when the series started.

As a villain liker myself, I do think favoritism is very relevant because of villain apologists. However, good writers can have favorites and still be objective. You can tell that Dinobot is Bob Forward's favorite, but I would argue that Forward's favoritism doesn't get in the way of the overall story. Rattrap criticizes him freely, Dinobot is still wrong when he's wrong, and his flaws aren't hidden or glossed over. Larry DiTillio's favorite was Tarantulas and that didn't keep Tarantulas from getting what he deserved nor was he overpowered.

I like antagonists who are pure villains. However, I'm not against redemption arcs. They just have to be actual redemption arcs and not just the writer trying to make it "okay" to root for them now.

#ask #anonymous #transformers

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scottwbeattie · 2 years ago

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Review: Captain America Epic Collection 14: The Captain

Some Really Great Plotting

I have always considered myself to be a big Cap fan, yet had only read the Brubaker and Remender runs, plus some of the Nick Spencer run and parts of the Silver Age material, so I really wanted to read more. Given that Mark Gruenwald’s run on the character is generally regarded as one of the high points of the title, I came into this volume with high expectations, and, for the most part, I wasn’t disappointed.

From the outset, it’s important to note that although Gruenwald was an excellent plotter, he was not a great writer of dialogue. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of Marvel continuity that he loved to incorporate into his stories, however, instead of using narration boxes to offer recaps, characters relate it to one another, and the result is always clunky. Gruenwald also has a great grasp on the characters, but they are all saddled with wooden dialogue at various points, especially Cap when he’s giving impromptu speeches. The Captain also includes Iron Man #228, and, to be honest, it creates an unflattering comparison for Gruenwald when you see how much better the dialogue is for the same characters when it’s written by David Micheline and Bob Layton. That said, the story in The Captain is so good that wooden dialogue can only weigh it down so much.

When the volume opens, Steve Rogers has just quit as Captain America after coming into conflict with the committee that oversees him. The first few issues are solely dedicated to establishing the new Captain (John Walker, formerly Super-Patriot). Only later does the title go back to Steve Rogers, who takes on the identity as the Captain in order to continue to help any way that he can.

I really like the way that Gruenwald writes John Walker. At first he’s dismissive of his predecessor, thinking that he’s an outdated relic, only to realize how difficult it is to fill those shoes. My understanding is that Walker is later written as psychotic, but here he’s a guy who is genuinely doing his best to live up the ideal but is temperamentally unsuited for it. His story becomes tragic rather than villainous as severe emotional trauma drives him over the edge and makes him more violent and excessive. Even his inevitable confrontation with Steve Rogers is not something that either of them wanted. That said, once the two lock up, the story really comes alive as they deliver haymaker after haymaker to each other.

The extended storyline involving the Serpent Society was another highlight. The idea of a villains’ trade union, which faces internal conflict to the point where one side has to make a desperation call to their superhero antagonist, is very clever, and Gruenwald does a lot with it. I also like the idea of Diamondback being a romantic interest for Steve, which hits a lot of the same notes as Batman and Catwoman, but with a character who is even more of a paragon in his universe in Captain America. My only complaint was that I didn’t really get a feel for most of the individuals in the Serpent Society, but I also have yet to read any of Gruenwald’s run before or after this volume.

Tom Morgan and Kieron Dwyer split the art duties in this volume. Both of them are very meat-and-potatoes; the art is perfectly solid but it doesn’t stand out. It’s probably just as well, given that there are a few extremely violent moments in this volume, and I don’t know if a more graphic style would have added to them or taken away from them. I do wonder, however, if this arc would get more acclaim from casual readers if the art were more stylized. One of the advantages that Brubaker’s run has over Gruenwald’s is that the art was very striking with its moody color palettes and gritty feel.

I’m quite curious to see where Gruenwald takes the title in the next volume. There’s only one (admittedly, major) dangling plot thread, so it will be interesting to see if he follows up on that immediately or starts a brand-new plot. As for this volume, it does live up to most of its hype, and it’s also a very easy entry point for anyone wanting to read some of the better Captain America comics.

#comics #comic review #marvel #marvel epic collection #captain america #steve rogers #the falcon #sam wilson #demolition man #the nomad #diamondback #us agent #john walker #mark gruenwald #tom morgan #kieron dwyer

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sqweegee · 2 months ago

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sorry op i’m about to leave an essay in your notes but i’m going to bat for wind ronin

OK so first of all it just fits him thematically. Possession was his intro season + the one where he had the most impact as a character so he already has that going for him. It would also add depth to the dynamic they establish that season with Nya, with them both having Wojira’s elements.

SECOND I think it would be a better direction for his character than anything the later seasons did. I’m gonna be real, i don’t like that they started making him more antagonistic to the ninja when he was always an anti-hero (apart from shadow of ronin but that’s noncanon so who care), and especially after his entire arc in Possession was about giving a shit about people other than himself. Personally, I think it’d be very interesting to see an arc about Ronin, who’s not quite a villain but also not a very morally upstanding guy learning later in life that he’s an elemental master. We’ve seen both good and evil masters, but never one who’s more in the middle. There’s a lot to be explored with that. Hell, you could even reverse the roles of the Nya/Ronin dynamic, have the student become the teacher or something. Generally speaking, it would open him up to so much more character development rather than him just being the guy who shows up to do a marvel quip and then bails.

also it would explain why he can summon REX by whistling thanks for coming to my ted talk

I'm not sure if this is an unpopular? opinion but I think pixel or ronin being the new wind elemental instead of just a Whole New character would have been a little more impactful

Before Euphrasia existed, I certainly wouldn't have minded a pre-existing character getting the wind element, but.... these characters in particular? Ronin is just a no for me, he doesn't really feel like a character that would be able to embody the wind element in a way that would be interesting or natural, and he's been such a dick to the ninja so often that I don't think I'd want to see him interact with them in the context of gaining a previous enemy of their's powers. And........ Pixal???? you mean the one member of the og team that doesn't have an element marking her as an Important Person With A Destiny? Yeah sorry, that's just not that interesting of a development to me.

If any pre-existing character was to be chosen for this role, I would have gone with Nobu, because even before Euphrasia existed, the themes of an ever-changing, unpredictable wind contrasted against the rigid and destiny-obsessed society of the cloud kingdom held quite a bit of intrigue to me. Obviously, we still get hints of this with Euphrasia. The character may be new, but its not as though Cloud Kingdom itself doesn't have a history entwined with Morro, and that alone makes her presence as a force of positive change in the kingdom ripe with potential. I don't think it lessens any "impact" at all, if anything I'm glad her existence doesn't revolve exclusively around the ninja in the same way Morro did, and I'm excited to see what role she has to play going forwards!

#i don’t like adding onto posts but i have opinions on ronin #i have also not seen dr so if it refutes anythinf i said ummmm. oops

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billiewena · 3 years ago

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If you’re for feeling tempted to watch the Supernatural prequel because of the new diverse character announcements, I’m here to remind you that there are other fantasy/sci-fi/horror TV shows that not only have diversity (but are even led with it!)

“I want to watch a monster-hunting show led by a powerful woman!”

Wynonna Earp (SyFy): two sisters, one a wise-cracking but badass hunter of the undead and the other a more serious but sweeter girl with mysterious monster origins, are reunited after years apart. Basically, it’s Supernatural but funnier (and gayer!)

Van Helsing (SyFy): a re-imagining of the vampire hunting icon that follows his descendant Vanessa Helsing,

Warrior Nun (Netflix): A girl comes back from the dead and learns she’s part of a secret order of demon-hunting nuns.

Lost Girl (SyFy): Bisexual succubus Bo and her human best friend Kenzi become private investigators of the world of the “fae”, supernatural beings that range from fairies to wolves to sirens and succubi like Bo.

“I want to watch a show about Asian characters in the world of fantasy and monsters!”

Okay well, first off, I also cannot begin to tell you about how many amazing non-American supernatural shows are out there if you’re willing to read subtitles. A couple of my personal favorites are Black (a Korean horror/fantasy/mystery show about reapers and a woman who can see when people will die, Netflix) and All of Us Are Dead (a new action-fantasy drama about high schoolers battling a zombie invasion, Netflix) and I would love to hear people rec their faves, too! A few that don’t need subtitles though…

Shadow & Bone (Netflix): A well-received adaptation of the high fantasy book series, with a diverse writing staff and cast including half-Chinese Jessie Mei Lei as the lead. Fan-favorite characters from the sequels such as Inej and Jesper (a South Asian woman and a mixed-race bisexual man respectively) also got integrated into the series early and become prevalent characters in the books’ spinoffs.

Marvel’s Runaways (Hulu): a darker, teen superhero show with the found family themes you always wanted from their movies. Its highlight is easily Nico Minoru, a Japanese-American and queer sorceress who learns her and her friends' parents are part of a super-villain organization

Wu Assassins (Netflix): a Chinese-Indonesian man in San Francisco discovers he has magical origins and has to fight to keep his family’s power out of the wrong hands

Teen Wolf (MTV/Amazon Prime): While only part of the cast for Season 3-5, the show’s introduction of Japanese-Korean Kitsune Kira Yukimara and her mysterious family led to the shows’ most well-received storyline and arc. She teams up with troubled teen werewolf Scott McCall and his pack to fight an evil creature tormenting the town.

And of course Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel Legend of Korra (Nickelodeon/Amazin Prime): AMAZING animated shows with all-Asian characters and original fantasy world inspired by multiple East Asian and South Asian countries. They may be kids’ shows but they deal with a lot of heavy and mature themes that make it enjoyable for any age.

“I want to watch a genre show with a Latino lead (bonus points if queer!)”

What We Do in the Shadows (FX/Hulu): a horror-comedy TV spinoff of Taika Waiti’s iconic and hilarious vampire mockumentary film, with racially diverse writers and cast and basically all LGBT lead characters. The true heart of the show is the queer, Mesztizo and Mexican human character Guillermo (whose identity isn’t hypersexualized like some of the vampires characters’ more fluid bisexuality/pansexuality are)

The Owl House (Disney): yes, another animated kids’ show, but I cannot recommend this fantasy series enough especially to any former "Harry Potter" fans. It’s led by a teenage, Latina human who discovers witches and a secret world of magic and is eager to learn so she can be a part of it. Luz is also bisexual, and her relationship with another young witch has been one of the most talked about storylines of the show.

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (Showtime): a horror-drama spinoff of Penny Dreadful set in Los Angeles in the 1930s that tackles both Mexican-American tensions and folklore with characters connected in a conflict between the angel Santa Muerte and demoness Magda.

Roswell, New Mexico (The CW/Netflix): While I’m hesitant to recommend any CW show, this remake of the 90’s sci-fi drama/romance (which infamously whitewashed characters from the books) ingrains diversity into the cast and plot, with the Mexican-American lead’s immigrant family dealing with real-life racial tension in New Mexico in addition to the show’s original storyline of immigrant aliens adjusting from life on a whole other planet.

p.s. adding to this list is not only okay but highly encouraged!

#just a note I have not watched every show here yet but have a few on my to watch list that I'm excited about #also not every show here is free from problematic representation #like despite its cuteness wynonna earp's main wlw romance involves a cop y'know #but I think they're all steps in the right direction and that's what matters #long post #spn prequel #supernatural prequel #supernatural spinoff #ntjdmakesthings

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moonlit-sunflower-books · 3 years ago

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writing Strong Female Characters™

[@/moonlit_sunflower_books on ig]

i think there's a big difference between "strong female character" and "female character who has no emotions and punches things", and that's my main issue with writers who attempt to be feminist and result in taking away all humanity from their female characters. this post is going to talk about how to write Strong Female Characters well!

disclaimer: these are all my opinions and not to be taken as fact. i'm open to debate and constructive criticism as long as you're kind and respectful! i'm not a professional writer, i'm a student who writes for fun, and this is based on my own experiences and preferences.

give them motivation other than "proving people wrong"

don't get me wrong, spite can be a really great motivator for so many characters. but it's been used so many times for female characters that it becomes repetitive. many Badass Female Characters™ have been discriminated against by men in their life and want to prove their strength and their worth. while this can be part of their motivation, i think it would be refreshing to see something other than this as well. for example, give me a female character fighting for her family or her religion or for her country rather than against it. take helene aquilla from an ember in the ashes - she's the perfect example of a badass woman with unique motivation (if you don't know what i'm talking about, read the books)

let them have emotions

please dear lord give your characters emotions. even if your character is an angsty heartless assassin or someone traumatised into believing emotions are weak, no character is devoid of emotions. let them feel love, let them feel regret, let them have faith and remorse and mercy. inej from six of crows is my favourite example of this: she's a really badass knife wife, but she's religious and kind and empathetic while deciding how best to carve up her victims.

when you take away a female character's emotion, you're leaning into the stereotype that a) women are too emotional and b) emotions are weak. vulnerability is not a weakness, but it can be shown through narration rather than dialogue/action if that fits your character better.

let them fall in love

this one is entirely my opinion, but i feel like "i'm too hardcore for love" has kind of become the new "i'm not like other girls" - except this time it's marginally more subtle. i'd love to see female characters who are strong without giving up on love! like annabeth chase - none of her intelligence or strength is compromised because of her relationship with percy, and not once does she suggest that her love for him holds her back from reaching her potential.

let them fail

NO CHARACTER IS SUCCESSFUL 100% OF THE TIME and if they are, they're a badly written character. in order to see what your characters are made of, you have to break them, and this holds true for Badass Female Characters™ too. i think this holds true especially for physical strength - it would be refreshing to see them fail in a fight against a man sometimes (but obviously not all the time - possibly at the start of the story, before they gain strength depending on how their character arc is structured). honestly, even a woman failing against another woman! don't make your characters unbreakable.

give them a weakness other than pride

something very common among Strong Female Characters™ is that their weakness or "fatal flaw" is pride, such as with annabeth in pjo. pride can be a really strong weakness because of how much depth it can give to a character, and i think annabeth is really well written. but many other female characters have the same weakness, and once again, it becomes repetitive. i found this true with captain marvel as well: carol danvers is really awesome, but her entire personality revolves around the fact that she punches things and is too prideful. make your female characters have varied weaknesses! let them be loyal and stubborn and empathetic and convinced of their own intelligence.

or, let their pride not just be a character trait - make it affect their plot. make your character overconfident and fail because of it. make them unwilling to compromise. but also make sure it's a strength - them so confident that they convince a minor villain to side with them. essentially, make sure that it's not just for show and that it has an impact on their story.

i also think that the Prideful Character trope was kind of a fight against Not Like Other Girls, where the protagonist always ridiculously low self-esteem, and i will say that i much prefer someone prideful. but it would be nice to mix it up a bit and find a middle ground as well!

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bthehufflepuff208 · 3 years ago

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So how much do you want to fucking bet that for the “Vision is Ultron” episode of “What If”, they’re basically going to sell it as:

“No matter what, whether the mind stone was used or not, Ultron/Vision would have always been created as a monster because his sole creator Tony Stark is a monster.”

To add, they’re also going to kill Tony off again, with Vision/Ultron talking about all the bullshit that was said in “Age of Ultron”, of how he’s a “sickness” and a “monster” and how he did the right thing by killing him and all that jazz.

And I’m so fucking over it.

Like, I get it. Tony Stark is a perfect choice for a scapegoat to hate for a good chunk of MCU fans, as he has all the things people hate:

He’s a billionaire (a born into money billionaire), which ya know, “eat the rich” and all. He’s a man, he’s white, he’s cisgender, he’s straight (questionable to some fans, but there’s no fucking way any Marvel executives would say Tony’s bisexual or pansexual, no way).

So due to this, most MCU fans hate his guts as he represents at least one group of people that they loathe. I’m not saying these are the sole reasons anti-Tony people hate him, but they can’t say that it’s not at least one of the reasons.

But making him the scapegoat over and over is so fucking absurd, especially when the whole fucking point of Tony’s story is that he wants to become better, not just for his loved ones but for the world.

But with the stigma he already has with what he was born with/into, fans have absolutely no fucking trouble twisting any bad situation into blaming Tony, since he represents all the things they hate in real life anyway.

Tony’s entire arc was supposed to show with each movie, that he wanted to become better and to truly help people. But literally every single action Tony makes, everyone interprets it as “he’s only doing it for his ego/to protect himself.”

Tony flies a nuclear bomb into a wormhole? “Oh, he only did that because he wanted the praise of being the hero who saved the day.” Tony wanting a defense system to protect Earth? “Oh, he only wants that because he doesn’t want to do anything to help Earth himself and wants all of the credit.” Tony literally dying destroying an army that was going to destroy the universe? “Oh, but that doesn’t make him a hero, everything he did was always about him. He’s still a selfish piece of shit because he didn’t want to erase his daughter (and probably millions of other children) out of existence.” No matter what Tony does, everyone twists it as something he’s doing only for himself.

But even a little example of how everyone just twists anything and everything they can about Tony: I saw a post talking about how they were glad Thor wasn’t friends with that “toxic piece of shit” because all Tony did throughout Endgame was mock Thor’s depression/PTSD.

And I was like.......what fucking movie were you watching?

He did call Thor “Lebowski”, which, yes, was definitely mean-spirited. But the entire movie? Huhhhh?

Here’s where they twist their views to whatever they want to see. I’ve watched Endgame over and over, and besides the Lebowski joke, I cannot come up with one point in which Tony mocks Thor. But thinking about it, I have a pretty good idea of how anti-Tony people twisted their look on the film to see Tony mocking Thor throughout the entire thing.

In the scene where Thor is insisting on doing the snap to bring everyone back, Tony steps in and tells him he’s not in condition to do so. In my head, and the way I’m pretty sure it was supposed to be interpreted, Tony does this because he’s concerned for Thor because he knows how bad of a place he’s in and doesn’t want to push him even further. But to someone who hates Tony, they most likely interpreted the scene as Tony mocking Thor and calling him “weak.” I have no fucking clue how they came to that conclusion, but I’m pretty sure that’s what they saw.

And now, lets go back to Ultron and talk about a character and situation that infuriates me to no end. Wanda and her involvement with Ultron.

Not only did the writers and characters of “Age of Ultron” have absolutely no problem in solely blaming Tony for what Ultron became, the majority of the people who watched it had no problem with it too. Even when in the fucking movie, it’s literally stated that Wanda manipulated his mind in hopes he would take the mind stone

“I didn’t expect (gestures to Ultron), but I saw Stark’s fear, I knew it would control him, make him self-destruct.”

She fucking says she wanted him to take the mind stone because she knew it would cause something terrible to happen.

I’m pretty sure 99% of the reason Ultron became what he became was because of the mind stone, which was only even used in Tony’s program because Wanda basically mind controlled him into using it.

And fucking yet.

Everyone, the characters and fans alike, were over the moon with Wanda’s bullshit “Stark can’t see the difference between saving the world and destroying it, where do you think he gets that from?” as it proved to them that Tony Stark was the monstrous villain they thought he was all along.

AND FUCKING YET.

Tony’s whole fucking goal with the Ultron program in the first place was to protect Earth from threats he believed they wouldn’t be able to fight (and he was fucking right). Wanda’s goal was to kill Tony, which fine, won’t get into that bullshit completely. But I’m 99% positive the scene where she lets the Hulk loose in Johannesburg that probably killed dozens of people, showed us that Wanda doesn’t really fucking care who gets killed, even if they’re innocent, as long as Tony Stark is in the body count. And then when she finds out Ultron plans on killing everyone, which includes her and her brother, then she “see’s the light.” BUT THEN STILL SOLELY BLAMES TONY FOR EVERYTHING SHE BASICALLY CAUSED, and the characters and the audience are like “YAS, WE STAN A QUEEN WHO EATS (AND KILLS) THE RICH!”

So coming around full circle, I’ve just had fucking enough of this scapegoating bullshit the writers have and will continue to be pulling on Tony Stark. The “What If” Episode with Vision/Ultron will once again put the “Tony Stark was the main villain of the MCU and everything ever is his fault.”

And the fact that so many fans can and will twist anything Tony does to fit their narrative, and that the writers give them the ammunition with the scapegoating bullshit even though there’s so much evidence that shows `how truly good of a person Tony is just so fucking infuriating, disheartening, and just sad.

#tony stark #tony stark defense squad #MCU #marvel cinematic universe #Iron Man #team iron man #anti wanda maximoff #it's enough #i've had enough #let the man rest #he's been through enough #pro tony stark #what if

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