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the-writing-trash-panda · 1 year ago

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Hold me Close

Pairing: Snotlout x Ruffnut

Words: 643

Prompt: being close on a rainy day

Genre: fluff

Time: after 3rd movie

The sound of rain pounding against the roof and the steady burn of the fire were the only things keeping Ruffnut company at the moment. Normally she would be out with her brother doing Thor knows what stupid thing, but he had forced her to stay inside due to her current condition; sometimes she couldn’t tell who was worse him, or her husband. Now she found herself sharpening almost every weapon in the house to keep herself entertained. She had just finished with the Jorgenson Family Axe that she and Snotlout had stolen on their wedding, when who should walk in but a soaking wet and muddy Snotlout?

“What happened to you,” Ruffnut asked though she was pretty sure she already knew.

“You’re stupid brother,” Snotlout grumbled, removing his boots and helmet.

“Looks like you had fun,” the blonde sneered, and if her partner had noticed he made no effort to figure out why she was upset.

“If that’s what you call almost getting crushed by a mudslide.” Ruffnut glanced at her now shirtless husband hoping he would go on to explain what exactly happened. After cleaning off and changing into dry clothes Snotlout sat in the other chair and relayed how the prank he and Tuff had tried to pull on Hiccup backfired and caused a giant mudslide. “You would have loved it.”

Ruffnut could feel her eye twitching as she fought back her initial rage. Instead, she opted for a sarcastic reply, “Yeah it would’ve been awesome.” Finally taking notice of how frustrated she was, Snotlout looked at her with a raised eyebrow, silently asking her what was bugging her. After about thirty seconds of staring at each other Ruffnut caved.

“I just want to be back out causing havoc with Tuff but I can’t for obvious reasons,” the blonde explained, pausing to collect her thoughts and emotions. “I guess knowing that you are out there with my brother and I’m stuck at home is kinda just salt in the wound,” she continued, her usual carefree demeanor hidden under her negative emotions.

“Yeah, I know this sucks but it will all be worth it once our little ‘Lout is born,” Snotlout said, placing his hand on Ruff’s baby bump.

“Who said they’re going to be a ‘Lout?” Ruffnut asked, back to her normal self.

“Well, I sure as hell ain’t naming them Nut.” At that, the wind blew open the door and a crash of lightning and thunder struck a little too close for comfort.

“I’m sorry Thor, the child can be named Nut!” Snotlout screamed in his usual high-pitched girly voice.

“Come here you coward,” Ruffnut sighed after closing the door and sitting back down. Snotlout clung to his wife while she played with his hair slowly being lulled to sleep by the sound of the rain and the warmth of the one man who truly loved her for who she was.

Bonus drabble

“It’s gone!” Driftlout yelled causing a panic to spread amongst the wedding guests. He had gone to retrieve the Jorgenson Ceremonial Battel Axe only to find it was missing from its display. It was a Jorgenson family tradition that a marriage could only commence after the axe was gifted to the couple. A search was soon conducted giving the two culprits the chance to escape. The only thing that gave them away was the barking laughter and the iconic ‘Snotlout!’

“Miss Ruffnut Jorgenson you are a bad example on me,” Snotlout murmured as he and his new wife lay in their bed enjoying this rare moment of peace and freedom from a certain Thorston twin.

“Well, mister Snotlout Jorgenson, you're the one that chose to marry a ‘Nut,” the blonde retorted before catching his lips in a passionate kiss. The rest of the night was spent in pure bliss, the only thing important to them being each other.

#httyd #how to train your dragon #rufflout #httyd rufflout #ruffnut thorston #httyd ruffnut #snotlout jorgenson #httyd snotlout #otp writing #30 day otp challenge #otp prompts #one shot #fanfic #fanfiction #httyd fanfiction

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animebw · 1 year ago

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So I've been stewing a bit with the whole concept of "MCU Fatigue" after my disappointment with The Marvels, and I think I've come to a realization.

See, most people when they shit on the modern MCU act like they're been putting out tons of terrible stuff. But looking at their track record, that's not actually true. In fact, I'd argue that the majority of their Phase 4 and 5 output has still been above average. The only real misses I'd count are FATWS, Dr. Strange 2, The Marvels, and maybe What If if I was feeling particularly uncharitable (and I guess Secret Invasion, but the bad response kept me away from that one so I've never watched it myself). Other than that, Marvel's still putting out a lot of good stuff.

The problem is they're not putting out a lot of great stuff.

Like, we need to take a step back and realize just how fucking insane the MCU's track record used to be. They didn't just put out good movies on a regular basis that put every other franchise to shame, they regularly released some of the most iconic superhero blockbusters of all time. They cranked out all-time classics on such a consistent basis that at this point, at least half of the top 20 greatest superhero movies of all time list would be taken up by MCU projects, maybe more. That's how they built trust with the general audience; not just consistency, but the promise of greatness. People flocked to the MCU not just because there was a near guarantee of a well-made fun time at the cinema, but because that was a strong probability you were going to see something truly spectacular.

Seriously, just look at the studio's track record through Phase 2 and 3. Iron Man 3, Captain America 2 and 3, the first two Guardians movies, Thor Ragnorak, Black Panther, Infinity War and Endgame... you could argue that over half of their movie output from this period was unqualified home runs. And sure, maybe Thor 2 was a dud and Avengers 2 was disappointing, but it didn't matter because there was always the promise of another masterpiece waiting in the wings. People weathered the occasional misstep because they could trust the MCU to always find its way back to greatness.

But now consider: how many all-time bangers can you name from Phases 4 and 5?

Like, I can name a few. Wandavision, Black Panther 2, Guardians 3, Spider-Man 3, maybe Ms. Marvel if I pretend episode 5 doesn't exist (and I've heard Loki season 2 was also great, but that's another one I haven't seen yet). But the ratio of Big Deal Events to Just Another Marvel Thing has gotten much steeper. Between the movies and the Disney+ series, Marvel's cranking out more stuff than ever, but it hasn't been cranking out landmarks any faster than it used to. It's just shoving a lot more padding between the properties that really set the world on fire. And it's training the audience, unintentionally, to no longer associate the MCU with guaranteed smash successes every other weekend.

And I still like most of the MCU's current output! But I don't love it as much as some of its older stuff. Black Widow and Shang-Chi are good, but not quite great. Eternals I will defend to my dying breath, but it was destined for cult classic status. Love and Thunder I would argue is actually pretty fantastic, fuck you fight me, and Quantummania is fine, you guys, but I wouldn't die defending them the way I would, say, Iron Man 3. And as much as I enjoyed Hawkeye, Moon Knight and She-Hulk, you can only watch so much Pretty Good TV before it starts to feel like a chore.

This deluge of content hasn't resulted in tons of more Great Marvel Stuff. It's just resulted in tons of more Good, Okay, and Not That Great Actually Marvel Stuff. It's resulted in audiences feeling like you can't trust Marvel to regularly crank out classics that change the way you view superhero media. And it turns out, it gets a lot harder to justify spending so much time on such an overstuffed time-sink of a franchise when it can't guarantee you a steady stream of masterpieces on a regular basis.

Especially with so much more of it coming out now in such a painfully short timespan. Even in Marvel's busiest years, they used to max out at three movies per year and a couple spinoffs like the Netflix shows that you didn't need to watch to feel up to date. You went out to the movies a couple times a year and were basically guaranteed a good movie every time, and that was it. Now, though, with the Disney+ content, it feels like a constant battle to not fall behind, to keep up with tons of stuff you're just kind of enjoying to justify getting to the increasingly few nuggets of true gold. This stuff would need a track record just as good as the Phase 2/3 days to justify sitting through so much of it, and it just... doesn't. And the second you drop off from exhaustion, it's already roaring ahead and leaving you with too much to ever reasonably catch up on if you're not prepared for a couple days of heavy bingeing.

The shared universe model is fucking hard. Every studio's failed attempt to copy Marvel's playbook is a testament to that. The fact it even maintained its cultural domination as long as it did is nothing short of a miracle. Because it turns out, even being consistently good isn't enough to maintain the level of trust and engagement necessary for such a long haul. You need to be consistently excellent. You need audiences to come away from every other event singing your praises as the new gold standard of blockbuster cinema. And the second you can't maintain that standard anymore, all that goodwill slowly bleeds out as more and more people decide that the effort it takes to keep up with everything is no longer worth the reward.

Does the MCU recover from this? I don't know. At this point, what it needs to do more than anything is slow the fuck down instead of overloading audiences with too many shows and movies to keep up with. Maybe it's not the dominant cultural force anymore, but with a little patience and willingness to sacrifice quantity for quality, it can at least re-establish itself as a franchise worth sticking around for. Marvel used to be special; with a little luck, maybe it can be again.

#marvel #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #not anime

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christianbalefanatic · 2 months ago

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Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) dir. Taika Waititi

(christianbalefanatic edit)

#christian bale #icon #celeb #movies #hollywood #drama #film #actor #Gorr the god butcher #Gorr #thor love and thunder #thor: love and thunder #taika waititi #2022 #2020s #2020s movies #2020s films #christianbalefanatic #christianbalefanatic edit

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taikawaltiti · 1 year ago

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like/reblog if using or saving

#thor icons #thor #chris hemsworth icons #chris hemsworth #thor odinson icons #thor odinson #thor love and thunder #marvel #marvel icons #mcu #mcu icons #tlt #thor love and thunder 2022

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scrawnydutchman · 2 years ago

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"Hooked on a Feeling”: A Retrospective on James’ Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FOLLOWING FILMS:

-Guardians of the Galaxy 1-3

-Avengers, Infinity War

-Avengers: Endgame

Thor: Love and Thunder

-The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

The Guardians of the Galaxy films . . . . . I struggle to find the words as to how much they mean to me, which is saying a lot because I’m probably the wordiest motherfucker I know. In a franchise like the MCU that has become so oversaturated and so bland with every release that it has made the term “Superhero fatigue” prominent, the Guardians manage to stand out with their immense heart and exceptional film making. Guardians 3 is no exception. While it is a *slight* departure from the norm established by the prior films as it’s much darker and more mature, it still manages to be so incredibly fun and uplifting. In my opinion, given what James Gunn had to work with after Infinity War and Endgame (we will get to those in a minute) it truly was the perfect conclusion for all of these characters.

In celebration and tribute to these films that I love so much, I thought rather than doing a long film review of 3 like I usually do, I’d take a look back at the Guardians film franchise as a whole and see what it has meant for the evolution of these characters as well as the general impact on the Marvel cinematic universe. In this retrospective we will be covering Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and finally, closing it off with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

When this film was coming out, it seemingly had everything going against it. It had to establish 5 of the most obscure characters in Marvel’s catalogue all in one film. It had to sell the guy from Parks and Recreation as the leading superhero. It had to compete with the first Avengers, which many called the best superhero movie of all time when it premiered. It had to take a gamble on whether or not the audience could buy the idea of a talking Raccoon being in a superhero movie. If this franchise was to survive, it had to be GOOD.

And boy was it.

It was so good that became a box office hit. Suddenly, these obscure marvel characters of which only the most dedicated of fans would be aware of skyrocketed into household name territory. Baby Groot merch started flying off the shelves. Everyone was talking about how funny and heartfelt the film was, because it is! All the characters were so lovable and hilarious. It was colorful, dramatic, fun, inventive. Chris Pratt was SO charismatic as the leading man. The soundtrack was iconic: a meticulously and appropriately picked set of 70s classics. It just goes to show that when your product is quality enough, anything is possible.

The success of the Avengers may have paved the way for all the crossover potential of the MCU, but the Guardians had set the tone not just for themselves but have captured a charm that the rest of the MCU has been attempting to capture ever since . . . for better or worse. Yeah, unfortunately the lesson the MCU and many other films’ took from the Guardians success is that the audience will eat it up as long as it has a soundtrack of all hits and a buttload of quips, but there’s more to it than that. The soundtrack can’t just be a collection of randomly selected pop hits: it has to be tonally appropriate for the scene and thematic to the plot. And the character’s can’t always just be quipping for the hell of it: it has to be driven by character. So yeah, this film inadvertently set a bit of an unfortunate precedent going forward, but that doesn’t change the fact that it kicks ass. Quality will ALWAYS have its bargain bin imitators.

The film’s biggest strength is how it sells such a big cast of new characters through their chemistry with each other. Backstory, character arc and personality traits aren’t enough in a vacuum: they are at their best when put in contrast with opposing characters. Even though these guys don’t spend *that* much time with each other initially, you get a very quick sense that they were arguably meant to band together. It makes the climax of this film where they join together to share the energy of the power stone all the more satisfying.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (2017)

So while I do certainly love the first film, I would probably say it was also the most flawed. It had a decent theme about the value of friendship and the importance of coming together, especially when you have no one, it was definitely lacking in some places. The biggest example I can think of is its villain. Ronin is lame, there’s no getting around it. He didn’t tie in to the arc of the main characters by any stretch. He wasn’t important in the grand scheme of things. He doesn’t have any particularly memorable lines (other than giving the group their team name). He was merely an obstacle for the heroes to dispose of. On top of that, while Nebula and Yondu were both present in the film, they weren’t given a whole lot of characterization just yet. They were either more mere obstacles or plot devices to further things along, with any further depth merely hinted at.

Vol 2 manages to radically improve where the first one fell short. Ego is the main villain this time around and HE. IS. AWESOME. Cunningly manipulative. Disgustingly charming. Even more disgustingly evil. The dude was a breath of fresh air at a time when many marvel villains were just so forgettable. In my opinion, Ego is still the best villain in the trilogy (we will get to the High Evolutionary later). His intimate ties with Peter’s arc about moving forward and finding new family (not to mention the definition of family) was simply fabulous. Plus Rocket’s side story where he bonds with Yondu was particularly entertaining too. Also, Nebula and Gamora’s relationship was a great source of entertainment. This is the other way Vol 2 improves upon its predecessor: Yondu and Nebula are becoming fully realized. Yondu provides a noble sacrifice that redeems him of his abusive ways while also confirming that he always loved Peter, whereas Nebula gets to shine as, in my opinion, the best female character in the MCU. She’s tragic, she’s ruthless, she’s badass . . but she’s also very, very funny. Other MCU writers could take notes from this because she has adjectives to her personality besides synonyms for “strong” or “capable”. Not to mention we get Mantis in this movie. She was fantastic chemistry with Drax from here on out and only brings more to the group’s already stellar dynamic. This movie is great and is an improvement on the first one in every way.

The film also establishes Adam Warlock in its after credits scene. Given the timeline of the MCU and my knowledge of who Adam Warlock is in the comics, I was expecting him to be prepared in time for an appearance in Infinity War and Endgame considering he’s basically a primary adversary for Thanos. But, among many things, Infinity War and Endgame did not really capitalize on what the Guardians established as well as it should have. Which brings us to . . .

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Endgame (2019)

Sigh . . . . . so this is around where the quality of the Guardians’ involvement in the MCU goes down. Don’t get me wrong, I like Infinity War and Endgame. I became a 10 year old boy in my seat when Cap lifted Mjolnir too.

But MAN did these movies rob the Guardians.

This is the movie where Thanos makes his move as the big baddie of the infinity saga. The Guardians, indisputably, have more history with Thanos than any other characters in the MCU. Thanos was introduced officially (not as an after credits scene or easter egg) in Guardians 1. Drax’s whole arc for a while was about wanting revenge on Thanos for the death of his family. TWO OF THE GUARDIANS ARE THANOS’ DAUGHTERS. And yet . . . . not only is almost the entirety of the team blipped away for 5 years with the only survivors being Rocket and Nebula, but when they all come back NONE of them get their own chance for licks against Thanos. Drax never gets his long awaited revenge. Neither Gamora nor Nebula have a chance to tag team Thanos the way Cap and Bucky tag teamed Iron Man. Quill never gets a chance to make up for his error that got half the universe killed. SCARLET WITCH GETS HER OWN CHANCE AT REVENGE AGAINST THANOS BUT NOT THE GUARDIANS??? ARE YOU SHITTING ME?!

Also, in my opinion, they reduce Peter Quill to a complete dullard punching bag in these movies. I know Peter is supposed to be a manchild and is somewhat dumb, but it’s like the Russo brothers have a hate boner for him or something.

The line “I’m not from earth, I’m from Missouri” makes literally no goddamn sense. Peter was 8 when he was abducted by the Ravagers. He would have to be Patrick star levels of dumb to not know that Missouri is on earth. Not to mention all the other Guardians treat him with absolutely no respect. They have SO much more respect for him than that. And then in Endgame all he gets is being a punching bag as quick jokes and then immediately going back to being belittled by Thor.

Speaking of Thor, they tease at the end of Endgame that Thor becomes a temporary Guardian . . . and then he leaves the group basically immediately in Thor: Love and Thunder (which is its own trashfire that’s for sure). That movie has weird characterization of Quill too as it essentially shows him at the end of the journey that Thor is supposed to take . . . but then in the Guardians films Gunn still has him struggling with missing Gamora. Yeah, I can’t help but feel like the rest of the MCU really messed with Gunn’s plans for these characters. He now has to make lemonade out of the fact that most of them have been gone for five years, Gamora and Quill’s relationship has hit the reset button, Thanos is now dead which means Drax effectively has no direction and Adam Warlock wasn’t brought out when he should have been. To bring it back, Gunn would have to make some serious lemonade.

Luckily he succeeded.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)

So this was a funny and sweet little movie to tide us over while we wait for Guardians 3. Not entirely necessary, but damn if it isn’t fun. Drax and Mantis are saddened that Quill is still struggling with how much he misses Gamora. On top of that, they learn that they’ve entered the time where Terrans celebrate this little holiday known as “Christmas”. So they have the idea of cheering Quill up by throwing him a big Christmas party and getting him the greatest gift of all . . .abducting and brainwashing his hero, Kevin Bacon. That premise alone is worth checking it out at least once because the Hijinks that ensues is pretty damn funny. But the movie also surprisingly establishes from rather important elements. For one, it introduced Cosmo the telekinetic spacedog as a major character rather than a quick cameo, who will be important for Guardians 3. For another, it reveals that Mantis is Quill’s half sibling as she too was a child of Ego. Sadly this doesn’t shake up the dynamic of the group THAT much, but it IS mentioned in Guardians 3 in a way that furthers the plot along nicely.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (2023)

So here we are at the conclusion for this team of Guardians. After almost a decade of entertaining us with their antics, Star-Lord, Gamora, Nebula, Drax, Groot, Mantis and Rocket are going on one last ride before their stories come to an end. I was simultaneously so excited and so scared coming into this movie. It’s basically the only thing in the MCU I give a shit about at this point and I got so attached to these characters that I simply couldn’t take the idea of any of them dying. Gunn knew how attached we all are and played a mean trick on us. All the marketing made it seem like they were going to straight up die at the end. My heart couldn’t take that.

Fortunately nobody *actually* dies. Most of the team just does into retirement, which is also sad but much preferable. Peter goes back to earth to get back in touch with his grandfather. Mantis sets out on her own to discover what she’s all about. Drax and Nebula become an adopted dad and mom to a whole race of kids (which is hilarious, I want to see that dynamic in action). This version of Gamora finds a new home as a Ravager. And Rocket, who is the star this time around, becomes the captain of a new generation of Guardians alongside Groot as a returning member.

This film is quite a radical departure from how Guardians usually does things. While the first two had a soundtrack comprised entirely of 70s hits in reference to Quill’s relationship with his mom, this film starts integrating 90s hits, and I like to think of this as Quill’s evolution as he starts moving forward rather than living in the past. This film is also MUCH darker and sadder. AND more violent. Like . . . holy shit the drama is cranked up to 11 and the film comes out literally swinging in the first 10 minutes. But don’t worry: it still manages to have a lot of classic Guardians fun, especially with it having the best action of any Guardians film BY FAR.

By far the biggest change is that Rocket and Quill switch roles, in more literal ways than one. In the first two films, Quill was the center focus whereas Rocket was something of a deuteragonist (secondary protagonist). But here, Rocket takes center stage and Quill’s storyline serves to further the themes of Rocket’s in a different way. Considering the mess that Gunn was left with after Infinity War, Endgame and Love and Thunder, I gotta say: He made some sweet ass lemonade. Peter and Gamora’s reset relationship resolved in a way that was thematically appropriate for the film (I.E. accepting things as they are instead of trying to bend it to fit your way). Drax was given direction back as a father rather than a destroyer, which is what motivated his revenge arc to begin with, resolving the fact that after Thanos died he didn’t have much to do. Mantis was given a lot of time to shine. Even Adam Warlock had a role in this film that wasn’t completely pointless. He got the ball rolling with his attack on Rocket, he tied in to the theme of self acceptance and discovery over being told what you ought to be, and he saved Peter at the end, solidifying his place as a next gen Guardian. He was definitely childlike, but he was literally born yesterday so that tracks, and again, only further serves the theme of self discovery and actualization.

Also, one of my more minor complaints of past Guardians films is that action has been rather lackluster. The first Guardians film suffers from sporadic editing and uninspired cinematography while the second film pushed comedic value over cathartic action (except for the Yondu arrow scene, that was sick). Guardians 3 goes SOOOO HARD with its action and it’s fucking amazing. All the Guardians got significant upgrades in their abilities on screen. Drax very much earns his reputation as “the Destroyer” in this one, which is a relief because ever since Vol 2 he’s sort of been reduced to just a walking punchline. Mantis proved how scary she can be with her empath powers. Nebula showed off how unstoppable of a force she can become. The hallway scene is the best action scene in the whole MCU, no contest. The Guardians dogpiling on the High Evolutionary was so fucking satisfying.

Also, High Evolutionary was a great villain. A bit hammy for my taste in select places and ultimately I think Ego is a stronger villain overall, but it was cool to see a villain that is 1000% scumbag and it makes him getting his comeuppance all the more satisfying.

This film will leave you crying like a baby over the drama of a little Raccoon. It’s fantastic.

Conclusion

So yeah. The MCU all in all has been quite the spectrum of quality, with some films being much, much, MUCH better than others, especially in recent years. But the Guardians have been consistently amazing quality from beginning to end . . . as long as Gunn is in charge, that is. This team of Guardians is where Gunn says goodbye to the MCU and the new team (plus Star-Lord’s new adventures) will likely be handled by a different director going forward. I’ll keep an open mind about how well that goes, but regardless, all I can say is thank you James Gunn for these incredible films that introduced us to such lovable characters.

#guardians of the galaxy #marvel #mcu #guardians of the galaxy vol 2 #guardians of the galaxy vol 3 #avengers endgame #avengers infinity war #retrospective

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