#thor: he can do plenty that is nefarious--

[worstloki]

Loki: ah the avengers must be a little wary of me now, though they know not only the truth about the invasion but all my crimes entailed before

The Avengers, standing outside his door with blankets and pillows: Natasha said you wouldn't stop us having a sleepover at your place if we behaved properly

[frostbitten-written]

“Oh, royal library…? Wow… I can imagine that must be extensive… That must have taken you forever to get through… Huh? Wait, you’ve read books from a royal library, yet you would voluntarily read my work?”

"My lengthy lifespan allows me the privilege of working my way through several novels and tomes of various subjects," he nodded. The pretty blush painting her cheeks proved she thought little of herself in relation to such published works. He shook his head in disapproval of her judgment. "Their placement upon those many shelves speaks nothing of their value. That is for the reader to decide. Am I not a man capable of discerning for myself what is worthy of my attention and what is not? Because, little Indie," the edge of his finger hooked underneath her chin to draw her attention back to his warm expression, "I find you very worthy of my sole focus for the foreseeable future."

His hand fell away from underneath her chin to gesture for the bartender to assist them once again. "I assure you that no harm will come to you in my care should you overindulge."

A brief conversation with the young man who approached with a raised brow, and moments later two whiskeys sat before them. A small selection of large bills pressed into the hand of the bartender with an appreciative dip of his chin ended the swift transaction. "To cover both my tab and the lady's. Thank you."

The bewitching little mortal shifted in her seat, bringing her closer to match his assertive stance, although he still towered above her and would continue to do so should she rise to her full height. The size difference compelled him to protect her, this delicate Midgardian whose trust baffled him to no end. Perhaps it was her intoxicated state that made her so comfortable expressing herself. Whatever it was, he enjoyed it immensely.

“Wait, no, that’s not right. Why would I need rescuing from you? You’ve been fine company thus far.” She playfully poked his chest as she admonished him and made eye contact.

In an instant his hand wrapped around her wrist, stilling her hand, swift and secure but gentle so as not to harm her in any capacity. The halting gesture turned into something almost reverent, calloused fingertips gliding over her smooth skin until he cradled her small hand delicately. Slowly he bent over to brush a kiss against her knuckles, an incredibly forward action with his piercing gaze trained on every minute change of her facial expression. "Haven't you heard that I am not to be trusted? God of Mischief, Silvertongue, Liesmith, all signs point to my nefarious motivations for continuing our conversation." He released her from his hold with a fleeting caress of his thumb over the inside of her wrist, straightening to his full height lazily.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, mister. You’re lovely company.” She offered a warm smile, hoping he’d do the same. She’d love to see him with a full grin. With the small smile he’s hiding, she could only imagine how spectacular he’d look teeth and all.

"Of course I am," he winked, "but those who share your sentiment are few and far between. The same compliment can be truthfully applied to yourself, as my evening is all the better for your presence at my side." Almost involuntarily his smile grew in response to her earnestness. A dart of his tongue wet his lips before he covered his mouth with his glass, taking another sip of the liquid fire scorching a path to the twisting thrill of her company making a home for itself in his stomach.

“I’ll admit, I’m not here alone or of my own volition… My friends dragged me out because they wanted me to get drunk and have fun. I’m not normally a club girl, but tonight it paid off.” She cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow playfully as she looked at him. “And just to be clear, I’m talking about you. You made tonight worth it.” She watched his facial expression, hoping she wasn’t overstepping any boundaries in her friendly endeavours.

A shout of revelry echoed about the bar, clearly originating from his oaf of a brother surrounded by the other Avengers. At least the display did not precede the destruction of property.

"Your friends are nowhere to be seen," he mused thoughtfully, searching the crowd for anyone who might be unusually interested in their conversation. Finding no one to come whisk his companion away, his grin turned mischievous when directed back to Indie. "You are very clear, I assure you." At least he allowed his eyes to dip down to her chest, taking notice of the cleavage presented to him from her position without any attempt at hiding his interest. "And I hope I am as well."

Another barrage of questions spilled from her mouth and he chuckled, taking another drink of his whiskey to compose his thoughts. One finger straightened from the nearly empty glass to gesture at Thor, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Sam Wilson drinking and chatting away with a group of admirers. "Our situations are similar. Thor believed it in my best interest to spend time with the others, to improve team morale or my public persona, but my time was admittedly feeling wasted until fate should bring us together.

"And now that I have interrupted the course of your evening and plied you with liquor a bit beyond your level of tolerance, my plans have shifted from suffering their foolish behavior for the far more pleasant and important task of ensuring your safety. I intend to escort you home, if that is agreeable to you." Sincere concern softened the edges of his cool mask. "It would put me at ease to know that you are safe."

-Loki

(Sorry I took so long to reply! Life happened. So, I may have gotten just as carried away as you; I hope it is satisfactory because I also had a blast replying to you!)

Indie blushed like mad when the edge of Loki’s finger brushed against her skin. His gesture was intimate; it made her breath hitch and her heart still for a moment. He was smooth and she was starting to notice.

“...Because, little Indie," the edge of his finger hooked underneath her chin to draw her attention back to his warm expression, "I find you very worthy of my sole focus for the foreseeable future."

If that line wasn’t a panty-dropper, then she didn’t know what was. She bit back a smile and chose not to comment, accepting his compliment.

"I assure you that no harm will come to you in my care should you overindulge."

“Oh, whiskey,” she purred, tipsy and very pleased. “You’re a fast learner, aren’t you, Lokes?” She mindlessly gave him a nickname before sipping her drink. She had the tendency to give people nicknames, especially when she was drunk. This was only the beginning.

Initially, the way he grabbed her wrist frightened her, and in her inebriated state, her reaction time was slow and useless, but he yet again proved to have pure intentions. The last thing Indie expected from a near-stranger (what the heck, she knew his name) in a bar, was being kissed so tenderly to the knuckles, prince-charming style. How gallant, how romantic and how intimate he was. He was making her feels things she had no business feeling. He was an attractive guy and how she held his attention for so long was beyond her, but she’d enjoy every moment while it lasted.

"Haven't you heard that I am not to be trusted? God of Mischief, Silvertongue, Liesmith, all signs point to my nefarious motivations for continuing our conversation." He released her from his hold with a fleeting caress of his thumb over the inside of her wrist, straightening to his full height lazily.

She whined quietly to herself. Why did she always fall for the bad boys and why were they always so damn attractive and tempting? Besides that, why did he keep saying he was not to be trusted when he’s done nothing but be honest all night? She decided to humour him and play along with his self-deprecating shtick. “Well, I have nothing to lose, Mr Nefarious.” She spat the name sarcastically, hating the stereotypes he was branded with. If she had the permission she would have bapped him on the head plenty of times for speaking ill of himself. She wasn’t drunk enough to do it, but she was getting there.

When he mentioned the Avengers, she was a bit too far gone to filter her words. “Oh right! You’re friends with the Avengers! Hey Loki, next time you see Thor,” she paused, feeling the nerves bubble in her stomach, “can you please tell him to take it easy with the lightning and the thunder?” She shivered and pressed her lips into a frown. “I hate thunderstorms. They’re scary,” she muttered to herself, sounding childlike in her request and complaint.

"And now that I have interrupted the course of your evening and plied you with liquor a bit beyond your level of tolerance, my plans have shifted from suffering their foolish behaviour for the far more pleasant and important task of ensuring your safety. I intend to escort you home if that is agreeable to you." Sincere concern softened the edges of his cool mask. "It would put me at ease to know that you are safe."

She pouted and resisted his efforts to make her go home. “Nooooo,” she whined as she propped her elbow up on the bar counter, her head lazily supported by her hand. “Not yettt,” she complained. “You can be my gallant, tall, dark and handsome hero later, I promise. For now, let’s have fun!” She exclaimed, shooting her arms up in the air and throwing her head back. She giggled before taking her glass in hand and sipping her whiskey. Her eye widened mid-sip when a new song started playing in the club. She managed to down the remainder of her drink in one impressive gulp and jumped off her stool.

“Ah! I love this song! It’s my jam!” She exclaimed and grabbed Loki’s hand, tugging him off his stool too. “Come and dance with meeeeee! Just one song, please? I promise you can play bodyguard and take me home afterwards!” She pulled him onto the dance floor, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks, in her body, in her head and in her soul. She felt loose and free.

Come here, girl. (Go 'head be gone with it)

Come to the back. (Go 'head be gone with it)

VIP. (Go 'head be gone with it)

Drinks on me. (Go 'head be gone with it)

Indie danced like no one was watching. Her heart raced as she danced with her handsome stranger; she’s always wanted to do this: catch the attention of a hot guy, drink with him, get to know him, and dance with him. Loki was like her fucking jackpot and she was revelling in every second of it.

Let me see what you're twerkin' with; (Go 'head be gone with it)

Look at those hips. (Go 'head be gone with it)

You make me smile. (Go 'head be gone with it)

Go 'head child. (Go 'head be gone with it)

She looked up at Loki, mouthing the words, not at all internalising the meaning of the song. She grabbed his hands and placed them on her waist, swaying to the music without a care in the world. She lazily slung her arms around his shoulders, bringing her body close to him. Dancing with him was such a thrill.

And, get your sexy on. (Go 'head be gone with it)

Get your sexy on. (Go 'head, be gone with it)...

- Indie

[fgsidekick]

Thor Odinson

As selected by @tinydickfaggotslave and @fag2servestr8men

A few months after the battle of New York, Thor made a thunderous return to Midgard. As usual he was quickly greeted by SHIELD agents who tracked Asgardian energy, including his good friend Phil Coulson.

“Son of Coul, I have returned to your world because I have grave concerns,”

“We’re always ready and willing to help Thor, what is it?”

“During my various excursions into your social spaces, I’ve noticed the most peculiar creatures. They appear to be physically male - not particularly strong or talented looking specimens, but male regardless - however they have ridiculous voices, dress in womanly clothing and most shockingly, express attraction to other men.”

“Ah, the fags. Yeah they’re annoying, but no one can really do anything about them.”

“What if I told you they were a threat to your global security?”

Agent Coulson raised his head at this. He pulled out his notepad and a pen, “Carry on.”

“I believe they are remnants of the Faerie race. Many aeons ago they walked among the Asgardians, contributing nothing of value,loudly protesting against the Kings and the Generals for nonsensical reasons and trying to trick our bravest army men into exposing themselves by disguising as members of the Valkyrie!”

“Eventually Odin had had enough, and ordered them all enslaved. Warriors of all breed and species came together for the Great Task. They were all shackled up and about to be deposited into the darkest, dankest cells when Laufey, the big lug, stumbled and dropped them into the aether and they vanished, presumably forever. Not the most graceful of Asgards missions, but if nothing else they were gone like we wanted. I think earth may be where they ended up. Faerie descendants live among you now, just as pathetic as before and I’d wager just as nefarious.”

Coulson was enthralled with the story. It made so much sense. “I think you’re right, but we’d need proof before Fury or the council let us do anything much about it.”

“Our Asgardian scientists still have all the information about the Faeries on file, we would just need to take one of your…fags, is it…back for testing,” the god of Thunder said, a grin forming on his handsome face.

Coulson returned the smile. “I’ve got an idea.”

A few minutes later the two men were wandering in the forest. “How long before the faggot arrives? What exactly did you describe in the advertisement? One of those whipped caffiene drinks they like? Or a party featuring some of that foolish “music” they flop around to?”

“Well…no…” Coulson replied, “I just said ‘Thor’s in the woods. And he’s got his guns out.’Should be one here any second now.” Thor gave him an annoyed glare.

Sure enough, a few minutes later a pink flannel clad homo came skipping into the woods. “Yoohoo, Hey Thor can I get a selfie with you? Do something hawt, like flex or…ooh you should dab! They’ll love that on my insta!”

Thor wasted no time letting Mjolnir fly. He chuckled as he stepped toward the faggot, who was now whining and groaning but couldn’t move as the hammer was sitting on his chest.

Thor snapped his fingers and there was a flash of lightning. The next thing the homo knew he was in a cage, steel bars all around him. And his clothes were gone.

Thor grabbed the handle on top of the cage and effortlessly hoisted it off the ground. “I will take this specimen back to our labs and get back to you as soon as we have results.”

“W-what? But my followers will notice I’m gone!”

“That’s funny,” Coulson said as he scrolled through his tablet, “It doesn’t seem there’s any trace of you online at all…”

Thor laughed deeply. lifting the cage up so he was eye level with the fruitcake. “Trust me faerie, there will be plenty of people looking to you for entertainment in your new home.” With that the Asgardian prince shook Agent Coulson’s hand, and in a flash they were gone.

Until next time, Mighty Thor!

Tell me your favourite Superhero and I’ll write a post about him.

[aion-rsa]

Black Widow: Bringing Dreykov, Taskmaster, Yelena, and More to Life

https://ift.tt/2VJoBzB

This article contains Black Widow spoilers.

Eric Pearson knows a thing or two about the Marvel Universe. A self-professed comic book nerd, the screenwriter penned the Son of Odin’s third feature film, Thor: Ragnarok. His most recent gig? Another high profile MCU project, Black Widow. 

The spy-action thriller takes a deep dive into Natasha Romanoff’s [Scarlett Johansson] formative years, fills in the blanks over her whereabouts between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War and introduces her missing “sister,” Yelena Belova [Florence Pugh]. After reuniting with their “faux parents” Alexei/Red Guardian [David Harbour] and Melina [Rachel Weisz], the siblings become determined to put an end to Dreykov [Ray Winstone], his super-powered goon Taskmaster [Olga Kurylenko], and the brainwashing Black Widow program.  

Pearson recently spoke to Den of Geek about telling a personal Black Widow story, the Taskmaster’s shocking identity, his favorite action sequence, the post-credit scene and more…. 

How much free reign did Marvel give you on Black Widow?

Eric Pearson: There were definitely some pieces already in place. There were a couple of writers who had been working before me. When I came in, the idea of the mysterious family from Natasha’s past was there. Yelena Belova was a given. The Red Guardian was a given. The idea that there would be a mother character was a given, but Melina’s character had to be figured out. 

Scarlett Johansson is an executive producer on this. She had been talking a lot with Cate Shortland, Kevin Feige and Brian Chapek about what they wanted. The idea of a family, a sort of American-style, undercover Russian family… the idea of this prologue from some time in the past and then escaping with the MacGuffin, that we figure out what it is later… and the idea of  the getting the band-back-together plotline… were all pieces they wanted me to work with. 

They had talked a lot about tone and theme and very much that this is Natasha Romanoff’s last hurrah. Cate and Scarlett were talking a lot about this being an exploration of her heart, an investigation of who she was as a character and wanting to really dig deep into who she is and who she was and how she became that person. And, also, from the Marvel side of things, trying to shed some light on these little mysteries of her past that have been alluded to, including Budapest, Dreykov’s daughter, and stuff like that.

How tricky was it crafting a standalone story that not only fit between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, but also filled in the gaps for Natasha?

That was a very hard task, a very difficult task, especially considering the villain plot. The villain stuff always tends to be the most difficult with Marvel movies and giant comic book movies. This was especially difficult going in between Civil War and Infinity War. 

Number one, we knew – and this is not a spoiler – that Natasha eventually would be dying in a later movie. So, you knew she was going to survive. Also, we had to have a villain threat that felt credible, knowing that the world is still standing a movie later. We couldn’t say, Dr. Evil-style, “We are going to blow up the moon,” because we know there is a moon. The task I immediately felt befuddled by was, “How do we get a villain whose nefarious scheme could remain undetected in success.” 

Fortunately, the spy-thriller genre that comes along with a Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow story allowed for us to come up with this nefarious organization, who is lurking in the shadows and puppeteering things. The villain plot was one of the trickiest things to figure out.

How important was it to tie Dreykov into Natasha and Yelena’s origin story?

Something we talked about right from the beginning was approaching this as Natasha first. That was a lens that I wanted to look at this movie through. Being that we couldn’t put up the threat that Natasha might die, everyone knew she gives her life later, her journey became more of an emotional one. For the villain, the idea of someone from her past, someone who had created all this trauma for her in the past and there’s a loose end from her past, would be a nightmare for her… that felt right. 

Also, I’m obviously a big Marvel nerd. For me, it was looking at Natasha’s character. Civil War and before, she felt more closed off. She was very much choosing how she was going to let people know her. Then, I felt like in Infinity War and Endgame, Natasha was a little bit more open, a little bit more emotionally available. We were talking right from the beginning, that we needed to figure out the delineation of what happened to this character to make her open up. The best way was to go into her past.

The other baddie that created plenty of buzz was Taskmaster. How did you land on this villain, and was the identity always meant to be Antonia?

When I arrived to start working on this, it was Taskmaster as a physical nemesis because we had Dreykov as more of a chess master, a puppeteer kind of villain, someone who hides in the shadows and pulls the strings. At first, we were thinking of Tony Masters [the character’s comic book alter ego], but Masters is just a mercenary. We were dealing with the Red Room, this secret organization that has gotten one over on Natasha and remained in the shadows, even though she felt she had brought them down. I could never really make sense of why this mercenary guy, why is he an extension of General Dreykov, who runs the Red Room? 

Read more

Movies

Black Widow Finally Introduces Taskmaster, But Who Is Behind the Mask?

By Kirsten Howard

TV

Marvel’s Loki Season 2: The MCU Questions We Need Answered

By Lacy Baugher

Meanwhile, we had this other mystery of whatever happened to Dreykov’s daughter. The pieces were falling into place. Whereas Tony Masters felt like a square peg in a round hole in this story, the idea of this being a loose end from Natasha’s past seemed to make sense. 

We had the mystery of what happened to Dreykov’s daughter. We had Dreykov as someone who was manipulating the human brain. Our family steals the key to freewill in the opening sequence. Something important to me is I felt Natasha was constantly, in other movies, alluding to her dark past. We needed to see something from the dark past, not just the bad things that happened to her, but that she did bad things that she was ashamed of. For me, it couldn’t be, “I was chasing a bad guy and some people accidentally got hurt.” It had to be, “I chose to do something objectively bad as a means to an end, and I justified it to myself.” Natasha, as a natural-born hero, that’s the kind of thing that would haunt her forever. 

The idea that Natasha would use this little girl as bait, to defect and get herself a better life and bring down her nemesis from her traumatic early years, that’s something I felt that would keep her up at night for the rest of her life. Then, what makes it even worse, “Oh, actually, you didn’t kill this little girl. She’s there and you’ve made her life so much worse. Everything you tried to destroy has gotten worse in the shadows, and you have to go back and face that. You have to confront all these horrors, and that’s the only way you can move forward.” That’s how we came to it.

How much did Cate want you to lean into the sister relationship between Natasha and Yelena?

We knew that would be the central relationship for this whole movie from the beginning. Even before we knew how it was going to be, it just felt like the idea of Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova would be the two at the center of this movie. 

Then, as you write the beginning, you find little things. Something I found early on, which I found very important is, “Oh, Yelena, as a little girl, she’s the only one who didn’t know.” She went into this seemingly great happy family. That difference, the shock and the trauma of that created a big rift for them when the curtain is pulled back. Also, when you have that moment of young Natasha pulling the guard’s gun and protecting Yelena, you see what is important to Natasha. 

Now, the movie brings her face-to-face with the fact that she left Yelena there. She put herself first and Yelena has been living this hard life ever since they last saw each other. We were always leaning into that as much as possible. Also, the fact that Scarlett and Florence are so fun together. The sisterly relationship is fun. 

Read more

Movies

Black Widow – Where Was Yelena During Avengers: Infinity War?

By Kayti Burt

Movies

Black Widow: The Disturbing Real Spy History Inspirations

By David Crow

The dialogue does two things.  When Yelena is needling Natasha about being “one of the big ones,” when it comes to being an Avenger, or making fun of her posing… hopefully it makes people chuckle and it’s charming. But it’s also Yelena being, “Why didn’t you take me with you?” That’s the subtext of her saying, “You left me. You went off, and you were my hero.” 

You’ve scripted a Thunder God going into battle. A Hulk smashing. How did you approach Black Widow’s action beats and fighting styles?

We had Darrin Prescott running a second unit, and Rob Inch and James Young on the stunt and fight choreography. A lot of times they would come in with ideas, including when they came back from Budapest and were like, “Oh, yeah, the escape path that Yelena made for herself was this pipe, that she could ride across the building.” I was like, “That’s insane. OK.” Sometimes they would just go out and come back with crazy ideas. I always just try and find the best story and character stuff from it.

My favorite moment was the Yelena and Natasha fight when they first meet. At that point, that set hadn’t been built. I just knew it was an apartment in Budapest. I’m just writing all these cool beats that I can think of for an apartment fight. There’s a gun in the butter drawer… 

I originally ended that fight in the bathroom, where it was a shower curtain that got wrapped around each of their necks and they were choking each other. It was important that it ended in a stalemate and the character connection between these two. Even though they don’t know if they can trust each other, even though they haven’t seen each other in a while, I wanted them staring into each other’s eyes, and either one could blast out at any second, but it’s that eye-to-eye connection that makes them start fighting. 

The fight team comes back and goes, “We love this. We can’t do it in the bathroom. It’s too small. We have these big 18-foot walls. How about a window curtain?” So, it’s great to have the best people around you, because they are working all the nitty-gritty of the fight, but working together we see, “Oh this moment is really important for the movie and story going forward.” We all got to hone in on that.

Humor is sprinkled throughout the film. How did you land on the Black Widow battle-pose joke? And how surprised are you that audiences have really embraced it?

You never know what people are going to go for. Florence had been teasing Scarlett, and we talked about it. As far as the dialogue, the idea came from Yelena calling her a poser. Talking about Yelena’s character, and how she would be that bratty little sister, how she would needle her big sister who has gotten to live this “fabulous life” as an Avenger, as a global hero. “Poser” is one of those insults that is hard to shake, no matter who is saying it to you. 

It became a gift that kept on giving with Florence, the way she would perform the pose in front of Natasha. It takes longer than it does on the page. I think on the page, it was “It’s a fighting pose. You’re a total poser.” But Yelena has to do it, and she’s sore from the fight. It becomes the thing that you do with your hand, and you whip your hair. Florence is improvising a lot of that performance, and that gets really charming.

Read more

Movies

Why Black Widow’s Dreykov is the MCU’s Nastiest Villain

By Rosie Fletcher

Movies

Marvel Phase 4: Where Does the MCU Go After Black Widow?

By Don Kaye

Then, as we are doing the third act, we realize, “Oh, there’s a moment where Yelena is sneaking through the vents. She has to drop down to the floor.” I ran over and went, “You have to do the pose, right?” And Florence is like, “Yeah. We have to do the pose.” 

I tried to out-clever myself at one point. “What if she just lands and falls on her ass, or completely does something unexpected?” I was like, “Let’s just take the easy way and have her do the pose and then not feel comfortable.” It just felt like the right thing to do, the right thing for Yelena’s character. I think it plays really well.

In the bonus scene, Yelena visits Natasha’s grave. How much of that was designed to appease fans who felt there wasn’t enough time allotted to mourn Natasha during Avengers: Endgame?

I was going to say it wasn’t thought of at all, but it was totally thought of. It’s hard to make a movie entirely in the bubble. For our movie, Natasha’s body is not in the grave, or at least I don’t think it is. Her body remains on Vormir or magically, mystically, evaporated into the great mists of space. 

But they wanted to erect a memorial for her in Ohio, where they were together. We don’t say that. The closest thing is Valentina [Julia Louis-Dreyfus] saying, “I’m allergic to the Midwest.” For me, it felt like I wanted to have that personal moment for these characters, how they would want to honor her. And then to have that touching moment be ruined by Valentina… That’s the way I like my entertainment. 

Black Widow was supposed to come out before The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. What did you want to establish with that character and was that scene always written for Julia? Had she been cast yet?

They told me Valentina was coming into the universe and that they were getting Julia. We were actually supposed to be the first scene that you saw Valentina, but then the pandemic hit. I couldn’t get to the computer fast enough. I am a humongous fan of Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She just brings it.

I loved helping create Yelena and I wanted them to have a great funny rapport. What we wanted to establish with that scene is that some time had passed. One of the most important things that people either don’t get or it doesn’t register with them, is that they know each other. Yelena says, “You’re not supposed to be bothering me on my holiday, Valentina.” 

Not that they just met, or they are supposed to be meeting here. They know each other and have been working together. That’s the interesting first crumb in the trail that could happen next.

What kind of ideas did you bandy around about setting up this revenge scenario between Yelena and Hawkeye?

I didn’t set up anything at all. That was something that they told me would be happening. I didn’t write on that. Honestly, it was uncomfortable to me. As I said to Marvel, I don’t know how this is playing out. They were like, “Don’t worry. Someone is working on that.” 

I’m like, “Am I screwing over some other writer? Is some other writer going to have to come back in to pay off a story?” That made me feel guilty. They were like, “Don’t worry.” I don’t know how it plays out, but I can’t wait to see.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Black Widow is now playing in theaters and is available via Disney+ Premier Access.

The post Black Widow: Bringing Dreykov, Taskmaster, Yelena, and More to Life appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3hIqxRv

[nemhaine42]

The West can still be a little on the wild side and Steve gets caught up in more than he bargained for, but he might wind up being perfectly okay with that.

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: F/M Fandoms: Captain America (Movies), Thor (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Relationships: Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers, Jane Foster/Thor, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov/Sam Wilson Characters: Darcy Lewis, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Thor (Marvel), Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Sam Wilson (Marvel), Brock Rumlow, Grant Ward, Pepper Potts, Jane Foster (Marvel), Maria Hill, Melinda May, Assorted cameos Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Western, Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, Gun Violence, Ranching, Modern Western, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD

Johnson County Blues Preliminary Notes

These aren’t vital to read the above fic, I just thought I might have some explaining to do. 

This story started life during the winter of 2014/15 when I was stuck at work with bugger all to do and a good few hours to while away until I could go home. My workplace featured a second hand book section which was entirely stocked by public donations, so there really wasn’t a rhyme or reason to which sorts of books there were. And during this time someone obviously decided to get rid of a collection of those Harlequin/Mills & Boon type romances, mostly by only two or three authors. The devil makes work for idle thumbs, as they say, and I picked up just about all of those books.

Now, probably those books were not written with a girl who reads them all in the space of a month in mind but I found myself less than impressed - often horrified - but unable to look away. In the same manner as you are when you look at a car crash. I found them often poorly characterised, and I noticed that certain authors tended to just repackage the same female characters with different hair and immediate circumstances in each story. Now if you like to read those, that’s fine. I’m not here to tell anyone what to read for kicks. But I was always left with an echoing thought: I could do better. Whether that’s true or not, we shall find out. But I knew that I’d read fanfic easily twice the calibre of that stuff. So come the spring of 2015 I decided to take the ring to Mordor and started Johnson County Blues. And almost two years later here we are. I went through great long periods of not loving this fic at all but I swore I’d get there.

Like the novellas that kickstarted this soul-crushing venture, this fic is a Modern Western. The ones I read while in solitary confinement were set in roughly the early 90s to the turn of the century, mine is post-2010. It’s ‘modern’ in the sense that it’s not set in the 19th century like a traditional western story.

I’ve called it an AU - which it is - but I suppose it also has elements of parody, both of the western genre and of the MCU.

I used quite a few Agents of Shield characters to fill in some of the tertiary roles, even though I never watched AoS beyond the first few episodes. So bear with me as I surely mangle the characterisation for my own nefarious purposes. Though it was tempting to include characters from Daredevil, or Jessica Jones, etc I hadn’t seen those either and frankly the cast list was in danger of becoming unmanageable. So just use your imagination and pretend Claire Temple is in the background too.

I live in rural Scotland, not ranching country in Wyoming so there’s probably aspects of lifestyle or weather and such that I’ve gotten wrong. I tried my best to research and make things fit with how I wanted the story to pan out but ultimately after two years, if it’s wrong, it’s wrong. You’re going to have to get over it.

Characters:

Steve Rogers: ��our intrepid hero. recently retired US army veteran and man with maybe 12% of a plan.

Darcy Lewis: leading lady. Stuck in the typical millennial myre of ‘now what?’ but also lucky enough to have her dad to rely on. Has even less of a plan than Steve.

Tony Stark: the boss and Darcy’s dad. I don’t think I changed all that much about Tony’s character or storyline, it’s just a different context.

Jane Foster: again, much and such the same as she is in canon. Appears a few times but mostly in passing. Odin still doesn’t like her.

Thor Odinson: not an alien, or a prince. Fights with his father about Jane because SPOILERS

Sam Wilson: Steve’s VA buddy. Set one foot in town and practically tripped over his own happily-ever-after. Has the squeakiest futon known to man.

Natasha Romanov: Office of the Sheriff’s dept. Works mostly alongside Maria Hill. Both answer to Melinda May, who answers to Sheriff Nick Fury. He is mentioned but generally Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Film

Bruce Banner: was a small animal vet back east but had a nervous breakdown and now he has to deal with cows and Tony Stark on a regular basis. Mentioned but generally Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Film, I included him here because I felt like it.

There are plenty more secondary or tertiary characters but explaining their role mostly involves SPOILERS so PLEASE READ THE FIC. I’m going to update Wednesday evenings (UK time), the fic is written and partially beta’d (huge kissies to @readbycandlelight whose input I would be lost without) so we should be able to keep a tight schedule.

[aion-rsa]

WandaVision Episode 6 Theories Explained

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains spoilers for WandaVision and the wider MCU

It’s that time of the week where we’ve had a few days to digest the latest episode of WandaVision, so it’s time to drag out our diminishing ball of red yarn and start connecting theories about what’s really going on at the core of the show’s story.

In Episode 6, ‘All-New Halloween Spooktacular!’, there were more Marvel Easter eggs than ever flying around. We also got to spend some quality time with Wanda’s new family, including Evan Peters’ integration as the MCU’s long-dead Pietro Maximoff. Hard to argue that Uncle Pete’s energy was absolutely intoxicating, but it occasionally verged on disturbing, which only served to whip up WandaVision’s fans into a finger-pointing frenzy as to the true nature of Peters’ role in the Disney+ event series.

Let’s take a look at the most compelling WandaVision theories gaining traction on message boards and social media since we last saw the show’s worst villain – the end credits.

Wicked Little Town

Here’s a devastating little theory doing the rounds: what if there were no children in Westview until the sudden manifestation of a younger population in Episode 6 because something terrible happened to the real children of Westview after The Snap? It’s mathematically improbable (but not impossible) that if most of the adults in the town disappeared at once, they could leave their children behind with no one to care for them.

The theory balances on the notion that either some horrible accident occurred while the kids were fending for themselves, or that a dark entity pounced on them. Wanda could conceivably consider Westview a perfect place to create a protective bubble around; somewhere that they could all ‘forget’ about their grief and loss together.

Unfortunately, as we’ve seen, these people are still in pain – whatever is keeping Wanda suspended in a state of ignorant bliss isn’t without side effects for the residents of Westview. However, if there were some ‘agreement’ with the town’s council to go along with Wanda’s plan in an effort to bring the children back to life or pry them from the grip of a nefarious villain, perhaps the grownups of Westview might expect to see their families eventually return – if they just play along.

Every night… from WANDAVISION

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 8

The Red Note

A theory flourishing on Reddit via DrewAutote presents an interesting observation about WandaVision’s theme songs to date. They note that each episode’s opening theme utilizes tritones, which apparently aren’t particularly popular in modern music.

From the early 18th century/late Middle Ages the Latin phrase ‘diabolus in musica’ or ‘the Devil in music’ was applied to the harsh-sounding tritone interval, which is “essentially one half-step away from a perfect fifth”. The theory posits that their continued use in WandaVision’s catchy themes could be “hinting at a darker entity pulling the strings.”

Gonna be real with you here: we do not know nearly enough about musical composition to lend any weight to this intriguing theory, but if the creators of WandaVision have gone that deep to slyly introduce notorious Marvel Comics villain Mephisto into the MCU – and a big chunk of fans are now dead certain that’s happening – fair play to them.

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 8

Might As Well Jump

Is The Hex a newly created ‘jump point’ that allows someone or something easy access to Earth? Hmm, a better question to start with is “hang on, what even is a ‘jump point’?”

Well, as we’ve seen in several Marvel blockbusters to date – most prominently in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – jump points are fissures in space which allow spaceships to use the MCU’s interdimensional travel system – the ‘Universal Neural Teleportation Network’. You can hop near instantaneously to other areas in space by accessing one of these jump points. Oh, and they look exactly like a hexagonal field, much like the dome that surrounds Westview.

If Wanda and whoever else is behind the strange goings on in Westview fabricated a mystical fissure in the town to make it happen, it might have not just produced a new jump point in space or time, but a dangerous multiversal doorway – which could explain both the sudden arrival of Evan Peters’ version of Quicksilver and WandaVision’s connection to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 5

The New Avengers

When will we get another Avengers film? Cap’s old, Black Widow and Iron Man are dead, and Thor’s gone off with the Guardians. There aren’t too many active Avengers left, and those who are still around feel pretty scattered and unconnected in a post-Snap world. But perhaps Marvel is setting up a new, younger band of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and Wanda’s twins Billy and Tommy could be a part of that plan.

With Billy and Tommy having mystical powers and super speed much like their comics counterparts Wiccan and Speed, Clint Barton handing his bow and arrow to Kate Bishop in Marvel’s Hawkeye series, Ms Marvel on the horizon, Cassie Lang aging up to have a much bigger role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Iron Man’s legacy extending out to a Riri Williams Ironheart project, there’s a new breed of superheroes waiting in the wings to take over from the old guard.

Is it possible that when WandaVision is over, a teenaged Billy and Tommy will survive to tell the tale and we’ll see a gang of new Avengers start to take shape?

RED & BLUE #WANDAVISION pic.twitter.com/ga7xeVmojw

— Nação Marvel 🎃 (@NacaoMarvell) February 14, 2021

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 3

Mepietro

Plenty of WandaVision fans have committed to the theory that Mephisto is behind the creation of Westview, or that he helped Wanda do it. For those who couldn’t pick the diabolical demon out of a line-up, Mephisto was inspired by Mephistopheles of the Faust legend and is basically Marvel’s version of The Devil. He also looks similar to a traditional artist’s impression of Satan.

The villain was originally brought to life by Stan Lee and John Buscema in The Silver Surfer #3, and since the first batch of episodes arrived, most of WandaVision’s regular characters have been accused of being Mephisto at one time or another, including those we’ve already met like Dottie and Herb (where the Hell is Dottie??) and those we haven’t even clapped eyes on, like Agnes’ problematic husband Ralph.

But since Episode 6 started streaming, Pietro has naturally become the focus of many Mephisto theories. Let’s face it, he’s sus, and there are certainly reasons to believe he’s different from everyone else who’s found themselves playing a new role in Wanda’s upbeat reality.

For a start, he’s very aware of what’s going on. Turning up unexpectedly wearing a semi-familiar guise at a moment of conflict that may have pushed Wanda and Vision to break down the walls between them, he goes onto be very direct with Wanda, asking her how she created The Hex and condoning her behavior while trying to gain her trust. He’s also casually cruel, dismissing Vision’s loss with “it’s not like your dead husband could die twice”.

Not only that, he calls Billy and Tommy “demon spawn” and tells them to raise Hell. Mephisto’s relationship to Wanda’s twins is somewhat complex in the comics, but they were essentially magical constructs created by Wanda using slivers of Mephisto’s life essence, and they ceased to exist when they were reabsorbed by Mephisto. They were also reincarnated later on, but that’s a whole other deal.

Arguably, it’s a great time in the MCU’s evolution to introduce a major new villain now that Thanos is dust in the wind, and since so many of both the surviving and upcoming MCU superheroes have lore with Mephisto in the comics, there are plenty of resources to pull from if he’s set to be a huge antagonist.

But did Mephisto really offer Wanda a Faustian bargain before Westview took shape? She gets some happy family time with Vision in Westview, and he gets …well, that’s the big question, isn’t it? Two new superpowered beings at his disposal? Maybe. The opportunity to drain Wanda’s still somewhat unexplored mystical power? Mayyybe.

Is Evan Peters’ version of Pietro really Mephisto? Perhaps, sure. At this point we’d suggest those who don’t think Peters has the range to play a massive Marvel villain go watch him play eleven different roles effortlessly in American Horror Story, then get back to us.

Only time will tell, eh? Three episodes to go!

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 2

Have you heard any reasonable new theories about where WandaVision will end up since Episode 6 dropped? Let us know in the comments.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post WandaVision Episode 6 Theories Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3amYJP5