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starker-fluff · 5 years ago

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Peter Pan #1

Mafia au.

TW: Kidnapping, Murder, Mentions, aftermath and some small displays of abuse, Violence, blood

And thus we begin the tale of the Peter Pan dubbed Spiderman.

(Peter Pan are people in the mafia who’s job it is to distract the kids whilst other deal with business)

——//——//——

A heavy metal for creaked open, scratching the floor as it opened. Pan squinted shielding his eyes as the bright light filtered into the room. The floor was concrete and the only padding he had was a dusty old blanket in the corner. This was is box, barren and cold. He never wanted to be here.

“Stop sulking. You’ve got a job to do.” A rusty male voice broke through the blinding light, his silhouette filling the door way. The shadow can forward pulling Pan forward onto his knees by a chain wrapped around his wrists and secured with a padlock. He said nothing just slowly got to his feet and followed the man through the badly lit halls. Outside of similar metal door the padlock was unlocked and his chains removed but a bag was slipped over his head. A large hand clamped around his wrists as the familiar scrapping of metal against concrete sounded as he was dragged by the arm.

He had never seen what was on the other side of this door. All he knew was that there was a van and people. There was quiet chatter about the lay out of the house and whispers that were obviously directed to him.

“The target is upstairs, daughter is downstairs.”

“Wife?”

“No woman could stand that guy..”

“One did, enough to have a kid with ‘im.”

“Ey look, it’s the pan boy.”

“There’s nothin’ I wouldn’t do to get my hands on a piece of meat like that..”

“I bet he goes a pretty shade of purple.”

“Boys. Focus. There is a skylight entrance. Come in through there to collect the prize.”

Pan couldn’t hear anymore before he thrown into the back of the van. Groaning as he scuffled onto his hands and knees before finding his way to one corner where he tugged his knees up to his chest to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. He learnt early to never try and escape or to try and take off the bag over his head.

“Alright. Front. Point. Centre. Back. Skylight. Understand? Let’s go.” He heard as the van dipped slightly as heavy footsteps filled the van. The crew was filtering into the van and soon it fell into silence as the engine roared to life. Soon Pan would have to do his job. A job he hated so much that he wish he never existed.

“If you do your job well tonight maybe I could let you out of your room for a night. I’m sure the boys would value your attention.” A sickening voice commented as a hand ran over his head, making Pan curled further into himself. He preferred the box.

——//——//——

The van finally came to a stop and the bag was ripped off his head. He watched as the group around him readied their guns and pulled on their masks.

“Brumlow, take Pan to the room. Once the target as been engaged go for the prize.” The leader ordered and soon Pan has been grabbed by the hair and was being dragged out of the van.

As his feet hit the pavement, he instinctively glanced up and had a wave of déjà vu wash over him. He had been here before but he just couldn’t place it.

“Ow!” Pan screeched our as he was tugged roughly by the hair.

“What did we say about speaking?!” A hand wrapped around his throat, threatening to crush his windpipe. When Pan didn’t respond Brumalow just smirked and grabbed his hair once again to drag him through the house and to a door with cute little drawings of horses and fairies. Pan made sure to look at all possible exits, he would never try to run but it was just a habit now.

“Keep the kid distracted. I’ll be back.” Brumalow said before opening the door and shoving Pan inside. Yet another wave of déjà vu washed over the boy as he was met with the child’s room. The bed on the left wall, drawings covering the walls and a desk tucked into the right far corner with a closet along the front wall.

Pan saw the glint of a sliver frame that sent his heart spiking. His feet moved without his permission and before he knew it he had crossed the room and was holding this framed picture of a black haired man with a young man on his back. It.. it looks..

“It looks like me...” Pan breathed in absolute disbelief. How did this kid have a picture of him and this oddly familiar stranger?

“Are you really here?” A gentle sleepy voice sounded from the other side of the room. Pan turned around and saw this black hair girl sitting up in her bed with hopeful eyes.

“Yeah.. I am.. Why do you have a picture of me?” Pan said shakily, afraid of the answer. The girl beamed happily and bounced out of bed, within a flash her arms were around Pan’s waist and hugging him tight.

“That’s you and Daddy, silly. Do you not remember? Daddy said you might not remember. That’s why we made an album to help you remember. We should go tell Daddy that you are back!” The girl had let go and was heading for the door just as a gun shot went off. Then another and another. There was crashing and banging. Everything started to click into place, it wasn’t déjà vu. It was his subconscious remembering his home. He had to protect this girl.

“Quickly under the desk. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise. I’m here to protect you.” He cooed to the scared girl. She followed his directions as Pan situated himself between the door and his.. the girl.

The crashing and banging continued. Screams and yells sounded from upstairs but the door handle never turned. Pan brain went into overdrive trying his best to connect the dots. The sounds of footsteps on the roof above triggered something in his mind that gave Pan the whole picture.

Home. Target. Girl. Prize. Skylight. Brumalow. “I’ll be back”. Protect.

The sounds of a skylight window creaking open brought Pan out of his head. The boy grabbed the chair behind him, pulling it towards him and launching it up at the skylight just as Brumalow jumped through the open window.

“Fuck. What the hell Pan?!.” Brumalow grunted as he fell onto the floor, clutching at his side.

“Not my name.” He spoke without missing a beat. Brumalow’s eyes widen almost in fear. He slowly moved to grab the walker talkie.

“Pan’s gone Spider.” Brumalow said lowly and the the shooting ceased.

“PETER.”

That voice from upstairs flipped something in his mind. It was familiar and sent a spiral of emotions cascading into his mind. It was him. Pan was Peter. He was Peter. Pan isn’t him.

The shooting continued and Peter launched himself at Brumalow, tackling him to the ground and landing a punch to his face as Morgan screamed and sobbed in fear from underneath the desk.

“Fucking. Bastard!!” Brumalow overpowered him eventually. Tossing him off and pulling out a handgun that he quickly trained on the girl with a hand extended to Peter who was seething with anger. Brumalow pulled out a handgun and fired one shot at Peter, shitting him in the side.

“One more step and she di-“ Brumalow threatened but his voice stopped as Peter took a step forward. He pulled the trigger but nothing came out.

“Someone didn’t reload..” He lunged at the man once again. Pulling a knife from the sheath on Brumalow’s leg and pinning the man to the ground.

“Close your eyes and cover your ears, darling.” He spoke the to whimpering girl before he plunged the knife repeatedly into the disgusting man’s chest. Once Brumalow stopped moving, Peter shakily stood up and dropped the knife by his foot. He grabbed a sheet off the girl’s bed and covered the filth’s body before he collapsed with his back up against the desk.

“This is my home isn’t it?” He asked as he gently putting his hand near hers. She nodded and took his hand whilst crawling out from under the desk. Sitting herself in his lap and crying. He gently rubbed he back whilst cradelling her as the fight raged on overhead.

Suddenly it was quiet and there was a slow thump going down the stairs, whoever it was didn’t want to come down. They seemed hesitant. Now that everyhting seemed to slow down a unbearable pain radiated from his side. Glancing down he saw his shirt drenched in blood as it began to deep into the carpet beneath him.

“Help..” He called putting weakly, feeling light headed. Suddenly the foot steps quickened and the door flew open. It was the man from the picture.

“I’m Peter.” All he could do was start sobbing as he felt an overwhelming wave of love and safety crash into his head. The man in the door way joined his sobbing as he made his way over to the two, kneeling down beside them and pulling them into a hug.

“I’ve got you baby. We’ve got you. I’ll never let you go again.” The man whispered softly whilst stroking Peter’s hair, kissing his forehead. Peter felt his chest fill with warm and happiness as he was cradelled.

“D-Daddy. Papa was shot..” The young girl whimpered, trying to be helpful.

“What?!” The man leant back, glancing over Peter before his eyes settled on his side.

“Fuck fuck fuck. No. No. I just got you back. Hunny, go push the emergency button!” Before the man had even finished the little girl was on her feet and running out the door. The raven haired man pulled Peter into his lap, putting pressure on his side as the young man blinked lazily.

“Your name is Tony. I have a husban-.” Peter blinked out, head lolling to the side onto Tony’s chest as the pain became unbearable.

@starkly @itfeelssogoodmrstark

#starker #tony x peter #mafia au!#im sorry #starker angst #starker fic #sad starker #read the trigger warnings #im going back to fluff next chapter

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fractiscruentamorte · 3 months ago

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OPEN RP: Brock Rumlow

"Hey I didn't get stabbed this time so I"m taking this as a win." He shrugs softly as he tries to focus on anything but the pain of his dislocated shoulder and broken arm.

#~brumlow~#open rp #marvel rp

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thesaltofcarthage · 6 years ago

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Avengers: Endgame: Did Marvel Pull It Off?

This is a followup to my (surprisingly popular!) post “The Stakes Are Too High.” (at least, it surprised the hell out of me that it got so popular; I wasn’t expecting it to resonate as widely as it did.)

FULL ENDGAME SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I’m putting it under a cut just in case.

Also, above the cut in case you’re still dodging spoilers, tagging @kryptaria @iamanartichoke @taurileonis @hjbender @chey-tips22 @wu-the-stoic @englishontheinside @rennemichaels @alwida10 @ladylowkeyed @saltoftheearths @mizkit @thelightofthingshopedfor @essesnceofhappiness @theravenofwynter @pinetreeparadoxx @ironhammermagicshieldedgreenbow @philosopherking1887 @waywardkansasflower @lokeanrampant @maneth985 @ilovethemallsoimconfused @bengalaas @icyxmischief @yuuki-fandoms @snailchick @fictions-stranger @adhdasianaroace @artherra @missmaladicta @queerfictionwriter because you specifically commented/reblogged.

So having seen Endgame, the question becomes: Did Marvel pull it off?

My answer is: yes and no.

Did we get an emotionally satisfying ending? Did Marvel understand that closure doesn’t have to come with corpses?

There were a lot of things I loved about Endgame. There were many, many of the “small character moments” we were begging for. Marvel didn’t forget that we fell in love with people and we need to see people and their choices and how they live with the consequences of those choices... mostly.

I loved how Marvel rewarded the audience for watching 11 years of movies. It was practically wall-to-wall Easter eggs and callbacks. I loved how the time travel allowed us to loop back through some of our favorite scenes and see them from other points of view, and the additional information. (Sitwell and Brumlow taking the scepter immediately after Loki’s capture: oh, so that’s how HYDRA got the Mind Stone!) I loved the cameos upon cameos (despite how silly it is for someone like Natalie Portman to show up for literally 15 seconds and not get any lines). I appreciated that Captain Marvel was used exactly the right amount: she saved Tony and Nebula, she was established as part of the post-Snap team, she came in at the end to lend some firepower, but she did not have any part in solving the problem nor was she the person who ultimately handed Thanos his raisin ass. I LOVED THE FINAL BATTLE, HOLY FUCK. (With the exception of Loki not being present, but I’ll get to that.) There were real laughs, and real tears. I cheered when Steve summoned Mjolnir (and laughed my head off at the Cap-on-Cap fight). I loved Morgan and Cassie, and the echoes of fathers and daughters throughout.

There were things I did not love, even before we got to the final or semi-final fates of some characters. I was genuinely offended with Thor’s treatment. I was not happy with Loki. I was confused about Vision, Gamora, and Black Widow, because they are due to return for future TV shows and movies, so leaving their statuses open or cloudy (or “dead,” which I put in quotes for a reason) was just disconcerting. The time travel opened up a lot of problems.

My original post was about endings, so let’s talk about those. In approximately descending order of Satisfying to WTF:

Stan Lee: Got his last cameo in the end of the arc so he didn’t miss any, driving along, clearly having the time of his life. Excelsior, Stan, and thank you for everything.

Clint: Got his happy ending. He was deeply bitter about losing his family, but got them restored to him. He did lose Nat, but I’ll cover her in her own section.

Steve: He did get his soft epilogue, albeit with Peggy Carter, and I can’t fault that. Marvel was never going to give us the Steve/Bucky romance no matter how obvious it was, and Steve/Peggy also works. (And really, I love Peggy, so for her to get a happy ending too is a bonus.) Steve gave so much of himself over the years. I can’t object to allowing him to be selfish and re-live his life quietly, to finally put down his shield and go home from the war. He got his reward.

It basically works with the existing timeline if you squint and assume that Peggy’s Alzheimer’s was messing with her at the beginning of Civil War, or if there’s another timeline altogether. I’m slightly annoyed that whatever he got to have with Bucky all happened offscreen between the stinger of Black Panther and the beginning of Infinity War, but apparently they did spend time together. And Steve clearly told Bucky was he was planning; that’s what “I’m gonna miss you” was foreshadowing.

STEVE IS WORTHY OF MJOLNIR. YESSSSSS!

Bruce: I was okay with the “Professor Hulk” storyline (which I was told by a sharp-eyed nephew is from the comics), although I wouldn’t have minded seeing that internal struggle onscreen, but I understand it’s an IP rights issue and there isn’t going to be another Marvel standalone Hulk film.

Tony: Augh. AUGH! I get it. I know why he died, on a meta level. But still.

This, at least, we can say is mostly “heartbreaking” and not “burn.” Tony got the five-year interval to make some kind of peace with his losses. He and Pepper got married and had Morgan. He got some kind of Happy For Now. He got some kind of reward, which RDJ brilliantly conveyed even in the few minutes we saw.

@hjbender linked @starkysnarks’s excellent post about Tony’s arc. One important part:

That’s why I think that giving a better, more positive message is so important. While other characters have flaws, it’s only Tony who has this consistent, this carefully streamlined storyline of improvement, of redemption, of self-realization and self-betterment. It’s Tony who is most often referred to (by the aforementioned mainstream outlets AND within the fandom) as the most human of the characters, and his story – as the most humane. His happy ending with a new house and young family will not feel like an opt-out, it will not feel complacent, at least not to me. It will feel like hope. It will feel like achieving, at least partially, the goal of that endless internal struggle that we all go through daily. It will feel like it’s possible to be good and be happy and be content, to know that you have done you best and your best is good enough for you to live, and go forward, and be.

He ultimately got some of this, for a while. Tony’s fatal flaw is his fear about Thanos, or the threat that Thanos represents. Prior to Avengers, Tony was happy-go-lucky because he could, eventually, beat whatever the world threw at him. But Thanos was not of this world, and would have wiped everyone out if Tony hadn’t managed to get that nuke through the portal. That trauma, that guilt, that fear, is what drives him for the rest of the Infinity Stones storyline. He is desperate to protect everyone. It’s what makes him want to put “a suit of armor around the world” in Age of Ultron, and of course the way Ultron backfires compounds Tony’s PTSD and guilt, which is what leads to his position in Civil War and the fight he picks with Steve at the beginning of Endgame.

And the worst happens in Infinity War, and the Avengers lose. Everything Tony feared ultimately happened.

Five years later, he’s managed to move forward. He has his happy ending — as happy as he can be, given their losses. He’s accepted his failure, more or less. He wants to rest, which is why he rejects Steve and the others at first.

But his tinkerer’s brain won’t let him put their proposal aside. He needs to know intellectually that there’s no chance, that he can’t fix what he screwed up. Because that’s the other part of what drives him: they lost. He lost. “I lost the kid,” he tells Steve (meaning Peter). That fear of loss, of losing people, of failing people, of disappointing people, is what keeps pushing him. If he knows that there’s no possible way he can undo his mistake, he’ll figure out a way to cope, especially since he still has Pepper and then his daughter. But now there is a way, or there might be, and he can’t let that lie, he can’t rest, until he knows one way or the other. And when the way to fix things becomes possible, there is no other outcome for Tony to choose. He wouldn’t be a hero otherwise.

It is a terrible loss, but in the end I could accept it. Tony got a Happy For Now. He was able to enjoy his life for a little while. He got the genuine closure with his father which he couldn’t in the BARF hologram at the beginning of Civil War thanks to the time travel, and he got to see Peter restored and give him the hug which they weren’t at yet in Homecoming. Tony was triumphant. He defeated his greatest, most terrible adversary. He defeated his fear. Thanos is gone, and his minions with him. The echo of “I. Am. Iron Man.” was exquisite. (even more so knowing that line in the first movie was ad-libbed! it wasn’t in the script! It was RDJ’s idea!) So his death is sad, but it’s earned.

Natasha: Meh. Just meh. The scene where she and Clint fight over who is going to die was blackly hilarious. It made narrative sense for Nat to be the one who died — she has found family, but not children; she spent the interval trying to run the Avengers and SHIELD and trying to fix things, and this allowed her to contribute in a material way; she still has a lot of red in her moral ledger — but on a meta level, we know there’s a Black Widow movie in the works. It doesn’t make sense to have a spinoff series set before Endgame when you know how the character dies. It’s not a bad ending, all things considered, but the actress herself can’t get younger. Is it supposed to be her origin/backstory movie after the character has died? Is it Multiverse Branching Timelines? Was she restored when Steve returned all the Stones to their place in the timeline? Was she restored with Tony’s Snap, or Bruce’s? Not knowing how that’s going to work with the rest of the MCU timeline blunted the emotional effect of her death for me.

Although he’s not an original Avenger, I had similar issues with Vision. There will be a Scarlet Witch and Vision TV series. Vision is still dead, according to Wanda at Tony’s funeral. So was he restored with either Bruce’s Snap or Tony’s? Was 2018 Gamora?

And the two which completely did not work for me, the ones where I think Marvel really missed:

Thor: Of the original Avengers, he was the one I was most upset about.

I really, really did not like how Thor’s very legitimate grief, depression, PTSD, and alcoholism were played for laughs. Thor is down to a “kingdom” of a few hundred people at best (we don’t know what Asgard’s population was to start with, but Hela killed quite a few, and then Thanos killed half of them on the Statesman, and it’s entirely possible that the Snappening dusted half of whomever remained). He’s living with the murders of Loki, Heimdall, and the Warriors Three (I can’t remember if Sif was supposed to have survived the Snappening, but she doesn’t appear in Endgame). He didn’t “go for the head” in Infinity War, which clearly haunts him despite the fact that Peter Quill is just as much to blame for interrupting Strange, Tony, Peter, and Mantis, or Wanda is just as much to blame for not getting the Stone out of Vision’s head faster, etc. etc. He cut off Thanos’s head after the fact and is clinging to that — “Who else here killed Thanos?” — as some kind of cold comfort. “Look, at least I did that in the end. At least I got revenge.”

Thor is a mess. His family is dead. His dearest friends are dead. He’s in a depressive spiral, self-medicating with food and alcohol, lost in video games because they are a consequence-free way to “win.” He’s holed up with Miek and Korg because they didn’t know him before Ragnarok and they have no real expectations of King Thor, God of Thunder, Avenger, Hero. He feels he has failed at everything which has ever been expected of him.

And the script... plays this... for laughs.

We are meant to laugh at his pot belly and flabby physique. We are meant to laugh at his unkempt matted hair and wild unbraided beard. We are meant to laugh at his drunkenness, at how he passes out, at how he blearily begs and whimpers to be the one to unSnap everyone ( “Please let me do something good, something right,” he pleads), at how he returns to Asgard on the day of Frigga’s murder and tries to frat-boy off to the cellars for some of Odin’s best ale because he cannot face his failure on this day too.

None of this is funny. It’s not funny at. all. It’s horrifying.

I do understand that this is likely more Hemsworth than Marvel. The actor vocally complained that he was bored with formal, upright Thor and would have been done with the character without Taika Waititi’s more comedic take in Ragnarok. He has said in interviews that Thor in Endgame is the closest to Hemsworth himself that the character has ever been, and clearly the actor loves doing comedy. He’s good at it — I enjoyed Kevin in Ghostbusters 2016.

I don’t object to loosening up Thor. I don’t object to showing Thor spiraling into alcoholism and depression and hiding from the world in food and games. I object to using depression and alcoholism for comedy.

Thor faces Frigga, reluctantly, and she counsels her son whom she loves, telling him not to worry about living up to expectations but to be his best true self. This is consistent with both characters; Thor has accepted how hard it is to be king. Then as Thor is quantumming out she adds “And eat a salad.” Really? You had to throw that in there? She sees the wreck her son has become and she nags? She gives him some kind and loving advice, she knows there’s some weirdness going on, but she has to cap it with fat-shaming?

We are meant to mock formerly ripped Thor for being “fat and ugly,” but let’s be clear: Thor’s appearance is an outward manifestation of deep emotional issues. Thor has not been able to cope with his failure. He and Tony faced similar terrible losses. Both characters originally had sunny dispositions. Tony, who still had Pepper at least, has managed to crawl out of his hole and build something with his wife and daughter. Thor lost his brother, his other half, and has mentally, emotionally, and physically collapsed. There really is no Thor without Loki.

And speaking of, I’m going to scream for a moment:

SERIOUSLY, MARVEL, WHAT EVEN THE FLAMING FUCK WAS THAT? YOU TEE UP A GODDAMN LINE LIKE “I ASSURE YOU, BROTHER, THE SUN WILL SHINE ON US AGAIN” AND THEN IT DOESN’T PAY OFF? I FUCKING WAVED THAT FLAG FOR A SOLID YEAR BECAUSE I WAS CONVINCED YOU WERE SMARTER THAN THAT AND THIS IS HOW YOU DO ME?

Loki: I am well aware that Loki started as an antagonist, and that my perspective is skewed from the fandoms I choose to participate in. I know that he’s not an Avenger.

But purely from a narrative point of view, Marvel, ya done fucked up. You dropped the ball.

From my previous post:

Loki’s death in Infinity War was so stupid and narratively pointless that a lot of fans, myself included, believe that there’s a plan behind the scenes (since we know Endgame involves time travel) which somehow explains it and gives it meaning. Because if not, then one of the most popular MCU characters — the only antagonist to keep returning, film after film, and primarily because audiences love him — died for nothing.

And there you have it. Explaining it after the fact in Loki’s TV show doesn’t count (and we don’t know that they will). Yes, Loki grabs the Tesseract in 2012 and disappears, so you can argue that “he doesn’t die,” but all that really does is screw up the timeline. It creates another timeline branch which isn’t resolved.

Is everything now a branched universe? If Loki took off with the Tesseract, does that mean The Dark World and Ragnarok never happened? If Loki didn’t go back to Asgard in chains at the end of Avengers, that means TDW couldn’t have happened the way it did. It means that Loki didn’t sacrifice himself, but does that also mean that Malekith would have gotten the Aether/Reality Stone from Jane and killed her? (It was Loki’s plan which saved Jane, let’s recall. And killed Kurse.) Does that mean Odin is still alive and on Asgard? And Hela was never unleashed? And therefore Loki and Thor never ended up on Sakaar and Hulk and Valkyrie Brunnhilde are still there? Or worse, that Odin died and Hela was unleashed but Thor wasn’t able to stop her because he didn’t have Hulk, Valkyrie, and Loki to help him? So she’s now loose and rampaging across the realms murdering at will?

It was appropriate for the larger arc for Carol to be part of the cavalry swooping in during the final battle to pummel Thanos for a while, but I kept waiting for Loki to show up. Loki was tortured by Thanos and Ebony Maw, which is what kicked off the plot of Avengers. If 2014 Thor was willing to break Loki out of prison to get revenge for Frigga’s death, why wouldn’t either 2014 Thor or 2023 Thor be willing to tell 2012 Loki “We have an opportunity for you to get back at Thanos. Wanna help?” Because as strung out and as still cocky as he was, jauntily waving in the elevator at the beast who just beat the shit out of him, I bet Loki would have been delighted to take a few swings at Giant Purple Nutsack Face. Yes, he probably would have escaped at some point during the final battle, because that’s who he was at the time, and still is — he’s “very comfortable with chaos,” as Hiddleston notes. And that would have been consistent. Help others if it also helps him, he’s not really a hero at that point in his arc, check out after Thanos is dead because he doesn’t want to go back to prison. That all would have worked. Even if he had no more to do than Shuri or Okoye, just to show him shooting a few blasts of seidr and showing that he is in fact just as powerful a sorcerer as Doctor “I’ve only been doing this for a year” Strange.

But Loki’s death in Infinity War is for nothing. Even if I wasn’t as invested in the character as I am, from a storytelling standpoint, it was pointless. The entire heavy foreshadowing of that line was utterly whiffed. You can’t even argue that “Loki sacrificed himself for Thor” because Thanos disappeared with the Space Stone, leaving Thor behind, and Thor crawled over to his brother’s dead, broken body and crumpled there to die. Thor gave up and never recovered. The last word he expected he would ever say was “Loki....”

Thor didn’t choose in that moment to use Loki’s sacrifice to stand up and claim revenge. Even Clint did more than that after Natasha’s death. Thor only continued on to forge Stormbreaker because the Guardians happened to pick him up in the vacuum of space after the Statesman exploded. That wasn’t a choice by the character, which is what moves a character arc forward. It was happenstance. Thor’s heart was destroyed with Loki’s death. It’s a shell of a man who eventually beheads Thanos.

Loki got an “Avenge the Fallen” poster, but he wasn’t avenged. The 2012 version of him escaped and branched off a new timeline, according to the Ancient One’s explanation of how time travel works in the MCU.

We don’t know if either Tony’s or Bruce’s Snap restored 2018 Loki. Endgame is the end of this arc. Marvel can’t patch stuff up later and claim a do-over.

AND FOR FUCK’S SAKE MARVEL WE NEVER GOT THOR AND LOKI’S HUG.

So: did Marvel hurt us?

Not as badly as I feared. There was a ton of fanservice and moments which were so go-for-broke that I felt like we were watching wish-fulfillment fanfic. (So many jokes about Steve’s ass. Steve joking about Steve’s ass.) The script didn’t stop to explain who people were or give context; it assumed the audience knew everything and was keeping up. And that last battle, have mercy, Helm’s Deep and Pelennor Fields look like playground skirmishes in comparison.

BUT: The loose ends are deeply frustrating, and I think the Loki fandom is going to blow a collective gasket. Grotty Drunk Thor having constant My Dick Is Bigger fights with Peter Quill is not going to make me want to watch Guardians 3. (Although if Loki comes back and sneers at Quill, and Thor follows his brother off into the wild yonder with stars in his eyes, okay, call me.)

I will watch the Marvel TV shows because I’m a masochist, but I don’t know how much I’m going to allow myself to get emotionally involved. My expectations are far lower than before IW/EG. I don’t know how the shows and movies involving “dead” characters are going to explain things. Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey handwaving is kind of a cheat, and it doesn’t excuse the shit storytelling which was allowed to happen in the first place.

Do I regret the journey? I don’t. It’s been a hell of a ride, and I’m so glad to have met these characters. I could wish for some things to be better, and hoo boy is there going to be a lot of corrective fanfic, but I’m not sorry I came along.

(and P.S.: Loki lives. :P)

#endgame spoilers #the stakes are too high #avengers: endgame #meta discussion #mcu #long post

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kahuna-burger · 2 years ago

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Chap a day didn't work out, but oh well. Part 4 away!

Oh Oh Those Summer Nights

Warnings : None

Pairing : Hydra husbands (of course)

Characters : Brock Rumlow, Jack Rollins, Jasper Sitwell, Phil Coulson, mostly unnamed STRIKE team OCs

Other tags : Pre canon, mild identity porn, under cover operations, SHIELD compartmentalizing like crazy, implied homophobia, possible internalized homophobia, epistolary (email)

Summary : Tell Email me more! Tell Email me more!

Chapter 1 : Happened So Fast https://www.tumblr.com/kahuna-burger/727100817162797056/

Chapter 2 : Had me a blast https://www.tumblr.com/kahuna-burger/727218990297055232/

Chapter 3 : Met a girl, cute as can be https://www.tumblr.com/kahuna-burger/727405419318984705/

Chapter 4 : Met a girl, crazy for me

To : <shitheads>

From : [email protected]

Re : your fucking creepy interest in my personal life

Jesus, I know you're all bored, but ask the nurse doing the sponge bath for a Happy Ending if you're this hard up! And no, I was not implying I felt her up, this was at work not some sleazy club dance floor like you shitheads meet your hookups. Just didn't feel the need to disassociate while fitting and adjusting harness straps.

Anyway, she came back this week, turns out she's a local with resort privileges, not a guest. And she loves this place, so I'll probably see her again. Which, totally not complaining.

I would give you more details, but you assholes don't deserve them, and I'm still pissed you thought I would sexually harass a customer, so fuck off and work on getting medical clearance.

***

To : <gamma>

From : [email protected]

Re : NOT a bunny

I still don't have a beach/snow bunny, but if I ever see her outside the attraction, I'd probably suggest a drink.

To try to cover all the questions, I don't actually know a name to tell you, everyone is "in character" for this adventure you're supposedly on. We'll call her Robin to keep it simple. Dark hair and eyes, athletic build, southern european heritage, probably?

Saw Robin again on my second visit, might have been a little flirty this time but not inappropriate. I just don't wanna be that guy that harasses someone when they have to be friendly for work. Especially when people can get intimidated by me…

Anyway, someone started a new pool on whether some outside problem will make everyone break cover before this op gets resolved and if so, what. I'm torn between putting money on a geographically appropriate natural disaster and an alien attack. What do you think?

-Jack

#hydrahusbandssummer2023 #hydra husbands #brock rumlow #jack rollins #email me more! email me more!#chap 4

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sauveur-de-lenfer · 6 years ago

Text

I’m So Glad You’re Back - Chapter 7

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 8 chapter 9 chapter 10 chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 chapter 14 chapter 15 Epilogue

New York 2012

Once the 3 men had arrived in a street in new york, they split up, each with their own mission to collect a stone each. Together they decided that Bruce should go for the time stone since it wasn't near the tower, which means no one would question why there were two hulks running about.

Tony would get the mind stone which was currently residing inside Loki's staff. Remembering reports from Shield after the battle, Tony knew that agent Sitwell had taken it to store at Shield. All he had to do was find Sitwell and take it from him and lucky for tony, the genius now knew that Sitwell had been hydra this entire time.

This means the space stone was now left to Scott. He was going to have to remain small so he didn't get noticed by the Avengers but with Tonys help it shouldn't be a problem.

…..

Carefully manoeuvring his large body, Bruce climbed his way up the building in front of him. Sticking to the roofs, he hopped from each one until he recognised the sanctum he had landed in.

It took him a few minutes trying to retrace his steps from 5 years ago before he saw an orange glow in the corner of his eyes. Turning his head, the professor recognised the orange glow as the same spells doctor strange had conjured up. Following the orange circles glowing in the distance, Bruce jumped and climbed his way over to the building it was coming from.

Spotting a figure on the roof bruce realised as he got closer that this person was not Doctor Strange. But in fact an older bald woman?

As he climbed over the wall onto the rooftop of the sanctum, Bruce carefully walked his large figure over to the woman.

“Hey, I'm looking for Doctor Strange.”

Having already been looking at him in curiosity since she'd seem him roof hopping, the woman smiled in surprise at the green man in front of her for asking her a question

"You're about… 5 years too early. Stephen strange is currently performing surgery 20 blocks that way." She replied, pointing over bruces shoulder at Metropolitan General Hospital.

"What do you want from him?” the ancient one pushed. To be completely honest this was not how she expected her day to go. She knew of the attack and of course, let it happen, knowing that the Avengers would save the day. She’d seen this future many times but this conversation wasn't in a single future she had seen.

"That actually” lifting his large green arm to aim at her chest, Bruce pointed his fingers to the necklace that laid on it. The Eye of Agamotto.

Huffing out a laugh, the ancient one couldn't believe her ears. Was this a silly little joke?

“Ahh! I'm afraid not.

Straightening his face, Bruce adjusted himself to a more serious attitude.

"Sorry, but I wasn't asking." Taking a step forward, Bruce held out his hands ready to take the necklace off of her neck. But staying right where she was without even flinching she spoke back.

"You don't want to do this." She warned. And she meant it.

"Ah you're right, I don't. But I need that stone and I don't have time to b-” whipping her hand out as fast as she could, the moment Bruce stepped into her reach. The Ancient One conjured her magic and pushed his spiritual form out of his body, revealing the human man he had once been.

As he flew backwards, the human bruce looked at the woman in shock. Cocking her head, she looked at his astral projection with a smirk on her face.

"Let's start over shall we?"

…..

Making their way over to His old stark tower, Tony and Scott tried to keep themselves hidden so they could get past people and security without getting recognised. Knocking a nearby shield agent out near the tower, Tony stole his uniform and joined the rest of the shield swat team with a tiny Scott tucked away in his pocket. Thankfully they managed to get to the top of the tower, where the genius and his team of 5 had been with Loki after winning the battle.

Watching from under his tinted visor, Tony followed the younger version of Natasha with his eyes as she placed the sceptre into a case and handed it off to a member of Shield. Jasper Sitwell. Tony shook his head at the sight of the man. He remembered finding out about shield, well, hydra, all those years ago. He couldn't believe it at first, and now here Sitwell was, acting like the good guy. Pathetic.

Taking note of Sitwell and Romanoff's conversation, Tony made sure to memorise the details of their plan to get the sceptre back to shield.

Tony watched as the man was getting ready to leave with his team and the sceptre, but then Scott spoke up, bringing Tony out of his thoughts.

“So, what's the plan?” his little voice sounded out through his coms.

“See that case over there? The smaller one? That's the case were gonna put the tesseract in. You need to get in there and shrink it down and take it. They'll take the case down in the elevator in a few minutes and then they're gonna hand it off to Alexander Pierce but I'm gonna have to go for the sceptre before that.” Tony whispered to the little man. Trying not to draw too much attention to himself.

“But then how am I supposed to get out of the case?”

“After I've got the Mind Stone, I'll make my way downstairs to you, get the case and open it slightly, just enough room for you to get out but you'll have to be quick, you got that Thumbelina?

"Okay yeah, I think so.”

Climbing his way of out Tony's pocket, Scott jumped onto his shoulder, preparing for their next move.

“Okay, you ready,” the genius asked him as Tony quickly ducked behind a wall, so no one would see as he got ready to launch Scott.

“Yes I am, Iron Man.”

Waiting for the right moment, Tony paused with his hand in position to flick the tic tac into the direction of the case. After a few seconds, Jasper Sitwell made his move, taking the larger case with the sceptre with him and his team towards the back elevator.

Then, PING.

Scott was flicked across the room, on his way to the Tesseract case, and Tony had headed in the opposite direction towards Sitwell.

Shedding the Shield uniform, Tony made his way down the corridor, running after the shield agents. After piling inside the elevator together, brock Brumlow went to press the ground floor button until he paused at the sound of a voice.

“Hey hold that for me will you?” Tony shouted out to the agents. Running towards the elevator doors, Tony acted as if he was out of breath at trying to catch up with them.

Two of the secret Hydra agents, Rumlow and Sitwell glanced at each other, hesitant to keep the doors open. But before they could react, the billionaire's arm shoved its way in between the metal doors, making them reopen before they closed.

“Mr Stark? I thought you were coordinating the hand over for the tesseract?” Rumlow pointed out to the room.

“Yeah well change of plans, I thought I'd come with you handsome fellas instead” Tony grinned at them, shoving his way through the small box filled with agents.

As he settled himself in the centre of the elevator, Tony saw in the corner of his eye one of the shield agents in front of him reach for his holster very carefully. As if he was waiting for a fight. Tony shifted his eyes around him, taking note of how many guys were in here with him. There's no way he could take them on or fight them. he didn't want to risk anything. He needed to be smart about this. Tactical. Letting out a huff as part of his act, Tony opened his mouth to talk.

“I just got a call from the secretary of state, I'm gonna be running point on the sceptre.”

Whipping their heads up, the agents looked at Tony in disbelief.

“Sir I don't understand.” The slimy little man called Sitwell said to him with a confused look on his face.

“Oh yeah I forgot to say, we got words there may be an attempt to steal it. So you know, obviously they asked me to take it. I mean who better to leave it with other than iron man right?” Tony said smugly. God, he sounded like a douchebag right now. He thought.

“Sorry stark, I can't give you the sceptre.” This time it was Brock Rumlow. Tony remembered this guy from Lagos. He wasn't there himself but he watched the surveillance footage back home. As Tony looked at the man he couldn't help but think he looked better burnt to a crisp.

“I'm gonna have to call the director.” Sitwell reached for his pocket, ready to pull out his phone.

“That's okay bud, trust me.” Tony could practically feel the eyes on the back of his head as he winked at the man. The small room filled with tension. One wrong move, one wrong word and this could all be over.

With a slight smirk on his face, Tony leaned closer to Sitwell and whispered into his ear.

��Hail Hydra.”

Taken aback in shock, Sitwell's mouth hung open at the genius’s words. There's no way, the agent thought. But to him, there was no other explanation. Tony Stark was Hydra.

Tony just leant back to his original position, smirking at Sitwell's reaction.

Next thing the billionaire knew, the elevator had stopped, the doors were opened right in front of him and he was walking straight out with the case in his hand.

Now he just had to get the stone out the sceptre, leave it in a place they could find later and avoid his past self and teammates as best he could so he could get Scott out of the case holding the Space Stone.

....

Even though he was prepping for it, Scott still didn't expect the force he was being flung at once Tony had flicked him off his shoulder. But alas, he was still focused on his mission.

Once landing on the table the case for the tesseract was on. Scott quickly ran over to it, hopping inside and waiting in between the foam that would keep the tesseract in place.

As he settled himself inside, Scott watched as the original Avengers handed the tesseract over to Black widow. The tiny man couldn't help but smile at the fact he actually knew these guys now. He knew the black widow! He knew all of them, he never would have thought all those years ago this would ever happen. Like, in a million years. In 2012, he had been on the verge of getting caught by Vistacorp and getting thrown in prison.

Walking over to the open case, Natasha held out the tesseract, placing it carefully inside the perfect cut out of foam. And then gently closed the case.

Then it went dark. But the blue glow of the Tesseract still gave him enough light to see what he was doing.

Pushing his way through the tight foam of the case, Scott tried his best to get as close to the Tesseract as he could considering whoever was holding the case was juggling it around as they walked towards the elevator.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa!” Was that Thor? Wow, he sounded a lot deeper and posher than when he had met him.

"What are you thinking? Maximum occupancy has been reached." This time it was 2012 tony that sounded out. He seemed louder than the others, Tony must be the one carrying him in the case.

“Take the stairs.” The God spoke out.

Suddenly all Scott could hear was banging and smashing and various protests from whoever was inside the elevator with them. Probably the Hulk he thought.

Then the familiar ‘ding’ of the elevator sounded and the doors started to close by the sound of it. As Scott felt himself starting to descend down the building, he just faintly heard the sound of the hulk grumbling.

"Take the stairs. Hate the stairs."

Focusing back on his task, Scott turned back round to the tesseract.

Reaching his hand down to his tactical belt, Scott brought one of his Pym particle disks up to his chest and threw it like a frisbee at the tesseract. Successfully shrinking it down to his own size ratio.

Now all that was left is for his tony to come to get him from downstairs before he's passed over to shield.

….

“Hey, tic tac you hear me?" It was Tony. His tony, well not ‘his’ Tony but the older version from 2023.

Shooting his head up at the familiar voice. Scott flew his hand up to his ear to keep the com steady so he could hear Tony properly.

“Yeah! Are you here? I've got the Tesseract.”

"Yeah, I'm here, I managed to swipe the mind stone of Sitwell, easy as pie ha! Now just sit tight. I'll create a distraction-”

Suddenly a loud green Hulk burst his way out of a stairwell, cracking the walls and breaking the doors, and also throwing the redressed shield agent tony halfway across the room. Through the commotion of the Hulk barging his way through the lobby, the 2012 version of Tony dropped the case holding the tesseract, sending it flying across the room and opening right in front of 2023 Tony.

"I guess that works too" Tony barely got out. the wind being knocked from lungs from the impact.

Eyes widening at the sigh of the silver case in front of him, Tony focused his eyes on the little man that jumped out of the case and ran towards him.

But once everyone in the lobby regained their footing from Hulk's sudden entrance, they realised that the Tesseract was missing from the case.

Pushing himself up from the floor, Tony stayed to the sides of the room, effectively slipping away from the crowd that was now in worry and chaos as they tried to look for the tesseract. Not knowing that the alien cube had been taken by a man the size of an ant and a future version of the billionaire genius.

…..

"Please, please, please..." The scientist begged the woman.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you, Bruce. If I give up the Time Stone to help your reality, I'm dooming my own." She refused again as she turned away from him. She was the keeper of the time stone. With it, she protected her reality. There was no way she would give it up.

"With all due respect, I'm not sure that science really supports that." Bruce countered then in a quick flash she spun herself back round to face him, moving her hands in a dance to create a flow of magic in front of him, a display of a timeline with the stones.

"The Infinity Stones create what you experience as the flow of time. Remove one stone and that flow splits. Now, this may benefit your reality but my new one, not so much. In this new branched reality, without our chief weapon against the forces of darkness, our world will be overrun. Millions will suffer. So, tell me Doctor, can your science prevent all that?"

He watched as she removed the time stone and the solid orange line broke off into two, effectively showing bruce two timelines. One with the stone and one without. Realising what she was saying, Bruce let out a quick answer.

"No, but we can erase it. Because once we are done with the stones, we can return each one to its own timeline at the moment it was taken. So, chronologically, in that reality, they never left." His eyes looked brighter as he tried to get across his point.

Cocking her eyebrow, the Ancient One questions Bruce's plan.

"But you are leaving out the most important part. In order to return the stones, you have to survive."

"We will, I will. I promise." Letting out a sigh, Bruce steps closer to her, wanting her to see the desperation in his face but alas, she still doesn't budge.

"I can't risk this reality on a promise. It is the duty of the Sorcerer Supreme to protect the time stone." Twisting his body in annoyance and frustration, Bruce threw his arms around as if trying to prove a point.

"Then, why the hell did Strange give it away?" He shouted at her in confusion. Why would strange give it to them and she won't? Taken aback at the scientist's words, its now her turn to be confused.

"What did you say?"

"Strange, he gave it away. He gave it to Thanos." Bruce turned back to her as she spoke. Hands on his hips in defeat.

"Willingly?" Why would strange do that? She thought

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I have no idea. Maybe he made a mistake." Throwing his hands in the air, Bruce gave her an answer.

"Or, I did. Strange was meant to be the best of us." Looking down at the floor, the ancient one considered the future. She had seen it thousands of time and had no reason to doubt strange’s loyalty to the stone. Maybe she made a mistake? Or maybe...

"So he must have done it for a reason?" Bruce finished her thought. Lifting her head and eyes back at the transparent man, she nodded.

"I fear you might be right." Raising her arms, she allowed her fingers to move outwards as she opened the Eye of Agamotto, its green glow being revealed from inside the necklace. Using her magic, the Ancient One moved it in the air until it was caught by Bruce who was now reimmersed into his Hulk form.

"Thank you." looking at the stone in his hand, Bruce realised she must have come to the same conclusion as him. That strange had given them the stone for a reason. Clenching his fist tightly so he didn't lose the stone, Bruce thanked her.

"I am counting on you, Bruce. We all are." Nodding at her once again in gratefulness, the giant professor took off, retracing his path back to the alley him Tony and Scott had landed in.

….

Arriving back at the alleyway, Tony and Scott got there first before Bruce, so to keep themselves hidden from the authorities the two got into a wrecked car and waited. A few minutes later the familiar green scientist showed up.

“Bruce! Did you get it?” Tony shouted. Immediately jumping out of the vehicle along with Scott. Both, the now fully sized tesseract and mind stone in their possession.

“Yeah, I got it!”

Letting out a laugh at his friend, Tony give him a big grin.

“Okay, so we're good then? We all got our stones?”

"Yep!" Scott answered enthusiastically.

Looking at both Bruce and Scott, Tony nodded. They'd actually done it. Now all they had to do was get back and meet the others on the platform of the time machine.

Activating the glowing circles on the backs of their hands, the three men were suddenly covered in their quantum amour.

“Let's go!”

Then they jumped.

#romanogers #Avengers #avengers endgame #endgame #endgame fix it #fix it fic #tony stark #bruce banner #scott lang #antman #Iron Man #hulk #new york #2014 #pepperony #I'm so glad youre back #im so glad you're back

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