angelic-prince-333

[elles-writes]

Now I feel like I should write a Spider-Man au ngl

[blissfulparker]

A Work in progress→T.H

Parings: Tom Holland x Actress!reader

Summary: when You and Tom both have each other as a celebrity crush, you two unknowingly take on the role of each other’s lovers in a new movie and are expected to make it real. When the director puts the two of you in a house for the weekend to get to know each other there is little more to rehearsing than just your lines.

Warnings: awkwardness in the first half, smut(oral female), sexual tension

A/n: this is based off of a blurb I did, where it was just from a physical affection prompt list that I went off on! I hope you guys enjoy 💗

Wc: 4k

Tom didn’t know why he was so nervous as he opened the large glass doors to the conference building. His palms were sweaty as he walked alone rather than with his brother and assistant Harry.

He loved working on new projects, new films, meeting new people but the scare of not knowing the new people made him nervous. At this point he normally would be able to get some sort of name, do some research on said person but this time they gave him nothing but a script.

The script was more of a love story. a serious role but one where he could be more seductive and serious, he could let go of the goofy teenager character he seemed to be stuck with.

His character, Jack, who would be the corrupt business man who falls for the one trying to bring down his company, the main female protagonist, Beth.

The meeting started at 10:00. Always being early he seemed to see someone else was too. You stand in front of the coffee machine, trying to get it to work as you waited for the meeting to start—or at least people to come in.

“Oi let me help you with that—“ he offers but a small Yelp comes from your mouth as you quickly turn around and hit your head against the British accented stranger.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry! You scared me half to death—“ you hold your head as you look up, a wave of heat washes over your body and you don’t know if it was just because you hit your head hard enough or if it was because you finally figured out who you were working with.

“I should’ve said something else first, I’m so sorry—“ fuck. He thinks as he looks at you. You who managed to make a way onto the list of celebrities he wants to work with. You who also made it on the list of celebrities he wants to date.

The fans knew quickly he had a tiny crush on you. As he once liked a fan edit of the two of you on the read carpet. He seemed to be one of the firsts to like your Instagram photos and even mentioning your name in an interview saying how pretty you were.

You were the same, with smaller fame of course. You along with half of the other population who enjoyed marvel movies and dorky characters, you fell in love with the curly haired British boy. Finding him extremely talented and a heartthrob of course, you quickly dreamt about working with him but laughed about it never coming true.

Now he was in front of you. His chin red from where your head collided with it and he only stares at you in response.

The awkward silence quickly filled as the two of you tried and laugh off the interaction.

“Tom—“

“(Y/n)—“ you both say your names at the same time. Him going in for a handshake and you going in for an awkward hug. The two of you stop and laugh it off before deciding a simple handshake was the way to go. You had never wanted to quit your entire career more than now.

“Oh! Perfect!” Finally as the tension was cut the director walked into the room. Two people followed behind and you took a deep breath already nervous for the new film and exactly what Toms role was. As far as you read, the main female character, who you were to be playing, had to be in lingerie a few times in front of the main male character. There were also sex scenes, plenty of kiss scenes and sexual tension. You were fit for the character but you were not fit for Tom. All your fantasies about him were just fantasies.

“I see the two of you have already met. But If not, (y/n) meet Tom, Tom meet (y/n) you two will be working together for the next few months as I’m sure you are aware of your roles. (Y/n) will be playing the lover and spy where Tom you will be playing the businessman. I’m sure we already know our positions…” the director starts and you swallow hard.

Tom doesn’t know if you’re looking or not to see the pink shade coming to his cheeks and making him hot. You were just an actress, he thought, an actress who just had to play the role. He was an actor as well, he reminds himself. A very good one for the fact so he didn't want to mess this up all because of one silly crush.

“We want to put you two in a house together.” The director claps his hands together making you nearly spit out the coffee you had in front of you. Tom's head snaps to look at you as you cough a bit trying to digest the words.

“You want us to live together?” Tom speaks for you it seems.

“We only want to see your chemistry! The fans, the academy, loves chemistry! Trust me, people will love the movie but they will not care if they see just two other actors acting to be in love. Not really caring you know? We want to see you guys build a bond, passion, some sort of love even if you lie to us about it to make it believable. Run through your lines, skinny dip with each other for all we care we just want to see passion!” You feel like his words are turning into a dream as he speaks. You feel your heart pounding at his words and try your hardest to keep your calm.

“And where will we be going?” You finally find the strength to speak. If it was anyone else you would not care, reminding yourself you are a good actress and have acted like you wanted to fuck a man you hate. But this was a man you actually wanted to fuck, a man you actually wanted real passion with.

“We rented you two a flat in spain,” he mentions, right, where you’ll be shooting, you think. “It’s only three days and if you want more we will give you more if you don’t we will let you free. Every expense is paid for, go to dinner, have wine, everything will be on the film. This is both of your chances at big awards this year. This is for you and for us.” You could almost feel Toms body heat as he was just as nervous as you, you didn’t know why though. He was the heartthrob, he was the actor that was wanted left and right, this was your big chance at a movie that can skyrocket your career.

The next hour feels torturous as all you could think about was what this house looked like for the two of you. Did it have two rooms? Two bathrooms? Why did your head hit his chin? Is there a bump? What if he hates you? What if he’s secretly seeing someone and just doesn’t want to announce it? All thoughts ran through your head as you had to make this your best acting gig yet. Except the most acting might be pretending not to love Tom the way you do.

-

Three days. That’s all it was. You would spend three days in whatever this house looked like and all you would have to do is pretend to get to know Tom. All while trying not to expose how much you truly like him.

There were rumors he had a crush on you, of course you saw the interview and noticed how he liked your pictures but you also knew his co-stars from Spider-Man so your thoughts were friendly.

Taking an Uber to the destination, you pull up to this beautiful Italian cottage. Gorgeous stone walls and large driveway, If there was one emotion to be real about this entire thing, it would be that you were spoiled with this house.

You were already nervous as people started to catch on through social media, his fans seeming to know his constant move now quickly knowing yours.

‘Stars (y/n) (y/l/n) and Tom Holland possibly take on a new film with one another: here’s what we know’

‘Why is Tom in Italy?’ ‘Is (y/n) in Italy?’ ‘Rumor is they are filming together soon’

Your heart rushed with comments you had read. Maybe this wasn’t for you, maybe you should stay with doing small movies where you were a side character or something simple. Keep the small amount of followers you had compared to Toms 40 million.

As you go up to knock on the door wondering if he’s already beat you to the place, the door opens and reveals the sight of Tom.

Another Yelp escapes your lips as you jump at Tom opening the door so quickly.

“If we’re living together I think you should hold off on scaring me.” You take a deep breath. His hair was wet, he was fresh out of a shower.

“Sorry darling! They told me your flight landed at 2:00 and well...it’s 2:00 so you aren’t supposed to be here until like 3:00.” He claims and you take a deep breath. Three days, you remind yourself, don’t mess it up.

“Oh…” you swallow.

“Not that I didn’t want to see you! It’s nice to see you again, you look really nice!” He says as you wear the sweats and the sweatshirt from the airport. “Let me help you with those.” He grabs your bags for you and you smile letting him take it. He leans in just close enough for you to smell the aftershave he put on, his muscles flex as he grabs your bags making this all the harder for you.

The night was young, fans already knew, this was your shot at making it big, Tom's shot of winning an Oscar, you two needed to work together. Pushing aside the worried one sided emotion and be able to make a movie that blows people away

“Have you ever done anything like this before?” You asked as you walked into the kitchen. It was now late, you were starving, you and Tom already getting to know each other but it was strange.

“No, I mean the most I’ve done for a chemistry read is take the person out to dinner.” He laughs a little and then runs a hand through his hair. “Speaking of dinner...should we grab something or make something. Unless you had plans of your own then that’s totally fine—“ he starts to ramble and you laugh.

“I cannot cook, so unless you can I prefer to pick something up.” You cut him off to make sure he doesn’t go on and on.

“Have you ever pizza from Italy before?” He asks and you lean against the counter.

“I’ve never been in Italy before.” You shrugged and he grew a smirk. He turns on his heels as if he already has an idea.

“Then I know a place.” He walks out of the room to grab his phone.

You feel your heart pounding as you check your phone. You made a mistake by opening your Twitter, 10k new followers, 50k mentions and plenty more all regarding Tom. You only hoped he wasn’t the type to use Twitter as it was flooded with people wanting you guys to be together.

Your mind swarms with the thought of your character again. Soon you’d have to stand in front of your celebrity crush, half naked, trying to seduce him. It was going to be more awkward if you guys were friends.

“Are you coming?” He calls out and you quickly shove your phone in your back pocket before grabbing your purse to go.

Three days and you feel like you’re already going to snap.

-

It was a lovely little place he brought you to. You didn’t know If he’d come to Italy often but he clearly knew a decent way around the city. The two of you sat in the corner of a dimly lit Italian restaurant, sharing pizza and feeling more comfortable with each other as the night went on. He was just another person, you thought, nothing to worry about.

“We didn’t order any wine.” You stop the server as he pours both you and Tom a glass. Tom already drunk off of the beer he had and you only enjoying his presence.

“Ah it’s on the house, such a lovely couple in such a lovely city! You two should have fun!” The server winks. You almost protest to stop him telling him that you and Tom were nearly just coworkers stuck in a house for three days.

But rather Tom thanks the server and takes the glass. Your heart pounding as you pick up the glass as well, the boys eyes already red from how much he’s had already and you can tell you have to take him home.

“You know I was nervous to be working with you.” He took a sip before setting it down. “When I saw you I was like ‘shit this is happening’ and freaked out.” He admitted and you try to hold back the butterflies in your stomach.

“You freaked out for working with me?” You swallowed and he nodded.

“Well look at you, you’re gorgeous! Anyone would be lucky to work with you, as your lover as well.” He falls back into the booth and stares at the décor on the ceiling.

“So you read all the scenes?” You ask and he nodded.

“Of course i did! I only improve when I feel like it.” He shrugs, taking another sip.

“You said you’re method too.” You remember from one interview you watched years ago. Your voice was more of a whisper, more to yourself but he grows a soft smirk as he turns his head to face you.

“So you watched my interviews.” He says feeling cocky. You roll your eyes taking another sip of wine yourself to hopefully drown out the embarrassment you just gave yourself.

“As if I don’t see you being the first to like my posts, Holland.” You avoid eye contact and rather look around the room but Tom only focuses on you.

When you catch his eyes they’re sober, this whole time he was telling stories in a drunken state and now he looks at you with glossy soft eyes as if he wants to hear more.

“So you see me liking your posts?” He teases and you finally look at him.

“I see everyone liking my posts. Why do you follow me?” You challenge and he holds back a smirk.

“You’re friends with Z, why do you follow me?” He asks back and you feel yourself straighten.

“Z is friends with a lot of people, I don’t see you following all of them?” You argue and he falls back into the booth again with a soft chuckle.

“So not only do you follow me but you stalk me?” He teases and you groan.

“Not what I meant.” You see how much wine you have left, not a lot as your nerves filled you and the wine didn’t calm you. “You liked a fan edit of us a year ago. We’ve never met until a few days ago.” You rest your head on your hand that props itself up against the table. That’s what makes him lose his game, he turns a light shade of red before quickly straightening himself up.

“You’re talented, why don’t we see more of you?” He asks about your roles.

“You’re about to see everything in a few days.” You mumble and he chokes on his wine.

Page 281

*Beth removes her robe in front of Jack, slowly stalking towards him wearing the tight black lingerie* *she crawls on top of his sleepy figure and points a gun*

It was embarrassing that such a scene turned him on after finding out who it was with. After finding out it was you, he read over every single sex scene, strip scene, makeout scene to make sure everything was real.

“Oh relax.” You hold back a smile. “You’re the Method actor, remember?” You tease. He leans forward, he’s not sure how he’s gotten so confident but he takes your glass and drinks from it before setting it down.

“Yeah, I am. We should rehearse some things, get more comfortable.” He suggests and you look at him up and down. His lips slightly stained reddish pink from the wine, his skin damp from how hot the room was, and he looked at you as if no one else was in the room.

“And where should we start?” You swallow, you can’t get shy now. You’ve dreamt about this moment and now it’s happening.

“Well, if we’re starting with their meeting, I think it would go something like this.” He leans in and places a soft kiss on your neck. You’re frozen as his lips are soft and warm, he pulls back and realizes what he’s done. His thoughts of you, his crush on you, the warm alcohol that ran through his blood all while being in Italy got the best of him.

“I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done—“ he started and you leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to kiss lips. His eyes go wide softly as if he was a school boy getting his first kiss.

“More wine?” The waiter comes back and Tom snaps out of it for a split second.

“We’ll take the check.”

-

Your hands tangled in with his messy hair, his shirt already off as he was warm from the summer heat Italy provided. His lips trail down from your lips to your neck as he plays with the strings of the summer dress you wore.

“I can’t believe this is happening.” His words mumbled into your chest as he lets the shoulders of your dress fall.

“Why? You want to admit you have a crush on me now?” you teased and when he looks up his eyes are darker. The sweet chocolate puppy dog eyes before now darkened as his lips were swollen and his face was hot. His hands rest at your hips with a tight grip as he wants more.

“You admitted to stalking my interviews and who i follow so i should be asking you that question.” he teased and you rolled your eyes. Your Only respond by pushing his head back into your chest where he planted soft kisses trailing down.

“So soft,” he takes off the bra you wore. Hes thought about this moment but would never admit it. Hes thought about how soft your skin is and how you looked under his touch with his head in between your legs—

“Do something tom.” you groan as he is on his knees for you. Your dress bunched at your waist, all exposed for him as he takes off the black lace underwear you wore under the dress.

“All for me?” he asks and your head hits the back of the wall, your hands go to his hair and he kisses gently at your thigh. “Say something, darling.” darling, you think about the way he says that word. The simple nickname that made you melt. Darling, that was going to be the death of you.

“Y-yes!” you find the words. “I-I don’t think this is apart of the script though.” You still try and be playful and just below your eyes you can see he has a playful and cocky smirk.

“This,” his thumb rubs at your clit as he looks up. His lips cherry red and his smirk is full view to you as he sees your eyes flutter shut as your head was thrown back. “This is where I improve.” he replaces his thumb with his tongue as he pumps his middle finger in and out of you. Your hands grip his hair as you moan his name, his name that you thought of so many times before this in your dreams.

Your knees go weak as his one hand pins your hips against the wall and his other fingers thrusted in and out of you while his tongue works at your clit.

“Tommy!” The nickname slipped, you didn’t mean it but you imagined it sometimes long before you met him and just had a crush.

“Huh darling? Like that? Want to cum?” His words horse and his accent thicker. “That’s right...” he almost laughs as he can see how much you’re whimpering. “Cum for me.”

You fall under his touch with soft moans leaving your lips. The wave of euphoria washes over you and you struggle to open back up your eyes and come back to reality.

He comes back up to face you, this time you have a thin layer of sweat over your forehead and your chest rises as you catch your breath. You take Tom's fingers and take them into your mouth. Acting as if it were him in your mouth you work your tongue around his finger before taking them out with a pop.

His eyes stare and he almost winces at how hard he is. How hard you've made him.

“This is going to be the best damn movie i've ever filmed.” he nearly whispers as you bite down on your lip before pulling him back into your lips.

This was going to be the best six months of your life.

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[gingeraleluke]

𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀

𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: tom holland x fem!reader

𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: your boyfriend got home just in time to watch his most recent interview on tv with you.

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: swearing, nothing just fluff! :)

𝗔/𝗡: this is my first time writing for tom so i hope you guys like it!! <3

this is based on the spider-man: far from home interview with jimmy kimmel!

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

the young girls heart was silent for the first nineteen years of her life. nothing but a faint heartbeat and some clouded thoughts of little to nothing inconsistencies. from the moment she first opened her eyes as a baby, separating her fingers and spreading her toes while her newly polished eyes tried making sense of her surroundings, to the ripe summer when her mother insisted she become a camp counselor to succumb enough money to buy her very own long-overdue car. the girl felt nothing.

the teens she longed to be alike were a mere hourglass, y/n a shadow. portraying their success and growth without mirroring any of her own, she felt like a weak duckling surrounded by marvelous swans. she would spend her youth watching blondes fall for brunettes on television, plopping popcorn into her mouth while pressing rewind on her favorite romantics, watching the way they would look at eachother and move with one another. she never thought she could be able to experience that. everything inside her was too quiet, too plain.

and then she met tom. it became loud, too loud, and she loved it. everything she thought she could never achieve, she achieved with him. her colorless days no longer existed and she fell deeper and deeper in love with him everyday.

switching the tv from some medical soap opera, y/n sat on her couch. she wore nothing but a plain bra and a pair of baby blue satin shorts. normally, she’d cover up more, especially if she had company over, but tom was a different kind of company and a comfortable one at that.

“THOMAS HURRY UP!” she could hear her boyfriend yell a faint, “i’m coming,” through the noise of the water running. shortly after, the shower stopped as y/n scrolled mindlessly through her phone, impatient.

she expected to see her boyfriend walk out of the bathroom, a trail of steam behind him, but instead she heard the loud roar of a hairdryer.

“for fucks sake-“ her mouth was lacking the salty and buttery flavor she craved so she took the opportunity to use her time by putting some popcorn in the microwave while her boyfriend blowed out his hair.

as she watched the minutes on the timer go down, the machine dinged as she grabbed a bowl and poured the snack inside it. she made her way back to the bench sofa and extended her legs out on the grey island cushions. the lace on the trim of her shorts tickled her feet as she folded her legs. “TOM HURRY THE FUCK UP, ITS ALMOST STARTING!”

the girls mouth was full as she yelled, losing patience with the boy. “IM SORRY, IM COMING!”

minutes later, a shirtless tom holland, wearing nothing but a white towel wrapped around his waist, appeared in their shared living room. the girls eyes grew big, his doing the same as he took in her taboo and exposed form.

“what- tom! you haven’t even gotten dressed yet?!”

“well, neither have you, apparently! plus, this is pretty comfortable, is it not?”

“tom-“ she warned.

“i got it, i got it..” his bare feet slapped against the hardwood floors as he quickly ran into their bedroom and retrieved his clothes. he came back out wearing a black t shirt and a pair of light blue sweatpants.

“KIMMEL IS STARTING!” she pointed at the tv and looked over to see tom bounce down onto the couch next to her, sprawling his legs out like she had done earlier.

“baby, that’s just the intro, i’m not there yet.” she peered over at him.

“who said i’m watching this for you?” he turned his head and made a sarcastic face.

“yeah, sure..” he mocked.

“WAIT, i need my blanket! go, get it, i don’t want to miss this!”

“y/n, it hasn’t even started yet-“

“now tom!”

“but what if i miss it!”

“you were there, you already know what happens-“ you lightly shoved his clothed knee and he sprung to his feet, so fast that tessa jolted up and ran after him.

“tessa! calm down!” the dog didn’t listen and continued following her dad, panting the whole way back.

once they were settled, jimmy announced his upcoming guests before a quick commercial break.

“quick, my ass..” she muttered.

tom stifled a chuckle. “why are you so bent up about this? you’ve seen my interviews before!”

“yeah, but i’ve never been able to actually watch one with you! it’s like… an entirely different experience!”

he didn’t believe her. “are you sure that’s the real reason? or is it because you just want me to give you secret info on the film, because love, you know i can’t do that, not after last time.”

she placed a hand on her chest playfully, “tom! i would never, how could you think of me like that?! as if i would ever do such a thing!”

“mmhmm..”

the commercials came to an end and y/n looked up to see jimmy start announcing the cast.

“shit, oh my god, it’s happening.”

“shhh, calm down!” tom laughed, placing a hand on your shoulder, his other arm sprawled out behind the frame of the sofa.

“how can i keep calm!? my fucking BOYFRIEND is about to be on tv! you know how many people can say that they are dating spider-man? like, no one!” her knee was bouncing and she couldn’t contain the excitement. watching someone on television while sitting in the same room with them was a rush she had never felt before.

she was loud as hell inside.

“please welcome, tom hol-“

“WHOOOOO, YEAH!!” she started clapping dramatically and stood up for a quick second, her eyes glued to the tv as she watched her boyfriend appear, while her actual boyfriend sat there laughing at her excitement.

they did a stupid elevator bit, before him and everyone else walked up to their chairs.

“really, tom?” his dark eyes flickered to hers. “what?! i thought you would like it, it’s funny!” she rolled her eyes and smiled, thinking to herself: my boyfriend is a dork, even on national television.

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

“oh my god, you all look so good.”

“i know, right?”

“look at jake!”

“yeah-“

“look at zendaya!”

“i know-“

“OH MY GOD LOOK A-“

“OKAY Y/N, i get it, everyone but me is attractive, thanks. you’ve made it pretty clear.” he frowned as you gushed over how good his coworkers looked.

“yes, tom! i think you look awful, that’s why i’ve been dating you for the past four years, because i think you are ugly.”

he looked at his girlfriend, uncertainty in his eyes.

“oh, come on, i’m joking! you’re beautiful, come here.” she grabbed the side of his head and pulled him over so his head was laying on her chest. she began to play with his hair while watching.

“so the trailer came out, the trailer got like 135 million views within the first hour-“

“yeah it did!” she exclaimed, her fingers busy in his hair.

“see, i didn’t know that then.” he muttered, his brows furrowing together as tessa looked up at him from y/n’s lap.

“well it’s no secret, i’m not very good at instagram.”

y/n bursted out laughing. it wasn’t even that funny, but all of her emotions where heightened in this moment.

“oh god, i know where this is going.. this is the zendaya story isn’t it?” you smirk down at him and he lifts his head to nod at you.

“i knew it..”

“i basically.. forgot to post the trailer.”

“that’s bad.”

“yes jimmy, yes it is.” she couldn’t contain the snickers leaving her mouth and tom protested against it.

“listen, it’s difficult for some people, okay!”

“mmhmm, whatever you say baby.” she remembers distinctly, waking up and asking her boyfriend why he never posted the trailer, which caused him to wind up into a frenzy and immediately contact zendaya for assistance.

“well, you wouldn’t tell me how to!”

“tom, you’re a grown man! you should be able to figure that out yourself, peter parker.” she leaned over and kissed his cheek, his arm wrapped around her.

“so you’re IT for the team?”

“yeah, y/n, making poor zendaya the it for the team-“

“oh, shush, it was funny as fuck. but not as funny as the time you spoi-“

he placed his finger on her lips to quiet her, “oh, stop it!” she giggled in response.

she watched as zendaya recalled the moment she had to screen record how to delete an instagram story for him, which was another thing y/n refused to help him with. sure, she loves him and all, but watching the panic on his face as he realizes that he messed up, always cracked her up. especially since he brags about how ‘tech savvy’ he is for his age.

“it’s not my fault you’re a grampa!”

“yeah, we’ll, you’re dating a grampa!”

“true, i am.”

her hands reached towards her blanket as she put her popcorn bowl down and laid the covering over her and her boyfriend. the grey weighted blanket matching the couch perfectly.

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

“okay, wait…why are you guys still in highschool?!” y/n had paused the program to engage in a very serious and heated discussion about the aftermath of endgame which led up to the beginning of his new movie, far from home, which had yet to come out.

“i mean.. it’s five years! i’m so confused.” tom sighed, placing his hands on his knees, he sat up straight. “like i said in the interview, y/n, i don’t know.”

“well… ask the russo brothers! i mean, jacob is right, that’s a huge plothole!”

toms eyes sparkled as he looked at his lover trying to make sense of the whole thing.

“i… i don’t even know what to say right now. my whole life is a lie!”

“okay, let’s not get too dramatic here-“

“NO, tom! as an avengers fanatic, i need to know!” she gripped the hem of his shirt and tugged, his body jolting forwards.

“tell me!” she shook him as he laughed and tessa barked.

“i don’t know, baby!” she frowned slightly and looked at her boyfriends amused face.

“i’m dating spider-man, you’d think i’d get the inside scoop.” she rolled her eyes and placed her legs back up on the cushions. tom leaned over and looked her up and down, flickering from her bare chest and her eyes. he leaned into her neck and started planting kisses. “i’m sorry, i will be sure to ask someone at marvel for you.” she smiled sweetly before thanking him.

“has everyone seen avengers: endgame?”

the girl rose to her feet, the blanket stuck to her bare legs. “yes, jimmy, i have! i saw my boyfriend get dusted right before my fucking eyes!”

tom remembered the first time he watched the film with her. it was hard for him to keep it under wraps and while he did end up telling her some spoilers, he kept out the whole ‘death by thanos’ part.

“okay, calm down little one.” he reached his arm out to pull her down, back to the couch.

“tom, baby, i know you like.. could get in trouble for it but-“

“y/n… not this conversation again.” he put his hand up to his forehead, two fingers on the bridge of his nose. she knew that if she prodded and poked in all the right spots, that her boyfriend would give in. that it just took a little push for him to confess all the dirty details of his new blockbuster.

“come on! i am begging, tom- i have so many questions, can you blame me? i mean… mysterio, like.. what’s that guy all about?! he’s a villian right?”

“well…”

“a hero?”

“definitely not.”

“antihero?”

“not exactly-“

“UGH, tom! you are killing me here.” she whined, putting her hands on his chest as the paused tv shined upon his features. “please give me something… anything.” she trailed her fingers down his chest, tauntingly.

“anything?” he smirked at her.

“yup. like… maybe just exactly what jakes character is? i mean, i remember him telling us at dinner that time, but that was barely enough, i mean.. there’s gotta be more right?”

“go on.”

“and mj, i mean.. is peter finally going to ask her out? baby, so many questions, i just have so many.”

“well… i guess i could tell you one thing..” he tempted her. her lips twitched upwards as she pressed her forehead against his.

“mmhmm?”

“i could tell you that… the ending of the movie?”

“yeah..”

“is fucking fantastic. really, it’s brilliant babes.”

“because?”

“you will just have to see-“ he was cut off by his girlfriend hitting him in the face with a pillow.

“FOR FUCKS SAKE TOM-“

“quiet down! you are going to get tessa all going..”

“sorry…”

a moment of silence passed as tom squealed, “for fucks sake tom!” in his best high pitched, y/n impression possible.

“shut up!”

the two laughed before she clicked play.

“you look so good here, tom. it’s so weird like- i’m sitting next to you-“ she pointed at tom, “but, there you are on tv!”

“you are just realizing this?”

“well, it’s like inception!”

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

“i was told, it was a wedding!”

her chest boiled with anger as she quickly hit pause. “NO BECAUSE, fuck you for that! i remember being all excited, thinking tony and pepper were gonna have a beautiful wedding, only to see hes fucking DEAD.”

tom couldn’t hold in his laughs. “i’m sorry, i didn’t know!”

“well it’s pretty obvious, tom! everyone’s sad and in black, baby, you really are an airhead.”

“hey-“ she cut him off with a kiss to his lips.

the two cuddled up while watching the interview, small laughs leaving their bodies.

“like, zendaya! when did you find out how endgame ended?”

“oh, i remember. me, jacob, and zendaya were all in a facetime call freaking the fuck out, while my boyfriend over here, was chilling like nothing was wrong.”

“you guys were in a facetime call?” he questioned.

“yes! i was heartbroken and i had gotten a call from z who was clearly also upset!”

“well, he’s fine clearly! i mean, i wouldn’t be in far from home if peter was dead, right?”

she looked up at him, his heartbeat still lingering on her skin. “so you can tell me that you are still alive, but you can’t tell me about jake gyllenhaals character?”

“well, it’s a given! obviously peter is alive!”

y/n groaned, her head now resting on his chest.

“dating a superhero is difficult.”

“aww, poor darling, i’m sure it is.” he peppered kisses along her forehead.

“hey! you ate all of the popcorn?!” tom was flabbergasted, his voice heightening a few octaves.

“yep, and what about it?” her tone dripping in sass.

“i wanted some, for one!”

“too bad, maybe if you would spill the deets on far from home, you’d get some of my popcorn. hell, tom, if you confess right now, i’ll make you a whole bowl!”

“no.”

“well it was worth a try!”

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

“i can’t believe it’s over.” the house was completely silent, the only thing audible being tessa’s light snores.

“i’m gonna miss that guy..”

“baby, i’m right here.” he placed his hand at the small of her back, looking at her lovingly.

“i’m talking about mysterio.”

“oh, yeah, great!” she giggled at his response. “he’s just so hot, tom! way hotter than peter-“

“yeah, maybe if you think manipulation is hot!”

her mouth fell agape at his words.

“what?” he said, oblivious to the screw up he just made. she smiled widely at him as he slowly was hit with realization.

“oh, fucking damn it!”

[dear-my-dear-diary]

Why No Way Home Is Not What You Expect, an Essay

Introduction

In honor of National Spider-Man Day, I want to talk a bit about the 3rd iteration of Tom Holland's Spider-Man coming out this Christmas.

It has been over 2 years since Spider-Man: Far From Home was released and we are officially less than 5 months from the next Spider-Man movie. Despite this, both Marvel Studios and Sony have not said a single word about the plot for this movie. I know that I personally thought that after the title was released, a teaser trailer would be relatively soon behind. But instead, Sony and Marvel have chosen complete silence.

With a lot of hype recently and people thinking the trailer will be coming soon, I've been thinking about this movie a lot and I've come to the conclusion that Sony and Marvel are doing this on purpose. One of the biggest themes of FFH boils down to "Don't believe everything you read on the Internet," and what has happened in the vacuum of information surrounding NWH, theories. A lot of theories. Like an insane amount of theories, some of which have been crazy. They have basically turned the promotion for their movie into the message of the movie, which is that you should not believe what you read on the Internet.

I think the most popular theory that has been put forth is that of a live-action spider-verse. I personally do not want this. I love Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as much as the next person and I love the Into the Spider-Verse movie, but I think that it has been too soon since the animated movie to make a live-action version. Another big theory has been that Charlie Cox's Daredevil/Matt Murdock will be present in the movie and the biggest one being that the multiverse will be opened.

The reason I don't necessarily believe in this has to do with the way Marvel has separated their movies in the past and how I think they are going to be separating their movies in the future. Through the Infinity Saga, the heroes could be divided based on where they fight. Most of the heroes were Earth-bound (Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, etc.), but there were also a handful of Space-based heroes (Thor, Carol Danvers, the Guardians, etc.). This divide was in place until the culmination where all the heroes were forced to come together in Infinity War and Endgame. I believe they are going to be doing the same in this new saga with the divide being grounded heroes (Sam Wilson, Yelena Belova, Kate Bishop, etc.) and magic-users (Wanda Maximoff, Loki, Sylvie, etc.). Just like in the Infinity Saga these heroes will eventually come together to fight someone bigger but I don't think that is coming just yet.

This is where the conflict comes in: I think almost anyone would agree that Peter Parker should fall into the category of grounded heroes, but Doctor Strange (who has already been confirmed as being in NWH) belongs in the second category. So, where is NWH going to fall? I personally think it'll be more on the grounded side because it is a Spider-Man movie with Doctor Strange not a Doctor Strange movie with Spider-Man.

My Theories

I don’t think that NWH is going to feature the broken multiverse throughout the movie. At the most I think the movie will end or there will be an end-credit scene which teases the beginning of Multiverse of Madness, which is where the multiverse will actually be broken.

I don’t think Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield are going to show up in the movie. I feel like they are both too big of names that there wouldn’t be photos of them on their way to set.

I think there is a small chance that Charlie Cox is in the movie. The theory I have seen (which I think would be very awesome) is that Matt Murdock will be hired as Peter’s lawyer. I think if Peter is going to need a lawyer though I think it’s more likely that they will bring in Tatiana Malaney as Jennifer Walters which would be a great way to introduce her character ahead of the She-Hulk series coming in 2022.

I do think that the majority of the movie is going to be focused around resolving the events of FFH and clearing Peter’s name. That’s the biggest reason why I think there will be a lawyer present. I think the presence of Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina as the same characters from a different franchise is just a coincidence, kinda like Evan Peters as Fietro in WandaVision. But I do think it’s going to be one of those movies where there are multiple parties zoning in on our protagonist (like Ant-Man and the Wasp or the 2nd Pirates movie), where there is Peter running from the government while also running away from Team Mysterio (who in Quentin Beck’s absence have recruited new talent in the form of Electro and Doc Oct).

Conclusion

I don’t actually know anything about NWH, but I do think it will be the best entry in the Spider-Man trilogy. In terms of a trailer, right now I’m thinking early September. As I was saying earlier, the longer Sony waits to release this trailer, the more time the rumor mill has to keep turning out absurder and absurder theories which will only heighten the movie's theme of lies and deception on the Internet.

I would be really interested to see what others think, and how excited y'all are for the release of the trailer and the movie itself

~~~

I think the biggest takeaway is I just spent an entire afternoon writing this which means it's time for school to start again because I am officially bored. :)

--Rosi

[momentofmemory]

FICTOBER 2020 - day two

Prompt #2: “That’s the easy part.”

Fandom: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)

Characters: Ned Leeds, Peter Parker

Words: 1445

Author’s Note: set semi-immediately post FFH, Ned & Peter have a chat on the nature of friendship, and a bit of star wars meta along the way. Ned POV. for @friendofspidermannedleeds

>> the han dies alone

Spider-Man was Peter Parker.

It was a fact that could mean a lot of things to Ned, but all that really mattered now was that it meant something to the entire world.

He’d watched the stream in mounting horror, his phone already blowing up with group messages and twitter mentions, and he had to bite back a hysterical laugh when he got a string of Snaps from Flash—one of which included an invite to an interview, and the rest of which devolved into increasingly confusing profanity.

Ned let them roll in for another few precious seconds, then muted all notifications except from emergency contacts, stuffed a bunch of supplies into the extra backpack he kept for when Peter lost his, and ran the full two blocks east to Peter’s apartment.

It was, to be perfectly honest, an absurd guess. Peter could’ve gone anywhere, but Peter was also a creature of habit—and home was where Peter went when he wanted to feel safe.

Ned’s guess was rewarded when he pounded on the Parkers’ apartment door and was nearly decked in the face by a red-clad fist.

“Whoa, hey, it’s me!”

Peter’s fist fell away instantly, giving Ned his first real look at his friend.

He looked even worse than he’d feared; his normally high-key energy verging on something closer to manic.

“Ned? What are you doing here? It’s not safe—”

“I came for you, man.” Ned hefted his backpack into the air, sliding deftly past Peter and into the hall. “Fifteen hundred piece lego set, beef jerky, granola, and also that history assignment you left on the floor last night.”

Peter stared at him in utter confusion, then shook his head. “You shouldn’t have come.”

“Maybe, but it’s too late now. Where’s May?”

“She’s with Happy.” Peter followed Ned back into the bedroom. “They’re supposed to call when they know more.”

Good. If someone else was taking care of the world, then all Ned had to take care of was Peter.

______________________

"You should leave.”

“Yep.” Ned didn’t look up from his econ homework—It was at least the fourth time they’d had this conversation, and explaining opportunity cost to Mrs. Roessler seemed far more important. “Not going to.”

“Ned.”

“Peter. You said you were supposed to stay here until May or Happy texts. So that’s what we’re doing.”

Peter fell quiet for a moment, and Ned went on to the comparison sections for absolute advantage vs comparative advantage.

Then:

“It’s safer for me than it is for you.”

“And it’s safer for me when I’m with you.”

Something about that response seemed to rile Peter up specifically, as Ned could hear him shifting around on the bed. “And what about when the next axe crazy supervillain tries to use you as bait?”

“Then that’s the easy part,” Ned said with a shrug. “You rescue me.”

“Ned!” Peter tumbled off the top bunk, hair disheveled and looking absolutely scandalized. “This isn’t—this isn’t something to joke about—”

“I’m not joking.”

Peter frowned harder, and Ned momentarily stopped chewing his gum. He figured he was probably doing something cool like listening to his heartbeat or counting the beads of sweat on his forehead, so he didn’t want any chewing noises or motions to distract him.

Whatever Peter was looking for, he must not have found it. “Ned, just—just because you’re not joking doesn’t mean you’re serious. They could kill you to get at me.”

Ned sighed and put his homework down on the desk, resigning himself to another late assignment. It wasn’t like they were likely to have school tomorrow, anyway.

Discovering Spider-Man was on Midtown’s roll was sure to warrant at least one emergency “teacher work day” for the administration.

Peter was still looking at him, and the open fear on his face scared him more than he’d like to admit. Ned quickly pulled up YouTube on his laptop and started typing, just to give him something to do.

The second hand on the analogue clock ticked ominously.

Still no word from May.

“Look,” Ned said eventually, sliding another piece of gum out of his stash, “Han Solo was trying to leave the Rebellion when Vader captured him and Leia. He was out, and he still got used as bait.”

“That’s different,” Peter said. “Han was working with the Rebellion for months, and he was still there during the Hoth attack.”

Ned smacked his gum. “But Han himself wasn’t with the Rebellion. Or Luke.”

“But the Empire didn’t know that!”

“So what you’re saying is,” Ned said, “their current status didn’t matter because of their pre-existing relationship.”

Peter had nothing to say to that.

Ned returned his attention to the copyright infringement notice he’d written up. He’d managed to claim almost all of the footage from Mysterio’s reveal, and now anyone trying to repost it would be automatically taken down by the algorithm. It wouldn’t hold up in court, but all he needed was for it to ping YouTube’s three strike rule.

Hopefully that would buy them enough time to come up with a more permanent solution.

Ned heard Peter shift behind him, then launch himself back up onto the bunk bed and out of sight. 

More seconds.

“...Han got tortured,” Peter said, voice muffled. “And then locked in carbonite for months.”

Ned winced. It was a fair point.

“He got the girl, though. Think MJ’d let me kiss her?”

“Ned.”

“I’m kidding! Also I completely respect her both as your significant other and as an individual person, please don’t tell her I said that I don’t want to die.”

Something cracked loudly behind him, and by the time Ned spun the chair around Peter was looking morosely down at the splintered headboard between his hands.

“If you don’t want to die,” Peter said, and the anguish in his friend’s voice finally lowered Ned’s defenses, “then why won’t you just leave?”

Ned tapped his fingers uselessly against the base of his laptop, then abruptly closed the lid. Despite being Peter’s guy in the chair, this was the kind of thing that could only be handled in person.

“Scoot over,” he said, awkwardly clambering up onto the bed that could barely hold one of them, let alone both. But it had in the past, and he was confident it would again.

Peter shifted to the side of the wall to make room, all but squashing himself into the corner, and it was so spider-like Ned didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. He settled for another sigh, and watched the seconds on the clock on the wall tick by. 

It was only a matter of time before some excitable journalist—or worse—showed up at the Parker’s door, but they didn’t have anywhere else much safer until May or Happy called Peter back. He figured since they hadn’t, they were at least okay for now. 

He waited until the muscles in Peter’s arms unwound, and Peter had successfully peeled himself off the corner, to speak.

“We’ve been best friends for ages,” he said, slowly. Unable to hide his own fear from coloring his voice. “If I were going to avoid getting used to hurt you or whatever, I probably needed to stop being your friend like, before high school years ago.”

Peter flinches. “You don’t have to be part of this, we can make it look like a huge fight, or like you didn’t know—”

“Peter,” Ned pressed, “how would me knowing or not knowing make me any less of a target? If I told you to hate me, could you do it?”

“No!”

The words shot out of Peter’s mouth faster than he could fire his webshooters, but he only understood their significance once they were in the air. Peter stared down at his wrists, as if he could see them written there.

“…I just don’t want to lose anyone else,” he said.

“Trust me when I say I don’t want to be lost.” Ned shuddered, then shrugged. “The way I see it, yeah, Han dies eventually. But he also doesn’t die until the trio breaks up, right? Luke’s halfway across the galaxy and Leia’s not much better. So Han dies when he’s alone. Maybe because he’s alone.”

The corner of Peter’s lip quirked up; the closest thing to a smile Ned had gotten so far. “Weren’t Rey and Finn—”

“Literally let me have this for once I feel like I’m making a really good point.”

Peter snorted, and that definitely counted as a win. Ned knocked his shoulder against Peter’s.

“What d’you say. No going Solo?”

Peter bit his lip, still wrestling with the guilt. Then he nodded.

“No going solo.”

[mcuamerica]

Hii i'm kinda obsessed with cry for me by Camila Cabello. So if you're still taking song requests i'd like that song with Peter/Tom. Thank you 😊

Warnings: Angst, a very small amount of fluff, bullying (be nice to people okay?)

Pairing: Tom Holland x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 787

A/N: This isn’t edited at all so beware. This was requested a while ago and I apologize for it taking this long - I just didn’t know how to go about writing and I was kind of in a rut. Here it is! I also know that none of my fellow Tom fans would ever be this mean to one of Tom’s girlfriends but it’s for the story so go along with it. Enjoy! (Gif credit here)

So baby, won’t you cry for me? Say you die for me?And if you can’t, then baby, lie for me

‘Cause you haunt me when I’m dreaming

And it’s time you know the feeling

So, cry for me

“Spider-Man Actor Tom Holland and (Y/N) (L/N) Break Up, Holland moves on within days”

That’s the title you read when you open up Twitter. #1 trending for the entire week. That’s what Hollanders can do, rub salt into the wound. You were heartbroken and all of his fans who “supported” your relationship decided that you weren’t good enough for him anymore - something about you because too fresh in the industry and he finally broke up with you for using him. 

Tom didn’t make it any easier. You broke up with each other the day before he left for press for an upcoming movie of his, and he seemed completely fine. You wanted so badly to reach out to him and ask how he was doing, at least congratulate him on the film’s success, but he seemed to have moved on. 

His co-star, who had worked with him a year ago while filming, and him looked as if they were more than just friends. You knew it seemed shallow of you, you had dated Tom for almost two years. And the break-up was mutual. You didn’t want to give in to what the media was feeding you, the “new love” found between the two stars just after you two had broken up. It was PR for the movie, you knew better than to believe it. 

It doesn’t mean that it didn’t hurt. You put your entire life into that relationship, and within a week Tom was back to being his happy-go-lucky self. You wish he was miserable, forced to lay at his couch in London and watch Love Island by himself. (That is not what you’re doing at all, no, not at all).

You didn’t start filming for another week, so you had been locked in your apartment moping around. Your best friend begged you to go out to the club, but you knew that wouldn’t help you (and especially wouldn’t help your image, not that you cared that much at this point).  

Tom’s fans didn’t make it easy on you, they continued to tell lies and spread rumors about why you had broken up, and all of them were about you doing something to hurt him. He was the one out enjoying his life, promoting his movie. You hadn’t been active on your social media for two weeks. 

Your fans tried to back you up, but your following was definitely smaller than Tom’s, and you guessed you lost some fans with the way that the rumors spread. 

You had been fed up with it after another week went on and they didn’t let it go. You wanted to text Tom, so being the stubborn person you are, you started to text him. You couldn’t find the right words to say, so instead, you called him. 

It wasn’t a surprise that he didn’t answer, he was in the states and it was 3 in the morning there.

“Hey, Tom... I.. I just wanted to call to say congrats on the success with the movie. I know you worked hard on it” 

You paused. 

“Okay, that’s not all that I called for… I uh.. I know you have a lot going on. And you probably don’t even want to hear from me.. And I could try to handle this on my own, but…” 

You sighed. You were never good at getting to the point, especially when you were uncomfortable. 

“Your fans seem to think that I did something wrong… to hurt you.. Since we broke up… and it shouldn’t affect me as much as it does.. But if you could just, I don’t know, post something? Ask them to lay off? You don’t have to.. I just.. You know how I get. Thanks. I’ll uh… talk to you later..” 

You hung up the phone and threw it on your couch. You didn’t expect him to do anything, he wasn’t the one being hurt publically with this. His fan base grew more because he was single again.

You really didn’t expect your best friend to send a video of Tom that he had posted on his Instagram. 

“Hey guys, I’m making this video just so all of you know that I’m doing well. A lot of you have been asking how I am after last week, and I’m good. I’ve seen what a few of you all have posted online about (Y/N). Her and I are still on good terms. I like to keep my private life private, so that’s all I’m going to say about that. Thanks for the support with the movie, it’s going great… Have a lovely day, thanks.” 

You scrolled to your last conversation with Tom over text and sent a simple “Thank you”

[aion-rsa]

Chaos Walking Review: Run Away from This Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley Movie

https://ift.tt/38aveyg

It was more than three and a half years ago when cameras began rolling on Chaos Walking, the sci-fi adventure movie starring Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home) and Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker). It’s finally seeing the light of day this week. Although production wrapped in late 2017, this film ended up destined to run the same gauntlet that most movies helmed by director Doug Liman do: reshoots, re-edits and rethinking, all in service of cobbling together something that its studio, Lionsgate this time, could call “releasable.”

In the end, however, the behind-the-scenes story of the making of Chaos Walking is probably far more interesting than what was produced. Based on a novel called The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (the first in a trilogy), Chaos Walking is a bland, inert, and deadly dull affair that fails to translate its central concept to the screen. Instead it lays out a bunch of moral and narrative questions that go nowhere and assembles its contrived plot only to set up sequels that will almost certainly never see the light of day.

Holland plays Todd Hewitt, the youngest member of a colony of settlers on a planet dubbed New World. The settlers arrived there from an increasingly unlivable Earth decades earlier, only to discover that something in the planet’s atmosphere creates “the Noise,” a condition in which all the thoughts of males can be heard–and seen, sort of–by everyone else. Females are immune and their thoughts unreadable, which is a moot point anyway since all the women of the colony were killed off years ago in a brutal war with the planet’s native inhabitants, a species called the Spackle.

The first problem with the movie is the Noise itself, which is conceptualized as a kind of running stream-of-consciousness voiceover that confusingly fights for the viewer’s attention with the actual spoken dialogue. Its visual component is a colorful CG smoke that puffs around everyone’s heads like little clouds of the same dust that no doubt gathered around this picture as it sat on the shelf. In one unintentionally hilarious offshoot, an unhinged preacher played by David Oyelowo (who needs to fire his agent after this) manifests his Noise as literal bursts of fire and brimstone.

Todd, whose mother was among the Spackle casualties, does his best to control his Noise by inwardly repeating his name or phrases like “be a man” over and over again, a technique learned from his two daddies (Demian Bichir and Kurt Sutter) and their leader, Mayor Prentiss (Mads Mikkelsen). The latter, in Trump-like fashion, has dubbed their settlement Prentisstown. Todd will need to exercise all the self-control he can muster around his mental chatter when he stumbles across Viola (Ridley), the only survivor of an advance scout team from a larger starship bearing a second, long-delayed wave of colonists.

For reasons left unclear, Prentiss sees the arrival of Viola and her starship as some kind of threat, especially since her thoughts are unreadable. At least some of the rest of the settlers view her in a more lascivious sense, which makes her position doubly dangerous. So it falls upon Todd to help her escape from Prentisstown and guide her to another colony called Farbranch, staying ahead of both Prentiss’ men and the Spackle while figuring out a way to contact Viola’s ship.

Read more

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By Don Kaye

All of this is played out in such rote fashion, with dispirited work from what should on paper be a fine cast, that it just becomes (pardon the expression) a bunch of noise. But I was at least bored enough to ponder a series of questions.

Why, for example, is the arrival of a new ship seen as a menace when the colonists have clearly been struggling to survive? Why does Viola act nearly feral after she lands? Why does the planet look like the woods of Canada and Georgia (where it was filmed) with nary a suggestion that it’s a distant alien world? And even if the planet is meant to be exactly Earthlike, how did the Spackle–a clearly alien race–evolve and survive there? (We only meet one member of this race in Chaos Walking and its presence is rather pointless.)

The puzzlements pile up in what is clearly a sloppy, lazily written attempt at both world-building and romance-brewing. But Holland and Ridley have zero chemistry together, their characters are largely ciphers, and other aspects of life on the planet go unexplained or unexplored. The Noise seems to change depending on what the plot requires, with Prentiss and Todd seemingly able to manifest illusions Wanda Maximoff-style. Other potentially interesting threads are dropped: for example, it’s implied yet never directly addressed that Bichir and Sutter are a couple, but what that means for the larger body of men living together in Prentisstown without women for years is ignored entirely.

The trope of space colonists being left alone on a distant planet and rediscovered years later (or sometimes longer) is well-worn in sci-fi–Star Trek deployed it a number of times–and can still be the backdrop for a provocative story. But Chaos Walking instead settles for a standard chase and Y/A meet-cute, with even the expected reveals late in the story about what really happened to the women of Prentisstown both predictable and, at that point, utterly without impact.

Even the late arrival of Cynthia Erivo (The Outsider) in what should be a welcome appearance can’t enliven a movie that just sits on the screen with all the energy of a melting block of ice. But any help that she or the other cast members might provide for Liman (and Fede Alvarez, who reportedly directed an extensive series of reshoots) is not enough. Whether Ness’ novel was just too difficult to translate in cinematic terms, or whether the filmmakers just lacked the imagination to develop the story’s themes and setting in a way that made sense, Chaos Walking staggers out of the gate and never finds its footing.

Chaos Walking is out in theaters Friday, March 5.

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from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2O5aXDo

[doomonfilm]

Ranking : Marvel Cinematic Universe - The Infinity Saga (2008 - 2019)

Outside of the Star Wars or James Bond franchises (or maybe even the longstanding BBC series Dr. Who), I am hard pressed to think of a bigger, more intricately connected set of films than those created by Kevin Feige for his Marvel Cinematic Universe (better known as the MCU to most people).  With the help of numerous established and upcoming stars, a vast range of directors, and a rich history of characters and events the studio could play fast and loose with, Marvel Studios spent roughly a decade transforming “comic book” films from gimmicks into legitimized artistic storytelling, forcing many studios to attempt and emulate the success of a connected “cinematic universe” without laying the groundwork needed to do so.

With WandaVision in motion on Disney+, and the release future of Black Widow still up in the air, the trajectory in which the MCU will move forward is still a mystery, but these properties firmly close the door on the initial three phases of Marvel Studios releases, collectively known as The Infinity Saga due to their connection to Thanos and the six Infinity Stones.  Individually, many of these pieces had impact, but as a whole, the overarching story that they tell is an epic feat yet to be matched. 

But enough preamble, I know what everybody came here for.  So, based solely on my opinion and nothing else, here is The Infinity Saga, as presented by Marvel Studios, ranked from least to most favorite...

23. The Incredible Hulk (2008) It’s a shame that my favorite Marvel character seems to be a conundrum when it comes to giving him a solo movie.  With a decent slice of these characters, it’s about casting the “normal” version of the character, and in the case of this film, as great of an actor as Edward Norton is, I am not sure if he can play enough self-sabotaging behaviors to believably provide us with a Bruce Banner that audiences can connect with.  As a result, The Incredible Hulk left us with an isolated protagonist (literally and figuratively) forced to carry audiences between long stretches absent of Hulk in his green glory.

22. Thor (2011) For a time, it seemed as if Thor was going to be the realm of the MCU where gravitas resided.  The Shakespearean approach to mythic heroes adapted by Marvel was fresh at the time, as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and S.H.I.E.L.D. were around, but certainly more relatable.  Bringing Thor, Odin, Loki and a host of other legendary Asgardians into the fold broadened the world, but with the entire picture of this stretch now laid out in front of us, it is clear that Chris Hemsworth had not yet found his voice as Thor.  We knew he would have to earn his worthiness and his title as King of Asgard, but I doubt anyone anticipated Thor would become one of the consistently funniest aspects of the MCU... sadly, that was not yet developed in his first film, and as a result, his introduction falls to the lower realms of the list.

21. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

20. Ant-Man (2015) It was not my intention to lump the Ant-Man movies together, but in all honestly, they do work best in that capacity.  The events of both movies, for the most part, seem to satellite around the bigger nucleus narrative, and up until Avengers : Endgame, and appearance made by Ant-Man in the other films was cursory or meant to “balance the scales” (as in the case of Captain America : Civil War).  Don’t get me wrong... Paul Rudd is a fabulous addition to the MCU family, and listening to Michael Peña tell stories never gets old, but when it comes down to the big picture, Ant-Man and his two films are not the largest puzzle pieces on the table.

19. Captain Marvel (2019) The possibilities for an epic film were all there... Krees and Skrulls would finally get a chance at the spotlight, we were being teased going back in time without realizing how it would play into the resolution of our Infinity Saga storyline, and the final moments of the film made us question everything we’d been presented with up until that point.  Sadly, however, Carol Danvers turned out to be an extremely overpowered and dangerously self-unaware character, resulting in a lack of stakes or emotional connection ever really being established.  While Captain Marvel does have fun elements to it, much of the work that managed to stick was undone by her forced and underwhelming appearance in Avengers : Endgame.  Of all the properties in the MCU, this one seems to have the most whispers and rumors surrounding it in regards to its production and future within the MCU moving forward, but I will be curious to see how time treats this film.

18. Iron Man 3 (2013) Up through Phase Two of The Infinity Saga, Tony Stark was always positioned as the loner of the group.  With that in mind, it does seem a bit strange to me that his final solo film, and the first solo film after Marvel’s The Avengers, would find Tony back in isolation mode so vigorously.  In all fairness, War Machine is there (during his brief stint as The Patriot), and Pepper Potts is given the most room to play out of all three films, but as interesting as the antagonist structure for the film is, the convoluted nature of having at least three tiers of villainy almost begs the inclusion of at least one more Avenger.  Ultimately, the film does move Tony closer to the rest of the camp, but it’s odd that more Avengers weren’t involved in the actual film. 

17. Captain America : The First Avenger (2011) Of all the characters fans were presented with in the MCU, it’s hard to argue against the fact that Captain America received the most rewarding arc of any character in The Infinity Saga.  Every journey needs a starting point, and simply because it was the origin story, Captain America : The First Avenger was never destined to be the best of the MCU.  Visually, the MCU was still figuring a few things out, so some of the scrawny Cap scenes look awkward, but by the time this film is all said and done, all of the honor, character and heart needed to propel Cap forward was present and accounted for.

16. Thor : The Dark World (2013)

15. Iron Man 2 (2010) Maybe it’s a recencey bias thing, but I really enjoyed Thor : The Dark World and Iron Man 2.  Up until deciding to make this list, I’d not seen either of these films, and it was largely due to the negative reactions I’d heard from most fans and critics.  Thor : The Dark World gave us brief glimpses of where the Thor character was headed, it was a great look for Jane Foster (who is seemingly on her way back into the mix), it opened up some mystic doors that we will likely be exploring moving forward in the MCU, and due to these mystic elements, we may have seen the beginnings of S.W.O.R.D., who is already making its presence felt in Phase Four.  As for Iron Man 2, we are given the polar opposite Tony Stark from his introductory movie, and due to his seemingly unstoppable mission to erase himself, War Machine is given autonomy, and the beginnings of the Iron Legion are built.  Perhaps its a bit of a revisionist lens as well, hence these two being grouped together, but time seems to have been very kind to these two films, despite their flaws.

14. Spider-Man : Far From Home (2019) Avengers : Endgame would have been a perfect place to close the door on The Infinity Saga, but that monumental task was appointed to Spider-Man : Far From Home.  Perhaps it was that implied burden that made the film feel a bit buried under the weight of expectations.  There are certainly calls to a post-Tony Stark snap present throughout the film, but Mysterio’s plan runs seemingly independent of any previous events shown.  The mid and post-credit scenes certainly tease big things for the future, but even before COVID-19 flipped the script on the industry, it was uncertain where things where headed as the new phase unrolled.  This film was enjoyable, but almost feels like a stand-alone trapped on a bridge between two worlds of narrative.

13. Iron Man (2008) The one that started it all.  I’ve never been the biggest Iron Man fan, but I can certainly respect the large risk that Kevin Feige took by kickstarting his empire with a character seemingly caught between fame and obscurity.  Tony Stark has enough Bruce Wayne in him to make him an intriguing character, but Iron Man and Batman could not be more different from one another, which immediately gave the MCU a fresh feel in light of them using a Silver Age character.  The pool of household name talent was limited, as Sony was sitting on Spider-Man, the X-men and the Fantastic Four in 2008, but ultimately, Iron Man was a roll of the dice that paid off in a major way. 

12. Spider-Man : Homecoming (2017) Spider-Man is such an iconic character that it is sometimes hard to believe that he was not always involved in The Infinity Saga.  Tobey Maguire was the definitive Spider-Man to many fans, and Andrew Garfield was starting to build a cult following, but after a bit of legal ping-pong, Captain America : Civil War went from being an anticipated mess to possibly a shadow of its comic book counterpart when Spider-Man appeared in the trailer.  Tom Holland brought a pitch-perfect voice and sensibility to the character, and Spider-Man : Homecoming drove those feelings home (no pun intended).  It wasn’t like Spider-Man needed a boost in tandem with his entry into the MCU, but his introductory movie did most everything right (including assuming we were WELL AWARE of his often repeated origin story).

11. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Out of everyone that the MCU has introduced to the masses, it is safe to say that I knew the least about the Guardians of the Galaxy... in fact, my closest tie to knowledge of their existence came in the form of Howard the Duck, who shares that section of the Marvel comic universe with them.  Marvel Studios had already made me enjoy films about Thor and Iron Man, two characters I did not consider myself a fan of prior to their films, so I went out on a limb in hopes that Marvel could sell me on characters I had zero connection to.  Guardians of the Galaxy did provide another set of colors in the Marvel spectrum, and it helped open the door to Marvel’s space-centered stories, but it wasn’t until the sequel that I went back and really found an appreciation for Guardians of the Galaxy, which I will expound later.  That being said, Guardians of the Galaxy is another Marvel film that has been benefited by time and revisitation.

10. Marvel's The Avengers (2012) The main pieces had found their way to the board by the time Captain America : The First Avenger was released, and it only seemed like a matter of time before the big players would cross paths.  Rather than build to a mass collaboration via smaller duos and groupings, Marvel went all in to close Phase One by locking in The Avengers as the collective stars of The Infinity Saga.  Loki found new agency as their protagonist, but he was really just a smokescreen for the big bad of the entire saga, Thanos.  The entire run of 23 movies can be summed up or represented by the iconic shot that rotates around our heroes when they stand shoulder to shoulder for the first time, staring up at their enemy emerging from the sky.  There was no turning back at this point, and this is largely due to the wonderful execution of one of the MCU’s key films.

9. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) I’m really not sure why Guardians of the Galaxy didn’t connect for me initially, but after watching Vol. 2, I felt a deeper understanding of Peter Quill, the relationship between Gamora and Nebula, and I came to love Groot and Drax even more (who didn’t immediately love Rocket Racoon?).  Kurt Russell was the evolved mirror to Chris Pratt that I didn’t know I needed, and the soundtrack contained more songs that spoke directly to me than the first film.  Some of the set pieces were downright beautiful in this film, I lowkey became a big fan of Mantis, and Yondu’s story culmination may have been the first time the MCU brought a tear to my eye.  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 may deceptively be the most emotionally powerful of all the MCU films, short of Avengers : Infinity War, and for that, it must be respected, considering it all came from a little known band of upstarts.

8. Captain America : Civil War (2016) While Marvel’s The Avengers may be the first true “event” film in the MCU, the first major “event” attempted in terms of historic Marvel stories was the infamous Civil War run.  A weird mix of anticipation and fear existed in the time preceding the film’s release, as a number of key players from the comic book storyline were either not available to the MCU or had not yet been introduced into the MCU.  Speculation between who would be emerging, omitted and adjusted flew back and forth, but in the end, we were not only presented with a riveting triangle of emotion between Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Bucky, but Spider-Man and Black Panther stepped into the spotlight (with a little dose of Ant-Man thrown in for good measure).  Had the MCU waited for a different phase, there’s no telling how many heroes and villains could have ultimately been involved, but considering what they had at the time, the MCU definitely exceeded expectations and created their own iconic version of a Marvel narrative hallmark.

7. Black Panther (2018) Outside of the final two Avenger’s, there wasn’t a more anticipated or well-received release (to my knowledge) than Black Panther.  After bursting onto the scene in Captain America : Civil War, it seemed everyone was ready for more of King T'Challa, Black Panther and Wakanda.  Chadwick Boseman became even more of a fan favorite than he already was, and Black Panther became the first MCU film to be nominated for Best Picture at the 2019 Academy Awards.  Marvel presented Wakanda, and Africa in turn, with the utmost cultural, historical and social respect, and short of a slightly underwhelming finale in terms of visual effects, it was hard to hang a complaint on Black Panther.  If the MCU had to pick a single film that they were most proud of, I would not be surprised if this was the one that was chosen.

6. Doctor Strange (2016) As a fan of science fiction, mysticism and overall weirdness, I was incredibly hype for the announcement and release of Doctor Strange.  Of all the active characters in the MCU at the time, Doctor Strange was the most obscure that I was already familiar with, and his introductory film did not disappoint.  The visual representation of the mystic arts was brilliant, casting Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One was a stroke of genius (despite many that voiced reservation to the choice), and the introduction of different dimensions and realms to the MCU hinted at the future that was to come.  With Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness coming in sooner than later, it is almost certain that I will be revisiting this film, and I hope that as time goes by, it finds a bigger audience with a deeper appreciation for it. 

5. Thor : Ragnarok (2017) If I think about it hard enough, I can probably find a character that will contradict this statement, but I’m hard pressed to think of a character than took a bigger personality jump between individual films than Thor did between The Dark World and Ragnarok.  We got shades of a new Thor in The Dark World, and he was really starting to come out of his shell in Avengers : Age of Ultron, but I’m not sure if anyone expected for Taika Waititi to not only turn Thor into possibly the most loveable Avenger, but make his third film a psychedelic masterpiece of fun.  Thor and Loki have never had better chemistry, Cate Blanchett was surprisingly well cast as Hela, and most everyone’s favorite MCU iteration of the Hulk came to life (not to mention a brief nod to Beta Ray Bill being present for keen viewers).  It may not be the best film in the MCU, but Thor : Ragnarok is almost certainly the one viewers gravitate towards if they make a quick selection.

4. Avengers : Endgame (2019) How do you end a story arc that spans more than 20 films?  Well, for starters, you bring every character to the table, collect every expectation that fans have for them, and then kick all of those expectations to the side and forge a completely wild, new and unexpected path.  For a large portion of Endgame’s runtime, it is tonally and stylistically different than any other Avengers film, but near the end, when the rubber hits the road, Thanos and his legions of followers take part in one of the most epically satisfying stands against our heroes already present, only for the world of the MCU to open up and rain the most enjoyable and acceptable fan service ever to be captured to film, including the most iconic Captain America moment of all time.  

3. Avengers : Age of Ultron (2015) For a long while, this film stood as my clear-cut favorite in the MCU.  I didn’t even know I was a Vision fan until he emerged from his chamber, and the introduction of Scarlet Witch has brought me nothing but joy.  David Spader brought some of the best antagonist personality in his powerful portrayal of Ultron, and the party scene provided one of my favorite non-action sequences in all of the MCU.  The interactions between the Avengers had the best balance of all their collaborative films during Age of Ultron, and Scarlet Witch took each of our heroes to the darkest corners of their mind.  Perhaps people had other ideas in mind when they learned that Tony and Bruce’s murderbot was due for a screen appearance, but for my money’s worth, Age of Ultron was the first Avengers film that blew my mind, and still stands as my personal favorite of the Avengers movies.

2. Avengers : Infinity War (2018) Easily the most epic of all the MCU films, Infinity War set the stage for a truly iconic struggle between the Earth’s mightiest heroes and the seemingly unstoppable Thanos that had been promised over many, many films, and in the opening rounds, Infinity War delivered.  For all of the combinations of characters we’d been provided, we’d yet to see Tony interact with Doctor Strange or Star-Lord, and each of those meetings yielded hilarious results.  The stakes had never been higher prior to Infinity War, and the costs had not been greater up to this point.  I personally remember people in theaters being nearly moved to tears when their favorite heroes (especially Spider-Man) began turning into dust, like they were watching Schindler’s List.  If the MCU collectively raised the bar for comic book movies, then Infinity War raised the bar for the MCU. 

1. Captain America : The Winter Soldier (2014) The MCU has more than a handful of classic films under their belt, but Captain America : The Winter Soldier is probably the sole film of the MCU that feels like a proper action/adventure suspense-thriller, like it was penned by John Grisham.  The connection between Bucky and Cap is kinetic in its swings between impending hope and tragedy, and the level of combat and action in the film is second to none.  This was the film where the Cap that the masses know and love stepped into his own as a hero and a leader.  Of all the directors that Marvel Studios has tapped, the Russo Brothers seem to have the secrets unlocked to make a great MCU film, and Captain America : The Winter Soldier is the pound for pound best they’ve offered yet.

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, once.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Nine (25.71% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Twenty-six.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

For a movie which is pretty much wall-to-wall fight scenes...I love it. I always start out going ‘maybe I overrate this movie, maybe it’s not as good as I remember’, but by the end, I’m right back in there.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Wanda apologises to Natasha for lying. It’s a close call.

Female characters:

Pepper Potts.

F.R.I.D.A.Y

Gamora.

Mantis.

Wanda Maximoff.

Natasha Romanoff.

Okoye.

Nebula.

Shuri.

Male characters:

Ebony Maw.

Thanos.

Thor.

Loki.

Heimdall.

Bruce Banner.

Stephen Strange.

Wong.

Tony Stark.

Peter Parker.

Ned.

Peter Quill.

Rocket.

Drax.

Groot.

Vision.

Steve Rogers.

Sam Wilson.

The Collector.

Thaddeus Ross.

James Rhodes.

T’Challa.

Bucky Barnes.

Eitri.

Red Skull.

M’Baku.

OTHER NOTES:

Heimdall had proven himself too much of an MVP in previous films to be allowed to live in this one. Bastards.

Heimdall and Loki, both dead before the opening titles. That’s how you know this movie means business, it’s not faking at high stakes.

I also am from space and have come here to steal a necklace from a wizard.

“Mr Stark, it smells like a new car in here!”

“All words are made up.”

Not gonna lie, when I saw this at the cinema and I realised that Captain America had arrived? My heart LEAPT. It was intense.

Depressed Thor is a great touch - after all previous films with Thor had him so bland, and then Ragnarok made him funny but essentially glossed over any of the difficult emotions it was dredging up, I’m glad to finally get something real and meaty from the character. If characters go through all manner of Hell and don’t show any signs of labouring under that weight, you’re doing character development wrong.

Nice callback with Red Skull.

The sacrifice of Gamora on Vormir is a really well-balanced piece; it was asking a lot, to make the emotion of it land despite how little of Thanos we’ve seen before, and without genuine emotion at it’s core it’s just the killing off of a female character for shock value. I feel like they got the pitch just right (most thanks to the music).

As much as I enjoy Thor and Rocket’s bantering, the side-quest for Stormbreaker feels like an unnecessary and over-the-top distraction in an already stuffed-full film. Easily the weakest part of the plot.

The fact that Quill fucks everything up with defeating Thanos on Titan because he can’t keep himself under control for two seconds certainly does not endear him to me in the slightest. Like ok, you’re upset, but if you can’t stop yourself from getting violent that’s on you, that makes you a dangerous person with serious issues, that’s not normal and it’s not ok. Also, literally half of all life in the universe was at stake. So there’s that.

Listen, I’m very susceptible to heroism (and that’s why superhero movies work for me), so every time someone comes to someone else’s rescue, I have feelings. 

I had convinced myself that somehow, Thanos wouldn’t succeed with his whole plan in this movie, that he would get all the stones but that he would like, go to a special place or something before enacting his plan, so that the good guys would have a chance to regroup and race to stop him before it was too late, all that jazz. So (even though Thanos had already snapped at that point), when Bucky Barnes disintegrated before our very eyes, I was SHOCKED. That got me like a smack in the face.

Considering I’ve never really been a fan of Tom Holland’s Spider-man, it’s a credit to his work that Peter’s death scene is so effective. That’s acting.

So, what makes this movie work despite being so heavy with bombastic action? The short answer is: it’s because the good guys lose. I’ve made no secret of being a fan of the ‘hour darkest before the dawn’ in storytelling, so this is playing to the sweet spot for me there, but it’s not as simple as just making everything miserable and hopeless. In this case, specifically, the lead-up to that ultimate failure is key; it’s gotta still feel like a superhero extravaganza, even as it takes an increasingly dark turn. The action works because it’s part of what we signed up for (the best camouflage for subversions of the traditional model), and it works because it’s all carrying the story forward - the Infinity War is comprised of multiple battles, and because of the way the pieces of the narrative are separated, the characters don’t know how any of the other battles are turning out; everyone is just trying to fight what’s in front of them and defend the stone in their midst, they don’t have the option to sit around doom-and-glooming and restrategising as news of each defeat comes in. Rather than dragging us wholesale from Point A to B to C in ever-escalating stakes and complications, the writers have had the good sense to spread things out and let things fall apart for our heroes (and the universe) in multiple smaller pieces until they reach a cumulative critical mass. Consequently, instead of feeling as though we’re sitting there watching things go from bad to worse, the audience forms this false sense of security in the action; it’s a superhero movie, after all. We expect them to work it all out in the end, to build toward a moment of apparent hopelessness (a darkest hour before the dawn), and then to rally triumphantly for the big win. As such, we perceive small victories (i.e. the defeat of Thanos’ various ‘children’, the creation of Stormbreaker, the way things draw out in the battle on Titan) as if they are more significant, as if they are signs leading us to that big win; without those small, expected victories, the ultimate failure would not hit as hard, because after two and a half hours of watching the good guys get wrecked without a chance, what surprise would there be in the snap?

Of course, plenty of viewers knew about the snap already or expected an ultimate failure of some sort based on the fact that we pretty much all knew that this was the first half of our grand Avengers finale (my mother, who is not a superhero movie fan, did not know what she was getting into and was...very shocked), so it’s important that the film still works to engage us on a character level so that the good guys losing in the end can hit like a ton of bricks even if you knew it was coming (and even though you no doubt expected to get the big win eventually, once Endgame came out). After all the fighting and the bantering, all the usual stuff we expect to see our heroes go through in the course of an average adventure, having them then watch their beloved friends/allies/whatever literally disintegrate before their eyes in a quiet, drawn out scene of devastation is a magnificent piece of cinema, communicating the shock not only of the event itself, but of the complete disruption to the superhero status quo. It’s not just that good guys don’t lose like this, it’s that they don’t lose with a whimper instead of a a bang. It’s not only that the cost of failure has never been this high; it’s also that they have never been forced to watch it play out with such inevitability; they have never before been rendered so powerless. If the entire film had the tone of the last ten minutes, it wouldn’t work so well, it’d just be a drudge and the audience would be desensitised by the end. By the same token, if the rest of the film had not planted the seeds of the finale so thoroughly in all its smaller losses and smokescreen victories, the ending would not be so horrifically fitting.

Neither, of course, would the ending be so affecting, if we were not as attached to the characters as we are. We have many, many films worth of history with most of them, or at least one solid encounter in which to become attached, and even in a movie chock-full of more characters than any other before, everyone gets a chance to show their personality and remind us why we care if they live or die. I’m not going to argue for this being an incredible character piece (nor is it pretending to be one), but it plays its very large hand very well, putting emphasis where it needs to be without overloading or unbalancing the story. As I noted above, I was particularly impressed with the way Thanos was handled, considering our exposure to him previously was very minimal and it was left up the this film to build his ethos as well as his relationships with his ‘children’ almost from scratch, creating complexity and simplicity without falling into the trap of trying to make the villain sympathetic; Thanos isn’t necessarily relatable (nor does he need to be), but he is understandable in that we’ve all probably encountered at least one person who holds the same limited worldview and is somehow convinced that they could ‘fix’ everything, given the power. Thanos isn’t actually aiming for universal domination in the traditional sense, and it makes him more disturbing and more realistic as a villain, because his evil is not nebulous or purely self-serving; he is a true believer, and his delusions have an all-too-familiar ring about them, so as we watch him lumber and pontificate around the story, we get a clearly-drawn image of someone possessed of such basic and humble flaws that he is - again, without being treated as sympathetic - quite significantly humanised, despite all of the non-human elements that make up both his character, and his situation. Even as it planet-hops and draws upon cosmic magic, the narrative is grounded by a centrepiece of plain, ungodly fallibility. 

Now, I recognise that in all of this praise for the way this film was executed, there isn't really anything to be said for it regarding the purpose of this blog; on the female representation front, it's not really doing anything (the fact that it juuust manages to pass the Bechdel and juuust over a quarter of its cast is female does not win it brownie points; its better than not having either of those things, but that's not a genuine achievement). The two female characters who were more prominently positioned in this movie are Gamora and Wanda; Gamora largely in context of her relationship with Thanos, and Wanda as Vision’s significant other and the means of his destruction. Notably, both women’s arcs are accessories to the arcs of male characters, which is not what we’re aiming for in good representation, though it does not exclude the possibility of quality content; Gamora’s role may have a lot to do with Thanos (not least, after he kills her), but it is still distinctly her own story, rich with emotion and coming to a surprising and depressing end which I felt struck the right chords to be compelling rather than an enraging disposal of one of the few female characters around (more on this after Endgame). Wanda’s presence leaves less of an impression, in terms of screen time, plot complication, and audience engagement, but all things considered I don’t think that was a terrible choice; Wanda and Vision’s relationship had been a somewhat sparse subplot in previous films and the chemistry was not strong, so I don’t think it would have been to the film’s benefit to try and expand on that relationship further than they did. As it was, there was enough there to sell the emotion, and nothing extraneous, and as much as I enjoy this movie, I wish I could say better things for its female representation than that. It is stuffed-full, and definitely not perfect, and space could have been made to pump up some of the other female characters’ roles more (the Earthbound characters get the least attention in the movie, and since basically all my faves are there it is a testament to how well this movie works for me that I enjoy it so much anyway, but a little more attention there would not have gone astray, especially since that’s where most of the female cast is). That said...I still really enjoy it, man. As far as popcorn action goes, this is top shelf.

[dlwritings]

Wondering | Tom Holland

masterlist found here

pairing - Tom x Osterfield!reader word count - 3,050  warnings -  A/N - I’m 21-years-old and I just got fucking HOOKED onto High School Musical: the Musical: the Series and I’m pretty shook about it and even though deep in my soul I’d love to write cute fluffy fics about it I feel too weird because they’re all babies so even though Joshua Bassett is the fucking cutest and makes me think bad thoughts (he’s 18 don’t come at me) I will refrain. Instead, here is a fic based on Wondering from the show which has been on repeat for longer than I’d like to admit

summary - You’re Harrison’s younger sister and Tom’s ex-girlfriend. Once the fame hit, you freaked out and left. It seemed like the right thing to do: end things with him before the inevitable, more heartbreaking end occurred. But when Harrison drags you to the Far From Home premiere and after party, you’re forced to face the consequences of the decision you made.

You were in the middle of sipping your morning cup of coffee when your front door opened. You turned at the sound of heavy footsteps that you knew could only belong to your older brother, Harrison. “Did I say you could come in?” you joked, turning the volume of the TV down.

“You might not want to be so sassy,” he said, “when I’m about to invite you to have an absolutely incredible Saturday night.”

“You are now?” you said. “And what might that night entail?” Harrison reached into his back pocket and pulled out two movie tickets. You just raised your eyebrows, prompting him to explain further.

“Two tickets to the premiere of Spider-Man: Far From Home and an invitation to the best after-party,” he said before doing a playful bow. “You’re welcome.”

As kind as the gesture was, you could barely manage a smile. “Is it okay if I pass?” you said, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. Harrison’s face dropped.

“Why?” he asked. “I thought you’d be thrilled.”

“No offense, but why would I be thrilled?” you said.

Harrison sighed, “It’s been almost four months, (Y/N). You can’t avoid him forever.” You opened your mouth to say something, but Harrison said, “I’ve been saving these tickets for a huge surprise and it was supposed to be great and one up the present you got me last Christmas and you were gonna be so happy and-”

“Dude, dude, relax,” you laughed. “It’s really nice, and I so appreciate it, but I don’t even have a dress or anything.”

“Oh!” he said, his face lighting up again. He ran back towards the entryway of your apartment and came back with a box. “I got that covered, too.”

“You went shopping for me?” you asked, skeptical as you opened the box.

“God no,” he laughed. “Zendaya picked it out.” You pulled out a gorgeous dress that was clearly too perfect to have been picked out by Harrison. He had a great sense of fashion, just not a great sense of your fashion. You looked from the dress to Harrison, who looked at you expectantly.

“Fine,” you said. “I’ll go.” Harrison pumped his fist in success and smiled at you.

“It’ll be great,” he said. “You’ll have so much fun.”

Harrison ended up staying for lunch and a couple movies at your flat, but the conversation of the movie and after party didn’t come up again. Still, you tried to feign more excitement for his sake. It was clear to you that he was so happy and wanted you to be on his level. He had tried so hard to give you a good gift, and if you hadn’t still been so heartbroken, you might’ve been more grateful. Unfortunately, your breakup with Tom was still fresh in your mind.

When you and Tom started dating, Harrison was less than thrilled. You were 16 at the time, and Tom was 19. You had known Tom for years because of Harrison, and you always had a crush on him. It took a little bit longer for Tom to reciprocate the feelings, and when he did, Harrison was mad. He gave Tom a long lecture that involved a lot of yelling about you being too young for him and even a little bit of shoving. Tom swore he wouldn’t do a thing to hurt you, and after a while, Harrison got used to it. You knew he still wasn’t your relationship’s number one fan, but he could tolerate it.

For a long time, it was good. Really good. You truly loved Tom, and you knew he loved you, too. But then, Civil War came out, and Tom’s life changed in the blink of an eye. He was famous. He wasn’t just a kid in a few movies and stage shows. He was Tom Holland: the new Spider-Man. With his fame came a lot of new attention on you. Too much attention. Your own Instagram skyrocketed in followers, and every picture Tom posted with or of you received thousands upon thousands of comments criticizing you and your relationship. And suddenly, things stopped being good.

“I’m sorry, Tom,” you said, throwing the clothes you kept at his apartment into your backpack. “I just can’t do this anymore.”

“Why?” he shouted, trying to stop you from packing your things. “What is going on?”

“This is too much,” you said, not looking at him. “I didn’t sign up for a relationship with your fans.”

“You’re not in a relationship with my fans!” he said. “You’re in a relationship with me. Just me.”

“No I’m not!” you said. “Nothing is just us anymore. It’s a thousand comments about me not being good enough and, and it’s me wondering when you’re gonna leave me for someone better.”

“What are you talking about?” he groaned. “I’m not gonna leave you!”

“Not yet!” you countered. “But you will. Someday you’ll star next to some gorgeous actress who is way, way better than I am, and you won’t want me anymore. Because I am literally no one special, and that’s fine. I’ve always known I’m just some ordinary person, and I thought that was enough, and maybe it is right now. But in one, two years, it won’t be. And I cannot stick around and wait for that to happen.”

Tom sighed, “Can’t we just stop and think about this for a minute?”

“I’ve already thought about this, Tom,” you said. “I’ve thought a lot about this. This is the right decision.”

“No it’s not!” he shouted. You had finished packing all your things and threw your backpack over your shoulders. Just as you started to walk out of his bedroom, Tom grabbed your arm and held you back. You didn’t turn to face him, so he moved to stand in front of you. You noticed then the tears in his eyes and the few that had fallen to his cheeks. “Please, please don’t do this. Don’t leave me because you’re afraid of what might happen.” You pulled your arm out of his grasp and shook your head.

“I’m leaving because of what I know will happen,” you said. “And I have to protect myself.”

The thoughts brought tears to your eyes, so you wiped them away and pushed yourself off the couch. You were alone now, Harrison having left only a few moments ago. “Okay,” you said, breathing heavily past your lips. “Make it through the day.”

And you did. Friday went by in a breeze. When Saturday came, you felt sick the minute you woke up. You were sure you couldn’t do it. The premiere. The party. None of it. But you were going to. For Harrison. And for you. Because you needed to do this to prove to yourself that you could see Tom and not break.

But the truth was, the more days that went by since the break-up, the more you wondered if you had really made the right choice. If you saw Tom, you were sure you would break down in regret-filled-tears. You needed someone to talk to. You needed to sort out the thoughts in your brain before you saw Tom. So, a few hours before the premiere, you called Zendaya. Despite your break-up with Tom the minute the fame hit, you got to know the members of the Spider-Man cast and crew pretty well considering Harrison’s role on the team. Zendaya quickly became one of your closest friends. She agreed to come over and get ready with you and talk you through your thoughts.

“What if I made the wrong choice, Z?” you said, carefully zipping up the back of your dress. “What if I was supposed to stay with Tom? What if it was going to be me and him in the end?”

“I don’t know,” she said, sympathy laced in her voice. “I don’t have the answers, but you’ve gotta stop living in the past. You made the decision you made, and now you’ve gotta live with it.”

“Gee, thanks,” you said sarcastically. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

“Look, I’m sorry,” she said, fixing her hair. “I’m just saying, you can’t keep going through the what if’s. Even if you went back and changed the past, and, and went against all the odds and braved the commitment and the drama and publicity or whatever, you don’t know what would’ve happened after that. And you can’t know. So why keep mulling it over? It serves no purpose.”

“But-”

“What you can do is move forward from here and try to make things different.”

“What if he doesn’t want-”

“Ah, buh, buh,” Zendaya said, holding up her hand to stop you. “No more what if’s.” 

You and Zendaya dropped the subject as you finished getting ready. Before you knew it, you were at the carpet with Harrison ready to walk. He gave you a hug and a sweet kiss on the cheek. “You look great,” he said.

“Thanks,” you said, taking a deep breath and smiling. “Uh-” You tucked a piece of hair behind your ear. “-is Tom here yet?” Harrison smiled softly at you.

“Yeah, he’s a ways down the carpet already,” he said. He put a comforting hand on your shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Yup,” you said with a firm nod. “Let’s just get through the carpet. I want to see this movie! I’ve gotta know how the world mourns the great Tony Stark.”

The movie, as expected, was awesome. You chatted with Harrison the entire ride to the afterparty without once running into Tom. Once you actually got to the party though, that changed. He came up to you and Harrison while nursing a beer and smiling widely. The party had only been going for about thirty minutes, but it was clear he was already a little tipsy. “I’m so glad you’re both here,” he said. “The Osterfields. My favorite family.” His hand on your waist felt like it was burning your skin. You couldn’t help but step away from him. He was too intoxicated to notice.

“I’m gonna go get a drink,” you said. They both nodded, so you went over to the bar and got a moscow mule. As you sipped your drink, your mind wandered as it had been so often lately.

“I’m leaving because of what I know will happen,” you said. “And I have to protect myself.”

“Protect yourself?” Tom almost screamed.

“Tom I don’t want to keep talking about this!” you shouted, tears coming to your own eyes. “You’re being, you’re being-”

“Being what?”

“You’re being a dick right now, okay?” you said. “You’re being a dick, because I made this decision, and you’re trying to do that, that thing that men do where you try to act like you know better than me because you’re a man-”

“What the actual fuck are you on about?” Tom shouted. “You’re not making any sense, and you’re just talking shit now because you don’t even know what’s going on or what you’re doing.”

“Tom-”

“Why do you want to give up so easily? Do you not love me anymore?”

You were silent.

“Say it, (Y/N),” Tom said, taking a step closer to you. “Say you don’t love me anymore.” You swallowed thickly and clenched your jaw, looking at the floor. You could see his feet right in front of yours. He lifted your chin and made you look at him, then slowly kissed your jaw and your cheeks. “Say it,” he whispered. “Say it, and you can go.” You took a deep breath through your nose and pushed Tom away.

“I don’t love you anymore.”

You scoffed before finishing off your drink and walking back over to where Harrison was sitting at a hightop. “You good?” he asked before downing the rest of his own drink. You nodded and gave him a -what you were sure was unconvincing- smile.

“Um, testing, testing, hello?”

You and Harrison both looked up and saw Tom standing on the stage on the other side of the room with a microphone in hand. “Hey everyone,” Tom said. “I just wanted to say a quick little thank you to all of you for coming out tonight. Thank you for going to see the movie and for supporting this franchise and loving it as much as I do. Being a part of the Marvel universe has been such a blessing, and I’m thankful every single moment I’m here. Without people like you supporting me, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. So I just want to say thank you for never leaving my side, and for sticking with me through all the changes my career has brought to my life.”

And you were sure Tom looked right at you when he said those words.

Suddenly, everything was too much. What you thought had been a somewhat successful night avoiding Tom had just flipped into a disaster with a single look. You quietly excused yourself from the table and headed for the exit. You hoped to god Harrison didn’t notice you leave and that no one else was paying you any attention. And why would they be? You weren’t anyone special. No one important. Just a stupid girl in her stupid dress running away like always.

Not wanting to wait in the lobby of the building for an Uber, you decided to just walk to the bus stop. Before you could even get out the door, you heard Harrison call your name. You knew it was no use trying to outrun him, so you just stopped and waited for him to approach you. He stood in front of you, leaning down a bit to see your face. He wiped some of your tears away with his thumbs. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Where are you going?”

“I’m sorry, Haz,” you choked out. “This is just, it’s not working out for me.”

“What does that mean?” he asked. You put your hands on your forehead and took another deep breath.

“I just can’t be around him,” you said. “Every time I look at him, I, I feel so sick with regret, and it hurts so, so much.” You let out another soft cry. “And I know you’re probably thinking I-told-you-so, because you never wanted us to date in the first place, but-”

“Hey, hey, that’s not what I’m thinking,” he said, putting his hand on your chin so you could look up at him. Your lower lip quivered, and Harrison sighed and pulled you in for a hug. “It’s alright, it’s alright.”

“Hey, what’s going on?”

You and Harrison pulled away from each other, and you wiped your eyes. Tom was walking over to you, a look of concern on his face. “(Y/N)?” Tom said. “Why’re you, what’s, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” you sniffed, wiping your face. “I’m fine.”

“No you’re not,” Tom said, stepping closer to you. “What’s wrong?”

Harrison tried to step in. “Tom, maybe just-”

“No, I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s wrong,” he said firmly. You gave Harrison a look that you were okay, and he nodded and left you and Tom alone. You folded your arms across your chest and squeezed yourself tightly.

It’s now or never.

“I know it’s been four months,” you said, “and you’re probably over me and all of this, but, but I’m not.”

“What are you talking about?” Tom asked, his voice soft, his eyebrows furrowed.

“I keep thinking about the night, the night everything happened-” Tom’s face softened. “-and, and I think about everything I would’ve done differently.” You sighed. “I, I’ve never been a strong person. I run away when things get hard or when I’m scared. And I was so scared, Tom. I should’ve been brave and just, just said fuck it and ignored all the odds that I felt were stacked against us.” You took another deep breath and let it out slowly. “But I know that I fucked all that up, and I can’t keep wishing I had done things differently. Because I can’t go back and change the past, and until I accept that, I’m constantly going to be wondering what could’ve been. It just makes everything so hard, like being here, watching you up there giving toasts and, and shining like the fucking star you are. It’s just too much for me, Tom.” You let out a heavy sigh and put your hands on your hips, feeling tears falling from your eyes again. “But this is my problem, not yours. So, so I’m gonna go. I’m just gonna go home, and we can pretend this didn’t-”

“Hey, (Y/N) calm down,” Tom said, putting his hands on your biceps. You looked up at him, and he wiped his thumbs under your eyes. You found your eyes flickering down to his lips, and you knew his eyes did the same. The next thing you knew, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you in for a deep kiss. You put your hands on his cheeks and held him close to you. You pulled away when you started crying again. You couldn’t help but laugh a bit and rest your forehead on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered. “That’s not exactly romantic.” Tom just laughed and pressed a kiss to the top of your head. You looked up at him, and he brushed some more tears from your eyes. “I don’t deserve you,” you whispered.

“What?” Tom almost laughed.

“I ran away from you the minute you started to succeed,” you said. “What kind of girlfriend does that? Hell, what kind of friend does that? I don’t expect you to forgive me for that or, or for things to go back to normal just because I realized I messed up.” Tom shook his head, a small smile on his face.

“I don’t care about what you did,” he said. “You’re right. We can’t change the past, and I don’t want to dwell there either. The only thing that matters is that you’re here now. You came back. And I’m not over you. I’m very much not over you.”

“Really?” you said, a smile growing on your face.

Tom laughed. “Really. I love you, (Y/N). I’m pretty sure I always will.”

----- ----- ----- -----

TAGLIST

@bangtan-serendipity | @planetdemon | @the-singing-clown406 | @tomshufflepuff | @bluelalal | @grandloser | @jackiehollanderr | @mindset-jupiter | @bisexual-sk8r | @feel-like-gold | @runaway-apple | @miraclesoflove | @marvelismylifffe| @wonderbyers | @coraz0ndcristal| @lizmarvel​ |  @hannihannelora

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Marvel Movie Night: Spider-Man

Kicking off Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy! Whoo!  It’s interesting - Spider-Man was one of those things that I wasn’t initially into (totally here for the X-Men).  Then I really fell in love with this trilogy.  And then kind of fell out of love with it.  And then Tom Holland came along leaving this in the dust.  Coming back to it again I find it… endearing? But like the original X-Men films, despite being thought of as great for the time, I don’t believe it holds up that well now that we’re nearly twenty years later.  (My god, am I getting old?) 

Let’s back up and talk about this film in context for a second.  X-Men was revolutionary in its own way - bringing the comic book genre into a space that could be taken more seriously.  Spider-Man, however, was the first glimpse of what films based on Marvel properties would later become.  Unlike superhero and action films of the time, it was brightly colored.  It was cheesy, but not overly campy.  It had humor and emotion.  And, not surprisingly, audiences reacted positively! 

But now that we’ve had twenty more years of Marvel films, does it hold up? Kind of?  Is it a good Spider-Man film, yes if the context you’d like your Spider-Man films to be in is taking directly from the Silver and Bronze age era of comics.  Is it a good film overall? Meh.  

I don’t spend a whole lot of time in Spider-Man related fandoms, but there is a big chunk of fans that prefer this film and its sequels to the other two Spider-Man franchises.  And while I don’t agree (though I support everyone having their own, varied opinion), I can see why this might appeal to those fans who had been reading the comics for years. 

The first half of this film is directly lifted out of Amazing Fantasy #15, the comic issue Spider-Man made his debut in.  The filmmakers did, really, a fantastic job of bringing it to life -- the origin story, Uncle Ben, the ‘great power’ line, Peter Parker’s guilt, the spider-bite, and so on and so on.  It’s there.  This film feels like a Silver Age comic book brought to life.  On the one hand - that’s pretty remarkable.  I don’t think the comics had ever been directly referenced in the same way prior to this.  On the other, it brings along with it all the downsides of a Silver Age comic.  The dialogue is incredibly stiff.  The acting feels forced.  And everything has that -- ‘ah, golly shucks’ mentality about it.  It felt dated in 2002.  It feels even more dated now.  But the novelty of it being THE COMIC BOOK was pretty revolutionary for the time. 

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Of course there are hundreds of polls out there, and I’m sure a few dozen YouTube videos about who the best Spider-Man is.  Honestly, there’s a lot of subjectivity that goes along with it.  I think each of them has their pros and cons, so let’s take a second to talk about Tobey Maguire in this film.  One thing I think Tobey Maguire does really well, especially for being nearly thirty by the time he got the part, is play the nerdy and awkward Peter Parker… or at least at least the nerdy and awkward Peter Parker that was written in the 60s by Stan Lee.  Maguire does a great job of doing the part he’s supposed to be playing - the problem is, and I feel this way about all the characters, is that he doesn’t feel like he’s playing a real person.  He feels like he’s a comic book character thought up during the 60s.  

What about the Spider-Man side of things? I’m going to give this a pass more than I probably should.  First of all, Spider-Man is supposed to be rather chatting, and this Spider-Man is near silent.  But that’s more so due to the lack of ability with the suit.  And I don’t blame the filmmakers for keeping Spider-Man off the screen for so much of the film.  Not only does it make those times Spider-Man is there feel more special, but it saves them from having to do a lot of things that, maybe, didn’t the technology wasn’t fully ready for yet.  

Look - I think while it was definitely moving in the right direction, the action sequences in this film are probably some of its weakest points.  Everything is incredibly stiff and/or ridiculous looking.  Sure, there are some great moments of Spider-Man swinging around the city.  But most of the stuff between he and the Green Goblin have not aged well at all.  

One last thing - the organic webshooters?  Nope.  Nope, nope, nope.  Ew.  

Aunt May, Uncle Ben, and Great Responsibility

So - Aunt May (and Uncle Ben) in the comics are older.  It’s… kinda unrealistic, unless Peter’s parents were much, much older when they had a kid.  Uncle Ben says in this film that he’s 68.  That’s grandparent age -- and I’d believe this whole thing much more if they were Peter’s great Aunt and Uncle.  That said, Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris were perfect choices for their roles.  Robertson especially plays the closest to an actual person as he grumbles about unemployment and new technology he’s having trouble with.  But more so, he does such a great job with his Great Responsibility line, that there’s really no reason for other Spider-Man films to do it.  It’s in the culture now.  We get it.  Meanwhile, Harris’s Aunt May, well, looks exactly like Aunt May.  Aunt May, in general, kind of annoys me, so I suppose we’ll leave it that. 

The Osborns and the Green Goblin

First, James Franco as Harry Osborn.  There really isn’t a whole lot to this character - it feels like he’s talked about more than actually on screen, and I feel like we don’t get to see that much of Peter and Harry’s relationship.  That said, Franco does brooding rather well - and is pretty consistent at keeping the brooding up throughout the film.  He’s fine, but sometimes feels like he’s there because the movie wants him to be in it.  

Willem Dafoe is Norman Osborn, and here’s my thing.  Dafoe is a pretty good actor.  He does the whole split-personality thing rather well, and makes an incredibly convincing villain, especially when everything about the Green Goblin is, well, incredibly contrived.  Really, I think the Oscorp stuff is the dumbest stuff in this film because it strictly adheres to comic book logic.  And while I also understand there were obvious limitations and complications making such a ridiculous suit, that Green Goblin costume is terrible.  Dafoe was much more menacing without it on.  

Mary Jane Watson

**sigh** Okay.  Let me start by saying that I like MJ in the comics, even though, yeah, this is a pretty good representation of her (or more so the kind of character she was forty years ago) here.  I don’t even mind Kirstin Dunst.  This version of MJ bugs me though.  Part of it is the story framing.  Everything’s from Peter’s POV, and it doesn’t make any sense.  What is it about her, besides the fact that she’s pretty, does he even like? They never actually spend time together - and when they do, Peter’s giving her soliloquy about how wonderful she is. The problem is that we’re never really given a reason, other than pretty, to understand why.  Do they have anything in common? Not really.  Do they make a connection beyond his constant saving her from bad situations - whether it be emotional or physical? Not really.  

Everything about their scenes is just over-the-top a majority of the time.  Like -- this is a big sweeping romance, hear the music? See the close-ups? Add tears, more tears!  But I never buy an actual connection between the two of them.  

The one thing that does actual work, and I will give them a ton of credit for, is that upside down kiss in the rain.  That’s pretty damn iconic.  And kinda hot.  It’s the only time that the movie allows the romance to do something other than follow the tired tropes of boy-likes-girl, boy-rescues-girl, boy-gets-girl.  Ug.  

J Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle

JK Simmons and the Daily Bugle is hands down the best thing about this film.  It’s witty and almost satirical with everything looking straight out of the 60s comic book.  It gets the humor that the comics often has and runs with it.  I have no complaints, it’s really, truly amazing.  And I have to wonder if this entire film would work better if it had taken place during the 60s and was a tad more on the satirical side.  I feel like the world would have made just a little more sense.  

Final Rating: 3 out of 5 Spiderwebs.  I think this film is a great embodiment for what Spider-Man meant to a whole group of people who grew up with the character.  As a film, I think it’s standard issue, and besides letting comic book movies be brightly colored and fun, I don’t think it does anything special with the story it’s telling. And much like the original X-Men film, while I’ll give it credit for being special for the time it came out, I don’t think it holds up now.  

Next Up: Oy, I’m gonna have to watch that Ben Affleck Daredevil film now.  :P 

[aquaquadrant]

Title: it wears a mask Chapter Warnings: language, death mention. Summary: Beck has a change of heart at the trainyard and takes Peter captive instead. In many ways, it turns out much, much worse. (NOT SLASH)

Chapter Six Preview

It’s good to be back.

Beck greets his friends with smiles and nods as he makes his way through the headquarters. He’s glad to finally let himself relax and fully drop the Mysterio act. There haven’t been many moments completely to himself since London. And that costume really doesn’t breathe well.

Hill offered him a place at the old Avengers compound, and Beck had to play the ‘tortured loner’ role to decline and take off without sounding suspicious. He has his whole team to think of, not to mention Peter. And besides, what’s the fun of being a superhero if you’re living in a government sanctioned compound with constant surveillance? Stark had the right idea, living it up in his own private mansion.

The event has started Beck thinking about a more permanent settlement. This temporary headquarters isn’t too shabby, but he didn’t really want to settle in Europe. Staging his attacks in America will get him more attention; American news always does. And he can be a bit pickier about exactly where he sets up shop. This base is a bit too public for his liking. Their security is tight, but all it takes it one accidental glimpse through a door as it opens, one troublesome teenager sneaking around where they aren’t supposed to, and the whole thing is blown.

He might take some notes from the Avengers and get himself a nice, secluded compound. Sturdy, well protected, with plenty of room to breathe. And he can take notes from Wakanda and set up a perimeter of drones to hide the entire thing under cloaking technology. No shame in stealing from the best.

But he doesn’t have to think about that now. He’ll have plenty of time once the buzz from the London attack ebbs- it’s already dropped down the list of trending topics, so it won’t be long. It’s been a busy three days, but the world moves on quickly. He’ll have to get his next planned attacks rolling to stay relevant, just a few little disturbances to put him in back the headlines.

At least Beck has the time for this; checking in with his favorite web-crawling do-gooder. He’s tapped into the video feed a few times since the last time, but he hasn’t actually spoken to Peter in person since making that call to his friends. And seeing as he’s due for a check-in with everyone at home base anyways, it’s a good time as any.

Beck pauses just outside the door to Peter’s room, briefly pulling up the video feed. Peter’s sitting on his bed, finishing a sandwich while trying to look like he’s not watching the news report playing on the wall. Beck closes the projection with a grin and lets himself into the room.

Peter jumps at his entrance, and the initial surprise on his face quickly turns to alarm as he realizes who it is. The sandwich falls from Peter’s hand onto the bed as he scrambles away from Beck, his back hitting the wall.

The wound on Peter’s face looks a lot worse up close. Angry red skin borders the tiny stitches along his cheek, making it look even more out of place than the bare gash itself. His right hand in its splint is held close to his chest, his left hand pressed back against the wall.

Beck chuckles. “Aw, what’s the matter, not happy to see me?”

Peter doesn’t reply, instead continuing to study him with that distrustful, wide-eyed gaze.

Beck puts his hands on his hips. “Oh, what, what’s that look for? I’m just here to talk.”

Peter hesitates. “I don’t know if you’re real,” he says, wary.

“You’re still on this?” Beck asks incredulously. “What reason would I have for appearing as an illusion now instead of just talking to you through Herod’s intercom?”

Instead of an answer, Peter blinks at him. “Herod?”

Ah shit, right. “Oh, that’s what I’ve named your drone,” Beck explains, waving a hand. He grins. “It’s a biblical reference, get it? Peter and Herod?”

Peter’s face is blank. “We don’t really, uh… go to church so, yknow…”

Beck raises his eyebrows. “Really? You’ve never heard of- forget it.” He shakes his head, mildly disappointed. “Now, even if I was an illusion, what would be the harm? Clearly I’m not going to kill you, otherwise I would’ve done it already. You’re a prisoner in a secure cell. Why would I use an illusion to attack you now?”

Peter’s expression grows guarded, and it’s immediately clear to Beck that an answer has come to Peter’s mind and he doesn’t like it. “You tell me,” he snaps.

“Ooh, getting feisty, are we?” Beck taunts, unfazed by the insult. “It’s amazing what a hot shower, a change of clothes, a good meal, and medical treatment will do for the spirit, huh?”

“Stop it,” Peter says, his voice low. His shoulders hunch by his ears defensively. “I just… need to know if you’re real.”

It comes out a lot more wobbly than Peter probably intended. Beck puts his hands on his hips, nonplussed. He genuinely didn’t expect the illusions to have such a lasting effect on the kid’s head- but in hindsight, Beck shouldn’t be surprised. He’s won Peter’s trust only to tear it all down, throw him into a nightmare, almost kill him, and then take him captive. Even if there wouldn’t be any danger involved this time, Peter doesn’t want to be tricked again. It’s only natural.

“Well, I already know you won’t take my word for it,” Beck says eventually. He stretches an arm out, almost as if for a handshake. “Go ahead, see for yourself.”

Peter gives a start, like he hadn’t expected Beck to go along with it. Then he’s wary again, eyes narrowing in on Beck’s hand like it might shoot lasers at him. After a moment, he eases off the bed and onto his feet, moving in that same slow, tense way from earlier. He approaches Beck by walking sideways- protecting his most vital organs, smart- and the bend in his knees puts him closer to the ground, ready to spring away in an instant.

Beck is abruptly reminded of his attempts to befriend alley cats outside his childhood home. Sitting still with an outstretched hand as they slunk towards him, those slitted eyes roving over him as their ears twitched curiously. They got close enough to sniff his hand before darting away, tails bristling, and the process would repeat. It was a miraculous lesson in patience for ten-year-old Beck, and his efforts were rewarded within just a few weeks; the cats would come when he called.

Amusement quirks at Beck’s lips with the memory, but he doesn’t let himself smile. Peter might take it as a warning.

Finally, Peter stops before him. When his hand darts out to make contact, he doesn’t take Beck’s offered hand. Instead, he ends up sort of poking the back of Beck’s hand, just for an instant. Another calculated move, Beck suspects, because if Peter had taken his hand, it would’ve given Beck the opportunity to grab him.

As soon as Peter’s hand falls away, he retreats to the bed. Like he can’t get away from Beck fast enough. His expression is hard to read- not from any effort on Peter’s part to conceal his emotions, but because they’re so conflicted. He settles cross-legged again, meeting Beck’s gaze evenly.

“Why are you here?” he asks.

“Just checking up on you,” Beck says, folding his arms. “I heard about your hand. Feel like telling me why you’re punching walls?”

Peter bristles, his hand curling to his chest. “No.”

Beck hums noncommittally. “Well, I know you definitely weren’t trying to escape, because doing so would kill your best friends in the whole wide world, and we don’t want that.” His smile is a bit too wide to be friendly. “So what gives?”

Peter glares at him, but Beck can tell the reminder has its desired effect from the way Peter sets his jaw. “I got angry,” he says finally, glancing away. “Lost my temper.”

Beck knows it’s a lie right away. Peter Parker is many things, but he’s not the kind of person who is prone to anger issues. Beck’s research told him as much. So he reads between the lines, searching for the half-truth. Maybe Peter did lose control of himself, but it wasn’t out of anger. That’d be something he’d want to keep to himself, especially after the trainyard.

“Alright.” Beck doesn’t press it, filing the info away for later. “Next time, count to ten.”

Peter ignores the comment. “You can’t keep this up forever, you know.”

Beck tilts his head. “Keep what up?”

“This… fake hero thing.” Peter’s voice is layered with thinly-veiled disgust. His eyes trace the projection of the news report still playing on the wall. “What are you going to do when the real villains show up? The real monsters? You keep establishing yourself, and it’ll only be a matter of time before someone challenges you.” He frowns, thoughtful. “It’s like, you’re trying to make a game, right, but there are already real players out there. And they play by their rules.”

Beck nods slowly. “Interesting point,” he says, humoring Peter. “What would you suggest I do?”

Peter studies him for a moment, hesitating. “Quit while you’re ahead,” he offers finally. “If you stop now, you could get away. Disappear before anyone knows what’s happening. But if you wait for someone or something else to expose you, your chances are a lot worse.”

It’d be a good answer, if Beck was a man of less nerve. He’s come too far to have doubt now. “I’m sorry, what about this situation has made you think you can try to bargain with me?” he asks.

Surprise flares in Peter’s eyes, and he holds his hands up. “I’m just saying, this isn’t sustainable.”

“Maybe you weren’t paying attention.” Beck lets the slightest edge come into his voice, feeling satisfied by the way Peter tenses. “I have Edith now- thanks, by the way- and Edith has access to Stark’s entire satellite surveillance network. If it’s online, Edith has access to it, and that means any potential threats can be identified and neutralized before they happen.”

“You…” Peter knits his brows together. “Wait, you’re talking about using Edith to-”

Beck interrupts with a question. “Were you old enough to pay attention to the whole SHIELD shitstorm? With Hydra and the helicarriers and Project Insight?” At Peter’s hesitant nod, Beck continues, “they might’ve been onto something. But while they used an algorithm to predict who could potentially cause problems, I’ll be using Edith to locate them and take them out before any damage can be done.”

Horror dawns on Peter’s face. “This is… you’re going to use a worldwide surveillance network to eliminate threats, and then create fake ones to fight? That’s-”

“Changing the game, I know,” Beck amends. “If we’re going with your little metaphor.”

Peter stares at him. “You’re killing all the players before they enter the stage, and replacing them with CPUs.”

Beck chuckles. “Sure, that’s a way to put it. Might be cheating, but at least I know I’ll always win.”

“But not without cost,” Peter says, his words slow with realization. “You’re… going to keep killing people for it, aren’t you? Innocent people?”

“Collateral damage,” Beck agrees. “It’s necessary.”

Sure, if Beck were more of a humanitarian, he could just use Edith to keep the world safe and not even bother with all the theatrics. But he’s got a couple reasons for going about it this way. One; many people would disagree with persecution coming before the crime, and his actions have a much better chance of going unnoticed if he gives the world something else to look at.

And two; Beck is tired of working in the shadows.

Peter’s expression hardens. “It won’t work forever,” he says quietly. “Someone or something is gonna get through the cracks, and- and what do you do then? What if you get attacked in public, no illusions prepared, with the whole world watching?”

Despite himself, Beck feels a small sliver of unease trickle down his spine. As good as Edith is, he’s not the only person who can play things close to the vest. If someone was cautious and clever enough, they could hide their intentions until it was too late. Plus, people and plans could change in an instant. Accidents happen. In this world where mild-mannered scientists could Hulk out at the drop of a hat, it’s nearly impossible to be certain you’re truly safe, at any moment.

Maybe Beck hasn’t prepared for everything as thoroughly as he believed.

But he doesn’t let his newfound doubt show. “How about I worry about the hero stuff, and you worry about keeping your friends alive by being a good little spider, alright?”

Peter’s expression clouds with disappointment and bitterness, and that alone tells Beck that Peter was really hoping to get through to him. Hoping to convince him to abandon this path. But Beck has a perspective Peter can never understand; living in a world where half the population vanished without a trace, and the other half was abandoned by the heroes sworn to protect them. Or, at the very least, avenge them. He remembers the chaos in the days immediately following, his own fear after watching the world crumble around him.

Since the snap was reversed, Beck has often wondered if it would have been easier, had he been blipped. But he’s glad to have experienced those five years. It’s made him stronger, and only solidified his resolve. There’s not enough control in the world, he realized, and the control they have is in incapable hands. It won’t be willingly handed over to the right ones, it has to be taken.

So while some people fell into despair, Beck got to work putting together his own team and fine-tuning the projection technology that would one day power his illusions. Stark’s development of Edith was the last piece to the puzzle, and everything from there fell into place.

Peter is the one outlier Beck didn’t account for, but he’s good at improvising.

“I’ll let you get back to your show now,” Beck says with a grin, nodding at the ongoing news reports. “The lights are gonna go off in a couple hours, and someone will be in to patch up the shower tomorrow morning. You have a good night-”

“Wait.”

Peter’s voice makes Beck pause, his hand on the doorknob. Looking over his shoulder, he sees Peter staring hard at the floor, his good hand clenched into a fist as if he’s steeling himself.

“The guy who was in here earlier, Virgil…” Peter takes a deep breath and meets Beck’s eyes. “He said that you didn’t show any of them what happened at the trainyard.”

Oh, interesting. “That’s correct,” Beck admits.

Peter actually looks a little upset at that. “Why?”

It’s surprising that something like this would matter to Peter, but Beck takes it in stride. “There are some things that I keep to myself,” he says mildly.

Sure, he’s not keen for the others to see the way he hesitated. He’d much rather them believe that his decision to spare Peter was well-thought out instead of the result of a… sudden weakness. But it’s more than that, it’s not wanting the others to see what Peter went through.

And not out of any concern for the kid’s privacy, no. There’s something appealing about keeping that knowledge to himself. About being the only one to have seen Peter like that- aside from William, who only heard it through the mic. It gives Beck a sort of power, he thinks. The power of knowing just how far he successfully pushed Peter, how effective his methods had been.

He’s earned it, in a manner of speaking. Earned the right to see Peter fall apart. No one else has.

Despite saying none of this out loud, the look Peter’s giving Beck makes him think the kid has worked it out on his own. Sharp as a whip, this one. The clash of emotion across Peter’s face is so startling, it’s like he’s inventing new ways to look horrified and betrayed.

Beck rolls his eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. It’ll be our little secret, yeah? Now finish your dinner and get some sleep tonight. I’ll be checking in soon.”

Peter looks like he’s going to say something but cuts himself off, glancing away.

Beck takes that as his cue to leave, locking the door behind him. Once outside, he quickly pulls up Herod’s projection again, just to double check.

Peter’s sitting right where Beck left him, absently scratching at his wrist splint. As Beck watches, he gives a barely noticeable sigh and picks up the sub sandwich he’d dropped. He looks like he’s fully lost his appetite, but he starts eating anyways, and he pointedly avoids looking at Herod or the projection of the news reports.

Beck closes the feed again, nodding to himself. Looks like everything’s settling down for now. All things considered, Peter’s taken this pretty well. He’s been logical enough to not try and escape, and been on his best behavior where Herod can see him.

But even the strongest wills break given time, and Beck can’t wait to watch.

[minaminokyoko]

Avengers Endgame: A (Late, Incredibly Long) Spoilertastic Review

Well, it’s done.

I did it. We did it. We all watched the original lineup of Avengers’ stories come to its end.

So what did I think?

It was phenomenal. A worthy ending to a more than worthy series of films and stories.

There are just so many things to go over and so many points to hit that I have to warn you this review is likely going to be just as long as Endgame’s running time, so strap in.

Overall Grade: A-

Naturally, spoilers below.

I’m taking a note from a friend of mine and have decided that due to the film’s epic length and its history, the best way to tackle my reactions is first per character, and then I can evaluate things like plot and story and action. Just a heads’ up. So here we go.

Tony

Christ. I…wow, where do I even start?

There’s just so much to talk about with this movie and the arc that Tony Stark has been fulfilling since his first film. I almost don’t know how I can even put into words what I feel for this character. Tony came to us as this swaggering, arrogant diva, and yet the first Iron Man breaks him down to his core character. Tony Stark is a man with everything and nothing. He has the looks, the intelligence, and the resources to have everything a person could want, and yet he has no family and no deep connections with others aside from Rhodey and Pepper when it all starts. The core of the MCU was very cleverly built around the theme of Tony’s heart, and that’s perhaps why so many of us are devastated to know his fate. We all saw it coming. There was sadly no other way Tony’s story would pan out if we wanted to stick to his full arc. Tony could not rest until he knew the universe would be safe, and he made sure it would be before he left us. His legacy is incredible. It’s so…hell, to use a bad pun, heartwarming.

I guess the best thing to do in order for me to not just recap every amazing thing he’s done since Iron Man is to recap moments in Endgame for Tony that leapt out at me as exceptional:

-The intro with Tony playing paper football with Nebula. Stab me in the heart. That was so cute. It’s so very like Tony to try and keep her strong and keep her spirits up when they were literally staring death in the face. It was unexpectedly adorable, and even without us having seen the days they spent together, you could tell that Tony treated her in a mature-ish fashion and that’s why Nebula appeared to be affectionate, or at the very least, respectful towards him when she is usually very distant. You could tell they totally depended on each other and it was an important partnership. I was very, very touched when she scooped him up and put him in the seat when they were approaching their final day together. It’s such a powerful thing to see how far Tony has come, through the lens of Nebula showing such compassion for him even in such a short amount of time. I love how the Russos are so good at conveying thoughts and emotions and story without saying it outright. It’s an amazing skill in filmmaking.

-Tony’s arrival back to earth, and his confrontation with the Avengers. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. My fucking feelings, y’all. Christ. I mean, the Russos already know how to gut-punch you and then kick you when you’re down, but Tony’s complete and utter break down still hurts like a mother. It’s just so raw and emotional, and it should be that way after a loss on this kind of scale. What really tipped me over into choking down frustrated tears was that Tony just looks at Cap desperately when he stumbles off that ship and says in this broken voice, “I lost the kid.” He can’t even bear to say Peter Parker’s name. The shame and loss and guilt is too much for him to say his little Spider Son’s name. Oh, fuck you, Russo brothers.

And then the team being in utter shambles over losing to Thanos, all of them just barely holding it together, and then Tony just shatters. He’s home and he’s with family, but he can’t get over this kind of failure. What really tears it is him going after Steve so viciously, and it’s so complex. He’s angry at himself, and he chooses to direct that anger at Cap because we all know Tony took it as a personal loss, as all of them did, that he couldn’t stop Thanos even though he literally gave it everything. He gave every last bit, every last drop, of effort, and he couldn’t stop Thanos. It just hurts. And the resentment that was already between Cap and Tony after Civil War is still clearly there, so the entire scene is just like being dragged naked over broken glass. RDJ and Evans’ acting here is some of the best of the entire series in this scene. It sets the stage and reminds us of the stakes amazingly well.

-Tony’s post Snap life, and his interactions with his family. All of us Tony stans called it that Tony would be a phenomenal father. He’s already shown us that he can be the right amount of strict and caring, and everything with Morgan is exactly what I dreamt it would be. I could rewatch the scenes with Tony and Morgan a thousand times. People can shit on Tony all they want and I will never listen to them, because it’s so apparent how much and how deeply he cares in scenes like this. Where he confronts Pepper after he figures out the time heist equation. Years ago, Tony may have lied to her or made a decision without consulting her, but Tony has grown as a person and he approaches his wife with one of the most important things he will ever do in his life and he asks for her opinion before he does anything. It’s such a good comparison to how he used to be. Tony’s heart is so huge in this whole sequence. It’s such a good representation of his internal battle between doing what is right for everyone and doing what is right for him.

-Tony and Cap’s reconciliation. Oh, my heart. I love how Tony approaches it in such a Tony sort of way, forgiving Cap and agreeing to move past their resentment for what happened in Civil War. I like that it was done in a brisk sort of way, and that a lot of the power in the scene comes from RDJ and Evans’ facial expressions. Really, these two act off of each other so well that part of why we’re all crying so hard about this movie is the horrible knowledge that we don’t get to see them act opposite each other in this context. I pray they stay friends in real life, and I would love to see them reunited on screen someday. It’s such a great relationship and it’s at the core of why this is such a great film series.

-The New York heist. Oh God. I can’t wait for them to tell us if the comment about Cap’s ass was in the script or if it was an improvised line by RDJ or Paul Rudd. It is by far one of the funniest things ever to happen in the MCU. Dear God, I was howling. The best part is that during the premiere we were all laughing so hard that I missed Cap’s initial reply, which was, “No one’s asking you to look, Tony.” Christ, I can’t deal. I know it’s straight up Stony pandering but I don’t give a fuck, it was hilarious. And it’s a very meta joke since Chris Evans’ gorgeous, flawless body is a meme thanks to his Dorito proportions (if you haven’t seen that yet, oh god, please look it up) and the fact that he has an absolutely phenomenal ass, especially for a white guy from Boston. Anyway, Tony and Scott’s whole interaction was perfect, and I loved how the scene went and how it led into the next one.

-The army base heist. Tony running into his father was such a good twist. I absolutely did not see that coming, but it was a really welcome conversation to give Tony closure. He’s felt so guilty for how he left things with them, and it was so touching to see him get a second chance at it, even if Howard was none the wiser. I really hadn’t expected anything like that, but it worked well with Tony’s arc and I thought it was very sweet.

-Tony’s reaction to seeing his baby boy, his little Spider Son, running up to him. My God. This was everything. I am a hardcore supporter of the Iron Dad and Spider Son dynamic, and this was the reunion I so sorely needed after the sick, demented, painful scene that was the final moments in Infinity War. Like the rest of you, the level of trauma that hit me when Peter Parker died is just…hell, infinite. The pain was just infinite. I both love and hate Tom Holland and RDJ for doing that shit to us. I did not know I could cry that hard about a fictional character, but I openly wept to the point of sobbing when Peter Parker died in IW, and to see him back in this scene was so wonderful. In my second viewing, the audience actually clapped when Peter swung through the portal, and that was quite sweet for me to experience. But back to the point: once again, I have to simply compliment RDJ’s acting. This is why we love him so much. It’s not even about the big, loud moments. His acting is so precise that the flurry of emotional expressions that Tony went through when his tiny son helped him up and started excitedly babbling to him about being dead, of all things, and then Tony just doesn’t even interrupt him, he just walks forward and pulls that little boy into his arms and holds him tightly in a hug and it’s just…wow. This is some spectacular acting on both their parts, and it heals a really wounded part of my heart, even though the next scene I talk about just breaks it all over again. Plus, at the time I wrote this review, the Spider-Man: Far From Home full trailer just dropped and (SPOILER ALERT) the opening scene is Peter Parker and Happy mourning Tony and I just feel like someone hammered a stake into my chest. This scene is so fantastic. It’s just another reminder of how damn much Tony Stark cares about the people around him and that he has an actual family now, and that’s why the next scene is possibly the saddest one of all.

-Tony’s death. Like Loki’s untimely demise, I knew this was coming from years and years of being a writer. Based on the track for his character arc and because RDJ announced this is his final official performance as the character, I knew Tony was going to die. There was no way around it. His determination to save everyone and correct the wrong done to the universe by Thanos would drive him past his limits and cause him to sacrifice it all. It’s just…man. I wish it had ended differently for him. Anyone who follows me on Tumblr knows that I tag all Iron Man posts with “we stan Tony Stark in this house” and that is how I feel. While Tony is not my favorite Avenger, I will stand up for him all day, err day. Tony Stark is the epitome of the human spirit, and in a different way than Cap, if you ask me. Tony is all of the dark and seedy parts, but also the defiance and the self-deprecation and the obsession and the power of the human spirit. He has so many vices and yet so many virtues. He cares to a fault. He blames himself to a fault. He has come so far after that brutal conversation in Avengers when Cap accuses him of not being the man to lay down on the razor wire and let the other guy crawl over you. He made the ultimate sacrifice play. As much as I reject the idea, we all knew it had to be him. It had to be. Because at the end of the day, Tony’s need to make his family safe was more precious to him than his own life. He gave up a future with his loved ones to make sure Thanos could never hurt them again. And all of it was capped off with a line that will probably haunt me forever, of Pepper’s soft, forgiving goodbye, “You can rest.”

-Tony’s farewell message to his family. Want to know something crazy? I cried so hard at the premiere. So hard. I was almost dry heaving with how hard I cried at Tony’s funeral. But then I had a week of time and I saw it again this past Sunday. I was choked up during his death but I didn’t shed actual tears this time until “I love you 3000.” Somehow, it didn’t hit me until the second time how they filmed Tony’s goodbye to us. They shot it in such a way that as he leans down to turn off the recording, he’s actually looking at us. Not directly into the camera, but so close to it that it finally hit me that this was RDJ’s goodbye and thank you to the fans. It was so touching and sincere that I finally broke down and actually cried again. What truly hurts is knowing that his loved ones have to be without him, and even though his sacrifice means everything, he is going to leave behind such a void. Even with his problems and his flaws, Tony was a damn good man and he was the right choice to begin this epic series. I can’t express how much I am going to miss him and how much I am going to miss RDJ in this shared universe. He’s so charismatic and wonderful and complex. It was not only a comeback for Tony Stark, but a comeback for a very troubled man, and it’s come full circle that Tony had a loving family just as RDJ has a loving family after his checkered past. To be honest, I’m likely going to do as I did for Loki and have a cutoff point in my brain for the MCU, where I don’t accept what happened because it’s too painful. I just pretend that nothing happened after that hug with Peter Parker and they all won the day and no one died. That’s just how it’s gotta be for me to survive a post Endgame world.

Thank you, Tony. You gave everything. I love you now and always.

Thor

-Thor executing Thanos. Standing. Fucking. Ovation. Right, so, I know that Thor probably should not have outright killed Thanos before they had more information, but at the same time, there was nothing more to get out of that son of a bitch and I clapped when Thor swung Stormbreaker and lopped that mo’fo’s head clean off, and I flipped off Thanos’ corpse with both fingers. Good boy. He told you he’d kill you, and he killed you, you sorry bastard. A+++

-Thor’s depression and weight gain. Alright. *rolls up sleeves* Time to make some enemies. I think Fat!Thor is a great idea, but the execution could have been done better. I recognize writing tricks when I see them, and Fat!Thor seems to be two ideas in one, and one of them is what is bothering the semi-reasonable part of the fandom. What I’ll do is explain my take on both parts of the overall idea.

(1) Thor’s depression at his failure (at the time) to reverse the Snap and save everyone is 100% accurate, in character, and is damn good writing. Thor has never actually full-on failed at anything in his life. The closest he has come is between being cast out in the first Thor movie for being irrational and cruel, and in Ragnarok where he had to let Surtur destroy Asgard in order to save his people. Even then, Thor lost battles, not the overall war. Therefore, Thor does not understand how to process failure. Yes, he also failed to save his mother, but at the same time, it’s not a failure on this level. He lost Frigga, Loki, the Warriors Three, and Heimdall, but this was literally trillions of lives that he feels were weighed on his shoulders, and his shoulders alone, even though as Rocket pointed out, losing the war was the fault of a LOT of people, not just Thor (and not Starlord either, you bunch of whiny hypocrites in the fandom, ugh). So becoming an alcoholic and giving up on his life as a hero is definitely how Thor would handle things. Think about it. He no longer has any guidance from his family, or his best friend, since they died. All he has is his Avengers family and Valkyrie. I’m sure the Avengers tried to talk him out of it to no avail, and that’s a really sad thing to know, that they couldn’t get him out of his depression spiral, so they let him wallow in it. As for Valkyrie, she’s still just barely recovered from her own trauma, and I am sure she probably tried to snap him out of it too, but he was too stubborn to listen. What I like about this point for his character is that Thor is right—he has always been expected to be “worthy” and to be the savior. Thor is the big gun on the team alongside the Hulk. He has always been the bravest, the noblest, and the most powerful person on the team, and he is expected as a king to win the day every time. But he lost. And he can’t reconcile it since he has always triumphed in the end. So it’s very understandable for him to lose control and just want to have nothing to do with the hero business, because if you fail once, you can fail again, and he couldn’t bear the thought of failing again, not after it cost him literally everything.

(2) Fat!Thor was an easy source of cheap laughs to keep the mood from getting too dark considering the subject matter handled in this movie. I am of two minds about this issue. On the one hand, I can see why certain people feel that this is fat shaming. It is. But the problem stems from the fact that the fat shaming is still a large part of American culture, and people have not broken the bad habit yet, and so it gets shifted into the easy laughs category. The easy laughs are for the Average Joe viewer. It’s for people who aren’t as conscious of how it sounds to mock him for his weight gain who are just used to “ha ha, fat person jokes.” Some fans felt uncomfortable that he was the butt of a few jokes because a lot of us who suffer from depression know that this is in fact a side effect. When you’re depressed, it’s easy to stress eat and overeat, and you lean heavily towards comfort foods that cause you to gain weight, and your depression makes you tired, so you also don’t exercise and that’s how you can end up overweight. On the other hand, while I agree with these folks about not liking the fat jokes, I also think it was necessary to show a character we all admire falling into the same pitfalls that we as mere Midgardians deal with on a daily basis. I don’t like the jokes, but I do like Fat!Thor’s inclusion in this story because people need to realize what depression does to a person. It shouldn’t have been handled this way, but from a strictly observer perspective, I understand why they went for the low hanging fruit. People needed to laugh since Endgame has very, very dark elements to it. I would have preferred they approach his weight gain in a more dignified fashion, but not every part of this movie was written for me and I sadly have to accept it. That’s my feelings on it.

-Thor’s encounter with Frigga on Asgard. I. FREAKING. LOVE. THIS. I did not see it coming, and I love it with every fiber of my being. This is such a heartwarming scene. I want to rewatch it a thousand times. I love Frigga immediately knowing what’s up (she’s not stupid and of course she noticed and it’s everything to me) and I love that she can clearly see how distraught her beautiful son has become. I love Thor having a panic attack, because that’s extremely realistic after he’s gone so long not having done any hero work, per se, and having to face his previous failed relationship with Jane, and with facing the day his mother died again. It’s really compelling writing. Frigga’s gentle reassurance is exactly what he needed, and it’s exactly what we needed to see him go through. He had to let go of the expectations piled upon him and accept himself for who he is, not who he needs to be as a warrior king and an Avenger. While I do wish they had gone on to show us a little more of who he considers himself to be instead of who he is supposed to be, I am really excited to hear Chris Hemsworth is one of the Avengers who has chosen to stay past the end of Phase Three. He’s young and funny and vibrant and I think Thor is his best role of his career anyhow (no offense meant, Hems, if you ever read this, you handsome golden retriever, you). I think exploring Thor’s personal goals and future will be very interesting.

-Thor’s reaction to Natasha’s death. This is a very small moment, but I actually like it a lot. I like that Thor’s optimism here is a form of denial. I like it because there are certain Avengers who despite the 11 year saga have not interacted with each other much, and Thor and Nat are probably my leading example. When it hit him that they couldn’t use the time stone to bring her back, the loss and devastation on his face almost made up for the fact that Thor and Nat have almost no lines with each other in the film series. I like it because it hurts and because it shows that she does matter to him, even though they don’t interact. It’s a nice detail to include since I was often a little sad I never got to see these two have dialogues. I personally have even written a bit of fanfiction about what their relationship could have been like, and I think it could have been sort of brother-sisterly. It’s a shame we won’t get to see it, but I like that it is given attention here at last.

-Thor wanting to undo the Snap. Yes. This is a very good character beat for him. Again, I agree it’s annoying he ends up getting another fat joke thrown at him (nice work, Rhodey, sheesh, it’s not like the poor guy was traumatized or anything), I like that Tony talks him down. I like that Tony doesn’t think he can’t do it, he’s worried that Thor is in so much pain that he shouldn’t try to make such a rash decision that could cost him his life. Tony seemed dismissive, but I think he was trying to protect his friend more than anything else. I think Tony also knew that it would be rough if Thor either died or became permanently crippled by undoing the Snap. Being able to fight is extremely important to Thor, even with his depression, because Thor is essentially a space Viking. It shows that Tony is aware that Thor’s not just bumbling around as a chubby drunk, but he’s legitimately in pain and he needs to take things slower.

-Thor giving Valkyrie the throne. First off, I need to sling salt at the freaking part of the Thorkyrie fandom that is somehow complaining about this scene. Are you kidding me? What movie did you watch? This is the ultimate freaking Thorkyrie scene, you bunch of whiny nincompoops! Thor literally gave Valkyrie the throne because she is so smart, powerful, and kind that he trusted her to take care of the people he loves with all his heart. The amount of trust and respect that is in this scene makes me want to just squeal for hours. I can’t handle how affectionate and reverent Thor is as he gives Valkyrie the throne. I love the long gaze they share. I love the handshake. I love that Val asks when she’ll see him again. I love that Thor has faith in her and how she will lead his people. Anyone bitching that this is an anti-Thorkyrie scene did not see the same movie we did, and you can all piss off. I love this scene to my core. I love seeing Valkyrie being assured to be a relevant part of Thor’s story and that it likely means Tessa Thompson is going to join us again for either Thor 4 or Guardians of the Galaxy 3. I am a giant freaking fan of her character and I can’t scream “SIGN ME THE FUCK UP” loud enough for her to be in future films with him, and with the MCU in general. I hope she signed a three movie deal or more. That would be amazing. But anyway, my point is, this scene is fantastic and I will be rewinding it a lot when this movie gets to DVD. Nothing makes me happier than Thor shooting heart-eyes at Val, and he was shooting them so hard in this scene that he even took his sunglasses off. God bless this scene.

-Asgardians of the Galaxy. I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THIS BUT I LOVE IT WITH MY ENTIRE FUCKING SOUL YOU GUYS. Everything about Thor hanging out with the Guardians makes me so incredibly happy. I can’t wait for shenanigans. I would assume the plot of the next one is finding Gamora and bringing her home and re-teaching her about her family and falling in love with Quill again, but who knows what wackiness awaits us? I can’t deal with Thor being a little shit to Quill. I could see his Hemsworth peeking through, and I am here for it. Half the reason we all love Thor as much as we do is that Taika was one of the first people to suggest letting Hems be more like himself, and Chris Hemsworth is basically a giant, hilarious puppy, and it really made Thor more fun and likable. Don’t get me wrong—I loved my noble prince, but he was still a big golden retriever even when he was more Shakespearean and all they truly did was dial it up to be a bigger part of his personality.

Really, I like what Thor went through in Endgame and how it connects with lots of elements in previous movies. While parts could have been done better, I thought it was fantastic and it shook things up in a way that should be quite intriguing for his future appearances. Of everyone, Thor is the character I am most excited to learn about continuing to be in the MCU.

Natasha

-Natasha taking a leadership role in the Post Snap years, and her conversation with Steve. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a die-hard Captasha shipper, but more than that, I think the friendship and love (platonic or otherwise) between Nat and Steve is by far one of the best relationships in the Avengers saga. I love how it began, how it developed, and where it is when we watch this scene of them together. I love how soft and gentle Steve is with her, and yet he teases her in this subtle way that’s almost like a verbal hug. Steve is just so compassionate and conscious of her emotional needs, the same as how she has been with him. I think this is such a precious relationship and it’s vital to both of them that they have someone to confide in when times are hard. It’s possibly even more beautiful because they aren’t canonically together as a couple; they’re just two friends who have bonded and been partners ever since The Winter Soldier, and they without a doubt love each other. (Side note: and I am not alone in this because Chris Evans even ships it, and that makes me so very pleased.) I gobble up all Captasha scenes, honestly, because it’s so well written and it’s come a long way from the first time they met in Avengers. But to get a little more in depth, Nat’s brief breakdown about Clint is really something else. Seeing her struggle with the idea that the man she loves (again, platonically) has become a monster, and struggling with the idea that she should move on but she can’t because she’s lost her family, is really damn hard to watch, but it’s necessary. It’s a really good reflection of the level of loss and trauma and pain our poor Avengers have had to deal with since the Snap. It’s an excellent scene.

-Nat going after Clint to bring him home once they figure out that the time heist is at least possible. Ow. This is another scene that is a big kick in the nuts. “Don’t. Don’t give me hope.��� “I’m sorry I couldn’t give it to you sooner.” Bury me, this is such a good, quiet little scene for her. I really like their friendship and their bond. When Nat mentions family in the previous scene, this is what she’s talking about, and I love how Endgame might be the first film to openly acknowledge that the Avengers are family to each other. And what I like is that this series has earned that. Nothing makes me angrier than when people drop the F-bomb where it is NOT deserved. (*side eyes Suicide Squad and Deadpool 2*) The Avengers have fought and bled for each other, have supported each other, and have loved each other through hell and back, and they ARE a family. Bringing Clint home was a big deal to her, facing her fears of what he’s become, but seeing that he is still somewhat the man she knows and loves because he does return to the fold in the end.

-Natasha’s death. Hoo boy. Okay, so like Tony and Loki, I might just stick this in my Denial category. I was hit with a huge wave of “oh no, please no” when I found out Clint and Nat would be the ones going to retrieve the Soul Stone, because of course it had to be them. However, it was thematically the right choice for it to be Clint and Nat, since I personally think the only other combination it could have been was Steve and Tony or Steve and Nat in terms of “give up that which you love” that the Red Skull illuminated is the price for the stone. I think all the team members genuinely care for each other, but if I wanted to use the word love, yes, I’d say it comes down to members of the team who truly love one another, it’s Tony and Steve, Clint and Nat, and Nat and Steve. So I am in a very weird place about Nat’s death in this movie.

First off, I love how it was handled because it couldn’t have gone any other way. Of course both of them wanted to jump on this grenade for each other. Of course they both think they are the unworthy one who should die for the other person they love. Of course they fought over it.

Here's the thing, though: from a writing standpoint, it did need to be Natasha.

And before we go further, let’s address the elephant in the room fandom-wise: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, YOU MORONS, THIS IS NOT THE ‘STUFFED IN THE FRIDGE’ TROPE. God, I hate you sometimes, MCU fandom. I knew as soon as she sacrificed herself that all the fake feminists would run into the streets and climb onto their soapboxes and try to call the Fridge trope. Shut up. It’s not a Fridge.

For those not familiar with the trope, Stuffed in the Fridge is when a typically female character is unceremoniously killed off for usually one of two reasons (1) to cause a male character to angst (2) to further or advance a male agenda somehow.

Natasha’s sacrifice is neither of these things.

First off, it was her choice. Clint made it completely clear that he loves her and he did not want her to die for him. One of the primary problems with the Fridge trope is it robs the woman of her choice, and Nat is the one who decided that she would be the one to die for the Soul Stone. Calling this a Fridge is a blatant, insulting erasure of her motivation as a character.

Second off, Nat’s death is a sacrifice that wins a war. It’s not pointless, and it’s not just for angst, and it’s not just for a male character to get ahead in the story. She literally saves trillions of lives by trading her soul for the stone. Trillions. Yes, the team is devastated, but her death is not simply there to make you shed tears and nothing else. She saved them all. So don’t you dare try to pin this dumb trope on her, because it’s not accurate or correct.

Third off, this completes Natasha’s character arc. We’re introduced to the beginning of her arc in the iconic scene of The Avengers where she tricks Loki into revealing his scheme, but it turns out that while she does succeed, we find out what motivates her, and that Loki’s cruelty did affect her in the end. Clint was sent to kill her, but he shows compassion and instead recruits her. Clint gives her a second chance. And Nat, in sacrificing herself for the Soul Stone, gives Clint a second chance. It’s come full circle. One of my all-time favorite lines in this entire film series is hers, “I got red in my ledger; I’d like to wipe it out.” That. Is. A. Fucking. Great. Line. And this is the pay off and the completion of Nat’s character arc. She’s done horrible things and they have been chains on her soul and she felt that she needed to repay her debt in this way, and in a way that would save so many innocent lives. I will not have these people running around discounting that and acting like she is some victim. Natasha Romanov is not a fucking victim. Natasha Romanov died a hero. She is one of my favorite Avengers and I cried so hard at her loss, but I acknowledge that she did a brave, selfless thing for everyone she loved, and she will be remembered for that always.

Now. That being said…if you want to complain about a female character dying in a majority male story, yes, go right ahead. That is a legitimate complaint. It sucks that Nat died when most of the team is male. I will heartily concur with this criticism and offer no counterargument. It sucks. Period. I hate that she dies in the first act because I really love her fighting style and I wanted to see her kick more ass in the final battle because she’s amazing to watch. So yes, that’s a point I do take off from this movie.

In the end, I’m sort of straddling the fence for losing Nat, as I am with Tony, but I think a lot of people feel the same way. It is great writing, but the loss is so painful that I might not accept it totally.

Thank you for your bravery, Nat. Seriously, you’re one of my favorite female leads and you’ll be sorely missed. I can only hope the Black Widow movie helps me deal with the pain of losing you.

Steve

-Steve quietly taking all of Tony’s trauma-fueled ranting. This is so important. Chris Evans is so fantastic at acting in general, but all of his expressions as Tony lays into him are so underrated, man. He knows that Tony has reached a breaking point, and so he offers no vitriol in return. It’s a huge contrast to the scene in Civil War where the two of them argue. Steve is by no means a timid man. He recognizes that Tony is in such pain, as are all of them, and he just takes that rage because he knows it’s just how Tony chose to process everything because he can’t come to terms with it. We know he blames himself for being unable to stop Thanos, same as all of them do, and it’s such a testament to what a good man Steve is that he doesn’t fire back at Tony, and he is deeply concerned for him instead. Especially when Tony throws it back in his face that they’d lose together, and that’s what hurts the most during this scene. Tony was alone when he lost. Nebula was the only survivor, and she was a complete stranger to him until they repaired the Milano and tried to get back to civilization. I think Tony would still be angry and traumatized, but he’s always been able to look to his team members for ideas or comfort or just companionship in hard times. He nearly died, and that left a mark on him that ran so deep he just couldn’t stop spitting vitriol at possibly one of his closest friends, and it’s also important that they hadn’t spoken since the end of Civil War, so all of that anger and resentment is also tangled up inside them both. What a scene, man. What a scene.

-Steve mentoring people in the Post Snap years. This has a couple of really great things as a scene, honestly. First off, I love that even with Steve being heartbroken and refusing to move on, he still knows it is important to help others. Second off, I love that it’s almost implied that this is in honor of Sam Wilson, who did the same thing for soldiers who returned home from war struggling with PTSD. I really, really love Steve Rogers with all my heart for this scene. Even though he’s broken down and just as devastated as everyone else, he is still out there trying to help others. That is who he is at his core. Steve is the man who cannot stand by and let other people suffer. He won’t do it. It doesn’t matter what it costs him. He will defend and protect and nurture, always. By God, I love that about him.

-Steve’s quiet reconciliation with Tony. We discussed this above, but I love that Steve says so few words here and lets Tony do all the talking. There’s an almost silent “I’m sorry and I love you and I want you to be happy” in this scene together. Tony bringing back the shield just…my feelings…oh God, my feelings.

-Steve’s miniature speech before they head into the Quantum Realm. I love that even Rocket is impressed.

-Steve’s reaction to Nat’s death. Fuck. Me. Up. This hurt so badly. I can’t. I can’t with how Steve looks at Clint and Clint just looks back at him, and you can almost hear him telepathically saying, “Steve, we lost her.” Like I said before, Steve and Clint without a doubt love Natasha. Yes, Bruce does to some degree, but it’s not the same (sorry, y’all, I think BruceNat was trash and I will never accept it because it was forced and awkward and made no sense to me) as the deep vein of friendship and love she had with both men. It killed me when they were out on the dock and Steve was openly crying for her. We saw Steve crying in the trailer but we didn’t know this was the context. Oh, this hurts me. Steve loved her with all his heart. She was his best friend, same as Sam and Bucky were, and to lose her with no chance of ever getting her back is a terrible, terrible loss. Boy, this scene was rough to endure. I can only imagine how he must have felt having to let her go after he’s lost so many people he loved. Poor Steve.

-The entire New York heist. Oh God. I’m just in heaven over how Steve handled things, everything from the intentional recreation of the iconic elevator scene in The Winter Soldier to the insidious “Hail Hydra” (*makes strangulation hands in the direction of the Russo brothers because they KNOW most of the fandom hates Hydra Cap from the comics and so of course they put that in there just to screw with us*) to the smug smirk on Cap’s face as he walked away with scepter to Cap laying the beatdown on himself to Cap acknowledging his sweet, sweet, round, perfectly firm ass. (Seriously, Chris Evans, if you ever read this, marry me, we already met and hugged each other, we could make this work.) Yes. Special props to Cap vs. Cap’s interactions. It was just…everything.

-Steve wielding Mjolnir. Jesus. Fucking. Christ. So everyone’s already raved about this scene, but I don’t care, I have to rave about it too. Good gravy. Good God. This scene is everything. Honestly, it is easily one of the greatest things ever conceived not only by the MCU, but in action movies period. This can stand toe to toe with some of the best beatdowns in all of cinema. It’s just…where do you even start with how good this fucking scene is?! I mean, every second of it is just glorious. Whether it was the Russos or Evans or the script writers, whoever I need to thank, THANK YOU. Thank you for gift wrapping this total surprise. Every one of us was wounded that Cap didn’t easily lift Mjolnir in Age of Ultron, but at the same time, I loved the humor of that scene when Mjolnir did actually start to move and Thor totally panicked for a second. It was funny as hell. But for the Russos to fulfill our fantasy in a way that was not only a surprise, but just an absolute joy to watch, I can’t even express my fangirl tears. This scene is better than sex and chocolate and cocaine. It’s flawless. Everything about it is flawless, from Steve summoning the goddamn lightning to Thor’s gleeful “I KNEW IT!” I wish I could frame this scene on my wall in .gif form, and I apologize in advance to all my Tumblr followers, because the second this scene is giffed after the DVD release, I am going to reblog it three billion times. I will never stop reblogging it. This is the height of MCU perfection and it deserves to be known as such.

-Steve facing off with Thanos in his last stand, and actually holding his own. Dude. Steve Rogers is a human man, and he withstood Thanos. I just…I can’t with how awesome it is. He lost in the end, but he beat the shit out of Thanos for a good bit and I just have to give him all the props for that. He did the impossible and survived him. That’s amazing.

-Steve strapping on his broken shield and staring down Thanos and his army. This is peak Steve Rogers right here. “Yeah, you have thousands of soldiers. Yeah, you sheared my shield in half. Yeah, you beat me and my comrades. And I don’t give a single solitary fuck.” This is also an amazing echo to the moment in Infinity War where poor Wanda had to kill Vision, and Cap stood up to Thanos with his goddamn bare hands. Steve standing up after getting the shit kicked out of him is what he is all about. He doesn’t care that he is outnumbered. He doesn’t care that he is outgunned. He is Steve motherfucking Rogers and he is going to stand against evil period. This is top tier stuff, man.

-“Avengers Assemble.” Like everyone else, I jizzed in my pants. Full on. We all had a hunch that they would save it until the final Avengers film with the final appearances of the original team, and it was everything we dreamt it would be.

-Steve catching Stormbreaker as well and then trading it with Thor mid-battle. A tiny but hilariously awesome scene. I’m so glad they included it, and it was another little nod to Steve and Thor always having a small adorable friendship moment in each Avengers movie. Thanks for that, truly.

-Steve passing the mantle over to Sam Wilson. Holy shit. So a lot of us were relatively sure with Chris Evans confirming this as his last full appearance as Captain America that the mantle would go to either Bucky or Sam. My money was on Sam, simply for him still being new blood having entered at Phase 2 in the MCU, and because Sam is a lot more of a dynamic main lead that I think the MCU needs in the role. Anthony Mackie, as any hardcore MCU fans know, is a bundle of fun behind the scenes. He’s really hilarious and charismatic, and I think he’ll bring a lot to the role of the new Captain America. It’s such a touching scene as Steve hands him the shield. I really, really get choked up about how it was handled with such respect and trust and honest to God friendship. “How does it feel?” “Like it’s someone else’s.” “It isn’t.” Wow. What a beautiful scene. I’m a little misty as I type it out. And I do like that there was just this little nod from Bucky, who has been antagonistic to him pretty much all the time but here, he shows his support and it’s kind of just known that he will back Sam up no matter what. I cannot express how much I love this idea and its execution. It was perfect. (By the way, please look up the way Anthony Mackie found out about this before filming. It’s too cute.)

-Steve’s ending. Oh my God. Of possibly everyone on the team who I wanted to have a happy ending, I wanted Steve’s the hardest, even though I love Tony to death and beyond. Thank you, Russo brothers. Thank you for letting this man have his second chance at a life, and that he got to spend it with Peggy. I was already crying from the funeral, but the fact that they decided to end the saga with possibly the sweetest imagery in the MCU is just overwhelming. I loved their little slow dance. I love the tears of joy on Peggy’s cheeks. I love the softness in Steve’s expression as he dances with his lady love. I love the song choice. I love how he just looks down at her and she looks up at him and they kiss to close everything out and say goodbye to us all. What a scene. What an ending. I love it more than anything.

Thank you, Steve. Thank you for being our ray of light and sunshine and guidance all these years.

Nebula

I really did not expect to see an arc for Nebula, but I am delighted that we got it. This was very, very interesting considering what a sadistic murderess Nebula was in the previous films, so fueled by rage, and yet here we see that she is still powerful and effective and yet vulnerable. I enjoyed seeing her growth and getting some amount of closure with Thanos’ demise and saving Gamora as well as the rest of the universe.

Bruce

So here’s the thing: Bruce is probably my least favorite Avenger, next to Clint, but that’s not because anything is wrong with either character—I just find their personalities and abilities the least interesting. Therefore, I’ve heard complaints about Hulk not kicking ass in Infinity War and Endgame, and while they are valid points…I don’t care. I guess the thing is that Hulk has kicked ass in all his previous appearances, and I think it was nice of them to get back to the fact that Bruce is indeed a scientist and there is more to him than just crushing things. He is a very conscience driven character, and I was totally fine with him as a supporting member of the team, and of his brave decision to Un-Snap everyone back to life. I especially liked his sympathetic approach to bring Thor back home. “You helped me.” I fully admit that made my lip quiver, honestly, since Thor was obviously so traumatized and was in a lot of pain, and Bruce was gentle with him. That, to me, is just as important as all the bashing he could have done. Same with his impassioned plea with the Ancient One. Sorry that he didn’t kick ass in these last two movies, but honestly, I felt things were balanced and that it’s important to show he is more than the Hulk.

Clint

As mentioned above, Clint is my least favorite Avenger, but again, not because there is anything wrong with him or that he is written poorly—the others just outweigh him in what I like about them. I have to say opening the film with Clint losing his entire family with no knowledge of what was going on was almost as gut-stabbing as how Infinity War began and ended. It was somehow even more cruel since Clint would not have known what was going on until he called the Avengers. And yes, someone’s pointed out to me that it’s crazy he didn’t know about the war, but I have a headcanon that he just cut everyone off once he decided to retire, and he wouldn’t answer when they called so he wouldn’t be dragged into more shenanigans. I highly doubt the whole team just flat-out didn’t tell him what was going on. There’s a good chance Clint decided not to hear from the team again after Cap busted them out since he risked everything and almost got jailed for life after his decision.

All that being said, I did feel Clint’s loss very hard after Nat sacrificed herself. It was extremely well done on Jeremy Renner’s part and there was never a doubt that he loved her. Their bond has always been very cute and I never shipped them, so I wasn’t disappointed by the reveal of his secret family. I thought it was a nice touch and a surprising turn in the story. I’m glad he got to go home to his family in the end, and I especially liked the touching moment he shared with Wanda after Tony’s funeral.

Loki

Holy shit, y’all.

I did not expect this, and I love it more than anything in the world.

Right, so, I am sadly a fan of Loki’s ever since The Dark World, but at the very least, I am not a rabid fan of the character. He is an absolute fucking trashlord and I acknowledge it while still loving him anyway. I was positively giddy that they invited Tom Hiddleston back to shoot new scenes of Loki rather than simply using the old Avengers footage. And I definitely didn’t expect Tony, Cap, and Scott to screw up and Loki gets the Tesseract and vanishes. This is amazing. I can’t wait for the Loki mini-series on Disney Plus, and I assume this is what it’s going to be about. I’m really excited to see what kind of shit he gets himself into, and I loved the little bits we got of him mocking Cap even though they all just kicked his ass, and I loved him rolling his eyes in the background during the heist, and being the only one who knew something fishy was going on. Love, love, love it to pieces. Thank you for giving me more of my stupid trashlord, Endgame. You rock.

Scott

Oh, poor, poor Scott. Not only did he awaken to find his new family gone, but he lost five years of time with his daughter. Ouch. I really have to commend Paul Rudd for the reunion scene with his daughter. The shock and pain mixed in with the gratitude that she survived the Snap was so palpable. I’ve never really considered him much more than an easy going comedic actor, but he did a great job here. Kudos.

Gamora

I am really, really deeply hurt that this means our Gamora, the one we came to know and grow with, is truly gone. Like many fans, I had hoped she was somehow inside the Soul Stone and they could bust her out, but like Nat, it appears that we did truly lose her. I’m not okay. I feel so bad for Quill, who wooed her with so many great moments, and now he’s lost her again. He’ll have to try to make her fall in love with him again, and it hurts me because the sequence of events from the first two Guardians movies are how they fell in love, and it’ll be so much harder to make her understand what they meant to each other and what they had with one another as well as their little stitched together family. Damn it all. This might be one of the biggest underrated losses of all for me. Gamora is my favorite Guardian, period. I adore her, so I am both anticipating and dreading the third Guardians movie as a result.

Carol

Alright, I do have to admit one of my letdowns, even though it’s a total nitpick, is that the trailer gave us Thor and Carol, but the actual movie did not. Oh, why did you lift my hopes up this way?! I really wanted Thor and Carol to bond and have hilarious pissing contests about who is the strongest Avenger, and become battle buddies! However, this might be possible later since we know Hemsworth has agreed to at least one more film, if not more, so fingers crossed he and Carol share screentime. I adored that “I like this one” scene and Thor would play very well off of Carol if you ask me.

That being said, when Carol came back for the final fight…yassss bitch yassss fuck it up! When she came after Thanos, he was fuckin’ shook and I am here for it. I loved that failed headbutt. I want to frame that on a wall. Carol Danvers is not having any of your shit today, you purple Grape Ape punk ass bitch. She laid down the law, and it was glorious. 11/10 good shit of Carol whupping his ass and he had to suckerpunch her just to try to win.

And kudos for the utterly adorable interaction she had with my Spider Son, “H-Hi, I’m Peter Parker.” “Hey, Peter Parker. Got something for me?” *kisses fingertips* This could not have been cuter. Thank you so much, Carol.

Oh, and extra kudos for the Ladies of the MCU smackdown moment. My God. I loved every second of that assault. Please make that into a whole separate team someday and make a movie about it.

Wanda

Standing ovation for Wanda in every respect: her entrance, her powerful line (“I don’t even know who you are.” “You will.”), and the fact that she flat-out almost killed Thanos by her damn self. Wow, wow, wow, my girl. You brought the pain. I miss Vision too, honey, and I’m so sorry we can’t have him back. It’s so unfair that she’s lost her brother and her love within this story, but she still manages to keep going. Wanda is a testament to just how strong women truly are in spite of adversity.

Plot/Story

I know some fans didn’t want it to be as straight-forward as it appeared to be with them going back in time to grab the Stones and undo the Snap, but I was honestly fine with it. The story still managed to genuinely surprise me, especially with the development that the two Nebulas are what caused Thanos to find out what was going on. Holy shit, that was very creative and a great way to let her be a central character considering the trauma she has been through and overcome. I thought the pacing was excellent, and I will have to sit down and think it through but I don’t feel as if we had unnecessary scenes aside from the diner scene being a little longer than it needed to be. (You could have cut the photo op bit out and no one would miss it, for instance.) Like Infinity War, I felt that all the scenes had a use and showed us something, and the action was magnificent and creative. The Avengers pulling the entirety of the MCU together in the third act is some seriously iconic stuff that I really hope people will take into consideration as a legendary thing no one has ever really done before.

A friend of mine mentioned that you can neatly divide Endgame into three sections of story: build up, heist, and pay off. One of the best things about Endgame, to me, is the pay off. I love how many continuity nods we had and how many threads were tied off in a satisfying manner, from deeply emotional relationships to just sublime action sequences. We have so many films in this series that it’s hard to rank them, but I have to say I really would put Endgame in the top 10 for my preferences. It was a worthy ending to such an amazing set of films, and while I will miss the actors who won’t continue past Phase 3, I am incredibly grateful for their time and talents spent on this franchise. It is in its own category, honestly, with consistent quality in nearly every aspect it attempts. I think it was the perfect mix of solemn but affectionate goodbyes and bright, hopeful new beginnings. I am excited to see what is in store and what new ground we’re gonna break with the future stories.

So thanks for everything, Endgame. I’m glad to have had this era come to such a satisfying close.

See you in the funny papers.

Kyoko

[bruciewayne]

6 times Steve Rogers met the Avengers [1/7]

and the one time Bucky introduced them.

aka The Avengers finally meet Bucky's roommate.

(shrinkyclinks ~roommate~ au)

read on ao3

masterpost

shrinkyclinks roommate au

“You, are you ‘Nomad’?” someone asked Steve, male, vaguely angry, voice cutting through his music. He tugged out one of his earphones, his Ma didn’t raise an asshole, and looked up at - oh shit, that’s Tony Stark.

Steve did a quick double check of everything around and behind his table, and got up, moving in front of the table.

He would be intimidated by Tony Stark, the man was a superhero, a genius and a billionaire, but based on what Bucky had told him, Tony Stark seemed like the adult, father version of Peter Parker with a little bit of John Mulaney sprinkled in and Steve highly doubted that he would ever be able to take Peter seriously. Even if his brogues probably cost more than his rent.

“Can I help you?” He asked, more than a little confused, because, firstly, his Ma definitely didn’t raise an asshole and secondly, it was 8 am in the San Diego convention center, an hour before SDCC opened for the public, so what the literal fuck was a billionaire doing here? Unless the weed from last night was still in effect? Probably not.

“You’re an asshole.” Tony Stark replied, primly, crossing his arms and peering down at him over his sunglasses. Steve glared up at him, “What’d I ever do to you?” He mentally ran through everyone he may or may not have pissed off in the last week, it was only the first day of Comic Con, and it hadn’t even technically started yet, and he hadn’t disagreed with too many dudebros yet. Although he didn’t peg Tony Stark as a dudebro.

He pulled out his phone, tapped a couple things, and then shoved it under Steve’s nose.

youknowhoiam + nomad

youknowhoiam i would like to commission you for a 24x36” print of each of the avengers, $500k for each

read 22:34pm, 3 weeks ago

That was Tony Stark!?

Steve looked up at him for a couple seconds, long enough for him to question him. “Uh, you ok, kid?”

“That was you? I thought someone was playing a prank!” Steve said, slightly panicked, now not entirely sure that the weed actually left his system.

“Jesus kid,” Tony Stark said, rolling his eyes and grabbing Steve’s arm and basically frog-marching him out of the center, “we’re going to Starbucks and we’ll have a talk about this commission.”

Steve didn’t really have anything against the Avengers, hell, he was very much in love with one of them, and half a million dollars for each one… he was gay so he just barely passed high-school math class and they never trusted him with the finance stuff at the coffee shop where he worked part-time, but even he knew that that was a pretty, very good deal.

Getting dragged out of the center by a guy who was a lot stronger than he let on, he had a small something against.

“Stark! Stark! Let me go, I will go to Starbucks with you,” Steve said, straightening out his flannel shirt when he let him go.

“Oi Stark! You better not be harassing my boy Rogers,” Wade, the slightly strange security guy who may or may not actually be a security guy but some college guy but Steve stopped wondering a while ago, said, pretty much materializing out of thin air, just before they were about to leave the center.

“Wade go back to your boyfriend,” Steve said rolling his eyes, but he was smiling, which ruined any effect he was going for. Wade grinned down at him and ruffled his hair, “Aww babe, you’re right here,” he said, pressing a loud, obnoxious kiss to the top of his head, stumbling a little when Steve shoved him and grumbled that both of them were already taken, dickhead.

“Wade, stop flirting with my artist-” Tony started, putting on his ‘I’m Tony Stark’ voice.

“Would you rather I flirt with Spidey?” Wade said, smirking and then disappearing behind a plant when Tony just about lunged at him, running back into the center when he thought they couldn’t see him (he was in a bright red Spider-Man cosplay, it was the middle of July, in California, they could see him very well).

“He’s an ass,” Tony grumbled, walking quickly and ducking into Starbucks.

“Eh,” Steve said, shrugging, “you get used to it.”

They both got large americanos, Steve because he was at Comic Con and he was only human, Tony because it was his regular order, this was one of many for the both of them today, and Tony explained what he wanted and refused to pay him less than 100,000 dollars for each one (they worked it down to 90,000 dollars because Steve had no idea what he was going to do with 600,000 dollars (he had no idea what he was going to do with - give him a minute - 540,000 dollars)).

He left the Starbucks feeling… strange. Yeah, no, there was no other word for it.

He was used to leaving cons feeling less than a hundred percent, sometimes with a couple bruises, sometimes on a high, but he’s never started a con like this.

It’s going to be a long four days.

-

He loved Comic Con, he really did, all of them and all of it. So many dudebros had a huge Thing against movie/show panels and the actors because of the fangirls and because they thought that they ‘weren’t real geeks’ but Steve didn’t really mind, a lot of them were pretty nice and some of them even bought his clothes, but Tom Holland groupies were another species altogether, fucking hell, the man wasn’t that hot and all he’d done was a supporting role in The Flash but…

He loved Comic Con, but it exhausted him, he was falling asleep almost as soon as he sat on his hotel bed, despite the AC/DC that was surrounding him, shaking the wall-art, that he could practically see the sound waves of, but he’d promised Bucky that he’d call him at the end of the day, so he pulled out his phone, put it on charge, called him and put it on speaker so he could get ready for bed. Bucky picked up on the second ring.

“Hey baby,” Bucky said, warmly, a smile evident in his voice. Steve flopped into bed, leaning against the headboard, he mumbled, “Hey Buck, miss y’,” through a yawn, smiling when Bucky laughed. “I missed you too, baby, you tired?” he teased. “Nah,” Steve said, through another yawn, sliding down the headboard, slipping his eyes shut.

He fell asleep 0.2 seconds later.

[bloodpacks-archive]

Wildest Dreams

Word Count: 2.8k oops

Summary: Being Peter Parker’s love interest is one thing, but Tom Holland being a love interest for you in real life? That’s an entirely different situation. (Based on Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift)

Warnings: Fake blood in one of the scenes, cleaning of a fake wound, way too much pining, really bad writing, maybe one or two swear words? idk man it’s just bad

Note: Wow I finally posted after like ten years what do you know! Anyway, I edited this like 20 times and I’m still not super happy with it? But I did want to get it out to you guys so I hope you like it!

When you auditioned for a part in the second Spider-Man movie, you were convinced that you wouldn’t get it. However, it was only a month later when you got a callback, and only a few weeks after that did you find out that you had gotten the part.

Another thing you didn’t expect was falling absolutely head over heels for Spider-Man himself. The worst part? You were the love interest. The new girl in school who had brains and beauty, a little cliche if you were being honest. So you were meant to pretend to fall in love with Peter Parker, that was no big deal, right? That was true, but then Tom Holland had to be cute, funny, and smart. Not only that, but he was friendly and would hang out with you during breaks. So yeah, you were entirely awestruck.

Now, you were walking out of makeup and wardrobe, steadily making your way towards set. Today was a big scene. Spider-Man, beaten and broken, would have no where else to go when he was injured and find his way to your character, Annie’s, apartment. Annie would immediately freak out, not only because it was Spider-Man, but because there was a cut in his suit with blood dripping from it. The scene goes on, she fixes him up, and eventually she lifts up his mask just enough to kiss him.

So obviously, you were nervous. With every step towards the set, your heart would beat faster and faster. You took a few breaths before stepping into Annie’s room. Tom was quietly speaking with Harrison in a corner, his suit was on except for the mask and he had a coat on over it. It was absolutely freezing on set, so you didn’t find yourself blaming him for being bundled up. Harrison held two coffees in his hands, one presumably for Tom. As you got closer, you heard snippets of their conversation.

“Harrison, I’m not going to have a coffee before kissing someone. I think that’s just being rude,” Tom argued, his hands making grand gestures as he spoke. You walked over and propped an elbow on Harrison’s shoulder, laughing when Tom looked to you with begging eyes. “I mean c’mon, y/n. Do you really want to have to kiss me after I’ve had coffee?”

“I don’t really want to kiss you at all but, here we are,” You lied. You let a coy smile take over your face as Harrison just about fell over laughing, but he still managed to keep the coffees upright and safe from spilling. Tom scoffed at you and grabbed his coffee from Harrison’s hand. You then snatched it out of Tom’s hands. “Hey, I still have to kiss you either way, so coffee is out of the question.”

“Fine, fine. No coffee,” Tom said. You smiled at him and soon enough there was a call to get into places. You walked over and sat on your bed near the open window. A book was placed in your hand and a notebook to the side of you. As it was meant to be fairly late, you were dressed in a tank top and shorts with your hair up in a messy bun.

Once you got into place you heard “Action!” and immediately got yourself into character.

“Hello?” You heard a strained voice say, you jumped and turned towards the window. Your book was now braced like a weapon, ready to hit an intruder. “Hey, hey, it’s just me. Sorry,” Spider-Man said.

“Just you? You’re-“ You took a moment to look at him. He was holding his side and his suit looked dark and wet. “Oh my god, are you bleeding? Crap, let me just get some supplies okay?” You said your line and then walked out the door.

“Cut! Perfect, now let’s switch to y/n looking for a med kit in the bathroom okay? Places!” Jon called out. You got into the bathroom quickly. You took notice of the camera that was nearly right next to your face but shook it off, choosing to not think of the likely terrible angle. “Action!”

You started shuffling through every single cabinet and drawer there was, eventually finding one that contained what you were looking for. You pulled the white kit out of the drawer and opened it, looking to see if there was anything else you might need from the medical cabinet. When you decided that everything was in there, you practically ran out of the bathroom.

“Is everything okay up there, Annie?” You heard your ‘mom’ call.

“Uh, yeah! I just needed to grab something really quickly for an English project!” You yelled back. Jon didn’t stop this scene, he wanted to have it be more flowing, so he simply switched what cameras were filming.

You ran into your room, finding Spider-Man sitting on the floor with back against your bed. You kneeled down next to him, putting the med kit aside and opening it.

“Okay, this is going to hurt a bit, is that alright?” You asked. He nodded quickly, turning to give you better access to the wound. You put on the gloves provided and grabbed the solution that sat next to you. You carefully cleaned the wound before apply pressure with a newly gloved hand. Spider-Man hissed a bit as the solution hit the wound, you rubbed one of his arms with your hand, trying to do anything to comfort him.

You grabbed the bandages out of the kit and wrapped them around the wound, adding medical tape to make sure they stayed in place.

“Is that too tight?” You whispered, trying to make sure you covered the entire wound.

“No, no, that’s fine. Thank you,” He replied.

“It’s no problem, honestly,” You said. Spider-Man started to move to get up and you pushed him back down by his shoulders. “Hey, no. Stay here for just five minutes at the least, let me make sure you’ll be mostly okay. Then go home and fix yourself up, alright?” Spider-Man nodded and leaned back again. You leaned against your bed as well, lightly resting your head on his shoulder.

“So, how’d you get it?” You asked. He set his head upright and looked over at you before leaning it back against the bed again.

“Some jerk with a weird gun thing. I don’t know, but it hurt like hell,” He answered. You giggled and tossed the blood-soaked gloves into the trash next to you. In the corner of your eye you could see Harrison excitedly watching from behind the cameras. You brought yourself back into character and looked towards Spider-Man.

“Why’d you come here?” You questioned. He simply shrugged, not sure what answer to offer you that would satisfy you.

“The window was open, there was a pretty girl inside studying. I figured she’d be smart enough to know how to fix me up. Apparently, I was right,” He said. You knew it was only a line, but you found yourself blushing at it anyway. The thought of the man under the suit, Tom, calling you pretty? That was enough to nearly make you speechless. Unfortunately, Annie wasn’t the speechless type.

“So you think I’m pretty, huh?” You teased. Spider-Man laughed and looked at you.

“Yeah, definitely,” He whispered. You reached up to the base of his mask, feeling where the fabric separated. You hooked your thumb underneath it, slowly lifting the bottom of it up and over his mouth.

“You won’t let me take this all the way off, will you?” You stated flatly. Spider-Man laughed, and you definitely loved seeing the way his lips moved and the joy on his face that you couldn’t see with the mask on.

“Unfortunately so, beautiful,” He said.

“I guess this’ll have to do then,” You whispered, and you leaned in closer to him. You let your lips brush lightly before pulling away, then Spider-Man grabbed your waist and pulled you into him. You slowly ran your lips over his, and in that moment you were no longer Annie, and he was no longer Spider-Man or Peter Parker. No, this was you and Tom. Your thoughts and your heart raced and you were so sure that if this scene were to go on any longer you wouldn’t know who your character was.

It was then that Tom, no, Spider-Man pulled away.

“I’m afraid that I have to go, beautiful,” He said and with that, he got up and was out the window, forever gone in Annie’s mind.

“Cut! Perfect guys that was absolutely perfect! I don’t even think we have to try that one again! That was amazing guys. Okay, everyone! That’s a wrap for today!” Jon called throughout the set.

Later that night, you sat in your trailer, the television in front of you only being used as background noise as you scrolled through your phone. A knock sounded to your right, and you groaned at the thought of having to interact with anyone else today. You slowly got up and made your way to the door, opening it only to reveal Tom.

“Can we just hang out for a bit?” He asked. You fought the blush that threatened to creep up your neck and nodded, opening the door a little wider so he could come in. You fell back against the couch, Tom following you soon after.

“So, what’s up?” You questioned.

“I don’t know, it’s just that we’re coming down to the last few weeks of shooting and I’m a little sad I guess,” Tom explained. You gave him a sad look and reached over to rub his arm.

“Yeah, I get that. At least you know you’ll be in the next movie, though. I love this cast so much and I really don’t want to have to go,” You said solemnly. Tom nodded his head and gave you a weak smile. “Can you do me a favor?” You asked, suddenly breaking the comfortable silence.

“Yeah of course, anything,” He replied.

“Remember me. Even if it’s that one time we were both in sweatpants and sweatshirts and stuffing our faces with food. I know we’ll see each other again, but just say you won’t forget about me later on in life?”

“I won’t ever forget you, I promise,” Tom answered. This was a promise that you both kept. You texted almost everyday, tweeted at each other, even sent each other posts that you found funny on instagram. You were content with how it was, but every now and then there was a nagging at the back of your head about that kiss.

Soon enough though, the premiere was here. You and Tom were both ecstatic, constantly texting each other and freaking out over how excited you were.

Currently, you had stylists and makeup artists scrambling around you, trying to make sure that every single detail was perfect tonight. You had to have the most beautiful dress, makeup, and hair tonight. You were ready to stun the crowd with your first big debut.

Eventually all of the stylists took a step back, admiring their work.

“You look stunning,” One of them said. You smiled at her and said a chorus of thank you’s to all of them. You walked into wardrobe and slipped on your dress. A flowy trail of yellow followed you as you walked, and you loved the way you looked tonight. So when the time came to step into the car and go on your way to the red carpet, you were ready.

The car pulled up and you stepped out, flashes of white clouded your vision the moment you opened the door. You stood up and took a look at your surroundings. Flashes continued to hit your vision, but you walked forward, not bothering to take mind to it. Eventually you saw Tom and he walked over to you.

“So, how’s your first big red carpet?” He asked as he stuck out his elbow for you to take hold of. You laughed and took hold the arm he had offered to you.

“Overwhelming,” You answered.

“Alright, okay, let’s go talk to some reporters and take some pictures alright? You always love to talk anyway,” He teased. You shot him a playful glare but followed his lead. You couldn’t help but notice how attractive he looked in the suit he wore tonight. His hair, now back to being long and curly, perfectly framed his face, and you were sure that his jawline had somehow managed to get sharper.

You two were now taking pictures, messing with each other in some and actually posing and looking nice in others. It was in the middle of a serious one when Tom leaned in and whispered in your ear.

“You look stunning tonight, by the way.”

“Well, I could say the same to you, Holland,” You whispered back. You noticed the blush scatter across his cheeks and smirked before heading off towards a reporter. There were a multitude of questions asking about your relationship with Tom. Every time, you had to tell them that you were just friends, but the flirty texts between the two of you argued otherwise, you really liked this guy. Of course both of you were oblivious to the flirting, so you kept being friends. You would silently wish that the crush would go away so you could just enjoy your friendship with him, but every now and then your mind would go back to the oh-so-perfect kiss you two had shared during the film and your heart would melt a bit.

So every time the reporter asked, you would respond with a laugh and an exclamation on how you were just friends, but every time you would also look over and gauge Tom’s reaction. Sometimes you saw a glisten of hurt in his eyes, but you simply put that off to your imagination and kept going through the interview.

It wasn’t long before you were inside the theatre. You sat next to Tom and his family that had decided to come while you had a few friends that you had invited. As you sat through the movie, you couldn’t help but notice your heart beginning to beat faster as you approached the one scene that you had been thinking about for months. At this point, you were only two scenes away, and you were almost terrified. You looked over to Tom to see that he was calm and collected, maybe he had forgotten about the scene, or maybe he just didn’t care. You weren’t quite sure. But soon enough you were watching yourself kiss Tom. You looked over again and he smiled at you before taking your hand and rubbing it with his thumb. He winked at you and your heart fluttered. You were thankful for the dark light in the theatre at that moment, because otherwise Tom would’ve seen how red your cheeks were. You turned back to the movie, and you watched the rest of it hand in hand with Tom.

It was as you were walking out of the theatre when Tom pulled you aside. He looked nervous and he fiddled with his hands before he spoke. Every now and then he would touch his hair or readjust his suit.

“Tom, what’s going on?” You asked. You placed a hand on his shoulder and your thumb rubbed soft circles into the skin by his neck.

“Okay, well, I guess I really knew this for a while but when I saw you today I just really realized it and I just think that you’re really amazing and beautiful and-“ You cut Tom off.

“Tom, take a breath and just go straight to the point, okay? What’s going on?” You asked calmly, you took a step closer to him and allowed your hand to fall down to his arm.

“I really, really, want to go on a date with you,” He said. You smiled at him.

“That’s all?” You teased. Tom nodded and placed his hands on your hips. “Then let’s go on a date, Holland,” You whispered and leaned in closer to him. You brushed your lips against his, teasing him just like you did in the scene. He pulled away and glared at you before bringing you right up next to him and letting your lips meet. His hands came up to cup your face and you wrapped your arms around his neck. You looked back to the kiss you had done as Annie and Peter Parker, and suddenly you realized that it wasn’t all that great. But now, it was you and Tom. And there were so many more of these to come, that you couldn’t help but feel like this was the best kiss in the entire world.

Tag list:

@tbholland this is bad but u said to tag u in stuff so here I am

[midtownvaledictorian]

Duty Calls

Being an intern on the Spider-Man: Homecoming set gets you into some interesting situations...

(2,250 words)

Warnings: mostly fluff with some smut at the end (oral-male receiving)

When you got an internship with Marvel after your second year of college, you thought life was perfect. You’d be working with real directors, real publicists, and even real actors. You had been majoring in film production, and after especially impressing one of your professors, he put in a good word for you with some friends of his at Marvel. Before you knew it, you were on a plane to Atlanta to help with the new Spider-Man: Homecoming movie. You thought you’d be in the action—reviewing film, setting up interviews, sitting in on meetings. Little did you know, intern was basically codeword for errand girl. Every morning you woke up at five so you could get all of the directors and leads their coffee before they arrived on set, then going back to grab the orders for all of the extras and crew. You were constantly running paperwork and messages back and forth, making phone call after phone call. The only cool part was letting the actors know that they were needed back on set when they were in their trailers. Typically you just knocked on their doors and gave a little “Mr./Miss Whoever, you’re needed on set.” Which was normally followed by a “be right out!” Sometimes they even added your name on the end. It wasn’t much, but it meant a lot that they cared enough to remember your name, and whenever they passed you on set they’d be sure to thank you for coffee or whatever else you had done for them that day. You could never figure out why people tried to demonize movie stars. Either all of them were amazing people, or you were on the nicest set ever. 

If you ever had free time, you would spend it with a boy named Harrison. He was best friends with Tom Holland, and tagged along on set all the time. You two got along really well, probably because you were the only two there who weren’t professionals. You never wanted to intrude on their little time together though, so whenever Tom came round when you and Harrison were hanging out, you made sure to come up with an excuse to leave them be. Tom and Harrison would always fake pout and beg you to stay around, but you would always reply “duty calls,” which would earn a “duty sucks,” from the boys. It was your little inside joke and you savored it. You had an inside joke with a movie star. “Y/N!” One of the directors called to you. You got together all of the papers you were working on and rushed over. “Listen, Laura’s feeling pretty sick. I think this heat wave has finally gotten to her. Anyways, I just sent Tom off to take twenty, can you let him know that we’re done for the day and that we’re starting an hour early tomorrow? Then you’re free to go, great work today.” “Yes sir, see you bright and early!” You made your way to Tom’s trailer, you could hear him listening to 90’s R&B inside. You knocked louder than usual to make sure he could hear you over the music. “Mr. Holland? John wanted me to let you know that-” You were cut off by him swinging the door open. “How many times have I told you to call me Tom?” He said with a raised eyebrow. “And how many times have I continued to call you Mr. Holland? I’m like the assistant to the assistant to the assistant to your assistant. I need to keep it professional,” you stated. “Anyway, Laura feels pretty sick so we’re all done for the day. We’re starting an hour early tomorrow to make up for lost time. Have a good night.” “Wait!” You spun around to see what was the matter. “Uhh, could you help me get out of this suit?” “Uh, yeah, of course.” He opened the door more to let you into his trailer, Shoop by Salt-N-Pepa was blaring over the speaker. He quickly went to his phone to turn it down, looking slightly embarrassed by his song choice. “I love Salt-N-Pepa,” you said. “No way!” He sounded like a teenager from Queens, he cleared his throat and tried again in a much deeper, English voice, “uh, no way.” You couldn’t help but laugh as a blush started to form on his cheeks. “Sorry, sometimes I just get a little stuck in Peter-mode.” You brushed off the situation so as to protect him from any more embarrassment. “R U Ready was the only song I danced to at my senior prom, I’m still amazed they played a song that good.” 
“I still don’t get the difference between homecoming and prom.” “Well,” you started to explain as you began undoing the back of his suit, “homecoming is like a cheaper version of prom, and everyone is allowed to go. Only upperclassmen can go to prom, unless you get asked by one. Plus homecoming is usually like a community thing, too. There’s a week full of activities to lead up to it, then a big assembly on Friday where all of the classes compete against each other, seniors always win. And then there’s the huge football game, one of the players will usually have an afterparty, and then the next day you dress up, fight a hangover, then go get more drunk.” You explained  as he shimmied out of the muscle suit, leaving himself in nothing but a little thong that the costume crew forced him to wear with the suit. You turned around quickly, seeing as you could practically see half of his dick under the tiny fabric. “Sorry! Sorry, uhh, I kinda forgot. Costume crew is just really used to it to be honest. I’m sorry.” Both of your cheeks were bright red. “No, no. You’re fine, I get it,” you laughed, trying to diffuse the situation. Luckily Tom quickly changed the subject back as he threw on a pair of nike joggers. “Did you ever get asked when you were younger?” “Yeah I went all four years actually.” “Doesn’t surprise me.”
“Why do you say that?” “Well because, you’re you.” You laughed at the pitiful response, “What’s that supposed to mean, Spidey?” “Oh come on, you’re smart and sweet.. and beautiful.” “Oh please, you’re only saying that because I never mess up your coffee order.” You said with a smirk. “No really, I mean it. Why do you always act so, cool around me? I mean, I’m not trying to say that I’m some big shot actor that every girl should swoon over. But, the makeup team always flirts with me and tries to talk to me off set. You almost seem to run away from me. Do you not like me?” “No! Tom, it’s nothing like that. It’s just, I know you get treated like that all the time, and I figured you didn’t like it much. So I didn’t want to be that person, I guess.” “I would like it if it was coming from you.” He looked at you sheepishly. “What?” He took a step towards you, putting a hand on your waist. “I would like it, if you tried flirting with me. I always try to with you but, you always seem to run away before I really have a chance.” He put a hand on your chin and lifted your face up, you were inches from his lips. Your heart was beating so fast. You wanted nothing more than to crash your lips into his, but wait. 
“Is this a test?” You asked, slightly stepping away. “Jesus, Y/N, stop thinking about the internship for one goddamn second, and think about the moment.’’ With that, he pressed his lips against yours. It was easily the best kiss of your life. It felt like you were in the movie. “That was so cheesy,” you laughed. He fake frowned at your remark before grabbing your hands and falling back onto the couch, bringing you down with him. You straddled his lap and continued to kiss him, running your hands through those perfect curls. You started kissing along his jawbone, working your way down to neck. You kissed more aggressively at the nape of his neck, surely leaving marks. Makeup crew is gonna be so pissed. Tom let out a deep, throaty moan, “You’ve already found my weakness,” he chuckled. You were confused at first, then you felt the bulge start growing underneath you. You raised an eyebrow, letting him know you were fully aware of his growing erection. “C’mon, there’s very thin fabric between us and you were kissing my neck. There’s really nothing-” You cut him off with a kiss, knowing he would defend himself forever. A moan escaped your lips as you began grinding on him. Noticing your parted lips, Tom took the bottom one in between his teeth, pulling gently. Wetness started to pool between your legs, “looks like you’ve found mine, too.” You said with a smirk. Every professional thought completely left your head as you began palming him through his thin sweatpants. Instinct took over, and you found yourself placing kisses down his stomach. Soon you were on your knees in front of him. Tom looked down at you, biting his lip with anticipation. He lifted himself off the couch a bit so that you could pull down his sweatpants. You forgot that he wasn’t wearing any underwear underneath, so when his dick finally sprung out, you were shocked. It was just so, big. You were just sitting there, mouthing gaping, staring at Tom Holland’s dick. “You don’t have to, if you’re not comfortable I completely understand we could just talk or-” “No! Believe me that’s not it, at all. I want to.” You smiled up at him before taking his length in your hands. You gave him a few pumps before taking the tip of your tongue and barely rubbing it across the base. His jaw was clenched and he was staring at you with a desperate look in his eyes. You couldn’t help but smirk at the power you had over him. “Please, Y/N,” he moaned. And with that, you licked his length, base to tip, before swirling your tongue around the head. You lapped up the faint pre-cum that dribbled from his tip. He groaned loudly before running his hand through your hair. You began taking his length, savoring the feeling of his hand in your hair as you bobbed up and down. You could hear him muttering little praises in between throaty moans. You could tell he was close, his breathing was shaky and getting caught in his throat and the grip on your hair was getting tighter. It was time for the big finale. You looked up at him and waited for his eyes to lock on yours. Once they did you took his entire length down your throat, which you’ll admit was quite challenging. “Oh, fuck Y/N,” he groaned as hot cum filled the back of your throat. You stood up, not really knowing what the appropriate next step was in this situation. Luckily, Tom decided for you. He grabbed your hand and pulled you back down to the couch and wrapped an arm around you as he wriggled his sweats back on. You had to admit, it felt nice to be snuggled up under Tom Holland’s arm. Your bliss was rudely interrupted by a knock at the door. Both of you stood up, wide-eyed. “Tom, you in there?” It was Harrison. “Fuck!” You whispered. You would never be taken seriously if anyone found out what happened. Tom led you into the bathroom and held a finger to his lips, telling you not to make a sound. You heard to door open from the bathroom, your heart was beating so fast. “What’s up, mate?” Tom asked cooly. “I’ve been waiting at the car forever man, didn’t Y/N come by and tell you that we were done for the day?” “Oh, yeah, I just uhh, got caught up. I’ll be right out, yeah?” “Sure, hey speaking of Y/N, do you know where she is? Her car is still here but I can’t find her anywhere.” “That’s weird man, I have no idea. I’ll call her. See you at the car in five?” “Yeah see you.” Tom closed the door and let out a relieved sigh. You came out from the bathroom, still nervous. But when you and Tom made eye contact, you couldn’t help but bust out laughing. “Oh, there you are! God, Harrison’s been looking all over for you? What were you doing in there?” He joked. “Paperwork,” you retorted. The two of you giggled more before Tom came over and placed his hands on your waist. “So how would you like coming over later? We could watch a movie, drink some beers, maybe I could return the favor.” He said with a raised eyebrow. “How could I say no to that?” “Perfect, does seven sound good? I’ll text you the address.” “Sounds great, Mr. Holland.” The two of you started towards the door before you stopped him. “Wait, we probably shouldn’t leave at the same time.” “See, I knew you were the smart one.” He gave you a quick peck before you made your way out of his trailer, secretly thanking your professor for putting in that good word with Marvel.