#MCU: forever salty

[xenocorner]

Oh

Oh no

I have fallen into a new hole

[skitskatdacat63]

Help I just finished watching the Winter Soldier, after seeing the gifs in your blog. Too many memories unlocked I want to cry 😭😭😭

YESSSSSSSS HAHAHA IM SO GLAD 🥳 (istg every time I spam reblog gifs of a movie I watched, someone either ends up rewatching it bcs of me or talks to me abt the movie, so I'm so glad!!!!! Please join me in brainrot and come talk to me about it thank you 🙏🙏 please. I am in hell thank you 🥰)

I need to actually rewatch the whole movie at some point instead of just hyperfixating on clips that make me feel like a feral dog(mostly the one fight scene, iykyk), but like you said, it's bound to just end up making me cry bcs of the memories 🥹🤧

But lol yeah every once in a while I find myself coming back around to it, and just being reminded of how good that movie is in all aspects. But rn im just so obsessed again w just Bucky in general(particularly tho him as the Winter Soldier 🫢) HE'S SO !!!!!!!!!!!!! Y'KNOW?????? F1 break is taking too long, so a week ago, I was like ah im gonna go back and reread some fics, and I've been extremely deep in brainrot ever since. Just thinking abt him all day, downloading pics, reading fic, etc. But like today finally reached the breaking point of: okay fine ill go look at gifs. Bcs ive been stalking pinterest too much and downloading random stuff, so I wanted it to actually be on my blog. But yes. Look at him. Look at my boy. I feel feral.

Why did they make him so pretty/hot, why would they do this to me. Why did they have him wear a muzzle, why won't it stop haunting my thoughts. The fucking leather outfit. Etc etc.

[crimsonscloud]

you know what. it's missing norton!bruce hours (again) and i got some headcanons to share this time. below the cut because we might be here a while.

general / misc headcanons:

based on norton's screenplay for the incredible hulk, this bruce's full name is david bruce banner. (this is also how i mentally differentiate between norton and ruffalo's portrayals; to me, norton!bruce is david, ruffalo!bruce is robert.)

his mother used to call him "davey" as an affectionate nickname when he was little.

frankenstein is one of his favorite books because his mother read it to him. (this one is canon to the ih novelization)

he adores dogs and adopts a puppy between the avengers and age of ultron. (i don't have a name for the puppy yet.)

he likes studio ghibli films and finds the animation style relaxing.

learned russian while getting one of his phds, like in the comics.

inspired by this panel from the "super spy banner" arc in the comics: he likes james bond. and yes, he absolutely takes the chance to say "the name is banner. bruce banner" when he's doing an infiltration mission (probably with natasha and/or clint) or something. he and natasha probably watch the films together since her solo film had her quoting along to moonraker.

bruce. is. a. martial. artist. the films forget this and i'm salty about it.

cooking is relaxing for him so he tends to make a lot of food, and he knows a lot of dishes from different cultures because of how much he's traveled. no one on the team complains.

bruce's powers:

glowing eyes <3

inspired by the john turman hulk script, electricity behaves weird around bruce when he gets emotional. he has made lightbulbs and other things explode if he's standing too close to them. he learns how to isolate the effect once he understands more about his relationship with hulk. tony helps by giving him things he doesn't mind getting exploded, and for bruce it also works kind of like a trauma release. he can still accidentally blow something up if he gets distracted / agitated, but it happens less.

the electrical-interference power also manifests as him being able to hear electrical currents. different things have slightly different sounds / pitches and tony always asks him to describe them.

still has a pretty good healing factor as bruce, it's just slower. (in a ih deleted scene sparr says she's never seen someone recover from a tranquilizer as fast as he does). also can't get drunk, but he's never tested that for obvious reasons.

in the novel he's able to dodge a tranq dart "aimed and fired in one motion" so he probably also has faster reflexes.

immune to mind control as bruce and as hulk. both are pissed at wanda for trying it.

based on a scene in the immortal hulk comics, bruce uses automatic writing and drawing to communicate with hulk when hulk isn't out.

can see astral forms. they're clearer and even tangible when hulk is in control, but bruce can also see them.

also inspired by immortal hulk, he has a weird sixth sense for when people are lying to him. as bruce the "itch" he gets can be ignored most of the time, as hulk not so much.

relationship / dynamic headcanons:

no brutasha romance to be seen here they are friends 😌 (if that's your cup of tea that's fine it just isn't mine.)

stays. in. contact. with. betty. (i will forever fight the mcu over this. they are soulmates yall.)

steals tony's band shirts like a gremlin. also steals tony's snacks.

bruce🤝wanda: blurring the lines of science and mysticism. (later comics describe gamma radiation as having a mystical element, "like a magic spell... when viewed from another angle" which is the same reason bruce / hulk tend to have some extrasensory powers).

i just think we were robbed of a bruce and wanda friendship okay.

[lucianalight]

I was thinking about Thor and Loki the whole time watching Aquaman 2 and how the kind of brother bonding between Arthur and Orm was sth we could have had with Thor and Loki if some people hadn't go and ruined it all, aaaand then they had to mention Loki in the movie too :))

Yes I'm going to be forever salty about post tdw movies and shows and how mcu ruined sth as amazing, complicated and tragic as brodinsons, their bond and their og canon characterization. They had two brothers with a history far better and a connection deeper than what Arthur and Orm had, and they managed to fail so spectacularly at telling their story while DCEU used the material it had in the best way possible and succeed perfectly where MCU failed.

[freneticfloetry]

hi courtney 💜 N, U and X from the alphabet game please 🙏

N - Name three things you wish you saw more of in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

This isn’t specific to one, but it seems like most fandoms that have been big for me — The Magicians, Firefly, MCU and Netflix Marvelverse, now Lone Star (we’ll just ignore the Superlock of it all) — have diverse casts, but that diversity isn’t necessarily well-reflected in fanworks. I think part of it is certainly that there often isn’t a wealth of PoC writers and creators in fandom space, but there’s also the age-old fandom tendency to focus most of the fanwork efforts and energy on the prettiest white guys. I’m hoping that, as more canonically queer pairings actually include diverse characters, there will be more inclusivity where other characters are concerned as well.

So that’s one (big) thing. In Lone Star fandom specifically, I wish we had more magical realism! That’s probably a side effect of coming in from a fandom where magic is a main character, but I’d love to see some Soulmarks and daemons and fairy tale lore.

And third, selfishly… I kind of crave some good Grace/Judd/Tommy. Not just in a “that would be hot” way, but in a full-on “making a life together” way.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

I feel like I’ve recently exhausted a fair amount of words sort of explaining why a certain boy breaks my heart and is my absolute favorite, so we’re going to pivot a bit here.

Grace Ryder, 911: Lone Star: Grace was my very first Lone Star love, and I am still so enamored by her heart, her humor, her self-possession, and her generosity of spirit. I remember watching that space station call in 1x10 in real time, and being utterly blown away — yes, the call was tragic, but it was Grace’s wordless reactions that made it truly heartbreaking. The show has a lot of people that make up its beating heart, but she is right at the center. I remain floored that Sierra is the youngest of the cast, when she’s given Grace such boundless wisdom (without it ever going Magical Negro).

Claire Temple, Netflix Marvelverse: Claire is the very definition of capability, and I love that. She’s also passionate and principled and resourceful, selfless but not a doormat, and incredibly sure of and secure in who she is and what she wants. I think she was the most perfect link to tie together all the threads of this universe, and every time she popped up on a new show she made it better. I remain salty that the only place she didn’t venture was Punisher land, because I desperately wanted to see what she would’ve made of Frank Castle (who’s my other forever fave in this verse).

Margo Hanson, The Magicians: It would’ve been incredibly easy for Margo to be an entertaining Mean Girl and that’s it. Instead, she’s whip smart, incredibly adaptable, a talented magician, fucking hysterical, and utterly unapologetic about who she is and how she handles herself. I honestly think she’s one of the single most quotable characters in modern television history. Writing her is a both a joy and a terrifying adventure, but I am always here for her kind of layers. (We won’t talk about how the show completely assassinated her character to pair her up with the most basic bitch guy on the show for absolutely no reason.)

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

I love Soulmates a lot (like so, so much), but I’m picky about the pairings that get the soulmate treatment — for me, they have to have a certain dynamic. Fake Dating, on the other hand? Bulletproof. Give me two people who barely know each other (even better, two people who barely like each other), throw them into a situation where they have to pretend they’re in love, and have them catch all the feelings, and I will be putty in your hand.

Thanks, Lola! 😘

[intergalacticwanderer]

While part of me is forever going to be salty at what happened with Steve in Endgame (to the point that it's almost completely burned me out on seeing anything new in the MCU since), the recent screenshots/giftsets from what if and the upcoming 10th anniversary of CATWS have reminded that it's still possible to go back and enjoy what I liked from before. Sure, I might have to stop "early" and go back to fanfic at a certain point, but the rest is still there and won't be going away, and it's nice to be reminded why I liked it so much in the first place.

[rexxles]

Alone. Lonely. Forever.

Here's my first writing and fanfiction of the new year. (Also on AO3)

Fandom: MCU/Marvel

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Rating: General Audience

Word count: 791

The coldness swept through your body while you lay on the hard stone floor, rolled together to take up as little space as possible. Your hands were clenched into fists. Fingernails bore into your soft palms. Pain. Your breath came out in almost inaudible sobs. Everything inside of you hurt. You were alone. Again. And it hurt so bad. He just left you. In the darkness. Without another word, without listening to your explanation. He wasn’t the first to do so but that fact made it even more painful. Your lungs begged for oxygen but no matter how often you opened your mouth no air filled your lungs. You knew you had to calm down but the more you thought about this, the more difficult breathing became. Your chest hurt as if someone was sitting on top of you. Your heart felt as if it had literally sprung into a hundred pieces. Again, you gasped, but it was still not enough air to soothe the emptiness inside you. A whimper left your dry throat. You were alone. No one would come for you…

“Hey, it’s okay, darling. Just a bad dream”, a raspy voice pulled you away, out of the cold dark lonely hell. Strong arms cradled you against a broad chest. The salty taste of your tears covered your lips and you had to swallow hard. “Breathe for me, sweet girl!”

You turned your head up and met those familiar blue eyes. “Bucky”, your voice broke, and fresh tears were running down your cheeks.

“Shh, I’m here, doll.” But he wouldn’t stay. No one ever did. They all left as soon as they figured out you were different. They all were gone and left you alone. And he would too and then you’d be alone all over again. Even lonelier than before. Not suitable to be with anyone.

Bucky’s lips found your temples where he muttered promises. Promises he wouldn’t be able to keep. Promises he wouldn’t want to keep. They all changed their mind sooner rather than later and the only promise left would be that you were always going to be alone. Forever. No one would want such an abnormality like yourself. No one. Never.

“I’m here, my love. I’m with you.” His lips were caressing your cheeks, kissing the trails of tears away and his arms still held on to your trembling frame. He had to shift his body to pull you even closer to him. The white cat asleep at the end of his feet meowed in annoyance at the change of position. You could feel his chest raising and his steady heartbeat.

A cat? Your brain stopped working for a second not processing all information correctly before it seemed to reboot. The cat – your cat - Alpine – a kitten Bucky and you adopted two years ago, a year after you moved in together. He knew your secret. He knew everything. And he was still with you not showing the littlest interest in leaving. After all, he was still here. In bed. With you.

“Bucky”, you let out in a gasp, then breathed in, properly this time. Finally, your lungs sucked up the much-needed air.

“Yeah, I’m here”, he assured again. The pressure left your chest.

“Bucky”, you muttered again. You cupped his face, your eyes still focused on the blue of his. “Promise me you’ll never leave”, you begged. Your fingers trailed over the stubble on his chin.

He didn’t even have to think before he responded: “I promise, darling. I stay with you as long as you want me to!”

A small smile appeared on your lips as you took his features in. The softness of his eyes. The way his lips curled up as soon as he saw you calm down. Those beautiful pink lips. Without any hesitation, one of your hands snuck around his neck and pulled him down. Your lips collided, softly at first relishing in the touch and closeness. You needed him. And more. You needed more of him. When you pulled his hair, a moan escaped Bucky’s throat and the atmosphere changed immediately. The kiss got messier. Teeth collided. Closer. You needed him closer. As if he could read his mind, his hands left your body, and he braced them against the bed. In one fluid motion, he switched positions and ended up laying on top of you. His weight pushed you against the mattress, basically grounding you, making sure you knew he was there. You accepted that and took all he had to offer. All of him. Everything. Because you needed him. You wanted him. You didn’t want to lose him. Never, ever. And he needed you too. He wanted you too. He wanted to stay with you. Forever.

[cblgblog]

Wakanda Forever was amazingly good considering the crazy number of obstacles it had to overcome. Legit amazing, considering, and easily one of the best things Marvel has done in years.

That said, Ramonda deserved fucking better.

We did not need anymore tragedy and family loss in that movie. The entire thing is brimming with it before the Marvel logo even finishes rolling.

“Oh, but Shuri needed to be galvanized to take the mantle.”

There were other ways to do that. We’ve seen the mother figure die unneccessarily so many fucking times in the MCU alone. Frigga basically had the same death scene, Aunt May got iced just when they were starting to give her some characterization. I guess at least it’s for womanpain and not manpain now…but that really doesn’t make it any better.

Angela was so, so good. She deserves all the praise and awards. But we’re never gonna get to enjoy her performance again, and that’s stupid. Ryan somehow pulled a fantastic movie out of an incredibly unfair situation. He’s obviously capable. He should’ve, could’ve been smarter than the tired, lazy, dead parent cliche. If Shuri really needs Ramanda as a galvanizing force? Have Namor kidnap her instead so Shuri has to go after her. Have her be incapacitated like ‘Challa was after the first Kilmonger fight. Have her clinging to life like he was, so Shuri has to save her mom, the way she couldn’t save her brother.

She could’ve served the same purpose of pushing Shuri forward without dying, and I’ll always be salty about it because the rest of the movie proves Coogler can work magic. He just, didn’t here. And it mars an otherwise fantastic movie.

[agl03]

In all the talk of returns and reboots...

Just wanted to dust off the old meta skills and dive into the talk of seeing some of the AOS Characters possibly returning to one of the many upcoming MCU projects.  

@eclecticmuses​ let me know that there was a little hub bub on the Twitters about Iain’s response when asked if he would reprise his role, and he said likely no.

This is absolutely no surprise, Iain indicated awhile ago he was happy with how Fitz’s arc had all played out.  And as seen in the quote above and from other interviews we know he and Elizabeth loved their hard fought for Happily Ever After.  I’ve watched a lot of TV and that kind of perfect ending is so rare...and it still came with a price.  They lost Enoch and Deke (though I die on the hill Deke finds his way home).

How many times have i said over the years that we and Fitzsimons have to “Pay” for those big moments with some sort of terrible awful thing and/or separation:

You’re more than that - Fitz TBI and a freaking whole season of miserable angst that was saved by a hand hold, sandwich, and Maybe There Is.

Date - Jemma eaten by Harold the Evil Space Rock

First Kiss - In the aftermath and angst of Space Rando (forever salty)

Got Together - Fandom lived multiple episodes in terror one of them would be the fallen agent

Happy Couple - Hidden Secrets, trip to the hell dimension, LMD’s and freaking Self Control

Teasing FItz’s Backstory Finally - We got Alistair (would have paid good money for Dadcliffe)

Fitz is thinking of Marriage - Hello Framework Hades

Fitz is rescued - There is only room in my heart for her, pod hugs, then Harold the Evil Space Rock Part 2, Back to the Future!

First Proposal - Jemma Doesn’t Hear

Actually Engaged - Nearly separated again

Married - Guestures at 5.14 - 5.22 

Trying to find each other - Half oa season of near misses

Home again - Chronicoms are a coming and basically everyone died.

And this brings me back to what was a sore spot in Season 7 for some.  In the whole lack of Fitz. As much as I missed having Fitz and Iain for time travel fun times and would have loved some Fitzsimmons family bonding, I know how much there would have been a price to pay should he been there.  

Something absolutely awful would have happened in order to get us to the Alya (to this day love that that theory hit) and Perthshire reveal.  Jemma could have lost her memories for who knows how long,  Fitz could have been kidnapped and trapped in the mind prison again, Nathaniel could have used them against each other. Like I really don’t want to think what the writers could have gotten up too.

Iain noted that in his interview too.  He and Elizabeth rooted for FItzsimmons too, they didn’t like many of the same plot twists we didn’t.  Elizabeth was not a fan of Space Rando and Iain didn’t like playing the Doctor are two notable ones.  

Coming back to them now, there would have to be something terrible to get them out of their life in Perthshire and away from Alya.  And I honestly agree I don’t think we’d get lucky again.  We ALMOST didn’t get what we had.  It all nearly ended with Maurader Fitz dead and us just knowing Jemma was going to find him.  No Season 6, no besties Enoch/Fitz, No Inescapable, no we had time, and not awesome Season 7.

Yes, there are many other timelines and arcs they could pull characters from.  I’ve addressed that if we see Daisy/Quake or any of the AOS team again it will be a rebooted version of the character.  One with a backstory that fits the show/story they are in.  

That is the beauty of how AOS spun themselves off from the MCU, it allows for this and protects our HEA and the characters we know an love.  This opens the door should someone want to reprise a role in a new way but also for a recasting should they not.  My two cents is if they need a science duo for whatever is coming up new characters are more likely as to not step on the iconic path that Fitzsimmons already walked.  If they REALLY want some sort of FItzsimmons connection....we’ve got Deke just chilling out there in the blown up timeline that is an option.

Fully realize this could fall into an unpopular opinion for some but I hope it helps others feel better.  I love that Iain and Elizabeth have that loyalty to each other, their characters, and their fans.  I’m ready to defend that HEA with as much verocity as I did my Die on the Hill theories and ask box explosions. 

Also felt really good to meta again.

[oceangirl24]

Also...

16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)?

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

31. What’s your ideal fic length to write?

32. What’s your ideal fic length to read?

(I'm eventually going to get the answer to all of these 😉)

Yay! More questions. Thank you!

16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)?

This is really easy. I'm reading several right now.

No Strings Attached by @mrsmungus I stopped watching NCIS when Ziva was gone. I was so sick of showrunners/networks taking my favorites away (still salty about Mr. Turner!) so I walked away and didn't look back until I read the wedding scene in Tangled. Miranda plunged me right back into NCIS and Tiva and even made me like then love Tony.

Aftermath by MantaI305ApollosChariot. This is a Wanda centric MCU fic. Call it an alternate timeline if you will, this story follows Wanda through the trauma the movies inflicted on her to bring her to a happy ending eventually. It's a WIP I really look forward to getting email updates on.

I'm going to just link @winterlovesong1 AO3 profile for this one. She has several gorgeous AUs about Shawn/Angela that I'm slowly working through. She also has a very interesting one centering on Shawn/Topanga. Now I'm team Corpanga and team Shawngela forever, but the way she writes these two makes me go, hmmm, maybe... just maybe.... I think I like them together.

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

So the adoption trope is a big one and there have been several instances when writing my flashbacks that I regret following canon and wished I had gone ahead with the adoption trope/AU for Shawn with Jon and Audrey. So, there is a strong possibility that when AiP is over, I will do just that.

31. What’s your ideal fic length to write?

Well, if AiP is anything to judge by the longer the better. lol For writing, I write what's necessary to tell the story. Sometimes, I wish I could write shorter works, but it's rare that I can tell a full story that way.

32. What’s your ideal fic length to read?

I honestly have no preference. If it's an engaging story with good character development, I'll read it. Whether it's a drabble or a 500K saga.

[wakandaiscoming]

https://www.malaymail.com/news/showbiz/2022/09/29/mexican-actor-tenoch-huerta-receives-introducing-credit-in-black-panther-wakanda-forever-first-in-mcu-history/30726

Tenoch Huerta will get unique billing in “Wakanda Forever.” The and “introducing” credit used to be used by major studios when they thought they were giving the world a new “star” in their first leading role—that this film would be a breakout performance. More recently it has only been used for child actors (with no previous credits), when singers make their first movie (Jennifer Hudson) or as a joke (introducing Julia Roberts in Oceans saga).

As Huerta does have previous acting credits, I hope this is being used in the old Hollywood sense and indicates that Marvel plans to turn him into a star. I would not object to a Namor film.

... and introducing the Namor Cinematic Universe?

(At the very least I hope it means he is getting paid extra. These billing things are negotiated by agents and managers. Often they represent some kind of heirachy within the actors. For example the actors billed as “with” in front of their name are getting “extra respect” even if they are not the lead actor. The Avengers films are usually “with” Samuel L. Jackson, for example. And I was salty when ENDGAME was “with" Chris Pratt.)

[thisisevenharderthannamingablog]

15yo will be finishing his Infinity Saga rewatch today. Thank goodness I will be working and can ignore all of Endgame (which I consider a joyless, bloated, slog of a film), but I did enjoy seeing some of Captain Marvel again (forever salty they killed Maria, that kind of thing is why I am no longer an MCU fan).

We have a lot of conversations lately about the nature of opinion and criticism and how to decide which of them are worth listening to. He's still working on not taking other people's opinion of things he likes personally.

[kitzuneplayz]

This is a call out/rant post for the MCU(Marvel Cinematic Universe.) I just rewatched Captain America: The Winter Soilder. And I just have to say. Endgame was absolute bullish!t. I will forever be salty about Endgame, but not for the reasons people tend to think. I’m pissed off at one Steven James Rogers. F u you punk ass b!tch. You think you get to just skip out on us like that!? Till the end of the line means until the end of the line. Bucky is so much more understanding then me. Man I wish my s/o would pull that on me. I will travel to the past and pull your scrawny ass back myself. You’re going to group therapy to process your issues in a healthy constructive way just like all the rest of us. As far as I’m concerned, everything that happened after Black Panther isn’t canon. It never happened. I live in a world where everyone is happy and no one died. Infinity War? What’s that? Wanda Vision? Doesn’t ring a bell. Multiverse of Madness? Who’s she never heard of her. Spider Man No Way Home? Lmao NEW PHONE WHO DISS-

[katatonicimpression]

Salty comics ask: 2,3,5,7, 11, 21, 38. If you feel like it. Character(s) of your choice.

2. What character death for the sake of drama was the worst?

Everett's is pretty bad. They announce that he's dead, then proceed to do an entire 4 issue arc that has nothing to do with him before even explaining what happened. Then, after the explainer, they barely mention him. And I think actually the fact that (similar to the Hellions), his resurrection on Krakoa hasn't featured any of that angst or drama because it's not the direction they want to go with Emma..

But yeah. Transparently done for the drama, to raise the stakes. And, much like with Thunderbird or Darwin in the First Class film, it's a tired racist trope.

3. Who is your most hated comics writer?

Gezza D.

Although, there's definitely overall worse writers out there. There are some attrocious comics that I've struggled through. But in general, I'm not one for going out of my way to look up who the writers and artists are for everything I look at. If I remember their name, I remember their name.

And I genuinely think it's not good to get too fixated on these figures, especially when you don't like their work. I've been hyper aware of how fucked up even the valid criticism can get, when it's relentless, large scale and directed at a single person.

So, I guess I'm saying that I hope Gerry doesn't have tumblr.

5. Who mischaracterized [x] the worst?

Monet? Cullen Bunn wrote Uncanny X-Men (2016) so fuck that guy I guess.

Bobby? Whoever had the idea to pair him up with Mystique.

7. What “throwaway” character could they have done more with?

Ooh, there's a lot of good answers to this.

I'll put forward Mel from that first Cap storyline with Nightshade. No reason why they couldn't bring that back and make more out of it, even if he's dead.

Mindmeld. Interestingly, the new character of Escapade is also a trans woman with similar conciousness transfering powers. But they're hardly similar outside of that; there's plenty of room. Bring back Mindmeld.

11. What’s the worst art you’ve seen?

I saw your post with the Greg Land examples. Seconded.

A lot of Liefeld options, obviously.

Sometimes it feels pretty mean to harp on art for not being so good. I get the "they're professionals, they got paid for this" argument, but whatever. Hell, sometimes I like it when the art looks kind of shitty because it gives me hope for my own lol.

But I will say that, for me, when it's that more realistic and hyper-smooth style that was big in the 2005-2015 era, that's when I have the least sympathy. There's so much technical competence on display and yet so often, really poor compositions of the panels and just a sub zero taste level. So yeah, Greg Land.

21. Who’s the most overhyped villain excluding the Joker?

Thanos was more entertaining in his early days when he was goofier.

I think it makes sense that the MCU used him as their first Big Bad, but I personally do not care about him or take him seriously as an existential threat in the slightest lol.

And specifically, I think the effort to rebrand him as a serious, universe destroying, massive big serious scary, manly man scary villain, makes him less fun. And because of the movies, they're going to keep him as the biggest of big bads forever now. Boo.

38. What character that was reduced to a love interest deserves so much better?

Honestly the phrase "reduced to a love interest" is not one I associate with good faith arguments (see: MCU Sharon hate), but there's something to it sometimes.

Most of the examples I can think of are temporary (e.g. Monet is a love interest in Weapon X-Force, Rachel is basically just a love interest in Captain Britain - The former was awful and the latter is... fine). It's not always an issue when it's temporary and done well, but is a problem if it's a rut the character gets stuck in when they're only "so-and-so's partner", or if they're really ooc or the writing is insulting etc... It also doesn't count if they were only ever conceived of as a love interest.

Weirdly, the only character I can think of that this has definitely happened to is Layla Miller, who hasn't been a character outside of Jamie's wife and a mother to their kid for like a decade.

I'm sure there are better examples, I'm just drawing a blank.

[indynerdgirl]

Tag 9 People You Want To Know Better

I was tagged by @anniesocsandgeneralstore. Thank you, my dear! 🥰

3 Ships: I literally have an entire armada of ships so it's basically impossible to pick just three. So here are the ones that I've been rereading my favorite fics for lately and that would be Ginny Baker/Mike Lawson (from Pitch AND YES I AM NOW AND FOREVER STILL SALTY ABOUT IT GETTING CANCELED), Darcy Lewis/Bucky Barnes, and Darcy Lewis/Steve Rodgers (look, Darcy is the MCU fandom bicycle, okay? I ship her with just about everyone in the MCU). (I figured it was kind of a given at this point that y'all already know about my brainrot that is my absolute love for Annie's OC, Ronnie Bradshaw & Jake Seresin in all of Annie's fantastic Top Gun: Maverick AUs, so that's why I didn't put them in that list. 😆)

1st Ever Ship: My first ever ship, before I even knew what shipping was, would have to be Laura Ingalls & Almanzo Wilder. I can't tell you how many times pre-teen & early teen me read These Happy Golden Years and wished for an Almanzo of my own. And my crush on Almanzo only grew as I read The First Four Years and later the Rose Wilder series of books about her & her parents (Laura & Almanzo) lives on their Rocky Ridge farm. My first ship once I knew what shipping was, would probably be Ron/Hermonie. I remember wanting Ron & Hermonie to get together in the books pretty quickly, but it really wasn't until HBP that I entertained the thought of Harry/Ginny (I remember being actually pretty bummed for Harry when Cho turned him down for the Yule Ball in GoF).

Last Song: Faeries by Mannheim Steamroller

Last Movie: New In Town - it's one of those movies that I will watch anytime. I can quote along with it and no matter how many times I've seen it, it never fails to make me laugh.

Currently Reading: I'm technically currently listening to the audiobook for The Women With Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II by Katherin Sharp Landdeck. But it's probably been at least a month if not longer since I've listened to a chapter. I blame the copious amounts of fanfiction that I've been consuming lately. 😆 If we're talking fanfiction, I just started rereading Flyboy by @kryptonitejelly and rereading Sugar and Spice by @wombtotombx , along with my annual reread of @themonkeycabal 's Run Verse.

Currently Watching: The newest season of The Crown. I'm only a few episodes in right now.

Currently Consuming: Water and gum.

Currently Craving: Food? Pizza. Sad honesty? A bone crushing hug. I've realized this year that I am extremely touched starved. It took me a few years to realize this because four years ago I was working at a child care center with infants and toddlers, so I got all of the hugs and cuddles I needed all day long from my babies & kiddos at work. But the rest of my family isn't as touchy-feely as I am so I'm always the one that has to initiate any hugs or getting my younger siblings to cuddle with me on the couch while we watch tv or movies. I have become more vocal this year with my family about needing & wanting hugs, but I'm still that one that has to initiate them and they're never as long or as crushing as I want them to be.

No pressure tags (and feel free to post your own answers if you didn't get tagged, I just picked the first nine people on my dash!): @kryptonitejelly @themonkeycabal @iguana-braces @purple-purple-pink-purple @quo-nunc @i-ate-victor-hugos-brain @iamfitzwilliamdarcy @the-catholic-geek @bartonbones

[apfelhalm]

ok but I want Tony Stark, I miss him

favorite thing about them: I love that he cares so much about his bots and AI :,D

least favorite thing about them: that he created Ultron in the MCU (which should have rightfully been Hank Pym's mistake and I'll forever be salty about it)

favorite line: (comics quote) "It wasn't worth it." :)))))

brOTP: Pepper and/or Rhodey

OTP: SUPERHUSBANDS. always and forever

nOTP: dunno, I could probably read any ship with him as long as it's written convincingly? maybe not Natasha, they're more friends to me than actual ship material

random headcanon: Tony and JARVIS share the same birthday because Tony started programming him on his birthday when he was lonely (yes, that's from one of my fics)

unpopular opinion: I think Tony's death in Endgame was fine, I think there was no other plausible way to write him out of the MCU (and it's better than what they did with Cap)

song i associate with them: Icarus by Bastille

favorite picture of them: