#anyway i do love the valkyries and i love a badass lady

[silvreflames]

valkyrie leader nesta is very cool and all, but i really have to remind you that nesta doesn’t and never did want to be a warrior. she was forced to become one.

[gwyns]

"Something in his chest sparked at that."

(Ruhn and Lidia)

"Something sparked in Azriel's chest.'"

(Gwyn and Azriel)

I can't believe readers read this part and go "Gwyn is a lightsinger! She can't be Azriel's mate because the bond between her and Lucien is fake. Azriel is Elain's true mate."

I swear they change their theories every year. First, they wanted to read a book that is not about mates. A book about a chosen love. Then they come out with theories that the Cauldron was wrong because Azriel (my stupid boy) thought so.

Then they said Elain belongs to the Night Court but I saw a theory she will be a High Lady of the Dusk Court with Azriel by her side.

Before HOFAS they claimed Elain will play a big role in the book (she didn't btw). Now there are theories she will be the future owner of Gwydion only to firt into Azriel's story with Truth Teller. (Gwynriels have theories about Gwyn and Gwydion that were made even before House of Sky and Breath, but yeah Elain will be the one who will get Gwydion.)

I also say a theories about Elain and Pegasuses. (Come on we know who loves them.) And apparently Elain will be connecting not with the Prison as they were screaming. Now she will go to Ramiel.

I'm done with them. Nothing is mathing.

they really are scrambling huh? after this many sjm books it's not hard to recognize the language she uses for mates. quinlar had a similar quote too in their hosab bonus chapter so things aren't looking good for the bread babies!

sometimes i forget that e/riel started as a ship for people who wanted a story with more "choice", it's been so long since i've seen them scream about that. all it is now is true mates and the cauldron was wrong/corrupted and blah blah blaahhhh. mates are sarah saying "hey! this couple is it!!" and unless she randomly changes her formula, mates are endgame, in every series and universe

it's so fascinating they claim she'll take the dusk land/prison when... nesta is connected to that? bryce even acknowledged this by giving her the starsword/gwyndion?? like i'm sorry but elain is not connected to that. and why should she be? she already has ties to day through her mate and suspected ties to spring since her sisters commented on how it was made for someone like her

oh yeah i remember the pre hofas theories about how e/riel would team up and save the universe!!! as if this wasn't still a crescent city novel and that would fall solely on bryce, hunt and their frat pack lol. honestly i'm not sure where i stand on the gwyndion theories, i do remember seeing some shortly after acosf's release but i'm unsure if i think nesta will keep it or eventually give it to gwyn. if it's the latter, that would be badass, having two mates have the dagger and sword

to be fair, helion does have the last remaining pegasuses in prythian and again, elain is connected to day through lucien so i can understand wanting elain with a pegasus, on that end anyway lol but it's true that, outside of helion, i associate them more with the valkyries. didn't the old valkyries ride them into battles? or am i misremembering? either way, give the valkyries their pretty winged horses please

RAMIEL??? ELAIN????? the same elain who is connected to the big baddie of the spinoffs? yeah, no way lol. ramiel/the illyrian conflict is a plot all on its own, meaning someone else will take care of it. anyone remember pre acosf when nessian were supposed to deal with the illyrians? and sjm instead chose to push that plot back?? huh i wonder why... it couldn't be because she decided to have az deal with it with his mate or anything...

although, i suppose this is what you have to do when you try so hard to make your ship work in the canon when it's been dead since 2021

[mermaidsirennikita]

Would you rank the IAD heroines?

I mean, I've only gotten to know four out of like... 17ish? Not sure, I know there are 2-3 novellas and like 16-17 full length books, but I believe one of those novellas is m/m (sadly it is far down the line because I reeeeeeeally wanna read it).

But thus far, I think my heroine ranking is pretty reflective of the hero rating, and how I'd rank their books. Sometimes I'll really enjoy a hero or heroine and their story is less than idea.

But anyway, on to the ladies.

Neomi Laress, ghost/phantom, Dark Needs at Night's Edge. I absolutely adore Neomi. She may be my favorite romance heroine EVER. Neomi sees a crazy virgin vampire and goes "I can break that pony in right". She does a striptease with the immortal line, "Still not stimulating enough? Maybe Conrad wants to see my panties instead?" in order to PROVE TO HERSELF THAT HE CAN SEE HER LMAO. But she's also soooo sex positive, genuinely. She loves sex, she has no shame about being a burlesque dancer in the past, she takes such joy in not only being pleased but pleasing, and she wants him to have a full life, which, for him, will include sex. So breaking him in is basically charity, except she falls in love. I also love that Neomi became a ghost, basically, because she was so fucking angry that her horrible ex killed her right when she bought her own house that she just wasn't able to leave this earth. I love her, I love her.

Mariketa the Awaited/Awakened, witch, Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night. Another forever girl, who I love almost as much as Neomi. A woman who got a college cheerleading scholarship and then dropped out of college. Has a hot pink bedroom with pom poms. Is also a witch of immense potential power. I knew I was gone for Mariketa after it was revealed that she brought a vibrator with her to the jungle while on a mystical quest for a time travel key thing, and I'm fairly certain that's when Bowen knew he was gone for Mariketa. When that moron called her the wrong name when he came and she dramatically left him a fuck you note in the mud and ran off to make a point before he stole her away to a private island? My GIRL. I love how blithe and fun Mariketa is. I love that her husband is her "beast familiar" and her parents know this, so her parents know she gets fucked doggy style in the dirt all night at least once a month. Good for Mariketa, I love all this for her.

Emmaline Troy, vampire/valkyrie hybrid, A Hunger Like No Other. A lot of people shit on Emma because she's so timid, but I actually find her to be really fun. Understandably, she's terrified when this giant wolf man takes off with her. She grows into her boldness, her new role as the werewolf queen--she fucking kills the vampire king, for fuck's sake (who is her father!!!). And as problematic as A Hunger Like No Other was... I enjoyed the old school romance style sexual awakening of Emma. It's not what I want taught to kids lmao, but it was a good story. Also, she summons lightning when she comes hard, and I think that's fun.

Kaderin the Coldhearted, valkyrie, No Rest for the Wicked. I like Kaderin a lot, but I don't know that I looove Kaderin. So many people do, I'm sure. She's a total badass. I love that she wears vampire fangs as trophies and then falls in love with one. I relate to her fear of emotional intimacy (maybe too much). I wish she'd been like... a little more accepting of Sebastian's love, but I get that this was the plot, so on, so on. I feel like Emma's rejection of Lachlain and Mariketa's rejection of Bowen felt more... authentic, though? Because Lachlain and Bowen were literal beasts, whereas Sebastian was honestly pretty accommodating. Even if he was a vampire.

[astaroth1357]

The MC is a Valkyrie

Demigod MC Series: Intro

Greek: Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena, Hades Pt. 2, Poseidon, Ares, Hestia, Nyx

Norse: Valkyrie

A bit of a change of pace this time! No worries, I'm not done with the Greeks or anything. I just had this idea and wanted to get it out. 

Valkyries aren't really demigods, but are a part of Norse myth as the minor divinities that help choose and deliver fallen warriors to Valhalla to join the ranks of the einherjar (the souls who will fight when Ragnarok comes). Valkyries are depicted as women who are fierce warriors in their own right. Despite their place as the gatekeepers of the Chosen, they've been said to sometimes take heroes and mortals as lovers or take residence in Midgard posing as daughters of royals/nobility. 

Lucifer 

At first, they thought they grabbed an heiress - which would have been bad enough - but then the MC grew wings, drew a spear, and asked who among them wanted a glorious death...

How hard is it to find ONE damn human on Earth? Isn't that realm supposed to be full of them??

Diavolo was thankfully able to talk their winged friend down from skewering Asmo and accepting the exchange on behalf of the human wo-… Midgard. 

Living with a Valkyrie is different for sure. The MC is a proud woman who takes her role very seriously and she's seemingly deemed him and his brothers as candidates for einherjar (despite being demons).

He's tried many, many times to explain to her that they're not interested, but she's unconvinced. Now the MC watches his brothers like a hawk waiting to cart one of them off to Valhalla! Any mortal wound could be an excuse...

He's had to save Beel and Satan twice from getting dragged to that infernal palace… For whatever reason, she seems to have taken to them the most. Is it old Norse culture to favor the brash and strong? He has no idea...

At the very least, she knows better than to try to drag him into her little plans. Though he's sure he could qualify for the einherjar (obviously, why wouldn't he?) he has no interest in leaving his life here behind.

To think he'd actually have to put surveillance on his own brothers for their safety… But they're not going to get drafted into some ancient Norse war, not if he can help it.

Mammon 

She’s an heiress… An heiress!!

Well, her human world identity is an heiress to a well-respected (and rather magical) rich family but that still technically counts! She’s crazy loaded back there! He’s in love!!

The only problem is that in the Devildom she doesn’t have a cent.

… and the fact that she keeps trying to get him killed. That’s also a problem.

In a way, things are not as bad and exactly as bad as that sounds. The MC apparently wants him to go to Valhalla (dope) but she can’t just take him there… He technically has to die in some kind of “vallent battle” first.

Her solution? Pick fights with nearly anything that moves and drag him into it!

Honestly, it’s pretty annoying… Sometimes he just wants to have a fun night out without getting into a barfight, you know??

At least the MC can handle herself… Hell, he was her "babysitter" but she barely even needed him. A lesser demon once made the bad idea of trying to cup her ass and lost a hand for his trouble…

Though, what this amounts to is the MC starting something then fighting alongside him like back-to-back badasses while looking for any excuse to scoop him up and fly him to Asgard!

Why does he put up with this? Well for starters human world rich is still rich, all he has to do is get himself a portal then he's living the high life! And secondly, well… what's the harm?

Sure, she technically wants him dead but he's the secondborn! The list of people who can take him down is so slim that it's not like he's in any danger. She even fights with him so things are a piece of cake!

Is this a case where he's 100% more forgiving because she's rich? Yes. Absolutely. But a golddigger's gotta eat somehow, right?

Leviathan 

Is it weird to be jealous over someone not wanting you to die...?

Okay, that's an oversimplification but Levi can’t help but feel snubbed that the MC doesn’t have any interest in taking him to Asgard. Like, none! And why not??

He’s strong! He’s tough! He’s part snake too! Don’t the Nords have a thing about that? Like, there’s a giant snake they’re all worried about?? Maybe he could communicate with it!

Logically, Levi knows that he really shouldn’t press her on this… MC is pretty much a Grim Reaper with a Norse coat of paint and Asgard doesn’t really sound like his speed. No anime, no video games, not even cable! It’s just eat, train, and drink all day… Ew.

But still… What makes him an odd one out? 

At best, she just knows he wouldn't be happy there. At worst, she's underestimating his skill… or maybe she's gauged him just right? He's always known he was weak!! 😫

Oh well... at least she's not a bore to be around. Far from it. She treats EVERYTHING like a life or death trial - he's pretty sure that if he challenged her to rock, paper, scissors she'd commend him for his bravery and swear on her sisters that she won't lose.

He once made the mistake of inviting her and Simeon for a game of Devil Party and they both got so into it that they nearly had a duel to the death as a tiebreaker… 

Thank Devil that the game had a pre-programmed minigame for that kind of thing… It would have gotten messy otherwise.

Well, even if his other brothers go to Asgard, he can just chill out here with Lucifer and Asmo… right…? Actually, no, that sounds horrible! MC, he changes his mind!! Take him too!!! 😭

Satan 

How many times does he have to say that he doesn’t want to go to Asgard?!?

Well, okay that’s not entirely true. Out of scientific curiosity, seeing the godly realm of the old Nords would be fascinating but he doesn’t want to stay, which the MC seems to have trouble understanding…

He’s not even sure why she's singled him out for einherjar status… Any one of his brothers are powerful beings in their own right and he’s not particularly, uh, “even-tempered” himself...

His best guess is she saw him wipe out a handful of lesser demons at some point and declared him Ragnarok material. He always ends up throwing around at least three of those idiots a week so checks out… 

If he's being honest, her very existence raises so many questions… Does this mean that Ragnarok is real? Will the human world be swallowed up by the sea? Will the gods of Asgard fight and die as a new world is established? When??

Unfortunately, the MC won't tell him when it all will come to pass (he suspects even she doesn't know) just that Loki will trigger it… Someone keep tabs on that guy.

Until then, he just has to put up with her attempts to convince him but his patience is wearing thin… He's pretty sure he threw a bookshelf at her once but she caught it anyway so yeah...

He did challenge her to a proper duel too but… well let's say she's a Valkyrie for a reason and leave it at that. (Being saved by Lucifer was so humiliating… He's done here, move on already!!)

Asmodeus

First things first, she's gorgeous. Beautiful! Divine! (Literally 🤭)

Now that that's out of the way… She may also have a screw or two loose.

Like, he gets it. She's a Valkyrie and snapping up strong souls is her thing but come on… Mammon? Really? Why would he get into Valhalla instead of him, huh??

Why can't he get to go to the beautiful afterlife of the old Norse with all their strapping warriors, lovely maidens, and endless partying?? It's not fair!!

Ugh… and now she's got him sounding like LEVI! How frustrating…

Well, it may not be that bad. According to MC, he'd have to do battle training in Valhalla and that wouldn't really agree with his beauty routine. Like dirt, sweat, blood, and muscles? No thanks! Not for him.

He asked MC if he could get some kind of pass, but no dice… Maybe he could still convince her to let him vacation there… Or go for a visit? Just one? Surely that couldn't be so bad right?? He's heard that Thor looks NOTHING like people think he does and he's so curious!!

The closest he's ever gotten was challenging the MC to a fashion contest for a visit, but he dropped that idea quick when she proposed that they somehow include a wrestling match in the dressing room (and he knows she didn't mean the fun kind...)

As much as he'd love to get skin-to-skin with MC, the idea of getting locked in a chokehold was less appealing for some reason. 🤔

Ah well, he'll just have to make due admiring her wonderful body clothed for the time being… There's something to be said about muscular ladies, no?

Beelzebub 

So she’s almost convinced him to join the einherjar like twice now…

He’s not the best at making decisions when he’s hungry and the MC keeps hyping up the food… Apparently it’s really good up there and MC says that she’s never seen an empty platter... Just thinking about it makes his stomach do backflips.

Thankfully for him, Lucifer usually steps in before Beel can sign his soul away and reminds him that he can’t just abandon the family for a meal, even if it is a feast.

You'd think he'd be annoyed but Beel isn't really bothered by her habit of trying to bring everyone to Asgard. At least not on a personal level.

Like Lucifer, he doesn't want to see his family broken up so he'd rather she wouldn't… But she's a Valkyrie right? It's what she does. It's not like she can help it.

In a weird way, he also thinks she means well. She just respects them and wants them to have a good afterlife. It would be kind of sweet if they didn't have to die for it first…

If he's being honest, he's not that worried about it anyway. His family is pretty tough, not a lot in the Devildom can take them down. As long as they're careful, everybody should be alright. 🙂

Maybe he could get MC to make some Valhallan food for them in the Devildom… Or he could get one of those immortality apples?? Though those would extend his life wouldn't they…? Oh well...

Belphegor 

Belphie's attempt to kill the MC went something like this:

Belphie: *switches to his demon form* "I can't believe you actually trusted me!"

MC: *blinks* "Oh. So you want to challenge me then?"

Belphie: "What?"

MC: "Ah, now I see! You want to fight to prove your valor then die by my hand??"

Belphie: "What are yo-??"

MC: *summons wings and golden spear* "I like your spunk, demon!! Fight me with all you have and perhaps I'll take you to Valhalla! May you join us in our fight as a brother!!"

Belphie: "What the hell are you talking about!?!"

To his credit, he put up a good fight and probably would have gotten into Asgard if Lucifer hadn't intervened to save his life.

It can be said that the MC's Valkyrie-hood took Belphie completely by surprise. Sure, he thought she was a little weird for a "human" but challenging him to a duel to the death? That came out of nowhere!

His uneasiness about her only grew after he found out that she's been literally trying to get Beel killed! How in the world were his brothers so relaxed about this?? She's insane!!

So say what you will about the MC, but she's managed to do the impossible. She got Lucifer and Belphie to make up and work together on something! (i.e. making sure she doesn't send them all to their deaths)

Between Lucifer monitoring his brothers and Belphie watching the MC, they'll keep everybody in the Devildom where they belong. That's a promise!

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Hello my dear, i love you and your works with my whole heart💜 I was going through the updated list and I LOVED 45!!! I can't wait for it!!! A suggestion for it if you may, I would love the Reaper to be Freya. (ifuckinloveher) Just think about it, she's the Guardian of Avalon and she and Merlin have a certain connection. Since Merlin's a big deal she can be his personal Reaper. You can combine this with 21. So one day she comes to save the day and Lance freaks out you can't take Merlin now fair lady we will die w/o his help and he'll be alone when he comes back NO! I love love this aye just thinking about it makes me so happy!!!

No pressure ofc I am sure I would love it however you write!! Take care of yourself xx

(Referencing #8 (there is a new list with new numbers) from This List)

Unfortunately I've already got a whole ass plan written out for this!! It is a kinda cool idea, but the reaper in my head is some sorta badass Valkyrie type scary lady, armour and war paint and weapons, though maybe I'll try to fit Freya in anyway, because I do love her.

Merlin will see Reaper in the distance and just sorta "oop. Y'all stay here, gotta talk to my friend." He speaks to her, and apparently a particularly horrible death is coming and she's here to take him early if she's able, to save him the suffering. In the end he tells the others that she's a local he knows, and she's tagging along to point them in the right direction. Arthur protests but just gets ignored, Lance is staring at her like "oh my god it looks like the creepy ghost lady you describes who takes your... oh shit it is her." and Gwaine tries to flirt but immediately gets shot down. Maybe the lads take the piss a bit? Because Merlin has a lady friend? But then they're distracted by some disaster in which Merlin fuckin dies and then she does something weird and magic and wanders off with... Merlin's soul?? All "It'll take his body a while to heal from this, and me and Freya want to catch-up with him anyway. I'll be back in a few hours." Lance gives her an awkward thumbs up and covers Merlin's body with a sheet and then just starts... setting camp up, desperately trying to ignore everyone's confusion and/or crying.

Merlin eventually wakes up, cue immortal/magic reveal.

~

WOOHOO!!

[mcustorm]

In Defense of a Black Cyclops

In case my username didn’t make it clear, the single most anticipated visual project for me is the MCU’s interpretation of the X-Men, which hasn’t even been announced yet [officially]. And ladies and gents, I have found your Cyclops:

Good ol’ Alfred Enoch, who we all know from Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder. If you’re not familiar with HTGAWM, know that his character goes from the de facto leader of the ragtag (murderers) and most cherished protege of Viola Davis’ Professor X to taking more of a grimdark turn after his girlfriend’s death. Sound at least somewhat familiar?

Enoch also embodies the physicality of the character well, seeing as to how he’s “slim”, 6′4(!!), black, and notoriously lanky. Wait, one of these isn’t like the others.

In general I hate fancasting. Everyone generally picks from the same pool of about 30 actors (Peeps, neither Taron nor Daniel is a good Wolverine choice. Argue with your mother!), and most all of it is based on physicality, except when it absolutely should be (like say, choosing a ~5′10 dark-skinned black woman for Storm).

And I think there’s some malarkey afoot. I think there needs to be some serious consideration on part of fancasters and actual casting agents alike to rethink race when it comes to the [white] X-Men, especially since they’re the X-Men of all teams. So I’ll make the case for a black Cyclops: 

1. There is no quota on Black X-Men: There’s a bug in your ear that’s been whispering lies to you for years, it says something to the effect of “We need a black person on the team for diversity. How bout Storm?” And you’ve gotten complacent. Storm does not have to be the only black person on your X-Men roster.

2. The X-Men represent diversity: Iceman is gay, Cyclops and Prof. X are disabled (sorta), there are plenty of women, oh and everybody except Storm is white. Of the A-List X-Men, there is only *one* POC character. I’d argue that an MCU X-Men needs to champion diversity like never before.

3. The X-Men represent minority struggle while being mostly white: There’s a cognitive dissonance in the metaphor that has always been there, and for the most part, nobody cares. To appeal to the white readers of the 60′s, the X-Men were all initially white. That way, the message of the mutants could be related to the audience with a familiar face. We don’t need to approach the problem that way in 202?

4. Just because that’s the way it’s always been, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be: The first line of defense. Sorry, that will never be a good justification for literally any idea. It’s time for some more critical thinking.

5. We don’t all want to be Bishop: So say you’re white and you have a kid who for his birthday having a costume party. You’ve bought some X-Men costumes and you want each kid to pick one. 9 white kids and one black kid show up to your house. As the kids deliberate who gets what costume, be it Cyke or Wolvie or whatever, you yell at everybody to “STOP!”, point to the one black kid and tell him “You’re gonna be Bishop. That’s it, end of story!” 

We don’t all want to be Bishop. The black child could have the best Cyclops interpretation within him, but you’ll never know if you don’t let him try. And that’s no different from the Black actors of Hollywood. There’s no reason why all of the black talent should *have* to compete for the role of Bishop or Storm, which I’ve discussed, while Joe Schmo can walk up and audition for literally anybody he wants.          

Jharrel Jerome is 23 and has an Emmy to his name. He needs to be in the MCU in some capacity, period. Stephan James is another. How bout Damson Idris. Ashton Sanders. But no, no, let’s fancast Dacre Montgomery or Ansel or Joe Keery again as [Human Torch, Wolverine, Iceman, Angel, I’ve literally seen it all.]

6. Nobody wants to see the B-team if it comes down to it. The next line of defense from your racebending naysayers after “That’s the way it’s always been!” is “Well, what about Psylocke, Bishop, Forge and Jubilee?” who are otherwise known as B-tier X-Men. The problem is, we’ve got limited time and limited spots.

So since the X-Men is all about wonky metaphors that make half sense, let me give you another: Let’s say somebody approaches you and says “Hey buddy, I got two free concert tickets for ya! You can either see Michael Jackson Sings the Blues, or you can go see Justin Timberlake. Free of charge!”

Now, are you used to MJ singing the blues? No! Do you have a problem with going to see Justin Timberlake? No, he’s fine on a Wednesday! He had that one little diddy we liked that one time. We’d love to see him eventually! But are you gonna say, “fuck that, I’m going to see MJ Sings the Blues” regardless? Hell yes, because that’s still Michael Jackson. He’s gonna give the same amazing performance he always does, it’s just gonna be the blues. And speaking of blues...

7. Black is not Blue, Brown is not Blue: Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard this one: “I don’t care if you’re black, white, purple, or green, I’m going to treat you all the same!” I will not say all have this intention, but some fancasters have noticed that the racial diversity is kinda low within the A-List X-Men, so they oh-so-generously give the following roles to a black or brown person: Iceman, Nightcrawler, Beast. 

Notice the pattern? It’s a microaggression, and it’s bullshit. What these fancasters are implicitly telling you is that, yes the actors will be black or brown, but when the action starts we can ignore that. They’ll be blue by then. In other words, you in fact do care if they’re purple or green. Nobody will cry foul if Dev Patel gets to play Nightcrawler (because that’s a common one I see), but should Anna Diop be Starfire or Michael B. Jordan be Human Torch, I bet there’d be backlash. Oh wait. If that’s you, please stop acting like you actually value diversity. You don’t want to see black or brown skin, period. Unless of course, it’s Storm (refer to point #1).

But wait, there’s more! When brown characters get whitewashed in these movies, it’s crickets! So eventually it’s revealed implicitly that proclaimers of point #4 only care about it one way.

8. Professor X should not be black if you’re not willing to change anyone else: The next line of defense is that some people say the professor should be black, if anybody HAS to be racebent. Something something MLK Jr., Civil Rights or some shit. Number one, I’m not reducing Professor X to being a magical negro for 9 white people (and Storm!) who for all intents and purposes get to have all the action. Number 2, the Professor X/MLK/Magneto/Malcolm X comparison is an oversimplifying disservice to ALL FOUR of those people. I hate that line whenever I see it, please watch a documentary my friends. 

9. The Candidates for Racebending: For me, the A-List X-Men are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde. Now, who should be exempt from the racebending? Storm, she’s our designated minority. Gambit, he’s Cajun and they’re white (generally speaking, that’s a fun bit of research). Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, because their nationality/ethnicity was the whole point of the Giant-Size premise in the first place. Angel, because his character embodies a privileged white male. Beast and Iceman, I don’t care one way or another (Point #7).

That leaves Cyclops, Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kitty Pryde. Now Jean Grey is a redhead, and we all know that every time a redhead is racebent people sharpen their pitchforks (Mary Jane, Wally West, Iris West), so I will cede the ground on Jean if only so that my ginger friends can get their rep. Kitty Pryde is Jewish, but Jews of color exist. Rogue is from the South. And Cyclops is, well, just Cyclops. That makes those three characters good options for more diversity. But allow me to make the case for Cyclops, specifically.

10. It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake: If you had to pick who the main character of the X-Men is supposed to be, most would say Cyclops. And so in a series that highlights racial discrimination in society, it makes sense that our main character be black. While changing Cyclops’ skin color should not change who he is as a character, it *should* recontextualize it. Now, as an eventual increasingly radical leader of the X-Men, Cyclops would evoke real life figures such as Colin Kaepernick or, shall I say, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Not that most X-Men fans and writers truly think about what it means to be black anyways. Storm’s minority status is almost always put through the lens of her being a mutant and not her being a black woman. In other words, you can’t argue that making a character black will fundamentally change his or her character when you haven’t even analyzed the racial context of the black character(s) you already have. Another concept that the MCU X-Men should tackle: intersectionality.

11. Representation matters: I have to say it: Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther hit different. And now he is tragically gone. At the end of the day, the MCU moving forward is down its most prominent black male superhero. Which has implications beyond just the movies themselves.

The women are in good hands. Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia are badasses in Wakanda, Valkyrie is ruling Asgard, Storm is almost assuredly on the way, RiRi Williams has already been cast, and Monica Rambeau is here and she’s not even at her most glorious yet. That doesn’t even include variable Δ, or the number of characters who can and will be racebent. And I’ll note again that to me, Gamora doesn’t count, because she’s green (#7 really pisses me off because it’s so blatant. I hate it). Of course from a behind the camera perspective we love black women getting work.

The men are a completely different story. Imma just go out and say it, I can’t stand Falcon and War Machine [in the MCU] because they’re not characters, they’re just two of a slew of MCU minority sidekicks who have essentially been at the beck and call of Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. You cannot tell Falcon’s story without mentioning Cap. The reverse is not true. There’s a whole essay that could be and have been written on “Minorities in the MCU, pre-Black Panther”. Remember, there’s a reason BP made so much noise in the first place.

So excluding those two we have, let’s see, M’Baku, Blade, and Fury who aren’t exactly the most superheroic superheroes, Eli Bradley is proooobably coming, I doubt Miles Morales is coming (because he’s just Peter Parker in the MCU), Luke Cage(?) Bishop(??), Sunspot(???), Blue Marvel(????). Not only are they not A-List, I would not put money on any of them being in the MCU any time soon.

Cyclops is thee Captain America of the X-Men. He’s the frontman. He’s the poster boy. He’s the “boy scout”, which in other words means he’s the hero, if there has to be one. It would mean a lot right now, and specifically *right now*, if he were to be black. The MCU needs it. It NEEDS it.

12. The X-Men is the Summers Story: I’ll even make the case that if just one character needs to racebent, then it should be Cyclops, because that of course implies that other related characters need to be black because half of the X-Men universe is in fact a part of the Summers family. 

So now Cable is black. Corsair is black. Havok is black. And one of the most central stories in the X-Men mythos, the Summers family drama, is now a black family drama set in space or the future or where the fuck ever. The concept is boundary pushing. When white families have drama in the media, it gets to be Game of Thrones or Star Wars, while when black families have drama in the media, it has to be black people arguing in a kitchen or living room about their various earthly traumas (I’m @’ing you, Mr. Perry). I mean, that’s all fine and good often times, but I want my black family drama in space, dammit.

And again, this is the X-Men, the series that’s all about *minorities* and their struggle, so again, why not?

Oh, and I’ll even throw out a Havok fancast for you: How bout Jharrel Jerome?

[lananiscorner]

FE3H - Personal character tier list post White Clouds

So now that I’ve finished White Clouds in a max recruitment/support run (i.e. recruit everyone I can and get all their C supports including student to student before the time skip), here’s my personal opinion on the FE3H cast so far (withholding my opinion on Edelgard, Hubert, Jeritza and Claude, since I cannot recruit them on Azure Moon). I know some of these will be pretty unpopular, but anyway, here goes:

S tier – love them both as characters and as units:

Constance: I don’t usually like the alpha bitch archetype, but holy toledo does it fit in her case! Her sunshine side is subjectively absolutely hilarious (although objectively tragic). Is a beast as a Dark Flier. In Cindered Shadows, she was my MVP most of the time.

Cyril: Shocking, I know, but I really, really like him. Hardworking, earnest, and dependable. Is he a bit obsessed with Rhea? Yes, but newsflash, everyone in this game is obsessed with something. Since I don’t have access to Claude, I made Cyril my bow-using wyvern lord and he’s killing it.

Dedue: gentle giant who can tank even without being in a tanking class. Amazing. I love how some of his supports (particularly Mercedes’ and Ashe’s) have him slowly processing his grief over the genocide his people went through in healthier ways then just “I only live for his highness”. If you deliberately do not complete his paralogue, please just unfollow me now.

Dimitri: Kind, flawed and full of PTSD—I came here for the PTSD and I am staying for the PTSD—and by that I mean both Pre-Time-Skip-Dimitri and Post-Time-Skip-Dimitri. Also: HOT. He is a beast with a lance and has a strength in riding, so plenty of move as well. I had to deliberately hold him back so he wouldn’t solo the Hunting at Dawn chapter. Will get his own post someday.

Dorothea: beauty, brains and magical brawn. Absolute beast of a mage, both with reason and faith, and I always love gold diggers who openly acknowledge that they are gold diggers because sometimes the universe just deals you those cards and you gotta make your best play with them.

Felix: absolute crit monster that just straight up deletes entire swarms of enemies. I’m gonna make a separate post about him at some point, but suffice to say that I am always here for a character who’s a brutally blunt jerk with a heart of gold.

Ferdinand: A bit up his own ass, but genuinely wants the best for everyone he meets (rivalry with Edelgard notwithstanding) and cannot take a hint (A+ relatability). Multi-talented jack-of-all-trades.

Hapi: Gorgeous girl made of salt and snark, but still willing to acknowledge her enemy’s strength/virtues where appropriate. Powerful mage with easy access to Valkyrie class, who unfortunately got RNG-screwed in my main playthrough (she was a beast in Cindered Shadows).

Ingrid: Yes, she is flawed, but she is also badass and I love watching her trying to reconcile her duty to her family (perceived or real) with her own goals in life. Will hopefully show some personal growth re: her racism towards Duscur or I will have to rethink her position in this tier. As a unit, my best and most versatile flier.

Mercedes: My best mage and such a humble, kind and wise person, I can see why everyone in-universe likes her. Deserves all the good things. Her support with Dedue was outstanding.

Petra: There is exactly 1 thing I don’t like about Petra: She can’t romance fem!Byleth! (Femleth?) Petra, whhhhhhyyyyyyy? Amazing, stunning, strong, smart, loyal QUEEN and also killing it as a wyvern lord/lady.

Shamir: Completely badass Bow Knight with no-nonsense attitude and yet a good deal of empathy. I stan.

A tier – love them as characters, even if they are not the best units:

Annette: You are adorable and I love you, but why can’t you learn Physic? T__T

Balthus: Supreme himbo, unfortunately no Physic, so his “intended” class is kind of wasted on him. One of many future Warmasters (I have like… 6 of them).

Catherine: is what 16 year-old me wished I could be. Not quite sure what to do with her as a unit though.

Sylvain: not quite sure where I’m going with him for a final build in this playthrough (probably Dark Knight?), but he turned out to be a surprisingly well-rounded character behind that goofy skirtchaser facade.

B tier – okay characters and okay units:

Alois: perfect example of a middling character all around—can’t do anything I couldn’t do better with other units and may not be my favorite, but I appreciate him bringing some levity as well as being genuinely mindful of others around him (e.g. acknowleding and trying to accommodate Bernadetta’s anxiety, coming to Hanneman for magic training, because Hanneman specifically advertised that he was looking for magic novices).

Ashe: Kind and smart boy, but ultimately somewhat forgettable? Wish I had taught him riding earlier. He’s gonna need a lot of catching up to Bernadetta, Leonie and Shamir.

Byleth: I am including Byleth here since I treat them less as a self insert and more as a character in their own right. Likeable enough and a decent enough unit thanks to having access to both Swordfair and healing as the Englightened One. Wish they had Physic.

Caspar: Yet another Warmaster. Reminds me of every shonen manga protagonist ever. Curious to see where his B and A supports will be going.

Flayn: She is so squishy I almost don’t dare send her out onto the battlefield. I made her my dancer. Likeable enough, but also somewhat forgettable.

Hanneman: Bog standard warlock and actually pretty unimpressive as a unit (except for Meteor, which slaps). Too consumed by his research for my liking, but does have his moments where I actually enjoy him interacting with the others. Mad respect for ditching his noble title and privileges in pursuit of his OTP (one true pasttime).

Ignatz: Genuinely kind and smart character who could really stand to apply some of the wisdom he dishes out to others to himself instead. Decent Assassin and currently training to become a Mortal Savant.

Leonie: I love her interactions with pretty much everyone except Byleth. good Bow Knight, although Shamir has her beat. This is not helped by the fact that her B support is locked until chapter 10 so I could only recruit her really damn late.

Lysithea: Sometimes I feel for her, sometimes she just annoys me. Good mage, but no Physic.

Marianne: I am really intrigued by what exactly happened there with her crest, her natural parents and her adoptive farther. I also hope she’ll come out of her shell a bit more in B and A supports. Loved her support with Dimitri. Great healer and a beast with a Levin Sword. She will most likely be my dancer in my ultimate/golden path playthrough.

Raphael: another Warmaster. Mostly forgettable as a character, but has some truly shining moments.

Seteth: initially found him very uninteresting, but I do appreciate him calling out Rhea re: Byleth at the Holy Tomb and how he’s essentially every student’s councellor in their supports lol. Good wyvern lord (though I have to wonder if there even is such a thing as a ‘bad’  wyvern lord).

C tier – good/great units, but I really do not like them as a characters

Anna: What little character she has is good, but, um… no supports, so her charm wears thin quickly. Every strength she has is mitigated by some weakness. Her one saving grace is her insane AS as an assassin, which makes her the perfect broken weapon dodge tank who helps adjutants gain weapon/class XP quickly.

Bernadetta: This is gonna sound awful, but 80% of the time she is just so exhausting to deal with. I know her crippling anxiety is a result of abuse by her family and that’s awful and she deserves love and therapy, but I am not the person who has the energy to give her that. Would not mind never having to talk to her again (or at least not until she’s had some therapy). Great Bow Knight though.

Hilda: reliably deletes anyone in her way, but is such an obnoxious, spoiled slacker that I can’t bring myself to like her. To think of all trouble I went to just to recruit her…

Linhardt: Has some truly great character moments 5% of the time, but the rest he’s just coming across as a self-absorbed ass lacking in empathy. Great healer though.

Yuri: I don’t even know why I don’t really like him. I just don’t and I like him less the more time passes. Very good trickster though, although he lacks Physic (the boosts from his relic compensate by making him one of my best dodge tanks).

D tier – why are you even here?

Gilbert: You are too slow to become a Great Knight and you’ve got shit move stats as a Fortress Knight, so I guess another Warmaster? Also, thanks for abandoning your own daughter and for abandoning Dimitri when he needed you the most. I have yet to hear you apologize for that, jerk.

Lorenz: Still haven’t warmed up to him. Far higher up his own ass than Ferdinand and usually obnoxious about it. Training to become a Dark Knight, though I don’t see myself using him regularly in 6/8 planned playthroughs (the two where I will likely end up using him regularly will be my Golden Deer playthroughs).

Manuela: The least likeable female character in the entire cast so far. Not good enough a mage to go for Gremory, but I did want access to her Warp so I made her a Trickster. Meh. Probably the closest thing I have to The Load™.

[charcubed]

i was wondering if you could share some of your favourite wlw/sapphic ships? i really enjoy your queer content in general and so id love to hear some of your takes on sapphic subtext etc :)) hope you’re doing well!

Hello anon! It’s 2AM and I should be asleep but instead I’m going to answer this ask. Partially because I tend to be perpetually behind on messages / asks (shout out to everyone I have yet to answer, I am so sorry), both because I’m often busy and incapable of brevity. I do not want that to happen to you, so here I go!

Thank you for the kind words 🥺 I appreciate you wanting to know my thoughts and enjoying my content!

Here are some wlw/sapphic ships I love!!

• Carol/Maria from Captain Marvel. As far as I am concerned, they are canonically wives. It’s not subtle! I wrote a meta thread about how the themes of the movie are enhanced if you read it as a story about Carol as a gay woman. Also, every time I remember that “Kiss Me Deadly” is the song they sing together in karaoke, I freak the fuck out. I firmly feel like Stevebucky and Carolmaria are the 2 greatest love stories of the MCU movies and it’s astonishing how similar they are, too. I’ll never forgive the Marvel fandom for sidelining Maria in favorite of shipping Carol/Valkyrie because of insidious colorism. I wrote a mini fic about Maria feeling insecure when Carol meets Valkyrie to work out my frustrations about that too!

• Nomi / Amanita from Sense8. (In all ways but physical, Amanita is MY wife, actually.) I feel like they’re one of the coolest, healthiest, and most badass relationships on screen :’) They make me so fucking happy and I will never get over how ride or die they are for each other.

• Andy / Quynh from The Old Guard. I am crossing ALL of my fingers that they expand on them in the sequel, because I felt there was very strong subtext (that was barely subtext) there, and as far as I know they were together in the comics. Big shout out to Andy wearing Quynh’s necklace, for example. (I’d need to rewatch the movie to get lost back in the sauce and discuss them more because it’s been awhile)

• I have ships from Black Sails that I enjoy discussing in depth, but those are spoilers! (I tend to only talk Black Sails spoilers on @freedom-in-the-dark or my side twitter gaypiracy)

• This is fairly new, but I am eyeballing Katy / Xialing from Shang-Chi. There was subtext there too, I feel. Katy definitely seemed to have a crush on Xialing, and there was tension in the moment when Xialing saved her. I’m hoping they expand on that dynamic in future movies!

• I never finished this show (even though I meant to), but Cosima / Delphine in Orphan Black were near and dear to my heart a long time ago, so I can’t not mention them. It’s been a very long time since I’ve thought about them but they were a big deal.

• In the “fuck the CW” category: YEARS ago, back when I watched Arrow, Nyssa/Sara was extremely important to me. I adored them, and then of course they killed Sara (and later forced Nyssa to fake marry Oliver). I was also into Lexa/Clarke from The 100 during that era—because who wasn’t, though I didn’t love them as a ship as strongly as many people did—and we all know where that went.

That’s it for main ones, I think. Sorry if that disappoints! I’m especially sorry that I don’t have much meta to offer, unfortunately, simply because most of what I’m mentioning is either explicit canon so it didn’t involve subtext hunting or I watched it before I got super involved in media analysis. I’m planning on watching Killing Eve when it’s complete as long as it sticks the landing, and I know that show is going to eat my brain hahaha. Some of my friends are super into it and have sent me a couple clips here and there and I’ve unintentionally written meta off the cuff and they lose their shit. I’m looking forward to devouring it eventually.

As for ones I’m just sort of casually into... I never finished Legend of Korra (not yet anyway), but I loved and appreciated Korrasami because again, who doesn’t. Similarly, I could get behind Kate Bishop / America Chavez in my Young Avengers days, and Peggy / Angie from Agent Carter. From very far away, I salute the Supergirl fandom, because I know Kara/Lena would make me foam at the mouth if I was at all into watching it and I’m rooting for those crazy kids.

My last humble offerings...

Movie recs:

Portrait of a Lady On Fire (which I know most people have seen by now), though warning that it’s very bittersweet or sad. Please, PLEASE watch Colette if you have not; that movie is very important to me, and it is both sapphic and gender. Likewise, please watch Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, which is based on a true story and involves an m/f/f polyamorous relationship.

Niche fic recs because people deserve to read these:

Sharon/Natasha fic that is vastly underrated and I love it, and Eleven/Max fic from Stranger Things that lives rent free in my brain. (I think Will/Mike is endgame in that show and the parallels between Will and Eleven do make me wonder if they’ll make her gay too.) These are literally the only fics for either of these ships I have ever read. And of course, this genderbent f/f 1950s Johnlock case fic which will kick your ass. You’re welcome in advance.

Thank you again for asking! 💜

[agent-of-sam]

Favorite Thor Ships: Part 1

Out of all the MCU, the Thor movies are my favorites.

It helps that I'm a multi shipper and all the women in Thor's life are awesome. So I want to do some posts about my favorite Thor ships. And I’m starting with my personal favorite: Thor/Sif.

                                                      Totally biased, I've been quietly rooting for Thor and Sif to hook up since 2011 and no matter what direction the story takes Thor x Sif will always be my favorite potential relationship.

Obviously, part of this is just because I have a massive crush on Sif, the character, and Jaimie Alexander, the actress. I love her...why?

Lady Sif is sort of the MCU equivalent of Wonder Woman, an immortal who combines strength and nobility with a sense of warmth, compassion, and emotional openness. 

She doesn't get a huge amount of screen time but comes off as an incredibly well-rounded character, especially in a genre where many female character are assigned valued based on how well they can mimic the traditional cliches of male Action Heroes.  

Sif is able to switch from playful and cocky, to stoic and serious, to gentle and supportive, depending on the situation (as benefiting a literal goddess).

In other word's, she's Girlfriend Material of the absolute highest quality! 

Beyond that, I love that she's so high-key Romantic in her feelings for Thor. Having your Badass Warrior Princess character mournfully pining as she gazes across a crowded room at her lifelong friend, her eyes brimming with unspoken feeling... it's exactly the kind of over the top, melodramatic bullshit that I love about the Asgardians and their weird alien/pseudo-Shakespearian/mythic warrior culture. 

At the same time, she's never fawning in her interactions with Thor. They banter like old friends and flirt in mid-combat. 

Sif tries to counsel him when she thinks he needs perspective or patience. 

She advocates for him when he's not around.

To me it's a very romantic set-up, a long-term friendship based on loyalty and mutual trust with the potential to develop into a very deep relationship. (Though, flipping it around, I can definitely see how female viewers might not appreciate their Super-Hero/Immortal Warrior Woman power fantasy character being portrayed, pining from the sidelines for several centuries).

Plus, their dynamic has this tropey, genderswap thing going on. A Fantasy Prince and his Loyal Female Knight. Except the Fantasy Prince is a giant Viking Immortal with a magic hammer and he and his girlfriend ride into battle side by side which is both hot and romantic to me.

Of course the downside  to Thor x Sif as a relationship (also maybe what makes it appealing)... is that it's all potential. As far as we know, Thor is either unaware of Sif's feelings or does not reciprocate. Which is weird because Thor generally comes off as a very socially/emotionally aware guy... at least in the context of Asgardian society. 

One of my favorite things about Thor is that he's confident but honest and genuine as well. He never comes off as a "ladies man" i.e someone who puts on a smooth, crafted persona specifically to interact with women. 

However, he clearly seems to be aware when women are attracted to him (Jane Foster, the woman in the subway)...so how come he doesn't seem to notice the very obvious torch Sif is carrying?

My personal headcannon for this is that they either casually dated as adolescent (whatever age that is for Asgardians) or came very close to it. But then Frigga and/or Odin stepped in, took Sif aside and basically told her to hold off because they thought she had the potential to be a good queen.

Before his time on Earth, Thor was reckless, arrogant, impulsive, and quick to violence. He wasn't ready to be a king or a committed lover. And so Sif was encouraged to do the responsible thing and wait. 

The irony being that by the time he had matured into the person he was supposed to be, he had met somebody else.

To me, there's something there that mirrors the fall of Asgard. Why not wait? They're gods after all, there's always going to be more time.

Then Thor gets banished and comes back different. He's met a mortal woman and doesn't want to be king anymore. Frigga, who Sif always thought would be her mother-in-law one day, is dead. 

Thor goes searching across the universe and then Odin sends her away from Asgard. And when she finds her way back even her home is gone. Her people live on Earth now, or at least the fraction of them that still survive after Hela, Surtur, and Thanos. 

Thor is gone again, traveling through space with a bunch of mercenaries she’s never heard of.

Maybe I'm just projecting because I want someone in-universe to mourn Asgard and everything those people must have lost in what must seem like a very short amount of time to them.

I always thought Thor x Sif had the potential to be a very stable, well-rounded couple. However, given Thor's general arc in the first two movies  it would have seemed a little off, thematically speaking, if he ended up with the immortal warrior princess/long-time friend that his parents wanted him to get with all along.

However, post-Ragnarok/Endgame I think there is a lot of dramatic/narrative potential to a romantic reunion between Thor and Sif, someone who knew him before everything started and can see how much he has changed. Maybe someone he didn't realize how much he cared for until she was gone. 

For her it's a second chance at something she thought was lost, a piece of her past that's come back damaged and different but still worth fighting for.  

--

Obviously, this is all conjecture. There's no guarantee that Sif will return in Thor 4. As a shipper part of me is hoping for it, however as a fan of her character I'm also worried about her being crammed in and either sidelined or mischaracterized by the those behind the scenes.

If she shows up in the Loki show, that's more screen time and room for character development. 

However, I'm not hugely interested in Loki's show and depending on the direction it takes I'm not sure that it will play to her strengths as a character. My dream scenario was for Sif to have her own Xena-style high fantasy adventure (with Thor showing up in a supporting role) but that’s seem very unlikely.

---

Anyway, I'm a multi shipper and I'm planning to do more of these for Thor x Valkyrie and Thor x Jane. I just wanted to get my fave out of the way first.

[therealkatekane]

My Journey through Yuri, Part II

So, to be fair, this is the first anime that kicked off my midlife discovery of anime. And while Symphogear holds the top spot in my heart, Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid is a very, very close second. Symphogear fulfills my need for warm fluffy fuzzies and adventure. Valkyrie fulfills my need for... everything else: lesbians, sex, lesbian sex, humor, over-the-top-ridiculous premises, zero male characters, and just... literally everything. If Symphogear is comfort food, then Valkyrie is my favorite meal that is hella bad for me, but I just don’t care.

I don’t even remember how I stumbled onto this anime, but I thank the fucking gods that I did. I found it, watched the entire series one night, and again the next two nights with the girls. Also, thanks to this show, Diana taught me two important anime terms: ecchi and oppai. We’ll start here:

And so it begins...

Let me start here: you best be grown for this post. And you best be grown if you’re watching this show because damn they is a lot of sex.

The whole premise of this show is that girls infected with the Arm Virus are quarantined on islands away from the rest of the world. Infected girls can be either Extars or Liberators. Extars transform into weapons (”Arms”) that Liberators use or “drive.” And in order to transform, Extars must be sexually stimulated by a compatible Liberator. Yup.

I was actually concerned at first because I thought this setup had a lot of potential to have all the attitudes and ideas I find super squicky in anime (and in media in general): questionable consent, objectification, toxic relationships, etc. But I was pleasantly surprised that consent is actually addressed really well in the series, and overall, I thought it handled excellently so I wasn’t squicked out at all.

So, onto the characters:

Above you see our two main characters: Mamori, the red head, is an Extar. The blond, Mirei, is a Liberator. And as is seen above, they were meant for each other. That being said, bless Mirei and her heart of gold, because Mamori is real simple. If I have one complaint about this show, it’s that Mamori is that annoyingly innocent and oblivious and simple protagonist. You know the one. She’s that dog you have that can’t figure out how to push open a door with its nose even though it’s already mostly open anyway and whines until you get up and cross the room and push it open the remaining three inches so she can come in. Lord love her, she’s adorable and sweet, but just... not bright.

But Mirei is phenomenal. Despite Mamori’s obliviousness, Mirei is immediately staunchly devoted to her. All she wants to do is protect Mamori. She is tall and mysterious and proves to be a badass fighter in her first thirty seconds on screen. You can’t help but fall in love with her strength and stubbornness. And I’m a sucker for the strong but silent and awkward types. 

What I like best about their relationship is how Mirei automatically does whatever she thinks is in Mamori’s best interests or aligns with her desires from word one. She sees Mamori under attack, she places herself between her and her attacker. Mamori complains about a character being cruel to another, Mirei moves to put a stop to it. Mamori asks Mirei not to hurt some one, so she doesn’t. I’m not a big fan of “love at first sight” type shit, but I can’t help but just fucking adore Mirei’s instant devotion to Mamori. Not just her, but to her thoughts and feelings.

Next up, we have the dynamic duo referred to as “Lady Lady.”

Oh, I cannot say enough about these two. Lady Rain and Lady J. Both are both Liberators and Extars, able to switch between roles as the situation dictates. SWITCH, get it?? One transforms into a sword/gun and the other a badass motorcycle. They claim it isn’t the sex that allows them transform but the strength of their bond. It’s actually quite beautiful how dedicated they are to one another. Former members of a paramilitary government organization, they chose exile and quarantine over being tools of others.

Next up, we’ve got Meifon. Meifon is a schemer obsessed with making a buck. What I adore about her is that she is an asexual/aromantic character. On an island where everyone is fucking everyone all the time. It is such an interesting idea of how someone who doesn’t experience sexual arousal/stimulation in a “typical” way functions on an island where sex is so highly prioritized. It was a really neat idea that I was surprised to see the show tackle. While it isn’t addressed in a super deep or meaningful way, it is an unexpected and nice touch.

The “Governor.” Normally, I am all about avoiding spoilers, but I was surprised that we were supposed to think the governor is a dude. I know sometimes it can be hard to tell in anime, and I am guilty of more than once being like “What a super hot lady!” and it ended up being a fella and cue disappointment. But Akira was clearly a woman from the first time we see her. It wasn’t until the fourth episode that I learned she was supposed to be a “man.” She is so clearly a lady. If you can’t figure that out in ten seconds, you’re as simple as Mamori, bless your heart.

I feel it’s a missed opportunity for Akira not to be trans, but she’s not. She’s just pretending to be a fella for power, to stand out on an island full of women. It would have been a lot more interesting and compelling in my humble opinion. But whatever.

I could go on and on about all the many fantastic characters on this show, but there are a few other things I want to talk about.

1. I usually prefer the original Japanese voice actors, but this is one of the rare times when the opposite is true. The English voice acting is on point, very well acted, and an utter delight. Mirei in particular has a fantastic dead-pan delivery that I adore.

2. This show is hysterically funny. I laughed so hard so many times. Especially during the episode “Giant Girl, Little Heart.” I mean... just look at this:

The giant girl’s name is Nimi Minimi. I can’t even. Dear god. It’s so funny. I have a great appreciation for anything that can make me laugh. There are a lot of jokes about pitching and catching. And this is an actual quote from this episode: “Nimi, you’re the only one who can catch my fastball. Only you can catch my body and soul!” It’s classic.

3. The power and relationship dynamics are very interesting. Poly seems to be a pretty readily accepted practice. Platonic “driving” seems to be a thing. Consent is approached several different ways, and each is very interesting. Another thing this show does well is examine the problems inherent in such a system. It isn’t all girls kissing girls and touchy touchy fun times. There is a lot included on how that power can be abused and what corruption may look like in a hyper-sexualized state. So, maybe trigger warning? I’m pretty sensitive, but I did not find it trigger-y. It was actually nice to see such abuse of power highlighted as abuse without a veiled attempt to make it okay because it’s sexy times between two (or more) women.

4. Story/plot/etc - I’ll be real. The bar was really low when I initially started this. I mean, I didn’t expect much given the premise, but ended up being very pleasantly surprised. The story is reasonably compelling and more thought out than expected. There are more complexities than I anticipated, and it all wraps up neatly at the end of the series in a satisfying way. 

So, I guess that wraps up Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid. Conclusion: Watch it. It’s beautifully NSFW and unashamedly queer. There needs to be more anime like it. I think next I’ll write about Flip Flappers as it was recommended to me on my last post, and it currently holds the number three spot in my heart.

Today marks the fourth week of working from home, so please please please keep the recommendations coming. I have literally nothing to do but work and watch anime, and I’m super grateful for the recs I received already. Thanks. :-)

[kanerboo]

a love letter to the marvel ladies

i just watched endgame for the second time and, just like the first time, i came away from the cinema utterly in love with all the marvel ladies, so much so that i just had to write this post and get the thoughts off my chest.

lots of endgame spoilers in here - if you do not want to be spoiled, do not click into the cut!

hope: she may not have had a big role, but what matters is that she was there in the end, battling for the fate of earth, fighting alongside scott. when scott needed to get to his van, she was by his side in a flash, and when they shrunk to get through the battlefield, she took his hand, SHE led the way through the battle to their van. i remember in iron man 1 pepper said to tony “you couldn’t tie your shoelaces without me” and you know what, that’s kinda how i feel about scott and hope too. (i love them dflkjfdlf)

mantis: she didn’t have a big role either, but reminder that she and she alone held thanos still with her powers in infinity war, buying the others almost enough time to get the gauntlet off him. she doesn’t SEEM like she does much, maybe, but she’s proven she can put a celestial and a titan wielding the power of the infinity stones to sleep. i wish she had had a bigger part in endgame, but it’s okay - i get the constraints of combining so many characters into one battle, and like i said, she’s already proven herself.

okoye: fhdjlkdf i love her so much, such an amazing brave fighter, the best lieutenant anyone could ever ask for, loyal to her country and her king, willing to throw down and kill the man she was in love with to protect her country. she was right there by t’challa in the final battle, hacking down thanos’ armies like they were paper, and you wouldn’t expect her to be anywhere else. 

shuri: shuri is a thinker, not a fighter. but she fought for her country against killmonger, she did her best to help and save vision in the battle of wakanda, she returned from dust to fight in the final battle against thanos alongside her brother, with her vibranium weapons of her own design. pure genius and pure bravery in one sassy package.

natasha: thinking about nat fucking hurts my heart, oh my god. for five years she was working her ass off, on high alert constantly for any threats to earth, real or imagined. she was so tired and she just kept going, because this was all that was even keeping her going. she didn’t have to sacrifice herself because clint was going to, he was so determined he should be the one to do it, but she did it anyway, because she recognised clint had a family to go back to. she did too -  she had her found family - except she wanted to do this for them, to bring those of her family who weren’t there anymore back, to ensure that clint’s family wouldn’t have to come back and live without him. the avengers would never have gotten the soul stone, never have carried out their plan without her sacrifice. and while on one hand i recognise that fact, i’m also fucking torn up about it. nat deserved so much better than that death on an alien planet. she should have come home.

gamora: i love gamora - she’s so kickass and so badass, all of the time. thanos trained her to become the deadliest woman in the galaxy, and she not only lived up to her name but had a hand in bringing him down. her death scene in infinity war was just as hard for me to watch as nat’s was. now i just want her to be found and reunited with the guardians in gotg3, back with her family and her sister.

nebula: i am honestly so, so glad they gave nebula the redemptive arc that they did, because damn, she more than redeemed herself in this. she’s been tortured and broken and taken apart so many times, she’s been through so much pain and fear, and she found it in herself to break free from thanos’ control and her need to please him all the time, to do something good and to save the universe. she helped tony and kept him alive as long as she could when they were adrift in space, she led the avengers to the garden to confront thanos, and she killed her own past self, both literally and figuratively, to save the world.

valkyrie: i fucking love valkyrie so much oh my god she’s so sassy and so badass and so strong. when she appeared on her winged horse aragorn at the head of the battle charge i literally squealed. i also looooved the moment when she flew right up to a chitauri leviathan and tore through its entire flank with dragonfang. my girl brought down a leviathan all on her own and i am PROUD. the true queen of asgard.

pepper: like shuri, pepper is not a fighter. and like she says herself, “trying to get tony to stop has been one of the greatest failures of her life”. but when it came down to it, she encouraged tony to do what he had to - help the avengers with the time heist. she knew what was at stake - she knew tony could die, she knew he might lose her and/or morgan if things went wrong, but she let him do the right thing over the selfish thing. and she was right there at the final battle in the rescue suit, knowing full well that if anything happened to both tony and her, morgan would be orphaned - but she was fighting to save the universe for her daughter. pepper always knew what the important things were. and at the end, she made sure to tell tony that it was okay, that he could rest, that she and morgan would be fine. and then she was left to raise morgan on her own, but by god, i bet she did a fine ass job.

carol: I ADORE HER she makes me drool with how incredibly strong she is. her first scene in endgame literally has her carrying tony’s ship, on her back, through deep space and back to earth. when she reappears for the final battle she rips through thanos’ entire ship and destroys it like nothing. she held thanos back and prevents him from using the gauntlet when thor himself couldn’t do it with both mjolnir and stormbreaker, and she did that with a smirk on her face. I LOVE HER.

wanda: MY GIRL WANDA IS STRONG AF, holy shit. i’ve always thought her power was linked to the reality stone in some way, given the whole ~colour of it and the fact that she can warp reality and also how damn strong she is - but legit she’s as powerful as an infinity stone. when she looks up at thanos with her eyes glowing red and then proceeds to almost tear him apart - that was one of the best scenes for me. i have no doubt she could and would have killed him singlehandedly, if he hadn’t ordered his armies to rain fire. that in itself is a testament to the strength of her powers - thanos literally had to sacrifice his own troops and shoot upon them just to free himself from her. 

also that unforgettable scene where peter is clutching the gauntlet, watching the armies of thanos charging towards him, and all the ladies line up in front of him to protect him - i may have squealed out loud in the cinema. i’m not even ashamed. THIS IS WHAT I LIVE FOR. WE STAN STRONG WOMEN. 

[stevethehairington]

Ocean’s Eight AU ft. the Marvel Ladies:

I’m thinking Carol Danvers as Debby Ocean - maybe instead of a brother, it’s Fury that got her into this line of work and she wants to pull this heist partly in his honor.

Then, of course, Valkyrie would be Lou, 1. because Lou has so much BDE it’s insane, and so does Val 2. because Lou runs a watering down liquor business which also seems like something Val would do lol and 3. because Val in all those fabulous suits!!! yes please!!! and 4. because the Debby and Lou so very obviously have some sort of will they won’t they flirtationship and I love a good Carol/Valkyrie fic!

I was thinking Daphne Kluger could be Natasha Romanoff, I feel like Daphne is a very clever, cunning kind of gal, catching onto their plan very quickly and wanting in on it; also I love the idea of Natasha being down to become a criminal to make friends lol

As for Nine Ball, I’m thinking maybe Maria Hill, although with a bit of a characterization change because Maria Hill probably isn’t a stoner lmao. I originally thought Valkyrie could fit here v well, but I like her as Lou better. But I feel like Maria could be a hella helpful hacker, super smart and knows her shit about technology and stuff

Tammy is 100% Pepper Potts, no doubt about it. Looks like your typical suburban mom but is actually secretly a badass thief mastermind; and she would totally be amazing at the infiltration and seamlessly fitting in to the planning of the Met Gala

Next I was thinking Amita could be Shuri. Maybe a little young, but honestly Shuri would totally be the one that could take apart and put together the jewelry and she’d be so good at it

Constance took me a while but I was thinking maybe Gamora. I feel like out of the remaining marvel ladies she would be the most likely to have the pickpocket type of skillset

And then there’s Rose. This one I had so much trouble with because I kind of feel like none of the marvel ladies really match up with her. I was thinking maybe Wanda Maximoff just because I feel like Wanda could pull of the like almost nervousness that Rose has? But I honestly don’t know. Maybe she could be Peggy? I’m open to suggestions haha.

Claude Becker is another I wasn’t sure about. If I wanted to keep things in the Captain Marvel realm since Carol would be the like Head Honcho here then he could be Yon-Rogg. Since Debby’s trying to put Claude away for getting her sent to prison, I thought it would be fitting if it was Carol trying to get Yon-Rogg put away as revenge.

And then the little brief mention of Yen, the guy that helped Lou steal all the jewels from the exhibit, that would totally be Peter Parker 100% haha. 

But anyways. I need this to happen like. So bad. You don’t even know. It would be so epic omg. Kinda want to take a crack at it myself but also wowie that would be A Lot of work hahaha. 

[gothamundernightlight]

Okay, so most of us know about the deleted scene from Avengers: Endgame now, that surfaced yesterday, and I need to talk about it. Like, it's a physical need, y'all, I gotta. If you haven't seen it, here's a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0H6GZxve2o

First up, this scene is PERFECTION! Yes, it's heart-wrenching, depressing, and just straight up reminds us of what was lost in the film. We lost Tony Stark. But that is exactly what he deserved. The reactions, the human-ness of it, was relevant, and I think that Marvel did a disservice to quite a lot of these characters by deleting this scene.

Starting off with Pepper, our very first Marvel lady. The badass, sassy, ineffable Pepper Potts, who put up with Tony's shit enough to marry the lucky bastard. They have a daughter together, and the man that she loves just died in her arms. Her partner, her husband, the father of her child is gone, and at that moment, she doesn't care if she looks weak, she will mourn. She will mourn now, and so she just sobs.

Next we see Cap and Thor. I think we were all praying somewhat that Pepper would tell them that he's okay, but seeing Pepper cry just confirmed to everyone in that moment that Tony is dead, and we are getting a raw reaction from both of them. The horror, the grief, it's prevalent on their faces, and Cap's mouth just hangs open in shock. He doesn't know what to say.

Thor has been through enough, he's emotionally strained, having lost his security, most of his self-confidence, and now two of his teammates. We've seen Thor cry in this film, and now he's about to do it again, and he's within his rights to.

Then the music swells and we cut to Clint. Clint was done dirty by Marvel ever since Age of Ultron, and cutting this scene was just another example. Over the years, Clint Barton has been through hell. He deserved a happy life JUST AS MUCH as Tony, and he got it. He had his wife, his kids, his freedom. And yeah, he was bitter in Civil War, reminding Tony of Rhodey's injury, but if a friend had been responsible for putting you behind bars, you'd feel a little bitter too. The last time Clint saw Tony? Tony was shielding him in case Bruce blew something up with the gauntlet. They worked as a team to save the world, and relied on each other, seamlessly. They'd lost Nat, they mourned her together, and while there is a risk in every battle, Clint didn't think he'd lose another teammate...no, another friend so soon. He kneels, and bows his head. He hides his face, but the action is clear. The respect is clear.

Then the camera pulls out, revealing T'Challa and Carol. Clint's motion catches the king's eye, and when he realizes what the archer is doing, he immediately looks back at Tony. And then he too, kneels. This man just gave his life to save everyone, he damn well earned the respect that the motion carries. Carol kneels next. She sees T'Challa kneel, but culturally, she gets it. I would assume that Carol has remembered a lot about her time on Earth, her life, and certain traditions that come with it. The whole bowing to a fallen comrade may be Arthurian in nature, but the tradition is widely recognized in American football. A player is hurt = Everyone kneels. Everyone in the stadium, everyone watching. It's a visible mark of respect, and it's why Colin Kaepernick knelt in protest of racial inequality and police brutality rather than standing in solemnity. Carol might remember the tradition of kneeling from her youth, and so, she pays due.

Next we see Peter Quill, Valkyrie, and Nebula. Peter kneels. He too remembers the tradition (he’s from Missouri, he watched football, fight me) He fought next to the man, and while he didn't know him well, Peter might've enjoyed his company under different circumstances. Valkyrie has no clue what's going on, but she recognizes the situation. She knows what it's like to lose someone in battle, and she respects the tradition. She kneels.

Nebula technically kneels before Valkyrie, but her posture is different. Her back is straight, and her head is angled up. Nebula is a proud individual, and knows that his sacrifice was necessary, so she will mourn privately. She got to know Tony a little during their little space venture, and might've considered him a friend. She definitely respected him enough to stay, and kneel, because she knows the man earned it.

Next we see Scott kneeling, and it’s probably one of my favorite views of a person’s face during this scene. Scott’s an empathetic person, family-oriented, and tries to get along with people. But he didn’t exactly get along with Tony. He held Tony’s original refusal about the time-heist against him, and was so sure it would work, that he didn’t really consider the consequences. But seeing Tony’s widow mourn him now, Scott gets it. He regrets his actions a little, and so he will pay this man, this man he didn’t even like that much, some respect.

Cap comes into frame at that moment, and he doesn’t hesitate. He just falls, and he wobbles going down. He hits the ground hard, like the world has just been pulled out from under his feet. Who can blame him. Steve Rodgers felt very responsible for his team, and he feels that everything that happens to them for the most part is on him to fix. It’s on him to defend them, and we’re thrown back to that conversation. “We got a shot at getting these stones, but I got to tell you, my priority. Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I found? I have to, at all costs. And maybe not die trying would be nice.” Tony was able to move on past the Snap, he did what Steve struggled to do, after waking up in the 21st century, and after the Snap. He moved on, got married, started a family. Steve couldn’t move on, and somehow, he’s the one still standing while Tony is now gone. I think that’s the moment when Steve knew he would do whatever it took to get that life that Tony talked about, because he couldn’t be the one to fall in battle for him.

Strange is next in line, and we see him kneel, and his hair is still waving like someone is following him with a weak hairdryer. But his expression…whew, that’s solid. That’s the look that would’ve been on his face when losing a patient on the table, and having to inform the family. He knew this was coming. Five years ago, he saw that coming. He was prepared for it, but that didn’t make it hurt any less seeing it actually happen. His eyes don’t move until he’s fully on the ground, he refuses to take his eyes off Tony even at the risk of falling flat on his face. But he bows and in that moment you can see the regret and grief and the wonder if maybe there had been another way. His eyes shut, and his breath hitches a little.

Then, we get a change of pace. Gamora from 2014. Unlike everyone else, I don’t think she’s actually looking at Tony. Whatever she’s looking at, is eye-level. I think she’s watching everyone else, making sure that none of them are looking at her. She doesn’t know this man, but she is not surprised he is dead. She knows the power of the Infinity Stones, it’s been ingrained into her, and what’s more is that she knows what happens to people who go up against Thanos. She may appreciate that her father is dead because of this man, but she can’t stay and thank him. So she leaves. As she should. Maybe she finds a Chitauri transport vessel in the wreckage and makes her escape, but she spared him a moment, which from her…was enough.

In the next shot, none of the people are original Avengers. Mantis and Drax stand in the back, Shuri and Bucky in the front, and Sam, Wanda, and Okoye are to the side. Bucky, Sam and Wanda are already kneeling in this moment, and Shuri and Okoye quickly kneel as well. (Also, is Shuri wearing pristine NIKE sneakers in that moment, so QUEEN!) Neither check to look at T’Challa, so they do it of their own volition.

None of them knew Tony well, some even not at all. But what I find interesting, is that out of all the people kneeling in that shot, only Bucky is looking at Tony. The last time the two of them interacted was in Siberia, and a lot has changed since then. Tony changed, and Bucky definitely got the help he needed. Perhaps, had there been time, amends would have been made, apologies been exchanged, and even a camaraderie might have formed between the two. That will never happen now.

Then Drax kneels. The man is a peculiarity when it comes to things, and boundaries are clearly in different positions when it comes to social interactions. But he’s a fighter, and he’s been in Pepper’s shoes. He had a family and lost them, his wife and daughter, and then the Guardians. He can sympathize, and so he kneels. Mantis is looking at Drax. Unsure of what to do in this situation, she seeks out something familiar. She’s isolated, can’t touch anyone to glean context, so she copies him. She kneels. It might not be out of respect, but she does it anyways because it feels appropriate.

As the camera pulls back out, we see Pepper once more, and then Rhodes comes into view, and there’s even a slight glimpse of Peter. Rhodey is turned away. He can’t watch this. He physically can’t. Over the years, his best friend has done a lot of dumb shit. Like, A LOT! There were probably times Rhodey imagined waking up to find out that Tony OD’ed in college. Or died in Afghanistan. Got himself killed as Iron Man. Not this. He can’t watch this. Yes, his best friend was a superhero, but he didn’t imagine that Tony would die being one. Tony was supposed to die a civilian, not like a soldier.

Peter isn’t kneeling. It’s hard to see, but his posture indicated that he’s pulled away, sat back, curled into himself. His head is in his hands, and he’s trying to process what’s just happened. He just lost another person, another father figure, and he’s grieving only inches away from the body. He’s not moving, he can’t look up, not without seeing Tony’s face, and he can’t help but remember moments ago when Tony was standing there, giving him a hug. How can someone so important be gone so fast?

Pulling out some more, more people are revealed. Thor is now kneeling, as is Wong and Hope. Then there’s Bruce. Bruce is turned away, like Rhodey, but he’s kneeling on both knees, like he’s about to throw up and is looking at the sling around his arm. He’s made the connection, on what Tony did. He felt the pain of what the stone’s power is like, and he can only imagine what kind of pain Tony was in in his last moments. He wouldn’t wish that on anyone, and would rather have risked snapping his fingers with those stones again than losing Tony. But it’s too late.

As the screen fades to black, the camera continues to pull out, like there could’ve been more people revealed to mourn the Iron Man, and I think it would have been appropriate to segue into the message that Tony left to Morgan, had that scene not been cut from the film. We got to watch them say goodbye to Tony, and it would’ve been nice to see Tony say goodbye next. But at the same time, I think if this scene had been kept, the funeral itself wouldn’t have had much point narratively.

The only reason the funeral happened was to see all of the people pay tribute, while also explaining the extra people there who weren’t in the battle. Hank Pym, Queen Ramonda, Nick Fury, and Harley Keener. Morgan.

If I was in charge of editing this, I would’ve kept the kneeling scene in, as that was emotionally significant to the characters, and would’ve had a greater impact on the audience. Fade to black, and then show the message, before seeing Pepper and Morgan lay down the wreath on the lake. Made the funeral more ambiguous, for both Tony and Natasha (she deserved a funeral too y’all) Make the other faces visible as they approach, and then cut to Morgan’s cheeseburger line.

But either way, as is, I am grateful that this particular moment was filmed, and then released. I loved it, and if y’all will excuse me, I’m going to cry some more.

[wonderfulfanofall]

Thor 4

hi no one knows me here but imma bout to give a rant no one wants! are you ready? here we gooooo!!

Okay! first of all lets talk about thor Ragnarok. When I first saw it I loved it! I was so happy to see my top marvel characters on screen! I really waited forever for new thor content and just was generally happy I was getting some! I thought the movie was different for thor a nice little change of pace, but! i understand that it is problematic and as a fan of the original two thor movies i can see how the third one does not live up to the others, which is why I was scared when I heard  Taika Waititi was going to direct it again. Especially since he did not do his research previously which I think is sad and sloppy. But then.... oh but then!!! I saw this!!

and i was like

but let me tell you why!! so, before I even knew there was going to be a thor four before we all knew marvel was going to break its three movie rule... i was writing my own thor four script. Obviously it was fan fiction in script format and was for me because like i said i just want more thor content and never in my wildest dreams would I guess marvel would break their three movie rule for my boy thor! A round of applause please! 

However, as mentioned before I was scared because the man who kind of made a parody of the thor characters was making the fourth one. I have nothing against Taika Waititi personally, but I’m just sad he didn’t really put much effort into a marvel series I love. Now, back to the fact I was writing my own thor... actually backtrack... THOR 2: THE DARK WORLD! Around that time the most wonderful movie came out.... Frozen... 

we all just want to... let it go... puns aside since those two movies were out on dvd around the same time and I watched them both around the same time and I coined a little phrase... Love is an open Thor... Love is an open Thor... Thor Love and Thunder.... Love is an open Thor... Thor Love and Thunder... COINCIDENCE??? (seriously look at some of my tags)

Okay back to the fact I wanted my own damn thor movie! I am writing this as of July 20, 2019 i will reblog this with a movie review but as of right now here is what I was planning. So lets start with the basic plot!! I was thinking of using bits of the Celestials plot and the fact that Thor eventually have to pass his hammer down to Jane Foster. So, Thor and Loki (this was before end game when I was hoping and praying for Loki’s safe return) hang out on earth after all the end game and infinity war chaos. Thor is not really feeling earth’s home vibes but hears of an asgardian who has really adapted to earth life (again this was thought of before end game). Him and Loki go to find that person and its Sigyn who has been on earth for the past 10-20 years on a mission for Frigga! She had no clue Asgard was blown up and that Ragnarok happened. But thats not all! She is housing the infamous Amora and Lorelei who were banished by Loki when he was Odin because they sniffed him out. Loki tells Thor to not trust them, but Thor missing Jane and starting to become under little miss Enchantress’s spell, doesn’t listen. The three lovely ladies are reintroduced into Asgardian society on earth and just be themselves. Over hearing about Skurge’s death and the fact there is hire beings that Sigyn was trying find twelve perfect humans to sacrifice to, Amora and Lorelei decide to finish the job/ corrupt the sacrifices and exchange earth for the return of Asgard. Not realizing they sort of can’t do that, Thor, Valkyrie, Loki, and Sigyn go out and try to stop the girls. There’s badass mind battle scenes between Amora and Scarlet Witch, Spiderman appearance just being his cute self, Sigyn admitting she’s bi as hell being in love with Lady Loki, Loki, and a little crush on Valkyrie, cool magic scenes between Loki and Sigyn, Thor and Loki beginning to heal, Amora tricking Valkyrie into an amulet(a little of that plot line... she would be out by the main battle) and Valkyrie healing realizing she deserves better, and most importantly.... Jane Foster. Yes I wanted Jane to be apart of this because I was upset she wasn’t in Thor Ragnarok. You wouldn’t make a spiderman movie without MJ, you wouldn’t make a Iron Man Movie without Peper.... where was Jane? 

Anyway Jane would help with holding off the Celestials in a big battle as long as she could and of course help throughout the movie. Once its realized they had to resurrect the Destroyer armor (since Thor killed it in the first movie) and that would be done by all of the remaining Asgardians life force. Thor gives his powers to Jane to make sure everything goes according to plan as everyone (including Amora and Lorelei, Sigyn will bribe them) sacrifices themselves. After the Celestials are put off (for now) Jane as Thor goes to all the other gods and asks for life forces and gets them, uses Sigyn’s spell to revive everyone. Amora gets Skurge back but has to go to prison, Loki frees Sigyn of her loyalty to Asgard (i was gonna make her loyalty goddess angle as more as a curse) and she could either be a supportive sometimes lover of loki or just a lover to Valkyrie(someone to treat my girl right!) and Jane becomes the new Thor!

My movie does several things! Establish Celestials a new really big threat (avengers 4, 5 whatever), brings some peace and understanding between Thor and Loki, gives Loki someone who will always root for him. make Marvel gay, gives Jane the hammer, and if they wanted to do more Thors with Jane clean up whatever mess Sigyn made because she may or may not have accidentally brought back old enemies! Good job Sigyn! 

Now are my ideas perfect?? No! Is it well thought out? No it needs more work... would I even dream marvel would pull something like this? Well I did which inspired me to do further Thor research and come up with a decent plot (I hope its a decent plot its different comic book ideas in like one). 

Now what the actual movie has confirmed...

JANE IS BACK BABY AND SHE’S GETTING THOSE POWERS!!!  HELL YEAH!! 

also during comic con they have confirmed eternals  and who created the damn eternals.... thats right the Celestials... these are celestial beings you don’t want to mess with and there’s a lot of them like different type wise! So many marvel charcters deal with the Celestials... are they the new bad boys of marvel? We will see!!

Anyway, I know that since end game things to my plot don’t fit the canon such as Loki being alive but not at the same time and Thor joining the Guardians of the Galaxy.  There was rumors that Thor would join but I didn’t see that in the marvel line up unless I didn’t look close enough!

Besides that, Thor 4 is a mystery! Let’s see what happens! Let’s see if my plot follows closely, or the movie be 100x better than my fan fiction!! I really hope the movie is 100x better! If not, catch me posting on AO3! Also like I’m pretty sure the government is watching my phone because I remember telling the jane thing to a friend through text... either that or the universe is listening and giving me Jane as Thor and a Loki series!! and if the universe is still listening I would like my college fund to be paid off... please? Thank you for reading rant over!!

[ao3feed-natashabruce]

You Belong to My Heart

by rainy_castiel2648

Y/N really likes saying Yeet Yeet Mothertrucker thanks to Peter Parker and his friends.But she had a whole life before that. It’s 1943 and Y/N is the youngest of the golden trio of Brooklyn. Steve Rogers, and Bucky Barnes being the other two of the trio. Bucky and Y/N have been dancing around each other for years and the night before his deployment pushes them over the edge, causing them to fight then make up. The war separates, then unites, then separates them again. Y/N and Steve wake up 66 years later and they have to readjust to the world around them. Steve struggles, but Y/N has no problem. Y/N is loved by all thanks to her charms and quick learning. Follow their story as they go through the events of First Avenger-Endgame and on.

Words: 131, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Captain America (Movies)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con

Categories: F/F, F/M

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, Howling Commandos, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Bruce Banner, Thor Odinson, Loki Friggason - Character, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker, Sharon Carter, Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, Happy Hogan, James Rhodes, Alexander Pierce, Brock Rumlow, Frigga, Odin, Peter Quill, Gamora, Mantis, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Lady Sif, Valkyrie, Captain Marvel, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Goose the Cat, Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones, T’Challa, Shuri, Nakia, Okoye, Wade Wilson, I’ll add more characters once they start appearing and I remember them lmao

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Peggy Carter, Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov, Sam Wilson/Reader, Natasha Romanov/Reader, Bruce Banner/Thor Odinson

Additional Tags: James is a softie and we love his dorkiness, Reader is Captain America’s sidekick, her superhero name is Lady Patriot, Reader’s parents are immigrants from Mexico, Reader is a flaming bisexual but historic biphobia and all, Natasha teaches the reader how to pray the gay to stay, Sam Wilson and the reader are BrOTP, Tony and Bruce and the reader make up an amazing science bro’s trio, Peggy Carter teaches the reader basic self defense, Reader is as smart as Erskine and Howard combined, Tony takes the reader under his wing and absolutely adores her curiosity, reader chooses team cap but keeps visiting Tony anyways cause she is the law, Peter Parker and Ned Leeds and MJ go GaGa over the reader because they’re nerds, Yes this is a Bucky/Reader but not everything revolves around them Jesus christ, reader is a badass, also a softie, Bucky and the Reader deal with PTSD together, This is what I do instead of Homework so Rest In Peace my nonexistent grades, so many fucking tags but who gives a shit, oh also they cuss a lot because it’s not believable that they don’t cuss like wtf, Bucky and Dum Dum Dugan teach the reader how to shoot, they’re both proud of her quick adapting, Reader goes to Mexico after snap, buys ranch and turns it into boarding for wayward kids, who couldn’t find their parents, Buck and reader are mad at Steve for leaving, Reader not so much, because she knows that Steve didn’t stay with peggy, because I the author refuse that ending

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/31xGazV

[sherlollyandspoilers]

Spoilers Ridden Endgame Review

Alright Avengers, it’s time to get down to my completely full of spoilers review of Endgame. (If you want a non-spoiler review, go here). All spoilers are under the cut. AGAIN, this has spoilers...spoilers...spoilers...spoilers!!! If y’all read this then complain about it spoiling the movie...I have nothing to say to you. Anyways, enjoy! And please, feel free to message me if you want to chat about it!

So I am pretty sure that I have this in order…but I’ve only seen it the one time and there was a lot of information coming at me. Also…sorry, it’s long:

-          The very beginning with Clint’s family just killed me – way to freaking start by reminding us of the horrible things that you did to our beloved heroes.

-          I struggled with Tony’s response to Steve at the beginning, but felt it was rather justified after everything that he had been through (….I did love how later on when Steve, Nat, and Scott show up he tells them they can stay for dinner if they don’t talk shop – they are still part of his family).

-          I went for the head.

-          Nat working so hard to keep everything together killed me – these people are what she has left to live for and she cares for them so deeply.

-          “I get emails from a raccoon.”

-          Tony Stark. Officially Iron Dad. My bleeding heart.

-          Bruce and The Hulk…nothing left to say.

-          I LOVED seeing Valkyrie in the village – I know Thor says it at the end, but you can just tell that she does a great deal to help keep the village running.

-          America’s ass – can we say a giant nod to the fandom??? Also, THANK YOU and BLESS!

-          “Hail Hydra” – to me this felt like a giant middle finger to when Captain said it in the comic book and I fucking loved it!

-          It was fun to watch all of the scenes from the other movies with a different perspective.

-          Loki will always be Loki – no matter what time line he is in.

-          Thor getting to talk with his mother again was beautiful (also him stealing his hammer was great).

-          Nat dying. Okay. Let’s talk about this. Like I said before, Nat cares for these people and they are what she has left to live for. Like Steve said in the movie, the Avengers were her family – dying to give them a chance to live and save everyone was exactly what she wanted to do. Also, Clint was her best friend – you show me best friend duos like Nat and Clint who aren’t willing to die for each other. While Nat knew that she had a family that loved her, she knew that Clint had a wife and three children that needed him to be there for them…she knew what she was doing…don’t downgrade or disregard Nat’s choice to die for her family just because you didn’t like it.

-          When Tony saw his dad and got to give him a hug and then Steve getting to see Peggy but not saying anything to her…OH MY GOSH THE FEELS!!!!

-          Bruce/Hulk knowing that they needed to wield the gauntlet…just the fact that they were like, yup, this is what I was made to do and I am going to do it because I can

-          The whole scene when the Avenger’s base was getting blown up had me holding my breath the whole time trying to figure out what the hell was going to happen.

-          STEVE FUCKING ROGERS IS WORTHY!!!! Like damn! I am beyond pleased that they included that in the movie – it was amazing! And honestly, didn’t you all already know that?

-          The giant reveal that everyone was back and they were ALL going to fight – like that was the most epic heroes’ entrance ever and we will probably never get to see another one like it again.

-          I LOVED PEPPER IN THE SUIT THAT TONY MADE HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-          Badass ladies coming to kick butt and help Carol get the gauntlet to the “time machine” is what I am so here for!!!

-          I. Am. Iron Man. *sobs for an eternity over the pureness that is Tony Stark*

-          On the note, I HATE that Tony died, but I also feel it was so appropriate for his character – he has been the heart of the Avengers since the first movie and it felt so right for him to be the one to save everyone (after all of the amazing sciencey things that he had done in the first place to save everyone).

-          I was glad to see Harley at the funeral. He and Tony really did have a great connection in Iron Man 3 – it’s my own personal head canon that they still talked over the years, Tony checking up on him to make sure things were going okay.

-          “You’re taking all the stupid with you.”

-          I’ve been hearing that everyone is pissed about Steve staying in the past…like dude. Peggy Carter was the fucking love of his life. LOVE OF HIS LIFE!!! And once you find that you never want to let go. Steve had to do that once before and now that he was getting a second chance he was going to take it. And you know what? Good for him. Steve Rogers finally found himself someone to fondue with.

-          I heard people complaining that they couldn’t believe that Steve “left” Bucky…Bucky had started to make his own life in Wakanda and he would never have wanted Steve to give up a second chance with Peggy just to “babysit” his old ass.

-          As for him handing off his shield to Sam? I LOVED that too. Sam has proven himself time and time again that he was trust worthy, loyal, and dedicated – he is ready. Bucky, while starting to make a life for himself, is still getting a handle on things…let the poor man rest guys.

-          And to wrap it all up, I just loved all of the little nods to the past movies and prominent lines that were said in them. I have invested and dedicated so much time (more than I should have) to loving these characters and in my opinion each character was honored in the way they deserved within the plot line that was presented (don’t get me wrong, I still wish Nat and Tony could come back, but alas that is what we have fanfiction for!).