#the hulk is problematic

[steveandnatlover76]

Steve: Well, at least we know which way the Hulk went.

Natasha: Did you have to order him to SMASH?!

Steve: Sweetheart, I meant smash the enemy, not the new Avengers Compound!!

Natasha: I wonder if Tony‘s insurance covers a raging green monster with an attitude…

[icyfox17]

AO3 Top Relationships Bracket- Round 2 Side 2

Wilbur & Technoblade & Tommyinnit & Phil are here as a platonic/familial relationship.

This poll is a celebration of fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[1v1-me-irl]

I know everyone else is sick of meta humor in movies but I will never be I’m not sorry

[absolutebl]

hi!!! do you have favorite bl movies (maybe with happy endings too)?👀❤️

Top 10 BL Movies

(as of end of 2024, in no particular order)

My personal favorites will always have HEAs (or at least HFN). I don't love ambiguous endings and I hate sad ones. I'm going to include the Korean stuff that has been recut as movies, because I can.

1 Seven Days

Japan 2015

AKA Seven Days: Monday-Thursday AND Seven Days: Friday-Sunday

This is a cheat as it's 2 movies, but that's still less run time than your bog standard marvel tent pole these days, so it counts.

One of the best live action yaois ever made, with perfectly structured angst, fantastic characters and acting, and no problematic tropes. The leads have excellent chemistry although it’s low heat there’s still some really cute mutual kisses.

2 Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine

AKA Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasu ka? AKA Vending Machine Sabi Koi

Japan 2023

This movie is utterly adorable, impossibly awkward, and kinda old fashioned. About a cute nerdy little office worker (he's out!) who has a big'ol crush on the tall hulking vending machine guy. They fall in love. And that’s it. And it’s charming. There’s some first name eroticism (because Japan) and there's emphasis on communication (so not Japan) which turns this into an organically loving and talkative relationship. There’s a bit of an age gap and our office cutie may or may not have a muscles fetish (the hot bod, not the shellfish) because (if I’ve told you once I’ve told you 1 million times) Japan always goes kinky. And you know what, I loved it.

3 Restart After Come Back Home

AKA Risutato wa tadaima no ato de

Japan 2020

Atmospheric study in rural Japan meets complex family dynamics built on a romance framework of city boy meets country boy, grumpy/sunshine. It’s beautiful and icy sweet. Slow moving in places but ultimately worth the patience, low heat, low angst, and stunning.

4 His

Japan 2020

His is about being a grown adult and still struggling with coming out. It addresses the consequences choosing a life disingenuous to identity. Nagisa turns up on Shun’s doorstep with his precocious daughter in tow. This is a touch confusing to Shun since they were each others first love and Nagisa broke his heart. Shun has retreated from society, rejecting the world before it can reject him because without Nagisa he never had a reason to fight. Nagisa went the opposite, pretending to be something he was not, ending up with a daughter he adores and a wife who hates him. This movie is beautiful and the setting is unique and interesting but I'm not wild about the ending, it's HFN (happy for now). Honestly, I think I mostly liked this because I have a mad crush on Miyazawa Hio (Shun).

5 After Sundown

AKA Saengrawi

Thailand 2023

It's from Mandee and horror (neither really my thing), yet I liked it. It's oddly sweet and wholesome, for a ghost story. Phloeng and Rawee enter into an arranged marriage for confusing prophetic reasons. Twists of fate demand that they solve the mystery of a past that is haunting Phloeng's family and harming Rawee. Honestly, it makes no actual sense, but it's kinda historical, and very pretty, so I enjoyed it more than I should.

Korean BL that aired as shows but are cut together as movies & great

In some of these cases the movies are better than the originals, in some they are exactly the same.

6 Color Rush

2021

A unique paranormal twist elevates this classic high school drama into a pitch-perfect allegory for the queer coming out experience and one of the best BLs of all time (I will fight you on this).

7 Semantic Error

2022

The ultimate enemies to lovers, also the prettiest. Sexy older boy discovers pouty younger boy has outed him as a slacker, starts out bullying him, accidentally falls madly in love instead. Korea hits it entirely out of the Parks by doing a university BL with everything we expect from BL just done exactly right. Korea's signature quality executed perfectly with added bonus good story, great pacing, stunning visuals, and fantastic chemistry. You cannot ask for more from a BL, let alone a KBL.

8 To My Star

2021

Hwang Da Seul directing this show about a neurotic actor (actual puppy) who takes refuge with a grumpy chef resulting in sparks, cooking lessons, and LOVE! It’s is a touch quirky to get into, but utterly charming once it hits its stride. This is the ultimate grumpy/sunshine pairing plus the most appealing light-filled kitchen of our dreams. I adore this show so much. Limited use of BL tropes makes this feel more of a sweet contemporary gay romance between an actor plagued by scandal and the chef who accidentally adopts him, but the gentleness will appeal to fans of the BL genre.

9 Long Time No See

2017

This originally aired as a series but I have only ever seen it as a movie. So I'm counting it.

Catfishing assassins on either side of a turf war fall in love not knowing they are on opposite sides. Or do they? Suspenseful plot, good fight sequences, mature characters, hot sexitimes, and even hotter beating the shit out of each other and kissing while covered in blood (this came from KOREA?), plus an HEA. One of the greatest hidden gems of the BL genre.

10 Wish You: Your Melody in My Heart

2020

Set in the music industry featuring a talented singer and the pianist who falls in love with him (and his music), this is subtle and achingly adorable. High production, low heat, short run, very tame, and Korea, so all the pretty. Slow burn and lots of pining.

(source)

[beloveds-embrace]

I saw your single mom recs, and I got intrigued and have a few ideas!! I've been thinking about single mom reader who prioritized her kids after the divorce above all else, her ex was someone who was flaky + problematic and she knew her kids' childhood would be more stable if he wasn't in their lives (not like he was there much to begin, and he'd always give them false hope. No more of that!!) But because of that, she's lost a bit of herself - her mind has been in mom mode for so long, she hasn't really been feeling herself like she used to. But maybe a special guy changes that tho 👀

I'm just imagining the kids being the catalyst to the meeting. (I imagine the reader having a daughter who's in pre-school and a baby boy who's a few months old.) Maybe your daughter sees Ghost at the super market and asks him questions about his mask and tattoos and you're frantically apologizing to him, and he sees how beautiful you are and compliments you on it. He also notices the amount of groceries you have, you probably need help carrying those, right? Or maybe you're at the park, and your daughter accidently hits a ball at Gaz, the beautiful man only smiling and brushing it off. He insists on playing with your daughter after he notices that she's playing alone and you're occupied with your baby boy, and you can't help but think that he's actually prince charming irl. Maybe you're on the bus and are struggling with your bags, a phone call, and soothing your baby, trying to keep your daughter from being too loud or getting up from her seat, and Price notices, helping you out, telling you that it's no trouble - he'll even help you to your home, it's awful late after all. Or you're at the store, buying clothes now the it's gotten chilly, and your daughter begs for a new toy but you gotta let her down easy, explaining you don't have enough money on you rn, when Soap comes in, buying the toy for her. You insist on repaying, and he says you don't need to, a bonnie hen like yourself shouldn't have to worry about that, not when the lil princess is happy, cus that's what matters, right?

I'm sorry I rambled, I love men who are good with kids!!

I love men who are good with kids too 😩 god, I’m just imagining Simon- this big, hulking man- bending down to listen fully and attentively to your daughter and answering all her curious little questions, and then is still giving her his focus and attention even while carrying your groceries. Ovaries? Desperate.

ALSO KYLEEE YES his heart just kinda of aches when he notices how lonely your daughter looks, playing by herself because the other kids are all boys and told her she can’t play with them. It’s a great bonus mama looks great and has no ring on her finger.

God, anon, I love your brain 😭 john(x2)’s ideas got me blushing and giggling i love you

[rodolfoparras]

I need to be Price’s big scary dog (yes I know Ghost exists but lemme dream for a minute for gender reasons).

Imagine being this huge hulking figure that’s constantly his shadow, teeth bared, ready to snap at anyone who dare cross him.

But also. Being his good boy, his good pup, and being allowed to fuck him senseless. Him muttering slurred praises as you fuck into him, pinning him underneath your weight as you breed him.

He really do got that dog in him and that dog is me ‼️

Anygays! I hope you are doing well and hydrating and resting :3

- 🐺

Thinking about Price being known as the captain to pick up strays, taking in problematic soldiers to give them a second chance.

When he first read your files all he could see was people describing you as a merciless beast but instead of being horrified, Price had been intrigued.

He couldn’t help but wonder what made the beast tick and if he could use it to his own advantage.

So he had you flown out to base, escorted all the way to his office with guards leading you there.

Price had been quick to send the guards away. They’d been hesitant at first unsure if the captain should be left alone but eventually they did leave.

Price had walked up to you, cupped your cheek, and pulled you closer to inspect you throughly

And instead of biting his head off, like anyone would have expected you to do, you were quiet as ever while keeping your head bowed.

Good boy, he thinks to himself. I’ll train you well

And trained you he did, whenever you dared bare your teeth at him, he’d have you down on all four before shoving his cock down your throat, all while keeping a boot clad foot on your clothed crotch. You’d be muttering apologies with your lips wrapped around his dick while your own dick weeped under his boot clad feet.

Whenever you refused to listen to his commands he’d tie your arms and legs to the bed while using a toy on himself. You wouldn’t be able to touch him, hell sometimes you wouldn’t even be able to see him, only being able to hear the sounds of pleasure slipping past his lips and the obscene squelching sounds that echoe throughout the room as he fucks himself on the dildo.

You’d beg and plead to see him, to fuck him, promising you can make him feel better than the toy can but he wouldn’t listen to any of it, smiling at the tears trickling down your cheek while he rides the plastic dick “that’ll teach you to listen to what I say”

And maybe just maybe if you’ve been good enough he’ll let you fuck him, listening to the pathetic sound escaping your lips as he lines your cockhead up with his puckered rim, watching the way you go from setting a steady pace with your hips to erratically thrusting into him, before he feels you spill inside him

“s good so good- thank you sir - thank you so much”

[the-daily-bugle-official-blog]

It has been ten years since the brutal attacks by the rogue AI Ultron that plagued the world, and we at the Daily Bugle believed a retrospective was in order, a look back at what we assumed was the worst event ever in human history. And at the time, it was.

Though the Avengers swooped in and saved the day, 177 civilians were killed and $474 billion in damage was caused to the Sokovian capital. regular people lost their homes and livelihoods, and many of the remaining survivors died of injuries or the rampant disease in refugee camps from Ukraine to Hungary. Furthermore, beyond an initial donation from Tony Stark and the US government, no great effort has been made to rebuild the Sokovian capital beyond dumping money into the hands of the government and leaving them to it.

This has caused a new corrupt Sokovian government to hoard the donation money and leave its people in shambles, even ten years on many Sokovians still live in tents or makeshift homes in the crater that used to be Novi Grad. The death rate is high, children are uneducated, many having to dig through the still piled high ruins for salvageable materials to sell and provide for their families. So far, no major world governments besides the ones directly bordering Sokovia have made an effort to provide needed aid and support.

Does this mean we want someone like Tony Stark to provide aid to Sokovia? In my opinion, no. He, his daughter Serena Stark-Potts and Bruce Banner, the infamous Hulk, were the ones who unleashed Ultron on the world in the first place, and the people of Sokovia do not want him anywhere near their country again. A better solution would be more direct support from the United Nations to the people of Sokovia and not their government, who have so far misused their power and made Sokovia the poorest European nation as of today and in the top 20 poorest countries in the world.

So what do the people of Sokovia think? We sent an intern on a trip and he came back 2 weeks later than expected, since his transfer flight through Amsterdam was delayed, but we finally got our reports:

"We have nothing left, the destruction of our home left us in a refugee camp and we still haven't been allowed back into Sokovia. My youngest can't remember his homeland, he only knows the tents." - Anya, 35, mother of 2, currently lives in a Romanian refugee camp "I lost my whole family in the fight. When do they get their justice?" - Helmut, 47, ex-baron, currently incarcerated "I was only a child and lost both my parents. Me and my brother were stuck under the rubble waiting. No one came for five days" - Emilia, 21, refugee camp volunteer

The long and short of it is that what happened at Sokovia was irresponsible and deadly, and with the Sokovia Accords never being brought to fruition, many feel justice was never found for those still suffering thanks to Ultron's attack, even after a decade. Many would simply prefer to dust off their hands and tell themselves "Ultron was stopped, the day was won, nothing more is to be done." Well not here!!! At the Daily Bugle we always strive to tell the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or problematic. To join our daily newsletter comment underneath one of our posts to be added to the list. Be sure to comment your thoughts about the handling of the Sokovia situation, or leave an anonymous submission to get potentially featured in a later news story.

– J Jonah Jameson

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Editor's note: This is one of the very few instances where me and Mr Jameson agree: Sokovia was handled poorly and its people are still suffering. However, there are still many positives to be found in a story like this. Countless refugee and volunteer organizations have been supporting the Sokovian people, several funded by the Starks themselves. This does not absolve them of blame but it is more than nothing, and hopefully this article will bring the plight of the Sokovian people into the public eye at last And before anyone asks, intern Peter had a great time in Amsterdam – J.E. - Lead Editor

@official-buckybarnes @serenastark-official @under0-0s @officialironman @the-ironman @imnothulk

[sandrasoapbox]

This is just a reminder that 616's John Walker AKA US Agent was in 1991's Marvel Illustrated: The Swimsuit Issue. Look at our problematic fave using all his might while Steve Rogers isn't breaking a sweat. But then, it's easier when you have two literal gods and She-Hulk on your side.

More reasons why there should be a Thunderbolts beach episode.

[transhuman-priestess]

media being not good is the worst possible thing it can be. Not bad, mind you. not offensive, terrible, or problematic. just not good. bland. At least awful movies like The Room or michael bay movies are bad in compelling ways. you can't say that about Ang Lee's Hulk. It's jut Not Good.

[spiderpussinc]

are the 2099 comics THAT bad in terms of racism plus other weird writing choices??? i'm starved for miguel content and would like to read the original comic run but i keep seeing the debate of the original comics being problematic and/or downright just BAD bad (not to mention miguel is supposed to have mexican heritage but he's straight up a white redhead lol)

Some people may disagree but speaking as a latinx writer; it's bad because it is racist, yes! On multiple fronts!! And beyond that, it's also bad as a complete failure of comics structure and compelling narrative.

Longpost, on readmore;

I say this as a long-time capeshit reader, as politely as possible: Miguel's comics are a *paycheck* book. As in; a series a writer does monthly to be paid for it, but with middling aspirations and downright negative characterization depending on where their mood is.

The first few issues of his 1992 run are relatively complete and well-balanced, may even trick you into thinking this story is going somewhere; but that's only because they're the /character pitch./ Ill skip to the end and tell you upfront. That 1992 series ends with the implosion of the whole "2099" line of comics (an universe that included other books, like ghost rider, doom, etc, by other writers) due to dwindling public interest and mass cancellations. The end of that run is basically meaningless, since the whole thing got retconned - and even before that a guest writer had came in and made mistaken character reveals pdavid wasnt happy with and wanted to erase before the finale. The event book that wrapped up that universe was unironically, literally called -- "2099: Manifest Destiny."

Now, I don't like Peter David's writing. I think he's obsessed with the idea of building harems out of his female characters (when he's not fridging them, or making them act ~crazy~ to further alienate them from the protagonist) and it is the kind of grueling, joyless reading experience I can only describe as making you feel Oily Inside. This goes as far as multiple stalking plotlines, the inclusion of a guest appearance from AU s/x slaver Hulk in later years, Miguel's mother being strongly implied to have been forced into conceiving him by his real dad who's the evil CEO of alchemax, general torture painporn. His broader supporting cast is so interchangeable and disposable that they were literally disposed of.

In terms of the racism; I have mentioned how he uses cultures as tokens and does 0 research whatsoever. The way it feels and the way it is deployed is through a lens of Exoticism - tourism. Miguels suit is allegedly "a dia de los muertos costume" b/c pdavid seems to think that holiday is mexican halloween. In the orig book, you'll see plenty of broken japanese and stereotypical orientalist caricatures - after killing his first love interest, pdavid introduces a japanese girl who is unironically, literally named "Xina" (that pretends to be chinese on occasion) to fill in the vacant role. Miguel himself falls right into all the usual latino stereotypes — short tempered, drug addict, sex magnet "latin lover" (this last one also applied to his brother Gabriel, who for the longest time is characterized by just Going Through A Lot Of Girlfriends). And it's kind of insane bc he's still being drawn as a deeply deeply white man, but not even that takes off the burden of the racial microagressions!!! They're the only times pdavid seems to remember that heritage! Then there's the commemorative hanging page. Since you mention the redheadedness; thats another insane thing to me. He has 0% of irish in him. His dad is Blond. Who is this man?

Most of the info in the 2099 run is either revealed to be a lie midway thru (miguel is not mr o'hara's son, nor addicted to rapture) or completely retconned away to be rewritten in new runs. Different writers have tried to come in and do miguel in other team/event books but frankly nothing stands out and most of them get marked as alternate-miguels. Unfortunately, every time marvel decided to give another shot at spider-man 2099 they also brought pdavid back. The newer books were never a success, and theyre just as filled w/ the garbage i mentioned earlier (wow! Steampunk spider-woman is given to pdavid for *ONE* issue and instantly tonguekisses gabriel before leaving, so novel. More fridging ensues. Stalking. Etc.) 2099 as an *universe* has been retconned so many times Nothing is consistent and Nothing is set on stone and frankly i think they should make it an AU separate from main canon and build a whole new world already.

The art in the 2015 + runs consists mostly of tracing, and more of that oily weird feeling applied to fem chars. Perhaps you have noticed in this entire hate review have never once spoken about Miguel's heroic plots and memorable villains --- he has none. At least nothing I can remember or distinguish. (Interchangeable, disposable, etc) There is a vague inkling of "this is an anti-stabilishment spiderman, he fights against The Public Eye, the Corporation Cops!" at the start but much like his cultural illiteracy pdavid has no real insightful politics commentary, so that dissolves into the background in time. Its all buzzwords. All of his plotlines are solved in circuitous or soap operaish extradrama ways; and while some of this is present in other superhero comics, what stands out to me MOST is how utterly fucking joyless Miguel's comics are. It's like going through a slog on obligation. They genuinely gave me a headache every time.

ATSV does a great job of reinventing Miguel and rebuilding the parts of him that showed real promise. Being a different tone-swapped spiderman, futuristic, being more on the tech-science side of crime fighting. Him being a single dad with a daughter is also new. (And he is single! There is no singular mention of marriage or a wife anywhere, he's a geneticist, multiple spider-men we see in this movie were literal clones made in tubes - i am fond of the idea he's a transmasc dad but even if you think he's cis he could have made that baby himself. Adoption is also always there.) I think its very clear ATSV didn't want to bring any of pdavids major weird shit w fem chars to the big screen on the hopes that miguel gets rebooted eventually. I think he's gay. Nobody can prove me wrong.

On that note, Steve Orlando (queer writer, also wrote for DC's midnighter/apollo) did some of the latest 2022/2023 Miguel miniseries. Another reboot! Those were "2099: Exodus" and "Spider-man 2099: Dark Genesis" - i think its campier/trying to tackle superhero plots more head on and trying to do something wide wacky cast focused at Marvel's personal request, but Miguel's future is very up in the air rn. I do really hope they reboot him into something closer to ATSV with latines at the center soon.

What I always reccomend for people curious abt miguel: read his first 3ish 1992 issues, get a general feel and close the book as soon as you feel annoyed. It won't get better. Remember none of it is canon nor has been relevant in over two decades. If you want to know the wider context of his messy chronology, check out some of the 2099 "all comics" type of youtube videos, theres some pretty easy to digest summarizations if u dont wanna waste ur time reading stuff that just got retconned again lol. Most writers now are operating on vibes and that is a freedom you should also allow yourself in your own fanwork.

Putting his panels out of context can be very funny though. (For further curiosity or tangents, there's always my meta tag)

[frodothefair]

The "Greats" Weren't Perfect Either.

For today's episode of Nisilë's writing wisdom, we are fighting perfectionism by taking a look at some of the writing of famous authors, and the various ways in which it is imperfect, or breaks the "rules."

Let's start with Jane Austen. I won't quote anything directly because it's too long, but on multiple occasions while reading Emma, I had to go back several pages because there weren't enough attributions in dialogue, and I lost track of who was speaking.

Then there's F. Scott Fitzgerald. I absolutely love the man and his work, but he uses too many adverbs and seems allergic to a good old-fashioned "said" as an attribution. Sometimes its exquisite, at other times unnecessary. Personally, I prefer to allow dialogue to speak for itself, no pun intended, and so I find this aspect of his writing cluttered and distracting. A couple examples from The Great Gatsby:

"You did it, Tom," she said accusingly. "I know you didn't mean to but you DID do it. That's what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great big hulking physical specimen of a----" "I hate that word hulking," objected Tom crossly, "even in kidding."

And a few lines down:

"Civilization's going to pieces," broke out Tom violently. "I've gotten to be a terrible pessimist about things. Have you read 'The Rise of the Coloured Empires' by this man Goddard?"

Let's move on to Hemingway, my problematic fave. He hardly ever sends a reader reaching for a dictionary, which is fine, but he also seems allergic to commas and conjunctions besides "and." And some of his sentences go on and on and could really stand to be broken up. Like this one from the short story "My Old Man":

So I went out of the Galleria and walked over to in front of the Scala and bought a paper, and came back and stood a little way away because I didn’t want to butt in and my old man was sitting back in his chair looking down at his coffee and fooling with a spoon and Holbrook and the big wop were standing and the big wop was wiping his face and shaking his head.

And finally, Tolkien. In the LOTR chapter "The Houses of Healing," he keeps starting paragraphs with "and" and "but." He does this a staggering number of times.

And one of the guards answered: "The Steward of Gondor is in the Houses of Healing."

But Éomer said: "Where is the Lady Éowyn, my sister; for surely she should be lying beside the king, and in less honour? Where have they bestowed her?"

And Imrahil said: "But the Lady Éowyn was yet living when they bore her hither. Did you not know?"

And it goes on like that! (Again, no pun intnded). Within the same page, we encounter a series of paragraphs that begin with "And Gandalf answered," "But Imrahil said," "And the cloaked man spoke," etc.

But see, in everything these authors do, there's a rhyme and reason, or at least an explanation. Jane Austen's dialogue is what truly shines about her writing, so maybe it's ok to go back a few pages to make sure you understand who is speaking -- perhaps her aim was to give her characters the spotlight and fade into the woodwork as the narrator. Tolkien was trying to emulate the style of epic poetry (I think? Correct me if I'm wrong). Fitzgerald's at times over-upholstered style is a mirror of the opulence of his age. And Hemingway was recreating the way people think and actually talk, which made him revolutionary for his time.

I suspect all of them were doing what they did with intention. And perhaps therein lays the rub. If you're doing something with intension and trying to convey something specific with your structure or choice of words, is it really a "flaw" or a "mistake"?

[mrsmodok]

ACTIVE MARVEL ROLEPLAY SERVER !!

Marvel in Glory is a server that prides itself of being a mix between chill, lighthearted roleplay and serious, more action driven plots. We strive to make sure every character is included, that includes ones who may not be conventionally noticed! Our server will always take priority of member safety, meaning that we will ban any problematic members! We have MANY canons open and accept OC’s! Like I mean, almost everyone is open. Our server is overall super chill, yet not too chill to the point where it gets in the way of roleplay.

Betty Ross, Red Hulk, Sean Madigan, Scott Lang, Nightcrawler, Loki, Andrew Forson, anyone from A.I.M., are all wanted characters!

LGBTQ+ friendly!

System friendly!

14+

Semi-lit and up!

[argumate]

I was a fan of the once feminist blogger Sady Doyle back in the day, now still feminist but it's complicated blogger Jude Doyle, so I wrangle their words with only the kindest of wishes and I know they are perpetually Going Through It, but I still think they're being curiously oblivious in most of this post about erasure etc.

even just the narrative arc of "I was a feminist because traditional gender roles made me uncomfortable", like yes it's good to dig into the emotional underpinnings of your beliefs, and it can be an important part of figuring out what it is you "really" believe or what beliefs you end up settling on or converging to, but obviously something making you uncomfortable is often a terrible foundation on which to build a lifetime of political advocacy! and I don't even need to spell out the issues with that.

and yes lots of people are mad at them, of course, people are always mad at them and always will be even if the stated reasons may shift and vary, so this isn't exactly news, as distressing as it can be to witness, and of course you can't really base your politics on "people get mad at me on the internet", especially when your job is basically to make people mad on the internet, when it comes right down to it.

brief appreciation for "I obliquely subtweeted my mother," as a beautiful sequence of words.

they are of course obliged to state that "misandry" doesn't exist, but that stereotypes of men as predatory, hulking, and violent do exist, and thankfully must not lead to any kind of prejudice or negative outcomes that could be considered problematic; it's a strange assertion but a compulsory one.

they find that the writings of most cis male feminists are useless, but fail to identify why, and take them at face value instead of considering why there might be a supply of and a demand for such nonsense.

and of course, they still write in the same manner as they always have: of deriving general assertions from their specific experiences, which is arguably all that any of us can ever do and yet when expressed directly in thinkpiece form is still an intensely gendered, female-coded, way to write; when your topics are the socially constructed notions of "men" and "women" then you have to be aware of this!

[ym4yum1]

Preface — My favorite Spy (4)

November, 2024.

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

Far worse than the sterilization itself was how AoU framed it.

Troubled, Bruce admitted, "There's no future with me. I can't ever… I can't have this. Kids. Do the math. I physically can't."

Natasha opened her heart, "Neither can I. In the Red Room where I was trained, where I was raised… They have a graduation ceremony. They sterilize you. It's efficient. One less thing to worry about. The one thing that might matter more than a mission. Makes everything easier. Even killing. You still think you're the only monster on the team?"

After hearing her emotional confession, Bruce's answer was a flat, "So, we disappear?" That was the end of it.

Infertility is a deeply painful experience for many, and it should never be equated with a person's humanity. Ever. Yet, that's exactly what this infamous exchange implied, even if unintentionally. How did no one — writers, editors, directors — catch this?

Bruce's implication, "I'm a monster, therefore I can't have kids," could never justify or suggest Natasha's conclusion, "I can't have kids, therefore I'm a monster." Right?

Both are deeply flawed — and damaging — ideas.

So… was AoU any good for Bruce Banner's arc?

The scene described above was an unnecessary, uncomfortable moment made worse by his passive reaction, which seemed to tacitly affirm the degrading notion that infertility diminishes a person's worth. Given his expertise in biology and medicine, Bruce should have questioned Natasha's distorted logic, responding with empathy and compassion even if he felt conflicted. Instead, the film depicted him as almost heartless, undermining his intelligence and emotional depth. Both characters were sidelined during a vulnerable moment that could have fostered genuine connection.

Bruce's iconic line, "I'm always angry," in The Avengers (2012) and Hulk's controlled demeanor when the team confronted a defeated Loki in the end of the movie suggested that Bruce had begun to achieve a degree of balance with his troubled alter ego. But in AoU, his sudden dependence on Natasha's "calming lullaby" trope — reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast — felt like a regression, undermining his hard-won progress.

The romantic tension between Natasha and Bruce in AoU also felt problematic, especially in light of Bruce's emotional struggles in The Incredible Hulk (2008). In that film, his physical intimacy with longtime girlfriend Betty Ross was constrained by his condition — any intense emotion, including arousal, could trigger his transformation. In AoU, Bruce's line, "I physically can't," could imply that he believed intimacy, and therefore fatherhood, were out of reach for him. In this context, Natasha's flirtation and sexual innuendo almost felt like emotional torment. Was she knowingly taunting him? A cynical view could suggest that it was all an act — that she was merely manipulating the man to tame the beast. Her actions come across as dismissive and ultimately undermined and trivialized them both.

Side Notes:

In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (Season 2, Episode 9, 2012), Bruce was hit with an adrenal inhibitor that temporarily prevented him from transforming into the Hulk — a potential solution if he wanted physical intimacy.

In She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), Smart Hulk introduced his son, Skaar, in the season finale. In the comics, Skaar is the biological son of the Hulk and the alien Caiera from the planet Sakaar — where MCU Hulk was during Thor: Ragnarok (2017). So, yes — he only needed the right partner after all.

P.S.: I will post the full text here in parts, but you can read it all in the preface of the story posted on Fanfiction, Ao3 or Wattpad. Please, let me know what you think! 🤗😘

[jor-elthatendswell]

It's a well worn topic at this point but the imminent release of The Marvels has me thinking about how militaristic the Marvel Cinematic Universe is, with Monica Rambeau aka Photon, a habour patrol member in the comics, reimagined as a captain in the US Air Force.

She follows Hawkeye, who was changed from an argumentative former circus performer with a heart of gold (a character so staunchly against lethal force he once revoked his own wife's Avengers membership because she sort of, maybe, subconsciously allowed a villain to fall to his death) into a hard-nosed black ops assassin.

Sam Wilson/ Falcon made his celluloid debut as an army man with twin submachine guns attached to his wrists. It’s a far cry from his print counterpart’s introduction as a social worker by day who uses his skill at falconry to protect his neighbourhood.

If we allow the argument that modern cinema goers are accustomed to a sprinkling of realism to make their superheroes palatable (and it’s a strange argument really- why should realism be a desirable quality in summer blockbuster escapism?) then what actually constitutes “realism”.

Sure, a man who learnt uncanny skill with a bow and arrow growing up with a travelling show couldn’t possibly hold his own alongside Hulk or Thor in the real world (and, yes, there isn’t a Hulk or Thor in the real world; as I say, this is a strange argument), but if he learned those exact same skills in some kind of military context then that somehow passes the bar for realism? The sinister upshot is that these children’s heroes become more warlike just as, globally, they reach more children than ever before.

Increasing the realism of superhero stories only serves to make them problematic. DC Comics' Batman, who is the frequently subjected to “realistic” treatments, is the prime example. If, in real life, a billionaire tooled himself up with the best weapons and body armour money can buy and began dispensing violent “justice” with no accountability, then of course that wouldn’t be a good thing. If they wore a costume with pointy ears and started calling themselves “Batman” then of course we would question their sanity. But Batman isn’t real; it’s a story. Nobody thinks The Muppet Show advocates animal cruelty. Quite the opposite, if anything. ("Not unless they're watching it", as Waldolf once heckled) Yet if a filmmaker decides they’re going to make a “grounded and realistic” remake where Fozzy is played by a real live bear wearing a pork pie hat and spotty necktie, then that's a whole other story. Suspend your disbelief and superheroes are less like the police or army and more akin to volunteers and activists, doing what they can with what they have to improve the lives of those around them. Their actions take the form of crime fighting only because that’s what makes for exciting colourful adventure stories for children.

In the MCU, even Marvel’s poster boy, Spider-Man (another champion of non-lethal solutions, known for his compassion even to his enemies and who possesses an enduring appeal to young children) is given a literal sheen of the military-industrial complex in the form of “Stark Tech” armour, replete with military grade strike drones. Tony Stark even thought to equip his 15 year old protégé-cum-child soldier with an “Instant Kill Mode”. In a moment played for laughs in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man rejects his on-board AI's attempt to activate this feature but seems untroubled that such an option exists and, indeed, come Avengers: Infinity War, he voluntarily deploys it. It’s not clear if Spidey actually does kill any of his alien adversaries, but it seems reasonable to assume that one doesn’t say “Activate Instant Kill Mode” without the intention of ending lives. Fans are expected to smile or applaud as Spider-Man says these words, recognising the call-back to Homecoming, rather than find it a gross misrepresentation of Marvel’s most beloved character or an alarming depiction of a children’s favourite.

The MCU Avengers as a whole are a US government “initiative “. The reluctant superheroes need to be cajoled into putting their differences aside for the greater good by army top brass Nick Fury. In a tweak from the source material, the ‘H' in Fury's organisation, SHIELD, stands for ‘Homeland’, making SHIELD as explicitly American venture as opposed to it being ostensibly intergovernmental in the comics.

There is a comic book precedent for this military take on Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the form of The Ultimates, a 2002 series by the British team of writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch. The Ultimates ,however, was satire. Millar was an unreformed lefty of the old school – someone who has boasted of voting Brexit for left-wing reasons, someone who once appeared on Russia Today as a guest of George Galloway. The Ultimates took swings at the gung ho jingoism of post 9/11 America. Captain America's “Surrender!!?? You think this letter on my head stands for France?“ is not supposed to be a badass one-liner, but rather a parody of the kind of things US media outlets were saying as Jacques Chirac proved less keen than Tony Blair to follow George Bush in bringing gunboat diplomacy to the Middle East. As Millar commentated at the time:

“The Ultimates is completely different because it's a character-driven piece and (something only a few people have noticed) my attempt as a left-wing writer to tell stories about an essentially right-wing concept and cast. It's very much the Anti-Authority, if you will. Captain America and so on are fully-paid members of the US military machine and this means a very different book and approach from a gang of slightly arrogrant, left-wing, superhuman utopians like The Authority ".

Wildstorm Comics' The Authority, which both Millar and Hitch worked on (although not together), was a precursor to Ultimates, featuring a team of similarly “any means necessary” heroes, albeit with a left-wing bent. The Ultimates does have something of The Authority’s utopian streak; Nick Fury and Tony Stark genuinely want to make the world a better place for everyone. It’s very idealistic – what if the head of the military and the biggest tech billionaire actually had the people’s best interests at heart? – and arguably closer to true superhero ethos (basically “with great power there must also come great responsibility “) than those characters more pragmatic MCU equivalents.

Yet, as Millar's one time writing partner Grant Morrison (who actually ghost-wrote at least one issue of The Authority under Miller’s name) observed in Morrison’s major nonfiction work, Supergods, the likes of The Authority, The Ultimates and, by extension, the MCU represent a “capitulation” to the view “that it was really only force and violence that got things done and not patient diplomacy, and that only soldiers and very rich people had the world figured out”. If the MCU is realistic, then it’s a sad indictment of the real world where the heroes are the ones with the best tech, the best guns and no compunction about using them.

Regardless of intent, The Ultimates left a door at Marvel’s “House of Ideas” just enough ajar to allow a malign notion to creep in: “These soldier superheroes are pretty cool. What If they were like that all the time? Wouldn’t they be more popular then”?

Certainly the navy SEAL aesthetic Bryan Hitch brought to the costumes (replacing the colourful tights and capes with pouches, straps and body armour) was soon adopted by superhero tv and film productions even pre-MCU. In fact, Hawkeye's journey from carny to commando mirrors the changes in superhero attire. Most famously, Superman's appearance with the red “overpants” derives from that of circus strongmen, but seeing any photography of early to mid 20th century carnival and circus performers makes it clear the early superhero creators had them in mind when they first put pencil to paper.

In an interview (found in Marvel Spotlight: Captain America, published in 2009) Hitch related how he showed an initial Ultimates drawing of Captain America with a machine gun to Grant Morrison, which Morrison then “described as the most obscene Captain America image [they’d] ever seen”. (NB: Morrison has since adopted gender neutral pronouns). Perhaps Morrison said this with glee, in on the joke with their friends, but in the years since, Cap with a gun became a common sight, even in family-friendly movies (where it was divorced from the irony of The Ultimates).

By a 2015 interview, Morrison lamented the fact that “the Avengers work for the government, and it's been like that since Mark [Millar] did The Ultimates” and said they were “bored with the idea that the best superheroes can represent is some aggressive version of the military. [...] They're supposed to be champions of the oppressed, they help ordinary people, they make things better for people. They don't prop up our grotesque, doddering culture of war and aggression”.

That same year Morrison introduced a new comic book superteam in the pages of The Multiversity. Pointedly the text likens this group, named “Justice Incarnate”, to a “cosmic neighbourhood watch” rather than any formal military or law-enforcement institution.

Millar himself reunited with his Authority collaborator Frank Quitely to create the comic Jupiter’s Legacy, which comes across in part as an apology for The Ultimates and all it begat. It concludes with the protagonists, Chloe Sampson and Eddie "Hutch" Hutchence taking up superhero mantles and promising not to make the moral compromises of their predecessors:

“No more bowing to authority and insitutions. No more deference to people in power”.

“There's a dignity in public service we mistook for old-fashioned, and a humility in having a secret identity, living among the people we protect.“

The Avengers, Marvel’s breakthrough billion dollar box office 2012 movie, by contrast, concludes with Iron Man dropping a nuclear bomb on the “Chitari”, an invading alien army and it seems likely this influenced Morrison’s comments on modern superhero stories.

In Supergods, Morrison

describes their childhood dread of nuclear weapons. The child of “ban the bomb” activists, the “gruesome hand-drawn images of how the world might look after a spirited thermonuclear missile exchange” which illustrated their parents anti-nuclear literature struck terror into the young Morrison. Therefore they seized upon superheroes as being an idea powerful enough to counteract – and overcome – the idea of the bomb.

“It’s not that I needed Superman to be “real,” I just needed him to be more real than the Idea of the Bomb that ravaged my dreams”.

Within the narrative of the movie, Iron Man takes the only option available to him to save New York. Destroying thousands of alien lives to save thousands of human ones. But The Avengers isn’t a documentary; the scriptwriters could have written a satisfying denouement which didn’t involve mass murder. They could at least have included some words of regret by the heroes over what it took to win, acknowledging that killing is not the ideal solution. Instead the Avengers trade banter and eat shawarma, collective conscious clear.

There is a moment in another Grant Morrison work, Final Crisis, which always brings the MCU to mind. In Final Crisis #3, drawn by JG Jones, (published in 2008, the same year the MCU began) “evil gods” from a higher plain of existence have been reincarnated on Earth. In order for the Justice League to counter this threat, a “draft for Superheroes” is implemented. Green Arrow (a Batman-a-like character who was subsequently reinvented to embody the countercultural sentiment of the late 1960s and has since served as the social conscious of the superhero set) responds to receiving his draft notice thusly:

“If anybody falls for this authoritarian, militaristic crap, it’ll prove I’m absolutely right about absolutely everything!... “

Cue the next page, where the drafted heroes have gathered en mass (including Green Arrow, impotently shaking his fist.)

Such an assemblage of characters in usually a triumphant moment in a summer "event" story, but here is framed as a sign that evil already has it’s hooks into reality. This world has fallen to the darkness and the superheroes who inhabit it are too morally compromised to realise it.

[theoutlawfaleena]

the king & the siren

könig x gender-neutral sniper!reader

warnings cod-typical violence, blood, probably military inaccuracy bc i have no idea what i'm talking about [cries]

tags unhinged könig, sniper reader, some mild tension, backstory leading into something more 👀, könig is unhinged but he's not rlly a red flag?, u just gotta read it to know what i'm talking abt bro, forced proximity but without the forced

i have nothing to say for myself. just have this as a peace offering

As an operator working under the private contractor known plainly as KorTac, your job is simple. You go where you're ordered to go, shoot whomever you're ordered to shoot, and then you pack up your things and wait for the next job. It's an uncomplicated existence, and it's all-consuming. It takes you by that invisible chain that anchors you to the earth and yanks you into the dirt, over and over until you learn to harden yourself, to spit the grit from your mouth and catch yourself before the fall ever comes.

The pull of the chain is something you have long since become familiar with. It comes with each body you drop, each bomb you set off, each grenade pin you pull off with your teeth where the metal bites into your tongue and fills your mouth with the taste of pennies. It turned you into the Siren, a sniper who grabs the attention of enemies with light hums and short whistles and embeds a bullet in their skull once their curiosity brings them close enough.

For a while, you did not think you could live without the pull of that chain; though harsh it may have been, it was a sole companion in a way of life that left no room for companionship.

Then, like some kind of cruel joke played at the hand of whatever force dealt you sour luck, that kid from Austria was recruited to the team.

He couldn't have been any older than twenty-five upon his arrival, standing at a mountainous six-feet-ten-inches with a body that swallowed up the space in doorframes, and it was not even his height that stood out as the most notable thing about him; rather, it was the dark sniper hood draped over his head to conceal his face, only cut to reveal wild eyes that looked anywhere but the eyes of others. It earned him plenty of barking shouts from your superiors, ordering him to look them in the eyes when he was being spoken to.

He went by König, meaning "king."

You did not give him long.

And much to your surprise, he lasted.

You learned that he had been a Jagdkommando with his native Austrian army, placed in the position of an insertion specialist. He was vying for a spot as a sniper, but those above him had quickly come to the conclusion that his hulking size and a rather problematic inability to sit still would not work in anyone's favor, and his aspirations had been rejected. His immense size and strength made him an ideal battering ram, however, and that was precisely what he was appointed to do.

Of course, such stories were only rumors that flew from the mouths of your teammates, for another thing you learned was that he did not speak; not to any of you, anyway. He spoke on the field, and that was that. You were not keen on prying information out of him yourself, for what business of it was yours?

As if the universe was crafted to laugh in your face when you needed it least, his business became yours when he was made one of your mission partners during an operation carried out in Berlin.

Al-Qatala fighters had a cell there, holed up with hostages they intended to traffic and force to do God-knows-what. Your mission was easy. Eliminate the fighters, free the hostages. You had seen it done countless times before. König and the others would be at your side, ordered to break through doors and gun down hostiles who stood in your way. You would open the mission with first contact, stationed just close enough to lure the enemy to your position and make the first kill. Your team would follow, and the holding cell would be breached. The rest was supposed to fall easily into place without a hitch. You'd done this time and time again; the chain pulls, and you stand fast.

Muffled voices moved in and out of the seized townhouse. Al-Qatala, no doubt. The air stunk of cigarette smoke and what was left of bombings to keep any hostiles at bay. Every now and then, a cry from a hostage would ring out, only to be followed by a shouting order or a sickening crack indicative of someone being fiercely struck with an open hand. That day, the entire city of Berlin held its breath, and so did you. It sat heavy within your chest, suspended at the base of your throat where you felt your heart thumping.

You waited for your team to gather into position. When the signal came through, the garbling through your earpiece, you finally swallowed. You readied your rifle, lifting your head and gazing through the scope at the shadows that moved across the windows.

You began to hum. Die Zauberflöte; the Queen of the Night's aria, a high-pitched staccato that came in short breaths. For one agonizing moment, the entire earth fell still.

A window broke; glass shattered. The air whistled as a bullet cut through it and flew past your head. On instinct, you flattened yourself to the ground immediately. The shot sounded moments later, ringing in your ears. A spray of warm liquid cast itself across your face. All hell broke loose at once as shouting and screaming arose from within the townhouse, along with the unmistakable sound of doors slammed open as a heavy body made quick work of them. Your team; you could hear your team joining the cacophony of noise. Gritting your teeth, you picked yourself back up and stared through the scope, eyes searching madly for their hidden gunman. The broken window offered a better view, enough that you could see a black-clad mass powering through the bodies inside. Your heart pounded in your ears. This position was doing nothing for you. You had to move.

Teeth grit, you vaulted down the nearest fire escape and broke into a sprint towards the townhouse. The door was left in shambles from the number that the Austrian had done on it, but you had no time to be impressed. Shrieks of horror and shouted commands drove you forward and you held your weapon out before you.

"Look alive!"

It was a call to your team, an indication that you were there. Leaving your station was not a common occurrence but you'd been left blind and of little help to them. The stench of blood was an immediate assault to your senses; it was a grisly scene, bodies of Al-Qatala fighters littering the floor riddled with bullets or with cut throats. Your team. You followed the screams of hostages, stepping over bodies that you didn't recognize as you sprinted downstairs, your rifle at the ready.

You anticipated that the bodies of your teammates would greet you, thrown to the wolves due to your inability to find the gunman. Blood pooled at the bottom of the stairs and you ran through it, turning the corner to find your team, seemingly safe, and yet stunned into a silence. Only the weeping of hostages could be heard. You opened your mouth to alert them of your presence, but stopped at the sight that awaited you.

Blood dripped from the hood of the Austrian. König. It soaked through the fabric and painted the exposed skin around his eyes a horrific shade of red. They were wide, and wild; he looked at you like a wolf poised to attack, and you imagined sharp teeth bared beneath the hood that sent a chill throughout your whole body.

He regarded you for only a moment, then turned his back on you to face the Urzik hostages, held within a cell crafted by the fighters. They cried out at the sight of him and drew closer to one another, even when the door creaked open and he allowed them an exit.

"Follow me," He said, and they flinched at the sound of his voice. At once, one of your teammates stepped forward, pulling his mask down to speak to them in a language they could understand. You didn't know it yourself, but you knew when the hostages reluctantly began to follow after König that something had been said to convince them he was there to help them despite his ghastly appearance. Falling in with the rest of your team, you gently guided hostages forward and out of the townhouse into the open air outside. Once the area was declared clear, emergency personnel on standby flooded the area with helicopters and cars to assess the damage and tend to the wounded and traumatized. The noise was a buzz in your ear, punctuated by a stinging pain that dominated the entire right side of your head from the ear to your jaw. Wincing, you raised your hand to your face, and it came away slick with blood.

You were acutely aware of the gaze bearing into you, but you did not acknowledge it until then. You lifted your head and met König's eyes. He stood an arm's-length away from you, a terrifying blood-soaked vision that studied you silently. You thought for a moment that he was looking directly at you, and it surprised you; however, you quickly realized he was trained on your ear.

"You're bleeding," He finally commented.

You bit back a laugh. It was funny, coming from someone who looked like he did in that moment. Hearing him acknowledge it worsened the pain, and you almost wished he hadn't pointed it out.

"Good eye," You replied.

If it amused him, he didn't show it. His eyes did not betray him for a second, but you had a feeling that yours did. Pain coursed through you like a red-hot blade pushing into your skin. König searched for something amidst his gear. When he closed the distance between you and himself, you had half a mind to back away, but when a bundle of gauze was placed to your ear, you instinctively reached out and grabbed his arm to steady yourself, sucking in air through your teeth.

You swayed lightly, but he stood like some kind of great oak, unmoving. His skin was hot to the touch, and it reduced the pain in your head to a dull throb. Swallowing, you reached out and held onto his arm with both hands.

"Where'd you get that?" You asked. Not that it mattered, but you certainly didn't have gauze in your gear at that moment. He paused, and you felt him shift against you.

"Borrowed it," He said. "From Sanitäter."

The way he said it suggested that "borrowed" may have been stretching the truth. Though it was painful, a smile pulled up at the corner of your mouth; you lifted your head to look at him and found that he was already looking at you. Blue. His eyes were blue, though the bloodstains around them made them seem starkly white.

You stumbled, and he steadied you. Quickly, you murmured an apology and dropped your head again, fixing your eyes on the ground.

König's eyes were blue.

You could not shake the way he looked at you, and you did not know why.