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gengarprotectionsquad · 4 years

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bad horror movie ideas i've been compiling b/c @fleetwoodmurk is an enabler:

thankskilling: the family connections of a 19 year old college student allow him to skirt by any substantial sentencing for violent anti-indigenous hate crimes, just in time for him to make it home by thanksgiving. the soothing whispers of how he “shouldn’t have his life ruined for making a mistake” on property staked in stolen indigenous land invite the wrathful presence of autumn’s bounty-- a ghastly, therizinosaurus-like approximation of a turkey powered solely by the anguish of lives taken in the name of american colonialism. after all, if that family wants their son to have some turkey, then he’ll get his eight foot-tall, blade-handed, undying turkey.

homebody: forced to pull into a run-down motel by a freak storm, a group of friends initially find themselves faced with nothing more harrowing than the occasional cobweb and staff who never meet visitors face-to-face, even finding a note on the front counter that there’s no fee for staying--so long as they “spread the word” if they find their stay satisfactory. but, after waking up each morning to find that they’ve lost clumps of hair, individual teeth, and even a toe among other body parts, they discover the motel’s one and only employee--a colossal, man-like harvestman that severs human tissue with surgical precision (thanks to its spindly, 15 meter arms) in a misguided attempt to better fool human prey by grafting the fruits of its labor onto its own body.

goliath’s revenge: a japanese kaiju film director finally pushes his luck just a tad too far, killing the suit actress for the lead “goliath” monster as a direct result of the director’s penchant for strenuous, dangerous stuntwork. when his connections allow him to wriggle his way out of the tragedy scot-free, the suit actress’ furious spirit reanimates in her signature costume--now made flesh and blood--in order to exact a vengeful rampage of monstrous proportions that her former boss could only have hoped to have filmed.

more under the cut!!!

hivemind: a single mother reeling from a devastating divorce seems to find new purpose in her life thanks to a california-based branch of a yoga group that emphasizes the value of both diligence and mindfulness. as the months go by, however, she realizes that she’s so deeply invested her time with the group that she doesn’t even know the names of anyone in her neighborhood that isn’t involved with them. just as she’s having doubts, she’s invited on a week-long retreat to experience what will hopefully become an outdoor facility of theirs, and that even their founder will be in attendance. she and her daughter do indeed meet the group’s founder--a colossal, humanoid queen ant who is rendered inert by her size, subsequently relying on her psychic abilities to indoctrinate human followers to her side and transform them into “suitable workers” that would happily give their lives for her sake

children of the night: an exorcist, a private investigator, a trio of true crime podcasters, the local sheriff w/ top suspect in tow, a self-proclaimed “vampire hunter”, and a humble gravedigger all converge on the same cemetery when it becomes host to a series of unspeakably gruesome murders--the site being deemed the “vampires’ playground” for the crimes’ bloody nature. but when the self-confessed suspect winds up cleaved in twain at the scene, it turns out they’ll all have to deal with actual vampires--hulking, gorilla-like, hairless bats with the intelligence of a toddler and a permanent, gummy grin filled with teeth far too dull to consume flesh that hasn’t been playfully beaten to a fine pulp beforehand

think tank: with the untimely death of a silicon valley tech giant who’d racked up a reputation for being as antisocial as he was exploitative, a documentary crew visits his main offices in hopes of interviewing any available employees in order to determine whether or not that open secret had any truth to it. though cooperative enough, the surly defensiveness that seems to increase in prevalence as the crew makes their way up the corporate ladder leads one particularly-intrepid camerawoman to sneak the crew far further into the building than originally intended and into a hidden basement. this brings them face-to-face with the deceased entrepreneur’s dirty little secret, known as the think tank: a captive “psychic existence” brought into being using the harvested, collective brainpower of every employee who refused to take their boss’s shit but was just too talented to let go

whalefall: the 300 ft tall, walking corpse of a whale dredges its way up from the ocean floor and onto american shorelines, bringing with it tidal waves of pestilence and plague. when japanese fishermen identify the creature as a bake-kujira--a ghostly whale that harbors only misfortune and undead sealife in the wake of maritime disaster--the federal government opts to not only ignore their insight, but outright blame japan and their whaling industry for its presence. their relative inaction in the name of xenophobia and saving face will serve only to prolong the creature’s attack, with entire coastal towns left to deal with the flooding and zombified deep-sea organisms themselves.

study skin: a group of hunters grow too impatient to wait for their county’s deer season and set out under the cover of nightfall in hopes of snagging a trophy or two. though met with a highway lined with bizarre amounts of roadkill and a totally silent forest, they disregard their unease and set up for the night. they soon discover the true reason for the minimal duration of the local hunting season when they catch a glimpse of an old friend long-thought to have vanished on a hunting trip, bringing them face-to-face with the hidewinder--a mysterious creature that inhabits the skins of deceased animals in search of larger and more complex bodies to call its own, with absolutely no idea how to look or behave “right” in any of its disguises, and a tendency to become enraged once it becomes clear that it doesnt fit in.

calling card: a freelance musician struggling with being sincere and vulnerable in their own work decides to move to a small, quiet town in southern bumblefuck-nowhere to try and clear their head. to their surprise, they’ve practically moved onto the set of a musical--the town’s residents bursting into song at the drop of a hat out of what seems to be the sheer, earnest passion of their feelings. this pleasant novelty soon turns out to be a town tradition established to cope with the presence of lonesome harvey--an upright cicada-man who emerges from underground hibernation every 18 years to rip select peoples’ vocal chords right out of their throats, crudely tying them together in order to fashion a set powerful enough to function as his own (which he uses to shriek out his signature mating call every summers’ night, in hopes of attracting a partner who’ll never arrive). thus, the townsfolk sing their hearts out so that harvey can gauge whose voice he’ll claim for himself (as opposed to having him mutilate everyone in the name of trial-and-error), and the musician has moved into town just in time for ol’ harvey to make his return.

back of your mind: following the very-much-timely (if a tad mysterious) death of their verbally-abusive mother, her only child returns to their childhood home in order to collect any wayward belongings and maybe find some sort of closure in setting foot on the premises one last time. a patch of black mold on the wall that they spot on their way in seems to...change location, somehow. further investigation and attempts to simply wipe away the mold leave it in the blurred image of a gummy, toothy maw--one that begins to whisper to the visitor, claiming to have missed them oh-so-very-much from the day that they left. the strangeness of the situation keeps them coming back everyday, where the mold’s whispers begin to take a familiarly-cruel edge--at first pleading for the visitor to stay, only to take to yelling at them that no-one but the mold will accept them as the “broken, useless husk” of a person that they are.

miasma: a long line of charlatans and conmen have managed to convince a small backwoods town over generations that their collection of plastic gems and false talismans will heal them better than any medical professional could ever hope to accomplish. with most of the towns residents now being old, grey, and complacently vulnerable to disease, a new con artist moving in with a case of the stomach flu compromises the health of the entire community. and with the enticing smell of illness, comes the arrival of the scavenger--a black-feathered “vulture man” who knocks three times upon the door of his intended target, before politely entering their residence and leaving within the hour, leaving behind a bloated corpse whose orifices are stuffed with posies laying otherwise peacefully on their bed.

killing stroke: a promising rising star in the fencing scene is tragically slain in the middle of a prestigious tournament, with the cause of death being attributed to a recklessly-modified underplastron. in actuality, the poor youth’s equipment was sabotaged in order to maintain the career of a legendary fencer. on the anniversary of his death, he rises from the grave and dons his old suit in order to infiltrate that year’s iteration of the tournament--his mission being to cut down not only his rival, but anyone who upholds the same kind of narcissistic greed that claimed his life.

disassembly line: an upton sinclair-adjacent investigative journalist finds herself looking into the inner workings of a 1900s meat-packing factory in chicago, beholding the full disgusting scope of its exploitative, unsanitary working conditions. managing to acquaint herself with a few of the workers, the lunchtime whispers of one particularly-attractive lady butcher point her in the direction of a devious cover-up involving a nameless employee who “accidentally” wound up in the machinery after making too much of a ruckus about his wages. a nameless employee whose steaming, ground-up remains have now crawled out of the rickety equipment in search of postmortem vigilante justice.

catch of the day: in spite of the sustainability concerns their operation has racked up over the years, a deep-sea fishing company delves into nigh-uncontested territory--a patch of ocean deemed “dead waters” in reference to the sparse results of other companies’ attempts. their first day dredges up only a single pacific halibut, titanic even by the standards of the species. upon further inspection, the flatfish splits open in a mess of bodily fluids and blackened, inedible meat--as if the fish had already been torn apart and had decayed from the inside out. lost in the shuffle was an amniotic sac containing rapidly-growing, amphibious hagfish “mermaids” that had parasitized the halibut as they had almost all of the other fish in those waters, and that have now been unleashed on a lonely fishing boat sitting miles away from shore.

razorback bridge: a group of teenaged, amateur paranormal enthusiasts livestream their first “investigation” into a local landmark--razorback bridge, rumored to be haunted by the murderous ghost of a local farmer whose crops were so frequently ruined by invasive wild boar that he snapped and devoted the rest of his natural life to slaying the hogs, eventually losing his life to a boar that proceeded to gobble up his remains without leaving a trace. although officials have long restricted access to that part of the woods due to the aggressive nature of the wild boar inhabiting the area, the teens manage to sneak their way onto the bridge and come face-to-face with ol’ rawhide himself--a ravenous, nigh-unstoppable half-man/half-boar that came to be when the hog that consumed the old farmer had its body possessed and warped by the man’s furious ghost, far too angry to accept even the prospect of his own death.

vigor mortis: a kindly old mortician prides herself on her ability to restore bodies to exactly how they looked in life, enabling their families to have at least one source of comfort during the difficult coping process of loss. one day, however, she is presented with a body so badly mangled in an accident that she almost suggests to forgo embalming altogether and to simply refrigerate the corpse until the burial service, though she ultimately doesn’t when the distraught client begs for the process to be open-casket. try as she might, the mortician finds herself unable to make any substantial restoration on the body. in the few minutes that she steps away from the body in order to think of what else she could do, she turns back to find that it’s...vanished. she soon finds herself being pursued at every turn by the shambling corpse, now enshrouded in a body bag, and is forced to confront both a mangled revenant and a debilitating case of impostor syndrome.

making up for lost time: a conspiracy theory-themed convention is having its first go in philadelphia, pennsylvania--even hosting an artists’ alley selling everything from “ayyy lmao” keychains to collapsible foam JFK heads. when mysterious burn damage begins to show up on the property, however, the inflated egos of the guest panel speakers representing various “unorthodox investigation” groups not only refuse to give up on the convention, but are so prone to bickering amongst themselves and attempting to assume leadership that they only make it harder for the other attendees to respond to the threat of what seems to be a time traveler. that is, the victim of a first attempt at time travel so badly botched that she’s received what is mostly simply put as “space-time carpet burn”: not only is she burning, but her mind, her soul, and the very concept of her throughout space and time are burning, leaving the unreachable chrononaut in a frenzied panic that threatens to scorch everything she touches right out of existence along with her.

pearly gates: in the midst of a national emergency, a group of local landlords manage to bully their recently-unemployed tenants into coughing up just enough rent to host a get-together at their luxurious gated community. following a constant sensation of being watched and drowsy recollections of blinding light shining through their windows that first evening, the group awakens the next day to find one of them dead--groveling on her hands and knees with her entire skull seeming to have somehow...inverted. they soon realize that they’re being picked off by an angel--one so enraged by their inhuman greed that it wrenched itself free from the heavens in order to exact furious retribution.

frontera sangrienta: a softspoken chicanx youth sneaks across the american border on a nightly basis under the noses of both his immigrant parents and border patrol agents, for the express purpose of helping mexican migrants safely make their way over. one night, he is met with a family so terrified that he can make out only one word from their panic--”chupacabra”. the legendary mosquito has developed a taste for american blood after devouring careless tourists and escaped goats, and is in hot pursuit of the family considering that the mother is an american herself. the young man--a “mixed signal” to the chupacabra due to his conflicted feelings over thinking of himself as strictly american or mexican--is now the only thing standing between the family and a pitiful, bloody demise.

52: after a saturation diver is violently wrenched from their diving bell in a freak accident and their remains are presumed lost at sea, a marine salvage team is sent in by the chamber’s manufacturers under the surface-level orders to retrieve evidence for the investigation, but with the underlying message really being to “pick all that shit up so we can just sweep it under the rug quickly and quietly”. upon arrival, the crew begins picking up a bizarre frequency that would otherwise be regarded as whalesong...if not for the fact that it is much higher than the calls of any whales known to inhabit the area. the salvage team then finds themselves being picked off one by one by the source of the noise--it turns out that the saturation diver’s sheer will to live allowed their broken body to adapt to the ocean depths, taking on a warped form not too dissimilar to a beluga whale. now the former diver is left to lash out in frenzied desperation, screaming out a cry for help that falls deaf on the ears of both humans and sealife

i am but a teenage fool who knows nothing about nothing so please do not dunk on me if nothing i wrote here has any accurate basis in real-world experiences or logic. also i’ll update with more if/whenever i think of any

#horror #bogleech #monster #monsters #horror movies

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation – 04 – Making It Work

This week, the OP theme is played, but this time over a beautifully somber sequence of the Greyrat household is steeped in the winter of discontent inside while buffeted by the literal snows of winter outside. Zenith is pregnant, which was an occasion for great joy…but so is Lilia, and Paul says it’s “probably” his (it’s definitely his).

It’s at this point that I admit that while checking MAL for Lilia’s seiyu (Lynn), I caught the little factoid that she’s described not just a maid, but Paul’s “second wife”. In hindsight, this complicated my understanding of her precise status up to this point. Turns out Zenith is very much not okay with Paul sleeping with her.

At the same time, Zenith cares a great deal about Lilia, and doesn’t like the prospect of Lilia taking a rough month-long trip to her hometown with hew newborn. Both she and the baby could die. Rudy doesn’t like that either, so he introduces a compromise to keep the family from being torn apart.

When Zenith tells Rudy that the mood is gloomy because Paul and Lilia were “bad”, Rudy comes to Lilia’s defense: she couldn’t refuse Paul; the fact she’s in his employ aside, he has a “hold” on her that resulted in their illicit night together. That being the case, Lilia doesn’t deserve to suffer for something Paul did wrong.

Moved by her son’s words, Zenith decides that Lilia and her child will stay in the family…because they are family. Rudy knows he only dug Paul’s grave deeper, but it was a grave Paul dug himself, even if Lilia confides to us that she seduced him. Hearing the couple’s lovemaking in the next room created pent-up urges, and one night she left her door open so he’d see her washing herself.

Lilia knows Rudy understood full well that it wasn’t all Paul’s fault, but forgave her anyway for “giving in to desire” and betraying Zenith. She also knows that by forgiving her and guiding the family to a compromise, Rudy saved her life. She had always been (justifiably) skeeved out by Rudy—even to the point she feared he was possessed by the devil!—but now resolves to spend her life repaying him—and have her child serve the future Lord Rudeus.

Zenith’s son Norn and Lilia’s daughter Aisha are born, and Paul for all intents and purposes has two wives to care for (and take orders from). Rudy also notices how much more open with him Lilia becomes after the Great Compromise, and learns that she and Paul once studied swordsmanship at the same training hall…where Paul deflowered her.

Yet for all of Paul’s many faults, Rudy respects him because he’s strong…and not just physically, mind you. Paul is also someone with whom Rudy can engage in “guy talk”, not just about women, but how to be a better man. It’s a path full of mistakes and failures, but Paul is hopeful Rudy will learn from them, even if he ends up making more of his own.

Paul discussing how underwhelming rich girl sex is, on the other hand? Probably going too far. But that comes up when Paul asks his son if he’s contemplating going to school, since he’s around the age kids start to go. Paul worries a kid like Rudy will be bullied (while also being confident Rudy could handle it) and questions the utility of him mixing it up with all those spoiled rich kids. Still, it’s ultimately Rudy’s call.

Rudy, meanwhile, starts to sense that Sylphiette could one day surpass him in magical prowess. When he mentions going off to the magic academy to continue his training, Sylphie reacts by hugging him tightly and bawling her eyes out until he says he’s not going anywhere. And why would he, when he has such a wonderful life with her and his family?

Things become more complicated when Paul interrupts Rudy jerking off by presenting him with a letter from Roxy. She is well, training a similarly perverted young prince while also improving her own magical skills. She thought she’d hit a wall, but learned otherwise with the benefit of time and experience in new places. She writes that if Rudy feels similarly, he should enroll at Ranoa Magic University.

Rudy doesn’t want to make Sylphie feel sad or lonely, but he also doesn’t want to disappoint Roxy. In such a conundrum, he must fashion another compromise, as he did to save his family. He tells Paul, Zenith and Lilia of his intention to enroll at Ranoa, but requests that they pay Sylphie’s tuition along with his. She’s Ranoa material, but her family lacks the funds.

Paul refuses, but not because he doesn’t want his son to have his way. He has three valid reasons for doing so. For one thing, he’s still intent on making Paul into a capital-S Swordsman, and with Rudy’s lack of progress now is not the time to stop his training. Secondly, Rudy is still young, and Paul can’t neglect his parental responsibilities by sending Rudy away. Third and finally, they actually can’t afford to pay for Sylphie as well as him.

Rudy doesn’t argue, or even get mad. He probably knew he’d get a response like this. Instead, he introduces a counterproposal, asking Paul to find him a well-paying job so that by the time his dad deems him ready to go to Ranoa, he’ll have saved up enough to pay Sylphie’s way himself. When Paul tells him that “might not be the best thing” for Sylphie, Rudy acknowledges that, but it will be for him. Paul did tell him earlier to stick with one woman, and Rudy intends to do just that.

Paul accepts this proposal, but exactly what he has in mind for Rudy is left up in the air until an ornate wagon pulls up to the Greyrats’ front gate. Ghislaine, a hulking beast-woman, climbs out, and she’s welcomed by both Paul and Zenith. She’s the first beastperson Rudy’s encountered, and to his credit he doesn’t leer at her or make any unsolicited comments about her.

Paul asks a cryptic question, “What if I told you to stay away from Sylphie?”, then launches into a vicious sparring session, which ends with Paul using an advanced Water-God move on his son, knocking him out. When Rudy wakes up, he’s in the wagon opposite Ghislaine, who tells him they’ll be working together starting tomorrow.

By: magicalchurlsukui

#Anime #News #RABUJOI – An Anime Blog

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sourtartsoul · 5 years

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Thomas Hewitt SFW/NSFW Relationship Headcannons

Here’s some lovin’ for my favorite Leatherface

+Thomas is a big man and he damn well knows it. Hulking out at 6’5 and over 260lbs he’s careful around you. BUT! That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like to be playful with you. If there’s any playful roughhousing he’s genuinely super careful when pinning you down or when he’s got you in a bear hug from behind or If he’s throwing you over his shoulder. You’ll know when he’s done roughhousing because he’ll nuzzle into the crook of your neck and loosen his grip

+Wears his leather strap over his face more than his human face masks when he’s around you as he knows that you want to see more of his face. Thomas also has more of a sense of himself since you’ve come along. Wearing the masks are now more for when he’s hunting and killing victims. He’s still too embarrassed to be without any mask in front of you unless the lights are off. Getting him to take off the mask in front of you will take a very long time as he is afraid that you’ll leave him if you see how much the disease has eaten away at his face

+Needs constant reassurance that he’s the only man you love and will ever love

+Quid pro quo. Thomas, an eager pleaser, will return any favor you give him. With his big, strong hands he gives the best return back massages

+Melts into you when you play with his hair or touch his neck. Also, loves it when you feel up and down his arms. He knows he’s got some muscle and it makes him feel like a man having you appreciate his strength

+Being jealous is an understatement. If any drifters come on the property or while you’re at work at the family store and flirt with you, rest assured that his fist is wrapped tightly around a sledgehammer from the next room. He stands there calculating when the best time to strike is. If the man, or men, dare touch you though…. Thomas sees red and is on them before you realize what’s going on. No one flirts with you, let alone touches you and lives more than another minute. He makes sure that you know that if another man does catch your eye that he would kill them before you would ever dare leave him. No woman close to his age has ever made him feel so important or loved. He won’t ever let you leave

+You get first pickings on the victims’ belongings. A shiny gemmed ring from one victim catches his eye and he uses a tiny box that he had found from another victim and sets it up. If it doesn’t fit, he’d kill a hundred people just to find your size. Accepting his proposal is your only choice anyways

+Thomas won’t leave his family, but does compromise on living in an RV or trailer on his family’s property with you

+Whether or not you participate in the killing of victims Thomas doesn’t care. He enjoys releasing some pent-up anger now and then and it’s what the family taught him to do. He will seek out your approval afterward

+Sometimes Initiates intimacy after he’s made a kill as his adrenaline is high and he becomes aroused. This is when the love making can be animalistic and rough

+Otherwise he prefers more tender intimacy. With you on top most of the time as he’s afraid to crush you if he’s on top, not that he’s not strong enough to hold himself up (except after he loses his right arm). He just overthinks it. He enjoys seeing all of you on top, touching at your breasts. His favorite sex position is face-off as he can embrace you in a hug and kiss or nip at your neck while you’re still on top ensuring your own pleasure first

+Gets off easily on your breathy quiet moans in his ear, after observing your O-face or if you whisper in his ear that you want him to cum deep inside of you

+Sex toys won’t be needed. Thomas has the stamina of a rabbit and if he stops getting hard, he’ll use his fingers to pleasure you. Sometimes just feeling that you’re still wet for him will jumpstart his erection

+Loves tasting you either on his fingers or with his tongue. Not gonna lie, Thomas has a long tongue and after brief practice knows how to use it

+Is not a pull-out method type of guy and does not like the hassle of condoms, but will wear them if you make him. He does expect you’ll want to have his kids at some point

+Enjoys cuddling after sex. In fact, it’s a necessity. This can be with you on your back and his head on your chest or vice versa or with him being the big spoon, but he will not ever be able to be the little spoon. That’s one thing he won’t be… besides he’s too damn big to wrap yourself around him

+After sex when cuddling he loves touching your stomach, gently rubbing it imagining it bigger and full with a child. Yeah, we all know that he has a breeding kink

+Get ready for some major family pressure because Luda May will be asking every. Damn. Day. If you’re pregnant yet, once she finds out about your engagement. Even Monty and Hoyt will question it with some suggestive eyebrow raises. Hoyt will go on to ask Thomas if he needs any special magazines to show him which positions are the best for conceiving. In reality everyone knows that the magazines are just porn magazines. Jedidiah won’t question you two because he’s the “baby” of the family and enjoys any motherly attention that you give him

Maybe Michael Myers will be next? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#thomas hewitt #thomas #hewitt #leatherface #Texas Chainsaw Massacre

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frasier-crane-style · 5 years

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Now, lest we be accused of favoritism, let’s also ask how the demands of this narrative affect how Thor is characterized.

What does it mean for Thor’s heroism to be defined in opposition to a character who is not a threat or a fallen companion, but a disgrace? What does it mean for Thor’s heroism to be defined, specifically, as being someone who will not sacrifice his honor by consenting to gay sex, but would rather be forced to engage in deadly violence?

After all, if the filmmakers really were after something “different” and “refreshing,” not to mention humorous, wouldn’t it have been fun if it was Thor the one to use his looks and charms to ensnare the Grandmaster? If they wanted to turn the tables on the old Thor so much, why not put HIM in yellow and blue and have him meet the cuddly tentacles? It wouldn’t even be OOC! Didn’t he once put on a dress and pretend to be a woman in actual Norse myth to get his hammer back from Thrym? And talk about different! Talk about refreshing! Talk about respectfully disrespecting what had come before! Talk about brave, and even revolutionary! It would have been a wink to the myth, and absolutely hysterical!

Well, that didn’t happen. The filmmakers considered that making Thor clownishly clumsy and changing his speech pattern was enough of a shakeup, and patted themselves on the back a lot for it. In every other sense, they gave us as old-fashioned a kind of hero as can be. We’re talking the ultra-macho ‘80s here, classic in the sense of (a very shallow understanding of) the ancient Greek archetype. (Put a wig on Mel Gibson and we’re set. Cutting-edge stuff, eh?)

To see what they changed to fit Thor into that mold, let’s take a look at how Thor’s heroism was set up and defined in the previous movies for comparison.

In all cases, Thor’s stubbornness is intrinsic to his heroism. His refusal to give up or give in, even when the odds are against him, because his goal matters, and people are depending on him, and he can make a difference. Surrender is not in his nature, after all.

This is true in Ragnarok as well. But the nature of the challenges he faces and how he goes about it, that’s where the paths diverge. In Thor 1, the challenge he must overcome is, in fact, himself. He must come to terms with his own failings (his arrogance, his narrow viewpoint on the world, his first impulse of resorting to violence to address any problem) and learn how to leverage his true strengths (relationship-building, compassion, faith in others). This learning process is carried out in parallel with the narrative of Loki’s downfall, in which he faces his own challenges but makes the wrong choices because he does not trust others and does not seek help, and instead works himself up to a disastrous conclusion. The nature of Thor’s heroism is thus posited as his stubbornness, applied to improving himself as a social being.

In Avengers 1, despite Thor’s arc being only a small part of the film among many others, the challenge Thor faces is again mostly internal, and we see it clearly: tasked with bringing his wayward brother home and preventing him from wreaking havoc on the comparatively helpless population of Midgard, Thor is confronted with this broken relationship with someone he loves deeply. In the brief scene in which he hesitates to reach for his hammer in the field, we see him struggle with the conflict between two values: protecting the innocent humans, and staying loyal to his beloved brother. Sacrificing either value would be damning; in this case, the narrative pits Thor against the possibility of a no-win situation, and his stubbornness is to refuse to accept that he must choose—instead, he sets himself to the task of staying true to both values, no matter how impossible it seems.

In TDW, the narrative begins with Thor discouraged by Loki’s continued antagonism. Thor has retreated into himself somewhat: he has been shaken by everything that has happened, and as Odin pushes him toward taking on greater responsibility, Thor is reassessing what he actually wants. Thor’s established skill at relationships and constructive leadership is brought to the fore as the Dark Elves attack and Thor gathers the team he needs to enact his plan to defeat them. This includes breaking Loki out of prison and convincing him to help: here, Loki is again the foil to Thor, but as a collaborator and ally. Now, TDW admittedly suffers from all the late edits to the plot; it is hard to make quite as strong arguments here because, well, the movie started out as one thing but by the time we saw it, it had become something else (i.e., it’s a bit of a mess in places). Still, Thor is undeniably the hero of the piece, and his heroism consists of refusal to give in against the tangible threat of the Dark Elves, against the simmering conflict with his brother, and the possibility that their relationship cannot in fact be repaired, and against the notion that he has to become the sort of king that Odin is. If a unified theme exists, it is that Thor’s heroism consists of finding a path that he can be proud of, rather than taking an expedient or expected one that goes against his principles. So it’s not so much about what heroes do so as finding out what Thor will do.

So now, what about Ragnarok? As we’ve already described, the narrative of Ragnarok depicts Thor’s heroism, for the most part, in opposition to Loki’s lack of it. What Thor’s stubbornness resists in the film is the idea of giving in to a depraved tyrant, the idea of cozying up to a madman to save himself from pain or danger. The contrast being set up is between this particular masculine ideal and a queer, cowardly submission.

The methods that Thor uses to meet this ideal fall into line with those values: instead of the softer, empathic, more socially connected Thor of the previous movies, this one brazenly deceives and manipulates his friends (Banner/Hulk) to try to gain their assistance, and he goes into a snit when they refuse (compare to his calmly noble acceptance when Jane & company tell him he’s on his own). This sets the stage for his later stubborn resistance against Hela and her bid to rule Asgard, and it is notable that unlike his previous encounters with enemies, he does not try to reason with her or talk her down; upon his return to Asgard, he opens by insulting and goading her. Because, again, he can’t be seen as compromising with an enemy or giving any quarter, not an inch; not in this version of heroism, without internal conflict, whose only self-doubt comes from fearing he will not be strong enough to defeat his enemy, but never wonders if he is worthy.

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giveamadeuschohisownmovie · 5 years

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Hypothetical plot outline for Guardians of the Galaxy 3

(spoiler warning for all past MCU movies)

For the sake of this post, let’s say the Guardians leave Thor fifteen minutes into “Love and Thunder”. Thor doesn’t appear in this movie at all. Taking place several months after “Endgame”, the Guardians are nowhere near close to finding Gamora. They’re in a bit of a slump. Not only do they have no leads, they lost their ship, the Benatar, to Wal Rus, an infamous mob boss who took the ship as payment for Rocket’s debt to him.

(there’s a minor subplot about Rocket’s past and how he used to do jobs for Wal Rus)

Without a ship and no leads, Peter Quill starts drinking heavily. The team considers disbanding but, much to everyone’s surprise, it’s Nebula who keeps everyone together by reminding each of them that Gamora is their family. Family doesn’t get left behind, all that jazz.

Their fortune starts to change when Mantis overhears gossip from a group of Ravagers. She learns that a mysterious being created by the Sovereign, known as Adam Warlock, was spotted in some galaxy quadrant hunting a “green-skinned woman”. Mantis relays the news to the team and they immediately make plans to track Adam down.

However, their plans hit a major snag when Drax sees an advertisement for the Grandmaster’s contest of champions. The Grandmaster has a new champion named Moondragon, who Drax immediately recognizes as his daughter Kamaria. Somehow, she survived Thanos’ rampage but was taken from him and later sold to the Grandmaster. Drax wants to go to Sakaar and save his daughter but Peter says Gamora is more important.

The Guardians steal a Nova Corps ship in a thrilling action sequence and they head off to find their loved ones. Unbeknownst to them, Nova Corps rookie officer Richard Rider is still onboard. The team starts to argue over who they should save, leading to Mantis saying that they should split up. Peter hates the compromise but is forced to go through with it as Drax is headstrong in going after Moondragon.

So for the middle of the movie, the Guardians are split into two groups. Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Mantis go to Sakaar to find Moondragon. Star Lord and Nebula go their own way to find Adam Warlock and Gamora. However, after splitting with the group, Richard Rider ambushes Peter and Nebula and tries to arrest them. They manage to fight him off but stop short of killing him. Thus, Richard becomes the unwilling third member of their group.

As this is happening, Alternate 2014 Gamora encounters Adam Warlock and they fight, with Adam winning. Before he could kill her, Adam realizes he doesn’t want to and is only fighting her because he was ordered by Ayesha and the Sovereign. Adam goes radio silent and takes Gamora to a remote planet where he nurses her back to health. The two don’t get along at first but as time goes by, they start to bond.

Gamora teaches Adam about the universe and his purpose in life (since he’s newly born, he still has a child-like curiosity about the universe). At the same time, Adam helps Gamora cope with the fact that she’s time displaced and that another version of her died in this current timeline. There’s hints at their comic book romance but nothing concrete.

On the other side of the universe, we learn that Kamaria / Moondragon was sold to the Grandmaster after spending years as a mercenary. She was taken from her father at a young age and passed around by several groups (Kree, Skrull, Ravagers, etc.). She became a hardened warrior due to this but longs to be reunited with her father, who she knows is alive due to his popularity as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Grandmaster despises her for not respecting him but no matter who he sends to kill her in the contest of champions, she always emerges victorious to the point where she’s developed a massive following (rivaling even the Hulk and Thor’s).

Without getting into too much detail, here’s the middle of the movie:

1) Drax’s group lands on Sakaar and Drax willingly turns himself in to the Grandmaster’s forces. He’s placed in the ring with Moondragon and after a tearful reunion, she refuses to fight him. They are taken away to be executed. However, Mantis, Rocket, and Groot, with the help of the Sakaarians, break Drax and Moondragon out. They escape Sakaar but with the Grandmaster chasing after them.

2) Peter’s group lands on Adam’s planet and after a hostile encounter, Gamora calms both sides down. Peter tries to sway Gamora back into rejoining the Guardians but Gamora says she isn’t the woman he’s looking for and that the Gamora he fell in love with died years ago. We get some nice bonding moments between Gamora, Nebula, Adam, Peter, and even Richard. This peace is ended when Ayesha and the Sovereign arrive, angry that Adam has gone rogue. Adam refuses to kill for the Sovereign and the five escape, with the Sovereign chasing after them.

With the Grandmaster on one side and Ayesha on the other, the Guardians meet at their “super secret rendezvous point which they should only go to in case they are extremely f-word” (Mantis came up with the name). The rendezvous point turns out to be Morag. Both groups arrive and each side introduces their new members. Drax introduces Moondragon while Peter and Gamora introduces Adam. Richard is forced to introduce himself by Nebula.

The Guardians realize they can’t battle both the Grandmaster and Ayesha at the same time. Fearing that this is where they die, the team drink the night away, letting each other know what they think of each other. Drax is happy that he isn’t alone and that he’ll at least die at his daughter’s side. Peter confesses that he’s deeply in love with Gamora and was planning on marrying her before Thanos’ reign of terror. Adam says that although he lived a short life, at least he found his family before he died. Nebula, much to everyone’s surprise, is sad that she’ll die without knowing what it’s like to be in love. And so on.

To everyone’s surprise, it’s Richard Rider who comes up with a plan to save the group. When Peter asks why he’s helping them, Richard says, “The choice is either help you criminals out and live...or die at the hands of two power-hungry dictators. I think the choice is simple”. Richard tells the group what his plan is but we, the viewers, don’t hear it.

Climax time. The Guardians of the Galaxy confront both the Sovereign and the Grandmaster’s fleets. The fact that they are one ship versus thousands is emphasized. To Ayesha and the Grandmaster’s surprise, Moondragon is holding the Guardians (minus Peter and Gamora) hostage. She says that she wants to return to Sakaar. Grandmaster says he won’t accept her back and is only here to kill her and Drax. That’s when Moondragon says she is willing to turn over Adam Warlock to him.

During this time, Peter and Gamora, who had quietly flown off in an escape pod long before the encounter, stealthily fly into the Grandmaster’s fleet (Rocket made sure that their pod wouldn’t be detected). They sneak onboard one of the ships, leading to a tense sequence where they try avoid detection.

Moondragon makes a sales pitch, saying that Adam Warlock is a handsome, powerful warrior who would be extremely popular in the contest of champions. He has the potential to surpass the Hulk in sheer popularity. When Grandmaster asks how much she wants, Moondragon says she’ll do it at no cost. Ayesha angrily demands that the Grandmaster refuse her offer and that Adam is her property. She points out that Moondragon is baiting him into attacking the Sovereign. Tensions rise and it’s unclear what one side will do.

The tension is broken when Grandmaster says that there’ll be no deal and that he could tell that Moondragon was trying to bait him into attacking the Sovereign. Moondragon smirks and says, “What do you mean I was baiting you? We made this deal hours ago. You already said yes”. Ayesha furiously demands to know what she means by this and before the Grandmaster can refute her claims, Peter and Gamora hijack the ship they’re in and fire at the Sovereign fleet.

All hell breaks loose when both the Grandmaster and the Sovereign fleet go to war with each other, with the Guardians of the Galaxy caught in the middle. Peter and Gamora escape and fly off to their ship, with Richard and Rocket piloting. The Guardians flee the battle scene, hoping that Ayesha and the Grandmaster will kill each other before they could turn their attention to the Guardians. The final battle is primarily a space battle with several awesome moments, such as;

1) Adam Warlock exiting the ship and unlocking his full potential, destroying a great deal of both enemy fleets

2) Mantis manning the turrets and gunning down several enemy ships

3) The ship is boarded by the Grandmaster’s forces, leading to a hallway battle sequence where Nebula, Moondragon, Drax, and Gamora kill all the raiders.

4) The engine is damaged, leading to Rocket and Groot heroically going in to repair it, even though they’re told that the engine could explode at any minute.

The battle ends with Adam staying behind to make sure the Guardians escape. He leaves the ship and gives them a boost to the nearest jump point, much to Gamora’s horror. We get a tragic farewell as the Guardians escape and Adam crashes headfirst into Ayesha and Grandmaster’s ships, killing Ayesha and sending Grandmaster into a black hole. He is then seen floating aimlessly in space, knocked out from exerting so much energy.

Several weeks later, Adam wakes up in a Nova Corps hospital with the Guardians by his side. They tell him that they recovered his body minutes after he took Ayesha and Grandmaster down and that he’s been in a coma for weeks. Adam asks why they came back for him and Drax says, “You’re family. Family sticks together”. Adam smiles at that.

As the movie wraps up, it’s revealed that the Guardians bought a new ship with money that Gamora had on her (Gamora says that she was doing a few jobs while she was out on her own). Gamora officially rejoins the group but she and Peter are back to being just friends, although there’s a hint that she’s falling back in love with him. Not wanting to lose his best friend, Adam joins the Guardians to follow Gamora, much to Peter’s chagrin.

Nebula stays on and asks Richard Rider to stay. Richard says that although he would love to stay on, he has to rejoin the Nova Corps. However, if they ever need him, they know where to find him. How he leaves strongly implies that he’ll star in his own, Nova Corps spin-off movie.

Drax is the only one hesitant to rejoin the team. He wants to stay behind and bond with his daughter until it’s revealed Moondragon also wants to be a Guardian of the Galaxy. The two stay with the team. Movie ends with the Guardians of the Galaxy flying off for their next journey, Drax happy that he found his daughter, and the whole team happy that they found Gamora.

MID-CREDITS SCENE: The Grandmaster’s ship exits the black hole. As he tries to figure out where he landed, he’s cornered by a different ship. Onboard, a mysterious figure scans the Grandmaster’s ship and discovers that he is from the 2020s. The mysterious figure demands that the Grandmaster be brought onboard his ship and in a dramatic turn to the camera, it’s revealed that he is Kang the Conqueror. The Grandmaster is in the same spot where the showdown with the Guardians took place but in the far future.

POST-CREDITS SCENE: Drax accidentally walks in on Moondragon and Nebula having sex. He immediately shuts the door and walks away, horrified.

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angerissue · 4 years

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Bruce and the Hulk are not separate people, nor are they separate consciousnesses and identities. But it’s easy to assume otherwise, because the temperaments of the two personas are immensely different. Banner’s normal form is benign and tempered by social expectations and customs. He tailors his reactions so he comes across as harmless and agreeable, and he spews pleasantries to gain the rapport of his peers. But the Hulk is different. His emotions and thought processes are rawer, unfiltered, and more immediate, and his behaviour is untouched by social customs. He cares less about others’ opinions and expectations, and he’s egoistic to the point of stubbornness and petulance.

But under the hood, it’s still Bruce. It’s still his own consciousness and identity.

I. Explanation.

The discrepancy mainly rests on a biological basis. Because of differences in the Hulk’s brain chemistry, it’s considered to be the rawer and more genuine of Bruce’s two forms. It is what remains when he's stripped of his considerations, social constructs, and his inclination to cooperate with other people. He becomes infantile in thought processes, and his instincts and emotions become prominent. Furthermore, because of the abuse he experienced in his childhood, most of these instincts will entail a need to survive, and an underlying sense of fear towards anything that strikes him as even remotely suspicious. Even as someone in his forties, Bruce’s fear of emotional and physical trauma persists, and it colours his interactions when he’s in his normal form. It colours his interactions in Hulk form as well.

And at this time, the fear is amplified.

This is because the Hulk feels emotions more strongly. He cannot easily suppress them, because they’re more discernible and closer to the surface. In consequence, his fear and other emotions can become extremely difficult to manage and placate, even in innocuous situations where he doesn’t necessarily need to experience strong emotions. To manage these incursions, he tends to become angry and defensive towards other people. This is because anger represses the more undesirable emotions that someone is feeling, and it helps to empower them. Anger allows Bruce to feel stronger and more capable when he assumes Hulk form, and it makes him immune to being victimized and bullied by others; this was a common experience in his childhood that he now, unconsciously, tries to keep from happening again. He also tends to become headstrong, and averse to cooperating with someone if it will make him look vulnerable or weak. He doesn’t want to portray himself in that manner.

In other words — whereas Bruce’s normal form could be considered a manifestation of the superego, the Hulk is more reminiscent of the id and the ego, which both appear in Sigmund Freud's model of the psyche.

II. Philosophical Questions.

Since Bruce discovered the realities of his condition back in 2013, he’s experienced numerous thoughts that range from uncomfortable to perturbing. For instance, if the Hulk is the scientist himself, merely without his social inhibitions, does it behoove him to remain as the Hulk permanently? Perhaps he’s being unfaithful to himself and disingenuous to his peers by remaining in his normal form more commonly than not. He also wonders whether someone else, if they acquired the same condition as him, would have similar personality quirks — or perhaps better or worse ones, depending on their own particular experiences.

III. Prognosis.

The more familiar Bruce becomes with the above behaviours and emotional processes, the less susceptible he will become to them. He simply needs to, essentially, recondition himself when it comes to socially acceptable behaviour. He doesn’t need to consider this much in his normal form, but the egoistic nature of the Hulk makes it more difficult when he assumes that form — still, it’s not impossible. This also means that in time, the doctor’s temperament as the Hulk will come to mirror the temperament of his normal form. He just needs time and experience.

The Hulk is least developed in Empyrean, the earliest verse available on this blog. It is most developed in The Persistence, a concept verse occurring after Bruce’s experiences with the Sokovia Accords, Sakaar and the Red King, and — in certain situations — Thanos’ war.

IV. Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

This adaptation of Bruce suffers from dissociative identity disorder. However, it is not an inherent part of his condition. Bruce is the default driver of the Hulk unless he experiences an emotionally-compromising situation, in which case, his alter will assume control and become the driver. These occasions are rare, so unless Bruce is behaving very strangely and not responding to his original name, it’s safe to assume that no other consciousness has assumed control.

Disclaimer: The content in this post is unique to this adaptation of Bruce Banner. Feel free to like, but please don’t reblog without permission.

#( headcanon. )#( essential. )#this is a very barebones intro to the hulk.#there are a couple more headcanons about it coming down the pipe #and they'll have far more details.#anyways #as always...#if you guys have meta / headcanon prompts please do send them in.#i would be happy to write something on them.#(even if i already have!)

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stonyverse · 5 years

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Favourite avengers movies scenes? Favourite iron man movies scenes? Favourite captain America movies scenes?

Omg, you have no idea how hyped I am because you're the first person who asked me so thank you for that. Anyways, you are in for a long ride because I won't be able to shut up about this.

1. Iron Man movies

Fave scene in IM1, I am Iron Man. That was the line that made MCU a different universe. I think they were gonna follow 616 (based on Tony's prepped statement courtesy of Phil) until RDJ disregarded the script and just opted to say that.

You see Nat going from playful to serious master assasin mode because her best friend is in danger. That scene basically shows that they will do everything for each other (FACT PROVEN IN ENDGAME). Basically, I loved all of Clint and Nat's scenes (kinda a low-key Clintasha shipper) in the first movie. I absolutely love their friendship and how it's portrayed in the MCU in its entirety. I mean I would've preferred that they be a couple but their platonic love for each other is what really got me to burst into tears in Endgame.

Whenever I watch that scene in IM1, I always find myself shaking my head and smiling because of how unbelievable Tony is. A part of me thinks he said that just so he could fuck with Christine Everhart and the other part of me thinks that he said it because he wants to tell people that you can be a superhero, no matter who you are and what your past is. It makes me think that way because before declaring that he's ironman he says that he's not a superhero because of his list of character defects.

In IM2, fave scene is Nick and Tony's talk in the latter's Malibu mansion. The whole conversation about Howard Stark. It highlights the fact that Tony never really got to know Howard. We all know he was a bad father to him but I kinda have mixed feelings about it. I mean, we see our parents as parents until we get to know who they are outside of being that. Personally, I'm just knowing who my mom is, now (I'm 20). Tony never really got that (part of the reason why that scene where Tony meets Howard in Endgame was important, for me).

And IM3, I don't have a specific favorite scene but I love its concept. I loved the fact that they showed Tony having anxiety attacks and PTSD and how he got through that. It's one of the things that made him human and so relatable.

I have to confess that I didn't see any CA movies until 2016. I only watched it because Tony was in CA:CW then I watched CA:TWS before watching CA:TFA. Basically, I watched it in reverse. 😂😂

I also loved the fact that the person who got him through it was Harley, a kid who became Tony's sidekick during that time. God, I don't really know how to explain how important it is to me, it's something that I can't put into words but I REALLY FELT THAT.

2. Captain America movies

CA:TFA, hands down to Steve and Peggy's last conversation. My god, that was heartbreaking. I've always been a sucker for what-could've-beens and almost love stories and they really reflect that. I sympathize with the both of them so much because they have to live with that heartbreak for the rest of their lives. It will always be the one bittersweet thing that they will carry. But the one my heart really aches for is Peggy.

I have a lot of favorite scenes from the avengers movies. I really loved the scene in A1 where Phil pulls Nat from a mission because Barton's been compromised.

I mean just. look. at. that! Holy shit, that grimace and half smile that she does. That's the face of a woman who can't get mad at the man she loves for leaving because the reason of said man for leaving her is the same reason that made her fall in love with him. It's kinda of like the look Pepper gives Tony in Endgame when the latter talks to the former about the time gps.

I'll put it on the list is easily my fave part in CA:TWS. It shows Steve doing everything he can in order to adjust to this world. It shows him moving forward.

And for CA:CW, it's Tony's presentation at MIT. Yep, loved that. It echoes with his character development.

For A:AOU, I'd say Fury having dinner with the Avengers. I think that's when he says I have you, guys, I have nothing to worry about. We know that AOU takes place after the falling of SHIELD and Nick doesn't really have all the resources that he had before but he still believes. He knows that these are the people who will save the world because they see it as something that they have to do. These are the people he watched closely and saw grow. We all know how the Avengers Initiative came to be after Captain Marvel and saw how soft Fury is back in the 90s and during the dinner in AOU, I see it as a parallel. I've always loved Fury and have always wanted to see how he came to be and who he was before SHIELD fucked him up, you know? And that scene in AOU really gave me a glimpse. I see him as the tough loving dad of the avengers.

(I got the gif from google and it says it's from bitony's tumblr so credits!)

It shows how much he wanted to help people with mental health issues because he's been there and he knows how hard it is so he wants to do everything he can to make it easier. It's for the people who finds it hard to talk to a psychiatrist so in order to contribute, he created a noninvasive tech that helps deal with that (that's why I stan one man, why I can't understand people who calls him selfish).

(P.S. CA:CW could easily be IM4, let's be real)

3. Avengers movies

A:IW honestly fucked me up (they dusted some of our faves!!!). Buuuuuuuut, I'm gonna say the Okoye-Nat team up. THAT SCENE GOT ME LIKE:

BC I LOVE OKOYE AND NAT SO MUCH!!! And to see them - these two powerful women of MCU who deserves more recognition - team up against the enemy, I swear, the BDE radiating from them.

(Additional stuff: what made me love Okoye way more is during that scene BP where W'Kabi was like would you kill me, my love? And my girl's like for Wakanda? Without question. I literally sobbed during that scene bc it hit me so much, I'm like I feel you, it just shows how much Okoye loves her country and that spoke to me)

SPOILERS AHEAD.

AS FOR ENDGAME, GOD DAMN, I LOVED EVERY MOMENT. It's easily my favorite Marvel movie. Stevetonies won in that movie, Clintasha shippers won, Thorbruce shippers won. It's basically a service to the people. I know some have been hating on it (especially on Steve's ending) but I think tied everything up.

Endgame's opening scene was Clint teaching his daughter archery. That was so soft for me. The last we saw him was CA:CW (and tbh, I didn't like him in that movie bc he's such an asshole to Tony, like the things he said cut deep) and then now we know he's on house arrest just like Scott and being happy with his family. I loved how normal it was bc that normalness made it so painful when they disappeared. Then we saw Clint become Ronin. It's a parallel, to me, because it shows that the good can be bad. It showed us flaws and that losing someone really brings out the worse in us. But he's storyline also showed how much a bad person can change with the help of other people.

Now, let's talk about Nat and Tony, let's be real, those two heroes started it. I mean, sure, Downey really started the MCU but Scarlett immediately followed him (IM2). To see their characters' journey end meaningfully by saving their families and creating a better future for the world, I gotta say, it may not be the ending we wanted (bc we want everyone to live) but they died doing what they love most, you know? They died knowing that they made a better future for everyone. And if they're gonna go, they have to go like the hero they truly are.

For Steve's arc, I'm not mad at it. I actually smiled when I saw how happy he was with Peggy. I would have wanted for him to stay in the present but I kinda get why he did it. I know it doesn't really reflect the comics (since Steve grew to love the 'future' in there) but MCU is a different universe. Steve's always been selfless, always puts the world's interest before his so to see him finally putting himself first by following Tony's advice (back in AOU) makes me understand. Like, okay, finally, this guy does something for himself.

I LOVED THOR. I know a friend of mine thought that Thor was a laughing stock during Endgame but I deemed him gaining weight as an important arc his character. Thor lost everything: Friga, Odin, Loki, Asgard, Heimdall, the people he's supposed to lead... Then he failed to stop Thanos because he didn't go for the head. He thinks he failed, he thought it was fault. He became an alcoholic, he was depressed but hides it behind jokes. I feel like somewhere in there he thought he wasn't worthy anymore. That's why he doesn't use stormbreaker, anymore. That's why for the last 5 years, he's 'not' the god of thunder. Also the reason during time heist, when he was able to call for mjolnir, it made me smile from ear to ear. Thor's endgame arc proved that no matter how depressed you are or how much of a failure you think you are, you're still worthy.

Bruce, Brucie-bear, Bruce... finally, he learned to accept Hulk. At first, I thought it was funny that he's Bruce and Hulk at the same time but the more I think about it, the more I saw how much Bruce grew. I mean, flashback in A1 when Tony told him to accept the guy and think of them as one instead of two different people, I remember how much he hated that idea because he sees himself as a monster and then in Endgame, we see him finally accepting his demons and actually became a better person because of it. Like, it really reflects how things would become better if we just embrace and love ourselves for who we are, you know?

THAT'S ABOUT EVERYTHING.

(credits to the owners of the gifs and photos!!!)

#avengers #mcu #steve rogers #tony stark #natasha romanoff #natasha romanov #bruce banner #thor #clint barton #endgame spoilers #avengers endgame spoilers #credits to those who owns the gifs and photos #it doesnt belong to me

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fightforwhatubelievein · 5 years

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Hulk in the MCU and Endgame

The other day I randomly thought: what if the Hulk took over Bruce to wear the gauntlet and have it be his decision. This got me thinking of a whole different route Marvel could have taken their character development. No one could be prouder of Bruce finally learning to accept and cooperate with the Hulk than me (I've literally waited years for it), but for some reason since the second I saw the Bruce/Hulk hybrid in Endgame something just didn't sit right with me. Then I realised it's because there seems to be so little of Hulks character in the movie. It just seems like the hulks body with Bruces face and mind. You could argue the dab and showing off for fans in the restaurant was the Hulk as it doesn't really seem like something Bruce would do but they are merely glimpses. Ever since the first Avengers movie it's been clear that the Hulk has his own thoughts and feelings and will actively fight Bruce if their motivations conflict each other, for example taking over and saving both their lives when Bruce tries to kill himself. Ragnorok developed the Hulks character quite a bit showing in detail his thoughts, motivations and even friendships that are completely separate from Bruce. I was excited to see how Bruce and the Hulk would learn to resolve their differences and find compromises but this was the last thing I expected. To be honest I would have loved if they kept Bruce and the Hulk as 2 separate characters who would communicate and take turns being in control. Imagine an avengers strategy meeting where the hulks voice comes out of Bruces mouth to give ideas (that usually involve smashing things) or Bruce telling everyone what the Hulk wants to say while he's in control. For example:

Bruce: Hulk says he'll take out the tanks while you guys evacuate the civilians.

Hulk voice coming out of Bruce's mouth: You forgot the part about them being puny.

Bruce: Not now-

Hulk: Can't even take out a few tanks.

Honestly you could have so much fun with that kind of set up for these characters. They could also have quick and smooth transformations between both forms as they no longer fight for control. This can lead to interesting visuals with them switching easily between frames etc. The Hulk also might occasionally want to take control at times when they're not fighting bad guys. Maybe he could go to the gym and become friends with body builders or simply hang out with other heroes. Theres just so much more potential to develop these characters than to shove them together.

However, back to my original point; imagine the remaining avengers standing around the gauntlet debating who should wear it. Bruce warns everyone of the dangers and the effects it could have on the body. The camera focuses on Thor as he goes to volunteer but a green hand is placed on his shoulder. The Hulk volunteers to do it whether for himself, for Bruce or to protect his friends and the planet that came to accept him. Hell he could even say he was doing it for Nat of you wanted to go that route. After all the angry and and arguably selfish things the Hulk has done and the self esteem issues he has had to cope with (eg. believing no one on Earth wanted him), it would be amazing to see him do something to exercise his own agency and a way for him to help people without using violence.

#mcu #marvel #the hulk #bruce banner #endgame #endgame spoilers #this rant ended up longer than expected

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butwewill-blog · 5 years

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Romance and Vulnerability: Black Widow

Black Widow’s first few associations with romance are not focused on her own relationship- that doesn’t happen until Age of Ultron. The first time she’s questioned about any romance is by Loki, who asks “is this love?” when she begs him to not kill Hawkeye. This moment reflects an overall pattern she shows throughout The Avengers that positions her as a vulnerable figure before we realize she engineered the situation that way in order to get more information. However, just the question of romance opens Black Widow up for vulnerability where there was none, allowing Loki to push her further until he reveals his plan. While other aspects of her relationship with Hawkeye could easily suggest romance with not much effort: her casual approach to the mission until she finds how he’s been compromised, their established history and camaraderie, and their shared tale of redemption and recovery, Black Widow tells Loki that “love is for children” and that she owes him a debt, giving a reason other than love to make an effort in saving his life. Later, when she does enter a romance with Bruce Banner/Hulk, he will both save her life and put it in danger, resulting in both him and others protecting her instead. A romance with Hawkeye would make Black Widow the protector, thus, the “more masculine” member of the relationship.

In Winter Soldier, Black Widow again is not involved in her own relationship, but this time, cannot seem to stand the idea of Captain America being without one. One of the first things she wants to talk about with Cap is that he should ask out women she knows are interested, and she tells him to call the nurse he met at the end.

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At about 00:35, Black Widow begins her ongoing pattern of mentioning women who might be interested in Cap, who appears less than interested in anyone.

Throughout the movie, Black Widow is constantly saved by Cap and his shield, often getting pushed out of the way or carried while unconscious, positioning one of her main roles in the movie as both a facilitating partner who helps Cap and also needs constant saving, as well as Cap’s matchmaker. Cap shielding (literally) Black Widow from the explosion on the ship is an example of this. This dynamic gets reversed when Black Widow successfully guides Cap through public displays of affection in order to get away from their pursuers, allowing her to be his protector.

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This scene would not work with the goal of invisibility goal if Black Widow was not a woman, so her femininity stands out when she uses romance to evade capture. She also has the talent of being able to remain unnoticed, while Cap tends to stick out like a sore thumb. Rather than vulnerability, femininity uniquely functions as a method of invisibility here.

While Black Widow gets herself and Cap out of the situation in the mall, she ultimately does need saving as soon as they reach the final destination at Camp LeHigh and are hit with a missile.

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In Age of Ultron, Black Widow enters a relationship of her own; one that immediately puts her in danger. By this point, we have already seen her face the Hulk and get saved by Thor, and while she’s flirting with Banner she emphasizes that she likes him because he tries to avoid the battle because he knows he’ll win.

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This dialogue sounds like it’s straight out of the forties or earlier. It emphasizes that Black Widow is currently the dominant person in the relationship (given the fact that she’s initiating it), but she doesn’t want to be. Her language opens the door for Banner to be the person who can step in and save her from past issues.

The attraction between her and Banner also extends to the actual Hulk himself, as we see with Banner’s “lullabye” that Black Widow gives him to turn him human again, putting her more in danger than the others.

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While she ends up in more danger by trying to help Banner this way later amidst an attack by Ultron, she is in danger even in this scene, where Hulk could snap and kill her at any moment.

Her romance with Banner is explicitly linked to vulnerability, both in the physical danger she finds herself in, and the emotional confession that she views herself as a monster, just like him. Her moments with Banner show more notable vulnerability than the moment she accepts death on the rising piece of earth they plan to explode before Nick Fury saves the team, proving that she is in the more danger during intimate moments with Banner/Hulk than she is fighting killer robots.

After Hulk flies out into space, Natasha is left with no additional love interest, and takes on a new role in the MCU. She becomes a developing leader of the team that gets herself out of tough situations, and seeks to protect as many people as she can through at first mediation in Civil War, and then with physical fighting in Infinity War. In the absence of romance, she becomes less vulnerable and, by some definitions, more masculine. In fact, her actions and attitude mirror Captain America’s, shown fully when she accompanies both him and Black Panther to speak with Proxima Midnight before the Battle of Wakanda. The absence of romance correlates exactly with Natasha’s new demeanor and role as protector, and as a result, the only mention of her past romance with Bruce is a comment from Falcon about the awkward reunion moment. Otherwise, she is completely detached from romance by the end.

#horsfall

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duckbeater · 5 years

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Some Notes on A. S. Hamrah

A lifetime ago, I thought it’d be rewarding to teach A. S. Hamrah’s “A Better Moustrap” to first-year students struggling through their second semester of basic comp. I wanted to wow them with Hamrah’s heedless deployment of unsettling theses, argued crisply and irreverently, in an essay that supplies a plausible solution to its concerns (a rarity among most rhetorical appeals, whose authors left my students stimulated but empty-handed). Very in the vein of “A Modest Proposal,” “Mousetrap” confronts a social ill—fetish videos where women crush small animals to death under their Stilettos—yet proposes a non-ironic salve: “crushies,” where “the must-have plush-toys of the Christmas rush will be smashed underfoot.” Most of my course was based on weird internet shit, which I thought (I still think) mostly anyone can appreciate, especially the young. “Mousetrap” is full of that weird-internet-shit jouissance.

“Reading this is like eating your favorite food,” I told the class. “You’re just gonna shovel in ideas. They’re all delicious. Eh, they’re pretty weird, too. But it’ll be fun.” It wasn’t fun. Nobody read the essay. Moving through its arguments, in front of twenty-five nineteen-year-olds and a few grandmothers, was embarrassing. I had to dissect Hamrah’s great takes on crush video culture, his movements through film history, his appraisals of Mickey Rooney, then his wider and, to me, scintillating prognostications on American adulthood—an adulthood most everyone in the classroom (accepting the grannies) was soon to inherit—totally alone. “Do you watch these videos?” one student asked. “Then what’s your fetish?” asked another. “Bryson fucks books!” became the consensus. (“I fuck your dads!” I thankfully did not say but very much wanted to. I was a coward; this partially explains why no one bothered to complete my assignments.)

Flying solo—or falling sans parachute, as the case may be—through Hamrah’s film criticism and cultural reportage of the last decade has probably been a shared experience among his far-flung admirers. Finding his byline in Bookforum or the obscure domain of the International Federation of Film Critics or mirrored pages from the defunct Hermenaut was usually the result of a periodic Google search. If he appears more regularly now, and more regularly in prestige venues, that’s the fault of n+1, where he’s contributed reviews tri-quarterly since roughly 2008.

Indeed, it was Hamrah’s initial, online-only contribution that inspired so much ardor and devotion. “Oscars Previews” provided bright, bursting capsules—the gleeful bitchery of a best friend's phone call. Apparently this quality was transliterated from its material creation, when he reported the piece to his editor, Keith Gessen, over a phone, after complaining he didn’t have time to write the thing. Each entry in this salvo (none are more than a hundred or so words) lands with a zinger. They have the polish of a joke, featuring a setup, some reinforcement and then a payoff. He even plays some of his capsules against each other as callbacks. The entirety of Hamrah’s entry on Michael Clayton reads: “There was a lot of driving in Michael Clayton. I like driving in movies but after a while Michael Clayton started to seem like a car ad—though it showed how a car ad can be liberal. That’s a message for our times.” The wit is authoritative, hypnotic, dismissive. The taste behind these pronouncements felt sui generis, and the criticisms brief enough to be dispatched verbatim without attribution. I was a senior in college when I first read Hamrah. I had a busy season of parties at professor’s houses and dined-out on his opinions for weeks.

This is not to say Hamrah only works when you’re young and grasping for style. But I do think it’s evident now that his short forms are the seedbed for his long form successes, paper sketches for the larger canvas. When you read enough of Hamrah’s capsule reviews, you get the sense he’s reporting exactly (or only) what fits into his little joke, sometimes you can even hear him reaching for his beats. When you read a whole book of them, you get the sense Hamrah’s less interested in the works under review than in his performance of reviews, his performance of freedom and audacity.

—

The Earth Dies Streaming, apart from film writing, is a log of Hamrah’s fascination with his persona, his brand of humor and arch sensibilities. He’s not exactly a curmudgeon—he wants readers to know he’s tried too many drugs to be a curmudgeon (comparisons to acid trips crop up, as does “bad speed”)—and he’s not exactly an academic (despite his Ivy League bona fides as a corporate semiotician)—and he’s not even a movie reviewer in the jejune, crass, sell-out way so many movie reviewer must be in today’s enfeebled, saturated, and deeply compromised market (he tries “to never include anything in [his] writing that could be extracted and used for publicity”). This is where I trot out a gif of Amy Poehler playing a Cool Mom in Mean Girls. Hamrah’s bobblehead offers virgin daiquiris to teenage cineastes. “I’m not like a regular film critic,” he says, “I’m a cool film critic.” The tits, the wink, the velour sweatsuit.

Other irritations. Hamrah’s insistence on the inferiority of animated films and his churlish dismissal of Miyazaki’s contributions to the medium’s history. He’s always on accident catching some part of a children’s movie—on an airplane, in a public clinic—and using these unsatisfactory experiences to comment on the aesthetics and advancements of animation at large. It’s a hobby horse he flays as often as Adorno assaulted jazz, and (to both their credits), slightly adorable for how insistent and under-thought. If only, as he does in “Jessica Biel’s Hand,” he would immerse himself in the backlog of lauded animation from this century and the last, he might, for once, be able to say something interesting about it.

Hamrah’s stance against feature-length animation is nearly as looming and placeless as his stance against other films critics, whom he evidently reads closely but can never be bothered to cite. His essays are peppered with a dreaded sea of bought-off weekly reviewers whose pedestrian tastes frustrate him. This, despite the regularly insightful, playful, and overall helpful criticism of David Edelstein and Emily Yoshida at New York; Dana Stevens at Slate; Manhola Darghis at the Times; Justin Chang in Los Angeles; and the fairly dour takes of Peter Debruge in the industry’s digest, Variety. Hamrah alludes to David Denby’s work in Streaming’s introduction, then names him outright in a later capsule review of Little Children. Otherwise, your guess is as good as mine as to with what critical consensus Hamrah finds his views out of alignment. These are critics and journalists who, obliged by deadlines, report weekly on their film-going habits. That they have new things to say even once a month is a miracle, but that they do so four to ten times a month is frankly incredible. (It must be evident that I’m a fan of movie reviews and film criticism. I work an office job where between menials I find intense delight and distraction in the work of daily reviewers, and I carry around with me an ungainly amount of knowledge regarding box office performances and future releases that in all other ways I have no interaction: I go to the movies maybe three times a month, often by myself, and often I see low-brow flicks. Last weekend I saw the third How to Train Your Dragon movie; the weekend before that, Isn’t It Romantic; a weekend before that, Roma. I saw these movies on the advice of daily reviewers, and Roma only after reading Caleb Crain’s celebration of it.)

I volunteer Richard Brody and Christian Lorentzen as Hamrah’s contemporary intellectual kin, with caveats. Brody’s work is too mystical, too mythical to properly critique his subjects, and his symptomatic readings, which border on the Lacanian in terms of the extraneous and deranged, become hulking apertures that always overtake whatever work is under discussion, squashing them. Also he is never, ever funny in his reviews. Brody is a curmudgeon, and what he criticizes rarely appears in the films themselves but float around the films’ receptions, financing or forebears, and when he ventures into specifics—a film’s lensing, its sound, the actors and their acting styles—his descriptions become ridiculous. Lorentzen, as with his book reviews, writes to a word count. (There is no other reason for the amount of tedious plot summary in a Lorentzen take-down.) If Hamrah sounds like these critics, it may be because all three are careful in their dissents to let the filmmakers know they think they’re complete assholes. When these three do find praise for a work, it’s the entirely appropriate object of adoration, art-house and independent, or, gotcha!, a studio event they appreciate for more correct, more interesting, and more nuanced reasons than everyone else.

What sets these critics apart from the daily reviewers I listed above, may be the daily reviewers’ capacity to surprise and be surprised. Perhaps they saw a movie with a daughter and her friend; they appreciated a family flick in context; they were caught unawares by stray scenes in a larger, unsuccessful work, and appreciated glimpsed wisdom. They have hope yet for a return to better forms. These reviewers are flexible and receptive; they are as likely to be charmed as they are to be chagrined. Even when Brody, Lorentzen and Hamrah are surprised by the quality of a work, they take it as an affront to their sensibilities and bridle, like horses suspicious of an open gate. Why were they not warned? Why should they trust this development? Their reflexive, ingrained annoyance, occasionally flowering into high dudgeon, fills their actual reviews with foregone conclusions. One does not visit their writing for news, or for new takes, for synthesized connections, or revelations of form. One visits for the comforting familiarity of a flagging standard—“a continuity of aesthetics that [has] become an aesthetics of continuity,” if I’m remembering the St Aubyn phrase correctly.

Criticism this entrenched in its own personality ends up toothless. It’s why Renata Adler, for instance, will be remembered for her reporting and not her film criticism. Despite its bite—and it’s quite biting—it rarely leaves a mark. Hamrah never cites Adler—nor do I think he will. His prose and her prose are rather too alike. He must sense the comparison coming, and dislike it, because Adler is not particularly well informed on film and filmmaking. Her amateurish moonlighting grated in 1968, and it grates now, but only for its prosumer-level expertise. Her prose (like Hamrah’s) remains indelible, deadpan, and addictive. When I recall the subhead to Kyle Paoletta’s appreciation of Hamrah, “Always On: A. S. Hamrah’s film criticism is a welcome corrective in an outmoded field,” I consider Adler’s own attempts at the form, as a corrective. And I find them contiguous with other platforms discussing same, places like Slate, Twitter, and The Ringer’s Exit Survey, which preempts the leap from hot take to tweet. (Q: “What is your tweet-length review of Venom?” A: “What if All of Me (1984) but action and also tater tot–loving aliens?”) What I’m saying is this: Hamrah’s form is not novel. His tone is not novel. His writing is, however, very convenient (brief, digestible) and entertaining, and he’s been adding more personal atmosphere of late.

So the named lodestars in Hamrah’s critical firmament: Pauline Kael, Susan Sontag, Jonathan Rosenbaum, J. Hoberman and Manny Farber (to whom Hamrah pens an exceptionally sweet and informative essay). Hoberman, the only critic still alive among these titans, shares Hamrah’s acid tongue and penchant for political excavations, while doing his readers a courtesy by assuming not all of them attend film festivals or live in limited-release area codes. The same semester I taught “A Better Mousetrap,” I taught Sontag on sci-fi movies and Hoberman’s seminal “21st Century Cinema: Death and Resurrection in the Desert of the (New) Real” (later to become his book-length essay, Film After Film). Hoberman can be as tart and irreverent as Hamrah, but he’s not above recounting plot summaries. He’s both a guide and a rebel. I suppose, following my own argument, if in fact I’m making one, this makes Hoberman the better critic—a classification that would not hurt Hamrah’s feelings. (This would hurt very few film critics’ feelings.)

—

Very little of the above matters. I had hoped to answer why, then I got bored (then I had to go to work; after that, I had to design a booth for a marketing expo in London; then I lost the thread). When I was in Brooklyn last December, I dropped into the Spoonbill on Montrose. The first book I bought on my second time in New York City was Hamrah’s The Earth Dies Streaming, and I carried it about like an obsessive as I made my way by foot to Prospect Park. I devoured it in a few days. I devoured it again on the plane ride back to Chicago. And I’ve read all the capsules before, and most of the essays—they’re usually posted in front of paywalls. If I quibble with Hamrah, it may be because he’s made me a better writer, and surely a better thinker, yet I found that I disliked my own dismissiveness and superiority, my own rigidity. If I can name my influences, I thought, I can break from them. But this is unso.

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scoffingatgravity · 6 years

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I see that you are team Stark and I almost unfollowed you. D: just kidding. I am still here because you got a dope blog and hella URL. :) why are you so anti cap though? Is it because of his popularity, the character himself or the stance he took re. Sokovia accords?

Okay, first off, I’m glad you didn’t unfollow. lol. As for your question, that’s one I’m not sure I can get as deep into as I’d like, but I’ll try to hit the main points. I’ll start off with my opinion on the Accords.

Yes, they were flawed, and having Thaddeus Ross spearhead all of that business was a bad idea. HOWEVER, I do believe a type of regulation is needed. Doctors, government agents, and others in life-saving fields have to follow certain rules. What makes superheroes above all that? 117 countries just wanted a say in what happened in their own countries. Countries should have a say on whether or not people come into their borders. I do disagree with quite a few of the regulations, though. Superheroes should not be regularly tracked or forced to reveal their identities. I genuinely believe a version of the accords could be created that would allow for accountability for superheroes, and provide nation’s with a voice on superhero activity in their own borders.

As for Steve himself, I’ve had an issue with him ever since Winter Soldier. He released a lot of classified SHIELD intel onto the world. I’d understand him revealing the sleeper Hydra agents’ information, but the rest of it compromised good agents and their operations. Also, I’m sure designs for high power weapons were in there, so those could be used by bad guys. He’s reckless. In Age of Ultron, he scolds Tony for keeping secrets while keeping it a secret that his brainwashed best friend murdered Tony’s parents. He then trusts Wanda (the one who joined Hydra, mind raped all of the team-minus Clint, only switched sides because Ultron wouldn’t spare any humans, and deliberately set the Hulk on civilians) over Tony, and becomes her biggest defender. I don’t think Wanda ever received consequences for her crimes. In Civil War, Steve never really tried to find middle ground. While Tony tried to talk, he shut down any attempts and instead launched an unnecessary fight. He turned the entire thing into Mission Protect Bucky, which had nothing to do with the Accords. He seriously injured German police, withheld important information regarding Zemo, and destroyed a whole lot of property he had no way of paying for (a habit of his and the others, which Tony’s left footing the bill for). It wasn’t until Tony refused to accept BS answers that he admitted to knowing what happened to Tony’s parents.

Onto the fandom’s (and the MCU’s) treatment of Steve: There’s a clear bias toward Steve’s views. He’s put on this moral pedestal, and his wrongdoings are shrugged off. Meanwhile, every little thing Tony does wrong (whether or not he’s really to blamed, like with Stane’s actions, the Vulture’s origin, the Maximoffs, etc) is used as another nail with which to crucify him. I’m just tired of Tony being treated like shit and made out to be a villain when he’s been on a continual journey of growth while Steve is treated like a saint.

I hope that answered the question best. There are some posts which help explain my feelings better.

#anti Steve Rogers #anti Team Cap #anti Wanda Maximoff #pro Tony Stark #look I liked Steve back in First Avenger #but AOU started a 'let's shit on Tony' parade #and I've been bitter on behalf of my boy ever since #I DO like Bucky tho btw #rant post #answered #anon

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lovelyirony · 6 years

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“For the record, I am sorry,” Steve says when there’s a break in battle. God, he’s so fucking tired of this. All of the looks and comments and the fact that none of them can be functional adults who communicate well, least of all himself. Tony hates the fact that he can’t be the better man and say “it’s okay.” Because it’s really fucking not.

“Sorry? For what?” Tony asks, intending to keep it light. Maybe Cap will get the hint and understand that whatever awkward thing they have between them will never happen. It will never bloom into a friendship, it can’t. Not when you’ve rammed a shield into a chest, caused new fractures that endanger you, only to have a new arc reactor put in. Great.

“I’m sorry that we couldn’t reconcile differences,” Steve says. And God, Tony came so close. To just ignoring it. “I’m sorry that we couldn’t see our choices.”

“I think you mean to say that you’re sorry I couldn’t see your situation,” Tony says softly. “Because I wanted to compromise and find a spot where we could work it out and discuss things but no. You had your Bucky so everything was fine, wasn’t it?” Steve looks like he’s about to argue. Tony lets him.

“You would’ve done the same for Spider-Man or War Machine,” Steve says quietly.

“I can say in hindsight, no, and even before that, no,” Tony retorts sharply. “Because I can see the bigger picture. I can reason. It’s what I’ve been doing all my life besides Iron Man. You’re a natural-born fighter. I’m...I’m someone else.” He’s never been quite sure what he is. “We can’t let this fester now, we have more important issues to discuss at hand. I’m going to talk to Captain Danvers around possible strategies.” He walks away, and then remembers that for the first time in a long while, he wasn’t reduced to quickened breathing and on-the-brink-of-anxiety feelings.

Peter tags along. God, Tony can’t stand that. He can’t let this kid become him and get in way over his head. That’s how it’s going. Peter is still in shock over meeting people. He thinks “Star-Lord” is the coolest guy he’s ever met, and makes a point of ignoring Rogers for the most part. Formalities, but that’s about it.

“This isn’t something we can get out of, is it?” Natasha asks him. Tony’s staring at the stars and planets and he wonders. If it all could have been avoided, had Ultron not been an abysmal failure and mistake. If there could’ve been more to protect the earth.

“No,” Tony answers. “It’s not. Unless, of course, you’d like to switch sides. I heard Thanos may be taking applications, now that Nebula and Gamora are gone.” It’s a low-blow and they both know it. But frankly, Tony should never have trusted her on his side. She was interested in protecting her own small little world, and Tony had never been a part of it. He hadn’t really been part of any family, really, not even his own.

“I didn’t come here to exchange petty remarks,” Natasha warns.

“And I didn’t stay in this spot to hear you tell me something obvious,” Tony snaps. “But here we are, fighting a huge fucking purple thing who has a gigantic advantage over us.” Natasha stays silent.

Vision packed granola bars for “sustenance.” He doesn’t need them, but knows Tony will. Tony feels just the tiniest bit better when Vision sits and offers him a chocolate-covered granola bar.

The Iron Man armor isn’t as good as it needs to be. Thanos has a heavy advantage. Tony is just so fucking tired of all of this. Fighting and fighting and fighting and does it ever stop? God, he hopes so. He wants to catch up on Cheers, they put it on Netflix, and he hasn’t actually watched it since it came out. Even then, only about ten episodes. It was funny. He’ll miss that if he dies. He’ll miss a lot of things.

Rhodey makes him promise not to do something stupid. “I know your dumbass is gonna try and make the sacrifice play, but don’t,” Rhodey says one night. They share a room, and they’re sitting on a bed that shouldn’t be as comfy as it is for being on a spaceship, and Rhodey makes him promise. “Promise me you won’t die,” Rhodey says. “You gotta promise. Like when you made me promise that I wouldn’t ever order pizza from Lazy Tom’s again.” Tony laughs at the memory.

He promises. But he’s not sure if it’ll last.

Captain America promised to look out for Spider-Man. Spidey’s on the ground with blood on his abdomen and a weakened voice, and Tony has never been more scared in his goddamned life short of being kidnapped and then PTSD of space and weird aliens and--dammit. Peter isn’t supposed to get hurt. He’s not the one going back down to earth in a body bag with frozen eyes and a stopped heart.

“What did you do,” Tony asks Steve. It’s Steve. Not Rogers this time. This is personal. “Why is there blood from his stomach, why does he sound like he’s going to die?!”

“Thanos,” Steve says simply, as if that answers every fucking question Tony has in his head right now.

“What did he do?”

“Thanos is too strong,” Steve says. He’s panting. “He got hit with one swipe, and he attempted to choke Spider-Man. Hulk broke through.” Tony heaves with anxiety and worry and tears and choked-up emotion that probably shouldn’t have been repressed five years ago, and he goes to Peter, who is barely in a state of consciousness.

“T-Tony...” Tony nods, pretends like he knows what he’s doing in this type of situation. He carries Peter to the space ship, shaking and vibrating with anger. The kid shouldn’t have come along.

“He shouldn’t have come,” Steve says quietly. Tony stiffens.

“Oh yeah, I invited him along,” he says sarcastically. “The travel agency gave us first class tickets and--what the fuck is wrong with you? Don’t you think I know that by now?” Steve, wisely, says nothing. Tony is stressing out because the nurses aren’t going to be able to heal him in five minutes, this thing takes time, and Tony hates the idea of being confined to one specific, smaller area. Thanos could wipe Peter out in seconds in this ship. He doesn’t want to leave. He makes a move to sit before Steve says something.

“Tony, we have a war to fight.” And Tony can see the tiredness of Rogers. He’s been fighting all his life, probably always will be. He’s always been like that. But Tony isn’t. “This isn’t some problem you can fix with technology and save the world with.”

“This isn’t some problem where you can accept collateral damage either, is it?!” Tony spits. They’re looking at each other now. God, all of the tension. Tony hates it. He’s always hated tension. He has too much of it.

Iron Man fights better, now that he has something more to fight for. His shots hit, he studies the tech that Rocket tells him about. He invents things that the aliens have never seen before. But that’s what happens when you don’t necessarily do research on Terra for about 5,000 years. You don’t hear about Stark.

In the end, of course, Tony breaks the promise. He takes hold of the Infinity Gauntlet, and it’s powerful. It could bring back dead people. Save more lives than Tony could do on his own. Make him go back in time and fix everything. But Tony can’t. He can’t change everything without having to change one more thing.

He looks back at Rhodey and Peter, the rest of the team. They’re looking at him in horror or with grim faces.

“See some of you down there,” Tony says weakly. “As for the others, send me an email and tell me how it feels to fly with wings, huh?”

The Iron Man armor comes back.

A promise is broken.

And there is a new gravestone added to a small, privately-owned cemetery. It’s right next to Ana Jarvis and Edwin Jarvis.

#i wrote this in about thirty minutes bc i was mad #and i needed to write something #hope u like it okay #it's not my best oh well #i wanted it to have more angst but *shrugs*#what can u do #tony stark #iron man #peter parker #spider-man #captain america #infinity war #steve rogers #guardians of the galaxy #the end

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bambamramfan · 7 years

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Superheroes

[Thing I wrote when Marvel was first promising a “woman Thor”]

I admit I was a little bothered by an article I saw bemoaning recent trends in science fiction and other genre movies. I don't argue with it's data, so much as the tilt of its conclusions. The article complains that scifi movies these days aren't really about the future, but rather about a different vision of now. They're not about tomorrow, they're about today.

Of course they are about today. Science fiction in all forms is always about today. Because today is all we know. We can talk about the future but it's almost entirely commentary on the current world, and the current truths we live in. None of us are from tomorrow, how could we write to it?

This is a good thing. It means science fiction (and other work) can tell us lessons for our current lives.

The other trend this article laments is the too many superheroes. A movie about superheroes isn't really a movie about us.

But much like "writing about the future" is really talking about today, then writing about "superheroes" can really be talking about everyone. When Spiderman recalls "with great power comes great responsibility", our reaction should not be "wow sounds like such a burden I'm glad I'm not him."

So I wanted to write about superheroes some. What are they telling us?

And first off, we need to distinguish a Super Hero movie from… well, a vigilante movie. A superhero is about a symbol that inspires the general populace. It's not that they do great things, but they proclaim "great things can be done."

A vigilante is just a dude who hits things pretty hard and solves the problem themselves.

What is Superman's power in one term? His power is to do the impossible. It's why they kept adding new powers all the time until cannon froze around Crisis on Infinite Earths (and why the end of Superman the movie wasn't shocking). It's all about thinking something is impossible, and then doing it! In an unexpected, garish, and often fairly public way. This is why the most famous line about him is "Up in the air, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman!" He is all about us, the public, witnessing and being in awe of his impossibleness. (And his second most famous line, about truth, justice and the American way, is also meant to be inspiring.)

Superman's secret identity is a nebbish reporter who is almost offensively normal. This isn't a subtle disdain on his part, but rather a promise. Anyone could secretly be Superman. Why, even *you* could secretly be Superman. Any day you could rip off your shirt, fly over the moon, and save the city.

Superman is hope. Kryptonite represents, well, cynicism.

Batman, is like the opposite of this in all ways. He lurks in the shadows, and really does intend to fix all the problems himself. Batman is well known for inspiring an emotion – and that emotion is fear, in his enemies. (The yellow lanterns admit he is the greatest of them.) He's not a symbol for us to be in awe of, he's a symbol for others to cower before.

Populist fans admire Batman because he's human whereas Superman "cheats" by being an alien with superpowers. But well, I can be Clark Kent. We can't be Bruce Wayne. He's born a billionaire and has psychological fixtures we can never replicate. There's nothing populist about lionizing a obsessive billionaire.

(This is part of why The Dark Knight is such a morally bankrupt movie. People are inspired by Batman to be like him – and they are depicted as objects of pathetic ridicule who need to be stopped for their own safety. Gotham does need a hero to look up to, and so Batman and Gordon invent one out of a lie. It's basically saying "inspiration is for suckers.")

Who would win in a fight between Superman and Batman? That's really asking "Who would win in a fight between hope and fear?"

(Maybe if fear wore a ring of cynicism… See how these symbols work?)

***

Which brings me to the other goliath that's dominating the public imagination vis a vis superheroes and vigilantes: the Avengers. What do each of them stand for? By and large, they're not vigilantes.

Captain America is very, very obviously a superhero. His meek background is used to emphasize that anyone of us could become the symbol of idealism he currently is.

Iron Man is a billionaire yes, but at least he's a superhero for libertarians. He flaunts his power and oblivious do-gooder spirit, and encourages everyone else to be as smart as him and show up Uncle Sam who wants to horde all the cool toys to themselves. He's a fairly amoral superhero, but still it's something.

The Hulk is more primal than any of the above. It's not necessarily a pleasant inspiration to see him trampling through a metropolis, but it promises a sort of chaotic, undifferentiated power. There's more things than dreamt of in our philosophies.

Thor. And then there's Thor.

***

Oh my goodness, a woman Thor is such a bad idea. Why? Well lets go through the above Avengers and see what sort of inspiration they stand for. Then we can ask, how would a woman version of that character change the interpretation?

Captain America stands for America of course, but he also stands for idealism itself. He believes in people, and not out of naivete. He sees the fallen world and still believes in the best. He never compromises, but also never loses faith in the people he cares about. A woman filling that role… is actually a radical departure AND an unambiguously good statement. I don't even know what it would mean, but I'd like to see it.

A woman Iron Man means like, nothing. You can be rich and smart and make things and generally disdainful of other people AND a woman. Iron Man is not a good person, he just happens to tag along for good things. There's nothing inherently revolutionary about a woman filling that role instead. It would work pretty smoothly and we might not even notice the difference. It would be Ayn Rand, but less edgy.

(Perhaps the best joke in that comic would be that when she's inside the suit of armor, no one can tell the difference between her and Tony Stark at all.)

The Hulk? The Hulk is basically phallic power. The woman version of the Hulk… is already a really popular comic called She-Hulk. And any fan of that series knows that she mostly solves her problems without or going beyond the use of brute force. She's clever and has personal skills besides her super powers (Note: superscience is a superpower. Itisn’t really a skill any of us can develop. Her organizational skills are.) The entire comic is basically a joke "What would a woman do with a phallus? Not much, she doesn’t need it." Consequently, it's a pretty good comic.

So what is Thor. Thor stands for worthiness. He didn't create or climb to his power, it was just given to him for who he is (son of Odin). But on the other hand, it necessitates an incredible standard that he must always maintain. He's good-hearted, loyal, determined, and many other generically good moral traits. Whenever he goes against Asgardian-morality, he loses his powers. The chief feature of his hammer is that no one else can lift it – Mjolnir is a worthiness symbol just as much as the sword in the stone. He doesn't even want his future kingship, which is contrasted with his very UNworthy brother.

I don't really like this, even though I like Thor. He's generally a liberal superhero arguing on the liberal side of things when politics comes up. And he dearly loves his brother, even as he's a pathetic snake. These are great things, but are largely treated as inconvenient biproducts of his essential worthiness. Like "Oh yeah, Thor is very generous because he's worthy, which means he will never give up on Loki, but that's just Thor, that's not at all a sign that *we* shouldn't give up on Loki." (This contrasts with Captain America. When Cap never gives up on Bucky, we understand that *we* should never give up on Bucky either. Faith in Bucky is *why* we admire Cap. For Thor, it's just a side-effect.) And worthiness… is not a good meta-virtue. Judging that people can only have certain power if they meet a standard of personality, is a fairly destructive moral heuristics. I could give plenty of examples of groups where this goes more wrong than right.

You know what group *really* doesn't need more of the message of worthiness? Women. A woman Thor would basically redouble on his inherent message that you can only participate if you meet certain unwritten standards. That you have no inherent value, but you have to prove your value every day. Ugh ugh ugh. How many times are women already told this? Too many.

This would be bad. So bad.

Now, one comic reinforcing sexism isn't going to be the dowfall of western civilization, obviously. But here's what will happen. The very people excited for "A Big Name Woman Superhero!" are going to find themselves… surprised. Upset. Woman Thor will be trying to live up to impossible standards, and only praised when she does (or punished when she strays from the arbitrarily chosen moral path) and holy shit will that look uncomfortable to readers. And Thor will meekly accept that and continue to try to retain the good graces of Odin.

Imagine the first scene where woman Thor can’t lift Mjolnir for whatever stupid reason it is this week.

They'll wonder why, and they'll conclude "latent sexism by the writers" which was half true, but was inevitable from the word go because of what Thor stands for. And since no one will be happy from this, it counts as a bad idea.

There is of course, one way this could be redeemed, but it would be the end of the comic. Thor could go before Odin, after she has strayed, and say "My time as a woman has taught me what utter bullshit all these rules and moral standards are. Fuck worthiness. Fuck you. I am done with all this. Me and Loki are out."

That would be rad.

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jjbamdbac-blog · 5 years

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Zoo Date with the Duwang Gang (preestablished romantic relationships and platonic friendships implied):

Josuke:

It was probably your idea but he’s more than willing to go along with it. (Probably leads him to start thinking about other places to go on dates).

You hit the aviary first. It’s the first and closest spot and you both had decided to hit every exhibit by the end of the day.

In the aviary, it’s a sight to watch as cockatoos in the area puff their crests and flap their wings at Josuke, particularly at his pompadour. Some of them try and land on his head or shoulders as a perch and others try and comb his hair with their beaks and he has to duck and cover his hair with his hands when you remind him that trying to punch at birds and getting kicked out of the zoo is counterproductive to what you had planned for the date.

One of the birdkeepers comes over with Scarlet Macaws and offers to take pictures of you two with the birds. Despite Josuke’s reservations, he ultimately agrees and the Macaws are perched on your arms as the birdkeeper tells you two factoids about the birds while getting the camera ready. (Josuke is definitely not blushing and looking directly at you as the birdkeeper says that this species of bird mate for life).

The birdkeeper takes the Macaws back and gives you a ticket for the photo number. You aren’t going to buy them but it’s their job. Josuke’s distress over his hair escalates after a kid is crying over a bird pooping on them and he needs to be taken out of the aviary at that point. Immediately.

A hair check is in order and while Josuke is in the bathroom, you plan out the rest of the exhibits you’re going to hit up. Daylight is waning and you are on a mission. No screaming children, grouchy parents, or boyfriend and his pomp are going to keep you from your money’s worth.

After going through every exhibit (to which you give Josuke credit for only powerwalking out of the reptile exhibit), the pair of you hit up the gift shop, getting stuffed animals and trinkets for each other, Okuyasu. Koichi, and Jotaro and something to give to Joesph and Shizuka but he vehemently denies this.

Okuyasu:

When a commercial comes on in the middle of your favorite TV show, your boyfriend is enthralled to see the clips of the zoo animals and when you ask if he’s ever gone to the zoo before, he gets bashful and quiets down as he shakes his head, rubbing the back of his head before telling you no.

Determined, you enlist Josuke and Koichi to keep him distracted as you plan and save up to spoil the heck out of him. When the day arrives that you take him to the zoo, seeing his face morph from confusion to utter glee makes your heart absolutely soar.

It’s his day so he gets go pull you to whatever exhibit or enclosure catches his attention. He’s a sweetheart, always asking you if you’d want to see the tigers or the cranes and you’re not going to disagree any time soon. You recall the animals he had listed off or the animals that you had seen on the commercial that had played on the commercial to appease him when he gets serious about what you want to see and he takes you by the hand takes you there. It’s precious to see how excited he gets and how determined he is to get as close as possible to the animal’s habitats (even if he gets several warnings from the employees stationed at each exhibit).

The animal-shaped pretzels are a highway robbery in terms of price, but you’d buy five if it meant Okuyasu would continue munching happily on those mouse shaped carbs. You’re determined to get every single photo that you take at each exhibit even if you did blink in one of them and some kid is throwing up in the background of another one (you especially want that one because even with the frantic and horrified look on everyone else’s face in the background tell a different tale, yours and Okuyasu’s smiles are truly picturesque).

You’re admiring the tiger exhibit (for the fourth time) when you feel someone nudge your shoulder. Your boyfriend is there, pink on his cheeks and drink in his hand offering it to you before he stands next to you. His voice is uncharacteristically gentle as he thanks you for the day, telling you that you didn’t have to go through all the trouble of planning out this day for him. You had words on the tip of your tongue to fight him if he didn’t immediately placate you by taking your free hand and squeezing it gently as you watch the tiger splash through the water and leap onto a rock structure.

At the end of the day, you fall in love all over again when Okuyasu stops and asks a woman if he can buy their crying child a cotton candy and the woman agrees, the child leaving the zoo just as happy as you and Okuyasu.

Koichi:

You accept Koichi’s invitation to the zoo with trepidation. Despite Koichi’s reassurances and the fact that Yukako may not be in town for two weeks, you’re convinced and have been steadily compiling evidence for your developing theory that Yukako is half Amazonian. You’re betting that she’s still going to be able to positively identify your scent from Koichi’s laundered clothes and you’ve begun to prepare yourself and your family just in case you disappear.

The invitation is accepted nevertheless. With all the sudden changes in your lives with school, new friends and Koichi’s relatively new relationship with Yukako, you do miss your quality time and friendship with him. You’re even more touched that it's just the two you of you and have time away from your other friends.

The zoo is jam-packed that day, but it doesn’t matter. You’re not making the day dedicated to visiting each exhibit, just making sure that the two of you are spending the day doing what you want.

You fight amicably about what to see first - deciding to go and see the penguins in order as a compromise. You wait in line for ice cream while Koichi gets you two drinks and meet up on the benches, talking about the small nuances in life and wheedling information about Yukako for your investigation. Despite his complaints, you use Koichi’s height to your advantage and get are able to surpass the long line to the aquarium portion. He takes pictures and is conflicted about sending them to Jotaro, and while Koichi tells you that you shouldn’t, he isn’t stopping you and is laughing as you send pictures of an assortment of reptiles from the reptile room to Josuke.

Inspired to send something to Okuyasu, the two of you head to the petting zoo, the one place absolutely teaming and bursting at the seams with parents, children and couples alike. You aren’t about to face that mess, but Koichi points out a hutch of adorable baby rabbits and your new purpose in life is to cuddle and take pictures of them to send to your friend.

The petting zoo becomes everything that you wanted it to be and more. The highlight of your entire day is made when one of the handlers at the area tells you to keep a close eye on your “brother” and is looking frantic as ducks begin to encroach around him.

After scheming the system for the children’s menu and buying matching hats that caused immediate regret, you were happy to take Koichi’s invitation and planned made plans to visit the new arcade next week to continue the fun.

Jotaro:

Jotaro was deceptively easy to convince to go to the zoo. There weren’t any grunts you were going to have to decipher if they meant “no”, “No.”, “Why?” or “Sure.” and he actually looked up from his work to meet your gaze when you asked him about potentially taking one day from the weekend off to go with you.

It shouldn’t have been much of a surprise when you got to the zoo that he found a map of each exhibit and just began walking. He didn’t say anything to answer your inquiries but everything clicked together as you neared an area that was lined in a path of fake bubbles and painted in various shapes of blue and outfitted with cute illustrations of several sea animals.

Bottom line: Jotaro’s there for the aquarium part of the zoo. He’s scrutinizing the kelp, the hides, the fish. He’s trying to assess the animal’s health through the glass and is asking demanding about what they’re being fed and on what schedule to the point that it’s embarrassing. You’ll probably have to try and physically restrain him from testing the waters himself to see if they’re the proper temperature and salinity for the aquatic life.

You’re there for hours. Jotaro’s looking at all the tanks with the same intensity as when he first came in. The children are intimidated to near some of the tanks, some parents are voicing their concerns to the staff but they’re unable to tell the hulking man in white looking at a pufferfish as if it has the answers to the universe to leave as he hasn’t done anything.

You’ve made a friend, an eel that follows your wagging finger and has bumped its nose into the glass a couple of times. Between the eel and Jotaro, the eel is proving to be more attentive to you than your friend.

“You’re teasing it.” You look up and Jotaro’s watching as the eel swims away. “And you scared off my friend.” you frown, looking for the eel that had darted away.

Silence fell between you; you were in search of your fish friend and Jotaro watching silently next to you. This really wasn’t how you wanted to spend your day at the zoo, but one must adjust and adapt to the force that is Kujo Jotaro.

“What was it anyway?” you ask, looking over and catching Jotaro’s eye. “I know it’s an eel, but what is it?”

“There’s a plaque.” “Yeah, but why read about them when you have a future Marine Biologist who can tell you about them.”

You’re a little perturbed when Jotaro recalls that moray eels are covered in mucus and have a second pair of jaws reminiscent of the Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise, but you decide the zoo date was a success as Jotaro continues pointing at different species of fish and murmuring facts about them without any further prodding from you. He even buys you an otter key chain after you were in near tears after learning that pairs of otters hold hands when they sleep so that they don’t float away.

Rohan:

Through trials and tribulations, you have learned that one does not simply say “No.” nor question Kishibe Rohan without earning his ire. So when you’re entangled into accompanying him to the zoo for “research purposes” you wonder what was keeping Koichi from standing in your place and being Rohan’s designated and glorified supply holder.

True to his word, Rohan is intently focused on the animals. Capturing their likeness and the surrounding foliage, hides, and waterways with sweeps of his pen across the paper and ignoring angry parents and screeching children when he ushers himself to the front of the line to get a closer look at the animals.

You’d be embarrassed for him, but he has no shame and when you’ve come back from admiring a crane, he’s embroiled with another patron over who had gotten to the wolf exhibit first and who should have the better “viewing spot”. You know how to choose and pick your battles, you’re not going to get anywhere in between an angry mother and a haughty mangaka. So you lie back in wait, carting his extra bag of papers and other drawing instruments and earning glares and hushed remarks on Rohan’s behalf.

Glares aside, it’s not the worst of Rohan’s research expeditions he’s forced upon you (this trip to the zoo seems like it’ll never going to top the disaster that was scuba diving with Dr. Kujo; the horrors you felt watching Rohan trying to persuade a woman to allow him to watch her give birth; or the time where he tried to upstart an illegal gambling league to “get a better sense of a character’s motives and actions in this situation”.). Lugging around his things isn’t as annoying as it could be and you got into the zoo with Rohan’s money so it isn’t terrible to watch and admire the animals while he’s busy sketching and signing the occasional autograph along the way.

You’re only halfway through with the exhibits when he announces that he’s done enough research to tide him over and that it’s time for him to go home and finish drafting. (You’re more than okay with this because following him around the complex when he’s in his frenzied artistic state is an Olympic feat you are nowhere near trained for.)

“Here. You can keep this as a token of my thanks for holding my things for the day.” He says simply, thrusting an illustration of the crane that you had been looking at while Rohan was bullying his way to the front of the wolf exhibit into your hands. You hadn’t realized Rohan had seen you go missing during that portion but he had and the crane was just as stunning in the drawing as it had been at the zoo.

You hold the picture gingerly, finding he had made the drawing out to you with the date and his signature on the bottom right corner. You’d ask if he really meant for you to keep it if the door wasn’t shut in front of your face and the light to the front porch of his house flickered off.

A part of you wants to fold it and pocket it just to see what he’ll do, another wants to keep it as crisp and flat as possible to preserve it properly later. Deep down, you know that if he’s using this as a romantic ploy for one of his works down the line in his house, his hands and that mountain range he owns are in danger.

#JJBA #Diamond is Unbreakable #DIU #Josuke Higashitaka #Okuyasu Nijimura #Jotaro Kujo #Koichi Hirose #Rohan Kishibe #Headcanons

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