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mischiefandmedicine · 2 months

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Very Full - Chapter 4: Very Full

Summary: Loki follows Melara to a speakeasy where they have an intimate conversation over drinks. Melara opens up and Loki offers her comfort.

Word Count: 4,525 words.

Chapter Warnings: Fluff, mention of domestic violence

Soundtrack Link

This Chapter's Music Inspiration:

Very Full sung by Tom Hiddleston

By Your Side by Sade

Very Full MASTERLIST

As they walked through the busy streets of her town, Melara’s grip tightened on Loki’s hand as if to signal that he should stay close behind her, a sense of urgency in her movements as she navigated. Loki followed her swift pace as they wove between the crowded throngs of people. He marveled at how this mortal woman continued to, rather inexplicably, hold his curiosity.

Glancing back at Loki once again as they neared their destination, Melara’s eyes betrayed a mix of nerves and determination. Her footsteps echoed lightly on the cobblestone street as she led Loki down an alley. Loki continued just behind her curious about the unexpected turn that they had taken, until he noticed a flickering neon sign above an inconspicuous door near the dead end. The sign flashed the words, “The Speakeasy”, igniting a smirk to pull at the corners of his lips.

Descending a flight of creaky wooden stairs, they entered a cozy bar, a much more intimate setting compared to the karaoke bar of their initial encounter. Ordering their drinks – a brandy old-fashioned for Melara and a Guinness beer for Loki – the harried-looking woman fixed her deep brown eyes on Loki’s with a sigh as they sat down in a booth.

They sat in silence for a moment before Loki dared to broach the subject. “So…the genius…who is he to you?” he inquired with raised eyebrows, his gaze fixed on Melara.

Melara sputtered with a laugh, nearly choking on her drink. “David? He’s…uh…my ex-something or other. I don’t even know what we were. Things didn’t quite work out how I thought they would.”

“Ah,” Loki acknowledged, leaning in slightly, a silent invitation for her to continue.

Taking another sip, Melara’s expression shifted, a hint of sorrow clouding her eyes, “I guess you could say that I was just a step on his way to meeting Stephanie,” she admitted, her gaze dropping into her glass, and she emptied it into her mouth in one swift motion.

Loki observed her carefully, noticing the reluctance behind her words. As she finished her drink, he mirrored her actions, downing his beverage nearly as quickly as she had. He tossed his glass at their feet, heartily calling out “Another!” pointing at the pair of them in the direction of the bartender who watched in horror.

Wide-eyed, Melara sputtered out a giggle, “What the hell was that?!”

“What?” Loki asked with a smirk. “This Guinness drink, I’ll have another one of those. I rather enjoyed it.”

Pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance, Melara glared at Loki with a heavy sigh, her eyes narrowed. “Oh my g-, ok, we are not on Asgard. You just ask for more when the waiter comes to the table. Got it?”

Loki chuckled softly, his eyes dancing in the soft orange light of the bar as he met Melara’s narrowed gaze. “Ah, the joys of mortal customs. How delightfully peculiar,” he teased, feigning innocence. “You must forgive me; it seems I am still adjusting to the nuances of this realm’s etiquette. But fear not, I shall heed your instructions when the server returns.”

“You really are the god of mischief, aren’t you? And you say you’ve changed,” Melara said in a tone that Loki could not quite read.

In the dimly lit confines of their booth, Loki sat across from Melara, a faint smile etched on his lips, concealing the layers of contemplation that churned within his depths. His emerald gaze shimmered with a flicker of the past and the sacrifices he had made to keep the timelines alive. Timelines that included this one. He could have ignored her call and returned to check up on Mobius or even rekindled attempts at love with Sylvie, but here he was, in a bar with a woman he barely knew. The woman from which he could not tear himself away.

Once their drinks had been replaced and Melara had assured the bartender that Loki, in fact, would not be shattering any more drinkware in the quiet atmosphere created by the speakeasy, he sipped his beverage much more slowly. Behind the façade of his usual charm lay a mind preoccupied, harboring the weight of responsibilities woven into the very fabric of her existence. He even wondered how much longer he would be able to project himself into this timeline before cosmic consequences ensued.

“The god of mischief never sheds all of his tricks,” Loki remarked, answering Melara’s implied question. His voice was soft, an underlying seriousness nestled within the jest. His gaze drifted, contemplating depths unknown to the mortal gaze, a silent nod to the costs made in the name of preserving temporal harmony.

“What does that even mean, Loki?” Melara asked, tone both annoyed and amused.

“Change is a curious thing, isn’t it?” he mused, words laden with a gravity that hinted at a deeper truth that he could not share. “Some transformations…they come with sacrifices. Happiness bartered against a greater purpose.”

Melara raised an eyebrow, “Glorious purpose?”

A stifled laugh exited Loki’s mouth. Melara’s eyes lingered on Loki, observing the subtle shifts in his demeanor, sensing echoes of a weighty burden borne by the cosmic trickster. Yet, his words, cryptic and measured, betrayed fragments of the truth, shrouding the entirety of his story in a veil of mystery.

Loki leaned in closer, his voice lowering to a whisper laced with solemnity. “Responsibilities transcend the boundaries of comprehension. They are threads that tether me to realms far beyond mortal understanding.”

He paused, considering her, as if weighing her capacity to grasp the weight of his cryptic utterances. “And yet, here I am. Your voice, it beckons.”

Melara, a picture of both curiosity and reservation, met Loki’s steady gaze, her expression a silent invitation for him to continue unraveling the tapestry of their conversation. “Are you saying that I summoned you, somehow?”

“That,” Loki said, shifting in his seat, “is precisely what I am trying to determine. Might I ask you something? Did you feel threatened by his presence?” Loki asked, his face holding a trace of concern behind it.

“David?” Melara gulped.

Loki nodded silently. “I’m just trying to understand,” he added, extending a hand as if to offer it as comfort, but Melara retracted her own before their fingers could touch.

Leaning back in her seat, Melara took a long, calculated sip of her drink. She did not know if she wanted to share such intimate details of her life. Her face clouded with memories, a fleeting shadow eclipsing her features. “David…he wasn’t the man I knew anymore,” she confessed, her voice lowering to a near whisper. “Things grew…complicated at the end.”

She withheld the details, her words dancing on the periphery of deeper revelations, hinting at a tale fraught with sorrow and obscured anguish.

Loki’s expression softened, an understanding glinting in his eyes, his façade of playful banter now bore traces of empathy, a silent kinship forged through unspoken sentiments. It was his fallen face that allowed Melara to spill over the edge, eyes welling with tears before she dropped her head and began sobbing silently in her seat.

As he watched her, Loki attempted once again to extend his hand towards Melara, but noticed the subtle retraction of her hands, a silent reinforcement of the boundaries she had set. Respectful of her unspoken request, he withdrew his hand, allowing it to fall gracefully back to his side, a symbol of his knowledge and compliance. As his hand retreated, a tender sincerity painted across his features, Loki leaned back into his seat, affording her the space she so clearly needed.

A fleeting moment passed before Loki’s voice, gentle and reassuring, whispered softly across the small space between them. “Not without your permission,” he murmured, his tone sincere and laced with delicate understanding, remembering the slap she had given him during their first encounter. It was a subtle reassurance that he would not encroach upon her personal space without her explicit consent.

Melara, her eyes moist with unshed tears, looked up from the veil of her tangled emotions. His whispered words pierced their weighty silence, causing a brief pause in the tempest of her thoughts. She glanced at Loki, registering the earnestness in his gaze and the genuine care behind his voice. Her heart, heavy with past wounds, fluttered slightly at Loki’s respectful gesture. It seemed there was a poignant vulnerability in his demeanor, a marked contrast to the audacious trickster she had first met. His careful regard for her boundaries was a revelation that resonated with her.

The somber atmosphere softened as she felt a faint stir of appreciation for his understanding and respect, especially given that she was a mere mortal in his godly presence. Loki held her gaze with a quiet intensity, conveying a silent reassurance that he was there for her, comforting her with his presence alone as she processed her feelings.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a soft giggle resonated in the quiet confines of the speakeasy, breaking the weighty silence between them. “I’m sorry, I’m such a mess. I suppose we all have our own baggage,” Melara remarked, her voice light and airy as she wiped her eyes.

Loki eyed her carefully, sensing a slight lift in her mood before he allowed a cautious smile to curl his lips once again. “It seems we do,” he concurred, a hint of warmth and understanding woven into his words.

“How is it that you manage to stir up these emotions in me? It’s like you know me better than you should,” she said, hinting at the curious notion of fate or destiny intertwining their paths.

Loki’s gaze met Melara’s with a tender sincerity, his expression softening in response to her admission. He recognized the delicate balance between curiosity and vulnerability in her gaze, yearning for understanding lingering between them. Though still guarded, knowing that Melara was fragile in this moment, Loki responded with a wry smile, a flicker of mischief creeping back into eyes. “Am I to believe that is why you so abruptly left the night we met?” he inquired, his tone a playful tease with a trace of genuine interest, his gaze fixed on Melara, awaiting her response.

She chuckled softly once more, blush tinting her cheeks as she recalled their initial encounter. “Oh, that?” she admitted, casting a sidelong glance at Loki, both of amusement and shame. “It’s not every day that one encounters a god in a karaoke bar.”

The pair laughed.

“Really though,” Loki urged. “What happened? It reminded me of someone I once knew.”

Melara paused, studying the pained look on Loki’s face as though he were hiding his own baggage from her during this, their second intimate conversation shared in just a few days. Loki eyed her curiously until she continued, “I-, I left because…I just can’t.”

“You can’t what?” he pushed.

Eyes narrowed in Loki’s direction, Melara searched for the words. “Listen, you met the guy, and I’m sure you can gather by now that the idiot was also an abusive idiot. He nearly killed me once, and now every person I meet, friendly or otherwise, reminds me of him. I remind you of someone you once knew. Well, you…this,” she gestured between the two, “reminds me of him. How it once was when he duped me into thinking that he was this wonderful guy and then tricked me time and time again into thinking he could change into something better.”

Tears spilled from her eyes once more. As Loki wracked his brain for the right words to say, the faint sound of music began to play overhead, inciting Melara to rock side to side, calming herself instinctively. The tune sounded vaguely familiar to Loki as Melara swayed to the beat. The melody seemed to stir them both, Loki wondering what the song could be. It was much slower and subdued than he remembered. It was then that Melara opened her mouth to sing, almost serendipitously:

The trees they dance as the waterfalls stop,

When she sings, she sings, “come home”.

Oh, the trees they dance as the waterfalls stop,

When she sings, she sings, “come home”.

Loki’s mouth hung open in sheer shock at the timing as the soft lilting notes resonated, coaxing memories from the crevices of Loki’s consciousness. The haunting tune filled the space, Melara’s voice, rich and soulful, played with the melody, eyes closed, immersed in a version of the song that was not only in English but much slower than the usual song that it was.

The enigmatic songbird, perched across from Loki, sang in perfect unison with the music as it played, her voice tender yet vibrant, echoing the emotional depths of the song. Her eyes remained shut as she repeated the verse louder, eyelids clenched, lost in the music as the words flowed from her lips, carrying the unspoken narrative of longing and heartache that had mirrored Loki’s tumultuous journey.

In stormy black mountains,

I walk alone across the ice.

While in the apple orchard the maiden stands,

And sings, “When are you coming home?

With each resonant note, memories of Sylvie flooded Loki’s mind, entwined with a burgeoning sentiment that he could not quite place – feelings that had simmered, all but unspoken, and palpable between them. The emotional familiarity of the song evoked a bittersweet blend of nostalgia and confusion, tugging at the threads of his heart and mind.

Oh, the trees they dance as the waterfalls stop,

When she sings, she sings, “come home”.

Oh, the trees they dance as the waterfalls stop,

When she sings, she sings, “come home”.

Loki, spellbound by the raw emotion emanating from Melara, felt her lean into each note of the song as though she were sending a message to him. He sensed the song’s significance seeping through the atmosphere, wrapping around him like a cloak of intertwined emotions. There was a familiarity in her song, an intangible connection that reverberated within him, stirring an unexpected realization.

Melara’s performance was not just a mere echo of the song; it was a reflection of her soul, a symphony woven with her own experiences and emotions. As the final verse of the song reached its crescendo, her voice carried the essence of love and longing that mirrored the impact Sylvie had on Loki’s life.

For a fleeting moment, Loki’s gaze held Melara in a new light. A myriad of emotions danced across his features, a silent revelation stirring within him. The line between the past and the present blurred as he grappled with the flashes of Sylvie’s memory intertwined with the enchanting presence of Melara. His heart, an intricate web of conflicting emotions, pulsed with a burgeoning affection that transcended all logic and reason.

Under his breath, a whisper escaped Loki’s lips, laden with bewilderment and introspection, “What are you doing to me?” His voice, barely audible amidst the remnants of the song, carried the weight of his inner storm – a whisper meant for his ears alone, a fervent question to the enigma unraveling before him.

As the echo of Loki’s whispered query drifted into the sweet chaotic ambiance of the bar, Melara’s sudden reaction caught him off guard. Her eyes, glistening with a mix of emotions, locked onto Loki’s with an intensity that belied her seemingly oblivious demeanor moments before. It was as if she had heard the inner musings that had escaped his lips, her gaze probing into the depths of his unsettled soul.

Caught in the midst of his own turbulent thoughts, Loki was momentarily thrown off balance by Melara’s piercing stare. He had meant for those whispered words to remain veiled in secrecy, an intimate thought meant only for his own contemplation.

Yet, her abrupt shift in focus, her gaze now firmly fixed upon him, left Loki unsettled. “How are you doing this?” he asked her.

The question lingered in the air, a testament to Loki’s utter bemusement at Melara’s almost uncanny ability to unsettle the very core of his guarded composure. She could summon him from across the multiverse with just a thought, belt out a song that brought him to her side in an instant, and now, she impossibly read the thoughts of arguably the most powerful being in the multiverse.

A human. There was nothing more to her than that. She had been honest; she was merely a petite human woman who enjoyed singing in karaoke bars. And now speakeasies. But there was also the fact that her timeline appeared stronger than all the rest.

Melara, upon hearing his latest question, offered no immediate response, but a puzzled look on her face. Instead, her gaze softened marginally, a flicker of understanding in her eyes, though her lips remained sealed, withholding the words that could provide insight into Loki’s perplexity. He could not help but notice that her caramel-colored skin glowed in the candlelight of the bar, her dark hair floating in waves that framed her face.

“I’m not a witch, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she said with a smirk.

Loki laughed nervously, “Then, what are you if not a witch?”

She paused to answer carefully, “Would it surprise you to know that I have been having dreams about you?”

“Oh?” he said, leaning in with intrigue.

Melara rolled her eyes with a sigh, “Not at all like that,” she giggled, wiping a tear from her eye. “The night I met you, I dreamt of you sitting on a golden throne. You were entwined in a web of green, glowing strands, but there was an emptiness about you. I felt your sadness, your pain, and your…sacrifice.”

With the last word, Melara offered her hand for Loki to take. He stared down at her palm before resting his own gently within hers. She pulled his hand to her lips, gently kissing the back of it before continuing. “That’s not where it ends. I was caught in the web when I saw the strands around me start to glow with fire. You saved me, but before you did, I watched as you extinguished those fires with a blast of ice.”

Loki sat across from Melara, speechless.

“Don’t ask me what it means. I’m no philosopher or dream whisperer. But I thought it might make a good story if I ever were a writer,” she admitted before looking down at their hands, Loki stroking the back of hers with his thumb.

Melara had all but seen the truth of his existence in a dream, but also found herself caught up, tangled in the timelines, her essence lighting them aflame. Loki’s own reaction to the dream was not just astonishment; it was an internal whirlwind of emotions. Her vivid descriptions sent a shiver down his spine, triggering an unexpected surge of recognition, aligning with his own haunting memories from the end of time.

Loki’s breath hitched, a sudden realization dawning within him. Her recounting mirrored fragments of his existence at the climax of the timelines, when he had decided to destroy the loom, ensnaring him in a duty that his corporeal body was carrying out at this very moment. She had even seen him perched atop his throne of absolute power, sensing his solitude, longing for the people he loved.

He looked at Melara, his gaze holding a mix of incredulity adding to the implications of her dream. Her words peeled back layers of his own haunting memories, unearthing the desolation and sacrifice he had endured at the precipice of all existence. For a moment, Loki was lost in his thoughts, grappling with the gravity of her vision. The imagery of fire and ice resonated deeply within him, vivid echoes of the profound choices he had faced that still weighed heavily upon his heart.

Collecting himself, Loki’s voice emerged, tinged with a subtle tremor, “That’s…, you’re…remarkable.” His words fell softly, dripping with genuine surprise and a newfound sense of intimacy threading through the air. He could feel the unsettling connection between their destinies unraveling in a way that defied rational explanation. He could have used this power to find Mobius again.

He gently squeezed Melara’s hand, a gesture of knowing, hinting at the depth of the inexplicable bond that seemed to knit their fates together. Their encounter had transcended mere chance, delving into the unfathomable realms of interconnected destinies and the enigmatic tapestry of time. The haunting parallels of it all struck a chord within him feeling the forces that brought them together leading to this moment right here in the clandestine bar she had chosen for their conversation.

In the candlelit haze of the speakeasy, the music softened to a gentle melody, a tender song that seemed to stir the air with its quiet yearning. Loki’s eyes, usually so full of cunning and mischief – and a hint of something else – held a warmth as he regarded Melara across the table. The revelations of the night hung between them like the delicate notes of the song, each word she had spoken weaving itself into the fabric of his thoughts.

He stood, the movement fluid as if drawn up by the music itself. With a grace that belied his inner turmoil, Loki extended his hand towards Melara, palm up, and invitation clear in his eyes. “Melara, would you honor me with a dance?” he asked, his voice low and resonant, echoing the vulnerability she had unveiled within him.

There was a moment’s hesitation, a flicker of surprise in Melara’s deep brown eyes that quickly gave way to a quiet acceptance. She placed her hand in his, and as he pulled her to her feet, there was a shift in the air, a sense of two worlds colliding and merging into one.

As they stood near their booth, no dance floor in sight, Loki drew her close, his hand resting gently on the small of her back, his other hand clasped hers. They began to move to the rhythm of the music, slowly turning in a dance that was less about the steps and more about the connection forged between them. Melara’s head rested lightly against Loki’s chest, her ear over his heart, and she could feel the steady beat through his button-down shirt, a reassuring drum in a world of chaos.

Loki was surprisingly gentle with her, leading with a patience that Melara had not anticipated. They moved together, and for a moment, the weight of their destinies seemed to lift, leaving nothing but the simplicity of two beings swaying in the soft glow of the room. His throne was momentarily forgotten, his title as god of stories put aside. In this moment, he was simply a man, moved by the presence of a woman who had, inexplicably, sung her way into his very being.

The music wove around them, a cocoon of sound that held them in its tender grasp. Melara’s scent, a mix of the earthy and ethereal, filled Loki’s senses, grounding him in the now. Their bodies moved together in harmony, finding a rhythm that was theirs alone. Loki gently closed his eyes, allowing himself to be present in the dance, to savor the feel of Melara in his arms, to memorize the way her hair tickled his nose, the softness of her skin under his fingertips.

As the song came to an end, they lingered, reluctant to break the spell that had encircled them. Loki’s eyes opened again, locking onto Melara’s, and he saw the universe reflected back at him – not the cold, lonely expanse of space that he ruled over, but a universe filled with the warmth of potential and the light of stars yet to be born. They stood still, still embraced, as the music faded, and the chatter of the speakeasy returned.

It was then that Loki realized that he needed to consider the level of energy it took to cast such an intricate projection of himself, one that interacted with Melara and the environment around him. His apparition was more like an avatar through which he could sense the gentle way she grasped his hand. He had to cut his time short, knowing that if he exhausted his own body enough, there would not be enough power to keep the timelines within his grasp alive. Let alone, hers.

He also considered human customs surrounding this intriguing woman and realized that a significant amount of time had passed since his arrival to the timeline. “’Lara?” he asked, in between silent glances. “Shouldn’t we be getting you home? It is awfully late.”

Melara checked her watch, seeing that it was after midnight. “Oh my goodness, it is pretty late. ‘Time flies’ as they say,” she shrugged, reluctantly shuffling her feet.

Loki watched as she gathered her things. “Might I walk you home? I would not want anything to happen to you on your way.”

A deep red flush flashed across Melara’s neck, rising to meet her cheeks. “That…that is sweet and very gentlemanly of you, but you don’t have to. I don’t live far from here.”

“I’m afraid, I insist,” Loki pried. He meant what he said, he could not have anything happen to this woman before he was able to understand what this power was that she wielded over him.

They walked the few blocks in silence from the speakeasy to her apartment. Loki saw to it that he walked her inside, through the halls of her building, and up to her door before he would even consider allowing her to take leave of him. The door to her apartment had the words, “Unit 9”, scrawled out in golden decals.

“Nine realms connected by Yggdrasil,” Loki whispered.

Melara giggled, catching Loki’s reference to the world tree. “You could not possibly know Norse mythology too,” she said with a hint of incredulity in her voice.

“You humans really got all the stories of Asgard mixed up with that rubbish,” he scoffed, scrunching his nose.

Melara erupted into full-blown laughter as she unlocked the door to her apartment. “There’s some truth to those stories?” she asked, watching the pained look on Loki’s face.

“No. Absolute rubbish. Absolute…,”

Melara stopped him, placing a finger on his lips to shush him. “Rubbish, I know,” she whispered. “Hold on a moment,” she said, ducking into her apartment, and returning with a small footstool.

“What is that for?” Loki asked, his brows furrowing into a baffled look.

“Think of it as this pint-sized Valkyrie’s noble steed,” she joked with a twinkle in her eye. Melara ceremoniously stomped her feet as she climbed atop the stool, placing her eye to eye with the god that usually towered over her. She winked playfully as she pulled him close, slowly, but firmly, connecting her lips with his. Loki crumbled under her touch, his shoulders falling as though she had conquered him completely as he returned the kiss with a fervor he had not quite experienced before. Placing a hand gently on Loki’s shoulder, Melara broke the kiss with a sheepish grin, whispering, “Goodnight, Loki” against his lips.

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Taglist: @mischief2sarawr

#loki masterlist #loki fanfiction #loki fanfic #loki imagine #loki laufeyson fanfic #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki marvel #loki #loki series

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cosmicspacewidow · 6 months

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Finding A Home Chapter 2

Summary: After landing the role of a lifetime In the film Black Widow 2, Cade Jones goes to LA where he meets Scarlett Johansson and Elizabeth Olsen. During the summer they film the movie and Cade plays Scarlett's son but over time it's not acting anymore and Scarlett and Lizzie find the missing piece of their family, but not without a lot of bumps along the road. This story is set in a real world with real people mixed in with the MCU movies alternate universe that is also set in an omegaverse, so Alpha Beta and Omega dynamic as well as non-sexual age regression, abuse, and violence. This is a bad summery just give it a read if you want.

Pairing: Scarlett Johansson/ Elizabeth Olsen

Word Count: 5,979

Chapter: 2/?? (36 chapters posted on AO3)

Chapter Trigger/Content Warnings: Mention of Abuse, Violence, Non-Sexual Age Regression, and Bullying.

Chapter Summary: Cade meets Scarlett and Lizzie at dinner and of course it doesn't go as he expects.

AO3 Chapter LINK

ENJOY

Chapter 2: Overcoming Obstacles A Step Towards Trust

Scarlett’s POV

The last couple of months had been probably one of the busiest months in Marvel history. Immediately after the release of Endgame, Marvel's stocks dropped over 45% in less than 12 hours. The entire Marvel fan base all across the world was protesting the ending of the movie. Nobody was happy about the deaths deemed necessary for the story.

After finding out that Robert Downey Jr, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evens, Paul Bettany, and I tried fighting Marvel very hard on not killing us off, it only enraged the fans even more. Marvel had not said anything about it until the ComicCon when they announced that The movie black widow was supposed to be released soon and it would be the last installment featuring The Black Widow. If people were mad about Endgame then this was nothing in comparison.

Disney's stock dropped again within 5 hours of the news, it was so bad of an overall loss for the company. Everyone at top levels was freaking out trying to figure out what to do. It was the next day when I got a call from my lawyer, Scott Harkin, and my management team urging me into an emergency meeting.

In that meeting I was told that there were rumors of a second black widow in the works and the possibility of bringing the Natasha back from the dead. It was clear the new generation of viewers were coming into a realization of the power they had over these big tycoons like companies. My team and I came up with a contract and deal for what we were going to ask for if Marvel did end up coming to us.

We were asking for better pay, benefits, safer set practices, more story and creative control on my part and no more than 12 hour days for everyone all terms including the full crew no exceptions. Before we could even leave the meeting my manager Claire had gotten a phone call from the executives at Marvel. They indeed wanted to start developing a second movie, and my team was firm on our terms and got every single one of them before signing on to another contract with the studio.

Marvel was pushing this movie fast to bring back up their stocks and profit margins but it was still a slow climb for them because fans were wary of the studio actually following through with the rumors of a new black widow movie. Marvel was just lucky to already have a script written years ago so it didn’t take long for production to get underway. There was some last minute casting decision but I'd been assured by Kevin Feige himself that this was going to an amazing cast and crew.

I was sitting around a large table that was filled with many people I'd like to call part of my family. There were a couple big wigs joining us tonight including Kevin Feige and the Russo brothers and the new director for the movie. Ben Canon or something like that. I'd never worked with him before and even requested the same director as the first movie, Cate Shortland, but there was a scheduling conflict Marvel wasn’t willing to work with.

Other than that it was all people I’d call my pack Florence Pugh, Rachel Weiz, David Harbour, Ray Winston’s, Elizabeth Olsen, Chris Evens, and Jeremy Renner. The main crew was all here except for our newest addition. I haven’t heard much about him other than he absolutely blew everyone away with his audition and fighting skills and really had a natural talent for acting.

Kevin had explained to me that he was a great find and had said he was very unique and extremely shy and very new to the industry so I suggested we do a welcome dinner so he could meet everyone in a relaxed nature.

We had all gotten settled at the table and we were all catching up with each other when the main door to the room opened and the host led a young teenager into the room. He looked nervous and I would have been too if a bunch of strangers were all staring at me like that. The moment was broken when Kevin stood up and made his way over to the boy.

“There you are! Everyone, this is Cadence Jones, he’ll be playing Anton Romanav, the son of Natasha.” Everyone said a chorus of hellos. The boy smiled and waved.

“Hi... you c-can just c-call me Cade.” He stuttered out quietly.

“Oh yea that’s right.” Kevin announced as he remembered something.

“Cade here has a bit of trouble speaking sometimes but I’ll tell you when you see him act you’d have no idea.” Kevin continued as he ushered the boy inside the room more to sit down. Each seat had a name place so his designated spot was in between me and Lizzie. I could tell Kevin's comment about him speaking embarrassed him by the way he looked down at the floor from the moment on. Once Kevin and Cade sat down the conversations at the table started back up so I turned to him and decided to properly introduce myself.

“Hi there, I’m Scarlett. It's nice to finally meet.” I said to him and he shyly smiled back at me and nodded as if he was saying likewise.

“Oh my goodness aren’t you just adorable?” Lizzie said on the other side of him scrunching her nose up like she always did. I watched as Cade turned to her, blushing a little bit before ducking his head down in embarrassment. I gave her a look.

“What? He is?” She said with a shrug and a smile. Lizzie was the sweetest person ever. She was very soft and funny like a little puppy but when she needed to be it was like a switch flipped and a little pitbull would come out all bark no bite ultimately a sweetheart.

“Babe, don't embarrass him like that.” I told her and she just laughed and shook her head.

“You’re right you play his mom it should be you to embarrass him right? I’m Lizzie Olsen by the way.” She teased and a small chuckle left Cade’s mouth. He pulled out a laminated card from his pocket and passed it over to me. I scanned the note and Kevin’s comment made more sense.

It read in a nice and fun font with colored text, Hi I’m Cade I have an anxiety disorder called selective mutism. I am unable to speak in certain social situations. This is not a choice, it's an involuntary response, I’m not being rude.

“Can I pass this around the table?” I asked him so everyone can have a slightly better understanding of our new cast mate. He thought about it for a second before nodding.

I passed the card over to Lizzie and she read the card quickly too before passing it to Chris sitting next to her. He wasn’t in the movie and neither was Lizzie, ever since we started dating Lizzie and had Chris become besties even though I knew him longer and he was my friend first they were always together in their free time as of late. As the card made its way around the table nobody seemed phased except until Jeremy got a hold of it.

“How does that work?” He asked, looking at Cade. The boy picked with his fingers for a moment and was about to say something but it was Kevin who spoke up first. I felt a small growl in the back of my throat come forward as I looked at Jeremy. I knew him, we were friends, but he was an older guy and thought anxiety was for the “snowflakes” of America so I’d have to keep an eye out.

“I asked that very same question but I'll just send you the audition tape and I think all your questions would be answered.” Jeremy took that for an answer and we all fell back into a comfortable conversation. Everything was going well and about ten minutes later the waitress appeared with the appetizer and the drinks some people ordered when we first arrived.

“Okay guys are we ready to order?” I heard her ask the table, looking around no one was really paying her any attention except for myself, Cade, and Lizzie who were closest to her.

I was about to say yes that we all were ready taking control of the room but I noticed Cade beside me start to panic a bit, the stress on his face was evident looking around for a menu as his leg started to furiously bounce under the table. This is when I realized that he never got a menu in the first place.

“Actually, can we have some more time to look it all over? I think we’ve been too busy catching up so far but Umm Cade? Would you like to put in a drink?” I asked the waitress and then turned to Cade. I took my menu and slid it in front of him, flipping it to the back where the drink options were. I slightly pushed out some calming pheromones into the air to get him to relax a bit.

His shoulders relaxed a bit as he scanned the menu for less than a second before looking up at the waitress like he had something to say but it wouldn’t come out and then looked back down at the menu and shook his head. He was giving off the most anxious scent I've ever smelled in my life.

“Are you sure bud? You can just point which one you want or you can whisper it to me or something.” I didn’t mean to call him that, but he seemed nervous and I wanted him to feel comfortable. I could tell he had something in mind and I just wanted to encourage him however possible.

It seemed the waitress had picked up Cade's lack of communication and tapped him on the shoulder. She tucked her notepad in her apron and started making hand signals towards him. He brightened up and started signing back to her. They seemed to have a small conversation and then she grabbed her notepad and started writing.

“Okay one hot chocolate and a glass of water coming right up. I’ll be back.” She said before turning and leaving.

“That was cool, can you teach me something?” Lizzie asked Cade. He seemed surprised but nodded. He pointed to Lizzie and then started to spell out her name with sign letters as he very quietly talked it out.

“L. I. Z.Z.I.E th-that’s Liz-zie.” He explained his voice was soft as he spelled her name out but the two of us could hear him. Lizzie tried to copy his hand movements. He smiled and nodded as she practiced for a bit and then asked him to teach her more. He didn’t seem to mind but I knew he still hadn’t looked over the menu and the waitress would be back soon.

“Liz, why don't you let him pick out what he wants to eat first before he teaches you anything else?” I asked softly not trying to be commanding or dominatining the two, but trying to switch gears a bit.

“Oh gosh yeah sorry about that I get so excited sometimes.” She said to Cade he shook his head and signed something.

“I know that one he said it’s okay.” Lizzie said happily as Cade nodded to say she was correct.

I nudged the menu and he looked down at it for a minute. He seemed to just be staring at the first page not necessarily looking through it much like he did before with the drinks. His leg started bouncing again under the table and Lizzie and I both gave each other a look. Lizzie herself had anxiety so we both were hyper aware of the cues of anxiety.

Cade's POV

Dinner wasn’t going as horrible as I thought it was going to be but I was still highly stressed. I did relax a bit after Lizzie had asked me to show her some sign language. Not many people are so interested in finding ways to communicate with me so it was nice to see her instantly try. She seemed really sweet and Scarlett too. Being in their presence felt really comfortable just knowing them for less than an hour. However I got anxious all over again when Scarlett suggested I take a look at the menu and pick out my dinner.

I didn’t feel that hungry as my stomach was in knots but as I looked at the menu again I knew I wouldn’t be able to order anything from here. It was written in cursive and even though I was pretty smart with the way the letters blended together I could never form a correct word and I never learned it in school. With all my moving between foster homes I figured that lesson was missed. I felt my chest tighten and my leg start to shake as I faked looking through the menu but Scarlett seemed to know what was up and questioned me about it.

“Are you okay?” She asked me softly and my nose was filled with a calming scent radiating off of her as I looked up quickly nodding, not even thinking about it before answering.

“I’ll be honest, I can tell that's not necessarily true, I’m a human lie detector.” I looked at her nervously, nobody could read me like that.

And it made me wonder Why did I lie? I felt comfortable with her and Lizzie and that was rare. Unlike most people they didn’t seem bothered by my anxiety or lack of speech. So I took a couple deep breaths to steady myself and I cleared my throat and I remembered something that Striker dad used to alway tem me. Bravery can even be found in the smallest moments, not just the big ones we see in movies,

“I-i can’t read cursive.” I said in a little voice dejectedly I was embarrassed to look at them so I looked back at the menu and the small cursive font it was in.

“I can read it to you or I could ask for the kids menu. I'm pretty sure that it's not in cursive?” Scarlett suggested and I felt myself perk up at the idea of a kids menu. They were easier with better choices and always so fun to color on.

I quickly remembered where I was when I felt myself slipping into a weird headspace where my brain started to go fuzzy and pushed that feeling down. It wasn't an unusual feeling but it was one i knew to always lead me into trouble with Kenneth and Joyce, sometimes I would find myself slipping in a more submissive and younger headspace than what I actually was. Kenneth would always say that it was the devil trying to take control of me. And that I had to resist temptations. It was usually easier to keep this side of me at bay but today I was tired, still in pain from the fall and very much overwhelmed so it was harder to resist. I could only imagine what it would be like to slip in front of all these adults I'm supposed to work with. I’d probably be fired on the spot so I shook my head and tried to pull myself up.

Lizzie’s POV

I watched as Scarlet offered to read Cade the menu for him or get a kids menu. For a second he seemed to brighten and relax at the sound of a kid's menu but then immediately shakes his head and looks down at his lap nervously before rubbing his temples. He definitely wanted that kids menu but was too embarrassed.

From the second I saw him walk in I felt a need in my chest to take care of him and watch out for him so I had a feeling his status might include being a little. Scarlett and I were both caregivers and it was widely known that when in the presence of each other caregivers and little could sense each other.

I looked over to Scarlett who had seemed to be thinking the same thing I was. She didn’t say anything else to Cade. I just watched her get up and head out of the room. A minute later she came back and sat down. She placed a piece of paper and a box of crayon in front of Cade. He immediately lit up looking shocked at her. She was a Dominant Alpha like that, whenever she could tell someone she cared about wasn't going to speak up for themself she would naturally do it for them.

“Thanks.” He said before grabbing the crayons and opening the box. Just like any kid he had one track mind and coloring was the objective. It seemed he forgot about the original task which was to pick out some food.

“Whoa there,” I said to him, placing a hand over the one he was coloring while getting him to stop and look at me. I gave him a little smile.

“How about you pick out what you want to eat first and then you can color?” I asked him, he huffed and pouted for a second and went to start coloring again. Scarlett stepped in and took the crayon out of his hand and flipped the page over to the food menu.

He let out a little whine, turning his pout over to Scarlett. Thankfully another five seconds and I would’ve caved and let him continue to color. His pout was too cute and she stood a better chance with him.

“Here let's look at the options and we can color in which one you want, okay?” Scarlett said to him he thought about it before nodding and looking at the menu with Scarlett. Each item had a little picture of what the food was so as they looked Scarlett read the menu off to him. He didn't seem too convinced but nodded to her.

“Okay so they have salad, meatballs, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, cheeseburger and grilled cheese? Which one sounds good?” He grabbed a yellow crayon and started to color in the grilled cheese.

“Good choice, grilled cheese is the best, Scarlett makes the best grilled cheese there ever is.” I told him and he smiled. He tapped the rest of the crayons looking at Scarlett for permission to now color.

“Yeah. Go ahead now.” She said to him and he smiled and turned to color in the rest of the food items. I got sucked into a conversation with Florence and Jeremy for a little while until the waitress came back in and brought Cade his hot chocolate and water before taking everyone's dinner orders. When it got to Cade's turn he got visibly nervous again he immediately dropped the crayon he was using and started picking at his fingers and he couldn’t get any words out, Scarlett stepped in and she grabbed the crayon he dropped and gave it back to him, turning his attention back to the page before ordering for him.

“He’d like the kids grilled cheese and a side of fries please.” Scarlett told her as he colored, the waitress wrote the order down and continued on. We all continued to talk and have a good time together and within no time our food was coming out and everyone dug in.

After finishing our food we all continued to talk and just catch up while the guys ordered a round of shots for the table. The waiter even brought one for Cade but I was quick to take it away from him. For some reason whenever people see a group of actors or celebrities they act like the rules don’t apply and I saw too many teen celebrities get into drinking and drugs because of it.

Luckily he didn’t seem to notice or just wasn't interested as he was working on a crossword puzzle on his menu so my small crisis was averted. Through dinner I could see him slowly getting more and more comfortable with everyone. I watched as he minded his own business and occasionally spoke if spoken to.

After a while he started to look a little tired and was fighting sleep, eyes drooping and rocking in the chair every once in a while. It soon became more frequent and I realized what he was actually doing. As always Scarlett must’ve picked the same thing I was because she turned to him.

“Do you have to go to the bathroom?” She whispered to him he looked a bit shocked, a small blush creepy up on his face before he stilled his body.

“Ah No.” he mumbled sleepily.

“Okay well if you do you can let me know. I can show you the way.” He just nodded and went back to his crossword he had not finished yet before he started dozing off. It was probably another 45 minutes before I noticed once again he started to fidget in his seat.

He was resting his head in his hand now as his eyes started to droop. He seemed to have to finish everything on his menu so he was just quietly listening to the conversation. I looked at the time and it was already 10:24pm. I watched as Cades' eyes closed for a couple minutes and the boy relaxed. He looked peaceful, no anxiety whatsoever but the moment was ended by his eyes shooting open and his body tense.

I was going to ask him what was wrong but I noticed Lizzie sniffed the air and then looked down at the floor and I followed her eye line to see liquid dripping from Cades seat to the floor. I looked back up at him just as his eyes might mine.

“S-sorry i’m… shit i’m sorry.” He whispered mostly to himself. He looked like he was either about to cry or have a panic attack, maybe both. I placed my hand on his shoulder to comfort him but he only shot up in his seat abruptly, causing the table to shake and knock over his water glass spilling over onto the two of us.

“Fuck.” He mumbled before running out of the room. I got up not too long after him excusing myself as everyone at the table looked confused except Lizzie.

Scarlett's POV

I left the room but didn’t see Cade, the man at the coat check was still there talking with our waitress so I went over to them.

“Hi, excuse me?” I said to the two.

“Hi, is everything alright?” She asked me.

“Did you see a young teen run this way by chance?” She nodded.

“Oh yeah he signed for the bathroom.”

“Ok thank you, could I get my coat while I’m here?” I asked, thinking he’ll need something to cover himself with that could work.

“Sure thing!” The guy said as he took my ticket and headed into the back. He came back out with my jacket and a duffel bag and skateboard.

“Here’s your jacket and here is his stuff too if you’d like.” I took the bag and headed down to the restrooms but as I went a lot of questions started forming in my mind. Was he ok? Was this the kids first night in town? Where was he staying? Where were his parents?

I got to the restroom and instantly knew where he was. His scent was radiating and the soft crying coming from the family restroom was a dead give away so I knocked.

“Cade? It’s me Scarlett, I have your stuff and just want to see if you need some help?” I waited for a minute and the cries quieted down a little bit and then the door unlocked and opened a crack and I heard shuffling. I moved inside before closing the door and locking it again. He was sitting on the floor in the corner with his head in his knees.

I moved over to him getting down on my knees to try and be eye level with him.

“Hey you're okay, don’t worry it was just an accident. They happen all the time.” He shook his head but still didn’t look up at me but just started hitting his head with his fist. I grabbed his hands, holding them in mine stopping him from hurting himself further.

“Buddy I need you to take a deep breath for me?” I started taking deep breaths myself and placed his hand on my chest so he could feel my breath. Lizzie always told me that physical contact sometimes helped ground her when she was upset so I figured I could try that. It seemed to work as he tried to match my breathing. He was very uneven still but I could see it start working.

“You’re doing great just like that.” I told him after five more minutes he was able to get his breathing under control and I was now sitting down leaning against the wall with him next to me with his head on my chest. A buzzing sound of my phone rang out slightly scaring him.

“It’s ok just my phone.” I told him and I pulled out the device. It was a text message from Lizzie saying that she had told everyone that we’d be heading out and taking Cade home since it was getting late. And that she was outside the restroom.

Focusing back on Cade, he was way calmer than before, basically asleep on my chest. He was still in his wet pants as a reminder as to why we were here in the first place.

“Hey.” I said softly running my thumb over his cheek softly to wake him just a bit. His eyes fluttered open looking up at me confused. His eyes looked very little in the moment and I had a feeling he was still dropping into a littler headspace. Making me wonder how young his headspace could drop. It seemed he was pretty young so I was really shocked that his parents would let him travel alone like this.

“Let’s get you cleaned up okay?” I asked him and he moved his head off of me, standing up as he shook his head as if to clear it. He stumbled a bit and I quickly moved to get up and steady him.

“It’s okay, just relax.” I moved him over to the toilet so he was standing in front of it for him to see if he still needed to go.

“Here take those off, try to go and I’ll find you something new to wear.” I told him he pulled off his pants and underwear and sat on the toilet. I thought it slightly odd he chose to sit and pee but maybe he preferred it that way. I turned and looked through the bag looking for a new set of clothes. I found a pair of pajama pants and went with those and pulled out a white t-shirt and black hoodie too knowing it would be cold outside now.

“Here you go.” I said handing him the clothes without looking. I heard him wipe and the toilet flush before some shuffling of him changing and then him washing his hands. Once he was done I turned to look at him and was met with a very sleepy looking kid.

“Okay well it’s getting really late so how about Lizzie and I help you get home? Where are you staying?” He definitely wasn’t in the right headspace to be getting home so late on his own so I was going to make sure he did.

We walked out of the rest room to see Lizzie standing outside of the door. She smiled softly at the two of us and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. I didn’t miss how Cade looked surprised at the affection but quickly masked his face.

“Are you guys ready to get out here, it's pretty late?” Lizzie asked mostly to Cade. He started to look nervous again and his breath started picking up. Lizzie was quick to react, placing her hand on his shoulders and looking him in the eyes.

“It's okay, slow your breathing for me.” He nodded and followed her breathing calming down. With shaky hands he started to type something out on his phone.

After a little bit of typing he held the phone out to us and we heard a voice read out his words.

“My contract said Marvel would set up a place for me to stay during shooting but I can find a hotel or something.” The voice read out.

“I can go talk to Kevin and see if they have anything setup for you.You guys can head out to the car and I’ll meet you there.” I told the two. Lizzie nodded and I headed back up to talk to Kevin.

As expected Kevin tried to play it like he had no idea what I was talking about but I reminded him this same thing happened with Tom Holland when he joined the MCU and how much trouble they almost got into with him. After that Kevin tried to say he figured something out within the next couple of days, like the kid didn’t need a place to stay now, so I told him to forget about it and that he could stay with me.

Lizzie’s POV

Scarlet handed me Cade’s bag and I led him out the back door and took him to Scarlett's BMW i7.

I helped him hop inside the back seat before climbing in the front passenger seat and turning on the car to get the heater going while we waited.

“So you like to skate?” I asked him, looking in the rearview mirror as he spun the wheel of his board and then I turned in my seat to look at him.

He nodded and signed Yes back to me with a smile.

“I like the look of your board, are you also into Space?” I was looking at the design on the bottom of the board. It looked like an astronaut was floating aimlessly in space but the cool thing about it was that he had a drum strapped to his chest and it looked as If he was playing in space.

Cade nodded again and smiled brightly looking down at the board for a second before he pointed at himself and then tapped the astronaut on the board and back to himself.

“Is that you?” I asked putting together what he was trying to express. He nodded again.

“Wow, that's really cool. So you're into space and skateboarding. ” I said to him and he seemed surprised I was showing interest so I gave him a little nudge and an encouraging smile making home start laughing a bit. A second later Scarlett opened the door and hopped in the car.

“What do we have going on here?” She teased looking back at Cade. He chuckled slightly and shook his head.

“He was just showing off his cool skateboard to me.” I boasted and he just shook his head again.

“Well that's cool. Can I see?” Scarlet said encouraging him a bit more and he showed her the board and she said it looked sick as heck causing him to laugh. I smiled huge and enjoyed the laughter Cade was expressing.

“Okay ok let's settle down a bit now. It’s late and we don’t want to get all wound up right before bed.” Scarlett reminded us. Sending a wave of calming pheromones through the car. I immediately relaxed as she did and watched as Cade did too with a small smile on his face.

“Ok fun police.” I joked as I settled down in my seat and turned to her.

“So where were we going?” I kinda forgot we still had to take Cade home.

“Well they didn’t really have any set up yet so I offered for Cadence to stay with us if that was cool with you?” She asked him looking in the rearview mirror.

He quickly pulled out his phone and typed something out before he played for us.

“It's okay I can find somewhere I don't want to be a bother.” The automated voice read out. He started to gather his things like he was going to leave the car but Scarlett spoke first.

“No you're not a bother at all. We have the extra space plus we’ll be filming mostly together anyway so it helps with scheduling and rehearsals. Don’t fight me on this one okay?” Scarlett turned on the radio and started driving towards our house not giving him any room to say much of anything else on the matter. I could tell her alpha was talking control now as she has a strong protective nature. We all rode in comfortable silence as the music played.

About ten minutes into the ride I heard snoring coming from the backseat and saw Cade propped up against the window peacefully sleeping.

“He’s so precious, Scar.” I whispered to her, she glanced in her mirror to look at him and immediately smiled seeing him at peace.

“He is, isn't he? highly anxious too, I wonder what all that about. He’s too young to have to be worried so much.” Looking back at Scarlett she looked deeply worried. I could see the wheel turning in her mind.

“And I’m just so surprised? What kind of parents send their 16 year old kid to LA on his own, like tell me that’s not weird?” She did have a point especially since the boy had so much anxiety and trouble speaking.

“We’ll have to ask him about it sometime. See if we can get the full story?” I suggested.

“Do you think I went too alpha on him? Should I have let him get a hotel or something?” She asked me.

“ I don't think so, Scarlett, he is 16 he should be with an adult to watch over him at least. But if he is not comfortable with us we can arrange something else. ” She nodded in agreement as she drove. We were getting close to home so the two of us sat in silence for the rest of the ride.

Once we got to the house. Scarlett didn’t want to wake the sleeping pup so she carried him inside and upstairs to the spare room we had. Once he was nicely tucked into bed, we left the room and headed to our own room across the hall and were quick to fall asleep too.

I think I fell asleep for about an hour or two total before I was up again and couldn’t fall back to sleep. This was a regular occurrence for me. Sometimes with my anxiety I wouldn't be able to sleep no matter how hard I tried so I got out of bed and headed down stairs to the living room. I laid down on our huge sofa I had insisted on getting.

I grew up in a big family and we often spent time crammed together on our family couch watching television as we grew up. I still love a good dog pile cuddle session, in fact we had them quite often whenever our friends would come over for a dinner party or movie night. I turned on the tv and made sure the volume was down low before starting another episode of i love lucy. After watching a bunch of old tv sitcoms to help me build on my character Wanda for WandaVision i really got into I love Lucy.

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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The Version of Thor: The Dark World We Never Saw

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While Thor: The Dark World would not be accurately labeled as a dud, the 2013 sequel to 2011’s crucial early Marvel Cinematic Universe offering is nevertheless not widely regarded as a high point in the annals of the interminably lucrative franchise. Sure, its $644 million global gross surpassed its esteemed predecessor’s $449 million, but the film itself is generally seen as a morose movie experiment hampered by an awkwardly-paced plot, and its dominant setting of Asgard and the celestial realms bored the popcorn crowd. Yet, the film was apparently the byproduct of lofty concepts that were subsequently butchered by Marvel, claims director Alan Taylor, who has revealed intriguing details on his unfettered version of the film.

At the time, the selection of Alan Taylor as director for Thor: The Dark World was an auspicious sign. While film was never his primary medium, he had worked on some of the hottest dramatic television properties in recent years in HBO’s The Sopranos and AMC’s Mad Men, and, most notably, was a key director for the hottest show of the era, HBO’s Game of Thrones. Indeed, the American helmer, Taylor, was an intriguing fit, especially after the majestic movie template was set in the previous film by legendary Shakespearean stalwart Kenneth Branagh. Thusly, Taylor—working off a script by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely—was tasked with evolving the Norse-inspired Marvel Comics mythos while injecting his own brand of introspective drama. Unfortunately, in a familiar-sounding tale, the final product—lucrative as it may have been—fell short of what he had in mind. Now, in a THR interview, the director drops the term, “Taylor Cut,” revealing his real vision.

“The version I had started off with had more childlike wonder; there was this imagery of children, which started the whole thing,” explains Taylor. “There was a slightly more magical quality. There was weird stuff going on back on Earth because of the convergence that allowed for some of these magical realism things. And there were major plot differences that were inverted in the cutting room and with additional photography — people [such as Loki] who had died were not dead, people who had broken up were back together again. I think I would like my version.”

Marvel Studios

While it’s difficult to gauge the extent of the differences the Taylor Cut would bring based on what is vaguely described, it does seem that the director had originally planned to lean into the mythology’s more magical side. Contextually, the plot of the film we did get centered on the fractured relationship between Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) against the backdrop of an insidious plot by Dark Elf Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) to destroy Asgard (and, by proxy, Earth), that will require the help of an incarcerated, post-Avengers (non-variant) Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to repel. The film’s setting is mainly set amongst the majesty of Asgard, although it occasionally grounds itself back on Earth with a side story in which returnees Dr. Eric Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) attempt to deal with the implications of Malekith’s plot centered on portals over in London. However, barring a few mirthful moments, notably with Jane’s awkward Asgardian “meet the parents” scenes, the sequel demonstrably lacked its predecessor’s heart and humor, and instead played out a perfunctory battle against a generic threat. In essence, it was a somewhat-entertaining but forgettable affair.

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Taylor didn’t exactly name names when it came to who fumbled the execution for The Dark World, but he does seem to attribute it to a loss of control by external studio forces. Indeed, he indirectly implies this notion when bestowing praise to Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and his directorial successor on the Thor franchise, Taika Waititi, stating, “I really admire the skill set of somebody who can go in with a very personal vision—like Taika Waititi or James Gunn—and manage to combine it with the big corporate demands. I think my skill set may be different.” However, perhaps in a moment of self-doubt, Taylor also suggests that another writer/director might have been able to salvage the film. Pertinent to that point, Taylor had unwittingly jumped into a quagmire when he took the film, since it was already tainted by the disappointing exit of Monster (and eventual Wonder Woman) director Patty Jenkins, who had long been sized up by prognosticators for a comic book movie. Yet, Jenkins herself was quoted in a 2020 interview stating, “I did not believe that I could make a good movie out of the script that they were planning on doing. It would have looked like it was my fault.”

While Taylor should not be ashamed of Thor: The Dark World’s aggregate presentation, he also confesses that it was one of two movie projects—successive ones, no less—that really left him doubting his own abilities. The other, of course, was his next big franchise attempt, 2015’s Terminator Genisys, which, from the standpoint of self-esteem, put him at rock bottom. “I had lost the will to make movies,” he laments. “I lost the will to live as a director. I’m not blaming any person for that. The process was not good for me. So, I came out of it having to rediscover the joy of filmmaking.”

In another initially auspicious scenario, Taylor corralled his Game of Thrones star, Emilia Clarke, making the Mother of Dragons into the Mother of the Future, Sarah Connor, whose traditional timeline was altered in her very childhood by the arrival of yet another T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who served as a de facto father and prepared her for the upcoming apocalypse. Thusly, the arrival of the first film’s Terminator in 1984 left her traditional time-traveling protector, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), rather redundant against an evolved array of time-traveling threats. That film—which would be widely panned—could not even contrast its bad reviews with the status of box office hit, although international audiences helped push its anemic $89 million domestic take to a global gross of $440 million. Yet, as if that wasn’t enough, Taylor’s Terminator take would be quickly retconned yet again just four years later with 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate, which definitively flopped.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Thankfully, Taylor is well out of that rut, and is coming back to the feature table in a familiar fuggedaboutit milieu, The Sopranos, for HBO’s upcoming prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark, which is currently scheduled for a day-and-date release at theaters and HBO Max on October 1. And as for the “Taylor Cut” that he so provocatively put forward, we probably shouldn’t expect Marvel to acquiesce on that notion anytime soon, intriguing as it may sound. On another note, the Waititi-directed fourth film, Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled for May 6.

The post The Version of Thor: The Dark World We Never Saw appeared first on Den of Geek.

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rebelwith0utacause · 3 years

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thanks for tagging me @pxrxmoore ^^ This looks cool!

feel free to answer all of them or just some of them or just ignore this all together, whatever you’re comfortable with, and then tag however many people you want!

1. what was your first encounter with fanfiction?

I think the first time I ever came across fanfiction had to be either with Paramore + other VWT bands (ATL, BVB, The Maine) on Buzznet or with Avenged Sevenfold on Wattpad. I’m leaning towards the latter because I was reading stuff on Wattpad since 2007-8 and I listened to A7X more (plus I stopped reading/listening to new A7X stuff when Jimmy died in 2009/2010 which is also around the time I became active on Buzznet). Idk, it’s been so long and that entire era of my life is extremely blurry.

2. your favourite creation of your own of all time if you create stuff (feel free to link it)?

I once made a 10 ft macrame half hitch spiral braid out of wool. Basically just braided and braided until I no longer had wool (I might have added a bit more). I think I wore it 2-3 times as a belt, but it didn’t matter. It was something cool I could do and no one knew about it.

3. what vibe are you going for with your home decor (or what vibe do you wanna go for one day, if you don’t have your own place atm)?

Don’t have my own place atm, but def something IKEA-ish, mainly whites and/or that greyish kinda light wood. I just like stuff that look pure and clean and would let my plants be the highlight. I’m thinking green minimal with lots of DIY furniture and white linens.

4. first fandom you ever joined? what was it like? on what platform did it happen?

Tbh, I feel like nothing compares to my 5sos phase so I’m gonna say 5sos. I’ve definitely been in others too (A7X, ATL, Paramore, Marvel/Tom Hiddleston, James McAvoy) but I’ve never been so immersed. Same goes for my metal bands, probably because most of them were either dead or disbanded by the time I started listening to them actively.

5. what are your sun, moon and rising signs, and do you think they make sense in relation to how you know yourself?

I’m a Gemini-Cancer cusp sun, Pisces moon and Taurus ascendant and tbh I didn’t believe in this shit very much. But the more I started reading up, the more it clicked and made sense. I feel like I’m little bits of all, the good, the bad and the ugly but there are also sides of me that you see, sides I allow you to see and sides I keep hidden very deep inside my psyche that even I hardly see them and it just makes fkn sense.

6. if you write and/or read fiction (original or fanfiction), do the tropes/plots/character types you typically seek out to read and/or write about reflect something about you as a being or how you see the world?

I don’t necessarily think they do, but they might. I’m pretty sure I have a “nurse” syndrome irl so to counteract that need to help others I read fiction where others are helped (because probably deep down underneath all of that fixing I’m doing, I need someone to fix me). And by fictive fixing I mean all kinds of fixing whether it be actual wounds or psychological healing or even socialization and sex, it doesn’t matter, I’ll read it all. I’m also a very analytical person so I love doing a psych evaluation to both the characters and the writers.

7. what is the hardest obstacle you’ve had to overcome so far in life?

There have been many and I always see the level of impact they had on me after I’ve overcome them completely and taken a few years to just dissect what happened. So I don’t know if these are the hardest but the most pivotal in my life so far have been learning how to overcome my fear of vehicles while battling depression at the same time, as well as learning how to stop feeling like I didn’t do enough to prevent someone else’s suicide.

8. what is your all time favourite song(s)?

This is really hard because I listen to too much music tbh, but let me see:

- Milice by Foltin, it’s a song in Macedonian about a girl called Milica and this guy is reminiscing about the beginning of their love, it’s just such a chill fusion song.

- Youngblood by 5sos, it basically sends me into another dimension where I feel the hurt, anger and disappointment he’s feeling as well as the helplessness of knowing you’d probably never get over this person. Yeah, his voice has that much power over me.

- Face of Melinda by Opeth, this is a part of a concept album and while the backstory is pretty dark, the melody is so soft and serene and temperamental and violent at times, I just love it so fkn much.

- Nobody’s Wife by Anouk because we all have those badass bitch songs and mine happens to be this gem, followed by You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette.

- Outlines by All Time Low, idk what’s the deal with this song but it came out during the time when I was young but felt very old and I just couldn’t find my place in the world so I replayed the shit out of it and it somehow helped me heal.

9. what do you look for in a person you wanna keep in your life, be it a friend or a romantic partner or anything in between?

I kinda don’t look for anything in particular I just look for traits that would piss me off and say buh-bye to those people from the get go. Like... I need ppl to be politically aware and vocal, but not politically blinded, I need them to be eco-conscious and I need them to hate capitalism as much as I do. I need them to be modern thinkers but not to a point where they believe and stand for every fad coming from Western civilization. Basically someone grounded and being able to evaluate the situation without being constantly swayed by others’ opinions. Some might call it stubborn, but I really think that globalization has made us lose the good side of our ego. The part that makes us stand for something we truly believe in and not just be another sheep in the herd.

10. this is a bit of a difficult one, but have you ever had a moment of clarity, a conversation with someone that made you go “oh!”, or anything along those lines?

It’s happened a few times, but I’m really self-reflective so those things are to be expected of me. The last one I remember was around March last year and I was in group grief therapy and the psychiatrist was basically talking about how to deal with grief and suicide prevention and how talking helps and we talked about dreams and overall health and such and during those conversations he talked about PTSD and what helps to alleviate the symptoms and get over it and my EUREKA! moment came when I realized I’ve been healing my PTSD unknowingly on my own for the past 5 years. Basically that was such a great experience and it put so many things in perspective for me. I mean I come from a society where all things mental health are brushed under the carpet as if they don’t exist. And I’m definitely not the type of person to label shit and feel helpless because I can’t fix it. If anything, I’d def get angry and try to fix it myself because I hate being in limbo. And hearing someone voice my thoughts and fears and tell me that I’ve been doing great was just... Idk, felt like a pat on the back and a tight hug at the same time.

tagging @karajaynetoday @krindy33 @twilightmomentswithyou @tigerteeff @myloverboyash @talkfastromance4 @notinthesameguey @ashtonlftv if you want to do this or haven’t done this before :*

#i am: a long-winded bitch

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helloharlequeen · 5 years

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Endgame Rant

Spoilers ahead.

Hear me out here.

Loki.

If he got ahold of the tesseract and disappeared with it after Steve Rogers and Tony Stark’s failed attempt to steal it, then his timeline would be messed up. This means that there’s a slim chance that Loki did not attack Thanos in Infinity War and therefore, a slim chance that Loki did not die at all. And for those of you arguing that Steve Rogers returned the tesseract back to when they took it, keep in mind that Tony ended up going back to the 1940s to take it. This means that Steve would have returned it to the lab where Tony Stark took it. This DOES NOT mean that they returned it to SHIELD after the Battle of New York. Steve and Tony did not take it then. Also, during Endgame, Thanos travels directly to Earth because he already knows that the Infinity Stones are there and a surprisingly short fight later, he is killed. This means that he did not have a chance to kill Loki at all.

In a more logical viewpoint, Tom Hiddleston supposedly signed a 6-movie contract with Marvel. To date, he has appeared in 5 movies, including Endgame. This means that he still has one last movie left. Loki is also confirmed to feature in a Disney+ TV series.

And so the moral of of this story is Loki is not dead. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

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thesunwillshineonus · 6 years

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Loki is coming back theory: A hopeful post

I think the majority of us agree with the fact that Loki, one of the most complex and acclaimed MCU characters, deserved a better ending to his redemption arc. I have decided to write this post in order to spread some hope that this is not the last we’ve seen of the God of Mischief.

First of all, his death was not convincing nor fitting for a character that is known for dying and coming back in almost every movie he is in (and don’t forget about the comic books). If the directors intended to make his death believable, they should have made him use his powers, try to trick Thanos with his illusions or attempt to fake his own death again and ultimately fail. He should have had a good plan only for it to be disrupted by Thanos and the fact that he doesn’t even seem to try makes me think either Loki is not dead or he let Thanos kill him on purpose.

It’s interesting that neither Loki nor Doctor Strange seem to use the infinity stones they own against Thanos. Even Thanos acknowledges that Strange doesn’t “use his greatest weapon”. But we know that Strange made use of the time stone to see into the future and realised that he (and half the universe) had to die in order to win in the end (presumably). Maybe Loki knew this as well. Maybe his death was also necessary in order to reach that outcome and that’s why he let Thanos kill him.

“The Tesseract can show visions of the future, which may or may not come true. The people who have seen this power are the Red Skull, Eric Selvig, and Hawkeye [...]” [source] Loki seemed to be looking at the tesseract very intently before saying “I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again” to Thor. The tesseract could have shown him a vision of a future in which Thanos is defeated and Loki’s brought back to life somehow, hence the optimism of his statement. Also, I’m 100% sure this line is foreshadowing, it’s too cryptic and striking.

Also, it’s odd that Loki just drops the tesseract on the floor and doesn’t even try to pick it up while Thanos is distracted, considering he seemed so unwilling to give it away only a moment before. I guess he was too busy doing… whatever it is he was doing while Thanos was beating the crap out of the Hulk and killing Heimdall. Because, really, where was he? If the Russos’ intention was to make us believe Loki was out of options and would finally meet his definitive end, it was not a good idea to have the audience lose sight of him for 4 whole minutes, especially since he’s a character who has faked his own death before and whose most distinctive traits are being mischievous and unpredictable.

When being asked about Loki’s death at Ace Con 2018, Tom Hiddleston said “I’ve known about that scene for two years. I met with Marvel in May 2016, and they were actually telling me the story of Ragnarok with concept arts and images. [...] My whole journey through making Thor: Ragnarok I knew this was coming” [source] Tom knew about his Infinity War scene back in 2016 and yet he said this about Loki on September 2017: “He’s cunning and transformative and changeable and will do everything he can to survive. He’s the trickster. He’s the God of mischief.” [source]

Tom Hiddleston also had a reassuring message for fans who were worried about Loki before Infinity War was released: “Loki is the God of Mischief, the Lord of Misrule, an Agent of Chaos. Chaos isn’t something that’s threatening to Loki and everything’s fine.” [source]

Even Loki himself reminded us who he was right before being ‘killed’ by Thanos. “I, Loki, prince of Asgard, Odinson, the rightful king of Jotunheim, God of Mischief [...]”. His last words “you will never be a god” also point out the fact that he is a god (and Thanos is not). This line sounds too cryptic as well, it’s almost like Loki is telling Thanos “I know something you don’t”.

It is also known some members of the cast filmed at least one scene in Durham Cathedral (2017), and Tom Hiddleston was supposedly among them. Although he has not been photographed, different people claimed to have spotted him on the set.

The scene(s) shot in the cathedral never made it into Infinity War. However, it is unclear whether this footage was shot for Avengers 4. It’s important to remember that this location was also used to film Thor’s vision in Age of Ultron, a vision which seemingly represented Hel. We also know that Loki’s death in Thor: The Dark World was originally intended to be real, although not definitive, as Thor was supposed to travel to Hel and retrieve Loki in Thor: Ragnarok. [source] Perhaps this idea has not been fully discarded, which would be a plausible explanation as to why Chris, Tessa and Tom were spotted filming in Durham. It could be assumed that Loki is truly dead this time, but not for good: Thor would go to Hel in order to bring him back from the dead, hopefully in Avengers 4, or in another Thor movie. You can read more about this on this Reddit thread.

It’s actually a fact that Loki will appear in the next Avengers movie, as these leaked photos of the A4 set confirm.

These photos suggest that Avengers 4 will recreate the Battle of New York. The widespread assumption that Loki’s presence in the pictures indicates a flashback is wrong, as we can see Scott and an older Tony in the company of Captain America, who is wearing his old costume (meaning he is Steve’s past self). Thor and Loki are also dressed as in the battle of New York and Loki is gagged. He has something that looks like the tesseract in his hand and this doesn’t add up to the events of the first Avengers movie, which could mean that time travel is involved. This alone doesn’t prove that Loki is alive in the current timeline, but maybe his death can be reversed if the Avengers alter the past. In any case, at least we can be sure that his past self will play a role in the movie.

Kevin Feige tweeted this letter dedicated to the fans after Infinity War was released. We can see Thanos' gauntlet as well as a Loki keychain in the picture, next to the letter, which seems suspicious since Loki’s role in IW was pretty limited.

When it comes to Kevin Feige, it is also important to point out that he has barely spoken about Loki’s death. In fact, when asked specifically about Loki, he only said that the scene was emotional, as were some other scenes in the movie [source]. He seemed to avoid answering the question by beating about the bush and repeating the same thing over again. One would think that if this were Loki’s final scene, Feige would have something more to say, considering that Loki is a fan favorite and that Feige himself always seemed to appreciate the character.

In addition, Jeremy Conrad seems to believe Loki could come back and has hinted he will on several occasions. For those who don’t know who this man is, he’s a journalist and the founder of MCU Cosmic and he has proven himself to be a quite reliable source when it comes to information regarding the MCU. This is what he said on the matter at hand:

Then, he shared the link to a brief article about the possibility of Loki being brought back to life through time travel. You can read it here.

Two months later, this was Jeremy Conrad’s response when someone suggested Tom Hiddleston should be the next James Bond:

He basically hinted that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is not over yet though when some users asked him to elaborate he didn’t answer. We all know that Avengers 4 is in post-production by now and this movie definitely won’t keep Tom busy so we can assume Jeremy Conrad is referring to the possibility of Loki being in other MCU movies yet to be announced.

Many of you may not know this but some weeks ago a man who claimed to have worked at Tom Hiddleston’s house tweeted that Tom has signed up for 4 more Marvel movies:

We should take this with a grain of salt but I personally think he might be telling the truth. Though I’ve chosen to hide his username because of the negative response he got for this tweet, this is not just an anonymous person hiding behind a computer screen, but someone who has personal information on his twitter profile, such as pictures, location, occupation (he is indeed a plumber and works in the UK) and he deleted the tweet once it started to gain some attention. He said he only wanted to share the good news but regretted tweeting about it because of the way Loki fans had reacted (some were calling him a liar). However, he insisted that he wasn’t lying and that we would see Loki in more movies. To be honest, I was really skeptical about this whole plumber thing at first but a few days after this, Jeremy Conrad insinuated that Tom Hiddleston won’t be James Bond because that would be incompatible with his role as Loki, so, even though 4 more films sound too good to be true, I think something might be going on with Tom’s contract.

At this point, it seems there is more evidence of Loki coming back than being permanently dead but, of course, nothing is confirmed yet. I’ve made a list of links just in case you want to read more theories about Loki’s death:

Reasons why Loki is alive

More reasons why Loki is alive

Ego Stone theory

Loki’s left hand theory

Undying fidelity theory

The sun will shine on us again

You will never be a god

More hope for Loki

#loki #thor #avengers infinity war #infinity war #infinity war spoilers #avengers 4 #marvel #mcu #tom hiddleston #loki is alive #mine #loki theory #avengers 4 theory

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jlynnhiddles-blog · 5 years

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Chapter One: The Custom Client

Set in the present, this is a fairytale about a girl making her own way in the world whose work leads her to the man she’d cast as her Prince Charming. Will she try on those glass slippers or will she find out she’s met The Beast? Can two people from different realms risk everything and make it across The Bifrost? Can endings ever be happy? Join me on this adventure, send me a message or a poisoned apple and enjoy!

Jamie glanced up at her workscreen when she heard the incoming message alert from her lab manager, Charlie, requesting her in his office before the end of the day. It was a busy Thursday afternoon in the dental lab where she added color to synthetic crowns to match natural teeth. Most were from pictures, but she was also in charge of seeing patients who came to her for personalized work. Much of the company’s business was from local dentists and they specialized in high end fabrication. Jamie liked the people she worked with and felt lucky to be able to help people get their smiles back. She took a break from the case she was working on and strolled to Charlie’s office, tapping on the edge of the open door.

“Hey Jamie, have a seat,” Charlie smiled. “I need to send you out to do a custom job tomorrow afternoon.”

“Send me out?” she asked, with some surprise. She sat on the leather office chair across from him. “The patient can’t come here?”

“It’s one of Dr. Kline’s patients and apparently it’s a VIP situation. You’ll be meeting the client at their hotel instead of the doctor’s office. But someone from Dr. Kline’s staff will be there, too. They need help selecting the shade and material. It’s just one tooth but they really want to keep the patient happy.” Charlie leaned forward. “This case is really important. The office was happy to pay for your specialized services.”

"Any idea who the patient is?” she asked, intrigued.

“Important enough that they sent over a non-disclosure agreement. They only want you to deal with him. The file name is under Bobby. We have a few pictures but just of the patient’s mouth. I don’t think it’ll be a challenging case. Which makes me even more interested.“

Charlie handed her a copy of the prescription. "Here’s the file information I have so far. They’re sending a driver for you at three tomorrow.”

“A driver? Like an Uber?”

“Pretty sure it’s a private car service. You’re going to a hotel in downtown Tampa. They didn’t want to tell me which one.”

“Sounds like the setup to a slasher flick,” she laughed. “So, count me in.”

Jamie signed and dated the non disclosure. She’d done some work in the entertainment and hospitality industries and the form was standard. Who would she tell, anyway? She walked back to her desk resumed her work. After setting several cases to finish in the specialized ovens, she glanced at the clock and started cleaning up her desk. She took her tablet home to review the pictures of the mysterious Bobby.

Jamie lived alone, save for her two cats, in a second story walk-up apartment. It was a typical evening. She fed her eager cats a can of wet food, played word games with Alexa and made a quick dinner. After the dishes were done and put away, she sat heavily on her loveseat. Her little apartment displayed what she loved. It was quiet, with lots of books and movies, especially her favorite Marvel films from the past ten years. She enjoyed the bright colors, the sweeping overtones, the battle for good, evil, and redemption. She’d always been partial to bad guys. Her childhood heros were Shere-Kahn, Ursula, and Captain Hook. As an adult, Marvel villains kept her interest. Her wall art favored them, as well as other inspirational prints and pictures.

“Alexa, play some Hank Williams.”

She put her feet up on the battered coffee table and found the file on the tablet. The patient had really great teeth, but one incisor was recently and slightly broken. She typed up a quick treatment plan and preliminary shade selections. It would probably be a straightforward fix and a happy patient. She was honestly excited to get out of the lab and find out what the fuss was about.

The next day, Jamie got to work early to make up for the time she’d be gone. A few cases needed to go out that evening, so she settled in but her mind was never far from the impending afternoon excursion. Around 2:30, she had a granola bar and made sure her custom shading kit was packed. A few minutes to three, she poked her head in Charley’s office to tell him she was leaving.

“If I wake up in a bathtub full of ice, missing vital organs, you know I’m blaming you.”

Charlie chuckled and wished her luck.

Pulling out her sunglasses, Jamie walked out the front door of her office and saw the black Lincoln Navigator waiting for her. An imposing gentleman in a black suit was standing in front of it.

“Miss Birch,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

Jamie extended her hand in greeting. She didn’t intimidate easily and she wasn’t sure there was anything to be intimidated by. Yet.

"I’m Bruce,” he said, returning her handshake. “I’ll be driving you today. Are you ready to go?” He towered over her but returned her smile once he shook her hand.

“Absolutely!”

He opened the rear passenger side door and offered her a hand to hold to get in. She had her purse and kit, which was really a dark green diaper bag. Most of the lab employees wear scrubs as part of their uniform, but Fridays are casual. Jamie had decided to wear her scrubs anyway since she was going to be out on official business. The royal blue complimented her light skin. She usually didn’t wear makeup to work, but she’d taken the time today, carefully enhancing her golden brown eyes with metallic shadow and blushing the roundness of her cheeks. A coworker had softly braided her ombre-dipped blonde and brown hair down her back. Working in the smile business, appearances matter.

Bruce closed her door and walked around to the driver’s seat.

“We’re going to downtown Tampa. You can adjust the air conditioning from the center console. Is there anything you need right now?”

“I’m good, thank you,” she replied.

She pulled out her phone, beaming as always at the green and gold displayed on her lock screen. She still had no idea who the mysterious Bobby was! As they drove, she made polite conversation with Bruce. He looked to be nearing fifty, with fair skin, broad shoulders and close cropped salt and pepper hair. At first, he was all business until he mentioned his daughters and then she saw the crinkles soften his eyes behind his sunglasses. The drive across Tampa Bay was beautiful. She stared out the window and saw a few dolphin fins crest in the waves. She’d worked and lived in other parts of the country, but she always came back home. Before she knew it, they were pulling up to the portico of the hotel. Bruce hopped out to open her door before she had a chance.

"You’ll be met in the lobby by a staff member. Don’t forget your bags.”

“Thanks for the ride, Bruce. Will you be taking me back to my office later?”

He smiled at her. “Probably.”

“Well, wish me luck!”

Jamie took a slow, deep breath and nodded to the doorman as he opened the hotel door. As her eyes adjusted to the light in the lobby, a man about her age strode towards her. She stopped dead.

“Luke.” Her mouth formed the word but she honestly wasn’t sure if it had come out.

The dark haired man smiled inquisitively through his tortoiseshell glasses at her.

“Miss Birch? I’m sorry, do we know each other?”

“I. Uh. No. Of course not. I’m Jamie Birch. I’m here to assist with some dental work on–”

The man cut her off.

“Yes, of course. If you’ll come with me.”

He firmly led her by the elbow to the banks of elevators. Discreetly, he passed a keycard over the digital display and the door opened immediately. As they closed, he turned to her.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you out there. No one can know that we’re here. You recognized me. Which, honestly is kind of weird because I’m not famous. It’s my job not to be famous. But, I think you know who you’re here to see. I’m going to need you to stop looking like you might die though, okay? This will be fine.” His classically British accent conveyed authority and kindness.

Jamie hadn’t said a word. Her brain was desperately trying to catch up. She stared at Luke. Gently, he pushed upward on her chin, closing her mouth she didn’t know was open.

“Don’t want flies to get in!”

Her mind replayed the known facts. She pictured the smile. The bright perfection of it. The urgency and secrecy of the visit. Bobby. And now, Luke Windsor, press agent to some of the biggest British stars in the world. Of course, she didn’t actually know him. But, here he was. Which could only mean one thing.

“Is it okay if I call you Jamie?” Luke asked. The elevator had stopped and he pushed a button on the display. He stood directly in front of her and smiled again. An easy, reassuring, and practiced smile.

“Jamie. I need you to take a deep breath.” He took her hand. “You’re here to do a job. You look great. We’re going to get off the elevator and get to work. I promise, this will be fine. Just relax. He’s as brilliant as you think he is.”

Jamie continued to stare at Luke. With a slightly resigned sigh, he pressed a button and the elevator doors opened directly into the suite.

“Hey! We’re back,” he called, stepping out. “I’ve got the miss from the dental lab.”

From around the corner came the very familiar voiced reply.

“Excellent. Bring her in here, will you?”

Jamie didn’t move. She was still in the elevator. Luke stepped back in and put his hand on the small of her back, gently pushing her forward. She took one, stilting step and slowly walked towards the direction from which the voice came as Luke guided her.

Together, they turned the corner and she stopped again. Luke kept his hand in firmly in place on her back as if he was propping up a puppet.

Tom Hiddleston glanced up from the book he was reading. He was casually seated on a plush chair, his impossibly long legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankle. His eyes flicked up to her and then back down to the book as he analyzed the lovely woman in front of him. He was used to the look on her face, but usually it was in a cafe or an airport, not his hotel room. He slid a bookmark in place and stood, covering the distance to her in two long steps.

“Tom, this is Jamie Birch, from the dental lab. She recognized me in the lobby. Apparently, she’s quite the fan of my work.” Luke pushed gently on her lower back again and reflexively, she took Tom’s proffered hand. As she did, she felt a nudge on her knee. She looked down at the chocolate cocker spaniel, whose ears flopped back as he looked up at her.

“Bobby,” she said. She was pretty sure she said it out loud.

Tom laughed. It was like music.

“Ehehehe yes, that’s Bobby I’m afraid. Luckily for you, he’s not the one in need of a dentist. So sorry about the cloak and dagger stuff. We have established that you know my publicist and my dog. I’m Tom.” He still had her hand lightly in his.

Jamie didn’t say anything. She couldn’t even be sure she was breathing. Here she was, clearly exposing herself as some sort of crazed super fanatic, giving away that she’d poured over publicity photos of him. How else would she know Luke and Bobby? That’s what crazy stalkers do. They probably thought she wasn’t even from the dental lab. Any second, Bruce and another security guard would come in here and pick her up and carry her down in a service elevator. Tom had probably already pressed some hidden panic button when she walked in the room.

“I–” she stammered.

“Where are my manners?” Tom said, releasing her hand. “Let me get you some water. Or, tea?”

“I–” was all that came out.

“Both, then. We’ll sit down and have a chat and you can get to work.”

Work?, she thought. Work! Her case was still in her hand and her bag on her shoulder. Luke felt the tension ease in her body a bit as Tom walked to the open kitchen. He gently took her bags and placed them on an ottoman and offered her a seat, then walked out of the room, Bobby trailing after him.

“I’ll just put the kettle on. Why do American kitchens never have electric kettles?” Tom asked her.

“I–” she stammered. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Well, we won the Revolutionary War.”

Tom’s smile and laugh were instantaneous. “That, you did. Yet, here we are, all friends again. I’m glad to hear your voice and your wit, Jamie. Do you mind if I call you that?”

He sat down opposite her. His face was clean shaven and his reddish hair was slightly unruly. He wore black jeans, a dark t shirt with a thin navy sweater over it, and dark sneakers. The sunlight lit up his bright blue eyes as he looked at her. Jamie opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t seem to know any words so she closed it, her lips forming what she hoped was a smile. He continued to gaze at her, seemingly enjoying her unease. They sat in heavy silence and Jamie tried desperately to think of something, anything to say. He was her favorite person in the world and she was speechless. Absentmindedly, he rubbed his long fingertips across his lips as he watched her.

Soft, he thought. The way strands of her hair peeked out from behind her ears. The faint wrinkles on her forehead where her eyebrows had raised in surprise. The curve of her hips as she sat, properly, one ankle tucked behind the other. The hint of a Southern accent in her voice. Everything about her was comfortable, comforting, warm and soft.

The kettle whistled, breaking the spell.

“Cream and sugar?” he asked, popping up and walking back to the kitchenette across the room.

“Yes, please, if you have them,” she replied. Politeness forced her speech to return.

He brought over a small tea set on a tray and set it on a table between them. It was pink and curved, with scalloped edges. Not the kind of set a five star hotel would furnish its kitchen with. Jamie eyed it with suspicious familiarity as Tom poured her tea.

“Don’t tell me you recognize this, as well?” he asked with some surprise.

“It is the official tea set of the Untitled Avengers Film Character Revival Waiting Area,” she replied, with what she hoped was a casual shrug. The picture of Tom and castmate Sebastian Stan was one of the best from the previous weekend’s comic book convention. A fan had set up the picture with Tom and Seb sipping tea while she held up a sign noting it was a waiting area. Both of their characters had died in the most recent film and fans were eager for their resurrection. The picture had become popular and apparently, Tom had kept the tea set.

“Were you in Seattle?” Tom asked with some excitement at the edge of his voice.

“No, I couldn’t take the time off work. I just saw some pictures and video. You–I mean, it, looked great.”

“They’re fun. Getting to meet people who are passionate about my work is fantastic and humbling and usually overwhelming.”

"Then security isn’t going to shoot me with a blow dart and roll me out of here in an industrial laundry cart?” Jamie asked, the tea returning some of her nerve.

“Eheh. No. Luke has a pretty good sense about people. He keeps the trains running. He wouldn’t have let you up if he thought you were going to boil my bunny or something.” His voice was so soft and smooth. One of her favorite things was listening to him narrate books. She closed her eyes as she sipped her tea, listening to him. “I really appreciate your coming down here. It’s probably a good thing that you know who I am and already what I look like so you can help. So, you are a fan, right?”

Jamie smiled at him, her first honestly relaxed smile since she’d met him. He loved how it lit up her face.

“Uh yeah, of the whole Marvel Universe. It’s fun. I’m excited for Ant Man and The Wasp next month. And Captain Marvel next year. I’m thrilled to get more female superheroes.” She purposefully kept her voice level and didn’t mention the films he starred in.

“Did you like Infinity War?” he asked.

“No.” she replied, more softly than intended. “I saw it twice, but no, I didn’t like it.”

He’d started to ask her why, when her phone began to ring in her scrubs pocket.

“I’m so sorry, I thought it was off,” she said, pulling it out. As she fumbled with it, the locked screen faced him briefly. He reached out and took her wrist firmly, turning the screen to him. He didn’t mean to, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d seen his own green and gold armor. Loki. He released her as soon as he realized what he’d done. She didn’t meet his gaze as she put the phone to her ear.

“Just making sure you got there okay and that you still have all of your body parts!” Charlie said, cheerily.

“Yes, we’re fine here. I was just discussing long term treatment goals with the patient. I’ll shoot you a text if we have any questions.” She hung up. Fuck, she thought. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I am so fucking screwed.

Slowly, she raised her eyes back to his face. He was grinning.

“May I see that, please?” He held out his hand.

Really having no choice, she locked the screen again and gave it to him. It was a close up shot of Loki’s chest, wearing his unmistakable armor. The text read I am Loki and I am alone. She smiled sadly at Tom.

“I can just relate to some of his pain, I guess. Neither of us really fit in. And I like bad guys.” Maybe this wasn’t so terrible. It’s just Loki. He’s a wildly popular character! He has an army! Being a fan of Loki was hardly unusual and sort of explained why she knew Luke and Bobby. Maybe she’d get out of this with some dignity.

Tom nodded understandingly, reaching out to give her phone back.

“He’s a guy with a lot of pain. It’s always good to hear some sympathy for him.” His thumb slid across the screen as he passed it to her. Loki disappeared and the home screen appeared. Dressed in a white button up, dark sunglasses and a very tight blue suit, appeared Tom Hiddleston. The real Tom turned the screen back towards him. With a slow smile, he placed it back in her hands.

“Not just bad guys, then.” He made the statement as fact, his voice unmistakably pleased.

#tom hiddleston #fanfic #new #loki fanfic #tom hidddleston fan fic #my ocs #loki marvel fanfiction

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brolinjosh · 6 years

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11 22, 33, 44, and 55?

11. Have I ever been to a con?

no, i live in serbia and it would take me lots of money to get to any con, but it’s my dream to go to comic con or the walking dead con

22. Character death that I’m not over yet

vision. i will die devastated, i loved him. he gave his life and convinced wanda to kill him so humanity can be saved, in his last moments he showed more humanity than many characters ever have and he shed a tear and told the love of his life that he loves her. i am so emo rn

33. Do I own anything Mcu related?

like i said, i live in serbia, here we do not have nerd merch as much as in bigger countries, the only marvel thing i own that i actually bought is comic book thor t-shirt, and that shirt i found on male section bc god forbid a girl wants anything nerdy whatsoever. i also own (but i have not bought those) a badge that says “i heart team iron man” and huge ass team iron man sign i was given by someone at civil war premiere in berlin and rdj signed that sign and it’s my most prized possession.

44. Did I joined tumblr because of Marvel?

no, actually, i had a solely tolkien blog for like 3 years and then tom hiddleston showed up at comic con dressed as loki and ruined me.

55. Did Marvel changed my life in any way?

it did, it gave me some light when i had none, it fills me with joy and it’s my favorite fictional thing in life, i love that marvel constantly gives me something to look forward to and i am really glad i joined the fandom.

#ask games #anonymous

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spadesjadesfiction · 6 years

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Ok, time for my (unwanted) two cents.

Tom Hiddleston.

What can I say? The more he changes, the more he stays the same.

Something is going on. I don’t know what, I don’t know why, I don’t know how. I almost expect an announcement that he’s retiring from acting. I don’t think he’s sad or depressed, I honestly don’t. But I do think he’s a bit disillusioned and is trying to figure out his career and his life. (geeze, who isn’t?)

Let’s recap a few things.

I don’t think Hiddleswift was fake. I think she is a gorgeous, talented, charming snake person who was trying to get out of a relationship and totally fell for him on the rebound. He fell in love (I said it) and got swept off his feet and dropped on his ass. Love makes idiots of us all. In that disturbing GQ article he did say something about what happens to love when the object of that love goes away. So yeah, I think it was love.

However, the viciousness of the press, the fans, everyone, would throw anyone for a loop. And then there was that horrible nastiness with his Golden Globe speech, which I didn’t think he had anything to be ashamed of or apologize for.

For whatever reason, he is retreating and I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t be surprised if ACE comic con is the last we see of him at fan events. If Loki is dead (sob) then what else does he need to do? He’s done with Marvel. That’s the only reason he did that con, because of Marvel.

I think the next we see of Tom on the screen will be The Night Manager 2 if that happens. Otherwise, he is being a person, which he has a right to be.

Tom has a rather conflicting relationship with the media and his fans. You can see in 2012-13 how he gobbled up the attention with an eager smile and asked for second helpings. The “glow” of him in those years is very different from the more seasoned, relaxed person we get today. The problem with celebrity is that it is insane by nature. Even my own obsession with him (which I’m not proud of but can’t seem to get rid of either) is conflicting. I love him and I hate him. I hate the illusion of him that exists. Because that illusion isn’t him and I try to see past it. I used to find RPF creepy, but ever since seeing King Charles III (movie) which is also RPF on BBC2, I’ve gotten over it. But I still feel wrong about it because he is a real person and I don’t know him, no matter how much I speculate or whatever.

Anyway, I digress.

The problem with celebrity (other than the sheer insanity of it) is that you can’t decide what kind of attention you want. He wants to be known, but he wants to determine HOW, which isn’t possible. He wants a personal life and wants it kept private. I don’t blame him. I respect that. But yet I swallow any crumb that falls, whether he let it fall or not, which is an invasion of his privacy in a very real sense. You can’t say “you can come this close but not closer.” The celebrity does not have that power. I wish they did. The celebrity can’t say, “You can love me for this and like this but not for this or like that.” You can’t control human emotion. Human beings can be highly addicting. And lets face it, The Hollywood Machine wants us to eat these guys like junk food and beg for more because it equals $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and that’s all they care about.

So if Tom is disillusioned with the Hollywood machine, that’s actually a good sign. If he’s taking a hard look at his life and what he wants, what he’s done and what he wants to do, good for him. It’s “sad” for us because we want our “junk food,” or even if we just really like the guy and want to feel close to him (I get it, I’m in that boat with you), it does mean we won’t get it anymore, or very little. But it’s actually quite sane. It means he’s a real person who won’t be used. As he said, his life is NOT up for grabs. Even if I wish it was (on a demented, obsessed level, because I am just as bad as the next salivating fangirl) I respect him and like him and support him more because it’s not.

I guess that’s the paradox.

I have to remind myself that he is a flawed, fallible person like me. He is not on a pedestal, he is not an idol. But until God sees fit to free me from this addiction, I will suffer like the rest.

#tom hiddleston #feel free to ignore #just my two cents

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pass-the-bechdel · 6 years

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Marvel Cinematic Universe: Thor (2011)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, three times.

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

Three (21.42% of cast).

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

Eleven.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

The fun:boring ratio tilts considerably depending on audience mood and/or desire for originality; the majority of the story is generic in the extreme and can be tedious as a result, however those elements which are more unusual and intriguing arguably save the overall product.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Darcy asks Jane if she can turn on the radio. Jane tells Darcy to drive into the anomaly. Jane tells Darcy to stop talking about her iPod.

Female characters:

Jane Foster.

Darcy Lewis.

Sif.

Male characters:

Eric Selvig.

Odin.

Loki.

Thor.

Fandral.

Hogun.

Volstagg.

Heimdall.

Laufey.

Phil Coulson.

Clint Barton.

OTHER NOTES:

“But I supported you, Sif.” Good to know that Thor supports non-traditional gender roles, despite being such a macho cliche.

I’m really very concerned by Jane’s driving. Someone revoke her licence.

“Son of Coul.”

Heimdall does not get enough credit for being the MVP of Asgard.

Loki’s suggestion that maybe he’ll pay Jane a visit himself is clearly intended to goad Thor into fighting him and as such need not be taken seriously, but it’s still totally uncool. Of all the goading methods he could have used, we really didn’t need to go for the implied rape threat.

I thought they might manage a Bechdel pass between someone other than Jane and Darcy for a moment there at the end of the movie, but Frigga doesn’t actually get referred to by name in this movie, and she and Sif only talk about Thor anyway. Disappoint on both counts. I kinda also thought Jane and Darcy might do some more/better passing in general; it’s better than nothing, but the three passes they got were pretty freakin’ weak.

When it comes to uninspired, generic origin stories, this movie kinda makes Iron Man look like an innovative goldmine by comparison. ‘Arrogant man takes a humble, learns to value his power and earns it back through selflessness’, it’s...been done. A lot. And while Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is watchable and not without charm, he’s not an especially charismatic actor and the predictable arc of his character doesn’t offer much scope to impress, while the typically-excellent Natalie Portman suffers a similarly bland fate with prescription-love-interest Jane Foster. The chemistry between the two is pretty nonexistent, and frankly it’s easier to believe that Jane is a slightly-amoral scientist essentially using Thor for her own gain, rather than buying that she’s becoming genuinely enamoured. If the film had leaned into the idea of Jane Foster: Amoral Scientist a little stronger, they could have built a more interesting (though less comfortable) narrative and perhaps even a more believable romance as the two bond over their shared moral learning curve. But, that would require Jane’s character to be more of a priority beyond finding excuses for her to be in Thor’s presence and develop ~feelings~, so. Not shocked they failed to deliver there.

Pretty much every person who has ever seen this movie (and probably some who’ve only read about it) agrees that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is where the fire’s at, both as an individual character and in terms of the plot he facilitates and inhabits. It’s not hard to understand why: while Thor has his dull human journey in the desert on Earth (the majority of which is spent just going places and talking to Jane and occasionally having a comedic ‘not from around here’ moment), Loki is a trickster God with magic powers living in the mythological land of Asgard and playing out a long con to win both the throne, and his adoptive father’s approval. Anything about the film that is clever or different or interesting, visually engaging, or emotionally poignant, it’s going on in Asgard, in the part of the plot where Thor is absent for the bulk of the film. Unfortunately, Thor’s absence from that thread means that we don’t get to spend nearly as much time enjoying it, and that’s why even the film’s best qualities can’t necessarily save it from the generic trash-pile. It’s easy to reach the end of the film in frustration, wondering how the Hell the strongest elements of the story (Shakespearean tragedy on alien worlds!) wound up as background noise to an unconvincing snooze-fest romance in Nowheresville, USA.

Broken into its component parts, Loki’s story isn’t that unfamiliar either; ‘jealous younger brother vies for older brother’s birthright’ has been done a fair bit (The Lion King being the most well-known example, let’s not kid ourselves), as has the juxtaposition of entitled brat vs scrappy underdog, as has ‘driven mad by envy’ and ‘power corrupts’ and pretty much any other trope being invoked in Loki’s lane. However, it works through 1. Hiddleston’s dynamic performance, 2. any and all majesty/intrigue/gravitas supplied by the setting, and 3. the additional factor of Loki discovering his adoption and true Frost Giant heritage. While it should not be ignored that Loki’s machinations for the throne predate that revelation and therefore it is neither an influence on his overarching ploy nor an excuse for him devising that ploy, Loki’s struggle with learning that his life as he’s known it was built on falsity and the way that complicates his desire to prove himself provides him some all-important nuance and pathos that gives the audience something to latch onto and identify with, even if only as empathetic understanding (one hopes that no one is going so far as to identify with the attempted genocide or the successful patricide; most of us can identify with betrayal/abandonment/daddy issues to some extent or another). Even if his ultimate decisions are plainly reprehensible, Loki’s journey to that point is littered with appreciable miseries, and that makes it an obvious emotional narrative standout compared to Thor’s paint-by-numbers excursion.

The villain narrative being the highlight of a story isn’t entirely unusual (though films in which this is unintentionally so tend also to be poorly conceived), but what’s really unfortunate is that Thor’s character motivations are not second in complexity to Loki’s; the criminally underused Heimdall is actually the next-most nuanced character around (and look at that, he’s also on Asgard and not bore-ing it up on Earth). The thing about Thor’s arc is that it’s not just predictable, it’s not just generic: it’s also barely there. We perceive the arc because we’re so familiar with the trope, but we don’t actually watch Thor learn anything, we don’t see practical signs of the degradation of his arrogance and his transformation into a wise warrior who understands restraint. Beyond causing a ruckus when he first arrives on Earth, Thor really doesn’t display any aggressive entitlement, he settles into pleasantly-strange-fish-out-of-water mode pretty much immediately, and he seems to ‘learn his lesson’ spontaneously after being told that his father is dead. He appears to mourn the implications of his inability to lift Mjolnir more than he is bothered by being told of Odin’s demise and that he can never go home; those latter revelations instead trigger his instantaneous reformation (insofar as he says the words “my father was trying to teach me something only I was too stupid to see it”) and that’s it. Confronting the destroyer and being ‘killed’ by it prompts the return of his Godhood, but refusing to shrink from a fight isn’t a change of pace for the character we saw at the beginning of the film; all in all, there’s no actual clear-cut learning in this process, there’s just a complication-free acceptance of his apparent new state of being, and that means he’s worthy of kingship now? Were they too afraid of making him dislikeable by playing out an excess of arrogance on Earth, so they softened him up immediately and in doing so, downgraded his character arc to just the concept of one rather than an actual presence? If there were more of a distinct process to his experiences on Earth, they’d be less damn boring, because we’d be following an actual story instead of just waiting for them to hit each predictable beat, and maybe they’d also generate some real characterisation of any of the Earth characters while they’re at it (instead, we have completely-useless-to-the-plot-comic-relief Darcy, and surrogate-dad-exposition-master Selvig, comprising the whole of Jane’s illustrious company). Thor’s clutch of friends back home may be a one-dimensional quartet defined almost entirely by their most obvious single descriptors (the female, the Asian, the fat guy, and...Sir Didymus), but at least they have a clear trajectory of plot-relevant motivation, even if they do become inconsequential by the end of it. Yeah, this isn’t a very good movie.

I said at the top that audience mood may be a deciding factor in the success or failure of the film, and I mean that in the sense that this is a movie that may prompt vastly different responses in the same person over different viewings; speaking for myself, I have watched it and been basically entertained and appreciative of the visuals and at least some of the characters and story elements, but I’ve also watched it and been overwhelmingly bored by the trite predictability and the flat characterisation of most of the players, and unimpressed by the soft-focus CGI of Asgard. Caught in the right mood, Thor’s inexplicable laid-back Earth persona can hit just the right note for casual comfort viewing. Caught in the wrong mood, Loki’s Asgard shenanigans feel over-hyped and not engaging enough to save the movie. Is Jane too bland, or full of shades of untapped character potential? Is Darcy funny, or painfully annoying? Is Heimdall intriguing, or too nebulous to matter? It all comes off very conditional, little of it anchored solidly or fleshed out strongly enough in-text to be considered an absolute. The plot floats, dependent on the aura of various cliches rather than categorically declaring itself in any unequivocal ways. It’s not particularly messy, so at least it has that going for it, but even that is a conditional statement. The film is rarely subtle enough to develop any depth, and the shallow invocations of the idea of a narrative arc lack the conviction necessary to make simplicity a virtue. The end result? I guess the best word for it is ‘forgettable’.

#Thor #MCU #Marvel Cinematic Universe #Bechdel Test #female representation

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katelynrushe26 · 6 years

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Avengers 4: They’re Not Quite Dead.

It's been almost four months since The Avengers: Infinity War hit theaters and turned the whole Marvel fan community upside-down. Practically everyone who's ever seen a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is itching for next summer's release of Avengers 4, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo are doing everything in their power to keep the details about it under wraps until then. They don't even want to announce the film's title yet because they say it might spoil the plot. If the Infinity Gauntlet was powered by Avengers 4 details instead of the six Infinity Stones, the universe would still be safe from Thanos.

Because of this, countless fan theories have been popping up all over the internet in the past two months. Most of them center around characters who died in Infinity War and ways that they could come back to life, and while a lot of those deaths occurred when Thanos snapped his fingers with the Infinity Gauntlet to wipe out half the universe, some deaths occurred before that. These are the trickier ones to theorize about since they don't seem as easily reversible as the ones caused by the Snap. However, more and more fans are starting to look at some of these deaths from a new angle: that those characters aren't actually dead.

I could spend days researching and constructing my own theories about every "dead" character, but for the sake of brevity, I'll just talk about three of the more likely ones to turn up alive in Avengers 4.

1. The Collector

There isn't too much to say about this character, mainly because there isn't too much to say about his role in Infinity War. All we see is a brief scene of Thanos threatening him for the location of the Reality Stone, then a reveal that it was all just an illusion cast by the Mad Titan to draw the heroes out of their hiding places. The obvious assumption is that Thanos killed the Collector offscreen shortly before this scene occurred, but there are reasons to think that he didn't.

For starters, the MCU doesn't make a habit of killing notable characters offscreen. The only one that comes to mind is Sif from the Thor film series, who's been absent since The Dark World and was said in interviews to have died from the Snap. This lack of closure was mainly due to Jaime Alexander not being available to reprise her role though, and that clearly wasn't the issue with Beniccio Del Toro. The MCU is one of the biggest film franchises in history; if the screenwriters don't have enough time in one film to properly kill off a character and the actor is still under contract, they can probably afford to save that death for another film rather than just having it happen offscreen.

Second, let's consider the illusion that Thanos cast of himself threatening the Collector. He didn't kill the Collector at the end of the illusion, and their conversation throughout it was very detailed and true to the Collector's character. It's possible that Thanos was reenacting what actually happened when he confronted the Collector earlier, rather than fabricating a conversation off the top of his head. It stands to reason then that just like in his illusion, he didn't kill the Collector in real life. Thanos is a surprisingly merciful supervillain, so if the Collector gave him the Reality Stone without too much resistance, Thanos probably spared him.

The strongest piece of evidence though comes from this piece of artwork, which shows the Collector playing a board game with his brother the Grandmaster:

This is an official piece of artwork created by Marvel Studios for a Guardians of the Galaxy attraction in Disneyland, and it's prompted Studio President Kevin Feige to express interest in featuring the two characters together in a future film. Granted, such a scene could end up being a flashback that takes place prior to Infinity War, but it still leaves the door wide open for the Collector to be alive. Bottom line, his character still has a chance of turning up alive since we never actually saw him die.

2. Gamora

Okay, physically she is quite dead, but I think she's getting better.

Unlike the other pre-Snap deaths in Infinity War, Gamora's had a very spiritual element to it. Thanos killed her as part of a ritual to obtain the Soul Stone, an Infinity Stone with the power to control life and death. Her demise is directly tied to the Soul Stone, and the Soul Stone was the stone responsible for killing half the universe when Thanos snapped his fingers.

That was why he had a vision of Gamora in an orange-tinted realm right after he caused the Snap. Her appearance wasn't presented as a hallucination brought on by his guilt over killing her. It was presented as the real Gamora communicating with him in spirit. She didn't know what had happened until Thanos admitted it to her, and the scenery being orange (the same color same the Soul Stone) implied that her spirit was trapped inside of the stone. Thanos using the Soul Stone to huge a large capacity was probably what triggered Gamora's sudden appearance in the first place.

The Soul Stone is the only Infinity Stone shown in the movies to have any kind of rule set attached to it. You can't just snatch it up and use it like you can with the other five; certain actions have to be taken to prove that you're worthy to use it. You have to follow the rules in order for it to function properly. Because of this, it's entirely possible that an improper use or even a forfeiture of the Soul Stone could cause it to reverse the sacrifice that was made to obtain it and then render the stone unusable once more. This could mean a resurrection for Gamora in the near future.

As for behind-the-scenes evidence, the waters are a little muddier now than they were two months ago. Zoe Saldana is still active on the MCU publicity scene even though Infinity War's theatrical run is over, and Guardians of the Galaxy Director James Gunn has said that Gamora will have a "significant role" in the next film of that series. However, Gunn's recent firing from the project could undo a lot of his story ideas. This might not affect the Guardians characters too much though. Marvel Studios plans their films pretty far in advance, and the timeline of the MCU is so intricate and interwoven now that it would be very difficult to scrap story ideas. If the studio did that, it could cause a butterfly effect that would drastically alter their plans for a lot of future films.

Overall, I still think it's safe to assume that Gamora will come back to life. It's just what she'll do afterwards that's foggy.

3. Loki

I know, I wrote that huge two-part eulogy for him when Infinity War first came out and now I don't even think he's really dead. I still stand by most of what I said in my "Looking Back On Loki" essay, and to be perfectly frank, a part of me still likes to think that the God of Mischief really did meet his poetically poignant end in the first scene of Infinity War. That doesn't change the fact though that the events leading up to his death look EXTREMELY suspicious now.

Here's a rundown of what happens: Thor and Loki are cornered by Thanos, Loki stalls for time--promising Thor that "The sun will shine on us again"--and then he tackles Thor out of the way as the Hulk comes crashing into Thanos. The Hulk has a fistfight with Thanos for several minutes, and not once does the scene ever cut away to Thor and Loki to show us what they're doing. This is odd enough, but what's even more odd is that Thor eventually shows up in the middle of that fistfight by himself. What happened to Loki?

There's still no sign of the God of Mischief even when Thanos apprehends Thor and kills Heimdall. It isn't until after Thanos is about to make his exit that Loki shows up again, and he almost appears to step right out of nowhere. He tries to kill Thanos, seeming to use the bare minimum of his powers, and then his trick backfires and Thanos appears to kill him. This scene raises so many questions that it gets harder and harder to take at face value every time I watch it.

First of all, Loki's faked his death before in the MCU, and we haven't always gotten a clear explanation of how he did it. We still don't know exactly how he survived his fight with Kurse in The Dark World, so he could very well have survived against Thanos. For all we know, the person that Thanos appeared to kill could have just been a random dead Asgardian that Loki possessed and then projected his appearance onto from a safe distance away. We've seen him do both of those things to some extent before, even without the use of his scepter.

Second of all, photos have leaked of Tom Hiddleston as Loki on the set of Avengers 4. The scene being filmed seems to involve time travel since he has his clothing and hairstyle from the first Avengers film, but it still appears that Loki is supposed to be in the next film. What's more, Tony Stark appears in that same scene wearing what looks to be a disguise, suggesting that the Avengers might go back in time to alter the past or tamper with the timeline in other ways. Maybe the Loki who appeared to step out of nowhere at the beginning of Infinity War was a different Loki than the one we saw tackle Thor out of the Hulk's way a few minutes earlier.

Some might say that these theories are all moot, since Tom Hiddleston has done multiple interviews saying that his time playing Loki is over and that Loki isn't coming back to life in Avengers 4. However, Marvel Studios has a history of releasing bogus interviews to subvert fan expectations. Just look at Ben Kingsley's interviews about playing the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. Those were absolutely meant to be misleading, at least at the time when they first came out. Heck, the Russo Brothers themselves have insisted that Spider-Man and Black Panther's deaths in Infinity War are permanent, and yet both of those characters already have sequels to their own standalone films in the works.

Also, the interviews of Tom Hiddleston saying that his time playing Loki is over are only half deceptive; Avengers 4 is the last film on his contract, not Infinity War, but it just so happens that he was done shooting his scenes for Avengers 4 by the time that Infinity War opened in theaters. Technically there's nothing inaccurate about anything he said in those interviews, but having them come out right after we saw Loki die in a new movie does seem like we're being set up to have the wrong idea.

This is all a prime example of where things stand with the MCU these days. The franchise is so huge, the stakes are so high, and the studio has grown so clever with both its writing and its marketing that we have almost no way of predicting what's going to happen in their films anymore. Some fans may find all of this secrecy and uncertainty maddening, some may find it exhilarating, and some probably take it as even more of a challenge to try and figure out what will happen next. Whatever the case, we'll all probably be more and more eager to see these movies with each passing phase. Not many franchises can stay this engaging after ten years and twenty movies.

And if Marvel Studios has been throwing us more of these curve balls than they've needed to, then mischief managed, I suppose.

#Avengers #avengers 4 #avengers infinity war #infinity war #infinity stones #gamora #guardians of the galaxy #collector #loki #Loki Laufeyson #Thanos #thor #marvel cinematic universe #marvel #russo #tom hiddleston #MCU

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lokistories123 · 6 years

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The Internship (chapter 1)

The internship, chapter 1

So this is a fic where you get an internship at the avengers tower. It’s gonna get fluffy (maybe a bit smutty) after a few chapters. It was just an idea that popped into my head. At first Loki is an ass (all will be explained) and you are the insecure character. I picked a name for this fic. Since I love black widow a lot as well, I went for Natasha. And I thought Holmes was the perfect English surname :D But this is not a Black widow X Loki fic!!! I just love the name so much!

Stepping into the airplane you were getting nervous. This internship was the only thing saving your goddamn grades and you needed to get it. On the university you had missed quite a few points because you had fallen ill. This program would give you the needed points to graduate summa cum laude. You had always gotten straight A++’s on your terms, but when you had fallen ill, you just couldn’t even come to college to make the midterms. The missed points could be retrieved from getting into the Avengers internship program. You had to travel from the UK to the USA, and you hated flying.

“Just breathe Nat, we’ll make it.” With nothing but your suitcase and your knowledge you would go and do an interview at the Avengers tower. You are a big Marvel fan and particularly a fan of Tom Hiddleston. “As long as there are no Asgardian gods, I’ll be okay to keep the fangirl inside.”

You prepared for her interview the whole flight and when you arrived at the airport in New York, you hoped everything will be alright. You got picked up by someone that had your nametag up in the air.

“Miss Holmes, I presume?” the driver said.

“Yes, that’s me. Natasha Holmes.” You would always get jokes thrown at your head. Especially the “no shit Sherlock”… It was beyond the getting old stage.

The ride to the tower wasn’t that long. You have never been in America before and everything intrigued you.

When you arrived at the tower, there were both men and women walking toward it with suitcases. The internship program would offer both schooling and living in the Avengers Tower and would pay for any costs made. You would even get paid 1.000$ a month, for just being an intern. You didn’t do it for the money, you just needed the points in order to graduate.

You thanked the driver and walked into the building. It really looked like you had just walked into a science fiction movie. Everything was so digitalized and white and pure, it was beyond beautiful. You walked up to the desk that had a sign saying: “Internship program, report here”

“Name….” The woman said behind the desk.

“Natasha Holmes.” She checked your ID and gave you a visitor badge.

“Through the hallway, take the elevator there to the 31st floor.”

“Thank you.” You were going to be kind and nice. If others chose to do differently, it would be their concern.

You walked through the hallway and there was indeed an elevator. But the room was filled with people whom were also waiting for the elevator to come back down. You could see that most men where good-looking and that most woman where very skinny! At that moment you had an awful idea that the most handsome man and woman would be chosen and that you and all the others less beautiful would be send home.

After waiting for a while you entered the elevator and it went up to the floor you were expected.

After reporting that you were there you had to wait for your turn, but after waiting for an hour, you got the call.

“Miss Holmes?”

“YES!” You were very excited and nervous at the same time. Your future was going to be decided very soon!!

You walked into the room and you heard the heavy door close behind you. There was a man sitting in the middle. Must be Tony Stark himself. You thought. You quickly noticed that there were name tags standing in front of every person. You read from left to right: Nick Fury, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes, Thor Odinson and Loki Odinson. WOW! HOLD THE FUCK UP! LOKI ODINSON? ASDGHFJSKAJ! Your mind took a run for it. But you got a hold of yourself. No big deal. It might just be a name, and not necessarily a god or anything. He did look like Tom’s Loki. In the flesh.

“Miss Holmes is it?” Tony asked.

“Yes, Natasha Holmes.”

“You must’ve had a ton of Sherlock Holmes jokes thrown at you.” Tony said. He was trying to make you feel a bit more casual, but you couldn’t help yourself. A lot of Avengers were seated in front of you.

“Yes, I have.” You smiled shyly and took a seat.

“We have selected you to come to the tower for an interview for the Internship program. For what particular domain are you interested in for an intern spot?” They were going straight at it.

“Well, I am interested in a lot of things. At the moment I am in college studying at the medical school department.”

“So something medical then?” Steve asked.

“Why yes, but technology and medical area are getting closer and closer to each other.” The questions kept flowing and it didn't feel like an interview anymore, but like an interrogation.

“Do you know that the internship program will make you active in more area’s than just the one you’re following in college? It will also ask quite a few physical skills…” Nick said. You knew that it was a question regarding your looks. You weren’t the slimmest girl in the world, but also not seen as fat either.

“Of course, I am. At home I do kickboxing 3 times a week.” You could hear Thor giggle. He hadn’t asked a lot of questions but was definitely interested in what I had to say. But the only person that hadn’t said anything yet, or even reacted to anything was Loki. But that was no surprise for me.

After another round of questions, you had the idea that everything went quite well. You could answer all questions professionally and you could answer as yourself as well with the more casual questions.

“Well Miss Holmes, I have come to the conclusion that you are not eligible for the Internship Programm.” Tony said. You could feel your heart break and your mind went into all directions.

“May I ask where I do not suffice?” You were the perfect candidate. Everyone at college said it, even the leaders of the program with whom you had contact with through the mail said it.

“I’m afraid there are even better suitable candidates for the program.” Was Nick said.

“If I may say something?” You now thought to yourself, what the hell. Go big or go home. You were going home, but you would go home BIG.

“I believe I am a damn fine candidate for the program. The woman who were picked before me where obviously a lot more witless and couldn’t even tie their own shoes together. No. THEY were picked because they had a size 2, big boobs and a big piece of dead blond hair on their heads. Please sir. I have come with merely my own intellect and a tiny suitcase, but I know that that’s more than that they had to offer. I know I can do this. I want to make the world a better place. I want to fight for it. I want to work in the A&E, and after that I want to be a goddamn army medic. I want to follow my heart, and that leads me to Adrenaline and physical heaviness. I do not aim for working in an elderly home changing diapers until I am in a diaper myself. I want to DO things, learn even more. I do not plan on going back home until I find an internship spot, so I can graduate summa cum laude. If YOU out of all people will not give me a spot, I am sure someone else will, elsewhere. It may not be my full interest, but it’ll be something I have to do to survive, and I shall. But please Sir, give me a week to prove myself.” It was tranquil in the room. Everyone was looking down, but Loki was looking up at you in full admiration.

“I am sorry Miss Holmes, but there is really nothing we can do.” Was the reaction I had gotten to my goddamn warrior speech… Great. You looked down at my shoes and grabbed your suitcase.

“Well Tony, I may want to show this one around.” Said a very low (but sexy) voice. I looked up to notice everyone now looking at Loki.

“I thought you weren’t in the mood tutoring those petty mortals?” Natasha said VERY sarcastic.

“Well, I am not. But this one is quite interesting. She has a small fire burning, and I like to make that fire a raging fire.”

“A what?” Bucky asked.

“Never mind. She has some goddamn nerve telling you to go fuck yourself, and she’s smart. I. Can tell. It would be an easy task tutoring her, but one that I am willing to do.” Loki said.

“But we’re full. In the tower as well.”

“Well we all have a quest room, she can stay there. Those rooms have their own entrance, shower and closet, so there is plenty of room for her to stay there.” Loki knew they were doing everything to get her to leave. Tony wanted those sack-heads. Not to tutor, but to fuck. He would than give them an A and he would get the next batch. The other Avengers were just there to ask the questions for show, for they were not training or tutoring anyone.

“Fine. Miss Holmes. It seems you ARE an intern for the Avengers after all. Loki will show you around, train you and tutor you. He will also be the one to criticize you and give you your grade.” They were shoving everything on Loki, but it looked to you like he was okay with that.

“Well Miss Holmes. Let me show you to your room.” Loki said.

“You can’t Loki, we still have candidates to choose.” Tony said it. He was irritated that Loki wanted you as an intern. “You can choose those whores yourself Stark. You don’t need me to help you with that. Just listen to your cock.” Loki took my arm and lead you to a hallway. You didn’t speak to him. Not yet. You walked down a few stairs, only to take the elevator to the 50th floor.

“Here is the main floor. Here we dine, meet up and “CHILL””. It wasn’t his choice of words, but you were elated to know that he did it for you.

Loki walked to another elevator and pressed the 53 button. The elevator opened up to a big hallway. At the end of the hallway was a big golden door and next to it a smaller golden door. “The big one leads to my room and the small one to yours.” We walked through the small door. “And as you can see, there is another door on the left. That one leads to my room as well. The first door on the right will lead to your closet and the one on the left will lead to your bathroom. Everything is still brand new, for I have never had any guests over.”

“Thank you. I mean. Thank you for standing up for me and taking me in.” You were just blown out of the window that out of all people LOKI, who you didn't even know really existed, would be the one to tutor you.

“Don’t think too much of it. It’s also a way for annoying the hell out of Stark.” You quickly came back to reality and figured out Loki wasn’t the Loki who you thought he’d be. You had hoped that there might be a little Marvel Loki in there or a hint of Tom Hiddleston, but you were SO wrong.

“Okay.”

“I’ll leave you to unpack. I’ll be in the room next to you if you need anything. Oh yeah, and the walls are thin here, so please don’t make it too loud.” Loki left the room and closed the door. Luckily you were too happy to feel sad about his comments and behavior. You needed this internship and you got it! You got in! After a few months of searching you finally found your place. And what a place this is! The fucking Avengers tower!

You unpacked your bags and looked around the room and bathroom. It really all looked like a very luxurious hotel suite. There was even a big flat screen with comfy couch in this “guestroom”. After a while loki knocked on the door.

“Yes?”

“Hi, Natasha, can I enter?”

“Yes, of course you can. It’s your guest room after all.” Loki entered with a tiny smile of his face.

“Dinner is usually here at 6 o’clock. The people that’ll come are different every time because some are on missions and some are not. And that changes. It’s kind of like a big buffet for everyone has different wishes. You’ll see. If you don’t come for dinner there’s always the kitchen, but you’ll have to prepare your meal yourself with what’s available at that moment.”

“Okay. So, shall we eat?” You smiled at him. Hoping he’d figure out you’re not here to ruin of murder him. You believe you saw a real smile coming from Loki, but he quickly turned around to lead you to the dining area.

When you arrived all the new interns were ordered to seat themselves at one table. It was explained that you could sit wherever you’d like, but the first 2 weeks you had to stick together with the other interns. It was to create a “safe” working environment for both parties. Gladly you noticed that it weren’t all sack head Barbie dolls. There were also normal women and men that were chosen, all being tutored by different avengers or agents. You became to wonder why no other avenger picked you. It wasn’t just Tony that was picking, so why did no-one else pick you? You were truly the perfect example and you had all the skills (and grades). But you quickly got distracted when everyone started introducing themselves.

“Hi, everyone. I’m James. I’m 24 years old and I’m from Scotland.”

“Hey there. I’m Katherine, 22 years old and I’m from Bulgaria.” And then there was you.

“Hey. I’m Natasha Holmes, 25 years old and I’m from England.”

“Holmes as in Sherlock Holmes?” James asked, with sparkles in his eyes.

“Ehehe. Yes, the same last name as Sherlock.” He was kind, you could tell. He was interested in everything everyone had to say. Katherine was nice as well. The other names you couldn't or didn’t want to remember. It was nice getting to know all the interns. Some were obviously being tutored by Tony, but the others were just like you. Normal people.

“I’m afraid I’l have to go back and get ready for tomorrow. I also still need to write my reports for college.” You smiled and you got up to go to your room.

“You’re not staying in the intern-wing are you? I didn’t see you there.” Katherine asked

“No that’s right. I’m staying in Loki’s guestroom. They did want me as an intern, but there was no more room, so Loki came with the idea.”

“Wow you’re so lucky to stay so close to your tutor. I’d also love to wake up to that view.” Katherine giggled and winked at me. We both laughed.

“Well, I don’t know. It looks like he’s not overly fond of me being there or here now I think about it, which makes it weird why he chose me as his intern. But we’ll see.”

While you were saying that, Katherine’s face turned paperwhite: “Yes we’ll see.”

When you turned around you noticed that Loki was standing behind you.

“Done?” He asked. He had a bitter and hurt tone in his voice.

“Yes….” You said, afraid of what’ll happen next. Loki pointed at the exit and he started walking. You said goodnight to everyone and followed Loki. When Loki stopped in front of the two doors and turned around, you were getting a bit unsure.

“Is that truly what you think? That I don’t want you up in here?” He pointed towards the smaller door.

“I don’t really know what to think. One moment you are picking me as your intern, the next you are being mean to me. Please just, don’t kick me out of this program.”

“I won’t kick you out! But don’t make or express any assumptions you have of me. I’m unpredictable. If you are having doubts about some responses you get, just ask what I mean.”

“Well, like this one. Are you being mean to me now? Or just casually talking to me?”

“Casually talking….” Loki looked confused. He was wondering if you even understood him for 1%.

“Okay, I’ll just take everything not serious, so that there are no miscommunications.” You really didn’t want to argue with him, for he was the one to give you your mark.

“Don’t do that.” He was getting agitated.

“You’ll get to know him!!!! He’s very easy to read once you know him!” Someone said in a cheer voice. When he got a bit closer, you could see it was Chris, Oh no Thor! You smiled at the comment, but Loki wouldn't have it.

“Yeah, she just needs 1500 years to understand, right brother?”

“Don’t be so cranky Loki! You’ll get to train this little warrior. You might even have a friend at the end of all this!”

“Will you shut up?!” Loki walked inside his room and slammed the door. You really didn’t know what was happening.

“He’s just as shy as insecure as you, he just won’t admit it. But he is in need of a friend.” You could see a lot of similarities between yours and Loki’s traits. You kept them hidden for a long time, but perhaps you should let them free and see what happens….. You were also looking for a friend for a while now.

#The internship #chapter 1 #Loki #loki x reader #loki x you #my fic #avengers

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lokilicious-hiddles · 6 years

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do you believe loki is really dead?

So I just got this now? I don’t know when this was sent, I’m sorry! But I’ll still answer it.

I am honestly on the fence on whether or not Loki is actually dead. I’d love to believe he is not and I hope he comes back (I hope he does so much). In my opinion, you can’t have Thor without Loki, or Loki without Thor. I love reading theories and honestly at this point, I’ll take any theory that supports Loki being alive. First off, I want to say I think Marvel did him poorly in the way they killed him off. Since seeing Infinity War three times, I have tried each time to understand from Loki’s point of view why he would have tried to stab The Purple Grape with his dagger, but I just can’t. It doesn’t seem like him. So I guess I fit in with all the people that think that maybe it was an illusion, a clone, etc. (please marvel). I don’t want to write a book here about why I think he’s alive or dead, and what supports each. BUT I will say that because our lovely Tom Hiddleston is signed on for another avengers movie, he will obviously show up in it as Loki. I think that they will go back in time and try to convince Loki to give up the tesseract in NYC (the first Avengers movie) which would in turn help prevent his future death. So I can only hope at this point that he’s alive. His death scene made me upset, sad, and angry. Loki deserves better. I hope they give him the ending or the redemption he deserves.

P.S. there is possibly another Thor movie in the works and perhaps they will bring him back for that, unless Thor will just be a main character in the GOTG movie or something.

💚💛🖤💛💚

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foreverdrivinginpuddles123 · 6 years

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The internship (chapter 1)