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ljones41 · 9 hours

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"THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" (2022) Commentary

"THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" (2022) COMMENTARY

During the height of my high regard for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), among the movies of which I had been a major fan were the Captain America releases. At least two of them. The third film in this mini franchise - 2016's "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR" proved to be a major disappointment for me. However, when I heard that Disney and Marvel Films had plans to air a miniseries about the characters Sam Wilson aka the Falcon and James "Bucky" Barnes aka the Winter Soldier, I must admit that I felt a renewed interest in the franchise again.

When I said a renewal of the MCU franchise, I meant it. Aside from a few movies like "ANT-MAN", "BLACK PANTHER", "CAPTAIN MARVEL" and "ETERNALS"; the MCU had become a major disappointment for me ever since the release of 2015's "THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON". One might ask . . . what about the MCU television productions that aired on the Disney Plus streaming channel? Aside from one production that I somewhat liked and one that I loved, most of them have been disappointing to me. Unfortunately, I have to include this follow-up to the Captain America movies, "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER".

Set six months after 2019's "THE AVENGERS: ENDGAME", "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" followed former war veteran/Avenger Sam Wilson, who has resumed working the for the U.S. government, while using his role as the Falcon. When the government recruits Sam to track down and deal with a group of enhanced anarchists known as "the Flag Smashers", former World War II veteran/HYDRA tool/Avenger James "Bucky" Buchannan aka the Winter Soldier decides to join Sam in his mission, due to his lingering guilt as a former HYDRA assassin and their shared experiences as Steve Rogers' close friends and battling Thanos and his army.

Since "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" had aired on the DisneyPlus channel in six episodes, I had seriously considered ranking the episodes. But like Season three of the Marvel Netflix series, "DAREDEVIL", the more I watched "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLIDER", the more it disappointed me. Aside from complaints about its pacing, the limited series had received a great deal of praise from critics and fans alike. Because of this, I believe it was one of the most overrated productions in the MCU history. People had seemed so focused on little moments and scenes that very few had noticed how the series' narrative seemed to be all over the map. For example:

Sam Wilson This limited series is supposed to be a follow up to the events of "ENDGAME" in which Sam had received the Captain America shield from an aging Steve Rogers, a sign for him to take up the latter's costumed role. Was this an attempt by Marvel Films/Disney to make Sam a more relevant character? If so, why? Why did a MCU character have to replace Steve as the new Captain America to be more relevant? Why not allow Sam to continue as the Falcon, only push his role to the forefront as one of the franchise's new leading characters? Some might accuse me of not wanting a black man as Captain America, a topic that was brought up in the series. Frankly, I never wanted another character - regardless of race, gender or ethnicity - to become the new Captain America. That includes Bucky Barnes. Allow Steve Rogers to fade into the background and let Sam (as the Falcon) shine as one of the franchise's new leads. However, the die has been cast. One can only sit back and see if moviegoers are willing to accept Sam as the new Captain America.

Perhaps the MCU had to make Sam the new Captain America in order to make him more relevant. Why would I say that? The showrunner for "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER", Malcolm Spellman, came dangerously close to shoving Sam into the role of the second lead or worst, a role he has been since his debut in 2014's "CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER" - a supporting character. During the series' first three or four episodes, someone other than Sam (either Bucky Barnes or Helmut Zemo - two white men) made decisions that allowed the plot to move forward, not Sam. He was simply regulated to being an observer or reactor. The series even managed to undermine Sam's decision not to support the Sokovia Accords in "CIVIL WAR". In thee 2016, Sam became the first Avenger to speak out against the Accords and declare his intentions not to sign it. Yet, according to Bucky in this series, Sam had merely followed Steve's example in rejecting the Accords. And Spellman did nothing to allow Sam to correct this misconception.

James "Bucky" Barnes One of the few aspects of "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR" I found enjoyable proved to be the interactions between Sam Wilson and Bucky Buchannan. Despite their lingering jealousy and competition over the role as "Steve Rogers' best friend", the pair's interactions proved to be very entertaining, thanks to the screen chemistry between Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Unfortunately, Mackie and Stan could not save "CIVIL WAR" for me. Nor could they save "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER", due to its problematic writing. A good deal of that writing surrounded Bucky's character. I have so many questions about his role in this series. For example:

*Why would any official of the Joint Counter Terrorist Center allow Bucky to visit and question Helmut Zemo, the man responsible for the U.N. conference bombing in Vienna, in "CIVIL WAR"? That made very little sense to me. Surely the JCTC authorities remembered how Zemo managed to brainwash Bucky into making his own prison break in "CIVIL WAR"? Also, Bucky was on parole for his activities as a brainwashed HYDRA assassin. Yet, the JCTC had allowed him to visit Zemo? Surely, the showrunner could have allowed Sam, who was serving the U.S. government again, to be the one to visit and question Zemo?

*How on earth did Bucky managed to evade being arrested and charged for helping Zemo escape from the JCTC? The U.S. and other governments should have been suspicious of Bucky after learning about his visit to Zemo.

*Bucky came off as an arrogant school jock, who thought he was entitled to get his way - especially in his interactions with Sam. I found it hilarious that many fans had criticized John Walker aka Captain America aka U.S. Agent for such toxic behavior. Yet, they had turned a blind eye to Bucky's own behavior. And so did the series - up until the last two episodes. Why did the showrunner allow Bucky to get away with this behavior toward Sam for so long without any complaints from the latter?

*I did not care how Bucky had bullied his way into Sam's mission without the latter's consent. What I found even more annoying was the U.S. government's decision to allow Bucky to join Sam's mission after that ludicrous "therapy session" they were forced to attend together.

Racism A good number of MCU fans had complained about the inclusion of racism in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER". I had no problems with this direction, considering the story was about Sam, an African-American man, becoming the new Captain America. However, I had a good deal of problems with how the production explored the topic of racism.

The story of Isaiah Bradley, Marvel's second Captain America, had originated in the comics. In the MCU, he was a Korea War veteran whom the United States Army used as one of several unwilling African-American test subjects for their version of the Super Soldier serum. I realize that both Marvel Comics and the MCU had attempted to use Bradley's experience as a metaphor for the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The problem is that I cannot see the U.S. government and the Army - both racist organizations in the early 1950s - be willing to risk the possibility of creating a non-white super soldier. Despite the recent desegregation of the Armed Forces in the late 1940s. And both the government and the Army had been more than willing to use white soldiers in other experiments.

After saving a group of black American super soldiers from a prison camp, Bradly was imprisoned by the U.S. government for thirty years. I saw nothing wrong with this twist in the character's narrative, until I remembered two things - Bradley had been able to free his fellow soldiers without anyone's help; and nearly sixty years later, Steve Rogers managed to break into the Raft and free those Avengers who had refused to sign the Sokovia Accord. Why was Bradley unable to free himself from prison? This is the man who had defeated the Winter Soldier by breaking the latter's metal arm. And he was not powerful enough to make a prison break, let alone evade capture?

I had assumed Sam's difficulty in becoming the new Captain America would stem from the government's reluctance to recruit a black man for the position. That would explain their decision to recruit the blond-haired John Walker instead. But the series never really made it clear whether political racism had played a role in Walker's recruitment. The series also had James "Rhodey" Rhodes had paid Sam a visit, emphasizing the importance of the new Captain America being black. As it turned out, Sam's own insecurities about becoming Captain America had more to do with him not initially assuming the role. There was also that interesting scene outside Bradley's Baltimore home where the police arrested Sam during verbal argument with Bucky. Although the cops backed away when they recognized Sam as an Avenger, they ended up arresting the parolee Bucky for missing his required therapy appointment. This scene was supposed to be a case of racial profiling. But . . . we might as well be honest. In the real world, the police would not have backed down from hassling Sam. What I found more disturbing was the production's handling of Bucky's arrest. Once the police discovers that Sam was an Avenger; they turned to arrest Bucky for failing to show up for his missing his therapy session. Not only did the police arrest Bucky with a more gentle behavior, they did so, accompanied by Henry Jackman's mournful score, something that did not accompany the moment of Sam being arrested. Were the audiences expected to notice the hypocrisy and racism in the police's handling of the two men? Expected to feel sympathy for Bucky? Or both?

The last episode featured a scene of two black kids playing with toy Captain America shields. Someone had commented that the shields (especially in the hands of non-white children) represented hope to the future of race relations in the United States. Why? How? This country had a biracial president for EIGHT YEARS. Yet, U.S. racial policies have remained problematic even to this day. I can say the same for other countries. The so-called symbolism of this scene only reminded me of how human beings put so much faith in imagery and symbolism. And this strikes me as a FALSE FAITH. Why was taking up the mantle of a costumed hero that had been previously occupied by a white man, the only way for Sam Wilson to become relevant within the MCU franchise? What was wrong with him being "the Falcon"? Sam becoming the next Captain America was not going to save the U.S. in regard to race relations - not in real life and not in the fictional world of the MCU. Looking back on the series, the series' only scenario that seemed to expose racism in a realistic manner, proved to be Sam's failure to acquire a bank loan for his family's fishing boat in Louisiana.

Sharon Carter I am certain many MCU fans are aware of this. One of Marvel Comics' most iconic couples happened to be Steve Rogers aka Captain America and Sharon Carter aka Agent 13. She also happened to be the great-niece of Peggy Carter, Steve's love interest during World War II. Portrayed by Emily VanCamp, Sharon was first introduced as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in "CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER" as a potential love interest for Steve. Despite Sharon's appearance in the following Captain America movie, "CIVIL WAR", their romance never really developed. Many blamed the lack of chemistry between VanCamp and Chris Evans. I never had a problem with their screen chemistry. I had a problem with the lack of relationship development between Sharon and Steve. And I blame Kevin Feige's decision to transform the third Captain America film into a third (and badly written) pseudo Avengers movie. The change in the film's narrative, along with Sharon's failure to appear in "THE AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR" and "ENDGAME", left no opportunity for Sharon and Steve to become the romantic pair they had been in the comics. Instead, Sharon became a fugitive from the U.S. government after helping Steve and Sam hunt down Bucky, moved to Madripoor, a city-state with no U.S. extradition and became an embittered criminal known as "the Power Broker".

After "CIVIL WAR", nearly five years had passed before Sharon appeared in another MCU production - namely this series. And what happened? The franchise, with Spellman, ended up completely destroying her character by transforming her into the villain known as Power Broker, the criminal leader of an Indonesian city-state called Madripoor. After helping Steve and Sam acquire their suits and equipment in order to go after Bucky in "CIVIL WAR", Sharon lost her job with the C.I.A. and became a fugitive. She eventually moved to Madripoor, a city-state with no U.S. extradition, to evade capture, survived Thanos' Snap and became an embittered criminal nicknamed "the Power Broker" in order to survive the new world.

What really pissed me off about Sharon's arc between "CIVIL WAR" and "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" is that her development into a major villain all happened OFF SCREEN. Off screen. Apparently, screenwriters for "INFINITY WAR" had written a draft that included Sharon in the movie. But according to Christopher Markus, he and Stephen McFeeley could not imagine scenes featuring Steve and Sharon trying to make it work in an apartment, because the 2018 movie did not have time to focus on their personal life. Why did Marvel simply fail to allow Sharon to be part of Steve's vigilante team - like Sam and Natasha Romanoff? I mean . . . good fucking grief! And why did Malcolm Spellman believe the only way Sharon could be interesting was to become a villain in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER"? This was his idea of improving Sharon's character?

Helmut Zemo aka Baron Zemo Why did Malcolm Spellman, Kevin Feige and the MCU thought it necessary to bring back Helmut Zemo, the Sokovian-born villain from "CIVIL WAR"? What role did he play in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER"? I realize that Bucky, of all people, visited the incarcerated Zemo to acquire information on who had created the super-soldier serum that empowered the Flag Smashers. But why did he believe Zemo could provide the answer? Because he thought HYDRA was involved? Bucky or Sam could have searched for information from sources other than Zemo, who had been incarcerated for . . . what? Eight years? Eight years. Zemo managed to become something of a crowd-pleaser, thanks to Daniel Brühl's performance. Otherwise, I found his presence in this series unnecessary.

The Big Bad Why on earth did it take this series so long to finally reveal the main villain's identity? At first, the series hinted the Flag Smashers, led by Karli Morgenthau. However, the series tossed other potential candidates for the Big Bad before viewers - John Walker, Helmut Zemo and yes, Sharon Carter. But in the end, Morgenthau and her group proved to be the main villains.

The Flag Smashers were a group of empowered people who believed the world was a better place between Thanos' Snap and the Blip (resurrection of those who had died during the Snap), when Humans around the world managed to unite and form a borderless society, one in which people helped others without any thought to nationalism and bias. Thanks to the Avengers, the world resumed its conflicts between nationalities and other groups. In other words, the borders returned.

Frankly, I have nothing against this ideal. Only Ms. Morgenthau and her followers resorted to violence and terrorism to achieve their goals. Does this sound familiar? It should. The Flag Smashers proved to be another example of characters with a progressive goal, resorting to extremism and becoming villains. This seemed to be a growing trend within the franchise, which I believe began with Erik "Killmonger" Stevens aka Prince N'Jadaka in 2018's "BLACK PANTHER". Since then, the MCU has not looked back at its growing roster of progressive villains. Perhaps I should not have been surprised. The franchise's ambiguous portrayal of an unconstitutional document like the Sokovia Accords, should have been the wake-up call. It seemed as if Kevin Feige, Marvel Films and Disney Studios had finally exposed themselves for the faux progressives they pretend to be. Frankly, this form of villainy has become tiresome to me.

After writing this article, I had considered ranking the six episodes featured in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" anyway. But I decided against it. My dislike of the series made it impossible for me to even bother. Being a fan of the first two Captain America movies, I had truly hoped this series would redeem the franchise. Unfortunately, it proved to be just as disappointing as "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR". Pity. Perhaps the fourth film, "CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD" will do the trick. I hope so.

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rappaccini · 10 months

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arachnophobia; chapter 3 notes

chapter title

from drums, by nova twins

pretext quote

from the netflix series dark, about time travel, specifically time loops and alternate universes, and the doomed cycle a group of people loop themselves into while trying to indulge their most base desires for love and protection. the third season in particular follows the male protagonist's love interest as she becomes the protagonist, encountering her alternate selves, and finding herself standing opposite her love interest in the time war in order to save her world.

in context, this chapter is about gwen expanding her perspective-- meeting another version of herself (and prioritizing herself over that girl), realizing that the gwen stacy curse is endemic to the spider-man narrative, not just miles. and realizing that if she's going to stand a chance, she's going to have to adopt an antagonistic place in the story against spider-man.

gwen processes the consequences of the rejection

this is the anger chapter. it's gwen, having learned she'll die unless she takes one option, refusing that option, and coming to terms with how upset she is about it.

slowly, gwen is dissociating from being spider-woman. each chapter breaks the identity down a bit more. now, she's not sure what she is.

mattea murdock is a supporting character in spider-punk's miniseries; she's his world's daredevil. however given that comics-punk and movie-punk's worlds are vastly different, i didn't want to get too into depth. movie punk is a londoner from 1978; it wouldn't make sense for him to have an american peer group. anyway, mattea's a drummer, and in his comic hobie suggests she and gwen, his friend by that point, play together. within the bounds of this fic, she at the minimum lets her use her drumset.

gwen crying: this is a gwiles assassination fic, but it's the ship i have beef with. gwen would be upset about breaking up her friendship over it.

those watches canonically have microphones and scanners on them. makes you wonder if they can be turned on remotely.

again, gwen and margo are not close. she has to have a limited presence as a result. but she does matter to miles's mostly-offscreen plotline, and her little microarc in atsv was great, so i wanted it here in some capacity.

"two loose threads that are all the more frayed" .... look. a relationship between gwen and miles is bad for their characters.

comics-hobie's band is called 'the spider-slayers' ..... or the spider-band, depending on the issue i guess.

"if gwen had been shown this future a year ago..." i don't like the ship, but i acknowledge the chemistry in this version; i can buy gwen being hung up on miles during her year alone, because he was that first other spider she met. if they never lost contact, i think they would have gotten together and been high school sweethearts. and if they did spend that year apart, but joined the society at the same time, the same is true.

but they didn't. gwen spent five months minimum hanging out with other spider-people, getting close to pav and hobie. why would she still be hung up on miles when she knows them better at this point? she and miles knew each other existed for three days, but probably spent a grand total of fifteen hours tops actually interacting. long enough to develop a crush, but not fall in love. and absolutely nothing in comparison to the months gwen spent with pav and especially hobie.

the in universe reason is that gwen's stunted emotionally. and if she's stunted, getting with miles can't help her grow. it'll just keep her in that same space even longer.

the out of universe reason reeks of 'the writers need gwen to be into miles, so they won't allow her to move on. she can't develop attachments to any other people, she can't progress in her plotlines. she can only tread water until miles laps her and allows her to swim after him.'

anyway. 'she blew it up.' at this point gwen's realizing that the only meaningful choices she can make are ones with negative consequences. also commentary on the tendency of the writers to scrub out gwen's less sympathetic actions. let the female character do the shitty thing.

no clue how far jess is into her pregnancy in canon. i figured now was about time for her to have the baby though, since she was visibly pregnant when gwen met her, and it's been six months since then.

earth-8 gwen canonically has brunch with other spider-women from other dimensions. just not jess.

spider-babysitting: what it felt like the comics were doing by cramming charlotte and max into gwen's storylines. the undercurrent has an unironic 'see how cute the spider-kids are? how smart and spunky and talented? wouldn't you hate it if they didn't exist, gwen? better go make them!' vibe that disgusts me.

who else is terrified gwen will have to meet her potential alternate future kids in btsv, and this shit'll repeat itself?

comics-gwen had an interesting vibe with kaine, one of peter's clones. both have a lot in common regarding being considered a replacement/copy of a 616 character. the same's probably true with ben, so i added that here. however, gwen being 16 isn't gonna be too interested in relating to him.

in the comics, em jay and glory grant are a couple. they are constantly breaking up and getting back together. idk if their film counterparts are, but i want it, so i'm including it.

and since in the movie it seems like gwen's really just part of the band and not the friend group, she pleads neutral.

randy robertson is a pal of the band during high school.

gwen and miles have to avoid each other for a while. they're teens who just went through an emotional unbreakup, and that's gonna have consequences on their friend group.

miles's offscreen for most of the rest of this fic. i still wanted to leave some suggestions as to what he's up to, and wanted to nod at his group-- peter b, who's mentoring him again (and using him for babysitting). the other mileses, because i can't not see him wanting to talk to them (perfect miles included, which'll come back). margo, because their little moment in atsv was great and i think they'd get along very well. and pav, who claims neutrality in the gwen-miles fallout.

hobie does too, but miles doesn't see it that way. as great as the potential for a mentorship to develop there is, at the end of the day, hobie knows gwen better, and any fifteen year old boy who just had his heart stomped on by his crush and thinks another guy is involved would not be interested in hanging out with him.

gwen as the center of the group: salt time! i hate how the fandom treats pav and hobie as Miles's Friends. they are, but that was gwen's friend group first. she's the one at the center, not him. it's a change to the typical only-girl-in-the-guy-group-is-only-tolerated-by-the-love-interest's-friends-bc-she's-his-gf dynamic that people sure did totally revert to.

and gwen being fearful about being replaced is indicative of her mindset. she's a gwen; it's in the narrative that she's swapped out for another girl. it follows that she's afraid miles will just trade out her for margo.

"everyone would agree about how horrible her fate was" look. gwen living and being spider-man's girlfriend isn't better than her dying. she's still giving up her life for his narrative. but the general fandom/audience don't seem to mind that.

hobie's tinkering will come back.

so will gwen having her shoulder dislocated.

notes on trans gwen:

gwen's trans coding in the film is one of the best new additions to this version of her. in the comics, she is cis, but has a lot of queer subtext, but nothing official yet, barring a 'meaningful look' between a tangential gwen variant and an mj, and an obviously censored queer romance between gwen goblin and her mj in an alternate world. hopefully we'll get there someday.

the trans allegory here is used beautifully.

in terms of the fic, i thought it'd be interesting to explore the ramifications of gwen choosing to be a girl, and still choosing it while knowing the consequences.

but first she has to consider recloseting herself. there's no way she wouldn't at this point. and detransition is no different from denying her spider-senses or going through with the comphet.

also i have a headcanon for the timeline of gwen's transition which was used for this fic. gonna go ahead and dump it here.

so first of all, to state the obvious, gwen was raised and socialized as a boy for her entire childhood. it's canon that she played with action figures as a kid, and she holds her drumsticks like she was classically trained, so she'd have learned that in music class, where drums are typically a 'boy' instrument.

in my mind, gwen came out formally at around 11/12, in early middle school, right around when her mother died.

given the recent loss, her father was a lot more open-minded about it. because look: gwen's dad is a christian cop, and if her being spider-woman is an allegory for transness, then he probably wasn't thrilled when he first learned that she was trans either. having gwen as his only family left would've put things in perspective for him. so: he decides to accept it, but not without a lot of caveats.

caveats like: you need to behave like a girl if you want to be one. no more drumming, you're going to dance class. grow your hair out, and dress feminine, with lots of pink. no more action figures. (... and, some aspect of your birth name will remain in your legal one. hence, the middle name maxine.)

the family lost the forest hills house and moved to chelsea in particular because george figured it would be a better place for gwen.

by the time gwen's 13, when she's bitten by the spider, she's already publicly identifying as a girl. she's got her name changed, is going by she/her, is painting her nails, growing out her hair, and a ballet dancer.... and, longtime childhood friend peter parker has a crush on her that she has mixed feelings about.

i imagine around then's when the medical transition starts.

by 15, when she meets miles, she passes as a girl.

when she joins the society at 16, she's made some progress in her medical transition, but hasn't had any surgeries. i get the sense that her dad wouldn't be cool with that.

but since nueva york's medicine is a hundred years ahead of whatever we have now, and probably free through the society, and combined with the super-healing factor, i imagine gwen goes for it. it's a way to get a little control over her situation and, as someone still sorting through how much of what's traditionally 'feminine' she wants and how much is imposed on her, she goes for everything. (the gwen at the end of this fic doesn't regret it, but probably would've transitioned differently in hindsight.)

so by the time we catch up to her in this fic, she's had and fully healed from top and bottom surgery and the hormones she's getting are different from the ones available today so they were a lot more efficient in a short amount of time. six years of progress in six months for a girl who's already six years deep into transitioning.

... as for the uterus, a few things:

1) it's a way to worldbuild nueva york's futuristic medical technology. why can't medical science 100 years from now be capable of growing and implanting new organs? and if it is... logically that includes reproductive organs. a natural extension of that technology would be incorporating it into gender affirmation surgery.

2) it's a part of the Gender Theming in this fic. society (and therefore the spider-society) treats fertility as the ultimate sign of True Womanhood. gwen not being able to get pregnant would be regarded as a flaw to be fixed. her not wanting to get pregnant would be too. (note jess's reaction. she's a woman who does want to be a mother, not being able to empathize with or understand why gwen doesn't feel the same) and gwen sticking to her guns about it, despite the stigma, is another major step in figuring out what gender means to her. fertility doesn't have to have anything to do with femininity if you don't want it to.

3) spider-gwen (gwen stacy in general, tbh; anytime a gwen variant has kids, it just feels off. case in point, earth 8) isn't a character with any maternal interests or instincts. it's not because she's infertile, or emotionally closed off, or traumatized, or hasn't found the right guy yet. she simply doesn't want to be a mother. for some reason people, men in particular, have trouble believing this about women, fictional AND real. no surprise that the first chance brian michael bendis got, he wrote a Perfect Future for gwen where she pumps out miles's spiderbabies. ugh.

4) aside from the gross misunderstanding of spider-gwen's character, there's a more insidious side to gwen-8's status as a mother: it traps her with miles forever. people, men in particular, really suck at perceiving women, real AND fictional, as people in general and that perception walks off a cliff when they become mothers. in fiction, it's very common for female characters to stop being characters and start being Mothers who take a backseat in stories they used to be the center of. it's especially bad in comics.

you know damn well the second gwen gets pregnant with Miles's Babies, she'll have to have them, and suddenly be written with a case of mommybrain that'll last forever. if gwiles date, they can break up; if they marry they can divorce; but if gwen gets pregnant, she'll have to stay with him forever, she'll immediately be demoted to the role of Miles's Kids' Mother and she'll never be her own person with her own stories again. and if she ever gets away from him, she'll be demonized-- if she takes the kids, she'll be hated. if she leaves them, she'll be hated (and the kids'll inevitably keep showing up to guilt her and drag her back to their father). by making gwiles parents in earth-8, bendis basically babytrapped gwen (... and wrote miles into the kind of guy who would do that to a woman he 'loves').

the spider-society's absolutely gearing up to do that to gwen here. she's just not entirely cognizant of that yet.

gwen goes to mumbattan

within this fic's timeline, miles's first alternate dimension was mumbattan, like the film. unlike the film, gwen just took him there to show him what it was like to jump dimensions right after he joined.

gwen meeting gayatri was one of the big reasons for this fic. bullshit that atsv introduces her and gwen both knows the gwen curse and does nothing when gayatri's in danger on that bridge.

gayatri singh is a model; you can see her face on billboards in the background during the mumbattan sequence.

wendy. another peter pan reference, along with gwen's group being a bunch of lost boys. and a play on hobie's nickname for her.

new amsterdam; if mumbattan's new york in this world, what's nyc?

gayatri's an original creation for the film. she's got the g.s. initials, the captain dad, the first-love status, yet she's a model, like mj usually is. interesting hybrid.

'the future looks good on her' is a line from catherynne valente's refrigerator monologues, written in response to gwen's death in the amazing spider-man 2

in the comics, gwen has such a big female support system. the mary janes are her friends, aunt may is a mother figure, jessica is her mentor, cindy is her friend... and none of that is in the film. the mjs are just a gig, and betty (65a gwen's roommate) is the first to jump at the chance to replace her; peter was her only childhood friend. jess is strict and manipulative. she has no female friends, and all the people she confides in and has positive relationship with are guys. i hate that. i wanted gwen to get to have at least one female friendship in this fic. gayatri was the right fit.

comics gwen is always interacting with her alternate selves. she's compelled to find them. it's such an important part of her narrative that i just find... odd that atsv totally ignores. not here though!

at this point, gwen just wants to be a teenage girl again before she dies.

gwen being trans-coded redeemed the ballerina addition for me; it changes the context from 'we're taking this punkish ambiguously-queer girl and femmeing her up for the mainstream audience as we introduce her as a love interest to miles/obviously as The Girl Hero she needs to have a graceful appearance and fighting style' to 'a trans girl went into ballet to access the kind of femininity reserved only for ballerinas, and once she got what she needed from it, she let it go.' more agency, and the subversiveness is back.

meera jain is from pav's comics. so is habi oberoi, the harry osborn. i'm assuming meera's still a party girl, just not a model in this version. also, ref to it taking a tragedy to get meera to grow up = that tragedy's gonna be gayatri's death. that's how mj matures.

hobie's probably the person who did gwen's hair in canon.

selfishness is a thread that'll pick up again soon. yes, it was selfish to turn down miles's feelings and not want to contribute to his narrative. there's also nothing wrong with that. why does the female character always have to give up her autonomy to support the guy's story?

spider-man india's doc ock does have six arms.

adjustment to canon: to accommodate gwen's narrative, everything happens slower. instead of shit popping off the first day miles joins, it takes a few months. his arc's still happening (vital that gwen not be his motivation, just as miles is not hers), just offscreen. hence, saving captain singh. in the context of this fic, singh dies in a confrontation with ock, not the spot; and gwen isn't in the fight at all, nor is gayatri. and miles in mumbattan is a problem because spiders are not permitted to fight each others' canon villains, only anomalies. ergo, the interference is still a huge faux pas.

presumably miles gets chewed out the same, but in the fic, gwen is not there.

the very sapphic vibe of gwen and gayatri's interactions is on purpose. comics-gwen is so clearly queer, and movie-gwen, while being trans-coded, lacks the sapphic interactions of her predecessor. i'd like to restore them. and to bridge that gap, movie-gwen's not entirely aware that she's into girls yet.

everything goes to shit

at this point gwen still thinks she'll die and that the narrative is unbeatable; but she is starting to look for ways to rebel within its limits.

and she does come to the very important conclusion that she should be able to save herself.

the train sequence was pretty much unoutlined. it's one of my favorites.

turning point here: gwen does not want to die, even if it means sacrificing herself. she doesn't want to placate the web of life and destiny, and she likes telling it to fuck off.

the pav conversation

spider-gwen isn't a savior so much as she's a destroyer. she kills peter parker, she isn't particularly great at saving people, and her mere presence challenges the idea that gwen has to die AND that she can't have her own narrative. it's... odd that the movies don't seem to understand that gwen is just as necessary in breaking canon as miles. hopefully btsv gets it, but i'm leaning towards no.

the fandom's gone over this elsewhere but the theory that gayatri knows pav is spider-man and is playing naive is fun. i like it. another ripple in the web.

gwen's decided to seek and save herself, but she's still putting gayatri in a box, lying to her, keeping important information from her, treating her like an object to obtain in her narrative. she needs a wake-up call, and this is it.

and if gayatri's a gwen, she'd hate being shut out of her own narrative. so this friendship was always gonna blow up.

gwen gets to be selfish, but she also has to reap the consequences of being selfish: ruining a potential friendship with gayatri, not at all realizing that hobie and pav have their own dynamic.

it's interesting that hobie and pav represent the two halves of miles-- the subversive, brilliant boy with a connection to the prowler and an intimate bond with gwen, and the green spider-man with an optimism and ease that hasn't been jaded yet. it's important to note that they are also their own people, and reducing them to that to imply that gwen is only friends with them because she was using them as miles replacement goldfish reduces everyone. especially gwen, because surprise-surprise, she can care about people who are not miles!

lady spider is from the steampunk universe. hard to imagine that the two guys who hate the british government would enjoy being around a literal victorian.

one of pav's few confirmed traits in the film is his ability to 'read' people. honestly i think he has it so the writers can hamfist in some "romantic tension" comments, but it's an interesting angle to his character. also refreshing that the girl isn't the empathetic one.

the fandom's himbofied him, but it's important to remember that pavitr is very smart. he has good instincts, and is tapped into the group's dynamics. also stands to reason that he can use his charisma to manipulate.

comic miles has canonically written romantic fanfic starring himself and his friends. pav has that vibe too.

miles's suspension: his arc continues off-page. in this fic, he isn't imprisoned or kicked out, because he needs to come back with the society later (excused via peter b pulling rank to save him). but he's still chewed out for interfering with a canon event, and his motivation is still saving someone's captain dad. difference is, here he's a member of the society already, his dad makes captain much later, and that triggers him into intervening-- suddenly his death feels immediate. therefore, desperation ensues.

pav being a gwiles shipper is a fun feature of his character... but it's not so fun if gwen doesn't want to be with him.

but he IS right that gwen and miles need to talk. they're both grappling with the restrictions of their narratives, and both have what it takes to break out.

gwobie glasses on: so if pav immediately susses out romantic tension between gwen and miles, one has to reason that him insisting on gwen clearing the air about hobie means something is or was going on between them too.

pav's a one-girl kind of guy. he probably doesn't get how to deal with a relationship anarchy situation. gwiles is easier to understand, not just for him, but for everyone else.

miles's dadsaving anxiety is compounded because he thinks that gwen believes he's a bad spider-man. he's still not quite at the right conclusion yet. since pav is in contact with him, he will be soon.

pavitr prabhakar is an alternate peter parker, and a spider-man. he is gwen's type. if she were the gwen of itsv, the gwen who could have been happy with miles if they'd stayed in contact after she went home, it stands to reason she might have also crushed on him.

pav doesn't seem to know about canon events. gwen and hobie do; ergo, they've been keeping them from him, probably to protect him. which was likely gwen’s idea, given how she keeps things from miles in canon. (… and hobie went along with it, so on some level he agrees that it’s necessary, or his soft spot for her is just that strong)

and pav, like any spider-man, is too optimistic and scrappy to believe he can't save gayatri. this issue runs far deeper than just miles; it's all of them.

people in the fandom have this tendency to neglect spider-man in favor of pavitr. yes, he’s sweet and romantic and goofy, but he’s also extremely smart and effective as a hero. dude joined the elites just a few weeks into his time as a hero.

learning that gwen fully intended to die freaks pav out. everything past that point is him trying to deescalate a situation he's judging as serious.

soulmate salt: that theory running through the fandom that the reason why gwen senses that miles is in another dimension and is drawn to him at visions is proof that they're soulmates who are meant for each other, with a destined love.... with all due respect that sucks. if the spiderverse movies are all about getting to choose your fate and define your own narrative, ending on a note of 'well, you're stuck together because of destiny' undoes all that.

and gwen being soulmates with a boy who's destined to either get her killed or totally consume her narrative and turn her into a side character in his own? in every single universe? fuuuuuuck that.

and not being able to hate him? always being doomed to love him, even when being near him only ever hurts her? terrifying.

gwen webs pav because he brings up jess. if he mentioned miles she would have run, if it was hobie she’d have stayed. but its jess, so she hits the panic button.

and pav brings up jess because he’s a fifteen year old who was essentially told by a friend he’s been worried about for months that she’s more or less contemplating suicide. he’s calling the adult who’s supposed to be caring for her.

that danger of falling into villainy is a constant for spider-people. gwen in particular spends her entire latour run in the comics right on that edge. movie-gwen is at that point in her development. (and there's really no worse person to talk to in this situation than pav, who's never had experience with that kind of temptation and therefore cannot understand it).

gwen still isn't ready to see selfishness as anything other than a negative. that plus her wrecking the narrative means she is very much entertaining whether she's about to turn into a villain.

that was the original version of this fic: a story about a gwen who concludes there's no way for her and spider-man to coexist, and becomes a hunter of spider-men whose gwens are still alive in order to tip the balance in their favor.

65a gwen killing peter is what fuels her reluctance towards killing and her empathy for her villains. 65b gwen never did that-- so that violence is still in her, and she hasn't seen its consequences yet. therefore it's a lot harder to resist. 65a gwen believes she's a bad person; 65b gwen falls into that line of thinking here.

gwen officially loses faith in the idea that she's Not Like Other Gwens. she's not more special than them. she's not more incorruptible.

gwen contemplating killing pav was something i hadn't planned on, but it came out while writing the scene. hopefully her managing to shut that impulse down makes it work. she's able to pull herself back from villainy just in time.

and finally, gwen destroying the wall with her fists is her trying to get out all that unspent violence she would have given to her peter. venting the rage, but in a way that avoids harming anyone but herself.

end quote

from seanan mcguire's ghost-spider run, the funeral issue. again, i can't recommend these comics enough, or this run enough, or this issue enough.

in context, gwen in this chapter is at one of her lowest points emotionally. she's blown up two friendships, potentially fucked up someone else's narrative, and she thinks she might be becoming a villain.

#fanfic #arachnophobia fic

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bepractical · 1 year

Text

Daredevil: Season 1, Episode 1, Part 2

I’m back with part 2 of the season 1, episode 1 recap of Netflix’s Daredevil. Sorry for the lengthy delay! There’s a lot to get into.

In part 1, Little Matthew Murdock went one round with a giant truck full of HAZARDOUS MATERIALS and lost. We met his dad, his priest, his favorite recurring criminal, and his best friend for life, Foggy Nelson. We were also introduced to Karen Page, the prettiest murder suspect in Manhattan, and James Wesley, Fisk’s harbinger on the street. You can find part 1 here.

Now it’s time to spring Karen from the joint, pull on those black jammies, meet our roster of second tier bad guys, and finally get the band together.

We pick up sometime after Karen’s scream for help. Matt and Foggy are back at the station trying to strong arm the shady detectives into just releasing her already. They threaten to plaster Karen’s beautiful, tv-ready face all over the news until she’s set free and they get some answers. One possible question, how did the security cameras by Karen’s cell turn off right as all this went down?

It’s here that we gain another little nugget of insight into the mind of Matthew Murdock. Turns out, he’s kind of a shit. Foggy revs up the sass with the shady detectives but Matt brings that little something extra that makes you worry they’ll punch him in the face or, you know, shoot him.

Shady Detective 1: I’ll call the ADA. But you take that tone with me again, I don’t care if you’re blind, I’ll kick the shit out of you.

Like that.

It’s hot.

The detectives leave, and Matt and Foggy puzzle over why they’re willing to release Karen so easily. Matt posits that there was additional evidence at the scene that pointed to another suspect, evidence that would have only been released if Karen was formally charged.

This tiny moment feels indicative of some of the future conflict between Matt and Foggy. I’m gonna make a mental note and we’ll get back to it. Probably. For now I’ll say that Matt is quick to consider/recognize possible corruption in the justice system and Foggy shakes off the idea.

At Nelson & Murdock, Foggy makes Karen some hot tea and the boys ease her into a gentle interrogation. Turns out Karen doesn’t know who is trying to kill her, but she does know why.

Karen’s story, round 2: Union Allied Construction, Karen’s former employer, has been rolling in dough due to their work on the reconstruction of Hell’s Kitchen post-alien attack. Karen was accidentally sent a hinky file that showed they were laundering money through the company pension fund. She told her boss, he lied like a rug, so she reached out to Daniel the dead guy, who worked for the legal department. They met at a bar to talk, they were drugged and Daniel was murdered.

Karen freaks. Either Matt and Foggy are with Union Allied or she’s going to get them killed. Foggy awkwardly comforts her like the sweetheart he is while Matt offers to take her home until they’re sure she’s safe.

At his apartment, Matt gives Karen a grand tour and we get our first glimpse of the reason a pro-bono lawyer can afford an enormous corner apartment in NYC.

Matt gives Karen a dry shirt. There’s an odd moment where she changes in front of him that I think is meant to serve as another reminder to the audience that, yes, Matt IS actually blind, but it just struck me as awkward and titillation for titillation’s sake. Very curious to hear other people’s thoughts on this.

The two chat about Matt’s blindness. Karen is super nosey, as is her wont, but charming. She asks about the accident and if Matt remembers what it was like to see. Matt takes off his glasses, in what may be the only time he does so around Karen until season 3.

Matt: You know, I'm supposed to say I don't miss it. That's what they teach you in trauma recovery. Define yourself by what you have, value the differences, make no apologies for what you lack. And it's all true, for the most part, but it doesn't change the fact that I'd give anything to see the sky one more time.

Karen watches Matt, completely mesmerized. She barely has time to process when Matt puts his glasses back on; he has some questions for her now.

Let’s take a beat to discuss this scene. The way I interpret it, this whole conversation is about Matt teeing Karen up for more questioning. He knows she’s lying about something, so he takes the time to make her comfortable before poking holes in her story. At the same time, he is disarmed by her questions, her genuine interest. Karen is an incredibly genuine, empathetic person. She’s also curious. She wants to know everything about everyone, it is an incredibly consistent character trait of hers (though this feels like the last time she’s so blatantly nosey with Matt- is that possible???). Matt, who’s about to start his own little fishing expedition, can’t help but respond to that. He answers her earnestly because Matt is nothing if not earnest.

Matt stands and turns toward Karen. He’s Lawyer Matt now. He lays out his hypothesis, an addendum to her latest story. It goes like this: Karen was left alive when Daniel the dead guy was killed because she still has something the people who killed him wanted. A copy of the pension file.

Karen watches Matt like a mouse caught in a trap, but when Matt asks her outright if she has the file she denies it. He listens to her heartbeat and knows that she’s lying, but he lets it go for now.

On the roof of Union Allied, this season’s bad guys hold a meet & greet. Owlsley is complaining, his primary character trait. Madame Gao and Nobu are side-by-side while the Russian brothers prowl around in a little huddle. They’re waiting for Fisk, but they get Wesley instead. He extends his apologies to all of them, specifically Madame Gao. I don’t remember the extent of Fisk’s Hand knowledge. Does he know she’s a big time, immortal player?

The Russians are pissed, Vladimir in particular. They’re not interested in dealing with a flunky. How can they trust a dude who won’t show his face? One that Wesley insists on calling ‘my employer’ while hushing anyone who tries to say his name like Fisk is freaking Voldemort?

They start to storm away in a huff but Wesley calls them back. He asks about them ‘being late on the cargo totals.’ I’m gonna remember this moment, cause there will be a time a few episodes from now when I’m briefly inclined to sympathize with Fisk and think that maybe he could do some good in the city. Dude is knee deep in human trafficking. THE CARGO IS PEOPLE. FISK IS NOT A GOOD GUY. Make a note.

The Russians tell them about the man in the black mask, which is a tough sell, to say the least, especially when they get to the part where he took down all their men using only his fists. Owlsley snarks at them.

Owlsley: Heroes and their consequences are why we have our current opportunities.

He thinks vigilantes are good for business, that they contribute to lawlessness.

Wesley asks for more details. He and Gao are surprised to hear the man in black didn’t try to take the victims for himself. Everyone bickers for a while, about the man in black, about Union Allied, about another mobster named Prohaszka. I’m delighted that neither the villains nor Matt realize how thoroughly he, a single dude, is messing with their business.

At Matt’s apartment, Karen sneaks out. Matt is sleeping on the couch and hears her but doesn’t try to stop her. He wants to know what she’s hiding.

She runs to her apartment in the rain (totally doable in Hell’s Kitchen). After pausing to stare at Daniel the dead guy’s blood stain, she grabs a USB she hid in the ceiling. She breathes a sigh of relief. Then someone sneaks up on her in the dark apartment. Unlike Park Guy, this Assassin Guy does not mess around. He immediately starts slamming her head into the wall and it’s all really scary and violent. He picks up the USB and pockets it and is just about to go after Karen with a knife when Matt appears.

Fuck yeah. I love a sneaky hero who appears out of the shadows. It affords many opportunities to fist pump when they show up.

Matt and Assassin Guy go to town. He’s a much better fighter than the dudes Matt fought by the river. There’s a lot of tossing around and at one point Matt parkours off Karen’s wall. Once again I attempted to get some quality screen shots but they all looked like this.

Yeah.

Anyway, they finally manage a synchronized swan dive out the window. It is by pure dumb luck that Karen’s apartment is on a lower floor and there’s an incredibly convenient dumpster beneath her window, which breaks their fall.

Our sweet Matty is down for the count. We cut to a flashback of Little Matt, who fell asleep at his kitchen table doing homework. He’s wearing enormous sunglasses, so you know this is post-accident. Daddy Jack finds him there and wakes him up, encourages him to finish his work. Jack is beat to hell. He wants Matt to take his education seriously, so he doesn’t end up like him. Jack sits down and lets Matt explore his injuries.

The Jack in the past and the Jack that lives in Matt’s head both tell him the same thing. “Come on Matty, get to work.”

Cut to Matt on the ground, spitting up blood. He pushes himself off the ground and immediately gets into it with Assassin Guy. Some of the fight is in slow mo, which is used to give us some idea of how Matt’s powers work, how he’s able to anticipate where people will be, or what weapons are nearby. At this point it seems like he’s mostly dependent on sound.

The two tussle for a minute until Matt finally gets the upper hand and strings the guy up with a chain around his neck. He collapses to the ground and tries to catch his breath. Karen’s face is all of us.

She goggles at Matt, who picks himself up again and rummages through Assassin Guy’s pockets for the USB. He promises to get it to the police, but Karen convinces him they can’t be trusted. As a compromise they leave Assassin Guy tied up with the USB in an envelope labeled EDITOR outside the office of the Bulletin. Okay.

The next morning, presumably, the story has broken.

Wesley drives around in the back seat of a car and discusses the coverup with Fisk on speaker. It involves killing a bunch of patsies, namely Karen’s old boss, Park Guy and Assassin Guy. The main takeaways from this conversation- 1) Fisk is concerned about how Assassin Guy was subdued (it’s Matt!) 2) Fisk is interested in Nelson & Murdock, since they represented Karen (also Matt!). Again, Matt is messing with their business on multiple fronts.

At Nelson & Murdock, Karen serves the boys a thank you lasagna using her grandma’s secret recipe (the secret ingredient is virtue!). It’s weird. However, the three of them are adorable. Foggy mentions the ‘nut in the mask’ who saved Karen, Karen staunchly defends him, Matt twiddles his thumbs and changes the subject. VERY subtle. The big takeaway here is that Karen offers to help them set up the firm in lieu of payment for their services. I don’t think they bring it up again but I sure hope she got a whopper of a settlement from Union Allied.

Now, the end of episode montage. Matt goes to Daddy Jack’s gym, Fogwell’s, after hours to work out. He wraps his hands and starts in on a heavy bag. The flyer from his dad’s last fight still hangs on the wall.

The scene cuts between Matt punching and the following: Owlsley cleaning out the pension file; Park Guy’s daughter coming home to find his dead body; Assassin Guy dead, swinging from a sheet in his cell; Madame Gao’s heroin operation; Nobu looking over some blueprints; and Turk Barrett back on the streets and checking out some guns.

A quick note about Nobu. What we’re seeing here

is Elena Cardenas’ tenement building, the future site of Midland Circle and the current home to some sweet, immortality-giving dragon bones. Look at that smile!

The last cut takes us to the street, where a man is being dragged out of his car by the Russians and beaten up, and his cute little curly haired moppet abducted.

On a building somewhere in Hell’s Kitchen, Matt is listening to the city.

He filters through the noise and zeroes in on the kid’s screams for help. Then he pulls down his mask, ready to get to work.

And that’s it! The first episode! Action is hard to screen cap and recap! Nonetheless a great episode and excellent intro to the show. I’ll be back, hopefully in a reasonable amount of time, with episode 2.

#daredevil #matt murdock #foggy nelson #karen page #a bunch of bad guys

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hollandorks · 2 years

Note

Yes! I'm so excited for Daredevil! He was a character I grew up with along side spiderman

It's so cool to see more people write for him, he's a character I love to see more fan fiction for. Totally existed for this upcoming fic! 🥳💖😈

PS finally caught up with your Batman fic I can't wait for more chapters! 🦇🦇🦇

I love the Netflix Daredevil show, it's one of my top three favorite shows of all time! However the first two seasons aired while I was in college so I never had time for fanfic 😂 I'm loving seeing it get popular again! (Obviously since it's taking over my brain 😅)

And thanks!! I promise I haven't forgotten about the Batman fic, and hopefully I'll work on it this weekend ❤️

#asks

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shhh-no-ones-home · 3 years

Text

death march matt Murdock x reader

+++++++++

this one has been in the drafts for a bit and i finally finished it so i hope you guys enjoy. writing has been slow recently as i havent had much free time and am still trying to rewatch all the netflix marvel series. but i am still working on requests and stories that ive had started for about a month so hopefully the rest will be out soon, along with some frank castle stories now that ive reached the first season of the punisher

prompts: "You need sleep." "I get sleep" "getting knocked unconscious does not count as sleep"

song: saints of the blood by black veil brides

tag list: @cynic-spirit @juniebugg

+++++++++

i sat back on my knees and groaned. matt and i were both covered in blood and he was still writhing around on the ground. but the men around us that were out made me a little proud of all that we'd done. it had been weeks of tracking them down, taking out one ninja at a time until we found were they were all hiding.

"i need a vacation."

he noted as he got to his knees and i laughed.

"you and me both D."

he laughed back as he stood, almost doubling over as he clutched his side. i was quick to stand then, helping him, steadying him.

"whoa, hold up there daredevil, i saw that last punch. broken ribs isn't gonna get you anywhere."

he inhaled sharply.

"and what do you suggest i do?"

i snorted.

"you know the answer to that already."

he shook his head as we limped towards the door together.

"yeah, i shouldn't have asked."

°°°°°°°°°

when we got back to the apartment i was quick to get him to the couch. every move earned a hiss from deep in his chest as i tried to get his jacket off. i figured his ribs were broke but i was more worried about the cuts and stab wounds.

"alright human x-ray, what's the damage?"

he sat quietly for a moment and listened. then he closed his eyes and sighed.

"what do you think?"

i touched his side lightly.

"oh yeah, they're definitely broken. but there's something else. what is it?"

he blinked slowly before wincing as he tried to resituate himself on the couch.

"the cut below my rib is almost deep enough for it to come out."

i made a gross face.

"so maybe this time we really should get you to a hospital."

"no."

he said quickly and i sent him a look.

"matt, if i don't there's a good chance you'll die."

"no hospital."

i bit my tongue as he laid back.

"fine, ill do the best i can but if you if you start fading on me im doing it. this job is bigger than me, and Claire for that matter."

his jaw tightened.

"what would we even tell them? you're not in any better shape."

his breathing was shaky and staggered. i looked to my knuckles on my right hand as i held the cloth to his open wound. at this point i couldn't tell what was my blood, what was his blood, or what was the blood from the men we'd fought in the back of that abandoned warehouse. and then i looked to my left hand, god it was so much worse. my first two fingers were for sure broken, my wrist not in any better shape, and i had a gash almost the length of the back my arm.

"ill think of something, but right now we need to focus on getting you out of this outfit and keeping you from bleeding out. i don't need the paramedics figuring out what we both do in our free time."

°°°°°°°°°

as i sat in the chair beside matt i tried my hardest not to fall asleep. the beep of his heart monitor was very lulling and the morphine they had given me didn't help. it was a little amusing though to look at the two of us; we practically looked like mummies with how wrapped we were. my left hand was broken in eight places, my wrist in two. the cut on my arm was deep enough to need stitches near my elbow but nowhere else, thank god.

"y/n."

i heard him say quietly and i sat up abruptly, no longer tired.

"im here matt, its okay."

i said softly, taking his hand in mine.

"where are we?"

he asked and i let out a laugh.

"metro general."

he deadpanned.

"i thought i told you-"

"i know i know, but i was losing you. i kept checking your heartbeat but you were losing too much blood. and i couldn't live with myself if id let you die. not after all that hard work."

i said the last bit with a hint of amusement and luckily he smiled back.

"what did you tell them?"

i let out a nervous laugh.

"i told them we were walking home through a bad part of town and got jumped, pushed into a back alley by a couple guys, large and in masks. i told them that they all looked the same, same height, same clothes, and only one of them spoke; that he demanded we give him all that we had on us. i told them that you tried to be brave and push me out of the way and that they didn't like that; that they beat you up, attacked you, then attacked me and once they got me on the ground stomped on my hand and ran."

he nodded solemnly; rubbing his thumb over the back of my right hand. the bruises were prominent still, cuts deep to the bone that i hadn't let anyone see since we'd been here the last ten hours.

"that's one hell of a story."

"as far as they know it was one hell of a fight. but you're still my hero; stupid and stubborn, but still a hero."

he smiled, almost laughing but groaning in pain and rolling his head back against the pillows.

"hey, take it easy, you need to heal, You need sleep."

"I get sleep."

he said matter-of-factly and i sent him a look.

"matt, getting knocked unconscious does not count as sleep."

he looked to the ceiling and swallowed hard.

"look, ill call foggy and Karen and tell them you were awake and they can visit later but for now you need all the rest you can get. you lost a lot of blood, and i know you, you'll want to get back out there as soon as possible. but for right now i think its okay to let the others handle the city for a bit. ill talk to Trish, see what she can do with Jessica's help. you know Danny would be willing to do something."

he shook his head.

"no, don't, its fine, I'm fine."

"Matthew, you have three broken ribs, a punctured lung, and you almost got sliced all the way through. I'm calling at least one of your super friends to take the mantle for a couple weeks. hells kitchen survived over a year without the mask, I'm sure it can survive a little longer. just until you're healed."

he sighed, closing his eyes again.

"i hate when you're right."

i smiled, squeezing his hand lightly.

"if that were true, you wouldn't have married me."

i stood up and kissed his forehead.

"Mrs. Murdock, the voice of reason."

he said softly and i leaned down and kissed him properly.

"keeping the love of my life alive one day at a time."

"thank you."

i studied him for a moment as i stood back up.

"get some sleep, ill be right here when you wake up."

#wattpad #x reader #matt murdock #daredevil #imagines #one shots #marvel #the defenders #338

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goddamnitkastle · 3 years

Text

The Ring

Happy Valentine’s Day!

So I finished my binge watch of the CW’s Nikita and well, I think we all know by now that I just love ripping off scenarios from other media and making Kastle fics. It’s my schtick and I’m gonna run it into the ground.

So here is an unconventional marriage proposal Kastle fic. Honestly this is probably how it would go anyway so it’s not like it’s beyond the realm of reality.

But first I want to give a huge thank you to my beta reader and editor, the amazing @joanofarkansass. This fic was initially, um, rough to put it nicely. But like a fairy godmother, she made it happen with incredible insight and gentle critique. I am literally indebted to you and I cannot thank you enough.

I also want to thank @evilbunnyking for reading the final draft, their awesome support, and catching every misplaced period and comma. Thank you!

And just a heads up, the canon in this is really screwy. Foggy and Karen know that Matt is Daredevil and Daredevil Season 2 is canon but basically just ignore the rest of the Daredevil/The Punisher Netflix/MCU timeline lol. Frank is a free man and clear of all charges here (yes that is unbelievable but just go along with it please and thank you). This is canon divergence borderlining on AU and slightly self indulgent and well, I don’t care ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Enjoy!

Karen pulls up right behind the police cruiser, about a block away from the 15th Precinct. She gets out and knocks on the windshield window, making Detective Sergeant Brett Mahoney jerk his head up at her in fear for a fraction of a second.

But once he sees her he lets out an annoyed sigh and gets out. Karen crosses the front of the cruiser to get out of the street and onto the sidewalk, trying to hide her laughter from scaring Brett.

“What’s got you nervous, Mahoney?” Karen asks as he joins her and pockets his keys.

“What’s got me... oh, you know, about to watch Frank Castle walk out and be a free man. Again.”

“Nelson and Murdock won the case. Unfortunately this was not the sequel to The People vs. Frank Castle that New York City was hoping for.”

“That you were hoping for?” Mahoney cracks, raising an eyebrow at her.

“No. Well, maybe Ellison was hoping for it, but… look I’m just glad he was acquitted and that justice prevailed. It’ll be a more positive ending to write up.”

Mahoney shakes his head and starts walking toward the precinct. Karen follows and falls into his stride.

“Look, I know he didn’t kill that mobster,” Brett starts. “As crazy as that sounds, given his track record. But he gave us a hell of a time when we arrested him…”

“Do you blame him? In the span of two years, he has been charged and put on trial for murder twice,” Karen says pointedly.

“Well, you didn’t hear me say this but… the guys did a great job convincing everyone that Frank Castle was a changed man.”

“He is a changed man, Brett.”

“Believe me Karen, I know. I thought Frank Castle was scary as a man who had nothing to lose. I was wrong. Apparently I needed to deal with Frank Castle when he’s got someone he cares about…”

Now it’s Karen’s turn to jerk her head up at him.

“What did he say?” she asks.

“Nothing incriminating, your reputation is safe... I guess. But it’s all over the man’s face Karen. He really…”

“I know.”

It’s a tense silence but the look Mahoney gives Karen is more perplexed than judgmental.

“Do Nelson and Murdock know?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“Jesus…”

“We kept it quiet for a while but when he was arrested we had to tell them. They’re… slowly coming around to it. Should only take another couple years for them to be sort of okay with us.”

“Yeah I doubt that,” Brett replies sarcastically.

Karen chuckles half heartedly in response.

He quickly sobers up again though. “Well if you’re both happy then… I am glad. You both deserve some happiness after this shit show.”

“Thank you, Brett. That’s really sweet of you.” Karen says, just barely able to hide the emotion in her voice.

“Like I said, you didn’t hear any of this from me. Alright, let’s go get him.”

Just then, the front doors of the precinct building burst open with Matt and Foggy dragging Frank away from a horde of pissed off cops.

“Shit,” Mahoney mutters. He jogs ahead toward the mob with his hands up to stop their hot pursuit.

Karen takes her .380 out of her purse and speed walks toward the commotion. She honestly hopes she’s not gonna have to use it but she’s glad to have the comforting weight of it in her hand. She catches up to Matt and Foggy as they let go of Frank. Matt tilts his head toward her, then lets out a deep sigh.

“Come on Karen, that’s not…” he says as he gestures towards her hand that’s holding her gun.

“It’s just Mahoney, Matt. They’re gonna kill him. We have to help,” Karen insists ardently.

“No, we have to get out of here,” Matt dismisses with a wave of his free hand.

“I’m with Matt on this one, Karen,” Foggy agrees. “You have no idea how lucky we got with this case. And that none of those cops tried to kill him just now.”

“Exactly, because of Brett.” She turns her attention back to Matt, who has his walking stick in a vice grip. “We can’t leave him behind.”

“The cops are just upset. They’d be stupid to try anything. He is their boss, and at the end of the day they have to follow his orders.”

“How can you be sure of that?” Karen argues.

The frustration is palpable between the three of them. Karen just then notices Frank’s silence. She turns to him and takes in his clenched jaw and that trigger finger of his tapping away against his thigh.

“Frank? Are you…”

Just then several loud shouts catch everyone’s attention. Mahoney is on the ground now and a cop has his gun drawn.

“Oh, that’s not…” Foggy gasps.

“Come on Foggy.” Matt grabs Foggy’s arm, leaving Frank and Karen alone.

“Let’s get to the car, Frank. Before this gets a lot worse…”

Frank’s expression had barely changed so when he whips his head toward her she can’t help but take a step back.

“Give me the gun,” Frank commands quickly.

“What? Why?”

“Give me the damn gun, Karen!”

He snatches it from her hands and runs back toward Mahoney and the cops.

“Where are you going?!” Karen shouts incredulously.

“To get your engagement ring!” Frank shouts back.

Karen is stunned and suddenly, the last month comes into focus for her. The jumpiness of his movements whenever she entered a room before he was arrested. His trigger finger tapping away more than usual during the trial. How his bottom lip began to tremble out of nowhere each time she kissed him.

Karen smiles as Frank bolts past Matt and Foggy. He takes on several cops at once, knocking them down like bowling pins. Karen makes her way to the boys as Foggy raises his arms in disbelief while Matt tries to pull him away.

“Unbelievable! Are you kidding me, Castle?!” Foggy yells. “Matt, can’t you do something?”

“I’m in the wrong suit, Foggy.”

“Damn it.”

“Matt is also technically blind Foggy. Do we really want to open that Pandora’s box tonight?” Karen reminds him.

“Come on, let’s get to the car. Looks like we’re gonna have to make an escape. And figure out how we can keep this quiet...” Matt muses.

“We almost got through this damn trial without issue, I swear on the Nelson name…” Foggy groans as he runs his hand over his face.

“Karen, come on,” Matt says as he passes her.

Brett is the last man standing and both men have their guns pointed at each other. Karen is about to join the standoff when Brett holds his hand out and reaches into his back pants pocket. He reveals a ring box. Frank takes it and starts running toward her.

“Go! Go! Go!” Frank hollers at her.

Karen bolts to the car, makes a beeline for the driver’s seat and slams the door shut. Frank joins her a moment later in the passenger seat, flushed pink and his hand wrapped around the ring box.

...

“I’m surprised you didn’t take me to Metro General. Or get us back in that service elevator at the hotel…”

Frank laughs and Karen is relieved that the last 24 hours haven’t deterred Frank.

“Seriously, what was your proposal plan?” She teases as she pokes him in the arm.

“Just... trust me Karen. Okay?”

The Williamsburg Bridge is shadowed by a deep orange sunset as they walk hand in hand. Frank suddenly stops and Karen’s stomach drops. He turns to her, tears in his eyes as he exhales a shaky breath.

Suddenly Karen can’t catch her breath, everything is about to change and she isn’t sure she is ready for it. “Frank, you don’t have to do this…”

“Yes I do. It’s tradition and I’m a traditional man. And the hell I went through to get this ring to you... I want to do this right.”

He gets down on one knee and Karen covers her mouth with her hand. Frank produces the ring box in his hand and opens it. It’s simple; a small, oval diamond on a silver band. It’s perfect.

“Karen. A long time ago now, in some diner, I told you that you had everything with a man that I thought you deserved to be with. I told you to hold onto it, use two hands, and never let go. But the truth was he didn’t deserve you. And I honestly don’t either. But I will spend whatever remaining days I have to be worthy of someone like you. I love you. Karen Page, will you marry me?”

Karen hoists Frank off the ground, holding his face in between her hands. Any doubt she was holding onto is gone now.

“You had me at ‘Give me the damn gun, Karen.’”

They both laugh as Karen holds out her left hand. Frank takes the ring out of the box, caresses her hand before sliding the ring into place. They crash into each other, their hands wrapped around each other’s necks.

“I love you too, Frank Castle,” she says when they finally break apart. She takes his hand as the darkness settles in around them. But the ring doesn’t feel like the weight of her .380. Rather it feels like it has always been there. Like home. And she’ll fight like hell to keep it that way and so will Frank. They’re in this together now.

#kastle #kastle fanfiction #meganerinff #frank castle #karen page #kastlenetwork #joanofarkansass #evilbunnyking #daredevil #the punisher #the ring #This might be my first fic with the entire Hell's Kitchen gang????#Wow only took 30+ fics to get here #Woo!

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marvelvsmarvel · 3 years

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Marvelvsmarvel Year in Review Pt V:

The MCU Farewells

This will be my last Year In Review post for 2020 thank you to those who have stuck with em. As we’re swinging into the new year everybody be safe share some love and kiss this year goodbye!

With all the exciting upcoming Marvel projects coming out to theaters and Disney+, with the new comes throwing out the old and it seems time to finally put some hopes and rumors of past Marvel projects to rest. While I made a separate post about Agents of SHIELD this one is for the Projects left on the cutting room floor. The image above by BossLogic is a concept of Daredevil and Spider-Man (2/3 of Team Red) possibly crossing over someday. Next year marks the end of the 2 year period where Disney can once again use the previously Netflix owned characters: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher. But based on the new slate of shows coming to Disney+ like Moon Knight and She Hulk, it does not appear in the books to rehash these older and frankly grittier stories. Some of these we have already known are done and others we need to significantly put to rest the hope in seeing them reappear:

Agents of SHIELD: Based on the end scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home we know that the MCU is going to be doing something with SWORD. Coulson had made a nice cameo on Captain Marvel but those films will no longer take place in the past. Then based on Randall Park’s FBI Agent Jimmy Woo (originally a SHIELD agent in the comics) its looks like they’re moving on up (literally. To the sky.)

Netflix Defenders: Done but ended well. Doubt we see Iron Fist in Shang Chi or Daredevil in the already over the top Spider-Man Hom3. Most of the series ended with cliffhangers but these being the final seasons at least they all ended better than they started. As for the namesake there was an original Defenders team in the comics of the Hulk, Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, and Namor that could form up sometime down the road.

Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes): His show got cancelled from Hulu before production but there’s at least a script and a lead in Gabriel Luna out there floating in the Multiverse should they want to use him in Doctor Strange or Blade later down the way. But there’s always Johnny Blaze as well.

Inhumans: I know the series sucked (trust me I powered through it). It wasn’t any fault of the cast or the characters themselves. The Inhumans have some great roots in the comics but not nearly enough for the deciding powers to deem important. The Eternals are essentially going to overlap their roles in the MCU.

Cloak and Dagger/The Runaways: Again we’re seeing many new teens pop up like Mz Marvel Kamala Khan, Ironheart Riri Williams, Hawkeye Kate Bishop, etc. so I’m just not sure the need for these teen heroes is quite there and many people didn’t think the Runaways was worth producing at the time anyways.

X-Force: Marvel Studios talked as if they are pushing for this to happen but it’s yet to be confirmed. Deadpool for sure. Do they maintain the original cast as far as Josh Brolin as Cable as well? Mostly questions for the X-Men properties.

New Mutants: I know they confirmed that the film that took forever to come out only to receive critical reviews is considered to be a part of the MCU but remember they said the same of the tv shows and that never proved out. I think any further iterations get recast but maybe they keep one or two like Anya-Taylor Joy’s Magik. That’s the Incredible Hulk treatment maintaining William Hurt’s Thaddeus Ross and now Tim Roth’s Abomination but essentially nothing else including the lead actor.

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violethowler · 4 years

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A Farewell to Agents of SHIELD

I originally wrote this after last year’s San Diego Comic Con to process my reaction to the announcement that Season 7 would be the end of the show. I ended up not doing anything with it, but now that we finally have a start date for the season I wanted to share it now:

On Thursday July 18th, Marvel TV head Jeff Loeb announced that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the first TV show ever released as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, would come to an end following the conclusion of its seventh season in 2020. Despite the unexpectedness of the announcement, the fandom wasn’t completely caught of guard. After the show had moved from the standard 22-episode season to a 13-episode summer season,we were expecting the show to only last a few more years. But that did not make the announcement any less emotional.

For me personally, I was stunned at first. I even let loose the waterworks for a few minutes. After the show was renewed for Season 7 before the sixth season had even aired, I suspected that we would only have one or two more years left with the characters I’ve grown to love. But I still felt overwhelmed by the finality that the show’s ending had been officially confirmed.

Once the shock of the announcement faded, though, I was able to calm myself. It was something that we had all known was in the cards since the Season 7 renewal back in November 2018. To be perfectly honest, I’m pretty sure most of us were surprised the show had even lasted as long as it did.

After the first few episodes when the show premiered back in 2013, critics and comic fans quickly turned from praising the show to harshly criticizing week after week. They all felt that the season’s overarching story arc felt like it was spinning its wheels, and despite the initial expectations of more direct tie ins with the movies and appearances by notable comic characters, the first season felt more like a case-of-the-week show focused on a group of original characters that die-hard comic fans had no inclination to care about.

While those critics and fans bailed on the show over disappointed expectations, those of us who stuck around were rewarded for our patience in the second half of the season, when the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier allowed the show to finally peel back the curtain on the season’s overall mystery and set up an exciting new conflict for the episodes to come.

The reveal that HYDRA had been hiding within S.H.I.E.L.D. for decades, and the spy agency’s subsequent dissolution at the end of the 2014 Captain America film, breathed new life into the show and the characters. The reveal that Grant Ward had been an undercover HYDRA agent all along would drive the conflict for not only the rest of the season, but for future seasons to come.

Despite the boost the HYDRA reveal gave it, by the end of Season 1, we were uncertain whether Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would ever be renewed for a second season. Things had been mostly wrapped up as far as the season’s main arc was concerned, but the last episode had also set up new conflicts and new mysteries that needed to be answered. Fortunately for those dedicated fans, a few weeks later it was announced that the show would be back for at least one more year.

When Season 2 arrived that September, it came with a new direction and energy that kept the story moving along at a brisk pace and avoided unnecessarily prolonging arcs. Now that the writers were no longer hampered by having to avoid spoilers for a major Marvel movie, they had the freedom to spread things out and reveal plot points and mysteries in a more organic way.

After Season 2 ended on two cliffhangers, again we feared that the show would be cancelled. The announcement that the show had been renewed for Season 3 was a relief.

For the last several years, this pattern has persisted, with the fandom constantly fearing the ax of cancellation season after season, but the show still managing to retain a strong enough following to keep coming back. And each season, the show continued to improve itself into one of the best comic book shows on television. It was smart, funny, and self-aware enough to point out when things get ridiculous without ever coming across as insincere.

While Marvel’s live-action series on Netflix like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage all debuted to critical acclaim, I could never get into them the way that everyone around me seemed to. I could see from an objective standpoint why these characters and their stories appealed to people, but there was a spark which these shows lacked that kept me from fully engaging with them.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. not only had that spark, it grew that spark into a roaring flame that it continued to keep burning all the way through to Season 6. In the early days I figured the show would either end with three seasons, or its series finale would tie in with what is now Avengers Endgame (back then it was just Infinity War Part 2). But now that it’s officially been cancelled, I’m glad that it lasted as long as it did.

With the announcement of Disney’s new streaming service Disney+, the Netflix shows began dropping like flies. First Luke Cage was cancelled. Then Iron Fist. Followed by Daredevil and the Punisher, with Jessica Jones the last to fall. It seemed as if any Marvel content that wasn’t going to be on Disney+ was having its plug pulled, leaving Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s small but active fanbase fearing once more for the future of our series.

The end of Season 5 had largely wrapped up all of the show’s loose ends with a few avenues left open for things to continue. Though Season 6 had already been announced at the time “The End” aired, the episode had been written and filmed under the assumption that it would serve as a series finale if the show didn’t get renewed. So we were all concerned that Season 6 could end on a cliffhanger and then be cancelled before the story could be resolved.

The news in November 2018 that the show would also be getting a seventh season was cause for celebration, not just at the fact that the story would continue, but that whatever was happening behind scenes with Marvel and the Netflix shows, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would be spared from cancellation for the time being.

It is a source of triumphant irony that the show critics and audiences turned on and wrote off early on managed to outlast all of Marvel’s other shows. The Netflix shows have come and gone, but Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is still here, chugging along like The Little TV Show That Could. Runaways ended with its third season in late 2019, and Cloak and Dagger was cancelled after its second. WandaVision, Loki, and Falcon & the Winter Soldier are premiering on Disney+ within the next year, but it will be a long time before any of them are able to top Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in terms of both the number of years they’ve been “on the air” and in terms of the number of episodes released.

For one hundred twenty-three episodes, the amazingly talented cast and crew have been delivering one standout performance after another, continuing to keep audiences invested in their characters on an emotional level through all the drama and comedy and action and heartbreak. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues to be one of – if not the greatest comic book show on television, and I have full faith that the cast and crew will finish things off with style. It’s been one hell of a ride with this show, and I’m going to miss it when it ends.

#agents of shield #aos season 7 #agents of s.h.i.e.l.d.#agents of shield season 7

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sheerfreesia007 · 4 years

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Fallin’ All In You (Pt. 26)

Title: Fallin’ All In You (Pt. 26)

Pairing: Agent Whiskey x Reader

Author: @sheerfreesia007

Words: 1,983

Warnings: Smut, Fluff

Tags: @synystersilenceinblacknwhite, @two-unbeatable-beaters, @randomness501, @sevvysaurus

Author Notes: This was just a cute idea that I came up with. As someone who sometimes talks in her sleep I’ve had some weird ass conversations with my husband and family before. I hope you guys enjoy! I also wanted to try my hand at smut again. Any feedback is much appreciated!

Gif Credit: Google Search

The rain pattered softly against the windows creating a soft twinkling sound on the glass. A storm had rolled into the city not long after you had fallen asleep and Jack stayed up silently reading one of the books that you had left here from your last trip. He sat up against the headboard with his legs splayed out in front of him and you lay snuggled up against his right hip with your face pressed deeply into your pillow.

Jack smiled softly down at you as he watched you shift in your sleep. Your face was relaxed and looked peaceful in sleep. He felt proud that he was able to provide that peace for you he knew that you were still having problems with Ginger. And he only knew that because Tequila had told him that Ginger was still taking shots at you. You wouldn’t tell me that she was still bothering you; he figured it was a pride thing that you could handle it yourself. Or it wasn’t really bothering you any longer enough to mention it to him. Maybe it was a mixture of the two but Jack worried about you all the way in Kentucky without him there. He worried if you were taking care of yourself and taking time for yourself to destress from work and the work environment. He knew it was much easier said than done, especially in this career, but he still worried.

Just then you shifted again against his hip and he darted his eyes to you and saw the satisfied smile gracing your lips while you still slept on and he was immediately reminded of the smile you had given him only a few hours ago. Jack felt his body heat with a hungering fire at the reminder of what the two of you had done just a few hours.

Your body glistened in the soft light as a thin layer of sweat coated you. Your hips surged forward and downward on his cock and Jack groaned loudly as his hands rushed to your hips gripping them tightly. Your hands fell to cover his before he watched them slowly travel up from your hips over your stomach to your breasts where they grabbed and pulled at your flesh there making him moan underneath you. They continued on their path up your chest until they circled around your neck and pulled your hair away from the sweaty skin of your neck. You were a sight of amorous carnal pleasure and Jack’s eyes took you in at leisure.

It was as if your body was only here to please him and please him you did. You had asked him if you could try something new when you had started getting ready for bed and Jack didn’t have the heart to say no to you and besides he was curious to what you wanted to try with him. It had started with the two of you racing to divest yourselves of your clothes as quickly as possible. Once you had stripped down to your underwear Jack couldn’t control himself and he had quickly caught you in his grasp swooping in to pull you into a deep longing kiss that stole your breath.

But you had pulled away when the kiss was starting to consume the two of you. Jack had been confused at first but when you had shoved him onto the bed and straddled his lap he instantly understood and groaned in need. This was something he would enjoy and eagerly participate in.

You had easily taken control of him and the pace that the two of you went. It wasn’t slow and leisurely but it also wasn’t fast and expeditious it was somewhere in the middle and it made Jack gasp with passion. He watched as you rose above him and let your hands blaze a fire trail up his chest to only drag your nails back down making him groan and gasp in lust. His desire was surmounting to highs that he didn’t know he could reach with just a touch from you. You leaned over him and pressed a hot wet kiss to his lips and Jack let his hands trail over your back until he reached the clasp on your bra expertly undoing it. His hands quickly threw the bra to the floor and wrapped his hands around your breasts making you let out a high pitched moan into his mouth.

Jack felt you grind your hips slowly against his and he sucked in a breath. You sat back up pressing your hands into his chest and Jack let his eyes drink you in. Your breasts hung there in front of him with your nipples erect in erotic pleasure and they made his mouth water. You shifted your hips a little bit and suddenly Jack’s hard cock was pressed up against your clothed core and you threw your head back with a deep long moan. Jack had to clench his hands around your hips in warning as you experimentally ground your core against his cock again moaning in a seductive manner.

“I wanna feel that on my pussy.” You moaned down to him and Jack was instantly entranced by you. You moved quickly away from him to drag his boxer briefs down his legs and you stood at the side of the bed shimmying out of your panties. Jack laughed with mirth as he watched you trip on your panties in your haste to get back into bed with him. “Shut up.” You grumbled affably as you managed to get the panties off and crawled back into bed. You smirked at him and Jack felt his cock twitch at the look in your eye. Your eyes stared into his and the desire and lust that reflected in them made his whole body stiffen. You crawled over his body languidly and Jack lifted his hands to trace your sides slowly letting his fingertips feel your silky skin. His fingers caught at your waist and then fell down to your hips once more as you straddled him.

You lifted slightly and let your wet core drag over his cock and the two of you moaned loudly together. Jack gripped your hips in a tighter grip and he had to stop himself from thrusting upwards. He wanted to give you all the control; you had wanted to try this so he was going to do everything in his power to give it to you. “Oh shit, yes.” You whispered out as you bit your bottom lip and began to grind faster against his cock.

“Darlin’ fuck!” Jack gritted out as he ground his teeth together to try and control himself.

“Yeah cowboy? You like that?” you asked in a seductive whisper and Jack gasped looking up at you with so much lust coursing through him. “Yeah you like that.” You smugly responded to your own question. “I know what you’ll like even better.” Jack looked up at you in confusion as to what you meant and then groaned arcing his back as you lifted and slid the tip of his cock inside you, slowly sliding down until you were seated flush against his hips.

“Fuck darlin’ yes.” Jack gasped out and he tightly held your hips flush against his. “Don’t move. Not yet.” He pleaded with you and thankfully you listened. Jack just let himself feel your core encasing him and he breathed out slowly loosening his grip on you cautiously. “Please.” Jack gasped out as he felt your walls clench around him. You began to slowly lift and then shift back downward and Jack threw his head back into the pillows groaning. “Fuck yes.”

“Mmhmm, oh yes.” You responded as you began to bounce on Jack’s cock slowly liking the pace you had started. Your hands were pressed on his chest and you were shifting and grinding your hips down onto Jack with ease. That was how he had gotten to where he was now. Lying underneath you at your mercy as your hips ground up and down onto him as your hands traveled all along your body giving yourself that much more pleasure.

“Fuck darlin’ I’m-I’m gonna cum.” He gasped out as he watched you. You mewled down at him as one hand came down to plant on his lower stomach and your hips ground down harshly onto his. Jack moaned and arched his back as he held your hip in his hands holding you tightly against him as his orgasm overtook him. One of his hands flew down to your clit and began rubbing it vigorously and suddenly you gasped out loudly with a deep gravelly moan following as your body surged forward and fell against his. Jack caught you easily as your orgasm consumed your body and you twitched against him.

It took a couple of minutes for both of your breaths to even out and Jack had tucked you up on his chest with his arms wrapped around your lower back loosely. “That was amazing.” He intoned softly to you as he pressed light kisses against your forehead.

“Mmmhmm. It was.” You agreed lazily and Jack smiled at how warm your limp body felt against his.

“You can do that any time you want darlin’.” He declared and you laughed happily.

“You approve?” you teased sleepily as you shifted against his chest to look up at him.

“Oh I more than approve.” He teased back and watched as delighted blush color your cheeks while a warm satisfied smile graced your lips.

That had been a few hours ago and you had almost instantly fallen dead asleep afterwards much to Jack’s amusement. Just then you shifted away from him onto your back and he heard you huff softly in your sleep.

“Comm10, the threat has been captured.” Came your soft voice. Jack’s eyes darted over to you and he felt an excited smile begin to spread over his lips. Oh this was going to be fun.

“What threat Curaçao?” he questioned over to you quickly putting his book aside and laying down next to you. His eyes easily traced over your relaxed features as you slept before they pulled into a furrowed brow and grimace on your lips.

“Kingpin.” You responded and Jack chuckled softly. Tequila had told him that the two of you would often watch the tv show Daredevil on Netflix while not a missions and that lately you two had finished the second season, so he figured you were dreaming about Daredevil.

“Confirmed Curaçao.” He said easily as his smile widened on his face watching your eyes twitch under your eyelids.

“Comm10, we need a cleaning crew. There’s a lot of…” you said softly and then trailed off.

“Repeat Curaçao.” He grinned softly as your eyebrows twitched in your sleep and your nose scrunched up slightly.

“Comm10, we need a cleaning crew.” You said firmly and Jack waited patiently before you continued. “There’s a lot of honey everywhere.” And that was when Jack lost it and began laughing loudly. He gripped his stomach as he laughed feeling tears beginning to pool at the corners of his eyes and then trail down his face.

“Why is there honey Curaçao?” he asked after he was able to get a hold of himself and calm down.

“We tracked Kingpin to a honey distributing warehouse. Tequila’s gonna need a cleaning crew just for him.” You responded like it wasn’t the most absurd thing to ever come out of your mouth. Jack laughed delightedly and pulled you closer to him snuggling you close to his body as he pressed kisses to your face.

“Confirmed Curaçao. Get some rest.” He advised and felt your body fall limp against his and your breathing even out as you fell further into your dreams. He couldn’t wait to ask you about the honey warehouse dream tomorrow.

#my writing #fallin' all in you #agent whiskey #agent whiskey x reader #kingsman the golden circle

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Cobra Kai: How the Show’s Martial Arts Level Up in Season 3

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains Cobra Kai season 3 spoilers.

Despite its iconic standing within the martial arts genre, the martial arts in The Karate Kid have never been outstanding. Sure, the crane kick is a classic, but from a technical standpoint, it’s not that impressive. Ralph Macchio had no martial arts training prior to undertaking the role of Daniel. In many ways, that’s part of the charm. Whether you know martial arts or not, Daniel’s wax on, wax off awkwardness makes Macchio’s portrayal more genuine.

Throughout the film franchise, it was Daniel’s adversaries who were the martial artists. William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) had a background in wrestling prior to the first film and continued to train in Tang Soo Do under Master Pat E. Johnson after it wrapped (Johnson played the referee and trained the actors for the film.) Martin Kove (John Kreese) studied Gosoku-ryu Karate under the founder of that style, Grandmaster Takayuki Kubota. The villains in the sequels all had previous training too. Yuji Okumoto (Chozen Toguchi) began Chito-ryu Karate when he was thirteen and was a brown belt by the time he appeared in The Karate Kid Part II. In The Karate Kid Part III, Thomas Ian Griffith (Terry Silver) practiced Taekwondo since childhood and holds a black belt in Kenpo Karate. Stage combat is one of his specialties. And Sean Kanen (Mike Barnes), like Okumoto, studied Karate since he was thirteen, only his style was Shotokan. He also worked professionally as a bar bouncer.

Because Macchio was a much weaker martial artist than his adversaries both in the story and reality, it was challenging for the stunt choreographers. It limits the vocabulary of where the fights could go. Without a strong martial artist in the lead role, the fight choreographers had to create work arounds, like the crane kick. But again, that was part of the charm of Daniel. No one could play Daniel LaRusso like Ralph Macchio.

Cobra Kai faces a similar situation because like Macchio, few of the lead actors had previous martial arts training. For more authenticity, newcomers to the cast were not only tasked to learn Karate, they had to do some of their own stunts. With that in mind, Den of Geek spoke with Macchio and more about season 3’s ambitious combat, and the training and editing that goes into major fight scenes.

No Mercy

Cobra Kai suffers from the same constraint as the original films had with Daniel. All the high school kids are amateurs. We bear witness to their inductions into Karate, and their meteoric rise in skills (Just like The Karate Kid, Cobra Kai takes major liberties on how quickly someone can progress in the martial arts, but so do most stories in the genre). They’re teenagers, not ninjas or Shaolin monks. The fight scenes cannot pivot on extreme Jackie Chan moves. To remain genuine to the story, the next generation must retain some of Daniel’s awkwardness.

However, stunt coordinators Jahnel Curfman and Hiro Koda did excellent work in keeping it real. In the premiere episode, Johnny’s first fight showed that Zabka had kept up on his Tang Soo Do and could still throw a decent kick. It served the story perfectly, showing Johnny as slightly out of shape, but still formidable. As seasons 1 and 2 progressed, the fight choreography complemented its story arcs appropriately, but Cobra Kai wasn’t a show just to watch for its fight scenes.

This changed with the season 2 finale “No Mercy.” Curfman and Koda composed a thrilling high school brawl with a solid long take shot – a “one-er” where there are no cuts in the action. It was a thrilling fight, full of complex cinematography and enough close-ups that we could see that many of the actors did their own stunts.

The season 3 finale fight in the LaRusso residence was even better, longer, and more complex. According to Xolo Maridueña (Miguel), Cobra Kai’s second one-er was a challenge. “When you film an episode like the finale of season 2, you get to the point where you’re like, ‘How do we top this?’ It feels like we kind of achieved everything that we wanted. And I think at that point, we did achieve everything that we wanted. We got this really, really great scene that felt so grand. And in season 3, we want to give people that same kind of feeling, that same rush that you get from watching so many moving parts working together, but it needs to be different.”

How was it different? Maridueña elaborates. “I think that you see that the motives of a lot of these characters are different. The circumstances, the need to win I think is much higher in a finale. And I think up until the very end and even after the fight feels concluded you still feel that sense of weight on your shoulders.”

The Long Take One-Er

Cuts make fight choreography easier. When there’s one cut for every strike, retakes aren’t as difficult. If there are two strikes before a cut, it’s twice as hard. More strikes increase the challenge exponentially. In the original film, The Karate Kid, there was a one-er, but it wasn’t a fight scene. When Daniel first enters the All-Valley Karate Tournament from the locker room, it’s a continuous long take that clocks in just shy of a minute and a half. The blocking is complicated but it’s not as complex as a fight scene would be, and according to Macchio, the scene took 35 takes to get right.

In filmmaking, one-ers are always held in high regard for their technical achievement. Hitchcock’s Rope was a pioneering example with the entire film consisting of only 11 one-ers. The critically acclaimed World War I film 1917 was nearly a single one-er. When it comes to fight choreography, this is why classic Kung Fu films from the 70s and 80s are so highly respected by martial art movie connoisseurs. While they weren’t one-ers, those fights, like what was coming out of Shaw Brothers Studio, went dozens of moves before a cut. Some recent films like Atomic Blonde and the John Wick trilogy have showcased one-er fights. What’s more, they are shot in such a way that we can see that Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron are doing a lot of their own stunts. In contrast, in Netflix’s latest assassin thriller Ava, all of Jessica Chastain’s fights are one strike, one shot, and her stuntperson takes over for all the heavy lifting.

There are some trade tricks to one-ers. The first is a stitch where the camera pans to a featureless surface. This can disguise a covert cut, making the scene appear seamless. But in actuality, there was a break. The other is what is known in the stunt industry as a “Texas switch.” This is where an actor is swapped out with a stunt person by somehow leaving the shot, like being tossed out of frame or ducking behind an obscuring set piece.

Television fight choreography has leveled up in the last few years. Daredevil was a game-changer for TV one-ers. The show kept upping its game every season. Season 1 episode 2 “Cut Man” ended with a one-er hallway fight that caught every martial arts fan’s attention. It had a lot of stitches and Texas switches. During that one-er, the camera repeatedly moves across featureless hallway walls hiding cuts and Daredevil is masked, allowing for multiple stuntmen to take over. Nevertheless, it’s still a thrilling fight and top-notch choreography. Season 2 episode 3 “New York’s Finest” featured another brutal one-er in a staircase fight. Again, Daredevil is masked so swapping stuntmen was easy. On top of that, Daredevil knocks out the lights, so a lot of the fight is in the dark, obscuring more stitches and switches. In Season 3 episode 4 ‘Blindsided’ Daredevil pulled off their most spectacular one-er of all and one of the best that has ever made it to the small screen so far, the prison fight. In that scene, Daredevil is not masked so Charlie Cox can be seen doing a lot of his own stunts. It clocks in at over 10 minutes. The fight choreographers on Daredevil, Chris Brewster, Philip Silvera, and Roberto Gutierrez raised the bar on TV fight choreography.

Karate And Stunt Training

The one-ers in Cobra Kai aren’t nearly as long, but they do showcase the actors doing many of their own stunts. And like Macchio, few of the cast have had previous training. Jacob Bertrand (Hawk) has a purple belt in Karate and Taylor Buchanan dabbled in Taekwondo, but that’s about the extent of the young cast’s experience. Beyond learning their lines and finding their characters, the actors had to take a crash course in martial arts.

“I only started learning in season 2,” says Peyton List (Tory), “and that was just in episode 4 of season 2, when I first came in. And I just take everything I can get, and I love learning it. So I’m trying to do everything I can even from home, but that one-er was one of the most fun. Jahnel, my stunt double, she was like, ‘You’re doing this all on your own.’ And that was a big moment for me, and I’m excited for everyone to see that.”

“My training is something I take super seriously,” adds Mary Mouser (Sam), “because I know that a lot of people who watch this show love martial arts and love the fighting aspect. As much as all the other fun things we have, we have a lot of really cool martial arts fans. So I want to make them proud. I am clearly still a novice in this world, but Samantha is not. So it’s fun to get to stretch myself, to see how much I can push myself to look like I’ve been doing Karate for all these years, when in total probably have about a year’s worth of training so far.”

Bertrand’s Karate background doesn’t make shooting a one-er any easier. “The next couple of days after those types of shoots, you’re definitely sore for at least two days. You’re running the same thing over and over again at 110%, but honestly, I’m just so excited for everyone to see that final fight, it’s going to be so great.”

Forever Young

In season 3, Daniel says he’s now as old as Miyagi was when they first met. Despite his baby face, Macchio is 59. He admits doing fight scenes no isn’t as easy as back in the day. “The challenge is always as I get older or attempt to look younger, is the physical stuff. Staying in shape, not getting hurt. It requires work and attention and focus.”

Macchio is like David Carradine, who played Kwai Chang Caine in the television show Kung Fu. For their defining roles, they posed as martial arts masters, however they are actors first and foremost, not martial artists. At the very least, Macchio has maintained his integrity by never claiming to be an expert. Carradine milked his master role by writing martial arts books and selling instructional videos, despite his martial mediocrity. Today, Carradine’s martial products are generally disregarded, even mocked, by earnest practitioners. Most considered them to be a joke (the fact that Carradine’s Kung Fu uniforms looked more like Klingon athleisure suits didn’t help). Macchio could have easily cashed in doing the same but to his credit, he never did.

Will Cobra Kai attempt an even bigger one-er for Season 4? “As soon as the fight is over you’re ready to watch the next one,” teases Maridueña. “And I think that’s all you can ask for in a fight scene.”

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Cobra Kai season 3 is now available on Netflix.

The post Cobra Kai: How the Show’s Martial Arts Level Up in Season 3 appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3rMzXhZ

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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context-is-for-kingpins · 4 years

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Tuesday Tunes

Alrighty y’all, I’m starting a new thing where I share and talk about songs that remind me of comics! For the first one I’m actually doing 3 songs cause they’re all on the same album and have been stuck in my head for like two months now.

This was the first song I heard from these guys and it makes me think of Netflix Daredevil’s beginnings in vigilantism. It’s Matt and his love for his city. He sees the evil and corruption that has become status quo and he feels like he’s the only one who is willing to actually stand up and do something about it. He’s breaking out from the silence and apathy. Probably my favorite lyrics that I could totally see in a DD comic are:

Say a prayer for all the children still sleeping at night

Say a prayer for all the fathers who still remember

Say a prayer for all the girls who’ve learned to stand up

Say a prayer for all the boys who won’t surrender

This one reminds me of Daredevil season 1, specifically when “Fisk” is still just a faceless name that the thugs are afraid to say. I mean look at these lyrics and tell me that’s not Matt talking about Fisk.

Gonna have to do better than fear

Gonna have to step out of the shadows and fight

And when they see your face again

They will know what it means to have fear dragged out into the light

This last one is all big and exciting and makes me think of Daredevil season 3 when everyone is back together and making a plan to take the fight to Fisk. I think it’s just perfect. I mean just look at these lyrics.

We’ve got Matt resolute on doing whatever it takes to end Fisk:

I've got this burning like my veins are filled with nothing but gasoline

And with a spark it's gonna be the biggest fire they've ever seen

Cut me down or let me run, either way it's all gonna burn

The only way that they’ll ever learn - we’ve got to turn it off

Fisk and the people who let him get to his position of power:

At the heart of the city there is a building that looks down over all there is

And the man in the tower controls it all without raising a single fist

It's like they've gathered up the city, they sold it to the Devil and now

It's gone to hell and they wonder how

And the gang holding on to hope and striving to pull Hell’s Kitchen out from under Fisk’s thumb:

There is a city that this darkness can't hide

There are the embers of a fire that's gone out

But I can still feel the heat on my skin

And this mess we're in, where you and I

Maybe you and I

We can still make it right

Maybe we can bring back the light

Please tell me what you think! Do you agree? Did I miss anything? Did you interpret it differently?

#i know its technically wednesday but i forgot and didnt want to wait another week to start this #lets all just pretent i posted this before midnight #ill start queueing some so they actually come out on tuesdays #fun fact: this album is a prequel to these guy’s album about megaman #like the videogame!#THIS IS A MUSICAL FANFIC!!#im pretty sure #i don’t know all that much about megaman lore #matt murdock #daredevil #wilson fisk #kingpin #protomen #tuesday tunes #this is not a comic #this is music

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mimzy-writing-online · 5 years

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Writing A Blind of Visually Impaired Character: Mannerisms

This post is part of a multi-step guide to writing blind characters, and it’s master post to all parts is linked here: https://mimzy-writing-online.tumblr.com/post/185122795699/writing-a-blind-or-visually-impaired-character

All posts on writing blind characters will be tagged #blindcharacter for you to search on my blog for.

Follow this blog for more writing advice

Disclaimer: I am a very real visually impaired person who has been living with my disability for two years and these are little things I specifically do, little mannerisms that developed because of my blindness

Part Five: Blindisms or Mannerisms that Breathe Life into Your Characters

Biological Things

-My eyes get tired so easily, and when I say tired I mean they start aching and my vision gets even worse as the day progresses. The muscles start to ache and I’ll press or pinch the area around my eyes because of the pain

-Eye strain will cause headaches. When I get eyestrain I have to take off my glasses, stop looking at screens, and just relax for a while in bed until my eyes feel a little better.

-Weather has a huge impact on how I see, and any light sensitive person with a fair amount of remaining vision will probably have the same problem. Light sensitive people will find sunny days much harder, but overcast days can be a little difficult too because the sun tends to diffuse all across the sky through the clouds and the entire sky is bright

-Snow. This isn’t a me thing because I don’t live in this climate and never have to deal with it, but snow days are incredibly disorientating to people with vision issues. It covers any ground land marks you might use to know where you are (sidewalk versus grass versus street)

-Rain puddles are difficult to see and obnoxious to walk through, and your cane just sloshes through them (my mom usually warns me in advance and tells me how to avoid them)

Hobbies and Interests

-We’re actually not bared from many hobbies and activities. There are some very athletic blind people out there who play sports. Molly Burke used to rock climb and teach at a rock climbing gym when she was younger, she also learned to surf at one point. She’s gone bungee jumping and sky diving. There are lots of athletic blind people out there.

-Martial arts is very possible for blind people and certain organizations for the blind teach self defense classes. So, in case any of you were mad at me for saying you shouldn’t write Daredevil, my point is that you shouldn’t give your blind character unrealistic super senses. Your blind character can still kick some ass when needed.

-I play video games. It’s not impossible, although it is very hard for me. I still love it. I personally play Overwatch on PC and I’ve been playing Sims for years

-Reading is something a lot of blind people enjoy, and it’s sometimes described as the blind person’s version of TV, a way for them to see in their minds eyes what they can’t see with TV. So for this reason I have and will continue to tell you to keep your blind readers in mind and not traumatize, kill, assault, or victimize your blind characters for plot.

-We read in different ways. Some only read through audio books, some read through screen readers, some read on their tablets or laptops because they can enlarge font, some read printed books with magnifiers. It all heavily depends on how much sight your character has left and where they like to get their reading material. For example, if you read fanfiction a lot you will probably have to rely on screen readers on your laptops to read to you, but if you like reading published books then you will rely more on audio books.

-We do watch TV and movies, even if we can’t see the screen at all. Some movies and tv shows come with audio description for the blind, and they describe visual details on screen. You have access to lots of examples of this, because Netflix does have audio description for a lot of their shows and movies. Check audio description on your favorite Netflix Original and minimize your browser window to the background to experience movie going the blind way

-We can cook, and sometimes amazingly. Christine Hà is a blind chef who won the third season of master chef and she is amazing. She published her own cookbook too. Some schools for the blind will offer cooking classes as part of their rehabilitation services

-Art. I recommend hopping on google and checking out some blind artists out there. I’m sure you’ll be surprised by a few. There are painters, sculptors, pottery makers, photographers, and many more. My second blind character is learning to draw in school and will over time develop his own cartoonish style of drawing.

-Music. Yeah, I know I said I didn’t want to see the blind music prodigy again, but that’s because I wanted to see you guys come up with your own stories and your own unique characters. There are some wonderful blind musicians and your blind character deciding to learn to play an instrument for the first time during the course of your story would actually be pretty cool.

Theatre. It would be really cool to see some acting blind characters. Doctor Who had Ellie Wallwork, a blind actress play a blind character on their eleventh season. She was amazing and I really loved that episode, it was my favorite in the whole season. (I also adore Jodie Whittaker)

There are so many more hobbies that you can have, even with vision loss. Some might require you to adjust how you do that hobby, but with the right accommodations you can do just about anything really. (Except drive. Please don’t drive.)

Little Enjoyable Things

-Interesting textures. The less your characters see, the more obsessed they get with interesting textures. Hard ceramic mugs with decorative bumps, soft and fluffy blankets, crochet blankets and pillows, tile lines and patterns, any raised surface like slightly raised letters on a book cover, rocks with interesting but not too sharp textures. The more vision loss you have, the more you rely on your hands and your hands become a way of seeing for you.

-I have bought bumpy mugs and soft blankets and textured pillows for exactly this reason. My fingers touched them and just enjoyed the hell out of it.

-Your hands becoming a way for you to see makes you want to touch everything (except faces) Shopping in stores is especially bad because I’m touching everything even though I have quite a bit of sight left.

-There are favorite outfits, purely because what you’re wearing has the comfiest texture

-Soothing sounds and music. I’m not big into ASMR but some people might be. I like quiet background music

-Sometimes I tap my cane on pavement or other hard surfaces just to hear the way it sounds. I can’t echo-locate, most people can’t, but it’s a weird form of sensory

-Loud environments where sounds seem to come from all directions is overwhelming and not enjoyable

Cane Safety Things

-Bring your cane everywhere

-Have a backup cane when travelling long distance in case something goes wrong

-Don’t ever touch my cane. I mean it, don’t! My cane is an extra limb, it is part of my body and I get incredibly nervous when people touch it, especially if I don’t know them well. I only trust a few people to hold my cane with them for even a minute (my mom, maybe my best friend if I’m trying to put on a sweater and can’t hold it the whole time)

-Cane height: your character’s cane should be as tall as their shoulder, at least, or maybe a few inches taller to their chin.

-Because of this I like to lean forward and rest my chin on my cane when I’m bored and waiting for something (like a line)

-In general I just fidget with my cane so much

-You can actually get custom canes. I have a cane with a royal purple tip instead of red. You can get a cane that’s entirely pink or blue or black or whatever. You can add reflective tape to make you more visible.

-Some people prefer long canes that don’t fold, some people prefer folding canes. It’s really a personal decision. I’ve heard long canes are better for tactile feedback because the vibrations when they hit an object or tap the ground are more accurate. I like folding canes because I like storing it away when I don’t need it right away (in class, sitting at a booth in a restaurant, in my backpack) My preference for folding canes goes back to my paranoia of people touching it when I’m not paying attention

-Long canes that don’t fold are not easy to fit into cars and you need to get creative.

Guide Dog Things / Animal Things

-I will include a more serious list about guide dogs in my Part Four about tools and things blind people use to survive (canes, guide dogs, accessibility tools, braille) but for now this is more of a fun list

-I can’t say this from personal experience because I have never had a guide dog, but I’ve had pets and let me tell you, everyone loves spoiling their pets with gifts and hugs and pets

-Soft animals are so fun to pet

-Please tell me when there’s a cat nearby, even if I can’t pet it. I love cats? Wild bunnies too? (I’m super allergic to bunnies, I should never pet them, but I love their existence, they’re so cute)

-Some blind people are not dog people and will not get a guide dog for this reason. They are still valid. People who aren’t dog people are still valid, regardless of ability or disability.

General Safety Things

-Depending on the orientation and mobility skills of your character, they may not feel super comfortable walking out alone, and this comes down to how much training they have, how independent they are, and if they’re generally and anxious person or a self-assured person. Some blind people are great at inner city travel and can do so confidently, others feel less confident (I’m personally not great at crossing busy streets by myself and parking lots are scary to me)

-They may not like bars or nightclubs- this comes down to who your character is. Bars and nightclubs are loud, it’s hard to talk, they’re crowded so using a cane or guide dog isn’t easy or sometimes possible. They’re also poorly lit and if your character has some remaining vision but is night blind, this is especially bad. Because of how preyed upon women are, especially disabled women, your character probably won’t feel safe in a bar or nightclub because they know creeps might target them because they can’t see

-Being blind, you develop this awareness that there are predators out there in the world who see your blindness as something to exploit, that will make you easy to assault or abuse.

NOTE: please don’t use this as an excuse to write a rape as part of your plot. The general consensus of readers has come to the conclusion that using rape as something to further your plot is a terrible thing to do, it is cheap and unoriginal plot development and that you shouldn’t do it. You especially shouldn’t put your blind characters through something traumatic like this. Seriously guys, blind people are coming to your stories because they want to see themselves represented. Seeing themselves victimized will only hurt them. DON’T hurt your readers like that

-Because of this awareness of how vulnerable you can be, you learn to walk in groups and avoid places where predators frequent (bars and nightclubs)

God, this thing is getting long and there are so many other little blindisms that I’ve probably not thought of yet. I will probably make more posts in the future about blindness, including little stories or things I experience.

Follow this blog for more writing advice (and posts about experiencing the blind life)

#writing advice #writing tips #writing #writeblr #blindcharacter #my advice #mine

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agl03 · 4 years

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It’s the end of an era, this is hardly a surprise with all the current Marvel TV shows ending and Leob leaving. I am once again SO THANKFUL that the AOS Show Runners said that Season 7 was the end and are ending it on their terms otherwise this could have been even worse.

Marvel Television as we’ve known it the past decade will be no more. With its slate dwindling over the past year and its head Jeph Loeb set to depart, the television-focused Marvel division will be phased out.

The Marvel TV projects that are currently in production will continue but any further development is being scrapped. As a result, a significant portion of the unit’s staff are being laid off, sources said. The executives impacted are said to include Cort Lane, Marsha Griffin, Mark Ambrose, Tom Lieber and Aimee Carlson.

Marvel TV’s SVP Current Programming and Production Karim Zreik and member of his team will join the Marvel Studios group to oversee the remaining Marvel TV shows already on the books and on the go.

That includes the announced four animated series and the live-action Helstrom for Hulu and last season of ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which will still be made. Other Marvel TV staffers are being reassigned, sources said.

“The decision has been made to complete Marvel TV projects that are currently in production, but not continue with any further development,” noted the TV division Tuesday.

Today’s news follows months of turmoil and uncertainty at Marvel TV with a number of animated and live-action shows teetering or canned, the exit of longtime small screen chief Loeb and the further expansion of big screen boss Kevin Feige’s fiefdom.

The announcement back in late October that former Heroes co-EP Loeb would be officially out the door at the end of the year now seems but one of many dominos to fall on Marvel TV. One further wrinkle in today’s news is that Loeb might be around longer than expected, as he is said to be on decks for the handover.

It’s a handover with a lot of blood on its hands, so to speak.

As the Clark Gregg-led S.H.I.E.L.D. heads towards its last season on ABC, the planned Ghost Rider spinoff series for Hulu had the brakes put on it in September, the cancellation of Cloak & Dagger after two seasons on Freeform came the next month and the final season of The Runaways is launching on the Disney-controlled streamer this week. With no new shows on Netflix after Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and The Punisher were all cancelled over the last year and a bit, Marvel TV saw the Hulu-set upcoming animated Chelsea Handler voiced and EP’d Tigra & Dazzler put on hold earlier this month with the departure of showrunner Erica Rivinoja and the staff writers due to that old chestnut of “creative differences.”

Let’s raise our glasses to them....

#agents of shield #marvel tv

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daresplaining · 5 years

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thoughts on the Inferno arc from Dematteis?

I have to admit, that arc isn’t one of my favorites, and I’m not a big fan of DeMatteis’s run as a whole. It just doesn’t do much for me. The dead sex worker plot point is one of my least favorite parts of Man Without Fear, and I dislike that DeMatteis felt the need to drag it into 616 continuity. Matt already killed someone during his first outing as Daredevil, as established way back in DD #1, so all that addition/retcon/whatever it is did was muddle up the timeline. It’s also one of the few Daredevil stories that depicts Matt as kind of religious, which is a characterization that, personally, isn’t my thing. (There’s nothing wrong with it, of course! I just don’t find it interesting, and I’m often baffled that so many people seem to see it as an integral part of his character, since it’s practically nonexistent in the comics.) And Sir is an uncomfortable villain for a number of reasons, mostly involving depictions of transgender characters in media, which I don’t feel informed enough about to properly discuss. Thematically, their story aligns with Matt’s plotline of self-discomfort and repression, but character-wise, I will say that I don’t find them to be a particularly interesting or memorable antagonist. Overall, it’s a strange, somewhat convoluted story.

On the other hand, there are parts of “Inferno” that I really like– most notably, the reintroduction of the “real” yellow-suited Daredevil as a symptom of Matt’s identity-centered mental breakdown.

[ID: Two panels from DeMatteis’s run. Foggy is sitting in his office at his desk, and Yellow Suit Daredevil is perched on top of the desk.]

Matt: “Better spread the word, counselor: Daredevil’s back. The real Daredevil. And tell that phony running around abusing my name– to watch his back!”

[ID: Foggy watches in shock as Daredevil jumps out the window.]

The identity issues in this arc and the arcs that come both before and (especially) after it are a little difficult to follow, since they are so abstract, but conceptually, I find them interesting and fun. DeMatteis’s run takes place after Matt has faked his death and reinvented himself yet again. He is isolated from his loved ones– Foggy and Karen at the time– and is living a life that is, by design, almost entirely separate from his existence as Matt Murdock. His civilian identity is a con artist, and his Daredevil identity is notably dark and brutal. He has been through two major psychologically-jarring experiences: Elektra’s resurrection and Glori’s sudden violent death, the latter of which serves as a direct catalyst for his mental breakdown in “Inferno” and the following arc. As much as I’m not a fan of the actual reason for this– the Man Without Fear plot point being clumsily integrated in 616 Matt’s past, as discussed– I do really enjoy the side-effects of Matt’s shattered psyche. We learn that he has repressed a horrible memory– a memory that directly impacts his sense of self by making him feel like a murderer. Even before he fully unearths the memory, it causes him to feel like he doesn’t know himself. And this, coupled with his mental breakdown and lack of tethers to his former life, causes his decades of identity compartmentalization to come to the surface and make him literally feel like multiple separate people.

[ID: A panel of Yellow Suit Daredevil posing dramatically on a rooftop in the rain. The faces of other DD characters are outlined in the cityscape behind him.]

Caption: “He’s haunted… as much by what he can remember as what he can’t. He knows who he is, at least: Daredevil. The real Daredevil! The one who stopped the Owl, the Purple Man, and Mister Fear– the Daredevil people admired and emulated. He knows, too, that something drove him away from this city. From his friends: Karen, Foggy, Matt. Matt? Was Matt his friend? Maybe once. A long time ago.”

Yellow Suit Daredevil insists that he is not Matt Murdock, that he is a Daredevil who existed before Matt Murdock took on that identity. In other words, he is a product of Matt’s very earliest approach to heroing and the first Daredevil creative team’s way of presenting his identity. He is, in fact, this quote from Daredevil #1 brought to life:

“I’ll see to it that Matt Murdock never does resort to force… but somebody else will…! Somebody totally different from Matt Murdock…”

This initial compartmentalization was necessary for Matt to allow himself to directly disobey his father’s wishes. It was only later that Matt Murdock and Daredevil stopped being written with two distinct personalities, and Matt relaxed that sense of identity separation. In DeMatteis’s run, Yellow Suit Daredevil doesn’t think he has hypersenses– because he’s not Matt– but he doesn’t know who he actually is. (Technically, he’s… probably Mike. I’m just sayin’.) Yellow Suit DD identifies himself as the happy, upbeat Daredevil, the one people look up to and admire, and resents Matt Murdock for becoming a darker and more morally complex figure after taking on the identity. In a metafictive way, DeMatteis is commenting on the tonal shifts in Daredevil comics over the years, and I love that.

[ID: Two panels of Yellow Suit Daredevil punching a heavy bag.]

Caption: “He’ll stop Murdock the way he stopped Batlin. No more frauds. No more liars. It’s time for Daredevil to be a hero again. A real hero. Not some cheap, soulless thug hiding behind a hero’s mask.”

In-universe, the implication is that Matt, as part of his mental breakdown surrounding his repressed memories of committing murder, is reverting back to that first DD identity– the safe one, the uncomplicated one, the PG-rated Silver Age one who would never kill anyone– at least, not directly. (This in itself is funny, because Matt indirectly killed people all the time in early Daredevil comics, but this story is more about Matt’s warped view of the Good Old Days than it is about accuracy). From that safe vantage point, Matt feels comfortable resenting himself for all of the darkness in his recent life. His discomfort with his own actions causes the identities he has built for himself over the years to literally manifest separately in his mind. This becomes exacerbated in the following arc in wonderfully mind-bending ways. I don’t think that’s how mental breakdowns actually work, but this is comics, and I find it compelling… if a little hard to follow, logistically.

I also enjoy the fact that this horrible point in Matt’s life is when Foggy learns his best friend is Daredevil.

[ID: Karen is kneeling on a bathroom floor, holding Matt in her arms. He is wearing the yellow Daredevil suit but his mask is off. Foggy is standing over them, scratching his head.]

Foggy: “I don’t understand any of this! Matt’s– alive?! Wh-what’s he doing in that costume?! How did he–?!”

Karen: “Not now, Foggy. Not now.”

It’s random, it’s accidental, it’s incredibly upsetting, and it is a while before Foggy is even able to discuss it with Matt, at which point Matt basically brushes it off and they both move on. On the one hand, I would have loved to see more emphasis placed on this moment– arguably one of the biggest events in DD history– and I was delighted that the Netflix adaptation gave that to us in Season 1 episode 10. But I also enjoy the imperfections of the 616 version. It’s not a big fairytale moment, and something about that messiness appeals to me.

#devil-without-fear #Daredevil vol. 1 #Daredevil #Matt Murdock #Asks #Commentary

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