#also on a completely different note is that Sebastian stan or an i going insane? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

starshipsofstarlord · 3 years

Text

Petal

college!sebastian stan x reader

masterlist

Summary; Your boyfriend Sebastian has been spending much time studying, hardly sparing himself a break. Finally, he sees the pros of taking one

Warnings; smut, oral sex (male and female receiving), penetrative sex, vaginal fingering, anal fingering, fluff

divider by @firefly-graphics

Sebastian was to be home any minute, he had been prolifically stressed from his classes regarding his law certification, and you had decided to exhibit him a well deserved distraction that would surely take his wired brain off from the course that was practically running through his veins at this point.

It seemed that at every waking moment, he was doing something to aid his studies, and whilst that was great that he was so dedicated to passing for this insane qualification, he did need to take breaks here and there. He wasn't the only one suffering from his late nights, and his resurrection from slumber at the crack of dawn, no. You were too, you missed him, despite being in the same apartment and room as him for the majority of his spare time.

He acted as though he had no time to spare, but you were well acquainted with his schedule, especially by now. The only difference was, that he had no occupation for a moment to relax with you, or by himself. His showers took five minutes every morning and evening, it was as though he were rushing to clean himself so that he could proceed to go back to putting his nose in a book, or searching specifics online.

But tonight, you were going to cut him off. If he didn't endure a moment of mindlessness, then you were sure to go mad yourself. You were keening for his touch, all you had received in the past few weeks were chaste kisses on both your lips and forehead, as well as verbalised 'I love you's. Perhaps it was selfish, he was striving towards a great achievement in his life, and you wanted a little bit of attention, but you knew he was holding himself from any relief also.

From the minimal time that he spent under the cold stream of the showerhead, he didn't have enough time to rub one out, and there was no fear that you had of him seeing another woman. Sebastian was not like that at all, and you had the clarity of him being in the kitchen half the time, typing away on his laptop, as he ran over some old notes and updated them.

Currently, he was out, he was in his lecture. There was a span of fifteen minutes from the time that he would be on the walk home, and you knew that was exactly how long that took in your shared student apartment, because you too endured your studies. But once more, your own were pushed to the side as you speculated your appearance in the silver tapestry of your mirror.

Your hand steadied on your right hip as you posed in front of it, twisting your waist to find the most attractive angle for you in your new wear. The underwear was tight, and not to mention, completely sheer. It's see through nature made wearing it practically pointless, but considering his current frustrations, it was only fair to give something to rip off of you.

Truthfully, you had to admit, you looked damned good. There was no way he would choose studying law over ravishing your body, a spark jolted through your body as the door behind you opened, and with a seductive bite to your lip, you turned around, only to scream and cover your body with your hands, or at least to the best of your ability. "Holy fuck, don't you know how to knock?!"

"I didn't think I'd have to because your human dildo isn't here!" Anthony defended himself, having turned around, as the image of you, one of his best friends, practically in the nude, burned behind his eye balls. The fact that he had seen you made you feel sick, this was not how you had intended the afternoon to go.

"Is there a reason that you burst into my room looking for me Mackie?" The question was indeed one that you wanted to know the answer to, you still felt so exposed, although he was not looking at you. That was certainly something that you were going to avoid telling Seb, that would definitely be a big distraction from his work.

And of course, alongside that, he would have an intent to possibly murder your flat mate, and whilst Chris would be laughing at that, there would be a heavy hotness to your face, as you watched them immaturely battle. Anthony cleared his throat thoroughly, directing towards the face that he was about to speak.

"Definitely not to see you like that." Retorted the math major, shrugging the shiver off his shiver as the memory tormented him once more. "But... me and Chris were going to meet with Scarlett, Takia and Brie, we were going to see if you and Seabass wanted to join, but as I saw against my own will, you have something already planned for your dinner."

“Um yeah, no, we’ll pass. Thanks tho buddy.” Oh god, to say you felt awkward was an understatement. If you were wearing clothes, or at least more socially appropriate ones, you’d go to him and give him a typical punch on the shoulder. Though, if you were clothed more body wear, you wouldn’t be in this predicament. Only things like this happened in college flats, that was one thing that could be confirmed.

“Okay then. Good to know...” Anthony closed the door and proceeded to enter the kitchen. He went grab himself an apple, and realised then that it was an unfortunate consequence, but he had lost his appetite. There had been nothing wrong with your appearance - nothing at all - but you were his flat mate and friend! And, you had a boyfriend, whom was also a great reference of social interaction for him.

The sound of keys interlocking with the outside of the door echoed through the kitchen, someone was outside, and he’d be write in assuming that it was Sebastian. Chris was presently occupied by scouring the internet for ways to surprise the girl he was currently hanging with, and honestly by that, Anthony was scared to enter his room.

It could have been anything that he was searching, but to his contrasting luck, the last resident of their flat entered, creases firm on his brow, from thinking too hard. Sebastian was mulling over the lecture that his professor had given his class. Remember to take a break every now and then. Maybe he was right, a break couldn't postpone him from graduating him that much, could it.

Perhaps he was putting it all off, because after receiving his degree, the four of you would have to find somewhere else to live, and a part of Seb was inclined to ask you individually to move in with him. A one bedroom apartment would be cheaper than one with three rooms, and atop of that, he wouldn't have to be cautious of minor things like walking around the flat in little to no clothing, or fucking you on the kitchen counter.

They were all coupley things that he had wishes to do, but because there were another two men residing with you and him, albeit them being your friends, he didn't allow you to do so in anything less than one of his shirts that cascaded down your thighs, so that if you weren't wearing panties, everything would be concealed. Anthony gulped, remembering he had seen you in your surprise for this man, and gosh, did he want to keep quiet about his accidental peek.

Sebastian wasn’t the jealous type, it was rather refreshing how he found that to be an unappealing trait, however, it would still not settle well that someone saw his girl, in a compromising choice of wear that was supposed to be for his eyes only. He would surely make it clear that you were his, and thus the fucking in the kitchen that he dreamt about would be more than likely to unfold, as he rammed you against the cupboards, caring not if guests were due.

“Hey.” It was a breath of fresh air to speak to someone who was not on his course, it was as though he had become estranged from the people closest to him during this part of the term. Thus a striking pang of guilt landed in his chest as he wondered how you must have felt. He hadn’t touched you in any intimate sense in weeks, it certainly felt like years.

That truth gave him no pride, he dropped his items on the counter, planning on returning to them after he had tended to greeting you. A long kiss sounded nice, strung by a chord of untwined tongues that groomed the insides of your mouth, as you reciprocated. If he was very generous to himself, he’d perhaps lay down for a moment, and allow his pianist hands to wander for more than a moment, stroking them up and down your thighs, until he gave supple attention to your sweet delicacy, dipping down to kiss it and run his fingers over the beautiful gates that only he was allowed to surpass through.

Anthony muffled a reply to him, before shuffling out the room, casting him a weird side eye, but Sebastian thought little of it as his mind was preoccupied with something other than his studies. Oh, and how he didn't mind. The mental image of your nude portrait blessing his eyes was enough motivation to have him striding at a fast, yet considerable pace, towards the door to your shared bedroom.

He knew you must have been inside, he saw your lanyard hanging on the coat rack, that was literally a makeshift piece of wood that you had drunkenly returned with one night, along with a very much intoxicated Paul Rudd. There had been construction nearby, and you thought that it was possible to turned the sharp edged plank with nails sticking out as a bedframe. Least to say, Sebastian did not allow that to happen, knowing that one morning, you would end up spiking your scalp against one of the rusted nails.

People had gotten hurt by it from where it was already, there was that time that Tessa had tried to lean on it for a photo, that in retrospect was an applicant towards your photography course, but that didn't end well, you were pretty sure there was still a streak of her blood stained into one side. That may have been why Chris had turned its weight around after that. However, none of you had the money to spare to invest in a real rack, so for now it stayed.

It sure as hell wasn't coming with you guys when you moved out, that was one thing that Sebastian was going to ensure. If Anthony wanted it, then so be it, if all went to plan, the pair of you wouldn't be living with the lovable goof when the time came. Turning the knob to the room, Sebastian heard a gasp, and thus after he shut it, he saw you wrapped up in your robe, your head cocked to the side as you seductively tried to settle on your small double bed.

"You made me jump Sebba." No, he could tell that you had been taking a short nap, as though you had wanted to forget some details from your day. And that you did, and you hoped that Anthony did as well. "Have you got much work to do bubs?" You raised yourself on your elbows and shuffled towards him as he came to sit on the side of the mattress.

"Think I'm going to take a short hiatus from it for a few hours." Now that certainly sounded pleasant, you hummed at his words, stroking his shoulder, as you pressed a kiss to his hand that moved cup your cheek. "Have I been neglecting my little petal?" It was a name he used whenever he was seeking forgiveness, but this time, you shook your head, frowning, as you settled a small smile on your face.

"You've been understandably busy, I get that. I'm not going to go as far as to use that word babes, you've just had a little time to yourself and your schoolwork, and that is fine." He tapped your chin, cocking his head to the side, inviting you to straddle his lap. You'd have been stupid if you refused after all the time that you had spent mentally apart from him, so without another hint, you clambered over his thighs, a giddy expression corrupting your face.

"This is why I love you. So open minded, and not to mention, that mind of yours has had me doing some thinking." Nodding in a current to prompt him to continue, his hands eased their lodging onto your bare thighs, stroking the skin with large soothing swipes, making any hair on your body stand on edge, as he averted his eyesight to the split of your gown that crisscrossed around your chest. It wasn't a sexual focus however, it was more so as though he feared a rejection of one kind.

"Hope you're not gonna propose us having a kid or something, because now is certainly not the time." At your humour, he sincerely laughed, causing a calm to wash over you and him, as he finally looked you in the face. “Unless you mean buying a plant, our last one died, and now you use the old pot to stub out your blunts." You could see the improvisational container as you turned your head to the side, seeing its white exterior be a gradient of light to shielded grey.

"I want you to move in with me." Sebastian responded straightly, bracing his slightly nervous palms to the divot of your waist, as he grasped the skin below your ribs, swirling the pads of his thumbs across your skin, caressing each nimble pore on that part of your body. His breath captured the side of your neck, as he licked a sweet line across a vein that he specifically picked out using his

"We already live together silly. Unless we're gonna move to mars." As you spoke, your brows optimistically raised, as your forearms found a home around the back of his neck, as you pressed tentative kisses to his clean jaw. A series of giggles evicted from you as you darted your tongue out to taste his sharp skin, your hand slipping down to control his own, trailing his touch beneath your gown so that the tips of his fingers were brushing the mesh of your underwear that was poised in a curve upon your hipbone.

"As much as the space nerd in me would love that, and not to mention you would make one foxy astronaut, I meant, after this, and here, we find a place for just you and me. I get if you don’t-“ you pressed your left forefinger to his lips, humming with a smile as he shared a gentle kiss upon your skin. He took the digit into his mouth, sucking the skin and swirling his tongue around the crescent of your nail.

“That sounds... perfect.” Ushering your finger from out past his lips, and the barrier of his nipping teeth, you languidly stroked his bottom lip, spreading the small extent of saliva that had coated your finger. “I’m so happy you’re taking a break Sebba, you deserve it. There’s something I want to show you baby, I know you’re going to like it.”

“Is it under this robe by any chance?” Obliging his answer with a supporting action, you allowed his hands to remain beneath the sleek material, as you untied the thick strand that tied the two sides together around your body. Pushing the dark silk from your shoulders, you revealed the design of petals that prompted through the thin material of your undergarments, everything exposed through the sultry and intimate pieces.

“Do you like it?” You seemed to have forgotten about Anthony seeing you in the internal wear, and from Sebastian’s honed gazing at your full breasts, your nipples sternly grew hard, telling him without need for word that he was silently turning you on. A sigh escaped from him, as he plucked at the seam of your panties, tugging lightly at the side to drag the material up your slit, grasping a light moan from your intimately affected lungs.

“My lovely petal, like is an understatement. You do all this for me, I don’t think I’m going to know how much this was, especially where we’re supposed to be budgeting.” Seb quirked his unbrushed brow, pressing his lips against the column of your throat, intaking the smell and pungent taste of your floral perfume. “But I’m not going to complain, because seeing you like this is certainly worth a fine penny. Is it ungrateful for me to want it off of you though?”

“Wait.” You instructed him, pressing your tongue into the divot of his chin, swiping a line of saliva through the bone structure. “I think we should get my money’s worth. First, I want to get my fill of your appreciation, and then maybe, maybe then I’ll allow you to discard piece by piece from my skin.” Your dominant hand pressed against his growing bulge as a you slid off his lap, running your nose along his thighs, as you fiddled with the purchase of his jeans, him helping you tug the denim off, and down his thick thighs.

“You’re so good to me.” He leaned back, curling his fists into the sheets, as he watched you enduringly pat him over his boxers, drawing a spot of precum to seep out onto the white cotton. “My beautiful petal, hungry for my cock, you want it, don’t you? Want to suck my hard cock, practically starving for it, ain’t ya?” Profusely nodding, you drooled as he twitched, and pushed down his underwear, revealing his uncut, and growing cock.

“Holy shit.” Escaped you as a breathy conjunction of two words, your palm reaching out to rotate his foreskin in your hand, pushing the layer back gently to reveal his hidden slit. Your tongue darted out over the flushed head, suckling on the sensitive portion, spoiling yourself with the salty taste of his aroused skin. “You have such a pretty cock baby.” Pressing a kiss along the length, you dragged your tongue up his shaft, before returning to the tip, swallowing down his cock in your throat.

“Fuck.” Your boyfriend revelled in the pleasure, one of his hands capturing your hair in its hold, running his fingers through your locks as you bobbed your head. Gargled sounds choked out from your easing throat, as you continued your administrations, making Seb squeeze his eyes shut, as he endured the pleasure that you pledged him with. “Baby...”

You moaned around his cock, your glazed irises peeking up at him, before pulling off, a strand of saliva connecting you to his hung length. “Say it.” Was his demand as his hand pressed the cheeks of your face together, forcing your lips into an exaggerated pout. It was a notion of past experiences that reminded you of what he was speaking of, you blinked your lashes innocently towards him, steadily breathing through your nose as he patiently awaited for you to carry out his order.

“I’m your cockslut.” You mumbled out, spit pooling out of your mouth and rolling down the cleavage of your lips, descending onto your chin, and slipping to be a river down your chest, playing hide and seek in the cups of your sheer bra. “Love your fat cock, and your large balls, and the way your mouth exhibits complete bliss over my pussy.” He tilted your head to the side, as he leaned down, his spare hand reaching behind you to remove your bra, leaving it hanging loosely off from your shoulders.

“How about I eat your cunt, huh? You’d like that, wouldn’t you petal?” A whine slipped from your lips as you shouldered off the floral laced bra, discarding it on the bedroom floor, as you waded your legs about so that you could do the same with the slim lined panties. “Come on then, get up on the bed pretty girl, let me at that pussy.” Doing as he said, you clambered onto the mattress, your front against the sheets as you tried to position yourself. A slap rumbled off your ass cheek, as Sebastian struck down on the globe of fat, straggling a surprised moan from your lips.

It seemed like he wanted you to remain on your stomach, and so you did as he breathed a swab of cool air upon your clenching lips, swiping his tongue from your heavy clit to your soaking entrance. “Sebs, do something, please.” You collapsed your face into the bed, wiggling your ass towards his face, earning yourself another spank to your behind. It stung, but it was a hot heat that granted you a minor bit of relief; it was certainly better than nothing.

And then, his tongue probed at your entrance, test tasting your cunt as his muscle flicked deliriously over your clit, his forefinger prying at your slit, and slipping without struggle inside of your walls, evoking a withering moan to collapse out from your chest. Another digit slunk through your folds, filling your further, as his pace increased, his mouth surrounding your clit, and rolling the bud around with his instigating tongue. “Petal, pass me the lube.”

With a light head, you blindly reached your hand across to on top of his bedside table, locating the bottle with your fiddling hands, tossing it back towards him. A thump indicates that it did not land on the mattress as planned, instead the container of lubricant hit him in the forehead. A frown covered his face as he shook his head, removing his fingers from your folds, as he grasped the bottle, splurging some of the clear and slippery liquid onto his fingertips.

Seb spread it around his fingers, rubbing it onto his skin, as he applied a little onto your tight hole, prying at your puckered entrance with his lubricated digits. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” You gently rubbed your face against the sheets as Sebastian entered his fingers into your ass, quickly thrusting them in and out of you. “Feels so good Sebby, shit.” He continued his administrations with a clenched wrist, evicting pleasure upon you as you practically sobbed onto your shared bed. “No, no-“

He removed his fingers, as well as his own shirt that was still covering his chest. Seb clambered off the bed for a moment, locating a condom, as he gave his cock a couple of jerks, rolling the avast protection onto his length, as he positioned himself on his knees behind you. He entered you swiftly, returning his fingers back into your tighter hole, as he began to thrust into both of your entrances. Sounds of pleasure were compelled out from your lungs, as you half screamed his name; there were tears collecting in the corners of your eyes as you endured wafts pleasure from both intimate angles.

He curled his fingers within you, picking up his pace as his hips profusely clashed against your own. He was chasing a high, whilst simultaneously reducing you to nothing but a racer to your own. “So fucking tight; in both holes.” His teeth clenched as he moaned at the sensation of your walls clenching harshly around him, as he filled the condom with his white and warm seed. He remained inside of you as he brought one hand down to your cunt, playing with your clit, as he sternly thrusted his fingers into your ass.

It didn’t take long for you to reach your peak, cumming around his softened cock, and mewling into your own wrist. Sebastian extracted his tender cock from within you, also removing his fingers, as he swiped off the condom, tying to open side so that no cum would spill out, and then discarding it in the bin. “Shit, I was wanting some attention from you, but I didn’t know I was going to get that.” You laughed lightly, feeling a little hazy and drunk from your numbing orgasm.

In turn, your boyfriend laughed too, grabbing his shirt from off the ground, and lightly pulling you up, helping you into the baggy material. He pressed a sweet kiss upon your forehead as he rolled to be laid beside you, bringing your sweaty body into his matching side, watching through appeased lids at how you curled yourself into him. “I love you darling.”

“I love you too Seb.” You replied, pressing a kiss to his soft nipple, as his arms locked adoringly around you. “And I’m so proud of you for putting your all into your course.” Your nails stroked down his stomach, as the two of you laid upon the sheets, rather than underneath them.

“Of course I would, it’s for our future in the long term of things.” He stated, brushing any loose strands of hair out from your face. “But I guess it’s okay to take a break sometimes. And that, well that was certainly worth the time away from studying, it always is with you.”

281 notes · View notes

carol-effing-danvers · 3 years

Text

Steve Rogers is a Monster

Yeah, that’s a hell of a title, isn’t it? Strap in, it only gets worse from here.

(click here if you’d prefer to read this on AO3)

Forewarning, if you enjoyed the epilogue for Endgame, this particular essay is not for you - and no, I am not bashing the Steve/Peggy shippers, you are beautiful human beings who make the fandom brighter and I’m happy that at least someone in this fandom got the ending they wanted.

Additional warning: if you expect this to be another Civil War debate, you will also be disappointed. There has never been a measurement invented that can adequately describe how much I loathe the verbal dick measuring contest that seems to pass for human interaction between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in this franchise. It’s not funny or entertaining - it’s exhausting, uncomfortable, and frankly it’s rather lazy writing.

This is about the very specific way that the epilogue in Endgame completely changed the way the character of Steve Rogers can be interpreted, and I don’t just mean the very illogical and contradictory way that time travel is explained, both in the movie itself and the fact that the writers and directors have two completely different views on how that worked out.

I mean that the choice made by Steve Rogers in the very last minutes of that movie alters the way I view each and every one of his actions starting from The First Avenger and that alteration is exactly what I want to talk about, because whether you view it as deserving or not, what Steve does at the conclusion of Endgame was the most selfish thing humanly possible. Time is a thief, but somehow Steve managed to steal even more than Time.

Side note here: I understand that I am a completely biased Stucky shipper, a friend to Barnes and Noble, a Starbucks aficionado - sorry. Anyway, I’ve always believed that Steve and Bucky were destined blah blah blah, but I was never expecting a Stucky ending. Disney wasn’t going to do that, and I knew that, I wasn’t bothered that Steve and Bucky weren’t doing the smoochies by the end. But Bucky’s facial expression during those last minutes was gut-wrenching. Like...I have no idea what kind of cues the script and directors gave him, but in the future, please don’t ask Sebastian Stan to look sad unless you want soul-crushing devastation. It’s not Seb’s fault, his features are just arranged that way - but the fact that the editing staff allowed Sam to be sad though elated to be entrusted with the Shield and Bucky looked like his soul was being physically torn out of his body was an… interesting choice.

Other side note: if you’re writing about time travel, I’m begging y’all to get your facts straight. Or just don’t write about time travel. It almost always sounds better on paper than it does on screen and it means that you’ve opened doors to more questions than you’ve probably got the answers for. I know this was about trying to set up the idea of the multiverse, I get that, but there were better and less messy ways to do that, and I know that because I’ve done it before. @Marvel: Let me write you a six-way orgy you fucking cowards~

By going back in time, Steve robbed Peggy of the future that would have been hers - not only that, he’s robbed her of even the chance of making the choice between those futures, because you honestly could not tell me with a straight face that Steve told her the complete truth of what he had done and she would be okay with him alternating the very course of the future. It doesn’t help his case that he has a history of not disclosing truths that he knows will be painful or inconvenient for other people in his life.

He robbed his loved ones - Sam, Bucky, Wanda - of the years they would have spent with him. Sure, he ‘came back’ after Peggy passed away, but they are adults in the prime of youth who knew him sixty years ago in his own time and he is an old, old man who has lived an entire life completely separated from them. He is practically a stranger with a name they know, but a history that no longer belongs to any of them - not even his oldest friend. They have him back, but judging from his age, they’ll be lucky to get even ten more years with him. Assuming of course, that any of them can stand to speak to him - I certainly couldn’t blame them if they tell him to go to hell and take his dad jokes with him.

Steve has stolen away their friend and dropped off an elderly and dying near-stranger in his place, and this is treated by the writing (and the majority of the acting) as a wild and unexpected but not tragic event.

Is it really that unexpected, though?

I recall seeing a Game of Thrones essay on Daenerys across my dash (I’m sorry, love, I don’t recall who you are since it’s not a fandom I’m in, but if someone knows who wrote that, please post the link!) which detailed how her ending in the series was foreshadowed many times by her penchant for bloody killings and her habit of surrounding herself with her own fawning friends.

Months after reading that, I had the thought: though Steve is never really shown thinking about Peggy after Civil War, except in a few scattered scenes in Endgame, was this foreshadowed? Whether you believe that his actions are justified or not, what Steve does is still, in the end, selfish at its very heart, and Steve Rogers is not a selfish person.

Oh no, my dear friends and readers. Because taking this action has solidified and clarified Steve Rogers as the biggest and most selfish asshole in this whole universe.

Steve does not do the right thing, Steve does the thing that will most make him feel better. The fact that this often happens to be the right thing in the end is more the result of happy coincidence than any special sort of moral authority that the man holds.

Rescuing Bucky Barnes and his fellow captives in a prisoner of war camp from being experimented on by an insane Nazi eugenicist? That was not a moral stand, that was endangering himself, Peggy Carter, and Howard Stark because he couldn’t handle the reality of his best friend being killed in war.

Sacrificing himself by putting the Valkyrie down in the Arctic Circle? That was not about sparing human lives, that was about Steve seeing his friend die right in front of him and not being able to deal with the grief. There were ways he could’ve prevented the plane from killing people without killing himself.

Trying to make Bucky remember who he was? And later on, saving him from the government agencies who wanted to hunt him down? Although, arguably, that last one is also just good common sense - Steve was already shown that government agencies could and were corrupted by HYDRA and he’d also seen how dangerous the Winter Soldier could be when unleashed.

Steve did, I think, truly believe that this was the right thing to do, but it was also about keeping his connection - his very last, since Peggy had descended into dementia caused by Alzheimer’s before she ultimately died - to a past that for him, was only months or years ago, rather than decades. In some ways, this is completely understandable - Bucky might be the very last person left alive who truly knows who the real Steve Rogers is, because the rest of these people only know Captain America and we are consistently shown through multiple movies how uncomfortable this makes him.

This gets...considerably less and less understandable as we are shown Steve’s growing relationships with Natasha, Sam, Wanda - even Sharon, though she barely gets any screen time and they share the most awkward kiss I’ve ever seen - and indeed, what might be the most uncomfortable kiss in cinema history.

Side Note 3: This is made even more awkward by the director’s choice to have two of Steve’s friends watching them the whole time - seriously, who even does that? Why would you make them do that? Only sociopaths make out with their friends staring at them like that. It’s so fucking creepy - and don’t even get me fucking started on the fact that she’s also apparently his own niece. AHHHHH!

But we are shown, over and over again, that Steve is capable of building close meaningful relationships with people in the present. They don’t know his whole history, but they do know Steve Rogers rather than Captain America and they care about him deeply.

Side Note 4: Notice that I don’t count Tony Stark among those people - despite this strangely persistent narrative that the various writers and directors tried to sell to the audience, Tony and Steve were not friends. They were never friends. They were colleagues at best, but these were two men who neither liked nor understood each other very well, but had to work together. And sometimes that’s okay, too. (Oh dear, I just gave the Stony fans a fit too, didn’t I? Sorry, guys. Enemies to Lovers is a great trope, I support you!)

But let’s set aside Steve’s gross betrayal of the people who loved him. We’ll also ignore the question of whether the motive for these good actions has tainted the actions themselves. Because even without questioning these, the conclusion of this story arc still transforms Steve into the biggest monster this franchise has.

The very fundamental way that the writers and directors can’t agree on how the time travel mechanics in their own story work mean that Steve has just done one of two things and they range from shady and very questionable to absolutely fucking horrific.

The first, that he’s created his own alternate universe to exist in, is morally dubious at best. Even the people who support this theory and liked the ending seem to feel that it wasn’t necessarily a ten out of ten on the moral goodness spectrum. They’ll say things like ‘he deserved to have his happy ending’. Even that phrasing seems to acknowledge that doing this was the opposite of the right thing. It just considers doing the wrong thing as being justified rather than horrifying.

But let’s examine this first idea for a minute - even this, the more innocent of the two implications, means that rather than really processing his grief or dealing with the repeated tragedies and losses that have occured in his life, even as he was running group therapy sessions and grief counseling, Steve Rogers chose to escape his current life by creating an alternate universe that specifically allows he himself to live out his own fucking fantasies of the way his life should have turned out.

That, in case you are not aware, is wildly fucked up. I thought I was playing pretty fast and loose with Steve’s characterization when I turned him into an extremely polite serial killer but as it turns out, I clearly just wasn’t setting the bar high enough, because that’s somehow even more fucked up than being an undercover child soldier with a small sadistic streak.

Hm, and now I feel I should have been more creative there...

The second, and even more horrifying option, is that this older Steve Rogers has been in this world the whole time, watching as things unfolded just as we’ve seen over the past decade, taking ‘the slow way’ through time.

Side Note 5: I do kind of understand why you would do it this way, because that’s really cool and shocking when you say that! Until you think about it for longer than three seconds and suddenly you realize…

Everything that has happened here, every tragedy and downfall these people experienced, happened because Steve Rogers lived his happily ever after with his beautiful wife and did absolutely nothing to stop it. He got to fuck Peggy Carter and watched as his wife built an empire of intelligence networks, knowing that her efforts were completely in vain because her agency was rotten to the core and he never told her.

Every horrifying act committed by HYDRA under the guise of SHIELD was permitted through Steve Rogers’ negligence. And that’s just the wider big-picture worldview, large and shocking, but not personal.

What about the people that Steve claims to actually care about?

This means that Steve lived his whole life in contentment with his wife and children while his best friend was physically and psychologically tortured for over seventy years and just...let that go.

He allowed one friend to murder another in the nineties, when the Winter Soldier was sent after Howard and Maria Stark. Then their child was being advised by a greedy self-interested warmonger who paid terrorists to drag him off to be tortured and slaughtered, and Steve did nothing about that, either.

Bruce Banner was exploited, experimented on, and made into a monster against his will in the failed pursuit of recreating what was done to Steve, resulting in billions of dollars in damage and dozens or even hundreds of lives lost, and Steve allowed that to happen, too.

Like Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanov was physically and psychologically tortured for others to use her as a living weapon - except that this was probably happening to her since early childhood, and a man her future self loved and trusted implicitly did nothing to save her from this upbringing.

The Maximoff twins are shown to have not wealthy but loving parents who are murdered in front of them and they both endure days of laying in the rubble of their ruined apartment, wondering if the bomb in their living room would go off and kill them. Later, they are taken in by HYDRA, experimented on, and recruited as child soldiers to the cause when they show signs of having supernatural powers. They start a series of events that result in the destruction of a major city and the loss of what is probably thousands of lives. Pietro is murdered while trying to help the Avengers to stop this, and Wanda suffers the loss of the very last living person she loved. None of these things seem to have bothered Future Steve.

Steve “I can’t sit on the sidelines when I see a situation go sideways” Rogers, planted himself on that fucking sideline and observed for nearly eighty years as friends, colleagues, and his own wife were lied to, brainwashed, tortured, vilified, and hunted down like animals.

And then there Steve Rogers himself - not the Endgame Steve Rogers, the Steve Rogers who brought down a Nazi plane and will lie beneath the ice for seventy years while everything he knows disappear (mostly) innocent of these horrors, the life he would’ve lived stolen from him by a stranger with his name and his face from another universe.

What I’m saying here is that if you consider this idea for any amount of time, it took Steve Rogers less than ten minutes to become the most evil and disturbing figure in the entire MCU, only (not really tho) contested by Thanos himself.

Gross and poorly reasoned libertarian ethics aside, Thanos genuinely believes that he did what he did for the sake of the entire population. It’s made fairly explicitly clear that Steve didn’t do this for anyone but himself.

Call me crazy, but if everyone you know needs to suffer and multiple planet-wide devestations have to happen in order for you to get your happy ending, you might be the bad guy.

Maybe I’m just old-fashioned?

#forever bitter about what they did to steve #steve rogers #captain america #the avengers #marvel

16 notes · View notes

365days365movies · 3 years

Text

May 6, 2021: The Martian (2015) (Recap: Part One)

We’re leaving lo-fi sci-fi, people. Kind of.

I mentioned before that films like Her are what I define as “lo-fi sci-fi”, which is a category that I’ve kind of made up. Basically, it’s the science fiction version of low fantasy, meaning it contains science fiction themes contained within an otherwise contemporary setting. In the case of Her, Joaquin Phoenix’s character, along with many others, live in a world and setting basically like ours, but with technology advanced enough to generate AIs (like Siri) that are intelligent enough to actually ascend our reality. Because we live in a society.

You give me Joaquin Phoenix, I’m gonna make a Joker reference; it’s in the contract of my existence. Anyway, that is admittedly kind of broad, right? I mean, that has the capability of crossing over with a BUNCH of sci-fi genres and themes. And, considering that we’ve already seen magic, speculative technology, time travel, monsters, and artificial intelligence, we’ve already touched on quite a bit.

And with science fiction, the sky’s the limit. Literally. So, I think it behooves us to re-examine lo-fi sci-fi a little bit. Specifically, we should note that it can also be defined as an extension of currently existing technologies and possibilities. Writers would call this “speculative sci-fi”, assuming in this case that it’s set within the present or a near and attainable future. Her definitely fits in this category, as does Westworld. But, let’s crossover to another genre by speculating upon another possibility. And it begins with this man. Probably.

Hey, Elon, what’s up? Now, Mr. Musk here is a...controversial figure, for COMPLETELY understandable reasons. Instead of touch upon the man himself, I feel like touching upon one of his recent focuses: space travel. With SpaceX and the various upcoming space trips and journeys that they’re planning, Musk has made it clear that he plans to shoot to the Moon. Again, literally.

In fact, this full plan is to go even further than that, and to fuel potential commercial space flights in the future, which is admittedly very cool. And of course, if you’re going to shoot for the Moon...

Guys...guys, that’s Mars. THAT’S FUCKING MARS

Is that not amazing? We have sound and pictures from FUCKING MARS! THAT’S A DIFFERENT PLANET, GODDAMN IT! It’s cooler than I have the ability to properly express, but it IS goddamn cool. And this means that, easily within my lifetime, we could (and likely will) land on Mars. Which is amazing. God, I really want to see that happen.

And so, landing on Mars is BARELY science fiction, but since we haven’t yet done so...yeah, it’s fictional at the moment. And so, any film about landing on Mars falls within this category. Well...to an extent.

2000′s Mission to Mars, for example, was a Disney-funded film (to my IMMENSE surprise; and it’s based off of an old Disney World ride, WHAT), and a movie that I saw a LOT when I was a kid. I also barely remember it, to be honest. But that film is straight-up science fiction because of, well...aliens. The idea of Martians is, as far as we know it, fictional. And most fiction involving Mars includes these aliens somehow. Whether it’s DC Comics’ entire civilization of Martians, as seen in Justice League, Supergirl, or Young Justice...

...Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s heavily mythologized civilization, as seen in the Barsoom series of novels (and another Disney film)...

...Or one of the best Looney Tunes characters.

Mmm. Yes. Isn’t that lovely?

But, yeah, Mars and aliens go hand-in-hand in our media. So, to properly look at lo-fi science and speculative science fiction in relation to the Red Planet, we’ll need a movie that goes to the planet, and doesn’t touch upon the concept of aliens AT ALL.

Enter...Ridley Scott?

Yeah, the director of Legend, Alien, Thelma and Louise, Blade Runner, Gladiator. Also the director of Kingdom of Heaven, Prometheus, Exodus: Gods and Kings, and...ugh, 1492: Conquest of Paradise. I’ve talked about his mixed record before, in my Recap of Legend right here.

In 2014, he was brought on to adapt a book by Andy Weir called The Martian, which is a great book! I’ve listened to the audio book, and I whole-heartedly recommend doing that. And because of that, I am VERY MUCH looking forward to watching this film, especially seeing as it’s often called one of the best science fiction films made during that year, and was critically acclaimed then and now. It got seven Oscar nominations (although it won none of them), amongst other awards. So, enough navel-gazing, huh? The Martian!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

On Acidalia Plantitia, at the landing site of the Ares III mission, a group of scientists are gathering samples. These scientists are commander and geologist Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), pilot Rick Martinez (Michael Pena), systems operator Beth Johanssen (Kate Mara), surgeon Chris Beck (Sebastian Stan), German chemist Alex Vogel (Aksel Hennie), and overly talkative botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon).

The group seems to have a good dynamic, but that dynamic is interrupted by a massive dust storm, which is large enough to cause the entire crew to evacuate. However, in the chaos of the dust storm, Mark is hit by debris and lost in the shuffle. Although Lewis goes back to find him, she can’t get to him before they need to leave, and Mark is believed dead. This is reported (pretty callously) by NASA Director Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) to the press soon afterwards.

But of course, that wouldn’t be much of a movie, now would it? Mark’s alive! And Mark’s alone. With his suit damaged, and low on oxygen, he trudges back to headquarters, which is intact and still contains breathable oxygen. He gets inside, and realizes that he’s been stabbed in the abdomen by some debris. He removes it, and stitches up his own wound. Which is...god, it’s fucking BRUTAL just to think about, nevertheless watch.

Once he’s finished, he records a log for the future, if he doesn’t make it. It’s day 19 of the 31-day mission at this point, and Mark’s basically screwed. He needs lasting oxygen, water, and food, and he might need that for 4 years, when the next manned mission can come to the red planet. Additionally, he has absolutely no way to contact NASA, leaving him completely stranded. Another dust storm rolls in that night, and Mark looks over the belongings of his colleagues, packing them up for their eventual return. It’s somber, to say the least. However, Mark affirms that he’s determined not to die on the planet.

After doing the math, Mark should have enough food to last him for about 300 days, especially if he rations it. Until then, he’ll need to figure out how to grow his own food, on a planet where nothing grows. Which is, of course, going to be a difficult feat to accomplish. But Mark Watney’s a botanist with botany powers, and he’s gonna do it.

It’s day 31, and Mark’s brought in dirt from the outside, and uses the bio-waste from the crew’s stay there for a form of compost. After 5 days, mostly full of him watching Happy Days on TV and trying to farm, he realizes that he needs water, both for himself and for the soil. To do that, he goes chemical and decides to use hydrogen-laden rocket fuel, wood from Martinez’s belongings, and good old-fashioned fire to make water! And since hydrogen + oxygen = water, it should work. With a minor side-effect.

So, yeah, he blew himself up. As as he records a video log, the sound mixing makes itself impressively known by subtly and realistically generating a tinnitus sound. It’s VERY well-done, holy shit. Anyway, he makes a stable fire, and the place is soon covered in condensation, moistening the room and the soil successfully.

We get to day 54, and Mark’s planted leftover potatoes from the crew in order to grow them. And while he’s being mourned at a funeral on Earth, and in NASA, he’s seeing the fruits (or shoots) of his efforts.

Back on Earth, Mars Mission Director Vincent Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is trying to convince Director Teddy to let him lobby for another Ares mission, despite the risk of bad press for the callousness of the proximity to Watney’s death. Meanwhile, satellite technician Mindy Park (Mackenzie Davis) looks down at the Ares III site, and realizes that the site has changed visually, meaning that Mark may actually be alive.

Shocked by this, she tells Kapoor, Teddy, and media director Annie Montrose (Kristen Wiig) about this, and they realize the absolute clusterfuck that this whole thing is. They can’t tell the other members of the Ares III crew about it, because it’d devastate them for the 10 months they have to get back to Earth, at the VERY least. They can’t tell the WORLD about this, because they just had a funeral for the guy, and they’d reveal that they left him stranded on Mars accidentally, destroying faith in the Mars Missions Program. And they can’t save Mark, who they’re sure will starve eventually. It’s a mess. And Kapoor also wonders what’s happening to Mark psychologically through all of this.

And yet, they reveal this to the world regardless, causing the clusterfuck reaction that they think it’s going to cause. But Mark’s busy on Mars, figuring out how to get to the site of the next Ares IV mission in 4 years, at the Schiaparelli crater about 50 days travel away. This is a struggle, as his Rover has only so much power and fuel, and he can only get more power by cutting out the heater is risking death by freezing. So, problems. However, he figures out a potential solution: radioactive isotopes! In a move that is, let’s face it, COMPLETELY INSANE, he digs up a radioactive generator from the ship in order to heat the ship.

On Earth, they try to figure out Mark’s moves, as well as how to resupply Ares IV sooner for Mark’s benefit. This is with the director of JPL, Bruce Ng (Benedict Wong), and the flight director of the ship Hermes, Mitch Henderson (Sean Bean), who insists that they tell the Ares II crew. They continue to monitor Mark, and note that he’s been travelling for 17 days in his Rover towards something. Kapoor figures it out, and flies to California.

See, Mark needs a way to contact NASA, and he believes that the way to do so is through Pathfinder, the first probe ever sent to Mars in 1997, lasting for 9 months since landing until they lost contact. Mark digs it up, and the people at JPL in California start their own efforts for contact. And despite communication being extremely rudimentary, initially limited to yes/no questions that use a still-frame camera, it fucking WORKS! WHOO!

To boost this communication hurdle, the two camps figure out a hexadecimal system for communication, allowing them to communicate using a circular table of numbers that represent an alphabet. That allows them to teach Mark to hack into the Rover, allowing it to piggyback off of its broadcast signal and send them messages via keyboard. Nice! Now that communication is reasonably possible, Mark’s able to ask how the crew is handling his death. But upon learning that they haven’t told him. He’s understandably a little goddamn enraged. And so, they FINALLY tell the Ares III crew about this.

The news breaks the crew, even though Mark continues to stress that he’s all right, and that it wasn’t their fault. Meanwhile, Mark’s able to survive for 912 days with his potato plants, and things improve with the help of technicians on Earth. They plan to launch a supply rocket to him in the next year, and things are looking fine! Unless, of course...something goes horribly HORRIBLY wrong.

Well...fuck. Good place to pause for Part Two, then?

#the martian #ridley scott #matt damon #jessica chastain #kristen wiig #jeff daniels #sean bean #michael pena #chiwetel ejiofor #benedict wong #science fiction may #sci-fi may #user365 #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #bookstofilm #whatelsecanwedonow

13 notes · View notes

k347 · 3 years

Note

Well, Scott traveled to be with his closest family, if that Toby pic had been recent they'd have been traveling to be with a group of friends. There is a clear difference. The hate was insane but they're not the same thing.

Not to get personal or anything, but my closest family and almost all of the blood relatives are in India right now. Are you going to tell me it would have been totally alright and okay if I had travelled all the way there to celebrate Diwali instead of being cooped up in my apartment? (Just fyi, Diwali is to Indians, what Christmas is to Americans. It is the festival of the year) 😅 Also, as I mentioned before, I am originally from India. Thanksgiving isn't really my own family's tradition. But still that day is really important for me and I celebrate it every year. Have been doing that since I was a kid. You know why? My Friends, neighbours and acquaintances from here. I love the holiday because of all these amazing & lovely people in my life. This year most of us couldn't be together because of the current situations. But we still cooked the food, made that dessert and recited our toasts & prayers. Got emotional & cried on a group video call. So for some people, Friends ARE family. Sometimes friends can mean almost as much (if not more) than the closest of your relatives. So please stop judging everyone and their life decisions by your narrow minded perspective. Tbh I sort of feel sorry for you for not getting to have such close friendships yet, and I wish you can develop them at some point in your life (♥️). Maybe then you'll understand what I'm trying to say even better.

As to directly & objectively answer your ask,

I never said Scott and Toby situations are the exact same thing. But if you think about it, they're not that much different either. I guarantee you, if Chris had some more recent pap pics with a girl, Scott would have gotten the backlash on his insta too (Remember when he posted a selfie with one of Chris' previous girlfriends on Christmas a few years ago? It received a lot of negative comments and criticism, even though as far as I can remember there was no global pandemic going on in December 2017🤔 Go and check it out on instagram. The post is still up. Scott doesn't post too frequently so you don't even have to dig in as deep or stalk too much as the crazy part of fandom did on Ale's & all of her friend's accounts 😂)

Another proof of what I was saying. It doesn't matter whether it's Chris, Seb, or any other celebrity. The intensity or number can differ by some amount, but still all of the hate storms from fandoms always oh-so-conveniently occur only when the man in question appears to be in a relationship with someone. Can't you see an obvious pattern here?

The point of my post wasn't family or friends or travelling or how close Chris & Scott or Seb & Toby are. It was that bullying people is wrong (both irl & online). The important part you missed, is Mr. Hemingway didn't deserve ANY of the hate he got. He just posted a picture with a friend. Whether it was old or new, whether they took it on a rooftop or a resort...IT. IS. NONE. OF. OUR. BUISNESS.

Nobody would have batted an eyelash leave alone writing mean comments if toby had travelled to the Mauritius, Antartica or the fucking moon & the picture he posted from there didn't have Sebastian Stan in it or if Sebastian Stan had declared point blank that he is single at the moment (like Chris Evans did on Bill Maher show)

You can twist it any way you want. But there is no hiding the truth. All the hate and toxicity radiating from the seb fandom has one root cause. Jealousy. More precisely, the anger born from that ugly emotion.

Misplaced anger which some people are trying to justify by using the crutches of 'holding a celebrity accountable'. Their failed attempts at explaining their own wrong actions are laughable, really.

Calling out someone on something wrong they did is one thing. Harassing that person for months about it? Stalking each & every little sm activity they make, spreading baseless & toxic rumours (that I don't even wanna get into discussing), devoting pages, blogs, multiple accounts and SO MUCH TIME for spreading all that negativity about a man you don't even know personally?

This is what they call CWS (Celebrity Worship Syndrome). In psychological studies, it is described as an obsessive-addictive disorder where an individual becomes overly involved and interested (i.e., completely obsessed) with the details of the personal life of a celebrity.

***

A quick note for the other 50, 60 or however many anons who are sitting in my inbox right now & will soon get deleted- Consider this as a combined answer to all of your asks. I have neither the tolerance nor the time, will or patience to individually deal with each and every one of your shit explanations for cyberbullying or your crisis of not having a life.

Au revoir. Sayōnara. Adios. Auf Wiedersehen. Vaarwel. Aloha. Alvida. La Revedere. Goodbye in any and every language you speak.

#goodnight and goodluck 😂#anon #ask #k347 #answers #askbox #sebastian stan #toby hemingway #chris evans #scott evans #instagram #cyberbullying #cws #why can't people just mind their own business?#this keyboard warrior fake activists thing isn't working for them too well #when will they know?

25 notes · View notes

dollwritesarchive · 3 years

Note

How can we help you to enjoy tumblr more? It didn’t seem the recent time you do and I want to change that

Hi baby! This is such a sweet sentiment and you’re right, the past few weeks I’ve been a little bit.. in my feelings, so to speak? I just want you and my other followers that may think they’re the cause not to think that at all!

Here’s the thing (I’ll explain under the cut so that I don’t bog down your dash)

Back when this was a sebastian stan exclusive writing blog, I would get a ton of notes on anything I put out, and a bunch of feedback and reblogs and all that fun stuff. It made me really happy and it INSPIRED me to write more, however my muse is not something that can be pinned to one direct fandom or person, and so I expanded to allow my followers to get to know me as a person a little bit better by seeing DIFFERENT things I’m into. And I guess i did lose a substantial amount of followers who expected me to be marvel exclusive. I don’t and cannot blame them for leaving, as I took a hiatus from pretty much every marvel project to focus on other things.

Then I started writing for bands, which I love to do, but I started feeling boxed in because that’s all I was writing for, and I should’ve tried to vary a little bit more while I was expanding in this way, because I got burnout fairly quickly with Mötley and specifically Nikki. which is, if you’re wondering, why no new nikki content has been put out. I’m trying to overcome the burnout that I, myself, caused.

+ also I constantly struggle with the fact that I know a lot of my followers are only interested in smut and that’s why they followed me, and I love and appreciate them, but smut can be exhausting to write and I feel like sometimes I put my absolute heart into something different and it flops. which, I’m trying to remind myself, is just part of the whole experience.

So fast forward to now, where i would like to balance all of my content, but I’m scared to release anything that I write that isn’t a major staple in my blog already because of the lack of notes. hell, I even posted a Seb fic and it’s sitting at 24 notes. That was two weeks ago, that’s insane.

And maybe that sounds selfish, but I guess the reason it stings is because I’ve done this for so long, and I work SO HARD on my fics to give you guys the best content I provide, and lately I’ve been feeling like it’s not good enough, hence why I go long periods without updating at all. I don’t want to disappoint you all further.

In short what it comes down to, is that I write for myself and what I enjoy, but I would also like to pique my followers’ interests as well, and even if they’re not in that specific fandom I’d be honored if someone were to see my fic or even a graphic for a fic I wrote and be like “wow, what is this?” And look into that fandom. When I hear that someone joins a fandom because they like my fics it??? Makes my entire day, I can’t stop smiling and I feel giddy. I know that sometimes it’s just going to be impossible, not everyone is going to see something and jump head first into it, but I would love to be a quintessential part of introducing my followers into different fandoms. And lately I’ve been feeling a bit hopeless in that department. And I know the other day I ranted a bit, got a few asks about it, and deleted them and the initial rant a few hours later. It’s because I realized that I sounded entitled and was acting like you guys owe me something, when you don’t.

I’m so grateful for every reblog, every piece of feedback, and every interaction I have with my followers I can swear this with 100% of my heart. the reason I’ve not been myself is because I am coming to terms with the fact that not every single person that follows me wants to read anything I put out, and that some fics are going to be complete flops, but I’m also trying to keep in mind that I didn’t write them for note counts, but because I’m excited about the fandoms and have the muse for them.

I hope this all made sense and omg thank you so much for this ask, it was very sweet and allowed me to talk about something I didn’t know how to unpack on my own. You’re an absolute angel 💗

#💗💗💗#also not to sound needy but I would very much enjoy #more interactions with my followers #like more general conversation #I get a lot of requests but 🥺 I wanna KNOW you guys

4 notes · View notes

lady-divine-writes · 5 years

Text

Kurtbastian one-shot - “Blaine Anderson 2.0″ (Rated PG13)

Summary: Blaine Anderson is getting a start on his brand new life with the help of Kurt, and surprisingly, Sebastian, too. (1509 words)

Notes: Takes place after 'The Emancipation of Blaine Anderson'. Warning for Blaine friendly.

Part 60 of Outside Edge

Read on AO3.

“So, what’s the plan, Stan?” Sebastian asks, sitting down at the breakfast table with his boyfriend and his new boarder, Blaine. He watches the boy sitting primly on the opposite end of the table, tucking into a plate of scrambled eggs with a fork and knife, which offends Sebastian on principle. There’s a part of Sebastian – a small part, mind you - that still thinks he’s insane for offering the boy who is clearly in love with his boyfriend (and who also happens to be perfect for him, in Sebastian’s opinion) a room at his house. But he wouldn’t go back on his decision even if he could. For one thing, inviting Blaine to stay with him was the human thing to do, and he’s been trying to act more like a human and less like a walking turd ever since he and Kurt got together. Plus, Blaine’s not a bad guy. It kills Sebastian to admit it but, in a different universe, he could see himself crushing on Blaine.

A little.

Not all that much.

Like if Sebastian happened to have the flu with a high ass fever and he was hallucinating, and Blaine was around, then he might think Blaine was cute.

But only then.

Besides, the moony eyes Kurt makes at Sebastian are more than worth the aggravation.

Like now, when Kurt is staring at him all lovesick, serving him pancakes from the platter in the middle of the table – pancakes Kurt made special to celebrate Blaine’s first breakfast at Sebastian’s house, but which he added chocolate chips to because he knows those are Sebastian’s favorite.

Oh yeah, Sebastian thinks, leaning over for a kiss on the cheek. He could get use to this.

“Well, I wanna go get some new clothes,” Blaine says, passing over a plate of bacon after helping himself to a slice. “Something a little more me.”

“Ooo! Shopping trip!” Kurt passes the bacon to Sebastian and blows him another kiss. “I’m definitely down for that.”

“Also, I want to buy a new car.”

Sebastian’s head snaps in Blaine’s direction, more interested in this development than Kurt thinks he should be. “You’re getting rid of the Mustang?”

“Yeah. I’m thinking of trading it in and buying a Prius. They’re way more environmentally friendly considering all the traveling I do. The last competition I did in Pennsylvania was a killer fuel wise. I can’t imagine the damage I’m doing to the environment every time I fill it up.”

“How much do you think you could get for it as a trade-in?”

Kurt’s eyes pop between his boyfriend and Blaine, curious as to why this matters to Sebastian so much.

“Not as much as I want, honestly. It’s a classic, completely rebuilt from the bottom up. My dad and I …” Blaine pauses, toying with his slice of bacon, tearing it slowly while he chews over the memory “… we did the work ourselves. But I don’t want to take the time selling it. Not in this economy. It’ll probably be sitting on Auto Trader forever.”

“My dad might be able to help you …” Kurt begins, sympathizing with his friend, but Sebastian leaps over him with his own offer.

“Let me take it off your hands.”

Both Blaine and Kurt shoot looks his way.

“Are you serious?” Blaine asks.

“Yeah.”

“But, didn’t your uncle just buy you that Audi?”

“Yeah, but it’s too new for someone who just got their license. I keep worrying about scratching it up and shit. Besides …” Sebastian bites his lower lip. He knows the next words out of his mouth might shut down Kurt’s moony eyes for a while, but he can’t help it. It’s too good. Plus, he’s not wrong “… Kurt likes your Mustang.”

Blaine straightens in surprise, turning to his friend who’s suddenly gone pale. “You do?” he says in a voice that makes Sebastian think that revelation may have lost him the car.

“Wh---what?” Kurt stares at them, eyes darting back and forth between the two, cheeks burning. “No. I … I didn’t say …”

“Sure you did,” Sebastian continues with a devious smirk. “You can admit it. We’re all friends here.”

“I … I may have mentioned that I admired it,” Kurt backtracks, looking at Blaine, begging him with his eyes to believe him, not his boyfriend. “You know, from a mechanic’s standpoint. It’s an exceptional piece of American craftsmanship.”

“Kurt, you said that car was so sexy that if it were a guy you would …”

“Sebastian!”

Blaine turns his head and laughs at Kurt’s indignant squeak, and even though Kurt glares Sebastian down as if he’s about to leap over the table and throttle him, cancel every scheduled make-out they have from now till next year, Sebastian has the audacity to wink at him.

“So, whaddya say, Blaine? I’ll give you whatever you think is fair. Cash.”

Blaine smiles, catching a hint of Sebastian’s smug ‘tude, only mildly disappointed about the deal he’s about to make. “I’d say you’ve bought yourself a car.”

“Great!” Sebastian digs into his delightful smelling pancakes with a shit eating grin. “And Kurt?”

Kurt stabs at his food, demolishing his pancakes until they’re unrecognizable. “Yeah?”

“You’re welcome.”

***

“Are you guys almost done in there? It’s been over two hours!” Sebastian flails in his overstuffed chair, making a scene in front of two moms waiting for their sons to come out.

“Stop your complaining!” Kurt calls. “Overhauling one’s life can be a lengthy and exhaustive process. It should not be rushed.”

“How much more lengthy!? I’m so hungry, my stomach’s about to recede!”

“You just polished off three pretzel dogs and a trough of lemonade!”

“Kurt, I am an elite athlete! I burn two thousand calories sitting and breathing. Three pretzel dogs isn’t going to satisfy me!”

“But complaining obviously does. Sit tight. He’s trying on his last outfit.”

Sebastian breathes in deep then groans unhappily into the air, unfazed by the glares aimed in his direction. This is revenge, he thinks, for what he said over breakfast. Sebastian doesn’t feel sorry for that, though. He was right. Even with daggers in his eyes, Kurt took a good long look at Blaine’s Mustang parked in Sebastian’s garage before they left, running his fingertips lightly over the hood, supremely focused on its leather back seat.

Yup.

Sebastian definitely made one hell of an investment taking that car off Blaine’s hands.

But as images of Sebastian and his half-naked boyfriend making out in that car run through his brain, another thought makes him jerk upright.

“Wait … Kurt? He’s not changing his entire look, is he?”

“How do you mean?”

“I mean, he’s not trying on new chonies with you in there, is he?”

“If you don’t sit still and keep quiet, I won’t tell you,” Kurt sings.

Sebastian seethes. “That’s not a no.”

“It’s not a yes either. Now hold on to your socks. I present for your consideration the new, not improved, Blaine Anderson!”

Kurt opens the door to the dressing room and hops out, gesturing dramatically inside like a ring master presenting an exciting circus act. Slowly, shyly, Blaine walks out, eyes trained on his hands as he smooths down his shirt, straightening seams that don’t need to be straightened. He looks happy, yet slightly insecure, and Sebastian, certain his boyfriend strong-armed him into this decision, shakes his head.

“Kurt! Christ! Couldn’t you let the man dress himself?”

“I did!” Kurt’s hands find his hips and lock on in a defiant pose. “I didn’t pick out a single thing except the bowtie, and that’s only because he asked me to!”

Sebastian looks Blaine over again from head to toe. Gone is the leather jacket, the white t-shirt with the dress shirt over it, the torn jeans, and the combat boots. Instead, the boy standing in front of him is wearing a pair of crisp, khaki slacks; a short sleeve button down; a sweater vest; a bowtie; boat shoes; and an off-white fedora.

Sebastian doesn’t want to say it, but he’s dressed a lot like the last picture Sebastian saw of his grandfather playing bocce ball a week before he died.

Kurt doesn’t dress this way, but he’s tried to get Sebastian to … politely suggesting during a few of their online shopping excursions that khaki slacks in this particular cut or boat shoes might suit him. And here Blaine comes, out of the blue, and dresses himself with no prompting like a page out of Kurt’s style journal.

“This” - Sebastian gestures at him in disgust - “is your style?”

“Yup. Always has been.” Blaine beams at Kurt, that nugget of insecurity evaporating inside his smile. “God! It feels good to finally wear what I want for once!”

“Oh dear God!” Sebastian covers his eyes and slinks down in his chair. Just when he thought Blaine Anderson couldn’t get any worse - as in any more perfect for Kurt - he pulls this.

Dammit!

That Mustang better be worth the money he spent!

#kurtbastian #sebkurt #sekurt #frankie writes

24 notes · View notes

maryxglz · 5 years

Link

To date, the films and television shows of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have never crossed over as much as fans have hoped they would. Sure, there has definitely been direct commentary about notable events, and specific characters have appeared that confirm programs like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Daredevil, and Luke Cage are set in the same continuity, but the degree to which they are shown to be part of one giant franchise has been limited. That relationship between big and small screen material will change in a significant way very soon, however, namely with the arrival of the upcoming Disney+ streaming service, and its massive original content plans.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has spoken in the past about the challenges that come with balancing continuity across multiple mediums, namely that the pace of the storytelling in film and television is so different that it makes them a conflict to sync. That, however, will not be an issue with the big plans for Disney’s new entertainment hub. I sat down with Feige this past weekend during the Los Angeles press day for Captain Marvel, and during the interview he explained why programs like the upcoming Loki series will have a much more significant Marvel Cinematic Universe feel. Confirming the opportunities for crossover, the executive/producer said,

“Yes. Directly, yeah. One hundred percent. In large part it's because we've been working on Disney+ for quite a while now, at the exact same time that we were working on the post-Avengers: Endgame MCU, and therefore for the first time ever developed them together.“

Going back to the launch of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2013, Marvel Studios film and television have existed mostly as two separate entities working on two completely different schedules, but the creation of the new streaming service provides a creative opening that previously didn’t exist. Disney+ is coming together at the exact same time as the insanely secretive Phase 4 plans that are very much still under wraps, and the synchronicity there is apparently affording some interesting new creative directions for the filmmakers involved.

Obviously a big factor in all of this are the characters that the Disney+ shows will be following – though Kevin Feige was only willing to confirm the existence of the Loki series that is being made first. Unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe television programs that currently exist, which primary focus on introducing their own heroes and villains, the streaming service material will be used to spotlight blockbuster names that don’t get the same kind of opportunities as, say, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, or Black Panther.

Talking about the creative opportunities provided by what’s being developed, Kevin Feige noted that the real benefit of what we’ll see from the Disney+ series is just a lot of storytelling real estate that will allow character engagement that’s simply not possible in a two hour-plus blockbuster. It won’t necessarily be about “lower scale” events than what we see in cinemas three times per year, but instead about bigger ideas. Said Feige,

“I think what's fun is there's more time. There's more time to go further in depth with characters, and we try to do that in all of our films, but in some of the films when there's so many characters they can't all get their own through lines. And one of the many things that's exciting about Disney+ is the opportunity to do both: to both give a level of action that people only see only rarely on television, but at the same time go much, much deeper into a number of our characters and to fully intertwine them within the MCU.”

As mentioned, Marvel isn’t confirming Disney+ plans for any characters other than Loki at present, though there have been reports saying that there are also projects in the works that will center on Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s characters, Falcon and Winter Solider, as well as the pair played by Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, Scarlet Witch and Vision. But while Kevin Feige wouldn’t say anything about those other shows, he did confirm that they will include conflicts that will definitely be reflected as characters continue on:

“You'll see characters from the movies go to Disney+, be transformed or have their own arcs or have their own transformations thematically, and that will then be reflected in the next appearance in the movies.”

We can’t say for certain right now when we will start hearing more details about these developments, but the smart money is on soon. Kevin Feige has confirmed that future plans for Marvel Studios won’t be revealed until after the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home later this summer, but after that point it will be interesting to see if the floodgates open in regards to what’s being cooked up for the next few years.

As for why Loki is the first show that Marvel Studios is moving forward with in this realm, Kevin Feige had a very simple explanation entirely centered around the man who will be at the center of the circus:

“Two words: Tom Hiddleston.”

Loki recently hired Rick and Morty and Community veteran Michael Waldron as showrunner, and production is likely starting soon – though exactly when we can expect to start seeing episodes isn’t entirely clear (obviously at the earliest it will be with the launch of Disney+ this fall). We’ll keep you up to date with details as they become available, as it’s definitely one of the most exciting developments currently coming together currently in the superhero realm.

As for the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans will soon be able to dive into some awesome 90s action from the massive franchise, as Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s Captain Marvel will be flying into theaters on March 5th. We’ll have plenty more from not only my interview with Kevin Feige coming your way in the next few days, but also chats with Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Lashana Lynch, Clark Gregg, and the directors. Be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for a whole lot more awesome stories!

#tom hiddleston #loki #loki series #loki tv series #marvel #disney #disney plus #michael waldron #mcu

108 notes · View notes

insanityclause · 5 years

Link

Yes. Directly, yeah. One hundred percent. In large part it's because we've been working on Disney+ for quite a while now, at the exact same time that we were working on the post-Avengers: Endgame MCU, and therefore for the first time ever developed them together.

I think what's fun is there's more time. There's more time to go further in depth with characters, and we try to do that in all of our films, but in some of the films when there's so many characters they can't all get their own through lines. And one of the many things that's exciting about Disney+ is the opportunity to do both: to both give a level of action that people only see only rarely on television, but at the same time go much, much deeper into a number of our characters and to fully intertwine them within the MCU.

You'll see characters from the movies go to Disney+, be transformed or have their own arcs or have their own transformations thematically, and that will then be reflected in the next appearance in the movies.

Two words: Tom Hiddleston.

* emphasis mine

#disney+#Tom Hiddleston #Loki #Kevin Feige

81 notes · View notes

paintedface · 7 years

Text

comfort: exam season

summary: exams are kicking your ass, and even though your boyfriend’s an asshole on the outside, he really cares for you and wants to make things better

pairing: jock!bucky x reader

word count: 1364 words

warnings: language, fluff

notes: I wrote this for one of my best friends Ari ( @whyisbuckyso ) because goddamn exam season’s a bitch for her. then I decided to turn it into a little drabble as an interlude to my upcoming fics (which hopefully you’ll enjoy!)

Burying your head in your hands, you groan, trying to ignore the flashing on your computer of the alert; "EXAM TOMORROW."

You've had these alerts going off nonstop, each for a different subject, and you're pretty sure you're going insane. You feel like you want to shove all the piles of paper off your desk and just scream, but you're pretty sure you'd wake up your boyfriend. He's fast asleep, and as much as you'd like to join him, your mind is telling you to 'FUCKING MEMORISE ALL THIS, YOU DIPSHIT.'

You give yourself the grace to let out a frustrated groan, gripping the roots of your hair as you will yourself to read over the reams of notes you have.

Shoving in your earphones, you bite your lip as you finally get the grasp of one of your paragraphs, trying to celebrate that mini victory with a sip of coffee.

"Why the fuck are you awake?"

You shriek, jumping in your seat and almost falling off your chair, trying desperately to not bring your computer down with you. Luckily, your computer lands on your seat, the headphones hanging uselessly on the edge while you're collapsed on the ground. You glare up at your boyfriend as he tries to hold in his snickers.

"Why the fuck did you think it was a good idea to scare me when I'm barely running on coffee?!" You retort, catching your breath.

He shrugs, running a hand through his messy, but still perfect locks. Shorter on the sides and long in the middle, fringe flopping over his forehead.

"You weren't snoring away next to me, so I thought you would've been here." He says simply, holding out a hand to help you get up.

You roll your eyes as you stand, sitting back down and opening your computer again. "Not all of us have finished their exams, Barnes."

Bucky rests his chin on the top of your head, pressing a light kiss to your hair as he smirks.

"Ooh, Barnes, how cold, what's got you so wound up sweetheart? Why're you so grumpy?" He grins sarcastically, and normally you'd be giggling at him and pulling him in for a kiss, but right now? You're fucking irritated.

"Look," you turn around to glare at him, trying to ignore the fact that he looks so cute in his loose varsity jacket, white t-shirt and boxers, "I need to fucking study! I have a goddamn exam tomorrow at noon, and I'm not ready! So for fucks sake, leave me alone!" It's pretty rude, for a normally gentle person like you, and it seems like Bucky's shocked as well. He takes a step back, eyes wider than normal. He nods once, his eyes flicking down and you're instantly guilty, for snapping at him. Before you can apologise, he turns away, pulls his varsity jacket tighter around him and goes back out to the hallway, shutting the door quietly.

You close your eyes, because why do you have to be such a bitch when you're studying? You can feel tears well up but you try to turn your attention back to your document, suddenly feeling much, much more uninspired than before. You can vaguely hear rustlings and thumps inside the bedroom, but you don't pay any notice to it, really. Now, along with the lack of motivation, you're feeling guilty.

About 20 minutes later, when you've pulled yourself together, you feel two soft hands at your shoulders, and you look up in confusion.

"Buck?" You ask, scrunching your eyebrows up. He doesn't even look the slightest bit mad, he's just got a slightly cocky smile on his lips, and you can't help but smile back.

"You, my sweetheart, are not going to be doing any more work tonight." He says firmly, moving to the side of the seat to give you a peck on your cheek.

"But I have to-,"

"No, you don't. This is punishment for being a grumpy kitten, so I get to choose what you do for the rest of the night." He replies, pulling off his jacket and draping it around your shoulders.

You're about to protest, once again, when he shuts your computer quickly and picks you up, hooking an arm underneath your knees and one around your back. You squeak, batting his chest as he laughs softly, pulling you closer as he leads you out into the hallway. He crosses the hall before reaching the bedroom and opening the door, stepping in and kicking it closed.

You curse his footballer muscles because goddamn it you can't escape his grip and- holy shit. You let out a gasp, bringing your hands to your mouth as he grins at your surprise.

"You like it?" He murmurs, and you can't do anything but nod.

He's pulled extra blankets over the bed like a canopy, draping over perfectly. You can see a cardboard box of Christmas ornaments pushed to the corner of the room, which the fairy lights must've come out of. They're strung up around the room and around canopy, giving the most perfect atmosphere and making the room look tumblr-esque. Bucky's also connected his phone to the speaker, playing soft rain sounds, knowing that you adore to sleep when there's a storm blowing outside. Not to mention the dozens of pillows that are now strewn across your bed and a fluffy blanket over the duvet. You're also pretty sure he sneaked down the hallway to make the two of you steaming cups of hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows and whipped cream. The tears really do come now, stressed tears and thankful tears, because your jock of a boyfriend has the sweetest heart. Even if the way you met was him accidentally kicking a football into the side of your head. And you knew that he wasn't going to apologise because he was an arrogant asshole, but he sort of became smitten with you after that. So you're glad that he did come and say sorry.

"Oh my god, Bucky, you didn't have to..." you whisper, leaning up to kiss him gently.

"I know, that's why I did it. You seem stressed, because you're normally like, a quiet kitten, but you were a growly kitten tonight. You really do need some rest darling. Now come on, you can get your study in tomorrow morning. You have time, and you'll feel much more refreshed." He tells you, handing you your pyjamas.

You give a watery smile and let out a soft laugh. "Says the footballer, hm?" He snorts, waiting as you change.

"Hey, I can give good advice sometimes. Emphasis on the sometimes." Bucky says, disappearing into the ensuite as you brush your hair back.

He comes out with a wet towel to freshen up your face as you turn up the speaker a little, yawning loudly and stretching. You rub the towel over your face before putting it to the side and wrapping your arms around your boyfriend's waist. He raises an eyebrow but smiles back tenderly, holding you close and rocking you gently. You nuzzle into the crook of his shoulder, feeling his back muscles ripple as you run your hands over them.

"Sorry for being a bitch earlier." You say quietly, closing your eyes as he picks you up again slowly.

He pulls his face away to rest his forehead against yours. "Don't apologise, I was being sort of a dick earlier anyway. Exams are fucking annoying, I get it."

He pulls back the sheets and settles you in, kissing your lips again.

"I promise you," Bucky murmurs as you both properly get into bed, surrounded by fairy lights and the pattering of synthetic, yet still so real, rain, "you'll be fine. It's hard now, I know, but tomorrow you'll feel fresh and ready to revise. Your mind will be clear, to remember all your notes."

You smile at him, looping an arm around his waist to pull him closer and nod, feeling your eyes drift close already. He tangles your legs together, tracing the emblem of his varsity jacket lazily.

"I love you Buck." You say sleepily, your voice fading away already.

"I love you too darling."

permanent tags (OPEN): @thecrownedrose / @vibranium-arm / @gallifreyansass / @omalleysgirl22 / @girlwith100names / @buckysinthesinbin / @cameronahugenerd / @imsecretlyromanburki / @megan-atthedisco-blog / @buckys-fossil / @iamwarrenspeace / @sofiathearab / @yikesbuckster / @buckyappreciationsociety / @debbielovesbucky / @metal-armed-dino / @helloitscrowley / @sebastian-stans-thighs / @fantastic-fantasy-fanfics / @sebastian----stan / @feelmyroarrrr

(strike through means I couldn’t tag you, sorry!)

#bucky barnes #bucky #jock!bucky #jock bucky #jock bucky barnes #sebastian stan #seb stan #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes imagine #bucky imagine #bucky fluff #sebastian stan x reader #seb stan x reader #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan fluff #seb stan imagine #seb stan fluff

677 notes · View notes

spynotebook · 5 years

Link

Age Of HeroesWith Age Of Heroes, Tom Breihan picks the most important superhero movie of every year, starting with the genre’s early big-budget moments and moving onto the multiplex-crushing monsters of today.

“The Marvel Universe has gone nuts; we’re going to have a fricking Captain America movie if we’re not careful.” This was Zack Snyder speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2008. Every once in a while, that quote finds itself recirculated online, evidence of Snyder’s philistine ideas about superhero movies and what a misguided idea it was for DC to recruit him to attempt to replicate the Marvel Universe’s success. (Another Snyder line from that same breath: “And Iron Man—$300 million domestic box office on a second-tier superhero!”)

It’s unfair to Snyder to use that quote out of context. If you read the whole interview, Snyder is, if anything, excited about Marvel’s success, if only because it proves that “pop culture is just, like, so ready for Watchmen,” the movie that he was promoting in that interview. (Note: Pop culture was not.) Snyder was simply showing his own surprise about how quickly and completely superhero movies had taken over, something that would only snowball in the years after that. Also, that Captain America movie was already in development when Snyder said what he said, and Snyder probably already knew that. (The whole Snyder interview is, however, a deeply entertaining and insane historical document. Dismissing the idea that Batman Begins is a dark movie, Snyder notes that Batman “doesn’t, like, get raped in prison. That could happen in my movie. If you want to talk about dark, that’s how that would go.” Eight years later, Snyder would make a Batman movie that did not feature Batman getting raped in prison.)

Here’s the thing: Even if Snyder had been dismissing the idea of a Captain America movie, he would’ve been totally right. Before there was a Captain America movie, there was no evidence that a Captain America movie would ever work, on any level. The entire idea of Captain America—a square-jawed avatar of everything great about the US of A, a guy who intentionally makes himself look like a big flag—seemed almost hopelessly hokey and anachronistic in 2008, when Snyder said what he said. There was nothing dark or gritty or sexy or intense about Captain America. He was a symbol of a time that never existed—an advocate for the greatness of a country that, at least on a geopolitical scale, has long been a globally dominant hegemon rather than a scrappy and idealistic underdog. Even Captain America, the comic book hero, wasn’t so sure about Captain America, the symbol of American pride. In a ’70s comic book storyline, Steve Rogers, disgusted after learning of governmental evil, had briefly forsaken his own identity, instead becoming a costumed adventurer named Nomad. If Captain America himself wasn’t so sure about Captain America, how could Hollywood be?

The 1990 Captain America movie had been such an outright catastrophic failure that it just barely got released. In the years after that, internal debates about America’s role in the world had only heated up. A Captain America movie could’ve gone wrong in so many different ways. It could’ve gotten caught up in post-9/11 Toby Keith jingoism. It could’ve played out as a goofy parody, a broad satire of Dudley Do-Right postwar heroism. It could’ve been another crappy, interchangeable Fantastic Four-level superhero movie, just with more shots of billowing flags. Instead, Captain America: The First Avenger turned out to be the movie that, at least from where I’m sitting, ultimately made the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe experiment work. It took some unbelievably skillful needle-threading to make it happen, but the people at Marvel managed to turn Cap, the personification of corniness, into something like a beloved cinematic icon, the soul upon which all of the MCU rests.

There was groundwork. A new Captain America movie had been in the planning stages since 1997; lawsuits and financial issues had stalled it. When the project finally got going, Marvel had done a few interesting things with the character. Ed Brubaker had built a complex and masterful noirish espionage saga around Cap in his Winter Soldier storyline, while Mark Millar’s blockbuster Civil War event had delighted in its depiction of Steve Rogers as an inspiring and charismatic leader and as someone who would defy his own government if he thought it were straying from the country’s true ideals. (In both Millar’s book and in the Civil War movie that eventually came out of it, Cap is wrongheaded and shortsighted, but that’s an argument for another day.) Captain America: The First Avenger only alludes to those comic book visions of the character, which later movies would explore more thoroughly. But if you were actually reading comics at the time, it was clear that Captain America, in the right hands, could be a layered and fascinating character.

Ultimately, the movie works because Marvel hired the right people. Director Joe Johnston was a longtime journeyman with an inconsistent record and at least a few genuinely bad movies on his résumé. (Shout-out to 2010’s The Wolfman.) But he was also a veteran special-effects guy who’d worked on Star Wars and Raiders Of The Lost Ark, which means he was comfortable with the levels of visual trickery needed to make a story like that work. And with his own 1991 movie The Rocketeer, he’d nailed exactly the kind of old-timey adventure-serial energy that a Captain America movie would need. (He even had powered-up Nazi villains.) It’s hard to imagine anyone more qualified for the job.

It’s also hard to imagine a better Captain America than Chris Evans. Evans had already been around the superhero-movie block before taking the role. He’d done what he could as a devil-may-care playboy version of the Human Torch in two near-unbearable Fantastic Four movies. He’d been a superpowered test-subject mutant at war with shadowy governmental agencies in 2009’s misbegotten Push. He’d lampooned his own absurd handsomeness in the superhero-adjacent Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. He’d never really had much chance to be anything other than a life-size Ken doll. But he had a depth to him, and with Captain America, he finally got the chance to show it.

Evans had to be convinced to take the Captain America role, and he’s always hinted at a little discomfort with it. But he’s perfect. He’s warm and friendly and inspiring—all the things that Captain America is supposed to be. He spends so much of The First Avenger as a scrawny weakling—a special effect much more convincing than it probably should’ve been—that he has to find non-physical ways to project his own idealistic determination. And he does it. The sight of digitally shrunk Chris Evans refusing to back down after a beating from a movie-theater heckler—fists clenched, jaw bloodied, “I could do this all day”—remains one of the most indelible images that the MCU has given us. When he finally does balloon out to superhuman proportions, we’re already on his side. Throughout the movie, he struggles against his own propaganda utility, fervently and innocently trying to get out into the field and help his comrades.

Like Christopher Reeve’s Superman, Evans radiates genuine Boy Scout virtue, and he comes off as an anachronism even in the ’40s. The movie doesn’t joke about him or make him an object of fun. Instead, the movie is just as gee-whiz idealistic about Captain America as Captain America is about America. Even a hint of acid, sarcastic self-consciousness could’ve sunk the movie. In Evans, it has none.

Johnston and the producers built an impressive cast around Evans. As Agent Peggy Carter, Hayley Atwell brings a clipped Katharine Hepburn precision that’s enormously appealing. (The short-lived Agent Carter ABC spinoff, which kept that First Avenger tone intact, remains Marvel’s greatest TV project.) The grumpy authority figure is just Tommy Lee Jones playing Tommy Lee Jones. As Cap’s buddy Bucky, Sebastian Stan is a pleasant slab of beef, which is all he needs to be. Stanley Tucci has fun as the good-guy version of a mad-scientist character.

The only real weak point in the movie’s cast is Hugo Weaving, whose Red Skull has less fleshed-out humanity than Agent Smith, the computer program that Weaving played in the Matrix movies. Even Red Skull’s motivations are muddy. He tells Cap, his fellow super-serum test subject, that he’s “too afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind,” like a K-Mart-brand Magneto. Also: “I have seen the future, Captain! There are no flags!” I don’t know, that sounds pretty good, though it would presumably sound better if a muscle-faced fascist sorcerer wasn’t the one invoking it. (The Red Skull doesn’t even get a satisfying end. When he showed up in a quick surprise cameo in Avengers: Infinity War, I’d completely forgotten that he’d been sucked into a wormhole or whatever. It happens so quickly that you barely process it.)

The movie’s version of ’40s America is a blast. Many of the characters are just as gung-ho as Cap himself. When a HYDRA agent tries to slow Cap down by throwing a little kid into the Hudson, the kid squawks, “Go get ’im! I can swim!” Natalie Dormer, a year away from becoming Margaery Tyrell on Game Of Thrones, gives Cap a big situation-complicating smooch because she likes that he saved a bunch of guys (and also, presumably, because he looks like Chris Evans). In a quick montage after Cap’s apparent death, we see all of America uniting behind him as a martyr and a legend. It’s a comforting vision of a better, simpler version of America.

It’s probably too comforting. The movie only barely alludes to racial inequality in America. When Cap puts together his crack team of commandos, they’re a rainbow coalition, and nobody acts like that’s weird. I wasn’t around in the ’40s, but given what I know, that seems unlikely. I think the movie might’ve been more effective if Cap had seen and wrestled with America’s failures. The same is true of the ravages of warfare. None of the soldiers ever seem freaked out or traumatized. Instead, they just charge into battle, oblivious to their friends disintegrating all around them. (If the Red Skull’s magical weapons didn’t allow for bloodless, PG-13 death, some of those skirmishes would’ve looked like the beginning of Saving Private Ryan.)

In the movie’s second half, when it turns toward action, The First Avenger becomes a pretty generic (though well-done) superhero punch-up. A lot of the storytelling is clumsy and inelegant. At one point, Cap is suddenly in a motorcycle chase with Nazis, with no real setup and little indication of why he’s there. Most of the fight scenes are too CGI-heavy to be truly great, and a few of the effects scenes, like Bucky’s fall from the train, just look like ass. The big finale, when Cap wakes up in a decades-later New York City, is clearly just setup for the next movie, which means The First Avenger can never really stand as its own cohesive story. It’s not a perfect movie. There are real flaws.

But it’s also an elegant piece of myth-building, and small connections to the rest of Marvel enrich the whole world we’re seeing take shape. We meet Tony Stark’s father, a tycoon adventurer who connects the dots between Howard Hughes (who Johnston had depicted in The Rocketeer) and Stark himself. HYDRA science worm Arnim Zola first shows up as a face on a screen, a role he’ll grow into. Before getting his iconic shield, which honestly looks pretty great, Cap fashions one for himself out of a trash-can lid and a ripped-off car door. Marvel wouldn’t bring all its characters together for another year, but little touches like this make it a fuller experience.

Captain America: The First Avenger was a hit, but it wasn’t a huge one. It wasn’t one of the top 10 grossers of 2011; the same year’s decidedly shittier MCU entry, Thor, made more money. And yet it’s a crucial movie for the MCU, since it showed just how much fun this whole Marvel superhero business could be. After the initial miracle of 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel had made three straight movies that were not special at all. There are things worth appreciating in The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Thor, but none of them really demonstrates why this whole world matters to people. Captain America: The First Avenger made that case. And if it had failed in any of the myriad ways that it could’ve failed, the present-day movie landscape would presumably look very, very different.

Other notable 2011 superhero movies: Kenneth Branagh’s aforementioned Thor got one thing exactly right: Chris Hemsworth, who looks like a Michelangelo sculpture of a lion-man and who brings a crazy level of life to what was then an underwritten role. But the movie itself is a bore, full of turgid fantasy gobbledygook and thin CGI and sub-Crocodile Dundee fish-out-of-water jokes. The central love story is so across-the-board half-assed that it practically insults both Hemsworth and the paychecking-hard Natalie Portman, and even Tom Hiddleston’s slithery Loki is really only a rough draft for what would come.

The First Avenger wasn’t the only Marvel adaptation to go period-piece. Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class tried to make a swingin’ ’60s espionage thriller out of a prequel, which works pretty well. The cast—James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence—is almost hilariously overqualified, and while the period details never reach the full Mad Men-style immersion they were clearly shooting for, they’re fun enough. The CGI remains terrible, which for whatever reason is true of almost every X-Men movie. Whenever (speaking of Mad Men) January Jones’ Emma Frost turns into her diamond form, she looks like a Virtua Fighter character. This was a series bounce-back after the putrid X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but it was also a clear sign that the non-MCU Marvel movies would never be the main event.

2011’s notorious boondoggle was, of course, Green Lantern, a movie that managed to be a self-aware punchline in two different 2018 superhero movies, Deadpool 2 and Teen Titans Go! To The Movies. (As I’m typing this, I haven’t seen Aquaman or Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse yet, so it’s entirely possible that even more 2018 superhero movies will make fun of Green Lantern.) It is a 10 ten-car pileup of a movie. A post-Deadpool and pre-Deadpool Ryan Reynolds attempts to smirk his way through everything, Van Wilder-style, while the writers build a whole interstellar cosmology that somehow comes off both thin and over-developed. Various respected character actors submit themselves to the indignity of bad alien makeup. (In particular, Peter Sarsgaard, a very handsome man, falls victim to makeup-artist ambitions.) You can almost see Tim Robbins and pre-Black Panther’s mom Angela Bassett thinking, mid-scene, about how they’re going to spend the money that this bullshit is getting them. Also, Future Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi is in there in the nerdy tech-head comic-relief sidekick role? Altogether, Green Lantern makes for a great lesson of what can happen when you try to combine intelligence-insulting children’s entertainment with detail-heavy fan service without filling it all out with any kind of resonant storytelling. Also, Reynolds’ CGI super-suit might be the single ugliest costume in superhero-movie history.

And in other chartreuse-misfire news, Seth Rogen’s long-in-development The Green Hornet finally came out and made no impression. There’s certainly plenty of talent involved in the movie. For a while, slapstick visionary Stephen Chow was attached to both direct and to star as Kato, which would’ve been fascinating. Instead, the directing job ends up with Michel Gondry, the sometimes-great homespun music-video fantasist and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind auteur. Rogen and his Superbad partner Evan Goldberg get the writing credits. Christoph Waltz played a villain, which is something that Christoph Waltz knows how to do. Cameron Diaz is in there, too, as Rogen’s implausible love interest. You would think that these people could do something great together, but instead it’s just a rote nothing of a movie, one that never quite gets around to demonstrating why it deserves to exist.

Also, it’s not really a superhero movie, but I remember thinking that Steven Spielberg’s feature-length CGI cartoon The Adventures Of Tintin was a lot more fun than its reputation would suggest. I have not revisited it.

Next time: In January, this column will tackle The Avengers, the long-planned corporate-crossover blockbuster, which kicked the MCU into high gear and proved just how entertaining this kind of movie, when executed just right, can be.

#IFTTT #Feedly

0 notes

gojohnjustin-blog · 6 years

Text

I, Tonya

Director: Craig Gillespie

Screenplay: Steven Rogers

I, TONYA A movie based on true events and interviews. This movie highlights the story of the former US figure skating champion and Olympian, Tonya Harding. She was became the first American to successfully complete a triple axel move but her future in the activity was thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes. Tonya was indeed a naturally gifted talented athlete but was disregarded by the association, since they prefer someone to be a portrayal of grace and has good image. Which led her planning to send death threats to her former competitor Nancy just to step out of the competition, but the plans got worse when her ex-husband, Jeff asked his men to bash Nancy’s leg instead of just sending threats. This film then highlights the January 6, 1994 “leg bashing incident” of Tonya’s competitor Nancy.

MAIN CHARACTERS

TONYA HARDING (Margot Robbie), former Olympic figure skater. She was never really accepted in the figure skating community for not inherently being the image of grace, breeding and privilege that the community wanted to portray, despite that she being a naturally gifted in the sport athletically. JEFF GILLOOLY (Sebastian Stan), Tonya’s ex husband. He and Tonya had a turbulent relationship on a need to be loved perhaps without truly loving the other. He was the one who shifted the plan of sending death threats to Nancy and altered it into bashing Nancy’s leg that lead her to step out of the competition. LAVONA GOLDEN HARDING (Allison Janney), Tonya’s mother. Despite that she paid for Tonya’s expensive figure skating lessons, she was very abusive toward her physically and emotionally, never believing that she was good enough in any aspect and pulled her from school to focus solely on figure skating. DIANE ROWLINSON (Julianne Nicholson), Tonya’s figure skating coach. She was Tonya’s first and longest serving coach, who, for good or bad, largely let Tonya be Tonya in the way she presented herself to the Figure Skating world. SHAWN ECKARDT (Paul Walter Hauser), Tonya’s ex-bodyguard and Jeff’s friend. He is a dim bulb who believed him to be a bigger player in the big scheme of life than he actually was. NANCY KERRIGAN (Caitlin Carver), Tonya’s competitor in figure skating but really was her friend. Unlike Tonya, she was everything that figure skating community wanted to be a representative. MARTIN MADDOX (Bobby Cannavale), a sport journalist and a fictional character. He who provides general commentary of what the sports media as a collective wanted out of Tonya and the Incident.

QUESTIONS

How realistic is the plot of this story? Aside from this film is indeed a true-to-life event, the amazingly flexible plot elucidates primitive happenings in our society this days. One is that the story highlighted the conflict love story between Tonya Harding and her husband Jeff Gillooly, this only explains how easy couples during this time gives up in love. It also showed how a person can be thoroughly abused if he/she still holds on even if it means gripping to a barb wire, though lacerated yet still chose to grip tight. Our society today needs a massive learning about marriage before indulging into it, to note that it is holy. Another one is that the story also emphasized how Lavona Harding, Tonya’s mother choked her to be the best she can be. It was shown on the story how her mother really wanted her to be best in the field of figure skating until such time that she physically abused her just because a lot can still do better than her. We should always put in mind that no passion will be furnished if it will go process beyond ordinary, time and effort is only needed and not conforming and abuse. With that lies the awakening of Tonya’s inner monstrous personality. Due to her mother’s approach, she became a beast in her own way, aloof and too competitive. That then made her to do everything just to reach her ultimate goal. It only proves how people strive to reach goals even without undergoing accurate steps. Sometimes we go way too far from the box just to prove ourselves. Our passion should be our anchor to instill ourselves from what is always right, not a driving wheel which we use to create our own route even if it means colliding with mountains or icebergs. Lastly, what Jeff has done also proves that people will do everything just to win love again. It was in the movie that Tonya planned to send Nancy death threats to back out from the competition but Jeff planned even worst. We should always take into account that non-working relationships simply mean that you both are of different universe. Once it failed, it is very hard to repair, that’s why some do worst tasks just to win back love. The above inputs only proves how the movie I,Tonya is very significant. Its realistic plot really involved numerous dilemmas in our society these days.

Find a quote/line that stands out to you and explains why you chose it. “so… uhm, you… you would never gonna let me skate again? So , uhm.. I cannot.. I mean’ I’d rather do the jail time, it would only take me 18 months… they got 18 months, I’ll do that. Your honor, I don’t have an education and all I know is skating, that’s all I know… and I am no one if I can’t.. if can’t, skate. I mean, I am not some monster and I am just trying to do my best with what I am good with… and its like your giving me a life sentence.. Skating is my life, there lives my passion, and that without it, I… who am I?… I mean, I can’t do that… uhm, please, just send me to jail and I can still skate… just send me to jail and that I can still skate!” It was the line uttered by Tonya Harding in front of the court after the judge read and ordered her verdict including her complete detachment from the field of figure skating. This line simply represents how I adored this movie, Tonya, a very passionate character to which a lot can really connect with. It was shown in the movie that even if Tonya Harding topped the US Figure Skating Championship and fell rank 1 on the national ranking, the association at first did not allowed her to take part on the 1994 Winter Olympics because they wanted someone who could be an image of grace. Her messed up relationship with her ex-husband Jeff made it very hard for her to be that perfect image representation of US Figure Skating. That’s why I became attached with the film, because like Tonya I may sometimes strive to fit in but people always disregard talent and rather shift toward emphasizing image. They prefer modality, I mean they wanted that form rather than substance. Just like her I will do anything to restore my passion, but I will clearly emphasize this one, Tonya went to shadows for her passion but I will keep the light for my passion. What I mean is that ‘though a lot will question my passion, I will still strive for my worth. Just like Tonya, she lived by her passion, it was her oxygen and by the time she was ordered to depart from it, it really touched my heart from the time she beg to the judge no to do it. To highlight, we should always be careful of what we do or we plan to do, because whatever we throw will always go back to its thrower. We should just simply strive for our passion even if a lot degrades our capability, ‘though we may not reach our ends but at least we did it in the right way. Write a poem form a character’s viewpoint. The ice was clearly my companion,

The sharp skating blades were my foundation,

The cold ring was my preferred destination,

I knew figure skating was my passion.

I strive to top the food chain,

To rise above the mud of the past rain,

I not know such as failures nor pain,

Everybody knew my achievements were all insane

I tried to follow a path I thought was right,

I took risk to stay in the spotlight,

I knew I was with the crowd’s hottest sight,

That time, I knew nothing but “I and my triumphed fights”

I thought I was better at my state,

But the woman I first saw degraded my proud rate,

Hence I shifted in seeing that this is a talent innate,

And that conquering every battle is my fate

But the people around believed not on my ability,

They rather idolize someone who has better image and credibility,

Then was I left in insanity,

Does skills without image a disability?

Since then the battle for passion was lit,

The drive to reign started to spit,

In my mind, to slain should be met,

Then the quest required me no sweat.

Forgive me God, for I will do this action,

Threatening to death was my only option,

I am determined to do so and needs no conversation,

I surely will do so just to prove my passion.

But beyond my understanding my plans messed,

Every single cell was stressed,

The plan to send threats got worse,

Then I just wanted to escape as fast as a horse.

Trials aroused, fake speeches then came,

The newly born battle was unseen at the farther part of the lane,

My passion then suffered a painful sprain,

And the achievements I worked, in just a snap, was found in the drain.

The passion I worked hard eroded,

My mischief and my efforts collided,

Once the verdict of complete ban from figure skating was said,

I completely felt I was already dead.

Then I knew this is worse than a broken bone,

This is worse than verdicts to imprison and be alone,

This is worse than raging throws of stone,

It is always worse than to softly kill your own.

Though I denied accepting the punishment,

Even if it felt stabbing every utterance of the statement,

But them removing my passion and just deal with contentment,

It felt, In a lifeless journey, I was being sent.

[a poem personally written from Tonya Harding’s Perspective]

#literarylog

0 notes