#and i'm enjoying seeing people turn on the mcu. it's fun | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

renthony · 11 months

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I haven't enjoyed a Marvel movie since I stopped bothering to keep up with the MCU in 2014. I don't care for most Marvel movies. I think Marvel Studios is a case study in things that are shitty in the entertainment industry. But holy shit, pretentious posts along the lines of "haha, I don't watch Marvel films, I have real taste, go watch another movie!" are so fucking annoying.

Like, go put up your middle finger at some preps or something. People are allowed to watch whatever they want and enjoy whatever movies they want and make whatever fandom stuff they want, and that doesn't say anything about their intelligence or morals or character. It doesn't mean they are somehow bad at watching movies, or are too stupid to realize whatever nugget of wisdom ye high-and-mighty Marvel Haters think you're the only ones to understand.

Again, not personally a Marvel fan, but this whole "haha, I'm better than Marvel fans" relates to something I've been musing on about media analysis as a whole. There is a persistent idea that mass entertainment is inherently lower quality or less artistic because it's made for a wide audience, and that bad art isn't worth analyzing or engaging with just because it's low quality. In this mindset, the only art that has the possibility to be any good at all is 100% independent projects made by amateurs, and anything produced by a studio or with wide appeal is inherently poser art with absolutely nothing meaningful to say. In this mindset, you can't possibly learn anything or take anything from bad art, and if you find meaning in bad art, you're clearly just stupid and uneducated and have bad taste.

The thing is? Liking bad art is not a sin. Having a different opinion about what constitutes "bad art" is not a sin. Finding something entertaining despite its flaws is not a sin. Studying bad art is not a sin. You can learn a lot from bad art, you can learn a lot from interpreting propaganda, you can learn a lot from engaging with things even if you don't think they're very "good."

My vaudeville research keeps turning up author after author who talks about vaudeville as some sort of "point of no return," like the performing arts all turned to shit the second things were intended to be seen by more than a single audience for a single show. Popularity gets equated with lack of skill or quality, because all the performers were "just pandering to the audience" instead of relying on "real skill."

For one, what the fuck does that even mean, but for two, the theatrical quality of vaudeville isn't what makes it interesting and worth engaging with. Every single thing that ever came out of vaudeville could be 100% total utter garbage, but vaudeville would still be worth studying because of how influential it still is on arts and entertainment today. It has significant historical and educational merit. And some of it is still genuinely fun and entertaining, once you pick out all the things that didn't age well or were just plain bigoted. There's artistic merit in those old sketches and songs, and there's meaning to be drawn from plenty of it even here in 2023.

You want to learn about the Hays Code? Well, let's talk about how early films were shown on projectors on vaudeville stages, so vaudeville censorship went on to influence American film censorship. Let's talk about how we still use slang to this day that originated on vaudeville, such as "skit" or "one night stand" or "ad lib" or "the big time." Vaudeville is still in the bones of the modern American entertainment industry and pop culture, and you can't really escape that influence.

People in modern day use Marvel movies as proof that big studio films are singlehandedly responsible for the decline of art, and there is nothing to learn from them or see in them at all, ever. But to me, "Marvel movies are bad" is such a flat, uninteresting observation, because when it comes to media analysis, it doesn't really matter if Marvel films are good or entertaining. If you want to actually dig into the problems with big-budget summer Hollywood blockbusters, and the way they're impacting the industry as a whole, you have to go deeper than "pop culture is all stupid stuff for stupid people, unlike me, who isn't like other girls actually has good taste in media!"

There are so many more factors at play than "mass entertainment = bad art." Let's look at the ways capitalism screws over small creators and forces them to seek funding from the very same studios that fuck them over. Let's talk about how the actual workers in the industry are fighting tooth and fucking nail against the exact same things all the Marvel haters harp on about. Let's talk about studios that accept funding from the United States Government to turn superhero comics into propaganda films, and then threaten the actual workers with never having a career again if they complain or quit. Let's talk about how the actors are regularly abused and treated to hostile work environments.

Let's talk about the people who made the films, because the films were not made by a CEO pressing the "make movie" button. The workers made those films. The workers were exploited by those studios. Let's try giving a shit about them, instead of taking the "haha, Marvel fans are stupid and cringe" route.

There is so much more fucking nuance and detail and conversation about mass media as a topic, and boiling it down to, "art made for a wide audience is inherently shitty and has nothing to say."

You're not a better, more intelligent, more educated person just because you don't like Marvel movies. Making posts about how much better you are than Marvel fans does nothing to either explain or tackle the issues in the entertainment industry.

It just makes you look like a dickhead.

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charcubed · 10 months

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Disneyland's Rogers: The Musical, propaganda that turns Steve Rogers into more myth than man, and revisionist history (possibly) to a purpose

Any of my thoughts in this post could just be me reading too far into things. I'm very aware of that, and please know that this post exists just because this sort of thing is fun for me! This is a thought exercise where we propose "What if we live in a world where the MCU is actually doing a cool and interesting thing as a longcon?" If you have anger at Marvel, that's valid and relatable, but please don't get angry at me or imply I'm an MCU stan who doesn't think critically about the mouse. Thanks!

Breaking news: I'm back on my bullshit!

A quick personal recap: I infamously hated Avengers: Endgame for a long list of reasons (and I even rewrote the movie). One of those reasons is that I've always taken issue with Steve's ending. But in the years since then, and as the MCU's phase 4 has evolved, my frustration at Steve's "ending" has turned into an ongoing and legitimate theory that the MCU could be slowly leading into a loosely adapted Secret Empire plot line. I know we've all been joking about Steve being trapped or about an imposter Steve since 2019, but uhhh, it's kind of not a joke to me anymore? It feels weirdly plausible at this point and so I enjoy discussing the potential.

You can find a full elaboration on that here, where I wrote out my "Steve was snatched by HYDRA" theory in 2021.

In that post, one of the things I mentioned at the time was Rogers: The Musical being in the Hawkeye trailer.

[The musical's] very existence is an example of how in-universe the stories of the lives of the heroes are being commodified, especially (in terms of how they’re framing it) for Steve’s. The heroes are no longer seen as people, if they ever were. They are, as Kate Bishop says to Clint in a recently released clip, more about “branding.” Sam Wilson will be redefining the shield moving forward in a Cap context, but simultaneously, the world is still enamored by Steve Rogers as a symbol in his own right. And that is ripe for manipulation as a Trojan horse to control public opinion… whether in the context of things like this by themselves (is the musical portraying Steve accurately, or is it painting an inaccurate picture of him the world accepts as fact?) or in future (is this propaganda that makes the public see Steve a certain way and continue to love him, to set up a fake or brainwashed Steve coming on the scene later?).

Now a form of the musical exists in full, at Disneyland and all over Youtube. Considering some of its baffling content – which I will break down below – this perspective seems even more strongly worth considering.

I have two main reasons for why I'm defending examining this musical so closely:

1. It is (arguably) an in-universe piece of media that has bearing on the MCU canon. It isn't like any other typical Disneyland attraction; its very existence is meta and it was in canon first. Obviously it's seen in Hawkeye, but there are also posters for it in several different phase 4 properties. It's lurking in the background indefinitely. So what can this musical tell us about what the wider public within the MCU is being told about the life story of Steve Rogers?

2. This Secret Empire graphic – which is animated in the center of the stage of a prolonged period of time – feels like a literal sign to pay attention.

Granted, this is obviously still ancillary material. 99% of the MCU audience will never see this musical, whether in person or on YouTube. But just because it isn't a vital piece doesn't mean it's automatically an entirely irrelevant piece.

They've given me an inch with that sign and I'm taking a mile.

So if you're interested, please join me on this journey :)

For the record, let me just say that I salute the creative team behind this show. It's pretty fun and the songs are catchy, the sets and costuming are cool, and the cast is overall very talented.

It's also fucking maddening. LMAO.

Why? Firstly, because of the seemingly deliberate ahistorical inaccuracies. We all know Ant-Man is wrongly shown in the Battle of New York, which originally "came from [the Hawkeye showrunner] and Marvel, as something to further aggravate Hawkeye as he watched the show, and also as a comment on how movies and articles and people always get something wrong." It seems like they expanded those meta nods, but most inaccuracies are now in service of glorifying Steve and Peggy's "love story." Yes, romance objectively makes for good theater; but again, I feel that this is worth examining considering the full context.

And secondly, Steve's ending is framed as an offer presented to him, convincing him it's the happy ending he deserves because he's tired. In my mind, these two big elements go together, and I'll walk you through the details of what happens in the musical before I tie the thought threads back around into some theorizing.

For your reference, here's a list of the main songs and story beats:

• "U-S-Opening Night" - the Starkettes (who are basically a Greek chorus) frame the show's story, and then it turns into an ensemble that loosely takes place at the Stark Expo. • "I Want You" – Steve's "I want" song about trying to enlist in the army. • "Star-Spangled Man With A Plan" – Steve performing on the USO tour obviously, and then there's a reprise with an added voiceover that (very briefly) covers the Howling Commandos' rescue + the war via comic book imagery. • "What You Missed" – Fury and the Starkettes tell Steve some pop culture things he missed while he was frozen, + they tell him about the Avengers. Then Fury goes down a list of other hero characters, including the Guardians? Doctor Strange? Wanda?? It plays loose and fast with time, because many non-2012 characters are bafflingly mentioned in this nonlinear Avengers list – including the Winter Soldier (???). • "Save the City" – this is the song seen in Hawkeye, with the civilians + the Avengers all involved, but it's slightly different here and expanded to also reference other battles. • "End of the Line" – Old Steve presents main Steve with the time stone as an opportunity for his happy ending, and they reflect on things together. (Yes, this is insane.) • "Just One Dance" – Steve and Peggy reunite and sing about their love. • And then there's basically a reprise of "Save the City," with the Starkettes and the whole cast closing the finale out.

Right out of the gate, let's address this: the main reason you're going to see some fans pissed about this musical is not only that Steve and Peggy's ~epic romance~ is made a pillar of the story... but also that Bucky's importance/involvement in Steve's life is minimized as much as possible.

And they took Bucky-related elements from canon and made them center more around Peggy instead.

• For some weird reason, Peggy is in the Stark Expo scene. When a soldier is hitting on the Starkettes ("hey sweetheart, I wanna dance!"), Steve tells the soldier to show the ladies some respect. The soldier grabs Steve and throws him down, and then Peggy swoops in to yell "Pick on someone your own size!" and punches the guy before walking away. So she's given Bucky's TFA line verbatim, and she is given the role he had of saving Steve from bullies. There is blatantly no reason they couldn't have had Bucky still serve that function and be truer to "history," because he briefly enters this scene in uniform less than a minute later to announce he's shipping out to the 107th – and then he spins off with a date on his arm. (We don't see Bucky on stage again until the full cast comes out for the finale!)

• After the Star-Spangled Man show, Peggy rushes in to talk to Steve. Steve is excited about his USO performance (???) but she urgently tells him to listen as she says that the 107th has been captured. Peggy apparently knows it's Bucky's division, and she knows Steve is going to go, so she tells him that she's already arranged transport for him. This is a subtle twist from the truth of how it went down in TFA, in which Steve recognized 107 as the number of Bucky's division, and his dogged determination inspired Peggy to relent and help his rescue mission. Here, Peggy is given a stronger role in the Cap origin story. And before Steve rushes off, Peggy sings a short untitled ballad hoping for their dance, so Steve pauses before he leaves to ask her to go on a date with her when he returns. • The most egregious Bucky-to-Peggy change of all is the song "End of the Line," in which the infamous Steve and Bucky line/promise (that broke Bucky's brainwashing...) is re-contextualized to be about ???? Peggy waiting for Steve in the past??? Old Man Steve and regular Steve sing it together. But we'll go back to that in a minute.

Again, I get it, yeah? It's for theater. Whatever. But in reality, the obvious logical truth is that Peggy is centered (to the point of taking elements from Bucky's story, and in turn Bucky is downplayed) because they needed to convince the audience that Steve going back in time to be with her makes sense. Steve's time travel ending had to be justified, so the Peggy and Steve "love story" had to be a pillar in this with everything else being given lesser weight.

And the inherent selfishness of him doing something as big as going back in time also had to be justified... which is why they do their best to convince you Steve fought so much he deserved it.

Let me elaborate on that by describing the lead-up to the "End of the Line" song.

So, right before "End of the Line" is "Save the City" – which includes Steve belting "I can do this all day!" repeatedly, of course. It's the 2012 Battle of New York as the Avengers come together to win.

As they begin to disperse, the song then transitions to a voiceover alert mentioning Sokovia being under attack by artificial intelligence (a.k.a. Age of Ultron). The Avengers group rushes back to center stage to say "Save the city! Help us win!" together for battle again.

And then things get fucking weird.

Because the next voiceover threat is "Washington DC. Attack: the Winter Soldier." This is not accurate to the order of events! The Winter Soldier events were before Age of Ultron; the public of the MCU would also know this.

And suddenly on stage Steve is now in the center while everyone else gestures to him. Instead of singing with him, they're telling him "Save the city! Help us win!"

Then, another voiceover: "Wakanda, under attack" (Infinity War) and again, Steve is centered while everyone else points to him. The ensemble says, "Save the city, help us win! Save us all from the state we're in! Got to hear you, got to hear you, got to hear you say..." as Steve is buckling to his knees under their pointing. And as the lights go down to one spotlight on him and everyone else leaves, he says "I can do this all day" one last time, but now it's subdued.

The implication is that Steve has been fighting and fighting, people leave him or he loses them, and he's tired.

And then fucking Old Man Steve arrives.

He says "On your left," because yes, they gave him Sam Wilson's line. BATSHIT.

So now there's two Steves on stage! There has been no mention of Thanos or infinity stones or anything up to this point! (I can only assume that's because in the MCU universe no one would want to be reminded of the trauma of "the Blip" – though it's pretty wild that they're allowed to know about magical time travel?)

Steve is baffled by Old Man Steve's arrival. I, too, was baffled by Old Man Steve's arrival.

As Steve questions how this is possible, Old Man Steve shows him the time stone from his pocket – and only the time stone – which Steve recognizes.

OLD MAN: "You've got to remember where you've been to know where you're going." STEVE: "Where am I going?" OLD MAN: "A date with destiny." STEVE: “Destiny. So we’re the hero till the end?” OLD MAN: “That’s the thing about endings, Steven. They can be rewritten.”

Lmao???????

Steve starts singing about how he hopes this means they "win" and calls himself a "tired hero."

STEVE: "But sometimes I wonder, who will save the savior? Can we really do this all day? So here I am, now and also then. Just a man, looking back at where he's been." OLD MAN: "The road is rough but wounds are healed by a thing called time. You can't forget what's waiting at the end of the line."

Me, watching this: the fact that he says this out of the blue makes absolutely no sense.

There's a bit more singing, including "end of the line" repetition, and then Old Man Steve pulls out the time stone to essentially show visions of... I don't fucking know. Past, present, and future?

That's pre-serum Steve, Steve with Mjolnir, and Sam Wilson as the new Cap. This is the only reference to Sam in the whole thing.

More singing, and then: Peggy's silhouette.

OLD MAN: "Can't forget who's waiting..." STEVE: "I can't forget who's waiting..." BOTH: "Don't forget who's waiting..." STEVE: "At the end of the line."

At this point I'm like, what in the hell?

Did Old Man Steve just brainwash normal Steve into thinking "end of the line" is now about Peggy? Because uhhhh, sorry, that's what it feels like!

Then Steve uses the stone to go back in time, reunites with Peggy, etc. etc. finale.

It's truly some crazy shit.

[drags hands down face]

Look... there's a lot to unpack here, and there's a lot that gets me about it. I know this is dramatized for the stage! I KNOW! But the fact that Old Man Steve shows up to convince Steve he should go back in time makes me want to gnaw on furniture.

Another person essentially uses the lure of a life with Peggy to tempt Steve into doing this, dramatized or not. That is how it's framed.

It's a hell of a way to frame it, and it makes Steve's ending stand in even starker contrast to so many other things in phase 4. Desperately trying to go backwards when you shouldn't or to bring back a lost lover is an evil temptation, and it results in a trap or negative cosmic consequences for basically all of the other characters in the MCU.

• In Shang-Chi, Wenwu is tempted by the Soul Eaters beyond the Dark Gate. They use the voice of his deceased wife to convince him to set them free. • In "What If" episode 4, Doctor Strange becomes evil in a desperate bid to save Christine and he destroys his universe. Along the way, he tries to tempt/trap the good Strange who's fighting him by using visions of Christine, but good Strange knows she isn't real. • Wanda's grief and desire to bring back Vision leads to – well, you know. • In No Way Home, Peter trying to undo things is what causes the multiverse problems.

And the fact that they frame it as Steve being tired, so basically the argument is he deserves that time travel ending (just like MCU fans who defend Endgame say in real life)... Well.

There's no way to make it hold up, especially because in "What If" they explicitly subverted that and had Captain Carter not go back in time despite how she felt she'd "earned" it.

Lastly, in this musical as Steve decides to pursue time travel as his course of action, he basically has the meaning or memory of "end of the line" rewritten for him. I refuse to not think that is some nefarious shit. Yes, it's not out of the realm of possibility that it's just some general Disney erasing Steve and Bucky nonsense.

But... this is on another level to me. I do think that it's a blatant choice that they had to be aware even general MCU fans would call bullshit on. Everyone knows it's inaccurate. "End of the line" is embedded in pop culture consciousness as being connected to Bucky. It just is! Surely that means it's not a stretch to theorize it could be deliberate meta commentary.

How, in the MCU world, would the in-universe playwrights even know the phrase "end of the line"? How the fuck would it be accidentally applied to Steve and Peggy? Not to sound like a crazy person, but who the fuck was rooting around in Steve and/or Bucky's personal business or their brains in order to obtain that knowledge and then remix it, and why? Neither of them would flippantly mention it in the public eye or interviews ever. So where did its inclusion come from?

And in the finale ensemble, this is Bucky's line when he comes out on stage and salutes + points to Steve: "Don't forget who's waiting..." And Old Man Steve completes it with "...at the end of the line."

What on God's green earth am I meant to do with THAT?

Smh.

The vibes are fucked, folks.

The MCU public wouldn't know enough to say the vibes are fucked. The MCU public wouldn't know the origin of "end of the line" as a phrase. But us? The ones who know the "true story" via the movies? We can call bullshit.

Whether the creative team behind this musical did every aspect of this consciously or not, in my opinion the fact that they had to tweak canon "history" to A) make Peggy's involvement in Steve's life more central and B) emphasize Steve as a tired hero all works as commentary on and almost a condemnation of Endgame's frustrating ending. In a way, it's also what Endgame did with the compass and 1973 moment with Peggy as well.

Steve's ending had to be convincing.

It's theater.

And so, maybe the same is true for the in-narrative perspective of this musical in the context of the MCU world. What purpose would it serve to tell the MCU public a feel-good narrative about how all Steve Rogers wanted was to no longer be a tragic man out of time and get to make a life with his best girl? To frame it as being about how he fought so hard for years and so he earned a happy ending? To minimize and nearly erase Bucky's importance in his life?

Who would want to do that sort of propaganda, and why?

The MCU civilians are given this happy explanation and maybe don't widely question it. Who cares about the details or logistics if it makes a good story, I guess. It's a stretch, but maybe they mostly applaud it. Maybe they're happy for "America's favorite son" (not unlike people who uncritically liked Endgame). In a way, it's even a rehabilitation of his image (after the Accords) like putting the shield on the Statue of Liberty. And maybe they'd even be ready and waiting to applaud if Steve ever made a dramatically selfless and de-aged return to the spotlight or a position of authority.

But mostly, the public is being conditioned to not know or to forget that anyone else like Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson would possibly know Steve Rogers the person well enough in the modern day to call bullshit on any of this – or on his hypothetical miraculous future return.

So. Sure, it's probably nothing.

But what if it's not?

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UPDATE: @faeriecap added to this post with some incredible information and further behind-the-scenes context about the MCU/Marvel stuff at Disney parks! Check it out here :)

#rogers the musical #rogers: the musical #steve rogers #captain america #captain america meta #marvel meta #imposter steve #anti-endgame #peggy carter #stevebucky #mcu #marvel #stucky #anti-endgame steve #char writes things #me: is anyone else going to write about this being propaganda? no? fine I'll do it myself #I should not be posting it after midnight but I don't want to be tempted to fucking look at it again tomorrow. be gone you monster

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uselesssomebody · 5 months

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𝕓𝕣𝕦𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕤 - jake lockley x reader

complete masterlist | mcu masterlist | moon knight masterlist

words || 𝟚𝕜

moon knight spring '24 bingo prompt + progress || 'bruise'

summary || in which jake gets a little jealous

a/n || so excited to be part of this event by @moonknight-events, my board looks so fun! check out their blog for a shit ton of other moon knight content by a bunch of other creators!

➵ ask if you wanna be added to a taglist

➵ heed the warnings in said masterlist, this series is 18+, and inherently dark

➵ send me requests if you have ‘em. enjoy!

warnings || fluff/smutty, but no sex

jake didn't take fares between 5 to 6 p.m.

he'd postpone his break so late, just to ensure he was always on time to pick her up from work. it annoyed him enough that he couldn't also drop her off, but the smattering of kisses that she'd pepper over his nose and lips before he left early for work made up for some - not all - of the worried thoughts he had of her commuting to work on her crowded subway train.

she finished work everyday at 5:00 on the dot, not hesitating with goodbyes and salutations, knowing who was waiting outside her building, just for her.

he stood outside his cab, hand on the passenger door handle to let her when as she usually bounded out of work, a beam on her face when she saw him. he checked the time, a cigarette almost half-smoked between his bare fingers - he wasn't getting his leather gloves ashy.

5:15.

what was taking her so long?

he hated having to wait for his girl: seeing her face after driving around the city - a somewhat lonely profession - was the best part of his day.

he slumped his shoulders, leaning against the car door, as he peered over the dark, but lively street. it was a row of offices, and other people were also clocking out. bored, he watched the gray cloud of smoke from his mouth, trying to distinguish it from the puffs of his warm breath showing up in the chilly air.

5:20.

5:25.

5:30.

he was starting to get concerned.

finally, after an eternity of waiting - see: 35 minutes - his face relaxes when he sees her hurriedly walking out of her work. immediately after, his brow furrows, at the sight of the man following behind her, a big, stupid smile on his face, mouth moving a mile a minute.

she looks up, noticing jake, and her face breaks into a look of pure relief, finally, a pep in her step as she nears her boyfriend. before she can greet him though, the guy behind her grabs her shoulder, whipping her back around.

jake's eyes widen at the little fucker's audacity.

he's saying some bullshit, holding onto her shoulder so can't turn back to jake, and the steam coming out of his ears leads him to only hear:

"... come out for a drink with me... really pretty... love to take you out-"

it's more than enough.

he calls her name, voice stern, but not to her. never to her. she whipped her head around, not turning as she mumbles a weak goodbye to the man, finally completing the short distance to jake.

she kisses his cheek quickly in greeting,before waiting for him to open the door, but he pulls her a little closer by the waist, pressing her body against his.

"let me kiss you properly, mi amor. i haven't seen you all day." her cheeks heat. he literally never does this, waiting to properly express his love after they got home.

"he's still looking?" she guesses, and his lips quirk in a smile, as he presses his lips to her soft, slightly parted ones, revelling in how she sinks into the comfort of his warmth.

"like a kicked puppy." he murmurs into her lips, and she giggles, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth, before pulling away.

"baby, open the door, i'm cold." she whines, and jake obliges her, pulling open the car door so she can sit back against the warm interior and crisp leather that he worked hard to maintain.

she only spares a glance at the other man. he's looking away.

"so, who was that?"

it had taken a couple hours, as well as the both of them reclining to the warmth of the couch - takeout clutched in their hands and a sitcom on the t.v. - for jake to finally ask the question nagging at the back of his mind.

she groans softly, hoping he'd forgotten. a silly wish.

"no one, jake." she murmurs quickly, to his immediate dissatisfaction.

"nuh-uh, amor, you have to give me more than that. he put his hands on you!" he said it like it was some inexcusable crime, and it made her giggle.

"he's just..." she sighs, chewing on her bite, "he's the new guy, y'know?" jake's eyes narrow.

"how long has he-"

"don't ask." she interrupts, knowing he'll be more upset if he found out the new guy's antics had occurred before. jake scowls, and she rolls her eyes, turning in the couch to better face him.

"jake~" she says his name softly, in a sing-song voice, prying the food from his hands and placing them on the coffee table. she cups his cheeks, running her fingers over his hair - messed up by that flat cap he always wore - and the little stubble on his face that he'd begun growing out when she professed she wanted to see him with a beard. she climbs slowly into his lap, guiding his arms to rest on the curve of her hips, "jake?" she finally asks again, as she's settled in.

"yes, mi amor?" his voice is gruff, as he lazily looks up at her. he's not shocked by her movements, happy to have her so close, but is still evidently stingy about the new guy.

"remind me, who did i go home with today?" she asks, rhetorically. jake rolls his eyes as he looks up at her.

"me, amor, but-"

"and who am i most excited to see whenever i leave work?"

"also me, but-"

"and who is the only person who gets to touch every part of me?" her voice drops to a whisper, guiding his warm fingertips under her shirt, to the skin of her midriff.

"me." he breathes out.

"you...?" she prompts.

"only me." satisfied with his answer, she leans down to press a soft kiss to his lips, cupping his scratchy cheeks, and giggling she he squeezes her hips.

"and who do i love?" she whispers, when she breaks away for air.

"i hate when you talk to me like a child." he chides, changing the subject, and it makes her giggle.

"wrong answer, try again." he raises a brow of challenge, before pulling her closer, and then standing up, his palms splayed under and cupping her thighs so he could carry her into their bedroom. she squeaks in shock, clinging onto him, "what're you doing?!"

"showing you why you love me."

falling unceremoniously on the bed, she lets out a small 'oof!', but its cut short by the way his mouth captures hers in a hungry kiss.

"someone's needy," she teases, when he breaks away, but it's cut off my a small moan, as his tongue travels down the length of her jaw, to her neck.

"i'll beat the shit out of him if he touches you again." jake grumbles into her skin.

"are you kidding? he obviously knows i have a boyfriend, he's leaving me alone." jake's head emerges from where he's kissing at her neck.

"hmm..." he looks contemplative, "maybe... he could do with a little reminder."

she's unsure what he's planning, but his devilish grin tips her off that it's going to be an idea she might chastise him for. indeed, it is.

his head sinks back down. finding the flesh of her neck, and rolling it gently between his teeth, before clamping a little harder, and sucking. so enamored by the sensation of the slight pain laved by the tingles of his warm tongue, she doesn't realize what he's doing for a moment.

"jake!" she squeaks when she realizes, "you can't - can't mark me!" his laugh is gruff against her skin.

"why not?" without waiting for an answer, his teeth nip at the skin under her collarbone. she gasps at the feeling, trying to tug at his hair to dissuade him - to no avail.

"oh, baby, it's such a pain in the ass to cover them-"

"then don't." the curt response renders her speechless for a moment, enough time for his teeth to sink into the flesh of her shoulder.

"you want him to see..." he laughs.

"that sure took you a moment, amor." seeing as she doesn't meaningfully try to stop him, he continues his work, teeth sinking into as much of the expanse of her neck and chest as he could reach.

they're blue and purple the next morning. she looked like she'd been attacked by something. her eyes quite literally bugged out of her head at the sight.

groaning, she reaches for her makeup bag. jake peeks his head into the bathroom, immediately taking the bag from her hands.

"jake-?" her brows furrow in confusion, but she's cut off by how his other arm wraps around her waist, looking at her in the mirror to see all the bruises smattered over her skin. she reaches blindly to take back her makeup, but he evades her hands, "jake, i need to do my makeup!" she whines softly, making her laugh and kiss her cheek.

"you're gonna cover them up." she scoffs.

"of course i'm gonna cover them up, i look like i was in an mma fight with a raccoon!" he shakes his head.

"no, you look like you had fantastic, animalistic sex with your boyfriend." she cringes a little, laughing.

"and why do my poor coworkers have to know that?" he deadpans.

"as long as your newbie knows." he murmurs, a little bitter, as a finger goes to trace the bruises.

"are we seriously still on that?" she turns to face him, kissing his cheek, "i thought i told you he's just annoys me a little." she assures.

"oh, trust me, amor. he won't from now on."

he didn't let her put her makeup on - even for her face, not trusting her to not start covering up those beautiful marks. instead, with the time she saved in between waking up and eating breakfast, he pulled her back to bed, kissing over each and every bruise, as their coffee water heated.

"you know i love you, right, jake?" she murmurs softly into his forehead, kissing his hairline.

"of course, mi amor. i love you, too." 'she's being so sweet, isn't she?' he thinks.

"can you tell me where you hid my makeup bag?" he snorts, shushing her with a kiss to the lips.

"fat chance."

he's waiting outside her work again, squishing his cigarette under the toe of his shoes as he sees her walking out. with no fucking newbie chasing after her.

"how was work?" he asks, as she presses her daily greeting kiss on his cheek.

"good." she answered, a big smile on her face, as he slowly opens the passenger door. before she sits down, though, he gestures to her neck and chest.

"show me." he instructs, and she laughs, pulling off her scarf to show that the bruises were still well-pronounced. it makes him smirk, as he nods appreciatively, sitting down.

as he peels away, he glances at her, noticing her happy attitude.

"so, did newbie bother you? should i say 'i told you so'?" he teases, and it makes her a little embarrassed.

"i... no, he didn't bother me." he grins.

"tell me more, come on."

"he... looked horrified, if i'm being honest." she giggles.

"good." his response was curt, but his smug smile spoke 1000 words. as he stopped at a red light, he leans over to peck her lips.

"so, should i say it?" she smiles, indulging him.

"go on."

"i told you so."

#jake lockley #jake lockley oneshot #jake lockley imagine #jake lockley x reader #jake lockley smut #marvel #moon knight #brusing #moon knight events #oscar isaac

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trashquisitor-shirozora · 3 months

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Was browsing through early BOBF/Mando S3 criticisms on Tumblr and WOW, 93% of S2’s viewership dropped when S3 finished airing for an extremely understandable reason. As someone who got into Dinluke after all the dust settled I can only imagine what it was like becoming invested in Din’s story and being floored by the S2 finale only for it to get totally swerve-balled after a long-anticipated wait. How did you avoid the disappointment and burnout?

Spite is an incredibly powerful motivator, let me tell you.

I'm halfway joking about that, btw. I could say I'm used to disappointment and I also worked really hard not to take things too personally after being disappointed time and again year after year by fandoms I was in. Imo the healthiest attitude is that no show/movie/book/videogames/etc will ever play out the way you want/think it should so take what you can get and trash the rest. By the time I started watching The Mandalorian, I'd been burnt badly by Star Trek AOS, the Sequel Trilogy, the MCU, and the Disney machine, and I had to figure out how to accept that I like what I like, I can't change what I can't change, and I can/will run the fuck off with what I can change, which is making wildly fun and fulfilling transformative shit like fanfics and fanart.

I was actually excited about TBOBF and was utterly betrayed by the executive decision to throw him and Fennec to the side in order to absolutely trash the Season 2 finale of the Mando Show by having Din and Grogu reunite just like that. I guess I got lucky in that I had a long-running fic series that I was heavily invested in and I was not about to let Disney stop me from finishing it. Instead of letting my frustrations kill my interest in the show and fandom, I turned it into motivation to keep telling the story I wanted to tell based on the fallout of Season 2. It also helped that Andor happened.

I quit Season 3 of the Mando Show after the 1st episode and it was the best decision I ever made. I had a really rough time with it and was encouraged to step away if it was giving me too much stress. I'm glad for that. Less time and energy picking about Filoni&Favreau and Disney Lucasfilm's decisions and disappointments, more time and energy spent writing and drawing the dinluke I want to see. The nice thing about Star Wars is that it is an old and vast sandbox. Plenty of room here to build whatever sandcastles and dig however many holes you want while canon goes floundering by.

I think also that it really helped to find spaces to share with people who vibe on the same wavelength, so I'm not alone to my thoughts and spiraling myself out of a fandom I enjoyed (like what happened with TLJ but I shan't go there bc this response is long enough). Those posts about having friends you can shit-talk things with? Valid af. You need outlets to vent your grievances without setting bridges on fire, and it'll help your enjoyment of things in the long run.

I didn't avoid the disappointment but I figured out how to make something of it, so I'm still writing dinluke, I'm still drawing dinluke, I'm still getting giddy over dinluke. I actively choose to do what I want with them, and nothing Disney Lucasfilm puts out is ever going to stop me.

#shirozora awkwardly responds to asks #dinluke #the mandalorian #star wars #tbobf #fandom things #realized I still have a lot of thoughts about TBOBF and Mando S3 while answering the ask #i should post them at some point #but really I can be a really spiteful person who uses rage to fuel certain ideas #if i see a story I don't like for a thing that I like I will rewrite things and I will create things to get over that rage #it's like that quote in frankenstein #it's like. i like this thing so much and i expect better from it so if it won't reach there then i'll write/draw it myself #the burnout will get to me eventually if the hyperfixation doesn't get to me first #but for now i am really enjoying the ride and i remain heavily invested in the story i'm telling with Dangerous Dreams #sometimes you just gotta find the one thing in the fandom you really like and stick with it to the end of the line

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mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea · 12 days

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Fandom asks for MCU <3! 3, 5 (Loki), 6, 9, 17 (Tony), 22 (Emma)

3. NoTP?

Scott Summers/Jean Grey, Logan/Jean Grey, Anyone/Jean Grey (I mean, if I have to have her around in a fic and shipped with anyone, it's usually another character I don't dig either), Steve Rogers/Peggy Carter, Anyone/Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers/Sharon Carter, Steve, Bucky, Sam/Brock Rumlow, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts (I mean, I can deal with their relationship as a past relationship turned best friends, but I'm not gonna read or write their ship as I think they weren't really healthy for each other - like Ross and Rachel.) Loki/Grandmaster (I will make references to it as a past thing that Loki did for survival but he hates it). Loki/Thor (There's some pretty-pretty artwork out there, and I will acknowledge that it's gorgeous and can enjoy it as artwork, but as an actual pairing, no. Just not my thing.)

5. Out of all your fanworks that include [Loki], which is your favourite?

Obviously, my on-going WIP series Hemispheres would be the top of that favorite list, but then I'd have to say I'm torn between these two:

What's on your mind, half of the time, (brother mine)

and

A little shy and sad of eye but very wise was he

Both of them feature Loki in vulnerable moments. The first one, he's like 5 and tiny and adorable and scared of the storm. He gets to meet a stranger who boosts his confidence a little. And the second one, he comes back after a grueling time in Asgard with Thor, who's still being far too bullying, and his friends and is really low about it, and Tony gathers everyone up to make a blanket fort (as Loki's never experienced one before), order Loki's favorite take-out, and watch movies to comfort him. Wholly self-indulgent on the comfort side.

6. Show us a bit of a WIP!

From "Too weird to live, too rare to die" (Justin Hammer/Loki)

“So Loki made friends with Natasha by helping her with mission stuff?” Justin roped them back around to the other topic.

Nodding, he answered, “Yeah. He did some spellwork for her. Imbued it into a piece of jewelry that essentially all she’s gotta do is think about how she wants to look, and that’s how she looks. The spell lasts as long as she needs it to, and then when she’s ready to not look different, she just thinks of herself and bam. Nat again. No more dying her hair unless she wants to, no more contacts, no more tech that can blitz out on her.”

Justin looked impressed. A little skeptical, him being a tech and science guy like Tony, especially tech, but still impressed. He wondered how Loki’s ‘magic’ could be utilized in their own tech, but he figured Tony had already been thinking about that.

“Nice. Sounds like he’s much better as an ally than an adversary,” Justin remarked as he finished with the last of the dishes. He dried his hands and hung up the towel again.

Tony took in how easily Justin took on the domestic task of dishes. Seems like he learned some humility in prison, after all, and wasn’t looking to be waited on anymore. Perhaps there was hope for guys like them after all.

“Much better as an ally, though don’t let the gentle smiles and the fun tea parties he has with Morgan fool you. He’s still dangerous when he wants to be. He’s like a cat. Don’t rub him the wrong way or you’ll find his claws slashing your hamstrings,” he joked, but the serious look in Tony’s eyes said he wasn’t actually joking.

Justin walked over to the fridge, grabbing a glass along the way, and filled it up with ice and water. He took Tony’s glass from him to fill it up, too, and handed it back, refusing to see the pleasant surprise in that gaze that followed him around to take a seat at one of the tall chairs at the counter. Cold, pure water rushed down his throat and gave him time to think of how to respond to what Tony said. Setting the glass on the counter, Justin turned it around and around, watching as the water remained calm even in its movement.

“You think Loki’s dangerous to people here and you let him stay? He’s really close to Morgan from what I hear. I don’t see him much. Passing in the halls, when we eat. That’s about it, but your kid adores him.” Justin let out a breathy laugh. “I think she adores all of us, though, so I think that’s just her. Big heart.” Like her dad.

Moving across the kitchen so he could belly up to the counter next to Justin, Tony took a drink of his water and set the glass down. Two men, both at one time consumed by the big buck, by reputation and prestige and power, by controlling the playing field where weapons and tech were concerned, rivals – not bitterly so but rivals nevertheless, now sitting side by side, drinking fucking water for fuck’s sake, when they used to be dripping in the finest whiskey and women. Burying the hatchet, and not in each other’s skulls.

Tony never would’ve believed it could happen, especially not after he and Rhodey had to face down Vanko and the shitstorm he brought that Justin bankrolled.

It was kind of nice, though, given that one of the last people Tony’d wronged in the past had injected his ex with Extremis, which still made Pepper a fiery handful to deal with, but at least, they’d gotten a handle on it for her so that she did set people on fire with her fists anymore. While he’d never specifically wronged Justin the way he had Aldrich Killian (and really wronged was a little strong for just saying he’d been a spoiled dismissive asshole), he had been a dismissive asshole, which pushed Justin to make one of the worst decisions of his life.

“I don’t think Loki’s a danger to Morgan ever,” Tony finally stated and tilted his head to meet Justin’s curious stare. “I don’t think Loki’s a danger to me or Bruce or probably not Thor anymore. Not since we’ve all sorta ganged up on Thor and told him not to be a dick to his brother. The stabbing’s stopped at any rate. You, though. He doesn’t know you well enough yet, so I’d just say...tread carefully. You never know when you’ll end up on a mission with him.”

“Yeah, about that,” a voice from behind them announced.

Tony and Justin swiveled their seats.

Phil Coulson met their eyes.

9. Write a recommendation of someone else's fic you enjoyed!

Okay look, I have so many bookmarks and fics I could recommend that are tear-jerkers, kept me on the edge of my seat through months and months, that made me swoon, and I could easily give any and all of those. I could and I would! But this asks for one fic, and I'm gonna go with one that made me LOL so hard it woke up dog up from a nap in the other room and had my sister asking me if I was okay because for a second, I couldn't breathe.

Clark's Chicken by @kleenexwoman

I don't normally read DC fanfic. I like DC okay enough to know generally who the major players are, but I'm not invested. However, I am invested in my friends and their creative sparks, unless I'm just really not at all into a particular fandom. I can't really write a full review to say what it's about other than it's not exactly safe for work, definitely not for kids, though teenagers would love this, I think. I think that's why I love it - I'm still 12 and masturbation and fart jokes make me giggle. (There are no fart jokes in this, but discussion around masturbation is.) I want as many people as possible to read this fic because all the laughter in the world could finally heal humanity, I think, and if we could all laugh our asses off at this one, it could drive out the darkness all around us these days. Seriously, I believe this fic has the potential to lighten the world, to drive out the fascists, to heal the sick and sad, to build a protective bubble around the vulnerable - all through the laughter that this fic will grace people with. READ IT AND LEAVE KLEENEXWOMAN SOME LOVE ON IT.

17. What's a book, movie, or show you think [Tony] would like?

Book - American Gods - He really rooted for the New Gods at first, especially Technical Boy and Media, but somewhere in it, he really dug Mr. Wednesday, Mr. World (and especially Mr. World's reveal).

Movie - Real Genius

Show - McGyver (remake)

22. Give us a headcanon for [Emma]

So many people give Emma shit for being cold, stand-offish, and snobby, and because of this, Emma performs that to perfection. However, around those who see past this barrier, she's loving, warm, tender, kind, encouraging, compassionate, and has one of the biggest hearts they've ever met - and she uses her big bucks to take care of the people she loves.

Thanks for the asks!!!

Fandom Ask Game.

#Fandom Ask Game #stormxpadme #Thanks for the asks!

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iamstartraveller776 · 1 year

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Your turn!!

❤️🎁🐇🥳💭🧪

That’s to start lol!

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

My mind went absolutely blank as soon as I saw this question. Despite having over 100 stories posted, I suddenly can't think of a line, lol. Here, I'll do it by fandom:

Star Trek (Sarek/Amanda Grayson):

Fascinating. He wanted to stretch forth his hand and lay his fingertips against the smooth skin of her temple. He wanted to experience the spiraling, erratic path her thoughts must travel. He wanted to understand why he found her exceptional among her peers—among all others.

She blushed under his intense gaze, glancing away. "I'm being flippant again, aren't I?"

"You are being Amanda Grayson." And he wished he knew better what that meant. [x]

Labyrinth (Jareth/[Adult] Sarah):

She is like the almost-magic he senses in her world—vibrant vitality wholly untouchable. Just as he keeps reaching for that undefinable power, he cannot stop reaching for her. [x]

MCU (Loki/Jane Foster):

“No, it isn’t.” He loomed over her, followed her when she retreated. “This isn’t love. It’s something infinitely more—deeper, visceral. This is need. You are the air I would breathe, the wellspring with which I would quench my unending thirst. And you, with your selfish need for something so banal as love—you would deny me life.” [x]

OUAT (Killian Jones/Emma Swan):

She looks like an angel, wind making a halo out of her pale hair, skin a stunning alabaster, though he can see the light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose and on her cheeks. In the suffocating stillness of his cabin, he’s wondered where else on her flesh he might discover such lovely constellations. By them, could he navigate to paradise?

She takes his breath away—the siren who has the power to drown this sailor. The angel in his hour of need. Both and neither. [x]

S&B (Darklina):

The Darkling is gone.

He’s gone.

And yet, there are moments when he seems so alive, drinking the air from her lungs, tasting the food on her tongue, warm breath against her ear. She takes surreptitious glances at her reflection—in a trough of water, in polished metal—expecting to see thin black veins branching up her neck. But whenever she looks, there’s nothing but the dirt and grime from their travels. [x]

TROP (Sauron/Galadriel):

He stares down at her, and for a perilous moment, he angles forward as though he might take by force what she’s denied him since his true nature was revealed. She shoves fruitlessly at his chest with her left hand to stave off his debased intrusion. Only, he doesn’t kiss her, but rests his forehead against hers. The intimacy, the need caressing her cheek with his warm breath makes her want to weep. No being could hope to carry such agony—such cruel longing—and survive it, and yet her heart still beats. [x]

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share?

Yes, and no. I've got my fingers in a few pies, but nothing really substantial to share, particularly from the fandom you and I are in. But here are a couple lines from the canon-divergence Haladriel story I'm tinkering with:

“You do not truly seek to vanquish the darkness, else you would have cast it out of yourself first.”

And:

“You must choose between saving your people—saving all of Middle Earth—or your quest for vengeance. You cannot have both.”

🐇 Do you write for yourself, for others, or both?

Both, definitely both. I enjoy getting prompts and requests, so long as I can make them whatever I want them to be. But mostly, I write what I'm most excited to write about—or whatever darkness I need to exorcise from of my soul—but I post because I want to share with others.

🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?

The simple answer: the fandom community. It was so fun and engaging, and we had all these challenges. They brought me out of lurking. Now writing is my favorite way to engage with other fans.

💭 What inspires you and your writing?

Anything. For real. Working out my demons or the need to make something lighthearted. A song. A show/film. A random "what if" thought.

🧪 Do you research for your fics?

Oh, absolutely. I get anxious about getting things right. I'll watch a film/episode a dozen times in a row if I'm writing missing scenes or canon divergence. The insane amount of researching I do for AU's is ridiculous, especially modern ones.

Thank you so much!!

Fanfic Writer Asks

#fic writer asks #ask games #star replies

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imperiuswrecked · 1 year

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Saw a tweet that reads: "I haven't read the Namor comics but from the way people say he's obsessed with Sue Storm, it's clear to me that they decided to switch to Shuri" There are waaay too many false statements for a less than 280 characters tweet. I know you are done engaging with those people, but I really needed to share my frustration, since you truly know and care about Namor. I also just want to enjoy the character, and I don't mind the ship, but this obsession to take and force everything to fit their made up narrative, while labeling it as undeniable, is ruining the experience. ----- Dramatisation: (a fish swims by) People: "It CLEARLY means Namor is in love with Shuri." ------ Okay I'm done, thanks for reading. No need to post this or anything, but I wanted to share.

Oh I've seen so many of those tweets and even posts here on tumblr where people are saying Marvel switched Namor from obsessing over Sue to Shuri and honestly it says more about the fans saying that then it does about Marvel's handing of Namor's character in regards to Sue and Shuri. Call me crazy but I don't think making women interchangeable just for a ship is a good thing. lmao.

Fandom perception of Namor/Sue has been wrong long before I came to fandom and there will always be people who don't know it's not what comic fanbros say it is because they choose not to read the comics.

Saw one fan state "Namor took the diving suits because he knew he would have the Princess in Talokan soon and wanted it for her" which made me want to respond "It's been shown Namor is a magpie and takes trinkets from the surface world" but I chose not to, lol. It's hard sometimes when you see stuff like that because it just reduces every action Namor makes as some motive for their ship which turns me off of ships so fast. Like I get if it's in a jokey way but you can tell people are serious about this to the point the entire characterization of Namor has become "He simps for Shuri". Even though creators, and the actors all came out saying it is not meant to be romantic that won't stop people from doing this and honestly so long as people don't try and tag my general stuff/twist it to use for their ship then I'm whatever.

Shipping is very important to some fans and it's all they want to interact with in media to the point they water down these complex characters and their relationships to just "they wanna fuck so bad". Personally I can't handle engaging in media only that way so I do agree with you. The sheer amount of people doing this is making it hard to have fun and enjoy MCU!Namor's character within the fandom because it's everywhere and they can't decide on one specific tag to make it easy to filter out for non shipping fans.

#imp answers #mcu namor #anti namorsue #shuri #not tagging this with ship tags because I do not want to put this there but with tumblrs tag system it might show up #so if it does please do not interact if you want to argue with me about your ship #because people are allowed to have criticism of something they don't enjoy without it being an attack on a specific person #staying in my lane

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captainninej · 1 year

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why capitalism is the difference between the lotr and hobbit trilogies

hi i am once again back on my what happened to the hobbit movies bullshit. everyone loves to make fun of the hobbit movies and how CGI filled they are, how rushed they are, even how unnecessary they are. but i seriously urge everyone to watch some of the behind the scenes and see how exhausted peter jackson and the crew are, because of the intense, unreasonable capitalistic decisions made by studio heads. the hobbit movies went through so much jumbled bullshit, had peter jackson working 20 hours a day 7 days a week - of course the end product was going to be borderline shit!!

don't get me wrong, i'm from new zealand, i have so much respect for peter jackson for making my favourite trilogy of all time (lotr), and the hobbit movies hold a special place in my heart since they came out when i was 10 and i didn't understand all the shit that went down. but the difference in quality and love between the trilogies, i think, can easily be boiled down to one thing: capitalism. the hollywood landscape changed DRASTICALLY between the makings of these trilogies. for lotr, while many things about it were monumental, one of the most was the time that was given to peter and co to create the films from top to bottom. before filming even started, they spent LITERAL YEARS in pre-production!! not to mention FOUR HUNDRED DAYS of filming!! (helms deep alone took four months!!) they were allowed the freedom to experiment, to truly create art; while it was still to make a profit at the end of the day, they weren't being throttled by the studio the way that directors/movie crews are now - just see the MCU.

the studio wanted billions again, so they brought peter jackson back and expected him to make the same trilogy again (due to the franchise craze that hollywood found itself obsessing over in the early 2010s and is still in the throes of) without realising that the reason lord of the rings holds up is because of the time that was given to the team to craft beautiful sets, costumes, ideas and scripts, the time they were given to not only excel at doing all this, but to love and enjoy it. you can feel the love in every frame of lord of the rings. you can't for the hobbit. and while people love to blame the CGI (which is very very true), i think a lot of people should take the hobbit and its downfall from the quality of lord of the rings as a warning tale of how capitalism destroys art by pressuring artists for capital so much that all the life and joy is sucked out of what they create. peter jackson was DRAGGED through the mud in the new zealand press and beyond for supposedly 'losing his touch' (which is NOT true - just look at what he did with they shall not grow old and get back) but everyone missed the fact that this man was broken by the decisions of the studio heads above him and did the best he could with the conditions he was given.

we can see this easily with the MCU now, and how hollywood is in a bit of a slump, but i think the signs were there with the hobbit too. and i still think it's so tragic because peter jackson and his crew and everyone who worked on the hobbit are so genuinely talented, and the hobbit movies were cast PERFECTLY. martin freeman as bilbo??? richard armitage as thorin??? lee pace as thranduil??? luke evans as bard the bowman??? THEY CARRIED THIS TRILOGY, just to mention a few!! and it just shows that even if you have millions of dollars, even if you have the most talented cast and crew and directors and writers in the world, you can't make good art unless you love what you do, and are given time to love what you do. you can have everything, but if you don't have time, it won't work. which hollywood just. doesn't understand anymore. and the tanking in quality of movies recently shows this, the obsession to turn everything into its own universe with spin offs and sequels and prequels. it doesn't work. people are moved by art when the art has something to say other than 'i am completely soulless and void of any meaning and i only exist so the studio makes money.'

of course there are other reasons why the hobbit and lotr trilogies would never be the same anyway. the scales of both stories are completely different. one is three books and the other is one. one carries more serious themes of war and authoritarianism and one started as a bedtime story about a dragon for tolkien's son. but the hobbit still could have been adapted beautifully, in a way that aged well, if it only gave its creators time.

i've always been a firm believer that art can never fully translate to capitalism. we're living through it right now, with the slump of hollywood, music made for tiktok virality. because true art, art that speaks to people - movies, music, visual art, writing - can only be made with time, and love.

and neither exist in capitalism.

#the hobbit #the hobbit trilogy #this turned into a far bigger rant than just the hobbit #lotr #lord of the rings #capitalism #hollywood #mcu #peter jackson #fuck you hollywood for what you did to this man

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tuiyla · 1 year

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how do you feel about the idea of Santana being a secret comic book and/or marvel nerd? it seems to be a fairly common hc in fics and it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine hah because I don't think it suits her at all.

Well I think, like most things, being a nerd is a spectrum and she's both more likely to be one than people think and also not AS much of a nerd as others think.

First, the pro. Well for starters I'm tempted to say it does suit her, actually, just on the basis of Santana continually defying expectations and being the opposite of what a first-glance look at her character might imply. Now I'm not calling your reading of her surface level but I do think she's already such a dork in canon and has the makings of a bit of a nerd. Sure, she thinks people like Sam are lame and I don't think the wide berth of her references should be representative because that's the writers being clever, but Santana does indicate on a few different occasions that she's at least aware of that sort of pop culture stuff. I do think that she'd initially think she's too pretty to care about nerdy things like comic books, and she is, but as she learns to not perform (in the social sense) all the time she finds solace in stuff she previously considered off-limits. That's my HC, anyway. And she'd make a big deal out of vehemently denying she cares about this stuff in public because ew, embarrassing, again she's too pretty to know what a Marvel is. But like, it's just a hobby and an interest and she's allowed to have a wide range of those. So what if she develops strong opinions on certain characters' lore or reads a comic or two because it's fun.

And this is where the contra comes in, because I do think fanfic writers make the same mistake Glee itself probably would when taking it too far and basically turn it into her whole thing. I don't think nerdy comic stuff would ever become a cornerstone of Santana's personality; she wouldn't cosplay or anything like that. Lurk forums and tell people they're wrong in their opinions, sure. Go to the cinema with friends to watch a superhero flick or even to go see a Star War, maybe even buy a comic or two when no one's looking. But like I say, interests are also a spectrum and it's not like she'd be a secret ultra nerd whose free time is consumed by comic books. I mean, her interest would be secret because Santana would always, on some level, consider it to be lame and she likes to maintain an air of superiority but it'd just be because she's embarrassed about even mildly enjoying it more than people who go see one MCU movie a year.

So, yeah. Personally, I wouldn't say it doesn't suit her at all. I think it's the right kind of thing for Santana to be opinionated about when she thinks no one's looking, i.e. in online spaces. It's a guilty pleasure you wouldn't guess about her but many also wouldn't have guessed she was a lesbian in sophomore year, so. But I have also seen people take it too far, for my tastes, and take it too seriously. I don't think Santana would take it too seriously but there's also enough in canon for me to think she probably would be a bit of a secret nerd, yeah.

#like i think there's enough in canon to #- if not support it - then make it plausible #so i get and accept the hc i just don't think it should be taken too seriously #anon #glee asks #santana asks #santana hcs

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tori-artemis · 1 year

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Thank you, @iamanartichoke for the asks! Writing this all out kind of made my day. 💜💜💜

Alright, so here we go:

9. Worst part of canon:

The fact that nothing ever is fully explored, omg! Like we see Loki being shocked and repulsed when he learns about his heritage, right, we see him almost physically recoil at the sight of his arm turning blue, we see him hesitate right when he's about to reach for Odin, bc he's afraid his touch will hurt him. So we know he has issues with this fact about himself, he's bothered by the fact that he's Jotun, and then several films later and... nothing. This is never really touched on again. Which is a shame, bc there's so much angst and character potential here!

And it keeps happening, like we see Loki fall into the void, we see he's still alive but seemingly roughed up at the end Thor 1, we see him in Avengers looking near-feral and clearly not well, but then those experiences of his are never explored, never even fully acknowledged, and IDK, it just bugs me.

(Also this isn't even necessarily about Ragnarok solely, bc I kinda include The Dark World here too. As much as Tom Hiddleston acted the hell out of his scenes, and he certainly had these things in mind during his performance, and as decent as the writing was overall, the fact that this was never mentioned, or brought up, or Thor never bothered to ask or they never had an argument where this info just spilled out... it just frustrates me, y'know. Like I would've actually enjoyed Dark World a lot more if these things had been explored in a meaningful way, or even just at all, but yeah. I'm not hating on the film, it's not the worst but I'd be lying if I said that I loved, or even really liked it, bc... well yeah.)

10. Worst part of fanon:

That Loki is the liarist liar ever, who ever liared his way into lying? Or that he's Stabby McBackstabber, or Traitor McGee or whatever. Mr "Power Hungry for a Throne" wants his power fixation and is fucking shit up bc he can - and bc he's apparently turned into goddamn Littlefinger from Game of Thrones and he's just climbing that chaos ladder, I guess. Tbf this is more the MCU/marvel fanon/misinterpretation of him, verses Loki fandom fanon in general, but I still see it and it's annoying. I guess if I had to pick fanon from the fandom tho... maybe it's less the fanon and more the extremism of certain fanons? Like - Loki's a good person at heart, he's loyal, he deeply loves and cares for his family (and his people/realm), we all know this, but then when that's the only thing that ever gets applied to his decision making, when you take away his more "unsavory" qualities (particularly his envy and resentment of Thor - understandable as those feelings may be, they're still, well, pretty dark emotions y'know), then you just strip a character of all his nuance and turn him into a one note saint, and those are never fun. He's basically reduced to being just as shallow as Traitor McGee over there, just from an opposite viewpoint. I love him more when he's human and flawed, he doesn't have to be a perfect saint for me to love him as a character.

(Like yes - Loki is perfect, but in that he's perfectly imperfect, if that makes any sense.)

22. Part of canon that you love that everyone else ignores:

I'm not sure tbh? I'm like the last person to give these great meta-insightful answers bc I kinda just get all my information from other meta writers. Like I never actually analyzed any of the Thor films - or any MCU film for that matter, I kinda just watch and enjoy the ride, and it wasn't until I started reading all this great Loki meta on Tumblr that I started to actually think about any of this stuff at all. But I guess if I had to pick something... um something I really liked, in Ragnarok of all things, was how Loki seemed to joke about the more difficult/upsetting aspects of his past (ex: his suicide attempt, and to a lesser degree his Jotun heritage bc I do think he has a lot of unresolved issues when it comes to that). Which is strange bc a lot of fans actually have said they hated that, but for a character known for putting a front and wearing masks I honestly found it pretty in character for him. Like I do think Loki uses humor to downplay his own pain/angst/struggles in general. The comment he says about Frigga (after she was recently murdered mind you) when Thor says "She wouldn't want us to fight" (voice full of pain) and Loki just - tearfully, yet lightheartedly quips back "well she wouldn't exactly be shocked" - it's things like that. And granted, I know those two scenes were very different, and he was with Thor in the latter scene, which also changes everything on how he responds/presents himself etc., but I can't help but see it as another example of Loki using humor to lighten up a conversation/bad memory. (There are probably better examples out there, but I'm too tired to search for any).

Just basically: if anyone would make a sarcastic joke about their own suicide attempt and shrug it off as no big deal... it'd be Loki.

#Loki #Choose Violence Asks #Not sure if any of my responses were actually violent or not... but yeah. XD #Pretty much just rambling here. But I hope it makes sense #I really had fun with these!#Thanks again for the asks Charlotte. I hope you're well! :)

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gigantomachy1916 · 1 year

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Here to distract with questions!

What is your favorite Lawmane fic that you've written to date?

What is your favorite Lawmane fic written by someone else?

What is your favorite trope in fanfiction?

What fanfic would you most like to see written by someone else?

What fanfic idea do you have that you can't make yourself write?

Favorite Lawmane fic I've written: I want to say Oleander just because it's my baby rn, but I'm also constantly worried that people hate it so idk. Liability was really easy and fun to write and still gets the most attention. Of the oneshots, even though it was my first fic, I still feel like cut open my sternum and pull my little ribs around you is one of the best, and I also have a soft spot for you grow me like an evergreen. Anyway I broke the rules of the question and named 4 fics but oh well.

Written by someone else: I constantly talk about this fic, but it's let's talk about sex, baby by benzaaldehyde, like without a shadow of a doubt. I literally didn't even like het fic before I read it, I was a slash-only girl. So it converted me not only to Lawmane but also to reading and writing about straight sex... Powerful.

Favorite trope: I like unhinged, codependent people in toxic relationships. Give me people who have never spoken to a therapist in their entire lives having deeply fucked up sex. Also a big fan of There Was Only One Bed, and generally just pining. Like, unholy levels of pining and shame--the more forbidden the pairing, the better. So I'll read like huge age gaps, power differentials, incest, whatever, not because I'm into any of those things IRL, but because they are the only things to capture the level of shame and self-loathing I want my characters to feel about their attraction to each other.

Also, this is extremely specific, but I really like fics about two people who had a strong but non-romantic relationship, where one of them was kind of troubled and fucked up, and then that person died. And then the other one goes back in time, or to another universe, or something, except now they're older and wiser and more understanding, and they see their old friend/rival/whatever except they (the time traveler) are in disguise, and they are like "I have to save them this time, I have to make sure their life turns out better" and they are super intense about it and just staring at them with love and compassion.

And it doesn't even occur to them that this could be seen as romantic, because their relationship before was so far from romantic, but the other person is like "Why is this random stranger so obsessed with me, I guess they want me?" And then they (the one who died) falls in love with the other person, because no one else has ever cared about them that much, and the first person feels conflicted but ultimately goes along with it and is finally able to make their old friend happy.

Anyway I guess I basically wrote a fanfic in this post but whatever. I have read multiple fics with that plot arc, mainly for Thorki and Snarry, and I never get enough of it.

Fanfic I want to see written by someone else: Mainly I want a few fics (Particles and Stormbreaker in the MCU, and Elective Affinities in the HP fandom) to actually be completed lmao. Other than that, I'm not really sure. I'd love to see more good Honey/Haruhi fics. And of course, I'm always down for more Lawmane. Oh, I think I'd really enjoy reading a Lawmane high school or college AU where Misa is very popular and L is a loner and she torments him by leading him on.

Fanfic idea I can't make myself write: I've had some interest for awhile in writing a long Wolfstar fic, but I haven't been able to work up the motivation because 1. It's such a huge pairing, I feel like everyone else has done it better and 2. I like writing first times, but my headcanon is that they started messing around sexually on the young side, and I wouldn't want to just skip over that, but I'm also a bit scared to write and post it, even though I post lots of other problematic shit.

#thank u #this actually helped #ask response

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