#i like that tony is flawed & he is seen as flawed and he personally acknowledges his flaws

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Gus Fring

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Breaking Bad is known for its fantastic cast of characters, all of whom have some level of critical acclaim and iconic status. Seriously, go to Wikipedia and go to any character’s page from the show (basically every major character has one) and look at the “Reception” part, pretty much all of them are universally beloved. Chief among that crowd is the only villain in the show to give our rascally villain protagonist Walt a run for his money, the criminal mastermind that is Gustavo “Gus” Fring.

If you think I’m going to do anything other than add to those heaps of praise, you’re surely mistaken; I love Gus as much as anyone else who has seen the show. But where most are willing to overlook certain aspects of the character that don’t work so well because he is cool and gay, I acknowledge those flaws and love Gus anyway. We are not the same.

Motivation/Goals: Gus is a businessman, plain and simple. Be it Los Pollos Hermanos or his secret meth business, Gus wants perfection in every aspect of his professional life. That being said, he’s a pretty fair boss, and if you pull your weight you will be rewarded; he treats his employees at Los Pollos Hermanos so well that you know the show takes place in a fantasy world, because no boss is that nice. And he was way too lenient with Walt all throughout that man’s career working with him.

Of course, Gus is also driven by revenge. Don Eladio, Hector Salamanca, and the rest of the cartel are responsible for the death of his lover Max, and Gus refuses to rest until the entire operation has crumbled, with only him left standing tall and Hecor lefty broken and crippled to be finished off last as he’s the one who pulled the trigger. It’s a very classic villain motivation, and it helps give a little bit of sympathy to a character who is otherwise too cold and mysterious to really delve into the mind of. At any rate, it makes it very easy to root for Gus and cheer him on as he plays his supposed superiors for suckers and orchestrates their downfalls all while coming up with dozens of plans to cover his own ass.

Performance: Giancarlo Esposito has such an air of elegance and menace to him when he’s playing Gus. You can really see why he man ended up typecast after this, playing cunning antagonists, because he really kills it here. He does have one incredibly major flaw, though: He’s not a native Spanish speaker like Gus is. This leads to pretty much any point where Gus is required to speak the language falling flat, especially since most of the time he’s up against actors who are actually fluent and even if you’re not a native speaker you can pick up on how clunky he is in comparison to Michael Mando or Tony Dalton.

Final Fate: Gustavo Fring got outplayed by both Walter and Hector, and the result is perhaps one of the single greatest villain deaths of all time.

As many have pointed out, it is genuinely hilarious how Gus hated Hector so fucking much that he refused to die in the same room as him. And hey, maybe this isn’t very accurate to how a person would realistically look after taking an explosion directly to the face… But it’s one hell of a cool visual. Sometimes it’s better to check realism at the door for the sake of symbolism and cool prosthetic gore.

Best Scene: I think it is genuinely hard to top Gus’ awesome moments, even if he doesn’t ever really get an entire episode of focus. I think his crowning moment, the moment where we as an audience and Walt as a character learn that us is not even remotely fucking around, is his silent preparations before he comes up to his lackey Victor and violently slits his throat in “Box Cutter,” before equally silently getting dressed once more. Right before leaving, he simply says, “Get back to work” before leaving a stunned Walt, Mike, and Jesse behind.

There’s also Gus taking down Don Eladio and all his capos in “Salud.” It’s such wonderful, beautiful vengeance, and it’s all made better by the fact Gus poisoned himself, went to the bathroom, neatly placed a towel on the floor and knelt down on it, and then induced vomiting. This man would pick the fruitiest way imaginable to save his own life.

Finally, there is his scene in “Fun and Games,” the first and only time we see Gus just out enjoying himself. We get to see him pretty obviously flirting with a sommelier, but as soon as the man leaves for a moment Gus makes the decision to commit himself fully to his mission and rule out the possibility of love again after what happened to Max. This is the moment where we see Gus fully become the man we know him as in Breaking Bad, and it’s honestly pretty tragic. He could have been happy if he’d just let go some of his hate, and maybe he’d even still be alive.

Final Thoughts & Score: Gus is one of the best villains ever to grave television, and considering he’s in a show filled to the brim with some of the greatest villains ever devised, that’s really saying something.

Part of what makes him so genuinely great is just how utterly unknowable he is. Over the course of both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, he is almost like a god of the criminal underworld, untouchable and mysterious. What very little tidbits we get of his past paint a conflicting picture that could mean any number of things, and at every other point he manages to command respect and fear from all those around him, with those not wise enough to do so ending up dead by his masterful machinations. It ultimately makes the single scene where we see him not doing business, the one where he flirts with the man at the bar, so much more impactful. We see that Gus has rejected his humanity, his chance at ever being happy again, so that he can be consumed by his work and his vengeance. Gus is what he is by choice.

It’s why, even if it’s not really “good” that Walt won, it is so satisfying and cathartic. Gus spends his screentime pulling off superhuman schemes and feats of vengeance, orchestrating the deaths of the entire Salamanca family and his own cartel superiors, and yet he is done in by an absolute bumbling buffoon of a criminal like Walt. It’s a classic case of David and Goliath, with the untouchable adversary being taken down due to viewing his foe as so far beneath him that he didn’t realize he was screwed until it was too late. Gus was sadly too smart for his own good, never bothering to consider the erratic chemistry teacher could ever pull off anything big enough to defeat him.

With all that, Gus gets a 10/10. With how much I love Gus and how I consider him one of my favorite villains ever, you might be wondering why I didn’t bump him up to a 10.5 to denote him being a cut above the garden variety 10. Well, Gus has one issue with his character that I feels really hampers him in crucial moments: His inability to speak Spanish. Giancarlo Esposito, despite being an absolutely fantastic actor in every other regard, does not speak Spanish and needs his lines given to him phonetically. Native speakers have called his accent stilted and unnatural, and it has led to moments that should be epic and powerful such as his monologue to Lalo before killing him becoming nonsensical gibberish to trained ears. Considering that character is a native Spanish speaker, this is an absolutely unforgivable and glaring flaw. It certainly doesn’t ruin the character, but it does hold him back just a little bit.

But it really does speak volumes that as soon as Gus is taken out, the quality of the villains just plummets. The final season has Walt facing off against a bunch of Nazis and fucking Lydia, the annoying businesswoman. The final season is still peak, but boy are those villains living in Gus’ shadow. In spite of his flaws (or, well, his singular but rather major flaw), he’s still one of the greatest villains in television history, and is up there with Walt and Saul as the greatest villains in the series.

#Psycho Analysis #Gus Fring #Gustavo Fring #Breaking Bad #Better Call Saul #giancarlo esposito #Youtube

[moontheoretist]

You know. I have this unique approach to “Tony was selling weapons” issue in which I know it was a legal business and in America it was basically seen as a-ok thing to do, because military propaganda is strong and Tony was basically raised not only in that propaganda, but also in a family which fortune was build on selling those very weapons. On the other hand, I also know that regardless of how legal it is, it was also a war profiteering business which destroyed lives. And on a third hand, because to me Tony is coded as an autistic person with ADHD, I can see how he had issues for so many years to see that the system is broken and cannot be trusted.

Let me explain.

You may call it an excuse or projecting, but when I was younger, I couldn’t process that things I was taught about at school don’t actually work as the textbook claims it does in real life. Meaning that when a paper page in my school book said or a teacher said or someone from my family or anybody who was an authority to me said that democracy is the best system ever and has no flaws, I did believe it and never questioned it. To start questioning it, I needed an outside force to knock the idea that the system is indeed broken into my brain, hard. It’s really hard to accept that the world around you doesn’t work the way you thought it was working on paper, and therefore we as humans tend to delude ourselves that if we cannot see it happen, then it doesn’t exist (though in my case the delusion wasn’t even conscious enough that I could say I was deluding myself, I just was unable to see any issues till they were shoved in my face). So only when we see, and sometimes personally feel that happen to us, we are finally able to let go of that delusion and open our eyes.

Press Reporter #1: Mr. Stark, what happened over there?

Stark: I had my eyes opened.

So to me, the whole Afghanistan incident is this to Tony. To me, it feels logical that he would not be able to compute that weapons are bad and selling them is bad if he was all his life taught that weapons are good and that he helps people by selling them until he was personally smacked with them in the face, because sometimes people saying things to your face (like media, specifically Christine Everheart definitely were doing) is not enough to truly realize something (I also think that Howard and Stane taught Tony how to ignore all the media and what they say to him when he was groomed as SI’s heir, so it didn’t have that much of an effect on him before Afghanistan as it does after it), and you need that smack instead.

It’s a very strong incentive which shakes your whole world, and it is strong enough to make our stubborn autistic brains (mine and Tony’s, I don’t want to insinuate that all autistic people have this issue) to start questioning the status quo.

So, when Tony gets hit by his own weapon and feels on his own skin what it does, sees terrorists use his weapons to target American military (young soldiers who were there mostly because American system is broken and exploits the young, so they would join) and kill them, then has to live with a shrapnel in the cave, learns that Ho Yinsen’s family was also killed by his own weapons, and then when he is free again and continues to live with the shrapnel and sees innocent people in Middle East losing loved ones, it finally starts to compute that weapons are bad, that everything he did till now was bad, that he is the one responsible for this suffering and that his weapons shouldn’t be given to people who cannot be trusted with them (i.e. his own company, America and American military).

It is also in character for him to assume, that if he is the one whose eyes were opened, he should be the one using his own weapons (i.e. Iron Man, which doubles for prostetic too) for good, though it was not his first thought (you remember when he went to Air Force base to talk to Rhodey? It is possible he wanted Rhodey to be his Iron Man pilot instead and when he was rejected and saw that Rhodey believes in the system he doesn’t, he had to take it upon himself, because in his head he was the only one who saw it was wrong).

I think that if Wanda was actually done right (meaning that if Joss Whedon was not antislavic piece of shit and her trauma and suffering were properly represented in AoU instead of being sold as just a low bar villain motivation), the thing which happened to her family when Tony was already a CEO and probably approved of selling the weapons to the military shortly before or long before NATO used them in Yugoslavia to bomb tons of civilians (I am of the mind that military could use the weapons they bought from Tony’s company long ago, and that it didn’t have to specifically be a new contract crafted just to deal with the Slobodan Milošević issue), it would only reinforce the idea that weapons are bad in Tony’s head.

I think that as much as he is not to blame for Wanda’s parents deaths, because he didn’t fire those weapons himself (and possibly was not even that much interested in the conflicts abroad the American army used his weapons for, because he assumed they will use them responsibly, only against enemy soldiers and will not use them on civilians - this is an error born from assuming that war is just and only happens on the battlefield, while a lot of countries since I dunno even how long literally doesn’t adhere to the rules of war (that you can only fight on battlefields with no civilians in sight) and fights wherever they want, not caring about civilians and sometimes even purposefully drop weapons on them like NATO did in Yugoslavia, committing war crimes left and right, making war unjust), I think he bears some responsibility for what happened and has a right to feel guilty over the deaths which happened due to those bombings.

And later on, when he finally switches and does mostly defensive stuff, like making a technology which can remove mines from minefields without any of them exploding, or when he makes his company pursue clean energy instead, and he joins the Avengers, because he truly believes they are good for the world, he is again smacked in the face by the fact that something in which he believed was not good, that it was doing more harm than good. That’s why, in my opinion, he reacted to Mrs. Spencer’s accusations. Because he again let himself believe in something indiscriminately, without doubt, and was again smacked in the face with facts. And the facts were that Avengers were not operating well, and their recklessness and half-cooked last minute plans were the reason why more people died than it would if they actually worked well as superheroes.

To a lot of people, it looks like Tony is motivated by personal hurt and guilt. But to me, it always looks like him being violently shaken into acknowledging reality of something he thought was flawless.

#mcu #tony stark #tony stark defense squad #autistic tony stark #adhd tony stark #op is using their life experience to understand character's pov #op is autistic #op has adhd

[aq2003]

I feel like I may be cracking open Pandora’s box here but I am intrigued. How did the author of the new Obi Wan series mess up the Tony stark comic you posted about? I love obi wan and this fills me with dread

BOY HOWDY YOU ARE OPENING A GIGANTIC CAN OF WORMS BY SENDING ME THIS ASK

so basically if i had to give a distilled breakdown as to what is wrong with cantwell's iron man run it would be that he has a fundamental misunderstanding of who comics/616-universe tony stark is. the main point of the character, especially in the early comics that cantwell claims he's drawing from, is the duality of his "tony stark" and "iron man" personas. hes pressured to act cold and distant when he's "tony stark" ie the person he presents to the general public, but when he's "iron man" he can be his actual true self, that being a very selfless person that cares deeply and wants to help others . and at his core is a deep-rooted hatred for who he perceives himself to be . it is about the identity issues. the held belief that he is inherently lower than the people around him. the fact that he's more himself by putting on a mask because the Real mask is his "tony stark" persona . first ever iron man issue ever and they call him the most tragic figure on earth and well. yeah

meanwhile cantwell here seems to think that tony stark inherently believes himself to be above everyone else and the real mask is the fact he's trying to "hide his flaws" by becoming iron man. which is so INCREDIBLY incorrect and the best way ever you could write a superhero if and only if you wanted to make a reader hate their guts. heroes are heroes to HELP people and tony is no different! he did not become iron man because he wanted to better himself personally or get recognition from the public! like he has a line where he goes "i'm trying to be better. and maybe i'll be able to look myself in the mirror tomorrow" and i guess cantwell saw this and went "uoughg well i guess this means he wants to improve himself so hes better than everyone i guess". it makes me sooooo mad like how do you look at a character like tony stark and say he has a god complex or is a hero for completely self-centered reasons . if you wanted to write a story about tony realizing his humanity it would have to be about bringing him up and realizing how he isn't below the people he wants to save. not the other way around .

AND THIS IS NOT EVEN GETTING STARTED ON HOW HE WRITES PATSY (THE LOVE INTEREST IN THIS RUN). patsy is there to "call tony out" on his "privilege" which yes cantwell mr white guy of the month let's hear your cutting edge takes on oppression in society through the mouthpiece of this white female character. their romance is honestly kind of disgusting like you have tony sacrificing himself and patsy's like "wow smh you tried to kill yourself so you could get recognition from the public? that was so selfish of you" and tony's like "wow i guess you're right lol" and patsy is the one framed as being in the right. and also theres a scene where patsy's like "you are rich and white and do not understand what it is like to have mental illness" when tony canonically has depression but shes STILL framed as justified for saying this its so . its so. like theyre going to get ENGAGED in one or two issues from now and the narrative doesn't even come CLOSE to acknowledging how toxic this relationship is . what is going ON here . like how is marvel still letting cantwell write this comic . my god

616 tony stark is like . obviously very different from obi-wan besides the whole vibe of "oh my god this guy is so fucked up and sad and has never had anything go right in his life for very long" . but like i don't trust cantwell to write obi-wan because what ive seen of his general character writing so far is just so deeply bad and offensive to the source material and like. just who these characters are in the first place

#thank u for sending me this ask bc now i can expose my iron man brain damage directly on main #sorry if this is incoherent its 6 am and i havent slept if anything doesnt make sense its bc my brain is sludge #now like i will say that theres an extremely funny possibility that the obi-wan comic will be normal and have #characterization that is not actively bad and ignores everything about them that has been set up in previous canon #star wars is generally a lot more coherent and easy to follow than marvel comics for casual fans etc etc #HOWEVER I NEED TO EXPLAIN WHY I HAVE ZERO TRUST IN THE OBI-WAN COMIC BEING GOOD AND THE SIGHT OF CANTWELL'S NAME #ACTIVATES MY FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE #if you write ONE of my sad fucked up little dudes in the most offensive way possible i will simply #not trust you to write ANOTHER one of my sad fucked up little dudes that is simply not going to happen.

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Why does everyone hate the Dear Evan Hansen movie so much? I thought the Broadway show was like beloved??

Hello nonny dear! This got long because I am incapable of shutting up so this is below the cut.

So, quick disclaimer: I am not a fan of DEH as a musical. I never liked it, for a few reasons, the main one being a personal preference - I simply don't like stories where the entire plot is based on a person lying to people. It really, really stresses me out (it's why I can't watch a lot of comedies). I think part of it is being autistic - I don't understand why the person lied. You can try explaining it to me, I just won't understand. It doesn't compute in my brain. In related news, I tend to be a bad liar and also extremely blunt. So!

DEH as a musical was loved by a lot of people, specifically young people. I actually noticed a very similar trend with DEH that I did with RENT, which is a musical from my generation that is beloved by people my age but by older people not so much. RENT, like DEH, speaks to the opinions, viewpoints, and issues of younger people. RENT is full of youthful anger at an unfair system, at feeling powerless, at not being listened to, and it also speaks to that youthful love of rebellion and art for art's sake. DEH, on the other hand, speaks to young people's struggles to fit in, with feeling alone, with depression, and so on.

As pointed out in one of the reviews, part of why people liked DEH was that the character was so young. The fact that he was in high school was what sold the story. Who hasn't, in a mixture of awkwardness, good intentions, and desire to be valuable, done a questionable or even wrong thing? Who hasn't done something they thought was small, like a white lie, only to have that thing spiral out of control? Kids (and teenagers are kids, God bless you all, I say that with the most sincere and deep affection) do that shit all the time.

However, it's not as endearing in adults. Adults, you see, theoretically understand better the consequences of their actions, the far-reaching ramifications, and are just generally (supposedly) on top of their shit.

To watch an adult (and the main actor playing the title character is completely 100% an adult now) make the same mistakes as a teenager is not endearing. It's annoying. Because your brain RECOGNIZES he's an adult. This is actually why people have discussed the problems with casting 30-somethings as teenagers in TV shows, because we see those 30-somethings in very adult situations (I don't mean that in a "protect the children!" way) but also behaving like, well, teenagers? And so it creates a weird dichotomy in your head and it is literally confusing your brain.

So you have an adult that your brain knows is an adult, behaving like a child, and that is annoying to you. It's not endearing. It's bothersome.

Another reason is that DEH is no longer hot off the presses. Give any popular piece of work time, and you'll start to see the imperfections (although online culture take this way too far and will rip any piece of media to pieces for not being flawless and perfect). A lot of people, again, especially young people (everyone I know who loved DEH was in high school or just starting college) connected with the characters and were grateful to have a story that was front and center about mental health issues. But now, time has passed. The initial rush of emotion connected to DEH is over, and people are able to view it with a more disconnected and therefore more critical eye.

I think, also, DEH fell into the trap that Prom did - Prom was not a perfect musical, and I think if I'd seen it on stage I would've thought of it as cute, sweet, and a bit forgettable. But the director made a LOT of mistakes in filming, such as in casting choices (James Corden please sit down) and in cinematography (he ruined dance numbers by zooming in on people's faces instead of zooming out and letting us watch them dance). I suspect DEH suffers from similar issues, since people often struggle to translate musical theatre to film.

It's oddly easier to suspend your disbelief when watching something on stage than watching it on film. In film, we have special effects, we have so much realism, we can make everything come alive, and so people have higher standards for it than in theatre where we all tacitly acknowledge that this isn't real but we're all here for a good time. The Lion King uses puppetry and large masks liberally. Avenue Q has hand puppets. Come From Away has actors in multiple roles, switching up using only minimal costume changes like hats or vests. Cats has no fuckin' plot whatsoever. But it's a lot harder to accept in film someone just belting out into song, so you have to find ways around that.

Chicago did a really great job by framing all musical numbers like you were in a cabaret show, firmly putting you in a dreamscape of the heads of the characters. They're not really singing, this is what they feel in their minds. In the Heights had a framing device where he's telling the story to kids and had the main character cheekily address the camera, breaking the fourth wall almost immediately. Cabaret swung hard the other way and was completely diegetic.

DEH, I suspect, did not put in the ground work to help you suspend your disbelief, which just made the flaws that much stronger. I always thought the songs in DEH are mediocre, and it seems film critics agree with me. And when the rest of the musical is going wrong (songs, casting, camera shots, etc) it makes it easier to see the glaring flaw which is the fact that the title character exploits someone's suicide for his own gain. He doesn't just lie (at least not in the film) - he creates fake email exchanges between himself and the dead teenager to fabricate the lie and sell it, so that he can get the love and sympathy he craves.

Not exactly a likable person, even a teenager, but especially when the teenager is played by a 30-something who looks it. The other characters are just as flat, and the musical makes a (sort of) villain of the one character who's genuinely being selfless.

Finally, a film can include details, thanks to camera shots, that a musical on stage can't. There's a scene in the film that I can't recall being in the musical (I could be wrong!) where the title character looks up the dead teen's favorite books list in the yearbook. The books are so stereotypical "suicidal teens read this" that I could vomit. Little things like that take a flawed story and push it into the realm of insulting.

Now, I admit, I am biased. I do not like this musical and have not for some time. I'm forever angry that it won Tony awards when Bandstand should have instead. I feel Bandstand handled mental health issues (ranging from PTSD to alcoholism to grief to depression) in a much better and more nuanced way. It didn't show one teenager exploiting another (dead) teenager for social clout. The songs were highly original and inspired, and of a jazzy 40s style we don't often see anymore but still felt fresh and connecting to a 21st century audience. Listening to DEH on the other hand I think, "well I've heard this all a million times before."

I also didn't like how it handled mental health, and I found the main character completely unsympathetic and manipulating. The fact that he was a straight white boy made it all worse. I am sick and fucking tired of stories about straight white boys fucking up, being apathetic and mediocre, and still earning sympathy and second chances from both other characters and the audience. I personally feel that all the bad reviews about the DEH movie are a long time coming and I am feeling extremely vindicated right now, since people are finally agreeing with me that this musical does not deserve the praise it initially received.

But! That is my own personal opinion. I hope that, if you or anyone else did like the musical, or are confused, you will note my previous thoughts about why the film is not being as well received. Translating musicals to film is hard, and this film made several blunders that both added to and enhanced earlier flaws in the musical.

#mads answers things #I hope I was able to explain why people aren't liking the film #while keeping my grudge/biases mostly out of it #my extra-petty opinion is that it's a crappy musical and people are finally realizing it #but I hope my answer showed some kinder and more technical reasons why there might be a dichotomy here

[incorrectbatfam]

Love your blog! I wanted to know how to write the batfams personality. I'm trying to write a fanfic and I read other fanfics about them to get a personality down but each fanfic has a specific batfam member with a different personality than the last fanfic I read. If you have any advice or a blog that you could recommend that narrow down on the batfams traits and flaws that would be great. Have a nice day!

Holy jeez I’m bad at answering on time

Anyway, this is mostly what I gathered from a mix of canon and fanon, and anyone else with suggestions can feel free to drop them

(placed under the cut for length)

Dick is a caring friend, natural leader, and your quintessential eldest brother. He wins over allies with his wit and charisma and doesn’t let societal norms confine him. Dick is a big risk-taker and refuses to give up even when the odds are stacked against him. Compared to the other Bats, he’s an optimist who wears his emotions on his sleeve and isn’t afraid to say what he thinks. Of the Bats, he’s also the most open and sociable. He comes off as a mother hen at times, but that’s usually when the group lacks guidance otherwise, like when Bruce disappeared. Otherwise, Dick is your typical older brother who embodies the phrase “only I can make fun of you”. He respects women and values each individual’s differences and strengths. Dick knows who he is and has a healthy balance between an independent and interdependent self-construal. If you find yourself lost, Dick Grayson will be your compass.

Jason is headstrong, sarcastic, and understandably jaded after all he’s been through. He’s resistant to orders and authority and takes direct action with a more dangerous MO. It’s easy to see why he’s often labeled as the rogue Bat. However, there is a softer side that he doesn’t openly acknowledge. Canonically, Jason is a literature nerd who loves learning. He’s also good at seeing emotions in others, but not in himself. He is loyal and values his friends and family—he even refers to Roy as “his other half” and similarly cheesy things. Jason would likely agree with the phrase “an unjust law is no law at all” and he helps those in need because he’s been where they are. Similar to Dick, Jason will tease his siblings mercilessly, but he’s more liberal with foul language. There are times where he lets his anger get the best of him, but his heart is in the right place. When the rest of the world is against you, Jason Todd will have your back.

Tim is so much more than a mini Bruce. Yes, he’s intelligent and knows his technology and strategy, but he is by no means the runt of the litter. Tim is a highly nuanced character, which is why he’s one of my favorite to write. He’s a quick and calculated fighter who bridges the gap between theory and practice. He is not only a great detective, but also a good CEO, a talented photographer, a capable leader, and a supportive friend. The biggest difference between Tim and Bruce is that Tim, over time, learns to ask for help and lean on his friends. Tim is generally seen as reserved and a hard worker, but the Young Justice team gradually gets him to open up. He’s got a whole 90s prep-jock-nerd-goth vibe going for him and his internal monologue is reminiscent of Tony Stark. He’s charming and liked by many and is shown to be a good boyfriend. Tim’s greatest strength is his ability to think his way out of any situation. Stuck in a bind? Tim Drake is your guy.

Damian is the son of the Bat who came from two drastically different environments, both of which shaped him in important ways. Beacuse of the League of Assassin’s training, Damian is very mature for his age, highly intelligent, a skilled combatant, and not the most emotionally warm person around. As he spends time with the Bats, he’s learned that family is not confined to blood or birthright. He’s also slowly learned to act his age, with the help of friends like Colin Wilkes, Jon Kent, and Maya Ducard. That said, contrary to both canon and fanon, I don’t think it’s accurate to have Damian reject everything on his mother’s side in favor of his father’s—it’s unrealistic and frankly, a little racist. He’s got a big heart and loves deeply, but doesn’t know how to express it. He’s also got a soft spot for animals, since they don’t judge like people do, and enjoys drawing in his free time. At times, his thinking can be black-and-white and he needs to learn to allow for leeway. He’s rude and bratty at times, but he’s far from evil. If anyone’s going to stick by you ‘till the end of the line, it’s Damian Wayne.

Duke is a newbie, but he’s not naive. He is sane (compared to the rest), but he’s not a stick in the mud. Duke will step up to the plate when no one else is brave enough to right the wrongs. He sees Gotham from the ground level and knows exactly which aspects could use the most improvement, and he won’t stand by when injustice occurs. Duke is a sunshine boy and he’s really what brings the classic Batman franchise into the twenty-first century. Canonically, Duke deals with PTSD from his parents being hit with Joker venom and he’s gone through the foster system, which left him a tad jaded, but not despondent. When he’s not fighting crime or discovering cool new power tricks, Duke writes poetry that expresses his feelings and conducts fun science experiments. Canonically, he’s an adrenaline junkie and fantasy nerd, and he’s not afraid to ask the important questions. He understands the current institutions are corrupt and he believes in the power of the people to fix it. If you’re searching for hope, look no farther than Duke Thomas.

Cullen lacks development in the comics, so I guess I’m extrapolating from the little we do know. Canonically, he’s a fan of Supernatural and loves manga/anime, so it’s not a far stretch to say that he probably listens to emo songs and has a Tumblr, and I bet a lot of us can relate to him. He’s hella gay and awkward around guys he likes. Cullen is not an active vigilante, but his input is valuable nonetheless. While his siblings are more ambitious, Cullen is the voice of reason that reminds them they’re only human and have their limits. He’s a little more introverted, likely because he was bullied in school. Cullen is not violent, but he’ll occasionally roll his eyes at people’s antics. Nonetheless, he hates seeing others get hurt and loves his siblings, because coming from a rough home, he knows the meaning of family. When you need an ear to listen and a shoulder to lean on, Cullen Row will be there.

Stephanie is loud, ambitious, and unafraid. She’s a bit of a foodie and loves her sweets, and she loves hanging out with her friends for some quality girl time. Steph is a bit tomboyish and loves heavy metal. Steph jumps headfirst into action even if she doesn’t have all the info, and she knows how to stand up for herself. She’s also really good at balancing responsibilities—she’s the only one who went to university while still being a vigilante. She is equally book smart and street smart, with razor-sharp instincts and close relationships that benefit her. She’s warm, empathetic, and compassionate; she rocks the color purple and loves a good party. She forms some especially close bonds with the other batgirls, and will stand by them in solidarity. Though she’s technically not an official batkid, she embraces the others like family and will tease them as a sister should. When your voice is lost in the crowd, Stephanie Brown will speak out for you.

Cassandra is a fighter in more ways than one. Oftentimes, fans mistake her as quiet and well-behaved—I admit, I’ve fallen prey to that too—and that largely derives from the stereotype that Asian girls should behave like that. However, Cass is just as rowdy, if not more, than the boys. She’s a gremlin who loves food, messes with siblings, and pops out in unexpected places. Cass is rightfully intimidating and is highly respected. It depends on the interpretation, but Cass is generally less verbal and prefers to communicate via sign language. She’s tough and resilient—she survived David Cain’s training, life on the streets, and now she’s a swift and cunning vigilante. Friends and family are very important to her, and she will do anything for those she loves. Canonically Cass loves Killswitch Engage, plus I think we can all agree that she rocks the color black. Don’t ever worry about facing the darkness alone, because Cassandra Cain will be right beside you.

Barbara is the home base. She is level headed, intelligent, down-to-earth, and a skilled coordinator. She’s an independent gal who takes life by the horns and doesn’t back down from a challenge. She’s a good communicator who naturally gets along with most people, and no matter where she goes she always has a friend. Barbara is funny, and she knows how to have a good laugh at herself. She is determined and knows how to work around any predicament. Babs values her friends and family, but knows when to stand up to them and do the right thing. Of all the Bats, Barbara is probably one of the most mature ones, with plenty of experience and wisdom to pass on to the rest. She also knows when to stick with the team versus when to branch out and has a secure sense of identity. Though she is the commissioner’s daughter, she actively fights the status quo and doesn’t let privilege get to her head. On days where you’re floating aimlessly, Barbara Gordon will be your anchor.

Harper is bold, inventive, and resourceful, and she deserves more canon rep than she’s currently getting. Growing up, her parents were deadbeats and she had to take over household duties at a young age—namely taking care of Cullen and fixing broken appliances. She is very protective of those she cares about, and if she can’t defend them, she will do whatever it takes to show that she’s standing by their side. Harper is canonically bisexual and defies gender roles in her appearance and actions (I bet she shops at Hot Topic). She’s a quick thinker and a master improviser who knows how to make more with less. Harper has a strong sense of justice, family, and friendship. That said, she’s also sarcastic and teases her siblings like a big sister should, and knows how to poke fun without striking any sensitive spots. She’s not as entwined in the Batfamily, but she still cemented her place with her bravery and intuition. Need a boost? Harper Row is your gal.

Carrie, similar to the Rows, lack canonical development, so once again I’m building from what I know. She is the bright, colorful, spunky wild child who single handedly balances out the grimdarkness of the Batfamily. (I elect to omit the Catgirl and the dark colors Batwoman canon). Carrie is fun-loving and knows how to liven up the party. She’s a pro at the slingshot and uses her Girl Scout knowledge to help others onto their feet. Carrie is loud and unafraid, and she jumps straight into the action. She’s a good actress and loves to toe the line when it comes to rule, bending but not quite breaking them. She’s funny, sassy, and an invaluable addition to any team. Carrie is not one to confine herself to old traditions, and if anyone is gonna shake up the scene, it’s her. Though she’s only thirteen, she has an air of maturity due to her neglectful parents, but she actively channels her past experiences into something positive and productive. To brighten up your day, call Carrie Kelley.

Kate is the infamous badass Batwoman, but it’s important to note that her role is the family extends beyond being another vigilante. As a military veteran, Kate has an atmosphere of discipline around her different from the rest of the Bats. She’s traveled the world, gained unique experiences, and has met people from all walks of life. Kate was openly lesbian at a time where acceptance was still low, but she refuses to be ashamed of who she is. Though her parents had their differences with Bruce’s, she’s been a supportive and empathetic cousin throughout their childhood. When it comes to romance, she’s stumbled a few times, but she refuses to let bumps in the road stop her. I think the quote that best describes her would be, “fall seven times, stand up eight”. Like Bruce, Kate is part of Gotham’s wealthy, and she channels her money to helping the less fortunate. She frequents nightclubs and puts on a socialite persona to cover up internal struggles. When you’re at the end of the road, Kate Kane will help you carry on.

Alfred is everybody’s favorite butler and grandfather figure, but he’s so much more than an idle servant. Being a former spy has equipped him with all the skills necessary to aid the Bats in their crusade of justice, and he knows everything from patching up injuries to piloting the bat-plane. Alfred’s seen it all, so he’s hardly fazed by what life throws at him. He tackles problems with decades of wisdom, and stays classy while doing so—kind of like that Parent Trap quote, “I have class and you don’t”. He has (realistically) high standards for himself and others, and he’s not afraid to call people out on their bull. Alfred is witty, sarcastic, and passive-aggressive, but he also has subtle yet hilarious sense of humor. He became a father figure to Bruce early on, and subsequently the grandfather to all the kids. He’s rational, reasonable, and compassionate, and he’s the ribbon that tied everyone together. Villains better watch out, because Alfred’s not a silent hostage, and in fact, one can argue that he’s more dangerous than Batman. At the end of the day, Alfred does what is best for his family and wants to see everyone happy. When the winter night settles in, Alfred Pennyworth will keep you warm.

Bruce is a wonderfully complex character and the people who just see him as a grimdark punch-drunk rich boy are missing out. In public, he puts on a charming Brucie persona that has everyone tripping over their feet to meet him. He’s not only a good businessman, but a generous philanthropist who uses his wealth and status to help others and keep the city afloat. The writers who portray Bruce as an angsty jerk who mistreats his kids are so very wrong. He cares about the children he takes in and knows how to tailor his parenting style to each individual. Though he’s lost a lot as a child, the Bruce we know today is grateful for all the people around him. As a hero, Bruce is a master tactician and, like his title suggests, the World’s Greatest Detective. Both Batman and Bruce Wayne are highly respected. Bruce has the “no killing” rule because he believes everyone deserves another chance—both a strength and a pitfall of his character. Though he’s not the best at expressing emotion, he cares deeply about those around him. The black cape doesn’t do justice to the light he brings to Gotham, and I think you’ll agree with me when I say Bruce isn’t the darkness, but rather the beacon that brings you home.

#ask #personal #batfamily #batfam #batclan #batman family #dc comics #tw violence mention #tw abuse mention #tw death mention #tw food mention

[margokesses]

Mcu hot takes

Peter parker is an underdeveloped character. He's just iron man jr. Y'all just like him bc he's played by tom holland and we finally get spidey in the mcu. He's just a self insert character

Captain marvel was a decent movie. It wasn't that great. Y'all just like the wlw undertones and are desperate for a woman led marvel superhero movie. Or you just love brie larson

Carol danvers is an underdeveloped character we don't know jack shit about her except that she encounters sexism and was nice to the skrulls when she learned the truth.

We should have gotten a monica rambeau movie instead or they could have just... Not make her a child that looks up to carol

Black panther is the most feminist marvel movie

Steve rogers is actually a kind sweetheart who will constantly fight for what's right. Y'all 1940's jokes are kinda funny but this is also the same guy that jumped on a grenade and would get into fight with bullies

Bucky barnes is an underdeveloped character. Post catws he's just a plot device. Alot of y'all thoughts about him are just fanon interpretation

Sam wilson deserves the shield due to the fact that he's the only person in the mcu that's similar to steve. Y'all are just racist

Stop calling ppl "misogynistic" or "sexist" just bc they don't like captain marvel. The film actually has flaws

Nebula should have killed thanos

The ant man films are fun and engaging. That's it. Send tweet

Thor and valkyrie were flirting in ragnarok y'all just hate black women

Alot of these popular m/m ships are just bc y'all like white men making out. Some of them don't have any chemistry/interact

Mcu hawkeye sucks. But he shouldn't just be the matt fraction version. Please read other hawkeye comics I'm begging you.

Shuri is the smartest person in the mcu stop making her just someone for peter to hang out with

Carol is strong. But scarlet witch, hulk, and thor are wayy stronger. Marvel just said that so that you'll see captain marvel lmao

T'challa is more than just the "furry avenger" y'all are just white and don't know how to relate to black characters

Rhodey is a badass and tony would not make it as far as he did without him

Natasha romanoff is more than just someone bucky dated. She's a spy/assassian who went under her own brainwashing as well. Please read a comic that's not brubaker's bucky cap run

Clint should have jumped off the cliff no one gives a fuck about him

Thanos is a lame villian. I mean hes good for the mcu starting out but there are more compelling and interesting villains out there

Stucky is based on co-depency. It makes no sense in the mcu canon. Bucky keeps trying to get away from steve and steve keeps trying to get 1940s back and not acknowledging his trauma/brainwashing

Stony is bad bc it's based on them fighting constantly. That shit is unhealthy. And steve (rightfully so) beat his ass in canon

Team iron man folks don't know what the accords are they just like tony

Ironstrange is bad too bc y'all just use it to hate on steve

I've never seen gotg 2 bc i hate chris pratt but they're the only team that's also a family besides like the ant man fam

Stop sleeping on luis he's Scott's only friend lmao

That's it for now! Might make a part 2 lmao

#marvel #tony stark #steve rogers #peter parker #carol danvers #bucky barnes #hush ke

[blackchessknight]

Ever Blue And Red

By @blackchessknight for @michellejones-stacy

This was really fun to write, I hope you like it. The premise is not what I expected to write from your prompts but that’s how creativity works I guess.

This is for the @friendly-neighborhood-exchange

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark,

Summary: To be fair to Peter, he had never planned to become an Enhanced individual that protected people by being bitten by a radioactive spider and becoming Spider-Man. Really, it made perfect sense that even if he hadn’t planned it, he would turn into a siren at the splash of water by eating a weird-looking fruit he found on patrol.

If anything, it was Mr. Stark and Aunt May’s fault because they made him eat something healthy every two hours. If the rule wasn’t there, he wouldn't have touched the fruit. Ok, that was a lie, he might have tried it just because it looked weird, but maybe somebody would have stopped him from consuming it if he didn’t have the eating rule.

On the bright side, keeping this a secret from them wouldn’t be as hard as keeping Spider-Man a secret, he has experience this time.

Spoiler Alert: He doesn’t even last a week.

Read on AO3

First chapter under the cut

Tail As Blue As The Sky Enveloped In Light

Peter wants it known for posterity's sake that it wasn’t his fault.

The case could be made that it was, indeed, his fault, but no judge had made the ruling and he was sticking to that fact. Not that it does anything to persuade the jury from condemning him to being grounded for two weeks after.

It all started that fateful day on patrol, spring break only a few days away. Sure, Peter had a lot of assignments to turn in, but not anything that couldn’t be done just before it was absolutely necessary. The most annoying were the essays for English and History, but hey, even STEM schools needed their students to course them. Anyways, since Peter would be spending the break over at the Compound with Mr. Stark while Aunt May took the week with her coworkers at the Caribbean-very likely being joined by Ms. Potts at some point- the last weekend hadn’t been a Compound weekend. It’d worked great for Peter, he got to hang out with Ned before the break where the other boy would go see family, and also to spend time with May.

It's a bright April afternoon as he swings from the buildings with not much happening when Peter comes across a small playground area with a few trees and some grass parts. The little park wasn’t rundown or badly taken care of and the trees were already a bright green. A few children call him over and he swings down to greet them. He even takes a few pictures with them.

On his way out of the park he sees it. Lying on the grass under a tree is a weird-looking acorn, it's purple with an orange stripe. Peter walks over and kneels down to pick it up. The texture feels closer to a peach and just as squishy. His senses weren’t going off in danger but it wasn’t like any fruit he’d ever seen in his life.

“Karen?” Peter asks.

Karen takes a few seconds before responding. “I haven’t found a match for it, but it appears to fall under the category of fruit.”

Hhmm. Well, that just made it more intriguing. There wasn’t much that Karen couldn’t identify. If the unknown fruit lasted long enough he could even ask FRIDAY or Mr. Stark about it, maybe run a few tests on it, perhaps he just discovered a new type of fruit. That sets it, Peter’s taking it with him.

Peter sets off to where he left his backpack webbed to an alley wall. He reaches the alley and his backpack is just where he left it, which is great-it wouldn’t be good to ask for another so close to the break, it was already his second one this year. Peter changes to normal clothes and proceeds to set the weird acorn inside the backpack, he doesn’t think anything in his back will squish it. With his backpack set, he begins making his way home in no hurry.

On the way, Peter plans all the assignments he needs to do for the week. It’s still early, he can go home to eat, do some homework and go out again to patrol another hour or two before curfew. There’s that calc and chemistry homework due for tomorrow that he’ll work on today. He’ll eat whatever May left for him, hopefully, she left money for Thai. May isn’t coming home until late, they were spending extra hours at the office before the break, half leaving things prepared for their vacation and half coordinating it. His mind travels to the movie Ned and him saw that weekend and the new Lego set they built. Then it takes him to his break at the Compound where he’ll get to train with Rhodey and work on his web-shooters, he’s also gonna work with Tony on the arc reactor and their prosthesis project. By the time Peter became aware he was already in the front of his apartment building.

Inside their apartment Peter finds out May hadn’t left money for Thai, instead there was a nice healthy meal waiting for Peter to warm up and eat. He supposes he should have known better. Peter shuts the fridge door and turns to his room. When May wasn’t able to ensure Peter ate, and ate something healthy at that, they got him these nice meals prepared from a nice restaurant that Pepper had found near their apartment. They all had him about being in a routine for eating healthy, he hadn’t eaten anything they thought wasn’t good for him in weeks. He was able to have a treat once or twice on the weekends if he had followed through during the week. Peter thought it wasn’t necessary anymore, he was perfectly fine now. He’d learned since his eating disorder started, but just try and get that through to them. Apparently, they had to trust the diagnosis more, which to be fair was really accurate, but still, he thought he was already past that.

Peter sits in front of his desk and takes out his chemistry book and worksheet. Maybe he’ll get hungry after working his mind a little, he begins to work.

The alarm on his watch startles him, a big contrast to the quiet room that makes it sound louder than it is. The alarm is a constant beeping that doesn’t cease until Peter presses the shut button twice, once to know there’s an alarm and a second to acknowledge what it's for.

Mr. Stark set the alarm for him to eat something healthy every two hours. They’d also been on his back about eating often and he usually ate a fruit or a bar. Peter looks around his desk, then his room, and notices there’s nothing of his usual stash. He doesn’t want to get up to get something, usually, there are always things nearby but he probably ate them all.

Peter remembers the weird fruit in his backpack from earlier, sure he wanted to research it but his priorities changed. He still has the analysis from Karen to ask FRIDAY with. Peter opens his backpack and fishes the fruit out, it looks exactly as it had when he found it. He doesn’t know what it is, but Karen said he could call it a fruit and he was allowed to eat fruit, since he also had to eat something he saw no flaw in his logic of eating it. Besides, if Karen said that he didn’t eat anything because he was too lazy to get up he would have Happy babysitting him again. No one wanted that. To Peter, the ends justify the risks.

Peter smells the unknown fruit and it gives no distinctive smell. Before taking a bite, he searches within himself for any signs of danger but when he finds nothing he bites it. It tastes good, feels softer than an apple but not quite like a peach as he’d thought. Oh well, it's still good, really good actually. He goes back to doing homework.

Minutes after his little snack break Peter begins to feel weird, not in a Spidey Sense tingling weird, nor it feels like something is happening to his arm weird, more like the insides of his body feel funny. Peter hasn’t ever felt like this before.

At first, Peter thinks it will go away and continues with his homework, but after he finishes his chemistry workout sheet the feeling has only increased. He doesn’t feel anything wrong though, just... different. He starts feeling a little sleepy, not in the sense that his body is tired, it feels like his own body is telling him to close his eyes and rest a little. So that is exactly what Peter does, he puts away his work, goes to his bed, and rests his eyes. It will only be for a bit, he still has time to go patrol a bit after resting a few minutes.

Those few minutes turn out longer than he thought. A lot longer. By the time Peter is opening his eyes feeling rested and just… different, the sun has already set and the night has fallen. The only source of light in the room is the lights coming from the streets through the closed window of his room.

Darn it! He probably had missed his dinner time! Peter looks wildly until he finds the digital clock on his nightstand that reveals he was still just within his time frame before Karen would alert Tony, or May. He’d been asleep far longer than he'd planned.

Peter is starving like he hasn’t in months, so much so he would eat that flavorless mush of food they’d made him eat that day at the Medbay after their “intervention”. He sets for the kitchen, takes out the plate with his food, and sets it in the microwave as the instructions show in the note.

You would think that Aunt May and Mr. Stark would be lenient that he missed his meal because he was sleeping but that was actually a very important point to them. Once he’d been awoken by a blaring alarm, it had almost given him a heart attack, he had thought it was an emergency, maybe the sky had been falling. It hadn’t been anything alarming other than him missing his snack. And not even mentioning that one time in class where he’d been called to the principal’s office for forgetting his snacks at home and Mr. Morita personally getting him a protein bar. That had been a horrible day. He still couldn’t really look Mr. Morita in the eyes.

The microwave beeped and Peter went to pull out the dish. He grabs a fork and napkin on the way to the couch. Karen may tattle about his food consumption but never where he eats. To be fair, Karen only has eyes in the suit mask, the rest of her input comes from his Starkwatch and Starkphone. Peter’s little humanoid golden robot, that he built with Tony’s help, C3PO, comes forward and sets his little arms up for Peter to place his plate on. Peter turns the TV on and settles back to continue his current series on Netflix.

Peter had been starving and food had never tasted so good in his life. He basically inhales it. Something not as good as he had been told but he was hungry. C3PO leaves with the napkin, the fork and the plate to the kitchen and Peter finishes his episode as he digests his food.

When the episode ends he gets up from the couch and walks to his room. As he walks in he sees R2D2, the little robot he’d made by himself at the lab in the Compound, having what seems his own little party in his room. R2 even has some music to dance with as he moves around the room.

Peter’s idea was to change again into his suit and patrol until his curfew but he feels a tug towards the water. He already did a patrol today, it had been a calm day. Peter decides he’ll settle for the night, finish some homework, and do more time on patrol tomorrow, he’ll make up for today then. Right now he will take a shower and finish his homework for Monday, be free for the entirety of the weekend.

C3 enters the room as Peter exits it to go to the bathroom. Peter might have programmed them with some personality traits reminiscent of their movie counterparts, and it usually ends with a bit of a friendly argument between the two. The good thing is Peter will be away while they do it, the bad thing is he’ll probably still hear them while he showers.

Peter takes off his clothes and sets his hand under the spray of water to feel its temperature. Once it’s to his liking he clambers inside headfirst. The water soaks his brown curls then covers his back. Peter backs his torso so his legs get sprayed with water and the change is fast, so fast it would probably be pretty seamless for anyone else. Peter doesn’t have time to react to the sudden feel of his legs knitting together and turning scaly before he loses balance with a startled yelp. Peter reaches out to the shower wall with a hand and sticks, stopping his fall but the momentum sends his back to hit the wall and Peter slides down, landing on his butt.

He blinks several times as he stares at his legs. Or more importantly, where his legs should be. In their place is a mermaid tail, just like the movies. It's a light blue like a clear skyline in New York mornings, with shiny scales that turn white when the light hits them and see-through red shaded fins. The tail seems to start at his hips but it fades up into his stomach with smaller scales, not a clear cut. Peter can feel the tail, he can feel it as if it were his legs but they feel different.

This isn’t normal, is it? This isn’t some long overdue side effect of the spider bite, right? This shouldn’t be happening, should it? There’s no way this is normal. This has got to be in the Top 10 weirdest things to happen to him. It fights for dominance right up there with the spider bite.

Peter takes a deep breath, he feels the fins and wills one to move as if it were his foot. In front of him, the fin moves. Peter shoves himself back startled, his head hits the other wall of the shower with force and he winces. He brings a hand to rub at his head, even if it doesn’t really make the pain lessen. He makes the other fin move, makes them both move at the same time, makes them move in opposite directions.

Peter stops playing with his fins. Wow, he has fins now, he has a tail. He can move the tail too. He has full control of it. It’s rather flexible too, more flexible than he’s become with his enhancements. Okay, so, he has a tail. He has a mermaid-merman?- he has a merman tail. He has a tail that is blue, and he can move it. It is right in front of him. Peter reaches for the middle of the tail with his finger and pokes it, sure enough he feels the poke, both in the tail and with his finger. It's real.

Alright, cool. So now that the shock has worn off it’s time to figure this out. Does this mean he can breathe underwater? Is he a merman now? Does he have to live in the Ocean? Would a lake suffice? His powers stayed, he was able to stick to the wall. Does that make him a Merman-Spider? Spider-Merman? Siren-Spider? Is he no longer allowed to eat fish? Do mermaids eat fish? Does this mean mermaids are real?

You’re getting distracted, Peter. Focus.

Was he a merman forever now? How did he even become one?

Yeah, focus on that. The how.

This isn't alien tech, that's for sure. He hasn't encountered anyone with alien tech in a while. That’s one out. So then… magic? Was magic real? Were there wizards? Was there actually a school for wizards? Oh gosh, that would be so cool. Like, Wanda Maximoff had magic, right? That's what she used? Or was that something else? It could have been magic, or maybe kinetic energy manipulation, that was also a possibility; but the idea of that being magic was always an option. Wait, he's getting sidetracked again.

Right, what caused this.

Ok, well, it couldn't be the spider bite either, it'd been far too long since and it didn’t make logical sense to be a result of it. Or... it could be if this was the product of a second reactant to the DNA alterations caused by the bite. Like, sure it would be weird to get a tail as a reaction, but so had gaining the powers of a spider through the bite of a radioactive spider; maybe they wanted to gain the powers of a fish and it mutated into a tail. Peter hadn't gone swimming recently and definitely hadn't been bitten by a fish but maybe he had, or eaten the radioactive fish by accident. He shouldn't have trusted that fillet, it had tasted too good. It could also just be a coincidence from another substance, really if this was a reaction he needed to know the second reactant.

Peter sees the water fall and splash on his tail and continue down the drain as he thinks. Water! Peter snaps his head to look at the showerhead. That was the reactant, water! The moment his legs got wet he got a tail!

Ok, so it wasn't a late side effect from the bite. That was good to know. It didn't rule out a reaction from the after-effects of the bite but it did give less evidence in its favour. So far the contenders are radioactive fish, reaction to his spider DNA, and magic. Only one of which Peter actually had knowledge of.

Peter sits up and moves forward to shut the water off. The tail was cool and all but he was kind of stuck in the tub. Peter lifts the end of his tail and moves the fins with narrowed eyes. He moves the fins close to the wall and then touches it, he wills them to stick and they do. Ok, he has better mobility than he thought he would. Feeling excitement fill him, Peter uses only his tail to lift his body and it works. He balances himself on his tail. He is definitely a Spider-Siren. He can stick, has strength, he assumes it also has his superhealing.

Peter grabs a towel from the rack and sits back down in the tub, he starts drying his upper body. The scales shimmer as he moves and Peter wonders if they would look the same dry. He sets the towel around his neck. Peter lifts himself from the tub and sits on the toilet lid, splaying the tail across the bathroom floor in all its glory before he grabs the towel around his neck. Peter starts drying his tail and the feeling is weird, he feels the towel through the scales and it’s closer to feeling something through his nails.

Peter has the sudden urge that his legs come back so he could experience the difference in them. Peter is scrubbing where the body of the tail meets the fins because it feels really good when the change happens. Peter senses the change a second before it happens but he is too confused at his Spider Sense telling him about it to notice what the change is . He lifts his head, dropping the towel, and looks around. Nothing is amiss and the sensation leaves. Peter turns back to pick up the towel and continue, now to try out the feel on his fins when he stops dead on his way to pick it up. His legs are back. His legs are back as if the tail was never there.

Peter pokes his legs, and just like the tail, they’re there. He moves them to make sure he has control over them, he does. He sets his palm on his leg and is surprised to find them completely dry, not even moist.

Peter looks back towards the shower, then he looks to his recently regained legs and back at the bathtub. He turns his head to his legs then the shower. Legs, shower, legs, shower. Peter bites his lower lip.

Like yeah, it could be a fluke and he may get stuck with a tail, but it could also be like his spider powers that he has control of. The tail disappeared when he dried it, it could be that if he gets his legs wet again the tail would return, and then it would disappear when he dries himself again.

What kind of scientist would he be if he didn't test out his hypothesis? He had to try. Besides, the worst thing that can happen is he has a tail, he'll figure it out later if he can’t dry it out. He has a feeling it will work anyways.

Peter fills the bathtub around three-quarters full. This is insane and just the type of experimenting he likes, trial and error. Taking a deep breath, he positions himself above the water holding himself by his arms, legs stretched out in front of him, parallel to the water below. All he needs to do is lower his arms and he will get his legs in the tub filled with water.

Peter lets out a little nervous laugh as he looks at the water. Like ripping off a bandaid. Peter takes another breath, releases it, and lets himself fall in one motion that splashes water over the tub’s edge.

The tail returns and this time Peter knows what he’s feeling. He realizes it's his legs morphing into a tail. It takes his legs a second to become a tail and it doesn’t hurt. It’s not a feeling he can put words to, other than from now on he can call the feeling his legs morphing into his tail. A part of the tail shimmers under the translucent water and his fins stay between water and air near where he thinks his knees would be-his tail is far too long to fit in the tub- while Peter moves it a little. He lifts the end of the tail and lets it smack back into the water, making a big splash that brings a joyous laugh from him. It worked as he’d suspected, the tail appears when his lower body gets splashed with water. Peter lifts himself from the bathtub and sits on the toilet seat.

Peter grabs the towel he first used to dry himself and begins to redry his tail. The same weird feeling of drying his scales returns. Willing his legs back as he dries Peter lifts the towel and grins. Where his blue tail had been are his legs once more.

Peter grins at the water, a rush of excitement cursing through his body. He has a tail now.

Just as abruptly his grin comes it falls and his heart begins to beat loudly in his chest. Oh god, he has a tail. He can't tell Aunt May, she'll freak out and ground him. And he can't tell Mr. Stark because he'll reprimand him, then tattle to May who will freak out and then they'll ground him together.

Ok, ok, ok. He can’t tell them, no big deal. He’s Spider-Man, he’s kept that a secret, he can keep this a secret. He has to figure this out first, then maybe he’ll tell them. If this is reversible they might never find out.

Does he want to reverse this? Food for thought.

He’ll figure all that out later. Right now Peter is going to take a bath, experiment a little, and then him and Karen will have a conversation about how much of a snitch the Babysitter Protocol makes her before starting his investigation.

#the friendly neighborhood exchange #my writing #irondad #mcu #peter parker #tony stark #lab shenanigans #spiderson #facfic #spiderman #iron man

[olivieblake]

As a writer or even just a consumer of media do you find people are less willing to accept “flaws” in characters and stories? I’m not talking like this character is a murderer he’s evil no one should like him type stuff, though as someone who started off writing dramione I’m sure you’ve seen your fair share of that but just like when characters are ever short of perfect. Like when a strong female character is kinda insecure or a couple isn’t communicating well or has a heated fight everyone gets mad that it’s a toxic relationship or bad writing. I once read a review of a book where someone stopped reading it after two chapters cause it had bad therapy practices, ie. the character still had shit to work through and therapy isn’t magic therefore they weren’t always doing the healing right and it’s like? that’s the whole point!! it’s an arc the character is gonna grow! It’s also made clear early on that the therapist didn’t agree with the coping methods (overly controlling their life) so it wasn’t like they were trying to portray it as a good thing. I know you’ve mentioned people have ✨opinions✨ about your DFS Hermione for having flaws and staying flawed and her flaw is just that she kinda thinks she’s right a lot and maybe isn’t the most self aware nothing even serious lol. I’m not saying don’t be critical of media but it’s kinda overwhelming reading think piece after think piece about why this thing you enjoy is actually the literal worst™️. Like am I toxic for having some of the same flaws ? Am I a problematic creep for enjoy stories where everything isn’t always sunshine, I don’t want to have a train wreck of a relationship but sometimes reading about one can be kinda fun? Is that terrible?

there’s a lot here that I’d like to discuss and I’m thinking about how I’d like to do it (I’ll inevitably chat about it in a video because it’s interesting and complex but I think I may have too many topics for this monday)

let’s see I think I will start by saying: in general, critical discourse about media (books, tv, film, fanfic) is a good thing, but it has definitely gone awry from what I consider to be its origins. I think the whole point of viewing media critically and making observations about what we are portraying via fiction is crucial for amplifying/protecting marginalized stories and reducing harm—specifically, the harm that minorities and women face by being inundated with bigoted, prejudiced, hateful, or ignorant tropes, caricatures, or relationship dynamics. I definitely believe that we should consider what we consume and how we consume it, particularly when it comes to the marginalized voices who do not see themselves represented well or fairly in white male dominated media

that being said, I do think it has led to the expectation that fiction cannot have ANY problems, which is absurd and counterproductive. it’s also extremely reductive, particularly when it comes the Strong Female Character™ thing you mention, where a woman STILL only has value if she’s strong in the “correct” way. I mentioned in one of my other posts and also last week’s video that there’s some kind of disconnect between the VERY GOOD intentions of things like #ownvoices or the movement to empower female characters and the actual outcomes, which make it so that any flaws in a marginalized fictional character are magnified to represent the entire group. the very reasonable request to see ourselves in fiction has somehow become an exponentially convoluted demand to see ourselves a certain way in fiction, where any character who does not reflect our personal experience is bad and wrong. previously, the expectation was that white male stories were universal whereas everything else was only for that specific group, and now, ironically, everything that is created still has to fit that universal quality and please everyone, despite that not being the point. the problem is when you only have ONE movie about this topic or ONE book about this ethnicity, then of course it hasn’t done enough to exemplify an entire subject or culture. there has to be an entire body of work the way there is with white-dominated media, where no single film or book accurately represents the experience of being white

plus we have twitter which is a horrifying hellscape where you get rewarded by the algorithm for making loud, obnoxious points so add that to the list (yesterday I saw that one of the top 3 reviews on Beloved by toni morrison is a 1-star review written by a white man and I was just flabbergasted by the lack of self-awareness) 

but anyway that’s like, more of a macro look at what I think is going on but you’re right that people are not very forgiving of flawed characters. to some extent, I get it; the one thing we don’t want our characters to do is annoy us, and that’s fair. but I also think people have lost the sense that “oh, this thing isn’t for me” and thus can’t successfully identify the difference between critical failure and personal dislike

now. as for Divination for Skeptics. let me start by saying it’s not like I don’t understand why people find hermione in Divination for Skeptics annoying, because I get it. if you’re taking the story very seriously then sure, maybe you want her to change her behavior and it’s frustrating that she doesn’t. fair enough! to that I say it’s a comedy and if you don’t find it funny you’re perfectly welcome to dislike it, it’s not a big deal to me if I don’t make you laugh. however, I DO take issue with people who claim she’s too flawed or doesn’t grow, because they almost always do it in a very specific way: they say that she doesn’t show enough empathy, aka how dare she not read draco’s mind and simply alter her personality and behavior to suit his. it genuinely infuriates me that in my opinion, people who voice that particular “criticism” have seemingly internalized the belief that women should be emotionally perceptive; that for them, hermione’s “flaw” is that she does not take on the emotional labor that draco refuses to perform. (her actual flaw is that her survival technique/coping mechanism is a hyper-rationality that incorrectly assumes she has perfect information; i.e., that everything she knows is accurate, and therefore all of her decisions must be sound.) whereas draco knows this about her—knows and acknowledges it—and yet cannot bring himself to voice his feelings out of a fear-based desire to hedge his own emotional risk. who, then, is more flawed in the context of the story? 

I don’t really have a conclusion yet so I’m going to pause for now and we’ll revisit this; I think mainly it’s that the more media diversifies, the more people will struggle with the preconceptions they have and the presumption that everything they consume is for them, and therefore that they are the metric for whether something is “good.” I think good art, good media, will reflect the world as it exists, but it will still only be the world according to one tiny fraction, a sliver of the actual human experience. does bad representation mean bad art? when it harms people yes. but when it speaks to a deeper truth (the truth of “we are all given to vice and imperfection even if it is not this specific version”), no. but that requires quite a degree of sophistication and self-awareness to identify, hence the discomfort of continuous vitriol or bad takes

#unpopular opinions #not like other girls #olivie blake is not writing #divination for skeptics #Anonymous

[cfdiamonds]

[ ARON PIPER, CIS GENDERED MAN, HE/HIM ] shh ! LEOCADIO SYNDER, the TWENTY-TWO year old SECOND year ECONOMICS major from MADRID, SPAIN, is known as a DIAMOND around here. HE was invited to join because OF HIS PERSISTENCE AND HIS FATHER WAS IN THE SOCIETY, and now, they’re here to stay. HE reminds me of A LEGION OF STAFF CONSTANTLY AT YOUR SERVICE, A WARDROBE FILLED WITH THE FINEST MATERIAL, + EXPENSIVE RINGS ON EACH OF HIS FINGERS.

helloooo!!  it’s been a long time coming but i’m finally excited to be here and join in on this super cool story the admins and all of you have created! i’m lia, i’m 23 and i go by she/her and they/them pronouns, so feel free to use either of them. i was going to make a graphic and a google doc but i’ve got plans with my family to watch a movie tonight, so until i can make the time i hope his app is enough! 

a past and character reflection.

you were born into success and luxury, the only child of two glencore billionaires — a diversified natural resource company. the synders are responsible for the marketing of lead and make a little over a billion dollars each year. all they’ve ever known was their jobs and their money, leaving little room for anything more than that, especially the addition of a child. the nannies changed your diapers and the maid picked up your toys, while the butler handled the broken glass splayed across the marble flooring from one of your daily tantrums. they bit their tongues because you were raised to view yourself as extraordinary living in a world of the ordinary. despite this, these people meant more to you than the ones who brought you into the world. you had a mother that asked you how your day went and then immediately turned her attention back to her phone or laptop, checking off that mental to-do-list that made her believe the question was enough effort. you had a father that saw you as weak and continuously pushed you past your limits, focusing on every little flaw you had and giving you no choice but to be better. you became so conflicted between your drive to be the best and your need for love, that anger became your method of coping. even the lightest of offenses were met with your spite and you glorified material things as if it were the only thing that mattered in the world. even at the tender age of ten, power was the one thing that kept you driven.

growing up, you never had any real or close friendships. the people that you called your friends were just more people that you could benefit from — the children from rich and influential families that spanned the globe. regardless of your rude and cold exterior, they still found reason to look up to you like you were their leader, be it an inheritance from your father’s charisma or your mother’s sophistication — because everything you had, you had to thank them for right? you knew exactly how to draw people in and use them until you didn’t need them anymore, kicking them to the curb the second their time ran out. the kids that excelled in school got you the highest grade, the kids that excelled in sports helped you become captain of their teams, and the kids that assisted you in breaking the rules always took the fall. and yet, no matter how hard you proved yourself as this apex predator, your parents saw you as inferior. they always told you to work smarter not harder, but when you did, it still wasn’t enough. what more could you take from the world? it had nothing left to give you.

the next chapter in your life became your second chance to prove yourself, but this time with a different method to your persistence. just as your parents did, you’d build yourself from the ground up, not taking whatever you wanted but fighting to obtain it. you already had the determination to do what had to be done to reach your goals, now all you needed to do was make it yourself. you enter your first year at strathmore university and you never take what you need to succeed, you push yourself until you earn it. every time the fates fight against you and you feel hopeless in meeting these high expectations you and your parents have made for you, you grasp onto the anguish of that ten year old boy yearning for approval and press forward with your strength. you still hold onto that cunning aspect of your character but this time, it’s something you keep hidden beneath the surface — away from prying eyes. you slip up once or twice, but it’s never enough to allow others to see you for who you truly are. you join several clubs even though you barely have the time, slipping your name into the minds of those spanning the entirety of the campus. you maintain one of the highest grades in your classes through dedication and hard work, scoffing at the students that request your assistance … they don’t deserve your help. not now anyway. not while you fight to be noticed in a place filled to the brim with excellent minds. not while you await your invitation to the society, the first step at proving that you can be great just like them. just like your parents.

on the society

upon arriving at strathmore university, leo became obsessive in his studies and joined many clubs to assist in his quest of standing out amongst the other first years. unbeknownst to many though, he also did this in hopes of earning a spot in the secret society. this is because his father had been in the society when he was young and in order to prove his potential, this was an organization he knew he had to be involved in. despite not knowing what the society was like or what they were about, he knew that they existed because of his father but that’s the extent of his knowledge on it.

when he was finally given his chance thanks to the diamond opal, leo became passionate about his spot and willing to do whatever means necessary to keep his spot. he takes advice willingly ( but goes against it if he believes they’re wrong ) and pushes to lead in some situations, not letting anyone or anything stand in the way of his goals. although he mainly does everything for his parents, whether they will ever notice or not, it is also for himself and his desire to be something great ( something he outwardly believes he already is but has struggled with internally for a long time ). leo wants to be the best prodigy and opal that the society has ever seen, and visualizes himself as the diadem when he builds himself up to that point.

when it comes to poppy nighmore, leo is more intrigued than he is worried about the reason for her disappearance. if those within the society that knew poppy are upset about her disappearance, leo is willing to take initiative in trying to solve the mystery. he will take risks and push limits in order to find information, but does so for selfish gain than anything else. he believes that he may prove himself as a worthy and necessary addition to the opal society if he continues researching and physically proving he cares. it also gives him a chance to show the others that he is capable of big things.

wanted connections.

as i read about your characters i’ll be able to generate a bit more ideas when directly plotting with each of you! these are just the ideas i have coming into the group, so if you do not see your character fitting them, worry not! we can brainstorm<3

his soft spot — the person that leo can’t seem to say no to no matter how hard he tries. his entire life he has felt little to no remorse in his conquest for power, no matter who he trampled along the way but suddenly, out of nowhere, the world presented him with this person and every time they’re around, every ounce of him becomes vulnerable. when they tell him to do something or to behave a certain way, he seldom disobeys. if they happen to be in the room when he’s behaving as he normally does, he avoids their eyes in fear of backing down. in a way, this person in his anchor that protects him from himself.

his adversary  — the person that gives leo a run for his money, testing him and pushing him every step of the way. they bear too many similarities to get along and compete over even the littlest of things. when one says yes, the other says no. the steve rogers to his tony stark. the thor to his loki.

fellow rich kids — those he knew by association prior to strathmore university or the society. they all understand each other because they grew up in similar conditions, where material things were the forms of love they received as children. they understand the lifestyle and flock together, regardless of whether or not they actually like each other. they board a private jet and escape real life for a weekend, only to return like nothing had happened come monday morning.

his best friend — leo doesn’t know it yet, perhaps neither of them do, but this person is his best friend. close relationships of any kind are foreign concepts to leo because he had, in his opinion, more important things to focus on as he grew up. love doesn’t exist in his world. so by his words, he trusts this person the most and is constantly inviting them around with him. he would never call it as it is in fear of cutting them loose and never feeling an ounce of remorse, but he’s acknowledged it in his head once or twice. this person is like the sibling he’s never had.

his mistake — in leo’s first year, he befriended this person and the pair eventually started to see each other romantically. however, leo wronged them somehow and now that he’s in the society with them, he realizes how big of a mistake he made hurting them. perhaps he fell back into old habits and made their acquaintance with the intention of gaining something, maybe in a class or by their personal influence in the world / at school, and they eventually found out about it. just an angsty exes plot.

his mentor — the diamond that took him as their prodigy. leo takes the dynamic between them incredibly serious and is willing and ready to do whatever they ask of him in order to prove they made the right choice taking him under their wing. he understands that his place in the society must not be taken for granted and so he treats it as a passion, rather than just another club around campus. he rarely does something society related without first receiving the opinion of the opal, but he also would ignore their opinion if he feels they are the one that’s wrong. this is business as usual and leo is their prodigy knowing that if all goes as planned, he will have their seat in the future.

#𝓁𝑒𝑜𝒸𝒶𝒹𝒾𝑜 𝓈𝓎𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇 〳 ⑉ introduction. #opalsintro #i sweat i'll have a stats / more in depth bio / wanted connection list soon okay #and by sweat i mean swear #sweating too though because all of you are so cool ? catch my leg on fire more like catch my heart on fire #nobody read these tags

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

Tony Stark Is An Emotional Man - My Unpopular(?) Take

So, I’m rewatching the MCU - because of course I am - and I just realized something watching The Avengers for the first time in probably 10 years.

While everyone believes Tony is a prick - and don’t get me wrong, he is 60% attitude in a small package - until he saves the damn planet; the statement he gives to Banner about the Hulk saving him is very heartfelt. He opens up about his own condition with the shrapnel, which is a rare moment of him being openly vulnerable - especially in the earlier phase of the MCU. He is being genuine, and he is trying to make Banner see the positives and understand that perhaps, the situation isn’t as bleak as he’s been thinking.

Tony is trying to provide help, to comfort Banner; not for his own gain but because he recognizes himself in Banner, in spite of their very different ways of handling their inner demons, and their wildly differing personalities. Because he knows what it’s like to lose your way and your self worth, and he wants to see Banner regain some sense of himself the same way he has.

It’s nice to see the kind side to Tony, and for him to expose it willingly to help a fellow team mate - and eventually friend - accept himself and his inner struggle. Tony does not get credit enough for the fact that he always did have that side to him, he just didn’t know how to show it. Even his jokes and snarky sarcasm get less “mean spirited” as he evolves, and grows as a person.

I feel like Iron Man 2 coupled with The Avengers (and of course Iron Man 3 added onto that) are a perfect portrayal of how Tony’s more outward sense of caring for people, despite his awkward sense of socializing, was already beginning to shine through the cracks.

To me, Tony Stark is by far the most compelling character because while I am not entirely like him, I recognize so much of myself and my own hardships. It’s never too late to reinvent yourself, and Tony is the perfect metaphor for that. He even directly likens himself to a phoenix in Iron Man 2, although played for laughs at the Stark Expo.

But not only that, later on in the movie when Steve insinuates that Tony is not a hero, that he would never sacrifice himself on behalf of another; that he fights for himself alone, and tells him he's basically nothing without the suit - you can see it's hurting him. Tony never really holds eye contact unless it's worth while; unless it's getting to him and requires his full attention coming from someone he truly trusts, unless it means something. You see him keep his eyes off of everybody in social situations before he knows them or they have earned his respect; you see him avoiding getting in neck deep, avoiding and brushing off comments on his distant persona.

But that insult right there; from the man his father would rave about, that's taking. You see the pain in his eyes, you see the fact that he's being torn open. You see that he's brought right back to who he once was, reliving the guilt of every mistake he ever made. All because of Steve's judgmental, misguided perception of him. Tony hides his true self; hides his suffering, and his internal grappling with his shame and guilt over every problem and death he's directly or indirectly caused. The fact that Steve Rogers - of all people, as the revered Captain America - cannot see through his surface disguise is really getting to him. I believe Tony had assumed Steve would be superhuman, and he's struck by the realization that Steve is no more human than he himself is. He has imperfections, and flaws, and jumps to conclusions.

And the fact that it is Steve, of all people, making these assumptions of him and taking these jabs at him makes it all the worse. You need only watch for Tony keeping eye contact throughout the verbal onslaught to know it's hitting home; and to know that Tony feels, Tony knows this is what people all initially think of him. He had just hoped that somebody as subjectively righteous and morally good as Steve would have the ability to see through the facade. The fact that he doesn't, and that he doesn't hold back on his opinion, is what hits the hardest.

Another point is when Fury informs the remaining team of Coulson's (faked) death. Tony doesn't look at anyone, he sits turned completely away from the conversation. You can see he's close to losing it, and if he were to speak, if he were to look up, were to make any sort of eye contact directly - he would crack. That's one thing I love about RDJ's portrayal of Tony; the fact that he is so terrified of showing his vulnerable side in front of others, even when he is grieving or blaming himself for any mishap. He feels like he has to be the strong one, like he has to keep it together. Not for himself as much as for everyone else - because if the unfeeling, arrogant Iron Man breaks, how are any of the other team mates going to make it?

If Tony of all people reveals he takes it harder than almost anyone else present, how are they going to see him as the same man? I love how it is only later in the MCU, that he exposes this side of himself more willingly and freely - like in Endgame where he mentions how he lost “the kid” while referring to Peter. He not only maintains eye contact with Steve as he admits that, he chokes up. This same theme is prevalent between them in Civil War when Tony asks Steve to lay down his guard and hand over Bucky, “because it’s us” - which is a testament to the fact that Tony has now accepted Steve as a friend and ally, and this betrayal of his hard earned trust is breaking his heart. But this early on, none of this has become a valid option to him yet. So he keeps it inside; refusing to show his true colours.

And in this moment, what does he do when it gets too much? When he's required to speak up, to acknowledge Fury's mention of The Avengers project? He ups and leaves. Because if he speaks; judging by the eyes alone (which is yet another credit to Robert) he's going to tear up. And hence, he walks out to get it under control, to reil himself back in. It’s a habit he throughout the franchise will begin to display less and less; as he learns to be more comfortable with the team as friends, as well as openly displaying his own emotions.

We see another side to this later when Steve approaches Tony alone one on one; and Tony initially attempts to make quips about how Coulson shouldn't have gone alone, how he was an outgunned idiot. Steve cuts straight to the core, and Tony snaps. You see him nearly tear up, you see how upset he truly is deep down and how he was only doing his best to play it off the only way he knows how. But as soon as he is spoken to, is forced to make an assessment, to actually talk about it; to look Steve in the eye and defend himself - that's the exposed vulnerability that is the real Tony Stark.

Behind the snarks, behind the facade, behind the charade of the arrogant, nonchalant prick he’s been trying to make the world see him for. He's as human as he could ever be; and I believe this is also the first time Steve notices that there is more to Tony than he had presumed. He too, had assumed Tony is too wrapped up in his own ego and lavish life resume to care for the smaller man. But here, he sees that Tony feels, Tony sympathizes, and Tony is deeply traumatized by the fact that he - as he feels - allowed this to happen. He sees that Tony believes this is on his conscious.

Tony's glassy eyes and emotional turmoil betray him, and even though he jumps right back to his intellect and brains as a safety net and a defense mechanism - addressing Loki's plan to hit them at home and split them apart - this is the first time Steve is exposed to Tony's determination, ability to assess and deduce the situation, as well as his belief in doing the right thing (another theme seen later in Age of Ultron regarding Tony’s creation of Ultron himself, as well as in Civil War where Tony is adamant that the Sokovia Accords are the right path to take to pay for the critical mistake Ultron turned out to be.) And as they assemble, you're struck with the realization that this has been enough of an eye opener for Steve to realize that there is more to Tony Stark than meets the eye.

And who is first to the tower, leading the charge if not Tony?

And despite his blind faith in his own skill and ability to stall Loki just long enough; there's the epitome of the courage Tony possesses. He knows that without the suit, he has no fighting chance. He knows Loki could snap his neck in the blink of an eye. And still, he never backs off. Indeed, there is an underlying death wish or at the very least a sense of him subconsciously feeling he deserves and is fated a grim deminse - but it does take unprecedented bravery to put yourself in such clear danger.

Tony Stark could be called many things; but a coward is not one of them. Sure, he does have the untested suit on hold, but he did not know 100% it was going to work as planned. He was counting on it, but you know a part of him knew it was a long shot and might not work out in the end. The suit could have been faulty, Loki could have cracked his head open; the cavalry could have been running late. Still, Tony gambles with his life and luckily barely comes out on top.

At last, we have the finale. What can be said about it, except the fact that it shows exactly who Tony truly is? He knows he's going to die - indeed he doesn't - but he is intent on that, he is accepting death and welcoming it. If it helps save the world, if it will keep Pepper and everyone he loves, everyone he knows; everyone alive safe.

Here, the decision from the first Iron Man to actually show us Tony's eyes and face behind the mask is a godsend. Seeing as RDJ is an actor who communicates so much of his emotional range with his eyes only; we are given an easy access to see everything Tony is experiencing flash through them. We see the fear, the pain, the uncertainty; the acceptance of the inevitable. We see his eyes convey the jumbled mass of conflicting emotions speeding through his mind, we see how he finally just relents and gives in to what he thinks is going to be his time of dying. His final moments.

And he has made them worthwhile, he has already achieved what Yinsen begged of him in that cave in Afghanistan - he has made his survival count. He has saved numerous lives, and if his death is what it takes - so be it. Cue the parallel to Endgame. Hell, even Age of Ultron has elements of this as previously mentioned; although that one was on Tony himself, and his irrevocable fear and flaws as a human being. However, here the team sees Tony's will to sacrifice himself firsthand, for the first time; and contrary to Steve's initial assessment that Tony would never put his life on the line for anyone but himself - he does just that.

This is what makes this movie so powerful.

Sure, it builds upon every team member’s arc; even Fury's. But it is Tony who proves himself above all; who shows the team what we the audience already knew. That he is a hero, that our past does not define us. That Tony Stark feels, that he knows right from wrong although he's still stumbling blind half the time - just like the rest of us. And it proves to Steve - to the entire team - that he is not merely the selfish, arrogant asshole only sticking up for himself. He is a man, albeit a flawed one, who cares deeply. Who feels, who mourns, who appreciates life and the people around him; and who is - behind the barrier he's placed between himself and everyone else to avoid getting hurt - extremely insecure. He is fearful, apprehensive, sensitive, and well aware of his shortcomings.

And Tony Stark is, first and foremost, a good man.

Repost from my previous blog.

#tony stark #iron man #discourse #meta #tony #stark #anthony stark #rdj #robert downey junior #mcu #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #infinity saga #the avengers #my take #hot takes #cause i love tony #fight me

[gronjon44]

OK RANT TIME

This inspired by @ben-10-setting-omnicrom and their Omni-Rant so bare with me.

I've always seen way too much flak being flung at Ben 10 so I feel like ranting and sharing what I personally find to be particularly awesome/enjoyable about the series.

First, the art style/animation

Why did people hate the art style so much? Like, I thjnk its the most dynamic thats the series has had do far. It helps the characters look more fluid I think and it just looks really cool. Also i think the character designs get too much flak. I mean yeah they have WAY more green then alot of the older designs do, but cmon. They look awesome.

Next up, the villains.

I absolutely love the villains in Omniverse, both big and small, though for now im focusing on the major big bads for the purpose of this.

- Albedo is put to some of the best use in this show, even if he just becomes a sort of M.O.D.O.K clone. He has good banter when he's around, the ultimatrix is put to better use here then in Ultimate Alien I think, and the fact he remains a more active presence then Vilgax says alot. I'll admit I never saw too much of his inclusion in UA and AF, but what I like about Omniverse is that it still manages to still keep his inclusion so solid that it doesn't feel kike you have to watch the previous shows to understand his motivations as a villain.

- Khybar is by far a fan favorite, and his sheer determination for trying to kill Ben keeps him interesting. Plus he introduces Skurd so that helps (Also the nemetrix is by far my preferred alternative to act as the opposite Omnitrix) I think hes one of the best reacurring villians the series has and, while i acknowledge he has flaws as a character, I think they can be looks past pretty easily.

- Ghost Freak (Zs'Skayr) is put to SUCH GOOD USE. I love the fact that Omniverse went into more detail about his home planet, and they even brought back Dr Victor as an active part of the story. Also was Cujo supposed to be the Yenaldooshi? Cause it always bugged me why he looked so different from other Loboans, including Benwolf and Scout) And yes there's the obvious fact that he has a much more apparent alterations to his design, but I like hoe they tried to make him look more like a Grim Reaper. I think it works and I believe that it can stand well next to the classic Ghostfreak design.

- Malware is hands down my favorite villain. Not only is he voiced amazingly by Corey Burton, who also played Megatron in Transformers Animated, he's also just hands down an amazing villain. Yeah they could've gone more into his potentially sympathetic side, but even still he's so well written, and even has a major part in the first couple seasons of the series. I'm still annoyed at how he wss essentially turned into a suit for Vilgax but nonetheless it doest change anything.

- Maltruant is a great series finale villain, and while i was never a huge fan of Clockwork as a alien or character, I like how they put more focus on the Chronosapiens as a species with Maltruants character. Plus we get more Time Travel antics and while this isn't necessarily a beef I have with Maltruant, I just think this treatment shouldve been stretched out to Eon who, frankly, got sidelined pretty hard outside of his inclusion with Proffesor Paradox. Also last thing, HE'S VOICED BY MARK HAMIL! I SWEAR MARK HAMIL NEEDS TO MORE VOICE WORK AS ANIMATED VILLAINS.

- PSYCHOBOS IS THE FUNNIEST FUCKING VILLAIN HANDS DOWN YOU WILL NOT CHANGE MY MIND ON THIS.

Legit I love everything about Psychobos. His banter with Asmuth and the galvans, the fact he has such a massive ego he could give The Leader a run for his money, and he's seemingly outsmarted by both Blukage and Driba its just stupid funny to me. And like he can actually be a semi threatening villain. When I was first introduced to Alien Force as a kid I loved Brainstorm, just for the fact that he's a super intelligent crab. It just stuck with me.

And this isn't even including the other side villains in the series. Psyphon, Fistrick, Fistina, hell even fuckint Thunderpig, they're all enjoyable villains. Really theres only 3 villains I actually dislike, and thats Vilgax, Kundo, and Eon.

Kundo was just meh to me, Eon I feel like was rather underused outside of Proffesor Paradox (yeah I know I said it twice)

And Vilgax... Vilgax got sidelined heavily, to the point his most interesting inclusions was when a janitor/plumber was mistaken for being Vilgax. And I think this comes from how oversaturated he's become.

He was such a central villain in the original series, up until Sectret of the Omnitrix. But after that I think he was just, kinda overused. Yeah in the latter half of AF and part of UA he was fine, but he just got overused. He's basically a Cthulu version of Thanos with his reputation and all.

This is all personal and I know some people still think he's one of the best villains in the show, and I agree. I just think that he started to lose his touch after the original series ended. Plus, I just didn't like his various redisigns. The tubes and the massive dark armor just stuck with me more.

Tell me, which one looke like an extremely intimidating villain who could slaughter planets? And which one looks like an amalgamation of Thanos, Darkseid, and Cthulu?

Finally, my overall thoughts on the show as a whole and Bens growth throughout it, compared to previous shows.

I think the show does really well for what it tries to accomplish, and I don't quite understand the hate. Yes I admit, it has some rather crude or cringe worthy moments, but it has some equally funny and heartfelt moments,, intercut with some fun and enjoyable action all throughout the series.

And for those who think he's at his worst as a character in this series. How is it compared to how Ultimate Alien essentually turned the Ben we knew from Alien Force back into immature and clueless 10 yr old Ben? The Omniverse interpretation actually has more explanation for his more slacker/relaxed moments.

Like @ben-10-setting-omnicrom said, he isnt just a hero on his own or working with a nonexistent alien government like the plumbers. He's been doing this for so long now its become second nature to him at this point. I like to tbink of him as the "Tony Stark of Bellwood". He's a celebrity and for him, all of this is just second nature of force of habit, so he acts more freely and cocky with situations, because he knows how they'll always play out.

That is to say, he isnt without his mature moments or losses. He loses plenty of times in this show, or he is forced into situations where he can't be his usual cocky self.

When the Incursians invaded earth and he was banished, forced to stay away at the risk of his whole planet being destroyed? He planned an infiltration strategy, executed it with minimal to no issues, and managed to return to earth and save the planet.

When Feedback was erased from the Omnitrix and he was forced into an emotional slump, losing what he believed to be an integral part of his being, what did he do? He grew from the situation, learned to never heavily rely on one alien (for the most part), and he grew to learn form that loss and become the hero he is today.

If he was just an immature teenager who didn't really bother to care for fights or their outcome, shy would he jump headlong first into a literal big bang. He was willing to sacrifice himself and risk never even existing, just to ensure a villain didn't win.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk, I'm gonna go sleep this off now.

#ben 10 omniverse #ben 10 #omniverse rant #animation #cartoon rant #villains

[spooderham]

Unpopular Opinion: I wish marvel had the balls to make their protagonists have flaws and acknowledge that those flaws are just apart of who they are

Wouldnt have it been way more interesting if wanda did break into the facility and steal visions body on purpose, if she admitted what she did to those people in town was horrible, if she blamed agatha just to try and convince *herself* that she wasnt at fault but at the end of the show she realized she has a lot of sins to atone for?

But uh no Wanda did nothing wrong shes fine uwu it's all agathas fault and age was sad over her boyfriend of 2 on screen seconds

Like your characters do bad things but I'd like them so much more if they just let them ADMIT they did bad things instead of portraying them like tragic heroes

(Dont get me started on the uwu I'm so sad and everyone should feel sorry for me and agree with me snd now I'm a goddamn martyr cus I cannot he seen as bad person for any reasons tony stark)

I mean yeah; also idk when you sent this so sorry on the late reply (but also: imagine if the mcu knew how to write their characters to begin with)

[shotsbyshae]

Heart of Novocaine

Warnings: Kidnapping, Language

Words: 1.3k

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Interrogations never go as planned.

Song: Heart of Novocaine by Halestorm

A/N: Third installment to The Raven series 

Living Dead Girl

She Loves Control

You made me tough, you made me numb.

Bucky Barnes is beyond frustrated.

You are trouble and he knows it. Flawed – so perfectly flawed – there’s a chaos inside you that can only end in disaster. He should know better, but there’s just something so damn familiar in your eyes and he can’t help but wonder if it’s because he made you.

“Who do you work for?” He asks the question for what feels like the fiftieth time.

“I must say,” you smile at him from the cot, “you’re cute when you’re agitated James.”

A huff of frustration accompanies the eye roll as he storms back over to the desk, flipping through the file folder there. He’s spent over two hours trying to talk to you and all you’ve given him is backhanded compliments and snarky comments. He shouldn’t like the way you smile at him, it’s just a you being coy, it’s not personal. Barnes has to continuously remind himself who you really are – what you’re capable of.

Steve watches the interrogation through the screen in his office as Sam enters the room questioning, “Any luck?”

“No,” Rogers replies leaning back in his chair. “She’s not giving up anything.”

“What did he expect?” Sam plops down in the chair across from the desk. “That she would be like, Oh, you’re right. I’ll stop assassinating bad guys. I mean, like I said, her victims weren’t good guys.”

Steve gives Wilson an unimpressed look before the two of them turn their attention back to the screen on the desk.

Bucky leans back against the desk, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms wearily, “Someone gives you the targets.”

“Do they?” You keep your tone playful – flirty. “Why so interested in me James?”

He stares at you through the partition, it’s not personal, he reminds himself as he questions again slowly, “Who do you work for?”

You walk across the cell to lean against the plexiglass, your eyes narrowing slightly as you watch the man in front of you, “Let me out James. We could have more fun that way.”

“Not a chance,” he replies sharply.

You face falls, the perfect pout on your lips is something you’d mastered years ago. You’ve toyed with men before – cat and mouse – the game is much too easy. “Your loss.” The words slip out easily, tinged with anger.

***

Later that night, you can hear the faint sound of the basement door opening. After the day he’s spent with you, you know it’s not Barnes who’s come down for a late night visit.

“Can’t sleep, Captain?” You don’t have to look to sense him standing at the plexiglass wall.

He lets out a sigh as he watches you stare at the ceiling in the dark. “He feels responsible for you – for what you do.”

“Not my problem.” Your tone is cold. Barnes had kidnapped you and thrown you in a cell. You could care less if he’s wanting to make you his redemption project. In your mind, the two of you are past saving.

“Well, it is mine,” he remarks, and you let your head roll to the side to stare at him.

“He’s messed up too you know,” you toss the words back at him. “I can see it in his eyes – the sadness – the regret. I think he feels more responsible for what he’s done, than for what I do.”

“Well, I’m not here to talk about Bucky. I’m curious as to why –” Rogers drags a chair from the desk nearby and slowly takes a seat, folding his arms across his chest. “Why does a girl like you get mixed up in this business?”

“My business is none of your concern Dr. Drew.”

Steve takes a deep breath before he leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “What about that night?” His head tilts as he tries to get a read on your face. “With the Winter Soldier.”

You slowly sit up, resting your back against the wall with your knees bent in front of you. There’s a soft glow from the computer screen on the desk behind Steve and it bounces off the glass wall in front of him, lighting up his face in a velvety blue shade. Clenching your jaw, you continue to stare at the man, not answering his question.

“What did he do to you?” Steve’s tone is softer than before.

“Nothing,” you finally answer, and he can hear a change in your tone. The playful glint in your eye is replaced with a darkness he’s not seen before, as if you’ve lifted the curtain you keep yourself hidden behind. “I looked death in the eyes that night and I tried to kill him.” You take a deep breath before continuing. “He said a word that I had to look up later. Moy – it’s Russian for mine.” You push off the wall, the anxious feeling creeping over you and you start to pace the length of the cell. “For a year I was worried he would come back for me, then I got tired of being scared. So, I started training, because if he was coming back, I wanted to be ready.”

Steve watches you quietly for a moment, “Self-defense I can understand, but how did that escalate to murder for hire?”

You stop pacing near the plexiglass wall, staring down at the man in the chair, a seriousness in your tone, “Because I had already gone toe to toe with the devil once, and there are a lot more devils out there, Captain.”

“There are better ways to do that,” he comments.

“You protect the innocent. I’m doing the same, we just have different ideas of justice.” You glare down at him as you speak, seeing the words hit him. “The system is flawed – you know that.”

The two of you stare at each other for a few moments in silence. The truth in what you said hanging heavily in the air.

“You know it’s over.” Steve’s eyes watch you as he confirms what you had assumed their endgame was.

“Is it though?” You question him.

He hears the change in your tone. Sees the glint return to your eye, and the curtain come back down. “He’s not going to stop. He’s on a mission to save you.”

“Do I look like I need saving?”

“From yourself,” Steve responds with a nod. “Yes.”

***

The next morning Steve’s in the middle of brushing his teeth when Bucky busts into his room, out of breath from running, “She’s gone.”

“What?”

“The cell’s empty.”

Steve discards the toothbrush, spitting the remaining toothpaste into the sink before rushing after his friend. His voice calling out to him as they start down the hall, “How? There’s no way she got out of there.”

“I don’t know,” Bucky replies, “the door was wide-open.”

The sound of female laughter can be heard from the kitchen area of the compound and they give each other curious glances before they take off jogging in that direction. Both men stop abruptly at the scene in the kitchen. Peter Parker is sitting at the end of the counter, a plate with an omelet in front of him. Tony is at the stove, spatula in hand as he prepares another omelet and you’re standing at the end of the counter beside Peter, sipping casually from a Stark Industries mug.

“Hello boys,” you greet with a smug smile.

“Oh,” Tony acknowledges the two slack jawed men. “Mornin’ fellas. Look who Mr. Parker found making her way out of the compound this morning.”

The two men look between Stark and you as Peter takes a drink from his glass of orange juice - watching the scene play out like a reality tv show. You’re watching Steve and Bucky too, as if you know something they don’t know, the smirk playing at the corners of your lips giving you away.

Tony glances over at the men incredulously, “Was anyone going to tell me about the pet assassin you boys had locked up in the basement?”

#bucky barnes #winter soldier #steve rogers #captain america #mcu #marvel #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #avengers fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #steve rogers fanfic #steve rogers fanfiction #avengers fanfic #bucky barnes fanfic

[xsteriism]

Too Good to be Bad

Chapter Two: Love is brewing

by celestial-irondad

2, 028 words

2/?

click on the chapter title to read on ao3!!

——

Tony wakes up without a headache for the first time in a long while, feeling light and well-rested, and the usual body aches he has aren't there to make him regret all his life choices. He smiles unconsciously, stretching a little in the giant bed he’s in. Is this what actual sleep feels like? A whole eight hours of sleep? How long had he been asleep, anyway? Granted, he was knocked out by the powerful villain, but this was probably the best sleep he’s gotten in years.

He turns to find the sorcerer sitting in a rocking chair, reading a thick book with his cup of tea left forgotten on the table beside him. When the sorcerer feels Tony’s heavy gaze on him, he chuckles lightly, placing his book down gently and helps the billionaire to a sitting position.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he speaks, voice low and sultry. Tony feels his cheeks heat up, smile turning uncharacteristically shy. Didn’t he use to be a playboy? Damn it, where did all his game fly off to? Where was it when he needed it?

They sit in silence for a while, before Tony realises he hasn’t greeted the person who gifted him the best sleep in years and without the need for sex as repayment. “Mornin’. How long have I been asleep?”

“A little over twelve hours,” comes the reply, along with a gentle pat to his head. “You must be hungry. I’ll be back in a minute with food.”

Before Tony can say anything, the sorcerer has left the room. The billionaire sits in stunned silence for all of two seconds before he’s snatching a pillow from beside him, burying his face and screaming into it. He hopes the sorcerer doesn’t have enhanced hearing, even with all the magic, because Tony will cry literal tears of embarrassment if the man hears his muffled squeals.

Tony will admit he’s not straight. He’s been with boys and girls alike— some really good-looking people, too. But, he doesn’t think he’s seen any one of such high calibre before. Stephen Strange’s looks, knowledge and magic are all top tier. He is the whole package and Tony isn’t sure how to feel at the thought of the villain taking such an immediate liking to him.

Him! Of all people! Tony Stark, an egotistical playboy who has no care for anyone but himself. Tony Stark, the evil billionaire who nearly destroyed the world, once. Tony Stark, the man who couldn’t be loved.

Even Steve Rogers said so.

“The only person you really fight for is yourself.”

“You better stop pretending to be a hero.”

If Mr Good and Righteous says he’s these things, then he must be those things, right? Who else is he? What else can he be?

But, oh. The sorcerer is really, really, really attractive. When Tony stepped into the room, the first thing he noticed was the sorcerer tied up, sitting on an uncomfortable wooden chair but somehow looking like he had risen from hell, burning ashes, flames and all— a magnificent being. Then, he spoke and by God was Tony sold. His voice was deep, a soft timbre that made Tony warm with all the good emotions he hadn’t felt in a long while.

Before he can gush more about the very no good, very bad villain who has kidnapped him, said person opens the bedroom door and walks in with a tray filled with an array of different types of breakfast food.

“Eat up, my darling,” the sorcerer says, smiling gently as he places the tray on the coffee table his neglected teacup was on. “We can’t have you going hungry, now can we?”

Blushing at the endearment, Tony gets up with the help of the sorcerer before a mini table appears before him.

“I wasn’t sure what types of egg you preferred, so I made them all,” he says as if making every single type of egg is a normal thing to do. “Don’t worry about food wastage, I’ll deal with it.”

Tony can’t help but compare the villain to his teammates. This man is the feared and ruthless Doctor Strange, but all he has done thus far was care for Tony. The villain had ensured he slept well, was fed and comfortable. Tony doesn’t think he’s met a nicer villain. His teammates, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about his health. The engineer tends to work for days on end without supervision sometimes, unaware of time passing if it wasn’t pointed out to him explicitly. His teammates would turn a blind eye to his unhealthy habits, only caring when they wanted something out of him. When that happened, someone would force their way into his lab, demanding he spent ‘quality time’ with the rest of the Avengers over dinner in the living room.

“How long have you been cooped up in this stuffy room?” Steve had once said, giving Tony that look of disappointment that nearly made him flinch. “Come up and have dinner with us, socialise for a while.”

And how could Tony refuse him? How could he refuse Captain America when he’s been told time and time again that he was the downfall of the Avengers even though realistically, he knew he wasn’t?

He quickly realised all they wanted from him was upgrades for their weapons and suit when he went to dine with them. Clint wanted sharper arrows and Steve wanted a lighter suit. The rest of the team hadn’t even been there, out eating on their own. Tony had wondered if his sole purpose on the team was to be their mechanic.

It didn’t help that Tony spent most of his life wondering if he was inadequate, incompetent, or… faulty. How could he not, with Howard nitpicking every single flaw he had? He tried his hardest to get Howard’s acknowledgement; from building his first circuit board to being accepted into MIT, Tony had given his everything to please Howard.

Not that it made any difference when his father hit him anyway.

But Stephen is different. A very good kind of different, the type of different Tony knows he needs. The man was careful with every action when it came to Tony, eyes gentle and hands soft. It doesn’t seem like they had only met a mere few hours ago. The way Stephen acts around Tony is as if he’s the only one in his life, someone to be cherished and loved.

Tony doesn’t know what to make of it. He also doesn’t know how the man got his name, but Tony isn’t a subtle character in their world, so it makes sense that he knows. Besides, if Tony had his resources to know about the villain, then Stephen would have his.

Within the next few days, both Stephen and Tony got comfortable around each other faster than either of them had expected. They even have a little daily routine of their own; Tony would be forced to wake in the morning, dragged to the kitchen by Stephen to have a proper breakfast before they would sit by each other in the library and do work. Then, the engineer would design new inventions he had in mind while the villain read his antique books quietly.

Even though Tony was kidnapped, he’s not feeling like a prisoner in the Sanctum Sanctorum. He has full reign of what he eats, when he eats, how he eats. He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. The only thing he doesn’t have control over is what time he wakes, but the sorcerer waking him up at the asscrack of dawn is… a good thing.

God knows how much his sleep schedule needs work. Maybe being kidnapped by the villain is the first step to get his life back to normal human functionality.

Although Tony wasn’t being tortured or anything of the like, it is disappointing when the Avengers still don't save him three weeks into his capture. Is he just a dispensable team member to the Avengers?

No matter. Tony can see how bad the Avengers are and if they can do without him, then he can do without them, as well. He is Tony Stark, a genius, billionaire, philanthropist. He is Iron Man, someone who has taken the Ten Rings down. Tony doesn’t need a few people, enhanced or not.

But it still hurt knowing he would never be on their priority list.

On the first day of the fourth week, Tony is awakened by alarms blaring throughout the Sanctum. The first thing he thinks of is, ‘who’s attacking New York this early in the morning?’

Then, when he rushes out into the main hall, where Stephen Strange already is, he finds the Avengers staring right back at them. Tony frowns, not expecting the Avengers to save him, expecting them to be happily living on with their lives without him. But before he can make a smart-ass quip about how the Sanctum is closed for the time being,

“Tony, let’s go back home,” Steve Rogers speaks, arms crossed over his chest, going for an intimidating kind of look, but Tony has seen it so many times he doesn’t feel the fear he used to anymore.

“Home?” Tony asks, huffing his disbelief at his words. “The Sanctum has been more of a home in three weeks than the compound ever had.”

“Stop being so difficult, Stark. Hurry, let’s destroy Strange’s base and go,” Clint voices his complaints, hands reaching for his arrows.

The villain steps in, hands glowing a scary green as he chuckles darkly. “I had let you all off the hook when I took Tony with me the other day and yet you still dare come into my personal space and threaten me. Do you all wish to die?”

“You all seem to care,” the sorcerer spits the word out as if it’s poison, “for Tony, but you take weeks to come ‘save’ him. From what he has told me, he is much better off here than wherever you reside, no matter how gorgeous it may be.”

Steve frowns, unfolding his arms. “Of course we care about Tony. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t.”

Stephen doesn’t even bother to answer the captain, choosing instead to pull Tony away from the main hall, insulting the Avengers by indirectly telling them they weren’t formidable opponents. Tony is sure he looks confused when they teleport to the library, feeling very much lost. The sorcerer just smiles and cups his face gently, making Tony’s eyes flutter shut with the unexpected feeling.

“We shall not waste any more of our time and energy on them,” the villain declares, “they are not worthy.”

Tony smiles, eyes still closed. “I… I like you, Stephen.”

It’s the first time Tony’s calling Stephen by his name and he can hear the sharp breath Stephen inhales. He smiles wider, the warm feelings rushing back to him, feeling like a pubescent boy who had a crush.

“I know you’re a villain and I know I’m not,” Tony starts, opening his eyes slightly to see a starry-eyed villain. “But the feelings you give me… they don’t feel bad— you don’t make me feel bad.”

Stephen blinks, unsure if he had been complimented or not. Tony lets out a soft giggle that startles them both, speaking again, “normally, I don’t confess three weeks into knowing someone, but I…”

Tony is interrupted by a kiss.

It’s the first kiss he’s had in a very long while. Stephen holds Tony as if he’s fine china with his trembling hands and Tony can feel the way his lips are quivering as well. The smaller smiles through the kiss and presses closer, taking the bold step to deepen the kiss.

And honestly? Forget butterflies and fireworks. Tony’s feeling as if wildebeests are stampeding in his tummy and magical fairies are throwing their pixie dust on them like confetti. Their kiss is more than just magical and Tony can already tell he’ll be addicted to the sorcerer’s kisses.

Plus, they say pixie dust is known for making wishes come true.

Oh, yes, Tony thinks his wish is coming true.

——

hello my darlings!! chapter two is finally up after weeks of nothing. tbh, i wasn’t really feeling this chapter and i deleted a few (many) scenes from the final cut and i still dont know how to feel about this chapter.

pls gimme sum luv (like and comment!!!) bc i tried really hard on this 

also, i'm an irondad blog but here i am, using my 100th post for ironstrange

taglist: @funkylittlebidiot (bc you’re the inspiration for this post and i wasn’t sure if you wanted to be tagged or not) @jake-the-snake-from-state-farm @considering3000homicide @justpassingby007 @ragingstillness @el-rezet @the-fifth-marauder101 @marvels-blue-phoenix (because you’re almost always the first to like my fics and i see you and i love you) @officialtonystarkprotectionsquad (bc you always support me and i also love you) @technically-a-little-dragon (ily bby, i hope u enjoy this!!)

#villain Stephen strange #ironstrange #anti team cap #first kiss #insecure #dark thoughts #fluff #light angst #cuteness #tony stark #clint barton #Steve Rogers #stephen strange

[cblgblog]

i have a prompt that i've been thinking about: morgan, around peter's age, finding out the not-so-great side of her father and coming to terms with it. how would you approach that?

Not what I thought I’d be talking about today, wasn’t sure I even had anything helpful to offer (that remains to be seen), but it turns out I do in fact have opinions here.

So first off, I say good call on making Morgan Peter’s age for this. Beloved figures like that—using JFK because he’s in the MCU, and I lack a better example—you don’t really get a fuller picture of them until they’re dead. Until they’ve been dead long enough that you can speak up about their flaws without getting attacked for pointing them out. There’s a very fairytale, this person is all good or all bad mentality when it comes to certain people. Tony would likely be a fairly untouchable figure for awhile after snapping his fingers, especially while people are trying to adjust to a post-EG world. Morgan being Peter’s age gives you about 10 years for people to get past seeing Tony as only the guy who snapped his fingers on Thanos.

Other stuff I might do? I have a headcanon that Tony left a whole lot of video/hologram messages of himself talking to Morgan, see Howard in IM 2 and “You are my greatest creation.” Not because he threw together a massive just in case package for Morgan before giving Steve t time GPS (though it’s him so that’s also possible, frankly), but because, Tony. He’s a hyperactive dude who’s very into what he’s into when he’s into it. So, Tony wakes up at four in the morning and decides he needs to tell something really important about circuit boards or dating or root beer floats or whatever it is. Meanwhile Pepper’s like honey, the baby’s four months old, she just went down, if you wake her again, I will murder you and raise her as a single parent, with widow points. So, what does a guy who really loves his kid and gets really obsessed with his current goals do? Records things for later.

It's a heavy riff on the messages Tony leaves in EG, and it’s my own self-indulgent way to make sure Morgan still has some piece of her father, okay?

So, Morgan Stark who’s grown up on those images her dad recorded for her, and on the stories of his more heroic exploits. Then she’s old enough to start hearing from other sources about the more questionable things he’s done. Yes, he made the snap that restored the universe, he went full-on hero and flew a nuke into space once, but there are other things too. Ultron, the Accords, etc. So, how does a daughter square that?

I don’t know, honestly, the details of that journey would be yours to figure out, but ultimately it probably comes down to the fact that—like a lot of historical figures who go down as heroes—Tony’s record is also littered with black marks, and it’s dishonest not to acknowledge both. My brain spits out the image of Morgan asking Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, whoever, if such and such thing is true, and why didn’t you tell me about it? And some corny as hell but not inaccurate line that he was Morgan’s hero, and that every child deserves to remember their dad like that.

I haven’t watched Far From Home in awhile, but I’d do a riff on Happy’s speech to Peter. The gist of it being that Tony was—on many occasions, a hero, and after his kidnapping in IM 1, he tried to be a better person than what he’d been before. He did a lot of great things, a lot of people looked up to him, credited him with saving their lives. He was also, as I think Happy said, a hot mess. He made incredibly bad choices at times, and other people paid for them. But make sure Morgan’s told that he loved her dearly, that she’s still allowed to love him, to enjoy any memories she may still have of him, and that whatever else he was, Tony loved her. Doesn’t absolve him of his mistakes, like some stans seem to think. Being a dad and loving your offspring doesn’t automatically make you a better person, or mean you didn’t cause major suffering along the way. Morgan, though, is entitled to love him as her father, and to have what memories she may have, especially given how few there probably are. Love the person, not the act, all that, and whatever else he was, Tony was good to Morgan, from what we know. The kid is allowed to keep that, especially since her dad isn’t around to answer for himself.

So…yeah. I have no idea if any of that was at all helpful, and as I said, the journey of how Morgan processes these things in her head is one I don’t have details of, and probably one she’ll be on for the rest of her life. But yeah, that’s what I got, hopefully it helped a little, apologies if it didn’t, good luck on your writing and good on you for wanting to do it.

#Anonymous

[nessamaurice]

Simple, Ch. 11 (Loki x F!Reader)

Masterlist

Summary: Tony and the Avengers are in desperate need of something like a “babysitter” to have an eye on Loki and teach him “how to human”. He decided to stay on Midgard over the dungeons of Asgard as punishment for his deeds in New York. That’s where you swoop in. A simple receptionist at the Avengers compound. You have to share an apartment in the compound with Loki and damn, he’s a really tough nut. With your open and kind character it seems that you are slowly cracking his shell. But suddenly things are getting twists that will change your life and your relationships there irreversibly.

Story rating: M

Chapter trigger warnings: PTSD/flash back, trauma

Words: 2845

11

Your whole body hurt incredibly as you opened your eyes. Terrified you saw that you were back at that awful lab, dozens of needles sticking deeply in your skin. You couldn't focus correctly and thus didn't saw what was happening right in front of you. You felt electrodes getting glued on your head and started screaming to the top of your lungs as the burning pain pierced into your brain.

"Y/N! Y/N, wake up! It's just a dream, it's alright!"

Carefully being shaken you slipped back into reality. As you opened your eyes you saw a very concerned Loki looking down on you, loose black locks framing his face. In that moment you realized you were still screaming and shut up the next second. Loki looked up from you like to someone else and said something but you were too drowsy to follow the actions. Tears were rolling down your temples and you were trembling. It was just so cold...  Half asleep, half awake you turned on your side and curled up so tightly that you were just a little human ball, clasping your legs and pulling them up to your chest so that you could burry half your face between your knees. Shaking you tried to fall asleep again but it just didn't work; you knew that it wouldn't within seconds. Quietly you started to cry without knowing why exactly. You gasped as you felt hands at your shins. Loki had brought a soft, woolen blanket and tugged it neatly under your legs so that your front was completely covered, except for a small gap for your face so you could breathe. But your back was still uncovered so you wanted to roll around and pull the blanket over your shoulders as the mattress behind you dipped a bit. An arm wrapped around you under the blanket and pulled you slightly backwards to the warm body laying down behind you. Loki curled up to your back and held you.

"Don't worry, I'm by your side. You will not slip from my grip, nothing can happen to you. I'm with you. You are not alone."

***

You slowly awakened and the first thing your brain recognized was a familiar scent. Fresh linen and leather. You opened your eyes and saw an open book, held by big hands that were clearly not yours. You felt a chin lightly touching the top of your head. Then slowly the memory came back and you recalled your nightmare and how you got comforted into sleep again. Heat was rushing to your cheeks, being aware of the full body contact behind you while Loki slowly changed pages, not realizing you were awake. You stiffened completely, not knowing how to react. Loki noticed the change in your muscles and whispered your name.

"Are you awake?"

You awkwardly cleared your throat. "Ahem, yes. I'm sorry. How long have I slept?"

"It is now 10 am the next morning, so you slept a good amount of hours. What did you apologize for?" He spoke with a low voice; you felt the vibration of its sound where his chest touched your back.

You still didn't know how to move, so you stayed right there, totally stiff. But you had to admit, being so close to him was extremely calming. "That you had to climb here in with me. I'm pretty sure you're not really the cuddle type." You laughed nervously.

"You may be right, this is not something I would declare common for me. But I know what to do to calm down a traumatized person having something like a panic attack. And I’ve been in far more uncomfortable situations." 

You could hear him smiling with the last sentence which just made you blush even more. It was so long ago since you’ve been close to somebody. To anybody. Your muscles began to relax a bit and the fact he didn't move away reassured you a bit. 

"What are you reading?" You suddenly wanted to know, surprising yourself.

Loki closed the book with the finger he had on its cover. You immediately threw your hand against your forehead in shame.

"Oh my god. Where did you get this from? Why are you even reading it?"

"Your uncle brought some of your books from your room and I got bored. Not that watching you sleep isn't entertaining, but at some point I wanted to get my thoughts elsewhere. So I grabbed the first book from the stack and the title sounded truly interesting."

"Wait... what?" Now you turned to face him, "Watching me sleep is entertaining?" You imagined yourself snoring and drooling onto his arm and wanted to sink into the earth right away.

Ignoring your comment he just went on, seriously looking at the book, "Star Wars - The Phantom Menace. How could I resist? And, to my own surprise, it is not as bad as I expected your human literature to be. It clearly has lots of flaws regarding numerous techniques of writing and storytelling, but for such a young civilisation it could have been worse."

"You only say that because you haven't seen the movie."

Loki pulled his arm from beneath your head and pushed himself up on it, looking down at you.

"There's a movie from this?"

You turned around, now lying on your back, with a surprised expression.

"You know what movies are?"

All he did was giving you pouty look before he elegantly swung off the bed.

"I better get you something to eat before you get too impudent."

You watched him as he strode out of the room. You caught yourself biting on your lower lip and directly scolded yourself. You explained it with the hunger you felt in your stomach and not with any other kind of... hunger. He wasn’t even your typical “type of prey”. But you had to admit you felt calmer when he was around. He had some kind of aura that made you feel… understood. Acknowledged. Safe. You stroked over a shaved part of your head to distract you. It already turned scrubby, except for the parts where the electrodes were stuck to your head, leaving bald circles. You looked down at your arms, at the slowly healing cuts. You could recall how you got each single one of them, you would never forget that. You felt the burning of every single wound, you could locate them in your mind. Not only your skin would stay scarred for the rest of your life, your mind would never be the same again, too. You were marked, inside and out. Always to be identified as a victim of Hydra. Not only a victim, but a tool as well. You hurt others just to keep yourself a little less unharmed. You penetrated their minds, their feelings and covered them with your own, forced them to feel differently than they naturally would. You looked down at your hands and suddenly got the intense urge to peel off the skin of your palms. Just that moment the glass door of the medical room you were in opened and Loki entered with a tablet loaded with the most different things for breakfast. You quickly rose your head and felt like you've been caught doing something bad. You watched his face turn from a relaxed smile into a severely concerned expression.

"By the Allfathers, what happened?" 

He paced the room towards you with just a few steps, put the tablet on the table next to your bed and sat down in front of you, taking your face gently into his big hands. You weren't able to meet his eyes.

"My dear, look at me. Come on. Speak with me.", he softly encouraged you.

Hesitantly you looked into his face. He wiped with his thumb over your cheek, that was when you realized you were crying.

"I... I am a monster." You choked on your sobbing voice. "They made me a monster! Look at these-" You raised your palms a bit and looked down on them "Everyone I touch will be like an open book to me, they will not be able to choose what I’m allowed to know. And even worse… they will be forced to feel what I feel. Their souls will be plastered over with my own emotions." You suddenly looked up to Loki. "They made me a mental rapist for the rest of my life!" Your eyes got lost looking around the room as you realized what you just said. "Oh my god..." You covered your mouth with your hands as you started to sob uncontrollably. Loki pulled you to his chest and held you tight.

"I am so sorry this happened to you. I know it is too early for you to accept this, but just let me tell you, you are no monster. For sure not. I know what I am talking about, believe me. ... Do you want me to get your uncle here? He was forced to leave for a mission and I promised to look after you, but if you prefer his company I am sure he-"

"No, don't. Don't leave. Please." You grabbed his shirt and held on it for dear life. You didn't want to be alone again. As soon as he would leave your side you knew the horrific memories and thoughts would come back immediately. "I'm so sorry" you wept into his chest.

"It's okay. Of course I'm staying. Do not apologize my dear." He pressed you a bit closer to him.

Loki looked over to the door and was surprised to see his brother coming along the glass front and just as he wanted to open the glass door he saw the scene and stopped mid-movement, obviously confused. Loki slightly shook his head and pointed to the side, meaning him to leave. He conjured an illusion of himself a bit further away in the corridor to speak to his brother without disturbing you.

"Hello, brother."

"Loki? What is going on? Why are you holding this crying woman? Who is she? What did you do?" Thor walked out of view towards his brother's illusion.

Loki rolled his eyes before he answered "That is Y/N. I am not the reason she is in this abysmal condition. She got kidnapped and tortured by that Hydra cult over a week ago. We managed to save her, but it took us a few days. They injured her body and her soul severely. It appeared that she has empathic powers and Hydra forced them to the surface, now she is able to feel other's feelings and even to alter them only by touching them with her hands. It is hard for her to cope with that."

"By the Allfathers, that are awful news. Does she need any support from our home?"

"I don't think that would be good. Midgardian souls are different, we don't know how the effects would be on the long term."

"Yes, you are right." Thor stopped for a moment and looked Loki deeply in the eyes. "And you are comforting her?" He raised his eyebrows. "I never thought you are able of being that sensitive."

Loki sighed, "Well, brother, unlike you, obviously, I can be perfectly sensible if I want to. And again, unlike you, I know what she feels like right now. I have been in familiar situations.“ He paused talking to Thor as he said some comforting words to you. „I have to leave now, if you would excuse me."

"Of course, Loki. Let me tell you that I am as surprised as I am impressed. I am truly happy that you found a person that brings this part of you to the daylight. Farewell for now, brother." Thor wanted to leave, but stopped. “Mother would have been really proud of you.” Then he gave him a short smile before he walked through the illusion, causing it to disappear.

Now his attention was fully yours again, though the words of his brother echoed in his head. But he had no time to let that sink in, not now. He pulled away a bit and touched your chin to move it upwards, making you face him.

"Y/N, if you feel comfortable with that, I want you to know that you can tell me anything. If one day you feel like you want to talk about what happened to you in there, know that I will always be there listening. I want to help you heal. I wanted to offer that to you earlier, but I backed away."

You looked him dead in the eye, wiped over your wet face and asked him a question he was visibly surprised by.

"Why? Why do you want that? Not that I am not thankful for that, but at first you were different towards me. Cold, distant, skeptical. Now you are so sweet and caring. I just don't understand that. ...Why?" You grabbed a tissue to clean your face while you watched him writhe on the inside. But you really wanted to know that- needed to know that. You really wanted to trust him, but that question became more and more present in your subconscious. After all he did, after all that happened to him, it seemed somehow counterintuitive. You expected him to be hardened after all that, and that it would take so much time and patience to get to his core. You watched his face carefully. He went from confusion to reluctance, brushing along temper but finally settled with surrender. He closed his eyes and sighed, searching for the right words to start with. He turned to directly face you.

"I knew you were different from the first moment I saw you. There was no... contempt, no prejudice in you. Just curiosity and maybe a bit of fear", he smiled as he said that, "Every human I met by now looked at me with this certain look. This look that mirrors how I view myself and it's like a confirmation of all the evil in me. But you... And as you moved in it appeared that you really wanted to help me. And you were so... compassionate. It didn't took me long to define why I like to be around you. You met my reservedness not with impatience but with forbearance. You let me know that you actually wanted to be there with me, not like you were forced or that you had to endure my company for some other advantage or reward. It felt like you counted me getting a bit more open as your reward. You really wanted me to feel comfortable with you and offered me so many options to get closer without becoming pushy. You gave me time to think and sort out my words when we spoke; something I never did, I always have been very quick with my tongue but that led me nowhere. It is new for me to think about how my words would affect others truly. And you took everything I said serious. All that gives you such a wonderful aura, an inner glow I feel very attracted to. I didn't mean to get so close to you in such a short time, that's not my way to act. But when I saw you there, being captured and obviously tortured, I knew I have to overcome my restraint and pride and be there for you, just like you deserved it. And I knew pretty well what you would need once we got you back here. I have been in familiar situations so often in my life and I know exactly what I would have needed back then but no one was really there for me; noone who would have been able to understand. And I pushed away the very few ones that tried to. I don't want you to feel like I did and thus endanger your beautiful soul to harden. I cannot allow this to happen. Well, and that is why I am willing to give you all the comfort and intimacy you need to cope with this dreadful situation you are in. I hope my honesty will help you to trust me. And, if you allow, let me emphasize my candour." By saying that he slowly took your hand in his, your palm up, and covered it with his other hand. You audibly gasped as his emotions rushed through you. Every word he said appeared to be true, you could feel everything, he wanted you to feel it. Being confronted with so much genuineness almost overstrained you. You could do nothing but stare in his blue-green eyes. It felt like an eternity but you could not manage to let go of his hands or to look away. You noticed yourself moving towards him without knowing why. You simply wanted to be closer to him. You felt so vulnerable right now and you wanted to feel safe again. His gaze was concentrated on your eye that wasn’t patched up and suddenly his emotions changed into thrill, almost electrifying you. Both of you were a complete mess but it felt so right.

Taglist: @it-jinxed-us ​, @humbledarkness​, @lunawitch19, @redryderdesigns​

#loki #Loki Laufeyson #loki x reader #loki x female reader #loki fiction #slow burn #loki slow burn #marvel fan fiction #marvel #ptsd #ptsd mention #fanfic simple #nessa maurice