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secretswiftymarvelfan · 2 years

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The Demigod From Asgard - Steve Rogers x Reader (Part 18)

A/N: Oh look at that! A new moodboard!

Summary: You get interrogated by the World Security Council, Steve gets a haircut and teaches you about a strange holiday

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: Fluff! Little bit of Angst! Language! SLOW BURNN!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Series Masterlist / Masterlist

Chapter 18: Modernisation and a Couple Tricks

A couple days later you were walking through the halls of SHIELDs New York HQ. You could have put off talking to Fury and the security council another couple days but you’d rather get it over and done with.

“Agent, thank you for coming in” Fury says walking over and shaking your hand.

You nod your head as he leads you into a conference room. He gestures for you to sit down before hitting a button making the other members of the security council appear on the large screen.

“Thank you for coming in Agent, to start may you please explain the events in London” the British woman asks.

“Of course, the original purpose of my trip was to check on Dr Selvig, while there we discovered that reality was beginning to distort due to the convergence” you start.

“What is the convergence?” One of the men ask.

“It’s when the 9 realms pass each other, for a moment they align, and you can easily pass from one to another. During this time Dr Foster came into contact with a substance call the Aether. A powerful weapon with the capabilities to destroy the 9 realms” you explain.

“Where is this weapon now?” Fury asks.

“Safe, it has been taken to the collector for safe keeping” you answer.

“Continue please” Fury says gesturing for you to continue.

“Thor and I took Jane to Asgard to try and remove the Aether, we knew Malekith who is a dark elf wanted the Aether” you tell them.

“Is that what caused the events in London?” The lady asks.

“Yes, the original plan was to draw Malekith to the dark world where the elves were defeated before however we were unsuccessful” you answer.

“When that plan didn’t work why did you not call it in, call SHIELD or the other Avengers?” One of the men ask.

“Simply put there was not enough time, to wait any length of time would have had dire consequences” you explain with a shrug of the shoulders.

“Do you not think the damage would have been reduced or prevented with the help of your teammates?” Another asks.

“No, this was an Asgardian matter nobody would have understood it better than me and Thor. Bringing more people in would have increased the risk. In the limited time we had we did what we thought it better, you can always see a better path in hindsight but we took the one best suited at the time” you finish sitting back in your chair crossing your arms.

Looking over at Fury he smirks before turning to the security council “I think we’ve heard everything we needed to” he says cutting the feed off before they got a chance to respond.

“Congrats you just survived your first interrogation by the security council” Fury says walking over.

“Thank you, not as tedious as I thought, the interrogation by my father was much worse” you chuckle standing up.

“Really?” Fury asks eyebrow raised.

“Yeah at least here the risk of being publicly executed is next to none” you explain making fury laugh.

“Remind me never to piss off your father” Fury says as he opens the door for you.

“Now go take a couple more days off, you deserve it after saving the world again” fury tells you.

“Thank you sir” you smile before heading off.

As you made your way out of the HQ you passed the gyms. When you looked down from the observation deck you saw Nat and Steve training together. Although it looked like they were having a heated discussion.

Making your way downstairs and into the gym Nat smiles as soon as she sees you.

“Y/N I need your opinion on this” she tells you.

“What is this?” You ask.

“Steve’s hair, it’s old fashioned isn’t it?” She says pointing up to Steve who was rolling his eyes.

“I feel like you’re asking the wrong person here” you say pointing out the fact that you too weren’t from this modern world.

“Okay I know but have you seen anyone Steve’s age with a haircut like that” she asks.

You glance up at Steve thinking for a moment before smirking slightly.

“Well he’s got more hair than most 90 something year olds but they do have that kinda style” you say.

Nat bursts out laughing as Steve rolls his eyes groaning shaking his head turning his back on the two of you.

“Why aren’t you telling Y/N to get an up to date haircut?” Steve questions when he turns back towards you.

“Because she already has one, our haircuts don’t really go out of fashion” Nat explains.

Steve sighs dropping his hands to his hips shaking his head slightly before looking back over at you.

“What do you think? Jokes aside” Steve asks.

“I think maybe give it a shot, it’s only hair if you don’t like it you can grow it back. You don’t have to go anything drastic” you tell him honestly.

Steve nod his head in thought “okay, I wouldn’t even know what to ask for though” he says.

“That’s okay, look why don’t we call it a day training wise and I’ll take you to a barbers and get your hair sorted out” Nat offers.

“Guess that works” Steve says sighing in agreement.

“Great now go shower” Nat says patting Steve on the shoulder.

“Fine, we still having a movie night later?” Steve asks you.

“Yeah of course, Nat wanna join?” You ask.

“Yeah sounds great now come on cap” Nat agrees pushing Steve towards the locker rooms.

Later on in the evening you heard a knock on the apartment door. Opening it you were greeted with Nat holding a case of beer, and Steve now with shorter hair holding 3 pizza boxes.

“Oh wow you look great!” You tell steve as you let them in.

“You think so” he asks slightly uncertain running his hand through his hair.

“Definitely it really suits you, you definitely look like a man of the 21st century now” you tell him making him laugh.

“Well considering that was the plan” he chuckles as he places the pizzas down on the coffee table.

“What movie are we watching” Nat asks as she opens a beer sitting down in your arm chair.

“Titanic” Steve tells her grabbing himself a beer.

“Its a true story isn’t it” you ask sitting down.

“Kinda, there was a ship called the titanic that sunk but apparently the rest is fiction” Steve explains as he sits on the couch besides you.

“What was it like hearing the news about the ship” Nat asks Steve with a playful smirk.

“I’m not that old” Steve sighs shaking his head.

“But it was still pretty recent news” Nat counters.

“Nat I was born in 1918 a whole 6 years after it sank, in which there had been a major war. By the time I was old enough to be aware of the news the main issue was the Great Depression, and a ship sinking was old news” Steve explains making Nat hold her hands up in surrender.

“Alright alright! Just play the movie” Nat laughs as you press play.

The three of you tucked into your pizzas as you watched the movie. The movie was really good, Jack and Rose we’re definitely a very good couple. When it got to the scene where Jack painted Rose Steve choked on his beer.

Nat instantly starts laughing loudly clutching her stomach as she laughed. You too couldn’t help but chuckle at his flustered appearance.

“You alright there Rogers?” Nat smirks.

“Yeah just this wasn’t the norm back in the day” he explains clearing his throat.

“Just wait until you see Game Of Thrones” Nat smirks taking sip of her beer.

Once the movie was over Nat headed off while Steve helped you clean up the bottles and the pizza boxes.

“How did the meeting go?” Steve asks as you walked into the kitchen.

“Alright, they wanted to know why we didn’t call for help, damage control all that” you say putting the bottles in the recycling.

“Aren’t they the ones that tried to nuke New York?” Steve says raising a brow with a small scoff.

“I know, I have a feeling that they just like shifting blame and I guess a bunch of superheroes are easy targets” you sigh leaning up against the counter.

“Isn’t that just what governments are? People just shifting blame, never truly at fault” Steve says with small shrug of his shoulders.

“How are you feeling though, did you have to mention Loki and your Mother?” He asks leaning up against the counter beside you.

“No, I left those details out when talking to the council but I did mention Loki to Fury just so he knew that he wasn’t a risk anymore” you say with a shaky sigh.

Steve wraps his arm around your shoulder pulling you into a hug “I’m here if you need it” he tells you.

You look up at Steve and give him a small but sincere smile “thank you Steve that means a lot” you smile.

In the spring of 2014, Fury offered both you and Steve a new job at SHIELD. The job was at the main US HQ in Washington DC. So you and Steve moved out to DC, Fury had once again sorted everything out for you. So you didn’t need to worry about finding an apartment or anything else.

Your new apartment was actually really nice, a lot bigger than your apartment in New York. But that’s to be expected since from moving out of the big city. Another good thing was that Steve’s apartment was only a couple blocks away. Which meant you two could easily carry on your usual movie nights.

You were making your way over to his apartment since you two were had training together he had offered to drive. When you knocked on his door he quickly answered letting you in.

“Almost good to go, just gotta grab a couple things, almond?” He tells you as you walk in, pointing to a can on the side.

“Oh yeah sure” you smile grabbing the can.

As you pulled the top off the can you squeaked in surprise jumping slightly when a bunch of multi coloured streamers popped out. You look around confused before looking at Steve who was holding back a laugh.

“April fools” he laughs.

“April what?” You ask even more confused.

“It’s a holiday, well sorta, on April 1st people pull pranks on each other. I didn’t think you’d know what it was so I thought I’d just do a terrible but mild one” Steve explains picking up the can you dropped.

“You have an entire holiday based on tricking people?” You ask completely astonished.

“Yeah, I don’t know the exact origin but guess it helps cheer up what could be a monotonous year” Steve chuckles shrugging his shoulders.

“Wow, okay, well I’m glad that was never a holiday on Asgard, Loki pulled enough tricks as is” you say making Steve chuckle.

“Once when Thor and Loki were kids, Loki turn into a snake because Thor really liked snakes so when he went to admire it Loki transformed back and stabbed Thor” you tell him.

Steve looks back at you completely stunned “what is it with him and stabbing” he asks.

“A question we asked ourselves a lot” you say making Steve laugh.

“Well it’s not as intense as that I promise now come on before we’re late” Steve smiles grabbing his keys.

During training you were slightly distracted because all you could think about is what joke you could pull on Steve.

The amount of near misses was through the roof as you and Steve worked out together. You had to duck out the way of his shield a few too many times.

You had zoned out as an idea popped into your head, barely giving you time to catch the shield he’d thrown.

“You okay you’re really zoned out today” Steve asks as you pass him back his shield.

“Just trying to come up with a prank but it’s really hard, there’s a reason Loki was the god of mischief not me” you lie dropping your shoulders in defeat.

Steve chuckles shaking his head slightly “don’t then, it’s a stupid holiday anyway if you want you could just plan for next year instead” he tells you.

“Yeah I guess so, look why don’t we call it a day, I got this new movie from Maria to watch wanna join?” You ask setting the plan in motion.

“Sure why not, what movie is it?” He asks as you walk towards the locker rooms.

“I can’t remember the exact name but it was filmed during the war, kinda like a documentary in a way” you explain.

“Oh okay yeah sounds cool” Steve smiles before heading into the male locker room.

You smirk to yourself before quickly heading off to find Maria. You had a movie to borrow, one you really hoped she had otherwise your plan was not gonna work.

When you and Steve got back to your apartment you gave him the task of making popcorn and grabbing drinks while you quickly put the DVD in.

“Ready?” You smile as he sits down passing you a beer.

“Ready” he agrees taking a sip of his beer.

You hit play and settle back down into the couch. When the drumroll starts you see Steve furrow his brows in confusion. Then the singing starts and he lets out a loud groan dropping his head back as the Star Spangled Man With A Plan starts.

You start laughing hysterically, you had never actually seen this before you’d only heard others mention it. So watching the line of chorus girls in red white and blue all singing cap’s tune was easily one of the best things you’ve seen.

Then the man himself appeared on screen, Steve groaning one more hiding behind his hands.

“Nooo!” He groans shaking his head “how on earth did you get this!” He exclaims.

“Shush I wanna hear it all!” You laugh scolding him.

You watched as Steve gave his little speech about buying war bonds before punching a guy dressed as Hitler. The song starts up again and you start dancing along in your seat.

“Oh god, no stop!” He laughs watching you through the gaps in his fingers.

When the video finally stops and Steve drops his hands, his shoulders sagged as he looked at you defeated. A small smirk playing at his lips.

“How? What? I’m lost for words” he chuckles shaking his head at you.

“Revenge is a dish best served cold or should I say frozen?” You smirk making a large snowflake appear in your hand.

“You are evil, actually evil” Steve laughs shaking his head at you.

“Seriously though where did you get that?” He asks pointing to the TV.

“I told you, it was from Maria, they had it in the archives” you explain grabbing your beer and taking a large sip.

“That means Tony probably has it too then, shit” he curses making you gasp playfully.

“Language Captain” you laugh shaking your head at him.

“I’m a soldier from the 40s doll what else do you expect” he laughs grabbing a throw cushion and hitting you with it.

“Oh so you’re not Mr virtuous and righteous?” You laugh throwing the cushion back at him.

“Only around the team, I’ve got a reputation to uphold” he smirks.

“Well your secret is safe with me” you laugh.

“Thank fuck” he says making you gasp again laughing as you hit him playfully.

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lokifantasies · 3 years

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Accusations (Loki/Reader)

You return home from your business trip, and Loki has some suspicions.

You decided to stay a couple extra days in London – wanting to enjoy some private time before heading back to your fiancé and children, but when Loki picks you up from the airport, he can't help but notice that you're constantly smiling at your phone, and when he tries to catch a glance of what has you smiling so much, you lock the screen and act like you weren't looking at anything. Loki doesn't question it – not wanting to overreact over something if it's truly nothing. Maybe you just saw a funny meme or something. Later that evening, however, his worrying gets the best of him, and as the two of you are cuddling in bed, your phone lights up. Like before, you keep him from seeing the screen, but when he audibly scoffs, you put your phone down and turn over to look at him.

"Something wrong?" you ask – curious as to why he's so angry.

Loki glances towards your phone. "Let me see your phone," he orders.

You're offended at his demand. "Um...no," you chuckle in disbelief. Loki moves quickly

and reaches over to your nightstand – grabbing your phone, but he lets it go when you slap him in the face. "What the fuck is your problem?!" you yell at him.

The God of Mischief is angry – his eyes filled with doubt and rage. "You're cheating on me," he flatly accuses you. "Don't try to deny it. Someone's been making you smile and giggle all day. Who is it?"

Your mouth drops at his accusation, but you refuse to let him see the heartache he just caused you. Instead, you do your best to show the anger that lies underneath. Without a word, you get out of the bed and try to take yourself to the living room – preferring to sleep on the sofa rather than with Loki. The god, however, quickly cuts you off and keeps you from leaving. Soon after, the tough facade is gone, and you begin to let your tears fall.

"How could you ever think that?" you manage to whisper through your sobs.

"It wouldn't be the first time you've cheated on someone," Loki answers carelessly. At those words, you begin to punch him in the chest – knowing it won't do anything to hurt him, but still wanting to show him how angry he's made you. "Just tell me who the fuck it is."

You scoff – shaking your head in disbelief that he's actually doing this. "You really wanna know who's been making me smile and giggle all day?" you ask – quickly opening up your phone to let him read the message. "Thor," you tell him. At first he's angry, but as he scrolls through the messages, his face begins to change, and his eyes fill with regret. "He went and picked up your fucking wedding ring that I had made for you. Thanks for ruining the surprise, asshole." Loki doesn't say anything – knowing that he deserves all the harsh words you throw at him. "I can't fucking believe you."

You take your phone back and look at the wedding band one more time. It's a black band with a gold outline and green emeralds evenly spaced around it.

"I...I'm sorry," he weakly apologizes – earning nothing more than a laugh from you. You feel disgusted with him.

"So am I," you hiss – sliding the engagement ring off your finger and slamming it against his chest before walking out of the bedroom and into the living room for a horrible night alone.

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#mischievous life #loki fanfic #dad!loki #loki fandom #loki x reader #loki x you #loki family #requests open #send requests #angry loki #loki angst

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nettlestonenell · 4 years

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Enola Holmes in Review

Gentle Readers:

1. I did not plan to watch Enola Holmes

2. I do not/have not watched Stranger Things, and my entire concept of Millie Bobby Brown as a human is encapsulated in the occasional errant tumblr post, and a line of eyewear she apparently has created, posters for which hang at my glasses-provider.

3. I had never heard of the YA novels about Enola Holmes

There she is!

Yes, I do tend to enjoy nearly any incarnation of Sherlock Holmes. And, yes, I am often surprised by this fact. For some reason, Holmes, unlike, say, Chris Evans as Cap or Chris Hemsworth as Thor [instances where I can’t really imagine enjoying anyone else in the role] I am always interested to see someone else’s [writer and actor and director]’s take on him. *Subtle shout-out to James D’Arcy’s 2002 turn in A Case of Evil.

Mr. Jarvis! [and there was Vincent D’Onofrio and opium!!]

And yet, watching the Enola Holmes trailer [no doubt b/c of tumblr], and yes, admittedly not unmoved [we are not made of stone] by Cavill’s Curls™ the delight I felt in watching that advert led me to start informing my family that on September 23rd what I was going to be doing was enjoying Enola Holmes on Netflix [and anyone else was free to join me].

Someone important is missing from this picture

And what a delight it was. In the run-up to its debut I read more than a few reviews of the film [and, I think, every one of them written by men], some of which struck me as simply coming from a place of mean-spiritedness, yet none—even the positive reviews—preparing me for how ENJOYABLE this film is.

I’m not going to provide a full review point-by-point here, b/c the film involves cases to be solved (no, none of them are overwhelmingly complex—YA novel--, so all the more reason not to spoil any pay-offs). But I do have some things to talk about.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM – And what a nice, nice elephant it is! Henry Cavill as Holmes is, in my opinion an absolute delight of a performance. From the moment he first says Enola’s name (a perfectly-rendered reaction to the moment playing out) this Holmes fits into this Greatest Showman-like version of Victorian England, where no one’s too dirty no matter how poor, and where despite a flaming red dress, cut too low for daytime wear, young Enola is never once mistaken for a working girl. [Again, YA novel] As other reviewers have noted, HC is, well, Cut and Bulked Out, and in his highly tailored frock coats well, strapping is too light a description word. *not a complaint. Cavill’s Curls are out and proud and here to tell us that we are meant to be Having Fun, and Gentle Readers—THEY DO NOT LIE.

No, not a priest’s collar where he is undercover (though I had thought so)

In fact, you could absolutely write your thesis statement on this film, that it’s really a fraternal, familial love story between Sherlock and Enola. Sherlock is the character during the two hours that actually changes. [Yes, Enola comes to an understanding about herself, and her circumstances change repeatedly—but it is Sherlock who experiences a Change of Heart/Reversal].

Raise your hand if you’re totally here for significantly older brother/significantly youngest sister family love!

HOW I WOULD DESCRIBE IT – This might in no way be helpful, but, Enola Holmes is basically The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles...

Where have you gone, Sean Patrick Flanery?

a YA historical storyline that’s written adjacent to [there, famous people] here, enduring fictional characters. It’s adventurous and pleasantly immersive, historical morays are given a slap-dash portrayal, rather than a fully-accurate representation, there’s adventures to be had, and side-characters to be converted into caring about the title character as much as we, the audience, do.

LUCY HONEYCHURCH – Yes, that gorgeous girl from Windy Corner. The timeline doesn’t jibe, but I daresay Helena Bonham Carter (back in a corset—though she may have worn those for Bellatrix) as Eudoria Holmes *IS* what Lucy Honeychurch might well have become beyond A Room with a View’s end. Bonham Carter looks absolutely at home here (period films have sorely missed her! –she had a part in 2015’s Suffragette), and still wears the trappings of Victorian England like a second skin.

Not to mention that she now join my personal comfort-list of on-screen mothers with the likes of 1997’s Little Women Susan Sarandon and Cinderella’s Hayley Atwell.

FAMILY ISSUES OR PLOT HOLES?

It’s a fair question. There’s a lot going on in this plot, some of which...seem solvable. Why has it been so very long since the Holmes brothers have seen their own mother? And sister? How could the woman we come to know as Eudoria raise a Mycroft? [see also, Molly Weasley?] Why aren’t people who seem to care about Enola more engaged with saving her from all the dangers London throws in her way? Why does Enola accept several acts of violence aimed at her, why does she in certain instances Do What She Is Told? Rather than chalk these up to plot holes or convenient devices, I’m siding with the Holmes family being dysfunctional [who knows what dad was like? We’re certainly not told here].

[clears throat]

The conversations between Mycroft and Sherlock barely skim the surface of any subject they interact on. Classic dysfunction: distancing one’s true self from human interaction b/c keeping the peace supersedes all else.

Enola accepts certain treatments b/c if we really do watch her relationship with her mother, there is an element of something amiss—as I will declare the later abandonment shows. Enola is a child used to being elevated and celebrated on one hand, and shut out and isolated on the other. Her parent has informed her about so much, but essentially locked her away in a false reality, where Enola is not taken to see the world, nor taught how to interact in it (which is explicitly stated). Perhaps it is not so surprising that the Holmes’ brothers have not cared overly much for visiting their remaining family. And when repeatedly confronted with a minor child (and yet a child likely though old enough or about so, to be married off) being forced to endure things diametrically opposed to her will—the brothers’ reactions are stoic, the system they accept as to how life must be lived immoveable and morally right simply by its very existence.

MILLIE BOBBY BROWN – THE STAR – In what has to be an Emmy-nomination-deserving turn, MBB is nothing short of wholly in charge of the screen. She never overpowers the story. She’s as loveable as Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping, and as ready for her closeup as Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games. As another review mentioned, she handles the 4th wall breaks in such as way as we look forward to the next time she’s going to talk to us. We ache with her sorrow for her lost mom, and rage with her at the adults in her life choosing wrongly for her future—or simply not choosing at all.

A random observation, but one that feels important to me: her HAIR. Yes! They’ve managed to make a late Victorian-era film where the heroine’s hair looks like real hair that someone really styled (or in some scenes, didn’t). And yet, where the hair looks proper for the time. [wild applause]

COMPLAINTS: Well, in honesty there aren’t any. If you want to complain that there isn’t any dirt, that the evil of the world (I mean, c’mon, this is narrowly post-Dickensian London, here) is neutered, that the adults in question seem neither alarmed enough or emboldened enough at either their mother or sister being missing and possibly out of their depths in a dangerous society without protection, and in Enola’s case real-world skills--? Well, I’m certainly not going to disagree with you. This is YA Victorian London, after all, not Ripper Street. There is also neither a hint of or actual threat of sexual violence at any point in the film. But the lack of that has preserved us from having to sit through that, as well as no doubt lectures about how Enola’s virtue might be spoilt and she might become useful to no man.

The relationships are appropriate, too. Despite strides between Enola and certain adults in the film, by the time the credits roll they’re not showing physical affection toward each other (a move that would have seemed over-the-top), and teen relationships are shown progressing at a reasonable and mutedly awkward pace.

Now, Netflix, green-light me five more films (or more). There’s still a new version of John Watson to meet, after all!

#enola holmes #netflix enola holmes #millie bobby brown #henry cavill #helena bonham carter #SUCH A GOOD TIME!#universally well-liked!

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abundanceofsoph · 4 years

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SkyFire 1: Chapter 20

On the Road Again & Art Galleries

Word count: 2.6k

SkyFire 1 MASTERLIST

>Instagram posts

The first half of 2015 flew by. Aurora was flat out not only with her course work at Columbia, but she also managed to secure a small gallery space and was spending every spare moment painting, in an attempt to finish the series, she intended to show at the end of May. Harry and the boys started the On the Road Again tour in February with their shows in Australia, and with Zayn shocking them all by leaving the band in March, he was also feeling the stress of the first few months of the year. Following a show in Dubai at the start of April, the band took a two month break to write their next album and in the wake of Zayn’s departure, the boys made the decision to stick together during the writing process and flew to New York to write with Aurora. All four of the guys moved into their own floor of the tower and spent most of their days set up in Aurora’s recording studio, writing and recording demos to send to their team. The time off for the group was much needed and they enjoyed being able to kick back and relax with Aurora’s family while working on the album, something they had not had the opportunity to do for their previous albums given that they had all been written and recorded while on the road for touring. Aurora tried to split her time well between her obligations, setting aside enough time to study, paint for her upcoming gallery show and also working on the writing process with the guys. Harry also enjoyed being able to split his time while staying in the tower; he and the boys would all join Steve in the gym every morning and eating dinner with the entire team every evening. Harry felt comfortable in the tower and after more than a year together, he considered Rori’s home as his own, just as he hoped she felt comfortable in his and he would often roam the common floor while the band took a break, spending time with various members of the Avengers team. While the boys would usually turn in from bed around 11pm every night, Harry would have to pull his girlfriend from her art studio well after midnight every night, forcing her to get some sleep. Finally, a busy month and a half, Aurora sat her final exam for the school year and her paintings were completed and ready for the opening of her show.

Harry met her at the gallery space in the afternoon, the day before the opening night, watching on as she instructed staff as to where each of the 18 pieces should hang and he felt so incredibly proud of her. She’d worked so hard on each painting and to see them all hung together allowed him to finally see the theme she had running through the entire series that she had been explaining to him for the last few weeks.

“It’s going to be a hit,” he told her once the last canvas was hanging in its place. “Everyone is going to love it.”

“I hope you're right,” she said. “I just want people see what I’m trying to do here and not just think I’m trying to capitalize on the family.”

xXx

The Gallery show opened 3 days later and Aurora felt an immense sense of pride in her work as she watched people walk around, taking in her paintings. Her dads were both walking through the crowd, talking with guests about how great the paintings were, as were the Harry’s 3 bandmates. Aurora was feeling incredibly grateful for how supportive her friends and family were and she felt herself getting quite emotional. Harry, who was standing next to her, noticed her starting to sniffle and placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her to look at him.

“You ok?” he asked, looking her in the eye.

“Just a little overwhelmed by the response,” Rori replied, taking a deep breath to calm her emotions. “It doesn’t feel real.”

“You deserve all of this love,” Harry told her, hugging her tight against him, her cheek cushioned against his chest as they both watched the guests wander around the space, taking in the art on the wall. “You’re incredible,” he whispered.

Aurora looked across the gallery, taking in the 18 canvases on the exposed brick walls. Each work was made up of a pair a canvases, hanging next to each other with a metre gap between each pair and the next. The first pair was made up of a painting of the Iron Man armour and on it’s matching canvas there was a painting of her father cooking pasta in the kitchen. The next pair of canvases similarly showed the two apposing sides of her Pops, with one painting depicting Captain America in his full uniform, while the other showed Steve standing by an easel, paint splatted on his white undershirt and a soft smile on his face. The rest of the series continued along the same theme, showing each member of the Avengers team as the superhero the world new and the family member that Aurora loved; Clint was laughing as he threw balls of paper at the back of Sam’s head, Bruce was mid-yoga pose, Nat was dancing, Thor was playing video games, Sam was laying on his bed listening to music with his headphones on, and Bucky was reading a book.

The last pair of canvases showed the team assembled together on the left, as if preparing for battle and on the right, they were all collapsed on sofas, bean bags and recliners, staring off at an unseen flat screen tv out of frame. The overall effect of the series was clear, or so Aurora hoped. No person was one thing; identity was multifaceted and complicated and different people saw different aspects of everyone’s identity. Aurora hoped that the collection would encourage people to view those around them as multifaceted individuals with hopes and dreams and families and insecurities. Since becoming a public figure 3 years ago this was something that had plagued Aurora’s mind; to so many people on the internet she was the one thing they believed her to be. For some that was a privileged white girl, for others she was just a song writer, while others saw her merely as the girlfriend of Harry Styles or the daughter of Tony Stark. In truth she was all of those things, but she was also a normal girl, who grew up in a tiny apartment above a London pub, she was the product of a single mother who worked every day of her life to give her daughter the best life she could, and she was also so much more. That was the message she hoped this show would portray, the mark she hoped to leave on those who came to view her work, to imagine people complexly.

xXx

Following the second week of Aurora’s art show, she flew out with the boys for Cardiff, Wales for the start of the next leg of their tour on the 5th of June. The day of the first show, Aurora was sitting in the green room, waiting for the boys to come back from one of their many media obligations. She was drawing while she waited, periodically picking up her phone to see if any other critics had reviewed her show. It felt weird for her to not be there for the final two weeks, but she wanted to be there with Harry. She’d spent months looking forward to her chance to spend the summer with him and the boys and she knew she’d made the right choice to come on tour now given everything that had happened at the end of their last set of shows. Her art was in safe hands and she trusted Pepper to coordinate its safe return to the tower after the show came to an end, so she decided to put it aside in her head and focus her attention on being there on tour and present in the moment.

When the boys returned to the green room, she was struck again by how weird it was for there only to be the four of them now and she frowned. The entire time she had known Harry it had been him and the four boys, but now for Zayn to be gone, she still didn’t quite understand. She remembered when Harry had called her from the road, the night that Zayn had walked out on them. He’d been in tears and her heart had broken as she stayed on the phone with him for hours, promising that it would be ok. That no matter what happened with the band, that she would be there, and he would be ok. They had talked about restructuring songs, splitting up Zayn’s parts between the four of them and after they’d hung up, she had cried. While she and Zayn had not been best friends like she was with Louis, and they hadn’t gotten along quite as easily as she did with Liam or Niall, she had still grown to think of him as her brother, as she had with all of them. He was always quieter than the others and sometimes when the chaos of the tour had become just a little too much, the two of them would hide away somewhere quiet to relax and decompress. She’d tried to call him a few days after he’d left, but he’d ignored her call, probably assuming that she would have sided with Harry, like a child having to pick which parent to live with after the divorce. In truth she’d just wanted to make sure her friend was ok. It had been months now and she still hadn’t heard from him. She’d sent texts and twitter dm’s, trying to explain that she just wanted to talk and that she missed him, but it had all gone unanswered. The only contact any of them had had with him since March had been when Louis had argued with him on twitter in April. All of this was running through her head as the boys piled into the green room, flopping down on sofas and attempting to relax before they were needed on stage in a little over an hour. Harry placed a kiss on her cheek as he walked past her towards where Lou was waiting to fix his hair for the show.

“You look like something’s bothering you,” Liam said, sitting down beside her and casually throwing an arm across the back of the sofa she was curled up on.

“I’m good,” Rori replied with a small smile.

“No, you’re not,” Liam pressed, his eyes flicking around the room to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. “Talk to me.”

“Just feels weird, doesn’t it?” Rori whispered, her eyes also glancing to the others, not wanting to upset anyone. “I still don’t really understand what happened and it just doesn’t really feel right that he’s not here.”

“Yeah,” Liam sighed. “It feels wrong, but we’ve got to keep moving. We might never really know why he did it, but we’ve just got to work with what we’ve got now and try to make it work.”

“I’m sorry I brought it up,” Rori said, noticing Liam’s eyes were now a little misty with unshed tears.

“It’s ok Rori,” Liam replied, smiling softly as he wrapped his arms around her. “We’ve got to be able to lean on each other, right?”

“Oi!” Harry yelled with a laugh. “Get your mitts off my girl.”

“Sharing is caring,” Rori joked, laughing loudly when Harry pulled her to her feet and out of Liam’s arms. “Rude!” she giggled, kissing his cheek. She looked back at Liam, glad to see that Harry’s joke had broken the sombre mood they had slipped into, even if he didn’t know that’s what he’d done.

xXx

Despite missing a member, the tour was a success, continuing on much like the previous one had and after the first few shows, Aurora found that it felt just like old times. They travelled across Europe and along the west coast and into Canada, recording and finalising the new album. Aurora even recorded the piano track for If I Could Fly, a song that she had written with Harry late one night when they’d stayed up in the studio after the others had turned in for the night.

Something she often did with tracks she wrote for other artists was to record her own version and a few months after they released their track, she would release her version on her YouTube channel; a series she called The Demo Tapes. She had writing credit on almost every track on the new album, but after talking about it with the boys, they had decided that If I Could Fly, should be the track for her to record given that it was so personal to both her and Harry, so one afternoon in late August the two had set themselves up with the bands producers to record a duet of the song, filming the recording process to use for the music video in addition to the footage Aurora already had of playing the song on her grand piano back in New York. Singing with Harry was always one of her favourite things and being able to sing their song together filled her heart with so much love for the curly haired man standing on the other side of the microphone, his headphones pushing his long curls back from his face.

“What do you say we give the whole thing one last run through love? From the top?” Harry asked her once they were told they had everything. “One just for us?”

She returned his smile, adjusting her headphones. “Let’s do it,” she said, clearing her throat before the familiar sound of her keys filled their ears.

[Harry – Aurora – both]

If I could fly I'd be coming right back home to you I think I might give up everything, just ask me to Pay attention, I hope that you listen Cause I let my guard down Right now I'm completely defenceless For your eyes only, I show you my heart For when you're lonely and forget who you are I'm missing half of me when we're apart Now you know me, for your eyes only For your eyes only I've got scars, even though they can't always be seen And pain gets hard, but now you're here and I don't feel a thing Pay attention, I hope that you listen cause I let my guard down Right now I'm completely defenceless For your eyes only, I show you my heart For when you're lonely and forget who you are I'm missing half of me when we're apart Now you know me, for your eyes only For your eyes only I can feel your heart inside of mine (I feel it, I feel it) I've been going out of my mind (I feel it, I feel it) Know that I'm just wasting time And I Hope that you don't run from me For your eyes only, I show you my heart For when you're lonely And forget who you are I'm missing half of me When we're apart Now you know me, for your eyes only For your eyes only, I show you my heart For when you're lonely and forget who you are I'm missing half of me when we're apart Now you know me, for your eyes only For your eyes only For your eyes only

As the final notes faded out, Harry stepped around the microphone and swept Aurora into his arms, kissing her deeply as they both forgot about everyone else in the room, or the camera set up on the tripod to record the process.

NEXT CHAPTER

OR CONTINUE READING ON AO3

#skyfire #skyfire fic #aurora stark #dad!tony #iron dad #step dad steve rogers #stony #stony fic #boyfriend harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #superfamily #harry styles #tony stark

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cutereylochan · 5 years

Photo

𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟏𝟎 𝐋𝐨𝐰 𝐊𝐞𝐲/ 𝐑𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

1. 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓌𝑜𝑜𝒹 ( 𝒫𝑒𝑔𝑔𝓎 𝒞𝒶𝓇𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓍 𝒟𝑜𝓉𝓉𝒾𝑒 𝒰𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓌𝑜𝑜𝒹 )

►Dottie’s fascination and interest for Peggy to me is definitely a dangerous woman in love with a tough and independent kind of woman without a doubt. The way Dottie looks at Peggy every time they interact, is absolutely beautiful. Yeah she may be psychotic but god I wanna see more scenes of Dottie teaming up with Peggy. Dottie’s a Catwoman to her Batm-- I mean Batwoman’s Peggy.

2. 𝑒𝒹𝒶𝓃𝒶 (𝐸𝒹𝓌𝒾𝓃 𝒥𝒶𝓇𝓋𝒾𝓈 𝓍 𝒜𝓃𝒶 𝒥𝒶𝓇𝓋𝒾𝓈)

►The relationship between Edwin Jarvis and his wife is so sweet and precious that I can’t get enough of their adorableness between them as husband and wife. I mean who doesn’t hate them being together as a married couple.

3. 𝒾𝓇𝑜𝓃𝓈𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒 (𝒯𝑜𝓃𝓎 𝒮𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓀 𝓍 𝒮𝓉𝑒𝓅𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝒮𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒)

►Ever since Doctor Strange came out, I’ve always wanted to see Stephen S. teaming up with Tony Stark in battle. And it did at the Infinity war, the chemistry between Stephen and Tony is undeniably amazing and them being together is seriously a love/hate relationship from the way they argue then the next both agreed in each other’s decisions.

4. 𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓁𝑒𝓃 (𝒮𝓉𝑒𝓋𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝑔𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝓍 𝐻𝑒𝓁𝑒𝓃 𝒞𝒽𝑜)

►This pairing is definitely to me, the rarest of the mcu pairings that deserves to be in the spotlight. They only had a few interactions during the events of AoU though I can’t help but secretly love it when Steve was the only Avenger here who saves Helen not once but twice, one at the Avengers tower when an iron legion was about to kill Helen but was quickly saved by Steve with the help of Thor then second at the U-GIN facility where Steve rescues Helen again, tending her wounds. I mean c’mon, wouldn’t it be kind of sweet if these two are together as a couple? A love story between a soldier and a doctor? I honestly think in my opinion they would’ve been a cute pairing though it is unlikely to most of the Steve R. stans and others loving Helen being a sweet mama to Vision from which I somehow found it a bit weird.

5. 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓊𝓇𝒶 (𝒞𝓁𝒾𝓃𝓉 𝐵𝒶𝓇𝓉𝑜𝓃 𝓍 𝐿𝒶𝓊𝓇𝒶 𝐵𝒶𝓇𝓉𝑜𝓃)

►They are the couple that no one ever expected. It is revealed in Avengers: Age of Ultron that Clint has been married to Laura for his whole career with SHIELD. They live on a farm and have three children together. I know a lot of people didn’t like their relationship because we never saw it develop on screen. I really enjoyed it. I love that Clint is able to have a normal and stable life outside of SHIELD and the Avengers. He has a family to give him a reason to fight and to come home at the end of missions. Laura is very supportive of Clint’s role as an Avenger. She tells him the team needs him to keep them down to earth. I think they are the normal pairing that they MCU needed.

6. 𝒷𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓉𝓎 (𝐵𝓇𝓊𝒸𝑒 𝐵𝒶𝓃𝓃𝑒𝓇 𝓍 𝐵𝑒𝓉𝓉𝓎 𝑅𝑜𝓈𝓈)

►Bruce and Betty were really good together. I love that Betty loved Bruce even after discovering that he was the Hulk. I love that she wasn’t afraid of him and that she was ready to run with him where ever he wanted to go. She even turned her back on her father after his actions forced Bruce to have to go on the run. Both of them deserve to be together as one of the MCU couples. I really wish the MCU would have brought Betty back as Bruce’s love interest. She was the only woman he ever had a true connection with.

7. 𝒪'𝓀𝒶𝒷𝒾 (𝒪'𝓀𝑜𝓎𝑒 𝓍 𝒲'𝓀𝒶𝒷𝒾)

►O’koye and W’kabi’s relationship is one of the things that I am horribly invested and how two reticent people who are so in love with wakanda they dedicate their lives to it. Yes, they both have different opinions when it comes to protecting their country yet they both love each other no matter how much they had their differences. However, It’s just highly likely they won’t ever be the same again after the events of the movie. All because of W’Kabi’s shortsightedness. Though I honestly got sweetened from the way they say “my love” to one another.

8. 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓃 (𝒟𝒶𝓇𝒸𝓎 𝐿𝑒𝓌𝒾𝓈 𝓍 𝐼𝒶𝓃 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓉𝒽𝒷𝓎)

►Their relationship at first is professional, kind of like a student helping another student out for their project of some sort. But during the battle of the dark elves in London where Ian unexpectedly saves Darcy then both had a random “My Hero” moment together and kissed. I gotta admit they’re kind of cute together. I mean, a romantic relationship between a very sweet boy and a very impulsive girl reminds me of a high school anime with a genre of romantic drama.

9. 𝒿𝒶𝑔𝑔𝒾𝑒 (𝒥𝒾𝓂 𝒫𝒶𝓍𝓉𝑜𝓃 𝓍 𝑀𝒶𝑔𝑔𝒾𝑒 𝐿𝒶𝓃𝑔)

►Jim and Maggie’s relationship is one of the most amazing things I have seen in Ant-man and the Wasp when it comes to their relationship with Scott Lang. Maggie and Scott treat each other respectfully as you would another adult and parental figure. She accepted him still being part of Maggie’s family despite her having remarried. These are not two people harping on each other and trying to find flaws and faults. No, the two people who care about each other and trust each other and have each other’s backs. Jim and Scott on the other hand, had a frenemy rocky relationship in the first film but then got along very well as a family together with Maggie and Cassie. How many movies would have gone the route of ex-husband and ex-wife still fighting and being angry or controlling or jealous? When is the last time mainstream movies have allowed two divorced people to simply just be amicable and supportive? Jim and Maggie to me are the relationship goals when it comes to making a truce with their exes and be friends with them.

10. 𝓇𝒶𝓂𝒻𝓊𝓇𝓎 (𝑀𝒶𝓇𝒾𝒶 𝑅𝒶𝓂𝒷𝑒𝒶𝓊 𝓍 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝓀 𝐹𝓊𝓇𝓎)

►The two only a few interactions with Carol but I can’t help love them being together as buddies. Both giving each other fist bumps after successfully eliminating one of Yon-Rogg’s cronies. I don’t consider them as a couple but wouldn’t be interesting if they are?

𝙃𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙈𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨:

► 𝓘𝓻𝓸𝓷𝔀𝓲𝓷𝓰 (𝒟𝒶𝓃𝓃𝓎 𝑅𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓍 𝒞𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒲𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝐼𝓇𝑜𝓃 𝐹𝒾𝓈𝓉)

► 𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓼𝓸𝓷 (𝒮𝒶𝓂 𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓍 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝒾𝒶 𝐻𝒾𝓁𝓁)

► 𝓻𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓵𝔂 (𝑅𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝒷𝑒𝓇𝓉𝓈 𝓍 𝒜𝓁𝑜𝓎𝓈𝒾𝓊𝓈 𝒮𝒶𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇𝓁𝓎 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒜𝑔𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒞𝒶𝓇𝓉𝑒𝓇)

► 𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓵𝓲𝔃 (𝒫𝑒𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓀𝑒𝓇 𝓍 𝐿𝒾𝓏 𝒯𝑜𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒮𝓅𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓃: 𝐻𝑜𝓂𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔)

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hariboowrites · 6 years

Text

IW coda (2/2)

PART 1

SUMMARY: THOR AND JANE FOCUSED CODA TO IW bc i am who i am

She pops out on the ashes of a battlefield and realises her mistake.

“Halt!” She hears and wince. No, now she realises her mistake.

“Fuck,” Jane mutters, spinning in place, her hands up, as she comes face to face with Wakandan soldiers. They’re all pointing their spears at her and Jane yelps. “Sorry! I’m human! I’m— I’m Dr. Jane Foster. Your princess invited me here?”

The soldiers raise their eyebrows, unbelieving, and Jane can’t fault them. She only met Princess Shuri once at one of Jane’s lectures in Brussels not long after Wakanda opened itself to the world. She had handed Jane a very cool touch screen business card that Jane had tried to reverse engineer for about a month. She hadn’t manage.

I should have called first, Jane thinks, but the words that come out of her mouth are: “I have this!” And she digs into one of her jacket pockets and pulls out the card in question. Swiping her fingers across the screen, an image emerges from it with Princess Shuri’s face.

“Dr. Foster, I’d love to speak more with you about your Foster Theory. Please feel free to get in contact with me when your schedule allows. The details will be on the card. Bye!”

They look at each other, sigh, and lowered their spears.

Jane grins.

And this is why she never empties her pockets, Darcy.

In front of them the remaining ruling body of Wakanda are holding court with Rogers and Colonel Rhodes. Rhodes has just taken a call with Queen Regent Romanda and the remaining world council. Less than half of them remain; General Ross is gone. Thor watched as Bruce twisted his fingers together and mouthed a name. His hands fisted on his trousers. Natasha’s eyes flicked towards him. The name had not been Natasha’s. Thor knows little about what was happening between them as when he was last on Midgard he had been splitting his time between New York and where Jane was.

Jane…

Her memory burns deeply in him. Her home based had moved from London to Edinburgh not long after Convergence, but institutions around the world were constantly calling her to work with them. It had been an interesting way to see the world. The thought brings a sharp ache in his heart. When he left they had been on tense but good terms despite what he implied to Loki, but he lost Jane too. Maybe more fully than he ever allowed himself to think. She could be gone now, like half the world, like half the universe, and every time he let his thoughts stray that way, he has to stop himself.

As Her Majesty and Rhodes continue their meeting with various world leaders, Queen Romanda offers Wakanda’s assistance. Her son was King until an hour ago, as he’s come to understand, and now she stands, straight backed, eyes wise, and heart most certainly broken. Thor tries not think of his mother, tries not think of how she looked after Loki’s first death. He thinks about he’s selfishly glad she did not have to live through his following two and Father’s. Or how she would have felt about Hela’s return. He can’t think on that, not now, not when Thanos lives and half the universe is gone. M’baku stands next to the Queen as she and Rhodes coordinate to bring Midgard back into balance. Families are gone, friends are gone, but so are many world leader and their governing bodies. In the aftermath, shock will reign, but once things settle down… good people have remained, but so have greedy and cruel people. Thanos did not better the universe, he only created instability in an already finely balanced scale. He did not understand. Thor only understands now as he watches the ashes fall.

Soon, he leaves the meeting room with Rogers, Romanoff, Banner, Rocket, Princess Shuri, and her guard. They follow the Princess, her eyes still red rimmed and pulling at Thor’s heartstrings, to her lab. Rocket clambers up Thor’s cape and settles quiet on his shoulder. Thor allows him. No father should lose his son. Once they reach the lab, he jumps down and curls up by a window. The Wakandans look at the talking racoon with wide eyes, but easy acceptance. The world they lived in now was not one were you could dismissed an ally, strange, small, and angry as they might be.

Rogers and Romanoff stand near each other. Okoye does not move more than five feet from the princess’ side. Banner hovers and paces across the room. At one point Natasha’s phone beeped and she looked down to it before moving to talk to Okoye about something.

So even now, in a room with allies and friends, Thor feels so completely alone. Useless in a way he never has before. Strombreaker pulses differently in his hand than Mljonir did. It harnesses his power differently, requires more from him. He guesses it’s a good thing that in the last fortnight his powers have been raging high within him.

Speaking off, he feels them now. Bubbling under his fingertips. He clenches his hand, fingernails biting into his skin. Thinking of home and Loki and Jane has not done any good to his temperament. He tries to think of Krog and Valkyrie and the remaining Asgardians who made it off the ship. He hopes they’ve found safe harbour. He hopes that with Asgard already gone, it’s population already halved by Thanos, the universe was kind to them and spared them all. Asgard indeed lives in the heart of its people, but if there are no people to keep its beat alive the Asgard is truly gone. The thought makes him hate Thanos more than he thought possible, it makes him hate Hela who if not for all the secrets in his family he may have loved. Something dark and bitter in him thinks they would have been well suited to each other. Goddess of Death and the warlord who courted it.

“Thor? Thor?”

Snapping back to the present, Thor turns. Rogers looks at him with kind, understanding eyes. Thor straightens. The captain’s empathy always shines clear in this eyes. “I am sorry, my mind drifted away from me.”

He nods, “It’s okay. We were just wondering… can you get us to Thanos?”

Thor considers this. He lifts Strombreaker. “I do not have Heimdall’s power of Sight across the universe. I cannot find someone who is where I don’t know, but I can get us off planet should we need to.”

Banner makes his turn around the room. “We have to find Tony too… I mean, if he’s—“

“We’ll find him,” Rogers says. Thor wishes he could sound as confident as him. Everything in him is struggling to keep it together. “And then we’ll find Thanos—“ The name sparks new anger in him, his fingers light up.

Everyone looks at him. Rocket lifts his head for the first time in a while. “You okay, big guy?”

Thor nods. He is not, but he has to be.

He has to be.

“You sure—“

His fingers spark.

Natasha gets cut off as a pair of guards enter the room.

“Okoye, Princess, there is a woman who—“

“Thor!”

Jane’s voice rings out and everything inside him stops. His focus narrows on her and her face as she turns the corner. She pushes past the guards that were flanking her and rushes across the room to him. He notes they go and stop her, and tenses, ready to intervene, but Okoye catches their eye and nods at them. They stand down.

It’s the most natural thing in the world to catch her in his arms and wrap his arms around her. His power immediately settles back into his skin at the feel of her weight under his hands. Jane’s arms are tight around his neck and he clutches her, her feet skimming off the ground. If she feels the remainder of the sparks in his fingers she says nothing; she’s familiar with the edges of his power anyway. He can feel the whisper of his name against his neck. How her body relaxes into his, her relief physical. His own body echoes it. The tightness in chest diminishes slightly. He buries his face in her hair for a second before pulling back to look into her eyes.

They are familiar and shining. He lifts one hand from her waist to wipe at the corner of her eyes.

“Jane,” he says. The first word in days that does not bring him pain.

Her fingers smooth through his hair. She closes her eyes for a beat. “You’re okay, you’re okay....” she mutters and looks into his eyes. “Your hair...” her eyes narrow and she touches his right eye and he knows she sees the difference in their colour. “Your...” He shakes his head. Not here, but now. She gives him a familiar sigh as her fingers skim his jaw. They’ll be talking about it later.

Jane leans back, her touch soft. He wants to lean into it further. He loosens his hold enough to let her touch the ground despite that everything in him wants to pull her in closer.

“Thor, what happened?” she asks, voice steady, but scared. “I was in Cape Town on the phone with Darcy when she... then other people around me— My mom didn’t answer the phone. Neither did Sif.” And while that surprises Thor, but there’s no time to dwell on his friend and the flash of pain in his heart when he remembers Heimdall’s sacrifice. “What happened?” Her voice breaks. “What happened?”

Thor hates he’s the one that has to tell her he failed, but she deserves to hear it from him.

“Thanos got the stones. We— I was too late,” he says. The name creating a new spark of pain in him. Jane looks at him and grabs his hand. She squeezes his fingers and slips them between her own. Thor grips her like a lifeline. He is surprised at how much her touch settles him still.

“It wasn’t your fault, Thor,” Rogers cuts in, reminding Thor they are not alone. Jane turns to face him. Steve smiles at her. “Hi, Jane.”

Thor takes a deep breath. Rogers is wrong, but it’s not the time for that. “Let us all talk,” he says instead.

Jane nods, shifting to stand at his side, as she looks across the room. As soon as she see Shuri, she blushes.

“I’m so sorry, Princess. I used this to get your guards to let me in,” and she pulls out a very small electronic card.

Princess Shuri smiles. “It’s alright, Dr. Foster. It is why I gave it to you. Though I thought you would call first, but under the circumstances I understand why you didn’t.”

Jane shrugs . “Yeah, sorry. It was rude, I know.” She turns to their friends. “Hi, guys.”

“I just got your message,” Romanoff says with a small smile. “A little more warning would have been nice. How did you get here so fast?”

“I’ll explain in a second. Hey, Bruce.” She reaches out to Banner, who steps up and gives her a slightly awkward hug since she’s still holding Thor’s hand. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Banner grins; his first since Thor landed on Earth. “Hi, Jane. It’s good to see you, too.”

She snorts. “Understatement of the year. Catch me up?” She steps forward, tugging on Thor’s hand as she moves. Thor walks towards Princess Shuri with her. He doesn’t want to let go of her hand and thankfully Jane is not forcing the matter. As they fill Jane in on what’s happened in the last few days across the universe, Thor and Banner add in what happened on Sakaar and Asgard. Jane starts when he skims over what happened to Asgard and Heimdall and even Loki. She meets his eyes and while she says nothing he can see how her entire body sags, how her eyes mist, and she chokes back a sob at what she sees in his gaze. Her grip on his hand tightens and she presses her forehead to his bicep. He feels her lips brush his skin in silent comfort. They have too much to talk about. Banner, a good friend, better than Thor had thought a week ago, covers for them and quickly starts to explain what he knows of Stark, trapped somewhere in space. It gives Thor time to regroup before he adds in the facts of his journey these last few days. Rocket adds his own colourful commentary as Thor explains the creation of his axe. Jane to her credit only blinks at the talking raccoon.

“And is Eitri alright? Is Nidavellir still working?” she asks. He had almost forgotten he had taken there once to meet Eitri. How she had studied Nidavellir, how she wore a piece forged from there on her person, still. He can feel it against his palm.

Thor nods, catching the glint in Jane’s eye. “He does. Do you need his help?”

Jane hums. “Maybe later…” she says, pulling her bag closer to her. She turns to Rogers and Rhodes, who came into the room as they explained the situation to Jane, “So first thing first. You guys wanna find Tony, I mean, if he’s still—“

“Thor can get us into space,” starts Rogers. “His ham—his axe brought him here, didn’t it?”

“It did,” he affirms, quietly enjoying how Jane’s eyes light up at the fact. That she is still here, that her eyes still brighten at the science of Asgard, that her mind still looks for answers to reach the stars allows him to feel normal for the first time in days.

Turning to Rogers, he explains just how calling the Bifrost with his axe works. “But only if I know the location. It’s why I could get here. I do not have Heimdall’s power to look through the stars and locate a person in a place unknown. I require previous knowledge of the location. I cannot just call the Bifrost across the universe if I don’t know where I’m going even if I know who I’m looking for. Once I get closer to a location I can guide it better, but first I need to know the place I’m aiming for. But Jane, you can, can you not?”

Jane looks at him and bites her lip. The warm flare of affection and attraction at that familiar gesture makes Thor grin. He knows that look well. She can. He could kiss her. It surprises him how much he wants to right now.

“Not yet,” she says. Reaching in her pocket she pulls out a small device. “Tony helped me with some of the nanotech and the arc reactor, and I can now make the portals I used during Convergence to get around the planet. I didn’t want anyone to know I had the technology yet, it’s still mostly untested, and not as stable as I want it to be.” She swallows, her eyes flicking away from him. “I still get some vertigo if I go across the planet, but that’s what I was hoping Princess Shuri would help me with,” she says, turning to the princess. “Except now I think we might need to try to get a bit further than North America?”

At her words, Princess Shuri grins, her eyes (still a bit puffy form her earlier tears) crinkle from her smile. “Oh yes,” she moves across the room and holds her hands out for Jane’s device. Jane hands it over easily. “I think I can definitely help with that, Dr. Foster!” She pops the device under a Wakandan scanner and starts moving around her lab. Okoye gives a grateful look at Jane as she looks over her charge. Banner moves closer and eagerly listens to the princess explain Jane’s device and her idea to help boost Jane’s portals to span the universe. Rogers and Natasha walk over to Okoye and Thor knows they’re about to beginning planning what they’ll do next once the princess and Jane get the device to work. Thor knows he should go over to them, and he will, soon, but right now Jane is still by his side. She’s standing next him, her hand still in his, her eyes on the princess and her device, and soul intact.

Thor will move. He will plan with his friends, he will avenge his brother and the universe. They will fix this somehow, but for now, for this moment, Jane is here. He thinks about he told Rocket on the way to Nidavellir. What more do I have to lose? Glancing at Jane, he realises is not willing to find out. He did not know what he had still, but now he does.

She must feel him looking at her and glances up at him. “Hey, you okay?”

He nods, and it feels true. “Better now that you’re here.” He lifts their joined hands and kisses her fingers.

She laughs, reaching up to cup his jaw and raises herself up on her tiptoes. Her lips brush against his cheek. “Same, you know. I didn’t think I’d— I’m… I feel better when you’re around.” Grabbing her bag, she nods her head toward the corner of her lab. “By the way, I have something else to tell you. I might have gone to Norway a month ago when I saw some Bifrost readings there.”

Thor lifts his brow, curious. Jane hands the bag to him and he pauses at the weight in it. He looks at her and realises she’s been holding it with easy for some time. Her eyes meet him and she grins.

“Surprise,” she says, eyes bright and Thor feels hope again.

#thor odinson #jane foster #fosterson #thor x jane #jane x thor #mcy #fanfic #wip #idk if i'm gonna anythign else #but maybe

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Marvel Studios Should Make More Movies Like Eternals

https://ift.tt/3EOzLEK

This article contains Marvel’s Eternals spoilers.

I did not love Chloé Zhao’s Eternals. This isn’t a controversial statement to make for the first Marvel Studios film to receive a negative “Rotten” score on the aggregate movie review site, Rotten Tomatoes.

Despite its expansive pacing—which, believe it or not, is two minutes longer than Denis Villeneuve’s Dune—Eternals struggles to balance its competing impulses and obligations. The movie wants to be a superhero creation myth, but also a grandiose epic about the cyclical nature of violence; it attempts to be a melodrama about its dizzying cast of 10 broody protagonists, but it also must sell action figures with CGI beat ‘em ups. The film’s reach truly does exceed its grasp.

And yet, it still reached far outside the parameters of what we typically associate with a Marvel Studios movie. Often these guidelines and formulaic elements can be pointed to as a strong reason why Marvel has previously not struck out with most critics or moviegoers after 25 films. Some MCU movies are certainly better than others, but when safety rails are always up, you’re never going to throw a gutter ball. One of the many tradeoffs to playing it safe like this though is that the studio has rarely been able to allow a filmmaker to make the template their own. Or, to mix metaphors, there’s little chance of hitting a home run.

Some filmmakers like James Gunn, Taika Waititi, and Ryan Coogler certainly have pushed harder against these constraints, but there is no denying that when the entire climax of Black Panther is defanged by the poorly rendered CGI dolls who take over for Chadwick Boseman or Michael B. Jordan, that a dubious compromise has been made. Similarly, the compositions Taika Waititi had the time to lovingly craft in Jojo Rabbit are far more lively and playful than the often standard two or three-shot framings which comprise most character interactions in Thor: Ragnarok, a movie more amusingly written than the previous Thor movies but without even the visual flourishes of Kenneth Branagh’s first Thor flick from way back in 2011 (the last MCU movie to be shot on 35mm).

In other words, Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, and even the loopy Guardians of the Galaxy still looked like Marvel Studios movies and still felt like Marvel Studios movies.

Eternals does not, which is its greatest strength.

Marvel Is Seeing the (Natural) Light

Filmed before Chloé Zhao won a deserved Best Director Oscar for Nomadland, Eternals still benefits from Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige‘s confidence in the filmmaker behind The Rider. From its opening introduction of the team comprising the Eternals arriving on Earth some 7,000 years ago, the film’s earnestness is nearly startling. It takes a moment to sink in as Zhao’s setup absolutely refuses to indulge in the self-deprecating sarcasm which has become a defining feature of Marvel movies since 2012: She’s going to take this seriously, isn’t she?

For the most part, the answer is yes. Sometimes this creative choice works, and sometimes it doesn’t, but rarely does Eternals look like an ensemble of actors trading one-liners in front of a blue screen in Atlanta, Georgia. This perhaps explains comments Feige made a few months ago when he recalled extolling the visceral acuteness of Zhao’s eye to Disney executives.

“[Zhao] was really fighting for practical locations,” Feige told Variety. And when execs wondered about the cost of actually shooting in Spain’s Canary Islands or even (gasp) the real Piccadilly Circus in London (as opposed to using a green screen recreation of it), Feige said, “I had to keep saying, ‘This is right out of a camera; there’s no VFX work to this at all! Because it was a beautiful sunset, with perfect waves and mist coming up from the shore on the giant cliffside—really impressive stuff.”

At the time, social media and even some trades had fun tweaking Feige for supposedly not realizing you could actually film a sunset instead of building one in a computer. However, when you look at the visual aesthetic of most Marvel movies and compare it to Eternals, it’s easy to see why the Marvel boss would be so pleased.

Ever since the switch to digital photography in 2011, beginning with Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel’s films have settled for a bland and often beige house style that accentuates the flatness of their colors. This kind of broad network television lighting made sense for a company eager to one day churn out four movies a year, one for each fiscal quarter. If the movies all look relatively the same, audiences are better conditioned to expect the same product every time they buy a ticket. The approach also complemented the ubiquitous digital effects. But with a few notable exceptions (primarily Gunn’s Guardians films), the hegemony of it all led to an increasingly stale and insulated visual palette.

For example, Black Panther is a film intended to celebrate an Afrofurist vision of Africa, and yet the only filming not done in front of green screens in Atlanta was when the filmmakers went to South Korea to shoot a chase scene. Otherwise, instead of seeking out real African waterfalls for the location where T’Challa claims his father’s throne, or a real savanna when he visits his father in his dreams, the film settled on building it all in a computer. Even so, it’s still certainly more visually interesting than the digital recreations of… an airport in Captain America: Civil War for that film’s centerpiece action sequence. Meanwhile this year’s highly anticipated Spider-Man: No Way Home seems to pivot around a fight scene occurring between New York City’s favorite superhero and the Sinister Six… on a nameless southeast highway.

While Zhao’s Eternals didn’t actually go to every location in the film, from the Australian Outback to the Amazonian Rainforest, its director was still able to film in the actual archipelagos, which offered both lushly green seaside landscapes and more arid alternatives.

She also filmed most of these sequences with her singular understanding of natural light. Never before has a Marvel Studios movie’s world looked so textured and tactile than on the islands where Eternals both begins and ends its story. And even when the film tries to pass an island off for a tropical climate, the emphasis on sunlight and torches makes Eternals’ natural and depopulated world feel more lived-in than the countless shiny and often vacant digital spaces other Marvel movies occupy.

A Real Civil War

But more than just visual tangibility, Zhao’s approach also brings a sincerity to the character components of the film. Character dynamics have of course been an element Marvel’s excelled at as a mass-producer of blockbuster entertainment. Competitors have attempted to mimic Marvel films’ ability to pivot between typical hero’s journey narrative beats and quippy banter—but the also-rans have never quite perfected that rhythm.

One might even argue Marvel itself has never captured it as organically as its originator, Joss Whedon, whose screenplay for The Avengers set the template. Still, the MCU has been able to finely tune the self-aware winks as a way to gloss over third acts that often rely on a numbing overabundance of meaningless MacGuffins and lifeless CGI spectacle.

However, unlike every other Marvel Studios movie released in the last five years not named Endgame, the third act of Eternals is its strongest section instead of its weakest. That’s because Zhao and company keep the film squarely rooted in the motivations of its main characters, especially Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), and Sprite (Lia McHugh).

The relationships between these three characters and the rest of the surviving Eternals at-large is what makes the finale compelling instead of being a time-filler. There are also the usual “end of the world” stakes here, albeit embodied by the surreal image of a giant space-god (or “Celestial”) climbing out of the earth’s core instead of another generic sky-beam or falling sky fortress. Additionally, those stakes are simply a context for a passion play between our leads.

Ikaris, as it turns out, is the film’s villain. Despite looking like Marvel’s version of Superman (a fact the film blatantly calls out), the Eternals’ golden boy has lived for centuries with the knowledge that their mission to “help” humanity evolve was merely a prelude to a massive genocide where a Celestial is born and consumes all life on Earth. Knowledge of this horror drove Ikaris away from his lover Sersi for the last 500 years, and he’ll be damned if he must now change his mind at the last minute like his more empathetic leader, Ajak (Salma Hayek). So he kills Ajak and will even raise his hand against Sersi to ensure their primary duty is fulfilled.

Movies

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By Mike Cecchini

Yet, most intriguingly, Eternals refuses to fully reduce Ikaris to “the bad guy” in usual superhero movie fashion for these actions. He’s a traitor among their ranks, but even if his mission is to destroy all life on Earth, the film at least plays devil’s advocate to see things from Ikaris’ point-of-view. And since it knows the audience is conditioned to not listen to anything he might say after it’s revealed he murdered Ajak, the film has that viewpoint espoused by… Kingo, Kumail Nanjiani’s lovable side character.

Up to that point, Kingo has been the sole comic relief in the whole film, but when faced with the choice of letting Earth die or preventing thousands of new stars and other worlds from ever existing thanks to another Celestial, Kingo sides with Ikaris.

Strangely, the film doesn’t even judge Kingo as wrong or weak for his decision. It rather accepts it as a differing viewpoint, allowing him to walk away from the story without punishment or rapprochement. Suddenly, the film pivots not on a fight between purely good and evil CGI creatures, but on a moral paradox that (faintly) asks viewers to consider destroying all life on Earth as somehow part of the greater good.

Granted, this is a superhero movie, so Eternals only lightly flirts with these elements and never bends toward nihilism. However, the film still attempts to create compelling conflict amongst its protagonists instead of a “heroes versus villains” cliché. No one is condemned. Kingo sides in all but action with Ikaris, and Sprite, who is enduring her own “Peter Pan” syndrome, actually takes a knife to her surrogate big sister Sersi. Neither are damned by the film for these actions. Genuine emotional stakes are raised by their betrayals, but the only reason Ikaris dies in the film is because of his own choice to not live with his sense of guilt.

This is an actual civil war where characters we like have ideological reasons to be torn asunder and do not make smirking jokes about it, as if to say “we all know we’re still friends after this is over.”

It’s a creative choice unlike anything Marvel’s previously made, including a film deceptively titled Captain America: Civil War. The boldness doesn’t necessarily save Eternals from its overlying problems, but it does allow the film to stand apart from anything Marvel made before.

Break the Marvel Conveyer Belt

Back when Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released in 2014, it came out in a sea of publicity about how the film wasn’t really a superhero movie. Feige described it as “a political thriller” the year before, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo compared it to 1970s thrillers like Three Days of the Condor and All the President’s Men. Well, despite the presence of Robert Redford, we doubt many were thinking of Watergate when it was revealed SHIELD wasn’t corrupted by self-proclaimed patriots doing what they thought was right, but by a secret HYDRA cult who was trying to take over the world via flying CG fortresses.

Similarly, Thor: The Dark World was sold as Marvel’s high-fantasy epic and in the same genre as Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones (hence the hiring of frequent GoT director Alan Taylor). After folks saw the finished product, nobody bought that talking point.

So Thor 3 became, to quote star Mark Ruffalo, an “intergalactic buddy road movie.” During its best sequences, it really does feel like that as Ruffalo’s Hulk and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor pal around on Planet Jeff Goldblum. But that’s also only about one-third of the film, which otherwise spends most of its time also being about Thor fighting his sister Hela (Cate Blanchett) and setting up Avengers: Infinity War. By the end of Ragnarok, Hulk is little more than a CGI sidekick along for the ride.

By contrast, there’s little to no interconnectivity or larger MCU world-building in Eternals, nor much in the way of pandering to formula beyond the entirely perfunctory action sequences dealing with Deviants in the film’s first two acts (which are also by far the worst things in the movie). In the last year, Marvel has begun Phase 4 by taking more risks in the television realm, which paid off in their most experimental project to date, WandaVision, and fell flat with their most obligatory one, Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Nonetheless, there is a clear desire to break from formula at the House Iron Man Built.

Eternals is their first real attempt to do so in movie theaters. The result is uneven, overlong, and scattered. But a mixed critical response should not scare off Marvel from continuing to actually experiment in tone, aesthetic, and letting singular storytellers shoot on a real damn beach.

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sserpente · 7 years

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My Trickster God is back 😍

This post contains spoilers AFTER the cut!!!

& Please also be careful about spoilers in the notes!!!

Heyho there my lovelies! I am back home now, I almost cried when boarding the plane because I didn’t want to leave London and I miss England so much already. However, I had a great time as my personal culmination was watching the new Thor movie yesterday night.

I loved it. I loved it so, so much and I can guarantee you I will see it again really soon. Actually, I’ve accidentally just booked tickets to see the movie again on Halloween. Oops.

There even were three cosplayers working at the cinema. A Thor, a Hela and a Loki, so after the movie (this was so funny) I went to ask “Loki” for a picture. 😏 His reaction was hilarious. He was like “Just with me?” to which I replied “Well… you’re the king.” and then I turned to Thor and said: “Sorry.” The playful shocked expression he gave me was priceless and I’m telling you, this is what would happen if I ever met Thor and Loki on the street.

I got so much new inspiration. Starting from today, I’ll be working on new Imagines, my Loki multichapter fic and “Pleasing You” Part II, so stay tuned for some ragnaro[c]king new stuff.

But let’s talk about the movie, shall we?! I really want to share my thoughts with you guys, so IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET, DO NOT KEEP READING! MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT!!!

Let’s start at the very beginning, yes? It all happened so fast I am almost surprised Thor saw right through Loki when he came back to Asgard but given the way “Odin” behaved, I think everyone would have seen through it at that point (how did the Aesir not notice, like what). It was hilarious. Technically, Loki doesn’t need anyone to worship him, he’s fine doing that himself even though I am still a little irked they made him a “bad” king. I almost screamed when he finally came on screen though and damn, does he look hot or what?! 😍 Please let me kneel before him and feed him those grapes, for Fuck’s sake.

Loki in his black suit killed me, so a part of my soul is still in that cinema in Leicester Square. It’s hilarious how Loki dropped Odin off at a homeless shelter, my God of Mischief is so ridiculously wicked, seriously. 😏 And oh my god, you guys, Loki attempting to lunge at Strange is literally what I imagined what would happen after his epic fall. It’s part of my fanfic already, it’ll be such fun. 😏

So… I think I have told you that I was so hoping Odin would finally die in this movie and now it has finally happened! 💪 If you ask me, that dick got what he deserved. I mean, Hela was the villain in this movie (and I bloody love her character, she’s amazing) but she actually showed the audience (which didn’t ever root for Loki at that point) that Odin has in fact always been an arsehole. It still touched me though how he kept saying “my sons” when talking to them for the last time.

And when Thor “prayed” for Odin in the spooky circle? (Shoutout to Kork, he’s amazing too) Loki appearing behind him, joining him, them saying the last words together? Can we please point out that Loki has a good heart deep inside? You could see it there clearly, everyone did. ☝️

Alright. So… Hela is Thor’s sister. OMG. I recall our theory of Hela being Loki’s birth mother and I still support that headcanon but it wasn’t that far-fetched, actually. They are related, in a way. My reaction in the cinema was like: 😱

However, I am really glad nothing happened between Loki and Valkyrie (unlike what many people assumed). She’s a great character and I mostly relate to her cocky attitude but on the other hand… I still want to punch her in the face?! You get what I mean, right? And, considering the looks Thor and Val (I can call her that right) gave each other at some point, I think we all know where this will be going. I’m glad. Loki is mine anyway. 😌

Also, I didn’t know Loki could look into people’s past by touching their forehead? I mean… this is some good stuff for new Imagines, is there anything our Trickster God can’t do?! 🤤

I have to admit, I was a little scared of Loki being “the butt of the joke” in this movie. I feared they would downplay his complex character but in my opinion, they did a great job and even if he didn’t end up being the king (friendly reminder that I would still kneel before him), I’m mostly happy about how he got treated in the movie. Except for Thor being a violent little shit. Everytime everyone went like “har har” in the cinema, I went like “noooo”. 😥

By the way, we now also have the information that Marvel!Loki can in fact shapeshift. I mean, we never knew for sure, we know he can create illusions of himself but now it’s offically canon he can shapeshift into animals. Shoutout to Thor for bringing up Loki turning into a snake as a child to scare Thor. Did you see that smirk when he told that story?! Did you see it?! 😍

Also, I almost started crying when Loki said “It hurts, doesn’t it, being lied to.” OMG. In your face, Thor. My poor Loki. Throughout the whole movie, I just wanted to hug him over and over. 😭 Among other things… but that’s not the point. 😈

Even though I hated Thor being so violent (leave Loki alone, you giant oaf), I loved how he kept throwing things at him to make sure he was real, especially in the end when he caught what he threw at him, naaaw. Brother love. In the end, they kind of found each other again, perhaps because Asgard being destroyed connected them somehow? What do I know but I love how it all turned out, even if Loki didn’t end up on the throne… for now. 🤔

Can we talk about that post credit scene as well?! Hey, if Thor wants to bring Loki back to Earth, he’s most welcome to crash at my place. Besides, 10 quid says Loki took the Tesseract, which brings me to my next point; I am beyond content we will be getting even more of Loki in May next year already. I bet that was Thanos’ ship. Avengers: Infinity War is going to kill me yet again. How many times am I supposed to die for this brilliant character?!

I cannot possibly describe how much I loved this movie and I cannot wait to see it once more and fangirl again. What did you guys think about it? Personally, I didn’t read any of the countless “official” reviews because most of those self-proclaimed movie experts tend to critisise every little detail and ruin it for me.

So, what are your thoughts? Tell me you were as thrilled as I was? 😜

#thor ragnarok #loki #tom hiddleston #spoiler alert

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darkenrose-s · 7 years

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Unexpected- Chapter three

Summary- While living in England you had a brief affair with a criminal. Not just any criminal but one wanted by governments and secret agency’s. In those brief moments you were together you helped heal each other. Now amost a year later you meet him again in the most unlikly place. Living in your Godfather tower.

Warnings- language

–//–//–//–

After spending over a month with your godfathers tower and with the superheros. Tony had been talked into going to a benefit gala and he was detrerime to take you with him.

You had meant to be going home. Back to England but Tony had found excuses to keep you another week or two.

You were sure he wanted to show you off.

You had no idea why.

There was nothing special about you, but he had somehow talked you in to it.

You think it’s just because the others down right refused. When the time came Nastasha had taken it upon her self to “help” you get ready. Hours of hair and make up and a dress that was far tighter then you would have picked out, she finally deemed you ready.

After negotiating your shoes out of the elevator. You found Tony in the living room with Steve, Clint and Bucky as he tried to get them to come with you both. They all stopped to look at you once you reached them. Clint and Steve made approving sounds at you while you were trying hard not to blush at the attention. You could feel Bucky’s gaze heavy on your skin as he dragged his eyes slowly over every patch of you. It made your skin itch with flames flickered from the inside. That man knew exactly what he was doing to you, you were sure of it. “Y/N! Why don’t you look radiant.” Tony smiled charmingly and took both your hands in his. “You’re so” he paused looking you over again. “Grown up” and if you saw his eyes start to water a little, you said nothing. Instead you grinned at him and hugged him tightly. When you were younger Tony was constantly popping in and out of your life but the vistit became further and further apart until you were lucky to see him in person. You didn’t realise how much you had truly missed him until now. You were suddenly glad it was just the two of you tonight.

You said goodbye to the others as Tony turned on his more dramatic persona. Steve kissed your cheek softly and Bucky whispered something in Romania in your ear. The little shit knows you won’t understand him but the tone was clear. The dress would be lucky to survive for another outing once you get home.

–//–//–//–//–

The tower was quiet with Tony out of it. The permanent residents had all drifted towards the main living room. They were doing their own things while the TV played in the background.

“News just coming in, reports say a incident has taken place at the Charity Blue Bird Gala. It has been yet to be confirmed, but sources say that shots have been fired. An evacuation is currently underway. We’ll keep you up to date as news come in. ” the newsreader said.

The room was silent as everyone stared at the screen. Clint and Natasha shared a look before returning their gaze to the TV. Steve sat at the edge of his seat a frown on his face. He was about to get ready to spring into Captain America mode when a text came through to him and Bruce’s phone. Bruce had been looking over some data on the Stark Pad with a contemplative expression, but now it was worry, as he put the pad down and watched the tv.

Text retrieve from Stark, Tony

Cap’, everything cleared up. Don’t send in the party. Be back in a few hours.

“Tony says everything is under control.” Steve muttered to the others. Befor he noticed his childhood friend’s death grip on the can of soda, he’d been drinking from moments before. “Buck?” The can lost its fight against the older Soldier and was now a deformed mess. Bucky’s blue eyes snapped to Steve’s.

“Is sh- are they alright?” His voice was low and sad like he expected to worst.

“He er, didn’t say.” Steve said slowly, they wasn’t much love lost between Tony and Bucky.

They tolerated each other at best. So the only reason Steve could think of about why Bucky asking that, had something to do with Y/n. Steve wasn’t stupid. He’d seen the way Bucky reacts everytime you were in the room. He sits up straighter, the glint in the other mans eyes shone out from his face. Although, Steve had never seen the pair of you say more then a pleasant greeting towards each other. The way the pair of you moved around each other with practical easy made Steve think there was more to your relationship. He had seen the quiet conversation the pair of you had before you have left this afternoon.

Bucky’s jaw tighten, as he watch the news coverage.

“News just coming in about that incident at the Blue Bird Gala. We can confirm that shots have been fired. The police have now arrested the people involved. Reports claim that up to 15 people have been injured, non are thought to be life threatening. One of the guest included billionaire Tony Stark. He is otherwise known as IronMan. However it is claimed he is not among the casualties. He was seen getting into a ambulance. It is believed that his partner tonight was also in the ambulance. It is still unknown if she was injured or not.”

Text retrieve from Tony “Fe-Male” Stark

Brucie,need you. Hospital now. Y/n is hurt. Dr. say she is ok but-just get here!

Bruce would have normally scoffed at what Tony had done to his phone. He was worried about Y/N. Bruce left the tower for the first time in weeks, telling the others that he would get Tony and you.

–//–//–//–//–

It had been a few hours later when you guys made it back to the tower. Steve and the others met you by the living room door once FRIDAY informed them of your arrival.

Tony looked a mess. He ran his hands in his hair, suit and tie undone and he look like he had aged ten years. He tried to make it to the bar in the room but Steve blocked his path.

“What happen? Where’s y/n and Bruce ? How is she?” Steve started looking behind Tony as Bruce appeared. He was half dragging your clumsy body with him.

“Y/n? She’s fine. Flying higher then Thor, but she’s good.” the tight tone Tony uses only confirmed the others suspicion of his worry. Tony was close to breaking down as he gazed back at you, while Bruce tried for the umpteenth time to put you bandaged arm back into its sling.

You chuckled drunkily at him. Swaying and staggering about even with his hold on you. Then you seem to have sense the others watching you. You look up and offer a dreamy grin, stumbling clumsily away from Bruce and towards them. Your once pretty dress spattered with dried blood. Your left bicep had a thick white bandage around it and a white sling hung lose around your neck.

“Hi guys! When did you get here?” You had flung out your arms, then covered your face with your right hand as you started drunkily laughing again.

“Like I said. She’s on the good stuffs.” Tony eyed you carefully. He started to hover about a foot away from your shoulder with Bruce on the other side in case you fall.

“Should she be out of the hospital? Are you alright y/n?” Steve asked concerned.

“I’m fantastic.” You grin and promptly trip over your feet. They all moved to grab you before you hit the floor. Bucky who had moved to be Steve’s shadow when you enter, shot out with the speed only he had and caught you in his arms. You looked up at him confused but grin happily once you see the familiar cool blue eyes.

Even if they are unfocused.

“Hey,” you say your hands gripping the fabric of the t-shirt on his shoulders.

“Hi” he says back softly, clamping his own hands around your waist to stop you from moving so much. Tony had made a distressed noise before making it to the bar. He poured himself a glass off whiskey with shaking hands.

“She was shot. Through and through, luckily nothing but flesh was hit.” Tonys eyes kept flickering to you and your drugged up swaying in Bucky’s arms. “Now tell me about the bastard that did this. What does the media say? Was he caught?”

Tony’s sharp questions blurred into the background as did the answers.

You watched Bucky’s face, fascinated by the play of shadow on it.

You lean your head on your fist while he looks at you expectedly.

“You’re kinda cute ya know.” You tell him. He raised his dark eyebrows, you had a way of saying things that he didn’t expect.

“OK. You're going to bed to sleep this off.” He murmured more to himself then you. He then scooped you up bridle style making you squeak in surprise and grip his shoulders tighter.

“Did you see that?” You gasp looking at him wide eyed. “ the Earth just moved.” Bucky bites the inside of his cheek to stop himself saying anything inappropriate. He glanced at the others and found they were all deep in conversation with Tony. Bruce somehow managed to catch his eye and nods to you both as if agreeing with Bucky’s statement.

“Come on кукла, rest now.” And so Bucky carried to your bedroom.

“But I’m not sleepy. I wanna dance with pretty boys and shiny brigh’ stars. … The grounds moving. It’s moving again. How is t'e ground moving? ….Are you doing t'is? I thought only gods and plates could move. (Gasp) are you a plate! I me'n God?! Are you a god?! You are, ‘ant ya. Ya move it before. …You have a very pretty nose you know that?”

Bucky smiled gently down at you, as he walked towards your bedroom. He was unbelievably relieved that you were ok. You would heal. You were here, warmth in his arms.

When he had first stumbled across you on the outskirts of London he had no idea that you would hold his whole being with in your small hands. You had somehow made him reconnect to being human again. It wasn’t just a physical connection that you rekindled but somehow you eased the ever present guilt and self hate with in him. He felt like if he could ever deserve to love or to be loved, he would easily love you. He hopes you would love him too. Hopes and dreads.

–//–//–//–//–

Bucky tucked you in with a soft grin, brushing your hair away from your face. You were even more adorable than normal.

You look up at him unfocused and grin.

“Ya too good for me, Jamie. Might ‘ave ta keep you ‘round.”

“Keep me, darlin’?” He sits beside you. You nod, snuggling down under the covers. Your eyes were getting heavy.

“Yep.” You nod closing your eyes. “Might 'ave ta marry ya if ya keep ’t'is up.” You mumble the last bit as you drift off, but he heard you clearly.

Bucky stared wide eyed at you.

Did you - Did you really just say that? No. It must have been the drugs. Yes, it must have been. There was no way you would want to spend the rest of your life tied to him. You couldn’t. He was a monster who selfishly kept going back to you because you made him feel better.

–//–//–//–

Late the next day you stumbled into the kitchen half asleep and half in pain. The drugs were wearing off. Bucky had left you shortly after you woke up the first time, ordering you back to sleep beforehand.

“Hey slugger, how you feeling?” Tony’s voice was rough and it looked like he hadn’t slept all night.

“I never want to be shot again.” You groan. The numbing pain in your arm was getting stronger.

Tony hugged you tightly, trying not to touch your arm. He buried his head in your hair and you heard a faint sniffle. You simple held him tightly and squeezed your own eyes shut, hiding your own face in his shoulder.

#james bucky barnes #bucky x reader #buckybarnes #bucky #tony stark #bruce banner #steverogers #unexpected #avengerfamily

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slayqueeningtbh · 6 months

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no thoughts just ✨ them ✨

#gen v #gen v spoilers #limoreau #the boys tv #omfg #prime video #send help #girl kisser #jaz sinclair #maddie phillips #derek luh #london thor #london thor deserved more screen time #behind the scenes #themfriend #chance perdomo #cast dog #zöra

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inkni · 7 years

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The Most Anticipated of 2017

Okay, so, revelation: there’s a lot of entertainment to take in this year. The INK crew and I chose to review the entertainment we’re most anticipating and/or dreading this year (but you won’t see much of the latter from me). Lucky for you, my thoughts on this topic span more than one post. Because I’m indecisive me, I simplified my list of entertainment mediums under consideration to a whopping 4 categories: film, TV, music, and video games. Without further ado, here’s what I have my antennae up for this year.

MOST ANTICIPATED…

IN FILM

Marvel Event (November 3): While Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, and Spider-Man: Homecoming are taking up most of the limelight on publications’ “most anticipated” lists, my attention is on Thor: Ragnarok. With the most vibrant chemistry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), especially considering what a left turn Captain America and Iron Man’s relationship took, Thor and Loki and their stellar Asgard are enough to pique my interest. Add to that mix Anthony Hopkins, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tessa Thompson, and you have the most acclaimed cast for a Marvel film. Director Taika Waititi had one of 2016′s funniest and most honest comedies with Hunt for the Wilderpeople, so I expect he’ll bring a wonderfully fresh brand of quirky comedy to Marvel’s trademark jocularity. Thor is the most underrated series in the MCU, which won’t change this year under the shadow of Guardians and Spider-Man. And I’m ready for this to be Marvel’s “hidden gem.”

Filmic Adaptation (TBA): Jeanette Walls’ 2005 memoir, The Glass Castle, is such an intelligent and unflinching look at a dysfunctional family and survival amidst constant change, I fear some of its emotional nuance will be lost on the big screen. However, Walls’s story is in good hands with director Destin Cretton, whose Short Term 12 so effectively explored the uncertainty and fragility of human relationships in seemingly powerless situations. In a moment of true godsend, Cretton’s lead for that film, Oscar’s current best actress Brie Larson, takes on the role of Walls. She’s joined by a strong supporting cast of Naomi Watts, Woody Harrelson, and Max Greenfield. If it hits all the right notes, I expect we’ll be seeing much more of The Glass Castle come 2017′s awards season.

Movie With Toys (February 10): The most famous caped crusader + Lego + Mariah Carey = Need I say more?

Genre Mashup (July 28): Stephen King’s magnum opus of a series—or so many would call it—gets the theatrical treatment. In The Dark Tower, a 10-year-old boy, Jake, falls into a cutthroat, fantastical world where Idris Elba (Roland Deschain) is a knight fighting off monsters and sorcerers, the baddest of which is played by Matthew McConaughey (in what’s sure to be maniacally ruthless fashion). For Jake and Deschain, It’s not just a fight to rule the kingdom of Mid-World. They’re up against time too. Jake must make it to the Dark Tower of End-World to save Deschain’s Mid-World. Multiple dimensions, monsters, sorcerers, knights, and King’s trademark touch of horror make for 2017′s most intriguing mashup.

Most Dreading: More of Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor in Justice League. No interpretation of a character—especially one as classic as Lex—was as grating, infuriating, and just plain annoying as Eisenberg was in Batman v Superman. It was the sourest point in a film that got a way worse wrap than it deserved. Here’s to hoping they keep his screen time to a minimum (but we know they won’t). Watch (again) if you dare.

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IN TV

Supernatural Entry (FX, February 8): Noah Hawley, showrunner of FX’s acclaimed Fargo series, decided it’s high time for X-Men to hit the small screen with a live-action format. The series follows Professor X’s son, Legion, as he discovers he’s more than his mental disorder. Dan Stevens, the Beast of Disney’s upcoming Beauty and the Beast, leads a cast that includes Parks and Rec alum Aubrey Plaza and the always-top-notch Jean Smart. I expect the show will provide a fruitful analysis of societal attitudes towards mental disability, but I hope it also sets the stage for a feast of visual effects.

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Limited Miniseries (HBO, February 19): An absolutely knock-out, female-led cast—Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, Reese Witherspoon—heads to a small (seaside?) town for a look at the lives of three women in Big Little Lies. Kidman, Witherspoon, and Woodley star as as the trio that endures scandal, small-town agendas, and, well, lies. This adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s 2014 novel is under the direction of legendary dramedy scribe, David E. Kelley, and the man who brought us Wild and Dallas Buyer’s Club. Prepare yourself for killer performances, snappy dialogue, and brooding cinematography.

youtube

TV Adaptation (Hulu, April 26): Author Margaret Atwood is such a prolific and innovative author, so many of her offerings could find new life in today’s “Platinum Age” of TV. It makes sense, then, that Hulu would choose to adapt one of her more famous and accessible novels, The Handmaid’s Tale. The show is set in the dystopian Republic of Gilead, where pregnancies are scarce and certain women, known as Handmaids, are indentured baby machines. Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss stars as Offred, a Handmaid serving the Commander (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife (Yvonne Strahovski), who decides to end her hellish servitude. Intrigue awaits.

youtube

IN VIDEO GAMES

Vampyr (Xbox One, TBA): There’s the superhero fight-fest of Injustice 2 (please let it have a seemless narrative like Mortal Kombat IX); the Red Dead follow-up; Prey, a horror-action thriller from the Dishonored 2 team; and of course Mass Effect: Andromeda, which Mark discussed in detail. Then there’s Vampyr. Based on the Spanish flu epidemic that took over 1918 London, the game follows Jonathan Reid, a vampire doctor. His struggle is to balance his professional oath with his new bloodlust (i.e. study and kill his prey, oodles of innocent people). Overall, the semi-open world, role-playing format, and historical setting are reasons enough to call me intrigued.

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#thor chrishemsworth glasscastle brielarson legobatmanmovie jesseeisenberg justiceleague legion biglittlelies handmaidstale vampyr

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screenandcinema · 7 years

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The Second Half of 2017

As we pass the halfway point of 2017, it is important to look ahead at what is to come. The top ten films I am looking forward to the most during the second half of 2017 are as follows, alphabetically:

Blade Runner 2049

After giving audiences Sicario in 2015 and Arrival in 2016, director Denis Villeneuve is back with the sequel to the 1982 neo-noir science fiction classic Blade Runner. This time around, Ryan Gosling is the titular blade runner, whose investigation leads him to an aged Rick Deckard, again played by Harrison Ford. Ford is in the midst of a nostalgia tour as of late, after bringing Han Solo back to life in 2015, he is returning to the role of Deckard this year, and slated to play Indiana Jones one more time in 2020. It is funny to look back to the period of 1980 to 1984, where Ford starred in 5 films and only played Solo, Deckard and Jones. Seems like he is trying to do it again now.

Downsizing

Downsizing marks director Alexander Payne’s first film since 2013′s Nebraska. Matt Damon stars in this science-fiction comedy about a man who shrinks himself down. Payne’s last three films, Sideways, The Descendants and Nebraska, were all nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture - I wonder if Payne can keep the streak going with Downsizing.

God Particle

J.J. Abrams produces this science fiction horror film that may or not be the third installment of the ongoing Cloverfield franchise. I do love the idea of Cloverfield being used as a Twilight Zone-esque brand for a series of unconnected science fiction films. David Oyelowo and Gugu Mbatha-Raw star in God Particle, which is set in the International Space State. Though there isn’t much else known about this film right now, I do know it is one I am definitely ready to see.

Justice League

While Justice League lacks the grand cinematic build up of five films that 2012′s Avengers had, it absolutely a movie I am super excited to finally see. While the uniting of DC’s trinity of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman occurred in last spring’s Dawn of Justice, the entire Justice League finally together will wow audiences as it is something never before seen on the big screen.

Molly’s Game

There is something immensely special about movies written by Aaron Sorkin. Usually his screenplay alone is enough to get me to the movies, but in the case of Molly’s Game, Sorkin is taking on a new role - director. Sorkin makes his directorial debut in this story of underground poker starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba and Kevin Costner.

Phantom Thread

The great Daniel Day-Lewis returns to the big screen in his first acting role since 2012′s Lincoln. Day-Lewis will reportedly retire after this role, so Phantom Thread might be audiences last chance to marvel at the three-time Academy Award winning actor. It also doesn’t hurt that Day-Lewis is re-teaming with his There Will Be Blood director Paul Thomas Anderson for this drama about London fashion in the 1950s.

The Papers

Steven Spielberg directs Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in this historical drama about the Washington Post and the Pentagon Papers. The trio of Spielberg, Streep and Hanks have collectively earned 41 Academy Award nominations and won 8 Academy Awards for directing, producing and acting. Quite the impressive haul. The Papers is sure to be a film much discussed this awards season, and one I am eager to see.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The highly anticipated sequel to 2015′s The Force Awakens most definitely deserves a spot on this list. Director Rian Johnson will bring audiences back to the galaxy far far away for the further adventures of Rey, Finn, Poe and Kylo Ren. Not to mention the triumph return of Mark Hamhill as Luke Skywalker and the final performance by Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa. The Last Jedi is sure to be the cinematic event of the second half of 2017.

Suburbicon

Early this year when discussing Zach Braff’s Going in Style, I mentioned the important moment for every actor-turned-director when they step out of the spotlight and let others shine. This November’s Suburbicon will be George Clooney’s first directorial effort that he himself doesn’t star in. Instead Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin and Oscar Isaac will fill out the film’s cast. And with a screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen, Suburbicon looks to be a must see.

Thor: Ragnarok

The first trailer for Thor: Ragnarok, directed by Taika Waititi, gave us a glimpse of a film very unlike its predecessors. It looked more like Guardians of the Galaxy than Thor, and that is a great thing. The mainline Avengers films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe need to tap into the cosmic side of the universe in order to build to next summer’s Avengers: Infinity War. And the inclusion of the Incredible Hulk makes Ragnarok an installment that is not to be missed.

Editors Note: I purposely omitted films being released in July from this list as to avoid double dipping with this week’s list of upcoming July films. Hence the exclusion of Dunkirk and Spider-Man: Homecoming which absolutely deserve to be on this list.

-MB-

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rahullikesthings · 6 years

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I’ve done these year-end reflections for the last four years, and most of them have been how things went badly and how I hope they get better. I’m happy to say 2017 was a really solid year for me. There’s a whole list of accomplishments I’m proud of, some I had worked towards, some that happened by coincidence. I moved into my own apartment. I got a promotion and two different raises at work. I’ve been booked more than ever since I’ve been doing standup. I started my own show. I’ve made friends, at work and through comedy. And as someone that hasn’t had much of that in a few years, I think it’s helped me be less cynical and paranoid about new acquaintances and relationships whenever they do happen. I met Terrell Owens (kind of a weird dude) and Eric Dickerson (cool guy!) and got that close to Steve Kerr at the Warriors championship parade.

There’s still plenty more I hope to accomplish, but it’s fair to say this year is the start of an upward trajectory. I’m in a good space mentally and physically. I see people around me progressing and moving forward and I’m super happy for them. I’m thinking of going vegan. There’s people I hope to meet, places I hope to travel to, more achievements to realize.

As I started to put together these lists, I realized how strange my media intake felt this year. Stuff that happened earlier in the year feels like sooo long ago. There are songs I loved that I forgot were released this year at all. The albums list was tough because there was no clear number one for me but definitely a handful that I really liked. There were more beyond that I thoroughly enjoyed, put in a playlist, and then completely forgot about because I guess that’s what streaming is. “Crew” was easily my favorite song this year. I spend just enough time in car to actually listen to the radio and it was such a cool feeling to hear Shy Glizzy on there. I get psyched and sing along to his verse every. single time.

I watched a ton of TV this year but, really, no show comes close to American Vandal. The humor, the characters, the depth of the parody, the bingeability. It’s maybe the best representation of high school I’ve ever seen on screen. Quality all around. I don’t know that would tell someone who has never seen Twin Peaks to watch it, but there were three of four moments in this season that were some of the most visceral experiences I’ve ever had watching any TV or movie. Godless was fire. Mindhunter was also great. I thought this final season of The Carmichael Show was nearly perfect. Curb might not have had its best season but I laughed uncontrollably at every scene between Larry and Richard Lewis. The Get Down deserved more. The Deuce was as good as people said, but I think I needed a little something more. Shout out to Shark Tank for always coming through.

I may have watched more movies this year than in any other year in recent memory (shouts to my Movie Pass). I don’t know that I had an obvious number one, but Lady Bird, Florida Project and Get Out are in that discussion for me. But also Star Wars: The Last Jedi was maybe the greatest movie I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve spent so much of my life with this franchise, I didn’t think I could be surprised anymore. The throne room scene is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, and the audience reaction to Laura Dern’s lightspeed was priceless (every single time). Highlight: Watching Get Out at the Jack London theater in Oakland on opening weekend / Lowlight: not being able to discuss it at work the next day because San Francisco is the whitest, most clueless, most tone-deaf city on Earth. American Made won’t get mentioned a lot but it was one of the more fun experiences I’ve had at the movies. Girls Trip was awesome and hilarious. The Game of Thrones prison scene in Logan Lucky and the Kumail/Ray Romano 9/11 joke in The Big Sick are literally two of the funniest moments in any movie ever. I thought I was over comic book movies, but three ended up on this list. I still can’t tell if I liked Dunkirk.

Here’s to 2018.

Best Songs:

Goldlink “Crew (feat. Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy)” SZA “Supermodel” Tove Love “Disco Tits” Migos “T-Shirt” Playboi Carti “Magnolia” Future “Solo” Sevyn Streeter “Before I Do” Kendrick “Fear” Kelela “LMK” Bruno Mars “That’s What I Like” Ty Dolla $ign “Famous” Adrian Marcel “UKNOWUDO” Miguel “Told You So” 2 Chainz “It’s A Vibe (feat. Ty Dolla $ign, Trey Songz & Jhene Aiko)” A$AP Ferg “Plain Jane” Buddy “Type of Shit (feat. Wiz Khalifa)” Devin the Dude “Are You Goin' My Way?” Frank Ocean “Chanel” Che Ecru “2 Am” Majid Jordan “One I Want (feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR)” Rick Ross “Trap, Trap, Trap (feat. Young Thug & Wale)” Young Thug “Daddy’s Birthday” Vince Stapes “Big Fish” PRETTYMUCH “Open Arms” Wizkid “Come Closer (feat. Drake)”

Best Albums:

Future HNDRXX Future FUTURE Kelela Take Me Apart Kendrick Lamar DAMN. IDK Iwasverybad Miguel War & Leisure SZA Ctrl Ty Dolla $ign Beach House 3 Jonwayne Rap Album Two Aminé Good For You Mary J. Blige Strength Of A Woman Drake More Life Meek Mill Wins & Losses Jay-Z 4:44 Playboi Carti Playboi Carti Che Ecru buries SiR Her Too Goldlink At What Cost Lou The Human Humaniac Roc Marciano Rosebudd’s Revenge Mozzy & Gunplay Dreadlocks & Headshots Wiki No Mountains In Manhattan milo who told you to think??!!?!?!?! Migos Culture Anna Wise The Feminine: Act II

Best Beats:

Oh No x Tristate “Wind Chime Wizardry” (Oh No) Juelz Santana & Dave East “Time Ticking” (Jahlil Beats) Offset & Metro Boomin “Ric Flair Drip” (Bijan Amir, Metro Boomin) Future “Solo” (Dre Moon) Iamsu “Shake” (Iamsu) Aminé “Slide” (Jahaan Sweet, Aminé) Kap G “Motivation” (???) Mila J “Fuckboy” (Immanuel Jordan Rich) Jonwayne “Afraid Of Us” (Jonwayne) SZA “Go Gina” (Scum, Lang, Frank Dukes) Milo “Sorcerer” (Kenny Segal) Action Bronson “Bonzai” (Harry Fraud) RJMrLA & DJ Mustard “Hard Way” (DJ Mustard)

Best TV Shows:

American Vandal Mindhunter Godless Twin Peaks: The Return Bojack Horseman The Carmichael Show The Deuce Rick and Morty The Leftovers Master of None Veep Halt and Catch Fire Mr. Robot The Good Place The Get Down Shark Tank Glow Insecure Marvel’s Runaways Lady Dynamite The Defiant Ones All or Nothing Every scene in Curb Your Enthusiasm between Larry and Richard Lewis

Best Movies:

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Lady Bird The Florida Project Get Out Logan Lucky American Made Logan Girls Trip Hidden Figures The Meyerowitz Stories Molly’s Game The Big Sick Thor: Ragnarok Coco Wonder Woman It The Disaster Artist Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond Spider-Man: Homecoming Dunkirk The Lost City of Z

Best Comedy Specials:

Louis C.K.: 2017 (I know, I know...) Roy Wood Jr: Father Figure Norm Macdonald: Hitler's Dog, Gossip & Trickery Chris Gethard: Career Suicide Al Madrigal: Shrimpin' Ain't Easy Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King Brent Weinbach: Appealing to the Mainstream Rory Scovel Tries Stand-Up For The First Time Maria Bamford: Old Baby Erik Griffin: The Ugly Truth Neal Brennan: Three Mics The Standups: Fortune Feimster The Standups: Beth Stelling Marc Maron: Too Real Comedy Central Stand Up Presents: Anthony Devito Comedy Central Stand Up Presents: Sam Jay Joe Mande's Award-Winning Comedy Special Todd Barry: Spicy Honey Ryan Hamilton: Happy Face The Standups: Nate Bargatze

Previously: 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013

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mr-ig · 7 years

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A farewell to Swans

Later tonight in New York, this particular version of Swans will play together for the last time and then dissolve. Another version of Swans will follow, we are told, but has yet to take a form. Whatever that form, it's impossible to imagine that it won't have to live in the shadow of this extraordinary line-up, that it won't be shaped by its gravity. It's impossible not to see this as an ending rather than a beginning.

It seems like longer, but it's a little more than seven years - 27th October 2010, to be precise - since I had my first encounter with this new Swans line-up, at the Concorde 2 in Brighton. I hadn't been certain about going. I'd drifted away from them in the mid-nineties; I had no appetite at all for a trip down memory lane. I went mainly out of curiosity, my interest piqued by Michael Gira's insistence that this would be something new and distinct. When Gira insists on something, it tends to happen.

That night, you could feel that they were still finding their way. The set was comparatively short, contained a scattering of old material, lacked a really decisive direction. The volume was moderate. Some lines were fluffed, tempers sometimes a little frayed. But in the extended opening of "No Words/No Thoughts" and the elements of what would eventually become "The Seer", I found something elemental, something that I hadn't realised I'd been attempting to live without. In those moments, they raised the tension in the room to the point where you couldn't breathe and then sent it all crashing down again and again and again, pushing themselves to the edge of physical endurance, pushing themselves far beyond the point where any other, any lesser band would stop. In those brutal and ravishing moments, you could feel not diminishing echoes of the band they once were but the rising clamour of the band they would imminently become.

In the intervening years, I've seen them another nine times. That's testament to Gira's relentless work ethic as much as my own enthusiasm. There have been troughs as well as peaks: I recall an especially unsatisfying evening at the Electric in Brixton in 2014, at which the ear-splitting volume seemed to smother any subtlety, almost every key line was fluffed, and the set list appeared in dire need of a re-write. The overall effect was of a band in very steep decline. Less than a week later, they performed exactly the same set list in Brighton with such precise, furious force that you could feel the air trembling. It culminated in the crescendo of "Bring the Sun" which built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built and built, burning and ecstatic and utterly sexual, teetering on the edge, then finally collapsing spent and exhausted, gasping for air. It was f***ing beautiful. A pure celebration of existence.

They could do that. Not always, but sometimes. And sometimes is better than never, which is what everyone else trades in. Those moments when it felt as if you were sharing the room with an exploding sun, when your body might disintegrate into atoms. Those moments when they'd start to bring the strands of an idea together from a spell of separated dissonance, when they'd suddenly catch a phrase or a movement and you'd think, "That. Right there. Just play that. Play it until it hurts me. Play it until it erases everything else. Play it until it buries us all." And they would, and then some. Those moments when I'd close my eyes and meditate in the middle of the crowd, concentrating on breathing in and breathing out, lost completely in the here and now. They could do that, and I've rarely felt more alive.

A few more things I'll remember always. A version of what possibly became "Screen Shot" which levitated and shimmered in a way that can only be described as gorgeous, redefining what this band was capable of, how lightly it might tread. The way that "A Little God In My Hands" became this unstoppable groove, brassed-up funk hammering down and down, another breathtaking redefinition. The conclusion of a spectacular show at London's Koko, Gira bellowing revolutionary slogans and miming throat-slitting while his band did its utmost to strip the paint from the walls. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Gira leaning away from the microphone and out into the audience at the end of "Cloud of Unknowing" and singing gently to us as if clutching us to his chest, a lullaby, a redemption.

And best of all, that final London show at the Roundhouse. When they'd played there before, it had seemed a little too big for them, perhaps too much of a stretch to muster the required intensity in such a vast space. But somehow, at the second attempt, the sense of occasion lifted them to new heights, and perhaps the relative absence of work-in-progress did no harm too. They play for the customary two-and-a-half hours with such grace and power that it seems impossible to believe that it's the last time; it feels as if every second is made to count, not a single note wasted. They've never been better. They're about to end it all, and they've never been better.

And there it is. While everyone else was playing old albums in their entirety to the people who'd bought them in the first place, turning rock'n'roll into a museum with a particularly cynical gift shop, here was the alternative. Now thirty-five years old, Swans have not merely added to their substantial history and influence but have done their utmost to eclipse it, to render it irrelevant. In one key sense, they've succeeded: it used to be compulsory to begin every Swans review with tales of volume-induced vomiting and locked doors; they've escaped the pull of those apocryphal tales. They have existed in the moment; the moment has been their sole justification; they depart in the same spirit.

And finally, after all this time, Gira has had the audience he's long deserved, one coming in search of the new and the undiscovered, one willing to listen and to experience. At the Roundhouse, only a couple of people push past on their way to or from the bar over the course of nearly two and a half hours. This, the last time we'll be in a space with the most extraordinary live band we've ever witnessed...it's far too precious for alcohol to blur, far too vital for distraction. We want to be overwhelmed one last time, to drown ourselves in the vastness of Swans' engulfing tide. We're not here to take pictures of it on our phones.

One last bow, then. Christoph Hahn. Thor Harris. Paul Wallfisch. Phil Puleo. Christopher Pravdica. Norman Westberg. He's been Jayne Mansfield. And the curtain falls. And the space empties. And we wonder what can possibly fill it.

#swans #Michael Gira #thor harris #christoph hahn #norman westberg #phil puleo #christopher pravdica #Paul Wallfisch

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