#Katy and Shang Chi really out here living their best life

[little-cereal-draws]

Imma be completely honest, I’m literally only here as a Marvel Fan because of MK and WWBN, the writing of everything else is atrocious.

This is my fifth year being an mcu fan so i definitely have not been following it since the beginning but those two definitely are the best of phase 4.

I know this isnt' what u asked for but i'm bored here are my ratings for phase 4:

Moon Knight. I'm not going to write all the reasons i love it bc that would turn into an entire essay lol but this show is phenomenal and has captured my heart and soul

Werewolf by Night. again, just like moon knight, it's creative and cinematic and perfect in every way

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It's funny, got good action, emotional parts, and i live for shang and katy's relationship. they're so funny and i'm eternally glad they didn't force them into a weird romance

Ms. Marvel. the kids were written like kids and kamala is so dorky and cute. i know a lot of ppl didn't like her for some reason but she also lives in my heart

Hawkeye. This is just bc im one of those comic book nerds and have read every single hawkeye book and have merch and stuff lol I'm a diehard fan and loved pointing out all the little details even if it deviated from the comics

Black Widow. I think people are right that Yelena did steal the show a little bit but i love it anyway. It always makes me cry. every time.

Thor: Love and Thunder. I liked this movie! I saw it in theaters multiple times and enjoyed it. I can see the reasons behind people's critiques and do agree that the first half felt a bit weirdly paced but the second half really saved it for me

WandaVision. I'm just a sucker for Wanda and Vision lol They were my first mcu ship and i'm glad they finally got a spotlight. ppl complain abt the ending but i thought it was pretty good

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I loved seeing all the different dynamics that came up in this show and the real world problems it addressed. It also made me cry. I loved Sam and Bucky but Karli really stole the show for me and I was on her side the whole time lol

What If...? I actually really liked the reimagining of the characters and the odd pair ups. It was fun to see all the new interactions we would never get in canon. I think the watcher was weird and didn't need to fight ultron but the rest of it was good. Also the animation was beautiful. I was on the edge of my seat trying to get a better look at it the whole time lol

Spider-Man: No Way Home. It was a really good movie but I haven't seen all the og spider man movies so i didn't know who a lot of the villains were. and peter could have thought his little stunt at the end through a bit more but oh well. Still funny though

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It was really exciting to see America (i'm also a fan of her comics) but really I was rooting for wanda the whole time lol Ofc I knew that america would live bc they need her for the young avengers but it was really fun seeing wanda be in her villain era. they did her dirty at the end tho and basically had her learn the lesson she just learned in wandavision... which was also the lesson she learned in civil war. when will they give my girl a new arc? also i'm in denial, I refuse to believe she's dead :) (and also dr strage was in it too ig)

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. This was fun, I had a good time. It was really funny and finally confirmed that peter and mantis were siblings but i don't think i'll watch it any time other than christmas (unlike werewolf by night which is a year round event lol)

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. ok this one got a lot of hate but i don't see why? i didn't think it was bad, i just wasn't gripped by the story. i only watched up to episode three so i can't judge the whole thing but it was a bit too slice of life-y for me to be engaged w the story but as far as i can tell, that's jen's thing. The parts that i did see weren't poorly written and it's not the shows fault the animation was so bad (cough marvelwon'tlettheiranimatorsunionize cough)

Eternals. Same problem as she hulk. it wasn't bad, it just wasn't interesting. I only made it through half the movie before i left but i was really confused by who was who. i kept getting them mixed up

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The only reason this is so low is because I haven't seen it yet. I've heard nothing but glowing reviews so i'm sure it'll go up to the top of the list but i can't judge it until i see it

Loki. I hate this show, i hate it so much. I am so fucking mad abt this bc it had so much potential! I've also read the loki comics and i think those set my bar too high. yes, the show acknowledges loki is bi but they make him fall in love with another version of himself instead of doing anything w that. yes, they acknowledge he's genderfluid but we never see it, not even in flashbacks. he's trying to redefine who he is and stuff but i was so distracted by the horrible self-cest romance, that i was actively rooting against, to notice character development. If you want a good story about a bisexual, genderfluid loki redefining themself in the most beautiful way, read the Loki: Agent of Asgard comic run

#this got long lol #asks #marvel #mcu

[emisirrelevant]

My MCU Phase 4 MOVIE Ranking 

Since MCU Phase 4 has come to a close, and I just watched Black Panther Wakanda Forever, I am going to give my ranking- did anyone need this? No. But I'm the one voluntarily choosing to state my opinions online.

DISCLAIMERS: not ranking the shows, just the movies- maybe I'll do a separate post for the shows?

I thought about it but I will be mentioning spoilers. I didn't know how else to rank them without using evidence from the films to back up my justifications.

The movies aren't in position of best-worst or anything like that, they are only just listed in the order they were released.

Okay, let's get into it.

Black Widow:

7/10, or maybe even 8/10 for me. Overall, I personally thought it was decent. I know there were a LOT of people who gave it negative reviews. I remember seeing so many bad things about it from people when it came out. But honestly, is it the worst thing Marvel has made? Imo, no. I won't get into the nitty gritty, or the Taskmaster stuff, but I liked getting to see Natasha again- even though we know this was before she died. And Florence Pugh as Yelena stole the show for me. Black Widow is (was?) also one of my favorite Avengers, so I personally have a soft spot in my heart.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings:

8/10 or maybe 8.5/10 for me. I am hesitant to push it toward a 9/10. Here's why and let me explain. I am aware that some people are THIRSTY for Tony Leung. I don't understand that, however it's your life, not mine. BUT I will say he did a damn good job being a complex character. I don't like him for giving Shang Chi trauma, but I think he did good being morally gray. Even though I got frustrated as F sometimes with his character. Shang Chi I actually liked. His dynamic with Katy? Great. I like Awkwafina tbh. Xu Xialing being the badass sister? Iconic. Although I hope she doesn't turn evil based off that post credit scene (another reason why I'm hesitant to give it a 9/10- I just want her to be good okay? Can't have TOO many morally complex people) The cinematography was great. Finally, as someone who is Asian (specifically Chinese0 but I was adopted) the Asian representation was decent. You know, it wasn't anything super mold breaking but for big names like Disney and Marvel, I give a nod.

Eternals:

3/10 or 4/10 at MOST. I honestly don't even remember most of this movie. I didn't even really have many expectations going into it, but.. yeah let's just say it was not my favorite. I didn't really like Sersi and Icarus together. I honestly felt like their characters were boring tbh. Druig and Makkari though? That's the REAL ship. And representation for the deaf! It's a start! Also, I will be crying eternally over Gilgamesh dying. The one thing about the plot that mainly interested me was Dane Whitman. I admit I am interested in seeing how the Black Knight storyline will be explored further. Other than that, Eternals was not really a memorable MCU film for me.

Spiderman No Way Home:

A solid 8/10. I think we can all agree this one was the MOST hyped up movie from Phase 4. Like ever. The hype was so real. I LIVED through it all. What a world to live in. Everyone was avoiding spoilers left and right. Anyway. I DID like the film overall since it continued the storyline of Peter's identity being discovered, and a bit of Dr. Strange's storyline. Obviously, the cameo from Tobey and Andrew was great to see. Although I admit I did not grow up watching Tobey and Andrew's versions of Spiderman, I felt the kind of "magic" experience of seeing the original folks back on screen permeate through me. HOWEVER. The only reason I cannot score this one any higher is because I didn't like the ending. I haven't really seen much and it has been a while, but do others hate the ending? What is the universal opinion? I may just look it up on a Reddit thread later. Anyway, I personally didn't like that ending. Why would you do the memory wipe trope??? I mean, was that actually the ONLY solution to Peter nearly tearing apart the space time continuum and fabric of the universe??? So Ned and MJ are just gonna have to continue on. I can't think about it too much or I may get emo actually. To end it on a good note, it was cool seeing the old villains from the universe as well.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness:

7/10. Yeah. I had to think for a second. But 7/10 feels right for this one. It wasn't really my favorite, but I didn't think it was the worst. And oh god, there seems to be a LOT of controversy around this one. By controversy, I also just mean basically mixed opinions. From what I've seen/heard, people either really hate this one or they're like, alright. It's mid. Also, for a movie that has Doctor Strange in the title, I sure did see the entire world talking mostly about Wanda. I don't know. It feels like this movie was just chaotic? Specifically in terms of the storyline, I mean. Like, I thought it was interesting that this was the movie they decided on to introduce America Chavez into the MCU. I think it could have been easier for people to follow maybe just one major character? So the focus isn't constantly shifting? Maybe that's just me. Also, is Stephen just destined to be alone now? Idk about the comics because I don't really read those, but like, I guess he's never ending up with Christine in any universe. Is the Darkhold like actually destroyed for real? What the fuck is the storyline now?? I've seen/heard rumors of the next movie actually being Dimension of Darkness (hence the post credit scene) but like what would the plot be? Again, I don't read the comics so idk if they touch on that, but yeah Doctor Strange's timeline/story and character arc is just one of the weirdest in the MCU for me I guess.

Thor Love and Thunder:

8/10. Yes, I WILL defend this movie. Despite it being another Phase 4 movie which got crapped on, I liked it. If Thor Love and Thunder has 100 fans, I am one of them. If Thor Love and Thunder has 10 fans, I am one of them. If Thor Love and Thunder has only 1 fan, I am that fan. You get the gist. I think people were just so shocked for once that it wasn't their usual type of superhero movie. First of all, what does that even mean. Just let people enjoy their silly little movies, damn. I will admit, was it the strongest plot? Meh. But I did enjoy the dialogue a lot. I liked seeing Thor, Jane, and Valkyrie again. If you can't even think of Korg without getting offended, then you can just leave. Also, Christian Bale did an amazing job at being a villain. I will give him that. I will say that was one of the highlights of this movie probably tbh. I was so shook. As someone who watched Newsies, I was just like "he was Jack Kelly and now he's this" LOL.

Okay. And I know- most of know by now that Jane died, and some people didn't like that- yeah, I was sad too- but I thought it made sense for her character. Like I said, I'll play the defender. Also, because I thought it was impactful about how it paralleled Gorr and Love's relationship. And it was a metaphor for her going to Valhalla. She died in her OWN battle. But yeah, the storyline now with Thor will be interesting. I wonder what his next adventure will be. And if there's people out there still pressed about this movie, I'll just say I don't think Taiki Waititi cares.

Black Panther Wakanda Forever:

8.5/10. I just recently watched this one and I am still processing it. So I may not have as many fully formed thoughts on this movie compared to the others, but if I were to give keywords, I would say impactful and emotional. I went on Instagram and Twitter and there seems to be a majority of people who liked it. However, the main negatives I saw were issues with Shuri or Riri. Which is a whole discussion within itself. Also the storyline and length. I understand people thinking it dragged on. I went with one of my friends to watch the movie and she told me afterwards it felt a bit long to her. I can get that. But I WOULD argue with you on the cinematography. I thought that visually the film was great. The underwater scenes were fine with me. The costuming as well. I thought it did fine honoring Chadwick Boseman. To those who say it wasn't enough for them though, I just have to ask, ok, what would you have done instead? Like, yeah I saw some people saying Riri shouldn't have been introduced in the movie, and Shuri should have just stayed a scientist. So what would YOU make the storyline? And that's all I have to say on that. Aside from that, the soundtrack was great though. Overall, I think this film was one of the best for me of Phase 4. And it was a beautiful way to end it.

#marvel #mcu #mcu phase 4 #black widow #shang chi #eternals #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #spiderman no way home #thor love and thunder #black panther wakanda forever #welp.. on to phase 5 now lol

[midnightsdreary]

making love out of nothing at all || Shang-Chi

pairing: xu shang-chi x reader

summary: your boyfriend has returned from a journey you couldn’t follow him on. adjusting to this is proving difficult.

a/n: i’ve never published my writing on tumblr before so bear with me here please.

rating: 18+

read on ao3

He comes back on a Thursday.

He comes back different.

It’s not a bad sort of different, to be fair, but still. When Shang-Chi and Katy first stepped foot back in the city, visiting you with matching sheepish smiles, you didn’t know what to think. They’d disappeared off the face of the Earth for weeks and now here they were, telling you stories of fathers and dragons and rings.

Believing them is not as hard as one might expect, but of course this is the kind of world you live in now. So it’s not the believing that’s hard, but the accepting. It stings that he didn’t take you, his girlfriend of nearly six months, with him. And it’s not like that’s as long as you’ve known him, either. You’d met him two years after Katy, and even then you’d known he was special. Feelings hadn’t entered the equation for a long, long time, but once they did you couldn’t be happier.

So yeah, you’re a little hurt. More than a little, actually. Really fucking hurt. But you can’t just say that; Shang-Chi had lost his father, not to mention nearly losing his own life. You won’t be the asshole who adds onto his grief. So you try your best to manage it on your own, but each time you see him now you never want to let him out of your sight.

Even two months later, you’re still halfway afraid he will one day up and leave again.

This evening you’re having a night in at his apartment, lounging on his bed in sweats and a ratty old t-shirt watching some B-list rom-com that neither of you are really invested in. You’re not sleepy but not exactly energetic—you’d call it peaceful if it weren’t for the way your nerves seem to be twisting over themselves. His arm is around you, his eyes halfway closed, and you steal glances at him every few minutes.

You tell yourself that this fear that he will just disappear is irrational. He has sworn that if he is needed by someone again, he will not go without telling you.

It did not escape your attention that he did not say he would take you with him.

You can’t say anything about it. You promised yourself.

And yet.

His arm tightens around you minutely, and you break.

“Shang-Chi,” you say, and his attention drifts to you.

This too is new; referring to him as Shang-Chi rather than Shaun. You find yourself slipping up from time to time, but you’re getting better. It’s a nice name, and Katy has already teased him plenty about the similarities between his identities, so you don’t need to.

“What’s up?” he asks, shifting so that he’s facing you properly. His arm leaves your shoulder and you’re already regretting starting this.

“I…” you begin. “Um.” This is just as hard as you imagined it to be, but you can’t back out now. He waits patiently while you try to gather your words.

Finally, you try again. “When you left,” you say, doing your damndest to not let your voice waver, “you didn’t tell me. And I get why! I just. It.” You sigh, frustrated that this is not coming out like you wanted it to.

Shang-Chi’s face shifts, filling with shame, and you immediately hate yourself so much. “I would have,” he says, “if I had had time, I promise I would have.”

“I know,” you say quickly. “Baby, I know. And I don’t need you to apologize. It’s my fault I can’t get over it.”

Shang-Chi grabs your hands suddenly, looking into your eyes. “None of this is your fault.”

“I shouldn’t be feeling this way,” you argue. “You saved so many people. You saved the world, and I’m over here complaining because you…” Trailing off again, you try to reign in how emotional you’re getting.

“Are you mad?” he asks. “That I took Katy and not you? Because she didn’t really give me a choice, honestly, she would’ve hopped on that plane no matter what I did.”

“No, I don’t have a problem with Katy,” you say, and you mostly mean it. You’ve never been jealous of Katy—she and Shang-Chi have always been attached at the hip, that’s true, but their dynamic is closer to that of siblings than anything else. But there’s no denying they’ve been through something together that has fundamentally changed how they see each other.

And you weren’t a part of it.

So it’s not really Katy you’re jealous of, but the fact that she got to go along on this amazing life-changing adventure while you remained clueless in San Francisco.

“I just wish you had told me,” you admit. “I didn’t know where you’d gone. I thought something terrible happened.” And you think maybe something did, because he still hasn’t told you all of it. You should be more angry about that, probably. But you’ve been his girlfriend for long enough that you’re all too familiar with the fact that there are some things Shang-Chi just doesn’t talk about, and maybe never will.

“I was alone,” you whisper. “I know why you thought you couldn’t take me. But I felt so alone.”

“Sweetheart,” he says, and the guilt in his tone is almost enough to have you taking it all back, to say you were just overreacting and that he shouldn’t worry about it. “I’m sorry.” He leans over, pressing his forehead to yours, one of his favorite gestures of affection.

“I know,” you reply softly.

“I wish you’d told me earlier,” he says.

Your hands slide up to cover his. “I didn’t want you to feel bad.”

“You could never make me feel bad.” Oh, this man. How he makes your heart ache, in the best way.

“I love you,” you murmur.

You can feel his breath ghost across your lips. “I love you too.”

He pulls away from you slowly, and you’re relieved to see that he looks like he feels much better. “I know I said it before, but I really am sorry.”

“You don’t need to say it again—”

“Let me make it up to you?” He’s smiling now, eyebrows lifted.

Oh. Oh.

Well, you’ll never say no to that.

He tilts his head, silently asking permission that he knows you’ll give. You give it by sitting up straight and wasting no time in pulling your shirt over your head. Your bra is beige and has a bandaid right in the middle in order to cover the wire that has popped out of the fabric, which is not at all sexy, but he still looks at you like you’re the hottest thing he’s ever seen, and it does awful, wonderful things to your stomach. It takes a bit more maneuvering to get your pants off, and while you struggle to do that he shucks off his own clothes, leaving him in only black boxers that don’t leave much to the imagination.

You swing your leg over his lap so that you can straddle him, cradling his face in your hands and kissing him deeply. His tongue slips into your mouth and you moan, relishing in the feeling of him. His hands grip your hips and you can’t suppress the shiver that runs through you. He’s so warm, so full of life, and you remind yourself that he is here with you. He’s not leaving, not now.

You kiss and kiss and kiss for what might as well be an eternity, the way you two are wrapped up in each other. At some point you unhook your bra and toss it carelessly off the bed. His hands come up eagerly to cup your breasts. You gasp when his thumbs brush across your nipples, his touch feather-light.

You would gladly stay in his lap forever, but it seems that Shang-Chi has had an even better idea as he gently lifts you off of him and flips you both so that he’s on top, bracing himself on his elbows and looking down at you fondly. He leans down and kisses your collarbone, and you watch with bated breath as he slowly moves further down your body, trailing kisses across your breasts, down your stomach, on both your thighs. He slides his fingers under the fabric of your panties, and you lift your hips to encourage him to take them off. But he lingers, apparently content just to feel your skin.

“Don’t tease me, Shang-Chi,” you breathe.

“I would never,” he says, mock offended, and when you see the teasing smile pulling at the corners of his mouth you can’t help but play along, whining like a petulant child.

“But I want you to touch me,” you say. “Don’t you want to touch me?”

That, however, seems to ignite something in him. His dark eyes go darker. “You don’t know half of what I want to do to you,” he murmurs. Finally he drags your panties down your legs and you sigh happily. It’s not like this is the first time you’ve fucked since he’s been back, but something about tonight feels electric.

And when his mouth is finally on you, well.

“Oh, fuck,” you hiss, one hand curling into the short strands of his hair and the other grasping at the bedcovers. “Fuck yes, Shang-Chi.”

He hums against you and rubs his thumb across your clit, because he is insanely good at knowing just how to please you. Your legs tremble and with his free hand he pushes your thighs further apart, spreading you out so he can taste you better. His tongue slips inside of you and you nearly scream. It’s only for the sake of his neighbors that you try to keep your voice down, but damn is it hard when he’s tonguefucking you like this.

You have to remove your hand from his hair to slap it over your mouth when he circles your clit with his finger again, crying out desperately against your palm. His tongue is so warm inside you like the rest of him, and you know you’re going to come undone embarrassingly soon.

His hand squeezes your thigh as he hums again, sending shockwaves up your spine.

“So fucking good,” you say, muffled by your hand. “Ohh, keep doing that.”

And because he is the best boyfriend ever, he does. He licks up against your walls like he wants to devour you, and all the while his thumb does not leave your clit. Your heart and head are pounding and you grind your hips up into his face helplessly.

Orgasm hits you like a train. Your voice rises in a wail and yeah, someone definitely heard that one. Shang-Chi coaxes you through it, keeps eating you out until you’re whining from the overstimulation. When he looks up to meet your eyes, his entire mouth and chin are slick with your wetness.

“God, come up here,” you say, and he obeys. You kiss him deeply, tasting yourself on his tongue. Then, because you know he’s got to be aching by now, you press your hand to the front of your boxers and are pleased by how hard he is.

“Get those off,” you order, “and fuck me.”

“As the lady commands,” he says, and you snort at the stupid faux accent he does. Even now he makes you laugh. It’s one of the things you love about him.

He sits back to pull off his boxers and you watch him with anticipation. When he’s got them off and is completely bared to you, you reach out to pull him back down and kiss him again.

You can feel as he positions himself, ready to slide inside of you, and with how wet you still are it won’t be hard at all. Before he does, though, he breaks away from the kiss to speak close to your ear.

“I’m sorry for scaring you,” he says. “I’m never going to do that to you again.”

The desperate honesty in his tone shakes you to your core. Never before have you found yourself speechless around him. You’re not sure how you feel about it; it’s a level of vulnerability you weren’t prepared for. Wordlessly, you wrap your legs around his waist.

His first thrust into you is slow, careful. It’s still enough to have you gasping into his shoulder. He presses a kiss to the top of your head, the big sap, and rolls his hips into yours. A pleasured groan leaves him, and it is so, so good to know that you can make him feel as fantastic as he does you.

But you still want more, and you know exactly how to get it.

“Shang-Chi,” you say, grinning, “you can fuck me harder than that.”

And if you know one thing about your boyfriend, it’s that he always rises to the challenge.

His next thrust punches the air out of you, and when he growls in your ear you’re nearly embarrassed to say your eyes roll back. This is possibly the most turned on you’ve ever been in your life—scratch that, it definitely is. This man unravels you.

He fucks into you steadily, holding you close to him. You do the same, arms wrapped firmly around his back in order to keep his front pressed against yours. You kiss again, even though neither of you are getting enough air right now. Honestly, the lightheadedness adds to the pleasure.

This is exactly what you needed, and both of you know it; when he’s this close, when he’s quite literally inside you, there’s no doubt in your mind that he’s here to stay. He’s yours as much as you are his, and you believe his promise. You love him. God, you love him so much it seems impossible.

“Can I—” he gasps, “do you want me to—”

“Come inside,” you say, punctuated by another moan. You’re on the pill, so it’s probably fine, but you make a mental note to stop by CVS tomorrow morning. Better safe than sorry.

“Oh, fuck,” he says, and hearing him swear is what does you in. Your legs shake as you come for the second time tonight, nails digging into his back. He follows you soon after, and the feeling of him releasing inside is enough to send another wave of pleasure through you.

When you finally come down from the high, you stare up into Shang-Chi’s face and suddenly feel like crying. To avoid it you just bury your face in his neck and tug at his arms until he gets the hint and collapses onto the bed beside you.

“We need a shower,” he says once he’s caught his breath.

“Yeah,” you sigh. “Later though. Sleep now.”

“Sleep sounds good.” He pulls the covers over you both, then moves so that you are pressed tightly against his chest. And this, too, is part of what makes you adore him so. He makes you feel safe.

“I love you,” you say again, because you will never be able to say it enough.

“Love you, too,” he replies, and holds you tighter.

There is still much more to talk about, but right now as you lay in his arms, sated and happier than you’ve been in weeks, you think you can wait just a little while longer.

#shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings #shang-chi #shang-chi x reader #xu shang chi #shang chi x reader #shang chi imagine

[crazycookiecrumbles]

Ooooooo I have a fic for you!!!

How about Shang chi is in a relationship with a fem shyreader who’s powerful and legendary superhero and popular member of the avengers who has the power to control the weather, please! Thank you 😊

I can definitely see Katy always requesting her what kind of weather she wants, especially Katy demanding y/n taking her to fly. Also I can definitely see that Bucky Barnes and Sam wilson are jealous Shang chi is “stealing” their best friend. They all watch, even Shang chi in amazement Everytime y/n uses her powers

Okay, I hope it turns out how you like it! (also I hid a ghostbusters reference in here because I'm a dork I'm sorry; and references to Storm ,the best of the best for obvious reasons)

The Soft Tempest

Shang-Chi x Shy!Reader

"So can I request a white Christmas?" Katy asked. "But, like, super white? Not in a racist white people way, but with snow."

Shangqi groaned and covered his face with the palm of his hand. Katy smiled happily at you while you looked up from your book and tilted your head to the side as you studied Katy's excited, adorable face.

The three of you were currently waiting at the airport for Sam and Bucky to arrive. They had just finished a trying, emotional mission involving the new, but also former, Captain America, John Walker, and they decided to drop in and pay their favorite Avenger a visit, given that you waere on leave and trying to live a quiet life for as long as you could.

This meant that Katy was sitting on one chair playing a million and one questions. Shangqi was in the seat next to Katy, your legs draped over his lap as he mindlessly ran his hand up and down your shin, and you were reading and only partially paying attention to all of Katy's crazy ideas for the week to come.

"Katy," Shangqi groaned. "Part of keeping a low profile means her not using her powers."

Katy narrowed her eyes, "Excuse me but you told me you kissed her in the rain and she made it rain because she wanted to recreate some cheesy scene in one of her dumb movies -- no offense they're so cheesy and cute but so dumb -- and you thought it was the coolest thing. Also, you're dating what's basically a god, so, who is being subtle here?"

"I'm not a God..." you began as you folded a page in your book and shut it. "I just happen to have been struck by lightning on a ship, drowned, had a very strange vision while underwater, and woke up with really weird and strange powers. and half of my hair turning white."

Katy stared at you and sighed, "Y/N. When someone says that you're a god, you say, yes. So, anyway. White Christmas?"

You chuckled, "Of course, Katy."

"Thank you. See? She's the best. You seriously dated up, bro."

Shangqi glanced at you and shot you a wink, "I know I did. I think about it every single day."

You beamed at him. You smiled, eyes darting between him and the book on your lap as your cheeks burned hotly. You quickly grabbed the book again to hide your embarrassed face. Shangqi grabbed the book, tilted it down slightly, and leaned forward to kiss you. You returned the kiss, a soft, sweet peck on the lips that had him humming satisfaction while you blushed even more.

Your soft moment with your boyfriend was ruined when someone recognized you, and then another, and another. You couldn't say no when they came up to you. A little boy wearing a t-shirt of you asked for a picture. A teenager with her parents and hair designed just like yours was too shy to ask for a picture. Her parents did it for her, and you couldn't say no. You all took the picture together.

And the more that this happened, the more people began to notice you and share the news that the Tempest herself, Avenger, a true force to be reckoned with was around, well, the floodgates opened.

Shangqi took your hand in his when there was a brief reprieve. He took hold of Katy's arm, and the three of you rushed to a different section of the airport. Katy hid with you in the bathroom for a little while before the three of you gathered together and went to wait by the gate.

"Y/N! Baby girl! Light of my life, the rain on my window, the snow on my trees, the breeze in my hair -- "

"What hair?" Bucky snickered, cutting off Sam.

"Fuck off with your emo-lookin' ass," Sam scoffed as he approached you, dropped his bags, and lifted you in the air in a bone-crushing hug that grabbed the attention of too many people. "How are you doing baby girl?"

You giggled "Hi, Sam. I'm good. How are you? How was the flight?"

"I mean, it'd be better if Bucky didn't snore, but it was good."

"I don't snore," Bucky rolled his eyes at Sam and shoved him to the side. With his metal arm, he wrapped it around your waist and pulled you in for a tight hug. He could see Shangqi staring with the slightest hint of jealousy. Bucky rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at him. "How are ya, kitten? Do I need to beat up the boyfriend yet?"

Be nice," you scolded Bucky and lightly slapped the top of his hand. "Shangqi is nothing but a gentleman to me."

"Sure, but once he slips up..." Sam shot Shangqi a warning look.

"Good to see you guys too," Shangqi sighed.

"Hey, next time, don't steal our girl," Bucky said easily.

Katy nodded, "Makes sense. I agree with the partial robot. That's totally an appropriate response. So can we go now? I'm starving and I want to see some snow."

"It's not even Christmas, Katy," Shangqi reminded her.

"But it's so cool," Katy whined as you all walked away. "Bro, have you gone flying in the rain? It's amazing."

"Yes, I have," Shangqi said. "Katy she's my girlfriend."

Katy blinked, "Yeah. So?"

~*~

Eventually, when Shangqi stopped fighting Katy over custody of his own girlfriend, you all went out to eat. Katy looked at you, bouncing on her heels, asking for you to do the thing. You laughed and shook your head. Standing still, you stared ahead. Katy watched with pure joy on her face as your eyes clouded over and were completely white. In front of their very eyes, you created a rainstorm that took over the one block where the cafe rested. Then, just as suddenly, a windstorm picked up at such a violent speed that it dried the outdoor seats.

Katy squealed in delight, screamed that you were awesome, and ran across the street. She claimed the table she wanted for all of you, and the rest of you joined her.

"That is still so cool," Shangqi whispered to you and kissed you on the cheek.

"Hey, hey, hands off, man. You get enough of her!" Sam said as he wrapped both of his arms around you and ripped you away. "It's our time with the little weather map right now. "

"Yeah, buzz off, man. Bad enough you stole her across the world. Now you keep her while we're here? Sheesh!" Bucky wrapped his other arm around you and the two took you away from your boyfriend to grab your seats.

Shangqi shook his head to himself as he walked behind you three, "How long are you guys in town for?" He asked out loud.

"Longer than you'd like," Bucky smirked as he pulled out your chair. All the while, Sam took the other seat next to you before Bucky could get it.

"You guys are ridiculous," You laughed and pulled your hat down further on your head to hide a little.

"And you're ridiculously awesome," Katy said. "Now we've got the outdoor part to ourselves. God, you're the best, Y/N."

"She really is the best, isn't she?" Shangqi mused in addition to Katy, watching as you turned red and looked around for a menu to hide your face with. "Come on babe, admit it, you're the best."

"No, no, I'm not," you said dismissively.

Sam scoffed, "One time, I saw her fly up in the air, lift her hands, and all of the sudden, a hurricane came and lifted a Hydra facility right outta the ground, and dumped it off the side of a cliff."

Bucky scoffed, "What, you think that's cool? One time, I saw her create a lightning tsunami."

"The fuck is a lightning tsunami? Now you're lying just to outdo me but you can't outdo my experience that I saw with my own two eyes!"

"I saw it with my own two eyes and she struck this massive tsunami with lightning and it's still, by far, coolest thing I've seen. I'd like to see Tolkien write that," Bucky added proudly, arms crossing over his chest.

You shook your head and looked to Shangqi who was beaming.

"See that, babe? You're so amazing they're fighting over how good you are."

"Yeah, yeah, so cute," Katy nodded. "Can...can you do thundersnow?"

#shang-chi x reader #shang-chi x avenger!reader #shangqi #shang chi x avenger!reader #shangqi x reader #avenger!reader #shang chi imagine #fluff #request #anon #crazycookiecrumbles masterlist

[ijenoyou]

You’re a dad?

shang-chi x reader.

summary: shang-chi left out a important secret from katy, a very important secret.

warnings: pregnancy(? is that a warning haha, reader is already showing and maybe that’s all lol

notes: soooo yeah i love him sm so i decided to write sum for him lol anyways remember english isn’t my first language so pls ignore the mistakes if there’s any. also this is quite short lol

“we could’ve used the elevator, you know?” katy groans after arriving to shang-chi’s floor.

“sorry, i’m just excited to show you something.” he says after finding the door that has 203 on it.

he opens the door, letting katy see a warm looking living room, she quirks one eyebrow up and goes inside. shang-chi closes the door after both of them take their shoes off.

“baby, is that you?” someone shouts from the kitchen.

“yeah, i brought a friend with me!”

katy frowns when she sees a woman come out in her pajamas, a very pregnant lady.

“oh, hi! i’m y/n.” you stick out a hand so she could take it, katy takes a few seconds to understand what’s happening.

“hi.” she mumbles. “you’re pregnant.”

you laugh and nod. “i’m sure am.”

“why?” shang-chi pushed her arm with his elbow. “sorry i just, wow, didn’t know you had a girlfriend, let alone a whole ass child on the way!”

shang-chi sighs at his friends words, he walks up to you and smiles, he places a kiss on your lips while softly patting your big belly. he turns towards katy and motions with his hand for her to come closer, she hesitates but decided to do it. shang-chi pulls her hand by taking it from the wrist, he brings katy’s hand closer to your belly, placing it on top of your skin.

katy then feels a soft push against her hand, she gasps realizing the baby kicked.

“his name is tao.” you speak after she continues feeling your baby’s kicks.

“why didn’t you tell me about this?” she asks shaun.

he briefly looks at you. “i was going to, when were at the plane.”

“but?”

“i really don’t know, i guess i was scared of my father knowing about it so the less people see them the less danger for both.”

katy nods. she takes her hand back and smiles. “i can smell some bacon back there so if you don’t mind~” she says while walking to the kitchen, leaving you and your soon to be husband alone.

shang-chi gets closer and hugs you carefully, trying not to push your belly, you sigh when you feel his hands place themselves on your back. he rubs your skin with his thumb, trying to soothe the back pain you often get.

“i missed you.” you speak against his chest. “i was so worried when you left.”

“i know.” he gave you a tiny smile. “but i’m here y/n, and life won’t be easier now that i have the rings but i’m here and i don’t plan on leaving.”

nodding, your hand sneaks around his chest, finally stoping at his cheek. your fingers trace his features, holding eye contact with him for more than a few seconds. shang-chi connects his forehead with yours, rubbing his nose against the tip of yours.

“we should tell katy about the wedding thing.” he whispers.

you gasp. “you’re right!” you step away from him to take an envelope from your purse.

“katy! we need to talk!” he says out loud so she could hear him.

she comes back from the kitchen holding a juice box in her right hand while munching on a piece of bacon you just cooked. “yeah?”

“well, since you’re shaun’s best friend i want you to be my bridesmaid!” you give her the envelope that has the invitation to the wedding.

“do i have to wear a dress?”

#shang chi #shang chi x reader #shang chi scenarios #shang chi imagine #marvel x reader #marvel scenarios #shang chi fluff #simu liu x reader #shang chi x you

[myfunnylittlebrain]

Let's talk about Shang-Chi and His Reversible Jacket

Spoilers for Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are below the line.

In Vanity Fair's YouTube video "Notes on a Scene", Director Destin Daniel Cretton gave his breakdown of the now-iconic Bus Fight Scene in the movie. Destin gave his thoughts and revealed the processes of how they shot this absolutely insane fight scene. (And in my opinion, the best fight scene in all of the MCU.)

At the 4:20 mark, Destin explained the scene where Shaun used his jacket to fight off the goons, giving homage to Jackie Chan's fighting style. Destin was particularly emphasizing that Shaun's gray/red jacket was actually reversible.

Shown here as Destin pauses the moment where Shaun's jacket turned inside out, showing its Mustard Yellow and Blue inner lining. Destin then marks the jacket as "reversible".

After that fight scene and throughout the movie, Shang-Chi started wearing the jacket in its reverse side.

Why would Destin point this out in this breakdown video? In truth, I think not everyone, if no one, who watched the movie could have noticed that the jacket had that feature. Destin and the costume department might have made that conscious choice for a reason.

The reversible jacket is a subtle representation of Shang-Chi's double life and his character development.

The Gray/Red side represented Shaun's identity, the side that he wanted everyone to see. The mild-mannered, sweet, and carefree Chinese Immigrant who had no real direction in life besides parking cars for a living and hanging out with his best friend since high school (with an equally aimless life), Katy Chen. This was the identity he lived and wore for ten years.

However, he has another identity as Shang-Chi; represented by the Yellow/Blue side of his jacket. The Master of Kung Fu, a trained assassin at the tender age of 14, and would-be heir to his father's Ten Rings (both the magical artifacts and the organization). But this identity wasn't what he wanted to be so he ran away and kept this identity hidden.

Eventually, his past came back to hunt and haunt him.

When the bus fight scene happened, after the goon forcefully pushed Katy, Shang-Chi's other side came out in retaliation and all hell broke loose. While he was fending off the bad guys, we are given a peek of the reverse side of his jacket as Shaun used it as a defensive.

Notice how he shrugged his jacket after the first act of the fight?

It's like he's saying, "Okay, this fight is over. I'm going back to being Shaun now."

However, this revelation would not escape Katy, who is by now contemplating if her relationship with this dude she considers her best friend was potentially a lie.

"Holy shit! Who are you?"

Shaun's face fell a bit, realizing that their ten years of friendship could suddenly go down the drain.

And of course, in true MCU fashion, Razor Fist had to show up to make things more difficult for Shaun to handle. Thankfully, Katy was there to help him out as they instinctively work together as a team.

After the bus fight scene, Shaun hurries back to his garage apartment to pack up and fly off to Macau to warn his sister. Katy followed him, she wasn't letting go of what she just saw her "best friend" did.

"I've been by your side for half your life. I get that there are things you don't want to talk about, and I don't want to push. BUT A GUY WITH A FREAKING MACHETE FOR AN ARM JUST CHOPPED OUR BUS IN HALF, SHAUN! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Shaun was hesitant at first to let Katy know what was going on, he might have been afraid that Katy would reject him if she knew who he really was. But to his surprise, Katy insisted on going with him to Macau so he could explain everything on the plane.

After revealing everything to Katy about who he was and his past on the plane (Well almost everything. He lied about not pushing through in killing his mother's murderer), Katy still accepted him and stayed by his side through the adventure.

Now he has the assurance that his best friend accepts him, he started wearing his jacket on its reverse side, showing the yellow/blue inlay. It could mean he somehow also had accepted his secret identity, and it was time for him to show the world who he really was.

However, this is Shang-Chi's hero's journey of rediscovery. He was still unclear of his true self. His auntie Nan in Ta Lo helped him realize that he was a product of all who came before him, the legacy of his family.

"You are your mother. And whether you like it or not, you are also your father.”

"Your mother knew who she was. Do you?

This made Shang-Chi realize that he hadn't accepted every aspect of who he was, especially the aspect that he had killed someone at a very young age. The very reason why he ran away and hid in America to live another life as Shaun.

During Shang-Chi and Katy's conversation besides the lake, he confessed that he did push through in killing his mother's murderer. Which made him realize what Wenwu trained him to become, a killer. Because of this, Shang-Chi was resolved to finally become what his father made him to be. In order to stop his father from opening the gate, Shang-Chi has to kill Wenwu.

But Shang-Chi didn't go through in killing Wenwu, instead, he showed love and compassion for his father. With this act, Wenwu gave his life for his son and gave the Ten Rings to Shang-Chi, which he used to defeat the Dweller-In-Darkness.

When Shang-Chi and Katy returned to San Fransisco, he was wearing a new jacket. A reflection of who he has become, a product of both the good and the bad, working together within him to become the worthy wielder of the Ten Rings.

Shang-Chi's character arc was metaphorically shown by a simple reversible jacket.

If this is what Destin was trying to convey, that's a really cool touch that I didn't realize while watching the movie.

Or I'm just looking at this too much and Shaun just hadn't had enough money to buy another jacket so he went for a reversible one, so . . . . (surge)

Anyway, it's fun to speculate. Thanks to Director Destin for pointing this out.

(Note: Sorry if my grammar is a bit wanky. English isn't really my first language. I keep adding some thoughts here as I go. But the premise of this meta-analysis is the same.)

#Shang chi and the legend of the ten rings #Shang-chi #Shaun #Katy #Katy Chen #Destin Daniel Cretton #jackets #MCU #Marvel #marvel cenimatic universe #simu liu #awkwafina #shang chi #marvel studios #shang chi and Katy #shaun & katy #shaun xu #xu shang chi #chen ruiwen #nora lum #myfunnylittlebrain #myfunnylittlebrain theories

[marvelwritings]

Hi could you write something hc/imagine for Xu Shang-chi where he falls in love with the reader (shield agent) at first sight? Thank you so much!!

A/N: thank you so much for the request, I hope you like it! Let me know what you think! 

‘Close you mouth Shang-Chi, you’ll catch flies’, you hear someone hiss as you listen to Wong’s explanation. It’s almost entirely reflective when you turn around to take a look, too curious sometimes for your own good.  

You notice immediately what the woman’s voice was referring too, as you see a man blinking in surprise at the eye contact, straightening and pretending to look somewhere else. He’s just a step away from cliche whistling, while the woman next to him rolls her eyes in exasperation.  It’s cute, he’s cute, but you’re here to do your job, and that does not include looking at handsome man. It would be fun if it did though.

‘We haven’t gotten any closer to figuring out what the rings are trying to communicate with us- Hey, Y/N, are you listening?’

Snapping out of your reverie, realizing that you were the one staring now, you turn back around to Wong, acting all innocent.

‘Yes Wong, I have been listening to your monologue for the past 20 minutes now. If you want to know what Shield knows, I’ll keep it short; Nothing, they know nothing.

Wong takes a step closer to you, urgency in every word he’s trying to convey. ‘But are you sure? If they do, and they go and investigate this could turn out badly for everyone. ‘

You laugh, once again taking a look at the artifact that Wong has shown you. ‘I only know what this is because you told me, if I didn’t, I would think it was an art piece gone wrong. Shield has no idea this is even happening. Trust me,’ You vehemently enjoin, relaxing your posture once you realize this isn’t going to be another life or dead situation.

Working at shield is stressful at the best of times, but having to relay information about mission to the avengers, under heavy secrecy, on top of the that, is a heavy weight on your shoulders. It’s nice to be to relax for once.

‘Now, are you gonna tell me who the two other people in the room are or am I not allowed to know’, you tease, knowing that Wong would never purposefully forgo any introductions.

Oh, yes of course, Y/N, these are Shang-Chi, and Katie,’ he gestures to them, and almost on cue, the both of them wave at you at the exact same time. The man, Shang-Chi, who had been staring at you as soon as you walked in, goes a little jaw-slacked once more.

‘Hi’, Katie says, shuffling your way. ‘So cool of you to help us. I bet you’ve seen a lot of things on our mission too, crazy world right?’

Her infection personality and cheerful tone make it impossible for you not to smile and chuckle. ‘Yeah it sure is.’

‘So eum’, she asks, wiggling her eyebrows in a way that reveals she’s about to ask something brazen. ‘Where do you live, are you seeing anyone, how long have you been doing this job, also Shang-Chi over there is single.’

‘Katie’, it’s Shang-Shi’s turn to hiss at her, but you can’t help but feel enlivened. The question were a little personal, and as an agent, you would never reveal them, but

‘She doesn’t mean that, I mean she does, I am single but not into you- I mean I am- I totally -It-I.’ he sighs, shaking his head once, then twice in embarrassment. ‘I’m Shang-chi’, He tries again, trying to appear more collected then he really is. You can’t stop the laugh bursting out of you.

‘So I’ve been told’, You explain, referring to both Katie and Wong addressing him by his name.

‘Right,’ he flushes, rocking back and forth on his heels.

‘I’m Y/N,’ you mention out of sympathy, capture by his timid, but stunning smile. ‘You’re bus boy right?’ You inquire, recognizing him from the video. ‘You’re clearly a very good fighter.’ You don’t mention that you had seen the video, and had immediately been interested in the man and his story, and that you curious to find out just who Shang-Chi was.

‘Yeah, that was me. I learned from a young age.’ For a moment his eyes change, and the innocent look he had switches out for something more mature. Someone who has seen the horror’s this world has to offer. You urge to comfort him somehow, but you don’t know how to respond, or what to do.

‘I shot a dragon,’ Katie interjects, smile so wide her teeth or showing.

‘that’s cool,’ you agree, making eye contact with Shang-Chi, the both or you bursting out in laughter.

‘So what are the kind of thing you need to do at Shield, is it just another boring desk job?’

‘No, although sometimes I wish it was. I’m an active shield officer, which pretty much means I get to arrest people.’

‘Do you fight?’ Kate demands, eager to see it in person.

‘Sometimes yeah, want me to show you?’ You glance Shang-Chi’s way, asking him a silent question. ‘Are you up for it?’

‘Oh, well I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ he explains hesitantly, scratching the back of his head with one hand.

You smirk, challenged as you reach out and grab said hand, twisting it around until Shang-Chi has no choice but to bend the way you direct him. You don’t put enough pressure to actually hurt him, but to show him just how good you are, you do pull him forward and flip him, so he falls to the ground on his back. He stares up at you dazzled, eyes twinkling with something you can’t decipher.

Leaning down, you get up close to him and goat. ‘They usually surrender pretty quickly.’

‘He smiles, and again, you struck with an urge to get to know him, to understand the man better.

‘I bet,’ he whispers, seemingly unaware of his quiet his voice has gotten.

You lend him a hand and tug him up, the two of you now standing a mere distance away from each other. Despite your earlier assumption, that you were working and shouldn’t get too interested in Shang-Chi, you can’t come up with a good reason to step back.

‘Have they been doing this the entire time I was gone?’ Wong questions as he reenters the room, his voice merely in the background.

‘Yeah,’ Katie whisper-yells, ’They’re definitely into each other. Want to take bets on how long it’ll take?’  

‘Do you-‘, Shang-Chi starts, then huffs and laughs a bit shyly. ‘We always go to Karaoke nights, Are you up for joining us.’

With a smile, you agree. It’s the start of the best part of your life.

#Shang-chi x reader #shangqi x reader #Shang-chi imagines #my writing #marvel imagines #Shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings #Shang-Chi #mcu x reader #marvel #requests

[kanerallels]

Shang-Chi Freaking Rocked And Here's Why

Alright, I'm writing this post out of spite because I heard someone didn't like it. AND WE CAN'T HAVE THAT.

(I really don't understand why you wouldn't like it??? It's amazing??? And liking things is so much more fun that not liking them usually??? But hey, that's my opinion, man)

Anyhoo, prepare for a long post full of the reasons Shang-Chi was a truly stellar movie! Much though I'd love to go through every moment in the movie and scream about it for nerdy reasons, I'm going to be a professional nerd and offer reasons that will appeal to people other than just nerdy glee. I hope. (there will be some nerdy glee, though)

Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings spoilers under the cut!

- The beginning was SO EXCELLENT. I really like that it wasn't narrated in English, because they live in China. Of course they wouldn't speak that. It's just a good detail that I appreciated

- The way the first pan through the Ten Rings' compound mirrored the last end credits scene was amazing, I ADORED IT.

- asdfghjklsdklfjlskdfjldfjsk the FIRST FIGHT SCENE. The choreography was beautiful, and I mean GORGEOUS. Wenwu and Ying Li's actors (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Fala Chen, respectively) somehow managed to convey their aggressive intent and the CLEAR respect and attraction that was growing between them

- Really, the choreography of all the fight scenes was incredible.(disclaimer-- I know nothing about martial arts and I won't pretend otherwise) During the bus scene, you could see the moment when Shaun made the switch from being just some guy to Shang-Chi, and it was so OBVIOUS. His confidence as he fought, how quickly he took out his enemies-- that was not, especially in Katy's eyes, something Shaun would do

- This is something one of my best friends pointed out when we went to see it-- Shang-Chi's aunt says that he looks like his mom. Not his sister. And how that must have felt for her. All this time she's been looked at as a shadow of her mother (especially by her dad) as just another reminder of her. That part, and the part where her aunt gave her the dragon scale rope dart, were kind of defining for her, in that she truly started to make her own way. Not just say she was, but do it.

- The revenge and redemption story in here was fantastic. Because Shang-Chi was legit hurt and angry and he wanted to take vengeance on his father for what he'd done. But in the end, he let go because revenge will only fill you with anger

- I really, really liked the whole "reclaiming what your parents passed on to you" parts. They were just beautiful. The fact that he couldn't defeat his dad fighting like his dad, or fighting like his mom. He had to fight as BOTH, as himself. He had to accept the gifts his father had given him, and release the pain he'd been holding onto. And only then was he able to defeat his father

- Katy's story line was super cool, and relatable. Not knowing what you want to do with your life, being afraid to try so not even bothering-- I can't be the only one out there who felt that. Which was why this one line kinda struck me, when Katy was being taught to shoot. That one old lady who's name I can't remember for the life of me said "If you aim at nothing, you hit nothing." And it's true. I mean, there's a possibility you fail, but if you never try you definitely won't succeed. Even if it's hard, you've gotta start shooting, or you'll never hit your mark. (which is a good lesson for me, frankly.)

- There was a line of Ying Nan's that I thought was particularly beautiful. During her and Shang-Chi's training session-- which I'll segue into after this note-- she said something along the lines of, "You must stop hiding from your past, nephew. It will only prolong the pain." And. I mean. She's hecking right??? Hiding from what you fear doesn't make it go away, it only makes the wait to face it longer

- I know some people who were disappointed that the warrior with the mask wasn't revealed to be anyone in particular, and I was disappointed about that at first, too. But my second time watching it, I thought-- maybe he's not supposed to be anyone. Maybe he's just a representation of all the pain Shang-Chi went through at his father's hands, of what his father did to him and let happen to him. Just a thought

- The training scene between Ying Nan and Shang-Chi was beautiful, I loved it!! Seriously, whoever choreographed the fights in this movie is amazing, major respect to them. The way Ying Nan, Ying Li and Shang-Chi's fight scenes using airbending (I know that's not what it is but I'm just gonna call it that here okay? Okay) had parts that mirrored each other? Poetic cinema

- Wenwu was... not a great dad but I really, really liked what they did with him, to the extent that I'm writing another post specifically about him. I'll link it in the notes later

- I really liked all the mythological creatures, especially since they're all from Asian mythology! I thought that was a super cool detail, personally

Okay, I think that's it, until I make my post about Wenwu who I apparently have a LOT more thoughts about than I expected. Until next time!

#shang chi spoilers #shang chi and the legend of the ten rings #shang chi #shang chi and legend of 10 rings #katy shang chi #katy chen #xu xialing #xu shang chi #ying li #ying nan #xu wenwu #the mandarian #mcu #marvel #marvel movies #controversial and loving it

[reds-burrow]

Sorting Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

If you're unfamiliar with the Sorting Hat Chats system, check out @sortinghatchats and their WordPress, or this post by @wisteria-lodge.

Spoilers below. This really was Wenwu's movie though, so I may change my mind about Shang-Chi and Xialing's sortings if they get more development in future movies.

Xu Shang-Chi: Snake/Burnt Lion (recovers by end of movie) Throughout the movie it is his loved ones that spur him into action. In the bus scene, it's only when Katy is attacked that he decides to fight. After, he realizes his sister is in danger and rushes to hop on a plane to see her. Even his decision to save Ta Lo comes from his sense of responsibility for his father and a desire to protect the place his mother protected. As a kid, his father's unhealthy Snake primary dominated Shang-Chi's life, and he constructed his sense of right and wrong based on what Wenwu taught him, that a "Blood debt must be pain in blood." This led to the assassination, and the moment when Shang-Chi finally stopped prioritizing Wenwu's needs over his own. There is a pattern for unhealthy Snake primaries to latch onto someone and make them number one in their circle, above themself, especially if that Snake is young and is dealing with a parental or authority figure. Shang-Chi did this with Wenwu after the trauma of losing his mother and seeing the change in his father. The assassination was the first time Shang-Chi was on his own however, and the first time he was able to see himself and what his father had made him into. He finally found the strength to put himself first and ran away. His secondary burned, however, though only partway. When you look at how he solves single-player problems, particularly when he's fighting, he looks like a healthy Lion secondary. Watch in the bus fight, how he uses the bus itself as a weapon, bashing people against poles, using the elasticity of the articulated joint to jump and maneuver around people. Or in the scaffold fight how he knocks a guy down and uses the guy as a bridge. Shang-Chi displays some of the most creative Lion improvisational fighting we've gotten out of the MCU. But while his Lion was still healthy in single-player situations, it was burnt in multiplayer ones. He could no longer face his authentic self, something vital to the multiplayer part of a Lion secondary. He wound up finding Katy, who was experiencing her own secondary issues, and the two of them spent their days avoiding anything remotely hard. His journey to heal his Lion is a journey of accepting himself and what he did under the influence of his father, and after his time in Ta Lo with his aunt, he is able to reach that acceptance in time for the final battle. Both sides of himself, Loyalist and Constructed, reflected in the mixture of both his mother and father's style of martial arts, find balance.

Katy Chen: Snake/Snake

Katy is adrift when we first meet her. Her family and friends, aside from Shang-Chi, all push her to find a "real" job, to do something with her degree, to live up to her potential. But Katy just wants to have fun and admits that she tends to abandon things. This is a common thing in Snake secondaries, usually immature ones. As soon as something gets hard, boring, or if they feel they might get locked into it with no other options, they search out something new.

The only think Katy is unwavering in is her loyalty. She flies to a different country, enters another dimension, and puts her life on the line to fight for that dimension all because she is following her best friend. Even when Shang-Chi admits all the secrets he's been keeping, Katy's Snake primary doesn't falter. She refuses to abandon him, and if the mid-credit scene is any indication, Katy and Shang-Chi will be a package deal from here on out.

Xu Xialing: Snake/Badger

After her mother's death, Xialing was ignored by her father as he poured everything he had into revenge and training Shang-Chi. So, Xialing trained herself in secret, mastering the rope dart and a high level of martial arts. Her self-discipline and persistence helped her shape herself into a warrior, indicative of her Badger secondary. She also tells Katy that the way she managed living years alone with Wenwu was to keep her head down. When in survivor mode, Fluid secondaries may try blending in with the background, going invisible to avoid conflict. This is especially true of Badger secondaries who don't already have the extra armor that a mask can provide. Xialing describes this time of her life with distaste because she was essentially trapped and alone. Even so, she waited for years for Shang-Chi to return for her. Her loyalty to him is undeniable, and even as furious as she is for him abandoning her, she goes back to save him. Her founding of the Golden Daggers and later taking over the Ten Rings not only shows her ambition but comes back to the deep wound she was inflicted when she was rejected from training by her father. She wants a place where men and women can fight alongside each other because if she had had that as a child, she would have had a place to beside her father and brother.

Xu Wenwu: Snake/Bird

Wenwu is shown to be a collector of information, of old legends and maps. He's a collector of people, of warriors and even a jester. He collects Morris simply as proof of Ta Lo. His Bird secondary is in large part why he is able to hold power of a worldwide organization for over a thousand years. After living so long and experiencing so many deaths, he barely blinks when several of his men are killed on the way to Ta Lo. They were simply tools that served their purpose for as long as they could. Even so, he is undeniably a Snake primary. Everything he does in the movie is for Li. He gives up the Ten Rings, both the weapons and the organization, all for her, and after her death, everything is about revenge or bringing her back. While he is too consumed by grief and revenge to care for his children's emotional needs, he trained Shang-Chi because he thought his son needed revenge like he did and also to protect Shang-Chi. As he says, "I trained you so the most dangerous people in the world couldn't kill you." Conversely, he didn't train Xialing because she reminded him too much of her mother, and he didn't want her fighting anyone in the first place. As abusive as he is, he needs his children to be safe, which is why he had them tracked when they left. It is only when he sees that Li is living on through his children that he is able to find some semblance of acceptance and peace.

#hey look four of a kind #character sorting #sortinghatchats #sorting hat chats

[moviemunchies]

Imagine something like Iron Fist except a big budget movie and much higher quality--wait bump that, imagine what Iron Fist SHOULD have been, and you’ve got something very much like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe does not have a great track record with Asian representation. There was the whole controversy with the Ancient One in Doctor Strange and the depiction of the Hand in the Netflix shows, it’s not been anything to brag about. So when Marvel announced they were making a big budget movie about Shang-Chi, and finally tying up that loose end about the Mandarin that Jon Favreau was building up to until Iron Man 3 killed that Plot with a sledgehammer.

And you know that’s kind of fair because I don’t know how someone would adapt the Mandarin to a live-action Iron Man film in a way that wouldn’t be offensive. I say that as someone who is not that into Iron Man comics so maybe I’m wrong, but it sounds like a pretty difficult thing to pull off. So how does one deal with it?

Why by putting him in a movie about an Asian superhero, of course!

In the comics Shang-Chi’s father is Fu Manchu and that presented a lot of problems in adapting to a wide audience: first, that Fu Manchu is an offensive Yellow Peril villain, and second (and probably more important to Disney, let’s be real) there are some issues with film rights with that character. The Mandarin is heavily based off of Fu Manchu anyway, so the MCU decided to conflate the characters. And actually make him not a Yellow Peril stereotype. And also make him a fantastic character.

Xu Wenwu was an ancient Chinese warlord who discovered the Ten Rings, armbands of unknown origins that grant their wearer eternal life and amazing powers. He built up an empire, and later a criminal empire, also called the Ten Rings, but was always after more. He learns about a hidden mystical village called Ta Lo and wants to find it to gain their cool martial arts and magic. He doesn’t even get to the door though, because the guardian Ying Li is able to beat him despite his Ten Rings. Wenwu keeps going back and ends up falling in love--he gives up the Ten Rings (the artifacts AND the organization) and marries her, and they have two children: Shang-Chi and Xialing. Except then Ying Li dies and so Xu Wenwu goes back to crime. He trains Shang-Chi to become an unbeatable killing machine when he’s a child, and when he’s a teenager sends him on a mission to assassinate an enemy of the Ten Rings.

Except Shang-Chi doesn't want that, and he runs away and years later he lives in San Francisco and works as a valet driver with his best friend Katy. It’s a basic life, but it has nothing to do with crime or killing people so he likes it. Except then the Ten Rings are after Shang-Chi, so he’s got to find his sister Xu Xialing and figure out what it is his evil father wants with them.

This, like the other MCU movies, is an action movie, but this is also a wuxia film. As a result it has some of, if not the best fight scenes out of any Marvel film. Definitely better fight choreography. 

Shang-Chi is a lovable protagonist--I think had the film come out like a decade ago they would have gone out of their way to try to make him a Cool Guy type of character who is nonchalant about everything and made his entire motivation a designated love interest. Not so here! He’s a bit of a dork that would really rather be chilling out with his best friend. But he’s willing to risk everything to save the people he cares about. He’s likable, he’s relatable, and he’s fun, but not in a way that feels as if he’s some kind of sarcastic quip factory always cracking jokes. He’s a guy trying to figure out who he really is who just happens to be a badass martial artist.

Xu Wenwu is actually kind of a fantastic villain? I remember seeing articles and headlines claiming that he was a really well-developed and complex villain, and I wasn’t sure what to expect going in. People said that about Hela, for instance, and while she’s fun to watch she’s not all that complex. Xu Wenwu actually is interesting though. I will admit that it’s a bit frustrating that there’s another fridging of a female character in his backstory, but I think his character arc still mostly works and elevates him to being more than just a Fu Manchu villain that he might have been had the original angle for the Mandarin been kept. Yeah, he’s terrible, but not so much that you don’t kind of sympathize with him. I have a weakness for stories about twisted familial relationships, so I really liked his character and his arc.

I found Shang-Chi’s best friend Katy is a fun character, but that doesn’t change that her role is almost entirely comic relief. That might bother some in the audience. However unlike some comic relief characters, she isn’t useless dead weight--she contributes to the action in several scenes. Notably she’s established fairly early on as a skilled driver, and this comes up more than once as something necessary for the Plot. And she goes through her own character arc like Shang does, albeit with less development (which makes sense because one of them is the title character and the other isn’t). What I am afraid of is that a future sequel might refuse to develop her further and just fall back on her comic relief role. Which is funny, but there’s more to her than that.

There’s also Xu Xialing, Shang-Chi’s sister, and this is where the movie’s going to have some problems for some viewers. She’s not a bad character at all; she’s a great character. But her backstory--being the daughter of Xu Wenwu but not being trained as a warrior because sexism, so she taught herself martial arts, started her own little business, and can easily keep up with Shang-Chi--probably makes her a more interesting character to a lot of people, and that’s something I can’t really argue with. Which means that once again there’s a badass capable and interesting female character playing second fiddle to the male lead. That’s more than a little frustrating. I didn’t mind so much because it’s not as if she’s sidelined--she’s still an important character to the narrative and has plenty of really cool on-screen moments. But I understand that many viewers will take issue with this, and this is a recurring problem Marvel has had. There is a promise that she will feature even more in a sequel, but it’s not like Marvel always keeps its promises in that regard, and no one should have to wait on another movie to get full enjoyment of the one they’re watching right now.

And yes, this is a martial arts movie, but it is also a Marvel movie and that means that it’s very special effects heavy. You probably knew that going in, but I recall while watching the movie thinking about how there were several scenes that were probably entirely green screen. And some of them had to be, those that showed fantastical creatures and environments. I imagine that if it wasn’t a big budget feature heavy on special effects it wouldn’t have been made as a movie instead of as a television show on a streaming service. If you were hoping that the martial arts trappings would make it feel less like a Marvel movie (which I kind of was), I can’t say that this film does that. If you do like Marvel movies there’s a few little hints about what’s to come by the time the movie’s done. 

Still, that doesn’t change that it’s a pretty good movie, with fantastic fight scenes, and a solid, likable cast of interesting characters who are fun to watch on screen. It’s still a Marvel movie, with all that entails, but it’s a solid entry in their cinematic universe that does something a little different--albeit not different enough to feel too foreign. I liked it. I had fun. I don't think it's a must-see unless you’re a Marvel fanatic or want to see their take on a wuxia film, but it’s a good time at the movies.

#Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings #Shang Chi #MCU #Marvel #Movie Munchies #wuxia