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aelaer · 3 years

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Hi friend! You seem vast in your knowledge of Stephen and willing to share so please enlighten me as I don’t read the comics but I do watch the mcu movies, and do love Stephen.

I know he’s erratic and impulsive and reckless sometimes but didnt we already complete this arc in his first movie? Especially since we’ve watched him deal with the consequences of his actions for the entirety of the film and end of the movie Stephen was a different Stephen from the beginning of the movie.

IW Stephen seemed like a more mature version of the man we’ve met at the end of his first movie, a linear progression of the character, more responsible.

The spider man trailer is just a few minutes so I’ll further reserve judgment till I see the film, but he seems.. silly almost? I’m aware he has his funny moments but I’m just nervous they’re gonna make him the joke instead of having him make the jokes.

Do you notice anything weird about how the adults act in these newer marvel projects.? (I’m thinking of loki specifically) they all have a silly undertone to them? I cant put my finger on it but it’s definitely new and ..off

Is this a constant characterization for Stephen in the comics? Is this what he’s like all the time?

Regardless, thank you for your time if you see this xx

Oh yeah, Stephen's my favorite subject at the moment so I'm happy to give my thoughts!

Note that my answers apply to MCU!Stephen and what we've seen in the four films he's been in.

In my experience of just living, there are personality quirks that can be tempered out and made better, but not entirely eliminated, even if it's undesirable. In my opinion, Stephen's need to push himself and prove that he can Do A Thing is a trait that won't ever go away--especially as that trait has helped him more than hindered him. Examples would include the more mundane such as getting through a combined MD/PhD program and inventing surgical procedures at what is still a really young age for a neurosurgeon. We don't have a canonical age for Stephen, but Benedict was 40 when Doctor Strange was filmed and released; even if he's canonically in his mid-40s, that's still very young for him to be at his caliber after the necessary years of med school and residency in the United States. He's young and nowhere near the end of his career when he gets in the car crash. So with that information in mind, we know that he's very ambitious and throws himself into doing difficult work with gusto. That doesn't even go into everything he did as a sorcerer.

Why get into all of this? Because while we, the viewer who has seen the multiverse open at... some point (possibly, in a rewritten timeline, it's always been open now with what happened in Loki!), we have seen just how nuts it gets. We have seen the consequences. Stephen's smart, but I don't think it's a matter of strictly recklessness and more a combination of ignorance on this specific subject (erasing memories across the world or slightly rewriting time-- we don't know how he's doing it, but a memory spell makes more sense to me), hubris (of course), and the real desire to help Peter out. The latter two traits combined in intelligent people have proven bad in both fiction and reality.

The reason I don't think it's pure impulsiveness is because in the trailer, we see Stephen doing some meditation type thing in the underground area before the spell. He's also always doing research and as he tells Peter he'll help him, he clearly knows of a spell already and has some working knowledge of how it works. The conversation with Wong wouldn't have happened otherwise. But I personally get the vibe off him that he'd not do it without being very confident that he can do it -- and his history in the films has shown 0 failures in any of his spells once he's past novice-level, so in that aspect, his confidence makes sense. If he *should* do the spell due to the risks of failure, and lack of practicing precaution in the face of his confidence, is where his flaws lie, IMO. And in that sense people could say he was reckless for deciding to perform a complicated, dangerous spell, but that follows his M.O. completely -- he performed a very complicated, dangerous spell consistently with the Time Stone again and again, from how the sorcerers spoke about the Infinity Stone (and he casually just... throws himself into a time loop, then to look through time. He takes calculated risks, but they are very much risks).

One last thought on this statement - the biggest, biggest lesson that Stephen learned in his first film was that it was not about him. There was more to the world than his glory and his brilliance and even his happiness. He started doing things for the greater good rather than himself. And he started doing things for others -- fighting for the Sanctum in his own film, and protecting the Earth. Serving something greater than himself. But that doesn't make him suddenly humble, and it doesn't suddenly take away his strange (hah) sense of humor.

IW Stephen seemed like a more mature version of the man we’ve met at the end of his first movie, a linear progression of the character, more responsible.

He was more serious in that film. So was Tony. They still had some quips and arguments, but they were very serious. And it makes sense as to why -- it was the end of the world. So the mood of the setting would change anyone's demeanour. But he had very little chance to unwind in that film, considering that he was trying to protect one of six items that would destroy the universe, and also got freaking tortured in the middle of the film with little time to recover. But nearly every Avenger was super serious in that film, and for good reason.

It's a completely different setting from what is now Stephen's life which, from what little we've seen in the trailer, is weird enough that he got a magical snowstorm in the Sanctum. It's safe enough that Wong's off on vacation. It's been nearly a year since he returned from the dead. He's either figured out how to move on in the last year or, as some prefer, has gotten good enough to put on a facade and bury the trauma so far down that he's putting on a normal act - but that's up to debate until MoM. And we have no idea if old traumas are going to be brought up there or if it's just the new things.

I think the point is that it's possible to be both a responsible person and also to make colossal mistakes due to either emotional connections or hubris (or both - we don't know which way the film will go, if they'll explain it at all). They're not mutually exclusive. He can be protecting reality fantastically, while also believing that he's skilled enough to pull off the ability to pull off a dangerous spell which he did in his own film and in IW. He's guided the timeline down a specific path in IW/Endgame, after all - what's a little identity item compared to the fate of the universe, after all? Removing the Spider-Man/Peter association is, in comparison, child's play I imagine to a man like Stephen.

He was definitely silly in his own film. He was constantly trying to get Wong to laugh and there was a banter between Stephen and Christine after he gets stabbed. He's always been a bit awkward and a bit jokey--I think Thor showed that combination of humorous snark and good research rather well, though he was flippant in a way that didn't get to show his kinder side that is better established in his film. And now we get to see that sympathy in his agreement to help Peter (at least, in my opinion).

Because he was doing an amazing awesome spell not once, not twice, but *three* times in the trailer alone, I am not worried about Stephen just being a joke. He seems just as powerful as he was in IW and Endgame. The rest of the world is just getting reminded that he's definitely a bit of a socially awkward duck at times (or, if you prefer, Putting On a "I'm Fine" Front And It's Coming Across As Weird). So him being a big joke is not something I am personally worried about.

Situational humor has been a staple of Marvel films since Iron Man. I watched the films casually before 2016 when I fell head deep into Stephen Strange (or well, 2018/9 is more accurate as that's when I *really* went nuts), and my viewings before that time and after that time was a lot more analytical. And it's very easy to see where the silliness started, all the way back when Tony crashed into his own car and Dum-E sprayed him with a fire extinguisher. Thor was the butt of the joke in the "fish out of water" scene in a good, good chunk of the film. Even Captain America had some situational humor. And remember that Guardians of the Galaxy was back in 2014, which was halfway through the MCU's time thus far. The stars of these films are almost always the butt of some joke a couple times and do things that could be viewed as childish.

I don't know your age at all, but if you were born after 1990, what might be happening, rather, is that they are not getting sillier, but that you may be getting older. I was an adult (legally, at least) in 2008, but the way I view the adults of the films throughout the early 2010s as compared to now is night and day. It's just come with my own life experience, and wider understanding to media tropes. The jump is even more significant if you were younger in Iron Man/Avengers days and are an adult now. If you're an older adult than me, then I'd argue it's the matter of life experience adding to your overall knowledge of media plus, potentially, rose-tinted glasses giving you a better vision of the older movies while forgetting that the older movies had plenty of their own flaws (and silliness). Could be a lot of things- it's too individual to really say why your perspective has changed. But I don't think the MCU's largely changed their comedy formula since 2012/2013.

Is this a constant characterization for Stephen in the comics? Is this what he’s like all the time?

Oh the comics are a mess of characterizations. It's very difficult to find full consistency across writers, and some writers did him much better than others. At the moment, Jason Aaron's 2015 run is viewed as very good by a large amount of fans, while Waid's 2018 run is viewed with mixed reviews. It's largely a matter of preference as you'll see traits that are just so uncharacteristic in an arc and then it never happens again. He takes on secret identities, he kills billions to save trillions (along with the other Avengers!), he sells his soul, he's in a steady relationship for 30 years, then he's sleeping with a new woman every arc he co-stars in-- it's just so dependent on the writer over the decades. What Marvel thinks will sell. Right now Marvel thinks his death is gonna sell issues, so yeah :P You pick and choose with the comics and build a personality from there.

Thank you for the thoughtful ask. I hope this wasn't too much of a drag to read through; I get rambly on my favorite subjects. Or anything, really.

#stephen strange #doctor strange #spiderman no way home #spoilers #meta #mcu #i did a long ramble #i love stephen #i hope this was somewhat enlightening nonny #anonymous #ask #answered #long post

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canonicallysoulmates · 3 years

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Here are my thoughts and opinions on the first season of Loki.

First of all, if you have not re-watched this season I highly recommend it. It’s only 6hrs, pick a day, get some snacks, binge the whole thing especially if you weren’t a big fan of it the first time around because re-watching it I noticed some things that I hadn’t before but I also found myself liking some things that I hadn’t the first time around. Which is why I recommend re-watching it, cause maybe it’ll be the same for y’all and you’ll find some new things to love, and end up enjoying some things you hadn’t before. It’s really a different experience to watch the whole thing together than when you watch week to week which makes sense cause MCU shows are meant to be movie-esque.

Now, I’ve spoken pretty positively about this show almost on the daily so let’s switch it up and start with the negatives aka the things that I personally didn’t like because while I enjoyed a lot of this show there are things I wasn’t a fan of and things that did irk me a lot; the first thing is very much a pet peeve: the title sequence, I’ve mentioned it before in passing but it reminds me too much of Gravity Falls and Bill Cipher, I gave it 6 episodes, 12 if you count the re-watches, and I just don’t like it at all, I get what they were going for but I don’t think it fits the show and I’m hoping they change it for s2.

But that’s a small thing, I can deal with that, the two (technically three) big things I didn’t like - and I think this is why episode 1 is my least favorite and to me the weakest of the season - is the way the show completely ignores Odin’s abuse and the effect that had on Loki, and the way he’s written in the first three episodes. I will go into detail.

I have no shame in admitting that I am pretty forgiving when it comes to this show and its flaws but the one thing I cannot forgive is how it not only ignores Odin’s abusive behavior but tries to paint him as a loving father and like Loki was the one in the wrong using the most insulting way possible which is that scene in Ragnarok where Odin tells his sons he loves them as if an ‘I love you’ undid years of abuse and bad parenting; it shouldn’t surprise me that they did this because the mcu does have a history and a pattern of being abuse apologists like portraying Thanos killing Gamora to get the soul stone as him loving her, or completely ignoring the horrible father that Howard Stark was. But it still really pisses me off that this show in which a big theme is exploring Loki psychologically and emotionally doesn’t even make mention of what a horrible father Odin was! And it tries to make it seem that just because Loki heard his father say a version of him that he loves him, that Loki suddenly thinks of him as a loving parent (referring to that line in episode 5 where he’s talking to Sylvie and says he has betrayed everyone who has loved him and mentions his asshole of a father instead of his mother!). I didn’t need them to go into details about this, but I did want them to call abuse abuse, and acknowledge Odin was a bad father. To me this is the biggest sin so far of this series. It doesn’t surprise me but it does disappoint me.

Connected to this, and in episode 1 we stay, is the “psychological exploration” of this character. I know after episode 1 a lot of fans were all “omg Loki finally got some therapy 😭” and then there’s me in the corner, shaking my head and saying no he didn’t, not at all, not even close. There was no therapy. And there was zero character exploration. I like Mobius but he is no Linda Martin.

All that happened was Loki being shown the consequences of his actions and being directly asked multiple times if he likes hurting people which of course he doesn’t, that’s not therapy at no point did Loki’s trauma get addressed, at no point did Loki get walked through that stuff or asked why he is how he is or what happened to change him from someone who was just mischievous to someone who caused harm.

Sorry to burst y’alls bubble but Loki did not get therapy in episode 1. Change Mobius lines about how Loki is just meant to cause pain and suffering and death for “imagined slights” and you’d have pretty much the same as every other MCU movie. At most what he got was an intervention to help him realize he didn’t want to be a bad person. Intervention and therapy are not the same thing.

And again, not surprised. If the mcu doesn’t properly explore their main, multiple movie having characters trauma and issues why were we expecting them to do it with Loki? Gotta keep those expectations in check. And in part I understand that the writers had a limited amount of time and they wanted to jump right into things but if they were gonna have only one episode with an emphasis on this they could have done a much better job while still jumping into the main story and moving on to character growth. To me this is the second biggest sin. And why episode 1 is ultimately my least favorite.

Last but not least, and something I can be more lenient and forgiving about but I still don’t like is the way Loki was written in the first three episodes. The way he was written was more comical to the point of borderline clown-ish sometimes which doesn’t match his personality at all, and don’t get me wrong there are times when it works but for the most part it just comes across as weird, like the writers were trying too hard to be funny and lighthearted at some points and it just doesn’t work, it ends up with him being a joke.

I’ll use a scene that I absolutely adore as a small example: Loki singing in episode 3. It’s one of my favorite scenes of the season, absolutely live for it, it lives in my head rent free in the VIP section but it’s a very flawed scene because Loki would never. Getting drunk on a mission is what Thor would do, not Loki, that is Thor through and through so as much as I love that scene, it is a flawed, ooc Loki scene.

The good thing is the show does improve in how it writes him in the last three eps, they stop trying so hard with the comedy, he’s more serious, more badass, he still has funny moments for example his reaction to Alligator Loki was hilarious but it’s more natural and fitting. So hopefully, in season 2 it will be the same writing team, and there will be more consistency and he’ll be written less comically and more badass.

Moving on to the positives, there are a lot of things I thoroughly enjoyed, starting with having Loki back on my screen and the center of attention- my baby, my darling, my love 💚 I’m so glad that he (and Tom!) is finally getting the attention, and love, and praise, and recognition that he has been deserving of all these years!

It gave me some of my favorite Loki scenes like I mentioned Loki singing it may be a flawed scene but I loved it nonetheless, it had some really cool fight scenes especially towards the end, it gave Loki a friend! A real friend! My baby is all grown up! 😭💚

The cinematography was beautiful, like you can say a lot about this show but you cannot deny that visually it is stunning and the directing was amazing. The soundtrack was pretty good too, I mean c’mon, ‘I need a Hero’? Iconic.

This show gave us Alligator Loki! How can one not love that! It kick started what looks to be the coolest aspect of Phase 4, it gave us bi, genderfluid Loki (which also brought out some of the ugliest sides of this fandom but this ain’t the time or place for that conversation 🙃), it gave me a new favorite character in Sylvie absolutely love her 💛

It gave me hope that the sun will shine again on Thor and Loki! That they’ll cross paths once again at some point and be reunited! And when they are, we better get that hug!

It gave me my new OTP in the form of Loki x Sylvie, they have great chemistry, and they’re super cute together, and they’re so good for one another and I just love them so much; I know it’s a “controversial” ship but I hope they stick to it and we get more of them in s2 because they are the best couple Marvel has ever given us they are passionate and cute and angsty, and they have the foundation for the most epic love story.

In conclusion, was Loki season 1 perfect? Was it everything I wanted? Nope. But ultimately, it gave me more that I enjoyed than not- also, I can tell this was something that was done with a lot of love and joy and effort put into it which as someone who has loved a show where the writer’s room noticeably didn’t give a rat’s ass, I can appreciate a lot.

Overall I’m very happy with the first season; I love this show, flaws and all, and I can’t wait for s2!

#loki #loki series #loki s1 #loki on disney+#loki series critical #anti odin #my opinion #mine #non spn

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magicmastered · 5 years

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Why Didn’t Loki Tell?

So, if Loki really was tortured, mind-warped, and coerced into attacking Earth, why didn’t he ever say anything? Wouldn’t that help his case if he brought it up in the trial? In that case, wouldn’t he want to say something about it? Why would he let everyone think he’s just “evil”? Why did he never try to explain?

There are three big reasons why Loki wouldn’t immediately—especially not without prompting—and some smaller ones.

(The third reason I cover is largely inspired by one of @desertthorn’s posts; I would link it, but I tried and it’s not working. Not sure if I’m just bad at within-Tumblr links, or if it’s mobile app stupidity.)

Reason One: People never listen to him

People on Asgard have very little interest in anything Loki has to say, even when he’s trying to be helpful, or just saying things that are very obviously true. It’s shown several times throughout Thor (2011). When he tries to talk to Heimdall on the Bifrost, to ask him to let Thor and co go to Jotunheim, Heimdall interrupts him almost immediately:

And then Thor interrupts him when he tries to speak again with “Enough”. And then Volstagg makes a jab at him*:

...which is pretty weird, considering that Loki’s a prince and all.

When they’re on Jotunheim later, Loki points out that they’re outnumbered and Thor should think this through. Thor shuts this completely reasonable observation down with “know your place”. Then, when Odin and Thor are arguing in the Observatory, Loki tries to intervene. Odin roars him into silence. All of the above is just in the first part of the film.

Then, after Loki admits that he told a guard to tell Odin that they were going to Jotunheim (which saved all of their lives) and correctly points out that Thor’s not suited for the throne, Sif and the W3 assume that he’s just jealous of Thor. that he can’t undo Thor’s banishment (as it was Odin’s order).

That’s when Loki’s pointing out helpful and/or obviously true things. People don’t listen even when he’s trying to help them. They interrupt him, continue on as though he didn’t say a thing, or wave him off as being biased in some way. They’ve basically taught him through 1,000+ years of this that they really don’t care what he has to say. And then, after Avengers (2012), Thor puts a muzzle on him. “Shut up, no one wants to hear you” doesn’t exactly get less subtle than that.

After all that, of course Loki’s going to hesitate to tell people. They ignore him when he speaks anyway and, what with the muzzle, made it quite clear that they didn’t want to hear anything from him. Why tell them if they’re not going to listen? Based on the pattern they’d been showing him for the last 1,000 years, he might as well try talking to a brick wall.

Add on that the fact that no one ever asked why he did what he did, despite it being highly unusual behavior from him. No one even cared enough to ask what happened during the year he was missing. Why should he think that anyone would care if he spoke up? Why would he think anyone would listen to him if even his mother didn’t ask? Clearly no one wanted to know, and no one paid him any mind even if he said something immediately helpful to them.

And really? Torture is an extremely intense, visceral, traumatic experience. It wouldn’t be easy to talk about with anyone. It’d be difficult and painful even with highly supportive people to talk to. How much more so would it be if the people you’re supposed to talk to are so blind to you that they didn’t even notice that something was wrong? How much more difficult would it be if they hardly listened to a word you said? How much more difficult than that would it be if some of these people had themselves caused you substantial trauma by lying to you for your entire life?

Reason Two: Everyone had already made up their minds

Everyone had immediately assumed that Loki’d want to attack Earth of his own volition. In their mind it’d be something he’d do, because he just chose to, no explanation or further thought required:

(Image from @lucianalight)

Notice Thor’s reaction to the news that Loki’s on Earth, stealing the Tesseract. Not consternation that his little brother is acting like this. Not confusion as to why Loki would suddenly want anything to do with Earth when he’d showed no interest in it before. He’s already assumed that Loki simply wants revenge against him, case closed. He assumes that Loki would freely choose to attack an entire planet to get vengeance. Everyone else goes along with this assumption. They haven’t even talked to Loki yet and they’ve already decided why he’s doing what he’s doing.

Loki knows this. When he and Thor talk on the mountainside, he tells Thor what his problems are (“I remember a shadow, living in the shade of your greatness”). Thor seizes upon this immediately: “So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights?” He completely dismisses Loki’s valid complaint, and he reveals his assumption that Loki attacked Earth simply because he chose to take revenge. Later in this conversation, Thor asks a question—“Who controls the would-be king?”—but Loki diverts his attention, because he can’t answer openly, since the Other has him on telepathic speakerphone and can hurt him long-distance. After that Thor never brings up that Loki might not have been fully in control again.

Odin further confirms that everyone assumes that he’s just out for power and revenge in the trial. “All this because Loki desires a throne.” Except that Loki’d already made it clear that he didn’t want to rule. He said it explicitly at the end of Thor (2011), when he’s breaking down in front of Thor: “I never wanted the throne!” Thor, at least, knows this. Or he should know it. And yet he and Odin and apparently the rest of Asgard quickly assign him this motivation.

Everyone has already assumed the worst of Loki. They believe that he’d attack Earth and slaughter its inhabitants completely of his own free will. They believe he’s simply so jealous and power-hungry that he’d attack another planet without qualms, with no outside influence whatsoever. They think they already know exactly why he did what he did without consulting him at all. Everyone he knows thinks that he’s just ruthless, vengeful, and power-mad. This despite knowing him for over a thousand years, during which he did not show wantonly violent tendencies (except for the last couple of days before he attempted suicide). This despite the fact that he’d had no prior interest in a throne; he even said point-blank that he didn’t want one.

If everyone already thinks Loki’s fully capable of the worst, why would it even matter to them that he’d been tortured? If they already think he’s just that bad, what difference would it make? Especially considering that they hardly listen to him in the first place, why would Loki think they’d change their minds about him if he told them? Easier to just play along with their misconceptions and let them believe what they will, because there’s nothing he can do about it and he’s resigned to that fact.

So play along is what he does, because no one will believe anything else. He observes that being king was “his birthright”; it’s what Odin had been telling him for his entire life. He points out that Odin himself has done far worse, which is very true. But he never refutes their claims. He allows them to believe that he only cares about power and revenge and that there’s nothing more to the story.

Nothing he can say will convince them otherwise.

Reason Three: Asgardian Warrior Culture Ideals

Asgard is a warrior culture. It’s not even a little subtle about it. Note the way they glorify battles and fighting. In TDW Thor and Sif laugh about how Sif once started a second battle in a particular place because the first one was “so much fun”. In the beginning of Thor (2011) Odin tells Thor and Loki a war story, and in TDW Thor notes that Frigga had told them of the war on the Dark Elves. People wear their armor everywhere. Anyone who doesn’t like fighting as much as expected is belittled (“Some do battle, others just do tricks.” Note how doing battle is portrayed as the ‘good’ option.)

This means that Asgardians have certain ideals and standards, traits they value above all others and try to embody. Those include bravery to the point of utter recklessness. That’s how Thor behaves in the beginning of Thor (2011), and how it’s heavily implied that he behaved for quite some time prior. (Luckily for the safety of both him and those around him, he tones down the recklessness a bit later.) Sif, too, displays this trait; she’s not afraid to keep fighting the Destroyer because “stories will be told of this day”, regardless of whether she survives it. This bravery Asgardians value is strictly of the physical sort; those who are brave enough in thought to question Asgard’s society are not nearly as honored or respected. See: Loki.

Those ideals and values also include indomitable physical strength and resilience. It means being able to push through and defeat any problem through sheer physical power. It means never giving in to physical injury or pain, no matter the severity. It’s basically being physically unstoppable. Anything less than that is unacceptable, weak. This standard is a major reason Thor is so well-loved on Asgard; he embodies this core value of Asgardian culture. The same goes with his durability and stubbornness; he ignores substantial risk of physical injury and/or death numerous times throughout the movies. He’s known for getting into massive battles (Loki’s and Fandral’s reactions indicate that Jotunheim was far from his first big fight) and getting out alive**. He attacks the Aether-enhanced Malekith despite the immense difficulty and apparent harm it’s causing him.

Loki is at a disadvantage here. Yes, he is very physically strong, and is a highly skilled fighter (about equal to Thor), but his preferred tactics fly in the face of the Asgardian stand-and-fight standard. Loki is more wily and subtle; he may avoid a head-on attack and instead use some more indirect strategy. He uses magic, which has the power to render Asgard’s prized physical prowess useless. Asgardians fear it (note the servant’s reaction when Loki turns his wine into snakes in the pre-coronation deleted scene), and scorn those who use it (see Thor’s “some do battle, some just do tricks” comment again). Loki already has a few strikes against him in this department.

It’s that particular ideal—undefeatable physical resilience—that is relevant to Loki’s silence.

Consider what would have to have happened when Loki was tortured, and when he broke under torture. He would have to be captured by an enemy force (Thanos). He would have to be restrained to remove his ability to fight back. He would be put through massive amounts of pain, while still unable to fight back or do anything to make it stop. Eventually, he would be in so much pain that his body and mind could no longer handle it. He’d break. He’d give in.

Remember the Asgardian value on pushing through any injury or pain? Remember the value on pushing through by sheer physical strength? According to Asgard’s warrior-culture ideal, he should never have allowed himself to be captured or restrained. He should never have given in, no matter how severe the pain Thanos inflicted on him. In this toxic, unhealthy approach, his torture is more on him than it is on Thanos.

In Asgard’s warrior culture, if Loki revealed that he’d broken under torture, he’d be admitting that he wasn’t strong enough to fight off his enemies. He’d be saying that he wasn’t strong enough to bear the pain. It’d be considered his fault, because he was ‘too weak’ to fight back, because he was ‘too weak’ to resist the torture indefinitely. He should have made sure he wasn’t captured, no matter how difficult. He should have made sure he was never at Thanos’ mercy. He should have been strong enough to push through whatever Thanos did to him. On Asgard, it wouldn’t help his case at all. It’d still be his fault for being ‘weak’.

And Loki grew up with this. He’d have internalized it over the course of his 1,000+ years on Asgard. He’d think himself weak for having ‘allowed’ himself to be captured and tortured, no matter how intense the pain. He’d think it was his fault for giving in, so it didn’t really matter that he’d been tortured, did it? He was already considered weak for his magic and indirectness; this would make it so much worse. Why would he want to, in his mind, display his ‘weakness’ for all to see? And if he was that ‘weak’...maybe he thinks he deserved the pain. All the more reason not to make mention of it.

Asgardian society—and his own mind—would fault him for his own torture.

So, that’s the big three. Other (less important, but present) reasons are....

Reason Four: Killing “lesser” beings isn’t that bad on Asgard—unless you’re Loki

Asgardians blatantly consider beings of many other races to be lesser. Those races include Jotuns, Dark Elves, Kree (if you consider AOS to be canon), and humans, that we’re shown. Thor and Loki both call Jotuns “monsters” in Thor (2011), and they would’ve gotten this idea from Odin (note the story he was telling them in the childhood scene). Frigga called Malekith “creature”, and Loki refers to Kursed later as “monster”. In AOS, Sif repeatedly calls Vin-Tak (I think that was his name) “Kree” despite his insistence otherwise and is clearly very distrustful of him. Odin calls humans “mortals” and compares Jane to a goat, Thor is dismissive of humans in the beginning of Thor (2011), and Loki refers to humans as being ant-like in the beginning of Avengers (2012), though it’s debatable how much of that was him projecting Thanos’ ideologies and how much was a reflection of Asgardian culture in general. The point of all of the above is to show that racism is the unfortunate state of affairs on Asgard, and it affects how actions against “lesser” races are judged.

Take Jotuns. Shortly into Thor (2011), Thor kills 145 Jotuns over an insult. No one acts like this is what it is: mass murder. Odin is the only one who reacts harshly, and he only does so after Thor calls him an “old man and a fool”—and he still never once mentions that killing Jotuns is wrong. Frigga (in a deleted scene) protests this ands says that the banishment sentence was too harsh. Sif and the W3 don’t seem to think Thor did anything wrong at all, and in fact try to bring him back to Asgard as soon as they can (despite the fact that he just started a war). Nobody even mentions it again after he comes back.

Odin’s treatment of Jane makes it clear that he does not value human life. He doesn’t care that she’s very unwell and could possibly die due to the Aether. He locks her in a room after the Dark Elves attack. As noted above, he calls humans “mortals” and therefore “nothing”. In addition, if he cared that humans were dying (in part) because of the Tesseract’s presence on Earth, why did he not intervene back in WWII when HYDRA was using it to power weapons? This is the man whose will is law on Asgard. Clearly, he doesn’t care about human life or death whatsoever. To him, killing humans is not nearly as bad as we know it is, and again—his word is law.

Killing humans would not be considered all that terrible on Asgard, at least by the standards applied to everyone whose name is not Loki. Anyone else would not have to defend themselves much at all. And yet Loki is expected to. As he does in other areas, Loki subtly observes this hypocrisy by drawing similarities between his own actions and Odin’s. When he makes his “benevolent god” comment, which also draws attention to Odin’s violent misdeeds, Odin responds by saying that humans and Asgardians are basically the same: “We’re born, we live, we die. Just as humans do.” Which Loki knows Odin doesn’t actually believe.

Reason Five: His mind is his greatest weapon

Loki’s most powerful asset is his mind. And yet Thanos and the Other could turn it against him. They used the scepter to warp and amplify his already turbulent emotions. They altered his memories to the point where he remembered his own suicide attempt as Thor trying to kill him***. His brain, his pride, his best weapon, has been violated. This has to have shaken his trust in his mind and his own perception.

Reason Six: He’d rather be hated than pitied

This also has a bit to do with Asgardian cultural ideals, but it’s also about his personal dignity. If he were to admit that someone had broken him as thoroughly as Thanos did, what’s left of his pride would be in tatters.

Reason Seven: PTSD symptoms

After all Loki went through at Thanos’ hands, it’s not unreasonable at all to conclude that Loki has severe PTSD (especially since Tom Hiddleston has noted that Loki’s experience was “scarring for life”). One of the symptoms of PTSD is not being able to clearly remember certain parts of the traumatic event(s). Loki may not actually remember everything Thanos did to him. This would further shake his confidence in his own memory and mind.

*No, I do not believe that this was ‘friendly banter’ as some have suggested, considering that Loki looks hurt afterwards and isn’t laughing along. No way was this the first time Volstagg said something like that to Loki in 1,000+ years; either Volstagg saw Loki’s reaction and ignored it, or he just wasn’t paying enough attention for, again, 1,000 years straight.

**In the deleted scene from before Thor’s coronation, Thor mentions having fought through 100 warriors; Loki corrects him that he’d veiled them (him, Thor, and any companions) so they could escape. How many times do you want to bet stuff like that’s happened? Thor’s perceived invincibility is in part due to Loki.

***Granted, this isn’t the only possible interpretation of that line.

Requested by: @fyrecrafted @makerofrunevests @trickstersteve

@alstee I think you said you were interested, like, several months ago...?

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widziadelko · 5 years

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Avengers: Endgame - the end of the era (SPOILERS)

Hello, beautiful people!

If you haven’t watched movie yet, please, ignore it. Just go away and live your life. You really don’t want to read that.

But if you are bored and you have nothing to do with your day - I am oficially inviting you to discussion.

Warning: This is gonna be long + I’m not a native speak, so forgive me every crime I’ve commited on this beautiful language, I will fix them and learn something.

Okay! So I’ve seen Endgame a few days ago, I was thinking about what happened and I still don’t know how I feel about this movie. Really, I have totally no idea.

I'm fan of Marvel, GoT and Supernatural - this is a painful year for me. I’m a mess. Have mercy.

First things first, I gave up a long time ago to look at MCU movies (especially the ones that are called ‘Avengers’) the same way I look at other productions. This is not something you can rate at an angle of film purely, because:

1) Those films are parts of a really long series and looking at them just like we looked at trylogies or single movies would make a big mess. We would start seeing many mistakes, things that don’t work and everyone would end up with one big mind fuck and a bitter taste on their tongues. Because, theoretically, there are a lot of things that shouldn’t have place, but doing it differently would made everything lost its sense.

2) Infinity War was made to explain things to new audience who hasn’t seen previous movies. For example at the beginning Dr. Strange explains what infinity stones are and with that he lets people, who have no idea what the fuss is about, understand. And characters who have no idea what is going one, finds out by talking to other characters. Therefore, we as losers who are devoted to Marvel get our summary and people, who still have light in their lives, know that the shit is real.

But that’s IW, in Endgame no one cares about it and everything just happens (I feel sorry for everyone who had never seen Marvel movie before and had to face the whole new level of “What the fuck”). Action is fast, characters are fast, everything is fast, we are out of time. That’s the big plus, because during IW I felt that things were slow and they were jumping from one scene to another, because they needed to show something to this person, explained things to this one and it had a lot slower pace to me. Also I love that Endgame is movie for fans, because there are enough of us to make film that only people who know the whole series would understand and still have money. Who would know ten years ago that we end up like this, right?

I very liked first 15 minutes of film, because Russo brothers let fans believed that they were right and then, boom!, *5 years later*, our theories can go and fuck themselves.

I'm gonna focus on a few things that a lot of fans are talking about. . . and mostly complaining:

1) Thor

I don't entirely like what they did to him in Endgame, but also I don't entirely despise it. I think I know what they were trying to do, but they didn't show it in a good way.

It's easy to notice that Endgame Thor isn't Thor from. . . Thor and previous films about Avengers. He's not a god, he's not shown as one, he looks and is portayed like human, like mortal. By making him look and behave like a mundane, they were trying to make him closer to us.

He lost everything: his family, his best friend, his planet, half of his people - it must've been a terrible experience. Thor is a strong character and probably this is a problem. After losing with Thanos others had their break downs, tried to lived their lives, yet weren't able to move on, but they still had this thought "Okay, we lost, we fought with someone stronger than us and we lost". But not Thor! He's a god, he's powerful, he was the leader, he should be able to protect the ones he loved and he wasn't! If anyone was able to fight Thanos, that was Thor. And he couldn't do that, no, he could do that but didn't, because he didn't attack the head. The whole thing wouldn't have happen if he had killed that big, humanoid bunch of grapes.

Showing his trauma and his depression was a good idea. Showing that he's not always mighty god and he has to work for that was a good idea. Keeping him fat and not making him loose it in a mere second because he ran three times around the globe was a good idea. Let him has a break down in Asgard and talk to his mother was a great idea.

But! Covering his trauma and ignoring his depression by using it as a gag was a terrible idea. Using his mental state as something that lasts only a moment totally forgeting that reversing what Thanos did wouldn't bring back his loved one was a bad idea. Making fun of Thor being fat was the worst idea they could have. And caling him out because of him crying and using it as a joke was a terrible idea!

Remember that he's the only one that will NOT get his brother, best friend and half of his people back, because they were killed by Thanos himself. Not by the glove, but by the powerful Gummiberry Juice!

About fat jokes - I thought we grew up, I thought we have evolved, yes. . . Yes, I thought that we are over it and I was wrong. I feel incredibly disappointet. One comment is okay, it wasn't that bad, but making it a joke in a whole movie? I beg you pardon?

So, I uderstand Thor, but I hate how he was portrayed. The ending, quitting his "job" as a king and going with guardians made me kinda. . . Angry? It's like a big regress to his character. (Even if you don't like Taika Watiti's Thor the same way as me, he still showed him as a king who is ready to take responsibility for his people.)

2) Loki

Of course, we had a speech about Thor, now time for our favourite God of Mischief. I'm gonna get this straight, I love him. And I love Tom Hiddlestone. This is not surprising. I feel very bad what MCU did to both of them: to Loki as a character who should be like a snake, smarter than most of people, powerful god and to Tom who really cared about him and was trying to portray him the best he can. If not Loki, at least Tom needs some justice. Please, somewhere in alternative universe. This man is a gift from gods.

The big plus is that Loki 2012 ran away with Tesseract. I saw this scene and I was like "Oooh, okay, that's how they will have him alive in a tv series!". He is alive somewhere and I live for it!

And right, if you are wondering why Thor hasn't spoken once Lokis' name - remember that he was his brother? He loved and still loves him? They just made up and then Loki was killed! Thor can't say this name out loud, it would break him to pieces completely.

(That is something I want to believe in. It’s better than - Marvel just doesn’t want Loki anymore.)

3) Hulk - Banner

There is not many things I can say about it, but: I kinda feel like it was stupid idea, but okay. I'd prefer them to be separate beings, but have an agreement, how they are going to do things or something. Whatever!

I felt like Bruce we got in Endgame wasn't Bruce we know and love. Some of you can say that he changed, because he didn't treat Hulk as an ilness anymore and I get it, but still. . . Something was off for me.

I liked that he brought some humor too, but have you ever seen what predispositions Mark Ruffalo has to play dramatic scenes? HAVE YOU?! You know how great he could play after finding out Natasha's dead? This is probably the biggest dissapointment I have, that they didn't use his acting skills in this scene. I will never forgive for such a waste.

4) Natasha

I am a fan of Scarlett and Black Widow (in MCU and comics) and do you want to tell me, that she didn't even get a funeral? You're gonna tell me, that her friends didn't care enough to say goodbye to her this last time? Especially, when she sacrificed herself for the entire world? Yes, not only Tony, but Natasha too!

I am sad and angry about that. Burton, at least you. . . Their fight hit me right in the guts, I loved this duo.

And right, what was going on with Hawkeye? I mean, he was killing people, he was like "I've gone crazy", then Natasha came, said that they can fix that and he's immedietaly like "Okay, I'm back, but with the new haircut"?

5) Steve (and Sam. . . and Bucky)

Steve being worthy? I'm here for it! Steve using lightnings? I'm ace, please, don't fuck with me.

It was a moment in my theater when everyone gasped and one guy shouted "OH SHIT, HE FUCKING DID IT!" (but in my language it sounded harder, more harsh and was totally not for children's ears). Someone who hasn't watched Age of Ultron or doesn't know the Thor franchise, may think "Okay, lifting hammers had to be very difficult thing for this handsome man in riding-breeches", but it was something, rigtht? Everyone's heart started beating faster.

But why Steve fucking Roger was able to use Thor's power? I need to know, because it doesn't make any sense to me, especially when it was clearly said that the power is inside of Thor, not in the hammer.

Sam being new Captain? I have nothing against Sam, but. . . we don't know him very much. He was a sidekick we saw just few times. For me, Rhodey could dissapear in IW instead of Sam and then we'd get something more about him. He could do something heroic. But like that? I don't buy it.

And are you gonna tell me that Steve left Bucky like that? He was ready to do everything for that guy, yet he left him alone and didn't even say proper goodbye. Was that the end of the line? (’Bros befores hoes’ doesn’t work the same way anymore? Sorry, I love Peggy, but I had to.) And don't even let me start on the fact that Avengers have just lost Natasha and Tony. Really, Steve?

It doesn't mean I don't like his ending, it was a perfect one for him. He finally found some peace with a woman he loved and I'm proud of our boy.

I'm proud of both of them: Tony and Steve. Because this movie was a great ending for these two. We have been watching Tony's character development since 2008, his way was long and hard; he became a loving husband and father; he finally learned to do things for others not only for himself.

Steve on the other hand was closed in a 'perfect hero' box. He was trying to be good and he was forgetting about himself in the process. Finally, he thought about himself and made a choice that was only for his own good. I haven't cried. Not at all. Not once.

I love them both 3000 and I'm gonna miss them so much it totally doesn't hurt.

6) Girls heroes posing

Before I start shitting about it - I'm a girl. Let's go.

I don't care about that scene. I don't like it. I don't hate it. I didn't feel any kind of power from it. Nothing. (For the first time I missed it and I feel bad about it.)

You know why? Carol is powerful enough to take them down by herself and she doesn't need help. Letting all of these females be together was used just for one thing - showing that MCU has women. It was a shoutout to us: "SEE? WE HAVE THEM TOO! WE HAVE POWERFUL WOMEN! ARE YOU HAPPY? LOOK HOW FEMINIST WE ARE!"

As a girl and as a feminist. No.

Better learn how to write and show female characters properly than throw them in our faces. Better let women write female characters.

Although I’m glad that something like that was included,

7) Captain Marvel

I like her. She is the one I needed in the MCU. (Well, we have Natasha, Maria, Shuri and Wanda, but they don't have a solo movie. . . yet.) But making the whole Endgame aroung her would be ridicoulus. Directors didn't know how people are going to react on Carol, a big part of the audience didn't know about her. It would be a dangerous move. (But still, why didn't they call after here earlier. . .)

Still I love her, she’s powerful and beautiful!

(My brother’s and cousin’s reaction was the purest: “She seems so awesome! Girl is gonna kick some asses!”)

AND NOW SOME GOOD SHIT (I mean, those above were good too for me... most of it):

1) Dr. Strange

It was probably the whole fucking cosmos for Benedtic Cumberbatch! I mean, what did he do in this movie? He said like three sentences, showed one finger and held water. Playing this role was probably just a big mood, I mean, you have no idea what you are doing, you are just moving weirdly your hands, hoping it makes sense!

Also, using Strange in a fight would mean that the whole shit ended quickly. So what he had to do?

Held water.

"Wait guys, I can't fight now, I'm holding the water!"

(Hold the door!)

2) Peter Parker

Just.

There is nothing more to say.

He makes everything better.

3) I love you 3000 and cheeseburgers

Do you know what is the perfect way to make a young ‘I don’t cry on movies’ woman cry on movie? That's the way.

4) AVENGERS ASSEMBLE

I screamed.

5) Guardians of the Galaxy and their small interactions with one other

6) Ant-Man

I have a soft spot in my heart for that man and his role in this movie was great.

7) Time travelling

If you want to complain, remember, Endgame is not a movie about time travelling. It is a movie that has time travelling in it. I like their solution, especially that this is a very difficult topic and can be very easly destroyed (you can see it in DC serial's like "The Flash" - sorry fans, I like this show, but the time travelling is just a nope for me, it doesn't make sense in the latest seasons even more). Using this way was kinda smart, at least it was something different.

8) HAIL HYDRA

My whole theatre cheered and started clapping.

9) The final battle

It is something to make a battle that is not boring and it is well known what is happening during it.

10) INTRODUCTION TO MULTIVERSE

Generally it was a good movie and it made a small progress. I had a big fun during it! I loved every blink to that part of the audience, which knows these movies and heroes like mothers know their children. I'm gonna miss Cap, Tony and Nat.

And guys. . . This is the end of the era. The very great era I'm grateful to be part of.

I feel like I'm gonna cry now. While I was writing this, the thought it is the end of something just hit me so hard I have tears in my eyes.

The best eleven years of my life. Let's see what comes next.

PS What do you think about Peter coming back to school? I mean, it looked like every person was erased, because what. . . If Ned disappeared too, it means that him and Peter don’t see each other only for a moment and they greeted like it was a really long time! Even if only Peter was gone, Ned would be an adult already. He’d graduated school a few years earlier. Just imagine this mess when everyone came back.

BLESS YOU ALL!

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storiesofwildfire · 4 years

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"Don't chase the rabbit" (Fan!)

@forsakenmyths

meme: send me “Don’t chase the rabbit” and your muse will be shown a random memory from my muse’s past – status; accepting

♔—- “Our dear friend is banished to Earth! Loki sits on the throne of Asgard as our King! And all you have done is eat two boars, six pheasants a side of beef and drink two barrels of ale! Shame on you!” Fandral shouted at Volstagg, knocking over a plate of food at his friend’s side before he really had time to think about what was truly coming out of his mouth, what his friends would think of what he was implying rather than what he actually meant.

He and Loki had always been close. Closer than either of them truly let on. Most didn’t know that Loki was the reason Fandral came to Gladsheim in the first place, that Loki had been the one to encourage him to seek something better, and that Loki ultimately led Fandral to Sigurd, who didn’t just gloss over him as a pretty boy who happened to be good with a sword, but a proper, respectable agent.

In truth, Fandral loved Loki dearly, and he often questioned just how deep his love for the younger prince actually ran. Part of him desperately wanted something more than friendship, while most of him understood that a public relationship with the prince of Asgard wasn’t practical or appropriate for either of them, especially on Loki’s part. Most of Gladsheim might have just assumed Fandral came from some sort of nobility, but Loki knew the truth. Nothing more than the son of a farmer and certainly not a suitable match for a royal who may one day obtain the throne.

Fandral even believed Loki was better suited for the position. As much as Fandral genuinely cared for, loved, and respected Thor, he’d spent quite a lot of time with the thunderer, watching the way that he handled moments of extreme stress, and how irrationally hot-headed he was. Thor was the break-noses-now-ask-questions-later type and with how egotistical he could be mixed with how easy it was to wound his pride, he often jumped the gun to violence in times when diplomacy would have been far more appropriate.

He never meant to imply that Loki being on the throne was the wrong decision. He never meant to imply that they couldn’t trust Loki sitting on the throne. He never meant to rally up anyone’s nerves despite his pointed comments to Volstagg, he was just… having a difficult time processing everything that unfolded in front of him.

Thor convinced them all to rush off to Jotunheim, where they killed well over one hundred Frost Giants because of Thor’s ego. The battle resulted in a life-threatening injury that he was still not fully recovered from, and just thinking about it made his shoulder ache. The open vest he wore with no undershirt might have seemed flashy and unnecessary, but the truth was, putting heavier fabrics on the still-healing wound only served to hurt him further. His vest was more or less all he could handle at the moment without risking becoming even more frazzled.

And then Odin banished Thor, fell into Odinsleep immediately after, and left the throne to Frigga, who immediately passed it onto Loki. Loki, he knew, could be a capable ruler, but something wasn’t right with the younger prince. They seemed particularly shaken, especially after their venture to Jotunheim, and whatever they were facing, they were facing alone. Something rattled the God to their core, causing an upset that made the weight of the crown crushing and Fandral feared for Loki’s wellbeing more than he really implied. He feared for Thor and for Asgard as well and having to put aside the trauma and fear of the near-death experience he just endured to deal with everything else only served to amplify his stress.

“Do not mistake my appetite for apathy!” Volstagg barked around a mouthful of whatever it was he’d moved onto devouring.

From there, the entire conversation got out of hand. Hogun was suggesting that Loki was at fault for the Frost Giants, Sif was insinuating that Loki was somehow at fault for Thor’s banishment, and they were both in an upheaval that going to Midgard and retrieving Thor despite direct orders from the king that he remain there was the only option they had. Why Sif and Hogun so openly disliked and even despised Loki, Fandral truly didn’t know. As far as he could tell, Loki had never done anything to either of them to warrant such hatred. Harmless pranks and backhanded comments that were no worse than what Thor’s friends dished out, but nothing to justify such… raw hatred.

They were talking about committing treason purely because they didn’t want Loki on the throne.

Loki hadn’t even proved to be an irresponsible or misplaced king. He wasn’t at fault for Jotunheim. He wasn’t at fault for Thor’s betrayal and, genuinely, he wasn’t wrong about how it would look if he–the new and supposedly temporary king–overturned his predecessor’s last decree as king. Loki bringing Thor home would have undermined Odin’s rule and shown a blatant lack of respect for the king that came before them.

Fandral hadn’t meant to contribute to the ramblings of angry warriors ready to jump off the edge of treason and yet, as Sif and Hogun egged one another on, it seemed very blatant to him that he’d done just that. His words had been interpreted in a manner that made it seem as if he wanted Loki off the throne as much as they did and now that the first domino had fallen, there was no stopping it.

Had he not said anything at all… Had he kept his frustrations internalized and kept his damn mouth shut rather than blurting out the first string of anguish he could muster to try and express everything that ran through his mind, maybe they wouldn’t have come to that conclusion at all.

Logically, Fandral knew that Sif and Hogun had already been thinking along these lines, that they would have been prepared to commit treason even without Fandral’s little outburst, but the swordsman couldn’t help but feel responsible. Guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders, especially as any further attempt he made to soothe his friends’ rage towards Loki and persuade them away from thoughts of acting against the crown went completely unheard. Now that Sif and Hogun agreed, there was little stopping them, and as good of a person as Volstagg was, it was sort of easy to bulldoze over him and convince him to go along with just about anything. With both Sif and Hogun chatting in his ear, he’d probably give in to their ridiculous whims in a matter of moments.

Before the four of them could even decide firmly on what they would going to do and, more importantly, before Fandral could have an ample chance to talk his friends off the ledge, Heimdall summoned all four of them to his home at the end of the Bifrost. As the Watcher of Yggdrasil and Asgard’s first line of defense, they all knew that he could see everything and anything he wanted. He likely saw the argument and talks of treason as well, and Fandral prayed that Heimdall called them all to talk some sense into them or, at the very least, to close the Bifrost to them.

Instead, he only instigated the situation further.

“You would defy Loki, our king, break every oath you have sworn as Asgardian warriors and commit treason by bringing Thor back?” Heimdall asked, to which Sif answered on behalf of all four of them that they absolutely would. “Good!” Heimdall exclaimed as he let go of the hilt of Hofund, the sword Heimdall used to control the Bifrost.

“Then you’ll help us?” Volstagg asked, confirming Fandral’s suspicion that he would be easily persuaded to go along with this ridiculous plan.

“I am bound by my oath. I cannot open the Bifrost to you,” Heimdall said in a matter-of-fact tone that suggested he wasn’t willing to help them. Still, he stepped away from the platform that held Hofund and the mount that would open the Bifrost.

Fandral’s heart sank in his chest. Never in a thousand years would he have imagined Heimdall would willingly betray Loki in such a manner. Heimdall had a strong connection to the young king, after all, so why… Why was he even willing to do this? To turn a “blind eye” and let Thor’s friends commit treason against their new king? Did he have some sort of ulterior motive or was he truly turning his back on Loki?

“Complicated fellow, isn’t he?” Fandral asked meekly as he watched Heimdall saunter off, his last hope of shutting his friends down following after the Watcher. ‘Why, Heimdall? Why did you do this? Had you not gotten involved, we would have been stuck here…’ Fandral couldn’t help but think, but as disappointed as he was to watch Heimdall leave, he was more disappointed in himself for being the one to start all of this. He hadn’t meant to, but intentions meant nothing. Actions and the result of those actions meant everything.

Would Loki ever forgive him for this?

“My friends,” he continued, turning to the trio that stood before him. “Please, let us reconsider this. We are all distressed by Thor’s absence, but Loki has given us no reason to believe he will make for a bad king. Committing treason against Loki seems extreme.”

“Hypocritical, coming from the man who seemed so distraught by the idea of Loki sitting on the throne in the first place,” Sif murmured, though she and Hogun were already hovering closely around Heimdall’s purposefully forgotten sword. “Weren’t you just complaining about it?”

“Yes, I can see how my words came off poorly,” Fandral agreed. “But I didn’t mean for this. I was venting frustration, not trying to rally actual betrayal. Please, be reasonable. If we do this, we’re committing treason, not only against Loki but against Asgard. Odin banished Thor, not Loki. Would it not be better to stay and try to assist our new king to get through these troubling times? We can help Loki–”

“Or we can help Asgard by dethroning Loki all together!” Sif snapped as she took hold of Hofund’s hilt to activate the Bifrost. Fandral felt like he might be sick. Gods, he felt like he actually might double over and expel the contents of his stomach across the floor. How had one moment of venting understandably conflicting and confusing emotions lead to this? How could he let his own feelings get in the way of what needed to be done?

Loki would never forgive him for this, but Fandral wasn’t sure he’d forgive himself either.

‘This is all my fault…’

#forsakenmyths #ask fandral #answered prayers #( side muse ) fandral #( main verse ; pre mcu ) norsebound #index; secondary muses #filed under; fandral #( storiesofwildfire headcanon ) chaos is about that which is possible #( long response ) if it were easy everyone would do it #{ actually been meaning to write up a headcanon about this #so I'm glad I actually got the chance to do this!! }

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douxreviews · 5 years

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The Umbrella Academy - ‘The Day That Wasn't’ Review

The Handler: "You're a great disappointment to me."

To put it bluntly, that quote more or less encapsulates the feelings I'm left with after 'The Day That Wasn't.' To get across fully the gravity of my abrupt reaction to this episode, obvious context is needed first, and not just in the manner you'd think.

It's a bit quaint to watch this feature a second time around and have my initial perceptions of certain characters drastically change for the better or for the worse; Luther's becoming tiresome as he fails to live up to his status as 'team leader' by repeatedly discussing why stopping the end of the world is priority numero uno, yet fails to offer up any pragmatic solutions himself, instead choosing to shoot down other workable and hands-on solutions offered up by the other siblings. On the other hand, we have Diego who's redeeming himself for me each passing episode with his wholesome qualities. Setting aside his penchant for reckless murder for the moment, his interactions and bonding with Klaus - in this episode's case, helping him reach sobriety - are among some of my favorite across the entire season. It's not exactly clear why Diego has such a soft spot for Klaus, and it's up in the air if that's a development the series will take the time to explore.

No, instead, this episode takes a big chunk of time to further progress the romantic tension between Luther and Allison. For the record, I will say that this development doesn't quite bother me as much as it does others in the audience, I'm more skimming the edges of the 'indifferent' camp. What is a little tedious for me is that The Umbrella Academy is choosing to wait until the ending of its sixth episode to finally lay the cards on the table about Luther and Allison, something the audience and the other Hargreeves siblings already knew was present. Nonetheless, it is each of their arcs making a sort of progress, and so with their feelings for each other out in the open, this possibly allows them the opportunity to grasp a new perspective on fending off the end of the world.

More truths are bought to light with Luther himself when it's shown to him by Pogo that Sir Hargreeves never took Luther's research on the moon seriously because he had only sent Luther there after his near-death experience due to seeing Luther as useless. Appropriately, this doesn't go over well with Luther and his reaction, performance-wise, is executed well, partly reminiscent of Loki learning his true heritage in Thor. The weight of this revelation too is why it's so conflicting for me to critique Luther sometimes, seeing that his trauma sustained from his father is just as valid as each of his siblings.

Meanwhile, Klaus has found newfound motivation for ditching his stashes of narcotics in the form of Dave, a comrade from Klaus' platoon that appears to have also been involved romantically with Klaus before his untimely death, a monumental factor in Klaus' uneasy state ever since he got back. From my understanding, Robert Sheehan had a bit of a hand in the androgynous wardrobe of Klaus, and I wonder for a moment if he also steered the direction of Klaus' relationship with Dave, and just how much was to be revealed to the audience about the two of them. What's relieving to see in Klaus' development here is that the importance Dave had to Klaus is showcased in the formidable manner of Klaus making great efforts to sober up and opening up to Diego about Dave more or less being the catalyst for that. Some series choose to beat the audience over the head repeatedly with the unquestionable assertion that they feature an LGBT+ character, but in doing so, they sap the remaining characterization out until their sexual orientation is the only thing left to define them by. In Klaus' instance, The Umbrella Academy smartly takes the route of 'show, don't tell'.

More fuel is thrown on the pyre regarding Vanya's increasing animosity towards her siblings. Understandably, she's pissed she wasn't reached out to by the others for her consult on how to stop the end of the world, but after she storms off, Allison's the only one to express guilt over this. It's disappointing that we haven't been allowed much of interactions between Vanya and her brothers because they all seem, to a practically comedic degree, very indifferent to her presence whenever she's in-and-out of the mansion. This potentially could feel very wonky in the future if things come to a head and the academy becomes compelled to defend Vanya from the threat Leonard may present, because their sense of protection over Vanya may feel out of nowhere.

Finally we come to Mr. Five's subplot. Five is taken by The Handler to The Commission's main headquarters and as soon as she begins laying out the inner workings of the institution in specific detail, it was very apparent that Five's end goal all along was to exploit The Commission's technology to his advantage. By the time of the climax, Five does just that, and manages to turn Hazel and Cha-Cha against each other by sending each a message instructing them to kill the other. He also neatly acquires the name of the supposed mastermind behind the imminent apocalypse: Harold Jenkins. Once Five has what he needs in tow, he returns to the prime-line to warn his siblings - one day earlier. The setting where this episode started up, with Luther, Allison, Diego and Klaus discussing how to ward off the apocalypse, is returned to, only with Five in attendance this time. Which means everything we witnessed, everything that was developed for these characters over the last forty-five minutes amounts to nothing. Zip. Nada. All so the series can end this chapter on a quirky little cliffhanger that could have played out just as easily if Five returned one day later.

I've seen this episode twice now and maybe I'm just missing the point this ending is trying to make but this is really an ineffective way to advance a narrative. If anything, had Five returned a day later and dropped the bombshell about Harold Jenkins, I sense that the siblings would have been even more prone to cooperate, now that they have an altered perspective on things to come: Vanya would have discovered Leonard possessing Sir Hargreeves' journal, Luther and Allison have new incentives to continue living, Klaus reunites with Dave in the afterlife (possibly making it past his withdrawal as well), and Diego learns Mom is alive again, courtesy of Pogo. And now all of that is undone and we are frustratingly left back at square one, so now who knows how long it'll be before these guys get their act together?

I'll humor my lingering optimism and say that this ending may be able to be forgiven come next episode if a new turn of events pushes these characters back into the acceptances we saw this episode. So better luck next time, academy.

Name That Tune:

Of course we wouldn't be fully convinced that Klaus spent a year in the late 1960's if his presence in Vietnam wasn't played to the backdrop of The Doors, more specifically 'Soul Kitchen'.

Hargreeves Humor:

Allison: "But can we trust him? I don't know if you've noticed, but Five's a little..." Klaus: "Our little psycho."

Klaus: "We all died fighting this thing the first time around. Remember?" Diego: "Klaus, shockingly, has a point."

Aaron Studer loves spending his time reading, writing and defending the existence of cryptids because they can’t do it themselves.

#The Umbrella Academy #Vanya Hargreeves #Klaus Hargreeves #Allison Hargreeves #Diego Hargreeves #Luther Hargreeves #Ben Hargreeves #The Umbrella Academy Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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clusterthoughts · 5 years

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My take on Avengers: Endgame **SPOILERS AHEAD**

To get the ball rolling, I’m gonna start with the bits I didn’t like just because overall I fucking loved Endgame and I’d like to end on a positive note. But just because I loved it does not mean I am not well accustomed to Marvel giving me holes to pick at. STEVE’S ENDING When I first watched it; it rubbed me up the wrong way. Now I’m actually mad about it. Don’t get me wrong - I knew they had to find a way to write out Steve Rogers but literally anything else wouldn’t have shit on years of character development. Fans: clearly Steve and Bucky would be the only natural romantic partners for each other Marvel: romantic love is not the be-all-and-end-all. Friendship is just as important Fans: okay well can you give Steve and Bucky solid screen time as friends? Marvel: sTEVE NEEDS TO BE WITH PEGGY THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE AND TO ABANDON ALL HIS FRIENDS FOR IT Fans: ...k I recognise that Steve’s trauma was that he felt like his life had happened without him and he had left behind the love of his life and honestly: fair. I’m Stucky trash all day long but I know the fucking company I’m dealing with here. I’d have accepted The Power Of Friendship with open arms. But a major part of both Steve and Peggy’s on-screen storyline was accepting that they needed to make the most of the life they had now and move on. Significant portions of their screen time was dedicated to that healing process. Steve created a life for himself in the future. He had a found-family (despite Marvel continuously found-family baiting us but I’m being considerate to their established shitehawkery here) he had friends and a purpose. But the main thing of note here is that Steve and Bucky’s friendship was constantly painted as the single most important thing to them. It was enough to pull Bucky out of seven decades of mind control. It was enough to make Steve drop everything (including Tony) to go and find him. They are with each other ‘till the end of the line. Steve Rogers is a man out of time but so is Bucky Barnes. Except Bucky spent the whole time being tortured and used as a murder machine. I refuse to believe that Steve would just leave him alone in the future. And he is alone because there has been zero suggestion that Bucky has a relationship with anyone except maybe Shuri and the Sam and Bucky being friends thing is just here now and we must like it or else (I love it but give me context damnit) And I know that Bucky knew what Steve was going to do because he told Steve he would miss him even though as far as they were concerned he was only going to be gone for five seconds but they, at the very very least, could have shown them having that conversation. The other parts of this that completely fly in the face of Steve’s character development: everyone lost someone. Everyone. Why does Steve get a do-over? Tony doesn’t get a future and Nat doesn’t get a future. Why does Steve get a new one? In what world would Steve comfortably accept either of those things? Peggy moved on and got married and by Steve re-writing how the timeline occurred he denied a women he respects and admires her autonomy. Finally, Marvel really expects me to believe that Steve ‘If I see a situation pointed south, I can't ignore it’ Rogers goes back to the 40’s and knows Bucky is alive and being actively tortured, knows HYDRA is in SHEILD, knows the Starks are going to be assassinated, knows Nat is in the Red Room and just... does nothing. The Russo Brothers wanted a Steve and Peggy ending from the start, and even when it became obvious that it wasn’t what the fans wanted, they refused to let go. Steve’s ending would have been very sweet if he was any other type of person but he wasn’t. It makes no sense at all to his character development and everyone involved deserved better. Speaking of deserved better... NATASHA’S ENDING This wouldn’t have left such a bitter taste in my mouth had Nat ever, even once, been treated with respect in this franchise. In terms of storyline I’ll admit it made sense. Someone had to die for the soul stone. It had to involve two people who loved each other. And I most certainly didn’t see it coming and the audible sobbing from the audience would back that up. It would have been heartbreaking had Nat been a well loved, well respected character. But she wasn’t. Nat was used as an eye-candy prop for Tony. She was the first person who really tried to be there for a struggling Steve. She was shoehorned into the role of Bruce’s love interest. She gave Clint his atonement. The five years where she worked through her grief were done offscreen despite them being recorded. Her skill set was not shown in this movie in lieu of giving her emotional depth. Yet she was left alone for years to believe that she was some type of monster who didn’t deserve nice things. That she had to dedicate her life, and then give her life, to redemption she no longer needed by any merit applied to the men of the franchise. If you consider the movie as a stand-alone it was a necessary evil but realistically Marvel never did right by her right until the very end. As much as I hate Marvel’s dedication to romantic love being the only motivator; traumatised women needing to sacrifice themselves to be worth anything at all is worse. Natasha’s story never belonged to her and that’s what makes her ending bitter as opposed to just sad. NOW ONTO THE THINGS I LOVED Tony and Nebula’s interactions were so sweet. It really just solidifies how much of a good guy Tony is and it’s nice to see someone treat Nebula like a decent person who just needs some love for once. I have seen a lot of people complain about Thor’s storyline but I actually agreed with the decision made. I am not necessarily thrilled with the execution - the ball was dropped because the Russo’s aren’t Taika Waitti so the humour was clearly a copycat attempt and the fat jokes were overdone. Also handing New Asgard over to Valkyrie I liked but it was really throwaway. The reasons I’m not including it in my Things I Didn’t Like List is: Firstly, Hemsworth specifically looked for Thor to become comedic relief because he didn’t agree with how stiff Thor had been presented in the beginning. Thor’s mother died. His father died. His brother died. His best friend died. His home was destroyed. Half his people died. AND THEN the snap happened. Thor felt personally responsible for everything. During the fight in infinity war, for everybody else is was prevention, but for Thor is was already revenge. Only for them to lose which, as far as Thor is concerned and for all that he’ll believe, is because he should have gone for the head. And people just??? Expected him??? To be fine??? Accurate depressive episode is accurate. And I’m so glad he got to speak to Frigga. Firstly because I love her and secondly because she was dead right. You’ll always fail at being the person you are supposed to be. Thor has to make peace with the person he wants to be. (On a side note: Frigga and my therapist would be friends) Also when he killed Thanos the first time I heard someone in the cinema say “they do know this is a 3 hour movie right?” And I was inclined to agree. Gotta give this movie props for never having me feel like I could guess what was gonna happen next despite me being able to guess what was gonna happen next. Brilliant writing. I love Scott Lang. I don’t have much to say about that. He is a great dad, super funny, blends well with the others, when he got super big I whooped. His reunion with Hope was actually perfectly sweet without taking away from the mission. This is a We Love Scott Lang Zone only. The scene where the push time through him was hilarious. I did not see the Banner/Hulk thing coming and equally did not realise how much I needed it. Super funny and good for him for embracing both. Tony! Stark! As! A! Dad! Jesus wept it was so much more wholesome than I ever could have hoped for. I can’t even pick out one part it was all perfection. I love you 3000, Tony Stark. Hawkeye. My baby boy. I love him to death and I am purposely ignoring his time as a big ol murderer. It was very very extra wrong but leave me alone. I was glad he was given more screen time in this movie. I recognise that Rocket isn’t strictly speaking a “real” “person” but I enjoyed him so immensely in this movie. Him and Nebula holding hands just knocks me every time. KORG!!! I would give this movie 10/10 exclusively because Korg was in it. I truly loved the scene where Tony figures out time travel and I’m also very glad that instead of Pepper putting the foot down because he had a family now and he promised so many times he’d give it all up she knows that he’ll never rest and he needs to do this whatever the cost (sob) Rhodey’s A1 time travel humour ~chefs kiss~ I! FUCKING! LOVED! EVERYTHING! ABOUT! THEM! GOING! BACK! TO! NEW! YORK! AAAHHH! Hulk and the stairs!!! I genuinely yelped when Steve said “hail hydra” that was genius spec!!! “You’ve got to be shitting me” STEVEN GRANT ROGERS!!! “I can do this all day” “yeah, yeah, I know” was fucking hilarious!!! “Bucky... is... alive” further yelping on my part!!! “That is America’s ass” and all Steve/Tony/Scott interactions about America’s ass were just great!!! Thor using the hammer to restart Tony’s heart!!! Loki where u gone!!! “Do you trust me?” “I do”!!! 1970’s WOO TIME-TRAVEL ROAD TRIP Hey, Stan Lee I just love Tony/Steve scenes (Civil War? Never heard of him?) they bring me true, unadulterated joy Everything about Howard and Tony’s interaction was so wholesome I think I need to take a shower in dirt to counteract it Peggy Carter you are an agent and you mean to tell me that 220lbs of Prime American Beef can just stand in front of you and you don’t even see it out the corner of your eye? LOOK UP, DAMNIT (If you have your reunion now the dickhead might not go ba- sorry, sorry. Where was I?) JARVIS!!! Can someone please for fucks sake give Nebula a break? Mediocre Natasha mourning is mediocre (sorry x2) YES BRUCE YOU BEAUTIFUL SONOVABITCH aaaaaand Yikes! (Poor Rocket did not sign up for this shit at all) (Gamora is too good for these fuckos) When I asked for someone to give Nebula a break I didn’t meAN FOR FUCKING NEBULA TO DO IT Everything about the Steve/Tony/Thor v Thanos fight scene was so ~deep inhale~ aesthetic but... *WHEN STEVE USED MJØLNIR I WAS READY TO GODDAMN RIOT. HOLY FUCK. WHAT A SCENE. WHAT A MAN. IVE HAD SEX THAT DIDNT GIVE ME AS MUCH SATISFACTION. I WOULD HAVE THAT MOMENT TATTOOED INSIDE MY EYELIDS IF I COULD. EVERY TIME I REMEMBER IT MY BRAIN MAKES THIS NOISE: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ~ahem~

FUCK OFF AWAY FROM THE SHEILD THANOS The scene where Thano’s army is charging in from the dark clouds and you can see Steve standing in front of the sun is so beautiful I’d marry it. I don’t have the right vocabulary for how beautiful that was but fuck me Sam: on your left Me: ~pterodactyl screech~ Honest to fuck it was a moment of sheer magic seeing everyone come back (I made grabby hands during everyone’s return) Next, I’ll quote a girl I met in the toilets after the movie - “If I marry the man of my dreams, have beautiful children, and die in my sleep at the age of 99 I still won’t be as happy as when Steve said ‘Avengers Assemble’” Girl, same. Fucking same. It was erotic and I’m genuinely fearful Marvel will never produce as magnificent a line again. TONY AND PETER I shed a tear at how sweet that was. I need back into the dirt shower. Their hug!!! Peter’s babbling!!! Tony’s whole face!!! CAPTAIN MARVEL. I’ve got to give this credit. I love Captain Marvel. I think Brie Larson is a god amongst men but I really didn’t want the movie to be about her and how she saves the day. That would really take away from all the years of hard work done by the original six and it really wasn’t her fight the way it was to everyone else. The amount she was involved and the way she was involved was truly perfect in my opinion. It was the edge they needed but no one was overlooked in the process. I was really very happy about this. The girl power scene was probably pandering but I don’t give a fuck I was well and truly pandered The team work for that fight scene was magnificent, the pacing was magnificent, the visuals were magnificent. BE-YOU-TEA-FULL When Thanos got the stones like honestly Russo Bothers you had me there. I fully panicked Doctor Strange’s lil finger. Remarkable. I’m gonna take this moment to say: the call backs they did to old scenes and old lines in the franchise were really tasteful and well done. This always felt like the accumulation of years of work and I’ve got to applaud it. TONY MOTHERFUCKING STARK, FRIENDS!!! You funky little maniac. I AM IRON MAN!!!!!! AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!! But oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck I knew this was going to happen but that did not make it hurt any less. There was open crying at this point in the cinema. It was the perfect death for him, to be honest. If it had to happen I’m so glad it was like this. Full circle. Honourable. Surrounded by those who loved him. Part of the journey is the end and I LOVE YOU 3000 I am going to miss Tony beyond belief. His funeral was stunning. I am so glad literally everyone was there (HEY HARLEY). Great symbolism for it being a funeral for the Avengers as we know it, too. Also Happy’s interaction with Morgan was so soft I have melted. I am no longer here. And finally, Sam Wilson Is Captain America AS! IT! SHOULD! BE! I would like to thank the academy, Jesus, and whoever took over Steve Rogers considering the Steve we know would never have gone ba- SORRY X3

#Avengers endgame spoilers #endgame spoilers #a4 spoilers

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demigodofhoolemere · 5 years

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Oh boy. Here we go. Gonna try to get my Endgame thoughts out. Usually I give spoiler-free versions as well, but... you really can’t say a word about this movie that isn’t a spoiler, so everything goes under the cut.

~~~

Shortest summary: the things that were good were really good, but the things that were bad were just as bad (aka disappointing), and there are gray areas in between that I have complicated feelings for.

I’ll start with the bad so I can end with the good.

Complaints

- Anyone who knows how I feel about Ragnarok knows that the first and most frustration-filled complaint has to be about Thor. I try not to speak too openly about my feelings for that movie, because a) I don’t want to ruin anyone’s fun by saying how much I hate the thing they love, no one wants to hear that, and b) I don’t want to be eaten alive for it anyway. But given that we’re under the cut now: I really hate that movie. And there’s a plethora of things I could get into about that which I won’t, the important point here is that I can’t stand Thor’s characterization. They stripped him of everything that made him who he was, to the point of such unrecognizability that I only call him by name in quotation marks or refer to him as Fake Thor. I know how many people consider the overhaul an improvement, but I genuinely loved who he once was, and they turned my boy into the exact kind of character that I hate ten out of ten times. Infinity War, while still very much trying to keep with who he’d become, seemed like it was attempting to course-correct and let him actually be serious again, he definitely had some moments that I liked where I could see him as the Thor I know peeking out again. Foolishly I assumed Endgame would follow suit, especially since this is supposed to be the biggest, darkest movie ever. Instead I’m subjected to a “Thor” who is SOMEHOW even further removed from recognition and manages to even be an insult to Ragnarok Thor, who in the very least refused to give up on his goals and knew that hiding and drinking wasn’t the answer to problems. This yet newer version is drinking himself into oblivion and not trying even a bit to actually be any kind of leader for his people, and it’s all played for laughs. This genuinely tragic and miserable state they put him in is all played for laughs. I was looking forward to seeing how they’d have Thor respond to his trauma and depression, foolishly thinking that his characterization might be slowly headed to a better place and it might be something like how we used to see Thor deal with his pain (quietly, soldiering on, but clearly without his heart completely in it, he tries to be okay and he hides it and he smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes, and he hurts and he grieves but he never gives up because surrender is not in his nature) — but it turns out the man can’t even be depressed without it being a joke. It honestly pained me to watch and I wanted to throw up, because it feels like a stranger walking around in Thor’s corpse, and because it was all just one long joke about him being sad and fat (like that’s okay to make fun of?), and all of this during the hugest movie event ever. The culmination of a decade of stories, and this is what we get. A disgrace in every way. It’s terrible but when Thanos was digging the weapon into his chest, I was actually hoping he’d die. I can’t take it anymore. The only reason I have left for caring whether he lives is purely for Loki’s sake at this point, because he shouldn’t have to lose his brother, but then again, I really don’t even feel like his brother is home anymore. The lights are on but it’s someone else in the house and I don’t know who he is, all I know is I never want to have to see him again. (When Frigga says he’s not the Thor she knows... I know she meant it differently but that was a mood).

- Also, he never talks about Loki for a second, not a single namedrop, he’s not even alluded to in the present day outside of the audience simply knowing that it’s part of the reason Thor hates Thanos, but it’s vague at best. He outright walks past Loki in his cell without a moment of reaction. Their entire history and bond is treated as nonexistent. Thanks.

- While they were at it the movie also refused to acknowledge anything that Thanos did to Loki pre-New York, which I really didn’t expect but it would have been nice. Best we have is two seconds in IW of Bruce saying that he “sent” him, which really doesn’t do justice to the truth of it. And the thing is... I don’t know that I can even expect the Loki series to address it, either. It’s not present day Loki, which I’m peeved about because I wanted him back, and now we lose all post-Avengers character development, and I lose hope of seeing the one thing I’ve wanted for this character in the 7 years I’ve known and loved him: healing. I’ve only ever wanted to see him get help, figure out his mind, figure out who he wants to be, make progress and get better. Goodness knows that’s all Tom ever talks about wanting for him, too. I doubt that will happen now, given that a) they had Loki peace out with the Tesseract and b) the synopsis was something about him traveling through Earth history and influencing events, both of which tell me we could easily be going down the ‘haha I love stealing the Tesseract and stabbing people at random’ road that I so don’t want to go down, with an added ‘I want to screw up time just because’ for good measure. He’s a trickster, yes, but he didn’t used to be like this, and if this is all they’ll let him be then I lose hope of seeing him allowed to be emotional, or having any of his trauma acknowledged, or being shown to have actual personal motivations and desires outside of mischief, and the hope that he would have a moral code and display a capacity for goodness (yes, Loki has those things) is likely a pipe dream. Tom is my only hope, and knowing how he is with the character, his hands are extremely safe ones to be in and I know that no matter what’s written he’ll do all he can to bring as much truth to Loki as possible, but it still depends on who’s in charge, and unless by miracle it ends up being Kenneth Branagh, I have trust issues. I’m happy he’s alive at all but I’m worried about my boy. I just want him back from the present day, revived from having to be brutally murdered by his torturer, and out of the hands of anyone who’s not going to take care of his character.

- By the way, is “the sun will shine on us again” really just false hope after all that? He was the only optimistic person in the movie and had a suspicious 3+ minute absence where he could have been doing anything, and nothing comes of that? I mean, I’m grateful for the true sacrifice, and I’m glad the Russos know that he would do that (my issue with the scene not being that he uses a dagger, but only that we’re not shown him trying anything else first; I believe he’d do what he did if it was the last possible thing he could attempt, I just wish we’d been shown that that was definitively the case), and that it didn’t lean into the ‘oh he just loves faking his death’ misunderstanding, but I was kinda hoping for a reversal, you know? It wouldn’t change the impact, he still made his choice and it’s still massive for the character, it just... wouldn’t have to be permanent... please I miss my son so much.

- PROFFESOR HULK. I was afraid they’d go down this route, and it seemed more or less confirmed by the time the movie was about to come out. I’m highly uncomfortable with the whole concept, I’ve never liked it in any medium. Bruce was already OOC as well at times, particularly his first scene in the diner, but having him do this pretty much equates to him murdering Hulk. It’s Bruce’s consciousness in Hulk’s body, which kind of kicks out Hulk. Is his mind trapped inside or is he just gone? Either way, there’s clearly no intention of ever reversing this, which ends up still effectively killing Hulk no matter how you go about it. The arc Bruce has been on was supposed to be about him accepting Hulk, and the two of them learning to work together better. Having Bruce decide that he only wants the body is NOT conflict resolution. They acted like it was the best of both worlds, as if Hulk was only ever a secondary body and not an actual separate living personality, which drives me crazy. He was unceremoniously taken out, offscreen, by the same man who gave him life. He deserved better than that, he deserved to live. Now we’ll never see him again. Not a fun day to be a Hulk fan.

- Over-the-top humor where there shouldn’t have been. I love good humor, I’m grateful for relief from angst, and there were some very good funny moments, but there comes a point where it shouldn’t be done, if you can’t do it well and in a way that is not inappropriate for the tone (hint: fat jokes are inappropriate for the tone). Humor abuse is frustratingly growing more and more common, in Marvel and in general.

- Angst for the sake of angst regardless of whether it could have been avoided. I know that much of fiction works like this but still. Stephen could have used the Time Stone on Tony’s injuries to bring him to the moment before it happened, so that he could be saved without undoing the victory. He saved Wong that way, Thanos used the stone on Vision without changing anything else around him, we know it’s possible. Same could have been done for Nat, too. And my sister pointed out that they should have just time traveled to somewhere in that 22-day timespan to get the stones from Thanos before he destroyed them, because they were all together and it would have saved them the time heist and the massive battle. I know the movie would have been over quickly, but seriously, they went to a lot of trouble that they didn’t need to. I like having reasons for why things have to be done or not done a certain way, rather than asking me to ignore the obvious ways out.

- The time travel logic REALLY needed to be explained better. They made a point of contradicting the traditionally accepted time travel rules, and made a minor attempt at explaining how they were choosing to do it, but didn’t make it clear enough to follow. I can’t figure out for the life of me what’s supposed to become of Gamora, or why Nebula killing herself in the past doesn’t kill her in the present, or what in the world happens to personal timelines that have been tampered with (Loki not experiencing TDW and onward, Peggy not having her family, etc), among many other questions. Nothing makes any sense and they left a total mess in their wake. It felt like they were just giving themselves a pass to do whatever they wanted rather than follow any logic.

- On that note: Gamora. As much as I refuse to give up hope for her, it seems to me that they’re not planning on fixing that. The only reason I hadn’t been as panicked for her wellbeing as I could have been was because I figured they couldn’t just leave things that way. I remembered James Gunn once said that Vol 3 could be watched without having seen IW and Endgame, which implied to me that there would be no Guardians deaths that wouldn’t get undone, but now I’m wondering if it’s set before IW or I just misremembered what he said entirely - either way it’s feeling like we’re really just starting over with 2014 Gamora, which is all kinds of messed up to 2018 Gamora. What kind of ending is that? Killed by her abusive kidnapper “father”, and trying to make the audience sympathetic to his pain? That scene was beautifully done, in a sick and twisted way, but it needs to be fixed. I want her back in one piece. She deserved to see the end of Thanos, in her own normal timeline and not in her new one, and move on with her life and her sister and her family. Justice for Gamora.

- Rocket calling Mantis “the chick with the antennae”, as if he wasn’t friends with her for four years. I’m pretending that he was just getting too emotional saying all of their names and decided to distance himself from it, because that’s the only thing that makes sense, unless he’s legitimately having a memory problem in his older age. Rocket is gruff but his team is his family and that includes Mantis.

- Five years later. Why. Please don’t make my kids go through this for five years. You only did this for the Morgan pain, you sadists. You know that’s the only reason you did this, it didn’t need to be five years, why do you like to hurt me—

- In general it just felt like it didn’t live up to the promises Infinity War made? It feels like a completely different event.

- No Dum-E and U at the funeral. Unrealistic, Tony wouldn’t stand to have his bots left out. I know this isn’t important, but it’s important.

Conflicting Feelings

- Less worried about Vision since I know he and Wanda have a show coming and Feige said that the Disney+ shows are post-Endgame, but we don’t know in what capacity he’ll appear. He could be emotionless White Vision, or Wanda could be going House-of-M style and hallucinating him or trying to change reality to keep him, or who knows what else. Hopefully it’s all good. Cautiously optimistic?

- Not sure about Clint becoming a killer. I can buy a mourning family man having that anger in him, and I know Ronin is a comics thing and that historically he can have a bit of a temper at times, but at the same time... it’s Clint. I can’t figure out how I feel about it.

- What Tony did was amazing and everything, but Nebula still should have been the one to kill Thanos.

- Making it five years later makes things very awkward for setting things right. If you were to undo everything, you erase important things that happened in the time since, especially children born (and when they introduced Morgan I knew what path they were taking). It makes sense to bring people back without turning the time back. But the snapped people also miss five years of world developments, five years of their loved ones’ lives, and will now forever be younger than people that they used to be older than. Worse, it won’t undo the damage that was done outside of the snap. People who died in crashes because their drivers or pilots disappeared, people who died on operating tables because their surgeons disappeared, people who committed suicide because they couldn’t live with what happened. Those people are never coming back, unless we pretend that Tony took them into account when he fixed things. It’s just... no matter what way you go about fixing things, it’s uncomfortable for somebody.

- Nat’s death. Conflicted purely because I love her and I want her back. The death was incredibly well done and emotionally impactful and believable for the character and the journey she’s been on all these years. Can’t say enough for how much I loved she and Clint stopping each other back and forth, and how flipping proud I am of her and who she is. I would bring her back in a heartbeat and I’m completely devastated, but I’m so proud. However, where was her funeral?

- Tony... I sooo prepped myself for the wrong Avenger. I’ve been expecting Steve to die for years now, so that’s what I went in thinking would happen, and while I did have my concerns and occasional doubts, I had become like 90% convinced that Tony would be okay because I didn’t think they could actually do it, especially with him having so much to live for. It’s utterly heartbreaking, because we’ve gone through YEARS with him, he’s suffered so much and he’s earned his happy ending a thousand times over, it was owed to him, and to watch him die when happiness was within his grasp... that’s not entertainment anymore, you know? It’s just twisted and sadistic. I can see how it ties things together and wraps up his story, but not in a satisfying way. I wanted nothing more than for him to get to live with his family. If he had to die, the way they did it was amazing, it was beautiful and epic and it meant something, the reactions of Pepper and the others were completely heartbreaking in every horrible way, they used so many callbacks to his previous movies and especially the first one (I am NOT even getting into all of them, holy crap, they murdered me so many times over), it hit in all the right ways and it was all the right kinds of angst, it’s exactly the kind of thing I’d have done if I had to write that... but I didn’t want this. I’m devastated beyond description. I had to watch my sweet boy die with my own two eyes. He built the MCU from the ground up and this is his sendoff. It’s certainly one befitting his character, but that doesn’t mean it’s what he deserved. I want to erase this from my memories. Nothing happened, it’s fine.

- This one is going to sound cruel, but... as much as I don’t want Steve to die, I would have been less dissatisfied if it had been him. He had less to lose, I felt. He never truly felt like he belonged in the 21st century, he always struggled to figure himself and his place in life out, never seemed very comfortable in his own skin. It would have made sense for him to be the one to make the sacrifice. I could have accepted him achieving his personal peace in reuniting with the loved ones he’s lost, he’d get so much of his life back even if it had to be in the next one.

- On the Steve note, I love him and Peggy as much as the next person, truly truly truly, but... she had a family, she had an entire life. The Russos claim that the family still exists, but because none of this timeline stuff was made clear, it just feels like Steve erased her whole history so he could be with her and it honestly came across as uncharacteristically selfish of him. Yes, he deserves happiness as much as any of the Avengers, and believe me, I was sobbing watching them finally get their dance. Part of me is happy and satisfied. But... it doesn’t feel right. Not him messing with her life, not him going through all of those decades knowing what was happening to Bucky and doing nothing, not any of it. Obviously I know he struggled to move on, I mentioned that above, but he DID create a family and he had friends and people he loved, and he just left them. It doesn’t sit well. It gets worse when you factor Sharon into it, because for one thing, she’d now be his grand-niece and he’d have to live with the knowledge that he’s kissed her, and for another, talk about one last kick to the dead horse that was any hope of Sharon being allowed an ounce of good treatment from the MCU. There was a draft of IW where she and Steve were trying to live in an apartment together, that kind of seals the deal that they were attempting a relationship, and yet... not one bit of consideration for her. I’ve never even shipped the two together, but I care about Sharon and she has been done SO dirty, I feel so bad. I wish I could be happy about Steve and Peggy’s happy ending without so many things hanging uncomfortably overhead.

Good

- Got to watch Thanos die twice.

- Got to watch Tony and Nebula play table football.

- Clint has finally returned to me!!!

- So many good character interactions with emotional depth and people truly being friends. Eating sandwiches and laying around brainstorming. Steve and Natasha is always a favorite. Nat and Clint absolutely destroyed me, I love how they are as close as is humanly possible without crossing the romantic threshold (pretty similar to her with Steve, come to think of it). I loved Tony and Nebula’s relationship, and her scenes with Rhodey were meaningful. She and Rocket holding hands, my heart. Some good Rhodey and Carol content in there. Very nice to see Scott interact with people more properly than he got to in CW, and to see the Guardian survivors dealing with their Earth friends (I am never getting over Nat receiving emails from Rocket). That Clint and Wanda moment got me. Also just... so nice to see Clint even exist to interact with anyone at all, frankly. And I finally started to believe Steve and Tony as friends in this canon. A little.

- Generally just emotional about all of my babies.

- MARRIED PEPPERONY. WITH A CHILD. PRECIOUS FATHER TONY STARK. ALL MY DREAMS COME TRUE. I CAN’T EVEN BEGIN. I CAN’T GET INTO THIS. IT’S TOO MUCH FOR MY HEART. I HAVE TO LEAVE IT AT THAT.

- Gamora and Nebula being sisters!

- Harley! This wasn’t how I wanted to see him again, but Harley!

- A few seconds of light of my life Janet van Dyne!

- And Hank! Present day AND amazing 70s flashback hair with that beautiful classic Ant-Man helmet that would have been completely impractical function-wise but that I love and appreciate seeing!

- Scott and Cassie killed me. Anything Ant-Man related killed me. I have so many questions about what happened to people. What was Cassie’s living situation like? Are Maggie and Paxton okay? Luis? Kurt and Dave? I hope Ava did get snapped, actually, for her own sake considering she needed the particles to live and she wouldn’t have been getting them, and I don’t want Bill to be without her so hopefully they went together and can come back together.

- Carol. Just Carol.

- Rocket is always a delight.

- Again with the Budapest baiting! I want to know!

- Loved seeing the Ancient One! A breath of fresh air in a rollercoaster of breathlessness.

- The bit with Peter Quill on Morag made me smile so big. Loved the bonus shot of him singing along badly when we can’t hear the song. I needed that bit of happiness. Plus, GotG is one of the only ones I never ended up seeing when it was still in theaters, so it was great to be able to experience at least that part on the big screen.

- Man, going back to 2012 made me miss those days so hard.

- Appreciated the Winter Soldier references and appearances.

- Steve knowing he could disarm himself just by mentioning Bucky, my heart!

- Edwin Jarvis, my love! I can’t believe they incorporated one of the shows into one of the movies!

- Tony with Howard was so emotional. I know a lot of people hate Howard, and I get why, but I’ve always enjoyed seeing him, and I’m grateful that Tony has been able to really get closure in regards to his relationship with his father. It doesn’t change the negligence, but it’s important that Tony be able to be in a good place, I’m happy he’s healing. He made my heart turn mush during that sequence.

- WHEN STEVE WAS STANDING ON HIS OWN AGAINST THANOS AND HIS ENTIRE ARMY. POWERFUL.

- AND SUDDENLY YOU HEAR SAM’S VOICE AND “ON YOUR LEFT” AND YOU CRY.

- AND SUDDENLY YOU SEE A PORTAL OPENING AND YOU SCREAM BECAUSE LIGHT OF YOUR LIFE STEPHEN VINCENT STRANGE IS ALIVE.

- AND SUDDENLY YOUR WAKANDAN BABIES ARE BACK AND YOUR CHEST SWELLS.

- AND SUDDENLY EVERYONE YOU’VE EVER LOVED IS ALL THERE AND IT’S A BEAUTIFUL POWERFUL ENSEMBLE AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEEDED.

- AND AVENGERS ASSEMBLE. FINALLY.

- AND PEPPER COMES IN THE RESCUE ARMOR THAT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE 2013 AND SHE AND TONY ARE A BACK-TO-BACK POWER COUPLE.

- AND TONY AND PETER REUNITE AND ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD.

- AND STEPHEN IS MOSES AND IT’S AMAZING.

- AND WANDA IS READY TO FLIPPING OBLITERATE THANOS AND START UNLEASHING SOME CHAOS MAGIC AND YOU’VE NEVER FELT SO ALIVE.

- AND CAROL IS WRECKING THANOS’S SHIPS AND YOU’RE LAUGHING WITH GLEE.

- AND ALL OF THE WOMEN GATHER PROTECTIVELY AROUND PETER AND YOU’VE NEVER RELATED TO ANY OF THEM MORE AND YOU DON’T EVEN CARE THAT IT’S CONTRIVED THAT IT’S CONVENIENTLY ALL OF THE WOMEN BECAUSE THIS IS WAY TOO AWESOME OF A SHOT TO NITPICK.

- AND SCOTT AND HOPE ARE ADORABLE AND PERFECT.

- AND GAMORA DOESN’T KNOW PETER AND YOU CRY.

- AND STEVE IS WIELDING MJOLNIR AND YOU’RE SCREAMING BECAUSE YOU KNEW IT, WORTHY WORTHY WORTHY WORTHY WORTHY!!!!!

- AND YOU KEEP SCREAMING THROUGH THE ENTIRE BATTLE BECAUSE IT’S INCREDIBLE!!!

- I’M STILL LIVING ON THAT HIGH IN CASE YOU COULDN’T TELL!!!

- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- And then just. Stephen lifts a finger. And you know.

- “I. Am. Iron Man.”

- Honestly thought he was going to say ‘invincible’ as a shout-out to his comic adjective but the full circle is way better and I’m a wreck. All hail Anthony Edward Stark.

- Watching Thanos turn to dust is very, very satisfying.

- For all of the years they teased Bucky!Cap, you’d think I’d be a bit put out that we’re not getting it, but honestly? Sam!Cap is a better fit, I think. Bucky needs rest, he deserves to not have to fight anymore. Sam has the skills and personality of a good leader, setting a moral example you want to follow, he embodies what it means and what it takes to be Captain America. He’s gonna be awesome at it.

- Peter and Ned reuniting at school! Babies!

- Happy’s general presence just made me weepy, I love him and we owe Jon Favreau everything.

- Erik Selvig on a screen! Why he was listed as deceased when there’s a (supposedly?) canon tie-in book that features him very much alive, I have no idea, but seeing him made me smile nonetheless.

- Seeing 2012 Thor again made me SO happy you have NO idea holy crap.

- Just seeing Loki again at all. Mimicking Steve, being snarky, waving goodbye to Hulk in the elevator. I’m happy to accept that little bit as canon, because it was actually good. It was what I needed to soothe my soul. I miss you, my beautiful sassmaster child. Come back to me.

- And Loki in the cell. That was always one of my favorite shots anyway, but just... such a breath of air. To see Loki on the big screen again, and not just that, but to specifically get a Dark World clip? I feel alive.

- The fact that Dark World is even being acknowledged as having existed is greatly pleasing to me, let alone being treated to seeing some of it again. Those were the freaking days, man.

- SEEING ASGARD AGAIN MADE ME SOB. MY TEARS WERE NOT PRETTY, BUT ASGARD SURE WAS. I MISS YOU, ASGARD.

- JANE FREAKING FOSTER. MY GIRL. I HOPED SHE’D SHOW BUT I DIDN’T WANT TO EXPECT ANYTHING BUT OH MY WORD DID I CRY. I CRIED SO HARD. I FINALLY GOT TO SEE HER AGAIN AFTER SO LONG. IT’S BEEN SO FLIPPING LONG BUT MY GIRL IS FINALLY REMEMBERED. HER DELETED SCENE WAKING UP IN THE ROOM ACTUALLY GOT USAGE YEARS LATER. AND JUST. NEW JANE. NEW JANE MATERIAL. ALL SHE DID WAS ASK FOR PANTS BUT I’LL TAKE IT. EVERY SECOND WAS A TREASURE. I MISSED YOU JANE I MISSED YOU SO MUCH. COME BACK TO ME. WRITERS PLEASE BRING HER BACK. I NEED TO SEE HER GET TO USE HER SMARTS AGAIN. I MISS MY GENIUS BABY GIRL.

- FRIGGA. WONDERFUL BEAUTIFUL APPLE OF MY EYE ALLMOTHER FRIGGA. I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW GOOD IT WAS TO SEE HER. AFTER ALL THIS TIME, IN ALL HER AMAZING FRIGGA GLORY. MY QUEEN. I MISSED HER SO FLIPPING MUCH. I CANNOT BELIEVE I HAVE NEW FRIGGA CONTENT. SHE WAS SO PERFECTLY HERSELF. I CHERISHED EVERY MOMENT. TALKING ABOUT SENDING LOKI SOME SOUP AND SOME BOOKS BECAUSE OF COURSE SHE WOULD. SEEING RIGHT THROUGH FUTURE THOR BECAUSE OF COURSE SHE WOULD. I’M SO GLAD SHE WAS SHOWN TO BE IMPORTANT TO THOR BECAUSE THEY WERE ALWAYS THE LEAST DEVELOPED DYNAMIC OF THE FAMILY AND ALL OF THEIR SCENES ARE CUT. SHE WAS RAISED BY WITCHES AND NOW I HAVE A MIGHTY NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT. ALWAYS SO GENTLE AND CARING TOWARDS HER SONS. ALWAYS SO PERCEPTIVE. HER BEAUTIFUL AMAZING FRIGGA SMILE. WAVING AT ROCKET. THE WAY SHE TALKS. THE WAY SHE SAVED THE SCENE AND MY SANITY. IT WAS PERFECT. SHE’S PERFECT. I NEED HER BACK ALREADY. SHE CAN NEVER LEAVE ME AGAIN. SHE MADE THIS TORTURE BEARABLE AND I MISS HER AGAIN ALREADY.

- ALL THE THINGS RELATED TO GETTING MY OLD THOR WORLD BACK ARE VERY OBVIOUSLY MY FAVORITE PARTS THAT MADE ME HAPPIER THAN I COULD POSSIBLY BEGIN TO DESCRIBE AND I AM GOING TO BE LIVING OFF OF THIS VICTORY FOREVER.

Conclusion

The things I don’t like aren’t canon and everyone is totally fine and nothing is wrong at all. I’m taking the good stuff and running away with it and doing whatever I want with it to turn it all into the best possible version in my head. The end.

#i think i covered most of it but if i remember something i may add later #marvel #avengers 4 #endgame #a4 post #review #spoilers #marvel spoilers #avengers 4 spoilers #endgame spoilers #endgame critical #ragnarok critical #marvel critical #thor critical

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minaminokyoko · 5 years

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Avengers Endgame: A (Late, Incredibly Long) Spoilertastic Review

Well, it’s done.

I did it. We did it. We all watched the original lineup of Avengers’ stories come to its end.

So what did I think?

It was phenomenal. A worthy ending to a more than worthy series of films and stories.

There are just so many things to go over and so many points to hit that I have to warn you this review is likely going to be just as long as Endgame’s running time, so strap in.

Overall Grade: A-

Naturally, spoilers below.

I’m taking a note from a friend of mine and have decided that due to the film’s epic length and its history, the best way to tackle my reactions is first per character, and then I can evaluate things like plot and story and action. Just a heads’ up. So here we go.

Tony

Christ. I…wow, where do I even start?

There’s just so much to talk about with this movie and the arc that Tony Stark has been fulfilling since his first film. I almost don’t know how I can even put into words what I feel for this character. Tony came to us as this swaggering, arrogant diva, and yet the first Iron Man breaks him down to his core character. Tony Stark is a man with everything and nothing. He has the looks, the intelligence, and the resources to have everything a person could want, and yet he has no family and no deep connections with others aside from Rhodey and Pepper when it all starts. The core of the MCU was very cleverly built around the theme of Tony’s heart, and that’s perhaps why so many of us are devastated to know his fate. We all saw it coming. There was sadly no other way Tony’s story would pan out if we wanted to stick to his full arc. Tony could not rest until he knew the universe would be safe, and he made sure it would be before he left us. His legacy is incredible. It’s so…hell, to use a bad pun, heartwarming.

I guess the best thing to do in order for me to not just recap every amazing thing he’s done since Iron Man is to recap moments in Endgame for Tony that leapt out at me as exceptional:

-The intro with Tony playing paper football with Nebula. Stab me in the heart. That was so cute. It’s so very like Tony to try and keep her strong and keep her spirits up when they were literally staring death in the face. It was unexpectedly adorable, and even without us having seen the days they spent together, you could tell that Tony treated her in a mature-ish fashion and that’s why Nebula appeared to be affectionate, or at the very least, respectful towards him when she is usually very distant. You could tell they totally depended on each other and it was an important partnership. I was very, very touched when she scooped him up and put him in the seat when they were approaching their final day together. It’s such a powerful thing to see how far Tony has come, through the lens of Nebula showing such compassion for him even in such a short amount of time. I love how the Russos are so good at conveying thoughts and emotions and story without saying it outright. It’s an amazing skill in filmmaking.

-Tony’s arrival back to earth, and his confrontation with the Avengers. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. My fucking feelings, y’all. Christ. I mean, the Russos already know how to gut-punch you and then kick you when you’re down, but Tony’s complete and utter break down still hurts like a mother. It’s just so raw and emotional, and it should be that way after a loss on this kind of scale. What really tipped me over into choking down frustrated tears was that Tony just looks at Cap desperately when he stumbles off that ship and says in this broken voice, “I lost the kid.” He can’t even bear to say Peter Parker’s name. The shame and loss and guilt is too much for him to say his little Spider Son’s name. Oh, fuck you, Russo brothers.

And then the team being in utter shambles over losing to Thanos, all of them just barely holding it together, and then Tony just shatters. He’s home and he’s with family, but he can’t get over this kind of failure. What really tears it is him going after Steve so viciously, and it’s so complex. He’s angry at himself, and he chooses to direct that anger at Cap because we all know Tony took it as a personal loss, as all of them did, that he couldn’t stop Thanos even though he literally gave it everything. He gave every last bit, every last drop, of effort, and he couldn’t stop Thanos. It just hurts. And the resentment that was already between Cap and Tony after Civil War is still clearly there, so the entire scene is just like being dragged naked over broken glass. RDJ and Evans’ acting here is some of the best of the entire series in this scene. It sets the stage and reminds us of the stakes amazingly well.

-Tony’s post Snap life, and his interactions with his family. All of us Tony stans called it that Tony would be a phenomenal father. He’s already shown us that he can be the right amount of strict and caring, and everything with Morgan is exactly what I dreamt it would be. I could rewatch the scenes with Tony and Morgan a thousand times. People can shit on Tony all they want and I will never listen to them, because it’s so apparent how much and how deeply he cares in scenes like this. Where he confronts Pepper after he figures out the time heist equation. Years ago, Tony may have lied to her or made a decision without consulting her, but Tony has grown as a person and he approaches his wife with one of the most important things he will ever do in his life and he asks for her opinion before he does anything. It’s such a good comparison to how he used to be. Tony’s heart is so huge in this whole sequence. It’s such a good representation of his internal battle between doing what is right for everyone and doing what is right for him.

-Tony and Cap’s reconciliation. Oh, my heart. I love how Tony approaches it in such a Tony sort of way, forgiving Cap and agreeing to move past their resentment for what happened in Civil War. I like that it was done in a brisk sort of way, and that a lot of the power in the scene comes from RDJ and Evans’ facial expressions. Really, these two act off of each other so well that part of why we’re all crying so hard about this movie is the horrible knowledge that we don’t get to see them act opposite each other in this context. I pray they stay friends in real life, and I would love to see them reunited on screen someday. It’s such a great relationship and it’s at the core of why this is such a great film series.

-The New York heist. Oh God. I can’t wait for them to tell us if the comment about Cap’s ass was in the script or if it was an improvised line by RDJ or Paul Rudd. It is by far one of the funniest things ever to happen in the MCU. Dear God, I was howling. The best part is that during the premiere we were all laughing so hard that I missed Cap’s initial reply, which was, “No one’s asking you to look, Tony.” Christ, I can’t deal. I know it’s straight up Stony pandering but I don’t give a fuck, it was hilarious. And it’s a very meta joke since Chris Evans’ gorgeous, flawless body is a meme thanks to his Dorito proportions (if you haven’t seen that yet, oh god, please look it up) and the fact that he has an absolutely phenomenal ass, especially for a white guy from Boston. Anyway, Tony and Scott’s whole interaction was perfect, and I loved how the scene went and how it led into the next one.

-The army base heist. Tony running into his father was such a good twist. I absolutely did not see that coming, but it was a really welcome conversation to give Tony closure. He’s felt so guilty for how he left things with them, and it was so touching to see him get a second chance at it, even if Howard was none the wiser. I really hadn’t expected anything like that, but it worked well with Tony’s arc and I thought it was very sweet.

-Tony’s reaction to seeing his baby boy, his little Spider Son, running up to him. My God. This was everything. I am a hardcore supporter of the Iron Dad and Spider Son dynamic, and this was the reunion I so sorely needed after the sick, demented, painful scene that was the final moments in Infinity War. Like the rest of you, the level of trauma that hit me when Peter Parker died is just…hell, infinite. The pain was just infinite. I both love and hate Tom Holland and RDJ for doing that shit to us. I did not know I could cry that hard about a fictional character, but I openly wept to the point of sobbing when Peter Parker died in IW, and to see him back in this scene was so wonderful. In my second viewing, the audience actually clapped when Peter swung through the portal, and that was quite sweet for me to experience. But back to the point: once again, I have to simply compliment RDJ’s acting. This is why we love him so much. It’s not even about the big, loud moments. His acting is so precise that the flurry of emotional expressions that Tony went through when his tiny son helped him up and started excitedly babbling to him about being dead, of all things, and then Tony just doesn’t even interrupt him, he just walks forward and pulls that little boy into his arms and holds him tightly in a hug and it’s just…wow. This is some spectacular acting on both their parts, and it heals a really wounded part of my heart, even though the next scene I talk about just breaks it all over again. Plus, at the time I wrote this review, the Spider-Man: Far From Home full trailer just dropped and (SPOILER ALERT) the opening scene is Peter Parker and Happy mourning Tony and I just feel like someone hammered a stake into my chest. This scene is so fantastic. It’s just another reminder of how damn much Tony Stark cares about the people around him and that he has an actual family now, and that’s why the next scene is possibly the saddest one of all.

-Tony’s death. Like Loki’s untimely demise, I knew this was coming from years and years of being a writer. Based on the track for his character arc and because RDJ announced this is his final official performance as the character, I knew Tony was going to die. There was no way around it. His determination to save everyone and correct the wrong done to the universe by Thanos would drive him past his limits and cause him to sacrifice it all. It’s just…man. I wish it had ended differently for him. Anyone who follows me on Tumblr knows that I tag all Iron Man posts with “we stan Tony Stark in this house” and that is how I feel. While Tony is not my favorite Avenger, I will stand up for him all day, err day. Tony Stark is the epitome of the human spirit, and in a different way than Cap, if you ask me. Tony is all of the dark and seedy parts, but also the defiance and the self-deprecation and the obsession and the power of the human spirit. He has so many vices and yet so many virtues. He cares to a fault. He blames himself to a fault. He has come so far after that brutal conversation in Avengers when Cap accuses him of not being the man to lay down on the razor wire and let the other guy crawl over you. He made the ultimate sacrifice play. As much as I reject the idea, we all knew it had to be him. It had to be. Because at the end of the day, Tony’s need to make his family safe was more precious to him than his own life. He gave up a future with his loved ones to make sure Thanos could never hurt them again. And all of it was capped off with a line that will probably haunt me forever, of Pepper’s soft, forgiving goodbye, “You can rest.”

-Tony’s farewell message to his family. Want to know something crazy? I cried so hard at the premiere. So hard. I was almost dry heaving with how hard I cried at Tony’s funeral. But then I had a week of time and I saw it again this past Sunday. I was choked up during his death but I didn’t shed actual tears this time until “I love you 3000.” Somehow, it didn’t hit me until the second time how they filmed Tony’s goodbye to us. They shot it in such a way that as he leans down to turn off the recording, he’s actually looking at us. Not directly into the camera, but so close to it that it finally hit me that this was RDJ’s goodbye and thank you to the fans. It was so touching and sincere that I finally broke down and actually cried again. What truly hurts is knowing that his loved ones have to be without him, and even though his sacrifice means everything, he is going to leave behind such a void. Even with his problems and his flaws, Tony was a damn good man and he was the right choice to begin this epic series. I can’t express how much I am going to miss him and how much I am going to miss RDJ in this shared universe. He’s so charismatic and wonderful and complex. It was not only a comeback for Tony Stark, but a comeback for a very troubled man, and it’s come full circle that Tony had a loving family just as RDJ has a loving family after his checkered past. To be honest, I’m likely going to do as I did for Loki and have a cutoff point in my brain for the MCU, where I don’t accept what happened because it’s too painful. I just pretend that nothing happened after that hug with Peter Parker and they all won the day and no one died. That’s just how it’s gotta be for me to survive a post Endgame world.

Thank you, Tony. You gave everything. I love you now and always.

Thor

-Thor executing Thanos. Standing. Fucking. Ovation. Right, so, I know that Thor probably should not have outright killed Thanos before they had more information, but at the same time, there was nothing more to get out of that son of a bitch and I clapped when Thor swung Stormbreaker and lopped that mo’fo’s head clean off, and I flipped off Thanos’ corpse with both fingers. Good boy. He told you he’d kill you, and he killed you, you sorry bastard. A+++

-Thor’s depression and weight gain. Alright. *rolls up sleeves* Time to make some enemies. I think Fat!Thor is a great idea, but the execution could have been done better. I recognize writing tricks when I see them, and Fat!Thor seems to be two ideas in one, and one of them is what is bothering the semi-reasonable part of the fandom. What I’ll do is explain my take on both parts of the overall idea.

(1) Thor’s depression at his failure (at the time) to reverse the Snap and save everyone is 100% accurate, in character, and is damn good writing. Thor has never actually full-on failed at anything in his life. The closest he has come is between being cast out in the first Thor movie for being irrational and cruel, and in Ragnarok where he had to let Surtur destroy Asgard in order to save his people. Even then, Thor lost battles, not the overall war. Therefore, Thor does not understand how to process failure. Yes, he also failed to save his mother, but at the same time, it’s not a failure on this level. He lost Frigga, Loki, the Warriors Three, and Heimdall, but this was literally trillions of lives that he feels were weighed on his shoulders, and his shoulders alone, even though as Rocket pointed out, losing the war was the fault of a LOT of people, not just Thor (and not Starlord either, you bunch of whiny hypocrites in the fandom, ugh). So becoming an alcoholic and giving up on his life as a hero is definitely how Thor would handle things. Think about it. He no longer has any guidance from his family, or his best friend, since they died. All he has is his Avengers family and Valkyrie. I’m sure the Avengers tried to talk him out of it to no avail, and that’s a really sad thing to know, that they couldn’t get him out of his depression spiral, so they let him wallow in it. As for Valkyrie, she’s still just barely recovered from her own trauma, and I am sure she probably tried to snap him out of it too, but he was too stubborn to listen. What I like about this point for his character is that Thor is right—he has always been expected to be “worthy” and to be the savior. Thor is the big gun on the team alongside the Hulk. He has always been the bravest, the noblest, and the most powerful person on the team, and he is expected as a king to win the day every time. But he lost. And he can’t reconcile it since he has always triumphed in the end. So it’s very understandable for him to lose control and just want to have nothing to do with the hero business, because if you fail once, you can fail again, and he couldn’t bear the thought of failing again, not after it cost him literally everything.

(2) Fat!Thor was an easy source of cheap laughs to keep the mood from getting too dark considering the subject matter handled in this movie. I am of two minds about this issue. On the one hand, I can see why certain people feel that this is fat shaming. It is. But the problem stems from the fact that the fat shaming is still a large part of American culture, and people have not broken the bad habit yet, and so it gets shifted into the easy laughs category. The easy laughs are for the Average Joe viewer. It’s for people who aren’t as conscious of how it sounds to mock him for his weight gain who are just used to “ha ha, fat person jokes.” Some fans felt uncomfortable that he was the butt of a few jokes because a lot of us who suffer from depression know that this is in fact a side effect. When you’re depressed, it’s easy to stress eat and overeat, and you lean heavily towards comfort foods that cause you to gain weight, and your depression makes you tired, so you also don’t exercise and that’s how you can end up overweight. On the other hand, while I agree with these folks about not liking the fat jokes, I also think it was necessary to show a character we all admire falling into the same pitfalls that we as mere Midgardians deal with on a daily basis. I don’t like the jokes, but I do like Fat!Thor’s inclusion in this story because people need to realize what depression does to a person. It shouldn’t have been handled this way, but from a strictly observer perspective, I understand why they went for the low hanging fruit. People needed to laugh since Endgame has very, very dark elements to it. I would have preferred they approach his weight gain in a more dignified fashion, but not every part of this movie was written for me and I sadly have to accept it. That’s my feelings on it.

-Thor’s encounter with Frigga on Asgard. I. FREAKING. LOVE. THIS. I did not see it coming, and I love it with every fiber of my being. This is such a heartwarming scene. I want to rewatch it a thousand times. I love Frigga immediately knowing what’s up (she’s not stupid and of course she noticed and it’s everything to me) and I love that she can clearly see how distraught her beautiful son has become. I love Thor having a panic attack, because that’s extremely realistic after he’s gone so long not having done any hero work, per se, and having to face his previous failed relationship with Jane, and with facing the day his mother died again. It’s really compelling writing. Frigga’s gentle reassurance is exactly what he needed, and it’s exactly what we needed to see him go through. He had to let go of the expectations piled upon him and accept himself for who he is, not who he needs to be as a warrior king and an Avenger. While I do wish they had gone on to show us a little more of who he considers himself to be instead of who he is supposed to be, I am really excited to hear Chris Hemsworth is one of the Avengers who has chosen to stay past the end of Phase Three. He’s young and funny and vibrant and I think Thor is his best role of his career anyhow (no offense meant, Hems, if you ever read this, you handsome golden retriever, you). I think exploring Thor’s personal goals and future will be very interesting.

-Thor’s reaction to Natasha’s death. This is a very small moment, but I actually like it a lot. I like that Thor’s optimism here is a form of denial. I like it because there are certain Avengers who despite the 11 year saga have not interacted with each other much, and Thor and Nat are probably my leading example. When it hit him that they couldn’t use the time stone to bring her back, the loss and devastation on his face almost made up for the fact that Thor and Nat have almost no lines with each other in the film series. I like it because it hurts and because it shows that she does matter to him, even though they don’t interact. It’s a nice detail to include since I was often a little sad I never got to see these two have dialogues. I personally have even written a bit of fanfiction about what their relationship could have been like, and I think it could have been sort of brother-sisterly. It’s a shame we won’t get to see it, but I like that it is given attention here at last.

-Thor wanting to undo the Snap. Yes. This is a very good character beat for him. Again, I agree it’s annoying he ends up getting another fat joke thrown at him (nice work, Rhodey, sheesh, it’s not like the poor guy was traumatized or anything), I like that Tony talks him down. I like that Tony doesn’t think he can’t do it, he’s worried that Thor is in so much pain that he shouldn’t try to make such a rash decision that could cost him his life. Tony seemed dismissive, but I think he was trying to protect his friend more than anything else. I think Tony also knew that it would be rough if Thor either died or became permanently crippled by undoing the Snap. Being able to fight is extremely important to Thor, even with his depression, because Thor is essentially a space Viking. It shows that Tony is aware that Thor’s not just bumbling around as a chubby drunk, but he’s legitimately in pain and he needs to take things slower.

-Thor giving Valkyrie the throne. First off, I need to sling salt at the freaking part of the Thorkyrie fandom that is somehow complaining about this scene. Are you kidding me? What movie did you watch? This is the ultimate freaking Thorkyrie scene, you bunch of whiny nincompoops! Thor literally gave Valkyrie the throne because she is so smart, powerful, and kind that he trusted her to take care of the people he loves with all his heart. The amount of trust and respect that is in this scene makes me want to just squeal for hours. I can’t handle how affectionate and reverent Thor is as he gives Valkyrie the throne. I love the long gaze they share. I love the handshake. I love that Val asks when she’ll see him again. I love that Thor has faith in her and how she will lead his people. Anyone bitching that this is an anti-Thorkyrie scene did not see the same movie we did, and you can all piss off. I love this scene to my core. I love seeing Valkyrie being assured to be a relevant part of Thor’s story and that it likely means Tessa Thompson is going to join us again for either Thor 4 or Guardians of the Galaxy 3. I am a giant freaking fan of her character and I can’t scream “SIGN ME THE FUCK UP” loud enough for her to be in future films with him, and with the MCU in general. I hope she signed a three movie deal or more. That would be amazing. But anyway, my point is, this scene is fantastic and I will be rewinding it a lot when this movie gets to DVD. Nothing makes me happier than Thor shooting heart-eyes at Val, and he was shooting them so hard in this scene that he even took his sunglasses off. God bless this scene.

-Asgardians of the Galaxy. I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THIS BUT I LOVE IT WITH MY ENTIRE FUCKING SOUL YOU GUYS. Everything about Thor hanging out with the Guardians makes me so incredibly happy. I can’t wait for shenanigans. I would assume the plot of the next one is finding Gamora and bringing her home and re-teaching her about her family and falling in love with Quill again, but who knows what wackiness awaits us? I can’t deal with Thor being a little shit to Quill. I could see his Hemsworth peeking through, and I am here for it. Half the reason we all love Thor as much as we do is that Taika was one of the first people to suggest letting Hems be more like himself, and Chris Hemsworth is basically a giant, hilarious puppy, and it really made Thor more fun and likable. Don’t get me wrong—I loved my noble prince, but he was still a big golden retriever even when he was more Shakespearean and all they truly did was dial it up to be a bigger part of his personality.

Really, I like what Thor went through in Endgame and how it connects with lots of elements in previous movies. While parts could have been done better, I thought it was fantastic and it shook things up in a way that should be quite intriguing for his future appearances. Of everyone, Thor is the character I am most excited to learn about continuing to be in the MCU.

Natasha

-Natasha taking a leadership role in the Post Snap years, and her conversation with Steve. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a die-hard Captasha shipper, but more than that, I think the friendship and love (platonic or otherwise) between Nat and Steve is by far one of the best relationships in the Avengers saga. I love how it began, how it developed, and where it is when we watch this scene of them together. I love how soft and gentle Steve is with her, and yet he teases her in this subtle way that’s almost like a verbal hug. Steve is just so compassionate and conscious of her emotional needs, the same as how she has been with him. I think this is such a precious relationship and it’s vital to both of them that they have someone to confide in when times are hard. It’s possibly even more beautiful because they aren’t canonically together as a couple; they’re just two friends who have bonded and been partners ever since The Winter Soldier, and they without a doubt love each other. (Side note: and I am not alone in this because Chris Evans even ships it, and that makes me so very pleased.) I gobble up all Captasha scenes, honestly, because it’s so well written and it’s come a long way from the first time they met in Avengers. But to get a little more in depth, Nat’s brief breakdown about Clint is really something else. Seeing her struggle with the idea that the man she loves (again, platonically) has become a monster, and struggling with the idea that she should move on but she can’t because she’s lost her family, is really damn hard to watch, but it’s necessary. It’s a really good reflection of the level of loss and trauma and pain our poor Avengers have had to deal with since the Snap. It’s an excellent scene.

-Nat going after Clint to bring him home once they figure out that the time heist is at least possible. Ow. This is another scene that is a big kick in the nuts. “Don’t. Don’t give me hope.” “I’m sorry I couldn’t give it to you sooner.” Bury me, this is such a good, quiet little scene for her. I really like their friendship and their bond. When Nat mentions family in the previous scene, this is what she’s talking about, and I love how Endgame might be the first film to openly acknowledge that the Avengers are family to each other. And what I like is that this series has earned that. Nothing makes me angrier than when people drop the F-bomb where it is NOT deserved. (*side eyes Suicide Squad and Deadpool 2*) The Avengers have fought and bled for each other, have supported each other, and have loved each other through hell and back, and they ARE a family. Bringing Clint home was a big deal to her, facing her fears of what he’s become, but seeing that he is still somewhat the man she knows and loves because he does return to the fold in the end.

-Natasha’s death. Hoo boy. Okay, so like Tony and Loki, I might just stick this in my Denial category. I was hit with a huge wave of “oh no, please no” when I found out Clint and Nat would be the ones going to retrieve the Soul Stone, because of course it had to be them. However, it was thematically the right choice for it to be Clint and Nat, since I personally think the only other combination it could have been was Steve and Tony or Steve and Nat in terms of “give up that which you love” that the Red Skull illuminated is the price for the stone. I think all the team members genuinely care for each other, but if I wanted to use the word love, yes, I’d say it comes down to members of the team who truly love one another, it’s Tony and Steve, Clint and Nat, and Nat and Steve. So I am in a very weird place about Nat’s death in this movie.

First off, I love how it was handled because it couldn’t have gone any other way. Of course both of them wanted to jump on this grenade for each other. Of course they both think they are the unworthy one who should die for the other person they love. Of course they fought over it.

Here's the thing, though: from a writing standpoint, it did need to be Natasha.

And before we go further, let’s address the elephant in the room fandom-wise: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, YOU MORONS, THIS IS NOT THE ‘STUFFED IN THE FRIDGE’ TROPE. God, I hate you sometimes, MCU fandom. I knew as soon as she sacrificed herself that all the fake feminists would run into the streets and climb onto their soapboxes and try to call the Fridge trope. Shut up. It’s not a Fridge.

For those not familiar with the trope, Stuffed in the Fridge is when a typically female character is unceremoniously killed off for usually one of two reasons (1) to cause a male character to angst (2) to further or advance a male agenda somehow.

Natasha’s sacrifice is neither of these things.

First off, it was her choice. Clint made it completely clear that he loves her and he did not want her to die for him. One of the primary problems with the Fridge trope is it robs the woman of her choice, and Nat is the one who decided that she would be the one to die for the Soul Stone. Calling this a Fridge is a blatant, insulting erasure of her motivation as a character.

Second off, Nat’s death is a sacrifice that wins a war. It’s not pointless, and it’s not just for angst, and it’s not just for a male character to get ahead in the story. She literally saves trillions of lives by trading her soul for the stone. Trillions. Yes, the team is devastated, but her death is not simply there to make you shed tears and nothing else. She saved them all. So don’t you dare try to pin this dumb trope on her, because it’s not accurate or correct.

Third off, this completes Natasha’s character arc. We’re introduced to the beginning of her arc in the iconic scene of The Avengers where she tricks Loki into revealing his scheme, but it turns out that while she does succeed, we find out what motivates her, and that Loki’s cruelty did affect her in the end. Clint was sent to kill her, but he shows compassion and instead recruits her. Clint gives her a second chance. And Nat, in sacrificing herself for the Soul Stone, gives Clint a second chance. It’s come full circle. One of my all-time favorite lines in this entire film series is hers, “I got red in my ledger; I’d like to wipe it out.” That. Is. A. Fucking. Great. Line. And this is the pay off and the completion of Nat’s character arc. She’s done horrible things and they have been chains on her soul and she felt that she needed to repay her debt in this way, and in a way that would save so many innocent lives. I will not have these people running around discounting that and acting like she is some victim. Natasha Romanov is not a fucking victim. Natasha Romanov died a hero. She is one of my favorite Avengers and I cried so hard at her loss, but I acknowledge that she did a brave, selfless thing for everyone she loved, and she will be remembered for that always.

Now. That being said…if you want to complain about a female character dying in a majority male story, yes, go right ahead. That is a legitimate complaint. It sucks that Nat died when most of the team is male. I will heartily concur with this criticism and offer no counterargument. It sucks. Period. I hate that she dies in the first act because I really love her fighting style and I wanted to see her kick more ass in the final battle because she’s amazing to watch. So yes, that’s a point I do take off from this movie.

In the end, I’m sort of straddling the fence for losing Nat, as I am with Tony, but I think a lot of people feel the same way. It is great writing, but the loss is so painful that I might not accept it totally.

Thank you for your bravery, Nat. Seriously, you’re one of my favorite female leads and you’ll be sorely missed. I can only hope the Black Widow movie helps me deal with the pain of losing you.

Steve

-Steve quietly taking all of Tony’s trauma-fueled ranting. This is so important. Chris Evans is so fantastic at acting in general, but all of his expressions as Tony lays into him are so underrated, man. He knows that Tony has reached a breaking point, and so he offers no vitriol in return. It’s a huge contrast to the scene in Civil War where the two of them argue. Steve is by no means a timid man. He recognizes that Tony is in such pain, as are all of them, and he just takes that rage because he knows it’s just how Tony chose to process everything because he can’t come to terms with it. We know he blames himself for being unable to stop Thanos, same as all of them do, and it’s such a testament to what a good man Steve is that he doesn’t fire back at Tony, and he is deeply concerned for him instead. Especially when Tony throws it back in his face that they’d lose together, and that’s what hurts the most during this scene. Tony was alone when he lost. Nebula was the only survivor, and she was a complete stranger to him until they repaired the Milano and tried to get back to civilization. I think Tony would still be angry and traumatized, but he’s always been able to look to his team members for ideas or comfort or just companionship in hard times. He nearly died, and that left a mark on him that ran so deep he just couldn’t stop spitting vitriol at possibly one of his closest friends, and it’s also important that they hadn’t spoken since the end of Civil War, so all of that anger and resentment is also tangled up inside them both. What a scene, man. What a scene.

-Steve mentoring people in the Post Snap years. This has a couple of really great things as a scene, honestly. First off, I love that even with Steve being heartbroken and refusing to move on, he still knows it is important to help others. Second off, I love that it’s almost implied that this is in honor of Sam Wilson, who did the same thing for soldiers who returned home from war struggling with PTSD. I really, really love Steve Rogers with all my heart for this scene. Even though he’s broken down and just as devastated as everyone else, he is still out there trying to help others. That is who he is at his core. Steve is the man who cannot stand by and let other people suffer. He won’t do it. It doesn’t matter what it costs him. He will defend and protect and nurture, always. By God, I love that about him.

-Steve’s quiet reconciliation with Tony. We discussed this above, but I love that Steve says so few words here and lets Tony do all the talking. There’s an almost silent “I’m sorry and I love you and I want you to be happy” in this scene together. Tony bringing back the shield just…my feelings…oh God, my feelings.

-Steve’s miniature speech before they head into the Quantum Realm. I love that even Rocket is impressed.

-Steve’s reaction to Nat’s death. Fuck. Me. Up. This hurt so badly. I can’t. I can’t with how Steve looks at Clint and Clint just looks back at him, and you can almost hear him telepathically saying, “Steve, we lost her.” Like I said before, Steve and Clint without a doubt love Natasha. Yes, Bruce does to some degree, but it’s not the same (sorry, y’all, I think BruceNat was trash and I will never accept it because it was forced and awkward and made no sense to me) as the deep vein of friendship and love she had with both men. It killed me when they were out on the dock and Steve was openly crying for her. We saw Steve crying in the trailer but we didn’t know this was the context. Oh, this hurts me. Steve loved her with all his heart. She was his best friend, same as Sam and Bucky were, and to lose her with no chance of ever getting her back is a terrible, terrible loss. Boy, this scene was rough to endure. I can only imagine how he must have felt having to let her go after he’s lost so many people he loved. Poor Steve.

-The entire New York heist. Oh God. I’m just in heaven over how Steve handled things, everything from the intentional recreation of the iconic elevator scene in The Winter Soldier to the insidious “Hail Hydra” (*makes strangulation hands in the direction of the Russo brothers because they KNOW most of the fandom hates Hydra Cap from the comics and so of course they put that in there just to screw with us*) to the smug smirk on Cap’s face as he walked away with scepter to Cap laying the beatdown on himself to Cap acknowledging his sweet, sweet, round, perfectly firm ass. (Seriously, Chris Evans, if you ever read this, marry me, we already met and hugged each other, we could make this work.) Yes. Special props to Cap vs. Cap’s interactions. It was just…everything.

-Steve wielding Mjolnir. Jesus. Fucking. Christ. So everyone’s already raved about this scene, but I don’t care, I have to rave about it too. Good gravy. Good God. This scene is everything. Honestly, it is easily one of the greatest things ever conceived not only by the MCU, but in action movies period. This can stand toe to toe with some of the best beatdowns in all of cinema. It’s just…where do you even start with how good this fucking scene is?! I mean, every second of it is just glorious. Whether it was the Russos or Evans or the script writers, whoever I need to thank, THANK YOU. Thank you for gift wrapping this total surprise. Every one of us was wounded that Cap didn’t easily lift Mjolnir in Age of Ultron, but at the same time, I loved the humor of that scene when Mjolnir did actually start to move and Thor totally panicked for a second. It was funny as hell. But for the Russos to fulfill our fantasy in a way that was not only a surprise, but just an absolute joy to watch, I can’t even express my fangirl tears. This scene is better than sex and chocolate and cocaine. It’s flawless. Everything about it is flawless, from Steve summoning the goddamn lightning to Thor’s gleeful “I KNEW IT!” I wish I could frame this scene on my wall in .gif form, and I apologize in advance to all my Tumblr followers, because the second this scene is giffed after the DVD release, I am going to reblog it three billion times. I will never stop reblogging it. This is the height of MCU perfection and it deserves to be known as such.

-Steve facing off with Thanos in his last stand, and actually holding his own. Dude. Steve Rogers is a human man, and he withstood Thanos. I just…I can’t with how awesome it is. He lost in the end, but he beat the shit out of Thanos for a good bit and I just have to give him all the props for that. He did the impossible and survived him. That’s amazing.

-Steve strapping on his broken shield and staring down Thanos and his army. This is peak Steve Rogers right here. “Yeah, you have thousands of soldiers. Yeah, you sheared my shield in half. Yeah, you beat me and my comrades. And I don’t give a single solitary fuck.” This is also an amazing echo to the moment in Infinity War where poor Wanda had to kill Vision, and Cap stood up to Thanos with his goddamn bare hands. Steve standing up after getting the shit kicked out of him is what he is all about. He doesn’t care that he is outnumbered. He doesn’t care that he is outgunned. He is Steve motherfucking Rogers and he is going to stand against evil period. This is top tier stuff, man.

-“Avengers Assemble.” Like everyone else, I jizzed in my pants. Full on. We all had a hunch that they would save it until the final Avengers film with the final appearances of the original team, and it was everything we dreamt it would be.

-Steve catching Stormbreaker as well and then trading it with Thor mid-battle. A tiny but hilariously awesome scene. I’m so glad they included it, and it was another little nod to Steve and Thor always having a small adorable friendship moment in each Avengers movie. Thanks for that, truly.

-Steve passing the mantle over to Sam Wilson. Holy shit. So a lot of us were relatively sure with Chris Evans confirming this as his last full appearance as Captain America that the mantle would go to either Bucky or Sam. My money was on Sam, simply for him still being new blood having entered at Phase 2 in the MCU, and because Sam is a lot more of a dynamic main lead that I think the MCU needs in the role. Anthony Mackie, as any hardcore MCU fans know, is a bundle of fun behind the scenes. He’s really hilarious and charismatic, and I think he’ll bring a lot to the role of the new Captain America. It’s such a touching scene as Steve hands him the shield. I really, really get choked up about how it was handled with such respect and trust and honest to God friendship. “How does it feel?” “Like it’s someone else’s.” “It isn’t.” Wow. What a beautiful scene. I’m a little misty as I type it out. And I do like that there was just this little nod from Bucky, who has been antagonistic to him pretty much all the time but here, he shows his support and it’s kind of just known that he will back Sam up no matter what. I cannot express how much I love this idea and its execution. It was perfect. (By the way, please look up the way Anthony Mackie found out about this before filming. It’s too cute.)

-Steve’s ending. Oh my God. Of possibly everyone on the team who I wanted to have a happy ending, I wanted Steve’s the hardest, even though I love Tony to death and beyond. Thank you, Russo brothers. Thank you for letting this man have his second chance at a life, and that he got to spend it with Peggy. I was already crying from the funeral, but the fact that they decided to end the saga with possibly the sweetest imagery in the MCU is just overwhelming. I loved their little slow dance. I love the tears of joy on Peggy’s cheeks. I love the softness in Steve’s expression as he dances with his lady love. I love the song choice. I love how he just looks down at her and she looks up at him and they kiss to close everything out and say goodbye to us all. What a scene. What an ending. I love it more than anything.

Thank you, Steve. Thank you for being our ray of light and sunshine and guidance all these years.

Nebula

I really did not expect to see an arc for Nebula, but I am delighted that we got it. This was very, very interesting considering what a sadistic murderess Nebula was in the previous films, so fueled by rage, and yet here we see that she is still powerful and effective and yet vulnerable. I enjoyed seeing her growth and getting some amount of closure with Thanos’ demise and saving Gamora as well as the rest of the universe.

Bruce

So here’s the thing: Bruce is probably my least favorite Avenger, next to Clint, but that’s not because anything is wrong with either character—I just find their personalities and abilities the least interesting. Therefore, I’ve heard complaints about Hulk not kicking ass in Infinity War and Endgame, and while they are valid points…I don’t care. I guess the thing is that Hulk has kicked ass in all his previous appearances, and I think it was nice of them to get back to the fact that Bruce is indeed a scientist and there is more to him than just crushing things. He is a very conscience driven character, and I was totally fine with him as a supporting member of the team, and of his brave decision to Un-Snap everyone back to life. I especially liked his sympathetic approach to bring Thor back home. “You helped me.” I fully admit that made my lip quiver, honestly, since Thor was obviously so traumatized and was in a lot of pain, and Bruce was gentle with him. That, to me, is just as important as all the bashing he could have done. Same with his impassioned plea with the Ancient One. Sorry that he didn’t kick ass in these last two movies, but honestly, I felt things were balanced and that it’s important to show he is more than the Hulk.

Clint

As mentioned above, Clint is my least favorite Avenger, but again, not because there is anything wrong with him or that he is written poorly—the others just outweigh him in what I like about them. I have to say opening the film with Clint losing his entire family with no knowledge of what was going on was almost as gut-stabbing as how Infinity War began and ended. It was somehow even more cruel since Clint would not have known what was going on until he called the Avengers. And yes, someone’s pointed out to me that it’s crazy he didn’t know about the war, but I have a headcanon that he just cut everyone off once he decided to retire, and he wouldn’t answer when they called so he wouldn’t be dragged into more shenanigans. I highly doubt the whole team just flat-out didn’t tell him what was going on. There’s a good chance Clint decided not to hear from the team again after Cap busted them out since he risked everything and almost got jailed for life after his decision.

All that being said, I did feel Clint’s loss very hard after Nat sacrificed herself. It was extremely well done on Jeremy Renner’s part and there was never a doubt that he loved her. Their bond has always been very cute and I never shipped them, so I wasn’t disappointed by the reveal of his secret family. I thought it was a nice touch and a surprising turn in the story. I’m glad he got to go home to his family in the end, and I especially liked the touching moment he shared with Wanda after Tony’s funeral.

Loki

Holy shit, y’all.

I did not expect this, and I love it more than anything in the world.

Right, so, I am sadly a fan of Loki’s ever since The Dark World, but at the very least, I am not a rabid fan of the character. He is an absolute fucking trashlord and I acknowledge it while still loving him anyway. I was positively giddy that they invited Tom Hiddleston back to shoot new scenes of Loki rather than simply using the old Avengers footage. And I definitely didn’t expect Tony, Cap, and Scott to screw up and Loki gets the Tesseract and vanishes. This is amazing. I can’t wait for the Loki mini-series on Disney Plus, and I assume this is what it’s going to be about. I’m really excited to see what kind of shit he gets himself into, and I loved the little bits we got of him mocking Cap even though they all just kicked his ass, and I loved him rolling his eyes in the background during the heist, and being the only one who knew something fishy was going on. Love, love, love it to pieces. Thank you for giving me more of my stupid trashlord, Endgame. You rock.

Scott

Oh, poor, poor Scott. Not only did he awaken to find his new family gone, but he lost five years of time with his daughter. Ouch. I really have to commend Paul Rudd for the reunion scene with his daughter. The shock and pain mixed in with the gratitude that she survived the Snap was so palpable. I’ve never really considered him much more than an easy going comedic actor, but he did a great job here. Kudos.

Gamora

I am really, really deeply hurt that this means our Gamora, the one we came to know and grow with, is truly gone. Like many fans, I had hoped she was somehow inside the Soul Stone and they could bust her out, but like Nat, it appears that we did truly lose her. I’m not okay. I feel so bad for Quill, who wooed her with so many great moments, and now he’s lost her again. He’ll have to try to make her fall in love with him again, and it hurts me because the sequence of events from the first two Guardians movies are how they fell in love, and it’ll be so much harder to make her understand what they meant to each other and what they had with one another as well as their little stitched together family. Damn it all. This might be one of the biggest underrated losses of all for me. Gamora is my favorite Guardian, period. I adore her, so I am both anticipating and dreading the third Guardians movie as a result.

Carol

Alright, I do have to admit one of my letdowns, even though it’s a total nitpick, is that the trailer gave us Thor and Carol, but the actual movie did not. Oh, why did you lift my hopes up this way?! I really wanted Thor and Carol to bond and have hilarious pissing contests about who is the strongest Avenger, and become battle buddies! However, this might be possible later since we know Hemsworth has agreed to at least one more film, if not more, so fingers crossed he and Carol share screentime. I adored that “I like this one” scene and Thor would play very well off of Carol if you ask me.

That being said, when Carol came back for the final fight…yassss bitch yassss fuck it up! When she came after Thanos, he was fuckin’ shook and I am here for it. I loved that failed headbutt. I want to frame that on a wall. Carol Danvers is not having any of your shit today, you purple Grape Ape punk ass bitch. She laid down the law, and it was glorious. 11/10 good shit of Carol whupping his ass and he had to suckerpunch her just to try to win.

And kudos for the utterly adorable interaction she had with my Spider Son, “H-Hi, I’m Peter Parker.” “Hey, Peter Parker. Got something for me?” *kisses fingertips* This could not have been cuter. Thank you so much, Carol.

Oh, and extra kudos for the Ladies of the MCU smackdown moment. My God. I loved every second of that assault. Please make that into a whole separate team someday and make a movie about it.

Wanda

Standing ovation for Wanda in every respect: her entrance, her powerful line (“I don’t even know who you are.” “You will.”), and the fact that she flat-out almost killed Thanos by her damn self. Wow, wow, wow, my girl. You brought the pain. I miss Vision too, honey, and I’m so sorry we can’t have him back. It’s so unfair that she’s lost her brother and her love within this story, but she still manages to keep going. Wanda is a testament to just how strong women truly are in spite of adversity.

Plot/Story

I know some fans didn’t want it to be as straight-forward as it appeared to be with them going back in time to grab the Stones and undo the Snap, but I was honestly fine with it. The story still managed to genuinely surprise me, especially with the development that the two Nebulas are what caused Thanos to find out what was going on. Holy shit, that was very creative and a great way to let her be a central character considering the trauma she has been through and overcome. I thought the pacing was excellent, and I will have to sit down and think it through but I don’t feel as if we had unnecessary scenes aside from the diner scene being a little longer than it needed to be. (You could have cut the photo op bit out and no one would miss it, for instance.) Like Infinity War, I felt that all the scenes had a use and showed us something, and the action was magnificent and creative. The Avengers pulling the entirety of the MCU together in the third act is some seriously iconic stuff that I really hope people will take into consideration as a legendary thing no one has ever really done before.

A friend of mine mentioned that you can neatly divide Endgame into three sections of story: build up, heist, and pay off. One of the best things about Endgame, to me, is the pay off. I love how many continuity nods we had and how many threads were tied off in a satisfying manner, from deeply emotional relationships to just sublime action sequences. We have so many films in this series that it’s hard to rank them, but I have to say I really would put Endgame in the top 10 for my preferences. It was a worthy ending to such an amazing set of films, and while I will miss the actors who won’t continue past Phase 3, I am incredibly grateful for their time and talents spent on this franchise. It is in its own category, honestly, with consistent quality in nearly every aspect it attempts. I think it was the perfect mix of solemn but affectionate goodbyes and bright, hopeful new beginnings. I am excited to see what is in store and what new ground we’re gonna break with the future stories.

So thanks for everything, Endgame. I’m glad to have had this era come to such a satisfying close.

See you in the funny papers.

Kyoko

#avengers #avengers endgame #endgame #spoilers #movie review #film review #the avengers #marvel #Marvel Cinematic Universe #mcu #spoiler alert #no really this is 14 pages long #i am so sorry but i had a lot of feelings okay #sorry not sorry

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tilltheendwilliwrite · 6 years

Text

Of Blood and Roses*

Chapter One

Sequel to Balance on the head of a Pin

Pairing: Loki Odinson X Lauren | Word Count: 7590 Warnings: Fluff, smut, NSFW

There was a wrenching feeling like her stomach was trying to lead the way to wherever it was they were going. Pain from the blow to her head had Lauren moaning in distress.

“Almost there, darling. A few seconds more.”

The voice seemed to come from very far away, but she curled into it, desperate to keep her stomach from succeeding in leaving her body. When it all came to a halt, Lauren gave a hard gasp and prayed not to vomit.

Softness pressed to her lips, then cool, soothing magic slipped down her throat and settled everything, letting her stomach return to its original location.

When his mouth lifted, Lauren kept her eyes closed but smiled until the cut in her mouth pulled and murmured, “Loki…”

***

Knelt to a knee on the golden floor of the observatory dome, Loki cradled Lauren to him and gently touched her cheek. “Can you open your eyes, my love?”

“Head hurts,” she whimpered.

“I know, darling. I will take care of everything once were are in the palace. Once I know you are safe.” Still, he traced his fingers over the bruises, numbing her skin.

She relaxed again, slipping back into the semi-conscious state she’d been in when they left Midgard.

“Loki,” Thor murmured. “She would not want to be seen in such a state, and you have her blood on your face.”

Loki cared not about the blood on his face, but his brother was not wrong. Lauren would hate if the first impression people had of her was one of her less than immaculate. Not because she was vain, mind you, but because she would want to put her best foot forward. He pulled the cape from his back and draped it over her.

“Why not just use your magic and clean her up as you are want to?” Thor asked.

“Because,” Heimdall answered before Loki could, “he intends to take her to the pools.”

Loki only smirked at the observant Guardian, but Thor chuckled, patting Loki’s shoulder when he got to his feet. “Ah. I should have guessed. You are smart to do so.”

“I would have done so even had she not been injured. It will accelerate her conversion, bringing her further into our world and closer to her true self.” Loki made certain his cape covered her adequately, cradled her close, and brought her bruised cheek to his chest.

“I called for them to bring horses,” Heimdall murmured.

Loki glanced at the big male in the golden armour. There was compassion in his eyes and soft affection when he looked at Lauren. “Thank you, Guardian.”

“No poofing?” Thor waved his hand.

“You saw the trauma the magic of the Bifröst caused. Until she is fully healed, I dare not risk it.” Loki brushed her unmarked cheek. “He struck her so hard. I fear there is damage to her head I am not seeing. Until I can take her to the healing pools, I will not do more than primary care.”

Hoofbeats racing down the bridge had Loki’s head snapping up. There were far more than needed, and a low warning growl rumbled in his chest.

“Loki.” Thor held up his hand and peered at him quizzically. “We are home. There is no danger here.”

He relaxed but only a little when the four people strode into the observatory. The Warriors Three and Lady Sif. He should have suspected.

“My King!” they cried out together and rushed toward Thor only to jolt to a stop when Loki stepped back.

Holding Lauren tightly to him, he summoned his staff to his right hand. Edgy and defensive, Loki took a second step in retreat and brought the weapon to bear.

“Loki. Brother.” Thor let his hammer drop to the ground. “No one here wishes your Lady any harm.”

“There has been trouble,” Hogun murmured. “Should we call a healer?”

“I can heal my own,” Loki snarled.

“Of course, my prince,” Heimdall said softly, moving to stand with Loki. “Hogun meant no insult.”

Loki looked to Heimdall, to the golden eyes which saw much, and found understanding. “I am… uncertain,” he said so only Heimdall would hear him.

“You are bonded all of a day. That you are wary of those powerful enough to harm your Lady when she has, already, seen harm is not an oddity. Come.” Heimdall motioned toward the door with his sword. “I will see you to your horse. Then, you can see to your wife.”

The three warriors exchange a look of incredulity at the word wife.

“It’s not… possible,” whispered Fandral.

“The binding is finished? Already?” Volstagg asked, looking at Thor.

“Just. Last eve she took the final step,” Thor smiled fondly at Lauren. “She is a remarkable woman.”

Loki ignored them all, moving when Heimdall did, keeping the Guardian between himself and the others. Lauren whimpered, the pain in her side beginning to throb through their bond. Her brow furrowed, and she mewled a sound of distress.

“Thor!” Loki snapped, striding purposefully toward the doorway and vanishing his staff. “We must go!”

“Take my mount,” Sif said, appearing on the opposite side of Heimdall. “He has the smoothest gait and won’t jar the Lady Lauren.” She motioned to the chestnut with the four white socks.

With a nod, Loki transferred Lauren to Thor’s arms and stepped astride Sif’s gelding. The horse shifted restlessly, but Sif was there to keep him calm. Thor transferred her back, but Loki’s cape slipped, revealing the blood which had dried on her throat and caked the torque around her neck.

The four gasped, but it was Sif who placed her hand on his boot. “Tell me they are dead.”

“There was no other outcome for the ones who hurt her.” Loki gently tucked his cape around Lauren’s shoulder and brought her close to him.

Sif nodded before swinging into the saddle of a big white mare. The Warriors Three mounted around them, and Thor swung astride another gelding at his side.

Loki focused on Heimdall, the Guardian standing in the doorway, and gave him a nod of thanks. “Heimdall.”

“Welcome home, Prince,” Heimdall said and tilted his head.

“Sif,” Loki murmured, turning her gelding to face the city. “My Ástvinur has shown me the error of my youthful misdeeds. I sincerely apologize for taking your hair.”

Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open in shock, but she nodded slowly. “Thank you… prince.”

“My dear, Sif,” Loki smirked. “When have you ever called me prince?” Without waiting, he set his heels to the gelding’s sides and took off down the bridge at a gallop.

As expressed, he had quite a smooth gate, the gelding, but when each hoof connected with the ground, it sent vibration through the horse’s frame and caused Lauren to flinch.

Loki sent a wisp of green magic tumbling around the equine’s hooves and between one beat and the next, all sound ended as he began to run an inch above the surface.

The gelding’s ears flicked, and he snorted, a large dark eye rolling back to look at Loki.

“Easy. You are fine,” Loki murmured to the horse. “Just run for me.”

He snorted again and stretched out, his strides lengthening as they ate up the ground.

Loki released the reins, allowing the horse to do his job, and lifted his now free hand to Lauren’s cheek. “My heart,” he murmured, stroking her face. “Open your eyes, my heart.”

“Loki,” she whimpered.

“We are on the rainbow bridge, my darling. Do you not want to see it?”

Her lashes fluttered open, but before she could look down and likely grow dizzy from their speed, he turned her chin to look toward the city.

“Oh my… stars,” she whispered, the wind nearly stealing her words. “How beautiful.”

“Welcome home, beloved.” He gently kissed her temple and let the wind wisk the tears from his eyes long before they could fall.

Her head tilted back on his shoulder to peer up at the sky. “Amazin’. It’s just like you showed me.” A smile curled her lips but her lashes fluttered closed, and she drifted again.

“We are almost there, my heart. Soon you will be well, and then we can rest.” The sun had not yet crested the world, dawn a few hours yet from breaking, so when the gelding left the bridge to race through the streets of the city and climb his way toward the palace, there were few to see their arrival.

At one time, he would have been put out by such a homecoming. No fanfare. No pomp. No revelry. No joyful shouting or flowers spilled at his feet. At one time, nothing would have satisfied him more than returning home as the saviour of Asgard. As the prince worthy of both throne and exaltation.

Today, he could not have cared less that no one witnessed his return. His mind had a singular focus. A singular task. Nothing and no one mattered but seeing Lauren reached the healing pools beneath the palace.

The twisting maze of streets fell away behind him as his steed ran without flattering. Once the initial shock had worn off, it appeared Sif’s mount enjoyed the lack of sound created by his airborne hooves.

He put quite a bit of distance between himself and the others, leaving Thor to his escort. But Loki felt better without others too near.

Perhaps Heimdall was correct. Maybe it was the newness of the binding and the injuries Lauren had received which made him anxious. Still, he could not shake the feral feeling welling inside him. The need to protect, provide, and claim was overwhelming as if the instincts of the wolf he’d worn had not faded when his body had resumed its human shape.

Something about it seemed… different, but Loki could not put his finger on the how.

He pushed the thoughts aside when he arrived at the steps to the palace, and the gelding slowed to a halt, his feet gradually returning to the ground. The guards on duty came to attention, his helmet and horns hard to mistake.

Loki threw his leg over the horse’s neck and dropped lightly to the ground. “Thank you, swift one,” he murmured to the horse. It wickered and walked off toward the stables, blowing only a little.

He could not wait for Lauren to be well. She would adore them, the horses of Asgard. They could run for hours and never tire. Jump heights unimagined by humans. He would take her to the barns and let her choose her own. A mare, perhaps. Something with spirit but without the bullheadedness of the males.

“Prince Loki.” The two approaching guards drew his attention. “We were not aware of your return.”

“Have things changed so much I am required to announce my comings and goings?” he snapped. “Remove yourselves from my path. My Ástvinur requires my attention.”

They had drawn close enough to catch sight of the blood on his face, but Lauren was well covered with her bruises hidden against his chest.

Still, they asked, “Do… you require a healer, highness?”

“I do not.” He walked past them, continuing up the stairs and through the high doors of the entrance hall.

A clatter behind him announced the arrival of the others, but he was already striding away through the Hall of the Ancients. A voice called to him from the shadows, but Loki paid it no heed, continuing on past the early risen servants when a familiar face caught his eye.

“Selvina,” he called out to the woman who had been housekeeper to the palace for as long as he could remember.

“Prince Loki!” she gasped and curtsied deeply. “We did not expect you back yet. The King was going to send word so we could prepare for your arrival.”

Loki stepped beyond the shadows yet blanketing the hall. “Expectations changed when they tried to take what is mine,” he growled softly.

She inhaled sharply, her eyes darting to the blood on his face, then down to the woman cradled in his arms. “I… I will see your rooms prepared at once.”

“Thank you, Selvina. Lauren and I will be in the caverns.”

“Oh, the poor dear. Will she be alright?”

Loki looked down at Lauren, at the dark bruises of fatigue beneath her eyes. “She will be. See food and mead are also waiting. We will return in one hour.”

“Yes, my lord.” She bowed again as he walked away, heading for the stairwell which would lead down into the caverns where the healing pools waited.

“Loki.”

He stopped. “Now is not a good time, Father.”

“How badly is she injured?” Odin asked, stepping into the corridor at Loki’s back.

“I have taken care of what I could be certain of. She took a blow to the head and when we travelled the Bifröst it… hurt her.”

“I see. You know which pool to use?” Odin asked, moving closer.

“I remember my lessons,” he snarled. “I am not some child.”

“You are still my child,” Odin murmured. “You have said so yourself.”

Loki looked at the ceiling and sighed in resignation. “I was a son of Odin for many years, but there are also many harsh words and harmful actions between us. This is not the time to discuss reconciliation, Father.”

“You are correct, of course. Might I at least… see her?”

Odin took another step closer, and Loki turned his head to see his father over his shoulder. “Not now. It would… distress her to have anyone see her so.”

“I care not for the nature of her dishevelment,” Odin scoffed. “I wish only to see the woman who will save my son.”

“And so you shall. After she is healed.” Loki walked on, avoiding any more arguments. He would not allow anything but the most favourable first impression. She was his wife and a Princess of Asgard. Already rumours would fly to become fodder for the masses of how he arrived here, bloodied, wearing his battle gear, with his unconscious Ástvinur in his arms and gone straight to the pools.

People would judge him for losing her, for having her stolen out from underneath his nose, but once they met her, saw her, grew to know her, they would see how special and lovely and unique she was. They would no longer be surprised someone had tried to take her from him. It should be no surprise they failed.

Two guards stood watch at the entrance to the caverns. They straightened but made no move to stop or question him. He was their prince once more and went where he wanted when he wanted.

Soft lights flared one by one as he descended into the moist heat of the cavern. While these pools, hot springs really, were for private use by the royal family, they did drain together into one giant mineral spring which was available for the public to use at will.

Bathing in the water of the combined pools would cure much of what ailed one, but the two pools beneath the palace were unique. Each worked in its own mysterious way. One healed the body. One restored magic. Both trickled over into a waterfall which drained out through stone, mixing and diluting the waters with runoff from the underground springs until they became the healing spring for the city.

His Father believed he was only here for the first, but he would lead Lauren through both before he took her to their chambers. Odin was not yet aware of Lauren’s state as his bonded or he would not have questioned Loki’s choice of pool. Had she still been of Midgard, allowing her to bathe in the waters of magic could have been dangerous, but as she was now of Asgard, the waters would only bring her closer to her true self.

Her radiant beauty would shine for all to see.

He paused at the base of the stairs and breathed deeply of the mineral scents and warmth, the musty cave smell which would last forever. A flick of his finger sealed the doorway to keep out would be intruders. Another shed him of his clothes. A third had a handful of candles flickering on a rock outcropping.

Loki let his cape fall to the rock and walked into the water with Lauren still fully clothed. She hissed when her feet came in contact with the warmth, then whimpered when he sank deeper still, making his way across the sandy bottom until he was chest deep and Lauren floated in his gentle hold.

He cupped and poured handfuls of the water over her damaged cheek, tenderly stroked wet fingers over her blackened eye, watching as the bruises faded away. He freed her hair and washed the blood from her throat. The water glowed softly, a milky white which hid much of her from view, and he continued to card his fingers through her hair, letting the water work until her lashes fluttered open.

“Loki?”

He smiled and cupped her cheek. “Welcome back, my heart.”

“Where… where are we?” she asked, allowing her feet to fall down until she found the sandy bottom. “What is this place?”

“The Pools of Neth,” he murmured, stroking her wet hair back from her face. “You were injured, my love. I feared more severely than I could fix. So I brought you home. To Asgard.”

“So… I didn’t dream the bridge or the city?” Her gaze dropped to his bare chest, and her hands soon followed.

“No, darling.” His body stirred with her tender touch.

“And the water is really glowin’ like a lit up milk bath?”

He chuckled at her description. “It is.”

“Is there a reason I’m still dressed?”

He waved his hand, and she wasn’t. “Your reaction to the magic of the Bifrost concerned me. Often, a head wound can be hard to detect, even for me, but can make one sick when such powerful magic is used. I would have had to take you to an actual healer or bring you here, to be certain of your recovery. I chose here.” He cupped her face and bent to kiss her hungrily before sweeping Lauren off her feet and heading for the pool’s edge.

“Loki,” she moaned and buried her face in his throat.

“I am only switching pools, my love. Then I will return to what I started.” He walked from the water and up a gentle incline to find the smaller of the two pools. Here the water was a soft lavender, warmer than the first, and at its deepest came to his shoulders. Stepping down into it, he felt the surge of renewing strength begin to flow through his veins.

Lauren groaned in delight and threw her head back. “Oh… wow…”

“The first pool was for healing the body. But this one renews magic and the heart of an Asgardian. Being in it will speed your conversion. You will grow stronger, faster, become harder to injure,” he whispered and delicately touched her throat. “You will heal with a swiftness not known to man. Your beauty will know no limits. You shall be a goddess. My goddess,” he crooned, pulling her out in the pool with him until she had to cling to him to stay afloat.

Her arms went around his neck. Her breasts flattened against his chest. Her thighs brushed against his, and he knew she could feel his arousal. “Once you are fully of Asgard, I will worry less about silly things like shoving at guns,” he scolded.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” she muttered.

“Most definitely not,” Loki grumbled but kissed the tip of her nose. He took his hands over her back and down her side, trailing his fingertips over the place where she'd been wounded. “You terrified me today. Watching the blood soak into your dress.” He nuzzled his nose beneath her chin. “Watching it run down your throat… It was terrifying, Lauren.”

She tilted her chin back and tightened her hold, almost purring when he kissed a path along her jaw to suck lightly at her pulse. “I wasn't scared. I knew you'd come. I heard you howl and it was like all my fear melted away.”

“You were rather calm,” he murmured, nipping her ear. “Even bloodied and bruised you were... magnificent. Still,” he sank his fingers into her hair and pulled her head back to see her heavy-lidded eyes, “I’d prefer you not do it again.”

“So would I. Loki… I feel…” She shuddered, and her eyes gleamed with his magic.

“How do you feel?” he whispered and bit at her jaw.

“Warm and… like somethin’ is strokin’ my nerves.”

He jacked her up to bring his mouth to her breasts and began to lap at them slowly, biting gently to make her nipples harden. “It’s the magic flowing through your veins. Exquisite, isn’t it?”

“Oh… god…” she moaned. Her legs lifted to wrap around his waist and her scorching hot core came to rest against his hard cock.

Loki growled and dropped her down to take her mouth, kissing her hungrily again as he moved them through the water to the edge where he pressed her back against the smooth basin and began to rock his hips into her. “The water enhances your senses. It sends its magic bubbling up inside you like a geyser until it crests and pours back out. Those who are truly powerful can spend much time soaking in the waters. Those whose magic is less need only minutes before it becomes too intense. Shall we test your limits, darling? Shall we see how strong you are?”

“Loki,” she whimpered, burying her hands in his hair. “It feels so good.”

He grinned at the flush forming on her face. “The water, pet?” He rocked his hips into her core and adored her shudder. “Or is it something else you are speaking of?”

She opened her eyes enough to show him the gleam of green emeralds. “Both.”

Loki growled excitedly. “My little minx. Are you trying to seduce me?”

Her lids lifted a little more, and she smiled a curl of lips so sultry it stole his breath. “I assure you, sir. I don’t need to try.”

“No. You certainly do not,” Loki murmured, nipping his teeth into her bottom lip before pulling her from the wall to lift her up and sit her on the ledge.

Her body gleamed, sheets of lavender water cascading back into the pool and splashing over Loki’s chest. Her hands were on his shoulders, his held her waist, gentle but firm. He stepped between her knees, nudging them apart, and brought his hand up to caress her side. The tender touch made her giggle, but he paid it little mind, needing to be assured she was whole from the wound she’d taken.

“Loki.” Lauren cupped his cheeks and lifted his chin. She smiled when their gazes locked. “I’m fine. I promise. I feel… really, really good actually. Really good.”

“Really good, darling?” He smirked up at her. “Are you certain you could not feel… better?”

Her feet and lower legs dangled in the water still, keeping her connected to the pool’s magic, but Loki pressed her knees further apart. The slow glide of his fingers up her thighs had her panting and quaking, her desire growing to connect them through his heart stone, the torque a shining adornment around her throat.

“I’m pretty sure I could feel better,” Lauren sighed, carding her fingers through his hair when he began to press sucking kisses to her abdomen.

“Oh, I know you could,” he chuckled and dragged his tongue over her serpents. He delved lower, licked and nipped and sucked at her thighs. Her scent flourished to mix with the minerals in the air, and it was heavenly. “You smell divine, my love.”

He looked up, watched her face as he nudged her closer to the edge of the pool, and slicked his tongue up her core. Her breath burst out on a moan and a shudder and her hands clenched in his hair, but Loki was lost to the taste of her. Too intent on forcing more of those sultry little moans from her lips, he paid the sharp tugging of his scalp no mind.

He licked at the ambrosia flowing from her, savouring every drop as her cries grew louder, and the tension of her core grew tighter. She moaned, and it echoed, making him chuckle when embarrassment fluttered in his heart stone.

“Don’t laugh!” she scolded only to jolt when he brought his hand to her slick folds and pressed his fingers deep.

“I like laughing with you, pet.” He stroked his fingers through her walls and curled them up into the special spot inside her. She gasped, and he grinned. “But I like making you moan as well. Will you come for me, love? Come apart on my fingers so that I can bring you back into this pool and have you come apart on my cock.”

“God, Loki!” she cried out, then mewled like a kitten when he caught the hard berry of her nipple between his lips and worried it with his teeth. “Enough!” she choked, dragging his head back by his hair. “I just want you, peaches!”

She kicked off the ledge, falling into his arms, and nearly sending them both under when he stumbled backward.

“Lauren,” he murmured, locking his arm around her waist to keep her still when she fought to bring her legs around him. “Wait.”

“No. I want you,” she whined and took her teeth to his throat.

“Dammit, woman! You'll have me in a moment! For one bloody second will you look at me?” he barked.

She jerked back in shock. “Loki!”

Hurt laced her voice. “I'm sorry, my love, but I need you to look at me,” he murmured and cupped her cheek.

What was that? He frowned as he peered into her eyes.

“What? What's wrong?” she asked.

“There is a spark… or…. I thought there was,” he frowned and stroked her cheek. “Whatever was there is gone now.” But he was certain he’d seen something.

“A spark of… of what?” she asked, sounding concerned.

He smiled for he didn't want her to worry. “Of magic, darling.”

She gave a bark of disbelief. “Uh huh.”

Unwilling to argue with her, Loki changed the subject. “Perhaps we should take this back to our room where I can make love to you properly?”

“Because you're so concerned with proper,” Lauren teased and wrapped him in her thighs. “Please, Loki. Valhalla is callin’. The water feels… delicious. Take me now,” she whispered, licking his mouth before moving down to slick her tongue over the moisture on his chest.

“You're going to be the death of me, woman,” he growled but gave in, shifting his hold to her ass. He lifted her up, notched his head against her opening, and slowly sank her down his cock.

She moaned at the stretch, her forehead coming to rest against his. “God… every time,” she whimpered. “I love it.”

“You fit me so well, my heart,” he murmured, beginning to rock her gently.

Gentle went out the window the moment she moaned, “Harder.”

Tight walls gripped him with every stroke, fluttered and quaked as he took her hard and fast, standing in the middle of the pool. The magic bubbling in his veins became an intoxicating counterpoint to the singing lust and desire.

Sweat beaded on his brow and dripped from his chin, the heat of the pool nothing compared to what was slamming through his body with every upward thrust of his cock.

Lauren wrapped her arms around him, bringing them as close as possible, causing their bodies to slide together. He could feel the hard points of her nipples drag on his chest. Her nails dug into his back when the pleasure became too much, and she screamed her release, the wave of ecstasy riding her body along with the magic from the pool.

Her body reacted so forcefully, Loki was helpless but to follow, roaring out his own climax when the magic surged back through him.

Gasping for air, he stumbled through the water to grab the pool’s edge and cling to it while Lauren hung limply against his chest.

“Damn…” she breathed against his throat and made him shiver

His body stirred with renewed life and the desire to have her again, causing her sheath to spasm and grip him, doing nothing but stirring the cycle all over. “Woman,” he growled softly when she snorted a giggle. “If you are so insatiable, I'd prefer to hold round two on a flat surface where I will not drown when you wear me out.”

“I wear you out?” she teased, her amusement practically humming on the air. “Who was the one comin’ here for recovery purposes, hm?”

Loki chuckled and grinned at her smile, but when her lashes lifted, his heart skipped a beat. The spark was back but had become a swirl of violet twisting with the green of his magic. She blinked, her lashes brushing the flush on her cheeks brought on by the heat of the pool. Then, they lifted and whatever had been there was gone.

“Loki?” she frowned up at him.

“I am simply astounded by your beauty,” he murmured and it was no lie. The pool had done exactly what he’d wanted it to. “Look at you sparkle.” He took her by the waist, swept her into his arms, and walked out of the pool.

Lauren laughed and threw her arms around him, bussing a kissed to his cheek. “Flirt.”

“Is it flirting when it is the truth?” he asked, letting her body slide to the ground.

Once she was stable, Loki stepped back and waved his hand, producing a full-length mirror. “Look, my darling.” He glided around behind her and pressed himself to her spine. “You are stunning.”

She gave a soft gasp and brought a hand to her lips. “What…? How?”

He stroked his hand up her creamy, soft skin and cupped her breast. The light glow she’d had after finishing their bond had become a radiance, a golden luminescence. He’d dried her hair, and it fell in waves and curls down her back to her waist. Her face had thinned but only a little, sharpening her cheekbones and jawline even further.

His fingers continued upward to circle around her throat and tilt her head for his lips to walk the line of her jaw. “You bathed in the Waters of Neth. Now, now you are much closer to your true self. You are as you would be had you been born of Asgard. Only a little different, an enhancement of your beauty.” He brushed his fingers on her thigh, needing to touch her for she was just so incredibly soft.

Lauren let her head fall back on his shoulder, nearly purring in pleasure. “Y’all keep touchin’ me like that, we may as well just get back in the water,” she teased, sliding her hands behind her to grip his hips.

“I am considering it,” he murmured, kissing her pulse point.

“Or…” she moaned, “you could show me a little of the palace. Like… the corridors which lead to your rooms?”

She pressed her ass back into his cock with a wiggle that had him gasping for breath. “Minx!” he groaned.

“Not sayin’ I don’t like it down here.” She took in the cavern with its soft glowing lights, luminescent waters, and sparkling roof full of silver flecks. “But… I would like to see somethin’ of the place you grew up in.”

“Would you, now?” he crooned before sinking his teeth gently into her shoulder. “You wish to sightsee instead of staying right here with me?”

“Well, I did say on the way to your room,” she snickered.

“Our. Our chambers, my heart. What is mine is now yours.” He released her slowly, moved around to stand before her and sighed. “Such a pity to cover such perfection.”

“Oh, hush!” she huffed and blushed.

Loki chuckled, but waved a hand and garbed himself in the long day coat he preferred, rather than the armour and cape he had been wearing. “Now you, my love. Whatever shall we put you in, hm?”

“You’re the fashionista, peaches. I’m just the mannequin.”

“And a most fetching mannequin you are.” He stepped forward, placed a gentle kiss on her lips, and let his magic flow, wrapping her in it until he was certain she would be utterly exquisite in the gown he’d created. “There,” he smiled. “Befitting the newest Princess of Asgard.”

Her eyes darted to his, but she made no protest, only glanced toward the mirror and froze. “Oh, my stars!”

She pressed her hands to her waist, to the white fabric and its wide golden belt. The dress, a simple v-neck which showed off her torque, was unadorned except for the belt bearing his symbol in twisted coils and knots, and the clusters of intricate flowers created in gold which capped her shoulders and held her cape in position. It descended in a v part way down her back where a small clasp appeared, both ornamental and to keep her cape from dragging too far behind her. He’d returned Frigga’s bracers to her wrists, the circlet to her brow, and highlighted her features with smoky eyes and her lush, wet mouth. He’d created tiny braids, wrapped them in beads of gold, and left them to catch in the curls he’d tightened in her hair, sweeping half up in her customary tail, while leaving the lower mass to rest on her shoulders and stream down her spine.

“By the Norns, I want to kiss your mouth until all that shine is worn off,” he growled.

She smirked at him coyly. “When we get where we’re goin’, I just might let you.”

A rumble of hunger left him, and Loki collected her hand, leading her carefully toward the stairs out of the cavern. He flicked a finger at his cape, making it vanish, and a hand at the candles before assisting her up the stairs.

Winding they were, but they did not take long to climb in her enthusiasm. The toes of her boots were silent on the stones, but without hesitation until they reached the turn which showed the exit and she paused.

“I’m… really nervous,” she whispered when he frowned down at her.

He knew, of course, how could he not, but Loki cupped her cheeks. “You have nothing to be nervous about. You will do amazing here. I have complete faith in you,” he whispered and kissed the end of her nose instead of messing up her lips.

With a little tug, she started forward again, and he led her out into the hall past the two guards on duty. Both snapped to attention, causing their armour and weapons to resound at her back, and sent Lauren scurrying forward to cling to his arm and turn to see what had made the noise.

“Goodness! Y’all gave me such a fright!” she half scolded, half laughed.

Loki watched the mouths of both men fall open in awe and just managed to contain his laughter. Collecting Lauren’s hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “As Thor has so recently reminded me, none who call the palace home would ever dare harm you, elskan min. Even if they do make a ruckus.” He smirked at the men as he tucked Lauren’s hand in his elbow and led her away. “Their current posting has them guarding the caves. A most boring posting to be sure as we rarely use it.”

“With how good I feel, I’d think y’all would be down there more often,” she murmured, but her attention was elsewhere, taking in the coffered ceilings, the detailed panelling on the walls, and the heavily carved doors and doorways. “Loki… this is incredible!”

She stopped before an open doorway, but only so she could reach out and touch the animals etched in the wood. “It’s so beautiful.”

“One could say the same of you, little sister,” Thor chuckled, appearing in the doorway. “White. Why am I not surprised?” Thor teased. “It is good to see you well. Come!” He clasped Loki by the shoulder and tugged. “Now that you are healed, there are introductions to be made.”

Loki resisted. “Thor, can this not wait? It was late when we left Midgard and dawn is but hours away. She is fresh from the pools but will grow weary soon enough.”

“You’re doin’ that thing again,” Lauren said.

“What thing, darling?” Loki asked.

“That thing where you talk about me like I’m not standin’ right here. Don’t make me tweak your ear again.”

It was not quite a glare she levelled his way, but it was close enough. “I simply do not wish to wear you out, my heart. It has been a long, emotional day. Introductions could wait.”

She smiled at him, that smile, the sweet one that always saw her getting her way. Then she brought her hand to his face and stroked his jaw, and he knew he was lost. She could have whatever she wanted.

“Elskan min,” she purred. “I wouldn’t want to be rude. Just a few minutes? Please?”

He sighed but nodded, glared at Thor, and stepped past his brother into the room, finding precisely who he’d expected to. Though it annoyed him, this deviation of his plans, Loki didn't feel the need to draw weapons to keep people away from her this time.

Volstagg smirked from where he was sat, bent over a half-finished carcass. “What happened to the unyielding God of Mischief? How easy you give in to your woman!” he laughed, causing Hogun to smile, while Fandral, lounging with one leg thrown over the arm of his chair, laughed along with him.

Sif only arched a brow, her demeanour stern but curious from her place beside the fire.

“Have a care how you speak to my brother, Volstagg. Especially as his bonded Ástvinur has been known to be quite vocal in his defense.”

“He’s not wrong,” Lauren said as she stepped out from behind Loki, allowing the four their first real look at the Princess of Asgard.

There was a beat of silence before the mad scramble began. Volstagg stood so swiftly, he nearly turned over the table. Hogun was quick to right it. Fandral tried to exit his chair only to come close to falling on his face in the process.

He was the first to cross the room, coming to a stop when he was a few feet away to offer Lauren a sweeping bow.

Her hand had wrapped around Loki’s elbow, and she’d stepped into him with the first explosion of movement, seeking safety in his shadow when their action disconcerted her.

“Highness,” Fandral crooned, glanced at Loki, and offered his hand. “You are fairer than the softest spring day. I dare say you are more radiant than the moon at its apex. I am honoured to make your acquaintance.”

Lauren blinked at him, a blush rising high in her cheeks when she looked up at Loki.

“Fandral, beloved. One of the Warrior’s Three and Thor’s companion,” Loki supplied.

“Oh!” Her eyes widened in understanding. Mischief blossomed in their green depths, and she smirked up at him for a moment before focusing her attention on Fandral and offering her hand.

He was quick to accept, but before he could actually kiss the back of her hand, she struck.

“Hm. The women of Asgard really are blind. Pretty enough, but I much prefer my brooding dark God,” she murmured softly, in a voice so sweet one could not take insult from it.

Fandral’s head whipped up in shock, his eyes enormous. He stared aghast at Lauren who continued to smile and blink at him with her big doe eyes until Fandral threw his head back and laughed.

“She is definitely a match for the God of Mischief!” he crowed, giving back her hand.

Lauren giggled, Thor’s laughter boomed, and the others joined in, leaving only Sif standing alone.

Loki magicked a cloth for Volstagg before he offered Lauren his hand, allowing Hogun to beat him to it.

“Hogun, highness.” He bowed over her hand.

“Hogun’s hound Ming is the mother of Usun,” Loki murmured, causing Lauren to look at him sharply.

“Really?” she whispered. When he nodded, she turned back to Hogun and threw her arms around the startled man. “Thank you! Thank you so much! Y’all don’t know how much they need him!”

“Lauren, darling. You’ve quite thrown poor Hogun off his game,” Loki chuckled as the man looked at him frantically. “She’s a bit of a hugger.”

“Hush, you!” Lauren huffed, pulling away, her cheeks now quite red. “Usun is a blessin’. You may have thought of him, and Thor may have brought him, but I’m sure Hogun had somethin’ to do with bringin’ him up! Until we can get the kids away from her, he’s their last line of defence!”

Worry instantly filled the heart stone, and Loki cupped her face between his palms. “They are alright, my heart. The others will inform Maria and she will be certain to keep an eye on them. Do you trust me, my love?”

“In everythin’, Loki,” she whispered.

“Then trust me now. I will let nothing happen to the children. Nothing!” he vowed.

“What children?” Volstagg asked.

“Lauren’s niece and nephew are… in an unpleasant situation,” Thor murmured. “One which would not stand on Asgard.”

“Rescue mission?” Volstagg’s eyes lit up.

“Not at this time,” Loki murmured, caressing Lauren’s cheek. “Breathe, my love. I promise they are protected.”

“Okay,” she sighed. “I just… worry.”

“I know. Let us continue the introductions so you can then rest. The portly one is Volstagg.”

“I beg your pardon!” Volstagg pounded a fist to his large midsection. “Tis all muscle!”

“A man with a hearty appetite is appreciated where I come from. Us southerners like to eat, after all,” Lauren offered kindly.

“You are as sweet on the inside as you are lovely on the outside, highness,” Volstagg said, his smile lifting the corners of his moustache.

Lauren blushed and tightened her hold on Loki's arm. “I wish y’all would just call me Lauren. If he can be Thor to everyone, can't I just be Lauren?”

“I'm afraid my love’s title is still a touch… unsettling to her,” Loki said smiling down at Lauren. “But if that is what you wish, darling, I see no harm in it amongst Thor's companions.”

“Because I need your permission to request such a thing?” she scoffed, and Volstagg snickered.

“Mm. I shall reserve the right not to answer loaded questions like that one.” Loki chuckled, collected Lauren’s arm, and moved past the three men and his brother to approach Sif before the fire. “Lady Sif,” Loki smirked. “Meet my Ástvinur, Lauren before I succeed in saying something else foolish.”

“See? You can teach an old dog new tricks,” Lauren teased before turning to Sif.

“I remember you,” Sif murmured and nodded her head. “We met once before.”

“Mostly in passin’, not really an introduction when Thor wanders by and points me out before carryin’ on without so much as a hello,” Lauren laughed. “But I’m ever so pleased to finally meet you. Thor talks about you so much, I can’t help but admire a woman like you.”

Sif looked taken aback before a rather shy smile spread. “He talks about you, too. The woman who tamed the God of Mischief.”

“I wouldn’t call him tame,” Lauren snickered, glancing up at Loki. “Housebroken, maybe?”

“Teasing wench!” Loki gasped and bared his teeth in a snarl. “Watch it, woman.”

“My what big teeth you have,” she quipped.

“I’ll show you teeth,” he growled, snaking his arm around her waist to pull her in and nip into her bottom lip.

Lauren smacked his chest. “Behave you big oaf!”

“Big oaf? I bring you all the way to Asgard, and this is the thanks I get,” he huffed, feigning hurt.

Her brow arched. “Mmm hmm. And what of Asgard have I seen? Caves, walls, and a single room.”

He pulled her in tighter and lowered his head. “Did I not show you the rainbow bridge? A view of the city? Pleasure unimaginable?”

“Loki!” Lauren gasped, her face flushing crimson. “Such a cad.”

“Ah, yes. But I am your cad,” he grinned, brushing their noses together.

“And a terrible tease,” she grumbled but buried her hands in his hair.

“Mmm,” he hummed against her lips. “But a fantastic flirt,” he whispered and kissed her deeply.

“Does this happen a lot?” Sif asked.

Thor snickered. “Yes. They lose themselves in each other, and the world disappears around them.”

“Incredible,” breathed Fandral.

“The bond is solid,” Hogun murmured.

“Have you tried this boar? I swear the meat is succulent as hell!” Volstagg stated.

Loki broke the kiss to lift his head and peer down into Lauren's eyes. A sea of green gazed back, and he smiled. “I swear, nothing here changes,” he murmured for her alone. “It is good to be home.”

Next Chapter

#Blood and Roses #loki #Loki Laufeyson #loki fanfiction #loki laufeyson fanfiction #asgard #thor #thor odinson #god of thunder #southern belle #avengers au

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chirpingtiger · 6 years

Text

Five reasons why Tony is more of a villain in the MCU than Loki

1.) Kill count.

Pure and simple, Tony has a higher human kill count than Loki does.

Loki is responsible for summoning the Chitauri army to New York, and thus all the deaths caused by that.

We are told in Avengers that “he killed eighty people in two days,” and shown in Civil War that the kill count from the battle for New York is seventy-four, (although some of those deaths were shown to be caused by the Hulk).

This makes Loki’s total 154 people.

In canon, Loki is punished for this by being sent back to Asgard in chains and imprisoned there.

Tony is responsible for creating Ultron and unleashing him on the world, and therefore is responsible for all of the deaths that Ultron caused. Now, we are never given a specific number on the people that Ultron killed while resource gathering for his big hit, but we know that there were at least three significant ones. The civilian death count from Sokovia was shown in Civil War to be one hundred and seventy seven, and we know that Pietro died there as well.

Looking ONLY at the Ultron fallout, Tony’s total is up at 181 people.

27 more than Loki.

Now, I could count all of the people Tony killed in the first Iron Man movie even though a good number of them were terrorists, however that gets into a bit of a moral grey area. For the record, however, there were about forty kills shown on screen for this category.

There were also a number of deaths caused by Tony’s fist-fight with the Hulk in Johannesburg, however I don’t currently have a clear number for that, so we’ll pass on those kills for now.

There are an additional fifty nine kills that Iron Man makes on screen in the other movies, whether it be blowing people up, smashing them through walls, or firing a repulsor into their face at full power.

Additionally, I could go into detail about all the people killed by Tony’s weapons when he was selling them to make his billions, but that would take me far too long to total up, and many of the fans will argue about which ones he did and did not sell himself. (Though in the end he technically signed off on all of them, so really, if he didn’t read the paperwork, it’s still gross negligence, and it’s still on his head...)

Keeping in mind that Tony’s creation of Ultron behind his teammates’ backs was the cause of 181+ deaths...If we then include all of the other human casualties that Tony has caused, his total is 280 people.

126 more murders than Loki.

In canon, Tony is excused for all of these deaths without question.

2.) He ratted out Clint’s secret family

Loki brainwashed Clint in the first Avengers movie, and spent half the film inside his head, poking around through his deepest darkest secrets.

He knows everything about Clint.

And yet, Loki never once uses Clint’s family as a bargaining chip against him. In fact, he never tells a soul about Clint’s family.

It would have been the perfect bargaining chip - the ultimate “do what I say OR ELSE” - and Loki never touches it. He sees that this man has a wife and two kids that he wants to keep safe, and has gone to such extreme lengths to make it happen, and he decides to let Clint’s family stay a secret, even when Clint comes back to himself and is fighting against Loki.

The others find out about Clint’s family in Age of Ultron. Clint brings Tony and the others back to the farm in AoU to get them off the radar, trusting the secret of his family to his teammates so he has somewhere safe for the Avengers to stay for a while as they regroup.

In Civil War, at the Raft, Tony mentions in front of everyone that Clint has “a wife and kids” to berate Clint for showing up to help Steve fight the super soldiers. Tony knows that Scott and Sam weren’t there in AoU and probably don’t know about Clint’s family. Additionally, he reveals this information while knowing that Ross and the UN security guards are actively listening in, looking for something to hold over their prisoner’s heads - he scrambles their sound feed a moment later to convince Sam that it’s safe to tell him where Steve went.

Tony knowingly and intentionally reveals the existence of Clint’s wife and kids - putting them all in grave danger - for the sake of punishing Clint for picking what he feels is the wrong side of an argument.

3.) Daddy Issues Are an Explanation - Not an Excuse

Now, neither of them had stellar fathers.

Howard was always distant and busy, and was said to have been too absorbed with his work to take time to “say he loved me to my face” to Tony.

Odin slaughtered Loki’s race, found him abandoned in the rubble, and took him home in disguise as a kind of war prize, letting him believe that he was truly his son until it came down to who would inherit the kingdom, where he chose a (then) inept and bull-headed Thor over a calm and competent Loki for no apparent reason other than favoritism.

Loki blames Odin for his fall from grace, because everything he did was to prove himself to a father that was never even going to consider putting him on the throne. But that’s where it ends.

All of his other mistakes he blames on himself or his nature. He is the monster that parents warn children about, so it makes sense that he would act the part of the monster. (And even then, it’s only for a short while, until he is able to grow past his issues and get his act back together in Thor 2 to help out. He’s still a bit mischievous and a touch backstabbing, but at this point it’s a personality trait, and he always winds up coming around to the side of good in the end.)

Tony blames every mistake he makes on “Howard’s A+ Parenting,” refusing to take responsibility because not getting along with his father while growing up is apparently a valid excuse for the constant bad life choices of a 40-something year old man. He never grows out of this either, and makes no attempts to move on. It is his go-to “get out of jail free” card. “My father never loved me, therefore everything awful I just did is excused.” “Maybe if I’d gotten more attention from my father, I’d be better at dealing with Peter, or being a team player, or not treating Pepper like garbage.”

4.) Knowingly Endangering the Lives of His Allies

In the first Avengers movie, when they’ve all gathered together aboard the hellicarrier for the first time, we find out that Banner is essentially a bomb waiting to go off in the form of the highly-destructive Hulk - a bomb that is triggered by Banner getting mad or startled or threatened.

So naturally, what is the first thing that Tony Stark does, while on an enclosed airborne ship with hundreds of innocent people and his allies?

He purposely tries to set off the Hulk by prodding at Banner with sharp and electrified things, just to see how good a hold Banner has on it.

Tony actively tries to set off the Hulk, knowing full well that it may cause the deaths of many if not all of the people on board the craft, and he doesn’t give a damn.

For another example, Tony gets drunk in the iron man suit and starts shooting things.

At a party.

With hundreds of people packed into a tiny space.

Now it could be argued that he was having an emotional breakdown at the time because he thought he was dying, however that’s like trying to excuse someone bringing a loaded machine gun into a crowd because “they were under a lot of stress at the time.”

It’s not excusable.

It’s selfish.

It’s saying ‘my method of coping with my problems is more important than the lives of everyone else.’

In the process of this, he nearly winds up killing Rhody.

And, to further prove that he has no regard for his allies:

He invites a man with a known grudge against him to “hit me with your best shot, here’s my address” and almost gets Pepper killed as collateral. He also turns on Steve at the drop of a pin at the end of Civil War, and tries to kill him, and Bucky as well, until Steve is forced to manually power down his suit. Tony is also firing live explosives at Clint and Wanda in the airport battle (of a large enough caliper that Clint stops to shield Wanda from the giant chunks of debris falling around them cause he’s afraid she’s going to get hurt) and has his repulsors at a high enough charge that he puts a giant hole in solid asphalt from 90 yards away while firing at Clint. He also shoots Sam Wilson point blank in the face with his repulsors for failing to take the shot that knocked Rhody from the sky, despite the fact that Sam risked his life nosediving to save Rhody without any armor to protect him at all and has previous trauma from watching a flight partner lose their life from being shot out of the sky.

Tony has no loyalty to his allies, and sees them all as expendable so long as it suits him at the time.

To quote The Avengers: Steve: “You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.” Tony: “I think I would just cut the wire.”

Loki, on the other hand, tends to switch sides a lot, but he always stays true to the side he’s currently on, and never knowingly endangers his allies.

The people he brainwashes in Avengers aren’t used as cannon fodder - they are kept safe and protected while they do his work for him, and he personally sees to it, to the best of his abilities, that they are not harmed or captured by SHIELD or the Avengers.

In Thor 2 he teams up with his brother and stays loyal to him, helping protect Jane through the length of the film, including two scenes where he shields her with his own body and another where he almost gets himself killed while trying to take out the baddie.

In Thor 3, Loki returns to what he’s pretty sure is going to be a death match with his big sister in order to save the people of Asgard, even though most of them view him with nothing but scorn, and even tries to offer his brother a way out of the arena despite the fact that it will endanger his position with the Grandmaster and potentially put him at risk.

Loki is incredibly loyal to his allies, and wouldn’t ever actively try to harm any of them, regardless of grudges, if they are working on the same team.

5.) Committed Genocide

At the end of The Avengers, the UN sends a nuclear warhead at New York to prevent the spread of the alien attack, and Tony redirects that nuke up through the wormhole as a convenient way to dispose of it.

Once through the wormhole, he aims it at the home ship of the aliens before letting it go and allowing himself to fall back to the safety of earth a few seconds before the Avengers close off the portal.

The nuke hits the ship, and every alien immediately drops dead.

No matter where they are, no matter the fact that they’re galaxies away or possibly in different realms, every single alien drops dead the minute that ship is destroyed.

Their species no longer exists.

Down to the last male, female, and infant on every planet in every galaxy in all of the universe, Tony Stark has effectively wiped them from existence.

His reaction to this?

The closest counterpoint I have to this is at the end of Thor, when Loki makes a final play to win his father’s favor by trying to finish his brother’s quest to wipe out the Frost Giants - what he mistakenly believes is the final goal for the King of Asgard.

Unlike his brother, however, he plans on doing so by using the Bifrost to tear their world apart.

Thor stops him by shattering the Bifrost, and in the resulting explosion Thor and Loki are both nearly thrown into space, Odin showing up in the nick of time to grab hold of Thor’s foot.

Loki pleads with his father that he was only trying to do what he felt was his job as upcoming King:

To which his father simply responds “No, Loki.”

And at this - realizing that he nearly wiped out a species because of his own mistakes and ambition - he lets himself fall into the depths of space instead of allowing his brother to save him.

And so, given the above points as well as the fact that Tony always seems to weasel out of all of the consequences for his actions whereas Loki has been punished and imprisoned multiple times for his similar transgressions, I believe that Tony Stark is far more of a villain in the MCU than Loki ever was, or will be.

#anti team stark #anti tony stark #anti tony #loki #avengers #pro loki #marvel #mcu #not that Loki hasn't massively fucked up mind you #because he absolutely has #but he seems to have gotten a grip once more #at least when it comes to villain things #whereas tony never actually learns from his mistakes #and just keeps making worse ones #Loki hasn't really been a villain since Avengers #he's just so damn ineffective at being bad #honestly Loki is more of an irritation than a villain at this point

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