Thank you all!!

[sandy79]

First things first - thank you all so much for the wonderful birthday messages that filled my inbox (both here and on LJ) today. I felt very much loved by you all, and my heart is still trying to calm down from the joy you brought to me. Once again, thank you all so much for them; every message will be saved and treasured for eternity, promise!

But what kind of birthday gal would I be if I wouldn't share a bit of "virtual" birthday cake with you all? I didn't get most of it explicit today, but it all came together just right on time.

A) A Meme, snagged from daria234 (among others)

Fandoms: White Collar, MCU, SPN, NCIS LA, Magnificent Seven (the TV show, not the movies), Leverage, Rizzoli & Isles, Lethal Weapon (only Season 1), Lucifer (only Season 1), Almost Human, Star Trek Reboot

Give me a show/movie/fandom and I’ll tell you:

- my favorite female character
- my favorite male character
- my otp
- my ot3
- my rare pair
- my anti otp
- my favorite pair of enemies/rivals/antagonists
- my favorite cast member
- a character I’d die defending
- a character I just can’t sympathize with
- a character I grew to love


B) Two new pics from Matt's latest Todd Snyder campaign (plus one new favorite; click on the thumbs to see them full-size)




C) Some new Avengers: Infinity War posters (that you might have seen already; click on the thumbs to see them full-size)



Red (Tony Stark, Dr. Stephen Strange, Wong, Peter Parker)
Yellow (Wanda Maximoff, Vision, Sam Wilson, James Rhodes)
Green (Natasha Romanoff, T'Challa, Bruce Banner, Okoye)
Purple (Thor, Peter Quill, Gamora, Rocket, Groot, Drax)
Blue (Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Shuri, Nebula, Mantis)

Guess which one is my favorite out of these five? XD Though I gotta say, Chris Hemsworth looks mighty fine as Thor, too. Now, all this gal needs is a physical proof that my favorite archer is also part of this intergalactical "party", and I'm a very camper. Alas, there's more to come about Infinity War, but I have to sort through it first. So be prepared!

This entry was originally posted at https://sandy79.dreamwidth.org/96262.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Comments

[tiara.livejournal.com]

Is it the blue one with Bucky? :)

As for your meme.. MCU! ♥ I should do this meme, a lot of friends seem to be doing it.

Meme answers, part I

[sandy79.livejournal.com]

why yes, it is!! XD For the meme, I give you the answer I just wrote for daria over on DW, who asked for the same fandom (hope that's okay)

- my favorite female character

Natasha, ever since her first appearance in "Iron Man 2", she's the ultimate badass woman in the MCU, but I wish they would finally show us a bit more about her past in the Red Room beside the flashback scenes we got in "Age Of Ultron" (or finally solve the mystery about the Budapest mission ;) )

- my favorite male character

Ever since I saw "The Avengers" back a few years, Clint Barton (as I seem to continue my apparent "thing" for archers XD), but recently, he's got to make some room for the man with the most tragic story in the MCU ever - James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. Can't really explain why he never showed up on my radar before, but now he's here, and I like to think he's gonna stay.

- my otp

Het: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff, from "The Avengers" on. And while I also love Clint & Laura's interactions in "Age Of Ultron", I slightly prefer our two spies together (but there's a wonderful ongoing collection of stories with a triad of Clint, Laura & Tash on AO3)

Slash: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes. These two were skirting my reading premises for some time, but like with Bucky himself, they only made it into the yard recently, so to speak. And while I read pretty much everything with these two, I slightly prefer AUs (something that's going on across all my fandoms).

- my ot3

Again, a two-way answer ;)

a) Clint/Laura/Natasha - mostly for the reason that we get to see Natasha letting her guard down a bit whenever she's on the Barton farm, but also because you would expect some jealousy or rivalry between the two women, but you get some wonderful conversations as well as some steamy make-out scenes.

b) Clint/Bucky/Natasha - I know, a bit surprising considering my slash OTP, but there's a collection on AO3 where Clint and Tash already live together (Clint is a delicious mixture of the MCU Clint and the guy from the comics), then they meet Bucky, and voilà, a very funny, and very sexy threesome is the result.

- my rare pair

Bucky/Natasha: Given their history (at some point, they apparently met in the Red Room), it's one of the most interesting pairings out there. Can they start again, or is their violent shared past too much to handle? And does Bucky even remember her, at all? (in the comics, they were a couple at some point)

Re: Meme answers, part I

[tiara.livejournal.com]

I love Natasha and Clint too! Him having a family always seemed a little off to me.. I've always liked these two together.

Meme answers, part II

[sandy79.livejournal.com]

sorry, I wrote too much for LJ to handle in one comment! ;)

- my anti otp

Bruce/Natasha - seriously, what the heck what they thinking in "Age Of Ultron"??? Don't get me wrong, I love Bruce, especially the way Mark Ruffalo nuances him, but why forcing a relationship (that goes beyond friendship) on us? We live in the 21st century, for heaven's sake. Is it really necessary to push two characters together, who were perfect as friends in my opinion, just for entertainment? (sorry for the mini-rant, but that's the only downside I can see in AOU). Runner-up: Steve/Sharon (just can't see any real chemistry between them *shrugs*)

- my favorite pair of enemies/rivals/antagonists

I have to go with the Maximoff twins from "Age Of Ultron", though I love both of them. I really was shocked by the end of the movie, especially because now we were robbed of more "you didn't see that coming" banter between Clint and Pietro. And I still can't help but laugh when Pietro tries to catch Thor's hammer XD

- my favorite cast member

From around the time I saw "The Avengers", it was Jeremy Renner (and I'm still looking forward to every new movie of his that comes out - "Wind River" finally gets aired around here). These days, I'm also quite into Sebastian Stan. You would never believe when you just see him in "The First Avenger", or even more in "The Winter Soldier", what a funny guy he is. His press interviews, mostly of them with Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson) are already legendary and definitely leave you in stiches. Just look them up on YT, you won't regret it XD

- a character I’d die defending

Both Clint and Bucky, hands down. Once you see the man beyond that first exterior, you realize that they both had their fair share of guilt and false accusations loaded on them. Especially Bucky, as shown in "Civil War". And yeah, he says to Steve on the plane that while he was brainwashed for the better part of 70 years, going on those missions was still his own decision, but I like to think that this line is more a product of said brainwashing than his real opinion.

- a character I just can’t sympathize with

Pretty much all the main villains in the movies so far (except for Loki, who's just wonderful crazy), but most of all Alexander Pierce from "The Winter Soldier" (to an extent, Brock Rumlow and Jasper Sitwell)

- a character I grew to love

Again, Bucky. Which is quite surprising, seeing that I barely took notice of him when I first saw "The First Avenger". But the way Sebastian portrays him in "The Winter Soldier", and further in "Civil War", you can't help but being drawn into the character. What I usually do is reading up on the character in question, and with Bucky, it just gets more and more heartbreaking, especially when you take Seb's approach to Bucky's scattered mind in "Civil War" also into the equation.

[kazluvsbooks.livejournal.com]

Glad you had a lovely birthday hon 🥧♥️🎉

[sandy79.livejournal.com]

thanks, sweetie!

[tarlanx]

Happy birthday!

[sandy79.livejournal.com]

thanks, hun!

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

Ha, it's so Bucky and Steve, SO THAT ONE!

Happiest of happies my beautiful girl, I adore you! ♥

MCU! (ALL) Oh damn, JJ beat me to it! Okay then, specifically the movie Civil War ;)

Answers part I

[sandy79.livejournal.com]

sorry for the late answer, had to rewatch it ;) (not sorry for the long answers)

- my favorite female character

I know, I said that Natasha is my favorite MCU character, but for this movie, I must say Wanda. She already was great in "Age Of Ultron", especially in her scenes with Clint, but here, she's confident about her powers - until that incident in Africa, the proposition of the Sokovia Accords, and finally being locked up in The Raft threatens to shatter her completely. Kudos to Elizabeth Olsen to give her so many layers, and I hope we see a bit about Sam, Scott, Clint and Wanda adjusting to being free again in Infinity War.

- my favorite male character

A tie between my two absolute favorite MCU characters - Bucky and Clint. Bucky, because we not only finally get a look into all the decades he spent as Winter Soldier, but also how hard he tries to reclaim what's left of the guy he was some 70 years ago after "The Winter Soldier". And while he's, pretty much, the center of the movie (storytelling-wise), he has, again, way less dialogue than other characters, but Sebastian evens the field with all the various expressions he displays throughout the movie - the cold, detached look he has as the Winter Soldier, the determined, yet desperate when he's in Romania, the guilt-laden when they're in Sibiria, and last but not least, the kind of resignated look in the mid-credit scene in the Wakandian lab.

Clint, because even though he knows that this new "mission" might cost him dearly, he's there for them all when Steve calls, is there for Wanda (he can't shake that he's a Daddy!), and I like to think he's also there for them when they're locked up in The Raft, together with Sam. Clint is, in many ways, the backbone of the Avengers, and he's not afraid to speak up against Tony, even goes as far as calling it out that he, Tony, should "watch his back" with Ross. Plus, he has some of the best lines throughout the movie!

- my otp

Steve/Bucky. Sure, it looks like a neverending uphill battle for most part of the movie, especially for Steve, but nonetheless, he never, ever wavers in his belief, in his faith in Bucky. He clings to the hope that somewhere deep down, the man opposite/next to him is still the same man he became friends with in the streets of Brooklyn over 70 years ago. And in the end, he's willing to give it all up for him - the shield, his freedom, his status as "Sentinel of Liberty". And if that's not some kind of special love these two have, then I don't know.

- my ot3

Steve/Bucky/Sam ;) 'Nuff said XD

- my rare pair

Don't know if it actually counts as "rare pair", but Bucky and Sam are a hoot together XD All those underlying "old best friend vs new best friend" vibes while both are looking out for their common friend, and Steve's actually completely unaware of that ;) (or if he is, he chooses to ignore them!).

Answers part II

[sandy79.livejournal.com]

- my anti otp

Steve/Sharon. Don't get me wrong, both characters are great, both on their own and together, but I can't see any real romantic vibes with them. I might agree that they could have kind of a "friends with benefits" agreement, but then again, this is Steve Rogers we're talking about. And even though he initiates their kiss, I think it's more a gesture of thanks (for getting their stuff, for risking her job and her freedom for them) than anything else.

- my favorite pair of enemies/rivals/antagonists

Clint vs. Natasha in the airport battle. Sadly, their scene is way too short for my liking, but Natasha's mid-fight question and Clint's dry answer are one of the many wonderful tidbits I have about that battle alone.

- my favorite cast member

Sebastian Stan & Anthony Mackie. As I type these replies, I'm downloading some YT videos with these two, and gosh, even without a sound I can't help but crack up at several scenes - these two together are just hilarious! And they even transported some of that into the movie, if the VW Beetle scene is anything to go by.



- a character I’d die defending

Bucky, hands down (yeah, I know - what a surprise! XD). Cause if Tony wouldn't be so blinded by the rage and grief over his parents' violent death, he would see that Bucky, or better the Winter Soldier, was just that - a soldier, following orders that people with more power, sitting higher up in the hierarchy, gave. And "thanks" to endless sittings in the chair, getting his mind swiped, Bucky couldn't even question any order he got. He was, basically, a tool, and would you blame a tool for being used by the wrong hands?

- a character I just can’t sympathize with

A tie between Secretary Ross and Helmut Zemo. For Ross simply because he finally gets what he was yearning for ever since the Hulk escaped his grasp - power over superheroes. And he's intent on holding on to that position of power, no matter the cost. For Zemo cause even when you want revenge for something, it's seldom the right choice; besides, Cap and the rest of the Avengers did their best to save as much Sokovians as possible, and if Hydra hadn't take camp in that castle near Sokovia in the first place, Ultron and his gang would have ended up somewhere else. So, if anyone is to blame for the Sokovia tragedy, it's Hydra. Too bad that neither Steve nor Tony had the mindset to tell him so.

- a character I grew to love

T'Challa/Black Panther. Even when he's mourning his father and wants to take revenge on Bucky, he still has enough nobility and reason to see that the man was framed. And the mid-credit scene, when we learn that he has not only offered Cap and Bucky shelter in Wakanda, but also offers his country's science to help Bucky, combined with the words he says to Steve, is proof alone that he's not only a wonderful addition to the MCU, but also a true and noble soul. Runner-up: Peter Parker/Spider-Man. That boy is just hilarious, and hands down the best incarnation of the webslinger so far!

Re: Answers part II

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

Oh I wish I could come and slobber all over you right now - I LOVE YOU - I love the answers you just gave me, I just love your brain! x♥x

Re: Answers part II

[sandy79.livejournal.com]

XD You're welcome, hun!!