#bluesaid

Sure, Anon! I’m gonna be vague since I’ve seen it twice but I’m sure a lot of people haven’t gotten a chance yet. But if you’re trying to steer clear of any spoilers at all:

STOP. VAGUE ENDGAME SPOILERS. DO NOT READ.

Overall: Really happy with it!

The two major characters of the film are Iron Man and Captain America, and they do those two characters right—very satisfying

The set pieces are thrilling (especially that fourth act, my God, chills)

I laughed

I cried (a LOT)

Can’t wait to read all the fic for a certain ship I thought was sunk! 

Nebula is a new favorite—props to the writers for her arc

Not here for the haters who didn’t like the She-Vengers

The MCU going forward is rocked—and I’m interested in how they build

Nitpicks: Plenty of stuff didn’t land exactly for me, but that’s how it goes

Post-snap Thor was a bit overdone 

The pop culture references aren’t going to age well

They did their best to explain the timey-whimey, but I could’ve used some more clarity—if only to confirm my personal theory

Sometimes Chris Evans was too handsome

Disappointments: We didn’t get enough Natasha or Bruce, separately and definitely not together

Natasha: Black Widow is my favorite. I’ve written thousands of words of meta about her character. There is an emotional scene in the second act where ScarJo does her strongest acting for this role to date. I was LIVING. The ending they chose for her—it pains me, but it fits. What I disagree with STRONGLY is the lack of closure. We were cheated out of a lot of scenes that would have made that choice feel as supported and satisfying as the choices for other characters.

Bruce: I’m with my girl Val, who is never wrong and I love her—“I think I liked you better either of the two other ways.” Again, I needed more to justify the change. Like, great, confidence. Happiness. Inner dang peace. But we didn’t see the work. We didn’t feel it. Meh.

Brucenat: Y’all know this is my MCU ship of choice, as hated as it is. I had hope from IW that it would be circled back to. But—other than impact shots—we got nada. Clearly, these two still care deeply for each other, but ships in the night, ya know? I can—and probably will—unpack all the complex emotions that flicker across faces, but that’s all she wrote. There is one scene between them that is alluded to that I feel cheated out of in particular. Sigh. 

HIGHER FURTHER FASTER, BABY.

Jurassic World (2015): Claire and Owen had one (1) date

Me, a Perv: That 👏 Doesn’t 👏 Mean 👏 They 👏 Didn’t 👏 Fuck.

Ahem. This is a treatise on why I 1000% believe that Owen and Claire went to Poundtown at least once, probably more times, before their disaster date. 

I believe it went something like this: Claire and Owen are put in close proximity due to a project, attraction ensues, they give in, they catch feelings they won’t admit, they try to go on a date about it, it fails when they both feel disrespected, they avoid each other like the plague ever after.

For evidence, I will draw on their first meeting scene. 

Arrival:

Claire drives over to Owen’s bungalow herself. She doesn’t ask an underling to fetch him to the very spot she leaves and returns to.

No navigation, no call-ahead required. She knows exactly where Owen lives. She knows he’ll be there. 

Claire checks her appearance in the car window.

“What do they want now?” At this point, Owen knows Claire is only there in a professional context.

“Mr. Grady.” It’s strange to Owen that he’s Mr. Grady. That means he was “Owen” for awhile leading up to the Disaster Date (Datesaster™). Hyper professional Claire would not have let a random park employee be just Owen to her after one date. More to the point, she would not have said yes to a date with Mr. Grady. The date came after something brewed between them. 

Banter:

“We have an attraction.” “That’s not what you said last time I saw you.” Emphasis on you said, not what he thinks. You could take this as Claire denying ever being attracted to him (kinda silly considering there was a date) or that Claire has called off their attraction, unilaterally. 

“Mr. Misrani asked me to consult with you.” That rings a bell. Lights up his life. Suddenly, he’s DTF (Down to Flirt). My shipper brain immediately went Code Red. “Consult” is the verb she used when she was DTF (Down to Fuck). I know this in my bones.

“You wanna consult here...or in my bungalow?” Ladies and gentlemen, they have fucked consulted in Owen’s bungalow before. I cannot be dissuaded from this. The alternative to that reading is to think Owen is a leering fratboy who insinuates sex out of nowhere. Taken with his clear crush on Claire (more on that later), that reading does not suit.

 “That’s not funny.” You guys. I have used that line on a former FWB. Absolutely. Just a wrinkle of the nose. She’s past all that. No apologies, but she doesn’t want to hear it. If it was out of nowhere, I think Claire would be admonishing Owen, dressing him down. But, since they both know she’s seen him undressed, she lets it slides on by.

“Ha, ha. A little funny.” Poor baby boy. He’s got no defenses for her poise, except to be the obnoxious neanderthal she expects from him and try to enjoy it.

Insight:

“See, it’s all about control with you. I don’t control the raptors, it’s a relationship.” This is the part where it becomes crystal clear for those paying attention that Owen is not the emotionally stunted man-boy we’re so used to seeing Chris Pratt play so well. And it totally makes sense! An animal behavioralist would have to be attuned to emotion.

“It’s based on mutual respect.” Owen Grady has a Chip on His Shoulder and that chip is Not Being Respected. I...love that. He’s an alpha, sure, but it’s not about control it’s about mutual respect. Claire made it clear with her actions that she does not respect him and it turned him right the hell off. The matter-of-fact regret in his eyes kills me.

“That’s why you and I never had a second date.” LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, OWEN GRADY WANTED A RELATIONSHIP BUT WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT CLAIRE DIDN’T SEEM EMOTIONALLY AVAILABLE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Honestly, such a great subversion of expectations.

Grievances 

“Excuse me! I never wanted a second date.” Oh, Claire. Her understanding of this situation lacks nuance. And this totally fits with her character! She likes people, she’s great at focus groups. But she’s uncomfortable with the one-on-one. 

“Who prints out an itinerary for a night out?” Owen sees the itinerary and maybe it offends him because it’s all things she likes to do. Or all generic. Or maybe she’s pushing him into her world, expecting to be wooed like he’s one of her trust fund exes. Or maybe she’s carefully choosing places on this tiny island to make sure no one sees them together. 

“What kind of a diet doesn’t allow tequila?” He goes along or suggests something else, but she refuses to losen up and have a good time. She is stiff. (It feels like an interview, which is weird because he knows what her fingernails feel like on his back.)

“And what kind of a man shows up to a date in board shorts?” Oh, Claire. I love you. I identify with you. This is the kind of woman who will cut her losses at the slightest provocation. Boardshorts? Clearly, he’s not trying. He’s not taking her seriously. He doesn’t suit the lifestyle. Hard pass. What was she thinking, anyway?

Back to Work

“The asset? Look, I get it...” Owen, demonstrating his emotional intelligence again, shows that he can see things from her perspective and offers his. Claire takes it as him being a know-it-all, but he’s actually trying to have a conversation.

“I gotta eat. I gotta hunt. I gotta...You can relate to at least one of those things, can’t you?” Claire does not seem like a huntress. She’s on a diet. So what could Owen possibly know she likes to do...WE GET IT. YOU’VE FUCKED. 

And Claire just rolls her eyes, like, yes. This is a tiny island, and I’ve lived here for seven years. I have needs. But you are not going to get to me, I am a grown-ass woman and you are acting like a boy. She tells herself, if he had put in some effort to become Boyfriend Material, she might have kept him. She didn’t like cutting short the good thing they had going. She had no choice, because clearly he was a wasted time investment.

The saunter she puts on. She knows he’s still attracted to her. She takes over his space. Look at his face. They were Co-Workers With Benefits (CWWB) and she called all the shots (at least until they were in bed, against the wall, etc. Then it’s a struggle for dominance and he loved it.)

“You might want to change your shirt. They’re very sensitive to smell.” What a put-down. She goes right for the jugular. We know from a deleted scene that she’s been thinking of him like a Neanderthal and probably berating herself for Going There after some dick from corporate cheated on her or something. He knows he was just supposed to be a roll in the hay for her. Classic rich woman sleeping with the help. A bungalow bunny for Dirty Dancing Johnny Castle! For her, putdowns are a defense mechanism. Claire is bad at emotional vulnerability, so she Ice Queens and disappears from her family and gives up after one bad date.

But Owen likes her! And she must have liked him enough to agree to a date. That’s a look of what could have been on his face.

Ahhhhhhhhh! I finally got to see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom tonight, and I super enjoyed the suspense and loved the Clawen. 

I’m not gonna get too spoilery for my fellow Americans, so here is my vague post just about their reunion:

Reunion Favorites

Chris Pratt can sing

Chris Pratt has never been more physically attractive at any point in his career. He is a damn beefcake SNACK. This movie is basically an ode to his upper body strength.  

Echoes of their first meeting abound—the writers are really taking care to build them up

They are broken up but their antagonism is so gentle

CLAIRE’S LAUGHTER at Owen’s obtuseness like omg girl, we have all been there smdh

Their reasons for breaking up are so on point for their character journeys 

At the same time, you can totally tell that this was a temporary thing—notice that when Claire tracks Owen down he is remedying the very complaint of Claire’s he believed caused their breakup

Claire’s skin does look radiant. And Owen sounds choked up noticing it. The sexual tension is real. (Can we headcanon they fucked? It doesn’t actually fit, but I’m headcanoning they fucked.)

Owen is jealous. Owen is proud. Owen is Not Dealing Well. Owen probably no stranger to PTSD, having been a soldier and all that.

Claire knows Owen is retreating into his Manly Man Man’s Man persona to escape pain. She knows there is a Better Man inside.

Everyone’s out there like The End is Nigh! Get me off this Hell Site! And I don’t disagree, but I also spent time making new blog themes and wips page. Me @ the apocalypse:  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Fandom

Writeblr

Quick one for all you gallya writers who are as Russian-language-challenged as I am. The very kind @in-com-pren-si-bi-le commented on one of my fics to offer a very kind and very important translation fix! I asked her for other phrases—for smut and for sweet—that might apply to our favorite spy duo. 

Smut

Fuck me = trahni menya (in the sexual sense, not in the blow me to pieces violently sense that I accidentally used!!!)

Oh my God = O Bozhe or O moi Bog, the latter one is pretty much word for word from English, it is used, but much less than the first one. It’s more eloquent, I’d say. 

Fuck = Chiort (meaning devil) or Blyad’ (basically, a whore, but the word is used in practically any situation where you want to swear like a sailor). As you can guess, the latter is much more intense and very very vulgar, you can get a smack up your head from your Mum for that one :D

So good = Kak zhe khorosho (meaning It feels so good) or Kak ty khorosh if said to a man or Kak ty khorosha if said to a woman (meaning You are so good)

Sweet

Moyo solnyshko = my little sun

Moy kotionochek = my little kitten

Moy malenkiy mekhanik = my little mechanic, basically the only thing I could think of to translate “little chop-shop girl” without it sounding cringy...

All three of these are kinda neutral, they are not female-specific, since the words are not of feminine gender, but that works in Russian. 

Moy serdityi medved’ = My angry bear

Moy surovyi russkiy = My severe Russian

Moy velikan = My giant

All of them can be used without possessive pronouns moy/moyo if used to address each other (as in “Are you okay, velikan?”), but if they are said as a stand-alone phrase they might sound a bit weird without the pronouns.

Hi, Anon! I don’t mind the question at all! If you’re just getting into the ship (welcome!), I have an insane amount of brucenat meta all collected here on ao3. It’s…a lot. This long meta in particular sums up the potential I see in the couple: brucenat + hearts of darkness.

Essentially, what makes the ship work for me is that these are two characters on a similar story journey. Both of them (besides being major, unrepentant dorks) are heroic, tragic figures. Their arcs can be boiled down to redemption from past deeds and a synthesizing of the dark and light parts of themselves. These are lethal, fearful people who just want to do good.

I started lowkey shipping them in Avengers because I really, really liked their tension. They quickly saw into the heart of each other— the good, the bad, and the ugly. By coming to terms with each other, they recognize their own place on the team. The Avengers “could use a little worse.” Bruce’s rage. Natasha’s manipulations. The parts of themselves they hate the most applied to saving the human race.

AoU has its faults, but there is a lot to love in terms of the exploration of Bruce and Natasha as a unit. I like that the narrative lets them be sweet and hesitant, while also taking them to some very dark places—Johannesburg and the Red Room. I’m a fan of angst, so the way they part works for me on a lot of levels.

Infinity War gives us only a glimpse into what might come of their relationship, but it’s clear to me that they’re both in great places to start (finish?) something. Bruce is rejuvenated, in a sense, and committed to “go be a hero.” Natasha is part of a found family, she’s confidently “not alone.” We’ve been promised a “showdown” between Bruce and the Hulk. We’ve been promised more screentime for Natasha. So I’m very excited to see what comes of it next year!