This doesn't suck, at all!

I've finally found a Sif/Thor story I like! Which is sad, because in the film I kinda ship them, but there's just not much fic with that pairing out there. This one, Beastly Behavior, is only a PWP, but the author has a great grasp of both their characters. Besides, it's quite hot. What else can one ask for? ;-)

That was when Sif circled silently around a trunk and threw herself at him from behind. He crashed forward with a startled sound, toppling to the forest floor with all the grace of a felled tree. He tried to roll, but Sif was firmly on his back, her lips curled back from her teeth in triumphant grin, and she easily thwarted his attempts to get up.

"This is not -- the kind of fun I thought you were beckoning me toward," he said breathlessly.

"I know," she told him, still smug.

Then he jerked from under her in one powerful motion, rolling them, and she lashed out, elbowing him in the ribs. They struggled across the rich earth, each gaining the upper hand but briefly, and she held nothing back, treating their wrestling as if the consequences for losing would be unthinkable. By the time they reached the conclusion she was aching in the best of ways, bruised from their play and strained with exertion, but it was inevitable that she end up flat against the ground with Thor pinning her in place.

I have another fic rec, this one of the more gen variety: Every creature big and small. It's a great take on the Avengers as cats meme, about Doctor Donald Blake, veterinarian, his multitude of cats, and his new neighbour Steve Rogers, who has a pet of his own. The story is a WIP, but it's just so utterly adorable I can's help recommending it. It truly is amazing how recognizable all the characters are even in their animal form, and there are numerous brilliant call-backs to the films when you least expect them. See for example this scene (one of my favourites):


“Bruce, cease this behaviour this instant!”

Steve almost jumped out of his skin when a strong voice bellowed over his head and then, he couldn’t believe his eyes, a man fell down from the sky. He landed in crouch in front of the fighting animals startling them both into momentary stillness, and then stood up to his full height.

It wasn’t a man, Steve’s brain decided when he could do nothing, but stare, it was a god. A wet, mostly naked, blond-haired and build like a Greek statue, god.

“Bruce, leave the dog alone!” and his voice... it carried. “Dog, step back for your own safety.”

And, Steve couldn’t believe his eyes, the animals did exactly that. Both tousled and worn out after a fight, they went into two different directions looking chastised.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY maggie33! May you have a wonderful year!

I hope you enjoy this adorable piece of art I've found on Tumblr :-)

I have a fic rec for you on this fine Thor's Day - Thunder is good, thunder is impressive, but it is lightning that does all the work.

The plot in the author's words is: Basically, Thor does the Avengers. And the Helicarrier crew. And not-so random visitors. The tags say: oh god oh god why did i answer this prompt; Crack Pairing; Maria Hill is always right; teamwork is a euphemism for sexytimes; the helicarrier is a flying brothel.

Based on that you'll be surprised to learn that there is very little actual sex in the story (though the few tantalising glimpses that are there are absolutely delicious!). Instead the fic mostly consists of various characters discussing the strange going-ons on the helicarrier as the mortals discover tha,t among other things, Thor is a sex god (or a god of fertility, same difference ;-)).Thor's unending enthusiasm, not to mention stamina, are bound to leave you impressed. Also, the story is utterly hilarious, as exemplified by the excerpt of a conversation between Tony and Bruce below:

The pieces clicked into place like a suit of armor. “You – you had sex with Thor!”

“You might want to say that again. I don’t think they heard you back in New York.” Bruce rolled his eyes and went back to his screen, as if data backup was more interesting than screwing a demi-god.

“I –this is…new. Yay for you getting back on the horse and all but – Thor?”

Bruce slid his glasses back on, looking every bit the angry librarian. “You’re seriously asking why I went after the blond Norse god.”

:-)

If you've ever wondered what would happen if Thor ran an agony column (and really, why wouldn't you?) look no further than this tumblr here: Thor Odinson's Place of Questioning. Some questions and answers are more inspired than others, but it is always entertaining :-)

Here’s an interesting review of Thor - Is "Thor" a feminist movie? Yes!

The author makes a lot of good points. Ones that caught my eye in particular are:

Another way in which Thor breaks down sexist narratives is by challenging the traditional hypermasculinity of the superhero. Thor is built like a tank and possesses strength, courage and supernatural power. But his character is achingly vulnerable: he tears up when Loki visits him on Earth, asking plaintively if he may please return home (it broke my fucking heart, you guys, you don’t even know). And his vulnerability does not make him weak! Indeed, it is Thor’s transition from arrogance and bravado to humility and vulnerability that permits him to regain his powers and wield Mjolnir again.

This, right here, is why I love the character of Thor so much when I tend to be at best indifferent to and at worst annoyed by any other superheroes.

Not only does the narrative treat Jane, Darcy and Sif with the respect they deserve, but so does the cinematography. Sif, Jane and Darcy are never panned over by male characters, nor presented for the audience’s visual consumption. […] In fact, it is Thor’s body that is panned over to show to the audience that Darcy and Jane are very attracted to him. For the first time in a mainstream superhero movie, ladies and gentlemen, I give you: the heterosexual female gaze! […]The female characters also wear clothing that is realistic and appropriate!

Now, can you think of anyone worse suited to direct the sequel to this than the director of Game of Thrones? Seriously, I half expect scenes of Jane, Sif, and/or Darcy randomly making out… And a lot of naked female extras – one of the casting calls was for “girls with hot bodies who don’t mind showing skin” after all. My only hope is that Marvel will somehow keep him in check. That’s one case of studio interference that I would really welcome...

The filming of Thor: The Dark World (or "Thursday Mourning" by Asgard Productions as it's officially called - they're not even trying to keep it under wraps, are they?) has moved to Greenwich and a whole new lot of set pics have flooded the web. Including gorgeous pics of Thor himself looking battered:



( cut for picspam )

As a bonus here's an awesome depiction of what pretty much happened when the set pics leaked out ;-) As someone's pointed out, the way it's drooling on him is the perfect touch :-)

I have to admit that I’m awaiting Thor: The Dark World with as much apprehension as impatience because, let’s face it, a sequel is hardly ever as good as the original. Also, I don’t trust the new director to keep the things I loved most about Thor intact. Still, a few major spoilers for Thor 2 have appeared on the web recently, and some of them actually sound promising.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Marvel Studios’ “Thor: The Dark World” continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s “Thor” and “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Fairly cryptic, eh? Now, for the spoilers:( here there be spoilers )

In somewhat related news, the Iron Man 3 trailer is out, and I have to say it looks so generic I've lost any interest in seeing the film in cinema. I've never been a big Iron Man fan but I love Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, so I was looking forward to another Shane Black/RDJ team-up. The trailer makes the film look like a Batman rip-off rather than Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, though, so unless I hear Thor does a cameo I'm not interested.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate Thor’s egalitarianism. There is simply no more open-minded character in the Avengers universe:

• He destroyed the Bifrost (and his way back to Jane) to save Jotunheim.



• He sacrificed his life to protect Puente Antiguo from Loki’s wrath (although yes, he was saving his Aesir friends there as well).



• He told Loki off for seeing himself as better than other races in Avengers; and for trying to destroy all the Jotuns in Thor.



• He tried to reach Bruce when facing the Hulk, giving him the chance to redeem himself rather than just treating him as a monster like the other Avengers.



• Similarly, he tried to stop the New York invasion by reasoning with Loki, and it wasn't until Loki spat in his face yet again that Thor joined in the fight.

True that it was a lesson hard-learnt for Thor - he had to become a mere mortal himself before he began to respect and value the non-Aesir. Still, one has to admire how resolutely he sticks to his new beliefs no matter how often it gets him punched or stabbed.

The behind the scenes images from The Avengers are flooding the net, so that's my theme for today :-)



Here's an excerpt I've found on the Thor and Loki fight scene:

Hiddleston said that when they were shooting the fight scene, “Joss [Whedon, the director] came over and said, ‘Guys, I’m just not really buying it. You need to sell it more. You either need to hit each other harder or you need to react bigger.’” As they readied for the next take, Hiddleston took a moment to confer with Hemsworth. “I said to Chris, ‘Dude, just hit me. Just hit me because I’m protected here and it’s fine.’ He’s like, ‘Are you sure?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, it will look great. Just go for it.’”

Cameras then started to roll, and Hiddleston said, “[Chris] really went for it and he’s just pummeling me in the chest and elbowing me in the face and Joss came back after that take and went, ‘We got it. It’s great.’”

I asked Hemsworth about his reaction to actually hitting his costar. Hemsworth chuckled and recalled there was a moment when Hiddleston doubled over a bit when a body blow connected. He told me, “I turned to the crew and I said, ‘He told me to do that! You all heard that.’”

Hee!



In an interview about the fight scene in Thor Chris mentioned how Tom kept missing the hammer and was whacking Chris' fingers instead with the spear. I guess he kept at it in The Avengers if the band-aid in the pic above is any indication. No wonder Chris jumped at the chance to hit him back when Tom was stupid enough to suggest it ;-)