Holy shit. Just saw Shang-Chi and it is IT. Before getting into the Chinese cultural parts of it, I'd like to note that it had a solid plot and wonderfully developed characters. The worldbuilding and CGI and the relationship building was absolutely phenomenal and I was absolutely hooked. The fight choreography was THE best choreography I've ever seen in the entirety of the MCU and the cinematography is amazing.
Now, onto the Chinese cultural references.
My god. I've never felt so seen. As a Chinese woman living in a western diaspora I've genuinely never seen something that so genuinely felt right and that truly felt like it connected to me personally. There were so many little details that I could connect to that made me feel emotional because I've never had any media that connected to me this way. It was so well done and it was so obviously done by people who lived through it.
Some little details that stood out to me included:
The food! All the food shown on screen was Chinese food - be it homemade food or dim sum platters - and those were exactly the types of plates that I grew up eating.
When Shang-Chi took off his shoes to go into Katy's house and she was wearing slippers inside the house
When he was walking through the little Chinatown area and there were the fruit cardboard boxes outside the Chinese groceries and the white sketchy dim sum sign with English on top of the Chinese
Katy struggling with her Chinese as a diaspora kid because she's only a heritage speaker and her first language is english
When Katy was struggling to pronounce Shang-Chi's Chinese name asldhhdjskala I felt that
Katy sticking to her English name despite also having a Chinese name bc she's a diaspora kid and is used to using the English name
Every single one of the magical creatures inside Ta Lo were inspired by Chinese mythology.
THE DRAGON IS A PROPER CHINESE DRAGON
Katy's parents comparing her to others and asking her to "get a better job" with her H. B. from Berkeley (I felt that)
The whole thing about familial expectations and relationships in Chinese families?? Bro. I felt that. Holy shit.
So. Much. Mandarin. I can't explain how happy I am to hear that language. Many western movies have a tendency to mainly use English with an accent but this movie used a LOT of (accurate!) mando and it makes me so happy
The architecture?? The art?? Phenomenal. Amazing. So accurate.
The shrine to the mother and the other deceased looks EXACTLY like every single Chinese cemetery I've been to, down to the photos and the incense and the fruits and all the people paying tribute to it.
The martial arts?? Oh my god. So good. I recognize it. Having trained in it and having watched multiple family members practice varying Chinese martial arts over the years I can't express how fucking happy I was to see arts such as Tai Chi and Wing Chun and Wushu on screen. I could recognize it. The forms, the movements - I can't explain how, but it felt right. It felt familiar. It felt so wonderfully connected to me.
There's probably more but it's late at night so more to come later, maybe. I'm going to just bask in the fact that this was a fantastic movie for chinese representation and I felt so seen. I went to see it with several other Chinese friends and. We came away so happy. We felt seen. We felt heard. I can't express how much this meant to us.
Representation matters.
Ohh my godđ„șđ„Č Natasha in this fic is so contradictory.. I LOVE her honestly I have never watched Jennifer's body but this is making me want to SOO badly oh gods succubus(?) Nat is so hot and mean this is amazingïżŒđđ
pairing: dark!nat/f!reader
summary:
Aside from the cannibalism, Nat is mostly the same. Still ridiculously strong and stupidly hardheaded. And that face â flinty, cold, mean. Natâs always been mean.Â
(inspired by jenniferâs body)
additional notes: mommy kink, dom/sub, bloodplay(?), dacryphilia, uhh pussy spanking, choking, unhealthy relationship, terrible aftercare
title from a song suggested by an anon: nobody by the crane wives
(ao3)
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The way she said sever the nerve rhymed w the music đ©
lord the sexiest scene iâve ever seen in my whole life
Love that it's now 100% confirmed canon that Natasha spends her free time watching over the top Cold War era spy fiction/techno-thriller movies like James Bond and WarGames, and she's a gleeful little geek that gets a kick out of quoting the dialogue.
I love so much that we spent years assuming Nat would mock the shitty spycraft in movies, but actually she's enthralled every time. Like, a five-year-old seeing Frozen? That's Natasha any time these movies are on the screen. Yes she's seen them a million times, but when your entire life is dangerous spy hijinks it must be so nice to see stuff that you do in a context where no one you love is in danger at any time.
Also the thing that's so nice about her being a geek is that the movies have tried so hard to make us think she's a badass. And, I mean, she is totally a badass! But "Do you want to play a game?" could have been a one-off thing, a way to tease Steve and integrate Steve and make her own fun while on the run. Instead it's become a running part of her personality, which takes how the Red Room used popular media as indoctrination and turns it into something she can relax with and make into something that's her own.
Like I feel at this point if we found out that Clint used to call Nat every week after Dog Cops finished airing to dissect the plot, it would not feel out of character, and that is beautiful.
I donât know who need to hear it this evening but:
They are not disappointed in you for failing that one test!
You did not let them down because you made a mistake on that one thing!
They do not hate you because you upset that one person or did that one âbadâ thing!
Donât let your brain use your comfort characters against you.
They are there for you no matter what.
beefy nat and a tiny reader at a supermarket
warnings: beefy!nat x filipina!reader, this is more of general!nat but whatever i enjoyed this anyways
You were practically at awe at the selection of snacks on the wall. With your eyes wide and mouth agape, Natasha couldnât help but chuckle at your little dance when you found the snack that you had been craving since a week ago.
âSee, Natty?â You turned to your girlfriend with a grin as you hugged the bag of V-Cut chips to your chest. âI told you Seafood City had them.â
The redhead shook her head playfully. âWell, you didnât really give me much choice when you dragged me into the car, now did you?â
You gave her a shrug as a smile lined your lips. You knew no matter how much you annoyed her, she couldnât resist you.
Which is how you ended up dragging her through five different aisles, throwing in whatever snack you wanted without care as she just watched and pushed the cart in tow.
âWhatâs that one, baby?â
You turned around with a pack of strawberry flavoured Mogu Mogu in your arms, your eyes wide as you looked down.
âItâs a drink, Natty. Tastes like those aloe drinks with the aloe chunks? Think youâll like them.â
She smiled and nodded, letting you drop the pack of drinks into the cart before moving on.
âWhatever you say, baby.â
Warnings: men, swearing, canon typical violence, eventual smut
She was a spy. She lived in the realm of rumors and secrets. It was hard to know what wasnât a front.
Part One - Whispers
Part Two
Part Three
I was not expecting a whole FIC?? Okay this is so good and I'm LIVING for the rough concepts rn (possessive natasha..) the boundaries thing seems Sooo in character for her and the red room mention. i really love the red room mention (maybe she doesn't get saved like one on one by clint and instead gets free as a side consquence of shield taking down the red room?) because it really makes sense knowing good from bad but choosing bad just because, and the personality(?) contrast between Natasha's moods is so interesting as wellđ
I feel so spoiled rn with this whole background analysis on a completely unrelated side note... can we platonically kiss in the rain and get married?đ„°đ§ /j Also congrats btw you have managed to get me motivated to reread the WHOLE dark nat series again so that I can apply this background insight to their interactionsđ„Č
pairing: dark!nat/f!reader
summary:
âIâm hungry,â you mumble. âGo make me a sandwich.â
She scoffs, slipping her hand under your hoodie to scratch at your back. âYou just set women back by, like, five decades.â
additional notes: sfw drabble, kidnapping, dark!nat but shes soft and lazy, stockholm syndrome central, dark domestic fluff redux
series: one, two, three, ao3
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natasha romanoff x fem!reader
summary: a secret admirer has been dropping off cute notes and flowers off at your desk every day, but you cant help but want there to be one specific, unreachable and untouchable person to be behind it all.Â
warnings: fluff, uncertainty, secret admirer!!! basically shy!natÂ
word count: 3.8kÂ
omg nicole look!!!. its your shitty coworker au- eNJoY shsjdjbd OF COURSE NOT PROOFREAD- itâs me câmon ajsjjdn
There were flowers on your desk, again. And like every time after the first few, your heart picked up when you saw them, in nearly the same arrangement as they usually were. And like Wanda (and occasionally Sharon, if she wasnât already head first into her computer) did every morning, she craned her neck over to look at you and your open-ish cubicle, where you stared at your desk and tried to decide who on earth could have sent you flowers for the millionth time.Â
âYou donât know anyone who could have sent these?â She asked, an entertained and slightly knowing grin on her face as she looked at the typed note that always came with the flowers, no matter how short or to the point it was. On some days, the note would read âyou should never stop smilingâ, and on others, it would be half a page about how amazing you were at work and how much you were appreciated by your peers. There was no telling what you were going to get, and it managed to be a surprise every day even though you expected it. You shook your head. âNo one at all?âÂ
No, you didnât think you know anyone who would have liked you enough to have flowers lying out for you every day, but you knew for a fact that you sure wished it was a specific person, just one. But you knew it wasnât her. There was no way that Natasha Romanoff was the one buying flowers and typing you cutsey notes, no way at all. That just wasnât her, and you knew it. Besides, you were always the first to work even if you didnât make your way to your office first. You would have seen Natasha and her parked car if she was bringing flowers to your desk in the morning. And- it just wasnât her. It couldnât be.Â
 She was serious. Very stoic, very driven, incredibly pretty, and even smarter. Somehow under all of her seriousness, she managed to light up the boring office (that occasionally had calls from irate customers that you always handled). She had all the traits that men were afraid of women having, and at first, that was what drew you to her. She knew what she wanted and more times than not, she knew where she had to go and what she had to do to get the things she wanted.
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A series of related fics following the relationship of the reader and her new Domme, Mistress Natasha, as they explore her sexuality and submissiveness.
Series warnings: sub/Dom dynamics, sexual themes, kink negotiations, explicit f/f content
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The Meeting - The reader goes to a quiet café to meet Mistress Natasha in person for the first time and they talk through what she can expect from this new relationship.
Floating - Mistress Natasha takes it easy for the readerâs first session to ease her into the release that can be expected from their time together.
Responsive - Before their next session, Mistress Natasha picks out her subâs outfit and then invites her to meet at the park. She rewards the readerâs good behaviour in the bathroom of a cafĂ©. Â
OLDER MOB NAT! AND HER YOUNG (FRESH GRAD) INNOCENT! R WHO WORKS AS HER ASSISTANT IN THE OFFICE.
warning: older!nat, younger!reader, mob boss, age gap relationships. SFW
When Natasha entered the room with you in tow, your hairs travelled to the sway of her hips. You couldnât help but blush at the sight of your bossâ curves, feeling inappropriate at the way you ogled her like she was your girlfriend.
But her dark voice broke you out of her little reverie as she finally say behind her desk, blazer unbuttoned just as she shirt, just enough to give you a glimpse of her lace bra and the purple hickeys that adored the plump of her chest.
âJust set it down here, hon.â
You nodded, blushing at her pet name your boss gave you. And despite it all, you were warm all over as you leaned over her desk and organized the paper of the revenue of her club.
âAre you all set, Miss Romanoff?â You asked her softly before you decided to leave, your back straight and posture perfect as you stood in front of her. âAnything else I can get you?â
She shook her head, eyes settled on the papers in front of you. She didnât bat an eye at you, only hummed and when you nodded, you picked your feet from the floor and headed towards the door.
âActually,â she started, âthereâs one thing you forgot, dear. Come back.â
Your heart pummeled out of your chest, fear settling in your bones at the thought of fucking up some of her paperwork and accidentally leaving it unorganized.
But when the mob boss stood from her chair and walked around her desk to sit against it, she smiled as you neared her presence once again.
She cocked her head, eyes settled into yours.
âYou think I wouldnât remember?â
You frowned, eyes shaded in shame at her words.
âI knew you were busy, Natty.â
Natasha clicked her tongue and then shook her head, eyes heavy as she looked at you. When you refused to look back, her hand reached out and tilted your head up to force your gaze onto her.
âIâm never too busy for you, hon.â Her thumb grazed the apples of your cheeks and then dragged them over the slope of your nose. A flush snuck up on your face and the older woman grinned. When Natasha leaned closer and caressed her nose against yours, you took initiative and gave her crimson lips a peck.
The woman pulled back with a raised brow, her emerald eyes wide and dark as she looked at you with surprise.
âYouâre getting bold, sweetheart.â She squeezed your cheek together. Then, after letting a moment pause, she smiled and closed the gap to press her lips against yours. With the taste of cigarettes and coffee present on her tongue, it envelopes you with surprise. The older woman teases your mouth open and even widens the kiss enough.
The sounds echo in the room, almost pornographic, youâre the first to pull away when you lack air.
âDonât forget to bring me the manila folders when you come in for your lunch break, okay?â You nodded at her demand. After all, above everything else, she was still your boss at work. At home, in the comfort of her million dollar condo in the heart of New York, she was Natty, your girlfriend.
Sera they/them |adult| I apparently write smut now so a reminder that your media consumption is your own responsibility :)
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