#challenge day

[wakandaiscoming]

About M'Baku and the challenge

Maybe I am just reading too many articles by really dumb people, but they seem very confused by Winston Duke's statement that M'Baku is King of Wakanda at the end of the film.

... I thought that was clear from him challenging for the throne without any challenger? You guys got that, right?

But I also think this is a reward for a character who has always kept Wakanda's interests ahead of his own. In the first film, he believes Shuri's technology is ruining Wakanda and that is why he challenges T'Challa.

T'Challa could have killed him, but instead asks M'Baku to yield after Ramonda shouts "show him who you are".

M'Baku goes back to Jabari-Land defeated, but when Ramonda, Shuri and Nakia come to HIM to become king and take the Heart-Shaped Herb--which is what he wanted at the beginning of the film--instead he tells them that T'Challa is alive, knowing T'Challa can unite Wakanda in that situation better than he can.

He pretends to be above helping T'Challa fight Killmonger, but he does show up at the end. The fate of Wakanda is important to him, even if he pretends to only care about the Jabari. He even shows up for Infinity War and Endgame. (He is even there running at Thanos when everyone else has magic weapons and armor. He just has wood.)

He becomes an adviser to the Throne, and though his "bald-headed demon" line is obviously a joke, it's clear that M'Baku always says what he believes, like when he tells Shuri her mother would not want her to go to war with Talokan. In that scene, he is more connected to Ramonda than Shuri is. (And it could be seen as Shuri's reliance on science and technology that keeps her from seeing things the way M'Baku does.)

And the final fight with Namor is a mirror of T'Challa's fight with M'Baku. Killmonger asked Shuri if she was going to be like her brother or take care of business like him.

She chooses to be like her brother. She choses to let Namor yield (and that's when she does hear Ramonda shout "Show him who you are!" from the Ancestral Plane. The same thing she said to T'Challa in the first film.)

Who Shuri and T'Challa are is unifiers and protectors of Wakanda.

I see Shuri's choice to NOT challenge for the Throne (indeed it must be her choice because M'Baku would not have a Royal Talon Fighter to arrive in without her giving it to him--it may he Sunbird, Shuri's personal plane, that he arrives in now that I think about it. I have to see it again) as a way of acknowledging that she is not ready to be Queen yet. She still has healing to do in Haiti with Nakia. And also, that she almost made the WRONG choice and nearly got every Wakandan on that boat killed by Talokinil. If she hadn't brought Namor back alive, they would be dead.

And rather that worrying that M'Baku will become King of Wakanda and cause destruction, she knows that he will keep the country together, as he has done since the first film despite all his protests.

In a way, it's very hopeful that M'Baku becomes King because it suggests that Namor can also learn from this conflict with the Black Panther as M'Baku did. But it remains to be seen if he will make better choices in the future.

ETA: I just can't express how much I love what has been done with this character. When they first announced M'Baku would be in the film, I remember being disappointed because the character has traditionally been a stereotypical villain called "Man Ape". He's backwards thinking in regards to technology. He's big and dumb.

But the writers and especially Winston Duke have brought such lovely humor and heart to him that he has become a favorite and I am HAPPY he is King. I don't for a second worry what he will do (thought he might say some inappropriate things).

[sonofnjobu]

Would You Rather?

Summary: Challenge Day didn’t go nearly how M’Baku plans. He returns home to lick his wounds. Where are you in all of this?

A/N: Based off a line that’s been stuck in my head since February. Quick fic.

CW: Violence

Reader is Black. If you enjoy my writing, please reblog and comment!

Word of Challenge Day’s happenings reached you before the warriors returned to Jabariland. You waited anxiously at the window, absentmindedly rubbing your heavily pregnant belly as you paced. Had you not been eight months along, you would have accompanied the troupe to the falls. You’d been training M’Baku for years for King T’Chaka’s death and it just so happened to fall on a day where you could not fight. He’d had to go without you.

You finally caught a glimpse of the men ascending the mountain. M’Baku was being carted by four other warriors. He was in bad shape.

You rushed down the stairs to meet them. Your pregnancy slowed you down significantly and you had to keep taking breaks to stop and breathe. The doula wanted you on bed rest. This pregnancy, unlike your other children, was high risk. But you needed to speak to your husband, so you pushed yourself to the throne room.

The medical staff ran up to you, keeping pace and giving you the details of your husband’s condition as you crossed the hall.

“He will need some careful watching the first night, but we are sure he will be just fine. He just needs some peace and rest.”

M’Baku’s bloody face lit up when he saw you approaching him. He sat up a bit straighter and reached out to you while you closed the gap between you two.

“Usana!”

Your hand connected with his face with a mighty slap. It reverberated off of the hanging logs. Everyone in the room gasped and M’Baku stared at you slack jawed. All you could see was red.

“YOU WOULD RATHER DIE?!” you bellowed. “That’s what you said? You would rather die?”

M’Baku said nothing, seemingly dazed by your response. Your jaw clenched as you held back angry tears. If T’Challa didn’t kill him, you would.

“You would just leave me like that? Our children! All for what? Pride?”

“My love…” M’Baku started in a hushed tone.

“Don’t!” you yelled, throwing your hands up. “What you did today was childish. That was not the man I married and this was not what we’d been training for. We are supposed to be a team!”

He dropped his eyes in shame.

Your heart was racing. You were furious and felt betrayed. All you wanted to do was lay in to him and beat in to his chest. You took in another deep breath to continue yelling at him when you suddenly felt faint and stumbled backwards.

On instinct, M’Baku reached forward and caught you as your knees buckled. The sides of your vision began to darken.

“Get off of me!” you insisted, pushing him back. He held on to you tightly as the medical staff rushed over. You struggled to get out of his grip, but found yourself with even more hands on you. Someone called for a crash cart. Your breathing was panicked and you could barely see M’Baku’s concerned face framed by the vignette of darkness closing in.

The last thing you heard before you completely blacked out was M’Baku.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry.”

[Masterlist]

[rosalind-of-arden]

You need to rest, Chris. Let me tell you a story. There, lie back. Remember the day we fell in love? You always tell this story wrong. You say it was the day we met, but you know that isn’t true. We met in Ptolemy House, at dinner, the night before class began. I know, I know, we barely spoke, it hardly counts. I can’t even remember what we said to each other, but I do remember thinking you were brilliant, even then. You looked completely at home sitting at a desk with books spread out before you, writing notes in shorthand I couldn’t even decipher. True, you were arrogant and unsociable, but in class you answered every question asked of you without hesitation. No surprise that you graduated with a gold band and every honor that could be bestowed upon you. I didn’t fit in so well myself, but you know that. Fortunately for us both, I found my place in the High Garda, and that brought me back to you. We always come back to each other. Shh, love, don’t try to talk. I know. I love you, too. I am here. Rest your throat. Listen.

If this works out, it’ll be Stormcrow, retold in 1st/2nd person by Santi to Wolfe a day or two after Rome. Playing around with POV for challenge day.

[amapolablog1725]

challenge of the day!!!

I hope you liked 😊😊😊.

[cameraxscreenxmarvel]

It’s challenge day 😡

[oreramar]

Risk and Reward

There was a chasm between Ignis and the golden treasure, twice the fullest length of his body at least and fathoms deep, edged by unscalable cliffs. Each side was topped by slick stone - not much traction there - and while he had wings, they were too small for true flight. With some mad flapping and a running start, he could achieve a long leap, but this…this was risky.

 The treasure beckoned, swimming in his sight. He licked his lips.

 Risky, but not impossible. Oh, not impossible at all, and completely worth it.

 He did one more quick perimeter check - still no sign of the Guardian, and hopefully it stayed that way - then backed up, tested his footing, and dashed for the edge.

 The stone really was slick. He nearly slipped on takeoff, wings whirring for all they were worth, stretching toward the other side, reaching--

 Ignis slammed chest-first into the opposite edge, his digits barely finding purchase on a crack in the stone, and hung there for a heart-stopping moment, kicking and scrabbling at the cliff face below until he managed to haul himself up. He paused long enough to catch his breath, then dove for his prize.

 The little dragon had barely managed to get three mouthfuls of chicken when the Guardian returned, roared, and leapt forward, pulling him off the countertop and dropping him outside of the kitchen, chattering and scolding him the entire way.

 He licked his lips.

 Worth it.

[darumafolies]

Je suis une bécasse, je poste le wip après le final ! !!