#ALL THE NEBULAS WERE SO INVESTED

[theofficialuriel]

was trying to angst about orv but then I remembered that several gods and goddesses participated in shipwar culture

[theonevoice]

Have a gold star...

I swear, I started this as a wholesome innocent comment on how when Crowley has to think of a prize, after 6000+ years, his sweet head still goes to stars as the ultimate symbol of something beautiful and cherished.

But then I was struck by something: sarcasm.

Both times, when he tells someone to "have a gold star," he doesn't say it with a tone of affectionate irony, like the cool-but-sweet uncle with a rough personality but a soft heart. He says it with a tone of bitter sarcasm, of painful disenchantment.

Because it's not a prize that he is offering; it's a sop, a cruel joke-gift, something that will get you excited at first just because you have a stupid, naive, innocent soul, and you will later realize that it means nothing to the one who assigned it to you, and that they are ready to take it away whenever they want, while the rest of the world laughs at your ridiculous gullibility.

Because this is what stars were for him.

They were his beloved, exciting creation. The star-factory nebula was his cherished task, assigned to him by God, and he believed that it was meant to be a thing of beauty and splendor, and hold value in the grand scheme of the universe... only to discover, immediately after he created it, that it was never intended to have any value at all. It meant nothing to God. It wasn't even planned to last enough to fullfill its purpose. It was a joke, a cruel prank. 

The stars were God's bad pun of giving angel!Crowley something to do, and love, and have hope and expectations for, and then taking it away. Revealing that it was just a shiny piece of gold cardstock that only a simpleton could consider valuable. Of course he can only say "have a gold star" as a dry snarky sarcastic comment on someone who thinks they have achieved something meaningful when it's actually nothing. Be it the Them defeating the Four Horsemen. Be it Muriel being noticed by the Metatron.

Great, sure, have a gold star, be all excited and squealing with happiness, it will turn into ashes before you even know it.

I am not sure that Crowley's snake eyes were ever intended to signal that he cannot see the stars because snakes have bad vision (even ignoring the zoological fact that they are sensitive to UV light though, so they should still see astronomical objects, in the book it says that demons must be able to see at night, and that's why Crowley doesn't need to turn on the lights on the Bentley), but for sure the Fall and Heaven's cruelty has ruined the stars for him, in a way.

Now, in his mind, they are the ultimate symbol of delusion, of naivety, of foolishly investing your love and passion and hopes in something, of stupidly ignoring that the things you cherish will be ruined or taken away from you or leave you on their own accord.

That's also why Aziraphale's "nothing lasts forever" cuts him so deep. That's why his "no... no, I dont' suppose it does" sounds so much like a truth that he is remembering instead of one that he has jsut discovered.

Here you go, you did it again, you thought you had something significant and instead it was just like your stars, you should have known that whenever you find something beautiful it's just a matter of time before you lose it, you shouldn't get too attached.

In s1e6 he says it to the Them, in s2e6 he says it to Muriel. I do hope that in s3e6 he will get the chance to say it again, but this time it will be honest and out of joy, because whatever is going to happen will make him able again to believe that you can be happy, and can hold onto the good things that you love. You can have all the gold stars, for real. They don't always have to disappear and leave you in pain. They can stay with you.

[findingoblivion]

@photomatt

Since you turned your messages off, replies off, and asks. I guess you're getting pretty tired of feeling the same way a lot of trans women on this site do huh? Starting to feel like Avery did?

You say that you don't think Tumblr and yourself are transphobic. You say that you personally donate to LGBT orgs and that you believe in all of our rights.

If you really believe that, then why are you silencing the trans women on this website? Why was nebula, a minor, banned, when she never harassed someone or posted anything sexual at all?

Why was Avery's most recent account banned? An account that existed for all of a few days and had said nothing about you or posted anything harassing or sexual. Why did you terminate her account without even telling her why?

Why is it that a large contingent of TERFS and radfems can be IN YOUR REPLIES, ASKS, and MENTIONS, telling you proudly how they mass reported this user and saying "this is what you get for messing with radblr!" and still exist? If Avery harassed and sent death threats to you and others, why are there still so many blogs that openly do this and aren't banned?

If you support LGBT rights and donate to organizations so much, why can I go on the #radblr tag but not #tgirl? Why is it that Predstogen no longer has a tag? Why is it that for years there were tags that were filtered just like #tgirl is that had to do with trans people, and yet that's never been a problem for Terfs, or often even Nazis.

Why is it that for years trans peoples content has been flagged as NSFW when it isn't, you've lost a lawsuit about this, and yet it's still happening?

I don't even know if you're aware of all of this. Maybe you aren't. Maybe you just put your head in the sand and accept whatever your T&S team says to you.

But there are still many issues that Tumblr has. And your moderators are silencing more and more people every day. For talking out. For criticizing you.

And yet there are hundreds and thousands of posts in the radblr tag.

I hope you enjoy your sabbatical. Meanwhile all of the trans people on this website will be exposed even more to your mods. More of them will be deleted and silenced. More of them will leave this site. I hope, sincerely, that when you come back you take a long hard look at what the people in power on your platform do. I hope that you put effort into fixing this situation. It doesn't seem like you have any interest in doing that. I mean, you yourself have silenced people, and even writing this post means there's a chance I'm going to be next, right? I've seen so many posts about this topic get deleted.

I can tell you that if you want to monetize tumblr and keep the site afloat and invest in it, that you're going to not want to alienate a large portion of your userbase. It's not that hard to do. And you can come back from it even now. Apologize, promise to do better, and follow up. Change the culture at Tumblr and work towards making it a better place.

Or don't.

Have a nice day. I'm sure you'll be a lot happier than a lot of the trans people on this site!

[sjsmith56]

Bucky Barnes, Deadpool and the TVA (or How I ended up inside the fourth wall)

Summary: A Bucky Barnes fanfiction writer finds herself in the same universe as the Thunderbolts* Bucky when she wakes up in his bed.

Length: 4.1 K

Characters: Unnamed and undescribed OFC, Bucky Barnes, Dr. Strange, Wong, B-15, variant of OFC, OMC (OFC’s husband)

Warnings: some sexual innuendo, naked horny Bucky, no smut (sorry)

Author notes: Just a silly story that I pulled from somewhere in my mind. The part about the OFC and her husband seeing the new Deadpool movie at a matinee was based on real life.

💻 🦾 🛵

The blank page stared at me.  It wasn't blank five minutes ago, but I read what I wrote, and didn't like it, so I deleted it and then I was looking at the page again.  We met before, you, the reader and me, the writer.  I sought help from the very reason I write, Bucky Barnes.  The writing gods first sent me World War II Bucky, a sweet flirty guy who was still interested in the stories I wrote.  The version that appeared to me was from before Azzano and before the train; that dreadful transport of death that changed his whole life in a moment.  Then they sent me the Winter Soldier, the dark brooding villain ... I know, he was more than that, but that was HYDRAs use of him.  He was their Fist, brutally carrying out assassinations on targets they assigned him.  Relentless and frightening in his attention to his task he was still a sight to see; that tall, dark-haired muscular menace and the way he strutted towards his target.  No hesitation, no regrets and totally the object of many fantasies.  I still got warm thinking about the ones I read about, never mind wrote.  On that day, it was Falcon and the Winter Soldier (FATWS) Bucky who came to my rescue.  It was him as he was portrayed at the end of the series, seemingly in a place where he felt at home in Delacroix, becoming part of Sam Wilson's family as their adopted uncle.  That Bucky sat with me, helped me through my writer's block, and even gave me an idea for a Black Widow smut piece that was a gift to my husband.  Before he left, he said he would always be there for me.  At the time, he probably meant it.  Then there was a disturbance in the Force.

Wrong franchise, I know, but how else to explain how things seemed to go a bit sideways?  There were the What If? episodes, that displayed Bucky as the sidekick to Captain Carter.  Those was okay, then he was more of the dark brooding long-hair version of Wakanda Bucky in a zombie wasteland.  At least we got to see a cartoon version of him in the shower, from the waist up.  Wasn't quite enough to quench the fandom's thirst for him but it was a start.  Don't even get me started on the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas special where Nebula appeared with Bucky's vibranium arm, opening a whole can of worms over whether it was funny (not to me), cute (seriously stealing Bucky's arm is cute?) and canon (no, James Gunn, it wasn't canon to me).  Yes, I'm changing the tense in the middle of a paragraph by telling you to don't @ me if you're a believer in any of the three above.  To me, all three of those scenarios were just wrong.  I got emotional then and I still do.

I wrote since then, some AUs, lots of one shots as I explored that format, several short fiction pieces of less than 50,000 words, and a couple of long ones.  It was going well, then they brought out the Captain America 4 announcement that Bucky wouldn't be in it (what?) and the Thunderbolts* announcement that Sam Wilson wouldn't be in that (seriously?).  Why did they get us to invest our time and interest in a six-part series about these two men forging a deep friendship if they had no intention of continuing it in their movies?  The rumours about Bucky in this upcoming movie littered the pages of tumblr and Twitter (sorry / not sorry X); things like Bucky regressed mentally and emotionally, he and Sam had a falling out, he became a congressman, or he went to work for Val de Fontaine so that he didn't lose his pardon. 

Why would they do that to Bucky?  Let the man have a fucking life.  As you could see I got emotional about it.  On that particular day I decided to have a nap and clear my mind, then it all changed.

💤

"Hey, sweetheart."  I could hear the voice, then I felt a cold hand around my waist, reaching up under my T-shirt.  Jerking away and turning around I found myself in bed with Bucky Barnes, beefy Bucky, with the bad haircut shown in the leaked preview of the Thunderbolts*.   "There she is."

He had no shirt on, and I found it hard to look at him, then opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out.  I noticed the smirk on his face, which made me feel warm, like really warm, the way the writers of Bucky smut describe it; a warm pool forming in my core, between my thighs, deep in my ....  What happened to me?  Where was I?

"You okay, doll?  You have a nightmare?"  His hand cupped my jaw, as he rubbed his thumb on my cheek.

"You're Bucky," I said, still frozen in place, because let's face it, it's not everyday you find yourself in bed with your romantic fantasy.

"Last I checked," he answered, licking his lips then running his hand over the beard he grew since he was in FATWS.  "You're my wife."

I pulled away from him, aware that he might not have anything on at all.  He looked at me funny.

"You seem different.  Tell me you're not a multiverse version of you that's been dropped here."

"I don't know," I answered, pulling the sheet up to cover my front since I realized I wasn't wearing a bra, and my nipples were doing something that was a little disconcerting.  "Am I a writer?  Are we married?  Are you working for Val de Fontaine?"

He laughed, showing those beautiful white teeth, then he leaned close, gently pulling down the sheet and began to nuzzle my neck, making me feel all sorts of things.

"No, yes, and no," he answered.  "Come here."

I pulled away so far that I fell out of bed and sat there on the floor with him looking over the edge at me with a decidedly perturbed expression on his face.  With only panties on underneath that T-shirt I pulled on the sheet, so I was covered again.

"What's got into you?"

"What's my name, Bucky?"

"Sweetheart, sunshine, baby girl, darlin' and my personal favourite, doll."  He was resting his head on his hands, looking at me in a way that was definitely more friendly than I was comfortable with.

"Those aren't names, they're terms of endearment," I answered.  "I am married but not to you and you're supposed to be an Avenger, with Sam Wilson."

"Really, just who are you married to and what is your name?" he asked, in a flirting manner.  "Gotta say, sunshine, this role-playing thing could be fun."

I told him my husband's name and my name.  "I shouldn't be part of the multiverse because it's not real.  It's fiction."

He laughed, then saw I wasn't laughing and frowned.  Angry Bucky alert.  "You have to be from the multiverse.  If you're not, where's my wife?  Why do you look and sound like her?"

I raised my hands up.  "I don't know where she is.  I look like her because I write fanfiction of you, and I picture myself in the original female character's role.  She usually becomes your love interest.  But I had writer's block because Marvel has been messing around with your portrayal and not giving out much information of how they've changed your character.  It was bugging me, so I took a nap, then woke up next to you."

"Who's this Marvel guy?  Do you think he knows where my wife is?"

He didn't know about the fourth wall, was definitely angry and all I could think of was that he looked just as angry now as he did in that leaked Thunderbolts* footage.

"Marvel's not a guy, it's a corporation that owns the copyright to your character."  I winced as I explained it to him, knowing he wasn't liking it.  "You're not real, Bucky.  You're a fictional character from the comics and the movies they made from it.  But you know this already.  I've spoken to you in your World War II persona, your Winter Soldier persona and from when you and Sam fought the Flag Smashers.  That's called your FATWS era."

I started to explain what the letters meant but he just glared at me, so I stopped.  He pulled away from the edge of the bed and got out on the other side, naked, and I did stare, I'll admit it.  God, he had a nice ass and the rest of him from the back was... wow.  Then he turned to face me, and I looked everywhere but there. 

"Get dressed," he ordered.  "You're taking me to this Marvel place and I'm going to get my wife back."

"It's not as easy as that," I replied.  He stared at me, his arms crossed defiantly in front of him while he was still showing everything the serum gave him.  I focused on his face, but it was so hard ... not that, you know what I mean.  "If this is a multiverse incursion then there might not be a Marvel in this universe and even if there was it wouldn't be possible to just walk in there.  We have to find Dr. Strange.  He's the only one who can do anything."

"Fine," he said, "but you're still coming with me.  Now get dressed."

Holding the sheet around me I approached the walk-in closet, but he was still standing there, naked, in all of his glory and he smelled so good when I slid past him to see what was available for me to wear.  Then he was right behind me, practically pressing himself into me and I had to focus, wondering if I had ever written this much raw physical sexuality into my versions of Bucky but it was difficult to concentrate with him so close. 

"You having problems, baby girl?" he asked, his lips so close to my ear that I could feel his warm breath making me moist. 

"I don't know what to wear," I mumbled, still painfully aware of his naked body this close to me and I was really only separated from him by a sheet. 

"We're going on the motorcycle," he said.  "Jeans, T-shirts, and leather jackets."

"Right," I answered, hastily going through the sexy dresses, the long gowns with the thigh-high slits, the almost obscene lingerie, but there were no jeans or T-shirts.  "Um, where are they?"

"In the drawers," he grunted.  "Don't you have drawers in your universe?"

"Yes," I snapped.  "Could you stand further away from me?"

"What's the matter, darlin'? Do I make you uncomfortable?"

"This close to me while naked, yes."  I rolled my eyes, which he must have heard because he huffed, but he did move away, and I was able to get out of that small space.

Quickly, I located the drawer that had jeans and pulled them on.  They were tighter than anything I ever wore but somehow, I got them on.  The bra selection left a lot to be desired as most of it was see through and really didn't offer much support.  I must have made a noise while I was searching for something more modest because he was suddenly beside me.

"Having a problem, sweetheart?  Don't see anything you like?  My wife loves all the lingerie I buy for her."

"It's not my style," I answered.  "Doesn't she have something that covers more?"

"Sports bra," he answered.  "Bottom drawer."

I pulled it open, thankful to find an assortment of sports bras.  Pulling one out I started to take the T-shirt off that I woke up in then became aware of his eyes on me.  Turning around I was startled to see him reclining on the bed, propped up on one elbow, fully clothed, with his booted feet hanging off the bed.

"Do you mind?"

"No, I don't mind at all," he smirked.  "Don't let me stop you.  I've seen it all anyways."

"But you're married.  Wouldn't watching me get dressed make your wife angry?"

He grinned in an almost wolfish manner.  "We have an understanding."

"What?  The Bucky's I write are monogamous.  Are you polyamorous?"

The grin became a broad smile as he looked me up and down.  "If the occasion arises.  Gotta say I'm curious to see if you have the same appetites as my doll."

"Out!"  I wasn't in the mood for this.  "Right now.  Go downstairs and get your motorcycle ready."

Slowly, he slid off the bed, then approached me, backing me up to the dresser, while looking at me in a way that gave me thrills at the same time as setting off all sorts of warning bells in my head.

"You sure, sunshine?"  His fingertips grasped a tendril of my hair, as he twirled it slightly.  "I could definitely make you ...."

"Out," I repeated.  "Please stop this."

He backed up, suddenly respectful of my space.  "Since you said the magic word, I'll wait downstairs for you."

Just like that, he was gone, and I quickly got the sports bra on, then a clean T-shirt.  I pulled on some socks and found some boots, sliding them on.  With a quick run through of my hair with my fingers I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, wondering what I had done to get into this predicament.

He was waiting on his motorcycle for me, with a helmet in hand.  As I stood there, he placed it on my head, adjusting the chin strap then nodding his head in approval, before putting his on.  I slid on behind him, grasping him at the waist.  His voice came over a Bluetooth speaker in the helmet.

"You okay, darlin'?  Have you ridden a motorcycle before?"

"I'm good.  My husband has one and I've ridden with him.  Where are we going?"

"The Sanctum Sanctorum," he said.  "Might as well go straight to Dr. Strange."

Suddenly, we were there, pulling up to an open parking spot in front of the headquarters of the Masters of the Mythical Arts in the middle of Greenwich Village.  This was definitely a unique universe, as we skipped over the long motorcycle ride from Brooklyn, then the frustration of finding any sort of parking.  Striding over to the door, Bucky rang the bell, and we were ushered in by an acolyte to where Dr. Strange was drinking a cup of tea and Wong was standing there wringing his hands.  Before we could even say anything the two men looked at me, then at each other, then at Bucky.

"Where did you find her?" asked Wong.

That wolfish grin briefly appeared again on Bucky's face.  "In my bed.  Says she's not my wife, so where is she?"

"That is a good question," said Strange, placing his teacup on the table and approaching me, assessing me in a way that was a little disturbing.  "Well, this explains a lot.  You're from the real world, aren't you?  Beyond the fourth wall."

"Yes, I guess.  I'm a fanfiction writer and was taking a nap.  When I woke up it was next to him."  I pointed at Bucky.  "The thing is, he's nothing like the Bucky Barnes character that I write about."

"What's different about him?" Strange's one eyebrow was higher than the other.  It was one thing seeing it in the movies but another thing seeing it in person.  "Is there a problem with my face?"

"No, no.  The biggest difference is that the Bucky's I write are monogamous and this one is polyamorous."

"And?  That's a problem?"

I became aware that I was in the middle of all three men, and they were looking at me as if I were lunch, served on a platter just for them.

"Stop!" I barked.  "Yeah, it's a problem, okay?  Is this a polyamorous universe?  Because I'm not!  I'm married to one man, and I want to go back to him.  Please, you must find a way to get me back to where I belong."

Wong backed away from me first.  "She's right.  Consent is still required in this universe.  Plus, with her being from beyond the fourth wall we could really hurt her.  She's actual flesh and blood ... we're fictional characters."

Dr. Strange backed away, returning to his cup of tea.  Bucky, well, he just sprawled on a couch as if he had always lived there.

"Tell me about what you were doing before you slept," said Strange.

I told him about the physical changes to Bucky's appearance based on the leaked preview of Thunderbolts* and how the fandom was worrying about his portrayal, and the fact that after a six part series of him and Sam becoming friends Marvel just casually split them apart into two different movies as if the other didn't even exist. 

"You care about him," said Strange, his voice neutral.  "You want him to be happy."

"Well, yeah," I replied.  "The man lost everything that mattered to him and was tortured for 70 years, experimented on, and forced to become a killer for a gang of authoritarian thugs.  My thing, my contribution to fanfiction is that Bucky gets a happy ending."

"Sweetheart, I have that," said the super soldier, from where he sat on the couch.  "I admit that I am fucked up, but my wife makes me happy and her interest in our extramarital activities is the same as mine.  Yet, you treat me like I'm some sort of deviant."

"No, it's not that."  I sighed.  "Other writers see you in this way and that's fine; that's their thing and lots of people read them and enjoy them but I guess I just like you better when you're monogamous, kind and gentle.  To someone like me, this version of you is a bit scary and overwhelming."

"That's fair," he murmured.  "You look like my wife.  Does your husband look like me?"

"No, not at all," I smiled.  "He's shorter, balding, not as fit.  But he loves me and he's faithful, kind, and gentle.  He beta reads my stories, and I even wrote a Black Widow smut piece just for him.  I think he imagines me as his Black Widow sometimes."

Bucky grinned, then nodded his head approvingly. 

"Do they break the fourth wall in this Thunderbolts* movie?" asked Wong.

"I don't know.  It hasn't come out yet and there's been very few previews of it.  I think the only Marvel character that breaks the fourth wall is Deadpool.  His movie with Wolverine just came out recently and is making a ton of money."

Both Dr. Strange and Wong perked up.  "Deadpool?  As in Wade Wilson?"

I nodded.  "Yeah, he's fully aware in the movies and comic books that he's fictional.  He often breaks the fourth wall."

My voice tapered off.  Was I here because of Deadpool?

"Sunshine, have you seen the movie?" Bucky was also sitting upright.

I nodded my head.  "My husband and I went to see the matinee just a few days ago."

A green glow emanated from the time stone as Dr. Strange went to wherever he went when he activated it.  Wong watched him carefully as did Bucky.  Then the Supreme Sorcerer stopped his permutations and gazed at me.

"The Time Variance Authority are in this movie," he stated.  "I have a feeling they're involved in this.  But why they would take someone from the real world and place them here is a mystery to me."

Suddenly a TVA portal opened in front of us, and B-15 walked out followed by me, at least a version of me, wearing only a T-shirt and panties.  Bucky jumped up from the couch.

"Doll? Is it you?"

"Oh Daddy, I was so afraid," she cried, as he wrapped his arms around her.  "I woke up in a cell and didn't know how I got there, and ...."  She noticed me.  "She's me."

"I'm sorry," said B-15, looking at me.  "A terrible mistake was made.  Beyond the fourth wall is usually forbidden to our hunters but when you went to see the Deadpool movie your presence was noticed in the theatre with your Bucky variant."

"Wait, my husband is a Bucky variant?"

The leader of the TVA smiled.  "Well, yes.  It's why you write Bucky Barnes fanfiction.  You see him as Bucky and yourself as the original female character.  You don't have to look alike to be a variant.  It's just that you're kind of the model for the OFC in your own universe where you draw your inspiration from.  It's supposed to be a private universe and off limits to the TVA.  Unfortunately, one of our hunters didn't understand that.  He removed Mrs. Barnes here as an illegal variant and installed you as the original in this universe.  He has been sent for judgement and won't be in a position to do that again.  We are also making sure all of our hunters are aware that the Bucky Barnes fanfiction that you write and read in your own private universe is just that, private, at least to us."

"So how do we get this Mrs. Barnes back to her universe beyond the fourth wall?" asked Dr. Strange.  "I have the feeling it's beyond my capabilities."

B-15 smiled at him.  "It is but not beyond mine.  As soon as she's ready to go I'll open a portal back to her universe."

It sounded simple and like many movies, a little bit of a quick fix, but I wanted to go back so I wasn't going to question it.  Wong smiled at me.

"Good luck on the next one shot," he said.

I nodded at him, then Dr. Strange looked at me in that superior way he sometimes had.  "I knew there would be a logical solution."

"Right."

Bucky was next, his wife already wearing his leather jacket.

"Oh, this is yours," I said, starting to take the one I had off. 

"Keep it sweetheart, as a souvenir," he smirked.  "Say hi to your husband for me.  Tell me something.  The lady there said something about the fiction you read.  Does that mean you do read the polyamorous stuff, since you ended up in my bed?"

I sighed as I hated being put in a position of agreeing.  "Every so often one captures my eye," I admitted.  "Doesn't mean it's something I'm interested in trying."

"If you say so."  He glanced at his wife with affection.  "You came through for me.  I appreciate it."

I looked at B-15.  "I'm ready."

She nodded at the others, then punched a few buttons on her TemPad.  A portal opened and I walked through it, then felt the touch of my husband's hand on my shoulder as I was still on top of the bed.

"Honey?  Wake up."

I sat up, saw my husband, and felt a rush of affection for him.

"Sorry, I took a nap, and I guess I was more tired than what I thought."

"No worries," he smiled.  "Um, did you go shopping today?  Is that a new jacket and jeans and boots?"

I was still in the other Mrs. Barnes' clothing.

"Yes?" I answered, tentatively.

He smiled and nodded his head appreciatively.  "I like them.  Makes you look hot.  You should wear stuff like that more often."  Offering me his hand, he helped me up.  "What do you think of taking a ride on the bike and going to a diner for dinner?  My treat."

"Sounds like a plan," I answered.  "Just let me freshen up a little."

When I got outside my husband was already waiting on his Vespa.  I know what you're thinking ... a Vespa is not a motorcycle.  Maybe not in the traditional sense but it is what we have and it's a lot of fun.  I still get to wrap my arms around my husband's waist and maybe he doesn't have a hard body like Bucky Barnes, but he's all mine and I don't have to share him with anyone.  Besides, now that I know he's a Bucky variant I understand how he knows what I like between the sheets, if you get what I mean.  When I do write smut, I'm writing about my Bucky, the one I live with in this universe, beyond the fourth wall.

One Shots Masterlist

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[calmariah]

1) I am now extremely invested in the Dante/Variant connections because of your posts thank you very much

2) What are your thoughts on the whole 'nebulae' thing - from ctrl-f-ing the story log site it's come up quite a bit. Plus it references Harold's pages from Ruina

3) I am using that Dante gif forever and ever it is a gift most fine and true thank youuuuu

Thank you very much!

Putting Canto 7 and Library of Ruina related thoughts below the cut due to spoilers.

(I had no idea there was a story log site... I didn't have to fight Sancho five times...)

The nebulae mentions were something I noticed, but didn't bring up because I don't really have a clear picture on what they are.

The word nebulae comes up three times in Canto 7.

In 7-17...

SANSÓN: It is a deep, deep place where no one dares tread.

SANSÓN: The deepest part of the City, once challenged by countless adventurers, Knights, and Fixers…

SANSÓN: A quiet, terribly tranquil place inhabited only by the floating nebulae…

He refers to the Ruins, here.

In 7-36...

BARI: The war against the nebulae beyond the Outskirts is all but written.

BARI: Humanity's inability to find satisfaction is the very hunger that leads to war. It is an inevitability.

BARI: ...Look at me. Talking the ear off of someone who's about to forget everything.

And one last time in the post-credits sequence.

SANSÓN: I will spark the flame again and again should it go out.

SANSÓN: So that the fallen nebulae's homeward journey to the star may not be veiled in shadows.

SANSÓN: Once that is over and done with...

SANSÓN: ...I suppose I shall also become a sovereign of a star, guided to my promised, eternal respite.

When I saw this last mention from Sansón, I originally went "ooh, that's easy. Nebulae = Dante!"

Demian refers to Dante as "one who fell from the skies" afterwards. So 'the fallen nebulae' making a journey back home to the stars felt like it made sense.

But, no. Nebulae is plural-- nebula would be singular.

Whoever, or whatever Sansón is referring to, it's multiple people or things.

Let's look at how the word nebulae is used in Harold's key page-- which, thank you for bringing that to my attention.

"In the universe that is the City, a center of mass forms for each person who bears a wish for something, and clusters of dreams comparable to interstellar matter gravitate toward those centers.

Driven by the force people exert in their efforts to reach those goals, such nebulae repeatedly expand and contract, until they finally fulfill their wishes—creating a Star whose glow we can observe.

The people who witness the sparkle of that Star admire how brilliantly it shines in the dark, and entertain the hope that they will shine as brightly one day, making yet more centers in the universe…"

Her story uses the word nebulae to describe the 'common person' and their dreams-- motes of potential that one day might evolve into a Star of the City.

(I'd already been entertaining the thought that Dante's star as mentioned in the prologue might somehow refer to a Star of the City. I somehow don't think it's supposed to be literal.)

And indeed, this is very much how the word nebulae is used in our own reality. Floating clouds and clumps of space dust that might one day roll together into a star.

The City wouldn't have any use for such nebulae, because an individual human life is broadly viewed as meaningless.

This actually reminds me of 'Children of the City'...

"Now it's time for another vendetta Going through the shelves, picking out my prewritten persona Children of the city see only the neon stars Reflected upon the murky gutter sky Don't ask me why I desperately wish to be included in the city's night"

The City only sees the neon Stars. It doesn't need to spare a thought to the drifting nebulae, the regular faceless person.

'Children of the City' is all about how Yan feels shackled to and oppressed by the system.

"Only eat, or write, or pull the trigger with your right hand Only thing that's left is to work on following commands By the time you realize, you'll be restrained to a desk And with your dreams on the floor you comply, eyes chained to the test"

His situation is obviously heightened because he was also being led by the nose by the Prescripts. But I think his plight can broadly be felt by everyone in the City.

Or indeed, everyone out of it, too. The few drifting nebulae in the Ruins. The nebulae in the Outskirts, who the City apparently reviles and will at war with.

(...Is the war metaphorical? I have no idea...)

So, yeah. In three of the four cases it's used actually, we can still quite easily interpret it to mean 'the common person.'

The Ruins are inhabited only by the common person. It is an inert land not controlled by the City.

Bari thinks there'll be a war with the 'nebulae' beyond the Outskirts. We know from Miracle in District 20 that the Outskirts are inhabited.

The City has no use for people outside its borders, though. No use for their dreams, either.

But like Harold's key page says, every nebula has that gravitational force. A person can't survive on their own, and a person can't create a Star on their own.

Those clouds of dust-- those nebulae need to drift together and choose to stay.

And I think that's where we can understand Sansón's final use of it.

I think the 'fallen nebulae' isn't just Dante, because it can't be. I think that he refers to all thirteen of the Sinners.

Sansón did directly contribute to this step of LCB's journey. Him lodging the Golden Bough into Don Quixote's chest made La Manchaland form again.

They would've never faced Sancho's past, never helped her wake up without him.

If he does mean the Sinners, it would mean that they're all on, someway, a 'homeward journey to the star.'

Since they're all cloudy nebulae bundling together, might it imply LCB could become that star one day?

Maybe Dante's star?

To be honest, it's difficult to pin things down. Team Demian already communicates in riddles and metaphor-- and if Bari really is part of Team Demian it seems she's not entirely any better!

To conclude, I don't think nebulae refers to a specific class of entity or anything, or a specific group. I think nebulae are the common people of the City, the Ruins and the Outskirts, and the dreams they hold.

If they come together, they could make a Star.

Or... a star. Sometimes they treat the word star as a proper noun and sometimes they don't...

(That was long winded... I didn't plan or proof read this... Sorry! Asks will probably be a lot more stream of consciousness styled than my normal theory posts.)

One last time, thank you very much for sending in an ask!

[moxiebrown]

Moxie’s brief review of content creator subscription services and memberships

At the start of last year, I canceled all my big subscription services (Netflix, Hulu, etc) in favor of using that money to support more independent creators and smaller streaming services. After a year, here are my thoughts.

🤔 Smosh membership

I’m waiting to see if they offer additional perks for Bit City besides early access and Behind the Scenes members only videos. For now, I’m keeping my membership to feed my parasocial Ianthony needs. If they are NOT going to offer additional perks, I imagine they’ll end YT memberships at a certain point.

❌ Second Try

I had stopped watching a lot of Try Guys content before the Ned drama, but I was impressed by how they handled the controversy and I am rooting for them in general. I don’t think the Second Try app gives enough additional content to justify renewing my subscription, and the additional cast is very hit or miss for me. I can find my faves, Jonnycakes and Miles B. on their own channels so I’ll support them there. Also, there’s only so much of Keith eating mediocre food I can stand to watch.

❌ Mythical Society

You have to be a big Rhett & Link fan to enjoy this, or be invested in getting their exclusive merchandise. I’m neither, so didn’t renew.

❌ Watcher

I know they received a lot of backlash but they were my favorite Buzzfeed creator. I never remember to log in and I’ve decided not to renew. Unfortunately I think they’ll shut down within the next couple of years.

✅ Various Patreons of small content creators

This has consistently been my primary way of supporting small creators and in general, it’s been worth it. My favorite is Miles in Transit.

✅ Nebula

I like to have one stop for all my nerdy interests and long-form content. I’ve already renewed.

🤔 Shudder

I’m going to subscribe on a month by month basis; I love spooky content but sometimes don’t have the time to open the app for weeks.

Any creators or streaming services you think are worth it?

[happylittleshrub]

I wrote something! :D

I don't write much fanfiction nowadays, opting to put my time and energy towards my own original projects, but I just had to write something for my bestest raccoon boy! This was intended to be a short, fluffy drabble about Rocket caring for the baby raccoons, but it ended up expanding into more of a character analysis because when it comes to Rocket I can't shut my yap lol. You can read it here and on AO3! Please enjoy! 😊

I Diagnose You With Fatherhood, 2k words

Rocket had never considered himself as being cut out for fatherhood, never even took the effort to entertain the idea, yet the universe seemed to have other plans. When Groot had miraculously come back into his life as a sapling, he immediately stepped into the role of his primary caregiver. Not because he was in any way qualified to do so, but it felt like the least he could do for his fallen friend. 

Raising Groot was a group effort, but it was no secret he was most attached to Rocket. He would play games around his workbench, trying (and eventually succeeding) in getting him to play too. He would come to him each night to beg for a story, and unbeknownst to the others, to get a lullaby. When he’d get sleepy he’d plonk down on Rocket’s head or the spot between his neck and shoulder. At first Rocket tried to insist that Groot only preferred him because of his fur. ‘It’s softer than your fleshy bald bodies.’ were his exact words. But the others knew better.  

When Groot called him ‘dad’ for the first time, he just about had an existential crisis. He couldn’t even protect Groot Senior, how was he ever supposed to be a father to the young Groot? A father was supposed to be caring and protective, someone to look up to and be a role model, and that’s not who Rocket was. It was something he never thought he could be. But life didn’t often come with second chances, and Rocket wouldn’t let his best friend down again, he would do everything he could to raise Groot Junior to the best of his lacking ability. 

Years later, Groot was all grown up now, he was big and strong and didn’t need someone constantly looking out for him. It filled Rocket with pride to watch him, knowing that despite his fears and worries he’d managed to do right by his son, yet at the same time some part of him missed the days when Groot was small enough to fit in his arms. Bittersweet was the word for it. 

His unintended foray into fatherhood seemed to have reached its conclusion. Then overnight he became a father of twenty. 

The animals that they rescued from the High Evolutionary’s ship numbered into the hundreds, and it took the entirety of Knowhere pitching in to look after them all until arrangements were made for them back on Earth. It was their home planet, so it was decided it would be for the best to return them to their original habitat, but since they’d been raised in captivity they couldn’t just be released into the wild and left there. It was a lot of paperwork and negotiating with sanctuaries, and Rocket was more than happy to leave the bulk of that particular duty to Nebula and Peter.  

The babies he’d rescued, the raccoons, were his responsibility. It was difficult to put into the right words, he’d never been much good at that, but he felt a personal investment towards them. Looking after these tiny, helpless creatures that he had once been gave him a sense of… purpose.

 It was no easy undertaking. The little ones needed to be kept perfectly warm, have their weight monitored to ensure they were getting the right amount of nutrition, required help toileting, and of course had to be fed regularly throughout the day. During the day shifts he often had help, which was welcome given how many mouths he had to feed. Adam was ready to assist with anything and everything around Knowhere, feeling some sort of debt to them. Nebula would wordlessly come in before grabbing a bottle and one of the kits, her face always surprisingly tender towards the little babies. And Groot, despite his increasing size, was as gentle as could be while he bottle fed them. During the night shift though, the task fell entirely to Rocket. 

The lights in his apartment cast a low, warm glow while the Zune played softly in the background. Rocket casually hummed along as he prepared the babies’ formula. The kits normally stayed in the open topped box he’d created as a sort of nest. It had remote controlled heat settings and was filled with soft, plush blankets. They sat in there now, calling out to him with hungry chitters. “Alright, alright, it’s coming,” Rocket spoke to them in a hushed voice. He placed the tray of bottles on his bed before sitting down on a blanket next to the nest. 

He opened the box’s door, pulling out two of the kits and settling them on his lap. Then he held out their bottles to their mouths until they began to suckle. It had taken a few tries before they got used to the bottles, which was the source of a lot of anxiety for Rocket during the first few feedings, but they learned quick enough. Now they ate eagerly, paws kneading into his thigh as they did so. It was an instinctual behavior, he’d learned, that was usually done on the mother’s belly. There was a lot he was learning about: instincts, behaviors, mannerisms. Things that were entirely foreign to him, and yet still felt like discovering pieces of himself he didn’t realize were missing. 

He was especially fascinated when he read about how raccoons’ sense of touch relates to their memory. He’d realized for the longest time that his hands were very sensitive and they played a large role in how his memory worked, but he’d never fully known if it had been another of his cybernetic enhancements or not. Now he waited with a blossoming anticipation to watch how the kits would use this skill in their own way as they got older. 

They were messy eaters, so once the first two had their fill he gently cleaned their faces with a warm, wet cloth before placing them back in their bed. Then he’d grab the next two to be fed and the cycle would repeat. The ones that hadn’t eaten yet gave chittering wails to voice their appetites, their movements unsteady as they exited the nest to crawl over his legs, tiny claws clinging into the material of his pajama pants. “You’ll all get your turn,” he chided softly, fondness warming his gaze towards them. They looked back up at him, their dark eyes shining with innocence. 

There was a part of him that couldn’t help but wonder what his life would’ve been like if he’d never been experimented on. If he had gotten to grow normally instead of having his body broken and pinned and twisted and molded into someone else’s design. What would he be doing right now? Had he had any siblings? Had he ever been a part of a warm, snuggly pile of sleeping babies, all without a care in the world? 

These types of thoughts usually made a small knot of aching form in the center of his chest, the yearning for something he never knew, something that had been taken from him. ‘What ifs’ haunted him, lingering around like a thick, soupy fog that stole away his sight and left him feeling lost and alone. It clung to him, pulling him down unwillingly with a weight not dissimilar to that of a key that usually sat in his pocket. 

But now, it was… lighter. What he peered through was more of a mist than a dense fog, and rather than being dragged under, there was a feeling of peace he hadn’t quite experienced before. It was true that his physical pain was a constant reminder of his tortuous surgeries, and he had no idea if his nightmares would ever fully go away, but there was no longer the bitter, stinging ache of worthlessness. He had a place of belonging, his existence wasn’t for nothing. There are the hands that made us, then there are the hands that guide the hands. It seemed almost like a dream to remember it now, his ethereal reunion with Lylla, Teefs, and Floor, but those precious words were lovingly ingrained into his memory. 

Even if he couldn’t accept what had happened to him so many years ago, he could accept where he is now. Because, despite it all, he couldn’t imagine his life without Groot in it, without Peter, without Nebula, without everyone in his little ragtag family. He didn’t really believe in destiny, certainly not for himself, but he was still grateful for whatever stars aligned that allowed all their paths to cross.  

 His past couldn’t be changed, but these babies… He could give them the life he never had, and in a way, he’d still get to experience it. By watching them, and protecting them, and helping them to grow. 

Once all their bellies were full, he would put them back in their box nest for the night, but this time quite a few had clambered back out of the box so they could cuddle together by his side. He smiled at them, his healing heart overflowing with tenderness as he gently stroked a finger along one’s soft, downy fur. Gathering them all together, he curled his body around the bundle of babies, letting them nuzzle into him and wrapping his tail around them to ensure they were all covered and cozy. His eyes fell closed, the collective of tiny heartbeats lulling him into sleep. Outside high above, the stars still danced across the endless sky and the galaxy continued to revolve, but there in that warm lit room, for the first time in a long time, Rocket’s mind was calm and still. 

☆❇☆❇☆

When the kits had gotten bigger, Rocket took them on their first outing around Knowhere. They had become much more active and curious, and took it upon themselves to get into everything in Rocket’s apartment they could get their tiny little hands on. He’d returned one day to find all of his tools scattered across the floor along with half of his clothes, and one of his lamps was torn down and smashed. On multiple occasions he found that a number of his belongings would go missing, only for it to turn out that one of the kits had taken and left it hidden somewhere. After so many years, Rocket finally realized how Peter felt whenever he would take apart his ship, and the babies didn’t even have the totally viable excuse of creating advanced weapons of mass destruction.

So it came time to have them burn off some of that rambunctious energy by exploring their wider surroundings. Since the outside world was still new to them, they timidly stuck close to Rocket’s side, following his stride in a close group. Though inevitably one or two would become distracted and begin to wander, leading to Rocket having to double back to round up the stragglers. After a few detours, they entered the main plaza where they came across Kraglin and Cosmo engaged in conversation outside the Guardians’ headquarters. 

“Hello Smaller Rockets!” Cosmo happily greeted once she spotted them, bounding forward excitedly. The babies scampered back apprehensively at her rambunctious movement, some of them returning to Rocket to climb up onto his shoulders. 

“Aww, seems like those little uns’ think yer their mother!” Kraglin remarked with a grin. 

Rocket scoffed, pulling tiny Florence up into his arms from where she clung to his leg, “That’s ridiculous. They’re just more familiar with me than with Cos- hey Mac you spit that out right now!” He ran over to Mac, who was experimentally nomming on some unidentified object he’d found on the ground. “Get that crap outta your mouth, that’s disgusting, you don’t know where it’s been! Where’s your brother?” 

Mac of course didn’t answer, but Rocket found his missing brother anyway, spotting his innocent brown eyes peering down at them from where he’d climbed up onto an awning.   

“Fleetwood, get down from there!” Rocket scolded, “You stay where I can see you!” 

Cosmo and Kraglin shared a knowing look of amusement. For someone who insisted he wasn’t a parent, Rocket sure took to the role quite well. 

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Some replies, mostly not very long ones today, but there is one about some characters being tops or bottoms! Wow, that was a clumsy way to explain it lol

thestarlightfae asked:

SHE'S SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought the drawings on here were yours and the drawings on the Nebula collage tumblr were Katsu's.

Thank you for answering!

HEHEHE THANK YOUUUUUU wait why am I thanking you, I have nothing to do with Mila being adorable. She really is!

Also thank you for answering, I really was wondering! lol yes that makes sense. But yeah, I am an artist for Nebula College, but it’s mainly Katsu’s brain baby in terms of absolutely everything else <3

Once again, thank you for your questions.

Anonymous asked:

I literally stalk your page everyday to see when you post! Your posts, may they be writing or art, are always delicious. This isn't a question or anything, but I thought you'd like to know how much some people enjoy your posts❤️

Anon! You scared me there for a second, but then your message turned out so sweet!! 🥺💕💕💕 Thank you so much for your kindness and for enjoying our stuff! It makes me super happy to hear that…

Anonymous asked:

Bitting those Ortho calves chomp chomp 🤤

Damn enjoy your meal Anon~

Anonymous asked:

I find the whole top and bottom thing kinda interesting: so I'm curious to know if you have any headcanons for the characters not on the list so far; Vargas, Sam, Crowley, Najma, Baul, Eliza etc.?

I’m glad you find it interesting, Anon! It’s a very subjective preference-based thing, so I see how someone might find it weird, even though it’s not as rare on the Eastern side of the fandom…

Oof, this is a good question lol A bit difficult to tell with some of them because we just don’t ship them with anyone, buuuut.

Vargas is a top because while he isn’t super interesting to us, he fits a very specific role in a very specific trope verrry nicely (gym teacher/badly performing student).

Sam is a mysterious man, but somehow gives us top vibes. Crowley has the same reasoning for also being a top… for now. He is also an authority figure and misuses his power + an idiot, we love those two things in tops lol But we don’t know enough about him and don’t ship him with anyone.

Baul is a top; we haven’t seen him, but we know the type, and we love seeing this kind of a man as a top. Similarly to Sebek, to be fair.

Eliza is *drum roll* also a top because Idia attracts those with his babygirlness lol We aren’t invested in Eliza enough to give her a concrete role though, it’s mostly just because she is bossy and more assertive than Idia.

Can’t say anything about Najma, haven’t met her yet at all, unfortunately :( Not getting any vibes yet, but excited to figure her out one day… when we watch the event.

Anonymous asked:

Idia: *exists*

Everyone: It's free real-estate

Poor guy just wants to sit in his room and play video games T-T

It’s his fault for being such a datesim protag! He just keeps attracting more and more weird people… (good hehehe)

m1lk-n-cook1es asked:

This quote from Shiori Novella summarises Idia/Ortho : "once you're a ghost brother, are you really a brother at that point?"

(this quote refers to Miku and Mafuyu's relationship in Fatal Frame)

lol absolutely fair. And in their case, it’s a robo-ghost brother! Or a blot-ghost brother! The layers of taboo slowly disintegrating….

Anonymous asked:

So, in conclusion, Jade has a mushroom kink.

Mushroom isn’t just a kink, mushroom is a way of life, mushroom is everything and anything, mushroom is everywhere…

Anonymous asked:

Have you heard of obey me nightbringer/master to rule them all it's a good game and has many good characters

I have heard of it and seen some of the characters (they’re pretty popular as far as I can tell!), but we haven’t played it.

[robinchan-hananomi]

So I finally got to watch Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 last night

.

.

.

Rocket has always been one of my favorites. So when I learned this movie was going to be about him I was excited. Because Rocket had already been through absolute hell. He and Groot were bounty hunters, thrown together with Peter, Gamora, and Drax by simple accident. And then Rocket became invested in these people, grown to care about them through their time together. Even after losing his Groot and getting baby Groot, Rocket had seen them as family and because of that he lashed out, tried to push them away because he figured one day they would leave him anyway. Better to get the pain over with.

Instead he befriended Yondu and the ravangers. He lost Yondu, but he gained Mantis and Kraglin. Then they meet Thor and through him the rest of the Avengers. But in the process Rocket looses EVERYONE and for five years the only real family he has is Nebula, who only just stopped trying to kill him, because everyone else he ever loved and cared about is dead.

And some years later he’s got his family again, but they aren’t like they were. Peter, Groot, Nebula, Mantis, Drax, Kraglin, and now Cosmo are beat by the tears and the losses, especially of their Gamora. And they are just trying to rebuild and care for their home, only to have Rocket’s past come back to bite him in the ass.

And Rocket just had to mentally relive the losses of Lyla, Teefs, and Floor. He knows that half of his family are in the hands of his greatest tormentor, a man we see Rocket visibly terrified of. And he just woke up from a coma of over two days, is barley even coherent and has no idea why this patched together family is so relieved that he’s safe, even to the point of temporarily forgetting they are in danger.

So without even taking a moment to contemplate it, Rocket who is still reeling from it all finds himself out in a space craft trying to confront the man who tortured him, who turned him into something else. Who killed and tortured his friends, all to save his family and knowing the entire time that the reason they are in danger to begin with is because this man is obsessed with him.

There were a lot of moments in this movie that caught my emotions, but honestly I think one of the hardest for me was that moment Rocket was in his craft and the creatures were beginning to break through the windshield. The moment when everything up to that point had compounded and Rocket knew that if they got ahold of him, then all the pain and the dangers his family were facing would be all for nothing really struck me.

And at the very end to have Peter and Mantis go off alone, to have Gamora leave to her family. To have Nebula and Drax continue to build Nowhere, which is likely still the Guardians home-base and their actual home while Rocket is now the captain was also a powerful moment.

Because Rocket is back to where he started with Groot. But Rocket has a home in Nowhere and a family, even if they are scattered all over the Galaxy. And Rocket has a whole new team relying on him with Kraglin, Cosmo, Adam, Groot, and Phyla. I am so proud of how far Rocket has come and I hope he continues to lead the new Guardians on grand adventures before returning home to Nowhere and telling Nebula, Drax, and the children all about their grand stories because honestly, Rocket deserves the universe!!!

[raccoonfallsharder]

Do you consider Rocket to be the most psychologically/emotionally complex character in the MCU? Maybe even a bit outside the MCU? 'Cause like, I do love Nebula and Loki, but seeing some people say that they had the best arcs and not mention Rocket at all is a bit saddening. Nebula had a significant part of her development basically skipped (the five years) and Loki practically speedran his organic character growth by watching a youtube clip of his death (I know there's more to it than that, but it still doesn't feel very satisfying).

Would love to hear your thoughts on this though!

baby raindrop, little chickadee, you perfect sprinkle ~

this is a complex question and i'm going to give you a complex answer. sorry you knew exactly what you were getting when you came to my asks (and i love it, thank you ♡ thank you ♡). this is messy and ill-thought-out, just a complete vomit of thoughts into my phone right now

so i'm going to (try to) answer two things here. the first is your actual question: is rocket the most psychologically/emotionally complex character in the mcu + maybe beyond? then i am going to share why i think he gets overlooked, which wasn't really your question but i can never shut the fuck up ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

so. is rocket the most psychologically/emotionally complex character in the mcu + maybe beyond?

i think this depends on whether you believe a character is only what a writer puts on paper (or on the screen).

rocket has the most psychologically and emotionally developed narrative in the mcu, for sure (imo). but that's not quite the same as being the most complex.

let's take captain america, for example. arguably the most boring character in the mcu. but this guy does have complexity - complexity that was never realized on screen. there was so much opportunity for the mcu to do something with him beyond a brief mention of peggy dying, or a joke about him recognizing a wizard-of-oz reference. like, that's fucking sad?? the whole world has changed? he's lost everyone he ever loved? but we're gonna boil it down to a list of movies he's trying to watch to get caught up on pop culture, and maybe a particularly devastating blow to a punching bag.

i think the complexity is there for almost every character in the mcu pantheon, but it is consistently ignored in favor of putting explosions on the screen. i would argue that rocket is the mcu character whose story has been told the most personally and the most lovingly, with the most attention to his experience and how it makes him move through the world, and that is why it seems the most complex.

want better characters? hire writers who are personally invested in those characters. i will say it a million times. i will scream it from the rooftops. disney, hire me (jk jk).

i do have a lot of loki thoughts but i don't want to derail from rocket here. but i'll share separately if you want!

now. why does everyone overlook rocket? honestly, because gunn did too good of a job lol. i'm kidding. mostly.

look, part of rocket's whole thing (his trauma, his characterization, his history) is that he is overlooked and underestimated, since day one, by almost everyone that ever came in contact with him except batch 89, groot senior, and maybe groot junior and nebula. oh and maybe thor.

we can blame that on his appearance, his social class, his general scrappiness, the stereotype of a lack of hygiene (raccoons are actually naturally pretty hygienic, grooming themselves like cats and digging latrines), or his bad attitude, but it's such a baked-in part of his character that like. of course the audience does it too. people dismiss this guy all the time (fellow characters as well as audiences) because he's fucken raccoon scrounging for units. (similarly, i think this relates to why people read tony's "tech-genius" moments more clearly than rocket's: because classism.)

this, combined with the fact that i think gotg has more niche appeal than the wider mcu (wild to me), means people just don't think of rocket the way they should when it comes to weighing out character development and progression.

rocket raccoon will always, always be overlooked and underestimated. but i think if we can take anything from the movies, it's this: it doesn't fucking matter.

he's still learned how to be happy, regardless of what other people think.

[oswildin]

What other Marvel stuff do you like? if anything

I’m generally an overall fan of Marvel’s MCU (probably more so pre-endgame, but I grew up on that stuff in my teens, so I hold that with nostalgia.)

But I really loved GOTG, Nebula is an underrated character that I adore. Her and Rockets friendship is so special to me. I’m loving Agatha All Along so far, really love her character. Hawkeye is also a show I didn’t expect to like, but that is one of my top 3 series. I like Wanda a lot, enjoyed the series but I wasn’t as much of a fan of it as others were (it’s all personal preference tho, isn’t it).

I overall loved the Thor franchise the most (we don’t talk about Love + Thunder), and no not just for Loki, I just love the difference of it compared to the other superhero movies. I also love Spider-Man (all of them), but my fave has to be Andrew Garfield’s. I sobbed when he appeared in No Way Home. Into the Spider-Verse is also great, I love the animation so much.

I’m looking forward to Thunderbolts, I think it will be a similar dynamics to GOTG between the group, found-family type vibe. I’m struggling to find characters that I really want to invest in, but so far Agatha, Yelena and Kate are my top 3 that I really hope become main players in the MCU. (Yelena seems like she will be for sure).

[konako]

After seeing the latest "marvel girfset" you reblogged, i wanted to ask, have you been able to see "The Marvels"? Are you planning to if you haven't? or... what did you think about it if you didi? ^^ I personally loved it tbh, haven't enjoyed a marvel movie in a long time sadly, but this was REALLY good. 💖

OOOOH YEAH, BABEEEY! ✨

Oh, my god. I was counting the days for it!! That was what my year was all about, essentially. No other month mattered. I just wanted to survive until November, any extra life after that was a sweet bonus, I was that excited— I watched it on the opening day here, the 9th. I was there an hour and a half too early. Had to wait outside the movie theater. Then I was the first one to walk in, first to sit down. I was READY. Dramatically so.

And... I love it so much. I loved it so, so much! I'm weak just thinking about it.

The first film got me truly invested in Carol's character. More so than any other MCU character. (Yeah, even Nebula, gasp!). Everything about her character worked wonderfully for me, every tiny bit of her, a perfect glowing storm in my eyes. (It also helped that I admire and respect the hell out of Brie Larson, her stance on a lot of things and her many efforts to better the industry and world we live in. So that carried over to the character, enriched the story, and elevated the entire work.)

Every storyline in the first movie had me permanently hooked: her deep, defining relationship with Maria, her charming friendship with Fury, how she was a parent figure in Monica's life; the background to her strength, her bravery, her sacrifice; her abuse at the hands of the Kree and what that brainwashing did to her, what was stolen from her mind and the parts of her heart that could never be changed; the crushing weight of her responsibilities with such massive power. All of it! I was READY to see it develop further in her second movie.

And I was FED.

As soon as they started sharing the promo photos of the movie, early in the year, I already knew I wouldn't be the same after I watched it. Shit, even before then! In WandaVision, and the introduction of Adult Monica! The tension they hinted at, in Monica's relationship to Carol. The resentment, the hurt, the sadness; Even Kamala's part to play in Carol's inhuman responsibilities, adding to her struggles to be vulnerable, fallible, human. Oh, god, what a feast for her character!!

I won't go into excruciating detail into every little single thing that I loved about this movie (I'll save that for another time), but just know there is a lot.

My only unfulfilled wish (and it's insane that an MCU movie, in 2023, managed to fulfill, like, 90% of my wild fan desires....) was that... we could have had more time with them. Those extra 15 minutes missing from the 2 hour mark? I wanted them, selfishly. (No, not for action scenes, those were perfect as they were.) I wanted to see much more of the Trio's dynamic, how they grew closer and overcame their conflicts and struggles. Most importantly, I wanted that conversation between Monica and Carol — the one that was the true start to healing their broken relationship — to be longer. I wanted them to really dig into the difficult feelings buried deep. Monica's disappointment and hurt, and Carol's guilt and regret. Monica's expectations and Carol's responsibilities. And how much the two of them missed Maria. </3

For that reason, I'm desperately hoping for bonus features and deleted scenes in the future! Who knows? From the looks of it, it's okay to dream!

Anyway, that's it. For now.

[doctordiscord123]

[Nebula is seen actively trying to open a window]

I was thinking about the DA. I don’t remember if they’re a main point in many of your fics but you know WKM so you would at least understand. Keeping in mind that in my mind, the “viewer/captain/co-heist-er/date??” in all of the stories is the same. That’s the same person to me. I have no idea if this is canon and I’m too invested in this particular idea to care atm

[the window opens and Nebula wrestles both itself and a comically large pinbord/corkboard into the building. The board is strung up Detective Abe style with red string and everything]

Keeping in mind as I said that the DA, the captain,, you know, “you” in these stories, they’re the same person, I wonder how the FUCK they feel after the events of WKM. Obviously confused, betrayed not only by Actor but by Damien and Celine, most likely, seeing how they were promised freedom and they got shoved into a mirror for being trusting. (My personal secondary headcanon that doesn’t really matter here is that the DA never got out of that mirror, in any way, and all the adventures are just memories and what-ifs in their mind, but as I said, not important here)

They’re confused, they’re lost, they don’t know what the fresh fuck is going on. I was trying to pin down exactly what they would likely do with these emotions, when I had the idea that that’s why we have so many choices. You can make silly choices, try to make smart ones, end up killing many or saving everyone or anything in-between, and that’s because the DA is so fucking conflicted and confused about everything going on. They don’t know why or HOW they’re in a spaceship, on a date, ect.,,, so they’re equally as likely to try to help or sabotage everyone, which is why we have so many different paths. That or their emotions are so volatile that if given the chance to choose again, of course they would choose differently, their opinions have changed since they were last here. They’re so unstable so of course the decisions they make are as well.

Feel no need to answer if you don’t want to, but 1) does this make any. sense , and if not, I would like to try to explain in a better way somehow 2) what are YOUR fresh and cool thoughts about the DA if you have any.

Also. Thank you for reading this. I was floating without a hyperfixation while waiting for Hazbin/Helluva Boss episodes and then I was like hm! I could watch some Markiplier stuff! And now I am Back and the special interest has me fully in its grasp

-Nebula

The DA does make in appearance in a few of my fics, their name is Danny for me and they are very very very very angry <3 absolutely boiling, still stuck in the mirror, and very pissed at Dark for shoving them up in the attic alone for several decades XD I believe the first fic they show up in is called the Past’s Reflection? Something like that XD I like to interpret that the DA is occasionally yoinked out of the mirror by the Actor for these adventures, Dark follows along to skulk and throw a wrench in things, Wil just thinks it’s fun, and the other egos are mostly oblivious. The Entity that’s split up between them all (but mostly the Actor and Dark) is pretty God-like to me, in terms of something so powerful to fuck up a whole group of people like that just by being near It, so! I have many thoughts about the Entity, I have a whole oc I’ve made up to represent it.

I like your interpretation of why the choices are so volatile and sprawling! It’s very very cool!!!

[super-hero-confessions]

The High Evolutionary >>> Kang.

And before any of y'all scream "anti-blackness" (God I hate how that word gets thrown around even when black people are not mentioned) or that I'm "pitting two black villains against each other" (since y'all claim to be anti-racist yet all you guys see is skin color and race, nothing more, screw everything else) I want to say no. T.H.E. >>> Kang for a very simple reason.

T.H.E. is a villain who has no redeemable qualities which is so rare nowadays. I do like complex and sympathetic villains, I think it's cool for the media to explore all the grey areas, but I also like villains you can straight up hate. Those who put the "bad" in bad guy. Besides Puss in Boots The Last Wish, I can't remember the last time a mainstream movie did this. Hell, even Bowser in the Mario film has a redeemable quality in the form of a frickin' awesome song. Anyone who has watched GOTG Volume 3 knows T.H.E. has no redeemable traits. Sure, he seems emotionally invested in what he's doing, and sure, he's charismatic, but he's just so utterly despicable.

He wasn't manipulated or influenced by bigger villains like Loki or Nebula were, he wasn't reacting to inequality like Killmonger or Namor, he wasn't wronged by more powerful people like Hela or Mysterio. He wasn't hurting like Ava Starr. He wasn't corrupted by money like Obadiah Stane or by magic like Agatha Harkness and Wanda Maximoff. He didn't even have emotional attachments to other characters like the two cruelest MCU villains, Thanos and Ego (Gamora and Meredith Quill respectively).

None of that. He was just crazy and had a God complex and you just want to run from him or beat his ass or both. Also he just happens to be in the same MCU phase as Kang. So yeah, T.H.E. > Kang.

[androgynousblackbox]

James Somerton's Tweets

Nobody ever told Somerton that desperation is not an attractive quality? "This streaming service didn't invite ME?? Me, the self proclaimed king of queer content?? That only I provide and no one else? Then that must mean they hate exclusive queer content! It can't be because they didn't like how I carry myself, the plagiarism allegation or literally anything wrong about my content or myself knocking on their metaphorical doors at 3AM! It has to be them being discriminatory! Because don't liking ME is equal at being queerphobic!" What an entitled twat.

Second time this guy pretends like he is the only one doing that and refusing to accept that maybe Nebula had their reason. I don't even fucking watch Nebula so I have no investment on defending them, but like, literally all they did was not want Somerton on their platform and this guy is throwing a hissy fit like this was a declaration of war. I wouldn't want Somerton on my platform either.

"They blacklist people who actively chase them for their attention, I heard on a podcast. Therefore that must mean they are gatekeeping since they didn't took the time to accept me. If they have accepted me then that would have meant it was a perfect site, because, again, there's nothing wrong about me or my content."

"This is why I avidly support self-publishing and independent film". I bet he does, because it makes it easier for him to plagiarize both without too much people calling him out. He supports them soooooo much, that's why he will steal both whenever is convenient for him and don't credit them at all until someone else calls him out. At which point he will paint that person as a harasser and bring out some other personal tragedy to disuade anyone from criticizing him in the first place. "They never responded to me, wah wah." Nobody ever tells Somerton that publishing agencies never fucking bother to answer you when they reject your work. I have lost account of how many times me or my friends have tried to get our own works in paper and literally never got a simple "thank you, next" as a response. Many of them literally warn you on their pages "if we haven't contacted you back then we have decided that your work is not suitable for us". This is actually fucking standard behaviour. Do you have any fucking idea how foolish we would have looked if we were complaining all over social media about how those publishing companies were evil because they didn't send us a proper rejection letter? They don't actually owe you shit, Somerton, not even that. They rejected you already, just take the L and fucking move on, you big fucking baby.

How nice of James Somerton to support other queer content creators! It was so supportive of him when he stole content from Alexander Avila that he worked really hard to make and then didn't even gave him credit or a proper apology to his face! Fuck this guy, honestly.

[astromechs]

I'm not really into any ships for gotg so I don't have real investment in what people are doing or not, but I will say I ran across a few comments on YouTube and Instagram where some guys were all "Gunn should have killed off either Nebula or Gamora and then hooked Peter up with whoever was left". At first I was going to laugh it off. But I thought about it more and in actuality it's not funny. Women aren't exchangeable and the lack of understanding that both of them are individuals who have their own lives and purpose beyond serving as some sort of partner or bed warmer for Peter is not cool. The ignoring of Gamora's death isn't cool either. She's not some bug that got squashed like no big deal. Vol 3 had a lot of flaws to me, but I felt it got the lingering grief on Peter's part really really right. He's not looking to hop in bed with whatever warm body he finds and Gamora clearly wasn't some random warm body easily forgotten. Along with this I saw some other comments about how Nebula has come so far so she deserves love and Peter should love her with Gamora gone. I'm not going to debate anyone on Nebula deserving to be loved because of course she does. But it's weird to me that the solution to that for anyone would be that means she somehow needs to be given her sisters grieving boyfriend's love while ignoring her own relationship with her sister. Plus there is no hierarchy on who deserves love more and I hate the implication there has to be some tug of war between Gamora and Nebula deserving love and happiness. They both survived living through a nightmare of a childhood and one of them is legit starting to get her life back after murder/time travel insanity. Leave them both alone to love eachother.

oh my god.

women are not interchangeable, women are not interchangeable!!!!!!!!! i'm so glad i didn't see these comments myself, i would've gone into a blackout rage right then and there on the spot ghfjdks

gamora and nebula both deserve love and happiness in whatever way it means for them, and the fact that the fandom is pitting them against each other just like thanos pitted them against each other really grinds my gears. enough already, fandom. enough.

(also agreed with you on vol 3 — the movie has some flaws and i had some issues with it, but one of the things i really liked was its portrayal of peter's lingering grief for gamora and how much he genuinely loves her, how much he genuinely loves her enough to accept one who doesn't remember him and ultimately let her go. that was beautiful.)