#I already fist fight another fandom enough- I'm picking my battles

[cat-of-starlight]

I finally found someone else that feels the same way about Jace that I do! I don't want to yuck on anyone's yum but, like, he deserves better than what so much of the fandom had done and I just... ugh...

TRUE!

It makes me so sad that a LOT of content I've seen so far has either been "welp lmao he's just evil too and has been since the beginning" or "teehee lmao, twink man fell for the bad guy and does whatever he wants him to <3" When like. Deadass there's the threat of Porter going "I killed you once and I'd do it again" + the whole thing about the shatterstar fully meaning that the person it happened to was subjected to the ritual UNWILLINGLY-

And!! He's so nice in Season 1!! He deserved SO MUCH!! I about screamed in my rewatch of Sophomore Year because he was the Bad Kids' (specifically Fig's) FIRST CHOICE on what hireling they should take with them- If that happened, we could have fully avoided him being on the other adventure happening at about the same time/being killed-

His only crime is trying to be friendly to his coworkers (even when they're creepy as fuck), being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and potentially failing a few saving throws as his ass got killed/rezzed against his will

--

But yea, its nice to see other people who agree! When the episodes first came out, a majority of the posts about him were basically "Part of the group of terrible adults who were abusing children", "lmao look at this stupid loser idiot who can't do anything", or both simultaneously ;;

Which,,, is disheartening considering that his vibes fully brought me out of my artblock, and I've been drawing him constantly like some sort of unhinged maniac- (I deadass haven't drawn at ALL this year until like. last week (because new tablet)- and out of 8 drawings that I've actually finished, he has been the focus of half of them)

Also- idk- he especially vibes hard to me because, despite some people ragging on Sorcerers, as a neurodivergent person who just. learns Differently™️ than other people, I just relate to the vibes of Sorcerers more lmao- also it makes it just. a touch uncomfortable when people word it as "lmao, they're just dumb/lazy, and don't wanna open a book to actually learn REAL spells" because it sounds a LITTLE too similar to shit I've been told irl :,D

So yea- All of those feelings of "Cool Character w/ Untapped Tragic Circumstances" + Feelings I have about that class in particular- combined in a Perfect Storm to create a character who lives in m head Rent Free and probably won't leave my head for a WHILE

He's my perfect blorbo and he deserves SO much more than he got <3 <3 <3

,,,,and you know what,,, maybe seeing more positive posts about him (+ Receiving this ask lmao),,,, may be the motivation I need to make me post the pics of him that's been sitting in my art folder,,,,,,

(PS: The fics slap so hard and you are SO VALID for That Ship™️™️ being shown as a Horrific and Toxic thing because. yea. Send help for he- he needs better partners fr ouuughhhhh(I'd Comment on the actual ones themselves because I know that helps, but the site hates me and refuses to let me have proper accounts/access- I am in shambles))

[postmortem-bookworm]

Bright - Bucky Barnes - Part Three

Fandom: Avengers

Type: Series

Word Count: 2,044

Character(s): Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, Shuri, T'Challa

Warning(s): Cussing, Mentions of attempted suicide (but shouldn’t be anything triggering), smut (maybe), mentions of X-Men, Steve is crushing

A/N: This picks up almost right after Black Panther, but before Bucky is awake, there is no Thanos, and everyone is alive.

Two weeks after Bucky's settled in as her neighbor, something changes in her. Her days go from being busy with painting, gardening, assisting Bucky with whatever he needs, and spending time with Shuri and her family, to slower, lounging in the bed, restlessly sleeping in, or waking throughout the night with terror pulsing in her veins, and sweat sickeningly coating her skin with ice. If Bucky notices the raw skin from her 3 am scrubs, or her blood shot eyes from crying throughout the night, he's nice enough not to mention it. He merely seems to make sure that she's more occupied than normal, which she comes to be frustrated at, seeing as she was the one who was asked to look over him, not the reverse.

It gets worse the night that Bucky comes charging into her hut at her blood curdling screams, the room shaking, finding her floating above her bed, her nose is practically brushing the ceiling as she thrashes, clawing at her skin with blunt nails, screaming for Logan and Storm, begging for help. "Shh, Maeve." He hushes her as he pulls her back down to the sheets, carefully dodging her flying fists as he tucks her back into the sheets, and leans beside her on the bed to shake her awake.

"Mm." She slowly blinks her eyes open, frowning as she looks up to see him above her. "B-Bucky?" She asks in confusion, before her eyes snap open as she sits straight up in panic, looking around her as he eyes land on him. "Oh no. Oh no!" She cries as she crosses her arms over her knees, resting her forehead against them.

"It's alright." He promises, rubbing her shoulder as he moves from the floor to sit on the edge of the bed. "It's not your fault." His tone is soft and understanding, but she just feels worse as she clutches her knees closer to her chest. "Hey," He grabs her shoulder, causing her to look over at him. "this is not your fault. I've had my fair share of night terrors." She guilty nods as she swallows against the lump in her throat, feeling the insides of her wrists, where the scars, that she never remembered getting, are currently scored deeply into her skin. "Do you want to talk about it?" She shakes her head, before pausing as she looks at him, then nods her head instead, causing him to smile softly as he nods, shifting closer to her.

"When I was studying in the special school for my powers, I was battling this rival anti-humans mutant league group." She casts a glance at Bucky, who nods to show he's following along. "They were insistent that mutants are superior, and deserve a place high above humanity, to rule over them." Another glance to make sure he's following along. "Magneto was their leader, and he discovered just how strong my abilities were, and he sent his strongest minions to capture me. I was essentially like you, a POW." He frowns at that, glancing over her with a sad look in his eyes. "There are bits and pieces that I remember, because another mutant, the headmaster of the school, put mental stints in my head to block my memories." She pauses, shivering as the memories and thoughts race through her mind, and Bucky rubs her shoulder again with his warm, large hand.

"It's alright." He promises, causing her to swallow thickly as she nods, focusing on nothing before her.

"The stints were taken out over time, but he forgot a few. Now they're basically breaking open from the memories pushing on them, wanting to come out, and so they're all rushing out at once." He hums to show he's following as she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. "Professor Xavier, the school's headmaster, explained that I was about as lifeless as a corpse when the found me. The torture they inflected upon me, the power Magneto flaunted, made me crack and break and shatter in every way possible." She runs her fingers up and down the scars on her forearms. "I have one memory, when they took me back to the school. They left me alone in the infirmary to talk outside the door, and I grabbed a scalpel and just started digging it into my wrists and arms... By the time they had realized it, Storm was afraid I wouldn't make it."

"Maeve..." His tone is sorrowful, and she sniffles as she reaches up to wipe her tears from her cheeks, shaking her head.

"I-" Her voice cracks, causing her to wince as she sniffles, and gives a rueful smile. "I wanted to die- I needed to die, after what I had done." She whispers, voice hoarse as he frowns. Drawing her knees to her chest, she grips her hair at the roots, elbows digging into her knees as she fists her curls. "I remember the torture, th-the methods they used to make me do their bidding. I killed people, I killed my people! Not just humans." She slams her head into her palms, as if the self-flagellation would drive the memories from her head.

"Hey! Hey!" Bucky quickly grabs her hands, holding them away from her by her wrists, with one hand, while the other pets her hair from her sweaty face as she heaves for air. "This isn't the first time you've had nightmares, is it?" He asks once she's started to calm down.

"No." She grinds out between short breathes, struggling against his grip on her hands, the memories of the deaths she committed as playing before her eyes.

"No no no." He pets her hair again, soothing her as she sniffles, feeling a mess of herself as she sobs into his chest. His hand moves from her tangled hair, to her shoulder, thumb rubbing circles into her shoulder. "It's ok," He murmurs. "I've been through this before, only it was me in your place." He pets her hair again, and the two of them sit on the bad as she sobs. "You weren't in charge of your actions, when you did those things, Maeve. They were the actions of the ones that controlled you." He whispers.

"But I still see them, every time I close my eyes." She whispers, causing Bucky to nod as he holds her. "The blood. The screams. I can't handle it anymore!" She tries to tug her hands free again, but his hold is as firm as the metal his hand is made from.

"You can't believe it is your fault," He says as she sniffles. "you were manipulated and tortured, they used your pain to make you listen to them. They used it to control you." He slowly let's go of her wrists as she stops fighting against his hold. "The only thing you're responsible for, is forgiving yourself." He completely releases her wrists, moving his arm from her shoulder to her waist, and moving his other hand to caress her hair. "Listen, it's been a long night, why don't you get some sleep, and we'll go see Shuri tomorrow and see if she can be of any help with your memories." He offers as she nods, rubbing her teary eyes, and he pets her hand, moving to stand as she looks up at him.

"Thank you for your help, Bucky." Her voice is weak, causing him to look down at her softly.

"It's alright." He pauses to kneel down before her, taking her hands in his to look up into her eyes. "It'll be alright, Maeve. I promise to be here for you, I made a promise."

"Y-You made a promise?" Her question causes him to chuckle. "To who?" He gives her a toothy grin.

"The punk made me promise." He pats her head, before he stands up. "Steve mentioned that he and Natasha will be here tomorrow afternoon, so you get some sleep." He pats her head again, walking out of the hut with the door shut behind her, and she takes a few large, deep breaths before curling up under the blanket, falling asleep.

Shuri is walking down towards the landing pad with Maeve, the two of them had just been talking about starting therapy for Maeve, and finding a good match for her. The Quinjet has already landed by the time the two of them reach the outside door hanger, Bucky is lingering by the Quinjet as the door opens, and Steve and Natasha climb down the ramp. Shuri smiles as the two of them exit the castle, the soldier that was chatting with Bucky, looks up to smile as Maeve walks down the steps towards the landing pad. Steve pats Bucky on the back, before he jogs towards Maeve, sweeping her up in a hug as soon as she's in reach to greet him, her hands resting on his shoulder. "Steve!" She lets out a laugh, her chest feels light from Steve's strong emotions.

"Ah, doll, I missed you!" He says with a large grin on his face, before he leans in to kiss her cheek. Her cheeks start to burn as she taps his shoulder, letting her down as he sighs sadly.

"I'm glad to see you again." She grins as she reaches up to rub his cheek. "You let that scruff grow, I see." She teases as he reaches up to cover her hand with with own, grinning down at her.

"I decided to give it a try." He jokes, smiling down at her. Bucky is watching Steve and Maeve from afar, his eyes carefully scrutinizing how the two of them are interacting. Natasha is chatting with Shuri off to the right of him, but he's not hearing anything that's being said as he watches Steve's face morph and change while talking to Maeve, a smile crawling across his own.

"Well, I'll be damned." He chuckles to himself as the two of them walk over, and Maeve gives a slight skip as she runs over, a small squeal escaping her, as she goes right past him with her arms spread. Right into Natasha's arms as the ex-assassin laughs, hugging her back.

"I missed ya, Sis!" Maeve laughs, spinning around with Natasha, who hugs her close.

"I missed you too, sis." Natasha smiles brightly as she tugs Maeve over to the nearby bench, and the two of them sit and talk about everything that's happened since they've parted, while Bucky walks over to his best friend.

"Hey, Punk." Bucky says, nudging Steve in the arm, who looks at him for the first time, drawing his gaze from the burgundy haired young woman.

"Hey Buck." Steve says, looking back at the two women chattering together as Bucky smirks.

"You seem to have your eye on someone over there." Steve glances at him as he tucks his hands into his pockets. "Is that the reason why you asked me to watch out for her?" Bucky inquires as Steve's cheeks turn ruddy, and he looks down, toeing the platform. "Haven't seen you into a dame since Sharon Carter."

"Sharon and I weren't that serious." Steve huffs, causing Bucky to laugh.

"Yeah, because you already had eyes for Maeve." Bucky points out, causing Steve to look sheepish.

"That noticable?" He asks, causing Bucky to nod. "I guess I should dial it back, huh?" Bucky let's out a snort as the girls walk over together, laughing and smiling together.

"Don't forget, Maeve is an Empath." He points out, causing Steve to groan as he rubs his cheek. "You forgot." The girls stop before them.

"Steve forgot what?" Maeve asks with a bright smile on her face, causing Bucky to start laughing.

"His mind!" Bucky crows, causing her to laugh as Steve slaps him in the arm, while Natasha shakes her head.

"That was lost in the 1940s." Natasha jokes as she hugs Maeve around the shoulders.

"Maybe Maeve can help you get it back, Punk." Bucky teases as Steve elbows his best friend in the sternum.

"Well, Nat and I are going to have a day out. Want to come along, boys?" Maeve offers causing Steve to smile brightly, his eyes brightening as well. Bucky finds himself smiling despite himself, happy at his friend's happiness.

"Sure."