#and i'm still bitter about endgame

[iamanartichoke]

Last night (well, this morning, really; it was like 3am) I slipped and fell down a Loki disk horse rabbit hole and, to be frank, I am already exhausted and season 2 hasn't even started yet. I'm not gonna lie, idk if I'm going to be able to fandom-along for season 2; I might just end up quietly watching on my own and keeping my thoughts to myself. Which - isn't as fun, really, so lol fuck me I guess.

[glisten-inthedark]

I don't know if I'm more chill about Byler endgame because I have the intel that people didn't have during volume 2 or what, but to any other ending that doesn't involve Byler becoming canon would just make the Duffer brothers the worst writers in the history of ever.

Because what do you mean you have a gay character that doesn't believe he'll get a happy ending only to prove that you know, he's right? How would that make any sense?!

I've said it before and I'll say how many times I have to: They could've made Will in love with literally anyone else. I don't know, some boy from Lenora, some other guy from Hawkings, hell, even Dustin was an option. But noooo, they instead chose to make him in love with his best friend.

They could've presented another male character with Argyle, instead they spent God knows how much money of their budget getting every Byler scene just right. Who would give this much dedication to a sinking ship? Like, they literally talked about how they had to wait during the day just so the lightning was just right during the van scene.

And also, the lighting during the cabin scene as well? Because that must have taken them ages to get it right. For the line to poor down only on Will, and that's not an artificial light, is literally the sun. So you're telling the Duffers were going to waste precious time getting these scenes just right but you know what? They don't mean anything at all, forget about it.

And to further drive the point home, the storyline makes no actual sense from a logical standpoint. Remove Byler. Let's all pretend we don't ship for one second.

Why in the world would they make Will in love with Mike of all people? He could've been gay without having to be that in love with someone. I know I'm repeating myself but I have to because I don't think you guys understand how senseless this plot is if they're not going to do anything about it.

And I mean senseless in the sense that it literally has no use to the plot (that we know of which is why I made that post about how Will's love will be fundamental to the story).

And not only that, not having Mike go with El to the Nina project thingy literally stalled their progression which is a huge deal. I know some people don't like that Byler was removed from the supernatural plot, but I for one think it was a necessary evil to allow Will to explore his feelings and for Mike to miss him.

And to honest, even if the writers are the most douchebags to ever douchebag, it still wouldn't explain the amount of care they took in every Byler scene. It wouldn't explain how whenever we are in Mike's POV, is like he literally sees Will like this shinning beacon of light.

Because if they wanted a quick cash grab on the expense of the queer community, I can assure you there are easier ways of doing it. I remember when I was at the Sterek fandom and J*ff Davis was an ass about the ship during interviews. I remember how Tyl*r P*sey made terrible comments all the while they were clearly using the shippers in the series. And yeah, while I do agree Teen Wolf wasn't necessarily queerbait because there were actual queer couples, it still left a bitter taste on my mouth.

The way they built this, they didn't give themselves an easy way out. It would be one thing if Will was gay but not in love with Mike, it's a completely different thing for him to love Mike so deeply that he's willing to sacrifice his own happiness for him.

The writers made him to me irrevocably in love with Mike. (You don't make her (him) feel like a mistake at all), El (Will) needs you and she (him) always Will. These aren't the words of someone that has a crush or whose feelings are fleeting, these are the words of someone who would rip his heart out just so that the man he loves can be happy.

These aren't the words of someone that can be just be: yeah, I moving on from this. Mike is Will's heart.

So sure, Will needs to discover self acceptance and self love. He needs to recognize that he can be happy and deserves to have happiness, but if that was the entire point all along, he literally could have figured that without having to be in love with his best friend whom he believes will never love him back.

If the sole point of his arc was: Needs to learn how to accept himself for who he is, there are other - less cruel - ways of going about.

Because at the end of the day, making Will to be this deeply in love with Mike only to be rejected is just that: pointless and cruel.

And again. Pointless.

The GA already believes that to be the case, the Mil*evns too, Will also believes that. So why would it be a conflict at all if it was actually the case?

Why would they make a slowburn reaction? Will already thinks he was rejected, that's the thing. He already thinks it's hopeless.

So why would they use the painting? Why would they frame everything as a love triangle? Why not get this shit over already?

Why pair them together with the already canon couples?

At this point I'm just rambling and repeating myself. I'm gonna sleep, but I hope I was coherent enough.

You guys are welcomed to chime in, I love to hear your thoughts on that because I feel like I wrote all of this before but I'll say however many times I have to.

[papikyoo]

what drew you to kabumisu? :3

i've meant to answer this since forever but oh my it's going to be a long post XD

I once said it's Kabru's line of thoughts for me. I don't think he will move on with his day and not thinking of how promising Mithrun's life is, he would want to be there, witnessing it, helping him find the purpose even. I believe it's a bit ooc for him not to do so. While he also finds comfort in the absense of social expectations, when you examine closely he has some cynical view about people because he's learned at a young age that he needs to prioritize others' safety and feelings, it is expected of him (Milsiril as an immature mother and Kabru who lost his hometown and family so he set the impossible standard for himself)

He deduces their motive so he's always one step ahead and solves their problems. So when he faces a person who doesn't expect anything of him, it helps him developing the need to do things for himself, that need is still about helping others ofc because he's not going to unlearn the trauma response soon and helping others encourages improvement as long as you don't sacrifice your own needs, the difference is helping Mithrun also let him reflect on himself, swallow a bitter pill, and lead by example.

And here's Mithrun, needing a guide, needing someone who will bring understanding and stop him when he's going to set himself on fire or crossing the lines, while knowing where he comes from. I don't think Mithrun shared his backstory to anyone except Kabru because he even tried to deter Kabru's enthusiasm, other canaries members don't really understand him, he started to cry when Kabru, possibly the only person who knew, touched him because he knew Kabru would relieve his sadness that's bottled up, so it's safe to say that he wasn't that comfortable telling everyone his own past or struggles, it makes sense to me that Kabru noticed and told him the world didn't need to know all of that, treating him like a human with grace. You see, there's always one guy who will be one step ahead and hold him down.

Let's say I just think they complement each other, similar but not the same, what the other person lacks challenges the other to be a better person, they can pick up the slack for the other's weaknesses and work well as a team as you can see in the six days chapter. If i'm being honest, I don't think that their relationship journey is a path paved with rose because both of them have their own conflicts waiting to be resolved. But I really can't think of more suitable characters to ship them with, so they are an endgame ship to me. They also have their funny moments too lol. Thank you for the question, I hope this is comprehensible!

[bluespiritshonour]

People don't understand, when I say maiko wasn't well-written it's 'cause I'm BITTER.

When Zuko got together with Mai in The Awakening I was like

For some reason I didn't remember Mai smiling when Ty Lee teased her about Zuko back in Return to Omashu and it had gone completely over my head that the flashbacks in Zuko Alone were Zuko's.

Plus I used not to spare much thought to Mai and Ty Lee during my first watch so...

I just loved the idea of the two of them together. I was like “wow, so knife girl likes that wet blanket, huh? Inch-resting.” and that was that.

And then they get together and I can't express how much I loved it. So don't even tell me that if I think they weren't well-written it means that maybe I don't like the ship.

I do.

But I'd honestly, vaguely, thought they wouldn't be endgame.

So, on one hand I was pleasantly surprised they got their happy ending, especially Mai because characters like her either change to appease the audience or have a bad ending—

There's this sort of defying expectations at every turn aspect to this ship that I love. I realise now that the reason I felt that way wasn't because I thought they weren't a good match, but because that's what happens in media.

Maiko ate all the tropes and spit them out chewed up and I stan.

But Zuko could really have been a better boyfriend, man. I guess he (and the writers) already had too much on their plates.

I guess too much character development is a thing...

Anyways, it doesn't assuage my poor heart which wants more good (emphasis on good) content for my babies.

Tldr: maiko feels like it came out of left field not because it actually came out of left field, but because it's something we're simply not used to. That being said, Zuko's character development with respect to his relationship with Mai still needs a lot of work. So, yeah, when I say maiko wasn't well-written I mean that. I'm not bashing the ship, I'm just bitter because of what could've been.

[takaraphoenix]

I know you watched The Vampire Diaries, so maybe Klaroline? Though i don't know yor opinion about Caroline or Klaus, so I'm interested 🙌

I! LOVE! THEM! SO! FUCKING! MUCH!!!

HOLY shit.

One of 7 (seven) canon ships that I am deeply, horribly, incredibly invested in and have very unhinged feral feelings for. And I mean 7 outta all of the canon ships in all of the movies and shows and books I have ever interacted with. And this ship is one of those seven.

My biggest weakness when it comes to canon ships, specially m/f ships, is the simple rule of thumb - When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it.

Caroline, my beautiful sunshine angel who does not take anybody's shit (including Klaus') is just the perfect woman to balance out Klaus' utterly unhinged bastard energy and murder spree.

And he's so soft for her. Few things melt me more than when the villainous murderer is so soft for the one he loves.

You have no idea how bitter I am about The Originals, how viciously furious I still am that I had to see this whole damn show unfold and Klaroline wasn't endgame. He promised he would wait for her. I kept waiting for Caroline to join the bloody main cast of this bloody show and to become his love interest, I mean holy shit stepmom Caroline for Hope??? Hello? Yes??

Very few shows have devastated me more than the TVD verse with how it ended both these characters after teasing me with a potential of endgame for them, even if it were decades or centuries down the lane, he would have waited for her.

They alone make me want to rewatch Vampire Diaries even though I know it will punch me in the gut and slap me in the face with their awful horrible no good Caroline-related decisions in later seasons. Maybe I'll just stop watching after Klaus leaves. But gods I miss them pretty much every day.

Send me a ship to rant about!

[xmascritter]

Episode 7 of AAA is very cathardic on its own, good episode of television, 10/10, only reason its below episode 4 on my list is just because Alice is my favorite and I'm still bitter about episode 5.

When you think about the rest of marvel though, it becomes very funny and ironic.

Because in the comics basically no one stays dead except for the original captain marvel, and theres a whole myriad of reasons that can happen in story. On a meta level though, it's so they can keep some sort of status quo. And in the mcu, they were a little better about dead characters staying dead, but that was kinda thrown out the window with endgame and the intro to the multiverse and timeline fuckery. Because now they can kill a character, but bring in an alternate version of them who did none of the character development, so you can take them in a completely different direction. And they've done so multiple times. Even RD jr can come back even though they tried to make iron man's death very impactful. And with them seemingly moving to focus more on mutants eventually now that disney knows it'll make them money and not fox, I would not be surprised if they tried to eventually get to the krakoa era and the weird revival pools where charles gets to be at his most overdramatic.

Look at that pose, he's such a drama queen.

But yeah, death comes for us all. But for the superheroes of marvel it's a small setback. So this very good show and this very good episode ironically get their impact lessened by the very media franchise they're a part of and would not exist without.

[littlexscarletxwitch]

── ༊*·˚⋆ 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲

paring: florence pugh x fem!reader

tag(s): fluff, based on endgame by taylor swift (you don't understand how much i'm loving this song), cute gf flo

warning(s): grammatical errors, unedited

word count: 2.2k

note: omg, it's finally here. I'm so sorry it took me sooo long, it just I was super busy. Was this inspire by Ms. Taylor Swift? Yes, yes it was. I really hope you guys like this one. I'm not a native english speaker, so please let me know about any sort of mistake. Love you all so much <3

note 2: guys, I'm currently reading 'Delilah Green doesnt' care' and it's giving me so many ideas for fics. So would any of you be interest in more mum!florence? Please let me know. Xoxo, M

requests are open! + check my rules here + masterlist <3

Your eyes were closed, your head was on her chest listening to her steady heartbeats, a soft smile formed on your lips.

“Promise me this is forever,” you whispered. 

You knew she was awake, she was doing the same thing as you, enjoying the moment, living in the present.

Your eyes found hers already looking at you. 

“I promise,” she said, her smile mirroring yours. 

Her lips found yours as if sealing the promise forever, but nothing ever lasts forever. The kiss that was first sweet and soft and filled with love, turned bitter, harsh and cold. You pulled back confusion written all over your face. 

You blink once then twice, and suddenly you were waking up on your bed, alone. You cursed yourself at the stupid memory. It was so pathetic to still think about Florence that way. You two were history, long forgotten, just a memory of your adolescence. 

You shook your head, trying to wake up your foggy brain from the nap you had taken. And decided to get some work done as a way to clear your head from your silly old fantasies.  

You made yourself a cup of tea, grabbed your notebook and put your headphones on. You only had three more months to finish your second album. The deadline wasn’t much of a concern of yours, what bothered you was the lack of inspiration. Every lyric you would write down was just trash, it was as if you were missing something. So far you had only five finished songs, and you needed ten more to have the album finished. 

You were humming, moving your head to the beat as you let your brain come up with the right words, but it felt as if you were stuck.

“I wanna be your endgame,” you sang to the beat. “I wanna be, I wanna be your… ” you threw your head back in annoyance, frustration getting the best out of you. 

You had been sitting on the floor for the last hour, trying to finish this one song but you were not even close to it. You took a deep breath trying not to lose your shit. Your phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with a new notification and that took your whole attention. 

“Y/n Y/l/n and Drew Starkey spotted out for dinner,” you read out loud and couldn’t help rolling your eyes at the link your manager and best friend had sent you.

According to the news, you were dating both Drew Starkey and Joe Keery. You also almost got engaged the week before to Rudy Pankow, but apparently cheated on him with Maya Hawke. You knew better than to actually pay attention to fake news, but you couldn’t help to. After all that was now your life, the life of a startpop in the making, so much for a boring Oxford kid. 

Your reputation precedes you, in rumours you were knee-deep. But there was nothing you could do about it. Exhausted from your social life and the poor lack of motivation to do the one thing you loved the most, you decided to go out on a walk, hoping it would help to clear your thoughts about both the fake news and Florence, who you tried to ignore from thinking of. But ever since that dream you found yourself thinking about her more often. 

You knew she was as famous as you were, maybe even more. You had to admit to yourself that some nights you found some kind of comfort in her movies, watching her cute pouty face, the one she was most known for. 

She was your first love, she taught you how to love, what it was to be loved. Of course it wasn’t easy to forget about her, even after all these years, some part of you still craved her love. It wasn’t that you didn’t love each other when you both decided to go separate ways, it was because things weren’t so simple anymore. You two weren’t just two teenargs in love, you were slowly becoming adults. She had booked roles and you were making your way into the music industry. 

And without the two of you knowing you two just drifted apart, the two of you too caught up in your careers. But you loved her, so you decided to let her go, hoping and praying to the universe that maybe she would come back to you one day. 

Your thoughts were interrupted as you opened the door to your local cafe and someone bumped into you. 

“Sorry, I wasn’t… “ but you stopped cold once you saw the strangers eyes. 

“Y/n?” she asked, her voice as soft and raspy as you remembered. “What are you doing here?” a smile formed on her face, as if she was genuinely happy to see you. 

You shook your head trying to clear out your mind, was Florence really in front of you? “I, um, I lived here,” you blinked once, twice and she was still there. “Just around the corner,” you added, cursing yourself for being so awkward. “What are you doing here?” 

Was this a sign of the universe? Have your prayers been answered? 

“Visiting my family,” right her family, you thought. “Well, not just that, I’m also working,” she scratched the back of her neck. “I was actually hoping to see you, too.”

“Really?” that had to mean something, the universe couldn't be messing around with you this cruelly. Right?

“Yeah, I have, um… I have been thinking about you.” she smiled at you and you felt the butterflies in your stomach. “I think we should talk.”

“I, um,” what were you supposed to say? Were you willingly going to agree to spend time with the love of your life as if the two of you were going to be just friends? What was that supposed to mean?

“Yeah, sure. When are you free?” you finally agree.

You mentally checked your schedule, you were supposed to finish your songs but taking a break wouldn’t hurt anybody. Plus, you were going to get your coffee and get back to it right away. 

“Um, what about now?” 

Shit, you thought. She wasn’t going to give you any time to prepare yourself. Well, you better get into it, rip it off like a band aid. 

“Okay, I was going to get a coffee and then we can…”

“Yeah, yeah, take your time. I’m going to find us a table.”

You order your coffee while mentally preparing for the conversation the two of you were going to have. What was she on about? Was it really a big coincidence? Did the universe put her in our path for some reason? You shook your head, you needed to stop thinking about the universe’s way of working for a second.

They handed you your coffee and now you had no more excuses to avoid her, not that you wanted to. Some part of you long to be near her, but you were scared of what this whole thing was about. 

“So, um, what’s up with Drew?” she tried to pretend she didn’t care but was actually dying to know if you were actually dating him, not that you noticed it.

“Who?”

“Drew? Starkey?”

“Oh, yeah, Drew,” you chuckled, silly you for forgetting your own friend. “He’s just a friend, a really good friend,” was it your imagination or did she just let out a breath of relief. “What about Ashley?” you asked before taking a sip of your coffee. 

She smiled at you, “She’s also a really good friend.”

“So, um…”

“Listen, Y/n…”

The both of you chuckled. 

“You go first, Flo”

That nickname. It was stupid because everyone who knew her would call her ‘Flo’, but coming out of your lips felt different. She had missed hearing her name on your lips, she had missed you. 

“I’m just going to say it, okay?” you only nodded. “I lied earlier, I’m not here for work or visiting my family. I came here to find you,” your lips parted in disbelief. “Ever since we broke things apart, I had been feeling like something was missing, Y/n. And I recently realised it was you. Well, I saw the article about you getting married and all I could think of was that something wasn’t right.”

“Florence I…”

“No, please let me finish,” she cut you off. “I understand that  we are strangers to each other, but I would love to get to know you once again. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, it can be like a fresh start. I just really need you in my life, Y/n. I miss my best friend.”

You took another sip of your coffee, stealing time before giving her an answer. The truth was you already knew what you wanted, you knew it the moment you sat at the table, but you wanted to mess with her just a little bit. 

You put your cup down, and finally your eyes found hers, “I would like nothing more.”

[...]

Ever since that day, Florence and you had been spending everyday together. Catching up with each other and going back to old habits. 

The more you hang out with her, the more you could feel your old feeling coming back. But you didn’t want to rush things just to ruin them again. But one particular afternoon you couldn't hold back anymore and decided to do something about it. 

She had fallen asleep 30 minutes ago, you chuckled as you realised her current state because she had picked out the movie but turns out she was more tired than what she let you see. 

You headed to your small studio and decided to get back to the song you were working on before running into Florence. You  knew exactly what you wanted to say, having found your new inspiration a few weeks ago. 

You pressed play and the music started playing, you already had a few things written down in your notebook you just needed to put all your ideas together. 

You were so lost and immersed in finishing the song, going at it back and forth, changing some lyrics, singing some ideas, writing and crossing out some bits, that you didn’t realise someone was watching you just when you were about to finish. 

You had already recorded the whole song and were just checking it out when Florence leaned in the frame door. 

Florence smiled as she listened to your sweet voice. She wondered who this song was about. 

Knew her when I was young, reconnected when we were little bit older

Both sprung, I got issues and chips on both of my shoulders

She didn’t want to get her hopes up.

Reputation precedes me, in rumors, I'm knee-deep

The truth is, it’s easier to ignore it, believe me

She felt her heart shrinking in her chest.

Even when we'd argue, we'd not do it for long

And you understand the good and bad end up in the song

She listened closely to the song as you hummed to it.

For all your beautiful traits and the way you do it with ease

For all my flaws, paranoia, and insecurities

Her heartbeat and body temperature were rising.

I've made mistakes and made some choices, that's hard to deny

After the storm, something was born on the 4th of July

I've passed days without fun, this end game is the one

With four words on the tip of my tongue, I'll never say it

She couldn't take it any longer. 

“I like it,” she said, getting closer to where you were sitting. “It’s catchy,” she said, trying to shake her feeling away. That song could be about anyone.

“I feel like something’s missing,” you scrunch your nose.

“Sing the corus to me, please,” she looked at you with her doe eyes and you swear you could have melted in that moment. 

You shook your head with a smile on your face and compiled, “I wanna be your endgame, endgame,” you finished singing the chorus. “And then it goes. Big reputation, big reputation. Ooh, you and me, we got big reputations, ah,” you sang, trying to not look at Florence. 

“You know, it sounds awfully familiar,” she teased, wanting nothing more than for it to be true. 

“And you heard about me, ooh. I got some big enemies,” you kept on going.

“What are you trying to say, Y/n?” she kept on pushing you. 

“Big reputation, big reputation. Ooh, you and me would be a big conversation, ah. And I heard about you, ooh. You like the bad ones, too,” you finished, trying to tell her that you were thinking exactly what she was thinking. 

She was so close to you now, her knees brushing against yours, sending electricity throughout your body. You could feel her hot breath on your lips. 

“I want to…” she didn’t finish her sentence because you were already nodding and she smashed her lips to yours in a second. 

You felt as if a wave of cold water was washing over you. Her lips felt both familiar and new at the same time. You felt at home as she wrapped her arm around your waist and her other hand cupped your cheek. You didn’t want to ever stop kissing her, but both you and her needed to breathe so ultimately pulled apart. 

She rested her forehead on yours, both of her hands cupping your cheeks, caressing your skin with her fingertips. 

“I wanna be your endgame,” you quietly sang to her. 

She chuckled before kissing you again and again and again. 

Likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated! &lt;3

-M

[kirbybecomesastarwarrior]

In honor of Galacta Knight's Birthday (which I am.. more than a week late for~), Guys, I wanted to post this earlier, but I just keep adding to the comic because I loved it so much~ as a result, I'm pretty much a week later & I highly suggest that you read these for context:

Mety & Gally, Bye Bye Mety , Let go what no longer serves you

Needless to say, but Spoilers! ON TO THE STORY!

Dame Morgan is pretty much a mix of Ursula (Disney's little Merimand ) & Eris (Sinbad) and this takes place a little after Kirby meets Galacta Knight

Scenario... So Dame Morgan & Galacta Knight a deal:

"I can break your curse, and you can take your revenge on this wretched galaxy...isn't that a great bonus! The world is so unfair is it anyway... why not get what you want for once...

And to show she's the real deal... she dispels him temporally so he can make his choice... he used to fight for the world, and the world was cruel, imprisoned unjustly, and turned its back on him, but...

And the little flashbacks GK recalling is when he was unsealed by MK when he met Kirby, and the first time he met Meta in person when they were kids.

Finding you again~

While Gala taught Kirby that some things are worth letting go of... Kirby teaches Gala that there are some things worth holding on to!

FULL CIRCLE MOMENT!

And Happy (Belated) Birthday, Galacta Knight!

I wanted to give you a win for his birthday. And it'll be a little while before I talk about Galacta Knight again, so I wanted to make it special and drop a ton of lore for him.

He really is an endgame character, for later, there's still a lot of mystery I'm setting up for him. And Galacta's Warpstar revealed which... HAS A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE!?: I'm just gonna leave that pie out in the window so you can all ruminate on that!~

Hope you all have a great day!~

(Keep Reading for lore/explanations & a bonus...)

(After someone battles Galacta Knight (and wins), he (GK) is given a small opening of clarity and sanity.) So when Meta Knight was first unsealed & defeated, but it's not during Marx's arc (Kirby Super Star Ultra)... But in KirbyPlanet Robot instead.

This is where he gives his whole speech, but when Meta hears that, he immediately goes:

OH HELL NAH! I'M NOT LETTING YOU SINK INTO THAT RUT I'M PULLING YOU OUT OF THERE WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!

Galacta Knight has always felt like he was written for "Meta Knight" in the canon lore (in Kirby Super Star Ultra) So that's how I approached him in the KBASW AU... His story very much mirrors MK's story.

Meta Knight himself has done the whole "sacrificial-isolation- thing... it was too dangerous for anyone to be around him, and he didn't deserve it..." and had to work damn hard to dig himself out of his rut... but he didn't do it alone ... (doing it alone just made it worse). He certainly wasn't gonna let Gala do that to himself.

Gala's curse makes his power unstable, and when he overloads, that extra power turns into anger & paranoia. This causes him to see everything and everyone as a potential opponent and threat. Only remembering the negative aspects of it.

So when Meta Knight challenged & reminded him that he drafted him & took him... he knew the maniac & insane version of Gala would hold a grudge against him and would go after him, too. It's also an invitation to Gala to see him again, keeping the door open.

Galacta Knight's character is meant to show how much Meta Knight has grown as a character. Using the things he's learned during his journey of self-discovery and applying that knowledge to save the friend he thought had long lost... And the roles of their youth have pretty much been reversed instead of Gala reaching out to Meta... It's Meta who's reaching out to Gala this time...

However, he does try to avoid MK, not wanting to accept it, feeling guilty, and trying to keep his sanity (by unleashing his raw power in empty corners of the galaxy)... But he can still feel his anger and can't help but be bitter... he can only do so much until he loses it again.

So yeah, our boy's still pretty much running... that isn't until he meets Kirby & has Morgan offer her deal to him that he's done hiding and seeks out Meta Knight (finally...)

The confrontation with Morgan serves as Galacta Knight's realization that he's not alone and he's done feeling regret & being upset. He's ready to get & accept help... and finally ready to let himself be happy.

And Morgan unintentionally (actually) helped Galacta Knight.

Also, I'd like to reveal more of Dame Morgan's dark magic:

She can't force anyone into a deal (trick, lie, and cheat, yes)... The subject needs to genuinely want it if not, it won't work. After all, the Jamaba Heart enhances a subject's worst desire (plus all the negative effects would go to her she... can't have that!) And that's also why she needs Galacta in a sane state to accept, too.

It's the main reason why she didn't chase after Galacta Knight after he refused... And I am very pleased that Galacta Knight is the only one who refused Morgan's deal! HORAY SHE'S BEEN THWARTED-

Okay, never mind, another character's getting screwed over... and now finally introducing the mirror world into the story KBASW au... Morgan is the reason why he has more of his vortex design... it's a result of the Morgan deal~

(What Morgan did to him... she pretty much used him as a guinea pig for what she was planning to do with Kirby In Last Midnight. Yeah, his story's pretty tragic...)

I also wanted to give DMK's reason for joining Star Allies to make sense and to be a lot stronger. But I also need a reason why Shadow wasn't participating in it (aline to the story canon). So this is why~

Once again, I know I revealed a lot, so... I threw in several more questions: (What's gonna happen to Shadow Kirby? Why does Gala have a hole in his warp star? How is Gala gonna break his curse!?" )

Questions I dare not answer yet! (PS Metagala shipper, feel free to use as shipping fodder) Love guys! ~ <3 I hope you enjoyed it.

[firelxdykatara]

lol you just know all those "well zutara is bad cause colonization or something" arguments are all bad faith cause like 50% of the time u take a look at the blog that is saying that and they wholeheartely shipping zukka, like i guess the colonization argument doesnt apply if its sokka then.

There's so much 'it's ok if it it's gay' hypocrisy going on in that side of the fandom and it's just so funny to me. Especially when it's coupled with trying to give z/s all the zutara moments and dynamics rather than leaning into Zuko and Sokka's canon dynamic, cause at that point what it tells me is that they really do wanna just ship zutara but they're allergic to m/f ships and don't wanna admit it

So they make up reasons why zutara is bad and problematic, ignore the fact that all of those reasons apply just as much to z/ukka because 'it's ok if it's gay' and then pretend they 'solved' the ship war (by removing the girl the war centered around from the equation). But it's really just hypocrisy all the way down and also probably more than a little jealousy, so at this point I just have to laugh.

And even the people who ostensibly apply the same argument to z/ukka won't say boo about ships like jetko or jinko and I think that's ultimately because neither of those ships are very popular so they aren't a 'threat' to the canon ships the way zutara is for some reason. (I will never understand why k/ataang shippers are so damn insecure. Like even if on the remotest chance the endgame ships in the netflix adaptation are different, it won't affect canon in any way, so WHY do so many of them have such a bug up their ass about zutara being so popular?)

Anyway, I maintain that jetko is the m/m ship that actually deserved to have the massive surge in popularity during the renaissance that z/s got and I'm still bitter about it cause jetko actually has the sauce. (And allows for my favorite atla ot3 without a whole lot of contortion hehe)

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

S3 last eps fix - 3B predictions

As I anticipated the last eps of the season were the most "shippers", even though they were far from what we woulda wished them to be.

And that is why they were the longest, because the meat of the season was there.

The day of the premiere I skipped straight to ep 10 before watching the whole thing and saw the Funeral dinner which I didn't know was a Funeral service at the time, saw Carmy crying and then Syd's panic attack, then I saw the fucking last scene and was left feeling that it was all about S4, without even knowing S3 part B was a thing.

Now, after having watched S3 fully, done a partial re-watch and multiple analyses of the pivotal scenes, and finding out about 3B, I can safely say that Syd is not going anywhere and will sign The Bear's agreement. We will not see much more of Shapiro going forward although I would love to see Carmy ripping his head off for trying to poach Syd and I'd love Syd to see that and appreciate it for what it is, not just possessiveness, but also love. Anyway, that will not solve our problems in 3B, nor will it ensure a Sydcarmy development right away.

I still feel S4 is Sydcarmy territory, as I always thought but now I can foresee us actually getting "joy" in 3B, just like JAW said in an interview. We will have another under-the-table vibe kinda moment. That's for sure. We will have what they deprived us of, a hopeful cliffhanger.

The reason is that Shapiro is the wild card and S3 was the sleight of hand of the whole arc of the show as Storer told us repeatedly throughout S3.

Not 100% sure yet when 3B will be released, I hope that by March 2025. Anyway, whenever they decide to do it, those were supposed to be the last eps of S3, not the ones we saw that left us feeling so off.

I have no idea why they decided to go about it this way because even if they tried to make it longer, this was not the way. I still have the strong feeling that the main issues were writing and edition this time around, although I don't understand why, as they even had more time to shoot the same amount of eps they usually shoot in 3 months.

The wedding scene was not included in 3A, so we will see that, which is obviously gonna be Tiff's wedding and we will also get a real reconciliation between Carm and Richie, maybe at the wedding or right after...

These events will cement what from now on I will be calling: TEAM SYDCARMY FOR THE GOLD (TSFTG), that is Syd+Carmy+Richie+Nat+Pete+Jimmy

THOSE ARE THE CHARACTERS THAT WILL MAKE THE SYDCARMY PLOT MOVE FORWARD FROM NOW ON.

And the other team that I haven't named yet, is gonna be: Luca+Claire+TheFaks

Donna is a mystery to me, but she's in a redemption arc, so I will wait it out. I'm pretty sure she will not be TSFTG right away but will eventually embrace that endgame. What I can't put my finger on yet is: is she gonna be on the same team as Claire? I hope not, but I wouldn't be surprised. Let's see...

Ultimately what matters is that when we actually get to see those last eps that shoulda belonged to this season we just watched, we will see that Sydcarmy element we feel this one lacked and this bitter aftertaste will go away.

Stay tuned, I'm still working on it but I haven't really dived in some stuff yet, just the main ones.

Looking forward to getting your feedback on these topics, maybe it will help me figure out some more stuff.

[saintsenara]

As much as I love Dramione and that community. I stopped reading Dramione because of Ron’s characterization. Ron bashing is so normalized that it has become a Dramione convention and I’m not in for it. A lot of the faults that they give Ron are a lot of things that I can relate to (mediocre at school, procrastination, feeling like the lesser sibling) these are pretty standard Ron characteristics in Dramione. Usually the relationship with Draco start as a secret so Hermione is always alone in Dramione fanfics, her friendship with Harry and Ron is only a thing from the past that is occasionally mentioned. So a lot of Ron’s strong points are never there, I.e his loyalty, bravery, his defense of his friends, vast knowledge of the wizarding world. It is bothersome to see the way they portray students that do not excel in school, or have strong points that do not include academia.

Then also Astoria, she’s usually death or the crazy wife. Rose granger Weasley is non-existent while Scorpius Malfoy is a pretty common character, and Hugo… who is that ? The community doesn’t even mention him. I’m a bit disturbed by the way all of Hermione’s children in canon are just erased. Draco can be the dad, the widower, or the divorce but Hermione is the one that is single for a while, never married, haven’t had a proper shag, and ready to be the stepmother.

I always feel that they’re projecting their ex-boyfriends onto Ron, and Draco is the rich, intelligent, hot guy that they’d wished they upgraded for. In many stories Ron and Hermione break up because they always fight, but then they have Draco and Hermione quarrel just as much.

I would not be so bothered by it if I didn’t see all of this so much.

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

dramione certainly isn't my circus, but i find the same phenomenon occurring in my fandom spaces, since i'm someone with a preference for pairings which put harry with someone other than ginny - i've waded through so many fics in which ginny ends up getting turned into a complete bitch with no redeeming qualities and her relationship [both romantic and platonic] with harry is handwaved away in order to make her someone he never actually liked, who he only dated for a bit because he was forced to.

part of this is just standard slash subfandom misogyny when it comes to female characters, which we all need to get a grip on. but - as you say - it's also so prevalent in the fandom treatment of ron. and i find it really uninteresting!

i bang on a lot on here about how any ship is possible if an author has enough nerve - and how the reason for this is that love is fundamentally strange and unpredictable, and nobody can ever predict how it will strike.

but this comes with a flip side - that the strangeness of love means that its ability to last isn't always guaranteed. or - any ship can be disentangled interestingly and sincerely and [if that's an author's aim] canon-coherently with a bit of effort.

i think there are lots of really compelling things which could be done with the premise that ron and hermione don't get together or don't stay together - whether dramione ends up as the endgame or not - which don't need to reduce ron to the lazy, whinging boor he so often becomes.

and this includes thinking about divorce and co-parenting and blended-families in circumstances which aren't acrimonious. i think it's really striking that - as you say - there's an unease in fandom spaces with characters [above all female ones] having been married or had children in prior relationships. and there's also an unease about marriages which end for comparatively benign reasons - such as a couple simply not wanting to be in a romantic relationship with each other, but wishing to maintain a platonic one. divorces are always bitter - and the only time relationships break down without one partner becoming the bad guy, it's because someone [usually a woman] is dead.

this obviously isn't something fandom created, but it's still a wider cultural bleed-through into fandom which i find fundamentally boring.

and this is even though i very much understand the appeal of fairytale endings - draco malfoy as every disney prince rolled into one - as tropes. we all love a bit of self-insert fantasy, a bit of rom-com schmaltz, a bit of a knight in shining armour rescuing princess hermione from horrible ron.

but i think there's something valuable - and something no less fun, or moving, or compelling - about love stories which feel a bit less epic. second love, or friends-to-lovers-to-friends-again, or "there's no such thing as soulmates", or "this was fun while it lasted".

i genuinely think ron would be great as a divorced dad - not least because you know the single mams would be flocking to chat to him when it's his turn to bring the cake for playgroup - who remained best friends with hermione after they split.

and i think the dramione-specific comedy-of-errors of him and draco negotiating their new dynamic [mutual seething giving way to begrudging cordiality giving way to tentative respect] would properly bang as a premise.

[agoodfictitle-shadowban]

From Vormir, With Love - Part 2

Tags: strangers to lovers, love in space angst on earth, slavery mention, alien abduction, post Endgame, will add as we go on

Summary: As you're being chased you crash on Vormir. So far, so bad. But things take a turn when you come face to face with a marooned Black Widow.

[Part 1] [here] [Part 3]

Word count: 3.1k

A/n: after some nice vacations I'm back! Thanks for all your support, and I hope you'll like this chapter!

Taglist: tbd

You were right, June didn't like you bringing one more person along. An Avenger on top of it. Still, she simply gave one look to the newcomer, groaned, and went back to her repairs. You could work with that.

Now, you're hanging in the cockpit of your ship, looking at the star chart. In the five years you spent drifting into space, you never managed to find Earth again. Most Aliens don't care for humans, and don't know where they're from. As for star charts, they cost an arm and a half, so you have to work with the one you have - one which of course doesn't give the common names of planets in human language and no translator has cracked it.

"What are you doing?" The voice comes from behind you, covering the snores of the rest of the crew in the background. Sleep doesn't come as easy to you, even if you have the privilege to have your own bed. For tonight, you decided to give it up to Tim. He looked miserable after the fight with Natasha.

"Looking up at the stars," you answer simply, eyes still on the chart.

"What are you doing in space?" She asks after a moment of silence.

"What are you?" You retort, not even contemplating answering her question, and finally looking up at her. Now that you know who she is, bitterness is starting to build inside you, for her and all the so-called Mightiest Heroes of Earth. You take a deep breath, you don't want to lose focus. "I know for a fact Avengers don't travel that far out without a reason, and clearly something happened." You point at the Aliens who came back from the blip. "Cause those guys appeared out of nowhere three days ago. So, what's up with that?"

"So it worked…" she whispers at first, in a sort of wonder, and you understand she had something to do with all that. She looks at you, searches your face, and for a bit you think she won't answer you. And then she smirks. That surprises you. "You're a smart one, aren't you?" She puts her feet on the board and you glare at them as she keeps talking. "I was here to save everyone from the snap. It's good to see we succeeded." She seems genuinely happy about it, but also troubled.

You hum, and you wonder if that's truly for the best. Memories from the day of the Snap flood back to you.

-

You had never been that scared in your life before. You had no idea where you were, if you were even still on Earth - you guessed that you weren't, because those… people were clearly non-humans. You remembered going to the convenience store down your street, after a long shift at work. The night had already set for a few hours at the time, and as you were about to pay for your ramen pack and soda, those things came out of nowhere. You tried to hide, to fight, but it was no use. You remember thinking that maybe, just maybe, someone would come and help you. The cops, the military, anyone. Maybe SHIELD or the Avengers had detected that strange activity, somehow, and they were on their way. But no one came.

The aliens took all of you, all the ones that were in the store, and the next time you opened your eyes, you were in what looked like a ship.

You were kept in a cell with the clerk from the store - June, you learned, an engineering student who was working two jobs to pay for college - and food was coming from the ceiling in bags. You quickly realized it was sedated, and stopped eating until your stomach begged for something, anything. Some of the aliens were walking around, probably to keep an eye on the prisoners, and you quickly noticed that the only ones armed were those who had six eyes and a weird stone in the middle of their forehead. There were others, they looked like they were only doing maintenance or cleaning. They had a collar around their neck. This lasted maybe a week, and you kept praying that anytime, at any moment now, someone would come to save you. But once again, no one came.

And then one day… no one came again. No guards. The prison doors opened for apparently no reason, and you took a step outside. Was it a trap? Your naked feet walked alongside other prisoners. Besides June, you couldn't understand any of them - they were all aliens speaking different languages, and the other three humans were nowhere to be seen. You found weapons, and fought some of the aliens. You managed to outnumber most of them with the other prisoners. Soon enough, you were aboard a ship and on your way elsewhere. You remember looking at the star chart with so much hope. Home. It was right there.

-

Home is nowhere to be seen.

"I wish you could be as optimistic as you." You shake your head.

Now, those Aliens have more manpower than ever, and will certainly come after you again. You will need to lay low for some time before you can keep going on your quest for Earth.

"You're not happy," Natasha simply states. It feels like you're raining on her parade, so you decide to reassure her in order to keep the peace. There is also this weird feeling in your chest that makes you like her smirk, and the stupid spark in her eyes, so you might as well try to keep it there even just for some personal gratification.

"No, it's probably good. Means more people to help us get back to Earth. Which, you wouldn't happen to have a star chart on you?"

"No. But I might know someone who does." Here is the smirk again, thinning her full lips that you could kiss right now if she is telling the truth. You lunge towards her and put your hands on her upper arms, one on each side, squeezing her. She looks surprised, eyes wide, almost ready to fight but she keeps it in her.

"Wait? Are you for real?! This would be fantastic!"

"Why don't we calm down first, hm?"

You want to throw a party and dance of joy. "Calm down? It's been more than five years!" You whisper yell to not wake up your guests. "I can finally go home!"

She decides you're a lost cause when she sees you walk towards June's quarters and almost fall from dancing happily between the bodies sleeping on the ground. Somehow, seeing this after the past few days makes her smirk slightly, her heart lighter. You disappear around a corner just as the memory hits.

-

When she opened her eyes, it was to a dark sky and crimson surroundings. Her clothes were damp from the small pools of water under her. Not far was the sharp cliff she jumped from. She remembered the last thing she saw. Clint. She sat up. He was nowhere to be seen, and she wondered if her sacrifice didn't work, because right now, she was very much alive. No. She should still be dead. She should still be… free. She swallowed. She never wanted to die. But. But… she stood up, as tired as ever, and checked her equipment. Her Widow's bites were fried, as were her comms, but she still had her sidearm. Now, she had to find Clint.

He was nowhere to be seen, she realized once she came back up the cliff. No one was here anymore, not even Red Skull, she was all alone. Alone. She was used to it, it was fine.

She checked her comms again. Still nothing, not even statics.

She sat down on the same rocks as earlier. Was it earlier? She searched around her pockets, and found her phone. She was barely able to make it work, but soon enough she realized what her problem was. She was back to today's time, after she left for the past. Clint wasn't here, not because he abandoned her, because the last time he was had been years ago. It suddenly made sense. What didn't was why she was here. But for now, she had a much more pressing question: how was she going to go back to Earth?

Luckily, fate gave her a quick answer.

In the horizon, light caught her eye. Someone was crashing here, and she would only hope to get to you before you left again. With no time to lose, she started her walk.

-

"Are you sure she isn't brain dead? 'Cause she ain't answering." June's voice brings Natasha back to the present. She arches an eyebrow and tilts her head the slightest in her direction.

"See, not dead," you say in triomph.

"Why don't you stop talking about me like I'm not here." Her tone is harsh, and it shuts up both of you. You rub the back of your neck and look away, ashamed, while June just crosses her arms almost in defiance. It's still enough to get back to the main subject.

"Whatever," June starts, "do you really know people who could help us?"

The irreverence aside, there is some fear in her voice, and it quickly clicks in Natasha's head: she's scared to get her hopes up. It's a fear she understood all too well; hope is always the first step towards disappointment. Hope is dangerous. But sometimes it's all you have, and she isn't about to disappoint those lost women.

"Yes, we just need to find them."

"And who are they exactly?" asks a very guarded June. You elbow her, and she simply send you a glare, ignoring your suddenly very shiny personality. You'd never been one to be pessimistic, despite everything that happened, you just knew how to hide it, but right now you were almost beaming with joy.

"Carol Danvers, ideally, then Peter Quill, or Thor, one of the two if we don't have a choice." She shrugs like this will be easy. To be fair, they are very well known individuals. June looks at you to see if you know who she's talking about, since you're well informed usually. You are always the one going outside the ship to find the missions. It takes you a second to know exactly who she's talking about, and you nod.

"Carol is our best bet, anyone with authority has a way to contact her. We can just go to the federation probably, but the Nova Corps could be closer. I think they have an outpost a few jumps away…" You're already thinking, looking back at your star chart to find the closest place where you can contact Marvel, or whoever the other two were - well, Thor you know, but the name of Peter Quill sounds made up, even if it titillates your brain. "I'll check the radio as soon as we leave Vormir's atmosphere. Something is blocking the communications."

June nods, then looks at Natasha with distrustful eyes. "You better be telling the truth or you'll pray you did."

Somehow, the threat works on you too and you move on your seat in discomfort. June always was the more serious of the two of you, and held an even bigger grudge against the Avengers than you did. It reminds you that maybe you should distrust a spy a little bit more, as you eye the ship's console. Natasha is less impressed, but still takes things seriously.

"I am," she simply reaffirms in all seriousness. You observe her, and she seems genuine to you. It looks like it's enough for June too, because she simply goes back to her bed.

"Sorry for June," you say when she's out of earshot. "She's… we both went through a lot. Makes things hard." Hard to trust, hard to forgive. You're happy that she could help, but you also know tomorrow the bitterness will still be there. Of course, Natasha knows too well what you mean, the vulnerability that comes with the short explanation, and she offers a simple nod in understanding, her eyes expressing all of her empathy.

You're thankful for it.

A small silence establishes itself, during which you look each other in the eyes. It's easy to fall in hers, the infinite pool of water so inviting, so full of hurt to learn and comfort to find. You could read a full life, and something more, a spark no one else had. It lasts a few seconds, before you get back to the star chart, and she stands up to go get some water. When she comes back, she brings some to you, and you thank her in a whisper. She starts to clean her weapons and tinkers with her widow bites to try and repair them. While she does that, she notices you talking to yourself when you plan your next course and smiles slightly while looking down. Her lips crack from three days spent in what was virtually a desert.

Somehow, it makes her think of home.

-

Everything is ready for take off, and as your hand hovers over the handle ,you send a look to June. She gives you a thumbs up, but you know she isn't as sure as she looks, you know she probably thinks there is a small uncertain chance you will crash again and not survive this time. But with the help of Natasha - turns out she's a good mechanic at least - and some of the maintenance crew, you managed to repair the ship earlier than June told you the first time.

"Okay, up and away we go," you whisper to yourself as you push the thrusters. "Let's hope."

The ship shakes under the building pressure, but it holds. You push them some more as you gain elevation, the ground further and further away, and before you know it, you manage to leave Vormir's atmosphere.

You let out a breath of relief.

The ship stabilizes under you, and you send a thumbs up to June this time. As you go back to the console, your gaze crosses with Natasha's, and you exchange a small smile. You only had brief talks since she joined you, but she always was nice to everyone, if a bit short with Tim. The giant humanoid feline was still suspicious of her, the same way he was suspicious of almost everyone. You mainly tried to ignore the small brewing conflict, but it was getting harder. For now, you were simply happy to be back in space and not in pieces.

"We're green across the board," you announced, and everyone let the reassurance lift the weight off their shoulders. You then focus back on the ship. You still had to have the autopilot calibrated to the nearest jump point that would allow you to access the Nova Corps, then, if you were lucky, Earth.

It takes you little time to get the autopilot calibrated, and once you do you notice Natasha is still watching you, where the others simply went back to their activities. She's leaning against the hull, her arms crossed, a spark of curiosity in her eyes.

"How did you learn to pilot?"

"Observation. When we… commandeered this ship–"

"You stole it?" She raises an eyebrow.

"They were bad people." She nods, and you continue. "We had aliens with us. I just watched them pilot and learned via observation."

"Not everyone could have done that. What did you do back on Earth?" Her interest starts to make you the slightest uncomfortable, but you simply answer with a shrug.

"I worked some job that barely matters anymore."

"Never had a flying lesson?"

You shake your head no, and you notice admiration in her traits. It seems like you impressed her.

"I'm impressed," she confirms. "It takes some exceptional skills to pick up something like that."

Somehow, it makes you blush slightly and your chest rises with pride. You look away to hide it as you feel conflicted, and decide it's probably because the only other person you spent time with the past few years has been June, and she's not one to show admiration for others. Definitely nothing to do with Natasha herself being incredibly competent, and pretty. Very pretty.

Your eyes can't help but wander back to her when you notice the way the dim lights from the ship are highlighting her sharp jaw and her cheekbones, her long lashes projecting their shadows on her delicate skin. You realize you're staring, and that she's actually staring back. It makes you slightly uncomfortable, as you feel that after five years, there isn't much to look at, so you decide to break the brief silence.

"It's not… maybe a bit but– you know, you look tired. Maybe you should rest or something?" You fumble to change the subject. She has the audacity to smirk, and you want to cross your arms like a petulant child who's been caught in the cookie jar. But she's nice, and simply agrees.

"I should. You should too, commander." There is some teasing behind her voice, and you sputter a bit. She doesn't wait for an answer before she ducks back to the other side of the ship.

You stay there for a minute, trying to process the whole conversation. Was she…? Was that flirting? No. No way. You frown, trying to understand what just happened.

"Nope, no way. She's right I'm just tired," you finally settle on. You stand up and go back to the living side of the ship, asking Tim to keep an eye on the trajectory before you join your bunk. It was more a hole in the wall with a mattress stuck in it than anything else, but it was yours. There was another bunk on top of yours, where you kept some of your stuff before the arrival of everyone, but it had been cleared to give space to them. On the other side of the room, there is the same configuration, and on the top bunk you can make the silhouette of the spy. 

It's the last thing you see before you fall asleep, and you wonder how long the newfound safety you felt is going to last.

[necrotic-nephilim]

-debby ryans at you- how are you feeling about that thunderbolts* trailer, snookums. your old blog is trying to crawl from its grave.

you are an unhinged rat for sending me this ask i hope you know <3 you already knew that but i'm telling you anyway bc you're a rat bc now i have to explain myself-

this is from @eebuckley my partner <3 i've alluded to it in the tags of this blog but i used to be a semi-popular MCU blogger from like 2018 to 2020. (semi-popular for the ship i wrote, anyway) and since like, probably Infinity War/Endgame i have been slowly more and more disillusioned by the MCU ranging from only passively being interested in projects to outright despising them if i saw them. which sort of sucks, given how much i loved the MCU at it's height. i was like. aggressively into it. like a "i had asthma attacks watching trailers bc i got so excited" level of into it. maybe cringey in hindsight, honestly but yk. whatever brings you joy, ig.

and anyway- my partner witnessed my very real and normal reaction to the Thunderbolts* trailer and now i'm *mad* bc i'm actually excited about it. it made me feel about the MCU a way i haven't felt in years, especially after a lot of announcements that rlly pissed me off.

cannot believe it looks like we might actually get a comics-accurate Yelena and a comics-accurate Bucky. i'm such a sucker for Bucky Barnes, he's one of the only Marvel characters i actually read Marve comics for and i'm forever bitter how badly he got screwed over. if that movie is good i'm going to end up writing fanfiction. probably crossover fanfiction bc over my dead body will i write just plain MCU fanfic. and i'm a Jason Todd/Bucky shipper anyway so i could make it work, i think-

anyway TLDR is i'm excited and i'm mad about it and how dare yo expose me for being an MCU fan on THIS blog. you coulda send this ask to my MCU blog that still exists and i have occasionally used. but instead you *exposed* my ass on my refined DC blog as a filthy Marvel fan. i will be divorcing you again. ty gn ily

[bluespiritshonour]

One thing about ATLA I love is... Things start making sense once you think about them...

Like, maybe I watched it when I was too young to catch on to a lot of nuances and my rewatches have been sparse and inconsistent but like...

While watching the show I didn't like Maiko—something seemed to be missing. At the same time I really wanted them to be endgame and resented the fact that they weren't better written. I still ship them to this day because—HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A COUPLE LIKE THAT ON SCREEN THOUGH?—I like every slightly unconventional thing and Maiko is unconventional and unique.

Last time I was thinking about how I didn't like that no big deal™ was made out of Mai sacrificing herself at Boiling Rock and I was just entertaining fix-it scenarios in the empty echo chamber called my head where it goes something like:

Zuko: Does that mean you don't hate me anymore?

And instead of Mai putting a full-stop after “I actually kinda like you” she continues to tell him that he'd have to win her back though. Like, in a friendly way—“I want to be in a relationship, sure, but I want to be wooed” way—because, well, she was in prison and now she has a better understanding of why he did what he did—

Oh wait! Is that why she forgives him so easily? Because she was in prison—probably with the Kyoshi Warriors because that's where Ty Lee was too (honestly I've begun to appreciate MaiLee more as time passes)—and while saving Zuko was a leap of faith and she didn't understand him then, but now she does? She knows what he did was right and she's glad to have been able to help him with it?

So...yeah. Her forgiving him makes total sense now. If Zuko had tried to explain it to her instead of breaking up in a letter I don't think she'd have understood (I understand why Zuko left her with a letter, I really do; but I'm still going to trash him for it: [cue exasperated tone] “Zuko!”)

But she does now...

What I don't like however is the “They let you out of prison?”

You're the fucking Fire Lord now, aren't you supposed to have pardoned all PoWs? Which includes Mai and Ty Lee. Who ended up their trying to save your arse?

[cue exasperated tone, second time] “Zuko!”

It could have been something like “Did you get out of prison alright? There wasn't any problem right? I'm sorry I couldn't come to get you personally—” or any variation of that!!!

How difficult could it have been?

But yeah. The point remains. I'm no longer bitter about Mai forgiving Zuko so quickly this time around.

Another thing I disliked is how in The Beach Zuko kept coming back to Mai expecting a warm welcome after every little friction. It was a classic man move where they upset you and try to act caring immediately afterwards and expect you to be responsive to it.

I loved Mai slapping his hand away when he tried to put his arm around her and yelling that she's still mad at him.

At least Zuko knows when to back off: he did everytime Mai told him to. And he didn't call her names for not being forgiving (which is what you expect men to do honestly).

Bar so low it's in hell, I know.

I hated that about him, that he thought he's owed forgiveness (with Mai here, never properly having apologised and trying to act as if nothing wrong happened) and later with Katara...

So... What I'm trying to say is... I love that in that last scene when Maiko is reunited... He isn't expecting her to forget everything and forgive him like a good little girlfriend. The fact that she does has a lot of reasons (she understands his motives now) but the fact that he goes, very timidly “You don't hate me anymore?” is actually very cute.

Add one more to the pile of “Zuko's character development.”

Like, yeah. What he did was necessary. But she also does have a right to be mad at him.

I'll just... Take it as a by-product of The Beach... He has bettered himself. Okay? I'll take it as that.

So. I've come from when I absolutely hated the Maiko post war reunion scene to a point where I only dislike the “they let you out of prison?” part. Also, it was cute the dopey way he smiles around her and she helped him dress, okay?

[winters8child]

It´s been a long, long time

Chapter 59

I perched on one of the many tables in Tony's lab, my heels long discarded and my elegant dress swapped for a simple shirt and yoga pants. The air was thick with tension as we grappled with the aftermath of Ultron's attack. The realization that he had infiltrated and compromised all our systems was a bitter pill to swallow. He had access to everything, including nuclear codes.

"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead," Natasha remarked, her voice tinged with worry and disbelief as she paced the floor.

"He didn't say dead. He said extinct," Steve corrected, his tone somber and resolute.

"And he also mentioned he killed someone," Clint added, his voice trailing off as he wandered around the lab, his steps aimless and heavy. The loss of Jarvis weighed on us all—Ultron had targeted him because Jarvis was our last line of defense.

Thor erupted without warning, storming across the room and seizing Tony by the neck.

"Come on, use your words, buddy," Tony croaked, his voice strained but still carrying a hint of his trademark sarcasm.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark," Thor thundered, his eyes blazing with fury, his grip tightening. His anger was palpable, bubbling just beneath the surface of his skin.

Steve took a step towards them, his voice firm and commanding. "Thor. The Legionnaire."

Thor released Tony, who stumbled slightly before regaining his balance. "The trail went cold about a hundred miles out," Thor reported, his voice still laced with anger as he continued to glare at Stark. "But it is headed north. And it has the scepter."

"Now we have to retrieve it. Again," Thor continued, his tone dripping with accusation. Dr. Cho, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. "I don't understand. You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?" she asked, directing her bewildered gaze at Tony.

Tony started to chuckle, a sound that seemed entirely out of place given the gravity of the situation. I looked around at our collective confusion, our faces mirroring each other's bewilderment.

"Tony has finally lost his mind," I said, my voice exasperated and tinged with disbelief. Bruce was shaking his head vigorously, his eyes fixed on Tony. Before he could speak, Thor's voice boomed across the lab, "You think this is funny?"

Tony turned to face him, a strange mix of humor and frustration in his eyes. "No, it's probably not, right? This is very terrible. Is it so... It is. It's so terrible," he said, his voice tinged with laughter that seemed to mock the gravity of the situation.

"This could have been avoided if you had not played with something you don't understand," Thor reprimanded, his tone harsh and unforgiving.

"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this," Tony retorted, stepping forward until he was almost chest-to-chest with Thor. The tension between them crackled like electricity.

Bruce tried to intervene, his voice calm but urgent. "Tony, this might not be the time."

But Tony was having none of it. He turned sharply to Bruce, "Really? That's it? You just roll over. Show your belly every time somebody snarls?"

Bruce's eyes widened in disbelief. "Only when I create a murder bot."

"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" Tony asked, his frustration boiling over. The tech jargon flew over my head, adding to my growing headache. The night had stretched on far too long, and our nerves were frayed beyond repair. I had to admit Tony had a point. The attack on New York had starkly demonstrated that Earth needed some form of protection against the threats lurking in the vastness of space.

"We are the Avengers," Tony declared, his tone intense. "We can tackle arms dealers all day long, but that up there—" he gestured toward the heavens, his expression grim, "—that's the endgame. How were you planning on beating that?"

"Together," Steve replied firmly, his voice carrying a resolute determination.

Tony’s gaze was unwavering as he stepped closer, his eyes locked onto Steve’s. "We’ll lose," he said bluntly.

"Then we’ll do that together, too," Steve answered without missing a beat, his resolve as unshakable as ever.

We all retreated to our rooms, the exhaustion from the night's events weighing heavily on us. Sleep was urgently needed. I collapsed onto the center of the bed, my thoughts still tangled with the chaos of the evening, when I noticed Steve removing his shirt.

Amid the ongoing Ultron crisis, I had almost managed to push aside the troubling memories from the maze. But now, all the guilt came crashing back, a tidal wave of remorse overwhelming me. I squeezed my eyes shut, only to find that doing so intensified the pain, making Bucky's face the only image that lingered in the darkness.

Steve collapsed onto the bed beside me with a weary sigh and began tracing gentle circles on my stomach. The warmth of his touch sent a shiver through me, and I opened my eyes to meet his gaze. His eyes were filled with concern, but he offered me a reassuring smile and pressed a tender kiss to my forehead.

Tears welled up as I felt the comforting weight of his presence. The softness of his touch and the simple act of lying here with him brought a profound sense of solace amid the turmoil. His brows furrowed in concern when he saw the tears streaming down my face. Gently, he wiped them away with his thumb. My eyes fluttered shut at the feather-light touch, and I leaned into the warmth of his palm.

"I know it's been a tough night, but we’ll be okay," he whispered, his voice soft and soothing as he kissed away my tears.

Despite his comforting words, I felt like the worst person in the world. The weight of my guilt was unbearable, and I lacked the courage to be honest with him, paralyzed by my selfishness. I cupped his face in my hands and gazed up into his eyes, my tears continuing to fall. "I love you, Steve," I choked out, my voice trembling. "I love you so much... I’m so sorry..."

His brow furrowed in confusion, though a faint smile lingered on his lips. "I love you too," he said softly. "But why are you sorry? I don’t understand..." My lip quivered as I stared into his eyes, my mind racing through all the possible outcomes of telling him the truth. The weight of my decision felt unbearable, and despite knowing that honesty was needed, I couldn't bring myself to speak. The reason? A paralyzing sense of selfishness.

As the silence between us grew heavy, I felt a surge of desperation. Unable to bear the weight of my unspoken truth and the agony of not being able to share it, I reached out and pulled him close. My lips crashed against his with an urgent, feverish intensity. It was a kiss born from a mix of fear, regret, and an overwhelming need to connect.

Steve’s initial surprise gave way to a passionate response. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me even closer as if trying to absorb the whirlwind of emotions that had overtaken me.

His hand slid to my thigh as he hovered above me, our tongues and lips meeting in a fervent clash. I grasped the hem of his shirt, tugging it upward to reveal his broad chest. The need to be as close to him as possible drove me to quickly discard the rest of our clothes. We were soon pressed together, our bodies bare and entwined, skin against skin.

"I love you so much," I whispered between labored breaths and gasps as his fingers traced fiery paths over my skin. Each touch ignited a new wave of desire, making my body arch toward him.

Steve's eyes locked onto mine with an intense gaze, his expression a blend of raw passion and deep affection. He leaned in, his breath hot against my ear as he murmured, "I love you too. Always."

I pulled back, my breaths coming in heavy gasps as his eyes fluttered open, surprised by my sudden hesitation. He searched my face for an explanation, but I remained silent. His hand gently cupped my cheek, his voice soft but laced with concern. "What's wrong?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words seemed to catch in my throat. The weight of what I needed to say felt overwhelming.

"He was here... Bucky... during the party," I stammered, unsure of how he would react.

His eyes widened in shock. "Why didn’t you tell me? I thought he was leaving... What did he say?" His voice grew almost frantic, a mix of worry and agitation evident in his tone. I pulled the blanket up to my chin, suddenly feeling exposed and vulnerable. "He said he was scared... that he didn’t want to leave without me," I confessed, my voice trembling.

Steve's expression shifted to one of deep concern, and a heavy silence settled between us. After a moment, he spoke again, his tone serious. "Well, tell him I want to talk to him."

"I don’t have a way to reach him," I replied, my voice tinged with frustration. "He just appears and disappears, like a ghost."

Steve nodded, a look of determination in his eyes. "Then let him know that next time he shows up. Is that everything he said?"

I nodded, unable to meet his gaze. "That’s it..."

He looked at me for a moment longer, then sighed deeply. "We should try to get some sleep. It’s late." He got up, pulled on his shorts, turned off the lights, and settled back into bed, facing away from me.

I spent the rest of the night wide awake.

Tags: @capswife

Next Chapter

[gmariam321]

I really do want to finish this, but keep hitting little road blocks. I know the big picture but struggle to move past single scenes here and there. I'm also still not sure how far to take that big picture endgame. Here's how it starts, though! If it looks familiar, I'm pretty sure I've posted it before. Enjoy and wish me luck finishing the damn thing!

The Wooden Torch - Chapter One

Ianto Jones was glad to be back in Wales and living in Cardiff. He'd left to get away from it all—from his father and his family and all the other problems he'd had growing up on the estates—and was surprised to find he enjoyed being back. He felt a connection he hadn't felt before and suspected there would be no going back to his life in London. The city had been great until it had become a bitter disappointment, but now he wanted a new start, a second chance to find what he was looking for in life.

The problem was, he wasn't sure what he was looking for.

In the meantime, he floated between a few part-time jobs, barely making ends meet, until the night he walked into the Wooden Torch, a pub a few streets down from the flat he was renting in Radyr. Something felt different about the place, something comfortable. It was a well-regarded pub with a good crowd of locals, and they welcomed him almost immediately. He felt like he fit in, and within a fortnight he was their new barman.

He'd had no experience with bar work, but he was a quick learner, and after a few weeks on the job, Ianto felt surprisingly settled with his spontaneous decision. He'd been a personal assistant in London and helping people was in his nature; instead of coffee and files, now he served pints and conversation. He still had to look up a few drinks, but he'd learned most of the regulars' names and could banter with the best of them. He'd cleaned up a drunken mess, broken up a fight, and called a taxi for a hen party trying to hit on him. And in spite of all that, and the long, late hours, he found himself enjoying it. It felt right at that moment in his life, like he was where he was supposed to be.

Alex Hopkins owned the pub and ran it fairly and efficiently, keeping it clean and up to date. The other bar staff were all about Ianto's age, give or take a few years, friendly and hard-working.  He liked his fellow bar worker, Toshiko Sato, immediately. She had also moved from London, and like him, she'd had left the city for personal reasons. They bonded almost instantly over their mutual disappointments, and also shared an interest in technology: Ianto had worked in the field, Tosh had a degree in it.

About two weeks after he started, Ianto was wiping down the bar when he heard a commotion at the door. A tall man in an old-fashioned military coat walked in and several people went to great him, including Tosh and Alex. The new man was grinning as he greeted everyone, waving like a film star on the red carpet. Ianto watched from behind the bar, wondering what the excitement was all about. He held back an eye roll at the man's gregariousness and continued cleaning up.

"Hello, and who are you?" asked a voice from the other side. It was the man in the great coat. Up close, Ianto noticed immediately that the man was exceptionally handsome, with a broad smile and deep blue eyes. He stared for a moment, then shook his head and blinked. Ianto had seen plenty of beautiful men and women come through the door of the Wooden Torch since he'd started; this man wasn't any different and certainly no one to embarrass himself over.

Before he could open his mouth to reply, Alex was introducing him. "Stop it, Jack. This is Ianto Jones, he joined us while you were gone. Ianto, this is—"

"Captain Jack Harkness," the man said, holding out his hand with a blinding smile. His handshake was strong and firm and a bit electrifying, if Ianto were honest. He didn't usually react so strongly to meeting someone new, but there was something about Jack Harkness that sent quick sparks through his body, despite his brain trying to tell him that the man was an arrogant prat.

"Like he said – Jones, Ianto Jones." Ianto winced at how awkward it sounded to introduce himself after already being introduced.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Jones, Ianto Jones," grinned the man. He was several years older than Ianto and held himself with the confidence of his good looks. Ianto wondered if there was anything else to back up that confidence.

"I take it a welcome back is in order?"

"Jack's one of our favorite regulars," Tosh told him. "He's been gone for a month, though. Why didn't you tell us you would be gone so long?"

"I didn't realize you cared so much," Jack laughed, with a wink. To Ianto's surprise, he quickly turned serious, his voice dropping as he pulled her into a one-armed hug and kissed her hair. "I’m sorry, Tosh, but it was an unexpected, last-minute trip. I hardly had time to pack."

"Sounds interesting," said Owen Harper, one of the regulars who practically had his name engraved on a stool at the end of the bar. "Tosh, can you get him a drink so he can tell us about it? Welcome back, Harkness." He stood to shake hands, and Jack sat down on a stool next to him.

Tosh moved behind the bar and started making a scotch and soda as Alex returned to the back office. "So where did you go?" Tosh asked. "Did it go well?"

"Not particularly," Jack said. He rubbed his hands over his face, the confident veneer slipping. "It was a long month of nothing but arguing and testing and failing and more arguing and—let's just say I don’t think they’ll be sending me back anytime soon."

Ianto noticed that Jack had not answered her question about where he'd gone, but either she didn't notice or choose to ignore it. She handed him his drink with a smile and a pat on his arm. "I’m sorry, Jack. I hope things get better. We're glad you're back, you know."

"Yeah, it was damn quiet around here without you," Owen said. He held up his glass and Jack held up his. "Cheers."

"Well, I'm certainly glad I came back when I did," Jack said, throwing an overly bright smile at Ianto and changing moods just like that. "So when did you start, Mr. Jones, Ianto Jones?"

"About two weeks ago," Ianto said, keeping a straight face even though he wanted to roll his eyes. Jack Harkness not only changed moods on a dime, but he seemed to be an incorrigible flirt, and Ianto hoped the man didn't call him Jones, Ianto Jones forever. "Moved from London to try my luck back in the wilds of Wales."

Jack laughed and took a sip of his drink. "Now why leave an amazing place like London? What drove you out?"

"Who says anything drove me out?" Ianto countered. "Maybe I wanted to come home."

"I understand," Jack agreed unexpectedly and sincerely. He was unpredictable, that much was certain. "I love Wales, couldn't wait to get back. What did you do in London?"

"Personal assistant," Ianto said. "At Hartman Technologies."

Jack set down his drink, nodding slowly, his face unreadable.  "And did you leave on your own or did Yvonne Hartman sack you?"

"I left on my own," Ianto said, surprised by the question. Jack clearly knew about Hartman Technologies and the quirks of its infamous leader. "I didn't agree with where the company was heading." At all. It had been a great job for years, until Yvonne Hartman had started messing with things that shouldn't be messed with, like life and death and immortality. Working at Canary Wharf had become something from a science-fiction nightmare by the time he left.

"And she let you go?" Harkness sounded surprised. "With your memory intact?"

Ianto leaned back against the counter behind him with his hands crossed over his chest. Tosh was helping someone down at the other end of the bar, and Owen was pretending not to listen. "How the hell do you know about that?" Ianto asked in a quiet voice. Jack grinned again; Ianto found it annoying then, fake and full of lies and manipulation.

"Because I work for John Smith," he said. "Head of Development. It's my job to know the competition."

"Of course," Ianto murmured, not bothering to hide the sarcasm. Yvonne Hartman ran the biggest tech firm in the UK, but John Smith was close behind and gaining, with both an ethical integrity and innovative quality more and more people had started to appreciate, including Ianto. He had even thought about applying there when he moved back to Cardiff, to really stick it to Yvonne, but in the end, he'd decided to take a break from the tech industry and the corporate world, and he found his stress levels were the lowest they'd been for years. He did not want to get pulled back into that life by a charming customer.

Jack frowned and leaned forward, serious once more. "Look, I know what goes on over there. I'm sure it wasn't always like that and was a great place to work a lot the time. But I'm also glad you left. You won't regret it."

"I might when their stock options quadruple," Ianto joked. He did not want to think about everything he had left behind. Yes, he had made the right decision, but he still missed the good things about London: his flat, the café on the corner, his coworkers and his girlfriend and the much bigger paycheck.

"You could always put your money into something more local," Jack said, interrupting his thoughts. He sounded sincere, then wagged his eyebrows and ruined it. "I'd be happy to suggest something over dinner and a drink."

Ianto gave in to another eye roll. "Are you sure you're Head of Development and not the Head of the Innuendo Squad?"

"No, but I do believe in what we do," Jack replied, the flirt gone once more. It seemed Jack Harkness had a singular ability to turn it on and off, switching between moods in the space of a heartbeat. Ianto wondered if the man was serious about dinner and a drink—and how he responded when someone took him up on it.

"I used to believe in my job too," Ianto pointed out.

"We're not trying to bring about the end of the world," Jack told him.

"Neither were we," Ianto said, feeling defensive even after his break with the company. "We—"

"Hey, can I get another pint over here?" Owen asked. "Stop making eyes at each other and get a man his drink, teaboy."

"Sometimes I can't keep up, Owen," Ianto said, turning away from the unexpected conversation with Jack Harkness to pull Owen another pint of Brains. "Besides, he's new and interesting, you're not." Jack flashed that damn grin again.

"He's not new, he's old," Owen scoffed. Jack made a sad face, and Ianto tried not to laugh at the ridiculousness of them both. "And he's no more interesting than me."

"Of course I am," Jack replied. Ianto had just met him, but had to agree. Owen was a decent bloke, but he could be somewhat abrasive, particularly after several pints. Jack Harkness, on the other hand, was someone that worked in his former field, someone Ianto wanted to know more about. Even if he was an overconfident flirt who worked for John Smith, Ianto sensed there was more to Jack than met the eye.

"Why are you a teaboy?" asked Jack, glancing between them curiously.

"Because he threatened to make me a nice cup of tea instead of a gin and tonic last week," Owen groused. This time it was Ianto's turn to grin. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow.

"And that's because I'd already made you about six. You do remember hitting on Mickey, don't you?" Mickey Smith worked part-time, covering when Tosh or Ianto had a night off.

"Nope. Never happened." He took a long sip of his pint.

"I was there. So was Alex. It definitely happened."

"Still don't believe you," Owen replied, while Jack laughed at the exchange. "So Harkness, did you pull while you were away?" Owen asked. "Because that’s more interesting than talking about stock options."

"What do you think, Owen?" Jack asked, gazing at him over the top of his glass with a look on his face that indicated the answer was obvious. Apparently, Jack followed through on some of his flirting.

Owen took his pint and stood up. "Knowing you, probably every day. Good to have you back, Jack. Have fun with the new guy." He left the bar and walked over to one of the large round tables in the center of the pub, where a group of regulars was talking and laughing. Ianto turned back to Jack to find the other man watching him.

"What?" he asked warily, wondering if he'd somehow embarrassed himself.

"Nothing," said Jack, shaking his head. "Although you've already worked out how to hold your own with Owen, so I'm impressed."

"Thanks," Ianto replied dryly. "It wasn't hard since he's in here almost every day."

"It's a good place to relax," Jack said. "I'm glad I'm back. Especially since I got to meet the cute new guy."

Ianto gave him another eye roll, ignoring the adjective. "And it's good to meet another shameless regular. Let me know when you need another."

He moved away, busying himself with cleaning a table that had just left for the night. He felt Jack watching him, but eventually Jack left the bar and went to a table by the windows. Owen joined him, and then a few others, and they talked and laughed for at least an hour. Ianto found himself watching Jack more and more as the night went on. He was somehow impossible to ignore, and Ianto was fascinated by the quick changes in the man's mood: gregarious, flirtatious, serious, intelligent. He couldn't help but hope he'd see more of Jack Harkness in the Wooden Torch.