#anyways guys this is a serious wwii show

[rcbertleckie]

the pacific · part three

[fenrislorsrai]

A Matter of Life or Death/ Stairway to Heaven

Yet another movie I grabbed due to Good Omens. I just didn't get around to writing it up right away cause Things Happened and things could stop happening for a little bit, that would be cool.

RAF flyer Petrr Carter is trying to get back from bombing raid in WWII but the plane's on fire and his chute is gone. He had everyone else bail and is then riding the burning plane back close enough to let contact known what happened. Has a fairly extensive talk on radio with the American lady (June) manning the radio contact, some flirting. He finally does decide bailing with no chute is better than burning and jumps.

Hey wild, what's this, he wakes up somewhere??? This must be heaven. which looks suspiciously like a beach. He follows a black dog* along beach til he find a kid with some goats to talk to, who he tries to get to explain heaven to him and kid is basically WTF DUDE. Finally gets clued in, no you're not dead, somehow. He recognizes where that is from conversation last night and looks down beach and goes "hey, there's the June on her bicycle!" Has similar WTF how are you not dead conversation.

MEANWHILE IN HEAVEN... which is shot entirely in black and white while the rest of the movie is in color. It's got a very stark, semi-industrial, semi-greek temple kinda vibe going. They're supposed to count in everyone on paperwork and boy are a lot of people dying in this war. One of the guy's that died in the plane is waiting in the receiving area for Peter... who does not turn up. Uh oh. alarms start going off! things are not right with the files!

Oops, turned out the angel (or whatever) who was supposed to get him here missed him in the fog. Conductor 71 gets told to go fetch him anyway. I'm not sure why he has a job title rather than a name when most of the other dead people have names. anyway, he was a french aristocrat who got his had chopped off, therefore needs to wear a scarf.

He shows up to talk to Peter and freezes time while he tries to convince him to go with him. Peter has meanwhile been off on a date with June, having a picnic amongst a bunch of rhododendrons in full bloom.

Describing Conductor 71 later he not only has to describe the time stopped, this weird guy appeared, but he also had A SMELL

He smells like "the best thing in the world."

what does this fancy bitch smell like:

THE BEST SMELL IN THE WORLD. (and apparently strong enough to overpower rhododendrons, which are pretty strong)

THE BEST SMELL IN THE WORLD.... fried onions.

This comes up TWICE.

Okay, you're not wrong but on top smells, no normal person would be "ah yes, I would like a perfume or candle that smells like fried onions."

ANYWAY. that this fancy lad apparently has a smell to him makes the doctor that's been called in on this case of "how did you survive falling out of a plane" go "hmmm" at this hallucination. That's rather more serious than just you're having some kind of narcolepsy or dreaming or whatever, that is some kind brain problem.

INTERESTING bit here though is the doctor isn't just flat out denying that Peter is definitely experiencing something. He's defineitly having some kind of premonition of death after his falling out of a plane. He treats it as both a real symptom and something to be addressed. You need to tell me more about the hallucination AND you need to resist going to Heaven with it.

They don't quite resolve the "how are you alive after jumping out of a plane" but I think they may just have gone with "your recollection of things is probably a bit fucked up, you probably DID have a chute or find one later but your memory is fucked up right now".

Heaven apparently will have a trail to determine if Peter can continue to live due to bureaucratic fuck up, but there will be a trial. He needs to select an advocate.

So this goes on for a bit of is this just a hallucination or does he have a brain problem. The conductor shows up again and on one of the visits he stops time, he also takes a chess book. This is he manifestation of "this is real" (this is the same chess book Gabriel drops repeatedly when he gets the explanation of gravity) A chess master is suggested as advocate.

There's a literal giant moving stairway going to heaven as a set piece that turns up. Peter almsot follows the Conductor up it a couple times. It'll be back later again.

Meanwhile this has gotten much worse and Peter is scheduled for brain surgery. The ambulance that is supposed to come pick up Peter gets lost so Doctor Reeves goes to look for it... but gets hit by it. Hello, you're now in Heaven its all REAL

Conveniently, now that Reeves is also dead he can speak as advocate at Peter's trial in Heaven while he's getting brain surgery in the real world. There's a brief visit to earth and some time freezing to gather evidence that June actually loves Peter, which is the key thing that's relevant to appeal. That brief period of extra time changed both Peter and June's fate.

June also gets called in as a witness via dreams and swears she really loves Peter after only a few days. Is told the only way he can survive the surgery if she swaps places with him. DONE. okay, that's true love, we'll grant the life extension.

Happy ending.

---

*Up top I mention the black dog he follows specifically because black dogs sometimes show up as psychopomps, conductors of the dead. It was just a dog in this case, but color choice flt intentional with how slightly surreal scene felt.

This one had a lot less clear plot parallels with Good Omens. Most of the relevant parts were related to the actual design of things. The overall design of Heaven was clearly an influence on Gomens, but Life was a lot.... warmer. This was a Heaven also populated by humans. (Hell did not seem to exist at all) It's unclear if there's a god at all, just an afterlife of some sort but on largely shaped by humans and they make the rules and the exceptions.

But some of the overall appearance and the looking down at earth had a similar vibe to it. Just Gomens heaven is like someone first came in, cleaned out all the pesky humans, and then left a few scattered angels to occupy the vast empty spaces which had been intended to have people in them.

The chess book and the plot point of swapping places for each other to live is probably the most relevant part for Gomens.

The escalator to heaven you get in season 1. overall this is more just Design Vibes than the other two referenced items.

I have no idea what to make of the Angels Smells Like Fried Onions, but by god I am going to use it SOMEWHERE because it is too goddamned funny not too.

The other two items I watched/read:

The Crow Road- The NSFW Morse Code book. no, really. I Know Where I'm Going- You can't marry an institution and the thing that is Written.... isn't really.

[incrediblemelk]

I don’t know how this blog has turned into a bromance blog but I always find this bond so compelling somehow

Anyway I’ve been watching Masters of the Air and loving the Bucky/Buck dynamic

(Spoilers if you care)

I love how Bucky (Callum Turner) is the exuberant, gregarious one and Buck (Austin Butler) is the reserved and serious one. Bucky is the one who acts all cocky and knowing, but he’s really the innocent one

And in episode five when Bucky thinks Buck has been killed on a mission, he recklessly comes back early from his leave so he can lead the squadron’s riskiest mission yet

he swaps flight jackets with some random guy because “Buck always hated the sheepskin”

and after getting shot down and escaping all sorts of horrors in episode six, he makes it to Stalag Luft III

My crappy screenshots do not do justice to the way this scene is shot like the climax of a rom-com

The way Bucky’s pals are so thrilled to see him, and he’s shouting to them, “Hey! Any of you know if Buck made it?”

and then as he’s urgently craning his neck as he walks past them, offscreen we hear Buck’s still-kind-of-Elvisy voice saying, “John Egan! Your two o’clock!”

then the camera reverses to show us what Bucky sees: a luxurious tracking shot of Buck stepping up to the wire, like a goddamn groom at the altar, a slow smile blooming on his face as Bucky is marched towards him…

Bucky can’t quite believe who he’s seeing; he looks confused and hopeful and of course my own bromantic heart is leaping in my chest, and then Buck has the corny rom-com line:

“What took you so long?”

It’s such a cliché, and yet I love that WWII stories are still a powerful bromance delivery mechanism 80 years later

They are the medieval chivalric romances of modernism: amid the industrial carnage of total war, the usual monogamous heterosexual pairings are suspended and love finds other expressions through the questing narrative of the ‘mission’ and the knighthood of the fighting unit, with the airbase as their Camelot

Next episode is going to have the tension of Bucky wanting to escape the camp with Buck, who would rather wait out the war in relative safety so he can get back to his (ugh) childhood sweetheart

[alirhi]

This is oddly fun lol

Let's see how many of these I can churn out before I get distracted or need a break! (pff. like I need an excuse to watch the show again. Despite its flaws, I really, really love TFATWS, guys)

Without further ado, let's get down to it!

Episode 2: The Star-Spangled Man

I'm pretty sure I'm on record when it comes to my undying hate for John Walker, yes? So obviously, Bucky's grumpiness 100% stays 😂

I'm not really a fan of how much emphasis they put on the shield. I can see it as a catalyst for Bucky to go confront Sam, yes, but he wouldn't keep going "shield shield shield" like a broken record. Bucky has consistently been shown to be an empathetic man. I can't believe for a second that he'd be barking at Sam about having no right to give up the shield; he'd ask why. Sam's got shit to do, so he'd get impatient and not answer.

"Why'd you give up so easily? If you were overwhelmed, I could've helped you-" "You've been ignoring me. Like now, how you're ignoring me walking away from you." "Well, you weren't texting me about this." "You think I needed your permission?!" "No, but I was right there with Steve while he was learning what it meant to be Cap. I wouldn't mind helping you get used to-" "Then go teach him." A vague gesture toward the "Cap is back" posters. Bucky makes a face. "Steve passed the mantle to you. You fought with him. You earned it. That little shit didn't." "What do you want me to do about it?" "Just tell me why, Sam. I mean it. I just wanna understand." "Not now, Buck. I've got shit to do. You see me heading for a plane right now, right?" "This is important!" "So is this." Sam tells him about the Flag Smashers, we get our silly Big Three/Gandalf conversation.

I'm sorry, but that whole jumping from the plane scene is funny as hell, and I love all the nods they added in to jokes from the press tours that brought us this show in the first place (like ripping the sleeve off his jacket lol). I don't think I'd change a single thing from the Big Three convo to Bucky joining Sam in the warehouse.

"You're doing the staring thing again." "You're staring at your watch," Bucky points out. He knows it's linked to Redwing, he's just pointing out how dumb that line is in that situation. They're there for recon lol. They're meant to be looking around.

I don't...particularly care about the other common gripe here? Meaning, "Bucky's a civilian, so why is he allowed to randomly jump in on a military mission?" Bucky's also known in this universe as an Avenger, just like Sam, so I don't think anyone would really bat an eye at him joining. Also, I have my own agenda related to Bucky's apparent freedom to walk in and out of military/government things.

What does bug me (as funny as it is) is Bucky's animosity toward Redwing. Again... Bucky is a certified nerd. Always has been. If anything, he'd be fascinated by Redwing and Sam would constantly have to slap him away because he's leaning in too close trying to see the tiny watch monitor. "I don't trust Redwing" is just old man griping "I don't trust your newfangled technology" and that... that's not Bucky.

And that "we're not assassins" dig, and then laughing when Bucky gets upset? That's not Sam. Both of these men have shown a remarkable amount of empathy, and Sam has a background in helping traumatized vets. If he cared enough about Bucky to be texting him after Steve left, he'd care enough not to make callous jokes about his time as The Winter Soldier, whether he knows the full story or not.

The fight on top of moving trucks looks cool, but makes no logical sense. I keep trying to think of a way to explain this from a story perspective, rather than a lazy "it looks cool!" filmmaking one, and I'm coming up blank. Anyone with half a brain would have pulled over, had the fight, and then taken off. It was a fun sequence, though... Eh. I'll leave it.

When Karli breaks Redwing, Bucky doesn't say "I always wanted to do that." Again, it's funny - I love the jabs about that stupid robo bird XD - but not Bucky. In my version, he smirks and says "You're so gonna regret that."

"You were kinda getting your asses kicked before we got there." Is immediately followed by Bucky staring him down and asking, "And... how did that fight end for you?" Sam adds, "I don't see them in custody. Are-are they following in a van?" He looks around, sarcastically searching for another vehicle. Walker and Hoskins grimace at each other, grudgingly conceding that point.

credit to @dailycelebs

Seeing Walker, and having to listen to his stupid pro-government rhetoric, makes Bucky think about Steve. When we cut from the Flag Smashers back to Bucky and Sam and the closeup of Bucky's pensive face, we hear 1940s Steve angrily telling 1940s Bucky about how the higher ups in the army had already written off the POWs and were going to leave them to die. "I love our country, Buck," he laments, "but what do I do when I'm not too sure anymore about the people who run it?"

"What you always do," is young Bucky's answer, "stand for what's right, not who's in power."

Perfect lead-in to the conversation about handling things themselves.

When Sam meets Isaiah, and hears his story, not only is he horrified and heartsick for him, but he also begins to see Bucky in a new light. He's seeing Bucky's face, the way he tries to hide his emotions and not make this conversation about him, and he's putting things together. He's still upset at being out of the loop, but he's seeing more of the situation than just "omg black super soldier". When Bucky says "he'd already been through enough," Sam asks quietly, "like you?"

The racist cop comes back before Bucky can answer, to arrest him for missing his appointment with Raynor.

ngl guys, I was so moved by the difference in how that cop treated Sam (before knowing he's Important) vs how he treated Bucky (knowing that the government views him as a violent, if pardoned, criminal). He approaches Sam with his hand on his gun, eager to defend Bucky; "is this guy bothering you?" Just because they're having a heated conversation. Then, when he sees that there's a warrant for Bucky, he approaches timidly, apologizes, treats him gently and politely. By "moved," btw, I don't mean "it was so sweet." I mean "this is fucking sick, and very, very realistic." White cops see a white guy and treat him with respect regardless of his actual criminal record, while being openly hostile towards an innocent black man without even knowing who he is, just because he's black. Moments like this made me applaud Spellman.

"You, too, Sam - That wasn't a request" is Sam's first sign that there's something off about Raynor.

Look, again... The couples therapy banter is funny because Sebastian and Anthony are funny, but that scene, from a storytelling and a mental health standpoint, is atrocious. Without some underlying reason behind her actions, Raynor is just a pointlessly terrible therapist.

Rather than insulting Bucky from the outset, Sam is angry with Raynor for violating Bucky's privacy by not only introducing herself as his therapist, but forcing a "couples" session without her patient's consent. With his background pre-Avenging, he knows this shit shouldn't fly. He immediately points out how unprofessional she's being.

Raynor doesn't bother listening - the fuck does she care, really? She shrugs and casually admits it's "slightly unprofessional" but proceeds anyway.

"Whatever's eating at him?" Sam scoffs. "Did you really just say that to a WWII veteran and the world's longest-serving POW with complex PTSD? Did I hear that right? I've had, maybe, like five conversations with this man since we met, and even I know he's been through some shit and-" "Sam," Bucky tries to interrupt, looking uncomfortable. With his crushing guilt, he has an easier time dealing with insults than someone coming to his defense. "No," Sam snaps. "If the HIPAA Slayer over here wants to drag me into this, she's damn well gonna hear what I have to say!" He turns back to Raynor and demands, "Is this how you've been treating him this whole time? Downplaying what he's been through and making a grown-ass man sound like a sulking teenager?" Raynor keeps her cool, but barely. Visibly frustrated and annoyed, she ignores Sam's tirade and tries to force the conversation back onto the track she wants it on. Bucky's embarrassed and doesn't know how to react to any of this, so he still makes that little "he would talk less" jab. Sam, seeing that he's not going to get anywhere with him until they're away from this bitch, glowers and plays along. We get our silly/angry banter.

After their argument with Walker, Sam finally confronts Bucky about what really happened to him.

"He meant HYDRA; HYDRA used to be my people." "Were they?" Sam asks, stopping him and looking him in the eye, not letting him look away or deflect. "Steve was under the impression that they were your captors. I was under the impression that the Wakandans spent two years deprogramming you so no one could use you the way HYDRA did ever again." "I-" Startled, not expecting that, Bucky stutters a little and admits, "Yeah, I... That's true, I guess." "You guess?" "Does it matter? Sam rolls his eyes. "I dunno, does it matter that you were a slave for most of the 20th century?" "I doubt it matters much to my victims." "HYDRA's victims," Sam corrects firmly. "Just like you." Bucky fidgets; he doesn't know what to do or say. No one since Steve has even so much as insinuated that Bucky wasn't 100% culpable for what he did while under HYDRA control. "Look," Sam sighs, "I don't particularly like you. I don't hate you, but I'm not your biggest fan." "...Thanks?" "I just need you to know where I stand-" "Yeah, got it-" "-So you know I'm not biased like Steve when I say you had no choice. I don't know your story, but I know no one flips on a dime from docile and plagued with guilt to an unstoppable killing machine and back without some serious psychological damage behind that. I'm not saying you're an innocent little bunny, but I don't think you're a monster." "Thanks," Bucky croaks, more sincerely this time, and a bit choked up. He clears his throat and looks distinctly uncomfortable as he grumbles, "but to catch these guys, we may need to talk to a monster." Sam cringes. "I was afraid you'd say that."

[pointnumbersixteen]

Headcanon for Cap's crush on Mike coming back and him panicking/floundering whenever he's around him, and getting sad when him and Ally are all cute together.

This is a tough one, mostly because I can’t picture any scenario in which Cap’s crush on Mike returns, at least without some serious character development on Mike’s part, and I don’t think the creators intend to develop him in that direction, unfortunately. 

To explain: 

Captain’s type is pretty clear: men who are fit, handsome, intelligent, and who are natural leaders with good people skills who also look good in green. And I’m pretty sure all of those things are required. 

Cap’s been shown to have some interest in four men on the show. Havers fit every single one of those things and Captain was clearly deeply attached to him. Adam the First AD was also every single one of those things and Cap fell for him pretty fast- I imagine if the filming at Button House had gone on for as many weeks as it was supposed to, Cap might have ended up pretty attached to him, too. Kevin (the Handsome One), however, did not fit the whole bill... he was fit, very handsome, in fact, he’s probably the best looking guy we’ve seen so far on the show, looked good in green, and had good people skills.  Whether or not he was intelligent or not can’t be determined by what was seen on the show. But what he was not was a natural leader. And Cap’s interest in him didn’t seem to go very far past physical attraction- rather than hanging on their every word, like he did with Havers and Adam, Cap’s attention to Kevin was mostly in passing and he was even willing to frame him for theft. So strong leadership skills and possibly intelligence seem to be the deciding factor.

Now, Mike is very fit. He falls somewhere between average and good looking, I suppose (I think average, but I understand that depends on your opinion of weak chins and jawlines. Sorry to anyone who might think that’s a little too nitpicky about male aesthetics. I’d argue at least that Cap doesn’t care too much about jawlines, though, because Adam’s isn’t great, either, although Adam does have a chin). Mike does look good in green. His people skills can be good, although they aren’t necessarily always. What he is not, however, is particularly intelligent or a natural leader. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Mike, but this is the case. And the latter didn’t even have time to come into play. If you remember the first episode, Cap became very interested in Mike on sight. And that interest evaporated completely never to return as soon as Mike implied that he doesn’t like to read. 

I think it would take a lot for Mike to overcome those two deficits for Cap. I don’t know. He’d have to decide to start a course of reading in the library. Or suddenly develop an intensive interest in WWII history. Or finally take charge of properly remodeling the house. Or stop just following along with whatever Alison wants all the time, but in a good way (sadly, I think they might intend to do this, but in a bad way, making him less understanding and more insecure as the show goes one- which is definitely not going to make him appeal more to Cap).    

So sadly, I can’t offer you Cap pining for Mike and getting sad over his being with Alison instead (and really, the poor guy’s probably spent enough time pining for the unattainable, anyway). Please accept these substitutions that I can endorse, however, on similar themes:

If your main goal was Cap lusting for Mike and floundering: 

1) Summer comes around, unusually warm, and Mike starts regularly working shirtless in just, like, basketball shorts (let’s not even talk about the way basketball shorts can drape in certain places) all around the house and grounds. Fanny and Cap reach a quiet understanding with each other on certain issues, and take to trailing him around the house whenever there’s a time they think Alison won’t notice, to enjoy the view. They’re both too civilized for spying in the bathroom, like Mary does, but they’re not above this... they just don’t want anyone else to know that they’re not above this, so make excuses for their reasons to be present whenever they get caught at it. Of course, everyone else noticed this forever ago, but they’re all too amused by it to say anything about it. They both particularly flounder in their excuses whenever it’s Alison that finds them. She, of course, knows damn well why they’re following Mike around. She enjoys the view, too. She does not call them on it. She is in fact the most amused person in the house. Mike’s reaction depends on the snippets he can get of Alison’s side of the conversation with the two, from irritated at things like ‘”I don’t know how useful you are supervising Mike’s tile work; it’s not like you can tell him if it’s going wrong,” to confused at things like, “Oh, you particularly like the wallpaper in this bathroom, do you?” But whenever Mike asks Alison about it, she tells him, “oh, the Ghosts are just being weird again,” because really, it can’t hurt him, and she thinks the Repression Duo really could use letting go long enough to enjoy the view. Then it cools down again, Mike starts wearing shirts, and Cap and Fanny both immediately go back to their scoffing. 

2) Captain has just finished his evening pre-bed security inspection of Button House (headcannoned) and gasp, shock, horror: the door has been left unlocked. Alison must be informed at once. The security of Button House depends on it! He rushes up to Alison’s room to tell her, to walk in on gasp, shock, horror: the thing he dreads the most, (’horseplay’) heterosexual sex! He makes a noise of alarm. Alison hears and then sees him and shrieks. Mike shrieks because Alison shrieked and jumps out of bed. Cap quickly looks away from Alison (but doesn’t run away, as Alison still must be informed, he has a duty) because he’s a gentleman, and also, frankly, because naked woman is just not a sight he wants to see. And instead, he ends up looking directly at Mike. And: damn. Daaaammmmmmn. And suddenly, my boy is Sprung. Up close IRL frontal views of hard bodied naked men just weren’t something he got much of whilst alive. I mean, there were always communal showers, but taking a good hard look was not something that would have gone well for him in his time. Cap comes to his senses and starts to retreat, just as Alison starts yelling at him to leave. He tells her about the unlocked door as he runs through the nearest wall. But he flounders whenever Mike is around for the next several weeks, and can’t quite look Alison in the eye. After Alison gets over her initial irritation at him (after all, it’s not like he can knock) and eventually talks him down. But still, Cap never quite looks at Mike the same way again (daaammmnnn). 

If what you’re looking for is actually the pining at Mike and Alison being cute, though, I can do that, too:

3) Captain eventually acknowledges and comes to terms with the fact that he’s gay. And every time he sees Mike and Alison together, being cute and coupley, cuddling on the couch, holding hands, kissing, it just kills him.He starts trying to avoid them, just so he doesn’t have to think about it. Gaping sadness. Not because he doesn’t get to be like that with Mike. But because he never got to be like that with anyone. 

[davebuckleslefthand]

"I just thought you had the right to know." 

Buckler

·

Replying to @marklevinshow

IF you cannot, shut up.

Most of all: don' t you even

whisper to us, much less talk

in our general direction. ya dig?

Kumala Harris; is not only an

ambitious whore, but a conniving

one as well. Look at Brown had to say about

Hurris treated him after she got what she wanted:

“The difference is that Harris is the only one who, after I

helped her; he sent word that I would be indicted I ‘so much

as jaywalked’ while she was D.A.,” the Willy Brown wrote.. 

"that;'s politics for you..." Replying to @marklevinshow

it's not me?

nah... it's not JUST me.

https://palaceintrigueblog.com/2019/01/27/president-whore

"'YA KNOW...'"  (ongoing, never dying discussion, if only by myself)

"I just thought of a great many things; one subject has an entirely not so different conversation dotting it's background. happen all the time..." man, i wonder what Lee thought... n'ya, it'll all come out."

"Did I overhear you say you got a friend that's missing?"

Well, I doubt he's missing. He's just not around. Oh, yeah, well; reading World Weekly News.

Just a while ago there was a guy out on the street. He's found wandering around, didn't know who he was,

where he came from.He's perfectly healthy, but he's a complete amnesiac, you know.

A lot of people like that found, uh, just wandering around lately. You know, no history, no nothing.weird, huh? - Yeah. You know about the suppressed transmission, of course? - Mm-mmm. - This is the 20th anniversary of the moon walk, you know. And way back when they're giving us that "One giant step for mankind" another astronaut's

in the background yelling

his fool head off:

"Oh, my God. What's that over in the crater? What is that?"

Well, NASA cuts him off just like that. But those of us with the right kind of radios, you know what I mean? Yeah, we got enough of it. there's a giant spacecraft over in the other crater,

looking at them. That's right. Oh, it all begins to leak

out then... that the space program's just one giant big

cover-up, all covert operation between the United States government and the Soviet Union. It's been going on for over 30 years. We've been on the moon since the '50s. You wanna know how we got there, right? I'll tell you: Anti-gravity drive. The Anti-gravity technology. We stole it from the Nazis after the end of WWII.

It's perfectly obvious; you know, I was watching this Late, Late Show. A lot of truth in the Late, Late Show. You know, they slip it through there, they figure nobody's watching, Anyway, there is this sci-fi movie called Alternative Three. And, uh, it's about kidnapping

people, using a little psycho-surgery on them... turn them into zombies. And making them colonize the

and Mars. Funny, huh? Except it's absolutely true, all of it.

We've been on Mars since '62. It was May 22nd. That's a very

important date for you to remember, pal. - Yeah, that's my birthday. - Right. So, see... the reason we're up there covertly is because of the greenhouse effect. It all ties in. Yeah, greenhouse effect.

By the way, they discovered that in the '40s. You can ask yourself what they've been doing sitting on their ass' for 49 years, While we're out here with some serious social diseases and everything else. Never mind that. Everybody says... "Greenhouse effect. A hundred years from now. Oh, I'll be long dead, gone and out of here. " Not so, my friend. Not so; our government

sitting on facts: it's 10-20 years maximum. It's getting hotter, don't you think, 't's not even summer yet; yeah, and when the polar ice caps begin to melt... it's not gonna take a certified genius to understand that we're in - serious global confusion. I mean,

really,

we're in massive mainline ecological chaos.

Anyway, it's happening even as we speak. So, I'll tell you what they've already done. They've colonized outer space. they could not colonize everybody. No, no.

That would be global bankruptcy.

We couldn't beat the greenhouse effect anyway. This secret group, you know, the group that's in charge of the government.

Oh, yeah. They're gonna get boosted off this rock before it melts. And the rest of us, what do they care? By the way, there's something you should know. You see, this entire operation's being funded... by the profits from the Medelln drug cartel. And they're specifically set up by the C.I.A. to handle large sums of money being fun-

neled into this project Keep it under your hat. The people they need, like scientists. You heard about that? All the missing scientists around the world, and those that are mysteriously dying? that's all part of the

recruiting process. I really hope your

friend is not, well - Well, they need a

lot of lackeys to do

the labor though. So they'll be looking

for ordinary guys. You

know, just like you and me. Yeah, they need those to kind

of colonize things. You know, they

do a little psycho-surgery on us, a little

liquid lobotomy here. Well. And I know this

for a fact. They got this drug down in Guatemala

in the rain forest. Why do you think the C.I.A.'s down

there hacking the hell out of the forest, huh? Make sense?

Sure it does.

Yeah,

this drug takes away your long-term memory, but leaves your short-term memory, so there you are, you got people... don't know who they are, where they came from... but you tell them to do some thing to do and they do it. They can follow instructions.

Perfect employees. - "Sounds like most people I know."

So. They

must like

children too,

because the statistics

of the F. B. I. Since 1980...

said that 350,000 children are

just missing. They just disappeared. There's not that many perverts around. You know the worst thing about this, pal? Is that you're in close proximity to all this. You know, I mean, Houston's right down the road. You know,

the main headquarters.

NASA. Sure, in

the main

headquarters,

around the world.

All right, look. I gotta go

see this friend of mine, okay?

Yeah, right in here. - Is this it? Okay.

Anyway, look, pal. It's been nice talking

to you. I really hope your friend isn't one of

them already.

- I'm sure he's not. - Yeah, well...

"I just thought you had the right to know." 

[smokyproggrock]

Spyfall part 2 thoughts

SPOILERS!! also this ended up a lot longer than I expected.

so much of this episode were callbacks to past doctor who!! basically fanservice but I was an absolute sucker for it

the first scene on the plane was so good, from that alone I could already tell this episode would be amazing. The way it transitioned from 13 in the strange dimension to the plane scene, and how 13 talking to herself worked with the action...

the doctor saving them from crashing was the main reason why I knew it would be good bc I knew it would eventually explain how she saved them and I love when stuff like that happens

the blink reference had me screaming, I know it’s basic but that was so cool

I was very glad we got to see 13 in a suit for another entire episode. gay rights

the “chase through time” was so cool, it was amazing and worked perfectly in the story, and I feel like if they elaborated on that it would make a stunning story

l loved Eda so much. The fact that the doctor didn’t kiss her at the end is homophobic

The WWII scene at the beginning rly reminded me of the empty child/the doctor Dances and I was hoping they’d make a reference

I was sad she had to erase their memories but I understand why

I also loved the contrast between the historical scenes and the fam in modern day

A lot of the things 13 did this episode reminded me a lot of 11. like talking to herself in the weird dimension and the apparating man scene

also when she addressed the light beings after coming to save the day she said “listen you lot” which reminded me of the pandorica speech and then she said something like “this planet is protected” which reminded of 11’s speech at the end of the eleventh hour

I also loved seeing her in a more serious mood

When the doc stole the masters tardis that was so good, especially when he was like “that was the worst 77 years of my life”

It’s so satisfying to see the master get outsmarted when he thinks he’s in control

the light beings across time is not what I expected, I wanted it to be parallel earths bc of part one and when the master said everything you know is a lie I thought it was about the nature of reality being a lie but I guess not. that would’ve been cool though

The fam were great

I love graham even more now if that’s possible, in part one I was hoping they’d use the laser shoes that was so good!! “dance graham dance!!” iconic.

I liked seeing those 3 interact without the doc around. It probably happened in s11 i don’t remember anything, but it was cool seeing them talk without her

The tech plot was especially scary bc like. That’s something that could feasibly happen right now except without the aliens

The idea of humans as a hard drive is interesting and very creepy, especially the vor guy using his own mom??

also the vor guy reminds me of an rtd era villain for some reason plus the evil tech concept reminded the of the WiFi episode from series 7

ok so one of the main reason I love the master is their Drama and this guy. did not disappoint

his enterance into the room in 1834 and. the fucking tissue compression eliminator (shrink ray)!!!!!! that made me so happy in part one I’m so glad they brought it back. anyway. exquisite

like many have said he really reminds me of simm

he’s so emotional, like his sadness, his anguish, his anger and rage, he’s like batshit crazy and I love it. Sacha Dhawan Has The Range.

he’s also good at dramatically screaming which is a huge plus. the “DOCTAHHH!!!!” at the end.

Every time the master and doctor interacted in this ep it was like. wow I am thoschei trash, like those two know each other so well!! best enemies 4ever y’all

also all of those scenes reminded be how fucking bi i am like holy shit those two are unstoppable

The frigging contact scene. pure artistry. have they done that since classic who? I thought ten and simm might have but I don’t remember

anyway “old school, you’re not the only one who can do classic”, loved that line (referring to the tissue compression eliminator I assume)

also THE DRUMS!! that scene was amazing, I especially loved how the music synced up with the beeping and the beeps became the beat, and how the drums doubled the beeping... pure fucking artistry

When the doctor shows up to save the day the look on the masters face is priceless

Also “Oh.” “That’s your name don’t wear it out!” that was one of the best moments in the ep holy shit!!!

I think the master is genuinely sad and angry at both himself for bombing gallifrey and the time lords for their supposed lies. I’m excited to find out

I’m asssuming he burned all of gallifrey and not just the capital bc they only showed the capital, too bad though I hoped we’d see some of the doc talking to gallifreyans again

And of course I like that the fam is finally getting to know her past, what she said at the end was very reminiscent of the many “I am the doctor” speeches.

still don’t know wtf a “timeless child” is tho

[disappearinginq]

for the writers ask thing: (3) What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway) AND (6) What character do you have the most fun writing?

Hilariously, the first one is a Prodigal Son scene between the team (specifically JT) and I just wanted a...merger? scene between beginning season JT & Malcolm, where they just like to harass one another, to basically an embodiment of the Kink!Tomato explanation. I like that they’re not cozy with each other, but they go from purposefully hurtful banter to just off beat teasing, and I had a scene where that was spelled out. I wonder if I can find it...or possibly actually getting around to writing the fic that i wrote three lines of dialogue for when @rohanrider3 gave me a prompt for it.  As for most fun -ooo. Hmm. Snarky ones. And family relations. I think one of my favorite things to write was between Bellamy and Kane for Left Behind, despite not watching the show for years now, and that fic sits languishing in writing purgatory. 

And I really, really love to write unexpectedly smart/badass characters (or make canon characters into unexpectedly smart/badass characters, because no one can prove I’m wrong).  Edit: FOUND THE PRODIGAL SON THING. 

“No, JT, really, I want to know,” Malcolm snapped, holding his hand out – steadier than JT could remember ever seeing it – jabbing accusatorily at him. “What exactly was I supposed to do? Hmm? If you know, I’d love to hear it, because I haven’t got a fucking clue. I’m a bit of an outlier, you see – people aren’t good with things they can’t categorize. They want to stuff you in a box whether you fit or not, and I’m guessing as a Hispanic male combat veteran, there’s a couple boxes people like to tick off for you, right? Suicidal. PTSD. Temper problems. Into drugs and alcohol. Anyone ever tell you you’re a ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off?”

JT didn’t answer – it was rhetorical and both of them knew it. Veterans today had a rate of suicide comparable to WWII, and instead of trying to curb the trend by digging deeper to find out why, Washington just swept it under the rug – denied treatment, refused disability claims, shoved people out on the street like Monday morning garbage. The only time people cared enough to even Google the statistics were November 11th and the last Monday in May.

“Oh look,” Malcolm barreled on. “Finally, something we have in common. We don’t like it when people try to shove us in boxes to make us something we’re not. But you know what? You’re at least not alone. You can feel it, and it can seem it, but you’re not – one point three million people in our military, odds are at least one of them feels like you. Can understand what you’ve been through, why you are the way you are. Wanna know how many serial killers had kids? Huh?”

Malcolm’s pointed finger became a splay of five.

“Five. In the last half century, with their kids still alive today – five. Six kids total. Ted Bundy’s daughter has vanished so completely not even the FBI knows who or where she is. Dennis Rader’s kids? His daughter fucking wrote him a letter forgiving him for what he did and that she ‘hoped to see him in Heaven one day’ and that she still loved him, and her brother told the newspapers that despite killing ten people in utterly horrific ways, he was a good dad. And nobody comes close to the Surgeon’s body count – maybe the ones he was convicted for, but not what he’s suspected of.”

“Look, Bright, I – ” JT tried to cut in. Bright’s glare stopped him midsentence.

“No, no, no, no, you don’t get to derail this train now,” Malcolm snapped. “Not when you’re the one who keeps looking at me like I’m only one conviction away from being Martin Whitly’s sequel because I’m good at my job. And you know what, literally anyone else who is a profiler, or a criminal psychologist, or even a forensic psychologist is supposed to try and interpret the criminal mind, but I don’t see you avoiding Dr. Tanaka. My father was the monster, not me. I was fucking ten years old when I turned him in. All the other Serial Killer Kids were adults when the police found out their fathers were killers, but I don’t see the FBI keeping tabs on them, waiting for them to pick up where Dear Old Dad left off. So why me? Because I annoy you? Because it bothers you that because I can’t solve my own problems, I try to solve others? I have twenty three lives that were cut short because of the Surgeon that I have to make up for, and yeah, there’s only so many ways I can atone for my father’s sins.”

JT wasn’t the only one who noticed the change in Malcolm’s voice as he almost choked on the word father in relation to Martin, his already pale features turning slightly green at the mention of being related to the Surgeon.

“Since you seem to have all the answers, why don’t you clue the rest of us in? Hmm?” Malcolm threw his hands wide to encompass the whole room. “What should I be doing that would make you believe that I am not my father’s son?”

Dani shifted in her chair, looking like she’d rather be anywhere but here, but gave him a side-eyed glare that clearly stated she was actually on Bright’s side for this one. Gil hadn’t said a word the entire argument, but then, if he’d known Malcolm since the day he’d turned in Martin, then he’d probably heard it more than once.

Malcolm must’ve said it more than once, because that was a lot of statistics to rattle off that fast.

JT sighed, picking up a pen and tapping it against the notepad just to have something to do with his hands as he met Malcolm’s eyes.

“It’s not what you think,” JT said. “It…” he considered his next words, weighing the sound of them in his head before he said them aloud. “I think you’re so good at this, it’s killing you.”

Whatever response Malcolm had braced himself for – because that’s exactly what he was doing, keeping his hands firmly over his chest, hunching slightly like he was expecting a physical blow – that wasn’t it. The kid’s eyebrows almost shot into his hairline before they narrowed back in suspicion, and JT couldn’t really blame him.

“I knew these guys – combat guys, all of them. Saw some serious shit over in Syria. Afghanistan. Iraq. You name the shit storm, they were in it, boots on the ground. They didn’t fare much better than you. Nightmares. Depression. The twitchy hands. The mania. The insomnia. Insisting they were fine.” He absently let the pen in his hand doodle across the notepad, and he watched as Malcolm’s gaze couldn’t help but flicker towards the movement more than keep JT’s gaze. “Hyper vigilant. Some of them saw counselors, but you know how that goes…seeing them doesn’t mean they followed their advice. Sometimes it’s just a band aid on a bullet hole. A couple of them got jobs where they thought they could do some good – use those skills, those…habits, at work. Thought it gave them an edge. Kept them vigilant.”

JT clicked the pen, putting it down as he leaned forwards, his elbows on the table, interlocking his fingers as he caught Malcolm’s piercing gaze. “It burned them out. One put a gun in his mouth Christmas Eve in his basement while his kids were asleep upstairs. The other one stepped in front of train during the morning commute. The other one gave himself a heart attack – he’s the one that lived. And you may not believe me, Bright, but I don’t want that to be you on the evening news. You may be good at this job, but I think it’s bad for you. Trying to make up for things you had no control over, keeping some tally in that head of yours of if the life you saved is equal to the one he took. That’s not healthy, and if your stupid habit of haring off after murderers without backup doesn’t kill you, then this life will. I don’t think you’re anything like the Surgeon, because if you were, this wouldn’t bother you at all, instead of eating you alive from the inside out.”  

The room was quiet enough you could hear a pin drop.

Dani shot him her half smile reserved for special occasions and people she particularly approved of. Gil’s expression was still hidden by his hand over his mouth, but JT realized he wasn’t looking at him – probably hadn’t been for most of the conversation.

He was watching Malcolm.

Malcolm who was completely silent.

He didn’t think Bright did silent. He pretty much non-stop jabbered on, even when he wasn’t supposed to. Perhaps even especially when he wasn’t supposed to.

And now that piercing blue stare was levelled straight at him, and JT fought the urge to fidget under the intensity of it.

Malcolm’s eyes widened slightly, a funny little gasp that would’ve made more sense coming from someone who’d just had ice water dumped down their back passing between suddenly parted lips as he pulled his head back as if physically slapped. “You’re…not lying.”

JT frowned, glancing over at Gil who was still zeroed in on Malcolm. The older man hadn’t decided if this was good or bad, which put JT even more on edge.

“No, I’m not lying. Why would I lie about something like that?” He tried to catch Gil’s attention without getting even more of Malcolm’s, but the older detective ignored him.

[ciarawritesmarvel]

first impressions - steve rogers x reader

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: The reader in this universe just does swear a lot and she doesn't apologise for it (but I do a little bit), some arguing but it only serves the sexual tension ;)

A/N: Yes, this is another oneshot belonging to the Number Five Universe, which now has its own post with all the oneshots I’ve planned in chronological order. That does not mean that is the order I’ll post them. You can VERY EASILY read this on its own. but this is the meeting of the Y/N and Steve we know and love. I love you all, and thank you for all the participation in my 3.5k celebration - more to come on that in 12 followers time! :)

masterlist is in my bio, tags are in a reblog... please drop an ask to be tagged in steve/number five/all works! <3

---

“Adjustment Officer? Really Fury? You even have a name for it?” you said exasperatedly as you spun in his chair. Every time he thought you had stopped, you pushed off with your toes against his desk again, spinning more furiously than before and eventually he grabbed the armrest and stopped you dead in your tracks with a sigh.

“Could I have my chair back please, Agent?”

“You can have your chair back if I can have my real job back,” you retorted and when there was no answer you carefully kicked his hand away from the chair and resumed your spinning.

“Stop being a damn child, Y/N,” he said, leaning against his own desk and folding his arms across his chest, “I need somebody that I trust to do this. You know that list isn’t very long.”

“What about Maria?”

“She’s busy.”

“So am I, Nick!” you threw your arms up in the air, still spinning but with most of your momentum lost, “I’m fucking busy too! I do not have the time - or the patience - to babysit your latest pet project.”

You finally stood from his chair and crossed the floor to stand beside the floor to ceiling windows that lined one of the walls. You looked out across the city. Steven Grant Rogers, Captain America himself, born in 1918, was out there somewhere, defrosting as you spoke and you were supposed to be looking after him? Showing him the ropes of the 21st century? Teaching him how to use a computer mouse and taking him for ice cream on a Friday evening for being such a good boy. Not happening.

“I’m not asking you, Agent. You know that.”

And yet apparently, it was happening.

All too soon, you found yourself walking into a room with a certain supersoldier - not that you’d ever be caught calling him that - opposite you and sat at a table that he seemed to be handcuffed to.

“Who did that?” you nodded to his trapped hands and he looked up at you warily, regarding you with an apprehension which could only have come from so many SHIELD agents sedating you and taking you to a strange room that you weren’t allowed to leave in a time seventy years after your own. It was a strain to remember this man had lived through WWII.

“They did,” he eventually answered, glancing to the two guards posted at the doorway, guns in hand, eyes staring straight ahead without a falter. You rolled your eyes.

You took a pin from your hair and straightened it with your teeth, smiling apologetically at him as you picked the lock of his handcuffs and let them clatter down onto the tabletop.

“Ma’am? We’re under orders-”

“New orders,” you interrupted, turning to them with hands firmly planted on your hips, “Go to Starbucks and get yourselves something fancy. I’ve got this.”

“Ma’am-”

“I’ve got this,” you assured them, a twinkle in your eye that went hand in hand with the steely glare and was just enough to get them to nod at your demand and make their way out of the room, leaving just you and the Captain in the empty room.

“Was that a tactic to get me on side?” he asked when you’d sat down opposite him and leaned over the table, elbows resting on either side of you, face studying him lightly. Taking him in.

“No,” you shrugged, leaning back and placing your feet on the table, one after another, ankles crossed and posture completely relaxed, “I just find them annoying. And I’m almost positive I don’t need protection from Captain America.”

“Almost?”

“Well, we don’t know what seventy years under ice has done to you yet, do we?” you joked but his face fell and you inwardly cursed yourself. Bad timing.

“It’s Steve,” he said suddenly, tone harsh and you looked at him quizzically, “Not Captain America. Just Steve.”

“Okay ‘Just Steve’,” you addressed him, finally seeing just the hint of a smile twitching at the right corner of his mouth, “You understand what’s happened now? I believe somebody came and filled you in?”

“Vaguely.”

“Okay. Well, I’ve been assigned as your-” you shuddered, “-Adjustment Officer. My sole job is to help you in your transition, answer any and all questions you might have and to eventually ensure that you become one of our best assets.”

“What did you do wrong to get this job?” Steve asked, a dark and hollow chuckle escaping him and you frowned.

“More like what did I do right. This is an important job, Cap- Steve. Our director needed somebody he could trust.”

“Great. That’s just great,” Steve retorted, his eyes flashing with an anger that you’d never seen on the numerous posters of him you’d seen, “I’ve been assigned a glorified babysitter but at least it’s someone trustworthy according to the guy with the eyepatch.”

You took a deep breath.

“I know this must be a difficult adjustment for you. That’s why I’m-”

“No, Agent, the reason you’re here is because you have to be. You don’t want to be, or you wouldn’t have physically shuddered when you talked about it just now. You’d rather be in the field, with a reason to use that gun you’ve got hidden in your boot, but instead you’ve been stuck with the old man and his retirement plan,” his voice was getting louder and louder until eventually he was leaning over the table, palms pressed into the metal as he dropped his voice low and hissed, “Well sorry sweetheart, but I don’t want a babysitter and I certainly don’t want you.”

You stayed in your position. Unfazed. Steve wasn’t a threat to you. But your jaw was clenched and your body rigid. Because it was now clear that he was going to be annoying as all hell.

“You listen here, sweetheart,” you spat out the word as if it tasted bad on your tongue as you stood from your chair to gain the height advantage, “You’re damn right. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to have to look after you. You’re a burden. You’re too emotional. You’re a liability. But I’ve been given an assignment. So we are stuck with each other and unless you get your head out of your ass and decide to play along, being stuck with me will be worse than being frozen in time. Do we understand each other, ‘Just Steve’?”

He gaped up at you, jaw slackened and eyes slightly wider. Then he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and dropped his eye contact.

“We do,” he muttered and then, with a renewed fire, “Just don’t expect me to like it.”

You scoffed.

“You and me both, old man.”

---

You were sat on a park bench. Steve Rogers was sat beside you.

Well beside you wasn’t quite the right term. He was actually sat well away from you, in a position that could only be described as hunched. It was quiet. Peaceful, even. Until-

“So these phones…” Steve was glancing from person to person around them, watching them tapping away at tiny screens, “They’re all connected.”

“In a way,” you replied, “They’re all on a network which connects them which is how they communicate with each other. Electromagnetic waves and stuff such as that.”

Steve nodded. Took it in. In all fairness, he was a very quick learner.

A lot of that came from the fact that he actually listened to you.

“Thank you.”

He always said it. Meant it. You could tell. You knew liars, hundreds upon thousands of liars. Rogers wasn’t one. He told the truth, even if sometimes you wished he didn’t.

Three weeks into this arrangement and you felt like sharing some truth of your own.

“Hey Steve,” you said calmly and he turned to face you, “I never said - I really admire you. Everything you did. It was a big inspiration, you know, when I was training.”

He looked utterly taken aback. As if that was the absolute last thing he expected to come out of your mouth at that moment. You tried not to be too offended at the fact that he thought you incapable of giving him a compliment.

“Thank you, Y/N,” he smiled, his small little genuine smile you’d only seem twice so far. You resolved to see it more often, “I appreciate that. You have a lot of…”

He paused. You got antsy.

“A lot of…?”

“Definitely not patience,” he joked and you huffed and turned away from him, prompting him to answer seriously, “A lot of heart. You’re impatient and you swear too much and you’re generally quite insufferable. But you have a lot of heart.”

When you glanced back at him in surprise, he was back at his people watching, refusing to meet your eye. Despite everything, you felt your heart grow a tinge warmer along with the back of your neck.

“Yeah well you’re stubborn and far too serious and generally intolerable but you have a lot of heart too, Spangles.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you affirmed softly and then, as an afterthought, “But in case it wasn’t clear enough -  you’re still an ass.”

He laughed, shaking his head and stuffing his hands in his pockets to keep out the chill in the air. You folded yours into your armpits. Tapped your toes against the grass.

“And you’re still a glorified babysitter so who’s the real loser here?” he asked smugly, sitting back into the bench in a rare moment of comfort. You leaned back too and enjoyed the brief relaxation.

“The grown man who needs the babysitter - duh.”

He grumbled a little at that and the sound made you smile despite yourself. That, and the fact you had a lot of heart was still replaying in your quickly fraying mind.

“Anyway, nanny, I believe I was promised ice cream?”

“It’s freezing,” you deadpanned, blinking at him but he simply pulled himself from his seat and looked at you expectantly.

“And?”

You muttered expletives to yourself as you swatted the hand he’d held out to help you up away and pulled yourself up on your own instead.

“Come on then, you child.”

Steve followed behind you with little complaint.

---

Six weeks into the arrangement. Things were not smooth sailing, but there were never going to be. There was still this same understanding though, one that just managed to keep things at a simmering tension, just stopped things from boiling over.

Most of the time.

“Honestly, if you don’t get out of my apartment right now I swear I will call Fury and tell him to find me a new babysitter,” you gaped at Steve as he spoke, eyes wide but he merely shrugged, “I’m not kidding.”

“Steve, I am not having chinese again. That is final.”

“And that is why I’m telling you to get out.”

Admittedly, things ‘boiling over’ no longer meant biting matches where you’d try your best to truly cut into each other and instead had changed into what could only be described as ‘comfortable bickering’. Your life had been many things, but you couldn’t remember for the life of you a time when any aspect of it could be called comfortable.

“Fine, we can have chinese. But four times in one week isn’t healthy, Spangles.”

“I’m a super soldier, I eat what I want to.”

“And what about me?” you ask and when he shrugs in response you mumble, “Fuckin’ bastard.”

“That’s 36 minutes. A new record.”

“What?”

“36 minutes without swearing. That’s the longest ever!” Steve says, sarcastically proud of you in just the worst way and you sink into the couch cushions in response, folding your arms.

“Why do you always have to be so fu-“

Your phone rang and interrupted you. You answer. Maria is on the other end, tone clinical, explaining a situation that was all too familiar. A threatened terrorist attack, many people in danger. You were needed. You gave her a rough ETA and hung up.

“I’m coming,” Steve was already up off the sofa and you knew he’d heard your phone call. You sighed as you stood too, brushing down your jeans and pocketing your phone.

“We’ve been over this Steve, you’ve not been cleared for-“

“I’m coming.”

He was persistent. You took the silent opportunity to glance at him and saw the man that you’d always seen on the posters. The determination. The steel. The...concern? Well that was new.

“I can handle myself, Steve.”

“Oh I’m well aware,” he said, with just the slightest shiver as he remembered the time you’d punched him in the gut for one of his comments in the first week, “But I’m coming. You and I? We protect people. Let me do what I do best.”

There was an unspoken extra word, please, that you didn’t even need to hear to have your pulse pick up by four beats per minute. But only four, which wasn’t too bad, you reasoned. And in your mind, there wasn’t a choice.

Because you did protect people. And so did he. So who were you to stop him?

“Okay.”

You readied yourselves and stepped out of the door, taking the stairs down two at a time and you hopped into the driver’s seat without a second thought. He didn’t question it.

You seemed to understand yours and Steve’s understanding more and more every day.  

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Random List of Anime Recommendation:

This is mostly directed for @caratheillustrious but I figured posting it wouldn’t really be that much of a problem anyway. I’ll divide these up into categories in terms of mood.

Feel Good Stuff – Some stuff that leaves you feeling good about stuff. Whether the majority of the series or film is lighthearted or it’s just laidback, both will be included here.

Tokyo Godfathers: one of my favourite anime movies and far more light-hearted than Koe no Katachi (warning though for slurs used in this movie towards transwomen – she’s still the best character in the movie and the movie makes a point to let her know that she’s the best human on this very planet because Hana is a treasure)

Gin no Saji: If you've watched Fullmetal Alchemist, it has the same creator except it's slice-of-life on a farm. I found it to be touching because it squares in on student experiences and connections. Also has sage advice.

Barakamon: Has children actually voiced by children. I watched it during a really important period of time for me. It centres and hits points that a lot of artists have.

Kimi to Boku: I can't remember why I enjoyed this anime. I just know that I did for some reason. It was really simple.

The Boy and the Beast: I have mixed thoughts about this movie, but at the end of the day, I really enjoyed it.

Zombieland Saga: I just find it nice to find an idol anime that doesn’t focus on the whole “the girls all have to be cute”. One is a biker chick, one is indicated to be a former prostitute, one is a verified transgirl.

Those Movies That Have to be Mentioned – I’m legally obligated to mention these.

Anthem of the Heart: sounds like a crack premise ("girl gets cursed by an egg to never speak again after seeing her dad cheat with another woman in a love hotel like a castle") but ends up being really good.

Your Name: practically everyone has watched that.

Koe no Katachi: A lot of people have watched this already. I always recommend it, but it's very emotionally heavy and deals with suicide, bullying, and disability. It's ending can make you cry from happiness though.

Wolf Children: Well, only if you're okay with crying (at least on the inside)

Hotarubi no Mori e: It's only 40 minutes. Probably won’t make people cry, but yeah, I can’t say that much.

Shounen – crack open one of these, and the boys and girls are sure to come

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic: It was my first anime. It has a lot of shonen crap, but it's also dialogue-heavy.

Seishun Buta Yarou: Drew in fanbois for the "plot" (bunny girl - what else can I say) and made people stay for the actual plot. It ended up being really quirky and funny. It was like the Monogatari series (which I tried and didn't like) but better and more "legal"

Yakusoku no Neverland: If you've watched Chicken Run, imagine that with people. It's a farm that farms children so they try to run.

Kimetsu no Yaiba: Shonen Jump doesn't have that many misses.

Noragami: The gags resonated with 14-year-old me

Assassination Classroom: Underdeveloped cast? Yeah, but it was still a really good Shonen Jump adaptation.

SKET Dance: The romance is too... canonly ambiguous for me to really put this under “romance”, it’s a comedy but can be serious, so I decided to put it under here. It’s quickly become one of my favourites. 

Comedy – The stuff that’s not quite conventionally “shounen or shoujo” but still tries to make you laugh, no matter how hard they try or how hit-and-miss they are

Mob Psycho 100: The second season is amazing. I found it to be a really good solid show.

Hinamatsuri: If you like Mob Psycho or if you just like the idea of an adult adopting a kid and teaching them stuff along with the kid teaching them, this is the one for you. I was laughing and crying (from tears of laughter) at this.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun: I can’t label this a romance because the romance doesn’t go anywhere. We start at square one and we finish at square one, but the stuff that happens in the meantime makes it all worth it.

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou / Nichijou: Hit-and-miss, but there are a lot of iconic moments here.

Hataraku Saibou: I think this fits the best here. It’s just a good solid anime about cells in your body.

Shoujo/Romance – In case you need some fluff to fill the dark times; cheese levels vary.

Fruits Basket: Shoujo at its best.

Kono Oto Tomare: I don't know how this got produced by Shonen Jump SQ because it's like a cliche shoujo that would make even shoujo manga readers throw up flowers

Toradora: It's a hit-and-miss for people just because the main character is a tsundere (played by the queen of tsundere herself)

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi: this ended up being a guilty pleasure for me – not quite a direct romance but direct enough

Haikara-san go Tooru: Technically a movie and only has the first part, but the manga is from mid-70s is a shining example of the feminist boom in Japan after WWII

Gamers!: This was best explained by a comment I read somewhere going “I love this anime, but it makes me want to bang my head on a wall repeatedly”. Misunderstandings: The Anime. Everyone has a hard time.

Kaguya-sama: It was a huge hit in the 2019 Winter season of anime and for good reason. It’s getting a new season coming up too.

Wotakoi: Two adults falling in love. It’s funny and a little bit niche and directed towards otaku.

Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo: Technically a shounen, it was a harem anime that ended up being pretty good? I was so side-tracked by the idea of that, especially since I found the premise mildly interesting. The manga gets extra points for being really cute with that last chapter. I mean, it has boobs, ass, and a lot of kissing, but the female mangaka was taught by the creator of Fairy Tail so it’s really runs in their roots.

Shigatsu no Kimi no Uso: Ultimately included this one in romance, but many would say this belongs in the next category.

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime: This is so heavy on cheese that I had to pause at times and go “what am I doing? Is this how I die? How will my family react to me watching this?” (the last question is one I ask of myself often)

Hamefura: Have you ever wished for a harem with GUYS and GALS?! Have you ever wished for a bisexual harem with a protagonist is dumb, and literally everyone but her knows it?! Look no further!

Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo.: I found this to be a very empowering anime. It tackles the sexuality of women, and it does it in a very... unique package.

The Horror! The Horror! Some Dark Stuff That Belongs in a Cauldron, and those onion-cutting ninjas. – Honestly, it’s not my favourite genre, but some of these ended up being among my favourite anime?

Death Parade: It wasn't in the genre I usually watch (no comedy at all), yet I was moved every time? That last figure skating scene was *Canadian-French Accent* C’est Magnifique.

Shinsekai Yori: I watched this anime feeling SOOOOO UNEASY. Nothing was even happening that was “scary”. It was just the mere ideas behind it as the eerie world-building led me to go “WAHHHHH” over my computer. It’s one of the best anime I’ve watched, but I can’t recommend it to everyone.

Mousou Dairinin: It’s Satoshi Kon but sane. You actually get a conclusive ending. It has a surprisingly current message behind it though. It’s like Satoshi Kon continues to influence.

Perfect Blue: Now to the less sane Satoshi Kon work that confused me. Western movies literally copied one of the scenes from this movie. 

No. 6: I can’t list this anywhere else, but it was the first anime to depict a really, really, really sweet gay relationship. Even though it was a complete fail adaptation-wise, it also gave Hosoya (voice actor) inspiration to keep going. It’s a gift. 

Anohana: *ahem* I was recommended the anime by someone I’m no longer close with, but the memories that I had watching this and the message was probably the closest an anime has brought me to actually crying in a non-depressive fashion. 

Gakkougurashi: Cute girls doing cute things with zombies that are about to eat them and destroy them all.

Erased: Okay, compared to other great series that I’ve yet to watch (Steins;Gate and Monster), it’s probably trash, but I remember really enjoying it when I first watched it.

And that ends my TED Talk. 

[burritodetodo]

Burrito’s Guide To Survive Coronavirus Quarantine

We got to keep social distance (1 or 2 meters each other) or stay home during coronavirus outbreak so I thought I can share with y’all some things I’m gonna watch or do doing quarantine (this is a very long post, REBLOGS ARE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!).

BUT FIRST SOME RULES:

Wash your hands: do it for 20 seconds or a while, but ALWAYS do it. It prevents the virus from spreading. If you don’t have sanitizer, water and soap! The cheapest and best ally against the disease.

Buy everything you need: if you can, try to buy stuff so you can stay some days at home. If the place is crowded, go back home and come later when it’s more empty. Same as medicine.

You can go for a walk: stay at home all day can be overwhelming for your mental health, but unless the goverment puts a curfew or gets strict about it you can go walk outside for a while always respecting the 1 or 2 meters from other people and without making contact (chatting) with other people. This ain’t my rule, a CDC professional says. DON’T go visit your friends or to crowded places such as bars, restaurants, shoppings, etc. If you want to buy something, ask for delivery or take away.

If you have coronavirus sympthoms (high fever, diarrhea, cough, feeling tired, breath difficulties) DON’T GO TO THE HOSPITAL YET, CALL TO YOUR PUBLIC HEALTH ORGANISATION OR WHATEVER YOU GOT AND THEY’LL TREAT YOU.

(credits to whoever made this meme)

SO YOUR LIFE IS ON QUARANTINE

Let’s say your boss or your school told you can stay at home. Okay then, you gotta prepare for some days inside *Isolation by John Lennon plays in the distance*. The first thing you think is you have to prepare a batch of series and movies to watch in order to kill some time. I’m gonna recommend you some you can find on VOD or cable, if you don’t have it don’t worry because I got you covered!

Infinity Train: a yet two seasons saga about people who got to face their problems aboard an endless train. The protagonists are joined by creatures who have different nature and help them, or not, to acknowledge their issues and leave the train. It’s on CN, it will continue on HBO Max.

The Owl House: a teen girl who daydream a lot was going to be sent to a down-to-earth camp but then she crosses a portal to the Boiling Isles, a magical world where she is taken care by a powerful Owl witch/saleswoman and her adorable demon. Lots of fantasy, some action scenes and many many puns. It’s on Disney Channel, it’ll be on Disney+ in some weeks.

Primal: Genndy Tartakovsky delighted us with the alliance of a caveman and a dinosaur, two rivals in a wild world who ally after facing a devastating event. It IS brutal and beatiful, has no dialogue and keeps you watching closely. Five final episodes are set to premiere this year. It’s on Adult Swim, maybe on HBO Max.

Tuca and Bertie: for the critics, one of 2019 best shows. For Netflix, a show that had to be cut off because the studio unionized. Two friends in their late 20s face changes in their lives: from living with a boyfriend and plan a life to look a way to stay sober and get a job. Deals with trauma, ptsd, anxiety and more harsh moments very well. In fact, the creator is a vital part of Bojack Horseman! It’s on Netflix.

Aggretsuko: red pandas are cute eh? But what about a antopomorphic red panda who releases her anger and frustrations by singing at a karaoke? This awesome comedy by Sanrio & Netflix is one of anime’s big hits lately. Like T&B, has a good handle of adult problems but not going too deep just to not break the comedy. You can watch it on Netflix.

Regular Show: yeah-uuuuhhhh! Eight seasons, a movie, five Halloween specials and some others. The adventures of a racoon and a blue jay with their co-workers/friends that relies on psychadellia and 80s and 90s nostalgia. It begins good, gets better, then lowers the quality (they were producing the movie at the same time tho, give some credit) and with and after the movie ends awesome. It’s on CN web, dunno if on Hulu (US only) and proably on HBO Max.

Evangelion: it’s a classic at this point, but addictive to me because I end rewatching the series or the final movie many times. A post apocalyptic future where the world has to deal with strange creatures known as the Angels and a boy with lots of traumas has to get on a mecha to save the humankind. All the characters have traumas and issues, the interaction between them or the action makes it worth. The End of Evangelion is a movie that ends the unfinished series. Warning: at some point it becomes very twisted and there are scenes which are too much violent. Viewer disclosure etc. It’s on Netflix worldwide.

Steven Universe & SU Future: this is the tale of the gem boy who ends a galactical tyranny and brings democracy to the universe. A acclaimed show that broke through many topics like gender, identity, ptsd, relationships and many more. Besides it’s got the best scores of the Milky Way and beyond thanks to the talent of Rebecca Sugar, Aivi Tran and Surasshu. And the actors and acrtresses! I don’t forget the movie, a musical that is an introduction to the epilogue: Shippuden Future. The show is available on CN and will be on HBO Max. Worldwide? No news.

Adventure Time: something that began as an innocent boy and a magical dog having adventures in a post apocalyptic world turns into the journey of Finn Metens from childhood to almost adulthood. There is a lot of fantasy and comedy you enjoy, but there are dark moments and serious ones through S6 that find a balance with early seasons form S7 to the finale. It also has great music, memorable moments and colaborations. And guess what? There is going to be a special set to premiere on HBO Max in some weeks! You got plenty of time to catch up or rewatch before that on CN or only (!!) S5 on Netflix.

Final Space: a dude tries to save the universe with their friends, where we can find his love interest, a cat-man and his kitten son, a intersexual alien, an AI then robot that is the best of them, two particular siblings and an annoying bot that prevents insanity that makes you insane. Crazy adventures in space, lots of situations, sadness, an evil smol bean who is a space emperor, a dude who looks for revenge, space deities that can destroy the universe. Is this a lot or info? It is not, because there is more and you can watch it on TBS, Adult Swim and Netflix (the world except US).

Rick and Morty: the most powerful, smartest human in the universe has adventures with his grandson. It’s awesome, but has a very toxic fanbase. Anyway, you can enjoy it on Adult Swim or Netflix (which is up to date!) and the rest of S4 is set someday.

Bojack Horseman: a Hollywood satire about human relationships, fame, traumas with a pour of comedy. Alongside the previous series, the best adult animation of the decade. Sadly cut by Netflix because the studio unionized (see T&B), said by both the creator and Aaron Paul. You can watch the six amazing seasons on that platform.

I’m not an animated movies guy, but here are three I really like and you can watch:

Porco Rosso: a handsome Italian combat aviator turned magically to a pig has a face off with an American pilot hired by pirates to get rid of him before WWII in Fascist Italy. It’s entertaining and, like every Ghibli movie, nice to watch. It’s on Netflix and will be on HBO Max for US.

Lego Batman Movie: Batman is depressed and has to get over it. It’s wacky and has lots of comedy. Plus Will Arnett is top 3 Batman. On Netflix (Latinamerica).

Spiderverse: Oscar winner movie about your friendly neighbour Peter Parker Miles Morales. Miles sees Spiderman die and feels bad after being transfered to a private school. Then a radioactive spider from a Fisk compound bites Miles and he’s Spiderman... among other dimensions’ Spiderpeople: Gwen, Peni, Peter Parker, Noir and Peter Porker. It’s visually amazing. On US it’s on Netflix (I guess), on Latinamerica on HBO.

Some interesting live actions I watched lately

Atlanta: Donald Glover is Earn, a dude who struggles to find a job for her baby girld and sees an opportunity when his cousin, Paper Boi, has a hit and uses him to make his cos famous. Sometimes a comedy, sometimes a social satire with touches of drama. And all protagonists are now big shots, like Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry or Lakeith Stanfield. There are two seasons and two seasons set for 2021 (2022 possible beacuse of coronavirus). It’s on FX, Hulu (US) and Netflix (world)

Avenue 5: this is brand new. On 2060 space cruises are a thing, and one cruise (the Avenue 5) has an accident that leaves the crew and passangers stranded for years. The captain (Hugh Laurie) has to solve this shit with a bunch of incompetent crew, bosses like Judd (Josh Gad), except one female engeneer who is very smart. Lots of crazy things happen in this series from the creator behind Veep. It’s on HBO (it’s free in the US!).

Peaky Blinders: it has some years but damn it’s epic. A gang from Birmingham makes their way to the top during the late 1910s after the Great War and extends through the 1920s. S5 is right in the ascension of fascism in Britain. ALL THE CAST acts spectacular, names like Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Anna Taylor-Joy and a long etc. But my fave is Paul Anderson, that ultra violent junkie Arthur Shelby is splendid, then is Tommy and aunt Pol, the baddest badass woman in Britain. Blinders is going to have seven seasons, there are two left. You can watch it on BBC or Netflix.

Sex Education: speaking of Britain, excellent teen comedy. Horny, doubtful teenagers going through those hard years. Stories of sex (duh!), abuse situations, abortion, there are gay relationships either, Gillian Anderson! It’s on Netflix, go go go!

Watchmen: despite not having Alan Moore on board, Damien Lindeloff did a tremendous job with the comic. Way better and less misleading than Zack Snyder’s 2009 film, Watchmen is again at the gates of the world’s end (like today) and handles the problem of racism and white supremacy quite well. Just 9 episodes, but worth to watch. On HBO.

CAOS: Sabrina the Teenage Witch is over. Warner and Netflix made a revival of the Archie Comics character and brought her to XXI Century. But gorier, hornier, dark and magical than the nice 90s sitcom. Sabrina Spellman goes from a doubtful teen who has to decide if she has to be a witch or a powerless woman to rule Hell. How she does it? Find out on Netflix! Note: S1 and 2 take some episodes to start properly. Don’t get bored too easy.

There are A LOT MORE to recommend and I make a list: Harley Quinn (DC Universe), OK KO (Hulu -US only-), House MD, Young Justice (DC Universe/Netflix), Ken Burns’ documentaries (Netflix), Titans (DCU), Over The Garden Wall (CN), Seis Manos (Netflix), Thundercats Roar (CN), Easy (Netflix), GLOW (Netflix), Star Trek Discovery (CBS, Netflix) and Picard (CBS, Amazon Prime), etc.

- You named cool shows, but I’m not from the United States or I don’t have a subscription to (insert VOD here) because I can’t afford it

- Glad you asked, I have the answer here

Introducing Stremio. It’s an open source platform where you can watch shows, movies or even live TV on Windows, Linux, Apple or Android. You create an account, install some addons and start looking for what you want to watch.

Stremio is based on torrents, you should install addons from many known torrent sites. So maybe you find an old show, but there aren’t many seeds to watch. And it could be frustraiting, so make sure there are people sharing so you can watch it.

You can download Stremio here and check the FAQs which is very clear.

NOTE: Stremio is note quite “clean” way to watch, but if you do please support the shows you watch by posting, commenting about them, making memes, thanking the creators and crew for their work, buying merchandise if you can. They put a lot to make the shows we love, let’s give ‘em back that love and effort.

You’re tired of the same music, the same movies or need to leave something to make company? There is Vaughn Live, a streaming page where are lots of channels with movies and series on strem (not VOD). For example, there is a channel that streams Adventure Time, other Regular Show, other Sci-Fi shows, another with DBZ and so on. Take in count that if the channel has +70 viewers, the free access is cut and if you want to watch it you have to pay.

En Vaughn también hay canales en español, como Simpsonmanía, Dragon Ball, Futurama, dibujos viejos y muchísimo más. Anyway, go to https://vaughn.live/ and enjoy yourselves!

Y hablando de canales en español, pueden ir a SeriesLan donde está el mayor reservorio conocido de series animadas de entre 1960 a 2010 en español latino. Pueden encontrar tesoros desde Don Gato, los Halcones Galácticos o Street Sharks a Flapjack y Mechas XLR. Otra alternativa para que pasen el rato.

Some interesting facts:

Epic Games releases a free game per week in their store. This week will be two games. You can check in https://www.epicgames.com

Steam has good prices on games and some free ones. There even is the latest Football Manager for free until March 25th. Check on https://store.steampowered.com/

If you’re interested,

I got this playlist I made on Spotify

with songs I liked in more than one year. More than 1200 songs.

And that’s pretty much it! You got resources for a lot of days, 14 initially since that’s the quarantine time in my country. Remember: obey the indications of the Health authorities, this is no time to play the “fuck the goverment” game. We will overcome this pandemy together, helping and caring for each other. That’s why I did this guide, to keep your minds busy in these tough times! Wash your hands, keep social distance, stay at home, go outside if necessary and have some patience please. This has been a PSA.

Stay strong!

Burrito

[tessatechaitea]

Justice League International #7 (1987)

Kevin Maguire not really trying looks an awful lot like John Romita Jr at his best.

Ah! It feels good to be back! Taking a crack at John Romita Jr while he's just sitting there not doing anything particularly wrong. Just going about his business pretending to be a comic book artist! I don't know what John Romita's politics are but I bet he now agrees with Donald Trump on one thing: naming your kid after you is a huge fucking mistake. Was all that previous nonsense poisonous, vile, and toxic? I suppose one could argue the point. But I'd also guess that somebody arguing that point has never seen John Romita Jr's art. Or perhaps they have seen it and like it because they have a terribly underdeveloped sense of aesthetics. Otherwise nobody would argue with me at all! They'd just read the previous poisonous, vile, toxic nonsense and nod their heads in agreement while pausing for a second to snort a line of Adderall. Fine, I'm sorry, JRJR! Obviously you're an artist! Drawing squinty people with block heads and weird noses holding geometric guns without a single curve on them absolutely falls under the definition of art! Although I draw the line at accepting that Rob Liefeld is an artist. That's a bridge too far! What the fuck does that even mean, "a bridge too far"? It must be a term bombers in WWII used, right? "What the fuck do you mean, carpet bomb Dresden?! If we fly past the Geralthauskopfplatz Bridge, we're definitely getting scrawked by anti-aircraft flak, you bingehart!" Did that sound like an authentic American bomber pilot from the 40s? It's not like Catch-22 is my favorite book or something. Wait. Catch-22 is my favorite book. I guess I'm just no good at written impressions. I assure you it sounds exactly what you'd expect from an American pilot in the Forties if you heard me do the impression live. Also, this is probably the last month of my life where I'll be able to say, "Catch-22 is my favorite book." Because I'm over 500 pages into Gravity's Rainbow and it's just as fucking amazing as everybody who has pretended to read it says it is. This issue begins with Guy Gardner regaining consciousness after having been violently assaulted by his employer.

Why was the mouse glowing green?!

In my memory, Guy Gardner's change from dickhole to sweetest guy on the team came after Batman punched his lights out. But apparently that isn't the case. It's possible this new whack on the head is the cause or maybe it's something a bit later. I bet an editorial mandate came down which said they couldn't have Guy suffer serious head trauma from Batman punching him. So they had to add this new scene where Guy basically gives himself the head trauma that results in a catastrophic change in personality. The Justice League didn't quite finish destroying The Gray Man last issue so that story gets resolved pretty quickly this issue. Doctor Fate transported him to the Realms of Order where a big blob of Order disintegrates him. Which is what he ultimately wanted. It's what we all ultimately want. It's just you don't know that you want it until you've lived long enough for all the wonder to be bled out of life. That's why he's the Gray Man! Some people think life's too short but at 49, I'm beginning to suspect that it's way too fucking long.

This comic book passes the Reverse Bechdel Test: "Any story that has only one woman in it and every scene she's in, she's treated like a sexual object."

With The Gray Man out of the way, it's time to get to the important part of the story: turning the Justice League of America into Justice League International! I wonder how many people this change pissed off in the 80s? Fucking globalist woke elite bubble bullshit! People talk in derogatory terms about the coastal bubbles but they absolutely shouldn't. I won't disagree that I grew up in a totally different environment in the San Francisco Bay Area than people who grew up in the Midwest. A bubble? Sure. But it was a fucking good thing. I was recently showing the Non-Certified Spouse some of the station breaks from local stations in the late 70s and early 80s out of San Francisco and she was amazed at the representative shorts these stations presented, especially KTVU's "Bits and Pieces." Sure, there were the ones about ethics and morality humorously presented with a horse and bulldog puppet. But there were also the ones that showed different ethnicities and their lives, often ending with "I'm proud to be a Chinese American!" or "I'm proud to be a Black American!" The one about Japanese Americans even mentioned how Japanese families were put in interment camps during World War II. One was about Italian Americans and instead of Italian history, it just showed Italian art and various activities of people in the Italian community. One of the Japanese American shorts just had a Japanese American kid having to explain how he was tired of answering questions about being Japanese in America because he was fourth generation and just American as anybody else. But I guess that kind of commie pinko hogwash is why I'm a big fat America hating socialist! As I was saying before my politics politely interrupted (my politics interrupting impolitely would look like this: Trump voters should be forced to shit in their own mouths for all eternity), the main thrust of this story is to set up Justice League International. Judging by the cover, that means hiring some guy with a bucket on his head from Russia and Captain Atom, another white American male.

Ah yes! The introduction of the best character of the series: Big Barda!

Big Barda might not be on the team but at least there's another female character. Sure, Doctor Light was sort of on the team for three pages. And pretty soon, Fire and Ice will join. But it's mostly just been poor Black Canary having to put up with Booster and Blue Beetle's jokes about banging her. Max and J'onn discuss the United Nations possibly backing the Justice League while Superman talks respectfully with President Reagan. What a mistake! The biggest do-gooder on the planet normalizing fucking Ronald Reagan! He should be scolding him with a liberal smattering of Kryptonian tsk-tsks! That's when a Kryptonian gives you a little burst of heat vision every time you deny the AIDS crisis or invoke the spectre of Welfare Queens or destroy the economy by lowering the top marginal tax rates pretending that the money saved will trickle down to everyone instead of fat corporate cats simply keeping all the extra for bonuses and investors. Fuck that guy. I'm so mad now!

Of all the digs they could have taken with Reagan, they poke fun of his dementia?! Christ, Giffen and DeMatteis.

Hal Jordan drops by headquarters to give Guy a good talking-to but Guy doesn't need it because he's suffered a traumatic head injury on top of his brain damage alongside Batman's sucker punch to the face and now he's Mister Sweetbeans. And because he's acting so nice, nobody gives a shit that this is actually a medical emergency. Backing Maxwell Lord is a computer satellite in space. Is it Brother Eye already?! Are they already working together in 1987?! Or is it just some alien gizmo from the Millennium bullshit coming up? I don't remember! Heck, this Maxwell Lord might even be a Manhunter! Anyway, the satellite begins destroying shit on Earth with a giant heat beam. The Justice League, having nearly nobody who can do anything about it, doesn't call Superman to fix the problem. Instead, they decide to spend precious hours borrowing a space shuttle from STAR Labs to launch them into space to battle the space station. Also, they leave Guy Gardner back at headquarters on monitor duty. Because who needs the guy with experience battling in space with a ring that can protect every other member of the League while in space? Also the ring is the greatest weapon in the universe. So, you know, sideline that guy, right?

It's possible this was in the era where Superman couldn't survive in space either, really. But then that's even more incentive to get fucking Guy Gardner up there with them!

The Justice League manages to stop the satellite's destruction but mostly only because it was a huge set-up so every nation could see them save the world. Everybody wants them defending the planet now so the United Nations agrees to back them with one condition: two new members, one to pacify the U.S. and one to pacify the U.S.S.R.

I've read a lot of ridiculous things in comic books but Rocket Red's power levels being nearly equal to Captain Atom's might be the most ridiculous.

I love how Captain Atom's power level is 9+ but Rocket Red's power level is 8.43 instead of 8+. I guess the accuracy of whatever system they're using breaks down over 9. Captain Marvel quits the team and Batman steps down as leader so J'onn can lead. And that's about it, I guess! The issue ends with some kind of flim-flam about how its the 80s and we've become a global world and boundaries just don't work anymore and superheroes are cool as shit. I guess it's inspirational or something. There's still just one woman on the team though. Justice League International #7 Rating: B. Seven issues in and the Justice League has defeated two villains who weren't actual threats to anybody. They were just scams to get the Justice League some press. They also beat up and killed an old guy who was just frustrated with the boredom that came with the immortality the Lords of Order forced on him. So all in all, they're nearly as terrible as the New Titans who practically only ever battled relatives while putting the residents of New York City in danger every time.

[ironcrossed]

General information // Permissions

❧ GENERAL.

How do you feel about 4th wall breaking?

I almost always love it!  Things like "you're a fictional character" are a little more iffy.

How do you feel about thread jacking?

I don't mind so long as the subject at hand isn't a serious one. If it's silly and the like or relaxed feel free, characters barge in all the time. 

How about sudden action threads? You post an entry, and a character starts an [action] thread, apparently knowing where your character is somehow, or just randomly bumping into them. In some cases it might be realistic (if they're roommates, for instance), but should they ask first?:

I can't think of a single time I don't want this, and if I don't, there will be a note in the post. I love action threads. Just feel free to assume! Especially those in his house!

❧ INFORMATION.

What species is your character?

Prussia is a 'country' or- was to be exact. But despite not being on a map any more it doesn't really change his make up at all. He's still around sponging off his brother and usually annoying people through the internet. He doesn't seem to age any more and he can take a massive beating.

Can your characters thoughts be read? Only surface thoughts? Are characters free to dig into tragic pasts and hidden secrets? Or will they only know what they are thinking at the exact moment their thoughts are being read?

Sure you're free to dissect his very distracted mind all you want. So long as he isn't liable for you losing your mind doing so from all the annoying thoughts he has.

Is it possible to communicate with your character through telepathy? Go ahead, but he might freak out a little. Is it possible to sense your character's emotions? Intentions? You won't need to sense them, usually you can read his emotions and intentions right off his face. He's not as sneaky as he likes to think he is.

❧ FIGHTING.

Is he a capable fighter?

It's been a while since he's fought but he might be a little rusty. He's not helpless however and still knows how to handle a weapon, sword or firearm. He can throw a good punch too but really he's not that into getting into fights that he knows he can't win.

Can I punch/stab/shoot/hit with a car/hurt him in general? 

Yup! Just check with me first, since he'll want to fight/flee.

Can I kill him?

…Maybe. Depends, plotting is a must of course, it's also not that hard to kill him.

In terms of wining or losing, where you would rather they stand? 

It really depends on the situation and what's going on. I have no personal preference.

Can we just fade to black and assume what happened? 

Sure! Just so long as everything is hashed out first.

❧ ROMANCE.

So, can my character fall in love with him?

Yes! Does not, of course, mean he will love you back or maybe he will, it's all up to the situations surrounding it all.

Can I kiss him? 

Sure! Go ahead and attempt it. Be prepared to be punched in retaliation if he doesn't agree.

What's his orientation anyway?

I play him as bisexual. Though in canon he's never shown making any comments about women besides putting down Hungary at any chance he gets-- I still give him the chance to lean to women. Though he does openly show his creepy affection for North Italy at any sign around the oblivious Italian.

Are you willing to play out relationships?

Very much so! But it might take some work with this guy who pretty much fails when it comes to relationships.

Character Canon notes by the Maker, Hidekaz: (mostly for my personal reference)

Personality-wise, he loves to fight and often says things that will start quarrels.

Since birth, he has been wielding his sword for his own survival, so he is very strong.

He has gone on a rampage in Hungary and Poland before, so his relationships with these two are rather rocky.

His manners are also quite terrible. (Prussian troops are quite known for their bad behaviour.)

He is supposed to be around Austria's age, just a little older, but he doesn't look like it.

He loves Friedrich II a lot. Even after his death, whenever something or someone brings up the history of Friedrich II, he'll get depressed.

He was under Russia's control after WWII, dreaming of Italy's warm sunshine, while stuck with doing unprofitable jobs.

As a child, Prussia was originally part of the St. Maria Order, and then became part of the Teutonic Knights until some point in his teens, before finally growing up to become Prussia (after some other, unspecified stages of his life).

The type of flag used to represent Prussia is the one for The Kingdom Of Prussia, which lasted from 1701-1918. It was succeeded by The Free State Of Prussia, its final incarnation before it was dissolved de jure by the Allied Forces in 1947.

According to Himaruya, although Prussia is older than Germany, he is shorter in comparison due to having poor nutrition.

Prussia briefly appears in Episode 10, during the era of "The War Of Austrian Succession." He is shown beating up Austria until France comes along and takes over.

Prussia later returns in Episode 24, where he's once again seen teasing Austria, this time hindering his attempts to impress Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Prussia has a much bigger role in Episode 79 when he is shown trying to convince his brother Germany to drink the beer being offered around. Prussia then proceeds to pester Germany with different methods such as threatening to enforce a rule where Germany has to go around the city wall of Rotenburg naked.

In the anime, his hair is platinum blond and his eyes are a deep red. His cross and gloves were removed, and his tall boots were initially removed as well but reappeared in Episode 79.

[mobius-prime]

122. Knuckles the Echidna #23

Dark Alliance (Part Two of Three): Election Night

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Jim Valentino Colors: Frank Gagliardo

After opening our intro page with a quote from Menniker speaking on his promise to be a strong leader for the Dark Legion, noted to take place "after emerging from their imprisonment in another zone" (presumably after Steppenwolf blasted them there in the distant past), we jump right into this evening's news broadcast from ENN!

General Stryker and Constable Remington are both perturbed by this for their own individual reasons, watching on their TVs at home, but Knuckles and the Chaotix, witnessing from their booth in a local diner, are dismissive, believing that politics are of no concern to them. However, the next day, they're all there at the rally, as Remington has called Knuckles to be there to discuss these concerning goings-on. Apparently, Remington had previously had a conversation with High Councilor Pravda, where Pravda had stated he wanted to keep his reelection campaign lowkey. Obviously, a big rally in the park is kind of the opposite of that. At that moment, Pravda pulls up in a swanky high-tech golden limo, very much the kind of technology he was always so opposed to in public before, and Knuckles and Remington watch suspiciously as someone from the car's interior escorts him to the podium, someone whom Remington claims never to have seen before…

Ah, gee, I wonder what platforms this guy is running on? We get into another kind of uncomfortable reference to WWII, as Benedict basically conducts his own shouty little Hitler rally about how technology will save them and the current government is oppressing the echidna people, and then actually, literally ends with a "Hail Dimitri" and a salute that's clearly based on the "Heil Hitler" salute, of which many in the crowd copy him. Honestly, I don't even know why Penders is trying to make them all Nazi-like. The conflict he has going here, the general idea of it, could be a fascinatingly complex one if he didn't shoehorn it into being a WWII allegory. On one side, you've got the repressive government restricting the personal freedoms of its citizens by banning many forms of technology, and on the other hand, you have the technologically-based "freedom fighters" of sorts who take their devotion way too far and become a terrorist cult while still genuinely believing they're here to free the masses. You have hypocrites like Pravda, the man in charge who denounces technology while simultaneously hoarding advanced tech for his own personal entertainment, and you have the Brotherhood, ostensibly serving the anti-tech faction against the Dark Legion, while monitoring everything from their incredibly high-tech base. You have the protagonist of the story, Knuckles, caught up in the middle of it all, with a heritage and duty to the anti-tech side, but a friend and potential love interest hailing from the pro-tech side. There's so many interesting directions this could go, such a perfect opportunity to really delve into the whole gray-and-gray-morality thing, where no one is truly a "good guy" and everyone has secrets and shadowy dealings going on - and yet Kenders throws it all away to turn it into a tired and frankly insensitive allegory for Nazis. In a Sonic the Hedgehog comic, again I can't stress enough. This is ultimately what I find so disappointing about this particular arc, is that it's built on all the conflict and tension and worldbuilding from previous arcs, and it could be so cool, and yet… in the end it's just another "they're like Hitler and Nazis, see? See?" type plot. You had a good thing going, Ken, so why this?

Well, anyway, speaking of the hypocrisy of the Brotherhood - Thunderhawk, Sabre, and Sojourner have been watching the proceedings from their little hideout, and actually start discussing their own use of tech when they're supposed to be protectors against the Dark Legion, when alarms start blaring. They don't even have time to check why.

The Kommissar waltzes in, with the Guardians unconscious on the ground at her feet, and radios Dimitri to inform him - they've taken Haven. Back in the park, Remington decides to confront Benedict about his little rally…

Pravda butts his brainwashed head in to inform Remington that he's ordering him not to arrest anyone here, and insists he come along in his limo so they can discuss the matter "in private." Somehow, this doesn't ring any alarm bells for Remington, who just follows them and gets right in without an issue. Knuckles and the Chaotix watch this suspiciously, shocked that now Dark Legionnaires are just allowed to walk around the city without issue, and together they head off to find answers elsewhere.

That evening, General Stryker is hanging out on the streets of the slums that the dingoes are still relegated to, wondering how he can exploit this situation to his advantage, and for all his violent actions in the past I don't blame him. The place looks filthy and the dingoes have clearly been treated as second-class citizens ever since they lost their city, and he's supposed to be the leader of his people, looking after their welfare. He orders a nearby soldier to gather everyone around so he can address them, but suddenly a spotlight from above shines down onto his location and a voice from the darkness orders them to stay put. Stryker challenges the voice, which comes closer, revealing itself to belong to a Dark Legionnaire named Xenin. Stryker insults Xenin a bit, and Xenin goes ballistic, beating up on him like he just informed him he murdered his entire family with that one insult and shouting the kinds of things only villains shout, because I guess we still weren't sure if these guys were the bad guys yet after that Nazi rally.

Xenin has the other dingoes rounded up to be locked in the sewers, because racism I guess, and the truck carrying the dingo prisoners happens to drive by Knuckles and his buddies, who are discussing the "good old days" before the Dark Legion and Echidnaopolis and everything else made their appearance. Just as they notice the truck, Xenin and his fellows descend upon them too.

They fight back, but Xenin proves to be too strong with his cybernetic enhancements. It's a bit odd, actually, because the Chaotix aren't actually shown to participate in the battle, and in fact don't show up for the rest of the arc, nor the issue after it. I can only assume that the Dark Legion just focused on kidnapping Knuckles and Julie-Su and made off with them before Vector, Mighty and Espio could intervene, leaving them behind on the street, but it's oddly unclear. Ah well. With that, we jump to Haven, where Thunderhawk, Sojourner, and Sabre are secured in some kind of mechanical restraint tubes or something, furious that their sanctum has finally fallen to the enemy. And how did this happen? Why, of course, with the help of Moritori Rex!

Moritori reports in to Dimitri, stating that while the base is secure, they have yet to find and capture Locke or Spectre. Dimitri orders Moritori to carry on with business as usual for now, and as he ends the call, Knuckles and Julie-Su start trash-talking him, revealing that they as well as Stryker have been imprisoned in similar mechanical cylinder… things, only they've been hung from the ceiling upside down for extra humiliation. Dimitri is shocked, shocked I tell you, that they're continuing to be defiant, as if that hasn't characterized Knuckles from their very first interaction, and expresses his anticipation of "some serious screaming…" Dun dun duuunnn!

[janiedean]

“Can’t wait till these two children’s cartoon characters fuck” yeah not creepy at all

Today, I will talk to y’all about what’s honestly one of the creepiest questions that has haunted me since I was twelve years old, specifically: how the fuck can people ever have thought that Born in the USA is a patriotic song in 1984 and how can’t they still understand it now?

Honestly, I have no idea, and in this essay I will walk you through it so it’s exceedingly and clearly explained how it’s in no way, shape or form a mindlessly patriotic song but, on the contrary, is a sharp, angry, vitriolic satire which criticizes the US government and its stance on the Vietnam war to Hell and back.

Born in the USA is the title song of the eponymous 1984 record which turned my good old pal Bruce into a world superstar, but it had originally been written for 1982′s acoustic masterpiece Nebraska. It was then reworked into an electrical version whose music is probably what makes people thing it’s patriotic since it sounds happy and singing-inducing, except that if you listen to the original:

You can notice that the famous one is just the upbeat version of the hauntingly, frankly anxiety-inducing acoustic that does certainly not work to sing out loud, but admittedly isn’t as good to sing in a stadium.

After having made this clear, we can finally move on into analyzing the lyrics.

The song opens with:

Born down in a dead man’s townThe first kick I took was when I hit the groundYou end up like a dog that’s been beat too much‘Til you spend half your life just coverin’ up

Now, here we have the first iconic question of this evening, as in: how in the hell a song that opens with born down in a dead man’s town // the first kick I took was when I hit the ground can ever be taken for mindless praising/patriotism?

I have no fucking clue except for ‘people only listen to the refrain’. Anyhow, from this opening which is literally a kick in the teeth we learn that a) the narrator was born in a dead man’s town ie somewhere small without many options nor many people, b) his life has been shit since the early beginning since the first kick he took was when he hit the ground, which is fortified by the following two lines in which he compares himself to a ‘dog who’s been beat to much until he spends half his life just covering up’, a sentence that makes a hell of a lot more sense if you listen to the rest of what he has to say later.

For now, we have the immortal refrain:

Born in the U.S.AI was born in the U.S.AI was born in the U.S.ABorn in the U.S.A

In which the narrator informs us where he comes from, except that if we take the first stanza into account… the USA don’t sound really idyllic, now, don’t we?

Anyway, stanza two:

Got in a little hometown jamSo they put a rifle in my handSent me off to a foreign landTo go and kill the yellow man

And here we can finally see what’s the problem: our guy is a Vietnam veteran. However, things aren’t so easy. What we surmise from these short, extremely packed with information lines, is that:

the narrator wasn’t drafted;

the narrator was coerced into going by a method that was pretty common back in the day - people who ended up in bar fights or such altercations were given the choice of going to jail or go to Vietnam and of course if they had to support a family/needed money they’d pick Vietnam, but it’s still coercion and he certainly didn’t want to go;

which is why he says they put a rifle in my hand - it’s they running the action, not him;

and they also sent me off to a foreign land ie they/the army sent him to a place he doesn’t know (foreign) to go and kill the yellow man (vietcong) even if he didn’t want to.

And then we’re again informed that he was born in the USA, and that means he a) was born in a crappy place, b) was sent to Vietnam for a menial fight (a little hometown jam), c) was sent to kill people when he didn’t want to by higher powers who give zero shits about him.

Doesn’t seem like a compliment to me.

However, there’s more!

Come back home to the refineryHiring man says “Son if it was up to me”Went down to see my V.A. manHe said “Son, don’t you understand”

Our narrator comes back home to the refinery (compare with what I said before in the Youngstown analysis - that one also went to Vietnam and came back to a job at the steel mill he didn’t have anymore, so they both had highly stressful jobs that would take a toll on their health sooner rather than later) and the hiring man doesn’t hire him and shrugs like hey I wish I could but I can’t. So he goes to the VA who asks, don’t you understand, which in this case means that there’s no place for him in this context.

Which ties to the fact that Vietnam veterans were treated like shit and generally ignored because the war was lost and people didn’t want to think about it, except that at the same time they were the first to actually vocally come together and ask for help and actually they were the first who recognized the importance of treating PTSD and ran free clinics in which also WWII and Korea veterans could come for treatment, but hey, let’s send people to fight wars we know we’re losing and then let’s not help them, why not?

But no, son, don’t you understand.

And then he informs us again that he’s born in the USA, a country where after being sent to war without wanting to he’s not wanted anymore after he comes back.

The bridge, though, gives us even more interesting info:

I had a brother at Khe Sanh fighting off the Viet CongThey’re still there, he’s all goneHe had a woman he loved in SaigonI got a picture of him in her arms now

This stanza has an inane amount of info we can unpack in a handy checklist:

the narrator wasn’t the only person in his family to go - he had a brother in Vietnam, too;

the brother not only died but most likely died during the khe sahn battle which is admittedly one of the fucking dumbest decisions ever taken by the US military in their entire history and which was a defeat from the US even if they don’t like to admit it and prefer the ‘withdrawn’ excuse, which places him at the most recognizable and famous point of the Vietnam war for the casual listener/student;

the viet cong he and his brother fought are still there, he died, so = the US lost the war;

BUT the brother was in love with a Vietnamese woman (in love ie a serious thing) and the narrator has a picture of the two of them together, which suggests that neither he nor his brother hold the Vietnamese any ill-will and actually most probably dislike the US government more than the people they were supposed to fight.

We have no refrain after that, just the solo, but I don’t think he needs to say again how he was born in the USA for us to assume that when he says that, he’s being extremely sarcastic and not proud of it whatsoever.

Anyhow, we’re finally at the last stanza:

Down in the shadow of the penitentiaryOut by the gas fires of the refineryI’m ten years burning down the roadNowhere to run ain’t got nowhere to go

Again showing how good he is at packing info in a short space while providing the listeners with info about how it sucks for his character, he paints a fairly bleak picture with two lines: the shadow of the penitentiary suggests how he comes close to being arrested and the out by the gas fires of the refinery suggests that he’s out there inhaling the toxic gas but not working there, so he’s basically left to himself without any help.

Also, he’s ten years burning down the road, which means that he’s been back for that long and no one’s helped him since then, and then he has nowhere to run and nowhere to go, so even if he wanted to leave, he literally can’t because he has no other option than his dead man’s town (most likely because he doesn’t have the means and the money and he most likely has untreated ptsd, so he’s stuck there), and that is how his country left him. And now the last refrain changes:

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.Born in the U.S.A., I’m a long gone daddy in the U.S.A.Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.Born in the U.S.A., I’m a cool rocking daddy in the U.S.A.

Because now not only he’s born in the USA, but we also know that he has a kid (I’m a long gone daddy + cool rocking daddy) and both definitions contrast with each other - long gone is the exact contrary of cool rocking, which suggests that the latter is as sarcastic as the rest of the refrain (the long gone pairs exceedingly well with the ten years burning down the road) and if we take LONG GONE at his word, he hasn’t seen his kid in ages because he can’t work or has ptsd or both.

So hey, being born in the USA for the narrator meant:

being left without options except the refinery in his town if he wanted to work;

being sent against his will to vietnam;

losing a brother in there, too;

(also, out of the two of them, the brother ie the one who found love there died while he who has nothing in either ‘nam or the US survived);

losing his job;

being rejected by everyone including most likely his family/his child;

being left on his own even by the VA as in the office supposed to help him;

risking going to jail;

being unable to change his situation or crawl out of it because all of those circumstances make sure he can’t literally do it;

all this while he’s probably hearing rhetoric about how great his country is everywhere.

So, that is why the refrain is not mindless patriotism but pure vitriol - it’s like, ‘hey, if you listened to the thing, everything sucks but hey, I was told being born in the USA is great so hey, I WAS! AMAZING, RIGHT? /sarcasm’, not ‘OH MY GOD HOW GREAT THE US IS I LOVE IT UNCRITICALLY’.

Admittedly, the fact that Ronald Reagan thought it was a patriotic song that might resonate with his audience:

Shows exactly all the reasons why Reagan was a complete idiot without a shred of text comprehension, and too bad people remember Reagan’s opinion more than the mythical, amazing, unreachable slam Bruce gave that speech not long later:

TLDR: this is not a song about mindless patriotic US drivel and it’d be frankly obvious from basically listening to the lyrics, but then again listening to the lyrics is the same thing as reading something with a modicum of using your brain, and from what I see reading while using 0,05% of someone’s brain capacity on tumblr is basically asking for the impossible.

Anyhow, I think anon’s time would be better spent thinking about how creepy is it that I see people on youtube commenting on American Skin (41 Shots) with ‘omg Springsteen is a leftist now I’ll go burn my copy of BITUSA’ when it’d be obvious from that song that his politics haven’t changed from then than about how people shipping things is apparently creepy.

:’)

[ghoststorytmaaa-blog]

whoever sent me (6) anons imma answer them in a text post cause it’s about to get long and salty. sorry to everyone else who just let me have my on opinion and didn’t be an ass about it 💕

1. Steve never “dismissed” Bucky’s opinion during CATFA, he was trying to explain why he needed to be in the battle to. Just because he joined the Army anyways doesn’t mean he didn’t care about Bucky’s opinion, but you can’t base your future on what other people think is right for you.

2. Bucky was suffering PTSD, why would he WANT to discuss his torture? In the middle of war during a time where men were heavily discouraged from expressing emotions because they need to be ‘strong’?

3. Bucky NEVER told Steve to leave him alone, he hadn’t seen him in two years. Steve “forcibly dragged him back” because he was triggered by Zemo and thus both a risk to himself and others. Shield didn’t follow him that was Ross’s guys and Steve only went there because he knew Bucky would fight back and there was a shoot on sight order for him.

4. When did Steve ever baby Bucky or tell him to man up? He was being cautious around him in the beginning because he didn’t know if Bucky still remembered him for sure and knew could attack or flee if provoked. He tries to tell Bucky it’s not his fault and looks really sad when Bucky says he isn’t worth it, that’s not insensitivity it’s compassion.

5 was the worst one. Steve NEVER gaslit Bucky. Gaslighting is decieving/lying to make someone question their sanity. He ASKED Bucky if he knew what Zemo wanted, he was desperate for answers. He didn’t withhold from Bucky, robot Zemo showed him a paper for 5 seconds & implied Hydra probably killed the Starks, then fired a missile at him. The letter implies he was in denial. Your idea of toxic is ironic considering you ship Winteriron. Tony has literally never done anything but try to kill Bucky.

P.S. Steve NEVER forced Bucky to fight anybody. Bucky had the option of going home in WWII and Steve asked if he was willing to keep fighting, Bucky said yes. He didn’t ask him to fight in IW either, T’Challa did because he knew they needed everyone who could fight to help. Did we watch the same movies or have you been spending too much time in the Anti-Steve tag?

1) Steve outright ignored Bucky’s opinion because he was willing to DIE being strong headed doesn’t change that he ONLY ran off to war to prove something to Bucky. He didn’t go because he thought it was right, he had NO PLANS to go before Bucky went. He then dismissed Bucky IN Cap 1 when Bucky stated he didn’t think shit was a good idea Steve was like 🤷🏻‍♀️

2. Firstly great generalization there asshole that people with PTSD automatically don’t want too and also check your history facts most people would discuss their situation and a lot of camps had advisors as well as FRIENDS. Among that we’ve SEEN that 40s Bucky would be honest about his emotions with Steve, Steve just fucking blanked him

3) Bucky literally kept legging it from Steve, that’s not an invitation. Then Steve went to stop him from fighting his wait out on a shoot on sight order? Are you telling me that was helpful? Are you telling me that Bucky’s face when Steve went ‘you’ll kill people’ was good? ON TOP OF THAT STEVE STILL HAD NO RIGHT TO DRAG HIM BACK HE HAD NO RIGHT TO TAKE HIM IN Steve kept going and going and chasing him even when Bucky ran and that’s *not fair*

4) Firstly, yep you’re right. It was Ross's men, not SHIELD, it was late and we all make mistakes but an opinion was given and no offer for a debate was made, you sound like a pompous asshole out for a fight. Steve is not a good friend to Bucky, accept it it doesn’t change that he’s a good person who was trying, he just fucked up in this regard

5). Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or in members of a targeted group, making them question their own memory, perception, and sanity.

Steve deliberately chose to omit the murder of Tony's family, Steve deliberately triggered Bucky into remembering the winter program, Steve deliberately controlled what Bucky knew and what he didn't now, whilst he didn't do it with malicious intent that DOESNT change that it would cause serious trust, reality and memory issues in Bucky AND Tony both. He's controlling their knowledge and their truths, with Bucky it creates a false reality in which he doesn't know everything, doesn't trust what he does know and CANT trust steve. MALICIOUS OR NOT ITS DELIBERATE

( see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtG-jnpw0X8 )

steve rescues Bucky, not once does he ask "are you okay?" " can you walk?" "what happened?"

NOPE it's all about steve with "i thought you were dead" "come on!"

BUCKY ASKS STEVE WHAT HAPPENED THOUGH, AND IF IT HURT, IF HE'S OKAY BUT STEVE DOESN'T ASK BUCKY

He then takes Bucky right to the sound of gunfire, into the fight, letting go of him to walk and only looking back when Bucky talks to him

AND THEN WE GET BACK FROM THE BASE IN WHICH BUCKY IS INJURED, HAS BEEN TORTURED, IN PAIN, COULD ONLY WALK PROPERLY DUE TO ADRENALINE AND MMM I LOVE ME THIS PART

( see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAoD6-CF9Jo )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAoD6-CF9Jo

1:29 onwards: steve does state some men need medical attention (thank fucking hell, not bucky tho because he's bucky) but the second Peggy comes in Steve forgets about anyone in a five mile radius and HE DOESN'T EVEN TRY AND SHARE THE GLORY DESPITE THE MEN FIGHTING JUST AS HARD AS HIM SO SURE HE'S SELFLESS DEFINITELY YEAH

( see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X1qo2xsH2c )

3:50 onwards- Steve then instantly lies AGAIN in order to keep up the facade and his reality, even though they'd all JUST seen the truth thats when its proven to be deliberate control and manipulation. HE TRIED TO LIE AGAIN DESPITE GETTING CAUGH

steve's in bucky's house to get Bucky but thinks he has the right to go through Bucky's things, to read his books and his notes. I would actually punch someone if they did this???? That's PRIVATE and steves like "lookie here, whats this??"

Steve, every time Bucky talks "you're lying" "you're wrong" "yes you do know" "you're not thinking right" "i know better" EVEN THOUGH HE DOESN'T ACTUALLY KNOW???? HE DOESN'T ACTUALLY HAVE PROOF??

( see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK3e8m_xcXw )

Steve then immediately tells Bucky to stop so he doesn't kill anyone, despite having absolutely no qualms with ANY of his other team mates or himself killing because *it goes against his image of bucky*

STEVE DELIBERATELY FORCES BUCKY TO REMEMBER SEVERELY TRAUMATIC EVENTS WHICH MAY BE FALSE IMPLANTS AND WHEN BUCKY CAN'T HIS ANSWER IS *THATS NOT GOOD ENOUGH*

( see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbG1iJsDfYg )

also adding to the end of you message, I am very aware how toxic winteriron is but again this is fiction and you can write them better then they’re written in canon and develop relationships about traumatic events, which was the whole point of my original post, that yeah steve’s been a bad friend but you can fix it without taking away everything that he is as a character.

AND my post was in no light anti steve rogers, he is by far one of my favorite characters, hell i even write him, but just because he’s my favorite doesn’t make him any less problematic.

i have more but this is already too long and rambling as it is, reminder that this is MY blog and i’m allowed to post MY opinions and if you dislike them or disagree there’s an unfollow and block button for a reason 💕