#captain stern

[zponds]

[ungoliantschilde]

Reach Out, by Cheap Trick. Live at Rockpalast 1983.

This is the song that was featured in Bernie Wrightson’s Captain Stern segment of the movie “Heavy Metal”.

[laswells-ashtray]

John never thinks too hard about his childhood, he thinks he's past it. Drunken dad who died when he was a teen, mum who died the day he was born. No point wasting time on that and he thinks he's outgrown that point in his life. Maybe Dad was a bit heavy-handed with the belt but that was more acceptable back then, no need to fuss, and when he compares it to the stories Simon let slip when they both went a little too hard with the drink, he has nothing to complain about.

He never shares any family stories, yeah, Soap will share a story about how he was named after his dad and it sparks a conversation, Kyle will explain the origin of his name proudly, Simon will offer a sparse answer and none of them will ask for any further context. John will offer some half-assed explanation about being named after his old man's old man, someone he never met and never thinks about. Kyle asks him about his mother with a gentleness that can only mean he's noticed that John never talks about her, he offers the classic "never knew her" and it isn't a lie. It isn't. Because he didn't know her, she left earth the same day he made his appearance on it, the value of his life has always been at the cost of another, it's why he makes such a good captain. And he's sick of hearing "oh, I'm sorry" whenever he mentions that he's dead. He's a grown man, he can only hear so many apologies before they become just pointless words that hold no value.

So, it doesn't bother him. Two people he knew are dead, they started the list of countless other names that he doesn't bother thinking about.

And then he comes back from a mission one day, it was a shitshow. Nothing went to plan because their intel was fucked and everyone is frustrated. Ghost had to get stitches in a wound on his arm, isn't the end of the world but it was avoidable. Gaz, the poor fucker is concussed and Soap has the fun job of waking him up every two hours to check on him, a job he was assigned by a medic after they pulled the glass out of his hand. John is almost certain his ankle is sprained, his entire body is a bruise, he lost a good fucking cigar and he snapped at Laswell over comms so he owes an apology that he's planning in advance.

He wants Nik, it might be juvenile but he's tired in a way he can feel in his bones and he wants his pilot.

He finds Nik, he doesn't have to say anything as they head back to his room. Nik knows, Nik always knows. There's the briefest of exchanges as he strips out of his kit and he heads to the shower with the slightest relief knowing that his night is going to end in lazy sex and being stuck under the warm blanket of the Russian bear of a man.

He walks out with damp hair in a pair of boxers and socks because the floor is fucking cold with the constant draft and all but collapses face-first onto his bed. He'll offer Nik a murmured apology later for being selfish but he just isn't sure he can form the words right now.

He can hear Nik kicking off his boots behind him with little care as to where they land, it's a familiar sound from nights like this. He's as relaxed as he's going to get until he hears it, the sound of someone fumbling with their belt buckle. For years it's been just a noise but for the briefest of moments he tenses up in preparation, shoulders raised instinctively to try and block the leather from catching the back of his neck. He's not sure if he's breathing and he can smell whisky, the old fucker must've lobbed the bottle at the wall again and the last dredges of Johnnie Walker red label are soaking into the carpet again. If he doesn't remember to clean it before he goes up to bed then he's fucked, the old drunk will wring his fucking neck just like last time when he-

"John?" The hand on his back is warm as it lands between his shoulder blades, it should be comforting and he should relax into it. He doesn't. He's ashamed of the way he flinches, kicking out a leg as he tries to push himself up the bed and away from it hits him. It's Nikolai. The hand belongs to Nik.

He turns to face the other man, lying on his side and propped up with an elbow. He isn't sure if the sheer mortification he feels is obvious, or the tremors in his hands. He hasn't reacted like that since he was a boy.

"Fuck, Nik. Sorry, just lost in my own fucking head- Sorry, give me a sec and we can get to it." It's humiliating, he's the one who asked for sex and a fucking belt sends him over the edge.

"No, no `getting to it`. We shall continue another night." And there he's gone and done it, his fucking inability to keep his composure has just put a dampener on their sex life.

The cautious way Nikolai reaches out for him hurts, he's being treated like some scared animal. The large hand on his shoulder does act as a source of comfort when he knows who's behind it. "John, перестань. Talk to me, captain."

"I don't- I don't know, just give me a moment." How long can he spend pleading for just a little more time before Nikolai gets sick of it.

"The belt."

He looks up at the Russian with wide eyes, mouth open as he tries to form a denial of some kind, waiting for words that won't form.

Nikolai stares down at him with a look so gentle he has to look away, he can hear the faint sigh of resignation and the following mutter of something Russian that he isn't paying enough attention to in order to translate it in his head.

He sits in silence as the other man joins him in the bed, leaving a gap between that and offering John the chance to cross it on his own time. He shifts over and plaster himself against his partner's side, face buried in his neck.

"I assumed the scars down your back were from torture, just not the military kind."

"From years ago, don't matter much now do they? Taken a lot worse than a belt since then." His body was covered in scars of varying sizes, from anywhere to the scar on his hand from slicing a bagel to the silver band wrapped around part of his left thigh from a bastard with a blade that damn near nicked an artery. He'd stuck that poor sod's blade through his own throat and left him to gurgle on his blood.

"I assume your father is dead?" The fact that Nikolai sounds hopeful isn't lost on him.

"Drank himself into oblivion years ago." John had always thought it would've been his liver that did him in, would've bet money on it. Would've lost too. The old man had asphyxiated on his own vomit, silly prick.

"Good."

[casebasket]

banking on your daughter to make a different choice

also the slightly shaky cam in the last scene as he watches havers wave and fade away i didn't even notice until i made the gif but it adds SO MUCH to his emotions at this moment. like taking a shaky breath. him still grieving over it, but learning to suppress that emotion from a life+death time of experience, so it only comes out as a shiver. ben wilbond truly put so much thought into this character; the captain is the Most Character to ever Character

edit: also just another parallel I noticed but his face is lit up similarly??? half light/half dark tenebrism that subtextually calls back to this scene of choice??? kitty in the shadows because she chose selfishly, the cap in the end a mix of both to reflect the nuance and complexity in his decision??? one shadowed by sunlight the other by the moon, present and memory, action and reflection, how one is affected by another, etc etc

[themarvelproject]

Marvel house ad for the Avengers featuring art by Al Milgrom and Joe Sinnott (1984)

[lirhyapetitpain]

What a time to be alive! Congrats to these two boys for their big comeback in 2025!

[crappwr0m]

Just couple of pilots socializing, move along now

Oc on the bottom by @jovianwishes !!

[evilhorse]

But vampires do exist

(Captain America #253)

[ohyousillything]

Anakin: i have an idea

Cody: a survivable idea?

Anakin:

Obi wan:

Ashoka:

Rex:

Cody: You're right let's not get ahead of ourselves.

[vertigoartgore]

1980's Captain America Vol.1 #250 cover by John Byrne, Joe Rubinstein & Irv Watanabe.

[zponds]

[gameraboy2]

"The Island of Captain Sparrow" Famous Fantastic Mysteries #39 (1946) Cover by Lawrence Sterne Stevens

[age-of-moonknight]

Blood Hunt (Vol. 1/2024), #5.

Writer: Jed MacKay; Penciler and Inker: Pepe Larraz; Colorists: Marte Garcia and Fer Sifuentes-Sujo; Letterer: Cory Petit

[jeskler]

Bit of a headcanon of mines, but Rex is indisputably the disciplinarian of the 501st and is generally the last person you want to be pulled into a disciplinarian meeting with.

Anakin can’t bring himself to care about military discipline or maintaining it very much, he’ll dole it out when need be and will give his two cents if he’s asked about it. But generally he turns a blind eye to all but the most serious of infractions and even then he just sics Rex in ‘em. And Ahsoka just doesn’t have a mean bone in her body towards the clones and tries to avoid disciplining anyone whenever she can.

But Rex? He will make your cry with words alone, he needs a bag of cough drops from how sour he’ll shout his voice out, you will be pulling an ARC-170 across the hanger until they reach their destination. He lets nothing slide, shows no mercy, and will push you right up until your bones are about to break. The first time Ahsoka witnessed Rex disciplining some troopers, she left almost traumatized cause of how much meaner he could be than she thought.

In contrast, while Cody is as much of a rules stickler as Rex is, he’s significantly more calm. He’s generally lighter with his punishments if he believes the point can be made quickly. Obiwan doesn’t really do traditional discipline but instead prefers one on one talks which are like having a conversation with a disappointed father you look up to and is way more effective at keeping order than Cody’s method.

One time, very early in the war, Anakin had the misfortune of doing something so incredibly stupid Rex entirely ignored rank and convention and told him off like he would any other Trooper.

Anakin behaved significantly better after that.

[lirhyapetitpain]

I'm in a Captain America Brave New World mood so have the reward sticker for members who joined before the end of Jan! I can't help it, these two MCU Sam are a lot of fun to draw

Become a member: Patreon (18+) Ko-Fi

[felix-krain]

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This manifested to me at 3am