#characters in card war avengers

[comicbooktradingcards]

Character Spotlight | War Machine | Part 3

Part 1 || Part 2

[treverscottcameron]

From Marvel and Upperdeck's Marvel Masterpieces 2023 set my Vision and the Scarlett Witch

[ifyoucandaniel]

exactly one person asked and i’ve been DYING to make this, so here are all of my favorite long batman fanfics in general and for new readers @twisted-tales-told :)

cards on the table by @wesslan ! 69k, completed. this is one of my all time favorite fanfictions, it’s so funny and tim is a mastermind genius and a little liar <3 he basically pretends to be a fortune teller and gives scarily good predictions and advice by stalking the upper class and eventually gets involved with the batfam and has to maintain his lies while dealing with his issues :) 10/10, very found family, good angst, so much lying

Dark Matter by @mysterycyclone , 221k, ongoing. this is a batman fanfic rec, of course my bbg dark matter is going to be here <3 this is a MCUxDCU crossover where after infinity war (spoilers for that if you haven’t seen it!) peter parker gets sent to the DCU dimension with part of the soul stone and basically is haunted by the ghosts of the avengers while trying to survive in gotham and get back to his dimension. this is so well written i’ve read it at least three times, it’s still ongoing but trust me it is SO GOOD. i can’t properly describe it, but if you like spider-man and you are interested in batman, you’ll love.

Red is the Color of Sinners by @bluelotuswrites , series, 120k, ongoing, M. i want you to look me in my eyes when i tell you this is my favorite series on ao3. it is set after under the red hood and daredevil 3 where jason and matt meet in a church after jason loses his ability to speak following the events of UTRH. they keep running into each other both as matt and daredevil and eventually jason begins helping matt out with injuries and tech. it’s not finished yet, but there is something so compelling about their dynamic in this series as well as jason’s overall character and how he is portrayed. i’m a sucker for mute jason after UTRH and this series does so well giving him a fresh start and a place away from gotham to heal and build relationships. i cannot recommend enough.

buy back the secrets by @vinelark , 71k, ongoing, T. THIS!!! oh my god, so this is a timkon fic where kon still doesn’t know tim’s civilian identity, but whenever he’s in trouble tim calls for superboy which leads to them meeting without kon knowing. shenanigans ensure when kon starts spending more time with tim! it’s still ongoing but the author is currently working on the next part and it is so so worth the wait. chapter 4 ends on a cliffhanger though so be warned :))

Sales People Know (listening is the most important part) by Mayhem10, 77k, completed, T. this has the coolest urban magical realism ever. tim basically runs this magic shop that shows up places and people who need something find it in his shop :) it’s kinda a slow burn found family fic with magic themes and a smidge of angst!

Retrograde Motion by Lysical, 112k, completed, T. this is best de-aged kid fic ever. jason gets turned into a 7 year old and basically the outlaws, artemis and biz, join forces with the batfam to take care of him. but trust me when i say this is worth your time, it might sound tropey but in the best way possible!! and jason’s relationship with artemis is sooo important to me in this!

Hand in Unloveable Hand (a chokehold) by britishparty, 54k, completed, M. this is one of the best psychological torture/grooming fics i’ve ever read. pretty much what if while our taking photos of batman and robin, little tim gets kidnapped and black mask gets his hands on him and decides he’s the perfect size for a protege. years of psychological abuse and insane mind games ensue. also tim is a Badass™️

If He Had Come by bronwe_iris, 45k, completed, T. so i’m a little freak and i love the angst of arkham knight jason, but more specifically the aus where bruce saves jason before he becomes the arkham knight! this is an au where bruce finds jason and saves him from the joker after 9 months of torture and brings him home. focuses on his healing mentally and physically and rebuilding his relationship with his family

Banshee in a Well by liverobinreaction (bugbee), 43k, completed, T. veeeery good angst. basically what if tim couldn’t die? 43k of tim drake whump where he just dies a bajillion times and eventually his family notices <3

The Birds: Hatching a Family by Oceanera12, 81k, completed, T. this is like “what if the batkids weren’t adopted by bruce, but instead they were all foster siblings who can’t seem to stay out of gotham at night and batman happens to find them and decides obviously he can’t leave these kids to their own business, he has to stick his nose in it” and there’s some angst and heaps of found family

The Hellblazer’s Apprentice by @bluelotuswrites, 29k, ongoing, M. what can i say, im a simple woman, i love to see jason with literally any older male mentor :) basically in UTRH what if he took up an apprenticeship under constantine to learn magic to piss off batman! so good, i really love constantine so seeing him and jason interact in a long fic is so good. also ALL BLADES JASON TODD SAVE ME… ALL BLADES JASON TODD-

something in the static by bonerot19, 101k, ongoing series with three main completed works, T. this is a jason centric series where jason still lives in crime alley with his mom and dad and never stole the batmobile tires. it follows his life in crime alley with an addict mom and an abusive dad and one night when his dad is whaling on him nightwing finds him and the bats just can’t seem to leave him alone after that. steph is his neighbor and best friend also and their relationship is so good. this is a “what if jason took a different way home to the wayne’s” fic series and i love it so much <3

catch the asteroids that come your way by ThePackWantsTheD, 54k, completed, T. i don’t read a lot of ships in the batman fandom i’m sorry, but this kyle/jason one is sooo lovely. basically the two of them growing up together and falling in love and then dealing with the aftermath of A Death in the Family and finding each other again :) really sweet and nice!

hope you find something you like! i realized the majority of these are tim or jason centric, and i love them all dearly, but if anyone has any recs for long fics focusing on any of the other batkids lmk! and any other recs in general, i am a fiend for new fics

[misstrashchan]

I know people have picked up on the board game scene in RWBY V2 Episode 2 (Welcome to Beacon) as foreshadowing the events of the show, but for funsies I want to take a stab at how it foreshadows the general arcs of each four kingdoms myself.

So we have Blake playing as the Kingdom of Vale, and she's completely unaware of the events of the game unfolding and not really paying attention, clearly distracted.

"Alright Blake, it's your turn!"

"Huh? Sorry, what am I doing?"

"You're playing as Vale, trying to conquer the four kingdoms of Remnant!"

"...Right."

The Vale arc is the first three volumes of RWBY, where all our protagonists are at Beacon, but during that time, much like Blake during the game, they're unaware of the larger conflict with Salem, and aren't actively participating in the war at that point. They are ignorant and reactive instead of active. However it's ironic that Blake plays as Vale, since the reason she's not paying attention to the game and seems distracted is because, out of all the main characters in the Vale arc, she is the one most concerned about being kept in the dark and that they're ignorant as to what's really going on.

Blake: I just, I don't understand how everyone can be so calm.

Ruby: (approaching Blake) You're still thinking about Torchwick?

Blake: Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!

She also leaves the game during her turn, much like how she runs away after the FoB and the end of the Vale arc.

"Right. Well, I think I'm done playing, actually"

Yang is playing as Mistral, and she's the most savvy and knowledgeable (hah) player, winning many rounds of the game, teaching Weiss how to play, and has the other players falling into her trap cards.

"Heh, pretty sneaky sis, but you just activated my trap card!"

There's two ways this can be interpreted, with how the Mistral arc (volumes 4-6) is when our protagonists start to gather more knowledge and awarenesses of themselves and the world. It's also in Mistral that our heroes have their most decisive victory so far. It's fitting to have Yang playing as Mistral then, since during the Mistral arc she's the one who who learns from Tai to fight smarter, and to question the authority figures around her from Raven, and after confronting her in the vault is the one who retrives the relic of knowledge.

But, most of the losses our heroes experience are because of Cinder, who is from Mistral, and them falling into her own "trap cards" with the Fall of Beacon being orchestrated by her, killing Pyrrha and Ozpin. And in Atlas the same, with her manipulating Ironwood, undermining the heroes plans to evacuate everyone from Atlas, and killing Penny. She often finds ways to trick and exploit others, and is most dangerous when overlooked and underestimated, like falling into a trap.

Which brings me to Ruby playing as Atlas, where Ruby and Yang have this exchange after Yang's trap card is activated by Ruby:

"Giant Nevermore! If I roll a seven or higher, fatal feathers will slice your fleet in two!

"But! If you roll lower a six or lower, the Nevermore will turn on your own forces!"

"That's just a chance I'm willing to take"

In the Atlas arc (volumes 7-9) the theme of trust and taking risks is very prevalent. Like the move Yang makes in the game it is a risky one, that could end badly for her, but it is one worth taking nonetheless. They take the risk of trusting Ironwood but he ends up turning on our heroes. Oscar takes a risk trusting Hazel and Ozpin, as well as Emerald later on being accepted into their group, and it ends up working out for them. Ruby takes a risky chance in sending a message out to all of Remnant and evacuating Atlas, which saves a lot of people, but they still lose some, including Penny, a dear friend of Ruby's.

"Noooooo! My fearless soldiers!"

"Eh, most of them were probably androids anyways"

"Goodbye my friends... you will be avenged!"

Ruby acts distraught when losing her turn in the game as Atlas, expressing anguish over losing her friends who are described as androids by Yang, just like how Ruby is incredibly depressed and broken after the Fall of Atlas in V9, mourning the loss of Penny, who was both a sentient android and Ruby's friend. (I do wonder if Ruby's comment on avenging her friends might be foreshadowing for her wanting to avenge Penny's death in the future, like how Jaune tried to 1v1 Cinder in V5 to avenge Pyrrha, but I think it's too soon to say)

As a sidenote the fact it is a Nevemore in this turn that has a chance of turning on Yang or helping her is interesting, as it puts me in mind of two characters who can turn into ravens/crows, like the bird and poem Nevermore is associated with. It could pertain to Raven, someone who turns on Yang in v5 during the battle of Haven, but appears to help her and her friends in the V9 epilogue. It could also be about Qrow and his semblance, since during the Atlas arc it begins to evolve so that it is not simply a bad luck semblance, but one that can generate good luck too. In other words he can affect whether the chances are in people's favour or not.

After defeating Ruby (Atlas) Yang says this:

Yang: Not until I draw my rewards! Which are double this round thanks to the Mistral Trade Route!

Ruby: Bah!

Yang: Oh, and what's this? The Smugglers of Wind Path?

Ruby: Bah! Bah, I say!

Yang: I say, it looks like I'm taking two cards in my hand!

After the Fall of Atlas Cinder retrives not one but two relics for Salem, and with Atlas falling into Mantle, two kingdoms are destroyed in one fell swoop.

Then it's Weiss's turn. Weiss is playing as Vacuo, but has no idea how to play the game. Yang takes it upon herself to teach Weiss how to play and what she can do to win the game:

Yang: Well, Weiss, it's your turn.

Weiss: I have... absolutely no idea what's going on.

Yang: (Yang slides up beside her and puts her hand on her shoulder.) Look, it's easy! You're playing as Vacuo which means that all Vacuo-based cards come with a bonus.

Weiss: That sounds dumb.

Yang: See, you've got Sandstorm, Desert Scavenge... Oh, oh! (She pulls up a card to show Weiss.) Resourceful Raider! See, now you can take Ruby's discarded Air Fleet—

Ruby: (crying) Nooo!

Yang: —and put it in your hand!

We know from the end of V9 that what remains of the airfleet of Atlas, as well as the airfleet of Mistral and Vale, have all flocked to Vacuo's defence. What remains of the kingdom of Atlas, the airfleet, but most importantly the people, have now fled to Vacuo and are trying to make a home there.

Yang continues to give Weiss advice on how to win the game to Weiss, building her up, until Weiss starts to get arrogant, believing she's going to win the whole game and is the one in control:

Yang: And since Vacuo warriors have an endurance against Natural-based hazards, you can use Sandstorm to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom! (Yang points a finger at Weiss.) Just know that I will not forget this declaration of war.

Weiss: And that means...

Ruby: You're just three moves away from conquering Remnant!

But then Yang turns on Weiss, activating her trap card, and Vacuo loses.

Since this is may be foreshadowing for the Vacuo arc that we haven't seen yet, I can only speculate what this might mean.

...But judging from the V9 extended epilogue and the books, my best guess would be that if Yang/Mistral is meant to be in part Cinder/Salem and their forces, then Weiss as Vacuo is in part the Crown. In the extended epilogue Jax and Gillian appear to be recieving help from Tyrian and Mercury, meaning Salem has decided to recruit them to her cause.

The Crown wants to restore the Vacuoan monarchy and detest outsiders, especially Atlesians. They do however wish to protect Vacuo from the same forces that destroyed Beacon, aka Salem, and so they are likely going to be manipulated like Weiss is by Yang in the game, being offered aid and giving them advice on how they can win and achieve their objectives, making them believe they can "conquer Remnant", only for them to realise later they were being tricked and used.

"Once again, Vacuo had been isolated from the conflict raging throughout Remnant—only this time it was an opportunity. With the global CCT network disabled, Vale in ruin, Haven leaderless, and Atlas closed off, Vacuo was theirs for the taking. This was likely their last, best chance for a generation. And it was their only hope to defend Vacuo against whomever had been targeting the other kingdoms. In likelihood they had written off Vacuo, like everyone else did, but if they tried to move against the Crown, they would have an unpleasant surprise.

Vacuo wouldn't break this time around."

Weiss: (Weiss stands and a thunder clap accompanies Weiss' overjoyed psychotic laughter.) Y-yes! Fear the almighty power of my forces! Cower as they pillage your homes and weep as they take your children from your very arms!

Yang: Trap card... (Yang's arm appears holding the card.)

Weiss: Huh?

Yang: (Yang shuffles the pieces on the board, Weiss' pieces disappearing in a puff of smoke.) Your armies have been destroyed.

Weiss: (Weiss slumps in her chair, cries and whines.) I hate this game of emotions we play!

Weiss as Vacuo may lose to Yang after realising they've been tricked, but is offered comfort afterwards by Ruby who relates to her losses and empathises with her, which is interesting since Ruby plays as Atlas. So I'm predicting at the end of the Vacuo arc they'll experience somewhat of a loss, whether that's the Crown, our heroes, or likely both, but Atlas will give support to Vacuo and the two kingdoms will come together to heal and ultimately work together, making steps to overcome their tense history with one another.

"Stay strong Weiss we'll make it through this together!"

"Shut up, don't touch me! "

...Which does make Weiss specifically playing as Vacuo especially intriguing, as she is the SDC heiress from Atlas, and Vacuo is a kingdom that has suffered the most in being exploited and colonized for it's natural resources by Atlas. From the epilogue it seems like the Schnees are being confronted directly with all the harm that has been caused by their family and kingdom, so I wouldn't be surprised if Weiss recieves a certain amount of focus during the Vacuo arc in deciding what her legacy as an Atlesian and heiress to the Schnee name will be. Moving forward to make amends, maybe inspiring the citizens of Atlas/Mantle to come together with Vacuo so they can all help and support one another, instead of isolating themselves and suffering alone.

Jaune offers to plays Weiss's hand for a turn also, with Weiss refusing:

Jaune: (Begging with both hands folded together.) Come on, let me play your hand for a turn!

Weiss: I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo!

Which is reminiscent of how Vacuo is mistrustful of outsiders, as we've seen in After the Fall and Before the Dawn books.

Yang follows up to say that Weiss attacked her own forces, which could reference the infighting in Vacuo, especially with the Crown.

Weiss: Besides, this game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt that you possess.

Yang: Uhh, you attacked your own naval fleet two turns ago. (Weiss makes an annoyed sound.)

Overall Weiss as Vacuo recieves the most help as any player during their turn, being taught how to play by Yang, offered comfort by Ruby after losing, and Jaune wanting to help her by playing her hand for a turn. This seems to fit with both how all kingdoms have flocked to Vacuo's aid in response to Ruby's message, but also Weiss as a character, who starts out "the loneliest of them all" but gradually opens up and warms up to other people. The crux of her arc being looking outside herself and at the people around her, relating to their struggles and coming to support them and being supported by them leads to her better understanding herself and becoming stronger for it... Which is kind of what the Kingdom of Vacuo needs to learn too!

Following this is Blake's turn as Vale, which I covered at the start of this post, but that's not the end of Vale's turn. We don't actually see it, but we know the aftermath of the game is this:

Yang: Ugh, we should have never let him play!

Ruby: You're just mad cuz' the new guy beat you!

Blake leaves the game during her turn as Vale, and presumably the "new guy" which is likely Neptune, who they'd just been introduced too, takes over her hand as Vale and wins the game of Remnant overall, even beating Yang and her trap cards. This is likely the endgame of RWBY itself, our heroes return to Vale after the Vacuo arc during the last volume for the final stand, where they win.

How and what that victory will look like I don't know, as we don't see the last turn of the game, so yet again this is even more vaguer speculation. Neptune doesn't really have much plot significance so I can't think there's any meaning to that except that he's a minor foil to Jaune, and the line of it being "a new guy" that wins, so maybe someone who recently joins our heroes side in the final act of the story, possibly Mercury or Cinder.

[shiftingdiariesofophelia]

i spend so much energy trying to make/find fun creative things to add to my scripts and i’m not gonna gatekeep, so here’s some of the funniest/weirdest/lowkey best things i’ve added to any of my scripts (that I haven’t talked much about before):

-I can always find things I need.

-Santa is real

-People just??? trust me??? I could genuinely tell someone that world war two was between the australians and canadians and they’d just be like yeah that checks out

-I don’t have allergies bc i hate sneezing

-Every pair of shoes I own are comfy as hell

-My hair can’t get knotted/tangled

-no periods because f that for real

-I always win/I’m naturally good at card and board games.

-Babies/Animals like me and will stop crying/whining/etc. when i’m around.

-cigarettes taste good and aren’t bad for you. i wanna be lana del rey coded so bad i guess

-i will literally never be in a situation where i have to kill someone. (useful for more dangerous drs!!!)

-random beef with the funniest character imaginable. hp dr? me and susan bones are arch enemies. fame dr? me and pete davidson indirect tweet each other all the time complaining. avengers dr? me and the ancient one are fist fighting in the mirror dimension idc

-indestructible things. i am clumsy and stupid i need this in every dr.

-pages don’t rip out of notebooks on accident (this has been the bane of my existence since 9 years old)

-I always have a hair tie when i need one. because you think you won’t need one, and then the second you don’t have it, you need it.

-people don’t smell. lifesaver.

-*random character* knows i shifted but can’t do a goddamn thing about it/doesn’t care and just goes with it. my favorite examples are Shane Dawson (fame dr) and Professor Trelawny (HP dr)

-i can’t get hurt in stupid ways (stubbing toe, tripping, etc.)

-if someone tries to shoot me the gun will literally fly out of their hand lmao (again, useful for dangerous drs)

-i know everyone’s phone passwords

-infinite toilet paper (for dystopia/woods/etc. drs, but could just be useful every day tbh.)

-i’ve always got some kind of out of pocket one liner for when the situation is too awkward

-tattoos don’t hurt (i am a pussy)

-adding random side characters/completely new mfers to my scripts because if i’m constantly around these fine ass bitches i know everything about i might actually have a heart attack

-when someone’s mean to me they get some form of karma in the next 24 hours directly related to how mean they were. call me stupid? enjoy tripping up the stairs. push me over? i hope you enjoy biting into a sandwich only to find the bread is moldy.

there’s probably more but this is just a short list of the first ones i could think of

[lokiondisneyplus]

Disney+ Series ‘The Mandalorian,’ ‘WandaVision’ and ‘Loki’ Coming to Blu-ray and 4K UHD Later This Year

The formerly streaming-only titles are now physical

Some of your favorite Disney+ streaming series from Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios are getting the physical media treatment later this year with new Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases of the first two seasons of Lucasfilm’s live-action “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian” as well as Marvel Studios’ “WandaVision” and the first season of “Loki.”

“Loki” will be available on Sept. 26, “WandaVision” will be available on Nov. 28, and the first two seasons of “The Mandalorian” will be available on Dec. 12. The titles will be available on Collector’s Edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray, “featuring Steelbook packaging, concept art cards and some never-before-seen bonus features.” The Steelbook edition will feature brand-new box art designed by artist Attila Szarka and collectible concept art cards. (People love their Steelbooks!)

The special features for the “Loki” release include “Designing the TVA” which features production designer Kasra Farahani and Tom Hiddleston (and contains a look at the upcoming season 2); the Miss Minutes TVA orientation video; deleted scenes (including a moment that introduces Frog Thor); a gag reel; and the “Assembled” documentary (another former Disney+ exclusive). Special features for the other releases will be shared at a later date.

“The Mandalorian” debuted with the rest of Disney+ on November 12, 2019. It quickly became the flagship series for the company’s direct-to-consumer streaming platform and inspired a whole host of spin-offs, including “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Ahsoka” (premiering this Tuesday on Disney+).

“WandaVision” was the first Marvel Studios Disney+ series, which debuted on the platform on January 15, 2021. “Loki” debuted several months later on June 9, 2021, resurrecting the Tom Hiddelston character that died at the beginning of “Avengers: Infinity War” and introducing the idea of the Multiverse. It is also the first Marvel Studios Disney+ to warrant a second season, which will start streaming in October.

Other Marvel Studios Disney+ series that followed “WandaVision” include “Moon Knight,” “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” and “Secret Invasion,” which recently wrapped.

All four of these Disney+ titles will be available to pre-order beginning on August 28.

[hainethehero]

A JOSS WHEDON HATER FOREVER- a think piece on how Avengers 1 set up Steve Rogers to be the MCU's punching bag for the rest of the franchise

(We all know Joss Whedon is an absolute garbage person. He's done many horrible things including being a racist, sexist moron who should be behind literal bars.) This is a commentary on his absolute shit writing for Avengers 1.

This one particular scene and the one following it is purely poor writing & direction for the character of Steve Rogers.👇

After Coulson dies, Fury addresses Steve and Tony and tosses Coulson's bloodied Captain America cards at Steve. He says something like "guess you never found the time to sign them" which is just horribly cruel and though not OOC for Fury, is not something he'd say lightly. We later realize here👇

...that he's secretly trying to put together the team. This is where he makes his big "there was an idea" speech and mentions that "Stark knows this." Because yeah, Tony was made aware of this in Iron Man 1 when Coulson visited and told Pepper. In contrast, Steve had no idea about the Avengers Initiative.

In fact, the dude was just pulled from the Valkyrie in the ice!! In the beginning scene of Avengers 1, we see him at the gym with the punching bag having LITERAL WAR FLASHBACKS about Bucky and Peggy and the Howlies! He's not stable and yet Fury confronts him and ropes him into the mission to get the Tesseract. Steve says, "you should've left it where you found it." And I can't help but think that maybe Steve means himself as well because dude just lost EVERYONE & EVERYTHING he literally knew and cared about.

Anyway, back to the point, Steve knows nothing about the Initiative but is suddenly made to feel guilty about Coulson's death in some kind of roundabout way of "convincing him to join the team" in honor of Coulson.

And then, to make matters WORSE, in the next scene they make HIM comfort Tony 👇

They make him say, "im sorry" (like it was his fault???!) and "he was just doing his job" and "is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" LIKE WTAF???

*INSERTS JACOB ELORDI MEME FROM EUPHORIA SAYING WHAT THE FUCKKKKK?!*

First of all, Steve barely knows these people! Second, he was fond of Coulson and I'm sure they would've been close friends. But did they have to GUILT-TRIP Steve into joining the team? Like, that's just dumb and proves that they don't actually give a fuck about his character!

AND TALK ABOUT MEAN! Fury at least knew about Steve losing Bucky on that train. He KNOWS Steve's first words when he woke up from sleep was "I had a date" reflecting the tragedy of the man out of time. To just rip him out of sleep and thrust him into a mission and later making him feel guilty about Coulson was just pure cruelty, making SHIELD no better than HYDRA. They all saw Steve as a pawn, another mindless soldier to carry out their missions and I hate JW for that.

Steve's character was not accurately portrayed nor was his trauma properly dealt with and so this is why today, we see alot of MCU "fans" calling Steve the worst avenger, lame, boring and basically a crutch to Tony's genius. (I'm a huge Tony Stark fan, don't @ me). It just felt that the mcu wanted to make Tony the ultimate hero- which is fine, Nothing's wrong with that- but they did it at the expense of Steve's character and trauma.

Sadly, this narrative continues all the way down to Endgame and for that I will always hate JW & the mcu's portrayal of Steve Rogers.

[rainbowsuitcase]

So, I'm watching Agents of Shield for the first time in my life, and there are two characters talking about needing to pick out a superhero name. During this conversation, one of them says this -

"Have you ever heard of Steve Rogers? No. But Captain America, now, he's on the news and a lunch box and a poster on the wall."

And holy fuck, what?

This guy is a war hero, he saved New York, and by extension the world, twice at this point and people don't know his real name?

He's had comics and movies and documentaries and fucking trading cards made with his face and people don't know his name?

You're telling me he woke up after decades into a world he doesn't know, a world he doesn't understand, a world where everyone he's ever loved is either dead or doesn't remember him, a world where people think he's something he isn't and they don't even remember his name?

This really makes the analysis I did of Steve's Avengers 1 costume even sadder, and it's the nail in the coffin for what I always say - the modern world Steve wakes up into needs Captain America, but they could not care less about him.

[sjsmith56]

Making It Clear

Summary: Bucky’s girlfriend reminisces about their relationship while he is on a long mission. She also recalls how one member of the Avengers tried to bring her down.

Characters: Bucky Barnes, named OFC, Sharon Carter, Sam Wilson

Warnings: Body shaming, self esteem issues, bullying behaviour, gaslighting.

Author notes: Set post-FATWS. Captain America 4 and Thunderbolts* have not happened. Instead, the Avengers were restarted with Sam and Bucky as the leaders. This happens a couple of years after that. A certain MCU woman character is the antagonist.

📚 ☕️ 🥙

It had been two weeks since most of the team went on the mission. Two weeks since I last spoke to Bucky. Two weeks since we last made love. We had only been living together for six months, six glorious months where I finally believed that I found a diamond in the rough. I was in love and with everything he said and did, I believed he was falling in love with me.

I'm not an Avenger. I'm nothing special, just an ordinary woman who was doing an ordinary job of working in a used bookstore in New York, one of two jobs I held: the other transcribing doctor's audio notes into a readable file, then uploading it into the healthcare database. I could do it from home, which suited me fine. One morning, as I was working at the bookstore, I became aware of the most beautiful man I've ever seen glancing at me as he looked at some books. Our eyes met and I felt a pull to his blue ones unlike any other connection I've ever had with a man. I smiled; he smiled back, then he smiled again when he brought his small stack over to buy the books he had chosen.

"Nice selection," I said, as I rang them through.

I looked at the hardcover illustrated one about the horse Seabiscuit. I thought it was an unusual choice, although it was a good book. He noticed my attention on it.

"I actually saw Seabiscuit race," he said. I looked at him strangely. "I'm Bucky Barnes. I was a young man then." He placed a gloved hand on the book cover. "It brings back good memories."

"You are really him," I stated. "You're different than you seem on TV. You're smiling, for starters."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the media. Sometimes I feel as if they're waiting for me to screw up so they can point the finger and say I should never have been pardoned." He shrugged and looked around. "A bookstore is one of my safe places."

"$25.67, please. I've never seen you here before."

He offered his bank card and placed it on the terminal. "I only just found it this morning, but I think I'll be here more often."

Producing a cloth bag out of his pocket, he held it open while I slid the books and receipt into it. He nodded his head and turned to go to the door then looked back.

"What's your name?"

"Robyn."

He smiled again, his almost perfect white teeth showing briefly. "It's nice to meet you, Robyn. I'll see you next time."

That was how we met and true to his word, the next time was five days later, when he returned with his cloth shopping bag. I heard the bell on the door ring and got up from where I was rearranging a shelf. He was there at the end of the aisle.

"Hi, you're back," I said, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"I am. I finished the books. The Seabiscuit book was good. Do you have other sports books that might interest me?"

I smiled. "Well, I took the liberty of looking you up on the internet." He raised his eyebrows. "Not the bad stuff. The good stuff from before the war. You were a boxer." He nodded. "There's a book called The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling. It was published in 1949, after you were declared dead, but it's considered one of the best books about boxing around."

I walked behind the front desk and opened the cupboard, pulling out a stack of books. Finding the boxing book, I put it on the counter for him. He smiled that brilliant smile again and picked it up, reading the back cover, then opened it and scanned the first few pages.

"That looks good. What else do you have there?"

"You'll like this one, even though most of the story happens after the war. It's called The Boys of Summer. It's about the Brooklyn Dodgers until the 1955 World Series. There's some criticism that it's too worshipful in tone but for a loyal fan of the Dodgers it's supposed to be an excellent read."

His eyes lit up and he picked it up, reading the back, then the first few pages of the first chapter.

"You're batting 2 for 2 so far, sweetheart," he said, then he looked at me. "Sorry, bad habit. I know women now don't care for those nicknames."

"I don't mind," I smiled back. "It reminds me of my grandpa." He made a face at me, which made me laugh. "I'm not saying you're old enough to be my grandpa because it's true that you are. You're just from a different time, that's all. It doesn't offend me."

The next book was The Natural, by Bernard Malamud. I described it to him, telling him it was made into a pretty decent movie as well. Sticking with baseball, I showed him Shoeless Joe, by W.P. Kinsella, and described the plot.

"They made a movie out of that called Field of Dreams," I said. "Whenever I'm home and it comes on, I watch it with my dad. Even though there are differences from the book it makes me cry every time." I put the final book in front of him. "This is No Cheering in the Press Box. The editor interviewed 24 sportswriters who were active between World War I and World War II. They basically just talk about the memorable sporting events and athletes they wrote about. Oh, and there was a movie about Seabiscuit based on the book you bought but the book was better, in my opinion."

He sifted through the five books then pushed them all towards me. "Ring them up. I'll take them all."

I scanned the barcode on the back of each book through as he watched me.

"You're not full time here," he noted.

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "I have another job that's almost full time, but I do it at home. This one gives me spending money. New York's expensive."

"Yeah, it is, but I still like the energy," he answered. "How much do I owe you?"

"$54.35." He put his cloth bag on the counter, and I packed the books while he placed his bank card on the terminal. "I hope you like them."

"I'm sure I will. If you want to pick out some books on science and technology for next time I would appreciate it. I'm still trying to catch up on what I missed."

It looked like he was going to ask me something else then he nodded politely and left the store. I went back to rearranging that shelf, then a few moments later heard the bell on the door ring. Just as I started to rise, he was there, offering me a hand up. It was a nice gesture and I thanked him. He stood awkwardly for a moment then took a deep breath.

"If you're not busy sometime I would like to have coffee with you, if you want, and you're not busy yourself. I can imagine two jobs keep you busy but I found it easy to talk to you and I just don't like going through the dating apps and judging people based on a photograph. If you don't, it's okay."

His voice trailed off and he looked so vulnerable for a long moment.

"I would like that, too, except I'm a tea drinker," I said. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at my schedule. "I'm free at 5 today. We could make it drinks and a light meal, maybe? There's a nice bistro around the corner that makes good coffee, tea, and great paninis."

The smile that erupted out of his face was so sweet and I could feel my stomach do a little flip flop at the sight of it.

"Yeah, that would work. Shall I meet you here and we walk over together?"

"Sure, but let's exchange numbers, just in case something comes up. I imagine that in your line of work you're on call all the time."

Agreeing with that he produced his phone and handed it to me so I could enter my information in his contacts. He texted my number and watched as I saved it to my list. Then with a wave he left the store and I returned to that shelf.

Bucky showed up at 4:55, walking in as I was finishing with a customer. He smiled at both of us, then stood at a shelf, looking at the selection, until I walked the customer out, locked the door, and pulled the blinds down on the windows and door.

"I just have to put the cash into the safe," I said. "The owner will be in tomorrow morning and will do the tally for the bank deposit."

After I printed off the sales record and emptied the cash drawer, I opened the safe and placed all the cash in it. The door was closed, the dial on the safe was spun, and I locked the cabinet. Then I grabbed my purse and jacket, and came out to the front.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I nodded and unlocked the door so he could leave ahead of me, locking both locks on it, then I asked for his help to pull the grate down and locked it into place. Like always, I sent a text to the owner that everything was secure for the night.

We arrived at the bistro just a few minutes later and I ordered a London Fog Tea Latte, and a chicken Caesar panini, while Bucky ordered a regular coffee and two roast beef paninis. It was common knowledge that he needed more food due to being a super soldier, so I wasn't surprised. We took a seat outside in the shade of the awning and waited for our food.

It was one of the best dates I had ever been on. Bucky was charming, in an old-fashioned way. He didn't monopolize the conversation, instead he asked me a lot of questions about myself. When I did ask him something he got nostalgic, but not in a complaining way. There were just things that he missed from before and he was sorry they didn't last.

"What about new things?" I asked, as our food was served. "What do you like about the present?"

"Food," he said, immediately, as he took an appreciative bite of his panini and smiled as he chewed before he spoke again. "Some things were better then but things like this, and the variety that's available is good. Healthcare is better. I mean, so many things were bad then, like cancer, tuberculosis, polio, and diseases that needed better antibiotics which didn't exist yet to be cured." He shrugged a little. "I prefer the old music but I'm making my way through the newer stuff and finding out what I like."

"I don't think they do romantic songs well now, not like they used to," I commented. "It's more about sexual attraction instead of the emotions, although there are still a few singers of the old stuff. I remember watching my grandparents dance at weddings when they played the old stuff and it was sweet, you know? It was romantic that they still felt the same way even after so many years." He got a pained look in his eyes for a moment, and I wondered if he was remembering something sad. "What were you like then? I've seen the pictures of you in your uniform and you were, and still are a handsome man. You looked so confident."

"Yeah." His voice softened. "I went out a lot, dancing. I was popular, mostly because I didn't kiss and tell. A woman's reputation was everything and it was easy to destroy if someone said something that really wasn't their business. I'm more introverted now as I don't have much in common with most people. I've had a few relationships, but they fizzled out and I never really figured out why as they said it was them, not me. Hard to believe that when you hear it several times."

"You like books," I replied. "That's a big plus for me. You're polite, attentive, and you have manners. That puts you above a lot of guys in my generation."

"You don't date much?" I shook my head, then took another bite of my panini. "They must be idiots. I think you're interesting and I'd like to see you again."

His words made me feel warm inside and I smiled at him. "I'd like that, too."

After we finished, we walked around, talking some more, then Bucky saw me home, sitting on the train with me. When we got to my apartment door, he hesitated for a moment then he gently brushed his lips against mine and watched as I entered, telling me to wave from the window when I was safely inside.

That was the beginning of our relationship, and it was wonderful as it developed over the first two months. We saw each other whenever we could, even if he sometimes just came and sat in my apartment to read as I worked on my medical transcriptions. He always made sure I had something to eat and drink while I was doing that. Sometimes, he would massage my shoulders when it looked like I was stressing out over some of the more unintelligible voice recordings, as accuracy in the transcription was paramount.

The first time he stayed over was incredible, as it started to rain hard while he was there. I wasn't going to send him out into the rain, so we made soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. When the power suddenly stopped, we made out, which led to our first time together, which led to him staying over. He was so giving, wanting to make sure that I was satisfied before he was. I can honestly say he made love better than any man I had ever been with, not that I had a lot of experience in the matter. It didn't matter, I was falling in love with him and by the words he said to me, the feeling was mutual.

My world fell apart a little just over two months after we started dating when the bookstore was broken into overnight, robbed, then set on fire. I wasn't working that day, but my boss phoned me in tears that someone would destroy her livelihood like that. Bucky came with me in the middle of the night to comfort her, as we watched the fire department try to save what they could, which ended up being nothing. Even with the insurance, she couldn't afford to reopen it and I was out of one of my two jobs. Two weeks later, the medical transcription service I worked for was sold to a conglomerate, who promptly terminated the contracts of over half the staff, me included. Because it was a contract position, there was no severance pay. It wouldn't be long until my savings ran out and when it did, I would be homeless.

"Move in with me," offered Bucky. "The suite I have at the tower is huge and I'm sure you can get on with the support staff there. All I have to do is ask Pepper Stark."

"Bucky, I don't want to use you like that." I appreciated it but it seemed wrong to use his friends to get another job and I didn't want to impose on him. "I'll find something. I can manage on my own."

He looked at me with a strange, soft smile on his face.

"The thing is, you don't have to. You're more than qualified to work at the tower and we're together so much already that I feel like we're already living together. Please, let me help the most important person in my life."

My interview with Pepper Stark went well, and I got a job, a good job, in the IT department. She even paid for my things to be moved into Bucky's apartment, although most of the furniture went into storage because his apartment was furnished already. Almost everyone was welcoming to me and I felt comfortable there.

There was one person who seemed friendly at first, but I found when Bucky went on longer missions that she wasn't on, she could be a little cold. Sharon Carter, who was apparently related to Steve Rogers' girlfriend from World War II, was beautiful, smart, and a very capable operative. As a CIA liaison with the Avengers, she was often sent on undercover assignments, with various Avengers, occasionally Bucky, to infiltrate secure places. In front of him and the others she was very complementary to me. But when they were away and we were alone, or with some lesser agents, she would make comments that could be seen as snide or hurtful, although she always worded them in a way that made me wonder if I was just imagining it.

Once, I came back from working out. I knew I wasn't at the level of fitness most of the agents or Avengers were. I just did stuff to keep active and Bucky never said anything to the contrary. On that day, I felt good about what I did, actually pushing myself with the weights. I stopped to get a bottle of water from the communal fridge. I took my sweaty T-shirt off and was in my sports bra and leggings. Sharon sat at the table, reading something on a tablet. As I walked past her, she hummed.

"I don't mean to be critical or anything," she said, in that confident voice she had. "Are you gaining weight?" I looked at her as if I couldn't believe she would say that. "It's just that you seem to have a bit of a muffin top forming. Maybe you shouldn't be eating ice cream for a snack so often. Just a word of advice. Bucky likes his women fit."

That was the first time I ever felt misgivings about my body. Even though I knew I looked good, she planted a seed of doubt in my head that day. Ignoring her, I left for our apartment and stripped down, looking at myself naked in the mirror. I grasped my midsection and tried to see where the muffin top was. I couldn't see it and even though I dismissed the thought, it percolated in my head, and I found myself cutting back on my food during the rest of the week. When Bucky returned, he made a big show of picking me up and holding me tight as he kissed me. There was a mirror wall and I glanced at it, seeing Sharon while he was doing it. She was jealous; it was clearly all over her face that she wanted Bucky. During dinner with everyone, she was polite again. As soon as we finished Bucky and I went to our apartment, locked ourselves in and didn't come out until morning. I wanted to ask him about Sharon, but something stopped me.

"Robyn, are you alright?" Bucky was looking at me as we brushed our teeth. "You seem off."

"I just missed you," I replied. "I'm glad you're back."

"Me, too," he smiled. "We have a lot of catching up to do. I've missed this."

He wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my neck. Then he frowned.

"Have you lost weight?"

"I don't know," I lied. "Maybe I've been grabbing food on the go while I'm working instead of stopping for a meal."

"Don't lose anymore," he said, softly. "I like you with something extra to hold. You've got a beautiful body."

His words soothed me, and I felt better. Our relationship progressed and we said the "love" words to each other often. The time apart while he was on missions was hard, but he bent over backwards to make it up to me on his return. Sharon made little comments when he wasn't around, but I ignored them as best I could. That lasted until he had to go on a long mission again, this mission that he was currently on. Thankfully, Sharon wasn't at the tower as she was on assignment in Los Angeles. But the day before Bucky got back, she walked into the common room, where I was sitting alone, minding my own business. She flopped onto the sofa next to me then looked over.

"You changed your hair."

"Just got it cut."

"It looks alright, I guess. Has Bucky seen it?"

"On FaceTime. He likes it."

"Oh." She was quiet for a moment. "Maybe when he gets here, he'll change his mind."

I shouldn't have let what she said bother me, but something flipped inside me at that moment, and I turned to her, glaring in anger.

"What is your problem? Why do you say things like that?"

"Like what? They're just observations. Whether you listen to them or not, isn't my problem." I got up to get away from her, but she just had to have the last word. "You know his relationships don't last. Something always goes wrong. It just depends on when you realize that he's not cut out for something long term."

I kept going until I got into the apartment. Then I cried, feeling stupid that I let her words hurt me. All the old insecurities from her first hurtful comments came up and even though I knew I should just let it slide off me, something must have hit the mark because I couldn't let it go. That night I slept terribly, unable to put her words out of my head. Eventually I fell asleep for a bit but was awakened by the sensation of someone getting into bed with me. With a start I sat up, only to see Bucky smiling sheepishly at me.

"You're back early!"

"We left early, and I flew at top speed to get back sooner," he said, reaching out to caress my face. "Was hoping to be with you before you left for work."

I clutched at him, kissing him frantically, until he laughingly pulled me off of him. Then he looked closer at me and saw how tired I still appeared. Immediately his whole mood changed into something more serious and concerned.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. "Didn't you sleep last night?"

I looked down and shook my head. He waited to hear more.

"Sharon got into my head, and I couldn't shake it off."

"She what?" His voice hardened. "What did she say to you?"

"It was nothing."

"Robyn, it wasn't nothing if it bothered you. If you don't tell me then I have to ask Friday for a playback."

I explained how her comment on my haircut triggered me into confronting her and she gaslighted me into making it my fault I was offended. His face went steely. Then, haltingly, I told him what she said about him and relationships; that he wasn't cut out for something long term.

"How long?" I looked at him blankly. "How long as she been messing with your head?"

I told him about the snide comments about my appearance, and lack of fitness. It all came pouring out of me in a torrent. By the last words I was crying and he held me, pulling me onto his lap while he kissed me and told me over and over how much I meant to him. When my crying finally slowed down to shaky breaths and occasional sniffles, he placed his hand under my chin and raised my face to view his.

"Understand this and believe it," he murmured. "I love you. Living with you has made me feel like a new man and I wake up every morning smiling because I know that you're here with me. I want to wake up next to you for the rest of my life. That's not a proposal but it is a promise that someday, sooner rather than later, I'll ask you properly to marry me." He kissed me sweetly on the lips then he took another audible breath. "Sharon Carter is another matter. I turned her down once because I honestly don't like her. She's a good operative and I've had her back while she's had mine. But she's got a mean streak in her that comes out without warning, and she doesn't care who it hurts. My last girlfriend before you, said something about Sharon and then left, not wanting to elaborate. I didn't put it together then I met you and put it out of my mind." He looked up at the ceiling. "Friday, can you compile recordings of any interaction between Sharon and my previous girlfriends and with Robyn. Specifically, any that involve criticism of the relationship between them and me? Include any comments that were critical of the girlfriends."

I looked at him in a new light. "You think it was her who sabotaged your relationships?" He nodded. "She planted the seeds of doubt and watered them every chance she got." I rubbed my face. "She wants you for herself."

"It's never going to happen." His tone was firm, then softened as he gazed at me. "I have what I want right here, right now."

I unbuckled his tac suit jacket, slipping it off his shoulders then tugged his singlet off between tender kisses and caresses from both of us. He took off the rest and showed me how much I meant to him in the best way possible. All my fears about us were dealt with and we slept afterwards wrapped together for several hours. When I woke up to get ready for my job, he let me shower alone. When I came out, he went in for a quick shower then dressed.

"Let's go for breakfast," he said. "I have a video to show everyone."

Together we came out to the common kitchen and dining area where everyone was making or eating breakfast. Sharon was sitting at the table with a pastry and coffee, pretending not to notice us but Bucky made sure he had his arm around me and kissed my head often. He made me a tea and gestured for me to sit at the table while he brought our food. It was close to Sharon, but I ignored her. Bucky brought our food then went back and poured himself a coffee, sitting next to me.

"I do like your hair like this," he said, running his eyes over it. "It looks even better than it did on FaceTime. What do you think, Sharon?"

"It's fine," she answered, as if she were bored.

"I guess fine is better than alright," he said, looking straight at her. "That was the actual term you used, wasn't it?"

"I dunno."

"You know, maybe it's because I was out of practice or maybe it's because I thought we were colleagues, but I never once thought that you would stoop so low as to try to sabotage my relationships."

She made it seem like he was boring her then looked at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Let me refresh your memory then. Friday, playback video compilation from this morning."

The large wall screen came to life and a series of videos began of Sharon with Bucky's earlier girlfriends. Everyone stopped talking and watched in confusion, with open mouths, as they heard her say some nasty things to the other women. There were many comments about their hair, weight, lack of style, lack of fitness, but mostly how Bucky wasn't capable of being in a long-term relationship with anyone because of his PTSD, or because he was more interested in playing the field. To her credit, she sat there and took it, although her face hardened throughout the playback. When the video got to what she said to me, I could feel the mood in the room turn completely against her. Sam Wilson, who hadn't said anything until then, finally stood up and looked at her with daggers.

"I think you should put in for an immediate transfer to another agency," he said. "By what I've seen and heard just now I don't think anyone wants to partner with you on any missions. Whatever trust we may have built up with you during and since the Flag Smashers is gone, by your own actions."

She breathed out angrily and stood up, looking briefly at all of them, then finally on Bucky and me. With a shake of her head, she left the table and the room. Sam advised Friday to lock her out of any systems that required clearance. As far as he was concerned, she had no clearance with the Avengers anymore. Then he looked at me and Bucky.

"All of us can see what you mean to each other. You make Bucky happy and that means a lot to all of us. I'm sorry we didn't know about her behaviour sooner. It was unacceptable."

He left to file a formal complaint about Sharon and why he fired her summarily. Others came to offer hugs to me and even Bucky, who took them. We sat back down to finish our breakfast. I couldn't help it, but the tears began again. He put his knife and fork down, then turned towards me, cupping my face in his hands. Gently, he wiped the tears from my cheek then kissed me on the lips. He didn't say anything, just gazed at me so lovingly that I stopped crying and nodded that I was okay. It was the truth. I was great. In front of me was someone I loved very much, and he loved me just as fiercely. Whatever the future brought we would face it together.

One Shots Masterlist

Please support the author by reblogging.

[raccoonfallsharder]

the raccoon, the witch, & the roadtrip. part four. south dakota.

the raccoon, the witch, & the roadtrip masterlist prev | next | main masterlist

angst, comfort, friendship, & fluff for @hibatasblog rocket & wanda | part 4/7 | word count: 1864.

rocket and wanda get in a fight.

During a watch party for Avengers: Endgame on Twitter, Markus revealed the idea to team Wanda with the Guardian of the Galaxy captain actually made it into several versions of the film's script. "We had whole drafts with Wanda on a road trip with Rocket," Markus wrote, "but after the Vision plot in Infinity War, nothing we came up with was anything but wheel spinning for her character." CBR

They don’t stop until Rapid City. Wanda looks like she might actually be ready for a nap — her firestorm-eyes somehow blunted by exhaustion — and Rocket himself could go for a few drinks, which is apparently not a thing you’re allowed to do if you’re in a moving vehicle in this corner of Terra. 

Stupid, he’d scoffed at the witch. M’not even the one working the frickin’ pod.

Car, she’d corrected mildly, and she still hadn’t let him have a drink. He’d thought about swiping some booze at one of the so-called rest-stops, but then he’d felt all twisted-up inside about sneaking a drink when it was clearly something she didn’t want him to do. In some ways, she reminds him of Gamora — too serious, carrying way too much for her skinny baldbody shoulders — and the thought of fucking around with her rules when she’s got so few of ‘em just makes him feel small and low.

Sometimes he misses the days when screwing with someone brought him twisted shreds of meanspirited joy. 

Time to be the captain, he thinks bitterly.

By the time they find a hotel with a vacancy that doesn’t look like a shithole — not that he minds shitholes, of course, they kinda feel like home to him; but Wanda’s muttering something about bedbugs and reminding him that Natasha’s paying  — well, by then, he’s a little worried he’s not gonna get a drink after all. There doesn’t seem to be a bar within reasonable walking distance — not that he can see. But when they check in, he can see from the corner of his eye that there’s a bar attached right to the frickin’ lobby, and he thinks maybe Terra doesn’t completely suck after all.

The witch is so exhausted that it actually doesn’t take long for her to drift off this time — at least, not by his standards. He can hear her heartbeat suddenly thumping her awake every few minutes for the first half-hour or so — but eventually, her stifled breaths of wakefulness spread out and smooth over. 

It’s not that he’s trying to sneak out. He hasn’t done that since — well, since Pete was around, and that was mostly just to fuck with an easily-annoyed Star-Lord. Really — and Rocket would never admit it if asked — he’s pretty sure that, like himself, the witch finds it easier to sleep when she’s not alone. 

So he putters around, quietly working on a series of tiny linked infrasonic mines made from some scraps he’d squirreled out of Nat’s sound system and a pocketful of things called earbuds he’d swiped at one of the fancier rest-stops. Once he’s sure Wanda’s asleep, he scrawls a note for her — hoping he’s remembering the written Terran language Pete had insisted on trying to teach the Guardians before everything went to hell. Rocket had picked up a fair amount of it, even if he’d pretended disinterest. 

He wishes he hadn’t been such a frickin’ dickhead about it.

witch -  goin to lobby bar. see you in mornin. r

He snags one of the access cards out of the flimsy paper envelope that the front desk had issued them, and carefully eases the door shut behind him. Currently, the plan is to let the poor witch sleep, and to get so wasted while she does it. He’s been sober for cycles now, and he frickin’ deserves it.

Down the hall he goes, whistling a jaunty tune, tail swinging casually behind him. On the way past the ice machine, the door of another room opens. Some baldbody woman looks out, then drops her eyes to his. She blinks, goes white, and closes the door right back up again. He shrugs — weird — and hops in the elevator. He ain’t a fan of the little crack between the floor of the hotel and the little metal box, dropping down countless stories to the basement below. Don’t Terrans know how to make any safe tech? He tries not to think about being in a deathtrap while he hits the button labeled G, which Wanda had explained was for ground floor. 

On four, the elevator pauses and a man nearly steps in before noticing Rocket. The interim captain of the Guardians of the Galaxy offers a friendly, nonthreatening mock salute. 

“Hey, guy.”

The man goes white, and steps back out of the elevator, suddenly gripping his messenger bag in front of his belly. Rocket frowns as the doors slide shut.

Terrans are so frickin’ weird, he thinks again.

The elevator dings and the doors slide open, and Rocket grins at the sight of the bar, with all its glass bottles reflecting molasses-brown shadows and amber light.

“Hello, gorgeous,” he murmurs, and strolls across the tiled floor and through the little entryway. The bar is nearly empty — perfect for penance-drinking. He leaps delicately onto a stool at the bar. “I’ll take the hardest thing you’ve got,” he tells the bartender — a slender humie with thick, darksilver hair. The man blinks at him, eyes growing wide and face turning to ash. “The whole bottle,” the captain clarifies, suddenly recalling that Terran humies tend to distill some of the weakest liquors in the galaxy.

“I — I don’t think I can do that,” the Terran says thinly. His eyes flicker over Rocket, ears to tailtip.

Rocket’s brow pleats. “Huh? Why not?”

“Uh,” the bartender says, eyes siding nervously to one side, “we don’t serve… pets at the bar…”

It takes a minute for Rocket to be sure he’s understood correctly. His lip peels back from his teeth and he catches himself at the start of a seething hiss when the man shrinks back.  

Terrans are just morons, Rocket reminds himself. You’re s’posed to be the captain now. Of the Guardians of the frickin’ Galaxy. A good guy. 

Hang onto your frickin’ temper.

“Dude,” he manages to grind out between sharp teeth. “I ain’t a frickin’ pet.” 

“Wild animal, then,” the bartender mumbles, eyes nearly as big as Mantis’ had been, but much less kind. It sends a spear of leaden regret right through the fucked-up, half-shredded muscle of Rocket’s heart. 

That chick with the antennae, he’d called her. Why’s he always gotta be such a dickhead?

For once, he tries not to turn that pain outward, even though it’s always so much easier. Still, he can’t help but feel his fists curl and his ears flick back, flattening against his skull. “How many wild animals do you know that talk?” he asks the humie behind the bar, trying to be reasonable. “I’m a frickin’ Guardian of the Galaxy. An honorary Avenger or whatever. I fought Thanos for you assholes.”

I lost my whole family for you.

The bartender begins backing away, palms raised in surrender. “Look, I don’t know anything about you being an Avenger, but if you’re not a service animal, I don’t think you can even be in the bar—“

Rocket feels his eyes go round and his spit go sour. The fur on his back and neck and arms splays wide, and his tail puffs to twice its normal size. “A. What?”

The bartender looks like he’s going to cry. “I don’t know, man! For all I know, you could be rabid—“

“I ain’t rabid,” Rocket snarls, rising to his feet on his barstool. “I get my frickin’ shots—“

“—and we don’t serve raccoons!”

His jaw clicks shut. The sharp electric-shock of the word burns every nerve and short-circuits his brain, and all he can think is how much he’d give up for Pete to call him that shit-name again.

“What’d you call me?” 

He launches himself over the bar and lands on the mirrored shelf behind it, spraying bottles across the narrow space while the Terran shrieks and cowers. Glass and booze explode against the tile while Rocket spins and hooks his hands into claws, ready to rend. 

“I’m gonna frickin’—“

He’s springing through the amber and blue shadows when strands of light, as glowing-crimson as his own warning-beacon eyes, loop around his waist and tug him back, suspending him in midair. He tears at the gossamer-fine threads, but they slip through his fingers like mist.

“Rocket.”

He bares his teeth and glares upward. 

The witch. 

She strides across the lobby, smudged and tired, her red-star eyes spiraling and spilling molten fire. Her hair’s all tangled from whatever brief sleep she’d gotten, and her face looks white and pinched and pained. She must’ve woken, some part of him notices — smothered under the heat of his fury, his lashing tail and kicking legs. She must’ve woken, and noticed he was gone, and seen his note.

She looks concerned.

The front desk staff flinches away from where they’d been watching the scene unfold in the bar.

“Rocket,” she says gently. “Stop.”

“I will, sweetheart,” Rocket promises earnestly, still twisting and tearing at her threads of power. “Swear I will. Just lemme take care of this one jackass first—“

“No,” she says, stepping up next to wear he’s suspended, her face just a few inches from his. Her magic pulls him gently over the bar, closer to herself. “He’s not worth it.” She looks around the lobby, and some distant part of Rocket wonders how such a volcanic stare can suddenly look so utterly cold and remote. Is his own eyeshine is picking up the reflection of her light and throwing it back at her? He can picture it: four firestorm-eyes lighting up the entire hotel lobby. 

“Nothing in this place is,” she adds icily, and the ends of her hair begin to flicker and float in a wind he can’t feel.  His instincts suddenly shudder and go still: the freeze element of a classic flight-or-fight reaction. Something deep under his fur acknowledges the pure threat of her. The witch’s voice is dark, and crackling with raw red lightning. Something at the base of his spine recognizes it as the most dangerous sound he’s ever heard, and his ears flatten in alarm, puffed tail suddenly tucking in against his inner calf.  The silk strands of magic lower Rocket gently until his feet rest on the surface of the bar, but they don’t release him — not yet. Never mind that he’s not fighting anymore.

“You are a fool,” she tells the bartender, turning her molten eyes toward the baldbody still cowering behind the bar. She lifts a hand to point at Rocket. “This person is more than just an Avenger. He has saved the entire galaxy — a number of times. In all likelihood, he has saved you. Personally.” Her eyes skim the weeping bartender disdainfully, then flick dismissively over the front desk staff and the two other patrons Rocket hadn’t even noticed, hiding near a potted tree that reminds him too much of a young Groot. 

“He’s no animal,” she tells them in that terrifying, midnight-voice. Honestly, Rocket wouldn’t blame any of them if they’d wet themselves. His own bladder suddenly wants to let go and it’s only his superior frickin’ aversion to embarrassment that keeps his body under control. 

“He deserves your deepest respect, and your deepest gratitude,” she tells them. Her eyes, still haloed in red radiance, hold onto the bartender.

“Now pour him a drink.”

the raccoon, the witch, & the roadtrip masterlist prev | next | main masterlist

[treverscottcameron]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225793148745?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ExIhaczpTuu&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=ExIhaczpTuu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[effervescentdragon]

The ending of The Penumbra Podcast's The Second Citadel is the most disappointing ending to me since Avengers Endgame. I'd probably compare it to Game of Thrones, if I'd watched that.

I got some things to say. Heavy spoilers ahead.

I genuinely haven't been this disappointed in writing in a long time. I don't know what happened - from season 3 or 4 or so onward both Second Citadel and Juno Steel seemed to change, and althought I haven't really been suoer excited about the path Juno's story has taken, I was actually pretty invested in the Second Citadel. I thought the whole war with the offworlders plotline was good. Even more, in the world we live in right now, seeing the way human-monster conflict was done was very inspiring. Humans finding out their legends of great victories are just massacres of monsters commited in the names of Saints who were actually standing for the exact opposite of what they've been made into, the way propaganda works, it was very dear to me ans it was something I was convinced was important to say. So many characters and their developments were written so well that I was enjoying the fifth and final season immensely. And then, that finale.

Despicable. Hollow. So badly written. Not honest for a moment. Underwhelming. Lazy. Nonsensical.

When you have a magic world in which anything can happen, you cannot use the excuse of "I wrote myself into a corner". When you make the Universe a deus ex machina capable of making a half human-half monster child, you do not have an excuse of not resolving the story in a way that's satisfactory and that makes sense for the characters. Whet the writers have done is lazy, and cheap, and so unsatisfying that for a whole day, I have been reeling from how much disappointment I feel.

Let me go one by one character and try to put my thoughts in order and explain why this finale falls short of everything I expected and everything that could have been done.

So the Universe needs more magic to defend itself, and it's spending too much on keeping Olala alive. Alright. You have a thirteen year old kid whose first home was torn apart by a warmongering zealot, who is the only one in the world of her kind, who is the Chosen One. Sometimes, the Chosen One needs to die for the story to make sense. But to have a thirteen year old commit suicide in sacrifice to save the world, after ripping her from one home, then giving her another (Silvershore), only to raze that one to the ground too with zero payoff, after giving her a parental father figure who promised her a life where she would be taken care of in the future (Sir Lamorak) and then killing him in front of her, which directly follows her parental (mother-ish but not rly, more of a mentor) figure of Caroline also dying in front of her, which drives Olala into despair of knowing both her caretakers are gone and then having the Saints Relics destroyed not be enough... the emotional toll of that has no payoff. The cheap card of "maybe someday Olala will come back" is unsatisfying and callous in a most horrifying way.

And since I already mentioned Lam and Caroline, let's delve into that. Lam's death was very neatly set up and it's the only one that makes sense, somewhat. He was a Knight of the Citadel who did horrible things, fell in love woth a mermaid and changed his ways. The conditions of his duel with the Tengu (not to pick up a weapon again lest the Tengu comes back and devours him) are a piece of very good writing, because how could a Knight with a child not pick up a weapon in the middle of the war to defend that child? That, I understand. (A deus ex machina of Universe asking him of he wanted to come back would not go amiss, and as his wife once said, she is your child, and you have responsibilities. But maybe that's just my wishful thinking.)

Caroline need not have died. Nor did Quanyii. Quanyii absorbed the Universe's magic, yes, but a sacrifice for her would be to live without magic anymore. One whole moment in the story was Quanyii lamenting how bad she is at healing magic. She could have given all the magic to heal Caroline, and they both could have lived, fundamentally changed by the experience. No, instead, they died. Pointlessly, pathetically, with some cheap reassurances that were supposed to sound deep and meaningful. All of Olala's caretakers taken away right before she goes to the heart of the Universe to kill herself.

The rest.. I don't even know where to start. Ale spouting some reassurances to a grieving Angelo felt completely dishonest after he spent years chasing his own revenge, whose unsstisfying conclusion he is now suddenly alright with. All the floscules about building a new future fall flat in the knowledge of what the sudden end of the war means. Queen Mira being absolved of all her incompetence and not being Queen but urging democracy now, as if she didn't hold as much responsibility as the bloodthirsty knights she enabled, ignoring all advice to the contrary. What a cop-out. Much like with Sir Mark, who actively participated in genocide and who has been miraculously absolved by his brother (without even properly apologizing, because Talfrin does it for him) and they ride off into sunset together. Despicable.

And Rilla... goddamn it. The worst piece of writing I've seen in a long time. A magical ot3 child for a woman who is, above all, a scientist. That line, "I don't even have time to go through my notes of the knowledge I lost because there is so much new magic", and then they use that magic to make a child, although Rilla has never indicated wanting one. What to do with a female character when you don't know how to handle her? Why, give her a child, of course! So disappointing, so cheap, so out of character.

The Universe in this story is a deus ex machina in itself. It could have brought Olala, this child everyone claims to care so much about, back. This story could have gone a million other ways. The characters could have stayed true to themselves and the message of the story could have been poignant and memorable. There are ways of writing a story rife with logical, necessary sacrifice while still giving the audience adequate payoff and giving them hope and belief in good things. While still completing the journey and staying true to your characters and your message.

This story did none of that. It relied on cliches, empty sayings and hollow moralising to justify a sacrifice of a child for some bigger cause. It betrayed all its female characters and either turned them into caricatures of themselves, or killed them. It absolved everyone of responsibility and closed its eyes from the gruesomness of its actions and pretended it cannot see, because look, the war is over and all is well! It disappointed so heavily with its hollowness that it soured everything, the whole story for me, and I won't ever relisten to it.

The most important thing to ask yourself when you're writing is "what story do I want to tell". And given that this was the story the writers chose to tell... well. That says enough, I think.

I shudder to think what Juno Steel finale is like. I don't think I want to listen to any it anymore, to be honest. And isn't that the most disappointing thing of all?

[jinxquickfoot]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤

Oooh picking favourite fics is so hard! I decided to leave out any collabs because I couldn't pick, so in no particular order:

A Pair of Aces

“There’s no one else I can ask. Please.”

It’s the please that has stuck in Tony’s mind, long after the phone call with Steve had ended.

“I know what HYDRA made him do. But it wasn’t his fault. He doesn’t deserve this.” ----------------------------------- When Ross captures Steve and Bucky after the fight in Siberia, Bucky is sold to Selby in Madripoor, with Tony, Sharon and a high-stakes poker game as his only hope of rescue.

Why I like this fic: It's still new so it still has 'new fic' shine to it before I re-read it and find all its flaws. Civil War Fix-Itss my beloved.

2. The One Where Clint is Tony's Weakness

“Do you know who I am?”

Clint twisted Stone’s arm back further, making him yelp in pain. “I know exactly who you are, Stone. And this is me passing on a friendly message from all of us at Avengers Tower—leave Tony alone." -------------------------------------- When Steve, Natasha, and Sam's mission to take down HYDRA fails, it's up to Tony and Clint to escape their respective captors and rescue their friends.

Why I like this fic: I give myself kudos for how intricate the plot of this one turned out and a couple of very creative whump scenes. No, I have not forgotten about the sequel. It will appear one day.

3. Budapest

Whoever they were, they were getting better. Every round of the simulation they learned a little more, took a little more, built up the world around him into something he might just believe. But they couldn’t do it all. They always got at least one detail wrong, and then Clint would know, he’d know. And then the assholes would wipe his mind and start again from scratch. -------------------------------------- Turns out it's difficult to derail a hostage situation when it's a friend doing the hostage-taking.

Why I like this fic: I love how mind-bendy this one is, it's one of the more complicated plots I've had to do and work with, and it has a happy ending.

4. Dollhouse

The torture bingo card.

It was an old joke that had been passed around the SHIELD agents with a darker sense of humor. Phil had disapproved. Fury had pretended not to know. Clint had joined in right away, only to find he had been able to fill out half the squares before the game had even begun, courtesy of a life of bad cards, poor decisions, and worse luck.

No one was ever supposed to win. -------------------------------------- The Barton family gets an uninvited guest, and it has no intention of leaving.

Why I like this fic: Spookiest thing I've ever written and it manages to include so many character.

5. Let's Whump the Spider-Kid and Friends!

Thanos is defeated, the world is saved, and all the Avengers are set to live happily ever after in their Tower. If only their team didn't include a danger magnet in the form of Peter Parker.

OR

31 days, 31 ways to hurt our favorite Spider-Kid, with bonus whumping of his super friends and excessive use of puns.

Why I like this fic: I know it's kind of cheating to include a one-shot collection but this does work as a multi-chapter fic as well. For all the angst and whump and such, it's nice to flex the comedy muscles too and go for something a bit more light-hearted and fun.

[queersouthasian]

Jack&Joker - U steal my heart!

One of the most popular Thai BL cps, Yinwar, are back with a heist themed BL after a long hiatus since Love mechanics.

*taps mic*

I refuse to spiral into insanity all by myself, so here is a thread of theories or rather poorly made assumptions regarding the characters and plot.

#1 Joker and Lupin

You know what Joker reminds me of, or rather who? Arséne Lupin.

Arséne Lupin AKA the 'Gentleman Burglar' is a French fictional book character,

There is a French live action drama on Netflix called 'Lupin' where a guy named Assane Diop, a long standing fan of the books, imitates Lupin to avenge his father's death.

Now, why am I mentioning Lupin out of nowhere? I remember binge watching the live action and wishing that one day we would have a BL with a similiar theme. The BL gods heard me lol. Joker, seems to be very similiar to Lupin/Assane. He is cocky, witty, bitchy, sassy and chaotically evil yet cares and loves beyond one may speculate.

And If Joker is our queer Lupin,

Tattoo is our Benjamin,

Benjamin used to replicate intricately made precious jewels/jwelery which helped Assane to rob the original and replace with the cloned item which looked indifferent to the human eye.

If that's that, if tattoo makes shit which gets used during heists, then maybe he was the one to create the gas which puts everyone to sleep. Literally anyone can argue that it could have been chloroform, something that's easy to access. BUT, considering the amount of 'chloroform' which flowed through the ventilators, people would have been dead. Atleast Anan. That shit results in muscle breakdown and can put people in coma.

And if we have the Assane, the benjamin, do we also have the Ganimard?

#2 Cards and Ganimard

Cards play an important role in the world of Joker, it's everywhere,

In his description

on the loan papers

It's his signature, of course.

But you know who else has a card related description?

Yes

Jack has what we call the "ace of spades"...

Now this is where this gets interesting,

If the joker is the 'harlequin' which symbolises chaos, unpredictability, wit and intelligence; who exactly what Joker is, The Lupin, then Jack is THE ace of spades, which symbolises intellectual power or spiritual growth BUT carry the reputation of being the 'Death Card' popularised during the Vietnam War. It's a die or domino with a single pip.

And If Jack is the 'ace', he can be the queer Ganimard,

This makes me think, either Jack will be the hindrance or guidance, maybe both.

It could be that, the only history Jack and Joker share is Jack getting conned by joker. IF joker did scam Jack on the 'superhuman project' which was assumbly his dream project yet Jack helps him, then he can be called inhumanely loyal and hopelessly in love.

"You are still kind and haven't changed"

And if Jack can cooperate with Joker so well (the whole fight scene against the guards), he would be the only one to know how Joker works or atleast have an idea. And If that's what it is, he would either directly join the heist by pretending to stop it and Joker, or he is actually going to do it 'cause, he is the "death card"

He is either with you, or against you.

The vibe till now seem very contrasting to Partners in Crime, while the later was more like a social commentry where two lovers rob the exploited, the rich. But this one is more like a cold witty thief who finds an extremely loyal admirer and falls for him BUT this could turn into a love story with betrayal. This show either is going to be chill, cool and quirky and little bit angsty OR extremely twisted and angsty. Let's see.

[matan4il]

Thoughts on Hunters s1

I heard that season 2 of Hunters is about to premiere (Jan 13, if you’re wondering, on Amazon Prime) and I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts about s1. Before I kick off, I am assuming that if you’re reading this, you have watched it. In case you haven’t, this is your official spoilers warning!

A Personal Perspective

Okay, so to explain how I went in, take into account that in addition to my grandparents all being Holocaust survivors, I work in a Holocaust museum. Imagine me hearing that there’s going to be a show following a group of Jewish Nazi hunters. Obviously, I signed on to watch right away. But I also don’t like spoiling myself, so after hearing that initial information, I was actively avoiding any further spoilers. At the same time, thanks to my job, I’m aware that there really were Jewish Nazi hunters operating in Europe at the end of WWII. Some in groups, some individually, they’re collectively referred to as "Ha’Nokmim" (that’s Hebrew for The Avengers). Which means, I basically went in expecting the show to be about, you know... the real life Jewish Nazi hunters. I even had a wager with myself on which group specifically the show might have chosen to follow. Would we see the real people involved or a fictionalized version of them? I had no idea, but I also didn’t think I had any reason to doubt that this would be the context of the show.

So imagine me (poor, sweet summer child that I was 😂) starting to watch and almost immediately realizing, oh. No, I was very wrong. I didn’t even need the title card telling me the time and place. There I am, realizing that what I’m looking at isn’t Europe, the setting’s in the US, it isn’t the 1940′s, the clothes alone indicate it’s the 1970′s, the colors are also too bright for what I originally expected, while the context seems to be work colleagues having a barbecue together. Couldn’t be further away from Nazi hunting. My brain is racing, trying to catch up. Okay, I reason, there must be a Nazi who is present at this barbecue. Maybe he’s someone who got away from the protagonists in the past, and his re-surfacing will bring the group from the 1940′s back together, allowing us to learn their story through flashbacks?

Very quickly, it becomes clear a Nazi criminal is indeed present (and that he’s a very powerful man, with personal connections to the president) when one young Jewish woman identifies him. I have to applaud the performance, it was chilling to see the character shifting from a regular party attendant to a woman confronted with a perpetrator of indescribable horrors. However, I didn’t have a lot of time to admire it. The rest of the scene felt like a punch to the gut. Once identified, this Nazi man pulls out a gun and starts shooting everyone present, including the young woman’s Jewish husband, and she’s about to be next.

When I choose to watch anything related to the Holocaust, I know that I’ll see at one point or another a portrayal of some of the horrors inflicted on my family and my people. I know that. But I have to admit, I wasn’t prepared to see Jewish characters being shot so nonchalantly by a Nazi murderer after the end of the war. The scene also stretches on, it’s clear what’s about to happen, the Nazi and young survivor’s dialogue only holds off the inevitable outcome of this encounter, given that she’s not even armed and he’s powerful and connected enough to commit a massacre without so much as a blink. That makes it feel even more torturous, to have to sit there and watch this unfold, feeling the helplessness of this young Jewish survivor. Helen.

During their dialogue, the Nazi murdered tells her in German, “We are here.” This is the moment when it finally sinks in that this would not be about any of the real Jewish Nazi hunters who avenged the murder of Jews at the end of WWII, this would be a fictional tale about a group of Nazis who had embedded themselves into US society in the 1970′s, and the show would follow an equally fictional team hunting them.

There’s a specific sentence that this man also utters in this scene which was particularly painful to me. When Helen tells him defiantly that Jews have survived before and they will again, he replies, “You didn’t survive. You marinated.” That one just hit too close to home. The truth is, whether Jews as a collective will manage to recuperate from the Holocaust or was that event the beginning of our demise, that’s still an open question. We don’t know. No one knows whether Jews will still be here in two or three hundred years. Not just because of the Holocaust. We have suffered 2000 years of discrimination, persecution, brutalization, repeated expulsions, pogroms, massacres, and that’s all before the Holocaust, this attempt at the final extermination of the Jewish people. We have survived. Every single Jewish person’s existence is almost like a miracle, here against all the historical odds. But is the effect of what was done to us reversible, will the Jewish people have a future as well, not just a present?...

You can probably sense that I got to the end of this scene like I’d been put through the ringer. Maybe if I had the right expectations for the show, this wouldn’t have been quite as painful to watch. That’s on me, but it did affect my viewing experience. So I stopped and asked myself, do I actually continue? My savta (my grandmother) taught me that if I had started something, I should try my best to finish it, which means I don’t easily start debating whether to stop something half way. If I got to that point, and so early on, you can hopefully understand just how distressed I was by the show’s first scene. I could see why Hunters opened this way. It makes the stakes high and real, and it also makes the heinousness of the Nazis indisputable and relevant, not easily overlooked as a ‘relic of the past.’ That doesn’t mean understanding made it easier to watch, and I fully realized that if I go on, I will probably be exposing myself to further distressing scenes. I sincerely wasn’t sure I could make it to the end of the ep, let alone the season. Then again, there were many times I found myself very grateful for my savta’s voice in my head, urging me on. I couldn’t ignore that, so I figured that I would at least watch a few more scenes before I decide.

As I continued, the show introduced me to its main protagonist, Jonah, who did something that surprised me. He said one word I was completely unprepared for. Savta. If the first scene punched me in the gut with its brutality, this word, just this one simple word, grabbed me even tighter. Jonah’s connection to his grandmother represented with the same word I had for mine. I had never heard this word spoken on American television. Hearing it wasn’t a representation of who I am as a Jew, it was just a fracture of that, and yet it was incredibly powerful even so. I’ve mentioned before why I think most Jewish representation out there is not actually good Jewish rep, which means even this tiny bit of it felt unbelievably important. I knew in that moment that I would watch the whole show, beginning to end. If this is what they could do with one word, I had to see what else they had in store.

I ended up feeling all sorts of things, I’ll talk about them in a sec. But first I had to mention my personal experience, because I think coordinating people’s expectations before they watch this show can go a long way to ensure a better viewing experience. So if you ever recommend this show to anyone (and I hope you do), please take this into account!

A couple of issues

Maybe the biggest thing to make me feel a little uncomfortable was a scene we also get to in ep 101, the human chess one. It’s so over the top grotesque that my gut feeling is a lot of people probably watched it and wondered whether that was real. A quick online search would tell them it wasn’t. Which seemingly isn’t an issue in itself. Story tellers are allowed to embellish things for dramatic effect. But the danger is in how finding out this scene is made up might affect the way they see other horrors portrayed in Holocaust movies and shows. Since I do believe most of the time people don’t bother checking, would viewers of this show making a special effort in this case and then discovering the scene isn’t factual, will they then generalize from it to others showing the brutality of the Nazis? It doesn’t even have even have to be a conscious generalization, but its effect can be very real. Working in the field of Holocaust education, I’m too aware of how partial most people’s understanding of the Holocaust is. This specific scene might unintentionally further undermine it.

Of course, we also have the issue of Holocaust denial. TBH, I'm sure most Holocaust deniers know on some level that it did happen. There’s just too much evidence. Consider how we have less evidence for the French revolution than for the Holocaust, yet I’ve never heard anyone doubting whether the former had taken place. Holocaust denial isn’t about lack of proof, it’s about lack of compassion towards Jews and a desire to see it repeated, this time to completion. When I was about 7 or 8 years old, I heard a Holocaust denier in Germany saying exactly that (“There were no gas chambers, they didn’t murder Jews in them, and I wish they did!”) so I have no doubt that such people can’t be persuaded to recognize the truth until they choose to change their attitude towards Jews. Yet in recruiting malleable minds to their extremist POV, I am concerned of anything that might be used as ammunition by them. I personally simply don’t wanna give them so much as an inch that they might use to gain even more ground.

And there’s another issue with the human chess scene: it’s so inhumanely cruel that when people discover it’s made up, they might conclude (incorrectly) that the show had to invent this because there were no such brutalities during the Holocaust. I can’t stress enough how untrue this is. Sometimes I wish I could un-know what I do know about how Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. It’s not easy living in a world in which one knows such unrestrained hate-filled sadism is possible. Rest assured, most people haven’t heard about the worst of what the Nazis were capable of. So the idea that maybe people might get the wrong impression, that the Nazis weren’t as brutal as this scene... No. Just, no.

Again, I do get what the show was going for. The biggest metaphor it plays around with is that the fight between the Jews and the Nazis is a chess game. The show might refer to Jewish (and a few non-Jewish, to be accurate) Nazi hunters, but at the chess board, both sides are, in a sense, hunters and hunted. The scene with the human chess game gives the metaphor its fullest, most horrific incarnation, and it also allows for the brilliant visual cutting between the characters of the Nazi Richter, his Jewish prisoner Markus Roth, Jonah and the man he knows as Meyer Offerman. Not only does that drive home the question of who pursues and who is pursued, it also is another bit of genius foreshadowing that the man who presents himself to Jonah as a Jewish Nazi hunter is actually one of the Nazis the team is hunting (along with hints like the scene from Seconds which the fake Offerman watches, a film about a man assuming another one’s identity with the help of plastic surgery, plus Offerman saying to Jonah at almost the end of the ep “Only the dead know the end of war,” which we first hear uttered in German by the barbecuing Nazi to Helen in the opening scene of the show).

It’s absolutely fucking genius in terms of the artistic choices. And I’m not one to advocate for limiting artistic expression, even when it comes to historical events. But I do think that when we’re dealing with such sensitive material with real life implications for the perception of the Holocaust (and as a consequence, how Jews are perceived and treated here and now), we have to tread very carefully. We have to make sure we understand the consequences before we make these choices, and if we still decide to go ahead and include such historical alterations in our fictional work, we have to have a conversation about it, make sure people understand what the actual reality of the Holocaust was like, and that they’re not only left with a false impression that the Nazis were only that despicably grotesque in their fictional versions.

In this sense, I also have an issue with the reveal at the end of s1, that Hitler is still alive and hiding in South America. Don’t get me wrong, there really was a network set up to smuggle Nazi criminals to South America at the end of the war, and I wouldn’t be shocked by the willingness of people to help Hitler evade justice. But we do know he committed suicide at the end of WWII. In fact, in a sense, that’s a moment of justice on its own, when this man has to face the fact that he has failed, that he did not manage to exterminate the Jews (who he sees as the real power behind the allies) and that he has brought his country to ruin, leaving him no choice but to take his own life. Did he show any signs of remorse? No. In his last will and testament, he still commands the German people to carry on and finish what he started, the extermination of the Jews. But the fact that he had to admit he couldn’t do it, the fact that his actions were disastrous enough that he had to put a gun to his own head, that speaks for itself even if Hitler never explicitly expressed his realizations. But more than that, I’m always weary of conspiracy theories that neo-Nazis are in favor of. Again, much like with Holocaust denial, I just don’t wanna encourage anything that might empower them.

Second thing I was a bit uncomfortable with was the ongoing moral question regarding the Jews who had decided to hunt down and enact vengeance on Nazi murderers at the end of the war (contrasting them with the likes of Simon Wiesenthal, who believed that justice should be served through the legal system). I actually very much like the conclusion the this debate is brought to in ep 110 (basically, where it leaves things off at the end of s1, we’ll see what or if s2 changes this), but there’s something about even having this debate that makes me feel uneasy, because when there really were Jews who made that choice, it means they’re up for judgment. And to me, no matter what Jews did during or after the Holocaust, there is no moral right to judge them. They were put in extreme, impossible, utterly inhumane situations, that no human being should ever be put in. Some of the real Ha’Nokmim were kids and teenagers during the years of the Holocaust. How can anyone sit in judgment of a person who had been subjected to such immeasurable cruelty, during their formative years no less, someone who had the people meant to educate them on morals murdered, sometimes in front of their very eyes, and who had not even finished developing their cognitive functions (their prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for our moral choices, which only finishes developing at 19)? These people also often saw the legal system either failing to stop the murderers from committing their crimes, or it even collaborated with those (we can talk, for example, about the judges who chose to side with Hitler in Germany even before the Nazis’ rise to power). How can we dismiss it if they felt this system would not give them any justice at the end of the war? In fact, it didn’t. An upcoming documentary called Getting Away with Murder(s) will premiere on Jan 27, and it will look at the lack of justice served by legal means at the end of the Holocaust. The film maker points out that out of countless perpetrators and collaborators responsible for the murder of millions of human beings, less than 600 were given a serious sentence at the end of the war.

Not to mention, I do not believe that there is ever a moral equivalency between someone who chooses to be a part of the murder of millions of innocent people, and a person who takes the life not of an innocent, random human being, but rather of such a murderer. Is it the right choice to make even if an avenger is nothing like a Nazi murderer? That’s a different question, and like I said, that’s not one I have any right to answer, but in terms of the moral philosophy regarding the question of equivalence, I just don’t believe that these two could ever be considered the same without doing the avengers a horrible injustice. In fact, ignoring this lack of equivalence means Simon Wiesenthal’s option of going through the legal system loses its footing, too. Wiesenthal was a part of hunting down Adolf Eichmann and making sure that the man responsible for the deportation of millions of Jews to extermination, the man who had expressed to a Dutch journalist before he was caught that he regrets nothing, would have to defend himself in a court of law. Eichmann was provided with legal defense to make sure his trial was as fair as they come, and his line of defense was destroyed based on documents bearing his own signature. He decided his own fate with the immoral, murderous choices he made during the war. Yet, when the sentence was given that he was about to be executed, there was a group of intellectuals who composed a letter together, pleading for him to be pardoned “lest we become like him.” I hope you don’t need me to explain why this pseudo-moral position is actually a distortion of morals. It means there is apparently no crime perpetrated against the Jewish people horrendous or extreme enough that Jews would get to exact any kind of justice against the people who had wronged them. How is that moral, to make the murder of Jews essentially un-punishable?

An incredible feat

The most basic thing I have to mention is just how well made this show is. It’s well written, well acted, well directed, the music, the cinematography, everything is top notch, and the show even gets to flex by letting us witness how easily it can play around with genres. We even get a nod to musicals. In a show dedicated to Nazi hunters! Speaking of acting, I’m sure most accolades went to Al Pacino (deservedly so, he gives an amazing performance), but I personally have to applaud Logan Lerman. He just knocks it out of the park time and time again in a really challenging role that showcases the main journey in s1. Also, the moment that got to me the most emotionally, the one I felt in my very bones, was in 101, when Jonah falls apart over a bowl of soup, crying because he wants his savta. If you’ve ever known loss, if you’ve ever known grief, then you know how real that moment is.

Another thing is the use of humor. You may wonder about this one. After all, isn’t the Holocaust a really serious subject? Yeah, of course it is. But a part of how Jews survived it was by turning to humor. I can tell you jokes that survivors wrote down in ghettos and in camps that, painful as the subject matter is, still made me laugh when I read them, I can point you to a book titled “Without Humor, We Would Have Committed Suicide” that discusses how humor was a defense mechanism. It didn’t take away from the seriousness of the horrors people were experiencing, it bettered their ability to deal with those atrocities. So I’m glad a reflection of that is captured on this show.

I also wanna commend the characters of contemporary antisemites in the 1977, the characters of Dennis in 101 and Travis along s1. I mentioned in my post about the issues with Jewish representation that there’s a problem with the representation of antisemitism and how it’s mainly shown in the context of the Nazis and them alone, as if Jew hatred began with the Nazis and ended with them. It’s not true, and especially as antisemitism has been on the rise in every western country for at least a decade now, we need to talk about contemporary antisemitism more. I also suspect that a part of why Jews are sometimes overlooked as an oppressed minority is people not recognizing that the hate and discrimination against the Jewish people is still alive and kicking. This is before we even get to how many different types of antisemitism there are! But I bet most people would fail to name even three of them. Because we don’t actually educate on antisemitism. We talk about the Holocaust and leave it there, as if nothing exists between “Jews are fine and treated properly” and “Jews are being massacred.” So yeah, showing the antisemitic treatment of Jonah at the hands of Dennis, or Travis’ antisemitic attitude and how he relishes killing Jews in the post 1945, it really matters. It still not even close to covering all forms of antisemitism we see today, but it’s a step in the right direction that I hope others will follow.

Another really important aspect is that for the most part, the show is actually pretty accurate in a lot of ways. We either see details that are real, or are fictional stories that are very close to and accurately reflect events that really did happen. The overall uncensored and unashamed cruelty of the Nazis, born out of their antisemitic hatred, is well depicted. The fact that the show brings to light the efforts made to help Nazi criminals at the end of the war, whether we’re talking about the network to smuggle Nazi murderers to South America, or whether it’s Operation Paperclip, set up to allow Nazi criminals into the US (something that’s probably even harder for a US show to bring up), these are parts of the reality of the Holocaust that aren’t well known enough, and I’m so glad the show delves into them.

I mentioned that I love the way the show concludes the debate on whether it is the right thing to bring Nazis to justice through the legal system or through an act of personal revenge. The season finale, ep 110, gives it away even with its title, “Eilu v’Eilu.” It’s from a Hebrew saying, “Eilu v’eilu divrei elohim chaim” meaning “These and these are the living words of God.” It’s the Jewish concept that says two POVs can be completely contradictory (not just different, they can totally negate each other) and yet still both hold merit and be right. It’s a beautiful admission as to the complexity of the human experience, and it’s applied in such an amazing way here.

In 110, Jonah has to decide what to do when he discovers The Wolf, the Nazi who had abused Jonah’s grandparents and murdered his grandfather has been disguising himself as Meyer Offerman, the very man he had killed. Jonah can show compassion or he can take the life of this Nazi murderer. He chooses both. Jonah kills this man, but he first says the Kaddish for him. In fact, it’s not saying the Kaddish that allows Jonah to realize that the man claiming to be Meyer Offerman is not capable of Meyer’s intent to show even his abuser one last token of compassion. Meaning, it is this understanding that is key to the biggest emotional twist of s1. This is just a really wonderful, complex, human, and even Jewish conclusion to the debate that has been accompanying Hunters along this entire season, and it’s so well executed, too. It also gives room to whichever choice survivor made at the end of the war and does not morally judge them whatever path they took. I’m just absolutely in awe.

Lastly, and this is kind of reflected in something I had already mentioned in the previous paragraph, Hunters is simply so incredibly rich with Jewish culture, with Jewish wisdom, with Jewish tradition and tales, with Jewish humor and values, it is abound with a sense of Jewish identity and community, it is so unapologetically and beautifully Jewish, and I am absolutely in love with this aspect of the show. If I remember correctly, I heard at some point that the show creator, David Weil, was inspired by his own savta in making this show and it was dedicated to her. Well, the show radiates with love for the heritage he got from his grandmother. We even get to see Jewish events like a shiva’a and a Jewish wedding! How many Jewish characters have you seen over the years on your screen getting married or being buried? How many had their Jewish customs incorporated, even a tiny bit, into these significant moments in that character’s journey? Again, this is something I discussed in my post about the issues with Jewish representation. So trust me when I say, this show is an amazing tribute to Weil’s grandmother and to the Jewish people overall, and it’s one of the few cases of truly good Jewish representation that I have encountered on American television. Even for this point alone, I would recommend this show wholeheartedly, especially to Jewish viewers (while also preparing them for the show, pointing out the right context and the fact it is gory and painful in parts). I sincerely cannot stress enough how much this is the part that resonated for me the most and continues to make me think about this show months after I finished binge watching it. I hope and trust s2 would be just as good as s1, I’m looking forward to it, but I’m really grateful even for this one season of Hunters on its own and I am going to forever keep this show close to my heart.

If you’re looking for any of my posts about Jewish representation, you can find them at this link.

[classicmarvelera]

Captain America: Making of a War Hero into a Symbol of Hope

We all know that Captain America debuted in a title named after him by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in 1941. He was seen punching Hitler right in the face but many may not know that this was done well before the US had decided to enter World War 2. In fact, at the time, the US was more concerned about its Pacific theater than the Atlantic. Nevertheless, Timely publishes the issue and Captain America gets established as a war hero from the start, who alongside his sidekick Bucky, is fighting fascism in continental Europe which is falling to the Reich like a house of cards

Cap at the time is the symbol of Freedom, anti-fascism, or as he would later be called the Sentinel of Liberty but there was one thing missing at Marvel. The House of Ideas lacked an inspiring figure like Superman among its flagship characters. The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Invincible Iron Man, and even the Avengers had issues with themselves as well as with each other but a figure whom readers can look up to was something not present. Cap remained a 'man out of time' when he gets discovered by the Avengers but it takes a decade for writers to get him accustomed to the realities of America that were haunting the country from the streets to the Oval Office (Thank You, Jack Kirby and Steve Englehart)

Well into the bronze age era of comics, and under Jim Shooter's reign of the bullpen, a young J.M. DeMatteis shows his potential for storytelling with his first assignment of Captain America no. 261 which would introduce Nomad to the readers for the first time. This issue was supposed to be a collaboration with the real-life Captain America TV movie starring Reb Brown but Jim had other ideas. Issues 261-263 would find Steve Rogers going to California to meet Galactic Films for the upcoming movie about him (in Earth-616) but his real mission was to investigate Nomad's activities on the streets of LA which would turn out to be a deep conspiracy by one of his oldest arch nemesis

After becoming a regular writer on the Captain America series, DeMatteis, Mick Zeck, and John Beatty wrote a story that was way ahead of its time. Today's resurgence of the far left in the world and in the US and the reactionary rise of the far right was being seen by comic book writers like DeMatteis way before many had thought of it. Surprisingly it was a feeble populist villain by the name of Everyman doing the talk, not the Red Skull

In the story, the disenfranchised youth who looked up to Everyman realize their mistake of choosing 'despair over hope' but what causes them to see this is the humility Cap showed despite being spit at multiple times (literally). His eagerness to listen to the young, to the future of the country and their grievances with America, the American Dream leads to a change of heart

This single-issue story would showcase Cap in a different light. Steve Englehart had given Cap a rude awakening that patriotism can't come at the expense of truth and justice in Secret Empire. He showed Cap's disillusionment with the powers that be in America. DeMatteis took the opposite route to show Cap what's corrupting the country's future, and giving rise to the 'enemy within' who can cause anarchy. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Christopher Nolan's Bane (Dark Knight Rises) reminds us of Everyman but what's important to remember is that it was J.M. DeMatteis who warned us before anyone else did

This story is just the tip of the iceberg. The entire run by DeMatteis is one of the most underrated as it gets overshadowed by the works of Jack Kirby, Steve Englehart, and Mark Gruenwald. Like his works for Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, his work for Cap remains one of the best runs ever