#i have not actually seen the manchurian candidate

[autisticburnham]

If I had had my world completely shattered by finding out I had been Manchurian Candidated and finally clawed my way to a semblance of peace with myself and then had my colleagues accuse me of again having had my brain manipulated to force me to do things against my will, I would lose my mind

[qqueenofhades]

One of my more "radical" leftist friends admitted after the 2016 election that they voted for Jill Stein. I asked them why and they said, and I quote, "I don't really know."

Anyway, thank you for the thoughtful post about polling. I'm still terrified of another Biden-Trump match up, but I suspect you are right that many of these online leftists yelling about sending a message to "genocide Joe" were not likely voters to begin with.

Well I mean, in Online Leftist world, voting is an essentially meaningless act anyway, so if they do bother to do it, why not make some sort of "protest" against the Corrupt System, even though (as I said) Jill Stein is literally a Manchurian candidate sponsored and funded by Russia precisely in order to dupe gullible leftists who want to Send a Message to the Democrats. She has no platform and no policies. She just exists to hurt Democrats and she is another part of the reason HRC lost in 2016, but hey. That sure showed us, or something.

And the thing is, while I'm not discounting that there could be some slippage of the youth vote, it would be much more effective as a threat (much as I would still deeply disagree with it, since the stakes are far too high with Trumpian fascism to fuck around with this bullshit) if we had literally any shred of evidence that they were planning to vote at all, that they were planning to vote for Biden and this is somehow the one thing that made them decide otherwise, or that their arguments were at all widespread beyond their tiny hermetic internet echo chamber. As I have said, I have not thus far seen compelling evidence that any of this is true, and believe me, I am ALSO keeping a close eye on things because this year will probably kill me before it's over. But when the Online Leftists have already spent three years lying about and trashing everything Biden has actually done, it is difficult to believe that they were in fact intending to vote for him, that they should be priced into any election analysis, or that they are as impactful as they think.

I suspect they're mostly being used to try to convince other people (who may or may not have planned to vote) that it is morally reprehensible to vote for Biden solely because of Gaza, no matter how illogical that is and how many orders of magnitude worse Trump would be on literally everything. And while I'm not denying that they may well peel off a few of the wishy-washy leaners and that's why their rhetoric is dangerous, I deeply doubt that they themselves were ever any kind of electoral or voting participant at all, because they keep telling us loudly that they're not. The media is running hard with this angle because they desperately want more Biden in Trouble stories, but actual election results keep proving them wrong, over and over. For all our sakes, let's hope very much this trend continues.

[sophieinwonderland]

you made me recognize endogenesis as real but I cant believe you are actually defending the fucking manchurian goddamn candidate larp shit. this is profoundly upsetting. ramcoa is not real, there is not a secret cabal of cults poking needles at fetuses in the womb to give them DID. if you actually read any of the ramcoa citation material, youd understand how fucking moronic and pseudoscientific it is. everyone in the online DID community is stupid and wrong. i wish I wasnt fucking plural so I didnt have to be lumped in with the dumbest people in the world. goodbye

Which part isn't real?

The part where dissociative identity disorder is commonly caused by trauma?

The part where it is possible to intentionally cause trauma that will psychologically affect children?

The part where cults and other abusive organizations can condition victims to control their minds (to an extent)?

These points seem like objective facts to me.

I have never once seen anybody claim that dissociative identity disorder could be caused by injecting a fetus with a needle.

Now, do we know for certain that intentionally traumatizing a child and encouraging dissociative mechanisms can consistently cause a dissociative disorder? The answer to that is unsurprisingly untestable. Personally, I believe it is. I was created through tulpamancy, and have heard similar practices being used to harm adults, such as in the case of the Bambi Sleep hypnosis files.

It stands to reason that if you combine the Bambi sleep-style hypnosis for control with traumatic abuse on a mind that is in the earliest stages of development then you could cause a dissociative disorder to form intentionally with programmed alters.

Are these massive organized cults with national or international reach? Probably not. They are probably mostly local groups. And with the rise of the internet, probably some online groups that are sharing techniques in secret. But I could imagine many of them inflating their power to their victims to make themselves seem more scary than they actually are. Because all abusers depend on causing fear. So there is motive for these organized abusive groups to convince their victims that they actually have far more reach and power than they do.

And from that angle, I see no reason to doubt that the victims are telling the truth to the best of their knowledge.

I might also add while on the topic of these cults not being as powerful as they like to project, I also don't believe that the conditioning is necessarily that effective either. What the number of RAMCOA systems online tells me is that if you want to control somebody, giving them a dissociative disorder is an absolutely terrible way to do that. Because the presence of the dissociative disorder means that the victim will not be fully conditioned, and a conditioned singlet might be easier to control than somebody with DID.

And while on the topic of the fact that the abusers will project an illusion of power, another possibility is that the abusers will end up traumatizing a child, cause the child to develop a dissociative disorder by accident, and then later claim retroactively that it was intentional to show how powerful they are. The victim ends up believing this lie because of their own impressionability.

This is obviously an extremely complicated topic with a lot of nuance. Because when we are talking about cult and organized abuse, these are huge categories. No two cults are going to act the same. Nor will all groups attempting mind control of some kind use the same techniques.

But I generally think that it's best to trust and believe that victims are telling the truth about their own experiences to the best of their ability.

Bye. 👋

[gunnrblze]

This is name the movie : The Manchurian Candidate (2004 film)

If you have time, i really hope you can watch this movie about brainwashed in military. I have read many opinions and headcanons about Rorke, about how he was brainwashed. I thought it was just a physical impact but god, after watching this movie, i am really concerned about Logan's future will follow in Rorke's footsteps when he has to endure brainwashing from the federation.... god, they are not just locking him in the hole but according to the movie (90% from neurology theory) it is more terrible than what can be imagined 😭 poor Rorke and.... Logan, hope there is a cure for them.

Thank you very much, have a nice day 🥰🥰

I have actually seen this movie before but I remember very very little of it, watched it so long ago. Thank you for the recommendation though :)

Stuff like this has me dyinggg for a ghosts 2, I wish we could see exactly what Rorke would do with Logan :,(

[reachartwork]

Chum 130: Pulling Threads

Derek shakes his head, looking deeply unsettled. "Man, I've seen some fucked up shit in my day, but that's…that's next level. Turning people into fucking Manchurian Candidates or some shit."

Maggie puts on a weak smile. "What's Manchuria got to do with it?"

Tasha immediately leans in, faster than Derek can, clearly excited to explain something that she just saw someone else not knowing in front of her.

"It's a movie reference, baby," she elbows her midsection gently, to where I imagine she must have her ribs. "There's a really old movie from 1962 called 'The Manchurian Candidate' where this guy gets abducted and brainwashed all Cold War-style by the North Koreans and Chinese and sent back to assassinate the presidential nominee. Only it was actually a hypnotic trick by his own mom to put herself in a position to be the most powerful woman in the world. It was remade in 1999 but they changed the Communist Chinese to the Communist Russians and made the incest subplot weirder. The movie's real as hell."

Maggie gets a studious look on her face. "Okay, I'll put that on the list to watch,"

[biblioflyer]

What is it with Discovery and bad redemption arcs? (Discovery rewatch)

Okay so I've seen a lot that's actually pretty good. I like S1 Burnham way more than I remembered. I don't really mind the conceits and shoddy world building required for there to be a main character in a show like this. Although I now believe it works way better when the character always going into the thick of things is an XO or a more junior officer/specialist rather than the Captain.

Yet there are a couple of landmines I forgot about. I have long thought the most damning thing about the show is the bizarre way everyone grows to like Mirror Georgiou even after they know the truth. The move from heel to hero never seemed like it was well thought out.

I had completely forgotten about Tyler/Voq killing Culber. His relationship with Burnham afterwards is awesomely creepy and gross. In retrospect, it also goes a long way to explaining how it took so long for her to partner with Book. I've had some run ins with instability, toxicity, and gaslighting but boy howdy, Klingon Manchurian candidate who murdered a friend is a doozy for a first romantic partner.

I don't remember him having a warm reception or much of a redemption arc in S2 working for Section 31, but I'm deeply concerned based on what I remember of how the show handled Georgiou that just about any amount of warmth will be incredibly problematic.

I'm actually a big fan of redemption arcs. I've argued passionately that redemption is an important convention of Star Trek. Unlike Star Wars, it doesn't have a metaphysical form of redemption, which means that its extra important for redemption arcs to be persuasive. Discovery does not have a great track record with this in my recollections, but I'd love for that to be due to a faulty memory or not paying attention to nuances that were staring me in the face.

[racefortheironthrone]

With Secret Invasion coming out, I've seen a lot of stuff talking about "The Invaders" TV show & "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" in the 50s & 60s and how they were about McCarthyism, presumably anti- (also Indiana Jones 4 & The Manchurian Candidate). Do you know what they are talking about? How do you criticize McCarthyism with a story where there actually IS a conspiracy to infiltrate enemies into the country/society?

This is actually a rather complicated issue of history and interpretation.

It is true that the advent of the Cold War saw the emergence of a sub genre of horror/sci-fi that featured extraterrestrial invasions that operated through subverting humans, whether as part of the Blob or by becoming Pod People or what have you.

The tricky thing is that the way the economics/politics worked is that both the right and the left could see why they wanted to in the movies: for more conservative folks, the alien subversion was an allegory for Communist infiltration, scenes of masses of pod people advancing on the protagonists were an allegory for the Soviet exaltation of the masses against the American championing of the individual, etc. For more left-leaning folks, it was all about McCarthyism, new research into the psychology of totalitarianism, and the Paranoid Style in American Politics.

As for the filmmakers, I don’t think they were actually thinking about it much, unless the screenwriter was a particularly allegorical blacklistee. To quote John Goodman in Trumbo, “Wanna keep me from hiring union? I'll go downtown, hire a bunch of winos and hookers. It doesn't matter. I make garbage! You wanna call me a pinko in the papers? Do it! None of the people that go to my fucking movies can read!”

[ozwriterchick]

Birthday Mission...

Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes; OFC/Arabella; Steve Rogers; Tony Stark; Peter Parker; Bruce Banner; Clint Barton; Wanda Maximoff; Vision; Natasha Romanoff

Content warning: Misunderstanding; Just fluff

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Masterlist

Arabella’s pov..

“Seriously, Tony? Today? Why today?”

“Because tonight is the only night we can be 100% positive we can get in, get the data we need and get out without getting caught.  He’ll be at the big gala in the city all night, and the intel says he is staying overnight at one of the big hotels as well”

“Right.  You mean I can get in, get the info and get out again.  Not we?”

“Well yeah, but it has to be tonight.”

“And why me?”

“Because you’re the only one with the skills to get into their sophisticated security system and bypass it.  It can only be done on-site.”

“This is most inconvenient Tony, you know what today is right?”

“Ahhhh, yes, it’s Manchurian Candidates birthday isn’t it?”

“Correct and I really wanted to be here to give him his present.  I’m sure he’s gonna love it.”

“Well, you can always give it to him tomorrow.  Now suit up, you leave in 30 minutes.”

I moved quickly to change into dark top and pants, forgoing my black boots in favour of some all black trainers to reduce the amount of noise I would make.

Heading back to the lab I ran into Nat.

“Hey Nat, I have to go on a last minute mission, I really wanted to be at the dinner tonight and give Bucky his birthday present but Tony insists, I have to leave like now.  If I give you  the present, can you please give it to him for me and apologise.  I’d do it now but I’m in a rush and I’m not sure where he is.”

“Of course Bella” Nat smiled at me.

“Thanks, I owe you one.  Hopefully I’ll be in and out and back in time but just in case..”

“No worries, leave it with me.”

I continued on to get my comms and the other tech I needed to complete the mission.

I really hoped I’d be back in time to give Bucky his present.  It was his first birthday I would celebrate with him.  Having joined the team a little under a year ago, I missed his last birthday.

He had become a big part of my life over the last 10 months and I would be lying if I said I didn’t hope that we could have something more in the future, but if friends is all we were destined for, then I’d be ok with that.

Nobody knew about your feelings for Bucky, or at least you didn’t think anyone did.  Nobody had mentioned it to you and the way this team didn’t hold back with getting into each other’s business, if anyone knew, they’d for sure have said something.

Tony met me in the garage.  Because this was just a 1 day mission, all by myself and local, I took one of the bikes. It would also allow a quick getaway if necessary.

“Good luck, I’ll be on comms if you need me.”

“See you later tonight Tony” and with that I took off towards my target.

Later that afternoon..

The Avengers were all gathered in the dining room.  Tony had ordered like 20 pizzas, cause that was Bucky’s favourite thing to eat, but he also asked for those because he knew it was Bella’s favourite thing to eat.  But he hadn’t seen or heard from you all day and he was confused why you would miss his birthday.

“Hey Barnes.  Happy Birthday old man”

“Hey Nat, Ummm, do you know where Belle is?” Your full name is Arabella but nobody except your parents actually called you that.  Most of the team just called you Bella, but Bucky called you Belle or Belles.

“Oh yeah, she had a last minute mission, Tony sent her this morning.”

“Oh. Ok”

“What’s wrong Barnes?” She noticed his face had dropped at the knowledge that you had gone on a mission, on his birthday, and hadn’t said anything to him.

“Well, I’m just surprised I guess that she didn’t come say goodbye, or Happy Birthday or whatever.”

“Well, it was pretty sudden, Tony gave her like half an hours notice, so she didn’t have a lot of time. But don’t worry, she gave me something for you in case she wasn’t back in time.”

Bucky accepted that somewhat hesitantly, knowing that at least you didn’t forget about him.

Despite his favourite person in the world not being there, Bucky decided to have a good time anyway.

After dinner..

The team is sitting in the media room, ready for a movie of Bucky’s choosing, but first Nat announces that he needs to open his gifts.

Bucky keeps looking towards the door, waiting for you to come in.  He tried to encourage the team to do the presents after the movie but they are having none of it.

Bucky hesitantly agreed and the parade of presents started.

Steve went first, obviously.  He got Bucky a years subscription to Astronomy magazine, because of Bucky’s love of space and his nerdiness.

“Thanks Punk” Bucky said.  “You’re welcome Jerk” Steve replied.

Nat handed over her gift - she got him a weighted blanket and explained how it can help with anxiety and could help him with his nightmares.  Bucky was really touched by this as they all knew how much he suffered from the nightmares.

He opened all the others gifts in turn.  Bruce got him a Navy blue leather-bound journal/notebook and a fancy pen.

Peter got him a set of 4 whiskey glasses & decanter which had topographic representation of the Grand Teton mountains in the bottom of the each glass and the decanter.

Clint got him some funny t-shirts and a hoodie, which Bucky appreciated as you can never have enough t-shirts.  

Wanda & Vision were next.  They got him a philodendron white knight plant.  They said it was iconic for a guy who regularly saves their asses.

Next was Sam, who got him a bit of a gag gift - a pair of Ugg slippers.

”You know, cause you a old dude."  “Yeah Sam, we get it, thanks” Bucky said, rolling his eyes.

Bucky spied one las gift sitting on the coffee table.  “And who’s this from?” He asked.

“Oh, that's Bella’s gift for you” Nat said.

Bucky opened the gift and saw a small-ish jewellery box. He opened that and his eyes teared up. “Oh my.. Ummm.. She remembered..”

Peter: “Remembered what?”

Bucky: “A few months ago, we were in the city and we walked past this antique store and this was in the window.” He said, holding up a mans pocket watch for the team to see.

Bucky: “I pointed it out and told her it was exactly like one my Dad had when I was a kid. I can’t believe she remembered” he said.

Wanda: “Oh it’s so beautiful, it must have cost a fortune”

Nat: “I can't believe she did that”

Sam: Really? Arabella?  Remember when she first joined the team and she was in love with that guy and she bought him that ridiculously expensive Tissot watch?”

They all look at him, Bucky included, realising what he meant.

Bucky: “Sam, what did you say?”

Sam: :Umm.. Tissot.. Watch…”

Bucky: “Sam”

Sam: “Ummm.. No, I didn’t say anything else..”

Bucky: “The love part..?”

Sam: “Oh dear god, I’ve gotta go..” And he ran out of the room.

Bucky: “Oh…. My…. God…. I mean, this is…”

Wanda: “Huge, this is huge”

Bucky: “Tony, when is she back from this mission?”

Tony: “She should be back soon, within the hour if everything went well.”

Bucky: “Thanks for tonight guys, I’m gonna skip the movie, I need umm, to think.” And with that he hurried out of the room, looking at the watch and shaking his head.

About 90 minutes later Arabella got back from her mission.  Tony met her in the garage.

“Hey Tony, mission accomplished” she handed him the flash drive with the information on it “here is what you want, now, I have a birthday party to get to.”

“Umm, Bella, actually the party is over, sorry you missed it.”

“But it’s still early, at the least they should still be watching the movie he picked out, right?”  Tony shook his head.  “Tony, what happened?”

“Umm, it’s kinda hard to explain, maybe you should go talk to Nat?”

“Tony.. What happened?”

“Well, we opened gifts and then Bucky just got up and left.”

“Really?  Did he say anything? Did he open all the gifts? Including mine?”

“Yeah, he opened them all, he opened yours last.”

“So he opened my gift last and then left the party?”

“Uhhh, yeah, but, ummm…”

“Oh god, he hated the gift.  I’m gonna go find him.”

Bella took off towards the apartment wing of the building, looking for Bucky.  On the way she ran into Steve.

“Oh hey Bella, how did the mission go?”

“No time Steve, where’s Bucky?”

“Oh umm.. I think he might be in his room?”

“Ok, I gotta find him and talk to him.”

“Oh, sure, well, good luck.” He cringed at himself realising that might have been too much to say.

“Why do I need good luck to talk to my best friend Steve?  What happened?”

“Nothing, just go find him.”

Bella no longer doubted something had gone wrong, she knew it had.  But what - did he really hate the gift she bought him?  After they saw the pocket watch in the antique store she knew it was the perfect gift for his birthday.  And finding the picture of his Mum & Dad - with Steve’s help - was the perfect addition.  She was going to get the cover engraved with his initials but then thought she’d wait and see, maybe he’d want his Dad’s initials on it.

Bella checked his room, no sign of him.  She checked the gym cause sometimes if he was feeling a bit off, for whatever reason, he worked out, but he wasn’t here either.

She checked the kitchen, outside in the pool area, back in the media room where they should have all been.  He was nowhere to be found.  She headed back to her room to shower and get changed.

Bella walked into her room, shutting the door behind her.  She headed straight through the living area towards the bathroom.  As she did so, she pulled her sweater over her head and kicked off her shoes.  

She had no idea where Bucky was or what had gone wrong but at that moment, all she could think about was letting the hot water run over her back and down her body to relax her.

As she unbuttoned her pants and got ready to push them down her hips she froze.  She had that prickly feeling at the back of her neck, like someone was there.  She turned towards her little kitchenette and dining table and saw a shadow sitting at the table.

“Buck, is that you?” She asked.

Silence.

“Buck.. What’s going on?  I'm sorry I missed your party.  I really wanted to be there but Tony sent me on this stupid mission.  He said I was the only one who could do it and it had to happen today. Did you open my gift? I hope you liked it and I am rambling.  Please say something, Buck.  If you hated the gift I can exchange it for something else.”

Silence.

“Ok, well if you’re not going to talk to me, I’m going to go have a shower, I’ll see you when I get out if you’re still here.”

With that she turned and headed into the shower.

15 minutes later, she came out of the shower, wrapped in a big fluffy, white towel and headed into her bedroom.  A quick glance towards the kitchen told her that Bucky was still sitting in the same spot, in the dark.

Bella quickly got dressed and headed out to get a drink and then sat at the table opposite him.

“Bucky, talk to me please?  I’m sorry I missed the…”

“This isn’t about the party.”

“Then what is it about? Why won’t you talk to me?  Why did you cut the party short?”

He sat up a bit straighter and pushed the box the pocket watch was in towards me.  “What’s that?”

“I don’t know what you mean Bucky, did you open it?  If you did you know what it is.  I’m really confused and I don’t want to go to bed on your birthday like this but if you don’t start making sense, I’m just gonna go to bed.”

“What does this mean?” He asked.

“I don’t know what you mean Buck.  It’s your birthday, you’re my best friend, I remembered you pointing that out a few months back and I thought you’d appreciate it.  If I was wrong and I offended you, then I apologise and I can take it back.”

“So, this means nothing other than a present?  Are you sure Belle, because Sam said…”

“What did Sam say to you Buck?  I’m gonna kill that son of a ..”

“Woah, hold up, no need to kill him, I think he’s sufficiently embarrassed.”

“Ok Buck, you better start making some sense or I swear to god I’m gonna walk out of here. And this is my room!!”

“Ok, here goes.. Belle, do you have feelings for me?”

“I.. uh.. what.. I mean, why do you ask? Is this about whatever Sam said?”

“Uhhh, yeah actually it is.  I opened your gift and Belles, I was blown away that you would remember this and what it meant to me.  I said I couldn’t believe you’d remember and that’s when Sam said…”

“Just spit it out Bucky..”

“Sam said that when you first joined the team and you were in love with this dude, you bought him an expensive watch.  Did you buy me this because you’re in love with me?”

Bella was speechless.  She didn’t think anyone knew about her feelings and now she was faced with the big question, from the guy himself.

“Oh.  Well.  Uhh, Bucky, I think you’re great ..”

“So, that’s a no, I’m gonna kill Wilson. I’ve been beating myself up all night for not noticing and there was nothing to notice..”

“No Buck, please, let me finish.  You’re great and I love our friendship but lately I have been having other feelings.  I didn’t want to say anything to ruin our friendship.  I wouldn’t say I’m in love with you, yet.  But I have strong feelings for you.”

“Really Belles, that’s.. I like you too, I mean as more than friends as well.  I love the present so much.  So, do you want to go out on a date with me?”

“I’d love to Buck"

Taglist:

@cjand10

@angstysebfan

@psychictazzy76

@lovely-geek

@samanthaneedsanap

@kentokaze

@iheartsebastianstanstuff

@yourmumsluke

@void-imaginations

[filmnoiress]

what were your favourite reads this year??? books, articles, essays, anything

🧡🧡🧡🧡:D :D :D :D

favourite and least favourite books are here but omg favourite articles and essays?

i did like a lot of poems in brian busby's in flanders fields collection there were some very interesting metaphors

be warned a lot of them are about fiction, and the rest are very niche bc they were for classes, i was kind of too tired for more general reading😔and i will be happy to link to any anyone is interested in reading!

babylon berlin: to the truth, to the light: genericity and historicity in babylon berlin by caitlin shaw and babylon berlin: pastiching weimar cinema by sara f. hall so little has been written on bb bc it's so new which is a shame because this show is SO rich!!! at least these two focus on one of my favourite aspects of the show which is its relationship to weimar cinema

joy mcentee's melodrama and tragedy in "the manchurian candidate" (1962) yessssssssss what do you MEAN you guys haven't seen the satirical oedipal sci fi political thriller from 1962

carnivale: ok. frida beckman's freaks of time made me so insane the only thing that made me even more insane was nihat can kantarci's thesis which pretty much combines all the best analysis of carnivale so far. i also loved johnson cheu's healer? assassin? ben hawkins, “cure,” “disability” and missions in hbo’s carnivàle and helena bacon's they’re just people, that’s all: american carnival, the freakish body and the ecological self in daniel knauf’s carnivàle

believing is seeing: surveillance and 2001: a space odyssey by gary d. rhodes

glenn phelps' frank kapra and the political hero: a new reading of "meet john doe" had a really good reading of the movie (it's actually so funny. glenn phelps said have any of you heard of a character arc)

edit: ALSO planet of the apes as american myth i didn't read all of it but i loved chapter 3 that compared conquest to midcentury biblical epics and pointed out all the christ imagery around caesar :)

heather wolffram's the criminological construction of female mediumship in early twentieth-century germany

ilana harlow's unravelling stories: exploring the juncture of ghost story and local tragedy just because what she said about causality versus religious participation as orderings of reality reminded me of a certain hayseed prophet we both know ;)

lindsay tuggle's encrypting katrina: traumatic inscription and the architecture of amnesia

jose colmeiro's a nation of ghosts?: haunting, historical memory and forgetting in post-franco spain

[firefromthegodspro]

Not Dead, Just Dead

Hello! I return after 1 month as prophesied! Let's get the important bits out of the way first:

ISEKAI COMPLEX CHAPTER 2!!!

(FictionPress gets to go first in the link tree because it preserves my precious formatting the best)

This received less editing than Chapter 1, so apologies for that. Retail Grind sucks and interferes with writing time.

If you would be so kind, please review/comment/etc. on whatever website you read it on! I love feedback (even if it's just insults).

Now onto other things, Hibiki Symphonia!

In that I actually started working on it.

Thank the new Madoka Movie trailer for fully reactivating the brainworms like I'm some sort of Maho Shojo Manchurian Candidate or something.

It looked cool, by the way, really love Homura dancing with her crush and also having a mirror that insults her. Funniest shit I've seen.

Anyways, I'm returning to the goblin mines to continue writing. See you all in (hopefully) less than a month with more brainrot posts

[sshbpodcast]

Not staying neutral about this: The best Romulans in Star Trek

By Ames

Guess who’s BACK? Last week we covered their logical counterparts in our best Vulcans of Trek blogpost, and this week we’re shining the spotlight on the other pointy-eared race that takes up most of the Beta Quadrant. We meet a good number of them, especially in more recent series like Picard, so get ready for a lot of scheming as A Star to Steer Her By picks our favorite Romulans!

Fire up your cloaking device, put Geordi in the Manchurian Candidate machine, and clone up some Picards: we’re setting course for the wrong side of the neutral zone! Follow along with our top Romulans below and/or on this week’s podcast episode (discussion starts at 56:02). You’re in for some absolute candor with these picks.

[images © CBS/Paramount] 

Caitlin – It’s a faaaaaake

Keras

Vreenak

Rakal

There are secrets getting revealed in Caitlin’s three choices. Keep your lips sealed when you see past the cloaking device for the first time and get our first glimpse of an ever-elusive Romulan, when you see the shady deals the Romulans make with the Dominion and a senator tries to spill the beans on a truly nefarious Federation plan that gets him killed, and when you get to watch the best work we’ve seen out of Marina Sirtis when Troi gets abducted and needs to out-Romulan one of our other favorite Romulans, as you’ll see…

—

Jake – Warbirds of a feather cloak together

Jarok

Toreth

Bochra

All of Jake’s faves end up being ethical people when you get down to it, with little to no actual scheming to speak of (shocking!). Once they decloak their true selves, you get to really see a Romulan defector who’s sick of all the corrupt politics, the flipside of that coin in a shrewd and principled commander who nearly takes out Picard and the Enterprise-D, and an enemy officer who chooses to work together with his new best friend Geordi La Forge to get through a disaster.

—

Chris – I could have called you friend

Keras

Toreth

R’Mor

Chris’s three Romulans are all individuals with whom we can empathize. Why, in a different reality, we can absolutely envision getting to know more of the Romulan commander who nearly matched wits with the first Starfleet captain to make visual contact with their race, more of the other Romulan commander who had an entirely understanding grudge against their culture’s shadow agency that totally fucked her over before, and more of the scientist who went above and beyond to help a stranded crew whom he’d otherwise call enemies.

—

Ames – The plot thickens!

Sela

Nevesa

Narek

Everything in the lives of my picks is an opportunity to make a convoluted Rube Goldberg machine on the off chance it might reach an unearned conclusion. From the sheer gall of introducing Tasha Yar’s half-Romulan daughter who has it out for Picard, to the badass Romulan commander who tries to seduce Spock over to their side, to the blacksheep brother from season one of Picard who gave a whole lot of added depth to this shady, mysterious, kinda sexy race, these famous schemers have it all figured out… until they don’t.

—

We hope you chose to live with all of those difficult choices. We’ve got even more on deck when we explore another alien race next week, so keep your sensors trained right here! You can also continue on our voyage through Voyager on SoundCloud, come up with some dastardly schemes with us on Facebook and Twitter, and remove the coat hangers from your jackets before wearing them.

[cevans16]

I Could Not Live Without You

Summary: Bucky almost loses you on a mission

Sorry this is a long one! Lots of fluffiness though :)

You and Thor were sitting in the back of the conference room horsing around with a thumb war. 

“You’re such a cheater” you discreetly yelled at him. 

“You are mad that I am winning little one” he teased you

“Little one?! Should I demonstrate that I am a strong demigod just as you!” you yelled a bit louder

“Thor, (Y/N)! Keep it down!” Steve yelled over to you two. You received dirty looks from the rest of the crew until you finally calmed down only for you and Thor to start messing around again.

“(Y/N) if you don’t listen so help me-” Tony was the one to yell at you this time. You looked up at him to be met by a stern expression from the genius man. Tony and Thor were your best friends so getting a certain look from either one of them would calm you down

“Sorry Tony” you whispered back to him. 

“As we were saying - for this mission it will be Thor, Sam, (Y/N) and Bucky” Tony listed the names causing you to groan at the last one

“Is there a problem?” Tony asked

“Yes, HIM” you replied motioning to Bucky. Since you two met, Bucky was never nice to you, he either ignored you or always had to critic something about you.

“Well, Wanda and Vision are on their honeymoon so I see this as a team bonding exercise since you two can’t seem to get along” Tony peered at you. 

“I get along with everyone else, he seems to have a problem with me” you replied. 

“Come on doll, it’s one mission, if I can tolerate you everyday, I’m sure you can tolerate me for a few” he said winking at you causing you to roll your eyes back.

“Whatever are we done here” you said getting up from your seat to start packing. 

-----------------------------------------------------

You were settling yourself inside the quinjet, you and Thor were the demigods so you were practically there as an extra asset for Sam and Bucky. 

“Want some cashews?” Bucky offered you, you rolled your eyes at him again.

“No thanks” you said walking away from him to sit next to Thor.

“You know both and I don’t know much about Midgard however I think he likes you” Thor said winking at you

“Please don’t” you quickly replied to his comment

“Ohhh but I know you DO like him, Stark said so himself” at that you scoffed.

“What! No! Damn you Tony, what did he say?” you asked Thor narrowing your eyes at him.

“I overheard you and Stark speaking about him” he said motioning over to Bucky. You remembered that day perfectly.

“I think you have a thing for him, don’t you (Y/N)?” Tony picked on you

“NO! He’s rude, a know-it-all and gosh that stupid long hair needs to be chopped off” you quickly replied defensively while fixing a nanotech knife you had built with Tony.

You turned around to look at Tony who was raising one of his eyebrows at you with a smirk slapped on his face.

“That doesn’t sound very convincing” he chuckled

“I think Manchurian Candidate has a crush on you too but I could be wrong---actually I am never wrong” he continued.

“What do you mean?” you asked curiously

“Well for starters, its like in elementary school, boy likes girl but wants to seem cool so he picks on the said girl which in this case is you” he said poking you with one of his tools

“You don’t see it but he always looks over at you when you are not looking, asks where you are when you are not around, that sort of stuff” Tony explained.

“I mean maybe you two should give it a shot” he shrugged

“Not in a million years Tony” you said walking out of the lab, only to bump into Bucky himself

“He’s never been nice to me so why should I do the same” you told Thor. 

Thor didn’t say anything, you and him leaned back against the wall to take a quick nap before arriving to your destination.

------------------------------------------------------

“Hey....we’re two minutes out so suit up” Sam said shaking you out of your sleep gently

“Thank you Sam” you said getting up from your seat to grab your equipment

You grabbed two small pistols placing them on each thigh holster, your earpiece from Sam, you placed your sword behind your back and picked up a rifle to head on out.

“Are you sure you can handle that?” Bucky teased you

“I can handle more than that Barnes” you sternly replied

“That she can Bucky, don’t forget she’s a demigod” Sam said, “I do have to ask though, where did you learn to shoot because I’m sure there aren’t guns on your world” he asked 

“Well I train profusely with Nat so I think I’m pretty set in having the best teacher you can get” you explained, Sam nodded walking out the quinjet to lead the way.

“Okay, on my lead, Buck and (Y/N) you go left, Thor and I will head to the right on my signal.....go” Sam led away

“You have my six right?” Bucky asked you

“No shit, you’re part of the team” you replied, the genuine comment surprising Bucky

“Plus I don’t want to deal with Steve’s reaction if you were to be gone forever” you added

Well that was too good to be true Bucky thought to himself. 

You were both deep inside the building where there was Sokovian evidence about new mutants

You were beside Bucky when you heard a loud gunshot, immediately reacting quicker than Bucky due to your demigod senses, you pushed Bucky out of the way causing you both to fall down to the first level, you felt your left arm break. A bullet had hit you on your left rib, without hesitation you shot back to where the bullet had come from, you had great aim killing the suspect instantly.

You felt pain, worse than what a normal gun shot would feel like. When you took out the bullet to saw that it was Sokovian made, this bullet was different you thought to yourself, this wasn’t going to kill you but you knew it could’ve killed a human being. You felt yourself drifting away into a deep slumber, you could hear Bucky yelling for you.

He got up slowly from the nasty fall, made sure the coast was clear, he then knelt down next to you placing you onto his lap.

“No no, (Y/N) WAKE UP! WAKE UP!” he yelled over at you repeatedly.

You looked up at him giving him a soft smile, “Give this.... to... Wanda, she’ll know” you tried your best to speak and then it all went pitch black.

“Bucky! (Y/N)! You guys okay?” Sam yelled over the earpiece

“I’m okay.....(Y/N) has been hit, she’s...down” Bucky said in disbelief, he couldn’t believe the girl he was in love with was dead and he never got the chance to tell you how he felt about you.

He picked you up cautiously, walking back to the quinjet sadly.

Thor was the first one to look at you, he looked over your wound, opening your vest open. “She’s not dead but we need to take her back quickly” he said to Sam and Bucky

Sam nodded heading to the pilot chair to fly you all back home.

Bucky tried not to cry but his tears betrayed him

“She pushed me out of the way” he sniffed

Thor placed his hand on Bucky’s shoulder to calm him down, “She would have done it for anyone, it’s not your fault” he said sitting down next to him

“I never told her how I felt about her” Bucky whispered

Thor smiled at the sound of him saying that, “I knew it” he teased Bucky

“I’m sure everyone did except her, I was an idiot in not showing it in the correct way” he explained

“She’s not dead Bucky” Thor said.

“How do you know?” he asked

“Well for one, I can hear her heartbeat, it’s very faint. And I’d know if I have lost a best friend” Thor explained. 

The rest of the flight back home was quiet.

--------------------------------------------

“Let me see her!” Tony yelled running over to you.

“She’s not dead Stark but we need to check on her wounds, it’s the one on her left rib and she has a broken left arm” Thor explained

“I called Dr. Cho, she should be here soon” Tony nodded at Thor

Tony looked at you, you looked peacefully asleep, he had felt his heart drop when he heard about you. He couldn’t lose his best friend. He wiped away a tear before pushing you over to the emergency room. Bucky followed quickly behind.

“Barnes you can’t be here” Tony said to him

“I’m not leaving her Stark” he replied firmly. Tony looked over at him, eyeing him up and down, he knew it, he knew Bucky liked you. He would save the teasing for another time though, first he had to save his best friend. 

“She also said to give this to Wanda, that she would know” Bucky said handing over the bullet you had placed in his hands.

Tony looked over at the delicate item, how did something so small take down a demigod like you.

“I’ll call Wanda once (Y/N) is out of the emergency room” Tony confirmed.

After what felt like forever, Dr. Helen Cho finally arrived, she looked over at you, replicating your own cells to heal the wound on your rib, it wouldn’t look the same but it was enough to stabilize you. Once she was done with surgery, they wheeled you to the recovery room.

“She looks like she’s asleep peacefully” Nat sniffed looking at you. 

“Yeah she does, how did it go wrong?” Steve asked

“She took the bullet for Barnes” Nat said, this surprised Steve, he in fact thought that you hated Bucky but he was very appreciative that you would protect his own best friend as if he were yours.

“Don’t look so surprised Steve, she would do this for anyone of us. Besides she has a soft spot for Barnes” Nat smirked

“That I have heard” Steve chuckled. 

“Will you two shut up, I feel bad enough as it it” Bucky interjected

They stood there a little bit longer, Nat and Steve headed out, Nat stopped by Bucky, “You should get cleaned up Barnes, it’ll take a while”

“I’m not leaving until Wanda gets here” he replied, with that Nat left Bucky alone with you. 

----------------------------------------------------------

Wanda and Vis had to cut their honeymoon short

“I’m sorry Wanda but (Y/N) told Bucky about the bullet that hit her, Banner and I have been trying to figure it out but-- I wouldn’t ask you to come back if it wasn’t serious...this is my best friend” Tony choked out at the end. 

“Tony....don’t worry, Vis and I understand, we are heading back , I have a clue on what that bullet could be” she replied calming Tony down over the phone.

-------------------------------------------------------

Nat and Maria were visiting you again, Maria hadn’t seen you until now. 

“She looks like a sleeping beauty doesn’t she” Nat said, “even with all the debris....maybe we should clean her up, I know she would flip if she saw how dirty she was” Nat laughed at the thought of you

“You’re right, hey Barnes, you have to walk out” Maria ordered him 

“I’m not lea-”

“You have to leave, wait outside for Gods sake, take a shower, she is in good hands and she needs privacy while we clean her up” Nat said

“Fine” Bucky got up from the chair next to you, giving the girls a stinky eye. He quickly went to his room to shower. Although he wouldn’t admit it, the girls were right, he definitely needed a shower. 

Once he was done he went over back to the room they had you in, Nat and Maria were quick to clean you up. Your hair was brushed back, it smelled like subtle lavender, your face was clean and makeup free however your long eyelashes still stood out to him, your clothes were changed. Nat was right, you looked like a sleeping beauty, it hurt his heart though to see you this way. 

Bucky sat down next to you again, Nat handed him a tray with food.

“I know you haven’t ate so here” she said before walking out the door.

--------------------------------------------------------

Throughout the next few days, everyone else came in to check on you while they weren’t on missions. Thor and Tony checked on you the most, Bucky never left your side unless it was to shower. He felt a sigh of relief when he saw Wanda come inside the room.

“How is she?” Wanda asked looking over at you

“She’s been the same since” Bucky replied

“You look tired Bucky” she said to him, he replied with a faint smile. 

“So what is it?” Tony asked her as he came inside the room followed by Thor.

“The bullet can kill any one of you except-” Wanda was going to explain

“Except demigods and mutants, they use these to knock them out however it sends you into a deep sleep, not a peaceful one though” Banner interjected, he was now followed by Steve, Nat and Clint who had been on leave with his family

“He’s correct” Wanda smiled at him, “Pietro and I never got hit by one of these thankfully”

“So if it’s not a peaceful sleep, why does she look like it is?” Clint asked, “Sorry, I got here as soon as I could”.

“Well it’s more of a battle within, whatever your worst fears are, your past that haunts you, it’s all alive in your sleep” Wanda said

“Oh god” Tony said, he knew what your past was, a traumatic one, you were reliving it and there was nothing they could do about it

“So how do we bring her back?” Bucky asked

“It’s not a how can we its when will she” Wanda said sadly, “I think I may be able to get into her head though, give her some kind of signal” she added

“Sure, it’s not like you haven’t done it before” Nat teased her

“Can you?” Steve asked, Wanda nodded closing her eyes as she placed her hand on your head gently. 

Wanda saw your worst fears; losing Tony, Thor, losing anyone on the team. She saw your past; your dead family, dead friends, everything. She backed out of your head immediately, trying to suppress a cry.

“Honey, it’s okay” Vision soothed her

“She’s going through hell....I have to bring her back” she said, walking over to you again. 

This time she was able to contact you, “(Y/N) you have to wake up, this isn’t real” she explained to you in your dream. 

“I can’t yet Wanda I have to finish this mission” you replied

“There is no mission, you’re in a dream”

“NO.....Tony is gone and I couldn’t save him” you cried out

“It’s a dream....come back to us” Wanda pleaded

“I will Wanda, when I am done here, I will” you said

Wanda was brought back to reality. 

“She’s not ready yet” she said walking out of the room, “she will wake when she is”.

----------------------------------------------------

It had been over a month since you were out, everyday the team had a routine to check on you, Bucky never left. 

He was observing you, your eyelashes, he was deep into your face that he didn’t realize you had opened your eyes. 

“(Y/N)?!” he yelped

You looked back at him, fluttering your eyes slowly, sensitive to the light. Then you sat up fast looking over to Bucky, your face in panic.

“Where’s Tony?!” you yelled

“He’s with Pepper” Bucky stammered still recovering from you being suddenly awake

“Don’t bullshit me Barnes, is he alive?!” you said

“Yes! Why would I lie about that, I’ll call him” he said quickly getting his phone out to dial Tony

“She’s awake” was all he said before hanging up

He leaned closer to you, squeezing your hand, “Honey” he said to you

You scoffed at the nickname, “Who are you and what have you done to James Buchanan Barnes?” you asked curiously

Bucky laughed, he slipped at the nickname, “I’m sorry (Y/N)”

After five minutes Tony came into the room, you looked up at him, feeling your breathing come back to normal to see that Bucky wasn’t lying to you.

“Tony” you choked out pulling him in for a tight hug. You felt your tears fall down your face, you were happy to be back after the nightmares you were dreaming of. 

“I dreamt you were gone and there was nothing I could do and it was so awful” you sobbed into his shoulder. Tony soothed you, rubbing your back softly.

“There there, look you are snotting all over my shirt so obviously I am not dead” he joked causing you to laugh. Bucky had missed that laugh more than anything.

“It was so horrible” you said looking back to him

“I know, Wanda explained to us” he replied, “I’m glad to have you back” he said pulling you in for a hug this time

“You know I mainly missed you wanting to kill this one all the time” he said motioning over to Bucky, “Thor and I were here a lot but this one never left your side” he said giving you a kiss on your forehead, “I’ll let the team know you’re awake, Morgan has been dying to see you but we chose it was best for her not to see you in this state, calm down, I’m in one piece” he said heading out. 

You were still crying, so many emotions were all over the place. 

“I’m sorry about this” Bucky said

“What? No this isn’t your fault Bucky” you said

Bucky’s breath hitched at you calling him Bucky, you had never called him that.

“I would do it again if I had to” you added, giving him a small smile.

“She’s BACK!” Thor came in yelling with a bouquet of flowers, “I missed you so much, we have so much to catch up on!”

“How long have I been out for?” you asked afraid to know the answer

“Over a month” Thor said

Each Avenger came in to greet you back to reality. Every single one giving you the strongest hug you had ever received from any of them. Somehow they also each seemed to mention that Bucky had always been there beside you, that was odd to you but you thought back to what Tony and Thor had said, it couldn’t be though. 

“Auntie (Y/N)!!!” Morgan yelled throwing herself onto you, Pepper and Tony were quick to scold her

“It’s okay.....I’m okay guys, I missed you baby Stark” you chuckled at her excitement giving her a kiss on her head, “are you ready for our monthly date, rumor is we are backed up on two now” you said, Morgan nodded as her smile grew bigger. 

Bucky loved how you were always extra gentle with Morgan, he loved seeing you with kids, you were like a magnet to them. 

-----------------------------------

The nightmares came every other night, even though you were out for a month you didn’t feel rested.

You showed up late to your first meeting, apologizing profusely for doing so, everyone was extremely understanding since the word had spread that you were still recovering. 

You were dazing in and out of the briefing, looking over at Thor to your right who would always give you a smile. After the meeting was finally over you asked him, “Hey so baby Stark and I are going to our usual, want to come?” you asked

“I would love to but Jane and I have plans” he said, “but I can cancel them”

“No no don’t do that....you and Jane are back! That’s amazing Thor” you genuinely said, you knew how in love he had been with her. 

“(Y/N) can I talk to you?” you heard Steve call you 

You nodded at him, “Tell me everything once I’m done” you said to Thor.

“Hey Steve, I’m sorry again about being late I’m-”

“Don’t worry I’m not here to scold you, actually I want to thank you for saving Bucky’s life. That could’ve killed him” he said sadly at the end.

You pulled Steve in for a hug, “I would do it again if I had to Rogers, I would like to think that someone would save my best friend too” you said. 

“I gotta go, baby Stark is waiting for me” you smiled

“Usual hangout for you two?” he asked smiling

“Yep, I’ve been away for too long” you walked away to get ready with Morgan

-----------------------------------------------------

You were saying goodbye to Tony and Pepper while you and Morgan headed out the compound. You bumped into Bucky, to be honest you noticed he was around more but you never thanked him for being by your side.

“Where are you ladies off to?” Bucky asked with a smile

“We’re going to the aquawium and ice cweam Mr. Barnes” Morgan answered, “would you wike to come with us?” she asked 

“I’m sure he has other things to do Morgan” you said politely

Bucky looked over at you and Morgan, then back to Tony and Pepper.

“I’m okay with it” Tony said loud enough for you to hear

You laughed at his comment, “Well Mr. Stark said it was okay...really Bucky you don’t have to” you added

“Actually it would be my pleasure” he replied

“YAY! Auntie (Y/N) and I always have fun” Morgan said

Now the three of you walked towards the car garage, you normally took Pepper’s car since Morgan’s car seat was in it. You buckled her in and were about to get into the drivers side when Bucky stopped you.

“I’ll drive” he said

“I can drive Bucky, I’m not hurt” you replied

“(Y/N), you have a cast on your left arm” he asked pointing at it. To be fair you had indeed forgotten about your broken arm.

“Fineeee Barnes here” you playfully threw the keys at him.

He opened the passenger door for you to get inside the car, as he walked over to the driver’s side Morgan spoke.

“I think he wikes you” she giggled

“Morgan not you too” you laughed

Thankfully she didn’t say anything else once Bucky got inside the car. “So uhmm I don’t even know where we are going” he said a little embarrassed,

“Bless you, well first we’re going to the aquarium and then Dairy Queen” you said

“Off we go” Bucky said putting the car in drive heading towards the aquarium.

-----------------------------------------

The ride to the aquarium was quiet besides Morgan talking away, she was very much like Tony in that sense, Bucky caught onto that. 

“I thought we left Stark back home” he half-heartedly joked

You laughed at that, looking over to him, “We did but we have his mini version back there”

Bucky looked back at you, he looked at you differently, this was the first time either of you had hung out without anyone else on the team being around. Morgan seemed to be enjoying both of your company.

The trip around the aquarium was always fun when it was you and Morgan, having Bucky around only added onto it. He would hold Morgan up to see the fishes closer, you would hold her hand to touch the starfishes, you all walked around like a normal little family.

You were going to take a selfie with Morgan when Bucky offered to take it instead.

“Here stand in front of this glass wall” he advised, Morgan and you complied, you knelt down by her side smiling for the picture.

“I can take a picture for you guys, stand right next to your girls, young man” an older lady said to Bucky. Bucky blushed at the lady, not knowing how to tell her that you guys weren’t together. So he handed her the phone and walked over to you and Morgan, you were trying your best to not laugh.

“You have beautiful women here” she added

“Thank you mam” you replied once she took several pictures of you all.

You took the phone looking at the pictures; you, Morgan and Bucky did in fact look like a cute little family. 

After the aquarium you guys headed off to Dairy Queen, Bucky was going to the local one but you let him know that you and Morgan went to a specific one that overlooked the city.

You all ordered your personal favorite ice creams then walked over to a bench that was on the dock. You sat Morgan between you and Bucky, all three of you quietly overlooking the beautiful skyline sunset. 

“I had fun today, you should come more often Mr. Barnes” Morgan said

“Thank you, I had fun too, call me Bucky” he said to her.

Once you all were done you headed back to the car, Morgan asked you this time if you can sit in the back with her, you agreed to do so, you often did when you were with Tony and Pepper, she called you her car buddy. Somehow you and Morgan dozed off on the way back to the compound. You were awaken gently by Bucky.

“Hey, we’re home” he said softly

You rubbed your eyes, yawning again, smiling at Bucky.

“Sorry I don’t know what happened” you said unbuckling your seatbelt. You got out from the car to carry a sleeping Morgan out to her room. 

“Here I got her, you can lock the car” Bucky said as he placed Morgan into his arms.

You guys walked up to the compound, first to drop off Morgan with Tony and Pepper.

“She’s knocked out, yay” Tony joked as he grabbed his daughter from Bucky. 

“The pictures of you three were so sweet and cute” Pepper said, she pulled you over discreetly, “You two would make a cute couple” causing you to blush.

You all said your goodnights, Bucky walked you over to your own room which was a floor below.

“Thank you for this day, that was a lot of fun” he said to you

“Nahhh its all Morgan, she gets it from Tony” you teased

Bucky stopped you in the middle of the hallway, “Look I’m sorry about always being a dick to you. I thought that by doing so my feelings for you would fade away and they sure didn't’” he laughed nervously, “I can’t thank you enough for saving my life, I will forever be in debt to you. After almost losing you, it scared the fuck out of me” he said trying not to cry, “I realized that I could not live without you so I have to ask, will you forgive me for being a jerk and will you go on a date with me? It’s okay Morgan can come along” he joked causing you to laugh.

“Ehhh I wasn’t too nice to you either, you don’t owe me anything Bucky...like I said I would do it again if I had to. As much as I hate Tony and Thor being right, I like you too Bucky. I want to thank you for being by my side even though I wasn’t there to see it, it helped knowing someone else was there for me too. Yes I will like to go on a date with you” you said smiling back to him.

Bucky knew in that moment that his life would get better with you in it, he couldn’t wait to see what the future held for both of you.

[terrence-silver]

What are your personal S5 predictions?

(Okay, I'm going to predict deliberately infuriating and stupid things)

― We get another pointless love triangle shoehorned in. Maybe from Miguel in Mexico? Some random girlfriend who coaxes him not to go back home ever again, yada, yada, because your father is big here and everything the light touches is his kingdom. Nobody asked for this and it comes out of left-field but I'll undoubtedly cause another shipping war. Or it'll get promptly forgotten which is even funnier because the show will really try with this.

― Stingray the Manchurian Candidate.

― Carmen is relegated to crying over the phone. Amanda is relegated to standing with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot. Shannon is nowhere to be seen.

― Robby and Tory are weirdly neglected. So is the whole Hawk thing, in fact, the Hawk thing will be so mismanaged storywise, that at one point he'll say something like 'Maybe the Mohawk needed to be cut. Maybe it is better this way' and Daniel or whoever even bothers listening to this poor kid will be like 'Well, now you have truly grown. Prayer circle.' 😌

― John Kreese gets an assigned therapist in jail Tony Soprano and Doctor Melfi style. His flashbacks are told through his sessions --- the therapist in question will be able to undo over fifty years of dyed-in-the-bone batshit craziness and make John Kreese a near pacifist in only a few sessions (maybe through the power of love), only for him to revert back to his warmongering ways out of nowhere as quickly as he went mellow and none of it will make sense.

― The ghost of Mr. Miyagi shows up as a vision to confirm that, yes, waging a gang war is okay sometimes, so long if it is for the 'right reasons'.

― Sam goes through a Dark Night of the Soul and none of her family notices.

― Antony gets beat up by Cobras and none of his family notices either, in fact, when he comes to his father to complain, Daniel snaps at him again, tells him to shut up and be considerate because there's greater issues afoot. Antony steals Miyagi's scroll and runs off. Tries to follow Robby and Johnny to Mexico.

― Chozen turns out to be more violent and unhinged than Terry Silver himself, but for some reason, this time it is okay and morally justified by the narrative and the fandom itself. In fact, when it isn't presented through a sense of ethical high-ground, it is shown as comic relief. The Larussos have a quaint family dinner or an outdoors cocktail barbeque with him while he tells the Larusso children one should break their enemies, squeezing his fist shut for special emphasis. Amanda speculatively sips her wine with a raised eyebrow.

― ' This family never condoned violence, Mr. Toguchi. '

― We get a really uncomfortable scene of Demetri and Yasmine doing something unnecessarily sexual. They're at a lingerie store shopping for accessorises. Demetri's like 'H-hey, guys' while caught holding a red lacy bra while Yasmin's in the try-out cabin.

― The whole Kenny and Lia thing is deadass treated like they're Padme and Anakin for some reason. Kenny gets sucked into Cobra Kai, falling to the dark side and she sees the violence of his ways and shudders away from all of it and says something like 'I can't follow down this path'. It is great because they're literal babies.

― Johnny Lawrence infiltrates a drug den and an underground fighting ring with Robby and when Robby either gets hurt or concerned that this is risky and not really prudent and that they shouldn't proceed any further, Johnny gets snappy and says 'I thought you wanted father-son bonding time!' and 'C'mon! This happened in Rambo Last Blood, it'll be awesome! We can take them!' and Robby's treated like the unreasonable and ungrateful one, yes.

― Shannon's one appearance over the phone is like 'Robby, give your father a fair chance.' --- 'Mom, we're in an underground coke compound and... --- 'Your father always loved you, Robby. In his own way.'

― Miguel's found in his father's mansion actually kind of, sort of liking all of this --- maybe he's being fed grapes by a pool-side. That, or we really get the whole premise of Rambo: Last Blood beat by beat.

― Chozen falls for Kim Da-Eun; they have a skirmish, she delivers a kick to his face that splits his lip and he retorts with a 'What a woman!' while wiping off the blood.

― Terry bankrupts the Larusso Auto Dealership, right after driving Miyagi-Do out of business. He's at a board room with Amanda sitting opposite of him at a great big table, a stack of papers in front of her and she stands up and girlbosses by very poignantly pointing a finger and yelling.

[calpalirwin]

Mosaic Broken Hearts

Summary: More secrets spill out the more your relationship with Bucky grows

Word Count: 4.4k

And away, and away we go!

__

Bright flashes of light, explosions, blood spattered everywhere, pain, indescribable pain. You screamed for it to stop.

“Hey,” a voice was calling out, a hand nudging at you. “Hey! Y/N! C’mon!”

You screamed louder as your eyes snapped open, scrambling to get out of bed, and promptly face planting on the floor in the process. “You have exactly five seconds to explain who the hell you are, and what the fuck you’re doing in my room before I kill you. One!” You made your voice as threatening impossible, as you pushed yourself up into a sitting position. Where the fuck was a prosthetic when you needed it? Could you kill this guy from the floor? Well… It’d be messy, but you sure as hell would try.

With your mind racing, it took a minute to register that your intruder was laughing. Why the fuck were they laughing?

“Two!”

“It’s me! It’s Bucky. You had a nightmare.”

Different flashes went through your head. Screaming in the lab for a knife. Bucky offering to carry you to your room. You asking him to stay. “Oh…”

“C’mon,” he said softly as he appeared in front of you. One of his arms went around your back, the other hooking under your left knee as he picked you up and set you back in bed. “Do you wanna talk about it, or just leave it?”

“I- Gimme a minute,” you told him, taking a series of long, slow deep breaths as the adrenaline pounding through your veins slowed. “Fuck… You’re just seeing every ounce of vulnerability I have, aren’t you?”

“Could have just as easily been me having the nightmare.”

“Only you wouldn’t have face-planted out of bed in the process. Or at least you would have been able to get up by yourself if you had,” you replied bitterly.

“Can you not play that tough guy role who has it all together all the time?”

“I dunno, let’s ask my pride.”

“I’m not going to judge you, if that’s what you’re worried about. Or think less of you, or whatever else your head is telling you I’m gonna do. You can’t scare me off, Y/N. The only thing you’re fighting here is your own pride.”

“Yes, I’m well aw-” you started, then sighed. “Thank you. I’m, uh… not used to this. So I’m probably gonna be bad at it for a while. But thank you. For staying and stuff. Now… if you wanna go ahead and be the vulnerable one for a bit, that would be fantastic.”

Bucky chuckled, his arm snaking across your shoulders to hold you loosely at his side. “I’m sure it’ll happen eventually. I’m pretty broken myself. And rumor has it you have a soft spot for broken things.”

“Aw, he pays attention, how sweet,” you teased, squishing his cheeks in your hand.

He chuckled again, and you admired the throaty sound of it. “So, the nightmare?”

You let out a sigh. “It’s always the same one. Two car accidents. Two explosions. Lots of blood. Lots of screaming. Which is ridiculous to me because one of the car accidents I wasn’t even there for. It was my parents, and I was just told about it. But I still dream about it like I was there.”

Bucky stiffened, and you assumed it was in sympathy to having nightmares about memories that weren’t your own. “And then the other accident is yours and Tony’s?”

You nodded. “Yep. My family should just stay away from cars. We don’t exactly have the best track record with them.”

“How old were you when it happened?”

“When what happened? My parents, or my leg getting blown off?”

“Both? If you feel comfortable. It’s fine if you want me to shut up.”

“No, it’s fine. I was… Let’s see… I was 11 when my parents died. And I was 28 when I lost my leg.”

“You said after your parents died you went straight into the Army. How could you do that if you were 11?”

“Okay, so I left out some steps. My parents died. I finished school. Went to Westpoint, became an officer, then got shipped overseas. All the while Tony did whatever the hell it is Tony does.”

“And you were 28 when you had your accident, which means…”

“That I’m 36, yeah. Still younger than you, even though all that time spent frozen and whatever magic in that serum slows the aging process makes you look about 32.”

“I was going to say it means we were the same age when we had our incidents. But thanks for reminding me that I’m technically 99.”

You snorted. “God, my boyfriend’s old.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Shit… Jumped to conclusions… Fuck, sorry.”

“No, don’t be. I, uh, it’s fine. It’s more than fine.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. I happen to like you quite a bit, Y/N. In case I haven’t made that obvious.”

“Good. Cuz I happen to like you quite a bit as well.”

~~~

Waking up in the morning with Bucky’s arm thrown around you was nice in a way you didn’t expect. While your friendship with him up until this point had already made you feel better than you had in longer than you could remember, the dating part was already adding to that feeling, even though it’d only been a handful of hours since you made the change from friends to boyfriends, most of which had been spent sleeping through the night. Bucky made you feel seen in a way you weren’t used to, and while it scared you, it also thrilled you. And it was more than just being able to see you. He understood you. He understood your pain. And it didn’t scare him. It was a relief to not feel so fucking alone, or have to put up a front.

Your problem now was not wanting to wake him up. He looked so peaceful, the long locks of brown hair acting as a curtain in front of his face. You knew if those fluttering eyelids flashed open, you’d find the most stunning pair of blue eyes, which was quite the statement considering you’ve known Steve for five years. Was it an unspoken requirement that you had to be god-level hot to be a super soldier? Or did the serum do that? Either way, it was grossly unfair.

You were awake, and your stomach was growling, and now you were in a predicament. One, despite your hunger, you didn’t want to leave your bed. There was a hot man in it with his arm flung around you. Two, getting out of bed when your prosthetic limb was still in the lab wasn’t going to be an easy task, unless you woke up said hot man sleeping in your bed. Which you didn’t want to do, because A.) he looked so peaceful and B.) you knew how hard peaceful sleep was to come by, so you didn’t want to be the one to ruin it for him. But god damn, you needed food. And to get to the lab to build a new leg.

It was fine. You could do this. You could get across the room to your closet where you had a pair of crutches without waking Bucky in the process. You were the king of stealth.

Through some small miracle, you managed to make it out of your room without waking Bucky, leaving behind a small note as to where he could find you.

As you made your way to the giant kitchen area, you remembered why you usually either hid in the lab until you made a new leg, or used an office chair to scoot about the place. These crutches were a pain in the ass, beads of sweat forming on your face by the time you got to the kitchen, where you came face to face with what could possibly be your worst fucking nightmare: the full team of half awake Avengers staring at you in shock.

“Morning,” you greeted, making it the rest of the way to a countertop, and leaning on it.

Mumbles of “hey”s and “morning”s chorused back at you, with the exception of Tony who went “Kid, get a chair. With wheels.”

Peter looked up from his bowl of cereal. “Got it, Mr. Stark,” he replied before dashing off.

“Tony, that’s not really necessary,” you started. “I’m just gonna grab something and head to the lab.”

“Don’t play the stubborn hero act. It’s annoying,” was all he replied with as Peter reappeared with an office chair. “Thanks, kid. Sit, Y/N. Toast?”

“Thanks, Peter,” you smiled gratefully, easing into the chair, leaving the crutches leaning against the counter. “And yeah, toast or whatever’s fine, Tony. Thank you.”

“So cordial, are you sure you’re a Stark?” Steve teased.

“Ha-ha,” you deadpanned, scooting your way over to the table.

“Your leg okay?” he followed up with genuine concern.

“Which one?” you asked sardonically.

“Yep, definitely a Stark.”

“So hanging around the Manchurian Candidate helping you embrace amputee life finally?” Tony asked, setting a plate of toast before you.

“Actually it was an explosion that made me embrace amputee life. You were there, remember?”

“My brother, the comedian,” he said with an eye roll. “You know what I meant.”

You shrugged your shoulders. “I mean I guess. It’s still not something I’m gonna go around mentioning for the hell of it. Kinda like how you don’t go around mentioning certain things.”

“Mentioning your business isn’t my business, Y/N, it’s yours.”

“I appreciate the discretion.”

“I’m sorry,” a man spoke up. “Is anyone else lost, or just me?”

“Scott, this is,” Tony started, but thought better of it. “Fuck it, it’s your business, you tell it.”

“Y/N Stark. Tony’s younger brother. Ex-military. Not an Avenger, I just live here,” you rattled off the basics. “Oh, and my right leg below the knee is fake thanks to yours truly,” you pointed at Tony. “Well, right now it’s non existent because I had to stab the prosthetic I did have. Different story, different time.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Tony interjected as people stared at him with their mouths open in shock. “I did not blow off your leg. Stark weapons did.”

“Same difference. And it wasn’t meant maliciously. Just a fact. Anyway, I’m pretty easy to find if you need me because I’m usually in the lab. Speaking of, do you need me today, Tony?”

“No, we’re fine.”

“Cool. Cuz I gotta make a new leg.”

“Aw,” Bucky’s voice pouted from behind you, “and I was starting to like carrying you around.” He pressed a quick kiss to your cheek. “You could’ve woken me up,” he murmured.

“Um… what is this?” Tony asked, waving a finger between you and Bucky.

“None of your concern,” you replied bluntly.

“Bullshit it’s not. Hanging out with him is one thing, Y/N. But whatever that is, shut it down, and shut it down now.”

“I’m going to say this as respectfully as possible 1.) because we’re family and 2.) because I don’t want my morning to become more of a spectacle than it already has been. But you don’t get a say in how I live my life. You had your chance to be involved after Mom and Dad died, and you ran away from that chance. And I try really hard not to hold a grudge against you for that. And I appreciate everything you’ve done for me since our accident. But I’m a grown ass man, Tony. Who I chose to involve myself with is none of your concern.”

“Oh, so you’re fine with your new boyfriend being a mass murderer?”

You laughed. You laughed so hard you doubled over in your chair, your sides aching and tears forming in your eyes. “That’s the best fuckin’ joke I’ve ever heard!” you kept howling with laughter. “Mass murderer boyfriend, do you hear this shit? Cuz the rest of us in this room are so innocent, right? Cuz our hands aren’t covered in the blood of someone else? Oh, God! Yeah, you’re gonna have to try a lot harder than that, Tony.” You snorted. “Mass murderer. Yep. That’s a good one.”

Your brother’s eyes flashed darkly. “So, you’re aware that part of his mass murder history includes our parents? Or did Sergeant Barnes conveniently leave that out?”

You stopped laughing as you glanced upwards at Bucky. His hands were gripped tightly on the back of your chair, the knuckles on his right hand white from the force of the grip. His body was rigid, eyes screwed shut. “What?” you croaked out in a barely audible whisper.

“Yeah. The reason you got robbed of a childhood with Mom?” Tony clicked his tongue, pointing at Bucky. “Right there.”

You continued to look up at Bucky who stayed in his frozen state. “Tell me he’s lying,” you pleaded quietly. When Bucky still didn’t move, you shoved a hand into his chest. “Tell me he’s lying, Bucky!”

Slowly Bucky opened his eyes, his face, his gorgeous face, a painting of pain and sorrow. “I’m sorry…”

You hated this. You hated Tony for blowing up your life a second time. You hated Bucky for not telling you this himself. And you hated yourself for daring to believe that for once you could be happy. But you’d be damned if you’d let them see you break. You took a slow breath, sealing yourself off, the walls building around you. “I have work to do,” you said, starting to push away in your chair, but Bucky’s grip still held you in place.

“Y/N,” he said in a cracked voice. “Y/N, please.”

“You have exactly five seconds to let go of my chair, Sergeant Barnes, before I break your hands. One,”

“Y/N.”

“Two.”

“Please, let me explain.”

“Three. I swear I’ll break those hands. Metal or not.”

“Love, please don’t do this…”

“Four,” you continued to count, feeling your voice start to shake at the way he called you “love.”

He let go, and you pushed yourself quickly out of the room, not daring to look back.

~~~

In the lab, you tried to distract your brain, but it still raced. There were so many swirling parts, and you were so angry that you couldn’t pinpoint what was actually making you angry.

Footsteps and a throat clearing had you snapping up your head, body tense, not ready to face either Bucky or Tony. So when you saw it was Steve, your defenses fell. “Hey, Steve,” you greeted half-heartedly.

“Hey. How you feeling?” he asked, testing the waters as he slowly made his way to you.

“I’m not gonna bite your head off if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Don’t think I could blame you if you did. What happened back there was… intense. Tony was out of line.”

“When isn’t Tony out of line?”

“Fair point. But hey, I’m here if you want someone to scream at. Someone to help answer any of the thousand of questions running through your head.”

“I don’t want to scream at anyone. Kill Tony, maybe. But I’m kinda used to that feeling. I just… Fuck, I dunno, Steve. I don’t know what to be mad at, or about. I just know that I’m mad. Hurt. I’m hurt.”

“So start at the beginning. Work through it.”

“It’s true, right? What Tony said about Bucky?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

“How long did everyone know?”

“It came out when we brought Bucky in. So a few months now. Obviously Bucky knew longer.”

“Obviously,” you snorted, then sighed. “Well, that explains Tony’s feelings towards Bucky.”

“But it’s still not an excuse for how it came out. There was a way to handle that situation and that wasn’t it. So if you want to be angry with Tony for that, you’re well within your right.”

“Oh, I’m livid. Like don’t trust myself alone in a room with him, livid. And I hate the position it puts me in. Being mad at him for telling me the truth. Sounding like an ungrateful, spoiled brat.”

“You can appreciate what Tony’s done for you while hating the circumstances that led to it. It doesn’t have to be black and white.”

“I deal in absolutes, Steve. It’s what makes the most sense to me. Facts. Fact: my parents died. Fact: Bucky caused their accident. Fact: their death shaped the way I lived my life, and the way Tony lived his. Fact: Tony’s actions ruined my life, not once, but twice now.”

“And where does that leave you with Bucky?”

You sighed. “That’s where things get convoluted. Fact: he was brainwashed as the Winter Soldier. So I can’t hold that against him. And I don’t. Me knowing Bucky caused their accident doesn’t make them less dead. So as stupid as it seems, I’m not mad about that. I’m mad he didn’t tell me himself. But even then? Part of me can still understand why he didn’t. I mean, there were things about my past I kept from him. And at what point do you drop a bomb like that?”

“So where does all of that leave you?”

“I don’t know. That’s the problem. Part of me wants to clock Tony for running his mouth. Part of me is screaming that this is exactly why I don’t let people in. And part of me is still stupidly head over heels in love with Bucky, even though I feel like my trust in him got betrayed.”

“In love with him? Does Bucky know?”

You shook your head. “We barely started dating. And I mean barely. Like it happened last night barely.”

“And now it’s already potentially over.”

“Yup…”

“Well. And you can do whatever you want with this advice. But, it sounds like the real issue is with Tony, not Bucky. So try not to confuse the two.”

“But how do I trust him, Steve? I laid everything out on the line, and he couldn’t do the same for me.”

“Sounds like you trust him just fine if you’re able to do all that. So is your real hurt, with Bucky at least, in the fact that you feel he doesn’t trust you back? I mean, and correct me if I’m wrong, but this is just my observations. You don’t let that vulnerable side of you show often, if ever. I mean, everyone back there expected you to rip Tony’s head from his shoulders and you barely raised your voice. You have a very tight control on your feelings. You have a very tight control on what you let others around you in on. So if you allowed yourself to be vulnerable to Bucky, I can understand how that powershift makes you feel out of control. I can see how any indication of him not trusting you back is a huge act of betrayal in your mind. It’s like you loaded the gun, and handed it to him yourself.”

“Have I ever told you how much you scare me with how observant you are?”

Steve chuckled. “I knew Bucky a long time before he was the Winter Soldier. He’s not gonna be the guy to let you down. But me telling you that, and you believing it are two totally different things.”

“So what do I do, Steve?”

“You gotta figure that out for yourself. But talking might be a good place to start.”

“Thanks. Seriously. This helped me a lot.”

“Anytime, Y/N.”

~~~

Your next visitor was Tony. “So…” he started, peering over your shoulder at the leg you were halfway finished with. “Break up with him yet?”

“So… find a new way to blow up my life yet?” you fired back.

His jaw clenched. “Blew up your life by telling you the truth?”

“Blew up my life by fucking ruining everything, actually. I was happy, Tony. Actually fucking happy. And you let me have that for all of what? 30 seconds?”

“So you’d rather your happiness be fake? Be a lie then?”

“It wasn’t fake, that’s the thing! Look, I get that you hate him. I get that you and Steve were at odds with each other because of Bucky. And I get that hearing the news that he’s the reason for our parents’ death doesn’t make you exactly keen on being his friend, or having him around here. But, God, Tony! There were a million different ways you, or Bucky could have clued me in on things. And of course, you went with the one that would hurt him the most, not even hesitating long enough to think about how it would hurt me in the process. I knew you were a spiteful bastard, but this is a new low, even for you. Whatever happened to ‘it’s not my business to tell’?”

“That’s why I’m here to apologize.”

“That was an apology?”

“It would be if you let me get there.”

“Well, go on then.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I let my issues with Dad get in the way of me being there for you after they died. Not that at the age I was in any way ready or capable of taking on the responsibility of looking after a kid. And I’m sorry that it led you down a path of eventually getting caught in the crossfire of my mistakes with the company. And I’m sorry for how I handled the news of you and Barnes and the subsequent fallout.”

“Wow,” was all you could come up with to say. Tony wasn’t exactly the apologetic or remorseful type. He was the “throw money at the situation in hopes it went away” type, a classic Howard Stark trait Tony had been unfortunate enough to inherit, alongside the arrogance. And yet, here he was, apologizing to you for everything. And all you could say was, “Wow.”

“Yeah, great talk. If you connect those two wires, you should be good,” he said, nodding his chin at your leg.

You looked at it, “Oh. Thanks.”

“Yep.”

“I mean it,” you said as he started to walk out. “The apology? Thanks.”

“Yeah, if we could not mention it, that’d be great.”

You let out a small laugh. “Works for me.”

~~~

Your final visitor was Bucky. “Been wondering when you’d show,” you said, as you walked around the lab, testing the newest prosthetic.

“Yeah, I, uh… would’ve been by sooner but I got caught up in a few things.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, I might have gone off on Tony after you left. And then Steve might have banned me from seeing you until I calmed down. And by the time I did that, he had already talked to you, and Tony was in here. So I talked to Steve. And… yeah.”

“You mean I missed out on another fight between you and Tony? Damn.”

“Heh, yeah… And look, I’m not here to act like an apology is going to magically make this all okay-”

“Good,” you cut him off. 

He sighed. “But I am sorry.”

“I don’t want your apology. I don’t need it.”

“Then… Could you yell at me, or something? This eerily calm thing is really freaking me out. Yell at me, Y/N. Tell me you hate me. Tell me I’m the reason you’re broken. Something. Anything.”

You paused in your small laps around the lab, looking at him in confusion. “Why would I do that? I’m not the starry-eyed prince who cries when his knight in shining armor isn’t real.”

“I- What?”

You winced at your words. “Bad analogy. I meant that I’m not the type who’s going to cry and scream every time my feelings get hurt. So if you’re waiting for that to happen, it’s not going to.”

“Y/N, please… I don’t know what to do here. I want to make this right. Tell me how.”

“There’s nothing to make right. I’m not mad at you, Bucky.”

“You’re not?”

“No! You were fucking mind-controlled for half of a god damn century. And Howard wasn’t exactly winning Dad of the Year Awards. Fuck, I can’t even find it in myself to be mad that you didn’t tell me. I’m hurt, Bucky, but I’m not mad.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you, that’s the thing. And I know. I know I had so many chances to tell you, and I didn’t. But how do you tell someone that without hurting them?”

“God damn it!” you snapped, your temper flashing before you could reel it back in. “That’s not why I’m hurt, Bucky. I’m hurt that I trust you, and you feel that you can’t trust me back. I’ve trusted you with parts of me I don't let anyone even get near. Hell, I’ve known the original crew of Avengers for five years, and today’s the first time they figured out I’m an amputee. That’s how hard it is for me to let my walls down. And I let you break them like they were nothing. And as great as it is to feel chosen for once, I cannot fuckin’ stand that it’s one-sided. Trust me back, Bucky. Let me choose you back!”

He took a step towards you. “Love, I-”

There it was again. “Love.” God, did he know what he was doing to you when he called you that? “Can’t do it? Think you’re too broken, and you’re gonna scare me off?” you asked.

“No, that’s not what I was going to say.”

“Then what were you going to say?”

“I...don’t know actually.” He took a few more steps until he was mere inches from you.

“Well, you know where to find me when you figure it out.”

You turned to leave, but his hand wrapped around your wrist, twisting you back around the strength and suddenness of the movement causing a splintering sound in your newest prosthetic while you collided into his chest, both of your eyes wide. “Shit!” Bucky swore. “Okay, that was not supposed to happen.”

“Bucky…” you growled, both in agitation that your new leg was already broken, and in slight desperation of if he didn’t hold you steady soon, you were going to face-plant into the floor.

Thankfully, he understood the hint, and more. His arms snaked around you, holding you upright while his head tilted down, his lips crushing into yours. “Please choose me back?” he whispered desperately against your mouth.

“Not choosing you back was never an option, Bucky,” you assured, your arms wrapping around his neck and deepening the kiss.

__

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[ocw-archive]

'STARSKY' PREMIERE GETS PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT OWEN WILSON'S 'SINGING' (2004)

LOS ANGELES — So how does Owen Wilson's take on "Don't Give Up on Us Baby," a hit for original "Hutch" David Soul, compare to the '70s original?

"There's no comparison," his "Starsky & Hutch" co-star Ben Stiller reported at the movie's premiere Thursday, "because Owen Wilson, first of all, just to get his voice even close to on key, they had to put him through one of those computers and he broke two of them."

"David Soul has a great voice, and I have a terrible voice," Owen admitted. "I mean, you can't even call it a 'terrible voice,' because it's just incredibly tuneless."

"And then, of course, when he sings the song, there's almost a soullessness in his eyes," Stiller added, speaking specifically of the scene in the movie where Wilson picks up a guitar and belts out the sappy tune. "It's almost as if 'The Manchurian Candidate' was singing to you. He's just not really a very charismatic singer and he doesn't really sing in tune, either, so the whole thing is sort of a disaster."

Nevertheless, the tune will find its way onto the soundtrack for the movie, a comedy take on the classic 1970s cop show, written and directed by "Old School" mastermind Todd Phillips (see "Big Collars And Even Bigger Pimpin' On The Set Of 'Starsky & Hutch'").

"I almost got more excited about [being on the soundtrack] than my salary," Wilson joked. "I was like, 'I'm gonna get residuals? Whoa, how much can I get?!' That's the thing I've latched onto the most."

Snoop Dogg, who provided one of his own cars to the filmmakers in order to bring that "extra flavor" to street informant Huggy Bear (see "Snoop Plans To Outdo Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Video"), isn't sweating having competition with the film's music. "It's sharp, it's slick, you know what I'm saying? I can dig that," he said of the track. "There ain't no limit to what he can do. Owen is the man. I've liked him in everything he's done."

"Snoop was great to work with," Wilson reciprocated. "I became good friends with Snoop and especially good friends with his spiritual advisor, Don 'Magic' Juan. In fact, he gave me a big gold diamond chalice for champagne that has my name in diamonds or rhinestones on the side."

Another person at the premiere in a unique position to judge Wilson's musical abilities (or apparent lack thereof) was Carmen Electra, who has a small part in the movie. After all, she is married to a rock star. "Owen Wilson was so adorable, he worked so hard on that song," she said. "Just to watch him actually sing it, and he played guitar, sort of, it was sweet. It was cute."

"I plan to burn CDs of it and put it out on my own label," joked her beau, Dave Navarro. "It's phenomenal."

Wilson admitted he was nervous to have the original Hutch hear his take on "Don't Give Up on Us Baby," or for that matter, see him reprising the role he loved as a kid on television.

"It's like him playing Abraham Lincoln or something," joked his brother, Luke. "It's pretty cool. [David Soul]'s definitely a guy we grew up watching. It's pretty funny to see Owen playing Hutch."

Stiller was visibly nervous standing next to both of the show's original actors, who he had just learned hadn't yet seen the movie. "I was wondering why they were so friendly when I first saw them," he laughed as he made his way down a red carpet that also welcomed Vince Vaughn, Juliette Lewis, Jon Favreau and Rachel Bilson of "The O.C."

"The humor in the movie comes out in Owen and I attempting to be as cool as they originally were in the show," Stiller pointed out. "Hopefully they'll see that and understand that we couldn't be who they are, because they just have a natural thing. And we did our natural thing."

"Starsky & Hutch" hits theaters March 5.

[haileygarciasunshine]

Contradiction

Percy Jackson x Avengers Cross Over

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Written: February 22nd, 2021

Posted: February 22nd, 2021

Warning: None

Word Count: 1,294 

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Enemies to Friends to Lovers Trope.

.

Author’s Note: Yes, I know the youngest age of the Camp Half-Blood campers, but for sake of my work I lowered it. I also know the restriction of crossing into camp. It’s all for the sake of piece.

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Bucky Barnes Masterlist

Wiping the sweat from your brow, you had narrowly blocked another one of Percy’s blows. The thought of mistakenly asking him to train you flashed into your mind.

Wheezing, you placed your hands on your knees as you bent at the waist in an attempt to catch your breath.

“Having trouble keeping up, Y/L/N?” Percy teased flashing you his white teeth.

Snorting, you picked up your sword before swinging it in his direction. “Not a chance.”

The scorching summer sun, beat down on you the more you trained, while beads of sweat raced down your face soaking the neckline trickling down your back.

Once Percy had deemed you had enough training, you hurriedly made your way to the showers. The feeling of excitement washing over you as you thought about a cold shower.

---

After dinner, Grove found you and convinced you to sneak away with your group of friends to a local bookstore, in the city.

As soon as you entered the store, there was a small ring of a bell that echoed off the walls. Glancing up, you made a mental note of how long it had been since you had last been in a store that had a real bell above the door.

“Welcome.” One of the cashiers greeted barely glancing up from her register, locking eyes with your small group.

“Thanks,” Grover smirked, nodding his head at her. In a mere matter of seconds, the cashiers' giggles filled the shop, as Grover flirted with her.

Turning your attention back to your friends, you let out a sigh as they were nowhere to be seen. Knowing Annabeth, she had probably dragged Percy towards her favorite section of books, piling them in his arms.

Shaking your head, you glanced around before venturing up the spiral stairs to the second level of the book store. The second level was perfect for customers to gaze out of the second-story windows, as well as having a more peaceful reading experience in the store. Oversized chairs and coffee tables were littered around the level. 

Letting out a comfortable sigh, you began venturing down the isles in search of some undiscovered treasures of yours. Finding an area, you began plucking books out one by one as you read their synopsis. 

Once you had felt content with your book selection, you searched for the nearest chair before you burrowed yourself as best as you could into it. Picking up one of the books, you began reading it as you awaited one of your friends to come and alert you they were ready to get going.

“Figured I could find you here.” A familiar voice spoke wearily. 

Not wanting to look up, you didn’t want your calming state to be interrupted.

“Can we sit?”

His question catching you off guard. Finally raising your eyes from the text, you gazed over the edge of the book, locking Y/E/C with Steve’s icy ones.

“This is Bucky.” He spoke motioning towards the lengthy built man. His hair loosely framing his face. “Buck this is Y/N,”  Steve smirked as he gazed between his two friends.

Closing the book, you placed it on top of the pile of books you had placed on the table. Standing up, you extended your hand towards the brunette. 

Bucky gazed at you, ignoring your hand with a scoff. “I’m going to go find a book.” He grumbled, removing himself from the small gathering.

Steve let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m sorry, he’s not normally like this.”

You let out an unconvinced hum. “Right...Well, what can I do ya for?”

Letting out a chuckle, he maneuvered to occupy one of the chairs in front of you. “I... We actually need your help.”

Furrowing your eyebrows together in confusion, you glanced in the direction Bucky had left. “We?”

“The Avengers.”

---

"Y/N, you made it!” Tony exclaimed rushing towards you as he pulled you in for a hug. 

You quickly wrapped your arms around his shoulders as he lifted you off the ground. The sound of your giggles bouncing off the walls.

“I’ve missed you, kid,” Tony muttered into your hair.

“The feeling’s mutual.” 

“What are you doing here?” Bucky sounded from behind you.

Rolling your eyes, you didn’t bother turning to face him.

“You know, if you keep rolling your eyes they’re going to get stuck.” 

Scoffing you shook your head. “Whatever you say, gramps.”

“Guys, can you please behave for this meeting,” Steve asked his voice making it clear he was already feeling agitated.

Keeping your comments to yourself, you nodded your head before taking a spot between Tony and Bruce at the conference table. While Bucky sat directly across from you. 

As Steve spoke, you felt your mind wandering to other places as well as feeling antsy. Every so often, you would adjust to a different position on your chair, while letting out a sigh.

Moving to adjust once more, you felt a sting in your leg as someone had kicked you. Frowning, you made the mistake of looking at Bucky. A devilish smirk was drawn on his lips. Narrowing your eyes, you sent him a glare. Silently encouraging him to keep up his actions.

“Now, for those of you who aren’t aware, I would like to introduce our friend, Y/N,” Steve spoke motioning towards you, as claps from the table sounded. “She is a Demi-God-”

“I’m sorry, Y/N’s a what?” Bucky screeched, holding a hand up stopping Steve in his tracks.

Whipping your head in his direction, your heart began pounding out of your chest, as you felt tears beginning to well in your eyes.

“Demi-God?” Bucky questioned his voice dripping like venom. Crossing his arms along his chest, he leaned back in his chair shooting daggers at you. 

“As is Half-God and Half-Mortal..” Steve spoke hoping to calm Bucky. “Or in Y/N’s case. Half-Goddess.”

“Half?” Bucky snorted. “Why do we need a Half-Goddess when we have a full God.” He spat raising a challenging eyebrow in your direction. “What can a half anything offer us?”

Tears had snuck out the corners of your eyes as you let out a quiet sob. Bucky wasn’t the first to make you feel as if you weren’t good enough as a Demi-God, but his did hurt the most.

Standing up promptly from the table, you rushed out of the room not listening to the disembodied voices call out to you.

“Way to go, Manchurian Candidate.” Tony spat while glaring at Bucky.

---

Sometime the ill-fated meeting, Steve had unsuccessfully attempted to get into contact with you and apologize.

“What are we doing here?” Bucky questioned his voice naturally coming out hostile.

“We’re here so you,” Steve glared at him. “Can apologize to Y/N.”

Sam snorted. “Man, I still can’t believe you managed to offend a Goddess.”

“Half-Goddess.” Bucky sighed in correction.

“Half-Goddess, Full-Goddess, what’s the difference?” Sam questioned rolling his eyes. 

“Well her abilities-” 

Sam quickly cut off Bucky. “What does it matter to you anyways, Barnes? You’re Half-Cyborg.”

Tony let out a bellowing laugh, clapping Sam on the back in approval before Steve let out softer belts of laughter. While Bucky muttered under his breath about his hate for Sam.

“You’re just mean to her because you like her,” Sam spoke.

“I do not!” Bucky defended.

“Face it, Barnes, you can’t help but be attracted to powerful independent women.” Sam shrugged. “Let’s look at Natasha for instance. How long did it take for you to get over her?”

“We are not, talking about my love life.” Bucky snarled.

“Easy there Cyborg.” Sam held his hands up in defense. “I was just trying to help you out.”

The small group ventured through the forest. Seeing the arc the four men passed underneath making their way into Camp Half-Blood.

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