#ok not a Complete pushover

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

okay but the realization that Howdy is actually a little bit of a scoundrel? a scammer even?? was like the BEST part of the update for me!!! his got a bit of spice to him i like that!

idk if it’s just me but it feels like it’s very important that Eddie was the only have like a extra audio thing on his character sheet in the neighborhood besides Wally and the You page?? like that feels significant somehow right??

i just really loved both Howdy and Eddie in these updates they were so great

GOD i know i know he's got some Kick to him! he's got Flavor! i love how he turned the common perception of his character on its side - everyone expected him to be wholesome and helpful and sweet, and then the update came in with the fuckin steel chair-

hmmmm i can see both sides of the beetle on Eddie's bio - the significance, and the possibility of it just being There because most pages had 1-2 bugs, and the audio was about Eddie. but ALSO its so so likely that is Was significant! i honestly thought so as well!

i mean, the beetle is very uhhh, Valentine looking? the prevalent heart shapes, the soft pink-yellow-white coloring, plus its an audio centered on Eddie and Frank. we already know FranklyDear is going to be an established Couple - so i'd agree that the significant is There! and if we lived in an alternate world where we didn't know about FranklyDear, we'd all be losing our collective shit over this and theorizing the hell outta it

[abrahamvanhelsings]

#Francis and James having entire conversations through eye contact (the conversation in this case being 'WHAT HAS HICKEY DONE NOW')#meanwhile Hodgson is like 'wait was I not supposed to shoot a whole family of locals on the say-so of a guy I outrank several time over?'#like the INCREDIBLE cognitive dissonance of not believing an Englishman is capable of what was done to Irving#while having just SHOT A CHILD#Hodge is just. fascinating. peak Victorian behaviour.#like we joke about the communion monologue coming out of nowhere but hahah. it comes from here I think.#even before he tastes human flesh he's in desperate need of absolution. via @euxara

THE TERROR ▸ 1.08 terror camp clear

[eats-a-berry]

people when laios struggles with social interaction because he's neurodivergent: awww, it's ok laios, it's not your fault baby. there's nothing you can do about it

people when toshiro struggles with social interaction from being an incredibly repressed japanese guy whos character is literally about being bound by social norms/expectations that inform his worldview of a culture where his behavior is just him doing what he thinks is the best and most respectful way to behave and is mostly just tired of what looks to him as laios' carelessness and him ending up as being a complete pushover because of it: i mean, it's basically shuro's fault, he should just stop having problems since i'm not going to take the time to understand him or the culture he's from

[reedeemable]

Ok weird reed900 idea but imagine Nines replaces Connor, not in a bad way but Connor is out of commission for whatever reasons and Nines has to take his place, again for reasons. No one knows, except for Hank and Fowler.

Nines completely assumes Connor's identity, this includes his facial features (same eyes), same clothing etc.

The only thing that he can't copy completely is Connor's personality. From time to time, Nines' own personality shines through but everyone around him just assumes that this is due to his newfound deviancy.

Nines had been instructed to steer clear of Gavin, not just because Gavin heavily dislikes Connor but also Gavin is a good detective and he might notice Connor acting weird. Well, he does.

Gavin doesn't know why but Connor has become easier to tolerate. Not in a friendly way but he no longer fake smiles at Gavin, is not as much of a pushover as before and actually engages Gavin, giving back insults just as good as he gets them.

Gavin realises in horror that he is actually starting to feel attracted to Connor but that can't be right because he wanted nothing to do with him and he wanted to ice that fucker as soon as he met him but now, Gavin can't help but help but stare at him and fantasize about kissing that smart mouth off of his face.

Gavin isn't the only one catching feels. Nines genuinely befriends Gavin and goes out of his way to spend time with him, despite Hank and Fowler's protests.

Nines is the one to make the first move. He knows that it is extremely stupid but one day they're on a case together (Nines volunteered to be Gavin's partner when he needed one, again against Fowler's orders) and he just can't hold it anymore. Nines kisses him.

Gavin lets it happen, despite his confusing feelings but when he opens his eyes, all he can mutter is "what the fuck?" because staring back at him isn't Connor's usually annoying puppy dog eyes but cold, icy grey eyes.

Turns out Nines' passion and emotion stemming from his first kiss causes his disguise to glitch out.

[winwintea]

ᴍᴀʀᴋ ʟᴇᴇ ᴠꜱ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ: y/n’s gang and the exes

Y/N ↬ a girl with a LOT of emotional baggage, just recently broke up with chenle after realizing he was toxic, moved to canada as a way to cope (?? why though) unfortunately for her chenle has formed a league of evil exes as a form of revenge on her and her life will not be filled with any peace any time soon.

WINTER ↬ minjeong, aka mark’s ex, who dumped him suddenly one day. now goes by the stage name ‘winter’ and has completely reinvented her image. currently dating jaemin, and also in their own band together

JISUNG ↬ y/n’s first ex, and a professional dancer/choreographer, has no clue why he’s here but he’ll try his best, 22 year old boomer

HAECHAN ↬ y/n’s second ex, very much a whore, currently in a boyband (except think 90s boy bands bc im obsessed with nsync* and backstreet boys rn)

JENO ↬ y/n’s 3rd ex, rapper and dj, bit of a pushover (poor baby), don’t bully him he’ll cry (literally)

SOYEON ↬ Y/N SO FUMBLED HERE. y/n’s 4th ex, very passive aggressive lesbian, full time assassin part time pop-punk soloist🤷‍♀️ so there’s that

JAEMIN ↬ y/n’s 5th ex, basically mark 2.0, a bassist for winter’s band, and photographer! probably way too obsessed with himself but it’s ok it’s na jaemin

RENJUN ↬ y/n’s 6th ex, solo singer, his voice is literally so angelic, biggest idgaf person ever, also really good friends with chenle

CHENLE ↬ y/n’s 7th and final ex, not in the music industry, but the ceo of a very wealthy company, did not take the breakup well and posted a drunken rant on reddit only to find that all of y/n’s previous exes responded. and so the league of evil exes was formed as a way to get back at y/n

HENDERY ↬ y/n's best friend hendery, trust fund kid so he followed her all the way to toronto bc he has nothing else to do with his life, probably a walking hazard idfk someone come get their man

ZHANGHAO ↬ y/n's new friend, whom she met after moving to toronto, here to absolutely mother. very baffled at y/n's love life, thinks she's the most interesting person he's ever met.

Y/N and MARK'S private accounts

prev ↤ masterlist ↦ next

SUMMARY ↬ mark has never wanted anything in his life. the lead bassist for 'dream on', unemployed, and quite literally a loser, mark expects he's hit rock bottom from here. that is until you, the girl of his dreams quite literally skates out of his dreams and into his life. mark has never wanted anything more. but is love really worth the emotional baggage when you have seven evil exes, who each possess superpowers and are intent on defeating him?

GENRES ↬ social media au (smau), fluff, angst, drama, fantasy au, band au, scott pilgrim au, explicit(?), gay people (ten) help mark find true love

TAG LIST ↬ @lyvhie @h-aechanie @aquaphoenixz @galacticnct @spiderm444rk @nerdsungie @nanaxwi @lotties-readings @nessaassen02 @alethea-moon @222brainrot @kittydollzz @n0hyuck @dudekiss3r @wony1e @whr4nakin @chenlesfavorite @onlyhyunjin (if your username isn’t in blue/grey, please check your visibility settings so i can properly tag you <33)

[fraudulent-cheese]

Actually no, i want to expand on my relative dislike of WT. Because when people talk about this season's faults, i BARELY see people mentionning the complete flatterning of like half it's cast!

Oh sure, people are super willing to throw shit at TDA and especially TDAS for it's flanderisation of characters, but outside of some rogue posts by mutuals, i don't see ANY OF YOU pointing the finger at World Tour when i'd argue it's especially eggregious.

Owen's the easiest example of this, and while it didn't start this season it got so much during it. Nearly all of his lines revolve around food, his aerophobia, or Izzy for a single episode. His relationship with Alejandro is also super indicative of this; im willing to accept the HC that he was aware of Alejandro's dislike of him and just wanted to win him over, but that's absolutely not what the writters intended, no way in hell. He's just completely oblivious to his shitty behavior when he seemed at least somewhat aware of Heather's shifty behavior back on Island, or at least able to stand up for himself (shoutouts to that one Action episode). It's not fun to watch, either.

Bridgette too had her personality reduced to one or two traits, for either comedy reasons (because apparently people making out 24/7 is funny) or story reasons (establishing Alejandro as a threat who uses flirting and his general attractiveness to advance his strategy) and it suckssssss because she was! an actual character! and World Tour especially benefits from having a 'straight man' type character that can look at the other's weirdness and react to it like a normal-ish person! That and she could be an interesting presence to have on Team Victory, with her friendships with Leshawna and Courtney for instance.

DJ too is a BIG victim of the flanderisation thing; his personality is dumbed down to just being a huge scaredy cat, and his character is just The Curse. That's all he does and that's all he is, all he talks about. And that sucks because he too, was an actual person in Island and even Action! Sure, he was sometimes a pushover and had an accident-prone bunny, but he was also kind and could actually go out of his way to play pranks on people! But all of that is just gone in WT.

There's also the characters that weren't flanderised, and more just. Written entirely out of character. Outside of the entire Love Triangle (which i will get to) the biggest example of this is Leshawna to me. The writters straight forget the episode in Action where she's entirely dsitrustful of the Pizza they were offered (which did turn out to be tampered with) due to Chef being uncharasterically nice to them. Guess what Alejandro was doing. Being overly nice to her out of nowhere. Frankly she fell victim to the same thing Bridgette did; needing to be sacked for Alejandro's villany to be better established.

Ok fuck i need to mention the Love Triangle too because while people complain about it alot i don't think they complain about the correct stuff. i'll go rapid fire because it's been talked to death however; Gwen's liking of Duncan is a retcon, her acting like this is out of character for her frankly, Duncan's out of character by trying to emotionally manipulate his ex and the lore established to justify it makes it worse (remember the "At least im straight with people" line?), Courtney is villanised from even before this point which while her anger might've been targetted at the wrong person she was justified in being upset imo, Courtney's entire character is thrown out of a window in general this season, blah blah blah.

I'll end on the whole "the writters forgetting entire character traits/arcs" Cody still hitting on Gwen this season makes no goddamn sense and is super uncomfortable to watch. He's really such a nothing character man. Sierra deserved better than being a manic pixie stalker girl.

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

I know you've touched on it in your Gamzee Essay/general alternative timeline post but may I hear some more about your ideas regarding GamTav (or only Tavros)? You get these two in a way the broader fandom doesn't (which is fine, I'll still reblog even the most vanilla ooc art of them) so I'd really love hearing more of your thoughts:3

Ok, I think this is going to be someeewhat controversial, but I think they're destined for pale together, despite Gamzee's initial flushed flirting. I did in fact reread ALL of Tavros's logs for this.

I think the first thing we need to establish is that Tavros actually feels really shitty about himself. It's obvious that his problem is "self-esteem," since he's constantly prattling on about it, but there's a bit he says as Tavrossprite that's pretty enlightening as to where his actions stem from:

TAVROSPRITE: i SYMPATHIZE ENTIRELY WITH YOUR SOCIAL IMPASSE, cAUSING NOT GOOD REFLECTIONS ABOUT YOURSELF, tHAT MAYBE ALSO DOUBLE AS LIBERATING STUFF ABOUT YOU THAT YOU RANDOMLY DECIDE IS FINE SUDDENLY, TAVROSPRITE: oLD ACQUAINTANCES, aND GUYS YOU ONCE CALLED FRIENDS, TAVROSPRITE: tHOSE ARE VERY HARD, TAVROSPRITE: bECAUSE OVER TIME THEY GET EXPOSED TOO MUCH, tO ALL MY FLAWS AND INSECURITIES, TAVROSPRITE: aND THEY START LIKING ME LESS BECAUSE OF THAT, TAVROSPRITE: aT LEAST, tHAT'S HOW THE TRUTH FEELS, iN MY BRAIN, TAVROSPRITE: sO i START THINKING, mAYBE THEY CAN'T BE THAT IMPORTANT TO ME, aFTER ALL, iF i'M GOING TO WANT TO FEEL NOT SAD ABOUT MYSELF ALL THE TIME,

He has a mixture of self-loathing and social anxiety, the latter of which exacerbates the former, as his mind tells him that his friends secretly hate him. However, his real problem is what he then does with those feelings - he avoids them and the situations that cause them. This causes two major knock-on effects: the first is that he actively ends up distancing himself from people who ARE nice to him and DO care about him, only adventuring with Vriska because he's a pushover and she's very pushy (he adventures completely alone up until that point, and winds up sleeping almost all the time afterwards); the second being that, because he refuses to actually sit with and address his negative feelings about himself (or anything else), he's never able to fix them, or remove himself from shitty situations.

Something consistent with Tavros is that every time he tries to make a decision before his death and Vriska-prototyping, it's by trying to rely on something external - whether that's his imaginary friend, his robot legs, or the story of Pupa Pan... or relying on advice from Kanaya, or seeking approval and forgiveness from Vriska, or earning flushed interest from Jade. He believes himself to be deeply flawed and untrustworthy, so he allows other people to make his decisions, and when relationships do get intimate enough that someone might get him vulnerable, he peaces out. Even his ill-fated attempt to kill Vriska is heavily encouraged by Vriska herself:

AT: aND THAT BEING THE CASE, AT: eVEN THOUGH i'M TERRIFIED OF YOU, AT: aND nOT AS STRONG, AT: oR REAL CONFIDENT, AT: oNLY MOSTLY FAKE CONFIDENT, AG: Yeeeeeeees? AG: Go on. AT: i THINK, AT: i AM GOING TO HAVE TO STOP YOU, AG: Yeah! That's the spirit. AG: Pretty weakslime threat there, 8ut it's a start. AG: Tell you what. AG: If you can find me in this la8, you can have at me. AG: I'll even give you a free shot! No funny 8usiness or anything. AT: oK, AT: tHEN, AT: hERE i COME, AG: I'll 8e w8ing. <3

As we see with Jade, whom he's attempting to flirt with flushed, he's actively trying to impress her using "self-esteems" explicitly gained from "fake" things he's acknowledging as fake - that is, refusing to be genuine and vulnerable with her, because he doesn't believe anyone would like him the way he actually is.

AT: bUT WHAT ABOUT, AT: mY ATTRACTIVE BRAVADO, AT: aND IGNORING MY INSTINCTUAL COWARDICE HARD ENOUGH TO SAY THAT i LIKE YOU, AT: iSN'T THAT, AT: sUPPOSED TO BE VERY ATTRACTIVE, aND ENCOURAGE THE MAJOR HAVING OF FLUSHED FEELINGS IN OTHERS, AT: i GUESS WHAT i MEAN IS, wHAT ABOUT ALL MY CONFIDENCE, AT: wHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT,

His "dating" Vriska in the dream bubbles is also dubious and one-sided at best, as John calls him out for faking it and Tavros isn't willing to bring up wanting the Ring of Life because he was planning to propose to Vriska. Thus, once more, he's attempting to use something disingenuous (in this case, a human proposal) to win another person's affection, which he believes would be a symbol of actualizing his "self-esteem".

We also literally see him do the "deciding someone wasn't actually important to you after all, so it hurts less when you cut them off before they can hurt you emotionally by noticing your flaws" thing with Nepeta - he actually quite likes Nepeta, and would certainly have enjoyed having her play the game with him, but he assures her that it's not a big deal basically immediately, and insists he'll just find someone else:

AC: :33 < tavros im sorry i cant be on your team :(( AC: :33 < im not allowed AT: oH, AT: tHAT'S OKAY, AT: tHEN i GUESS HE SAID NO, tHEN, ... AC: :33 < hmm purrhaps AC: :33 < but i still f33l bad AT: i'LL FIND ANOTHER PLAYER, iT'S NOT A BIG DEAL, AT: gOOD LUCK, bEING, AT: oN THE BLUE TEAM, AC: :33 < ok thanks :((

But, perhaps most strikingly, is the way he leaves his good friend Gamzee on read after Gamzee suggests... gasp... intimacy.

TC: WhEn wE Up aNd sTaRt tO KiCk aT ThIs rEd TeAm NoIsE, TC: YoU ShOuLd mAkE YoUr wAy tO GeT YoUr hAnG On aT My hIvE. AT: oH, yES, tOTALLY, TC: We cOuLd sPlIt a tIn oF ThE PiMpEsT SnEeZe i gOt oN HaNd, BaKeD Up aLl sPeCiAl fOr yOu. TC: AnD ThEn mAyBe mAkE OuT A LiTtLe. AT: uH, TC: ;o) AT: , AT: ,,

It freaks him out, and he's never seen hanging with Gamzee again. And this is a huge shame, because not only is Tavros one of the only people who is nice to Gamzee and appreciates his religious beliefs, but Gamzee is one of the only people who hears out Tavros's genuine insecurities and desires without making fun of him:

AT: tHE ONLY THING MORE FLY THAN THE RHYMES, AT: i'M SAYING TO EXPRESS ALL MY MALICES, AT: iS THE ABILITY HE HAD i WISH WAS MINE, AT: iNSTEAD OF i GUESS, THIS EXCESSIVE PARALYSIS, TC: (lOoK OuT FoR ThE HoOk bRo!!!) TC: GeT OfFa tHoSe wHeElS, gEt oFfA ThOsE WhEeLs. TC: If mIrAcLeS ArEn't fAkE He'lL GeT OfFa tHoSe wHeElS! AT: bUT HIGH, iN THIS CASE, hAS DOUBLE THE MEANING, AT: iT MEANS HE CAN FLY, pLUS DOES HIGH SELF ESTEEMING, AT: tHAT'S TWO THINGS HE HAS, tHAT i'D RATHER WERE MINE, AT: hIS TWO FLAPPY WINGS, aND hIS BIG HEALTHY SPINE, AT: oOPS, AT: tHAT'S THREE THINGS,,, TC: GeT OfFa tHoSe wHeElS, gEt oFfA ThOsE WhEeLs. TC: If mIrAcLeS ArEn't fAkE He'lL GeT OfFa tHoSe wHeElS!

(Compare:)

PAT: i'M SORT OF, lYING ON vRISKA'S FLOOR RIGHT NOW, PAT: lIKE, iN HER BLOCK, PAT: lYING DOWN, PAT: uHH, yOU KNOW, bECAUSE i CAN'T WALK, CCG: OH NO SHIT REALLY??? CCG: YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS, WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN.

He isn't able to do a REAL self-confidence at least until he gives Vriska the bird and flies away, for the first time asserting that he thinks she's an asshole and doesn't actually want or need her validation or approval. After that, he's able to convince a ghost army to follow him using friendship and asking and niceness. Breath powers! Also Page powers! Also actual self-esteems! Although I don't personally hold anything after Game Over as anything more than soft canon, I think we can still see a fairly straightforward character arc reach a natural conclusion there.

But as to why I specifically think him and Gamzee are destined for pale, despite what appears to be flushed leanings from Gamzee's end, and despite the fact that I usually believe what the comic tells me, is because what brief few interactions we see between them are very much pale in nature, and it would be kind of narratively bizarre if Gamzee were set up to have a failed moirallegiance - the quadrant described as "soul mates" - without managing to find his real soul mate after. And who's it going to be? Equius? Or the guy that Gamzee literally says he feels "at chill with" talking to?

Gamzee kissing Tavros's corpse is often used as evidence for his desire for flushed, but I disagree - however Gamzee feels about Tavros romantically, kissing a dead player is how you revive them, so it reads to me - especially given how sad Gamzee is about Tavros dying - more like a desperate act to bring him back. Lest we forget, Terezi also gives it a try, and Karkat kisses Kanaya for the same reason - the reality that their extra lives are gone hasn't sunk in yet for these 13 year old kids, so they must try revival even if they know it won't work.

Moreover, Gamzee indirectly describes Tavros as his "best friend," after having called Karkat that through most of the game, and having an implied pale crush on Karkat during that time.

TC: YOU MOTHER FUCKING KNOW, BROTHER. TC: its the fuckin puppet. TC: THE ONE THAT'S ALL GOT TO BE MY BEST FUCKING FRIEND I GOT NOW. TC: now that my other buddy managed to be having his head chopped off. :oC

Moreover moreover, what Karkat cites as being the cause of their moirallegiance's failure is Gamzee's religious beliefs:

KARKAT: HE STARTED GETTING SO UNBELIEVABLY SELF SATISFIED AND PIOUS, LIKE WAY MORE THAN HE EVER WAS BEFORE. KARKAT: LIKE HE'S JUST SO COMPLETELY CONVINCED HE'S FOUND HIS CALLING, THAT THIS SESSION IS THE GATEWAY TO THE PROMISED LAND WHERE HE'LL FULFILL HIS DESTINY. KARKAT: HE'S SO CAUGHT UP IN HIS IDIOTIC SCHEMES HE COULDN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ME ANYMORE.

Which are explicitly what Tavros invites Gamzee to speak on, and appreciates:

AT: yEAHHH, yOU CAN TALK ABOUT THE CLOWN THINGS, wHICH, AT: i DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND EVER, bUT THAT'S OKAY, AT: bECAUSE IT'S KIND OF FUNNY, AT: wHEREAS, i'LL ADDRESS SOME TOPICS PERTAINING TO MY INTERESTS, AT: aND i GUESS, pERSONAL MOTIFS, TC: YeAh! FuCk YeAh, ThAt Be HoW sHiT's AlL uSuAlLy Up AnD fUcKiN lOcKeD bRo. ... AT: dO YOU HAVE TIME FOR, mY MIRACLES, rELIGIOUS FRIEND, }:) TC: Do yOu gEt yOuR NoTiCe oN Of tHe mIrAcLeS AT: sO MANY, uH, gRATUITOUS EXPLETIVE, mIRACLES, tHE MAGIC MOTHER, aLSO eXPLETIVE, mIRACLES, TC: FuCk yEs, HeReS WhErE ThE SlAm tUrNs tO NoThIn bUt hOnKs... TC: HoNk hOnK HoNk hOnK HoNk hOnK HoNk TC: HoNk hOnK HoNk hOnK HoNk hOnK HoNk AT: HONK, TC: FuUuUuUuUuUuUuUuUuCk! AT: iT'S LESS APPROPRIATE FOR ME TO DO THE HONKS, tHAN YOU, bUT THAT WAS STILL GREAT, TC: YeAh, BrO. yEaH!!! AT: tHE SLAMS WERE TRULY PRIME, aND, AT: yOUR RELIGIOUS VIEWS, tHOUGH i DON'T SHARE THEM, aRE, AT: rEASONABLY INSPIRATIONAL, AT: i THINK i'M IN THE PROCESS OF RELEASING AT LEAST ONE TEAR,

But also in Tavros's single conversation with Gamzee, we see Tavros stand up to a highblood:

TC: :o) HoNkHoNkHoNkHoNkHoNk AT: }:o), hEH, TC: hAhAh FuUuUuCk, YoU sToLe My FuCkIn NoSe BrO! TC: WhAt GoT yOu EvEn Up ThE gUmPtIoN tO aLl FuCkIn Do ThE sHiT lIkE tHaT? AT: eRR, i DON'T KNOW, iT'S JUST, AT: kIND OF THE OBVIOUS THING TO DO, AT: sTICK THE CIRCLE IN FRONT OF THE DOTS, aND, bEHIND THE BENDY ONE, AT: pLUS, oH YEAH, mY HORNS, TC: hAhAhAhA. AT: mAYBE WE CAN SLAM ABOUT IT, ... TC: fUuUuCk, So FuCkIn FrEsH. TC: YoU nEeD tO bE sLaPpEd FuCkIn SiLlY wItH a MoUtH lIkE tHaT! hAhA. AT: aND, iF YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH IT, AT: tHEN i SUGGEST YOU GO AND RAP IT DUDE,

He feels safe with Gamzee, enough to take a bit of an attitude with him, enough to open up about his insecurities about his disability and how much he wishes he was like Pupa Pan, and Gamzee explicitly states he feels calm when he talks to Tavros, which is the stated function of a moirallegiance.

TC: Me tOo, BrO, yOu mOtHeR FuCkIn kNoW ThErE Be sOmE Of mY EyE's RoYaL JeLlY To gO WiTh yOuR EmOtIoNaL pEaNuT BuTtEr. AT: wHOA, aHA, hA, TC: ThIs iS BeAuTiFuL, dUdE, i fEeL So aT ChIlL WiTh yOu. AT: yEAH, fRIENDLINESS WITH YOU IS, pRETTY MUCH ALWAYS NICE, aND FUN TO HAVE,

And the thing is, trolls are constantly getting into moirallegiances when they want to be flushed (Eridan, Kanaya), having palecrushes when they want to be friends (Gamzee), and winding up flushed with their moirail (pale solfef is forshadowed in the same breath as pale erikar, and they don't seem to confirm a matespritship until after Sollux's actual flushed crush, Aradia, explodes). Especially for Gamzee, who was neglected by his lusus and struggles with social interaction to the point where he feels like he has to hide his real self (casteist beliefs, constant talk of religion and murder, which, by the way, come out when he talks to Tavros), it'd be easy for him to mistake the "instinctive attraction" of moirallegiance for the passions of matespritship.

These thoughts are all pretty disorganized - I'm really sorry, it's super late/early for me and I'm exhausted for other reasons - but I hope that that . was what you wanted? hahah

[blitheringmcgonagall]

Lily Evans Was a feminist. Ergo So Was James Potter

I don’t know how to tell you this but:

1. Canon James Potter only asked Lily Evans out once.

ONCE

The whole “he kept asking her out every few minutes for years till she relented” thing is complete fanon

Makey-upy

Capisce? ONCE

2. Lily Evans wasn’t a pushover

Lily was canonically a firebrand. She was kind and beautiful, sure. but - she was described as cheeky and clever. She could be scary (Sirius & James in SWM). She was a muggleborn growing up in 1970s Britain. For those not aware, this was happening in 1970s Britain:

“ If you’re black, working class and a woman, you lose out three times over” (1971)

Also - we know she was from a nondescript midlands town. This was what it would have been like:

So you’re telling me that a bright, intelligent, studious woman and a bit of a rebel, who refused the offer to join Voldemort and duelled him 3 times - who volunteered to get involved in an underground/illegal, subversive group in a war against Wix bigoted fascist-types - somehow wasn’t remotely interested in the women’s rights movement, CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament), workers’ right and the Gay liberation Front?

Everyone can make up their own marauders headcanons etc etc - but for me, with that personality?

Not a chance

Ok, but then, if we agree Lily wasn’t clueless about feminism and other social movements in 1970s/early 1980s - you think she’d actually date Potter (let along marry the bloke) if he wasn’t a feminist too??

ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND???

In the same way I’d never ever even consider a single figment of an imagined date with a Trump Guy, Lily Evans wouldn’t go out with someone uninterested in women’s rights… that’s just the way it is.

(You can decide did he start off not v knowledgeable about this area and need a lot of education to undo misogynistic thinking. Or you can decide that Mia Potter (with her husband’s full support) was a strong woman who was really involved in rights movements in the Wix World and James Potter understood all this stuff from the age of 3. I don’t care)

@chdarling’s The Last Enemy certainly has themes involving this stuff, and we know that’s our canon bible!

Or, inferior fic obviously, but from We Can Be Heroes:

“To paraphrase President John F. Kennedy: Ich bin eine Feministin.”

[ohbo-ohno]

I love your works, especially the serial killer ghoap ones. I’ve had this thought on my mind for a bit. It’s not really dark, more fluffy(?) I just started playing ACNH again and it got me thinking, would serial killer ghoap let reader have a switch? I mean, poor reader has seen so much shit and needs at least a little bit of normalcy in their life. Ofc ghoap would monitor them while they played and such, which leads me to my next part. Let’s say reader has gotten stockholm syndrome and isn’t super phased by all the gore in stuff. Reader just sits in a little corner that maybe has pillows or blankets OR a cage that has pillows and blankets and shit like that. But reader just stays in that corner playing their switch while ghoap does their murder stuff. Idk, I feel it’d be a cute image. Ghoap just torturing someone while reader sits in a corner playing animal crossing. Sorry for rambling, I just really wanted to share this thought. Drink water and make sure to eat ❤️❤️❤️

someday i'll write the serial killer fic. i have a full outline of it. i have like 1k done. it EXISTS ok i PROMISE and i WILL post it. eventually

but in the meantime! questions are fun! (also tysm for saying you love my stuff, ily)

i think they'd absolutely let her have a switch <3 in exchange for good behavior

my reader inserts tend to be massive pushovers (mostly in an attempt to not give them so strong of a personality as to be distracting) but the serial killer girl is soft. i think the contrast of really rough ghoap with really soft reader is Primo.

but i also think ghost and soap would fucking eat UP having a soft little thing to take care of. i think this version of them would really get off on the corruption of it all, coming to their girl covered in blood and watching her try to keep her stuffies from getting stained red :( they loooove watching her get all teary and sniffly when they make her watch them torture people, love watching the way she tries to hide her pretty face :(

so of course they let her have a switch! they looove hearing her talk about all her little villagers, love when she tentatively shows them her new island setup <3

and that second part - do you know how hard johnny would get if he was torturing someone and saw his girl completely tuned out and just playing her little game? she'd be lucky if he didn't bend her over right then and there

[marionedde]

ok ok im doing okay rn but BUT murder drones.

the fucking character development of n is driving me crazy like my boy went from complete pushover and excusing all of the horrible shit people would pull on him. BUT after he spent time with uzi and grew through those adventures her confidence started to rub off on him??? EP 4 HE STOOD UP TO V. THE PERSON HE COULD BARELY TALK WITH BECAUSE SHE EITHER BLATANTLY IGNORED HIM OR BULLIED HIM. HE'S SLOWLY BECOME MORE INTO HIMSELF, MORE CONFIDENT AND NOT AS AFRAID TO STAND UP FOR HIMSELF. By defending uzi he learned how to defend himself to????? like what gorgeous development???????? Like the comparison between ep1 where he's barely confident enough to basically say "hey the company is a little too suspicious" and like, ep3 where he's fucking DANCING AND FIGHTING AT THE SAME TIME. HE BARELY ACTS AWKWARD EXCEPT WITH UZI, AND IT'S A GENUINE KIND OF AWKWARD, NOT A "god everyone close to me hates my guts" kind of way

anyway funky possessed robots amiright

[twistedwonderlandobsession]

.•♥︎Spilled Tea♥︎•.

Series:Yuu Needs Therapy

Branch: Overblotts

Character: Riddle

Part: 2 of ?

It had been a week since the incident, you had avoided Riddle to the best of your possible abilities, changing the route you take to classes, skipping lunch, not visiting Heartslabyul, all to avoid the Crimson Tyrant. The Housewarden that even hearing of his name sent a wave of terror through your being and made your heart rate skyrocket.

Though you couldn't avoid the Heartslabyul halls forever, after all that was the halls of the residence of your first friends in this strange world. Of course Trey eventually invited you over to try a new cake recipe, and being the pushover or glutton you were either way you couldn't find it within yourself to reject your friends offer.

You slowed yohr stride for a moment, checking the time on your watch to see it was 3:47Pm, w

eighteen minutes before you agreed apon time. Glancing up from tne cheap watch to see you were in the garden, your eyes narrowing in on a chunck of burnt grass that had yet to heal from... a brief memory flashed through you mind as you continued to gaze at the pactj of grass or more accurately the lack thereoff..... Suddenly snaping out of your stupor you glanced down again to the watch on your wrist to see it was 4:12Pm.

Not wishing to delay be there any longer you quickened your pace to reach the doors of Heartslabyul, glancing around take sure the Tyrant you dreaded seeing oh so much was not within range as you waited oh so patiently for Trey do open the door. Picking away at the chipped nail polish on your nails...why was Trey taking so long?

Come on....come on.

.....Ok maybe you weren't waiting so patiently, but right in the middle of your internal monologue the door swang open to Carter Greeting you, Quite loudly.

"YOOOO! Prefect, wassup? Been a minute since I've seen you visiting the dorm. You being blackmailed or summ?"

Taking a small step back so the door wouldn't smack you dead in face, the door narrowly missing your nose and brushing past it. Wincing slightly at the excessive greeting. My poor ears.

"Uhm hey Cater, yea it's a...it's been a minute. And Not that I know of."

Carter grimaced before his face contorted into a akward smile, bringing his hand to to back of his neck.

"Yikes! Sorry prefect."

Chuckling quietly you gave him a small but very pleasant smile to ease his nerves, still continuing to pick away to the nail polish. can we speed this up Speaking with a sarcastic but playful edge in your words

"Trying to kill me already Cater? I thought you enjoyed my company."

The Ginger rolled his eyes playfully twords you before taking out his phone

"Yeah yeah, mind if we take a photo for my magic cam?"

Trying to politely reject his offer you shook your head with a apologetic facial expression.

"I usually would Liar. but I agreed to meet up with Trey to try some stuff and am already late." Two lies in one sentence, world record.

Nodding he turned off his phone and slid it into the pocket of his blazer

"Ooo well then Cay Cay will let you go then Kk."

Nodding you quickly slid past him into the halls of the Heartslabyul dormitory, having stopped tormenting your poor nail polish you let it be as you proceeded to the kitchen of the dormitory, immediatley seeing the familiar sight of Trey in the kitchen with flour dusting the surfaces and his apron

Noticing he was not yet aware of her presence a small knock was placed on the wall, the small thuds alerting him of her presence he snapped his head uo from whatever task he was completing and gave her a small smile.

"Hey prefect, uh- I'm not quite done yet-"

Wipping off his hands onto his apron he quickly turned around and offered out his hand to you.

"Here, why don't I lead you to my room, you can wait there."

"No im fine with-"

Trey gave a reassuring smile twords you, still offering out his hand in a seemingly friendly jesture.jester.

"Really prefect I insist."

and with that small nudging you took his hand as he lead you through the well lit corridors with names labeling each of the doorm rooms. Guiding you to a door and opening it before gently nudging you inside and closing the door behind you.

.........If only you had payed attention to the Name of the tenant that owned that particular dorm.

[dhmis-autism]

what’s the biggest mischaracterisation of each character that you feel like you ‘suffer’ from the most? obviously no disrespect to ppl who do characterise them in certain ways! :] this is just out of curiosity…your thoughts are so intriguing:]

I am so sorry I am about to get so unbelievably bitchy and prissy and fussy. I have thought SO much about this question and I have also SEEN so many interpretations of my boys that I completely disagreed with.  Like you said though, clearly, no disrespect to people who characterize them this way! I know I am a very picky, persnickety bitch.

Anyways. Best boy up first.

 Duck mischaracterizations that I hate:

- him being super effeminate and given like an hourglass figure and human woman legs. like what.

- him being feminine being like, his whole personality. I loathe when people just start writing him like a super twinky, aave spitting gay. It’s really fucking weird can you all be normal about him wearing a dress ONE time please. LIKE HES JUST A NORMAL GUY. OK. GOD

- written as a bitchy or abusive mother/parental figure ( specifically towards YG. why.)

- him being super loud and just constantly spouting verbal/physical abuse at the other two (girl he is much quieter than you remember and he insults them like. twice. in 6 episodes. get real.)

- I hate hate hate when people act like RG is his whole world and have him ignore YG/act like he doesnt exist

- him being written as deliberately manipulating the other two, sometimes even like. physically self-harming in order to do so?? like oh my god. he would NOT fucking do that.

- him being written as totally HATING yellow guy and just constantly acting like hes a burden (I’ll actually kill over this one. how dare you. biting)

- weird thing I’ve noticed where people will make him refer to himself as 'the smart/intelligent one' of the group (something he's never done) but then like. the narrative/author will legitimately treat him like he IS very smart. like. no he is not.

- having him take YGs batteries out of sheer malice / ( ABLEISM(??)) and like. hate.  and somehow forgetting how hard he was freaking out that his friend was different earlier in the episode???????

- him being in a nuclear family situation with red with YG as their "son" . like 1. he is NOT a good dad and would not be a good one. 2. he SAID how he feels about that boy if you cant accept dad dog duo as a dad dog duo you do not deserve them

- writing him as CONSTANTLY ANGRY/PISSED OFF oh it makes me wanna shake people by the shoulders and SCREAM like!! Rewatch the show!! Baker Terry did not give us that bizarre and soft and joyous performance for you to write him like Squidward in a yaoi!!!! I’ll KILL YOU!!!!!!! HE IS AN UPBEAT PESSIMIST!!! A CHEERY DEFEATIST!!!!! I’LL GNAW YOUR BONES TO DUST!!!!

- when people make him skinny. How dare you. How DARE YOU. HOW DARE Y

- when people make him taller than YG. I would be less upset if “the smallest one” wasn’t literally something he was called IN THE SHOW

YG mischaracterizations I hate:

-Him being portrayed as GENUINELY stupid. Yes I know the crew call him that, yes I know other characters call him that, I think it’s obvious they’re exaggerating a bit.

-Him being the only one of the three that’s written as incredibly childish (imo, all three of them are a bit childish- but if you write just YG that way, I roll my eyes)

-Him being incredibly passive and soft and nice and conflict avoidant and a huge big pushover crybaby who never fights back or says anything mean.

-When people make it out like he’s really bad at art/draws like a child- really ticks me off because we are EXPLICITLY SHOWN IN EPISODE 1 OF THE WEBSERIES THAT HE’S GOOD AT ART

-I actually hate when people discount a lot of his talents, ppl acting like he wouldn’t be good at music or art when we KNOW HE IS!!!! WE KNOW HE IS!! WHAteever

-Him being socially inept/inadequate ! He is imo the most socially adept out of the 3 of them and the one most likely to thrive among a new friend group

-When people act like. YG with fresh batteries and YG without them are two separate people/have separate personalities??? They are literally the same dude (my good friend Am has a great post on this actually. Here. Read.learn.)

RG mischaracterizations I hate:

-The idea that he is nice. LOL I’m almost joking, but not really. Verbally, he’s very barby and I WISH more people would remember that genuinely.

-When he’s written as the ONLY voice of reason/ smartest guy in the room. He is not. God help him he is so fucking stupid and goofy and canonically loves Smash Mouth and thinks MAGIC is real.

-Super Hyper Sexy Man with vacuum-sealed abs and a COMPLETELY new personality

I have nothing else for him I don’t think of him often.

[thewertsearch]

EB: i'm sorry karkat, i didn't realize we screwed up so bad. CG: ALRIGHT WELL CG: I WASN'T EXPECTING YOU TO MAN UP AND APOLOGIZE FOR IT, SO OK I'LL GIVE YOU CREDIT FOR THAT. [...] EB: i just feel kind of bad i fell asleep, i don't know what came over me. [...] CG: HEY, INOPPORTUNE NAPS HAPPEN IN THIS GAME.

I love that even at this early stage, Karkat keeps forgetting that he's supposed to be 'mad' at John.

CG: I MANAGED TO STAY AWAKE FOR SEVERAL WEEKS STRAIGHT, I DIDN'T WANT TO LET MY GUARD DOWN FOR A SECOND. [...] CG: AFTER IT WAS ALL OVER, AND WE RETREATED IN FAILURE CG: I FOOLISHLY DID. CG: AND THAT'S WHEN I SAW HIM. [...] CG: JACK.

Poor Karkat probably thought he was back from Alternia with a vengeance - which would be doubly painful, since Karkat liked Jack, and was completely against Exiling him.

CG: HE WAS WEARING A RING I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE, CERTAINLY NOT ONE BELONGING TO OUR QUEENS. [...] CG: HE WORE IT ON HIS ONE HAND, WHICH WAS COVERED IN OUR MUTANT BLOOD.

If Jack had got that blood from the troll session, we'd have a pretty good idea who it belonged to.

But Jack arrived with that blood. It came from the human session, and could have belonged to anyone there.

The narrative is giving it a lot of focus, though - even in Jade: Enter, the camera kept lingering on Jack's arm. This is 'important' blood, which will be shed in a pivotal moment later on.

Move over, Bilious Slick - there's a new god in these parts.

CG: I PRETTY QUICKLY DETERMINED THAT HE WAS FROM YOUR SESSION, NOT OURS. [...] CG: AND I WAS SORT OF RELIEVED CG: RELIEVED BUT ALSO ENRAGED CG: I'M SURE YOU KNOW THE FEELING. [...] EB: not really.

This is how you can tell John's not a programmer yet.

Get back to me when you've been debugging for two hours, and you realize you missed a free(). Then you'll know exactly what Karkat is feeling.

CG: I'VE GOT TO REWIND THE TAPE ON THIS CLUSTERFUCK AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WENT WRONG. EB: yeah, i should get going too. EB: my friend is pestering me, and i doubt she likes to be kept waiting. EB: (she is sort of the bossy type!) CG: WHY WOULD I CARE ABOUT YOUR DUMB HUMAN FRIEND AND HER PETULANT, MEANINGLESS DEMANDS.

'What went wrong' is the girl who's messaging John right now.

I cannot wait for Karkat to figure out who actually caused the Mistake, and confront Vriska directly. It'll be cathartic, I think, for his rage to be directed to someone who's deliberately responsible for their problems.

Karkat is no match for Vriska, of course - but he doesn't necessarily have to be. He's a leader, and once he starts yelling about who actually got them trapped in the Veil, the other trolls are sure to take his side, no matter how annoying he is.

Vriska is extremely resourceful, but if Karkat rallies all the surviving trolls against her, her victory is far from guaranteed. She'll be up against Terezi, Kanaya and Sollux - not to mention Feferi, who's recently proven she's not as much of a pushover as you'd expect.

This is all hypothetical, of course. Before we can talk about Vriska's plans, we need to understand what the fuck she's playing at here. It's possible that this was ultimately for everyone's benefit - but I think it's more likely an act of hubris. Vriska seems bent on fighting Jack directly, so I think she's messing with his timeline to make him vulnerable in some way. That's not how the Alpha works, Vriska!

[astriwilt]

Ok so as someone who’s favorite character in Heathers 1988 is Heather Duke; can we talk about how much I hate the take of “Heather Chandler only kept Heather Duke down because she knew Duke’s true nature, and that she would go mad with power if she ever got it”? Idk if this is a popular take but I’ve seen it a few times, and it completely misses the point of Duke’s character. Everything she is and does revolves around Heather Chandler. Heather Chandler made her the way she was through constant bullying; and Duke’s character is a mix between pure hatred yet pure admiration for Chandler. Chandler is everything Duke wants to be…and Chandler constantly reminds her of that. Those are the actions that created power hungry Duke. (With some manipulation from JD thrown in).

The entire point of Duke’s character is to show what constant bullying creates. She hated her own weakness because she was constantly made to feel weak by Chandler. So when she finally gains power she uses it to become what she thinks a strong person is AKA Heather Chandler. She wouldn’t have these views of how “strong people should act” if it wasn’t for Heather Chandler. When Heather McNamara starts to open up about her depression; Duke immediately starts targeting her because she now perceives McNamara as weak. She hates this weakness so much because it reminds her of how she acted under Chandler. It reminds her of her insecurities. So she bullies McNamara to show that McNamara is the weak one of the group and not her. The mantle of the pushover of the group had now been transferred from Duke to McNamara.

It’s also important to note the Chandler had these same fears of showing weakness. The main reason she targeted Duke was because of this same perceived weakness. Duke was a shy bookworm who wouldn’t dare say anything to defy Chandler. (In the movie ofc; I like the musical well enough but I think it missed the point of a few things: Duke’s character being one of them).

TLDR; Chandler bullied Duke to show that she was strong, and this bullying caused Duke to act the same way as Chandler when she got power. Which is why I don’t understand why some fans think Heather Duke was just “always like that”. Feel free to disagree with me though!

[jennsterjay]

Clawcode Headcanons (because I could literally talk about them all day)

If Miles G is unsure about someone he'll put up a mask/front with them, but the minute Ganke M walks beside him and says the funniest unfunny joke known to man he snorts and the tough guy act completely crumbles against his will

Ganke M is the 'bro let's have fun' to his 'my life is the grind, all I know is the grind'. Even when Ganke M helps Miles G with complicated missions, afterwards he'll patch him up, then get him some Wcdonalds or King Burger and then play some Mario's Cart with him the rest of the night. Cue them falling asleep together on the couch

I'm still not over the idea of them getting each other Dragon Ball Z matching dog tags (rip to the goat of course 🙏🏾). Like there's so much sauce there it's perfect. Spider-Miles from 1610B would think its the coolest thing ever even when he teases Miles G about it, and the first week Ganke M wears it he makes sure every one can see it proudly around his neck

Ganke is Pan and Miles is Bi and Ganke doesn't think about gender too hard

Miles G: Rap, Trap, Rnb, J-Pop/Anime Music, Rock, and more

Ganke M: K-Rap, K-Rock, Nightcore, Daycore, Rap, Techno, Video Game Osts,  J-Pop/Anime Music and more

And they influence each other's music taste

They know each other's birthdays, favorite foods, shoe sizes, game catalogues, jokes, childhood stories, favorite songs, allergies,  icks, moral boundaries, biggest secrets, and worst fears...and they've only known each other for a year and a few months

Ganke M is simultaneously the class clown and one of the smartest students in his grade. Miles G is the other top student. Despite Miles G wanting to keep a low profile, when he's around Ganke he can't help but joke around and start roasting people and clowning in class too, and the two become pretty popular among the other students. Between their high grades, class disruptions, pranks, one or both of them disappearing to 'use the bathroom for a sec', prize winning robotics projects, funny jokes, and passing test scores...their teachers don't know if they should flip a coin to give them awards for their grades or to send them back to detention again

Rio and Jefferson were suspicious of Ganke M at first, thinking he was a bad influence, but eventually they warmed up to him and welcomed him after seeing how much he made his son smile. Even after Jeff was no longer there, Rio would still smile and welcome Ganke to their house just like they always had. Ganke sometimes even stops by to cook some Korean dishes and helps clean up whenever he visits Miles.

When Aaron Davis finds out Ganke M knows Miles G's big secret, he meets with Ganke alone for the first time (even though he would meet him once or twice in passing when Jeff was alive, they've never really talked to each other until this moment). At first Aaron is intimidating and tries to tell Ganke to stay out of Miles' business, but Ganke has never been a pushover and refuses. After a while, Aaron can see his determination and realizes Ganke's loyalty to Miles isn't shakeable. He sees something in Ganke that reminds him of himself. So Aaron says if he really wants to help Miles, then he needs to become stronger. It's after this that Aaron teaches him to box and fight, and teaches him more about tech, engineering, surveilance, tracking, stealth, and hydraulics.

Even though Miles G can hear his mom in his ear saying not to waste any food, Miles doesn't like eating the crust on sandwiches or pizza. But that's ok because Ganke will eat his own food and then eat the crust for him. Ganke will eat the tomatoes off of Miles' burgers too

Months after Miles G and Ganke M meet their universe's Gwen V. Stacy aka Gwenom, and she becomes an ally, she admits to them that she thought they were a couple at first. They weren't dating yet so she's not completely right, but with the way the two look at each other after she says that, she knows she's not completely wrong either. She totally teases them about it.

In this universe Dr. Ophelia Octavious is an African American scientist, ruler, and engineer who is part of the Sinister Six and runs a big part of the city. Miles G and Dr. Octavious have a Sonic the Hedgehog and Dr.Eggman type dynamic. Miles G keeps getting in the way of her plans and she knows he somehow has a connection to the original Prowler. Still, she secretly admires the kid for his heart and genius at least, not that she would admit this. One time at her base she successfully captures Ganke M saying "I have your little boyfriend" to try to get leverage over Miles G, but Ganke M is smarter than he looks and doesn't give her any information right before he escapes on his own with a dohickey he has in his pocket. When Miles G comes in to save the day and go toe to toe with Octavious, Ganke M looks from side to side and backs up towards a computer terminal and inserts a flash drive that hacks into and shuts down her whole system. Ganke and Miles slip away when the lights shut off, and all Octavious can see in the darkness is a computer terminal that has an anime girl dancing with flashing text that says 'Get Miku-ed'. Dr. Octavious is in disbelief and has several emotions at once before laughing and saying "I hate heroic teenage couples"

Their universe's Felicia L. Hardy will either work with you, be your ally, con you, or sell you out and Miles and Ganke don't know what to make of her. She guesses they're a couple almost immediately with the way they fight her (when Ganke already has his own suit) and even when they're on different sides, she teases them like she's an aunt or a big sister. Eventually they meet her girlfriend and even she teases them affectionately too.

Ganke's mom cooks Miles so much food when he visits (even when they don't have a lot) and Miles struggles to finish it because he's already so full from the first five plates but it's ingrained in him not to waste food. He taps out and brings the rest back home in Tupperware for him and his mom.

Ganke M and Miles G go to the rooftop a lot to listen to music and look at the stars together. Now that they know their universe is so big and that there are other universes out there, it really puts it into perspective that in the grand scheme of things they're grateful for what they do have in this world...

And that is each other

[rayshippouuchiha]

Ray! Have you ever tasted the pure Schadenfreude that is WinterIron post cacw fanfics?

Because, let me tell you, there needs to be more of them.

Just, the beauty, the energy, the absolute fuck you of that entire scenario is truly delicious.

Bucky gets pulled out of the ice, the triggers are gone, and maybe the rogue avengers have been pardoned, or maybe it's in the works, but he's in Wakanda and he's thinking to himself: fuck this shit.

He's not an idiot, nor a pushover, and his life for the past 70 years has been him, unable to make his own decisions or do anything for himself. So he does what anyone would well, anyone smart and invested in integrating into the modern world what? and he starts researching. He learns what he's been missing, what events he was part of and what he caused. He learns about the avengers.

But most importantly, he learns about Iron Man.

He learns about a man, the son of his friend, his victim, the guy whose expo was one of his only happy memories that he hung onto from before the war (because how cool would a flying car be, right? God, every time I forget that Bucky Barnes is a Fuckin' Nerd TM) who was tortured for 3 months and managed to build himself out of a cave. This guy became the first modern super hero, he took a multi-billion dollar weapons manufacturing company and changed it completely and it worked. More personally, he shot at the guy who blocked his bullet at point blank range.

Bucky goes all in learning about Iron man and looking up videos of what the suit can do and can only come to one conclusion: if Stark had wanted him dead, he would be a smear on that bunker floor.

And he has absolutely No Idea, where Steve is getting anything that he's saying about Stark. They didn't win that fight, he knows that, it's only because Stark was pulling all of his punches that they got out of there. None of what the rogues are spitting about Stark is making sense, because he actually watches the news: Stark's paying for damages and cleaning up messes and trying to get them pardons for christs sake!

So, when they do finally get back to the US and see the Avengers again, Bucky takes to watching Stark because he can't not. And it grows from there: Bucky getting access to Tony's lab and acting like the scifi nerd that he is, conversations while Tony is fixing up something on his arm or late night meetings in the kitchen. Just... excellence.

But where, you ask, is the Schadenfreude? Well, it's been right there the entire time, because what would be more delicious than Steve watching the man he fought for, searched for, lied for, and told a majority of the world to fuck off for, choose the opposite side?

This went on longer than I meant it to but I have feelings ok?

Oh absolutely fucking yes. This is honestly my entire vibe with post-CW WinterIron. It's so goddamn delicious.