#starbula week 2023

[carterlnb]

The prompt of the third day of Starbula Week is jealousy. Well, I can't write fiction. But I can provide material, from the film itself.

Regarding the Nebula and Peter relationship line, the director actually put in almost all the basic elements of a love story. Including jealousy - an interesting plot point.

Jealousy, of course, came from Peter, because he loves Nebula so much, but he doesn't know it himself. He must be made to understand his feelings.

Okay, who is the one of his jealousy? Drax? Excluded. Rocket? Rule out. Groot? Possibly. Because when Groot asked Nebula, "Did that look cool?" Nebula replied, "that looked cool." She was praising him. Who does Nebula praise? She was always mad at everyone. Now she's praising Groot to his face! Oh yeah, and she once said, "The choice is him or a tree." Does she like Groot ?

Okay, joke's over. (I actually think he might.)

Who to be jealous of

The one of his jealousy...of course, is someone related to Nebula. Who could that be?

After the hallway battle, Nebula goes to pilot the ship. She speaks to Kraglin over Rocket's comm, "Kraglin, I'll pilot from this side." Kraglin replies, "Kragula, back in action."

Please note, "KRAGULA".

Note that "BACK in action."

Note that ,Peter is on the same line.

Annoyed Peter

The next scene, not in the main movie, is a deleted scene. In this scene, Peter looks annoyed.

Here is the entire dialog.

Peter: Goddamn it.

Phlektik: yeah. You know , you just gotta change it from yellow to purple.

Peter: Yes, I know.

Phlektik: Yeah, you know, once  it's purple, you could just go right through.

Peter: Do I look like was born in Yirbek colony?

Phlektik: Uh, no, sir. You don't. you actually look very nice. You know, Yirbeks, uh, they may get a bad rap, but they're actually not as stupid-

Peter: Are you always this irritating?

Phlektik: Uh, yes, I think. I think so. Am I, guys?

This deleted scene is called: " Annoyed Peter".

Whoa, whoa, Peter, what are you annoyed about? Are you doubting your intelligence and beauty? Who are you trying to say is irritating?

What if Peter heard more than just "KRAGULA"?

In Karen Gillan's bts video, we were lucky enough to hear the entirety of Kraglin's conversation with Nebula.

Kraglin: Kragula, back in action. That's our couple name.

Nebula: What?!

Kraglin: It's our couple name, Kragula. Do you prefer Nebulin ?

Nebula: Yeah, I think my name should be first.

Kraglin: Does that mean that we're engaged? I've been married lots of times, believe me , it's great.

Nebula: How many times?

Kraglin: like 14?

Nebula: What?!

Kraglin: Yeah, yeah , but it's great , believe me , we should …We should think about this. I'll get…I'll let you take some time to mold it over, it's pretty good.

Nebula: Okay....

Imagine the look on Peter's face.

Now we know who is irritating to him.

I don't think it's a coincidence that this clip appeared in Karen's personal video, it was meant to do exactly that, allowing us to piece together the complete story of Nebula and Peter. Also showing up in the video is a rehearsal scene for Nebula and Peter's hallway battle. Both of these plots are revealing to us more details about Nebula and Peter's story.

I'd say that the fact that the director didn't forget to set Starbula up for even such a thing as jealousy, is proof enough that Nebula and Peter's relationship was carefully planned and crafted in the movie. This relationship is very important.

[starbula]

give a little

prompt: missing you rating: T (implied adult content) for @starbulaweek, day 2

“Just admit it, you’re going to miss me when I head back to Earth tomorrow.”

Peter was helping Nebula as she worked on an inventory of Knowhere’s educational supplies. Nebula thought it looked more like “sitting down and doing nothing”, but Peter insisted it was “supervising”. 

Nebula looked over her shoulder, trying not to scowl too obviously. “You’re right, I’m going to miss all your valuable help around here.”

Peter laughed, “Is that so?”

“Yes, I don’t know what I would have done without you these past two weeks.” Nebula wasn’t even trying to hide the sarcasm this time.

Nebula heard Peter stand and walk up behind her, his footsteps surprisingly quiet. She knew that he was up to something. 

Peter placed a hand on her hip and whispered, “You’re saying I haven’t helped you at all since I’ve been back?” 

His low voice caused a shiver to run down her spine, images of their lively activities from this morning replaying in her head. He was trying to distract her, and she hated to admit that it was working so easily. 

Giving up, she turned around, “If you help me again right now, I promise I’ll miss you for real.”

☆

[awesomegalaxysavior]

Starbula Week Day 5 Realization

@starbulaweek

iiiiiiiiiiiii know it late to post about day 5 but my work life, plus the commute and personal life barely leaves me with time. Anyways, heres a little comic and my first fan art for Starbula.

[shushu3991]

Super delayed entry for @starbulaweek 2023

Day 6: Hurt/Comfort

[cerromoreno]

Starbula Week Day 4: Parents

*~*Headcanon/photo dump of my Starbula kid*~*

I meant to share this during @starbulaweek 2023, but grad school has been insane...so I'm just spreading out the fun to a few weeks later! 😂 Also, this is unbelievably long. Read if you dare lol.

Basically since May, soon after watching GOTG3, I've been developing a headcanon of Nebula and Peter having a daughter together. The idea that both of their stories - filled with so much loss, trauma, and sorrow - not only end with an unexpected and beautiful romance with each other, but with the chance to raise a happy, safe, and cherished little girl, breaking the cycle of trauma...literally destroys me. I love the idea so much, and headcanons about this Starbula daughter have infected my brain for half a year. I figured I'd share some of them, accompanied by some photos of what I think she'd look/act like, in (belated) honor of Starbula Week!

Early on, I decided Peter and Nebula would have a kid via surrogate. (Sorry Nebula...I can't imagine Thanos NOT sterilizing her during all of his modifications... 😩) They could either use an anonymous surrogate, or - imo more meaningfully - Mantis might offer to do it. Somehow this seems right to me; she's such a sensitive and loving person, and could see Peter and Nebula's unspoken desires to have a family of their own (and their inability to do so) and want to help. Maybe after Nebula/Peter have been together for a while, Mantis is visiting Knowhere in between her solo adventures and overhears Nebula mentioning that she's one of the last Luphomoids, since her planet was destroyed by Galactus. [I know this isn't MCU canon but I read that it happened in the comics so I'm taking it, lol.]

This gets Mantis' gears turning and basically one day, she proposes the idea of carrying a baby to Peter and Nebula. Mantis might say that she doesn't want to have a kid of her own, but she knows that her brother and Nebula would be amazing parents if they wanted to do so. And that she wanted to do this for them, if they were interested. Nebula and Peter immediately turn down the offer, but after thinking it over for a while, they realize Mantis is giving them an incredible gift and actually wants to do this for them - and that they really do want to have a kid, they just didn't think it was possible. So they accept. And a year later, they end up with a healthy, light-blue-skinned baby girl: Meredith Anthony Quill. Her name would honor the most important parental figures in both Nebula and Peter's lives 🥺

Shortly after creating this scenario, my brainworms continued imagining this little girl and what she might act and look like. While doing so, I kept coming back to Millie Bobby Brown. MBB was/is a delightful kid - plus she shaved her head a la Karen Gillan lol - so I started looking up pictures of her to see if I could spot a resemblance with Nebula or Peter.

That initial search turned up a clear answer (yes!) and snowballed into an absolute beast of a Google Slides slideshow, constantly evolving and filled with headcanons and photos of Meredith (aka Millie) from age 0 to 19. I've never done anything like this for a ship before, but something about a Starbula kid has completely taken over my brain and I've had so much fun imagining her (and Nebula/Peter as parents) over the past few months.

So, in belated honor of Starbula Week and this crazy ship that has had a chokehold on me for half a year, I chose some of my favorite photos to share a peek into Meredith Anthony Quill's life and personality over the years. Just imagine she has blue skin because I have no photoshop skills 🙃 Most of the pictures are self-explanatory, but I explain any relevant headcanons below. I also thought there was a 10-photo limit on Tumblr but I guess not.... But I'm very much done done combing through my photos, so this is officially Good Enough 😆

Age 0-10

Meredith has basically the happiest childhood ever - mostly spent on Knowhere, surrounded by her doting family (Rocket is also her godfather and spoils her rotten), visiting earth often for holidays and to visit her grandpa/Pepper and Morgan.

From the top middle/left photos, Meredith clearly loves singing from an early age. 🥲 And regarding her cute little braid in the top right - I'm sure Nebula ends up loving to do Meredith's hair, since she never had the opportunity to do anything fun with her own before it was removed 😭 (And idk who the baby in the bottom corner is - maybe a fellow tiny Knowhere resident, now that Knowhere has become a safe and happy society thanks to Nebula's leadership)

Age 11

Key life moment: At age 11, Meredith spends her first week at an earth summer camp, shaves her head, and makes a group of human best friends! (aka it's Stranger Things time 😆)

So Meredith has grown up loving earth, since she visits it often and has grown up on earth movies, music, etc. And since she also loves singing, dancing, and movies (courtesy of her dad), when she turns 11, she asks her parents if she can go to some overnight theater/arts summer camp in Missouri. (She probably got the idea from watching Parent Trap or Camp Rock when it was on TV at grandpa Jason's house.) Nebula and Peter agree, and decide to hide her blue skin with some illusion technology. That way, she can blend in as a human at camp and experience an authentic earth summer camp, without any anti-alien discrimination.

The night before she leaves for camp, probably sleeping over at her grandpa's house, Meredith starts to get anxious about this whole thing - since it will be her first time being away from her parents on a different planet. Maybe she's calling her best friend on Knowhere and, while on the phone, the girls decide the best thing would be to channel Meredith's badass, brave mom by shaving her head. Meredith does it on a whim, to her parents' (mostly Nebula's) horror when they find out that night - but the damage is already done.

Fortunately, Peter helps Nebula work through the PTSD this triggers from the memories of her own hair being shaved when she was around Meredith's age. Basically, Peter helps Nebula remember that Thanos is gone, their daughter just shaved her head because she's a semi-dumb kid, and her hair will grow back. And by the time camp rolls around the next day, Meredith is excited for camp 🥰

Aaaaand surprise! She has literally the best time at camp and almost immediately becomes good friends with Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin (aka the main kids from Stranger Things)! I'm guessing the other campers steer clear of her at first because they think she has cancer, but the Party includes her right away. Fortunately, there's no Upside Down in this universe - just a group of adorable nerdy boys from Hawkins Middle School (who joined this summer camp because their parents made them) and their half-Luphomoid girl friend (even though they don’t find out until the end of camp, probably in some dramatic revelation right before the final performance lol).

At the end of camp, Meredith and the Party promise to stay in touch, and they stay close friends through middle/high school and beyond. 🥺 She visits them whenever she’s on earth to see her grandpa or Pepper and Morgan, and takes them to Knowhere for sleepovers. In that vein, imagining Dustin's reaction to going into space is adorable and hilarious.

Also, maybe the top right picture of Meredith hugging the older man is her with grandpa Jason (I'm so emotional at the thought of him getting to be a grandpa to a little kid again, who *isn't* stolen from him this time) and the bottom left one of her and the woman is maybe Meredith with one of her cool aunts (Gamora, Mantis, or Pepper).

Age 12

Top left photo: Meredith loves all animals (omg there are so many photos of MBB holding animals 😂), probably due to growing up with Rocket and Cosmo. Nebula could be the woman cuddling with Meredith on the top left photo, or kissing her in the bottom right. Just imagine her with no hair and blue skin lol.

Also, I think Morgan is in the matching pajamas picture (bottom row). I love the idea that Meredith and Morgan consider each other cousins (since neither have blood-related ones), and that Meredith grew up idolizing Morgan 😭 I'm so emotional about Tony and Nebula's relationship, as I imagine he was the first person outside of Gamora to show Nebula kindness and that he welcomed her into his family post-Snap. So Nebula has known and loved Morgan her whole life, and now the cycle gets to continue with Morgan loving Meredith her whole life 😭😭😭

Age 13

Continuing the Stranger Things vibes, in Meredith's third year at summer camp, she and Mike get together (as a Byler shipper, I assume they break up shortly after lol - but I'm happy Meredith gets a cute middle school romance) and she and Max become close friends. Millie and Sadie's friendship on and off-screen in ST season 3 is incredibly sweet and I love that Meredith gets to have a human girl bff in addition to all the boys.

Age 13

Look at the Partyyyyyy (ST season 3 vibes are truly immaculate)

Top middle photo: Of course, Meredith continues dancing and singing whenever she gets the chance 🥰

Top left-ish photo: Meredith and the Guardians totally get invited to Kevin Bacon's Oscars party at some point. The perks of growing up with people like Kevin Bacon as your family friend!

Age 14

Top left photo: (Ok Millie looks so much like Karen here wtf)

Top middle photos: I love the idea of Meredith finding her half-human/Luphomoid life hilarious and having fun with it, especially when she finds alien pop culture merch on earth. And of course she has a Bowie shirt!!! I assume the Bowie is reserved for GOTG business, but Rocket lets Meredith fly it around sometimes, as their little secret 🥰

Age 15

Bottom left pic: One Christmas, Aunt Mantis and Uncle Drax take Meredith hunting for festive lawn decor and tell her about that one time they kidnapped Kevin Bacon for a present...

Bottom middle pic: Meredith and Peter dancing together (maybe to "Come and Get Your Love") and making each other laugh is so precious it physically hurts my heart 😩

Age 16

Top left corner: Imagine David Harbour is Peter 🥲

...I'm.....fine 🥲

Top left-ish corner: I assume Meredith constantly drives Knowhere residents slightly crazy due to her love of blasting Taylor Swift (I assume she'll still be popular with teens in the 2030/40's lol) on the speakers and singing along.

Bottom left: Maybe grandpa Jason teaches Meredith to drive an earth car! I'm assuming he is quite old at this point and will probably die soon, but at least he gets some quality time teaching his great granddaughter to drive :')

Age 17

Top left corner: Okkkkkkk when I discovered that Millie and Lexie Rabe (Morgan Stark) did a movie together and have these adorable red carpet photos together, I just about died. Look at themmmmmm 😭😭😭😭 Tony and Nebula's little girls, together 😭😭😭

Also, the Enola Holmes photos in the bottom right corner are maybe from the same summer theater camp (since I assume she continues going every year), but a high school version of it, so the costumes and sets are nicer.

Age 18-19

And that brings us to today! After she turns 18, Meredith goes through some hair color experimentation, going from dark brown to blonde. And of course, I had to include the photos with MBB and Chris Pratt together over the years (?????!!!!!) on the bottom row. When I started this insane Meredith-headcanon journey, I had no idea they're actually doing a movie together - and am now stupidly excited for The Electric State and any promo Chris and Millie will hopefully do together for it next year 😍

I think 18-year-old Meredith decides to go to college on earth and become a vet or something, due to her love for animals. So she basically decides to permanently live on earth - though she has a ship, so she can easily travel around space whenever she wants. She dates Jake in college (MBB's actual fiance) but unlike Millie, she does not get engaged at age 19. 🙃 Sorry Millie lol.

And when Nebula and Peter eventually retire, they end up splitting their time between earth, Knowhere, and traveling around space. That's because Meredith eventually gets married and has some kids on earth, and I can't think of anything sweeter than an older Peter and Nebula getting to enjoy a chill retirement and being grandparents. Like omfg, I think it's truly the best. And something neither of them, especially Nebula, could have ever imagined during the first 30+ years of her life.

~~~~~~~~

Soooooo there's my headcanon-dump about Meredith Anthony Quill! It has brought me so much joy over the past few months to imagine this funny, sweet, adorable part-human/Luphomoid's life and how much she means to so many people, both on Knowhere and on earth. She grows up surrounded by family who have all lost so much throughout their lives, who will never take her for granted and will cherish every moment with her. Meredith's very existence is a sign of hope, love, and resilience overcoming loss, tragedy, and evil in the end. I honestly find it so profound to think about. 🥺

Anyway, if you got this far, congrats 😂 and I hope these peeks into my headcanons have brought you a little joy, too!

EDIT: After looking over this post again, I realized it was a total oversight to include several photos of N*ah Schn*pp and not include a disclaimer that I 100% oppose his recent Zionist and Islamophobic posts/likes/videos. 💔

[malvo-ish]

My entry for Starbula week Day two! ❤️💙

@starbulaweek 💜

[somewhere-on-knowhere]

Here it is! The overly long prequel to Loud Love.

For Day 6 of @starbulaweek

Day 6: Hurt/Comfort

[somewhere-on-knowhere]

This would make an amazing farce fanfic! :D

Starbula Week 2023

Day 1: Space Mission / First Date

This video is an inspiration for my mission/date/fake marriage headcanon 😄 Dunno when it happens timeline wise.

We all know how incredibly in-sync Peter and Nebula are when fighting... but what if their mission required them to use their wits?

Basically the Guardians are asked to help take down some sleazeball and they all agree that Peter and Nebula should pretend to be a married couple 🤭 Peter is like, "No one will ever believe THAT", which only fuels Nebula's resolve to prove him wrong (and because she is also incredibly hurt 😥 "Of course he doesn't want me as a wife, who would?") She decides to act like Nebula from "What If" and Peter's jaw hits the floor. All day long they have to pretend like they are indeed an actual couple (cue holding hands, kissing 🙊 because it's a serious business, they are undercover). Eventually Peter has to leave Nebula alone in a hotel room and she has to invite their victim in order to "seduce" him. Meanwhile Peter is listening in and watching and gets jealous 😜 and nearly ruins the mission by barging in before his cue. When it's finally time for him to come in he doesn't have to actually act like he is a jealous husband and his desire to beat up and/or kill the dude is totally real™.

Peter fakes his death and they successfully manage to scare the guy into confessing all of his sins. Mission accomplished.

But most importantly, Peter realizes his feelings for Nebula 😭 Only now the real drama starts because both of them think the other is a great actor and none of the moments that happened between them during that day were real. So they sulk and torture the rest of the Guardians with their shitty depressing attitudes until Mantis and Rocket take matters into their own hands and make those idiots see the light.

[starbula]

green is the colour

prompt: jealousy rating: T (discussions of adult activities) for @starbulaweek, day 3

“Is that Steemie sitting with Nebula?” Peter directed the question at Rocket, but his gaze didn’t move from Nebula’s table. 

The Guardians had finished a long and grueling mission earlier that day and had earned themselves a shipload of units in the process. Nobody on the team needed convincing when Peter suggested they all go out for drinks to celebrate. 

Rocket looked over Peter’s shoulder, “It sure is. Good for Nebs.”

Peter turned back to face Rocket, “What does that mean?”

“It means Steemie is a good lookin’ guy and Nebs deserves a little fun.” Rocket signaled the bartender for another drink. 

Peter’s eyes widened and he glanced back towards Nebula. “No, that can’t be right. They barely know each other and Neb–” But he cut himself off when he saw Nebula place her hand on Steemie’s thigh. “Oh, I think I’m going to be sick.”

Rocket hadn’t really been paying attention, “What’s the matter with you? Too many shots?” When there was no response, he glanced over and saw that Peter was shooting daggers towards Nebula’s table. Confused, he followed Peter’s gaze to where Nebula’s hand was then back to Peter’s balled up fists. 

Oh. Oh. Now he understood.

“Y’know if you wanted to get freaky with Nebs I’m sure you could just ask her.”

Peter’s head snapped back to look at Rocket, and started sputtering, “What, no– that is not at all– I do not want to–” 

Rocket was laughing now. “So you’re not bein’ a jealous dope? My bad.” 

“Jealous? Of what? Nebula and Steemie? Ha!” Peter took a sip of his drink, trying to sound confident. “Nebula can do whatever she wants. It's none of my business."

“Gotcha. So, it wouldn’t bother you at all if Nebs and Steemie were sneakin’ out of the bar together right now?” Rocket questioned, looking pointedly over Peter’s shoulder. 

Peter nearly dropped his drink, whipping his head around towards Nebula’s table. But, Nebula and Steemie were still sitting there, nowhere near the exit. 

Peter turned back to Rocket and glared at him. Rocket was doubled over in laughter. “You shoulda seen the look on your face, Pete.” He was wheezing now. “You got it bad. How’ve I never noticed this before?” 

With Rocket’s laughter growing louder, Peter put his face in his hands and groaned.

☆

[starbula]

doing just fine

prompt: space mission rating: T (mentions of violence) for @starbulaweek, day 1

"I can handle these morons, go help Mantis."

A group of pissed off Kree had boarded the Bowie looking for a fight, and the Guardians were happy to give them one.

"Are you sure?" Peter said, while dodging a punch. He glanced around the room, counting seven Kree.

Nebula turned her head towards Peter and glared, while her mechanical arm blasted one of the "morons" in the face.

"Okay, okay! I'm going!"

—

Peter came running back into the room where he left Nebula half an hour earlier, guns raised, ready to help.

He came to a halt. Nebula was fighting the last two Kree, the bodies of the others scattered around the room. Her movements were so fluid and precise, that Peter could only look on in awe.

The final Kree body landed on the floor with a thud.

"Get that dopey look off your face." Her mechanical arm reformed into a hand, and she brushed off her suit as she walked past Peter towards the exit.

Peter snapped out of his trance, "What look? There was no look." Now following after her, "I'm just happy you're on our side now."

Nebula looked over her shoulder at him and winked.

☆

[carterlnb]

Nebula & Peter I BELIEVE IN THE LOVE THAT YOU GAVE ME

Notes:

This video content follows the plot of the movie.

BGM: Badlands. The last song in the movie.

There are a lot of Nebula/Peter related songs throughout the movie, and I choose Badlands as BGM because I thought it is Peter's inner confession at the end of the movie.

There were a lot of lyrics that fit perfectly, so I subtitled the lyrics.

Due to the length of the song, many details and hints were left out.

There are many details that require interpretation and analysis to be seen, so they are also discarded.

Peter's emotions are shown more than Nebula's, and there are more scenes. This also makes Peter's love for Nebula very obvious.

I was amused by Peter's behavior when he was caught peeking at Nebula.

I'm new to video editing, I tried my best, hope you like it.

The relationship between Nebula and Peter is the most important relationship in the entire GOTG trilogy. That is all I want to say.

Happy Quebula/Starbula week! I don't know which prompt to choose for my video.Sorry😂

[starbula]

maybe we make a deal

prompt: free day rating: T for @starbulaweek, day 7

The Guardians were on Contraxia, tracking some valuable information for their latest mission. Nebula was working a target, but she was getting frustrated. Peter’s eyes had not left her in hours and he kept popping in on her radio comm with "helpful" comments. 

Her target was an idiot, but even they were going to notice something soon enough. She needed to shut this down before it got out of hand. 

Excusing herself to the restroom, Nebula jumped on comms. “Peter, get your ass over to my location now.” 

Nebula watched as Peter made his way to her. As soon as he was within reach, she grabbed his arm and hauled him into a nearby closet. 

“What’s the matter with you?” She was trying to keep her emotions in check. “Are you trying to blow this entire mission?”

“The target is a scumbag.” Peter huffed. 

“No shit. If you haven’t noticed, we’re on Contraxia. This whole place is crawling with scumbags.”

“Yeah, but the others aren’t manhandling you.” Peter countered.

Nebula was starting to realize what was going on. She glared at Peter, “You do not need to protect me. I’m fully capable of handling this.” 

“I know that, but-” 

Nebula cut him off. “But nothing. You don’t get to act like this just because we’re dating.” 

Pete’s voice softened, “I know I don’t, but I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt.”

Nebula sighed and placed her hand on his cheek. “Peter, I can’t promise you that I’m never going to get hurt, but I need to be able to do my job.” 

She rubbed her thumb over his cheek. “Can I trust that you’ll leave me alone out there to do my job. A job that I’m very good at?”

Peter leaned in for a kiss, “Yes, ma’am.

☆

[awesomegalaxysavior]

Starbula Week Day 4 Parents

@starbulaweek

Thanks to the song Guardians Inferno and opening scene for GOTG VOL 2, I can picture Peter and Nebula being forced to bring their son to a mission that goes wrong and now they have to play toss and catch with their baby.

"Baby!" He nonchalantly tossed his 8-month-old child to Drax, narrowly evading the incoming energy blast. The Destroyer deftly caught the baby, securing him against his massive chest as he rolled and, with a swift, powerful move, used his shoulders to tackle a group of Saakaran soldiers to the ground.

Zed, the baby, giggled in delight. The chaos of battle seemed to have no impact on him. If anything, it was like having a playdate with his parents, uncles, and aunts— even though bringing a baby into a battle was both illegal and highly irresponsible.

Drax roared in triumph, his laughter ringing out. "Did you enjoy that, little Quill? Let's tear someone's spine out!"

"Drax, if I see a single drop of blood on my child, I'll personally ensure your spine is ripped out," Nebula warned through the comms, Peter repeating her words.

"When my daughter was this small, she helped me slay a beast and her clothes got stained with its blood like a true warrior!—Haaaaaaa!" Zed's laughter rang out again as Drax lifted a soldier off his face, held him aloft, and then unceremoniously dropped him to the ground, bones cracking in the process.

“That doesn’t sound credible at all” Rocket commented.

"Hey, Glowing Gilt!" Peter yelled as he bopped a guy on the head with the back of his blaster, narrowly dodging a punch from another assailant. "Get the kid before Drax turns MY Baby into a bloodbath!"

"You two are growing soft! Groot was raised like this and turned out just fine!"

"I am Groot!"

"Oh, really? Shall I remind you when he got arrested by Nova Corps for blowing up an ice cream truck?"

"I am Groot!"

"I've never killed an innocent civilian over ice cream!"

"The baby's airborne!" Kraglin interjected, and both parents watched in horror as their son descended toward the ground.

"Oh, hell!" Peter powered through another group of soldiers, using his jet boots to boost himself towards his firstborn. Nebula, however, reached their son first, gracefully cradling him in her arms.

"Oh, Hala!" Peter breathed out, his heart lodged in his throat. Yeah, next time, they were definitely hiring a babysitter, or someone would have to stay behind.

[starbula]

taking the steps

prompt: hurt rating: T (mentions of alcohol) for @starbulaweek, day 6

“Go away, Quill.”

She knew that was rude, but Tony’s funeral was harder than she thought it would be, and she just wanted to be alone. Quill had been hounding her about Gamora for the past week, but she did not have the mental energy to deal with that today.

Quill ignored her request. “I saw you leave, and you looked–” he hesitated. “I wanted to see if you were okay.”

Nebula scoffed, “I’m fine. Can you go now?”

Quill was quiet for a moment. “You know, it’s okay to not be fine,” he said softly. 

“Why do you care?” Nebula was skeptical. 

“Rocket seems to care about you, and I care about Rocket.” Quill started, “So, welcome to the gang. We look after each other, and I’m gonna be honest, you look like you’re hurting.” 

Nebula didn’t know what to say to that. She had very few interactions with Quill since he returned, but she had been learning to open up to people since the Blip. Maybe some company wouldn’t be awful. 

“I’m not going to spill my guts to you.” Nebula conceded. 

“That’s fine. C’mon, let’s drink away our sorrows. There’s gotta be some alcohol around here somewhere.”

☆

[awesomegalaxysavior]

Starbula Day 6 Comfort

@starbulaweek

I know, im really late to the sixt day but we didn't have energy in my neighborhood all weekend, therefore I had no internet nor phone so... here's my drabble for the sixth day.

Peter often hummed his favorite songs when he felt down. Nebula noticed this habit after they won the final battle on Earth and started living with the Guardians. Although his voice would occasionally drop in pitch and sound a bit rough, with a few off-key notes, she found it calming and enjoyable to listen to. They all snuggled together in his room on Earth. She and the Guardians came to Earth because his grandpa was hospitalized due to a heart attack and is set for surgery later tonight. Although the man is in good condition, the doctor cautioned that it is still a dangerous procedure. At 96 years old, many things could go wrong. Peter had been stressed and worried ever since.

Had she been there at the time of the news, she might have broken the doctor's bones for adding stress to his already anxious state.

He'd only been on Earth for a few months and now he was faced with the threat of losing his grandpa.

She closed her eyes and stroked Peter's curly hair. Listening to the reverberations on her chest as he hummed the melody of 'Ooh Child'. Personally, she found the song rather slow, but with Peter's singing voice, she was starting to like it.

She still felt awkward being as soft and caring as she was at the moment. A voice in her head told her it was weakness, but with the Guardians, with Peter, she'd learned that it wasn't weakness to let herself feel.

So she stroked Peter's wavy hair and let it go, while his head rested on her chest and his arm encircled her waist. At this moment, as he had been for her in the past months, she was his refuge, his safety blanket and anchor.

As Peter drifted off to sleep, she hummed along.

[starbula]

Felis catus

prompt: parents rating: G (except for a tiny profanity at the beginning) for @starbulaweek, day 4

“This is bullshit. She’s my cat.”

Peter was whining again. This was becoming a daily conversation and Nebula was growing bored of it. “It’s really not my fault, and for the record, she’s our cat. Just because you found her doesn’t make her yours.” 

Peter glared at the cat in question, who was curled up in Nebula’s lap, purring loudly. Too loudly, if you asked Peter. The cat was mocking him, he was sure of it. 

Peter grumpled, “She was playing with me for the past hour, but as soon as you show up I’m chopped liver.”

Nebula smiled down at the cat and scratched between its ears. Peter could have sworn he heard her whisper “Good girl”. 

“I can’t help it if I’m her favourite parent.” Nebula said, “maybe you should try being nicer to her.”

“Nicer? I found her on Earth and gave her a home. I feed her every day and clean out her litter–and let me tell you that girl can do some pretty big things for her small size.” Peter made a gagging noise. 

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Nebula was laughing now, “If it’s any consolation, I’m 75% sure Cosmo likes you.”

☆