#the star child speaks

[mentalmeles]

Suddenly thinking about a recovering Bucky Barnes.

His brain was obviously heavily damaged due to all the times he was given electroshocks to forget, but do you think he had any other issues besides memory displacement and memory loss? Seizures? Tics? Stuttering? Tremors? Headaches? Chronic fatigue? Not to mention his PTSD from everything that happened to him while he was under Hydra’s control and from the war itself. I’m willing to bet Hydra hardly fed him or let him sleep (the closest he could ever get was being put under). I also can’t imagine all the kinds of drugs they also would’ve given him to keep him more compliant and submissive, so there’s withdrawal symptoms to consider, too.

When he’s eventually in a place to actually take care of himself/be taken care of, I imagine his serum would finally be able to catch up and heal some of the damage, rather than just doing the bare minimum and keeping him functioning. But it obviously wouldn’t heal everything. He still forgets, still sometimes wakes up and thinks it’s WW2 or is startled to find that Steve is no longer small. Sometimes he loses the light in his eyes and asks what his mission is and insists that he’s ready to comply. Sometimes he doesn’t speak for days. Sometimes all he can do is lay in bed with the lights turned off and the curtains closed, leaving him in total darkness as his head aches and aches..

But he loses his stutter over time, unless he’s particularly overwhelmed or his thoughts are just too fast for his mouth to keep up with. He doesn’t tic as much. He no longer eyes all possible exits or keeps hidden weapons on him all the time. He remembers his childhood and his family. He has an appetite again. He opens himself up to others. He smiles and teases and laughs. He is able to love and allows himself to be loved.

Bucky Barnes’ mother had always said he was a resilient kid. And, these days, he’s so glad that she was right.

[mentalmeles]

So. Let's pretend this is from some sort of AU where Steve jumped after Bucky once he fell, successfully rescued him, they both ended up on the Valkyrie, but still ended up crashing into the Atlantic and being frozen together before getting thawed out--

"Everything special about you came out of a bottle."

In another time, in another life, Bucky might've simply pulled Steve away and told him Stark wasn't worth it. He would've told him he was just another bully that was better off forgotten. But Bucky's blood was suddenly boiling and, before he even realized it, he was moving. Steve's eyes flickered towards him, confused, before Bucky roughly grabbed Stark's shoulder, whipped him around, and punched him.

Hard.

Stark immediately staggered back, clutching at his nose. Bucky spared a moment to lament the loss of his left arm. If he still possessed it, he was sure he would've thrown a punch hard enough to have knocked Stark out cold. Still, it was almost worth it to see the expression of absolute bewilderment on his face as blood began to leak through his fingers.

Bucky then stepped in between him and Steve and began to glare daggers into Stark. His entire body buzzed with anticipation for a fight and he immediately wished he had one of his knives.

"Say that again, pal," he growled. "I fuckin' dare you."

Can we all just take a moment to imagine what Bucky would have done if he heard Tony tell Steve “Everything special about you came out of a bottle” 

[mentalmeles]

Was listening to Star Spangled Man With a Plan (as one does) and it got me thinking about Steve during his USO tours--mainly Steve and his relationship with the USO girls.

At first, the USO girls are all business and are only polite to Steve when they have to be. They're not cold to him, but they're not particularly friendly or warm either. They just stay in their lane and he stays in his. Maybe, after a bit of time, one or two of em decide to test their luck and flirt with Steve, but he declines their advances every time. (I know that the MCU says it's canon that Steve lost his virginity to one of em or something like that, but I'm actively choosing to ignore that he had sex with any of em at all lmao)

But then, after doing a handful of tours, one of the USO girls decides 'fuck it' and decides to throw Steve a bone;

"Can you help me zip up my outfit?" She asks.

Steve flounders a bit at first, but she assures him that she doesn't mean anything by it. She only wants his help. She's letting him help. So, he does. Suddenly, from that moment on, the majority of the USO girls begin to ask Steve for help too--whether it be for their outfits, their hair, or their makeup. Maybe it's because they've realized he's not going to try anything. Maybe they've realized just how lonely he really is. So, over time, they begin to let him in on their card games, their smoke breaks (even though Steve himself doesn't smoke, since it doesn't do anything for him now, anyway), and talks about home. They even teach him some dances and acrobatics. Eventually, Steve gets comfortable enough to tell them about Bucky. He tries not to say too much, lest he give away the true depth of their relationship. He's not the best at lying, so he speaks in half truths. He's always very careful. He has to be, after all.

But then, maybe, one of em figures it out anyway.

"You're sweet on him, aren't you? Your friend?" She asks. It's the girl who first asked for his help. The one who first let him in.

And Steve is so fucking scared all of a sudden. He doesn't know how she figured it out. He thought he'd been hiding it well. He had been so careful. So careful. Fuck, what will he do if she tells people? If she tells people what he is, it's all over. They'll send him home and he'll lose his one actual chance of potentially getting out on the field and helping Bucky. And Bucky... If word somehow gets to the army... What will they do to Bucky?

But then, suddenly, she drops another bombshell;

"I have a girl back home," she says quietly. "I had a feeling you were in the same boat as me, what with the way your eyes look every time you talk about him. Her eyes do the same thing when she talks about me. Everyone back home thinks she's just my best friend. But she's worth a helluva lot more than that."

Steve can only stare at her. For a moment he wonders if she's lying, but everything about her--all the way down to her voice, her expression, and posture--tells him that she's being honest. He gives a broken laugh, suddenly feeling very, very small.

"Yeah. Yeah, he is too. Worth a helluva lot more to me than just a friend, I mean..."

She nods. "Does anyone else know?"

"I think one of his sisters might. But, other than that, it's just you." He pauses. "What's her name?"

"Hilda. I call her Hildie."

"That's right. You've mentioned her a couple times... She sounds wonderful."

"She is." She pauses for a moment before speaking again. "You know, you can talk to me about him. Whenever you want or need. People like us...we gotta stick together, ya know?"

Suddenly, Steve doesn't feel like he's talking to a friendly coworker. He feels like he's talking to a friend.

So, he gives her one of his increasingly rare smiles, real and warm. "I think I'd like that," he says. "Thank you."

[mentalmeles]

Gifset I just reblogged got me thinking.. What would’ve happened if Steve had been the one to get dusted instead of Bucky?

Like. Imagine Bucky taking up the mantle of Captain America during those 5 years as a way to give the world some much needed hope. But there’s also that big part of him that’s simply doing it for himself—to feel as close as he can to Steve, in any way he can. Plus, if he were to stop moving and allow himself a moment, he’d surely break apart. And he can’t have that. He can’t. But then, when everyone is finally brought back, Bucky gives the title back to Steve, only for Steve to promptly give the title to Sam. And then, much to Bucky’s joy, Steve chooses to retire with him (instead of some dumb ooc decision to stay in the past)

Are there fics of this? I feel like there should be fics of this

[mentalmeles]

Do y'all ever think abt the fact that Steve wouldn't have been allowed to see his mom as she was dying of TB? That his mom probably would've told all the doctors and nurses--her coworkers--to not let her son see her, because of his asthma and myriad of other illnesses? That she would've never allowed the possibility of him also getting TB to happen, because she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would've killed him (not that it could've, but would've)?

Do y'all ever think abt how much that must've torn Steve up inside? That he couldn't be there to support his mom, despite all the hardships and struggles she must've faced to raise him? Despite how much he must've loved her?

Do ya'll ever think that maybe Bucky went to visit her in Steve's place, since he was so much stronger and healthier? That he might've been there when she died? That he might've been the one to give Steve the news?

Asking for a friend--

[mentalmeles]

£202 raised out of £100K target! Less than 1%!!

🚨URGENT DISTRESS CALL

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This is my family of 6 people and we now live in a tent💔💔🍉

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“Help me survive and go home 🏠💔”

My campaign is protected on gofundme for a year 🍉🍉📍📍🚨

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[dalvs-wife]

all i'm saying is that one of them probably had to carry clover's body to that coffin in the castle

edit: read the first tag, thank you

[mentalmeles]

Since today is a very special someone’s birthday, my head is full of Thoughts, so please consider: Steve’s very first time celebrating Bucky’s birthday

Itty bitty Steve absolutely buzzing with excitement over finally, finally, having a friend. And not only that, but his friend had just invited him to his own birthday dinner! He can barely contain his joy when he tells his ma. Together they manage to scrounge up enough money to get Steve’s new friend a gift and he simply can’t wait.

And, oh, the anticipation in Steve’s voice when he finally hands the gift over and all but whispers, “Happy birthday, Bucky.”

Bucky’s eyes shining so, so brightly when he receives his present. He quickly opens it, not even entertaining the idea of waiting until after dinner. And then those eyes of his grow so big when his gift is finally revealed—a pulp comic he’d been looking forward to for ages now. He’d had his heart set on buying it as soon as he could after its release, telling Steve all about it in the meantime.

He smiles wide, exposing the gap where he lost a baby tooth the other day, before flinging himself into Steve’s arms.

“Thank you, Stevie!!”

[keferon]

May I ask what were the best transformers media you ever saw/read?

Well Transformers Prime, Transformers 1986 and IDW comics are having the first place that’s for sure

And then the second place is kind of shared by Fall of Cybertron, Exodus, Prime wars trilogy, Robots in disguise(2001) and Transformers One.

The third place goes to G1, Animated, Earthspark, Armada, War for Cybertron Netflix series, Aligned Robots in disguise, Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts and Cyberverse because I only liked some little parts of them.

And then I also saw some of the Bay movies, Victory and Headmasters and didn’t like them at all.

Separate first place for J-Decker. It is not exactly Transformers but it is a show about giant robots and I loved it

[self-made-purgatories]

(x)

[mentalmeles]

“…it’s kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience.”

Oh, you’re looking for shared life experience, huh?

Like growing up in the Great Depression? Being discriminated against, whether it be bc you’re the son of an Irish immigrant and disabled or Jewish? Being thrown into a world war, whether it be by choice or force? Being experimented on until your body is no longer your own? Being used as propaganda? ‘Dying’ in a frozen environment? Only to be brought back, whether it be once or over and over and over again? No longer recognizing the world around you? Feeling so completely and utterly out of place that if you stop to think about it for one single moment, you’re sure to break?

That kind of life experience, Steve?

[mentalmeles]

Don't forget your daily clicks as well at arab.org!!

if anyone has money to spare for donations, im forwarding more links for palestinian aid

CareforGaza is a nonprofit that provides direct aid to Palestine, and you can donate directly here

Operation Olive Branch is a document that lists evacuating families that need assistance, which gives information on the families, the urgency, and tracks the progress of their fundraisers

eSims for Gaza lists very clear instructions on how to purchase e-sims to keep them connected, they are urgently in demand

Here is a project that distributes feminine hygiene kits directly to Gaza

Mutual Aid Diabetes has channels set up for you to donate insulin and medication to diabetics in Gaza, as well as lists fundraisers for diabetics seeking to evacuate

please keep sharing and adding links on this site, please add more if i'd missed any, and please don't stop talking about Palestine.

[rubberduckyrye]

Okay in all seriousness. There's something that I REALLY want to talk about as an open discussion with the fandom, but. This is not going to be a very nice thing to hear/talk about.

It's about how Gonta is treated by the fandom.

As a fan of all the V3 characters now, and as someone who has always been a fan of Gonta, and as someone who has many mental disabilities and two diagnosed neurodivergancies... I'm tired of playing nice about it.

You all need to stop being ableist towards Gonta.

I've mentioned in the past that I don't like shitting on personal interpretations. I don't like saying something is or is not canon because narration is just a big web of text that you try to decipher with your own personal biases, experiences, and thoughts. That's why two literary analysts analyzing the same text with the same literary criticism rules can come to wildly different conclusions--why people develop different headcanons from the same canonical information.

But one of the things that challenged my integrity is just how many people view Gonta as this innocent, naive, ignorant, baby boy who can do no harm/never has a complicated/dirty/violent/sexual thought in his life ever.

This incredibly ableist interpretation of the character bothered me for, well, obvious reasons (See: It's fucking ableist, need I say more?) but I never challenged it as harshly as I am now because to be frank, it's not my place to tell people how to HC a character. It still isn't. But I've pretty much given up on my integrity on the subject and have decided to go all in on discussing why this interpretation of Gonta is just. Really bad.

First of all, not to promote my own analyses here or anything, but I think this analysis I did of Gonta explains a LOT in regards to the ableism the cast gives him in canon. I also think that this subtle ableism is why the fandom is so bad with Gonta's characterization in headcanons and fanfic--because they've seen how the cast treats him, and they think it's normal. They don't see the microaggressions, they don't see the subtle ableism in the cast--they just see this big giant idiot who speaks like Tarzan in the English version (which... I don't actually know why people assume Tarzan (Thinking of Disney's version) is stupid. Like as a boy he had to reinvent the spear with no one to guide him on how to do it. He was able to strategize and outsmart "civilized" men in the final showdown. Still I digress) and don't see the literal genius behind his social awkwardness.

There is also another very important point I'm going to make in addition to this, and it's going to be very uncomfortable to Gonta fans who insist he's nothing but a sweet baby who only has pure thoughts. Especially to the fans who insist he "can't be sexual" or think it's weird to ship him with his peers.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but... Gonta blatantly has sexual desire and gets horny right in canon.

This is further clarified here:

It wasn't a matter of Gonta didn't want to touch her because touching someone in their underwear was inappropriate, or being flustered because she was in her underwear which is inappropriate...

It was literally a "weird feeling" that made him unable to approach her or touch her. A "weird feeling" that Miu makes pretty obvious as to what it was--sexual arousal.

He literally was sexually attracted to and felt sexual arousal from looking at Miu in her underwear. He had sexual feelings and thoughts about Miu. Why?

Because Gonta is a young man.

Gonta is a brilliant, talented young man who has normal human thoughts for someone his age--sexual desires, upsetting thoughts, complicated thoughts, ectect. He is not a child, he is not mentally stunted (I've been informed that people have literally said this on Ao3 for the NSFW Gonta fics, please for the love of god stop that)

I think the reason why Gonta fans typically want to keep him as a "pure baby child who can do no wrong" is because treating him like the young adult that he is makes it harder for them to justify Chapter 4. Every time I've seen a Gonta fan that hates Kokichi, it's always followed by the sentiment of "Kokichi manipulated and abused Gonta into killing Miu, so it's all Kokichi's fault." They're afraid of nuance and liking a character with the grey morality of genuinely thinking Mercy Killing the cast is a viable option, because it challenges their own morals about the character they adore.

To those people who read this and are upset: You can and should like Gonta! Gonta is a magnificent character who showcases the subtle way microaggressions can manifest and hurt people, he's a good-hearted person and a literal genius, he cares deeply for his friends and loves everyone with upmost sincerity.

But.

You need to re-evaluate your stance on Gonta if you think he's a stupid, naive fool who Kokichi manipulated. You need to re-evaluate why you think those thoughts, why you think Gonta being shipped with anyone is "Kinda weird" or "has weird consent problems" or "give you the ick." You have to challenge yourself and ask yourself uncomfortable questions in regards to why you treat Gonta like a child when canon has proven otherwise, why you think he cannot have violent or sexual thoughts, why he can't think mercy killing his class is the only way to save them.

This isn't an attack on you--but understand that these specific takes on Gonta? They are ableist in nature. They belittle and dismiss him, they treat him like a child, an idiot who can't think for himself--and you have to come to terms with the fact that Gonta is a far more complex character with complicated thoughts and feelings who is a young adult. Not a child. A young adult.

So again, ask yourself this: Why are you treating this young adult like he's a toddler?

[starch1ldz]

Spider!Reid origin goes from

S2 Spence

To boy band Reid and I stand by that

[raviola-triggers]

Role swap AU designs (and some minor details about them) inspired by this post right here that got me brainrotting for the past five hours.

[sciderman]

Yk, I hate that adaptations keep making Peter a high schooler, and not just because it means he never evolves, but because the adaptations now also include wider Marvel, whitch usually (thanks to the MCU) is at the modern day stage with legacy characters and new age teen heroes, meaning that Peter is taking up Miles' spot and you can really tell when they put him next to someone like Kamala Khan or Sam Alexander who are Miles' pals. Tho Peter taking Miles' stuff is just a modern issue overall, just look at MCU whitch just stole and re-skinned Miles' personality, characters, story-beats, even the costume to an extent and then made it worse.

agree 👏