#the star child speaks

[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]

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]

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]

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]

Your middle name is Grant, you useless bisexual

Bro kept talking about how the 6 other super soldiers were the strongest people to ever exist (stronger than him) but he literally just takes one down using one fist and 3 hits

[mentalmeles]

Well. While the brain rot has me, I wanna talk about some lines in ‘Trust Love’ that have been bothering me lately. Mostly how they blatantly reference Penny and how she just might return once more.

Yes, it’s that kind of Penny posting. If you don’t subscribe to the Penny 3.0 theory or think she should stay dead, please carry on and let me have my silly little thoughts in peace. Also this is 100% Nuts and Dolts propaganda. I will not apologize.

ANYWAY! Onto the lyrics!

Right now, your hopes are shattered / Just pointless ever after

This line obviously talks about the loss of hope. Penny, time and again, has been the character to symbolize hope. The most obvious time this has been done was during Jinxy’s auction in Volume 9.

Ruby is inexplicably drawn to the jade marionette, which we all know turns out to be one of Penny’s swords. (And ofc let’s not forget that weapons are considered an extension of their owners in this world.)

Without knowing why, Ruby wants it and tries to wager for it. But Jinxy asks for something in particular—something Ruby has lost.

“Enough hope to fill [a] jar.”

I also want to point out that the pov making it look like the jade marionette is fitting inside the jar as well as the star charm tied around the top are not at all coincidences. This is the show telling us point blank that Penny is the personification of hope. Or at least Ruby’s hope.

But Ruby just lost her. She has no hope left.

But in time, you'll find / Through love, your power just shines

(I felt the need to put this gif here since it is exactly what plays during these lines in the Volume 7 intro, so let’s just sit and think about the implications of that for a moment. Cool? Cool.)

When you don't know where to turn to / And you're sure all hope is gone / When the day you waited for won't come / And dark won't yield to dawn / Trust love and open up your eyes

Now these lines are what get me. They talk about Ruby losing hope and direction, caught in darkness. Now, while this is the intro song for Volume 7, it’s clear that Ruby has not lost her hope yet. If anything, she just got a big chunk of it back.

And I’d argue that even In Volume 8 when shit has hit the fan and it just keeps coming and coming, Ruby hasn’t lost her resolve yet. There are definitely moments when she comes very, very close to it and she falters, but she does end up maintaining it for the most part.

(I can't find it, but imagine the gif where Ruby is looking down at Penny's unconscious body and is tearing up while saying "It's all...too much." Wow. Such a pretty gif.)

(It's also funny how these moments where Ruby's doubts are the strongest are taking place when Penny is seriously wounded and incapacitated, now isn't it? Surely that's just a funny coincidence...)

But then she and the rest of team RWBY fall into the Ever After and, after learning about Penny's second death, Ruby's mental state just falls deeper and deeper.

But then the lyrics tell Ruby that all she has to do during this dark and harrowing moment is to 'trust love.' Who's love is she supposed to trust? The song has been relating to keeping hope up till now, so it's not a stretch to say that she's supposed to trust the love she had for Penny, platonic or otherwise.

Trust love, the truth is there, but sometimes in disguise

These lines are certainly interesting when put into the context that they're also related to Penny somehow. Personally, all I can think of is when Penny transferred the Winter Maiden powers to Winter. I'm definitely not the first to mention this, but it's awfully suspicious that the aura glow was yellow and not green, isn't it? Sure, there were motes of green, but that isn't what happened when Fria gave Penny the powers previously. So why the change? Unless the truth, while there, is disguised. The truth is that Penny is dying and giving up her power, but it's disguised somehow...

The way's uncertain but we're together / Movin' toward the light / When we trust in love and open up our eyes

Mention of Ruby being together with someone. Obviously, this could just be referring to team RWBY or the whole group being together, united under the mission of saving Remnant from Salem. But, again, when mostly every other line has been tied to hope--and by extension Penny--, it's hard to believe it's talking about that. So, maybe a reunion with a certain someone that hasn't happened yet? A reunion that will bring Ruby back towards the light--towards regaining her hope--once and for all? I mean, if Ruby's character arc in the second Justice League crossover movie is where her arc will go in the show proper, it's not too far of a stretch.

(The reason I mention the Justice League crossover movies is because Ruby's arc in the first movie was very reminiscent to the arc she had about her leadership role in Volumes 7 and 8. So, since she became very self sacrificing in that movie, diving headfirst into mission after mission with no regard to her safety, maybe that's what will happen in Volume 10 too? Maybe having the potential of getting Penny back will be the thing to make her stop?)

Anyways... I don't know if any of this really made any sense and I might just be rambling nonsense, but yeah. Some things that I noticed and felt the need to shout out into the ether.

Thanks for reading!

[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

[starch1ldz]

Y/n: no one actually thinks me and Spencer are dating.

Emily: Raise your hand if you think Spencer and Y/n are dating

The entire team including Spencer raising their hands.

Y/n: Spencer Walter Reid put your hand down.

[mentalmeles]

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

🚨URGENT DISTRESS CALL

I am a mother of 5 children from Gaza. I lost my husband, my home, and everything I own in the war. I am writing to you with full pain and hope that you will heed my call and save my family.📍🍉🍉💔😭😭

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

This is our house that was destroyed by the occupation😭😭😭���💔🍉

This is our source of livelihood, but the occupation burned and destroyed it and we became without income😭😭💔🍉📍

This tent we live in is not fit for human habitation.🍉🍉📍💔💔😭

“Help me survive and go home 🏠💔”

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

The situation is very difficult, and with my family who needs support to survive in these harsh conditions. Every donation, no matter how small, may be the difference that helps us provide food and shelter💔💔😭😭🍉📍

@fly-sky-high-09 @awetistic-things @imjustheretotrytohelp @riding-with-the-wild-hunt @wellsbering @blomstermjuk @innovatorbunny @operationladybug @acehimbo @butch-king-frankenstein @butchjeremyfragrance @ohjinyoungblr @rememberthelaughter2016 @parfaithaven @huznilal-blog @saintverse @bagofbonesmp3 @anneemay-blog @ankle-beez @thatsonehellofabird @sunidentifiables @neechees

@maester-cressen @lampsbian @sundung @shinydreamtacoprune-blog @rob-os-17 @brokenbackmountain @unwinni3 @whateveroursoulsaremadeoff @cultreslut @halfbloodfanboy @pontaoski @fei-huli @elbiotipo @selkiebrides @bloodandgutsyippee @wherethatoldtraingoes2 @ibtisams-blog @ap-kinda-lit @frigidwife @vetted-gaza-funds @gazagfmboost @nabulsi27

[mentalmeles]

Every now and then I just get smacked in the face with Penny Polendina feels and all I can think about is how much I hope she’s revived again because her character arc was so far from finished and I want to know the meaning of all the Bumbleby and Nuts and Dolts parallels and all the references to her not really being gone in Volume 9 and why they had Winter say that one line the way she did in the epilogue and…. Yeah.

I am totally normal 👍

[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

[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]

Spencer smiling down at his phone

Morgan: So, who's the lucky girl??

Spencer: ... Who said it was a girl?

Morgan: Pause, rewind, WHAT?

[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.

[mentalmeles]

The Hunger Games fandom, getting yet another book:

Meanwhile, The Underland Chronicles fandom:

[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.