#HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN...

[buckydeservesthebest]

*New Bucky theory on Thunderbols*

Ok, now that a few days have passed and I'm thinking things through more calmly, and also because of Seb's comment “he's a little bit of Bucky and a little bit of the Winter Soldier”. I think I came up with a theory that doesn't include mind control, but could explain what's going on with our boy, keeping him in the character Marvel has shown us for 13 years...

I think first of all, Bucky is being forced by the government to work for them, and that's why he's a congressman, which otherwise wouldn't make sense. And let's remember that this is Ross' new government, the same asshole who wanted to have the Avengers under his control, the same one who said Bruce's body is government property, the same one who resents enhanced people, and the same one who didn't care about Bucky's innocence in CW, scoffing at the idea that he might have a legal defense.

His new government no doubt could have modified the conditions of Bucky's pardon, consisting now of having to do compulsory service for them and him being obligated to do only what they allow him to do. Doesn't that sound familiar to the Sokovia Accords Ross insisted on so much? This would explain the court scene in the trailer. Because no, that wasn't a congressional meeting scene as many thought, Bucky is in a courtroom, almost identical to the courtroom scene in Iron Man 2.

I think in addition to the modifications to Bucky's conditional pardon, there could be another type of blackmail, such as the government threatening him to pursue charges against those who helped him and Steve escape in CW and who Cap broke out of The Raft, ergo the remaining living members of team Cap: Sam, Clint and Scott.

Being how cynical the government is, and more so Ross's, I totally see this coming. I also absolutely see the emotional blackmail coming, something along the lines of “you worked for the bad guys, if you really want to repair the damage you caused to society, now get the bad guys”. They know full well Bucky still feels guilty about what he was forced to do as the Winter Soldier, though of course he's an innocent victim in all of that, and they're using that to manipulate him.

And there is no doubt Yelena, John, Ghost and Taskmaster are bad guys in the eyes of the law, 'cause well, literally they are criminals, who have done nothing but take dirty works as job for a living. And the government could have drilled it into Bucky's head that they are a threat to society and their freedom puts the lives of innocents at risk, which isn't too far from the truth to be honest.

I'm sure Bucky would prefer to take more of an arrest approach, and not a final elimination as such. Just like in TFATWS, when he plotted the arrest of Senator Atwood and the Flag Smashers. But if it is now the government/congress itself who ordered Bucky to capture/eliminate the TBs, and I suspect also the paramilitary group that was pursuing them, he could not resort to police intervention, because the mission itself is not one of arrest, and because the police work for the same government.

So, if Bucky is being coerced by the government, and he has no ally to turn to, he would literally have no choice but to do what the government demands of him. All coupled with the emotional manipulation the government would use by taking advantage of the unfair guilt Bucky always has to carry.

I also feel like that Winter Soldier mode is something the government also forced Bucky to adopt. They would want to use him and show him off as their own living weapon just like HYDRA, something like “the Winter Soldier who was the fist of HYDRA is now the fist of America”. Of course this is something our poor Bucky hates with all his heart, but he literally would have no choice... This explains how unhappy and depressed he looks, and why he let his hair and beard grow back as a sign of lack of self-care...

It is more than clear that absolutely with all this, Marvel is undoing their own “happy ending” that they gave Bucky in TFATWS, where they at least left the door open for him to be more than the Winter Soldier.

Of course they're not going to let him shed that name, because they're simply not going to let him develop and be recognized as a hero, even though Bucky has always been a hero in every sense of the word and in his own right...

[redpapercraness]

to lose you

[the-palelady]

it’s hard for simon to focus on anything other than the way water glides down the expanse of your softened hips, your curves swaying with each move you make.

the man is literally drooling when you bend over to place your bar of soap back where it belongs, breasts bouncing, glistening in the lights of the bathroom when you straighten. residual soap drifts down your arms, legs, the top of your chest, down the planes of your round tummy.

and it’s when you turn that simon realizes you’ll be the death of him.

he knew this from the beginning of course, honeyed eyes watching the curl of your lips when you first graced him with your smile, the sun peaking out from behind the darkest of clouds.

but it’s now, you standing here swollen with his child, that he feels those rain clouds disperse. the final puzzle piece sliding into place.

you turned, eyebrows raised in question as simon looks down at you, his eyes mimicking that of a man starved.

“si? is everything alright?”

he was sure he looked like an idiot, smirking down at you in such a boyish way while he placed his hands at the dip of your hips, one hand snaking down to squeeze the plump of your ass. he was met with a squeak and a playful smack to his arm as you leaned into him, breasts flattening against his chest.

he didn’t mean for his voice to sound so full of hunger, but it was hard when you looked up at him under those fluttering lashes of yours.

“s’nothin’, mama. just thinkin’ ‘bout what i want for dinner tonight.”

[jonathanbyersphd]

[egophiliac]

IF YOU GO NOW TO SILVER'S PROFILE IT SHOWS "SILVER VANROUGE" I AM!!! NOT OKAY!!! WAUGH

OH MY GOD 😭

like...it wasn't even just "oh we'll call you Silver Vanrouge now", they just straight-up made the adoption official, under the statute of Malleus Says So. he's legally recognized as Lilia's kid! I'm so happy for them!

this may take some getting used to though

[zeropro]

I wondered how starscream reacted to seeing Jetfire again

It’s not going great!

Woops! I wrote a drabble. Not sure how this conversation started but this is sure how it's decided to go!

"You were gone, Skyfire. I mourned you. I…"

"You burned Iacon to the ground! Destroyed our home!"

"I did it for you!"

Skyfire finally threw down his tools and turned on the seeker. "In what world would I have ever wanted that??" He screamed, temper flaring.

"No, I wanted it!" Starscream retaliated, even as he took a step back. "I needed it, I couldn't move on otherwise."

"Yeah, because you definitely sound like a mech who’s been able to move on."

"I did! believe it or not. I became more than I ever was playing scientist at your precious little academy. I was the air commander of an entire army, second in command only to Lord Megatron. I was somebody to be respected, feared even! And then YOU had to come back and ruin it."

"How is any of this MY fault?"

"You were DEAD! You weren't supposed to come back! You weren't supposed to know about any of this. About…you LEFT me and I had to pick up the pieces and you dare judge me for how it played out?"

"Starscream, things dont just 'play out.' You made choices. Bad ones. You can't blame that on me."

"Haha! No, but I CAN blame you for betraying me! For choosing the Autobots over me! Like everything we had before meant nothing!"

"You SHOT me! For trying to protect the native lifeforms! Who does that?!"

Starscream sneered, hateful and ugly. "As if you hadn’t already made up your mind about me by that point."

Skyfire looked at him, as though for the first time. He took in how the frame shook with each haggard vent, the lines of wear framing each restless optic, the tight aggressive cant of the wings. "You've changed, Starscream. You’re not the same mech I knew."

"You’re right." Starscream said, voice dark with pride. "I’m stronger now."

"Are you? Or are you just more hurt and more bitter and more willing to hurt people? Face it, Starscream. You’ve had no one to rely on because you refuse to trust anyone. And look where that's gotten you."

Starscream glared at him. "You don’t know anything," he hissed, before spinning on his heels and storming out of the lab.

Wheeljack coughed awkwardly, fiddling with his instruments. Skyfire looked around as the science team silently got back to work.

Skywarp's were the only pair of optics that met his from across the room; his quiet stare cold, hard, and unreadable.

[laughingcatwrites]

As a reminder that good exists out there, a coworker recently confessed to me that he found out his child is questioning their identity (kid's gender redacted for this post). The kid is keeping it from him, so he can't say anything to them or show that he knows, but he's doing his best to get mentally prepared and educated so that he'll be ready whenever his kid does feel comfortable enough come to him.

For context, this guy is a big, bulky middle aged dude who loves sports and typical outdoor "manly" activities. As his coworker and friend, I know he's a kind and sweet teddy bear of a person, but his kid probably views him as a stern, authoritarian figure, the way most teenagers view their parents. His family lives in a conservative area, so I'm sure between that, their dad's looks and interests, and the fact that their dad is a Figure of Authority, the kid is worried that they won't be accepted.

But you know what? When he found out about his kid, the first thing he did was reach out to his closest queer friend and ask for resources for parents of questioning children. His biggest fears are that his kid will be bullied or discriminated against and won't feel comfortable enough to be themself. His second action was to find himself a mentor in another parent who went the same situation (kid coming out in a conservative town). The other person is preparing him for some of the struggles his kid may face and the fights he may need to take on as a parent to make sure his kid is safe and treated well.

Something I want to emphasize for people focused on language as the primary method of allyship is that when we spoke, he used some outdated terms and thoughts about gender and sexuality. That does not make him bad. These were the terms and thinking used about questioning teenagers when he was growing up and he never needed to learn more current ones. But now that he does have that need, he's throwing himself in head first because that's his kid and he's darn well going to make sure that his kid feels welcomed and has a safe place to be themselves even if they never come out to him.

[bean-spring]

Hot take and not to be a killjoy or the shipping police but people treating Viktor or Jinx's aroace headcanons as if they were canon is not the revolutionary take people think it is.

Headcanons are always all right but we have to acknowledge that they are somehow damaging when they apply to stereotypes. It might not be the case for everyone but most of the time people unconsciously assume that disability/mental illness=asexuality. These headcanons erase the freedom of attraction from people who are already seen as unable to have sexual/romantic experiences/desires, when it's completely untrue and harmful.

You can headcanon Viktor and Jinx as aroace, but I have seen people changing their minds once Viktor is no longer disabled (s2 with all of his other forms) and Jinx is no longer as mentally ill (alternate universe Powder). And it speaks wonders of how people see these characters.

"I never thought about Jinx being able to feel romantic/sexual attraction until s2!" To believe she's actually only capable of that when she's not "damaged" is incredibly disturbing. Especially since Jinx has always had a bit of a flirty personality too.

"I've always seen Viktor as asexual, I don't know why!" That's fine. You can headcanon him as ace. But I believe there is a reason behind it, most of the time, if for some inexplicable reason the "vibes" of the disabled character are making you think he's ace.

I say all of this being aroaspec myself, by the way. Headcanon all you want but going to people's posts commenting how "it's weird for you that they have romantic/sexual plots when they're clearly aroace" is not a win at all. It's a headcanon, after all, and it should be treated as such, and that's fine. But it also is damaging to spread stereotypes like these.

Of course the disabled character is asexual. Of course the mentally ill character is aromantic. It's not as revolutionary as you might think, tbh.

Fandom is not activism and it's all right to have any headcanons you want BUT some of them are filled with damaging stuff and perhaps we should look into ourselves more before treating these assumptions as something canon.

[chloesimaginationthings]

Elizabeth Afton bets on losing dogs in FNAF..

[cronchy-baguette]

[do you think of me as I do of you?]

or tigress and viper + tigress's unimaginable beef with tai lung

[community-gardenss]

become the most wretched of women

HII this piece might look familiar and that is because it is a rendered version of the red figure pottery piece I posted a while back... this is part of the same style study assignment as my helen piece :3 got a bit more symbolic with the background elements

[easeinjazzout]

hits him with the beam text transcript in alt (boy do i hope i did it correctly)

[kevjeanyves]

jean moreau going viral every 4-6 months among non-exy fans for being drop dead gorgeous…videos of him spitting out his mouth guard or adjusting his neck guard…videos of him yelling in angry french during the olympics…his interviews in front of the cameras where he’s quiet and awkward in the most endearing ways…6’4 with dark curly hair and a ridiculous amount of muscle…yeahhhh

and every time he goes viral for being beautiful, his fans are ready on twitter with threads like “jean moreau’s homoerotic friendship with exy legend kevin day” or “jean moreau and his boyfriend jeremy knox” or “jean moreau being best friends with neil josten”. then THOSE threads become hit tweets

jean moreau princess of everything you’ll always be famous

[artsymeeshee]

A special butterfly for a special boy

Wasn’t really expecting so many to love and go crazy over the aroace colored butterfly from the spring bonding montage but it does my heart a happy :’)

[bacchuschucklefuck]

january month of yuugi

[forgettable-au]

PROLOGUE

FORGETTABLE-AU (Page 1-9)

AND SO IT BEGINS!

[CONTINUE] [MASTERPOST]