I’ve got a giant bucket of happy anons here and I know it’s because of those of you that know I’m having a hard time with work right now. And I appreciate it so very much, all of you. (and I’ll probably post some more out over the next little bit)
There are few things in his long life that Jack Harkness hasn’t gotten sick of. One of them is musical theater. Every planet and space port has some form of it, and it always makes him smile and forget about his troubles.
and
Let’s remember that Bucky Barnes without Steve Rogers was the kid who befriended a small sickly boy looked down on and picked on by everyone else without caring what anyone thought.
Bucky Barnes without Steve Rogers was a smart, bright, likable young man who enjoyed going to dance halls and science fairs.
Bucky Barnes without Steve Rogers earned the respect, friendship, and loyalty of his soldiers to such an extent that when a stranger in spangly tights saves their lives only to ask them to follow him back into the fray, they agree because this guy’s nuts but he’s got Sarge’s seal of approval.
Bucky Barnes without Steve Rogers withstood years of unimaginable physical and psychological torture until his captors were finally forced to strip him of his memories and all sense of self in order to make him compliant, and even then had to phrase his missions as fights for the good of the world.
And then, Bucky Barnes, with no knowledge of Steve Rogers or himself, with no agency or moral compass, couldn’t be kept out of cryostasis for too long lest he regain the smallest sense of self and turn on his masters. Because even they knew that James Buchanan Barnes was the furthest thing from a bully, and feared the vengeance he would bring down on them if he realized what they were forcing him to do.
And this is just Bucky Barnes in the MCU, who’s had maybe a half hour of screen time and a handful of lines.
Yeah, the seeds of the Winter Soldier are in Bucky, insomuch as he is competent, loyal, fierce, a brilliant tactician, capable of doing the dirty work to save others the burden, and a bit ruthless when it comes to protecting innocents and those he loves. But isn’t it telling that even stripped of everything but these attributes and then turned to destruction and chaos he becomes, not a bully, but an asset of terrifying efficiency? The Winter Soldier is single-minded and brutal in carrying out his missions, but he is an effective soldier, not a bully.
James Buchanan Barnes is a hero, and nothing, not the absence of one man (even a man like Steve Rogers) or anything else, could change that.
New Castiel Torchwood headcanon:
Cas acquired guitar skill at some point and does play. Primarily because it’s a conduit to emotion. That’s not actually new, I’ve wanted Cas to pick up a guitar since I picked one up myself.
This is new: Cas has a slow-growing collection of vintage electric guitars. Some of them were acquired ‘out of time,’ saved from untimely demise at the hands of careless players. As such, these guitars aren’t allowed out of his private collection and nobody (except possibly Jack) is aware of their nature.
Most of them, however, were acquired legitimately. He keeps these for a reason: to run tests. Cas has a pet theory that electric guitars are a conduit to the soul, that creative energy is stored in the organic tissue of the wood over time, and that a guitar in the right hands is a sacred object.
He’s been developing tests for years, in his free time, measuring tiny differences in soundwaves from instrument to instrument; player to player.
This is because he’s not entirely sure angels didn’t have a hand in the creation of the first Les Paul. Namely: Gabriel.