Time waits for no one. So "Stay Golden."

for those who don’t, it is sam wilson and anthony mackie o’clock, and that means this is going to be a long post! 

and once again, i mean no disrespect or hate to anyone i speak about here. i know i shouldn’t preface my posts with that every time, but i’m not trying to start fires.

so we all saw that final trailer that came out, yeah? it looks GREAT. i’m so hype!

this is what i was talking about, though. i have seen countless more amounts of people with varying phrasing of the same general idea, which is “where is bucky” and “sam’s had enough screentime” and “it’s bucky’s turn.”

to that, i will start by once again repeating myself that sam’s character is complex. he is more than the sidekick he was reduced to in the mcu thus far. there are questions about his character whose answers will define his personality and set it into stone for all future projects involving him. 

examples: what motivates him? why did he follow steve into battle? what was his childhood like? where did he come from? what experiences shaped him into the truly good man he is today? what’s his family like? 

the different part about this, the part i haven’t touched on yet, are the justifications for this preference and the implications these justifications have. 

there are, of course, the ones that hold no water. there are the “he doesn’t have the serum” and “he doesn’t fight well” and “he doesn’t know how to use the shield, he’s never used it before” and “he isn’t a significant character, he doesn’t deserve it because he hasn’t proven himself worthy.”

this trailer in particular has shown that sam wilson is more than capable of wielding the shield. it has also shown that he is a powerful orator and a generally elite athlete, especially when it comes to his own skillset. he easily looks like he has been holding back on all of these crazy fight moves, as well as establishing himself as an adept public figure, one who is at ease in the spotlight of the world. 

prior to that, sam has always been an opinionated, motivated, selfless man. he has always been a good man. 

there should be no argument there anymore. that is undeniable.

it also seems to me like some of the fandom doesn’t yet understand that sam wilson is his own character, and anthony mackie is a fantastic actor in his own right. it seems to me that many fans believe his presence is reliant on bucky barnes.

so let me re-iterate this. 

sam wilson is his own character. his validity does not depend on bucky barnes’ shortcomings. his validity does not depend on sebastian stan’s endorsements. his achievements do not rest on anyone else’s, and this has been made abundantly clear throughout the mcu. 

sam’s validity does not depend on the validity of a white man. he himself is not a white man, therefore he carries a different experience and his role carries a different weight than his white counterparts.

sam wilson did not get the shield because bucky barnes was tired. sam wilson is not in the spotlight because bucky barnes greenlit him to be. sam wilson is in the spotlight because of his own actions, because of his own motivation and determination and morality, and because he proved himself worthy on his own to carry the mantle and represent the face of america.

the show is not about bucky barnes struggling to come to terms with carrying the mantle that makes him the face of a country that doesn’t want him representing them. the show is about sam wilson in that role. he is, as many have pointed out to me, not simply “the other lead.” 

sam wilson is the lead.

anthony mackie is a gifted and fantastic actor who has time and time again discussed the significance of his role and sam’s presence in the mcu. he has multiple times mentioned how important he feels like his role is in the show, for all the reasons that one would expect it to be and more. he has attached himself to this character who was reduced to nothing more than a witty sidekick on paper following ca:tws, and made him into a figure that marvel execs decided would be the right choice to lead a show.

and going back to my last long post: discrediting anthony mackie’s road to this point in his life and career by saying that he’s “stealing the spotlight” from sebastian is not a good take whatsoever. in fact, it makes the show that much more powerful, if a white man at the helm is so important to general consumers of media that having a black man front and center of a project (not limited to the mcu, as i’ve observed and as many people have discussed with me) is something overlooked, and when it cannot be overlooked anymore, it is complained about.

so i say it’s a good thing that sam is getting visibly more trailer screentime. i say sam getting more screentime is a message to fans who have found it so incredibly easy to overlook his presence and sideline his character and actor until sam was right up in their faces being badass and powerful and the superhero that we all deserve.

so to those fans who have been ignoring anthony mackie in favour of other white leads in the mcu, especially in this show, i aim to be as gentle as possible when i say this. 

it is a good thing that you can see sam wilson now. it is a good thing that you can see his impactful presence, and recognise it for the power it holds. it is a good thing you can truly see the man who wields the shield, for whom this show took life. it is a good thing that you can’t ignore him anymore.

Paper Mario: The Origami King - Boss Fight

I really, really love DC and the DCEU. 

Here’s hoping I can add even more faces, and heroes to this list by the end of the year. Did I mention I love DC?!

So I am opening up my commissions again, with updated examples and new features like the character sheets. I also do have a job now, so please be patient when it comes to me finishing your commission. If you have something that needs to be drawn before a certain date, please let me know at least 3 weeks in advance before so I can see if I will be able to finish it.

Rules:  1. I have the right to refuse a commission without question. 2. No refund unless I haven’t started. 3. If you are unhappy with your commission, tell me what’s wrong with it and I will fix it the best I can without redoing it. If you want me to redo it you will have to pay me again. 4. Have visual references for the Characters and what pose you would like them to be doing. (Ex. What kind of hair, eyes, etc) 5. Credit if published for icon, header, etc. 6. The more complicated the design is the more it will cost. 

for example, no you don’t owe anyone anything in that if some creep is trying to get with you, you can block him without feeling bad. you don’t owe kindness to people who are transphobic or racist or bigoted.

but, you can’t use this as an excuse to fuck over people who have helped you. “you don’t owe anyone anything” isn’t an excuse to allow yourself to forget compassion and basic empathy, it isn’t an excuse for you to be an asshole just because you find it easier to be one

relationships aren’t transactional in that if your partner does something nice for you, you are indebted to them. they do these things because they love you; it is their choice to express love through these gestures

but they are transactional in that you both actively need to be putting time and care into the relationship. ignoring the dynamic of one person caring too much (and putting in excessive (emotional an literal) work and labor) while the other does nothing isn’t healthy. one person can’t solely take and the other person can’t solely give- that’s dangerous, and you can’t put the bandaid of “this isn’t transactional” over a relationship that is draining you in all capacities