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writingunderneathawillow · 9 days ago

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everything works out in the end (bucky barnes x reader)

summary: yours and bucky’s relationship is one fight away from being over. at least that’s what it feels like. when he is offered a glimpse of the future, he gets to see you and discovers that not all hope is lost. mcu timeline placement: post thunderbolts* content warnings: angst, hurt/comfort, relationship troubles/anxiety, reckless driving (don’t do it), grumpy!bucky, yearning, fluff, no use of y/n, bucky’s pov, brief thunderbolts and bob appearance, will be edited later, so just ignore any mistakes word count: 2.4k a/n: haven’t written anything good in a month but i guess i’m back :) also the angstier version is coming soon (i hope! I’m feeling a little blue so i choose to cope by making y/n’s life hard)

Bucky’s chest heaved as he slammed the door behind him. Regret filled him immediately, but he kept walking. Down the corridor, out of your apartment building and onto the street. He stopped for a few seconds to peer up at your window and a cold iron ring settled around his chest. The curtains were drawn but he could have sworn he saw the fabric move. He guessed that you were watching, waiting to see if he would come back. The two of you had been fighting for weeks now. About everything, anything. His work, the risks he was taking, his disagreement with Sam. You weren’t necessarily not on his side, but you kept urging the two of them to talk, to find a way to get along and it was driving him insane. So, you argued. And he yelled back. And you called him an idiot. And he slammed the door. He didn’t feel ready to go back and talk it out with you, so instead he brought his bike to life and drove off, ignoring the speed limit and street signs. The howl of the motor wasn’t loud enough to drown out his thoughts, replaying the argument over and over again, and neither was the grinding of his teeth. When he arrived at the Watchtower, his jaw hurt from the strain. He parked the bike and had to physically stop himself from kicking it in frustration. He didn’t want to fight with you; he didn’t want to be angry with you. It was killing him to see the two of you on different standpoints. The constant arguing was getting to him, settling deep in his stomach and not quite letting go, even after reconciling with you. It was as if you two were stuck in an endless circle of disagreements and then making it up to each other. It ate away at you, too. He saw it. In the way you sighed when he came back after a fight, or in the bags under your eyes after either one of you sleeping on the couch. A few more hairs in his beard had lost their colour, and when he looked in the mirror, he saw a few more pronounced lines between his eyebrows. Disagreeing with you was threatening to make him look closer to his actual age. The idea that one day you wouldn’t hear him out anymore, wouldn’t let him apologise or would refuse to say sorry for your own harsh words, haunted the back of his mind. That one day, you might decide to break his heart into a million pieces, for the better of both of you; it lingered. It ate him alive.

The elevator dinged chirpily as the doors slid open to reveal Walker, Yelena and Ava sitting together in the common area, sharing a bowl of snacks while watching the news. Well, only really John was watching – Yelena and Ava were stacking chips on his head while he was absolutely absorbed in the military documentary playing on screen. “You’re back!” Alexei’s voice boomed through the room, and despite Bucky’s more than solid form, the Soviet’s Supersoldier clap on his shoulder sent him staggering a few feet forward. Yelena’s head whipped to them and even from the distance, Bucky saw the knowing look on her face. He hated that he had a tell – and even more so that she knew it – for when he fought with you. John’s attention was momentarily captivated by Bucky’s return and the chips tumbled down onto the couch which elicited a sign from Ava.

“Oh, oh, why the long face?” Alexei asked, as he took in Bucky’s appearance and Yelena chortled. “Trouble in paradise, again?” She teased while grabbing a chip from Walker’s collar, throwing it in the air and then catching it with her mouth. Bucky grunted some non-committal sound and strode past them, heading for his room. “Come on, you have to tell us all about your troubles. I know much about relationships,” Alexei called after him and Bucky wished he didn’t have supersoldier hearing when he picked up Yelena’s response.

“Which relationship is it that’s troubling you? You and the missus or you and Sam?” “We’re all fine,” he grunted and then disappeared into his room, planning on hiding there until his statement came true. Not five minutes later, a knock sounded at his door. “Jesus wept,” Bucky whispered to himself and got up, opening the door with more vigour than necessary. Bob stood there, an anxious smile on his lips as if he wasn’t sure if his presence was appreciated or not (- it wasn’t). “I know I’m probably the last person you wanna ask about relationship advice-,” he began, and Bucky cut him off. “Yeah, you got that right.” Bob gave him a short apologetic glance but then continued. “All I wanna say is that maybe not all hope is lost,” he insisted but Bucky interrupted him again. “’Cause it isn’t. Never said it was.” “Right, but you look like she ran over your grandma and then danced on her grave, man. Listen, maybe I’m not the best person to go to with problems like this but the last time someone almost broke up with me, I took a nap and then talked it out with hi- them, uh, once I felt calmer.” “We’re not gonna break up,” Bucky grumbled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Bob nodded quickly. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m just saying, give it time. Get some sleep. Not that you need it or have to listen to me or whatever. Just… things usually get better when you take a nap.” Bucky stared at him disbelievingly, then sighed.

“Fine, I’ll take a nap,” he mumbled. He probably would have agreed to whatever Bob said in order to make him go away so that he could lick his wounds in peace. Bob’s face lit up slightly and he gave him a quick smile before retreating. Bucky let the door fall shut with a little more force than needed. Still, he found himself wanting to follow the other man’s advice and settled down on his bed reluctantly. He was exhausted, mentally and physically but still he didn’t find peace immediately. Instead, he grabbed his phone, opened the messages app and clicked on your contact info. For a few seconds his finger hovered over the call button. Your contact picture – one that he had taken not too long ago – smiled up at him, tearing at his heartstrings in both longing and wounded pride. “Goddammit,” he whispered and locked his phone again, discarding of it on his nightstand where one of your necklaces lay as well. Dread washed through him at the sight of it. Bucky still felt too angry to reach out, not wanting to make things worse than they already were with comments thrown out in an emotion induced state. “Can’t believe Bob’s fucking right,” he murmured and closed his eyes, praying that sleep would come to claim him quickly.

He woke with his senses on high alert. Something was off and it raised the hair in the back of his neck. Within milliseconds, he sat up straight in bed, scanning the room. The air was lighter, and sunbeams filtered through the curtains, giving everything a golden glow. Had he slept through the entire night? How the hell did he- wait. Curtains? Bucky practically jumped out of bed, running over to his window. Now, he was a man with priorities. Functionality, cleanliness and stability. He had a solid bedframe, a tall wardrobe and an organised desk, the only clutter in his room a few books and worn picture frames. Never in his life had he bought curtains. Or a vanity table. That specific piece of furniture adorned the wall opposite of the door, standing there as if it belonged. Two small scratches were carved into the wooden flooring next to it, seemingly proving that someone had tried to rearrange the layout of it without the needed strength. “What the hell?” Bucky murmured to himself as he took in the rest of his room. Pieces of clothing were splayed across a fuzzy chair that he had never seen before in his life. As he picked up one of the shirts, dizziness hit him. It smelled like you. He swayed on his feet, threatening to stumble back against the wall as panic gripped his chest. What is going on? He lunged towards the door and would have ripped it open, if the pictures on the wall hadn’t caught his attention. It was a collection of polaroids, hung up in a specific order. Two of them he recognised, even though to his knowledge, they were supposed to be in his wallet. The furthest one left was the first picture of you two ever taken. Outside the tower, you curled up into his side, shielding your eyes against the sun while holding onto him. His arm wrapped around you and a not quite serious, not quite happy expression plastered across his face. That had been eight months ago, when you had met the team for the first time. Afterwards, Alexei had insisted on taking a polaroid of the two of you (“To make you never forget this great day!”). The other one with which he was familiar, was one he had stood behind the camera for, himself. It showed you wearing Bucky’s leather jacket, and half of his metal arm was in the frame as well. You had reached out for it, trying to get him into the picture, too, but he had been quicker, snapping the polaroid to only display you, a bright smile and eyes full of love as you had called out to him to join you. A shiver ran through Bucky as he stared at the other pictures. There were more than twenty, hung up in four neat lines. It was clearly a timeline of your relationship, some posed, others clearly taken in the moment, and his heart dropped as his eyes arrived at the last picture.

His photograph-self was on one knee, holding a velvet box, while you had your hands flung across your mouth, the shock and joy on your face obvious even despite the image’s terrible resolution. Sam stood in the back corner, a proud smile on his face as he looked at whoever had taken the picture. Bucky’s head was spinning. He must be dreaming. The fight with you had taken over his subconscious and now he was dreaming of a future of you because he didn’t want to lose you. Like a cartoon character, he pinched his arm. And felt the pain. You can’t feel any pain in your dreams. He knew that. So, he pinched harder. And it hurt. “What the fuck?” He mumbled, slapping himself once. His cheek stung. He held his breath until he almost passed out. Ok, so not dreaming. Maybe he had rolled out of bed and hit his head real hard, causing him to hallucinate. Or maybe he was dead and this was heaven. Yeah, that didn’t make sense; he had survived falling hundreds of feet off a train so dropping onto his hardwood floor in his sleep would surely not send him beyond the pearly gates. And then he heard it. Your voice. He would know it anywhere, in life, in death and in whatever messed up situation he found himself in now. The sound ghosted through the closed door like it was beckoning to him, asking him to find his way to you. His fist closed around the doorknob, pulling it open in a slow trance. The sound of your voice grew louder, and he recognised the song you were singing along to. Desperation grabbed him. He had to see you. So, he stepped forward, following your voice and it led him to the kitchen of the tower. Before walking around the corner, Bucky paused. He still didn’t know what was going on. If this was real or if it was some kind of co-dependency induced vision; his mind was theoretically cleared by Shuri but who knew? Maybe he was truly starting to lose it. As his thoughts spiralled, he didn’t hear the footsteps closing in on him. You almost bumped into him, eyes wide with shock and then the skin next to them crinkled softly as you smiled at him. “Hi, baby,” you greeted him, “I was just coming to wake you.” You reached out for him, your right hand coming up to his face to brush your knuckles across his cheek. It was such a familiar gesture, one that you had gifted him a million times before. Still, he could have dropped to his knees as you reached out for him. And that’s when he saw it, the ring sparkling on your ring finger. The one, that he had put there – apparently. Or was going to. He didn’t know how he knew but he did. This was not a dream, not a vision born from injury, insanity or mind control. This was his future. This was a promise. For once the universe seemed to be on his side, allowing him this brief glimpse, telling him it was going to be alright. Everything would work out. “Hi,” he rasped and leaned into your touch. The second his skin connected with yours, a smile spread across his face. You looked at him with a mix of adoration and concern. “You feeling okay, baby?” You asked, resting your hand on his forehead. He nodded immediately and like the love drunk fool he was, he would have done anything to prevent you from worrying about him – or anything at all ever again. “Yeah, I just missed you,” he whispered.

He woke with a jolt, sitting up as straight as a candle in bed. It was dark in his room. There were no sunlit curtains, no vanity desk and no polaroids on the wall. He reached for his phone and looked at the time. Barely an hour had passed since he had fallen asleep. Set on a mission to not spend a second more than necessary without going to you and pleading for your forgiveness, he got to his feet and pocketed his phone. He was already halfway out the building when he almost sent Bob to the floor with the force of his walk. “Sorry,” he called out but then stopped himself from stepping into the elevator. He turned to face Bob and pulled him into a hug. “I fucking love you, Bob. You were right. A nap was all it took.”

He left the other man standing there, looking absolutely flabbergasted and slightly flushed. Bucky pressed the elevator’s button and wondered how many traffic laws he could break on his way to you in order to shorten the amount of time spent apart from you.

thank you for reading :) gentle reminder that likes are more than appreciated but comments and reblogs make the dream work

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traincat · 3 months ago

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Hi, it's me again, with another comics question 😅

So, I will preface this by saying I really don't know much about Marvel's Civil War beyond the mcu (from what I do know I can gather that the Accords are rather different in comics than in the movie because I fear I'd be team iron man in the mcu but very anti-tony in the comics). Anyways, I know some main points- Peter starting off backing the Accords & revealing his identity, the F4 being against the Accords, Peter eventually deciding to switch sides and being bridal carried™️ by the Punisher.

I really don't want to read through ALL the civil war comics but I guess I'm wondering about the motives behind Johnny & Peter's positions. Why does Peter choose to back the Accords when literally every other vigilante recognizes it as a really not great idea? (Is it the /responsibility/ of it all? Do the F4 go against it as a team or is there infighting there? Do Johnny and Peter ever actually fight each other directly? Do they talk?

I'm so sorry for the bombardment of questions, but I guess they all boil down to: what comics do you recommend for someone (me) that wants to see Peter & Johnny's roles/relationship to the Accords, especially if they interact?

Thank you in advance!!!!!!! (I always appreciate the amount of effort that goes into your responses 🩷)

Okay, let's talk Civil War. Please note it's been a hot minute since I read it, and I'm not revisiting it beyond my refs folder, because I don't respect Civil War as an event enough to do that.

First off, what IS 616 Civil War, and how does it kick off? Let's find ourselves on the map. The year is 2006, and Peter Parker is on the Avengers because Brian Michael Bendis hates me personally. The New Warriors, a team of younger superheroes, have reformed themselves as a reality show, and are filming in Stamford, Connecticut. One of their members, Namorita, confronts escaped supervillain Nitro, whose power is exploding. And the extremely obvious happens.

The problem? In addition to killing Namorita and several other heroes, the explosion also kills sixty nearby school children. The government subsequently passes the Superhuman Registration Act, which would require powered individuals operating as heroes to register with the government and be subject to official regulation. Failure to do so results in imprisonment in a facility built in the Negative Zone. That part is not public knowledge.

So where are Johnny and Peter in this? For Johnny, it's pretty simple. You see, Johnny and Namorita used to date -- it's the first of what I call Johnny's "celebrity" relationships, where I think the appeal for him was being seen with another celebrity as opposed to any genuine attraction. (See: Kourtney, Darla Deering.) Namorita and Johnny broke up a long time ago, because they never spent any time together in the first place.

(FF v3 #55) It's very important to Have A Girlfriend so people know you're straight. What do you mean you should want to do literally anything with her.

The problem is, the relationship WAS incredibly public at the time. So Johnny is very much known as Nita's ex, and the anger surrounding Namorita's actions is boiling. While out on the town, Johnny is violently assaulted and knocked unconscious before he can flame on. The crowd then proceeds to beat him into a coma.

(Civil War #2) He wakes up at some point in here, but Johnny's involvement in Civil War is very limited after this. When Sue leaves the pro-Iron Man (and SHRA) side to join Captain America, he goes with her. That's pretty much all there is to it.

Now, as previously mentioned, Peter has been with the Avengers at this point in time. He's also living in Avengers Tower with Aunt May and MJ at this point, because his apartment and Aunt May's house were destroyed. Long story, only kind of interesting. He and Tony have gotten pretty close. This is where the Iron Dad fanon originally came from -- and I wouldn't ever personally say it's a father-son dynamic, there is an air of mentorship to it. (How in character I find this doesn't matter for the sake of this post.) Suffice to say, during this period, Tony and Peter have become close. And Tony is really going hard for the Superhero Registration Act, so he enlists Peter's help.

(ASM #529) 1) He's going to regret that. 2) Hahaha like Peter promising something means literally anything 75% of the time.

This is when Peter starts wearing the Iron Spider costume, as designed by Tony. It's also when he takes off the mask in front of the whole world and reveals his identity as Peter Parker.

(Civil War #2) He's really gonna regret that.

Things go uh. Bad. See, the thing with Peter is that he doesn't keep his identity secret for his own sake -- it is always to protect the ordinary people in his life. He's promised nothing will happen to them, but obviously as soon as his identity is out, there's a target on their backs. And Peter has a lot of enemies.

(ASM #533) It will.

Going to take a break here and say that Tony, especially from the Spider-Man side of things, does not come off as especially sympathetic during Civil War. I'm not an Iron Man expert and I'm not here to either defame characters or discuss about whether Civil War was particularly in character for anyone, including Tony. That's for other people who have the necessary background to talk about Tony's characterization in depth. I'm just here to talk about Peter's poor life choices.

(ASM #533) "I call you boss because I know it bugs you. Don't start taking it too seriously." A big part of Peter's characterization that I think gets overlooked is that, consistently, since he's been fifteen years old, he has almost always physically been the strongest person in the room, and he certainly believes the smartest. A lot of his interactions with Tony in ASM come with Peter's underlying belief that he could crack open the Iron Man suit like a crab claw.

(ASM #535)

Slowly, through a combination of things, Peter's faith in Tony and pro-Registration side disappears. Again, I'm not rereading Civil War, sorry. Anyway, he switches sides. The problem? He's still wearing that damn Iron Spider suit, which Tony can lock.

Well, I mean. Theoretically, that's a problem.

(ASM #536) This doesn't have anything to do with the main story really, I just wanted to post it because he's hypercompetent, and it's hot. My blog, my rules.

Yadda yadda yadda, Tony sends a team of supervillains to capture Peter, yadda yadda yadda, big fight, yadda yadda. This is where that famous scene of the Punisher bridal carrying absolutely beat to hell Peter comes from.

(Civil War #5) Hi Frank. Also in writing this post I discovered my Civil War refs are a mess.

Anyway, from here on, stuff happens, big superhero fight -- it's not too important from the Spider-Man side of things. What is important is that the aftermath of Peter's decision to unmask leads directly into One More Day, or the infamous Devil Divorce storyline where Peter sells his marriage to Mephisto in order to save Aunt May's life after she's shot by the Kingpin's assassin. I'm not going to go into all of that here, but I am a rare One More Day stan. I actually think it's a stunning piece of Peter Parker characterization -- it just led directly into a whole bunch of other stuff I hate, and the aftermath of it (the erased marriage and associated retcon) has gone on far too long. But that's not One More Day as a standalone story's fault. (People who complain that Peter chooses May over MJ miss the point entirely that Peter DID choose MJ over May, initially and instinctively -- the bullet was supposed to kill MJ, and Peter tackles her out of the way, leaving May in the path. THAT'S the whole thing and why Peter can't possibly make any other choice. Because he already made the choice, and the woman he views as his mother suffered for it.)

As for Spideytorch interaction in Civil War, there really isn't much to say. Johnny's in a coma for a chunk of it and Peter's got his own drama going on. Even when they're on the same side again, they don't really interact. Immediately post-Civil War, when Peter is hiding out in a shitty motel with Aunt May and MJ, Steve does ask Johnny if he can get in touch with Peter, since he's the closest with him.

(ASM #537) But it's Steve who goes to meet Peter, not Johnny. Shame.

As for comic recommendations. Oof. Civil War is kind of tricky -- I think if you're going to read it, it's best to read the main series, Civil War (2006), which is fairly short all things considered and very fast moving. It's basically the first of the big "modern events" which meant they hadn't yet nailed the practice of making it as awful as possible for everyone to follow. For Peter's involvement, I would read Amazing Spider-Man #529-537. (Pacing was different back then, she said, smoking a cigarette and staring wistfully out at the water.) It's not NECESSARY, but I would read from #538-543 just because it's GOOD. (#544 is the beginning of One More Day, and requires a different reading list.) This is where he confronts the Kingpin in prison and it's honestly so good. Top ten Spider-Man scenes of all time.

(ASM #543) I think about "it takes three seconds" all the time. Sidenote but JMS really has the perfect Peter voice, the best out of every modern Peter writer. Look how well the dialogue hits here, and the rhythm of it. No pointless joking, no rambling. Just beat, beat, beat.

I also think Civil War: Frontline is very good if you want Peter Civil War content. It's more Bugle-focused, which is really fun if you enjoy that set of characters.

Like I said, Peter and Johnny really don't interact during Civil War, and beyond getting violently assaulted in the first issue of Civil War #1, Johnny's not majorly important to the plot. Which is, uh. Very typically Johnny. Hey, at least it wasn't actively a homophobic hate crime this time, right? (Looking at you, Zodiac (Dark Reign). Don't read it, just know that's literally what happens.)

Here's a cute panel of him playing board games with Franklin and Val though.

There is significant infighting with the FF, where Reed sides with the pro-Registration side and even designs the Negative Zone prisons. Sue switches sides shortly after Johnny's recovery, going to Steve's side, and Johnny goes with her because that's what Johnny does. Ben, on the other hand, takes a neutral stance for the majority of the event.

If you do want to read anything for Johnny from it, there's a really good issue of Fantastic Four set while he's in a coma, though it's mostly a Ben character piece. (And a very good one.)

(FF #538) Listen, the only sensible person during all of Civil War was Ben, who was Team France. He went to France.

#traincat talks comics #long post/#*replies #johnny storm #peter parker

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purplehalnw · 2 months ago

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Props to the Daredevil writers because there are moments between Matt and Foggy like:

-Foggy saying that Matt's a "really good looking guy" when they first meet

-Foggy and Matt equating owning a law firm together to them being married

-Matt saying "you're not gonna kiss me" and Foggy responding "I'm feeling a little something"

That could come off as queerbaiting but honestly don't, at least in my opinion.

Some of my fave celebrity dynamics (David Tennant & Michael Sheen, Anthony Mackie & Sebastian Stan) are friends who are secure enough in their sexualities and identities that they're totally fine with jokingly flirting with/saying romantic things about each other. And this seems like something that the Daredevil writers were doing with Matt and Foggy's relationship.

Like in most instances, queerbaiting comes from the situations two (often male) characters are put in. They're put in situations that force them to be super close with one another or in situations where other characters assume that they're a couple, both of which the audience is expected to laugh at. You're laughing at how "compromising" the situation is. Because being queer is largely seen as something shameful and emasculating and seeing these men being essentially humiliated is meant to be funny.

I think an example of this is Bucky and Sam in "Falcon and the Winter Soldier". There's the scene where Bucky and Sam fall off a truck in ep 2 and roll around in the grass, holding onto each other. Even when they stop rolling, Bucky doesn't get off of Sam until Sam pushes him off. There's a scene in that same episode where Bucky and Sam are with Bucky's therapist who suggests that they do a "soul gazing exercise" that she "usually does with couples". To do the exercise, Bucky and Sam have to get so close that they end up interlocking legs. In the end, Sam tells the therapist "thanks doc, for making it weird".

In these moments you're laughing at how unwillingly physically close Bucky and Sam have to be, you're laughing at them being treated/framed like a couple, but you're not supposed to seriously expect them to ever be together. It's pretty mean-spirited.

And in my opinion what makes Matt and Foggy different from this is that they are the ones making the jokes. They aren't ashamed by the idea of them being together, in fact they're endeared by it. So, in this case you're laughing with them, not at them.

Plus, queerbaiting has intention behind it. The writers intend to bait queer people with representation without giving them any payoff so that they can also appeal to the homophobes in the audience. And in my opinion, it's clear that the Daredevil writers never intended to give off the impression that Matt and Foggy might be a couple some day.

Obviously, no hate to Matt & Foggy shippers. People love romance, especially between those who are already close friends. But I do really love their friendship and how it's the heart of the show.

Some writers are so afraid of their male characters being interpreted as gay that they'll just ruin their relationship in general. Like how the Star Wars sequels separated Finn and Poe and started giving them random female love interests. Or how the MCU decided to have Steve abandon Bucky just so he could go back in time to be with his previously-almost-girlfriend Peggy who had moved on from him in the future.

But the Daredevil writers definitely aren't afraid of Matt and Foggy being too close. Matt gets several love interests but pretty much all of them end up leaving him in some way. But you know who is always there for him? Foggy. His friendship with Foggy is the most important relationship in the show, even in death it seems (haven't seen Born Again yet but I of course couldn't avoid spoilers).

#matt murdock #foggy nelson #mattfoggy #daredevil #netflix daredevil #daredevil show #daredevil fandom #queerbaiting #queer #matt x foggy #mcu #marvel

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somethingsospangled · 1 month ago

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i absolutely hate the argument that people have on the thunderbolts where it’s like “they could’ve protested against valentina and it would’ve been good! it was bad that they didn’t say anything”

ABSOLUTELY NOT????

Mind you, she was doing this all LIVE. if they were to interject, (1) valentina would’ve easily shut it down considering it was her who called the outlets to that spot so she had the upper hand on media control, (2) it would be an uproar none of them would be prepared for media-wise, none of those hoes have good PR and media training!!! everyone in the world would witness the meltdown and start encroaching on them which would be quite the nuisance to deal with and i highly doubt they would bother to go through all that mess.

at that point in the MCU, people were desperate for new superheroes. the superheroes that did already exist, were either sadly rejected by society or were seen as not enough just yet to be Earth’s prime protectors. this was clear with TFAWS in the effort to have a new Cap, but also very apparent in Thunderbolts where people were cheering for them during those small scenes. people weren’t willing to wait for Sam and the crew to come swooping in. The Thunderbolts get broadcasted theatrically, in a position Valentina knew they couldn’t easily protest, they sure as hell weren’t going to squash the people’s hope that valentina selfishly sparked for her own self interest.

also like they were not going to do so for primarily two reasons (in general, although i’d argue bucky’s interest manifest slightly differently and a lot more complicated).

- it’s plenty hinted they all ask valentina for a clean slate. yelena to be in the public scene to be able to actually do what she wanted (like natasha); john to be given a clean record (which in this case, is sorta that way bcs now he’s given a new chance to make a name for himself); ava to get help for her pain and suffering (now she’s in a position where people have to give her equipment to do good AND also have the incentive to do so). alexei was never going to protest finally being a superhero and working with his daughter at the same time 😭 bucky who wanted to be back on a team, and keep valentina in check (although it didn’t pan out the way he had hoped, this was better than nothing). bucky is a bit more complicated to talk about, but it really pisses me off how he’s being taken as a traitor to Sam when, if you actually think about it real hard, the situation made it virtually impossible to protest against. to us, it seems possible but that’s because we’re outsiders looking in who can’t proximately feel the potential consequences, BUT BUCKY DOES AND KNOWS. it’s all a complicated web of interests that merged together, and they’re all imperfect humans who, with the cameras all in their face and their positions now being broadcasted live to the entire world, had been pushed into a position where the only thing they could be capable of thinking at that time is: “this is not what we wanted, but maybe the only and the best thing we can work with.” they wanted to help the people, and they got the opportunity that could make that possible.

- bringing valentina down in front of everyone would also mean taking THEM down with her. mind you, everyone in that group (except bucky and alexei [+ bob if u count him as a victim that agreed based on incomplete information), was part of valentina’s schemes. they all interfered with her potential ousting by being her helpers in destroying evidence. protesting against her isn’t just a simple “we don’t want this thank you”. it would’ve prompted some level of an investigation against her and the team themselves on who they are, what their connections were, and what their previous/current business affairs. all of which could expose them for all the blood on their hands and could land them in solitary confinement for all we know. so even if they could protest, it really isn’t as simple as that and would mean their own doom too.

THIS WAS A LONG RANT but i’m irked at how people are taking the idealistic route of things as if all these contexts weren’t laid out in front of us to think about!!!! i would love to go more into detail about my thoughts on the movie but this shall suffice for now </3

#marvel mcu #bob reynolds #thunderbolts #mcu fandom #yelena thunderbolts #john walker #ava starr #james bucky buchanan barnes #buckysam #movie theory #movie thoughts #alexei shostakov #new avengers #the avengers

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webslingingslasher · 1 year ago

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I'm dying for there to be a fic where the reader is Stark's daughter and tells Peter that he has to watch her, Peter does it and the more he does it the more they connect the two and end up dating in secret, but one day reader discovers it and then angs to fluff??? Would you do it, i love how you write yes and thank you

*cleaning out my inbox/drafts* this is an old one but i loved it so much mcu peter HAD to make a comeback for this. // a little different than what you asked.

you're livid and peter's scared.

your dad had shared a new piece of information in passing but it brought everything crumbling down. peter, your boyfriend, wasn't who you thought he was.

the person you thought was honest and gentle was really just a lying snake. he can wear manipulation well. even now, with wide eyes and a panicked grin you can't picture him hurting you like this. but you can feel it.

'hi, baby.' he knows you're mad, he's trying to approach this calmly.

'you're a fucking liar.' you just brought everything down to a negative level, peter feels his shoulders slump. he doesn't know what he did or how he lied. 'i'm sorry.' whatever he did caused venom to be directed his way and he doesn't like it at all.

'no you're not. you're a filthy, lying scumbag.' he's not trying to invalidate your feelings, but you're being really fucking mean to him and he really doesn't like this treatment from you. he's never been so hurt in his life, the person he loved with everything in him, can't get enough insults out their mouth.

'why are you talking to me like this?' he sounds pitiful and for a moment your heart breaks for him, you know how much you're hurting him right now but he broke your trust.

'my dad told me. i can't believe i fell for your bullshit, or was it all him? you're just some little drone for my daddy?' it was a blur of sarcasm and betrayal, and peter truly has no idea what he's done.

'what did i do? please tell me what i did.' he's pleading, he'd do anything to make it right. you scoff, everything seems so fake.

'my dad planted you into my life and you wormed your way into being my boyfriend.'

peter freezes, his stiff shoulders are your answer. 'it's true?' your voice cracked, the deception has your insides curling. you thought peter would deny it and kiss you a hundred times and tell you he wasn't that type of guy.

but he is and he did it.

'peter, it's true?' why do you want to cry? you were the one that was swindled. it hurts because you trusted him, it hurts because you thought he loved you just as much as you did him.

there's a new feeling, it's rage. you shared so much of yourself with him for nothing, you wasted time on him. you move on your own accord and you push your weight into his shoulders, trying to throw him back, it's useless. he doesn't even budge, but he still lets you try with everything in you.

'you're piece of shit! i... i fucking hate you!' the word has tears pricking your eyes. peter felt his entire heart shatter, he thinks you just told him the worst thing he's ever heard.

'i fucking loved you, peter. you were my everything. i loved you with everything in me, and it was all built on a giant lie. why would you do that to me?'

loved, loved, loved, loved.

peter goes numb, there's nothing to fight for, you didn't love him anymore. you push on his chest, he feels nothing, he moves with your motion. 'fucking say something!'

he blinks, he says the first thing on his mind. the only thing on his mind. 'i love you.' it enrages you even further, does he think it's a joke? 'fuck you, peter.' and with that, you turn to leave his room, his house, him.

peter might've messed up but he can't let you leave without trying to save this. he knows he fucked up. 'wait! don't leave yet, just let me explain it, okay? then you can go back to hating me.' the ending sentence felt like battery acid on his tongue.

you stand still. you’ve been hurt by him but you still love him no matter what you say, and that feels like a kick in the chest to yourself. if he can, you'll let him try and dig himself out of this hole.

'this, what we have, it's real. everything i did as your boyfriend was real. i love you with everything in me, you know i do.' you don't look like you believe it, it looks like you think he's just telling you what you want to hear.

'your dad...' peter doesn't know how he got here, he didn't expect it all to come out. 'look, i've always liked you, okay? you know that, we've talked about how when i first met you i was head over heels for you. your dad knew that too and he hated it. but then you were all sad about your friend so he suggested i just... befriend you.'

'suggested or told?' peter swallows hard, this is tricky even for him. 'i don't know. i just had the opportunity to talk to you and i took it. all your dad did was give me an in, that's it. everything else was all me, i promise.'

you sigh heavily, it sounds like something your dad would do. 'then why wouldn't you tell me this when we started dating?' peter gestures to you and all your fury. 'i didn't want this to happen. i didn't want you to doubt me. us. i didn't want you to doubt us.'

'so he told you to be my friend. nothing else?' peter winces, there's more to it and you're not sure if you want to hear it. 'okay, maybe he said to keep an eye out for you.' your face drops, peter's quick to keep talking. 'but i heard that as befriend! how could i keep you safe if we're not friends, right?'

it's not working, you seem more sad than mad now and peter prefers your anger. 'and when he saw how happy you were with me it changed and he gave me the go ahead to ask you out.' you'll bite your tongue on that one, you know it's because peter's a stickler for a father's blessing.

'when did he back out of the picture, peter?' the question un-eases him, and you have a feeling you know why. you pray it's not what you think, but it is.

'a couple months into dating.' peter jumps to continue, 'he never told me to date you, he just said it was a good thing and he was happy i was keeping you busy and making you happy. he gave me a little money for dates, but that's it, i swear.'

peter was taking money from him?

'so, while i was falling in love with you, my dad was paying you off? nice, peter. that's a real nice guy act.'

peter knows how it sounds, that's why he felt like he couldn't spit it out. the more time went on, the less he felt the need to share. 'that's not what it was, all he wanted was for me to be your friend, i promise. i'm the one that went a step further, i'm the one that wanted to be your boyfriend.'

you roll your eyes, how dumb does he think you are? 'of course you wanted to be my boyfriend, you were getting paid.' you couldn't be further from the truth, peter felt bad taking his money but it was to keep you happy and that's all he ever wanted to do.

he's failing pretty hard right now.

'no, that's not what it was. i was the one that planned everything, everything we built was because of me.'

'right. and he was just sponsoring it?'

peter's never fought harder for anything in his life. you were on the line. 'he pulled out when it started to get real. he said it was on me to take care of you and i did. i have been. i'm not lying, your dad might have put you into my life but every single part of me loving you was real and all me.'

you want to believe him. you want him to be telling the truth. and maybe if it all started because your dad wanted him to look out for you, you could look past it. but for him to double down and start taking money when you were calling him boyfriend makes you feel sick.

peter knows it's not working. 'baby, please-' you cut him off, 'don't you dare call me that, we're done. it's over. hope it was worth it.'

panic fills him, he suddenly feels hot. for a second peter sees black dots, he swears he's about to pass out. 'no, no, no. don't do this, don't do this to me.'

how did peter go from trying to salvage it to ruining it beyond repair?

your arms cross over your chest, it's a way to guard your hurting heart. it's not fair. you gave him so much of yourself just to learn it was all built on a lie, you can't choose between breaking out into a sob or wanting to punch his face.

'i really loved you, peter.'

'you still do. i know you do. you can't just stop loving me out of nowhere. i know i hurt you and i know i broke your trust but you can't stop loving me.'

you feel empty inside. peter was right, he hurt you. he hurt you big time. 'i'm going to try.' you can see how wet his eyes are, if he drops a single tear you'll go back on every word of yours. you have to leave and stand up for yourself because if you don't it'll be proof that he can treat you however he wants.

'please don't do this. i'll do anything, i'll... i'll...' he's drawing blanks, for the first time ever peter doesn't know how to fix anything. 'please don't leave me. i'll be better, i'll be who you need. i love you so much, please don't do this to me.' peter's grasping at straws and you feel your chest rattle when you tell him you're leaving.

peter drops to his knees, he's begging. 'i'm sorry, i'm so so sorry. i should've told you when we first started dating- no! i should've never done it, i should've told your dad to... to fuck off and, and, i'm so sorry! please don't break up with me, please.'

you've lost all edge, you feel just as broken.

'goodbye, peter.'

----

it's been three days of reckoning and you're in a terrible mood. the blame has shifted, after you dumped peter and returned home to your bed you thought long and hard about it and realized that peter would've never done it if your dad didn't get involved.

if your dad didn't drop peter in as an informant, you wouldn't be here. if your dad didn't tell peter to buddy up with you, he'd still be your boyfriend.

you don't hate peter anymore, you're just sad. instead, you hate your dad. you hate how he ruined everything you had and ruined all your trust in him. you've refused to speak to him for three days, this morning he had enough of it when you slammed your door in his face.

he promptly allowed himself in and looked around your disheveled room, he knows something's wrong. 'woah. easy on, teen angst. talk to your dad, what's going on?'

you pretend he's not in the room with you. 'is something wrong? do you want me to call your boyfriend?' of course he wants peter over, he wants him to spy on you so your dad can corner him and sweat him out until peter spills.

you know how peter is and your dad took advantage of that.

'i broke up with peter. leave me alone.' there's a ring of silence, your dad is in shock. it would explain the sudden excuses on why peter can't come over, it would also explain your sour attitude.

'why would you do that?' because of him. because your dad had to get involved in your love life. 'because of you. you planted him in my life and paid him off to date me. i hate you.'

'is that what he told you?'

you don't know why you're talking to him. 'basically.' your dad sighs and sits on the edge of your bed, you resist the burning urge to kick his back.

'is this about what i said the other day? honey, i didn't ask him to date you and i didn't pay him off. i paid him when he helped me redo the lab. he must've gotten confused on the reasoning.'

you think about it. the lab was renovated right around the time you started dating and was finished right around when you became official. and peter did the brunt of heavy lifting and furniture shifting. he even had to reschedule a date because he was going to stay up all night to wrap up all the cords and label them to keep track.

'and for what it's worth, the kid's always liked you. i saw it on his face the second you shook his hand and i told him absolutely not. but the more i thought about it the more i thought why not?'

you're not saying anything but you're holding on to every word he says. 'i got tired of you moping around the place because of that brat you called a friend so i suggested he keep an eye out for you and be a friend if you needed one. honey, i knew what i was doing. i knew what was going to happen.'

peter left a lot of this out. a lot.

'he said you told him it was his job to take care of me now.' your dad laughs. 'yeah, i did. when he came to me shaking and halfway begging to let him be your boyfriend, i told him that he would have to grow a pair and take care of you.'

your dad turns and gives you a light smile, he pats your leg over the blanket. 'i don't think any part of it was a lie, kiddo. i just gave him the greenlight to do what he wanted to do the second he met you.'

tears sting your eyes, you think about how crushed peter looked. you imagine the tear in his heart was far greater than yours. you heard something and made your own assumption and peter can't back himself to save his life so you walked away from it entirely.

you were so mean to him. you belittled him and did the worst possible thing you could do. you told him you hated him. you blink fast to clear your eyes, tears start falling instead. you've been so mad you haven't been able to process what you did but it's hitting now and you feel broken.

'i told him i hated him. i've never said that to him, he was so sad. i was so mean to him, dad. i was calling him names and...' your breath catches, you feel like your throat’s closing up. 'i think i broke his heart.'

you curl up, you want to be left alone, you want to punish yourself. instead your dad tells you to 'get your sorry ass up and go apologize to your boyfriend.' it's a very short pity party.

---

you rushed his front door. you felt like the longer you waited the closer your window closed. you stupidly blocked his number so now you're unaware if he's tried to reach out at all. you're knocking so hard your knuckles hurt.

'oh my good-' you push past may. it's incredibly rude and you'll have to add her to your apology train but the first and most important stop is peter.

'where's-'

peter steps out from his room, he looks at you cautiously and doesn't get halfway through your name before you're running to him and wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing yourself against him. it's a full bodied hug.

'i'm so sorry and i love you. i love you so so much, i love everything about you. i love your voice in the morning, i love how you always give me an extra kiss at night to repel bed bug bites, i love how you never give me shit when i don't bring a jacket to the movies even though i'm gonna steal yours because i always get cold. i love how you always make me a bowl of cereal after we-'

'may.'

'-watch a movie. i love how you grew your hair out because i asked you. i love how you always ask to kiss me first. i love how you love me.' you squeeze him tighter.

'i told you i hated you and that couldn't be further from the truth. i love you so much and i was so mean to you and i just don't want you to think i hate you. i could never hate you, peter. i should've never said that, i can love you and be mad at you at the same time.'

peter quietly shushes you, it settles the bubble of anxiety in your chest. he's calming you down, he's doing what he always does when you're inches away from a panic attack. peter gently pulls at your hands around his neck to move them to his waist, it's instantly more comfortable, you're able to bury yourself into him.

'i don't want to be broken up anymore.' your voice cracks, you don't know what you'll do if he says no. you're spiraling, the consequences of your actions are falling into place. you're going to lose him.

peter pulls you back into reality. he always knows when you're too far gone, you can't imagine life without him anymore. 'calm down for a second, okay? i'm not going anywhere. i'm right here.' he turns his head back to his room, may's doing that thing where she pretends she doesn't see or hear what's going on but she's actually holding on to every word.

'wanna go lay down?' you nod fast and pull away to tug him into his own room, peter swears he sees a frown on his aunt's face. the second he shuts his door you start in on round two, you stop when he cups your face and softly shushes you again.

'please stop panicking.'

'i'll panic until you take me back. i should've never broken up with you, peter. i was yelling at my dad and then he told me what actually happened and we were both wrong and now you hate me.'

peter's eyes are shining, he's getting a little amusement from your distress and you allow it. it's the least you could give him after breaking him down into nothing.

'i told you to stop blocking me when you get mad at me.' you want to hit yourself in the face, you knew you missed out on something. 'never again, i promise. i can't do this again, peter. if i'm about to have a panic attack over something that's a non-issue i'll hate myself forever.'

'you really want to hate someone, don't you?' you seal your mouth closed. he's right, you've been saying it too much. even if he said it with a tilt in his voice you take it seriously.

'since someone is a little reactionary, i'll show you my phone.' peter paws at his back pocket before you have his phone in your hands, sure enough there's five missed messages.

the first one was an hour after you dumped him.

'upon further consideration, i reject our break up. you promised me that you'd never break up with me in the heat of an argument. not after the charity auction thing.'

'therefore, we are not broken up until you come over and do it at a later time.'

'love- your boyfriend <3'

'ps. even though you blocked me, i know you don't hate me.'

'you're just mad and you're soooo gonna regret that later.'

peter's right, you do regret it. your eyes are glossy when you reread the texts over and over, even at your worst he loves you. 'so, you're still my boyfriend?'

soft pokes are placed at your sides, you squirm with his touch. 'duh. i just stayed away until you figured it out.' you pout at him, your attack deemed unjustified.

'he wasn't paying you to take me on dates. he was paying you for renovating the lab. that's why the payments stopped after we started dating.'

peter never took money from your dad and your dad never employed peter. he nods slowly. 'oh, yeah, that would make a lot of sense.' you reach forward for another hug and speak into his chest.

'i'm sorry for being mean and trying to break up with you.'

'it's okay, baby.' you melt at a kiss on your hairline. 'you didn't mean it.'

'i promise i didn't.' you feel like a dog with a tail between their legs, there's not enough ways to say how sorry you are. 'i love you, petey.'

another kiss. 'i love you, too.'

he feels so warm, he feels like home. for the first time in three days you feel comfortable, you press into your boyfriend and he doesn't budge. you love how sturdy he is, you love how you can nearly hurt him with your love.

you squeeze him hard, using all your force and almost shaking you're holding him to you so tightly. when you start limiting his breathing, peter pushes down on your elbows.

'you're about to cuteness aggression me to death.'

'i love you.' you can't say it enough.

peter laughs, 'i love you.'

'no,' you peer up at him, it's been days since you kissed him. 'i really love you.' it's whispered, peter's lips twitch at your blown pupils. you almost purr when he cups your face. 'i know you do.'

peter knows that look. he's the one that created it. 'do you want me to-'

'yes.' you waste no time, pushing up and attacking his mouth with your own. you don't know why it's so harsh, you don't know why you're desperate to swallow him and show him how much you missed him, how much you need him. you want to prove how sorry you are.

'lock your door.' peter's eyes sparkle, that means one thing. he takes off so fast his socks slip on his floor and he catches himself on the wall, his lock flicked in seconds.

peter tugs at the back of his shirt, 'naked kisses?' you bite your lip and nod, 'i could go for a bowl of cereal.'

#peter parker x reader #peter parker blurb #peter parker fluff #peter parker angst #peter parker mcu #my writing

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erikftglitter · 6 months ago

Text

Sam Wilson as a Boyfriend

I rarely see enough of my falcon boo so here you go. Black MCU deserves more love & my ladies need the representation. I take requests! ✨

He doesn’t like when you insult yourself

“Sam.” You called out breathlessly. Spring was fast approaching and you had the idea of getting back in shape before summer. You didn’t desire drastic results. You actually didn’t have a goal. You just wanted to prepare for the summer events that awaited you. Each summer you and Sam usually attended poolside parties, thanks to Sam’s friends of course. You just wanted to burn a little sweat before the snow melted.

“I’m tired.” You whine at your boyfriend jogging in place in front of you. His athleticism has always been far greater than yours, but that never truly bothered you.

“We can sprint another half mile and run the rest.” He offers, his legs never halting his movements.

“C’mon. You can do it.” He encourages while closing the distance between the two of you.

“I’m too lazy for this.” You began, you were mostly joking, but Sam knew from prior conversations that you were a perfectionist. If you weren’t immediately good at something then you’ll began dismiss and doubt yourself. Those days were practically over but you had your moments.

“Baby. You absolutely are not lazy. You may be even more disciplined than me, which is saying something.” He chuckles which makes you offer a small smile.

“On a serious note, YN, please don’t speak that type of nonsense on yourself. C’mon I’ll even hold your hand this time.” You can’t help but laugh at his compromise. If there is one thing that Sam hates it is definitely touching the moistened hands of someone else.

“And you know how much I hate that.” His top lip curled in disgust at the thought.

“Too bad you offered.” You take his hand and began to skip off onto the running trail again. With only a few obscenities and an uncomfortable single hand, Sam held your hand during the rest of the duration.

You have something important to share

While you usually do enjoy listening your boyfriend’s daily post-work fill in, you couldn’t help but to zone out this time.

The loud silence that you experienced not even five hours ago in your joint bathroom was all you could think about. Before that your day was normal. Your life was normal. You just couldn’t ignore your own behavior anymore.

Between the exceedingly drastic warmth that affected you at night, the churning of your stomach at foods that you’ve always loved, and the fatigue that washed over you, it was pretty apparent that you needed to acknowledge this.

You managed to sneak out to Target while Sam was out with his Steve. You used the time to stock on toiletries for both you and Sam and cat food for the cat that you convinced Sam that you should get.

You grabbed the unfamiliar box and tossed it into the cart without so much as a thought. It was really just a safety measure. You were fine really just probably fighting a stomach bug.

That was what you told yourself on the entire way home. It was also the same thing that you told yourself last week and the week before that.

So deep down you aren’t too sure why you were so surprised at the positive pregnancy test. This is something that you had suspected for a while.

“YN. Are you listening?” Sam has his hands in the air to get your attention. “What are you over there thinking about?” He asked as he walked closer to your spot on the couch.

When you didn’t answer him again he quickly took a different approach. He was kneeling down in front of you in hopes of making eye contact. He was so handsome when he was concerned.

“What’s going on baby? Talk to me?” His thumb softly angled your face up to meet his gaze. You contemplated for a minute. Your shock didn’t allow you the chance to create a grand gesture to showcase to your boyfriend that he was about to be taking on the journey of fatherhood.

You two mentioned children before but you just always thought it would be further down the line. What would he think about this at a time like now? He was busier than ever and rarely even had time to do much outside of work.

“I’m pregnant.” You blurt out. The outburst shocked you almost as much as it shocked Sam. Your thoughts were getting too loud and it was making you feel nauseous.

“Are you pranking me? Because if so that is no”you cut Sam off by placing the disinfected test into his hands.

He immediately read the word, “pregnant” and shot up to his feet. With an amplitude of “oous” and “let’s go’s,” it is safe to say that you were nervous about nothing.

“My baby is having my baby. Let’s get you something to eat mamas.” He kissed your cheeks repeatedly before helping you off of the sofa.

First Wash Day

Hair maintenance was easily your favorite and less favorite thing in the world. You loved getting your hair done or styling it yourself, but the steps before styling were very time consuming. However, it’s your hair, this is something you’ve done all your life.

Your favorite thing to do is to follow your customized hair plan. This meant with your specific targeted shampoo, deep conditioner, and an occasional hair mask. So if someone told you that you’d be washing your hair hundreds of miles away from home in a penthouse suite, you absolutely wouldn’t believe it.

The sudden exposure to chlorine is the reason why you’re in this situation. You absolutely didn’t want to walk around smelling like someone’s pool so your routine would have to be halted today.

You rummaged through Sam’s toiletries and borrowed a generous amount of his shampoo before hopping into the warm shower. The shower didn’t last long. Sam forgot to pack conditioner and you forgot to pack your straightener. This would be an interesting week.

With just a robe you began to blow dry your hair, pausing after a few intervals due to your arms tightening up. The blow dryer drowned the noise of the suite doors open so you were very startled by Sam’s sudden appearance behind you.

“Ooou damn. I don’t think I’ve seen this view yet.” Sam smiled, admiring your half dry natural state. You smile at him from your place in the mirror. Sam always made you feel giddy and beautiful. Underneath all of his silly antics was a very sweet man.

“Why thank you Mr. Wilson.” You say and approach your boyfriend to place a kiss on his lips.

“Keep talking like that and you’ll surely be Mrs. Wilson by tomorrow.”

#sam wilson #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson x black reader #erikftglitter #black mcu #black mcu imagines #black mcu x black reader #black marvel fanfiction #captain america #the falcon and the winter soldier #falcon #marvel mcu #headcanon #anthony mackie #black panther tumblr

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writer-in-wonder · 10 days ago

Text

what being a little sister figure to joaquin looks like (found family)

a/n: finished brave new world today and UGH i loved seeing joaquin get more screen time!

i added a line break just because it’s a long post lol :)

• remember when sam called joaquin “kid” when talking to isaiah at the end of BNW?

• well you’re even younger than joaquin, so imagine how much more they look out for you.

• the MCU has already deviated a bit from joaquin’s story in the comics, notably that he’s from miami in the movies but in the comics he lives in arizona after immigrating from mexico

• also in the comics he has a huge heart for the mexican immigrants and leaves food and water and medicine there for them as they cross the border slayyyyyy

• la raza 🇲🇽❤️

• because it hasn’t been specified to be different, i say his family is his mom and grandma just like it is in the comics

• that means he grew up with his immediate family being only girls. so he’s definitely more fluent in girl than he might appear, and it’s the best

• upon meeting you he sees a lot of his same zeal for exciting adventures and learning in you, and takes to being an older brother figure to you pretty quickly

• with him knowing girl world, he becomes one of your go-to’s for girl talk

• he also may or may not know how to braid hair…which you found out by complete accident

“hey y/n, a strand of your hair is hanging out of the braid.”

“well do you wanna do it?”

“uh…sure.”

“what?”

• now he’ll do your hair sometimes when you visit

• sam: nice braid

y/n: thanks joaquin did it

sam: *looks at joaquin at his desk*

joaquin: yeah

sam: cool

bonus:

sam: don’t y’all remember that i grew up with a sister? i know about all that stuff

•sam’s walked into a room more than once to see joaquin working on a braid while you’re telling him what’s new, the man nodding and interjecting as you go on.

• joaquin hates to be the stern voice of reason with you because he feels too much like sam. but he’ll do it if he has to. he wants to be the mentor he didn’t have growing up, and sometimes it means you butt heads for a second but that’s fine. at the end of the day you know he just wants the best for you.

• he’s your sparring partner when you’re at their base. you definitely didn’t have to hide a laugh when isaiah bodied him during their training. multiple times.

• “you okay?”

“…can you get me a water?”

• you get on him for being a diehard miami guy but soon enough you’re taking his jerseys and hoodies because you like the oversized look

“…that’s my sweatshirt”

*sipping coffee* “yup.”

• he gets you your own come Christmas, but you both know you like his

• he gets you into all the miami teams

• watching the games together at the base, usually the soccer ones

• part of your training with him is soccer techniques too

• SCREAMING when it’s a close call and ofc when they win

• “GOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLL” 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

• he ends up taking you to one of the games he’s invited to and you both end up on the big screen

• he has that photo of you two freaking out on his desk

• somewhere along the lines he started calling you Shorty due to the height difference. or chaparrita, in Spanish. sometimes Princess when he’s teasing you or being sappy.

• you respond with your own names: birdman, joaq (the first half of joaquin which just sounds like “walk”)

• or joaqy if you wanna be exceptionally annoying. which you love being.

• “joaqyyy”

“what is it?”

“can i please try the jet pack?”

“wha-no! sam would kill me.”

“he doesn’t have to know.”

“but he’d still find out.”

“joaqyyy-“

• speaking of spanish, if you’re fluent too then you both speak spanish all the time to annoy sam. • i know he knows vital spanish, as we’ve seen in BNW, but he’s nowhere near as fluent as you and joaquin are.

• “would you two cut it out?”

“que le pasa?” (what’s wrong with him?)

“no se manita.” (i don’t know sis)

• he was raised a gentleman and grew up looking out for his mom and abuelita.

• so there’s no way he’d let someone hurt you.

• definitely gives you advice, whether you ask for it or not.

“he doesn’t come up to the door on your first date? gone.”

“okay joaquin…”

• it’s not like he’s keen on the idea of you having a boyfriend, anyway.

• he would put the suit on in a heartbeat if he even thought a guy was trying to talk to you. no one gets to play with your emotions, or even worse, break your heart.

• he gets better over time, yet you don’t let him forget about the coffee shop incident.

“dude, he was just picking up the napkin i dropped!”

“i don’t care.”

• but sam’s quick to point out the hypocrisy when you’re glaring at girls who try to flirt with him

• “she just likes the wings.”

“sounds like someone’s being protective.”

“…shut up sam.”

• your stomach dropped to the ground when you saw what happened in the indian ocean.

• you couldn’t really watch the news or be on your socials for the first few days because everything was about the american air force captain who was shot out of the sky

• you were scared. and you cried. a lot.

• sam wouldn’t let you see him for a while because he knew how much it might shake you up

• which made you absolutely furious and you told him off, saying he had no right to baby you

• but you guys made up later so it was alright

• “he’s gonna be okay, kid.”

“i know…”

• you definitely were tearing up when you finally got to see him • “hey shorty!”

• you didn’t mean to get emotional but the relief of hearing his voice and seeing his smile again gave you so much comfort

• “hey, i’m fine, i promise.”

*sniff* “when you get better i’m gonna kill you.”

“okay.”

• i have this idea that sarah hosts you all for a cookout at some point. it takes place after the events of BNW, and you and joaquin definitely get up to your shenanigans. notably betting when bucky and sarah might become a couple (sam finds out and shuts the whole thing down - or so he thinks)

• the bet’s still going on to this day

• some time after the accident, joaquin was pretty much back to normal. he still had his upbeat happy-go-lucky attitude, joking with sam and isaiah and being annoying to you

• it wasn’t until you noticed him less at his desk that you realized he was more injured than he ever let on.

• they knew he had a concussion from the impact when he fell, and for him that meant he was sensitive to bright lights. you walked into the office one time to see all the lights off and him sitting in his chair with his head in his lap.

• “joaq?”

• “…i’m okay y/n. i’m okay.”

• that was the day he realized he needed to slow down more. which he hated. but you and sam and isaiah were awful to him and made sure he stayed resting.

• and if he ever said “maybe i should get shot out of the sky more often” in front of you like he said to sam at the end of BNW?

• oh, he’s in for it.

• he talks to sam about the nightmares he has about the fight and you overhear one day

• and he definitely gets defensive when you bring it up, or when you mention how you noticed he’s wearing turtlenecks in the middle of summer to hide his burn marks.

• “i don’t want you involved in this y/n.”

“i’m not a kid, joaquin. let me help-“

“you can help by leaving me alone.”

• he didn’t mean to snap at you, but truthfully you were all tired of the last few months and all the changes they brought.

• “fine.”

• you two didn’t really talk for a few weeks. the guilt kept building between you both until you each caved in and made up.

• thanks to an intervention from sam, of course.

• joaquin will drop anything to help you out, whether it’s for studying or needing a ride from somewhere.

• always has your location on and is super annoying about it.

“aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“my professor ended the lecture early?”

“uh-huh…”

• and don’t even bother changing the settings because he’ll just hack it and then snitch to sam.

• he definitely does stupid things to make you smile when you’re having a bad day, but knows when to be serious as well.

• he’s pretty good at pep talks and is always happy to offer a hug if you want it.

“i know you can do it, y/n.”

• there’s few people in the world who make you laugh as hard as he does.

• he still loves a good conspiracy theory, which has led to plenty of nights of you two trying to reason through them.

• “i’m telling you, this is crazy!”

“it’s not! if the FBI was founded in that year, then it only makes sense that-“

“kids, go to sleep.”

• sam is convinced he’s watching two babies sometimes. but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

• even when you both know nothing about the songs he’s trying to teach you about.

• he feels so hopeless sometimes being that you two are completely aloof to older generations.

• “it’s…it’s chicago. it’s not that old of a band.”

“sam the only thing i think about when i hear chicago is the pizza.”

”wait chicago deep-dish sounds so good right now.”

• joaquin will remember your favorite snacks or orders from fast food restaurants and sometimes get them unprompted.

• that’s just him being a big brother.

• and as much as he wants to mother you sometimes, he respects that you’re becoming your own person as a young adult and is so proud of all that you’re doing in life.

#joaquin torres #danny ramirez #captain american brave new world #sam wilson #sam wilson platonic #writing #explore #new #mcu #marvel #platonic!reader #the new avengers #new avengers #the thunderbolts*#thunderbolts #thunderbolts*

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thousandyearphantombunker · 6 months ago

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"we want more mentally ill/disabled characters with ugly symptoms!"

You guys can't handle lapis lazuli tony stark or hank pym! You guys can barely contain your ableism toward the hulk! You guys hate the good doctor for all the wrong reasons! You made fun of his speech patterns and his meltdowns wtf like I'm sorry the only autistic person you've supported have been the perfect non annoying type- but too many of especially as children are like shawn- they talk weird and don't understand what's so offensive about what they said

You guys keep saying Lapis should just be rewritten into a villain! I don't like how the show handled her but like your really gonna make the girl who shows ugly bad symptoms of ptsd into villain? You guys keep trying to make hank into a villain or rewrite his past- god forbid a character have really sevre ugly symptoms that causes them to make decisions that permanently effect the story but have them still be heroes! God forbid Ironman have npd and be a hero! Let's shame MCU Bruce for his mental illness for being unable to do things because of it! God as soon as a character with a mental illness or developmental disorder or low IQ shows actual symptoms and behaviors (ei: acts like how someone with the disorder in question acts- you know the main part of having a fucking disorder) you get pissy and pile on the shame- yeah jen you do control your anger better than bruce- you can also stand better than Charles fucking Xavier! Yeah your smarter than a guy with a low IQ want a cookie?

I'm never gonna be one of those people who tell others to stop writing disabled villains or that writing a character that deals with internalized ableism (disabled people like any group of people can be total prices of shit, and I'm sorry not everyone is content and accepting of their disabilities and some of us take comfort in characters that struggle with being angry because of their problems) but Jesus Christ when a heroic character with ugly symptoms who makes cruel decisions or has 'bratty' or 'immature' moments can we let them stay heroes? Can we let them have a disorder without piling on the shame that we are inferior because we can't do something everyone else can- because that's literally what a disability is! Can they still be heroes?

Do we have to use intellectual/developmental disability as a shorthand for anti intellectualism and being a gross annoying psycho

Do we have to make every heroic character with aspd or npd into a villain or change their disability to autism because it's 'more sympathetic' as if lack of empathy isn't a goddamned symptom of many disabilities like PTSD and autism- You can headcanon tony as having autism- that's cool by me but it's clear some of y'all do it to make him a 'woobie'- which is infantalizing btw but also it's because some of y'all are ableist toward people with npd

I hate that the only acceptable 'ugly symptoms' are things like forgetting to shower or brush your teeth every once in a while or being a bit irritable and not stuff like burning bridges or having explosive outburts

Also it's not a mental illness unless it effects your behavior?

Im not saying that we should just accept and allow mentally ill/intellectually disabled people/characters to get away with bad behaviors unpunished but can they stay heroes? Can they still be respectable?

"we want more characters with ugly symptoms"

Yet

You people get offended by low functioning autistic people existing! You get mad at them for being incontinent or nonverbal/making strange noises or having scary anger issues or IQs low enough that they will never be independent you get mad at them for not showing the 'appropriate' reactions to things they may or may not fully understand- you hate people with sensory issues -

You don't want mentally ill/disabled characters- you want characters with the labels of mental disabilities without any of the ugly strange or off putting behaviors mental/intellectual deficiencies/issues cause- you want a romantic tragedy!

You shame people with Alzheimer's for FORGETTING stuff and LOSING SKILLS 'yeah yeah you are superior to your uncle because you can remember stuff but can you remember it's a fucking disease! you people are cruel

Yes you are technically superior to disabled people because you are capable of things we aren't and you have better character and you can control yourself but guess what? Those people you hate for being incapable of that shit have disabilities it's not our faults! It's the fucking definition of a disability! Like yeah it is a skill issue and we're just 'worse' than nondisabled with us lacking self control and having lower IQs and bad mental processing- yeah it is because we're lacking in some capacity that's like the definition disability you can't say you support disabled people and then turn around and say shit about how your better than these people because you can talk or take care of yourself

Hank Pym and Lapis Lazuli should get called out for acting like assholes and pieces of shit but I am firmly against turning one of few heroic characters who actively struggle with psychosis and delusions into another 'psycho' villain and I'm firmly against saying Lapis is just as bad as Jasper and using symptoms of her PTSD as signs she should be rewritten into a villain- I want them to be held accountable not turned into straight up evil guys or dear god washing out their problematic qualities until they're palatable/relatable to a neurotypical audience to make them good guys when they are already good guys!

Can people who do bad things because of their disabilities still be heroes? Can they be allowed to get better or do they have to accept that having ugly symptoms means being the bad guy? Fucking hell this is why I side eye anyone who acts like mental illness/developmental/cognitive or mental etc disabilities are more destigmatized than physical disabilities (trust me they aren't)

Tldr let characters with ugly symptoms be heroes let your characters with mental disorders act like they have a disorder and let said characters be heroes inspite of it!

#hank pym #lapis lazuli #tony stark #Bruce banner #The good doctor only proved how much of disability acceptance is performative nonsense #I'll give that show shit for writing unbelievable shit #Shawn being unable to drive while relatable makes no sense- with his career he'd freaking lose his job so fast #But I'm not forgiving anyone who mocked the meltdown scene or the way he talked #Or the fact he did lack skills and therefore you are superior to him because he does struggle with these skills #Go fuck yourself I don't care if you are 'technically' superior- if your a bully than go fuck yourself #abelism #saneism #Tony has npd deal with it #Tony is a hero deal with it #Tony is morally grey deal with it #Tony Stark stans and antis see zero nuance with the man #You guys are somehow worse than Terra antis and fans in Teen Titans #And that's saying something #I hate how Lapis treats Peridot it's bad #And I hate how Hank Pym stans are anti wasp or act like he's done nothing wrong #But I will fight anyone who wants to make them into villains #This is something of vent I guess?

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abarbaricyalp · 3 months ago

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AJ Wilson and the Case of the Disappearing Beard and the Stranger on the Couch

I finished the WIP I've been affectionately, but perhaps exaggeratedly, calling AJ and the Winter Soldier. This fic follows a Sam-Finds-Bucky pre-Civil War canon divergence, in which Bucky meets the Wilsons a whole decade earlier than he actually does. Ignore the timeline. I hate the mcu timeline This was supposed to be a ficlet 🙃 AO3 Link

Sam didn't mean to bring the Winter Soldier home to meet his family. But the situation was dire and the Winter Soldier was really mostly Bucky Barnes by now, so he figured where needs must.

The needs at the moment being the wanted fugitive who had shown up at Sam’s back door three weeks ago, soaking wet in the rain, and so pathetic looking he couldn’t be scary, who had come inside when Sam opened the door, went straight to the bathroom to change and dry off, then had gone to the couch and fallen asleep. Sam had been adopted by a stray cat once, while he was taking classes at LSU. It let him pet it and feed it and talk to it while he got his mail. It came into his apartment a few times to look around, then left again. Sam wondered if the Winter Soldier was also a shapeshifter.

The needs at the moment being that Sarah was only seven months postpartum and Cassius’s cancer had come back with a vengeance that his doctors couldn’t explain. That little Cass was scared of hospitals. That AJ, the baby, definitely couldn’t spend so much time somewhere where illness walked where it liked. That Sam’s family needed him and he needed them.

That his new shadow had looked at him with big, bright eyes and started to say, “Can I–” before he stopped himself and went to grab the single backpack of things he owned.

That Sam had sighed and snagged it before he could, and said something stupid like, “We can split the drive.”

It had been a relatively uneventful trip. Sarah had shouted at him about the uninvited guest, but she couldn't be mad the whole time he was there. Besides, he'd come specifically to babysit the boys. Uncle Sam to the rescue, right?

With his freshly adopted assassin with him.

Okay, so maybe Sarah could be a little mad at him. But she had also decided to go spend the time with Cash, so she wasn't that mad. And Sam figured he was more than making up his apology. It's not like he was letting Barnes wander around unobserved. Not like Barnes really seemed to want to be out of Sam's line of sight. He hadn’t wanted that the whole time he’d been at Sam’s place in DC. If Sam went running, he went running. (He was a much better running partner than Steve) If Sam went for take-out, he came back to find Bucky pacing the living room. If Sam stayed up late, Bucky sat with him.

There’d been some rumblings that the Winter Soldier might’ve died. Something about a HYDRA base explosion and a body with a metal arm. When Sam had looked at him, unimpressed, Bucky had just shrugged and gotten back to cooking whatever red-sauce coated thing he was making that night. It bought him some time and space, but it did mean his freedom had condensed down to the places where security cameras didn’t watch every twitch.

Louisiana wasn’t so bad for that.

It was the third day when Sam looked over from doing the dishes and found Barnes holding the baby under the arms out in front of him. Close enough that AJ could still reach out and snare his impossibly strong little fingers in Bucky's beard but far enough away that they weren't going crosseyed to look at each other.

Bucky was staring at him intently and AJ was giving as good as he got.

"What in the world are you doing?" Sam asked.

"I read that babies start learning faces as early as 2 months old. If he knows my face, maybe he'll like me."

"He's a baby," Sam snorted. "Keep giving him his bottle and avoiding bath time and he'll like you just fine."

"That's not true. They said babies form opinions and it's hard to break them. The toddler did."

"Cass is shy. He just needs to get to know you. He sat next to you at lunch today."

"I gave him extra french fries," Bucky admitted. He pushed air into his cheeks and the baby cackled, smacking little hands against Bucky's beard delightedly. And then Bucky grinned too. Full faced and bright, nose scrunching up, eyes crinkling. Sam dropped a dish into the sink in his distraction.

It was the kind of smile Sam had gotten familiar with on his family's faces in the past handful of years. The kind where a baby smiled at you and you had no choice but to grin back and maybe make a silly face at them. For a moment, he wondered how long it had been since Bucky had gotten to smile like that, off the cuff and big and completely free. It made him look decades younger. For just a split second, he was seventeen and staring at a grainy black and white photo in his history book again.

"Hi there!" Bucky said for the umpteenth time this week. It seemed to be his go-to any time either of the boys looked at him. "I'm Bucky, remember?"

"You've completely held him hostage for three days," Sam said drily, forcing himself to look away from the entirely too endearing scene in front of him. "It'll be a miracle if he remembers the rest of us exist after you leave."

"Bucky," Bucky repeated.

AJ smacked his hands against Bucky's cheeks again. "Ba-ba-ba," he babbled.

"Nuh-uh!" Sam interjected quickly before Bucky could get excited. "He's been 'ba-ba-ba-'ing for weeks. I think he plays with that little sheep mobile too much."

AJ looked over at his uncle, smiling despite the distance between them. He kept curling his fingers in Bucky's beard and tugging on it hard. But Bucky didn't seem phased in the slightest.

"Is he hungry?" Sam asked, coming over to the back of the couch. He held out his hands and grinned goofily.

Bucky, for his part, did lift AJ up to pass him over. "Wanna go see your Uncle Sam?" he asked. "He wants to see you."

And then AJ's happy little smile fell and his cute little face puckered and Sam quickly stepped back. "Nope, take him back," he said just as the first sob erupted.

Bucky brought him back down to cradle in his arm and AJ settled down as soon as he could see Bucky's face again.

Alright, so maybe he had a point about the ways babies learned faces.

"Whatever," Sam sulked, not at all betrayed. "You let me know when he's feeling more sociable."

"What was that about bottles and bath time?" Bucky called back, even sounding younger now. The laugh he let out when Sam threw a peanut at him was practically unrecognizable.

Read the rest on AO3

#sambucky #bucky barnes #sam wilson #captain america #the falcon and the winter soldier #sambucky fanfic #writing

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olderthannetfic · 8 months ago

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In 21 years of writing fanfic, I had never had a comment genuinely make me feel frustrated and exasperated enough to rant. That ended yesterday, with someone getting annoyed by my use of the word 'minor' in a story. Bruh. A character who is a lawyer is going to differentiate between minors and adults because the law treats them very differently. I don't know how it works abroad, but in the United States, the law does factor age into things. A 4 or 14 or 24 year old have different levels of responsibility for their actions/capacity to understand their actions and therefore culpability in a court of law.

"Minors is insulting! Say kids!" This dude is a lawyer. He canonically says "minors" and "adults" in the source material. The character is referring to is a teen, not a child, also. Teens are, depending on the situation, usually not legally treated as adults in a court of law. They are, in criminal cases, treated differently from a child who is a preteen. Again, 4 and 14 are massively different ages cognitively and developmentally.

"I hate when people call kids teens or minors. It's degrading language." Teen means 13 to 19. Minor means under the age of majority, which in the country canon is set in is 18 years of age. 5/7ths of teens are under the age of majority. All of them are teens.

"Making him say minors feels predatory like he's not even acknowledging that's an actual whole-ass child!" He is not calling the 14 year old an adult. He is not preying on them. Legal documents from papers to the law to statements make this difference noted not because all these people wanna bang the 14 year old but because 14 is not an adult.

"Why can't he just say kid like a normal person?" Because kid is not a legal term. Child, defined as under 13 or under 18 depending on the law, does sometimes pop up, but you'll see the word minors a lot all over US law. Everywhere. All the time.

And before someone says, "ugh, the commenter must be an annoying teen/kid/minor", while you'd like to hope so, I saw their fandom tumblr (same name) pop up in a reblog of a post and clicked on the bio.

They're 35, soon to be 36. This isn't a 19 year old arguing teens are kids because seeing how teens act at his college has convinced him these aren't adults (which would be a fair argument; I have seen some silly, silly freshman, living three blocks from the university). This is someone old enough to have a teenager arguing that "minor" and "teen" are somehow morally wrong words to use.

I genuinely do try not to use offensive language unless it's in-character. I don't write everyone as a snarky MCU style everything-is-a-joke you-suck-lmao jackass. But this is in-character. And more than that, this is how people talk every single day in the real world and have for centuries.

This is the only truly can't-get-it-out-of-my-head baffling comment I've ever gotten. My comment luck has always been great, but I guess it had to run out sometime. (Not that I haven't had rude comments. It's just that the rudeness made sense in what the person hated.)

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eunoiaastralwings · 2 years ago

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Effects of a Truth Serum

featuring bucky x girlfriend!reader

fandom mcu- tfatws era

a/n dont ask me why i just did - it was a crack idea that got out off hand

warnings crack fic, fluff. innuendo (?) - SMUG BUCKY IS A WARNING. illusion into smut. and before you read just know am dyslexic. also the reader lowkey became my oc again. . . oop

You cover your mouth as you tried not to laugh as her boyfriend – who managed to get injected with the truth serum while they were trying to stop a few the flag smashers.

“you poor poor thing. . .”

You tease Bucky seeing how he looked annoyed and grumpy as he sat across from her – he was definitely mad at himself.

Bucky looks up at you.

Despite being under the influence of the Truth Serum – he’s annoyed by his girlfriend’s teasing and playful nature.

He doesn’t say anything – but the annoyed expression plastered on his face is clear enough.

You grins at your grumpy looking boyfriend.

“How you feeling, sergeant?”

You teased him cutely.

Bucky raises his eyebrow a little, slightly irritated by your continued teasing.

He finally breaks his silence.

“I feel. . . cranked; weird. This stuff’s really messing with my head.”

He looks at you – his expression slightly softer now but still slightly annoyed.

You sighed – gently holding his hand caressing it knowing he hated things that messed with his head or mind.

Bucky’s eyes follow your hand as you hold his.

His grip tightens slightly as you rub his hand. After a moment – his expression softens a little but his annoyance with the truth serum still hasn’t subsided.

Then you smirk – seemingly have very bright idea as she looked back up at your boyfriend holding back a huge mischievous grin.

Bucky watches you as you look up at him. He raises an eyebrow in curiosity, clearly wondering what exactly she’s planning.

“So. . .I just realized, I can ask you any question I want.”

You snickered.

Bucky doesn’t say anything at first.

He watches you and your mischievous grin with growing suspicion and curiosity – knowing exactly where this is leading. After a moment, he responds.

“I suppose you could. . .”

You smirked and leaned back crossing her arms thinking of the perfect questions.

As you lean back and thinks of the perfect questions to ask him, Bucky’s curiosity grows and he leans forward slightly – his eyes locked on you.

“How many women have actually been with back in the 40s!”

You instantly blurts out asking him – knowing he was quite the ladies man.

He raises his eyebrows and looks at you, and then he can’t help but let out a chuckle.

“I don't know the exact number. . .but more than you can count on two hands. . .and more. . .”

He shrugs his shoulders – still smirking.

Your jaw dropped “James. Buchanan. Barnes!”

“It doesn’t count if it was in war time!”

He mutters as if it were a valid excuse.

“Oh, of course, you probably slept with every nurse in the camp, didn’t you?”

You rolled your eyes at him.

“Not every nurse.”

He chuckles.

“But. . .I think. . .a lot of them. Yeah. . .”

He says thinking – causing you to raise an eyebrow at him.

“I was lonely, okay? And, I was young. And. . . hormonal.”

He shrugs again.

You smirk as the truth serum causes Bucky to say more of the truths.

Bucky clears his throat looking away – seemingly trying to keep himself shut; a faint blush from embarrassment on his cheeks.

“Right then. . .Hmm. . .”

You leaned back thinking of questions.

He waits patiently - or, as patiently as he can. The truth serum is doing its so-called magic.

Then she smirks again.

“When, how and where did you lose your virginity?”

His eyes widen.

“Jesus Christ. . .”

Bucky sighs and looks at you.

“You are making me answer everything, aren’t you?”

He’s slightly nervous – but doesn’t deny what he had just said.

You only smirk at your boyfriend.

“You know about mine”

You said.

“Yeah! Because I’m the one that took it! – I hate you right now!”

He rolls his eyes, but the smirk never leaves his face.

You only smirk as you watch him fight against the truth serum.

Bucky tries to hold it back – shutting his eyes but it was forced out.

“You’re evil”

Bucky laughs, slightly annoyed. But he doesn't lie to answer the question.

“The first time was in a bar. . .with a random waitress. . . in the back of the kitchen. . .Or back alleyway. I don’t even remember.”

He shrugs – “I was young and stupid.”

You just blink at him

“Wow. . .”

You whispered.

“What? You thought I was always a saint?”

He laughs lightly.

“I wasn’t always Winter Soldier, doll.”

“Come on. We were soldiers, back in the 40s. It was practically guaranteed to hook-up with other soldiers.”

Bucky smirks at the memory – “It was fun, I can't deny it.”

“Funny, how you can remember all that but not anything else!”

You narrowed your eyes at your boyfriend.

“I remember. . .certain parts of my time in the 40s.”

He looks back at her, smirking.

“I remember the women” He chuckles. – “It was one of the perks of being a soldier, back then.”

“Do you have a death wish?”

She asked her boyfriend – growing a little jealous now.

“Don’t start, doll”.

He says, knowing he’s in trouble. – “Relax.”

He looks into your eyes again – “It was a lifetime ago, honey. I’m all yours now.”

But you still had your eyes narrowed.

“Y/N. . .”

Bucky sighs – still looking into your eyes.

“I’m in love with you. It’s been years since I’ve even spoken of any of the women from my past. Can’t we just move on?”

He tries to smile in a reassuring way.

“I’m your only one. All the other women from my past. . .”

He chuckles to himself.

“They’re all just a distant memory at this point.”

Bucky says – gently tries to coax you into his arms again.

“Promise?”

You asked – as you reluctantly lets yourself be pulled into his arms.

“Always, doll.”

He smiles and wraps his arms around you.

“Just trust me, Y/N. I’m yours. . .and only yours.”

He gently leans in to kiss him.

You smile and softly kiss him back.

It wasn’t long before Bucky placed your back against the mattress too.

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bennie-jerry · 8 months ago

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My Beef with Wanda Maximoff - An MCU Rant

Sorry not sorry, I will ride the Wanda-ain't-shiitake train till the wheels are worn out. I do not care what her fangirls say. And if you're legitimately going to be so overly offended just from me disliking a FICTIONAL character, I highly suggest you click off, make some tea, and watch a Ghibli movie.

How many times does it need to be said? Just because someone suffers from some form of (small or big) trauma, IT DOESN’T GIVE THEM A PASS TO DO EVIL SH—

I really REALLY sincerely hope there's lore or bits I'm missing here (and if so, PLEASE tell me because I WANT to be wrong so BAD). But from what I know and remember, I feel as though I have every right to be disgusted with who Wanda is as a person.

It frustrates me so much how this carmine-colored narcissist will whine about people being scared of her, but she does stuff only a scary person WOULD do.

Purposefully setting the Hulk off so you could use him as a wrecking ball on innocent civilians in Johannesburg during Age of Ultron? Seems scary as heck.

Literally warping the universe itself to hunt and kill a teenager who did nothing to you during Multiverse of Madness? Seems scary as heck.

Brainwashing an ENTIRE town JUST so you can live in delusion about your man not being dead during Wandavision? Seems DOUBLE scary as heck.

Don't even try to defend what she did in Age of Ultron. Even if she supposedly didn't INTEND to have civilians killed, she sure as HECK didn't seem all too sorry that it happened. She wasn't ‘regretful’ that she did it. She was only ‘regretful' when Bruce confronted her on it. She has the nerve (the utter AUDACITY) to hate Tony Stark for the same CRAP that she does (if not worse, which let's be honest—it’s worse).

At least Tony Stark DIED out of an effort to save everyone, whereas Wanda usually tends to only help others when it benefits HER.

Wanda is nothing more than a Multiversal brat with a god-complex and no one can tell me otherwise. If something does not go 100% her way, she completely acts out and throws a reality-warping tantrum.

“Oh, but she tried to fix everything in Wandavision!”

Yeah, only after finding out she was BRAINWASHING people!

How the FREAK do you reality warp an ENTIRE town (especially at the large radius she used her magic) and expect NO one to be under mind control? Would you NOT try to fly around the premises to see if ANYONE else was there?

Once again, even if this was an example where she didn't INTEND for it to happen, then that proves another great flaw that she has.

Wanda hardly (if ever) thinks through her actions. And then when her actions bite her in the butt, she has the nerve to be surprised. Wanda almost never (and I'm being generous here) considers how her actions harm or affect others until it turns around and affects HER.

She did not deserve Vision, he was too good of a man for her, sorry not sorry.

Just the stuff she did BEFORE Multiverse of Madness ALONE is enough to not like her.

Let's not even get into the fact she never ACTUALLY apologized to Bruce Banner for everything she put him through. All she said at most when he confronted her is, “I know you're angry…”

Oh wow, REALLY? I couldn't POSSIBLY understand why Banner would EVER be angry at you for essentially brain-raping him (going into his mind and memories without his CONSENT) and using his worst fears against him to trigger Hulk so you could use him like a personal killing machine, further lessening the very few support systems he already HAD. She should feel grateful Banner didn't immediately throw her through a wall upon seeing her.

“But she became an avenger and helped them in Endgame!”

I could not give less of a DOOKIE about the fact she did that. Wanda fighting Thanos was literally the ONLY option she possibly had if she didn't wanna turn into dust along with the other half of the population. Sure, she also did it because she was forced to kill her boo BECAUSE of Thanos, but let's be honest—she would've had to fight him regardless. Her handing Thanos’ butt to him (while a very cool scene) doesn't prove JACK about her character.

The fact she ever BECAME an avenger after effectively traumatizing the MAJORITY of them is mind-boggling to me.

“Oh, I'm sorry I weaponized all of your traumas against you for my own personal gain because I wanted to work with a genocidal robot, can I join you guys?”

“Sure, Wanda! Come into the team and we'll pretend like you didn't do a darn thing!”

(The fact this isn't even ALL that she's done is absurd, I can still keep going—)

Don't even get me STARTED on Multiverse of Madness. And before anyone tries to say, “She did it so she could have a reality with her children!”

BRO, HER KIDS WEREN'T EVEN FREAKING REAL—

Wanda Freaking Maximoff wanted to murder a TEENAGER all for some children that were not even ACTUAL people. And when she did have them, didn't she make them FIGHT against the military in Wandavision or am I mistaken (which I VERY MUCH hope I am because what the he---)?

I do not care whatsoever what her reason is or what trauma she went through. Attempted murder of a minor (ESPECIALLY in this case, a minor who didn't even do anything) is inexcusable to me.

There is no way in frog fingers you guys are ACTUALLY trying to justify and/or downplay a grown ADULT trying to murder a CHILD (because that's what America was—a CHILD).

(Her and Miguel O'Hara would get along GREAT, when's the collab--)

And by then, she had ALREADY brutally murdered a whole bunch of people and probably corrupted the multiverse even FURTHER than she already had.

It wasn't until an ALTERNATE version of her (who ACTUALLY had her kids) told her to sit the [BLEEP] down (I'm paraphrasing here, but you get my drift).

Wanda is NOT a victim. Is she a good villain? Yes. But this witch isn't a victim. Not anymore at least. She doesn't apologize for her actions. She doesn't take responsibility. She doesn't reflect on what she does.

And even when she DOES finally do ANY of those things in ANY capacity, the damage is already done. In fact, it's not JUST done, it's also BURNT inside the oven causing smoke to go everywhere.

There is no rhyme or reason you could pull out that will convince me to be anything short of angry with this character and I'm so tired of her fans trying to defend her just because she was a lab rat and lost her man.

Once again, it's not bad to like a character that does awful stuff. But please, for sanity sake, STOP acting like they're a lost little angel BECAUSE you like them. I know they say "hurt people hurt people" but that still doesn't justify doing bad stuff just because bad things happened to YOU.

#anti wanda maximoff #mcu #marvel #marvel mcu #marvel cinematic universe #marvel movies #wanda maximoff #character rant #character rambles #character ramblings #i dont care #someone had to say it #anti scarlet witch #opinion

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maukree · 5 months ago

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Masterpost with all parts So, I did a deep dive into WinterIron circa 616 like (not) a total asshole—because I fully recognize that writing a hyper-specific, canonically obsessive fic about Tony and Bucky in the Marvel 616 comicverse and expecting MCU-only fans to keep up without at least a "the fuck kind of AU is this?" head scratch is a bit of a dick move. And here we are. Comics fucking deliver. I promise. But do you actually need to read them all to get and enjoy what happens in any 616 fic you come across? Nah. Honestly. You don’t have to (unless you want to, in which case, welcome to the abyss) to get through the basics. FYI, this isn’t an all-encompassing timeline of Tony and Bucky in comic books—because I don’t have a year, and you don’t have all day. Their individual stories don’t start with Civil War (which, by the way, actually deserves to be called a 'war' in 616) or end with Fear Itself. But I’m covering their key arcs—picking and choosing shit as I please that I felt was relevant through my winteriron goggles—from Captain America: Out of Time (Bucky’s baggage) and Invincible Iron Man: Extremis (Tony’s baggage), through the pre-Civil War mess, the war itself, the aftermath, their intersections, and then stopping at Fear Itself—because I respect my own need to occasionally shower or something. Anyhow, if this pops off and everyone suddenly decides to start reading comics… sure. Hit me up for more. But even if that’s not happening, feel free to click that Keep Reading button for Part 1 and appreciate my ability to cram years of comic book history into an image limit. I was even nice enough to find you some links if you want to give it a proper shot and read comic books (oh, and that Marvel Unlimited subscription they have for reading comics fucking slaps, just saying. And no, they are not paying me to say it): *links direct to marvel.com, but don't click there yet, obviously. The Invincible Iron Man (2004–2007) Captain America (2004–2011) Invincible Iron Man (2008–2012) Fear Itself (2010–2011) If you read this part you will know where Tony, Bucky and Steve are just before 616 Civil War properly kicks off.

You clicked! I am so sorry for how long this is. Force-quit the app to escape it at any stage. The images are after each plot arc and I am in love with the endless scroll Tumblr does to accommodate so much visual content. So, the way I look at it, for me it really begins around the Invincible Iron Man: Extremis time, when they kicked off the The Invincible Iron Man (2004–2007) series, so lets get that shit out of the way. Not that it’s shit, but Tony’s definitely not having a good time. (And no, it’s not because Bucky killed his parents—didn’t happen in the comics—nor because he suspected his bestie Steve was about to start a rival gang just to flex at an airport for 4.5 seconds and call it a “war”.) Anyway, the point is: MCU canon ≠ 616 canon. The Marvel 616 comicverse is the gift that keeps on giving to the MCU, which picks and chooses what it likes (the rant is over in 3, 2, 1... since I adore MCU.) So, before Tony ever crosses paths with his (hypothetical, not actually canon there either) man-love Bucky in comic books I've mentioned above, here’s what’s happening with him. Extremis: #1-6 When this starts off, Tony has been out there in the comicverse pretending to be the boss of Iron Man for ages—like, “Oh yeah, I totally just fund this guy/bodyguard and lend him to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avengers occasionally”. Incidentally, he was actually stuck wearing the Iron Man chest plate to stay alive for a while before that, and has complex relationship with his suit and with his ability to look at himself in the mirror. He is working himself half-dead in his garage to the background of folks hating on Stark for military contracts that he uses to fund other projects. It’s an awesome 6 comic books arc, but the gist is that a shady biohacker named Maya Hansen (Tony’s ex, because of course she is) and her equally shady colleague Aldrich Killian (yes, that guy, but way less Mandarin cosplay this time and he does peace out very quickly) cook up Extremis—a next-gen super-soldier serum for US government, yup. Maya wants to cure cancer or something, but lacks money (hence working for the military for now), the government stops paying for her program and she decides to hit Tony up, lies her ass off, and sets someone on him for show to demonstrate to the powers that be that her biotech is just this good and can take down the most advanced armor in the world (aka, Tony's shit.) Tony gets his ass absolutely handed to him by a poster child for domestic terrorism juiced up on Extremis, since Maya's shit is the bomb. His suit has been getting more and more clunky as he makes it more powerful, he can't react in it fast enough, gets very squashed under a car, breaks himself a lot, has a mid-life crisis, and decides, “Screw it, let’s put that nightmare fuel in me instead so I can chat to my tin can better and really lean into the whole Iron Man thing. Fixing all these bones I am just after breaking and a ton of internal damage wouldn't hurt either.” Maya's down to help, since Tony might've been a good fuck, and she fancies herself to be a good person, so Tony makes some modifications to how Extremis works and it... works. Fixes him right up with the promise of growing new organs should they need to be grown, makes him faster, stronger, able to mentally pilot the suit with a thought, effortlessly connect to tech using his mind and even form his under suit (flight suit) over his body and … officially way too powerful for his own good.

Execute Program: #1-6 Or, as I like to call it, “That one time Tony’s own tech betrayed him and he went, ‘Okay, maybe we do need some rules.’” This starts fresh off Tony’s Extremis glow-up, and he’s doing what he does best: building way too many suits (sooo many kickass suits called argonauts), fighting bad guys, and making Fury and the Avengers increasingly suspicious because he keeps being late to shit. (Sorry, guys, he’s busy being a futurist, obviously, and frankly, he’s kicking almost too much ass.) To be fair, their paranoia is kinda justified, since Tony’s brain is getting hacked by Yinsen’s son (huge angsty point for Tony for not saving him), who is hijacking his entire nervous system using the tech Yinsen originally implanted into Tony for the Taliban—right before waking him up and going, “Hi, you owe me your life.” So, the basic plot of Execute Program is that Tony starts assassinating some high-profile assholes responsible for Yinsen’s death—all without knowing it. For a while he's convinced it's not him and makes a big deal about it with Fury but eventually even he can't deny it, at which point Tony hits existential crisis #872, is very unhappy about being mind-fucked, and ‘paroles’ Maya out of jail by blowing a hole in a wall to see if his former gal-love will help him deal with it. At the end of this arc he manages to break free of the programming and survive, but his suits do a fuck ton of damage in the process, and he's now officially realizing that he’s become a walking, government-grade security risk—just because of how awesome he is. To quote him: “Every superhero is a potential gun (whether they act on their own or not), and last time I checked, guns require registration.” Now, this whole arc is meant to explain why Tony is firmly on the pro-registration side when Civil War rolls into town. It's a stretch, but some other shit leads up to Civil War and the 'need' for registration, but this is sorta where he's mind is at, and this is where we leave him for now before Civil War kicks into gear. P.S. Some multi-ship snacks from 'Execute Program', because 616 contains multitudes: Spidershield: Spider-Man (Avenger-adjacent, menace-certified) casually calls Cap cute during a mission while hovering over him within kissing distance. Starker / IronDad: during the same mission, Tony loses his absolute shit when Peter gets hurt and goes feral. Stony: Look, 616 is basically the Tony & Steve Show—but if you need specifics, there’s always that time at the end of this arc when Tony dramatically knocks himself out by shocking his own heart (thinking it would kill him) to stop Cap from getting obliterated by his own rogue suits. Because, you know. Normal super hero behavior.

Alright, so we’re leaving Tony where he is—on the pro-registration side, deep in his own moral and existential mess (I’ll unpack what the story is with registration more later, in the next part, because hoo boy). But now, let’s talk about Bucky. Because, wow, a lot is going on with Bucky around this time, though it's completely unnecessary to know exactly when this happens, since comic books tend to constantly contradict each other and forget some canon-points exist (on this note, Tony is actually hella tall in comic books, and he's mostly drawn with blue eyes, although sometimes it's brown eyes due to the coloring and Bucky's mostly drawn with very dark eyes, and the blue eyes is really more of a Sebastian Stan thing, for which he love him for. On another unrelated note, Dum Dum Dugan is alive and kicking and working with S.H.I.E.L.D, but it's neither here or there. I digress.) At this stage, Bucky and Tony haven’t officially ‘met’ yet, but Tony is vaguely aware of his existence, mostly as Steve's long-dead-but-actually-not-dead ex-partner/sidekick who has been doing Very Concerning Things in the shadows. And, to be fair, the dude has been busy too. So yeah, while Tony is spiraling about accountability and unchecked power, Bucky's been out there being the literal embodiment of both, working against his will for some VERY bad guys. Since Bucky is all about Steve and his storyline, he initially pop-ups in the Captain America (2004–2011), so let's talk about Steve and his feelings for a bit. Steve... has a lot of feelings by the way, so for all of your Stucky shippers, this is the comic book to read.

Captain America: Out of Time #1-6 Aka “Steve has a lot of feelings™ while occasionally punching things and still finds time for his complicated love life.” So, Out of Time starts off with Steve being… well, Steve. Which means brooding way too hard about war, his place in the world (as Captain America—again—it’s more of a title and a suit in comics, kinda, though he is the OG), and whether punching Nazis in the ’40s was somehow easier than dealing with modern geopolitics. He’s having flashbacks galore—about Bucky, WWII, and the several times he’s watched people he loves die (if you take a shot every time he stares sadly into the distance and remembers shit, you’ll be wasted by page 4). At the beginning of this run, he’s mostly juggling personal life + professional trauma, spending quality time with his ex (*Nick Fury, who he technically broke up with in the ’90s, but we don’t talk about it—Marvel also wishes those issues didn’t exist. Looking at you, Fury #1-4 (1994) and his actual ex-but-still-kind-of-current love interest, Sharon Carter (S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 13, absolute badass, we love her). Meanwhile, in the Villain Corner, Bucky is currently in deep-freeze, and Red Skull is trying to buy him (for evil purposes, obviously). But Winter Soldier is way too useful to his current owner, who calls him an ‘item’ (it’s all very gutting and transactional), and Red Skull isn’t willing to part with the Cosmic Cube (important-for-plot-reasons, reality-warping bullshit in a box)—not even for the privilege of having a brainwashed supersoldier on his payroll. Which turns out to be a bad call for Red Skull, because Bucky gets defrosted anyway and immediately blows his brains out (Winter Soldier: 1, Red Skull: 0), since his current owner wants the Cosmic Cube, and Bucky is an incredibly efficient, very sexy, and deeply tragic murder machine who follows orders. [Unlike his silent MCU counterpart, 616 Winter Soldier is chatty (ish). He’s brainwashed, yeah, but he talks, makes decisions, occasionally argues over tactics, but you can tell there’s a mind-fuckery hellscape happening behind the scenes. But he is also aware, somewhat, which is the point. Sure, he’s traumatized as hell, but in a very “this is my job, and I do it” way. He has conversations, meaning that once they fix him later, it’s less about split personality and more about remembering who he was. (Which, you know, brings a whole new level of pain to this. Yummy, yummy angst.) Quick sidenote: Bucky is younger than Steve in the comics (an army brat/orphan), and he was basically groomed (yup…) into being Cap’s teenage sidekick—gun, mask, and all—at 16.] So, all of this is happening, with Bucky out and about causing trouble, while Steve is busy having a ton of dreams about him (not the sexy kind, unfortunately—more blood and gore), which turn out to be foreshadowing (shock). Long story short, Bucky kidnaps Sharon (not for relationshippy reasons, let’s be clear), and at the moment Steve gets Sharon back and Bucky seriously considers gunning him down, it finally clicks for Steve—Bucky is alive. Steve makes a face (there you are, the real love of my life—awwww ignore me), Bucky still considers gunning him down, but the confrontation doesn’t actually happen since it’s all about the feels at this stage and the mission to save Bucky.

Captain America: Winter Soldier #1-6 In which Steve goes on a manic quest to find his buddy, Tony is devastated about capitalism, and Bucky has an identity crisis before running off to be broody and sexy somewhere else. This arc is packed. Like, really packed. Coming off the world-shattering realization that Bucky (war buddy, partner-in-justice and emotional crutch)—is alive and well (ish), Steve is a bit shook. He did actually call him “Bucky?” during that initial meet, to which Bucky, of course, replied with the iconic “Who the hell is Bucky?”—delivering both an emotional orgasm for any Stucky shippers and an immediate MCU meme template. And yet—this is the best part for me, lol—despite literally calling him Bucky, Steve proceeds to not actually believe it after it happens. Fury has to wave stacks of receipts in his face for ages (“Here’s a ton of proof that your bestie has been a brainwashed, undying assassin for decades.”) before Steve finally believes, rejoices, gets upset and very conflicted, but then goes absolutely bananas trying to find him. And because Fury is nothing if not dramatic, Steve gets a whole-ass file on Winter Soldier lore conveniently dropped at his place—and let me tell you, this thing is THICK. Pages upon pages of experiments, war crimes, and Bucky being terrifying as the Winter Soldier. It’s delicious, I want it on my wall. At this stage we have the first official Tony & Bucky intersection. Steve and Sam (still called Falcon, professional bird enthusiast, talks to them and everything) need help tracking down the Cosmic Cube, which Bucky currently has. And Tony is an absolute legend who helps them do it. Despite actively running a multi-billion dollar empire, Tony stops everything to help them track down Bucky and the Cube. But—massive conflict of interest incoming—the location they need to attack is a bit of a problem (understatement) because Tony’s company is in trouble if he goes with them. So Tony, looking like he wants to die inside (he really does, see the images), provides Steve and Sam with his jet and all the resources they need but ultimately can’t go. And you can tell he’s real cut up about it. You can. I can. Everyone can. Though at this stage he obviously doesn't know Bucky, but... it's all in the details. Anyhow, because Iron Man team-up isn’t happening for this specific epic quest to save Bucky, Steve and Sam go in alone (Sharon with S.H.I.E.L.D. at their heels and all), find Bucky, and then it’s ON. And when I say on, I mean full-blown, action-packed, ridiculously cool fight scene with Steve throwing hands and heartfelt speeches, and Bucky countering with kicks and emotional repression. Steve desperately tries to break through to Bucky, reminding him who he is, but Bucky is having none of it. (He’s definitely feeling something, though, because he’s looking a little too emotional.) [Here’s the thing: Bucky has surfaced before? The people controlling him even kept records saying not to send him on long-term missions too close to home, because when they did he tried to escape. The memories are still there, buried deep under decades of trauma, brainwashing, and whatever the hell Russian winter does to a man.]

They fight. Fight some more. And Steve pulls the ultimate “If you don’t remember me, kill me” move. At which point Bucky absolutely tries. (And I love myself a consistent man.) During the fight, however, Steve gets his manly hands on the Cosmic Cube, which, being the overpowered reality-warping bullshit box that it is, does what it was written into the comic book to do in the first place: it restores Bucky’s memories. WHOOP. Except… Bucky remembers EVERYTHING. And, uh, that’s a lot. And seems very traumatic and painful. An absolute mental overload, horror, and a whole lot of “I should be dead” vibes. Steve is hopeful, trying to reassure him, but Bucky is noping the fuck out. He's not doing well, immediately spirals into guilt, and decides the best course of action is to disappear. Which he does by fucking off to brood alone. Far away. In a sexy, tortured assassin way. My favorite six issues of Captain America pre-Civil War, hands down. There was some other shit in between Out of Time and Winter Soldier, some bad guy plays and all, some stuff about mutant registration, but I’ll get to that a bit later, in Part 2, as a general thing about what started the Civil War.

Captain America: Twenty-First Century Blitz #1-4 God, where do I even start with this one? Well, I suppose with the important shit. And what’s important is that Bucky is in the wind (sorta), but he and Steve meet up in London and spend a lot of time yelling at each other in terror, there’s a blimp involved, and also, we’re still technically on the WinterIron timeline, I swear. This arc is not my favorite. It’s not bad, but, as mentioned, it’s mostly just Steve and Bucky screaming at each other. (Which, if you ship them, is yummy. If you don’t, it’s a lot of yelling.) Bucky’s former 'owner', the one who sent him to kill Red Skull and get the Cosmic Cube is a bad dude called General Lukin. This guy is still around, and he is now fighting for control inside his own head with… Red Skull. Yes. Red Skull is not fully dead and is mind-fucking him. (Which is very ironic, if you’re into that kind of irony.) And because no villainous plot is complete without an evil megacorporation, Lukin is also deeply tied to Kronos—which just so happens to be the same shady-ass corporation Tony is having problems with on his end (and also the reason he couldn’t go and help out Steve with Bucky). So, Steve is after Lukin. Bucky is after Lukin. Everyone is after Lukin. Tony is… somewhere, likely wishing he was after Lukin. Oh yeah, and there’s a blimp. For reasons best left to comic book logic, Lukin has a blimp. And he has a bad, evil plan, because, well, comic books are full of those and it’s a Captain America story, so it needs at least one Nazi-adjacent asshole pulling some overcomplicated bullshit per issue. Honestly, this whole arc is barely worth mentioning. They win, obviously. The bad plan is foiled, and the blimp does not succeed at being evil. But Bucky gets his arm blown off, so that’s kind of an exciting bit if you want to draw parallels between this and the MCU. The art is nice too. And because this is a Winter Soldier story (as much as it is a Captain America story—oh, just wait!) and consistency is key, Bucky, being a bit of a loner, fucks off immediately after their glorious team-up. But—a bit of a loner is not entirely a loner. Bucky has actually been working with Fury in secret since getting his memories back (surprise!) and is expecting a shiny new arm for his troubles. (So this is probably where all the “S.H.I.E.L.D. working on Bucky’s arm” fics come from, but I’m just guessing here.) Steve doesn't know this is the case and is still angsty AF over the fact that Bucky keeps bailing before they can cry and talk about their deep emotional bond. I have no idea what Sharon thinks about this, but she is a grown-up badass with a flying car (think red Lola from Agents of the S.H.I.E.L.D TV show), and she seems more sympathetic than jealous.

The end of these three arcs is where Bucky and Steve are just before Civil War kicks off, while—just to remind you all—Tony is off having his big “I am pro-registration” revelations and generally making decisions that will ruin his social life for the foreseeable future. Now, if anyone knows for sure where London happens in relation to Execute Program—before? After? In a quantum state of both?—don’t tell me. I don’t care. The timeline is a chaotic mess on the best day, and that’s before you factor in the fact that there are approximately five million other comic book series running at the same time, with characters popping in and out of different issues. Spider-Man has his own stuff going on, Fantastic Four is around, Avengers are a thing, Wolverine is doing his thing too, and it would be crazy to rope all of this in here. Besides, I bet it makes way more sense to people who were reading these comics as they dropped and kept up with literally everything. For the rest of us, losers, if you REALLY want to know all the tie-ins from different superheroes and whatnot, there’s a five-hour YouTube deep dive for that. I feel asleep around hour three and blacked out most of it, even though it's good, so go forth and suffer accordingly, if you wish to know about comic books pre and during Civil War.

Okay, but why are we talking about Civil War in comic books If there’s fuck-all winteriron in it? Great question. And the answer is: because it matters. And, yes, at this stage you either had to close Tumblr to get rid of my post (I know it's long) or are into it anyway, so... Look, I know what you’re thinking—no interaction at all yet. And that’s fair. Comic book Civil War is not at all the MCU Civil War, which was essentially a Steve/Tony drama bomb with Bucky stuck in the middle like a stressed-out single child, unless you count Peter (shoutout to winterspider) and Wanda, sorta. But: the state of the Steve/Tony relationship in 616 Civil War is a direct precursor to how Bucky and Tony actually interact when they finally do meet in 616. Their first real meeting, and everything that happens after it, is soaked in the aftermath of Civil War—not just in terms of plot, but in how they act around each other (which is fascinating, by the way, but we’ll get there). To run a bit ahead here, just to keep you interested, by the time Bucky and Tony actually share a scene in comic books in this timeline, Tony has already:

Had his entire relationship with Steve imploded in the most public way possible.

Spent months (years?) being the face of an extremely controversial movement.

Lost a lot of friends, made a lot of enemies, and had his personal values challenged to hell and back.

Been through an identity crisis about a thousand times.

Had to experience Spider-Man asking him WHAT THE FUCK, TONY? (maybe not in these words exactly)

All while Bucky has been:

On the run from Steve.

Alone.

Having a Very Bad Time.

So, yeah, even though Bucky and Tony don't exactly cross paths a this stage, the emotional damage absolutely carries over into their interactions later. This is the end of Part 1 of this 'brief' recap, since I am re-reading to make this and taking screenshots as I do. I will cover the actual comicverse Civil War in the next part.

Masterpost with all parts

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