#And I would willingly bully Bucky | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

luna-rainbow · 2 months

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Allow me to present the defense case for Peggy Carter.

I don't mean the PC who is in What If BTW. I don't know who she is, but she's not Peggy. I mean the original version from 2011-2014, especially from recently re-watching The First Avenger.

Peggy comes off as being very aloof, detached and rather condascending at times. I argue that's because she had to be. Its very hard for women in the armed forces even today- but back in the 1940s it would have been even more difficult for a woman to hold her own in a male dominated context like the army. She'd have had to worked many times harder to prove herself and to gain the respect which her male counterparts took for granted purely by virtue of their gender and rank. If she showed any kind of emotional vulnerability or it seemed like she didn't know what she was doing, the men would have pounced on it and taken it as "evidence" she was just a weak and feeble woman who didn't belong in "thier" world. Even then... we still see people being insubordinate and talking down to her. When she punched that soldier who was making lewd remarks (can't remember his name) I don't see her being a bully. I see a woman having to deal with the type of casual sexism she probably experienced on a daily basis. When men who were far below her in rank treated her with contempt or just saw her as a sex object. No way that soldier would *ever* have spoken to a senior ranking male like that... She was also dealing with it in a very masculine way. Like another soldier would. In regards to Steve: again I don't think Peggy is ever intentionally mean or cruel to him. Yes, she's sassy and snarky, but I think she had to learn to be like that to hold her own among men. Her interactions with him in the movie are actually quite positive overall: she smiles when he uses his ingenuity and jumps on a dummy grenade, she doesn't talk about how weak he was she views him as a proper soldier when a lot of others don't: including Colonel Phillips. Even after the Serum Philips just sees him as some glorified performer whereas she trusts his judgement: reluctantly at first but willingly afterwards.

For his own part, Steve never talks down to her or views her as inferior. He was probably one of first men who did that only after Howard Stark perhaps.

When she said that Bucky was probably dead: again I don't think she was being uncaring. That line came after just after saying the 107th had been through "more than most" upon seeing an ambulance bringing an injured soldier back from the front. It seems to me she didn't want to see *another* man die in what she had every reason to think was a suicide mission. I mean, its very likely she'd lost friends before, maybe even had family members killed. Besides of which, she ended up helping Steve go on that rescue mission by persauding Howard to drop him near the HYDRA facility on his plane. Then didn't apologize for her actions afterwards even though Colonel Philipps basically threatened to basically demote her.

Finally, that scene where she fires her gun at Steve's shield: again I don't see that as bullying. When he kissed that other woman (*who did it very deliberately in front of Peggy*) it was quite obviously an attempt to make her jealous. (Not on Steve's part, but the other woman). I think in that moment she felt betrayed, because she believed Steve was different to the other men she encountered. Men who just saw her as a conquest or an airhead. She thought he was behaving "just like the other soldiers"- i.e treating women as objects, and she had an emotional reaction. She was actually wrong, but that proves she's flawed. She's human after all!

So yeah, Peggy in The First Avenger is great. She's sassy and snarky but she does seem to genuinely care for Steve as well. I see them as having a lot in common: both people who struggle to be accepted by others but find their place eventually.

Okay, before I start, I want to say that I did like her mannerisms when I first saw CATFA, because I like no-nonsense female characters. However, movies!Peggy was not a fully formed character — just as movies!Bucky wasn’t. One was the token love interest, the other was the token best friend. Hence, there are specific traits embedded in Peggy’s characterisation, or rather her story roles, that are factors of a male author writing a female love interest for a genre about macho superhero men. Which in itself is a product of the misogynistic nature of 2010 MCU.

Firstly, she’s never actually had her rank or her professional role specified. She introduced herself as an “agent supervising all operations of this division”, but all she does is hover around Howard and Philips in their offices. She’s not on the battlefield with Steve (no matter how her own series tried to rewrite it). She’s not in the field acting as a spy/agent. We are told she’s important, because somehow as an agent she’s giving orders to military trainees — a weird role but we can give her that suspension of disbelief — but we are never shown her doing anything important to contribute to war efforts. More than this being Peggy is a useless person, it’s a symptom of the writer not knowing how to handle a female professional in WW2, to the point of calling her an agent but having her both being in the science division and giving military trainee orders but hanging around looking like a secretary. And why exactly could Philips threaten to demote her? Who does she even work for? He could demote her if she’s military but she’s not. So it’s never clear that those soldiers are her subordinates, because they’re not. She’s not in the chain of command! And so why should they respect someone who’s not in their chain of command telling them that she’s going to give orders? She does have to earn it.

You and I remember that kissing scene very differently. Firstly, Lorraine pulled him into a kiss, Steve didn’t kiss her. We need to get the instigator clear here. We can debate how much of a willing participant Steve was, because that scene can be read anywhere from “Steve was unsure at first but then started to enjoy it” to “Steve was in shock the whole time and his hands came up to push her away”. Secondly, there’s no suggestion that either Lorraine or Steve knew Peggy was within watching distance, so I don’t agree with the interpretation that anyone did it to make Peggy jealous. Thirdly, Peggy and Steve were not an item at that stage, so it’s rather presumptuous of her to “feel betrayed”. What did he betray? He said he was waiting for the right partner, he didn’t say the right partner was her. She’s the one who’s taken it upon herself to demand his faithfulness. He never indicated he was happy to enter into that social contract. Fourthly, you’ve acknowledged that her emotional response to another woman kissing Steve was “flawed”, but object to that violent retaliation being called “bullying”. So let’s call it for what it is: unprofessional, unethical, unromantic, and bloody unhinged.

I’m sorry, there is no possible justification for discharging a gun at a man (and specifically in this case a man who is not in a relationship with you) over a kiss in an enclosed space at work where other bystanders could get injured.

But you know what? That scene is another symptom of male writers not knowing how to write a strong female love interest. In 2010 everyone knew it would be bad form if a man hit a woman for being kissed by another man, but violent anger from a woman directed at a man? That was seen as cute and funny and sweet. And that view exists because of the infantilisation of women. Female anger is seen as “not that hurtful” and “not that important”, dismissed as a momentary “emotional outburst” because women are prone to emotional outbursts, it’s a womanly thing to suddenly lose grip on logic over a jilted love. Where in a man that emotional volatility and violence would be a major character flaw that would turn him into a villain, in a woman that’s…cute and harmless.

So you know, Peggy was at the same level of neglect that Bucky-with-two-birthdates was. She was not a character they cared enough about to even give her a proper professional role in the army. She’s there because the movie needed a love interest. She’s there to show how unwanted Steve was before the serum, and how desirable he became after the serum. She appears, every now and then, to remind the audience she exists, but never in a way that directly affects the plot. @amarriageoftrueminds has multiple excellent metas explaining why the story could have proceeded without Peggy being present. She’s a character we are continuously told is important, but the narrative gives her only counselling type dialogues, and while those conversations are placed at narratively important milestones, none of her suggestions make any sway on Steve’s original plans before he started talking to her, making her someone who has minimal impact on Steve’s arc and on the story as a whole.

#anti peggy carter #asks

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babybatscreationsv2 · 8 months

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Ghostface ch2

Marvel | Starker

The only thing Peter likes about Halloween is the candy, but when his bully, Tony, starts to tease him he's ready to prove his courage. Even if that means tolerating it as Tony follows him around in a scary mask. It's not like he could really hurt him, right?

Rating: Explicit

Another amazing prompt by H <3

Warnings and tags below

Warnings/tags: fear kink, noncon, crying, begging, stalking, scary mask, humiliation

"He was just following you around with a mask?"

Peter slammed his locker shut and leaned against it. MJ was watching him from the other side.

"Yep..." Peter sighed. He'd avoided talking about what happened in the maze, but MJ had a way of seeing through him. He was worried she might find out and he didn't want to know what his friends would think of him if they knew how scared he was.

"It was more than following," Ned said. "It was harassment. You should report him, Peter."

"And say what? That I willingly followed a guy into a creepy maze? I don't think they're gonna believe that I was being harassed after that."

"You really should make a statement," MJ said. "It'll be important if you turn up dead."

They both looked at her, but she just shrugged with one of Peter's tootsie pops in her mouth.

"You're planning on bringing your own candy to the party tonight, right? You can't just steal all of ours," Ned complained. "May already ate the good stuff that was hidden in the pantry."

"There's a party tonight?"

Peter rolled his eyes at the appearance of one Steve Rogers over Ned's shoulder.

"Nope, no parties here," Ned insisted.

"That's funny, I could have sworn I heard something about a party." He smiled and Peter knew they weren't getting off the hook about this.

"It's not really a party. We're just gonna watch some movies," he said. He could see Tony now talking to Pepper. His stomach dropped when the boy turned and caught his eye. He smirked and came over to join him, Bucky and Rhodey at his back.

"Did you hear about the party at Peter's house, Tony?" Steve announced. "I didn't get an invitation. Did you?"

Tony threw an arm over Steve's shoulder. "Petey is that true? You're having a party without me?"

"Creepy stalkers aren't invited," MJ said. Tony barely looked at her.

"What kind of party are we talking? You kids gonna watch The Great Pumpkin?"

"Uh no, we're gonna watch Halloweentown," Ned said. And then immediately regretted it.

Steve snorted, but Tony just smiled. His gaze was way too intense as he looked at Peter.

"Don't you think that's a little too scary for you, Petey?" Tony purred. "Or are you ready to graduate to something a little more intense? You took it so well last night."

Peter blushed at the insinuation.

"Maybe me and boys will drop by and introduce you to our favorite slasher flicks."

"You're not invited," MJ reiterated. Tony finally looked her way.

"I don't hear Peter protesting. It's his party after all isn't it?"

Peter shook his head, breaking out of his paralysis. "Screw you, Tony." He turned away, walking past MJ and leaving his friends to follow.

"That's not a no!" Tony called after him. His friends all laughed sounding just as sinister as the creepy figures in that maze.

He was on edge throughout the day, waiting for Tony to appear to laugh at him some more. He could wait for Halloween to finally die out for the year. School ended and Peter walked home with his friends, but he couldn't forget what Tony said. Would he really just show up at his house? May was working overnight. There wouldn't be anyone to shoo him off if he did.

They turned the lights off, except for the one in the hallway, and started the movie. The coffee table was overflowing with candy and snacks. Finally, this was a Halloween activity Peter could get behind.

And then the doorbell rang. MJ grabbed the remote and paused the movie as the three of them opened the door.

"Who would that be this late?" Ned asked.

"You don't think it's them do you?" MJ said.

Peter looked out the window. "I don't know. I can't see anything."

The bell rang again. Nervously, he left the couch and went to the door. Ned followed behind him. Peter grabbed the doorknob and turned. Then he opened it just a crack.

There was no one on the other side. He opened the door wider and Ned looked out. Peter shut the door and locked it, then locked the deadbolt for good measure.

"It's probably just Tony fucking around," Ned said. "Let's just ignore him."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Peter followed him back to the couch, but he was too on edge to watch the movie. What if it wasn't just Tony? And what if it was Tony, but he ended up doing something actually scary?

After a few minutes the phone rang. Peter jumped at the sound.

MJ groaned. "How much you wanna bet it's an idiot jock?"

"It could be May..." Peter said.

MJ paused the movie again as Peter picked up the phone. The number showed as private on the caller ID. He found himself regretting it when he picked up anyway.

"Hello?"

A raspy voice answered. "You shouldn't take calls from strangers, kid. Something might happen to you."

Peter hung up quickly and set the phone down. He hurried back to his friends, hiding the way his hands were shaking.

"Okay, this is ridiculous," MJ said. "I'm putting a stop to this before it goes any further." She stood up from the couch and marched for the door with Ned hesitantly going to join her.

"Guys, just leave it be. You'll only make it worse" Peter groaned. He stood and looked out the window. The street looked so peaceful. He couldn't see anything but fallen leaves, but he was sure Tony and his friends were out there somewhere.

MJ yanked open the door and stepped out. Ned hovered in the doorway. "Hey, dick heads! We know it's you clowning around out there! Fuck off before we call the police!"

She stood out there for a moment as if they might come out and surrender before coming back inside and locking the door. "That'll scare them off," she declared.

"Oh, definitely," Ned agreed, but he didn't look very confident.

The phone rang again. MJ swiped the phone from the receiver. "Hello?" she said. Peter waited anxiously to see what they might say. A thunk against the window made him jump. He looked to see nothing more than an egg splattered against the window screen. He could hear laughter coming from the phone before the line went dead.

"This is stupid." MJ hung up the phone and set it down. "No one answers the phone and no one opens the door, got it? Eventually they'll get bored and leave."

"You're probably right," Ned agreed. "You okay, Pete?"

He nodded his head as he watched out the window. "Yeah, I'm okay." He kept waiting for that mask to appear in the window, but nothing outside moved.

They went back to their movie. The phone rang. Peter's heart raced as he listened to it ring again and again. MJ was putting on a good show of ignoring it, but Peter couldn't. Ned didn't look any less distracted. But even as it rang a second time, no one touched the phone.

The movie ended as the sun started to set. Peter waved his friends off to walk each other home. At least Tony seemed to have gotten bored. Or that's what he thought until the phone rang again.

He tried to ignore it, but morbid curiosity took hold and he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Just you and me now, kiddo," a voice rasped.

Peter swallowed. "I know it's you, Tony. What do you want?"

"Come outside."

Peter looked at the locked front door. It was the only thing between him and whatever the hell Tony was doing out there. "No," he said firmly.

"Come on. Don't be a pussy."

"Why? What's out there?"

"Only the most gorgeous sunset," they teased. "Come out and see."

Peter took a deep breath. "Fine. I'm not scared of you." He marched to the door before he could think better of it and yanked it open. He stepped out onto the porch. At first he saw nothing. Then he screamed.

His heart raced and he stood there frozen. Then finally he realized what he was seeing. Tony had hung the mask from the top of the rocking chair. In the shadows, he'd thought he'd seen a person.

Tony laughed over the phone. "You're so fucking cute, Petey. Did you see something scary?"

"Fuck you!" Peter hung up the phone and went back inside. He should have listened to MJ. This was stupid. It wasn't like Tony could even hurt him. He was just some stupid bully with a stupid mask.

As he turned away from the door, something moved around the corner, leading to the hallway. Shaking, he set the phone down on the base and walked towards it.

"Tony?" He swallowed. "You can't just break into my house... That's against the law, Tony!"

He went into the hall in complete disbelief. There was no way, right? He wouldn't just break in. He couldn't.

Peter looked around the corner to the kitchen. The backdoor was shut, but the deadbolt was flipped the wrong way. He shuddered. No... he wouldn't... And so what if he did? He wasn't actually going to hurt him right? But then again in the maze...

"Tony, this isn't funny! You're going way too far!" He stood at the end of the hall, afraid to move. After a while he started to wonder if he'd been seeing things. Maybe Tony was gone. Maybe he'd left the mask on the porch and went home.

Well now he needed to be sure. He couldn't sleep thinking Tony might be hiding in his closet.

So he went down the hall. The door to the bathroom was open and inside was dark. He couldn't see anyone hiding inside, but what if he was hiding in the shower. He stepped into the room with one arm out, fingers reaching. As he touched the plastic curtain, he could see just how hard his hand was shaking. He gripped the material and slowly drew it back. The tub was empty. As it should be. He was probably going inside. He probably hadn't seen anything at all.

Peter went back to the hallway, trying his best to soothe himself. As soon as he stepped through the doorway, there he was. That white face peered at him around the corner, body leaning out from Peter's own bedroom. At first he thought it was another trick.

Until Tony yelled, "Boo!"

Peter gasped and darted back down the hall toward the living room. He grabbed for the door handle, but he was shaking too hard and he fumbled with the lock. Tony slammed into his back, shoving him face first into the hard wood.

"What are you so afraid of, Pete? I thought we were having a party?" Tony said through the mask.

"Let me go!" He struggled and managed to slip out from under him, but Tony tripped him before he could get past. The older boy landed on top of him, pinning him down on his stomach. His weight pressed into his back.

"You're such a baby, you know that? What's so scary about a mask?"

"How about the knife you pulled on me, you fucking creep?"

Tony chuckled. "Oh that? Are you scared I might hurt you?"

"You're an asshole! Leave me alone!" Peter tried to crawl out from under him, but he was too heavy.

Tony leaned down beside him. "I said, are you scared, Peter?"

"Yes," he sobbed. "Now get off of me!"

Tony moaned in his ear, ragged almost growling. Peter froze and he realized exactly what was pressed against his ass.

"Are you- are you getting off on this? You're actually fucking sick you know that?"

Tony laughed. "Oh yeah? Do I disgust you? Tell me more."

He grabbed Peter's shoulder and flipped him over. His hand grabbed his throat and held him down. Peter grabbed his wrist with both hands but he couldn't push him off.

"Let go! Tony please," he sobbed.

He leaned forward, mask hanging in his face. Peter couldn't look away. "Tell me again," Tony said.

"I'm scared, okay?" he whimpered. "I'm fucking scared of you and your fucking mask! Now let me go, please!"

"Not yet, Petey. I'm not finished." He let go of his neck just to adjust himself so he knelt on Peter's arms. If he wasn't so paralyzed, he might have been able to throw him off.

Instead he was trapped, watching in horror and disgust, as Tony reached under his robe and pulled out his dick. He was hard-hard, like he'd been ready to go since the first phone call. He panted over him, staring down through the mask, stroking his dick right in Peter's face.

"You want me to let you go?" Tony purred.

"Please..."

"Kiss it."

"No, please- I don't want to-"

"I don't give a fuck. Open up." He pushed his hips forward until the tip of his cock was between Peter's lips. He cried, refusing to participate, but that was clearly enough for Tony. He stroked his cock like Peter was just a toy for him, like his tears were more than enough. Then he came, spurting cum in his mouth and across his face.

Tony sighed contently. He wiped his dick off on Peter's cheek. Then he took off the mask.

"Souvenir for you. I'm sure you'll need it when you're having wet dreams about this tonight." He smirked as he dropped it beside Peter's head.

He couldn't move as Tony climbed off of him. He stared down at him for a moment, grinning. Then he pulled out his phone and took a picture.

"Thanks for inviting me to your party. That was the most fun I think I've ever had," he said. "Don't worry. The picture's just for me. I'm an asshole and a gentleman."

He stepped over him on his way to the kitchen. Peter didn't even watch him leave. He just laid there, listening to his heart pound in his chest and staring at the mask left on the floor.

#marvel #starker #halloween #prompt fill

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not-close-to-straight · 1 year

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Another romantic sexy SteveTony moment interrupted again????? Thanks a lot Jarvis. Never thought I would be mad him. Ugh at least they’re trying to be honest with eachother. And when Steve said he would do whatever it took to make Tony love him like I couldn’t. Is Steve just going to get a talking too about treating Tony better from all of the employees because I’m here for it lol. What are you up to Loki why are you snooping through the study hmmmmmmm???? I’m glad Tony stayed behind so he could you know fall in love with Steve for real this time. And if he had left he would have missed Natasha! Poor Natasha like I’m sure she thought Bucky was dead and then she just finds out he’s being stubborn. Like I get where Bucky is coming from but dude come on she’s not going to stop loving you. I was very upset when the chapter ended I wanted more….. I always do though

Listen

This version of steve— once he gets his shit together and just lets his heart speak— is maybe?? The most romantic I’ve ever written of him. He came home from war ready to earn every single smile from his omega and he is going to willingly WORK for it and he’s so amazing.

Also I really thought more people would be upset about Natasha basically bullying a disabled war hero but SHES RIGHT he should have written and the sheer fact that he assumes she wouldn’t be willing to deal with his mess?? Ugh no. BuckyNat is too strong for this nonsense.

And I can promise she doesn’t stay angry long. Like she’s fussy right now but then she immediately goes straight to “it’s my job as your mate to help you so shut the hell up and stay still so I can shave you with this straight razor and don’t sass me or m I’ll cut your throat” which is of course, the best version of Nat right?

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babyjakes · 2 years

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forever and a day | 29. the real bucky.

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summary | a story in which america’s favorite captain gives a new life and family to a five-year-old girl who has suffered well beyond her years at the hands of hydra.

characters | dad!steve rogers, girl/willa rogers (original character)

warnings | AU similar enough to OU to include spoilers to many Marvel movies (Age of Ultron and beyond). action and fight scenes with violence and killing. injuries/mild gore. mature themes related to and semi-graphic depictions of child abuse/neglect, past CSA and CSM, and their aftermath (emaciation, wounds, scarring, etc). medical abuse and experimentation. ptsd/trauma symptoms in a child (developmental discrepancies, de-humanized behavior, detachment, extreme fears). medical treatment of CSM and other aftermath of abuse.trauma-informed therapeutic treatment of ECT. somewhat evil!Tony Stark (eventually).

[Steve]

“Willa, please… can we just talk about it?” I try desperately, now on at least my tenth attempt at calming the child down. Willa’s been crying for the past hour or so since I broke the news to her about Bucky coming later; up until now, she’s been too upset to even have a conversation about the matter. This time when I ask, she just slumps her shoulders, miserable tears continuing to trail down her whitened cheeks.

“Please, please d-don’t. ’m sorry. W-will do anything,” she whimpers.

“Sweetheart, hey. He’s not coming here to hurt you, Willa. Let’s just talk about it, okay? I know this is really scary for you, but there’s a lot about the situation that you don’t understand,” I try to reason.

I’ve moved us over to the couch in hopes of getting a little more comfortable. Willa’s pressing herself against the cushion she’s leaning on, looking absolutely inconsolable at the news. I sigh, my heart breaking a little bit in my chest at the sight of the panicked child. I hate to put her through so much stress, but I think that healing this relationship between her and Bucky could be really beneficial for both of them. The more safe, supportive relationships Willa has, the better. And I know that making amends wherever he can is important to Buck regarding the things he did when the Winter Soldier took over.

“You know how I told you that I was frozen in the ice for a really long time?” I begin, not sure how much my story will ease her fears. Willa nods, her gaze cautiously meeting mine. “Well, Bucky and I were friends even before that happened. All the way back when we were just two teenagers looking to enlist in the army. He protected me whenever I would get bullied on the streets,” I explain. The girl blinks, still not saying anything. “Bucky was always a good guy. The only reason he ever hurt people was because he was forced to. He was captured by Hydra, and they controlled his brain to make him do things he would never do willingly. He never wanted to hurt you, sweetheart.” By the look on her face, I can tell that what I’m saying is having little to no impact on how the child feels about the man. “Remember when you said he would come in and take care of you before he became scary?” I ask, earning a silent nod. “That’s the real him. He did that before he was fully under their control. And now, he’s completely free of Hydra. He’s back to his real self.”

“Not safe anym-more,” Willa mumbles, a tear still falling from her reddened eyes every once and a while. “Too scary.”

“He’s safe, doll. I promise. I pinky promise,” I try, offering her my little finger, but she recoils back from it, refusing the commitment. “Please, Willa. I know you’re scared now, but you’ll see when he comes; he’s a really good guy. And he misses you, too. He was so excited to hear that we found you, that he could see you again.”

“To hurt m-me more,” she whimpers weakly. Fighting back tears, I shake my head.

“No, that’s not what he wants,” I restate, knowing that unfortunately, nothing I say at this point is likely to change her mind.

“Mornin’ guys,” a familiar voice chirps from across the room, breaking Willa and I out of our conversation.

We both gaze over to see Peter approaching, shuffling through something on his phone. After another moment, the teen clicks the device off, shoving it in his pocket and looking up with a smile.

As his eyes fall on Willa, though, his expression quickly turns to worry, and in an instant he’s made his way over to the couch, asking, “Oh no- what’s wrong, Willa?” Peter sits down on the other side of the child, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. She turns to face him, and before anyone can say anything more, she completely crumples into his arms. The boy holds onto his friend steadily, looking up at me in total alarm. “Wh-what’s going on, guys?” he asks, probably looking for a response from me more than Willa at this point, given her current state.

“S-Steve’s b'inging him here to hurt me. I-I was bad and now- now he’s coming, didn’t mean to be; will do better, please,” the small girl rambles through her tears, revealing her true worries: that she’s done something to deserve being hurt, and that’s why I’m bringing Bucky here. My heart drops to the pit of my stomach as the child’s words settle in the tense air.

“He’s what? Bringing who?” Peter asks, clearly confused by the whole ordeal.

“No sweetie, you haven’t been bad,” I soothe, reaching out and placing a hand on her back. Willa lurches away from my touch, clinging to Peter like her life depends on it. “Willa-bug, come here. Please sweetheart,” I reason, but she doesn’t move an inch. I sigh, looking back up to Peter. “Bucky’s coming over later,” I explain.

“Oh,” the boy says slowly, still seeming unsure as to what the problem is. “That’s great! I haven’t seen him in a while, but last time he said something about wanting to play Mario Kart with me and Thor.” I smile slightly, nodding as I remember their conversation. “S-so- so that’s what Willa’s so afraid of?” I nod.

“Willa knew Bucky before we rescued her, when they were both stationed in Hydra,” I tell him. “Bucky was the Winter Soldier then.” A look of clarity finally rolls over the teen’s face, and he nods, now understanding.

“Ohh,” he replies knowingly, “so she knew him when he was… evil,” he puts together. I nod. Turning his attention back down to the little girl hiding away in his arms, Peter pulls back slightly to look her in the eyes. “Hey, hey Wil, can you look at me?” he asks, the nickname now familiar as something he uses quite frequently with the girl. Willa’s eyes struggle to meet his, and he smiles at her gently, the soft Peter smile we all know and love. “Wanna know something? I was pretty scared to meet him too, at first,” he tells his friend. “I mean, Cap told me he was a good guy, so I wasn’t too concerned, but still; Tony told me about his past at Hydra.”

The child sniffles, thankfully at least giving Peter a chance to try to reason with her. “He’s super nice, Willa. Last time he was over, we all played board games and Nat made pies. Bucky and Steve had a pie-eating contest. Steve won, of course, with his increased metabolism and all.” I chuckle slightly at the memory. “I promise he won’t hurt you, friend. Steve would never let someone near you who he thought would hurt you, never ever. He loves you more than anything-” the teen reasons, though he quickly pauses when he realizes what he’s said. “I-I mean, he-”

“That’s okay, Peter,” I tell him. “You’re right. I do love Willa more than anything.” Peter seems unsettled by my sudden openness with the word, which makes sense given the fact that he wasn’t present yesterday during our discussion about love. “That’s something we’ve started saying now,” I let him know.

“L-love Steve,” Willa says weakly. Peter looks even more shocked at this.

“Oh- th-that’s great!” the kid smiles, trying to hide his surprise.

“Who else do you love, sweetheart?” I ask, hoping to give her a chance to express her feelings to her closest friend.

“L-love Peter,” she responds quietly, so soft I can barely hear her. Peter’s eyes widen, and to my (maybe not so) surprise, they fill with tears. He holds his friend at an arm’s length away, looking her in the eyes.

“I-I love you too, Willa. I love you so much; you’re my best friend in the whole wide world,” he professes, pulling her in for a hug. Her little arms wrap around him and he holds her close, a smile forming on my face as warmth settles in over me. The friendship they’ve developed is truly incredible; I’m so glad they have each other. I think Willa’s a whole lot better off with Peter by her side.

Though I know it’s a stretch, a part of me hopes she could become this way with Bucky; I want for her to be able to love him again. They’ve clearly both been critical in each other’s lives; I think that especially for Buck, finding people to love isn’t an easy process.

“Mr. Parker,” a voice says out of nowhere. We all look up to see Vision who’s appeared suddenly in front of us.

“What- where did you-?” I stumble over my words.

“Oh, hey Vision,” the teenager greets, unphased by his abrupt arrival. After a moment of confusion, I realize that he must have just teleported himself into the room. I sigh, shaking my head. Sometimes the future is really too much.

“Mr. Stark is waiting for you down in the lobby,” the red man states.

“Oh, that’s right! I totally forgot.” Peter turns back to Willa, a pained look on his face. “Hey, Mr. Stark is taking me out to train offsite today,” he tells her carefully. “I don’t know when we’ll be back, but I promise we’ll play later, okay?” The little girl’s face drops as she realizes her friend is leaving her, and she clings to him momentarily, as if to beg him not to go. The boy’s face further contorts with guilt, but he gently removes her little hands from him, standing up and joining Vision. “I’ll see you guys soon,” he says, nodding at both of us before he and Vision head for the elevator.

Like always, Willa simply watches as he goes, her wide eyes settled on the elevator long after its doors have opened and closed again, taking her friend away. After a few moments of silence, I scoot closer to her, reaching out a hand and rubbing it gently over her arm. “D'you wanna come sit in my lap?” I offer.

Willa peers over at me warily, her bottom lip sticking out ever so slightly. I pat the space on my legs gently, and a look of longing flashes in the girl’s eyes, but it’s soon replaced by hesitancy. The fear that she’s done something wrong in order to deserve Bucky’s visit has clearly not left her. I sigh, opening up my arms to her, an offer she would usually never resist. This time, though, she just looks over sadly, not even feeling safe enough to try.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” I encourage, but Willa stays frozen in her place, probably worried that anything more she does might worsen her situation. As difficult as it is to watch her go through this, there might really be nothing I can do to show her she’s safe until Bucky’s actually here.

Willa was four years old, curled up in a ball on the hard concrete floor of the small, empty room she had been thrown in by one of the guards. She knew the place well; Room Nine, it was a correctional cell. The little girl wasn’t sure exactly what she had done this time to deserve more punishment. It could have been any of a number of things, really. Sometimes they beat her for crying. Sometimes they beat her for not being able to use her powers like they wanted her to. Sometimes they just beat her because she existed. No matter how hard she tried to be good, they still beat her anyway. As she stared at the blood-stained floor, the child longed for the earlier days of her toddlerhood, where the worst she was subjected to was her shock collar and remote. All Willa could do was hope her punisher would be one of the more lenient guards. Though they were all strong and brutal, some consistently went easier on her than others.

When the door opened to reveal the one she formerly knew as ‘Bucky’, but whom everyone now referred to as 'soldier,’ all Willa’s hopes of being let off easy disappeared. The tiny girl cowered in the corner of the room as the tall man with long dark hair approached her, the door slamming shut behind him.

The sight of the pitiful child had no effect on the Winter Soldier; his brain was freshly wiped clean of any feelings or cares. He did not have any memory of the child, even though months before, when he still had a partial hold of his mind, he had occasionally snuck in to check on her, bandaging her wounds and giving her what little food he could offer. All recollection of that was erased completely by a machine. And when he had voiced his readiness to comply, the mission he was given was simple: Force the girl to self-shift. Use whatever means may be necessary.

The soldier walked straight up to the little body on the floor, leaning down at the waist and grabbing the girl by the throat. He held her up off the ground with his hands gripping the backside of her neck, lodged right underneath her head. At any time, he could simply close his fist and completely cut off her airflow. Willa whimpered in fear, tears springing from her eyes.

“Shift,” the man demanded, his voice low and gravelly, almost distorted in sound. The word caused more fear to shoot through the little girl’s veins. She knew what this meant, that pain was coming. She knew also that she couldn’t fully control her shifting yet. Panic set in as she realized that she was being asked to do something that she had not mastered.

“P-please, w-wait,” she stumbled, her body far too lost to fight-or-flight mode to comply with her attempts to reach equilibrium. “C-can’t, sorry,” she tried, but that was not an answer the angry man was willing to take. The soldier pulled back a fist and slammed it into the poor child’s cheek, blood instantly flooding to the surface in an angry purple flush. Willa cried out in pain, biting down on her tongue instinctively to try to silence herself.

“Shift,” he ordered once again, his voice much louder this time.

“P-please, will try harder, p-p-please,” the girl sputtered out, her whole head throbbing in excruciating pain. In response to her pathetic-sounding pleas, the soldier began to tighten his fingers around her neck. Willa choked and gasped for air, her arms and legs flailing as she struggled to breathe.

“Shift, or you’ll faint,” the ruthless man threatened. Big warm tears flooded Willa’s cheeks as she tried again to control her powers, but she was still met ultimately with failure. Black spots started clouding her vision.

The soldier saw her reaching unconsciousness and eased up his grip, not wanting to make her completely black out, for that would only make his mission take longer. Once Willa was able to get in a few good breaths, he struck her cheek again, his own face red and hot with anger. She sobbed loudly at the stinging sensation, unable to hold in her agony. This only irritated the soldier more, causing him to drop the girl to the floor. He then reached down and picked her up again, this time entirely by the hair, and then, without warning, he stood back up and swung her against the wall, her whole body colliding with the hard concrete. He slammed her again and again against it, skin being torn from her frail frame and blood beginning to train down her arms and legs.

The soldier then held her up again in front of him, still dangling by her hair, and yelled directly in her face, “SHIFT!” Spit sprayed her bloody face.

Willa could only whimper in reply, her whole body seething with pain. Though she had learned to be quiet during a punishment, her four-year-old mind was growing foggy, and she began crying out for her mother, even though the woman had already been dead for years.

Frustrated, the man swung her back and threw her again against the wall, this time letting go of her hair in the process. She hit the concrete head-first, warm darkness surrounding her as the room and the soldier disappeared. She did not know if it was sleep or death that had swallowed her up; she did not mind. She would welcome either with open arms.

[Bucky]

I fidget slightly with the metal on my left hand as the elevator rises steadily through the building; I haven’t been over on this side of town in a considerable amount of time. I’ve missed Steve and all the others, truly. I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m out of place whenever I’m over. They’re a group of superheroes. And then, there’s me. I’m no super-anything.

After a few minutes, I’ve reached floor fifty, and the doors slide open as the bell goes off, letting those inside know of my arrival. I step out into the large living space, looking around. At first, I don’t see anyone, but as my gaze travels from right to left, I spot Steve sitting on the couch, a small figure curled up in a ball beside him, shaking.

Steve waves over to me and I nod back at him. I’m hesitant to say anything or make noise due to the small child at my friend’s side. From what I can see from here, she looks to be a little bit bigger than what I remember, but not much. They’ve obviously cleaned her up, given her some real clothes and fixed her hair. She’s in nowhere near the kind of state I found her in when I would sneak in to try to help her back at Hydra, but she’s still clearly malnourished, not to mention terrified at the moment. I sigh, not sure if I should move any closer or stay put.

“Willa, someone’s here to see you,” Steve rouses gently, causing the child to cower further into herself, letting out a frightened sob. “Hey, c'mon sweetheart,” my friend murmurs, turning the small girl’s body towards him and scooping her up onto his lap. Her little hands grip onto his shirt as she buries her face into the fabric, still shaking violently with fear.

Guilt builds up in my chest as I watch the girl cry. Steve looks up at me sadly and motions over. My feet feel like they’re being held down by weights as I drag myself over to the two, sitting down on the edge of the coffee table in front of them, a safe few feet away.

“P-please, please St-Steve,” a little voice begs. “Will b-be good, won’t ever be bad again, please.”

“Hey Buck,” Steve greets, stroking up and down the girl’s back soothingly.

“Hi,” I force out. At the sound of my voice, the child jumps in Steve’s arms, now shaking even harder somehow.

“You look good. Didn’t know you chopped the hair,” he comments.

“Oh, yeah. I don’t know; I decided I might like it short again,” I reply, the small talk feeling completely forced given the current circumstances.

“Willa-bug, can you come say hi?” Steve eases, but the little girl in his lap shakes her head fiercely.

“Please, please don’t let him h-hurt me, please don’t, p-please,” she whimpers.

“He won’t hurt you, sweetheart. You’re safe, I promise.” As he continues to comfort the child, Steve lifts her slightly in his arms and turns her around to face me, rocking her back and forth lovingly. The little girl’s gaze warily meets mine, the green in her eyes sending sparks shooting up and down my spine; it’s the same green I saw so long ago. “You’re safe, you’re safe,” the man behind her murmurs again, stroking the child’s cheek gently with his thumb.

Taking a deep breath, I muster all of my courage, saying as carefully as I can, “Hello, little one.”

The girl - or Willa, as Steve now calls her - looks up fearfully at my words. I soften my gaze as much as I can for her, letting my shoulders lower a bit in hopes to appear less intimidating.

“I’m very glad to see you again. It looks like Steve’s been taking good care of you.” Tears stream down the kid’s cheeks as she begins to struggle in the man’s arms. “You don’t have to be scared,” I tell her gently. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Please, too scary, pl-please,” she squeaks. The look on my friend’s face is full of sadness and confliction; I can tell that he hates putting her through so much emotional distress, but he also seems just as set on our reunification as I am.

“Not scary, sweetie. Shh-shh shh, there’s no scary here,” Steve tries to reassure her, though the girl only continues to squirm in his arms, struggling against him until eventually, he sits her down firmly in his lap, his arms crossed over her so that she can’t escape. Willa’s eyes squeeze shut in fear as she realizes there’s no escape for her.

“I-I’ll be good- will shift, won’t cry, please, please don’t,” she begs in terror, and as her pleas come to an end, a new look of horror washes over her face as she lets out a quiet cry, a dark wet spot forming underneath her on Steve’s pants. A look of pure heartbreak forms on his face as the little girl freezes up, entirely too scared to speak, move, or do anything.

“Oh sweetheart,” Steve sighs, standing up and lifting her in the air. “I’m sorry, Buck, let me take care of this,” he apologizes tiredly, but I stand as well, shaking my head.

“Here, let me,” I offer. He eyes me hesitantly, clearly worried that I might just do more damage at this point, but I honestly don’t know what damage there’s left to be done; I just want to show her that I’m safe now. I open up my arms to take in the child, but he shakes his head, saying, “At least let me carry her.” I nod, not wanting to push him past what he’s comfortable with.

Steve quietly turns, starting to lead me to the hallway. The walk is silent past the many doors before we reach the very last one on the left. We walk in and the man stops at the dresser to grab a new set of clothes before leading me across the room to another door that opens to a bathroom. He walks over by the counter and sets the child down on the floor; surprisingly she stays standing on her feet. Steve then steps back and sets the clothes on the counter, glancing over at me, unsure.

I send him a comforting nod before I turn to the small girl, approaching her carefully. When I’m a foot or two away from her, I lower myself to my knees, hoping that being on the same level as her will ease some of her fears. At this point, though, she seems to have almost completely shut down. Her body is still tensed up, her eyes wide with trepidation, her mouth clamped shut. I recognize this response right away; she thinks there is no fixing what she’s 'done’ at this point. She’s just trying to be 'good’ now to not make it any worse.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, little dove,” I say warmly, a faint look of recognition setting off in the child’s gaze as I the clothes off the counter and unfold them. Then, I reach out and pull down the little girl’s dirty clothes, slipping them off her feet one by one.

Willa stays silent, probbaly too afraid to even protest.

Looking through the cabinets, I find a tub of skin-safe baby wipes. As gently as I can, I wipe the little girl clean, apologizing when she flinches, “Sorry, bunny. I know they’re a little cold.” She looks completely surprised when I don’t do anything to hurt her, but instead throw the wipes away in the waste bin. Putting the box away in the cabinet, I pick up the clean clothes, holding them up for her to step into. Willa does so warily; once she’s fully clothed again, I stand back up, washing my hands in the sink. She stays quietly down at my side, not moving an inch or making a sound. As I scrub with the lemon-scented soap, I look over at Steve who’s watching in shock. He was probably expecting her to freak out, which honestly, a part of me was too, but luckily it all went smoothly.

Drying my hands, I kneel back down in front of the girl. “How about you and I go start on some dinner while we let Steve get cleaned up?” I suggest, offering her my hand. To my complete surprise, Willa takes it, accepting my offer. Rising back up to my feet, we turn back to face Steve who still looks completely lost.

“O-okay, then. You guys get to it. I’ll be out in just a few.”

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#faad #faad: the real bucky #eun's writing #steve rogers #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers series #steve rogers au #steve rogers angst #steve rogers fluff #hurt/comfort #steve rogers x child!oc #dad!steve rogers #the avengers #avengers fanfiction #mcu #mcu fanfiction #captain america #captain america fanfiction

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coco96 · 4 years

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LDAF - The Avengers

Hiding Magic (Avengers X Teen!Reader) Warnings: Mention of crime (stealing) Request: ... reader who is a very powerful magician ... who also robs because their family is poor ... One day all the Avengers comes to their school to give a speech. However, the reader gets there late and sees the Avengers thinking they’re about to get arrested. They then go to the Bathroom to use magic and escape. Right when R using magic Peter, Tony, Strange walks in. After talking the R ends up an Avenger.

Serenity (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Sick child, illness Request: ... reader being a part of the avengers, but the others gets suspicious when she starts refusing missions on particular dates and she always sneaks of, but it turns out she visits a children’s hospital or something because she wants to give them hope? ...

Crushing The Grape (Avengers X Male!Reader) Warnings: Spoilers to Infinity War. Death. Reader basically tortured Thanos. Think Magneto with blood. Request: Could you do avengers x male reader where male reader kills that giant purple grape(thanos) on Titan

The Happiest Avenger (Avengers X Reader) TRIGGER WARNING: Depression and self harm mention Request: ... R is very happy to a point where they’re the happiest person on the avengers but the R is secretly messed up, they never shows it. The R has a secret they self-harm. So one day Steve finds the scars while they’re talking in the kitchen then thinks the worst. So he sets up a meeting with the crew and the next day R walks in and the crew have to act normal but then comfronts the R but the end is very fluff

Young Weapon (Avengers X Teen!Male!Reader) Warnings: Mention of violence, mention of fire, death of parents, mention of torture Request: ... reader where he’s discovered as a brainwashed assassin (like bucky) where he was taken when he was like 5 and is now 15 and he suffered worse than bucky did and they try to help him oh wow that was long

Not Happening (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Mentions of torture, brain washing, ptsd/nightmares and killing. Request: ... reader is a superpowered teenager that the avengers took care of after finding her in a hydra base. She’s still trying to fit in but the government is trying to take her away due to her past crimes when she was still controlled by hydra ...

Scratches (Avengers X Male!Reader) Warnings: Sexual mentions Request: … Where male reader was training and took his shirt of and the avengers see he has scratches(from late night activities) on his back and tease him about it and he comes up with a sassy response. The whole late night activities don’t have to be detailed

No More Fighting Pt 1 (Avengers X Reader) | Part 2 Warnings: Death of character Request: ... before the battle cap and iron have a fight but the reader plays peacemaker and makes everything alright. At the battle the reader sacrifice themself to help the avengers get away before getting captured ... but the avengers think they k.i.a. And at the funeral cap and iron make peace for the sake of the reader

Ranger (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Fighting Request: .... a steampunk style and meets the avengers after they see her beating up bad guys or something ...

Testing Patience (Avengers X Fem!Reader) | Part 2 Warnings: Mild swearing Request: … a very calm reader who life with the avengers in the tower and one day she is mad at something and all the avengers are there and think she is very cute when she is angry and hug her and joke on her, and she gets more angy because they think she is cute …

Anomaly (Avengers X Teen!Male!Reader) Request: ... reader who is a powerful being and all they know about their life is that they’re human with powerful powers. Avengers are trying to capture them, they’re trying to capture him to question him. because he robbed a bank and seen what the reader could do. The powers he has are called Imagination Manifestation its like imagining something and comes true. And at the end he some how gets a job at avengers

Blind Meeting (Avengers X Blind!Reader) Request: ... reader is really nervous to meet the avengers because shes blind but peter assures her that itll be fine and the avengers end up loving her

Loyalty (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Torture, memory loss Request: ... reader gets compromised, tries to take down the avengers ... They refuse to fight her ...

Revenge Is Bloody (Avengers X Vampire Reader) | Part 2 Warnings: Blood and gore Request: ... hydra operatives keep showing up dead drained of their blood? The team are called to investigate. Bucky is fine with it but everyone seems kind of nervous cause they don’t know what their dealing with. They find out it’s a girl in her teens that hydra experimented on turning her into a vampire and she was able to over power and hunt them down. They track her and she willingly goes with them to join the team.

Much Needed Sleep (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: passing out, swearing. Request: ... reader has insomnia and barely sleeps. She lies to the rest of them (the avengers) so they don’t worry. She has about 4 hours sleep a night, sometimes less. When she’s doing a mission, she collapses from exhaustion ...

Mistake (Avengers X Reader) Warnings: Injury, death Request: ... one day the reader messes up badly on a mission and the avengers talk about how the reader let down So the reader quits and the avengers go looking for the reader and finds them and talks about how they’re sorry ...

Real Magic (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warning: Falling from heights, presumed deaths, dangerous stunts. Request: Peter and The avengers go to a circus they decide to go see a magic show, and tony is totally not buying it. It turns out the reader is the star, and her magic is real. Maybe they try to get her on the team. …

“Did you have to seduce the entire team!?” (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Request: … reader is young and beautiful and starts living in the tower with the avengers and she flirts with all of them just for fun, and all of them think that she is in love with them and at the end they start fighting ... and ask reader which one would she choose finally and she chooses ruce ...

I Don’t Know What I’d Do Without You (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Self conscious reader, teasing Request: Can you do a female reader, where she feels as if she isn’t worthy enough to be in the avengers, she feels as if she’s the odd one out. Nat overhears her talking to her friend on the phone about thinking about leaving and she gets the others to convince her she is worthy?

Auntie June Came Early (Male Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warning: Period time~ Request: … reader is in her days and Nat and Wanda are away, and the male avengers got nuts because they think she might be in a lot of pain and overprotect her and dont let her do anything, not even move, and she complain about the pain just once and they all freak out and she thinks is hilarious! ...

Helping (Avengers X Teen!Reader) Warnings: Bulimia, throwing up, bullying, self conscious reader. Request: ... reader is Tony’s daughter (although all of them are protective of her) and she has bulimia and she gets caught purging by one of the team members.

Hello, I’m Pansexual (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Mention of homophobia, anxiety. Request: ... reader’s part of the avengers and has powers, but is pan and struggling w how to come out to the team bc she’s scared they’ll kick her off?

Surprise! (Avengers X Reader) Warnings: Sad emotions Request: … reader thinks everyone forgot their birthday but they were just planning a surprise party for them? …

If You Get Killed, Walk It Off. (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Grieving, supposed death, explosion, blood, death Request: … reader is in a mission with the avengers and then there is an explossion and the reader was in that building and everybody thinks that she died, and start to cry and remember how they love her, and finally she was ok, and goes with them and ask what happen? …

Help (Avengers X Reader) SERIOUS TRIGGER WARNING: SELF- HARM MENTIONS Request: ... a super angsty self-harm one with avengers.

Where Do Babies Come From? (Avengers X Child!Reader) Warnings: Mild swearing, sex ed talk Request: … reader is the little protect one sister of the avengers (like 12 years old) and she goes around the tower asking the avengers how babies are made. (she doesnt have a mom, so she doesnt know anything) and Tony freaks out because doesnt want her to grow up! …

Phantom (Avengers X Fem!Reader) | Part 2 Request: ... reader’s super badass the team rarely sees her shes like a ninja and according to clint who ever sees her outside missions will have a lucky day (lmao) and like when the teams having movie night shes just like standing behind them in the shadows ...

No Spoilers (Avengers X Reader) | Part 2 | Part 3 Warnings: Spoilers of AOU SET BEFORE AOU Request: ... reader from our universe gets dropped into the avengers.

One Last Goodbye (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Death, mourning. Request: … reader died during a mission. Fury give Tony a USB key and told him to watch the video with the rest of the avengers. on the video the reader is talking about how much she loved them and tells each avenger little facts that she loved about them and she thanks them for being her family. …

Birthday Girl (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Request: ... it’s the female readers birthday. She works with the Avengers but aside from that she doesn’t have any friends. She is having a bad birthday, the avengers don’t know. They find out it’s her birthday and surprise her, making it better. …

Welcome to the Family (Avengers X Elf!Reader) Warnings: Mentions of neglect Request: ... reader is half human, half light elf but you were taken from Alfheim and abandoned on earth when the dark elves attacked. (From Thor) The avengers find you and take you in. Thor offers to bring you home but you’ve gotten attached to the human world and decides to stay. You’ve especially gotten attached to Tony cause he treated you like a daughter since you were very young and petite. Smaller then normal elves

Not Your Fault (Avengers X Fem!Teen!Reader) Warnings: Mention of extreme injury, disability, guilt. Request: ... reader is Tony’s teen daughter and she is really good friends with everyone in Team Cap but then during the airport fight she gets hurt and is unable to walk again ... and then when she sees Team Cap again they feel really guilty specially because one of them caused the injury and Natasha feels angry at herself because she was supposed to be her mother figure and look out for her ...

Fitting In (Avengers X Adopted!Reader) Request: ... Tony, being known for his impulsive choices adopts a 14 yr old girl. She’s got the innocent girl next door look but she’s a complete devil. Nat loves her, Clint is afraid of her and Loki, Bucky and Sam are her partners in crime for evil pranks. All is well until she pulls a prank on Bruce and he hulks out. But even Hulk falls under her innocent spell and can’t seem to do anything to her.

Hair Pulling (Avengers X Reader) Warnings: Hair pulling, pulling hair out Request: ... One of the Avengers finds out that the reader has trichotillomania and try’s to help them to stop?

Headaches (Avengers X Reader) Warnings: Spoilers of AoU, Illness, swearing, mention of getting high and drunk Request: The reader is sick all of the time and the avengers are concerned about them, so they have to try and convince the avengers that they’re okay in the long run ...

Killer Cupcakes (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Serious illness, near death Request: ... reader is like really sick/hurt and tries to hide it from the other avengers, but they find out and freak bc she almost died ...

The Ultimate Sacrifice (Avengers X Male!Reader) Warnings: Death of character, description of death, mourning Request: ... they’re trapped in a capsized (upside down) cruise ship and the reader ... sacrifices himself to save the group, based on the song My Immortal by Evanescence ...

Animals (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Swearing Request: ... reader is sort of spiritually connected with animals or has some sort of connection with animals where they just adore her ... and the avengers ... keep finding random animals around the tower and Tony keeps telling her off for it; secretly everyone finds it amusing and the reader knows this.

I Need My Family (Avengers X Reader) Warnings: Mention of harrassment, assault and swearing Request: ... reader is part time university student - part time Avenger ... and reader somehow gets into some trouble that involves the police, and they try to keep it secret from the others, but Steve finds out and tells Wanda, then they tell the others ...

Other Me (Bucky X Fem!Reader) | *PREQUEL* [Part 2] | Part 3 *Sequel Warnings: Needles, stabbing, blood, death Request: … reader joined the avengers before Bucky. He sees her as sweet, shy and innocent but during missions she’s a complete psycho? After missions its like nothing happened. So he asks Steve about it and he says she’s like that cause before missions they take her off her meds that keep her in check. If she doesn’t have them she’s kinda over the top angry.

Hidden Art (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Request: ... reader is a shy recruit at the Avengers and she doesn’t really talk to anyone and didn’t let anyone in her room, and one day someone walked to her room and found out that she was very good at art ...

Joining The Team Pt 1 (Avengers X Reader) | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 ~Finale Warnings: Blood, Violence, torture Request: ... Avengers x reader fic, really angsty ...

Compromised (Neal Caffrey X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Nat kills someone, violence Request: ... Neal Caffrey (reader’s boyfriend) finds out she’s an Avenger, and the Avengers find out she has a boyfriend? Mozzie is protective of Neal and Nat and Bucky are protective of reader and try to scare Neal into backing off?

I’ll Kill Him (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: Mentions of Domestic abuse. Request: Reader is the Avenger’s assistant and like a little sister to them, and one day she doesn’t come into work and Bucky goes to her house to make sure she’s OK and finds out she’s in an abusive relationship and helps her.

Where’s Nat? (Avengers X Teen!Reader) Warnings: Blood. Looooots of blood. Request: teen reader has period and goes to avengers for help but Nat isn’t home – Tony is her uncle!

Not alone (Avengers X Reader) SERIOUS WARNING: SELF HARM MENTIONS. Other warnings: Getting shot. Request: Avengers see Reader’s self harm scars and confront her

Overprotective much? (Avengers X Fem!Reader) Warnings: One swear word, threatening, flirting, drinking and attempted murder by an overprotective brother. Request: ... reader is Tony´s sister and she is really beautiful (thats why Tony won´t introduce her) and the avengers are surprised and start bothering Tony and he gots really jealous and protective ...

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blasphemous-tiefling · 3 years

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I think part of the reason why there’s so much discord in the MCU fandom has something to do with the varying directors for TFA, The Avengers, Winter Soldier, AOU, Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame. And really, the backbone of the issue is how the different directors and how the audience interprets Steve’s character. Strap in. Because this is a long rant on a topic that normal people really don’t care about.

Joe Johnston created a Steve Rogers that was eager, begging to go to war. I absolutely adored the line in AOU when Steve says, “What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?” Because I feel that sums up Steve in TFA pretty well. He’s anti-bully. He wants to fight. But his whole life he’s been put down, stomped on. Steve repeatedly enlisting is both selfish and selfless. His conversation with Bucky in TFA is a great example of this. Steve says, “There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That’s what you don’t understand. This isn’t about me.” And Bucky says, “Right. Because you’ve got nothing to prove.” And that’s it. Yes, Steve wants to fight because he’s always been bullied and doesn’t want anyone else to feel that way. Yes, Steve wants to fight because he wants to defend his country. But also Steve wants to fight because no one has ever given him a chance. Steve wants to fight because he wants his life to mean something. Steve wants to die in battle because he thinks it’s honorable. He wants to prove himself. Steve wants it so desperately for both selfless and selfish reasons, which is why he was so willing to take the serum despite the fact that Erskine told him about past failures. There’s even a certain selfishness to his sacrifice at the end of TFA. Many stories that involve sacrifice ride the line of selfishness and selflessness. By sacrificing himself, you could argue Steve is taking “the easy way out.” He’s distraught over Bucky’s death. He’s won the battle he’s been fighting since getting the super soldier serum. By sacrificing himself, Steve can effectively end the troubles caused by the Tesseract and leave without dealing with the consequences of his sacrifice. This point is a bit of a stretch, and not something that I personally agree with, but the thought it there.

Joss Whedon takes that selflessness and turns it into irrefutable righteousness, and it’s disgusting. Steve has a few goofy lines in The Avengers and AOU that I’ll laugh at, but ultimately, everything he does seems so out of character for him. His constant nagging and arguing with Tony is so unnecessary and doesn’t build friendship. His desire to do everything S.H.I.E.L.D. tells him to do is completely incorrect because Steve went against the military and broke the 107th out of the Hydra facility without permission and repeatedly did whatever he wanted without asking. His incessant need to have all the Avengers do as he says is totalitarian and unbearable to watch. Truthfully, this is where I think people misunderstand Steve the most because not everyone watches every solo movie. The Avengers movies are the biggies that most people won’t miss. So general audiences only see this righteous, dictator Steve Rogers and that really pisses me off.

This is one of the only times you’ll hear me praise the Russos, so get ready- Thank goodness Winter Soldier and Civil War follow Joe Johnston’s characterization of Steve. They even dig into his selfishness and rebellious streak, which I adore. Steve isn’t one to just blindly follow orders. Hello? Does “not a perfect solider but a good man” ring any bells? Perfect soldiers follow orders. Good men fight for what’s right even when the world is telling them not to. That’s who Steve Rogers is. What I adore about Winter Soldier so much is that we see Steve attempting to be this perfect soldier, but it’s just not sitting well with him. Something is fishy and weird. He talks to Peggy about her life. She says her only regret is that Steve didn’t get to live his. Steve talks to Sam about possibly getting out of government work. Sam is that representation for Steve- having a hard time finding out why he’s really in it to begin with. The entire film is about Steve going against the government, military, and S.H.I.E.L.D. with both selfish and selfless desires. He knows he needs to do something because Hydra is growing in S.H.I.E.L.D. but he also doesn’t want anything to do with it anyway, so why not tear it all down? Once Bucky is revealed as the Winter Soldier, Steve puts his life on the line to try to get him back. It’s selfish really. When Steve takes off his helmet and drops his shield, he made the decision to die because he wasn’t gonna continue to live without Bucky. Despite the fact that Steve made friends with Natasha and Sam, he didn’t care. All that mattered to him in that moment was James Bucky Barnes. This is very reminiscent of TFA when Steve breaks Bucky out of the Hydra lab. As the world’s only successful super soldier, Steve could’ve been very valuable to the American government and military. He was even doing mild good by helping sell bonds. But that didn’t matter. His country and his military was no longer priority number one. When it comes to Steve Rogers, nothing and no one means more to him than Bucky. Steve and Sam’s conversation that I previously mentioned also parallels this. After Sam lost Riley, he didn’t want to be in the military anymore. He said he felt like he was up there just to watch, nothing he could do. This is a direct parallel to how Steve feels about Bucky.

Civil War, while a trash movie, sticks with Steve’s selfish yet selfless motivations. “What if this panel sends us somewhere we don’t think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go and they don’t let us?” Not wanting to surrender his right to choose is Steve Rogers. He just put down S.H.I.E.L.D.- an organization that was giving him demands. Why would he sign his life away to the American government again? Corporations can be run by greed and corruption- something Steve doesn’t want the world to be full of but also something he doesn’t want his world to be ruled by. When Bucky is framed for killing King T’Chaka, Steve knows the Accords will bring Bucky in and possibly execute him. He can’t let that happen. And he asks Natasha not to get in his way because he doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt. He knows how dangerous Bucky can be, but he doesn’t want Bucky or anyone else getting hurt or in trouble due to this sticky Accords situation. Both selfish and selfless. I don’t even want to get into later in the film, but I guess I will. Guys, there’s no world, no universe, no place in time that Steve wouldn’t try to stop Zemo. Tony never even gave him the chance to explain himself. It was either, “Come with us or we fight.” Steve gathered that team together- not to fight Tony but to fight Zemo. It was never his intention to fight with Tony. He was just trying to stop Zemo. Now, when Tony learns about his parents’ death, anger is a valid emotion. Physically fighting and attacking Steve and Bucky to the point of death? Not valid or even remotely reasonable. It makes no sense as to why Tony would be that angry at Bucky- someone who was tortured and brainwashed to do what he did. Steve had his reasons for not telling Tony considering that when it comes to Steve Rogers, nothing and no one means more to him than Bucky. Of course, Steve was going to hide the truth from Tony in an effort to protect Tony, Bucky, and himself. Selfish yet selfless.

Infinity War gives us the glorious lines of “I’m not looking for forgiveness. And I’m way past asking permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we’re here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way, we’ll fight you too.” and “We don’t trade lives.” These lines beautifully sum up Steve’s rebelliousness and need to fight while also not risking others’ lives. He’ll always risk himself first. There’s not much to say about this film considering it’s mostly action and Steve shares the screen with just about every other superhero, so we’re not given a lot of time. But overall, the Russos kept that same Steve Rogers.

And then Endgame does a complete 180 and decides to serve us Joss Whedon’s Steve with a conservative, pro-military, unbelievably illogical twist. Steve’s obsession with Peggy in this film is so out of place. She would’ve died seven years prior in the MCU. Steve’s been living in the present with Natasha, Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Vision, and T’Challa. That was his family. He lost Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Vision, and T’Challa in the Infinity War. It only makes sense that he would be fighting for them in Endgame. Yet he’s not. We’re beat over the head about how much he misses Peggy and it’s so unbelievably weird. Steve is never allowed to mourn Sam and Bucky specifically despite the fact that they were his number one companions. He never mentions them. Never has a touching reunion with Bucky. Barely has any reaction to Natasha’s death. It’s disgusting honestly. This is not “I will fight to my death for the people I love” Steve Rogers. And the ending is the most pathetic of all. There’s no world, no universe, no place in time that Steve would willingly go almost a hundred years away from Bucky and Sam, somewhere he wouldn’t fight for others. “Pretending you could live without a war.” I mean, come on. He’s Steven Grant Rogers. It’s disgusting to paint him as this man who would throw away his friendships and a world that is being bullied all for some girl he kissed once and barely knew. No. No, no. Not my Steve Rogers.

I give the directors a little too much crap. I’m fully aware that a whole team of people make these movies, but you can’t deny that Steve changes from movie to movie depending on the director. Endgame is the exception in which the directors were the same, yet they diverged completely from their original interpretation of the character. I’ve heard people say that it had to be an anti-gay agenda- that ending Steve’s story with Bucky would’ve been too gay even if they weren’t romantically involved, but I still think that’s pathetic. Honestly, I would’ve rather seen Steve die than have his character trashed and pooped on like this. From a narrative perspective, what happened in Endgame is not okay. Marvel Studios’ treatment towards “sideline” characters like Natasha, Rhodey, Sam, and Bucky- particularly in Infinity War and Endgame- is not okay. Yeah, I’m aware I get too heated over this fictional universe. But the characters are the only reason I stick around. The stories are lackluster for me. I’ve never been one to watch movies for action sequences. But I’ve always been in love with Steve Rogers as a character- complicatedly riding the line of selflessness and selfishness, dedicating himself wholeheartedly to a cause and to the people he loves. When in the end that character was completely scrapped and shredded in the garbage disposal like crust on bread or the skin of an apple, I’m gonna be angry for a long time.

#why throw away steve’s character?#sorry but I’m just not over any of it #anti endgame #mcu #marvel #steve rogers #captain america #the first avenger #winter soldier #civil war #I’ve seen every marvel property #but I hate #marvel studios #rant #honestly this rant was just for me #may delete later

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portraitoftheoddity · 4 years

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So like I really like Steve and all and he's definitely got the right heart and that's what fandom likes about him, how he stood up to bullies and injustice with his fist raised. But recently I've rewatched avatar and Aang got me thinking, is going against the world fist ready really the right thing. Like Aang was no coward he still stopped Ozai but in most of his battles he tries for peace first. In fact Avatar as a whole talks about change in people.

Like Sokka turned from misogynistic to respecting women, and Iroh's love and patience redeemed Zuko. As much as I love Steve Rogers, fist fighting bullies and getting your ass handed to you or successfully beating them to a pulp isn't going to change them, and it sends a wrong message of fighting fire with fire and bullies don't learn when you punch them usually they get pettier. I agree Steve is right at not letting injustice go be it canon or fandom but Iove that scene in avatar when Aang got into a fire nation school and when a guy tried to fight him he was just like nooope but still managed to be on top as opposed to Steve (maybe just fan fic ver) who would try a punch. I mean I can see Steve screaming at the lies of the fire nation school instead of calmly informing the truth and throwing a dance party. Like Aang might be too pacific sometimes but is charging against people really a good lesson. Stand for what's right, but like in a chill way. And I'm not sure if this is just the fandom version of Steve but in TFS we did kinda see him in an alley fight against a just a ride guy. Sorry about the long rant but what do you think about Steve's fight me attitude being completely glorified in his fandom.

I apologize that I’m gonna gonna get a little long-winded here!

I agree with you that peaceful solutions are great to try first, but when it comes to this punch-happy version of Steve you reference, I think you’re kinda looking at a strawman version of the character, anon -- maybe from poorly-written fic or memes, but not exactly the Steve of film or comics.

Now, the respective approaches of both Aang and Steve are in part a product of the media they originated in. A show aimed at kids with a single overall plotline and arc is often going to aim for a peaceful solution and allow for linear character growth -- while comics, movies and shows developed around a character specifically designed to punch Hitler as a statement during WWII are less likely to have a core message of pacifism, and their structure and circular timelines make growth arcs more difficult to sustain. This doesn’t mean one character’s approach or the other is superior, just that they come from different contexts, narratively and in terms of medium. Plus, there are different kinds of fights, and not all are going to offer us the same options as solutions. Looking for ideological purity -- only ever opting for the ‘right’ solution -- can often lead to doing nothing when no ‘right’ solution presents itself, which can result in more harm than taking a less-than-perfect action.

Let us not forget that when an authoritarian army showed up to kill everyone and wipe out the North Pole, Aang does go all Koizilla with the ocean spirit and wipes out the Fire Nation fleet. Aang has fought people. Aang, albeit with the alibi of “a spirit was in charge”, indirectly kills people (Zhao ends up pretty dead as a direct result of Aang’s spirit rampage). This isn’t particularly glorified, but at the time there isn’t a better outcome presented. Doing nothing would have led to the massacre of the Northern Water Tribe.

That said, I LOVE ATLA and its messages of growth and compassion and I think it’s great to have a protagonist who opts to give people a way out.

...Which is what Steve does.

We see Steve do this more than once. In CA:TWS, Steve recognizes Bucky and tried to get through to him, to avoid a fight. One ensues, but Steve then refuses to fight him anymore once he’s disabled the helicarrier and saved everyone else, willingly putting his own life on the line to gamble on some part of Bucky’s inner self being in there and worth saving. He isn’t willing to put the lives of other innocents and noncombatants on the line -- protecting them is a priority, even if it means fighting Bucky -- but once that factor is out of the equation, he drops his shield and tries to reach him.

In the same movie, a few scenes earlier, Steve appeals to the personnel of SHIELD -- an organization that has labeled him a terrorist and been hunting him -- and paints out the reality of the situation, giving the good people within the opportunity to react and rebel against the element of HYDRA that has infiltrated -- which they do! But there isn’t a magical lionturtle showing up to tell him how to stop the helicarriers from taking off and murdering millions of people without any casualties, so, yanno. He does what he can.

Heck, Steve is occasionally teased by other characters for his speechifying -- not just to give pep talks, but to try to get through to people. He does this in the comics a lot. You’ve probably seen this page going around:

It doesn’t always work out. But he tries.

You suggest Steve would punch someone who was wrong in Aang’s Fire Nation School, but I don’t agree with that reading on the character based on what we see Steve do. Steve very rarely is the one to completely initiate a fight. Usually he is reactive. He sees a situation where someone is being a jerk, points out the injustice, and if the person is insisting on hurting someone, Steve inserts himself to make sure it’s him instead of anyone else. Whether the jerk in question is a single bully or an entire army.

You bring this scene up, but when Steve confronts the guy heckling in the movie theater (who is making a woman cry, I’ll add), it’s clear from the man’s posture when he stands up and Steve’s look of dread that while Steve has spoken up, the escalation to violence is not his choice. When we see him a moment later in the alley, he’s fighting defensively -- drawing the man’s ire, keeping him distracted. Steve is reactive in this entire scenario -- not the instigator. (and I think if Steve had Aang’s airbending, he’d love to dodge more punches instead of getting his ass kicked!)

The fact that Steve’s primary weapon is a shield -- a symbol of defense, not offense -- speaks to the fact his entire MO is protection. Violence not for violence’s sake, but to intervene in existing violence when there is no other recourse.

But Steve also admittedly has a stronger sense of responsibility than Aang does at the series’ start. Aang dodges, but he also gets called out by other characters for running away from a lot of his problems instead of confronting them. Steve, if he were a bender, I think would likely be an Earthbender like Toph; solid, stubborn, listening and reacting (though ironically, he would lose his shit over the willful obliviousness and apathy of Ba Sing Se’s leadership). Steve feels a deep personal duty to always be in the thick of it where things are already at their worst.

If there had been no deus ex machina energybending option presented at the eleventh hour, would it have been better for Aang to die and doom the world than to compromise his morals and kill the Fire Lord? It’s a question of hypothetical principles vs reality of harm in that instance. Aang as a character is allowed by the story to adhere to his principles and get a happy ending. Steve as a character does his best, but ultimately has to compromise with reality when he has to, when it’s not just his life at stake, but many others should he fail to act in time. In those high-stakes scenarios, his cards are often limited.

Steve as a character doesn’t arbitrarily start fights. But he goes to where the status quo is untenable, or where a fight is already raging, and he takes a stand. If he can convince someone to step down peacefully? That’s ideal! But usually by the time Captain America has shown up, there are megaweapons primed and loaded and fascists already hurting people or robots trying to destroy the planet or a Titan about to wipe everyone out, so the ideal option is rarely still on the table. No dance party is gonna be enough to change Red Skull’s crazy nazi mind about killing everyone (which is too bad, because I’d love to watch Steve do the lindy hop). There is no ‘chill way’ to stand for what’s right at that point.

And ultimately, I think we need both kinds of characters! I think it’s important to encourage diplomacy and compassion, to urge people to find common ground and to find nonviolent ways of diffusing and deescalating situations. To look at things from other perspectives, and to give people the option to learn and grow and be better than they were. I love a good rehabilitation arc, and think ATLA does this beautifully and has incredibly important messaging and philosophies.

But I also think we need stories that say, hey, when those options aren’t on the table? When no one is listening no matter what you try to say, when you’ve looked for a way around it and no lionturtles have showed up to save your ass? Sometimes, you have to put yourself in front of the guy swinging punches and raise you shield and stop him. Sometimes you don’t get the nice options that make you feel good; sometimes the world is messy and ugly; but sometimes, even if we can’t do the ideal thing, we can still do the right thing. Take action and put an end to the perpetuation of violence in the moment to protect the helpless. (Then work on rehabilitation and communication.)

#lena has thoughts #meta #avatar: the last airbender #steve rogers #captain america #Anonymous #lena answers things

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rpmemesbyarat · 3 years

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As someone in the Marvel RPC, I see a lot of “my character was kidnapped/created in a lab and turned into the perfect weapon” or “my character was captured by scientists because she was an alien/supernatural creature/etc and they wanted to study her” and inevitably, both involve a lot of gratutitous torture. The key word being “gratuitous”. Either due to wanting drama or being misinformed by popular media depictions of such things (Bucky Barnes, Laura Kinney, etc) the general assumption of fandom seems to be that scientists are basically sadists and that “experiments” are little more than exercises in how to cause their character the most pain possible. The thing is though, a lot of the reasoning for all this is. . . bad. And while canon ---be it Marvel or something else-- may do that, I would also like to discuss more realistic options and point out a few general mistaken assumptions or things people don’t tend to think of. - If a bunch of scientists are trying to create an augmented supersoldier, “perfect life form”, or whatever, that’s not an experiment, that’s a PROJECT. There is a big difference between the two. - Who/what is your character being created or augmented to fight? No one is gonna spend the time/money/effort to make a supersoldier just to have one around for fun. The enemy they are supposed to face or job they are supposed to do is going to influence EVERYTHING about the abilities they’re given and how they are “designed” not to mention how much independent thinking it’s practical to give them. For instance, for some jobs, being able to think and make decisions on their own will be a must, and that’s a risk. For others, there’s really no need to leave their free will intact if you can avoid it. Someone being “built” for espionage will be much different than someone being designed as a living tank. Likewise if someone is going to be sent into a desert environment versus expected to go for long periods underwater, and so on. Knowing what they’re designed to be going up against is CRUCIAL. - Why are living weapons the best option to fight this thing? Because generally speaking, there can be a lot more disadvantages to those than to guns and guided missiles and androids and shit. What about this enemy required a lving sentient supersoldier instead? - If a specimen is rare or valuable, it’s unlikely that it’s going to be dissected or otherwise treated in a way that will deliberately damage it. Your characters might FEAR that if they’re found the men in white coats might “cut them up” but this is actually unlikely. If scientists are trying to learn about something and it’s not a thing they can easily replace, they’re going to try to do so WITHOUT destroying or damaging it. The reason that real-life lab animals are treated so callously is because there’s lots of them, and we already know a lot about how they all work. When a scientist dissects a lab mouse, they’re not losing anything when it dies. If the first alien on Earth dies, or some super-soldier they worked really hard to create dies, they’re losing either a lot of potential information that can’t be gained anywhere else, or something they worked really hard to create and won’t be able to do again without a lot of time or effort. They are going to want to avoid that, and in this age of ultrasounds, X-Rays, and other non-invasive technology, that’s very easily done, especially in a setting where they probably have higher level tech than the real world if they’re creating super-soldiers and such in the first place. And they definitely have NO REASON to want to cut a specimen up ALIVE. - If their goal is to study a person or creature, such as the aforementioned alien, or a mermaid, or whatever else, they actually will probably want to avoid causing it stress. Stress causes behavioral changes as well as physiological ones, and if this is a never-before-seen or rarely-examined species/person, scientists will want to examine them in their default state first. Once they’ve learned everything they can about them in their “normal” state, then, yes, they may begin to deliberately induce stress to study what changes. However, they’re still likely to try to avoid damaging the specimen or inducing ill-health in it (which prolonged and/or serious stress can do) Again, the reason that regular lab animals get treated like their lives don’t matter is because THEY DON’T. Lab mice, dogs, etc., are just models for which to study humans most of the time and have well-documented behavior and physiology, they’re not rare or unknown creatures. So the approach is completely different. A literal or figurative unicorn would not be treated like that. - Likewise, if this specimen is something that was created (or augmented from an existing animal/person) it’s unlikely that the scientists are going to torture them, either for fun or through painful “tests”. Again, they don’t want to damage their hard work, either through physically wrecking them or through reducing them to a useless traumatized heap. It doesn’t matter if the scientists are mean cruel people without a bit of kindness or empathy, it’s impractical. If this being was created for a purpose, fucking it up (or turning it against you) defeats that purpose. And whoever is funding them isn’t going to be happy about that. And if whoever is funding them is the one who wanted to torture this creature/person. . . why do they need it to be specially modified or whatever? That really doesn’t make much sense, especially considering it’s virtually guaranteeing that this thing you have GIVEN SUPER POWERS TO is going to want to murder you. - Sure, it’s possible that one person on the staff might just personally be a sadistic bully or have a grudge against the character/creation even when none of the others do, like Kimura with Laura Kinney, but in all likelihood they’d be found out and fired. “But they take pains to hide it and erase security footage and--” Okay, if you really really want that, you can find a way to do it. Just know it’s not at all going to be acceptable procedure even in the most illegal of operations, not because it’s morally wrong but because it fucks with the product. And I would also ask yourself---if your character is already a lab rat, do they need to be tortured as well? Why? What does that add? Does it not feel “traumatic” or “dark” enough that they, a presumably sentient being, is already owned and imprisoned and kept from anything approaching a normal life? Why is that not “bad enough” to you that their story needs over-the-top torture as well? I’m not saying you can’t do it. I’m saying to think about why you’re doing it. Because a lot of times, in my experience, it basically comes down to cheap angst and sympathy points, often at the expense of, as discussed, logic. - “But they want to make them loyal out of fear!” Okay. That works only up until they get an opportunity to escape. Because if they’re afraid, they’ll take that chance. It’s true they might be too afraid to even try---that’s the case for many abuse victims---but I’m not sure that an organization wants to gamble that will be the case and risk losing their valuable asset the moment send asset is put in the field. And, again, risk the damage to them. This one is doable, you just have to be logical about it and think from the perspective of the people running things, not from the perspective of “what’s the most dramatic?” - “But it’s to brainwash them!” Brainwashing does not mean constant egregious torture that just somehow magically produces sudden loyalty one day. I know that tons of movies and comics have showed you this, but torture does NOT brainwash people. It actually makes people MORE resistant and hateful towards the people and group doing it. People under torture may confess to anything to make it stop, but that’s a short-term compliance and far from actually altering their minds in any way. It most certainly does not render them into obedient loyal sheep; typically the reverse, in fact. If you want to read more about this misconception and what the reality is, I’d check out these posts HERE and HERE and HERE which go much more in-depth and cite real-life sources. If you would like to read more about actual brainwashing, HERE and HERE . - “The torture is necessary for their training!” Again, this works to a point, but most people take it absurdly far in their depictions. Training is to build a person up; if it grievously injures or mentally traumatizes them, that’s counter-productive, as it decreases their usefulness. Being pointlessly cruel to your “living weapon” is just counter-productive. Training can certainly still be intense, and even un-ethically or dangerously so, but if it crosses into just coming up with ridiculously over-the-top ways to make the character suffer, it’s too OTT and clearly for angst-fuel, and most readers will probably roll their eyes because it’s just ridiculous after a certain point. Here are some good articles from SPRINGHOLE.NET relevant to this topic: Things To Know If Your Character Will Be Augmented Or Experimented Upon Things About Training & Teaching Writers Need To Know Tips For Writing Dark Stories, Settings, & Characters Pointlessly Edgy Tropes To Reconsider Using Basic Tips To Create Better Characters With Tragic & Traumatic Backstories Note that this is not to say that your lab rat character cannot have been mistreated, abused, or otherwise traumatized by their situation. Indeed, it would be unrealistic if they were NOT, since treating a sentient being as a tool under the control of others and having them commit violence, even if they do so “willingly” because they don’t know any better, is an inherently traumatic thing. But because it’s inherently traumatic, the unrealistic torture porn is just that much more unnecessary and frankly kind of silly. It’s also lazy, and the ways that many writers go about make no actual sense, as has been discussed. Going back to examples from Marvel, a favorite little-known X-Men character of mine is Darkstar, aka Laynia Petrovna. Laynia and her twin brother Nicolai were mutants born in the USSR. They were taken away by the state at birth, and raised by government scientist Professor Phobos in a “school” (read: facility) for super-soldiers. They were trained in combat and taught to be loyal to the USSR above all else. They were also told that their parents had abandoned them (when in fact their mother died in childbirth, and their father was told they had died too) and were NOT told that they were siblings, instead being given different surnames so that their familial loyalty would not supersede their loyalty to the Soviet Union. It wasn’t until they were adults and discovered their bio-father during a mission that they ever found out they were related. Yet, despite this, and despite occasionally joining superhero teams in the USA (Champions) or aiding the X-Men (X-Corps), Laynia has remained loyal to her country first, though she has often turned her back on its government (though she has returned to serving it now that the USSR is no more) What I really like about Laynia’s backstory is how different it is from most “I was raised as a weapon” stories in that it lacks overt abuse or trauma. She seems to have been treated just fine, she was never tortured, there was never shown to be any needlessly brutal training or treatment of her and the others, etc. She was raised to be a loyal servant to the state, and she was treated in a way that would actually facilitate that, and IT WORKED. So many scientists/trainers/etc in fiction seem to think it’s a great idea to treat your living weapon in ridiculously over-the-top violent, abusive ways for no real reason (except, of course, THE DRAMAZ) and will often be portrayed as insanely sadistic towards their pet projects…even though that’s obviously the LAST thing you would want to do with a valuable asset that you wanted to be loyal to you and have no desire to escape or turn sides. And as I said, it WORKS with Laynia. One of her biggest and most constant struggles FROM THE START is her loyalty to her country, versus her own conscience when she’s asked to do things she finds questionable. She also finds out again and again that she’s been lied to or manipulated by the people in charge of her, and sometimes she’ll defect, but she always ends up back again. And while she’s angry at the things that government asks her to do to others, or has done to others, she never really questions what was done to her. We never see her actually being like “holy shit, I was kidnapped and brainwashed and exploited and I’m really fucking angry about this!” like so many characters in similar situations realize (and often very quickly despite supposed brainwashing; even when still “loyal” they’re usually portrayed as hating their captors) And you know why? Because, again, what was done to her WORKED. Like she has a MOMENT in the issue where she finds out her real history and vows she won’t blindly follow a government ever again, but…she still sticks with the USSR, then Russian, government. She may not be “blindly” following, but she doesn’t seem ever able to leave them for long either. And her brother Nicolai/Vanguard strays even less than she does. And the writers never focus much on this. There’s never been a story that focuses on Laynia’s mindset or giving her a journey that helps her grow in any way or even just examines all this. Partly I think that’s because she’s so minor and has never had a story IN GENERAL that focuses on her. Partly I think it’s because writers just aren’t INTERESTED in a story like hers UNLESS it involves all the dramatic grimdark “tortured test subject” cliches, and they assume readers aren’t either. But I think this does a disservice to readers. One of my pet peeves, perhaps my MAJOR and BIGGEST one, about abuse in fiction is that it is ALWAYS portrayed as BLATANT and EXTREME, committed by people who are OBVIOUSLY monsters and who act like said monsters 24/7. They might get a shallow charming veneer to fool people, but the victim and audience both know that under that they’re un-nuanced, two-dimensional demons. And some abusers are like that. Some abuse is super extreme. But lots of abusers are much more nuanced, and lots of abuse is far for subtle. If only the most extreme types of abuse and abuser are portrayed, that’s all people learn to recognize “real abuse” as being. And real-life victims of abuse already have enough problems feeling that they weren’t “really abused” or “abused enough” to qualify. So I think stories like Laynia’s are important, and they’re worth exploring. They don’t treat abuse as torture porn, something to lingeringly emphasize to the audience in every gory detail for sheer shock value even when it makes NO SENSE for what the abuser is trying to accomplish. Instead, her story makes sense for what the government and its scientists employees were trying to do, and it has an accordingly realistic effect on her that manifests in a far less subtle but no less meaningful way than dramatic “media portrayals of PTSD” cliches. And it’s a story I’d be interested in seeing more of and finally unpacking fully, if any writer ever steps up to the plate ready to treat it with the sensitivity it deserves. Not every story of this sort needs to be like Laynia’s. But not every story of this type needs to be like Logan’s either. Figure out what works best for your character, question why you want it and what purpose it serves, and just make it make sense.

#rp advice #writeblr #OC tips #writing tips #writing tip #backstory tips

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justjessame · 3 years

Text

Starting Over Chapter 40

Sam and Bucky left me to work on my portfolio - I also had a print to finish for Sarah. I thought that I’d go with the printer upstairs first, then if I didn’t love how it turned out, I’d try out my new darkroom. Sam had mentioned some “stuff” he needed to finish - vague, but he WAS Captain America - and Bucky had to check in with Raynor after he made one last amends.

“It’s Yori,” he told me, alone in my - I didn’t really have a name for the workspace Dad created in the guestroom -. “We’re friends, or we were -” his eyes were tight and I reached out to hold him. “I killed his son, Brooke. I snuffed out the life of his son, and I have to tell him that - confess to him that I DID it.”

“It wasn’t -” I stopped, he didn’t need me to say that, not now. He wasn’t looking for absolution from me. He was looking for strength. Framing his face gently between my hands, I forced him to focus on me, not what he was about to do. “You are Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, Bucky, formerly the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier killed Yori’s son and YOU are going to confess to that -” he looked so torn apart by it, the knowledge and the memory. “You’ll tell him, you’ll admit to it, and give him the power to decide what to do with it -” We both knew that Bucky had been pardoned, the consequences he’d face from Yori were higher though - the loss of a friendship and comradery that he’d come to appreciate and enjoy. “But regardless of what Yori does with what you tell him, you’ll come home -” hearing the word, knowing that I meant me and our house, I felt some of his tension relax. “And I’ll be right here waiting for you, Bucky.”

Bucky’s arms were tightening around me, clutching me like a drowning man might a life preserver. And the kiss he took before he left was just as desperate. He needed reassurance. And I hoped that Raynor AND Yori understood just how fucking hard he’d worked to get so far.

While they were gone, I worked on getting the image of Sarah’s boys and the shield just right before making it big enough to go over her mantle. It was touch and go, and it took longer than I cared to admit, but when it was finished - I have to admit I was pretty damn impressed with myself.

The bigger issue, I realized, staring at the huge picture that I’d managed to figure out how to create - was how to get it from Brooklyn, New York to Delacroix, Louisiana without it ripping or wrinkling? A tube would be perfect, a frame better, but -

A soft knock interrupted my musing and I looked up to see Sam staring at me from the doorway. “I see you figured out Sarah’s copy,” he was grinning and I rolled my eyes. “It’s huge.”

“No kidding,” I tilted my head while I contemplated the closest office supply store. “I need to grab a tube.”

“A tube?” He’d moved closer to study the picture, his eyes roving over the matte finish. “Like what they put blueprints in?”

I nodded. “Can’t have it ripping up before we get there, can we?” He snorted. “I could have it framed, but I don’t know what Sarah would pick, so I don’t want to be presumptuous.”

“Safer to get the tube,” Sam agreed. “What size do you need?”

I told him and he grinned and said “On it,” and was back out the door before I could argue.

With that task crossed off, I got up to see what Connie had brought with her grocery load. If it was going to be a threesome for dinner, I should probably fix something.

By the time that Bucky came home - and he’d been gone long enough to make me start to get worried - Sam was helping me in the kitchen. I’d been happy to see that Connie, knowing me and my family for as long as she had, had gotten me all the staples of the quick but hearty and leftover friendly dinners my mom had loved.

The house smelled like Italian sausage and melted cheese with a hint of garlic and yeast. Bucky found us as Sam was chopping up the salad add-ins - tomatoes, cucumbers, onions - and I smiled when he came straight for me and a kiss.

“Hey,” it was a murmur against his lips, but he didn’t really give me much of a chance for more than that. “You ok?”

“Yeah,” his eyes looked like he’d lost something - and I knew he had. He’d lost Yori. “What’s for dinner?”

“Brooke here is a freaking chef on top of being an artist, Bucky,” Sam bragged, and I shook my head, while Bucky held tight to me. “She’s making this baked pasta dish that - well I’m telling you what, I have a feeling we’re going to be so stuffed that we won’t have to eat the entire drive to Delacroix.”

“That good?” Bucky stared down at me. “Sounds amazing,” his forehead met mine. “But that’s my Brooke.”

Dinner was quiet, but Sam chalked it partially up to how good everything tasted. I think he knew where Bucky went, and with his background he was giving Bucky time to process what had happened with Yori. It wasn’t as awkward as I would have thought - Bucky sat at the head of the table, now that I’d insisted he took it willingly - and Sam and I flanked him. His partner in heroism, and his partner in life - I hoped.

After dinner, with a nineteen hour drive ahead of us - I offered our bathroom to Sam first. He insisted that he’d shower in the morning, preferring to be fresh for the road. The hallway half-bath was fine for the night, so with that assurance, Bucky locked up and we went upstairs.

I insisted, since we weren’t dealing with the upheaval that had come from Sharon’s gunshot, a hostage situation, and Sam’s unveiling, that we take that hot bath - Bucky needed it. Leaving him in our bedroom to take a couple beats on his own, I took the same care to draw it that I had when I prepared it the night I welcomed him home. A few candles and some soothing bubbles and salts, then I pulled him into the room - and I once again tried to wash away the grim of his day and the bad.

My back against the rim of the tub, cradling him against my chest, my arms wrapped around him, I told Bucky to tell me all about it - and he did.

Dried and back in nightclothes, back in our bed, Bucky pulled me into his body. We weren’t as tired, and so - in the flickering blue light of the television - Bucky sighed into my still damp hair.

“We’re gonna end up putting off your meeting Dr. Strange,” I snuggled into his chest. “I’m sorry, Brooke.”

“Why are you sorry?” I had to pull away to look up at him and I hated to lose his warmth. “Don’t be,” my fingers slid over his cheek, my thumb brushed his lips. “First we celebrate Sam - AND you.”

“Me?” That got his attention, his eyes found mine even in the dimness. “Why do I need to be celebrated?”

“You, Bucky Barnes, are just as much of a hero, “ he started to scoff, but I cut him off. “You are, you always have been.” Pushing up, so we were face to face, I moved closer nose to nose with him. “Steve Rogers didn’t like bullies so he called them out into the alleys, but who checked the alleys to see where Steve and those bullies were?” He started to say something, but I wasn’t finished. “And yeah, he came searching for you when you were taken - when all of you were taken - but Bucky, what you went through before he got there? You withstood it, you survived. And you kept surviving.” He didn’t want to remember it, the Winter Soldier and what he did to survive. “You hate HIM, what they made you become, Bucky, and I get that - but I can’t hate HIM - not when he made sure that YOU are here.” He really wanted to argue, but I STILL wasn’t finished. “You saved lives, Bucky, just last night. And then, you brought Sharon home with you even though you know I said I don’t share - and you had to have had a tiny inkling that I might have thought -”

That earned me a chuckle. “I did think you might throw both of us out.”

“I thought about it,” I teased. “I love you, and I want to celebrate you every single day from here on out, Bucky.”

“Every single day?” He asked, his voice going slightly husky. I nodded, and his fingers slid through my hair. “Can we start now?”

Our lips met and my only thought was “abso-fucking-lutely”.

#bucky barnes/oc #the falcon and the winter soldier #alternate universe #mention of smut #fluff #FLUFF AND SMUT #humor

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dawnwave16 · 5 years

Text

Project Widow Soldier

When Marinette first joined her classmates at the age of 11 it was clear that she wasn't what they considered normal. Sure her clothes were fashionable, but there was just something about her that made them second guess themselves. As the days passed they put that unease out of their minds, after all, why should they be scared of someone who was so clumsy?

What they didn't know was they should have listened to those instincts. Marinette was not normal, not in the slightest. She had been genetically engineered by Hydra. Half her DNA came from the Winter Soldier, the other half came from the Black Widow. How they had access to Widow's DNA, Marinette didn't know. She had his colouring but her build was similar to that of the widow's. Not that she knew that. She had been 8 when she had first heard whispers of what Hydra wanted to do with her, the perfect weapon, they called her. One born in a lab from an unknown surrogate and taken straight to their version of the red room. She had been trained and had her skills honed since before she could walk. Languages were drilled into her skull until it became a reflex to speak in whatever language was spoken around her.

That was something they should have remembered when they spoke of the next step of her training, whipping out her class. Well trained she may be but she had her father's true nature. The nature the Winter Soldier possessed when he was still James Buchanan Barnes aka 'Bucky' of the Howling Commando's and Captain America's best friend. Her true nature was kind, caring and bubbly when she was allowed to be, and the mile-wide stubborn streak in her refused to let her trainers take that away from her. When she heard what they had planned for her, she made her own plans. Instead of just taking out her class, she took out the whole base, hacking their computers to delete any and all references of herself, then ran.

She hitched her way to an orphanage in France where she was soon adopted and finally given a name of her own. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It sounded so much better than Experiment Widow Soldier 1623. Despite having run away she kept up most of her training, firearms were done at night by breaking into gun shops and dismantling then reassembling them against a timer. Other weapons were done by training in a dojo every second night. Hand to hand was done the same way except that was practised by a man who would alternate between watching her and sparing with her. She was always extra careful when they sparred as she didn't want anyone to know her true strength. It was why she always acted so clumsy too, no-one ever thought that the clumsiest person in the room could kill you with their bare hands.

Whenever they had a gym class at school she would pretend to injure herself so that she wouldn't have to participate in them. The teachers and other students simply thought it was bad luck so they ignored it rather than make a fuss of it. She found the classes very easy but after getting herself put up a grade she hid her boredom and simply put in the minimum effort she needed to still get her stellar grades. That's not to say her new life was perfect. There were still those that tried to bully her, but she generally only acted upset to help Chloe feel like she was copying her mother properly. She also discovered that she didn't feel comfortable not having at least one weapon on her, yet normal clothes didn't sit properly when she had a weapon. So she started designing and, making her own clothes and to her surprise, she discovered that not only did she enjoy doing so but she was good at it! Soon she was making all her clothes, up to and including bra's when she started needing them.

Two years after she was adopted and started her normal school career, she met Ayla. Although she got along well with Ayla, she decided to wait a while before deciding if they would be true friends or not. When one of her classmates was turned to stone she thought about intervening but knew that if she did, she stood the chance of being recognised, so she went home only to find a box on her desk. After checking it for traps she opened it, met Tikki and found she could help without exposing her secret to the world. It was in Tikki she found, what she felt, her first true friend. She then met Chat Noir and had to admit, while he needed to work on his comedic timing, he was a decent partner, especially for someone who clearly had no prior training. It was only due to her upbringing that she remembered that she had to catch the butterfly before they started celebrating their win.

When she arrived at school the next day she saw a boy leaning over her seat, at first she thought he had put it there but upon hearing Chloe giggling she realised that it was Chloe that had put it there. Despite this, she knew she had to make a scene about the gum so she pretended to be angry and pretended not to know who he was when Ayla showed her his picture on her phone. It was then that the downside of her training kicked in, this boy, Adrian, was her partner! She groaned and mentally hit her head against a brick wall in frustration.

School continued in pretty much the same way as previous years until yet another new girl joined their class. As far as Marinette was concerned the new girl was lacking in every way. Her lies were easy to disprove, her fashion sense was abysmal and don't even get her started on the girl's hair! When Lila first started to spread her lies, Marinette didn't care. When she stole Adrian's book though Marinette got angry. Didn't she know what Adrian's father would do to him if Adrian lost it? So she followed them and took the book out of the trash, only for Tikki to identify it as a grimoire and insist it be taken to the guardian. Marinette knew Tikki was right but she also worried about what would happen to her Kitty if she didn't return it. So she scanned it into her tablet, made a copy for the guardian and returned the book to Mr Agreste herself, saying she had found it in the trash after seeing Lila throw it away. As she had filmed Lila when she followed them he simply thanked her and sent her away. He hadn't even asked why she followed them!

It made her very suspicious of Mr Agreste but she knew Adrian as Chat wasn't ready for that confrontation so she kept her silence. She took one of the copies to the guardian and started her training as the next guardian. School carried on and Lila came back with yet more stories, she even tried threatening Marinette but she just shrugged it off, she'd dealt with worse.

Three more years past in much the same way, Lila lied, Marinette got ignored and the class seemed to drop in intelligence every time Marinette checked. Tom and Sabine never fell for Lilas' lies no matter how much the girl tried so Marinette was content. Then came the day that Marinette finally slipped.

There had been a difficult Akuma in the early hours of the morning so Marinette was running late. In her haste, she forgot that that day was a “gym” day meaning she needed an injury lined up. It definitely didn't help that the news that the Avengers were in Paris and would be visiting her school had been circulating.

“They all love me and we all text each other regularly but when they here they will pretend they don't know me so that I'm not made a target.” Lila was saying as Marinette stumbled into the classroom, pretending to be out of breath. “I wish I could tell you when they'll be here but they want it to be a surprise.”

Marinette rolled her eyes then finally remembered that today was a gym day and groaned softly. She didn't even have a viable excuse to get out of it! 'Looks like I'll have to try fake not being good at whatever activity they come up with' she thought with a sigh.

As luck would have it the Avengers showed up just in time for her classes gym class. At first, she thought that this would be a good thing, the Avengers would talk to them about whatever and then they would go back to their normal classes. Except that's not what happened. Kim, being his typical self, made a bet with Alix that if anyone in their class would be able to pick up Thor's hammer it was him. This led to a lot of snickering at the innuendo but it also got the attention of Tony Stark aka Ironman so they all had to line up and try to lift it. None of them managed to and then it was her turn. She didn't think she'd be able to but knew she had to try anyway. To her surprise, she lifted it easily. She blanched then did the only thing she could think of, she dropped the hammer and bolted from the room. She didn't mean to run into Bucky but she did and when he caught her, he could feel the muscles she had kept hidden with slightly loose shirts. This wasn't good.

“Alright little lady, what has you in such a panic,” Bucky asked.

“I was able to lift that stupid hammer so I panicked. I catch enough flack from my class that I didn't want to see their reactions.” Her voice came out against her will. Even though his question had been friendly enough, his voice had the same commanding tone in it that some of her instructors had had. He seemed to recognise that her answer hadn't been willingly given and studied her, his eyes showing that he was drawing the right conclusions about her training.

“You were trained. I accidentally used 'That Voice' and you had no option but to reply. Am I right?” His voice was filled with dawning understanding, however, he still kept that commanding tone in it so she felt compelled to answer.

“I managed to get away 5 years ago. I didn't think it would still work on me.” She replied miserably.

“5 years ago? That's when the Hydra base in Belgium blew up if I remember the reports I've recently been able to read correctly. Shield had found it hidden in a mountain under a monastery and three days before they went to attack it, it went up in flames. Was that you? If so, why, that would have been against all your training.” Bucky was still holding her arm so she couldn't escape. In a way, it felt like she was being grounded against her maelstrom of emotions through that contact.

“Look, can we not talk about this here? The last thing we need is for someone to hear this and start rumours about me. More rumours anyway,” her voice was very quiet at this stage.

Bucky thought for a moment then he answered. “We're staying on the fourth floor, I trust you can get in unseen?” He cocked an eyebrow as he said this, so she just nodded.

“What time?”

“22H00”

“I'll be there, though I would recommend having something that can do an express DNA analysis or I doubt anyone will believe me. I'm guessing I'll be talking to everyone?” Her tone was resigned as she said this. Bucky just nodded. “Alright, I'll see everyone tonight then.”

It seemed her run of bad luck was still going strong when an Akuma attack happened just after she had finished her supper and fighting it lasted for so long she only had 5 minutes to get to the meeting. She had 3 minutes before her transformation timed out so she decided to throw caution into the wind.

“Chat, I have to be somewhere ASAP, can I leave the comforting to you?” Chat hadn't had to use his power so he nodded and she swung away quickly. Landing on the correct balcony with a minute to spare, she stepped through to the surprise of everyone in the room and dropped her transformation. Tikki had known she was going to tell them anyway so she just smiled at her as she accepted a macaroon.

The avengers, who had all tensed up ready to fight as she dropped in, relaxed slightly before Thor's laughter boomed around the room.

“So that's why you were able to lift Mjolnir earlier! Well met young wielder of creation!”

She blushed but nodded. “Mind if I sit down? I'm a little tired.”

“Pull up a chair,” Tony said. Then he continued “Why'd you tell metal arm here to have a DNA tester ready?”

In answer, she simply held out her arm and when nobody moved she sighed. “Look, it would make it a lot easier for everyone to understand if they could see that what I'm about to say if they could see I'm not lying and that I have nothing to hide, at least not from anyone in this room.”

That got a reaction out of them. Bruce got up and drew the blood sample needed and ran it, only to let a strangled sound out when the results came in. Marinette giggled.

“Are you serious?!? This can't be right!” he spluttered.

“They accurate. You can check me for any hidden vials etc that could have messed with the results if you want but I promise they are true.” Marinette couldn't help but be amused.

“What's wrong big man?” Tony asked.

“The DNA results say she's Bucky and Natasha's kid but that's not possible!” Bruce's voice was filled with denial.

“WHAT?” Everyone in the room except Bruce and Marinette shouted.

“Read them yourself!” Bruce thrust the result sheet toward them.

“It's true. Oh my god, how?”

Tony was about to make a joke about two people having sex when Natasha shook her head.

“Before you start, Tony, I've never had sex with Bucky let alone been pregnant so it won't be the way you thinking.” She turned to Marinette and simply said: “Explain, now!”

Marinette sighed then leaned back and started to explain about Hydra's project Widow Soldier and how she got away. Halfway through her explanation, Tony had Friday start pulling all the records that he could and shared them with the rest of the Avengers. Friday was a little more thorough then Marinette expected him to be and had pulled up files regarding what was going on at Marinette's school too. Most specifically about Lila Rossi. The team was not pleased when they saw the videos with Lila lying about them and quite a few others.

As the team started to discuss how they would deal with Lila's lies about them, Natasha and Bucky walked over to Marinette.

“So, you're our daughter huh?” Marinette nodded with her eyes lowered thinking that they must either be angry or disappointed.

“Did the serums in us affect you in any way?” Natasha asked.

“I'm stronger, faster and more flexible than most, which helps with being Ladybug but is a pain as a civilian as I always have to hide it, even from my adopted parents. I'm immune to poisons and need very little sleep. Oh, and my eyes are better and my hearing is a little more acute. If anyone found out I was going to blame it on having an active X-gene but I know I don't actually have one.”

“At least you had a backup plan for it kiddo,” Bucky said ruffling her hair. She swatted his hand away.

“Up for a sparing session so that we can see where you at in term of training?” Natasha asked.

“Sure, just know I don't want to go into the hero business full time. I was hoping to be like Edna Mode in the Incredibles, you know? Design super suits for everyone, yet still, be awesome in my own right.” Bucky and Natasha chuckled.

“If's that's what you want sure, but we still going to double-check your level of training,” Bucky replied.

“Fair enough.” She hopped up and stripped off her jacket as they started sparring.

What no-one knew was that a certain Salt-water Crocodile had smelt his favourite teen and had escaped from the room he was in. He had a bad habit of doing that, mainly so that he could destroy and crocodile skin items Chloe had, as well as her shoes. Marinette and Natasha had been sparing for 10 minutes when Fang managed to track Marinette's scent down and break into the Avengers' room, causing them all to freak and reach for their weapons. Marinette and Natasha stopped their spar and Marinette stood with her hands on her hips, looking uncannily like a blue-eyed version of her mother.

“Really Fang? Must you resort to scaring everyone whenever you even think I'm nearby?” She didn't get an answer except for a slight rumble from Fang's chest almost like a purr. She sighed then walked over to her jacket to get her phone and dialled a number.

“Hey Uncle J, you wouldn't happen to be missing something would you?” She asked into the phone when her call connected. When she got an answer all she replied was “Room 416,” before hanging up and sitting down. Fang was instantly half on her lap demanding cuddles.

The team was startled, to say the least, but even more so when Jagged Stone burst into the room. He ignored them his eyes locking onto Fang and Marinette. “Little M! No wonder he decided to go for a walk!” He looked around, “Oh, were you in the middle of a design meeting? I'll catch up later then! We still on for you coming on tour with me for a month when school finishes? Excellent! See you later then!” And with that, he was gone again.

“Don't ask,” was all she said with a shake of her head and a small laugh “You'll get used to it.”

Seeing how similar the man was to Tony the team accepted that easily enough. Marinette looked at the clock and saw it was 2 o'clock. She sighed then looked back at everyone.

“Look do what you want about Lila but I don't want to know the plan beforehand. If I look smug, or if I don't look surprised she'll twist your actions to be the result of me manipulating her. I've got to get home and get some sleep as I have school in the morning, while I don't need a lot of sleep I still need some.” Having said that she called for her transformation and left.

School was as boring as ever the next day when the door slammed open and Tony stood there.

“Sorry not sorry for barging in Ms Incompitence,” he said to Mlle Bustier, “But there is something I need to say to this class. After we left yesterday and saw that Akuma attack we tried to get more information on them. Imagine our surprise when we saw a video on a blog we'd never heard of, a video that contained an interview with a girl we had never met or even seen until we spoke to this class yesterday. We decided to do what little miss tabloid reporter here should have done and did some fact-checking. Yes, there are some facts in what she said but 95% of what she said was total BS. We even called some of the celebs that were spoken about to make sure!” With that, he slammed a wad of paper down on the desk in front of Lila. “These are copies of the lawsuits you will be facing Ms Liar, your mother has copies of them too.” He turned to Ayla and dumped another slightly smaller wad in front of her. “This is your set, same story.” Finally, he turned to Mlle Bustier, “You will be hearing from the education board shortly.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked out.

Marinette sat back in her seat watching as the class slowly processed what had just happened. When Adrian looked at her she shook her head showing she had nothing to do with it. Realising she probably wouldn't learn anything new until Ms Mendeleiev came to teach them, she closed her eyes and thought about her summer. A month travelling with Jagged, the rest spent with the Avengers, who knew what would happen? Either way, she looked forward to the future, knowing she had two sets of parents that supported her and a whole family to meet. Who knows maybe she could even find someone she would be willing to date?

by popular request part 2

#winter soldier #mlb #au bio dad for marinette #au bio mom for marinette #ayla salt #lila salt #ms bustier salt #avengers

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superheroesofbothuniverses · 3 years

Text

Still Steve

Darcy was working away at her desk when her phone rang. She fist-pumped as she picked it up, expecting it to be Steve making his usual post mission call to tell her he was okay. The caller ID was not Steve, though and she frowned at Bucky’s picture, hoping it was just because Steve was borrowing his buddy’s phone.

“Hello?” She asked.

“Darcy, How soon can you come to medical?” Bucky’s voice sounded stressed and in Darcy’s anxiety went through the roof.

“As soon as I need to,” she replied. “How badly is he hurt?”

“Not so much hurt as…...altered? I guess that’s the word.”

“Altered? What, did he grow tentacles or something?” Darcy questioned tensely.

She heard Bucky sigh.

“No, nothing like that. He seems to have been….deserumed somehow. He’s beside himself. Could you come quickly? I’m worried about him.”

Darcy was already gathering her things. At hearing “deserumed” her mind was already picturing the skinny Steve Rogers of yesteryear and wondering how in the world it was possible. Surely, this was all some kind of joke, right? Her husband had already been through so much!

They’d met before the Accords tore the Avengers apart and Darcy had secretly kept up communicating with him and ended up marrying him after they’d dealt with Thanos. Steve considered himself mostly retired, but he occasionally did some Avenging when there was an especially difficult mission and they needed his soldier brain. Darcy always worried about him, because Steve being who he was, was always going to put himself in the thick of things, but so far he’d seem to come back unscathed and feeling invigorated, which led to fun times for her. Oh, yes, Steve was a great husband in many areas.

As Darcy reached the private medical wing at Avengers Headquarters, Bucky and Sam were waiting for her, faces sober.

“How is he?” she asked.

“Physically, he’s pretty much okay, but he’s having a hard time with the whole back-to-being- small thing,” Sam told her.

“Do they know if it’s permanent?” she asked.

“No. They’re running tests right now.”

“Point me to my man,” she said firmly.

“He’s in here,” Bucky led her into an exam area where a rather scrawny man was slumped on one of the tables, thin arms folded over an equally thin chest. Darcy started when he looked up at her and she recognized Steve’s sad blue puppy eyes in that gaunt looking face.

“Steve, honey, I’ve been so worried!” she blurted out, rushing to him and looking him over for injuries.

“Darcy, I’m sorry,” Steve said, looking at himself ruefully. “We fell right into their trap and I was the prime target. Got stabbed with a syringe and it knocked me out cold. Next thing I know, I’m back in my pre-war shape. Hope I don’t make your eyeballs bleed.”

He tried to joke, but Darcy could tell it didn’t have any humor in it.

She took his despondent face in her hands.

“Never,” she declared, looking right into his eyes. “You’re still my Steve and I love every inch of you. I’ll just have to be more careful when I hug you, that’s all.”

Steve grinned weakly. “Not TOO careful, I hope. I won’t break in half, even though it looks like it.”

He wheezed a bit, and Darcy’s gaze flew back to his chest, which heaved as he tried to get air into it.

“I did NOT miss this,” Steve told her, when he’d recovered. “Now Bucky’s gonna be mother henning me to death just like the good ole days.”

“I wouldn’t have had to if you’d just taken care of yourself, Punk,” Bucky said, shaking his head in affectionate exasperation. “At least now, I’ve got help in the Keep Steve Alive struggle.” He nodded at Darcy, who shrugged and grinned.

“Yes. Like Bucky, I am strongly discouraging you from fighting dudes three times your size in alleys,” Darcy said sternly. “Don’t think I didn’t hear the stories. Besides, you’ve got me to come home to now.”

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he murmured gratefully, clinging to her for dear life.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” Darcy said, kissing the top of her husband’s blonde head.

“What have you got, Bruce?” Steve asked nervously as Dr. Banner entered the room.

“Well, Steve, whatever they gave you would have killed anyone else,” Bruce told them. Darcy clutched Steve’s hand a little tighter, feeling a bit faint at the knowledge of the close call. “The serum saved you, but it took all of it. It’s too soon to know whether it’s permanent or not, but right now it doesn’t look good. We’ll run more tests in a few days to see if anything has changed.

“Thanks, doc,” Steve sighed. “Thanks for the help. Well, Buck, guess you’re the biggest again,” he told his friend.

Bucky looked very pained as did Sam.

“Just so long as you’re still alive and kickin,’ punk,” he said, clapping Steve on the bony shoulder.

“I’m too stubborn to die, you know that, pal,” Steve shot back impudently, then turned to Sam.

“Guess the shield is yours full time, Sam. No way in hell can I run with that thing, let alone throw it.”

“I’m sorry, man,” Sam told him, looking sad for his friend.

When the doctors finally released Steve, he went straight home to their apartment and stayed there, trying to keep his condition under wraps as he got used to it again.

Darcy had to go emergency shopping since Steve’s clothes were all much too big and what really bugged him, he had to ask for help moving some furniture for Darcy. Some of the avengers popped in to visit and succeeded in perking him up a bit, but he was having a tough time of it. Darcy walked into their room to find him staring longingly at their wedding picture, absently clutching his ring, which hung from a chain around his neck since it no longer fit him.

“Watcha thinking about, Stevo?” She asked plopping down beside him.

“How happy I was that day and how happy I am you stuck around. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, sweetheart. I can get over losing the serum, but I couldn’t get over losing you.”

“Oh, Steve.”

Darcy took his hands in hers, love surging through her at his earnest words. Despite his altered appearance, Steve was still very much the Steve she’d fallen for. Nothing could change that big Brooklyn heart.

“You’re never gonna lose me, baby,” she told him. “I love your feisty, handsome, freedom loving, bully-bashing self. Now kiss me, Rogers.”

Steve smiled and willingly granted her request, quickly proving that his skills in that area were by no means diminished.

#shieldshock #darcy lewis #Steve Rogers #skinny! Steve

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intothestarkerverse · 4 years

Note

I loved Paper Hearts. Can I request a Starker version of The Good Place?

Ohhh! I hadn’t thought of his particular Starkerization, but this was loads of fun and I hope that I did it justice!

I hope you like it Nonnie and if anyone else has any requests, feel free to toss them my way!

The Good Place

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/23048128)

When Peter Parker dies, he doesn’t expect to go to Heaven. Oh, sure, he’s tried very hard to live his life in the best way he’s known how, but he is also totally responsible for his uncle’s death and that alone had to get him a one way ticket down south. So, the last thing he expects after his untimely demise is to wake up sitting on a nondescript couch in front of a very handsome man who calls himself ‘Tony’, the ‘architect’ in charge of Peter’s ‘neighborhood’ in ‘The Good Place’.

While Peter thinks Friday the heavenly computer is amazing, he’s a little trepidatious about spending eternity with his ‘soul mate’. He’d been so unlucky in love on earth, he couldn’t imagine that his track record would improve just because he is now dead.

Quentin Beck is handsome, and at first he seems pretty cool...until he doesn’t. In fact, he’s a little bit of a jerk. Peter is completely unimpressed by his soulmate and tries to spend every moment he can away from home. Really, he doesn’t understand how anyone in charge of the Good Place could think that he was into egomaniacal, self-serving, not-as-smart-as-they-think-they-are jackasses. Cause he’s not. So not.

His neighbor is worse. So much worse. Peter begins to question the nature of the Good Place based entirely off of Flash’s presence there and continued insistence in referring to Peter as Penis Parker. Surely in Heaven you are spared from your High School bully...and why when the word sh*t is censored is Penis still a totally okay thing to bellow at the top of your lungs during a fancy ‘Welcome to the Afterlife’ party, anyway? Perhaps Peter’s first inclination that something is not right comes when he catches sight of Flash in the crowd at said party and his attempts to dodge him are thwarted with a shout of, “Yo! Hey, Penis is here! Penis Parker! Penis, it’s me! Ya boi! I can’t believe you made it here, dude, you were such a loser....”

Then there’s the case of Bucky and Steve. They aren’t soulmates. At least...not according to Tony and Friday, but Peter has to be blind not to notice the looks they give each other across the room and behind the backs of their respective mates. While he tries not to be superficial, Peter cannot even begin to imagine what it’s like to go to bed with Arnim Zola every night. Brock Rumlow is a lot hotter, but also a lot scarier...

No, something is definitely wrong.

To discover exactly what it is, Peter decides to get close to the only one who seems to have any clue about what’s going on. Tony. It helps that Tony is super hot and while also egomaniacal and self-serving, he is every bit as smart as he thinks he is...and Peter digs it.

~ ~ ~

This is his last chance.

As far as last chances go, it could be worse, really.

Tony knew going in that he was probably going to fail, but this was the Bad Place and things never go quite the way you want them to here. Still, the idea of eternal torment or ceasing to exist are not things he really wants to look forward to, so he is determined to do his damnedest to make this thing work....even if he knows it’s doomed to fail.

Peter Parker is a problem.

He becomes a problem on the first night when that Flash kid makes such a spectacle. Really? How is Tony supposed to sell this Good Place Schtick with some annoying Gen-Z’er publicly humiliating the most innocent, Bambi-looking soul in the bunch? Also, it made him look bad because he hadn’t done that on purpose...though if anyone asked...

He doesn’t know how he ends up with the kid tagging along with him like some intern from hell. (Ha!) In the beginning, it seems like Tony despises having Peter around. He tries to ditch him, tries to distract him, tries any number of methods of ridding himself of Peter...but Peter is like the gum in his hair that won’t leave until it’s cut out...and unbeknownst to Peter, Tony isn’t able to cut Peter free no matter how badly he wants to. So, he begrudgingly begins to accept Peter as an assistant of sorts. He tries to assign him meaningless, boring tasks, but Peter seems to thrive under the attention.

He keeps coming back form more.

Every embarrassment Tony imagines to demean him, Peter shrugs off and pushes through. Every injustice he faces, Peter shoulders and works his way around. Every torture Tony can dream up, Peter endures with grace and humility and begs for more. He’s amazing. He’s fucking good, and Tony has never met a good one before.

Not a really good one.

Not.

Ever.

He doesn’t know when he begins looking forward to the kid being around; when he finds himself spending a little too long admiring the boy’s chestnut curls and warm brown eyes; when his eyes begin a downward adventure, enjoying every chiseled edge and soft curve on the boy’s form.

Oh lust isn’t a problem. It is one of the Big Seven. They are encouraged to feed on it, trouble is...Tony isn’t dreaming of Peter screaming in pain or begging for mercy from the dark and twisted sexual acts encouraged by those in the Bad Place. No. No, if he was, well, everything would be fine, wouldn’t it? No. Tony is thinking about the whimpers of mercy from the gentle caresses and tender worshipping a boy like that deserves. He wants to take him apart in the best possible way. Not to torture him, but to revere him. Peter Parker is everything about humanity that Tony thought could never really exist and he wants him...wants to taste him, to have him, to know what it’s like to become so close to something that isn’t festering and rotting and putrid like everything else in the Bad Place.

So clearly it’s all his fault when Peter Parker shows up at his office one day with a look of determination and declares.

“I know this is the Bad Place, Tony.”

Well, that’s it. The jig is up. If he’s going to cease to exist or spend eternity in a fiery pit of excruciating agony, he might as well have one moment of joy. So, he silences the boy with a kiss. Peter seems surprised, until he isn’t. One moment he is frozen in shock, and the next moment he has his arms around Tony, fingers caught in his thick dark hair and the boy is kissing back with everything he has.

It’s is everything Tony ever thought it could be. It is warm and tender and gentle and soft and good and passionate and fills him with something he cannot even begin to describe but really, genuinely fears might be love. He never wants the moment to end and every time Peter tries to pull away, Tony pulls him back, pawing at his clothing and throwing everything on his desk into disarray in his harried attempt to make room for everything he wants, everything he needs. If a demon can die happy, than he will die happy, just give him a night of this, a night of Peter.

Tony commits every moment to memory, tracing his hands over the soft ivory skin, exploring every edge and curve, ever ridge and furrow. He tastes everything, spends what could be hours (time is such a Jeremy Bearimy) turning every sordid sexual torture from the Bad Place into the most worshipful offering he can. Peter screams his name a dozen times, sometimes muted against the desk and others freely into the room. Tony relishes every sensation, pauses in certain moments to remember what it feels like to have his body so close to something so good. He isn’t worthy, he never will be, but Peter is giving it all willingly and enjoying every minute of it. That does have to stand for something doesn’t it?

It has to end, everything does, and in the morning even though they’re both spent, Peter is still determined to have his answers. So, Tony tells him everything. Who he is. What he is. That this is the Bad Place and they’re all being tortured for eternity. Peter begs him to show mercy to people like Steve and Bucky and even, surprisingly, Flash, but Tony isn’t really in charge of anything. He’s just as doomed as the rest of them.

“So, that’s it, we’re all just...we’re all just going to be here forever like this?”

Tony looks away, scrubbing a hand over his carefully groomed facial hair and cocking his head slightly as he winces. “Not really, Baby. You know. My bosses are going to call this a failure. I’m dead, or good as...and, uh, you and the others are going to go to the Bad Place for real this time. It’s....pretty terrible. Lot worse than this. Eternal torment. Worst fears. You know the deal, I’m sure.”

“You can’t let that happen.”

“What part of I’m not in charge did you not get? Do I look like I run the place? Cloven hooves, pitchfork, horns? Huh? I can’t save any of them. I can’t even save you, and if I was going to save anyone...for the record, it would be you.”

Peter is reaching for his hands with an indistinguishable look in his eyes that Tony soon learns must be what humans call ‘hope’ because what he is suggesting is insane. “Maybe, they don’t have to know. That I know, I mean. I could pretend that I don’t. We could go back to things, the way they were. We could pretend and we could all just stay here because if here is better than there...than here is all we’ve got.”

Tony knows its a ridiculous plan, but he can’t look into those eyes and say no. He hears himself agreeing before he even realizes that he has, and the next thing he knows...he and Peter have returned to their normal lives...only with a lot more sex. A lot of sex. And sharing, Peter is big on the sharing. Tony pretends to mind, but really...he’s never actually been to earth and it’s interesting to learn about what it’s like to live there, to be human. He can even find himself fantasizing about what that might have been like. To be one of them. To be free to live a real life with Peter instead of...whatever this is.

~ ~ ~

Peter isn’t giving up.

It’s not in his nature.

There has to be a way out of this, not just for himself but for everyone and for Tony. He refuses to believe that any of them belong in this place, not really, and he’s determined to find a way to get them all out.

Tony is so gentle, so starved for affection, so eager to drink up every drop of the human condition. He’s no demon. In bed maybe, sure, but not....not in the torture people and take pleasure in their pain kind of way. And Steve and Bucky, they haven’t done anything worthy of being in the Bad Place. Even Flash wasn’t that terrible.

Something is wrong and Peter is going to figure it out. He has to, but also has to do it without Tony knowing because that would ruin everything, wouldn’t it?

It happens in small doses, when Peter is alone with Friday he asks her all kinds of innocent questions about how The Good Place operates. How do people end up there? What do they do to earn the way there? What happens if they’re bad? A thousand questions that he asks and records carefully and innocently in such a way as to avoid alerting anyone to his true intentions.

Slowly things begin to make sense and his also carefully considered questions to Tony about how the Afterlife works and the hierarchy of upper management is laid out provides Peter with the solution.

“I can’t call the Judge for you, Peter.”

Peter purses his lips in an almost petulant frown as he looks the human-like computer over unhappily. “Why not?”

“I am almost certain that Boss wouldn’t like it very much.”

“Almost isn’t certain. C’mon, Fri, did Tony tell you that I’m not allowed to speak to the Judge?”

The computer pauses, considering this for a moment before she gives a curt shake of her head. “No, he hasn’t.”

“Has he told you that he would be angry if I did?”

“No.”

“Than you can’t be certain at all that he’ll be made if you call them now. So. The Judge. I need to talk to them and I need you to call them for me because I know you know how.”

“Peter...”

It is a round about argument that goes on for an indeterminate amount of time before Peter finds himself standing in front of an imposing dark man with an eye patch and a penchant for leather who is looking at him like a bug he would like to crush beneath his steel-toed boot.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Peter clears his throat and plunges into his carefully pre-written speech. He can tell that this man is not the sort to be swayed by emotion, so he skips some of his more eloquently penned descriptions of the situations to stick with cold hard facts.

Something is wrong in the Bad Place.

There are souls there that shouldn’t be and he can prove it.

To his credit, the Judge listens with only a few derisive snorts and muttered curses, but it is a mention of Tony that finally draws an interruption.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute. Slow you’re roll there, kid. Go back to this Tony guy. He’s a demon right? Bad guy? Tortured and all that. So why did your voice get soft when you talked about him? Don’t lie to me. I’ll know and we’ll end this little chat of ours in ten seconds flat.”

Peter didn’t know what to do besides simply tell the Judge the truth. So, he did. Everything that had occurred between himself and the ‘architect’ and everything that he felt for the man.

“You love him? A demon.” Another snort. “I mean, I know humans can have some pretty self destructive tendencies but...”

“He loves me, too.”

“Yeah, no he doesn’t. Demons can’t fall in love. Can’t feel it. Don’t even know what it is.”

“Tony can.”

“If that’s true, there’s more wrong in the Bad Place than even you realize.”

Peter crosses his arms and stares the bigger man down victoriously. “I told you.”

The Judge lets out a long sigh, “I’ll have my best people look into it and if you’re correct...I’ll make it right, because that’s my job.”

Peter is returned to his every day existence and does his best to hide his deceit from Tony. Though, he does not seemingly have long to wait to learn to the fate of himself or his friends.

Just as the upper management arrive to take them all to eternal torment, the Judge returns with his findings.

Something is indeed wrong in the Afterlife. There are souls in the Bad Place that were never meant to be there. Clerical errors that may be (but probably are not) a mistake resulted in the damnation of an undisclosed number of human souls. These souls would be immediately relocated to their correct resting place. Peter included.

“What about Tony?” Peter cannot just let that go.

The Judge rolls his one good eye as he looks down at the kid again. “You won, Kid, enjoy your victory.”

“I can’t. Not if Tony is going to stay here. He doesn’t deserve to be here....”

“Look, you were right. He can feel love. He does, in fact, feel love. But he’s a demon and there’s not a damn thing I can do about where he is. If he were human maybe...”

“Than make him human. Let him live. If he sucks he can suffer here like he’s going to anyway and if he doesn’t than he can be with me there...in the Good Place.”

The Judge narrows his one good eye at Peter. “It’s a reasonable compromise, but I’ll only consider it on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You go back with him. Tony can be human but he’ll have no memory of any of this. Not until he dies and comes back here. I will erase the moment of your death, return you to your life as if you have always been there. If you really want, you can retain some memory of all of this as a near death experience because I have a soft spot for wise ass kids. I’ll even make sure you cross paths with Tony while you’re there. But you live your life and you take whatever Afterlife you earn. If Tony leads you down a dark path, you’re back here. If you manage to reform a demon, you can both shine your halos into perpetuity. Sound fair?”

Peter is sure this is a trap, but he cannot see how he can refuse. Despite the protestations he can hear coming from Tony where is he is being restrained by demons several yards away, Peter nods his agreement and the world goes dark.

~ ~ ~

It isn’t nearly as hard to get used to being alive again as Peter thought it would be. Details are a bit fuzzy when it comes to the Bad Place. He remembers some things better than others and wonders about the Jeremy Bearimy of it all because Flash is still very much alive when Peter is given his newfound lease on life. He’s literally never going to get away from that guy.

Peter has no idea when or where he will encounter Tony again, but he waits eagerly for the chance. He is still daydreaming about the demon when he’s being led into the office of his new boss on the first day of his internship exactly a month after his resurrection.

“Peter, this is Tony Stark...”

Anything else Ms. Potts has to say to Peter is completely lost to him as he takes in the roguish form of his devilish lover. Peter cannot hide the smile from forming on his lips as Tony holds out a hand to shake.

“Wish I could say it was nice to meet you, Kid, but being my intern is probably going to be Hell.”

“I don’t doubt it, Mr. Stark, but I can’t think of any place I’d rather be.”

#starker

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always-winter-baby · 4 years

Text

feel free to add anything i missed, endgame haters.

This is a Wordpress post that I never posted about a Facebook post that I made last fall (2019) about how godawful Endgame was.

-------- I know I've been gone for a while and when I was here, I was writing about films I had watched. (Maybe I should start that.)

However, I am a HUGE fan of Marvel and their cinematic universe. I have the movies, the comics, the clothing, and far too much memorabilia to be considered a "casual" fan at this point. I've been reading comics for about twelve years and I started dedicating myself to the MCU around the end of Phase One.

That being said, it means everyone comes to me with their Marvel questions and everyone comes to me to see what I thought of each new film. And I don't give simple, "It was good. I really liked it," answers. I make complete strangers regret their own questions sometimes because I dive into the deep end immediately describing how they really pulled off the Mysterio "mind-bending" stuff fantastically, but how the story hinged really hard on Tony Stark when Peter in the comics stands on his own and Peter in the MCU should be able to as well.

I can give you speeches on the reason why Natasha's backstory would have been better established in The Winter Soldier than Age of Ultron or and how killing off Pietro in his first film did a disservice to Wanda's character, etc, etc. In the words of a person I passed by at work the other day, "I can talk the ears off a snake."

That's not the point of this post. That was just establishing that I am very dedicated and I Care deeply about these characters and this world.

That being said, when someone on Facebook not too long ago asked me to share my opinions on Avengers: Endgame, I asked him if he was really prepared for the novel I was going to spill on why I think that Endgame was a poorly written and directed film. He said his was. But his lack of any response to my novel was proof that he clearly was not.

However, for anyone else wondering, I copied that little book of a response and I'm posting it here. It's a little scrambled up (it was a facebook post so these things happen, okay?). I think it will still get the point across as to why I tell people that if I pulled the good parts of Endgame, I could make a really great thirty minute Avengers movie.

The post went as follows:

-Thor’s characterization was a three hour long fat joke. Thor had the most character growth out of anyone in Infinity War. His part was fantastic. Then they turned around and made everything about it completely idiotic. Thor has lived over a thousand years. He’s lost battles and lost countless, countless people before. Infinity War wasn’t the first time he made a mistake in battle that cost someone their life. He lost his entire family and almost all of friends and none of that turned him into lazy, sloppy, unshowered, fat Thor. I refuse to believe this time would magically break him. Character annihilation.

Banner has hated the Hulk for the entirety of Hulk’s existence. He’s talked about how exposed and vulnerable it makes him feel. He’s always been a quiet, shy, reclusive, and work-focused kind of guy. Now magically, he’s happy being Hulk 24/7, dabs, and takes selfies with kids? He’s hanging out in public as Hulk and drawing attention to himself? Sorry. Refuse to believe it. I know Professor Hulk is from the comics. It seems stupid and forced there too. I’m not of the opinion that just because something is found in comics that it’s necessarily a good thing. I’ve read plenty of bad comics as I’m sure any decent comic reader has.

-Tony isn’t awful. I actually think he’s done pretty well. No complaints.

-However, Pepper is awful. And it makes sense now that they’ve released the info that Gwyneth Paltrow just made up a lot of her own lines. She doesn’t know the character despite having played her for a decade. Pepper is always super cautious and she is constantly on Tony’s case about his heroic ventures, etc. Therefore, I find it incredibly hard to believe that she let him go without a fight after he “solved time travel.” I also find it absolutely impossible that she sits beside him as he’s dying and is peaceful enough to just tell Tony that he’s okay and he should rest. Per her character for the last decade, she should have been frantic. Of course it wouldn’t have been as sad and poetic an ending, but it would have been much more believable for the character.

-Clint. Meh. I can live with Clint, I think. I don’t love it or hate it. I am glad they reestablished his closeness with Natasha after AoU tried to erase it.

-Natasha. I actually like Natasha’s character in this one. Same as Tony, I think they wrote her without compromising her. Good for them. Even though I hate that they killed her off, I think that the final scene where she fights Clint is SO WELL DONE. (Except her father wasn’t named Ivan. Not even in the MCU. But whatever. Maybe Markus and McFeely know absolutely nothing about Russian names despite giving Natasha’s full name in CA:TWS. I’ll chalk it up to ignorance. Whatever.) HOWEVER, despite liking Natasha’s character and death scene, the death should not have happened. I don’t know if you’re a comic reader, but if you are, you know that the trip happens where you see the bad guy or a random person or whatever do a Bad Thing. Then later in the comic, when the Bad Thing comes into play again and there seems like absolutely no hope, the hero pulls out One Last Magic Trick. The hero manages to do what the previous person could not. And they Save the Day because they are the hero. And the hero is the one designed to give readers hope that we can overcome all odds, etc. It is literally the entire point of superhero stories to tell the stories that “realistic” books never could. We’ll come back to my complaint with Natasha’s death in a moment.

-Scott, Rhodey, Rocket, Carol were all fine. No complaints. But Okoye.

They made it out in promo that Okoye was going to have a much more significant part. She was barely in the thing. And I think it was a very missed opportunity. We saw T’Challa turn to dust. And we were told Shuri did (although, I would have paid much bigger money to see her alive and operating as The Black Panther. She’s assumed that mantle in the comics before so definitely not out of the realm of possibility.) I wanted them to show us what Wakanda would look like with half its population dusted and its ruler gone. Does M’Baku rule? What do Okoye and the Dora Milaje look like now without their King and who do they protect/defend? They had a great opportunity to show us how the world was faring after five years post-Snap, especially a place like Wakanda that rarely suffers any devastations due to their tech. Now without that protection, how are they handling the aftermath? Enormous missed opportunity.

-Steve. On my god. Where do I even start? Going into Endgame, Steve Rogers had the BEST story arc of anyone in the MCU. But here is where Marvel really shot themselves in the foot. They let the opinions of fans after Civil War severely alter their original plans for this film. (That’s a fact that’s been admitted by former Marvel employees. I didn’t make that up.). After Civil War came out, there were two strong opinions being voiced. 1) Fans who didn’t know the comics didn’t understand Sharon being there and didn’t like her quickly becoming Steve’s love interest. 2) Fans saw the always-present and ever-growing bond between Steve and Bucky and got bolder about their campaign that Steve and Bucky were a couple. Doesn’t matter if you’re for that or not. The fact of the matter is that the idea of them as a couple has A BIG FOLLOWING. I don’t think people were really pushing to see it become a real thing on screen or anything, but the execs at Marvel suddenly did this thing where they all quickly shouted “NO HOMO” really loudly and promptly dropped Bucky from as many scenes as possible. They admitted to creating distance between Steve and Bucky for this reason. And because Steve and Sharon didn’t get the reaction they wanted, they had Steve go back and get back with Peggy.

But let’s recap here and see if any of that makes sense for Steve Rogers.

—He and Bucky were “inseparable on both playground and battlefield.”

—He literally broke the law and went behind enemy lines against orders just in case he had even the slightest chance of finding and saving Bucky from a Hydra base. He didn’t even know if Bucky was still alive.

—He added Bucky to his elite team and they fought side by side until Bucky’s “death.” When Bucky “died,” Steve went from saying, “I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t like bullies” to saying, “I’m not going to stop until all of Hydra is dead or captured.”

—Years later, when he realized Bucky was still alive, he literally stopped mid-fight and dropped all defenses. Later in the same film (on the helicarrier), he refuses to even fight Bucky. He drops his shield and was going to very willingly let Bucky kill him rather than fight him.

— When the Accords become a thing, Steve defied his own friends and 117 countries to get Bucky to safety. And then continues defying them with Bucky at his side because he is determined that Bucky deserves due process and a lawyer and help, not imprisonment.

— He helps Bucky get somewhere safe to hide and recover and visits him there. (Russos said they even discussed showing that Steve and Bucky were in regular contact between CW and IW.)

—He fights the Battle of Wakanda with Bucky and then gets to see him disintegrate right in front of him. It’s built up to be a very big moment. Bucky collapses into nothingness and Steve sits there touching Bucky’s dust remnants and with tears in his eyes. “Oh, God.”

—Then, magically comes Endgame and Steve is in a support group for people lost in the Snap and he’s grieving over PEGGY??? HE NEVER EVEN WENT ON A DATE WITH PEGGY. NOT ONE DATE. He kissed her ONE TIME very briefly 75+ years ago! HOW CAN HE BE SO SURE THEY WERE SOULMATES?! This is just awful writing.

— Then when everyone is brought back through the portals, Steve doesn’t even look for Bucky to make sure he’s there. They fight far away from one another. They never acknowledge the other one. These men have literally looked at each other before thinking that would be the last face they ever saw and then at the Battle to End All Things, they don’t even glance around to see if the other is present.

— Steve literally barely says goodbye to Bucky. He fought and was willing to die for the man, but now he is in such a rush to get back to that one girl he kissed that one time that he forsakes the people he should care about. (Sebastian Stan says he questioned this to the Russos and was actually told to just imagine Steve and Bucky must have talked it over offscreen and Sebastian tried to fight it, but was shot down.)

— Steve jumps in a time machine and goes back to live with his supposed soulmate thus creating an alternate timeline.

I have a real problem with this. A man who has been selfless his entire life chose to go and be selfish for 75+ years instead of helping anyone. This man lives to fight injustices and we are supposed to forget that? In order to believe that he went back to a woman he didn’t know that well and who already had a husband/children. CA:TWS showed that she had lived a happy life. She told him she only regretted that he didn’t get to live his. She didn’t regret them not getting to spend theirs together. And he didn’t seem to either. He was actively moving forward with his life. Thus the reason for Sharon.

Anyway, his entire story arc which is based around him being partners with Bucky and him being selfless got absolutely destroyed when he went back in the time machine and just ran away from everything he had built.

Which seems more likely? That everything in the three Cap films and IW was wrong about his character? Or that Endgame just slapped a big “No Homo” sticker on the script and did whatever they could possibly do to make sure fans could not say that Steve and Bucky were a thing?

Furthermore, I have no problem with Sam becoming the next Cap. I have a big problem with them doing it if the reason was to further the sever the ties between Steve and Bucky.

-And the Russos said that Bucky couldn’t be Cap because his mind had been compromised and that he couldn’t be trusted with a weapon. Which means that Bucky’s whole recovery story was what? A lie? They established that Bucky was really a great guy and not a terrible terrorist. And they said Shuri fixed his mind. And we still can’t trust the guy with the shield?

So either Shuri failed dramatically even though we saw her talent and progress with him in Black Panther and IW, Bucky is now magically “too broken,” or the writers and directors are stupid. Your call, I guess.

They literally foreshadowed Bucky!Cap in all three Cap films. Bucky handles the shield in ALL THREE FILMS. But now he can’t be trusted with a weapon? Now he’s dangerous? He literally fought the battle of Wakanda with knives and an assault rifle. The shield is a DEFENSE weapon. So this excuse is the flimsiest argument ever and says horrible things about putting trust/faith in people after they’ve been victims and recovered from trauma. Gross.

-At least they FINALLY got Scarlet Witch right. I’ve been waiting to see my favorite Avenger done right for years. No complaints here except it took them long enough.

-Let’s not even discuss how their time travel ideas and theories are a MESS. Plot holes everywhere. (Steve would have created a new time line by going back. Did he just magically put the aether back in Jane? Did he have to kick Red Skull’s ass again on Vormir because I can’t imagine he would just stand by idly. This stuff would take me too long to even add onto here.)

-But back to Natasha. If it’s a “soul for a soul,” then when Steve returned the soul stone, he should have gotten Natasha back. Apparently a lot of fans saw this plot hole because they asked the Russos about it and the response they seriously got was something to the idea of, “No, you can’t do that. It doesn’t work that way.” Which WHY NOT? (Apparently because of poor writing.)

-Also not bitter (yeah right) that Tony got this big deal send off and everyone forgot about Natasha half an hour after she died. Shouldn’t the big send off at the end have been for both of them?!?! Would that have been SO hard?!

-Should I even discuss the fact that for some stupid reason Steve goes back in time and the serum stops working? Why does he age? Thor establishes in AoU that he doesn’t think Steve is mortal. And Peggy says in CA:TFA that Steve’s cells regenerate at four times the rate of average human cells. So he should still be fairly young even if he went back to the 40s. He shouldn’t start to age like a regular human just because he time traveled. He didn’t travel back to before he got the serum. I literally said, “No,” angrily the second they showed the back of Steve when he was sitting on that bench at the end. The other people in the theater turned to look at me and I was already pissed as hell and the movie wasn’t even over yet.

-Nebula having to kill her last self just seemed sloppy and cliche. I wasn’t impressed. That character had been through hell. She is the one who really turns the tides in in the Infinity Saga comics so for her to get such poor treatment in the film? SHE should have been the one to kill Thanos. I know what Thor said, but Nebula literally has a lifetime of torture to make up for and she would have gotten some small consolation in avenging the death of her sister. GUH. THIS MAKES ME SO ANGRY. SHE DESERVED THIS.

-So we really just backtracked and retconned Gamora’s whole story like that, huh? I’m sure James Gunn is thrilled. (I’m joking. I’d be annoyed to high heavens if I were him.) Gunn had literally written this character’s story arc and progression and the Russos and Markus/McFeely took over and then literally wrote the story equivalent of “and then they all died” with Gamora’s story. Such a jerk move and I sincerely hope Gunn finds a way to make GotG Vol 3 work out really well despite this.

I’m sure there’s more I’m unhappy with, but you get my point. I had high hopes for this film and they did not deliver.

It’s been months and I am still so immensely disappointed in Endgame. I expected the people who had written such great films in the past to deliver with another great film and they did not.

It wasn’t a completely awful film though. I thought they did a really good job with Doctor Strange and Wanda (finally!). And I loved Steve lifting Mjölnir! Carol’s short hair made me hot and bothered. So the film had a few perks.

I have friends who liked the film until I started pointing out its flaws. Sorry, not sorry. I'm glad Marvel broke box office records, but I'm not going to lie to anyone and say it was with a great film.

They are ----- And look, I never posted it on my blog because the rant ends there mid sentence and was never completed, but I think it’s safe to say I’m not happy. That great cinematic masterpiece is a mockery of good character arcs. Anyone is welcome to try, but I’m unlikely to change my mind.

ETA: Since writing this, I have found multiple things about Tony’s character that upset me too.

#marvel #avengers #endgame #personal #rant #social media #steve rogers #bucky barnes #thor odinson #natasha romanoff #tony stark #shuri

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spunky-89 · 4 years

Text

A Very Merry Christmas

A/N: Hellloooo, so I know it’s not the weekend, but in my defense, I lost a day. I thought today was Sunday but I have been informed I was wrong. Anywho, this will be a two-parter as I wrote soooo much it felt like I needed to snip it a bit. So without further ado, here is the next part (not in story timeline) of “Domestic(ish) Life”!!!!!

Series Masterlist

Word Count: 3100

The second Thanksgiving ended, you were all in on Christmas. This was not new information to Steve and Bucky. Though Bucky only had a year under his belt where Steve had five. But they knew how much you loved the holiday so even when they weren’t really in the mood, they put on the Santa hats and smiled because it made you happy. And there was nothing they loved more than seeing you happy. ---------

“Come on, come on, come ooonnn,” You whined as you tried to drag the two super soldiers into the tent.

“We’re coming,” Steve laughed.

“Not fast enough.” you groaned and ditched them to head into the tent in front of them.

“I don’t understand why we don’t do this-”

“If you say the old fashion way I swear Bucky, I will murder you.” You glared as he came up behind you.

He put his hands up and laughed, “All right, message received.”

“Good, now put these muscles to use and pull that tree out for me.” You asked as you patted his chest and pointed to a tree towards the back.

You knew that you could actually go to a tree farm in New York, but your family had always gotten them from the tents at Home Depot, Lowes, or just a stand off the main road. It was one of the traditions you couldn’t let go of. That and needing to get a real tree, even when you were alone and had to drag it up to your apartment by yourself.

Steve came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, resting his head on your shoulder. The two of you shared a quiet laugh as you watched Bucky fight to get the tree you wanted from the pile.

“Thank you for doing this with me. I know it’s kind of silly, but-”

“Hey, it’s not silly. It’s something you love and something that means a lot to you. You know we’re there if it means making you happy.” He said. Bucky then let out a string of curses under his breath as he finally got the tree out. “And I can’t say I don’t enjoy myself.”

You giggled and moved forward to evaluate the tree.

Two hours and three Tree Tents later, you had found your perfect tree. The boys helped bring it up and set it in its base. You smiled, clapped, and did a little dance once it was in place.

“I’m glad you’re happy, but I am never doing that again,” Bucky grumbled.

“Aw come on, don’t be like that.” Steve teased.

“There is sap all in the groves of my hand. That shit is never coming out.”

“Le gasp! We do not use that kind of language sir!” You exclaimed in fake shock.

“God I hate you guys.”

“But seriously,” You giggled as you pecked Steve on the cheek in apology, “I told you to wear gloves. It is not my fault you didn’t listen.”

“I didn’t think they were necessary!”

“Well, you should know that I’m always right and you should really listen to me more.” You smiled.

“Whatever, let’s just decorate it.”

“Sorry hunny, but we can’t decorate quite yet. We need to give it a day or two to make sure it’s all puffed out.”

“I have no idea what you just said or why that’s a thing,” Bucky stated as he plopped next to you on the couch.

“It meeaanns, the trees from tents are usually all wrapped up, so it takes them some time to flatten out. So if we put lights and ornaments on it now, they are liable to just fall off once the branches have adjusted.” You explained.

“I see. I still think it’s stupid and next year we’re taking you to a tree farm.”

“Oh, so you’re already planning for next year huh?” You teased.

“You can’t get rid of me princess.” He said as he grabbed you and pulled you into his lap as he hugged you tight and layed kisses all over you while you giggled.

-----------------------

The boys were extremely unhappy when a mission popped up two weeks before Christmas. They were so excited to do all the fun Christmas things with you for your first official Christmas as a couple. You assured them it was fine, as it was just a day after all. You firmly held the belief that the day you celebrated didn’t matter, as long as you were celebrating with the ones you love. So off they went.

You were almost kind of glad they were gone. It gave you plenty of time to get their gifts done. You firstly picked up some of the gifts you and Bucky had discussed for Steve and the same with Bucky’s. You had all made the decision to include each other in the gift-giving process to make sure no one got the same things. It was working out pretty good. You did decide to do something extra for both the boys. You wanted to spoil them and it was something you’d been planning for a while anyway. So you got to work. Though you loved buying gifts, you also loved making them. It made you feel like it was just a touch more personal. Luckily you had some time off and were able to put it to use. You actually made it a girls’ night. Nat and Wanda weren’t needed for the mission, so you invited them and Pepper over. You all had a ball, mixing wine and crafts. Though they were all crafty in their own right, they always said your assistance and expertise made it way easier and the product much prettier. Some of the creations were just for fun, or in Pepper’s case, a fun gift to give the man who had pretty much everything.

“So what’s the deal with that?” Nat asked as she was laser-focused on her wine glass, not the one that was full, the one she was painting.

“Well, I’ve been working on this for months, bullying Tony and even enlisting Maria’s help to gather some relics from their past and- I don’t know. I thought it would be cute.” You said with a shrug.

“Oh it’s adorable, I just wasn’t sure what it was from or where you got the idea.” She assured you.

“Oh, it’s from one of my favorite movies.” You explained.

“I see,”

“Hey (Y/N/N), how do you use this thing again?” Wanda asked, staring at the Cricut with hatred in her eyes. You laughed as you put down what you were working on and went over to show her.

---------------------------

When the boys returned only five days later, they were thrilled. There was a minor concern that their mission would mess up the holidays, but luck was on your side for this one. But they were faced with a new problem. Christmas was coming fast, and they were stumped at what to get their girl. They knew very well she wasn’t super materialistic and cared more for small gestures then grand ones. But they were just so unsure of what to do. This was the first official Christmas as a triad, and they were panicking.

“I feel like you gotta go jewelry, my man, it’s a classic,” Sam suggested when the boys brought their fears and worries to him.

“But that’s just it, it’s classic. She deserves more than that.” Bucky said with a groan.

“I don’t know, jewelry is pretty romantic. And it can be kind of personalized for her.”

“Still not what we’re looking for though,” Bucky argued.

“Hey, you asked for my help!”

“No Steve asked you. For some reason,”

“Stop it, both you.” Steve sighed, pinching his nose between his fingers and shaking his head.

“I’m just saying, I mean, how many successful relationships has he had?” Bucky asked,

“I’ve had relationships!”

“Name two that have lasted longer than 2 months.”

“Listen here-”

“Enough.”

The three men sat in silence for a while after that.

“What about a companion?” Asked a female voice. Steve and Sam jumped a bit at the sudden appearance of Natasha.

“What?”

“Like a pet or something. I mean she’s always sad when she’s left alone when you guys go on missions.”

“No no, that part I got.” Bucky said, “But how the hell did you know what we were talking about?”

“You guys have been struggling for a week. It’s getting really close to Christmas, I gave an educated guess.”

“You scare me,” Sam said, completely straight-faced.

“Oh, I know that.” She said, smiling innocently at him.

“I don’t know Nat, an animal is so much work.” Steve said, “And they usually end up destroying a lot.”

“Yeah, but (Y/N) is great with animals.” She argued.

“I don’t know,”

“I kinda like the idea.” Bucky chimed in.

“Of course you would. You want a pet just as much as she does.”

“All the more reason. It’s a two-for-one gift.” Bucky said a bright smile on his face.

“I hate you.”

--------------------

An hour later the two men were at a local animal shelter asking the kind workers for help. The receptionist freaked out for a minute but was able to get over her shock and help them. They took a picture with her but made her promise not to post it anywhere until after Christmas as to not ruin the surprise. She willingly agreed.

“So, are you looking for a dog or a cat? Or something else?” She asked as she led them to a back office to talk so they wouldn’t be seen by others out in the main area.

“Uh, we’re not really sure actually,” Steve admitted.

The woman laughed and had them sit down to chat.

“Okay, so this is for your mystery girlfriend I assume?”

“Yeah, we want to get her a companion for when we’re gone, but we’re not sure what would be best,” Bucky explained.

“Alright, does she have a preference for one type of animal?”

The two boys snorted.

“Anything that has fur and four legs.” Bucky laughed,

“Well, that’s not true, she also loves birds and bats.”

“Oh true, can’t forget the bats.”

The woman looked at the two icons in front of her, fond smiles on their faces as they spoke of their lover. She hoped she could one day find someone who would look like that when they talked about her. “I feel that I'm the same way.” She laughed, “Unfortunately, we don’t rescue bats here but we have lots of furry friends.”

“Do have any animals that have been here for a while? Or any animals that you guys don’t think anyone is going to take?”

“Well, we have quite a few that have been here for a year or more, a few senior animals which are less popular, and then animals who have some form of illness or disability.”

“Not one with an illness or disability. Though I’m sure she would love it unconditionally, I think a healthy animal would be better.” Steve said.

“So judgmental Steve,”

“Shut it punk,” Steve said as he glared. He turned back to the woman who was smiling as she watched the two men.

“Come on, I’ll show you a few different critters and you can see what you think will complete your family.”

She led them out the door and down a hallway. Immediately they could hear the barking.

“So, these are some of the dogs who need special attention or are small enough we can fit them in the kennel. We have bigger dogs and healthy ones outside in big pens so they have room to roam.” The woman explained.

She led them to a cage with a small shaggy terrier. It started yapping as soon as the boys walked up.

“So this is Nancy, she’s 3 years old and she’s been here for 8 months. She had some heartworms but she is finally done with treatment and is ready to find her forever home.”

The two boys shared a look.

“She’s cute but I don’t think we want a tiny dog,” Steve said.

“Specifically no yappers,” Bucky added.

The woman laughed and nodded, “I don’t blame you. But that will help our search a little bit.”

She then led them outside where they could see a number of fenced-in areas with dogs of all kinds running, sleeping, or playing with their toys.

“So, first we have Pluto, he’s a 6-year-old Lab/Pit mix. He’s a sweetheart but people get scared with him being part pitbull. He’s active but not so much that he’s too much to handle. He does enjoy going for walks and playing with his ball. He also loves tug-of-war, but I usually warn people about hurting their shoulders due to his strength, but I get the feeling you two won’t need to worry about that.” She smiled as she crouched down to call over the dog.

“Yeah, I think we’ve got that covered.” Steve laughed.

Bucky got down right next to the worker and started petting him through the fence.

“Oh, aren’t you a cutie. Oooh, you’re so sweet.” Bucky cooed.

“I’m gonna live to regret having you here aren’t I?”

“Listen, these cuties need someone to love them. Let me live my life.” Bucky snapped playfully defensive.

Steve laughed and they all moved on to the next dog, then onto cats, and finally the birds and small critters like hamsters and ferrets.

---------------------

Their next stop was the pet store. They talked to the woman at the shelter about what supplies they would need and she gave them a detailed list with some things that weren’t necessary, but might be good to have.

They never realized how many toys you could get for animals. Needless to say, they were extra glad for the instructions as they would have been lost without them. They had put their new family member on hold to be picked up on Christmas Eve and somehow figure out how they were going to smuggle it into the apartment. But they would worry about that later. Right now they were arguing over colors.

“We should get the pink or purple, they’re girl colors,” Steve argued.

“Did you really just say that? Do you know what (Y/N) would say if she heard that?” Bucky asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Steve nodded, realizing his mistake.

“Obviously,”

“Don’t get smart with me punk.”

“Whatever, we still need to pick a color.”

“What about (F/C)?”

“No, that’s a weird shade. She would hate that.”

“What about this one?” Steve asked, holding up a sparkly red/orange one with little brown flecks in it.

Bucky tilted his head. “It’s very fall, but I think she’ll love it.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“One thing down, a hundred to go.” Bucky sighed looking at the list.

“I don’t want to hear it, this is all on you pal. You wanted to do this.” Steve said.

“Oh I know, I have no regrets.”

---------------------

Once they had all of the stuff, they made a quick stop to get bags, boxes, and wrapping paper. They knew they would have to wait until tomorrow to wrap their gifts as by now you were bound to be home from work and they had too much stuff to hide effectively.

They were so glad they had figured this out because they were down to the wire. It was only five days till Christmas.

With it being so close to Christmas you were practically glowing and floating on air. There was constantly a Christmas candle burning and music playing. After all the stress of the year between missions and dealing with telling people about your relationship, the boys were glad to see you let loose and be happy. You were only minorly stressed out because you had offered to host a small Christmas Eve get together with a few of the team who didn’t already have plans. Though you would all be gathering at the Tower for Christmas dinner. But on Christmas Eve it was just going to be Sam, Wanda, Vision, Natasha, and Bruce.

You had grand plans of making all sorts of delicious baked goods for both meals, but on top of it, you had to make an actual dinner for Christmas Eve. But you were thrilled. You loved hosting events and you were ready to hold a holiday in your own space. The boys helped you clean everything and make sure all the presents for the team were wrapped, as well as the presents for each other. You managed to wrangle Steve into assisting you with some of the cooking and decorating of the desserts. Bucky had long been banned from the kitchen because he infamously ate everything and you would end up having to make more. So he was stuck on cleaning duty and doing other minor jobs for you.

-----------------

After a whirlwind of activity leading up to the big night, it was here. You all had discussed it and decided to get a bit dressed up, especially since Tony had decided that it was going to be a pajama dinner. So while the food was finished cooking, you got all dressed up in a dark red, sparkly, knee-length dress. You did your make-up and put on some jewelry before topping the look off with heels you knew you would take off within half an hour. Each of the boys stuck with a nice pair of jeans and a button-up. Both looked absolutely delicious. Not long after you all finished getting ready, you heard the first knock at the door.

As everyone arrived, wine and mixed drinks were served and you all gathered at the table for the meal. As they all sat, you stayed standing.

"Before we all enjoy this meal, I just wanted to say, thank you. This has been a rough year between missions gone wrong and huge fallouts. I want to say thank you for being my family when my family was being dicks. I firmly believe that family isn’t defined by blood but by love. I feel so incredibly lucky to have wonderful people like you surrounding me and trying to keep my dumbasses safe." Everyone laughed a bit, but your eyes had started tearing. "I love you guys. Thank you for accepting me into your family and for understanding that love comes in many forms. Merry Christmas." You finished, raising your glass, tears trickling down your cheeks.

Everyone chorused a 'Merry Christmas' and you sat between your boys, who both squeezed your hands and kissed your cheeks.

#Steve Rogers #Bucky Barnes #steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes x reader #steve x reader x bucky #stucky x reader #stucky #christmas fluff #christmas #Domestic(ish) life #Winter Solider #winter solider x reader #captain america #captain america x reader

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