#but he isn't... steve is

[queerofthedagger]

it's already humiliating when you get into new media, take one look at a character, and know that one's gonna be living in your head indefinitely, but it's absolutely nothing compared to looking at a character and thinking eh i don't think i'd ever have strong feelings about that one he's kinda boring and then he sits quietly in the back of your brain poking idly at synapses and thoughts every once in a while until one day you wake up and realise oh. oh fuck. category 5 blorbo moment, how the ever loving fuck did this happen to me

[amarriageoftrueminds]

Don't mind me, coming in with the MCU salt as usual:

They gave Steve that very vague line about making compromises and the problem is... it's nonsense.

It's not supported by anything we saw Steve do in CATFA (him or any of the Commandos). We never saw Steve in a circumstance where he even could serve a greater purpose with dubious acts. In fact, Steve in is absolutely opposed to compromises (i.e. he will not stay where he is and not go and rescue the 107).

Fury is also making a gross generalisation about what the SSR did during WWII, and about Steve's generation...

But:

A) the SSR is shown as a large-ish organisation of which Steve is only a small part. Outside of one week's basic training he had minimal contact with the SSR, and spent 99% of his time on the Continent, away from them. (We don't even see him personally in radio contact with them.)

If the SSR were doing something shady while he was away, then we didn't see it... and Steve wasn't part of it.

and:

B) Steve was a complete outcast in his own generation, a man ahead of his time, who wasn't like anybody else, so it's nonsense to lump him in with his whole generation as if he's tarred with the some brush. He just isn't! 🤷‍♀️ That's kinda the whole point of him.

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And we never hear exactly what Steve is thinking about when he says that, either?

For all we know, his 'compromise' might be the next person's 'impeccable behaviour.' He could see killing Nazis as a compromise that would make you not sleep so well (as oppose to capturing them alive).

An early draft of this script had Steve awakening from a nightmare wherein the Howlies rebuked him for abandoning them mid-fight, for example.

He could be thinking about not staying in Austria to look for Bucky's body. He could be thinking about putting the Valkyrie in the water with himself still on board, instead of bailing out to continue the fight (in fact... given how this movie ends, those last two seem the most likely!)

So it could be a case of total crossed wires, where Steve doesn't realise that Fury is accusing him of much worse things than he has actually done, and Fury doesn't realise that Steve isn't admitting to that.

.

1) The MCU never addresses the fact that Steve will have had contact with two very different kinds of spies.

There's the modern spies like Natasha, Coulson, Sharon, Fury, etc. who are just spooks, habitual inscrutable liars, people who lie to their own colleagues, etc. Political spies, you could call them. These he doesn't have much time for.

But his first experience of spies would've been in WWII, with Allied spies living undercover in Nazi-occupied territories.

We didn't see any of them, because the writers relegated anything non comphet-serving to a silent montage. But they ought to have been there! (The Howling Commando Frenchy was French Resistance, they should've been in contact with him).

So this is an example of a spy as someone incredibly brave under enormous pressure, living in constant danger, who has to lie purely to keep themselves alive, as part of a larger war effort. Lives would be on the line.

I can easily imagine that Steve wouldn't see it as bad to be one of those kinds of spies.

.

2) While he struggles to lie to innocent civilians and people he personally knows and respects, he has no problem lying to more powerful people such as Alexander Pierce, when there is something bigger at stake.

(Likewise no problem acting like he's obeying Col. Phillips's orders to his face, when he's actually about to directly disobey him by running off to save the 107. So authority figures? Those, he can lie to!)

This is probably why he was okay with allowing Jasper Sitwell to believe he was about to die, by having Natasha kick him off that roof.

(Yeah, Sam was there to catch him, so the threat wasn't real... but Steve was fine with letting him think it was real -- which is arguably cruel. Pretty Dark.)

Playing the good guy to Nat's bad guy just to convince a Hydra agent to cooperate with them, doing nothing to stop her when doing nothing is supposed to be anathema to him... but for a very good cause. Arguably a bit OOC because the writers wanted a cool edgy moment. 🙄

.

But fyi Fury's actions are extremely reactionary -- because that has come to mean "extreme conservatism or rightism in politics; opposing political or social change" -- a lynchpin of authoritarianism.

Believing it's okay to profile people and punish the innocent just for holding inconvenient views is what Hydra and Project Insight are all about.

Steve is the anti-reactionary one, because he supports preventing authoritarianism, and dismantling the status quo as embodied by SHIELD... while Fury wants to save it, and has to be talked out of that.

Given that Steve's conversation about his own dark side in AOU is with Tony, whom he ends up fighting to protect Bucky in the next movie, I think the quickest route to a believable dark!Steve in fic is basically: Fuck around with Bucky and find out.

The MCU certainly wants you to see 'defending Bucky' as selfish and part of Steve's dark side, even though Bucky is an innocent and it's the right thing to do. Selfless, by definition, not selfish at all!

However...

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3) When millions of lives were at stake in CATWS, Steve was willing to choke Bucky unconscious and pull his arm out of its socket to stop him interfering.

He begged Bucky not to have to... but nevertheless he did do it.

This is the same guy who, when he thought Nat might be on the wrong side of the fight with Hydra, was willing to slam her against a wall to get the truth out of her. He does not fuck around.

Then in CACW Steve is willing, albeit reluctantly, to slip away and leave his friends behind to continue the fight (on Sam's suggestion) ...because it's a lesser of two evils, if he and Bucky are going to go and combat the much greater evil of five loose Winter Soldiers under Zemo's control.

And back in Avengers 1, when Tony had put the nuke through the wormhole but had not yet returned, Steve was willing to make the hard call and close it with Tony on the other side. It was only pure luck (or bad luck, depending on who you ask!) that Tony fell through in time.

In A1 he describes Coulson's murder by Loki as losing a soldier, a result of decisions higher-ups have made for which they might feel guilty, which is why he tries to console Tony about it.

(Likewise, Wanda about the dead in Lagos. Likewise, Nat and her guilt about serving SHIELDra. If Steve had been there, after Rhodey's injury, no doubt he would've been the one telling Sam and Vision that they're not at fault.)

So there is some darkness in canon Steve. But it's more about being willing to make the very difficult decisions (completely necessary as a leader) to put those close to him at risk, for the sake of saving millions/billions of lives.

Of course he also puts himself at risk, alongside them, so he's often being as simultaneously self-sacrificing as not -- and, unlike some, he does put the responsibility for what happens on his shoulders as CO, not theirs. For the purpose of doing the right thing, Steve is capable of leading others 'into the jaws of death,' even if it destroys him too.

tl;dr: IMO he does have a dark side but it's not what people think it is.

A Steve meta(?) from user cloudbells? More likely than you think.

One thing I struggled with when wanting darker plots was Steve's place in them. I always wanted to put him in a dubious, spy-like role where he'd have to set aside some moral hang-ups in favor of being a part of an objectively greater good that, in time, would save everyone.

At first, I thought that it just didn't fit him - that nothing in canon pointed to him being able to accept something like that. I mean, the whole "we don't trade lives" thing is just one of a few instances that seem to prove he leans towards immovable. But there is one line (among other actions we see but I'm using this line as an example) that gives me wiggle room.

In CATWS, when Steve is talking to Fury, he says that sometimes they compromised during the war. Just that one line, and I'm taking it because here's how I see it.

1) If something is catastrophic or horrific enough, then Steve is going to do "whatever it takes" to fix that. It will hurt his heart to have any complicity as a spy, but if that's the path to safety, then he's taking it.

2) Steve isn't fucking stupid. He has the foresight to discern when something could go horrifically bad and when to fight against it. I don't think he's entirely against "the ends justify the means" to an extent. The reason why he may be more at odds with Fury is because there are other paths to ensure safety and a lot of Fury's actions are preventative rather than reactionary to what is already coming.

3) Steve isn't stubborn enough to put his own ethical objections above the welfare of everyone else. That would seem selfish to him, I think. Yes, the guilt might eat him up, but the cause is more important, so unless it's truly not worth it, he's joining in. Some people might say "But user cloudbells! What about in CW when he threw everything away and defied countries just to defend Bucky and get what he wanted?" And to that I say, "Re-watch the movie, study Steve's character, read what was in the Accords that Steve read himself, critically think about his motives, and then come back to me".

With all this being said, I do think it would have to be a guaranteed....make or break event for Steve to play the long game knowing he's going to have to be complicit in or compartmentalize unsavory acts. Also I want to slip in that this is about MCU Steve. We know how 616 Steve fairs when he has to engage in more...shadow work than normal. But 616 Steve also seems more emotionally free or expressive than MCU Steve. Most Steve variants are better off emotionally than MCU Steve lol.

[jadewritesficshere]

Steddie soulmate AU where Eddie is a famous musician, everyone assumes he doesn't have a soulmate. Eddie was just smart and doesn't confirm, doesn't want to go through rabid fans who claim to be his soulmate. He's had too many show up wearing his initials they tattooed on themselves even before he was asked about soulmates in an interview.

Enter Steve Harrington who works as a nurse. Just casually on his third nightshift in a row in the ER. Sipping some coffee trying not to fall asleep when they get the call about some confidential patient coming in.

Eddie comes in for some injury. Steve has 0 clue who he is, just says "You look familiar, did we go to school together?" And Eddie practically falls off the stretcher at Steve's feet. Goes all googoo eyes at him. Steve being mildly concerned because Eddie's heart rate keeps skyrocketing (its because Steve is touching him).

One of the other nurses can't help but try and get the gossip from Steve, who is very much confused as to why she cares about this random patient. She tells Steve who Eddie is, and he's just like ???? Okay???

Steve doesn't admit it but the picture she shows is HOT. It's Eddie, flipping off the camera, tongue out. He's covered in tattoos, including the word 'sorry' written in a weird script on his middle finger. He's shirtless and his pants are so low that Steve can see the dip of his hips creating a v and-

Steve has to walk into the supply room to get himself under control. Pretends it doesn't mean anything and goes back to his job as his heart thuds rapidly in his chest.

Eddie tries not to pass out when they draw his blood, Steve holds his hand. It feels right. Eddie can't help wanting to ask," Hey, do you have a soulmate?" But he hates being asked that question, so he won't.

Until Steve bends over, his scrub top lifting up slightly. Eddie can't help glancing at his ass, but then he can't breathe. Because on his lower back is the initials EJM.

"Steve G. H?" Eddie asks as his voice goes up an octave. Steve turns, bewildered ," How did you-?" "Edward James Munson." Eddie whispers.

Oh

[girbirty]

i just loved their beef so much

[jessmalia]

#don't do that in the middle of an argument steve tony will pop a boner

[grandwretch]

honestly i like to imagine steve as a much happier, more accepted member of his friend group but the whole show is just a game of kids on bikes that eddie is running and steve's ass is NOT paying attention. eddie's first session steve is like yeah i wanna play the hot asshole and everyone laughs and he forgets his character backstory halfway through the boss fight. next two seasons he's getting his nails painted by erica and robin and keeps getting clowned on for not remembering any of the plot. he keeps rolling like dogshit, and the joke is that their cool loved friend steve is playing a guy who doesnt know what the fuck is going on and can't win a fight to save his life. character steve makes it through every campaign with one hit point and a dream.

they finally bully eddie into including himself since he insists on everyone playing themselves for this stupid joke game and steve immediately gives up on pretending to know what's going on in the game and just figures out how he can maximize his flirting time w/ his own boyfriend. eddie kills his own npc at the end so he can stop playing himself. dustin throws a notebook at his head bc he had to hear eddie call steve big boy w his own ears for NOTHING. steve is like yeah uh since my boyfriend fucking died i'm going to try to steal jonathan's girlfriend again.

oh and the steve and jonathan fighting over nancy thing is just a stupid joke that steve and jonathan made at the beginning of the game because steve and jonathan have been best friends since elementary school. they like to cause problems on purpose. they honestly thought nancy would shoot them down but they didnt know that SHE was the one who taught MIKE everything he knows about the finer points of roleplay. she hates drama in real life but LOVES it in her games.

jonathan at the end of season four like "who else was going to lead the party? steve? he couldn't explode a d4 in the last three sessions combined" and steve is fully half asleep in robin and eddie's laps like hey >:( (pssst ed what does that mean)

[elemain]

I don't know. I also don't know if they've already created an AU like that :[ (If this is the case, tell me-)

I just wanted a Bill finding a baby Steve after the Euclydia incident

Out of context?

Now what?-

[greyelfsworld]

How do you put it to words

Poem

[vertigoartgore]

1994's Wolverine: Typhoid's Kiss TPB cover by Steve Lightle (R.I.P.).

[cringevalue]

eddie finds a puppy outside his trailer, all beat up and dirty, and he takes it inside to give it a bath and tend to its wounds. he turns his back for two seconds and when he turns back around, steve harrington is sitting in his bathtub, all beat up and dirty.

[florallylly]

steve harrington talking to dustin like "eddie munson is So Pathetic" and dustin trying to defend him, but robin knows that steve meant that in a decidedly horny way

[ohrackham]

what was the point of lila thinking home was a feeling she didn't deserve and could never earn until she found diego. what was the point of them finding deep, meaningful love in each other. what was the point of lila opening her heart and confessing that all she really wanted was a family with him.

what was the point of developing diego and lila over two seasons, creating such a beautiful, chaotic bond, just to destroy it for no reason.

[legalandnotease]

it is concerning how much faith Tony fans have in the government and the political establishment: especially the ones who call themselves "liberal".

Like, its a consistent theme throughout the MCU that establishment figures and politicians cannot be trusted. They're almost always the villians or aligned witht the villians.

They never pass up an oppurtunity to screw over the little people. Which is arguably one of the most realistic aspects of the MCU.

Take how they say Steve "should have gone throught the right legal channels" to help Bucky in Civil War.

The movie takes great pains to show us that Steve *tried to do that*. Like Bucky let himself be arrested as soon as he got away from Ross kill squad.

And what happened? He's handed over to the CIA and denied a trial or legal representation (E. Ross laughing at the idea of him having a lawyer which is a human right enshrined in International law)

Its clearly shown that those in power were *not interested* in who really bombed the UN. They just got hold of the nearest convenient scapegoat and wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible to look good. To look as though they were doing something.

No due process, no investigation. Zip. They didn't even bother with proper security at the detention facility considering Zemo was just able to walk in armed only with a fake ID card.

Steve was basically *forced* to clear Bucky's name himself, because the establishment were not interested in real justice. It wasn't even some "arrogant American" version of justice either.

Like... finding the *right* person who bombed the UN and killed King T'Chaka should have been a priority for anybody.

Convicting the wrong person for a crime is contrary to most people's interpetation of justice, because it means that the person who actually did it goes unpunished.

[jadewritesficshere]

Eddie, who is intently watching Steve, fidgeting every so often. If Eddie was a cat, his tail would be flicking back and forth with rapid increasing movements as he got ready to attack.

Steve, who was so innocently watching the game, happens to realize he hasn't heard Eddie say anything for awhile. Which means one (1) thing: he's up to mischief.

Steve barely has time to turn his head to look when Eddie tackles into him. Steve falls back further onto the couch with a grunt as his boyfriend wrenches his shirt up. "The hell-" Steve's hands are in the air, unsure if he should pull Eddie closer or push him away.

The hesitation gives Eddie enough time to attempt to slither under his shirt. Eddie can only fit his head and the tops of his shoulders under Steve's form-fitting t-shirt, but it's enough. His eyes light up at the torso covered in hair and freckles.

Eddie lays his head against Steve's chest with a dull thud, echoing the thudding of Steve's heart. Eddie snakes his arms around Steve's waist. Eddie can feel Steve slowly place a hand on his back, and stroke up and down his spine.

Steve lightly pulls the neck back so he can look down his shirt at Eddie. Eddie doesn't see it, the look on his face, content to just lay there with his eyes closed. But the adoration, love, and pure glee can't be held back on Steve's face.

[queenie-ofthe-void]

Robin: Hey Eddie, isn't Steve the best?! He's funny in a dingus sorta way, and fills out that sweater nice. Right? Riiiiight??? *nudge nudge* Dustin: Hey Eddie, aren't Robin and Steve such a cute couple?? You should hang out with them more, especially Steve, he talks about you all the time. And honestly he could use a little positive male influence in his life. You'd really like them just give them a chance! Steve: Hey Eddie, would you uh *blushing frantically* want to see a movie sometime? Together? Unless that's weird I mean I could totally invite Robin if that's... cool? If you'd want her there too? The three of us... or just us?? *dying internally* Eddie: ... Eddie: Am I being set up for a three way??

[elemain]

I don't have the imagination to make long and elaborate comics, so take these scenes:

Bill: Okay, secrets of the universe, how do you take care of a baby?

"AHORA TIENES BRAZOS!!!"

Typical Steve

Intentado vestir un triángulo chubby (el tema de su corbata y bombín lo veré mas adelante-)

Bill: Ohh, you're liking your new play ground now, heh?

(Quadrangle of Qonfusion from Journal 3)

Steve: Here I brought your king's cape, Bill

Bill: Perfect! That painting will look great!

-

Bueno, mi mente prefiere que Steve siga siendo un niño, asi que hasta ahí nos va el asunto familiar de Bill y Steve 🤷🏻‍♀️

Un "aprendiz" gratuito, adorable y casi obediente / A gratuitous, adorable, and almost obedient "apprentice"

Y una gran escusa para olvidar por un momento que mataste a toda tu familia y la del escuincle que estás cuidando / And a great excuse to forget for a moment that you killed your entire family and that of the kid you're babysitting

Bonus:

"Everything is going wonder"