#fatws critical

[gay-jewish-bucky]

Why does everyone at Marvel studios (besides Seb) hate MCU Bucky and say he's never done anything heroic? Why do they constantly force him to suffer as if he was responsible for his victimization? Why do they turn the reveal of his sexual abuse into a joke? Why can they sympathize with Ultron and Thanos, but not Bucky?

Sexism!

The nature of lot of the abuse and exploitation he's faced is, in western media, mainly carried out against women, sometimes queer men (like Arnie Roth). Conversations around his female coding within the MCU have largely stopped but it's very important to remember. The patriarchy punishes all men who step out of line, and this is a very good example of that phenomenon.

To them, because of this, he is a failure of a man. He is weak. He is complicit because men can't be victims and still be men. he is not worthy of respect or accolades.

His fans as a whole tend to be people who are frequent targets of overt misogyny, they generally aren't those who believe in and participate in enforcing the expectations of white, western manhood.

You know who does believe in and patriciate in that? The people who have actual control over his character's arc and treatment in the MCU. The one person with power who actually understood Bucky (Stan Lee) died and since then they've been saying the quiet part out loud.

They've also robbed him of the female coding and anything that could be read as contrary to their oppressive standards of masculinity from his character (this includes cutting his hair and robbing him of the softness he had even after everything he'd been through, not letting him have a cat because yes I've heard people outright state he's "too manly" to own a cat) in an effort to force him to be a "real man".

[amarriageoftrueminds]

something i truly do not understand about smbcky and to a lesser extent, smstve shippers is how they so clearly prefer the stucky dynamic genuine love for each other and prominence in the story their emotional core being each other to the point that non-shippy general audiences call BS when newer entries try to downplay their relationship

but then they don't ship that but instead lie through their teeth abt what stucky in canon is and pretend that their preferred ship has the stucky dynamic

it'd be so much tolerable if the diehard SmBck shippers were honest abt what they are and stop acting like it's a soulmate/fated lovers ship and admitted that it's more of a meme/dudebro/"haha they hate each other it's funni" joke ship, which is what gen audiences did when their show was airing, gen audiences treated it like a meme cuz the narrative never gave it more depth than a bunch of glued-together buddy cop tropes and banking off audiences being invested in the IRL actors' public on-camera personas

those shippers would be much happier if they were honest abt what it is and isn't instead and wondering why romance-lovers prefer the dynamic that actually treated the emotions and feeling with depth and sincerity instead of the dynamic of 2 cishet dudebro hwood actors who think their jokes are hilarious but you can never tell when the joke even happened or not happened

Tbh I don't really know how smbcky shippers ship them because I don't see it! (Got it all blacklisted or filtered or w/e and tend to block those posts when I see them and move on. Hard pass from me.)

So I can't really comment on whether they habitually make up bullshit about stucky or downplay it, because I'm simply not seeing it! 🤷‍♀️

I guess stucky occupies a bit of a unique situation, in terms of shipping, because shippers can lean hard into it's canon romanticism and 80+ years of comics, without needing to steal from other canon ships.

(Like, I've never seen or heard of stucky fic with Bucky in Peggy's scenes, or Natasha's, or Sharon's, because none of them have the same profound place in Steve's life or the same profound lines so it would be, if anything, kind of a downgrade??)

Whereas the MCU canon definitely is trying to downplay and cannibalise stucky to feed other ships, in just the way you describe.

(And thereby inadvertently admitting that the writers don't actually rate the existing-canon as romance, for example. Putting Peggy in Bucky's scenes in WhatIf, while completely deleting Steve and Peggy's original scenes, which were supposed to prove they're a couple! Tell me you think stucky was legit without telling me...)

Most jarring to me was WhatIf, where they had Bucky casually bumping off zombie-Steve, with zero sign that this was his best friend, the only living person who's known him since he was a child, someone he'd sacrificed a whole limb for TWICE etc etc etc…

But was then expected to be upset over bumping off zombie-Sam?

H u h ?!

It was so obvious and cack-handed an attempt to shove down one in order to raise up another, that it was just... cringe? 😬

Maybe that's the origin of this, if you what you say is happening in sambuca and stvesam shipping, is really happening. They've swallowed the 'shit on stucky' coolaid the Rat is peddling and now they're doing precisely what the Corporate Overlords want? 🤔

Kinda sad to think about... 😥

And as for this 'copying X ship dynamic to fit Y ship while ignoring Y ship's canon as if they never liked it anyway' phenomenon...

I have definitely come across a similar thing in stucky fanfic too, actually!

I've seen Bucky's personality (and even physical description) overhauled and replaced with a sort of James Charles-esque, Darcy Lewis Tony Stark hybrid.

Which leaves me thinking, 'but if that's the kind of person you think Steve would want, then you don't actually ship stucky, you ship Steve/Darcy, Stny, etc?'

So it wouldn't surprise me if what you say is true, Anon, because I've definitely seen that ^ similar thing elsewhere with Bucky.

And yes, you'd think, if the 'dramatically romantic co-dependant burn the world for them childhood soulmate' dynamic is the one you're after, then you can't actually like the Sambuca dynamic?

(Cuz if you're not a fan of 'buddy cop dudebros who hate each other on sight are forced into proximity and bicker to the point of becoming an annoyance to the other characters', then why are you here?)

It's an especially odd choice to cannibalise another ship's canon for fanon when what is in canon is a lot of queerbaiting you could draw on instead!

(eg. them rolling through a field for comedic 'lol they're doing gay stuff!!' relief, 'now give us money like you did w/ stucky!!' Annoying, yes, but extremely useful from a shipping POV! No different than destiel or johnlock, when the writers were in on it but had no intention of following through. The fans didn't let that stop them!)

Maybe it derives from a sense of a stolen opportunity? Because FATWS absolutely could have been the 'emotionally resonant ship-establishing show'.

But instead they went with 'Mackie being sarcastic was hilarious in junkets so let's just have him throw casual abuse at Stan so we don't have to bother to do our jobs.' Gave Stan one (1) Emotional Scene and Mackie Zero (0). (While also, funnily enough, shitting on all of Bucky's backstory as if it didn't matter, while not even bothering to mention Sam's at all.)

And finished with a lazy insult; a montage, so that they don't have to bother actually showing them becoming good friends, in the six fuckin hours that they wasted on What FunnyNaziGuy Thinks. 🤬

I think also, Bucky stans seem to be more able to see the flaws in that show, because they never regarded it as 'his' (since he's not being made Captain America, sidekicking remains his gig etc.) Whereas Sam stans did see it as his, so they feel as if they're being disloyal and shitting on one of the few pieces of black rep available by criticising it (and double-down on refusing to address any issues about it.)

So perhaps Sambuca shippers who come to it from a Sam-stan POV almost can't criticise the crap they were given (eg. Mackie Yells at Stan for 6 hours + Nobody's In Character). Emotionally, it's much easier to criticise, eg. skrull Steve from Endlame, and pretend that shit was IC and he and Bucky haven't been It in Steve's films or Marvel's Batman & Robin in the comics for 80 years. 🙄

Definite ship-envy going on, though what the hell there is to envy in the way MCU treats Stucky I don't know!

.

tl;dr: haven't seen it personally but it wouldn't surprise me since that's what the MCU itself is doing and rarepair shippers are in dire straights anyway, poor sods.

[faeriecap]

you know what’s really fucked up? the mcu skipped over bucky’s entire character arc and sidelined any representation of not just his healing but all personality because no homo so he would be lucid and battle ready in like one freaking day to fight steve’s civil war uwu!!!!

because they passed over what should have been a gradual and natural reunion between him and steve, it got shoved into the civil war plot out of necessity but had to happen really fast. so all the REALLY good accords arguments steve has about violation of privacy and big government agendas and power structures becoming corrupted and dictating what the avengers do or dont do get completely ignored in favor of blaming steve’s actions on “infatuation” and “nostalgia.” and it’s played off as totally irrational????

Rather than it being him putting the needs of the people first and foremost AGAIN like he IS DOING!!!!so many viewers see his challenge of the accords and tony as a petty feud over a friend they view as not worth enough to even fight for. the absolute value of bucky aside, this puts him and steve in a position of not just selfishness but immaturity: steve acts like a child on the playground or a lovesick puppy. this could be personal platonic love, but imagine if bucky were steve’s long lost girlfriend instead (like if hydra took peggy). people would blast steve for being a fool in love much like they did wanda with vision in iw but they wouldn’t say he was as irrational for it! without that, bucky still gets the same treatment plus thinly veiled homophobia

some anti-woke fans literally mocked steve’s “weakness” with implications that they attribute it to him being gay for bucky. i mean looking back at some of steves lines theyre SO relevant and SO right!!! and so antifacism!!!! but they get ignored beause they force fed us surprise bucky!!!! and its almost like the film wants us to side with tony because the entire time steve’s resistance is played off as stupid and selfish FOR SOME GUY. it puts steve in a super negative light, objectifies bucky, and creates dislike for him because now hes nothing more than a catalyst and then erased for the rest of the mcu narrative????? just consider how the film would have been if it was completely absent of bucky? if all we heard were steve’s speeches on corruption and people using means to their own gain? of reading the fine print? of only being able to trust themselves and each other? 

td;lr: bucky’s development was twisted into a plot device that erased him of all personality because they didn’t want to devote the proper time and care to his storyline and they did that to fit it into the civil war plot line but it wasn’t even worth it because all it did was put bucky and steve in a negative light and as such steve’s entire argument in civil war becomes a big joke which sucks because he makes some top notch points

[eggbreadboi]

srry this is in reference to your tags on an old reblog of a post but i just wanna say like yes i agree so much!!, bucky barnes & steve rogers' stories and rife with trauma at the hands of being exploited by state(government) powers and (serious) writers simply CAN'T write a good story about Bucky and/or Steve without veering into deeply anti-American politics (ESP bc the story blatantly uses analogies of real life USA human rights abuses!)

too bad pretty much all of the marvel franchise in films tv anim/LA print etc can't ever actual commit to the inextricable politics of the story and try to have their cake & eat it too and p much every story circles back to "ooh we luv cap'n murica and his shield is the symbol of all goodness ooh 🇺🇸", and as such, Bucky and Steve's stories never get the actual exploration they deserve, because their too intertwined with being surveilled/exploited/experimented/incarcerated/monitored by the state and the marvel franchise can't commit to the politics of what that means

i mean... obvs the war stuff and human experimentation and torture and slavery are much worse abuses in the grand scheme of things, but writing this made me think of the D+ show scene where they literally have Bucky be monitored by the carceral state and have his autonomy denied in ways that is textually identical to how the real life US prison system abuses people... and yet it's framed as "bucky deserves it" unlike the good military man who's being inconvenience by this POW who was experimented on by Nazis hired by the military apparatus he works for. the D+ show acts as if the carceral state is benevolently "keeping Bucky in check".. like that's such an authoritarian & fascist & specifically American stance to take WRT the US prison system. all bc marvel can't stomach portraying the government's human right's abuses as abuses within their works. the franchise keeps circling back to defending the agents of the state and only giving grace when characters act as agents of the state and treating noncompliance/resistance to the state as character flaws to be grown out of at best

Ok first of all I am HONORED to get such a thoughtful and long response, I really appreciate the dialogue.

Here are more thoughts:

Marvel, as a whole, *wants* to tackle American imperialism, especially in the recent Captain America releases. This is a partially inescapable consequence of the original comics, which did quite a lot to critique the American system(ie. making Cap himself a fairly outspoken socialist), and partially just a result of recent social shifts. However, in the MCU mores than in the comics, this falls flat for a couple of reasons:

The Avengers, are, when you cut to the bone, an American paramilitary group, in the MCU (I would argue this is not as true in the comics, though it is less applicable.) therefore, any critique of the system critiques the very existence of the Avengers, and by virtue of yk.....storytelling and needing them to exist, the MCU cannot delve too far into that critique, lest its portrayal of the Avengers veer closer to the portrayal of The Seven and other villainous "hero" groups. The Avengers must be the heroes, and therefore the system that put them into power cannot be completely unjust.

The MCU resolves this by writing stories that emphasize WHO is in charge, not the system that gives them power. SHIELD is a threat BECAUSE it is led by Pierce after Fury's death.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier runs into this cognitive dissonance, HARD. In essence, because the villains are right. Not morally, ofc, but ultimately, the Flag Smashers, putting aside the murder, are working for the good of people, and the establishment is not. However, the establishment cannot be seen as the source of the rot, so:

In FA:TWS, Captain America is a threat, not because the concept of one man having so much authority is deeply horrifying, but because the man in the mask is Walker, not Rogers. An unworthy king cheating a just system, who must be replaced by the rightful heir.

Steve and Sam are good captains, and so is what they represent, because the values of the system are defined not by the system itself but by the symbol at the helm. ....Its an easy cop-out. "Sure, the results of the system aren't good" Marvel says. "But don't think about the system itself. If we have the right symbol at the helm, if you're responsible enough, compliant enough(don't get captured and brainwashed by nazis), everything will magically right itself"

In short: Helmut Zemo is right, and not just right, but illustrates the issue at the heart of Avengers stories beautifully. He's a refugee from a small, economically disadvantaged (putting Sokovia somewhere between Latvia: 2021 GDP of 39.85 Billion USD and Serbia: 2021 GDP of 63 Billion USD to the US's 23,315.08 Billion USD in 2021), war-torn country, that is completely destroyed by the actions of a United States paramilitary organization. His entire ideology boils down to "Supremacy is wrong, military interventionism is wrong". And because his ideology threatens the entire foundation of the MCU, the conversation HAS to stop at "he killed people, so he's wrong". The same applies to Karli. (and OFC murder is wrong, but we're talking their baseline ideologies) Marvel's storytelling falls flat because when the audience asks why these people did what they did, the writers can only shrug their shoulders and say "I guess they weren't good enough to believe in symbols"

Symbols don't feed families, and they don't repair wartorn land. Reparations do<3

[dharmasharks]

On the bizarre avoidance of loss in FATWS

Reflecting on Marvel’s phase 4 storytelling, I think we can all agree that much of the content shares the same unifying theme: moving on. It’s an inversion of the question our original heroes reckoned with during the snap:

Where do we go now that they’re gone?

Peter grappled with Tony’s legacy and living up to it. Wanda mourned the stolen future she planned with Vision. Clint confronted his survivor’s guilt and grief over Natasha’s death.

In FATWS, the absence of Steve’s looming presence is felt by the entire planet. And it is so deeply, unbelievably weird that Bucky Barnes has no thoughts or feelings about it whatsoever.

To be clear: I’m not talking about an expression of romantic love, unrequited or otherwise. (Not because I disagree with that characterization, but because, unlike Steve Rogers, I’m still stuck in the darkest timeline.)

No, I’m talking about the 10+ years of storytelling in which the trajectory of Bucky’s life has been determined by the gravitational pull of Steve Rogers.

But it’s more than that (literally) undying loyalty to Captain America. We know that so much of Bucky’s very sense of self is inextricably tied to Steve.

‘Member that time Steve had Bucky, even when he had nothing else? Well, even when the Winter Soldier had nothing—no memories to shape his identity—he had Steve. Steve was the guidepost Bucky followed to find himself again. We know this because we’ve seen his first memories (Steve), that museum visit (giant picture of Steve), and those notebooks (filled with giant pictures of Steve).

But really, it was Steve’s unwavering faith in him that gave Bucky the chance to return to himself. Twice. At a great personal cost, across multiple major blockbusters, Steve saw the good when no one else did—including Bucky. (See CACW’s: “I don’t know if I’m worth all this, Steve.”)

So where do you go when that person is gone?

And why, over the course of a 6-episode series, don’t we see a titular character wrestling with this character-defining question?

The closest (only?) acknowledgement of Steve’s role in Bucky’s life comes from the emotional, heated admission, “If he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me.”

It’s a strong line! Not because it’s one of two scenes that gives poor, talented Sebastian Stan something to work with. But because it’s finally some characterization and motivation based on human connection instead of loyalty to a freakin’ shield. (The shield is an inanimate object! Bucky and Sam just lost Steve, who is a person! Maybe they should talk about Steve, the person who is gone, in therapy! Just a thought!)

Steve’s judgement of Bucky’s character, his trust and recognition is still the compass by which Bucky orients himself.

Let’s say Bucky was happy for Steve and came to terms with his decision. We should still get to see him come to terms with this crucial dang question:

In an unrecognizable future, where do you turn and who do you trust, when you’re still learning to trust and recognize yourself?

Where do we go when they’re gone?

I don’t know why Bucky didn’t get the chance to confront and grow from that loss as Peter, Wanda, and Clint did. I can’t explain why he doesn’t express so much as one measly feeling about the end to a 100-year relationship.

Maybe it’s all the bad therapy. Maybe the writers had to tap dance around a future Chris Evans cameo.

Maybe it’s Disney-Marvel’s aversion to and subsequent devaluation of Steve and Bucky’s relationship.

It’s a real mystery!

Whatever the reason, we’re left tiptoeing around the real, human, and emotional heart of the story. It’s how we ended up with the bizarre love affair for the shield, an object, as a stand-in for Steve, the person.

(And really, why is Bucky so worked up about that dinner plate in the first place? You know, the one Steve dropped, twice, for him? And then kept on helping people without? Because Steve is a person and not a shield, which, again, is an inanimate object?)

Listen, I miss Steve, too, boys! I really miss him! He fucked off to the past and left us all here to fix this shitty boat by ourselves. Sam, Buck, can one of you please mourn his absence even a little bit, so we, the audience can do the same? No?

Why not?

Why don’t fans of the Captain America franchise get any of the closure and catharsis Far From Home, WandaVision, and Hawkeye delivered, or at the very least attempted to? Even Dr. Strange got his closure with Christine, and that relationship had all the juice of a wet noodle.

I’m convinced it all stems from an unwillingness to acknowledge the actual conflict at the heart of this character, at this stage of their journey: where does Bucky go when Steve is gone?

I’m not going to get into the troubling redemption arc Bucky gets saddled with in place of reclaiming or reckoning with that identity. But maybe all that heavy-quote-unquote “character growth” would have felt honest and earned if it was purchased with any of the emotional equity we’ve accrued over the last decade.

Instead, we’re asked to believe that Bucky saw Steve—who was his last connection to the past, who he knew before he knew himself, who was the barometer for his own strength of character—as Some Guy with a Very Important Shield. And mourned his absence accordingly.

Or, hell, I don’t know. Maybe short-haired Bucky is just a skrull, too.

[falllpoutboy]

phase 4 being agreed upon being the worst phases thus far and the sole reason for it being that theres so much content (movies + streaming shows) releasing in such a short amount of time

[frostironfudge]

Bucky Barnes Masterlist

hello, I'm fudge and this is my Bucky Barnes Masterlist, anything and everything Bucky is here: one shots, multi-part fics. please make sure to read all the warnings before reading each piece. your media consumption is your responsibility. please note minors dni with smut or dark themed content.

Main Masterlist // AO3

Divider by @firefly-graphics

Contains Smut **

One Shots:

Venus (Bodyguard Bucky) **

Conversations with The Devil [Submission for Spooktacular Smutfest 21 by boxofbonesfic] (Devil!Bucky Barnes) **

Part 2: Conversations with The Devil ** (Devil!Bucky Barnes)

Sparkle (BestFriend Bucky) [Submission for loveletterswritingchallenge by pellucid-constillations]

Tattooed On Your Palms Is My Love (Modern AU) **

Hide Your Lies (SoftDark!Mafia!Stucky AU) [submission for boxofbonesfic 's #Beastyoumadeofme22] **

If Only I Could Get To You First (Modern!Bucky Fake Dating AU)

Between Your Hands I Find Peace (FATWS!Bucky) [frostironfudge's funfair - mini movie theatre]

I'll Be Your Hideaway (Modern!AU) [frostironfudge's funfair - house of song - seven by taylor swift]

We Go A Lot Of Time [frostironfudge's funfair - house of song - Need To Know by Doja Cat] **

The Comfort You Bring - [frostironfudge's funfair - mini movie theatre] **

I Want You To Know [frostironfudge's funfair - house of song - Love You Like A Love Song - Selena Gomez]

My Angel (DBF! Bucky Barnes) **

I Really, Really Want To Kiss You - Personal Trainer!Bucky Barnes

107 - TFATWS!Bucky x Motocross!Reader (requested)

Keep Your Eyes On Me - Archeologist Bucky

Keep My Secret - Stucky x Reader (Dark Fic)

Baby, Keep Those Off (requested)

I'd Choose You (requested)

Devour **

Multi-Part Fics:

Stencils, Bouquets & Icing

An AU where Bucky is a tattoo artist and Steve is a florist, both find love much closer than they anticipated. Steve in Bucky's tattoo artist apprentice nicknamed Petal and Bucky in the baker opposite to his shop nicknamed Cupcake.

Pairing: Steve x Fem!Reader

Masterlist

Labyrinth (ongoing)

labyrinth (noun), a complicated set of paths and passages, through which it is difficult to find your way. 

Bucky and You would do anything for Steve and Wanda, your respective best friends. In an attempt to avoid a tradition Steve and Wanda come up with a lie involving their best friends.  A lie, that involves building a labyrinth. Bucky and You begin to build but will you two find your way out or be caught in it?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader, (Modern AU)

Masterlist

This Feeling I've Got (ongoing, sporadic updates)

A multi part series of one shots that can be read together or stand alone in their own sweet right. based in a non canon compliant FATWS AU. (angst mild, fluff, smut)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Plus Size Fem Reader

Masterlist

Silhouettes In The Spotlight (completed)

Bucky Barnes has worked immensely hard to have a filmography expanding across genres and garnering accolades from critics, peers and fans. Y/N Y/L/N, with her debut novel (fan-fiction turned New York Times Bestseller) has two other best sellers under her belt. Next is her highly anticipated fourth book lined up for release.

SHEILD Productions has acquired the film rights to her debut novel and they want Bucky Barnes to play the lead (aka himself) by any means necessary.

This story is about angst, lust, heartbreak, and love. After all fairytales only exist in books and movies right?

Pairing: Actor!Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Masterlist

I Think I Met You In My Dreams Once (completed)

After receiving an honourable discharge from his military service that was caused by the loss of his arm, James Barnes begins to come to terms with several things. He also finds solace in youtube videos, memes and social media, where he happens to find you. (angst, fluff, smut) (Modern!AU)

Pairing: Ex Military!Bucky Barnes x Plus Size Fem Reader

Masterlist

It Comes Back To Me (completed)

Can Bucky have you come back to him after he pushed you too far?

Pairing: Lawyer!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Part I // Part II

[sjsmith56]

The Capture, Chapter 19 - Eyes of the Father

Summary: Lacey and Tommy are kidnapped at gunpoint. The former Avengers reassemble to rescue her when they learn of her connection to Bucky and of her kidnapper.

Length: 4.8 K

Characters: Lacey, Tommy, Terry, Dan Jones, Bucky, Nick Fury, Sam, Clint.

Warnings: Contains graphic violent content resulting in death and critical injury.

Author notes: Everything from this chapter on is original content. This was written after FATWS but before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

<<Chapter 18

🏫 🏍️

Philadelphia

It had been eight months since they moved into Terry's penthouse apartment and Lacey was somewhat surprised they slipped so easily back into urban living.  Every day she and Terry walked Tommy to school, waiting until the bell rang and making sure he went inside.  Then they walked back, picking up a coffee from the coffee shop nearby and returning to the apartment.  Terry would leave for his university coaching job while Lacey would clean up, do some laundry, get the mail, then write for several hours.  In the mid-afternoon she walked to the school, waited for Tommy to come out, then together they would walk home.  If he had homework she sat with him at the dining room table checking her emails, or reading her fan mail, while he did his school work.  Then she would start supper.  They would eat, usually without Terry as the team had practice running from the late afternoon to early evening.  Games were on the weekend.  It was quiet and routine, which Lacey wanted at this point.

On this particular Friday she waited with the other moms and a few dads for their kids to come out of the school.  She had started talking with some of the parents, chit chatting about school, sports and other things parents talk about.  Someone brought up the new Captain America and Lacey smiled, happy for Sam to take on the mantle.  She knew Bucky was with him during the New York battle with the Flag Smashers as someone in the media had mentioned him.  When Tommy came out he had his back pack on and fell into step beside Lacey, telling her about his day. 

Two blocks away from the school a car with tinted windows suddenly pulled onto the sidewalk in front of them and Lacey grabbed Tommy to run back to the school.  They were blocked on that side by another car, also with tinted windows.  Several masked men stepped out, approaching them with guns drawn.  Tommy assumed the fighting stance from Bucky's genetic memory that he was born with.  When the first man advanced on him he ran at him kicking him in the chest hard enough to knock him to the ground where he delivered a punch to the throat that incapacitated the gunman.  He was ready to take on the second man when he heard his mother scream and turned to see what was happening to her.

"Run, Tommy!" she screamed.  "Run!"

"Give up or I put a bullet in your mother's head," said the masked man who held a handgun to Lacey's head. 

Another vehicle pulled up and several men wearing FBI bulletproof vests came out pointing their firearms at the masked men.  The one in charge, who Tommy recognized as Agent Jones, an occasional visitor to the apartment, pulled the boy behind him as he advanced on the man holding Lacey.

"Let the woman go," ordered Jones.  "I have a sniper with a rifle trained on you.  He'll put a bullet in your brain well before you can pull that trigger."

"Your sniper has already been taken care of," replied the masked man, confidently.  "Contact him on your comms if you don't believe me."

Jones grimaced and called his sniper but there was no response.  He still held his gun on the masked man.  "Let her go," he said firmly.  "You're not getting her or the boy."

"Think again," replied the gunman.  "Boss?"

Jones heard the shots just before he felt the armour piercing bullet hit him in the chest.  He staggered back and fell, looking at his men as they fell to the sidewalk, also hit by armour piercing bullets.  He put his hand out to Tommy who was obviously in shock then Jones watched helplessly as the boy was swept up by one of the masked men.  As Jones struggled to get off the ground and shoot out the tires of the cars he heard another shot and was hit again, this time in the shoulder.  Before he lost consciousness he saw Lacey being put into one car and Tommy into the other.  Both cars leisurely pulled away leaving him and his four agents bleeding out on the ground.

When he woke up the following morning it was with a tube down his throat, an IV in his arm, and all sorts of sensors attached to his body.  He moaned and several familiar faces appeared in his view; Nick Fury, Clint Barton, and Bucky Barnes.  He looked past Bucky, recognizing the new Captain America, Sam Wilson, to Bucky's right. 

"Agent Jones, how many men?" asked Fury, appearing directly over him.  "How many vehicles?"

Jones thought for a moment and focussed his energy on his hands and fingers.  Slowly he held up eight fingers, then changed it to two.

"Masked?"

He nodded.  Using military sign language he signed that there were several snipers. 

"They used armour piercing bullets on you," said Fury.  "You lost three men, including your sniper.  I'm sorry.  You're the first to wake up." 

Reaching out with his hand Jones gripped Bucky's arm and stared at him, trying to show his regret at failing to protect Lacey and Tommy.

"You did your best," said Bucky, his face showing compassion.  "I don't blame you.  You were outgunned.  They made sure they got what they came for.  We'll take it from here."

Jones grimaced and nodded as Bucky patted him on the arm.  The four of them went out into the hallway.  Fury looked at the three others with determination. 

"Well, it looks like Sharon Carter decided to strike hard and fast.  SHIELD has been looking for her since just before the Blip ended.  They didn't know she was the Power Broker, as they thought she was still working for the CIA.  You two didn't know about her trying to take Lacey and Tommy at the farm during the Blip when she helped you with the Flag Smashers.  If you had we could have taken her then.  That's on me."

"We should have figured out she was the Power Broker," said Sam.  "Everything she did for us was just in time.  She even killed some of her own people so we would think she was on the level."

Bucky said nothing but stood brooding for some time.  "She needed Lacey to get Tommy," he stated.  "Once she has him she can keep him sedated and take his blood whenever she wants.  I'm going to hope she doesn't have a memory suppressing machine.  Considering he easily took down one of her men she may want to keep him and turn him into an enforcer."

"Or sell him to the highest bidder," added Clint.  "When I killed a lot of the criminal kingpins it left a void.  There's a lot of competition among those who reappeared to take over the gangs and cartels.  They could indoctrinate him with violence and drugs, like child soldiers, then turn him into their killer.  Sorry, Bucky."

"Don't be," said Bucky.  "It's a valid assessment."

"Has the CIA given you any information on her whereabouts?" Sam asked Fury.

"No.  They've disavowed her," he answered, "but I wouldn't be surprised if they had an idea where she is.  They weren't happy you got a conditional pardon, Barnes.  It messed up their plausible deniability defence at your hearings when your lawyer pulled out the decrypted HYDRA files proving they knew about your captivity all along.  Sam's activities on behalf of Isaiah Bradley made them even more culpable.  Just so you know, I didn't have that level of clearance when I was with the CIA.  I didn't know you were one of ours and I didn't know about him."

Bucky nodded in acknowledgement.  "Who else can we pull into a rescue team?" he asked.  "I'm assuming you want to be in on it, Clint."

"Damn right, I do," replied Clint.  "We can get Scott, his girlfriend Hope, Peter Parker ... he's Spider-Man.  Kate Bishop is ready for action.  I may be able to talk to Natasha's sister, Yelena.  Since she stopped trying to kill me she might be useful.  I think if you ask King T'Challa he might help.  Maybe send us some of his warriors.”

"That might be pushing it," replied Bucky.  "I kind of helped Zemo break out of prison for him to help us with the Flag Smashers.  Ayo told me to stay away from Wakanda for a while."

"That was you?" grinned Barton.  "I'm impressed.  I would still ask.  What about John Walker?"  Bucky and Sam both grimaced.  "Touchy subject?  I thought he did help with the Flag Smashers in New York."

"He did," agreed Sam.  "He's ... on the edge.  Let's put it that way.  He lets the end justify the means and he did go too far with the one Flag Smasher."

"I'll approach him," said Bucky.  "We may need him, as much I don't want to ask for his help."

"I'll talk to Colonel Rhodes," said Sam.  "I'm sure he will want to be in on this."

"We'll meet tomorrow at the compound," said Fury.  "We have one building usable that houses living quarters, meeting rooms and a canteen.  It's a start."

As they stepped out of the hospital Bucky saw Terry Williams waiting for him.  Sam and Clint came with him while Fury got into a black SUV that was waiting for him.

"They wouldn't let me in to see Dan," said Terry.  "Is he okay?"

"He's awake and was able to tell us a few things," said Clint.  "He'll be alright.  We're going to find them, Terry.  We're assembling a team and will start planning tomorrow."

"I received a phone message about an hour ago," said Terry.  "It's meant for you but they sent it to me, probably to make me talk you into not looking for them."

He brought up the phone message and handed it to Bucky who took in a sudden breath then handed it to the other two men.  It was a picture of Sharon with Lacey and Tommy.  She had a memory suppressing machine and Lacey was in it.  The text message was succinct.

>>I found my chemist.  I'm wiping Lacey's memory and selling her.  The boy is mine.<<

Bucky took the phone back and sent the picture to himself then handed the phone back to Terry.  Another thought occurred to the super soldier.

"Can they track where this picture came from?" he asked Clint. 

"It's possible," said Clint.  "We would need the phone for an IT specialist to analyze.  You think it will give a location of Carter?"

"That's my thinking," said Bucky.  "It will likely be in the same place where her lab is.  Terry, I want your phone."

"Then I have to come with you," said Terry.  "I want to help."

"It's not a good idea," said Clint, gently.  "We're assembling a team that will use deadly force if they have to.  No offence, but you're a civilian."

"She's my sister and he's my nephew and I've been responsible for them for over 5 years," he replied.  "I can't go back to my home and wait by the phone helplessly.  Please, even if it's just keeping your coffee cups filled, let me come with you."

"Okay," agreed Bucky.  "You do everything I tell you without arguing.  Understood?"

Terry nodded.  They went back to his apartment to use as a base and contact everyone they had discussed.   Before midnight they had a team and everyone agreed to meet at the compound the following day.  They were unable to get a location on John Walker and Bucky left, telling them he had an idea how to find the man.  He promised to meet the others at the compound if they would bring his go bag.  As he left the building he opened his cell phone and looked up a contact.  For some time he stared at it, wondering if he really wanted to call in the debt this person owed him.  Then he made the call to the man who had been an assassin for the mob.  Bucky prevented him from being shanked while they were both in lock up, receiving a marker for his efforts.

"Marco, it's Bucky," he said.  "You meant what you said about being in my debt?  I need to find someone, tonight if possible, tomorrow at the latest."  He listened to the man on the other end of the phone.  "No, I don't want him hurt or anything.  Just a location.  I need him for a job." The man on the other end said something else that made Bucky smile.  "No, not a bank job.  A rescue.  Someone took my son and his mother.  I want to get them back.  If I could I would ask for your help but I'm using legitimate players on this.  I just can't get hold of this guy and I need him."

Bucky hung up and began running to the train station.  Where ever John Walker was he needed to get to him as soon as possible.  By the time he reached the station Marco had a location for him and Bucky thanked him, saying the debt was paid.  Marco extended an invitation to work for the mob but Bucky declined, thanking him for the opportunity.  Then he bought a ticket to New York and began the 90 minute ride between the two cities.  While he sat in his seat he pulled up the picture of Lacey.  Enlarging the image of her he noticed the tell tale red mark above and below her left eye.  They had already put her through at least one round of the machine.  He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and seriously considered breaking his vow of not killing anymore.  Then he enlarged the part of the picture that showed Tommy, cringing slightly at how scared he was.  He began looking at other parts of the picture to see if there was a clue of any kind.  There was a throwaway coffee cup that he enlarged enough to discern a logo on it.  With a sense of satisfaction he recognized it was from the coffee kiosk where he met Agent Jones in New York several months before.  The machine was somewhere in that vicinity and so were Lacey and Tommy.  He texted his deduction and the picture to Nick Fury, leaving it to him to try to find the exact location.

When he got off the train he looked at the address Marco gave him for John Walker.  Just on the address alone it was fancy digs for a guy who had been kicked out of the military with no benefits.  He obviously had a new employer if he could afford to live in the heart of Manhattan.  Bucky went to the front door of the building, noticing it had a night doorman.  He could take him out but that would mean hurting him and Dr. Raynor's insistence on the three rules still stuck with him.  No one who didn't deserve it would be hurt by him.  Instead, he went for a walk around the building.  Places this nice usually had a second entrance for staff, workers, and deliveries.  At the back he found the ramp into the parking garage and looked at the control panel, remembering he had bypassed ones just like it when he was the Soldier.  Pulling the panel off he located a couple of wires, disconnected them, and reconnected them together, raising the ramp door.  Quickly he went down the ramp, through the door then to a service elevator.  It didn't need a pass card and he pressed the button for the floor where John Walker and his wife lived.  When it arrived he made his way to the suite number and looked at the lock.  He could knock but Walker might not open it if he saw Bucky through the security peephole.  Normally he would use blunt force for it but he didn't want to alert anyone if he could avoid it.  He didn't have any lock picking tools so that was out.  As he paced up and down the hallway he noticed the fire alarm.  It would get everyone up and out of the building but he could get Walker on his own first.  Reaching out he pulled the lever and the klaxon sounded to evacuate the building.  Waiting as people came out of their apartments in their nightclothes he watched the Walker's door carefully from an alcove across the hall.  As soon as it opened he ran over and pushed both Walker and his wife back into the apartment.

"Bucky?" exclaimed Walker.  "What the hell, man!"

"It's a false alarm," said Bucky.  "I needed to talk to you but you aren't exactly listed in the phone book. The fire alarm was plan B."

"You know this guy?" asked his wife, angry at the intrusion.

"Yeah," replied Walker.  "Olivia, this is Bucky Barnes.  What the hell is so important that you had to set off a fire alarm in my building?"

"I need your help," said Bucky.  "Sharon Carter, who helped us with the Flag Smashers; turns out she's the Power Broker and she took my son, and his mother."

"You have a son?" asked Walker incredulously.  "Why does she want your son?"

"Because the super soldier abilities I have were passed on to him," said Bucky.  "She can make new serum using his blood.  She has a memory suppression machine as well and can use it to make super soldiers that obey her every command.  She's already used it on Lacey, my son's mother.  Then she plans to sell her off to someone."

He showed them the picture that he copied from Terry's phone.  They both looked at it without comment.

"Why should I help you?" demanded Walker.  "I have a contract with a private employer and it doesn't involve dealing with you."

Bucky sighed then looked at Olivia.  "Because she may come after your child sometime," he said.  "I'm pretty sure if you and your wife start having children they'll have the super soldier abilities as well.  If you came to me for help I wouldn't hesitate."

Olivia looked at her husband in a panic then instinctively touched her abdomen.  She was already pregnant.  Walker looked up in frustration then at his wife when she touched his arm.

"You have to help him," she said.  "He's just a kid.  You came up against traffickers in Afghanistan and said they were filthy animals.  You can't let them have Lacey either."

Walker let out a short angry breath.  "Okay, I'm in," he said curtly.  "What's the plan?"

"Meet at the Avengers compound upstate," replied Bucky.  "Today, as soon as you can get there after sunrise.  Bring your uniform and your weapons."

Walker nodded his assent then they all went to the door and joined the exodus of people evacuating down the stairs.  When they got to the bottom Bucky disappeared into the night and Walker put his arm protectively around Olivia.

"Val isn't going to like this," he said.

"She doesn't need to know," replied Olivia, then she looked up at her husband.  "This is the right thing to do, John."

Once Bucky was safely away from the building he ran to a self storage facility in Brooklyn.  Even though he mostly stayed in Delacroix with Sam and his family he had moved his possessions from his Brooklyn flat into a small storage unit, not wanting to move them until he was sure he was staying in one place.  Lifting up the steel door sounded disturbingly loud but he didn't stop until it was completely open.  Then he turned on the light and began looking for the tools of his trade.  In the weeks since they fought the Flag Smashers things had been quiet so he hadn't needed his weapons.  Now, he needed several and he brought the satchel out.  Pulling a canvas off of a hidden object revealed a motor bike, a Kawasaki Versys 650, which he picked up at a very reasonable price.  He barely rode it since buying it but he needed a way to get to the compound.  Grasping the handle bars he walked the motor bike out to the corridor.  Going back inside he found another bag with a leather jacket and motorcycle helmet, put them both on, and slung the weapons satchel cross wise over his body.  Finally he pulled down the steel door and locked it.  He walked the motor bike outside, mounted it, and turned the key, its motor springing to life right away.  As soon as he got it up to speed a grin spread across his face as its powerful but smooth roar reached his ears.  Checking for police or speed traps he let it out and got it up to 150 mph before bringing it back down to the speed limit.  It was definitely a motorcycle he would enjoy riding.  Just over an hour later he pulled up to the construction site that covered most of the Avengers compound.  An MP waved him over and Bucky pulled up then took his helmet off.

"Your name, sir?" asked the MP.

"Bucky Barnes," he replied, then added his rank.  "Sergeant.  There's supposed to be a John Walker on the list.  Can you confirm that?"

The MP looked at his clipboard.  "Yes, Sarge, he's on the list but hasn't checked in yet. Go straight and take the second turn right.  Your destination will be on the left.  You're the first one here, other than Director Fury."

"There is another man who might not be on the list," stated Bucky.  "Terry Williams.  He is the brother of the abducted woman and uncle to the boy.  I can vouch for him."

"He's on the list as well," said the MP.  "I believe Clint Barton called it in to include him on the briefings."

Bucky nodded, put his helmet back on and followed the directions.  The building looked new but it was still surrounded by the wreckage of Thano's attack.  Another MP guided him in to a parking stall.

"Sergeant Barnes," he verified.  "If you go through those doors another MP will assign you your quarters.  If you have weapons in your bag, there is a secure storage area inside for you to keep them."

Bucky thanked him and walked inside carrying his helmet in his arm.  The MP checked the contents of his bag and radioed for an escort to show him the weapons storage then his quarters.  An army private arrived to lead Bucky to the weapons storage area which was basically a locker that used an iris scan to open and close it.  Then he followed the private to his quarters, dropping his helmet and jacket onto the table.  The canteen wasn't open yet so Bucky laid on the bed and closed his eyes, hoping to catch some sleep before the others arrived.  A knock on his door awakened him a couple of hours later and he opened it to Sam carrying his go bag.

"How long have you been here?" asked Sam.

"Well before sunrise," replied Bucky.  "I found Walker.  He said he was in.  His wife is pregnant so I think he understands the necessity of keeping the kids safe.  His wife also brought up his experiences with human traffickers in Afghanistan."

"Good," said Sam.  "Canteen is open, if you're up for some breakfast.  Is that your motorcycle outside?"

"Yeah, first time out with it," replied Bucky.  "Took it up to 150 mph in no time."

"Nice," said Sam, smiling broadly.  "Oh, just so you know, we have three Dora Milaje here.  They volunteered.  Ayo is one of them."

"Nice," replied Bucky, also smiling.  "She's a good soldier."

He changed his shirt and walked with Sam to the canteen.  It was more like a mess hall as both of them came away with a full tray of food, coffee and orange juice.  As he turned to the seating area a hand went up and he saw Clint and Terry.  Also sitting with them were Peter Parker, who he hadn't seen since the airport in Leipzig, and surprisingly to him, Lt. Torres.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Torres.

"I heard about your girlfriend and son," he replied.  "I've been working on the Falcon suit and trying it out.  I thought I could help."

"Thanks," said Bucky.  "I appreciate it."  He turned to Peter and offered his hand.  "Thanks for coming out, Peter.  Having experienced how effective your webs are I'm sure you'll make a difference."

"Sure, Mr. Barnes," Peter replied, shaking Bucky's hand.

"Bucky, please," he interrupted, smiling.  "Mr. Barnes was my dad."

Peter nodded and went back to eating his breakfast.  As they continued eating more people entered and he couldn't help but feel moved by those who showed up.  When John Walker strode in Bucky made a point of standing up and calling to him, understanding that in many ways Walker needed to feel like he was part of something good.  He introduced him to everyone and gave him his chair to sit on while he pulled another over.  Sam watched him with a small half smile on his face, understanding exactly what Bucky was doing.   

A dark-haired woman entered the canteen area.  Clint identified her as Maria Hill, Fury's right hand person.  She announced the briefing was about to begin and asked everyone assembled to follow her to the full briefing room.  At the front stood Fury, Rhodes, Thaddeus Ross, and two sorcerers, one who Bucky recognized as Dr. Strange.  The other sorcerer was an Asian man but Bucky didn't know his name.  When Fury put his hand up the whole room went silent.

"It would appear that the rumours of the demise of the Avengers isn't true," he said.  "There was a feeling from people with a higher pay grade than myself that there was no need for our organization, at least not in the format it had been."  He gave some serious side-eye to Ross.  "With the rise of the Flag Smashers and now the kidnapping of Lacey Chapman and her son Tommy, nothing could be further from the truth.  Three FBI agents died trying to prevent the kidnapping.  Three seriously injured.  For those of you who don't know Tommy is the son of Bucky Barnes and he has inherited his father's abilities."  There were several murmurs from the crowd.  "One of our own, Sharon Carter, has turned to the dark side and is behind the kidnapping.  She is now known by her current alias, the Power Broker, a powerful criminal overlord in Madripoor."

"Didn't she just get reinstated by the CIA?" asked Torres.

"Yes," replied Fury.  "That's before we realized her criminal alias.  We had been looking for her but never made the connection.  She has been disavowed by the CIA now that they are aware of her true identity.  She was behind the serum used by the Flag Smashers to become super soldiers and we believe she has plans to use Tommy Chapman's blood to create more serum.  Gentlemen, and ladies, we need to stop Miss Carter, and rescue Lacey Chapman and her son.  Those are our missions."

He let the news percolate and looked at Thaddeus Ross who put his hand up for silence.

"I know my presence here doesn't fill you with confidence," he said.  "Mistakes were made.  Serious mistakes that blamed certain innocent people for things they didn't do.  It also caused other people who were doing what they thought was morally right to be arrested and imprisoned unjustly.  I'm here to tell you the Sokovia Accords have been revoked completely.  After Thanos it was recognized that an organization like the Avengers needs its autonomy to take up the fights that need fighting without waiting for approval by slow moving bureaucracies.  Cap, Barnes, and Walker proved with their work on the Flag Smashers that the rules of engagement can't always be followed especially when your opponent doesn't follow or respect those same rules.  That doesn't mean you sink to their level.  It means you use appropriate force to defeat your opponent.  It also means the kidnapping of two people is as important as a threat against many people.  Whatever you need to do to succeed in this mission will be provided to you.  Good luck."

Bucky looked at Sam.  It appeared they both had just received an apology for how they had been treated in the past.  Whatever they did now was their decision and under their control.  This fight had meaning not just for them but for everyone who had stepped up and they would make it count.

Chapter 20>>

Series Masterlist

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[violet-moonstone]

the MCU's rhetoric about political resistance/change is often so insidious. the only time we see people who want to change the status quo, theyre destructive and often incapable of feeling compassion for anyone outside of the group theyre fighting for. so the only two options are siding with the cruel antagonist who wants real change and the heroes who will make small concessions so that the audience feels good but ultimately they uphold the harmful status quo. I'm not saying this doesn't happen in real life, but when a trope pretty much becomes the default, you start to see the writer's political messages coming out. ESPECIALLY when the primary threat comes from exploited working class people/oppressed minorities and not the colonialist powers and corporations that put them in that position.

sidenote: when i watched black panther 2 and realized that the primary conflict was going to be black people fighting indigenous people and that western hegemony and exploitation of resources was just a side plot, I immediately lost all hope for that film. I loved the music, the visuals and the fight scenes, but the writing?? i was so disappointed. All the dissatisfaction I felt from Black Panther 1 came flooding back. Before they were pitting us against each other, this time it was against another oppressed group...hhhhhhh. anyway jokes on me for expecting different. I really just need to read The Deep (and if its anything like the song its based on, its probably much better executed than wakanda forever).

anyway, yes, the audience has the freedom to see things with nuance but i dont think most people will (because "its just a fun superhero move, why are you taking it so seriously?"), and I dont think the writers want them to - otherwise they'd start including more nuanced characters rather than villains who we are shown have to be defeated for the greater good, no matter how valid their arguments may be. and I understand that the vast majority of people are not watching superhero movies looking for nuance and depth but thats all the more reason why so much of the MCU's writing is concerning. Every time we're faced with a troubling political/ecological debate, the conclusion is that whoever tried to change things was in the wrong, and we'll make a small concession at the end so everyone feels somewhat satisfied and doesn't really have to confront any uncomfortable implications.

ex: infinity war shows us Thanos' eco fascism as the main (and only?) criticism of the overconsumption of resources. I may be wrong but I don't remember anyone talking about sustainability as vital solution or anything...and in FATWS the conversation is STILL about the pros and cons of the Snap - not anything to do with sustainability...because that would require the audience to be confronted with real life political implications that are bit too close to home. Even to have one or a few characters suggest an alternative and for Thanos to shoot it down because he doesn't trust people to be sustainable, and because he truly thinks killing people is the best possible plan (which makes no sense btw because it implies that all species are overpopulated at the same and that every single species in the universe consumes resources in the same way..they made movie!Thanos *seem* so intelligent but his thought process literally makes no sense. and fans bend over backwards to justify it because "hes the mad titan" even though you clearly cant use that defense based on the way he's written in the film. The writers clearly want us to see him as rational but cruel...anyway its not 2018 so let me stop beating the dead horse of this tired topic)

basically, theres rarely (if ever) a middle between the two extremes, because theres no room for that. There has to be a good guy and a bad guy...perhaps a well intentioned and misguided bad guy, but ultimately still a bad guy. The options are: pretty much nothing but minor things change and the problem still exists OR everything changes but it would require the violent villain getting their way and killing innocent people in the process.

anyway thank god for the spiderverse , which actually does the opposite (and thank god spiderverse is not directly part of the MCU and the writers actually have something to say). I think the loki show may be doing something similar but im not caught up so idk. loki to me feels like spiderverse but with less narrative cohesion

[therese-lokidottir]

Okey, I know that you no want do anything with loki season 2 but I want opinion

Okey, after tva get 'destroy' all workers sending back to their timeline and they life in a live that before tva and they personalities are different, I am sorry but what??!! so they just getting free card and justify 'they been brainwashed ' yeah but they still can choose. Oh my God, that is the worst ever, no one calling out them then they just free card consequences after all genocide they did

And they keep blame bicky that literally not have control of his own actions. Is that called justice and fairness?

I never need the people in the tva to be punished. I just wanted them to be called out. Part of them were willing to do this, look down on others, kill trillions and act proud of. My criticism was everyone in the TVA showed why too much freedom of thought for the brainwashed excuse to work as any kind of valid excuse. Especially, after Mobius clearly displayed cruelty that wasn't required by the job. I just wanted the narrative to acknowledge the people in the TVA were wrong and were fine with doing horrible things when it suited them. But they never once did. It treats the members like poor innocent people who were tricked into fascism. It's okay because they thought they had a good reason to pull people from their homes, strip them and collar them like animals, people that included children.

It's terrible because the series keep insisting Loki is just inherently. Made worse when FatWS director claims Bucky has to make amends and can't hide behind his lack of control. Made even worse when Natasha dies with her guilt and sacrificed herself to wipe the red of her leger. I hate how so many characters who had no control over their situation are constantly blamed for it, while the TVA get an easy excuse. I'll remember of in AoS the framework arc nearly broke Fitz knowing the person he could have been and how interesting that was from a character standpoint. Meanwhile Mobius even after learning he was wrong tries justifying himself to the woman he knows was victimized sense a child.

I don't care if some presses the undo button, because the tva members weren't treated as wrong while they were actively committing atrocities. Of course, the show just lets them all retire to Argentina. The fact the show is giving them the choice between live a normal life or keep being a time nazi is the most messed up thing. Why is marvel so desperate to keep the TVA?

[therollingstonys]

Hi hi, would you tell us your favorite thing about the Bound To You verse?

I really love a lot about it, but I’m curious what the author(s) like about it most! <3

Anon I am kissing you on the mouth for this ask!! MWAH 💋💋💋

I’ll let @riotwritesthings speak about what she likes about writing BTY, but as for me, I think first and foremost is that I get to write a story I love with my best friend. I am so grateful that I get to be friends with Riot and work on this incredible story that we’re both so passionate about, it’s truly a joyful experience!!

Secondly, I love that in writing this story I’ve gotten the chance to change Bucky’s story a little and give him the opportunity to heal on his own in his own way without having to “make amends” (side eyeing that whole steaming pile of shit from FATWS real hard). As a mental health professional that was a very poor representation of how a therapist should be, even with a client mandated to your services, so I really wanted to address that for Bucky and take the opportunity to demonstrate good mental health practices by qualified and caring people.

Thirdly, as a domme I wanted to write a story that is BDSM and D/S but utilize a less common side of it which is gentle domination and non sexual submission. This has been something that’s really important to me to share with people because it’s very underrepresented in stories, and while I wouldn’t ever tell someone to use a story as a guide for their own kink practices, I do want to show something that people might not have seen before!

The number of comments that Riot and I have gotten on this topic from people who feel seen because this is the type of kink they engage in but have never seen in fic before is truly humbling and rewarding.

Finally, though I could go on forever about my favorite things, I’ll say that one of my favorite things about writing BTY is the way that it’s made me a better and more creative author. This story pushes me to be nuanced, to engage in paced storytelling that is true to the characters and their trauma, and to think critically about who these people are and what their needs are within the story.

I truly hope that everyone enjoys this story as much as we enjoy writing it, because we have so much left to tell and I can’t wait to share it all with you ♥️♥️♥️

[gay-jewish-bucky]

"they better not ruin Bucky Barnes"

my bestie in fandom, that ship sailed with the first episode of fatws

[amarriageoftrueminds]

I wish CACW was better at showing Bucky's agency + not treating him like dangerous damaged goods. he had /years/ living as a perfectly kind and safe neighbor, but the MCU treats him like a threat to freeze/contain. he shoulda had a moment of resisting the code words by himself and beating Zemo so he can get a "win". The last conflict didn't hinge on the codewords anyways, & even after being "cleared" of them the MCU still acts like he's a threat. he shouldn't've been written as defined by them

God that film really was just a pile of dross for so many peoples’ characterisation. 

The fact they have quite literally fridged Bucky twice (to get that pesky gay out of the way) and have thrown away a chance to depict an interesting character just to make him a macguffin, is no doubt lost on their brilliant writing duo. 🙄 

It’s straight up shoddy writing to introduce a Chekhov’s Gun in Act 1 that is not even present in Act 3. Basic, high school level, bad writing. 

Tbh, I don’t like the idea of mind-control words at all. They are a retcon. 

CATWS showed that Bucky’s brain damage was the reason why he was compliant, not brainwashing (it reduced him to a child-like understanding which made the brainwashing possible). And it also showed him questioning and resistant to Hydra’s logic, so they had to re brain damage him (’wipe’ him) between missions. 

So CACW erased the fact that it was Bucky’s own nascent personality that was the biggest impediment to the WS program. 

I think they think him killing the Starks had to be ‘justified’ by something more than just a brain-damaged man being handed a gun, told he’s protecting the world, and told to shoot. 

(As well as skipping blithely over the highly suspicious fact that Howard Stark, friend of Arnim Zola, with Winter Soldier serum in his trunk, disorientated from a head injury, blood in his eyes, looked up at a suspiciously-unmasked Winter Soldier, a cyborg, with long hair in his face, on a dark street, 50 years after he was supposed to have died, and said ‘...Sergeant Barnes’ with not only a tone of wry resignation but with absolutely no trace of surprise in his voice!) 

While we’re on the subject... why the fuck is a sniper being used to fake car crashes?? 

Literally any non-superpowered person could do that. 

If Hydra has the power to cover up murders, then they have the power to cover up bullet wounds; there’s no reason to stage accidents! 

What has been really pissing me off lately about CACW, though, is what I’ve realised they did to Sam’s characterisation in that film. 

Not only did they tank his personality from CATWS... 

(He’s gone from ‘guy who is gregarious and friendly to strangers’ to ‘guy who’s only nice to rich white guys and has a pissy attitude to everyone else’. From ‘guy who is specifically framed as remarkable, like CATFA Bucky, for being magnanimous in defeat by a supersoldier and not envious of Steve, like Rumlow’ to ‘guy who cannot hide his jealousy and is obviously bitter about it when supersoldiers like Bucky and T’Challa beat him in a fight.’ 

From ‘guy who has immediate empathy for struggling vets because he’s a counselor’, to ‘guy who would be hostile to the most struggling and in-need-of-help vet in the MCU’, even though he has supposedly just spent two years of his life helping Steve look for the guy... 

Making him nevertheless hostile and suspicious of Bucky just for LOLs means that Sam has either been doing something he strongly disagrees with for two years, just because Captain America Says, or he has been lying about wanting to help Steve bring Bucky in all along?? 

And, if they’re both suspicious of Bucky still (I mean, that just tells you how bad the characterisation is, that Steve would be saying ‘which Bucky am I talking to?’ and ‘I need you to do better’ Who the fuck is this guy??) 

How the hell does it make sense that Sam and Steve have been looking for Bucky for two years, and meanwhile fighting / looking into Hydra, but haven’t managed to uncover the facts about Bucky being tortured, brain damaged, brain washed and therefore definitely not being to blame? Ditto Natasha?

Are they stupid?

This question also applies to how Tony, obsessed with his dad, finds out his dad’s organisation was actually Hydra, but doesn’t bother to look into Hydra files about it, for two years?? 

Is he stupid?) 

They also gave Sam nothing but shit things to do in that movie. 

Not only are he and Nat (y’know, the only two people who immediately pledged to help Steve in his quest to find Bucky) the ones now trying to persuade Steve to let Bucky get taken (when they’ve already been told that people intend to kill him on sight? so they’re willing to throw away his life and the last two years of their own lives??) 

Sam is also given the shit plot beats of: 

Being rude to T’Challa, having Nat saying she turned up at a funeral because she didn’t want Steve to be alone when Sam was there with him the whole time (are black people invisible now? shit, he really is just like Bucky!), being talked to dismissively by Sharon (’bird costume?’), being blamed for Rhodey’s injury (the only other black Avenger! injured to... give Tony mangst?), failing to catch Zemo when he flees, and being the one to give away Steve and Bucky’s location to Tony (why is he forgiving the rich white dude who shot him in a temper tantrum?? Fuck him!) 

(Since I don’t think Sam would be stupid enough to tell Tony where the location of his parents’ killer is if he knew about it, this means that, if Steve  and Nat suspected TWS might have killed the Starks, they did not choose to share that information with Sam over the two years. I wonder, was Sam actually not intended to be part of that quest, in an earlier draft?) 

Also, while he’s in the Raft prison -- this is maybe the worst bit, imo -- they’ve got Sam trying to goad Tony into using police brutality on him, while making a joke about it? 

So they’ve said ‘police brutality happens because of things a black man said.’ 

Seriously? I’m amazed nobody ever talks about this!

And this is the characterisation they went with for FATWS too (by ignoring IF, BP and EG, just because they wanted to regress Sam and Bucky). 

In CACW they’ve given Sam such shit to do that if you cut him out of the movie things would actually have ended better for Bucky and Steve. That is not true to the character we met in CATWS who improved Steve’s lot and made the final battle’s outcome better.

[tealisa]

feels like some marvel fans took the criticism of the franchise+fans reducing Black characters to serve white chara's stories/reducing/degrading them into sidekicks/"XYZ is a Good Bro"/"therapist-ing"/etc & completely didn't absorb the actual meaning of the critiques and just decided that doing that to Black personages is fine when they make it a part of an interracial ship (with a white person)

like the way Black folks' critiques of the portrayal of Sam Wilson (both in comics + live action + fanworks) just does not get soaked up at all by marvel stans and instead they argue over which white person to make him an accessory to (Steve or Bucky or even Sharon/Nat). All while ignoring the one Black woman in the cap franchise (Misty Knight) who Sam's actually connected to like that and instead put on the misogynoir and treat the one(1) BW like an inconvenience (both by fans and sometimes even official material that they quote/mine for evidence to back up their misogynoir)

the singular Black woman gets treated w/o a single thought in the quest to decide which white character gets to declare Sam the Black Best Friend and/or interracial ship material. And these fans don't put on those goggles so much that they don't realize that Sam in canon isn't attached to those white ppl like that on the contrary they often ignore the antagonism in canon to instead drown in fanon

the only exception rlly is Sam's earliest comics during that (very poorly aged) era of marvel where he was truly treated like nothing but a sidekick to a white man, but for fans to ignore all Black folks' critique over the years of the racist writing in those comics to instead view the same writing as "ship material" is so strange to me & it rlly shows how much interracial esp w white prsnjs repeat racist ideas

the type of content and "interpretations" they put out, you can tell that these fans don't listen/care what Black folks' sentiments are on these portrayals of Black prsnjs in Marvel. they didn't see how much flack 2011-2019 MCU got for their token Black sidekicks to white men (with T'Challa being the only exception, there's a reason why every1 treated him like the 1st Black hero)

no wonder back in 2021 I saw a lot of these same fans get mad/annoyed when Black writers/non-stan accounts in general critiqued the terrible racial politics of the tfatws show. back then these same fans that seem to view Sam as interracial ship material got upset at Black folks "bashing" "Sam's show" when they pointed out the respectability politics and assimilationist and imperialist apologist politics.

they didn't get why Black folks critiqued the portrayal of Isaiah Bradley as a "bitter" Black man whose suffering at the hands of America get waived away by putting a statue of him in the Captain America museum. they were too busy pretending like they got a whole show dedicated to an interracial ship (even tho there where no shippy moments in it), and then got confused when the actors and directors expressed distaste at the ship + when the ship got "broken" up by having the characters be antagonist (just like they were in the show and b4 fatws too)

so many fans don't actually pay attention to Sam's canon portrayal bc they're too busy being weird abt interracial ships that they don't even understand the politics of the portrayal and why they get critiqued

then again, fans of a franchise named Captain America having a poor understanding of politics at best is not surprising, esp when finding half-not-horrible politics in that franchise is like searching for water in the desert, but it's funny (in a bad way) seeing ppl unironically repeat "Cap represents the good version of the US" + be weird abt the Blk prsnjs + be misogynoiristic at the one(1) BW + get confused at IRL Blck folks' criticisms abt the concept of cap... like wow, the propaganda really did a number on these people

I feel like this is the time to tell you I really don't read that much Cap comics (at least not yet, I really plan on checking out Sam's appearances later); my knowledge of these characters come from their appearances in Avengers books and the Brubaker run post Civil War. That said, go off (and I feel like I know exactly which posts you're referring to; but I didn't know to what extent they were representative of this problem -- cause I'm not on that side of marvel fandom). And I do think this tendency to sideline black female characters comes from the rooted mysogynoir present in today's societies, cause I myself can be blamed for doing that once or twice -- and I'm a black lesbian!!! But yes fandoms, SPECIALLY superhero fandoms and SPECIALLY marvel fandoms have such a huge gross tendencies to ignoring racism and mysogynoir and outright attacking black fans when we call it out. I've lost count of how many times I've said "hey btw Emma Frost is a character written to perform mysogynoir and it makes black women uncomfortable to see fans and creators approach her uncritically" and people at best blocked me or called me crazy or other insults at worst. It's why I'm trying the most to keep my bubble only amongst woc and my friends who I know are real allies.

P.S.: As a lit / language student engaged w/ activist movements it physically hurts me seeing the poor media literacy these people have and seeing them acting like they know what real political thinking and activism is because they read some mid comics written by white liberals who either also have no clue what activism and leftist thinking is, or are outright cops or worse

[logicalstansadvice]

We've been doing this for 10 years, thinking he's finally going to get a story, and he never has. // Even if Bucky doesn’t get a lot of character development in Cap 4, it will be loads of fun to see him in film-budget-sized superpowered kickass action scenes again! But if the poster is any indication, his position directly behind Sam would indicate that he’s the secondary lead (like he turned out to be in FATWS) and should have way more screen time than in the previous Cap films.

Anon 2: So why oh why are some Sebastian fans thinking he is too big & will “waste time” doing a movie or more for them? / You misunderstood. We don't believe he is "too big" for MCU, it's just that they ruined Bucky as a character with their lack of imagination and creativity. It started good in CATWS, then gradually went to lame, TFATWS being the lamest. Yes, the way Bucky was transformed and mismanaged he's wasting time. They can as well recast the role if you want Bucky as a dull prop so much.

Anon 3: "If you lower your expectations, you don’t get disappointed." My expectations can go no lower lol. The only thing that will disappoint me is if he turns down a good role for Marvel. But I'm guessing he'll never let himself be in a position where he has to do that again.

Anon 4: He wasn’t good or bad, he just worked both sides to suit his own agenda. / That's true, but in Sharon's case, it was Sam who negotiated her pardon and she took the chance to further her deals, so at this point she's a villain, then after her reveal maybe she'll become an anti-hero if they don't kill her because they wasted the character potential a long time ago.

Anon 5: '"The gets exposure to potentially billions of people which helps him be able to do the smaller projects he wants. If sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Patrick Steward can have a minor role/cameo in Marvel movies, so can Sebastian stan 🙄" You keep missing the point. Hopkins and Stewart are at completely different points in their career. And he's maxed out his exposure unless they let Bucky stop doing silent films while everyone else gets cool quips and to beat him up.

Anon 6: "But Seb still gets his (multi million dollar) check" If he gets a multimillion dollar check, it's all good. He's gotten nowhere near that for most of his MCU appearances though.

The great thing about Cap 4 is that if you have zero interest in it, then it doesn’t need to take up space in your mind - it’s not like anyone’s going to force you to watch it.

And if you are interested but unsure, you can always wait for reviews from people (friends/family/critics/blogs) who you tend to have similar tastes with and see what they think.

Otherwise, the rest us will have our butts in a movie theatre seat whenever this premieres.

💄

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

What do you think about the police scene in FATWS?

Oh boy, I have mixed feelings about it.

I think it's a little bit too on the nose. I get what they were going for and it's great that they wanted to include it in the series, and things like this are always going to be criticized for not being perfect or not enough or whatever... on the other hand just adding this scene and then doing nothing with it it's kind of the problem. They just had those two police officers immediately doubt Sam because he's a black man so what was the intent behind it? To show how racist the cops are in America or use it as just a nod to that and then never address it again?

It feels slightly disappointing when they had shown Sam working for the military in ep1. Is Sam anti cop? Would he defend the attempts to defund the police? We don't know, my headcanon is that hell yes, he would totally be anti cop, but they never actually show him talking about it. If they had added that scene then had Sam actually fight against the system, against those who allow so many cops to be so blatantly racist against black men and women then it would have been better.

But it felt like they only wanted short scenes, enough to make the audience think this is about racism but then they didn't actually work on it. It's like the bank scene, it's fucked up in so many ways but in the end Sam and Sarah have the help of their people and that fucked up system that allowed the bank to basically ignore them is not changed, it keeps on going but Sam is happy because the boat is fixed. What about all the other black men and women who might need help from that bank? Better find neighbours who are willing to assist or they're doomed.

So yeah, while I like that a scene like that made it to the series I would have preferred something more to come out of it.