#which sets up the betrayal he feels in the winter soldier

[iam93percentstardust]

one of the things that really bothers me about modern franchises, and in particular over the last 5 years or so, is their refusal to commit. what i mean here when i say this is that it's not uncommon for a major franchise to make a decision, whether about the plot or the characters, that should have had huge, world-changing consequences... and then just never address that again or worse, immediately go back and undo it. and i'm gonna pick on star wars and the mcu here because those are the two big franchises i'm into at the moment (and i think they're kind of the worst at this), but i don't want you to walk away from this thinking that this is solely a disney thing. i've seen this happen with game of thrones and supernatural and plenty of other non-disney franchises. spoilers ahead, you've been warned:

in ant-man & the wasp quantumania, scott and hope make the life-altering decision to stay behind in the quantum realm and defeat kang instead of going through the portal to return to their world. this should have been a huge meta decision for the mcu, and when i first saw it in theaters, my immediate thought was wow, what is this going to mean for the mcu going forward? are we going to get a movie/miniseries about scott and hope helping to rebuild the quantum realm? how are cassie, janet, and hank going to react to the losses of their loved ones (in some cases, for the second time)? is cassie going to become the "first" young avenger because she has to take her father's place among the team lineup (and i only say first because as of this moment, none of the other young avengers introduced to the franchise are official avengers yet)? except nope, because less than 2 minutes later, cassie had fixed the portal that had broken way back at the beginning of the movie and brought scott and hope back.

and it felt like such a cheat. i was so disappointed in that theater, not as someone who was invested in these characters on a personal level (because yay, cassie gets her dad back!), but as someone who has spent years investing themselves in the story of the mcu. what was the point of wasting screentime on scott and hope accepting their new lives in the quantum realm if it was just going to immediately be undone? the entire scene could have been cut to scott and hope making it back bare seconds before the portal closed and it would have had the same emotional impact. there was nothing added by making scott and hope (and us) think that there was no way back only to rip the rug out from under us and go "gotcha! you really thought we were gonna give this movie a sad ending? haha! you're so dumb!"

and this isn't the first time the mcu has done this. one of the biggest complaints about endgame was the decision to set it five years in the future with no consideration for how that would actually change the setting of the mcu. characters were brought back to the exact place they disappeared from with no consideration for how things might have changed in the interim five years (like planes that weren't in the air anymore, buildings no longer standing, even just something as simple as a chair being unoccupied). and then the mcu didn't even really have the courage to address how this would have shaped the world other than a few jokes and making the bad guys in the falcon and the winter soldier people who cared about how the world had screwed them over during the blip.

and things like this happen over and over and over again. the accords are put into place in civil war, but by the time we get to she-hulk, they're gone with no explanation because, as best as i can tell, the writers didn't want to have to deal with the worldbuilding that went into the accords. gamora is killed in infinity war, but heaven forbid quill not have an emotional investment in a film he appears for maybe 10 minutes in so now she's back in endgame. steve got to go live in the past with his ex-girlfriend (which is in itself a refusal to commit after the mcu both gave her a different husband and had the woman herself tell him to move on) but we need to establish that messing with timelines is bad because that's what the entire next phase hinges on so actually his ending was predestined and it's only everyone else who can't change time. whoever took this entire town and also wanda hostage and forced them to live out a sitcom fantasy is bad and needs to be stopped but wait, it's actually wanda and she can't be the bad guy yet, we need her for doctor strange 2, so actually everyone's going to defend her now and say that no one else could ever possibly understand her grief. thor has decided to accept responsibility as king of asgard, but we can't use him for any more movies if he's stuck in asgard, so actually he's decided to pass it on to someone whose entire leadership capability is developed offscreen. i could list more examples but this is making me angry, so let's move on to star wars instead.

with star wars, i look at first the oft-quoted meme, "somehow palpatine has returned." yeah, i shouldn't really need to go into detail on how that counts as a refusal to commit but. the last jedi was a study in how johnson refused to commit to anything that abrams had laid down in the force awakens, but rise of skywalker was almost like abrams had looked at the franchise and said "screw you for taking it away from me, i'm going to come up with the most bullshit stuff just to spite you for doing that in the first place. and i'm going to start by undoing the most important plot point of the first trilogy: the emperor dies." and yeah, disney's kind of tried to salvage this by dropping hints into the bad batch and the mandalorian about cloning, but that only really works if you're watching the franchise chronologically and not considering that both of those series came out after rise of skywalker.

and then there's the mandalorian, my sweet summer child, who is, in my opinion, the worst at backtracking their plot points. i'm not entirely convinced that any of the higher ups for this show really knew what they were doing when they started working on it and i'm not convinced that they know what they're doing now. yeah, there's the tie-in to the last season of clone wars, but the mandalorian has managed to walk back pretty much every single major plot point it's had. din is this legendary warrior who can't be beat, but no one will watch this show if he defeats everyone too early, so he's constantly getting beat up (tbf, sometimes some of the fights he loses makes sense like the krayt dragon and the mudhorn, but a lot of them don't. at all). moff gideon is dead, no wait no he's not, now he's imprisoned, no wait no he's not, now he's definitely dead, you can totally believe us this time guys. grogu can use the force and must be placed with the jedi, but wait, the only person still actively teaching the way of the jedi is luke and all of his students will be brutally murdered ten years from now, and we can't have that, everyone will be mad at us for killing off such a cute character and no one will buy baby yoda dolls (and also we have to set up luke's character degradation from hopeful, believes-in-love cinnamon roll to "i'm going to kill my nephew") so in between seasons let's have grogu decide to go back to din (and don't even get me started on how frustrating it is that a casual mandalorian watcher also had to watch book of boba fett to understand why grogu is back). din has the darksaber now which makes him king of mandalore, that's totally going to be important and what the entire series has been building up to, right? wrong! he might have spent the first two seasons making connections, learning about the world outside his sheltered upbringing, and demonstrating the various qualities that would make for a good leader, but the entire third season will be about din realizing that actually he's super unworthy and the darksaber should actually go to someone who... saw an animal in the water.

and it's really, really frustrating as a viewer! because how am i supposed to get invested in any of these plot decisions when they almost always get reversed? why should i care that mj and ned have forgotten peter when ant-man 3 has shown me that they'll remember him the next time they're all on screen together? why should i care that tech is dead when half of the last season of clone wars was about how echo was actually alive? if none of these decisions have any permanence, then where are the emotional stakes? why should i watch your movie if all you're going to tell me is that nothing matters?

#and also i want to make a point that the early mcu did permanent stakes really well #iron man 1 ends with tony announcing that he's iron man and that's something that still resonated years later #the entire second film hinged on that one moment #loki falling into the bifrost is what leads him to the chitauri which is what kickstarted the avengers #steve is woken from the ice and the first organization who presents themselves as someone to trust is shield #which sets up the betrayal he feels in the winter soldier #these moments resonate throughout the first two stages and the decisions the characters made MATTERED #so you can't help but get invested because what if it's the wrong decision??? #anyway i'm frustrated with the state of franchises #alle talks #long post

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Infinity War I 🔥 | Dark Phoenix Series P.1

takes place during A:IW

Series Masterlist | Marvel Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Dr. Evelyn Alice Stark (OC)/Host of the Phoenix Force, Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch (platonic), Steve Rogers/ Captain America (platonic) Doctor Stephen Strange (implied romance), Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier (implied romance), Tony Stark (platonic/Newphew), Howard Stark (Platonic/brother), a lot of the marvel characters will be involved in this series.

Content Warnings: profanity, near death experience, slight canon divergence, angst, violence. | Female OC (she/her) | word count: 5k roughly

Premise: Two years after the Avengers were drawn apart due to the events of the superhero Civil War, Dr. Evelyn ‘Eve’ Stark finds herself struggling with the amount of pressure the world has put on her. Though she has the help of her nephew, Tony, Eve still fears of potential future threats. And when a glowing orange ring appears in her bedroom with a strange man telling her to go with him, Eve realizes her fears are about to become reality.

Note: So the way I have these chapters set will make them very long heads up. Which is why they may take a few days—maybe even a week to come out. This chapter is basically the first half of Infinity War (Tony’s scenes) and then in part two it will be the second half. That’s where the Phoenix Force will come in for what I have planned because like in the comics, the host of the Phoenix Force absorbs it so that is what I have planned for Eve. Make sure to let me know if you wanna be tagged in the tag list for notifications on chapters. And hopefully I don’t get shadow banned anytime soon. The past three months I was and it was a pain.

———————————-

2018

“Did you know?” Three words. Three words was all it took to shatter one’s world. To snap the already thin tightrope. While the truth was already in the air, the confession was needed. Her hand was clutching the nape of his suit, fingers trembling as the numbness already began to fill her.

“I didn’t know it was him.” Her hand tightened at the lie.

“Look me in the eyes, Steve Rogers,” the crack in her tone could not be hidden. “After everything—everything I have done for you, you don’t get to bullshit me now. Did. You Know?”

Steve could no longer stray away from the truth. Staring into Evelyn Stark’s eyes, his best friend since 1942, he muttered the one word that would shred the final bit of trust she ever had in him. “Yes.”

The endless nightmare rolled on like it always did. The feeling of disbelief and betrayal, before fury as Eve hurdles her fist across Steves face while Tony preoccupies himself with Bucky. The 2v2 battle is brutal and bloody. Three super soldier—each equipped with their specialty: A vibranium shield, a steel metal arm, carbon fiber wings, and a man with a billion dollar suit.

“How could you!?” Eve’s voice carried through the facility, throwing everything she got at the man as he countered each attack. “After everything—a-after all we’ve been through—THAT I’VE DONE FOR YOU STEVE—-.”

“Eve please—.”

“I TRUSTED YOU!!!”

Emotion took over logic—no room for peace and surly no room for forgiveness.

Any excuse or explanation was out of the picture for Steve. Neither Tony nor Eve would hear it. To them, all they saw was a man who kept the truth of what happened to their family hidden for two years.

“He’s my friend.”

“So were we.”

The vision always ended the same. It flashed quickly giving no time to see what preceded or followed. First a bright light as Tony’s arc blasted Bucky’s arm off. Then Steve on top of Eve as he wrenched the wings from the pack. And finally Eve shooting a bullet into Steves side before he could bring the shield down once more on Tony.

Eve awoke with a choked gasp, moisture coating her forehead and immediately reached for the glass of water on her nightstand to quench the feeling of her dry throat. After taking a few sips, she let out a sigh while wiping away the sweat before placing the glass back on the stand.

Two years. Two years and the same nightmare took over Eve’s mind each time she slept. Then the days followed the same routine which involved barely eating while trying to keep the peace between the government and the world. Ross was like a flea, always checking in and making sure none of the remaining Avengers were stepping out of place.

Like they even would if they could. The threat of life in prison was enough for them to stay behind the line the U.N drew and not even think about crossing.

Although that didn’t stop Tony from mentoring the kid vigilante known as Spider-Man. And when Tony does something, usually Eve is there to clean up the mess if need be. But the scientist would be lying if she said she didn’t have a soft spot for the boy—despite the chaos he’s caused in New York the past year.

“Ms. Stark?” H.O.W.I.E, her A.I system’s voice rang out causing Eve to sit up straight with a ‘yes?’ “Tony is on the line asking for you. Shall I patch him through?”

Throwing the covers off, Eve picks up the earpiece on the nightstand as she makes her way to the closet. “Yeah put him through.” The moment the earpiece is inserted, Eve hears Tony’s voice through the com.

“Are you decent?” She makes a face although he can’t see her.

“I literally just woke up Tony, I’m still in my night clothes—what is it?”

“How fast can you get dressed?”

The woman scoffs, pulling down a random Henley shirt with pair of black jeans. “That depends. Are you going to tell me why the hell you need me to rush?” She could hear arguing in the background, voices she couldn’t recognize. “Who are you with?”

“Some wizards and Banner.” Her hands freeze while pulling the jeans up her legs.

“Come again? Did you just say ‘some wizards and Banner?’ Bruce Banner?”

“Yes the one and only,” Tony sighs in her ear. As Eve secures her belt before removing her nightshirt to put on her bra and Henley, she hears a voice on the other end say to Tony, ‘we don’t have any more time to wait.’ “Just one more minute—Eve I need you to double time before this wizard ends up making an unexpected visit.”

The clip of her bra snaps into place, “What the hell do you—.”

“That’s it, time’s up,” the other voice cuts in just as Eve begins to hear a strange noise coming from her bedroom. On the com she heard Tony shouting, “no-no-no, wait-wait!” Eve throws open the door, Henley in hand only to drop it as a gasp escapes when she spots a bright glowing orange ring in the middle of her bedroom. A man in a blue tunic and red cloak steps through, eyes going wide and spinning around with a ‘ah!’

“I told you she was getting dressed!” Tony yells causing Eve to spot him in the room behind the ring with his hand up to cover his eyes. That’s when she notices Bruce Banner in the flesh beside Tony, also with his hand up and blush coating his cheeks. Another man, dressed in a tunic like the cloaked man, turned around with his back toward her.

“Who the fuck are you!?” Eve screams, reaching down for the shirt and pulling it over her head in a hurry. “Ever heard of knocking?” She turns back to the closet to retrieve her leather jacket and boots, returning to the room to put them on. “You can turn around now.” All four men do so, the one in the clock visibly red with embarrassment and refusing to make eye contact with the Avenger.

“I’m sorry,” he breaths out, but Eve waves a hand with a roll of the eyes.

“Don’t worry about it, wizard,” she rises from the bed to take her wrist cuffs from the opposite nightstand, securing them on before walking up to the man. “Shall we then,” her hand gestures to the glowing ring. ‘Whatever this is must be important—otherwise you would have magically teleported her in a hurry.” The unknown man raises a hand, gesturing to Eve through the portal in an ‘after you.’

The moment the two enter, the portal closes causing her to jump back. “To think some things still surprise me,” she mutters, adjusting her jacket. When she turns back, the first person she makes eye contact with is Bruce. “Lord have mercy,” Eve breaths out, moving to the man and embracing him in a hug that he returns immediately. “Where the hell have you been?”

“It’s a long story—.”

“And one we don’t have time for,” the cloaked man interrupts, moving past the two to the middle of the room. Eve sends daggers into his back, glancing briefly at Bruce as if to say ‘we’ll continue this later,’ which he nods back in agreement. Eve then looks at Tony for answered, but he just shrugs back. That’s when she sees the giant hole in the staircase and raises a brow, “What in the hell?”

They all look to the man waiting for him to begin. “My name is Doctor Stephen Strange. This is Wong,” he motions to the other man in a tunic, who bows to them in greeting. The name sparks familiarity in Eve.

“You’re Stephen Strange?” She asks, stepping forward. “The neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange?” This makes Stephen look taken aback.

“You know me?”

“Yeah,” she scoffs, nearly glaring at him. “I do. When our friend, Colonel James Rhodes, became paralyzed I hoped you would look at his case. You refused before seeing it.” Stephen clenches his jaw, glancing at the ground briefly.

“Yeah well, I’m no longer equipped for the field. And as you can see,” he gestures to the room around them, “this in the New York Sanctum Santorum of the Masters of Mystic Arts. Your friend, Dr. Banner here, happened to crash land through our roof this morning with some vital information of an impeding threat heading our way.”

“Impending threat?” Eve’s ears perk up, momentarily forgetting about the animosity she had for the former doctor.

“What do you know of the infinity stones?”

The two Starks share a look, neither finding the name familiar. “Never heard of them.”

“Oh you have,” Stephen says causing Eve to tilt her head. He continues before she could say anything, “You’re actually quite familiar with a couple of them. Wong.” All eyes go to the man standing on the opposite side. His hands were behind his back as he moved closer.

“In the dawn of the universe, there was nothing,” Wong thrusted a hand and out shined an image resembling a Big Bang, “then boom. Big Bang sent six elemental crystals hurdling across the virgin universe. These infinity stones each control an essential aspect of existence.” Eve’s breath catches in her throat when she sees the colors of the gems, realizing Stephen was right about her being familiar with some.

“Space,” Stephen calls out as the blue stone shines, followed by the red, “Reality. Power. Soul. Mind. And Time.” Bringing his hands in front of his chest, the symbol pendant opens to show a glowing green stone in its possession.

Eve and Tony share a look ridden with unease, Eve’s hand coming up to her chin as Tony says, “tell me his name again.”

“Thanos,” Bruce answers, approaching the two. “He’s a plague, Tony. He invades planets, he takes what he wants—he wipes out half of the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York—that’s him.”

“This is him,” Tony whispered to himself while Eve closed her eyes as the hand covering her mouth began to tremble. “What’s our timeline?”

“No telling. He has the power and space stones—that already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands on all six stones, Tony,—.”

Stephen finishes the sentence, “He could destroy life on a scale hither to undreamt of.”

“Did you seriously just say ‘hither to undreamt of’?”

“Are you seriously leaning on the cauldron of the cosmos?”

“Is that what it is—?” The billionaire is cut off when the cloak around Stephen smacks his shoulder causing Tony to jump back. Offense takes over his face, “I’m going to allow that. If Thanos needs all six why don’t we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?” Even Eve has to face palm at the idea.

“That’s not how it works, Tony.”

“No can do,” Stephen agrees.

“We swore an oath to protect the time stone with our lives,” Wong looks at Tony like he’s mad for suggesting such a thing.

“And I swore off dairy—,” Tony interjects, “but then Ben n Jerry’s named a flavor after me, so?”

“Stark Raving Hazelnut,” Stephen looks down with an unimpressed tone.”

“It’s not bad.”

“a bit chalky.” Eve stifles a giggle, trying to hide her smirk at Tony’s offended expression when Wong adds, “A hunka-hulka burning fudge is our favorite.”

“That’s a thing?”

“Also Eagle Eve’s toffee crunch,” Stephen points out causing Eve to lightly blush when they make eye contact.

“Whatever. Point is, things change,” Tony cuts in annoyed.

“Our oath to protect the time stone cannot change,” Stephens eyes narrows. “This stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos.”

“Yeah so conversely, may be his best chance against us.”

“So if we don’t do our jobs—.”

“What is your job exactly, besides making balloon animals?”

“Tony,” Eve snaps, but he ignores her and continues his stare of with Stephen.

“Protecting your reality, douchebag.”

“Okay guys,” by now Bruce has had enough with the two, moving forward to grab their attention. “Could-could we table this discussion right now? The fact is, is that we have this stone—we know where it is. Vision is out there somewhere with the mind stone and we have to find him now.”

Eve drops her shoulders with defeat as Tony looks down. Neither of them want to break it to Bruce about all that happened in the past two years he was missing, but it was inevitable. “Yeah, that’s the thing….”

“What do you mean?” Bruce looks between the two.

“Two weeks ago Vision turned off his transponder,” Eve tells him, scratching the back of her neck. “He’s offline.”

“What?!” He turns to Tony, seeing the confirmation of the billionaires face. “Tony, you lost another super bot?”

“I didn’t lose him, he’s more than that!” He defends. “He’s evolving.” Stephen steps around behind him asking, “who could find Vision then?” The question once again has the Starks glance at one another. Eve shakes her head, already refusing the idea despite knowing it was the only chance they had.

Only one man on the planet could locate Vision. And it was the last person she ever wanted to see.

“Probably Steve Rogers,” Tony finally answers and Eve turns away to avoid the inevitable discussion about to happen. The Sorcerers, knowing what took place in 2016 with Avengers, curse under their breath. “Maybe.”

Bruce, oblivious to the tension, walks up to Tony. “Call him.”

“It’s not that easy. God, we haven’t caught up in a spell have we?” Tony moves closer to the scientist, looking to see Eve has moved further away to stare at the walls of the room. “The Avengers broke up. We’re toast.”

“Broke up?” Bruce tilts his head. “Like a band? Like-like The Beatles?” If it wasn’t such a sore topic, Eve would’ve laughed at Bruce’s analogy.

“Cap and I fell out hard,” Tony looks away before adding, “Him and Eve even harder. We’re not on speaking terms.”

On any other day, Bruce would sympathize and understand the situation for the Starks. He wouldn’t expect them to drop everything and call Steve right away if they weren’t ready.

But today was not like any other day.

Time was not on their side. Thanos loomed over the horizon and was on the move. They had no way to know if he already possessed the two other stones in space or if Thor made it out alive. If they didn’t work now then the fate of the universe would be forever altered. “Tony, listen to me,” Bruce takes a step forward, voice going low to emphasize the message. “Thor’s gone. Thanos is coming it doesn’t matter who you’re talking to or not.”

“He’s right,” Eve finally says after being silent for so long. The whole time she was thinking, wondering if she could come up with a plan to track Vision instead of calling Steve. But with time at an essence and not knowing what Thanos’s next move was they needed to act quick. They all turn to her, watching her bring her arms to chest as she slowly moves back to face them. “He’s right, Tony. Believe me the last thing I want is to see Steve, but we need to act fast and if Vision is with Wanda then chances are Steve knows where they are. He can get to them faster than us.”

It goes quiet. Tony thinks for a moment before eventually sighing, stepping away to remove a small flip phone from his pocket. Flipping it open, Tony locates the only number listed on the contacts, ‘Steve Rogers,’ with the digits right below. As his thumb hovers over the call button, his attention is drawn up at a sudden sound.

Eve unfolds her arms, glancing around as it reaches her ears. It was almost like the wind, more so like a plane, but devious. It sounded a far yet drawing closer—closer with each second.

When Eve turns back to face the group of men, that’s when her attention catches Stephens. And she notices the loose strands of his hair moving side to side. “You wouldn’t happen to be moving your hair would you, Stephen?”

His hair moves faster, “not at the moment. No.”

Eve gulps, glancing up to the hole in the ceiling, “I think someone found us.” They all follow her gaze, the flicker of paper and leaves moving rapidly in the sky as the sound grows louder. Slowly, they face the door.

Silhouettes of people running on the streets skid past the stained glass. Muffled shouts of distress are heard as they approach the door, Tony leading the way and he opens it to reveal the scene before them. There’s dust in the air making it hard to see, frantic pedestrians running down the streets.

Tony heads toward the direction they are running from. As they rush past him a young lady trips, falling to the ground and he rushes to help her up. “Are you okay?” She shrieks in response, pushing him away to run. Eve feels her nerves heighten as she watches after her, gasping when a car collides with the street pole right next to her. “Help him!”

“Go, go!” Bruce waves to him as he and Wong assist the man. “We got it.” Tony quickly removes his glasses from his pocket to place them on, “F.R.I.D.A.Y, what am I looking at?” “Not sure, I’m working on it.” Tony glances back at Strange, “Hey! You might wanna put that time stone in your back pocket, doc!”

Stephen waves his hands and orange rings encase his wrists, “Might want to use it.”

Eve taps the com in her ear, “H.O.W.I.E, call for an emergency evacuation in the three mile vicinity around Bleeker Street and have emergency services en route.” “I’m on it, boss. Stand by.” Picking up the pace Eve moves beside Tony, the two walking across the street to see the source of the chaos unfolding in New York. “Is that a flying donut?”

It sure as hell looked like it. The large red spaceship was circular with a gaping hole in the middle. As it lowered down onto the city, dust gathered in the air and sent paper flying.

The five moved directly in the middle of the intersection so they were head on with the spaceship. Tony relayed the same info to F.R.I.D.A.Y that Eve said early while Strange began doing some movements with this hands. When he thrusted him forward, the dust flew back until it disparate beyond the ship, making it visibly clear to the eye.

Taken aback, Tony looked to Strange only to receive a cocky wink from the sorcerer. He rolled his eyes, missing the smirk was trying to fight, and turned back just in time to see a blue light cast down from the ship. When it touched the ground, two figures were standing in it’s wake.

“Here me,” the shorter one, Ebony Maw, called out. “And rejoice, you are about to die at the hands of the children of Thanos.” Eve felt her jaw clench, eyes narrowing as the man went on. “Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing to—.”

“I’m sorry! Earth is closed today,” Tony interrupted the speech, making everyone look at him. “You better pack it up, and get out of here.”

“Stone keeper,” Maw addressed Stephen, who raised a brow in return. “Does this chattering animal speak for you?”

“Certainly not, I speak for myself” he stepped forward, clapping his hands together to form shields. “You’re trespassing in this city and on this planet.” Wong repeated the action, forming his own shields.

“That means get lost Squidward!”

“He exhausts me,” Maw sighed to his companion, Cull Obsidian, who grunted. “Bring me the stone.” Cull grips his weapon and begins moving toward the group.

Eve straightens, reading to tap her bracelets to unleash her suit when Tony says to Bruce, “Banner, you want a piece?” Sweating, Bruce fumbles with his blazer, “mmm, no. Not really. But then again when do I ever really get what I want.”

“Been awhile,” Tony cranks his neck, not seeing how Bruce was beginning to struggle transforming to Hulk. “Good to have you buddy.”

Eve glances to Bruce, wondering what was taking so long and sees the green veins poking out, but not taking full control. “Bruce you okay?” She realizes Hulk isn’t wanting to come out and becomes concerned.

“I have to concentrate one second.” Meanwhile Cull is inching closer to them, looking menacing as ever. Bruce bends his knees, trying to will Hulk out but failing all the less.

“Where’s your guy?”

“I don’t know—we’re sorta having a thing,” he sighs.

“There’s no time for a thing,” Tony pats his chest and points to Cull. “That’s the thing right there—let’s go.” Bruce leans back, green taking over his neck and groans out while leaning back. Stephen, Tony, and Eve all share a look—Stephen not looking impressed at all. “Dude you’re embarrassing us in front of the wizards.”

“I’m sorry—I can’t—or he won’t.”

Tony places his hands on Bruce’s shoulders, drawing him back a few steps beside Wong. “Okay, stand down. Keep an eye on him. Thank you.” He moves back to Eve, the two connecting eyes, “You ready?”

“When am I not?” She zips up her jacket while he tightens his just as Cull begins to run toward them. Eve taps twice on each bracelet, while Tony taps his chest, and together they unveil their new and improved suits. Golden armor runs up Eve’s arms until it’s around her whole body—wing pack and helmet to form the Iron Eagle.

It was the first time she was using the suit after completing it with Tony, so Eve prayed it did it’s job.

Tony’s Mark L fully took over just in time for Cull to bring down his hammer like weapon. Thrusting a shield out, he deflected the attack and sent Cull flying with his energy blasters. Maw then waved a hand to direct Cull into a car before he could hit him.

“Were’d that come from?” Bruce said in amazement, glancing at Eve’s golden form as well.

“It’s nanotech. You like it? A little something—,” Tony went airborne as Maw raised his hand upward, causing Eve to shout, “Tony!”Maw then three two trees at the four and Wong stepped forward while circling his hand to deflect.

“Dr. Banner, since the rest of your green friend won’t be joining us,” Stephen opened a portal beneath Bruce to the nearby park. Bruce shouted in surprise, grunting when he landed on the ground only to move quickly so he wouldn’t get crushed by the taxi that also fell through.

Together Wong and Strange used their magic to bring a car toward them, which Eve then used the blaster under hand to send it flying back towards Maw—who only lifted a finger to cut the vehicle in half. Tony landed beside Eve, letting out a frustrated huff. “You gotta get that stone out of here, now.”

“It stays with me,” Stephen says annoyed for the fifth time.

“Exactly. Bye!” Eve unleashes her wings and the two fly toward Maw, weaving through debris he sends their way. What they didn’t expect was Cull to fling his hammerhead. It trapped Tony and with Eve distracted Maw threw her into the nearby building, the glass shattering as she went through a window.

For Tony, he collides with a tree a the park, the park Bruce just so happened to be at. “Tony! You okay? How we doing—good?”

“Really-really good. Are you planning on helping out?”

“I’m trying. He won’t come out.” Cull breaks through the building across with a grunt, flinging his hammerhead again. Tony pushes Bruce out of the way and into the grass before flying back to Cull. He sends an energy beam, but Cull holds a shield causing it to hit a tree which nearly falls on Bruce.

The two circle each other, Tony blasting Cull until he’s thrown to the ground. He’s pursued by Cull, who raises his weapon to bring down on Tony only to stop midair. “Hey man,” a voice greets, clad in a red and blue suit holding back the metal from hitting Tony. “What’s up, Mr. Stark?”

“Kid, where’d you come from?” He asks Peter.

“A field trip—ahh!” Peter is cut off when Cull yanks him away. Eve shows up in the nick of time to catch the vigilante before he could smack the ground. “Oh hey, Miss. Eve!”

“Hey, kid,” She greets, setting him down. “You shouldn’t be here,” she then flies off before he could protest. Peter huffs, flinging out webs to assist the heroes, “Uh what is this guys problem, Mr. Stark?”

“Uh he’s from space. He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard.” Eve rolled her eyes beneath her mask, sending blasts to Cull while flying high to dodge his attacks. Peter goes for a shot only to get in Culls hold once more and tossed to the side. Together, the three go neck and neck with Cull. At some point Peter flutings the half taxi cab at Cull to knock him down and Eve sticks her feet out to send him flying across the grass.

A few moments later a figure skids past them. “Kid, that’s the wizard. Get on it.”

“I’m on it!“ Peter swings off with a shout. Distracted, Eve grunts when Cull wacks her full on with the hammer. The impact has her skidding several yards away and she quickly recovers to her feet.

“Uh, Mr. Stark, I’m being beamed up!” Eve curses to herself when she hears Peter’s frantic voice.

“Hang on kid,” Tony says as he fights Cull. “Eve, go!” Wings at the ready, Eve takes to the skies. Already the flying donut is airborne and moving fast towards the atmosphere.

“H.O.W.I.E, I need more power,” she says and the thrusters on her wings and feet extended before firing her up. The new suit was equipped to make her travel as fast as an F-18, faster than Sam’s wing pack and even Tony’s suit. Now Eve was reaching full speed and Tony was not too far behind her.

“unlock seventeen-A,” he said to F.R.I.D.A.Y. Knowing what it entailed, Eve looked to her right in the direction of the Avengers compound. A little trail of smoke pin pointed the object in question. “Pete, you gotta let go. I’m gonna catch you.”

“But you said save the wizard!” The boy removed his mask, “ugh I can’t breath.”

“We’re too high up, kid,” Eve tells him, the distance between her and the ship closing rapidly. “You’re running out of air. You need to let go now.”

“Oh yeah,” she heard him pant. “That makes sense.” His body fell back in time for 17-A to fly past Eve, hitting his back to allow the nanotech to unveil. Before he could collide with the ship and fall, Eve caught him in her arms. “Woah!” He shouted when she set him down. “Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car in here!”

“Happy trails, kid,” Tony came up from the side. “F.R.I.D.A.Y, send him home.” “Yep.” Before Peter could react, a parachute deployed from his back and he was off the ground, “Oh come on!” Eve shook her head, sighing as she flew up to Tony. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t relieved the boy was gone—this was far beyond Peter and she wanted him safe.

“Kid’s got heart and guts,” she held her wrist up to the wall of the ship, “I’ll give him that.” A beam hit the surface, Eve moving her wrist in a rectangular shape until it gave way and allowed an opening for the two.

Tony entered first just as F.R.I.D.A.Y said, “Boss, incoming call from Ms. Potts,” before Peppers voice filled his ears. “Tony? Oh my God, are you alright? What’s going on?” “Yeah Im fine,” he tells her, “I just think we’re going to have to push our eight-thirty res.” “Why?” “Just cause I’ll probably not make it back for awhile.”

Eve lets her helmet retract, frowning as she listens in to the conversation. “Tell me you’re not on that ship.” Tony’s helmet also retracts, his expression full of distress and regret. “Yeah.” “God—no, please tell me you’re not—.” “I’m sorry. I’m sorry—I don’t understand—.” “Come back, Tony! I swear to God.”

Pepper continues to plead to Tony, but the reception begins to give out as they draw further away from Earth. “Boss, we’re loosing her.” Eve glances to the ground, unable to see the pain in her nephews face. The call eventually cuts out, and Tony is left standing still. It’s silent between the two for a moment. “I’m sorry, Tony.”

There was nothing they could currently do. They were on a spaceship going God knows where and the only person they were aware on it were Maw and Strange. A jolt forward, nearly sending them to the ground, confirmed their suspicious they were now far away from Earth. They had to have been traveling faster than the speed of light.

“We need to find the wizard,” Tony leans against the wall when it’s finally stable again. “Then go from there.”

“Agreed,” Eve nods and the two make their way to the nearest exit. “You think he’ll break? Give up the stone?” She asks when they find a door leading to a platform.

“The wizard?” Tony scoffs, “not a chance. He wouldn’t even leave the stone some place safe. I doubt magic squidward’s gonna crack him.”

“Let’s hope not,” she sighs following behind him closely. They walk for a few minutes, climbing up platforms and railings until they finally reach an open area. It doesn’t take long for them to figure out it’s the heart of the ship. There’s a large screen-like projection taking up wall to floor and Tony leans over the edge to find Strange trapped in some needles while Maw looks on.

“Found them,” he mutters to Eve, who glances over to see the scene below. Neither notice the familiar red cloak sneak behind them until it pats Tony on the shoulder. Instantly, Tony raises his hand ready to send the threat blasting. When he realizes it’s the cloak he relaxes, “Wow, you are a seriously loyal piece of outerwear aren’t you.”

“Yeah speaking of loyalty….” Eve’s eyes nearly pop out of her head when she sees Peter hanging upside down. Tony matches her expression, “What the—.”

“I know what you’re going to say—.”

“You should not be here.” Eve cuts in angrily, before Peter begins to ramble.

“I was gonna go home—.” “I don’t want to hear it.” “—but it was such a long way down and I just thought about you two and—.” “And now I gotta hear it.” “—I got stuck to the side of the ship— and this suit…is ridiculously intuitive by the way so if anything it’s kinda your fault I’m here.”

Tony’s eyes brows go straight to his hairline, “What did you just say.” Even the cloak was shook, glancing between the two. Peter starts to stutter, his cheeks going red from his mess up, “I-I-I I take that back. And now I’m here in space.”

“Yeah,” Tony agrees, moving toward him. “Right where I didn’t want you to be. This isn’t Coney Island or some field trip—this is a one way ticket. You hear me? Don’t pretend you thought this through.”

“I did think this through,” he defends. “I did think this through! You can’t be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there’s no neighborhood.” Eve wanted to facepalm at Peter’s naiveness, but decided against it. The kid was there and with now way to get him home, he was stuck with them whether they liked it or not. “Okay that doesn’t really make sense, but you know what I’m trying to say.”

The stress on Tony’s face spoke a thousand words. Eventually he just gives up. “C’mon we got a situation.” Tony points over the edge to where Maw currently has Strange trapped. “See him down there? He’s in trouble, what’s your plan? Go.” Eve crosses her arms, moving to stand on Peter’s right as he crouches down to get a better look.

“Umm,” he hums, “Okay-okay umm.” Another second ticks by before he stands up. “Okay, ever see this really old movie, ‘Aliens’?”

“‘Aliens’?” Eve repeats with concern, seeing the look on Tony’s face. She wasn’t really keen on trusting the kid if his plan was based off a movie. Especially one she hasn’t seen. “Tony, you trust this?”

The man thinks for a moment shrugging, “He hasn’t failed me yet.” For a few minutes, they work together on who does what until they finally set it in motion. Tony flies directly above and behind Maw, which accordingly catches Strange’s attention and therefore causes Maw to turn around. It gives Peter, the cloak, and Eve time to get in position.

“I could end your friend’s life in an instant,” the alien threatens.

“I gotta tell you he’s not really my friend. Saving his life is more of a professional curtesy.” Eve rolls her eyes at Tony’s words but finds no surprise in them.

“You save nothing. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine.”

“Yeah, but the kid’s seen more movies.” With that a rocket launches from the side, catching Maw off guard as it blasts a hole into the ships wall. The winds vortex pulls him in into the cold, dark world that is outer space and Strange also finds himself being pulled. The cloak catches his hand first, but the wind is too powerful and loses his grasp.

“I got him!” Eve springs into action, her wings ejecting out as she falls off the platform. Her hands wrap around Stephen tightly, colliding into him from the side so they’re not pulled into the vortex. She flies them away from the hole so Tony could seal it and sets Stephen gently down on the platform by the controls.

“Thanks,” he says to her with a huff, feeling a little dazed from what just happened. She gives him a nod, “No problem, doc. Glad to see you still have the gem causing all the trouble.” She walks away before he could answer, missing how the man watches her and focuses her attention on the large screen.

“Hey, we never officially met,” Peter drops down beside the cloak, extending a hand. The relic ignores him, moving toward Stephen and Peter drops his hand. “Cool.”

Tony lands on the platform, passing Stephen as he retracts his suit. Eve does the same by tapping her bracelets, letting the golden armor disappear. “We gotta turn this ship around,” Stephen says as Tony walks up to Eve, moving past to get a good look at what they were dealing with.

The billionaire scoffs, “Yeah. Now he wants to run. Great.”

“I want to protect the stone,” Stephen argues, but Tony isn’t having it.

“And I want you to thank me now. Go ahead I’m listening.”

“For what? Nearly blasting me into space?”

Tony spins around so fast, Eve has to step back. “Who just saved your magical ass? Me.”

“I seriously don’t know how you fit your head into that helmet.”

“Neither do I sometimes,” Eve mutters, turning away to not deal with the two going at it again.

“Admit it,” Tony continues, either not hearing his aunt or downright ignoring her. “You should’ve dubbed out when I told you to. I tried to bench you and you refused.”

“Unlike everyone else in your life, I don’t work for you,” Stephens rebuttals has Eve turning around, offense in her expression.

“Excuse me?”

Stephen raises an apologetic hand, “Okay except you—I know that.” She huffs, crossing her arms. ‘Damn right he better take that back,’ she thinks to herself.

“And due to that fact,” Tony get’s their attention once more. “We’re now on a flying donut, billions of miles from Earth with no backup.”

“I’m backup,” Peter offers, which has the Starks immediate refusal.

“No, you’re a stowaway,” Tony motions a finger between him, Strange and Eve. “The adults are talking.”

“I-I’m sorry, I’m confused as is to the relationship here. Wh-what is he? Is he your ward?” Eve couldn’t help but laugh at the assumption, “That’s a new one.”

“No,” Peter answered and goes to introduce himself. “I’m Peter, by the way.”

“Doctor Strange.”

“Oh you’re using your made up names. Um, i’m Spider-Man then.” The look on Stephen’s face nearly sent Eve into hysterics if the situation wasn’t so serious. The man looked so offended, she wondered what was going on in his head. Eventually he just walks away from the boy.

“This ship is self correcting it’s course,” Eve voices to the group. “It’s on autopilot.”

“Can we control it?” He asks. “Fly us home?”

“It’s possible…..” Eve starts and eventually trails off when she notices Tony’s expression. It’s a look she’s seen all too well. A look when he’s planning something. “What are you thinking, Tony?” The sorcerer follows her gaze at the question, noticing Tony had been quiet for awhile.

“Stark,” Stephen snaps him out of his thoughts. “Can you get us home?”

“Yeah I heard you,” his hands cross in front of him, brows furrowing as he thinks. “I think I’m not so sure we should.” Stephen’s refusal is eminent.

“Under no circumstances can we bring the time stone to Thanos. I don’t thin you quite understand what’s at stake here.”

“No—,” Tony walks up to him, clenching his fist. “It’s you, who doesn’t understand that Thanos has been inside my head for six years since he sent an army to New York and now he’s back! And I don’t know what to do. So I’m not so sure if it’s a better plan to fight him on our turf or his, but you saw what they did-what they can do. At least on his turf he’s not expecting it. So I say, we take the fight to him, doctor.”

Eve, having been silent to let Tony make his point, strokes her jaw lightly. It was a good plan. Thanos would think the ship being there was Maw with the stone as he planned, but having them there would catch the Titan off guard. “We don’t have many options here boys. At frankly I’m tired of watching you two compete on who has the biggest ego. Time isn’t on our side and I’m gonna have to agree with Tony on this one. Going to wherever this ship is heading is our best bet—and if we’re lucky, maybe we can buy time before Thanos gets more stones.”

Tony holds back a smirk, feeling triumph that his aunt agrees with him. Which is something she rarely does nowadays after the Ultron fiasco. “So, do we concur?”

“Alright, Stark,” Stephen finally says. “We go to him. But you have to understand if it comes to saving you two or the kid, or the time stone, I will not hesitate to let any of you die.” Though not surprising, it still makes the Starks clench their jaws. “I can’t because the universe depends on it.”

“Nice,” Tony pats his shoulder. “Good, moral compass. We’re straight.” He walks away, trying not to let his emotion show. Both Tony and Eve accepted this was a one-way trip, but hearing Strange say it puts it into perspective.

As he looks on after Tony, Stephen ends up connecting eyes with Eve. The super-soldier appeared stoic, doing her best to not look affected like Tony, but Stephen could pick up on her distress. Something in his chest tightens at the way her chocolate eyes stare back at him. They were piercing into his soul and part of him regretted how he spoke earlier about not hesitating to sacrifice her. She quickly looked away, pushing off the consul she was leaning against to turn her back on the sorcerer in time to see Tony approach Peter.

“Kid,” Tony says when he stands before him. The boy perks up, watching Tony’s arm go up to make the shape of an ‘A’ across the boys chest. “You’re an Avenger now.”

All Evelyn Stark could do now was hope and pray the mission goes as planned. Get to wherever it was the ship was going, have Thanos find them and defeat him before any more stones could be collected. Earth was far from their grasp, their only hope being the remaining heroes that assembled.

The fate of the universe was in their hands.

And chaos is sure to follow if the odds don’t fall in their favor.

…………………………….

Tag list: @todaywasafairytale07

#doctor strange imagine #doctor strange #tony stark imagine #tony stark #marvel fanfiction #marvel imagine #spider-man imagine #the Phoenix #phoenix force #dark phoenix #avengers imagine #original character #avengers au #iron man imagine #stark!reader #avengers!reader #doctor strange x reader #tony stark x reader

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

Complicated ❤

Set after The Winter Soldier.

Summary; Steve and y/n are thrust into a new world together. All they have is The Avengers and each other for the first three years but with Peggy alive, Bucky back and their feelings for each other growing stronger things are way too complicated.

Warnings; Angst with a happy ending.

Request by; @golden-wander

Likes, comments and reblogs are always appreciated ❤ I do not give anyone permission to copy my work. ❤

Steve Rogers was the only person in the world who had been through the same things she had.

They both lost Bucky, who was her fiancee back in the '40s and Steve's best friend.

Both of them were thrust into a world that they didn't know. From the '40s to the year 2011. For three years they became close, all they needed was each other.

Peggy was still alive, y/n had been to visit her with Steve a lot and to make things more complicated Bucky had come back.

He was an asset to the team after turning on Hydra and joining The Avengers. Her history with Bucky though was very well known among the team.

When Bucky fell from the train she was devastated, she had no idea he was captured by Hydra and brainwashed and tortured into being The Winter Soldier.

When they met again she was confused by her feelings, she was ecstatic that he was alive but at the same time he treated her like he barely knew her, even when his memories did come back.

She was his fiancee once upon a time. Did she mean so little to him?

Then there was Steve. Steve who had been her rock. Steve who she was falling in love with but he still loved Peggy and had a fling with Sharon.

Carter women were hard to forget. She should know, Peggy was one of her best friends back in the 40s and she adored her still.

Today she was visiting Peggy and her mood was low, Bucky was making eyes at Natasha who looked like she wanted to kick his ass at every moment and Steve was being a sweetheart which caused her feelings to deepen.

As much as she kept her spirits up Peggy was always able to tell when she was upset and takes her hand.

"Darling what's wrong?". Tears roll down her cheeks and she can't meet Peggy's eyes. How does she tell Peggy that she loves Steve? It would feel like a betrayal wouldn't it?

"You'll hate me". She whispers and Peggy softens squeezing her hand.

"I could never, ever hate you, love. Tell me?". She sighs and begins to explain how she and Steve have gotten so close over the last three years, about Bucky and how he is making eyes at Natasha.

"It doesn't even bother me that much Peggy because I... I've fallen in love with Steve". She expects Peggy to yell at her, be mad, and tell her to get out but she doesn't.

No, she just looks at her with those kind brown eyes and softens.

"Oh, darling, why don't you tell him?". This makes her cry harder because Peggy is being so lovely.

"I can't Peggy, I'm scared. He still loves you. He doesn't love me. I know that". She tells her and Peggy frowns.

"I think you should tell him, we all need someone in this unknown world, someone to love us".

He doesn't feel the same though so what is the point in telling him and ruining their friendship?

Speaking of Steve he comes in staring between her and Peggy, looking at the tears in her eyes.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Shit! She didn't expect him to be here, she knows he visits Peggy but she didn't realise it was today.

"I'm fine". She kisses Peggy on the cheek and hurries out away from Steve.

"What are you doing you, idiot! Go after her!". Peggy snaps to Steve who moves into action.

❤

Steve follows her inside as she heads into the compound.

"You should have stayed with Peggy Steve". She tells him and he shakes his head.

"Peggy told me to go after you, I'm worried sweetheart. What's wrong?". Fuck, was he really going to make her say it?

"Steve, you know what's between us. You can feel it. I'm sure you can because I do. I'm in love with you".

"I know you will never reciprocate my feelings but even if you do I will never be your first choice Steve. Peggy is, how the hell can I compete with Peggy?".

He moves closer to her and cups her cheeks, wiping away the tears.

"Yes i did love Peggy and I still love her. Believe it or not y/n even you love Bucky a little even now. You know why, because it's not possible for anyone to erase the love they felt for a person who was so special to them".

Steve moves closer to her and his eyes settle on her lips, she's mesmerized by him.

"But you know what else is possible?". She's confused and wants to know what he means, moving closer to him.

"What's possible Steve?". His blue eyes fill with reverence and it makes her heart skips a beat.

"To fall in love once again. To love someone even if you are unsure if they will ever feel your love. Unsure If they will ever love you back".

Her mind is racing does that me he loves her? He still loves Peggy though. Was she just some sort of rebound?

"So you'll always love Peggy?". He groans and runs his hands through his hair.

"Seriously y/n? I pour my feelings out to you and that's what you get from that? Shit, do you know how hard it is to hide my feelings from you? How guilty I feel because you were Buck's girl back in the day and I wrestle with not telling you what you mean to me".

"What do I mean to you?". She asks him and he hesitates for a minute which makes her heart sink. Just as she is about to give up and turn away he pulls her back.

Then he kisses her fiercely.

"I love you, I'm in love with you y/n and I want to be with you". He tells her and then he kisses her again.

Unbeknownst to her and Steve, Bucky and Tony are watching. Tony agape.

"Well about time and hey Capsicol has a girlfriend now, honestly thought he would still be a virgin forever".

Bucky shrugs.

"I thought that back in the day but once he became Cap he was a ladies magnet, only had eyes for Peggy though, so they weren't serious".

Tony sighs.

"Better leave the lovebirds to it, Barnes, come on". They leave Steve and y/n kissing, both of them happy that the two of them have finally admitted how they feel.

❤

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers #steve rogers fluff #steve rogers angst #steve rogers x female reader

[lex-munro]

[Glitter on the Wet Streets: Part 5] The Men Cry Out, the Girls Cry Out

The clues point to Trust A Bro Moving Company, where Eddie meets an important-looking guy in a red tracksuit and proceeds to get himself into trouble.

Chapter 5 of (probably?) 12.

Why do I insist on naming chapters instead of numbering them when I’m notoriously Bad At Titles™?  A mystery for the ages…

Warnings:  Canon divergent based on the MCU.  Oblique spoilers for Black Widow, Wandavision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, and Daredevil.  Discussion of abusive relationships (both romantic and platonic) and recovery from abuse.  Brief ableist language, quickly corrected by those present.  Peter and MJ have been making Venom go to therapy (without actually going to therapy).  Canon typical violence.  Brief descriptions of wounds/regeneration.  Language: PG-13 (primetime TV plus s***, f***, and g**damn).

Pairing:  Matt/Eddie, background Peter/MJ, past Eddie/Venom.

Timeline:  A year after the events of No Way Home, but concurrent with the events of Hawkeye (told you it was canon divergent), sort of.  Like, I know Yelena’s chat with Kate was the 22nd, and that was just one night before Clint confronted Maya, but SHUSH I PUT ANOTHER DAY IN HERE FOR MAH FLOW.  This universe has Hawkeye set a whole year later than canon, so I can do what I want *throws glitter at you, but bioglitter because microplastics*.

Disclaimer:  I doesn’t owns the movies or the characters.  Or the assorted objects of pop culture reference.

The Men Cry Out, The Girls Cry Out

The intel from Rafa’s phone shows calls from ‘Ivan’ days before each suspicious article, and just once a call from ‘K’ the day before an article (after a series of back-and-forth calls with ‘Ivan’).

“What do we do with this information?” Ned asks aloud as they all stare at the newly gathered data on the case board.

“Well, Ivan must be the contact within the Tracksuit Mafia,” MJ concludes.  “He must be the guy I saw handing Rafael money.  So then this ‘K’ dude must be someone higher up, somebody who had to get involved when Rafa was pushing back or wasn’t able to get a writer to fall in line.”

“None of which helps us find them,” Eddie concludes with a sigh.

“Maybe if you weren’t so busy with your defective toy, you could have gotten more info this morning,” Venom scoffs.

“Whoa!” they all yell.

“Not cool!” Peter tells the symbiote sternly.

“Only an ableist asshole whips out the D-word,” says MJ.

“Like, we get that you’re working this jealous-bitter-ex thing, but there’s such a thing as good taste,” adds Ned.

“I am not jealous,” Venom grumbles, sulking in a creepily bubbling mass in Peter’s collar.

MJ grabs Ned’s laptop.  “I’m gonna do some searching.  That Ivan guy got into the same kind of moving truck I saw in the chase footage on the news.  Some kind of dark green, with the attic-space extension over the cab.”

“I’m gonna go get us some donuts,” Ned says, tucking tail the way he usually does when suffering secondhand embarrassment.

“No,” Peter hisses to himself.  “No, I’m gonna tell him.  Because this whole thing between you is really becoming intolerable again and it’s your fault for not talking about it, so I’m gonna tell him!”

Eddie waits.

“Mr. Brock, Venom needs to tell yo—”

“Don’t you dare!” growls the symbiote, lashing out with a tendril that Peter easily dodges.  “Hold still so I can kick your skinny ass!”

At that point, they become a mess of flailing limbs and deflected strikes (and at one point an alarming amount of pointy teeth which then get mercilessly punched with a super-strong fist).

“Don’t break my shit, or I’ll set you on fire,” MJ threatens, eyes still locked on her Internet search.

“Venom feels really terrible for making you feel bad before and that’s why he keeps getting angry when people bring it back up,” Peter rushes to say before dodging another strike.  “Also, he’s really jealous of Mr. Murdock because he’s always wanted to make you smile like that.”

With a growled accusation of betrayal, Venom rips free of Peter and splashes into the enormous aquarium in the living room.  Peter shakes himself like a dog (Eddie remembers that awkward, ticklish, semi-naked feeling of having Venom leave).

“Don’t hurt my fish, either!” MJ yells.

And shit, now Eddie kind of wants to go sit by the fish and talk about their shit.  Therapeutic, or whatever.

But what the fuck good would that do?  Not like V’s learned a damn thing.  He ends up in a body he can’t bully, the kid outs his emotions, and his response is to go pout in a fish tank?

Unbidden, the memory of that botched breakfast surfaces.  Venom had tried to get Eddie and Anne back together to make Eddie happy, and when Eddie gave up, Venom tried to make breakfast to cheer him up…

Being shit at it doesn’t mean he’s not trying.

Stupid damn parasite isn’t gonna get better at being a friend if nobody shows him how.

So Eddie goes and sits next to the fish tank.

“Hey,” he says without looking.  “Not a fun feeling, is it?  When somebody you love—somebody you’re in love with—does things against your wishes and you can’t stop them.”

“if you’re here to gloat, you can fuck off,” says a tiny, soggy voice.

“Not gloating.  Just pointing out I know how it feels.  I also know how it feels for somebody you’re in love with to make you feel like you’re constantly fucking up.”

“i don’t feel like that.”

“Yes, you do.  And you made me feel like that, too.  There’s a lotta stuff I like about Matt, but that’s my favorite:  he goes outta his way to make sure I don’t feel like a fuckup.  I told him last night—I like who I am around him, and I haven’t liked myself in a long time.”

“…not even when we were together?”

“No, V.  When we were together, I liked us, and I loved you.  But I hated me.”

Venom is quiet for a long time.  “i was a shitty friend,” he decides.  “and a very shitty boyfriend.  but you loved me anyway.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“i’m sorry, eddie.  i am bad at being kind.  peter says i have unresolved trauma, and according to the internet, he’s right.  he has suggested we hug it out, but i am not a fan of hugs, as you know.”

Eddie looks over his shoulder and sees a jellyfish-like blob of blackness floating in the water.  “Okay, that’s progress.  You can’t exactly talk to a therapist or nothin’, but maybe you could talk to me?”

“my first host was a kree soldier,” Venom says in a slightly bigger voice.  “i was a weapon, regardless of my own wishes.  when riot and the others rebelled, i ran away with them.  riot said we could never trust a host, and we should kill them before we could be used again.  i didn’t kill my host; that is why i was a loser on that asteroid.  they called me weak and trusting.  naïve.  i hurt you because i wanted to feel strong, which dr. phil says is a classic expression of generational abuse cycles, but does not excuse bad behavior when we know it to be hurtful.”

Eddie is grudgingly impressed.  “Dr. Phil, huh?  So you really have been working on yourself?”

“peter and mj have forced me to.  but also i want to be better.  for him.  for you.  for whoever hosts me next.  i have to fix what the kree broke in me, or i’ll only keep hurting my hosts.  i have a lot of anger, but the people who deserve it are dead.”

Wow.  Venom definitely has a better handle on identifying his issues than Eddie ever has, which is kind of humbling.  Eddie clears his throat and nods.  “Good, uh…good for you, V.  And…apology accepted.”

“…he’s the one who makes me feel like a fuckup, not peter.  that’s why i don’t like him.”

Eddie frowns.  “Who, Matt?”

“it was so easy for him to make you smile, and he can’t even appreciate it.  you’re pretty when you’re happy.”

“I’m really not.”

“you are.  anne always thought so, too.”

Eddie clears his throat again, pretending not to be flattered and embarrassed.  “You want me to go get Parker?”

“i will stay here for a while.  the fish are relaxing.”

~*~*~

MJ’s (extremely thorough) search determines that the green trucks were at the underground auction, at the apartment fire, at the bridge chase, and at the scene of the bribe.  ‘Trust A Bro Moving Company,’ which is a part of Sloan, the company Eleanor Bishop spoofed onto her fiancé’s file.  Other Sloan businesses include Fat Man Used Cars and Fat Man Gym.  It’s like Kingpin gets his jollies from daring people to find his shadier dealings.

So, here’s the team mascot, the faithful Great Dane, poking around with the most harmless, airheaded persona he can.

“Hello?” Eddie calls as he sticks his head in the door (a bell jingles discordantly, several years past its prime).  There’s nobody in the front office, but he can hear talking in the next room.

A guy in a red tracksuit comes out with a fake-ass smile.  “Happy holidays!  What can a bro move for you, sir?”

“Yeah, sorry, I just saw one of your trucks in my neighborhood the other day,” Eddie says, waving his thumb at the green eyesore outside.  “My place just burned down, and I was wonderin’, do you guys haul junk and trash?  ‘Cause my landlord’s telling me I gotta spring for the cleanup if I want him to pay the repairs, and I looked in my rental agreement and the tightwad’s right.  I got a quote from some contractor guy who was staking the place out, but it’s a little rich for my stomach, if ya know what I mean.”

Mr. Customer Service gives a slightly more sincere smile.  “Sure, bro, we’ll haul anything.  Junk’s even easier, since you don’t care if it gets broken.”

“Great!  You got, like, a form for me to fill out?”

They do.  It asks for his name, phone number, address, estimated square footage, preferred pickup time, destination, and payment method.  The payment options listed are ‘Cash,’ ‘Traveler’s Check,’ and ‘Gift Card.’  Oy vey.  Why not just put ‘money launderers’ on the front window?

“Oh, good, you take cash,” Eddie says cheerfully.  “Everybody seems to want plastic these days, but who can afford all the fees, am I right?  Banks are just gangs of thieves in suits anyhow.  Wall Street bastards, overcharging honest folks into obliv—”

“Thank you very much, we will call you soon!” the guy interrupts, snatching up the form with gritted teeth.

Something suicidal in Eddie can’t resist snarking with, “I catch you at a bad time?  Bro?”

The guy visibly collects himself and huffs out a humorless laugh.  “Ah, yes, sorry.  I don’t mean to be rude, but my boss has really been on my back.  You know how it is, holiday rush…”

“Yeah, no, I get it.  The big guy’s riding you to get results.  Must be rough, being a slave to the Fat Man’s whims.”

Mr. Customer Service is no longer amused.  “What did you say?”

Eddie casually points to the jolly ceramic figure on a nearby desk.  “Y’know—Santa.”

“Ah.  Yes.”

“Happy holidays,” Eddie says with a smile, and walks out.

Outside in the cold, he shoves his hands in his pockets and curses himself.

“Great job, Eddie, always gotta poke the fuckin’ bear…  Trying to take down this evil bastard is what got you run outta town before.”

He pauses a step, then starts walking again.

What if some of what he knows carries over?  The presidents have been the same, the key senators are the same…  Yeah, there are people with super powers, and that’s a pretty big diff, but other shit seems real close.

He found five laundering businesses, two arms stockpiles, and a drug lab, all an instant too late to tie it to Fisk before shit got sanitized or scapegoats got trotted out.  What if even some of it’s the same?  Two of the laundering operations were on MJ’s list for Sloan.

“Heh, mascot, my ass,” he mutters.  “Get some Scooby Snacks ready, kids…”

He calls MJ just because she’s his usual point of contact, so it won’t look weird if Rafa or somebody gets his phone.  After a few rings, it goes to voicemail.

“Shit.  You guys better not be in trouble and need rescuing right now, or I’ll ground you all for life.  I’m chasing some old leads, hoping they’ll turn into new leads.  Once upon a time, there was a guy named Lopez who worked at a place called Fat Man Auto Repair, which happens to be on the same property as Fat Man Used Cars, and he was definitely in deep with organized crime near Hell’s Kitchen.”

And away he goes.

~*~*~

And really, the first warning should have been the boarded windows.

The second warning should have been the angry chick stomping off into the snow just as the sun came back out.

Red flag number three should have been all the Tracksuits lollygagging around the place.

But, hey, all that seemed to point to Eddie being right.  Deliciously, beautifully, vindicatingly right.

The bloom of hot pain just below his ribs seems to point to Eddie being a goddamn idiot.

The guy who pulled the trigger looks surprised for a moment, like maybe he never shot anybody before, but then he gets that mad dog look they sometimes do, and he pulls the trigger again, and a third time.

It’s not Eddie’s first time being shot, but the novelty hasn’t worn off yet.  It hurts, and he can’t catch his breath, and his hands are shaking too badly to put pressure on the wound.  Wounds.  And that’s problematic, since he doesn’t have an alien goo monster putting him back together.

So much for those Scooby Snacks…

Somebody is yelling—roaring.  There’s a fight going on somewhere, but Eddie’s trying to stay on his feet, but he can’t remember why…

It doesn’t hurt when he hits the ground.  It’s cold and wet and crunchy.  And red.

White sky, high up.

Can’t catch his breath.

His mouth tastes like pennies and warm milk.

There’s something heavy on his chest—in his chest?

Gloved fingers on his face, then bare skin.  His ears are filled with a low hiss and a high ringing.  Someone’s talking, far away.  More voices.  Crying out.  They sound sad.  More fingers, smaller.

MJ’s pinky ring stings like a bitch when she slaps him.  For a moment, the ringing clears.  “You’re going into shock,” she says loudly, firmly.  “Focus.  Squeeze Matt’s hand.  Ned says Peter’s—”

Her voice fades away under the ringing again, and he chokes for a moment before managing a cough.  But then he still can’t catch his breath.  Something liquid is sliding down or up, like accidentally swallowing pool water, or getting his sinuses irrigated when he had a bad infection…

White.

Cold.

And then nothing.

I got us.

Black.  Sliding between bone and tissue, eating the misplaced blood to use as raw material, growing holes closed, discarding three little lumps of lead.

Nestling back in the hollow space between stomach and heart where it belongs.

HOME

Whole.

Wet fingers squeezing his—theirs—a little too hard.

Matt

They squeeze back, and Eddie manages to open his eyes.  “Well, that coulda gone better,” he admits.

Matt laughs at him, but he’s crying, too—nose gone pink and hair mussed from the mask discarded next to him in the snow—and he’s so damn pretty.  “I’d yell, but Foggy would call me a hypocrite.”

“I thought the Devil only came out at night.”

“What, like a blind lawyer would have been a ton of help against those guys?”

“Coulda made cute faces at ‘em till they either adopted you or begged for mercy.”

Matt yanks him upright and into a hug.

Two other sets of hands touch his back.

“Had us worried, Scoob,” MJ teases, but Venom can taste the heat in her hands, hear them trembling ever so softly.

“Sorry,” says Peter.  “I’m sorry.  I know you said you didn’t want him, but I couldn’t think of anything else, and he didn’t want to do it against your will, but I made him do it, and it saved your life, so—”

“Parker.”

Venom curls away from Eddie’s heart for a moment, but settles right back.

“What I said was, it wrecked me when he left.”

STAYING

“Yeah, for how long?” Eddie retorts.

missed you love you. home. home not going not ever never neverneveragain.

“Said that last time.”

what if

He waits.

He can feel Venom curling through his thoughts, less obtrusive than the other times he’s done it.

we could keep Matt.  he can make me behave, and he can make you happy.

Eddie stares as Matt senses something and tilts his head with a little frown.

YES that settles it, i have decided we are KEEPING MATT.  you are welcome.

Eddie laughs and kisses Matt’s cheek.

“Is that good?” Matt asks.  “That seems good.”

“V says if he stays, we’re keeping you.”

You have something in your pocket.  Bumpy paper.  I read about it on the Internet!  It says…  Oh, that is SUPER-ROMANTIC, Eddie, you are being WOOED!

Aloud, the alien says, “MATT.  Eddie is an idiot who cannot read the bump-writing, but I can read his bird-brain mind, and since I am the most helpful friend-boyfriend ever, read this and become intolerably smug!”

A black tendril nudges Matt’s right hand and settles under his fingers.  After a moment, he looks confused, then stunned, then—as Venom predicted—smug.  “So, I hear you and Snowflake are in the market for a place to stay long-term?”

“Uh,” Eddie says with all the charm and eloquence of a squirrel that ate somebody’s reefer stash.

“We can discuss that later,” MJ says.  “Now that you’re not dead or dying, explain why the hell you thought it was a good idea to come here at all, let alone without backup.  And keep in mind that you’re lucky your boyfriend has really weird attachment issues and that Peter followed Hawkeye and found out he sent a note to meet somebody here tonight so we were already on our way check it out.”

“Oh.  Right.  One sec—”  He steals another kiss before handing Matt his mask.  “Okay, so in my universe—”

(“Wait, what?” Matt says.  “Shhhh,” says MJ.)

“—I had gathered up all kinds of great leads to taking down Kingpin, but I was just a tad too slow, and he got all his alibis and scapegoats and payoffs lined up.  Bastard got me blacklisted from every paper in the city, sent me running to the opposite side of the country.  I figured enough things were the same here that I might try to scope out my old leads.  Unfortunately, it paid off.  I still got more leads to follow up on, though, and with V aboard, I fix up good as new.”

“And I pay better attention.”

“Asshole.”

“It’s true!  Remember Kasady and his little map?”

“You’re not cute enough to be smug about one case,” Eddie declares.  “You’re gonna have to work your way up.”

“Tell you what, boys,” says Matt—well, the mask is back on and he’s just pulled on his gloves, so technically he’s Daredevil now.  “I know a private eye who works pretty cheap when good people are getting the short end of some rich guy’s stick, and she happens to have kept off Fisk’s radar.  Give me your list, and she and I can have a look.”

“No way, the Tracksuits are my scoop!” MJ growls.

“Also, two more superheroes, right here,” Peter adds, pointing to Eddie and himself.

Daredevil shakes his head.  “You’re a minor, Peter.”

“Super!  And a really good scientist-in-training!”

“Peter is objectively much more super and heroic than you are.”

“I will blast you out of my boyfriend and stuff you in a fish bowl,” Daredevil threatens.

“Kids, stop fighting or I will do all the heroics myself and probably end up dead again!” Eddie yells.  When the others have shut up, he goes on at a more reasonable volume, “Babe, invite your PI friend to the Batcave.  We’ll, uh, have a con-fab or whatever, divide the labor fairly, see about helping Hawkeye and nailing the Fat Man in time for Christmas.”

“How are we gonna pay her?” asks Peter.

Eddie heaves a sigh and pulls out his phone.  “Snowflake has currently raised us twenty-seven thou and counting, thanks to that viral marketing thingy Queen MJ pulled.”

“H-h-how—”

MJ shrugs.  “I tagged Flash and showed him that vid of you asleep in the suit with Snowflake on your lap.  Did you know he has three hundred thousand followers on Insta and over a million on Twitter?  He shared the GoFundMe link with the tag ‘give a buck for Spidey’s favorite kitty.’“

Peter looks slightly frightened.  “I love you so, so much.  Please never turn into a super-villain.”

“Now that’s out of the way,” MJ says, standing up and looking around the back lot of the auto shop.  “Whaaaaat are we gonna do about all these unconscious goons?  I think at least one probably needs a doctor.  Daredevil got a little enthusiastic.”

“Mm.  Sorry, not sorry.”

“Don’t worry—not judging.  They shot the dog, John Wick kicked their asses.”

.End.

#fanfic #CANON DIVERGENCE #Venom liked the MCU so I let him stay as a treat #Matt/Eddie #rarepair #fandom: MCU #handwaving the hell out of this timeline #fic series: glitter (venom MCU)

[adlbeay]

I wanted to talk about the themes in the Walk in the Dust event. The story of Arknights has always had a high level of thematic consistency, but it’s especially prominent in this event. I feel like a lot of the discussion of the story in certain places comes down to “lore” and surface-level plot details, so I wanted to get this out there somewhere.

The two big ideas that are covered in Walk in the Dust are that of revenge and the homeland. Let's talk about revenge first. Long post and story spoilers under the cut.

In the beginning, we are introduced to Elliot, aka Passenger, who by the time we meet him, is an aimless husk of a man. He is utterly empty inside despite being the most powerful figure in the Reefsteep black  market, with vast wealth and political influence under his thumb. Having completed his decades-long quest to slay everyone who was involved in betraying his teacher, he has no more goals for his life. After killing  the Lord Ameer of Ibut, the last of his targets, he realizes that the revenge he had been pursuing was ultimately empty, that the weapons he built and the schemes he engineered to that end no longer moved him. Even the death of the Lord Ameer didn't matter one bit in the political landscape of Sargon.

As for the Sargon army... We live in different times now. The ruling  Padishahs simply care not about what is happening here in this barren  wasteland. My guess is that it matters not to them whether it's the  father or the son that's in charge. Actually, to tell the truth, it  hardly matters to me either.

Ultimately, no one cared if the Lord Ameer was murdered or simply  died in an accident, not even Elliot himself. Sargon continues to be exploited by the Columbian military and the ruling Lords. Professor Thorne remains dead. His research, once entrusted to Elliot to prevent  it from becoming a weapon of war, has nonetheless been used by Elliot  himself to bring even more death. Now, 22 years later, Passenger sees  finding Kal'tsit as his only path to salvation, so that she can once  again give him a purpose like she did when she rescued him the first time.

Folinic's mom, Lillia, also shares the same kind of story. Her husband was killed in Chernobog when the count decided to purge the researchers working on the sarcophagus device. Among the children of the families broken up by this incident are Lyudmila (later Crownslayer), Alex and Misha (later Skullshatterer), and Luisa (later Folinic). Lillia finds Kal'tsit after months of searching, intending to take revenge on  Grand Duke Vanya not just for her husband, but also for Luisa, who never got to know her father because of it. Kal'tsit tries to talk her out of  it, even during the final phases of the plan, but Lillia's mind is set.  She entrusts Kal'tsit with taking care of both Luisa and Lyudmila, as  she knows she won't be able to come back to live a normal life after  this. And... she succeeds. Although it is Kal'tsit who ultimately administered the poison, their plan works flawlessly and Duke Vanya is finally dead.

Except it still ended up being completely meaningless. The Grand Duke was in a glorified nursing home already near the end of his life, and if Kal'tsit didn't kill him then some other conspirator from the Ursus  political backstage would have done it anyway. He was already crippled and blind, and as we find out during the confrontation with the Emperor's Blade, even Kal'tsit only agreed to Lillia's plan because it  defused the conspiracies of other powerful figures who would have used  the Duke's death to spark another rebellion. The only thing that Lillia ended up accomplishing was making sure that Louisa would grow up without both a mother and a father, and Lyudmila would never get the answers she really wanted about her family's death. And, although she ended up not doing it, she was even also planning to go back to Chernobog to kill  Sergei, Alex and Misha's father, for his betrayal.

And this carries on through the future outside the event. Crownslayer ends up joining Reunion because she thinks it will give her the answers  she wants and avenge her father. Folinic almost lets her anger at Atro's death get her into a confrontation with Wolumonde. In the end, Crownslayer is stopped by Kal'tsit and Folinic is calmed down by  Suzuran, but we might be able to imagine what would have happened if  they managed to carry out their vengeance.

The theme of homeland is one that's intrinsically tied to Kal'tsit and has at least a bit of relation to the broader story outside of the event. It's harder to talk about since it's not clearly  split into individual stories like previously, but there's at least one character that exemplifies this theme the most: Old Isin.

Old Isin is appropriately to his name, old as rocks. He remembers being a servant to some lord of a long-lost city that very few even know once existed, and spends his time telling fortunes while trying to seek out people who, like him, also share that past. According to Kal'tsit, the city's people were scattered when it was destroyed, and now only Isin even remembers the origin of the name "Reefsteep". Even then, Isin only has vague memories, and believes it to be his unforgivable sin that  he has forgotten so much about the city.

Old Isin originally helps Kal'tsit and Elliot because he hopes that  she can help him remember about the lost city, and thus absolve his  "unforgivable sin". And Kal'tsit indeed does help him. Isin begins to recall the conquests of armies a thousand years ago, something even with  his age he should not have been a part of, much less remembered.  Kal'tsit dispels the illusions clouding his memory, and reveals that  what Isin remembers is only the stories that the padishah recounted to  him, that the glory of his old city was only a memory of another memory. In truth, the city in Old Isin's memory was merely a stepping stone for the padishah's ambition to conquer the uncharted deserts, and was abandoned just as easily when that campaign failed. His homeland's glory was just an illusion created in his mind by the padishah's charisma.

Which brings us to the Emperor's Blade. Wherever he stands is the dominion of the Empire of Ursus. Whatever he does carries out the Ursus Emperor's will. Or at least, that's how the Royal Guards imagine themselves, single-handedly carrying out their homeland's legacy. Kal'tsit lays it out clearly:

Kal'tsit: Tell me, what does the current Ursus Emperor think of the Pine Valley affair? Or do you mean to tell me the seeds of that uprising, the origins of the crisis were all the will of the Emperor? Feel free to keep deceiving yourself, but the truth is the young emperor is unaware of the events that transpired there. You believe he has no  need to know. You... all of you seek a bygone era. You are just caught up in the former emperor's grand vision!

As does Patriot in Chapter 8:

Patriot: I fought with your fathers. Your strength and tactical acumen are no less impressive than theirs. But you look at the Ursus of those times with rose-colored glasses. What you see is nothing more than your wild fantasies.

The Royal Guards are described in not too unclear words as soldiers  who probably believed too much of their own grandiose affect. They are unparalleled fighters, to be sure, but it isn't hard to infer that those words about executing Ursus's will and each Royal Guard being his own nation are words intended to strike fear into their enemies rather than  statements of any real truth. Indeed, if you know anything about the internal politics of Ursus, the idea of "Ursus's own will" can be seen as more of a nostalgia at a bygone era when Ursus was, or at least seemed, united in conquest under the previous Emperor. The perceived glory of their homeland is what motivates the Emperor's Blade, but like with Old Isin, the truth behind it is shaky at best.

We also have the contrast between the retired veteran at Pine Valley  and Grand Duke Vanya. While talking to Witte, the veteran cuts off one of his own fingers, claiming that the scars he has suffered in Ursus's wars, once considered symbols of his glory and honor, were ultimately meaningless, and he wants this self-inflicted wound to be his only legacy to Ursus. At the same time, the Grand Duke is postulating about how the seeds he had sown in the winter would give birth to beautiful flowers. Even though his actions and the crimes he committed never bore fruition, he is convinced even in death that Ursus's soil will bloom.

The issue of a real or imagined homeland, and its loss, is also  shared by the Sarkaz as a whole not only in this story but in the main story and many other events. It's even arguable that Rhodes Island's mission to help the Infected was originally inherited from Babel's goal of establishing a stable homeland for the Sarkaz. After all, as pointed  out in many places, the Infected and Sarkaz share much of the same discrimination.

Sarkaz Mercenary: Home...? How could us devils... us Infected possibly have one... Kal'tsit: The Sarkaz have tried to rebuild 'Kazdel', their home for centuries, though they have never succeeded. Everyone has a different idea as to what the term 'homeland' means, but as it stands right now,  Kazdel is perhaps as close as you can get to the term's original meaning.

And in Twilight of Wolumonde:

Armed Infected: We’re going home? To what home?

Mudrock: Kazdel. There may be no place for Sarkaz outside of Kazdel.  But in Kazdel, there is a place for you. Not because of tolerance. But because there is... nothing there. Kazdel... is where the homeless go. A land of rootless people.

So what does all this have to do with Kal'tsit?

In the ending cutscene, Passenger asks Kal'tsit whether this "Rhodes  Island" is yet another passing persona to be used to accomplish a goal and discarded when it's complete. Like the persona of the Trusted  Advisor, or the Servant, or the Laterano Cleric, will she abandon Rhodes  Island as well? Kal'tsit initially puts up a front saying he has no  right to ask, then bluffs about having thousands of answers, but is pushed by Passenger saying he'll even accept a lie. In one of the only times we get to see Kal'tsit faltering, she actually has no answer to this.

Unlike the other characters we see throughout the story, Kal'tsit has no homeland. No matter how fake or illusory it is, Old Isin and the Royal Guard have something to believe about a place where they can belong. The nobles in Victoria, as incompetent as they appear from the outside, are dedicated to defending the peace of their home despite having no ruler. Even the ostracized Sarkaz can ultimately go back to Kazdel, as unpleasant as that might be. But while Kal'tsit wanders the earth to keep the homelands of others from falling into chaos, she has no homeland of her own to go back to.

In one of the trailers for Chapter 9, we hear a recording from Theresa, addressed to Kal'tsit: "I hope this Rhodes Island can be a place to call home, a place you can always return to."

#arknights #arknights spoilers #kal'tsit

[angellbarnes]

Forgotten Love - part six: no longer one of them

chapter summary: the truth will set you free, if it doesn't kill you first. The team interrogates you and your past.

pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

words: 2.3k

warnings: language, mentions of torture, needles

A/N: sorry it's been a while but finally got around to finishing this chapter. Pls like, comment and reblog as always! :)🤍

series masterlist

You look around the blank, boxy room. Then down at your hands, where your wrists are chained to a table. Then down at your ankles, where they are chained to the chair you’re sitting on. It’s been at least thirty minutes since you were left in here by yourself, struggling in your restraints. Your breathing becomes rugged and you can’t hold down the panic rising within, no matter how hard you try. Even closing your eyes, all you see are them. In a sudden rush of emotion you manage to yank yourself free from each chain and stand, pushing the chair from behind you and sending flying back, hitting the wall and crashing to the floor. You look up to the wall opposite, noticing your disheveled reflection in the mirror, fists balled up tight. A one-way mirror, no doubt.

“No, no, no, no, no.” You repeat to yourself. Your hands fly to your hair, raking through it and grabbing while your chest heaves and your head spins. Steadying yourself with the table for a moment to calm yourself as best you can. You tread carefully towards the door but stop in your tracks, physically frozen in place as you try and place how many footsteps are heading towards you now.

There are seven of them. Three, you notice, stay at the door whilst the others carry on, presumably to whatever room is behind that mirror.

The door opens.

“What in the-” Fury begins, seeing you standing before him and noticing the mess you’d left. “Let me see your hands.” He brings up a gun that seems to glare straight at you, as if to say there’s no getting out of this. So, you show your hands.

Tony and Nat are behind him and Natasha walks to the chair that is on its side, picks it up and sets it back down at the table, then motions stoically for you to sit back down.

“Take a seat. We’re gonna be here for a while. And before you try anything stupid, don’t.” Fury states. You sit back down and suddenly notice the dryness of your mouth and throat.

The three of them now stand before you, looming over like the shadows of your past.

“There’s a lot to unpack here, so I suggest we start with whatever the hell just happened upstairs.” Tony begins. His face is forbidding, as are the others, and his arms are crossed.

You remain silent.

“This is the part where you start talking.” Your gaze shifts to meet a single, harsh eye. God knows he only needs one to get the job done.

“I-”

“What Barnes said. Was it true? Did you help torture him as the Winter Soldier?” Natasha’s voice is demanding, needing.

“No.” You say, finally mustering up a word. “Well, yes. No and yes.”

“What do you mean no and yes?” Fury leans forward on the table.

“Not exactly.”

“Cut the crap. Did you, at any point, help HYDRA in torturing Bucky?”

Silence. Then,

“Yes.” It came out as a broken whisper.

Behind the glass, Bucky takes in a sharp breath. Deep down he knew it was true, but that didn’t stop him from wanting it not to be.

Someone begins walking towards the door from the opposite room. Steve enters and switches out with Tony. Steve looks more disappointed than anything, which makes your heart ache more.

“Why? Why were you with them?”

“Steve-”

“Just answer the question.” Steve closes his eyes in exasperation, letting his head fall forward. He can barely look at you.

“I was alone, back when I joined.” You begin. “At the time I was sheltering in an abandoned warehouse that was half blown to pieces. They found me. I was vulnerable and they knew it. So they took me in, fed me, gave me a roof over my head, a proper one. I thought they were good people, at first.” You’re looking down at your lap as you speak, not wanting to risk looking anyone in the eye.

“And how do we know this isn’t some bullshit story you’ve made up to get us to sympathise with you?” Nat chimes in, brows knit together by the thread of betrayal.

“For all we know you could still be one of them. Feeding everything back to them since you got here. Is that what you’ve been doing? Gaining our trust in order to have inside information? This whole goddamn time.” Steve is angry. More than you’ve seen him before. But it’s not the kind of anger that him and Tony might share when the other gets on their nerves, no. This anger is the one that comes from deep within you, that only shows when you’ve been stabbed deep enough in the back for it to come seeping out all crimson red.

“No, it’s not like that. I’m done with HYDRA, I promise.”

“Well that promise doesn’t mean much to us.” Fury comments.

“I know. But it’s all I have.”

Fury holds his fingers up to his ear. “Hill, bring it in.” A moment after Fury’s request she is heading round and into the room. She passes him a folded piece of paper.

“This,” he begins to unfold it. “was surprisingly easy to find. Inside a book? Really?” He leans onto the table and slides the paper forwards. You are now face to face with yourself; the file page you'd retrieved from the first mission. You rub your hands together, as if hoping for a genie to appear so you could wish for this to have never happened.

“That’s not me. Well, it is me. But it’s not who I am. The person you’ve come to know since I joined this team is the real me. I’m not that person.” You look back down at the photograph of your deadened self. “Anymore.”

“Care to explain?” Nat asks.

“After a while with HYDRA, I realised that some others from the rooms near me were being taken somewhere else. I didn’t know where, though; they wouldn’t tell us. Eventually I was the only one left, and none of the others had come back yet.” Your throat is dryer than ever. “They took me to a room. A dark one. And they sat me in a chair. Strapped me down. I could hear some screams from neighbouring rooms but they dismissed it, said people were hurt and they were treating them. They were lying, of course, but at the time I was naive enough to believe them. They stuck a needle in my arm and released an acidically blue liquid into my bloodstream. At first it was excruciating. It felt as though someone was searing my veins as it moved from my arm and into my chest, then up my neck and down my torso. Then it was everywhere. My mind was so clouded with pain, until it just… stopped. I felt numb. And after that, HYDRA turned me into their own personal weapon. Because I was their success. I was the one who survived. They had used a different serum on all twelve of us, trying to find one that worked. And it finally did. At first I felt special to have been the one that survived. Proud, even. But soon it turned into something more sinister, and I realised how lucky the others were…”

The silence in the room is deafening. To a point where you have to start shuffling in your seat just to rid it. It’s hard to gage anyone’s emotions at this point. Natasha leaves, silently, without glancing back. Though she doesn’t head towards the others behind the mirror, she walks away in the opposite direction. Your heart hangs heavy in your chest with the thought of having hurt her this much.

“So, you’re telling me, the serum we found on that mission last week hasn’t just been created? They’d already figured it out and used it on you?” Steve’s question is spoken as more of a statement, everyone already knowing the answer.

“Yes.” You whisper.

“And that’s where these powers came from? The serum?”

“Yes.”

“Another supersoldier. ‘Cause we don’t have enough of those.” Fury scoffs. “And why do they always have to come from HYDRA?”

“The serum made you stronger and faster. But it doesn’t explain your extra power. Where did that come from?” Steve interrogates.

“The serum as well.” Your voice is weak and strained by guilt as you speak. “When they were recreating it they also… experimented with it. Once they knew they perfected the original serum they started tampering with additional elements and quantities. It wasn’t until me when one of them worked. The serum they’d created managed to grip on to certain sensory nerves and cells and increased the sensitivity, or… something about exteroreceptors, maybe? I can’t exactly remember the science of it all-”

“So, just like that, we’re supposed to trust you?” Steve cuts you off, his vigilant tone as unnerving as his stare.

“Send Barnes in.” Fury motions to agent Hill, who exits the room, only to return with him: the one person you thought could get you out of this situation.

Bucky keeps his head down, making sure to avoid any eye contact. You desperately want to yell the truth at everyone - the whole truth - but you know that wouldn’t be wise. Especially since they’re already sceptical of everything that’s coming from your deceiving lips. They would never believe that. He would never believe it.

Not until he remembers it all.

“Bucky, do you know if this is the truth?” Hill cautiously asks him.

“No.”

“No, you don’t know, or no, it isn’t the truth?” Fury inquires.

“No, I don’t know.” He states, finally looking up and meeting your gaze. You can see the hurt in his eyes. It’s evident that these newly found memories haven’t treated him well. Especially since he’d started to take a liking to you, which he never let be known. He didn’t know what to make of it when he began to feel a strange, but strong, pull towards you. As if there was some invisible string that was pulling, connecting, the two of you together.

It frayed and snapped as soon as he remembered.

But knowing that he’d felt it in the first place makes his head hurt all the more.

“So, number 12, what is your real name?” Fury looks straight into your eyes, almost burning through your skull with his intensity.

“And don’t even think about lying to us again.” Steve snarls. You hesitate for a moment, drawing heavy breaths.

“My real name- my real name is Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Let’s put it to the test, shall we?” Fury proposes.

A few moments later, you’re being hooked up to a lie detector by Bruce. He then sits diagonal to you with the polygraph machine in front of him.

“We’re set.” He states.

“Perfect. Let’s get started, shall we?” Tony is now back in the room. A full house.

They don’t hesitate with the questions, getting straight into it, yes or no.

“Before you joined this team, were you a HYDRA agent?” Hill begins with. There is no way for you to escape this, no stopping the rollercoaster from plunging down as you reach the top.

“Yes.”

“An assassin?”

“Yes.”

“Do you still work for them?” Steve’s turn.

“No.”

“Do you still associate yourself with them in any way?”

“No.”

“Are you in contact with them?” Tony asks.

“No.”

“Do you plan on going back to them? Becoming one of them again?” Steve begins again.

“No.” You answer through gritted teeth now.

“Bruce?” Fury chimes in, and all heads turn to him, as he reads the coloured lines on the paper.

“She’s telling the truth so far.” He confirms.

The questions, the interrogating, it continues for several more minutes. Questions like: Are you loyal to this team? Are you really here to make good of your past? Is that life with HYDRA over for good?

Yes, yes, and yes.

“Did you assist in the torture of a Seargent James Barnes whilst you were a part of HYDRA?” Fury reads from a sheet, making sure to leave no stone unturned. A stone that it feels as if he just threw at your stomach. You force your eyes upwards and to Bucky’s, brimming with sadness.

“Yes.” Your answer feels so sour against your tongue. You pry your eyes away and they fall to the floor once more.

“All true.” Bruce confirms once more.

“But-”

“Last question.” Fury walks forward. “How did you manage to get through our system, without us finding any trace of who you really are?” He speaks slowly, deeply, sounding like he has gravel in his throat.

“The old me was classed as dead. I had nothing to my name, not even a life. And HYDRA didn’t make it their first priority to give me one. So, technically I was no one. It wasn’t that hard to create a completely new person. A clean slate, if you will.”

Everyone’s faces are stern, yet utterly mindfucked. No one knows what to think. Fury stands tall and motions his head to the door whilst looking at the others. Everyone exits the room in a disappointed silence.

Bucky is the last to leave. He stands, with his arms crossed and brows furrowed, directly in front of where you sit. The prolonged eye-contact is laced with an unknown, but oddly familiar,  tension.

“Bucky, I-” As soon as you begin to speak he follows after the others and shuts and locks the door behind him.

Once again, you’re left with just yourself in the vacant room, besides the company of the chair, table and your infinite, anxiety-ridden thoughts of what the hell is going to happen to you now.

•••

Taglist:

@buckysjuicyplums @901seconds @walkwithfluffyangels @infernal-fire @ohashley101 @mrs-fanfiction-2001 @buckys2thicc @freigeistundanderes

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes series #sebastian stan #the winter soldier #avengers #avengers fic #marvel #marvel fic #avengers x reader #steve rogers #captain america #tony stark #natasha romanoff #iron man #black widow #fatws #bruce banner #nick fury #maria hill #forgotten love #forgotten love series

[luna-rainbow]

Lifton's postulate for brainwashing

Er, so this is really not my field or comfort zone, but I was researching for my fic/meta and came upon this list, which I thought might be of interest to people.

Robert Lifton is a renowned psychologist who studied PoWs and came up with this 10 step process with which people were "brainwashed", which are also often seen in cults and indoctrination. To me, it also feels like some of the techniques are used by abusers in toxic controlling relationships, because it creates a dynamic where the victim feels like they are dependent on the abuser for guidance and the need to "do good".

See...my take on Bucky's amends is that it was part of the military's process in "reforming" Bucky to align with their purposes.

These methods need the person to be isolated to work, which unfortunately Bucky already is.

1) Assault on identity: "You are not who you think you are"

2) Guilt: "You are bad"

3) Self-betrayal: "Agree you are bad and your family/friends are wrong"

The point of steps 1-3 is basically to make people doubt who they are and what their self-worth and belief systems are. Because of what Bucky's experienced, he doesn't actually need a lot of push to go that way - he already thinks "the Winter Soldier is still in there" and that "I am crazy". The key would be how they play on #3 - would it explain why Bucky suddenly cut contact with Sam? Because they kept feeding him propaganda and he wasn't sure how to talk to Sam any more?

4) Breaking point This is the point the abuser wants to reach with steps 1-3, and HSW explains it best in this quote:

When the target reaches his breaking point, his sense of self is pretty much up for grabs -- he has no clear understanding of who he is or what is happening to him. At this point, the agent sets up the temptation to convert to another belief system that will save the target from his misery.

At this point, people would become highly suggestible to external influence, because their sense of self and their belief system is disrupted.

5) Leniency: "I can help you" A lot of abusive relationships hinge on this point to maintain it. They offer a reprieve from the abuse they've been dealing out, and because it is so different, it almost feels "kind".

While not the same situation in Bucky's case, this may be the purpose of the "pardon". Never mind that he was a prisoner of war subjected to extensive periods of torture and mind-control, never mind that at least in the final few years he was under the control of the secretary of a government organisation...They perpetuate the notion that Bucky himself is guilty, and their offer of pardon is their leniency.

6) Compulsion to confess: "You can help yourself"

7) Channelling of guilt: "This is why you're in pain"

8) Releasing of guilt: "This is how you can change that" I think @ifandomus raised a good point some time ago about how the government would have tried to get Bucky to reveal information - or at least reveal how much he knows, because that may affect whether or not they trust him to be out there potentially revealing things they don't want people to know about.

#7 and #8 play directly into the amends. The guilt is painted as a personal failing, and Bucky is given a personal quest as an outlet and a path (however damaging to both him and the WS's victims) to resolve the guilt. We don't know how he made that list. We don't know why some people's names are on it, while others are not. We do know that Raynor is aware of the list and is probably also aware of the actual names on that list (even before episode 6). What are the chances that - during a period where Bucky was highly suggestible and uncertain - even the amends list was curated by the government?

9) Progress and harmony: "Here is a new belief system that will make you feel better"

10) Final confession and rebirth: "I accept the new belief system" I don't think Bucky quite got to the final 2 stages, and it's probably because he reconnected with Sam and came out of that social isolation where he didn't have an anchor.

I feel like Bucky got the sense that they were trying to get inside his head, hence his antagonism with his therapist (I can't imagine how he would feel after 70 years of people breaking inside his head, to be faced with someone doing it again). But I also think - especially without any sort of background in psychology or even social interactions for decades - he isn't sure whether she really is trying to help and it's just his own distrust getting in the way, so there's a bit of a see-sawing dynamic he has with the psychologist because sometimes he thinks maybe she has a point, and at other times he's on edge and closed off.

My feeling is that he latches so hard onto Steve (Stucky aside) because that is his only guarantee of something being true. Hence a lot of his actions and arguments are based on what Steve did, what Steve said and what Steve left behind.

(I know the show isn't really going this way with it...but I like the thought of Raynor and the therapy sessions all being a giant scam to get Bucky to be a pliable war dog again)

#bucky barnes #medical meta #kinda #meta #tfatws #the falcon and the winter soldier

[sazc94]

The Three Times James "Bucky" Barnes Broke your heart.

This was inspired by @msmarvelwrites 2k Writing Challenge because I'm a sucker for Taylor Swift especially sad Taylor Vibes. I chose the all too well lyrics.

Apparently, I can't do anything small so it's in two parts. Pairs Bucky x Reader and Pietro x Reader. (Not at the same time)

Part 1 Here

No smut but mentions of sex so 18+ Themes: highschool, cheating, college/uni. Friendship

Words 3368 it's Suburban AU.

2015 You finished up Uni staring in the school's production of Rock of Ages, Playing Sherry opposite Loki’s drew. Loki also moved to New York staying with his half brother Thor Oddinson. You stayed in touch with Loki and Pietro. The thing that took you by surprise however was six months after moving to Detroit, whilst working for Bruce Banner's start-up you received a DM on Instagram from Bucky. He heard from Sam and Jane that you were now living in Detroit and he was moving to the area after being scouted by the Detroit Lions. Hey Y/N, I hope you’re good. I know this is random and please feel free to tell me where to go, but I was wondering if you wanted to get a drink sometime? It would be great to see you again and catch up. Let me know. So you replied feeling like maybe after all this time it might be good to finally hear Bucky’s apology. Pietro and you had stayed in touch but you knew he was dating someone else. Her name was Sue Storm, she seemed like a nice girl, very smart and could easily give Pietro a run for his money. After hearing Bucky’s apology, you two started to become friends again, he invited you along to his games always offering to secure you two tickets if you wanted to bring someone. He was a machine on the football field, earning the strange nickname The Winter Soldier.

2016

Everything changed in the summer of 2016 though when Bucky’s mother passed away suddenly in June. She had practically helped raise you, so you attended the funeral with Bucky. You stayed with him in the guest room in his childhood house, helping him sort through belongings and paperwork. Bucky’s dad had died when you were 8 and Bucky like you was an only child. You took in food from neighbours wanting to pay their respects. You held his hand squeezing it in comfort during the funeral, assuring him you were there for him. Two days after the funeral you and Bucky had finished packing up the final boxes, you were upstairs, and he was downstairs being awfully quiet. You went looking for him only to find him sat on the living room floor. He was crying holding a picture of you and him one Halloween when you were 9, Bucky had gone as Superman and you as Supergirl. Your mums stood behind you, both of them chuckling whilst you and bucky tried to out pose one another. Your heart swelled. Your Grandad had died in November and god how your heart had ached, but to lose your mum, you couldn’t even begin to imagine. “Hey, hey. It's alright I’m here Buck”, you said cradling his head to your chest whilst he sobbed. You stayed like that for an unidentifiable amount of time before Bucky’s crying eased. He looked up at you blinking away the stray tears, the familiar blue in his eyes pulling you in. Your not sure who kissed who first but that was how you and Bucky ended up sleeping together.

You and Bucky officially got back together in July. Your Grandma passed away in September, the start of football season. Bucky was unable to attend the funeral, he tried god he tried. Pietro made it though. He and Sue had broken up not that he told you. By the time November rolled around things were good between you and Bucky. Wanda’s fashion label Scarlett Witch was taking off and she invited you and Bucky out to join the rest of the old gang at the official launch in December of 2016. You accepted and for the pair of you assuring Bucky, there would be no awkwardness. Pietro was casually dating and was bringing a date called Crystal.

You arrived at the party in NYC completely blown away. Wanda had asked you to wear a piece from the evening wear collection, a Black strapless dress, the top if form-fitting made from chiffon fabric, the skirt cut out the front made of black tulle sparkled with the touches of glitter. It felt like you were wearing the Milky Way. After stopping to pose for photos for the press you made your way inside. The party was being held inside a beautiful gothic building. “Y/n! You look absolutely amazing, thank you so much for wearing this and of course for coming” Wanda practically pounced on you the minute she spotted you. “Bunny! I agree absolutely amazing. Bucky, you don’t look too bad yourself” Pietro said kissing you on the cheek. Pietro was wearing a deep blue suit, it made his hair and ice-blue eyes pop. Bucky had opted for the simple black tux to match you and your dress. He almost looked good enough to eat. After grabbing a glass of champagne, Wanda and Pietro took you to the rest of the gang who had made it. Jane was here with a date, Thor Oddinson you recognised him from the few times he had been to see you and Loki in shows. Carol was here too. Peter Parker was working the event as a photographer he had brought a date a lovely young lady called Mary Jane Watson. After about 45 minutes of schmoozing and catching up, you went to the ladies room. When you exited you were a little taken aback by the sight that confronted you, a redhead was hanging of Bucky’s arm chuckling away with Thor and Jane. You could only see the back of her from where you were standing. You decided to walk over and introduce yourself. However, when you got closer to the group the woman started to look vaguely familiar.

“Hey babe,” Bucky said as you approached quickly removing his arm from the redhead. Babe. That was weird he never called you babe. His blue eyes looked like they were hiding something. “Lady Y/N. This is Lady Natasha” Thor said introducing you. The redhead turned to shake your hand smiling at you with a knowing look. “Lovely to finally meet the infamous Y/N,” she said. “I told Bucky how disappointed I was not to meet you when I was in the City in September. I’m so sorry to hear about the passing of your grandmother. Bucky kept me company whilst I was around on some Business” her voice sounded harmless, sweet and pleasant. Genuine. Her eyes and knowing smirk told a different story. Bucky looked at you, the familiar betrayal in his eyes, pleading with you. “I was just telling Bucky, I’ve been offered this amazing opportunity in Detroit so Ill be moving there in February, isn’t that wonderful?” she asked. You smiled taking a swig of your champagne. Jane looked at you, then Bucky. You shook your head.

That was the second time Bucky Barnes broke your heart. He assured you that they hadn’t slept together, however had admitted that he had kept her visit from you and that she had kissed him. “Did you kiss her back?” you asked pacing around your hotel room. “Doll, please what does it matter,” he asked reaching out for you. His calloused hands once again burning your skin with his betrayal. The fact he had chosen not to answer was all the confirmation you needed. You had left him in the hotel room. Loki had been unable to make the event due to being in a small play off-Broadway, but you had texted him asking if he wanted to get a drink. You had told him everything and he had walked you back to your hotel room. You were drunk and distressed. Bucky had opened the door his blue eyes flashing with jealousy when the handsome black-haired gentleman had his arms around you. “Easy James, if anything was going to have happened between us, it would have happened in freshman year of college,” Loki said helping you into your room. After you and Bucky returned to Detroit you guys took a break for a few months.

2017

Natasha’s job conveniently happened to be working as a fitness instructor at the Detroit Lions. After 4 months you and Bucky got back together in March of 2017. Things were going great, Natasha seemed to have released whatever hold she had on Bucky. Bucky was performing well with the Lions, his new teammate, Steve Rogers nicknamed Captain America seemed to have caught the eye of many ladies including Natasha. He however didn’t seem that interested in her and had his sights set on a girl from his home in Brooklyn her name was Peggy. Steve and you hit off due to your mutual disinterest in Miss Romanoff, he had come up with a nickname for her, he called her Black Widow because she seemed to devour the men in her life. Banners start-up tech company had taken off with thanks to your ad campaigns. You were also performing in the local summer show of Mamma Mia playing Sophie. In the summer of 17, Peggy Carter came to visit Steve, turned out she was from Britain originally. You liked Peggy and her no-nonsense approach. During July, the four of you went on lots of double dates like you were high schoolers again. For Steve’s birthday which happened to be the fourth of July, the four of you attended an event being put on by the Detroit lions. You had a great evening mixing with various teammates and their families. You even warmed to Natasha a bit that afternoon.

As the evening rolled around a giant cake was brought out to celebrate Steve’s birthday. Followed by a firework show. Everyone made their way to various blankets and cushions set out at the opposite end of the stadium. Somewhere along the way you and Bucky got separated. You didn’t worry too much, to begin with as you’d both drifted off to interact with various people throughout the event, however by the time the fireworks started Bucky was nowhere to be seen. You started to think the worst until you spotted Natasha’s red hair on the other side of the stadium flirting with a gaggle of players from various other teams who were invited. Confident Bucky would return shortly you turned your attention to the sky watching with a goofy grin, things were finally settled between you and Bucky. As the fireworks went on you decided to snap a few shots on your phone loving the way the sky lit up with bright colours. The Detroit Lions didn’t do things in small doses, so the firework display ended up going on for about an hour and a half. After about 45 minutes Bucky returned from wherever he had been slipping down behind you pulling your back flush to his chest. He stroked small circles on your arms. His rough calloused skin making you shiver from the contact.

In September you were approached by Tony Stark’s PA Pepper Potts, they had seen your campaigns for Bruce Banner and Tony was interested in headhunting you. Your contract with Bruce was up in October. You initially shot the idea down. Why would you want to leave Michigan? Your family home was a short 20-minute drive away, Bucky was doing well with the Lions. Peggy Carter was moving here after Steve had proposed at the end of Summer. It seemed ludicrous. After initially shooting down the offer. Pepper contacted you, doubling their initial offer. The offer was tempting, so you told Miss Potts you would think it over the weekend. There was no harm in bringing it up with Bucky, maybe a move would do you both good, Natasha seemed to have gotten under Bucky’s skin again. You left the office early that day. You didn’t bother to text Bucky figuring you could surprise him when he got home from training with a home-cooked meal. You stopped off to get some supplies to make Lasagne before heading over to his apartment figuring you could just let yourself in. You had called Wanda on the drive over through your cars Bluetooth. She and Vision were engaged, and she wanted you to be one of her bridesmaids. Partway through the call, Pietro had walked into Wanda’s office so you had told them both about the job offer. When you got to Bucky’s you immediately recognised the Black Widows black Mercedes. “huh, that’s weird, I wonder what she’s doing here,” you said out loud “who’s where?” asked Wanda. “oh um nothing, look I got to go I just got to Buck’s and I’m cooking dinner, going to talk to him about Tony’s offer,” you said before hanging up. You were so blind-sighted by Natasha’s car you didn’t clock Bucky’s Motorcycle parked in the corner of the small parking lot. You grabbed your bags walking up to Bucky’s figuring that you could invite Natasha in if need be whilst you waited for Buck to come home.

If you had noticed Bucky’s bike, then just maybe you would have been more prepared for the following events you unlocked Bucky’s apartment and you found clothes strewn everywhere, his jeans. A white Blouse. His boxer trunks. A Black lacy bra, that definitely didn’t belong to you. At first, you were so shocked by what you saw that you didn’t hear the moans coming from the bedroom. It was like you were possessed you carried your bag of groceries as you walked in a daze to the bedroom, you opened the door and found Bucky once again cheating on you. He and Natasha were in the throws of fucking each other, you found Natasha with her back to you, wrapped around Bucky’s waist. Bucky sat upright facing you however his eyes closed whilst he drank in the pleasure. You felt your heartbreak as you dropped your bag of groceries. The bag made a thud as it hit the ground, alerting Bucky to your presence. His eyes flew open connecting with yours. Natasha however didn’t stop riding your boyfriend’s cock. Bucky tried to push her off him, but you were already storming out the door. You grabbed your bag and left Bucky’s spare key in the door. Bucky grabbed a pair of joggers and slippers before chasing after you. Bucky’s apartment was on the second floor. All the apartments on the second floor opened outside to a walkway.

“Really James?!?” you turned round to face him before he could even say your name. “Was once not enough? Did you not hurt me enough the first time?” You asked. You could feel the anger threatening to burst in the way of tears. Bucky went to speak, his blue eyes once again filled with guilt. “How long?!” you asked quietly. Bucky moved towards you tugging on your wrist. “Come on Y/N, come back inside it’s starting to rain, we can discuss this inside,” he said, his eyes pleading with you. At that moment Natasha appeared in Bucky’s open doorway. She looked pleased with herself, wearing Buck’s shirt. The site made you want to vomit. “How. Long?!” you asked again through gritted teeth. Bucky faltered. “Since July. Since the 4th of July event,” he admitted rubbing his hand over his face. At that moment you felt completely and utterly broken. “I’m done, James. Do you hear me? I am done. We are through. You two.” You pointed to Natasha. “You two are welcome to one another”. That was the third time Bucky broke your heart.

You took the job working for Stark Industries. Your contract had ended with Bruce but your lease on your apartment was up until January so you stayed working for him until December of 2017 You said your goodbyes to Steve and Peggy in January and moved across the country to your new life in the big apple.

December 2018

The unknown number flashed up on your phone for the third time that day. You sighed before answering it. “Hello, Y/N Speaking how can I help?” you asked fiddling with your jumper. “Hey Doll, it's me. Don’t hang up.” Your breath caught in your throat. James Buchanan Barnes. You hadn’t spoken to him in over a year. He hadn’t even attempted to reach out to you after you split up mailing your things back to you, well all but a scarf. In January shortly before you’d moved to NYC you’d seen a magazine article saying the Winter Soldier was dating Natasha Romanoff. It confirmed what you already knew deep down, which was that you might be okay but you were not fine at all.

You’d worked so hard to forget about him long enough to forget why you needed to. He had better have a damn good reason for calling you. “You have 5 minutes,” You said getting up from the sofa you were sat on. “look, I know I fucked up with you. In more than one way on more than one occasion. I think it was the pressure to be the perfect couple, you know lifelong friends to more. And well I guess I just freaked out, and then I fell for her, but she didn’t want me, and when you gave us another shot, I thought I could convince myself to love you the way I did her, the way you had loved me. But truth be told, it was always Natasha after that summer. I know you deserve better, and I truly am sorry for hurting your doll. But I wanted you to hear it from me before you read about it in the news. She’s pregnant and also, we’re getting married.” Bucky said. You stood in the middle of the apartment stunned. “So, you call me up again, just to break me like a promise. So casually cruel in the name of being honest?” you whispered. Squeezing back the tears. “Well fuck you, James.” With that, you hung up. Of course, Bucky tried to ring right back, you declined the call, falling to your knees in pain. You had never asked for any of this, you had been quite happy being Bucky’s best girl as his friend. He was the one who kissed you at that prom.

You weren’t still in love with Bucky, you had moved on, forgetting about him and the pain he caused you. He hadn’t needed to call you, he could have given you a heads up through one of your mutual friends, but no. he had to go and stick the knife in. After lying there like a crumpled-up piece of paper and letting the tears fall. You picked yourself up. You washed your face and made yourself a mug of hot chocolate grabbing a Christmas cookie from the tin before making your way over to the bay window. You sat down taking in the view. The traffic had eased off a bit as things wound down for the evening. The snow had been falling pretty much all day. After about 15 minutes of sitting peacefully the key in the lock turned. You didn’t move you were incredibly content where you were, even if you could use a refill in the hot chocolate department.

“Hey handsome how was your day?” you asked not taking your eyes away from the street below. A group of kids were throwing snowballs at one another. You smiled to yourself enjoying their innocence. “It was good, busy” he replied taking off his coat and walking over to join you at the window seat. Wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close. “How about you Bunny? I saw a news alert. I’m guessing you know about the engagement?” he asked. You hummed a response. Before shuffling yourself around to face him. His floppy silver-blonde hair covering those beautiful ice blue eyes, they looked at you with such love and endearment, they also spoke a silent promise that he would never hurt you the way that Bucky had. You kissed him gently on the lips before standing up. “Come on Quicksilver let's shower before the Stark Christmas Gala,” you said pulling your boyfriend along behind you shooting him a knowing grin. His nickname may be Quicksilver for athletic reasons but there were some things he liked to take his time with.

A/N If you stuck with me through all this, I am truly sorry. I'm gonna go cry

Tagging the bestie @lannycleave

#bucky x reader #pietro x reader #avengers au #marvel #marvel au #avengers fanfiction #𝐦𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬𝟐𝐤 #bucky barnes fluff #pietro #pietro fluff #bucky barnes #pietro fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfiction

[arianajbb]

FIC RECS - 1

💕 Clueless by @justsomebucky 

Movie AU. Inspired by Clueless - A high society boy and a do-gooder-type girl find love.

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💕 as you wish, ma’am by @aescapisms

SOCIAL MEDIA AU || Bucky Barnes fucks up and sends you the wrong presentation file.

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💕 A Lesson In Love by @buckyywiththegoodhair 

(College!AU) In which you’re assigned to write a story about romance, a subject you know nothing about, and Bucky, a hopeless romantic, offers you his assistance.

. 💕 The End Of The War by @redgillan 

Everyone knows you and Steve can’t stand each other, but after he runs into you after one of his fights, he starts to see you in a different light.

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💕 Babies! Assemble by @honeyloverogers 

On a mission involving time travel, as if they haven’t learned at all that it’s dangerous, the Avengers get turned into babies. Including your boyfriend.

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💕 Have You Any Wool by @threeminutesoflife 

Dinner with Ransom doesn’t go as planned.

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💕 Peaches and Plums by @cptnbvcks 

After escaping hydra, Bucky finds a pretty peach vendor to work out his troubled mind with.

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💕 Stitches by @revengingbarnes 

You’re just a clueless new medical student. You’re not equipped to deal with charming, witty, handsome doctors. Especially not ones with pretty blue eyes that make you weak in the knees.

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💕 Saturdays by @sunmoonandbucky 

Bucky Barnes has a new routine.

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💕 Love Made Me Crazy by @sinner-as-saint 

It was all strategic; a plan meticulously constructed by you and your business partner; against James Buchanan Barnes. Not to take him down, no. But just to surpass him in the business world by uncovering his secrets; to learn his ways and hope to be better than him in every way possible. The façade you put up – of being close to him and earning his trust was supposed to be short-lived, most importantly; harmless. But then as always, things got a tad bit more complex when feelings intervened…

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💕  To Be So Lonely by @wlntrsldler 

When Bucky and Y/N signed up for this online pen pal system, they never expected to grow attached to the other person behind the screen. In the pen pal system, they can only unlock the other person’s messages on the 25th of each month. They can write and send off their response as soon as they want but the other person is not able to see it until the 25th.

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💕 eye candy by @angelwidow 

Being Tony Stark’s receptionist was hard. Working alongside the most gorgeous salesman you’d ever seen was even harder. Actually talking to said salesman? Well, that was just insane.

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💕  Strange Times by @beccaanne814 

You have a certain type - smart, charming, and handsome as sin. For years you’ve been in love with the only man you thought possessed all of those traits, but a chance encounter with a Strange individual sends you and a certain ex-assassin on a journey of self-discovery. As you try to find a way back home, will you also be able to uncover the perfect man hidden beneath layers of guilt and self-loathing.

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💕 Stuck Wit U by @slyyywriting 

You and Bucky don’t get along. Your fights have become too destructive so Tony and Steve decide that enough is enough.

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💕 Take Me Higher by @buckychrist 

Who knew that the way into the big broody super soldier’s heart was through his unmet need for a good cuddle?

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💕 x by @mcfreakin-bitch

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💕 x by @thejamesoldier 

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💕 Betrayal by @midnightsunfae 

Bucky catches you flirting with someone at a party and he doesn’t take to it very well.

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💕 two paper airplanes flying by @feliciahardyn 

ransom drysdale will always find you, no matter where you are. always.

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💕 Dear Lover by @feliciahardyn 

you dance with bucky barnes in the obscurity of your room as you recalled the first time you met and how three years later you ended up tangled in each other’s arms. (based on the song “lover” by taylor swift)

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💕 Make You Love Me by @slyyywriting 

You flirt with Bucky every single chance you get.

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💕 The unseen one by @extremelyblackandwhite 

The God of the Underworld falls in love with a mortal.

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💕  Hellfire by @chamomilebottom 

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💕 Promised by @cherienymphe 

when you start waking up with bruises you can’t explain, your nightmares turn into a reality.

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💕  Everything by @trillian-anders 

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💕 tell me you own me by @darthstyles 

mean daddy harry comes out to play

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💕 The Chef’s Strike by @bucky-smiles 

A contract went unfulfilled…

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💕  Bittersweet Temptations by @revengingbarnes 

Y/N Y/L/N loves coffee, always has, which is why she spent all her adult years creating the perfect coffee shop. Cutesy, homey and cozy, it’s the job of her dreams. So what if business has been a little slow lately? It’s her happy place, it would always be. But that was all until the flirty, witty and obnoxious Bucky Barnes opened up a rival coffee shop two blocks down the street. Business and profit are all Bucky cares about. He’s the exact opposite of everything Y/N stands for, and naturally, she can’t stand him. But what happens when Y/N is running the risk of losing her beloved shop and Bucky’s the only one lending her a helping hand?

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💕 The Neighbor by @staymay5 

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💕 came in close by @buckyskorpion 

what could possibly go wrong with a couple of good-natured pranks between sworn enemies?

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💕 (1) New Message by @yikeswtfmate 

One night Wanda and Nat dare Y/N to text her hottest ex. She complies, only to realise it’s not her ex she’s texting and this might be the most attractive man she’s actually laid eyes on.

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💕 Eye For An Eye by @sinner-as-saint 

Battered and bruising, Y/N is out to seek sweet revenge from a man, James Buchanan Barnes, who tore her family apart 10 years ago. Y/N’s plan was simple; infiltrate his life, mess with his head, toy with his heart and leave him broken. Headstrong, she will stop at nothing, not even when it comes down to her being the villain in her own story…

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💕 Under Oath by @ugh-supersoldiers 

The people called for justice, the state answered. The trial of State v. Barnes is set to begin, and the odds are most certainly not in favor of the not so beloved ex Winter Soldier. That’s where you come in, the quick, smart, and all too brave lawyer set on defending and saving one Bucky Barnes from legal prosecution. The only problem? He’s not so sure he’s worth saving at all.

. 💕 Hate To Love You by @revengingbarnes 

While on her death bed, Y/N’s mother has just one wish; her daughter to be married and settled in her life. It’s something her mother has never stopped pestering her about. But up until now, Y/N had managed to not give into her family’s traditions of arranged marriage. And she might have continued to do so if weren’t her mother’s last desire. Unable to refuse her mother’s desperate plea, Y/N agrees to meet the man her parents have chosen for her. There’s just one tiny problem. Her soon-to-be husband is her ex. More tragically, he’s the one ex she never managed to get over.

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💕 Everything by @hootyhoobuckaroo

. 💕 late night devils by @whistlingwillows 

Bucky gets revenge on his ex with you, the girl he never got over no matter how much he thought he did.

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💕 Safe with Me by @bitsandbobsandstuff 

When an unknown threat enters your life, protection is offered at the highest level. As Bucky Barnes comes into your life, the game changes, and you realise falling for the man tasked with keeping you safe is the last thing you expected.    

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💕 Wildest Dreams by @hopesbarnes 

Everyone said he was a bad guy, that he broke hearts. But maybe they were wrong about him.

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💕 Things Bucky says during sex. by @steveodinsonbarnes 

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💕 charming by @venusbarnes 

in which you’re a girl in need of protection, and Bucky’s the perfect man for the job.

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💕 one stroke and you’ve consumed my waking days by @buckthegrump 

Bucky has a pen pal.

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💕 Just One Kiss by @sarahwroteathing 

Bucky Barnes has been chasing after you since he was ten years old, but you’re determined not to give in. How long can you hold out when all he’s asking for is just one kiss? (40′s happy ending AU)

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💕 Come Over by @moonstruckbucky 

You’re new to New York City. Fresh out of post-grad and wanting a change of pace, and this change comes in more ways than one.

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💕 Even In The Darkest Times by @justauthoring 

Bucky x reader where they were together in the forties and when Steve goes back, he sends her into the future so she can be with Bucky while he stays in the past with Peggy.

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💕 Hearts Don’t Lie by @daenyara 

when y/n and her family have to leave Europe to escape the war, finding love in New York is the last thing she expects (and the last thing that interests her). Much to her annoyance, her parents set her up with the one person in all Brooklyn she cannot stand: the charming James Barnes, who’s decided to show her he’s not as bad as she thinks.

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💕 A Bid on Bucky by @samingtonwilson 

You spend thousands of dollars at a bachelor auction for Bucky when you could’ve had him for free this entire time.

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💕 Helpless For You by @sgtjbuccky 

A blind date has lead you and Bucky to the fourth date. Each one proving that you’ve got it bad more than prior and it doesn’t quite matter what will happen - you will keep on falling for that handsome devil and you don’t even mind.

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💕 Lavender by @wkemeup 

Not every nightmare is the same and Bucky doesn’t always wake up as the man you know.

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💕 Fixed by @drawlfoy 

draco has a teasing relationship with the reader–they playfully argue and go back and forth but never acknowledge the fact that there may be something more. draco notices her pulling back and becoming more reserved. he follows her out of the dining hall one day to find her having a breakdown over a dark secret.

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💕 Anytime by @notimetoblog

Bucky is still cautious when it comes to touching people & vice versa. one day after a mission, the avengers are in the quinjet on their way home, Bucky sat down beside the reader & accidentally falling asleep on her & snuggling her. she doesn’t make it a big deal but all the other members are surprised. just fluff involving soft Bucky.

#bucky barnes #bucky x you #bucky x reader #bucky fic #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #fic recs #rec list 1 #fics rec #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes fic recs #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky fanfic #draco malfoy fanfiction #Draco Malfoy #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy fic recs #harry styles smut #harry styles x reader #harry styles fanfiction #loki x you #loki x reader #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #loki smut #ransom drysdale #ransom thrombey #ransom drysdale x reader

[writernotwaiting]

Unsolicited Loki Meta, Part 2  (with a side order of narrative theory)

I’ve been reading a lot of meta about the Loki series over the past few days, and the reactions on both ends of the spectrum are pretty strong. And let’s fact it, as fans of gender-fluid or queer characters—which includes Loki, but also several other franchises (*cough cough* looking squint-eyed at you, Sherlock)--we have been mightily abused over the past few years. Many of us are all viewing the series through the cynical lens of narrative betrayal, and are either desperate to see any Loki content as a blessing from above, or cynically waiting to be sucker punched by the evil Marvel overlords.

I admit, I cannot watch this show without both of those impulses in the back of my head. I really *want* the show to redeem itself, and so I may just be looking for ways to excuse their sloppy story telling, true.

The MCU, as a whole, sacrificed character development altogether in the second half of their movie series in favor of unnecessary battle scenes and plot twists. I would argue, in fact, that the last of the MCU movies to privilege character over spectacle were The Winter Soldier and The Black Panther. The sacrifice of character development came largely because the franchise made a deliberate decision to follow a specific narrative structure that depends heavily on the ideological foundation of traditional masculinity—physical strength, personal agency, an unwillingness to compromise, skill in combat, willingness to initiate aggression to solve problems, a world view that equates vengeance with justice and privileges open confrontation over “back-door dealing”--a formula that the franchise employs regardless of whether its hero is male or female. In service of this ideological foundation, the narrative subordinates all other social roles to support the development of the dominant masculine ideal.

{more under the cut}

The MCU (and the movie industry as a whole, really) has no idea what to do with a character that doesn’t fit the standard narrative pattern: “strong person who fits masculine ideal (even if the person is female—Natasha Romanov, Carol Danvers, Pepper Potts when she comes raging out of the fire to smash Kilian) is flawed and will reach his/her great potential when someone s/he loves dies a horrible death.”

If you look at the franchise, a sympathetic character dies (is fridged) in nearly every single one of the movies—Yinsen, Loki (functionally), Coulson (functionally), Pietro, Frigga, T’chaka, Odin and Heimdall, Loki (again), Everyone Who Gets Snapped, etc, etc, etc. And the deaths of those characters catalyze the epiphanies that enable the “heroes” to fully accept their proper place as Ideal Masculine Defender (again whether the character is male or female). 

This is not new. It’s a narrative device which, in fact, is true for a lot of Disney’s animated films (you might have noticed that there are a lot of dead mothers in Disney movies).

Gender-ambiguous and traditional female social roles do not fit this narrative pattern. You cannot squash negotiation and compromise into this structure. Neither will a character fit if s/he prefers subterfuge over explosions. It goes without saying that nurturance, healing, and support are right out. The MCU wants Achilles, not Odysseus, and Penelope is only useful if she dies, rather than outsmarts a banquet hall of suitors for ten years.

So what hope is there for Loki, whose characterization rests on his ambiguity? I really hope that the show doesn’t flatten him out in order to squash him into the current MCU narrative structure.

Some things signal hope for this.

Although it gets dressed up in a 1950s, cartoon vibe (which very much softens its threat), the TVA looks very much to me like the embodiment of the insidious kind of evil that comes from a fascist bureaucracy. Many of the people caught up in it (like the guy who wants a signature and has a cute cat, like the guy who asks whether Loki is a robot, and like Casey) are “just doing their jobs” and don’t think about the horribleness of what the end result of their jobs is. The is the “benign face of evil” that permits any fascist organization to thrive.

The not-so-benign face shows up with the hunter who, from the very start, delights in the ability to inflict pain--slowing down time so Loki feels the pain of the blow even longer than he would in real time, and snickering in his helplessness when he tries to use magic and fails. These are the dark underside of fascism--the SS enforcers that rough up the undesirables (in this case, the variants), and enjoys the power over those whom they see as less than fully human.

I hope that the show means to use this 1984-vibe to highlight Loki’s non-stereotypically-masculine strengths--his intellect, his love of mischief, his loyalty to those who are loyal to him, his ability to solve problems through the back channels rather than by Thor-like confrontation.

And yeah, some folks have complained that Loki’s breakdown in episode 1 comes pretty quickly, and through some fairly reprehensible gaslighting (and careful omission of details on Mobius’s part). I agree that his methods are cruel and manipulative. As for their effectiveness, well, I think it’s fair to point out that Loki has had a pretty shitty day--a pretty shitty couple of years, in fact, which makes him particularly susceptible to this sort of manipulation.

Again, I am hoping that this set up will lead to a more genuine self-awareness and acceptance as Loki re-learns his own strengths without Odin’s A+ parenting to undermine it. Loki needs to learn to live with himself. I’m hoping the series gives him the time and space (pun intended) to do this.

#Loki series #meta #MCU meta #narrative theory #gender-fluid characters #female characters #ideologically driven storytelling

[80yrscap]

Stevepeggy endgame is Sam Wilson erasure

And I’m Gonna Die Mad About It

Steve does a job for SHIELD and the whole thing stinks. Natasha’s a liar and Rumlow’s an asshole. Nick’s in an arms race with his own paranoid fantasies. Steve can’t trust SHIELD’s methods or mission, and the more questions he asks the more uneasy he feels. He’s thinking about getting out.

But Steve is paralyzed with future shock. SHIELD is the successor to the SSR and the last piece of continuity he has. So he’s looking for an excuse not to quit.

In this mindset, Steve visits Peggy Carter, the person who 2 years ago (and 70 years ago) knew the right thing to say to snap him out of paralyzing despair after Bucky fell. Maybe she’ll be able to do it again?

Not so much.

Steve: For as long as I can remember I just wanted to do what was right. I guess I’m not quite sure what that is anymore.

Peggy Carter: Haha, you're always so dramatic.

If we take her response at face value it sounds like she thinks Steve ought by now to have grown up and put away caring about being a good person. Or maybe she’s just bored with the conversation and wants Steve to shut up. 

But Steve laughs good-naturedly and lays all his cards on the table: Knowing that you helped found SHIELD is half the reason I stay. 

Which brings us to...

Steve finds himself back where it all began. It’s the army base where Dr. Erskine tested Steve’s moral character before giving him the serum, the place where Steve met Peggy Carter for the first time. There, in the sub-basement of an abandoned bunker, where Howard Stark and Peggy Carter’s SHIELD-founder portraits still hold pride of place in the elevator lobby, Steve meets an old enemy. 

Steve: How did you get here?

Arnim Zola: Invited!

Steve last saw Zola 70 years ago (and 2 years ago) in SSR custody. He’s a true HYDRA original, and his capture was bought with Bucky’s life. 

Zola cheerfully provides proof that SHIELD has played host to HYDRA from day one. There’s a photograph of Peggy and Howard in Zola’s computer lab watching him work.

Natasha helpfully points out to Steve: You seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing. 

Actually, it looks like Bucky’s the one who died for nothing...until Steve finds out the truth about that. 

Which brings us to...

Peggy Carter drops out of the movie entirely, and although I kind of wish we got to see some payoff in the form of Steve’s despair and anger at this betrayal (or, and I know this is crazy talk, Sharon Carter’s feelings about it) the movie was pretty damn full of all of those feelings already so I don’t mind that it’s left out.

Peggy’s not important to the story going forward and Steve makes it clear where he stands.

Steve: We’re not salvaging anything. We're taking down SHIELD.

Nick: SHIELD had nothing to do with it.

Steve: You gave me this mission. This is how it ends.

How it ends is with all of SHIELD’s secrets revealed; SHIELD’s former employees scattered into the military-industrial complex; Nick burning down his own house and heading to Europe to burn down HYDRA there; and the promise that HYDRA and SHIELD are two sides of a coin that is no longer currency.  

In conclusion 

Peggy Carter’s heel turn was one of the more jaw-dropping moments in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and it was a great twist.

It also gave Steve the kick in the pants he needed. 

A choice was explicitly set up for Steve in Act I. On your right: Peggy Carter of SHIELD, representing duty and sticking to the familiar and 70-year-old promises. On your left: that cute jogger from the VA, representing quitting your military job and mental health resources and freedom of choice.  

When Peggy Carter and SHIELD turn out to be rotten, it hurts, but Steve is forced to accept that the years he missed changed everything. Organizations and structures and even people that he knew in the past are not now what they were then. Loyalty freely given in 1945 is no longer owed in 2014.

So Steve knocks on Sam Wilson’s door.

But then

Nick immediately rebuilds SHIELD never having come to terms with the fact that he spent the last 20+ years of his life furthering HYDRA’s agenda all while doing his best and thinking it was good work, like god damn, this man needs years of therapy not his old job back

In CACW everyone pretends that Howard Stark’s last words were not “it’s a fair cop”

In CACW everyone pretends that Steve would still take moral advice from Peggy Carter oh my god

The compass comes back you gotta be kidding me Steve chose Sam Wilson

Steve’s entire story arc is reverted

The end

#samsteve #there's a love triangle in catws and bucky is not involved lol #stevebucky has no competition that relationship is on another level entirely #overthinking catws #catws is a really good movie

[alicemitch09writes]

the catastrophic history of us

PAIRING: ryoumen sukuna x reader

SUMMARY: This is a story of two people - one was destined to see all while the other was destined to be all-powerful.

They came from different factions of society, though not entirely different if you compare a humble hut versus the slums.

This is a love story.

But it is not a happy one.

A/N: This is a continuation and sort of prequel to 'written in the stars' which gives light on why exactly Sukuna killed the reader and what he meant by 'waited a thousand years for this'. It's been in my head for a while and was an idea I wanted to try.

From what I've researched, Ryoumen Sukuna is said to hail from royalty while some he was just there, so I kinda wanna explore more on his background and ended up crafting my own. I'm sorry if it's kinda cliche. I ended up using the already existing lore about him, but added a bit of my own to fit the story and the narrative I want.

also available on ao3.

disclaimer: i own NOTHING but the plot.

This is a story of two people - one was destined to see all while the other was destined to be all-powerful.

They came from different factions of society, though not entirely different if you compare a humble hut versus a grandiose palace, a benevolent being versus a power-hungry one, one who dances with the mystic arts versus one who challenges the fates, one royal highness and his royal spiritual advisor, - two very different beings destined to meet, destined to fall together, destined to be together.

This is a love story.

But it is not a happy one.

This is a story of two star-crossed lovers.

But again, to reiterate, this is not a happy story. There is no happy ending here.

Legends speak of a name, so feared and great that just the mention of it sent shivers down the spines of many – young, old, human, curses.

Just the mention of his name was akin to devastation and disaster, killing all forms of life regardless of status.

Ryoumen Sukuna.

Also known as ‘King of Curses’.

Call his name, and you are invoking yourself to a life of damnation, of no return, of death.

However, once upon a time, Ryoumen Sukuna was once a simple man.

A prince to be exact, son to the Great Emperor, heir to the throne, general commander of the royal army, and quite possibly, the strongest warrior in the land.

Once upon a time, Ryoumen Sukuna was a man of great power and privilege.

He could take soldiers with a swift blow of his sword, could conquer lands in a day, with only a swagger down the road that could bring the mightiest men quaking, could overpower just about anyone with only his presence - his menacing and great presence.

Wise beyond his years, versatile in combat, cynical, ambitious, and wicked – these were the traits of the soon-to-be Emperor? How unsettling. The kingdom would no sooner meet its demise and burn into flames than to shine brightly with a ruler with blood and warfare on his mind.

Many had thought so as well, yet did little.

For what can they do against someone who can promise dominion and power? They can all but kneel and acquiesce to his bidding.

He did possess a younger twin brother, but compared to his brother, he was passable at best. The brother doesn't talk much, says very little, but paid close attention to his surroundings, his companions, even to his older brother, whom he admired greatly.

It was sometime during his time as a prince when fate decided to play their hand.

But no one saw it coming.

Save for one.

The Emperor’s royal spiritual adviser, the kingdom’s revered onmyouji known only by the name (Y/N).

"That's quite the look on your pretty face, (Y/N)."

Sighing, the (h/c)-haired woman ever so carefully dipped her brush into the ink well before continuing her writing.

"Oya? No wisecracks this time?" the voice drew near, she could feel his hot breath beside her ear. "Is that any way to speak to your future king?"

Unfazed, she dipped her brush into the well again, careful strokes bleeding into the paper. "Truly not worth his royal highness' time if I even breathe or say a word."

Even without looking, she knows he's smirking. He knows he got what he wanted, ever the child.

Silence filled in. She, continuing on with her scrolls, and he, lazily perched himself awfully close to her side, sliding his gaze from her eyes, her face, to her kimono, to her nimble fingers.

From the first moment he laid eyes on her, he was fascinated by her very being. More so, when she revealed that she was to be the royal onmyouji with the ability to see all. 

Technically, her position was better suited for a man, especially a man from a renowned jujutsu family – for trivial reasons.

However, no man could ever compete with one with an all-seeing eye, with impressive control of her cursed energy other than this woman, this strange woman.

No one else but her.

He would like to think that he became a man no long sooner after their first verbal spat, after their second introduction – having differing ideals and morals, never backing from the other despite their status. He and his twin had just turned 18, a prime age for the king to be. It was what drew them together in the first place.

From the moment their eyes met, he had unwillingly declared this fascinating woman as his and only his.

When she was finished writing, just as she laid her brush aside, a hand slammed on the table. She didn’t flinch, even as the man effortlessly picking her up into his arms. "Surely you must be bored from all that gibberish writing, eh?"

Allowing herself a genial smile, (e/c) eyes alit with life, she draped her arms around his strong shoulders. 

"Must I remind you time and time again that they're readings?" Fingers slipped and carded through his locks, grabbing tufts of hair playfully. Tilting her head, she used her free hand to ghost over his strong jawline. “Your great kingdom would crumble would it not be for said readings. Lives would be lost. Blood will be shed. Your name tarnished and damned-”

"Blah, blah, blah, is all I can hear you say," pushing her against the wall, he welcomed himself between her legs, drawing himself ever so close to her. “Don’t you ever get tired of spouting bullshit?”

“Surely you would know,” she gasped as something hard pressed against her core. “that’s all your mouth is good for: running your filthy mouth.”

He met her smirk with his, hot breath fanning hers. “And here I thought you’d be this docile diviner.” Scoffing, he drew close. “Thank fuck I was wrong.”

Hot lips pressed against hers, just as the ink dried out and the shadows danced in the dark.

"We order you to join forces with us destroy Ryoumen Sukuna."

"I refuse."

Even she can't deny that the man she loved was a danger to everyone, probably to all of humanity. He was quick to be enamored with power, sadistic even in his means to achieve greater feats and exploit his foes.

Eventually, she saw how the man she came to love drastically turned into the cynical, malevolent King of Curses he was.

Mad with power, ambition, and glory, in order to achieve all and more he sought out the dark mystics that made him murder his younger twin brother granting him his grotesque figure - two faces, added appendages, and dark marks littering his body.

It started with a vision. Then came the prophecy.

Overnight, a brother was murdered in cold blood by his own, through his blood spawned the King of Curses.

Many months were soon bathed in more blood as he sought nothing more but destruction and chaos,

In the end, she knew what she had to do, what must be done, what must happen, what was foretold – even if it ends up breaking her heart.

"Could you do it?"

"...I have no choice."

This is it, she thought. The end.

The end of the beginning.

Fire licked throughout the field, soot rising from the ashes, craters, devastation lurked wherever the eye could see. There was even the occasional ice covered in blood, sometimes encasing 

It had been a long, treacherous, arborous, and exhausting battle – sorcerers and Imperial soldiers against fellow sorcerers and curses.

Jujutsu sorcerers – especially the high-ranking ones from esteemed clans, set aside their petty differences for this one battle, to put down the King of Curses.

Ryoumen Sukuna.

It was a hard-earned battle, as Ryoumen Sukuna had with him a rather interesting set of warriors to fend off against them.

But finally, they got him.

In the middle of all this madness and bloodshed, a victor was finally declared.

And it wasn’t him.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?" He screamed, binding spells forcing him to his knees, his whole body weakened and paralyzed by countless battles and countless spells against him. “(Y/N)!? HOW COULD YOU!?”

She forced herself to hold him down as the sorcerers around her continued their spells.

Amidst it all - the undeniable pain, the humiliation of being pinned, the utter betrayal - Ryoumen Sukuna turned to her and only her, red eyes burning her very being, as though ready to incinerate and devour her on the spot.

At the front line, that’s where she was to be – supposed to be, as she was their leverage to get close to the King of Curses.

She was leverage at best, the one thing that can keep Ryoumen Sukuna down - despite the countless claims that no one and nothing can do so.

"In this life, know that you were always the man I hold closest to my heart, the warmth on a cold winter's day, the joy from a day's tiresome work. There is no one but you, Ryoumen Sukuna," she was openly crying now, uncaring of anyone and anything. "But in this life, we cannot be."

The spell had been cast, paralyzing Sukuna, allowing the rest of the jujutsu sorcerers to attack.

With the final blow, she poured a bit of herself into her final, most powerful spell. Sealing him and vaporizing any memory of her in it, emptying his being until he was but an empty husk.

"YOU BITCH! YOU LIED TO ME!" Despite being in constant pain, his body slowly reddening and wax appearing all over, he found it in himself to spout angrily at her. "WAS EVERYTHING A LIE!?"

Memories upon memories - of their first meeting, their first verbal spat, their next meeting, him cornering into a corner, of their first kiss, of their first night, of their many nights, of promises under the sheets, of eyes searching, of eyes yearning, of eyes hurting - voided one after the other.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU DEAD, YOU FUCKING BITCH!" He doesn't mean it, she tells herself, adding more spells that caused him to scream in even more pain.

"Y-YOU FUCKING BITCH! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!" His eyes were blank, regarding her with all the hatred man could possess. "YOU'LL BE THE FIRST PERSON I KILL THE MOMENT I GET BACK!" choking on blood, he feels himself weaken. "I SWEAR IT! I'LL KILL YOU THE FIRST MOMENT I GET!"

A sob escaped her, as much as she tried to swallow it down. To no avail, she cannot fake her remorse, her pain. She knew it was the right thing to do, for the betterment of all – humans and sorcerers, but it cost her so much sorrow and pain.

"Nothing is a lie," she croaked, feeling the last of her energy leave her, tearfully gazing into the eyes of her beloved. "But I have to say goodbye."

And just like that, the King of Curses was no more.

And when the fighting was over, the Seer vanished without a trace.

It came abruptly.

Without warning, without a sound, without a whisper, without a call.

The end of the beginning.

Of when fate decided to try its hand with life, changing the course of all.

For a thousand years ago, the jujutsu society was at its high boasting about great families within their ranks and a seer to guide them all.

The seer, who were specialists in the mystics and great beyond, who helped build empires, defend against curses, win wars - the great seer revered, respected, and treasured. 

Alas, this seer fled, vanished, and doomed the jujutsu society.

For without her visions, how can the sorcerers ever know of the truth and lies that the future holds, to protect them from whatever threatens them? Of the corruption that would soon waste them away? Their arrogance and overdependency on her visions became their downfall, yet few could actually attest to that.

The jujutsu world was a strange, fickle, archaic, and destructive kind with an equally disturbing system. A system unwilling to change, unwilling to adapt, willing only to lead by example.

After her disappearance, they were left with crumbs to pick up, on where she'd be for their next life - for without her visions, how would they be able to secure safety for themselves?

(how selfish of them)

Lo and behold, a thousand years later, and she would appear again, outside of Japan and born half a Gojo! What tremendous luck they have!

Without wasting another second, they sent their best sorcerers to abduct the child and took her by force from her mother, bringing her all the way to Japan.

Only they could have their hands on this seer, one they've waited for thousands for years, one who remains theirs, rightfully theirs, one who has to atone for her sins of leaving the jujutsu society vulnerable all those years ago.

Yes, this child must bear the sins of her ancestors, must live a life for the future of the jujutsu sorcerers.

She is theirs.

Theirs and theirs alone!

But alas, Gojo Satoru caught wind of the other Gojo, singlehandedly took her from them and took her under his care.

How dare he!

So long as he was alive, no way would they ever get their hands on the seer, the great diviner, the all-seeing eye!

How dare he!

Gojo Satoru who manages to effortlessly insert himself in situations he shouldn't be, halting or stopping decisions entirely, establishing his presence as the strongest sorcerer - a title that many of them cannot deny, with much disdain, he, who is without a shred of doubt, a threat.

The Gojo seer continued to live her life, foolishly and blissfully unaware of her true value. Foolish little girl!

The past and present converged into one another, tightly wounding and bounding, meshing and mixing in between the seems, for a future nobody knows, a future nobody is prepared for, but a future nonetheless for all.

However, unbeknownst to all - even to the jujutsu higher-ups, the Great Gojo Satoru, and his beloved little sister, the future in store was not kind. No.

It's as though the past comes back to haunt, to call out for sins to be repented.

Strange as it seems, it all went according to plan - Gojo Satoru finding out about his sister, Fushiguro Megumi sent to Sendai, Miyagi to fetch a cursed object and meeting Itadori Yuuji, Itadori Yuuji ingesting said cursed object and hosting Ryoumen Sukuna, reviving the King of Curses after a thousand years. Yes. Marvelous. All according to plan. 

The characters were set, ties looming into each other. Glorious.

It was inevitable, that these characters had special ties connecting them with each other, keeping their lives intertwined, for such was the plan for the grander scheme of things.

There was nothing.

A sea of nothing.

Endless nothing.

It went on and on and on and on and on and on.

It was a nothing that comforting, a nothing where nothing existed, a nothing where nothing was felt.

It was a nothing with that - nothing.

The perfect word for it would be void, however, voids can still have something in them.

And there was red.

A field of red spread across, going on forever and ever and ever.

Curious, she got to her knees to inspect. A flower, it was a red flower with six umbels and a long stamen, blooming outward, as though seeking life. Fingering through its petals, her eyes followed along millions of them spread.

Suddenly, a cold chill ran down her. For some reason, she looked up, meeting nothing.

And yet, she remembered the feeling dwelling in her in a sea of nothing.

Yes, she remembered this feeling.

She knows that feeling.

"Where am I?" a voice cut through the nothing.

In front of her stood someone who looked exactly like her, except, one pair of her eyes had the trademark Six Eyes of the Gojo clan, there was a streak of white running down the right side of her hair, and she was dressed in clothing much different from hers.

Recognition fell upon her, blinking calmly as a faint smile graced her lips.

“Who are you?” asked the girl.

Her smile turned sad as she approached, crushing the flowers under her feet.

The same recognition fell unto her mismatched eyes, but probably not the same kind of recognition she had.

With the gentleness akin to a mother, she eyed the girl before her.

“I’m sorry,” she cried, her voice echoing in the dark. “I’m sorry to have cursed you – all of you,” confusion crosses her face, it hurts her even more. “to have you all carry my burden." The red all around them seemed to glow, a vibrant, blinding red. "I’m sorry.”

Confusion continued to riddle her features, which makes this meeting just more bittersweet.

And then came rain, pouring down on them.

It washed over them, over the flowers.

And then nothing.

Come a thousand years later, and there they were.

A promise foretold, enacted finally.

He, a man resurrected from the dead, free from the curses that kept him away, taking what was rightfully his with her beating heart in his.

And she, a shell of a woman in the form of her now empty descendent.

At last, he had his comeuppance, at last, he got his revenge.

As he devoured her heart, feeling the remaining pieces of his powers return, as did the memories. What a cruel twist of fate.

Suddenly, his mind felt like a rush of water downstream. He could feel his immeasurable power returning, could feel in pumping his veins, yet at the same time, there were tears.

Elsewhere was Fushiguro Megumi, screaming over and over the name of the woman he had just killed – a scream of desperation, anguish, and pain. Why did it sound so familiar?

Finding a blackened uniform, hovering over a body laid in her own pool of blood, the boy continued to scream and scream.

Fushiguro Megumi was a man he couldn’t wait to see at his full potential for battle, another in his list of to-kills, having shown great potential as a jujutsu sorcerer and as part of the wretched Zen’in. But this was far from the man he knew, all he saw was a weeping boy, a boy who lost his mind as he was grieving, begging over and over a corpse, the corpse of his beloved.

Satisfied, he should be, right? Yet, why doesn't he feel it? Why does a part of him feel a great loss? Why does a part of him feel as though he was the one with a ripped soul?

A flash of white came to view, standing next to the crying boy, his stance was rigid, apart from that nothing with his back turned.

Kneeling, Gojo Satoru let his fingers press against the dead girl's eyelids, closing them shut. His hands fell to her cheeks, engulfing them in his large fingers, lingering, thumbs caressing her ice-cold cheeks. Once filled with warmth and life.

"Megumi," says Gojo Satoru, cursed energy just radiating off him. "mind if ya take yourself and (Y/N) aside?" lowering his blindfold, his cursed energy increased in power, reeking of maliciousness. "Things are about to get messy."

He met Gojo Satoru's murderous look head-on, finally getting that fight he long promised him.

And yet, as he stood there, tears leaked from his eyes.

Even with all his powers returned, him being at his full glory, his heart felt more hollow than before.

#ryoumen sukuna x reader #clairvoyant!reader #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #angst #jjk fic #jujutsu kaisen fic #alicemitch09 writes #sukuna x reader #jjk x reader #jjk angst #jjk angst fic

[carol-effing-danvers]

Steve Rogers is a Monster

Yeah, that’s a hell of a title, isn’t it? Strap in, it only gets worse from here. 

(click here if you’d prefer to read this on AO3)

Forewarning, if you enjoyed the epilogue for Endgame, this particular essay is not for you - and no, I am not bashing the Steve/Peggy shippers, you are beautiful human beings who make the fandom brighter and I’m happy that at least someone in this fandom got the ending they wanted.

Additional warning: if you expect this to be another Civil War debate, you will also be disappointed. There has never been a measurement invented that can adequately describe how much I loathe the verbal dick measuring contest that seems to pass for human interaction between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in this franchise. It’s not funny or entertaining - it’s exhausting, uncomfortable, and frankly it’s rather lazy writing.

This is about the very specific way that the epilogue in Endgame completely changed the way the character of Steve Rogers can be interpreted, and I don’t just mean the very illogical and contradictory way that time travel is explained, both in the movie itself and the fact that the writers and directors have two completely different views on how that worked out. 

I mean that the choice made by Steve Rogers in the very last minutes of that movie alters the way I view each and every one of his actions starting from The First Avenger and that alteration is exactly what I want to talk about, because whether you view it as deserving or not, what Steve does at the conclusion of Endgame was the most selfish thing humanly possible. Time is a thief, but somehow Steve managed to steal even more than Time.

Side note here: I understand that I am a completely biased Stucky shipper, a friend to Barnes and Noble, a Starbucks aficionado - sorry. Anyway, I’ve always believed that Steve and Bucky were destined blah blah blah, but I was never expecting a Stucky ending. Disney wasn’t going to do that, and I knew that, I wasn’t bothered that Steve and Bucky weren’t doing the smoochies by the end. But Bucky’s facial expression during those last minutes was gut-wrenching. Like...I have no idea what kind of cues the script and directors gave him, but in the future, please don’t ask Sebastian Stan to look sad unless you want soul-crushing devastation. It’s not Seb’s fault, his features are just arranged that way - but the fact that the editing staff allowed Sam to be sad though elated to be entrusted with the Shield and Bucky looked like his soul was being physically torn out of his body was an… interesting choice. 

Other side note: if you’re writing about time travel, I’m begging y’all to get your facts straight. Or just don’t write about time travel. It almost always sounds better on paper than it does on screen and it means that you’ve opened doors to more questions than you’ve probably got the answers for. I know this was about trying to set up the idea of the multiverse, I get that, but there were better and less messy ways to do that, and I know that because I’ve done it before. @Marvel: Let me write you a six-way orgy you fucking cowards~

By going back in time, Steve robbed Peggy of the future that would have been hers - not only that, he’s robbed her of even the chance of making the choice between those futures, because you honestly could not tell me with a straight face that Steve told her the complete truth of what he had done and she would be okay with him alternating the very course of the future. It doesn’t help his case that he has a history of not disclosing truths that he knows will be painful or inconvenient for other people in his life.

He robbed his loved ones - Sam, Bucky, Wanda - of the years they would have spent with him. Sure, he ‘came back’ after Peggy passed away, but they are adults in the prime of youth who knew him sixty years ago in his own time and he is an old, old man who has lived an entire life completely separated from them. He is practically a stranger with a name they know, but a history that no longer belongs to any of them - not even his oldest friend. They have him back, but judging from his age, they’ll be lucky to get even ten more years with him. Assuming of course, that any of them can stand to speak to him - I certainly couldn’t blame them if they tell him to go to hell and take his dad jokes with him. 

Steve has stolen away their friend and dropped off an elderly and dying near-stranger in his place, and this is treated by the writing (and the majority of the acting) as a wild and unexpected but not tragic event. 

Is it really that unexpected, though?

I recall seeing a Game of Thrones essay on Daenerys across my dash (I’m sorry, love, I don’t recall who you are since it’s not a fandom I’m in, but if someone knows who wrote that, please post the link!) which detailed how her ending in the series was foreshadowed many times by her penchant for bloody killings and her habit of surrounding herself with her own fawning friends.

Months after reading that, I had the thought: though Steve is never really shown thinking about Peggy after Civil War, except in a few scattered scenes in Endgame, was this foreshadowed? Whether you believe that his actions are justified or not, what Steve does is still, in the end, selfish at its very heart, and Steve Rogers is not a selfish person. 

Oh no, my dear friends and readers. Because taking this action has solidified and clarified Steve Rogers as the biggest and most selfish asshole in this whole universe.

Steve does not do the right thing, Steve does the thing that will most make him feel better. The fact that this often happens to be the right thing in the end is more the result of happy coincidence than any special sort of moral authority that the man holds. 

Rescuing Bucky Barnes and his fellow captives in a prisoner of war camp from being experimented on by an insane Nazi eugenicist? That was not a moral stand, that was endangering himself, Peggy Carter, and Howard Stark because he couldn’t handle the reality of his best friend being killed in war.

Sacrificing himself by putting the Valkyrie down in the Arctic Circle? That was not about sparing human lives, that was about Steve seeing his friend die right in front of him and not being able to deal with the grief. There were ways he could’ve prevented the plane from killing people without killing himself.

Trying to make Bucky remember who he was? And later on, saving him from the government agencies who wanted to hunt him down? Although, arguably, that last one is also just good common sense - Steve was already shown that government agencies could and were corrupted by HYDRA and he’d also seen how dangerous the Winter Soldier could be when unleashed. 

Steve did, I think, truly believe that this was the right thing to do, but it was also about keeping his connection - his very last, since Peggy had descended into dementia caused by Alzheimer’s before she ultimately died - to a past that for him, was only months or years ago, rather than decades. In some ways, this is completely understandable - Bucky might be the very last person left alive who truly knows who the real Steve Rogers is, because the rest of these people only know Captain America and we are consistently shown through multiple movies how uncomfortable this makes him.

This gets...considerably less and less understandable as we are shown Steve’s growing relationships with Natasha, Sam, Wanda - even Sharon, though she barely gets any screen time and they share the most awkward kiss I’ve ever seen - and indeed, what might be the most uncomfortable kiss in cinema history.

Side Note 3: This is made even more awkward by the director’s choice to have two of Steve’s friends watching them the whole time - seriously, who even does that? Why would you make them do that? Only sociopaths make out with their friends staring at them like that. It’s so fucking creepy - and don’t even get me fucking started on the fact that she’s also apparently his own niece. AHHHHH!

But we are shown, over and over again, that Steve is capable of building close meaningful relationships with people in the present. They don’t know his whole history, but they do know Steve Rogers rather than Captain America and they care about him deeply. 

Side Note 4: Notice that I don’t count Tony Stark among those people - despite this strangely persistent narrative that the various writers and directors tried to sell to the audience, Tony and Steve were not friends. They were never friends. They were colleagues at best, but these were two men who neither liked nor understood each other very well, but had to work together. And sometimes that’s okay, too. (Oh dear, I just gave the Stony fans a fit too, didn’t I? Sorry, guys. Enemies to Lovers is a great trope, I support you!)

But let’s set aside Steve’s gross betrayal of the people who loved him. We’ll also ignore the question of whether the motive for these good actions has tainted the actions themselves. Because even without questioning these, the conclusion of this story arc still transforms Steve into the biggest monster this franchise has. 

The very fundamental way that the writers and directors can’t agree on how the time travel mechanics in their own story work mean that Steve has just done one of two things and they range from shady and very questionable to absolutely fucking horrific. 

The first, that he’s created his own alternate universe to exist in, is morally dubious at best. Even the people who support this theory and liked the ending seem to feel that it wasn’t necessarily a ten out of ten on the moral goodness spectrum. They’ll say things like ‘he deserved to have his happy ending’. Even that phrasing seems to acknowledge that doing this was the opposite of the right thing. It just considers doing the wrong thing as being justified rather than horrifying. 

But let’s examine this first idea for a minute - even this, the more innocent of the two implications, means that rather than really processing his grief or dealing with the repeated tragedies and losses that have occured in his life, even as he was running group therapy sessions and grief counseling, Steve Rogers chose to escape his current life by creating an alternate universe that specifically allows he himself to live out his own fucking fantasies of the way his life should have turned out. 

That, in case you are not aware, is wildly fucked up. I thought I was playing pretty fast and loose with Steve’s characterization when I turned him into an extremely polite serial killer but as it turns out, I clearly just wasn’t setting the bar high enough, because that’s somehow even more fucked up than being an undercover child soldier with a small sadistic streak. 

Hm, and now I feel I should have been more creative there...

The second, and even more horrifying option, is that this older Steve Rogers has been in this world the whole time, watching as things unfolded just as we’ve seen over the past decade, taking ‘the slow way’ through time. 

Side Note 5: I do kind of understand why you would do it this way, because that’s really cool and shocking when you say that! Until you think about it for longer than three seconds and suddenly you realize…

Everything that has happened here, every tragedy and downfall these people experienced, happened because Steve Rogers lived his happily ever after with his beautiful wife and did absolutely nothing to stop it. He got to fuck Peggy Carter and watched as his wife built an empire of intelligence networks, knowing that her efforts were completely in vain because her agency was rotten to the core and he never told her.

Every horrifying act committed by HYDRA under the guise of SHIELD was permitted through Steve Rogers’ negligence. And that’s just the wider big-picture worldview, large and shocking, but not personal. 

What about the people that Steve claims to actually care about? 

This means that Steve lived his whole life in contentment with his wife and children while his best friend was physically and psychologically tortured for over seventy years and just...let that go. 

He allowed one friend to murder another in the nineties, when the Winter Soldier was sent after Howard and Maria Stark. Then their child was being advised by a greedy self-interested warmonger who paid terrorists to drag him off to be tortured and slaughtered, and Steve did nothing about that, either. 

Bruce Banner was exploited, experimented on, and made into a monster against his will in the failed pursuit of recreating what was done to Steve, resulting in billions of dollars in damage and dozens or even hundreds of lives lost, and Steve allowed that to happen, too. 

Like Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanov was physically and psychologically tortured for others to use her as a living weapon - except that this was probably happening to her since early childhood, and a man her future self loved and trusted implicitly did nothing to save her from this upbringing. 

The Maximoff twins are shown to have not wealthy but loving parents who are murdered in front of them and they both endure days of laying in the rubble of their ruined apartment, wondering if the bomb in their living room would go off and kill them. Later, they are taken in by HYDRA, experimented on, and recruited as child soldiers to the cause when they show signs of having supernatural powers. They start a series of events that result in the destruction of a major city and the loss of what is probably thousands of lives. Pietro is murdered while trying to help the Avengers to stop this, and Wanda suffers the loss of the very last living person she loved. None of these things seem to have bothered Future Steve. 

Steve “I can’t sit on the sidelines when I see a situation go sideways” Rogers, planted himself on that fucking sideline and observed for nearly eighty years as friends, colleagues, and his own wife were lied to, brainwashed, tortured, vilified, and hunted down like animals.

And then there Steve Rogers himself - not the Endgame Steve Rogers, the Steve Rogers who brought down a Nazi plane and will lie beneath the ice for seventy years while everything he knows disappear (mostly) innocent of these horrors, the life he would’ve lived stolen from him by a stranger with his name and his face from another universe.

What I’m saying here is that if you consider this idea for any amount of time, it took Steve Rogers less than ten minutes to become the most evil and disturbing figure in the entire MCU, only (not really tho) contested by Thanos himself. 

Gross and poorly reasoned libertarian ethics aside, Thanos genuinely believes that he did what he did for the sake of the entire population. It’s made fairly explicitly clear that Steve didn’t do this for anyone but himself. 

Call me crazy, but if everyone you know needs to suffer and multiple planet-wide devestations have to happen in order for you to get your happy ending, you might be the bad guy. 

Maybe I’m just old-fashioned?

#forever bitter about what they did to steve #steve rogers #captain america #the avengers #marvel

[sorcerersofnyc]

The Last Thing Left (Zemo x F!Reader) 6/9

If it wasn’t so painfully ironic (and hilarious to watch,) Helmut would find the relationship between Sam and James a little sad.

Ghosts weren’t enough to hold two people together.

While they wait for Torres to locate Donya Madani, Zemo brings Sam and Bucky to the home he once shared with you.

You reunite and he reflects upon his relationship with you (his wife’s friend and his friend’s wife) and your journey from being people with mutual friends to partners.

Chapter 6: When he wakes up beside you, Zemo remembers the day everything changed.

Angst, various mentions of death & mourning, Zemo’s wife’s name is Heike because of comics. Implied alcoholism by Zemo as a means to deal with his guilt. I use Serbian Cyrillic as a stand-in for Sokovian. The reader likes waffles (this is a non-negotiable fact).

Note: Main Character is neutral in most regards, but the story was written with my own cultural background in mind. (In other words, I won’t say what she looks like but I envision her as being black.)

First Chapter | Previous

***

Grief softens, but it never truly leaves.

So when Helmut wakes beside you, he isn’t surprised to find grief there as well. Pain has been a constant companion over the years but today’s grief is nothing but a dull throb in his chest.

He had a dream about his wife again. It wasn’t a sad dream, it didn’t hurt to look upon her face, but his heart ached for her regardless.

In his dream, she was happy, happy to sit and chat in a home that wasn’t quite in Sokovia or Spain, but rather a mix of them both. You were there, too, laughing and smiling alongside her.

She was taking the time to explain something to him, something you already seemed to understand. You both laughed when he failed to get the joke.

With a sigh, Helmut sits up in his bed and turns toward the window.

It’s dawn. The rising sun baths the room in an orangy-pink glow and you sleep soundly beside him. He traces little circles unto your shoulder as he thinks about breakfast, what might he make for you. The answer is obvious, really.

He then turns his thoughts toward his mission, whether or not Sam’s associate would locate Madani soon.

He also thinks about what you may do if he kissed you awake.

He thinks about many things as you sleep beside him.

And as he listens to the steady rhythm of your breath, he thinks that he’s truly happy.

***

You never asked what happened to Vasily Zaev and Helmut didn’t offer.

News of his death never reached any headlines in Spain or any other International News Broadcast for that matter.

There were the occasional rumors of a scandal, many of which were exacerbated by social media, but nothing outside the ordinary.

His demise was attributed to liver failure and he’d given his entire inheritance to a young woman about a quarter of his age. Tragic indeed.

In the weeks that followed that night at the Opera, you took an interest in his work. There would be no more missions like the one with Vasily (none would ever be that easy and he didn’t like to see you so scared,) but there were plenty of opportunities to conduct research.

And on some nights, you’d talk about more than just mission, nights when you shared your hopes and dreams for the future, your past sorrows, and secret anxieties.

He’d sit with you while you worked on your art, bought you flowers when you completed a commissioned project, and asked plenty of questions about some of your more unorthodox means.

Sometimes you’d take breaks together and watch television or read.

It was strange, just like the day you first hugged him, Helmut felt as though the two of you had breached something.

He now knew where you were born, how you became involved in the arts, how you felt the night you met Dominik at Heike’s dinner party, (“I always thought she set us up on purpose, but she always denied that she did.”)

It was those stories, those small, stolen moments that made him see you differently.

So by the time autumn settled and painted the leaves orange, red and brown, you were no longer just a friend his wife had—you weren’t even the wife of a friend that he had.

You were a friend to him as well.

*

“Have you seen this?” You asked one day, sitting right beside him on the couch. You were so close, Helmut could feel the heat of your body pressed up against him.

“See what?” He asked, though he knew what you would say.

“This article.” You slid your phone closer to him, leaned forward so close that the curve of your bosom pressed against his arm for just a moment before you leaned away. For the sake of your pride, he pretended not to notice.

The articles mattered more than creating an awkward situation.

He learned that you found articles about the Avengers to be the most interesting. Each headline would often read something like: ‘Accountability: Who Pays for the Avengers’ Mistakes?’ or ‘Sokovia Six Months Later’ and ‘‘Banning Ironman? One Minister Holds Firm.’

They were engrossing.

“They say the U.N. may get involved.” You said one day. “What do you think would happen if they did?”

“Something I’d like to see.” Was his thoughtful reply. And it was true; because even with your help, even as you grew closer together, the weight of his promise still bore down upon him.

The weight of his failure still haunted his sleep.

So for every moment he spent with you, he worked ten times harder. He worked late into the night to complete his research, learned everything he could about the Avengers and the Winter Soldier to complete his plans.

He had to work; he had no choice. Because every laugh, every smile, every lingering glance, every reprieve from his grief was a betrayal to that promise he made to his family—because happiness, even for a moment, meant that he had forgotten them.

There was no other way to justify his actions. In what other way could he be happy in a world where his family was dead?

He hoped to find the answers at the bottom of a bottle, but scotch, whiskey, brandy, and vodka, couldn’t provide a balm for his soul. Not the way your smile did.

So clearly drinking was his only option, the safest option, because he couldn’t let his thoughts linger on you.

He couldn’t compromise his mission.

But then one day, in mid-November, something changed.

Helmut read the headline for an article he knew would suit your fancy, but you didn’t come down for breakfast to discuss it with him, nor did you open when he knocked on your door.

“I’ll be down in a minute,” you told him—but you never came.

*

You left your room around noon but you barely spoke a word.

Helmut should have been happy for the opportunity to work, the chance to focus without you stealing his gaze, but he couldn’t ignore the lump that formed in the back of his throat when his thoughts drifted to you.

Over the past 7 months, you encouraged him to talk about his feeling, to open up more—but it seemed you weren’t interested in doing the same.

You left the house a word to him.

So Helmut waited for you to return:

He conducted his research and decrypted more files.

He brewed a pot of coffee.

He prepared lunch.

Had a glass of whiskey.

He checked his phone for messages but found nothing from you.

He reorganized your spice cabinets, bringing the most used containers to the front.

He checked his phone again.

Had a glass of whiskey.

And finally, when evening arrived and you still hadn’t come home to him, Helmut went into your room without permission.

He was careful not to disturb your things, (even if he wanted nothing more than to pick your stray socks off the floor,) and looked around the space.

There were books and magazines neatly stacked across every surface, their genres ranged from art and fashion to relationships and grief.

He lingered on that last title before turning his attention to a paper on your nightstand. The page was wrinkled, spotted, and ripped in many places, but he knew what it was before he even held it in his hands.

It was the letter Dominik kept in his pocket, the one he held on to so tightly, the one he had with him when he died.

He frowned, and his eyebrows knit together in concern for you.

You were grieving, and your grief had taken you backward, back to the promise of a simpler time. The letter was filled with the musings of budding love, a love that had grown and flourished before the cruelties of life intervened.

Helmut understood the unpredictable nature of grief, how it came and went without reason or regard, how days or even months could go by before it returned in full force.

So he set the letter down with a sigh and left your room as quickly as he came. You arrived home 20 minutes later.

“Hello,” He greeted you by the door.

“Oh—hi.” You paused by the door, a bag of groceries in hand. He followed you into the kitchen.

“Is there anything I can do to help you?” He asked.

“No, I’m… I got it.” You placed the bag on the counter, unloading a bag of flour, eggs, and a box of powdered cocoa.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” You said, but then pause when you opened the spice cabinet. Your movements slowed before you stilled completely.

“Helmut? Did you…”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no, it’s just… I…”

Helmut didn’t know it at the time, but Dominik would organize your cabinets when he returned from duty. It was his way of telling you he was home if you weren’t there to greet him.

It was that gesture that broke you.

You placed both your hands over your mouth but even that couldn’t force back your cry. “I’m sorry,” you apologized, “I’m sorry—I’m ok,” you lied, but it only seemed to make you cry harder.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Helmut spoke softly. With a hand on your shoulder, he turned you around to face him but you only shook your head. "Let me help you.”

It took a few more moments of coaxing, but once you calmed, you told him everything.

“His… his birthday is next week.” You said, and it didn’t take a genius to know who you were speaking of. “He wanted me to bake a cake.”

You set a yearly reminder to try new recipes a week in advance, a reminder you’d gotten that morning. “Sometimes I look down at my ring and I still can’t believe it. That’s I’m a...that I’m a widow.” Your voice shook around the word and you sniffled again.

Helmut walked you over to the table, helped you sit on a chair, and poured you a glass of Chardonnay.

“… I never wanted to move to Sokovia—did he tell you that?” He did, but Helmut thought it best not to interrupt you. “I wanted to be with him but I never would have considered it before I met Heike… but I loved him, Helmut, I loved him so much and he promised I’d be happy. There are days when I wake up and-” You didn’t finish that sentence, but he thought he knew what you’d say. There were days when you’d wake up and wonder why you were saved, why your loved ones died and you survived. He didn’t know if you remembered, but you told him this before, on the day he first brought you to Spain.

“… He used to wonder if he made a mistake,” Helmut started, “If he’d done you a disservice by asking you to move when his duties kept him away.” He released a bitter laugh at the memory. “He asked me once if he were selfish.”

“What did you say?”

“That he was.” Helmut shrugged, remembering the look of resignation that crossed his friend’s face, a look you then mirrored exactly.

Helmut put his hand on your shoulder.

“He was selfish, but he didn’t make a mistake… your happiness wasn’t wasted and he’d want you to be happy again.” After all, you didn’t fail Dominik. You hadn’t given him a false sense of security, a promise of safety away from the fighting—Not like he had with his own family.

At first, you looked as though he said something outrageous, something you couldn’t quite believe. But then you nodded, releasing your emotions with a shuddering sigh.

“You’re right… he would want me to, want us both to…”

He sat beside you for the rest of the night. He’d listened to you talk and then when there was nothing left to say, he sat with you in peaceful silence, your head against his shoulder.

And on his birthday, Helmut helped you bake a cake.

You stood in the kitchen together, mixing batter and flouring pans. The sweet scent of your creation spread and the home you shared was filled with joy and warm memories.

By the time you finished, you were exhausted, so he offered to take you to the best restaurant in the city.

It was the least he could do for you.

*

When you arrived, Helmut told the hostess of your reservation—Zemo, a party of two—and she checked his name off a long list that he somehow managed to get ahead of. The hostess noticed your wedding bands, and as she stepped away from the podium, she said,

‘De esta manera, el señor y la señora Zemo.’ Right this way, Mister and Misses Zemo.

Your eyes growing to the size of dinner plates as you turned to him, but he kept his gaze settled on the hostess, his jaw set closed.

It was an honest mistake, one he’s sure others made before, but to hear it said aloud was baffling. He intended to correct the young lady, but she gestured for you to follow before he thought of what to say.

If he said you were friends, others would presume you were having an affair. Normally, the opinions of others wouldn’t concern him, but he didn’t want anyone to think badly of you.

“That was weird,” you said. “I forgot people must think we’re…”

“Should I have corrected her?”

“It was an honest mistake, nothing worth embarrassing her over.”

And that was that.

You both agreed to treat it as a joke, to have fun with the idea because the alternative, explaining how you came to be together, was much worse.

And besides, Helmut thought while taking in his second cocktail, it wasn’t exactly hard to feign some level of attraction to you; you looked beautiful that night. He liked the way your formal clothing fit around your curves, and the way your heels gave shape to your legs.

He felt immediately guilty for that, however, and followed that guilt with another sip of his drink.

But that night wasn’t the only time someone mistook the two of you for a couple. Like meeting someone whose face one begins to see everywhere they go, he began to notice it more and more.

When he signed for your packages the delivery person would look at his ring and never bother to ask for familial confirmation. The old woman at the bakery would smile a secret, knowing, smile when he asked for two pastries to take home with him. The list of culprits went on and on. Everywhere he went people saw his ring and they’d assume he had a wife at home—that you were his wife at home.

*

On a gloomy day in January, you convinced him to visit an art gala with you. You made a group of friends around the area but one fell violently ill after a trip to New Jersey. You didn’t want to go alone so he agreed to put his work on hold for the evening.

You lead him to a room of abstract paintings and his attention was torn between the open bar and dizzying array of dark shapes pressed across the underside of a canvas. He couldn’t appreciate the work the same way you did, but he tried.

As he looked for what you described as ‘the emotional turmoil conveyed by the paint strokes,’ you drifted to the next piece and a gentleman approached you.

He was tall, with neatly trimmed hair and a clean-shaven face. The man seemed to recognize you from somewhere and offered his deepest condolences for Sokovia.

“Thank you,” you nodded.

“It was a genuine tragedy, a modern-day Pompeii.” His words gave you a reason to pause, which he seemed to take as permission to wax poetic about Sokovia’s demise in some futile attempt to prove his intellectual prowess.

“Yes, well, thanks for that.” You continued on politely. He didn’t seem to notice the exasperated edge. He opened his mouth to say something else, to perhaps touch you on the shoulder, and Helmut made the immediate decision to ensure that didn’t happen.

“Драга,” Dear, he called as he approached you, placing his hand on your lower back. “I’ve brought you a drink.” Helmut offered you the cocktail from the table, one he was about to drink himself before the man made you uncomfortable. You smiled, a look of relief on your face.

The man was no genuine threat, probably just a lover of art, but something in the way he looked at you, the way his gaze drifted from your face to your wedding band and the instant look of shame that overtook his (admittedly handsome) features, gave his intentions away—and Helmut didn’t like his intentions at all.

“Хвала ти љубави,” Thank you, my love, you replied with the mischievous smile you adopted whenever someone mistook you for being his wife. It was a playful flirtation, one that meant nothing.

Helmut greeted the man with a simple nod, pretending to have been oblivious to his blatant flirting, before guiding you away.

“I never would have thought to compare the destruction of Sokovia at the hands of an Artificial Intelligence to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius near Pompeii. How truly genius.” He said in a mocking tone.

“Stop that,” you nudged him, hushed laughter in your voice.

“I hope that isn’t what passes as flirting these days.”

“Flirting? He wasn’t flirting.”

Helmut struck you with a judgemental look. You tilted your head in contemplation.

“He wasn’t flirting,” you repeat. “It was just weird, that’s not really a topic most people bring up at parties.” You finally slowed your steps and you looked at a statue in the center of the room. It was clearly meant to represent a couple, but their abstract forms created a tangle of limbs that hurt his eyes to look at.

It was then he decided he hated contemporary art.

You took a sip of your drink—his drink—and turned to him. Your eyes met briefly, and you smiled, your eyes sparkling with mischievous glee.

“Let’s see what’s in the next room, душо,” Honey. You exaggerate.

“Of course, драга, lead the way.” You hooked your arm around his and you explored the rest of the gallery.

Eventually, you reached the main lobby where you set your empty glass on a table with dozens of others. An orchestra played a mix of soft melodies and something he thought to be tunes from an action movie. The music found it’s underscore in the murmurs of the guests who indulged themselves in cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.

He watched them for a moment and a dark feeling filled his belly.

This was the life he should have been living—perhaps not at a gaudy contemporary art gallery but something just as fabulous and amazing. This was the life you deserved to live.

Had it not been for Ultron, for the Avengers and others like them, he’d be enjoying this life between missions and military tours.

He might have even retired early, lived his life in bliss.

He felt angry, distraught, and disappointed all at once. So many dangerous thoughts spun around in his head and without even thinking, he looked at you. In his moment of grief and self-pity, he looked toward you to anchor him.

Your eyes landed on the couples swaying back and forth on the polished floor of the gallery. He noticed how close you stood to him, how your arm wrapped around his, the way your hand rested on his forearm.

He took a breath and he made himself smile.

“Would you like to dance, драга?”

“I’ve seen you dance, Helmut. I don’t.”

“You wound me.” He said, pulling you toward the others anyway. “You’ve yet to see me waltz.” (Or perhaps you did, at his wedding or your own, but it wasn’t the time to bring that up.)

He unraveled his arm from your and slid into position, pulling you close.

“You remember the steps, don’t you?” He asked because you had far less practice waltzing than he did. You nodded, but your eyes proved less certain than the gesture implied. “Don’t worry, I’ll lead.”

And he did.

Helmut led you through the steps of the dance, a simple box step he mastered many years ago.

“I think people are looking at us,” you whispered.

“They can take notes,” he replied. You were the only person in his gaze.

You anchored him; your kindness, your friendship, your playful banter, and your outlandish sense of design. With you he felt like less of a failure, his grief softened and he could see a clear path forward in your eyes—an alternate path if he was strong enough to take it.

But the U.N. taking actions against the Avengers seemed all but inevitable then. Helmut knew he could use their plans to his advantage, but it also meant he was running out of time.

Still, part of him wanted to surrender to your gaze, but the other part, the part that won, held firm. He tried to look away but then somehow ended up noticing the soft curve of your mouth and the fullness of your lips.

When the orchestra stopped playing, your dance slowed to a stop. But you couldn’t stop staring at each other, both cursed with the knowledge that something between you had changed.

***

Thanks for reading! Next time we'll get to see what happens when your flirtation with Helmut is no longer a game.

Feedback is very much appreciated. Please tell me what you think! This was a fun chapter to write.

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#zemo #baron zemo #helmut zemo #zemo x reader #mcu zemo #this was the longest chapter yet #my goodness

[themonkeycabal]

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Episode 1 SPOILERS

If you need to blacklist, I will be tagging all things as #tfatws and/or #tfatws spoilers

My roommate keeps calling this The Falcon and the Snowman. I'm not entirely sure it's accidental.

I was going to watch at midnight and then fell asleep. Betrayal. I will not forgive this, brain.

Bucky Barnes character development. Sam Wilson character development. Six full episodes of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson. When we watched Civil War, did we think we'd actually be lucky enough to get a buddy idiot cop movie? Let alone six hours of it? #blessed

What are we expecting here? I have no idea, honestly. I think all the clips we've been seeing are from the first couple episodes, so they've hidden any sort of plot from us. We know Baron Zemo's around with his stupid purple ski mask and burning hatred for superheroes and probably specifically for Bucky who he tried (and honestly kind of succeeded, before then ultimately failing dramatically) to set up. And Sharon Carter will turn up at some point. OMG guys, Sharon Carter character development!

I'm just here for the buddy bickering and badassery.

SPOILERS BELOW

New World Order: Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes realize that their futures are anything but normal. *Realize*? lol

Also, it's tagged as "science fiction, action-adventure, buddy" Awww.

Aww, Sam looks sad as he gazes at The Shield.

"How's it feel?" "Like it's someone else's." "It isn't."

That's right, Sam! Listen to that voice. That's yours now, baby.

We're just going to roll right into a mission. Rescuing a Captain Vassant, whose plane fell out of contact shortly after take off, from the ridiculously named group LAF, somewhere over Tunisia. Sam's got to keep LAF from doing bad things and the US Military can't be seen doing anything blah blah blah, violation of treaties, yada yada. And Sam's all "blah blah got it". We're on the same page, Sam and me. Nobody wants to hear it, Briefing Exposition Guy.

We will have a Lt. Torres on the ground following along and offering helpful commentary as they go.

Sam is warned to be subtle as he falls backwards out of the cargo plane in very dramatic fashion and then swoops off on his brightly colored wings. lol

Sam gets to the captain's plane but the pilot is dead and a shady LAF guy is piloting. Oh no. Hey, it's Batroc. Last seen getting his ass kicked by Captain America in "CA: The Winter Soldier". He makes some jokes about their prisoner - presumably Captain Vassant. Awful cocky for a guy with a history of getting stomped on, you know.

Anyway, he's about to get his ass kicked by a Captain America again as Sam breaks into the plane. You might just be using wing shields now, Sam, but you're Captain America in my heart. Also, hey, dumb bad guys, don't open fire with an automatic weapon inside a plane or the ricochets might kill your pilot. And his body will slump forward and put the plane into a steep dive.

Batroc distracts Sam while the bad guys gather up Vassant and jump out of the plane with him. They have wingsuits, but Sam has, you know, wings. And like a jet pack. Don't hit the canyon walls, Sam!

Somehow the bad guys have waiting gunships. Did they expect to jump out of the plane over this canyon? I can only assume. Red Wing takes care of one of the helicopters. Man these guys are a pain in the ass. They wing suit into one of the many many helicopters that just happen to be right in the right spot. They're racing for the Libyan border. Then Sam shows up, they throw Vassant out the copter again — this guy is having the worst day — and glide into another chopper.

Man ANOTHER gunship? The hell? They're causing serious ecological damage to this canyon, what with all the zillionty missiles they're firing at Sam. How strapped is this thing?

LT Torres is trying to keep up, and you know, trying to get Sam to not fly into Libyan territory and cause an international incident or some such. Sam is struck by inspiration and not by a missile. But, the missiles are following Sam and Sam is following Batroc's chopper. Sam zooms through the open doors of the chopper, knocks poor Vassant out of the chopper AGAIN (but then catches him), and LAF blows up their own helicopter. Alas, Batroc escaped.

Sam saves the day and LT Torres is like super excited. Don't break your humvee, Torres.

Torres and Sam stop by a tea shop in Tunis, or somewhere. Sam's trying to fix his tech that got a little shot up and Torres buys the tea. A man comes up and thanks Sam for saving his wife. It's sweet. And then Torres gets up and wanders about a bit with his phone as he exposits about LAF. Is Torres about to become a pin cushion? Only instead of pins it'll be bullets? I'm not feeling good about his continued health. He's too cute and earnest.

Oh, he's looking for some sort of hidden, augmented reality tag on the walls. A red handprint, id'ing some group that calls themselves the Flag Smashers. Bad guys are really scraping the bottom of the evil name barrel. Anyway, they think the world was better during the blip. Nothing says better like mass failure of infrastructure and probably world wide famine. They want a unified world without borders. I have big doubts the world would be a borderless utopia during a blip-like event. Power vacuums invite trouble, seldom unity.

Anyhoo. Sam kind of agrees with me, "every time something gets better for one group, it gets worse for another".

Torres will track the 'online chatter'. But he's also heard some wacky things about Steve Rogers, conspiracy theory stuff, "they think that he's in a secret base on the moon, looking down over us". LOL. What? Is Steve a moon angel now? or Santa Claus? "You didn't like fly him to the moon?" Sam assures him that's all very much silly foolishness. Steve's in Boca working on his tan.

Sam's back in D.C. giving a talk about Steve at the Smithsonian's National Air & Space museum. "And he mastered posing stoically". Hey, I have that picture. Also, RHODEY! Hi Rhodey!

"A few months ago, billions of people reappeared after 5 years away. Sending the world into turmoil." Again. I know this was meant to come out before WandaVision, but timeline-wise this works better.

"We need new heroes. Ones suited for the times we're in. Symbols are nothing without the women and men that give them meaning." Sam holds up The Shield. "I don't know if there's been a greater symbol." Aww, he's retiring the shield. He hands it off to museum people and they put it in a display case. I think Rhodey has some thoughts about this. I suspect Rhodey maybe doesn't agree.

Sam and Rhodey wander through the Cap exhibit and Sam's talking about how when he left (or got snapped, it's not like you had a choice about that, Sam), his nephews were babies and now they're little men. Awww. Rhodey says Sam should bring them to D.C., he'll teach them how to fly, "the right way". lol.

Rhodey says it's crazy to think nobody will be carrying the shield. Sam points out they went 70 years without, so like …

Rhodey wants to know why Sam didn't take up the mantle. BTW, this is a cool exhibit, marvel peeps. Sam says it feels like it belongs to someone else … Steve. Rhodey says everything's broken. Allies are enemies, things are torn apart. People are looking for somebody to make it better. Having made his pitch, Rhodey leaves Sam to stare mournfully at the shield. I think you're afraid to pick up the shield, Sam. Afraid you won't measure up. But, you can do it. I have faith. Also, Steve was kind of a disaster in his own way. He wasn't perfect, which was the point of Steve as a hero. Pick up the shield, Sam.

A fancy hotel, chatting people in the lobby, up to a mezzanine, a group of very Russian oligarch looking dudes and their security. And lo! A metal arm punches through a wall and the Winter Soldier, looking very Winter Soldiery appears and stabs some dudes in the neck. This has a sepia, dream/nightmareness to it. Oh yeah, it's his old shiny silver arm. Totally a nightmare/very bad memory. "Hail Hydra" and he kills the head Russian guy. The poor dude who was just chatting in the lobby is caught trying to get into his door. He swears he didn't see anything, begs for his life and the Winter Soldier shoots him. Bucky wakes up, breathing heavily. Poor Bucky.

Glad he's in therapy. I'm sure goat herding in Wakanda was good and peaceful and all, but, goats will only get you so far. Also glad we've skipped the "wanted terrorist" part and gone on to traumatized hero.

I get the feeling he's not the best patient. He lies to his therapist straight off. Twice. lol. "You're a civilian now. With your history the government needs to know, you're not gonna … [therapist makes stabby motion]." lol (I love this actress by the way. She's been in everything for ages. She's great). "It's a condition of your pardon. So tell me about your most recent nightmare." "I didn't have a nightmare." She starts writing, Bucky objects and tells her she's being passive-aggressive, but he gives in.  

He has a list of amends to make and three rules to follow. He crossed a name off. There's a Hydra pawn who's a senator, he helped her get into office. "After Hydra disbanded, she continued to use the power I gave her." Hmm. He tracks her car and listens in on her plotting to have a congressman killed.

* Rule number one: Can't do anything illegal.

He's hijacked the Senator's car and is remote controlling it, making it drive all out of control and freaking her out. He says he was collecting intel to give to an aide to convict her. Absolutely only did that. Not one illegal thing about that at all, no ma'am.

"Rule number two?" "Hmm. What was rule number two?" "Nobody gets hurt. It's a big one." "Then why isn't it rule number one?" Oh, Bucky, you're a jackass.

* Rule number two: Nobody gets hurt.

"I didn't hurt anybody. Promise." He totally broke a dude's hand and then punched him in the face, knocking him out. I mean, there's levels of 'hurt' I suppose.

"The whole point of making amends is to fulfill rule number three." "Of course I completed rule number three."

* Rule number three: "I am no longer the Winter Soldier. I am James 'Bucky' Barnes. And you're part of my efforts to make amends." He says to the corrupt senator he's just been terrifying. And then he walks away as a tac team pulls up. lol.

What I'm getting from this therapy session is that Bucky is a big fat fibber.

Also he's got a little black book full of names. Including, I see, H. Zemo. That's not going to go as smoothly as taking down a shady government fatcat, I think.

"So you did it all right, but it didn't help with the nightmares?" "Well, like I said, I didn't have any." Fibber.

People wanna help you Bucky and you can trust them. "I trust people," he mutters grumpily. She asks for his phone and he hands it over. Look, lady! Trust! Probably government mandated trust, but still!

"You don't have ten phone numbers on this thing." … I don't have ten phone numbers on my phone. :( "Oh, and you've been ignoring texts from Sam." Well …

"I am the only person you have called all week. That is so sad." lol. Tough love from the therapist. I'm feeling a little judged myself, though. "You're alone." ALRIGHT DON'T RUB IT IN!

"You're a hundred years old. You have no history. No family—" "Are you lashing out at me, doc? Because that's really unprofessional." I love you Bucky, but you are a disaster patient.

Bucky relents. "I'm trying. This is new for me. I didn't have a moment to deal with anything. I had a little calm in Wakanda. And other than that, I just went from one fight to another for 90 years." Get this man a goat farm!

"So now that you've stopped fighting, what do you want?" "Peace." A goat farm. "That is utter bullshit." lol "You're a terrible shrink." "I was an excellent soldier, so I saw a lot of dead bodies and I know how that can shut you down. And if you are alone, that is the quietest, most personal hell." Get some friends, Bucky. "I know you've been through a lot. But, you've got your mind back. You're being pardoned. These are good things. You're free." "To do what?"

On the streets of Brooklyn. Bucky breaks up an argument between neighbors about trashcans. Hey, Bucky has a friend! Yori Nakajima who's probably like 80+. Did you babysit him back in the day, Buck? har har. They were going to meet for lunch, but some punk named Unique was putting his trash into Mr. Nakajima's trash can and just derailed the whole day. The horror. No joke, though, people get so nutted up about that. It's weird to me. Of course, I did also have a neighbor who never put out his trash for pickup and just snuck out at night before trash day and distributed his garbage into in other people's bins. Cheapass.

"Hey man, I'm Unique. Like Monique but it's got a 'u' in there for uniqueness." Yeah, you should have let Yori smack him, Buck.

Well now Yori is just not in the mood for lunch. Bucky tries to persuade him, but one grumpy old man out grumps the other. "But Izzy. We always go to Izzy on Wednesday. What if I buy?" "Fine. But no talking." lol. BFFs!

Yori is looking at the obituaries. "Look, nobody made it past 90 this week." Bucky tsks "So young, such a shame."

Bucky kind of smiles at the girl behind the counter at the sushi joint, Yori tells him he should ask her out. Bucky makes a "are you nuts, shut up" face. That doesn't stop Yori. "He would like to take you out on a date. Maybe to bingo or a night of pinochle." You're a wild man, Yori!

She's down by it, though, and she and Yori hammer out the details while Bucky's like uh, okay, so wow, that's happening. "There's a dance to these things. You can't … you gotta warm up and I haven't danced since 1943."

Yori sees something and suddenly gets sad. His son loves red bean mochi. His son was a consultant, working abroad and he was killed. Oh. Oh Bucky, why you gotta … Yori's son was the innocent witness he killed at the hotel in his nightmare/memory. "I will never know what really happened to him." Brutal.

Delacroix, Louisana

Sam's on his way home. Wilson Family Seafood. Aww. His nephews are helping mom with the catch. "Blue for the snapper, orange for the white fish," Sam calls out. The boys run over to him. They do look like fine gentlemen. It's weird, Sam, I get it. I recently realized my oldest nephew will be 13 in May and it's like "no, he's only in kindergarten, what are you talking about?"

His sister greets him then tells him he's looking all sneaky. Sam deflects. Their boat has seen better days. The Paul & Darlene. Aww. Is that his parents names? "Baby being held together by duct tape and prayers." Just needs to float long enough for his sister to sell it. But Sam's all, uh I thought we were going to *discuss* that. Uh oh, family drama. "We did, and then you were off fighting Dr Space Cape or whatever (lol), while I was holding it together for five long years." Ouch.

Sam is not down by this selling the boat thing. His sister doesn't seem to think they're in a position to hold on to it. Also, she'd really like to not hash this out on the pier with like twenty other people around, Sam.

They get into more of an argument on the boat. The family biz is not doing well financially. Sarah won't let Sam help for some reason, and he makes some comment about the house and loans and she punches him in the chest. lol "I forgot how hard you hit."

Sam insists they can turn it around, consolidate loans. And she's all, been there done that, I've come to terms with this. He's a persistent little jerk. This is such a perfectly sibling argument. Notably he has moved himself out of punching range.

Aww, she wants to believe he can save the boat, but she has DOUBTS.

Back in Brooklyn. Bucky attempts his date. He turns up at the end of the sushi girl's shift and gives her flowers. "Well, if that's not the most adorably old-fashioned thing anyone's ever done."

They chat while she tidies. He tried online dating oh lol. It didn't take. She tells him "You sound like my dad. Wait how old are you?" "Hundred and six." Oh yeah, what a funny joke. Next she wants to know why he's wearing gloves. "I have … um … poor circulation." He grimaces at himself and glances out the window. Smooth as silk, Bucky. Smoooooth.

"Let's play a game." Now, I'm thinking like some weird dating word/get-to-know-each-other game or something. I don't know. But, nope, she means Battleship. lol. I like her.

The drinking game version of battleship. Bucky sucks at it. "You sure can drink." "Yeah, well." Super assassin, unfair advantage.

We're just going to rub in this whole The Winter Soldier killed Yori's son thing, as she says it's nice that he's spending time with the old man. Since he was all messed up after his son was murdered and how it was extra hard because he didn't know what happened. I'm not sure this is healthy, Bucky.

"There's no word for someone whose kids die." Okay, ouch, lady, jeez. Bucky looks like he wants to puke. Or crawl into a deep dark hole. Or something. "Because it's the worst thing that can happen." Bucky nopes right out the front door. So, maybe they should have played pinochle instead.

Bucky goes to Yori. Are you really going to tell this man you murdered his son when you were a brain-washed Hydra assassin? Yori asks how the date was, and Bucky sees a shrine to the man's son in the apartment. Poor Bucky. He makes some excuse about owing Yori for lunch and leaves. Yori's name is in his book of amends. :(

Back in Louisiana. Sam and the kids are packing up meals. His sister maybe wants to sell meals in addition to fish. Sam says they've got to get going to their appointment at the bank. She's says it's in an hour. Sam must be just the worst brother to live with "There's no such thing as on time. You're either early or late. Pick one." Man, no wonder he gets punched.

Switzerland

Lt Torres is walking down a street with an unusually large number of people just sort of milling around in the middle of the street looking at their phones. He's got his kind of hidden, recording. He stops a guy and asks if he knows what they're supposed to be doing. Oh it's the flag munchers, or whatever. There's a weird phony bird whistle and then people gather around a person handing out masks with red handprints on them. His decoy bad guy phone chirps and gives the order to run. A guy jumps out of a nearby building with two huge duffle bags (of money it seems) and walks off while the previously milling people become a seemingly panicked mob, distracting police and whatnot.

Torres tries to arrest the jumper guy, who appears to have some super strength as he kicks a policeman halfway across the street. Torres, you're cute, but not super bright. Torres gets body slammed and then stomped. He survives again, however, defying the odds.

At the bank. The account manager keeps giving Sam the side-eye as he goes through their paperwork. "Do I know you from somewhere." Sam's all modest, "I don't know. Do you?" And then he makes a little wing flappy move with his hands. lol. What a nerd. "Falcon!" Then he takes a selfie with Sam. Sarah is very done with all this. She tries to get them back on track. Account guy wants to know how Avengers make a living. Probably not looking good for your loan, Sam.

"Is there some kind of fund for heroes? Or did Stark pay you when he was around? My condolences, by the way."

Yeah, financially this is looking bad, my dude. "You have no income over the last five years." Well, but, he was blipped. I mean …

Alas, shot down for the loan.

Sam and Sarah argue on the street. Ah, Sam ran off to the Air Force and didn't deal with what was going on at home. Oh my, this is getting ugly. Speaking as someone who got disowned on account of a family business, let me just say, they're not easy. Nuh-uh.

"Half the boat's mine and so is the house. We're not selling our family's legacy." "You gonna do me like what when you know I'm right?"

I get it might be awkward to ask, but I bet you could have asked Pepper for a loan, Sam, and she would have given it to you gladly. Come on, man.

Later. Sam's working on the boat's engine, and it's not cooperating. In the cabin he looks at the family pictures on all the walls. He's having a rough day. About as rough as Torres who texts him to find a secure line and call him along with a selfie of his bruised and battered face. #important (lol, really?)

Sam watches the footage Torres caught and they chat about how Torres was supposed to be doing that stuff online and not getting his face kicked in in Switzerland.

Sarah interrupts and turns on the TV. Some guy is giving a speech about how everybody needs a hero. "We need someone who can inspire us again. Someone who can be a symbol for all of us. So on behalf of the Department of Defense and our Commander-in-Chief, it is with great honor that we announce here today that the United States of America has a new hero." hmm, no comment. Except, you should have taken up the shield, Sam. Now it's Sam's turn to look like he's going to puke. What did I say about power vacuums? Somebody will fill them, whether you want them to or not. 

This new guy looks like a goober. There, I said it.

credits

So … lots of setup. And very clear on the two guys trying to figure out where they fit in this world post blip and big wars. Both of them trying to fix broken families.

Plus a goober in a Cap suit.

So far so good. 

#tfatws #tfatws spoilers #the falcon and the winter soldier #the falcon and the winter soldier spoilers

[moontheoretist]

I am watching What IF...?

Episode 1: What if... Captain Carter were the First Avenger?

You know... when I saw that it started from the breach in Captain America timeline and saw Peggy become a super soldier, I was pretty sure that Steve will resent her for what she did, because his portrayal in the First Avenger movie even before the serum indicated that he would be, just like he was of Bucky for being drafted while he was left behind. It’s canon behavior for him as far as I noticed.

What If..?’s Steve however is a better man. I dunno when exactly he changed, but he did. He doesn’t act as if he resented Peggy, and he seems quite ok with how everything turned out. Which is like, wow, I didn’t expect that. Also, Peggy has a far better story as Captain.

Like, she isn’t put into USO, she is denied being a soldier even, because she is a woman, the only thing she seems to share with Captain America is murdering punching bags and throwing stuff when angry, which is kinda a bad sign, but ok, everybody needs coping mechanisms. ANYWAY, when she learns where Hydra went, she quickly figured out what they were after, but the guy in charge (John Flynn), the same one who told her that she is a woman not a soldier, doesn’t want to send her there even though they still have a chance to get it back in time. So Howard steps in and her whole rebellion against the military is about not endangering everybody with a stupid ass decision made by a general who doesn’t get how important the cube is, instead of about saving just one man and accidentally saving 400 others by extension by literally going AWOL and endangering his friends like MCU Steve did. Everything about the mission which makes her recognized is about retrieving the Tesseract. And Howard gives her a uniform and a shield to do just that. All in British colors, because American military sucks.

(I love their “she just reaped the bars out, holy shit” faces xD)

AND THEN they go SAVE BUCKY. That makes much more sense story wise. And also Howard is showing Steve that technology can aid him when the serum now can’t, because Peggy is the super soldier instead, literally building better foundations for Steve’s attitude towards technology and the future. He will not be stuck in ice and come back for the Avengers, but at least he is getting better development not only in relation to this topic, but also to his hatred towards his body and his masculinity. Peggy still wanting him despite him being small and frail and now also disabled even more after he was shot and has to walk with a cane, literally builds in Steve the idea that his masculinity is not weak or bad, because he is not a macho muscly type and that his body isn’t something which he should hate or which makes him less than others. AND he is literally Tony now! I did suspect that the technology he got was a suit, but damn, is Steve in this universe fated to be the first Iron Man and then Tony second?

Lol, they named him “Hydra Stomper”.

And now Peggy teaches Steve the most important lesson “the Suit is nothing without the man inside”, which he as much as Tony needed to learn to finally feel free and not less than the others, because they rely on something. The only difference between Steve and Tony here is that Iron Man without Tony is truly nothing, because he made it, while Steve's suit was given to him, so anybody can technically pilot it. Anyway, I like this Steve so much more than MCU one.

(Which when I think about it now creates a pothole in the later part of the episode. Like why Hydra and Red Scull let the suit hanging instead of use it against Peggy? Why put Steve in chains next to it? It kinda looks like damseling him for literally no reason. I wonder why they didn’t kill him right away? Because what? Because he had blonde hair and blue eyes? Or what? Scull liked him? And we cannot even say it was done for the sake of Peggy saving him, because Peggy never sees Steve in chains. She went the other way, so why is he there? To save for whom? Bucky? It would be more logical if Red Scull just killed Steve and put the suit himself and fought Peggy in it to hurt her. Then at least space squid wouldn’t kill him, lol... ah wait. OH, yeah, Tesseract was inside the suit, so he just took it out. Still, he could power up the suit with something else and put one of his people inside to fight Peggy anyway, just in case she came for him).

AND OF COURSE HE HAD TO TRAGICALLY DIE WHEN I FINALLY STARTED LIKING THE WEASEL! LOL, we know what will happen next. He will become the new Winter Soldier, I suppose? If he survived the explosion.

Oh, they brought the original castle storyline back! It never appeared in the Captain America: The First Avenger, even though I personally remember a castle being a main stage for the whole “Steve sacrificed himself prelude” thing, so it’s nice to have a castle and an interdimensional portal back, instead of a plane battle.

“I am up for anything, but this is crazy”.

“And so is Steve Rogers”

Me: *wheezing*

Anyway, he survived. There is no Winter Soldier in this universe and Peggy gets lost in the portal, and she is brought back to 2012 by I suspect Project Pegasus as it is the “Loki’s arrival” scene.

I think that now, if we assume that everybody else is still present in this universe, meaning that Tony became Iron Man and all, Steve becoming a Hydra Stomper and working with Peggy gave Captain Carter an experience in fighting alongside someone in a metal suit. Plus her friendship with Howard means that she won’t have any bad disposition towards Tony and hence Avengers team will actually work better, and if there is Civil War it would be different and about something else, because Captain Carter knows her way around learning political related stuff, so she wouldn’t really kick Accords in the ass unless it was a Hydra plot. I also suppose that without her making Project Paperclip, Hydra would not infiltrate SHIELD, or someone else does that, and Captain Carter would notice something is not right with SHIELD, and she would root the Hydra out herself.

Also, I wanna point out that the scene in which Peggy is shown to be “smarter than Howard” is there only to establish the difference between her and MCU Steve Rogers, who doesn’t know shit about technology. It’s not that Howard isn’t smart anymore. He is a civilian, who is not a brawling type, in a room with a huge octopus which crushed Red Scull like a wooden stick. It stands to reason that he would be panicked enough to not be able to articulate properly. It also establishes that no “it runs on some kind of electricity” will happen in this universe during the Avengers storyline, where she ends by the end of the episode. It comes out a little out of the blue, that’s true, but this is not a line which only “genius” or “science type” can say. It’s just a typical sci-fi approach to the problem with anything, which also sounds smart at the same time. She could even take it out from a sci-fi novel. But I agree that they didn’t establish where that knowledge comes from in any of the previous scenes.

Episode 2: What if... T’Challa became a Star-Lord?

Lol, a vastly different reaction xD

And this was the moment when young T’Challa thought, “who needs to tell their baba that they’re going into space, anyway?” and just went and disappeared. I don’t even wanna know what Wakanda did after the prince vanished. Though it means that Shuri can become a queen and the Black Panther now, HELL YEAH!

And this is the proof that anybody who says that we have to murder someone else to “save the planet” from overpopulation is wrong. (Because they are wrong, just go and check studies about that). T’Challa just showed Thanos the benefits of equal share of the resources and saved the universe with logic and diplomacy.

And my hopes for Queen Shuri just went out the window. BTW, why Nebula turned into a living example of “blue space babe” (from feminist studies which pointed out that alien women are just human women painted colors and shown in sexy clothes or portrayed as dancers and prostitutes for the benefit of the male gaze). She got sexy hair, sexy dress, and she is later shown to be some kind of spy by the clothes she wears and her general attitude. She reminds me so much of Natasha that I am tempted to say she is a sexy spy cliché.

It’s kind of degrading after the whole episode which centered around a woman being denied being a soldier, which in the whole militaristic and male dominated setting was pretty much conveying feminist messages, while here in another male dominated setting we have only two women shown with any lines and one of them is Nebula sexy spy. It just comes across weird after the previous episode, tbh.

She even speaks like Natasha from the MCU... and she betrays just like our dear russian friend, Natasha. Anyway, it looks like Queen Shuri is still on the table! Wakanda prevails! It was not destroyed!

Ok, nevermind. She is a space Black Widow, but in this way that she plays every side just like Natasha does. Apparently... betrayal was part of the plan, lol. What is with this idea that women named with a name starting with N are good spies in this universe?

Carina the badass! GO CARINA! SHOW THEM!

At least in this universe, she doesn’t foolishly die for “drama”. Or, in MCU’s case, for exposition to show “what happens to those who touch the infinity stone”. I gotta say, her revenge was sweet.

#what if...? #what if...? spoilers #peggy carter #bucky barnes #nebula #t'challa #thanos #mcu steve rogers critical #what if...? steve rogers rulez #mcu critical #feminism #why did you have to sexualize Nebula to make her second Natasha?