#i know i missed all the scenes in between zemo talking where steve is standing there like 👁👄👁 but oh well

[dailybruhl]

You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here? CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016)

#helmut zemo #baron zemo #steve rogers #marveledit #mcuedit #mcufam #cacwedit #marvelgifs #captain america civil war #daniel brühl #daniel bruhl #danielbrühledit #chris evans #tusermerc #userrutledge #bbelcher #* #gifset #by hannah #i know i missed all the scenes in between zemo talking where steve is standing there like 👁👄👁 but oh well

[cjsinkythoughts]

The Shield

Paring: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 5595

Warnings: !FATWS SPOILERS!, Cursing, John Walker, Emotions, Character Death, Mentions of Blood, I know people had a hard time with that last scene so please take caution because it is in this part! GIF at end is the ending scene, so be careful when you get towards the bottom! I feel like I’m forgetting some, so just know this one’s a bit more than the others.

A/N: Here it is, folks! The Part we’ve all been waiting for! It’s the longest one I’ve written so far but so much happened and I couldn’t find a better spot to end it than where the episode ended. Thank you all for being patient with me today. I know I didn’t get this out as quickly as I would’ve the past few weeks, but you guys are so awesome! Seriously! I love that you understand I do have a life and work comes first! Thank you, thank you!

This Part is a doozy, guys, and…I’m sorry? But not really. I’m SUPER excited to see where this is gonna go, especially considering Episode 5 is supposed to be the real tear jerker. I can’t believe there’s only two more episodes! I’ve grown so attached to these characters just in the past month! I’m so glad I’m able to share some of my thoughts and feelings with you guys, too! You’re honestly the best!

I’ll be doing more One Shots this week, so look for those on the Masterlist. I’m still taking requests for them, so if there’s anything you want explored about the reader and her relationships that you don’t think will be explored in this Series, just ask and I’ll try to add it to the One Shot list.

As always, this isn’t beta’d so please excuse any mistakes! Thank you for reading, be kind to yourself and others, enjoy this part and stay tuned!

FATWS Masterlist

cjsinkythoughts Masterlist

(I couldn’t decide on which GIF to use because there are so many good ones! Thank you Tumblr Creators!)

!SPOILERS UNDER CUT!

“Doll…hey. Doll. C’mon, sweetheart. We gotta get moving.”

You cracked your eyes open begrudgingly, squinting up to see Bucky’s amused grin, head tilted and eyes soft. “Huh?”

He chuckled as you rubbed your eyes, confusion lifting an eyebrow. “The funeral. Zemo said we’ve gotta go if we’re gonna make it in time.”

“Wait, but…huh?”

Sniggering again at your reaction, he held up your phone. “You passed out in the middle of a chapter, sleepyhead.” He teased lightly, grabbing your hand and gently pulling you to sit upright. “It’s almost been an hour.”

You huffed tiredly, stretching and placing your feet on the floor, taking back the phone he held out to you. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You haven’t been sleeping well.” He stated, like it should’ve been obvious. “How’s your arm feeling?”

“Better than earlier. It’s just sore. That’s all.”

He studied your features for any hint of a lie. Not finding one, he nodded, holding out his hand. “Okay. But tell me if it starts bothering you.”

You placed your hand in his, marveling for a split second at how big his hands were compared to yours - something you noticed every time but still it never ceased to astound you. He tugged you up, and you looked up to meet his worried eyes, remembering his question.

“I will, Buck. Promise.”

He nodded, tilting his head towards the door. “C’mon, cuddle bug. We don’t wanna miss this.”

A groan passed your lips, but you nodded and followed Bucky out into the main room, where Sam chuckled at you from his spot at the table. “Sleeping beauty has finally awoken.”

You flipped Sam off groggily. “Are we going or not?”

“Do you wanna wake up s’more first?”

“No.” You answered the one armed brunette. “I’ll just splash some water on my face or something. I’ll be fine by the time we get there. Where’s-”

“Looking for me?”

Zemo strolled out, now dressed in that coat of his, that smug smirk on his lips. You scowled. “I wish I wasn’t.”

Sam stood up, standing subconsciously between you and Zemo. “Let’s head out.”

You nodded in agreement, shooting the Baron one more glare, before following him out the door and into the city, Bucky right besides you, shoulders brushing as if you weren’t ignoring him just hours prior.

The walk was mostly silent, a few jests between Bucky and Sam plus a couple comments from Zemo here and there. You talked about strategy, with Sam bringing up the fact that he wanted to try convincing Karli to step down. Zemo didn’t look pleased with the arrangement, but both you and Bucky relented, agreeing to let Sam at least try.

It wasn’t until you were close to your destination according to Zemo that anything exciting happened.

“Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you guys to be pulling this shit!”

Hell. No. 

The moment the voice registered in your brain, your jaw tightened, your teeth starting to grind together as you held back the very not nice things you wanted to say. 

“Ah! How’d you find us now?” Bucky called out, tucking you into his side protectively, and a little possessively you noted, as Walker and Hoskins came down the steps, the two groups nearing each other.

You were relieved when the subject of Zemo escaping jail went by relatively quickly, Walker latching onto the fact that you were going to talk to Karli instead of focusing on the escaped fugitive in front of him.

You very nearly punched him when he ran in front of you after Sam told him the plan, making the four of you stop in your tracks, but Bucky’s arm tightened around your shoulders, holding you in place next to him.

“You’re gonna let him do this?” Walker questioned Bucky in disbelief, self righteous judgement practically dripping from your tone. “You’re gonna let your partner walk into a room with a super soldier alone?”

Bucky’s jaw ticked. “He’s dealt with worse. And he’s not my partner.”

“And you?” Walker narrowed his eyes towards you. “I expected more from you; the last original Avenger.”

You snorted, shaking your head. He obviously didn’t know how chaotic the Avengers were. What Sam was proposing? You’d seen it a million times with Steve alone. Not considering Nat, Clint, Thor, even Bruce and Tony. All of them willing to try to negotiate before running in, bullets raining and hell rising. “First, I’m not the last original. I’m technically not even an original. Second, I trust Sam with my life and I’m standing by his decision. He’s my brother. As a soldier, I would’ve thought you understood that.”

Before he could respond, Sam stepped around Bucky. You saw the reluctance in Walker’s eyes as he admitted a temporary defeat once Hoskins agreed with Sam. The fact that he was so unwilling to try to save more lives - including Karli’s - made the truth that he wasn’t, and would never, be your Captain harden deeper into your heart.

Ignoring Walker’s confusion as you followed the little girl Zemo befriended - which was weird, you’d admit, but it was getting you closer to Karli - Bucky’s arm slipped from your shoulders, hand sliding across your back and skimming down your arm to grip your hand. Even through your jacket, you felt goosebumps erupt along his fingers’ trail.

You finally came to your destination and you let out a small breath. If everything went smoothly, this mission could finally be over and you could go home and take a bath, get take out, get out a bottle of wine, watch TV, and just relax.

What a dream.

“Hey.” You stopped Sam before he could go through the entrance of where the girl said Karli was, holding his forearm. “You want me to come with you?”

He shook his head. “I think it’ll be better if I go alone.”

You nodded, letting go without any hesitance. “Okay. Be careful.”

“Always.” And despite all you’ve been through, no matter how many times he’s followed Steve’s lead in doing something stupid, you knew he meant it. You nodded again, before he disappeared around the corner.

You leaned back against the wall, Bucky once again wrapping an arm around your shoulder now that you weren’t walking - he liked having mobility on the move, hence the reason he held your hand instead - leaning besides you and pulling you against his chest.

Ten minutes. You tried looking at Bucky’s watch, which was on the wrist of the arm around you. He noticed and turned his wrist slightly, bending his elbow more, which brought you even closer to him, showing you the time.

Giving a small sigh, you nodded slightly and dropped your head back against his bicep, your hands shoving in your pockets, one of your feet coming up to rest against the wall. Bucky shifted to your other side so he could stand in front of the doors to where Karli and Sam were, pulling you against his back, arms wrapping around your shoulders tightly.

It was a long ten minutes. You kept eyeing Walker, and you couldn’t help the anger burning through you as he held the shield in his hands. That damn shield. It wasn’t his. It would never be his. And he would never understand it. The fact that the shield didn’t make Captain America. The shield isn’t what made Steve a good man. Not even the Serum did. He already was one. Steve made the shield what it was, not the other way around.

But then you remembered a conversation you had, years ago, and your eyes flitted up to Bucky’s hardened face, the brunette staring intensely at the ground.

~

You didn’t get it. You were confused. You knew how important Barnes - Bucky - was to Steve. But apparently you didn’t understand it quite yet.

You watched from the entrance of the hallway, leaning against the wall, as Bucky went under once more.

Steve stood there for a moment longer, before turning and walking towards you. “Why’d you do it?”

He raised an eyebrow at you while you turned to walk with him down the hall. “Do what?”

“Give up the shield. And don’t say it doesn’t belong to you. It does. Howard gave it to you. You’re the reason it’s…a symbol.”

He hummed. “And what exactly is it a symbol for, honey?”

You scoffed. “Uh, freedom? Justice? Resilience? The defense of the whole life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness thing?”

He stopped, facing you with a strange expression on his face, thoughtful. “I dropped it because I can’t be that anymore. Not right now. People don’t have the same beliefs they used to have. How can I stand up for freedom and let the Sokovia Accords track every person they deem a threat, just like HYDRA tried doing? How can I be a symbol for justice and let Bucky take the fall for something that he wasn’t in control of? I can’t. And until the world is ready to change…I can’t be Captain America.”

~

And suddenly, it seemed to click. Steve gave up the shield for Bucky because the world wasn’t ready to admit it was wrong. Just like Sam gave up the shield for himself and his family because the world wasn’t ready for the truth that would come with him becoming Captain America.

God…when did a metal circle become so complicated?

“What’s goin’ on in that pretty lil’ head’a yours?” His whisper in your ear startled you out of your thoughts, his nose brushing against your temple tenderly as he placed a chaste kiss on your cheek.

You looked up at him and shook your head. Of all the things Steve gave up, he never gave up Bucky. And it used to confuse you, but you understood then. His blue eyes sparkling with curiosity and slight concern, his fingers tracing patterns along your collarbone with a barely-there touch that was so light it didn’t seem to exist. You finally understood. Not just Steve’s decision, but Sam’s too. And maybe you didn’t understand it fully, and that was okay, because you weren’t them, so you never would, but you understood a little bit.

“Nothing.” You shook your head, keeping your voice down so the others couldn’t hear, the conversation being a private one, “I’m just waiting for this to be over.”

He hummed, nodding in agreement, setting his chin on your head. “Me too.”

Walker started pacing the room about half way through, getting too antsy for your liking. “Shhh.” Bucky mumbled under his breath, feeling you tense as Walker started talking. “It hasn’t been ten minutes, John. Just sit tight.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t patronize me.”

“He knows what he’s doing.” Bucky stated confidently, straightening slightly from his leaning position, arms falling from your form. The two of you exchanged glances as Walker checked the clock over on the far wall, blocked from your view.

“I’m going in.” Walker strode across the room, heading for the entrance, no doubt willing to steam roll anything - anyone - in his way.

Bucky stopped him with a hand on his chest. You glanced back and forth between the two as Walker spoke, arms crossed tightly over your chest. “Buck…we promised him ten minutes.” You reminded him, seeing his resolve crumble a bit. You could guess he was thinking of the nightmares. The people he couldn’t save. The blood he already considered on his hands.

Walker used his moment of hesitation, shoving past him roughly. “I’m not waiting.”

“John!”

“Walker!”

You followed after him, you and Bucky arguing with him and Hoskins about giving Sam more time, but it was too late.

“Karli Morgenthau! You’re under arrest!”

“Fuck.” You hissed out when you saw Sam’s panicked expression, looking at you confused. Walker was flown across the room when Karli punched him, Bucky shoving Hoskins out of the way to run after her.

“Y/N-”

You threw your hands up. “I tried, Sam! C’mon!”

You and Sam ran over to some stairs, turning corners and trying to remember what the building looked like from outside to cut her off, but you only ran into Bucky again. 

“I wish we had the layout or something.” You grumbled. “We were that close-”

“We’re not done yet, doll.” Nodding, you followed the boys out, Bucky pausing every so often to try to hear anything. “I’ve got gunshots.” At that, the three of you took off towards the sound, Bucky leading the way.

Just around the corner from where Bucky heard the gunshots, you thought you saw a couple people slip around another bend. Noticing you had stopped, Bucky backtracked. “You okay?’

“Yeah.” Deciding it wasn’t worth the pursuit, you turned to him and nodded towards the doorway Sam already went through. He gave you a look, but nodded and the two of you jogged into the room.

You sighed heavily, seeing Zemo knocked out on the floor, Walker standing over him and broken vials that were previously full of, what you assumed was, the Serum. Hoskins ran in right after you, meaning no one but Walker and Zemo knew what happened. Meaning you would probably never get the full, true story.

What fun it is to work with manipulators and liars.

********************

“I don’t like him.” Bucky grumbled, the two of you walking up to the place you were staying in, Bucky holding the door open for you.

“I know you don’t, Buck. I don’t either.” You had asked Bucky to go with you to get some fresh air once you got back, Zemo having woken up a few minutes after and Walker and Hoskins had to make a call or something official like the good soldiers they were. “He’s hiding something.”

“You think?” Bucky scoffed, giving you a look.

You rolled your eyes. “I mean…I don’t know. When we found him and Zemo…my gut twisted.”

He nodded in understanding, his face twisting into a scowl. “Yeah. Mine did too.”

You stopped him before you could walk through the door to the main room. “Do me a favor?” He nodded again with a little hum. Catching his chin between your fingers, your free hand moved to smooth out the creases between his brow. “Stop brooding so much. It makes me worried.”

His tongue darted out to wet his lips, features softening slightly. “Are you really gonna leave in the morning? I know you’ve had a lot of people telling you to take a break, and it’s selfish for me to ask you to stay, but…I dunno if I can finish this without you.”

“I-” You sighed, ducking your head as you thought of a response, before looking up in his wide eyes, begging for you to stick around longer. “Let’s just finish the day and see what happens next. Okay?”

He bit his lip, nodding slightly. You gave him a smile, before tugging on his hand. “I need a drink.”

He chuckled at that. “That I can fix, doll.” He, again, opened the door for you, and the two of you walked in.

“What a gentleman. Straight outta the 40’s.” You joked, making him roll his eyes.

He took off his jacket, heading to the kitchen, while you sat on the opposite side of the island. “Somethin’s not right about Walker.”

Sam gave you two an amused look. “You don’t say.”

“Well, I know a crazy when I see one.” He opened the lid of the bottle he grabbed, starting to pour two glasses of whiskey for the both of you. “Because I am crazy.”

You rolled your eyes as Sam responded, “can’t argue with that.”

“You shouldn’t have given him the shield.”

Giving Bucky a disapproving look over the rim of your glass, you sipped your drink, narrowing your eyes when he ignored you. “I didn’t give him the shield.”

“Well Steve definitely didn’t.”

Your glass slammed down on the counter. Why did he have to bring this up right now? Seriously? You were just having a nice conversation about places you wanted to visit while taking a walk outside. Why was he suddenly snapping?

Before you could scold him, the doors burst open, making your head whip over as Walker stormed in, “ordering” you to hand over Zemo.

You stayed sitting, leaning on the counter and facing the opposite wall as Sam told him off, giving an amused snicker as you sipped your drink. Bucky sat besides you, facing Walker, and you recognized from the angle he was positioning himself that he was blocking you from Walker’s view, whether intentional or not.

You raised an eyebrow, turning in interest when Walker put down the shield, knowing Sam wasn’t about to fight the man. What an ego the blonde had.

Before anything could happen, however, a spear pierced through the air, lodging in the pillar next to Walker’s head.

Your frustration with Bucky’s comment flew out of your head as Ayo and a few other Dora Milaje walked in. Bucky sat up straighter and you stood up, leaning ever so slightly against his arm.

You nearly facepalmed, a sound of complete disbelief leaving you as Walker introduced himself. Sam looked over at you two, an entertained, slightly incredulous smile on his face.

Sam tried warning him. He really did. But Walker, you’ve come to find, was an arrogant, egotistical narcissist who only wanted to win and would do whatever it takes to do so. Even when there wasn’t really a winner. At least, not in that situation. It seemed that Walker liked ignoring the gray area in the world, which wasn’t good. Not in the least.

Which is why you couldn’t really feel sorry for the man. You saw it coming as soon as he told them they didn’t have jurisdiction. And the moment he touched Ayo?

You put your chin on Bucky’s shoulder - who had stood up from his spot - watching the Dora Milaje kick Walker’s ass, wincing and cringing mockingly at the right moments, making Bucky smirk at you.

“We should do something.” Sam said, although he didn’t look thrilled about the prospect.

Bucky crossed his arms. “Looking strong, John!”

You gave a slight snort, not wanting to encourage anything, but unable to hold in your amusement. Bucky winked at you, clinking his cup of whiskey with your own, before taking a gulp.

“Bucky.” 

You huffed and stepped back at Sam’s tone. “C’mon, Buck.”

“Fine.” Bucky grunted. “But ‘M not happy about it.”

Soon, the three of you, plus Walker and Hoskins, were all occupied with a member of the Dora Milaje. You knew you couldn’t take them; they were on a higher level that Natasha, and you could barely beat her. But you weren’t necessarily trying to win.

It was a strange fight, knowing that no one - except Walker, probably - actually wanted to hurt anyone. Of course, that didn’t stop one of them from exploiting your injured shoulder that she spotted rather quickly. The hits were quick and precise, the tip of her spear cutting along the graze, hitting the spot just perfect enough to reopen it. The stitches that had been placed only a couple days ago ripped, making you wince and clutch your now bleeding shoulder.

“Oh fuck.” You groaned. “You were always good with those things.”

She gave you an almost apologetic look, before she looked over to Ayo, who stepped through the room towards the bathroom where Zemo had locked himself in during the chaos.

When you caught sight of the shoulder thing she did to Bucky, his metallic arm now laying on the floor, his eyes wide and his stance stunned, your jaw nearly dropped. You guessed it made sense that they had a way to do that, but, still. None of you were expecting it.

“Did you know they could do that?” Sam asked once they started leaving, Bucky picking up his arm and connecting it to his shoulder.

“No.” The arm whirred as he swung it, getting it back to normal.

You couldn’t help the little giggle that left you, making Bucky raise an eyebrow at you. You tried holding in more laughs, but they just kept coming. “She-she...she disarmed you!”

Bucky rolled his eyes as you chortled, holding your stomach and bending over. “Ha ha. Very funny.”

“Oh come on!” You straightened and wiped your eyes. “That was good! Wasn’t it, Sammy?”

Sammy chuckled and nodded. “I’ll admit, it was pretty good. This, however, is not.”

Your laughter died as Sam made his way over to the bathroom, the light air that came with your cackles dissipating as quickly as it came.

“I can’t believe he pulled an El Chapo.”

You stared at the drain that was uncovered - large enough for Zemo to slip inside and escape. He did it. The son of a bitch finally did it. It took him long enough. You would’ve betted against him days ago.

“I can.” Bucky turned and grabbed your hand. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

*********************

“I thought you told them.”

Bucky looked up from wrapping your shoulder, an eyebrow raised. “What?”

“I thought you told them. The Dora Milaje. Wakanda. T’Challa. I thought you told them about Zemo.”

He leaned back with a sigh. “It was kinda a last minute decision. You know that. You were there.”

You nodded. “I do. But I also know what they’ve done for you. Shuri and Ayo. I was there for that, too. And you know what he did to them. To their country. Their king.”

“I know, I know. I almost died several times because of it.”

Your eyebrows pinched in confusion. “So why-”

“I thought it’d be quick. I thought, maybe, I could do it without them finding out and then we could get to Karli and they wouldn’t be disappointed. Win win.”

Your cheek caught between your teeth as you thought. “You could’ve just asked-”

He shook his head. “They would’ve said no. You know that.”

“Okay. Fine. Yes. I know that. But…but giving them a warning would’ve been better than this.” He hung his head, closing his eyes. “Bucky. Hey,” hooking a finger under his chin, you tilted his head back up to look at you. “I know it’s been hard for you. Everything has. And I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I shouldn’t have let you come along. You should be healing, and it’s my fault you’re not.” He opened his mouth, face scrunching up in disagreement, but you shook your head. “It’s true. I just…I didn’t know it would come this far.” You gnawed on your bottom lip studying those captivating eyes, before sighing. “Which is why I’m not leaving.”

He perked up, those pretty eyes going wide, jaw slackening. “You-you’re not?!”

You shook your head. As much as you wanted to run away, you couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. “It wouldn’t be fair to you or Sam. I promised to help, and I brought you into it. So I’m gonna stay.

“Are you, uh…are you sure? You don’t hafta if you don’t wanna, doll. I know I kinda pushed you earlier, but-”

“I’m sure Buck.” You nodded firmly. “Just…do something for me?”

“I dunno if I can promise not brooding, sweetheart.”

You giggled at his words. “Not that. Just…stop giving Sam a hard time. About the shield. Please.”

His soft features hardened and he scowled. “If he didn’t give it up-”

“He thought it was going to the museum. I told you about that, remember? I told you we’d go when I got back.”

Giving a slight nod, he sighed. “We never did.”

“We will. But, I’m serious, Buck. Please. It’s not his fault. He did exactly what Steve did.” At Bucky’s confused look, you pursed your lips, looking down at his hands, starting to play with his fingers. “Remember how I was thinking during those ten minutes we had?” He nodded. “I was thinking about how Steve gave the shield back to Tony. After saving you. In Siberia. You remember that?” Another nod was given, so you continued. “It was for you, James. Because you made him realize that he didn’t want to be the face of a country that preached one thing, but did another. And that’s what Sam did. He did it for his family. For himself. Because no one wants to fight for a country that goes against your personal beliefs, no matter what they say.”

“I-I don’t understand.” Bucky’s eyes squinted, his brow creasing as he tried processing what you were telling him.

“That’s okay. Not everyone will. Really only they can understand their own reasoning. But you have to try to understand that he did what he thought was best for himself. For Steve. For the shield. And I know - dammit do I know - that it’s the last thing left of him. But it is just metal. Isn’t it? Steve’s the reason it is what it is. No one else. And no one is going to change that.”

Bucky took a breath, glossy, worried eyes meeting yours. “Walker’s going to ruin it. I know he is. I can feel it. Everything Steve worked for. I don’t care about Captain America. I care about the kid from Brooklyn who wanted to make a difference, no matter how little he was. I trusted him. I followed him through bullets and blood, with only that shield between us and them. He was home on a battlefield in Italy across the ocean from New York. And that shield was the welcome mat. It doesn’t matter what it says, what it looks like…but it protected my home when I couldn’t. But now? I feel like it’s tearing my home down. Pulling out the bricks. And it hurts. It was never about the shield, Y/N. It was always about the man it protected when I couldn’t be there for him. And now?”

Gathering him in your arms as he trailed off, you gave a couple little sniffles, pressing your face in his hair, nails scratching the nape of his neck lightly. “I’ll be your welcome mat, Buckaroo.” You offered.

He shook his head, pulling away to hold your face between his hands. “No, sweetheart. You’re not the welcome mat. You’re the new bricks replacing the old. You’re…you’re my home, now, doll.”

You swallowed thickly, unable to handle the rush of emotions that just poured through you, the sudden change in topic making you feel more vulnerable than you’d like. You leaned forwards, placing a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth, feeling him go lax in your arms. “And you’re mine.” You murmured softly, before getting up and heading out for the room, unable to stay any longer. You still had a mission to do. One that became even more desperate with Zemo loose, Walker unhinged, and Karli being so close.

******************

There was a silent agreement to not bring up your conversation. Not yet, at least. Sam had eyed you both when you came out of the room, saying you were ready to get moving, but he didn’t say anything either.

None of you really knew where you were going, only what you had to do. Find Zemo and get to Karli before Walker could. Both of which were a lot easier said than done.

Until Sam got a call from Sarah, who told him Karli contacted her personally and threatened her and her sons. She left a contact number for Sam, evidently wanting to meet. His phone dinged not a minute after he texted the number.

“She said come alone.”

“Well that’s not happening.” You opposed, crossing your arms.

Bucky nodded with your sentence. “We’re coming with you.”

Sam didn’t say anything against it, the three of you exchanging glances, before heading out to the location, changing into your tactical suits along the way.

Karli didn’t seem to mind you and Bucky tagging along, and you understood why the moment she mentioned not killing Sam because he wasn’t hiding behind a shield. It was a distraction. They were going after Walker.

It was confirmed only moments later when Sharon contacted Sam. “Looks like he found them, or maybe they found him.”

As soon as Sam announced that it was Walker, you jumped into action, Sam disabling Karli for just the right amount of time for you to get a head start. “I’ll send you the location. Go.” He told Bucky, who nodded and took off in his super soldier sprint. “You hitching a ride?”

You rolled your eyes at his slight tease. “I hate this so much.” You grumbled, catching his hand as he took off in the air with his bird costume. He held onto you tightly, like the millions of times you’d done this before, although it didn’t make you any less dizzy, traveling that fast, that high, with only his hold keeping you from dropping. “You’re lucky I trust you so much!”

He gave a small chuckle at your shout over the wind. “We’re landing! Brace yourself!” You followed his order, just in time for him to break through the glass ceiling of the building Walker was in. The both of you landed on a platform on the staircase just as a Flag Smasher was thrown through double glass doors, down the stairs, and into a power box. Your eyes went wide as Walker strolled down the steps, oozing a confidence that made you nervous. The moment Walker stopped the Flag Smasher - the Super Soldier - from hitting him with the pipe, you knew even before he twisted it like a pretzel.

“Sam.” You breathed out. You couldn’t even do anything, only watching as the Flag Smasher got up from being thrown again, and running down a hall.

“What’d you do?”

“They got Lemar.” Was the only reply he gave, brushing past you and Sam. You gave Sam a look, but he just jerked his head down the hall, in the direction the Flag Smasher went and the way Walker started heading. You nodded, willing to drop it for now to save someone’s life, but you were so bringing it up once this was done.

Jogging into the room, you should’ve expected the ambush in the room, but, to be honest, they didn’t take as much advantage as they could’ve, so it wasn’t too difficult of a fight. You had trained with Steve millions of times before, so you knew how to go against a Super Soldier. Granted, your Cap wasn’t trying to kill you while training, but it was better than nothing.

You protected your shoulder, knowing that was your weak point, while trying to disguise it so whoever you were fighting wouldn’t realize your Achilles’ Heel. Something you often found while dealing with Steve, and even Bucky, was that Super Soldiers, as quick as they were, tended to favor the super strength side of their enhancements. This made it easier for you to dodge the attacks, knowing most of your blows wouldn’t do much.

Knowing you wouldn’t be able to stay on the defensive for long, you decided to try to get an advantage over them. Disarming them and taking their knife was easy enough. A small advantage, yeah, but now you had a weapon, and you could work with that.

You weren’t exactly sure when Bucky joined the fight, but he did, immediately coming over to you when you body kicked your opponent, helping you up. “That was a Steve move.” Your eyes caught sight of the Flag Smasher behind him and you shoved his shoulder down, throwing your knife, making it land solidly in the man’s shoulder. Bucky looked up at you from his crouch, impressed. “And that was a me move.”

You shrugged. “I’m a visual learner.”

You, Sam, and Bucky were about to go for another round with the guys when a sickening crack sounded behind you, and you whipped around. 

Hoskins was against a split pillar, a crimson streak running down his forehead, head lolling to the side, lips red and cracked. The fight stopped as Walker rushed over to his friend, but you knew there was no way he survived. A punch from a Super Soldier? That hard?

Eyeing the Flag Smashers, you turned to Sam and Bucky when they started dispersing, Karli running out as well. They nodded towards you and the three of you took off after her, not wanting to let her get away again and, for you, at least, wanting to give Walker some time.

You weren’t expecting his grief to turn into such raw hatred. 

Running up to the city square, you didn’t actually see it happen. Just the aftermath. Which was good, considering you nearly threw up just seeing that.

You heard the change in Bucky’s breathing, barely recognizing the way he stepped in front of you, only realizing you stepped closer when you felt his sleeve against your palms, fingers tightly wrapped around his forearm. A choked sound came from somewhere, but you didn’t know it was you, even as Bucky reached his arm around to hold your waist, keeping you behind his shoulder. 

Tears leaked down your face silently, eyes unable to look away as Walker straightened, sliding the shield on his arm, too nonchalantly for someone who just murdered another in front of a crowd full of people, cameras pointed towards him.

The shield. That piece of metal you had been wondering so deeply about the past couple of weeks. The link to the first person you’d ever loved. Ruined. Tarnished. Stained.

You could barely breathe, your throat clenching so tightly it was a wonder you were able to get anything out at all.

“James…”

#cjsinkythoughts #cjswriting #cjsspoilers #fatws spoilers #tfatws spoilers #falcon and the winter soldier spoilers #fatws #tfatws #falcon and the winter soldier #fatws series #fatws pt 5.2 #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes x avenger!reader #bucky x avenger!reader #bucky barnes #❤🐦💙🦾 #💙🦾

[itsapeterthing]

Lovers’ Quarrel || Bucky Barnes

pairing: bucky barnes x rogers!reader

summary: when you married your brother’s best friend in 1941, the two of you had always promised to stick together and you did just that- even following him to wakanda where you trained alongside the dora milaje. When you find out that bucky’s released zemo from prison behind your back... needless to say you’re pissed.

a/n: okay i absolutely loved this request so much @missroro​. reblogs and replies are super appreciated!

word count: 2.4k

warnings: swearing, reader and bucky fighting

masterlist || request || taglist

You were pissed to say the least.

You couldn’t understand why your husband would keep something so big such a secret from you. You had spent seventy years in ice for those you loved. You had become a super soldier for those you loved. You had spent two years off the grid in hiding for those you loved... and your husband couldn’t even tell you the truth? You would have tried to understand- helped him even- but he had chosen instead to keep you in the dark, leaving you to find out about his actions second hand from those who felt just as betrayed as you.

As you stood in the threshold of the room, spotting the five men, you could feel almost nothing but rage coursing through your veins. The tension was so thick in the room, you swore you could cut it with a knife... but you decided that a spear would do.

Throwing your arm back and tossing the spear forward, you watched as it stuck itself into the column between Sam and John Walker- the man posing as your brother.

When the spear collided with the wall, everyone’s eyes immediately snapped onto you and you could of sworn it almost felt good to watch the fear in your husband and Sam’s eyes when they spotted you, knowing just by the look on your face that they had messed up... and you weren’t one to let things like that slide.

“Y/n-” Bucky began.

With a straight face you turned your head to the side, unable to look at him, instead turning your attention to the Dora Milaje as they entered the apartment.

“Even if he is a means to your end... time’s up.” Ayo spoke in Xhosa before switching to English. “Release him to us now.”

You could feel Bucky’s eyes burning into you, but you remained steadfast, watching the scene unfold in front of you.

“Hi. John Walker.” The new Cap attempted to introduce himself. “Captain America.”

Although you were enraged beyond compare upon finding out that the government had chosen a new man to take your brother’s place, you almost wanted to laugh at how poorly he was handling the situation.

When neither of the two women in front of him said anything, he continued.

“Well , uh.” John said. “Let’s put down the pointy sticks and we can talk this through, huh?”

God, he was handling this poorly, wasn’t he? You would find it funny if he wasn’t so incredibly ignorant.

“Hey, John, take it easy.” Sam said looking between you and the two other women in the room. “You might want to fight Bucky before you tangle with the Dora Milaje.”

“The Dora Milaje don’t have jurisdiction here.” John insisted.

“The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be.”

Rather than standing to the side and allowing the group of skilled warriors to take what- or rather who- they wanted and leave, Walker couldn’t help but instigate.

As soon as his hand landed on Ayo’s shoulder, you knew he would regret that decision.

Immediately the two women began fighting- one taking on John Walker and the other Lemar. You had known the women long enough to know that they could handle the situation themselves without breaking a sweat. Still standing in the doorway, you crossed your arms watching as one began choking Lemar with her spear, the other sticking her spear into Steve’s... John’s shield.

Quickly glancing over to the other men, you caught Bucky and Sam staring at you on the sidelines, whispering to one another. As soon as you caught their line of vision you glanced away, focusing once again on the fight taking place in front of you.

Right as Ayo held her spear above John, fear written all over his face, Bucky stepped in, pulling Ayo back. Recalling why you were there in the first place, you immediately uncrossed your arms, striding over to the other side of the room, able to feel the rage flowing through your veins.

Pulling your spear from the wall, you marched up to your husband pulling him away from Ayo.

“Y/n,” He eased. “Let’s talk about this.”

“Oh you want to talk about it?” You asked, shoving him backwards with the spear. “That’s funny, Buck.”

Dodging your blows, not wanting to fight you, Bucky continued backing up and reaching for the spear to keep the metal from meeting his skin.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you!” He exclaimed.

Pushing harder with the spear, you grunted, kicking him to subsequently shove him back against the counter.

You asked yourself if he really thought saying ‘sorry’ would work. You knew your husband wasn't dumb enough to believe that there would be no consequences for breaking Helmut Zemo out of prison- a man who not only caused the split of the Avengers, but also killed the king of Wakanda- a place full of people who had shown you and your husband nothing but kindness. They had given Bucky a new chance at life and had given you the opportunity to train among the most expert fighters you had ever met- the Dora Milaje. They had given both of you more than you could have asked for when your life went sideways eighty years ago. So when you had received the call that Bucky had broken Zemo out of prison you could barely believe it.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Buck!” You shouted.

Knocking him back one last time, you recalled what they had taught you back in Wakanda when Bucky had first received his new arm- a trick you had hoped never to have to use, but as you stood there fighting your husband, anger fueling you in a way you had felt only a few times before, you didn’t see another way.

Moving your hand in the exact pattern you had learned years ago along where his shoulder met his chest, you listened as the the metal clicked and watched as his vibranium arm fell to the ground beside him, Bucky looking up at you with his eyes wide.

You had to shove back the part of you that felt your heart break in your chest watching the look of betrayal in his eyes. Recalling why the two of you were in this position in the first place, you stood up straighter, clearing your throat.

“You are sleeping on the couch tonight, Mr. Barnes.”

Holding the spear straight beside you, you turned your attention to Ayo who opened the doors to the bathroom, only to find Zemo missing. Instructing the other warrior to drop Cap’s shield, the two women left, leaving you behind with the four remaining men in the room.

Shoving past your husband, you dropped your spear onto the ground, making your way over to Sam and smacked him across the back of his head.

“Shit!” He exclaimed. “What was that for? Don’t get me involved in your little lovers’ quarrel.”

“Lovers’ quarrel?” You asked him, laughing. “I’ve been Mrs. Barnes for eighty-two years, Sam. I’ve put up with a lot of shit, but don’t act like you two didn’t just break a criminal out of prison. A criminal who- need I remind you- tried to brainwash Bucky and killed King T’Chaka.”

“Don’t look at me.” Sam said, throwing his hands up in the air. “That was all Bucky.”

Immediately your eyes snapped back to your husband who was standing across the room, attaching his vibranium arm to his shoulder once again.

“Thanks, Sam.” Bucky grumbled.

Before any of the rest of you could say anything, the voice from the other side of the room caught your attention. Following the voice you saw John Walker huddled against the table, his friend reaching his hand out to him.

“They weren’t even super soldiers.” He mumbled, staring off into the distance.

Despite the fact that you still didn’t approve of the ‘new’ Captain America, you felt your heart tug in your chest as you watched the man break down over to the side. You felt sorry for him. You knew better than any other living person the weight the shield and legacy carried being both the adopted sister of Steve himself and the wife of his best friend.

Although you were pained watching a new man undermine your brother’s legacy, you couldn’t help but pity him.

Making your way over to John you reached out your hand to him. Looking up you could finally see the recognition in his eyes, realizing who you were. Immediately he took your hand, pulling himself to his feet.

“You’re-” He started.

“Don’t beat yourself up over this, Walker.” You said, before making your way over to the couch. “No one wins a fight against the Dora Milaje. I got my ass handed to me every day that I trained with them.”

Despite the fact that you were telling the truth- you lost to each one every time you fought- you enjoyed every second of it. It was a relief.

After discovering that your husband, Bucky, was still alive after decades apart, you couldn’t stand to let him out of your sight again. When Steve had brought Bucky to Wakanda with the hope of clearing his brain of the programming he had endured under Hydra, you followed him there. Despite the fact that your husband was in your arms once again, you couldn’t help the thoughts that took over your mind every day- everything that you all had lost, the memories of what you had endured and the worry that Bucky would never be the same again.

The pain of being knocked around by a member of the Dora Milaje’s spear was almost therapeutic.

Rather than replying, Lemar pat his friend on the back, nodding to the rest of you within the room before guiding his shaken friend out the door of the apartment.

“You’re being too friendly with him, Y/n.” Bucky said.

Snapping your head to the side you glared at your husband.

“What are you? Jealous?” You asked.

Rather than answer you, Bucky crossed his arms.

“I just think you’re being a little too nice to the guy that’s ruining Steve’s name-”

Before he could even finish his sentence, you pushed yourself off of the couch, striding over to your husband, shoving your finger into his chest.

“Don’t tell me how to feel, James.” You told him seriously. “He was my brother. I wouldn’t have chosen that guy to take on Steve’s name either, but don’t get mad at me. You’re the one who fucked up and lied about going on this mission with Sam. Do you know what it felt like to get a call from Ayo to find out that you not only lied to me, but you betrayed the people who have been nothing but kind to us?”

Staring at you, he could tell how not only angry you were, but also distraught. The both of you had gone through hell and back and Bucky was thankful every day that even after all these years he was able- by some miracle- to still find you eighty years after the two of you had supposedly died. He had suffered through so much and done so many things he could barely look at himself in the mirror for, but at the end of the day you continued to not only be there for him, but to love him anyway.

A part of him felt awful for not telling you- he hated lying to you and you had every right to know- but after your brother had left the two of yours’ lives, he didn’t want to put any further strain on you than you had already endured.

He knew once he freed Zemo that you would find out, but as you stood in front of him he almost wish he hadn’t so you wouldn't be feeling this type of way.

“I’m sorry, Y/n.” Bucky said. “I didn't... after everything with Steve I didn’t want to get you involved. You deserved a break, doll.”

Relaxing your shoulders, you sighed, resting your hand on his bicep.

“And what about you, Buck?” You asked. “Don’t you deserve a break?”

“That’s different, Y/n.” He said. “I need this. You know I do.”

You knew he did. You had been there while his guilt kept him up at night, waking him up after only a few hours of what you could barely call rest. You knew that his past had been eating away at him, especially since Steve left, and that doing something wholly good might bring him some semblance of peace.

“I know.” You said, meeting his eyes. “So I’m going to help you. We’re in this together, Buck, okay?”

Despite the fact that he wanted to keep you as far away from danger as he could- something he could never manage considering you had been fighting alongside the Avengers since before he had even gained his memory back- he knew he couldn’t say no to you.

“Alright.” He agreed.

Gently squeezing his arm you gave him a soft smile.

“Glad to see you guys are good.” Sam quipped. “Incase you forgot Zemo’s now on the loose and the back of my head stings like hell.”

Smiling and turning to, Sam, you playfully swat his arm.

“Please.” You laughed. “Big, strong guy like you? You barely felt that.”

“Listen I’m not a super soldier like you two.” He said, pointing between you and Bucky. “Remind me not to mess with your kids some day. Last thing I need is getting knocked out by some kid with two super soldiers for parents.”

“We should go find Zemo.” Bucky said clearing his throat, changing the subject.

“Yeah.” You agreed. “He couldn’t have gotten too far. Let’s go.”

Not one to argue, Sam threw his hands up in the air, leading the way out of the door of Zemo’s apartment. As your foot was about to cross the door, however, you felt Bucky’s hand wrap around your arm, pulling you to the side.

“So do I still have to sleep on the couch tonight?” Bucky asked in a hushed voice.

“Oh honey,” You cooed, patting the side of his cheek before laughing. “You’re not getting out of this one that at easily.”

Watching from his spot on the steps as you picked up the pace to catch up with Sam, he crossed his arms smiling to himself. Steve was right when he said that he was going to be okay... as long as he was with you, how couldn’t he be?

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky barnes imagine #Bucky Barnes drabble #bucky barnes blurb

[trainsinanime]

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - Episode 3

Man, Wandavision was so much better.

The one person I follow on here who also watches this show posts a lot about the politics of the show and how questionable they are, and I think there are some valid points to be made. But I think that this makes it very easy to miss the important truth: The show is amazingly committed to not saying anything at all. It’s mind-boggling.

A key element of this is how little America, as a concept, seems to figure into this. The show is all about two Captain America sidekicks, about his shield, about who gets to be Captain America, about the legacy and about the treatment of African americans… but it goes out of its way to never be about America. The new bad Captain America seems to work for a Generic Recurring Council, and also the german police (and in fact in the opening jumps out of a van that literally has “GRC Polizei” on its side).

You could maybe argue that there is a default assumption of USA-ness here; people keep talking about “your/our guys/side”, and that side seems to include the CIA. But that’s as specific as it gets, and since the other side is explicitly the fantasy evil against everything Hydra, that’s not really saying much. The scene where they introduce the new Captain America and introduce him as an all-american Hero is arguably the closest thing they come to saying something, anything, about the US as such.

Now, MCU Cap has never really been about America much. The closest he came was in the first movie, but even there, he fought Hydra instead of actual Nazis. Aside: ”The First Avenger” is easily the most pro-German american WW2 movie ever. Anyway, even then, he was on the side of the good guys, who happened to be Americans, but he wasn’t explicitly about the US, and in the movies since, he didn’t much touch on the US either; it was always about SHIELD and HYDRATE and Bucky. But in this show this becomes even more egregious, because they keep touching on stuff, apparently on accident, and then don’t do anything with it.

Isaiah Bradley is a big deal, isn’t he? You’d think he’d be a key piece to the question “what does it mean to be a symbol for America, and what is good and bad about that”. But in this show, he doesn’t actually matter. They bring him up because they know he’s important, but they don’t seem to know why.

Who does the new Captain America work for? You’d think it would either be the US government, or explicitly not the US government, but in reality it appears to be the generic world council of badness. Speaking of, what does it mean that there is a generic world council? There is a group called flag smashers who are against borders - or against the generic world council hoarding medicine, or something? It’s all stuff that seems meaningful, and you can read meaning into it (which never works in the show’s favour), but nope, it doesn’t mean anything.

The show seems scared of being political, in this political spy thriller about the meaning of a US symbol, and just ends up dithering about. Of course it’s impossible to be completely apolitical, so the show settles for what it assumes are default political statements nobody can disagree with - which are apparently, in the minds of the show runners, „US interventionism is good“, „everybody loves the US“ and so on. That sure is a choice.

So when the show talks about Captain America being a symbol or an icon, what it seems to talk about mostly is Steve Rogers himself. But that’s boring, because he’s boring, and the show has nothing of value to say about him anyway. „Steve sure was a good guy“ is the one and only note it has, and it bends itself over backwards to say it. When was Bucky into the whole stars-and-stripes stuff? Why don’t any of them remember Steve personally? Do they have opinions about Steve going back in time to destroy the legacy of Marvel’s first good TV show „Agent Carter“? …have the TV show versions of Sam and Bucky ever met Steve? The thing is that they talk about Steve as a symbol, but never as a person. The show knows that the shield is a symbol, and the man wielding it as a symbol, but it doesn’t seem to stand for anything. The shield is a symbol for the man who is a symbol because he has the shield, or something.

Okay, with that out of the way, some more notes:

The banter between Sam and Bucky is fairly good. If they had a better writer, and more of it, then we could almost say that the show had a strong point there.

Breaking Zemo out of prison is a stupid plot point, but Zemo makes the banter better, so I’m not going to complain.

I like Sharon. The mean reason why would be because she doesn’t care about the plot either, which makes her relatable, but honestly, she’s just fun here.

I do recognise the term Madripoor from the comics but I don’t care. Between you and me, I’m not sure I like the concept of „like Singapore or Hong Kong but everybody is a criminal“, it feels a bit racist to me. Are there people who have investigated the concept of the port city that is a wretched hive of scum and villainy, so to speak?

Zemo is supposed to be imprisoned in Berlin, but the uniform he steals to sneak out has the coat of arms of Hamburg. That’s completely unacceptable.

#the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws #faws #the sambucky show #not sure i'll watch episode 4 #probably if i'm really bored

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Whole World Is Watching (1x04)

Well, uh... shit. Whole review under the cut for spoilers.

Cons:

Okay, honestly, I don't know how to feel about Lamar's death. If you watch this episode, it's very much this thing where the black sidekick gets killed so the white "hero" can go crazy and get his revenge, to fuel his need for vengeance and display his man pain. Now, I think the fact that John Walker is not really meant to be sympathetic here does help a little bit, but I was still pretty miffed at that unceremonious slaughter of a man of color in order to further a white man's narrative. Maybe I'm just primed to be on the lookout for this stuff. Maybe it's different/less egregious because this isn't an all-white show with one token black character? In any case, I was made uncomfortable by the trope I saw playing out in front of me. If I'm wrong, please let me know.

I continue to wrestle with the same overall issues that I have from minute one. The bad guys make good points, and Sam is sympathizing, but things are escalating. How does this end? Sam takes the shield, tries to save Karli but ultimately can't find a way to do it, so she dies? I don't know how I feel about that. But what other options have we been presented with?

We have the continued echo of Bucky chastising Sam for not taking the shield. Now, as I've mentioned in earlier reviews, I don't mind the fact that Bucky is upset, or angry, or lashing out. He's wrong, but he's not wrong to feel how he's feeling. The thing is, I feel like Bucky has had multiple chances to state his position, and Sam hasn't had the chance to really take a stand and state his. Bucky isn't letting it go, and it's getting to the point where it's not okay. Feel your feelings, James Buchanan Barnes. But it's not Sam's job to take care of your emotional state and behave the way that would be the most comforting for you.

Pros:

But now that I've chastised Bucky for his behavior, I do want to talk about him and the Wakandans in this episode. Especially Ayo. That opening scene... I tell you, my soul traveled back in time to 2014 and I was weeping in a movie theatre over Bucky and Steve and brainwashing and love breaking through brainwashing... it was really moving, to see Bucky fall apart over being free at last from his trigger words. And yes, I will be overanalyzing the fact that there was a flash of the "with you 'til the end of the line" moment when the word "homecoming" was said... that's the good shit. Thank you.

And then it's so brilliantly coupled with later on, while they're fighting, and Ayo disarms Bucky. Literally. That... gave me chills. Just from like a... Bucky is an amputee, and the people who saved him, who deprogrammed his brainwashing, who gave him his amazing superpowered arm... they have control over his body. They can weaken him with hardly any effort at all. I was shocked to see it, and I feel like there's a lot that could be explored there with regards to Bucky's trauma, and trust, and healing journey. Ayo was a friend. Ayo and Shuri saved his life in a very real way, and then there's this moment where he realizes that once again he can't be totally free and safe with someone. I thought it was really effective storytelling with just a few brief moments of the script.

But moving on to Sam, and speaking of trust!! His conversation with Karli, Karli calling Sam's sister... oh man oh man. All of this was so juicy, so intense. I like that Sam sympathizes, that he agreed with her cause just not with her methods. He's speaking that truth out for all to hear. John Walker is focused on eliminating a threat, whereas Sam sees the full complexities of the situation. It's why Walker with the serum is bad news, and why Sam... well, Sam would become more of himself, and I can only imagine that as a good thing for the world at large.

It was so intense, and so frustrating, to see Sam actually getting somewhere with Karli and then having Walker ruin it by coming in and interrupting. And then to see the switch flip, when Karli dared to threaten his family. Sam shows up dressed as the Falcon, and he is not playing games. That was such a great showcase of Sam's compassion, the person he is at his core. But he's also a bad-ass and he won't let anything bad happen to those he loves.

I also like the complexity of Sam (and Bucky to a lesser extent) decidedly not happy with John Walker, not willing to work for him or even with him towards a common goal... but there's sort of a bigger loyalty question which is that neither Sam nor Bucky are "anti Captain America," and they know how bad it would be if the Flag Smashers actually succeeded in killing him. Realizing that Karli had called Sam in as a distraction to get him away so that the new Captain America could be killed, Bucky and Sam of course race to the rescue. That whole sequence was really intense. I don't like John Walker. In fact I rather hate him. But I also really felt the urgency that Bucky and Sam were feeling to do right by everybody in the situation.

So that brings us to Zemo managing to escape in the chaos of the Dora Milaje, the Flag Smashers, John Walker and Lamar, and Sam and Bucky, all going head to head. Bucky and Sam are just trying to stop anybody from dying in this whole mess, but they each have their competing and complex thoughts about the situation as well. Zemo sneaking out, after being such a weirdo and kind of helping but also just being obtuse on purpose, was such a great tension-builder. He's a sinister character who also adds some dark comedy to proceedings.

Let's talk about Sam and Bucky and how they should get married.

No but really, I've expressed some frustration with Bucky's behavior, but ultimately this show is about the loyalty between these two men who have been through so much together, who have so many shared experiences and traumas, but who also can't possibly understand each other's perspectives fully. There's the moment when Walker calls Sam "your partner" when talking to Bucky, and Bucky immediately affirms that Sam is capable of talking to Karli, backing up his play, and then says "he's not my partner." There's a defensiveness there, but then an undeniable loyalty. When Sam tells Bucky that Karli told him to "come alone," Bucky doesn't miss a beat before saying "I'm coming with you." When they're in the middle of a fight, they back each other up. Sam checks on Bucky after the arm thing I mentioned earlier. They've fallen into being partners with each other without really dissecting if it's what they want. This stuff is catnip to me, truly. I can't wait to see where they land in the final episodes.

John Walker fucking cutting a dude to pieces with Captain America's shield in broad daylight and with multiple phones on him, recording it all... well, damn, Disney. That's quite the image to linger on. Obviously this is going to be A Situation. I knew something was going to break bad with John Walker, I just didn't know exactly what it was going to be. Lamar's death doesn't sit right with me. I feel like Walker might have gone off the deep end even without that particular catalyst. But the fact of his breakdown was really chilling, and effectively shot, and is sure to lead to intense consequences in the final two episodes!

Man, I'm sad it's coming to an end so soon... I want so much more of Sam Wilson, please and thank you!

8.5/10

#review #fatws #fatws review #the falcon and the winter soldier #the falcon and the winter soldier review #falcon and the winter solider #falcon and the winter soldier review

[tomeandflickcorner]

Falcon and Winter Soldier Episode 4- My Thoughts

Okay.  I have no idea what to expect now.  As always, spoilers under the cut.

This episode shook things up by starting off with a flashback, involving the time Bucky spent in Wakanda after the events of Civil War. It’s the moment where Shuri managed to remove the Winter Soldier programing from Bucky’s brain, and Ayo is personally performing a test to make sure the procedure was truly successful.  As many people have already discussed, this whole scene was masterfully done.  As Ayo is reciting the Winter Soldier Activation Words, Bucky’s utter fear of relapsing is tangible in his face and voice.  But as the test continues, the fear in Bucky’s face slowly is replaced by disbelief and elation.  Because he’s realizing the Winter Soldier Activation Words aren’t affecting him anymore.  But it’s not until Ayo directly tells him that he’s finally free that he fully lets himself believe it, and he breaks down crying from the joyful relief.  Anyone who tries to claim that Sebastian Stan isn’t a phenomenal actor has clearly never watched this scene.

Of course, this flashback ends up being immediately contrasted to the present day scene, where Ayo is confronting Bucky in Latvia over the issue of him helping break Zemo out of prison.  We saw in the flashback that Ayo was the one who personally tested Bucky to ensure he was freed from the Winter Soldier programing, which suggests they had a personal bond.  But now, that bond has been damaged because of the whole issue with Zemo.  I fully understand why Ayo is angry about this.  After all, she’s not only part of the Dora Milaje, but she’s the second in command of that band of elite warriors.  As such, her first priority will always be to Wakanda and it’s throne.  And we all remember that Zemo was directly responsible for the death of the late King T’Chaka, so it’s natural that he’d be considered their enemy.  Plus, while it’s been a while since I saw Civil War, I think it was Ayo who was supposed to be protecting King T’Chaka at the time of the UN bombing.  If it was, that would further explain why she’s so miffed, because she must feel like she’d failed in her duty to protect him because of Zemo’s actions. (And, in a way, Zemo’s actions in Civil War probably also led to the events of Black Panther.  Because without King T’Chaka’s death, there might not have been that power struggle between T'Challa and Killmonger.)   But now, Bucky assisted Zemo’s escape from prison.  The same Bucky who the people of Wakanda had taken in, cared for and helped get his life, identity and autonomy back.  Yeah, I can see why Ayo would take this personally.  Bucky  really should have checked in with them before doing what he did.  Granted it was a spur of the moment decision and he probably didn’t have the time to contact them in order to give them a heads up about it, but the point still stands.  Still, when Bucky explains he needs Zemo to finish his current mission in stopping the Flag Smashers, Ayo reluctantly agrees to give Bucky a mercy period of eight hours.  At which point the Dora Milaje will return in order to take Zemo into their custody.

After Ayo leaves, Bucky rejoins Sam and Zemo, and they begin discussing the issue of Karli and the Flag Smashers.  Sam says that he wants to try reasoning with Karli in order to come up with a peaceful solution.  Because he understands where she’s coming from in regards to how she clearly feels the world is not listening to her people and properly addressing their needs.  But he doesn’t agree with her methods of fighting.  Zemo, however, doesn’t think it’s possible to reason with Karli because of her taking the Super Soldier Serum.  His argument seems to be that everyone who has ever taken the Super Soldier Serum gets corrupted in some way.  The only exception to that rule was Steve Rogers, but Zemo points out there has never been another Steve.  (Interestingly, when he says this, the camera seems to focus on Sam.  I wonder if that was an intentional decision or just a lucky accident.)  And yes, they also don’t really acknowledge the fact that Bucky didn’t become a Super Soldier voluntarily.  Unlike Steve and the Flag Smashers, he wasn’t given a choice in the matter.  But I guess that’s beside the point.

To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what Zemo’s goal is right here.  Because he does seem to be sticking around with Sam and Bucky, even though he had a few chances to give them the slip.  But at the same time, this is still Zemo.  And he seems to have a major grievance against Super Soldiers and all enhanced individuals.  Which probably explains why he’s sticking around, considering the mission involves the Flag Smashers, who all injected themselves with the Super Soldier Serum.  But is he eventually planning to try and take down Bucky, too?  

In any event, the trio decide their best chance of getting Sam his opportunity of sitting down and talking with Karli is at the funeral of that woman who we saw die in the last episode.  Because this woman was apparently well-loved by the community.  (Side note, I shared Bucky’s confusion when Sam begin talking about his TT.  I have never heard that particular slang word for aunt before.  Is this a regional/cultural thing?)  They do manage to determine the location of this funeral thanks to Zemo, who manages to gain the trust of this one little girl by offering her some Turkish Delight. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe vibes aside, that was a pretty good idea.  I don’t even remotely like this guy, but I can admit he’s smart.  But them, when they’re on the way to the funeral, John Walker pops up, being his usual likable self.  He argues with Sam for a bit over Sam’s intention to try talking with Karli in the hopes of coming to a peaceful resolution, which contradicts with Walker’s plan of just apprehending her.  Thankfully, Lemar Hoskins is able to convince Walker to at least try giving Sam a chance.

After the funeral, Sam approaches Karli and begins to talk with her, utilizing his skills as a councilor and therapist of war vets.  And he’s actually starting to get through to her.  But then, Walker botches it all up.  Because he just couldn’t give Sam the ten minutes he requested and barges in to arrest her.  Which results in Karli thinking that the whole thing was just a setup and throwing all of Sam’s progress with her out the window.  Karli and the other Flag Smashers end up getting away, but in the process, Karli had a brief run-in with Zemo.  And their confrontation resulted in Karli accidently dropping the vials of Super Serum she’d been carrying around in her fanny pack.  Zemo, going along with his whole shtick of enhanced individuals must go, starts to destroy the vials.  But while he’s doing so, Walker comes up and knocks him out with the Shield.  And that’s when Walker sees that there’s only one vial of Super Serum remaining.  Unbeknownst to Sam and Bucky, he secretly ends up pocketing the vial before they arrive on the scene. 

Sometime later, they’re all back at that apartment(?) where Bucky, Sam and Zemo have been crashing in Latvia.  Walker decides enough is enough, and he’s going to return Zemo to his cell in Germany.  But that’s when Ayo and the other Dora Milaje appear. It seems that the eight hours that Ayo gave Bucky are up, and they’ve also come for Zemo.  Of course, Walker, being the arrogant moron he is, is rather dismissive towards the Dora Milaje, trying to claim that they don’t have jurisdiction there.  Which leads to Ayo stating her epic line, of how the Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever they are.

https://youtu.be/jG8u1UdD-T0

When Walker proceeds to neglect to show the proper respect towards Ayo and the rest of the Dora Milaje, despite Sam’s urging to not start anything with them, Ayo proceeds to put him in his place by giving him the beatdown he deserves.  And I really like how Bucky seemed content to just sit back and watch it happen, embodying the viewing audience in the process.  (His ‘looking strong, John’ was just so wonderfully snarky.)  Eventually though, Sam gets Bucky to step in.

Of course, that leads me to the part where Ayo reveals she can detach Bucky’s vibranium arm with just two moves. Which seems to be a pretty polarizing moment in this episode.  Okay, I acknowledge that this whole situation is extremely complicated.  And as I stated earlier, I fully appreciate that Ayo is feeling particularly betrayed by Bucky’s actions in assisting Zemo’s escape from prison without discussing it with the Wakandans first.  That being said?  DUDE!  I know it’s easy to forget sometimes, but the fact remains that Bucky is an amputee.  A man with a physical disability.  You don’t up and remove a disabled man’s prosthetic limb without his consent!  What’s wrong with you?  It’s the same as going up to a deaf person and ripping out their hearing aid, or taking away someone’s wheelchair!

Also, it’s possible I missed something about this scene, but the way it was set up doesn’t make a lot of sense.  I didn’t see anything to suggest that Bucky and Sam were attempting to prevent the Dora Milaje from leaving with Zemo.  If Walker hadn’t started trying to throw his weight around, they probably would have allowed it without an argument.  Bucky only intervened in the ensuing fight in order to dissolve the situation.  And when he stepped in, it almost looked as if Ayo was preparing to make a killing blow.  Which is way extreme because, while Walker is an arrogant, smug prat and deserved to get knocked down a few pegs, at this point, he hadn’t really done anything to warrant getting impaled by a spear.  Yeah, I get Ayo and the other Dora Milaje are undoubtedly super angry right now because of the whole Zemo thing and tempers are running high.  But at the same time, that fact alone means they really shouldn’t be acting rashly. Oh, at it gets better.  Because while everyone was distracted by all the fighting, Zemo slips into the bathroom and manages to escape by moving the bathtub aside and slithering away down the drain like the snake he is.  (Exactly how big are the pipes in Latvia?)  So because of all this fighting, Zemo is now roaming around free somewhere, and the Dora Milaje have to leave without him.  I repeat, I fully get this is a complicated, complex situation, and I understand where they’re coming from.  But perhaps if the Dora Milaje didn’t start fighting with Bucky and Sam when they stepped in to interfere with Walker’s well-deserved beatdown, maybe Zemo wouldn’t have gotten away.  Just saying, they were doing a pretty good job of keeping Zemo on a leash up until now.

So anyway, in the aftermath of this fight, you see Walker starting to have a mental breakdown.  Because he is completely flabbergasted that he was effortlessly taken down by the Dora Milaje.  Because while they are unquestionably highly skilled and trained warriors, they are still completely ordinary people.  Not a single one of them have been injected with the Super Serum. So how is he supposed to manage going up against the Flag Smashers, who are Super Soldiers?  (It’s also possible that Walker’s despondency over this is partially fueled by him having sexist and xenophobic viewpoints, considering the Dora Milaje are all African women, but that’s open to interpretation.) While he and Hoskins are sitting at a diner somewhere, Walker, clearly thinking about the fact that he has the last vial of Super Serum, asks Hoskins if he would take the Super Serum if he had the chance.  Hoskins states he would take it.  Which is clearly meant to parallel an earlier scene, where Zemo asked Sam if he would take it if it was ever offered.  Because Sam stated he wouldn’t without hesitation.  Which once again further cements the fact that Steve made the right choice in choosing Sam as his successor.  (It’s also evident by the fact that Sam is the one trying to find a peaceful resolution with the Flag Smashers, while Walker is simply trying to charge in and simply take them out.)

Things come to a head when Karli actually calls up Sam’s sister, Sarah, and directly threatens her and her kids in order to give Sam an incentive to meet with her again.  So Sam, with Bucky accompanying him, suits up as Falcon in order to confront her.  Karli attempts to try and convince Sam to join up with her, but Sam still insists that, while her goal is honorable, there’s a better way to fight without resorting to violence (such as blowing up buildings with innocent people inside).  But once again, Walker mucks it all up.  Because, Sam is then contacted by Sharon Carter.  Who seems to be able to track Walker via satellite?  Which seems to contradict something she said earlier about not having access to satellites, unless I misheard that line.  Yeah, Sharon is kinda shady in this episode.  If the fan theory that she’s actually the Power Broker turns out to be right, I won’t be that shocked.  In any event, it seems that either Walker and Hoskins ended up going after the Flag Smashers again or Karli’s meeting with Sam was just a diversion to keep Sam and Bucky out of the way while the Flag Smashers tried to go after Walker in order to kill him.  I’m not sure which it was.  But regardless, Sam and Bucky immediately go off to try and find Walker before it’s too late, with Karli also running off to join the fight.

Here, it’s one big action sequence, with Bucky, Sam and Walker fighting against Karli and the Flag Smashers.  Hoskins eventually joins in the fight as well (he was absent from the start of the fight because he was jumped by some of the Flag Smashers and was briefly tied up in a bathroom somewhere until he managed to free himself).  But in the mist of the battle, Karli ends up either kicking or punching Hoskins into a stone pillar with full Super Soldier strength.  And the impact apparently snaps Hoskin’s spine, killing him instantly.  

Okay!  I was seriously not expecting them to kill Hoskins off like that!  And it’s a shame, too.  Because while I barely knew Hoskins, he still seemed like an okay guy.  At least he was the one who, however briefly, convinced Walker to at least try to give Sam a chance to talk to Karli. Which indicated he wasn’t as gung-ho and impulsive as Walker is.  Unfortunately, it seems that Hoskin’s death was the breaking point for Walker, because he immediately snaps.  And while Bucky and Sam go after Karli when she makes a break for it, Walker goes right for the other Flag Smashers.  He quickly corners the Flag Smasher called Nico, who I think was Karli’s right-hand man, in the middle of a crowded square.  And, in full view of everyone, mercilessly murders Nico with the Shield.  And he is showing no reaction to the fact that the onlookers are all staring at him in shock and horror, or even that some people were filming him with their camera phones.   He simply straps the Shield, which is now covered with blood, onto his arm.  And that’s where the episode ends.

Well, crap!  That’s a rather dark note to end the episode on.  Clearly, Walker is unstable.  And I have no idea what the final two episodes of this show will be like.  The even more chilling aspect is that, while it’s not explicitly stated, it’s implied that Walker might have already taken the Super Serum!  And this show of rage and aggression was the result of it.  After all, as Dr. Erskine had said way back when, the Serum elevates everything.  Good becomes great, but bad becomes worse.  And Walker was clearly undergoing a phycological breakdown to begin with.  So if he’s taken the Super Serum (like we were probably supposed to assume he did when he effortlessly bent a metal pole like a pretzel during the last battle scene with the Flag Smashers), then he must be REALLY unstable now!  And now, the Shield, the very symbol of Captain America (which is tied to Steve Roger’s legacy), is now tainted by a bloodstain. Again, I have no idea where the show plans to go from here on in.

Speaking of the Shield?  On a closing note, I do have to address the fact that Bucky once again scolded Sam for giving away the Shield in the first place.  *Sigh*  Okay.  Bucky?  I love you, man.  You’re my favorite character in the MCU so far (apart from Goose, of course).  But you really need to stop blaming Sam for this.  Because Sam didn’t give the Shield away like you’re suggesting.  That’s not what happened.  Sam donated the Shield to the Smithsonian, with the understanding that it would be kept there, as a monument to everything Steve Rogers did and stood for.  It was the US Government who went behind Sam’s back and took back the Shield in order to hand it over to Walker.  Sam didn’t know they were going to do that until after the fact.  Yes, Bucky has every right to be mad about what happened.  His feelings are justified and valid.  (Particularly if they end up revealing what I think they’re going to reveal.)   But he’s taking it out on the wrong person.  And he really does owe Sam an apology.

#falcon and winter soldier #falcon and winter solider series

[cblgblog]

On that Siberia fight in Civil War

Rewatched Civil War recently and just…need this of my chest.

First thing, Steve saying yes when Tony asked if he knew about Bucky killing the Starks.

If the implication is that Steve did know unequivocally, for sure, then that should’ve been handled a lot better. What we were actually shown was a blink and you’ll miss it shot among a montage of HYDRA’s greatest hits that was, at best, an implication. And Steve’s being shown this by a computer version of an evil Nazi, who admits in the same breath that HYDRA’s whole thing for the last 70-odd years has been lies and manipulation.

It’s possible that Steve could’ve gotten better confirmation later. He could’ve gotten it from Bucky’s file, the one Nat gave him at the end of Cap 2, he maybe could’ve gotten it during the 2 years he was looking for leads…it could have happened. But they needed to show us if it did, because that HYDRA clip show? Not enough for a solid “yes” on Steve knowing.

I always took Steve saying yes as Steve being Steve in a bad situation, knowing that saying he didn’t know was a lie, so he says yes. Because he knew more than Tony did, and it’s not like Tony is going to take a “Yes, but let me explain” answer. But regardless, it needed better handling, if we’re meant to believe that Steve did know for certain.

Now, Tony attacking Bucky, even though he acknowledged 5 minutes earlier (with his Manchurian Candidate jab) that he knows Bucky isn’t responsible for Winter Soldier’s actions. So many people hate this, and rightfully so. I will say that I don’t condone it, but I understand it. Off the top of my head, the usual anti-Tony arguments here are

·       The loss was decades ago, not recent, he shouldn’t be reacting so strongly

·       He should’ve gotten some therapy and handled his grief like an adult

·       He hated Howard anyway, why react so violently?

Yes, the loss was decades ago, but it’s still a man watching his parents be murdered. By the man standing a few feet away. With Tony’s mind and his instant “I know that road” we can assume he’s played out the scenario in his head a thousand times over the years. And that’s when he thought it was a car wreck. Watching your parents get murdered is going to screw with anyone’s mind, even someone healthy, which Tony so isn’t.

He should have gotten therapy, dealt with the loss in a healthy way, but he clearly didn’t. He even says during the MIT demonstration that he actively avoided processing his grief. Which isn’t an excuse for his behavior, but does explain it somewhat. Wounds heal if you treat them. If you don’t, there’s festering, infection, scarring…the 20-odd years on it’s own wouldn’t have automatically softened the loss.

Tony may have hated Howard, or parts of him, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t love him too. If he didn’t yearn for the man’s approval, he wouldn’t have made such a speech about not getting it in IM 2. If he didn’t care, it wouldn’t matter. Parent/child relationships are so much more complicated than just one thing, and if there’s abuse or neglect, even more so. On a side note, Howard always seemed more the absentee dad, the careless dad who talks without knowing the damage of his words than the raging abusive drunk the stans want to make him out to be. Which in this case means it’s more likely that Tony didn’t all out hate the guy, even before Endgame where we get the Tony and Howard scenes.

And even if he did, Tony’s feelings for Howard don’t have to matter here, because he says “I don’t care. He killed my mom.” Even if he hated Howard completely (which later canon disproves), okay, he’s still hearing his mom begging for her life.

So, it was a cruel, manipulative tactic by Zemo, and I get why it pushed Tony to doing what he did.

Here’s the thing. That doesn’t make it okay. It doesn’t make his prior actions throughout this and other movies okay. Should Steve have told him about Bucky? Maybe, if he knew for sure, which again, don’t think he did. But Tony’s actions on finding out are pretty solid proof that Steve had solid reason to shut up, too. The video exacerbated the whole thing greatly, yes. If Tony was thinking a little more clearly, it maybe wouldn’t have gone that far.

Does that mean that Steve could’ve told him in a better moment and Tony wouldn’t have reacted in a similar way? Hell no. He might not have physically attacked Steve, or had Bucky there to beat on, but that doesn’t mean we’d get the lovely fanon of Tony forgiving and forgetting, doing his best to treat Bucky, giving him a wing in Avengers Tower…hell no. He still would’ve hunted Bucky down, or tried. He still would’ve been out for blood.

Tony hasn’t had a healthy brain in years. He’s been a mess of fear and anxiety and misplaced savior complex. Even if Steve had told him the truth at some point in the 2 years between Cap 2 and 3, it wouldn’t have gone well for Bucky.

And I kind of get it. Mind controlled or not, the guy physically murdered Tony’s parents. That’s hard to just shrug off. But ultimately, Bucky didn’t have a choice in it, it was not Bucky who really pulled that trigger, and it’s not fair to try to kill a man for something he couldn’t control.

And again, I do not totally hate Tony for that fight. I can understand why he did it. He’s a damaged man, he was manipulated. But, not an excuse. Every other Avenger has some kind of trauma equal to or worse than anything Tony went through. Nat was sterilized, tortured. Clint had his mind controlled and killed innocent people because of it. Bruce turns into a green rage monster and, at least in early films, has little to no control over the destruction he causes.

Everyone on that team is damaged, but Tony is the only on who gets a free pass for everything because of it. Tony’s parents being killed by Bucky wasn’t revealed to him until the end of the movie. The Accords are still the equivalent of hitting a nail with a sledgehammer, a terrible solution to a legitimate problem. He’s still using them as a way to deal with his guilt, and you don’t do that when it affects countless other lives, including those of your friends. He still shot Sam at close range…why? Because Sam did the very human thing of trying not to get shot out of the air? Because Vision, a member of Tony’s team, shot down Rhodey?

Even if you go for the fact that Steve lied, and he is a terrible friend, and that Tony ultimately trying to actually kill Steve for it was a somewhat understandable reaction in the moment? Doesn’t excuse Tony’s behavior. In Civil War, in AoU, in Infinity War when literally no one else on either Avengers team cared about The Accords, the airport fight, but he’s still hesitating to call Steve when the fate of the universe is at stake.

I can understand why Tony does a lot of what he does. I think some of it is more complex than some of the antis who are more anti than me do. Understanding is not an excuse. Being hurt and traumatized yourself doesn’t excuse giving anyone, especially your friends, the same treatment.

#anti tony stark #anti tony stans #pro steve rogers #Steve Rogers #civil war

[bbparker]

The Divide Between Us (Peter Parker)

Summary: Soulmates exist and receive tally marks overtime they pass their soulmates. Peter has only ever had one tally mark but discovers at the worst moment, just who his soulmate is. 

Warning: Mentions of blood and a lot of angst

MASTERLIST 

Peter had never been as excited as he was while waiting in his hotel room for a call to action. Ever since tony Stark turned up to his apartment with the offer to help get Captain America under control, Peter couldn’t sit still he was too excited.

However, a sense of dread spread through him knowing that he’d have to leave the area, meaning leaving behind the possibility of meeting his soulmate.  Sitting on his large king sized bed, Peters thoughts drifted to him or her. Glancing down, he traced his fingers over the slim line, about a centimetre long, on his wrist. 

There was only one tally so far, a mark of how many times you’ve been passed your soulmate. What worried Peter is the fact that there was only one whereas other his age had on average 10+. His eyes did not move from the mark until a knock at the door caught him by surprise. Falling off the bed, Happy Hogan walked in and saw the state of the boy one the floor. 

“What are you doing? Get your suit on we’re going.”

“R-right, yeah…Wait where…are we going?”

——-

Peter stood at the top of the airports carpark, overlooking the scene while Mr Stark and Captain America were talking. To say he was nervous was an understatement, this was his essential introduction to the superhero world and others. They would know about him and there was no taking it back. He had to stick his landing too, the very thought of missing or tripping in front of such big heroes nearly had Peter passing out. 

His sipdey-senses went off as he felt another presence on the roof. Turning swiftly, Peter came face to face with possibly the most gorgeous person he’d ever get the pleasure of seeing. 

Sporting a black and green suit, similar to Captain America, thick toned thighs, strong shoulders and a defined waist was (y/n) Rogers. With her hands on hips she stared him down with an indifferent look. 

“I knew Tony would go find another hero to help out but I was expecting  someone like Johnny Storm, or at least someone with a similar ego to himself, not another kid.” Peter was still star struck as he felt a slight itching on the inside of his wrist. 

Her expression then changed into curiosity the more she looked at the red and blue suited boy. Walking cautiously forward, she studied him, also having felt the itching in her wrist and choosing to play it cool. (Y/N) knew what it meant but refused to change sides or go easy on him for it. 

“Are you just quiet or are you scared?” A smirk crawled up onto her lips as she continued forward slightly. The smirk caused Peters heart to pound as he watched the soft lips slowly raise cheekily. Finally he shook his head and looked at (y/n) in the eyes.

“N-no. I-uh-I just didn’t realise I would be meeting another hero so early.” Peter fidgeted, scratching behind his head and quickly looking down onto the tarmac to see Tony and Steve still talking. It was definitely taking longer than he thought it would. 

“Oh, so nothing to do with the fact that your soulmate tally is rising?” He finally noticed the itching and if possible his eyes widened further. 

“N-no way. You? Y-you’re my s-soulmate?” Peter, as if by a magnet, began drifting towards her. A soft smile graced her lips as he finally neared her, almost chest to chest. Slowly her hands drifted up to his neck. Even if she was on the opposite side in this war, doesn’t mean she wasn’t curious about her own soulmate. 

“That-thats so cool! I mean the daughter of Captain Ameri- what are you doing?” Peter noticed her slightly calloused fingers from years of training, slipping under his mask. (Y/N) let another soft smile on her face at his nervous behaviour, atypical trait of the hero world in her experience. 

“Just because we’re on opposite sides it doesn’t mean I’m not curious about my own soulmate. But because time is running out for us and ill probably be a fugitive soon, slash already am, I just want to give you something real quick.” The mask was now sitting just under Pete’s eyes, leaving his cheeks and lips exposed. 

He had expected (y/n) to take it completely off but instead, she left it exactly where it was. Peter couldn’t move, his curiosity and awkwardness getting the best of him as he watched her face come closer to his. Unconsciously as she came closer, Peters hands grazed upwards to lightly hold her waist, causing (y/n)s body to sing in joy at the simple touch. 

“I’m sorry we couldn’t meet under better circumstances.” She whispered before kissing him lightly on the cheek. Sparks shot all over Peter’s body as it recognised his soulmates interacting and suddenly his mood shot through the roof. Giddy and happier than he’d ever been in his life. 

Slowly it faded, however, when (y/n) lowered his mask back down to his neck, her fingers grazing his neck, causing tingles to follow in their wake. His body now calling to her and her touch. Her eyes glanced at Peters through the mask, and he thought he could see a slight watery look overtaking it. 

“One day, but not today.” His hands dropped from her hips as she smiled sadly up at him. 

“And I’m also really sorry about this, but I cant hold back- even for you.” Peter was confused for a second before he was dealt a hard kick to his chest, sending him flying over the edge of the building. His small yell was short as he managed to catch himself on the edge of the building. 

Looking around, nobody seemed to have noticed the small yelp and so Peter stayed stuck to the building thinking over what just happened. He felt so comfortable but nervous. The moment he’d been waiting for and now it was ruined by this conflict. If only they could of met at a different moment in time.

Although now he knows why he never really ran into her. She’s a year older than his sixteen-year-old-self and was always helping her dad out in the field. Not short after his last thought about (y/n), his call to action came.

“Underoos!” Glancing up, Peter could see (y/n) was gone and he finally understood that they were on opposite sides; now was not the time. 

Webbing Steve’s hands and stealing his shield, Peter landed perfectly with the shield and glanced around. 

“Nice job, kid” Tony said, looking between his friend and the kid. 

“Thanks. Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's just the new suit… Well, it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's-It's perfect. Thank you.” He stuttered out, jittery hand movements being thrown everywhere. (Y/N) heard from her position and couldn’t help but let out a slight giggle. 

“Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation.” Tony deadpanned as Steve looked at him disbelievingly. Spider-man seemed to suddenly notice Captain America staring at him.

“Okay. Cap… Captain. (Y/n)’s dad oh my gosh. Big fan of you and your daughter, I’m mean not that (y/n) and I are anything but like, we-we haven’t even met heh—uh” He seemed to pause noticing his mistake as Steve’s gaze seemed to harden at the mention of his daughter. 

“I’m, I’m Spider-Man.” He decided to finish, noticing the ‘what the hell’ look from everybody, even the Black Widow. Tony shook his head.

“Yeah, we'll talk about it later. Just…”

“Hey, everyone.” Peter tried to salvage but (y/n) was positively holding her nose trying not to laugh and give herself away. He was ridiculously soft hearted, in a cute way. 

“… good job.” Tony finished for him going back to talking to Steve. 

“You’ve been busy.” Steve deadpanned.

“And you've been a complete idiot. Dragging in Clint. 'Rescuing' Wanda and (y/n) from a place they don't even want to leave, a safe place. I'm trying to keep… I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart. And dragging in (y/n)? Thats low even for you. You do realise any future she could have had is being thrown out the window?”

“I think I’m old enough to make up my own mind thank you, Stark. You seem to forget age doesn’t always determine wisdom. You’re a child prodigy, you should know that more than anyone.” (Y/n) stepped out next to her father, standing proudly. 

Peter simply couldn’t keep his eyes off her, she was gorgeous. More than he believed he deserved in any case. She was beautiful, powerful even and he didn’t know who he could possibly thank for pairing them together. 

“(Y/N).” Tony said almost weakly, their dad-like-bond being severed by the incident.  

“You tore us all apart by choosing your guilt over reason. Them over us. We aren’t breaking, we’re broken.” Steve looked down at his daughter, somewhat guilty for dragging her into this but he knew shed give him no choice anyways. 

“She’s right. You did that when you signed.” Tony’s anger and frustration returned.

“Alright, We're done. You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us. NOW! Because it's us! Or a squad of J-SOC guys… with no compunction about being impolite.” Steve simply looked away from Tony as the other man lost hope fast. 

“Come on.” He muttered. Steve raised his paired hands, an arrow going through and cutting the webbing. Tony’s helmet closed as he looked around for Clint. 

“Alright, Lang” Steve said into comms as Peter suddenly questioned. 

“Hey, guys, something…” As Lang expanded into a fully grown man with Cap’s shield and the civil war began. 

——

(Y/N)’s energy levels were struggling. She trained all the time but fighting fully trained superheroes was different to the average trained man. It wasn’t until she stood opposite to people she once and maybe still considered friends did she recognise the full severity of their actions. 

She also knew that some may get left behind in order to stop the Zemo man; but it had to happen. She’d sacrifice her freedom anyway for everyones safety. Looking up at her dad, (y/n) felt proud to be by his side and fighting for their legacy. 

“I meant to ask but it doesn’t seem like we’ll get the time- the spider-kid?” (Y/n) actually groaned in the moment, the serious air broken. 

“Pa, no. Don’t go there right now.” Steve looked down slightly to his daughter, the one thing he feels he did right in the world. 

“Okay but when this is over, we’re going to have a long talk.” (Y/N) just rolled her eyes but smiled anyways. Spider-man and her had yet to be fully introduced or even fight against one another. There wasn’t enough time and in all honestly, (y/n) was avoiding it. 

She didn’t want to hurt her soulmate but it seemed as if fate wasn’t giving her a choice. Then the time came. Either side began in a strut before speeding up into a sprint. Choosing her target, (y/n) decided she’d have to go for her soulmate as he’d been right in front of her.

(Y/N) repeated the mantra that this was for the good of all people. She needed to get to Siberia and stop Zemo. She couldn’t put peoples lives on the line for a boy, soulmate or no. 

I can do this. Was the last thing (Y/N) said to herself before the teams clashed. Steve blocked a punch as Iron Man lands. Clint fires an arrow at Vision, causing it to explode but it does little damage. 

War Machine flies after Falcon, both weaving in and around each other in a deadly dance. Bucky  is tackled immediately by T’Challa as they trade punches. (Y/N) is the first to throw a punch at Peter, he barely moves out of the way in time to avoid the blow.

Peter just looks at her with wide eyes and was unable to predict her next attack as she threw herself at him. (Y/N) delivered three harsh blows to his stomach, causing him to groan, before slipping under his arm and twisting herself to flip him over her and onto his back. One thing was for sure; (y/n) had inherited Steve’s strength and flexibility.

Peter was still shocked but quickly snapped out of it as she was tackled by Iron Man, sending her flying a couple feet away. (Y/N) groaned as she rolled over to get up and just as Peter was ready to run and check on her, he was quickly distracted by vehicles being thrown at him by Wanda. 

———

At some point, Steve saw the Spider-kid once again and decided to finally confront him; after all it was inevitable. Cutting the web with his shield mid-swing, Spider-Man fell and landed on top of a passengers entrance to a plane. Seeing as who confronted him was his soulmates father, Peter really wanted to make a good impression; that he was strong enough to be a good match for (y/n). Though he wasn’t sure if Steve picked up the ordeal between them. 

“That thing does not obey the laws of physics at all.” Peter laughed with confidence for once. 

“Look kid. There's a lot going on here that you don't understand, especially about (y/n).” Steve said strongly, looking at Peter head on. 

“(Y/N), sir, I just wanna say that I’ll take good care of her. Also, Mr. Stark said you'd say that.” Peter fires his webs quickly, sticking to Steve’s shield and ankle. Pulling, Steve flies towards Peter before being kicked hard enough to be sent into a small compartment near by. 

“He also said to go for your legs.” Peter laughs but notices Steve going for his shield. Weebing his hands and attempting to pull but fails ad Steve grits his teeth, spins and somersaults, kicking and propelling Peter through the air.

“You should really stay away from my daughter, for your own benefit-”

“You’re really going to give me the dad speech right now?” Peter interrupts attempting to swing away but Steve catches the  web and tugs Peter towards him, knocking him down with the shield. Peter recovers quickly and pulls himself up on top of a gangway.

“Maybe not all of it but a brief summary. Its for your own benefit, believe me. She follows after me in putting duty before emotions.” Steve sighs knowing that might be a lie in some cases.

“No offence sir but I think (y/n) can definitely make up her own mind about that. She’s strong enough.” Peter swings down and Steve leaps to kick him backwards onto the gangway's leg. In that moment (y/n) looks over to see Spiderman go falling into it and her father throw the shield, forcing Peter to hold it up.

“Guess you’re right about that one.” Steve sighed and as he went to walk away he stopped, turning back quickly. 

"You got heart, kid. You’ll make a good match for (y/n) as her soulmate, one day. Where're you from?” 

“Thanks, I-i think?…Queens” Peter gasped for breath, still trying to hold it up. Steve smirked, seeing behind Peter that (y/n) was looking over curiously and knowing her, she would come to help her soulmate out of the predicament. 

“Brooklyn.” Was all he said, giving a knowing look to (y/n) before taking off to help Sam. 

Over with (Y/N), she could see he was still struggling with the gangway and she knew she would have to help, despite her being on the opposite team. 

Throwing the last punch at Rhodey, denting his armour and moving him backwards (y/n) ran towards Peter. Wanda was luckily enough to be nearby to take over for her. Running as fast as she could (y/n) dodged almost everything, a bullet nicking her shoulder from one of Iron Man’s weapons but she ignored it. 

Peter was her focus as she saw his legs giving way slowly. As she neared him, Peter seemed to sense it and turned his head slightly to see her running for him.

“(Y/N)? What are you…?” But his question dropped from his mind when he saw her kneel under the gangway next to him. The itch in his wrist began again, almost surprising him enough to drop it.

“Whoa.” (y/n) said ducking further at the shift. 

“(Y/N), you…you n-need to move, I can’t hold it, hold it much lon-longer. You’re gonna get hurt.” He was struggling to talk with the weight the gangway and his wrist slowly burning at the same time but his concern for her safety had given him a little more strength. 

“Thats why i’m here. Now shut up and let me help.” 

“Wha-” His eyes widened as he watched (y/n) place her shoulders against the bottom of the gangway and hands placed flat either side of her. She grit her teeth and began pushing upwards and to some surprise of Peter, she began lifting some weight off of his shoulders.

Watching her strength was mesmerising.

“Peter, are you helping or not?!” (y/n) gasped out noticing his lack of effort. Both managed to lift it above their heads and throw it forwards and away from them. Turning to her he held up a hand for a high five and as she touched his hand he interlaced their fingers.

“Staring’s becoming your habit, Spider-Boy.” (y/n) laughed but still not pulling her hand away. 

“I think I’m always going to stare at you.” It took a moment for Peter to realise what he said. 

“Not-not in a creepy way but like-like a … you’re pretty.” The young hero began staring again. Slowly (y/n) gravitated towards him as his breath caught. 

“Spider-man, love…” She said sweetly, coming chest to chest with him as she finally released his hand. Slowly (y/n) moved it up his shoulder before coming around to rest on his chest. Peter’s face was bright red under the mask but he was captivated by her eyes and the way her voice curled around his superhero name. He’d never be able to hear the name the same ever again. 

“Y-yeah?” He finally responded, his gloved hands automatically landing lightly on her waist as she moved just a tiny bit closer, now pressed against him. Slowly (y/n) leaned upwards and grazed her lips over his clothed cheek before whispering.

“Do remember to stop getting into trouble, watch your back and stay out of my way; or I’ll make you stay, permanently, out of my way.” (y/n) said ever so sweetly that he was swept away by the sound of the honey’d voice. 

“Yeah, i’ll-i’ll stay away… permanent-wait what?” Peter realised his mistake within his distracted state, as her hand on his chest suddenly forced him to the ground, making it crack under him from the force of the push. 

From above (y/n) smiled down at him.

“I’m a bit busy, if you don’t mind.” Was all (y/n) said before running off to engage in another fight. Peter groaned from the ground and then let out a sigh.

Steve was right about one thing- (y/n) was not going to suddenly join his side. It was her duty as a hero before him.

——

Throughout what felt like a long fight, (y/n) delivered a lot of blows and even had to result to finally pulling out her Bo staff from her back. Her face was bruised and everything hurt but she refused to give up. The fate of peoples lives relied on her winning this. 

When she saw T’Challa tackling Bucky once again, she couldn’t stand by and watch her fathers best friend, someone she admired, be hurt for something he didn’t do. Kicking Natasha’s knee making her fall down onto one knee, (y/n) delivered a blow to her face, yelling a quick sorry before running towards Bucky and T’Challa. 

Nat lay on the ground for a moment, still in a little shock from the hard half-super strength punch. 

“Yeah, thats alright, run away. My old ass will just lay here.” Nat muttered sarcastically towards a now running (y/n).

As she saw T’Challa about to put claws through Bucky’s neck, she tackled him and due to the unplanned and graceless charge, (y/n) made the mistake of leaving her front open for attack. T’Challa’s reflexes automatically went for it, and it seemed as everything around her froze for a moment while others continued to battle, oblivious to the moment. 

(Y/N)’s head turned to the side slightly, as if confused. Her breath became short. 

“(Y-Y/N)?” Her soulmate landed next to her and stared at her in horror but she couldn’t understand why as if her brain was trying to process something. She followed his eyes and looked to find T’Challa’s claws slowly retracting from her chest and stomach. 

“No, no, no.” T’Challa muttered, realising his mistake.

“Oh.” (y/n) said as she coughed. A dribble of blood cam from her mouth as her slowly burring vision looked past Peter to her dad, still fighting as always. A small smile came to her face, she loved her dad. Before she looked to her soulmate, she hadn’t even gotten to see his face or know his name. 

Finally, (y/n) dropped to the ground, the shout of Peter alerted everyone to the situation as everyone suddenly stopped. Shocked by the horrific cry released from Peter’s mouth.

“NO!” His cry echoed over everything as he watched Bucky catch her in his arms. Eyes wide, Peter approached so slowly as if his mere presence would damage her further. Bucky called for Steve desperately, as if he could fix her; but it was all white noise to Peter. Nobody could move as they watched the girl struggle to breathe. 

Peter finally was close enough and grabbed (y/n) quickly and gently from Bucky’s arms, all the while pushing him away from her. 

“Stay back!” He yelled, as Nat tried to help, fearing someone else would hurt her. Bucky simply sat where he handed, blood staining his hands.

“(Y/N), (Y/N), c’mon. Stay with us, stay with me. Don’t leave me.”  Peter pleaded as T’Challa stood back slowly, mortified by his own actions. Steve was yelling as he sprinted the distance across to his daughter. Tony stood frozen in the air, trying to compute whats going on. 

Peter squatted beside (y/n) as she looked up at Bucky Barnes with pleading eyes. 

“Run, Bucky.” He shook his head.

“N-no, we have to get you-” He tried to crawl towards her but she let out one final yell. 

“Get dad and get out of here! Now! You have to s-stop him! GO!” And Bucky listened, running towards Steve. They fought verbally before Bucky managed, with the last of his strength, to drag Steve towards the Quin Jet.

With one look at his daughter, she nodded and he understood. He hated himself for it, but he understood. 

Looking from her fleeing father and up to her soulmate, she smiled softly.

“M-mask.” Peter frowned for a moment.

“What? Oh, r-right.” Pulling his mask off, slightly tearing the edge of it- he threw it away from him. It seemed as if it were only them two as some continued the fight, despite her condition.

(Y/N) managed to cough and laugh, causing more blood to flow as she looked up a the wildly tossed curled that had been stuffed in the suit. She observed his brown eyes and slightly crooked nose. He was definitely handsome.  

“(Y/N)! Stop laughing, you’re hurting yourself!” Peter cried, putting pressure  where he could on her stomach but there were so many punctures, he couldn’t possibly cover them all. 

“I-i’m just glad to see you; really see yo-you. Tell me, tell me.” She groaned and Peter felt through their connection that she was fading faster than she was letting on. 

“Someone get the medic! A-anyone!” Natasha had never sounded more panicked in the moment as she moved Peters hands away in her own attempt to save the girl. All her training with injures kicking in. She had to save (y/n), she just had to. 

Peter simply looked at her with his own eyes, not through the mask of Spider-Man and began fulfilling her request. Brown met (y/c/e) and he watched them look at him with happiness; a strange emotion for the moment.Peter began rambling, having understood what she had tried to request. 

“My name is Peter Benjamin Parker. I live in Queens and I was raised by my aunt since my parents death a long time ago. My favourite subject is science and I have a best friend called Ned. We talk about Star Wars and superheroes a lot and until today I had only one tally.” He began letting the water building in his eyes to fall as the panicked voices drifted away around him and his soulmate. 

His voice cracked. He glanced down her wrist quickly as her palm shakily reached for his face, grazing his cheek. She had five tally’s in total after today and he knew his would match. 

“P-peter, huh?” He only nodded and didn’t notice the team having switched their focus towards another catastrophe in the making. They all watched as visions beam aimed for Falcon but hit Rhodey instead. 

“Please make this stop.” Natasha pleaded lowly as she watched in horror. Peter ignored them and brought (y/n) closer, touching his forehead to hers as he whispered to her and she continuously grazed her thumb over his cheek.

“I met my soulmate today and she more than I could have ever possibly deserved. We didn’t get enough time but I’m here now and I’m asking her not to leave me just yet-” (y/n) groaned in pain. 

“- I’m asking her to stay with me and figure this thing out because I never knew I needed someone as much as I selfishly needed her.” (y/n) smiled a broken smile as she said her final words.

“Close your eyes Peter, close them and don’t open them.” He shut them as (y/n) had asked before she drew a breath and let go. Hand falling to her side as Peter kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see another lifeless body in his arms. 

Hands removed her from his arms but still he didn’t open his eyes. Peter went limp, he didn’t care and he didn’t want to know.

Hands pulled him up and into their arms, carrying him. He still didn’t open his eyes. 

Eventually it all went away. The noise, the light and the scents of war.

“I’m so sorry Peter.” They whispered. 

He was sorry too.

[aion-rsa]

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 6 Marvel, Captain America, MCU Easter Eggs

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This article contains The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 6 spoilers and potential spoilers for the wider MCU.

Well, it’s finally here. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 6 was an action-packed, but rather messy season finale for the show. Hopefully it isn’t a series finale, and we’ll see it continue in season 2 as Captain America and the Winter Soldier, but that’s an argument for another time.

For now, we’re here (as usual) to dig in to all the Marvel Comics and MCU references the show gave us this episode. We’ll be honest, it was relatively light on those, but there’s still plenty to speculate about. And if you spot anything we missed, be sure to let us know in the comments!

The New Captain America

Sam’s incredibly sharp-looking Captain America costume is a perfect live action translation of the version he wore in the comics. That costume was designed by Carlos Pacheco, and first hit the pages of Marvel Comics in October of 2014, in All-New Captain America #1. Even then, it felt like a perfectly movie-ready design, but to see it translated to beautifully to live action is a real treat, and this is an immediate contender for “best superhero movie or TV suit” right now. The additional stars and stripes motif added to the underside of the wings here seems to be an MCU flourish, but that’s just one little way they managed to improve on perfection.

It’s safe to assume that Sam’s new wings are vibranium, or at least vibranium laced, just like his shield, considering that it was made for him by the tech geniuses in Black Panther‘s Wakanda. There’s something to be said here about how America is stronger when it works with and accepts help from its allies, as opposed to going it alone. Just witness how much better Sam’s wings hold up under pressure than Walker’s homemade shield.

Similarly, Sam primarily uses the shield and the wings for defense. Compare that to how Walker wields his shield, as a slashing/bludgeoning weapon for offense. It’s a nice illustration of two different interpretations about how best to utilize America’s power.

Bucky

Bucky’s leap from a barrier-crashing motorcycle in episode 6 is a nice callback to Steve’s very similar move in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. As a voice barked “stand down” from a SHIELD quinjet, Steve hit a barrier on his bike and was thrown forward into the action. 

We also see Bucky straining to open the back of the van with his vibranium arm, but he doesn’t flex as hard as Steve did when he stopped Bucky taking off in a helicopter in that same movie. Both Sam and Bucky reflect elements of what made Steve an exceptional Captain America in the finale, and prove to be a terrific team.

Bucky gives Steve’s notebook to his therapist as a thank you gift. Honestly, she deserves less. It belongs in a museum.

U.S. Agent

John Walker manages to control the effects that the super soldier serum is having on his psyche when he gets a second chance to prove himself, dropping his damaged makeshift shield and realizing he needs to prioritize human lives over vengeance. 

Val says that people will need a “US Agent” soon, and not a Captain America, as things are about to get “weird”. US Agent, of course, was the codename Walker took on after he stopped being Captain America in the comics. Speaking of which, Walker’s new costume is basically identical to his Marvel Comics US Agent costume and it looks really great here.  We wrote more about the Marvel Comics history of U.S. Agent here.

Why are Val, Walker and his wife back in the courthouse where Walker got court martialed to try on his new US Agent costume? Feels like pandemic-related restrictions forced the show to film all those scenes at the same time, doesn’t it?

Isaiah Bradley

Sam returning to properly make sure Isaiah Bradley gets his due once again mirrors the excellent Truth: Red, White, and Black story by Robert Morales and Kyle Baker. There it was Steve who made sure that Isaiah’s deeds were finally known to the world.

Hopefully this isn’t the last we see of Isaiah, but you can bet we’re going to get more of Elijah down the road. Between introducing two members of the Young Avengers in WandaVision with Billy and Tommy, and the impending arrival of Kate Bishop on Hawkeye later this year, young Elijah is due to get himself some red, white, and blue duds of his own.

Sharon Carter is the Power Broker?

Yes, Sharon Carter is the Power Broker. No, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. She took Sam, Bucky, and Zemo to see super soldier serum scientist Dr. Nagel in his lab. He was working for her! She let that dangerous shit play out, which was very much against her interests! What! No. What! The man must have been confused as hell in his final moments.

Sharon uses the same tech that Natasha Romanoff used to disguise her face during the climax of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 

We find out that Sharon was indeed behind Karli’s initial rise to Flag-Smasher power, after taking her in and giving her a chance in Madripoor. Sharon is willing to forgive the betrayal if Karli and her friends come back to the fold, but Karli’s too far gone for that.

Sharon gets a pardon from the US government. I guess it wasn’t that hard after all. Maybe you could click this link while you’re here.

Is this the first time Sharon has been called Agent Carter in the MCU? And is there some way to bring Peggy back to kick her narrow Power Brokering ass? How dare you besmirch the Carter name, girl.

Sharon’s “mercury vapor” bomb that takes out that poor dude kind of feels like the dust that the Red Skull used to use during the Mark Gruenwald era of the comics to kill people…which left them looking like red skulls. Uh-oh…this brings us to the next question…

Who was Sharon calling at the end? Val? Nick Fury? Her Skrull bosses? Alexander Lukin? Something is definitely wrong here. It’s possible that she’s working with Val to put together a team of Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts, but nothing makes a lot of sense with Sharon’s arc in the MCU in general, let alone this show.

Zemo

That is indeed Zemo’s butler Oeznik (played by Nicholas Pryor) who kills the fuck out of the Flag-Smashers in the police van with a remote controlled incendiary device. What an Evil Jarvis. In any case, Zemo got at least some of his wish, as now there are a few fewer super soldiers running around the MCU.

Among the books that Zemo is reading in his cell is Alexander von Humboldt’s Views of Nature – the German polymath, geographer, naturalist and explorer was the first person to truly make note of human-induced climate change. But we can only assume that the book Zemo is holding close to his heart as he hears the fate of the Flag-Smashers is the Machiavelli tome that Bucky rudely interrupted earlier in the series.

Despite the news saying that there are no suspects in the Flag-Smasher bombing, Val knows straight away that it was Zemo who had “the last laugh”. Huh. “Couldn’t have worked better if I planned it myself,” she jokes. “Oh, well, maybe I did. No, I’m kidding, I didn’t. Or did I?” Who the hell knows, Val.

Batroc

Is Batroc dead? Batroc had better not be dead! We demand more Georges St-Pierre in the MCU! Ze Leaper has managed to escape certain death multiple times in the MCU so far, and we’d like that trend to continue. He’s such a great all-purpose, kinda hapless baddie, that we’d love to just see him show up for the occasional slugfest. Or hell, maybe a Batroc fight can be a kind of “right of passage” for anyone else who has to wear the Captain America costume down the road!

And hey, he even did some leaping in this episode!

The Flag-Smashers

Sam’s face-off with Karli Morgenthau is a lot like Steve’s final face-off with Bucky in Captain America: The Winter Soldier when he tries to talk her down instead of fighting back.

The Raft

The Raft was first introduced to the MCU in Captain America: Civil War, but the fact that they’re going out of their way to mention it multiple times in this show, and the fact that the Flag-Smashers were destined for there (after all, they’re super soldiers) should be an indication of just how important that place is going to be to the MCU going forward. I think we can safely expect both Val and Sharon to be doing some recruiting out of there.

The New Falcon?

We only get a brief moment with Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres, as he gazes adoringly at the TV broadcast with Sam as Captain America, but hopefully we get more of him in the future. After all, Joaquin became the new Falcon when Sam wore the red, white, and blue in the comics, and he DOES have Sam’s old wings.

Where is Steve Rogers?

You know, if they keep making that joke about Steve being “on the moon” maybe there’s gonna turn out to be some truth to it. Is this how the MCU will introduce the “man on the wall” concept from the Original Sin story in Marvel Comics? OK, fine, probably not.

The Bridge

Sam having his first big public moment on a bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn, where New Yorkers see him, cheer him, and implicitly accept him as a hero feels like moments in Sam Raimi’s first two Spider-Man movies, particularly the Brooklyn Bridge scene in the first one, and the subway car scene in Spider-Man 2. This is decidedly less heavy-handed, though.

Ayla

GRC representative Ayla is not from Marvel Comics. We don’t get her last name, and she shares a first name with extremely obscure Nightstalkers villain Rotwrap. Look, there’s not  a lot going on in this episode, we’re trying.

Speaking of things we don’t have a lot on…

“Government Official”

Can you believe that despite appearing in nearly every episode of this show, Alphie Hyorth’s bearded senator is still only named as “government official” in the credits? What are you hiding Marvel?!? Maybe he’s actually Mephisto! (sorry, a little WandaVision humor there) 

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But for real, why would you have a recurring character who ends up central to so many elements of this story and NOT name him? Is he a Skrull? Is he Senator Robert Kelly? (look, we miss all the mutant speculation from the WandaVision days)

Spot anything we missed? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 6 Marvel, Captain America, MCU Easter Eggs appeared first on Den of Geek.

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SPIDER | BUCKY BARNES x READER | PART FIVE

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER.

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE | PART FOUR Summary: Bucky doesn’t know what to make of you when he meets you. You’re friends with Sharon, and you seem pretty easy to read on the surface. But the more time he spends with you, the more he seems to uncover, and the more he becomes tangled in the web you unwittingly weave. Pairing: female!Reader x Bucky Barnes Fandom: Marvel / The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Word Count: 2,501 Warnings: SPOILERS FOR THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER. A/N: I had honestly intended to squeeze the rest of Episode 4 into this part but this one particular scene ended up being longer than I’d expected it to be, so I decided to put it all into one part and I’ll just do the rest in another part. Especially because this particular scene is quite important to the relationship between Bucky and reader. Thank you once again for reading and do let me know your thoughts!

The plan had been simple. The four of you were going to head to Donya’s funeral and try and talk to Karli. Sam had spoken to Sharon – you’d been a little annoyed that you hadn’t been able to talk to her, though you’d pushed that to the side for now – and settled on a plan.

Not too long after your conversation with Bucky, you’d left Zemo’s apartment to head to the location of the funeral. And then you’d turned a corner and spotted the unmistakable suit of blue and red. The wannabe Captain America had found you.

“Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you guys to be pulling this shit!” Walker calls, heading down a flight of stairs at speed towards you. It’s the first time you’ve ever seen the man in person and honestly, you’re not phased by him. Even when you’d seen Steve Rogers on TV, it was obvious how different he was, how special. To you, John Walker seems like nothing more than someone trying to be something that they aren’t. It irritates you to see him in the suit.

Bucky rolls his eyes. “Ah! How’d you find us now?”

Despite the fact that there were several people on the street, attention hadn’t been on you before. Now that Captain America was here, and yelling at that, every single set of eyes was on you. You shrink a little at the attention, shoving your hands deep into the pockets of your coat and shuffling a little closer to Bucky and Sam.

Bucky notices and moves closer to you unintentionally.

Lemar chuckles. “Come on. You really think two Avengers can walk around Latvia without drawing attention?”

“We were certainly doing fine before now,” you mutter.

“No more keeping us in the dark,” Walker continues. “You could start by telling us why you broke him out of prison. And who the hell this new chick is and why she’s with you. Last I checked, she’s not an Avenger.”

Bucky stands a little taller. “He did that himself, technically. And she’s a friend, not a chick. That’s all you need to know about her.”

“Oh, this better be an unbelievable explanation!”

Sam steps up and holds a hand up to stop Walker as the two groups finally come together. “Hey, take it easy before it gets weird.”

Walker  looks pissed off. Honestly, you feel the same way.

“I know where Karli is,” Zemo steps up. He says the words, figures that they’re all he needs to get by and starts to go around Walker, intending to lead the way. Instead, Walker stops him.

“Well, where?”

“All we know is, it’s a memorial. So we’re gonna intercept her there.”

You look past Zemo and spot one of the children he’d been speaking to earlier watching you all anxiously. The sight of her makes you want to throw a punch Zemo’s way, and you hate that he made this innocent child trust him so easily. Bucky can sense the change in you. He nudges your shoulder with his and you snap to look at him. He doesn’t need to say anything for you to understand what he means.

“That means civilians. High risk of casualties,” Lemar adds.

“All right, good, we’ll move in fast. Take her by surprise.”

You roll your eyes. “Good? How is that good?”

Bucky snorts.

Sam ignores both of you. “No, I wanna talk to her alone.”

“I’m not losing her again,” Walker shakes his head.

“Look, the person closest to her died, she’s vulnerable. If there’s any time to reason with her, it’s now,” Sam argues.

The words strike a chord with Walker. He hurries ahead in front of all of you, forcing you to stop. “What? No. Wait, no! No! Stop. Hold on. Stop, okay? I think we’re way past reasoning with her, unless you forgot that she blew up a building with people still in it.”

Lemar agrees. “Sam, you walk in there cold, she could kill you.”

“And if I go in hot and the op goes wrong, more people will die.”

You step forward. “Then I’ll go in. Karli doesn’t know who the hell I am, and maybe it’d help – woman to woman, you know? And hey, if something goes wrong and I die, at least it’s not an Avenger dying at her hands. It’s just me.”

Bucky’s head snaps up at your words. Fear strangely spikes in his veins that you’d even suggest that and he shakes his head instantly. “No. No way are we sending you in there alone.”

“I mean, it’s not a bad idea,” Walker admits with a shrug of his shoulders. “Look at the alternative. You letting your partner walk into a room with a Super Soldier alone. Would you really let him do that?”

“He’s dealt with worse. And he’s not my partner.” He says straight-faced. “And she is not going in there either. It’s a damn bad idea and we all know it is.” He turns to you. “You included.”

Sam sighs and walks past the both of you so he’s face to face with Walker. “I used to counsel soldiers dealing with trauma, okay? This is right in my wheelhouse.”

“Yeah, I know. And I know those soldiers, which is why I know this is a bad idea. That’s why it’s a better idea to send the girl in there – like she said, it’s better her dying than an Avenger, right?”

You see Bucky take a step forward out of the corner of your eye and twist to stand in front of him before he can get to Walker, a hand going out in front of you and resting on his chest. You push him gently. “Don’t, Bucky.”

“You’re not going in there.”

He feels protective. He doesn’t know why, but Sam has an idea. He watches the two of you, sees something pass between you, and furrows his eyebrows. He hadn’t seen it coming, that’s for sure. Hadn’t seen you to be the one to bring out the ever protective side of Bucky Barnes that Sam really hasn’t seen in a long time. He hadn’t seen Bucky acting this way over anyone. And yet here you were, days after meeting him, making Bucky fear for your life on your behalf. Sam doesn’t know what to think.

Bucky lets out a long, shaky breath and then finally looks at you and meets your eyes, tearing his glare away from Walker. “You’re not going.”

“Okay, fine,” you relent, voice soft. “I won’t go in there.”

He steps back and nods, trying to calm himself down, and you step away from him, not wanting to crowd him too much after your apparently bad idea. You hadn’t expected him to react so much. In fact, you’d expected Sam to be all for the idea, and for Bucky to go along with it. Even if he was starting to trust you, his reaction to your suggestion had been entirely surprising. You stare down at the cobblestoned street beneath your feet and frown. What was he thinking? And why had he reacted that way?

“John,” Lemar starts, once he senses the tension has gone down a little. “If Sam can talk her down, it might be worth a try. And since we’ve just established that she’s not going in there…”

Walker and Sam share a look before Walker finally gives up. He looks over at Zemo. “We’ll deal with you later.”

“I’m sure it will all come to an agreeable conclusion. My associate is just up ahead.” Zemo points to the child and begins the walk towards her again.

You, unwillingly, follow him. Bucky makes sure he stays close to your side, as if he’s afraid that you’re going to run off and do something reckless. You doubt he’d let you get the chance.

A few minutes into the walk, he finally talks to you. But his voice is quiet. You’re walking at the back of the group and he doesn’t want anyone else to hear. “Why would you even suggest going in there to talk to Karli?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” You frown. “It seemed like the best idea.”

He shakes his head. “You dying is not a good idea.”

“What does it matter, anyway? I said it. I’m not an Avenger. It was a good idea. And I think it could have worked if you’d let me. No one would miss me.”

Bucky raises his eyebrows. “Yeah, I find that hard to believe.”

“No, it’s true!”

“What about Sharon, huh? She’d miss you.”

You kick at a loose stone on the road. “She hasn’t even spoken to me since I left.”

“What about me, then?”

His question takes you by surprise. “You?”

He nods. “Yeah, what about me?”

“You would miss me?” You could laugh. “Sure. You barely know me.”

Bucky feels weirdly irritated by your words. He knows you, he thinks. He knows that he likes you. That you understand him better than any stranger he’s met recently. He knows that you scare him a little bit. That your way of thinking, of reacting, of simply being sets him on edge and makes him feel right at home all at the same time. He clears his throat, tries to come up with an answer that isn’t conspicuous and settles on: “I think I know enough about you to know that I’d notice when you’re not here.”

“That’s not the same thing as missing, Bucky.”

He opens his mouth to reply just as Zemo announces that you’ve arrived and the two of you are forced to pause your conversation. The child leads you into the back entrance of an old building and then disappears. No one questions the location.

As soon as you’re inside, your conversation with Bucky is long forgotten and the mission takes first place. Sam goes off on his own, heading further in while Walker handcuffs Zemo and claims that Sam has ten minutes before you do this his way.

You sidle up to Bucky. “Can I punch him now, or do you want the honour?” You mutter, only loud enough for him to hear. He smirks at your words, though you can see he’s still obviously on edge by the whole situation.

And not just by the situation. Because of you, too. Though you don’t need to know that, Bucky thinks. That, he can just keep to himself.

After a few minutes of silence, Bucky heads towards the stairs that Sam had gone up and leans on the railing, as if guarding the entrance. You suppose he probably is, not wanting Walker to get past him, and decide to settle down on the steps themselves, adding another barrier between Walker, Sam and Karli despite the fact that you’re honestly probably not much of a barrier  compared to Bucky.

It doesn’t take long for Walker to get on your nerves. He’s clearly anxious about Sam wanting to simply reason with Karli instead of kill her on sight. He’s staring at the shield – the very shield that Bucky wants to steal – and you briefly wonder how he’s going to do it. Simply by the way Walker is holding it, you know he’s not going to give it up easily. He holds it tight, like it’s the most important thing in the world to him, and you feel like it probably is.

He starts pacing less than ten minutes after Sam leaves.

“Uh-uh. No, no, no. This is a bad idea,” he mumbles as he walks.

“It hasn’t been ten minutes, John. Just sit tight,” Bucky offers.

Walker speaks with venom in his voice. “Don’t do that. Don’t patronise me.”

“He knows what he’s doing.” Bucky is unaffected.

Tension rises in the air between all of you once again, as it always seems to do when Walker is around. It’s been a constant state of tension ever since he joined you.

He walks towards the end of the room, pauses for a moment, and then you can see the way his face changes. He hoists the shield higher, and then walks at speed towards you and Bucky. “I’m going in.”

Bucky stands up and stops him with a hand to his chest.

Walker, surprisingly, backs up. You think he��s going to listen to Bucky for just a moment before he looks up, staring at Bucky with a look you’ve only ever seen in a few people before, and never good people at that. You sit up straighter.

“This is all really easy for you, isn’t it?” He starts. “All that serum running through your veins. Barnes, your partner needs backup in there. Do you really want his blood on your hands?”

You can’t see the look on Bucky’s face, but you have a feeling you know how he’s looking at Walker. Slowly, you rise to your feet, placing a hand on Bucky’s shoulder.

“Back up, John,” you warn. “If Sam needed our help, we’d know.”

His eyes flicker to you. “Who do you think you are? I don’t even know you. What makes you think I’d listen to you?” He scoffs. “I’m John Walker. Captain America. You’re not an Avenger. You’re no one special, so I think you should be backing up.”

Bucky’s glare hardens. He narrows his eyes and takes a step towards Walker.

“Watch your mouth, John.”

Walker stares between the two of you for a few moments, and then before you know it, he slams the shield into your stomach, knocking you off to the side, and disappears up the stairs and into the building after Sam. You gasp for breath, the wind having been knocked right out of you.

“Asshole,” Bucky hisses, stepping towards you just as Lemar brushes past you.

You shake your head. “I’m fine, go after them.”

He looks worried. You’ve never seen him look at you this way before.

“Bucky, I’m fine. Go.”

He gives you a nod, promises to come back and then hurries out of the room after Walker and Lemar. He’s needed more there, anyway, and you both know it.

You rub a hand over your stomach as you try to breathe again properly.

“You okay?” Zemo calls over to you.

“Yeah, a shield to the stomach is nothing,” you roll your eyes.

It doesn’t take you too much longer to catch your breath, so when you do, you figure Zemo isn’t going anywhere and head out after Bucky, Walker and Lemar, even though you won’t be much – or any – help to them at all, but you can’t stay in that room with Zemo any longer, and truthfully, you’re worried.

Worried about Bucky, even worried about Sam. You don’t have any reason to be worried about them, and you know that, but you are. Bucky especially – he’s confusing you more than anyone has ever confused you in your entire life. You don’t know what to make of him, why he acts the way that he does around you. But whatever the reason is, you want to find out.

***

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#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes imagine #tfatws #tfatws x reader #marvel #marvel x reader #spider

[monkeysatemylastrolo]

The Siberia Fight- what happens?

Literally what it says on the tin. I was talking with a friend (who has seen the Marvel films but isn’t particularly invested in any on the characters) earlier essentialy about whether or not Tony was trying to seriously harm Bucky or Steve during the Siberia fight (didn’t go so far as to discuss the intent- or lack thereof- to kill). As neither of us had actually seen the clip for a while, we both decided that, rather than relying on gifs we have seen or on fics we have read- both of which could potentially have skewed our memories- the best thing to do would be to simply watch the fight on youtube. And... well... I decided (as it’ll be useful in the future to have something to refer to for a fic I’m working on) to basically take notes while I watch. Which... is how this happened.

(Full disclosure: I am a fan of Tony but, as this is pretty much just a description of what happens on screen, that shouldn’t impact any of what you read. I literally just wanted to make sure I wasn’t letting bias unduly influence my opinion of any of the characters and/or their actions)

So yeah. Read away (I have included some timings so you know roughly where in each video certain things happen). And feel free to come to your own conclusions. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbHa_n33zoo

Captain America: Civil War - Final Fight Scene (Part One | 1080p) 

(Four minutes three seconds long- switches to Zemo on roof at 3:53)

 ___

Tony backhands Steve- sends him flying.

Bucky aims his gun (hard to tell precisely where- held at around shoulder level- could be head or chest area). Tony shoots it away then grabs Bucky’s arm. Holds Bucky by neck, flies across room and pins his metal arm to the ground. Steve’s shield knocks away the repulsor which seemed to be powering up? (Hard to tell exactly where it was aiming- could be his face or where the arm is connected.) Steve catches the shield and hits Tony, who lands on his knees and is up in an instant. Flies at Steve and knocks him down, then cuffs his feet. Bucky punches Tony on the chin. Tony grabs him again, flies him backwards and slams him into a metal strut/wall. Begins to power up the repulsor (likely aiming at Bucky’s head?), but Bucky grabs it and squeezes, breaking the repulsor. Tony then aims a missile, which Bucky re-directs to some machinery. (Approx. 30 secs)

Steve breaks the cuffs and leaps/runs past said machinery as it collapses. The collapse separates the three of them. Steve tells Bucky to “get outta here,” and Bucky starts to run. Tony runs- fires a repulsor shot at him just as Bucky escapes around the corner- misses. Steve leaps in the way of the exit Bucky used. Bucky starts to open the skylight. (Approx. 1 min)

Steve tells Tony “It wasn’t him, Tony- HYDRA had control of his mind.”

Tony (angry face) tells Steve to “Move!” and tries to fly past. Steve grabs his left foot (“It wasn’t him!”) and bashes in the repulsor, forcing Tony to land. Tony uses a laser to collapse part of the ceiling and attempt to block Steve from following. Tries to fly after Bucky with the compromised boot. Has to land once on a lower platform thing (mutters “crap”). Kicks at Bucky, who lands on another platform.

Tony fires a repulsor at Bucky. Steve appears and deflects it back, hitting Tony’s helmet. (Approx. 1:30) Tony falls to a lower platform.

Steve helps Bucky up (“He’s not gonna stop. Go.”) while Tony is still lying down. Bucky starts to climb again. Steve puts his shield on his back and fires a wire, hooking it around Tony’s neck, and jumps down the shaft, dragging Tony with him. Tony hits two platforms on the way down, and he and Steve both land on separate ones.

Bucky is nearly to the top. Tony aims at him with one hand, then looks down in time to knock away Steve’s shield. Targeting system of missile isn’t working, but seems to be attempting to lock onto Bucky (or possibly something just beyond him). (Approx. 2:00) (“I’m eye-balling it.”) Tony shoots the hatch, forcing it closed and trapping Bucky. Grim satisfaction(?) as the faceplate closes. Flies up. Bucky hits him with a metal pipe. Tony takes it away and gets Bucky in a headlock. (“Do you even remember?” “I remember all of them.”) Launches backwards off the top platform, pulling Bucky with him. Steve jumps into them part way down. Bucky lands on a platform, winded, (Approx. 2:30) while Tony and Steve crash to the bottom and roll.

Tony and Steve stand, Tony on the higher ground. (“This isn’t gonna change what happened.” “I don’t care. He killed my mum.”) Tony flies at Steve and punches him. They begin a fistfight. Steve jumps on Tony’s back and gets him in a headlock. Tony fires a repulsor shot at the ground, (Approx. 3:00) knocking them both back enough that Steve falls off. Tony kneels over him aims a punch at his head(? Probably?), but Steve dodges and it hits the concrete.

Tony is punching Steve. Bucky grabs the shield and launches himself, hitting Tony in the back. Tony rolls and fires a repulsor shot, which Bucky deflects upwards.

Bucky throws the shield to Steve as Tony goes to punch Bucky, but Bucky turns it around so Tony is on the defensive with Steve and Bucky attacking near-simultaneously (Tony first on one knee, then the other.) Tony fires a repulsor shot at Steve’s stomach, knocking him back. Tony and Bucky fistfight. During the fight, Tony shoots an orange beam (laser?) from his left hand, which Bucky deflects. The beam causes no damage to the surroundings.

Bucky punches Tony so that he’s against a wall, then pins his head back and sideways and tries to pull out (or crush?) the arc reactor (Steve is beginning to get up) with his metal arm. (Approx. 3:30)

The arc reactor fires (don’t see Tony’s face, but he is struggling- impossible to tell 100% whether the shot is malicious, an instinctive reaction from the reactor previous being in Tony’s chest, or some sort of built in protocol. Likely closest to the second option.) Bucky’s metal arm is blasted off, knocking him away. Tony fires a repulsor blast at his back, knocking him down.

Steve runs at Tony, shield up, while Tony fires two quick blasts, then one continuous (both hands) when Steve gets closer- all directly at the shield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR6MAgIXp6o

Captain America: Civil War - Final Fight Scene (Part Two | 1080p)

(Four minutes 56 seconds)

 ___

First two minutes, twelve seconds are Zemo and T’Challa, but shows footage (Approx. 1:20-1:26) of Steve punching Tony against a wall while Bucky lies in the foreground. Steve is hitting Tony’s helmet and shoulder with his shield- flat for the helmet, edge for the shoulder.

From 2:12: Steve continuing to hit Tony (FRIDAY: “You can’t beat him hand to hand!”), alternating between using his shield and his left hand. Pins Tony back with the shield (edge under his chin) for a moment while punching, then hits again with the shield.

(“Analyse his fight pattern.” “Scanning… Countermeasures ready.”)-> During this exchange, we see from Tony’s POV- shield, fist, angry eyes.

Tony stops the shield with his right hand (“Let’s kick his ass.”). Uses a repulsor from below to shoot the shield away. (Approx. 2:30) Momentarily grabs Steve’s hand, then fires a repulsor shot, sending Steve flying backwards. Flies forward. Tony and Steve punch a couple of times, then a repulsor to the stomach sends Steve to his knees (in front of Bucky), Tony standing in front of him. (“He’s my friend.” “…So was I.”)

Tony punches Steve twice, so Steve is on all fours, then tosses him away. (“Stay down. Final warning.”)

(Approx. 3:00) Steve (blood on left cheekbone and right corner of his mouth) stands and puts up his fists. (“I could do this all day.”)

Tony aims a repulsor. Bucky grabs his ankle. Tony looks down and kick him off. Steve takes the opportunity to come forward, picking Tony up over his head. When the boot’s repulsors start to flare, Steve chucks Tony to the ground.

Steve sits on Tony’s chest. Punches the helmet (hard) three times, then picks up the shield, holding it over his head. Tony raises his arms defensively. Steve hits Tony’s helmet with the edge of the shield, knocking it off. (Tony has blood mostly on the left side of his forehead and from his nose. Maybe also his lip.)

Steve raises the shield again. Tony covers his face. Steve slams the shield into the arc reactor (Tony looks terrified), then leans against it (Approx. 3:30), breathing heavily (exhausted?). They stare at each other, then Steve closes his eyes for a few seconds. Opens them again and slides off of Tony, leaving the shield in his chest plate.

Steve stands and yanks the shield out, putting it back on his arm. (Approx. 4:00) Goes over and helps Bucky up (Bucky looks dazed and also has blood on his face- hard to tell exact source. Some on left side, some on right cheek, a little on his nose (and some on his forehead which likely landed there from separate hits)).

Tony props himself up on his arms (“That shield doesn’t belong to you. You don’t deserve it. My father made that shield!”) as Steve starts to take his first steps with Bucky. Steve stops, takes a breath, and drops it, (Approx. 4:30) then walks away with Bucky.

Tony spits something (possibly blood?) onto the ground, then gets into a kneeling position for a few seconds before sitting back down.

 End

#MCU #Civil War #Tony Stark #Iron Man #Bucky Barnes #The Winter Soldier #Steve Rogers #Captain America #Personally I lean towards the 'Tony was trying to hurt Bucky but not necessarily kill him' side of the debate #I also think that the whole thing would have ended with Tony stopping the fight and taking them into custody #Were it not for 'I could do this all day' and what happens after that #If Steve had stayed down I think it would have ended there #Tony had calmed down enough by that point that he was no longer being driven by pure rage #Other people may see it differently #But this post is about as unbiased as I could possibly make it #Do with it as you will

[tonystarktogo]

Sooooo. If @ifdragonscouldtalk and @thecitylightshow are to be believed my last headcanon was very angsty. Which is funny because that was supposed to be the fluffy part of the ‘verse. So. Let me introduce you to Civil War: The Futures Passed Version.

(Yes, there be angst. I’m serious, this particular loop doesn’t have a happy ending. Also I haven’t worked it all out so a lot of the details will be glossed over.)

Imagine Tony waking up maybe eight years in the past, right before he first encounters the Avengers. And it’s okay, this is great actually, it worked and he’s got so much time to save Steve’s life now and this is Good. Except Tony forgot how they started out. Tony forgot what they used to be--five messed-up people who didn’t trust themselves nor each other and it’s. It’s hard.

It’s hard to face Phil whom he mourned at least four times, only for the bastard to pop up alive at an opportune moment. It’s hard to watch Natasha’s--he’d forgotten how much he missed her, forgotten how much losing her had hurt--badly hidden derision when she looks at him.

Meeting Steve, the man he’s spent the past year and a half mourning, his best friend, who bled out in Tony’s arms, exchanging the same callous words--it’s devastating.

It was the first time too, in a way, but back then Steve was the personification of his daddy issues, not--well.

And somehow, even though Tony isn’t trying to change anything yet, knows they’ll survive the alien invasion, he does. He can’t control it. Can’t stop looking at these people who have been his family for more than half a decade, yet look at him like he’s a stranger. He keeps slipping, keeps being caught on the wrong foot, keeps saying the wrong things. 

The jokes the Steve he knows would’ve laughed about, but this one doesn’t. The bickering Clint would’ve gladly joined in but this one doesn’t. The comments that cause Natasha to glower, the amused twitch around her lips missing. The touches and gestures that come so naturally to Tony but Bruce flinches away from as though struck. Meeting Thor hurts the least, perhaps because Tony didn’t lose him, perhaps because Thor is too occupied with his brother’s drama to pay them much attention of any kind.

Rationally Tony knows that these aren’t the same people he left in the future but that doesn’t soothe the sting.

And it doesn’t--doesn’t get better.

The easy camaraderie Tony remembers so clearly doesn’t come. He tries, he tries so fucking hard, but all he seems to do is push them further away. So he stops pushing, stops reaching out, except that doesn’t bring them closer and Tony. Tony doesn’t know what to with this. With these people he knows, he loves, but apparently not enough to know how to move past this.

He tries to accept it. Tells himself that maybe they will never be the team he remembers, maybe that’s a sacrifice he’ll have to make, but at least they’re still a team when disaster strikes. At least Steve is still alive, will undoubtedly find Bucky soon--Tony’s been looking but HYDRA is smart and so far he hasn’t found a single trail to the Winter Soldier’s location--and Tony is gonna keep him that way.

Maybe they won’t be friends like they used to be, but Steve is alive, and Bucky is alive, and they’ll save Bucky again, and it will be alright. It’ll be worth it.

Project Insight happens then, catastrophe after catastrophe, and is over before Tony even realises it. Realises how much he’s miscalculated, how much he’s still relying on bonds that have never been formed. It had never occurred to him that Steve wouldn’t call him at all.

It’s fine. He tries to help from the shadows instead, keeps JARVIS on the lookout, and it turns out to be a good thing, maybe, no matter how much it hurts. Because the one time he gets involved personally again, he almost destroys the world. Ultron should have been the solution he’d been looking for, a last resort to ensure Steve’s survival--not that Tony could tell him that, could he, not that Steve would understand that his nightmare had been made of memories. 

Instead Ultron tries to destroy them and Tony loses JARVIS and Wanda loses her brother. Wanda who had almost ruined Bucky once, in a future no one but Tony remembers--Wanda who had despised him, Wanda who had understood, in the end, when it had been too late already--is welcomed with open arms into a team that remained out of Tony’s reach and.

He’s glad he doesn’t have to stick around and witness it. Or so he tells himself.

He codes FRIDAY in JARVIS’ place, works on the politicians who more and more call for stricter regulations. Dreams of better times, of lips pressed against his nape when he wakes up, of arms around his shoulders and friendly smiles.

Most of the time though, he dreams of blood.

It takes FRIDAY almost ten minutes longer than it did JARVIS to calm him down.

And somehow. Tony doesn’t know what he did wrong. Where he went wrong. But it doesn’t. It doesn’t get better. He’s trapped on a slippery slope that keeps pulling him down and down and down.

He should be working harder, doing more but it’s. It’s hard to get out of bed sometimes. Hard to remember what’s real and what’s not. What used to be real and what not. Hard to face the world when he’s sober.

Hard.

The Accords shouldn’t have surprised Tony--don’t, really, except he should have stopped them, shouldn’t he, had plenty of opportunity he wasted wallowing, and Tony doesn’t remember if loathing always tasted like Steve’s blood on his lips but it probably doesn’t matter.

James still isn’t here, is what Tony remembers thinking the clearest during that meeting with his not-team, he’s supposed to be here by now.

At this point the thought is a dull pain instead of the piercing agony it used to be, because at some point. At some point Tony gave up on that future. Gave up on his future. It’s Steve’s survival that matters, was always about him, wasn’t it, and even that thread loses its meaning with every passing day.

In another show of his own damn arrogance and blinded idiocy, Tony assumes that it can’t get worse. It can’t.

Turns out nothing in the past two years of horrors has prepared him for fighting James. Not the Winter Soldier--he’d used to do that a lot, back in the beginning--but James. James and Steve and half the team that used to be his but never was.

And it’s only when they’re standing in that damned, abandoned bunker in Siberia that Tony realises the irony of it all. Only when he faces off against two super soldiers that used to be the most important people in his world, used to be his world period, that he remembers that day, remembers Steve screaming that he’d rather die than chose between his two closest friends, remembers Bucky’s (in that moment he had been Bucky, in that moment Bucky died) scream. Maybe it was always meant to be like this, maybe not choosing was always gonna tear Steve apart, maybe choosing was always gonna kill one of them.

Tony is almost glad he won’t have to live with the knowledge for long.

But then he sees the tape. And he doesn’t see Zemo’s satisfied smile. Doesn’t see the Winter Soldier murdering his parents. He sees James, shaken after another endless night filled with screaming, refusing to let him close. He sees himself offering to talk about it, again and again, only to be rebuffed.

And Tony doesn’t want to believe it. Doesn’t want to believe that all this time, all those years, James knew and Steve knew and they kept it from him. So he asks.

“Yes.” A single word that causes every belief Tony held about his friendship with Steve, the one that used to be at least, to crumble.

“I remember all of them.” A single sentence that renders everything Tony trusted and held dear meaningless.

They leave him there in the end. And Tony hates them. Hates them for betraying him. Hates them for ruining the one thing he’d always thought they couldn’t touch. Hates them, because even now, the only thought that keeps echoing in his head is, at least they’re alive.

He doesn’t try to fight the cold when it lures him to sleep. Eagerly sinks into the darkness.

Grateful. To be done.

But the Loop, once initiated, can not be so easily broken.

(Perhaps the worst part is that Bucky is lying in this ‘verse. He doesn’t remember killing the Starks, never did.)

Yeah I did it. Not sure it’s really worse than CW or if this even makes any sense since it’s mostly just single scenes in my head that I tried to string together but whatever.

#ReRe writes #futures passed 'verse #i'm not even sure if all of this makes any sense #angst #all hurt no comfort #Tony Stark #Steve Rogers #Bucky Barnes #Alternate Civil War #Not a Fix It #Everything goes wrong #major character death #sad #dark #no happy ending #(it's not the final ending though that's something right?) #ReRe makes CW worse than it already was #at least I consider it worse? Idk what you guys think #hurt Tony #emotional hurt #betrayal #misunderstanding #lies #headcanon #fic #fic plot

[flicksnfilms]

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment - the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.

Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Writer: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (screenplay), Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (Marvel comics), Jim Starlin, George Pérez, Ron Lim (comic book story) Cast: fucking everybody IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Official Site

Watched: on 25 April, at the IMAX cinema, and 28 April, and 01 May

Reaction: ± Thanos demands my silence. I will say that i wasn’t half as prepared as i though i was. I'll edit this in like a week with my actual reaction since i assume by then it'll be far enough down any follower's (who hasn't watched - IN A WHOLE WEEK AFTER RELEASE!) dashboard to not be seen unless you're looking specifically at this blog.

Memorable aspect of the movie: + So many things. (Soon.)

Would I recommend it? > Fuck. Yes.

[EDIT:] So, reaction. After more than a month because i haven’t been on in a while, and under the cut because it’s hella long (like, super fucking long) and rambling in my geeky joy. :D It’s in 3 parts, from the three times i watched it.

[Take 1] ± It was an EXCELLENT, WELL BALANCED FILM. They have the Marvel Cinematic Universe formula down pat of comedy and drama, action and reaction. It’s so perfect and fun to watch. They were able to give the gigantic cast fairly equal screen time as well as balancing the personalities on screen. [See bonus content at the very end.]. That they split up the teams and threw them with other franchises was a great choice for both balance and dynamic. The visuals -- cinematography, CGI, costume, make up, set design --, as always, are a feast, with the coloration of the film striking a balance between all the different tones from each individual franchise. 

[Take 2] Memorable [aspect] moments of the movie: + D:  “I am Loki, Prince of Asgard... Odinson.” + XD “I’ll get you a metaphysical ham on rye.” + Doctor Strange and Tony’s interactions. It was interesting repartee and good chemistry. + Stark-raving Hazelnut and Hunka-Hulk-a Burning Love. I need to try these flavours, and also i need to know the flavours for every other Avenger. + <3 Tony brings the stupid flip phone around with him! AND there’s a message!! + XD “Squidward” + XD “Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of the wizards.” + XD Bruce trying to beat Hulk out.  + “Wong, you’re invited to my wedding.” + XD The singing. Mean faces. “Language. ... Ever since you got a little sap.” OMG. You GOT a little sap. Oh, puberty. “ XD “He is not a dude. You are a dude. He is a man. A handsome, muscular man.” “It’s like a pirate made a baby with an angel.” “God man.” + XD Mantis’s attack form. + XD Quill’s jealousy and mimicking. + “All words are made up words.” Well, that’s actually a good point. + “Is there a 4 digit code? A birthday perhaps” Thor’s really gotten into Midgard culture eh? (Which is a good carry over from Thor: Ragnarok.) + XD Rabbit. Tree. Morons. Ah, Thor’s nicknames. It’s fun, cause he doesn’t mean them maliciously and he says them with such regal diction that they feel kind of acceptable as nicknames. + The intro sequences for the rogue Avengers. STEVE!!! <3 And Sam! And Nat!! The whole fight sequence too! + D:  “Where to, Cap?” “Home.” !!! (ESPECIALLY IF YOU REWATCH AGE OF ULTRON AND SEE HOW STEVE REACTS TO SAM SAYING “Home is home,” AT THE PARTY. TT_TT )  + “The kid watches more movies.” Well, that’s a good enough strategy. + “WHAT ARE THOSE??” The two teenagers use the same (meme) phrasing. + “Doctor. Do you concur?” + <3 “I’m not looking for forgiveness. And I’m way past asking permission. Earth just lost its best defender, so we’re here to fight. If you want to stand in our way, we’ll fight you too.” ICONIC. STEVEN FUCKING ROGERS, EVERYONE. + <3 The reunion greetings with Rhodey.” + XD “This is awkward.” + XD “It was an elective.” I NEED TO KNOW WHAT OTHER ELECTIVES THEY OFFERED ON ASGARD, PLEASE. + “I am Groot?” Evidently translates to: Are we there yet? The question of all kids in travelling vehicles everywhere. + D:  “What more do I have to lose?”  + Giant Peter Dinklage. So weird. + D:  Quill and Gamora. + Quill actually got Thanos’s approval. So like, thanks, dad? Hahaha. + “We don’t trade lives.”  + Nebula. What a badass. + XD “Blanket of death” + XD “Where is Gamora?” “Who is Gamora?” “Why is Gamora?” + “You’re from Earth?” “I’m from Missouri.” “Missouri is on Earth, dumbass.” + XD “Kick names. Take ass.” + Tony’s face. He’s so done with everyone. + Rhodey & Bruce. Ahh, what are friends for. XD + Steve & Bucky. Both of you are “hundred year old, semi-stable soldier”s. + Shuri! Wakanda! Man, i love this place. It’s great. + D:  Gamora!! + “Get out of the way, Sammy.” SAMMY! + Thor jumping onto and then sitting on the pod. What a cutie. + “It’ll kill you.” “Not if I don’t die.” “Yes, that’s what killing you means.” + XD “Magic! More magic! Magic with a kick!” + Bucky & Rocket + “New haircut?” “I see you’ve copied my beard.” This is SO MUCH better knowing they ad-libbed it.  + “This is my friend, Tree.” “I am Groot.” “I am Steve Rogers.” Of fucking course. Such a polite cutie pie, this guy. + XD Okoye’s reactions, and the “Why was she up there all this time?” + “She’s not alone.” FUCK YEAH. LET’S GO LADIES!! + “Oh, screw you, you big green asshole. I’ll do it myself.” Banner is super funny, situationally in this film. + “Tony Stark.” “You know me?” Hell yeah, you deserve to be acknowledged all over the universe, Tony. + The power of Doctor Strange and the mystic arts. SO COOL.  + Tony ran out of nanoparticles! O_o + D:  Wanda & Vision + “Steve?” TT___TT D: Bucky! Sam! My King! “Steady, Quill.” “I don’t wanna go!” TT__TT FEELS.

[Take 3] ± The familial hits get me more than the romantic ones. My reactions per viewing gave me three different experiences; It was personal, then intellectual, them empathic, in that order, for me. There are some moments i paid particular attention to, for a few characters:

Loki gets to come full circle with the “We have a Hulk,” line along with his redemption arc continuing on in from Thor: Ragnarok. Thor is an odd amalgamation of Shakespearean proper and slangy modern. “A little bit.” “So cool.” “I bid thee farewell and good luck, morons.” “Bye.”

The interplay between Tony and Strange. Excellent. It’s a real battle of egos at the beginning which turns to a mutual respect. Tony is a true leader. He intuits other people’s emotional reactions and attempts to keep them in line long enough to complete the goal.

A lot of shots in the Avengers compound are just Steve’s reactions. What bearing will this have? How does he feel about the cost?? Are they showing how tired he is from paying for his decisions?

The kid’s all heart. The first thing Peter does, once their plan goes awry, is try to save everyone even if he can’t remember their names. Okoye is a warrior to the core. She refuses to attach even these fuckers from behind. Bruce is such a goof and it shows now that he can’t disappear mid-scene. “Oh, you guys are so screwed!” And all the talking-to he gives Hulk.

Thanos’s voice really goes soft for Gamora, as a child, and the “I’m sorry, daughter.” “Tony Stark. ... You have my respect. I will wipe out half of humanity. I hope they remember you.” That’s amazing. The cost, the deterioration, is up to his arm and his neck. That’s an interesting detail which kind of implies that the Infinity Gauntlet (in the MCU at least) can only be used for something of this scale a few, if not only one, times.

I love that Marvel is really invested in antagonists that aren’t villains purely for the sake of being evil, but are fleshed out beings with emotions and purpose and passion, even if their goals are morally misguided. They have complex backstories and three dimensional personalities. Their goals are logical and intelligent, if a little beyond what’s reasonable. Their thought processes within the realm of imagination but a step too far for civilians and heroes.

The ending of this film is superb. I’ve seen many a peer say they think it’s too short or unresolved but i think they fail to appreciate the story. That sometimes the “good guys” don’t or can’t win (for now). That there are outcomes we’d rather not fathom and costs we’d rather not pay. But they happen. And the MCU gets this. That things happen and there’s a balance to it. There’s collateral and there’s gains and losses. And not just for the protagonist. (But for every character.)

Thanos achieved his goal, but at great personal cost. He won but lost all at once. Likewise, Killmonger achieved some of his goals but failed at others, died but did it with dignity in his eyes; Hela brought was released from her bonds and gained power but didn’t wind up ruling Asgard as it was swallowed by Ragnarok; Zemo sowed discord and ripped the Avengers apart from the inside, but was prevented from shooting himself and joining his family. 

[BONUS:] In some of my movie reviews i talk about the characters and their stories in relation to Joseph Campbell’s Heroic Monomyth. And, i dunno, i suppose it my complete emotional roller coaster watching this film along with all the geek out moments, i completely missed its inclusion in this, given that the beginning of the monomyth takes place before the beginning of this film. I was delighted to find it pointed out to me in this post by The Screen Junkies - The Dailies Facebook. It’s a really good breakdown of the way the writers (maybe intentionally) incorporated the Heroic Monomyth in Infinity War despite it featuring like 7000 characters and all of Hollywood. :)

#films i watched in 2018