#the universes in which steve is self-sacrificing are never ending

[loveinhawkins]

Part 1

Steve had thought he already knew what delirium meant—remembers laughing hysterically in a Russian bunker with little say as to what bullshit came streaming out of his mouth.

But this is different. At least back then, the haze of the drugs made the pain temporarily float away, let him drift off into some form of blissful ignorance.

Now he feels it all. He’s hyperaware, can pinpoint each and every source of agony lancing through him; can even pick out the fact that the cut on his hand still throbs, the tar-like mud of The Upside Down stuck under his fingernails.

Sometime after he had fallen, the bats stopped coming. He doesn’t know why. Maybe they’ve had their fill. Maybe there’s nothing more of him left to take.

Sound comes to him as if filtered through a megaphone, loud and echoing. He hears a series of swears, yelling. Panting. The crash of a bicycle being thrown to the ground.

Eddie.

The words come pouring out, quicker even than the blood leaving him, a desperate chanting.

“Dustin, Dustin, Dustin—”

“He’s okay,” Eddie says. His face comes into view, pale and drawn, slick with sweat. No blood though, Steve thinks. No blood on him. That’s good. “He’s okay, you hear me? I didn’t leave him alone; the girls, they’ve—they’ve got him. Hey. Hey, Harrington, eyes on me. Dustin—he’s gonna be all right, man, I stopped the bleeding.”

“Good,” Steve gets out. I knew you could, I knew you could, you’re fucking incredible. “S’good. Hey, Eddie, he’s—think he’s gonna be really upset, ‘kay?”

“What do you—”

“But he has you,” Steve says. He hates the fact that his voice is slurring. If he can’t speak, how else is Eddie supposed to know that… “He has—you’ll help him, right? You can… play D&D, an’…”

Eddie’s laugh splits through the air. It sounds something like grief.

“Harrington, that’s the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.”

“No, it’s not,” Steve insists. There’s blood in his mouth, in his throat; he tries to swallow without choking, to talk around it. “It’s—you make him happy, Eddie. Don’t you know? You make him s-so damn happy.”

“Shut up.”

Eddie’s breathing has an odd, thick sound to it, and Steve realises with a distant wonder that he’s crying. Crying over him. What a strange thing…

A series of sharp claps cut through everything; Steve blinks, can’t remember his eyes closing to begin with.

Eddie’s face is suddenly very close. His lips are shaking.

“Wake up. Now you’re gonna fucking listen to me, Steve Harrington. We didn’t go through all of this fucking bullshit, just for it to end here, you understand? I said, do you understand?”

“Are you mad at me?” Steve breathes. A far-off part of him insists that this is such a silly thing to ask, but he can’t help it. Everything hurts, and he has a sudden, awful burst of clarity: that he doesn’t want to die thinking that Eddie hates him. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

Eddie’s face crumples. “No, Steve,” he says haltingly, like he’s trying so hard to keep his voice from breaking. “I’m not mad at you. J-just. Scared.”

And then for a terrible moment, Eddie disappears. Steve tries to turn his head to search for him, but he can’t—

The sound of someone retching.

Oh, Steve thinks. Oh, it’s because of me.

“H-hey. Hey, Eddie, it’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t look.”

He hears Eddie spit harshly.

“Jesus Christ, stop talking, Harrington.”

And then Eddie is right there again, his hands just hovering, not touching.

“Steve,” he whispers, but Steve gets the feeling that he isn’t actually talking to him, not really. “God, I don’t—don’t know what to do.”

“You’re back,” Steve says, almost dream-like, and when Eddie laughs, this time it’s a pretty sound.

“Yeah, I’m back. Like a bad penny.”

“No,” Steve murmurs, feels like he’s floating somewhere—feels perhaps that he shouldn’t be, but he can’t help it. “You’re beautiful.” Eddie’s eyes soften, and that probably should be a nice sight, Steve thinks, except for the fact that, for some reason, Eddie also looks like his heart is breaking.

There’s something soft being wrapped tightly around his hand, and it stings, but that’s okay, because when Steve glances down, he can discern just enough to see that it’s Eddie’s bandana.

And it’s a nice thought, that he can still feel this. Can still feel something of Eddie’s trying to heal him.

“Right, big guy, up and at ‘em.” Eddie’s hand in his, the clack clack clack of the metal rings.

Oh, he’s shaking, Steve thinks.

Then he realises what Eddie’s planning to do.

“Eddie, m’sorry, can’t—can’t walk, jus’—”

“Shut up,” Eddie says again. “I’m gonna carry you.”

“But that’s—s’too much. M’too heavy.”

“No,” Eddie says simply. “C’mon, on three.”

But Eddie’s a liar and moves him on two. That’s all right, Steve thinks. He knows that kind of trick, knows that Eddie’s pulling out all the stops for him.

Doesn’t stop him from screaming, though.

“God,” Eddie whispers, and Steve already knows this isn’t for him to hear, but he can’t shut it out. “Fuck, I think I’m killing you.”

You couldn’t, Steve wants to say. Wants to tell Eddie not to worry. You couldn’t ever hurt me.

But he can’t stop screaming.

“S’too much,” he moans.

“No, come on,” Eddie says. He’s straining, still walking. Not giving up. “Hey, Steve, just a few more steps. We’re almost home.”

Oh, you liar, Steve thinks. Wants to smile. Wants to cry. You beautiful, beautiful liar.

“S’too much,” he says again, and he hopes Eddie gets what he means, this time. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh my god,” Eddie says, and there’s a whine in there that hurts—like Eddie’s crying again. “Steve, don’t—hey, just keep talking to me. Don’t—please.”

Another step. Eddie tugs, pulls him closer and—

Steve gasps, feels a tear, right through the centre of him, through all of him, hears a dreadful scream—

And then nothing at all.

#goddamn i knew this would happen lol 3 parts then??? #the universes in which steve is self-sacrificing are never ending #steddie #steddie fic #steddie ficlet #steve x eddie #steve harrington #eddie munson

[doctorhelena]

I can't believe it's canon that Steve becomes an obsessive workaholic with no self-preservation instinct in every universe where he's separated from Peggy or loses her. Scratch that, I CAN believe it's canon, I'm just deeply concerned for Steve and his 'my wiwwwfie wife is running an espionage agency/saving the world/went through a wormhole and i miss her' work ethic

Good news, I don't think you have to be worried! I'm pretty sure your first instinct, not to believe it's canon, was in fact correct.

Let's examine the Steves we've seen thus far. We have:

1) MCU Steve. Who yes, lost Peggy (twice, once when he was frozen, and once when she died of old age). But, I don't think we can say that his self-sacrificing streak and his not feeling like he can stop working comes from not having Peggy.

a) His self-sacrificing streak showed up well before he even met Peggy in CA:TFA. He was always picking fights he couldn't win, risking serious injury for people he didn't even know (eg. the fight he got into in the alley after telling that guy to shut up at the movies during the newsreel), and he risked jail time by applying to the army using false information, multiple times (after being previously rejected for being medically unfit) because, despite having a ridiculous number of medical reasons why he shouldn't, he wanted to go do his part to fight in Europe against the Nazis.

b) He hadn't only lost Peggy when he woke up nearly 70 years in the future. He'd lost everybody. Almost everybody he'd ever known and loved, every friend, every casual acquaintance, everyone he looked up to, everyone he disliked, EVERYONE. And the very few who were still there (including Peggy) were very old, and maybe, like Peggy, not completely there. The world was very, very different. He'd lost his cultural touchstones. He'd lost his sense of how he fit into the world. He was, quite literally, a man out of time. (And yeah, maybe he could have adjusted better to his new circumstances, but Steve is a very stoic guy, who is the type of person to tell himself that he's not doing so bad, that others have it worse, that he doesn't need help. That he can figure this out on his own, and if he can't, then he might as well keep helping others. And how many other WWII veterans were never quite the same again after the war? Were haunted by their experiences and who found that the world they came back to, their family and friends, had changed too, over the time they were away?) When Steve went back to 1949 at the end of Endgame, he wasn't only going back to Peggy (although of course, yes, he was going back to her), he was going back to an entire world that he'd lost.

2) Hydra Stomper Steve. Yeah, this Steve dealt with the loss of Peggy by teaming up with Bucky to try to wipe out the rest of Hydra. But - so did Bucky. Bucky was with him the whole time, they both put their lives on hold to fight Hydra. And after eliminating the last known Hydra base (the mission on which they believed Steve had died), Bucky moved on, got married, had kids, became Secretary of State (all of which we know happened after Steve was captured, because Steve didn't know that Bucky had settled down until Peggy told him in the What If S2 Winter Soldier episode). But, despite what Steve told Peggy in that episode (that he didn't see much point in "a wife, kids, the whole white picket fence life" if it wasn't with her), we don't know what he would have ended up doing after wiping out Hydra. We, and he, never had the chance to find out.

3) Rogers Hood. Yeah, this Steve was drawn to Captain Carter, another universe's version of his lost Lady Margaret, and she was drawn to him. But I wouldn't say that, before Peggy showed up, he was "an obsessive workaholic with no self-preservation instinct" in this universe. He actually seemed to be having a pretty good time stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, living in a cool treehouse village with his buddies/band of merry men. I guess you can say he lived on the job, but - would you call Robin Hood an "obsessive workaholic"? I wouldn't.

4) Zombie Steve. No real data here. We have no idea what his personality was like before he was zombified (we only know that he was a member of the Avengers).

5) Steve Dressed as Christmas Elf. This guy was a very cheerful version of Steve. Yeah, he looked a little concerned about the soccer moms cornering him, and unknown to him he was about to get socks for Christmas from Tony, but he was really excited that he'd correctly identified Happy Hogan in purple monster form! I don't think there's any real evidence that this particular universe's Steve is "an obsessive workaholic with no self-preservation instinct".

6) President Steve! No real data here either. Okay, I guess leaders of countries are usually workaholics to some degree (well, they are if they take the job seriously, anyway), but we don't know whether this particular Steve has Peggy or not, nor anything about him, really.

7) Steve who was unfrozen by Fury after Hank Pym killed most of the other Avengers (and then who Natasha from the Ultron universe ended up fighting alongside after the Watcher didn't send her back to her own universe at the end of S1). No real data here either: we don't know much about this Steve except that he was fighting on a helicarrier at one point in his life.

In conclusion, I don't see evidence that it's canon in any universe we've seen so far that it's Peggy's absence alone that makes Steve into "an obsessive workaholic with no self-preservation instinct".

And I also don't see evidence that it's canon that Steve is "an obsessive workaholic with no self-preservation instinct" in every universe where he's not with Peggy, either.

It turns out that Steve Rogers is an independent, complicated, three dimensional character whose sense of self-preservation and ability to enjoy life are not, in fact, solely based on whether or not he's with Peggy.

Steve chooses Peggy in many of the universes we've seen him in. But it's a big multiverse. If you would rather see him be happy with someone else, I'm sure it happens! And if you do like him with Peggy, then that happens a lot too, over and over again.

Peggy and Steve love each other. They miss each other when they're apart. But they don't need each other in order to be whole people. (That said, they do choose each other, it seems, whenever they possibly can.)

#asks #answered #what if spoilers #what if season 2 #steve rogers #peggy carter #steggy #what if

[trickster-archangel]

Tonight they broadcasted episode 5x07.

Huh. Been a while since I last watched it.

I'm not here to state the obvious, since there are better meta around here. I'm not even entertaining the thought of why Steve chose not to redeem Kamekona or Jerry.

No. It's another idea that's obsessing me since the first minutes of the episode (as always, I'm ignoring the only thing in canon that I allow myself to ignore, i.e. P*L existence. Things go like this bc reasons, not surely their writing).

The thing is, since when I remember existing, I've always been a lucid dreamer, meaning I'm almost always aware of being asleep and dreaming, and most of the times I'm also able to shift, change and control what happens inside the dreams, wake up at command if things get horrible, or in case they're good or interesting (very rare eventuality) and I'm suddenly awakened, I can go back and resume the dreaming from where it stopped.

See my point? I suddenly understood that, drugs or not, there was no way Steve could've been awakened, tortured, drugged, and then start dreaming/hallucinating exactly from the moment he had stopped, keeping the story continuity. He was subconsciously steering the dream. He had some sort of control over it, despite his conditions.

Not just this. He was given drugs to tell the truth...so what I implied, is that Steve was specifically imagining something he believed so strongly inside his head, that his subconscious had subverted reality and translated it into this new one.

Which means....how many times Steve had already daydreamed about this alternate reality? How many times had he indulged in these sort of reverie, sitting alone on his chair at night, on the sand, listening just to the ocean waves? How long had he refined this fantasy of his, carving details and sceneries, choosing words and actions, settings, characters? How many times had this alternate universe he wanted so desperately to be reality, come visiting him in his dreams, and how many times had he changed some subtle detail until his story and Danny's were perfectly never-endingly happy, and yer together?

Steve has spent his whole fucking life being the savior, the protector, the defender, the self-sacrificing lamb. Steve has always been the one never allowed to fail, except for Freddie, and his dad. He couldn’t save Freddie, because it was his oen fault and his own alone, and nobody could've prevented Freddie's death except Steve, and Steve failed.

Not his dad. Listen, in this universe he could've saved Victor's brother, and so also his dad. But Steve is fucking tired of saving everyone and everything and never fucking up, so in this universe he fucked up too. It wasn’t Steve changing fate: it was Danny. Danny is Steve’s valorous knight in shining armour. Danny is Steve’s savior, Steve’s protector, Steve’s defender. Danny's the one saving his father, capturing Hesse, gaining the intel from him with questionable methods thus sparing Steve from always staining his hands, finding Wo Fat.

Danny here has Steve's back in many ways, much more than usual. Danny saves Steve from falling deeper into the pit he's nevertheless fsllen after his father death. Danny's changed Steve’s fate, even more than in reality: not for nothing, Steve’s and Danny's scene drinking beer on the beach at the end of the day is replaced with Steve and John drinking the same beers in the same spot at the same hour. Danny's become Steve’s father figure after John's death, but in a universe where John was saved in time, it's been Danny, Steve’s hero, the father who's replaced his own, saving John....not Steve.

Of course Danny is happy, of course he's chosen Ohau over Jersey (because Steve still fears Danny will flee away), of course he's married with an adored Rachel (because Steve is still heartbroken after Danny's hook-up with her after the sarin, and of course he cannot believe he could ever beat her for Danny's heart), of course Danny drives Steve around (because Steve unconsciously would love so damn hard to let Danny take control and chase every worry away), of course it's Danny asking Steve to stay and work with him.

And so on. Every little detail is hurting even more if you think that maybe Steve was just reliving a fantasy he'd honed and polished for years, night after night, daydream after daydream, waiting for his brave knight to barge in and save him from himself and his fate.

I'm not ok.

#h50 #h50 5x07 #steve mcgarrett #danny williams #mcdanno #mcdanno meta #mtmcd

[amarriageoftrueminds]

CACW starting off the tonystarkification of phase 3 was bad enough but I swear the GP has amnesia when it comes to that movie and the teamironman takes you see go viral. like no one except for rhdy agreed w him by the end and switched teams. t'challa is the only (other than steve) to recognize bucky as a victim and help him, yet the GP seems to only pay attention to fight scenes & ignore actual characterization?? IW did a bad job of cementing the T'C/SR/BB teamup from CACW for the GP's memory

What’s hilarious about IW (or infuriating, depending on whether you’re a glass-half-empty kinda person??) is, because the Avengers movies went out of their way to pretend Bucky didn’t exist (I assume thanks to HA letting Whedon take her out for a drink), until Steve is walking right up to Bucky and hugging him in Wakanda, if you had only ever watched Avengers movies, you would have no idea who that guy is.

And then they go right back to pretending Bucky doesn’t exist in EG by having Steve react (slightly) to Sam’s resurrection, and having a Moving Stare Off when T’Challa comes back... 

But his reaction to Bucky’s resurrection is not shown, and he is never mentioned even once, despite being the first person to turn to dust. 

In fact, they mention movies Sebastian Stan has been in more than they mention the actual person Sebastian Stan is supposed to be playing in this universe. 

And they thought ramming in a gratuitous director-cameo as Unnamed Gay would mask the scent of their gay panic? 

Nope! It still stinks!

(And as for CW, which is just a trainwreck of bad characterisation for everyone tbh... 

Well, Natasha has known Tony a lot longer than Steve, and a lot more intimately. And Natasha has also had access to the same info as Steve, which suggested TWS might have murdered Tony’s parents. 

*totally justified in Stark’s case anyway since he co-founded SHIELDra and was buddies with ‘Arnie’ and knew TWS was ‘Sergeant Barnes’ way back in the 1990s- but moving on* 

And yet, I’ve never heard any suggestion that Tony was going to hunt Natasha down and go on a homicidal rampage to punish her for lying to him about his parents’ deaths (including trying to kill Clint just to hurt her). 

Because that would be stupid, right??

The Avengers movies reduced individual characters to bad campy one-note stereotypes of their solo movie selves, with the result that Avengers-Tony is just a bullying bro-wannabe mancave-having prick, and Steve is... some kind of Homelander-esque 'old-fashioned’ thing? 

(Wrong! Steve was ahead of his time in the 1940s. ‘The creators got in-person death threats from American Nazis’ kind of ahead-of-his-time. So for him to be old-fashioned now, he would have had to be ‘of his time’ in the 1940s.) 

There is this amateur writer’s belief (*cough*Whedonagain*cough*) that, just because conflict is interesting, therefore the only interesting way to introduce characters to each other is if they’re having an argument in every scene. 

So they never showed Steve and Tony actually getting along. 

(Honestly, the most unbelievable thing in AOU wasn’t the magic, it was Steve spending the whole movie glaring in disapproval every time Tony opens his mouth, but then saying ‘I’ll miss you’ at the end. They want to make Steve out to be a self-sacrificing verging on self-destructive type, but this only makes sense if he’s also a huge masochist!)

But then they expect us to believe not only that they did get along (well you didn’t show us that, you showed us the opposite of that), but that the end of their ‘friendship’ would be a devastating development for both of them... 

When, in fact, all that happened is that everyone ended up living in paradise, looking their best selves, and Tony ended up engaged to his dream woman and conceiving a kid. 

If that’s the result, they should’ve split the Avengers years ago!) 

#long post #antitony #mcu critical #cacw critical #antiendgame #cacw meta #mcu meta #mcu #meta #toAyourQ #hey nonny #dat's me #endgame steve is a skrull #srsly you look closer at ANY character in cacw and there are major problems w/ their characterisation #but they do especially wrong by their black characters

[ab2612]

Romanogers is a ‘ship, I feel most let down about. I’ve spent more time than probably healthy pondering why the writers and directors wilfully ignored and muted possibly the most complex and powerful relationship in the Marvel Universe.

To coin a well used cliche, I personally feel it had a lot to do with a very patriarchal franchise not really knowing how to write the relationship and the natural and organic chemistry of the actors took the writing a dynamic to a place where the prescribed story arc wasn’t prepared to follow.

Natasha was the only one of the original Avengers not allowed a love interest.Her written redemption seemed to come at the expense of her agency and after pairing her so brilliantly with the outwardly perfect Captain America it seemed as if, the different directors had very different views on what she ‘deserved’. I will never not feel rage at her being likened to a monster , albeit by herself , because she was violated and stripped off a biological ability. It’s why the travesty of the hulk arc never worked and in today’s reviewing really doesn’t age well.

It’s worth noting in the wake of Hollywood’s outing of various toxic individuals, joss Whedon was scrutinised and condemned and historically all his female characters had to suffer without a happy ending and usually top it out with self sacrificing tendencies. He directed the first two Avenger movies and whilst the Russos took over it seemed as if the framework never changed.

But it’s not just Natasha, SteveRogers when paired with Natasha is so much more. He becomes subtle and shaded. He has depth that allows him to wield Moljnor at the last . He balances her as well and in their relationship more than any other we see how they both learn and and connect with their humanity and move past their traumas.

Steve and Natasha’s relationship would have changed the whole marvel dynamic which began and ended with Tony stark as the ultimate Avenger and to keep that front and centre not only was Natasha chucked over the cliff but so was good writing, genuine character development not to mention the hottest chemistry the MCU ever produced.

#romanogers #capwidow #natasha romanoff #steve rogers #mcu writing #partriarchy did black widow wrong #black widow #captain america #the avengers #russo brothers #joss whedon #stevenat

[moontheoretist]

I just realized something about Natasha Romanoff - she should have been a villain.

In the MCU, Natasha makes questionable choices which end in death of a lot of people, but she is still considered a hero. That makes her story as a person very weak, as she keeps making a step forward and two steps backwards all the time in her redemption arc to clear the blood from her ledger, which results in her actually adding more and more blood to it instead. I just saw a TikTok, which explained how to properly make redemption stories for a villain and I cannot shake the feeling that if Natasha was established as a villain in the MCU, the story which she currently has in the MCU universe would then fulfill progression and regression stages in her journey to change, but because she was never seen as a villain by either Nick Fury or the rest of the Avengers, she was always an ally, even when you couldn’t truly trust her. Instead, her story comes off as a story of a failure of a hero who keeps falling along with Steve Rogers and his Team.

Funnily, the same thing happens to Wanda Maximoff who is no longer considered a villain when she joins the good guys and therefore her redemption (or the lack thereof as most of it is off-screen) feels fake, because nobody acknowledges that she is a villain on a journey to be a better person and gives her a pass.

In both of those cases, the main points presented in the TikTok: establishing them as villains and giving them relatable motivation fall flat, because the story is not willing to stick to it and prefers to flip their alignment on the spot to hero with barely any journey to that title shown on the screen. We already meet Natasha as an ally, despite her spying on Tony and being a manipulative little spy on main, as the good guys sadly involve a whole Spy Gov Organization. She is never questioned and always treated like one of them. Always trusted, never second guessed, always reliable and willing to do the job given to her no matter how hard or inhumane (in the meaning: cruel, unfair, appalling, horrifying etc.). She says that she is on a redemption journey, but that journey doesn’t fit the image which was established for her in the story, as she is no longer viewed as a villain who needs to redeem herself and nobody treats her as such.

Wanda on the other hand is shown as a villain and has a relatable motivation established, but has no journey to speak of. Journey is completely omitted, and she is given the status of a hero after literally committing one good deed (saving a Korean train) by Steve, which like I already said in another post was a dangerous choice, because her saving civilians doesn’t mean she stopped hating Avengers and wanting to murder them all anymore. She is given the role of a hero without putting any work to earn it, that’s why it feels fake after what she had done in that very same movie. Saving Sokovians doesn’t count, because she was a nationalist supremacist, of course she would want to save her own people from being killed by Ultron. Destroying Ultron doesn’t count, because she does it to save everybody, not only someone else, which means that she does that to save herself and her people again, plus she takes revenge for Pietro’s death. She doesn’t sacrifice herself doing both of those, so it doesn’t feel like she does something which would impact her negatively but benefit others. As much as I personally don’t like self-sacrificing heroes, because it is a toxic idea to off yourself to save someone else, in her case it would at least mean that she is willing to abandon her own interest in order to save others. Maybe her joining forces with the Avengers to kill Ultron could count as abandoning her self-interest, because it would mean also abandoning revenge for her parents and deciding not to kill Tony Stark in the end (as misguided as it was, she saw it as her business, something very important to do), but it is never actually shown, so it also is debatable. There are no conversations in relation to this in the movie, therefore it does not exist. This lack of proper handling creates this idea that maybe she was never a good guy, maybe she was faking, maybe she is still wanting to kill the Avengers, so I am not surprised that so many people interpret it as such. There is just not enough screen time given to her and any care put into her story, so it comes off as such.

And people wonder why I relate to Tony’s story instead to two slavic women I saw on the screen. If they weren’t so poorly handled, then maybe I would! Instead, I relate more to autistic ADHD Tony Stark whose story actually has hands and legs and makes sense to me. He was given 3 movies of his own, in which he was allowed to change and grow. He was allowed to do mistakes and was not shown as an ideal person, but he was trying with all his might to be better, to repay all the bad his company and his weapons did to innocent people, to somehow redeem the self which was ignorant before, because he hated that he caused so much harm to others.

And he redeems himself so well. He becomes a hero.

He earns the title, even if he doesn’t feel he did.

#natasha romanoff critical #wanda maximoff critical #mcu critical #pro tony stark #tony is ofc not established as a villain #but his company and his weapons are #so he then does everything in his power to repay all that harm caused by it

[ptergwen]

the last time

warnings: angst and swearing

summary: here

-

“in order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love.”

it feels like your stomach just dropped all the way down the cliff you’re standing on. peter grips your arm, pulling you away from the cloaked man. you know what you have to do.

your dad sent you and peter to vormir to get the soul stone. they’d both been to space once before this, and it didn’t end well. they were lucky to survive. most of the universe didn’t. now you have the chance to fight for the same thing they did. the other avengers needed all the help they could get to pull this off, so here you are.

you’ll hopefully be able to bring everyone back. you just didn’t realize you’d have to die for them to live.

“he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, y/n. don’t listen to him.” peter rubs up and down your arm to calm you down, squinting his eyes at the man. you give him a halfhearted smile. all the words are stuck in your throat. you know he’s right, that one of you has to go. you’re not going to let it be peter.

you turn to face him with the same sad look. he shakes his head a bunch of times before you can say anything. “it’s true, peter. you know how nebula said gamora was here and never came back? he must have had to sacrifice her.” “no. no way. she... she could’ve gone somewhere else after-“

you cup both of peter’s cheeks, willing him to look at you. he puts his hands on top of yours and meets your eyes. nodding, you smooth your thumb across his skin gently.

“peter...” your voice breaks. you wanted to be strong for him, but it’s all hitting you at once. this is the last time you’ll see him. this is the last time you’ll see anyone.

“there’s gotta be another way, right? we’ll figure it out. you’re so smart. i know you can think of something.” he’s in denial. “no, peter. i can’t. i’m not my dad.” you let out a teary laugh, sniffling a bit. peter pulls you into his chest and holds you tightly against him. your arms hug his middle after a few seconds.

this is it. your final goodbye. you’ve been with peter for years, seen each other at your worst moments. nothing compares to what you’re going through right now. it’s never been so hard to let him go.

he presses his lips to your hair, which only makes you cry more. you’re finally able to pull away from his chest and crash your lips into his one last time. hands grasping at your waist, he kisses you back with tears running down his own cheeks. it’s messy and salty and heartbreaking, but it’s you guys. you wipe at the tear stains on peter’s suit and give him one more peck on his cheek.

“i love you the most, y/n. you know that, right? i’m so fucking in love with you,” peter chokes out, pressing his forehead against yours. you take a shaky breath and put your hands on his cheeks again. “i know, pete. i love you so much. so, so much.” you stay like that until both of you silently agree it’s time.

“now that you’ve said your goodbyes,” the red skull chimes in, “which one of you is it going to be?”

“me,” you and peter both say at the same time. huh? he looks at you with wide eyes. you’re just as confused as he is for once. “y/n, what? i thought we both decided it was gonna be me.” “no, that’s what i thought. you’re not doing this.”

the red skull sighs impatiently from behind you.

“please, y/n. i made a promise to your dad that i’d keep you safe out here. i can’t break that.” “i promised myself i wouldn’t let you die.” you give him a stern look. “maybe this is me dealing with some self-sacrificial stark shit right now, but i can’t break that either.”

ignoring everything you just said, peter moves to put his mask back on. you take it out of his hand. “uh, what the hell?” “peter, you‘re gonna do amazing things. you already do now. i can’t imagine what you’ll accomplish in ten years, or even one. you‘re not going yet.” he squeezes his eyes shut. “stop that. you will, too. just give me my mask back, y/n.”

you throw your hands up in disbelief, still holding it. “being rich isn’t amazing, peter! you have more going for you than i do. admit it.” he can’t help but frown at what you’re saying. this shouldn’t be your last memory together.

“baby, what are you talking about? you got to join the team, you make awesome high-tech stuff, you’re a genius. come on.” “here’s your mask.” you shove it into his hand, letting your touch linger for a moment. “i really do love you more than anything.” you suddenly make a run for the edge of the cliff before peter anticipates it.

he moves fast and shoots a web to pull you back, rushing over to you. “oh my god, y/n! what are you thinking?” “i’m thinking you need to get the stone. don’t worry about me.” you get yourself back up, only for peter to push you down again. so, he wants to fight you for this.

you knee his stomach from the ground so he falls over, taking the opportunity to jump for real. peter manages to lean over and shoot a taser web at you before you go too far. that one stings. you yelp and hold your arm where he got you, but you’re not giving up that easy.

“sorry, babe. didn’t mean to hurt you,” peter calls out, getting back on his feet. you walk the short distance over to him. “i’m doing this because i love you, okay? that’s all.” he whispers to you. with a fake smile, you take his hand. peter thinks that means you’re done. then, you use it to flip him onto his back. he groans in pain, not trying to get up this time.

now that he’s out for good, it’s really happening. you’re at peace with what you have to do. you take one final look at peter and start running. you run until you get to the edge of the cliff. peter must’ve realized what’s going on because you hear him calling your name. you forgot how much endurance he has in him.

“y/n, y/n stop!” he yells, already behind you. you stay put. “it shouldn’t be you! listen to me, it’s not too late to change your mind.” you don’t bother turning around to see him. you’ll give in if you do. “remember what i said, pete. all of it.”

with that, your heart beating hard in your ears, you throw yourself off the edge of the cliff. peter uses everything in him to web you to the side, but he can only get one out, so you grab onto a rock. not because you changed your mind. because you owe him a real final goodbye.

“wh- how am i out? i’ll come get you, just- fuck.” peter leans over the edge, looking down at you with watery eyes. you hold up his extra web cartridge and smile sadly. you took it when you were hugging earlier since you had a feeling he’d try to stop you.

“it’s okay, peter. you’ll be okay.” “y/n-“ you let go of the rock and fall fast, hitting the ground while peter cries out. “no!” he grips at the crumbling ground where you first jumped. your lifeless body is staring up at him. he could’ve stopped this. he drops to his knees as a loud sob racks through him, still looking down at you.

“no,” his voice is quiet, small, out of energy and broken. there’s no one here to dry his tears anymore.

-

peter isn’t sure how it happened, but he wakes up underwater. he pulls his head up with a cough. his eyes still feel puffy, so he couldn’t have been out too long. there’s something glowing in his hand. slowly, he opens his shaking hand and immediately recognizes what it is. the soul stone. red skull was right. peter lost who he loves all for a stupid fucking stone.

-

the whole team arrives back at the avengers facility at the same time, like bruce said they would. everyone seems so happy. thor got mjölnir back, scott is buzzing over steve, tony is laughing at one of nat’s jokes. tony. how is peter supposed to tell him what happened? his kid died, and it’s peter’s fault. he bursts into tears again at the thought of it. he’s surprised he even has more left in him.

tony is the first to notice. “parker, what’s wrong? why isn’t y/n with you?” the rest of the team rushes over to him. peter chokes out a sob, everything replaying in his head.

“she- she.” he can hardly breathe let alone speak. tony puts a hand on his shoulder. “kid, you’re scaring me. i can’t fix it unless you tell me what‘s up.” he waves for everyone else to back up so peter has space. bruce and nat share a look. “she’s gone, mr. stark! she’s not here. i re- i really messed up.”

peter throws the stone that he’s been holding at the floor. silently, rocket picks it up.

somehow understanding what he means, tony pulls peter in for a hug. he hurts like hell too, but this kid needs him right now. peter has always had a habit of blaming himself for things he can’t control. tony is pretty sure this is one of those things. he hugs him back as tight as he can.

“i’m so sorry, mr. stark. i’m so sorry.”

-

five years later and peter is numb. another stark left him, and he sort of gave up in life. at 21 years old. without a mentor, he got lost in the superhero world. spider-man went from being an avenger to party entertainment for kids. it’s an easy way to make money. the people loved him before, they’ll love him again. all he does now is book birthday parties and drink the nights away.

the only emotion peter still feels is anger. he hates the world and he hates what he’s done, or hasn’t done. every time he puts on that mask, it reminds him of the night you died. he has to fight the urge to rip it to shreds. if he didn’t need to pay the bills, he would’ve at this point. most of all, he resents himself for letting you down.

you sacrificed yourself for peter to lead a full life, and look what he’s done with it. he’s a drunk loser. that’s not what you wanted for him.

one day, it all changes.

there’s a knock at peter’s door. he grumbles something about paying his rent, expecting it to be his landlord. he opens it to find you instead. thinking he’s had too much to drink, he shuts the door in your face. you‘re a little bit shocked, but you knock again.

“um, peter? that’s you in there, right? pretty sure you’re the only peter parker in queens.” you call from the hallway. “whoever’s trying to fuck with me, just get out of here. i’m not in the mood today.” he flops back down on his couch, taking a sip of his nearly finished beer. you’re already fed up, so you open the door yourself.

“i said-“ he shuts up when you sit down next to him. “are you real? you can’t be... you died years ago.” “peter.” you take his hands. he’s confused, but lets you. it’s weird seeing him, both of you being adults now. you’ll have to get used to it.

“when you brought everyone back, it worked for me too.” he stares at you with his mouth hanging open for a minute. “that’s not possible. we did that a few days after you... you know.” “i know it sounds insane, but i came back on vormir. i had to find a way back to earth, which took a really long time. i’ve been looking for you since then. there’s no perfect way for me to explain all of this, but i promise it’s really me.”

you being here, it’s like peter was in a five year trance and he snapped out of it.

he throws his arms around you, you laughing and threading your fingers through his matted curls. he’s convinced you’ll disappear again if he lets you go, so he holds you even tighter.

“y/n, baby. oh my god. i missed you so much. i’m sorry it’s such a mess here.” you wind your arms around his neck. “you haven’t changed a bit, pete.” “i brought you back, you brought me back.”

#peter parker #peter parker angst #peter parker x avenger!reader #peter parker x stark!reader #peter parker imagine #tom holland #tom holland angst #marvel #mcu #spiderman #tony stark #tom #tom holland x reader #tom holland imagine #peter parker fluff #tom holland fluff #tom holland x y/n

[ad1thi]

henlo adi tis i with a request for some stevetony fics,,, angsty if you have 'em 💓

okay so this rec list is mainly classic stevetony fics, but i assure you - there’s angsty ones in there (ive marked the angsty ones with a 😞 so you can identify them quicker) just a general note that a lot of authors are going to repeat, because there are some authors that (imo) are stevetony staples (so if you see an author more than once - thats a sign that ALL of their stevetony is good and ive cherry picked the ones i love the most) (ive also marked those authors with a 🌟) 

//

in the light of limerence:  @shell-heads

It's the final game of the season, their biggest one yet, and there's only one question on everybody's mind: who the hell is Captain Steve Rogers' boyfriend, and why does Cap keep dodging questions about him?

"You gotta admit it's suspicious that only Bucky and Sam have met your boyfriend, dude," Clint points out as he shoves Pietro away with a smirk, pulling the uniform over his head and tugging it down. "We've known you, what-two years? We've never seen the guy even once."

"And your phone mysteriously only has pictures of Tony Stark," Johnny Storm adds as he joins the conversation, knocking knees with Thor when he sits down on one of the benches. "Tony Stark, who has at least ten fansites and personally assured me he's had a boyfriend for the past five years."

"I can't believe Cap is actually out here acting like Tony Stark's boyfriend," Luke says with a smirk, resting against a wall without a care.

"I can't believe you guys still think this is a joke," Sam throws back while tossing his other dirty sock at Luke, who dodges it smoothly.

In little more than ten minutes, the biggest question of Shield University is answered with much aplomb by none other than Tony Stark himself.

almeno tu nell'universo: @silkspectred 😞 🌟 (funfact: this is the fic that got me into stevetony) 

Tony drives off.

Well, he wants to.

But he can’t.

Because.

Steve Rogers is in front of his car.

Steve fucking Rogers. Is in front of Tony’s fucking car.

Rookie and Jailbait Take On The World: @theapplepielifestyle 🌟

“You really should be in school, you know.”

“Why would I be there when I could be here, solving crimes with my favourite rookie?” Tony flashes a grin, and Steve’s stomach twists like it did on the first day.

Teenager, Steve’s mind supplies. Definitely not legal, stop doing fluttery things, stomach.

Thumb, Index and Pinky Extended: @/Eudoxia 😞

Tony Stark is twenty-one when he loses his voice. It shouldn't matter, but in a world where the first words your Soulmate says to you are marked on your skin, it can be pretty damn annoying.

I (created from fantasies) exist solely for you: @mizzy2k

Six years ago, without the Avengers Initiative there to save the day, scientist Dr. Eric Selvig sacrificed himself to save the world, the almighty demi-god Thor was lost to a terrible storm, and vigilante Iron Man – spotted with a nuclear weapon trying to take advantage of the situation – was forever labelled an enemy of SHIELD.

This is a comic book office AU, where Steve is defrosted a year too late, Thor has forgotten who he is, and no one knows Tony is Iron Man.

Also includes: office pranks, inappropriate post-it notes, and superheroes who like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.

Celestial Navigation: @sabrecmc

Celestial Navigation: 18 year old Omega!Tony finds himself Bonded to Captain Steve Rogers. He isn't happy about it until he is.

By request, here is CN in one place without other stories and artwork.

Ironsides: @copperbadge 🌟

Antonia Carter Stark takes no shit and no prisoners.

Paved With Good Intentions (I’m On The Road To Hell): @itsallavengers 😞 🌟

When the mysterious group of vigilante assassins known only as 'The Avengers' are tipped off about the dirty secrets that lie within Stark Industries, Steve Rogers has his heart set on taking out Tony Stark for good in order to protect the rest of the world from his evil. He's seen the footage, after all- Stark is a man who fights only for himself. And of course, when a job arises as chief bodyguard for Stark, to protect him from the growing threat of an ominously infatuated stalker, the opportunity is way too good for him to miss out on. It's the perfect placement, and the perfect way to find out whether or not their tipoff is genuine.

But as Steve falls into rank as the new bodyguard for Mr. Stark and he spends time getting to know and protect him, his initial hatred begins to falter and merge into something different, something far more terrifying than the prospect of killing the face of Stark Industries.

Steve Rogers may just be falling in love with him instead.

The Problem With Communication: @itsallavengers

Steve is terrible at flirting, but when he finally picks up the courage to talk to the adorable barista who makes his drinks, he finds himself hitting a small snag:

That being, Tony is deaf. He doesn't know what Steve is saying.

But never say Steve Rogers does not rise to a challenge.

Killing Me Softly (With His Song): @itsallavengers

Steve is Tony's whole world. Tony couldn't imagine life without him. They've grown up together, after all.

Steve gets cancer.

Open Field In Front of Him: orphan account

Steve Rogers's football season is functionally over after a loss to Rutgers, but he finds a distraction in Tony Stark (yes, THAT Tony Stark). A college AU Stony fic.

Good For You: @orbingarrow 😞

Steve doesn't understand why Tony dates people who abuse him. Tony doesn't understand why Steve cares.

The rest is bad choices, good choices, rehab, milkshakes, paintball, YouTube videos, couples therapy and learning to put the past in the past. Or: How Tony finds his happy ending.

COMPLETE 5/27/16 Edited to add art as last chapter on 6/23/16

Wrapped Up In Clover: @festiveferret

It's been seven years since Steve and Tony split up, and Steve's sure he'll never see Tony again. He's finally managed to put their failed relationship behind him and move on, focusing on his friends and building his business. But then his best friends, Bucky and Clint, decide to get married, and their wedding week at a cabin resort in Vermont turns into a minefield of heartbreak for Steve.

little green soldiers: @/nasa 🌟

“Rhodey,” Tony says. “I’m not stupid. He’s shipping out in three months. I’m not going to fall in love with him.”

Tony is a student at MIT; Steve is a soldier. They meet at a house party six months before Steve is set to deploy. This is their story.

flesh and bone: @/nasa 😞

“You or Rogers?” they ask, brandishing a knife or a gun or a flame.

“Me,” Tony says, over and over again. “Me, me, me,” always me.

Buried: @not-close-to-straight

When Howard Stark demands Tony work at a dig site in S.America one summer to "build character" and "learn about life", Tony is furious. But then he meets soldier/archeologist Steve and falls in love with blue eyes and a perfect smile. 

Just as they are ready to move forward together, Steve leaves abruptly with no explanation and breaks Tonys heart. Ten years later, Tony stumbles across the file for the old dig site. He's determined to visit and shut it down, but discovers that instead of a village, the dig has uncovered a temple and actually needs MORE money to stay open. A security team is hired to protect the staff and the artefacts they find, and Tony comes face to face with Steve Rogers all over again– except Steve is bearded and BIGGER and way more dangerous than he used to be...And Tony likes it.

When the camp is attacked, Steve jumps into action, snatching Tony and running into the jungle to escape and work their way towards safety. But long days and nights together bring back old feelings, and one day Steve takes a risk and asks Tony to give them another chance. Will Tony say yes? Or is his heart buried too far for the soldier-turned- archaeologist-turned-mercenary to find it?

don’t know why it took me so long to see: @3799steps 

“Oh, watch this,” Natasha says, propping her chin against her knuckles and turning a sweet gaze on him. “Tony, what’s it like dating a superhero?”

Tony bristles in irritation. “We’re not dating,” he snaps. “Captain America probably thinks he can get into anyone’s pants just ‘cause he’s got a mask, costume, and reputation, but not me, buddy. That shield? Gotta be overcompensating for something.” He adds, a bit petulantly, “Oh, and all that blue? Definitely more Steve’s color than his.”

- In which Tony is a genius in all matters except recognising his boyfriend past a mask

Heartlines: @nanasekei 🌟

“Let me,” Tony repeats. He regrets it deeply, so much, he wants to stick the words back into his mouth again, and it must show, in the way his voice wavers. He feels exposed, all of a sudden, as if he’s asking something bigger than what he can actually say. Let me touch you, let me take care of you. “Just… Let me do it.“

Feel Whole Again: @thepartyresponsible

Steve turns to leave. It’s easier to talk, somehow, when he’s not looking at him. “If you need anything,” he says, “I’m just a few floors down.”

“Might regret that, Cap,” Tony says to his retreating back. “I’ve been told I’m needy.”

Steve doesn’t know who the hell said that to Tony. It’s probably for the best that he doesn’t.

“It’s an honor,” he says, a little helpless, out of his depth and out of his time. “It’s an honor to be trusted with something like that, Tony.”

Attack Dog: @/salytierra

Steve doesn't swim in self-delusion. He knows that he is sick and that his owner is even worse. He is aware of it every time he rips some nameless guy’s throat out and feels the crunch of bones under his fingers. He is aware of it every time the rush of adrenaline at seeing life slip away from a stranger’s eyes hits him and gets him bothered and panting in ways that have nothing to do with physical exhaustion.

But it feels so good…

His owner’s approach is less personal. His shots fall clean and take out several foes at a time, his figure elegant and so graceful he looks like a god among savages. He is power incarnated, cold and burning like a sun at the same time… and Steve tries not to focus on him when they are fighting together, least his knees go weak and his technique falters. It’s fine though. They will go home afterwards and his owner will fuck him on the hard floor, with most of their gear still on and a vicious grip in his hair.

#adi's rec list #stevetony #superhusbands #steve rogers/tony stark #stevetony staples #OKAY this is like 20 fics long #so im going to make a second post #and the second post will have more #but have these for now :))) #adi answers asks #rhodee

[themculibrary]

Fics With Pietro Maximoff Masterlist

Links Last Checked: March 4th, 2024

A Love Story (ao3) - Moonlighter crystal/pietro M, 11k

Summary: The story of when Pietro and Crystal first met and fell swiftly in love.

Also: Crystal has political ambitions, Medusa already knows how this will end, Inhuman society is progressively stilted, Pietro learns to be less of a jerk, and Maximus might be up to something.

Bad Lines (ao3) - DustToDust clint/pietro T, 11k

Summary: It's Tony's fault. Someway, somehow, Clint just knows that the man is behind this new level of annoyance.

Beyond the Pale (ao3) - MichaBerry pepper/tony, steve/tony, wanda/vision G, 95k

Summary: In the aftermath of the Age of Ultron, Wanda is going through the motions, but she can't deny that she's not all there anymore without her twin next to her. When the universe conspires in an unexpected way, she might just have a way to fix that and bring her brother back to her, the consequences be damned.

Foreign Policies (ao3) - artificial_ink darcy/pietro E, 21k

Summary: When Darcy was in high school, she had a major crush on a Sokovian exchange student. She never expected to see him again once they were all grown up and from the looks of it, neither did Pietro.

Hawk Kids™ (ao3) - stardust_moonbeams clint/laura N/R, 1k

Summary: "Meet your brother. Nathaniel Pietro Barton."

"What? You didn't see that coming?"

"I see who the favourite child is."

"He got shot!"

"He walked it off."

Knowing Where to Run (ao3) - keeping_10_people_happy_is_tricky clint/pietro E, 53k

Summary: After AoU, things have settled. Clint has been staying with his sister while visiting Stark tower with the others. But when a certain speedster develops very obvious feelings towards the archer, things stop being so settled. Pietro is young and has never been in love but is adamant about his feelings. Clint disagrees. This also sets the team apart as they bet whether or not the archer and the runner would be good together. Then add killer robots, the merc with the mouth and a Jotun Asgardian and things get interesting. It’s been a very long day for Clint.

Moving Pictures (ao3) - red_starshine wanda/vision T, 30k

Summary: She doesn't look right.

She's the same age as Wanda, his twin sister, like the oppressive voice in Peter's head keeps telling him, but her face is different. Close, but not quite there. He'd never seen his Wanda look this distraught.

No One Asked You (ao3) - TheGreatCatsby remy/pietro T, 16k

Summary: "You're bad news."

"Aren't we all?"

Pietro and Remy form a relationship in the midst of the new X-Factor team trying to be, well, a team.

pull me back if you want to fly (ao3) - haroldslouis clint/pietro M, 21k

Summary: when clint hears pietro made a full recovery and joined the avengers, he simply cannot stay away.

Regular Miracles (ao3) - Dresupi darcy/pietro E, 48k

Summary: Post AoU AU. Pietro lives. In which, Darcy is coming in with a freshly broken heart and that tall drink of Patron Silver lounging on Tony's couch looks like her next mistake. And Pietro is kind of a hound, but he's looking for more and finds it in Stark's outspoken, quirky lab assistant.

Soulmark (ao3) - Lainpinky131 clint/pietro T, 2k

Summary: When the letters slowly started to appear on Clint’s body—beginning with a ‘P’—he had no idea what to make of it.

It was only after a mission in Sokovia to reclaim Loki’s scepter from HYDRA and an unfortunate encounter with a pair of enhanced punks did a certain name, out of nowhere, come up in the debriefing.

The Last of the Self-Sacrificing Idiots (ao3) - Taste_is_Sweet steve/bucky T, 6k

Summary: The kid's eyes were cracked open, too, even though Clint knew Steve had closed them. Because Pietro couldn't be fucking tractable even as a dead body, apparently. And Clint knew—he knew—that it didn't make a damn bit of difference. Pietro couldn't be blinded by the sun any more than he'd give a shit about having company. But Clint was enough of a sentimental, guilty sap that he shifted so he could touch the kid's eyelids to close them anyway.

Pietro blinked.

We’ve All Walked Miles (singing the blues) (ao3) - Squeaky pietro/skye T, 61k

Summary: Things are not going well at Phil Coulson's house:

Pietro hates Tony Stark. He hates him so much, in fact, that he refuses to go to school with the other children and heads off to the local high school, alone.

Jonas has finally woken up in hospital and he begins to recover under Wanda's tender loving care. But he's been lying about his past, and he can't tell the truth without destroying everything.

Steve loves Bucky, and being away from his boyfriend is almost more than he can bear.

Phil is glad that Pietro's making friends and that Jonas is recovering, but he knows things are not going well and that trouble is brewing. But even he can't imagine what's coming to the farm, or the damage that will be left in it's wake...

You Didn't Hear That Coming? (ao3) - writedeku clint/pietro G, 3k

Summary: Pietro Maximoff has a temper, and can't stand when Clint Barton pretends not to hear him.

In which Pietro learns something about not jumping to conclusions.

#themculibrary #mcu #marvel #pietro maximoff #pietro maximoff masterlist

[loveinhawkins]

The first notes of Eddie’s guitar solo tear through The Upside Down; Steve watches in horrified fascination as the bats follow the noise, as they form a thick, black cloud, like a plague of locusts.

And it hits him then that he simply cannot set one foot inside the Creel House.

“Nance,” he says. His voice cracks.

She turns to look at him, and suddenly she isn’t a vengeful warrior with a sawn-off shotgun: she’s just a girl who lost her best friend, who has spent years haunted by ‘what if…?’

“Trust your gut,” she says firmly, and that’s all he needs.

He spends a fleeting second squeezing Robin’s hand, just to steady him, and then he’s running back to the trailer.

The one thing that reassures him is that Eddie and Dustin are perfectly on time, the song cutting off just as they planned. Now run, you two, Steve thinks, as his chest burns with the effort, get inside and be safe, be safe, be safe.

But then he reaches the trailer, and he knows that something’s wrong.

Because the bats are clustered in one spot on the roof, scrabbling over the top of one another, and it makes him think of flies descending on roadkill.

He gets past all the wire and defences, and none of them take any notice. He pushes the front door open with the force of his shoulder, slams it shut again, makes sure it sticks.

And then he hears screaming.

He whips around to find Eddie driving his spear through a bat with a guttural cry. He’s on the floor, his upper body shielding something.

And then Steve sees Dustin. Dustin on the ground. Dustin bleeding.

No.

He sprints across and covers Dustin, too, slotting next to Eddie to form a complete shelter.

“Steve,” Eddie whispers, and his face is ashen. “Fuck, it’s the vents, they’re in the fucking vents. I tried to—D-Dustin—I wasn’t quick enough, Christ, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry—”

And he keeps repeating that, as if feverish, striking out again with the spear as another bat swoops for them. His aim is true, but that doesn’t matter now. It’s too late.

Steve looks down at the wound on Dustin’s thigh, at the blood spilling out relentlessly. And as Eddie cups Dustin cheek, pleads, “Stay awake, H-Henderson, you hear me? Dustin? Dustin, please,” Steve spots the bite on Eddie’s wrist. It’s barely anything, just a nick.

But it’s enough. Steve knows that it doesn’t matter how fast he is—the bats will just keep coming. They’re on the scent, to hunt. To devour. And his wounds are dried up. Old.

Fresh blood dripping from Eddie’s wrist. Dustin’s bloody leg.

Oh, you’re going to die, Steve thinks. Both of you.

Then he thinks Well, fuck that.

He flings off his jacket, wraps it tight around Dustin’s thigh. Dustin whimpers, eyelids fluttering.

“Shit, sorry, bud,” Steve whispers. “I know it hurts, I know, I know…”

Underneath the screech of more bats, he presses a brief, fierce kiss to Dustin’s forehead, pushes back his sweaty curls. I love you.

Eddie takes out another pair of bats in quick succession, slamming them with his shield—narrowly avoids their tails wrapping around his wrist. His luck won’t last forever, Steve knows that.

So he just has to be quicker.

He rips the end of his shirt with his teeth, pushes the torn fabric into Eddie’s hand.

“Eddie. Eddie, listen,” he says urgently. “It’s the blood, okay? They’re coming for the blood.”

Eddie wraps the fabric around his wrist as if on autopilot, eyes wide with fear.

“It’s the blood,” Steve repeats, as calmly as he can. “You’ve gotta stop the bleeding, okay? You can do that.”

Eddie nods jerkily, and some of his panic fades away, replaced with a white hot determination. He sets his jaw.

“Hey, Dustin?” Steve says. Tries to be gentle while raising his voice, praying it breaks through the pain-induced fog. “Eddie’s got you, okay?”

“Yeah,” Eddie chokes out. “I’ve got you, Henderson.”

His hand strokes through Dustin’s hair, too, and God, Steve trusts him. Trusts him so damn much.

Trusts him enough for this.

Steve jerks his head upwards to the gate. “Stop the bleeding. Get him home.”

Eddie nods again, but a wrecked laugh comes out. He ducks as another bat breaks in; Steve temporarily takes the spear, kills it without flinching.

“Jesus! How the fuck are we supposed to do that, Harrington? There’ll be hordes of those fuckers in a minute.”

“You’ll be fine,” Steve says. He discreetly pats at his pockets. Feels the handle of the switchblade. Touches Dustin one last time, a palm across his brow. “Look after him.”

“Hey, I—I don’t like your tone, man,” Eddie says. “We’re looking after him, together. Together, all right? Fucking promise me, Harrington.”

“You promised me first, remember? Stop the bleeding, get him home.”

“No, no, no, Steve, don’t you fucking dare—”

But Steve is already heading outside. He locks the door behind him, just in case, but he already knows Eddie can’t leave—won’t leave Dustin behind. There’s a thump at the door, a desperate jiggling of the handle. Steve shouldn’t look behind. He shouldn’t.

But, God. He can’t help it.

Through the glass, he can see Eddie standing there, breathing raggedly. Terrified.

Steve can’t hear him through the cacophony of the bats’ cries, the thunder and lightning. But he can read his lips.

Don’t. Please don’t.

Steve brings out the blade. Slashes it right across his palm.

Eddie screams.

I’m sorry, Eddie, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what else to do.

Steve runs. He grins savagely as he hears the bats following him, all of them, like he’s the fucking Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Yeah, that’s right, you sons of bitches. Steve laughs through a searing pain in his side. You’ve already had a taste. Come and get me.

#tentatively saying 2 parts? tbd #steddie #steddie fic #steddie ficlet #steve x eddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #dustin henderson #steve and dustin #eddie and dustin #the universes in which Steve is self-sacrificing are never ending

[whetstonefires]

Thank you so, so, so much for that Tony Stark post. Because, yes, exactly you hit the nail on the head: he is not personally controllable with legislation and he is definitely suffering from guilt and self recrimination but that DOES NOT MEAN you get to hurt others. He is painful to watch. I've never seen anyone articulate it so well, thank you. I ended up writing an essay in my notes just agreeing with you a lot because he cannot use his pain as an excuse for the scale of damage he does.

Where is the essay nonny??? I cannot find it. Show meeeeee.

💖 Thank you for the positivity! Ngl it’s always scary criticizing a popular character, you never know what’s going to happen.

I’ve tried a lot of times to respond to this ask without going on another tirade, but they keep building up, especially whenever I see someone tearing Steve down to build Tony up, and I go from zero to a full head of steam so fast.

I’ve avoided engaging about it, but it fucks me up so bad every time, it’s crazy.

Because I didn’t think I was all that attached to Cap, I don’t even really consider myself a fan, but he. Right up until that unintentionally appalling ending they derailed his character into, he worked so hard to be good.

He doesn’t want to kill anyone, but he doesn’t like bullies.

He spent his entire life under conditions of extreme suffering, and unlike Tony he refused to let it warp him into something vicious and selfish that lashed out at others to comfort himself--or rather, he bound himself with adamantine chains to make sure that when he used violence, even as a coping mechanism, it was only ever against people more powerful than him, individually or in aggregate, who were doing something harmful he could interfere against, and who had the freedom to walk away.

Tony never bothered with any of that. He doesn’t have to. No one expects anything of him, in his life or ours; our standards are in the basement and we’re super willing to identify with him, so even the manifestation of the awareness that he did something wrong is cheered like heroism. He expects ‘points’ for remembering there was a connection between Pepper and strawberries, even if she’s allergic and he thought they were her favorite, and he gets them.

All he has to do is turn away from being his worst self, no matter how many times he completes that rotation a full 360 degrees, and we’ll cheer for him.

Which is a great character design strategy! Honestly! Except they walked it into the ground.

Tony was introduced as someone learning to be better, but then he wound up getting worse and worse and worse. His redemption arc derailed really early, because Marvel Studios were lazy or afraid or didn’t trust their audience, idk.

He sacrificed so many people to his own gaping emotional wound, that hungry maw of egotism turned Byronic and recharacterized as heroism, as goodness or at least its sketch.

Jumping on the grenade is so much easier than reining yourself in every minute, not abusing your power, respecting the lives and needs of others and treating them as real.

Nothing Tony ever achieved moved the dial away from his narcissism, and very little of it did anything about the toxicity of how he inhabited that narcissism. And a heroic death would be nothing in the face of his personal crimes even if it had been one that was a little more rationally necessary, and not one that took several hours of movie and the contrived failure of every other person in the setting to even be possible or relevant.

(And even if you’re willing to hang onto suspension of disbelief and pretend that dropping 3.5  billion refugees into a world that just barely patched itself together in the face of 50% mortality somehow isn’t going to result in a staggering death toll.)

Unlike Vader, Tony Stark died as he lived, and so the death means much, much less.

With great power comes great responsibility, and with his billions Tony was always the most powerful Avenger, because Thor never took his throne when it was still tall and golden and untouchable. And he spat on that principle every day of his life.

And when people act like his ‘suffering’ somehow justifies that, it’s like every single piece of the warped rich-white-confident-male-centric empathy gap of our culture leaping into life and strangling all ethical rationality and justice. I just.

I know it’s just superheroes. I know it’s not serious. Except superheroes and cinema are mainstays of our shared cultural sense of right and wrong. The Violence Against Women Act exists purely because of the shift in public perception created by one movie about one real woman.

So when a massive superhero film franchise has a moral narrative that I find repulsive, and I see that reasoning echoed out in the world, it feels important.

I am attached to Steve, small angry starving Steve looking Death in the face every day he drew breath and refusing to blink, but I think what’s making me so damn mad when I see this insistence on tearing him down to prop up a mass murderer is the proof that even Captain America, who is white and male and tall and beautiful and romantically interested in women, who ticks all these boxes that help when it comes to Mattering, still doesn’t have enough Real Person Points to stand up against the absolute certainty in a billionaire’s heart that he is the only real person in the universe, that his self-pity is the truest sorrow that ever was.

Not in Tony’s eyes, and not when it comes to our willingness as a society to inexplicably believe him.

#tony stark negative #steve rogers #this is the shortest i've been able to keep this #empathy gap #tony just grew steadily into a nightmare #although honestly he never really stopped #and i was able to go along and forgive him #for the sake of hte story #right up until the narrative started telling me i *had* to #and that his feelings *really were* the most important thing in the universe #at which point i would very happily drive a stake through his heart #i throw salt #hoc est meum #many feelings #a nonny mouse #ask

[bouncydragon]

LORD: Legion of Random Dinos

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Bonus (Part 1) | Bonus (Part 2)

And here is the second part of the bonus!

The writing style kinda changes? I’m not sure. Oh well...

I had a lot of fun writing this. I didn’t include everything that I put in the tags of the original chat (well a reblog of it after it was finished), mostly because I forgot some of it... But it’s okay. 

Well, I hope you like this. 

(And I’m happy if I never have to use Tumblr on my laptop again...)

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

Bonus: Endgame, But With Dinos! (Part 2)

"I am inevitable," Thanos said and once again snapped his fingers. 

But nothing happened. 

Of course not. 

Thanos looked at the Infinity Gauntlet confused, and then over to Tony kneeling on the ground, bloody and bruised and with the infinity stones glowing on his hand. Everybody stared, holding their breath. It was like time stood still. 

"And I… am… Iron Man," Tony said, sounding exhausted but determined. 

It would all end here. Tony would reverse the snap and things would go back to how they used to be. And Thanos would be gone. This was the end. 

Before he could do the snap though, Loki appeared next to him and took his hand. Tony looked at him surprised and then watched as one after another took each other's hands, forming a chain. Tony smiled softly. 

"You are not alone, love," Loki told him, smiling and gently squeezed his hand. Tony's smile grew. "Also, I told you no self-sacrificing shit," Loki added then. 

It caused Peter, who was holding his hand, to chuckle. Tony raised an eyebrow and then chuckled too. 

Loki turned his face to Thanos, who stood there looking stunned. "Didn't expect that, huh, you big ugly grape?" he mocked him, causing some of the people to snicker. 

"We – are – Avengers!" he added after a pause, sounding just as exhausted but determined as Tony. And proud. He was part of the team he had once fought. He was accepted and appreciated. He had redeemed himself. He was, if he liked it or not, a hero. 

Tony grinned at him and then snapped his fingers. The power of the stones ran through all of them. It was like a tingling but it hurt. None of them would go unharmed but they'd live. They'd all live to see another day. 

Thanos disintegrated with a shocked expression still plastered on his face. Silence fell over the battlefield and for several long moments nobody said or did anything. 

"It's… It's over?" Tony asked breathlessly then and held on tightly to Loki's hand. 

"Yes, it is," Loki confirmed and let go of Peter's hand to wrap his arms around Tony and kiss him. "We won," he whispered as he rested their foreheads together. 

Everyone was silent. All were letting it sink in that they had won. Against all odds, they had prevailed and won. 

Steve held Bucky close to him. He too had suffered from the loss of his partner. But he had gotten him back and he would never let him go again. He understood the emotions Tony and Loki went through very well, and as much as they annoyed him at times, he was happy for both of them. And he was glad that they both were still here, alive and kicking. 

Thor smiled seeing his brother show such raw emotion and affection. Loki didn't do that often. The games he and Tony played while with the others were just that, games. Meant to annoy their friends. But Thor knew that in private they weren't like that. Well, at least not the majority of the time. Probably. He couldn't truly know but he just had the feeling that he was right. 

He was happy for his brother. The Norns knew that Loki deserved happiness and love, and he had finally found it. Tony and Loki were meant for each other. They were perfect together. They brought out the best in each other and completed each other. More importantly, they understood each other, even without words. 

Thor envied Loki a bit for what he had. 

Loki couldn't bear losing Tony. Just like Tony couldn't bear losing Loki. They were two halves of a whole. One felt lost without the other. So incomplete. But they hadn't lost each other. They were still here. They were alive. They still had each other and all their dreams. The future was bright and full of love. And mischief. 

The moment was rudely interrupted when Captain Marvel—Carol Danvers—did a hero-landing next to them. Loki couldn't resist shooting here a glare. They were having a moment! A very important one at that! 

Carol looked at them and crossed her arms. "You know you could've just let me do the snap." 

Loki rolled his eyes. "This has more meaning. It's legendary." 

"Fair enough," Carol acknowledged. 

Loki opened his mouth to say something else, possibly about how she had ruined their moment, but then he spotted something red behind Carol and beamed. 

"Goose! Buddy!" he exclaimed and the Flerken came running to him. Loki let go of Tony and picked the cat-look-alike up to cuddle him. 

Tony groaned and rolled his eyes. He loved Loki more than anything but it really annoyed him that he had to share him with his pets. More often than not, Loki would forget Tony to spend time with his fluffy companions. Yes, that's right. They had gotten two cats. So Tony had to share his boyfriend with a dragon, a lizard and two cats. They were named Machiavelli and Shakespeare, by the way, because why not? And occasionally, Tony also had to share him with Goose. Of course. 

Okay, to be fair, Tony wasn't annoyed for long. Usually just a few brief moments. Because whenever Loki interacted with his pets or Goose, he was fucking adorable. So silly and giddy. And childish, frankly. But Tony loved seeing him like that. It meant he was comfortable. 

So, to be honest, Tony didn't really mind that he had to share his boyfriend. He knew that, no matter what, if he needed him, Loki would be right by his side. Just like he had been today. 

"How?" Steve suddenly asked, pulling Tony from his thoughts. Steve stared at Loki cuddling Goose with an expression of plain confusion. "Fury lost an eye!" 

Carol shrugged and smiled. "Goose loves Loki." 

"No surprise there," Tony said, smiling affectionately at his boyfriend cuddling the Flerken (however had he managed to gain the creature's trust?). Really, it was no surprise. Loki was exceptional with all kinds of animals and creatures. The story about the horse wasn't true though; Tony had asked. 

Tony put his arms around Loki's waist and rested his head on his shoulder. "Can we go home now?" he asked quietly. "I'm tired." 

Loki smiled softly at him but then grinned and abruptly stood up. "But we need to celebrate!" He turned to his brother. "THOR! ASGARDIAN FEAST!" he yelled. 

Thor's expression was one of utter delight and yes, even giddiness. Whatever Loki meant by what he had said, it made Thor cheer. "OH YES!" 

Tony had no idea what Loki meant by 'Asgardian Feast' but he had the feeling that it probably involved a lot of alcohol. 

***

So, Asgardian Feast was meant literally. 

Thor and Loki had turned the common floor of Avengers Tower into a feast hall. No one had been allowed on the common floor for hours until the princes had finished preparing everything. 

Tony had never seen Asgard before it had been destroyed but he knew a lot from Loki, who seemed to be sad that Tony would never be able to visit Asgard. Which was probably why the common floor now resembled exactly how Loki had described the feast hall in Asgard's palace. All gold and plants Tony had never seen before decorating the ceiling and walls. Instead of electric light, there were actual candelabra and chandeliers. The flickering light of the candles gave it all a very warm, homely (and medieval) atmosphere.

A large round table was in the middle of the room, decked with various foods, more than anyone could ever eat. Not even all of them would be able to finish this! There were also kegs of what Tony assumed was mead and wine and some "normal" alcohol. 

In the middle of the round table a fireplace was set up. It reminded Tony a bit about those French Asterix comics. From what he knew, feasts on Asgard had been held at a long table, not a round one. Loki said he preferred this because it made everyone equal, no one was at the head of the table, no one was better or more important than someone else. Very "King Arthur". He still had a point. 

Anyway, Thor and Loki looked very proud and pleased with their work. Loki had assured Tony that he'd have his undivided attention tonight. No dragons or lizards or cats, or Flerkens. Just Tony. 

Everyone gathered at the table and it was Loki who opened the feast by holding a short victory speech. 

They celebrated for hours. They ate and drank and laughed. All the tension was gone. All the fear. The threat was gone and they could live in peace. They could love and be happy and enjoy the next sunrise. And the next. And the next. 

It was well after midnight, the celebration still going and not showing any signs of ending any time soon, when Loki took Tony up to the roof. They looked up to the stars for a long time, Tony safely in Loki's arms. And then Loki retrieved something out of one of his pocket dimensions. Tony knew exactly what it was and there was no hesitation. So he took the golden apple from Loki and ate it. He could feel its effect immediately. He felt more alive, full of energy, younger and like he could climb a mountain with his bare hands. 

He smiled up at Loki. This was all he had ever hoped for and more. A life with Loki, millennia of them being together. He could see it. It wasn't just a dream, a fantasy, anymore. It was true now. 

They returned to the feast some time later and from the look Thor gave him, Tony knew that the Thunderer was aware of what had transpired on the roof. He got more proof of that when Thor hugged both him and Loki. Usually it would've made Tony's bones crack alarmingly but not this time. Tony grinned. 

The celebration carried on for days. There was never really a break. Well, this victory deserved a grant celebration. They had eliminated great evil and had saved the universe. They knew that the peace wouldn't last for them but they didn't worry. They were still here and as long as there was breath in their lungs, they would fight for Earth, for their home, for the ones they loved and held dear. 

Because that's what they did. What they'll always do. 

Because they were Avengers. 

But for now, they could celebrate their victory, spend time with their loved ones and enjoy the peace while it lasted. They could finally take a breath of relief and rest. 

***

Two years later, Tony asked Loki to marry him. They had a double-wedding with Steve and Bucky at Avengers Tower. It was spectacular and the happiest day of their lives. 

Tony and Loki decided to move away from New York. They moved to Norway but not New Asgard. Instead they had a large estate somewhere in the middle of nowhere. It was surrounded by dense forests and only a small walk downhill was a lake. It was perfect. Quiet and private. 

They still had Gwaine and Scaley the lizard and their two cats and their family was about to grow because Loki was pregnant (yes, he could get pregnant). Forget earlier, this was Tony's happiest day, the birth of his son. They named him Merlin, because why not? 

Occasionally, Carol visited and left Goose with them. Tony could see it happening that one day the Flerken wouldn't want to come with Carol anymore when she picked him up. But he also was convinced that Carol wouldn't mind because she knew Goose was in good hands. 

Steve had officially retired from the Avengers. He and Bucky had bought a house outside of New York and had adopted a baby girl which they had named Hope. They had also gotten a dog and had named him Rex. 

The rest of the Avengers were still active, with some new additions in the form of Peter Parker and some Inhumans. 

LORD resided on an inhabited island somewhere in the Caribbean which Loki kept hidden with a spell. Tony thought it would become a new Bermuda Triangle but Loki assured that that wouldn't happen. Only time would tell. 

Some dinosaurs still lived at Avengers Tower and helped when needed. Clint was their new commander and he loved it. He missed the old days though, the glory days of DTSWDT and the Mischief Squad. But he also understood why Tony and Loki had moved away, or Steve and Bucky. He was happy for them. They deserved it. He had his family back and was happy as well. His kids loved to play with the dinosaurs. His wife hadn't been okay with it in the beginning but now she didn't mind anymore. Two velociraptors stayed at Clint's farm and served as guard dogs. Well, guard dinos. 

Natasha came to Norway as much as possible because she was Merlin's godmother. Also, she and Bruce were dating, but technically nobody knew about that. 

Stephen had kept the dinosaur he had made friends with during the battle and had named him Stark. Apparently, the dinosaur was smart, mischievous and very stubborn. And also had taken a liking to coffee. 

Thor divided his time between New Asgard and New York. Being a leader was hard work but he had Loki as an advisor. And he actually also listened to what his little brother had to say. It was thanks to Loki that the remaining Asgardians had finally settled in their new home. 

They might have scattered but the Avengers were still there when needed. This team was an ideal that lived on. Even if some have moved on, others remained to continue the work. Because the world would always need heroes. 

The important thing though is, that they all were happy. 

All was well.

THE END

#fanfic #crack #nonsense #marvel #the avengers #incorrect avengers #very correct frostiron #frostiron #stucky #steve rogers #tony stark #loki #mcu loki #clint barton #natasha romanoff #jarvis #thor #bucky barnes #bruce banner #stephen strange #thanos #peter parker #captain marvel #carol danvers #goose the flerken #LORD #Legion of Random Dinos #Gwaine the Dragon #DTSWDT #Don't Tell Steve We're Doing This

[princesssarcastia]

here is the key to making me fall in love with a superhero narrative.

community.

obviously angst and the identity-porn, i-work-alone sole savior of the neighborhood/city/universe can work.  im particularly fond of the angst aspect, because it can be pretty delicious sometimes.

but goddamn, especially in marvel and dc, with how many superheroes ther are lying around, there is no excuse for going it alone. no excuse for not calling someone for help, or waving as you swing past, or picking up ticks and trips, or having dumb groupchat.

creating a sense of community among people feels so warm.  reading about being alone, the buffy-esque “i am the law” narrative, can be cathartic; like a really good tragedy.  but one after another after another is really really depressing.  what I always really want is for people to have friends, to have people like them.

cause, you know.  that’s what we all want, in the end.  and on a more personal level, the idea that people who just want to use their abilities to help can band together, and bond, and thrive, makes me have hope.

that’s part of why into the spiderverse was AMAZING.  All these other spider-people have their intro about suffering and tragedy and being alone; but not miles.  Miles Morales, breath of fresh air and heir to the narrative that he is, ends the movie with “and I’m not the only one.” 

he creates a sense of community where he stands by irrevocably claiming his family in the face of kingpin, by helping and hanging with the other spider-people and not standing for their self-sacrificing bs, by walking on the sidewalks among the people, laughing and joking and giving babies fist bumps.

(it’s also why that spark in the mcu died after ‘the avengers.’  or maybe a little later, maybe after ‘the winter soldier.’  because the feral cat assholes in the mcu never called each other family or cared about each other day to day or lived in the same tower together, never even called one another for help.  its so depressing. movie after movie after movie of self-righteous isolationism, ugh)

like.  okay, the black widow run that phil noto did art for was a solo thing, totally focused on natasha and her jobs/character growth/etc.  but she didn’t live in a bubble, and she wasn’t afraid to ask for help.  she runs into clint and daredevil in the day to day, and takes missions with the howling commandos, and calls wolverine (laura kinney) for help on her mission when she needs someone angry.  she is a part of a community that she can reach out to, and that reaches out to her in turn. 

which doesn’t even get into that amazing trope, that most often pops up in spider-man movies, where the literal, physical community that heroes protect protect the heroes back. 

that’s what i want, always.  that’s how i would write it if i could, every time.

and i’m not the only one.  here’s some marvel verse recs that do this well:

for the superhero community:

Inimitable Verse, by deniigiq on ao3. uhhh holy shit, a monster of a spin on the iconic Team Red trope.  vaguely mcu ajacent. Peter Parker comes out of semi, grad-school-inspired retirement to a city in need and a rash of copycats who have risen to the challenge; he calls his old pals Wade Wilson and Matt Murdock to help him put things to rights, and makes a new team along the way because hell yes. 10/10, would recommend.  author does some excellent stuff with the mental burden of being a superhero, too, and how having a community/support system helps.

give us an our father, by deniigiq on ao3.  another classic.  wade wilson assembles an odd team composed of the punisher, falcon, hawkeye, the winter soldier, and elektra to go rescue matt murdock from enemies unknown.  some more willingly than others.  deniigiq has a plethora of good marvel content for you if you want to go through it, and a lot of it has that community bug i’m talking about.

Inside Her Ruined Body, by OctaviaPerverell on ao3.  a fem!tony stark mcu post-civil war series where Toni goes around rebuilding the avengers and recruiting some bby!avengers along the way.

brandywine421 on ao3 has a bunch of defenders fic where they actually, you know.  like each other, and call each other, and are friends.  I just burned through them last week because they’re all delightful. rice krispies is a particularly good example of this, if you want a starting point; it’s a post-mcu-snap fic.

Claire Temple’s Home for Wayward Superhumans, by words-writ-in-starlight on ao3.  In which word gets around about Claire Temple, mostly because she’s always going to help vigilantes who fall into her path, and they sometimes help her back.

my hero, your pariah (the future is now), by words-writ-in-starlight on ao3.  I’m particularly fond of starlight’s steve rogers, who in this (spoilers) gets into a fight with a sexist asshole in ch1 and calls his superhero friends to escort women to the entrance of a clinic in ch2.

for the real, physical community trope:

Maggie Fitzgerald and the Saltwater Drip, by antistar_e on ao3.  A Spider-Gwen au of TASM verse, and literally in top five favorite fics i’ve ever read.   Gwen (vague spoilers) interacts with different communities in new york in a meaningful way, and learns a little about privilege along the way.  Her adventures in mask with MJ’s theater company are goals.

Battle Plans, by prettybirdy979 on ao3.  Daredevil gets his ass saved by the nurses at Claire’s hospital

(A City Full of) Helping Hands, by aloneintherain on ao3.  Peter Parker Spider-Man swallows a gas bomb and incites a city-wide search to save him. 

Last to Know, by whitcry9 on ao3. Brett Mahoney’s attempts to get a decent description of daredevil are hilariously deterred by the denizens of hell’s kitchen.

if you have recs like this, please please PLEASE let me know, i’m always looking

#community #marvel #superheroes #good superhero narratives #writing advice #sort of?? like everyone who writes about superheroes should do this #fic recs

[birdiefw]

Tony Stark: Home

Summary: Losing your husband was the worst thing that happened to you, but you weren’t ready to let him go just yet.

Warnings: Depression, Stucky canon, implied brucenat, mentions of sex, fluff, Endgame changes/spoilers.

Word count: 1717

A/N: I refuse to accept what happened in Endgame so this is just me trying to cope and create a little imagine to help with my never-ending sadness. If you don’t like what I changed about Endgame (which really isn’t even that much), then please don’t read this; what I changed is also stated in the warnings. P.S. Bruce now chooses when he becomes the Hulk rather than having combined with the Hulk.

Sadness.

That was all you felt.

It was like all the air had been sucked out of your lungs when you saw your husband take his last breaths after sacrificing himself for the universe. You didn’t know if it was real at first, but when he failed to move despite your loud pleas and sobs that wrecked through your body, your heart tore into millions shreds and fell into the deepest pit of your stomach where you could no longer feel a thing. It took everything in your body to not completely crumble right then and there, but with strong arms pulling you up to your feet and into their tight embrace, you crumbled, letting out every emotion you felt through your flow of tears.

Tears of anger, grief, sadness, and every other emotion you felt tumbled down your face and soaked into the fabric of Steve Rogers suit as he held you tightly. You could hear his own sniffles, saddened with the loss of Tony, as was everyone else. The world would never be the same without Tony Stark, everyone knew that, but none of them would feel the pain of it as much you did.

No matter what anyone said or tried in an attempt to comfort you over your loss, it meant nothing. Tony’s funeral was a complete blur for you, faces mixing together and words never really registering in your mind. You heard them, but your mind was blank as was your heart without your husband by your side, whispering in your ear that everything would be alright. Everyone walked on eggshells around you, not wanting to make you even more upset or be at the wrath of your anger.

You felt terrible for not talking to anyone, but each time you tried, memories of Tony trying to speak to his final words to you popped up into your mind and made tears brew in your eyes. You didn’t know what was to come next for you, but alone at the compound where you were meant to be picking up some things, you found yourself wandering around aimlessly. It was something that you and Tony would do in your spare time and when no one else was around, sometimes using that to your advantage to have some fun in the many open spaces with the full risk of being seen or caught. However, you found yourself standing in Scott’s guest room, eyes suddenly locked on some Pym Particles that were placed on his messy dresser.

You hadn’t spoke to Scott much, but he did offer you his condolences and said if you ever needed anything to let him know. The same had been said by the Pym family, having caught you off guard with the known fact Hank Pym had never been the biggest fan of Tony, but you smiled to thank them nonetheless. You didn’t even mean to Scott’s in his room—you thought it was Bruce’s—but a small spark inside you told you it was meant to be.

Thankfully, the time machine was still around and in tact, Bruce having wanted to keep it to study it for a while. No one besides him paid much attention to it anymore, everyone else having began to move on with their lives and try to live the life Tony would’ve wanted them to. You, on the other hand, got an idea and found yourself stood in front of the time machine, that particles held in each of your hands, lips pursed and the idea swirling around in your mind.

After Steve returned the stones and came back to live his life with Bucky after he passed the mantle of Captain America to none other than Sam Wilson, they’d left the time machine alone. Bruce was taking some time to research the particles and how it reacted with the time machine, which made you believe that’s why Scott had more of it.

You knew you shouldn’t, but every fiber in your body ached to be with Tony, to see his smile, to hear his laugh, to feel his gentle touch run along your skin. His smile was your favorite thing in the world, and you craved to see it one last time.

Standing front of the machine, you sucked in a breath and turned it on. You were there when they all went off the first time, taking the infinity stones from the past and returning with them a minute later. You’d watched every move Bruce made, taking note of what he pressed and turned, happy that you’d paid so much attention to it at the time. You softly smiled to yourself, glancing to the suits that were thrown off to the side; no one planned on using them anytime soon. You quickly snatched two up and rushed up the platform, feeling the suit begin to form over Tony’s AC/DC shirt you were and jeans after you pressed the button, a little gasp leaving your lips when it was finished after you placed the other one in your pocket.

You sucked in a sharp breath, glancing down to the Pym Particles; you had four with you. One to go, and one to come back. The other two were incase you actually managed to convince Tony to come back with you, but you knew there was a chance he wouldn’t believe you, but still, you wanted them incase. You shook out your arms and legs, mentally preparing yourself for what you were about to attempt. There were many things that could go wrong, but the hope of seeing Tony again was enough to push you to do it.

“Y/N? Are you in here?” A voice called out. Your eyes widened and your head snapped to the side, shock appearing on your features when you saw Tony come into the room. The helmet of your suit slid down, revealing your face to him. He froze, your eyes flicking behind when you saw Bruce Banner.

Bruce offered you a sheepish smile. “Hey, uh, yeah, I guess I beat you to it.”

Your lips parted, looking back to Tony in utter shock. He looked so much different, but still the same somehow. He was a little younger, wearing the same shirt you had on, but yours was more worn and faded. Tears brewed in your eyes and you shakily stepped down from the platform, hand covering your mouth as Tony and Bruce approached you. Your gaze shifted back to Bruce, slightly lowering your hand and brows frurrowed. “But. .how? Why—?”

“I missed him, too,” Bruce said. “Besides, our world still needs him, but not as much as you. I’ll give you guys a few minutes.”

Your eyes softened and you sniffled, taking a small step towards Tony. You two had dated ever since he defeated Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer, having gotten married a little after Peter Parker had managed to web himself into your lives. You’d yet to have any children of your own, always saying you would when the time was right, but things always got in the way of that all.

Your heart lurched and your hand reached out, hesitantly touching Tony’s face. You couldn’t believe how quiet he’s been, always the one to speak up first, but he hasn’t said a single thing. Your glassy eyes met his own and you sniffled when your hand touched his cheek, feeling him lean into your touch. “This is too good to be true,” you whispered, almost afraid this was somehow a trick being played on you by your own mond.

“Well, it is me. Many people feel that way when meeting me,” he said, causing you to chuckle at his cockiness. Tony sighed, taking your hand and linking your fingers together. “I’m still not entirely sure what happened, Green Giant over there wouldn’t give me all the details, but it took some time and he told me things that only I would know, and while I did have my doubts, I thought it would be nice to see the future, and of course, you.”

You let out a little laugh and playfully rolled your eyes. “Seriously? That’s why you came?”

Tony grinned innocently. “Maybe, maybe not. I didn’t really peg you to be one to ruin the past all for—”

Your face fell when his voice abruptly stopped, concern washing over your features. You opened your mouth to speak, but your eyes followed his gaze, noticing he was staring at your wedding ring that shined on your wedding finger. He slowly looked up to meet your gaze, a small smile working its way onto his lips. “You always did have the best taste,” you smirked.

Tony beamed, chuckling. “Yes, I did. But. . .what do you say we get married? I know we already were, but technically—”

“Tony, are you trying to propose to me with the ring your future self already bought?”

“Uh, maybe?”

“Oh my god! You’re such an idiot,” you laughed, pulling into you to give him a hug. You were still sniffling some, but joy was overtaking you.

“But I’m your idiot, right?”

“Of course.” You pulled away, a content sigh leaving your lips. You still couldn’t believe he was standing right in front of you. You allowed your eyes to take in every feature of him, your smile never once faltering. You finally had him back, and he had you. You grinned, biting your lip. “And, you know, we never actually got to have those kids we wanted. . .”

“Say no more—”

A throat cleared behind you, your eyes tripling in size at the sight of the woman. “I’m sorry, did I step on your moment?”

Your eyes isn’t alright shifted to Bruce. He innocently shrugged, grinning from ear to ear as Natasha Romanoff made her way into the room. “Did I forget to mention we brought Nat back, too?”

You laughed, shaking your head.

You finally had your family back.

Tony squeezed your hand, recapturing your attention. “About that family—”

You playfully rolled your eyes and moved forward without a second thought, connecting your lips in a passionate kiss. You hands pressed the sides of his head, one of his arms shaking around your waist the while the other firmly pressed against your back, pushing your chests’ together. You held him onto him tightly, promising to never let go of him and basking in the joy that Tony Stark, and Natasha Romanoff, we’re both home.

——

A/N: This is only like my second time writing something like this, but I hope you all enjoyed! If you’d like to see more, drop some requests in my inbox!! (:

#avengers #tony stark x reader #tony stark #iron man #robert downey jr #rdj #tom holland #brucenat #marvel imagine #peter parker #spiderman #avengers endgame #endgame spoilers #natasha romanoff #bruce banner #stucky #stevetony #stevebucky #gotg #guardians of the galaxy #peter parker x reader #zendaya #tom holland x reader #clint barton #captain marvel #black widow #marvel

[capfalcon]

destined

(stevetony AU. commission for my darling @stevetvny.)

Tony doesn’t even want to go to the party. The idea of dressing up just to go to a work party feels dumb and stupid and like a complete waste of his time. But because Tony is a good friend, and because Rhodey won the game or rock paper scissors, here Tony is, at said work party, dressed up, despite the fact that everyone here is too drunk to care, or to even notice.

“I am so bored,” he whines, leaning his head against Rhodey’s shoulder. “Why the hell are you here anyway?”

Rhodey huffs a little and sets down his glass before Tony can knock it over. “Because I got promoted, Tony? Ring a bell?”

Tony rolls his eyes and shuffles a little on his feet. “Yes, yes you did, and I’m very proud of you, sugar bear, but why do I have to be here?”

“Because if I’m going to be miserable for tonight, so are you. It’s only fair,” Rhodey says, and Tony doesn’t even have to see him to know that he’s smirking.

“You’re a menace,” Tony grumbles, and Rhodey shakes his head.

“Love you too, Tony.”

Tony huffs again and stands up, looking around the room. “Open bar, right?” he asks Rhodey, grabbing his glass.

Rhodey tilts his head and shrugs one shoulder. “Yeah, but if you get wasted, I’m not carrying your drunk ass back to your apartment.”

Tony smirks and walks off to the bar, weaving through the crowd, various people in different stages of sobriety. He finally manages to make it to the bar, and he leans against the counter, setting down his glass and gesturing for another one.

The bartender gives him a quick once over and then sets about pouring Tony’s drink, so Tony takes the chance to survey the room. Maybe the night doesn’t have to be a complete disaster. After all, a lot of Rhodey’s coworkers are pretty and attractive, so maybe Tony can make some good come out of this.

He’s scanning the room, looking for viable candidates when the bartender taps him on the shoulder and slides his drink in front of him.

“If I were you, I’d be looking to your right,” she says, and Tony swivels his head to see who she’s talking about.

It takes a little while to see him, but once he does, Tony nearly chokes on his goddamn drink.

What the fuck? he thinks, coughing.

It’s not that the stranger is absurdly hot or something, although he is, it’s the fact that said stranger is Steve Rogers.

Steve Rogers as in, Tony’s former arch-nemesis, his most hated person in the world, Steve Rogers.

Fuck, Tony thinks, looking him up and down. Jesus fuck. What the hell, universe? There is no way in hell that should be fair.

Rogers is leaning against the bar, smiling at Tony, as if this is the most natural thing in the world. When Tony finally stops coughing, and when he’s grabbed his drink, he manages to walk over to him, standing next to him.

“Been a while,” he says, purposefully looking at anything that isn’t Steve, because goddamn, Tony might actually melt. Steve had been attractive in high school, but he’d been so sickly, so fragile and otherwise unhealthy that Tony had never really paid much attention to that part of him.

But now, there’s no denying the confidence in which he holds himself, all broad shoulders and muscles, smiling down at Tony. It’s almost enough to make Tony choke again, the way Steve’s biceps are fighting the shirt he’s wearing.

“It has,” Steve says in a soft tone, and damn, was his voice always so low and sultry, because Tony thinks he’d remember that.

“How you been?” Tony asks, trying to ignore the giant red warning signs going off in his brain.

“Good,” Steve replies, turning so that he can look Tony in the eyes. “You?”

Tony shrugs a shoulder. “You know, here and there.”

Steve smiles a little wider, almost a laugh, and Tony wants to choke him, he really does, because how is that even fair? You’re making it really hard to keep hating you, Tony thinks, knocking the rest of his drink back a little viciously.

“So, why are you here?” Steve asks, and Tony blinks himself back to the present.

Tony turns his head, looking for Rhodey, and then points when he finds him. “I’m here because Rhodey, the absolute bastard, made me come. This isn’t even my work party. I’m his plus one, which is funny, because he really has a crush on some girl in HR, I think her name’s Carol?”

“Carol’s nice,” Steve says thoughtfully. “She was Air Force.”

Tony tilts his head and considers that thought. “Rhodey never told me. Interesting.”

“You always were joined at the hip.”

“Excuse me?”

“Rhodes,” Steve says, tilting his head at him. “In high school. You guys did practically everything together.”

“Yeah,” Tony says, shrugging. “Look what that got me. At a work party that isn’t even mine, talking to the guy who used to hate my guts in high school.”

Steve’s smile drops right off his face, and it twists into something unpleasant, pained and regretful.

“Tony,” he starts, “About that.”

“-No, no,” Tony says, waving a hand. “The past is past, right Rogers? I agree to move on, you do too? Besides, why did we even hate each other? Some dumb reason, I’m sure. So let’s move on, I forgive you, I’m sorry, all that other bullshit. Sound good?”

Steve blinks at him slowly, processing the word vomit Tony’s just spewed out. “No,” he finally says, and Tony feels his heart stop.

“What do you mean no?”

“No. I was a jerk to you without a reason, and I’m sorry. That was on me.”

And jesus, what’s Tony supposed to say to that? Thank you?

“Cool,” he finally settles on, and he wants to slap himself. “I mean-I’m sorry too. I don’t know why I hated you.”

Except I do, he thinks, in the privacy of his own head. You were always so fucking perfect, all the time. And the way you looked at me. It was like I feel ants crawling under my skin. I could never tell if I wanted to hit you or kiss you.

And then suddenly, because Tony’s dumb and impulsive and a little bit self-sacrificing, he claps his hands together and pushes himself away from the bar.

“Great,” he says, smiling at Steve, “Now that we’ve gotten the unpleasantries out of the way, why don’t we blow this popsicle stand? Not that I’m not loving the whole, depressed, mid-life crisis vibe in here, but it’s kinda harshing my mellow, if you feel me?”

Steve quirks his lips at Tony, and shakes his head, smiling. “Okay,” he says, slowly, “But this isn’t going to be like that one time in high school where you ran through the hallways wearing a pink, glittery leotard, is it?”

Tony’s mouth drops open and he shakes a finger at Steve. “God,” he says, speechless, “That’s slander, and I don’t appreciate it, Rogers.”

Steve laughs a little, and Tony finds himself basking in the sound, its warmth and comfort, as if it’s such a natural thing, for Steve Rogers to be laughing at a joke Tony’s made.

“Where do you want to go?” Steve asks, pushing the door open for Tony, and god if that doesn’t make him swoon, just the slightest bit.

“I know this great burger joint,” Tony offers, and Steve nods, following Tony out the door.

“Okay,” Steve replies, soft, and his eyes are strange as they meet Tony’s, unguarded and watchful, as if he’s contemplating something.

They end up getting burgers at a place across the street, and as Steve dips a french fry into his milkshake and then looks up at Tony, eyes lit up with amusement, Tony feels the same way he used to in high school, back when they’d been dumb kids, and sworn enemies.

“So,” Steve asks, sliding the basket of fries over to Tony, his tone teasing, “How come you’re being so nice to me all of a sudden? Is it the muscles?”

Tony chokes on his coke and proceeds to have an intense coughing fit before he can meet Steve’s eyes again.

“That’s the second time tonight, Rogers,” he says, shaking his head, “You’re bad for my health.”

“Aww,” Steve says, his eyes bright, “You’re not the first person that’s told me that, although I am flattered.”

And that makes Tony blush, genuinely blush, before he can speak again.

“No,” he finally says, meeting Steve’s eyes, “It’s not the muscles.”

“Oh?” Steve asks, intrigued. “What is it then? Because if I’m being real, I kind of thought it was.”

“No!” Tony blurts out, too quickly for his liking. “I didn’t pick on you during high school because of how you looked, Steve, jeez, I’m an asshole, but I’m not a complete dick, at least, I hope not. I picked on you because I was confused and you were always so fucking perfect all the time, and also, not to mention, I was slightly completely infatuated with you.”

Steve pauses, a french fry half way towards his mouth, and then his eyes widen.

“Wait,” he says, “What?”

Tony tilts his head and sighs. “Really, Rogers? You want me to repeat it?”

“I just want to make sure I heard you right.”

“You’re a complete dick, and I hate you.”

“Really?” Steve asks, leaning forward. “Because I don’t think that’s what you said. Something more along the lines of infatuation?”

Tony grins and rolls his eyes, reaching a hand out to swat at Steve. “You’re terrible.”

“Yeah,” Steve replies, grinning at Tony over his milkshake, “But you like it.”

“Doubtful,” Tony says, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re full of shit, Stark,” Steve retorts, but there’s no heat behind it.

Tony grins back, and they finish their fries, smiling stupid wide grins at each other from across the table. Eventually, the store closes, and they wind up outside, leaning against the hood of Steve’s car.

“I liked you too,” Steve says, soft and quiet while looking up at the sky.

“Sorry, what was that?” Tony teases, and Steve huffs, elbowing Tony in the side.

“I liked you a lot. I never really knew what to do. You were always so…so much. You were so loud and so bossy and god, you acted like you knew everything. It was exhausting, keeping up with you, Tony.”

“You did alright, Rogers.”

Steve snorted, looking up at the stars. “Yeah,” he said softly, “But whenever you’d step too close while yelling at me, I’d count the freckles on your nose, or the times you blinked. Come to think of it, it wasn’t exactly what I’d call healthy.”

Tony laughs, and scoots closer to Steve. “That one time, in drama? You remember that?”

“Of course.”

“I almost kissed you. You were so damn close and so fucking annoying, jesus. I just wanted to grab you and make you shut up, for one damn second.”

Steve laughed, the sound loud in the quiet air. “You should’ve,” he said, turning to meet Tony’s eyes. “I would’ve thanked you for it.”

“Yeah?” Tony breathes, and his brain is short circuiting a little, because Steve is so close, and his voice is that deep kind of low that Tony’s always loved.

“Yeah,” Steve replies, and it’s barely sound, just breath between their mouths.

When they finally lean in fully, the kiss is soft and gentle, and Tony finds himself fighting the urge to smile against Steve’s mouth. Steve’s hand comes up to cup Tony’s jaw, and Tony winds one arm around his waist. They both taste like the milkshakes they just had, and it’s kind of perfect, kissing in an empty parking lot, under the stars.

“So?” Steve asks, when they pull away, his thumb gently caressing Tony’s cheek, “How was it?”

“Overdue,” Tony replies, grinning, “10 years overdue.”

“Worth it?”

Tony laughs, pulling Steve back in. “A thousand percent. So worth it. Perfect.”

They stay there until Rhodey texts Tony a picture of them making out on the hood of Steve’s car, captioned with a text that reads: “FUCKIN’ FINALLY! ONLY TOOK YOU TEN YEARS!”

commission me! 

#stony #stevetony #steve/tony #stevextony #superhusbands #steve rogers #tony stark #ironman #steverogers #tonystark #mine #stony fanfic #stony fanfiction #iron man #captain america #stony fic #captainamerica

[masonjar191]

ThorBruce AU

Pain 

Changed canon- Loki does not cause the battle of New York, it’s all Thanos.

Everyone is born with two letters on their wrist- the initials of their soulmate. Not every soulmate is a romantic partner, many are best friends, the kind you want to spend every waking moment with, and when you are apart you feel as if you’ll never be happy again until you are in their presence. Most are the same age, born days, weeks, or a few months apart. Rarer are the pairings in which the soulmate in question isn’t even a thought. Even rarer yet are when soulmates are decades or centuries apart in age.

Thor, the Asgardian prince, would live over a thousand years before his soulmate, a Midgardian by the name of Bruce would be born. It would be longer still until they met while saving the world from an alien attack.

 8-year-old Thor snuggled into bed as he begged his Mum to tell a story. “About the soulmates, Mummy!” he thought to his own mark, displaying the initials “RB”. He wondered what their name was, what they looked like, when he would meet them and on what Realm…

“Well, Thor,” Frigga began. “Since the beginning of time, there have been soulmates, whose souls were torn apart during the Big Bang that created the Nine Realms. Every being ever born had and will have a soulmate. My soulmate is your Father, yours is RB, Loki’s is GM. You will know when you have met them because you will be engulfed in light and your marks will change color to match their favorite hue. After you meet, you will feel their pain, albeit muted.”

Thor smiled, dreaming of the day he gets to meet RB.

 Bruce Banner was born Rebecca Alice Banner in 1969, a little over 1,000 years after his soulmate. From a young age, he never felt right in his body, leading to him declaring he was a boy at age 12.

“What the fuck do you mean you’re a boy?” Brian Banner screamed that night. “This TO man on your wrist isn’t going to want to be mated to a faggot. God damn it, Rebecca, I won’t raise a tranny!” Brian hit Bruce over the head, knocking the pre-teen unconscious.

When the young boy awoke, he cried, knowing his father would never accept him. Why would Brian? All Bruce had known was abuse from the alcoholic, hell, Brian had killed Bruce’s mother in front of him just a few months prior. Bruce knew if his mom was still alive, she would accept him, she had always been kind and accepting of the “Queers” he saw on television sometimes. Bruce knew he was a queer, liking boys while he knew deep inside, he was one as well. He knew TO was a man as well, although how old, he didn’t know.

 “When will I be king?” the now almost-grown Thor asked Odin. He was physically a grown man. Hel, even his little brother was in his late adolescent years and Thor was 500 years older than Loki!

“When you meet your soulmate, my boy,” Odin grumbled, becoming used to the question being asked from both of his sons. Hela had asked when she would be Queen, as well. At one point she had taken the thrown forcefully, only to be banished. Odin was thankful he had raised his sons to be peaceful rather than seek war. Or at least he thought he had until Thor went to Jotunheim to fight the Frost Giants that had interrupted his coronation.

Odin was to be entering Odinsleep soon, so he temporarily named the boy King, even though neither boy had met his soulmate. Truth be told, Odin had put it off so long that he was afraid the stress would kill him, but he could not force either boy to meet their soulmate. A temporary arrangement would be enough. Until Thor disobeyed him.

“Damn it, boy! This is why I put this off for so long! You are a foolish, cruel, vain boy!” Odin screamed when he rescued Thor from Jotunheim.

“And you are an old man and a fool!” Thor retorted.

“You are unworthy! Unworthy of the crown, of your power,” Odin cried as he stripped Thor of his Asgardian strength. “I hereby banish you to Midgard!” Odin hoped Thor would meet his soulmate on Midgard. He set upon two terms to end his banishment- either Thor gets over his selfishness, or he meets his soulmate.

 After Bruce left home in 1990, he immediately began transitioning. The twenty-year-old scraped together enough money to start hormones, get his breasts removed, and change his name to Robert Bruce Banner. He knew his soulmate would be looking for an RB, so he reluctantly kept the R initial. He had gone by Bruce at school since he entered senior high. Then, he poured himself into his studies, earning seven Ph.D.’s- in Gamma radiation, sexual health, astrophysics, Nuclear physics, philosophy, biochemistry, and medicine.

Bruce had taken up a teaching job at Culver University as Professor of Biochemistry. After the 9/11 attacks, he dedicated his life to helping others, which led him to be recruited by Thaddeus Ross. Unfortunately, it had the side effect of turning the young scientist into what became known as Hulk.

While Bruce had once, and still, hated himself because he was born female, he now hated himself because he turned into a green rage monster if he got angry. He went on the run, sacrificing his testosterone for his safety. Eventually, he was found, but not before he attempted suicide to rid himself of the monster. Looking back, Bruce was thankful he had failed, knowing TO would never forgive himself if Bruce had died before they met.

Years later, after Bruce got back on T, although still on the run from the military, he was focused on providing medical care for others, deciding that even if he could turn into Hulk, he could use his normal, less-of-a-freak self for good rather than the destruction Hulk brought.

Thor didn’t meet his soulmate- in fact, RB was on the other side of the country, but he proved himself worthy by sacrificing himself to save his friends on Midgard.

“Did you meet RB?” Loki asked excitedly when Thor returned.

“What do you think, brother?” Thor snapped, shoving the still black letters to Loki’s face. “Did you meet GM yet?”

“Nay, though I hope I meet them soon, I’m tired of being a child by Asgardian terms,”

“Loki, as the Midgardians see it, you’re a child there too. I am barely an adult.  If RB would hurry up and enter my life, that would be grand!”

“I am sure we will meet our soulmates soon. Now, guess what our dear father bestowed upon me during your absence! I am Jotun! Yeah, I know! He picked me up as a babe, but hey, I can do ice magic now!”

 A few months after Thor’s banishment ended, he and Loki were sent on a quest to Midgard because a group called The Black Order were planning on stealing the Tesseract.

“Perhaps you’ll meet your soulmate!” Loki cheered as they departed from the Bifrost. “We are long overdue, us being over a thousand years old.”

“What about you, dear brother? Don’t you want to meet GM?”

“Yes, Thor, we all want to meet our soulmates. But, let’s face it, you’re older, you are going to inherit the throne first. You proved your worthiness, I haven’t, even if we have not met our soulmates.”

 Bruce was pissed. He had been whisked off from India, where he was doing good for once in his life, back to the United States, back to New York, to find this Tesseract thing. But Bruce knew better. This SHIELD organization just wanted to experiment on Hulk, they always did. Why couldn’t Bruce have been born into a loving family, as a boy, and not turn into a monster?

“H-Hey I’m Bruce Banner,” Bruce stuttered when the quinjet landed and he met the team he would be working with: Tony Stark, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Erik Selvig, the Norse Gods Thor and Loki, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, and Natasha Romanoff.

 God damn, Thor thought when he laid eyes on Bruce. That guy is stunning!

“Good to meet you, Dr. Banner,” Tony said as he shook Bruce’s hand. I hope that wasn’t weak. “Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled, and I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”

“Thanks,” Bruce replied sarcastically. At least no one here cared, or hopefully even knew he was trans.

“Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube,” called Fury. Thank you! “I was hoping you might join him.”

Captain Rogers spoke up. “Let’s start with that stick of his, Thanos I mean. It’s magical but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon.”

“I don’t know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I’d like to know how Thanos turned two of our sharpest men into his personal flying monkeys.”

“Monkeys?” Thor questioned. Bruce wondered. TO? Could that stand for Thor, Son of Odin, or Odinson?

“I understood that reference!” Steve smiled, while Tony rolled his eyes at the recently defrosted Soldier.

However, before Bruce could test his Soulmate theory, Tony whisked him away to do research.

 Thor decided to do research on Dr. Banner and found out his first name was actually Robert. “Loki! I think Dr. Banner is RB! Look, his first name is Robert!” he cheered.

“Now to get close enough for the soulmate bond to recognize. You have to be touching, right?” Loki asked for clarification.

“Yes! At the end of the battle, I’ll give him a celebratory hug!” Thor hugged Loki for reference, in his signature rib-crushing style.

“Ouch, brother, do you want to kill your soulmate? He is merely mortal!”

“Alas, soulmate Banner is tougher than he looks.”

“He looks like an anxious mess,” Loki pointed out. “I have a point; he is especially fragile! Look at how he stood, playing with his sleeves and picking at his fingers.”

“I will teach him that he does not have to fear, that I will always be there, his soulmate.”

 “That’s my secret, Cap. I’m always angry,” Bruce calmly said as he transformed into Hulk to take down the Chitauri and the rest of the Black Order.

That’s my fucking soulmate! Thor thought as he continued battling. Eventually, Thor cut off Thanos’ head with a sword he had taken from one of the dead Black Order… creatures. It was official, there was no remaining child of Thanos. They had won.

Thor threw the sword to the side and charged over to Hulk, who was transforming back to Bruce. He was glad his armor that day was sleeveless, he wanted to see his mark change. He didn’t care that Bruce was naked, he was going to hug his soulmate, damn it!

The two were engulfed in a flurry of light for a mere moment, but their arms stung as Thor’s mark changed to purple, while Bruce’s turned red.

“Holy shit,” Bruce swore, then realized he was naked, and moved quickly to hide from the Avengers and SHIELD agents. “Please, don’t look at me!” he yelled as he pulled on some discarded clothing.

“My soulmate! What troubles you?” Thor thundered, causing Bruce to flinch.

“What happened to your penis? Blown off in war?” Steve asked curiously. “I knew a few guys in my time who had that happen.”

“Uh, yeah, I can’t afford the surgery to get a new one.” Bruce lied. The man was from the 40s, who knew how he felt about queers?

“And those lines on your chest?” Bruce blushed, hard.

“Friend, Captain, do not worry my soulmate! He will tell us about his traumas when he is ready, and it is obvious he is not ready!” Thor explained as he held Bruce’s hand to stop him from running. It also served to calm the man.

“Thank you,” Bruce sighed. He’d never had anyone stand up for him like that.

 Thor was back on Asgard. ‘How did I get here? I was with Bruce.’ he thought, several theories firing up as he waited for whatever had him home.

“So, you met your soulmate!” Odin called out, walking over to Thor and patting his son on the back. “Have you completed the final part of the ritual?”

“W-what ritual? We hugged and then our marks changed. Is that not it?” Thor asked with confusion. In all his years, in all the times he had asked about his soulmate and what happened when you met the, neither Odin nor Frigga mentioned a ritual.

“Nay, my son. The final part of the ritual allows you to feel their pain and emotions.”

“Then tell me what it is so I can complete it!” Thor chuckled. Why was Odin keeping it a secret?

“Alright, my boy, I cannot keep this from you forever. To complete the soulmate ritual, the two souls must combine, so to speak.”

“Combine? How the Norns?”

“Thor, you are a young man, surely you have had sex!” Odin laughed as he patted his boy on the back. Thor’s face flushed.

“Yeah, definitely!” he lied. “So, all I have to do is bed my soulmate?”

“Yes, my boy. Now, you need not lie to me, son. It’s fine to wait for your soulmate.”

“Did you, Father?” asked Thor, feigning innocence. He may not have had much action, unlike his little brother, but he knew enough from Loki’s bragging.

“I would be lying if I said I waited,” Odin admitted.

 Bruce almost Hulked out when he realized he and Thor had to have sex if they wanted to fully activate the Soulmate Bond. If he could have been dysphoric about his lack of a penis at only one moment, this would be it. ‘Does Hulk have a dick?’ he wondered, never taking the time to check, or perhaps he never had the thought. Would Thor want to fuck him even if he had… that?

 When Thor awoke, he was glad to find that he had not left Stark Tower, where the Avengers had set up a temporary living space. Much of the building was covered in debris from yesterday’s attack, but Tony’s apartment was safe, and he ha a few guest rooms. Clint and Nat had shared, as they were soulmates and had already bonded. Tony paired Bruce and Thor up, though thankfully their room had two beds- soulmates or not, they had just met. Tony had his own room, leaving Steve to the couch.

He staggered to the kitchen and decided to look for food. Pop tarts! He exclaimed when he saw the delightful treat. He popped two into the toaster and poured a cup of coffee.

“You’re up early,” noted Bruce as he walked into the kitchen soon after Thor sat down.

“A warrior always rises early. That, and I couldn’t sleep any longer. I’ve been thinking about this soulmate bond,” Thor said.

“Yeah, me too. I’ve had one-night stands before, but it feels different when it’s with my soulmate. Especially when he’s as handsome as you,” Bruce paused. “I want to get to know you in other areas than the bedroom before we do that. I’ve always had an interest in mythology, and it’s not every day one of the figures you’ve spent your whole life reading is your soulmate. I’ve only read your stories; I don’t know the man behind them!”

“Which story is your favorite?” Thor asked with enthusiasm, he loved recounting his adventures, now his soulmate was well versed in them. This was a dream come true.

“Probably the one where you had to dress up like a bride to get Mjolnir back!”

“Ah, yes. Now that was awkward. I had never felt such shame in my life, not until Odin banished me to Midgard after I attacked Jotunheim because they ruined my coronation.”

Bruce looked at his soulmate in wonder. “I never read that myth!”

Thor laughed. “That is because it happened last year.”

“It happened last year?”

“That is what I said.”

“Damn, I was, uh, tearing up Harlem at the time.” Bruce blushed as he remembered the last time he had been in New York. “Anyway, can you tell me the story?”

“Why, yes, Banner. So, me and my brother, Loki, have always been extremely close. When my coronation was interrupted by the Frost Giants, Odin forbid me from attacking them. In rage, I disobeyed my father, and me, Loki, my friends the Warriors Three, and Lady Sif traveled to Jotunheim, where we were attacked. Odin found us, and he was pissed that I had started a war with the Jotun. Long story short, he saw me unfit to be king. I must admit that I was arrogant and said some things I regret. He put a spell on my hammer that said only those worthy could lift it, and if they could, they would have my powers. He sent me to a place called New Mexico, where I met a young scientist by the name of Jane Foster.”

“I’ve heard of Jane, she’s a genius on the field of astrophysics! I’ve wanted to work with her for years, you know her?”

“Yes, she helped me to get my hammer back! I saved her from being killed by a being known as the Destroyer. He nearly killed me, but my selfless act proved me worthy and I was saved!”

‘He’s so fucking brave’ thought Bruce as he listened intently to Thor’s story. Of his adventure in New Mexico.

“What about you? Do you have any adventures?” Thor asked.

“N-not any that I would be able to tell, bad memories,” Bruce admitted quietly. “Whether it’s my mom being killed, my dad being abusive, being trapped in this hellhole of a vessel I call my body and my mind, being the Hulk,” he listed, every bad thing that had happened in his life flashing back to him. The only good times he had were in science labs, studying science.

“What’s wrong with your body? You’re incredibly handsome, Bruce. I don’t care I you have a penis or not. You’re still a man in my eyes.”

“It, uh, wasn’t blasted off in war. I never had one. These scars on my chest?” Bruce started, pulling his shirt off as he pointed to the thin lines lining the bottoms of his pecs. “Were from when I had my chest tissue surgically removed. Thor, I was born female.” Bruce’s eyes burned with the beginnings of tears, he could feel Hulk thundering in the back of his mind, begging to be released.

“HULK SMASH” he yelled in Hulk’s voice, before slipping back into Banner-mode. He threw his fists down onto the bed as he flopped onto it. His skin turned green but otherwise, he was still Banner. Hyperventilating, the years of ridicule he had faced at the hands of his father, and later Ross, flashed before his eyes.

“Bruce, you’re okay. I’m totally fine with it! These feelings are common on Asgard! If I could pass as a woman to a Giant, you sure as Hel can as a man. And you are a man, you aren’t pretending like I was pretending to be a woman.”

“Thanks.” Bruce took the compliment, not quite believing it. He hasn’t properly accepted a compliment in years, knowing from experience that trust would lead him to betrayal in the end.

“I mean it, Bruce. I would never lie to you; you have my word.”

  Bruce spits blood as he takes yet another punch. “God damn it, Becca, how many times do I have to beat it into your head that you ain’t a boy?” Brian snarls, before punching Bruce again.

“Gee, why don’t ya punch me again, see if that does it?” Bruce yells, sarcasm dripping from his busted lips. Brian follows the request, breaking his child’s nose. Bruce’s head snaps back, hitting the concrete floor, knocking him out.

Except he doesn’t. Instead of going unconscious, Bruce transforms into the Hulk, growing in size until he stood, seven feet tall, green, still bleeding. “What the hell, girl?” Brian swears before Bruce snaps, forcing his father into the concrete. SMASH. SMASH. SMASH!

“Y-you punch like a girl. Oh wait, you are one, even if you’re a fuckin monster inside.”

 Bruce wakes suddenly. He never was present for his father’s death, being deep in research at that point. He hadn’t even gone to the funeral, knowing his relatives would still see Bruce as the little girl he had always been in their eyes. Even if his curly locks had long been cut, and he had stubble along his jaw, and he had recently gotten top surgery, they would still call him Rebecca.

Yet, his mind, since he had turned into Hulk, liked to show scenes of him Hulking out on Brian, killing him, even though the man had died in real life from old age. Even in death, the man still hated his child. No, hate wasn’t strong enough a word. Brian despised Bruce.

Bruce didn’t realize he was crying until he couldn’t breathe, his sobs choking him, sending him into a panic attack. “Thor! Thor!” he managed to scream, throat dry, closing up, his fingernails clawing at his forearms.

“Banner?” Thor mumbled as he awoke, exhaustion still in his bass voice. “What’s wrong?” he reached over to turn on a light, only to see the smaller man shaking and scratching himself. “Hey, hey, hey, it’s fine. I’m here, you’re not in danger!”

Bruce jumps back at Thor’s fingers touching his bare chest. “Don’t hurt me!” he cries. “Dad, no! Okay, fine, I’m a fucking girl, I’ll never be a man!”

“Shhhh, the sun’s getting low, I won’t hurt you, you’ll never be hurt again. Your father is dead.” Thor reaches out to calm the man the way he used to calm Loki when the God of Mischief woke from nightmares. At first, Bruce flinches but then accepts the soft touch of Thor rubbing his back and brushing his hair from his face. Thor allows Bruce to cry into his chest, let the tears fall as his panic attack fades. “Bruce, my love, are you okay?”

“N-no. My dad,” he stutters. His face burns even harder than it was from his panic attack.

“Is dead, sweetheart. He won’t hurt you; I won’t allow it. If anyone hurts you, I will kill them. I’ve slain more enemies than the number of years I’ve been alive, that bastard won’t be the first nor the last.”

Bruce looks down at his wrists, skin torn and bleeding. He frowns, feeling the sting of his tears and sweat mixing with the wounds.

“Ah, I shall kiss them better,” Thor remarks, before running his lips over each and every mark. To Bruce’s amazement, the blood stops running, and each line turns white before disappearing completely.

“Can soulmates just do that?” Bruce asks.

“No, I don’t think so. However, I can. When Loki and I were small, my mother would kiss our battle injuries away, and by that, I mean the wounds from when Loki stabbed me. I guess I inherited her magic. Ironic, since Loki is the one of us that can perform spells.”

“Kiss all of my pain away,” Bruce smiles as he pecks the God on the lips. Thor quickly deepens the kiss as the two lean back so Thor straddles Bruce.

“Are you okay, my love?” Thor asks with concern. He feels a massive pleasure course throughout his body like lightning, but he can stop if his soulmate is too uncomfortable.

“I’m okay,” Bruce whispers. “I’ll tell you if my dysphoria gets to be too much.”

 Bruce wakes the next morning and smiles at his soulmate, his naked form covered by their comforter. They had officially completed the soulmate bond.  

#thorbruce #trans bruce #gammahammer #thunderscience #thor #bruce banner #dysphoria #cw:slurs #cw:abuse #cw: panic attacks