#OR of the respective singular films and series they've been trusted to take up in good faith and subsequently failed at without the MCC

[blindtaleteller]

I agree with pretty much every word of this; though as someone who is an actual Loki fan.. and maybe to help give you an idea why this is repeatedly becoming a thing on more than your fic..

It's pretty likely that individual is a series fan, rather than an actual Loki fan. And there is, a very vast and documented difference; scientifically and otherwise.

The fandom in that Thor/Loki corner split as far back as Gagnarok being spat out as a clearly declared retcon of all films prior (including Avengers 2012, TDW, and yes Thor 2011 too) for both main characters, Bruce Banner, and a very poorly mishandling of Valkyrie's introduction as an unapologetic slave trader that; was never fixed or resolved in any way, shape or form: and instead lauded and made much worse between gen fans and the creators that followed in Taika's footsteps to do so.

As a result? The current "Loki" character in the MCU, has been turned into a literal meme of his former self: just as a start.. and the Loki fandom is split between actual fans who know and recognize that, and the anti-fans that the show was aimed to keep after taking our money, along with theirs.

So.. sorry you have to deal with that kind of snide comment; especially in a fic very clearly tagged as being in the Barnes/CA fandom (I adore the complexity and consistency of his character even pre-IW myself and agree the cap&rogers story got left on the floor with EG's crappy end production calls in particular.. ugh) but yeah.. with how some of the pro-series goons are especially, I do feel have to point out that their user name and claim being a Loki fan especially under this context is a pretty big red flag that they're -that- sort of "fan" who not only agree with the very similar narrative presented in the mislabeled 'Loki' titled series?

But obviously has no issues not thinking about what they did see in that series or the blatant on screen glorification of abuse, torture, and lack of accountability for any of that in that dumpster fire they slapped the character's name on to draw in viewers. Never mind apply facts over bullshit anywhere else.

Actual MCU Loki fans do still exist, especially around here on tumblr; but I can tell you that ao3 user very likely is NOT one of them.

"Loki" Series fans (or Bob: the Accountant as I often call it and some refer to it as the Larry Show if those examples tell you anything about how little current canon: including the insane take on what 'narcissism' and 'self-centered' is probably coming from) are for the most part a particularly toxic breed of pretenders in my experience.

Again, sorry you had to go through that; and the likelihood of that toxicity being spread and bleeding over into your fandom as a result of the BS Loki fans have been dealing with for 5+ years.

Believe me, actual fans of Loki as an MCU character (and Thor too for that matter) are just as annoyed, frustrated, exasperated, and irritated at things like this as you might be and probably are.

This rather unpleasant comment turned up on my recent meta and I don’t want to start a fight (with a guest account, no less) on AO3, so uh, sorry Tumblr mutuals, here's my 1000 word rant.

Like okay, maybe my writing sucked and gave you that impression. The whole point of that meta was to tease out why he said the "I'm invisible, I'm turning into you" line despite it seeming out of character. And the reason it felt jarring was because we don't expect Bucky to be someone who says that. As opposed to, say, Tony-Manchurian-Candidate-Stark.

Disregarding why you thought it appropriate to leave a comment bashing Bucky when the story has "Bucky Barnes" tagged all over it, and why you'd conclude he's self-centered when he spent my entire meta worrying more about Steve's safety than he did his own, how do you watch the movies and not see that Bucky is one of the least self-focused people in MCU canon?

During much of his very limited screen time he's either being forced into certain actions or has absolutely no autonomy, but the few times he's had the ability to choose, he's never centered himself in that choice.

Here's 15 instances Bucky put himself last. Because I'm that annoyed.

1) He waded in to fish Steve out of the back alley and fought off the bully, and it's suggested that this happens frequently -- like, are we just going to dismiss this because Bucky is bigger than Steve? There are plenty of people who would have stood back or would have waited until help arrived, by which stage Steve would be in hospital.

2) He spends his last night before shipping out setting Steve up with a date, then half of that double date chasing after Steve and arguing with him because he was worried that Steve would either get arrested or successfully enlist and get killed. He didn't ask Steve to make this night about him, while a more entitled person would have because it was his farewell and not Steve's.

3) His first words to Steve when Steve untied him from the gurney was to ask Steve "Did it (getting the serum) hurt?" Even when he was the one barely able to walk.

4) "No, not without you!" even when the factory was exploding around them.

5) Despite being captured, tortured and experimented on, he didn't even hesitate when Steve asked him if he was going to be part of the team. I even covered this in my meta, he's tired and he's disillusioned and he just wants to get away from the war, but he doesn't because Steve asked.

6) He picks up the shield when Steve was down and moves/shoots to draw the Hydra agent's attention away from Steve and towards himself, which results in him being blasted out of the train.

7) He offered to move in with Steve despite the stigma around tuberculosis (and being poor and Irish and sickly) at the time.

8) The line that made Bucky break out of 70 years of brainwashing. It wasn't when Steve called him Bucky, it wasn't when Steve said "Your name is James Bucky Barnes", it wasn't when Steve said "You're my friend". It was only when Steve said, "I'm with you til the end of the line" because that was the oath of companionship and service that Bucky had made to Steve. The line wasn't about Bucky, but about what Bucky had promised to do for Steve. Like. This alone should prove my point.

9) He pulled Steve out of the water holding onto Steve with his one good hand while his other arm was broken (how did he even swim), even though he knew every moment wasted would put him in danger of being killed or captured, even though for him everyone was now an enemy. Despite all this, he pulled Steve out of the water and waited to see that he was breathing before he left.

10) Faced with an entire kill squad in Bucharest, Bucky still stuck to his rule of trying not to kill anyone.

11) His first words when he came out of Zemo's control was a horrified, "What did I do?" Instead of, you know, self-centeredly focusing on how horrified and upset he deserved to be that he had his autonomy ripped away again just when he thought he had been safe for two years.

12) He willingly went back to Siberia with Steve to stop the other super soldiers, despite it being the place where he was held, tortured and mind-wiped, and despite it being the place where he was made into a training puppet for the other soldiers.

13) Even injured and with his arm severed, Bucky grabbed onto Tony's foot to stop Tony from blasting Steve in the chest.

14) Bucky choosing to go back into cryo because he's afraid someone else with the Code Words will use him to hurt people.

15) Despite being in retirement, he took one look at the vibranium arm and all he said was "Where's the battle?"

I'm stopping here because I refuse to recognise EG!Steve and I also have trouble accepting TFATWS!Bucky's arc as canon.

Like, I know MCU writers are pathetic at sympathy, but I never expected the same from someone purporting to be Loki's fan, of all people. To call Bucky's singular snide remark "pity party"? Bucky did not, for the entire CATFA, complain about his 2-3 years of war experience (and if you haven't been at the frontline then please don't even attempt to belittle how horrific it had been), nor did he complain about the forced labour they had been put through in Azzano or the experiments Zola did to him on that gurney. Bucky also did not, at any point after CATWS, talk about the horrific experiences he went through under Hydra, nor did he ever ask anyone to give their attention to his pain or his trauma. His "I'm turning into you" remark is literally the closest he came to making it a "what about me" moment, and my meta was about why he emotionally came to that breaking point. Not once since that moment did movie!Bucky ever try to take a moment and turn it into something about himself.

And just to finish off, acting in self-interest is normal human behaviour on the spectrum of self-preservation, but that isn't even the pattern for Bucky. Bucky has always focused his choices on making life easier or better or more right for Steve. Bucky is not self-centered, but he is most definitely Steve-centered, and on that point I will accept no objections.