#again not really anti steve! but someone requested i tag it and i want to respect them

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

(More Steve salt incoming. Again, I don't hate him, I just have issues with how people are erasing his flaws when Tony was demonized for so long...this is part of my looking back on the MCU series of metas that I'm putting out for Tony's 1 year memorial.)

One thing that's always bothered me about people's responses to Endgame, especially the critical ones, are that people keep framing it as a failure because it wasn't a happy family together at the end. Several posts on various forums have explicitly mentioned how this "should have been a found family story" but it was ruined by the Russo's, and this kind of pisses me off. Firstly, for all their issues, the Russo's are competent directors. They're gonna have to make some sacrifices and nothing will be perfect, but they know what they're doing largely. Honestly, I think it's usually us who misunderstand and lose sight of the big picture, which is the root of all the trouble and leads me right to my next point:

People have sorely misunderstood the dynamic of the Avengers. Maybe this had to do with one too many "Clint living in the rafters and Thor eating Pop Tarts" fics (which are very sweet), but somewhere along the line people forgot what the Avengers dynamic and storyline actually is. It was never supposed to be a family! It was always made up of different people who didn't fit together, but chose to, for the greater good. But, when their visions of what was the greater good differed, they had to split; that's what civil war documented, and after that point, they weren't supposed to function as a team. The rest of the movies document how they've changed, how they've shifted in relation to each other since civil war. It's not supposed to be a found family because these people no longer consider each other family, and if you ask Tony Stark, he would say they were never a family in the first place.

The only one who might say that would be Steve, because he's basically in denial about how everybody else feels. He has his own vision of how he wants things to be and he's willing to deny reality to pretend that's how things are. He lives in a false, idealized world (just like how WWII is romanticized, he does the same). But Tony is unable to deny how things are/will be. That's what causes conflict between them. The entire franchise is based on this conflict of two opposing ways of seeing the world, and two very different ways of approaching other people. They're two different ideologies, they're intended to contrast and act as a foil for the other, and I don't see how people have managed to miss that so completely. This franchise was not about saying that the world could be perfect, nor that if we all just learn to get along we can find family in the strangest places...it's supposed to demonstrate how it is possible to put aside preconceived biases, and work with people with whom you disagree; it shows how conflict is often inevitable but that compromise is important; it shows the importance of forgiveness and likewise the importance of expressing your grievances openly so that reconciliation can be had; and ultimately it shows that whether or not you agree with someone, you should be willing to do the right thing even at cost to yourself.

Tony does this often, but Steve never does. Steve is too stiffly ensconced in his own ideas and way of seeing things that he doesn't allow himself to grow, or learn, or change in any positive way because of the new environment and people around him. He's supposed to represent how our society can get stuck in its ways, and value certain things because they've always been certain way. He's stubborn, stiff-necked, and doesn't adapt to changing times. It's the most blatant allegory I could think of, since they literally took him from the past and put him in the future, and now what do you know you have someone who doesn't change. Meanwhile Tony, as the futurist, is supposed to represent our society's drive towards change and progress, and also demonstrates how we often are resistant to and shun new ideas, simply because they are new. He represents adaptability, which is why he is always the one to compromise between him and Steve. But he's also supposed to show that when it comes down to it, we're supposed to fight for progress, and change, and growth, and not let stubborn opposition from those who came before us, or are older than us, or think they know better than us, get us down. Tony made the ultimate sacrifice for what he believed in, but it made a difference, and for once, the narrative proved him right all along, as opposed to Steve (again, an allegory for society. Steve, the old generation, the privileged group, etc., is always supported by the system--but when some people dare to implement change, there's a good chance that the history books will see that as the real victory). What legacy do we want to leave behind? Tony, by actively considering the future, is also considering the effect that he is presently having on the world. Steve, however, is so caught up in the way things used to be that he doesn't consider what he might leave behind. That's why, ultimately, he can't stay in the in-universe present. By staying there, he would be forced to face the consequences of his actions, and that is never something his character has done. Steve has never considered the future, really, because his character has always been stuck in the past, and that's why I think it's fitting that he spends his lifetime after Endgame in the past. The only way to belong in the present is to be forward-thinking, and willing to change with the changing times. How some people miss these messages, and prefer to diss on the franchise for not living up to their expectations of harmony, found family tropes, and an "everything is awesome" mentality is beyond me. They might be superheroes, but they're supposed to show us something about how the world really is, and how we can make a difference in it, and how we might be living in it now, not to provide an idealistic escapist fantasy. That sounds more like something is Steve would do...and clearly, that didn't work out so well.

[redroomwidows]

hi 😭

i hope youre well!! i saw that your requests for shang-chi are open and lksdjfnaslkjfn i love this man.

i looked at the "an intimate moment" prompt list and what about looking at your crush or lover only to find them already looking at you and when you make eye contact, they smile at you with shang-chi??

anyway ily and i hope your day's kind to you <3

💕💕💕

(I love him too, so much omg. Also, you are always so sweet)

SUMMARY: Y/n reads what twitter thinks about her boyfriend.

REQUESTED BY: @angelicwasp

WARNINGS: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings spoilers!

WORD COUNT: 600

I planned this fic really fluffy, but it turned kind of crack-y once I started writing it lol.

Send in a Shang-Chi request

Shang-Chi x fem! readers

Sundays were quiet. Shang-Chi usually booked it off and Y/n was always so exhausted from the long week and night at the karaoke bar the night before, she usually stayed in bed watching Netflix.

Today however, she’d taken to sitting at the small desk in her and Shang-Chi’s shared living room, typing away on her laptop. She worked as a publicist for The Avengers, and God, were some of them hard to like. She was currently sending an email to the one and only Bucky Barnes about how no, he couldn’t go around threatening anti-vaxers, even if it’s ‘What Steve would have wanted’ and she completely agreed.

After the email was sent, she sighs and leans back, minimising her email tab and going on to twitter. It was technically work if she looked at the Avengers tag. Which...was trending. As soon as she saw it, she begged the gods it was something good.

She clicks on the tag and surprisingly sees a video of her boyfriend kicking the arses of the assassins that attacked him the other week. The top tweet reads ‘Is it wrong I’m turned on by this?’, Y/n bites back a laugh and keeps scrolling.

Most of the tweets were talking about how he’s definitely a secret Avenger, or how he’s probably already been recruited.

Some were @-ing the official Avengers account (which Y/n had access to), saying how they should hire him. But a lot of the tweets, and Y/n means a lot, were people simping over him. She can’t help but laugh at some of them.

Because no, he wouldn’t do that, and that’s a completely unrealistic size for someone’s penis. She likes a few as herself, and a few from the official account, retweeting Sam’s response to a fan which said ‘He can’t be your favourite avenger, he’s not one!’.

One tweet reads ‘God, I bet he gives the best hugs'. He did, Y/n could agree with that. He always hugged her after a bad day, or even if she just asked. He hugged her if they’d been a part for a few days, and after the...situation, with his father, he came back home and gave her the longest hug Y/n had ever experienced. He’d muttered ‘I missed you’ and ‘I love you’ into her neck several times that night, even when they were cuddled up in bed, half asleep.

Lord, he was a sweetheart. He always knew the right thing to say and do. He brought her flowers every time he could with his small wage and he cooked her delicious meals. Sure, they went on simple dates, but he made them all worthwhile. He chose to wake up to her face every morning when he asked her to move in with him. He loved her, and wow, how did she manage to find a catch like him?

Y/n smiles, thinking of how God damn lucky she was before looking over at the sofa, behind her shoulder, where she knew Shang-Chi was sat. However, instead of looking at the TV screen, he was looking at her.

“You alright there?” she asks, a soft smile on her face

“Yeah, you?” his voice is soft and gentle

“Yeah,” Shang-Chi’s grin widens for some reason “Why were you staring at me like a weirdo?”

“I just really love you,” he whispers and Y/n can’t help a giddy grin taking over her face

“I really love you too,” she turns back to her screen, and Shang-Chi keeps looking before turning back to his phone, where his latest text to Katy read ‘I think I’m going to propose’.

Again, I’m just tagging whoever I want lol, I’m not gonna be doing this forever though, so remember to fill out my taglist google form!

@florenceyelena @badass-dora-milaje @lovelybarnes @stydiapercebeth12 @lazyunknownwerewolf @saturnsneptune

If any of you want to be permanently added, fill out out my google form

[ranmanjuu]

not a request but can you imagine oda forces trying to play smash against the anti-oda or they all play minecraft together

i’ll expose myself here. i have never ever played smash (although minecraft steve being announced is super pog) so i can’t tell ya that part bud. but i can with the blok game. (disclaimer that this request was made after i closed it yet my heart said No, you actually Want to do this so here i am. most probably will be short).

‎

welcome folks, to SengokuSMP.

oda forces:

—nobunaga:

would be the one that steals your iron and shit. commits thefts willy nilly, and no one is exempt from this. if he needs it, he’ll get it with or without your consent.

would kill an iron golem for the few iron it gives

before he got his own base (cause i think he’d just spend most of his time mining and getting materials to protect himself) he’s probably just barge in the nearest bed and sleep in it, regardless of the owner.

his base would probably be built by hideyoshi or sumthn.

he prefers playing pvp more than just survival. since mc placed a kind of restriction for the end (and therefore blocking them from completing the game), he goes onto servers and practice his battles even in a block game.

1.9 axe-shield pvp. he’s tactical in knowing when to strike and block and to back down, and is immaculate with his crits.

—hideyoshi:

probably spends the first few days around nobunaga to protect him. he always fights off the mobs near him even if nobunaga can handle himself.

always reminds people to sleep every night, so that the phantoms don’t come. even though a lot of the players prefer to just stay up.

built a base for nobunaga near his mine cause he needs A Place and not just mooch furnaces and beds from other people.

spawned iron golems for “protection” but nobunaga keeps killing them cause it just gets in the way

would be the one to make mines 4 blocks high so you don’t Bump your head thing, probably like 3 block width and even staircases. would also be the one to make a safety railing across any bridges he finds.

if an ally, he’d greet new players and give them some extra stuff so that they have Something to start off with

i feel like he’d be a pve player idk why

—mitsuhide:

no one knows where he is most of the time. nor his base.

unless you see his nametag (which, most of the time, he’ll see yours first) it’s kinda hard to find him when he’s off and alone.

mf is the black market of the server. whatever potions, potion ingredients, or shit like that, he has. he probably owns like several wither skulls enough to summon a wither.

he would sneak around when mc is mining and just like. scare the shit out of them. the cave noises don’t help.

(the newest screenshot hasn’t been released yet but,) y’all know the warden? the new mob? cause it’s reliant on sounds, if anyone is ever in its proximity he’d throw like snowballs at them so that it goes after them. little shit.

bow skills?? perfect. even in a game his accuracy is spot on. you know those obstacles people make with like slime blocks and maybe mlg 360s? mf can do that

he probably knows enough redstone to make traps, too.

somehow knows what everyone has/doesn’t have.

—masamune:

prank ass bitch.

he probably has like a Source of tnts in his base or something. if anyone is moving out of their old base, he’ll either blow it up or burn it, whether they wanted to or not.

fuck it. he’ll do it even if you’re not moving.

probably doesn’t often sleep and would rather fight off the phantoms than anything.

he probably wants to defeat the dragon quick, cause it’s supposed to be the game’s ultimate goal. but because of the previous restrictions you put, he just goes off and fights other players (cough kenshin, nobunaga)

and when he does kill you, expect like half of your items to not be returned.

also one of the casual thieves in the server. he just doesn’t care that it Belongs to someone and just yoinks

also a pvp player, although i find him leaning more to 1.8 style. he will jitter click you out of existence.

has dogs because idk he gives off that vibe also they Attack.

—ieyasu:

does not log on much lol. he got on once and then Never Again. it’s only when you ask him that he begrudgingly does get in in his own contrarian way.

definitely goes wayy far out for more isolation cause he doesn’t want to get caught up with whatever shit masamune has.

the only major thing he did besides mining and everything was that he got a cat. and almost no one knows about it, other than you because:

“ieyasu has made the advancement [Best Friends Forever]!”

“mc: :OOOOO!!!!”

yeah, you never told anyone.

the longest time that he logged in at first was probably when he found out that cats sleep in beds and just. sat there as the night goes by in his bunker just watching and hearing it purr. he’s a bit irritated when the others tell him to sleep, but then see that the cat went and slept on him that secretly made his heart soft.

and then you insisted on going to his base which took a considerable amount of time, and even with his denying, you decide to decorate and expand his base! you also got to name the cat, but you never knew since you just said like “i’d name it [...]!” and later ieyasu found a name tag and actually did name it that.

—mitsunari:

he doesn’t run a lot i don’t feel. primarily because he was wonky with the controls from the start.

i feel like he’d have the brain to be a redstone engineer. he spends more time like, making those cool machines than anything (probably those that’d help out everyone like an automated farm, etc.)

thing is he forgot that he could die, so most of the time he’s just starve to death without even noticing it.

much like in real life, he always forgets to sleep. and that’s why phantoms are his number 2 in his cause of deaths.

doesn’t have an actual base. hideyoshi built a small one for him, but mitsunari kind of never uses it and just logs off on the spot. at this point it just became a part of the main buildings for everyone or something.

he doesn’t do an awful a lot of collecting and often asks others for some. and when he is given it, he goes “thank you ^^ <3″ and does like the happy-shift thing. it’s honestly too cute for it to be just pixels.

probably knows a lot about minecraft stuff too, it’s just that he never uses any of it.

—ranmaru:

he was so excited the first time you told him that he was invited to the smp of sengoku warlords! would probably frequent the most.

i think he’d just vibe really. not exactly going extremely into pve or pvp or redstone or building, he plays it at a very slow place and more like an animal crossing player would.

like, he builds a small farm and stuff. it isn’t as efficient as mitsunari’s, but it is what it is. also has an animal pen with loads of one animal category and he tends to let people use it with the exclusion of some (coughs masamune) as long as they breed them again or something.

and while he doesn’t go for the big projects, he is kind of a builder? he has the Aesthetic sense while building his house and stuff yk. would maybe lean into the cute, cottagecore stuff.

favorite food in game is probably cake! it takes more effort than most other foods and it just looks cute so he likes making them.

totally has shaders on.

is scared shitless of cave noises at times. you could play 11 near him and he’d just straight up panic and log off.

‎

uesugi-takeda forces:

—shingen:

i find him to be maybe one of those builders that stick to large projects and stuff idk why

he does other things too, mainly pvp (he likes to just head over to nobunaga’s base and kill him sometimes. not that the man doesn’t accept the challenge). would probably also be more into 1.9 pvp because he’s a very calculative person in fighting. yes even in block game.

but the first thing he built once he’s set from collecting materials, was a “restaurant”. for what, you ask? why of course he takes you on a minecraft date. that was the top of his list the moment you even told him about the smp

once the others found out (which was not that long) he just started bragging. kenshin burnt down the building later on.

but he always escorts mc or some shit while spewing out his Lines in chat, sometimes doing the bow in game thing. in response, there are several barfs in chat, and a list of people coming to kill him.

mf likes to combat log on kenshin when he’s on a Killing Spree for the shits and giggles.

—kenshin:

first time you told him about it, he was very happy to learn something about mc’s modern times, even if it’s a children’s game. unfortunately, he didn’t know what an ‘smp’ meant.

so when he logged on and saw that there were Other people, his smile turned into a deadly frown as he just began punching them to death. he only stopped when they ran off and you intervened.

he tried having you stick around longer when you were giving him a tutorial of how to play the game.

at first he only collected material to get stronger. and by that only sword because he sees no need in getting armor (he doesn’t die in battle irl, he can’t die in a simple game). but WRONG cause he got killed by shingen who, even though he had a stone axe, had iron armor while kenshin got nothing but an iron sword.

he doesn’t make a base (why do so many here don’t make bases istg). in fact, he doesn’t log on much.

at first, he only goes on if mc is on. it’s only when he sees that mc appreciates some of the work the others have put into things (like shingen’s builds, mitsunari’s redstone, etc.) is when kenshin tries to Do Things Too and kinda fail.

this man kinda has no aesthetic sense in the block game. but you give him a for effort.

1.8 pvper. he can definitely do 1.9, but more the former mostly cause his deadly anger makes him jitter click like crazy. often challenges others (consented or not) which mostly includes masamune and nobunaga, and he often surprise attacks shingen and sasuke.

—yukimura:

honestly a normal player in survival.

he makes a decent house, has some pretty strong gear, and just helps around his allies a lot (mostly {try to} drag kenshin away from trouble, scold shingen for being too close to mc {though it’s a him problem ngl} and just being a messy caretaker).

i feel like he’d enjoy tekkit tbh. sasuke would probably introduce it to him and he’d just generally enjoy it.

but this is about the smp

he got lucky the first drowned he killed dropped a trident and it’s been his favorite weapon.

probably tried at one point to build kenshin a small base but he wouldn’t listen so like. shrugs.

he’s a bit iffy with playing alongside the enemies in the same server, but they are kind of divided into two. and mc did say it was just for fun and games and they didn’t want to see actual wars be dragged into this, so he just lets it go and has fun.

he looks forward to beating the enderdragon a lot, when the end is available.

—sasuke:

oh Boy he’s having a field day. his adored sengoku warlords? playing minecraft, his childhood game??? absolute pog.

even though it was you who proposed the idea, the one who set up the server in the first place was sasuke, since he has more knowledge on that stuff.

since he got his bearings quicker than the rest from experience, and he was earlier to log on due to testing and stuff, he mostly helps you with building like the main hub, like the center place for everyone and generally things that involve helping the overall smp.

can mlg water bucket, through a lot of trial and error. he uses it mostly to make dramatic entrances where he drops from a hill and just not take damage.

^ speaking of Dramatic Entrances, he probably has a chest full of ender pearls for those specifically.

although he helps a lot with guiding everyone, at times, he pulls out the ol’ “sleep in the nether :)” suggestion just to troll

ngl he’d stick to his ninja thing and successfully make a redstone-wired door and has his banger secret base in it

—yoshimoto:

the s in smp doesn’t exist to him.

he’s just a collector, really. one of his first priority isn’t even materials like stone, the moment he finds any kind of flowers he’ll pick it up. it’s only when yukimura and sasuke actually Give him shit does he start living a not broke life.

probably dies a lot to mobs and stuff

but like legit, this man spent a long time collecting all 13 discs and almost every flower (yes, even the biome only ones) because he wants to take it all in. nevermind the fact that he can just listen to the discs online and all.

he’s immaculate in his aesthetics. even with just wood he makes his base look really cool ngl. 

some parts of it are plastered with every painting there is in minecraft, or just item frames, or flowers in their pots. every decoration you can think of, lamps, campfires, even armor stands, he has them.

you gotta give him credit, it’s a lot of effort.

he often afks just to listen to the music even though, again, he could just listen to it online.

got into a bit of a spiel with ranmaru, since he unknowingly dyed a lot of his sheep (he did categorize it with color though). and so they made an agreement to just have every color sheep, and put them in different pens. so they just shared it now

he saw the cave updates and went silently bonkers because how pretty some look (like the lush caves? hello??)

he has like. 14+ texture packs and 4 different shaders ready at his settings.

[tonystarkficrecs]

Hey guys! So, I received a comment on one of the fic recs I’ve posted from someone pissed off over my tagging choices. I believe everyone has the right to their own opinion, and this isn’t really meant as a callout post (hence why I blocked out their username), but I’ve been seeing this sort of thing from people angry something dissed their favorite character around now for a while and I wanted to address it.

I am not anti-cap. Just wanted to put that out there. I really like Steve Rogers, even if I think the MCU hasn’t done him enough justice. I regularly read Stony fics putting him in a good light or other fics where he’s portrayed as a genuinely good guy. I’ll admit I also have a thing for post-CACW fics where he and many of the other original Avengers are painted in a pretty negative light, but there are very few characters I actually dislike.

I do my best to tag accurately so people can find what they’re looking for. That includes tagging the main characters in a fic, usually only 2-4 of them, and almost never within the first 5 tags so it shouldn’t have appeared in a general search on the Steve Rogers tag. The fic mentioned above literally has Not Steve Friendly and Not Team Cap Friendly within the first 5 tags - if you don’t like posts with that sort of subject, blacklist it and this wouldn’t have been a problem. I use those tags because it’s a subject matter not everyone will be interested in, but some will be looking for it, and it makes it easier for both parties to decide whether or not this fic will be something of interest to them. 

Tags do not belong to any one group. Steve Rogers played a significant role in that fic, so it made sense to include him in the tagging. I hate it when people play gatekeeper over specific tags like this. This blog is designed to be searchable not only by genre, length or pairing but also by the characters featured. I’m not interested in hearing why my blog sucks or I suck based off my tagging choices. I don’t want to hear why someone thinks a fic sucks just because it disses a character - people have a right to their interpretations, even if I don’t agree with them, but you won’t find me writing hate comments because I thought they got someone’s characterizations wrong.

On that note, I’m not going to be publishing anyone’s angry, ranty asks if they’re posed in a manner like this, so please stop sending them. I’m open to debate or legitimate criticism! If you think I should be doing something differently, feel free to let me know! I don’t bite, I love it when people send asks or requests, but I didn’t start this blog to argue with people especially if they’re putting down other people’s fics like this. This is a blog for fic recs, not angry discourse. Sorry this ended up being so long, but this is the only time I plan to address comments/asks like this and hopefully this means I won’t feel the need to again.

[bucky-effing-barnes]

Anti You

Requested by: @shieldagentofthemonth

Summary: Bucky and Y/N haven’t been getting along since he got here. It’s went from small arguments to fist fights.

Word Count: 1,229

Warnings: Swearing, fighting, arguments, I am not certain what else

A/N: I’m so sorry it’s late. Enjoy it.

Tagging List: @woww-za

When Bucky became a member of the Avengers, you were willing to be kind towards him. You always smiled when you were around him to make him feel less awkward. You didn’t talk much, per your usual self, but you tried your hardest to make him feel included.

He didn’t take your attempted kind gestures too well. Bucky didn’t smile back, gave one word answers to your occasional questions, and kept as far away from you as possible. You knew he was just recently liberated from HYDRA, so you didn’t expect him to dive headfirst into a friendship with you the exact minute he met you.

What seemed to phase you the most is it has been two months since he moved into the tower and he was best buds with Nat and everyone else. At first, you told yourself that it was just fine for people to not like everyone because everyone is different.

But it bugged you because you tried your hardest to be kind, but Bucky was ice cold to you. Being fed up, you turned frigid towards the Super Soldier.

Bucky had only been here for 3 months and the only exchanges you had were red hot arguments. It was usually about him getting pissed off about some little thing when you were in the same vicinity.

The arguments normally ended in someone intervening and sending you to your rooms. Though today’s argument landed both of you in Director Fury’s office with hand cuffs on and Dr. Banner administering minor sedatives.

Before you was your livid boss, anger was so ever present in his eyes. “Y/L/N, Barnes. Would one of you care to explain why my top assassins are attacking each other?”

Bucky kept his eyes down and fiddle his thumbs. Fury’s gaze turned from your rival to you. He raised his eyebrows, begging you for an answer.

“He hates me.” That’s all you could get out.

Fury shook his head, “So? Stark and Rogers don’t like each other and still work fine together. Why is it so hard for you two?”

Bucky’s head drifted up, “It’s not my fault she’s bitter towards me, I did nothing!”

“Yeah fucking right!” Anger filled your body once more. “You ignore me while making friends with everyone else. I tried my hardest to be kind to you!” You shot up and launched towards him.

One of the agents was fast enough to catch you and hold you back. “You wouldn’t talk to me! I was the one trying! You did nothing, Y/N!” His voice was shot from the first argument, as it was raspy and sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

Before you could fire back, Fury rubbed his temples. “You both need to work out whatever sexual tension this is but in a safer environment.” His eyes scanned the file of the report. “And Y/N, if you’re going to throw steak knives at his head, please don’t dull the good ones.”

After that, you were escorted back to your bedroom. And by escorted, I mean, you were carried by the arms by two agents. You pondered on what was said in the argument earlier.

Both of you yelled your own insults, used cruel names, and it finally lead to a fist fight. Bucky easily overpowered you, but you used was you had around you. You were in a kitchen, so you hit him with the frying pan and threw knives.

In retrospect, that wasn’t the smartest thing you’ve done. But who really thinks in an argument?

As you laid on your bed, you felt at peace for the first time in nine weeks. You breathed in deeply, relaxing and letting all your worries slip from your mind for just a minute. You focused on the emotional roller-coaster, how you went from quiet, kind, little introvert into a rage monster in just a few seconds.

How would you apologize for this, he’d never let you even speak to him. Hell, you wouldn’t speak for yourself if that happened to you. You thought all the non-physical ways to apologize, and a letter just fit the bill.

When the pen hit the paper, all the stops and feelings came out. You wrote your heart out, explaining yourself and pleading for forgiveness. It went from a planned one page letter to a three and a half page, tear stained ordeal.

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

You had Wanda deliver it to Bucky two days ago and ever since then, you’ve been hiding from everyone. Sam was the only person who you saw for a week, he’d help smuggle you food.

You binge watched Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix and slept during the day, but trained at night. And today was no different. It was 3 am and you were happy to be alone. Everything was silent and no one was scheduled to wake up for another hour.

As you sat at the breakfast bar eating, tired footsteps broke the silence. You turned your head to see Steve and Bucky walking towards the kitchen. Panic filled your body, you didn’t want to be confronted yet.

You placed your dishes in the sink and tried to walk out before they got there, but the universe isn’t going to let it happen any time soon. The Super Soldier Duo blocked the doorway. You tried to walk between them and leave, but neither of them gave up.

You tried for about two minutes before giving up and going to sit down at the bar. They both followed you, but Steve migrated towards the fridge while Bucky sat next to you.

“You know you don’t have to hide from us, Y/N. We’re not going to hurt you.” Steve chided as he wrecked his daily havoc on the fridge.

“I noticed that. I’m just choosing to keep my social interactions to a minimum.” You stand up and began to leave again.

Bucky cleared his throat, “Your letter was very kind and insightful. I think I understand you better. I’m sorry for how I acted towards you.”

This very sudden development confused you, did he really just say that? You turned towards the assassin. “I’m an truly sorry, Y/N. It does not reflect the behavior my ma raised me to have.”

The words couldn’t form in your mind, so your ultimate solution was to hug him. Bucky immediately hugged you back.

After being there for about ten seconds, Director Fury waltzed in. “What in the holy hell is happening here?”

You pushed him back and sheepishly looked down. “We were hugging it out.” You offered in your softest voice.

“Louder, L/N! I can’t hear you.” Fury announced while he joined Steve at the fridge.

Bucky cleared his throat, “Fury, we have come to an agreement with our differences and we thought hugging it out was necessary.”

Fury turned back towards you with a Chinese take out box in his hand. “Well, at least you aren’t killing each other any more.”

After that day, you and Bucky began to create a tight bond. You friendship was finally underway and looking better than ever. When Bucky had been at the tower for nine months, everyone had their suspicions about the two of you dating.

It wasn’t going to happen with your lucky, god, nothing good every happened for Y/N L/N. Except that Bucky made the first move.

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Ok I'm looking back on the MCU now that it's been a year since Tony died, and I'm looking back particularly at my favorite stomping-ground, CA:CW. I'd seen a post recently that said that Steve was "100% right". And I just don't get how you can think that. So here are some thoughts (which get pretty spicy at points, but I want to preface, I don't hate Steve as a character, nor do I think he was 100% wrong. I just have a lot of issues with how people react and respond to him and I need to vent.)

So to start us off: do I think the Accords likely needed revision so that they weren't so drastic with the power they would give to world government? Yes. But I think Tony had a very valid point, and for ONCE, the narrative actually backs him up. Explicitly backs him up, may I add, because that call-out scene in Endgame was fricking epic and much needed. The ONE time that the narrative does not outright excuse Steve's selfish stubbornness, people are still writing it off and giving him a pass! Not only that, people are blatantly ignoring the message of the film!! In my opinion, the film touches on many topics: one, how you should always consider the other perspectives, and that discussion is infinitely superior to conflict; two, how you can't make decisions for other people; but three, in contrast to two, you have to be willing to be held accountable for your actions (social contract theory) which coincidentally is something that Steve is NEVER willing to do (until MAYBE) in Endgame. And I think it's telling that people miss this message! The movie is not intended to have one person come out 100% right, it is supposed to show that you should never assume that you are incapable of being wrong, that there are always things that you will misunderstand, that it is important to be humble enough to listen to the other side and honestly evaluate what they are saying, that compromise is important, that you should choose your battles, that no one is perfect...the movie spends so much time showing that Steve is flawed and breaking the perception of him as some all-American hero who is selfless and would do anything for the greater good. It is INTENDED to show that he isn't perfect, that he makes mistakes, and that he doesn't recognize them and instead of reconciling, he makes a selfish and headstrong decision that has lasting repercussions...It's showing the danger of a savior/God complex. It's showing how we can grow too attached to an ideal, so much so that we are willing to overlook its faults and flaws and explain away everything that might be problematic. We have to reevaluate the voices we listen to, and whether it is appropriate to rebel against authority. There is a place for individuality, even rebellion, but there must also be a reason--and the decision made in this film by Cap was emotional, not reasonable. If thought out further, it could have become reasonable, but ultimately he opposed the Accords because he wanted to save Bucky. You can't reject accountability and submission to authority on emotional grounds alone; we need to be respectful of those who lead us, even if we disagree, and work to change the system from the inside. This whole film demonstrates how polarization leads to tension, which leads to conflict, which results in no progress and no benefit. The only true progress is achieved by compromise.

And that is something Tony was willing to do!! Tony was the character trying to maintain harmony and act in everyone's best interest, by listening to everyone, not just deciding for them that this isn't something they should be ok with (sounds a little overly authoritative, eh, Steve?) But Steve and Bucky gang up on him and beat him down, which I believe is a representation of what often happens when you feel strongly about an issue. You will associate with those who agree with you, and you will make the matter a personal one, so personal that you will interpret any disagreement as an attack. Tony (who can represent moderation in ideals here) is beaten down by Steve and Bucky (who can represent polarized "extremists"), and I think that's a good commentary even aside from politics that is being completely lost because people continue to insist that Steve was 100% right. No! He wasn't! That's the point! And you're 100% missing it! NO ONE WAS COMPLETELY RIGHT!! The important thing is TO LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES!!! LIKE TONY DID!!! TO CHANGE YOUR PROBLEMATIC BEHAVIOR INSTEAD OF ENTRENCHING YOURSELF EVER MORE DEEPLY INTO YOUR STANCE!! To grow and to accept that you were wrong and you made a mistake and you're sorry and you're going to take active steps to change your behavior and make reparations even if it's uncomfortable! To progress! To learn to step back and give others a chance to shine! To become humble! To learn quietness and compromise and strive for peace! All of these are things that Tony, across his entire arc but especially in this movie, has been doing and demonstrating and working towards, and for every step forward he takes, Steve's absolute unwillingness to budge from where he is becomes more and more evident, until it seems that in comparison he is going backwards, because we are growing and moving forward too, and we are leaving him behind. Is it any wonder that people don't like his Endgame ending?? It's because it seems selfish, and we think he should be past that by now. But he's not, and he never will be, because he looks at the road to growth and he says "No, you move." But the only thing that passes is time, and eventually we are SUPPOSED to realize that maybe that kind of perfect resolution isn't all it's cracked up to be, and maybe he's flawed, and maybe we are too, and maybe the only way to "get that life Tony was always talking about" is to try doing what Tony did, and actually live it.