#and of course. i need to post my boy captain america

[broken-everlark]

Happy 4th of july

[mjolnirswriststrap]

Not My Type

Bucky Barnes x Plus Size!Reader x Steve Rogers

Word Count: 2,329 Masterlist Part 2

Summary: Bucky is dumb.

Warnings: Fatphobia.

A/N: something short, sweet and simple because I’m starting to feel guilty about not posting 😭

Steve watched, as his friend searched around the club with his eyes. He could assume Bucky was just waiting on the rest of their coworkers to get there, but he knew better. “She’ll get here soon enough, relax.”. Steve leans his back against the booth and takes a long drink of his beer. “Who?” Bucky asks, unconvincingly.

“Y/N.” He says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Bucky scrunches up his face “As if, man.” He ignores the look of disbelief Steve gives him. “Why deny it? I’ve caught you staring her down more times than I can count.”. Steve stands up and waves to signal Natasha to where they sat. “There’s nothing to deny, she’s not my type, leave it there so no one’s feelings get hurt, okay?” Bucky puts the bottle to his lips to shush himself when he sees you approach the booth.

“You guys look.” Steve’s speechless as he takes in the silk nighties the girls adorned. They all wore semi matching babydoll dresses. Color coded fishnets and heeled slippers adorned their long legs. Their hair was high and teased, makeup adding to the sultry bedtime look they were going for.

“You’re gonna catch flies.” Wanda remarks, leaving to find Vision having the time of his life with the DJ. Steve’s reaction to their costumes did nothing to calm your nerves. You went with the housewife costume too. Just a different approach entirely. Your hair sat in victory rolls atop your head, a thick stack of curls laying on your shoulders, a knee length dress with three quartered sleeves covered you. You’re painted your eyebrows on thinly, just to over line your lips, filling them in with your favorite red Mac lipstick. You were the most modest in your costume, but the most accurate.

You couldn’t wear a see through nightgown to the club. You would die of embarrassment, your rolls would be everywhere. At least in this thick cotton dress, no one could see the layers of shape wear you wore. You slid into the booth and sat beside Steve, getting sandwiched in when Sam finally arrives, late with no costume. “What took you so long, huh khakis?” You tease him, feeling nothing but comfort in his presence.

“You ever had to tell a 10 year old his idea isn’t good enough.” He laughs, “, You should go as yourself Unc!” He recalls the boys words over the phone. “Oh, of course, looks like a superhero to me!” You giggle, loving the thought of his nephews building up his self esteem. He was new to the team, no super strength or speed. Just courage, you admired Sam.

You finally take the chance to look around the booth. Steve wore his vintage Captain America suit, claiming it still fits like a glove. Bucky didn’t wear a costume, just his regular black t-shirt and leather jacket, no effort, even for Halloween. It helped Sam not look so out of place, so you just rolled your eyes at him. He tried way to hard to act like he didn’t care about anything, or anyone. You hate people like that, too self absorbed to carry on a conversation with someone who doesn’t benefit them.

You had been on the wrong side of his attitude before. Bumbling up to him after your first meeting. Stretching out your hand for a shake, he barely touched your hand as he shook your fingers, nodding at you with a curt “Welcome.” You didn’t think much of it till he sat beside Yelena, who got recruited the same day as you, and sparked up a lively conversation with her, telling her if she needs anything at the compound to come ask him. That was the first time Bucky hurt your feelings, and it wouldn’t be the last.

“Y/N!” Someone yells at you from the dance floor. It’s Yelena dancing alone, “You promised me a dance.” She says, holding her arms out for you. You nudge Sam on the shoulder and do the most embarrassing scoot out of the booth you could imagine. Your dress rode up in the time you’d been sitting there, causing your thighs to stick to the old leather. Your face grimaces and you peel your skin away, hoping no one noticed.

“I’m on the dance floor, as promised.” You say, holding her hands while she dances on you. “You’re gonna need to do more than stand there if you want him to notice you.” She remarks, not skipping a beat. Yelena knew you too well, she knew you picked the 40s for a reason, not going with their free spirit 60s slumber get up.

Giving her a wide eyed look, as if he heard over the thumping music. “We both know I have no rhythm, stop that.” You giggle when she presses her back against you and slides down into a squat. She goes behind you and grabs your hips, forcing you against her chest. She grinds you into her pelvis, using her hands to guide your hips in sync with hers. You never moved that way before, and the sensuality of it had your heart racing. Yelena could be anyone, tightly holding on to you, you closed your eyes and threw your head back on her shoulder, just to imagine it was him for a moment.

You feel Yelena’s lips tickle your ear and she’s whispering “Look who can’t take their eyes off of you.” You tilt your head down and open your eyes to lock them with Bucky’s. He looks angry, like you pissed in his cheerios. You turn your body around to face Yelena, “I think he’s upset I’m blocking his view from you.”. That causes her to laugh out loud, grabbing your shoulders to shake you. “You’re mad woman! Look at what’s right in front of you.”. You laugh and look behind you to see Bucky staring down his beer now, instead of you.

“Yelena, I don’t know how to put this, he probably doesn’t even go for girls like me, skinny blonde seems more his type. You, you seem more his type.” You plead with her. She just shakes her head, “He doesn’t like me, I promise, Y/N.” You nod your head, trusting the closest friend you had.

•••••••

You make your way to the bar, grabbing a drink to cool yourself off. You’re walking back to the booth to get off your feet when you overhear Steve and Bucky’s conversation.

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“You look like a helpless puppy, just make your move.”

“As if I’d need to, she’s probably never had male attention, that’s too easy.”

“Just admit that you’re afraid of rejection.”

“From her? Never in a million years would fatty have a chance. Like I said she’s obviously not my type.”. Bucky instantly regretted the words as they came out of his mouth, he didn’t mean it. But Steve wouldn’t stop accusing him of having a crush on you.

Tears threaten to spill from your eyes, but you push them down. You knew better, Yelena didn’t, you shouldn’t have let her give you false hope. You choke down your pride and turn the corner, sliding into the booth as if nothing happened. “I think this is my last drink guys, I’m getting tired, and winter training starts tomorrow.”.

An echo of ‘boos’ and a “noooo why.” Almost tempt you to stay. But you know you’re not wanted here, by the one person that mattered. Steve catches your attention, “Are you sure? The nights still young.” He wiggles his brows. You give him a tight lipped smile, knowing he tried to get Bucky to make a move.

“Yeah, there’s really not much for me here. I came for Natasha.” He nods, giving Bucky a death glare. You finish your drink and when you stand up the previous shots you had with Wanda hit you. You quickly sit back down, grabbing the table for stability. “Are you alright?” Steve rests his hand on your lower back, scooting closer to you.

You shake your head, not being able to form words. You think you’d faint if you didn’t focus on breathing. “Let me help you home.” He can see the unsure expression on your face. “Wouldn’t be respecting the suit if I didn’t make sure you got home safe.”. With that he convinced you.

When the cold October air hits your face, it sobers you a little bit, taking away the dizzy feeling, leaving you with a thumping head. Steve takes a few minutes to join you outside, you left him in a heated whisper match with Bucky.

You’re leaned against the side of the building when he finds you. “Ready to go?” He offers you his arm but you shake your head. “No need to be such a gentleman, it’s just me.” You say, knowing he’s doing it just to be nice.

Steve cocks his head to the side. “Why shouldn’t I be a gentleman towards you?” He asks. You press your pounding head against the brick wall, closing your eyes to think of the right words. “The only reason a guy needs to be a gentleman is for good impressions. I highly doubt you feel a need to impress me.”.

He scoffs at you, “What gives you the impression that you’re not worth impressing?”. Even though you were tipsy, Bucky’s words seared your frontal lobe. You suddenly are at a loss for words. How do you tell him you were eavesdropping on their conversation.

“I just don’t get much male attention I guess.” You let him in, his eyes widen in realization that you heard Bucky’s harsh words. “I’m sorry about him, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” He says, stepping closer to you. You roll your eyes at him.

“No, he knew exactly what he was talking about. Fatty is no one’s type. No one looks at me and thinks “woah, the most beautiful woman in the world just walked in the room”.” You push yourself off the wall. “I understand that you wouldn’t get that, since you’re so perfect Steve. Women lay down at your feet, your options are endless. But not for someone like me.”.

Steve’s face had turned into a stone. His jaw clenched tightly. He let you vent out your frustrations. “The way you looked at the girls, the way half the club looked at the girls, I’ll never have that.”. You look at your feet and notice him take a step closer to you. You look up to see your faces not too far apart.

“I was looking at you too.” He reaches out, letting his hands hover over your waist. He rests them on your hips when your don’t push him away. “I don’t care what he said, he’s just insecure, he can’t admit that he thinks you’re hot.” You scoff at him this time.

“Steve whatever you’re doing, I get the whole nice guy thing. But just stop.” You say, pressing your hand against his chest. The thin polyester did nothing to conceal his smooth muscles. You feel him squeeze your sides tighter, his thumbs pressing into your belly. “He doesn’t speak for me.”.

You look into his dark eyes. “What are you saying?”. You’d never even humored yourself by considering Steve. You now had to rethink every encounter you ever had with him. “Forget him, let me show you how a real man appreciates a woman.”

He slides his hands down, letting them grasp as much of your ass that could fit in them. You gasp, he wasn’t afraid of your body, he knows what it has to offer. Judging by the way he gripped on to your ass like his life depended on it, he liked it.

“What if someone sees?” You say, pushing his hands off of you. He replaces them “I’m not afraid, why are you?” He leans down, connecting your lips, you’re frozen for a moment. How do you kiss him back? Before you could find out you feel a hand on your shoulder, ripping you away from Steve.

“What are you doing?” Bucky is talking to his friend, ignoring your existence. “Excuse me, we were in the middle of something.” Steve steps between you and Bucky. “You shouldn’t be out here hooking up with a random coworker.” Bucky says, trying to convince himself.

“Y/N isn’t a random coworker, Jesus Bucky, what’s your problem?” Steve asks, letting his anger show. He knew what he was doing, if Bucky wouldn’t admit it on his own, jealousy would work just fine. Bucky balls up his fists at his side “You know what my problem is.”.

You’re staring at Steve’s back, you don’t know what Bucky’s talking about. Is he so repulsed by a plus size woman, he doesn’t even want his friend with one? You were done, you’d never done anything to Bucky besides exist. He had an imaginary problem with you.

You stepped around Steve, crossing your arms in front of your chest. You don’t know where the boost of confidence came from, probably Steve’s lips and hand placement. You look Bucky up and down, truly taking him in.

He was perfect, and he knew it. It was starting to disgust you. “Just because ‘fattys’ like me have no chance with you, doesn’t mean that I’m not worthy of another man being attracted to me.” You take a step back, pressing yourself against Steve. Just to show Bucky, you meant business.

Basing it off of the hard indentation on the front of Steve’s spandex, he liked watching you tell Bucky off. You turn your body around to face him, throwing a look over your shoulder at Bucky, “Take me home Stevie.” You sing song in his ear.

A smirk falls on his lips, “Let’s do that princess.” He says while leading you out of the alley. Bucky is stuck in place, having an internal war with himself, that you weren’t gonna stick around for.

[inspired-lesson-plans]

This is a very long post. If you do not have the time, then please at least do the quick activity up top. The lesson plan that took me 4 days to write will follow the ⁜ symbol.

HW Due Mon:

Open https://mysolartime.com/ in a new tab and allow the website to track your location.

Open https://www.utctime.net/ in a new tab.

Reblog this post the current UTC time and your local time, using the following format:

21:00 UTC, 4:00 local

4. Vote in the following poll.

⁜

Social Studies, Grade 5, Geography 6.1.5.GeoSV.3: Demonstrate how to use digital geographic tools, maps and globes to measure distances and determine time zones, and locations using latitude and longitude.

Do Now:

Provide students with a paper copy of a population density world map and 2 minutes to fulfill the following instruction:

Draw lines on the map in order to separate the world into 24 time zones. Try not to separate dense population centers into different time zones.

⁎

Class Discussion:

Use the projector to share and discuss the maps of any students who are willing to share. Have fun with this, there are bound to be some good ideas and bad ideas because 5th grade is like that.

Then, project the official world time zone map, and discuss the good ideas and bad ideas present here.

Exemplary discussion points:

The 0-point of the timezone map is the Prime Meridian, which cuts right through England. Why do you think it's in England?

How come some countries like the US and Brazil are cut into multiple time zones, but China isn't?

Why do you think the lines are pretty straight in Europe, Africa, and North and South America, but so confused in Asia and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?

⁑

Direct Instruction:

Long ago, nobody really cared about the exact time. All you really needed was sunrise, sunset, and noon, and you could figure those out with your eyes. If you wanted to be fancy, you could put a stick in the ground and trace its shadow over the course of the day to measure out hours.

Perhaps the first recorded complaint of time-keeping technology comes from Rome in 250BCE.

The gods confound the man who first found out how to distinguish hours! Confound him too Who in this place set up a sundial To cut and hack my days so wretchedly Into small portions! When I was a boy, My belly was my sundial: one more sure, Truer, and more exact than any of them. This dial told me when it was time To go to dinner, when I had anything to eat; But nowadays, why even when I have, I can't fall-to unless the sun gives leave. The town's so full of these confounded dials, The greatest part of its inhabitants, Shrunk up with hunger, creep along the streets. [x]

In other words, "Kids these days are always looking at their sundials. Back in my day, there were only three times, Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. All we needed to tell the time was our stomach!"

Please note this was a satire, so if it sounds funny, you are correct.

But for 18th century British sailors, accurate timekeeping was no laughing matter. These sailors used fancy math (called trigonometry) to calculate their latitude. So long as they knew the angle between the sun and the horizon, and the time when that angle was measured.

Ship's captains would keep logbooks of these measurements. That way, another ship's captain would be able to reference the logbook in order to replicate the journey, much like replicating a science experiment.

Now... think about this... how can you do that unless the next captain is using the same time as you. We take this for granted today, but how can you be sure that two clocks are synchronized?

Scientists in the town of Greenwich, England (pronounced gren`-ich) recorded the solar noon every day of the year and calculated the Greenwich Mean Time. By keeping an accurate and exact time in one exact place, GMT eventually the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) for everyone in the world. That's why in the time zone map, the 0 runs through one specific part of England.

This is important. For the first time in human history, the clocks in different places were synchronized. Solar noon happens at a different time in London than it does in Greenwich, but if they both use GMT (otherwise known as UTC), then they can coordinate their schedules. This was very important for railroads, where exact, coordinated schedules are very important.

Soon, the entire country of England existed within a single time zone.

When the United States built railroads that spanned vast lateral (East-West) distances, they needed to create different time zones for cities that were far apart from each other, such as New York and Chicago. Thus, the US became the first country with multiple time zones.

As the rest of the world industrialized, they needed to pick their time zones. You can see this on the map. Each time zone is, at least in theory, as wide as 1/24 the circumference of the Earth. It's like the space between the numbers on a clock! Most countries are smaller than this, so they can comfortably fit within a single timezone. Others, like Brazil and Australia, divided their landmasses into two or three time zones.

China did not have widespread industrialization until post-WWII dictatorial communist rule. This was a very uncaring and inconsiderate government, to put it mildly. Suffice it to say that for Chinese farmers in the far west, having to get up 2-3 hours earlier every day would have been the least of their worries.

⁂

Modeled Activity:

Show students how to use this Day and Night world map as a way to visualize the day and night cycle across the world.

Additionally, show them how to use https://mysolartime.com/ to find their current time where they live.

Give students a moment to calculate the difference between their Local Time and the official time in their time zone, and what that means.

(I am currently in Philadelphia, which is 11 minutes East of New York City)

Finally, show students how to use https://www.utctime.net/ to find their exact, current UTC.

Have students calculate the difference in minutes and hours between Local Time and Official Time.

00:41 - 19:30 = -5:11 (Philadelphia is 5 hours and 11 minutes East of Greenwich, England)

Explain that every internet connected device in the world uses a service like this one, then adds or subtracts hours to fit the time zone of your current location.

Higher Order Learning:

Students work in small groups to look up the local time in different major cities around the world, recording their data on a worksheet. As they do, they should discuss the following questions:

Are time zones still relevant in our always-online society?

If you can know your Local Time and the UTC any time you look at your phone, then what purpose do time zones still serve?

How would it feel for schools and businesses to use UTC instead?

How would you feel if your school day went from 4:20-10:50 UTC?

Finally, each student must individually write at least 3 sentences responding to the following question:

Would you advocate for or against your school district dropping references to the time in your time zone and instead referring to UTC and Local Time? Why or why not?

[violent-optimism]

A (somewhat organized) collection of thoughts/things I noticed from the new TF #7 Comic (Spoilers!) - Part 2

The Administrator's Death and Everyone's Reaction

Yeah, I think we all knew this was coming too. But I don't think we were prepared for just how it would happen. We knew from the end of the last comic that Admin only had 1 hour left to live. And what did she do with it?

She completely wasted it. And as anti-climactic as that might seem I think that's exactly the point. She wasted her whole unnatural life in fact, and for what? Just to wither away and fade to dust with nothing and no one.

I freaking loved seeing the merc's individual reactions and seeing everyone walk away one by one as the panels progressed. Soldier and Sniper taking their hats off in respect. Spy, Scout and Miss Pauling frozen in shock. Medic and Heavy trying to comfort each other. Even Pyro looks visibly disturbed. (Demo's the only one we can't see which is too bad).

There's no words said. Because really, what CAN they say?

Miss Pauling's Choice

Kind of tying into what I said in my last post. I LOVE the way this is drawn alongside Engie's words. You get a real sense that she's being actively tempted by the Australium, but at the same time she's completely horrified by it because now she TRULY understands the devastation its capable of.

To be clear, I don't think Engie is trying to tempt her here. I think he's just trying to show her what her choices are. And perhaps, for the first time in her life, she actually COULD do anything she wanted. Not just second in command, but FULLY in command in the seat of power.

But she passes the test of course, and realizes she wants nothing to do with it. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she quit her job right after the scene where she asks Engie if he knows any "deep trenches".

Side note: We finally get a first name confirmation for Miss Pauling!! Engie calls her "Flo" a couple times, which I assume is short for "Florence" as I'm not sure what else it could be a nickname for. That's awesome!!

Heavy and Sniper rescuing Soldier

This is just me more or less fan-girling about Sniper any chance I get. But when I tell you I practically SCREAMED when I realized he was there, I ain't lying lol

The thing is, Heavy could have chosen ANYONE to help him rescue Soldier, and he chose Sniper. I just think that's fucking rad. And I actually kind of like the fact that he doesn't even take a shot the entire time. He just holds his laser on the guy menacingly lol

Kind of wish he would have at least gotten a line here but ah well.

Side note: Heavy rocks that beard, holy shit! It's like Captain America all over again.

Scout is now a DAD

There's SO much to unpack here but I'll try my best to make it short lol

I think it's obvious to state that Scout has been, um...very productive these last 7 years! Honestly he does strike me as the type to want a lot of kids. And he might not be a perfect dad but you just know he would try his best and he would be a FUN dad if nothing else.

I'm not the first one to point this out, but I think it's interesting how we see the single-parent cycle continue with Scout. Kind of an interesting subversion on a common trope to have the MOM be the one to disappear or be a "deadbeat". I kind of wished we could have seen Scout's Ma at the dinner, but that's okay.

Am I a fan of Scout's extremely 70s hairstyle? No, not really lol but goddamn if seeing him as a dad didn't make me at least a little bit emotional.

Also, I laughed WAY too hard at the "my boys can swim" joke. Gosh, that's funny. I need to make another post talking about all my favourite jokes in this new comic.

The final panel

Holy...fucking...shit if this didn't RUIN me.

I will admit it took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that Scout was talking to the READER, and we hadn't just shifted to the first person of a different character. But when I did finally clue into it, wow...that hit somewhere deep in my soul.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the writers may have tweaked the ending. Not just to reflect the long hiatus between comic issues but how long we've been on this journey with the characters in general. Scout saying stuff like "We're glad you stuck around" and "we've been through a lot, you and us," like FUCK how does that not tug at your heartstrings??

I teared up. Not gonna lie. They're a family and WE are a part of it! Everyone is so HAPPY and got their ending and everyone's ALIVE!

I don't care what anyone says. THIS is the ending the mercs deserved. After all they've been through (especially Sniper, one of the few who no longer has a bio family of his own), they deserved to live and get their ending. And it just makes me so happy that even after 7 years being busy with their own lives they would still make time to get together like this?? WHOLESOME!!!

Yeah sure, maybe it's cheesy and a little rosy, but after all the shit that 2024 threw at us, honestly...I think we all needed this. It felt very therapeutic. And although a part of me is kind of sad that the comic is over, my gratitude for it FINALLY being completed far outweighs my grief. I look forward to people analyzing and picking this issue apart even further for months (or even years) to come!

Thank you for the lovely Christmas gift, Valve.

[sergeant-angels-trashcan]

if you have not seen discowing era dick… you need to. you may rethink the fashion stance lmao 😂 just imagine kate giving him shit for that, which he of course will defend by going after the Infamous Hip Holes

also while he has been a cop (ugh) dick really just picks a career and magically gets it???? like epitome of a nepo baby, bruce just buys him jobs I am CONVINCED. he’s been a social worker, a museum curator, a cop, he owned a crossfit studio (if you see babs on the yoga mat upstairs in GK, it’s a nod to that!), and depending on canon he has a law degree????

and riffing off of that degree… nightwing vs. daredevil rivalry WHEN. they are parkour badasses. they’re street level heroes who are just regular guys. they have fantastic asses. dick you cannot also have a law degree you CANNOT TAKE MATT’S ONE THING— my running joke is that if dick shows up and he’s better than matt at everything, matt might have a Small Existential Crisis

xoxo dickate anon 🩵💜

oh i KNEW about discowing when i called him a fashion boi. I did not specify it was good fashion. nightwing is that one tiktok. "I don't dress for men, I dress for little girls (children?) who have been told at some point in their lives that this is not a fashion show, and for old women drunk on their porch."

also nepo baby dick is hiLArious considering that I have been thinking all day about how in a separate-universes world, everyone in Kate's world thinks he's a golddigger. The tabloids and gossip mags are so confused??? He's a stay at home boyfriend? He literally doesn't have a job. He basically doesn't even exist. Kate's always saying he's home visiting his family, or traveling. Is he a spy? Does he do crime? He didn't know who Captain America was, he's just a himbo. He absolutely could not be a spy. Dick LOVES this, I feel like. It's much funnier when people think that about him than when they think that about Kate (which is what happens when she goes to his universe)

There's a post from forever ago about someone who's supervisor called their partner "Boytoy" at work, like, exclusively. And the guy knew and was fine with it, but anyway he came in one day and the op went "Mr. Toy, I presume?" and he went "The very one." This is very much Dick and Kate. also somehow he meets Anthony Bourdain, and this is a Good Timeline where he's still alive and Dick winds up traveling with him for a few episodes? That would be a fun dichotomy

Kate turns her back for five seconds and Clint and Dick have gone undercover at a circus. Kate expected this from Clint, but Dick knows better. Which prompts Dick explaining that CLINT is the brains of the operation, not Dick, he's the beauty, and Clint getting mad because HE'S the beauty, and Kate just sighs. Clearly neither of you are the brains.

Dick loves that there are no expectations of him in Kate's universe. It's like a vacation. He gets to be a himbo here. There's absolutely a pic of them on insta that he captioned "this barbie is an Avenger. He's just ken" and he will not HEAR Kate's arguments about how technically by Barbie/Ken rules he is also a Barbie. Dick pouts and is like I AM KENOUGH.

All of this leads to a mostly funny conception the Avengers have of Dick. They know he's Nightwing, he doesn't really need a secret identity here, but they don't...get it. He's bouncy and casual because he's still watching Kate's teams, figuring out how best to support, and he doesn't want to step on Kate's toes by accidentally being Too In Charge. So there's this idea that he really IS a himbo until Kate gets injured or captured. If she gets injured on a mission he's on? Look. It clears things up right away. He will absolutely rip apart whatever faction or organization caused that to happen with his bare hands. And God for-fucking-bid he encounters the actual individual responsible for harming her. I'm not saying someone's getting kicked off of a roof but, someone is moving from the roof to the sidewalk in the most expedient way possible.

This is also funny because it makes very clear how different their preferred fighting styles are, because Kate picked A VERY DEFENSIBLE POSITION, please stop worrying, Dick. And she's right! It is! IF YOUR PREFERRED WEAPON IS RANGED.

Now Dick is standing over his mostly unconscious girlfriend who looks like her face got scraped against the ground (because it did), preparing to defend them from all sides. fucking snipers.

It also leads to a fun moment where Kate can't lead. Eli isn't there, so normally command of the team would slide into Cap's purview (if cap and whoever his second is are down, Avengers command would slide over to Kate) so Cap is getting ready to start giving the YA some orders and Dick, not even THINKING about it, just kind of assumes command of the young Avengers and NONE OF THEM QUESTION IT???? He doesn't lead like Kate. He doesn't give orders like Kate, he doesn't even sound like Kate, with cadence or whatever. But there's something that is just kate like enough that her team is like yep this is correct. (The same thing will happen in reverse with the titans) After that the Avengers stop roasting him behind Kate's back.

Also, THE HIP HOLES. look. We need to admit that Kate, canonically, does not have great taste in her avengering uniform. Why did she choose this look? why is she so attached to it?

Like if Kate has the audacity to genuinely criticize discowing?? If for some reason she's wearing a different costume or they got tossed into Gotham in their civvies, her team will absolutely throw her under the bus in order to get brownie points with the batkids.

You can't talk about the deep vee when you had YOUR ENTIRE ABDOMEN OUT BABE. Nothing! Not even a tissue! The body confidence is great Kate but seriously how did you not die. (he's into the scarf, though)

And if Kate actually wears the hip holes? Dick is poking at her trying to figure out if they're actually holes? Is there mesh there? Is it flesh toned fabric? No?? It's actually holes? This man is going to stick his hand in one just to see because what the fuck, Kate, and Kate's going to be like. Dick. Dickie. Nightwing. Your hand is under my costume. Do you realize where your hand is.

Is THAT what it's for?!?!? Dick is now seeing how far he can get his hand. The small of her back? Her other hip? Their friends are scREAMing. Guys? Could you do this some other time?? Like maybe when we're NOT ON FUCKING PATROL?????

anyway now Dick is wondering how far he can actually get his hand inside her uniform and he WASN'T thinking about it Like That before but he sure is now

[lookofhisoceaneyes]

In case you need a good laugh ( Marvel Fic rec)

"Had a terrible day? Your boss yelled at you, your colleagues finished the coffee and didn’t bother to make more? Then, on your way home, you step in dog poop that someone didn't clean up. To top it off, it starts pouring rain and you get home soaked and freezing.

But hey, don't let a crappy day end that way! Snuggle up in bed, pull the duvet over your head, and head to AO3 for some hilarious fics. Just because the day was awful doesn’t mean you can’t end it with a good laugh."

Here are my top funny marvel fics:

The other fandoms are still to come, but not everything fits into the post and I have to select them first.

Marvel Fandom 1 

1. a thing that wants by magdaliny

a thing that wants - magdaliny - The Avengers (Marvel Movies) [Archive of Our Own]

“Hey, Steve,” Bucky says. “We’re gonna find Nat a dame, okay?”

Natasha shoves him into the pool.

the podfic:

[Podfic] a thing that wants - PhagePods (justaphage) - The Avengers (Marvel Movies) [Archive of Our Own]

—

Main Ship: Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov, Side Ship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers, Bonus Points: James “Bucky” Barnes and Natasha Romanov Friendship

I love this Fic so, so much. It's light, fluffy with a charming Bucky Barnes and a happy Steve. The friendship between Nat and Bucky is so beautifully described here! And of course one of my favorite marvel w/w ship Nat and Maria.

2.Drive It Like You Stole It: A Bodyswap by AggressiveWhenStartled

Drive It Like You Stole It: A Bodyswap - Chapter 1 - AggressiveWhenStartled - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own]

Steve had gone fully red-faced with pedantic altar-boy fury. “Did your computer forget how to Google translate?” he bellowed, sticking his head up and over. Bucky yanked him down again. “What are you even trying to say?”

Bucky tried to shake the sparkles off the grenade he had been planning on lobbing over the divider. “It sounded like Latin to me,” he said reasonably, pursing his lips and frowning at the explosive. It dripped a sparkle, and a puff of purple smoke curled up where it hit the concrete.

“That’s because you spent Sunday school flirting with Sarah Cunningham,” Steve accused, bobbing back up to throw his shield and ducking back down to dodge a shining ball of blue light. “You wouldn’t know Latin if it came up and kissed you on your ugly mug.”

“I’d sure know it if Sarah Cunningham did, though.” Bucky grinned, struck by the memory. “That gal really knew what she was doing.”

—-

Main Ship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers

AggressiveWhenStartled writes such good, funny stories, check out their profile, you won't be disappointed. If you like bickering Stucky then this is the fic for you, so funny and there is also such a nice podfic (As always from Quietnight)

If you like the fic, there is also a Sequal to the story and it's just as funny, if not funnier.

3. Bucky Barnes and the Embarrassment of Spidermen by AggressiveWhenStartled

Bucky Barnes and the Embarrassment of Spidermen - Chapter 1 - AggressiveWhenStartled - Captain America - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

“Peter,” Steve said into the table. “Please tell me you didn’t bring home someone from Tony’s alternate dimension.”

“Of course I didn’t,” Peter said, looking indignant. “I wouldn’t do that. I brought him to your place.”

—

Main Ship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers

the podfics:

[Podfic] Drive It Like You Stole It: A Bodyswap - Chapter 1 - quietnight - Captain America (Movies) [Archive of Our Own]

[Podfic] Bucky Barnes and the Embarrassment of Spidermen - quietnight - Captain America - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

4. Situation: Normal by redcigar

Situation: Normal - redcigar - Captain America - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

AU wherein Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers never met, Steve somehow manages to rescue the Winter Soldier anyway, and Avengers Tower ends up with the world’s angriest duckling and a whole new brand of entertainment.

-

(“He was dragging him out of the river,” Natasha argues later.

“Nat, be honest, he was going for the Full Monty.” Says Clint.

“I’m pretty sure we interrupted him in the middle of giving ‘emergency CPR’,” Tony agrees, “Or the stage after emergency CPR. Emergency Dick? Is that a thing?”

“That’s not a thing,” Natasha and Clint reply.)

—

Main Ship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers

Short, but  funny. 

the podfic: Situation Normal - quietnight - Captain America (Movies) [Archive of Our Own]

5. Steve Rogers Ruins Christmas: a Thanksgiving Miracle by AggressiveWhenStartled

Steve Rogers Ruins Christmas: a Thanksgiving Miracle - AggressiveWhenStartled - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own]

“I know I spent a while frozen in the arctic,” Steve said as he slowly reshut the driver’s side door and stepped back to take in the view. “So I guess I haven’t had a chance to see everything here in the future. But I was not expecting a Bavarian-themed Taco Bell with the KFC guy standing out front wearing lederhosen.”

—

Main Ship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson

I have to laugh so hard every time I read/hear the story. The whole side story with Bucky constantly calling Steve and annoying him. The beginnings of the poly relationship between Sam/Bucky/Steve. Love every minute of it.

the podfic: [Podfic] Steve Rogers Ruins Christmas: a Thanksgiving Miracle - Chapter 1 - quietnight - Captain America (Movies) [Archive of Our Own]

[shortkingvi]

📖✨Shortkingvi's Fic Hall of Fame✨📖

Since I’ve been a regular fic reader since ~2011, I figure a list like this is long overdue. This is a (semi) comprehensive list of every fic that has irrevocably changed who I am as a person forever. Some of these may not be the most world-altering fic's you've ever read, but for some reason they have wormed their way into my heart and stuck with me since the first time I read them. So, in no particular order and across many fandoms, here are my all time top-10:

1. tin soldiers - idrilka (Marvel Cinematic Universe, rated T, Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes)

Do you need to know the source material? Yes.

this fic... what do i truly say about this one. i am a stucky bitch first and foremost and this is the absolute best of them. a direct companion to captain america: the winter soldier, this fic covers what the public opinion of cap, the plot of the movie, and his relationship with bucky was/is/might be. written as a collection of academic papers, social media posts, and book excerpts, this fic takes unique and unforgettable to a new level. 10/10 would recommend!

2. maybe it's just me - bleedtoloveher (The Hunger Games, rated M, Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark)

Do you need to know the source material? Yes, although you could get by knowing the general premise.

this is the first fic i ever remember reading (at like 13 or 14) and boy oh boy did it stick with me. i regularly go back to read this one because it's just... so pure and sweet. an AU where katniss and peeta have been best friends for years and peeta is the only one reaped. upon returning after winning the games, he and katniss must pretend to be in a relationship so that he can protect her from president snow, who is unhappy with peeta. i adore this fic, it's just so lovely.

3. meet me halfway to your heart - ariadnerue (Carmilla, rated T, Carmilla Karnstein/ Laura Hollis)

Do you need to know the source material? No.

i may or may not have a thing for the fake/pretend relationship trope. this one is a fic where carmilla and laura are best friends and the children of two A-list actors. after a pushy dude in a bar won't leave laura alone, she and carm pretend to be in a relationship. of course, the media catches wind of their supposed love and has a field day with it, forcing them to have to pretend they're in love to avoid ruining the release of their parents' new film. this one is so CUTE and a one-shot (albeit 22k words), so it's an easy, sweet read!

4. human interest - mad_lori (Brokeback Mountain, rated E, Ennis Del Mar/Jack Twist)

Do you need to know the source material? Yes, but techincally only the first hour or so, though i think you'd miss out on the catharsis of this by doing so.

no movie truly sticks with me and breaks my heart quite like brokeback, and after a particularly depressing rewatch last year, i stumbled upon this. originally written in 2006, this fic is an AU that imagines what might've happened if ennis had said yes to jack's proposition after ennis' divorce. they open up a cattle operation up in vermont and get their happily ever after. it's slice of life, it's real, it's sweet and cathartic. if you too have been personally victimized by this film, i recommend this more than anything else on this list. it's wonderful. there's a sequel fic that is technically unfinished, but it's 40 chapters and ends on a decent stopping point, so i think that's more than fine.

5. been lovin' you for quite some time - onemilliongoldstars (The 100, rated E, Clarke Griffin/Lexa)

Do you need to know the source material? No.

for some reason i am physically unable to read in canon clexa shit because it hurts too much, so this is an AU. FWB clarke and lexa find themselves spending christmas together and have to pretend they're strangers. it goes about as well as you'd think. read this as a wee baby gay and it means so much to me because of that. clexa truly is my greatest ship of all time, so you can imagine how much this one has stuck with me. an easy, quick, fun read with almost no angst.

6. United States v. Barnes, 617 F. Supp. 2d 143 (D.D.C. 2015) - fallingvoices, radialarch (Marvel Cinematic Universe, rated T, Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes)

Do you need to know the source material? Yes.

i didn't want to double dip on this list, but when they're this good, you have no choice. this fic is SO creative. similar to tin soldiers, this fic is formatted in an incredibly creative way! telling the story of bucky's hypothetical trial post winter soldier, this fic is a compilation of court transcripts, news articles, and social media posts. it's stucky at its core, but can also just be enjoyed as a bucky fic. it does an incredible job of holding your attention and truly making you feel like you're a part of this trial. this is the character work we should've gotten for bucky post winter soldier/civil war/endgame/ANYTHING.

7. i-80 west - socallmedaisy (Glee, rated M, Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce)

Do you need to know the source material? Yes.

read this one right around the time i was graduating high school and boy oh boy was that the perfect time to read it. brittana roadtrip fic/ last summer in lima fic where they just... go through everything that people go through at that time. i know this one is special to me because of when i read it and what it meant to me, but GOD this one burrowed into the depths of my baby gay trauma brain and has lived there ever since. if you have time, this is a great one. just... yeah.

8. strawberry ice cream (revamped!!!) - banneancroft69 (Ocean's 8, rated E, Lou Miller/Debbie Ocean)

Do you need to know the source material? Yes.

we do ocean's 8 here sir. this one is just truly lovely. unfinished, so be warned, but it doesn't really matter, because it's mostly a timeline of Lou and Debbie's relationship, starting way back at their first meeting. i'm one of the many who believes that lou and debbie canonically had a on again, off again love affair but are ultimately each other's soulmates, and i think this fic does well to kind of tie all that complexity together in a very fresh way. i think about this one a LOT.

9. roll with the punches - greatestchange (Avatar: Legend of Korra, rated M, Korra/Asami Sato)

Do you need to know the source material? No.

godddddd this fic. this SERIES. korra and asami are estranged high school best friends. when asami learns korra's back in town and fighting in an underground fight club, she goes to seek her out and figure out why she left and what she's been up to since. this series is HEAVY, let me preface, and deals with drug abuse, self-destructive tendencies, and overall complicated humans. it will likely be the most difficult read on this list because of this, but it also is one of the most important for me. i related BIG TIME to this version of korra, and it just really is a masterfully crafted series that i cannot say enough about. please give this a read if it sounds like your thing.

10. see your world in traces - spibsy (Professional Wrestling, rated E, Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose)

Do you need to know the source material? Yes, but a general understanding of wrestling would probably suffice.

burrowing this down at number 10 so no one notices it. seriously though, i find it hard to ever read anything wrestling related because it often veers way too far into RPF territory for me and those lines are muddy enough as is. this one though... this one is fully within kayfabe and just like.. has stuck with me since i was 16 for some reason. it's FCW era ambrollins aka PEAK twunk rollins era, and it's just such a perfect kayfabe explanation for the funky little feud they had at the time. it's genuine and messy and heartfelt and weird and i HAD to include it here if i truly wanted this list to be as honest and correct as i want it to be. if you're at all into wrestling, this is a lovely one that i should probably read again soon.

[usuallydeepcoffee]

Mr. Rogers and Succession? 👀👀

I mean, you have to admit that the juxtaposition of Steve, the humble son of an immigrant, a guy who owned one pair of (too-big) nice shoes, and the Roys, whose entire shoe rack is probably worth more than the GDP of a small country, would be hilarious.

There are two, scenarios I humbly offer:

Steve in the Roys' world:

(non-powered AU), where Steve is the young, hot partner of a very rich New York billionaire genius (Howard or Tony, take your pick). He's into arts and mostly involved in charity work, so the Roys figure he's just another Willa, but then he turns out to be a pretty good strategist.

Lol, I imagine the Roys would be embarrassing themselves trying to court the Starks, like they did with the Pierces.

(also I just love imagining Steve and Willa gagging anyone who comes near them with some quip about them being gold diggers. Two queens discussing how to maximize their joint slay and all)

2. The Roys in the mcu:

I mean. Imagine the narrative ATN would pull out their asses once it is confirmed that Captain America is actually WWII Steve Rogers. About Steve being a true patriot, standing for the Good Conservative American Values™. The way they'd be trying to get an exclusive interview post-Chitauri attack.

Again they'd probably try to court him because even though he doesn't have money (not like they do), he still has status and influence just by being an American symbol.

(that and they'd probably need his permission to make content about Captain America. Maybe even a ride named after him in their parks)

Lol. Logan would try to imply that they have soooo much in common, both immigrants, both hard workers. Steve has a good sixth sense tho, so he probably takes one look at him and turns his heel.

The cringe from Kendall would make me want to curl up and die. "Yeah man, I could uh, hook you up with some uh, modern pieces. Rothko, Mondrian. I have a couple in my pad in Brooklyn, I could uh, give you one. For free of course. Consider it uh, a thank you for your service"

Roman, oh boy. Can't even think about all the harassment innuendos he would throw Steve's way. Comments about him having all of David's Michelangelo's proportions (and consequently wondering about his dick).

Shiv is probably the one who almost fools Steve into believing she's the most normal but then says something in a terribly classist way and down the DNI list she goes as well.

Con becomes a WWII history buff for the occasion and talks about idk, Goebbels' pubes or something equally disgusting he won at an auction online.

Steve calls Nat and begs her to come and get him with the excuse of an Avenger-related emergency.

And when that inevitably fails, the Roys start a smear campaign against Steve: Captain America getting chummy with ex-Russian spy Natasha Romanoff. Workplace affair or treason?

They probably pop off a couple of bottles when Steve becomes a fugitive.

And then once Sam shows up with the shield and the suit. Oh my god. That might be what actually kills Logan Roy in that verse.

[dangertoozmanykids101]

OMG. I never read this article before!

We've all seen the photos. This reminds me of how intimate and quite "kinda flattering, yet not so flattering" the infamous GQ article was with Hiddleston was post the summer of 2016. The interview itself is sooooo unprofessional, in my opinion, and they seem to really border on tricking the celebrity to reveal vulnerable sides of themselves under the guise that the reporter is a friend with the celebrity's best interests in mind. The article leaves ya feeling like you just read a fan fiction that got all angsty with no resolution, and yet nobody got laid!!!! But fueling the dream that this celebrity was so intimate with me, you too could even have a chance, because they are that accessible. (If you have a press card from GQ magazine.)

Omg, sooooo many fics should be inspired by this article!! Lord knows I need some better satisfaction after reading it.

I'm sorry —> going back to the topic of touchy.

OH MY GOD! I AGREE! I doubt this boy could keep his hands to himself if you paid him!

Or that booty.

Wait —> Do any of his characters that he got paid to do actually keep their hands to themselves? LOL Mr. Freezy? I'd have to watch it all again. Lol

Of course, this may be a lot of my own headcanon too. I just so easily imagine every character totally mauling the heroine. Don't y'all?

I'm a bit of a touchy feely person myself. And if I get drunk or a little tipsy, I'm outright handsy. And I'm NOT good when it comes to second guessing if someone is genuine or not. :-( That shit gets me paranoid and spiralling down down down. :-(

OMG, I just described my nightmare last night!!

This also describes the beginning of a dark fic —> pick a character, any Evans character. Starts in a bar, way too handsy, way too drunk, and way too easy.

Next time he is cordial, but superficially affectionate and off to do his rounds with that friendly smile. But the next time you're his favorite at the party. And the next.... What a rollercoaster!!!

Imagine: Ransom. Steve Rogers. Andy Barber. Ari. Lloyd. Curtis. Colin. Cole. Peter Brenner. Push. Cellular. Puncture. That delicious horn player. Playing It Cool. Mr. Freezy. (Might be for the best if you just count your lucky stars that you even woke up the next morning! Right?)

Chris is definitely a touchy person but she didn’t look uncomfortable in any way. Do you remember the infamous Edith GQ interview?

https://www.gq.com/story/chris-evans-gq-july-2011-cover-story

Where he’s all over the interviewer in the car, stroking her thighs and arms and she ends up staying over at his house? 😂 yeah they definitely banged.

I never ever said she was uncomfortable, she wasn’t uncomfortable AT ALL! I’m just saying it was inappropriate as she is married and I know different people have different boundaries but still!

[spideyykid]

Tony Stark, The Villain Factory

I've been wanting to talk about this for a while now, and with my finals slowly coming to a close, I can procrastinate juuusst long enough to make this post.

For a very long time there has been this trend of talking about how Tony Stark creates his own villains (and even villains for others). Even people who love his character include this in their arguments, how his character arc is defined by him attempting to rectify his past actions. His own trilogy is connected by this need of bettering himself, and that starts with fixing his mistakes and protecting the ones he loves. This change from playboy rich kid to savior of the universe is what makes him so interesting to some compared to a character like Steve Rogers, his foil.

Steve Rogers is supposed to personify good, even from the start he is defined by what is to be seen as an all encompassing selfless nature. He does good, good things come from it, he is rewarded, rinsed and repeated. He is rarely told no, because to his credit, he usually is right when it comes to what is morally correct. Since Steve Rogers starts as the good, he has nowhere to grow outside of this narrative, and is constantly surrounded by yes men. He is charismatic in a golden boy type way, America's golden boy. He isn't used to being told no, and on the off chance that he is incorrect, whether fully or partially, he is unwilling to listen to another perspective.

Of course, as previously mentioned, he is usually correct. Key word: usually. So, on the few occasions he is wrong, he is unable to grasp the concept of compromise. He has a very black and white view of the world, and he fully believes that he is always in the white.

Tony Stark, on the other hand, has a different perspective.

Oftentimes, Tony has a very negative self image of himself and his impact on the world. It's easy to forget that it wasn't him who built his empire, but his father. The comics go further in depth with his relationship with the late Howard Stark, but unfortunately the movies attempted to mellow the man out, and even redeem him slightly in later movies (see: Endgame).

In short, at his best, Howard was incredibly dismissive and harsh with his son, and at his worst downright abusive. Tony was essentially groomed to take over a company which was already responsible for providing weapons that slaughtered thousands, profiting from war and destruction. His morality started at a deficit, in the eyes of the characters, the audience, and even to himself.

Unlike Steve, who is supposed to represent two sides of the same coin when it comes to dual roles, both as Steve Rogers the soldier and Captain America the hero, Tony Stark asks the question- "Can a hero do good despite the evil his alter ego has committed?"

Tony essentially has to work against a legacy that he didn't start, a life he was groomed into, and the consequences of his unhealthy coping mechanisms. With that, the main point of this post- why I think the statement "Tony Stark is responsible for his (and others) villains" is (mostly) utter bullshit.

In order to do this, we first need to define what being responsible means. This is important, because if you just define responsible as “connected with,” it muddles down the severity of the action. 

What makes someone responsible?

Responsible means being the primary cause of something and so able to be blamed or credited for it.

The word primary is the most important here, as well as understanding that a character being angry at Tony does not equate him being responsible for their actions. This is a common tactic used to victim-blame, that person A did something to either upset or provoke person B, making person A responsible for person B’s actions. 

In order for Tony Stark to be responsible for a villain, he had to directly cause an action to take place, which then created the villain in question. He also has to be the primary cause of said action, and not just a vessel for the anger of someone who feels like they’ve been wronged and are using him as a metaphorical punching bag.

Now, let us move down the list of the villains he is known for creating, and count the ones he's actually responsible for.

Ready?

Obadiah Stane & The 10 Rings: Iron Man was the catalyst for the MCU, and the first hero (disregarding the current multiverse storyline) to hit the big screen. With it, the introduction to the first villain. The 10 Rings existed with or without Tony's presence, seeing as Howard created the company and Obadiah both oversaw its business before Tony took over in the mid to late nineties, and was the one who was working with Raza. I've seen the argument that since Stark Industries provided the weapons he is to blame for their actions, and although that's the feeling Tony has, it is factually incorrect. Stane was the one dealing under the table, not Tony- who finds out only after his kidnapping and through Christine Everheart. Let me make this point clear now.

Tony was only aware of his supplying of weapons to the American Government and Armed forces.

This will come into play again later down the line. Was it his responsibility to know what was going on in his own company that had his name on it? Absolutely- but I would also argue he had no reason to be aware of Obadiah and what he was doing behind his back. This man was supposed to be a father figure to him, a mentor- a friend of his parents and the man who guided him when they died. We never hear mention of other family, so it wouldn't be a jump to assume that Obadiah was all he had left. Jarvis (the real person) could have potentially been still alive, but even so- he definitely is not at the start of the movie.

Tony is not responsible for Obadiah's actions. He was betrayed, stabbed in the back, and almost killed by the man who he was supposed to trust. He (literally) had his heart ripped out by him. Stane's motivation is power and greed, a desire to take control of Stark Industries and all that would give him. He was angry at Tony, sure, but the only thing we saw Tony do that directly caused him to be angry was shutting down the weapons division of the company.

Tony, 1/3rd of the way into his first movie, has already started his journey towards redemption, is already trying to fix the pain he thinks he helped create- and Stane wanted to reverse it.

Also this movie ends with him sacrificing himself to make sure Stane doesn’t win and continue to hurt others- making the later jabs at him weak and not as meaningful. 

0/2 so far on created villains.

Whiplash and Hammer: 

This one is going to be quick. 

Venko was angry at Tony because of something his father did, plain and simple. 

Hammer was a competitor of Tony’s, we see multiple times throughout the movie that his work is not to the same standard. His attempt to recreate the Iron Man suit almost kills a man, his greatest weapons used by Rhodey fail, and he is overall portrayed to be a slimy individual. His bitterness towards his inadequacy is not Tony’s responsibility, Tony is not at fault for the anger of others when all he did was provide better work. It’s easy to victim-blame him in this situation because of his erratic behavior throughout this movie, but that was fueled by the fact that he was actively dying and had no bearing on Hammer’s or Venko’s actions. 

0/4 responsible so far. 

Aldrich Killian: Out of the entire trilogy, this is the only villain I would attribute to Tony. 

Sort of. 

Tony was a drunk asshole. Tony left him out on the roof. Tony upset him, and was overall a dick. I’m not going to spend that much time arguing whether someone pulling a dick move is enough to justify mass death and inhumane experimentation- because that isn’t the question here. 

(If you want my opinion, no- because if I threw my sprite at a random dude who was having a bad day, and he later killed a bunch of people and cited me as the cause, I wouldn’t be convicted as even an accesory to murder.)

Still, Tony’s direct action = Killian working with Maya and creating extremis. This is different to Hammer, where Tony didn’t directly do anything other than be better at his job. It might have led to a similar outcome, but didn’t come from the same place. I’ll give it a .5, but I don’t fully agree. 

0.5/5

Ultron: This one is probably the most talked about in the MCU. Let me be clear, this is a point, I’m not arguing against that-my problem is people like to pretend he is solely responsible for Ultron.

I’m going to outline the timeline of Ultron (the bot, not the film). 

-Aliens invade and destroy New York, and the Avengers are tasked with defeating them.

-The government attempts to drop a nuke, which Iron Man intercepts and directs into the wormhole, essentially sacrificing himself. While he is in the wormhole, he sees what they are up against. 

-After nearly dying in space, he returns with severe PTSD. Iron Man 3 shows how much the whole experience affected him, how he didn’t sleep, obsessed over the suits, over protecting the world. He develops an anxiety disorder because of it.

-He comes up with the concept of Ultron but scraps the idea. 

-While fighting a Hydra base, Wanda Maximoff, who knew (as stated in the movie by Wanda herself) that she could manipulate Tony into creating something (she did not know what at the time) that would lead to his destruction.

-She manipulates his mind and triggers his severe PTSD, which outlines his biggest fears. 

-He then takes the scepter and, after consulting Bruce Banner, uses it to create Ultron. They work on it together, but do not complete it, the super bot had not been completed and was still in progress at the time of the party. 

People like to say Bruce was forced into working on Ultron, he was not. He was apprehensive, yes- but he is a grown adult that has seven Phd’s, he can damn well think for himself. 

Neither Bruce nor Tony had the intention for it to turn evil, it was supposed to help humanity- not destroy it. The sick truth of it all is that Tony was right. As seen in Infinity War, something big was coming, and they weren’t prepared. Ultron was a failure, but the intention behind it was just and good. 

Wanda Maximoff, on the other hand, also an adult woman at the time, intended for destruction, regardless of who it hurt. She, on the flip side, did not know of Ultron, but wanted something that would destroy, for the sole reason of being angry at Tony Stark. We know that at this point she had no care for anyone other than herself and her brother, she even used the Hulk to attack a town as a distraction, something that was devastating for Bruce. If you watch the movie, her face after she whammied Stark at the beginning is sinister. She has the biggest smile on her face when she realizes that her actions were going to lead to something big. 

Tony Stark was partially responsible, yes- responsible enough that Ultron brings the score to 1.5/6 . Still, absolving Bruce’s, and much more importantly, Wanda’s contributions is absolutely not ok. 

Which nicely leads to our next villains- 

Wanda and Pietro Maximoff: Yes, they started off as bad guys. Yes, people will take every opportunity to blame Tony Stark for something. Let me first state something that should be obvious: 

Tony Stark was not responsible for the death of their parents. 

That’s it. 

(Ok that’s not it, I have more to say) 

The twin’s parents were killed when they were 10 years old, meaning they died in 1999. The Novi Grad bombings were conducted by the American Air force, which Stark Industry provided with weapons. Still, and I can not stress this enough, the manufacturer is not responsible for the acts of the user. 

If you’re angry that Tony was working for the military, then I’m sorry to tell you, but there are a lot of MCU characters that work for the military. He did not orchestrate the bombings, he did not make descisions on what the government would do in Sokovia, he did not provide his weapons illegally. 

HE DID NOT CREATE STARK INDUSTRIES. HE BARELY OVERSAW THE DAMN COMPANY BETWEEN HIS FATHER AND OBADIAH. THERE WERE MULTIPLE SHAREHOLDERS, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, MEMBERS OF THE COMPANY THAT ALL HAD A SAY.  WHEN HE SAW THE PAIN AND DESTRUCTION THAT WAS HIS FATHER’S LEGACY, HE IMMEDIATELY SHUT IT DOWN. 

We even see in the first Iron Man how much power Obidiah had, how he was able to shut him out of the company when he did anything outside of what Stane wanted. Tony mostly kept to himself even when he was CEO, and Stane was the one shown to make the big choices. The company's connection to the United States military wasn’t even started by Tony, but by his father.  When he was exposed to the destruction and went to shut it all down and stop the manufacturing of his weapons, pretty much everyone was angry at him. Stane and Rhodey are never blamed for the deaths of Wanda’s parents, even so their connection and desire to continue working with the military after Tony’s ordeal is even more significant.

Even if it was Tony who directly made the sale, something which again, was established by his father and continued by Stane, it still would not make him responsible. 

See previous point: The manufacturer is not responsible for the acts of the user. 

This is probably the point, besides Ultron, that the most amount of people will argue with me over. 

1.5/8

Vulture: There's a very popular idea that Tony Stark is responsible for all of Spider-Man’s villains. The DOC was established as a way to rectify the damage caused by the attack on New York in 2012. Since it was all funded by Tony Stark, he is the one connected to the project. I’ve seen a lot of Tony stan’s use this as an argument for Tony, saying he is the only Avenger who cared about New York after the attack. 

I am not making that argument. 

As much as I love him, I think it’s unfair to accuse the other Avengers of not caring. We have no proof that they didn’t help in any way after the attacks. Unlike Tony, none of them have the money, nor the resources to fund an endeavor such as a complete reconstruction and clean up of a city such as New York.

Now, that isn’t to undermine Tony’s charitable actions: in the real world, not every billionaire contributes to events such as this one. Even when they do, there is a close to zero probability that they would fund the entire thing. We see how Tony uses his money to help in multiple situations, not only funding the Avengers themselves, but doing things such as buying a building the Hulk was about to destroy in Age of Ultron. 

If there wasn’t a billionaire on the team, or Tony, who you could argue did his part by almost getting himself killed getting a missile away from the city, did not contribute his own money, that burden would fall on to the government. 

In short, we see his contributions through the eyes of the villain, who is attributing his loss to the man responsible for not only saving the lives of countless others, but funding the effort to clean up a mess the Avengers didn’t create. 

This is another example of Person A being wronged by someone, attributing it to Tony, and then using that hate to justify their actions. 

You can not tell me that Tony was in the wrong for providing resources to aid in the reconstruction of a city he almost gave his life for. 

The DOC even told Toomes he could reach out and complain, and with everything else we have no reason to believe Tony wouldn’t have compensated Toomes and his crew. If there was a scene where he made the attempt and Tony denied him, then you could potentially make the argument that he was the cause. 

1.5/9

Mysterio: This one hurts me to even entertain. 

Quentin Beck, a person who worked for Tony Stark, was angry that an invention that he worked on while under contract for Stark Industries, was taken, repurposed for use in therapy, and named B.A.R.F.

Let’s break this down. 

We don’t know how much of B.A.R.F was actually Beck’s doing, since we know that his recollection of events was incorrect. A prime example of this is shown through the flashback in FFH, where on stage at Tony's joke about the name, there was a lot of laughter coming from the audience. 

In the actual scene which we see in Civil War, no one is laughing. It is either a blatant lie or a fabricated memory. 

Even if Beck was a major part in the project, he still created it for Stark Industries, which, approximately seven years prior to Civil War, shut down their weapons division. 

Beck was angry that the company didn’t want to use it as a weapon. 

This is a decision which would also probably be pushed through to the CEO, which by this time, is not Tony Stark, but Pepper Potts. We see in Iron Man three that she is the one making the big choices, probably in collaboration with members of the board alongside Tony Stark himself. There is a possibility that Tony himself didn’t even fire him, and that this is yet another example of name attribution, but that of course, is merely speculation. 

Beck says he was fired for being “erratic”- I do not doubt this, considering how he acts in FFH. He is constantly yelling and threatening his coworkers when he doesn’t get his way. 

The crew alongside him are also portrayed to be wronged by Tony, including a man named William Ginter Riva. He is the guy everyone knows from this classic interaction with Stane:

"Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!"

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm not Tony Stark."

This is the reason Riva is shown to be angry at Tony, because Obidiah yelled at him. Not Tony himself, but Stane. Just another example of people being angry at Stane, but attributing that anger to Tony. 

The group is upset that Tony left Peter Edith instead of them- why would Tony leave Edith to a random bunch of employees, some of which were even fired or had left the company? 

Their motivation makes no sense, is unhinged, and is no way the responsibility of Tony Stark. 

1.5/10

To conclude, Tony is responsible for 1.5/10 of the villains people accuse him of being responsible for. 

That’s 15%, and that’s not even taking into account the rest of the villains in the MCU that he has nothing to do with

A rough count (that i'm low balling) is approximately 40 villains in the MCU. 1.5/40 is 3.75%. 

“But he still antagonized/motivated/upset them!”

So has every hero in every movie ever. So has a lot of victims of crimes, that is not an excuse for these people to hurt Tony, his loved ones, or any one else they so please.

[checkingoutforheroes]

Cinderella.

Y/n posts a tweet:

Why do I have to see you everyday? You're a pain in the ass that I can't do anything about it. Urghh so annoying.

20 minutes later your phone blows up with the group chat notifications.

Clint: Y/n, my kids called me, asking me about your tweet. Care to tell a brother?

Steve: Stark, what did you do?

Kate: What tweet???

Tony: I didn't do anything!

Tony: Yet 😏 But yeah, who upset you?

Natasha: Y/n's upset? Who should I blow?

Y/n: Gosh... chill

Kate: I read the tweet. Boi, you literally the most patient person in our group. I wanna know who's that person.

Natasha: Name and their social id please.

Wanda: I can find her if you want.

Natasha: So, it's a she. Which department?

Tony: Told you guys, it wasn't me this time.

Clint: So, boys are off the list.

Natasha: Done. Already have names of all the women in the Avengers and SHIELDS department.

Y/n: Nat, really. No need for that. I'm fine now.

Steve: Who upset you Y/n?

Y/n: Well....

Natasha: Is it me? Though I know it wasn't me.

Y/n: No Nat. You literally take care of me! Of course not you.

Kate: Is it me? Did I put stuffs in higher shelves?

Y/n: No Kate, not you. You're sweet, don't worry, you not upsetting me.

Wanda: Since Carol is off earth, is it me? Was your pancakes taste bad? I'm sorry.

Y/n: Don't be ridiculous Wanda. No one in this compound can match your cooking.

Maria Hill: I know I'm tough on you but we haven't met in three days. So it wasn't me or Fury. -Deputy director left the chat

Y/n: Wth. How is she get on this group chat..?

Natasha: Stop stalling Y/n. Just tell us.

Y/n: Okay. Its none of you guys. Just move on.

Yelena: Is it me?

Y/n: Well, my posts aren't directed at anyone but, if the shoe fits, wear it.

Y/n: Cinderfuckingrella!

Natasha: Now we know. -Natasha left the chat

Clint: Know what? Who did it?

Kate: Hahaha! Burn 🔥 🔥 🔥

Yelena: Shut up, dog arrow girl!

Steve: Who's burning? Remember: STOP. DROP. and ROLL!

Kate: Clint, is Captain America always like this?

Tony: If I were you, I'd get off the country 5 minutes ago.

Yelena: yeah no shit. I hear something on my ceiling.

Kate: I wanna witness it!

Wanda: Yeah, run all you can, as fast as you can but I still can sense you, you know?

Tony: Stop triggering me! -tony left the chat

Steve: I'm not going to stop your sister. Good luck.

Clint: Yeah. I have to walk the dog.

Y/n: And I have to shower my imaginary fish.

Yelena: Suka. @%&₩£$#";!

[shrunkyclunksbang]

Title: Not all relics are 100 year old supersoldiers

Posting: The week of August 14th

Author: Kel @kalee60​ [Twitter] [AO3]

Artist: Rufferto9 [AO3]

Rating: Explicit

Pairings: Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes

Tags/Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, Captain America/Modern Bucky Barnes, Identity porn, Misunderstandings, Explicit sexual content, canon typical violence, on the run, strangers to lovers, communication is key, alternating POV, Bucky is a modern Indiana Jones, Natasha is a good bro, fights, minor injuries, alien artifact, falling in love, Top Steve Rogers, Bottom Bucky Barnes

Summary:

If asked, Bucky Barnes would call himself a modern day adventurer. He roamed the world collecting and cataloguing artifacts and relics for a living, his only help in the form of his enigmatic assistant, Natasha. Sure, it was a lonely life, but it was hard to meet people in his line of work, so he survived on random hook-ups to let off steam, not needing any more than that.

But when he meets the handsome stranger Steven in a Puerto Ricon bar, everything changes. How on earth could a man like Steven exist, and not only that, want Bucky?

One scorching hot encounter later, it all went to hell.

Because earlier that day, Bucky had discovered an alien artifact on his dig, unwittingly becoming a target to a rival collector. A rival who wanted Bucky's find and was not asking for it nicely. In fact, Bucky was suddenly running for his life, without even the chance to say goodbye to Steven. And just when Bucky had given up hope of survival, it's an Avenger who comes to his rescue. Captain America himself.

Yet, why was the hero acting funny and stand-offish with Bucky? Why wouldn’t he take off his mask, and why did he seem so damn familiar?

Cue a bunch of misunderstandings, alien technology that won’t quit and two stupid boys who can’t see what’s right in front of their noses.

Excerpt:

“Tony, I need you to come to my location now, or send a suit. Maybe both - actually, both.” Steve didn’t bother with a greeting once he’d passed the encryptions to Tony’s personal phone. He was just thankful he’d picked up.

“Why hello to you too, Captain Pina Colada. Lovely to hear from your tone that you’re relaxed and refreshed from your holiday and that you’re currently lounging around in a…gas station? What tour group did you sign up -”

“I don’t have time for your inane quips - come now!”

“Inane, I’ll have you know -”

“I mean it Tony.” Steve squeezed the ridge of his nose between a finger and thumb, knowing he was about to open himself up to a world of pain and ribbing. “I need your help.”

Tony was silent for all of a second, “be there in ten.”

Then he was gone, the smirk in his voice clear as day.

“Shit,” Steve said into the empty receiver, then hung his head in defeat. Tony would be insufferable, but it was for Bucky…for Nat. He swallowed away the bitterness in the back of his throat. Bucky wasn't for him.

“Err, excuse me? Mr America?”

Steve placed the phone back into its cradle and looked over his shoulder at the kid manning the register. He wouldn’t have been a day over sixteen, and Steve was ready to plaster a smile on to say thanks, when he realised the kid wasn't about to ask for an autograph. He was pointing outside towards the car instead.

Oh no...

Running from the back of the store, Steve burst into the parking lot to find six armoured vehicles and twenty masked Hydra operatives flanking the SUV. Of course they would have tracked it. Steve was losing his edge, he’d been compromised by Bucky.

Bucky.

The same Bucky who was stumbling from the back of the car, landing in the dirt on his hands and knees, head bowed, breathing heavily.

[babyjakes]

forever and a day | 27. when she loves someone.

〈 disclaimer: this blog posts content not suitable for individuals under the age of 18. minors are strictly prohibited from viewing, sharing, or interacting with this blog. for more information on this blog's commitment to protecting minors, read our full statement here. 〉

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summary | a story in which america’s favorite captain gives a new life and family to a five-year-old girl who has suffered well beyond her years at the hands of hydra.

characters | dad!steve rogers, girl/willa rogers (original character)

warnings | AU similar enough to OU to include spoilers to many Marvel movies (Age of Ultron and beyond). action and fight scenes with violence and killing. injuries/mild gore. mature themes related to and semi-graphic depictions of child abuse/neglect, past CSA and CSM, and their aftermath (emaciation, wounds, scarring, etc). medical abuse and experimentation. ptsd/trauma symptoms in a child (developmental discrepancies, de-humanized behavior, detachment, extreme fears). medical treatment of CSM and other aftermath of abuse.trauma-informed therapeutic treatment of ECT. somewhat evil!Tony Stark (eventually).

[Steve]

There are several gasps around the room as the rest of the team follows my gaze down to the faint blue glow clearly radiating off of Willa’s skin. Rolling backwards a short distance from the table, I take a deep breath, trying to figure out what the best course of action would be. Bruce and Tony rise to their feet; as soon as the scientist is up, Nat quickly follows, grabbing his arm to hold him back. With everything we just discussed prior to the kids arriving, the tension in the room has only amplified.

“Okay, okay sweetheart,” I begin to hum steadily, gently wrapping my arms around the shaking girl in hopes of calming her some. “It’s okay. You don’t have to hide, Willa. You’re safe.”

“Jarvis, status on 24?” Tony blurts out.

“The project is fully loaded in your laboratory, sir,” the robot responds. My eyes shoot up at Tony, glaring at him. Every other face in the room but Peter’s does the same.

“Shut it down,” I command, the tone of my voice causing Willa to flinch under my shirt. My hand finds her back through the fabric and rubs soothingly along it; I don’t want to scare her. But Tony needs to be put in his place. Against my bare skin, I can feel that Willa is unusually warm. “Bruce,” I turn to the doctor, “should we take her upstairs? Should we take her to medical? What do we do?” I ask, trying not to panic.

“I don’t want to move her right away. Can we get the room cleared out?” he asks, turning to the others. Clint, Wanda, and Thor all leave without a sound. Tony stands his ground firmly, Nat keeping her hand firmly on his arm.

“Tony, we’re leaving,” she states lowly.

“No,” the bitter retorts, “you’re leaving. I’m taking the kid to my lab and figuring out why the hell she’s glowing blue.”

At the word ‘lab’, Willa shrivels up on my lap. “Please, n-no- sorry, sorry. Please, sorry. Please,” she starts to beg, causing Natasha to tighten her grip on the genius’s arm, sending him a death glare for scaring the poor thing even more.

“M-Mr. Stark?” Peter squeaks from behind him. Tony turns slightly to face the shaking boy, who now has tears running down his cheeks.

“Pete,” I breathe, my heart breaking for the teen as his head hangs low. “You’re alright, son. Why don’t you go upstairs and find Thor? He was talking about wanting to watch movies with you earlier.”

But Peter doesn’t listen. Instead, he peers up fearfully at his mentor, looking like a cornered puppy facing a beating. “P-please don’t put Willa in a lab. She’s so scared of that stuff, sir- please don’t. I-I don’t know what happened; I-I’m so sorry. She fell asleep on the couch while we were watching The Backyardigans… a-and then all of a sudden she was awake and crying and glowing like that. Please don’t put her in a lab. Please,” he pouts, but not even the tearful words from his favorite spiderling can change Tony’s mind.

“Peter, we can talk about this later,” the man says quietly. “No one’s mad at you,” he adds. “We just need to figure out what’s going on with her.”

“We can do that without turning her into your living experiment,” Nat hisses.

The little girl’s sobs are growing louder from under my shirt as Bruce sighs heavily, stating, “You need to get out, Tony. You’re scaring the life out of her. Steve has primary guardianship, so any decisions about her health come down to his discretion, anyway. You’re just picking a fight you can’t win,” the doctor reasons.

Tony pinches the bridge of his nose, grinding his teeth together in frustration. “Fine,” he eventually grunts. “But this discussion isn’t over. You can’t keep the secrets hidden in her body locked up forever.” At this, Nat begins to drag him out, and he reluctantly goes along with her.

Peter takes one last sad look at his friend hiding under my shirt, sniffling. “I-I’m so sorry,” he sniffles once again, making it apparent that he truly blames himself for everything that’s gone wrong with the situation.

“Don’t worry about it, kid,” Bruce tells him warmly. Peter nods sadly one more time before turning around and leaving, closing the door behind him.

With everyone gone but Bruce, the room now feels much larger; finally, there seems to be enough space and air to breathe. The doctor steps over in front of me and kneels down cautiously, visually examining the glow through the fabric.

“Willa,” I murmur softly, causing the girl to wince in fright. “You can come out now, doll. Everyone’s gone but Bruce.” This, however, does little to comfort the child, and for a moment I wish I would’ve asked Peter to stay, given how skillful he tends to be at calming his friend down.

“No lab, p-please. Y-you- you promised, please- you pr-promised,” Willa sobs, clinging onto my torso as tightly as she can.

“Hey- no lab, sweetheart. That’s right; I did promise. I promised you, didn’t I? No one’s taking you to a lab, Willa. You’re safe,” I try, but I know that Tony’s words have done a great deal of irreversible damage. Up until this point, a lab hasn’t been mentioned in front of Willa since her rescue from Seoul. She had hopefully grown to trust that she would never be put in a lab again. Unfortunately, this fear has been resurfaced due to Tony’s carelessness.

“Please, sorry, w-will do better… will do anything,” the small girl implores.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, darlin’,” I soothe, heartbroken that she thinks somehow any of this might be her fault. “Tony’s the one who’s out of line here, but the rest of us will protect you. I promised you no more labs the very first day we met. And I’m gonna keep that promise, okay?” The child doesn’t respond; instead, she just sniffles, seemingly unable to believe my words.

Reaching down gently, I grab on to the hem of my shirt, trying to lift it up to uncover the girl. In response, I earn a frightened sob as she continues to hide her face away against my skin. “It’s okay, Willa,” Bruce begins to speak softly. “Steve and I won’t let Tony put you in a lab. He can’t; if he tries to he’ll get in big trouble. We won’t let anything happen to you,” he assures her. Though at this point, I don’t know how much any of what we say means to her.

“Willa-bug, you’re glowing,” I whisper mildly. The small girl cowers slightly in my lap at my statement, nodding. “I didn’t know you could do that; I think it’s kind of cool,” I admit, trying to lighten the mood and let her know she’s not in trouble for anything. At this, Willa glances up at me, almost in disbelief. I smile gently down at her, my hand finding her cheek and rubbing softly. She flinches at first, but after a few moments, she slowly starts to ease into the touch. Her eyes trail over to Bruce, and he smiles warmly at her as well. Gradually, I feel her relax against me, and I sigh, relieved. I’ve learned that when frightened, Willa is hard to communicate with; she needs to be reassured and comforted, both verbally and physically, before anything productive can happen. Once she’s settled down, she’s much easier to work with.

“Hey, did you know Wanda glows, too?” Bruce whispers, covering his mouth comically as if he’s sharing a big secret. Willa nods slowly. “I don’t think any of us can do that but you two,” he tells her, “I wish I knew how to glow like that.” This seems to calm Willa even more, and she turns again slightly so that she can see the doctor better, her eyes finally drying. Carefully, I pull my shirt back down, covering my torso again. “Are you able to control your glow?”

Willa shakes her head, looking down at herself. The blue radiates a few inches beyond her skin, the color reminding me of a clear summer sky. Not too saturated or vibrant, it’s a very soft shade.

“Does it have to do with your healing powers?” I ask, wondering if she’s possibly shifted.

The child shakes her head again. “Don’t glow for that,” she informs, causing Bruce to nod thoughtfully.

“Has this ever happened before?” the doctor asks her.

Willa nods. “One time,” she admits.

“Only once?” Bruce asks. “Do you remember how long ago?”

The girl furrows her brow, taking a few moments to think before finally shaking her head. “That’s okay, doll,” I assure her. Living with Hydra her whole life, it doesn’t surprise me that she has a hard time conceptualizing her timeline.

“Do you know why it happens? Or what it does?” Bruce questions. At this, the little girl shrinks down slightly. Before I can say or do anything to stop it, she’s begun quivering again. Her bottom lip trembles as tears build back up in her eyes, immediately sending me into a state of concern.

“Hey, hey, you’re okay,” I hum, rubbing my thumb across her cheek again gently. She gazes up at me warily, a single tear trailing down from the corner of her eye. I wipe it away softly, murmuring, “You can tell us, sweetheart. You don’t have to be scared.”

“B-bad,” she whimpers. “B-beat Willa for it.”

“The bad guys beat you for it?” Bruce asks to clarify. She nods.

“We won’t hurt you, pumpkin. You’re safe here, remember? We keep you safe; we would never hurt you,” I tell her. “Whatever this power is, whatever the reason for it happening, you won’t be in trouble.” Willa takes in a shaky breath, turning and burying her face back into my t-shirt.

“They were s-so mad,” she sniffles, her words slightly muffled by the soft fabric. “H-happens when Willa loves someone.”

Her words take me completely by surprise. When she loves someone? To be honest, up until now I wasn’t quite sure how much she knew about the word love or its meaning, to begin with. I’ve never told her I love her, even though I do with all my heart. Because we haven’t crossed the threshold of her identifying me as her parent, I just figured telling her “I love you” should wait. The last thing I want to do is make her feel rushed or pressured. So when she says she’s glowing because she loves someone… I have so many questions about what that could mean.

“When you love someone?” I repeat softly. The shaking child cowers at my words, but nods.

“P-Peter,” she reveals. “Fell as'eep on his lap, w-watching Backy-yard'gans.” I feel my whole body softening at her words; Bruce is noticeably affected too, his entire demeanor shifting as a look of fondness crosses his face. “Th-then had a dream about Steve,” Willa continues. Her eyes once again rise up to meet mine, the green glittering with tears. “Love Steve, too.”

I don’t realize I’m crying until I see a teardrop fall and drip onto Willa’s nose. My arms wrap around her tightly as I hold her up in front of me, wanting to look her in the eyes as directly as I can. Fear lingers in her gaze, as if she’s afraid I’ll be upset for what she’s revealed to me. But she couldn’t be more wrong. I didn’t know it until now, but I’ve been waiting for her to say those words to me ever since I found her in that tiny little room all the way back in Korea. I’ve been waiting for someone to say those words to me my whole life. For someone to trust me like this. For someone to need me like this.

“Oh Willa,” I breathe, my voice cracking as I brush a few stray hairs out of her face. “My Willa-bug… I’ve loved you since the moment I met you, Willa. My sweet girl. My best girl.”

“Best girl,” she repeats, her arms flying open and wrapping around my neck as I pull her in close to me, holding onto her for dear life. I bury my nose into her soft brown hair as we embrace, breathing in her familiar apple scent and taking a second to close my eyes. More than anything, I just want to remember this moment always. Even when it’s hard, even when it seems like there’s nothing I could ever do to make things better for her, to heal her brokenness; I need to remember this moment. I need to remember the way she feels right now, like a morning after an endless night. Like a soft sun finally rising.

“Willa?” Bruce asks, breaking us out of our moment. I open my eyes as Willa turns slightly back to look at the doctor. “You said this happened one time when you were with Hydra?” The girl nods. “Who did you love?”

“A man. H-he was… h-he took care of Willa,” she tells him quietly. “Came in sometimes and helped when she was hurt. But then one day, he- he changed. Became so m-mean, so scary.”

“Do you remember what he was called?” I ask, brushing the child’s hair back from her face.

After a moment of thinking, she opens her mouth again and speaks. “One time, think he said his name was Bucky.”

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[simplystevies]

wedding

pairings || 40’s!bucky barnes x rogers!f!reader

summary || he was happy that steve found love, but was he jealous? of course.

warnings || 18+ minors dni, steve and bucky come back from the war, major fluff, small age gap, howard stark flirting with reader, mentions of alcohol, unprotected sex, public sex, tipsy bucky, tipsy sex, hair pulling, getting caught, bucky coming in reader.

note || told u guys i’m posting today!!

wc || 2.1k

when bucky was shipped off to england, he had two things on his mind. steve, and you. you were steve’s younger sister, only by three years, but you had stolen bucky’s heart.

bucky did anything and everything to get back to you. he regretted not telling you— or steve about his feelings, well because he mightn’t come back to say them at all.

when he got back, he felt the weight of the world be lifted from his shoulders. he didn’t need to tell you anymore because he had all the time in the world.

except, somehow, his shy scrawny friend beat him and ended up with a girlfriend before him. that girlfriend quickly became his fiancé after the war.

they had set up a date to be married, which was creeping around the corner. steve had asked bucky to be his best man a couple months prior to now.

bucky was ecstatic, of course he said yes. he was more excited to see you. he was always embarrassed of the small crush he had on you, mainly because you were three years younger than the two boys.

he met you in the playground where steve was being bullied, you were also there but too engrossed in your toy trucks to notice your older brother being shoved over.

when bucky came back from the war with steve, you were the first to greet them with open arms, and not because steve became the infamous captain america.

bucky remembered the first time you went out like it was yesterday, you were in a beautiful dress. you had asked him to zip up the back of your dress. you were going out with a guy in your class, michael.

bucky didn’t approve, obviously, but steve was happy for you so he had to throw on his best poker face. bucky stood at the door, watching michael help you into the car.

he sent michael a glare before coming back inside and going to steve. that day was somewhere around six years ago, bucky can’t get the image of you in that dress out of his head.

he also can’t forget beating michael up in a dark alley way when he saw him with another girl. he came to your house with bloody fist and an annoyed face.

that night, you fell head over heels for bucky. seeing him all bloody and angry turned you on more than you wanted to admit. sadly, he was your brothers best friend and three years older than you.

when bucky was deployed, you sucked it up and tried to move on. and you did exactly that. you dated multiple men, none of them working out. you knew no one could be another bucky.

when you found out steve was getting married, you couldn’t be happier or him. his wife, peggy, was amazing to you, you loved her like a sister. in the short two years of you knowing her, she had been amazing to you.

you were currently doing peggy’s makeup, already having done your own. she looked beautiful in her dress. “alright peg, you’re finished, i need to go find my date!” you said.

your date was howard stark. you were ecstatic when he asked you, you simply couldn’t say no. “you look beautiful.” howard sounded from behind you. you turned with a blush and bit your lip.

“thank you, howard, you look amazing yourself.” you complimented. you walked up to him and gave him a small hug before taking his hand in yours. you both walked into the church hall, sitting in the front.

howard placed his hand on your thigh and smiled down at you. bucky walked over, no one by his side, which confused you. he sat next to you with a smile. “hey y/n.” he whispered, hugging you tightly.

you returned the hug and leaned back slightly. “this is howard, he’s my date.” you introduced howard. howard stuck his hand out with a smile. “this is bucky, hes been my friend since i can remember.” you smiled.

bucky took his hand and gave him a quick nod. steve walked up to the alter, giving you a small wave and smile. you looked up at him with glossy eyes. even though he was your older brother, you did most of the protected when bucky was away.

your big-baby brother was growing up. you were so proud of him. your hand gripped the one of your thigh, giving it a tight squeeze. howard pulled his hand from yours, wrapping it around your waist.

he pulled you in closely and kissed your head. you smiled and played with his fingers. the music started to play, signalling that peggy was making her way down the isle. she was escorted by edwin jarvis.

after the wedding, steve and peggy had reserved an entire hotel for their guests. steve said he wanted the best for his best girl. you were sat at the bar with howard.

“y/n! come on, have a dance!” bucky ran over to you, taking your hands in his. you groaned and got off the seat, waving at howard before taking bucky’s other hand.

you bit your lip and danced around with bucky. for the first time in years, you felt free. a slow song played, making bucky break away from you awkwardly. “uh— you can go get howard.” he mumbled.

you looked over to see howard with his hands on the hips of another girl. you turned back to bucky and smiled. “he’s pre-occupied.” you grabbed bucky’s arms again.

you placed them on your waist and you wrapped yours around his neck. bucky smiled and looked down at you. “i’ve always wanted to dance like this with y— someone.” he said, nodding his head slightly.

you smiled and giggled slightly. “i’ve missed you, during the war and stuff.” you shrugged, shaking your head. bucky chuckled and shook his head. “that was two years ago.”

you shrugged and shook your head. “we haven’t been as close as we used to be, y’know.. we grew distant, i miss the bucky that would beat guys up for me.” you chewed on your lower lip.

bucky smiled and kissed your forehead. he gripped your head and pulled it under his head, placing his on top of yours. “i’ll always beat guys up for you, peach.” he whispered.

“if you could stop trying to fuck my sister, buck, that would be great.” steve sounded from across the hall. the entire place erupted into a fit of giggles. bucky blushed and rolled his eyes.

you looked up at him with a giggle before shaking your head. “i’m not trying to sleep with you.” bucky shook his head and laughed. you took his hand in yours and shrugged.

“well dont tell steve but my girl crush on you wouldn’t say no.” you wiggled your eyebrows. bucky bit his lip and smirked at you. “you had a crush on me?” he asked.

you nodded and continued to sway around the dance floor with bucky. “i had a crush on you too, it was the only reason i beat up all those guys.. half the stories were fake just so i could come back and be your hero.” bucky shrugged.

you gasped and hit his chest with a loud giggle. “what? which ones were fake?” you asked, moving your hands around his neck again. “well, there was robert.. just saw him on the street, john, adam, jack, car-“ bucky started.

“okay! gosh! why so many?” you asked, biting your lip. “you did date a lot of guys.” bucky shrugged with a smirk. you rolled your eyes playfully. “i didn’t! half of those guys are people from my class!” you protested.

bucky bit his lip and blushed. “i was pretty overprotective of you, i guess.” bucky rubbed his tongue against his bottom lip. you blushed and shook your head, looking into his baby blue eyes.

bucky leaned in slowly. you were going to shut your eyes, but a hand on your shoulder sent a shiver down your spine. you turned around, bucky almost fell into your chest.

“y/n! i’ve been looking everywhere for you!” howard spoke. bucky sighed and let go of your waist. “c’mon, let’s go up to a hotel room.” howard wiggled his eyebrows, nipping at your waist.

you weren’t a virgin, you had lost it long ago.. but you weren’t about to get into bed with howard after you had seen him with other women. you looked at bucky with scared eyes and he nodded.

he walked away and walked up to steve. howard took your hand and started to walk you upstairs. steve ran over and took your arm. “howard! i’m sorry but i really need y/n to stay down here, y’know.. emotional support.” steve smiled before pulling you away from howard.

you clung to steve and ran off with him. “thank you steve.” you whispered into his chest. steve smiled and pushed you in a certain direction. you looked up to see bucky stood with his hands shoved into his pockets.

“go dance with him, do whatever with him, i’d rather him than howard.” steve whispered in your ear, kissing your head before walking away. you smiled and walked up to him.

bucky didn’t see you so he walked towards the bar. you let him, watching him as he ordered a few shots and downed them. you put your hands on his shoulders from behind and smiled.

he turned to you and smiled. “hi! wow, did i tell you that you look amazing?” he said, nodding his head. you blushed and shook your head. “well you do.. you look so.. i could fuck you right here.” he chuckled

you bit your lip and took his hand. “why don’t you then?” you whispered into his ear. bucky bit his lip and moved his hand to your ass, giving it a tight squeeze.

you moaned and pressed your head into his chest. “i don’t think it’s fair that we ruin steve’s day.. let’s go find a bathroom.” bucky smirked. you gripped his arm as he pulled you away.

bucky dragged you into the reception hall and roughly kissed you. you moaned into the kiss and gripped his shoulders. bucky lifted you up and pressed you against the wall.

you moaned and connected your hands to his hair, pulling on the roots. bucky groaned and pulled away, taking you into an elevator. he reached his hands up your dress and pulled your panties down.

bucky pressed the button and unbuckled his belt, pulling down his pants and boxers. “gotta have you now.” he mumbled as he slid his tip inside of you. you gasped and gripped the railing on the side of the elevator.

bucky thrusted inside of you, groaning at how you felt around him. “oh fuck baby.” you moaned into his neck, rolling your eyes to the back of your head. bucky gripped your ass and bit your shoulder.

the elevator stopped and let out a loud ding. bucky didn’t even pull out, walking with him inside of you. “oh god!” you threw your head back, bouncing yourself against him.

bucky chuckled and pushed you against the wall, looking for his key card to get in. “calm dow— oh fuck it.” bucky groaned, gripping your thighs and thrusting into you.

you moaned out and pulled him in closer. your hands reach down to his ass and gripped it. “harder— fuck! right there!” you cried out as he hit the spongy spot deep inside you.

you squeezed your eyes shut and clenched around him. “oh god princess, you feel so good.” bucky moaned. you shoved your head into his neck and cried out as the knot formed inside you.

bucky continued to penetrate your insides, shoving you up against the wall. “gonna make you my good girl.. my fuckin’ girl.” bucky mumbled, placing his head in your neck.

he peppered soft kisses on your neck. “fuck i’m gonna come.” you bit your lip, squeezing your thighs against him. you clenched around him before releasing all over him. “oh fuck!” you screamed, throwing your head back.

bucky moaned and continued thrusting inside of you, chasing his own release. your head bopped against the wall as bucky released inside of you. “shit.” he whispered, pulling out.

bucky let you down and pulled up his pants. he chuckled and kissed you softly. you smiled and kissed back, wrapping your arms around him. “could you two not wait to get inside.. i had to watch all of that.” steve’s voice boomed through the hall.

you and bucky faced him, faces covered in a dark red. “couldnt find my..” bucky mumbled, pulling the key out of his pocket that he checked a few times. “key.” bucky finished. steve rolled his eyes and brought peggy to their own room.

bucky turned to you and bit his lip. once you both heard that door shut, you both burst out in a loud laughter. bucky opened the door and pulled you inside.

“hopefully this round won’t be seen.”

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

Even if there's plenty of problems with how the MCU writes women that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of criticism made in bad faith. Like, people where complaining about She-Hulk when the only thing out was the Logo. "Why does there have to be a female Hulk." Ask as if she wasn't a character who's been around for over 40 years.

Yes, it is important for women and girls to be their own heroes but there's nothing wrong with female counterparts. There can actually be a lot value in them. Sometimes it's good for children to see themselves in not just a hero, but THE hero. It's great that a black kid can see that they can be Captain America or Spider-Man, the hero everyone knows and adores. Same hold true for girls. That there's Carol Danvers is equal to her male predecessor. It's important that the Bat-Family is a family and that Kathy and Barbara wear the logo.

Anyway, point is that the Distaff Counterpart is simply a character that can be done well or poorly and that "Why girl version of guy character, but not boy version of Lady character" is not a real criticism. Jessica is going to be in n Spider-verse 2 and I'm so excited

There is a lot of criticism done in bad faith, I couldn't agree more with you!

The She-Hulk craze was a dumpster-fire in the worst possible way. I didn't watch the show and I only criticized her speech to Bruce regarding catcalling (mainly because it was a lost opportunity to introduce a new character and instead of talking about her personal experiences she went on a general rant on what all women go through + she invalidated Bruce's struggles), but a lot of the criticism I heard about her was ridiculous. Remember all that madness about her twerking? That was a post-credit scene meant to be fun, nothing more, but the amount of hate I saw made my skin crawl - and a lot of it was utterly misogynistic too.

And of course her obsession with Steve and his sexual experiences didn't help. You can't have a series that is supposedly trying to make a point of saying objectifying someone is wrong and then have the title character do just that and frame it as funny.

I'll be honest though and say that I'm not a big fan of female counterparts of male heroes unless they're done well. I didn't mind Kate because she has her own personality and story and she has a great arc throughout the Hawkeye series, but Captain Carter? She's absolutely terrible and she has no story of her own: her What If ep is a copy&paste of TFA where all of Bucky's scenes are given to her. I think the criticism of "this woman is only a male version" only happens when it's done badly, as we saw in Into the Spiderverse that when done well we're all big fans of the outcome.

With that said, reading people trying to pair all women in Phase Four together as something Marvel is doing out of "representation" and claiming they're all just the "female version" of a male hero gets on my nerves, especially when those fans include Shuri in all this. Shuri was introduced in BP1, she's her own character way before she took the Black Panther suit and put it on. It sounds like that type of criticism is in bad faith because it assumes those women need to earn their place on the screen whereas the men are accepted at face value.

As long as we're getting women written well, who cares if instead of Clint we have Kate? Why is it a problem now that it's a woman when it wasn't a problem earlier when the mantle had been given to a man? Or to claim Valkyrie is replacing Thor because she's the King of New Asgard (that's not how it works, she's not female Thor now that she's ruling). It's the same bullshit I read post-Wakanda Forever: if there are more than 2 or 3 women on screen some people start whining and claiming it's all an agenda. So, do we want more women on screen or not? 🤔

[cyraniadebergerac]

A bit in the asker's defense, they seem to be asking for a soul bound weapon situation where presumably the weapon picked is supposed to be one that most resonates with their soul in order to be summoned at will, thereby making it so the weapon has to be chosen if the government wants to take advantage of having a soldier always able to call their weapon to them, and potentially, this could be a Child Soldier/Fantasy Sparta situation where most are indoctrinated to see their government as always right and any fight is justified and/or people that have the potential to summon their weapons are considered powerful enough on the battlefield that they're forced to become soldiers.

Either option does still risk a 'my character is perfect and goodest boy and so doesn't wanna fight and do anything I find evil' with a huge heap of 'he's so much better that he's immune to propaganda' mary sue, but could make for an interesting conscience vs upbringing story if done properly.

But as commented within the post, there's nothing that couldn't ever be lethal that would count as a weapon, especially if the character is trying to not be obvious. So the writer would need to know that going in. Also there's the question of what kind of warfare is happening and whether people would be assigned different areas of the military based on their chosen weapon. I'll be assuming the later is true.

A shield is a classic choice for someone that prefers to protect rather than fight, but Captain America paired that with a gun often and the government would likely have them carry a secondary weapon to do the majority of his fighting with while acting as the main 'defender', especially if Spata parallels were emphasized by having the Greecian shield. Of course, it does mean the character will be in the thick of battle and very much trapped in having to kill or be killed situations.

Whips are unconventional weapons, but in the right hands could be used to disarm, trip up, and to seriously harm any body part not covered in armor. They don't usually kill unless someone is given a prolonged beating from one. Of course, there's several reasons for why whips are not common weapons, especially not on a battlefield. Someone that binds a whip to their soul, if the evil government is at all smart, would be assigned to interrogation and torture divisions, especially if there's the idea that whips = sadist heart in the world. The characters then off the battlefield, but then finding that there can be horrors worse than killing on the battlefield.

Bows/Crossbows/Guns all can be aimed and so a real crack shot could aim could disarm or merely severely wound. Of course, a good aim doesn't mean you'll never miss, there will be situations where a person cannot aim that precisely and so end up having to kill someone to defend themselves, and even if they only wound, it just makes the target much easier for someone else to kill or capture.

Swords are also an option, being classic weapons for a reason. They're balanced offensive and defensive weapons, especially with a common longsword type, and can be easily aimed for certain parts of the body. Still traps the character in several kill or be killed scenarios and those where wounding someone only makes them easier for someone else to kill or capture.

Overall then, there might be some options, but all of them would require him to kill or worse still. Only person on a battlefield fully able to not fight is the healer. If there's magic in the world, you could have the character using disabling/debuff type magic over pure damaging magic, like making ice suddenly under the enemies' feet. Still though, that's a case of making it so it's easier for others to kill the enemy but just sparing the character directly doing it as much as possible.

I have a character who is expected to fight enemies in a war but secretly doesn't want to, so when he chooses his weapon He goes for something specifically for defense and never uses it to hurt or kill anyone. But he chooses one that doesn't make it too obvious that he's intended to just use it for defense and not to kill. What would be a good weapon for something like that? The weapons they all use can be anything from melee to ranged (although ranged is rare) and they can summon it at will.

Most psychologically healthy individuals don't particularly want to murder random strangers. Also, unsurprisingly, most people don't want to go to war. So, these have a few implications for you.

Your character isn't unique or special for not wanting to kill people; that's normal. Part of the job of any competent military is convincing their soldiers to kill for them. There are a lot of distinct elements that go into this, including their training, overall discipline, the propaganda and information that the soldiers (and general population) are exposed to.

So, while it's entirely normal for someone to not want to want to kill people in war, if they're actually getting deployed into combat while still holding onto idea, either the war they're involved in is so difficult to justify that the propaganda didn't take hold, or their military was deficient. Further, if either of those factors are in effect, then it's not just going to be them, their pacifism will be a widespread problem within their military.

Training and drills should have gotten your character used to the idea of following orders. Including to kill. This doesn't mean they're an unfeeling machine, but it does mean that, if the training was effective, they're far more likely to follow orders, when told to kill someone, rather refuse to.

Refusing to follow orders would result in (often severe) disciplinary action. Depending on the military, that could even mean a summary execution, after the battle.

Now, punishment is probably the least effective method for motivating your troops to fight. It will work, but has severe diminishing returns, and it's only a mater of time before those troops will return the favor, and start assassinating their own officers (or whomever is responsible for overseeing discipline) in retribution. There's even a modern term for this specific behavior, “Fragging.”

Before it got this far, your character's government should have been instilling why it was important for your character to fight. This can alternate between legitimate information and propaganda without much difference in how they function. One's true, the other isn't.

The process of formulating propaganda or legitimate information does differ. Propaganda is heavily affected by human psychology, and focuses on disinformation. Providing legitimate context for the war  requires explaining, sometimes fairly sophisticated, political concepts in terms that the rank and file will understand. There are muddy elements here as well, a legitimate war is likely to also see propagandist materials produced to further motivate. Hostile use of propaganda can be used to demoralize enemy forces. Similarly, sometimes the legitimate context is effectively fictitious. An example of that would be, The Domino Theory: It was believed at the time, but has since been thoroughly debunked.

So, your character doesn't want to kill anyone, and that's great, but they're now in a war to repel an invading force, who are pillaging their homeland. Is it true? Maybe. Maybe not, but if it's a lie it's one they're unlikely to be unaware of. Maybe they're in a war to liberate territory that was previously claimed by the other party, and very importantly, they're pretty sure the other side struck first this time.

Finally, and probably most importantly to your character, they may not want to kill anyone, but they're pretty sure the invaders will kill them, if given the opportunity. They've also learned in training that, while fighting defensively has a purpose, it's not going to stop someone from trying to kill you, so they really need to put down an enemy soldier before their foe can do the same to them.

Is that all true? Not quite. Their enemies may have the same hang-ups about killing that they do. They probably don't want to be there any more than your character does. They may think they're fighting a liberation war, trying to reclaim lost territory. They're pretty sure that your character, yes, your character in specific, the pacifist, wants them dead, personally, and that if they don't kill enemy soldiers on the battlefield, they will die.

Is any of that true? Not quite. But, by the time you've gotten onto the battlefield and are staring down an enemy infantry advance, trying to find a path of pacifism is extremely risky. If your character is supremely lucky, they'll be captured, and held in decent conditions until the end of the war. If they're unlucky, they'll either be executed on the battlefield (by whichever side wins, either for cowardice or because they're a surviving enemy combatant with no important standing.) Worse, they could always be captured and tortured for information. Whether that's better or worse than being put to death is up for debate, but it's not going to be a fun time. This is all assuming that they're not killed in the fray.

So what's the best weapon for your character? Who knows? They're going to get whatever they're going to get. If the quartermaster hands them a spear, that's their weapon. Outside of some elite forces, and conscripts who are called up with whatever they could grab from their home, you don't really pick your weapon in most armies. You also don't, usually, get to pick, what you're going to be doing on the battlefield. If your character was trained to be infantry, they'll use whatever infantry weapon their military uses. Depending on the exact time frame, they may be required to procure the weapon themselves, in which case it will need to meet some standards, or it may be provided for them by their army. Without more context, it's impossible to know what you're looking at in this specific case, but your character wouldn't be allowed to pick an ineffective weapon focused on self-defense.

-Starke

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