#another straight ship is wanda and vision

[random-fandoms-stuff]

Okay its rare i like a hetro-ship (usually they are all toxic i swear why are they all toxic!!!!!!! Or the fan base is toxic lol oops)

But miss Peggy Carter and mr Daniel Sousa melt my heart so bad oh my gosh they are so perfect for each other

Look at them!!!!

LOOK AT THEM

LOOK

AT

THEM

[ginnsbaker]

Bulletproof (5/?)

Part Summary: Daisy's fingers intertwined with yours isn't a sign of a budding romance, but rather the result of a game... The explanation has been long overdue, but in the days since your return, Wanda has made it abundantly clear that she wants nothing to do with you.

Chapter word count: 3.2k+ | Tags: Light Angst, Still Unresolved Sexual Tension, Still Gay Disasters, Wanda is in denial, So are you

Ship: Wanda Maximoff x Gender Neutral Reader

Next Part | Series Masterlist

-

Daisy's fingers intertwined with yours isn't a sign of a budding romance, but rather the result of a game. 

On the flight back to the compound, you, Daisy, Vision, and Natasha, played a card game to kill time. You and Daisy, unfortunately, were on the losing side. Natasha, with her ever-sly grin and penchant for mischief, came up with a penalty—whichever team lost had to hold hands for the rest of the day. 

The explanation has been long overdue, but in the days since your return, Wanda has made it abundantly clear that she wants nothing to do with you. Initially, you thought getting out of her way would give her the space she needs after you revealed to her that you willingly participated in her sex dream—something you still constantly beat yourself up over.

But it has become evident that she requires more than just physical distance; she wants you completely out of her life.

On top of this, despite Daisy having moved out to her own room a week after she put in the requisition, your sleep hasn't improved much. Every time you close your eyes, memories flood in: Wanda's voice, her warmth, even her distinct scent, all haunting your dreams just as vividly as they do during your waking hours. 

The lack of sleep begins to take its toll, especially during training sessions. You're off your game, your reactions slowed, and your focus wavering. It's hard to stay sharp when your brain feels like it's swimming in a haze. 

Natasha, always direct, just told you straight up that you look like hell and that you should get more sleep.

Easier said than done.

One evening, after another training mishap, you finally decide it's time to face the root of your sleeplessness. Clearing matters with Wanda isn't just for your peace of mind now; it's essential for the team's safety.

Taking a deep breath and gathering your thoughts, you make your way to Wanda's quarters. In your hand, a small olive branch: her favorite snacks, hoping it might soften the forthcoming confrontation. As you near her door, the muffled sound of laughter stops you. It's her voice, paired with another's—a voice you don't recognize. 

As you inch closer, discreetly peeking into the slightly ajar door, the scene before you sharpens. The unfamiliar man stands closer to Wanda than anyone has in recent memory. Their laughter, her bright eyes, the casual touch of her hand on his arm—it's evident she's enjoying his company.

But it's not just any company, it looks like a date. And to make matters more intimate (and worse), they're headed into her quarters. The man holds a bottle of wine in one hand, suggesting a night in, and she's leading him, her fingers lightly grazing his as they move.

The snacks in your hand suddenly feel out of place, almost childish in the face of the mature, romantic scene unfolding before you. You spin on your heel, a new mission in mind, and beeline straight for Steve's office. Pushing through the door without knocking, you find him hunched over some paperwork.

“Steve,” you start, your voice edged with urgency. “What's the protocol for late-night visitors?”

He looks up, surprised by the sudden interruption, and takes a moment to process your question. “Well,” he begins, scratching his head, “As long as they're not on any criminal or watch lists, they're allowed in the compound.”

“Even this late?”

Steve's eyes dart away from yours for a moment, his cheeks tinting a soft pink. “We're all adults here,” he mumbles, the tips of his ears turning red. “As long as they're... respectful and discreet.”

Feeling the sting of frustration boiling over, you grit your teeth, barely getting out a terse “Fine,” before making your way out of his office.

On the way out, your gaze lands on a bottle of wine perched on a shelf, an apparent relic from a past era given the thick dust on its label. Without a second thought, you snatch it up.

“Hey!” Steve calls out, rising abruptly from his chair. “That's been aging for decades!”

But you're already gone, the echo of your footsteps a testament to your swift departure. Steve stands still for a moment, listening to the diminishing sound. Shaking his head, he mutters an exasperated, “Kids these days,” before turning back to his desk with a sigh.

–

Draining the entire bottle solo does little to coax sleep. Your healing powers, frustratingly, tend to neutralize the effects of intoxication almost immediately.

Still, you appreciate the brief, fleeting buzz. Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, the shadows morph and play tricks on your eyes. You consider maybe you should've joined Sam on his night flight practices. At least then you'd be physically tired enough to drown out the noise in your head.

Shifting in your bed with a sigh, your thoughts drift to the first time you saw Wanda Maximoff.

Rogers had you cornered, your back on the cold ground, his knee pressing firmly into your chest. The skirmish had been intense, your side versus theirs, and one by one, your allies had been captured or incapacitated. You were the last holdout, defiant to the end.

With Rogers' weight pinning you down, and your arms restrained, you could only tilt your head to the side, ears picking up the sharp, rhythmic clicks of boots against concrete.

Wanda Maximoff made her entrance, and even in your vulnerable position, her presence commanded attention. Those signature boots, the flow of her skirt, the cascade of mahogany hair—all of it painted a picture of power and poise. But it was her eyes that held you—a deep, entrancing gaze that seemed to see right through you.

And now it’s those same eyes that keep you up at night. The same ones that used to lazily open each morning, taking a moment to adjust before locking onto yours, almost lighting up when they did.

And fuck it—you really want to see those eyes right now.

With a sudden surge of boldness, you spring from the bed, with every intention to barge into Wanda’s room and throw out the man from earlier. 

But as you violently yank the door open, you're met with the most unexpected sight: Wanda.

She's standing there, fist raised, poised to knock. The proximity is startling. You can sense the faintest heat coming from her, so intimate it's almost intrusive. Her eyes widen in surprise, but you're too entranced to even process it. Your breath hitches, time seems to slow, and a million thoughts race through your mind.

Before any words can leave your lips, she closes the distance, her hands finding your face as she pulls you into a searing kiss.

Thrown off by the intensity of her kiss, you stagger back a few steps. On instinct, your hands slide down to the back of her thighs, lifting her with ease. She responds instantly, her legs wrapping around your waist, her grip on you tightening. The world blurs for a moment as your focus narrows down to the sensation of her against you.

With a swift kick, the door to your room slams shut, and you quickly reach behind to lock it. Your steps falter when the back of your knees hit the bed, causing both of you to tumble onto the soft mattress. The sudden change in elevation doesn't deter Wanda; she swiftly positions herself, straddling your hips, her hands exploring the contours of your face and neck. 

Drawn to the warmth of her skin, your lips meander down her throat, eliciting soft sounds with every touch. The moment you nip at her pulse point, a deep moan escapes her, its vibrations going straight to your own core.

The sound causes you to pull back slightly. “Wait, Wanda–”

Wanda's brow furrows in annoyance, her crimson lips parting in a soft pout. “Why are you stopping?” she huffs, her tone sultry but also slightly slurred.

That's when you realize it—the faint but unmistakable scent of alcohol on her breath, the slight glossiness of her eyes, and the way her movements, while passionate, are also a tad uncoordinated.

“Wanda, have you been drinking?”

Her head tilts slightly, as if trying to understand the question, her lips parting in a lopsided smile. “Just a little,” she admits, her fingers playing with the collar of your shirt.

You gently cup her face, thumbing away a stray strand of hair. “We shouldn't do this if you're not sober, Wanda.”

“Me being unconscious didn't stop you before,” she hisses, a dark undertone to her voice. The air in the room suddenly grows thick and heavy. Wanda's words, stinging like a slap. 

Your stomach drops, guilt and regret flooding through you. Carefully, you slip from Wanda's hold, swinging your legs off the bed to sit with your back turned to her. That night was something you'd replayed in your mind over and over again, beating yourself up for crossing a line you never should have. The hurt in Wanda's voice only exacerbates the pain.

“Wanda, I—” you start, risking a glance over your shoulder.

“I shouldn't have said that,” Wanda whispers, looking as if she's on the verge of tears. “I'm sorry.”

“No,” you quickly counter, a lump forming in your throat, “You meant that. And you have every right to. It's something we should've confronted a long time ago. Whatever happens next, I'll accept any consequences for my actions.”

Wanda reaches out to place a hand on your shoulder, her voice shaky, “If you're ready, then I'm ready too. I'm not innocent in all of this. I took advantage of the situation as well.”

You shake your head firmly, turning to face her and then grabbing her chin gently, making her eyes meet yours, “No, Wanda. You weren't aware. I was. I knew better. That's on me, not you.”

In response, Wanda dithers, then gently kisses the fingers you have placed under her chin. But she doesn’t stop there. A fire still kindling in her veins, she surges forward to claim your lips once again.

You kiss her back for a fleeting second, getting lost in the softness of her lips. But then you pull back, placing a palm against her chest. “Wanda, you need to sleep. You’re not…We'll talk. I promise, in the morning.”

She sighs, her fight melting away as the weight of the alcohol and exhaustion take over. Relenting, she nods, and you help her get situated under the covers.

You start to arrange some pillows on the floor, intending to make a bed for yourself. But as you're about to lie down, Wanda's sleepy voice stops you.

“Stay with me,” she mumbles. “I've been having trouble sleeping without you. I just... I want you near.”

Drunk Wanda feels like a whole other person, wearing her heart on her sleeve in a way that just makes you want to wrap her up and protect her.

After all that's transpired tonight, you're wary. But seeing her there, curled up and looking so small in that big bed, it's hard to resist. You exhale, "Just for tonight," you murmur, more to yourself than to her.

Climbing into the bed, you maintain a respectful distance at first. But, as minutes tick by, you find Wanda inching closer, until her head is nestled into the crook of your neck. Her warm breath tickles your skin, and you can't help but wrap an arm around her, pulling her close.

With everything that went down tonight, you'd think sleep would be impossible. But with the bed being so comfy and Wanda so close, you feel your eyelids getting heavy. It’s strange how having someone next to you can make things feel a bit better. Even with all that’s happened between you two, Wanda’s still your calm in the storm. 

And you hope, deep down, you're that for her too.

-

The next morning dawns, and you find the space beside you empty.

It's not entirely unexpected.

Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you notice the other side of the bed is empty. It’s quiet, and the room feels a bit colder than before. Splashing cold water on your face helps you wake up a bit more, but it also makes everything from last night crash back into your mind.

Alright, deep breath. You've got this.

For now, giving Wanda her space feels like the right move. You can't even begin to imagine what's going on in her head. But you–

You've got a pretty clear picture of what you want, and if that means waiting a bit longer for her to figure things out, so be it.

Pulling on some clothes, you decide to bury yourself in work and maybe hit the gym later. A distraction is just what you need right now. But as you leave the room, you can't help but hope that once everything cools down, you and Wanda can finally sort things out. 

Whatever that might look like.

-

The timing couldn't have been worse. Of all the moments for disaster to strike.

The piercing shriek of alarms tears through the compound right before dinner.

It is quickly followed by an earth-shaking rumble. 

The compound is under siege, and this isn't a regular assault. It's planned, strategic, and designed for maximum devastation. The ground quivers beneath you as you scramble to your feet.

Missiles rain down from all directions, their impacts causing blinding explosions and sending shockwaves that rattle the building's foundation. Dust and debris cloud the air, limiting visibility. The familiar hum of the building's defenses rises, but it's evident they're struggling against the barrage.

Steve's voice, steady yet urgent, sounds over the intercom. “All hands on deck! Secure the compound. Natasha, Clint, get the personnel out now.”

You grab your gear and rush out, adrenaline surging. The corridors are chaos—agents, staff, and superheroes all trying to restore order while dodging blasts and the intruders now inside.

You take a sharp turn, making a beeline for Wanda's quarters. As you approach, your heart sinks. The area is a mess of crumbled concrete, twisted metal, and shattered ceilings. The sight is gut-wrenching, and a cold dread fills your chest.

“Wanda!” you shout, your voice raw with fear. Debris crunches under your boots as you race towards the wreckage of her room, trying to find any sign of her.

Distant explosions and shouts echo down the corridor, but they're just background noise to the panic tightening in your chest. You start to dig through the rubble, tossing aside chunks of wall and broken furniture.

“Wanda!” you yell again.

Suddenly, a muffled groan reaches your ears, and you zero in on its source. Frantically clearing away the debris, your hands finally find the familiar fabric of her jacket. Pulling with all your might, you manage to free her from the wreckage.

Her face is smudged with dust, a small cut bleeding on her forehead, but her eyes—those eyes you had lost sleep over—flutter open, meeting yours with a mixture of relief and pain.

“Hey,” she coughs weakly, a small smile forming on her lips despite the situation.

As you reach to help her up, she lets out a sharp, agonized scream that stops you dead in your tracks. Your gaze shifts down, and horror sets in as you spot a length of steel rebar protruding from her side, clearly having pierced through her abdomen. Blood seeps around the intrusion, staining her clothes a dark, foreboding shade of crimson.

“Wanda!” The name escapes your lips in a choked whisper, panic overtaking your every thought. Dropping to your knees beside her, your hands hover above the injury, unsure of what to do. Removing the rebar might cause more damage, but leaving it could be just as lethal.

The anguish in Wanda's eyes is almost too much to bear, tears spilling down her face as she clutches weakly at the protruding metal. “I–It hurts,” she manages to gasp out, her voice trembling.

Distant footsteps grow louder, echoing through the shattered hallways. The approach is too rapid, too relentless. Friend or foe, you can't determine. You don’t have the luxury of time to find out.

With urgency mounting, your eyes, stinging with tears of your own, dart around the destroyed corridor, searching for an exit, a hiding spot, any kind of advantage. But every moment counts. “Hold on, Wanda,” you whisper, your voice thick with desperation. “Just hold on.”

But she's weakening fast. You know you need to act, and quickly. Taking a deep, steadying breath, you place one hand above the wound and the other below. “I'm going to pull it out, okay? I need you to stay with me.”

With a nod from Wanda, albeit a weak one, you summon all your strength, both physical and emotional, and in one swift motion, you remove the metal. Blood flows more freely now, and Wanda's scream fills the corridor, echoing off the walls.

Using your powers, you immediately start to heal the wound, the warm glow surrounding your hands as they work their magic on her injured torso. Wanda's once steady heartbeat is now all over the place under your touch. 

The process is agonizingly slow, and every second feels like an eternity. You literally feel your powers leaving your body, as you concentrate on focusing all your energy on the gaping hole on Wanda’s stomach. You dig deep, pulling out energy you didn't even know you had. It's like trying to stay afloat when every wave tries to drag you under. But bit by bit, you watch the wound start to close, the bleeding halting, and the raw edges of her skin fusing back together.

Wanda's shaky breaths slowly stabilize, but her complexion remains worryingly pale. By the time you've healed the wound to just a scar, you're on the brink of passing out, every bit of energy sapped from you.

“Y/N…” Wanda weakly squeezes your hand. “You... you saved me again,” she says, her voice a raspy whisper.

Your head leans into hers, and you muster a faint smile. “Always for you,” you whisper back. 

You both start leaning in, faces just a few inches away, when–

When suddenly, a sharp pain lances through your chest, quickly followed by another agonizing jolt in your stomach. Not so long ago, you shrugged off a sniper's bullet like it was nothing. But now, these bullets burn, and the shock of not being invincible all the time hits you harder than the actual shots.

Wanda's eyes, previously filled with gratitude, are now wide with horror. The transition from relief to shock to rising fury is evident. Her eyes blaze a menacing shade of red, her powers swelling with her emotions.

“You... you were bulletproof,” she stammers, a trembling hand reaching out to you.

“I thought I was,” you choke out, blood pooling in your mouth and trickling down the side of your lips.

Your strength is fading fast, and everything's starting to go fuzzy. All around, the place is falling apart, but there's this sudden burst of red energy. 

Wanda. 

She's letting it all out, and the power's intense. 

The last thing you hear, right before everything goes black, is Wanda's voice, raw and choked with emotion, screaming your name. “Y/N!”

[nyxlaufeyson]

Snowball Fight

Winter Masterlist - Loki Oneshot Masterlist - Main Masterlist

POV: Second

Ship: Loki x Reader

Type: Fluff

Wordcount: 734

Prompt: "Snowball Fight"

Synopsis: You decide to throw a snowball at the trickster god. What else should happen but a full-fledged snowball fight amongst the Avengers?

A/N: Ok so I have recuperate from tech week (somewhat) and I'm actually doing this December challenge thing where there's 31 winter-y prompts I collected from different lists! This one was "Snowball Fight."

White snow coated the grounds where you and the Avengers stood. Despite your better judgment, you made sure that nobody was watching before reaching down and scooping some snow up in your hands. 

You bunched the snow up to make a snowball, eyes scooping over the Avengers to pick out your target. The God of Mischief caught your eye, and he narrowed his eyes at you. “What-” He began, but you didn’t give him a chance to speak before hurling the ball straight at him.

It hit him square in the chest, and he looked at you in shock. You grinned in triumph, watching as the others turned to look at what was unfolding.

Unfortunately for you, Loki grinned right back at you, except in a much more mischievous way. Uh oh, you thought, that can’t be good.

Loki bent down, forming a much bigger snowball with his hands. You gulped and ran the opposite way, but Loki teleported right in front of you, causing you to freeze in place. “Now, Loki, we can talk about this-” 

Just like you had done, he didn’t let you finish. He threw the snowball right at your face.

Of course, he didn’t throw it hard, he would never hurt you, but he did make it to where the snow made your face unfathomably cold. You raised your mittened hands to wipe the snow off of your face, looking at him in shock.

Before you could even think to respond to his attack, another snowball was launched at Loki. You turned around to see Natasha, smiling. “That’s for hitting Mishka.” 

After that, all hell broke loose. Tony caught some of the snowball spirit and pelted one at Steve, who returned several more. Clint hit everyone he could with precise aim. You and Loki took turns throwing and dodging snowballs that were increasingly growing in size. 

Eventually, the Avengers were split up into two unofficial teams. Your team and Loki’s team-although, not many on Loki’s side were really there in support of Loki, they just found themselves on the receiving end of your snowballs. 

On your side of the battle you had Natasha, Bruce, Tony, Wanda, and Sam. On Loki’s side of the snow there was Thor, Steve, Bucky, and Vision. Clint was somewhere in the middle, on his own team, hitting everyone else. 

Sam had made a little snow wall for you to duck down behind to avoid being pelted with snowballs, and you and he worked on making several snowballs so you could attack all at once. 

You called over the other members of your team, letting them know you were going to give it your best all at once. Everyone made their snowballs, and on the count of three, you directed them to start shooting at Loki and his group.

They were caught by surprise, and a particularly large snowball knocked Thor to the ground. Natasha had thrown that one, and she had some serious force behind her throws. Who would have thought the Red Room would prepare her for future snowball fights?

Regaining their composure, your opponents began to return their all as well. You caught Loki using his magic to make snowballs, so you allowed Wanda to use her’s to make it fair.

Suddenly, an idea slipped through your mind. You whispered to Natasha and Wanda, who nodded and went to cause a distraction. 

You made a large, sturdy snowball and slipped past the others and behind Loki’s side. You spotted Loki with his back turned towards you, and smirked.

With nobody on his side spotting you, you ran towards Loki at full speed and jumped on his back, tackling him to the ground. “Hrmph,” he grunted, and you shoved your snowball down his jacket front.

He yelped into the snow, caught off guard, and you raised your hands in victory. “Aha! Victory!”

There was a ceasefire as both sides looked to you sitting atop the trickster god. As you were about to force him to admit defeat, he used his weight to flip your positions so you were now below him. Your neck met the frosty welcome of the ground, and he looked down at you with a smirk on his face.

“Cat got your tongue? You were so eager to announce your victory mere seconds ago.” He said, teasing you.

You huffed. “Fine.” You grumbled. “Perhaps we can call it a draw.”

TAGS: (Comment or inbox me to be added/removed; along with what to be tagged for): @michief-dream @iceeericeee @fandxmslxt69

[bedlamsbard]

☆!

Oooh, let's talk about the Steve and Peggy not-dance in Of Home Near 8, since this was a scene I rewrote a couple of times, and the final version is drastically different from the previous versions. (Which I've included here too.)

This scene is set in the Stork Club, the nightclub where Steve and Peggy were supposed to have their date in CATFA. There is a real Stork Club that was around in the 1940s, but it was in New York City, not London. There was also another Stork Club in London, but from what I could find it wasn't around until the 1950s. (It's currently called the Cuckoo Club.) I'm not sure if the one mentioned in the film is meant to be the NYC one or the London one. After angsting about it I just made it a London nightclub, but it's not meant to be based on the real Stork Club or have any real internal geography.

The back of his neck prickled as he began to make his slow meandering way through the crowd, turning his head from side to side as if he was searching for someone. Despite the music and the general festive atmosphere, Steve had the sensation that he was in enemy territory, like the occupied cities on the continent he had passed through during the war, aware that someone – maybe more than one someone – was watching him with their hand on their gun. Even before the past two years on the run he had gotten used to the feeling of looking over his shoulder and not showing off that that was what he was doing; since then it had become second nature.

The first rule of going on the run is don’t run, walk, Natasha’s voice whispered in his memory. He wasn’t on the run again, not yet, but the same principle applied.

This scene is meant to mirror Steve's Wanda-induced vision in Age of Ultron, as Steve later realizes, so this entire section is pulled straight out of AoU. Except that they're just at a regular nightclub with a regular band, not a USO band.

There was a dreamlike air to his passage through the nightclub, in the flare of the women’s skirts on the dance floor and the steady pulse of the swing music, so unlike what he had gotten used to in the twenty-first century. Someone popped the cork on a champagne bottle near him and Steve flinched, startled by the sound and the spray of the liquid that caught the edge of his left hand. Flashbulbs popped nearby, a couple of photographers taking pictures of the dancers and various couples and groups at the round tables, making Steve jerk instinctively away as if they had been muzzle flashes instead.

He turned quickly at the sound of raised voices, just in time to see two soldiers shoving at each other, a third quickly getting between them. On his other side, one soldier wiped spilled wine from another’s shirt, both men laughing, the red liquid looking horrifyingly like blood in the room’s dim light.

I’ve been here before, Steve thought suddenly. Not the Stork Club; he would have remembered that. There was an oddly hollow quality to the memory, unreal somehow, and it was that which let him place it.

Wanda.

Three years ago in South Africa on Ulysses Klaue’s ship. It wasn’t an exact replica of the induced vision – no USO banner behind the band, the music was different, no MPs – but it was close enough to raise the hair on the back of his neck. Which meant –

He turned before Peggy could speak.

He hadn’t seen her before she had left headquarters, but somehow it wasn’t a surprise to see that she was wearing exactly what she had worn in Wanda’s vision – blue dress, silver earrings, a red silk flower pinned to her right shoulder. Whatever she had been about to say died unspoken at the expression on his face; after a moment where they just stared at each other, she said, “Are you all right?”

“I –” Steve hesitated. “I owe you a dance.”

From here on I rewrote this entire section. In the first few versions of the scene, Peggy essentially came to terms with Steve not being the same guy who went into the ice, which is the exact opposite of what happens in the final version. (I'll put both alternate versions of the scene at the end.)

Her eyebrows went up. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Under the circumstances, I’m not going to insist on collecting.”

Steve swallowed. “Maybe I want you to.”

Steve really wants to actually get the dance he's been waiting for for seventy-three years, but he can't do it without Peggy.

Peggy’s eyebrows stayed up. She was quiet for a long few heartbeats, during which the song the band had been playing finished and there was a brief moment of silence before they started up again. Into it, she said finally, “Sometimes I wonder if any of this is real to you. If to you we’re all just – just playactors in some elaborate pantomime like those awful stage shows you used to put on, so you can say or do whatever you want because it doesn’t matter. Lie about her, wear that uniform, say that to me.”

Fun fact: in one of the versions of this scene I put the lyrics of the song the band is playing in, but they weren't as relevant in the angrier final version, rather than the bittersweet previous versions. It's "When the Lights Go On Again" by Vaughn Monroe, linked version is sung by Vera Lynn ("when the lights go on again all over the world / and the boys are home again all over the world / and rain or snow is all that may fall from the skies above / a kiss won't mean 'goodbye' but 'hello to love').

“I know it’s real,” Steve said, swallowing again. The words hurt, but they were meant to; she knew him well enough for that. “That you’re real – you and Howard and Phillips and the Howlies –”

“Do you?” Peggy said. “Do you really? Because sometimes you don’t act like it.”

“This would be a hell of a lot easier if I thought it wasn’t real,” Steve told her. “A hell of a lot.”

Peggy doesn't know what to think about 2018 Steve -- and she doesn't really accept that he's 2018 Steve, instead of 1945 Steve that something completely bizarre happened to.

She shook her head. “I don’t understand you anymore, Steve,” she said. “I used to, or I thought I did, and now – it’s like one man went up in the Valkyrie and someone else came back. I want to understand and I can’t and you won’t let me.”

“Have you even tried?” Steve said softly. “Every time you’ve talked to me since I got here you’ve been trying to catch me out in one lie or another.”

In Peggy's defense Steve does keep lying, it's just not the thing that she thinks he's lying about that he's lying about.

“And you keep lying,” Peggy said. “It’s like you can’t help yourself. You wouldn’t have done that six weeks ago; it’s not who you are. Only now –”

Steve shut his eyes briefly, then opened them again, because if he was going to say this, then he had to look her in the eye when he did it. “Then maybe you never really knew me, Peggy, because I was always this guy. Maybe you only ever knew the guy you wanted me to be.”

“I don’t believe that,” Peggy said. “I won’t believe that.”

Steve swallowed hard. “Then maybe that’s the problem.”

I've put a lot of thought into both Peggy's relationship with Steve and Peggy's perceived relationship with Steve, and what it's like over the course of CATFA and afterwards, in Agent Carter. (Even though this story takes place prior to AC by more than a year, it's a good look at how Peggy's idea of Steve crystallized post-death.) I think Peggy does have a very idealized view of Steve, in the same way that Steve has a very idealized view of Peggy, and in Peggy's case that's very heavily affected by the fact that Steve (apparently) died tragically a month earlier -- well, six weeks earlier by this point in the story. Steve died and everyone treated Peggy like a widow (even though they hadn't really been anything but a 'maybe' and that was on Peggy, not Steve), and she was able to build up an ideal of Steve. I think Steve says elsewhere in this story that Peggy never looked twice at him (as a potential romantic partner) pre-serum and I do think that's true. But I think post-death PEGGY doesn't think that's true, so she has this very idealized view of pre-serum Steve as being "real" Steve -- it's why she keeps the pre-serum photo of him from the end of CATFA in AC and later in Endgame. Distance and not having the actual person there lets her believe that she always felt that way about him and even that post-serum Steve was less "real," especially since post-serum Steve was ~America's golden boy and that woman does not like sharing. And this is the scene where Steve realizes that maybe Peggy really doesn't know him as well as he thinks she does.

A muscle in her jaw worked. She looked like she was on the verge of tears – Steve felt like he was on the verge of tears, though he didn’t know how much of that showed on his face. He wanted to reach for her, to do something to take even a little of that uncomprehending misery away from her, but he had just forfeited any right he had to comfort her. He started to open his mouth, to apologize, maybe, but he couldn’t do that either. She wouldn’t believe him and it would just be empty words, meaningless except as an attempt to absolve himself.

There was something horribly final about it, as if Steve had finally severed some last remaining tie to the life he should have had, to the man he should have been – his own choice this time, and not the one that fate or God or Abraham Erskine had made for him. For a wild moment, all he wanted to do was take it back, to shout that it was a mistake and that he still wanted this, this life, this woman, this person that no one had ever really laid to rest six years or six weeks or seventy-three years ago, the man that maybe he could have been. He wanted his life back, the same way he had wanted it every day for six years.

But it wasn’t his life anymore. It hadn’t been for a long time.

Steve's known it for a while but he's admitting it now.

*

First version of the scene:

He turned before Peggy could speak.

He hadn’t seen her before she had left headquarters, but somehow it wasn’t a surprise to see that she was wearing exactly what she had worn in Wanda’s vision – blue dress, silver earrings, a red silk flower pinned to her right shoulder. Whatever she had been about to say died unspoken at the expression on his face; after a moment where they just stared at each other, she said, “Are you all right?”

“I –” Steve hesitated. “I owe you a dance.”

“I think your – wife – might protest.”

He winced at the slight but deliberate pauses she had put around the word wife.  Natasha had told him about the conversation she had had with Peggy the previous day; Peggy had been avoiding him ever since Howard’s arrival, and now he knew why.

“No,” Steve said. “She knows –”  He didn’t know how to end that.  What this means to me would probably just make Peggy laugh in his face.  He just said again, “She knows.”

Peggy looked at him for a long moment, her expression unreadable, and then she said simply, “I don’t.”

Steve shut his eyes, heavy with grief.  He could have explained, maybe, or at least tried to, but he knew without even saying a word that it didn’t really matter.  He could say anything he liked, but it would just be words now; the chance for anything else had already passed.  He had to try anyway.  “I’m sorry.”

“I am too,” Peggy said.  “Sorry.”  She took a deep breath, as if bracing herself, and said, “It was never going to be me, was it?”

I've put in and cut out the "it was never going to be me, was it?" line through SEVERAL different scenes now; it also appeared in a previous version of Chapter 7, when Peggy confronts Steve after she finds out from Natasha that they started sleeping together in 1945.

Steve swallowed hard.  “It could have been,” he said.  “I wanted it to be.  For a really – for a really long time.”

“When did you stop?”

It took everything Steve had not to look away, to keep his gaze fixed on hers, because if nothing else he owed her that.  He still hesitated before he admitted, “When we got here.”

This version of the scene was written before the Peggy and Natasha conversation in Chapter 7, so it had to be changed.

Peggy made a sound like she had been struck, a little hitching gasp that tore at Steve’s heart.  He started to reach for her and then stopped, knowing that the only right he had to comfort her was that of a friend, and he had never been entirely certain they were even that.  For an instant her gaze met his again, then she took a step backwards, out of his reach.

“It’s not because of her, is it?” she said, her voice hoarse from suppressed tears. “It’s not even because of me.  You’re – you’re really not him, are you?  No more than I’m the woman I was in 1939.”

I honestly don't think Peggy has the level of self-awareness to have this realization here.

Steve shook his head, a brief, compressed gesture. “No,” he said.  “I’m not.  I – I wish I still was.  But I’m not.  I’m sorry.”

Peggy’s nod was just as compressed, barely more than her chin lifting for an instant. “I’m sorry too.”

There was something horribly final about it, as if Steve had finally severed some last remaining tie to the life he should have had, to the man he should have been – his own choice this time, and not one that fate or God or Abraham Erskine had made for him.  For a wild moment all he wanted to do was take it back, to shout that he had been mistaken and that he still wanted this, this life, this woman, this person that she and Howard and the Commandos had all buried six years or six weeks or seventy-three years ago.  He wanted his life back, the same way he had wanted it every day for the last six years.

This paragraph remained the same in all the versions.

You could want anything.  Being able to have it was something else entirely.

*

Second version of this scene (the songfic version).

He turned before Peggy could speak.

He hadn’t seen her before she had left headquarters, but somehow it wasn’t a surprise to see that she was wearing exactly what she had worn in Wanda’s vision – blue dress, silver earrings, a red silk flower pinned to her right shoulder.  Whatever she had been about to say died unspoken at the expression on his face; after a moment where they just stared at each other, she said, “Are you all right?”

“I –”  Steve hesitated.  “I owe you a dance.”

Her eyebrows went up slightly, then her expression softened a little. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Under the circumstances, I’m not going to insist on collecting.”

Steve felt a muscle in his jaw work.  “Peggy –” he said, but he didn’t know what came after that.  He just let her name hang there between them until he finally added, “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t answer at first and the silence stretched out between them as the band finished its current set.  There was a little shuffling as a singer came onto the stage.

“I am too,” Peggy said.  “Sorry.”

For a long moment they just stared at each other.  The singer began to croon “When the Lights Go On Again” and Steve shut his eyes briefly.

When the lights go on again all over the world And the boys are home again all over the world –

“I still owe you a dance,” he said.

Peggy looked like she was going to cry.  “Steve, you’re married,” she said simply. “Or close enough to make no difference.”

Again, I don't think Peggy has this level of self-awareness. It also meant the next scene didn't really work, because it completely stopped the flow of action in the chapter, and this has to be a THINGS ARE HAPPENING! chapter. (The next scene was also cut.)

It was the first time that she had actually admitted it, instead of arguing it with him or using it like a challenge.

“Yeah,” Steve said. “I am.”

And rain or snow is all that may fall from the skies above A kiss won’t mean goodbye but hello to love.

Peggy turned her head slightly towards the stage, her mouth crooking upwards for an instant at the irony of the lyrics.  Then she looked back at him and said, her voice trembling a little, “It was never going to be me, was it?”

“It could have been,” Steve said, swallowing hard. “I wanted it to be.  For a long time – for a really long time.”

“When did you stop?”

It took everything Steve had not to look away from her, to keep his gaze fixed on hers.  He still hesitated before he admitted, “When we got here.”

Again, written before the revised scene in 7.

Peggy made a sound like she had been struck.  Steve started to reach for her and then stopped, his hand still outstretched, knowing that the only right he had to comfort her was that of a friend, and he had never been entirely certain that they were even that.  She took a step back, out of his reach.

Genuinely, I'm not sure that canon Steve and Peggy were actually friends, they had too much other stuff going on with the both of them.

“It’s not because of her, is it?” she said hoarsely. “It’s not even because of me.  You’re – you’re really not him, are you?  No more than I’m the woman I was in 1939.”

I have some very firm ideas about what Peggy was up to before the war and in the early days of the war, pre-SSR.

Steve shook his head, a brief, compressed gesture. “I’m not him,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

Peggy’s nod was just as compressed, barely more than her chin lifting for an instant. “I’m sorry too.”

There was something horribly final about it, as if Steve had finally severed some last remaining tie to the life he should have had, to the man he should have been – his own choice this time, and not one that fate or God or Abraham Erskine had made for him.  For a wild moment all he wanted to do was take it back, to shout that he had been mistaken and that he still wanted this, this life, this woman, this person that she and Howard and the Commandos had all buried six years or six weeks or seventy-three years ago.  He wanted his life back, the same way he had wanted it every day for the last six years.

You could want anything.  Being able to have it was something else entirely.

There was a Peggy POV scene that followed this one that was cut from the final version of the chapter, of Peggy crying in the ladies room and then talking with Rose. It's a scene that has a lot of stuff I really like in it -- particularly how much Peggy just Does Not Get why Steve insisted on staying Captain America -- but it completely slowed the chapter to a crawl and it doesn't work with the angrier final version. One reason I've cut every scene that has bittersweet acceptance from Peggy (there are others!) is that they just don't work, and they don't really ring true. I also think the anger's more interesting -- I don't think any hardcore Peggy fans are actually reading this story, which is probably for the best, but going by AC I don't think Peggy would just accept it. And it adds interesting tension between Peggy and everyone else, even if it's exhausting for everyone involved, including me.

[csg-iii]

So I kinda assume everyone ships incest couples for the exact same reasons I do but a post by @shipcestuous made me realize that people have more than one reason.

So anyways, I'll tell you (overexplain and explore a pretty simple concept and line of reasoning till I'm no longer passionate about it and spend a few weeks away from the concept in anyone who will listen's general direction) mine if you tell me yours.

Once again time to see the follower count decrease after answering this haha.

I'll take some of Shipcestuous' (Astrid's) post 26 points about shipping siblings (also applies to cousins like Bwen) and add one or two of my own, which I think she didn't cover:

27) Sometimes we just prefer the shipcest over the canon pairings.

That's something I discussed  in a previous post of mine when talking about why I prefer Bwen over Benlie, Benkai and Gwevin. Fits some of my other shipcests too, like, I prefer Wanda x Pietro over Wanda x Vision, or (from Wizards of Waverly Place) Justin x Alex over Justin x Violet and Alex x Mason, or (from Frozen) Elsa x Anna over Anna x Kristoff.

A counterpoint would be: Ok, you don't like the canon pairings, but why not just ship the character with someone else that isn't a relative?

Sometimes I actually do that! For example, in Arrow I've never shipped the canon Oliver x Felicity, I used to ship Oliver x Laurel, and never felt like shipping Oliver with his sister Thea (though I have friends who do ship them).

But sometimes, I don't see a canon option that fits better than the shipcest, and that dives into Astrid's reason #18 ("you’re guaranteed “shippy” moments whether the romantic/sexual element is canon or not. The siblings are going to have sweet moments, significant moments, intense moments, emotional moments, pretty much no matter what.") Sometimes I feel like the better option is the relative (sibling, cousin) rather than another canon character. I don't like Wanda x Vision, so could I ship Wanda with, IDK, Thor? Yeah, I could, but I see her bond with Pietro much stronger, so I'm more inclined to ship her with Pietro rather than Thor.

28) Subtext is just WAY TOO strong

This I would point to Lauren and Andy from The Gifted. Nobody can watch a video like this and tell me they have a totally normal sibling relationship without any subtext of something else 

.

Now, I'll take some of Astrid's reasons that I most identify with.

10, 11) The "undivided loyalties" and "anti-change" aspect.

I'll once again give a Bwen example. In the Classic Series we see Gwen diving into the null-void to save Ben, pushing him out of a Florauna's way, and other moments. But in Alien Force, there is a scene where both Ben and Kevin are knocked out and she runs straight to check on Kevin rather than Ben. Then in Omniverse, Gwen leaves with Kevin, and Ben stays in Bellwood (later Rook joins him). Gwevin clearly changed the dynamics that I was used to between Ben and Gwen being devoted to protect each other, and I didn't want that to change.

A good counter-example to that, the Fantastic Four. They were always a family, Reed, his girlfriend/wife Sue, Sue's brother Johnny, and Reed's brother-from-another-mother Ben (and sometimes Reed's and Sue's children Franklin and Valeria). I like it that way, I wouldn't ship Sue and Johnny there because it would break that already established family dynamics.

9) Ulltimate codependency. In Astrids' words "Codependent characters who are also each others’ family are that much more codependent. No, it’s not always the healthiest situation, but there’s just something about a pairing that only has each other, who are each others’ everything." That defines at least three ships for me, Sam/Dean (Supernatural), Chris/Claire (Resident Evil), Hansel/Gretel (multiple media adaptations, but I mostly go with Witch Hunters).

1) Taboo/Forbidden aspect. Let's face it, this is probably the greatest consensual romantic taboo one can ship. There's a good deal of angst to write siblings or cousins hiding the nature of their relationship from the rest of their family. This I can put Ben and Gwen hiding it from their parents (and from Gwen's older brother, when he exists)

.

Last, but not least, another one of mine:

29) I ship what I want!

[babyjakes]

forever and a day | 34. willa's.

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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. minor mentions of disordered eating. evil!Tony Stark.

[Steve]

After about an hour or so of addressing her wounds, Willa fell right asleep on the make-shift cot. I’ve wrapped her up in a blanket and placed another under her head, folded up as a pillow. The poor girl cried the entire time. She didn’t say much, just cried. With the amount of pain she seemed to be in, it didn’t surprise me that she was struggling to form words. Fortunately, I guess, Tony’s blasters didn’t do much more than surface damage. While the kid’s got some pretty nasty burns, I didn’t detect any critical injuries. That doesn’t mean, though, that she’s in any way alright. This was a big hit for her to take, especially from Tony. I get that he was trying to shoot at me, but at the end of the day, he shouldn’t have been shooting at all.

After packing the last of the medical supplies back into the storage compartments, I make my way to the front of the ship to find Bucky. He’s sitting in the pilot’s seat, staring straight ahead as the world flies by through the window. I come up beside him and take the seat to his right, not saying anything at first. He’s silent as well; he doesn’t even turn to look at me, but I can tell he’s aware of my presence.

“How is she?” he asks after several more minutes of silence.

“Asleep,” I reply simply, shifting slightly in the uncomfortable seat.

“What kind of damage did Tony do?”

“Burns,” I tell him. “Nothing more, at least from what I could tell.”

“I can take a look at her too, when we land,” Buck offers. I nod.

“Did you put the plane in stealth mode?” I check.

“Yep. No way in hell they’ll find us,” my friend assures me. I sigh, thinking silently to myself, he better be right. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my phone. Ten missed calls from Tony Stark. Unlocking the screen, I pull up his contact. With shaking fingers, I silence his notifications. Whatever he might have to say, I don’t want to hear it. Unless it’s an apology, but I know it’s not.

Shoving the device back in my pocket, I sigh again, gazing aimlessly out of the window in front of me. “She took that hit for me, Buck,” I say quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. The man’s expression softens slightly as he looks over at me, his grey-blue eyes meeting mine.

“I know,” he nods roughly. “I thought it was gonna kill her.”

“I did too,” I admit, heartbreak building up in my chest. “It very well could have. If it had been a blast from Wanda, or Vision-”

“They wouldn’t shoot at you like that,” Bucky argues. “Tony’s reached a new level of dangerous. His side’s entire objective was to stop us, just stop us. When he pointed his fist at you like that, the look in his eyes gave him away. He was firing to kill.” I look down at my lap, unsure of what to say. In the end, I’ll never truly know what Tony’s intent was. He had orders to bring us in, sure. But could Bucky be right? In that last moment, at his last chance to get me, was he coming for blood? “Maybe I’m not worth all this, Steve.” my friend’s voice trails off.

“Hey- no, okay? None of that. Of course you’re worth it, Buck; you know I’d do anything for you.”

“I know,” he says, swallowing hard. “Maybe that isn’t the best idea.”

“They’re trying to take you down for something you didn’t do. They want you locked up for the rest of your life; I can’t let them do that to you,” I try to reason with him.

“Maybe I belong locked up,” Buck mumbles. My heart drops in my chest as I look over to him. He keeps his gaze from meeting mine, staring straight ahead out of the window.

“Bucky- hey, listen to me. What you did- that wasn’t you,” I tell him sincerely . “They had control of your mind. You were a victim.”

“I know,” Bucky chokes out. “But I did it.”

Opening my mouth, I’m about to say more, but my phone ringing in my pocket stops me. I pull it out, the screen flashing a notification in front of me. Incoming call: Peter Parker.

“I’ve gotta take this,” I shake my head, standing up and stepping away from Bucky.

Venturing back into the jet, I find a chair in one of the rows of seats lining the walls. I take a long, deep breath before sliding across my phone screen to answer. “Peter?” I say warily, confused as to why the teen is calling me.

“Mr.- Ste- Cap- Captain?” the kid’s shaky voice responds, and I can instantly tell he’s in tears.

“Hey Peter,” I murmur, softening my voice. “What’s going on?”

“I-I’m sorry for c-calling you… the others don’t know; p-please don’t tell them,” he begs, his voice quivering. Pity builds in my chest for the young boy and I nod, even though he can’t see me.

“Okay, Pete. I won’t tell them. I promise, buddy. I won’t.” He sniffles, his breaths coming through loudly over the phone as he struggles to form his next words.

“I j-just- I need… is Willa okay? D-did she make it?” he asks, his voice cracking at the little girl’s name. A heartbroken smile faintly crosses my face at his question.

“Yeah, bud. She’s alright. She’s a little burnt up, but she’s gonna be just fine,” I assure him.

“I h-had no idea Mr. Stark w-would just shoot at you like that,” he admits coldly, the guilt evident in his voice. “H-he told me we were meeting you all there to bring you back, to bring you home. Then I found out that Tony wanted you in trouble.” I sigh, nodding. I had a pretty good feeling that Peter wasn’t in on all the details of our encounter. He showed little to no awareness of what he was actually doing, and given how much he clearly cares about us, I think he would’ve acted much differently if Tony had been straight with him. “I-I’m so sorry, sir. I never would’ve f-fought if-”

“Hey Peter, it’s okay. Alright? I know that Tony didn’t tell you the truth. I know how much you care about us, about Willa.”

“P-please don’t hate me, Ste- I-I mean, C-Cap, sir,” Peter pleads, his voice shaking in desperation.

“Never, buddy. I could never hate you. You’re alright, Peter. Things are just fine between you and me, and between you and Bucky and you and Willa, too.”

“O-okay,” the kid breathes, his voice coming down a little bit, allowing me to relax slightly, glad to have been able to ease his anxieties. “I-I have to go, I don’t want anyone catching me on the phone with you. B-but if you guys need anything, if there’s anything I can do…”

“Thank you, Peter. Stay safe, alright?”

“Yes sir,” he agrees, and the line goes dead. I take a deep breath, returning the phone to my pocket. The more time passes, and the more things progress, I just become more and more upset with Tony. Our little disagreements have really escalated into situations I find unacceptable. There was the whole incident with Willa in the lab back at the tower. And now there’s been this confrontation, a literal split down the middle of the team, and Tony’s not even giving his side the truth? It’s only led to chaos and people getting hurt. Willa being blasted. Bucky questioning his worth. Peter becoming scared that I would abandon him.

I’m snapped out of my thoughts by movement appearing in front of me as I gaze off distractedly. Glancing up, I see that Willa’s appeared in front of me, her big green eyes wide and full of tears. Her body shakes as she stands, looking as if she’s struggling to keep herself upright.

“Hi sweetheart,” I greet the girl carefully, startled that she’s up by herself. I open my arms up for her and she warily enters them, standing between my legs as I sit on the edge of my seat, wrapping her up as gently as I can in my embrace while being sure to not touch her injuries. “What are you doing up all by yourself?” I ask.

“W-woke up and couldn’t find you,” Willa whimpers. I nod, stroking her hair gently. “I-I’m sorry,” she adds as she wraps her own arms around my midsection, trembling through her apology. “Please forgive me.”

“What’re you sorry for, Willa?” I ask, confused as to what she could possibly feel the need to apologize for.

“Y-you, I…” the child begins, her voice trailing off as she tilts her head to look up into my eyes. “You weren’t s'pposed t-to bring me with. Th-thought you’d leave me with the others,” she reveals. My eyebrows raise in alarm as I shake my head at her.

“You- what? You’re sorry that we brought you?” Willa nods. “Why, doll? It was always the plan to bring you; we weren’t just gonna leave leave you there- I wasn’t just gonna leave you.”

“T-Tony was- h-he tried to kill you,” the little girl sniffles, her words sinking deep into my stomach. “Th-that’s why I- you should’ve gotten out, sh-should’ve gotten away,” she mumbles, pressing herself into my shirt. My heart pounds heavily in my chest as I hold the child in my arms.

“You- that’s why you ran in front of me? To take the hit so that… so that we could leave without you?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

Willa nods into my embrace, and an overwhelming sense of sadness and guilt settles in my gut. I guess what I can say is that if I had any doubt in my mind before about Willa’s love for me, it’s now surely vanished. She was clearly willing to risk everything for Bucky and I to get away. And to that, I don’t know what to say. The amount of love and care and selflessness wrapped up in this little five year old girl is truly unbelievable.

As gently as I can, I cup Willa’s uninjured cheek with my hand, tilting her head to lock her gaze with mine. “I love you, sweetheart. I want you to know that,” I tell her, and she nods. “You never needed to take that hit for me. The last thing I want you doing is putting yourself at risk for me, okay? It’s dangerous.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Willa stutters, tears building back up in her eyes. “P-please, I’m sorry.”

“Hey- no, don’t cry, honey. Shhh, don’t cry,” I croon, stroking my thumb against her cheek warmly. “I’m not angry with you. What you did back there meant the world to me, doll. I just want you to know that it’s my job to protect you. And if anything, it should be me jumping in to save you, okay?” The girl nods, sniffling down her sobs.

“St-Steve?” she asks.

“Hmm?”

“Like- like a mommy?” her little voice wavers, her eyes peering up into mine. The familiar words ring through my ears, and as I gaze into her eyes, through the watery pools of green, I see so much fear, so much hesitancy. But stronger than that, more than anything, I just see longing. Longing that’s been there for a while now.

“Like a mommy, that’s right,” I tell her warmly. “Protecting you and caring for you, loving you. Just like a mommy, sweetheart.”

Willa’s tiny hand raises up to point a single finger at me, then turning it around to point at herself, her eyebrows raise in question. And even though I can almost certainly tell what she’s asking, I decide to push her a little bit further, hoping that she’ll confirm it for me, just to be safe. “What do you mean, Willa?” I ask, nodding at her hand.

The wide-eyed child takes a deep breath, her bottom lip beginning to tremble. And as it does, it almost feels like the whole thing might be falling apart completely. She drops my gaze as tears flood her eyes, her breathing escalating rapidly. As she jerks back slightly in my arms, I instantly rush in to reassure her, “Hey, hey. Easy, sweetheart. Breathe for me,” I murmur, rubbing up and down her back soothingly. “Can you ask me, Willa? It’s safe for you to ask me,” I promise her. “I just want to hear it coming from you.”

Willa squeezes her eyes shut tightly, tears running down both of her cheeks. But just when I think I’ve lost my chance with her once more, she opens her mouth again, her words seeming to stumble out before she can stop them. “Y-you- be my- b-be mine? Th-that? Be- like a m-mommy, t-to me? M-my mommy- Willa’s m-mommy?”

A flood of grace and tenderness washes over me as I run my thumb over the precious girl’s cheek, almost trying to will her eyes to open with my mind. Somehow, it works, and my gaze locks with hers, relief and love shining through the green as she sees the smile forming on my face. “Okay, Willa. I’ll be that for you. Like your mommy. Willa’s.”

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[arting-block]

𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞) | Eleventh Doctor x MCU Sorcerer!Reader

❝𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦❞

Summary: Mad Titan tries to get you out of his way, but you're too stubborn. The Doctor tries to repair his ship, but duty calls.

Genre: Romance, AU/Crossover

Warnings: Fighting, Thoughts of dying

Words: 1.1k

Reader: POC friendly, she/her, 24 y/o

A/N: Yes, you read the title correctly. This is an MCU x Doctor Who fanfic crossover that no one asked for but I'm doing anyway. This is a prologue and I have a whole series of events that I plan to write out in the coming months. This doesn't follow the MCU or Doctor Who 100%. There are going to be major changes to both plots so don't come for me for canon inaccuracies.

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The moment Thanos warped his way into the battlefield, all hell broke loose. One after another, someone stepped up to try and put a scratch on the Mad Titan. With the use of his gauntlet, he effortlessly cast them aside like nothing. Each step he took caused one more person to try and give the witch a few more seconds. Wanda, broken down by the gravity of the situation put all of her strength into destroying the Mind Stone. Her tears, hurt, and anger fueled her magic, but even then he was getting close. Too close. Without any command, you teleported before Thanos. With every ounce of energy you could muster, you cast a strengthening spell, and you felt magic seek hot in your veins. Immediately, you grabbed the hand with the stones, making sure to keep the pinky and thumb as far away from each other as possible.

The commotion of war was drowned out by the ringing in your ears. Your body was working overtime to compensate for the amount of magic you were using. The stones on the gauntlet glowed, and you could feel the heat of their magic. Out of the corner of your eye, you could still see Wanda’s pained face, Mind Stone still intact. Your arms felt like snapping apart any minute, the burning in your muscles increasing tenfold.

Thanos merely stared at you, looking at you in a mixture of apathy and pity. Both of you knew you weren’t going to hold him back for very long. You weren’t the Ancient One or Stephen. But you knew that if you died, you died protecting Wanda and half of the universe from the monster that stood before you.

I can’t let you near Wanda, you thought, knowing that he can’t hear your words. I…I promised to protect her. To protect Vision. I can’t let you get the Mind Stone. Even if it costs me my life.

Whether it was because of your close proximity or your subconscious desperately calling out for more energy, you felt the magic of the stones seep within you. Raw power, unlike anything you’d ever felt. The heat felt cool in your veins, the combination of your magic and the stones intermingling like hot plasma.

You let out a cry, the magic in your blood making your eyes pulsate. Thanos is trying to push his hand into you, hoping you would surrender. Everything felt too hot. Your body was buzzing. The stones grew brighter as you used everything in your power to stop shaking underneath the weight of his hand. Thanos’s stoic face morphed to one of surprise. You couldn’t even see straight as your vision started to get blurry. Grunting you kept his hand in your grasp for as long as you could. Not a moment later did Thanos swing a blow with his other hand. You flew sideways against a tree, hitting your back and landing on your face in a motionless heap. There was ringing in your ears once more.

Exhaustion overtook your body. You could hear the faint crackling of energy sizzling away, leaving you to pathetically watch Thanos approach Wanda. The witch used one hand to direct her magic towards Thanos, but that wasn’t enough to stop his advances. You watched the scene with bated breath, seeing Wanda single-handedly fending off Thanos and eventually breaking the Mind Stone.

The gust of energy nearly blew you away. Your body was still unresponsive. Thanos approached Wanda, heaving, and crying. But it was done. The Mind Stone was nothing but dust now. Foolishly, you thought everything was over. That the universe was saved. You could go back home and be with the Avengers. That you could go home and see your mom and dad.

In a cruel twist of fate, you saw the familiar green glow of the Time Stone. Your happiness was quickly replaced with newfound horror.

No…No please don’t.

In a flash, Vision was restored, and just as quickly, Thanos pinched the stone out of his head.

“NO!” you screamed, your voice raw and scratchy. Despite your body suffering from multiple contusions, you shakily stood up on your legs; almost blacking out when you stood to your full height.

Leaning against the tree you saw his fingers rising, and you panic. Fear had never taken hold of you like this before. Time seemed to slow, and you felt every millisecond pass as this middle finger and thumb come to meet.

I don’t want to die. I have so many things I needed to do. I want to go home...I want to leave.

Your body hummed to life just as Thanos snapped his fingers. Just like that, you were gone.

— — —

All was well within the TARDIS. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory had just gotten back from their planet-hopping trip on the planetary system 56-Acesari. The couple, upon returning to the TARDIS, immediately crashed into their rooms. The Doctor didn’t mind. The trio had spent their whole day running through the beaches and stopping a band of pirates from taking over a small village.

Once Amy said her goodnights and shut her door, the man began his tinkering with the TARDIS once more. It’s a ritual for the both of them; a ritual to soothe The Doctor’s psyche. For hours, the time lord would pull apart wires, rearrange panels, and modify controls within the TARDIS. There was silence in the control room. Save for the quiet hum of the machinery. It wasn’t until 4 hours later where a sudden alarm shocked The Doctor out of his trance. The soft orange light of the control room changed to a flashing red.

“What’s going on?” Amy’s worried voice carried through the blaring alarms. Rory came into view not too far behind with an equally worried face.

“Don’t worry! It’s nothing to worry about.” The Doctor whizzed around the control panel turning knobs and pulling levers. The couple exchanged a knowing glance. Rule #1, The Doctor always lies.

“If there’s nothing to worry about then why is the TARDIS freaking out?” Amy gestured to the room around them. Said man kept mumbling to himself. Typical Doctor, his brain working faster than his mouth. Amy never failed to catch the man’s worried gaze towards the screen above the control panel. Walking over to the other side of the room, the couple saw the screen showing a familiar planet.

“It seems as though a portal in space-time opened up just now…” The Doctor whispered, wasting no time to start up the TARDIS.

“Wait is that…Earth?” Rory asked with heavy worry. On the screen displayed the blue and green planet with data all around it which Amy nor Rory would interpret.

The Doctor wastes no time setting their destination to the watery planet.

[stevesbestgirl]

Hooked

Bucky Barnes x GN!Reader

1642 words

A/N: This is my submission for @whatrambles​ 500 Follower Celebration! I have poor time management skills, so I haven’t had the chance to edit it yet, but I chose to do a fairy tale AU/pirate AU with a Peter Pan adaption. 

For some background, the Avengers were living in Neverland for years, drinking from the island spring that kept them young. After many years, they spit into familiar-looking teams; the pirates, who wanted to return home and grow up, but can’t with only half the crew, and the Lost Children, who wanted to stay. Now half the team has grown into adults, trying to convert the others and the other half has begun aging into adults after the pirates blocked off the spring and are just trying to survive.

Warnings: some sword fighting, maybe a swear word or two

“Peter, left flank!” you called out, pumping your fist as he deftly dodged the cannonball that arced past him, landing in the sand.

“Behind you!” Natasha called over to you from several meters away.

Wrenching your saber from you belt, you whirled around, the metal clashing with the blade aimed at your head, “Thanks Nat!”

Clutching the opposing saber was Clint, which was bad news for you. With a devilish grin, he recovered from your block, pulling back and slashing, this time aimed at your midriff. You had to leap back to dodge, eliciting a chuckle from your opponent. Frantic, you scanned the beach, but there was no one to help you as Clint pushed your further and further down the pier.

Peter was locked into battle with Rogers, Tony rushing to his aid as his small frame started to crumble under the blonde’s assault. Rhodey was duking it out with Sam and Vision with Wanda as cannon fire rained down around them. Natasha was closest to you, the only other on the pier, but she was well occupied with Scott.

T’Challa was nowhere to be found, but that wasn’t really his fault. This wasn’t supposed to end in a fight; it was supposed to be a simple trade deal with the merfolk, but you’d been ambushed.

The time spent seeking help cost you, you barely dodged a follow-up blow from Clint, his saber catching your forearm with a blazing hot sting that made you cry out. “You’re getting slow,” Clint noted. “That’s what happens when you get old.”

Fiery anger bubbled in your gut- you were just trying to survive. You didn’t understand why there always had to be a fight. In lieu of a response, you slashed wildly, but Clint easily danced out of the way with another laugh, “Lucky for me, you still fight like a child.”

He lunged, making you jump back again. You were running out of space to dodge, the crashing of the angry waves roaring in your ears as a reminder of what waited for you if you went over the edge. You realized dimly that the cannon fire had ceased, sneaking a glance over your shoulder. The large ship with its massive black flag was moving in, heading straight for you.

“Fall back!” you shouted, hoping your voice carried on the salty breeze.

Clint smirked, “And where do you fall back to, sparrow?”

You brandished your saber in his face, spitting, “You don’t get to call me that anymore.”

He deftly hooked the point of his saber around the guard of your own, wrenching it from your fingers. You watched helplessly as it spun into the foamy water, quickly sinking beneath the surface.

“What do you think? Should I end it myself or let the riptide have you?” He rested the razor-sharp blade against your sternum.

“I think you should get hearing aids, old man.” Natasha snarled as she brought the pommel of her blade down on the crown of Clint’s head. “Maybe then you would’ve heard me coming.”

You breathed a sigh of relief as he crumpled, “Thanks.”

She grabbed your arm, “Don’t thank me yet.” She pulled you back down the pier toward the shore as you heard the clatter of the boarding plank on the wood behind you. You bolted, the water-softened wood groaning beneath your pounding feet.

“Not so fast, whippersnappers.” Rogers moved in quickly to block the end of the pier, sending both you and Nat skidding to a stop.

She reached for her weapon, but you whispered desperately, “Swim for it.” You moved to dive off the side; the riptide was preferable to capture. But Rogers caught both of you by the arm with ease and the rest of the crew quickly stepped in to help him restrain you.

As you were marched back toward the ship, you twisted and fought, catching a glimpse of Peter and the others crowded at the tree line by the edge of the beach. You and Nat were forced onto the monstrous ship, single file. You spat furiously on the deck and Steve’s fingers closed around the back of your neck, “I’ll make sure you scrub the whole deck for that one, sparrow.”

“Screw you.” You tried to wrench yourself free of his grasp, despite knowing you were making things worse. But these had once been your friends and being on this god forsaken ship made the betrayal feel fresh.

“Rogers!” Sam said sharply. “Captain wants them in holding. Now.”

Steve steered you into the hold, giving you a sharp shove into the grimy cell, “We’ll finish this later.”

“Yes, we will,” you hissed, scrambling up to the rusty bars and glaring at him until the door closed behind him. Clambering over to the bars between you and Natasha, you reached for her, “Nat. Natasha! Are you okay?”

She only lay there, a fuzzy shape in the darkness. Choking back a sob, you sank to the dirty floor, wrapping your arms around your knees and waiting.

*

They came for Nat first, dragging her out of the cell when she didn’t respond to their orders. It sounded like Sam, but you couldn’t see; the light from the deck was blinding after hours in the pitch blackness. By the time your eyes adjusted, they were gone, despite your shouts.

The waiting was worse with Nat gone. Even if she hadn’t talked, knowing you weren’t alone was comforting. And who knew what they wanted from her. They could have shoved her overboard by now.

Your stomach was beginning to ache with hunger, your mouth dry and sticky. When the door opened again, your heart leapt; Nat! But the figure that entered was alone.

“Against the wall. Hands on your head.” Rogers spoke curtly and you squinted in the flood of light. “Now!”

The sharpness in his voice affected you more than you wanted to admit; you fumbled against the wall with a sniffle as the key rattled in the lock.

“What? Are you gonna cry?”

“What’s the matter with you?” you demanded, voice thick. “The Steve I knew, my Stevie, he wouldn’t treat me- treat us like this.”

“Stevie is gone, sweetheart. He grew up. Now let’s go.”

He tied your hands back with rough twine and marched you out into the blinding sun. You could hear music and laughter as you winced and squinted in the bright light. How could they be having fun? You’d lost everything and they sounded downright joyful.

But you didn’t have time to adjust before you were marched inside, the soft glow of oil lamps an easier adjustment for your eyes. Here the wood was polished and glowing, a stark contrast to the filth and smell of mold from the holding cell.

The door at the end of the hallway was simple, with a single circular window at the center, giving you a glimpse of the man inside. “No!” You began to fight again, your heart thumping wildly in your chest, “I’m not going in there! Throw me overboard, but I don’t want to see him!”

Steve chuckled softly, “You don’t have a choice. He’s missed his sparrow.”

You shrieked, flailing and fighting, trying to ram your shoulder into his chest, but it did no good. He only hoisted you up like nothing, throwing you over his shoulder and pushing the door open.

“Someone’s excited to see you,” he joked, walking in and setting you down roughly.

“Excited to rip your heart out,” you hissed, taking a wild kick at his shins.

“You can go, Steve.”

You kept your gaze anywhere but on the man in front of you as Rogers left the room.

“Did you miss me?”

“No.”

“I missed you.”

“I don’t care.”

“I think you do.”

“I don’t give a damn what you think.”

“Will you look at me?” He added softly, “Please?”

As if of its own volition, your head tipped up, eyes finally meeting his. He’d aged more. No longer a dashing twenty-something, he looked more like a thirty-something now. But despite the lines around his eyes, they were the same shade of blue- the color of the sea, you’d always said. Heavily lashed and gorgeous, you hated how they still made you feel soft.

“I hate you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“You blockaded the spring,” you spat. “I’m an adult. Because of you. I don’t see many options other than hate.”

He cocked his head, “You could join us. We just want to go home.”

“Well I don’t. And I won’t. I’ll die before I help you.”

“That would be a waste. You’re even more beautiful than I remember.”

“Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop acting like nothing has changed. This is over.”

“It doesn’t have to be. Just hear me out.”

“Why would I listen to a thing you say? Because you’re the captain?” your voice was laced with disdain.

“You think I don’t know what you call me?”

“I don’t care.”

“Say it then.”

“Captain Hook.”

A smirk spread over his lips, “It’s kind of cute when you say it.” He flexed the metal fingers on his left hand, “I don’t mind it so much. But I prefer what you used to call me.”

“I won’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because the Bucky I knew is gone. He grew up.”

He stepped forward, brushing your cheek with a thumb, “God, I’ve missed that.”

“Don’t touch me.”

“Why? Afraid you’ll like it?”

“Because I hate you.”

“So, you keep saying.” He smiled, his breath fanning over your lips, “Let’s see if it’s true.”

Then his lips were on yours and you couldn’t push him away. He cupped your cheek, soft mouth brushing over your own chapped lips with impossible delicacy. Before you knew it, your lips had parted for him, your eyes closing and for just a second, you could believe that nothing had changed.

[itsybitchylittlewitchy]

The new arrivals- Part 9

My master post is here with all the other parts!

I apologise in advance for how I left this one! There's no smut in this one, just a lot of story! I hope you all still like it! 🖤💚🖤

Pairing: Loki x Female reader

Summary: You are Y/N the Goddess of Victory, niece of Tony Stark and you run the Avengers training facility based in the Highlands of Scotland. Thor, Loki and a ship full of Asgardians arrive and you need to help.

Word count: 2.2K

Warnings: No Smut in this one sadly, I didn't want to just force it in when it didn't fit. Quite a bit of Angst, violence and if you've not seen Infinity War then there's a lot of spoilers!

Any Likes, comments and reblogs are always appreciated! Thank you for all the love so far. You guys are amazing! 🖤💚🖤

Let me know if you want me to keep writing more! And if you want added to the tag list!

@word-addict-lisette @with-inked-solace @queen-of-mischief @faraum

Darkness surrounded you as your eyes became adjusted to your new surroundings, your hand still being firmly being grasped by Loki. As you all looked around at the dark surroundings, “This isn’t right” Thor said walking towards a window which lightly illuminated the dark messy workshop “The star’s gone out and the rings are frozen” Thor mumbled, scrunching up his face “I don’t like this” Loki warned, putting the Tesseract safely back into the pocket universe, “We should go”, he continued, gripping onto your hand tighter than before. “This forge hasn’t gone dark in centuries” Thor yelled with a mixture of shock and confusion, hitting his fist off the window. You let go of Loki’s hand and began to look around, pieces of metal and clutter everywhere, until you came across a mould for a gauntlet. “Shit” you said, you knew you recognised it as being the one Thanos wore when he killed your mother, “We need to leave now” You yelled out in a panic as you began to run back towards Loki and the others, only to see Thor go flying across the room, and a tall ragged looking man towering above you all. Your hands began to glow purple, as you raised them ready to defend yourself and your friends. Thor yelled “Y/N no! Eitri wait! Stop!” as he held up his hand to the giant man. “Thor?...” he questioned, his fists still ready to strike, “What happened here?” Thor questioned, his eyes full of concern. “You were supposed to protect us…Asgard was supposed to protect us!!” Eitri yelled at Thor and your group, tears forming within his eyes. “Asgard was destroyed” Loki stepped forward; his hands raised in surrender as you stepped forwards to Eitri “I recognise that gauntlet.” You said, pointing to the mould “What did you do? Why would you help Thanos?” You questioned refusing to lower your hands from your battle position. He walked away from you all towards the window, guilt written all over his face. “300 dwarves lived on this ring” he explained, “I thought if I did what he asked, they’d be safe” he said supressing a sob. “I made what he wanted, a device capable of harnessing the power of the stones” he continued as he broke down in hear wrenching tears of sorrow “But he killed everyone anyway. All except me” He cried, turning back to face the group. “Your life is yours, he said. But your hands are mine alone. Then he encased my hands in metal” he groaned, displaying his metallic fists for all to see. Thor gently walked towards him, placing a reassuring hand on him, “Eitri, this isn’t about your hands. Every weapon you’ve ever designed, every axe, hammer, sword etc its all inside your head” Thor smiled sympathetically pointing to his head but Eitri unable to look him in the eyes. “Now I know it feels like all hope is lost. Trust me, I know. But together with your help, we can all put an end to Thanos” Thor smiled, his arms gesturing back to the group of you. Eitri disappeared for a moment, then a machine came to life, bringing down a concrete looking mould. “I take it this will be your new hammer then?” you smiled looking at Thor, but Eitri interrupted you saying, “It’s a king’s weapon. Meant to be the greatest in Asgard. In theory, it could even summon the Bifrost.” He said nodding towards you and Thor. “Does it have a name?” You asked. “Storm-Breaker” Eitri said, tilting his chin up slightly, clearly proud of the weapon he had created. “So, how do we make it?” Thor asked, folding his arms over his chest. “You’ll have to restart the forge” Eitri said while looking out the window at the cold dying star. “Y/N, Loki your up. See what you can do.” Thor said, putting an arm around you both and shoving you towards the window that overlooked the heart of the dying star. “I’m sorry brother” Loki tutted, flipping back his hair, and placing his hands on his hips, “But how exactly do you expect us to do that?” he asked, throwing his hands in the air dramatically. “The rings are frozen; you need to get them moving again” Eitri explained to both you and Loki. The rings where massive, colossal even, you knew you and Loki wouldn’t have enough power to do

it alone. “Uncle Tony, I need you to get out there and start manually pushing the rings. We need all the help we can get” You said, placing a hand on his shoulder, pulling him into a hug, “Be safe” you said as you pulled away from him and he flew outside to begin pushing on the edge of the giant rings. You walked back over to Loki, taking both his hands in yours. You had to concentrate. You looked deep into his eyes and began focusing on moving the rings, closing your eyes to further your concentration. “You need to use your emotions Y/N” Loki pleaded, “Think of what that monster did to your mother, think of all he took from you” With these words tears began to spill from your closed eyes as you began to levitate you both off the ground, purple smoke emanating from every inch of you. You could hear the iced-up rings beginning to crack and groan as they started to move, “More Loki! Your nearly there!” Thor bellowed over to you both, “Look at me Y/N” Loki said cupping your face with his hands, your eyes where glowing bright purple as he leaned in and passionately kissed you, sending an explosion of green and purple energy, blasting out from you both making the colossal rings spin, and the star in the middle ignite into a ball of pure raw energy. A bright beam of light blasted out towards the forge igniting the smelter as the metal began to heat up, melting it before it poured into the mould. Eitri grabbed the intricate wooden handle for the axe and attached it to the weapon, unable to pick it up he gestured for Thor to collect Storm-Breaker. He held out his hand and the axe flew into it. Making bright lightening appear emanating from Thor. Out of sheer curiosity you held out your hand, wondering if his smart-ass comment earlier could be true. Could you possibly wield a weapon that powerful? You where a Goddess after all. After a few seconds, Thor could feel some slight resistance, was something pulling at the axe? Then with a crack of purple lightening, the axe was firmly in your hand as you began to laugh, your eyes still shining a bright purple as you revelled in the power of wielding the legendary weapon. “I don’t believe it” Thor said, his mouth open, completely stunned as Loki pulled you back into another earth-shattering kiss, “You never fail to surprise me love. Your incredible” he smiled, cupping your face laughing in disbelief and looking astonished that you even exist. “You’re not so bad yourself mischief” you winked as you kissed him again. “Can I please have my axe back?” Thor mumbled with a pout, clearly a little annoyed that he wasn’t the only worthy one. “Eitri, can you reforge Mjølnir for Y/N here? If she’s worthy of Storm-Breaker I’m sure she can handle Mjølnir” Thor smiled patting you on the back and pulling you into a hug. Eitri, went to work, fetching the mould and materials needed, then moments later, there was Mjølnir, reforged. The moment of truth, could you wield Mjølnir as well? You took a deep breath and held out your had, and the hammer flew straight to you. Glowing a beautiful shade of purple in your hand. “Does this mean I need to change my name to Thor?” You laughed, while flipping the hammer in your hand. “No, my dear. I don’t think I could be with you if that was the case” Loki teased wrapping an arm around your waist. “Thor, could you summon the Bifrost and take us to wherever Vision and Wanda are? I want to make sure we have all the stones we know of safe before Thanos comes”. Thor nodded signalling for you all to stand with him. He lifted his axe above his head and a bright rainbow light appeared engulfing you all, blinding you for a moment. When you looked up you where somewhere you recognised. “Hang on, this is Edinburgh Waverly train station” you laughed, “Wanda and Vision are here?” you questioned looking around. The train station was deserted at this time of night, until there was a deafening crash and glass came shattering everywhere around you as Vision and Wanda came hurling through the ceiling towards you all, sending Tony flying backwards into the dark green fencing that

separated the platforms. Wanda still gripping on to Vision who looked injured. “Isn’t it weird who you run into at the train station” Tony quipped, making you roll your eyes as you helped Wanda and Vision to their feet. Moments later a blue horned woman wielding some kind of alien spear crashed through the glass ceiling landing in front of you all. “Proxima” you glared at her, recognising her from your vision. “You killed my mother” You exclaimed, gripping onto Mjølnir, your eyes full of tears and once again turning purple, As another grey hooded man with a sceptre smashed through the ceiling landing next to Proxima, her bright red eyes looking amused and staring straight at you. A train barrelled through the station behind you, you noticed Proxima’s gaze left you, as she was looking at something or someone on the platform behind you as she growled and launched her spear, only to have it caught by none other than Steve Rodgers, He slowly walked forward as you watched Sam glide down behind Proxima and send her flying across the platform shattering through the stations coffee shop and rolling back onto the platform at the other side, “She’s mine” you growled using Mjølnir to fly over to her as you slammed down aiming for her head screaming in fury. She rolled out the way just in time, only to pull out a dagger and catch you in the ribs. Undeterred you swung again at her and sent her crashing into the parked train nearby. “Did you really think it would be that easy?” You said through gritted teeth, as you began to levitate again, your eyes an ominous bright purple as Proxima readied her spier that her partner had thrown back to her before he was rugby tackled by a newly appeared Natasha. Proxima lunged at you again narrowly missing you, “I don’t even know who you are mortal” she growled, knocking you to the ground before she tried to plunge her spear into your chest again, you blocked it with a haze of purple energy, “You…urgh.. Killed! My! Mother!” You screamed at her, a wave of purple energy emanating from you sending her flying backwards, “And for another thing, I’m not mortal. I am Y/N. The Goddess of Victory. And you have royally pissed me off” You yelled sparks of purple lightening appearing around you, as you leaped into the air and crashed down in front of Proxima, Mjølnir shattering the train station platform as she fell under the collapsed rubble. You turned around, looking for your teammates, still fighting the other one, as you began to head towards to assist them you felt a searing pain ripping through your abdomen. As if in slow motion you looked down and saw a spear tip poking out of your stomach, your blood gushing from the wound as you cried out in agony, you heard Loki scream out your name, rushing over to gather you in his arms. Sam knocked Proxima backwards with a flying kick as Cap and Natasha went to deal with her and the other creature. Your uncle Tony appeared next to you and Loki, removing his helmet, and spraying some white residue into you to seal your wound. “It’s going to be okay sweetheart” Tony said kneeling next to you, as you coughed up blood, spluttering on it as a hysterical Loki cried and cradled you in his arms saying, “Please don’t leave me Y/N. Your all I have”. Proxima laid on the ground, next to her injured teammate, Natasha held her spear to Proxima’s neck, drawing some blood. “We don’t want to kill you, but we will.” She said, glaring at the creatures before her. Proxima smirked and said, “You’ll never get the chance again” before being lifted through the roof by a bright blue light. Thor had already joined Loki next to you on the train station platform, assessing your wound for himself and trying to comfort his inconsolable brother. All you could focus on was Loki’s tearful eyes lovingly looking at you as he kissed your forehead, you could feel his warm tears joining with your own as they ran down your cheeks, before the peaceful darkness took you, you swore you could see a beautiful woman reaching down for you, “Mum?” you smiled weakly before the darkness completely enveloped

you.

Any Likes, comments and reblogs are always appreciated! Thank you for all the love so far. You guys are amazing! 🖤💚🖤

Let me know if you want me to keep writing more! And if you want added to the tag list!

[thetimelordbatgirl]

The MCU has the tendency to go for a plot twist without considering the long-term unfortunate implications on the characters involved. Tony creating EDITH then giving it to a teenager looks bad when you think about it. There are no words for how bad Steve's ending is no matter how you interpret it. If he was Peggy’s husband the whole time, than it means he allowed everyone who cared about him to think he was dead and allowed all these terrible things to happen (Hydra, Thanos, etc) just to play house with Peggy. And even if he did go to an alternate timeline and presumably prevented all of the above, it still leaves another Steve Rogers frozen in the ice and he's stolen that Steve's life. Strange goes straight to casting a reality-altering spell, blames Peter for messing it up, but doesn't consider that maybe just maybe he should have explained how the spell worked first? (There's a reason why when the trailer dropped people speculated it was the Strange from What If because the Strange we've been following with all that character development couldn't possibly be that reckless and stupid). What If showed us Ultron- possessed Vision instantly killing Thanos - so does that mean OG Vision was capable of killing Thanos the entire time? And why didn't the Eternals help out in the fight against Thanos? WAY too many logic failures in this franchise.

I mean, the MCU is owned by Disney and often or not, they love plot twists, the implications half the time not even thought out, so are we surprised the MCU fell down that path? Like, when it comes to E.D.I.T.H, they wanted to somehow make Tony present in Far From Home, so what do they do with him dead? Have Peter get a dangerous technology from him that is never once called out as Tony having made a dangerous technology again with his ego showing in the name ('Even Dead, I'm The Hero') and then having said technology be not only given to a teenager but then said technology is used to ruin said teenager's life at the end of the film as a plot twist/cliffhanger ending that next film would fail to tackle fully. And for Steve's ending....well, next to every single problem you listed with that plot twist, it also means he technically made out with his niece in Civil War (what is it with the MCU and incest???), because MCU wanted to do a ship that was as dead as Peggy that badly that they didn't think through any implications. The whole spell in No Way Home no matter what, is stupid. You could argue that Strange at least wanted to help Peter (because fuck Multiverse of Madness trying to spin it as being like Wanda cause Strange wanted to HELP a child while Wanda wanted to KILL a child), but the way they went about it sooo stupid. He never once tells Peter prior about the spell or check if he wants certain people to remember, he just gets straight to it and blames Peter for the bad aftermath, and again, like Far From Home, we need a stupid plot twist/cliffhanger ending with Peter telling Strange to erase Peter in general from everyone's minds. Like, they were that desperate to now and try to do a good Spiderman, that they did a stupid plot twist whose implications I guess we will see be explored soon with whatever BS Spiderman 4 is.

What If...? is a whole ass mess, but the fact that Vision could just kill Thanos with that much ease this entire home makes Infinity War look completely stupid as dude could just slice and dice Thanos with ease. And for Eternals....in real life? Because MCU hadn't thought of them at the time and only decided to shove them in Phase Four. For in MCU? Who the fuck knows with this team. MCU didn't put much thought into it really. And some plot twists that made no sense really I can name right now: Wanda being completely evil after Endgame cause of robot dick and then children that were never real in the main timeline, Sharon being the main bad guy at the end of TFATWS because for some reason the MCU likes to fuck over Sharon in writing, Sylvie in Loki as a whole and of course its ending, Venom in the MCU because it's clear no one knew what to do with that plot twist in No Way Home given it was dealt with in a end credit scene and the WHOLE bullshit with Taskmaster in Black Widow.

Like, you'd think if they want the MCU to keep going, they'd be more careful with these plot twists and such, but no. They don't. And it keeps happening as a result, with only plot twists being good in films like Black Panther and Shang Chi and Winter Soldier and maybe Moon Knight, but beyond that, MCU just keeps doing logic failures.

[hellsenthero]

Collapse.

Written by: hellsenthero

Bucky X FemReader

@leniram1890 Requested: For the request,i was thinking of Bucky x non avenger reader where reader saved Bucky from falling debris/ heavy object when Bucky unexpectedly is not in his senses that day,

Warnings/Themes: Language, violence, blood, fluff. (1.9K+ Words.)

*Masterlist*

----------

New York was a city filled with possibilities. But Y/N had never thought one of those possibilities was being destroyed and plundered by a secret organization. She didn’t know who was infiltrating the city, but she knew they were bad. Their dark uniforms with a red skull and six tentacles only further proved that. No one that worked for the good of all people would have a skull on their uniform. 

Before the screams of terror began and shots rang through the air Y/N had been sitting in a quaint little cafe at the corner. Sunlight shone in through the full windows, warming her in her seat as she drank her iced coffee. People walked by outside, some racing around in a hurry, others walking slowly, peacefully. She watched them go by her. The occasional loud conversation or honk of a car horn could be heard even inside the coffee shop, but she didn’t mind. It was New York after all, there was never complete silence in the city. 

Y/N had just finished her drink when the terror began. 

It was the people freezing in the middle of the street she noticed first. They all looked towards the same direction, some bringing up their hands to shield their eyes from the sun. Y/N looked to the left, through another window in the cafe, but couldn’t find what had grasped the full attention of the New York citizens. Even the man running towards a yellow taxi in the road stopped and stared off into the distance. The few other customers in the cafe with her got up and looked out the windows. Y/N took the last sip of your coffee before moving towards the window herself, eager for a closer look. That was when the first scream pierced the air. 

---

Bucky was watching a movie Steve suggested to him at the Avengers Compound. It was, one of the classics I’ve been told to catch up on, Steve had said. The movie was called E.T and Bucky could honestly say he liked it. He’d just gotten to the part where the kid was hiding the alien in his closet when an alarm began to blare through the compound. 

Bucky jerked up from his seat and ran from the room. He’d just turned the corner when Steve nearly ran into him. 

“Suit up.” Steve ordered as he passed Bucky, no doubt on his way to find his own uniform. 

It only took Bucky a minute to suit up. The routine second nature to him now. He raced outside towards the Quinjet, finding Steve, Nat, Sam and Tony already in the jet and talking in strained voices. Clint got on the jet a second after Bucky and Wanda and Vision two seconds after him. 

“Great,” Tony clapped his hands together as he went to the front of the ship and began pressing buttons. “Let’s go.”

“What are we responding to?” Bucky asked as he took a seat. Steve turned to face him, a shadow passed over his gaze as their eyes met. 

“Hydra has infiltrated the city. It seems they’re done playing around behind the scenes and have gone for a more...direct approach.” Bucky’s metal fist clenched at his side, his metal plates whirling. “Our goal is to take out as many operatives as you can and protect the citizens.” The team nodded their heads as a collective group. 

From the front of the jet Tony called out to the team, “We’re landing in two minutes.” 

---

Guns fired off like a show of fireworks. Minute after minute, second after second shouts and bangs filled the air. Y/N raced through the street, away from the soldiers in black. Above her a dark jet lowered itself towards the ground. Y/N was only mildly surprised to see the Avengers hop out and begin fighting. 

If Y/N had learned anything from the news then it was that when the Avengers arrive there will always be carnage in their wake. If possible Y/N pushed her legs to run even faster, away from the damage and death raining down on the city. 

She had just turned a corner when a blur of black and silver went flying past her, through the glass window of a furniture shop to her right. A scream tore out of her throat as she came to a halt. 

The building swayed, ready to collapse, and a pained groan sounded from within the structure. Against her better judgment Y/N turned, staring into the building for only a moment, before going inside in an attempt at helping the person inside. 

---

Bucky wasn’t prepared to see so many Hydra soldiers. Men marching in uniforms of black, their red badges standing out like blood against the fabric. Their faces were the worst though. Not all, but many had the dead gaze Bucky knew all too well. The quick, meticulous, almost robotic movements that only came from having their minds wiped. Bucky could taste the burning acid of pain in the back of his throat. He wanted to throw up. 

Steve gave him a hard shove before racing into the destruction. A firm reminder to get his head straight, to start fighting. With a deep breath Bucky shot off his gun, instantly killing a Hydra soldier. 

Bucky didn’t know how long that went on for, the shooting, the killing. It all blurred together. But still, he wasn’t in his right mind. His past memories created a fog in his head. So when a Hydra soldier came up behind him, a gun in hand, Bucky didn’t realize until it was too late. 

Or nearly too late. If it wasn’t for Wanda throwing him through the air with her scarlet power, he would have been dead. The gun aimed directly at his head. As it was he went flying into a building, crashing through glass and wood and structural pillars. 

It was a never ending blur of pain and flying and red and black. 

---

Y/N prayed she wasn’t going into the unstable building only to be met with one of the men attacking the city. She should have turned away, got out, but something pulled her further inside. The structural pillars of the large shop were broken in half. Only one remained standing, the sole pillar holding up the shop. 

Another groan sounded and Y/N called out. “Hello?” Another groan answered her and Y/N went further inside. One eye stayed on the pillar, praying for it to not give out while she was still inside. “Do you ne-” Y/N’s next question was cut off by the sway of the building. Dust and rubble rained down from the ceiling, the loud groans and creaks of the building filled the air. Y/N went to turn around, to head back out into the sunlit, destroyed city, but it was too late. 

The last pillar gave out. 

The ceiling came crashing down. Y/N dove beneath a table, her hands protecting her head, her knees tight to her chest. She thought she heard someone scream a man’s name from outside but it was washed away by the great crashes of the building. 

The first thought in Y/N’s mind when the crashes came to a stop, and the debris settled, was that she was dead. But the pain of rubble pressing down on her quickly reminded her that she wasn’t. That was she was alive and stuck in a collapsed building. 

With another person. 

With a groan Y/N crawled out from beneath the broken table. Blood covered her palms and knees as her limbs scrapped against debris. Dust filled the air like a heavy fog, threatening to choke her. 

“Hello?” Y/N called out as loudly as she could. The groan of pain that answered her seemed to lift an invisible weight off of her. Whoever had gone flying through the glass window only moments ago was still alive. For now. The dust began to settle and Y/N’s vision clearned. Ahead of her she could spot shining silver. It was most likely debris, it certainly couldn’t be a person, but still Y/N crawled towards it. 

---

His mind fogged. He could hear a woman’s voice, calling out, but Bucky could do nothing more than groan in answer. If he made it out of there, wherever he was, he would be having quite the talk with Wanda. 

Debris layed heavy on Bucky, threatening to crush him to death. His movements were painful and limited, but still he tried to escape from beneath the crushing weight. 

Blood dripped from a wound on his head and his ribs screamed in protest as he did his best to crawl out from the rubble. But his best wasn’t enough. His mind was so foggy he didn’t know up from down, left from right, it all blurred together. He was nearly ready to stop his struggle and go to sleep like his mind begged him to do before the voice sounded again. 

Soft, sweet, gentle, it reached his ears and Bucky knew he was going to be okay. 

“Please don’t be dead, please don’t be evil.” Bucky could hear the woman’s voice clearer now. A heavy weight lifted free from his back and Bucky groaned in relief. “Shit, are you okay?” Bucky looked up and was met with beautiful Y/E/C eyes. “That’s dumb, you’re obviously not okay.” The woman said more to herself than to Bucky. Bucky reached out a hand, grasping onto the woman his eyes surveyed her from head to toe. 

“You’re hurt.” He gasped out as his eyes locked on the scarlet blood on her hands. 

“So are you.” The woman answered. 

Bucky smiled. He hadn’t smiled in a long time and he never would have guessed that a strange woman and a collapsed building would do him in, but he smiled. 

“I think I’m supposed to be the one saving people.” Bucky said and he crawled out from the last piece of rubble holding him down. His bearings beame less blurry, his mind focused on the building, the rubble, the woman. Direction began to make sense again. 

The woman smiled right back at him. “Yet here I am, saving you.” 

Bucky must have been in heaven. Dark, bloody, painful heaven, but heaven nonetheless. 

“What’s your name, knight?” Bucky asked as he and the woman worked together to be free of the building. The closer they got to their exit, the more Bucky could hear someone calling his name. No--someone’s. Steve and Wanda. 

“Y/N. Y/N Y/L/N.” The woman answered. “And yours?”

“Bucky. Bucky Barnes.” Finally, they got out of the building. Bucky was met with a relieved Steve and Wanda. The former smiled and gave him a pat on the back, but still Bucky’s gaze remained on Y/N. 

“It’s all over.” Steve told Bucky. 

Bucky didn’t respond back, instead he said to Y/N, “I think you need to be looked at.”

Y/N nodded her head. “I think you’re right.” Bucky smiled and wrapped an arm around Y/N. 

“Come on, I’ll bring you to the jet.”

The pair walked off and Wanda and Steve remained standing outside the ruined building, confused and surprised. 

“What-” Wanda began before Steve cut her off. 

“I don’t know.” Steve mumbled. “I don’t know.” 

[justsomerandomfanfic]

Haunted - The Avengers

Title: Haunted

Ships: Tony X Pepper, Steve X Loki, Wanda X Vision, and Bucky X Sam

Additional Characters: Peter, Thor, Clint, Bruce, and Natasha

| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 |

WC: 1,205

Warnings: Dropped Poptarts

Natasha and Clint got off the coaster as well, Clint going straight to a nearby trash can, throwing up the four fried sticks of butter he had before the ride. Natasha patted Clint’s back as he finished, and handed him a tissue and breath mint when he stood back up. Popping in the breath mint and whipping his mouth he looked at Nastasha shocked but mostly confused. 

“You just carry tissues and breath mints around with you?” He asked and Nastasha shrugged.

“Only after I found out you were such an adrenaline junkie.” She spoke, as they began walking around once again.

“Well, shall we go and play some games?” Clint asked, and Natasha nodded, as they looked around for a game to play. 

As they walked around a bit, Clint paused as he spotted a game he really wanted to win. Hanging above the booth, was a giant purple plush kangaroo, and it just spoke to him. He needed that kangaroo. Grabbing Natasha’s arm, he pulled her over to the booth, quickly shoving five dollars in the lanky teen vendor’s hands and grabbing the fishing net. 

“Alright, grab a duck, the color under it corresponds with what level prize you’ll get.” The bored teen spoke.

Clint didn’t mind the teen as he took a deep breath. All he wanted was a pink sticker, for his giant purple kangaroo. The small rubber duckies slowly swam around the large pool, Clint got his net ready and quickly snatched up a duck. Looking at the bottom of the duck, Clint’s determined face dropped. His duck was red. Looking up at the color and prize chart, he sighed. He got the lowest on the prize bar. 

The teen took the duck and net back, before handing Clint a small baggie with a neon green plastic bracelet. Clint sighed as he looked at his, to him, lame prize. Natasha beside him, gave the vendor another five dollars, grabbing a net.

“Grab a duck, the color under it corresponds-” 

Natasha waved him off, getting ready to pick a duck.

“I know, I know.”

Steadying her net, she gently, gracefully, grabbed a duck.

Flipping it over, she showed the vendor. He sighed and nodded, taking the net and the duck from her. Natasha pointed to the giant kangaroo, and the vendor unhooked it from the stand and handed it over to her. Turning to Clint, she held the giant kangaroo out towards him. Clint’s eyes sparkled, it was as if rainbows appeared from the heavens and rained down glitter. The kangaroo was the best thing he has ever seen, and ever gotten. Gently taking the kangaroo from Natasha, Clint looked to her, shocked and confused. 

“Are you sure? You won it?” He asked and Natasha shrugged, giving the man a small smile.

“I’m fine, dude. It was pure chance I would even win it anyway.” She spoke, and Clint nodded understandingly.

“Well, thank you. I love him.” He spoke, as they began to walk again, seeing any more games peak their interest.

Thor and Loki walked through the rows of rides and attractions, looking for something to do, as Thor munched on fried pop tarts. Who knew they made those at the fair? Loki looked at all the rides and everything, seemingly disinterested, but, inside, he was a bit excited. As they walked a bit more, passing a few coasters, kiddie rides, carousel, and more, Thor stopped, causing Loki to bump into him.

“Brother! Let’s try that one!” Thor bellowed out, pop tart crumbs littering his chin.

Looking to where Thor was pointing, Loki sighed. A haunted mansion. Loki looked at his brother, and gave him an uninterested look. 

“A haunted mansion? Are you that childish?” He asked, but Thor shook his head.

“It’s not childish, Loki!” He defended, before giving his brother a knowing smirk.

“You’re not frightened, are you?” Loki scoffed and turned away, slowly walking off a bit to ignore and avoid his brother.

Running and catching up with him, Thor cried as a fried pop tart fell out of his bag and onto the ground, but he followed his brother anyway. Falling in step with Loki, Thor tried to talk his brother into it.

“Come on, Loki! It will be fun!” Thor basically begged, and Loki stopped walking.

“If I go with you, will you stop waking me up when we run out of pop tarts in the tower? I hate teleporting pop tarts everyday.” Loki asked, rolling his eyes.

Thor nodded, eyes wide and looking like a golden retriever who was going to get a treat. Loki sighed and followed Thor back to the haunted house. Thor and Loki waited in line, for what seemed like a pretty good haunted house seeing as most of the people leaving were shaken and scared. Even some little kids and their parents ran out, fearful. This slightly shocked Loki, even though he’s never been to a haunted house, it seemed like a lot of people thought it was scary. Loki knew what a haunted house would entail, no matter how much he hated it and how many times he’s told his brother that he didn’t want to hear it, Thor would go on and on about Midgard, or Earthy customs. 

Soon it was their turn, walking in it wasn’t bad at all. The place was dark and there were bright lights blinking on and off as loud creepy music rang out in the building. But, nothing was jumping out at them. 

“Strange. Aren’t we supposed to be scared right about now?” Loki asked, as Thor shrugged, carrying on.

As they continued walking, small spiders would burst out here and there, the rooms would be filled with fake spiderwebs, and screams would be heard in the distance. Still, the Odin brothers walked through, as if this was a walk in the park. A confusing one at that. Slowly the room filled with soft mist, the lights in the room, giving the fog an eerie glow. And, in front of the two brothers, was a figure. Tall in stature, but they seemed to be carrying something. 

The figure slowly moved into the light, and Thor gasped in shock and disbelief. It was himself, holding his hammer. The other Thor gave an evil grin, before going straight after Thor and Loki. Thor screamed and ran back towards the entrance, as Loki sighed and teleported away. Back outside, Thor breathed heavily as he looked at the haunted house in fear. Loki teleported and appeared right by Thor’s side. Thor turned to his brother and pointed a finger at him accusingly.

“Was that not your work, Brother!?” Thor asked, glaring at the trickster God.

Loki feigned confusion and offense, shaking his head.

“No, brother. It was not me.” Loki spoke, even though it was indeed Loki who had casted a fake illusion of Thor to scare his brother.

Thor lowered his hand, and turned back to the haunted house, before looking back down to both his hands. Gasping once more, his eyes began to tear up as he looked back up at his brother beside him.

“I dropped my pop tarts.” Loki just smirked and patted Thor on the back as they walked off.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #262: “Many Brave Hearts...”

December, 1985

When Titans tussle... Hercules vs. SUB-MARINER!

Oh boy! These two going at it again!

It feels like its been one hundred and twenty two issues since the last time they were wrasslin.

Wink.

Also, in the background... could it be?

‘Tis!

Stingray! Adjacent to the Avengers! Has the Hydrobase era come upon us so suddenly?

I have been looking forward to this! I can’t rightly say why. I’ll always hold that the best Avengers base is that classic Avengers Mansion and all the Avengers Towers and Mountains and Infinite Mansions and Secret Avenging Secret Satellites and Abandoned Hangers and whatever are fine enough but no comparison!

But still. Excitement.

And the Vague Hydrobase area is the under siege era and I’ve also been looking forward to that.

Also, Starfox is gone. I don’t hate the guy but he was a boring Avenger. Let him be replaced with someone interesting.

Uh, relevantly:

Last times on Avengers: Vision tried to take over the world, was talked out of it, and he and Wanda left to go have their own book. But before Vision abandoned his plans, he sent Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel into space where she fell assbackwards into a plot by Thanos’ Granddaughter Nebula to take over the fragmenting Skrull Empire for herself. The Avengers teamed up with the Skrulls to stop Nebula but the Beyonder showed up in a Tie-In To Secret Wars II and teleported her to some random place. Later on Earth, the Avengers chased the Beyonder around for a while in another Tie-In To Secret Wars II but when he tired of the game he fucked off somewhere.

And now, Avengers.

The ship Stingray was ahoy hoying actually belongs to him and his wife Diane. Stingray just likes roleplaying as a pirate because he’s an oceanographer.

After getting some kissing out of the way, Diane shows him a news article about the FAA revoking the Avengers’ super special landing rights. WHICH IS OF MUCH INTEREST TO STINGRAY.

Anyway, actually speaking of the Avengers. Wasp storms into the workout room with a bone to pick with Cap.

It seems that Conover’s Corner has reported that Cap might be “abandoning a sinking ship” with a new project.

Cap clarifies that the new project was just setting up a toll-free number so people could contact him more easily over in his solo book.

He offers to call Conover and set the record straight but media savvy Jan knows that a denial will just make them look worse.

Hercules offers to just beat up Conover for spreading lies about the Avengers but Cap eases him down and teaches him a thing about FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.

Because it’s Captain America. Of course he’s going to do that.

Freedom of the press wasn’t really about freedom from being beaten up by Hercules but ideologically its related.

The real problem was that the FAA leaked to the press that they were rescinding the Avengers’ landing permit. Which is going to bring out the gossips and speculation.

And its a bad time for it because the Avengers have a lot on their plate and one too few people holding forks.

They’ve got the National Security Council restructuring their priority clearance due to Vision’s take over the world for its own good plan, the Beyonder is still at large, and Starfox leaving means they’re a person short.

Black Knight built a Beyonder detector with Project Pegasus to try to detect the Beyonder but the only problem is that it’s not detecting any Beyonders.

Maybe the Beyonder just left Earth but that’s not much of a relief considering he casually wiped out a galaxy in Secret Wars the First.

Best Butler Jarvis interrupts this discussion with baskets and baskets of letters. Since the FAA leaked that the Avengers’ landing permits were going to be revoked, mail has come in from all over the country, offering the Avengers to move to their town/cities instead.

Captain Marvel: “Detroit? They’ve gotta be kidding?”

Very likely a playful barb at the current Justice League Detroit status quo over at the Distinguished Competition.

Wasp begrudgingly agrees to look into the baskets and baskets and baskets of mail.

AND THEY’RE STILL AT IT TWO DAYS LATER.

Because they started to receive follow-up letters.

Haha, wow.

You never think something like a superhero team being aggressively courted by another city is going to happen in your superhero book but its amazing when it does.

Hercules, looking glum: “Bah, these scraps of paper make the same meaningless offers over and over! I will have no further part of this foolishness!”

Wasp: “But, Hercules, didn’t I hear you say you could pull the weight of two Avengers?”

Hercules: “I am in no mood to be mocked, Wasp!”

Pfft.

Hercules is kind of like Starfox. He’s here to have adventures, not read a bunch of things, dangit.

Black Knight is confused that so many mayors want the Avengers to relocate to their home towns since having superheroes around tends to raise insurance rates.

Captain Marvel: “Yes, but I’ve noticed that most of the offers are from depressed areas... where heavy industry is drying up and people are desperate for something -- anything -- to put their towns back on the map. Some of these letters are so sad.”

Eeesh, that kind of took the fun out of it.

Sad the letters may be but Wasp doesn’t intend to relocate from New York, New York. She just needs someplace to store the Avengers’ Quinjets where they can get a permit to take off and store the highly flammable Quinjet fuel. Also, a place with good security because, yeah. Supervillains would definitely love to sabotage a Quinjet.

And in the massive pile of papers, Wasp finds something that might be just what they’re looking for!

HydrobaseHydrobaseHydrobaseHydrobaseHydrobaseHydrobase

Um, anyway.

Thousands of miles away, an evil scientist in jail. Musing evil scientist thoughts like “The petty unreasoning fools! They muddle along, each day bringing civilization closer to extinction -- while I, one of the few great minds capable of saving them, am locked away... like a common criminal!”

Then a man walks through the wall to save him.

Haha, no, not Vision. Just some generic looking dude in a suit named Zota.

He grabs Morlak and pulls him through the wall which really pulls them through some portal tech called the transfer grid.

The portal explodes behind them because, well, these three dudes have hit such hard times that they’re operating out of a dirty warehouse with jury-rigged equipment.

Which three guys?

Morlak, Zota, and Shinski.

Which sure are names.

I don’t know who these guys are. I don’t think you know who these guys are. The comic recognizes that maybe nobody knows who these guys are. Luckily, they’re mad scientists so one of them recaps their ENTIRE BACKSTORY in an ‘as you know.’

Even if you’re speaking to people who already know all of this, sometimes you just want to hear yourself talk.

The tealest deerest is that they’re the Enclave.

A group that established “the greatest center for scientific research ever to grace the planet” to “save civilization from its ignorance -- by creating a new race of perfect human beings... beings which would have recognized us as the Earth’s saviors... and masters!”

So, yeah, mad scientists that wanted to take over the world, of course.

They’re also the ones who created Perfect Humans Adam Warlock and Ayesha. Both of whom turned on the Enclave.

Then they tried to team up with Maximus to take over the Inhumans. Twice. Both times went badly but only one time was in Avengers Annual #12.

Shinski didn’t wind up going to jail after the Moon thing because he was too old to go to. So he was able to break the other two out of jail. And now he has a new scheme, involving a crate glowing with an awesome power, like something out of some manner of Pulped Fiction.

So the slightly longer teal deer is that these fuckups are fuckups and I’m sure whatever new scheme they’re hatching will also end hilarihorribly.

But enough about them. This was but a teaser, not the plot of the book.

The actual plot is that thing with trying to find a place to park the Quinjets.

So the following afternoon, the Avengers head to Hydrobase, an island off New York.

On the island, they meet up with Dr. Walter “Stingray” Newell and his wife. The ones that were on the boat. In the first few pages of the comic.

Hydrobase is an oceanographic research base although originally it was owned by a crazed survivalist calling himself Dr. Hydro. Hence, Hydrobase.

It’s not actually an island but more of a giant boat disguised as an island.

Really! Look!

HYDROBASE!

Stingray just sort of claimed it from Dr. Hydro. Because of maritime salvage law.

Sounds legit.

Anyway, he used to have a grant from the Pacifica Institute of Technology to maintain this enormous island boat but that’s a past tense so really the Avengers needing place to park their Quinjets makes this a convenient solution for both of their problems.

There are a bunch of unused hangar buildings on the island/boat (because crazy survivalist) which could be ideal for the Avengers’ needs. So why not lease it to them?

Stingray is going to continue the tour to the underground facilities (because this is a giant islandboat and its got a lot of stuff under the water line) but this is interrupted by Namor showing up.

What’s funny is that while Wasp is immediately in his face warning him not to start shit, Black Knight is so many years out of circulation that he only knows Namor from the brief time they were on the Defenders.

So he gets all excited to be seeing Namor again.

Anyway, Namor is not here to start shit because Namor is in a funk. Not an angry funk, just a sad funk.

Namor accepts Wasp’s apology for assuming but turns down Stingray’s offer to tag along on the tour in favor of going off to be sad somewhere.

Diane explains to the Avengers that over in Namor’s Sub-Mariner limited series, the High Council of Atlantis asked Namor to abdicate his throne and kindly fuck off somewhere.

Because even Atlantis can only handle so much Namor and periodically needs to go on a break with him.

Since then, Namor has been living on Hydrobase some of the time. And the rest of the time just aimlessly wandering around the ocean.

He’s quite sad.

The Newells awkwardly pivot things back to the tour and show off the generators and the security system.

Smart. If the Avengers are going to be parking their Quinjets on Hydrobase, it would need a good security system. And, hey, now that they don’t need to worry about killing mailmen and idiots that try to break in, they can actually have a tougher security system than grabby tentacles.

But Hercules notices Namor having a sulk on one of the security monitor feeds and decides he has some opinions about that.

Hercules tries to pick a fight with Namor but Namor isn’t in the mood.

But when Hercules wants to fight, your compliance isn’t really a factor.

There is something incredibly funny about Namor plowing into a pile of dirt like a javelin. Good times.

The WUULMPH actually gets Namor angry so he flies over and punches Hercules in his beard face.

And they’re both super strong so the fight scene goes on for a bit!

Namor hits Hercules with a tree, Hercules hits Namor into the ocean, Namor SHORYUKENs Hercules.

Just a pair of very muscle boys shaking the entire boatisland and setting off alarms.

Captain Monica Marvel zips to the fight and zaps the two, telling them to knock that shit out.

The two are about to fight again despite her interruption but Captain America throws his mighty shield. So the fight must yield.

Hercules: “Captain America! You dare upset my footing with your shield?!”

Captain America: “Consider yourself lucky, Herc. Captain Marvel would’ve done a lot worse, if she hadn’t caught sight of us!”

Wasp criticizes Namor for starting shit but he tells her that Hercules started this shit.

And Hercules laughs and admits it.

Hercules: “I did not like the doleful look of this Sub-Mariner. The Namor I had fought in times past was a mighty man... a soul truly worthy of the gift of battle. I wanted to prove to myself that he still was worthy... aye, and I wanted to prove it to him, as well!”

Which just makes Namor laugh too!

He takes this unrequested beating in the spirit it was intended and is cheered out of his funk. I mean, he calls Hercules’ actions mad if possessing a sort of logic. But he’s still distracted from his doldrums.

In comic books, you really can just punch people out of bad moods. Despite it usually working the opposite way in real life.

Namor even decides that since Hercules gave him the gift of an asswhup, he’ll give Hercules a gift too.

FRESHLY CAUGHT CLAMS FOR A CLAM BAKE!

It comes up very rarely but in addition to being angry fish guy, Namor is a good supplier of premium seafood and can cook a mean chowder.

Since the tour must have been concluded off-panel, Stingray asks Wasp what she thinks of Hydrobase.

Wasp admits that its an excellent facility but she’s worried that it’s just going to be too difficult to get to and from Hydrobase.

But Black Knight, time-traveling mad scientist and medieval enthusiast that he is, he thinks he can come up with something that will address the accessibility concern.

Namor had disappeared again, which makes Hercules worry that he��s off brooding again. Unspoken but implied is the sense that Hercules is ready to punch him again if that’s the case.

But actually, Captain America took Namor aside so they could chat as old pals.

Namor admits that he found the throne of Atlantis to be a drudgery and he’s gained a lot of freedom by being rejected by his entire people, again. But he doesn’t really know what he’s going to do with that freedom.

He figures he’ll find something to do. The oceans cover a lot of ground, so to speak. It’s a lot of space to just wander.

Captain America: “Namor, I’d hate to see you squander your life like that. Everyone needs a purpose in life!”

Namor: “But I am not ‘everyone.’ My lineage is of both the land and the sea, but I am accepted by neither. I no longer have a place among my mother’s people -- and the surface world, my father’s world, has wanted no part of me. What else is there for me to do, but wander?”

Captain America: “You could become an Avenger.”

Namor: “You’re not serious!”

But he is serious.

Cap is frequently way more forgiving of Namor than 1) anyone else, and b) than he is of anyone else.

Fighting Original World War II Nazis with Cap must count for a lot because he overlooks Namor’s assholery a lot. He’s always ready to extend a hand to Namor because something something band of brothers.

But he and Tony do one Civil War on each other and they’re still in couples therapy.

So, yeah, I completely believe Cap would strongly suggest Namor join the Avengers if he has nothing better going on.

Plus, it would fulfill a long time Avengers goal. Even as far back as the Old Order Changeth, Iron Man tried to get Namor to join the Avengers.

And this was back when the last time they saw him, he tried to kill the whole team.

The Avengers just really love Namor, regardless of the many times that he’s tried to kill them and Captain America loves Namor more than most.

Namor protests that the surface world will never forgive the many times he’s tried to conquer the surface world.

Cap decides to tell a story. A story of a time that Namor’s temper led him to take rash actions and be a total dick. And how it was Good Actually.

That time back in Avengers #4, when Namor threw a temper tantrum and threw the Capsicle into the ocean, which eventually led the Avengers finding him.

Cap’s entire modern life is thanks to Namor breaking shit just to be a dick.

(Speaking of being a dick, I wish Marvel a very merry please stop using derogatory terms for indigenous peoples as soon as possible)

Captain America: “You’re responsible for my being here. I owe you for that. Now, will you let me put your name in nomination for Avengers membership?”

Namor: “Cap... I... I would be honored.”

Aw.

This is going to be hilarious.

Namor has been on teams before. Like the Defenders and Invaders. But I don’t think of him as being a good team player really. It would be a massive adjustment for both him and the Avengers.

On the other hand, they do need to fill a Starfox shaped void in their lives and it is going to be hilarious.

C’mon, Wasp, sign him up!

Follow @essential-avengers​ because I am 100% behind this possible direction. Also like and reblog because you too are behind Namor, Avengersing Son.

[discoscoob]

This whole Chrissy x Eddie thing with the antis is so ridiculous. It’s just the same with freaking Sylki, all the hypocrisy when nine times out of ten people have no problem shipping Wanda with an actual synthetic being lol (not to say I hate Wanda x Vision, I love them) I just think people are really trying to justify being bullies tbh. Just let people enjoy FICTION. God it’s not that hard. I hope you’re doing well drudging through the bullshit lol seriously have a good day 💕

God I know, I ship sylki too 😭 I went from one “controversial” ship straight to another. I need to catch myself a break and ship something popular and “unproblematic” because at the end of the day no matter what the popular ship is always the “unproblematic” one.

But thank you, despite the shit in the fandom which in the grand scheme of things is insignificant, I’ve had a good day and that’s what’s important. I hope you’ve had a good day as well! 💜

[fanficshiddles]

Triple Threat, Chapter 6

Loki was heading to Knowhere with the real Loki, Bruce, Wanda, Natasha and Thor.

Darcy had wanted to go too, but Loki flat out refused to let her go. In-case it was dangerous, which it probably would be. He didn’t particularly trust the Collector, who they were going to see.

‘Wait, so you’re telling me that it’s possible for me and… the other guy, to become one at the same time?’ Bruce asked, eyes wide in surprise.

‘It sure is.’ Loki nodded. ‘Strength and size of the Hulk, but with your brains.’

‘That sounds terrifying.’ Wanda said.

‘Yeah, it really does. Please don’t do that, Bruce. I am NOT sharing a bed with Hulk.’ Natasha said, glaring at Loki.

‘Perhaps not the best idea if you and Nat are… dating.’ Loki laughed.

Loki told them all about more of his reality. The real Loki was sitting at the back, not really caring to hear about it. Wanda noticed and went over to sit next to him.

‘Are you ok?’ She asked him.

‘I’m fine.’ He said in a clipped tone.

‘You’re clearly not. Are you still annoyed at him for kissing Darcy?’

‘Of course I am.’ Loki hissed, but he sighed as he looked at Wanda. She was just trying to be friendly. ‘Apologies. I am just not happy there is another me going around, kissing my girl.’ He growled.

Wanda gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his arm. ‘He probably doesn’t want to be here just as much as you don’t want him to be here. But maybe you could both learn from one another? You are the same person, to an extent. You both tried to take over Earth, just diverted on different paths afterwards. You both redeemed yourself in the long run.’

Loki just grunted in response. She was right, but he didn’t want to admit it.

‘Or are you just jealous that you never thought of pulling the pranks he did when he arrived here?’ She grinned.

Loki narrowed his eyes at her. ‘They were pathetic pranks, I could do so much better.’ He huffed.

‘Course you could.’ Wanda laughed and went back to the front of the ship.

Loki stayed where he was, but he listened in to Loki’s stories until they arrived on Knowhere. Everyone was on high alert as they made their way to the Collector’s museum.

‘What exactly are we looking for?’ Loki asked Loki.

‘It’s a tracker that will locate every stone. But as far as I am aware, the Collector doesn’t know that. Or else he would have them all by now. So it needs to remain that way.’ Loki said firmly. ‘It looks like a necklace, it’s a gold chain with a diamond on the front. It can perform basic healing powers, too. So we need to hope that’s all the Collector thinks it is.’

Loki nodded. ‘Do we have a plan for buying it from him?’

‘I’ll go in alone. Well, with you under a guise as a guard. Everyone else, wait outside so he doesn’t wonder why I’ve taken an entourage with me. If anything goes wrong, I will send a signal for backup.’ Loki said.

‘Who put you in charge?’ Thor frowned.

‘This is my mission. Or do you have a better plan, brother?’ Loki sneered.

Thor looked at Loki. ‘Do you trust him, brother?’

Loki looked at Loki then back at Thor. ‘I do.’ He said, albeit reluctantly.

‘Fine. That’s good enough for me.’ Thor nodded.

Loki transformed into an Aesir guard, then he and Loki went into the museum while the others remained outside, on alert. They tried not to look too conspicuous while people passed by on their daily business.

As the two tricksters walked into the museum, Loki kept looking straight ahead, acting like a proper guard just escorting Loki. Loki looked around casually, hands behind his back and taking dramatically large steps as he studied some artefacts.

‘May I help you… Asgardian?’ Came a voice from the back of the museum.

Loki looked up and saw the Collector wandering down towards them, with a female from a different race behind him.

‘Ah, Collector.’ Loki grinned charmingly. ‘I am looking for a specific item, a necklace with healing properties, as a gift for my fiancé. I was told by some good associates that I’d find it here.’

The Collector raised an eyebrow and turned to the female behind him. She was wearing the necklace.

‘This, necklace?’ The Collector asked.

‘That’s the very one.’ Loki nodded. ‘How much do you want for it?’

‘It’s not for sale.’ The Collector said quickly, putting a finger up. ‘But I am sure I have other, beautiful jewellery that would be suitable for your fiancé.’ He motioned to a glass display behind him.

‘Everything has its price. I have gold and many credits I can give you.’ Loki offered, pulling out a small pouch that was filled with gold.

The Collector looked slightly intrigued, but shook his head. ‘No. As I said, not for sale.’

Loki clenched his jaw. ‘What would you want in exchange for it?’

The Collector frowned, looking at him warily. ‘Why are you so desperate for this necklace?’ He asked, moving in closer to Loki, into his space and glaring up at him.

‘Like I said.’ Loki growled. ‘I want it for my fiancé.’

Loki stepped in and put his arm out, to get the Collector to back up from Loki. The Collector glanced at the supposed Aesir guard and stepped back a bit.

‘As I said. It is not for’ He was interrupted when suddenly Hulk came bursting into the museum, roaring angrily and charging straight for the group.

With the Collector distracted, Loki quickly grabbed the necklace and ripped it off the female, thrusting the pouch of gold into her hands in return. The two Loki’s then teleported outside to Thor, Natasha and Wanda.

‘What the heck happened?’ Loki asked as he transformed back into himself.

‘A passer-by accidentally bumped into Bruce, he was already feeling anxious and antsy so Hulk just exploded.’ Wanda said quickly.

‘Get back to the ship. I’ll get Bruce.’ Thor said as he swung Mjolnir round and flew into the museum.

The team heard Hulk roaring and some explosions and loud bangs. They didn’t bother waiting to see what was happening, so they rushed back to the ship as quickly as they could.

‘Did you get the tracker?’ Natasha asked as they boarded the ship and she got it started up.

‘Yep. Hulk’s distraction was actually rather helpful.’ Loki said as he held up the necklace. Then he waved his hand over it and had it disappear for now.

‘Let’s get off this planet.’ Loki said as he closed the ships door.

‘Without Thor and Bruce?’ Wanda asked, looking slightly distressed.

‘They will catch up with us.’ Loki said and he joined Natasha at the front of the ship.

Natasha took off, they got up into the sky and started heading away from the city. But she didn’t break through the atmosphere yet, they gave Thor a chance to catch up. And luckily, he did. Just before they gave up hope.

Wanda opened the hatch underneath the ship and Thor flew in, carrying Bruce, who was wearing nothing but Thor’s cape after changing back.

‘Any trouble?’ Loki asked.

‘Just get us off this planet.’ Thor growled.

At that point, the Collector’s ship came up after them from behind.

‘Hold on!’ Natasha said as she steered the ship on and headed towards the nearest jump to take them back to Earth.

They managed to get away in time, only just. Both of the Loki’s helped by shielding the ship with their Seidr, to help keep the Collector from following them.

The team were all relieved when they got back to Earth in one piece. The rest of them were waiting in the kitchen for their return.

Darcy was so relieved to see that Loki was alright. She rushed straight to him, to the right one, and hugged him. ‘Glad you survived with your good looks still in-tact.’ She grinned up at him.

Loki chuckled and gave her a squeeze. ‘Would you not sleep with me if I wasn’t as good looking?’ He raised an eyebrow at her but with a smirk.

‘Hmmm… Probably not, unless your body was still as smokin’ hot as it is.’ She teased, making him chuckle again as he reached down and gave her bum a cheeky squeeze.

‘Eww. Get a room you two.’ Tony grimaced. ‘How did the mission go? Did you get the tracker?’ He asked, looking at Loki.

‘We did indeed.’ Loki had the necklace manifest in his hands and he held it up to show them.

‘It’s a necklace?’ Darcy frowned.

‘Well done, gold star.’ Loki drawled. ‘It also has healing properties for the wearer, and locates all the stones… with a little help of some magic.’ He headed to the island in the kitchen and placed it down as he took a seat.

The others all gathered around to watch.

Loki closed his eyes and put a hand over the top of it. He concentrated for a while, his Seidr energy growing, then the diamond on the necklace started to shake and there was a small beam that spouted up from it. Like a hologram, it was a map of the entire Universe.

There were seven glowing red dots in multiple places.

Steve frowned. ‘Why is there seven? I thought there was only six infinity stones?’

‘There is, six of them are your stones from your reality, hopefully where they should be. One of them is the reality stone from my reality.’ Loki said as he concentrated on the map.

‘That’s Vormir, so that will be the soul stone. There’s Asgard, where I’m assuming the space stone is?’ Loki looked at Loki and Thor.

Loki nodded.

‘That’s where we’ve just been, at the Collector’s museum, so there’s your reality stone.’

‘What? Wait a minute. Are you telling me you were within reach of the reality stone?’ Tony snapped.

Loki glanced over his shoulder at him, annoyed he was interrupting. ‘Yes. But before you say it, no. The reality stone from your timeline is not what I have come for. I need the one from mine.’ He grumbled at him then continued. ‘That is Xander, so if I recall correctly, that should be the power stone. The mind stone, well.’ He motioned to Vision who was stood opposite him.

‘And there is another on Earth. In New York?’ Loki looked around at the team.

‘Doctor Strange should have the time stone.’ Tony confirmed.

‘Alright. So that just leaves…’ Loki trailed off, looking slightly confused.

‘What? Where is the reality stone?’ Darcy asked, looking at the hologram but she couldn’t quite make it out the same from where she was stood.

‘This map shows it’s… it’s just hovering in space?’ Loki said, just as confused as the rest of the team.

[graphicabyss]

I watched The Falcon And The Winter Soldier and I liked it more that I expected, although frankly I didn't expect much. Overall, I love the setting, the cinematography and the character development. The director and the writers did an excellent job. But it also sent me down an emotional roller-coaster and that's the thing I really need to talk about.

I know there are countless rants about TFATWS, Endgame, queerbaiting and poor MCU narratives but I've never really been hanging out in the fandom until recently so for me it's my first one and I need to get it off my chest. It's gonna be long.

It was interesting to see where the show's gonna take things but start to end there was an elephant in the room. It doesn't sit well with me the way they completely sidestepped the Steve Rogers issue. Like, "we didn't make this mess, so we're not gonna go there". And it's just wrong. You can't just avoid the subject altogether and pass it on for future writers to handle. Also, you see Bucky so sad and lonely it breaks your heart. And this inevitably made me think about Endgame and Cap's storyline. I didn't feel like writing it all down after Endgame but now all these thoughts and feelings came up again and I need to get it off my chest. If they ended it all at Endgame, and I thought they did, it would have been fine, sort of. We'd forgive some loose ends. But they didn't end it there and that makes them fully responsible for this mess. I mean, I didn't hate Cap's ending. After all, it could have been worse. Steve could get together with Sharon like in the comics and they probably considered it at some point but the reactions were so bad they backed down and dragged Peggy along. Still, the ending just felt forced, no matter how you look at it. The thing is, if I knew about it after the first movie, I'd rejoice. But at this point, after everything that went down after, it just doesn't feel right.  I love Peggy and I can't deny the dance scene made me flutter a little but now I wish this was Steve's way to keep his promise before going back. In the end, Peggy would be fine without him. She had a good life, she made a career and a family. We know that thanks to Agent Carter. And we got many cues that Steve and Peggy's relationship, as important as it was, was over. Her saying goodbye to him by destroying the serum, him carrying her casket... Yet, Endgame effectively undermined that basically erasing all of these events from existence and making Peggy just a prize for Captain America.  On the other hand, Bucky needed Steve the most. And the show made it clear how bruised and broken he was. Bucky and Steve's relationship was the closest of any relationship in the MCU. At that point it was clear Bucky was everything to him, the only one who could truly understand him. Steve lost him many times and every time he fought to bring him back, no matter how impossible it seemed. When Bucky was captured Steve went into an enemy base alone on a suicidal mission and saved him and everyone else. That's basically how he became Captain America. Then Bucky got killed in the war and it devastated him. Bucky returned as Winter Soldier and there was hardly any Bucky left in him but Steve nearly let himself be killed because he needed to save him and he trusted that James would not hurt him. When Bucky finally got to his senses, there was an ultimate war going on and in the Snap James fell to dust in front of Steve's eyes. It took 5 years to get him back. And as soon as Steve succeeded, he left him, along with the rest of his traumatized friends and the world in deep chaos, to be with Peggy in 1940's, thus throwing 12 years of his life away. It just didn't feel right. That does a disservice to both Steve and Peggy's storylines. But it's not just about Peggy or Bucky. Steve going back and living his life to return to that park as an old man has opened a rift with a host of questions. I tried to get to the bottom of it but it got me nowhere.  According to Russo, when Steve went back he created an alternate reality. He also retired as Captain America. First off, I think he just made that up after to cover up the mess. If that was the case, Cap would return to the designated spot and not be sitting on a bench like he was waiting there all along. But, like, even if it was alternate reality, it could not be that different, right? He wouldn't just live in Peggy's basement, would he? He knew about the things to come like, you know, the HYDRA thing, and being the man that he was, he couldn't just sit and do nothing. Especially when Peggy was one of the founders of the SHIELD. Captain America or not, Steve would do everything to make this world a

better place. Also, if Steve went back after he crashed that plane, that means there's another Steve still locked in ice, which Russo confirmed. Even more importantly, in Steve's timeline Bucky is still with Hydra being tortured. There's no way he could leave him there. So much for the 'quiet life'. Then there are the writers of Endgame who claim that Peggy's two children are fathered by Steve. Really? That directly contradicts the earlier version that the father is a soldier Steve saved, which is shown in Agent Carter. Seriously, guys, if you're gonna make up random bullshit at least get your stories straight first.   Fans love to make all sorts of theories to try and patch up the holes but the truth is, MCU is not just one mastermind's creation and the comics weren't either. It's bound to be a mess because it's created by dozens of writers and directors and each phase gets increasingly messier because it has to fit in with the 547 previously released movies and shows. I get that and I applaud the effort of Endgame but they really can't expect us to get involved with the characters only to see them being treated as an afterthought. And the thing is, I thought that it might be just me but after a quick survey of the fandom I realized that a lot of people feel the same way. If you look at the comment section of nearly any relevant video, you're gonna get top comments saying all these things. If Marvel listened just once maybe things would make more sense. And all these thoughts aren't necessarily what I wanted to see, but what would be right for the characters. And while I do love Stucky, I'm a reasonable shipper and I really didn't expect them to be canon gay or anything, I just wished they had at least spent some time together not fighting, just healing and catching up on their lives. Honestly, I don't always like the way people ship m/m characters in every show but this time it was really more than justified. The whole storyline going through Winter Soldier and Civil War was just massive queerbaiting. It was undeniably a love story, romantic or not. "Why do you ship male characters?" some people ask. Idk, maybe if the writers put half the effort into developing m/f relationships as they do m/m ones and not just randomly throw them together I might care about them. And MCU was terrible with romance. That traumatic kiss Steve had with Sharon Carter? In the comics, Steve did love Sharon but who cares? In MCU they met, like, twice. Mostly after Peggy's funeral. Peak romance. If they had to pick a new love interest they could go with Natasha. They cared about each other, they bonded in TWS and they were both dealing with some difficult issues. But they became just good friends, which I loved. Instead, Natasha got together with Banner? And then there's Wanda and Vision, which seemed like the most random of pairings with no buildup whatsoever. The wonderful world of heteronormativity where a witch/robot couple comes before a gay one. And the thing is, I only recently learned that there's some legit leverage to portray Bucky as gay. Bucky is based on two characters from the comics. Bucky Barnes was Steve's teen sidekick, kinda like Robin, so this origin was too weird for MCU. Instead, the writers used the origin story from a character named Arnie. It was a boy Steve grew up with, a boy who protected him from bullies, and a boy who kept inviting Steve to these double dates. A boy who was gay. Which wasn't explicitly stated but was pretty obvious. And this was in 1984. So making Bucky gay would be neither woke nor against 'canon'. It would be way overdue.  So with TFTWS it was nice to see Bucky recover and bond with Sam but to me the whole ending also felt a bit excessively positive and this time the queerbaiting felt even more intentional, almost as if the writers wanted to distract the discontent fans with a new shiny ship so they forgot all the things they were mad about. Like, of course I want Bucky to be happy but also I hate the way the show's pushing the idea that he just needs to get over losing Steve and move

on with his life already because surely all his problems come from his inability to trust people and not trying hard enough, and not from being brainwashed and tortured for 70 years and then losing the only person who loved and cherished him.