#background samsteve

[bulkyphrase]

Comfort Podfic Rec List

It's been a while since my last podfic-specific rec list, and with that lore.fm nonsense it seems like an especially good time to highlight the wonderful work that podficcers do!

These are some of the podfics I rely on to cheer me up. They're all sweet, fluffy or funny, and relatively short.

but hey, you're all right read by sisi-rambles (Stucky, 30-45 Minutes, Teen And Up Audiences)

Summary: 'This is not my fault,' Tony lies. 'It was supposed to be a joke! Christ.' 'Thanks to your joke,' says Coulson, 'we now have a code three-four-delta, with the variable being a Russian immigrant. We're checking his background right now, but it might take a while. Meanwhile, I suggest you civilian-proof the Tower. If any SHIELD intelligence is compromised, I will hurt you.' Yes, this is the story where the Winter Soldier is a Russian mail-order bride. Everything goes about as well as you'd expect. Based on the story by beardsley

Baby Steve Adventures read by blackglass (Gen, 20-30 Minutes, General Audiences)

Summary: Captain America gets hit by a spell during a battle. The rest of the Avengers look after him. Based on the story by catty_the_spy (@cattythespy)

The Devil and the Wild Man read by Tipsy_Kitty (@tipsyxkitty) (Loki/Steve Rogers, 1-1.5 Hours, Mature)

Summary: Steve's dinosaur keeps Loki in line on Sakaar. This is not a euphemism, but it is also 100% a euphemism. Based on the story by Effing (@effingunicorns)

More below the cut!

Right In Front of Your Face read by sisi-rambles (Clint Barton/Phil Coulson, 10-20 Minutes, General Audiences)

Summary: Phil and Clint get engaged and go out together to spread the news. but everyone is just shocked to hear they're together. Based on the story by @ereshai

Mixed Ages Classroom read by blackglass (Gen, 30-45 Minutes, Not Rated)

Summary: For this prompt, where the Avengers are de-aged, but to different ages: Clint & Tony to young children (below 10), Bruce to a toddler (whose tantrums involve hulking out to bb!hulk), Natasha & Steve back to teenagers (with scrawny!Steve). In which Hulk is a baby, Natasha and Steve know they aren't real teenagers, Clint and Tony behave badly, and Maria Hill is not a parent but Coulson might be. Based on the story by harcourt (@haforcere)

Protocol 1985 read by sisi-rambles (Gen, 30-45 Minutes, General Audiences)

Summary: “Holy crow, it worked,” someone says. Wherein Clint and Natasha meet Howard and Peggy. Based on the story by hollimichele (@nonasuch)

Fair Shot read by hopelesse (@sheshopelesse) (Stony, 20-30 Minutes, Mature)

Summary: Captain Rogers leaps from the helicopter like a gymnast on the dismount. All the lines of his body are controlled. Perfect. The iconic round shield lies flat across his back. “How does he fit a parachute under that?” I ask. “He doesn’t,” Stark answers. “Marvelous adrenaline junkie, our Cap. Likes to almost break his ankles every time. Makes him feel like a man.” Front Line reporter Ben Urich spends a mission embedded with Tony Stark and Captain Steve Rogers on an Ultimates mission. Based on the story by @isozyme

Dad's Got Skeletons read by sisi-rambles (Steve Rogers/Howard Stark (maybe?), 20-30 Minutes, Teen And Up Audiences)

Summary: “To think he became a dad—your dad. A daddy.” He looked up sharply and saw that Steve’s smile had twisted a little bit, pulled up at one corner like a smirk, except no, Captain America did not smirk. “You know, it’s funny. I called him daddy once too.” Based on the story by kehinki

Sam Wilson: Ghost Hunter read by sisi-rambles (Samsteve, 0-10 Minutes, General Audiences)

Summary: Sam's stuck in a horror movie cliche. Based on the story by kehinki

(the kitten invasion fleet has arrived) read by blackglass (Gen, 0-10 Minutes, General Audiences)

Summary: what if the first contact with nonhuman life forms comes about in a different way? Based on the story by @labelleizzy

someone’s gonna pay for this read by sisi-rambles (Gen, 0-10 Minutes, General Audiences)

Summary: Steve as a cat. Based on the story by @lazulisong

Groundwater read by blackglass (Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers, 30-45 Minutes, Teen And Up Audiences)

Summary: Okay, she thinks, in a zen-like state of calm: given a chump assignment, she not only managed to fall in a well, she somehow dragged Captain America--living legend, supersoldier, level 7 SHIELD consultant, and Avenger--down with her. This means two things: 1) Captain America knows who she is now, and thinks she’s a dumbass, and 2) SHIELD is probably going to make her disappear as punishment (likely by throwing her in another, deeper well and pretending she never existed). “Don’t mind me,” she says faintly. “I’m just gonna drown myself now.” Based on the story by @legete

Dear Clint Barton (Circa Age 7) read by RsCreighton (@rosecreighton) (Gen, 20-30 Minutes, Teen And Up Audiences)

Summary: The most annoying parts of being de-aged (and then re-aged) are your friends. Based on the story by @pollyrepeat

Situation Normal read by quietnight (@quietnighty) (Stucky, 20-30 Minutes, Mature)

Summary: AU wherein Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers never met, Steve somehow manages to rescue the Winter Soldier anyway, and Avengers Tower ends up with the world’s angriest duckling and a whole new brand of entertainment. - (“He was dragging him out of the river,” Natasha argues later. “Nat, be honest, he was going for the Full Monty.” Says Clint. “I’m pretty sure we interrupted him in the middle of giving ‘emergency CPR’,” Tony agrees, “Or the stage after emergency CPR. Emergency Dick? Is that a thing?” “That’s not a thing,” Natasha and Clint reply.) Based on the story by redcigar

How Steve Rogers Singlehandedly Lost the Cold War read by quietnight (@quietnighty) (Stucky, 20-30 Minutes, Mature)

Note: This is a sequel/companion to the previous fic, Situation Normal.

Summary: AU wherein Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes never met, but the Winter Soldier takes an interest in Captain America anyway, and has an odd way of showing it. -- (On the helicarrier, hurrying to reach the central hub of the third aircraft in time, the chip clenched in his gloved fist, Steve turns to find a ghost blocking his path, and is abruptly reminded on what the road to hell is paved with.) Based on the story by redcigar

Get Some Now read by where_thewind_blows (@flowersthroughthecracks) (Stony, 1-1.5 Hours, Teen And Up Audiences)

Summary: Avengers Mansion has a mysterious feline infestation. Meanwhile, Steve just can't figure out how to ask Tony out on a date. And the thirteen teleporting cats sure aren't helping matters any. Based on the story by @sineala

Mercy in You by Sineala read by Pywren (@phyrrhicvictory) (Stony, 1-1.5 Hours, Mature)

Summary: When Tony comes back from a very bad D/s date, in pain and abandoned by his dom, Steve offers to help Tony out and give him all the aftercare he so desperately needs. Based on the story by @sineala

To Keep the Home Fires Burning read by blackglass (Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov, 30-45 Minutes, Teen And Up Audiences)

Summary: Maria does three tours of cat sitting duty before she and Romanoff come to be on a first name basis. She claims a whole shelf in the pantry and sneaks in two more cat mugs too. Based on the story by Woad

[ijustreallylikecaptainamericaok]

Title: Keeping Watch AO3: Part of “SamSteve Bingo 2022 Moodboards” Rating: General Warnings: None Relationship: Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson Word Count: 100 Additional Tags: Moodboard, Drabble, Fluff, Canon Compliant, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Minor Wanda Maximoff/Natasha Romanov, Background Relationships, Civil War Team Captain America, Protective Steve Rogers, Team as Family, Fugitives, On the Run, Hotels, Reflection Summary: It was hard. It was exhausting.  Notes: For the @samstevebingo2022 prompt “Found Family.”

Sometimes Steve thought about how their lives had managed to become even stranger, more unstable than they were before.

Bouncing from motel to motel. Chasing leads where they could. Covert check-ins in Iowa, San Francisco, and Wakanda. Staying three, four, five steps ahead of Ross and his goons.

It was hard. It was exhausting.

And yet, as Steve laid awake - Sam sleeping soundly in his arms, Wanda and Nat in the room next door, and as certain as he could be that the others were safe, too - he couldn’t regret his choice.

They had each other.

That’s all that mattered.

[give-me-back-my-rhodey]

Let’s Burn the World Down - AUgust Day 6

Title: Let’s Burn the World Down

Author: Purple_ducky00

Rating: Teen

Relationship: Clint Barton/Tony Stark, Background relationships: Bucky/Natasha, Steve/Sam

Link: Read on AO3

Summary: Tony falls in love with the guy he keeps meeting in the ER. Too bad the guy already has a girlfriend... or does he?

+++++++++++

For a billionaire, Tony has to go to the hospital very often. Whether it’s a lab accident, a car accident, an assassination attempt, and/or anything else, Tony finds himself in the ER at least once a month. His insurance is higher than his standards, which isn’t saying much, Tony surmises, because he’s halfway in love with the guy he sees almost every time he goes.

 They’ve seen each other so frequently that they’ve started nodding to each other and saying, “What are you in for?” like they do in the movies at the police station.

 Although he’s being truthful, Tony knows that most of his incidents sound very made up. “Oh, they sent someone to assassinate me, but I managed to flirt my way out of it with only a stab wound.” “My lab exploded.” “My robot dropped a steel sheet on my foot.” “I tripped on something and fell off my porch to the porch below.” But he is even more disbelieving of this man’s injuries.

The guy says stuff like “I shot myself with a boomerang arrow.” “I was skydiving with my dog and my parachute got caught on a tree branch, and an eagle attacked me.” “I think that pizza I ate was too old.” “My old circus buddy tried to kill me. He failed.” “I fell out of the vents, and the bad guys beat me up.”

 Today Tony comes in because he had to jump through a window to avoid Sunset Bain. He now has glass sticking out of his side, and he’s sitting calmly until a doctor can see him. The man limps in, bloody and skin mangled on his leg. The others in the ER gasp as he signs in and takes a seat beside Tony. “Hey man, what you in for?” He asks.

 “Jumped out a window to avoid my ex.”

 “Mood.” The man nods sagely. “I just battled a cougar and won. Before you ask, yes it was the cat kind, although I don’t doubt that a middle-aged woman couldn’t do this if she was rejected.” He gestures to his leg. Tony barks out a laugh.

 “Oh, they could. Trust me. By the way, I never got your name. Or did you want to stay anonymous?” Tony asks.

 The man shakes his head. “We’d go great no matter how we do it. Name’s Clint.”

 “I’m Tony.”

“Yea, I know.” When Tony looks at him, surprised, Clint pats his shoulder placatingly. “You’ve got these people fooled with your greasy shirts and hats, but I never forget a face. Don’t worry, I won’t rat you out. But why do you come to this crappy ER all the time? Aren’t you supposed to go to the ones that are made for rich people?”

 Tony shrugs. Truthfully, the first couple time he came, it was because he had happened to be in the neighborhood when disaster struck. He had struck up conversation with Clint, and he decided that if he were able to talk with him, Tony would keep coming to this ER. “I don’t know. I’m in the area a lot, I guess.”

 Tony gets that he has problems. He knows that he quickly falls in love with anyone who will show him kindness or even just the time of day because he didn’t get enough love and attention from his parents as a child. He goes to therapy, and he does make an effort to figure out which people are being nice only because they want something, which people are just simply being nice, and which people are flirting. It’s still hard sometimes, like now. He doesn’t think Clint wants something because 1.) he just said that he won’t rat Tony out and 2.) he could have taken Tony’s wallet very easily many times. But is Clint just a nice dude, or does he like Tony?

 A nurse gets Tony just as another comes for Clint. Tony lies on his side for far too long as they pull glass from his body. When he’s cleared to go, the doctor tells him, “You have to be more careful, Mr. Stark. You’re not invincible, and I’d hate to see anything happen to you.”

 “Thanks Doc. I’ll do my best.” He shakes the man’s hand.

 On his way out, he sees Clint talking to a beautiful redhead. She is reaming him out in Russian, calling him and idiot and a few other unsanitary words. Clint tries to console her, but she grabs his hand and pushes him into her car. She speeds off, still shouting in Russian. Tony’s heart drops. He has no chance with Clint now. No one would give up a woman like her for him unless they wanted something.

 The next time Tony gets hurt, he goes to the ER near his home. He is in and out shortly, but Tony feels incomplete. He misses the easy camaraderie with Clint. I can still joke with him as friends, right? There’s no harm in that. He reasons, but he chickens out the next time, when he accidentally burns his arm with his blowtorch, and then when he gets shot. This keeps happening until it has been at least three months since he last saw Clint.

 Tony gets drunk in a bar | in Brooklyn. Very, very drunk. The thing about being a Stark – you can hold your liquor very well, and even when you are so drunk most people black out, you can still walk and talk albeit hindered a little. Well, Tony is that drunk, and this is when he tends to overshare. He’s telling the bartender, a beefy man with long brown hair, about Clint. “So, there’s this guy, you know. Only time I see him is when I go to the ER. He’s really cute, he’s got like tons of biceps, and he’s funny. We used to see each other all the time, and I think I love him. But one time, I saw him, and he had a girlfriend. Super, smoking hot redhead – like I don’t even stand a chance. So, I’ve been avoiding him. It’s dumb because he doesn’t know I like him, and I keep convincing myself that I can still talk to him as friends and such, but then my brain just tells me he has a girlfriend, and I end up going to an ER near my house. You know?”

 “Not really.” The bartender grins. “But I’m not an ER regular.”

“That’s too bad. It’s fun there sometimes.” Tony pats his hand somberly. “Sometimes we freak people out with our injuries. But we’re calm. It happens so much that we’re just like ‘meh’.  The doctor told me to be careful because I wasn’t invincible, and I was like ‘ok, I’ll tell my enemies to stop trying to kill me. I hope it works.’”

 The bartender throws back his hand and laughs. Tony drains his glass of Scotch and asks for another. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” The bartender asks. What was his name? Barney? Barn?

 “Barnes!” Yells someone from the other end of the bar. “I need a mimosa stat!”

 “Shut your whore mouth Wilson!” Barnes yells back. “I’m not serving you anything after what you and Steve put me though last night!” He turns back to Tony. “The dude’s dating my step-brother, and our walls aren’t soundproofed. I hate them so much.”

 “I could soundproof your walls for you.” Tony offers. He’s not sure why he offered, but he did. It’s not like he hasn’t done it before.

 “Thanks for the offer, but Nat and I will get them back at some point. Maybe we’ll do it on the couch.” Barnes grins. “Someone else can make Sam’s mimosa. Wanda’s working that end of the bar anyways.” He gives Tony one more Scotch and says, “This is your last one. I’m going to have to cut you off because I don’t want you to die.”

 Tony quietly sips on his drink while Barnes makes other drinks. Once done, he stuffs a few hundreds in the tip jar and turns to leave when a scarlet-haired woman sits on the stool beside him. Tony blinks at her for a second, thinking that she looks familiar. Barnes’ face lights up, and he comes over to her. “Hey, come here often?” He asks, fake seductively.

 “Don’t be an idiot,” She tells him and pulls his face in for a kiss. Tony realizes why he thinks she looks familiar. She’s Clint’s girlfriend!

He spins on his stool to face them. “You bitch!” He yells at her, then clamps a hand over his mouth as Barnes growls a warning. “I am so sorry. I don’t know your situation. You could have broken up with him, or hey, you’re a threesome, or an open relationship. I’m sorry. I was just caught up… and I’ll just go.”

 Tony stumbles off the stool and heads out of the bar. Mind swirling with liquor and shame, he doesn’t notice he’s in the street or the ugly purple car headed towards him until it’s too late. Frozen, he stares down the lights until the car smacks into him.

 Lying on the ground, the last thing he remembers is a person jumping out and yelling, “What are you doing, you idiot? Tony?”

 Tony wakes up in a strange place. He feels like he should be in the hospital, but he’s not. Looking around, he sees a lot of… purple. “Ugh, no one should have this much purple anything,”

 “I take offense to that.” A voice says. Wait… that’s Clint. Tony wildly tries to sit up, and Clint comes into his line of vision. “Hey, hey lie back down! I don’t think anything’s broken, but you should probably just let your body rest for a while.”

 “What happened?”

 “I hit you with my car because you were standing in the middle of the street. Why were you standing in the middle of the street?” Clint looks worried.

 Tony tries to wave him off. “You know, just for the thrill.”

 “Tony, most things I do are just for the thrill, and I know it’s idiotic to stand in the middle of the street.”

 “Yeah well, the thing I did before it was idiotic, too, so I’m pretty good at that.” Tony sighs. He doesn’t really want to get into it because Clint will probably make him leave. Tony’s good at leaving. Everyone makes him leave after they learn his true self. Ah, well, what does he have to lose but the love of his life?

 “So, last time we were both at the ER, I saw the woman who picked you up. I guess I just figured you were dating the way you both interacted with each other,” Tony explains. “Well, at the bar last night, she came in and made out with the bartender. I called her a bitch because my first thought was that she was cheating on you. Then I remembered that it had been three months, and I didn’t really know anything about you – you might have broken up, or were poly, or open relationship. Point is, I’m an idiot who speaks before he thinks then faces the consequences, even if they’re not direct.” He is very confused when Clint starts to laugh. “What’s so funny?”

 “I can’t believe you called Natasha a bitch and still live to tell the story.” Clint says between gasps. “That’s fuckin hilarious. I am sorry that I hit you with my car.”

 Tony is thoroughly confused, and Clint takes pity on him. “Natasha is dating Bucky, the bartender. She’s my best friend and confidante. She gets angry when I do stupid things, but I still do them. We are not dating, never have, and never will. Hopefully, that clears things up.”

 “A little.” Tony just feels disoriented. This is not something he has ever had to deal with before.  

 There’s a knock at the door. This “Natasha” pokes her head in. “Hey Clint, is he ok?”

 “Yea, come in. Tony meet Natasha Romanoff. Natasha, this is Tony Stark.” Clint gestures to the both of them.

 Natasha smirks. “Hi Tony.”

 “Hi,” He says weakly. “I’m sorry for calling you a bitch. I sometimes talk before I think, and I’m sorry.”

 “Just don’t do it again. Are you guys hungry? Bucky’s making blini.”

 Clint nods. “Tell him I love him. We’ll take two plates. You like blini, right?” He directs the question at Tony.

 “I think so. I’ve only had them once or twice,” Tony says. When Natasha leaves, he tells Clint, “You don’t have to stay with me. I’ll be fine.”

 “Well this is my room, so I want to stay here. By the way, how have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while. I was starting to think you took my fancy ER comment seriously.”

 Tony grimaces. “Well, it’s a long story. But I did end up going to the ER near my house a couple times. It’s hard to get no injuries in the stuff I do.”

 “Well, I don’t blame you for going to the uber fancy ERs, you know, because there’s better service or whatever. But if you do, can we hang out somewhere other than the ER, then? I kind of missed you, man.” Clint looks at Tony earnestly.

 “The main reason I stopped going to our ER is that I saw you with Natasha and thought, ‘how could I ever compete?’ I would tell myself to just go. I could talk to you as a friend, and not me crushing on you, but I always psyched myself out when I got hurt, and I just went to the ER by my house.”

 “You’re crushing on me? Wow. I did not know that. I crushed on you the first day I saw you, and I thought you were just being nice. I’m a dumpster fire on my best days.”

 Tony shoots him a wicked grin. “Then let’s burn down the world together.” 

[six-demon-bag]

i hadnt intended to include grieving zemo, but that could be another layer of cold sad zemo 😢

i have sam being Concerned Roommate and Friend while bucky gets consumed by his new job he wont give up, because he's obsessed with getting his foot in the door as a stylist, and this seems like the only way now since he has zero (0) connections to the industry and he can totally do this sam hes fine (said with shaking hands from caffeine and working 18 hours a day)

plus smol!steve is being a brilliant designer at suitkovia and also concerned for bucky getting trampled by devil!zemo

Okay but now I need to know more about your Devil wears Suitkovia ideas. Pls. Feed me.

absolute classic fool moment from yours truly: i create prompt “it’d be so great if someone wrote this!” immediately starts plotting it the prompt i wrote up:

The Devil Wears Prada Suitkovia: Zemo is the infamous head of a fashion label. Bucky is young and desperate to break into the industry. He accepts a position as Zemo’s PA, determined to do anything and everything Zemo asks to get his foot in the door.

icecold!zemo and naive!bucky....i need it

[yawpyawp]

The gang out and about for PRIDE!

Did this instead of doin’ my day job, kids! 

Patreon | Instagram | Twitter | Commissions

[bistevethor]

Someone on twitter called samsteve a discount rhodey/tony lol. and saying sam only have a personality when steve's not around...which made me wonder if they actually pay attention to sam or not because a lot of his characteristics do shows up when he is with steve. Like their first interaction clearly shows who and what kind of person Sam was? His decision to help steve? Like even his opinions aren't dependant on Steve's opinion. He had voiced his opinions even before Steve said anything. His personality is clear and obvious from the movies for me. though of course he can always get fleshed out more. it's his background and history that we needs to know more. (Hopefully catws will give us more of Sam's history other than what we already got)

[shipskicksandgiggles]

top 5 fanworks of 2021

rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2021. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

tagged by @ad1thi. thank you!

ranked by my personal favorites

1. Pattern Recognition and Remembrance - parkner // 7.3k // autistic Harley, fake dating au, getting together // T

When Peter doesn't want to deal with his ex-boyfriend, he recruits Harley to stand in as his boyfriend despite any misgiving they might have about the plan. Neither of them anticipated a dinner date and chances that are too slim to even be considered a possibility, or the potential to unveil the truth

so back around the time I wrote this, I was doing some research on autism for a project and realizing. huh. that sounds familiar. however, a lot of autistic representation felt like it was more built for children, and as an adult, I wanted to write about it from more of that perspective. I was and still am super proud of this, and I would honestly say this is easily in my favorite things i've written ever

2. Commanding Affection - irondad and winteriron, background samsteve // 30k // post tws, what if the avengers had brain cells and ca:cw never happened au, slow burn, getting together // M

After the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes is on the run. Tony Stark makes a choice to bring him home, and a promise to the future. Steve Rogers struggles with ever increasing change, but maybe a piece of his past will help.

this was six months of my life and and easily some of my best work. I technically started this in 2020 but did a lot of it in 2021, so it counts, but I love this fic. for all it's issues, this ended up being so much fun to work with. I literally had to work backwards and fix all of my plotholes on the fly. do you know how hard it is to make up a new SHIELD? anyways yeah I was crazy proud when I finished this

3. Not Every (No Good, Rotten, Very Bad) Day - parkner, samsteve // 2.5k // what if Tony hadn't found Peter as spiderman, civilian mechanic Harley, established relationships, the author's personal frustration of people not thinking Sam is Captain America // G

Harley was having a no good, rotten, very bad day.

“If one more person tells me I look like Captain America, I’m going to lose my shit.”

this was born out of frustration and an undying love for Sam Wilson. I don't even think tfatws had come out yet, but I needed to write this. this one was just fun tbh, I didn't have any other reason to write it

4. Missing Details - samrhodeytony // 1.8k // mentions of canon character death, misunderstandings, implied stevebucky and stevenatasha // T

Steve decides that it's high time for Sam to officially meet the rest of the Avengers before he joins the team, so he asks him to attend a party where they will all be in attendance. He had no idea that this wouldn't be Sam's first time meeting some of them.

I had this idea at like 3am, and couldn't rest until I wrote the whole fic. this ship is one of my favorites, and I wish I could write it more, but I haven't had much opportunity to sincee

5. An Irreversible Choice - rhodeytony // 1.1k // post civil war, song fic, friends to lovers, getting together // G

Tony's therapist tells him to find a hobby. One that isn't building enough Iron Man suits to project a legion of people. Instead, he picks up something he hasn't touched since he was a child.

this was a prompt that I was able to work into one of my favorite songs, which was exciting. every time i reread this I yell a little bit, seriously this was so much fun and so fucking cute that I died

tagging: @sarah-sandwich @official-wayward-fairchild @official-impravidus @keenerkey @thompsborn @ anyone else who wants to reflect on their 2021

[afro-elf]

there's a special kind of annoyance that comes with watching the very same people who mocked sambucky (and samsteve) relentlessly for years, who only cared about sam as the resident nurse/therapist/background minion now claiming to love him and screaming about queerbaiting when just a year ago they couldn't give two shits about sam at all. like stay mad and stay sad and leave us alone !

i would love it if they just looked around and realized we were the baddest bitches all along just like we said we were and gave sam nation the respect we deserve but they can't even do that when they're trying to join the yacht party. sam isn't a replacement. he's not steve in a black dude's body. he's sam thee wilson, the hot girl captain

[anniethelen]

for the salty ask list: 3, 5, 14 & 19

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?

After TFATWS first aired, I did unfollow some people where we didn't see eye to eye on the treatment of Bucky's character and character arc. I'm sure they're lovely people but that much stress over differing interpretations of a fictional character was not worth it and I'd rather spend my energy on people I agree with. I found others who shared my opinion and my dash has been so much more pleasant.

I've also had to unfollow people over P*ggy Carter. Okay, before TWS I actually liked the character, and I liked St*ggy... typing that just made me gag. I didn't necessarily like St*ggy because I thought they had a well written romance, I just like tragic romances. So even if P*ggy hadn't been involved with Shield, I still wouldn't have wanted Steve to go back to her in EG because that would have ruined the romance for me.

But then TWS came around and we find out that Shield hired Nazis and P*ggy was one of the founders. Okay at first I was in denial and tried to explain everything away where she wasn't at fault, but eventually I came to terms with the fact that she was complicit. I would have then been indifferent towards her but Marvel keeps pushing her. First with completely ignoring her involvement with Hydra (and in TFATWS having Bucky take responsibility which really made me dislike her) then the no homoing in EG, then pushing C@ptain C@rter, implying that she is Steve's moral equivalent, erasing Steve's disabilities and ailments, shoving Bucky into the background, and still ignoring that she hired Nazis. (Seriously, the solution to this was to not have her work for and be head of Shield. They knew where that story was going.) And now she is getting more promotion than Sam as Captain America and this is just a huge problem. Marvel needs to read up on white feminism. I had also forgotten about the scene where she shoots at Steve and once I was reminded of it and then did a rewatch of TFA, yeah that scene is a problem. I just can't with her character anymore and I had to unfollow pro P*ggy accounts.

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

So for this one I was going to list a few ships but then I realized that I disliked them before interacting with their fandoms. Their fandoms simply made the ship more annoying to me.

So I'm very ship and let ship. I've had NOTPs that were the most popular pairing in a fandom and I've had OTPs that were the most popular ship. I tend to give all shippers the benefit of the doubt because with popular ships there are going to be a lot of annoying people and I know what its like to not want to be associated with them. And when one of my ships has a lot of annoying shippers, I seek out fans that I can gel with better and tend to block those that I find overly obnoxious or those that want to force their headcanons on everyone.

So I don't think a fandom has necessarily ruined a pairing. They just made me dislike more than I already did. I just block the tags and let those people have their fun.

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

I was having trouble with this one because the fandom is so huge that I'm having trouble finding an opinion that would be unpopular. I guess as far as Stucky goes, I don't care for modern AUs? Most of the time it feels like I'm just reading Chris and Seb or two OCs. The thing that I like about Stucky is that they are two men out of time, who went to war, were separated and found each other again in the future. I don't get that with modern no powers AUs.

Also, I don't care that much for Shrunkyclunks. For me, it takes away everything interesting about Bucky? (Not that Marvel isn't already doing that) and everything interesting about Steve and Bucky's relationship. And I wonder why not just write Samsteve?

(However I'm also for writing whatever fanfics you want to write. I don't want anyone to take this as a personal attack on those fics.)

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

There is too much fetishizing of the clothing Bucky wears in Wakanda in Stucky fanart. That is a real culture's clothing and its cringe to see a white man fetishized wearing it. Buchanan and Barnes are Scottish names. There was a huge immigration wave in the early 20th century. I think i read that 3/4 of the residents in New York in 1910 were immigrants? You guys have an excuse to put him in a kilt. (And the Barnes tartan is pretty)

[nevermindirah]

is book of nile your favorite ship?

Favorite ship in Old Guard fandom? ABSOLUTELY

Favorite ship of all time?

Yeah. I thought about it, and yeah.

The shocking volume of fanworks I’ve produced about these two in the past (checks watch) half-year is definitely in part because of quarantine (are we still gonna call it quarantine even though that means 40 days and it’s been over a year??) but when it comes down to it it’s because Nile is my character I relate to (affectionate) and Booker is my character I relate to (derogatory) and their backgrounds and hangups and flaws and possibilities and chemistry are so tailor-made for me that my OTPs of past fandoms (Sam/Steve, Matt/Mohinder, Remus/Sirius, Buffy/Spike) can’t compare.

I’ve always been a multishipper and I’ll happily read fic where Booker and his first wife are still happily married and Nile meets non-betrayers closer to her own age who make her blissfully happy. And I’m in the midst of writing a fic where Nile and Sam are cousins and the action happens when Nile is barely giving Booker the time of day and Sam dumped Steve’s ass due to Steve’s post-Civil War AU nonsense. (Unfortunately this means Sarah Wilson is also Nile’s cousin, because otherwise I am here for that pairing.)

(It occurs to me that in this post I made yesterday I didn’t mention Nile/Dizzy or Nile/Jay and that’s because for personal reasons I am beyond pissed at Nile’s squad for being upset that she survived. But in the right AU, yes please! Nile/Dizzy as exes on sort-of good terms is a personal fave of mine in no-powers AUs and if I were into reader insert it would be me/Jay all day long)

But I think one of the reasons Book of Nile has grabbed me so deeply is this pairing feels like the post-therapy evolution of Buffy/Spike. I was a teenager when Buffy was on the air and I was in an abusive household and the idea of everyone telling you you’re bad but you want to be good but you have to fight really hard to be good just did something for me at a time when I didn’t have enough access to therapy yet to understand that those two had chemistry like lightning largely because they were reenacting their traumas on each other. And here come Booker and Nile, who’ve both made some very bad choices, Nile worse than Booker if you ask the people of Afghanistan, but they both want to do good and they’re both fighting to be ok and get better and they happen to meet each other at life-defining turning points for both of them. Am I the only one? I’d love to hear from other BoN shippers who were into Spuffy once upon a time.

(PS I’ve always ESPECIALLY been a multishipper in Cap fandom and I equally adore SamSteve and SamBucky and Stucky and Steggy and BuckyNat and SamNat and if there’s ever a Peggy comes to the future AU where she gets with Sam I would like to see it)

[dontcallmebree]

For the ask: Steve Rogers (because it's almost his birthday) 💚

Hi, Shiva <3

Oh you’re right, it is almost his birthday! I’m gonna try to contain myself but I have so much love for Steve Rogers and this will be my small birthday bash for Stevie.

How I feel about this character:

Clearly, I love him. Steve’s a character who stands for what is right, no matter what. And what I love most about this is that it’s entirely shaped by his upbringing: his socioeconomic background, his family, his friends, the body he was born with, and the one he has to wield later on.

Steve is all about loyalty, trust, and hope, all of which means he’s unafraid to unravel entities that he learns is or has become corrupted.

Romantic ships:

Obviously, I’m all about Stucky. But I’m also such a sucker for samsteve. Oh and thundershield!

Non-romantic OTP:

Um, like his best friend? Sam, for sure. I also love the idea of him growing immensely close with one of the Howlies. But the real answer here is that I am championing the Steve & Bruce OTP. They would be such good friends, you can’t convince me otherwise.

Unpopular opinion:

Uh, I don’t know if I have one? Okay, the only thing I can think of is that I think Steve shoulda packed up and left post Avengers. There’s that whole thread in that movie with him discovering Shield’s plans and use of hydra weapons and all, and if the mcu were written in any coherent manner he would’ve dropped Shield like a hot potato right then.

One thing I wish happened:

Did I accidentally answer this in the last question? Hahaha I don’t know. Uh, obviously I wish Endgame had been... not the way it was. My one wish for him is to finally rest. Wherever he is, on the moon or in Bucky’s arms or both, I sure hope he’s resting and happy.

Wait, I got one! Okay this is gonna seem mean but I wish he’d just died in Endgame. Like I wish he got a big send off, he kills Thanos and gets to rest in peace. Steve Rogers the character deserves not only a decent end but a good one.

Happy birthday, Steve! I know I just said I hoped you were dead, sorry.

(Sorry this got long, Shiva, but I love him so much.)

send me a character

[ijustreallylikecaptainamericaok]

I posted 2,153 times in 2022

132 posts created (6%)

2,021 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@bulkyphrase

@cr3v

@dailyteamcap

@fuckyeahladiesofthemcu

@steverogers-centric

I tagged 2,153 of my posts in 2022

#there's only one queue ma'am - 1,846 posts

#steve rogers - 989 posts

#captain america - 959 posts

#mega gifs - 668 posts

#quotes - 658 posts

#moving gifs - 507 posts

#fanart - 443 posts

#star spangled cupcake - 422 posts

#natasha romanoff - 274 posts

#black widow - 264 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#the point is that i'm feeling like that scene in 'kindergarten cop' where mr. kimble screams his head off and runs out of the school

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Title: Keeping Watch AO3: Part of “SamSteve Bingo 2022 Moodboards” Rating: General Warnings: None Relationship: Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson Word Count: 100 Additional Tags: Moodboard, Drabble, Fluff, Canon Compliant, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Minor Wanda Maximoff/Natasha Romanov, Background Relationships, Civil War Team Captain America, Protective Steve Rogers, Team as Family, Fugitives, On the Run, Hotels, Reflection Summary: It was hard. It was exhausting.  Notes: For the @samstevebingo2022 prompt “Found Family.”

Sometimes Steve thought about how their lives had managed to become even stranger, more unstable than they were before.

Bouncing from motel to motel. Chasing leads where they could. Covert check-ins in Iowa, San Francisco, and Wakanda. Staying three, four, five steps ahead of Ross and his goons.

It was hard. It was exhausting.

And yet, as Steve laid awake - Sam sleeping soundly in his arms, Wanda and Nat in the room next door, and as certain as he could be that the others were safe, too - he couldn’t regret his choice.

They had each other.

That’s all that mattered.

14 notes - Posted December 3, 2022

#4

Title: This Love of Mine, My Valentine AO3: Part of “SamSteve Bingo 2022 Moodboards” Rating: General Warnings: Alcohol, Food Relationship: Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson Word Count: 40 Additional Tags: Moodboard, Microfic, Fluff, Valentine’s Day, Valentine’s Day Fluff, Candy, Roses, Slow Dancing Summary: N/A Notes: Made for the @samstevebingo2022 prompt “Valentine’s Day.” And yes, I know that I’m either extremely late or extremely early with this topic, but it’s what we have to work with. *shrug* Title from “My Valentine” by Paul McCartney.

Sam chuckled, shaking his head as he grasped the red wrapping paper clad gift that was soon to join the flowers and boxes of candy beside him. “Baby, this is too much.”

Steve smiled softly. “Not for you, it isn’t.”

15 notes - Posted November 26, 2022

#3

Scotty has cosplayers in Times Square and is a character in Rogers: The Musical.

Hope’s on t-shirts with Captain Marvel and Valkyrie.

19 notes - Posted March 15, 2022

#2

Title: Making the Most of the Night AO3: Here Relationship: Peggy Carter/Hope Van Dyne, Peggy Carter & Natasha Romanov Rating: T/Teen & Up Warnings: Alcohol & Food Word Count: 245 Additional Tags: Moodboard, Ficlet, Minor Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov, Minor Sharon Carter/Carol Danvers, Peggy Carter & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Girls’ Night, Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Bars and Pubs, Alcohol, Captain Carter, SHIELD Agent Hope Van Dyne, Matchmaker Natasha Romanov, But accidentally this time, Timeline? What Timeline?, Canon has no power here, Alternate Universe – Canon Divergence Summary: Peggy wants to stay home for her birthday. Natasha talks her into a girls' night instead.  Notes: For the @peggycarterbirthdaybash. I wanted to give Peggy a girls’ night for her birthday and ended up smooshing three What If…? timelines together to do it. Originally, I thought I’d go the Peggy/Nat route, but I saw an opportunity and I took it, lol. Blame my galaxy brain. Title from the Carly Rae Jepsen song of the same name. 

“You can’t spend your birthday alone! I’m calling Sharon. We all need a girls’ night, anyway.”

That was how, despite Peggy’s reservations, Natasha managed to convince her to come to the inconspicuous, obscure bar where she now sat in a booth, talking to Agent Van Dyne about quantum physics and her parents’ work for well over an hour. Not only did Peggy find the subject itself interesting, but Hope’s knowledge and passion for it was captivating.

(Though apparently not to their companions, as Romanoff and Hill had long since taken a post at one of the bar’s pool tables while Sharon and Captain Danvers were more interested in singing to each other at karaoke.)

“Sorry, about all these questions,” Peggy said. “It’s probably not very good bar talk.”

“I wouldn’t know, to be honest.” Hope smiled ruefully. It didn't surprise Peggy to hear that, she seemed the type to be married to her work, just like the captain herself had been since accidentally landing in the future. “That might be why Romanoff tried to set me up with Bernard from accounting.”

Peggy laughed. “You, too?”

With a nod and good-natured eye roll, the agent continued. “He was a decent guy, but not really my type of… person.”

Peggy couldn’t help but notice that particular word choice as well as the gleam in Hope’s green eyes that made heat creep up her neck.

Well, then. Maybe the Widow was onto something.

“So who is your type?”  

24 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Before Multiverse of Madness does whatever it’s gonna do to Wanda’s character arc, I wanted to say that one of the things that’s really stuck with me from WandaVision is the fact that the people of Westview had her nightmares and felt her grief and within a few days (maybe a week), they would chose death instead. That is how all-consuming and deep her pain runs and whatever her flaws, whatever happens next, it just breaks my heart.

475 notes - Posted April 18, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[give-me-back-my-rhodey]

Life is a Circus - AUgust Day 25

Title: Life is a Circus

Author: Purple_ducky00

Rating: M

Warnings: Violence, Animal attack, Blood and gore

Pair: Bucky/Clint/Tony

Square Filled: B3: Occupational Hazard @buckybarnesbingo

Link: Read on AO3

Summary: The Avengers as a found family of circus performers

++++++++++++++++

The SHIELD circus is the most well-known circus in the country. People flock far and wide to see the amazing Hawkeye, the best sharpshooter known to man. Iron Man’s pyrotechnics are more spectacular than ever. The Winter Soldier has the big cats trained to a single command. The acrobatics of the Black Widow are unmatched. Thor can create electricity with his hands. The Hulk is a small unassuming man who can lift record weights. The ringmaster, Captain America introduces each show with a loud booming voice. It is quite a show to see.

  Clint Barton joined the circus when he was quite young with his brother, Barney. They ran away from an abusive father. They both worked behind the scenes until the owner, Mr. Fury, saw Clint shooting a bow and arrow for fun. He noted that no matter how far or difficult the target, Clint never missed. Fury offered him a place in the show. Barney was supportive, up until he died from the newest sickness that passed through the circus train. His symptoms didn’t show up until too late, and he died quickly.

Tony is the son of a millionaire. His father has disowned him because he had refused to follow the family business of making weapons. Tony is a pacifist and will only blow things up for entertainment value.  He has bad dreams that keep him up most nights. Clint likes to be the one who holds him when the terrors get too bad.

  The next to arrive are two adopted bothers, Steve Rogers and James “Bucky” Barnes. Once hearing Rogers’ voice and enthusiasm, Mr. Fury makes him ringmaster immediately.

  Bucky always had a way with animals. Mr. Fury had acquired some new cubs, and Bucky raised and trained them, never once using a whip. He loves those cats, and they love him. It’s always a wonder to see them interact.

  Thor comes next, then Bruce Banner, who is Hulk. Everyone fits in well together, becoming a found family. Clint, Tony, and Bucky grow closer and begin to date each other. Life on the road is tough, and one needs to love those around them.

  “Next stop is St. Louis,” Bucky says, resting his head on Clint’s bicep. “I wonder if they’ll let us look around. I always wanted to see the Gateway Arch.”

  “It usually depends on how quickly we set up and the weather. Hopefully we can, though.” Tony looks up from his drawing. “I can’t wait until we get to Philadelphia. My best friend in high school lives there. We’ve talked a little recently, and I want to see him.”

  Sam Wilson, the human cannonball and Steve’s boyfriend, saunters into their train car. “We’ll be there in twenty minutes. Fury says if we get set up right away, we will have time to explore. First show doesn’t start til three. As long as Barnes’ kitties cooperate.”

“Shaddup Wilson.” Bucky flips him the bird. He and Sam have a love/hate relationship on the outside, but they truthfully enjoy each other’s company.

  Sam is right, though. Sasha and Angel have been sick the past couple of days, which makes them cranky. When the big cats are cranky, Bucky is the only one they allow near their sleeping areas. He hopes they will be ok without him for at least an hour.

  As Sam takes a seat at their table, Clint produces a deck of cards. Tony puts away his drawing, and the four play a game of Texas hold ’em until they arrive in St. Louis.

  Set up goes fairly well, and Bucky, Tony, and Clint make their way to the Gateway Arch. Clint buys them all turkey legs for lunch. Tony buys pins that they stick on their bags. They hope to collect at least on pin from each major city in the US.

  All too soon, their fun is over, and they have to prepare for their show. Clint chooses his targets and arrows, Tony finds the perfect area to set off his chemicals, and Bucky gets his girls ready for the show. Sasha is feeling better, and she shows it by pouncing on him playfully. Angel is more reserved, but he can tell she is happy to see him. Gloss runs in circles around him, and Petey practices her stalking routine. Sultan, the old tigress, lies on her bed watching them tiredly. She doesn’t do much, except emit a loud roar on cue. Bucky loves her.

  The show is about to start. Steve begins the show by welcoming everyone. He goes on his routine spiel about the wonders to be seen. Clint is part of the first act, and he kisses his men on the way out. Bucky and Tony never get tired of watching his show with Nat; the way they fly through the air, twisting and bounding. Clint shoots arrows at targets behind Natasha, and the crowd gasps as she lithely slips out of the way. Sure enough, Clint’s arrows always hit each target dead center.

  Bucky goes on near the end of Clint’s show. The crowd oohs and ahhs at the young cats’ tricks. When prompted, Sultan sits up straight and lets out her mighty roar. Bucky is happy. Everything is going well.

  Tony’s act is not until the end. He sends everyone off with a beautiful light show. Bucky is wowed by the show even though he has seen it every night for the past three years. Tony somehow outdoes himself each night.

  One week later, the circus is in Toledo. Unfortunately, so is HYDRA circus. They are known for poor working conditions and animal cruelty. Mr. Fury sets up a guard so that SHIELD circus does not get sabotaged.

  Someone still somehow sets off firecrackers near the cat car. Confused and agitated, they young cats don’t recognize Bucky when he comes to feed them the next morning. They attack, badly mangling his left arm. He is able to get them to recognize him before they do too much harm, but his arm is broken and barely attached to the shoulder. He will be unable to perform for a few months at least.

  The owners of the circus sent Bucky a letter, firing him and sending a large severance check. In the letter, they tell him they are sorry for the unfortunate circumstances, but his job does have the tendency for occupational hazards. After reading, Bucky throws the letter down in frustration. “I raised those cubs for him. I trained them all to be completely obedient. And now that I’m indisposed for a month or so, they’re going to fire me?”

  “They what!?!?!” Tony is incensed. He storms over to Fury’s tent, Clint following closely behind, with the letter and demands to know what’s going on.

  Fury shakes his head. “I didn’t vote for it. Barnes is the best in the field, but you can’t reason with dumbasses.”

  “You call the owners.” Tony smiles sweetly. “And you tell them that if they fire Bucky, I quit.”

“So do I.” Clint puts in. “And you know I bring in most of the crowd. I haven’t missed yet, and you know about the betting pools.” He crosses his arms. “Let us know what they think.”

  Bucky cries when Fury tells him that he is ok to stay on. His arm heals as best as it can within the span of a few months. Steve and Tony design tattoos for Bucky to get to hide the scars on his arm.

  When the circus finally gets to Philadelphia, Tony introduces his best friend, Rhodey, to them. Rhodey fits in quite well with the others for the few days they stay in Philly. They say goodbye to tour the rest of the country, but once this tour is over, everyone as a whole decides to retire from life on the move.

  They buy a large house in the Philadelphia suburbs and live as one happy family. Rhodey moves in once his apartment lease is up. Tony’s parents die a year later in a car accident, leaving their fortune to Tony. He buys a bigger house and becomes their sugar daddy. Everyone lives happily ever after.

~Fin

[sunnyteacups]

This morning I decided to do something a little out of character for me and I meandered my way into the Sam/Nat tags on Ao3. This was mostly bc of this really beautifully written Sambuckysteve fic with past Sam/Nat in it and I thought wow! I need more of this! This is beautiful! So I looked and first of all i did the thing where u can search for relationship tags and the suggestions were interesting. There was obviously the SamSteve and Sambucky and the expected Sam x reader but then we get into to the 👀 what did I just see category. And I don't mean to yuck anyone's yum but someone tell me why the fuck there's a Sam/Hermione Granger tag??? Not a fucking ampersand, a SLASH!!! What!!!???? I'm also pretty sure I saw a Sam/Loki/Thanos fic but I'm pretty sure I blacked out at that point.

Anyways moving on to my original point. There should be more SamNat content!!! Like healthy SamNat content where they are the focus and not just the background of a St*cky fic. Also I feel like a lot of ppl forget that Sam not only lost Steve but Nat too! The three of them went on the run together! Like yeah Ik ik everyone hates old man Rogers but at least he's alive maybe?? He's old ASF and wrong for not discussing the shield w/ Sam first but at least he's alive! He can be visited at the nursing home and if he does die at least they get to say goodbye! Nat died while they were dust! No goodbyes!! They were in battle in Wakanda and then they were dust and he comes back and one of his best friends ( or lover if ur hopping on this train w me) is dead!!!! How fucking sad is that!!! Like does he even know about her gravestone? Was there a funeral? Did he go? I would like to know!!! Anyways this was incredibly long I typically don't do that sorry.

[buckwilson]

what i’ve done in 2020

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works (fics, art, edits, etc.) you’ve created this year and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2020. If you don’t have five published works, that’s fine! Include ideas/drafts/whatever you like that you’ve worked on/thought about, and talk a little about them instead! Remember, this is all about self-love and positive enthusiasm, so fuck the rules if you need to. Have fun, and tag as many fellow creators as you like so they can share the love! <3

thanks for the tag @blacklavenderjade and @honestlyfrance !!! i didn’t do that much this year, but i do have some favorites out of the stuff that i have done!

1. how endgame should’ve ended is #1 as it was one of my first real attempts at editing/getting familiar with photoshop. there are literally like 20 psds on my laptop of me just trying to figure out how things worked lol. it was also one of my first edits with heavy altercations (erasing old steve from the original screencaps, moving the shield so it was next to sam, moving sam’s head positions, etc.)

2. sambucky social media au #1 is second not for any particular reason, i just really liked the first one a little more. this was in the works since... march maybe? and it started out as just instagram profiles for both sam and bucky (and steve, tony, and peter at one point too) before i decided to make it a little more in depth. it was a Lot of fun coming up with backstories for all of the posts as i added pictures in, and i can’t wait to continue this au in 2021!!

3. sambucky western au moodboard is next because i’m really excited to continue working on this au (which will most likely be a lil comic!!!) next year. i only created/posted this to give a sort of background for the character design sketches i’m eventually gonna post. 

4. boys sharing some fruit is an absolute favorite of mine oh my gosh!!! it was the first drawing of mine that i shared on here, and the very little feedback i got made me so excited!! it goes along with my trans sambucky headcanons (and will most likely get its own fic if i ever work up the courage to write again sksjdks)

5. last but not least, my trans bucky barnes headcanons!! they weren’t as popular as my trans samsteve headcanons, but they’re really a personal favorite of mine <3 it was purely just self indulgent, and was mainly inspired by another short fic i wrote but never worked up the courage to post

i’m probably not gonna tag anyone because it’s probably already 2021 for most of y’all, but feel free to do this if you see it/if you want to!!

[margarethx]

I feel like one of the reasons why Sam and Bucky work with each other so well as a duo in is the fact that they are at the same (or almost the same) level of importance when it comes to the MCU. They are in a similar position as characters.

Let me explain...

----- ------- -----

Before tfatws Sam Wilson was a character from the background. He is important for the overall storyline, but he’s not at the front of any movie. Even in ca:tws he was less relevant to the plot than e.g. Natasha. He’s necessary and there is a significant reason he’s there at all, but at the end of the day it’s a Steve Rogers’ movie. Not Sam’s. And even if calling Sam a sidekick is most of the time insulting - at least within the MCU - he kind of is a sidekick. That’s the role he has in the narrative. There’s a main hero (Steve) and a guy who follows his lead to help (Sam). Of course Sam has his own life and issues that have nothing to do with Steve, but we don’t even know them at this point. And here we’re looking at Sam through the lense of the Captain America movies.

Almost every scene with Sam before tfatws was connected to Steve. Sam joined the fight in ca:tws to help Steve. He was in AoU, because Steve invited him to Stark’s party. He was in Civil War, because Steve asked him to join the Avengers and he wanted to help Steve with finding Bucky... Similarly, Sam had his own opinions in Civil War, but we only hear them when it’s relevant to Steve’s story. (When Sam and Rhodey argue about the Accords they stand behind Steve, because the scene is about him making the decision.)  Even in Ant-Man, where there is no Steve at all, Sam mentions him after Scott left. Etc, etc. You get the picture.

And the same goes for Bucky.

We only see him in ca:tfa where his story is intertwined with Steve’s. When Steve gets his ass kicked before he got the serum. Or when they go to the Expo. Or when they fight during the war. Even when Bucky is saved by Steve it’s less about him being finally free and more about Steve finding his friend again. In ca:tws their meeting is told mostly from Steve’s perspective. It’s a film about Steve facing the Winter Soldier not the other way round. And later viewers don’t see Bucky’s life as a fugative untill the moment he becomes important to Steve’s storyline again in Civil War. And so on and so forth. It goes like that basically from Bucky’s first appearance in the MCU to the last scenes of Endgame.

When Steve and Bucky are fighting on the same side Bucky’s role could also be described as: “a sidekick”. Just like Sam’s.

----- ------- -----

And I honestly believe that this is the reason why pairing Sam and Bucky together makes so much sense. Even if you put aside the obvious chemistry between the characters and their actors it just works for them to join forces in multiple scenes.

Both of them walked in Steve’s shadow before they got their own show. Not because they’re less interesting as characters or because Steve’s storyline is better, but because Steve is one of the main heroes in the entire MCU while Sam and Bucky were always orbiting around him in a way. And we, as the viewers, learnt very little about them outside of the stuff that was important for their relationships with Cap.

Why do we know about Sam losing Riley? Because Steve also lost someone who fell to their death. Why do we see Bucky killing Stark’s parents? Because it’s a movie about Steve’s conflict with Tony (mostly) and it’s just one of many things that makes the conflict worse. I’m not implying it’s unfair to the characters or something (even though I’d love to see them having more sceentime in general)... It’s just the role they serve in a story, because someone has to be in that position for the narrative to flow. You cannot make every character “the main one”. That wouldn’t really work.

----- ------- -----

But then... When Sam and Bucky are together we suddenly see much more about both of them outside of their connection with Steve. It’s almost like destiny how they always end up in close proximity. They seem to naturally gravitate towards each other ever since they’ve met. And it looks like taking them away from a big, important character (Steve) makes them shine brighter. Most of the little moments they shared became iconic at some point when they were just allowed to exist together.

And again... I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy seeing their interactions with Steve, because I do. Especially Sam’s. But it very often feels like they interact with each other because it’s important for the progression of the plot. When Steve talks with Sam it’s often about their next mission, or how Sam helps him with something, or to show that Steve has difficulties with adjusting to the modern world. And when Steve talks with Bucky (at least after ca:tfa) I always feel like there should be a narrator’s voice talking over a scene, telling me: “see? they were friends in the past, before the war... this is important! pay attention”.

Meanwhile, when Sam and Bucky interact, some scenes just... happen for no purpose. Like they interact, because they want to, not because the script told them to. There’s absolutely no plot-related reason for showing Sam and Bucky sitting in that tiny car in Germany. Or for showing them standing together in Infinity War when Thanos attacks.

What the two of them have is completely different from what they had with Steve in the past.

----- ------- -----

To be honest, it always bothered me a little how Steve never really did anything for Sam (freeing him from prison where Sam landed for helping Steve doesn’t count). It’s always Sam making Steve feel better and standing by his side. So it’s a very glaring contrast, when we got to see a whole separate montage where Bucky visits Sam and helps him fix the boat that was important to his family. Or when he casually throws a shield with him for practice, asks Sam if he’s okay, and brings him a new super-hero suit even though Sam never even asked for these favours or suggested that he needs Bucky’s help.

And I know that some people won’t like what I’m about to say, but Steve and Bucky really don’t act like they are particularly close to each other most of the time (especially after their first movie). I believe that they were friends before everything went to shit, but after ca:tws? Not really. They cling to that label, because of their shared story and because Steve cannot let go of the past, but they just... don’t act like they are friends anymore. It’s like they both changed too much and don’t know how to deal with that. So they don’t. It’s like Steve is only attached to some past version of Bucky that no longer exists and the new Bucky doesn’t fully match his expectations. Sam on the other hand has no expectations at all. He builds his relationship with Bucky from the fresh foundations. The creators don’t need to bring back some shared memories from 70 years ago to prove that these two have a strong connection. They just show them doing stuff together. The argument about The Big Three? Petty revange over a car seat? Discussing music tastes? Having “sleepovers” and giving each other slightly mean, but harmless nicknames? Discussing mental health? Having staring contests? Watching goddamn sunsets? That’s what people who are close to each other do.

And that’s why these two simply... work.

It’s not just implied or explained in a flashback. “Look, viewer. They are friends. I know they don’t act like they are, but trust me. They went for a dinner a decade ago... offscreen.” Sam and Bucky even refused to call themselves friends! They’re a couple of guys (allegedly). And yet I still know they like each other very much from the way they interact, speak about each other, or look at each other.

And I really think that one of the main reason’s why it works like that is because they’re both equally crucial (or irrelevant at times) for the story. Both are just as (un)necessary for the plot to move on. Sometimes they are very important and sometimes the plot would easily work without them. ca:tws could’ve happen without Sam. Civil War could’ve technically happen without Bucky if they put more emphasis on the Accords. There were both certainly unnecessary in Infinity War or Endgame. But there’s no way the events in tfatws would’ve happen without both of them being there together. Sam might’ve never taken the shield and become Captain America if it wasn’t for Bucky. Bucky would’ve spent countless years trying and failing to make amends and never finding peace if it wasn’t for Sam. The fandom likes to focus on only Bucky, but you wouldn’t get this much content about him if there was no Sam to share the story with him.

Because they just fit together perfectly.

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Last disclaimer (because I really don’t want people to get the wrong impression): I actually like Steve. And I like Samsteve (romantically or platonically). Platonic Stevebucky is alright too. But it just kind of... pales in comparison when you see what Sam and Bucky have. Most MCU relationships pale in comparison if I’m being honest.