#granted in canon i wouldve been fine with them being close friends cause i know my ship contradicts the catws line

[niennavalier]

And now a bit of Endgame ranting cause I saw a post on it. And to just call bullshit on the time travel thing at the end.

Granted, just to clarify: I dont take that much issue Steve going back for Peggy, in terms of character and story. AKA: yes, I ship Stucky, but this post isnt about that relationship. Do I think it wouldve worked better to give Steve closure in terms of moving on and finding a new family? Yes. Do I think it wouldve been really nice to have Steve and Bucky and Sam and the Avengers being that family in the present? Kinda yeah. But did I kinda expect them to go this route anyway? Also yes, based on Steve's vision from AoU.

If they hadnt just had old Steve at the end cause that RUINS EVERYTHING.

IIRC this was later explained as being essentially a full, closed loop, where Steve always went back in time and lived with Peggy and was always Peggy's mysterious husband that the fandom has always wondered about. And that this works because an alternate timeline is only created when an Infinity Stone is moved through time, as explained by the Ancient One. (Which is already just so damn specific like why would you know this one thing?? But I guess there's magic so I cant argue there all that much)

But this still DOES NOT MAKE SENSE.

Just on the writing side, this really feels like a desperate attempt to cover a plot hole. Because the explanation is "oh, well it's a time loop because we never said it couldn't be a time loop". And while that's fine for fanfiction, fanfiction isnt a multi billion dollar grossing film. Like, yes that explanation isnt wrong, but it's so messy, because there was never any precedent set up for it to ever be a time loop. They did such a great job explaining how travelling back in time would cause timelines to diverge, that I, at least, understood that to be the type of time travel they were playing with. And it works! But the lack of explanation of time loops in the movie makes it hold up terribly if you're SOLELY watching the movie. I mean, you shouldn't need to watch interviews to understand the movie. Basically, its sloppy, so I reject the possibility.

Also, it just messes with canon? I doubt I need to explain the whole "Steve is too much of a dumb golden retriever to be able to live in the past and not change shit". At the very least, no doubt he'd save Bucky from Hydra. Nuff said.

But mostly, it messes with Peggy, especially with the Agent Carter show. For one, that scene at the end of season 1 which was written for her to let go of Steve and move on? That suddenly means nothing - the same problem as with Steve - except for some reason this pisses me off more? Like, how DARE you mess with Peggy Carter's character arc, you monster. Also, it makes the timeline strange? Because if this is supposed to be read as a full loop in which Steve was always her husband (which I assume they're justifying with the fact we never got confirmation as to who her husband was) then that means he didnt show up until after the events of the TV show. Season 1 starts in '46 and season 2 starts a year later. And if season 2 also spanned a year, he didnt show up until 1948, at least? Which just...why?? Steve has no reason to go back to a time 3 years after the end of the war. (Frankly, I'm of the opinion he wouldve gone back far enough to help in the war...and maybe taken Rhodeys advice and pretended he jumped out of the plane, idk. But still, gone back to the same year, at least, as when he was originally presumed dead.) But even if he was smart enough to wait until after 1945 so as to not mess with the timeline that much...why 1948? Why wait that long, or longer, when his entire reasoning was because he wanted to get that life with Peggy? Just...what??

Also! That line from the recording in Winter Soldier. The only reference we've ever had as to who Peggy's husband was. About Steve saving a battalion in 1945, and her husband being from that battalion. I personally remember this line being tossed around a lot because it was the reasoning that Daniel couldn't be her husband because he was discharged before then. But it should also mean Steve isnt her husband because then he saved...himself? Yeah, maybe time travel incident and he poofed himself into that battalion on accident so past him did actually save future him. But 1) that's fucking convoluted. And 2) again, why wouldn't he be in Agent Carter? Which means this is just apparently a complete lie, and the only evidence we thought we had is actually nothing at all. Or the logic behind that statement is like "Steve also saved himself by saving the battalion because they got through the Hydra blockade safely" but...I'm sorry, that's dumb, and I cant imagine Peggy talking around a point like that. (And no, she wouldnt be talking circles like that to conceal the fact Steve is her husband cause you know what would be easier? Not making that reference at all.)

Plus the fact this was clearly never their plan? Fairly certain the Agent Carter writers said at some point that the show would answer that particular mystery (all the more reason it should've gone longer) and I highly doubt this wouldve been said answer. Also just the existence of the Steve and Sharon ship in canon because uh, gross. (Although again, this wouldve been fine if they hadnt just put old Steve in at the end because then Steve wouldve gone back and made a divergent timeline. Meaning that Sharon in the original timeline wouldn't have...known Steve when she was a kid? So at least theres that?)

(Personal opinion is that the original plan was to have Steve die in Endgame because of that scene from AoU and the implication seeming to be that he gets back to Peggy somehow. Not necessarily dying instead of Tony or anything, but just that he wouldve died. Or at the very least, they weren't planning to have old Steve show up because of problems)

Rant over.