#highly competent Bucky

[escaping-to-fiction]

Bucky was also a physics nerd (affectionate)

(Image direct from IMDB)

As a means of procrastination, I’ve been going down a rabbit hole of research about real life John “Bucky” Egan (mainly post war), and I noticed something interesting that I don’t think I have seen mentioned in the ‘Master of the Air’ Tumblr tags yet, so thought to share it, but apologies if I have missed it and this is common knowledge.

It also fits in well with the BAMF!Bucky, and highly competent and intelligent Bucky posts I have seen floating around in the last couple of days.

---

Gale Cleven wasn’t the only physicist/physics nerd (affectionate) in the 100th. It looks like that Bucky graduated from Georgetown University a couple of years (1948) after the war with a bachelors degree in Physics. This is mentioned in the USAAF bulletin/obituary about his death/funeral, and in at least one newspaper obituary about his death too (I am pretty sure I found a second newspaper article that mentioned it, but I lost track of it). (references are in the hyperlinks and shown as photos attached after the read more cut off)

According to this newspaper obituary, before the Korean war [but after Physics degree? my assumption], Bucky was the assistant director of education (must have been good at teaching?) at the Air Force ground operational school at Southern Pines, N.C. He became a full colonel while there in 1951.

His military obituary also says that after Bucky came back from the Korean war (1950-1953), he attended the National War College starting in the summer (August) of 1957 and then by July 1958 was back at work with new orders – a year would be enough time for a Masters degree, although I can’t find any further publicly available information regarding what he studied there.  

In the years between the Korean war and his time at the National War College, he was stationed in Japan and Hawaii.

(His Wikipedia page also mentions that before joining the USAAF that he also went to St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota, the only other source that says this is this newspaper obituary. No mention though of what he studied there.)

---

So, Bucky like Buck probably had multiple degrees which I thought was interesting in itself, but of particular interest was the fact that one of them was in physics. So I am now imagining Buck and Bucky both geeking out about maths/space/flying physics (aeronautics) etc. (maybe to the exasperation of everyone else). Or did Bucky pick up his physics interest from Buck and did he then attend every one of Buck’s calculus classes in the Stalag, or did he help him mark the homework? Lots of potential fanfic gold!

Below the cut there are some of the references as images if you don't want to use the links

(Tumblr has made this one blurry - HD image via this link, but I have added the whole text to the image description if that is more convenient)

[writingfanfiction]

“Ten things I hate about you” - Chapter One

Pair: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Modern High School AU. Skinny sophomore Steve Rogers is new in school. After meeting fellow sophomore Natasha, he quickly develops a crush on her. However, Steve finds out he can’t ask her out because her dad won’t allow Natasha to date if her older sister, the senior Y/N, doesn’t date first. The only problem is: Y/N has no interest in dating whatsoever. With the help of his new friend Sam Wilson, Steve comes up with a plan to find Y/N a suitable match. The best candidate? The most dreaded senior in school, Bucky Barnes.

A/N: Loosely based on the movie of the same name.

“Ten things I hate about you” masterlist | Main masterlist

*****

You weren’t usually a violent person. Far from it actually. You truly believed violence was the very last resort to deal with any issue. However, John Walker not only wasn’t someone you could reason with, but he also brought the worst in you. Which was why you had barely sat foot in school property when your knee went straight between his legs. You were sure most people wouldn’t blame you even if they didn’t know why you had attacked him. It was John Walker after all. The only problem was that Mr. Coulson wasn’t like most people, so all he saw was you kicking the school’s star running back, and he didn’t bother to learn why you had resorted to violence. “Nothing is an excuse to be violent towards a fellow student, Miss Y/L/N,” he said. And that was the reason why you were on your way to the principal’s office even before your senior year had officially started.

Right outside of Principal Hill’s office, May Parker, the principal’s secretary, sat at her desk typing away in her computer. Upon seeing you, she smiled brightly at you. “Good morning, Y/N! I see we are starting the year at full throttle,” she chuckled. May liked you, and she had said so on multiple occasions. She liked your no nonsense attitude, and believed most of the time you had good reasons to behave like you did. To her that meant that most of the time you shouldn’t have been sent to the principal’s office.

“Always a pleasure, May!” You smiled in greeting.

She adjusted her big frames at the top of her nose and asked you, “How was your summer, Y/N?”

“Oh, you know. Your ordinary teenage summer.” You shrugged.

May smiled knowingly. “I hardly think you had an ordinary teenage summer!”

You chuckled. She knew you too well! “Well, it was my ordinary summer and I’m a teenager, unfortunately, so...” You shrugged. “How was yours?”

“Good! Peter and I went to the beach for a couple of weeks.”

“I’m glad you had a good time.” You smiled at her. You were genuinely happy for May. It was good to see her managing to get back on track after the untimely death of her husband.

“Thank you, dear.” May smiled again, understanding what you left unsaid. Before she could dwell too long on sad thoughts, she continued, “Please, do be seated. Principal Hill will be with you in a moment.” She pointed to the waiting chairs, where you were surprised to find a seated Bucky Barnes.

Bucky had disappeared from school during junior year, never having returned after winter break. Multiple rumours abounded as to the why of that. They went from clearly believable possibilities to the most absurd hypotheses. You were quite sure he had neither become a hair model in Japan nor become part of some motorcycle street racing gang. You weren’t friends with Bucky Barnes, but you knew the guy pretty well not to believe the absurdities you heard through the teenage grapevine.

Bucky had been your classmate ever since kindergarten, and ever since you could remember the two of you had been competing for the title of best student in your class. You were both highly competitive, and had been trying to best each other at everything. Although he was extremely annoying to you due to your competitiveness, just as you were to him, Bucky had been a sweet, sort of golden boy until ninth grade. He had been genuinely nice to everyone, a model student and a model teenage boy. He was like a ray of sunshine, short shiny hair perfectly combed, colourfully but tastefully dressed and all smiles. He had been a star football player who had made it to the varsity team in ninth grade. Even though he had made it as a benchwarmer, no other freshman had made it to varsity. Then, something happened during summer, before sophomore year, and Bucky became this unapproachable loner who let his hair grow, wore a great deal of black and leather, and who was trying to kill himself by smoking too many cigarettes and driving a vintage Harley. After whatever had happened, to most people he was clouded in an aura of mystery that made most people afraid of him, while at the same time most girls fawned over him. The only thing that hadn’t changed, however, was his competitiveness to be the top student in your class. You never understood why. Sure, there were rumours that he was just naturally gifted and didn’t even have to study to get good grades, but you knew that wasn’t true. You were there to witness his presentations, that guy put effort in his school work.

You and Bucky had a strange relationship. While you wanted to best each other, you still didn’t really hate each other. Moreover, you were probably the only person who wasn’t afraid of him, why would you be, and you friendly bantered. There were also times when your competitive nature made you two end up together in Principal Hill’s office.

It seemed he was back from wherever, though, as for some reason he was also waiting for Principal Hill on the first day of senior year. What could he possibly have done so soon? You paid a moment’s attention to him. His already long hair seemed longer, his face had a couple of days stubble, and he looked bigger than before. But what struck you the most was the fact that he looked more man than a teenage boy now. Sure, he was eighteen, lawfully an adult, but most seniors didn’t look manly.

“Y/L/N.” Bucky said by way of greeting and nodded his head at you.

“Barnes.” You sat down next to him, dropping your backpack on the floor.

“Did you miss me?” He smiled mischievously at you and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Every single day!” You answered sarcastically in a high pitched voice and put a hand over your heart.

He laughed at that and you couldn’t help but smile. His genuine laugh had always been lovely. Not that you would ever say that out loud. Bucky continued, “What are you doing here before the first class of the school year had even taken place?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

“Yeah, but I asked you first.” He smirked.

You had no problem sharing what had happened, and you and Bucky had been in those same chairs many a time, so you just let the smirk slide and answered, “Walker.”

“Say no more!” Bucky put his hands up.

You chuckled and asked him, “How about you?”

“Walker.” He winked at you.

“Now, don’t make me wish to best you at that as well, Barnes!” You joked.

He smiled again. “I don’t know… I punched him in the face. How can you best that?” He challenged you.

You were the one smiling mischievously this time. “I kicked Walker’s genitals.” Bucky made a face and squeezed his legs together. You heard May chuckle in her desk and you sent her a smile. She also didn’t like Walker.

“You know, I concede this round. You bested me this time, Y/L/N.”

“How gracious of you!” You smiled sarcastically.

“You know, I thought you were adept of non-violence.” Bucky smirked at you, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He knew all about your opinions. Well, most of the school did, since you were quite vocal about them.

“Well, sometimes violence is the only way, Barnes. Like when a jerk crudely comments on your best friend’s rear.”

“The Carol Danvers wasn’t the one who kicked him in the nuts?” Bucky’s eyes were wide open.

“I was closer to him.” You shrugged.

“Of course.”

After a moment, you asked him, “How about you? Why did you punch Walker? Did he crudely comment on your ass as well?” You smirked.

“Ha. Ha.” Bucky said in a monotone. “Funny, but no. He was harassing some poor freshman in that alley at the other side of the street.”

You put both of your hands over your heart and sarcastically asked him, “The Bucky Barnes protecting the weak and oppressed?!”

Bucky shrugged. “Consider it my good deed of the year.”

“Of course.” Bucky smiled at you and, once again, you couldn’t help but smile back. At that moment, you realised you had kind of missed bantering with him.

You heard Principal Hill’s door open and you looked at it. “… And remember, anything you need, we are here for you.” She took a step out of her room and, upon seeing you and Bucky, she sighed, forgetting all about the scrawny blond boy behind her, effectively preventing him from leaving the office and making him witness your interaction. “I cannot believe this.” Principal Hill threw her arms up. “What are you two up to already? You hadn’t even had your first class of the school year, you can’t possibly have exploded the chemistry lab again!” The blond boy behind her was suddenly scared.

“We didn’t explode the chemistry lab!” You defended yourself.

“Yeah, we exploded a couple of beakers and test tubes…” Bucky shrugged.

“Maybe an Erlenmeyer flask…” You added.

Principal Hill sighed. “What are the two of you doing here?”

“We are here separately. We caused different, totally unconnected ‘problems’” You air quoted the word problems. John Walker was the real problem.

Bucky nodded and added, “Although, we are here coincidentally because of the same object in our acts of violence.” You nodded.

Principal Hill pinched the bridge of her nose. “What. Did. You. Do?”

“John Walker-” You and Bucky started in unison.

Principal Hill lifted her hand to interrupt you. “I see. You are free to go. No matter what you’ve done to Walker, I’m sure he’s also at fault.” The blond boy behind her was shocked the principal was letting trouble makers off the hook. You and Bucky smiled, grabbed your backpacks and got up.

Bucky walked to Principal Hill, and in a low tone said, “You know, Hill, I’ve turned eighteen while I was away. You know what that means, right?” He wiggled his eyebrows. You rolled your eyes. The guy really enjoyed playing with fire.

Principal Hill tilted her head and smiled at him before firmly saying, “James Buchanan Barnes, get your ass off my office before I sent you to detention on your first day back!” Bucky only chuckled.

“Goodbye May!” You waved at her on your way out.

“Always a pleasure, May!” Bucky saluted the secretary before following you.

In the hallway, your friend Carol awaited you. You opened your mouth to talk to her when you heard Bucky behind you. “I’ll see you around, Y/L/N. You won’t have it easy like you had last semester.”

“I’m not worried, Barnes. You’ll just be lagging behind me, exactly like you’ve been since High School started!” You tilted your head to the side and gave him a fake sweet smile. He repeated the gesture and walked away.

“I didn’t know he would be back.” Carol said as you two started walking. You shrugged. She continued, “You know, you two have great OTP potential.”

You looked at your friend as if she had grown another head. “Did you smoke something while I was in there? That’s Barnes you’re talking about.”

“I know.” She smirked at you. “But now that I think about it, you guys had always had this super weird, but strong, chemistry…” You rolled your eyes and pinched your friend. “Ow! What are you doing, Y/N?!”

“I’m just checking if you’re not an alien shapeshifter who’s pretending to be my best friend.” Carol didn’t look amused.

*****

Next chapter coming soon

[buckets-and-trees]

Good Luck

Collection: Buck's Eleven Characters/Pairings: Steve and the team Word Count: 620  Summary: The team gets a double dose of news with less than an hour to go before the big heist.

Logistical Notes: All you need to know is Bucky and Steve put together a team to knock over a casino New Year's Eve 1960. None of the pieces in Buck's Eleven have to be read in order, though they do tie together. You will see some familiar dialogue in here borrowed from Avengers Endgame.

COLLECTION: Buck's Eleven | Bookings and Rings

↠ Aspen's Ask Box | Masterlist | Field Guide to the Forest

“I’m sorry, did I miss something?”

Everyone in the room turns to look at Peter.

“Bucky’s been arrested?”

“Yeah,” Steve responds.

“And you don’t find this concerning?”

“No, why would it be concerning?”

“We’re 45 minutes from call time and you don’t find this concerning?”

The truth is Peter is not the only one who’s got concerns, but the others were split on various levels between alarm and trusting Steve’s calm, and it’s just that Peter was the only one to voice it in the group.

“No. We’re a group of highly competent professionals. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“O…kay.”

“Maybe we should discuss some realignment though,” Sam says.

“Sure, but you’re still with the kid.”

“I’m not a kid,” Peter scoffs. “I’m twenty-five.”

“And it’s real cute,” Fury offers from a few feet behind him.

Peter jumps, not knowing the older man had been standing directly behind him. “Torres is only eighteen months older than me.”

Joaquin flashes him an apologetic grin and can only shrug.

“Right,” Steve turns to Joaquin. “You think you can cover Buck’s role?”

He blinks for just one second, then answers, “Sure. Absolutely.”

“And look, Pete,” Steve turns back to their grease man. “I want you to know I appreciate you voicing your concern. It shows a genuine commitment to open communication, and that’s a highly undervalued currency.”

The door to the suite bursts open with Scott tumbling in, a briefcase in his left hand. “I don’t know if you’re going to like this news, but the Prince of Wakanda just touched down at the airport with car service requested for The Riviera.”

“Seems His Royal Highness must be a fan of boxing.”

“Okay, I don’t love Buck arrested, but royalty in town and at The Riv? That puts an additional twenty armed security on the ground, easily,” Clint chimes in.

“Not including his personal guard detail of likely four Dora Milaje,” Tony adds, a shit-eating grin on his face as he looks up at Steve from where he’s preparing a martini at the bar cart.

Steve looks from Tony to Nat, who shrugs an easy shoulder, completely unconcerned.  

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Steve counters. He waits for another moment, his eyes make a concentrated sweep across the room, studying the faces of each of the other nine.

No one says a word.

“Right then, this is it. We have a chance to take down the house. You know your teams, you know your missions. No mistakes, no do-overs. Most of us are going places we know, doesn’t mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the job of our lives, and we’re gonna win, whatever it takes.” Steve let’s half a second sit comfortably in the air. “Good luck.”

With that, the team disburses - all except Fury, who’s looking at Steve, cigar perched in his left hand, looking at Steve.

Steve sighs and puts his hands on his hips, leaning his weight to his left leg, and cocks his head slightly. “Well?”

“Don’t look at me, you and Buck put this operation together this time, this is your team, I’m just here to play my little part and pay the bills.”

Steve nods. “It’ll work.”

“Course it will. And if it doesn’t, we’ll be surrounded by friends in the state pen.”

Steve cracks a wry smile. “As if you’d stay more than a night.”

“I can’t help that I’m very well connected and richer than the rest of you.”

Steve’s smile turns to a smirk. “But you haven’t got any other friends.”

“Which is why I’d get all of you knuckleheads out pretty quickly. Now let’s go take all of Pierce’s money and put a black mark on his reputation.”

COLLECTION: Buck's Eleven | Bookings and Rings

↠ Main Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

I do not do tag lists, but FOLLOW @buckets-and-stories and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS to be updated any time I publish a new work!

[theshipwars]

Going through results and noticed a few things I thought were interesting:

None of the shipping irl people won. Is that people being uncomfortable with shipping real people? Or is simply a result of the matchups and people prefer the specific ships each one was up against.

Also, despite having 5 ships in the running (definitely a highly saturated franchise with only one other having more ships competing (Stranger Things had 11) none of the Harry Potter/JK Rowling ships won (again, lack of popularity? Or response to JKR’s irl actions?)

And while there were a few characters in multiple ships (Eddie from Stranger Things, Batman, Bucky from the Avengers, etc.) Unless I missed one somewhere, Zuko from Avatar is the only character to be a part of 2 different ships going to round 2.

Sasha and Marcy from Amphibia didn’t make it to Round 2 alone, but as a polycule with Anne they succeeded. (Marcy and Anne made it through as 2, but they were also against characters from Harry Potter, meaning JKR’s politics could have had an impact on results).

Woah, this is a big one, Anon! But very good analisis!

Real people shipping has lost its popularity lately. While I was never a part of it, I think everyone was aware of it in any fandom space. People are generally more uncomfortable with it, but some of the matchups were also a factor in why they didn't win.

And yes, I believe that JKR being a terf has impacted the Harry Potter ships. When I first joined tumblr, they were huge. Could it just be a lack of popularity? Sure, but tumblr is the social media that has let go of Harry Potter the most. I really like this reflection in the polls.

Your other two points are more tricky to speak of, but personally, I think it has to do with Zuko and Anne being more popular and being more "main-characters", if that makes sense?

Anyways, very good Anon! I'm excited to see what you cook up for the next polls!

[murder-popsicle]

🍐 : how intelligent is my muse overall? are they smarter than the average person, or less than? are they primarily self-taught, or did they acquire most of their knowledge in school? are they more street smart or book smart?

@oftomorrow || fruity headcanons || accepting

Bucky is quite intelligent, though in the present day she often feels dumb because she's surrounded by scientific geniuses like Bruce Banner and Tony Stark. But she's always been above average; she was a very good student as a girl, and she graduated high school as salutatorian of her class. She's definitely got book smarts. She's also got street smarts, probably in equal measure. She's self-sufficient, competent, canny, and resourceful -- always has been, always will be.

Zola's serum did give her brain a boost, though not as much of a boost as Dr. Erskine's serum gave Steve. Bucky insists that Steve has always been smarter than she is, and she's probably right, but the gap between them is smaller than she thinks it is. Bucky may not be a bona fide genius, but she's an excellent tactician, highly skilled in mathematics, grasps scientific concepts quickly, has a real knack for learning new languages, and reads voraciously. You'd definitely want her on your team for bar trivia night.

[themculibrary]

Food Masterlist

Assassins Should Not Be Pastry Chefs (ao3) - empathyandapathy clint/natasha G, 1k

Summary: Prompt from tumblr user avengingthefandom. Clint and Natasha cooking and making a mess, because what else would happen?

Baking Powder (ao3) - dara3008 steve/tony T, 2k

Summary: Steve witnesses a strange sight in the middle of the night... Tony Stark baking. Maybe it's time to get to know the man better.

Birthday Cake (ao3) - nightwalker steve/tony E, 1k

Summary: Steve is decorating a cake. Tony is all about that.

Cheeseburgers In Paradise (ao3) - kayura_sanada steve/tony T, 861

Summary: It was when Tony wiped the mustard off his face that Steve realized he was in love.

Cracked Hearts Under Iron Ribs (ao3) - XtaticPearl steve/tony M, 14k

Summary: Rhodey is away for almost six months now and comes to meet Tony after the mission. He doesn't understand the domesticity of the whole Tower and unknowingly sets off a whole truck of insecurities which make Tony crawl back into being a Stark instead of just Tony. The team is not at all happy and Rhodey joins them in trying to figure out a way to help their resident genius feel better in his skin.

Food American Style (ao3) - vanillafluffy clint/phil, bucky/maria T, 3k

Summary: The Sniper!Bros get a food truck.

Food for the Heart (ao3) - LagLemon steve/tony G, 14k

Summary: After being introduced to a gourmet food on a budget blog by Pepper (a gift for her elderly, cheapskate mother) Tony starts cooking again. The recipies are good, but the blog owner is even better. Still, Tony isn’t so sure Captain America, the guy who runs the blog, can compete with Hot Bagboy, the gorgeous blond who works at the grocery store.

Frosting Fights Are Anything But Fair (ao3) - Heartithateyou steve/tony G, 936

Summary: Tony and Steve are in the middle of making a cake for Bruce's birthday (Steve's stupid idea) and somehow it ends up in a frosting fight.

Green Curry (ao3) - FestiveFerret steve/tony T, 4k

Summary: Steve, who was the nicest most generous person in the galaxy and would give you the overly tight shirt off his back - and had done so more than once for Bruce, after a surprise Hulking - got weird about one thing: food.

if only you could see me (for the pie that i am) (ao3) - bitelikefire (theoleo) steve/bucky M, 35k

Summary: In which Steve is the proud owner of Frost; a semi famous local bakery in D.C. And despite the overwhelming insistence that it’s about time he start dating, Steve swears up and down he isn’t ready for that.

Or as of recently, just doesn’t have the time because of Mr. Barnes. The highly demanding wedding planner on the phone who keeps asking for nearly impossible deliveries and maybe Steve would like to personally strangle him. Maybe.

(There is pie. And misunderstandings. But a lot more desserts and eye rolls.)

Like Cotton Candy Clouds (ao3) - buckybarnesdeservestobehappy (hutchabelle) steve/tony T, 1k

Summary: The only thing Bucky loves more than cotton candy is cotton candy on Steve's lips.

Love in the Hearts (ao3) - Lumeleo steve/tony T, 4k

Summary: When Tony criticizes Steve's taste in imported candy, he finds himself at the receiving end of the wordiest silent treatment he's experienced to date. However, after overhearing a discussion between Steve and Fury, he starts to suspect there's more to the whole mess than just Steve being stubborn and refusing to admit that new tech always, always trumps everything.

Who would have thought pieces of processed sugar could be so very useful?

Marshmallow World (ao3) - AllegedlyAnn steve/bucky T, 3k

Summary: Movie Night with the Avengers, Christmas Edition: Including one hopelessly dense Bucky who does not get hints, hot chocolate with marshmallows, a very soft pullover worn by Steve that makes an excellent pillow, and Lucky being a good boy but also a trip hazard.

never leave alone from a corner table (ao3) - earlofcardigans (sorelymythtaken), tascioni clint/phil G, 6k

Summary: Clint and Phil have most of their meaningful conversations over fries and milkshakes.

The Avengers and Food (ao3) - mybrotherharry steve/tony, clint/phil G, 3k

Summary: The Avengers have rituals. A lot of them are about food.

The Coffee Bandits of Greater Manhattan (ao3) - daroos clint/phil. bucky/natasha, steve/tony T, 39k

Summary: A Coffee Shop AU with a twist. Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff were thrown together by fate but now run one of the most successful food trucks in the five boroughs. This is a story of how they came to be, how romance can bloom in strange places, and how the bonds of family aren’t always constricting.

the ice-cream truck experience (ao3) - haveufoundwhaturlookingfor steve/bucky G, 650

Summary: Sam is astounded when Steve and Bucky say that they've never heard of an ice-cream truck, so he takes them out to get them their first ever ice-cream from an ice-cream truck.

Yellow Card (ao3) - superstringtheory steve/bucky M, 3k

Summary: Bucky enters the annual Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island in New York. He's very determined to win. Happy birthday indeed, Steve.

[zenaidamacrouras1]

Hello Hello Hello!

For the fic ask, how about 51 & 61 (Backhoe)?

Thank you, have a good Saturday, & happy caulking! 💛

HI I got distracted cleaning out the fridge and didn't get to caulk it up yet. The fridge is clean and I am rewarding myself with social media before I re-arrange a closet because ... I don't know why I'm putting off the caulk. I do love a good caulk.

51. Does what you like to write differ from what you like to read?

Not really, as far as fiction goes. I'm very sensitive and have realized that well-written exquisite books of heartbreaking genius seriously fuck with me long term, so I try to mainly read stuff that has a happy ending, and wish more great authors would write happy books. I like stuff with highly competent characters cleverly solving problems. I guess plot, is the main difference. I am not great with big plots. Emotional arcs I can handle, but plot arcs more complicated than "they meet, do a series of regular life things and maybe fight a little and then fall in love" are still way above my paygrade. Also I find them boring to write because, I dunno. You have to like, make a plan? I wish I could write a cool heist fic or something.

I read a lot of nonfiction. Which. May surprise literally no one.

61. In Backhoe, what’s your favorite scene that you wrote?

If you asked me this question - about any of my fics - I'd probably have a different answer every day. Since I am currently writing Backhoe, I am very fond of the scene I am now actively working on (in the back of my mind while I caulk), which is Christmas themed.

Of scenes which are published...maybe chapter 9 where (spoiler alert) Steve and Bucky have their first kiss?

Fanfiction writing asks post

[winterhawkbigbang]

Winterhawk Big Bang 2022 Masterlist!

We've come to the end of posting, and are so happy to confirm that all expected fics were completed on time this year! There were 11 fics created for this year's bang, with an amazing assortment of related artworks created to go with them! This list has gathered them together, in alphabetical order by author's name. They are also all collected on AO3 here.

Through the fire by asamandra

Art by mightymightygnomepriest / veryrach

“O-kay,” Bucky said, and extended the o for a few moments. He looked at Peter. “What was that?” “You have no idea who that was, right?” He asked. Bucky shrugged and shook his head. “No. Should I?” “Have you ever watched the Olympic games? That’s Clint Barton!” Peter said. He tried not to roll his eyes when Bucky just stared at him, but failed miserably. “Do I have to google him?” Bucky asked now exasperated.

Running Out of Mind by aww_writing_no

Art by noxnthea

Clint Barton was finally living a blissfully uneventful life as a biosystems engineer on the space station BOBs2 when an unexpected encounter finds him on the run with a stranger who strangely doesn’t feel like a stranger. Bucky Barnes spent the last seventy years in cryosleep after crashing into an asteroid and woke up to find himself being chased by the same group he was on the run from seventy years ago. The problem is he can’t remember what they want with him or why he has all these memories that don’t make sense.

Boris the Soviet Love Hammer by bittercape

Art by amoredition

One of the early things Bucky discovers about himself (apart from a tendency to cope with trauma through dark humor) is that apparently, he has a competence kink a mile wide, which is not helpful considering the fact that he now lives in the same building as Clint Barton, who is not only hotter than the sun but far more competent than expected. Fortunately, Tony is there to “help” as Bucky tries to survive watching Barton on missions, fighting robots, doing DIY - in other words, just living his highly competent life. Featuring: Clint in purple booty shorts and body glitter PowerPoint presentations Maiming of robots Unhealthy coping mechanisms Snarky commentary

Two Snipers at the Theater by buckybarnesdeservestobehappy

Art by PanoramicSubDrop

When Bucky Barnes finds Clint Barton in a dumpster in Brooklyn, he’s not sure why anyone in the Avengers accepts Hawkeye as part of the team. Still, Bucky’s lonely, so when Clint offers Bucky his extra ticket to see Rogers: The Musical, the two head to the theater. Horrified by the portrayal of their friends and colleagues, the two leave the theater, get drunk, and stumble back to Bucky’s apartment together. Bucky realizes there’s a lot more to Clint than dumpster diving and a smart mouth and that being grumpy isn’t as easy to do when he’s genuinely comfortable. In fact, he might even be happy.

TSEGI by deluxemycroft

Art by noxnthea & Pietray/Quicksillver

When Thanos Snaps, half the universe does not decay into dust. Instead, they turn and begin to attack the other half. Caught in the aftermath, Clint Barton makes his way to Wakanda to try and help, only to end up with more than he bargained for.

Off Leash by FestiveFerret

Art by shadowdustcosplay & noxnthea

Clint has returned from serving overseas to an empty apartment with no job, no friends, and no life. A chance encounter in a dumpster at 3am solves the no friends problem in the form of a one-eyed golden retriever called Lucky, who then promptly solves the no job problem by inadvertently introducing Clint to the idea of walking dogs for a living. Except there's this unfairly hot, unfairly competent, surly, sexy, maddening competition in the form of one Bucky Barnes, and Clint isn't sure if he wants to throw a tennis ball at his head, steal all his clients, or start humping his leg. Possibly all three.

The Moon sings a lullaby by hopelessly-me

Art by amoredition

Bucky and Clint were living their best lives- they had successful careers, just adopted their daughter, and had amazing friends. They had the world in their hands and nothing could bring them down. Until Clint came home with a letter from NASA, offering him a stint on the ISS; it was both his dream come true, but it couldn't have come at a worst time- their daughter wasn't even six months old yet. Nonetheless, Bucky urged him to go- when else would he get a chance like that? Now Bucky had to navigate how to be a parent on his own while his husband was hundreds of miles away from Earth.

Hold Your Nerve by Inktastic1711

Art by bittercape

Clint has been doing just fine since the Blip. He sees Kate, he shoots arrows, he eats pizza. Until Bucky starts hanging around. It's not the first time a former assassin has turned to Clint for friendship, so he lets Bucky into his life. Not everything goes according to plan. AKA, the One Where Clint Gets Accidentally Kidnapped

The One Where Clint is Bucky's Weakness by JinxQuickfoot

Art by Rufferto

There’s only one choice he’s being given, and he’s not making it, he’s not, even though he knows the words she’s going to say next, knows the only threat she can make that will spur him into action. “Choose one, or we hurt both.” -------------------------------------- When Bucky, Clint, and Steve are captured by HYDRA agents, their leader enacts her brutal method for bringing back the Winter Soldier.

Deep in the shadows (into the light) by Lacerta

Art by PanoramicSubDrop

Bucky Barnes has a bloody past that should never see the light of day. He has wrongs to avenge and he won't stop until the last of HYDRA is wiped out, for both his and Clint's sake, and for the safety of other creatures as well. Bucky Barnes has a new best friend, Steve. Bucky has a wolfdog carrying a human name. He doesn't talk much about his private life and whatever it is that keeps him canceling plans at the last minute. Now, if only the two lives of Bucky Barnes stayed separate, wouldn't that be nice?

don't care what you did (as long as you love me) by mightymightygnomepriest

Art by bittercape & VexedBeverage

When Bucky Barnes returns to New York after being deprogrammed in Wakanda, The Avengers are shocked to discover that he and Clint have already met. Clint’s not delighted to have this previously-unknown part of his history dragged up after all these years, but he also doesn’t want to keep secrets from his teammates, so he agrees to tell them the story of how he met the Winter Soldier. After a job goes south, 21-year-old Clint finds himself stranded. In order to get out of town, he takes a job as a tribute act while trying to lay low. Unfortunately, this brings with it a whole new set of problems, including learning dance routines, uncovering whatever super-sketchy business his new bosses are into, working out how much body glitter is too much body glitter, and figuring out why he keeps getting butterflies in his stomach whenever the super-hot bodyguard-slash-dance instructor looks at him. Behold as The Amazing Hawkeye ignores good advice and makes terrible choices! Gasp as our favorite archer juggles spying with rehearsals! Marvel in wonder as he explores his burgeoning sexuality!

[buckets-and-trees]

DARE: ok so you've written bucky as a mermaid and bucky as a minotaur, but what about a character as another mythical creature—werewolf, vampire, incubus, or something else?? (apologies if you've written others i just didn't see them!!) - @witchywithwhiskey

since I did a run of Minotaur Bucky asks, this seems like a great one to finish out the second day of the sleepover...

THANK YOU, MOLLY!

You are correct - only I've only got Mer!Bucky and Minotaur!Bucky in my library so far.

I want to do something this fall during spooky season.

What I want to do is an Incubus!Bucky. But in this one I'm gonna be honest and say that right now I don't feel like I can do it. In this niche of the fandom, I feel like there are some truly wonderfully epicly good Incubus!Bucky stories, and while I have no problem writing my own story where there are already many others (mafia to a Stucky post-end game AU in Brooklyn to royal AUs), I don't feel like I have a story that I could tell yet that's unique enough for me to want to trot out my own Incubus!Bucky. I don't want to compete with what is out there - don't get me wrong - it's just that I don't want to write something that I'm not desperate to add to the collections of what's out there, if that makes sense?

Hahaha, this might be stupid, but on the table next to me right now I have two Starbucks tumblers, and this is maybe the best analogy for that. I in no way needed to buy two of these cups. I don't need five of them. But between my tumblers from Starbucks and my tumblers from Disneyland/Disney World, how many do I have? Eleven. There is no logical reason for me to have eleven of them. But my soul was desperate to own each of the ones that I do. (I also know this because I recently went through my cup cupboard and took the ones I didn't want anymore and donated them to the local thrift store.)

So when my soul snags on a story for Incubus Bucky that I know at least I will love as much as what's already out there, not gonna do it.

And kinda feel the same about werewolves and vampires and any other beast or creature. If I have the right story, I'll write anything.

(and I will say I'm highly susceptible to inspo/suggestions when they are presented in delicious and tempting ways)

Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[thezombieprostitute]

Gonna be thinking about this all day and adding things as I think about them.

Jake Jensen: I know we always call him our Golden Retriever but I think Jake would actually be more of a Pound Puppy Mutt. So happy to be rescued and eager to please.

Hal Carter: Peacock. The man can really be quite the show off, especially for a pretty girl. Sometimes to his own detriment.

Curtis Everett: Wolf. Fiercely protects whoever he considers his pack. Willingly competes with other packs for resources and territory for his own pack.

Bucky Barnes: Owl. Sharpshooter/sniper, able to move silently and quickly. Good at working solo. Loyal to loved ones. Still kinda dumb, but we love him anyways.

Steve Rogers: Honey Badger. Super reckless to the point you think he's an idiot but actually really intelligent. Tunnel vision. Survives so many more things than he really should.

Lee Bodecker: Hippo. Way more muscle than people think. Also way more dangerous. Has a great PR team making people think he's nowhere near as dangerous as he actually is.

Nick Fowler: Tiger. Attention grabbing, make-you-stop-in-your-tracks yell. Camouflage shouldn't work as well as it does. Takes attacks on himself and ones he cares about very personally and will not stop until perpetrators die horribly.

Lloyd Hansen: House Cat. Prefers to be waited on and have others follow his orders. Loudly complains and lashes out when things aren't going his way or he's not being pandered to. Has a high body count. Needs enrichment because, oh dear lord, you don't want this man to get bored!

Ransom Drysdale: Border Collie or Australian Cattle Dog. Basically, high intelligence and able to manipulate sheep/cattle to do what they want. Also puppy dog eyes that can, and will be, used against you to get out of trouble.

Mace: Raccoon. Highly intelligent and capable. Always seems to have a plan. Survives a lot more than they should.

Lovelies, my boss has done her own personality assessment of the team using animals. Busy Bee, Shark, Teddy Bear, Raccoon, and more. I'm supposed to get more info at happy hour tonight, but with no context yet I'm apparently 100000% a golden retriever. ❤️

Now I want to assign our fictional husbands animal personalities. 😂

[shurisneakers]

harmless (x)

Summary: Bucky volunteers to go stop a small time villain, but nothing can prepare him for what exactly he has to deal with. (Bucky x villain!reader, drabble series)

Warnings: cursing, frustrated bucky, dramatic reader, anxiety, smidge of angst, mentions of violence

Word count: 7.8k (i went overboard. clearly.)

A/N: as well all know, i am a humanities student writing science geeks. if any of this sounds unrealistic or nonsensical, it’s because it is and i am honestly too exhausted to research data privacy and AI so here’s my take on how STEM should work i.e. the power of friendship  <3 major shoutout to @iamlittlesparkler for the idea for this chapter!

here’s my ko-fi if you’d like to support my writing <333

Previous Part  || Series Masterlist

“As you know, we have a busy week ahead of us.” 

Coffees line the conference room table, pens click against the stacks of paper that settle in front of various agents and the smell of deodorant mixed with post-training sweat lingers at the back of the room like a disgusting witch concoction. 

“The annual parade is coming up and since there are a few security threats, SHIELD has been asked to step in. Therefore, all of you will be working security this week, possibly even at the parade.” Murmurs broke out in the room the minute this was said; mostly from first year field agents who were way too excited to have earpieces and fingerless gloves. 

Bucky, on the other hand, doesn’t think much of it. They’ve dealt with threats before, most were declared empty the minute it got out that SHIELD or the Avengers were involved. It’s the 12th one that year. 

“That’s only if we don’t catch it first,” Steve continued. “Our first priority is precaution. The tech and analytics teams are working on it. However, if you see anything suspicious, bring it up with Director Fury. He’s going to be around to make sure we’re not overlooking anything. Do you have any questions?”

More whispers erupted at the mention of Fury’s name. Wait till they realise he lives up to his name when they accidentally manage to set him off just by existing incorrectly.

Bucky smirks at the thought.

“You can leave then.” Steve straightens up as chairs shuffle against the carpeted floor, over twenty people leaving the room.

“And remember, if you see an eagle today, be sure to stand there and thank it on behalf of Steve for its service. Freedom! Liberty! And whatever else,” Tony calls out from the corner of the room, earning a sigh from the captain. Others only snicker as they close the door behind them.

“Thanks.” Steve stares at him stone faced, bemused at the symbolism that had been bestowed upon him.

“Gotta keep the patriotism high.” The only ones that remain are the official team. Bucky thinks that he should have left with the other agents but apparently, it was rude and not a good show of team spirit.

“How serious is this threat anyway?” Clint has his head face down on the table, hand holding his to-go coffee cup so it doesn’t fall over. 

“We’re not sure.” Steve finally takes a seat on the chair in front of him. “It’s the biggest event we’ve had this year, wouldn’t put it past them.”

“If it’s those Welsh kids again, I’m gonna punch a hole through their house this time,” Clint warns, voice muffled through the furniture. 

“It’s not them, we checked.” Nat had her leg up on the armrest of Clint’s chair. “Tech team’s been working overtime to figure it out.”

“You have anything that could help?” Sam sends a nod towards Tony.

“I got a few things but it’d take a while to put it together.” 

“Didn’t you learn quantum physics in a night?” Wanda’s picking apart a cookie into pieces, chewing slowly.

“Thermodynamic astrophysics,” he corrects her. “Quantum science took lesser.”

Bucky scoffs slightly at the brag, eyes still trained on the table in front of him. Maybe if he made no noise, they would forget he’s here.

“Yeah, so this should be a piece’a cake.”  

“If your cake was somehow made out of a highly specified tracker that somehow doesn’t violate the data privacy of the entire world while analysing millions of terabytes worth of information, then yeah. A piece of it.”

“What he means to say-” Bruce interjects, “-is that we’re trying. It’s just taking longer than usual.”

“Well, the parade’s this Sunday. Think it’ll be done by then?”

“Hey FRIDAY,” Tony crosses his arm over his chest. “How many hours have I slept this week?”

“Three and a half, boss.”

“How much more will I be getting?”

“From previous experience, about six.”

“Yeah, we can get it done.” Tony looks back at Steve. 

“Ask someone on the tech team to help you out.” Everyone was well aware of Tony’s bad coping mechanisms and how futile it was to get him to change his mind about it, but they still tried.

“They’re too busy.” Bruce pressed his lips into a straight line. 

Bucky tunes out at this point. If he could help, he would have reluctantly chimed in by now, but he couldn’t. 

“So what now?” Sam rips Clint’s doughnut into two, keeping one half for himself while leaving the other to the latter who still hadn’t lifted his head up from the table.

“I actually asked Fury if I could call in an external to come help,” Tony pipes up. 

“And he agreed?” Nat raised an eyebrow.

“After he realised I wasn’t going to leave his office until he said yes.” He pulled out his phone, rapidly typing out a message before hitting send. “It didn’t take too long.”

“Do we know this person?” Steve asks a little suspiciously.

“Well-” Bruce sneaks a glance at the broody man on the chair, “-kinda.”

Everyone can tell Bucky isn’t paying attention by the way he’s glaring holes into the plant. He doesn’t mean to, it just so happens that it looks like he wants to kill it. Nobody tends to bother him during meetings, knowing well and fully that he did not care.

“You’re about to.” Tony jumps up, making his way to the door to pull it open.

Bucky perks up. An open door means they can leave, right? He can go watch The Bachelor? He’s not sure what everyone was talking about, but if the meeting was over he could go ask Wanda who was always kind enough to help.

“Our newest recruit,” the billionaire announces, quickly adding the next part, “on a trial basis.” 

Bucky looks at the door.

His jaw drops open.

“No,” he says loudly, posture immediately stiff as a plank. 

“Hello to you too, Barnes.” You roll your eyes before sending a small wave to everyone else. “Hey everyone.”

“What are you doing here?” He looks like he’s seething. 

“Don’t tell me you forgot about our date.” You cross your arms over your chest in defiance. “You told me 3 o’clock, you player.”

“What is she doing here?” He whips to Steve for an answer.

“Hey Y/N,” Sam greets with a smile on his face before Steve can reply.

“Sam Wilson, good to see you again.” You grin.

“Right back at ya, sugar.” 

Wanda looks amused, Clint finally lifts his head off the table at the mention of your name while Nat takes her feet off his armrest, and Steve’s body relaxes when he realises what’s going on. 

“Okay.” Tony claps his hand. Bucky shoots daggers at him. “As you all know, this is Y/N. She’s going to working with us this week.”

“This is ridi- how did you even find out about her?”

“Aside from the fact that she’s all you talk about?” Clint snorts. Bucky shifts his glare to him. It was bullshit and an exaggeration and Clint was going to get a shoe up his ass very soon.

Your grin only grows bigger.

“We saw one of the repulsors she made some time ago,” Bruce answers his question like the sane person that he is. “Tony’s had her in mind for a while.”

“Repulsors? How on ear-” Bucky connects two and two together before turning to Sam. “You. You got her this job.”

“Sam’s my best wingman.” You send him a small heart made from your hands. Whether the pun was intentional or not, no one would know.

“Don’t look at me, I had nothing to do with this idea.” Sam raised his hands to brush off the blame.

“You’re a villain,” he points out loudly.

“I’m a saint.” You raise your hand to your heart in mock offence. “I have done nothing wrong in my life, ever.”

“Listen, Robocop,” Tony interrupts your conversation, bringing the attention back to him, “I cleared it with Fury. He’s the boss here.”

“Fury doesn’t know-”

“What don’t I know?” The atmosphere of the room changes the minute he saunters in. 

With an eyepatch on his face, gaze sharp and a long black coat, Nick Fury puts Bucky’s dark outfits to shame. Not like he was competing. 

Bucky doesn’t continue his sentence. Nick’s imposing presence loomed at the doorway, putting a stop to the ridiculous arguments that were beginning to boil. Instead, he looks at you, only to find your attention trained on the man of the hour.

“Nicholas,” you half cheer from where you had shifted to in the middle of all the commotion. 

Nicholas?

Nicholas?

No one had ever called him Nicholas. 

“Y/L/N,” Nick addresses in return. “Been a while.”

“You haven’t come to the lair in months, Nick.” You pout at him. “I even sent you an invite.”

Bucky furrows his eyebrows. Since when are you on such good terms with Fury? Since when was anyone on good terms with Fury?

“It must have gotten lost in the mail,” he fires back, “Or maybe it’s because I just happen to be the busiest man in the damn country. Take your pick.”

You roll your eyes, muttering something under your breath, but the good natured smile on your face shows that you didn’t take any of his passive- or straight up- aggressiveness to heart. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise I was interrupting your little tea time.” He looks around the rest of the room with an edge in his voice. “Don’t you all have work to do?”

“We do,” Tony interrupts, holding up his hand before pointing to Bruce and you. “Everyone else just sorta sits around and looks pretty.”

“I’m gonna go talk to the organisers, see what spots are most vulnerable.” Steve stands up. “You coming?”

“Yep,” Sam responds, flicking Clint’s shoulder to drag him along. “Come on, man. When was the last time you took a shower?”

“I’ll go see what the kids are up to in training. They’re probably flying off the handle right now.” Natasha brushes off crumbs from her lap. “Barnes, you in?”

Bucky silently shakes his head, eyes focused on you as you introduce yourself to every Avenger who walks out of the room, sharing a small fist bump with Sam.

“I’ll do it,” Wanda volunteers instead, finally leaving behind only the Science Bros, you and Bucky in the room with Fury. 

“I’ll give you a tour of the lab.” Tony beckons and you nod, following him. “New eyepatch, Fury? Prada, I assume?”

“Stark,” Nick says curtly. 

Bucky stares after you, arms still folded across his chest.

“Any problem, Sergeant?” 

Other than the fact that his arch nemesis was now working with his friends, no, not really. But that did seem like a pretty big one.

“No,” Bucky mumbles instead, getting up from his place finally.

Apparently, no one else was worried about the possibly lethal combination of you and Stark, even with Banner there to dilute it. 

Fine.

Guess he just has to observe you the whole week.

Well, half a week. It was Wednesday. 

He observes inconspicuously over the rim of his coffee cup. He has a newspaper spread in front of him at Bruce’s table. 

It’s not suspicious. He’s been there multiple times to sit in silence with the scientist who occasionally tinkers with something while engaging Bucky in tidbits of conversation. He finds it calming, refreshing even

Today he has an agenda. Everyone knows about it too. 

“You know he’s staring at you, right?” Bruce looks up briefly from the giant blueprint laid in front of the group. 

Tony had been dragged away to get a proper meal into him after he stayed up for 36 hours straight with caffeine keeping his system running. 

“He has a tendency to do that.” You’re looking over the plan the three of you had come up with the day before. There were certain changes to be made in terms of efficiency. “Turns out if you annoy him, he stares harder.”

“We’ve heard about the inventions. Inators, he calls them?”

“Yeah,” you point out something on the sheet, drawing a circle around it to come back to later, “only good things I hope?”

“He doesn’t really talk much.” Bruce writes down a small comment against your arrow mark. “But if he hated them, he’d have a lot to say. So I’d take it as a compliment.”

“Would it annoy him if I did?”

“Probably.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment, then. Pass me the ruler?” You draw a line connecting two pieces. 

Bucky’s ability to lip read is excellent but he refuses to do it, for privacy purposes. He knew that SHIELD had pulled some strings and had another teacher substituting for your classes the whole week since your other option was to come only after school hours. Anything else about this plan was murky.

“You gonna sit there all day?” Tony looks over his shoulder, following his line of sight.

“I’ve done it before.” He continues to look over the newspaper at you with your finger extended at something on the blueprint as you explained something to Bruce.

“You look like- how do I say this nicely.” He wasn’t going to. “A fuckin’ stalker.”

“I’m supposed to stop her from doing anything evil.”

“Sure.” Tony snorts. “That’s what this is. Should I get you a fedora and sunglasses while we’re at it?”

Of course Stark wouldn’t care; he brought you into this project. It was pretty much impossible to get him to agree with Bucky.

Bucky just narrows his eyes and continues his observation. 

The menu of the cafeteria keeps changing. They like to keep things interesting.

Every time they do, Bucky spends too long staring at the menu, trying to figure out what exactly is familiar enough to order. Vietnamese week had him eating pho the entire duration it stayed.

“You plannin’ on eating anytime this century, sarge?” He recognises your voice immediately. 

He knows what time your break is and he knows that you generally eat lunch in the cafeteria with the science team. Generally, the three of you pour over solutions and debate points all through the meal, and he spends the time getting acquainted with his new, lowkey Instagram account. 

He blocks the Bucky Barnes hashtag the minute he gets an account again. God save his eyes from people asking him to break their back like a glow-stick. However, one afternoon of accidentally watching three cat videos has led to his entire explore page being taken over by them and he’s been trying for three days to get it to stop. 

“Just trying to-” he tilts his head. “-understand what I’m reading.”

“Not a big fan of Greek food?” You join him in looking at the menu. 

“Never really had the chance to try.” Tony and Bruce don’t seem to be in the room, probably pushing aside their meal to work on it as they’ve often done.

“Ah.” You already had your order in mind but you wait there. 

Two minutes later he’s still staring at the menu. He can feel your presence next to him, unmoving. It unnerves him.

“Why are you still standing here?” He cranes his neck to look at you.

“I’m just seeing how long it takes for you to order.” You shrug. “So far it’s been five minutes and forty six seconds. Forty eight now.”

“Go away.” The concept of someone standing beside him, waiting for him to do something reminded him far too much of him trying to bag his stuff at the grocery counter rapidly while other customers waited to pay. 

“Six minutes and thirty seconds. This is just sad now.”

“Your face is sad.” It was pathetic that he had now resorted to this.

It earned a laugh from you. 

As entertaining as it was to be able to get on his nerves by just standing silently next to him, you finally ask, “Do you want a recommendation?” 

He eyes you wearily. “You gonna give me food poisoning?” 

“Not today, no.” You shake your head slightly. “Maybe tomorrow.”

He stares a little longer. You remain unshaken in your offer.

“Fine.” He sighs, stepping aside. 

You tell him that since it’s his first time, you’d get him something basic. He thought it made sense. 

He argued with you when you ended up paying for the both of you, only shutting up when you told him he’s holding up the line and that he could pay you back later. It doesn’t stop his incessant mumble complaining. 

He ends up with gyros at his table and you sitting opposite him with your meal. He asks where the Science Bros are. You tell him it’s Science Hoes now, as christened by Tony, and that they’re in the lab.

“So?” You look at him eagerly.

“What?”

“How is it?” you urge, nodding at him.

He takes a cautious bite, really taking his time with it to annoy your impatient ass. 

“Well?” You raise your eyebrow at him.

“It’s-” he pauses, looking down at his food. “-good.”

“Aha.” You lean back victoriously. “Knew it.”

He likes it. He also knows that this is probably going to be the only thing he orders for the next week unless you had planned otherwise. 

“You’re not eating?” He gestures to your untouched tray.

“Taking it up to the lab. Got a few things to work on and we’re already behind.” You gather up your stuff and get up.

“Uh-” he pauses from practically inhaling the entire thing. He was already halfway done with it. “-thanks.”

“No problem. You wink at him. “Try figuring out what’s wrong with it.” 

You turn on your heel to leave, taking your order with you. He can see your shoulders bobbing with silent laughter. 

He stares down at his plate, swallowing slowly. 

He pokes at it with a fork, lifting up the leftovers to check if there’s anything underneath. Nothing. 

He checks to see if his limbs are still intact or his face was a different colour. Nope.

His stomach twists in worry about what’s going to happen. He still has a bit left but he pushes the tray aside.

The rest of the day he spends supervising you has you occasionally catching his eye, only to laugh. It only freaks him out more.

It takes eight hours of waiting and self induced tests later to realise there was nothing wrong with it. You were just playing with him.

He’s surprised to find you in the rec room when he strolls in with Sam, given that you haven’t taken a break all day.

You don’t share the same surprise... almost like you expected him.

“How long have you been waiting for me?” he immediately asks.

"I wasn’t here for you.” You raise an eyebrow at him. “Heard that Wilson was makin’ an appearance here soon so I stopped by to get a good look at him."

"Take a picture, it'll last longer.” Sam laughs, inserting a dollar into the machine and punching in the code for what he wanted.

"Gladly. Strike a pose, would you?" You grin, raising your phone.

“Maybe when I’m not covered in sweat.” Sam counter offers and you accept with a thumbs up.

“You going to the parade, Sam?” You toy with the can in your hands.

“I’ll be working security, so probably.”

“Sarge?” You take a swig of your drink.

“Huh?” He snaps back into the conversation, putting a stop to the mental list of reasons he was making of why you could be here at the same time as him. He knew your schedule, it wouldn’t be very hard for you to figure out his.

“You coming to the parade on Sunday?” you ask again.

“I guess.”

You wince.

“What?” he asks instantly, curiosity making him a lot sloppier than usual.

“It’s just- you wear so much black.” You gesture to his current getup to prove your point. ”I feel like all the bright colours would vaporise you if you looked at them.”

He doesn’t look amused.

“You know, like Prince Philip.”

“I think I’ll be fine.” He gives you a sarcastic smile.

“You comin’ Buck?” Sam laughs, unwrapping the bar he bought from the machine.

“You go ahead, I’ll catch up,” Bucky says offhandedly, still glaring at you innocently drinking your soda.

Sam chews absentmindedly on his protein bar as he walks out, amused at the situation Bucky pulled himself into.

“What’d you do?” Bucky asks, studying your body language.

“I bought a soda.” You lift the can to prove your point. “And now I’m drinking it.”

“Why are you waiting for me?”

“I thought I’d return the favour,” you point out. “I’m supervising you.”

“Don’t.” He walks to the vending machine, pulling out his wallet for some loose change. There was a Snickers bar he had been craving since morning that he bought every alternate day. Small joys.

“Why? I have the time.” You take a sip, setting it down with a clang.

“You’re only here for this week.” Bucky counted the coins he had. He’d use a dollar but he was trying to get rid of the jingling in his pocket that made him sound like a fucking clown when he walked.

“Actually,” you begin innocuously, “Tony offered me a full-time position.”

Bucky’s movements stop, hunched over the money in his palm.

“What?”

“Yeah.” You nod seriously. “A full nine-to-five as a researcher here.”

“And you’re taking it.” He shakes himself out of the minor shock to assess the damage.

“I don’t know. I got a lot of things to consider.” The chair scrapes against the tiled floor as you stand up. “But maybe you should get used to seeing me a lot more around here.”

He punches in the code for his Snickers. The row whirs forward slowly.

“See you at the lab.” He hears you discard the empty can in the trash before exiting.

He waits patiently for his bar to drop while his mind internally screams about the consequences of having you work here. You wouldn’t be evil anymore. Unless you were here to steal secrets from the Tower. On the pro side, his weekend would be free again. On the con side, his weekend would be free again.

His bar stops right at the edge of the row. He waits for it to fall over. It doesn’t.

He shakes the machine, suppressing the primal urge to beat the shit out of it when the damn bar refuses to fall.

He punches in a few random buttons hoping that at least it would give his money back.

The little monitor instead flashes a new message across the screen.

‘Have a good day, sarge <3’

Motherfucker.

Captain America looks less daunting up close, you realise. But he is still a very large man with very large shoulders. You know at least four people who would like to scale him like a tree, not that you’d ever tell him.

“Hey, Y/N.” He sends you a small smile when you walk into the room for a mid-week update. A clipboard in your hand, report attached and a few stationery items in case some points needed to be noted done, you look professional and ready.

“Afternoon, Captain.” Tony saves a seat for you and Bruce beside him since you’re on the same project. You almost miss the fact that Bucky isn’t in the room.

He walks in a few minutes late; tall, dark and brooding, immediately bringing the excitement in the room down by 40% by just existing. 

Bucky surveys the room before catching your eye. He picks up his chair with ease and drags it over to where you are, sitting right beside you, ignoring the small cry of protest from an agent whose view he now obstructed. Everyone else just silently shifted over.

“Clingy much?” you whisper at him, eyes still trained on Steve who had waited till everyone was seated to continue.

“I’m supposed t’be keeping an eye on you,” he rebuffs in a hush.

“Well, you’re late. What if I went rogue, huh?”

“Therapy ran overtime,” he mumbles.

“Oh.” You blink. “How was it?”

“Same old.”

“You good?”

He refrains from answering when Steve starts addressing the room but yes, he was fine. He sends you a nod to confirm. 

“This is just a usual checking in. We’ve received all your reports, but just to keep everyone on the same page-”

Bucky logs out mentally. He knows what his job is, he’ll probably lead a division of the security team or join the mission to neutralise the threat in case they find it first. Either way, he’ll figure it out without having to listen to an intern nervously stammer their way through their team’s report. 

On the other hand, you’re not listening either. You were until you saw Bucky’s eyes glaze over while glowering at the window, assuming that he had stopped paying attention when his gaze doesn’t shift.

You should be listening. You’re new here and you should know what’s going on because any bits of detail are crucial to the working of your system. 

Instead, you rip out a sticky note and discreetly place it on the back of Bucky’s metal arm. He doesn’t notice.

You bite your lip to stop yourself from smiling. More post-its from your pile of stationery make their way onto the vibranium, shades of pink, purple, green and yellow decorating his arm like a bulletin board. 

You’re about to contemplate sticking one on his shoulder blade when he whips around to look at you. You freeze, hand in the air with a sticky note. He looks down at his arm, a scoff escaping him in disbelief. 

“Are you serious?” He twists his arm to check the extent of how far you’ve gone. “What are you, six?”

“How’d it take you so long to notice?” You watch as he tugs them off one by one, counting to see how many you had managed to get on there.

“It’s impossible not to zone out in these shitty meetings,” he mumbles, pulling off the last one, crumpling all of them into a ball to throw at you. You skilfully avoid them. 

“Don’t you feel pressure or heat or anything here?” You poke at his metal arm.

“No.” He clenches and releases the fist. “It can block bullets though.”

You snort. “Bet that’s a popular line in bed.”

He rolls his eyes. “I mean, it helps that I can’t feel anything. Sometimes,” he adds the last part as an afterthought. 

“Like when you’re blocking bullets.”

“Especially then.” He nods. 

“Would you ever want to?” you ask casually. “Like if you got the choice, would you prefer having feeling in that arm?”

“I don’t know.” He’s thought about it, but it doesn’t seem feasible in his line of work. He’d like it, though, to feel sand slipping through his fingers and the comforter under his palm. “Maybe when I’m retired.”

“Aren’t you well past that age?”

“Shut up.” He rolls his eyes. “And pay attention. You’re next.”

“So you are listening.” True to his word, Steve asks about what’s going on with your team. “Traitor.” 

Tony shoots off about how you only had to test it out on a small batch first to see if you could acquire the targeted data without compromising anything else. You chime in about a few specifics, and Bruce more or less just confirms what you both are saying, only stopping to let them know that you’d be finished in a day or two.

Steve nods, moving on to the next committee.

“Did I get a good grade?” you whisper when you lean back again.

“B minus at best.” 

“Fuck you, dude. I was great,” you protested. “It’s definitely worth a gold sticker.”

Someone shushes you sharply. You apologise quietly, whacking Bucky’s metal arm when you see a dumb smirk on his face. 

He narrows his eyes at you. 

You try sticking another post-it on him.

You’re only here for a week. That’s what he’s been told. Over six times, actually, after which he’s been told to go away the next time he asked.

No one’s brought up the job offer so he asks Tony if it was true and all he gets is a dismissive ‘yeah, whatever’. Besides, you haven’t told him if you accepted or denied it yet so isn’t sure if this entire thing is set in stone, per se.

So then why do you have a giant box of your belongings that you’re lugging around the lab, looking to set down?

And why does Tony allow you a table right in the centre of the lab for everyone to see as soon as they walk in?

There are a gazillion trinkets, picture frames and obnoxiously bright stationery that stands out against the dull minimalism of the lab.

“Every single one of these is a fire hazard,” he reports, standing over your desk.

You give him a side glance before reaching over to the side of your desk, pulling up a fire extinguisher and setting it on the table in front of him. “I came prepared, bitch boy.”

He doesn’t dignify that with a response. He chooses to look at what exactly you’ve brought with you because it’s a lot.

There are small cards with ‘thank you!’ sprawled on them in uneven lettering, bits and pieces of paper with small cartoons on them, little clay models and other miniature trophies with ‘you’re the best!’ under it.

“Your students gave you these?” He can’t remember the last time he gave his teacher anything other than a headache.

“Sometimes they learn or communicate better when they have something to keep their hands busy.” There’s a certain fondness in your voice that he isn’t used to hearing. “I end up with a lot of doodles and craft.”

“’s nice of them.” He can tell that this means a lot to you. He hasn’t seen it before.

He thinks the little decorations are adorable and maybe he’d keep another fire extinguisher on hand, just in case. 

Until you start pulling out a set of framed photos and his smile drops.

Several collages of Bucky in flower crowns, him with terribly edited backgrounds of beaches and mountains, a photo of him laughing with ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ next to it in an italicised font.

“What the fuck,” he states, grabbing one of them.

You stifle a laugh, pulling out several more to place along your table.

“Where did you fucking get these?” He starts pulling them off the table one by one.

“I don’t think you know how much the internet is obsessed with you.” You set an especially large one of him in a Hello Kitty bowtie right in the centre. He doesn’t miss the star shaped frame you chose for this.

“What is wrong with you?” He swipes that up immediately, looking for a place to discard, possibly burn these pictures. “Why do you even have these?”

“It’s imperative that people know we’re friends.” You bite your lip, bringing out the last thing to annoy him.

“What is that?” A teddy bear with a blue jacket and a grey felt arm stared into his soul.

“A Bucky bear.” Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh. “Limited edition.”

He snatches it along with the fifteen other picture frames, thinly veiled distress and mostly disgust on his face.

“I hate you.”

“But I love you.” You lift the small heart shaped locket you hung on one of the pictures of your class.

You use both your hands to click it open for him, watching his face morph into one of disbelief.

Bucky my beloved, it read on the right with a small picture of him on the left looking intensely disgruntled. He doesn’t bother asking where you found that specific picture of him outside a Burger King at 3am.

He doesn’t even make an effort to take it away this time. He knows that you’ll simply bring up more and more until you drove him crazy.

“You still have to see the Avengers calendar.” You reach for the inside. “I changed all the pictures to you, it looks great-”

He turns around and leaves before you get a chance to flip open the pages.

He wanders around, looking for the best disposal area he can find. He knows there’s a giant fireplace in the common room in the Tower, and for that, he’d have to go up a couple of floors.

He steps into the elevator, chin pressing down on the several picture frames in his hands to prevent them from falling over.

No one sees him carrying a couple of fan edited pictures and merchandise of him. Which was good.

Unfortunately, the doors ding open on the next floor and his best friend steps on with possibly the worst timing ever.

“Buck?” Steve sounds confused. He should be, considering the sight.

Bucky shimmies slightly to get a better grip on his belongings. “Steven.”

Steve glances at what he’s holding.

“Is this,” Steve pauses, trying to frame his words correctly to sound as supportive as possible, “a therapy thing?”

“No.”

Steve waits for a further explanation.

“It’s Y/N’s,” he elucidates. Steve’s eyebrows furrow.

“Why are there so many pictures of you?” He looks at the content in his hands a little closer. “And a bear.”

“She’s evil. And I hate her.”

“Alright.” It doesn’t answer his question but his friend looks irked enough.

The elevator dings to the common room floor.

Bucky turns on his heel to head toward the place to set all the pictures on fire. He saves the picture frames to give back to you though, he’s sure those cost money. But he makes sure every last square inch of the picture with several hearts around his portrait burns to ash.

Bucky knows that by the time Saturday afternoon rolls around, the three of you would have been working for thirty hours straight, scrambling to get the last minute details done.

You’re still at it but he can tell through the adrenaline of the upcoming deadline that you’re exhausted. 

Now he’s grouchy but he’s not an asshole. He’s already done two coffee runs for the team and brought you food when you didn’t show up for lunch. He mumbles something and dismisses it when you call out a ‘thank you’ his way. He considers it a debt repaid for the gyros.

He’s still keeping an eye on you but along with an emergency box of doughnuts for any sugar rushes that may be needed and bottles of water that he occasionally leaves at the corner of the table for you three to subconsciously keep yourself hydrated. 

“Are you sure we checked it?”

“Yes.” Bruce nods.

“Double checked it?”

“Yes.”

“Triple checked it.”

“Yes.” 

You look satisfied enough to move on to the next item. “Pass me the welding torch for a second.”

Bucky has a book in front of him that he hasn’t moved beyond the second page of. He’s more interested in seeing who collapses from burnout first. He has the infirmary on speed dial. 

After another hour or so Tony holds up a silver tablet, roughly the same size as a smartphone, examining it from all sides.

“That’s it,” he states. “The final product.”

You exhale lightly.

“We should name it.” You have your hands on your hips, looking down at it in wonder. Maybe the zero hours of sleep was finally kicking in because you couldn’t believe you were finally done. 

“You got any suggestions?” Tony asks. 

To be frank, no, you didn’t.

“No.”

“Okay, we’ll do that later.” Tony sets it down, not sounding too disappointed. “F.R.I.D.A.Y, tell the team to get down here, please.”

“Yes, boss.”

Bucky jumps off his chair to join you in the lab, leaving the book behind. 

It only takes a few moments for the others to join. Fury and Steve walk in together, already engaged in conversation.

“Greetings.” You clap your hands together. “We did it. We think.”

“We think?” Nick raises an eyebrow.

“We know,” Bruce clarifies quickly, stepping in. “We’re positive it works. We tested it out.”

Tony pulls up the holograph of F.R.I.D.AY’s system, sliding the tablet to the middle of the table.

“Is it secured under FRIDAY’s core?”

“Locked and loaded.” Tony hits the table lightly to signify that it was safe.

“I think we’re ready,” Bruce confirms.

“We better be, or else half the country is suddenly going to lose their internet connection,” you say under your breath.

“What?” Bucky’s eyebrows knit together.

“Nothing,” you beamed, “Okay F.R.I.D.A.Y., run sequence, global parameter.”

“Running sequence,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. parrots. 

There was no going back now. 

From what Bucky can see, Tony looks fairly confident but you have your bottom lip caged between your teeth, chewing on it nervously. 

There are several hundreds of photographs popping up and disappearing within a minute. Everything looks like it’s going according to plan.

The giant holograph of the AI dims. Your face drops when F.R.I.D.A.Y. seems to sputter to a halt. 

No one breathes.

In the midst of the tension, Clint mutters if they should play some background music. It’s followed by a swift ‘ow’ when Natasha flicks him in the shoulder.

You could hear a pin drop.

It suddenly picks back up again, running faster than the last time and the sigh everyone collectively heaves is almost comical.

It runs for a few seconds more before a list of names suddenly pop up accompanied by a series of photographs and geo locations.

“Sequence complete. Six names detected, zero encroachment on public or private databases,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. broadcasted. “Location determined to be Holland. Exact coordinates are computed into the quinjet.”

You let out a small cheer, looping your arm around Bruce, squeezing him in a half hug. He has a smile on his face, dropping his head as he laughs slightly. 

“How dangerous are they?” Tony, however, continues to ask.

“A few prior convictions and a series of similar threats. Danger level determined to be at approximately five out of ten.” 

“That’s not bad,” Steve commented. “Looks like we don’t need the full team there.”

“Romanoff, Barton, Wilson, Rogers can go ahead and take care of that,” Nick finally spoke up. “Everyone else is working security tomorrow, just in case anyone else decides that terrorism is on their fuckin’ to-do list for the day.”

“Buck, assemble a team and go over strategy for tomorrow,” Steve adds on. “Everyone else go suit up, wheels up in thirty minutes.” 

“Fuckin’ Holland,” Sam scoffs, shaking his head. “Of all the places.” 

“What do you have against Holland?” Nat asks as they leave together.

“Just don’t like ‘em.” Their voices grow faint the further they get.

“Hey.” A small greeting from behind you has you turning around.

Wanda stands in front of you and you have to ignore the fact that the most powerful being on Earth is talking to you. 

“Hey,” you say back.

“I just wanted to say congratulations. You did a great job.” Bits and pieces of her accent poked out. She didn’t seem like she was putting in the effort to cover it up as opposed to the press interviews you had heard a few years ago. 

“Thank you.” You smile. “T’was a team effort.”

“Well, we owe you one anyway,” Steve joins the conversation, leaving aside Tony who was still talking to Bruce.

“I wish I was humble enough to turn it down but I’m not.” You laugh. “It’s nice to have an arsenal of superheroes at my disposal.”

Steve looks like he’s going to respond but his attention is drawn towards F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s announcement that the quinjet was ready to go. He shoots you an apologetic look but you sign for him to go on, you’d meet with him later.

You watch as he claps Tony on the back, telling him to go get some sleep and something with more nutritional value than a pizza pocket in him, nodding at Bruce before taking leave. 

“Y/L/N,” Nick stands beside you, looking ahead at the conversations being had as Steve tugs Clint along with him.

“Nicky,” you tease.

“I know at least seven underground prisons I can put you in if anyone hears you calling me that,” he says stoically. 

“We all know you won’t get rid of me.” You shake your head. “Who’s gonna send you a Christmas card then, huh?”

He simply shakes his head, jutting his hand out and offering a handshake. “Not sure anyone here could handle another day of a highly caffeinated, sleep-deprived Stark.”

“Just say ‘thanks’, Nick, geez.” You roll your eyes. 

Bucky watches the entire interaction unfurl; only the body language, not employing the lip-reading ability. 

“You’re welcome.” You let go of his hand, a devilish look on your face. “You know what I want in return.”

Nick gives you a long, hard stare that could probably melt through Steve’s shield before turning around to leave. 

But Bucky doesn’t miss the subtle high-five he gives you while walking out, unbeknownst to anyone else, bringing the biggest grin to your face.

He makes it a point to ask you what the fuck kind of leverage you have over the man for him to play favourites with you. 

You finally collapse at your desk, letting out a loud exhale. You clench your eyes shut, your body finally melting into your chair. You look exhausted.

He’s not sure how to help. You don’t seem like you have the energy to tell him.

Bucky leaves a doughnut and water bottle on the table in front of you before shuffling out of the room quietly. 

He’s certain that he’s spent far too long in Bruce’s lab this week. He liked the man as much as the next guy, but he probably wouldn’t come down there for the foreseeable future. 

You’re at your assigned desk, reading light illuminating the space. Thankfully you’ve cleared up most of your stuff from the table, leaving no more liabilities to fall over in case he walked into the desk. 

“So you’re done for the week.” His voice surprises you. You were scrolling through your phone, slightly hunched over.

“It appears so.” You put your phone down, swivelling the chair to look at him. 

“How’d it go?” He leans against your table, making sure he isn’t using his full weight.

“Well, I slept for fifteen hours straight, so...” you leave him to connect the dots. He’s done the same several times.

“You’re probably gonna need more,” he says, mostly from his own experience, “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Actually-” you reach beside your table and lug your gigantic box of belongings onto the table with a loud thud, “-you won’t.”

He looks at the box that was nearly overflowing with its contents, the majority of the space being taken up by empty picture frames. “I thought you said Tony offered you a job.” 

“He did,” you confirm. “I didn’t accept.”

“Why?” He watches you shift through a few things, adjusting it so that it wouldn’t fall over.

“This whole thing- it’s cool and all, but it’s not what I want to do.” You shrug. “I like teaching. I miss my class.”

He gaze lands on one of the thank you notes sticking out from the corner of the box. “Ah.”

“Back to school from tomorrow.”

“And evil on the weekends?” he prods, dropping a pen into the heap of stationery. 

“Obviously.” You give him a lopsided smile. “Where else am I gonna use all this brilliance?”

You point to your head. He lets out a small exhale in the form of a laugh.

“Speaking of-” You look like you just remembered something.  

You rummage through your backpack and pull out a small container, handing it to him.

“What’s this?” He turns it over, looking for any hidden clues. “Are you proposing again, because I’ve said no-”

“I’m not proposing,” you interrupt, “yet.”

He gives you a deadpan look.

“Open it,” you urge, and he complies.

Two small squares sit side-by-side. They’re slick black, barely bigger than the face of a dice.

“You put one of them here-” You tap on his bicep “-and the other here.” You tap his shoulder, a few inches below his clavicle.

“What does it do?” He thinks it’s like Nat’s little taser things, a nifty little tool that he could use on missions.

“It, uh-” you hesitate “-it allows you to feel sensation in your metal arm. Heat, pressure, texture.”

His breath hitches in his throat. He doesn’t mean for it to happen, it just does.

“You said that sometimes you’re glad you couldn’t because of the bullets and stuff. They’re detachable, so just take them off when you go on missions and wherever it is you Spandex ambassadors go.” You scoff slightly. 

He can’t remember the last time he felt something soft with that arm or used it for something that wasn’t directly related to his job.  

“I’m not messing with what the Wakandans gave you. It’s the most advanced piece of tech out there.” You shrug. “But if you ever want to feel it when someone attaches sticky notes to your arm, this could work. Just thought it’d be nice to have an option.”

He can’t decipher what he’s feeling right now. He looks up at you, only to catch you eyeing him cautiously, assessing his reaction. When you notice he’s looking at you, a nervous smile makes its way onto your face. 

His stomach does a flip. 

“Thank you,” he says quietly. 

“Don’t mention it.” You sound a little relieved, picking up the box that he’s pretty sure weighed a ton what with all his memorabilia in it. “See you next week.”

He doesn’t know how to explain what it means to him. 

Instead, he shoves his hands into his pockets. “What are you doing later?”

“Nothing.” You pause. “Why?”

“Are you gonna watch the parade?” 

“Yeah, probably.” You shift your weight to your other leg to compensate for the box.

“Want some company?”

“Aren’t you heading a security division?” You have to consciously hide the bewilderment from your voice. 

“Yeah. The place I’m stationed just so happens to have a good look into the street,” he explains, toying with the bracelet on his wrist. “Can’t really promise that I’ll be paying attention to it or that I’d even be there the whole time but for the most part...” he trails off. 

“Uh-” You force yourself to shove aside your surprise at his determination, “yeah, sure. That’d be cool.”

He nods. “Okay. See you there.” 

“See you,” you murmur as you walk to the elevator. 

He opens the tiny container to look at the small chips. They’re still there, silently like they don’t change his world just by existing. 

Gosh.

Next part

[ifandomus]

You know, I keep thinking What If...? should do a storyline of "What if Vision shot down Iron Man instead of War Machine at the end of the airport battle in CACW?"

Thank you for the ask!!

That would have been really interesting (and a bit satisfying for the more bitter and petty side of me). However, they would have to switch out the writers and creators for some more competent ones first.

I am guessing it could have gone something like this:

Tony gets injured as Rhodey did. And he is either going to learn from it or, more likely (in my opinion), blame team Cap for everything.

Vision’s ending is going to remain the same.

Rhodey is going to feel guilty because he was the one that told Vision to shoot (I still have no idea what was going on with him in this movie. It's like he and Natasha had loaned away all their brain cells or something). Maybe he takes over some of Tony’s remaining storyline? So, he finds out about the actual psychiatrist->goes to the Raft to talk to team Cap (I am pretty sure that he would probably not have been as accepting about that Geneva convention-breaking hellhole as Tony was)->finds out about Siberia, and goes there to help Steve and Bucky. And that is where his storyline would diverge because I highly doubt that he would have tried to hurt anyone if he found out about Tony’s parents. He might be upset about it, but he would definitely not have lost it as Tony did. He would probably be able to bring his attention back to capturing Zemo and solving the other conflicts.

T’challa’s storyline would have remained the same if Rhodey followed Tony’s storyline. If not, he would still be trying to kill Bucky until he got the news about the actual psychiatrist and realized that Steve was telling the truth. So it would still have stayed similar.

Without the murder attempt, Bucky would have gotten to keep his arm (instead of having it traumatically blasted off, again). And everything would have been calmly and rationally solved (if everyone were allowed to be in character).

[samwilson-saves-lives]

Sam Wilson's USAF Rank

So we know that Torres is a First Lieutenant and Bucky is a Sergeant, but what might Sam's rank have been when he was in the air force? Well upon my research, I can definitively say that Samuel Thomas Wilson was at least a senior airman or more likely a staff sergeant. Sam could also be a technical sergeant if he was in the Air Force full-time for 12 years.

{Senior Airman (E-4): The rank of senior airman is a transition period from journeyman to non-commissioned officer (NCO). It is essential that airmen develop supervisory and leadership skills through professional military experience (PME) and individual study. They are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with established standards, providing a positive influence and example for their subordinates and peers alike. Senior airmen present the image of competence, integrity and pride. Moving up the Air Force Ranks: The average servicewide, active-duty time for advancement to the rank of senior airman is three years.

Staff Sergeant (E-5): The staff sergeant (SSgt) is the first level of the NCO ranks in the Air Force. The staff sergeant is considered a craftsman with specific NCO supervisory responsibilities and may hold either a 5- (journeyman) or 7- (craftsman) skill level. Additionally, the SSgt must strive continuously to further their development as technicians and supervisors. The average Air Force-wide, active-duty time for promotion to the rank of staff sergeant is more than four years. Moving up the Air Force Ranks: Promotion to staff sergeant requires three years of time in serve (TIS) and six months of time in grade (TIG). In addition, airmen must achieve a 5-skill level, compete in WAPS and complete the Airman Leadership School in-residence before assuming the rank of staff sergeant.

Technical Sergeant (E-6): The technical sergeant (TSgt) is the second level of the NCO ranks in the Air Force. Technical sergeants are qualified to perform highly complex technical duties in addition to providing supervision. They're responsible for the career development of each subordinate under their supervision. It is the TSgt's responsibility to ensure that all enlisted personnel have the tools, training and support they need to achieve maximum performance and accomplish total mission effectiveness. The average Air Force-wide, active-duty time for promotion to the rank of technical sergeant is 12 years. Moving up the Air Force Ranks: The promotion process for tech sergeant is identical to the process for promotion to staff sergeant, except for the minimum requirements of five years of time in serve (TIS) and 23 months of time in grade (TIG), in addition to achieving a 7-skill level.}

Staff sergeant makes the most sense for Sam considering that he did two tours and each tour is on average 36 months (3 years), so two tours would exceed the 3-year average of time in service (TIS) to when an officer is promoted to staff sergeant.

As a staff sergeant, a person "is considered a craftsman with specific non-commissioned officer (NCO) supervisory responsibilities". Sam had to train with the Falcon EXO-7 at some point after his initial mandatory training. The sergeant rank is reserved for those with a special craft or skill; like Bucky being a sniper hence his rank as sergeant. By this logic, Sam's skill with the Falcon pack would be considered his craft or special skill (unless he has some other special skill) and would therefore allow him to qualify for promotion to staff sergeant or higher.

Sam could also be a technical sergeant if he spent seven-plus years in the USAF in active duty (aka full time) and refining his skills/craftmanship [Falcon EXO-7 or other skill]. I read a post in the past that outlined how long Sam might have known Riley and the author estimated that Sam probably knew Riley for twelve years before he died [x]. The twelve years that Sam knew Riley would add up to the average amount of time someone would spend in the USAF when they are promoted to technical sergeant.

In the description of technical sergeant duties and responsibilities, one of the last sentences states that a technical sergeant should ensure that all personnel has the necessary materials to complete a mission which would follow proving that one can ensure that they have all of their own materials to complete a mission.

Ex. When Sam, Steve, and Natasha are trying to regain control of the triskelion/helicarrier thinga-ma-bobbers, Bucky rips a wing off of Sam's pack and kicks him off the helicarrier causing Sam to release the other wing to allow his parachute to eject. When Sam reaches the ground and informs Steve that he can't do much more, he looks deeply disappointed and most likely with himself which would correlate to his trained instinct to provide for his team as a technical sergeant.

Or

In Sam's TFATWS Falcon uniform, he has a tact belt that is fairly equipped plus the equipment that Redwing carries is a decent amount of equipment for any given situation.

Additionally, Sam shows no hesitancy or unfamilarity with the Falcon pack in CA: TWS so it's safe to assume that he worked the contraption for quite a bit of time going beyond basic maneuvers and movement. Despite not having worked with the equipment for some time, Sam falls back into form without much thought. Sam incorporates his Falcon pack into his fighting style to the point of dependency on the pack. Sam treats his Falcon pack as an extension of himself which goes to show just how much work he's put into developing this craft and making it work best for him. Which makes sense especially if he worked with the Falcon EXO-7 for approx. nine years.

Essentially, Sam's rank in USAF is entirely dependent on how much time he devoted to the USAF. Both staff sergeant and technical sergeant make sense but taking into account Sam's two tours that would sum up to six years in active duty, I would say that Sam ranks as a technical sergeant.

Image below: Technical Sergeant insignia

Sources: Air Force Enlisted Ranks; U.S. Military Ranks

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Seeing stuff like this, or during the Invaders, or plenty of other flashbacks, they’re a constant reminder of how unnecessary the Winter Soldier related retcons were. Bucky didn’t need to be some highly trained special ops soldier who was selected to be Cap’s partner.

He was already an extremely competent partner to Cap, with plenty of skills of his own. The element of random chance in his discovering Steve’s identity, that Steve decided to take a chance and was rewarded with a fire forged friend… it’s all much more satisfying than anything modern added.

Granted, a lot of old Cap stuff has the vague feeling that the army kind of just turned him loose to do whatever he wanted after the Super Soldier program went bust, instead of treating him like a military asset. Which doesn’t hold up much. But what does?

We don't often get to indulge in this, none of us were alive long enough to see this era of Cap's career as anything other than backstory. But the tragic part is how...easy it felt. How naturally the banter came to them. How much life and vigor and bravery they had. Back when this was the fight that had to be won and all they could count on was each other. Captain America #383

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

i think this video does a good job calling out marvels problem https://youtu.be/-3-SuGV4Sqk

Thank you for sharing.

The MCU had its problems in previous phases as well, movies like EG or CW or Ragnarok didn't do a good job of handling their characters and some of them had them either completely ooc or retconned (and in CW's case the conflict wasn't well established and the resolution didn't stick the landing).

I think perhaps what's happening now is a mix of too much content in a short period of time, new characters introduced who don't earn their powers or compete with the OG characters accompanying them, and terrible third acts that don't give a satisfying conclusion to the story and seem more concerned with selling the next product.

I don't particularly care about what these movies and series are leading to, if they want to add a teaser in a post-credit scene I'm cool with it, but I'm watching these because I care about the characters. The Loki series had the entire finale dedicated to introducing an antagonist for another separate movie! And Shang-Chi instead of giving us a good resolution between father and son they spent the time fighting a huge dragon. Those mistakes are huge.

I don't want Feige to tell me all this will get better once I see the full picture. I want it to be better now. I need the studio to give me good character arcs and stories enough to get me glued to the screen because I care about what happens to them. That's how I felt in previous phases, even though I didn't particularly like some movies I cared about what happened to Steve, Loki, Thor, Stephen, Carol, Wanda, Bucky, Natasha... as it stands right now I'm dreading what's coming next because I don't know if it's going to be good or terrible.

That's another thing, its lack of cohesiveness. I don't really think you can judge all of Phase Four's content equally. WandaVision and Moon Knight are fantastic (oh, and I highly disagree with the OP in the video that the story absolves Wanda... it doesn't!): they're brilliant character stories, the arcs are well done and the ending is satisfying (all this is subjective of course). Whereas the Loki series is absolutely terrible on all fronts, TFATWS sidelines its title characters and misunderstands them, What If was a huge letdown (except for ep4, everyone hail ep4), and Hawkeye started weak but it got pretty good in the end.

As for the movies I'm a huge fan of Black Widow and NWH, but MoM was pretty awful (cameos galore!), Shang-Chi is entirely forgettable (in fact, I hardly remember anything from it), Eternals would have worked better as a series (too many characters, but it wasn't so bad) and... oh right, I had forgotten L&T. Fortunately.

All in all, in the past they cared about the stories they were telling because they wanted to hook the audience, now perhaps they feel they already have us so they can go cheap and take us for granted. Well, I don't know about you but I used to be one of those who would go several times to the theatre to watch these movies (my highest # is 5) but now I'm thinking of skipping them. Wakanda Forever and GoTG3 are sure on my list because I like Coogler and love Gunn but the others..... not so much.

I really want them to get better at this but Feige keeps hiring Waldron and I just... it's hard to keep the faith in them.

[ladyriddle]

Do you know what ever happened to bettenoir on ao3? I saw that you’d done some art for them on some of their fics. I just found their stuff and I was disappointed that they stopped writing. Do you know if they just changed usernames or moved somewhere else?

Sorry afraid not. I was just someone who wanted to thank them for all their hard work. I love their writing as well and hope they come back to finish up Monster. However they are off doing their professional stuff now and actually getting paid for writing so I wouldn't be to sure about that.

If you are interested their original stuff you can look up Alex De Campi. They have a tumblr blog here as well actual books you can buy. In fact one of their stucky stories was published called the Scottish boy which is fantastic. Also if you like that sort of style and that sort of incredibly competent Bucky I highly recommend Mandarou or checkout their blog End-of-the-timeline where they use their history degree to hilariously break down the historical events and clothes in The First Avenger.