#i hated the civil war comic too just fyi

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

One of the many, many reasons why I hate Civil War and will always point to it as the beginning of the MCU totally falling off a cliff.

i’ve been laughing at this for the past five minutes

[kynimdraws]

INFO POST

Name: Kylee (they/them). 30+

A totally normal Korean American mostly known for my drawings, specifically my Pokemon nuzlocke comics. But I will talk about other things on occasion because I do have periods of being fixated on certain topics. I also am a doctor!

Interests: Pokemon, League of Legends (everything except the game lmao), Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, Animal Crossing, Mother series, Korean history/culture, character design

General FYIs: 

General inquiries/commission work/etc should be sent thru kynimdraws [at] gmail [dot] com! Tumblr messaging/asks/etc is not 100% reliable

I will not follow NSFW accounts but I am fine talking/interacting with them. There may be suggestive shitposting but I like keeping my content on the SFW side

I am VERY picky about who I follow/interact with online. Fandom content in particular is a minefield for me aka I have many things I dislike and don’t want to see, even if it might be a popular thing in media that I otherwise enjoy. Therefore, I will unfollow/block/mute liberally. There are times I accidentally block a blog bc I mistake them for bots. So if you got hit with that, just send me an ask or email me

I am very open about what I like and dislike, and none of those things are a direct attack on your sensibilities. I have never gone out of my way to directly send hate or whatever have you if I end up seeing shit I don’t like. My complaints in my little online space ain't a personal attack on you.

My ask/submission box/DMs  are open for criticisms if you have any issues you want to resolve in private. No one is perfect and I may have done ignorant shit that needs to be pointed out. I have deleted or edited posts in the past if people tell me what I did wrong. PS I get that some of my stuff may upset you, but try to act civil when pointing shit out please.

I try to tag all my things whenever I can. Again, send me a message if anything bothers you. I am all for good debate but if you send me excessive hate or threats bc I have different opinions about matters that are trivial, I will block/delete them.

If you wish to use any of my hcs, please credit me. And if you are comfortable with it, send me the works so I can check them out! Or @ me if that is easier.

---

FIRE EMBLEM FYI: Specifically for 3Houses/3Hopes because I need a separate one for this franchise specificially given how many crazy things I got due to being involved in this fanbase via my fanworks:

DO NOT try to convince me to like or tolerate Byleth/student ships, ESPECIALLY the ones with the lords (aka CIaude, Dimitri, EdeIgard). I already summarized why I don’t like FE3H Byleth ships with student chars here. While the spinoff game FEW3H has now removed that teacher/student problematic situation, the fandom keeps putting the FE3H elements into the FEW3H fanworks (i.e. remembering Byleth from “another life” trope)...so no thanks!! DO NOT SHOW ME IT!!!

As for the Byleth ships with faculty members, my response is here so don’t try to bait me about that topic either thanks.

I do not care whom you ingame S-support. 3Houses limits the dating-sim part of the game to that character, so I cannot care less about how you play the game. The main issue I have is when people treat Byleth the “character” as a legit ship material when I personally think they are a cool character ruined by fans who are too obsessed with badly executed self insert otome tropes bc they self-project super hard onto them. Just to be clear, any FE3H or FEW3H OC/Canon >>>>>>Byleth ships personally. Even Byleth-sonas that remove the teacher/student aspects are better than canon FE3H!Byleth

Please don't drag FE VA statements as some sort of “gotcha” on my opinions like this post here. IDC what other people prefer with ship shit, that’s their problem and not mine. I am not gonna bother them about it. So don’t bother ME about it.

---

Links to check out:

Myths of Unova + Episode Grey (Pkmn White/White2 Comic)

Tales of Sinnoh (Pkmn Diamond Comic)

Art Site (Portfolio)

Twitter 

Instagram 

[kitcat992]

Scrolling through your posts and I agree that Endgame was bad but how did it ruin Peter? (On a side note the Tony and Peter reunion is one of the few things I liked about that movie).

Honestly anon? I'm just too tired to stir up my Endgame hate to really get into this. I'm glad to meet a fellow Anti-Endgamer though. The movie in general ruined the MCU (I mean technically Civil War did but Endgame was the nail to the coffin)

How it ruined Peter? It was the start of stripping his optimism. Everything after Endgame for Peter -- FFH and NWH, had a Peter Parker I fail to resonate with. That's not the Peter Parker I knew from the comics or other iterations. Peter Parker gets beaten down, yes. He's broke, he's got shit luck, the world is somehow always out to get him, but he maintains his hope and optimism through it all. Endgame was the start of killing the MCU Peter Parker by just breaking him piece after piece with absolutely no hope for him in sight. By the end of NWH we were given a broken, depressed, abused-by-life boy turned man and it's so fucking bleak I wanna puke. That was never Spider-Man and never Peter Parker. I liked Holland's portrayal in Homecoming and Infinity War but that's it - it's all downhill from there.

The events in general, of Endgame/FFH/NWH aren't the problem. Peter has encountered so much death in his life it gets to be overdone. It's the way the MCU just piled it on him, movie after movie, and failed to let any hope or optimism slip through. It was just "Oh, people relate to Peter Parker because life knocks him down. *proceeds to beat the ever living shit out of him until he's a bloody pulp*....okay now what? beat him up some more, you say? Okay."

FYI - that's not why people like Peter Parker. They like him and look up to him because life *does* beat him up, but he gets back up with a quip and a smile and goes home and readies himself for the next day. He doesn't let it bog him down. When I was watching NWH, I saw a Peter Parker more bogged down than myself -- someone who worked the frontlines of a major hospital during the pandemic.

For all the dark moments, you gotta have some light. We never saw light for Peter Parker after Homecoming. We never saw him truly happy after that movie. He was just...surviving.

And I don't resonate with that Peter Parker, and I don't care for that Peter Parker. If I want bleak depressing ass shit, I'll look around in the real world. I go to fiction for a reason.

I'm gunna stop there cause, again, I'm just too tired to trudge up this hate. This post alone will get at least 3 Kevin Fegie cocksuckers in my inbox calling me a "retarded dumbass who doesn't know better" (that's a quote from someone I had to block after my Dec 2021 Anti-FFH post)

So yeah.

[stony-ao3-feed]

Soulmates & Strangers

Read it on AO3

by Juulna

I thought you were a stranger; a friendly stranger, but a stranger all the same. I was looking for my soulmate, and here you sat before me, whispering my name.

Words: 25497, Chapters: 2/2, Language: English

Fandoms: Marvel 3490, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel (Comics), Marvel

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Natasha Stark, Background & Cameo Characters, Janet Van Dyne, Hank Pym, Logan (X-Men), Carol Danvers, Karen Page, Frank Castle, Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, Darcy Lewis, James "Bucky" Barnes, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Helen Cho (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Avengers Team

Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

Additional Tags: Female Tony Stark, Earth-3490, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Art, Inspired by Fanfiction, (or at least the fic and art are inspired by each other!), Marvel Trumps Hate 2019, Gift Fic, Vignette, A series of vignettes that form a mostly complete fic, i was just really bad at writing the secret identity part, oh yeah, Secret Identity, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, Philanthropy, Seriously - what would you do with all of tony’s money??, Disabled Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Trust Issues, Protective Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, He’s too pure for this world, AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL????:, Team as Family, Avengers Family, really this is 90 percent done and is essentially a full fic, having a crush on your soulmate who you don’t think is your soulmate, is truly only a skill Steve can master, tony’s level of avoidance is unreal but we knew that already didn’t we, Working Out My Feelings Through Fic, In this case I’m still working out Civil War feels so why not have it ever happen at all, and everything is sunshine and roses except for the angst, Natasha Stark and Natalia Romanova are two different people fyi

Read it on AO3

[ao3feed-stony]

Soulmates & Strangers

by Juulna

I thought you were a stranger; a friendly stranger, but a stranger all the same. I was looking for my soulmate, and here you sat before me, whispering my name.

Words: 25497, Chapters: 2/2, Language: English

Fandoms: Marvel 3490, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel (Comics), Marvel

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Natasha Stark, Background & Cameo Characters, Janet Van Dyne, Hank Pym, Logan (X-Men), Carol Danvers, Karen Page, Frank Castle, Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, Darcy Lewis, James "Bucky" Barnes, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Helen Cho (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Avengers Team

Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

Additional Tags: Female Tony Stark, Earth-3490, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Art, Inspired by Fanfiction, (or at least the fic and art are inspired by each other!), Marvel Trumps Hate 2019, Gift Fic, Vignette, A series of vignettes that form a mostly complete fic, i was just really bad at writing the secret identity part, oh yeah, Secret Identity, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, Philanthropy, Seriously - what would you do with all of tony’s money??, Disabled Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Trust Issues, Protective Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, He’s too pure for this world, AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL????:, Team as Family, Avengers Family, really this is 90 percent done and is essentially a full fic, having a crush on your soulmate who you don’t think is your soulmate, is truly only a skill Steve can master, tony’s level of avoidance is unreal but we knew that already didn’t we, Working Out My Feelings Through Fic, In this case I’m still working out Civil War feels so why not have it ever happen at all, and everything is sunshine and roses except for the angst, Natasha Stark and Natalia Romanova are two different people fyi

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/35434420

[lovelyladyventress]

Tell me which one of these AUs sounds the most interesting and which one you’d like to read more about? (uhh rep0st?)

I’m reposting this since TUMBLR HATES MY POST/TAGS OR SOMETHING, SORRY IF YOU’VE ALREADY SEEN THIS!

Here I am, back at it again with my AU bullshit. Complete with my ugly ass dauntingly long list of AUs that I’d love to write about but can’t seem to 

decide which one to start writing. This has been going on for the past week, dammit! If it’s not too much trouble, could you please help a girl out and let me know either on here or in a PM which one of these you’re curious about or would like to see implemented in an actual story.

Here are four Cloud-centric AU ideas which include (multiple) gay, bi, and (some) straight main/side pairings. Regardless of which one I decide to write first, I (wistful thinking) want to eventually complete most or all of them, even if some of them only end up being one-shots. Thank you! <3

Mercenary Zack and Delivery Boy Cloud AU

Zack, a mercenary, and Cloud, a delivery boy, have been best friends since they were youngsters. Zack is straight but is undeniably (and confusingly into Cloud. Cloud is bi (with a strong leaning towards males) and he’s only recently started to explore that. One day, while Zack and Cloud are hanging out, Zack’s PHS dies and he asks to borrow Cloud’s laptop to check some work-related emails. Cloud says sure, completely forgetting what he’d been “researching” before Zack came over to hang out.

Cloud, suddenly remembering the content of said “research”, screeches out, “NoOoOoO!” whilst comically tripping over himself as he races to stop Zack from opening his laptop.

Zack, being Zack, laughs good-naturedly at Cloud’s behavior and says, “What, don’t want your bestie to see all your fReAkY sHiT LOL?”

Before Cloud can stop him, Zack unlocks the laptop (he knows the password, because, hello, besties) and proceeds to open up about ten tabs of LOUD GAY LEMONY YOU KNOW WHAT (all with actors that are blond and black-haired, hmm s u s p i c i o u s).

Cloud is fucking��mortified and literally RUNS out of his own apartment and disappears (disintegrates) into the void while leaving Zack sitting there like a stunned D U M B A S S *insert shocked Pikachu meme here* Hilarity, fluffy romance, and “LeMoNs” ensue.

Main ship and only ship will be Clack/Zakkura. Syrupy sweet, comical, with only a pinch of plot-related angst. Will most likely be a one-shot/two-shot.

Vampire Slayer AU

Set in a world where Shinra keeps the existence of vampires and vampire covens a well-guarded secret from the general public of Midgar in order to keep its citizens calm, orderly, and manageable (see controllable).

Due to the frequency of recent vampire attacks in Midgar’s slums and outlying towns and villages, they charge their best slayer, Cloud Strife, and his partner with the task of finding and killing the progenitor of all vampire-kind in order to end the covert war between humans and vampires and kill off their kind, for good.

That is, until Cloud is double-crossed by his partner, who wants the title of Shinra’s best vampire slayer for himself, and Cloud is left for dead in a forest miles away from civilization. Cloud thinks he’s finally done for this time, until he’s saved by a half-vampire named Vincent, who then proceeds to take Cloud to his maker, Sephiroth, the son of the first progenitor.

Cloud’s only shot at making it out of this alive is playing at Sephiroth’s personal interest in him in a game of cat and mouse until he can get the vampire to trust him enough to let him get close to the progenitor in order to (finally) end the war once and for all and return to his former life.

Main ships are Sefikura with a possibility of some Strifentine. Side ships are Aerti, Scarlet x Elena, and a bunch of others. Angsty, passionate, romantic, and dark. Will probably be a six-shot or more. Who knows?

Life After Meteorfall Canon Divergence AU (I’m excited about this one)

An AU in which both Angeal, Zack, and Aerith (although, just barely) live and help kick Sephiroth’s ass in the final battle. Sephiroth has been defeated by the gang for good (no really, for good y’all), and now the world has turned to healing, mourning, and attempting to rebuild itself after the scars Sephiroth has left behind in his monstrous wake.

Cloud still has lingering feelings for Zack leftover from his time as an infantryman, but desperately hides this fact from both Aerith and Zack because he knows how long they’ve waited and how much suffering they’ve had to endure in order to be with each other. He also cares deeply for both of them and wants them to be happy, despite his own conflicting emotions.

Although Aerith is (slightly) suspicious, Zack is oblivious to it all because he’s finally got the girl of his dreams and has his love-addled goggles on (god dammit Zackary) and asks Cloud to be his best man at their wedding (ugh angst me upppppp baby).

Angeal, however, is not oblivious to it in the slightest. He sees the overly forced smiles, the longing stares, the glances of complete and utter h e a r t b r e a k Cloud shoots Zack when he thinks no one is watching/paying attention to him. And finally, fed up after months of sitting back and just silently observing Cloud falling into emotional ruin, Angeal finally intends to do something about it, honor be damned.

Main ship is Cloudgeal. Side pairings are Zerith, Rude x Tifa (don’t judge me, y’all, I ship SO MUCH this fandom), and possibly many more. Angsty, fluffy, romantic, and with a ridiculously happy ending where everyone reaches a happy, healthy understanding. Will most likely be either a three-shot or a six-shot.

Omegaverse SOLDIER AU (let me liveeeeeee, dammit!)

After failing to get into SOLDIER three times in a row (the max amount of times one can attempt in their lifetime) and having his childhood dream of becoming a hero shattered like glass, Cloud, a Beta cadet, is more than done with SOLDIER and everything to do with the corrupt Shinra Corporation (Uh huh. Suuuuure).

This opinion is only further solidified when Cloud discovers the tragic fate of his hometown: Nibelheim, in an “unprecedented” explosion of its Mako Reactor, burns to the ground, resulting in the deaths of Cloud’s mother and every single person Cloud grew up with. With no home to return to, Cloud, following his best friend Zack Fair’s advice, begrudgingly decides to join the Shinra military as an infantryman and work as a menial grunt for the military’s more prominent SOLDIER members.

That is, until one day during a mission Cloud’s entire unit, including a group of skilled Third and Second Class SOLDIERS assisting them, are slaughtered in a brutal, bloody conflict, leaving Cloud the only one left alive after the mission’s end.

This not only catches the eye of the Director of SOLDIER himself, but several of its First Class members, who are so impressed with the Beta’s strength that they wish to assess Cloud’s capabilities for themselves, personally. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

This leads Cloud down a path filled with convincing lies and hard truths as he discovers the reality of his origins, unveiling secrets about Shinra and his past that he could have gone a lifetime without knowing. He realizes the hard way that sometimes what you dream for, what you desperately wish for, isn’t always something you want in the long run.

Main ships are a tie between Sefikura and Clack/Zakkura (possibly Sephiroth/Cloud/Zack or maybe even a love triangle, ew). I also really wanna try writing out Strifesodos, but I’m leaning towards Banorashipping as a side ship in this cuz its cute and passionate.

A S T R O N G side ship in this is going to be Aerti (featuring Turk!Tifa and Full Cetra!Aerith), along with minor ships like Scarlet x Elena, Tseng x Rufus, and honestly who  knows anymore, lol. This will most likely be the longest story on the list, I’m planning for at least ten+ chapters.

Also, not shaming it in any way, but just FYI for the people who are interested, there will be no pregnancy in this story. It’s just not my thing. <3

Again, all of these AU’s are subject to change, but I’d love to bounce ideas back and forth and see what certain shippers would like to see in the fandom. I’m really receptive to discussing fics in general, even if its an idea about one of your own stories you wanna talk about. :)

If you actually read all of that, THANK YOU KINDLY! <33333

[in-a-cave-with]

ok just to start you off: here’s the full list of all of the main iron man runs in chronological order. obviously it’s a kind of wacky idea to start from tales of suspense and work your way down the list (imv1 has over 300 issues and it takes. A while to read through) it’s still helpful to have as a reference

this is a link to the list/the download links for all of them, but you can find them all on readcomiconline.to if downloading isn’t your thing. just an fyi though readcomiconline titles the iron man/invincible iron man volumes by year it started rather than volume number, so iron man vol 4 is listed as “iron man (2005)”, invincible iron man vol 2 is listed as “invincible iron man (2015)”, etc.

when you download comics, they come in .cbr file formats. there are plenty good cbr readers out there, like cdisplay or comicrack for pc/simplecomic for mac. personally, i use yacreader/yacreaderlibrary because it keeps track of whether i’ve read an issue and what page i’m on

now to the actual guide part! but it’s not really a guide, more like “here’s some comics to read if you have no idea what’s going on”

invincible iron man v2 (2015), international iron man, and invincible iron man v3 (2016). these volumes are all part of bendis’ run, which is seriously not as bad as everyone says it is. they take place after the 616 universe reboot, so you don’t really need too much knowledge going in. if you look at my blog’s archive you can see that i pretty much started reading comics from here. the reason i’m reccing this first is a) the art is gorgeous and b) bendis’ characterization of tony is a blend of both mcu and 616, making it a pretty friendly jumping-off point for people who want to get into comics.

some extra notes: international iron man is a one-shot comic and isn’t connected to iimv2 and iimv3. / civil war ii at around the end of iimv2, which is a horrible comic that you should only read if you have a death wish. all you need to know is that rhodey died at around the beginning and tony gets put into a coma by carol around the end. / iimv3 is about riri williams aka ironheart. she gets mentored by our favorite boy AI tony, who’s a digitalized version of tony’s consciousness. / the end of iimv3 makes pretty much zero sense and i still don’t know what’s going on

tony stark: iron man #12-13 and ONLY THOSE ISSUES. this is a short story about tony interacting with wacky magic things. it’s also the part of ts:im is the only part that’s not written by d*n sl*tt, making it instantly better than the entire rest of the volume. there’s some mention of earlier events from the previous arc (#1-12) which you can read if you want, i guess, but i don’t think it’s too important. also the art for ts:im is GORGEOUS the whole way through, so if you just want to flip through it without actually reading anything that’s valid

iron man: fatal frontier. this one isn’t on the list but it’s REALLY good. it’s a story about tony on the moon, featuring the model 42 armor aka the best iron man armor in comics tbh. i’d REALLY recommend you download it, bc it’s meant to be read digitally i’m pretty sure. also, little to no background knowledge needed going in! here is a link to downloading it (there are also some smaller-file-size comics for other iron man volumes in the post too)

iron man v4 (2005). this is a start of a reboot and meant to be a place for people to immediately jump in. the only thing you need to know is that most ppl dont know tony is iron man bc of a weird retcon, and he reveals it in civil war so it doesn’t go on for too long. this volume goes through civil war which is a Very Bad Comic but the tie-ins are fairly well-written. after civil war steve dies and tony gets put in charge of SHIELD, and the issues after the cw tie-ins are about him as director. also, the last 3 issues deal with rhodey during the skrull invasion and don’t have much to do with everything else. fair warning though the entire volume is pretty dark and probably the most violent out of all of them

iron man v3 (1998). AHHHH vol 3. start from the beginning and read the entire way through. you will learn to simp for rumiko fujikawa as i have. little to no background knowledge is needed, sometimes they reference things that happened in iron man v1, but it’s not hard to follow the story if you haven’t read it (even i haven’t read through imv1). the art gets a little sketchy after the first tiberius stone arc, but the story’s interesting so it’s fine. the art gets good again in issue #50 and is part of one of my favorite iron man runs ever

you may be wondering “why is this going in reverse order by year” FAIR POINT! this was actually the order i read them though and it’s good for transitioning from mcu tony to 616 tony, because they are surprisingly more different in vibes than you may think. however you can choose to ignore the wack order i put these in and read them in your own order, it really doesn’t matter. iron man volumes aren’t very interconnected story-wise, except for TOS/imv1 and iimv2/iimv3.

TOS and imv1 are Vintage and Quality content, but i prefer to read them last because there are a LOT of issues. imo it’s easier to consume the smaller volumes first and then work your way up

finally, some notes on the other iron man volumes: 

iron man v2. this sucks. stay away from it. don’t read. 

invincible iron man v1 (2008). ok so the story is alright up until after the stark disassembled arc. but the art is ugly as hell. f.

iron man v5. the writing is. ehh. the art is ok, i guess? i just have no emotions about this entire volume . also arno and the “tony is adopted” subplot is introduced here

superior iron man: the art is good but evil tony sucks and doesn’t pay for his heinous crimes. a lot of people only like it bc tony looks “hot” or whatever. imagine how hard it was for an aroace tony stan to try to read it. i hate this comic so much.

infamous iron man. this is about dr doom suiting up as iron man! the art is pretty and i really like dr doom but there’s not much tony content in it. definitely the most readable out of the ones i’ve listed here

[evanstanbot]

tbh i don't get why you stucky just started your disappointment NOW, since his character writing already deteriorate in civil war. what you said about steve, "move on, fight the good fight, never give up on anyone" is gone already - he's written as a man who indulge in his past, which is totally okay. y'll don't complain about it in civil war only because it centers your fav boy and fav ship, but when he went to another his past - Peggy y'll get FURIOUS. Isn't that double standard?

Listen anon you sent me a hate message, but I’ve got time. Now sit back while I go into details. fyi, this is gonna be LONG. Anything for my Steve. I didn’t survive and throw hands at people in 2016 too to see this bs lol. I didn’t think I’d see the CW discourse in 2019 but here we are…

First of all, I’ll need you to understand that in storytelling (or in this case a character’s narrative), the character’s personal feelings (faith, love, hate, etc.) and said character’s moral rights are NOT mutually exclusive… because even in real life, we all have to balance out our personal feelings and what’s plausible. We have to find the balance between following our heart and following our brain.


But, we’re talking about heroes here—they’re obliged to do the morally correct thing. However, good writing and a good character comes about when the character can balance out these traits (feelings and thoughts), just like we do in real life, and still end up doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s perfectly balanced: half-and-half. But, it doesn’t always have to be like that; it just has to balanced in some manner. These heroes are people we’re supposed to look up to and seeing them battle against their feelings and still choose the morally correct thing is what makes a hero a hero.


Let’s list a few examples throughout Steve’s arcs, shall we? under the cut..

CA:TFA

*

* Steve initially set out to walk to Austria in order to save Bucky, his best friend, even though he wasn’t sure if Bucky was alive or not. That’s when his feelings and morals come in play. He chose his feelings, first. But, that’s okay. He’s still developing. But then, he checked in with Pegs to see if he was right. “You told me you thought I was meant for more than this. Did you mean that?”

* When Bucky “died,” his morals were bounded by guilt. That’s when Peggy came in to warn him to be a person of reason (at that moment, especially), to tell him to move on, and that they have a war to win. And so, he did. Yet, he chose both his feelings and his morals here. “I don’t wanna kill anyone” became “I won’t stop until all of HYDRA are killed or captured.” His morals are still right, but his feelings of guilt and anger encouraged them. feelings and morals, balanced. 

CA:TWS

* He told to Pegs that half the reason why he’s working with SHIELD is because she built it. You see the “half” there? Half of the reason is because of his faith and respect for Peggy; the other half is because it’s the right thing to do; SHIELD was helping people… (or so he thought of course). perfectly balanced.

* Then, he took down shield. It broke him when he found out about Bucky being brainwashed and turning into The Winter Soldier. He probably wanted to kill all of HYDRA again for hurting his friend. But, once more, he did the right thing. Steve could’ve just found and taken down HYDRA and ignore the infestation of SHIELD. He could’ve gotten Bucky back that way and been done with it, but he knew better. “How many paid the price?… SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes.” That’s why TWS Steve is the best Steve. It shows that he’s a tactician: he observed and observed and observed throughout the film. He saw what was happening around him and made a decision based on that (his brain, his logic). And that decision combined with his own feelings (his heart) about Bucky made for the deadly destruction of SHIELD. “The price of freedom is high. It always has been, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one, then so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.” He did what’s right, but also let his own feelings take over and have a say. (Read: He couldn’t hurt Bucky.) He stopped Bucky until he completed his mission, but after that, he dropped his shield for him; he let his heart take over once his morals were satisfied. still balanced.

CA:CW

* First, the accords. Steve, from the beginning, NEVER agreed to the accords—far before Bucky came into the picture. There. I said it. When Ross was talking about the accords, Steve knew he couldn’t trust them. He was let down by the government twice already. He set his mind on not signing it right then and there. Then, after the funeral, Nat came up to confront him about his decision and he still stuck by it. Notice that he was encouraged by Sharon’s speech (my fav Steve quote given to Pegs and then delivered by Sharon… anyway moving on). Steve made his choice based on his own morals and stuck with it. (By the way, he moved on from Pegs here.)

* Next, Bucky comes into play; and, Steve went on to protect his friend. Remember when he almost signed the accords because of Bucky? (Tony’s bargain was that he would make sure Bucky would not be turned over to the Wakandans.) Steve was tempted, yes, but when he heard about what Tony did to Wanda, he got proof that that the accords were wrong. He wanted to help Bucky badly, but in the end he kept those particular personal feelings from affecting his morals-based choice; he used his feelings of anger towards Wanda being trapped instead. “If I see a situation pointed south, I can’t ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could.” again, balanced.

* If you look at airport scene, you’d see how Steve was only talking about the other winter soldiers. Of course he’d his best friend, but he didn’t let his selfishness and feelings take over. He’s also doing this because it’s the right thing to do. To stop Zemo (the real villain here, by the way) and the other winter soldiers before they cause harm to the public. He’s fighting the good fight.

* Him not telling Tony about Bucky… This was because he knew Bucky was going to get hurt or even worse, killed, if he did. He considered the consequences and here he chose his feelings. He knew it wasn’t right, so he apologized to Tony via the letter. He paid the price for choosing his friend and following his feelings for this one; he became a fugitive. (Yet, remember that he rescued the avengers who were thrown in jail and kept on avenging secretly.) He’s still morally correct in the end.

* Remember when he whole-heartedly believed that Bucky did not bomb the UN? It’s because his faith is in people, not in systems or rules—he learned this the hard way in CATWS. He knew Bucky pulled him out of the river; and, his feelings came into play. But, he still checked out the facts with Sam and Sharon. And he was right: Bucky didn’t do it.

A:IW

* There wasn’t much Steve to begin with; however, I just want to point out that he’s still helping the avengers, protecting them despite the conflict. He went to the avengers compound (even though he wasn’t in good terms with the government) because they needed help (the earth was under attack and Tony was gone). but most importantly, because they are also his family. he has a life here.

And then, A:Endgame did that.

* I’m not saying Steve would never consider that life… I’m just saying that he would never choose to go back if he had the chance because he knows how to balance his feelings and moral compass. Our Steve would deal with his own trauma instead of running off to a better place (or so he thought it was a better place).

* Adding up the time travel logic, he can’t change the past. He’s creating another timeline—meaning… those people are not his people. Also, what would he say to them? Would he lie? Steve “I’m always honest” Rogers would never be able to live a life constructed by a web of lies. He certainly wouldn’t steal another Steve’s life. He considers the moral aspects of everything he does, not just his feelings. Creating another timeline just because he wanted to have a supposedly good life isn’t that.

* Adding another time travel theory (thanks markus), Steve staying in the shadow while hydra was infiltrating shield? While Bucky was being tortured? it’s bs okay. a joke. there’s no way Steve Rogers is gonna sit there and do nothing. If you want receipts, reread this post. Pick up any Captain America comics.

* Also, “He earned that” is such a problematic take. He didn’t do all this for a prize. He did all this because he is a hero… because he is someone who never gives up. and most importantly, because he cares.

Steve’s arc is NOT about indulging in the past. It’s about still connecting to the past, while adapting to the future. Times changed but the problems are still the same. Making a better future—that’s what he does and what he strives for.


And that’s why we’re angry. I hope it sums up. It’s long, but it’s worth it. You can call me whatever names you like; it doesn’t matter. I know my value. I was angry at first, but you made me realize why Steve is my hero and the one I’ve always believed in. In conclusion, endgame!Steve is #NotMySteve. My Steve will always come back… do the right things, as he always does and always will.

[fyeahfantasticfour]

Does reed ever get really truly sad?

ALL THE TIME. I’d even say that at the heart of his character is a deep and abiding guilt and sadness over his role in the spaceflight crash and what it did to his family. He has always blamed himself for it and he beats himself up constantly because of it, and I don’t think that he will ever stop. That is like…his Uncle Ben. His parents getting murdered in an alleyway. The death of Pa Kent. It’s the tragedy he’ll never really recover from and that drives and informs everything he does.

Besides, he hasn’t exactly had the easiest or the most uneventful life, even before founding the FF. For starters, Reed’s mother, Evelyn, died when he was a child (50+ years and no writer has ever bothered to so much as explain how she died, and if that’s not sexism I don’t know what is) and his father, Nathaniel, effectively abandoned him. Reed didn’t see him again for 25 years (ish. Nathaniel’s a time-traveller, and also comics). Also, just FYI, Reed originally got the premature grey at the temples as a byproduct of the trauma he suffered while fighting as a major with the Italian underground during WWII, which by all accounts was incredibly dangerous and it’s likely that a lot of his men died. (But I don’t know how canonical Reed’s military service is nowadays. Is it subject to the sliding timescale, or is it just out of continuity entirely?) So it’s not like Reed’s life was free of tragedy even before he became a member of the FF.

But if you want some good sad Reed moments:

Fantastic Four: First Family #1, which picks up immediately after the spaceflight crash and features the FF being taken to a military prison and studied. They’re all terrified, traumatized, and coping badly with their new, out-of-control powers and the reality of what their lives will be like now, and Reed’s so paralyzed by guilt over everything that he shuts down completely and is nonresponsive for days:

I 100% recommend reading this comic for the sad Reed feels alone.

Cut for length.

Fantastic Four v1 #66, where Ben’s emotionally and physically abusive towards Reed (who was just trying to help) and Reed just accepts it because he blames himself for Ben’s disfigurement:

Their relationship…went through a deeply unhealthy period after the spaceflight crash.

Fantastic Four v1 #133, aka the saddest New Year’s ever:

This is right after Sue left Reed for the first (of two) times, and needless to say Reed’s handling it none too well, which we see again in Fantastic Four v1 #140:

Fantastic Four v1 #142, after Reed’s forced to put his son into a coma in order to save all life in the solar system (it’s complicated), and everyone blames him for not finding another way, and, yes, that includes Reed:

I can’t say I entirely like the way Reed and Sue’s separation was handled, but I do like that Reed was horribly depressed and self-destructing the entire time. 

Also, that whole storyline highlights the unfairly high standard to which the FF can hold Reed at times – they have a tendency to expect Reed to magically solve everything that goes wrong in their lives, even (or especially) if it’s impossible, and if he can’t, they’ll oftentimes blame Reed for it, which doesn’t help the fact that Reed was always already going to blame himself for letting them down. Especially if he thinks they never would’ve been in that position in the first place if not for him/the crash. No one will ever be harder on Reed than he is on himself. Most of what he blames himself for isn’t even his fault.

Marvel Fanfare v1 #2, which features Reed working himself half to death in a desperate effort to cure Ben:

In this comic, Reed puts his own life and happiness on hold (he misses his wedding anniversary) and works nonstop for days with little food and no sleep because he thinks he’s close to curing Ben, and he spends the entire time beating himself up mercilessly for failing Ben so many times. I wait for the day when fandom finally understands that Reed locking himself in his lab because he is pushing himself too hard to cure Ben is a form of self-harm/punishment. Every time he tries to cure Ben, he relives the massive trauma of the spaceflight crash over and over, which, again, he can’t move past any more than Ben can. Even Ben realizes that Reed’s torturing himself and wishes he’d stop:

There’s also Fantastic Four v1 #296, which spotlights Reed’s undiminished guilt and Ben’s difficulty coping with his disfigurement/powers, and the deeply unhealthy and dysfunctional nature of their relationship after the crash (I don’t think it’s fair to say that Ben was doing any of this consciously, but I guess it doesn’t change the fact that it was happening):

This is after Sue catches Reed sadly watching old home videos of Ben alone in the dark because Ben broke up with him announced that he was leaving the FF. (Marvel, if you don’t want me to think Ben and Reed are in love, you should maybe stop having them act like they are. As far as tragic ships go, BenReed ranks pretty high up.)

Fantastic Four v1 #406, where Reed’s been presumed dead for months, but it turns out that he was exiled to the past and has been living alone in a cave, and his experiences leave him pretty badly broken and defeated in ways he never had been before: 

I’d recommend Fantastic Four: Unplugged v1 #2 for sad BenReed feels from Ben’s POV after Reed’s supposed death. During the reading of Reed’s will, we find out that Ben’s coping VERY badly with Reed’s death, and it’s not made any better after he finds out Reed left him the game ball Ben gave him way back when they were in college, which it turns out Reed’s kept/treasured for decades. Look, they just love each other a lot.

These next few are from Waid’s run, and I’d 100% recommend reading this because I feel like Waid really gets Reed and what a tragic figure he is.

Fantastic Four v3 #60, where Reed tells Valeria the story of the spaceflight crash, complete with soul-crushing guilt:

There’s also Fantastic Four v1 #501-502, which takes place immediately after a vicious attack by Doom on the FF that involved throwing Franklin into Hell and badly scarring Reed’s face. Reed takes to brooding alone in his lab afterward without doing anything, and the fact that he’s not sciencing is how you know he’s really upset.

Fantastic Four v1 508, where Doom forces Reed to kill Ben in order to save Johnny’s life, and Reed is devastated:

And Fantastic Four v1 #509-511, where Reed travels to Heaven to get Ben back, because he can’t handle life without him, and just….loses it completely when Ben tells him he isn’t coming back:

(Do you see what I mean about Ben and Reed being in love? Also, can I point out that Ben turned down Heaven itself for Reed and swore he’d never leave him, but now Reed’s left Ben…)

Marvel Knights 4 v1 #18, where Reed’s father Nathaniel unexpectedly returns, and Reed asks Nathaniel to stay and behave like an actual father for once, but Nathaniel abandons him again:

So Nathaniel Richards is a truly abysmal father. Like. He gives Franklin Storm a run for his money in terms of terribleness, and believe me, that is difficult. (At least Reed had the good sense not to name his son after his terrible dad, Susan.)

And honestly, as much as I hate the way Reed’s characterized in Civil War I, the one thing it got right was Reed being devastated over Sue leaving him:

There’s also Fantastic Four v1 #588, which takes place right after Johnny’s death:

Or Fantastic Four v4, Fraction’s run, where Reed discovers that he is dying of cancer, and he’s terrified:

Or Fantastic Four v5, which is basically about the Fantastic Four losing everything and Reed, being Reed, blaming himself for all of it:

Also, I just want it known that when Reed’s depressed, he watches Josie and the Pussycats, because it’s his all-time favorite movie:

[spideys-pack]

Death(s) in Infinity War??!!

My purely speculative ideas on what might happen to our heroes.. I hope none of it happens but in my mind, it’s possible.. Lets hope no one actually meets these fates.. 

I don’t hate any of these characters, unless I state so, I don’t mean any beef with anyone because again, these are just ideas that have been bouncing around my head since the trailer was leaked.. I thought I might as well let my thoughts out instead of letting them consume me at 5am or while I'm trying to take a relaxing shower. 

They aren’t in like a countdown order either, I just need to number them because you know... OCD. I DO SWEAR SO BEWARE IF YOU DONT LIKE THAT. Now, without further stalling. Lets get to it. 

1. Vision

Vision is probably on everyone’s lists because of the same reason which is an Infinity Stone literally being in his face. Thanos needs the Infinity Stones to complete his gauntlet. Considering the Mind Stone has the biggest spot on the gauntlet, perhaps it gives him the most power? Anyways, I think Thanos will want to take the stone from Vision and I’m willing to bet like my left big toe that he wouldn't be gentle about it and Vision wouldn't be able to survive the process. That’s why he’s on my list. 

2. Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch

As much as I hate to put Wanda on my list, it seems likely and makes sense that she could die or get seriously injured during Infinity War. Why? Because she may still be harbouring guilt over what happened in Lagos in Civil War. Yeah she did say to Vision that she couldn't control everyones fear and seemed to have accepted that she had made a mistake but I can’t help feel like because this is Wanda, one of the sweetest little smol beans in the MCU, she still feels bad about it and would die trying to prove to people that she is one of the good guys. That or her other most likely cause of death is trying to protect Vision from Thanos and dying in the process. I would honestly hate to see Wanda get hurt let alone die. 

3. Drax The Destroyer 

Everyone loves Drax and if you say you don’t you’re lying. But if you genuinely mean it... We can’t be friends. Perhaps everyone thinks Drax is going to die in Infinity war. Due to the fact that since the first Guardians movie he has been out for revenge for the death/killing of his family. That has been majority of his story arc. At first, he thought the killer and target was Ronan, the Accuser but in the first Guardians he declares Thanos the “real mission” after finding out Ronan was acting under his orders. Although Drax did literally punch Thanos’ heart out in one storyline, I feel like Marvel/the MCU won't let him get away with it and survive. I have a feeling they might kill one Avenger and one Guardian so each team has a reason to fight for one another or remain allies after the war. Drax will probably be the one to kill Thanos. That’s very likely. (But between you and I, I kind of hope it’s Nebula. After years of him shitting on her, I hope she seriously gets a few licks in or honestly fucks him up). Though he’ll probably be the one to do the deed, Drax will probably die doing it. This way, Marvel gets their victory and Drax gets his vengeance and doing so, is reunited with his family. But also saving his friends doing so. Making him not just Drax the Destroyer, but Drax the Hero. 

4. Nick Fury

I know this one seems kind of far fetched, I mean I pitched it to one of my friends and she looked at me like I had sprouted a second head. Just hear me out though... So, basically The Avengers have broken up that’s obvious. 

Side note: (For Friends fans...) It would be funny if like Cap or someone that got arrested because of Tony and his team brought it up and Tony just goes “We were on a break!” I would literally cackle myself into an early grave.. 

With the Avengers at odds, what could possibly bring them all together again emotionally more than physically? The death of Director Fury. I mean it worked for the first Avengers movie when Agent Coulson “died”. Since Fury has roots with pretty much all the Avengers, they may feel a need to unite to avenge Fury as well as protect the Earth but as a team. Marvel sometimes reuses plot ideas, perhaps they would do it for this one? Plus, Nick Fury is a fan favourite and it would no doubt have a very big emotional impact not only in the MCU but with the fans as well. 

5. Thor 

Now I would honestly rather rip my own intestines out of my ass than see Thor die. He’s one of my favourite characters from the MCU. He had the potential to be such a bruiting, tough guy character but instead we get our version and I couldn't be more in love with him. I mean this guy is literally a Norse God and he’s sitting there in his trailer telling Hulk/Bruce about how he “So much has happened since I last saw you! I lost my hammer like, yesterday so that’s still pretty fresh.” Like this guy is literally huge and I love that he’s not serious. “Did I win?” “No. I won. Easily.” I was laughing the whole trailer. Just fyi. Anyways, enough about my crush on Thor...

I hate to think that we could lose Thor. But, his death makes too much sense. The Thor movies don't make as much as the others (Cap, Iron Man). After Ragnarok, The Thor movies are done. Ragnarok ends his individual storyline. The movie also brings Asgard into the war. It’s likely Marvel will kill off Thor because they had even said they wanted to switch up the Avengers team line up, and getting rid of Thor who is one of the strongest could prompt the Avengers to recruit not one but multiple heroes to fill his place. My theory us sadly also backed up by the fact that Thor/Chris Hemsworth is not yet confirmed for the following Avengers or Marvel movies. Perhaps he has signed a contract and they’re keeping it under raps because they know we look into that shit but that could also be my wishful thinking... 

6. Tony Stark / Iron Man 

*Collective gasps from the crowd* 

No, but seriously Marvel loves to build us up but then (hulk)smash us down. Think about how involved and intertwined Tony is with the whole MCU. He’s such a big character and he does a lot for the heroes. Plus, Marvel has launched a comic reboot storyline where Iron Man is now an Iron WOman. And let’s be honest, everyone is crawling over each other to get media attention over being supportive of women/races/LGBTQ... So, they would most likely kill Tony to bring in Riri Williams. Not only will this get them even more media coverage BUT it also allows them to send a huge shockwave throughout the MCU. With Tony being at odds with Cap and most of the Avengers, and him having a son-like figure in his protege, Peter Parker... He has people to leave behind and mourn in other movies. Tony Stark’s death would change the MCU a lot. But maybe too much? I’m still iffy on this one. 

7. Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow

There’s no denying that Nat is a fan favourite. She’s also just about as much interweaved with the MCU as Tony. Appearing in several films, she is a huge supporting character but as much as we try, she's a supporting character and is in a group with heroes like Vision and Hawkeye where they are the most likely not to get stand alone films. She seems to always play a big role in the victory of the team we’re supposed to root for, An example would be when she helps Steve and Bucky get passed T’Challa in Civil War. 

Side note: I would love to link this to the fact that Bucky and Natasha have a history. In the Comics that is, it isn't canon in the movies but I would also like to link Nat saying “You could at least recognize me” to Bucky in Civil War to that as well. Considering Nat and Bucky were romantically involved briefly, that could be an interesting arc considering whatever she has/had with Bruce. Either way, I would love Red Room flashbacks or even a movie... 

It seems likely that Nat could get killed trying to help everyone with the war. Considering she is one of the team members who doesn't have powers... Thanos could easily, and regrettably rag doll the shit out of everyones favourite red head. 

8. Bruce Banner / The Hulk

MARVEL. FUCKING. WOULD. 

They would take Bruce “I know, I tried” away from us. One of Marvel’s biggest hard-hitters who also needs to be protected at all costs. For as long as he’s been in the MCU, Hulk has been seen as the tank. “We have a Hulk”. Perhaps during the Infinity War, our heroes over estimate Bruce and he goes up against Thanos and ends up dead because of it. 

9. Thanos 

Marvel has a tendency to kill off their villains before they necessarily should. I admit, I haven't even met MCU’s Thanos and I already want this mother fucker to get dropped but I would also love to see Marvel develop a villain. The only villain(s) they’ve really developed are Loki and The Winter Soldier and majority of us would argue that these two are not villains. They are pretty much the only two however who have been on the opposing side of our heroes and survived to come back and/or develop. Loki jumps back and forth between good and evil and Bucky was never truly evil, he was brainwashed. The other ones like The Red Skull and Obadiah Stane/War Monger die in fiery explosions before we even get to experience their full story. Although we spend most of their movies hoping and wishing for it. I just hope Marvel gives Thanos enough time to develop outside of the post-credit scenes before the Avengers and Guardians eventually bring him down, if they even do that in Infinity War. 

10. Steve Rogers / Captain America

The thought of losing Cap really hurts, especially since he just got his bestie Bucky back. Although we all know this is going to happen. Chris Evans has been reported saying that he has indeed signed one more contract with Marvel after reading it over and feeling that one more movie was needed to wrap up Cap/Steve’s story. My thoughts are, what exactly is stopping Marvel from offing him in Infinity War and just making him majorly flashback-type scenes in the next one. We all know both Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes have dawned the Cap suit and Shield but he true question would be exactly who is Marvel’s choice? Perhaps Cap will in fact die in Infinity War and it will be Bucky who takes up the mantle and the only reason we see Steve is through Bucky’s returning memories as he tries to handle being Cap? 

11. Loki

Loki is another one of my favourites, only due to the fact that I’m weak when it comes to misunderstood villainy... *cough* Jason Todd *cough* It’s not just me who has succumbed to the seduction of the God of Mischief and his constant knack for well... Mischief. Loki has died in the MCU but he always seems to come back. If Marvel is planning on keeping Thor around, having Loki actually die just might break him if they want to pro sue a more serious angle, we’ve seen what Loki’s death does to Thor. Perhaps having Loki die after he presumably gives over the Tesseract may fuel Thor with enough rage to be one of the potential people to take Thanos out.. 

12. Nebula 

Nebula is a likely casualty of the Infinity War. Simply because of her role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. 

Or, perhaps she plays a much larger role in Infinity War. In one storyline Nebula steals the Infinity Gauntlet and sabotages Thanos betraying him. If Nebula does this, Thanos could easily kill her. After she was humanized in GOTG Vol. 2, this might be an emotional trauma Marvel could want to inflict on Gamora. Gamora has a possibilty of playing a big role in the destruction of Thanos but having her lose her sister who she kinda patched things up with... That could give her the edge she needs. Despite how much I want to see more of Nebula and have more development for her, this seems possible. 

13. Sam Wilson / Falcon

Sam Wilson would honestly in my opinion, be a tragic loss. His character was amazing from his first 30 seconds on screen. He has heart and humour and it’s hard not to love his character but that’s also a moth to flame with Marvel. They might kill off Sam to not only hurt Steve but also promote Bucky to have something to avenge after Steve dies and he has to become Captain America. We’ve already seen Bucky throw himself in front of Sam to take the brunt of a hit from Spidey so maybe, just maybe there’s some sort of friendship there and killing one of them might trigger Bucky’s need to become an Avenger kicking off a storyline that could support Marvel’s 9 contract deal with Sebastian. 

14. King T’Challa / Black Panther 

Why T’Challa? You ask... Well, as much as I would like to say it’s because Chadwick is just too precious for this world and be done with it, I must make a point.. Marvel probably won’t want to have two multi-billionaire badasses with equally badass suits in play. This is assuming they don't kill Tony, perhaps they will kill T’Challa? Again, this goes back to my theories surrounding Sebby Stan’s  9 contract deal. I think it’s very likely they have chosen to follow the storyline of Bucky becoming Cap after Steve is gone. From the Infinity War trailer, it looks like Bucky is settled in with T’Challa and the Wakandans. Or is that just me? Perhaps Bucky decides to stay in Wakanda. After all, the world isn't exactly welcoming him with open arms at the moment.. How do they get Bucky out of Africa so he can become Captain America? They kill off T’Challa. His only tie to Wakanda. 

I don’t know a lot about Chadwick Boseman’s contracts and I can’t seem to find anything but this again is one of my more iffy theories. I hope it doesn't come true, I love T’Challa, or what we’ve gotten so far, I hope we get a lot more.

15. Peter Parker / Spider-Man = Tony Stark Version 2?

I know, I know.. The thought kills me too. We just got our MCU Peter Parker and I think it’s safe to say, everyone loves having him. 

I have Peter on my list not as a death though. I just think he’s going to get seriously injured. Marvel might just be baiting us with that whole trailer “Tony, I’m sorry.” snippet but at the same time, Peter getting injured makes sense to carry a certain plot line. *cough* Tony’s death *cough*. Tony stated in Spider-Man: Homecoming “And if you die, I feel like that’s on me. I don’t need that on my conscience.” Tony’s compassion and love for the people in his life is a special thing. Something I honestly love about Tony. But, it could be his downfall. In Ultron, we saw that Tony’s worst fear is the Avengers dying and the fact that he “Could have saved us. Why didn’t you do more?”. Tony is a protector. So, having Peter around during the battle could be dangerous and potentially fatal for Tony. Peter has sort of become Tony’s surrogate son/protege and I don’t think he would let anything happen to him. If/when Peter gets injured in Infinity War, I think it will throw Tony off his game. He may feel guilty or worried about Peter and being distracted like that while facing someone like Thanos? Let’s just say if anything happens to Peter, we shouldn't just be worried about him, we should also be worried about Tony. 

16. The Stark Era/Legacy

I swear to you, I don't hate Tony or RDJ. I just can't shake the thought that we’re going to have to say goodbye to him. 

The MCU started with Tony, even if the earliest events take place in the 1940′s with Cap. It was a Stark that made Steve Cap. The Starks are rooted in the MCU and are the basic foundation of it. They’re heavily involved with all of the events of the MCU. This theory isn't entirely the death of Tony Stark but the death of Stark involvement. 

Let me explain/paint a picture... 

Captain America: The First Avenger: Howard Stark develops a serum that can turn an ordinary man into the ultimate soldier. Thus, creating Captain America which in turn saved America from destruction. And well, German rule. Howard’s super soldier was the one that took down The Red Skull before he could develop and distribute deadly weapons to Hitler and his Nazis. In doing so, the Americans and their allies were able to stop Hitler. Also, it was Howard who built that iconic shield and thought to build it from Wakandan vibranium. 

Iron Man: Tony is running his father’s business seemingly where he left it. Using intellect no doubt inherited from his father, he develops weapons and other tech to continue to protect the world that Howard had helped protect in the 1940′s. The plot of Iron Man is showing Tony not only becoming Iron Man but Obadiah, becoming greedy with power and wanting to overthrow Tony. It was Stark tech that ended up saving Tony and America from terrorists and Obadiah.

Skipping forward to the Avengers... 

The Avengers: It’s obvious that Tony had been playing with the idea of the Avengers with S.H.I.E.L.D. He doesn't say something like: “What the hell is that?” When Pepper mentions it. It also seems like it was Tony who had been talking to Pepper about it in the first place when she says “Which I know nothing about...” So obviously Tony had been part of coming up with the idea. So, we can thank a Stark brain for the Avengers too??? 

Avengers: Age of Ultron: No one lets us forget that Ultron was Tony’s fault. Especially Tony. “And then Ultron.. My fault.” (Civil War). Tony was scared for the safety of Earth and more importantly it seems, his team mates. After his vision of the Avengers laying dead and Cap accusing him of not doing enough Tony gets the idea to create the synthetic being that is, Ultron. His intentions were good but his execution faltered. 

Captain America: Civil War: I won’t say that Civil War was Tony’s fault because it wasn't, it was equally Cap’s too for not wanting to sign the contract just as Tony did want to. It was a Stark who opposed the title character which carried the plot. And when all of the basic plot lines were complete, the big finale drawing the movie to a close for the final climax battle was because Tony found out Bucky had killed guess who under HYDRA’s control?? 

Howard and Maria Stark.

At the end of that fight, we see Cap give up his mantle to continue protecting Bucky. What was the reason to give up his mantle? 

“That shield doesn't belong to you.You don’t deserve it. My father made that shield!”  

(Oh, yeah.. a little side note.. Go back to watch that fight scene and at the end when Steve helps Bucky up, Sebastian’s groan in that scene holy fuck, jesus on a tricycle it’s HOT.)

Spider-Man: Homecoming: Tony was the one who built Spidey’s new suit. He was also the one that gave Peter the idea that he was capable of a lot more than stopping “grand theft bicycles”. I mean he held his own against THE Captain America. In one scene Peter and Tony start to argue and Peter’s reasoning for all of his behaviour throughout the movie was because: “I just wanted to be like you.” So, Peter’s mistakes and actions throughout his movie were rooted from the fact that he just wanted to be like Tony. 

Avengers: Infinity War: This movie hasn't even come out yet so I’m not going to act like I know Tony’s full involvement or whatever, but we do know that Peter is prepared for the war because of his brand new Iron Spider suit curtesy of you guessed it, Mr. Anthony Stark. 

Also, Marvel might lean more towards this option because keep in mind, RDJ is getting hella expensive because even he knows how important he is to Marvel’s cinematic universe. They might lean more towards offing Tony to save themselves some cash..

Therefore, if Marvel really decided to kill off Tony, that would be the end of heavy Stark influence. Of course, the Starks would still be present but only as a memory and a company. There wouldn't be an actual Stark to back everything up or come up with new ideas. Unless Pepper is cooking up a little Stark bun in the oven, Tony’s death would mark the end of the Stark line, thus, lessening his influence in the MCU. 

[cooperjones2020]

Second City, chp. 9

Summary: Sometimes she worries she’s settling — for a smaller job, a smaller city, a smaller life than she’d promised herself — but that was before she found out Jughead Jones lives in Chicago. That was before she found out the final secret of Jason Blossom’s murder.

A/N: FYI, Fletcher Foley is a real Archie comics character, but I haven’t read any of the issues he’s in.

ao3–>http://archiveofourown.org/works/11409360/chapters/26328312

Second City one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine (ao3)

Nobodies Nobody Knows one / two / three / four / five / six (ao3)

9. In which a change of scenery takes place

She steps out of Jughead’s apartment and into an uber. Well, not immediately. She can’t telepathically summon ride-hailing services. Though she’s sure someone in Silicon Valley is working on that very problem in this exact moment. A hysterical laugh gets caught in her throat at the thought.

She’s worried Jughead will come after her, so she zigzags a couple of blocks until she’s on the far side of the square. In between a coffee shop and a wine bar, she finds a large hedge to stand beside, and then she summons the car. Thankfully, his neighbourhood is still busy on a Sunday afternoon, and there are many small black icons zooming around when she opens the app. The wait is less than two minutes.

Kevin, she knows, is at work, some special project keeping him up at all hours and in the office, even on weekends. Polly doesn’t pick up. It’s her day off, so Betty assumes her sister and her sister’s boyfriend are enjoying their last few days of kid-free time. And, while she’s so glad she and Veronica are reconnecting again, she doesn’t think they’re quite at the point for this. Even if they were, she also doesn’t think she’s quite ready for Ronnie’s particular blend of supportively brutal honesty. Archie is an option she doesn’t even consider.

So, she goes to the only person who knew her then.

She manages to recapture and hold onto her anger all through the car ride. It feels righteous, powerful, and, unfortunately, all too short. Because once she steps into Mary’s house, she bursts into tears. Something deep inside her, long forced closed and held together with glue, staples, tape, cracks open and grief stampedes through her. She’s vaguely aware of Mary pulling her to the couch, wrapping her arms around her, and rocking her. Mary rubs circles on Betty’s back and makes calm shushing noises. She speaks only enough to ascertain that no one’s been injured or died, then she just lets Betty unload until she’s empty.

She cries for an embarrassingly long time, in violent sobs that wrack her body and cause a headache to bloom behind her eyes.

At some point, she comes to and slides from the couch to the floor. It’s still light out, though it is the middle of summer, so all that really tells her is it’s before 9 pm. Her throat is dry and lips parched. There’s a water bottle on the coffee table in front of her. She grabs it and drinks half in a series of gulps. Mike must have brought it out for her. She hasn’t noticed him in the haze of her heartache, but he must be around somewhere.

Betty settles back against Mary’s legs and lets her stroke her hair, allowing herself to be comforted by the maternal gesture.

“He lied to me.” She doesn’t know if she’s talking about Jughead or her father, but, in the end, she supposes, it doesn’t really matter.

Once she gets to her gate, Betty tries to take up as much space as she possibly can without feeling guilty about it. She picks a seat at the end of a row and sets her purse next to her, her sweater in the seat next to that. Her suitcase she slides so it’s partially in front of a fourth seat. She creates a forcefield of belongings so no one can approach her.

Yesterday had scooped her out and left her numb, depleted. But the one good thing about a multi-hour crying jag is its cleansing power. Sitting at the gate, she feels a renewed sense of purpose.

As soon as it’s crossed nine o’clock, she calls Cynthia.

“Betty, why are you calling me? Why don’t you just come down the hall? We can start our Monday meeting a little early.”

“I’m not in the office, Cynth. I had a bit of a personal emergency. I’m actually at O’Hare waiting for a flight back to Riverdale.” In all her years of grown-up-hood, Betty’s never done something like this. When her father died, they’d known it was coming, so she’d made arrangements to work from home and had trained the person who’d filled in for her on the things she couldn’t do remotely. Anxiety bubbles in her stomach at the thought of disappointing Cynthia.

“Oh no, is everything okay? Your family?”

“No, they’re fine. It’s more a me thing. But I’m so sorry to just leave like this. I know I don’t have vacation time or anything yet, but I was thinking I could use some sick days? Though I don’t know how long I’ll be gone—no more than a week surely. But I can also just take it as unpaid time, I know I’m leaving you in the lurch. And I have a piece half-finished—”

“Betty, stop. We’ll survive. We were gonna run your FP Jones interview this week anyway before his pre-publication publicity circuit starts next month.”

“Oh right.”

The flare of anger she has at the memory of her and Jughead in the bar in May, the moment she first started letting him back in, gives her the courage to get to the thing she’s been thinking about since she cried herself to sleep, then woke up at midnight on Mary’s couch and bought the plane ticket.

“Look, about that. The personal thing. I have a piece to pitch you. I think we should extend the Jones series to three articles. I’ll still review the new book. But I wanna write about—about Betsy Coleman. About being her. About what really happened, all the stuff Jughead omitted from the story. I want to write about it.”

But Cynthia knows her. Knows how deeply uncomfortable she’d been at the prospect of being publicly connected to the character.

“Oh honey, no. Why don’t we just talk about that when you get back?”

She lets Cynthia talk to her down, but she makes notes on the story anyway, while drinking the largest Starbucks green tea frappucino she thinks she can get away with without totally wrecking her blood sugar. She doesn’t mind that Jughead had written about her, about their life. She’d always known he would, had believed it in all the years between their break-up and The Final Fissure’s publication. She couldn’t begrudge him the one thing that she knows has always kept him sane, the thing that he does so beautifully it would be a crime to keep it from the rest of the world. She can’t begrudge the world for wanting to share in that. But, now, she’s pissed that he made her the heroine. She’s pissed that he put her on a pedestal, even while her own family was just as dirty as the Blossoms, the Kellers, the McCoys. In the Civil War between the North and the South of Riverdale, it was the Montagues that were blameless. Her own Capulets commanded every gun, every sword, every gavel.

She does wind up talking to Veronica, huddled against a charging station, and Ronnie makes her laugh through the tears that occasionally threaten.

Betty is jealous of Veronica (what else is new?). She is jealous of how sure and easy things are between her and Archie. And god she’s jealous of the sex she knows they must be having.

“It’s like the universe was saying here’s what you get, Elizabeth. You finally get to have a really great lay and then it all comes crashing down around your ears,” she whisper-yells, all too aware of the businessman in the row behind her. She hates being on FaceTime in public. Headphones make it marginally better, but not enough dispel her anxieties over being heard.

“Betty, that’s not how it works and you know it. You and Jughead, it sounds like you were a ticking time bomb anyway. Both physically and emotionally.”

“Bomb is exactly the right word. Only there’s a hell of a lot more shrapnel than I predicted.”

“Are you sure you should be leaving right now? I’m sure Jughead’s worried about you if you just ran out on him. And your mother—look, I may have only known her a short while but Alice Cooper makes an impression. Don’t you want to be calm when you see her?”

“I need to know, Ron. And she’s out of town right now, so I’ll have some time to figure out what I want to say. To look for, I don’t know, something.”

“Do you want to talk to Archie? I can wake him up.”

“No, I’m not ready yet.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t know.” She feels her nostrils flare.

“How could he not know?” She doesn’t know what would be worse — if Archie had lied to her or if Jughead had lied to Archie. Even through her own pain, she’d noticed how deeply Archie had felt Jughead’s loss. She’d been so pleased when she’d heard they’d reconnected. She didn’t want to come between them. Even at the time, she’d felt guilty for being with Archie. And sometimes, she’s pretty sure he felt the same. But they’d needed each other then, to hold each other up when the foundation had crumbled beneath them.

No, she knows what would be worse. As much as she hates having Robin Scherbatsky-ed them, the thought of her lifelong best friend, the only person who’d always been there for her, who’d always been honest with her, even when it would have hurt her less to lie, the thought of him keeping something like this from her—Well, it’s almost as bad as Jughead keeping it from her.

As she readies to board the plane, she finally pulls up their text message thread. He called her eight times yesterday, before finally giving up around 11 pm. He also sent her twenty-two texts, none of which she’d read. When she’d awoken at midnight on Mary’s couch, she’d opened the apps to get rid of the notifications, then pulled up the internet to book her flight. She hands her boarding pass to the gate attendant to scan, then shuffles along the jet bridge and scrolls through them.

“betty come back”

“you can’t just wander around a neighborhood you don’t know”

“i have more to tell you”

“i really want to talk to you”

“please answer me”

“you forgot your food. and your bra”

“hello”

“i will keep texting and calling you until you answer me”

“i just want to make sure you’re safe”

“please betts”

“i didn’t want to make it worse”

“i should have told you a long time ago”

“but in my defense it was pretty clear you’d moved on”

“shit ignore that last one”

“betty”

“betty”

“betty come on”

“answer your phone damn it”

“i’m sorry”

“just tell me you’re okay. please.”

“nvm, heard from mary”

“i’m here when you’re ready to talk.”

There’s one more text, from 5 o’clock that morning: “just please be ready to talk sometime”. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

Now, she responds: “can you send me copies of the security photos you have?”

He calls her when she’s still getting settled in her seat, and his voice is a familiar cocktail of anger, panic, and pain. “Betty, where are you?” Before she can answer, the flight attendant’s voice comes over the intercom. “Are you on a plane?”

“Yes.” She doesn’t mean to be short, but it’s hard to know what to say, what she can say in this moment.

“Where are you going?”

She debates not telling him, but knows he’d figure it out anyway. “Home. I need to talk to my mother and I need to do it in person. She’s not as good at lying to me face to face.”

He lets out a ragged sigh she can hear, even over the sounds of the engine warming up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to screw up—”

But she cuts him off, “I’m not. Jughead, whatever else I’m feeling, and who even knows what that is right now, I’m glad I know.”

“Why did you walk out?”

“Not right now, okay? Can we just focus on the Jason Blossom murder mystery plot?” There’s so much still for them to say, but she almost understands why he’d asked her that yesterday.

He’s silent a moment, then he says, “Are you okay?”

“No.” She lets out of shaky laugh. “Fuck no, definitely not. But I will be, once I get some answers.” But then the flight attendant comes by and signals that it’s time to switch to airplane mode. “I have to go, Jug. I’ll—I’ll call you, I guess. Later.”

“Okay.”

She hangs up without saying goodbye.

She can’t get comfortable during the flight. The ache between her thighs and across her shoulder blades reminds her how long it’s been since she’s been with a man. It also reminds her of the cost. She wonders if there’s a metaphor in there somewhere, but the thought is too tiring. So, she stares out the window as the lake gives way to the fields and forests of Michigan, Ontario, and, eventually, to New York.

Betty walks out of the airport, and, for the second time in two days, dissolves into a puddle of tears, this time in her sister’s arms.

“Hey, hey, little sis—what’s wrong?” Polly’s perfected her mom voice over the years, and for a moment Betty lets it lull her into a false sense of security. Then she freezes as realizes she cannot tell Polly any of what she suspects. Not until she’s sure. “No-nothing. It’s just been a hard week and I didn’t realize how much I missed you.”

Polly pulls back from her, hands still on her shoulders. “Do we maybe need to stop for some ice cream and Midol on the way home?”

Betty manages to pull a laugh out of somewhere deep inside, her spleen maybe, and says, “I hadn’t even thought of that, but sure.”

“One pint of Tonight Dough coming up! Mom only has that no sugar added frozen yogurt at her house, and, believe me, you don’t want to eat it unless you have to.”

She lets her sister console her with the promise of frozen dairy products and pain relievers she doesn’t need as they bundle her suitcase into the car and pull away from the airport.

“I’m sorry I won’t be here for your visit, Betty. And mom won’t be back from her conference for a couple of days, so you’ll have the house to yourself.”

“That’s okay. I’m the one who didn’t give you any warning I was coming. Thank you for coming to get me.”

“Are you kidding? A whole hour of you to myself and I don’t have to answer Cheryl’s incessant texts about SPF and not wearing mom shoes and yes I’m sure we don’t need fast passes and Disney World and Universal are plenty, we definitely don’t need to go to SeaWorld too.” Betty rolls her eyes. Cheryl is some Frankenstein’s monster of sort-of-cousin and sort-of-sister-in-law and completely overbearing, but Betty couldn’t imagine her life without her. She just wishes Cheryl would stop trying to buy the twins’ love. One, it’s unnecessary, they adore her. And two, sometimes it makes Betty feel a little bad that she can’t do the same, no matter how much Polly hates when Cheryl goes over the top.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay, just for tonight? I can have Fletcher push back our reservation.”

“No you should go. Don’t let me derail your plans. Besides, I had to be at the airport so early, I didn’t sleep very well last night.”

Polly rolls her eyes but keeps them on the road. “Of course not. You could have gotten a later flight, you know. Like two weeks later.”

“I know, it was sort of an impulsive decision.”

“Betty Cooper doesn’t do impulsive.”

“Maybe now she does.”

Polly glances over at her. “You look happier.” It’s surprising thing to say, considering the tears that had met their reunion.

“Pol, I just busted out the waterworks when all you did was hug me.”

“Stop it. I mean, you seem brighter. Like you’re taking better care of yourself. You’re smiley-er.”

“You spend too much time talking to twelve year olds. But yeah, I think…I think overall I am. I mean, it’s been hard, being so much farther away from all of you and basically starting over. But I like my life so far.”

“I’m so happy for you even though I miss you so much. Maybe once we all get to Orlando, I can have the twins FaceTime with you.”

“That’d be great. We all? Who else is going on this adventure again? Besides Cheryl.”

“Me, the kids, Fletcher, Cheryl’s girlfriend. Cheryl’s picking them up and we’re all meeting up at the airport Wednesday, so Fletcher and I are going to spend tonight and tomorrow in Saratoga Springs, a little mini-vacation before the crazy.”

Betty turns her sister’s statement around. “You’re happy?”

Polly’s smile is so big that Betty thinks it must hurt. She grabs Betty’s hand where it rests on the console and squeezes it.

“Yeah, I’m happy.”

Betty’s heart clenches.

For the rest of the ride, Polly chatters happily about their vacation plans. As much as Betty had enjoyed Harry Potter world, the prospect of that many consecutive days in the full buffet of Orlando’s theme parks, packed into crowds like sardines, and in August no less—she thinks it sounds like her own personalized version of hell.

But most of all, she thinks, she’s glad her sister won’t be here to see what’s coming. That she’ll have time to think of how to tell her.