#i never wrote for the mcu but for some reason zemo just...does it for me

[sorcerersofnyc]

The Last Thing Left (Zemo x F!Reader) 1/9

Ghosts weren’t enough to hold two people together.

While they wait for Torres to locate Donya Madani, Zemo reflects upon his relationship to you, his only tether to his wife and closest friend.

Slow burn, previous relationships, angst, various mentions of death & mourning. You both lost your spouse. You're a regular civilian person. Zemo's wife's name is Heike because of comics.

Note: Main Character is neutral in most regards but the story was written with my own cultural background in mind. (In other words, I won't say what she looks like but I envision her as being black.)

I meant to write a one-shot but, as it turns out, I have feelings for this man.

I'll have part two by the end of the day and hope to update steadily.

***

He looks forward to coming face-to-face with Karli, the girl responsible for the birth of a new faction of Super Soldiers. His plan for her was simple really: He would find her, and then he would end her—just as he did Nagel.

Sam and James lack the conviction to do what needs to be done, and it’s that weakness that makes Helmut invaluable (that and he’s the one with the private jet.) So he bides his time and waits.

Helmut would put an end to Karli and her acolytes. He would make sure of it.

But it’s night now, and he’s tired, so instead of plotting, he prepares a meal in the little kitchen near the cockpit.

James relaxes on the couch and Sam sits across from him in the lounge area, discussing something not meant for his ears. So as he does his work and delicious aromas permeate the air, Helmut decides to let their food cook a little longer than he usually would. By the time he decides to turn off the heat, Sam is contacting an associate—someone he hopes can help them locate Karli’s mentor, Donya Madani.

It isn’t a bad plan, enlisting the help of others, but Helmut knows how strenuous locating displaced persons can be; locating the dead was a much easier feat.

Sam’s associate wouldn’t find Donya as long as she’s alive.

“Now what?” James asks, his voice and disposition bitter as Helmut hands him the plate. He eyes the meal with suspicion.

“We wait” Sam can barely withhold his frustration with James, but he accepts the food with a nod.

“For how long?”

“For as long as it takes.”

Helmut has no burning desire to listen to Sam and James argue on and on about symbols and shields. It’s clear whatever they have between them is fraying—ripping at the seams.

If it wasn’t so painfully ironic (and hilarious to watch,) Helmut would find the relationship between Sam and James a little sad.

Ghosts weren’t enough to hold two people together.

“I know of a place we can go until then.” He says, settling down into his chair. Helmut doesn’t give them a moment to ask questions, instead, he asks Oeznik to adjust their course towards Spain.

He’d know exactly where to port.

And though the journey would be long and annoying, he would handle it as handled every arduous thing: with patience and a glass of whiskey.

Besides, his impending headache will be well worth it; he’ll get to see you again.

***

Before she was his wife, Heike was his girlfriend, and in those days, she longed to see the world outside the trappings of nobility. So she studied abroad for University and adventured out into the world. But despite her dazzling personality, she never expected to have met a friend so quickly. (She confessed as much to him the day after she arrived.)

So when she ran into you—quite literally—while searching for her class building, she was overjoyed. You were headed to the same lecture (as Heike would recount later,) and decided to share a bench as you looked over a ridiculously simplified map.

Heike couldn’t wait to tell him of the ‘lovely Fine Arts major’ she met that day (and every day afterward.)

You were all but joined at the hip ever since; you were there for all their important dates — their engagement, their wedding, the birth of their baby.

But despite your somewhat frequent presence in his home and in his life, Helmut never thought to consider you a friend, not really.

You were his wife’s friend, someone who came to town, swept her up, spoiled Carl, and left days later.

But when Heike hosted dinner for one of her milestone birthdays, your life became entangled with his further. Because on that day, you caught the eye of his closest friend, Dominik.

Dominik had no title. His family had been nobility once, many years ago, but their words no longer held sway in politics or court.

So society wouldn’t care if Dominik married a Sokovian woman or if his partner came from old money. There would be looks, of course, and there would be whispers, (Sokovia was a fairly homogenous society, after all, and with that came many old-world sensibilities,) but most were content to let him be.

Dominik was free to live his life with impunity.

So he might have married anyone he liked—in fact, he might have had an easier time courting a woman more easily swayed by his charm and vast amounts of money—but you enchanted him from the beginning, he didn’t want anyone else.

“They would make such a cute couple, wouldn’t they?” Heike asked that evening, her large eyes filled with mischievous glee. They both had the misfortune of watching Dominik flounder as he spoke to you and Helmut often wondered if she set you up on purpose if she somehow knew that love would run its course.

*

Helmut remembered one particular day; it was hot and he found his friend tucked away in the stuffy library of his family’s estate. He looked studious, thoughtful, things he rarely expected Dominik to be.

The annotated books were arranged in neat piles, obscuring Dominik’s tired eyes.

“What are these?” Helmut asked him, inspecting the pile with curiosity.

He said your name with a sight, almost dreamily.

“She said she likes to read, so I asked about her favorites,” he told him, gesturing “She told me these were ‘essential reading.’ ”

He was never meant to read them all at once, but he was determined to impress you.

Endlessly curious and amused, Helmut decided to read them too. (He found the one on Pre-Columbian art extremely insightful, as was the one on the political importance of diasporas, and of course the one on Marvin Gaye.)

But it wasn’t until a year later, when EKO Scorpion was deployed, that he realized the true depth of Dominik’s feelings for you.

Because usually, when Dominik received one of your amorous letters, he would grin and gloat and parade himself through camp.

“Look,” he would say, waving the envelope around as if it were your banner, “I have someone waiting for me.”

But then one night, after a back-breaking mission near the border of Lithuania, Helmut watched his friend pull your letter from the pocket of his uniform. The night was damp and cold, but he read the letter quietly, thumbing at the wrinkled page.

And he was happy for him, he was happy for you.

It was nice, Helmut remembered, watching your courtship from afar and offering advice where he could.

He was proud to stand beside Dominik on the day of the wedding, proud to watch see your love take root.

Though it took a great deal of compromise for you to move to Sokovia (you didn’t like the idea of living in a country so bloodied by war, you were worried about exclusion and monotony, and you found the film culture’s lacking,) but once you did, he and Heike entertained you on the holidays.

There had been no children between you and him, but there was plenty of love.

There was so much love, in fact, someone found your letter in the pocket of his uniform the day they pulled him from the rubble of Novi Grad.

“Does anyone know where his wife is?” An officer asked.

“Does anyone know where anyone is?” Another replied.

It was an endless cycle of death and sorrow as people dug soldiers and civilians from the wreckage and debris.

Some were alive, most were dead.

People cried.

Families broke apart.

People begged and fell limp in the streets.

Helmut buried his entire family.

You buried your husband and his father.

You had no one left.

*

You made a beautiful speech at the service, one that spoke volumes of love you both shared.

“I loved him,” you said, “and he loved me.”

But when the service was finally over and you stood at the site of his freshly dug grave, you lingered almost absentmindedly, at a loss for something to say.

Helmut joined you, after a while, standing in silent solidarity. You’d done the same just a few days prior. He waited for you to speak.

You keep your eyes cast down as you do.

“I’m standing here and I... I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe they’re gone.”

All because of the Avengers, he thought. They took everything from you both.

“What will I do without him?” When you looked at him, your eyes filled with tears, Helmut knew better than to say what he was thinking. He couldn’t tell you he longed to watch the world burn, that he wanted those so-called ‘heroes’ to have died in the place of those he held dear, that he wanted revenge.

So he said the next best thing instead:

“I’ll take care of you,” he promised.

“Thank you, Helmut. But… I…” You wanted to tell him you’d be alright, but the lie lodged itself in the back of your throat and a sob pushed forward instead.

“Please…” He beckoned softly, “It’s what they would have wanted. Heike and Carl… they adored you. I can do this much at least.“

You were the only thing he had left of the ones he loved.

He didn’t want to let you go.

***

Thanks for reading! Look out for part two! The reader will have more interaction with Zemo.

Next

[bewareofchris]

Infinity Wars Rewatch 1

in the spirit of the MCU Rewatch I did, I have rented Infinity Wars and am going to watch it, leaving my surely inspiring, lovable thoughts here for you.

Pre-Title:

Just, never ever going to get over them letting Loki die like that.  Regardless of whether or not he’s genuinely dead?  No.  

Also, its especially depressing how Asgard dies following the whole events of Ragnarok.  

Is Heimdall the only not white person in Asgard?  I can’t remember now

Cable > Thanos as far as Josh Brolin characters go

“Hulk isn’t scared of Thanos” yeah.  Right.

ya know, its especially amazing how they never actually explain how the rainbow bridge/Heimdall’s sword really work so they can just make up shit whenever its convenient.

also, I don’t know who Thanos’ band of misfits are and I don’t care so I’m pleased nobody wasted my time trying to make me care

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY STONES ON EARTH??  

Again.  Everything that happens with Loki here makes 0 sense.  I disagree with it all.  Unless there’s a massive amount of trickery involved.  Like so much trickery.  Loki is off talking the Grandmaster into intervening or some shit.

Does Tony get choked in this movie?  

Other than getting Bruce Banner back on earth to tell everyone what happened, what exactly was Heimdall trying to do by sending Hulk back to earth?  I mean, that’s a noble goal.  And sure he knows Bruce knows the Avengers but it seems very convenient.

WAIT DID Dr. Strange just Magic-Girl transform into his wizard costume and I didn’t notice it?

New York 

I genuinely love Tony’s running outfit here

Tony: I needed to pee.  We should have a baby.

NO NO THIS IS DETACHABLE.  He takes off that and then puts a little cap over the gaping hole in his chest.  It’s totally 100% safe.  No problems

Dr. Strange needs to work on conveying his information better.  But also nice recap on the stones.  Nobody really watched the Thor movies anyway.

I adore Mark Ruffalo.  

“Protecting your reality douchebag”

LET ME TELL YOU HOW I HAVE BEEN ANTICIPATING MARVEL  COMPLETELY IGNORING THE ENTIRE CONFLICT BETWEEN STEVE/TONY SINCE THE END OF CIVIL WAR.  LIKE THE THING THAT PISSED ME OFF THE MOST ABOUT CIVIL WAR WAS THE FEELING THAT IT WAS ENTIRELY IRRELEVANT EVEN WHILE IT WAS HAPPENING.  TONY DIDN’T EVEN CARE ABOUT THE ACCORDS WHILE HE WAS ACTIVELY HUNTING DOWN HIS FRIENDS.  (Ok, he might have, but then when it was inconvenient for him to abide by it, he went ahead and ignored them.  If he hadn’t ignored them, and he’d just let Steve and Bucky deal with Zemo then the ending wouldn’t have happened the same.)

THERE WAS NEVER GOING TO BE ANY LASTING CONSEQUENCE FOR STEVE.  EVER.  

But also, the fact that Tony sounds so guilty about the fallout pisses me off.  Why?

BECAUSE CIVIL WAR WAS A WASTE OF OUR TIME.

MOVING ON

I’m sorry.  I’m deeply, deeply sorry about this but why is Steve Rogers more likely to be able to find Vision than anyone else?  doesn’t Vision have the stone from Loki’s staff?  Didn’t they use the Staff to hunt down the tesseract?  Or something like that?  Isn’t there probably 100 different ways that Tony could find Vision?  

It’s not an achievement to say that Cap can find someone if the only reason he gets mentioned is because the Wizard and the 2 Super Geniuses are all just trying to include him.  

What the fuck does Steve Rogers even have that they don’t?  A beard?  Rolled up sleeves?  A plucky attitude?  

Poor Bruce Banner, he’s like what the fuck?  Constantly what the fuck.

I love how Tony just walks out into the massive destruction like it’s nothing.  Tony.  Tony you’re 100% human my guy.  Please take care.

It’s ridiculous how much time the bad guys give them to try to get Hulk to show up.

“He exhausts me” (you and half the Avengers, and most of the world, my guy.  Tony is exhausting.)

If the bad guys were smart they would have just killed them during all that time

THE SUIT

This suit looks much less hippy than previous ones.

I love this Spiderman

“Your powers are quaint.”  Ok but he just got started.  Imagine how powerful he’ll be after he studies a bit more.

Where is Cap’s shield?  I only ask because Tony’s using a shield.

LOOK AT HOW THEY CUT THAT DUDE’S ARM OFF.  SEEMS SO CONVENIENT.  SO SIMPLE.  SO APPLICABLE.  SUCH FORESHADOWING.

Why is FRIDAY dependent on the internet?  How is he controlling the suit without it’s operating system?  Or is there a separate operating system and she’s just like Alexa?

thank god the burner phone landed somewhere easily located.  That’s not too convenient.

The Guardians

I cannot be fair to Chris Pratt.  I just don’t like him

I actually like how Groot has aged in the movies.  He’s adorable.

THANK GOD STILL ALIVE THOR HIT THE WINDSHIELD

I’m glad we spent all this time making these jokes with the Guardians.  

Should have listened to Thor.  He had so many excellent points.

Earth Again

“vis”?

I didn’t even notice she dropped the accent until someone else pointed it out to me.  

I honestly cannot make myself care about Wanda and Vision.  (But also, not even Vision gives a fuck about the Accords anymore.  Or ever, since he’s been hanging out with Wanda for 2 years.)  

I wish they’d let Wanda be more consistently immensely powerful.  Because I feel like she definitely could have killed both these motherfuckers right here.

THANK GOD “CAN THROW A THING” MAN HAS ARRIVED TO SAVE THE DAY.  God knows the two super powerful beings didn’t stand a chance until Cap showed up dramatically in the shadows.

THANK YOU CAPTAIN.

Because nobody cares about Civil War

“Home?”

And then after they stopped over there, they decided to go to the Avenger’s Compound.

Gamora

fuck you Thanos

I feel like the people who wrote this might never have seen a real child before.

Thanos needs to go to a nail salon

Fuck Peter Quill too.

Your Mama is so disappointed in you Peter Quill

Again, so happy we could have this time with the Guardians

Unrelated, isn’t the Collector like some ancient powerful being of his own?  Like the Grandmaster? I don’t read comics, but I thought I read that somewhere.

I also adore Benicio Del Toro.

Roll Credits, Gamora single handledly took care of it.  All done, pack your shit.  We’re finished.  That wasn’t even an ordeal.  Never would have suspected it.

Also, Gamora crying hurt my soul.

I COUNTED ON IT.  JUST LIKE THOR SAID

If more people killed more of their enemies instead of leaving them alive, then all these movies would be a lot shorter.  I’m not advocating killing anyone that inconveniences you but there’s 0 reason why Cap and the gang shouldn’t have killed Thanos’ two idiot helper friends, and 0 reasons Thanos shouldn’t have actually killed the guardians.  He obviously has no qualms about killing.

And that’s all for today.

[shackleton2]

I really dig this take on Bucky in the MCU and the comics! The difference between him and characters like Walker and Zemo feels really intuitively obvious but it's clearly worthwhile to articulate because not everyone sees it that way. I think Brubaker wrote something amazing with the Winter Soldier character and storyline, and the MCU picked it up and made it even more incredible in the film CTATWS, and it's one of these wonderful frustrating fandom examples where the ideas were so great they kind of...overshot the simpler more immediate marketing goals of either franchise? The reason Bucky is not just an appealing but an ABSORBING character is that he's not morally neutral or morally ambivalent but morally trapped in an unsolvable conflict in which he is a good person who never willingly did anything evil but was forced like a puppet on strings to perpetrate extreme evil. I am a giant Bucky fan and one of the WS scenes that stands out to me the most is his sudden appearance and slaughter of the SHIELD airmen scrambling to support Captain America against HYDRA. To me, there's no question that he took any satisfaction from that or indeed had any agency during it --- the last scene featuring him we watched him get electroshocked to fucking jello. But...just like he says in Civil War: he did it. How does a person make sense of that? There's no convenient category to slot such a character into, and flashy gratifying action movies (and comics) are all about those good, satisfying tropes— where we know what to expect from a situation and/or character.

I've really been enjoying SoL so far, and with the end of issue 5 I've been hoping desperately they're not gonna throw our boy into some lame out-of-character antihero category. But I wouldn't be shocked if they did; between TFTWS and the comics I've read, it seems like the choice is between comic-relief-NERFing Bucky's character or doubling down on him as a badass so much that he has some kind of confusing retroactive agency over being an assassin against the forces of goodness for decades. The truth is neither does anything to describe, develop, or even stay true to his character. I swear, to me it seems like the questions: Is Bucky Gonna Be Okay? What Happens Next For Him? Where Is His (please god HAPPY) Ending? have been totally unanswered since Civil War or even since The Winter Soldier. And as frustrating as that is, that's also why I love this character, why I'm totally obsessed with him, maybe why the awesome Sebastian Stan found so much in-depth to think and act about!

Watching TFTWS is actually what sparked my demented Bucky fandom, because it is so painfully obvious in that series how much there is to be done, storytelling-wise, with that character. Bucky in therapy-- oh my fucking god what is happening there???? Making an awkward jokey thing out of his therapist being terrible honestly isn't the worst strategy considering they didn't have an entire show to devote just to that topic. Bucky's amends--- what was the shape of those even supposed to be? Are they for the victims or for him? What do they mean when there's no question of him knowing his actions were wrong? I could spiral about that forever I'll just tell you if you feel how I do to go to A03 and read "Living Past The End of Your Myth" by VIKAN, where Bucky goes to make amends, and he's not okay with it, and neither are the people he visits, because how do you make such a thing okay? You really don't.

In conclusion, I am super excited for Thunderbolts. I don't think it's gonna be good. I think as far as the above character-obsessed ranting goes, it's gonna make me sad and irate. But, like, maybe not!! And even considering probably so, it's gonna add fuel to the fire of Thinking About Bucky Barnes that lights up my life. So sock it to me, highly questionable MCU Phase 4 (is it 5 now? can I be old and tired yet?)

https://www.cbr.com/bucky-barnes-most-significant-mcu-role-thunderbolts/ what do you think of this thunderbolts article?

Thanks Nonnie!

I actually saw that article yesterday and stopped reading halfway when I realised it was purely speculative, so I've gone and read the whole thing again.

He's taking a surprisingly friendly view towards Bucky's morality, which is refreshing to see particularly since chapter 5 of Sentinel of Liberty came out (ugh). I'm not sure I agree with the comment "The film's focus on antiheroes opens up the chance to tell a story that explores Bucky's complex moral character" because what we've seen so far doesn't suggest that his moral character is complicated. I'm going to make a big distinction here that Bucky's character is indeed complex because of his life experience, but Bucky's moral character has never been shown to be complicated because apart from some stupid plot devices, he's always gravitated to making the choice that helps others. Zemo's and Walker's moral characters are complex, because they are neither good nor purely bad, and they are driven both by some deranged idealism as well as an egocentric need to prove themselves.

This person also takes the view that the other antagonists are not as morally good as Bucky. I think it can work. Yelena, Antonia and Ava were all recruited at a young age and either groomed or brainwashed into doing what they did. They are victims, but it is possible that they need some time to get their head around morality and what normal people live like.

But do I see it happening? Not really.

To position Bucky, the reluctant recruit, as a moral contrast to Walker, a product of military indoctrination, is a level of criticism of the military that I cannot see the MCU be willing to commit to.

There are also a couple other reasons I don't think the Thunderbolts will center Bucky. Firstly, there are way too many characters in this movie and all of them have had complex lives. I have very little confidence that the writer can pull it off with nuance. Secondly, from a commercial point of view, it makes more sense to invest in and bolster a new character who can live in the MCU for another 10-15 years. In Disney's eyes, Bucky's already had his run, and I suspect the Thunderbolts will be used to highlight Yelena. Thirdly, regardless of whether it's performative, I think it would be a bad look to center Bucky in a movie that has at least four major female characters.

Fourth...when SOL5 came out, a male commenter said it was the best thing to happen to Bucky because doing something morally reprehensible that went against his long friendship with Steve made him interesting. I suspect this view is not rare amongst male fans (and by extension, writers). They only remember Bucky as Steve's companion, and the most interesting thing about him had been when he went head to head against Steve. They don't see his trauma or his recovery as interesting, they don't see him choosing to be good as interesting because it aligns him back with Steve (or Sam). They want him to be morally "complicated" because goodness isn't interesting anymore, and because irreconcilable moral conflicts between friends is apparently...just friends things (à la Civil War). It didn't help that TFATWS severely nerfed his fighting capabilities which reinforced the impression that if you're morally good, you're boring to watch. Unlike CATWS, where they were still able to make Steve kickass and act morally good.