#look I know this isn't going to happen but if Marvel can have an avengers cartoon cross over with two separate spider man continuities

[balis77]

Honestly, the funniest thing DC could do right now is have a crossover episode between My Adventures With Superman and Batman: Caped Crusader with the explanation of "Oh, Caped Crusader isn't set in the 40s/50s or anything. Gotham is just Like That."

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

You don't need to worry about the ATSV fandom dying. As someone whose been in the Marvel fandom over ten years - I can assure you this is natural.

The ATSV Fandom Isn't Dead: A brief look into the science of fandoms.

[me standing beside Hobie beaming my thoughts of love and adoration into his head like I'm professor x]

A lot of people are afraid of the ATSV dying - and I don't blame them.

In the era of shows releasing all in one day, or movies coming to streaming almost immediately - it's not hard to say we're in an era were content is consumed at ridiculously rapid rates.

I mean, this time last year Wednesday was breaking records on Netflix. Where's the hype now?

I know you see it too, there's less posts everyday in the Hobie tag, less screenshot breakdowns, etc etc etc.

But I'm here to tell you - The ATSV fandom is doing just fine. Better than fine. All of this is meant to happen.

Let me put it into perspective.

ATSV released on June 2nd - it's November.

ATSV released a little over six months ago.

For reference: The Avengers (2012) was released on May 4th.

The Avengers DVD wasn't available for purchase until SEPTEMBER 25th - almost SIX months later.

The time that the Hobie fandom has formed and existed - is the same amount of time people had to wait just to see The Avengers again.

Large periods of time where tags only get three posts a day TOPS was nothing to fear. xReaders and fanfics held the fandom over until the next trailer, the next sneak peek or leak.

Prior to the release of streaming, only a little more than ten years ago - it was NATURAL for a fandom to wait six months before even seeing the movie for a second time.

And mind you - streaming didn't exist. If you wanted to see The Avengers again, you had to go out and BUY it. $26.99.

If you wanted to order it online - you'd have to get it shipped to you. Before Disney plus, we watched on BlueRay Discs.

And the fandom was fine and healthy.

If a fandom that doesn't even have a DVD release can keep up content for six months, I think we'll be fine.

But I'll admit - there's still the question:

If the ATSV fandom is 'doing fine' then where is everyone going? Why are the tags getting slower?

The answer is simple:

FANDOM BIOLOGY

I LOVE social sciences and the systems people create and how they work - even unintentionally.

And I have a theory - one about the natural evolution and regeneration of fandom. Hear me out -

When it comes to ATSV:

We are leaving the Analysation Phase, the phase in which content creation is centered around deciphering and breaking down the most recent installment in the fandom.

During this phase usually see art of newer characters, new ships, meta breakdowns, easter egg point-outs.

We were in that phase.

Once the Analysation Phase dies down, usually main content creators may remain. The intermediate or liminal period.

The intermediate is usually when you'll see more x-reader art pop-up, the levels of fanart evening out as artists return to their favorite characters - usually incorporating any new ones they gained from the last installment.

Shitposts usually also become popular around this time, as the shock and weight of the story wear off, and we're more able to joke about the storyline a lot more light-heartedly.

That's why the intermediate point is often see as the passion 'dying out'.

When in fact, it is the fandom getting comfortable. Resting for the next phase.

And after a few months, the next phase comes:

The Speculation Phase:

The Speculation Phase cannot come until the Analysation Phase is over.

During the Analysation Phase the fandom begins to breakdown and digest the writers intentions. They integrate the new character into the story, and the fandom.

As the audience and fandom talk amongst each other, we get more solid ideas of who the characters are, what their motivations might be, and most important of all-

What they might do.

In the Speculation Phase we turn from the last installment - and start looking towards the future.

Let's take Hobie for example.

Looking at the timeline of the Hobie fandom, we can see a progression.

Originally taken as a punk-rockstar and little more, throughout the months the fandom began posting things about punk culture, the 70's, Hobie's motivation in the comics, and how that all correlates to him.

As the fandom analyzed, the collective zeitgeist and understanding of Hobie grew into something a lot more sound, and telling.

We looked at the parellels he provides in the story, and what kind of person he is.

And because if that we have seen a marked improvement in people's contextual understanding of Hobie - as a punk and a hero.

And now that we can understand him - we can predict him.

The same goes for Miguel - over the months, a lot of us have began to question if we know him as well as we think we do , if we really know the kinda person he is -

And if we really know what he's doing to do.

That's where the Speculation Phase comes in.

The Speculation Phase in fandom is when we see some of the most passion - and instead of tapering off overtime, it builds. More and more until the next release.

The Speculation Phase is when the fandom takes the analysis' and from there, they begin to theorize.

Now that we understand, we can begin to predict.

And this is arguably one of the most interesting parts in a fandoms natural ecosystem.

During the Speculation Phase, we can see a number of diverse opinions appear.

As more and more creators begin to gather their understanding, tips from the writers, new released news, and past comic book arcs, we start to see dozens of triguing paths the writers can take us on.

As more news releases, the more hype people get. I mean - imagine how you'll feel when they release the first new poster of Hobie, or Miles? Or when we get to see Miles.G in the trailer?

And with each new poster, or trailer, we're given clues. The theorizes develop more. And the plot thickens.

It's all natural.

So I can understand the fear. Only getting one or two new posts when you visit the Hobie tag can be a bummer. But it's natural and it's GOOD.

Y'all, we need to conserve our energy. We are in the liminal phase. And they never last long.

With the news of the voice actors back in the studio, and a cliff-hanger like we have - I can assure you, it's only a matter of time before we begin to see the theories, the trailer breakdowns, the people guessing what Miguel might do, or exactly how much tech Hobie is hiding.

And when that time comes we need to be READY. I can already feel it on the horizon.

I really wonder what they'll do with all that left over Hobie concept art.

Plus with explosion of Hobie approval, I wonder if they'll add him in even more. Hobie fan-service anyone?

Hmmm...

But chill y'all, we're on the right track -

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

If you read this far, as always THANK YOU SO MUCH!! And as a token of my appreciation, I hand you this Hobie. Hold him gently please

Bye 💗

[nicoline1998enilocin]

Lovers Garden

PAIRING || Husband!Dad!Tony Stark x Wife!Mom!Fem!Reader

WORDCOUNT || 3.9K 

SUMMARY || After years of dreaming about starting your life in Italy, the day has finally arrived for your dream to come true. After the exhilarating process of renovating your dream house and turning it into your sanctuary and the anticipation of all your belongings being shipped to the other side of the world, it's time for you to leave New York behind and start your new life with your husband, two-year-old son and the little one on the way.

RATING || Explicit (E)

TAGS || Canon divergence. Kid fic. Pregnancy fic. Tony retired from the aveng.

WARNINGS || Explicit sexual content. Breastfeeding.

SMUT || Pregnancy kink. Lactation kink. Language kink. Dirty talk. Praise. Teasing. Light fingering. Unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it!). Implied somnophilia (consensual).

A/N || This story is my birthday present for the amazing @mostly-marvel-musings! I am honored to have created this beautiful story for you, and I hope it is everything you dreamt of and more. I wish you the happiest of birthdays today, and of course, I hope you have had an amazing day. This is proofread by the wonderful @ccbsrmsf1, for which I am eternally grateful 🤍

EVENTS @anyfandomkinkbingo || Gardening @fandom-free-bingo Maritime May || Flower Crowns @kinky-things-happen || Pregnancy @multifandom-flash First Birthday Celebration || Happy Birthday to You! @seasonaldelightsbingo Language of Flowers || Geranium

All graphics are made by @nicoline1998enilocin

Main Masterlist || Tony Stark Masterlist

"I still can't believe we'll leave New York behind tomorrow," you tell your husband, Tony, as he's cuddled on the couch with your two-year-old son, Cedar. The three of you had dinner earlier, and now they're watching some cartoons while you were preparing a bottle of warm milk for him to drink before bed. Tomorrow, you will start your new life, officially moving to Italy, leaving your old life as Avengers behind.

Now that the move is this close, the once beautifully decorated penthouse in Avengers Tower is bare, and even though your son does know something's happening, he's not fully able to comprehend that you're moving to the other side of the world in less than 24 hours.

"I know, Tulip, but it'll be the start of something beautiful. Cedar will grow up there, and so will baby Willow once she's born," he says, his hand resting on your growing bump as you sit beside your son and husband. You're almost seven months pregnant, this time carrying a baby girl. It has been your dream to become a Mom and move to Italy one day, and now, both dreams are on the cusp of coming true.

"You're right," you say softly as you look at Tony's hand, and you rub your hand over your belly, too. There's a comfortable silence between the three of you, and it's only broken once Cedar is fully asleep in his dad's arms. His soft snores fill the empty living room, making you and Tony chuckle softly.

"I'm going to bring him to bed, and then we can have some cuddles, too. How does that sound?"

"It sounds perfect. Buonanotte, mio ​​dolce Angelo," you whisper when you kiss Cedar goodnight while running a hand through his dark curls. He looks like he melted into Tony's arms as you wish him goodnight in Italian, and your heart also melts at the sight. You're very fortunate to have such a sweet, fantastic toddler like him, and to know there's a baby girl on the way makes your life perfect.

"Te amo," Tony whispers as he leans in to peck your lips before taking Cedar to his bedroom, ready to change into his pajamas and sleep. As your husband does that, you're getting comfortable on the couch with a book and a cup of tea, and your feet elevated to get some strain off your growing belly. There are many things about pregnancy you love, but the soreness that goes paired with it definitely isn't one of them, and you can't wait for Tony to come back so he can rub your feet.

"How's it going over here, Tulip? Are you having a good time with your book?" Tony asks as he enters the living room. You are on the couch with a book in one hand and your tea in the other. You look up at him with a soft smile and nod as you meet his gaze, the shimmer of excitement visible in his dark brown eyes.

"It's even better now that you're with me, though, because I could use a foot rub," you tell him after he sits in his usual spot on the couch - right next to you. After a hum of agreement, Tony pulls your feet into his lap, rubbing out every last bit of soreness as you moan softly at the feeling.

"How're you feeling about seeing the house?" Tony asks you, referencing the fact that you haven't seen it yet since the moment you bought it together. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but looking back now, it's the best decision you have ever made. A little over a year ago, you, Tony, and Cedar were on vacation in Tuscany when you found your dream house on sale, but the only downside is that it needed a complete renovation.

While Tony has been flying back and forth occasionally to oversee it all, you stayed at the Avengers Tower with Cedar, as your job here still needed to be done. After a seemingly endless year, your dream house is finished, and tomorrow will be the first time you'll see all the hard work that everyone has put into it. What you don't know, however, is that Tony has also built you your dream garden, as it's been your dream to grow your flowers, fruits, and vegetables for as long as you can remember.

"Oh, I can't wait! I have missed Phoebe and Miku so badly, but I'm also happy they're already settled in by the time we get there," you tell your husband as you think about your two rescued cats. You love both of them so much, and to live without them for now is odd, but you also know it'll make the reunion with them a lot sweeter when you see them tomorrow.

"Me too, Tulip - it's not the same without them. However, nothing's the same anymore. Everywhere I go in this house, it feels like I'm walking through someone else's house as if I'm an intruder or something. But that'll all change tomorrow. We can immediately settle after getting off the plane and arriving at our forever home. It's only for one more night, and then it's all over," he tells you, and you feel tears prick in the corners of your eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. You can let your tears flow," he tells you as his eyes get watery. You never would have expected to be crying with your husband on your last evening in New York, but here you are, and it feels fantastic. All the pent-up stress from the previous year is coming out as you cuddle close into his side, both sniffling as tears stain your cheeks.

"I love you, Mi Amore," you say as you look at your husband with a small smile, and he captures your lips in a soft kiss, conveying every emotion that his words can't. His hand softly rubs your belly again, and when he pulls away, you keep your eyes closed while his forehead carefully presses against yours.

"Let's go to bed, Tulip. Let's make one more memory in this house as I make nothing but sweet, slow love to you until we're both sleepy, sweaty messes in each other's arms, and we can barely keep our eyes open as we kiss each other senseless," he whispers, and you smile as you nod.

"Let's do it," you say before pecking his lips and smiling into the kisses. You can't help but grin like an idiot as your husband helps you to stand up, catching your lips again once you're both upright and unable to stay away from each other. It's like a fire ignited in you both, and you barely make it to the bedroom without waking Cedar - your giggles and other sounds threatening to wake him up.

"We have to be careful, Tulip; we don't want our Angelo to wake up," Tony says with a broad smile as he ensures Cedar is indeed still sleeping, and you can't help but feel like a teenager again who's sneaking around in order not to wake up their parents - and Tony can't help but feel the same. Only when your bedroom door closes, and Tony carefully pushes you against it, you feel like you can breathe again.

"That was close, but he's a steady sleeper, so I doubt he'll wake up," he whispers, his warm breath ghosting over your lips as his gaze is locked on yours, and it makes you want to melt into a puddle at his feet as he looks at you with nothing but pure love and adoration. While he always looked at you like that, it intensified once you became pregnant with Cedar, and now that you're carrying baby Willow, that same gaze is back again.

"You're beautiful, mi fiore." With those words, he closes the gap between you two again, his hand resting on your belly while the other one cups your cheek, setting your entire body on fire at the touch. He can make you feel loved, sexy, and seen with a single touch, and he's proving it every day as he kisses you as if your lives depend on it.

"T-Tony," you whimper as his kisses trail down your neck, and you hiss as his lips suck a small bruise on your pulse point. Your fingers dig into his biceps as he takes his time licking, sucking, and nibbling on your neck, marking you all over as your arousal grows with the second, your panties now ruined. Eventually, Tony moves back to admire his work as you look at him through half-lidded eyes and a dopey smile, and he hums approvingly.

"Now you're even more beautiful, Tulip," Tony tells you as he guides you to the bed, but before he lays you down, he carefully takes off each layer of your clothes until you're entirely bare for him. He stands behind you as his hands rub over your arms and shoulders, relaxing you fully as your eyes slip shut and you lean back against his large body.

"Can you lift my belly for a moment?" you ask softly, and Tony agrees before grabbing the bottom of your belly and lifting it a few inches. The relief is instant as you sigh happily, and the strain is immediately lifted from your back. You two stay like this for an eternity, but once you give Tony the all-clear to lower your belly again, he gently does so, and while you immediately feel the straining feeling return, it's not as bad as before.

"Thank you, Mi Amore, I really needed that - but now I need you more," you tell him, and Tony groans softly at your words, quickly stripping his clothes off in anticipation of what's to come. Once you're comfortable on the bed, you admire your husband as your eyes glide over his body, but they get stuck as you see his cock standing at attention, pre-cum already beading at the tip.

"You like what you see, Tulip?" Tony asks with a raised brow, a smirk tugging on his lips as you nod slowly, your gaze never moving an inch from his cock. You hum appreciatively as he walks to the bed, his length now bobbing up and down with each step he takes, and your mind is already going into overdrive as you think about what it can do to you and how much pleasure it can bring you.

"Lie back for me, sweet girl; tonight is all about you," he whispers as he kisses your belly. A smile brightens his features when Willow suddenly kicks him where he just placed the kisses. Tony laughs as he crawls further over your body, his lips finding yours effortlessly as you let yourself get lost in the taste and feel of your husband.

Once he pulls away, he goes to sit back on his knees, your legs draped over his spread ones so he has perfect access to your dripping, clenching pussy. However, before he lines his cock with your entrance, he lets his thumb glide through your folds, pressing sightly when he finds your clit, which has your hips bucking up for more.

"Hmmm, I love it when you're so responsive for me, makes me so fucking hard. God, I can't wait to be buried inside your sweet, tight pussy again, Tulip," he groans before grabbing his cock and pumping it a few times, readying himself for what he's about to experience. As he slides in, he takes his time to feed inch after inch to your hungry pussy, both hands on your belly as he does, while yours are grabbing the sheets as pleasure is rapidly building inside you. Moans are spilling from your lips as he sets a slow, comfortable pace for you both, your orgasm building slowly.

"I still can't believe how fucking gorgeous you are when you're pregnant, Tulip. Growing my baby in this amazing body of yours makes you even more special and amazing. And these tits grow even bigger when they're full of milk, fuck! 'M gonna drink from them every fucking day," Tony groans, and you can't help but get even more aroused at the thought.

"You take me so well, Tulip. You're so fucking tight around my cock- never want to leave this sweet pussy," Tony groans, and your moans become uncontrollable. Once Tony's hand moves from your belly to your clit, you cum around his cock with a muffled moan as you push your head into the pillow. With that, it doesn't take long for Tony to meet his undoing, his cum releasing as he's nestled deep in your pussy.

"Good girl," he grunts as he rides out his high before pulling out and collapsing on the bed next to you. There's a light layer of sweat adorning both your bodies, and you're both panting as you come down from your highs, but it is a night never to forget. It's the perfect ending to your time living here, and now you're ready to pick up your new life on the other side of the world.

It felt like coming home when you got off the plane in Italy - as if you've been there all your life. The weather is fantastic; the sun shines on all three of you, and your dress shows off your belly beautifully. As Tony looks over to you with Cedar on his hip, he can't help but want to remember this moment and immediately grabs his phone.

“Smile, Tulip! I want to remember this moment for the rest of our days," he says. You put your hands on your bump as you pose, a broad smile brightening your features under the sun's golden shine. Once it's done, you strap Cedar into his car seat - your car already at the airport as a good friend of Tony's has brought it there for you - and Tony's loading the trunk with the last bits of baggage you had to take in your suitcases.

“Pronto, mio ​​bel fiore?” Tony asks, making you blush as he does. You've always had a thing for him speaking Italian, and he loves to feed your language kink with every chance he gets. Your thighs are rubbing together to search for a bit of friction, and your demeanor immediately changes, which doesn't go unnoticed.

"Let's go to our home, Tulip - there's a lot I have to show you," Tony says before kissing the tip of your nose, leaving you with flushed cheeks as he smiles at you. Once you are comfortable and seated in the car's passenger seat, Tony starts the car before taking off towards your new house and, most importantly, your cats, Phoebe and Miku. All three of you have always been close, but they have practically been inseparable from you throughout your pregnancies.

As Tony drives through Tuscany, you can't help but enjoy the view, knowing that this is now the place you're calling home. You pass artists on the street as they paint, and you can't wait to be one of those people. The entire time, your husband has one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on your belly, his thumb softly rubbing to soothe you.

"Can you close your eyes for me, Tulip? We're almost there, and I want it to be a surprise for as long as possible," he says sweetly, and you do as he asks with a soft chuckle. Not even a few minutes later, you're pulling into the driveway, the distinct sound of gravel under the wheels letting you know you have arrived at your destination.

Once you're at a complete standstill, Tony lets you go before getting out of the car and waving to your friend, who's been catsitting the past few days. When you hear the door on your side open, you know it's time to get out, and Tony carefully grabs your hand before helping you out - your eyes are still closed the entire time.

"If you wait here for a moment, I will get Cedar out of his seat, and then it's time for the grand reveal," Tony says enthusiastically, and you're getting a little impatient, though you don't let it show. Once you hear the gravel underneath Tony's feet again, you know it's time for the reveal, and the nerves are starting to build, though you're also enthusiastic at the same time.

"Ready? 3… 2… 1!” Tony says, and the moment you open your eyes, it's like you have been transported into another dimension. The house you bought a little over a year ago is completely transformed; where it was practically falling apart, it now looks brand new, but that's not what catches your eye most.

"Is that my garden?!" you ask Tony as you pull him towards your vegetable and flower garden, not knowing where to look. There are already a few vegetables planted, as well as herbs, and in another part, there are geraniums in bloom, together with more growing flowers.

While Tony was working on building your garden, he more than once had the thought of you gardening in nothing more than a short, flimsy dress that would rise and show off your sweet pussy to him, ready for him to dive into just the way he wants - now that you know about the garden, he can't wait to tell you about that fantasy. He's very much hoping it'll come true one day.

"It's all yours, Tulip. I have dubbed it 'Lovers Garden'!" he says as he points to a sign at the entrance of your garden, which makes you laugh heartily. Naming your garden is definitely something only he would do, and you can't wait to spend your days together with Cedar and Willow, teaching them everything you know about gardening and the various fruits, vegetables, and flowers you're growing.

"It's perfect, Tony. I cannot thank you enough for making my dream of having a garden come true," you say as you cup his cheeks, pulling him in for a soft kiss to let him know how grateful you are.

"Now, where are my two fur babies?!" you ask as you walk towards the house, where Phoebe and Miku are sunbathing together, completely unbothered by the fact that you, Tony, and Cedar now have arrived, too. That first day, you keep exploring more of your house and property, constantly finding more amazing things and small details that make you feel like you've come home.

About two months after moving to Italy, you gave birth to your daughter - Willow Rose Stark. She has been a beautiful addition to your family; no one can get enough of her little sounds and movements. Cedar is a proud big brother; every time you walk with them, you and Tony melt as you see how sweet he is to his baby sister.

Today, it's time to celebrate your first birthday when it's the four of you, but Tony started your day off in the best way possible, as he had given you the gift of a few orgasms before it was time to get up and get your day started.

"Buongiorno mia principessa perfetta," you say as you walk into Willow's room, ready to wake her up for the day. It's a bit past 7 AM, and Tony is preparing Cedar for breakfast while you get comfortable in the rocking chair in the corner of Willow's nursery. Since you're almost exclusively breastfeeding her, you like to take moments like this to bond with her, and Tony's more than happy to take care of Cedar when you do.

"Did you sleep well, Princess? I bet you're hungry after sleeping for a few hours," you say, and she latches on without a problem. There's soft music playing in the background, and you can hear Tony talking to Cedar as they're preparing breakfast for you - which has become a tradition in your little family. Every time there's a birthday to celebrate, one of you will prepare a special breakfast of pancakes and waffles combined with all the toppings your heart can desire.

"What do you think, Cedar? Will Mommy enjoy her breakfast today?" Tony asks, and Cedar shouts an enthusiastic yes that has you smiling from ear to ear.

"Your brother can be so silly sometimes, but he has a heart of gold, just like your Daddy," you whisper as you look at Willow, who's utterly unbothered by it all. Taking these moments with your daughter has strengthened the bond between you two immensely, and you're happy you get to do this all over again, as you have done the same when taking care of Cedar.

While feeding your daughter, you suddenly hear tiny footsteps in the hallway. Phoebe peeks around the door before walking into the nursery and curling up in one of the sunspots on the floor. You can't help but smile as you see it, your soft rocking motions never stopping as you look at her.

When you're done feeding, you get yourself and Willow dressed in matching white dresses and flower crowns because you'll all have breakfast in your garden today.

"Buon compleanno, mamma," you hear Tony say as you walk into the kitchen, a large smile brightening your face as you do. Tony immediately walks over to give you even more kisses, and he also takes Willow from you so you can provide special attention to your toddler, too.

"Happy bird day, Mommy!" he says enthusiastically, and you cuddle and kiss him for a good few minutes as a thank you. Just as you're about to help out Tony, you're greeted by both Phoebe and Miku as they glide their soft, furry bodies past your bare legs.

"Good morning to you two as well!" you say as you bend down to greet them, and they purr as they crawl all over you and each other to get all the attention you're possibly able to give them right now. Cedar is happily babbling away in his high chair as he's looking at Tony and Willow, and they, in turn, are looking at you.

Once they have had enough, they quickly sprint away and into your garden to enjoy some more sunbathing. Their meows fill the room as they do, making you laugh heartily. You grab Cedar while Tony holds your daughter, and your belly starts to rumble as you smell Tony's prepared food.

"Who's ready for breakfast?" Tony asks, and Cedar hops up and down in your arms as you walk outside. Tony and Willow follow you as your husband balances a plate of pancakes for the picnic he prepared while you were breastfeeding your daughter earlier. Cedar gives you a card that says "Happy birthday to you!" once you're comfortably seated, and inside is the sweetest note from your husband.

Buon compleanno, mamma! ❤️

Thank you for being by my side through the years and not giving up on me when I was ready to do that. Thank you for making me feel loved and giving me the gift of our beautiful children. I'm grateful for you daily, and I cannot imagine my life without you, Cedar, or Willow. I love you, Tulip, and wish you the happiest birthday today.

Con tanto amore, tuo marito.

As you read the card, you feel the tears pricking in your eyes again, and you realize that you have officially reached the point you have always dreamt of. You're seated in the morning sun, eating your favorite breakfast while surrounded by the people you love most, and your two cats are running throughout your garden.

Life is perfect, and you're officially living your dream. With Tony, Cedar, and Willow, you can do anything you put your mind to; your fantastic life is proof of it.

[spaceorphan18]

How an animated series saved Remy LeBeau (again)

It's a bit of a hyperbolic title, but catchy, non?

I was looking over my comic collection as I've decided to reread X-Men's 60 year history over the course of the summer. And it got me thinking about a dead period of 616 canon that I've never actually read. Around the time Rogue hooked up with Magneto and scooted off to the Avengers, I decided I'd be done with comics for a while. And didn't start again until Rogue (and Gambit) came back to the X-books in 2017's Astonishing X-Men. But it made me wonder -- What happened to Gambit in that time??

Well, after his solo ended, he flitted around to X-Factor and hung out with X-23 and then kind of went 'poof' for a good long while.

Why? I can only guess the same reason this is a running motif with Gambit. There's something about him that drives the X-Office crazy. I'm not here to speculate what or how or who of it all. I don't know enough about the back end of Marvel to give concrete answers. But I think what has surprised me (recently) is that he's definitely a fan favorite character.

[Yes, I know he can be a divisive character. Yes, I know elements of his character from the 90s have not aged well. Yes, I know there are those of you who can't stand him. Don't really care - you can get off my lawn, thank you.]

Which got me thinking -- Gambit's original popularity, I believe, stemmed from the original X-Men Animated Series. He had just started showing up in the comics at the time, and had barely any kind of page time. And the X-Men TAS swung and was a hit. And so was Gambit.

I don't really know that Gambit would be around today if TAS hadn't done its thing. Would the X-Office have kept him around? I really have no idea.

But they did try to get rid of him. That was the point of leaving him in Antarctica. And things were just never the same after that. Claremont tried his best in the early 2000s. And then Deathbit happened. Carey's run wasn't bad. But Carey clearly had an agenda for other things... And then, Gambit just kind of faded into the background. (I hear his run as a side character for Laura (X-23) was good - but I haven't read that.)

Bless Kelly Thompson (always) for sparking life back into him with (and his relationship with Rogue). And bless the fact that she actually married him to Rogue. Yes, I understand comics -- my god look what they did to Peter and MJ, no one really gets to be happily married except Sue and Reed. He and Rogue are now really tied together in a way that I don't think is going to be undone any time soon.

Even if the X-Office still isn't thrilled with the guy. Krakoa era has been less than ideal. (I can't comment on it fully - I haven't read much of it, as I'm behind on my comic reading.) But I've heard rumors that one reason Thompson was let go was that she didn't want Gambit killed off. And she didn't like the direction they wanted to take the character.

Which leads me to X-Men 97. Killing him off sucked. Really. As a fan, it really sucked. But - my god, the reaction to it. Gambit was amazing. And all I've heard lately is good things about the character. There's been a Gambit resurgence in the best way. He may have went out -- but he went out with a bang. X-Men 97 made an emotional impact with people. And that changes things.

Gambit is cool again.

And I love it.

What's even more exciting is the fact that the X-Office has changed hands again and Gail Simone on Uncanny who (if her Twitter/X feed is to be believed) is really enjoying writing the character. Which means (hopefully) at least another year or two in the comics of some (hopefully) great Gambit stuff.

And maybe there will be some changing of hearts and minds in the X-Office.

It's actually very exciting.

And, guys, I really (really, really) doubt he'll be completely gone from X-Men 97, too.

Because Remy LeBeau never stays down for long.

But as a fan, it's nice to see him be on top again. And I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon.

[spacecadet-ticklesinspace]

Tickletober Day 23: Sweet

Fandom: Marvel (Avengers)

Pairing: Sam, Bucky, Peter 1 (platonic)

Summary: Sam shows Bucky how all the cool kids are trick or treating by knocking on Peter's bedroom door in the tower. When the teen doesn't have any candy to give, the older two Avengers look for a different kind of sweetness to get.

(Yep, had to include one of these three ❤️ :))

"Sam, what are we doing?"

"You'll see in a minute," Falcon replied as he lead him over to a door in the Avengers Tower.

"Believe it or not, I know how to trick or treat. I was around when it was popular."

"Yeah, but the kids have upgraded what they do since you were around. Now I'm going to show you the right way to do this."

Bucky watched as Sam knocked on the door in front of them. At first, no one answered so Sam had to knock twice more before it finally opened to reveal a familiar face.

Peter pulled back one side of his headphones. "What do you two want?"

Sam held up a bucket. "Trick or Treat."

The teen deadpanned.

Bucky huffed out a laugh. "Seem things haven't changed as much as you say they have Sam."

"Ah, but you see, kids aren't as gullible as back then. Now you really have to work to get candy."

Peter pulled his headphones down around his neck. "Did you really knock on my door so I would give you candy?"

Sam patted Bucky's shoulder. "Just showing him the ropes of how's it done."

"I don't need you to show me how to Trick or Treat," Bucky shot back.

"Wait, isn't this the exact opposite of what they warn you about in school?" Peter pointed out.

"They teach you in school not take candy from strangers Pete."

"And now there's two strangers knocking on my door asking for me to give them candy."

"Look, all you gotta do is put something in the bucket and we'll go," Sam responded.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have anything to put in the bucket."

Sam pulled his bucket back. "Rude."

Bucky's face lit up as he grabbed his friend's shoulder. "Hey Sam."

"What?"

"If he won't give us candy, maybe he can give us another type of sweetness to make up for it."

Peter's eyebrows furrowed together while Sam matched Bucky's grin. "I get what you're laying down."

When both of them turned to Peter, the teen got the feeling he was screwed. "Oh no."

Peter tried to shut the door but Bucky managed to throw his arm up in the way. The teen then tried to run to his closet but he was quickly caught and thrown on the bed.

Bucky and Sam rushed to pin him down.

Peter squirmed. "No! Let mehe goho!"

"What's the matter kid?" Bucky wiggled his fingers into the bottom of the teen's socked foot. "You seem nervous."

Peter desperately tried to pull his foot away while still trying to fight with Sam's hands.

"I know, right?" Sam managed to slip past the teen's arms and dig into his ribs. "It's like he's worried something's going to happen."

"Naaah! Knock ihit ohoff!"

"Not until we get the sweetness we need from Trick or Treating."

Bucky spidered his hand up to squeeze Peter's knee. "So where are you hiding it?"

"AH! NOWHERE!"

"I think I know where it is." Sam dug into the kid's stomach. "Down here."

Peter bent in half. He desperately tried to pull his knees up to protect his stomach but Bucky kept pulling them back down. "No! Nohohoho!"

"You're right Sam." Bucky dug into the kid's thighs. "Looks like we found his hiding spots."

Peter was in stitches. He scrambled to roll over onto his other side but the older two pulled him back onto his back.

"Looks like you're desperate to hide something from us," Sam teased.

The teen shook his head. "Ihim nohot!"

Bucky rolled up his shirt. "Let's see what he's so anxious to hide."

"No!" Peter again tried to pull his knees up to protect himself but Bucky pinned them back down while Sam grabbed onto his arms. "Noho wahait!"

A moment later, Bucky's head rushed down to start nibbling along the teen's exposed stomach.

Peter's eyes screwed shut as he cackled and twitched at the feeling of the super soldier's teeth and facial hair attacking his bare stomach. He twisted his feet up into the air to try to counteract the feeling.

Sam gave Bucky a nudge. "Alright, my turn before we kill him."

"Nohot yohou tohoOOO! NAAH!"

Bucky chuckled. "Sheesh kid, could you be any louder."

Peter thought he was going to explode from the feeling of Sam's facial hair and teeth brushing against his stomach. It somehow felt even worse than Bucky's.

Finally, after several more minutes, Sam pulled his head away from the kid.

Peter sagged into the bed. "Jeherks."

Sam nudged him. "Drama king."

The teen kicked at them both.

"Hey! Keep that up and I'm going for those toes next."

Peter immediately pulled his feet up. "Don't yohou dahare!"

"Wehelp." Bucky stood. "Ihi thihink we got the sweetness we were looking for."

Sam ruffled the teen's hair before leaving the room with Bucky. "I think we did."

The teen glared at the two retreating figures before throwing a pillow at the closing door.

[lettingtimepass]

Loki s2e5 Thoughts & Feelings (Spoilers)

THE INTRO LOSING THE LETTERS!! I'm a sucker for when an intro is slightly changed. And in the end credits when the lines and type get all wonky! I love it.

Ok I have a question. When Loki finds everyone, they are all on branched timelines, not the Sacred Timeline. So doesn't that mean the lives on these branches could be slightly different or totally different than their original lives on the Sacred Timeline? Sylvie says they're back in their "real lives", but is that even true? 🤔 Also, I know people are theorizing that Don's wife was dusted during the snap, but technically in this branched timeline, the snap might not have happened.

B-15 being a doctor was so good 🥺 "I looked happy." Yes, you did... I just noticed her name on the captions was "Dr. Willis!"

Don!Mobius said he'd seen Loki in the shop before, did Loki timeslip there and not remember it? Or... has that not happened yet?

OB's workshop looking super similar to the one at the TVA - So cool!

"So I am gonna write a bestseller!" Stop he's so pure!!

Did anyone clock that OB's book cover looks similar to Loki and Slyvie on Lamentis? 👀

"It's impossible. But don't let that stop you."

This is probably obvious but Loki couldn't control the timeslipping until he truly accepted his "why." Not to protect the timelines from HWR, but to protect his friends.

Don!Mobius literally dropping everything to talk to Loki and offer him a drink. Fellas.....

"You saw something in me that I hadn't seen in myself." NO THIS IS STRAIGHT OUTTA FIC THO 😭

I can't believe Loki assembled his own Avengers 😭😭😭

Gawd, the show starting with Loki's speech about how humans don't need choices, and now he's fighting to give his friends choices..... that's the good shit.

"I want my friends back." DO YOU REALIZE THE CHARACTER GROWTH?!?! Loki never had a friend other than Thor. He was so closed off, he didn't think he ever needed anyone else. He told the lie that he was fine, better off, by himself. For him to admit that he has friends, and he wants them, and doesn't want to be alone...? 🤌🤌🤌

"But without them... Where do I belong?" WHERE IS TOM'S EMMY?!?! The tear, the voice shake... this man 😭😭😭

Remember, this Loki is a "cosmetic mistake." He isn't supposed to exist. Mobius saved him from being reset. Without the TVA, without Mobius... he has no reason to exist... no glorious purpose. But he was still willing to let them all go to do the right thing 🥲🥲🥲

Mobius trying to sell a Jet Ski to B-15 is too funny.

THE MONKEY FROM THE INTRO!! I've been wondering what that was all about... we also see OB's sticky note wall!

"The pens... we have all the pens!"

When they all start spagettifying being parallel to the dusting scenes in Infinity War.... RUDE, MARVEL. MR STARK I DON'T FEEL SO GOOD.

"I can rewrite the story." YES YOU CAN KING!! And my immediate reaction was "Loki, God of Stories"! At first I thought Loki and Sylvie were going to run the TVA together, but now I feel like it might be Loki alone (with Mobius' help of course), managing all the timelines... writing the story.

THAT ENDING!!!! I'M SO READY BUT NOT READY FOR NEXT WEEK!!! I can't believe we're at the end.... I'M SO SCARED! 😭

[fandxmslxt69]

Every time Loki mentions Thor in this season, my heart literally shatters to a million pieces and then reattaches itself because look how much he clearly cares for his brother!! but there are always a few pieces missing because they never got to express that love- not this Loki. And that Thor doesn't feel like he did it not. And this Loki is just hurting so much for his brother. And he doesn't know how to deal with that so he is just putting Thor in every situation he can. and god oh god I just feel so much for them like why is Marvel doing this to me. Why mention Thor SO MUCH THIS SEASON each time with Loki sharing some form of personal detail and NOT GIVING ME THEIR HAPPY ENDING.

God because when this happens- this Loki does not know All The Lore. Because this is still 2012 Loki, and he's probably gonna run into Current Thor, and Current Thor is just looking like he saw a ghost because really- he is seeing a ghost! This is certainly not his brother- not the brother he knew and watched die so many times and now for real. This isn't the brother he grew with past his Avengers time. This isn't his Loki and yet it also is because they are still so so alike but so so different and Thor is so heartbroken knowing he will never truly have his brother back but he's so overjoyed because Loki's here and he's smiling and he's laughing and we're brothers again

but are they? Because there's like a million years worth of unsaid words and events that have happened that have changed them both completely and Thor lived through HIS events and OG Loki's event but this Loki hasn't! He only knows up to 2012 Battle of New York and whats happened in the TVA! and Thor doesn't know this TVA stuff and its one of the first time he has no idea how to connect himself to this aspect of Loki's life! Because they are brothers!! Wherever and whatever Thor does and goes through Loki will always be connected somehow, and wherever and whatever Loki does and goes through, Thor will be connected somehow! Because they're brothers and that's just how it's been but now it feels like there's eons between them and neither knows how to close this distance but at the same time it feels like no time has passed-

and yet there's still this burden that they both carry. Loki knows this isn't the Thor he left behind. And Thor knows this isn't the Loki he held in his arms on that cursed planet. And it's not said or mentioned but they both know and they both feel it through the conversation and the silence and yet there's those moments in between where it feels like they're young gods again without a worry or care in the world, sitting in the palace gardens talking without any burden on their backs and no horrors in their eyes and they can almost feel the Asgard sun and hear Frigga's laughter and almost smell the flowers of her beloved garden and the world is okay- they are okay and they're brothers and they're laughing together and that's what matters in those fleeting moments.

AND AND AND AND AND AND what if I go kill myself then what .

[ofstarsandvibranium]

My Sweetheart: Part 4

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Summary: You purchase a vintage sweetheart bracelet from an antique store and with it, comes the spirit of the woman who owned it. Through her, you go on an interesting journey to find out what happened to her old lover.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Dot shakes her head in disappointment. It's clear Bucky has gone through a lot, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be happy. He deserves to be happy. She sighs, watching as you run a hand down your face. Though she's been around you for a few days, she knows you're a sweet, kind, and caring person. Bucky seems like he could use someone like you in his life.

____________________

Bucky's in the kitchen downing another beer. Kamala cautiously approaches the man, "Sooo...how'd it go? Did you, uh, help your old girlfriend move on?"

Bucky gulps his beer down and lets out a loud sigh, "Nope. She doesn't want to cross over anymore."

Kamala's brows furrow, "What? Why?"

He shrugs, "She wants to stay to make sure I'm happy."

"Are you happy?" the young Avenger asks.

"I'm content, but that's not good enough for Dot."

"So what're you gonna do?"

"Not my problem. Y/N has to deal with Dot. Not me," he tosses the empty bottles into the recycling.

Kamala frowns, "Isn't the point of being an Avenger supposed to be helping people?"

Bucky snorts, "I'd rather fight another one of Thanos' alien dogs than deal with the ghost of my girlfriend from the 40s." With that, he leaves Kamala in the kitchen.

"Hm..."

_________________

After the day you've ha, you needed a tall glass of wine and a nice bubble bath. So that's exactly what you did.

The bath was hot and ready, you poured yourself a glass, and you played some soft music in the background. As the bathroom filled with steam, Dot wrote on the mirror: Help Bucky.

You snort into your wine glass, "Dot, you heard him, he doesn't want my help. The guy's a dick."

Help. Bucky.

You sigh, sitting up in the bath, "Dot, really, I get you're concerned for him or whatever, but he doesn't want our help. The guy is a lost cause! You just need to accept it and move on!"

Dot huffs, taking your toothbrush and throwing it onto the floor. You don't know, but she walks out.

She looks around the apartment and suddenly wants to get away. She moves to your bedroom window, looking outside. She takes a deep breath and transports herself outside of your apartment.

"Yes!" she cheers and takes a few steps forward but then freezes. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't go any farther. She turns around and sees a string pulling her back. She's then transported back to your apartment and she's glaring at her bracelet.

"Dammit," she murmurs and sits at your desk in discouragement.

_______________

After your bath, you ordered takeout since you weren't in the mood to cook. When you heard the knock at the door, you open it to see-

"You're not my takeout."

Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel, was standing at your door. She gives you a sheepish look, "I mean, technically, I have it here," she holds up the bag, "But I came to help you," she hands you your takeout and enters your apartment.

"Help me?" you close the door behind her and look at her confusedly.

"Yeah! With Bucky and helping his old girlfriend to move on!" she looks at you excitedly.

"Uuuhhh okay?" your brows furrow in confusion, "How come you want to help?"

Kamala shrugs, "It's what Avengers do, besides, I do think that Bucky needs some happiness in his life. All he does is work, ride his motorcycle, and be grumpy."

You snort as you open your takeout and start digging in, "He seems like he's eternally grumpy."

Something falls off your coffee table, startling Kamala, "What was that?"

"Dot, Bucky's old girlfriend. She tends to move things when she wants my attention." You walk over to the table to see your notepad with a new note from her: LET HER HELP.

You hum, "Dot thinks you can help."

"Great!" Kamala claps her hands together, "So we should definitely plan things out. What if," she pauses and gasps, "we can get him a pet!"

"Is he capable of taking care of an animal?" you genuinely ask her.

She shrugs, "Not sure, but he likes to feed any stray cats that are around the Compound. So maybe we should get him a cat!"

"Okay but what if he doesn't want the cat? You guys are left with a cat."

Kamala shrugs again, "I don't mind. I love cats. As long as I don't bring it home to my parents, we should be fine."

You shake your head, "I'm sorry, kid-"

"Kamala."

"Kamala. I get that you're trying to help you're, uh, fellow Avenger, but it doesn't seem like he wants help. Also, as someone who works at an animal shelter, I don't like the idea of giving someone a pet without knowing whether they want one or can care for one."

The young Avenger's eyes widen, "You work at an animal shelter?! Can I visit your work?!"

You can't help but chuckle at the teen's enthusiasm, "I mean, we're always looking for volunteers. If you or any of your Avenger friends want to come by and help, that'd be great.

Kamala is furiously nodding, "I know a bunch who would love to help! Are you working tomorrow?"

You shake your head, "Nope. The day after though. You can swing by and pick up volunteer papers for you and your friends to fill out."

She salutes you, "Sounds like a plan!" she sees herself out with a wave and you're hoping that this will be the end of her wanting to help you to help Bucky to help Dot.

[bulkyphrase]

Steve Rogers as the Winter Soldier

Ok. So I know I said I would let a free and fair election decide what my next rec list would be. But then I saw @16woodsequ ask for Steve as the Winter Soldier recommendations, and I blacked out and when I came to I had discovered this list almost completed. So I guess the poll will be determining my next next list.

if time is all I have by tielan (@tielan) (Gen, General Audiences, 4,217 words)

Summary: Maria knows what that look means. She knows the mindset behind it. She's seen it in the resolve of agents who knew the odds of going in, heard it in field operatives calling for an exit in impossible situations, witnessed it in extraction targets who didn't believe that they'd actually make it out. And sometimes the odds were defied, the impossible happened, and everyone made it out in one piece. Sometimes. To see that expression in the man they call the Winter Soldier....

The Kind You Save by TooManyBattles (Skarabrae_stone) (@captaintoomanybattles) (SamSteveBucky, Mature, 37,074 words)

Summary: When HYDRA sends the Winter Soldiers to assassinate the new Captain America, they expect the mission to be an easy one. After all, they're super-soldiers-- how hard can it be to kill one unenhanced human? As more and more of their attempts prove unsuccessful, however, the Soldiers' respect for Wilson grows, as does their suspicion that HYDRA's motives are not what they seem. If Sam Wilson is a good man, what does that make them…?

The rest after the cut!

Series: marvelous wolves by orphan_account (Stucky, General Audiences, 13,150 words)

Summary: Part 1: They are a Soldier without a handler, a Hunter without someone to point her at targets. They can’t go through the rest of their lives feeling like they’re in an in between state, benched, resting, just waiting for the next mission, the next handler. They break into the small, unassuming place, and they wait in the shadows for their handlers to come home and see them. Part 2: Bucky introduces Steve to the rest of the team.

Fortunate Son by orphan_account (Stucky, Teen And Up Audiences, 2,368 words)

Summary: Bucky wakes up in the future to a world that needs Captain America; meanwhile, a Cold War-era supersoldier assassin emerges. Also available as a podfic read by sisi_rambles

Series: Preserved by Domenika Marzione (domarzione) (@laporcupina) (Gen + Steggy, Not Rated, 80,189 words)

Summary: After the rescue of the 107th, Steve Rogers cashes in all of his favors and makes what deals he can to get Bucky a medical discharge from the Army, sending him home to Brooklyn and far from enemies and curious scientists both. But Steve's war goes on until it ends badly, in an exploding plane over the Black Sea. Captain America is presumed dead, his shield recovered and returned to a grieving America while his body remains undiscovered. Seven years later, a new danger is threatening to unbalance the already-roiling Cold War: a Soviet assassin let loose from behind the Iron Curtain. Peggy Carter isn't sure she wants to believe that the assassin is a super-soldier because of what it could mean, but she does know that whoever it is, she'll have to break her promise to keep Bucky Barnes far from danger.

Don't Give it a Hand, Offer it a Soul by TooManyBattles (Skarabrae_stone) (@captaintoomanybattles) (Stucky, Mature, 30,734 words)

Summary: An Avengers training mission gone wrong, a HYDRA plot in the midst of SHIELD, and a mysterious prisoner in the basement of an abandoned bank-- and that's just the start of Bucky's day. While the Avengers rush to prevent HYDRA's plans for world domination, Bucky finds himself drawing closer to the stranger he rescued... a man who is almost certainly an agent of HYDRA.

The Curious Case of Steve Rogers by this_wayward_life (@wayward-lives) (Stucky, Teen And Up Audiences, 3,610 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers is not who anyone expects him to be.

Series: One More Troubled Soul by sara_holmes (@captn-sara-holmes) (James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov + Stony, Mature, 61,415 words)

Summary: Part 1: How Bucky Barnes made a shitty speech when aliens were invading, saved the day, got the girl and ended up feeling like he was actually Captain America and not a two-dollar knock off. Part 2: And Tony realizes that working out who the Winter Soldier used to be and who he is now are two entirely different things. Part 3: Steve Rogers is the Winter Soldier. He has his missions, he had his orders, he has his place in the world. If people would just stop reminding him about that time he was Captain America, it would be a lot easier to stay in that damn place.

Series: tear me to pieces, skin to bone (hello, welcome home) by voxofthevoid (@voxofthevoid) (Stucky, Explicit, 48,488 words)

Summary: This isn’t his Steve. This isn’t Captain America, and this sure as fuck isn’t the little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight. This isn’t the Winter Soldier either, Hydra’s mindless machine. Whatever came out of all that, of the man who was all of those at some point in his life—Bucky’s not sure if it’s someone he wants to know. But it’s Steve. Steve reaches out, one bear paw of a hand reaching for Bucky’s face. Bucky grits his teeth and forces himself not to flinch. He’s expecting another blow, maybe fingers pushing into his mouth, but what he gets is a finger tracing the cleft in his chin—the spot his Steve used to love to kiss. Bucky shivers at the gentle touch, caught off guard and floundering. He’s only more unsettled when Steve’s hand settles on his cheek, big enough to cradle the entire side of Bucky’s face. “Pretty boy,” Steve murmurs. “Should I keep you?” -Captain America is sent to hunt down a ghost.

Live as I have lived and love as I have loved by tigriswolf (@photosbytigriswolf) (Stucky, Teen And Up Audiences, 2,865 words)

Summary: "Oh, shit," Tony says. "Please don't be a Winter Soldier." Mirror!Steve's eyes go straight to him, face as blank as Robocop's. "Stark," he says calmly. "I know I killed you." Also available as a podfic read by sisi_rambles

Tempest in a Teapot by AvocadoLove (WinterIron, Teen And Up Audiences, 30,742 words)

Summary: Or, how Bucky watches his best friend die in his place, wakes seventy years in the future, takes up Captain America's shield, joins a group of super heroes, and finally begins the process of forgiving himself.

Seven times Steve Rogers was not what everyone expected him to be (+1 time he really, really wasn't what everyone expected him to be) by StuckySituation (Stucky, Teen And Up Audiences, 3,515 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers’s patriotic eyebrows jump up. “Holy cow.” That was not what Tony would have expected from Captain America. “‘Holy cow’? Did the history books mess up? Was your family actually from India and not Ireland?” “Fuck off, Stark. I ain’t shitting on what comes out of your mouth, so you better leave my goddamn cows alone as well.” Tony doesn’t know whether to feel awestruck or betrayed. “You,” he says and points at Rogers, “are nothing like I expected.” “Sorry to be a fucking disappointment,” Rogers says with a scowl and pulls his ridiculous helmet on, covering the sleekly styled brown hair. It was astonishing how even Rogers’s golden hair had been false propaganda -- but of course the great America had wanted to present its figurehead as Aryan perfection in the time of eugenics. “Suit up, everyone. Let’s get this shit done.”

the long game by enemyofrome (@enemyofrome) (Stucky, Mature, 6,869 words)

Summary: In 1945, Steve Rogers trades himself to the Red Room in exchange for the Winter Soldier. They accept his offer, but don't let Bucky go. After all, their supersoldiers come as a matched set. (Featuring crafty Steve, pining Bucky, and a very noisy metal arm.) Also available as a podfic read by quietnight (@quietnighty)

[fandomfluffandfuck]

I was scrolling through your tags and links last night and i will never stop being SHOOKT of the way you right Steve and Bucky JAHFOWJDORJEI

So I present to you- fresh faced Steve x twunk Sebastian x WS!Bucky

During endgame, they made a joke about the hot tub time machine movie and that implies the existence of one Sebastian Stan in the marvel universe and I'm reminded of that discovery when I read your selfcest drabbles/fics Nghhhhhh

So like, imagine a movie night with the avengers and Steve's all chilling when he suddenly sees the younger face of his dead best friend (ehem lover ehem) on the screen. He loses his shit, quietly, and Steve's captivated, he can't take his eyes off the man in front of the screen, animatedly talking and playing his character

Natasha's the first to notice of course and she quietly tells him that he's just an actor that happened to have an uncanny resemblance with the late sergeant. Steve nods along, heart aching behind where he's squeezing the pillow to his chest. When the movie ends, he returns to his floor and googles Sebastian Stan and basically spends the rest of the night stalking him

Do you see the potential angst!? The 'he doesn't want me as me but because I look like someone he loved' trope on Sebby who falls in love with Steve but can't really act on his feelings bcs he knows he only reminds Steve of his lost love???? Or.... STALKER STEVE AJDBWKRBWOHFIE

as an actor, being stalked is nothing new for Seb but good lord he's never been stalked by a 6'2, blonde man built like a brick houseeeeeeeeee; and his stalkers' weirdly polite and charming too, flowers and chocolate and lots of other gifts-

Then we get the events of the winter soldier and maybe instead of leaving, Bucky stays around stalking Steve and he discovers Steve's massive obsession with this actor who looks exactly like him. Another identity crisis for Bucky because is he even real? Or just another version? What if he was just modelled after this man? He needs to know more about this man

It ends with the two of them stalking Seb, watching from afar, leading to possible dub-con EHEM AHSIWHEUWHIEJRJF

I WANT TO WRITE THE PORN PART BUT I FEEL LIKE IVE GONE LONG ENOUGH ABIUT THIS UGHHHHHH bcs can you imagine poor regular Human Sebastian trying to keep up with two ravenous super soldiers who are nearly twice his size!!? Overstimulation and marathon sex would go crazy!!!!

That's all 😘 hope u have a good day Sir S!!

-🫠🫠

Aw, thank you!! I'm touched 😘

Oh yeah, I always forget about that. Timeline shenanigans are fun, aren't they?

Oh. Oh. But that's devastating. Can you imagine how wrecked fresh-from-the-ice Steve would be? Seeing his lover's face on another man? It would be like being jostled from his sleep by an explosion on TV--his heart races the same. Shit.

The stalking that would go down. Holy fuck. Yeah. Stalking and pining. I can only imagine the hours Steve would spent staring at his laptop screen, longing to reach out and touch his face. He looks so, so similar!

OH I FEEL THE ANGST. But I wasn't thinking about it like that! Oh my fucking god, Sebastian falling for Steve--who wouldn't?--but knowing the whole time that it's not him that Steve wants. Oof. And while Steve's heart is big, maybe he could learn to love Sebastian for Sebastian... that's not going to happen when he's so locked up with grief. He can't move on from Bucky by being with someone who is his twin. All he can do is yearn for Sebastian, who looks so much like Bucky that he can't resist, but doesn't act like him. He isn't Bucky. It hurts. But it's all he has.

Oh my GOD, there's something darkly comedic about Steve becoming a stalker because while my immediate inclination is a stalker in the traditional dangerous, threatening way and not an unwanted, too-intensely-earnest infatuation. Huh. That would be so interesting! And how would Sebastian react to that because Steve is very handsome and sweet but... boundaries. Jesus Christ. They need to establish boundaries.

Oof. A stalking triangle? A love triangle? We're getting wild, lmao. The identity crisis would fucking TAKE BUCKY OUT. Yeah. What the fuck. Who is he? Who is this man? Has Steve entirely replaced him with this lookalike? Does Steve not want him? Does he not need him? Who is that, and what's happening? I feel like it would probably make Bucky crazy jealous, right? He's unsteady at that time, and so I feel more than stalking he would turn to threatening poor Sebastian.

And maybe it all ends up with Steve explaining himself, standing between them, physically buffering them with his arms spread and his hands up. Then, well... why turn down an opportunity like this? Steve has forced his way into their lives (back into Bucky's life), so, he deserves what he gets--two lookalikes, two loves of his life, taking it out on him. Using him. 😏

This would go hard as a long form fic!! You're so fucking right 💥 💳💥💳

And thank you so, so much for sharing!! I enjoyed reading and thinking about this!

[3mcwriting]

Any Fan's Dream, Part 20

Taglist: @secretly-sirens, @zeeader, @imdoingathingmom, @x-theolivia, @ainsley-official, @huntress-artemiss, @hoohoohope, @ourgoddessathena, @wiintaersoldier, @vine-enthusiast, @afraidofshrimp, @myfturn, @im-better-than-your-newborn, , @mjaudrey, @igotthisasajokeyetimstillhere, @starr60, @coldmermaidhologram, @daenerysluvrr, @viperchick47, @marvelwomen-arehot, @mynightandstars

So, recently this fic hasn't had much interaction, and I'm not sure why. One of you told me that it can be buggy and hard to reach, so I'm sorry abt that but if you ever wonder abt updates, I'm gonna start up dating every saturday. Just go to my masterlist, then to the afd masterlist and to the new chapter. Hopefully you're all able to find it now.

Any Fan's Dream Masterlist

Synopsis:

When you look around and see Avengers Tower in front of you and Peter Parker beside you, you wonder how the hell you managed to get into the MCU.

The quinjet landed, the atmosphere inside sobering up.

Everyone was checking their gear, ensuring they had everything they needed before they went into the bunker. 

"Is there anything else we should expect inside?" Steve asked you.

You shook your head, but stopped, remembering something. "Actually- he isn't planning on using the Winter Soldiers inside, he's going to kill them. Shit, I can't believe I forgot to tell you."

"Is there anything else?"

You racked your brain. "Well, he plans to lock you in the room and force you to watch the video of the Starks and Sergeant Barnes, but that's easy enough to avoid if you aren't all in one place."

"Okay." Steve nodded. "Thank you." He turned to the rest of the individuals gathered. "We'll be going in in two groups. 3 and 4."

"There's eight of us, though." Wanda pointed out. "Is somebody staying here?"

Your stomach dropped. 

He better not do what you thought he was going to.

"(y/n) hasn't had enough training for this," Steve stated. He looked at you. "I can't let you go out there. You just had a concussion and you don't have your Iron-Man suit. It isn't safe."

You had to take a moment to reign in your frustration. "It isn't safe for anybody out there. I should be able to go. Plus, I know what he's planning. None of you are tech people, I can help you." Your argument was all over the place, but your points were still valid.

Unfortunately, Steve had more valid points. 

He pulled you aside and spoke to you quietly. "You had less than a month of physical training, you were recently injured, you don't have any sort of equipment or protection, and this man wants to tear the Avengers apart. What do you think would happen if you got killed here?"

"My death wouldn't tear the Avengers apart." You almost scoffed, hating the fact that he had a point in terms of your combat prowess. "I'll stay close to you. I won't engage in fighting. But you have to let me help."

Steve thought about it, eventually coming to the conclusion that with a whole team of them against the one guy, you would probably be safer with them than outside in the quinjet by yourself.

"Fine." Steve conceded. "But you absolutely can't engage. When we start fighting, you get away, okay?"

You mulled it over. "Alright."

"Okay, new plan." Steve spoke up, catching the attention of the rest of the people. "Two groups of four. Wanda, Scott, Clint, and Sam, you're a group. Thor, Bucky, (y/n) and I will be a group. The goal of this is to make sure the team stays together. Make sure nobody gets hurt." Everyone could tell who in particular he was worried about getting hurt. "If you find Zemo, call it in."

~~

You looked at the different hallways, unsure of which way led where.

In the movies they never really focused much on this so you couldn't say you knew which way to go, but who could blame you? You never expected to somehow end up in the MCU so it wasn't like you had studied for it. You just had your memory to go off of, and as good as your memory was in remembering Marvel stuff, you hadn't managed to memorize every moment of every Marvel movie.

You just hoped that you had given them enough time to arrive before Zemo wound up killing all the other Winter Soldiers. After all, they were people like Bucky who had been brainwashed and tortured for decades, they didn't deserve the treatment they'd been subjected to. 

But now, there you were, unsure of which hallway to go down and simply following Bucky and Steve, Thor standing beside you while the two of you followed. 

You weren't stupid. You knew why Steve had told you to stay with Thor. Thor was strong enough to protect you rather easily if need be and Steve himself was too occupied to look out for you. You just wished you'd been able to have more training before this, at least then you would be able to pull your own weight in terms of self-defense. Instead, you were just brought along because the rest of the people there weren't exactly geniuses with technology.

Especially with the people in your group. 

Steve and Bucky weren't exactly caught up on current events, better yet, the technology. Thor wasn't even from Earth and was hopeless with tech.

You were tense, knowing that this was probably one of the most serious moments of your life. You felt doubt start to wiggle its way into your mind, but you pushed that wriggly worm down, instead focusing on how you had just compared doubt to a worm and wondering if your mind was just fucking weird. 

You refocused on the situation at hand, scolding yourself internally because this situation really didn't need you zoning out and getting lost in your mind. That was fine late at night when you were trying to fall asleep, but it could present a bit of a problem if fighting started and you were stuck thinking about doubt as a worm. Well, a wriggly worm to be specific, but-

No. Focus, (y/n).

You took a deep breath, looking around the rather ominous hallways the four of you kept turning down, wrinkling your nose at the smell. It was musty and dusty and you were worried you'd end up sneezing and give away where you were. That wouldn't be ideal.

Steve and Bucky climbed up a couple steps, you and Thor following right behind them.

In the movie, Bucky had led Steve and Tony to the large room that held the Winter Soldiers, so you assumed that was what was going to happen now. But you were concerned. In the movie Zemo had made a trap for them. With the plot changed, you didn't know if you had arrived early enough to stop Zemo before his trap was set and the Winter Soldiers were killed.

You arrived in the room and there they were.

It was dark, so dark that if the containers the people were kept in didn't have their own light, you would be blind to your surroundings. You took in a sharp breath, looking at the people sitting in those strange cells. You wanted nothing more than to run up to each of those cells and inspect the glass, ensure that there weren't any bullet holes and the people behind the glass weren't murdered in their inhumane confines.

But you knew you couldn't do that. That would be stupid. So you stayed behind Steve, looking at the cages and trying to discern if someone had indeed shot through them. Unfortunately, the lighting as bad as it was, you were going to have to get closer to actually tell.

As you moved closer, you felt your anticipation grow. From what you could see, none of the cells had any holes in them. 

You almost gasped, but restrained yourself. Unless you were missing something or your eyes weren't reliable, none of the Winter Soldiers had been killed. Sure, they all looked dead because of whatever cryo-freeze thing that Hydra put them in, but none of them had the execution style shot in their head.

Zemo hadn't yet shot them.

You'd arrived before he could do so. 

It wasn't a great time to do so, but you almost smiled. After all, that meant you had managed to change the plot enough that Steve and Bucky were able to arrive before Zemo could set up his plan. It also meant that these six lives hadn't been lost. 

You were already thinking about if you could convince T'Challa to take them back to Wakanda and get them the treatment Bucky was able to get there. With that, maybe those people would be able to escape Hydra's influence and finally be able to live for themselves.

"I was going to get rid of them before you arrived, but I suppose I can do that later." Helmut Zemo's voice crackled over the old intercom.

Steve and Bucky instantly went tense and battle-ready. Thor moved closer to you, ready to shield you from whatever was going to happen.

"Unfortunately," Zemo continued, "I didn't expect your arrival so soon. But as I said before, I can deal with that later."

"You killed innocent people to bring us here," Steve's voice held an undercurrent of anger you'd never heard in person before. "Why?"

"An unfortunate necessity," Zemo conceded, "I do apologize to you for any injuries you might've retained, (y/n)(l/n). The bombing was important to the plan, although the deaths are regrettable."

You almost said 'No problem' out of habit but managed to stop yourself from doing so because it was just a bit of a problem.

"Don't speak to her," Steve ordered. "You caused so much pain. For what?"

"I thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you." 

You knew why Zemo had done what he did, and while it was tragic, it didn't excuse bombing a building. 

"Again, my apologies, (y/n)(l/n). I never wanted to hurt any children."

You almost felt insulted by that but then realized it was probably best to just ignore the statement. There were, after all, more important things to worry about. Besides, you felt uneasy. Sure, you knew things were much better than in the movie but you had the horrible sense that something was going to go horrendously wrong. 

Your eyes swept the room, roving over the six empty glowing cells, the corners hidden by shadows, the-

Wait a fucking minute-

Empty cells?

Oh, fuck.

"Guys, the cell things are empty," you alerted the people with you. 

Fuckfuckfuckfuck where were they?

You flinched when the lights in the cells went out, darkness crashing down like a tidal wave, ready to pull you beneath and leave you never to be seen again.

"As I said before," Zemo's voice came over the intercom again, "I did not expect you all so soon. And unfortunately, the Iron-Man isn't here, which messes up another plan of mine. You really have thwarted a couple of my plans and it is quite annoying; but as you Americans say, 'the show must go on'."

"I know he said he was going to kill them, but I think he decided to give them one last go before he did." You tried to control your voice as you spoke, but it was rising as you got more nervous. You looked around uselessly, the darkness too thick for you to see anybody or anything. You felt the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up, every muscle in your body tensing as your nerves rose.

You reached out, knowing Thor was right beside you only a couple feet from you when the lights went out. "Thor, are you there?"

"I am right here, Lady (y/n)." You felt relief wash over you when you heard his voice. "Do not move, Lady (y/n), let me find you."

"Okay." Even with the comfort Thor brought you, every moment of silence in that pitch-black room made you more and more uneasy. 

You felt a hand reach out and grab your arm, almost giving you a heart attack.

"Lady (y/n), is that you?"

"Ye-" 

Your words were cut off, a hand covering your mouth while another one wrapped around your waist and pulled you backward. You tried to scream, but the hand over your mouth only muffled the noise. Remembering the training Natasha had taught you, you desperately tried to get out of the assaulter's grasp but to no avail. Your movements were too slow, too amateur to work on an assassin trained for decades. 

"Lady (y/n), where did you go?" Thor's voice held uncharacteristic urgency. "Lady (y/n)?"

"(y/n)!" Now Steve's voice was breaking through the silence, the cry of your name reaching your ears and while you wanted nothing more than to respond, you were left to try to scream, again only muffled noises. 

"I think I heard her," Bucky's voice popped up. "(y/n), try to make as much noise as possible."

You screamed, the noise still muffled but louder than before. The person holding you wrapped an arm around your throat, applying pressure slowly. You tried to claw at their arm, use your legs to knock them off balance, but nothing worked. They were too strong, stance too sturdy, and far too well trained for your efforts to do much more than annoy them. 

You clawed desperately at the arm as the person but more and more pressure on your throat. Although the arm was only choking you for mere seconds, it felt never-ending. Something was happening to you, your airway being closed off, you felt like you were...you couldn't- you couldn't....breathe...

~~

The lights in the cells turned back on, leaving Steve, Thor, and Bucky looking for you anxiously. Unfortunately, they weren't left with much time to search for you when six people came out of the shadows and decided to attack.

"WHERE IS LADY (Y/N)?" Thor thundered, voice rough thunder is loud. 

Steve was focused, desperately trying to keep the two assassins back but too distracted by looking for you to focus. He had let you come along with them, he had allowed this to happen. If you were dead....

No, you couldn't be dead. 

"YOU WILL NOT TELL ME WHERE SHE IS? FINE, I HAVE NO NEED FOR YOU THEN." Slamming his hammer on the floor, Thor sent out shocks of electricity at the two people trying to attack him, knocking them unconscious. In quick succession, he managed to render the rest of the assassins unconscious as well. 

No longer occupied by trying to defend himself, Steve searched the room for you; Bucky and Thor followed his lead. 

They looked up as footsteps approached, running footsteps. 

Instantly on guard again, they all tensed, ready to fight the newcomers.

Wanda emerged, Scott behind her. A few moments later, Clint and Same came in, escorting a bound Helmut Zemo with them. 

Footsteps loud against the stone floor, Steve stormed over to the incapacitated man. "Where is she." His words a demand for answers, not a question.

"I told you I did not want the death of a child on my mind." Was all Zemo said. 

Wanda tilted her head. "He ordered one of the Winter Soldiers to knock her unconscious before the fighting began." She had read his mind, desperate to find out where her friend was.

Weak coughing was heard from one of the shadowy corners. "I...I'm over here."

[salmonskinrolltf]

Update & Marvel Frat Boy Story Commission

Hey everyone! So I've been incredibly busy, which is why I haven't been so active on here lately. I've been writing a book 👀 Not a TF book, but if this goes well then something like that could be next! However, that has prevented me from writing much TF stuff even though I have a lot of fun ideas. In the meantime, I commissioned @writer-ofstuff to write a sequel to this story about Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man being exposed to a gas that turns them into frat bros. I've attached that story below, so I hope you enjoy!

Bucky is worried about Steve. It wasn't like his friend to not answer his messages this long. He knew Steve had some sort of meeting at Stark Tower. He told Bucky as much in his last message to him. Followed up with him saying he'd see Bucky later. That was almost four days ago, and Bucky has had radio silence from Steve since.

Bucky at first thought the Avengers had been summoned for some kind of mission. However he had checked with Sam, and Sam hadn't heard of anything either. This is what prompted Bucky to go to Stark Tower himself to see if he can figure out where Steve is.

He was a little apprehensive since he and Tony don't have a good relationship. Given what Bucky had done to Tony's parents when he was brainwashed, it was understandable for Tony not to want to be around Bucky.

Bucky takes a deep breath and enters through the front doors of Stark Tower. Reaching the elevator he startles when he hears this strange swoosh noise coming a few feet behind him. A man steps through the portal that had appeared there. The man is wearing unique attire with a red cape that Bucky swears moves on its own as if it waved at him. But surely that was just the uptick of wind from the portal as it closed behind the man.

"Are you here for someone as well?" The man asks.

"I'm looking for my friend. Steve Rogers." Bucky answers.

"Ah, Captain America's friend. The Winter Soldier, correct?" the man then asks.

Bucky recoils a little at the name, a few flashes of the awful things he had done under that name. But he is quick to compose himself.

"Bucky is fine." He tells the guy.

"Dr. Stephen Strange." The guy introduces.

'Oh so this is the sorcerer guy Steve talked about.' Bucky thinks to himself.

That should have been an easy guess given the guy's flashy entrance. 

"So why are you here?" Bucky asks.

"Stark was supposed to contact me the other day needing my assistance with something." Dr. Strange continues."But I was dealing with a prior engagement and couldn't answer his call. After a few days of nothing I decided to check in and see what he needed myself."

Bucky makes a noise of acknowledgement in reply, since he isn't sure what to say to that. It does make him question if something had happened to them then, since Tony had contacted Dr. Strange around the time Steve had come here. The elevator doors open and Bucky goes to step inside. But Dr. Strange stops him before he can. 

"No need for that. I have a faster way to get to the top,” He says. 

Dr. Strange opens another portal, the orange circle showing the upper floor of Stark Tower in its center.

"Why didn't you teleport yourself there first instead of the main lobby?" Bucky can't help but ask.

He and Dr. Strange step through the portal to the upper floor of Stark Tower. Before Dr. Strange can explain his reasoning, both men pause at the mess they find on the top floor of the tower.

"Jeez it looks like someone threw a party up here." Dr. Strange says.

It’s true, the place was a mess with cans of soda, beer, and pizza boxes. Not to mention work out equipment was also strung around the room, as well as some dirty clothing.

"I haven't seen a room this messy since I had to visit the frat house at my college." Dr. Strange notes.

"I wonder who made this mess, and where Steve and the others are." Bucky says.

It’s perplexing since Steve wasn't the type to make such a mess. He doesn't know Tony well, but he assumes that Tony wouldn't want his place this junked up. Thor, from what Bucky had been told, would seem to be the one to make such a mess like this. But the question is, did he do this or was it someone else's handiwork?

It is baffling to say the least, and it leaves Bucky still confused as to where Steve is. He is lost in his thoughts as he surveys the room, seeing if he can't find any sort of clues. He pauses when he sees something emitting from one of the air vents. 

It looks like a plume of gas? But it is this sorta vibrant almost neon color which he has never seen. He does know of course that it could be dangerous, and he is already moving toward the door, shouting for Dr. Strange that they need to get out of there.

However more of the gas somehow makes its way to the entrance and blocks it, leaving the two man trapped in the room with the unknown gas.

"I got this,” Dr. Strange says with confidence. 

He moves his hands, doing a few characters with them as two portals then open up in front of and behind him and Bucky. A wind current sucks the gas into the portals and moments later, the gas is cleared from the room before it could reach either man. 

“Impressive, huh bro?" Dr. Strange says as he looks at Bucky.

"Did you just call me bro?" Bucky asks. 

He doesn't know Strange, but he seemed the type of man not to have the word “bro” in his vocabulary. Dr. Strange looks just as confused as Bucky.

"Yeah, I don't know why though." He mutters.

"No big deal my dude." Bucky blurts without thinking. 

He pauses when he hears what he just said. Dr. Strange gives him a similar look. 

"Bro, what's up with how we're talkin’ man?" Bucky says. 

“Somethin' ain't right here dude." Dr. Strange says. 

He looks angry over how he’s talking. It’s clear that neither man can control how they speak. 

"Ugh. This is infiera.. infirea… this is fucking dumb!" Dr. Strange settles on saying. It becomes clear he couldn't pronounce the word he wanted to say.

Bucky agrees, it must have been that weird gas they got rid of. That was the only explanation on what could make them talk like a pair of douchebag dude bros. 

Bucky wants to suggest they get out of here, but his head starts to ache. He feels himself sway on his feet. He doesn't understand why he’s feeling so airheaded. It is so hard to focus his thoughts on what to do exactly in this situation. 

Bucky is so caught up with his thoughts he doesn't notice the way his body is steadily altering underneath his clothing. His muscles are losing some bulk to them, to become a lot more defined, showing a body he has gained through workouts rather than intense training. 

The scars from various fights slowly fade to unblemished skin. The most drastic change he undergoes, which makes him take notice, is his arm. The vibranium arm slowly attaches more to Bucky's torso. The metal softens while it gradually turns into a real arm. Bucky looks at his now real arm, clenching and unclenching his fist, staring at it in astonishment.

"Bro, my arm." He says softly.

"Uhh yeah man, that's your arm. Now can we focus here?" Dr. Strange snaps.

"Huh? Focus on what?" Bucky asks, a little dumbfounded about what his friend means.

Stephen opens and closes his mouth, a frown forming on his face. 

"I don't remember,” he says.

That makes both men erupt in laughter. Bucky points out the outfit his friend is wearing.

"Dude, a bit earlier for Halloween yeah?" He asks.

"I don't know what this getup even is man,” Stephen admits.

He strips out of his clothing, getting down to just his briefs. Now that he is mostly naked, it’s easy to see how his body too has gained some muscle on it, as well as a decent amount of body hair spread along his upper torso. Stephen runs his hand over his chest absent-mindedly. 

The gray hairs in his hair and goatee regain his natural hair color. His mature face smooths away any wrinkles the Sorcerer Supreme had, giving him a more youthful look of a man in his twenties. Stephen's goatee starts to shave down, a heavy five o'clock shadow spreading along his jaw and his cheeks, while Stephen's hair shrinks back into his scalp a good bit, leaving the former Sorcerer Supreme with a buzz style haircut. 

Bucky watches Stephen's changes with a strange fascination. He wants to speak up and warn his bro what was going on, yet all he can do is watch the transformation unfold. Being distracted like he is by Stephen, Bucky fails to notice how his own changes are progressing. 

He shrinks a few inches in height, his own torso itching as bristles of dark colored hair sprout along his formerly clean shaven torso. The pelt of body hair is much thicker than Stephen's. Bucky's scruff also grows denser until he sports a well trimmed beard. His face then smooths over any wrinkles and signs of aging to give him a more youthful look. Bucky now looks like a man in his twenties, just like Stephen. 

The two men crack lopsided smiles at each other while their minds quickly alter, Stephen forgetting his training and everything he accomplished as a top surgeon as well as the Sorcerer Supreme. Bucky forgets his past trauma from being tortured and used as a killing machine. The two young men have a fresh start as their new selves as the gas's effects dwindle down to completion. 

"Bro, where do you think Steve and the others are?" Bucky asks.

"Miss your boyfriend already?" Stephen teases.

Bucky gives him a playful shove, the two rough housing as the doors open and their bros came waltzing in.

"There you two are."

"Was wondering where you two slowpokes had gone off too."

"Yeah bros, you missed a hell of a party!” Steve was the last to say, coming up to stand beside his bro Bucky. Stephen meanwhile joins Thor and Tony. The three talk about the next game while Steve and Bucky do their own thing.

None of the frat brothers notice the computer in the back of the room, the screen being covered up in discarded clothing that hid the blinking incoming message icon.

[sineala]

It was quite the week for us comic Tony fans!

How would you rank the Tony issues from the haul? We had Iron Man #8, Avengers #3, I Am Iron Man #5, Avengers Beyond #5, Ults reboot (tho Tony didn’t seem to show there?), dunno if I missed any haha

Oh, man, it absolutely was a great comics week!

I'm going to list what I liked less first because I have a lot of feelings about Iron Man #8.

Ultimate Invasion #2

Technically Tony was in this, at the bottom of the first page of Howard's introduction, the one that was a straight-up redraw of Tony's introduction in Ultimates #2. Here he is:

I suppose that we don't actually know for a fact that this is Tony; Howard refers to him as his son but he isn't named. Like, for all we know, this is Greg with a dye job, or maybe Arno exists here. But I have to say that I'm pretty meh about the idea of an Ults reboot that doesn't include Steve or Tony (and, even more upsettingly, seems to have Howard instead of Tony); I suspect (at least, I hope) there will be some personnel reshuffling going on, but the amount that I have ever cared about The Maker is minuscule at best. Hickman just has his things he likes to write about and too bad if you wanted to hear about anyone else, I guess. (His original Ults run was not my favorite.)

Back when Time Runs Out was coming out, the solicits announced that the cover for Avengers #41 was going to reuse the cover of Ultimates #1, so everyone was excited that there was going to be an Ults crossover. At the time, I hadn't read any Ults at all, so I decided I was going to read Ults to prepare for this issue. The thing was, I didn't quite finish reading Ults, and I hadn't gotten to Hickman's run. "That won't be a problem!" I thought, naively. "I have in fact read Ultimates #1 and surely these characters are what this issue is about, since they are on the cover."

Then Avengers #41 turned out to be entirely about The Maker and Miles Morales and I was extremely confused. This was not what I thought I was getting. Why is it about these people? Where are the Ultimates? Why is a psycho version of Reed here?

Reading Ultimate Invasion is making me feel like I am having the exact same experience again, eight years later. I don't like it any better a second time.

I Am Iron Man #5

This is the last issue of this miniseries, and I really wanted to like it. For one thing, some of the variant covers have been absolutely gorgeous:

The creative team are clearly big fans of Tony and love him so much as a character and love his history and you can see that basically on every page of this entire miniseries and I'm glad Marvel gave us something that was so positive… but I haven't really been able to make any sense of any of it. They have some really interesting high-concept ideas -- like, #5 here was a look at the ethics of cloning -- but they seem to have a massive, massive disconnect at some point in the process between Having The Idea and Making A Comic About The Idea and I literally do not understand most of what has happened in this entire miniseries. I feel like if I asked them to summarize their comic I would probably understand the explanation, but reading the comic does not lead to understanding it, for me.

I was trying to explain this, and the best comparison I can come up with is all those issues of Doctor Strange that are mostly from the 70s where the creative team was clearly on All The Hallucinogens and you go to read a comic and it's absolutely gorgeous artwork but very little of the story makes any sense whatsoever and it's just like "okay, dude, you keep having fun doing your thing" and then you check back in a couple issues and Strange has defeated, like, the manifestation of his own ego and also possibly the concept of reality?

It's like that, but with Iron Man.

(Incidentally, the recent Doctor Strange miniseries Fall Sunrise was like that, if you feel like Doctor Strange comics have been making too much narrative sense lately.)

Avengers Beyond #5

Last issue of this Landy/Land series. Don't mind me; I really like crediting them. I really loved Derek Landy's work on the Cap-IM miniseries (I mean, who didn't?) and I think in both this miniseries and the preceding All-Out Avengers he demonstrated a really solid grasp of Avengers characterization, which is no mean feat in a series whose gimmick is that every issue starts in medias res. I think he's especially good at dialogue, and he really makes the characters feel like themselves without all that much space to work with, and a lot of the Avengers' solutions (like the Celestial blood thing here) seem like things they would come up with.

The downside, and this is not his fault, is that I really aggressively Do Not Care about the Beyonder. So I liked this despite that, which is a testament to how much I like his writing, I guess.

The other downside is every single page in which Greg Land has to draw a human face. I just. Sometimes he gets about 80% of the way but suddenly NOPE. The good news is that this series plays to his strengths in that there are a lot of characters with helmets and non-human faces and also there is a lot of punching which mostly doesn't show people's faces close-up. The bad news is that many of the action scenes still look like they're traced from porn, although at least not so much in this issue.

So I feel like if you can somehow ignore all of the art, like, all of it ever, you might like this.

Avengers #2

I really like Jed MacKay's writing, which is why this is getting ranked so highly for me even though really not all that much happened this issue. Plus, the art is good, and I felt that I could not in good conscience rank Greg Land's art above this.

Right now I don't think really enough has happened for me to be able to say whether this is a good run -- #1 was basically Assembling, and #2 here is Getting The Villains Together -- but I have a lot of faith in MacKay based on his other comics (I am excited to read his Black Cat run that I just got in book form) that this is probably going to be good. The dialogue seemed IC for everyone; I like how Tony is wearing his stealth armor here due to IM events. The villains remind me a lot of the villains in Death of Doctor Strange, which I liked a lot.

I do, however, empathize with the letter writer who says it doesn't feel like the Avengers without Steve. They could have two Caps. It would be okay.

Invincible Iron Man #8

Ohhh boy.

I have been looking forward to this issue since #7 came out, and I loved it (and the rest of the run so far) so much that I wrote 40,000 words of h/c set right after #7 because canon is whumping Tony so nicely that I thought he could maybe have some comfort. I don't remember the last time I liked a comic enough to write 40,000 words immediately after reading it. Maybe never. I wanted to get the fic posted before #8 came out and I did in fact manage this. Impressively, I don't think canon actually contradicts anything in my fic, provided you assume that there's at least a day before #8 starts. I also appear to have correctly identified several of the problems Tony is having in canon -- #8 establishes that Tony is not sleeping and not eating -- but it's just that Gerry Duggan has no interest in fixing these problems and I do.

I didn't think the whump could get any better than #7. The whump got even better.

Every interview I see with Gerry Duggan about IM, he seems to feel he has to apologize for all the pain he is putting Tony through. I don't know why he keeps apologizing. This is the good stuff.

So I had to do about a hundred pages of background reading to read this, because Hellfire Gala is something like 78 pages long and I had to read a FCBD issue too. It was totally worth it. I am very sorry to X-Men fans who are not Iron Man fans because I am sure they are cursing Gerry Duggan's name right now.

If you are going to read this Iron Man issue and want to have all the background reading, what you should actually read is the Avengers/X-Men FCBD issue from May, and then Hellfire Gala, and then Iron Man. There are several events that we get bits of from the X-side in Hellfire Gala and from Tony in IM, but the events themselves take place in the FCBD issue, which is definitely exactly where I'd put key events I wanted people to be able to find. Thanks, Marvel. And if you are a Steve fan, you are going to care, because one of them is an attempt on Steve's life. So if you don't read the FCBD issue first, halfway through Hellfire Gala you're going to be like "what do you mean, someone's trying to assassinate Captain America?" and, yeah, that's in the FCBD issue as well as a couple other attacks more relevant to the mutants.

I'm sure we were all expecting Krakoa to fall since the day it started -- look, we all know the mutants have a very, very bad record at creating mutant utopias -- but I have to say I wasn't expecting quite this much of a bloodbath and definitely not because Xavier decided to give into his captors' demands without checking if what they were actually asking him to do was happening like he thought it was. This seems to be a good argument for not negotiating with terrorists. I wasn't expecting basically the second Mutant Massacre, even masterminded by (an evil clone of) Mister Sinister. (I haven't read X-books in a long time but I have to admit that "Sinister is just not evil enough" was not a take I was expecting.)

Also I am STILL not over the fact that the evil mutant-hating organization is named Orchis, which means "testicle" in Greek. (I mean, yes, it also means "orchid." But if they wanted me to think of orchids they could have just named it Orchid in English and not Testicle.)

So, anyway, the result of the Hellfire Gala this year is that pretty much everyone who was at the Gala (as well as a bunch of other people) are extremely dead, except for Emma Frost and a small band of resisters (including, inexplicably, Wilson Fisk, and I'm sure we'll learn what his deal is eventually) who managed to teleport out to New York, which is where Tony gets involved.

(I am still not over the fact that Tony got an Avengers call for a DC terror attack, then got a call for Steve being attacked in Brooklyn and immediately zoomed to help Steve first. Priorities, he has them. Yes, I know, Steve was closer. Shhh.)

Anyway! You like Tony suffering? Then you will probably enjoy Tony fighting Sentinels, getting hit really, really hard, bleeding and getting concussed and begging for help and repeating that he's dying, as he wavers in and out of consciousness while lying on the street. If the issue had decided to make this the worst thing that happened to him, I would still have been perfectly satisfied because, look, I just wrote 40,000 words because I really liked how the last comic ended with Tony being upset that Rhodey had been arrested, punching his armor until there's blood dripping down his hands, kneeling on the floor. And now canon has made him suffer more!

But then! Then we get the very best terrible moment! Even better and/or worse than I could have hoped for!

Tony is at this point not entirely conscious, he thinks he's dying, and he's not very, uh, oriented as to reality, and that means that his poor suffering brain is making him think he's reexperiencing one of his past extremely traumatic events, and Emma, who is also now stuck fighting Sentinels, has decided to hop into his mind to help him out. So I was like, okay, maybe it's gonna be his origin story? That's probably pretty damaging. That's something anyone could come up with.

The thing is, Gerry Duggan has done the reading.

So the inside of Tony's mind is currently Iron Man #182. Yes. Tony is dying in the blizzard.

At this point, I had to stop and say AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. A lot. I think everyone else did too.

Like, I enjoy recreationally making fictional characters suffer and I don't think it would ever have occurred to me to do this. I am plotting the rest of an extremely angsty canon-divergent fic series ending in the blizzard, solely so that Steve can carry Tony out of the cold, and it would never have occurred to me that when Tony thinks he's dying his mind would take him right back to the middle of the blizzard and LEAVE HIM THERE, freezing to death, drunk and alone, with nothing. I could never have thought of this. It's perfect.

The comic doesn't actually tell you what it's referencing or that it is in fact referencing anything canonical, but if you are familiar with Iron Man #182's very distinctive cover art, this page is a very, very clear homage to it. (And I suppose there's a sense in which it's kind of a canon deep cut; the issue's a dollar-bin kind of issue and the arc itself has only been reprinted once, in pieces, and I think all of it is out of print now in paper. The people collecting and slabbing Doomquest et al aren't buying this one, as far as I know. We just love it.)

I think an argument can be made that the current one is more pathetic (in the sense of "creating pathos") than the #182 version, because for one thing the cover isn't itself canonical; that angle and alley aren't in the issue. Also, in Tony's dream version, he's surrounded by bottles. And he's barefoot. He's actually made it worse for himself than it was when it really happened to him.

And in case you thought this issue was done stabbing you in the heart, this is what happens when Tony wakes all the way up:

AAAAAAAAAA.

Anyway, then Tony surrenders -- because he has never met a self-sacrificing moment that he does not love; thank you, Gerry Duggan, for understanding this -- so that Emma can get away and he's now kneeling, unarmored, in the middle of the street, concussed and bleeding heavily, daring Feilong and his Sentinels to come on and kill him. Just your regular Iron Man cliffhanger.

I will take twelve more just like this one, please and thank you.

I'm still not over the blizzard.

I know it could all go wrong at any moment -- I have a lot of trust issues about Iron Man comics, clearly -- but we've had eight issues and as of right now I think this is definitely the best Iron Man ongoing run we've had in the past… fifteen years? Whenever Director of SHIELD ended.

(If any of you clicked on this and are not comics fans, you're probably wondering how fans of a character can dislike everything that has happened to them in the past fifteen years and still consider themselves fans of a character. This is just what comics fandom is like.)

[fizz-pop-thwip]

I don't know how to feel about RDJ being back as Doommm 😫

Realistically, I know it was mostly to pull at people's nostalgia but since there's still so much up in the air.. I fear this is about to go really bad.

A lot of people have been theorising that he's not going to be the long term doom, but actually a doom from another universe. Which I can see happening but realistically it feels like a lot of effort put into revealing RDJ as doom if he's going to be what is essentially a cameo or have a short amount of screen time.

If his mask is never taken off and he has nothing to do with Tony, I spose it could work but then why make it RDJ to begin with?

What I'm getting at here is RDJ isn't going to have a small role or hide his face the whole time. So this means he has to be linked to Tony, because I seriously doubt they're going to pull a 'same actor but different character and no one in world manages to notice that they look the same.' They can pull as much marvel science hoodoo voodoo magic for an explanation as they want but that's never going to pass as acceptable.😭

The only person that knew Tony personally that's still alive and would actually be involved in an Avengers movie, is the Hulk, Thor or.. Peter. Which- Avengers: Doomsday comes out before Spiderman 4, or so I've heard. Would I be against Peter being in Doomsday? Absolutely not. But I think we need that character development in his movie before we go to an Avengers movie where there isn't really time to go too deeply into just one character's story.

Overall, I don't know much about Dr Doom's character. But if people are going to be as pressed for him to be 'comic accurate' as they were for Spider-Man (despite the fact NONE of the MCU is comic accurate 🤔) Then I fear no one is going to end up happy.

This could go either way in my mind. This is either a nail in the coffin or could be a really good start to the new era of marvel. Everyone knows, aside from a few good shows here and there, marvel has fallen off since Endgame. Not just because our beloved characters aren't there any more but the writing has just been lacking. It's disappointing that by the time Doomsday is out, it will have taken 6 years for get back on track. but I'm staying hopeful that this is going to turn out well!

[abrahamshipwreck]

Actually Im not done

Hiring Jason Aaron for the limited Namor run is not only a punch to the gut for Namor fans but to people who had to endure his garbage runs for Thor and Avengers. He's pissed off fans in both those groups because he has 0 clue of the existing lore/character drives and histories then claims he is 'reinventing' them. Using human feces instead of butter and cocoa in a brownie recipe isn't 'reinventing' brownies just because the end product somewhat LOOKS like a brownie. Even his nonIP runs are rife with issues regarding plot threads just being left behind, poor dialogue writing, poor characterizations and I dont need to even bring up the racism because honestly I don't even know where to begin with that and another prominent Namor blogger here has the fucking bead on his ass for it better than I do.

This happened when comic publishers kept bringing in Ennis and Moore to 'reinvent' certain IPs. Only thing is I somewhat LIKE some of Alan Moore and even Garth Ennis' solo works (I will rant about them on a different time but now I'm too busy beating Jason Aaron to death like an enraged male chimpanzee).

Namor only occasionally gets a spotlight- BP:WF helped to bring him back into the spotlight which is both good an bad for equal measures. Namor is one of the most bastardized characters in the Marvel Lineups- he was a villain, he was an anti-hero, he was a stand in for POC for xenophobic reasons, he was a standin for POC for less sinister reasons, he's been royalty, he's been a monster, he's been a mutant- Namor has been so much in the time he has been in comics that the only way to 'reinvent him' is to toss all his history away and make him into something that is basically a weird OC in Namor packaging. Which Jason basically admitted he was going to do. He said he was going to 'break down and rebuild' Namor, putting him in a coma on the leaked cover. It feels like an excuse to abuse a character of color because that seems to be Jason's fucking fetish.

I have so few people to discuss comics with, less so when I sort of left the sphere of it for personal reasons, but the people I've seen talk about it are all in agreement this is a bad idea. Marvel hasn't made a good decision in a very, very long time though (them sort of soft-retiring Ethnostate Krakoa is somewhat the start of a good decision but the rest of the Xmen comic run currently is a fucking mess EVEN FOR XMEN STANDARDS).

I dunno. Im mad. Im upset. And there is nothing I can do about it.

[ben-10-setting-omnicrom]

Given the release of X Men 97 and the fact X Men Evolution is easily my favorite version of the team, I've actually been kicking around the idea of doing a crossover fic where Ben joins the X Men after being stranded in a Marvel world and researching the various superhero teams he can join.

Like obviously he'd be the most powerful Avenger/X Men since he can literally go to cosmic scales at the drop of a hat and do shit like casually hand Thanos or Apocalypse their ass with zero effort but seeing as he'd likewise know that I honestly think he'd make the conscious decision to join the X Men out of any given superhero group because there's no way in hell he'd allow all that genocide and lynching and shit that happens to mutants all the time slide.

Hell he'd probably even agree with Magneto and absolutely sympathize with his already being a Holocaust survivor once already and not wanting his people to do it again. Though obviously Ben would disagree with his methods.

Oh and since mind scapes are big things in Marvel I figured the Omnitrix would basically make him immune to psychic tampering because it'd be his mind scape and thus have all of the esoteric defenses in place the Omnitrix already has as well as the various fail-safes.

Like that isn't to say he'd cooldown his heroic drive in Marvel of course, he'd absolutely get involved with stopping Galactus or whatever and not really abide by the whole "people being too busy or otherwise occupied and thus not able to help with the given crisis of the day" thing that's so common in Marvel stories even if it's nominally a shared universe.

Just look at everything that happened in Genosha and shit.

Given how often he'd interfere plenty of heroes really wouldn't like him lol since Ben would absolutely be ok with killing a motherfucker. Like the Maximum Carnage storyline? Ben wouldn't hesitate to kill Carnage and probably end up fucking hating Spider-Man for stopping other people from killing him in the first place.

It'd actually be pretty interesting to see how his presence would affect the canon of Marvel.

Like he could pretty easily make Galactus a non problem by using his super smart aliens/Galactus's own help to make a machine that can just fucking make planets for him to devour. The Galvan entirely remade their planet in less than 6 months after it was blown up by the Highbreed. Working with Galactus it'd be fucking trivial to give him a endless buffet of planets to feed on so he doesn't have to target planets with populations on them, something Galactus himself doesn't even like doing.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Galactus straight up made Ben his herald or something assuming the watch couldn't just scan him since he has DNA and shit.

If anyone would be down to co write this or something hmu in the comments or pm lol it's incredibly fun to think about the realistic consequences of a twist of fate like this.