#say what you will about the mcu but steve rogers is a good character (i haven't read the comics so sadly the mcu is all my knowledge rip)

[obsessive-aspie-girl]

I came across THE ABSOLUTE BEST comment on an AO3 MCU fic!! The person who commented it even cited their sources proving what they were saying by turning part of the sentence into a link -- multiple times! Idk how to do that so I'll just leave a link to the original for anyone interested in those, and paste show off the comment here!

**Warning: Please mind the tags! Within the MCU you either hate this type of fic--and therefore comment--or you're still just a salty and full of rage as you were when it all first started going downhill in 2015. In other words: Civil War Team Iron Man.**

THE COMMENT (which was a reply to a hate comment about how "amazing" and "perfect" Captain America is):

"Yes, Steve Roger is all of those things. In the comics. 616 Steve can do things like defeat two other Super Soldiers when his Serum has been turned off. He's actually a Captain instead of it just being a stage name, due to, depending on the writer, either actually going to Officer School and blitzing through it, or receiving the equivalent of Officer School training while "on the job." In the comics, Steve Rogers earned his rank under the code name of Captain America, and his "secret identity" was that of the bumbling Private Rogers. MCU Cap actually is the bumbling Private Rogers, but is treated like a trained genius tactician undeservedly.

Comics Steve Rogers is also of far better moral character. He's the sort of person who would throw his shield to alter the trajectory of someone falling in order to avoid civilians being hurt. MCU Steve Rogers is never shown caring about the people hurt in Bucharest, and has no problems treating a German SWAT team the same way he did Crossbone's goons. When in the comics everyone finds out that it was Cap's evil Hydra clone who did all sorts of terrible things, Steve admits to HYDRA Cap that he's actually glad that, thanks to HYDRA Cap, people no longer trust him as much as they did in the past, as he's actually never been comfortable with people blindly trusting him or anyone else. MCU Steve demands that people blindly trust him to have their best intentions in mind. 616 Steve has enough willpower to break free of mind control straight away; MCU Steve got stuck in Wanda's illusions like everyone else.

Also, when 616 Tony isn't being written by stupid writers as a fascist, Steve is pretty much the founder and president of the Tony Stark Defence Squad. Anyone talks crap about him, Steve reminds them of how many people his tech and charity work has helped, and on a more personal level actually appreciates how much Tony has done for him instead of accepting it as his due for saving the world once a year.

Comics Steve is respected because he deserves it and has earned it; MCU Steve demands it like an angry toddler, claiming that he's a good man when in reality he's just not as big of an asshole as the Red Skull.

The sad part is, it would have been so easy to salvage Steve's character. Show him sending a coded message to JARVIS during WS, and later say Fury mention that Tony, even with his suits all blown up, was standing by to ensure that all the non-Hydra stuff was taken off the net so that no innocent SHIELD employees were hurt and no US secrets were leaked. About 5 seconds of footage.

Show him trying to contact Tony when Wanda talks crap about Ultron being just like him to prove her wrong, and getting concerned when there's no answer and heading back to Stark Tower just to be sure. Don't show him already be in the process of charging forwards and drawing back his fist to throw a punch at Tony before his chest piece ever arrives. Add two seconds of footage where Steve tiredly asks whether Tony can call another suit to pick him up from Siberia after their fight, and have that letter include an actual apology instead of Steve just trying to justify his actions. Give Wanda an actual redemption arc and have Steve feel like, even if she was HYDRA and people don't like her, she still deserves a chance to show she's not a monster like the Red Skull was. Show Wanda being horrified that the Hulk wandered into Johannesburg, and be reluctantly grateful to Tony that he stopped her from ultimately being responsible for the deaths that a rampaging Hulk would have caused.

Instead we have MCU Steve, who seems less and less heroic the more you think about his actions, and spoilt brat Wanda."

Link to original comment thread:

https://archiveofourown.org/comments/188589974

[possibleplatypus]

Steve rogers is not real y’all need to relax

Oh boy 😂

At first I thought anon was a Disney stan or casual MCU fan who doesn’t want to see MCU criticism...

And then I thought maybe anon is concerned about my mental health since I can sound a little unhinged (though I prefer the term “passionate”) in my posts...

After thinking about it I’m pretty sure anon is the former, but just in case you’re the latter, I assure you, I’m fine. The stuff I post on Tumblr really has no effect on me in my life outside of Tumblr. I never discuss the MCU with my family. I don’t go shouting at strangers on the street about how much Disney has screwed up. I have much bigger concerns outside of what I choose to blog about. Rest assured that Steve Rogers, no matter how much I love him, does not consume my every waking thought.

But anon does bring up an interesting point: Steve Rogers isn’t real, so we shouldn’t be angry when we feel that his corporate owners have ridiculed him. Steve Rogers isn’t real, so we shouldn’t make a big deal about it when his corporate owners disrespect him. Steve Rogers isn’t real, therefore he can’t be disrespected, and we should just relax and let everything that’s been done to him roll off of our backs, like water on a duck.

I know Steve Rogers isn’t real. Everybody knows. He is a fictional comic book character created by Jewish men to inspire action against Nazis during World War II. He isn’t real, but you can’t tell me that his influence also isn’t real. He isn’t real, but he tells us that all of us, no matter how small or unloved by society we are, can rise to the challenge. We can be heroes and fight for something bigger than ourselves. That inspiration, and that message, I think, is very important.

Steve Rogers isn’t real, but our love for him is. And I don’t think you should belittle this love. You might as well belittle the love that others have for other franchises that are meaningful to them, other storybook characters, other video games, other hobbies that “aren’t real.” Why is our love not valid and worthy of note? I am sure anon loves things that I don’t love-- things that aren’t “real.” I would never tell anon to “relax”-- unless they’re hurting themselves, or hurting real people. (Honestly, the fans who tell other fans to kill themselves over fictional characters are the ones who need to relax 😬)

Steve Rogers isn’t real, but Disney’s impact on popular culture is. How real? A quick Google search told me that the MCU earned over $25 billion worldwide. 25 billion dollars, can you imagine that? $25,000,000,000. Google also tells me that in 2021, the Walt Disney Company held assets worth a total of over 203.61 billion U.S. dollars. That is more money than the GDP of some countries. That is certainly more money than most of us will see in our lives, no matter how hard we toil. That is power. That is real. That is power to buy politicians and influence real lives, such as in the United States when Disney supported backers of the Don’t Say Gay Bill in Florida. And Steve Rogers is just one small cog in the MCU machine, which is merely one cog in the bloated Disney monopoly.

I make blog posts that get reblogged maybe over a hundred times if I’m lucky. Usually they never hit triple digits-- it's a good day if I get a dozen likes. Most of these posts are really vent posts-- I vent my frustrations with likeminded fans. Compare that to Disney churning out dozens of movies and shows nonstop, and how much am I doing, really? (Honestly, Disney should be the ones told to relax-- they’re burning out VFX artists and churning out subpar content.)

Forbes tells me that the Loki series was watched by 2.5 million households when it debuted. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier debuted to 1.8 million viewers. WandaVision, to 1.6 million. That is real power.

She Hulk apparently had 1.5 million viewers. 1.5 million people watched Jennifer Walters wail and moan about how tragic it was for Steve to die a virgin. That’s Disney wailing in our ears, anon. That’s Kevin Feige and his extremely real insecurities telling us that it’s tragicomedy for a man to not have sex. And it doesn’t matter if you’re an ordinary man, or a hero who helped save the universe-- they’re still going to laugh at you. And I can tell that it’s wrong, but how many others are going to have their misguided beliefs reinforced? How many people will feel inadequate if they don’t have sex? We do not live in a bubble. We are constantly bombarded by messages from without telling us to have sex, or don’t have sex, or have the right amount of sex, etc. It is a toxic mindset that they are perpetuating, and I don’t think it’s wrong to call them out.

So Steve Rogers isn’t real. But the love that his fans have for him is. And the love that we and other likeminded fans have for the MCU translates into very real power for Disney-- the power to influence popular consciousness.

So-- maybe we should stop loving him, in order to stop supporting Disney? That’s difficult, considering how much Disney owns (and they weren't his original owners to begin with). They are a Hydra of their own making, inescapable, choking the life out of popular culture, swallowing up studios and VFX artists. And besides, Disney doesn’t want fans like me. They don’t want fans that criticize their writing, that tell them they’re not funny, that call them out when they’re toxic. They don’t want fans that have queer readings of characters they insist absolutely have to be straight. So I think that fans like me are something they desperately need.

This quote from Neil Gaiman is very apt:

“We who make stories know that we tell lies for a living. But they are good lies that say true things, and we owe it to our readers to build them as best we can. Because somewhere out there is someone who needs that story. Someone who will grow up with a different landscape, who without that story will be a different person. And who with that story may have hope, or wisdom, or kindness, or comfort. And that is why we write.”

Somewhere out there, someone needs Steve Rogers' stories, even if he isn't real. And Steve Rogers deserves better stories. We deserve better.

I will love Steve Rogers for what he was made to be-- a symbol of inspiration, a bulwark against fascism-- and not what Disney wants him to be-- a cash cow for people to point and laugh at. And I’ll relax when I want to, thanks.

(Fun fact: the second comic of Steve is from a She Hulk comic. Can you believe that? From standing up to Nazis to being laughed at for presumably dying a virgin. I know what Disney values.)

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

I’m curious about Steve Rogers’ “dark side” and your thoughts on that in the MCU! I don’t recall seeing Cap’s dark side in the MCU tbh.

Hello! This is an excellent question and I hope you don't mind my answer being very salty. Because it is one of the things about the MCU that turns me into a bloodthirsty beast out for Marvel executive jugulars.

Now, the concept of Steve's "dark side" is introduced in Age of Ultron, in an exchange between Tony and Steve where Steve says that Tony hasn't "seen yet" Steve's dark side. It is obviously foreshadowing for Civil War, were, supposedly, we . . . see Steve's dark side.

Except we don't.

Except Marvel wants us to see Steve's choices in Civil War as driven by Steve's dark side.

Except they're not.

Nothing Steve does in Civil War is morally reprehensible, unless we agree that he should have just punched Tony in the face right away and that being polite for so long was in fact wrong of him. (This is mostly sarcasm with an edge of truth.)

So what is supposed to Steve's dark side? According to the creators' official version, Steve's . . . selfishness? In putting his own priorities (Bucky) before the group (the Avengers). He broke up the Avengers to pursue his personal interest. Right? Wrong, of course. The Avengers break up because Tony pursues a morally reprehensible line and Steve does not accept to follow him through it.

But hey. They tried to make a "balanced" conflict where both parties had some good points. They failed. But I guess they tried.

But! Not only the Avengers thing. Steve's dark side is also . . . preventing Tony to pursue his revenge over Bucky. Because that's what the excange in AoU foreshadows, right? The big conflict between the two characters in the scene.

Except Steve is doing the morally right thing in preventing a man from committing an extrajudicial murder of a person who was not accountable for the actions in question. (Actually even if Bucky was actually guilty of the crime, acting as judge, jury and executioner would still be wrong, although understandable. But Bucky was not accountable at all, and Tony knew that - Tony was aware of the conditions of Bucky's unaccountability.)

In fact, before the final fight they do reconcile, or at least they’re on their way to reconcile, before Tony decides that it’s his right to attempt to extrajudicially execute an innocent. So this is not even about the accords anymore, and, again, this is . . . you know . . . kinda on Tony. (The creators also confirmed that a large part of Tony’ motivation for murdering Bucky was to hurt Steve, which makes it worse.) Steve was just like. Um I don’t want my friend to be murdered.

So, what's Steve dark side? According to Marvel, his attachment to Bucky over his attachment to the Avengers. And this is the part that makes me bloodthirsty the most: it's homophobic af! Ironically, Marvel execs would die before purposely making Steve Rogers queer, and yet at the same time they managed to be homophobic to him. Spectacular.

The bond between Steve and Bucky, no matter what the MCU tries to say, it's obviously . . . ambiguous. It is a very strong and emotional bond between two men. Steve's attachment to the Avengers, on the other hand, is dramed as a familial bond, the Avengers being a "family" that Steve breaks up because of Bucky. So the ambiguously homoerotic bond destroys the familial bond. I don't need to say how same-sex relationship have been long accused to being destructive of the good, healthy familial bonds of our society!

In fact, the “nu-uh, no gayness here, nope nope nope” attitude of Disney towards Captain America wasn’t actually a thing yet when they were making the movie. (Civil War I mean). At some point, when the movie was almost finished, someone intervened and the movie was tweaked to make it ~less gay~. But at first the movie was being made purposely ambiguously gay! So it’s not just my fervid hysterical imagination. Steve and Bucky’s bond was intended to be, while not gay-gay because that doesn’t happen here, but kinda-gay.

So. The homoerotic bond is toxic and destructive of familial bonds. A man’s dark side is his attachment to another man. Yay. Fun.

At least that was the intention, because as you say there’s hardly ever something that can be called a “dark side” in Steve because whatever he fights for is a good cause. Bucky is an innocent who’s wrongly persecuted after being heavily victimized. Preventing him from being killed on sight for a crime he had not in fact committed at all is a good cause, even if they had no bond between them. Refusing to sign the “accords” is a good choice because the storyline was ridiculously, offensively written they made no fucking sense and also, you know, human rights. Stopping Tony from extrajudicially executing a man for actions the man was not accountable for is a good cause.

So, yeah. Bad writing plus bad writing equals a confusing mess.

[bookshelfdreams]

Opening discussion to the class: The juxtaposition of 'whippies', an entire scene devoted to Calico Jack's very specific brand of procribed masculinity, then direct cut to Frenchie and Wee John working on their room blueprints to "design [their] sanctum. [Their] space. No rules. It can be whatever [they] want it to be."

hmmm. very good.

I like the way you put this, "prescribed masculinity"( I'm assuming that's what you mean anyway, pls correct me if I'm wrong). Because that's what this specific brand of hypermasculinity Jack is performing really is; a set of very strict rules one has to follow to be considered a "real" man. There's a great essay by @mathildia that deals with the oxymoron of performative masculinity (as concerning Steve Rogers, so cw for the MCU lmao) where they say

But performative masculinity has a tension to it that performative femininity does not, because performing itself is seen as innately unmasculine. You cannot learn to be a real man, you are or you are not. You can’t make one or learn to be one. Because our story about masculinity is that it just is. It is an ur state of being. The most natural way for a human to be.

I read this in 2015 and haven't stopped thinking about it since.

You're right, Jack's whip is the epitome of his masculinity (a little unorthodox for a metaphorical dick but it makes sense in context). Jack is seen doing tricks with it. He's performing to look cool. Nothing about his masculinity is easy or natural; he may put on a veneer of "I don't give a shit" but he cares about how he is perceived, he very deliberately influences and manipulates the way people see him.

But the un-performability of masculinity means he cannot acknowledge the effort he puts into all this. he puts the whip in Olu's hand and expects him to hit a cup on the Swede's head, despite Olu saying he's never done this before. It's no coincidence that it is kind, gentle, caring, emotionally aware, community-oriented Olu, specifically, who is put on the spot like this.

Show me you're a real man, Jack says, as if he'd be able to insult Olu's masculinity.

ofmd turns the juxtaposition of performance and masculinity on it's head, because ofmd is aware of something the MCU will never understand: You do not have to fit in the gender box because there is no box. If you're a man, everything you do will automatically be manly; there is no wrong way to be a man.

Wee John especially is a really good example of this, because he's a deconstruction of that character trope, where the big, strong guy is really a sensitive soul, maybe slightly cowardly, with "unmasculine" hobbies or interests. This is also usually the Fat Guy, because fatness is seen as degendering; a fat man is inherently not a "real man" (in media!! I want to empathize that I think this trope is very stupid). And Wee John falls into this, kinda; he's sometimes seen with this little doll, he cries about Pinocchio, he used to make dresses with his mum. But. It's never a Thing. It never stands out all that much, because obviously the whole crew is Like That.

The room is "anything they want it to be", yes. But it's not about having a space to be yourself, because Frenchie and Wee John (and everyone else) constantly are themselves. It's about the luxury of privacy, not about finding a place where you can embrace your authentic self. They are not trapped in a gender prison of their own making.

Jack, for all his posturing and hall his swagger and for all the ferocity with which he swings both his metaphorical and literal dick around, is deeply, desperately unhappy. The crying about being marooned is just to antagonize Stede; but we are all social animals. One of the ways in which men are lied to is by being told that vulnerability, genuine connections, trust and openness are "unmanly"; will be their unmaking. Jack plays a grimdark Lone Ranger of the Caribbean and he thinks it makes him the ultimate man, that it makes him indestructable and heroic. But it just makes him lonely, and it is ultimately his undoing.

Now I would like to turn this over to the rest of the class :)

[fanfic-scribbles]

Marry Me 2 - Boyfriend’s Back (All Right)

Sequel to: Marry Me

Fandom: MCU Captain America/Avengers

Summary: You’re settling into married life with Steve quite well when his (ex?)boyfriend Bucky starts making his way back into Steve’s life. You wish he’d do it a little faster but that’s all right– you’re more than willing to lend a helping hand. They’ll thank you for this. Someday.

Quick facts: Romance – Steve Rogers/Reader and Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers leading into Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers/Reader – Female Reader

MCU Timeline: Set some nebulous time after CA:TWS

Words: 7118

Warnings: Mention of past kidnapping/harm to the reader-character and also a brief mention of peril at the end because I like a call-back, a lot of fluff, and one vague dirty joke

A/N: Apologies; I really wanted to get this out last month, but then I got stuck, and then I got rolling, and then I got stuck, and then I got rolling again all the way to the end…and then I had to rewrite the ending three times. I couldn’t quite come as full-circle as I wanted, buuuuut I really like this and I hope you will too! I do not know how much sense this will make without having read “Marry Me” first, but give it a whirl if you are so inclined. Part 3 is partly written, but no promises on when that’ll land, as I’ll be working on another story for my next posting, and I am very…very…slow these days. Well, one sentence a day is better than no sentence a day, and that’s all I can say on that. Anyways, please enjoy, and I hope that the rest of the year finds you well (～￣▽￣)～❤

 ~~

It’s cold and your husband can not take a hint.

“What about this one?”

You take advantage of the opportunity to lean in closer to try and suck up more of Steve’s ambient heat. You can’t really blame him– he’s excited and distracted and you underestimated the weather today and wore the wrong jacket.

Still…did you have to sit outside when the restaurant has so many wonderful seats open inside?

“It looks warm,” you say longingly while looking at the picturesque Greek coastline.

“It does,” Steve says blithely and makes a note on the page.

It is nice to see him so excited about a vacation, so you smile and suck it up. Mind over matter; surely you can tough out a little chill; this is nothing; you are mentally in Santorini or wherever it is Steve wants to go; you are–

–suddenly ensconced by a big, heavy…jacket…that is so soft and warm and smells quite nice, actually, that you sort of snuggle into it before you look around for whoever has surely accidentally draped it across your shoulders. They must have mistaken you for a friend or something, but while you look, so does Steve, and there is…no one else around.

“Did you see…?” you ask Steve but he shakes his head and his brow furrows in concern. He’s out of his excitement and into his danger-seeking mode, and he gestures for the jacket.

“Here, let me check for–” But as he leans in, he stops and…smells.

You raise both eyebrows. That’s new. “Steve?”

He turns pink and jerks back. “Sorry, I just– that was–” But he smiles slowly and says, “It smells like Bucky.”

“Really?” You bring up the collar and inhale. Bucky has very good taste in aftershave, you think, and Steve relaxes into his seat even though he looks like he’s holding back on as much giddiness as you feel, because that means Bucky is back, and hanging around. You grin at Steve. “You know what this means?”

“That his social skills are as atrocious as ever?” Steve says.

You whap at him with the empty sleeve. “If it’s his jacket, that means he has to come back to get it.”

Steve puts his arm around you. “I guess it does.”

“We’ll have to hold off on the vacation.”

Steve shakes his head. “No, we don’t,” he says. “We don’t even know if he’s actually sticking around.”

“But what if he is and we leave him?” you say.

At that he does look a little hesitant– but then he shrugs. “It’s not like we’re leaving him to fend for himself against the Wet Bandits,” he says with a roll of his eyes. “We won’t be gone that long. Also, if Bucky is sticking around, and decides he wants to tag along behind us, I’m pretty sure he knows how to take a flight.”

“Maybe we can get him to come with us.”

“He won’t even let us see him drop by.”

“Not yet,” you say, already thinking ahead. “It’s okay. We just have to be patient.” Steve snorts. You poke him. He may not have much faith, but this is going to be great.

Operation: Get Husband a Boyfriend is a go.

~

You’re in the park, trying to angle a nice selfie to send to Steve’s request for one, when you feel a presence just off to the side. Your arm twinges a bit– as if your brain isn’t sending enough danger signals on its own, it has to remind you of the one time you ignored it in favor of your (normally very safe) shortcut home– but nearly as soon as you realize someone is there, you realize that someone is Bucky.

“Sorry,” he says.

“It’s okay,” you say and go back to trying to pose while also keeping the camera at a good spot. If you don’t look at him, maybe he won’t be so nervous and he’ll stay? You’ve handled stray cats more high-strung than Bucky; you can do this.

He reaches over and, with a touch so light it’s like he needs to be able to bolt in an instant, shifts the camera into place for maybe the best angle you’ve ever had. “Thanks! You know, I’m only sending it to Steve. Do you wanna–”

“No.”

“Okay,” you say easily, because boundaries are important and it’s honestly nice to know he’s firm about his. You snap the picture and shoot off the text as quick as you can. “Hey, since you’re here, do you wanna–” But as soon as you lift your head you see that he’s gone. You look around, futile though that is, and let out a sigh.

Well, he came around on his own, so this is still a net positive. Baby steps. Steve himself has bemoaned your stubbornness on more than one occasion when it has won out over his. Bucky has no idea who he’s dealing with.

~

You’re shifting your grocery bags for the fiftieth time in maybe five minutes and wondering if it would somehow behoove you to eat a third of the food you just bought, when there’s a familiar presence at your side. You take a peek and, thankfully, it is in fact Bucky. “Don’t take this the wrong way, since I do like seeing you show up, but I feel like if you’re watching me grocery shop, we’ve got to get you some better hobbies,” you say and wince as one of the bags falls from your elbow to your much-less fortified wrist.

“I’ve got hobbies,” he mutters, almost as if offended.

“Are they purely for fun or do they serve another purpose too?” you ask.

He looks at the bags. “Do you want help or not?”

You hold out a bag, and he slips two of them off your arm, and then snakes another one from your other hand, leaving you with a decidedly lighter load before he takes a few steps forward and looks back at you. You take a few quick steps to catch up– and hook the elbow of your newly freed arm around his. He stiffens and you hesitate, ready to pull back, but he looks at you and inclines his head forward.

Later, all the groceries are laid out on the counter and you’re in the middle of putting them away when you (very calm and casual and not at all incredibly eager) call out, “I know Steve says he wasn’t much of a cook before, but he’s gotten a lot better now and tonight we’re having–”

As soon as you peek your head into the living room you realize you’re all alone. You sigh heavily– and then again, even heavier, when you see Bucky’s coat is now missing from the rack. Slippery bastard. But he showed up in the first place, and you’re not giving up now. You’re just getting started.

~

The problem with this situation, though, is that you’re still fairly dependent upon Bucky deciding to show up. Which he hasn’t done for over a week now. Walking into traffic just to see if he pops up like a demented guardian angel seems a bit extreme– and also not something you can do more than once or twice, so you’re keeping it well in reserve.

…But it’s tempting.

“Hey,” Steve says as he enters the room. He sounds happy– just shy of delighted. “How did you know I needed a new shaving brush?”

“Uh…” You look at him and have to think back, but Steve’s shaving set-up is not something you touch. Not after you ruined the nice leather thing he used to sharpen his razor and had to grovel for almost a month. Or at least, what felt like a month. No, everything you learned about straight razors and the maintenance thereof was entirely against your will and only stayed in your head for as long as it took for him to forgive you, and you have kept your distance ever since.

“You didn’t replace it,” he says, watching your face and whatever journey it has gone on while wandering off on memory lane. You shake your head and his expression becomes perplexed. “I could have sworn I didn’t– no, I didn’t even get to the store yet, so how…”

You gasp at the same time Steve’s eyes widen. “I can’t believe it,” you say and turn back to the TV in a fit of annoyance. If he’s going to be leaving gifts would it kill him to also leave a little card?

“I’m going to regret asking this since I know what the answer probably is,” Steve says as he leans on the back of the couch next to you, “–but you didn’t give him a key, did you?”

“I didn’t get a chance,” you grumble. And you’re not sure how you’re going to now, when he won’t pop up, but then Steve is rubbing your shoulders and very successfully distracting you from the problem at hand. “Mm, what’s this for?” you ask but lean in.

“I’m sorry,” he says earnestly.

“For what?” you ask, only half-caring.

“For Bucky,” he says, but before you can tell him he shouldn’t apologize for his boyfriend’s bad manners he adds, “You seem pretty upset about him breaking in and I understand, but he–”

“Pffft.” You wave your hand. “I don’t care; it’s Bucky and he probably left the place safer than he found it. No; my problem is that he left you a gift and didn’t also leave a little note or something telling you. That’s not romantic at all!”

Steve stops, snorts, and then lets his head fall against the cushion next to you. “Seriously?”

“Of course! If he’s going to woo you, he needs to put in more of an effort.” You turn your head and give Steve a little kiss on the cheek. “Don’t worry; I’ll teach him everything I know.”

Steve raises an eyebrow. “You’re not seriously going to teach Bucky how to flirt with me, are you?” But just as you open your mouth he stands up. “Sorry; I forgot who I was talking to.”

You pat his hand. The one with the ring. “I’m an expert.”

“Are you also going to teach him how to set someone on fire?”

“First: it wasn’t my fault, the waiter bumped into me; second: nothing should have exploded like that so I’m pretty sure whatever she was using in her hair has been illegal since the eighties; third: she was fine; fourth: Bucky probably knows much better ways of setting fires and explosions,” you say. “Oh…”

Steve sighs heavily and starts walking out of the room. “I need to find out if I can get a restraining order on behalf of another person just to keep you two away from each other.”

You lean back and watch him go. “But would you get it to protect me from Bucky, or to protect Bucky from me?”

“Yes.”

~

It has taken you way longer than it should have to position this one stupid picture frame when you realize you’ve left the hammer just out of reach. For a moment you consider the merits of driving the nail you’re holding into the wall with your own skull, for the arrogance of trying to do this without a pencil if nothing else, when someone walks casually up behind you. In your securely locked and very safe home.

“Think you forgot something,” Bucky says and slides the hammer over your shoulder so you can grab it.

“You are my hero,” you say and reposition yourself so you can finally drive this stupid nail into the stupid wall. Once that’s done you take a moment– if you turn too fast, will he bolt? …If you don’t turn, will he think he’s unwanted, and bolt? You sigh, and decide to take a chance. “You know, when you get someone a gift, a little card with a sweet message would not go amiss,” you say, turn, and to your (pleased) surprise he’s actually still there.

He rolls his eyes. “Do they have greeting cards that say ‘hey honey, back from the dead?’” he asks.

“Hm…” Probably not, but considering what there are cards for, you hesitate to commit. “If we can’t find one, I can at least get a blank card with a cute picture and we can make our own.” You put your hand on your chest. “I can definitely give you some pointers on romantic messages.”

He stares at you, inscrutable. “You married him.”

“I did!” you say proudly. “I married him knowing he loves me, and knowing he’s always going to love you.” You stare right back at him. “This isn’t a fight, and nobly sacrificing yourself isn’t going to do anything good for either of you. For any of us. That’s not atonement, that’s martyrdom, and don’t you think you and Steve have been through enough without enduring pain just for pain’s sake?”

He looks down, shifts his weight, but though you tense, he doesn’t run. He stays. But it’s so quiet, and he looks so scared, so you clear your throat. “We’re having take-out tonight from an Italian place we love,” you say. “Do you want to stay for dinner?”

He doesn’t move, at first, doesn’t say anything, but then he settles on his back foot and says, quietly, “I like Italian.”

To his credit, he only looks like he regrets it a little when you punch your fist in the air.

~

It’s dark and you really shouldn’t be walking alone in this area but there is something to be said for taking your life back after a traumatic experience. Or so you will say, when Steve inevitably gets mad at you for being out and alone like this.

Truth be told, you’re not so fond of it either– if you could go back in time you’d pick a nice bright coffee shop to sit at while you text Steve to come meet you, or just suck it up and pay for a cab. But no, an interminable subway delay led to ‘doing something different,’ and ‘it isn’t that far,’ and ‘can’t be a nervous wreck forever,’ and now you’re gripping your phone like it’s more of a literal lifeline than just a glorified map.

A car comes up on your side and slows. You cross your arms and hold your phone closer to your body. Great; just what today needed.

“Hey baby–”

Another body comes between you and the car– a very bulky one, and an arm slides gently over your shoulders as Bucky grunts, the men spit out rude epithets, and the car speeds off. You take a deep breath and he tightens his hold on you. “What the hell are you doing over here?” he asks, apparently having taken the same lessons on how to lecture that Steve has. Actually, Steve probably got it from him, now that you think about it.

“Taking a detour,” you say and stand straighter. “The subway was way delayed.”

“They run out of cabs when I wasn’t looking?”

You look away. “It’s not that far.”

“It’s safer.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t be a scaredy-cat forever now can I?” you say a little sharper than you mean to. You take a few moments, and you sigh. “Though I guess that’s not true, since I am.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being cautious,” Bucky says, and squeezes you gently. “Taking risks and bein’ reckless ain't exactly sticking it to them.”

Given some of the…explosive methods Bucky has used in taking out Hydra bases, you hope he can feel the way you stare at him.

Feel, no, but otherwise sense, yes, apparently. “Shut up,” he mutters and shoots you a side-glare.

“I didn’t say anything,” you say and lift your nose.

“Don’t hav’ta,” he huffs and pokes your side, making you laugh reflexively and you hit his stomach. Which feels about as solid as his arm, so at least you don’t smack it hard. He gives a little half-smile, and nods ahead at your home coming into sight. “I know what I’m doing.”

Steve comes to the door to meet you and is, predictably, unamused by how late you are, even with your very handy escort, but it all gets smoothed over, because you are an expert in handling Steve Rogers by now.

“Do you want to stay the night?” Steve asks Bucky, very casually, and you try to mimic his attitude by being very normal (really) and pretending like you haven’t been waiting forever (a few weeks) for an opening like this.

Bucky stares at you, though, enough that confusion helps you calm down enough to ask, “What?”

He fights a losing battle against a small smile. “Just wondering how long it’ll take you to vibrate into the stratosphere from pretending to keep your cool.”

Your jaw drops and Steve (the traitor) laughs. On one hand, that was pretty good. On the other hand…you can’t just let him win.

“Sorry Bucky; as much as I appreciate and respect you as Steve’s boyfriend, seeing me vibrate into the stratosphere is a relationship milestone you have to apply for after a substantial amount of groundwork.” You grin. “Just ask Steve.”

Steve chokes and Bucky turns red, and for a moment you fear you might have actually scared him off, but he slumps. “Good luck,” he mutters to Steve before going inside and Steve, still a traitor, rubs his face and nods, and then all but drags you in.

Bucky leaves in the morning before you wake (of course), but while the bed is made to look as pristine as if no one was ever there, you know for a fact that Bucky stayed, and for no real reason other than it was offered. You’ll take it.

~

Over the next few weeks Bucky pops in and out as he pleases. Sometimes he lets himself be seen, but rarely, even though he always makes his presence known. Mostly by Steve, who mentions hearing the guest room window pop open, or having heard someone putter around the kitchen. You find traces of him by the replenished food stores– you can barely tell he drank any juice but he still gets a whole new carton to make up for the half-cup he must have taken– and the way the house gets mysteriously cleaner overnight. Typically, the kitchen and the spare bathroom get a wipe down, but the guest bedroom is always way nicer than you left it.

It’s starting to drive you a little insane.

You leave a note on the fridge telling him not to replace anything, you’re going shopping later and it’s fine, only for him to predict half your shopping list and put it where you can see it. You hide the cleaning products only to walk in to a kitchen counter fresh enough to perform surgery on. His hospital corners somehow get even tighter when you start going into the guest bedroom at night, pulling at the blankets and setting the pillows just slightly askew. Not enough to make a mess, but enough to make it…human.

He's acting like he has to make up for his very existence and, though there’s probably a lot of psychological heartbreak in that, you know he’s also doing it to tweak you at this point.

He’s doing too damn good a job at it.

One night you’re replacing one of the pillows slightly left of center when someone loudly clears their throat behind you and you jump guiltily to find Steve, arms crossed and leaning against the doorway with a look that would be stern if he wasn’t also slightly smiling.

“You know, it might be old-fashioned…” he says and drops the act as he walks into the room to stand in front of you. “But I thought a host was supposed to make a room nicer for a guest.”

You huff and cross your arms. “Some people get guests that aren’t constantly antagonizing them.”

“By doing shopping and cleaning up whatever mess he’s made?” Steve asks. “Other people would kill for a guest so considerate.”

“Yeah well maybe they don’t care about their guests enough, but I know what he’s doing and why,” you say, starting to get a little heated, but this has been coming for a while, and if Bucky won’t show his face to get it, Steve can damn well pass it along. “He’s being too considerate; he’s acting like his entire existence is a stain and it’s driving me up a wall!”

Steve jerks back but your frown is deep-set and you tighten the fold of your arms. “Like you said, he’s a guest, which means we take care of him,” you say. “If he doesn’t want that then he can be a-a resident; a member of the house– if he wants to be– but either way he’s walking on eggshells right now, like he owes us something, and I swear to God if he starts leaving rent money I am getting Natasha involved to track him down so I can deck him. He’s not a fucking Brownie and I don’t know how else to make him stop acting like his presence is an inconvenience when it’s not!”

“Hey, easy,” Steve says softly and gently takes you in his arms. It’s nice. He does give really good hugs, and against your will some of the anger fades. “This really bothers you, doesn’t it?”

You let your head flop against his chest. “I could be a good host if he’d fucking let me.”

Steve rubs your back and lets you cool off a little bit more. After a few moments he says, “And a good host short-sheets the guest bed?”

You push yourself further into him and grumble. “At this point he deserves it.”

~

Later that night you wake to some noise and shuffling– and open your eyes to the delightful sight of Bucky, sour-faced, wearing a soft shirt and sweatpants, crawling into bed on Steve’s other side as Steve holds up the blanket. When Bucky sees you awake his scowl deepens. “Fuck you,” he says, and though Steve is facing away, you see him shake with laughter.

“Good night jerk-face,” you say and snuggle back into the best sleep of your life.

~

After that Bucky no longer takes great pains to sneak in and out. He goes back to the guest bed (that he makes you painstakingly remake under his very watchful eye) and spends his days doing…something you’re probably better off not asking about. But he takes the key you had made for him and uses the door. He sticks around for movie night and shares in the popcorn you offer. He drinks a soda without immediately buying a replacement case, but comes grocery shopping when you ask for a little extra muscle. He writes insulting messages on the whiteboard for Steve that make your husband roll his eyes and pout at you in betrayal when you laugh. He keeps his room tidy but starts to leave little things behind. He forgets his jacket on the back of the couch. At the end of the day, he comes home.

The more Bucky settles in, the less you have to worry about him. Which is, of course, a good thing– however, it means you have more mental energy to devote to your own crap. Which is…not ideal. You’d swear you had been doing better after that whole ‘kidnapping’ thing, but now the nights seem to get darker, the side streets emptier, and nearly every person looks suspicious. It’s stupid. And you don’t want to tell Steve– it took forever to get him to stop hovering and you don’t want to make him anxious for no reason too, but you’re starting to get paranoid. It feels like someone’s watching you– not all the time, but often enough that constant vigilance is starting to wear.

Like now. You’ve had such a rough day you decided to treat yourself to a well-made drink at a nearby coffee shop. Steve is still working and though Bucky hadn’t wanted anything when you’d asked, he had offered to walk with you. You had declined– it was so close to home and you were going to come right back– and so you had left him tap-tapping away on his laptop in the living room.

Now though…

It’s really, really stupid. It’s not even night; the sun is right in the midst of setting, and you’re in the middle of a bustling coffee shop, getting ready to walk down a city sidewalk that is far from barren, back home where the world’s most dangerous (former) assassin sits waiting, and you…

You feel so unsettled you can’t even make yourself step just outside.

After a few minutes of awkward shuffling to get out of the way of other people coming and going while pretending to text, you concede defeat and actually send a message to Bucky that reads, ‘Do you want to take a little walk still?’

Not even five seconds later you receive a response: ‘Are you safe?’

‘Yes,’ you reply immediately and sigh. You know Bucky well enough by now to know that as soon as he got the text he shut his laptop and started getting ready to head out. That’s a guy who doesn’t do take-backs. ‘I’m just being stupid.’

‘You got a long way to go to catch up to Steve. ETA 10 min’

‘15 if this damn tourist doesn’t MOVE’

You smile at the follow-up and look around. You don’t want to commandeer a table for the short time you’ll be here, but standing by the door is weird. You wander back over to the display case and pretend to very seriously consider baked goods you just don’t have a taste for right now.

It doesn’t feel like ten minutes have gone by when a hand settles on your shoulder, and that’s why you jump. Or so you’ll say if anybody asks, but Bucky studies you like he’s just looking for confirmation for an answer he already has, and then he lifts his head and glances around.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” you ask.

“Nah; don’t wanna spoil my appetite,” he says and throws his arm around your shoulders. “You’re getting extra potstickers tonight, right?”

At the mere mention you scowl. “I’d love to ruin your appetite,” you say even as he leads you out of the shop. “Especially if it means you stop stealing my food.”

“It’s called ‘sharing.’”

“Sharing implies asking, and being granted permission.” But you stay close to him as you walk home. “We’re getting extra extra potstickers.”

“Sounds like permission to me,” he says and squeezes you a little closer. Though he can’t protect you from everything– something you learned the hard way– you feel safe right now, and that’s enough.

~

The feeling lasts well into the remainder of the night, as you and Steve settle into bed. He curls his arm around you and dims the lights, and you snuggle closer into his chest. The doors and windows have all been checked, as Steve, and now Bucky, are wont to do, and you are as safe as anyone can be.

“I’m sorry I’ve been busy lately,” Steve says softly and runs his hand up and down your back in soft, slow strokes.

“I know. I go through all this trouble to get you a boyfriend and you hardly see him,” you say and turn your smile up at him, just in case.

He smiles back. “To say nothing of my wife,” he says with an added little huff, though his tone is light, and he kisses your forehead. “At least my boyfriend goes running with me in the mornings.”

“He does?” There is not an expression sad enough even for Captain America to make to get you up before the sun just to try to keep pace with a supersoldier. Even Sam has long since lost patience with him, and only joins when he can deal with Steve’s nonsense. “Oh. I’m glad you have a regular jogging buddy again.”

“Yeah. I do.” He goes quiet, but he remains looking at you. “I’ll be home sooner this week. We can go back to planning our vacation.”

“That’ll be nice.”

“Mm hm.”

He stares for a few moments and it slowly dawns on you as to why. You sigh. “Bucky’s a snitch,” you grumble and flop face-first into the pillow.

“A real double-crosser,” Steve agrees lightly and continues stroking your back. Well…it does feel nice, so you fold your arms under your head and look at him again. “You feeling all right, sweetheart?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you say. At his raised eyebrows you flop your face back into your arms. You peek, though, and Steve has changed to a gentle expression that breaks your heart.

“A strategist through and through,” you huff and turn your head back to the side. He chuckles and you try to relax. “I’m…better, I think; I’ve just been a little off lately.”

“If you’ve noticed anything–”

“I haven’t,” you say. “I’m just being paranoid. Honest.”

He studies you for a few moments more, as though he can see whether or not you’re telling the truth. Foolish, considering you once hid a mountainous chocolate cake practically right under his very nose, but you let him have a few moments to determine your sincerity until he comes down on the right side and settles in. He shuts his eyes and you follow suit.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again,” he says, his arm laying across you. “And neither will our boyfriend.”

You’re just about to drift off when you catch his wording and you crack open your eye. “Your boyfriend.”

“Mm hm,” he says, already well on his way to sleep. You smile to yourself and follow. You can needle him about his slip of the tongue later.

~

It has been another long day, but when you come home at the end of it, Steve is home, and making dinner with Bucky in the kitchen. They don’t acknowledge you at first, too caught up in a conversation obviously well-established, and you take a moment to watch Steve shoulder-check Bucky and get cursed out before he turns his head to you, smiling and laughing. He brightens even more when he sees you, though he then takes in all of you. “Hey sweetheart,” he says warmly. “Rough day?”

You don’t respond with words, instead going up to him and flopping your forehead right onto his shoulder. He shifts to circle an arm around you, and brings you in between him and Bucky.

Bucky lifts a spoon filled with steaming sauce up to your face. “Try this,” he says.

You blow a bit and then have a taste. “Mm,” you say. “Just a little more salt?”

“Told you,” Bucky says and Steve moves as if to hip-check him, before remembering you are in between. Steve ducks sheepishly and you roll your eyes before you hip-check him.

“That’s my cue to get out of here,” you say and step back, giving Steve a little kiss on the cheek before you go. Instinctively you turn towards Bucky and– stop, because you can’t kiss him, he’s not your boyfriend, he’s Steve’s boyfriend, that would be weird, but oh no, now he’s staring at you, and Steve is staring at you (and smirking, like he knows how you almost slipped,) and it’s getting a little awkward so you do the only thing you can think of.

You kiss two fingers and press them to Bucky’s cheek.

Steve snorts, and Bucky looks bewildered. He then looks so offended that you ask, “What?”

“I don’t have fucking cooties,” he says, sounding a bit sour, and turns back to the pot.

You smirk, and then start drawing on his flesh arm. “Circle, circle–” You lose all pretense of gentility and jab his arm a couple of times, which makes him jump and swear which you ignore to finish, “–dot, dot, now you’ve had your cooties sh– ack!”

Bucky has you in a gentle headlock and Steve, your husband, love of your life, apple of your eye, supposedly devoted, there through sickness and health, or so he has lied, does absolutely nothing to help you. “If you two are going to roughhouse, can you do it away from dinner?” he says.

You and Bucky stop and share a look.

Soon Steve is rubbing his arm and muttering under his breath and giving the both of you dirty looks as Bucky goes back to calmly stirring the sauce. You smile sweetly and give your husband a kiss that seems to mollify him a little– and then, you figure, what the hell, and you give Bucky an exaggerated kiss to the back of his head. “Mwah!”

“Inoculation working great, doc,” he says without turning around. “I don’t feel even a little queasy.”

You roll your eyes over to Steve. “I’m going to murder your boyfriend.”

Steve snorts and then, in unison, they both say, “Good luck.”

You mutter and retreat to the bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes. And call Natasha to see if she can help make you a widow.

~

“What do you think of this one, Bucky?”

“I think it’s your vacation,” he says and continues to read his book.

You’re laying across the couch and, by association, Steve and Bucky, who sit on it properly– poor suckers they are. Your legs are draped across Steve’s lap and your head is on Bucky’s thigh, and though you can’t read whatever language the spine of his book is in, you’re pretty sure it’s boring and not as nice as the pretty pictures you’re perusing on your tablet.

You poke the book just above your face. He somehow keeps it completely still so you poke it harder, and he retaliates by bopping your nose with it. “Ow,” you say mostly on reflex. Steve chuckles and pats your feet but otherwise keeps reading his boring reports. He’d humor you if you asked, but in all honesty you’ve made your decision already, and it’s more fun to bother Bucky.

“Come on,” you say. Maybe you whine. Just a little. “When’s the last time you sat on a beach for hours doing nothing?”

The way he goes still make you think he’s thinking– and you suddenly realize, yeah, assassin who was an exceptional sniper even before the bad guys got their hands on him, that’s probably not something you want him to delve too deep into, so you quickly amend, “When’s the last time you laid on a beach for a vacation?”

He moves his book just so he can give you an incredulous look. You grin and move your tablet in front of your face, image-side up. “So you’re overdue!” you say proudly.

He, somehow, bops you with your own tablet. “Ow.”

You lay the tablet on your lap and rub your nose, and you’re back to staring at the spine of his book. However, he says, “I’m not crashing your vacation.”

You roll your eyes. “You followed us close enough to give me your jacket when I was cold. You really expect me to believe you weren’t planning on following us?”

Unfortunately, you are not fast enough to put your hand up before he gets you again. Next time you’ll forgo the leg rub and keep your head closer to Steve; you’re pretty sure he’s smart enough not to provoke you.

“I don’t know if you need protection from Bucky or protection from yourself.”

Then again, maybe not.

~

Bucky slots into your life with Steve even better than you had hoped. He’s handy around the house, considerate, and always fun to bug when you need some quick entertainment. It’s really quite…nice. You had worried about the potential awkwardness– a lot, actually; more than either Steve or Bucky would likely ever give you credit for. However, the only uncomfortable moments come when Bucky is trying to be too polite (in your ever un-humble opinion) and you’ve found you can easily diffuse said moments by being very rude, which has the intended effect of making Bucky more comfortable around you, and the unintended-but-still-pleasurable side-effect of making Steve very red. Every time.

Bucky even eventually gets used to you throwing an arm around him, or giving him a hug, to the point where he starts to relax, and lean in, and one day, miracle of miracles, even reflexively puts an arm around you in return. He’s busy (because the best hugs are given randomly) but he squeezes you, rubs your shoulder, and lets his arm drop, but he’s only handling the TV remote and so it just kind of curls partly behind you on the sofa. You smile proudly at Steve to find him already watching the both of you with undeniable love in his eyes. It’s…nice. It’s nice how happy Steve is, and how well you get on with Bucky, to the point where you’re happy to see him and sit with him and spend time with both him and Steve. It’s nice. You should be friends with your husband’s boyfriend. This is totally appropriate. This is completely fine.

~

What’s not completely fine, is that you weren’t just paranoid. Somebody has been watching you, and now you’re in a derelict factory, on the run from a maniac who wants to hurt Steve by proxy, which is gross and offensive and if you weren’t so tragically allergic to pain you’d take this large plank of wood you’re holding and go give him a good whack with it. You almost had when the guy had actually done a little sing-song “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” There’s a level of pathetic you’ll allow in your kidnapping/murder attempts and you have far, far surpassed it.

You sigh heavily. Kidnapping/murder attempts. Plural. Seriously, what is your life.

A body suddenly comes from around a corner and you shriek and bring up the flimsy piece of wood to bring it down as hard as you possibly can. The man holds up his arm defensively and the fucking thing breaks the goddamn cheap piece of–

Wait. Arm.

“Bucky!” you gasp, toss the broken piece of wood down, and leap onto him to cling like a koala.

“Are you hurt?” he asks, holding you easily even as he feels you over for injuries, and then immediately wraps both his arms around you. “That was a good swing, doll.”

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” you say into his chest. Your heart starts to return to normal. You can breathe. Steve isn’t here, and you do desperately want to see him, but seeing Bucky is good too.

“I think I can imagine,” Bucky says and doesn’t let go even as you set your feet down and loosen your grip to give him a chance. You pull your face back to look at him and…oh dear; you suddenly feel very, very grateful. His hair is a little windswept, and he’s looking at you just as intensely, and you wonder if maybe, possibly, perhaps, you need to have a conversation with Steve about how sharing is caring. As Bucky puts his hand on your cheek and presses his forehead to yours, but does not move to do anything else, you…

“Bucky?” you say, nearly breathless and very, very much restraining yourself.

“Yeah Doll?” he says, sounding just as hard-pressed as you not to move forward.

“We…” You lick your lips and his eyes immediately flick down and damn it, when they flick back up there’s an intensity there that nearly makes you weak in the knees. “We should talk to Steve.”

He swallows and your eyes flick down to his throat before you make eye contact again. He opens his mouth.

“Steve is going to be damned glad to see the two of you stop dancing around each other.”

You gasp and try to jerk away but Bucky reacts by hugging you tight with one arm while the other brings up his gun and the two of you look to a walkway just a level up to see–

“Steve!” you breathe in relief, happy to see him safe.

He grins, and before you can remind him for the umpteenth time to stop testing the limits of his poor knees, he grips the railing with one hand and leaps down. Bucky exhales heavily and slips his gun back into place, letting you go for Steve to come over and check that you’re all right for himself.

“Wait,” you say and pull back from him. He looks like the cat that got the cream, looking between you and Bucky. “You’re smug.”

“I am,” he says and flashes you a little grin. “You two finally got a goddamn clue. So can you just kiss already?”

“You knew?” you– and Bucky– say in unison.

Steve rolls his eyes like the know-it-all little shit he is (seriously, you love him, but some of his past ass-kickings must have been deserved), but his gaze softens when he looks at you again. “Yeah, I knew. Serum gave me perfect vision, you know,” he says. “And it’s plain common-sense. Knew it was only a matter of time before the two most charming people in my life charmed the socks off each other too.”

You roll your eyes and look at Bucky, but instead of shared exasperation, you find his gaze very firmly settled on you. You don’t know what to do at first, but you smile and eventually say, “Your boyfriend’s a pain in the ass.”

“Been that way for a century now,” Bucky says, cracking a smile and sliding an arm behind you. You take a step, and he slowly pulls you in. “It’s good to have backup for a punk like him.”

“Mm hm,” you say, because there’s nothing else to say, and you and Bucky continue your slow trajectory into each other, until your lips finally meet, and it feels natural and good and right to kiss your husband’s boyfriend. And…yours now too.

You get about ten seconds of peace before said husband ruins the mood. “Finally. I can’t believe it took you two so long though do you know how many times I’ve wanted to take both your heads and just knock them toge–”

Bucky yanks him in by the shirt collar and Steve reflexively steadies himself with one hand on Bucky’s shoulder and the other hand on yours. A three-way kiss is as awkward as you would have assumed, but that’s all right. You have plenty of time to figure it out.

[winter-soldier-vibes]

Main Masterlist

I write mainly for Bucky Barnes and other Sebastian Stan characters, Steve Rogers, and MCU characters in general. I am planning on branching out and writing for more characters. 

Let me know if any links for whatever reason do not work please!

Requests are CLOSED (for now), and my taglist is FULL. 

Drabbles now have their own section in this masterlist

(Updated 12/31/2022)

Bucky Barnes (Comfort)

Newest fic: This Heart of mine - Bucky comforts a reader with P.O.T.S.

Depression/Anxiety

Come Back Home

Where’s my White flag?

Take the Pain away - also includes drug addiction

It Shouldn’t Happen to Me 

Never free of myself - also includes self harm

I can’t be alone right now - also includes self harm

Let me In

Happy Pills

You’re my priority

All I ever do is run

I swear, I’m fine

Burnout 

I wasn’t there - also includes self harm

It’s called empathy - comfort for being highly sensitive

You’re nothing like her - comfort for panic attack/parent issues

You owe them nothing - comfort for parent issues/gaslighting

There was nothing you could have done - comfort for flashbacks after a mission goes sideways

Overnight - comfort for depression and suicidal thoughts

Eating disorder

I Don’t Hate You Like I Hate Myself

What’s going on with you?

Why do you bother with me? 

Running on Empty

You Aren’t Somebody? 

Maybe One Day

Other

This Heart of mine - Bucky comforts a reader with P.O.T.S. 

Empty Words - you go through a break up and Bucky comforts you

If I were someone else - reader and Bucky have feelings for each other, both too insecure to say anything

Just give me more time - reader has a near death experience and shuts Bucky out

I am my worst enemy - No reader, Bucky’s internal thoughts between TWS and CACW

I’m Dangerous - Reader comforts Bucky after a nightmare

We Need You - Bucky comforts a reader with imposter syndrome

You won’t like what you see - comfort for insecurity about stretch marks

One a Day - Bucky noticed you stopped taking your meds

Without You - reader takes risks on missions to protect others, but Bucky isn’t happy about it. One day you get really hurt and Bucky has to process it , and he’s not doing well. 

Bucky Barnes (Fluff)

You’re not going to work - Bucky wants cuddles

PMS for Please Make it Stop - Bucky comforts a reader through her period 

His whole world in his hands - Bucky holding his child for the first time.

Tickled Pink - Bucky tickles your smile out of you

Baking (fails) with Bucky - Bucky tries (and fails miserably) to bake

40′s Bucky

Are you looking down upon me? - You’re Bucky’s girlfriend in the 40′s and are devastated by his death. Until the winter soldier comes for you

How do I do this without you? - You’re Bucky’s sister trying to cope with the loss of your brother

Coney Island - your last date with Bucky before he ships out with the 107th

Bucky Drabbles

Bucky comforting you through a bad night

Watching the sunset with Bucky

Dancing in the Kitchen with Bucky

Bucky comforting insecurities

You comforting Bucky

Morning cuddles with Bucky

40s Bucky encouraging you to open up

New Year’s resolutions with Bucky

Steve Rogers

You saved me - reader gets snapped away by Thanos and is reunited with Steve in 2023

I didn’t have the right words to say - comfort for depression/self harm

Am I wrong? - comfort for depression/trust issues

Just let me go - comfort for suicidal thoughts

Sebastian Stan

You just have to keep trying - includes eating disorder

But words can never hurt me - in which reader is an actress and hate messages get to her. Includes self harm

Don’t let me forget - you break up with Sebastian and then regret it

I wanna dance with somebody - in which you get Sebastian to try a new type of workout 

One Step at a Time - includes eating disorder

Lance Tucker

I got your back - includes eating disorder

I was never good enough for you - includes self harm

Everything I wanted to be - daughter reader comfort for nightmare

Stucky

Emma - Based off a Friends episode

What do you meme? - in which Steve, Bucky, and Sam get pulled over for being distracted looking at memes, and they have one phone call

Avengers

She’d rather be beautiful than alive - comfort for eating disorder

Series

Reason to come back - (Now for Bucky) Bucky breaks up with you, but comes back when he realizes he made a huge mistake.

Part Two

[trashywormeateroffics]

The right universe.

Summary: After Y/N's life turns upside down, she's full of grief. Somehow, one day, she manages to travel to the MCU, where she meets her favorite characters, including a certain god who seems willing to establish a friendship with her. Suddenly she's enwrapped in this new world, where everything she loved in a screen is now reality. How will she react? Will she be able to deal with the ghosts that haunt her? Or will she let them consume her? Will she be open to accept the love she is offered? Read to find out!

Read this on AO3! 

Category: F/M.

Relationships: Loki/reader.

Characters: Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, Sam Wilson (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, Vision (Marvel), Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Stephen Strange, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Bruce Banner, Thor (Marvel), Clint Barton, Steve Rogers, Peter Parker, other minor appearances of other characters but these are the main ones, Pepper Potts, Loki (Marvel).

Additional tags: Loki/reader - Freeform, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Fluffyfest, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Pining a lot because we love to suffer, Domestic Avengers, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is a parental figure, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Everyone is a good bro, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, y/n, After Infinity War but no one died and the purple bitch was defeated, Missions, Y/N is a universe traveller, Grief, Therapy, Protective Loki (Marvel), Loki in love.

MASTERLIST OF THE STORY

Chapter 26: Where is Y/N?

“You are cheating!”

“I am not!” Sarah said in a mocking tone.

“Come on! You can't even pretend you're not laughing at me.” That made her let out a laugh and pull some cards from her sleeve.

“Fine. You win.”

“Of course I do,” Y/N said with a smug expression and her friend rolled her eyes.

“Whatever.” She got up from the couch. “Do you want some ice cream?”

“Yes please!” Y/N responded dramatically, as if she hadn't eaten a few hours ago. “We can watch the new season of Lucifer if you want”

“Sure,” she answered, handing her the ice cream. “For you milady.” Y/N snorted.

“Shut up.” Sarah made a fake offense expression and she laughed, making the blonde laugh with her too. She missed having these fun and light moments with a girlfriend.

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

“Where is Y/N?” Tony entered the living area in a panicky state. Everyone turned to him.

“She's at her friend's house, she had a sleepover last night.” Natasha said, confused.

“I need to go get her now.” He said, growing more distraught by the second.

“Tony, what is it?” Bruce asked, worried about his friend and Y/N too. But the billionaire seemed to be too caught up in his own thoughts to answer, looking frantically at his tablet and mumbling something under his breath.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y call Loki now! Tell him to come to the living area. It's urgent.”

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

“Mr. Loki, Mr. Stark is calling for you at the living area. He says it's urgent.”

Loki rolled his eyes, what could the tin-man want that was so urgent?

“He says it is about Y/N.” The AI said and he immediately got up from his sitting position on the bed and threw the book he was reading to the side, heading to the door.

“Where is Y/N?” He asked as soon as he entered. He did not know why, but something in his stomach was twisting, as if it knew something was wrong. Stark turned to him, his face completely panic-stricken.

“Tony, for god's sake explain!” Captain Rogers said, now getting as nervous as everyone else.

“I was investigating Sarah, her new friend, and before you say anything, I had to do it, for security reasons. We are huge targets for enemies out there, we need to be extra careful.” His tablet bipped.

“Stark, my patience is wearing thin. Spit it out.” Loki said, trying to swallow the knot in his throat. He looked up from the device.

“Her real name is Ingrid Müller, she is the daughter of Oscar Müller and Oksana Petrov, one of the founders of the Sky Breakers, the organization we tried to take down after they attacked us.” Loki felt his blood run cold. Y/N was in danger.

“Where is she now?” He asked, barely containing the fear in his tone.

“That's what I was doing. I have Ingrid's address here.” He said, lifting the tablet to show them.

“We need to go now.” Rogers said and no one argued. “Tony, Loki and I are going to go get her, you all stay here and prepare yourselves in case anything happens. And let everyone know the current situation, so they are ready.” Everyone nodded and soon enough, the three men found themselves on the quinjet, heading to “Sarah's” apartment.

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

It was a PH. They tried to be as cautious and silent as they could entering it. Steve knocked on “Sarah's” door, but no one answered. He looked at Loki and Tony and they both lifted their chins up and nodded.

The soldier kicked the door open and the three of them entered. They were not shocked to see the apartment empty, they were expecting it, all the calls at Y/N's phone probably gave them away.

“Where are they?” He asked.

“Not here.” Tony said, more scared than he ever felt in his life.

The three of them looked around the apartment. Loki entered the bedroom and saw the worst thing he could have ever seen.

“Here!” He shouted. Both men appeared and looked at the scene, petrified. There was blood on the floor, the room was a complete mess and the window leading to the stairs was open. Tony noticed something on the floor and he crouched to get a better look. He sighed.

“Y/N's phone.” In that moment Loki knew, the very thing he feared most had happened. “They have her.”

~taglist~ @mischief2sarawr @midnights-ramblings @mealoncholy-hill 

[pigtailedgirl]

I’d like to talk about this article.

https://mashable.com/article/avengers-endgame-romance

God, I’ve become a rant blog about Steve and Endgame. Oh well, least I know it. 

But NO... a very important thing that gets glossed over when you try to justify Steve’s ending and characterization in Endgame, and how the MCU is selling Steggy, is that this idea

Endgame does a good job of reminding the audience that losing a chance at happiness with Peggy is Steve’s greatest regret in his life

of the romance or lack of with Steve and Peggy Carter are the greatest parts of their character and its’ conclusive take that

And an opportunity perhaps, to be satisfied with their lives.

AKA the deus ex writing to reunite them or give them this ending chance of getting together sums their lives’ satisfaction.

This is or should be absolutely anathema to anyone who looks at them as characters first. At two characters, not a ship, who were expressly not about romance equaling their character definition. It is not good writing or a good conclusion to either to then force the narrative that this was the important point to their stories.

To Steve, the character who faced ablism, loss of parents, loss of friends, war, loss of time and country and identity, who was the moral conviction and heart of surviving and overcoming and inspiring...you really think his summation of greatest regret or thing to overcome is he lost a chance of romance? That his story is defined and measured in the success of getting it with Peggy?

To Peggy, the woman who is defined as a loved character, special female character or romantic lead, no less than by Steve himself per canon as a woman above and beloved for her desire and striving to make meaningful choices and actions in her life outside the boundary of a man’s desired partner, in that she is seeking equal representation, value, and recognition of... you think her summation is she’d be satisfied to be driven solely by her romantic outcome lived potential? That a summary of her life’s contribution is boiled down to only satisfactory if she reunited or got a second chance with Steve?

Is this a parody article?!

Or I don’t get shippers. 

Because ships should have character foundations to support them, unless they crack or AU. And the problem I have with Steggy per Endgame’s example is it’s built on a shaky foundation. 

The premise that them being together justifies the character dissolving, the time and the logic and moral implications... Ship gotta answer to that. Story gotta answer to it.

And it’s not a bias. I’m equal here in that I would make the same arguments if for wild example Endgame had a conclusion where Steve murdered Thanos or went back to be with a 40s Bucky or there was an example of the ship and character being concluded that the narrative told me was supposed to make sense or be defining and supportive of, that was just as the opposite of what seemed to matter before.

That’s honestly what Steggy Endgame is to me. So, this article and shipper perspective like it, the people who say the narrative built to this...I’m baffled. Because beyond Endgame retcon saying it, NO, the narrative for Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter was not a 22 film summation about if they would end up together.  

Like maybe if you squint CATFA was selling let’s explore if maybe they could have. In just that movie. As a side plot. The rest was like a story of too bad, it sad, so anyways here’s how we did and who we were and are.

[swtki]

Surprise Pregnancy - Marvel

Summary: Head cannons for how the MCU boys would react to an unplanned pregnancy.

Warnings: mentions of sex, mostly fluff, all characters are pro choice, swearing, slight angst, mentions of cigarettes, mention of breeding kink.

A/N: this is gonna be like the one I did for the HP boys.

Steve Rogers

Okay lets be honest I think that man wears a condom AND pulls out bc he will take NO RISKS.

Until after you’re married, of course.

Then its a sometimes condom sometimes morning after pill type beat.

Its not that he doesn’t want a kid, he just wants to wait until someone isn’t trying to kill him every day.

Steve, who usually has pink cheeks and relaxed eyes, went cold and clammy when you mentioned a late period.

Home tests weren’t really around for him, so he’s used to hearing about cycles and the science of that.

Man gets out a full calendar to get to the bottom of this.

“Okay so if you got your last one here, and then the next one here, your cycle will last about 29 days. Meaning you should have gotten it here but its now two weeks past that point-“

He probably has one of the girls take you to the doctor to get a test.

But he is happy asf when he gets your call.

honestly Steve is from a generation where they gave a kid a Marlboro and called it childcare.

Within 9 months he has tried to give you: Coffee, deli meat, the cheese you can’t eat, sushi, any type of soda to ever walk this fucking planet (plus Thor trying to give you soda from those bougie planets) 

He will not buy a book. Don’t even try to ask him.

Although the apartment is small, its much better than the tower.

Steve is waiting outside during delivery. Support from the hall!

He want’s to name your kid after his dead relative with an old persons name 💀

“We are not naming our child Edna.”

“Is Ashley much better??”

The way this man is so incapable of holding a child in a way that doesn’t make you feel like he’s gonna drop it.

Lowkey afraid of babies tbh

Parenting styles clash of course.

“No I didn’t plug the ‘ wall socket protectors ‘ in. Back in my day-“

Bucky prob the Godfather.

Overall: Fun dad.

Bucky Barnes

He has a breeding kink but like….forgets that breeding produces a human.

Tbh I don’t think Bucky wants kids

Like they aren’t in the plan.

He wants to be the cool uncle.

Also his kids would physically be older than him at some point and thats kinda weird.

Anyways, he’s pretty shocked when you pop up with not one, but four positive tests.

man literally got up and went to another room, he couldn’t deal

ceo of needing to sleep on it

ceo of leaving his gf alone

He comes back all business

“Do you…y’know…want a….y’know?”

Man would pull it out himself if you asked him to I know that bionic arm could come in handy 👀

after many many many hours of talking, you decide the study should be the new nursery.

Oh boy is redecoration a fun time

“I love you, Bucky, but we cannot have world war II memorabilia in our baby’s nursery.”

not too happy about hanging it up in the living room bc he kinda wants to keep his age private yet he will not say “these were my great grandfathers”

Probably carried around a sack of flour so he could learn how to hold a baby

RIP the first two sacks, they were dropped.

refuses to go to classes

will let you hold his metal arm in delivery tho

Steve’s the Godfather ofc

Bucky kind of treats the baby like another adult but…weaker.

He’s so weird around the baby

He adores it tho

Like falls asleep with them on his chest

slightly scary though because he can toss and turn so its good until panic sets in.

over all: fun but chaotic dad.



Loki Laufeyson

Honestly I can’t imagine Loki stays in the courting stage very long.

He’s probably married you, bedded you, and moved you in all within seven months.

And three months after that you’re pregnant with his (first) child.

He of course has wanted this practically since day 1

So when you show him the test sticks he was like 😃 what

then you had to explain what a midguardian pregnancy test was

he was ecstatic lol

Nursery done in a day

Theres gold.

Like

decorative gold

in a babies room.

He extra like that ig

He refuses to let you do anything. Need to stand up? He’s helping you do so.

Need water? conjured that bitch

the way he will not hesitate

He was in the room during delivery, his hand being crushed by yours

Agreeing on a modern name, still with roots to Nordic culture.

Loki wants more almost immediately

He keeps an eye on his baby all the time

and lets you sleep while he casts himself in the nursery to take care of the crying child.

He’s scared for Thor.

Like he knows Thor and your kid might get into some bullshit and he doesn’t want that.

uncle tingz

overall: Protective af

Thor Oddinson

Oh this is a wild ride, strap in.

Bro I know I said Bucky had a breeding kink but didn’t actually want a kid then?

Ok well Thor has a breeding kink and he means it.

You’re both prepared for a kid, so if it happens so be it.

He literally opened a window and screamed “A NEW HEIR IS FORMING!” when he found out.

Weirdo.

Still you weren’t exactly sure the two of you should be parents.

For one, the dining room was covered in smashed mugs.

But he loved you and you loved him, so you decided to keep it.

Complete opposite of Loki

Even when you’re struggling to get out of bed bc you’re so big hes like 👁👁 what

Anyways, he does help when he can.

He wants the kid to be a kid, like a normal non-king kid.

So the nursery is pretty modest.

Many earth tones, a lot of traditional norse decor.

He named the baby after his Mother, Frigga

The kingdom was so happy at the new addition to the royal home.

He prob started teaching her to fight as soon as she could walk.

He’s a very protective father

Loki and Frigga prank the hell out of him, teaching her magic and spells.

Overall: Proud parent

Peter Parker

Out of all of them this was probably the most unplanned.

You two are only starting your first year of university, still living in separate dorms.

Your period is like three weeks late.

You’re hoping its just stress.

Then the nausea kicks in.

So you do what any person in denial would do, you go to the campus clinic for an antibiotic or antiviral.

“Are you aware you’re with child?” bruh moment

Not sure what to do, you avoid your boyfriend for a whole week.

He corners you like “🥺 what happen”

so you break down and start rambling

“IwenttotheclinicandtheytoldmeI’mpregnantand nowIhavetodecideifIwanttokeepitornotandifyouleaveIdon’tknowwhatI’lldo.”

hes just like 😅 oh god

Hes supportive, even saying he’ll go to the ab*rtion clinic with you if that’s what you choose.

He doesn’t want anything to hurt you, so he takes over your course work for the time being.

Over the next two weeks you reach a conclusion; You’d like to keep it.

Peter is supportive of course, he always wanted to be a dad some day.

May is kinda disappointed ngl

But she is also supportive, even agreeing to lend a hand so you two can stay in school.

Luckily, you live in a time where parenting and school are able to be done at the same time.

You urge Peter to stay in normal classes so he can stay on track for his masters

You switch to an online program, spending more time at home.

Btw you moved into May’s for a bit

Because although she’d never been pregnant herself, she could take care of you.

Peter really did come over every weekend.

sort of off topic but if the spider bite changed his DNA, would his kid have powers?

Anyways, he was there during delivery and he fell in love with your kid as soon as they were born.

He decided to transfer to NYU so he could stay close

Shitty apartment down the hall from May = new home

overall: king shit

like my work? Reblog so others can see it!!

taglist:

@dreamy-clousds @mssbridgerton @katiekatbooks

[emotionlesshoe]

hello there! i was so happy to discover that we are now 300 on here! it really feels unreal, but i'm truly grateful for each and everyone of you ♡ to thank you, i created a prompt list on which you can pick up to 3 prompts and send it with the character you would like me to write for (there is a list as well of who i can write for) i'm used to writing one shot with a female reader but do not hesitate to mention if you would rather have a gender neutral or male reader! i can write fluff, angst and smut, however you have to be 18+ to ask for this last one! once again i really want to thank you all, for the love you guys send to the things i create, the likes, the reblogs, the comments, etc. hope you enjoy ♡

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

hp:

george weasley

fred weasley

oliver wood

theo nott

ginny weasley

sirius black

remus lupin

james potter

marlene mckinnon

lily evans

mcu:

bucky barnes

steve rogers

sam wilson

matt murdock

frank castle

steven grant

marc spector

pietro maximoff

wanda maximoff

yelena belova

natasha romanoff

scott lang

peter parker

peaky blinders:

finn shelby

michael gray

john shelby

tommy shelby

ada shelby

alfie solomons

lizzie stark

twd:

daryl dixon

rick grimes

alden

glenn rhee

maggie rhee

michonne

rosita espinosa

tara chambler

enid

star wars:

obi-wan kenobi

poe dameron

anakin skywalker

pedro pascal characters:

din djarin

frankie morales/catfish

javier pena

stranger things:

jim hopper

steve harrington

robin buckley

5sos

calum hood

luke hemmings

ashton irwin

michael clifford

bridgerton:

benedict bridgerton

anthony bridgerton

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“It’s not like I married him on purpose, you know?”

"You can't just come back into my life whenever you feel like it. It doesn't work that way."

"We shouldn't have done this... it was a mistake."

“If I told you, you’d hate me forever.” 

“Yeah, okay, so the car is totally crashed. But what are we gonna do about the goat?” 

"Please, just look at me."

“I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, but… you need to know something.”

"Oh, good, you’re here! Hold this."

"I said it first. It’s mine."

“Put the gun down, dearest. I have news!”

"What are you reading?"

"Would you still love me if I was a worm?"

"Congratulations! You’ll get to meet my highly dysfunctional family for Christmas."

"It’s scary to bring a child into this horrible, horrible world."

“I love you! No time to explain – gotta go.”

“Oh man, I’ve had the worst day ever.”

"Tell me it's not true. Please." "I did warn you not to trust me."

"You looked like you needed a hug."

"I really thought I could trust you, that you would be better than all of them... turns out you're even worse."

"Is there a particular reason why you are... naked?"

"The silent treatment? Really?"

“Forgive me if I’m misreading things, but do you want to make out?”

"I don't like this."

"I know how it looks, but it's not what you think!"

"I dare you!"

"You have something in your hair, umm... Do you want me to get it out?"

"Put some clothes on for the love of God." "Is that my shirt?"

"Why is Santa looking at us like that?"

"I can go anywhere I want... just not home."

"I swear if you go out of that door right now, you better never come back."

"Go ahead and leave then, just like everybody else did."

"Please come home."

"I think I'm in love with you and it's terrifying."

"Were you watching porn?"

"What would you say if I brought back home a duck?" "Y/N... what have you done?" "Meet Buffy... the Quacker Slayer."

"Put a baby in me."

"Why is it so hard to let you go?"

"Have we met before?"

"Do you have a picture of me as your lockscreen?"

"Let's run away."

[septembersghost]

Nobody's perfect. Not even superheroes.

But God, I am so very, very tired of investing in major female characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, only to see them meet an ignominious end. Let's set aside the fact that it took 21 tries to even get a female-led film, 2019's Captain Marvel. There have always been interesting, bad-ass women in the MCU — they just keep being done dirty.

The men of the MCU routinely save the day, seemingly with nine lives to spare (not that I'm complaining about having more Tom Hiddleston in my life, but for the love of the Norse gods, how many times has Loki been brought back from the dead?). Meanwhile, the women of the MCU's greatest asset seems to be the most stereotypically feminine of traits: sacrifice.

Don't get me wrong, sacrifice is a heroic quality. It takes a special kind of person to lay down their life for the greater good. But it gets exhausting when that special kind of person seems to be mostly female (thank you for your service, though, Tony Stark and Vision).

First, there was Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), who, in the quest for the Infinity Stones, sacrifices herself for the Soul Stone, sparing Hawkeye's life. Her justification? Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) has a family who needs him. So what does that say about Black Widow's adoptive sister Yelena (Florence Pugh) or other close friends who make up her found family?

A lot has been written about that narrative choice, and it's arguably the most polarizing death in the MCU. Especially since it came after Natasha's character endured outright sexism for years, particularly in the Age of Ultron, where the script reduced her to her reproductive choices, having her call herself a "monster" because she can't have children. Despite all that, it might've been possible to take her death as a moment of valor that served the storytelling — if Marvel didn't keep recycling that motif to motivate its male characters.

Here lies Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Wanda/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), and the newest addition to the dead fierce ladies club, Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). And that's not even including the saintly mamas who have died to light a fire under their sons (hi, Thor and Shang-Chi). Or the varying degrees of lip service to female empowerment Marvel has come under fire for over the years.

Sure, a past version of Gamora may be alive in the multiverses, and not even Elizabeth Olsen knows if her character is permanently dead after the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But I bet you can guess how she (maybe) died at the end: That's right, sacrificing herself for the greater good, even after being villainized for "breaking the rules," something her male counterparts do regularly. Sure, Wanda's rule-breaking might have cost many innocent lives, but it's not like she caused a universe-destroying Incursion (looking at you, Doctor Strange) or unleashed a wave of supervillains in a last-ditch effort to get into college (you too, Parker).

Even with all that, it was not until Thor: Love and Thunder that I finally reached my breaking point with Marvel's treatment of its female heroes' mortality. And I had such high hopes! Throughout the press tour, Natalie Portman made much of her return to the MCU being predicated on Jane finally having something interesting to do. The trailers showed Portman's Jane kitted out as a fully-fledged Lady Thor, complete with a winged helmet and wielding Mjölnir (did I maybe cheer more for this than even Steve Rogers proving his worthiness? Yes). What's more, here, she would not only become a hero in her own right, but she'd get to team up with another MCU favorite, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson).

Imagine my irritation when the interesting thing they've finally given Jane to do is have cancer and die (yes, I know this is a storyline from the comics; it's still annoying). It's pretty evident from the earliest shots of her in the film that she's not long for this world. But it's a real pain in the Asgard that, like Natasha, Gamora, and Wanda before her, she only gets to step into the spotlight just as it's about to be extinguished. There are flickers of hope that becoming a Thor will strengthen and heal her. But for dudes, with great power comes great responsibility. For ladies, with great power comes an expiration date.

When Thor finally forces Jane to stop cavorting as a Thor and seek genuine treatment for her illness, he acknowledges he'll have to try to complete his mission alone. That is until Jane swoops in at the last minute to save the day (and his very well-toned butt), knowing full well the effort will kill her a lot sooner than if she waited in her hospital bed. Just like the women before her, she makes a choice — and that choice is to die for the sake of the world and the man she loves.

There is nothing wrong with this choice at face value. It doesn't make Jane (or Wanda, or Natasha...) weak or lesser than any of the male heroes of the MCU. Indeed, it's a death so noble it earns Jane a place in Valhalla. But it would be more emotionally satisfying if I hadn't seen it so many times before. And if it didn't feel like that, while the men of the MCU get to be arrogant, wholesome, angry, remorseful, and any number of complex things, women's clearest path to heroism seems to be death.

Sure, I want more female superheroes. More kick-ass ladies who I can dress up as for Halloween and cheer on. But not if their only purpose in the plot is virtual martyrdom. The MCU has taken great pains to make its heroes nuanced figures who grapple with the human cost of their adventures; it makes the case that there are many ways to be a hero. Unless, of course, you're a woman. (Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld, Brie Larson, y'all might want to get a clause in your contracts, just saying).

Because women are expendable. We are living in a world where women are fighting for their lives and their rights daily, where misogyny is insidious, and women regularly fear violence from strangers and partners alike. It's easy to feel that the cost of our lives is cheap, that we mean more in death than we do in life. The MCU, intentionally or not, reiterates that narrative.

I don't want a fictional world of heroes where a woman's greatest superpower is death. It's a hill I'm willing to do anything but die on.

-We Need To Talk About Marvel’s Women Problem

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

This is gonna be the hottest take I’ve written in a long while, so here we go:

“Falcon and the Winter Soldier” was the more conservative-leaning show when compared to “The Punisher”

It feels weird writing that out since, at the surface level, it feels like it should be the other way around. Remember back in 2017 when there was a lot of pushback on the Punisher TV series because it was seen as right-wing propaganda? A lot of people just saw “ex-military guy with machine gun” and immediately made the connection to the alt-right movement. It didn’t help that the alt-right loved the Punisher symbolism, especially the military and police.

Meanwhile, there’s “Falcon and the Winter Soldier”, which technically should’ve been the more anti-conservative series. MCU Steve Rogers was set up as being anti-authoritarian and we were getting a black Captain America, something that closed-minded people would classify as “woke-pandering”. 

But if you go past that and actually look at both series’ content, it feels like there’s a clear divide between what people are seeing at the surface level versus what actually happens in the shows.

Yes, the Punisher features an ex-military guy who uses guns because he wants to take the law into his own hands. But the show also features:

1) The military industrial complex as the main villain of season 1 and Christian extremism as the main villain of season 2

2) The whole show was centered on criticism of the Iraq War/War on Terror and how the military treats its veterans. In fact, the criticism wasn’t even subtle since the main plot of season 1 was about how the corrupt CIA officer used the Iraq War for his own corrupt goals. Just switch out “drugs” with “oil” in the plot and you’ll get a good chunk of the anti-Bush criticisms during his presidency. (EDIT: I know he served in Afghanistan as well, I just wanted to focus on Iraq)

3)  The secondary villain of season 1 was a far-right domestic terrorist (they even called him out as a terrorist). The secondary villain of season 2 was an Aryan Brotherhood white supremacist. 

4) When you think about it, the Punisher only exists because he’s anti-U.S. government. He feels that the systems of America have failed the people by letting criminals and corruption run rampant, so he’s taking matters into his own hands. I’m just saying, it’s weird to characterize the Punisher as a conservative-friendly character when the character is basically saying, “Fuck America and all of its corruption”.

Now, let’s take a look at “Falcon and the Winter Soldier”:

1) Very pro-U.S. military. I mean, that’s a given since Sam and Bucky served in the military, but there’s a clear sense of jingoism throughout the series. Especially the opening fight scene. 

2) Tried to redeem John Walker at the end (or at least, tried to show that he’s not that bad of a guy). Remember, Walker is supposed to be the dark, far-right version of Captain America. They deliberately changed that for the show for...reasons. It’s like Marvel was skittish to actually portray John like how he is in the comics. Or at least, they were skittish to portray a version of Captain America as a villain.

3) Despite all the bad things America did, the series’ ending message was that we could do better as a nation. That even though our history is unclean, we can do better because that’s what America does. Just saying, the show’s message that America is still awesome even with its flaws and wrongdoing feels like a conservative talking point. 

4) The villains are anti-government anarchists that want a world without borders. Unlike Walker, they don’t get a chance at redemption. Out of all the Captain America villains that the series could’ve gone with, they went with the explicitly left-wing one.

5) Probably the most anti-American moment in the series would be Isaiah Bradley’s story since that was a direct criticism of the U.S. military. But everything turns out okay because Sam put Isaiah’s statue in the museum. No one is held accountable because that would mean the U.S. government would have to face accountability and we can’t have that in our patriotic TV series.

Okay, I’ll stop there. Just as a disclaimer, I’m not trying to change anyone’s minds about these shows, nor am I trying to say you should like or hate them. I just wanted to discuss how these shows and characters are perceived by the fandom.

[booksandabeer]

fic rec anon here, so I was specifically asking for recs because I'm on vacation rn and could use some long-ish reading material. I do like the pre-war flavor, but I'm not really picky about the plot or era overall, as long as it's written well, the characterization fits, and the dialogue flows easy

Ok, long fics to read during a vacation, you say? So nothing too heavy I think—although I personally am all for ANGST in my fave fics and I guess a lot of people would still consider some of these quite angsty? I tried my best!

Without further ado, I offer you a Stucky recs potpourri of five wildly different stories:

North Fork by @beaarthurpendragon | 62K, Explicit

Author’s summary: Sworn to silence by the Air Force after a friendly fire accident in Afghanistan, former aid workers James and Sam have come home to take over Sam’s family’s vacation rental business to escape the bad memories. Losing an arm and working maintenance wasn’t how James pictured his life turning out, but his life is good: He likes fixing things, he gets to work for his best friend, and he loves surfing every morning.

Fresh out of the ice, all Steve wants is for SHIELD to announce his return and let him get back to work so he won't have time to think about all he's lost. But when his psychiatrist refuses to clear him for duty until he's dealt with his trauma, he reluctantly accepts Tony's offer of a beach house for the summer to settle his mind. Armed with a false identity and a stack of sketchbooks, his only goal is to get back into the field. He's got no intention of letting his heart defrost along with the rest of his body.

That is, until a handsome maintenance man with a secret of his own shows up with a gallon of ice cream and a smile that could light up half of New York.

One of the best Shrunkyclunks fics I’ve read. Both, Steve AND Bucky are complex, fully fleshed-out characters in this, and — even more importantly—equal partners (something which I feel can sometimes be a bit of a problem with Shrunkyclunks). Bea is one of my favorite authors writing for this ship, so I’d also recommend any other story of hers. I picked this one for the ‘beach house for the summer’ premise, but it is really so much more than that. Features beautiful art by @lisamott9

These City Walls by @tessabennet | 88K, Teen

Author’s summary: Before there was Captain America, before there was even a war, there were two idiots in Brooklyn, just getting by every day, living a life, trying very hard not to let it show that they had, as a matter of fact, fallen in love with each other.

This is the first part of what I plan to be a multi-part fic spanning the entirety of the MCU, following Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes on their journey with, away from, separate from, and back towards each other.

A beautiful, in-depth look into Steve and Bucky and their lives in Brooklyn before the war. Be aware though that they don’t actually get together in this installment of the series (the goal of this series is to stay as canon-compliant as possible all the way through, with an eventual divergence post-FATWS to give these boys their much-deserved happy ending). However, if you’re into Pre-war Pining™, this will definitely hit the spot for you. And then some.

 A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall by @disraeligearsgoestumblin | 60K, Explicit

Author’s summary: He got off the boat in New York on May 13th, 1945, five days after V-E Day... 

A story of loss, grief, war, and a love that survives them all.

An AU set between 1945-1979, where Steve doesn’t go into the ice, but Bucky still becomes the Winter Soldier. This is the darkest/angstiest fic on this list, but it is so, so good and you will be rewarded with the most satisfying ending, I promise. God, just thinking about it, I want to reread this right now.

Space Oddity by @spacerenegades (crinklefries) | 147K, Mature

Author’s summary: After the world ends, things happen to Bucky in this specific order: he helps defeat Thanos, he rejects Steve’s attempt to address Feelings, he watches Steve volunteer to put the Infinity Stones back in time, he waits for Steve to come back, he is sad when Steve does not come back, he realizes that everyone thinks Steve disappeared in 2012 (???), he gets taken to space by Carol Danvers (!!!), he meets up with a depressed literal alien Norse God, he and the depressed literal alien Norse God travel through space, he and the depressed literal alien Norse God hit a wormhole and fall into the--Multiverse.

What the fuck.

This is the story of how Bucky and Thor pick up the pieces of their lives, find their own worth, find their own person, and find their way out of a multiverse of 100 realities stitched together with 100 tropes. There’s love, there’s friendship, there’s an extreme amount of Tesseract fuckery, but most importantly there are sexy vampires. Bon Appetit.

A love letter to Stucky and to fanfiction as a whole. It’s hilarious, heartbreaking, and just incredibly entertaining. The perfect binge-read for a vacation, I think. Also comes with beautiful art by cyclamental and @nalonzooo.

the world on fire by burlesquecomposer | 51K (WIP), Mature

Author’s summary: Steve loves old vinyl records, doodles on his files, and cannot remember a time that he didn't serve the TVA. And that suits him just fine—that is, until stray variant Bucky Barnes, fresh out of HYDRA's grasp, drops into his time theater and makes Steve question everything he believes in.

Yes, this is a WIP (a regularly updated one!), but PLEASE do not let this stop you from reading this gem of a story. It is well written, has a super fun premise,  clever plotting, wonderful characterizations, and a firm grasp on the SteveBucky dynamic. It is brilliant and I think it deserves a lot more love and attention.

This was fun--let’s do it again some time! 

[rosiegeee]

List of LGBTQ+ Character’s in Disney Films

This is a reposting of a previous post from last December with updated information. Disney has a very long history of making queer coded characters, mostly villains, and despite there being several opportunities in the past two decades to make characters that have actual speaking lines LGBT, there are next to none. Here are, to my knowledge, the only confirmed LGBT characters/couples in Disney movies.

Lefou and his dance partner. 2017 Beauty and the Beast.

Lefou is in a good portion of the movie, and he clearly has something for Gaston, but when Gaston point blank asks Lefou why he isn’t with any girl, Lefou doesn’t have a gay panic moment where he tries to hide anything, or says he’s gay/bi. He gives a genuine answer that women just don’t like him, which implies that he truly wants to be with a woman. In the last five minutes of the movie Lefou is dancing with a woman and is smiling and having fun, than his partner leaves and is replaced with a man, and Lefou’s face turns to confusion and not a look of attraction, although the man seems interested in him. What I’m saying is that Disney said how proud they were of making Lefou gay, but had no true set up, had the character genuinely says they like women, than when he has his gay moment he looks uncomfortable, and not in a questioning-my-sexuality kind of way. Lefou is a last minute gay.

Officer Specter. Onward

This character is far better than Lefou, but still falls in the one second gay category. She’s not in a good portion of the movie, but she does have speaking lines, and one of them is she mentions her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s daughter. She is probably the second best character on this list, and that is sad because she’s in less than ten minutes of the movie and although we don’t need to, it would have been nice to see said family, even just a picture would suffice. Still she is only one of four characters on this list who makes it specifically clear that they are LGBT, while the others had to be confirmed outside the film by the film makers.

Bucky and Pronk. Zootopia/Zootropolis

They are introduced as Judy’s loud next door neighbors and were confirmed nine months after the films release that they were a married couple and not brothers. The actor for these two had to confirm it, and in five years Disney has not debunked it so its Canon, but could be debunked by disney if they feel like it. If they are a couple than that makes them the first LGBT couple in disney, and how were they portrayed, yelling and arguing at each other in every scene they are in except the nudist shot. They fall into the retroactively gay category, and In my eyes the disappointing category.

Bobby. Avengers: Endgame.

Do you know how long it took me to find the name of this character. Five minutes, when all it should take is typing in “Gay grieving man in Endgame” into Google, but he was such a small character that I had to go through 3 different MCU wikia pages to find his name. He is one of the four confirmed for sure onscreen LGBT characters. He’s talking to Steve Rogers five year after the snap in group therapy about his date with a male character, and how he misses his previous boyfriend. For years this is all the MCU has, as Valkyrie has yet to be confirmed onscreen. I classify him a one minute gay. (Side note Bobby here is taking to the man that risked his life multiple times to save the life of Bucky just so they an stay platonically together without Bucky asking him too, where as Peggy, the woman Cap marries at the end of this movie, begged Steve to get off the ship and we know there were parachutes, not that he needs them, and that once he changed the course of the plane he probably could have jumped ship to be with her, but instead choose suicide[He also thought Bucky was dead at this point.] So read into that as much as you want and think about how much sense the final scene of Endgame made.)

Commander Larma D'Acy and Lieutenant Wrobie Tyce. Star Wars: the Rise of Skywalker.

Bet you also didn’t know the name of the woman D’Acy was kissing in this scene, did you? D’Acy was a minor character who was in all three sequel Star Wars movies and I honestly liked her even before I knew she was gay, but considering how much hype and teasing by ALL the actors that FinnPoe would become canon, this felt like a punch in the gut. In fact all they had to do was make the obviously gay Poe canonoticly gay but still single and I would have settled for that, but instead D’Acy, who was barely in the films and hadn’t mentioned her wife at all in 3 movies or are seen together before this point on screen, was the one to be confirmed on screen to be gay. These two fall under the last minute gays category.

Lesbian couple in Finding Dory and Lesbian Moms in Toy Story 4.

If these two couples have names, I couldn’t find them. The first two should because I think one has a speaking role and therefore should be credited, but I couldn’t find it, if you know write a comment. The Finding Dory couple could literally just be friends and we would never know if Disney hadn’t been all like “Look at the gay characters we gave you, we’re so proud.” The mom’s in Toy Story 4 are more obviously a couple, especially in there second appearance in the end, but they are so far in the background that you could easily mistake the black mother for the Caucasian mom’s husband if Disney hadn’t again advertised these characters as there glorious representation. These two couple fall under the background/ confirmed off-screen one second gays category.

Artie: Cruella

Dude is very obviously gay, the first out of all of the above, but Disney went from so obviously not gay that they have to off screen tell you that’s what they are to all the gay man stereotypes rolled into one, he’s in a small little portion of the movie but he is important to the plot, but still had to be confirmed off-screen. So Although I don’t like his portrayal I can say that this is by far the best lgbt character Disney has made up until May 2021 in there films. He has set the bar, and lets hope every lgbt character after him is better.

McGregor Houghton: Jungle Cruise

I haven’t watched this movie yet so I can’t fully speak for it, but someone in the comments says “he had this whole monologue of how his family was completely against his 'preferences'”. And google confirms he is gay, so he joins the list. I can’t fully rank him though yet.

Phastos and Ben: Eternals.

God almighty how I waited for a character like Phastos. An actually openly gay character who being gay is only one aspect of there character. That alone would have been enough, but what makes me fall in love even more is he has a husband named Ben, and a Son named Jack. I REPEAT, HE HAS AN ON-SCREEN HUSBAND AND A CHILD. They also share a kiss which is a first in the mcu films. He is important to the plot, has more then ten minutes of screen time and lines, and is actually gay on-screen plus is a pretty good character. I hope this is not the last good lgbt disney film character for another decade.

Before I conclude there are some honorable mentions that are technically lgbt but didn’t qualify for this list. Amilyn Holdo from the last jedi is bi, but was only confirmed in a novelization whose canonality can change at anytime. Lando Calrissian was confirmed pansexual off screen in 2018, however in both Solo and TROS he was not portrayed as such. Valkyrie was confirmed bi off-screen, but had her two lgbt scenes cut so there is no film proof of this on screen. Finally Loki was confirmed genderfluid and bisexual (but used solely he/him pronouns and fell in love with his genderbent self because they wouldn’t dare have him actually be seen flirting with anyone but a woman) however this was an mcu tv show and I am not sure yet if I consider it canon just yet.

So in total, counting mentioned partners that never were on screen, the number of confirmed LGBT people in all of Disney films is 19. After reading this I hope it becomes blaringly obvious why Disney needs more prominent LGBT representation. If this were done with racial representation Disney would probably not be in business still. There is progress being made, but only slightly. There is still plenty room to grow, such as first trans/non-binary character, or lgbt character under 18. So if you want a serious queer Disney fix, your going to have to stick to Tv, books, and shorts for now.

[claraswritings]

MASTERLIST

Working on a request and a new fic 🩷

Please see below for further rules

Rules

Code

☀️ - fluff only, 🌤 - some angst but happy ending ☁️ - ambiguous ending, ⛈ downer ending 🔥 - smut

I’m not taking requests for full fics but happy to write blurbs if you’re willing to be patient ❤️

Fics are written with a female reader (AFAB) most of the time. I do not take requests for other gender identities. This is because I do not want to misrepresent. I fully support the trans and Nb community but I am a cisgender woman and I don’t want to run the risk of accidentally misrepresenting and causing hurt.

I try not give the reader any descriptions. If I do I’ll generally put it in the summary, for example- Reader is mentioned to have tattoos.

When it comes to smut- I do not write Mword/Dword, age play or similar kinks. I will not write about any waste fluids. I will not write incest. These are my hard line no’s.

I do not like large age gaps (say over 10 years). The reader will always be written as if they are close to the characters age. If the characters age is unspecified, I’ll be going off the actors age as a guideline aka with an actor in their early 30s, the character will be assumed to be, say 27-35.

GAME OF THRONES - Discontinued

Arthur Dayne

The Princess and the Knight AU where Rhaegar is King and Ser Arthur Dayne loves his sister -Targaryen!Reader- ☀️

Euron Greyjoy

Dangerous Plans - Reader is promised to Euron Greyjoy by her sister. She decides to make the best of her situation. Lannister!Reader - ☁️

Gendry Waters

Run Away - Gendry and Reader make plans - Stark!Reader 🌤/☁️

Jaime Lannister

Real Love - An arranged marriage turns out to be your perfect match- Baratheon!Reader 🌤

Jon Snow

A Love worth waiting For- Jon has always loved you…but you are betrothed to Robb- Baratheon!Reader 🌤

Betrayal - Jon is preoccupied with Dany- Stark!Reader ⛈

Permanent Guest - Jon would like it if you stayed - Mormont!Reader ☀️

Sandor Clegane

Bodyguard AU- Celebrity!Reader has a new boyfriend that isn’t as bad as he seems 🌤/☁️

KINGSMAN

Eggsy Unwin

You’re My Best Friend- It takes Charlie to make Eggsy realise he’s in love with you - ☀️

MARVEL

Bruce Banner

Lab Partners - You’re working with Dr. Banner but he’s surprised to learn it’s him rather than the Hulk you’re impressed with - ☀️

Bucky Barnes -

It’s Been a Long, Long Time - Bucky has loved Steve’s sister since the 1940s - Rogers!Reader ☀️

Move on - You and Bucky had a good thing going…until the snap and the blip - ⛈ - GN

Hope Not Too Long - Bucky returns after the blip 🌤

Matt Murdock-

Loving you is Easy - Soulmate AU - Matt has you, You don’t think you have a mark - 🌤

Inside your Mind - Established Relationship, Matt worries about telling you his secret. Semi-sequel to the above but also its own thing - 🌤

MCU!Peter Parker

The Right Choice - Tony’s daughter has every faith that her late father chose the benefactor of EDITH correctly - Stark!Reader 🌤

The Boy Next Door - You’ve lived across the hall from Peter for some time- The two of you have a crush on each other - 🌤

One Condition - You have your suspicions after bad guys get into your school - 🌤 -GN

Natasha Romanoff

Come Back To Me - Nat’s girlfriend deals with the fallout of Nat’s mission to Voromir - 🌤

Always Meet Your Heroes - Nat helps you out when the city is under attack - ☁️ - GN

Peter Quill-

Movie Love - Peter meets another scavenger- she’s also from Earth - ☀️

Blast From the Past - You thought your childhood friend had disappeared but he’s in your kitchen ☀️- GN

Scott Lang

New Recruit - Your friend Sam asks you to bring in the new recruit- What happens when he happens to be your cute neighbour ☀️

Steven Grant

Stay For Now, I Love You Forever - Steven meets s girl and falls in love. Marc falls too -🌤️

TASM!Peter Parker

All I Want - Peter and you have been friends for sometime. He realises he loves you but is it too late? - 🌤

I Was Meant to Know You - When your universes Peter ropes you into help the villains, why do feel drawn to one of the other Peters? - 🌤

I Was Meant to Love You - Having followed Peter 3 back to his universe, he finds you. Sequel to the above - ☀️

Thor Odinson

A Work of Art - Thor shows his appreciation for a reader passionate about art - ☀️

Quentin Beck

Beauty In Chaos - Master manipulator Mysterio awakes to find the Shield operative he’d romanced by his bed - ☁️/ ⛈

RPF

Jake Gyllenhaal

I Find My Way Back to You - Jake and you break up over a co-star. He regrets it - 🌤

I See Nothing But You - Jake is dating Tom’s sister and is interviewed about her- Holland!Reader ☀️

Tom Holland

Premier date - Tom’s perfect date has been there the whole time ☀️ - GN

STRANGER THINGS - Discontinued

Eddie Munson

I Want You To Want Me - Inspired by 10 Things I Hate About You wherein Robin likes Chrissy, Jason likes Chrissy and Chrissy can’t date until you do- Cunningham!Reader 🌤️/☀️

Peter Ballard/001/Vecna/Henry Creel

Skin of the Night - Peter is obsessed with YOU- ☁️

Steve Harrington

I Fell in Love with You in Stages - multi-part (20 lol) fic following Dustin’s sister and Steve through the events of s1-s3 from kind of enemies to friends to lovers - Henderson!Reader 🌤/☀️

THE BEAR

Carmen Berzatto

Can I Be The One - Multi option fic where you can choose Carmy or Luca 🌤️/🔥

Jealous Carmy Carmy lets his jealousy take over and you kinda like it 🔥

NSFW Alphabet 🔥

SFW Alphabet ☀️

Sleeping on him - ☀️ You want to sleep, he has work

Bookshop Meetcute - ☀️ Carmy likes the bookshop owner

Work stress - Carmy senses his wife’s stress and comforts her - 🌤️

Chef Luca

Can I Be The One - Multi option fic where you can choose Carmy or Luca 🌤️/🔥

Luca Proposing - Luca proposes ☀️

Kitchen sex it’s been a while so you and Luca fix that after closing 🔥

NSFW Alphabet 🔥

SFW Alphabet ☀️

Period Care - Luca looks after you on your period ☀️

Size kink/ Love Egg - Luca teases you in public then fucks you 🔥

Comfort song from Luca Luca sings your comfort song to you ☀️

Luca and pregnant wife at Ever funeral - you and Luca go to the funeral ☀️

Baby baking- Luca makes desserts for his pregnant wife ☀️

First time when dating Luca - You and Luca sleep together for the first time 🔥

Luca Headcanons ☀️

THE HAUNTING - Discontinued

Hugh Crain

Waking Up with… Headcanons - Waking up with young Hugh Crain - ☀️- GN

Solace - you and young Hugh Crain are the only two that understand each other 🌤 - GN

Luke Crain

Late - Luke is late home but you don’t mind ☀️ - GN

Love in the Strangest Places - you do not expect the rehab Center to be where you fall in love - 🌤

Especially You - You get a call from your friends brother- turns out there’s a lot about Luke you don’t know 🌤

Unexpected - Your late night booty call runs out on you. Your pregnancy test is positive 🌤

Meeting You Again - you left for Rome during college- Luke thought he would never see you again 🌤

Not a People Person Until I Met You - You’re not the most friendly person, more into bars and your one close friend- Until Luke Crain comes into your life - 🌤

Exactly As You Are - Luke loves you. Just as you are ☀️

Stay - You help Luke out when he’s cold and alone. Your kindness sticks with him and he calls you after he’s poisoned 🌤

Wedding Day - You and Luke are getting married ☀️

Steve Crain

Took You Long Enough - Steve’s had a thing for you forever ☀️

Theo Crain

Workplace Romance Headcanons - Headcanons about meeting Theo and starting up a workplace romance - ☀️

In the Dark - Theo has nightmares. She’s glad you are there 🌤/☁️

Prom Date- Teenage romance with Theo - ☀️

TED LASSO

Jamie Tartt

Conversation - Enemies to Lovers, you are the player liaison officer at Richmond and Jamie is a colossal prick. Until he isn’t - 🌤️/ ☀️

[luna-rainbow]

I agree with your gentle reminder, but how do we reconcile endgame Steve unless we look at it as though Steve's love was conditional? Idk how to put this b/c I'm not as good at metas as you, but Steve abandoned everybody, especially Bucky by going back in time knowing he couldn't change anything and living with that traitor, Peggy. Any fic written post-endgame has to either retcon Steve's character assassination or contend with it. And if you want to write Sam as Captain America, it is extremely difficult to find a reason Steve Rogers would just give up being CA, and fighting for what he believed in without just killing him, at which point, how does he give away the title? Sam earned the shield, but in MCU Canon, he only earned it by Steve acting uncharacteristically callous. I can't find a way to respect Steve in a post-endgame, post TFATWS MCU.

Thanks for the ask!

The best explanation I've seen of Steve's ending is to consider him being in a state of terrible mental health by Endgame. When the Avengers went to find Thanos, Steve says to Nat:

I know it will [work]. Because I don’t know what I’m going to do if it doesn’t.

But it didn't work. Steve had called it one of the biggest fight of their lives. He's looking for the big bully who had taken everything away from them, but when they got there...all they found was a husk. There was no relief when Thor killed Thanos, and it didn't reverse the damage that had been done or bring back the people they had lost.

We don't know what Steve went through in those 5 very vulnerable and very isolated years. Sam and Bucky were both gone. T'Challa, one of Steve's supporters, was gone. Wanda and Vision, who had been on the run with Steve, were also gone. There was only Nat, who - even though this was never addressed - was also struggling with her own grief after losing Yelena in the Snap. The closest to a mentor-like presence for Steve was Nick Fury, and he was gone as well.

When we next meet Steve, he's running a support group talking about dating and relationships, while Nat is the one communicating with all the Avengers members about ongoing relief efforts.

I keep telling them, move on. Grow past it. And some of them actually do. But not us.

He carries the compass in his pocket, and Peggy's words come back to haunt him, "The world has changed, and none of us can go back."

And then Scott appears, and going back is possible.

Imagine floundering for 5 entire years with nothing to pin your hopes on, and suddenly there is...purpose.

Steve brings Scott to see Tony and it is clear they haven't seen each other in years. Tony is in his enviable getaway shack with his enviably wholesome family. Steve says to him, "Tony, I get it. And I’m happy for you. I am. But this is a second chance."

This is a second chance for him, for some of the other Avengers, but not for Tony.

And maybe just like all of those fics about Bucky getting stuck in abusive relationships post-Hydra, Steve was in a similar frame of mind where any hint of familiarity made him gravitate towards that person.

So when Tony offers him the shield back or when he sees Peggy keep his picture, he is moved, because they are links to a time when he had connection and belonging and relative stability, even if the two of them weren't, specifically, the people that anchored him during those times.

But when Steve does get his team back, he makes a heart-sinking realisation. His friends - Sam, Bucky, Wanda, T'Challa - they were expecting him to be the person he was 5 years ago, but he is mentally and physically older, wearier, and still so, so alone. He is now also grappling with the new grief of losing Nat, and likely some guilt about losing Tony. Tony, who told him he was having his second chance, gave it up so they could have theirs.

The world has changed, and none of us can go back.

But he can go back.

And that thought takes root like poison. He's finding it harder and harder to face Sam and Bucky and the expectations of half the world still looking for the man he had been. He's finding it harder and harder to pick up the leadership when Nat had been the one doing it for so long. He's finding it harder and harder to speak about his suffering, because everyone everywhere is celebrating, even as the void inside him grows bigger.

He can go back, but where to?

Where would a man stricken by grief and guilt choose to hide in a world where his face is painted on murals across the world?

Maybe that brief time after he took the serum and before everything went awry.

Maybe he can make it right in one timeline.

..

The TL;DR version is that Steve was profoundly depressed in EG and made a choice he otherwise wouldn't have if he had reached out to his friends. But I tend to think he wouldn't have chosen to stay hidden in the past once he actually got his head in the right space.

The time heist and the multiverse is a mess and none of the creators could agree on what the rules are. I pretty much ignore everything that comes after IW, simply because there is no internal consistency in the logic so the might as well treat it like a cart of horse manure.

I do think Steve has many ways of asserting his beliefs outside of being Captain America and I have no issue with him stepping down and giving the mantle to Sam.