#we know like nothing abt him yet in the mcu

[mayahawkeswife]

family tree (intro) - ethel cain // mother & son

[monsterhunting]

Director's Commentary on Five Years Later PLEASE!

OMG okay lol so i wrote five years later like … 4 years ago so my memory is rusty. but rocket and nebula are by far my favorite MCU characters and i basically remember having intense brainrot about rocket and nebula after endgame came out and everything they would’ve been through during the 5 years that take place between infinity war and endgame, and wondering about how they would’ve navigated their grief despite barely knowing or even liking each other prior to infinity war and yet still making the choice to stick together those 5 years.

and part of the reason this brainrot was so intense was because a) endgame BARELY touched on these things (which is like … the #1 thing i wanted out of that movie lmao) and b) barely anyone else was talking about it on tumblr or Twitter either !!!! and i was just mainly thinking a lot about how rocket pre-GOTG would’ve turned cynical and just said “fuck everything” if something like the snap happened to him back then, but in endgame we didn’t really see that? and while that could just be attributed to the Russo’s not understanding his character I started thinking about it in like a “well maybe it’s because rocket isn’t the person he was pre-GOTG and that’s because of the guardians and even though he’s lost them he has the strength to go on bc he met them in the first place.”

and with nebula I couldn’t stop thinking about how she was the only one who really had nothing to gain from helping the avengers and reversing the snap so that everyone could come back. Like everyone had lost at least one person really important to them but the only person nebula lost was gamora and since gamora died before the snap, undoing it wasn’t going to bring her back. (obviously 2014 gamora comes back in endgame but no one had any way of knowing that would happen at the time lol.) and despite the fact that nebula had nothing to gain from helping she risked her life to help the avengers anyway? and so yeah I was just thinking a lot abt her and rocket and their trauma bonding friendship and how similar they are and how they’re both so cynical and bitter and yet they risked their lives to save the world without a second of hesitation despite having lost everything. only no one else was thinking about it apparently bc no one else was talking about it so I was like fuck it! I’ll do it myself. and alas the fic was born

[yellowocaballero]

I know next to nothing abt utena but I. I kinda am extremely curious abt the utena vs mcu comparative analysis? if you feel like sharing lmao absolutely no worries if not

I love all of you because I will post obviously bait and someone will always indulge me in asking about it. NO I don’t want to unprompted just start rambling about my opinions, YES I will share them though. I will make this as short as possible because I can talk about Utena all day. I will add a disclaimer that I don’t super like the MCU so I’m very sorry to any MCU fans, Winter Soldier was good. Slight, vague spoilers for Utena ahead. 

TL;DR: MCU is constantly selling feminism in the form of palatable #bossbabes and Strong Female Characters, while Utena’s form of feminism is a more systematic and nuanced interview of how the patriarchy limits, exploits, and controls women. It posits that a woman CANNOT be a #bossbabe while she’s within that system, and only by leaving it can she find independence and identity. MCU is sponsored by the Air Force.

So for the uninitiated, Utena is a magical girl anime that I’ve been jokingly calling Evangelion: For Her. It deconstructs magical girl anime and fairy tales, and critically examines Japanese society, the patriarchy, heteronormative culture, and IN MY OPINION boarding schools. It deals with themes of trauma, toxic relationships, toxic masculinity, gender non-conformity, queerness, abuse, maturity, coming of age, gender roles, memory, and narrative. 

I’ve joked recently that Tumblr would find Utena problematic if it actually talked about the show beyond the killer aesthetic and sword lesbians. Every female character in it is obsessed with men. Most of them are in abusive, or at least toxic, relationships. It has several gender nonconforming, queer women, who view gender nonconformity as adopting the role of a man in society and thereby idealizing/controlling/abusing women, as men do. Every character is a hugely complicated person who hurts others. Men control women and women are either subservient and controlled by men, or they use their position of assumed subservience to manipulate men, or they attempt to regain power by taking the role of men. 

On the flip side. Utena demonstrates how every character is turned into this through the rigid and restrictive nature of (it’s Japanese, so Japanese, although it’s broadly applicable) society. Women who do not fit into these pre-set molds are punished and ostracized. Young boys are groomed by older men in order to fit these abusive molds, and otherwise well meaning men hurt women because they are not taught how to interact with women in healthy ways. The show is basically about how society takes the genuine need for love, intimacy, and human connection among children and beats them into societally accepted molds that keep power in the hands of powerful men. The patriarchy is ultimately a tool of powerful men that abuses and controls both men and women. Ever hear of no ethical consumption under capitalism? Try no ethical love under the patriarchy! 

So, no, Utena doesn’t really have a lot of ‘strong female characters’. But that’s really kind of the point - how can a woman be strong in this system? When a woman tries to gain strength, does she just try to imitate masculine values that we’re brainwashed into perceiving as strength? Is masculinity healthy? Can Utena really be gnc, or will a gnc woman never be accepted as a man by a society that profits off the victimization of women?

I’m not asking the MCU to analyze all of this, because they’re blockbuster movies and I don’t want or need them to get #deep. However, superhero movies will never look at the systematic and societal structures that build heroes and villains so long as the nature of superheroes inherently hinges upon the ‘Great Man’ system (basically an obsession with heroes and salvation through singular men instead of communities and movements). The MCU Spider-Man movies were so frustrating about this: it goes through the effort of saying that capitalism and injustice created the Vulture, but all that does is make a sympathetic villain - it never goes so far as to say that Peter is being fed into this system (by Tony Stark) like meat into a meat grinder that continues to prioritize the special over the collective. I don’t even need to get into Far From Home. The MCU constantly acknowledges these injustices (the way it acknowledges that the Air Force in Captain Marvel is sexist and racist) but it twists around that acknowledgement into assertion that superheroes and good guys CAN exist in this unjust system, and that they can utilize the power of this unjust system in order to provide salvation. Utena has Japanese Buddhist roots over this Christian ideal of the saviour/messiah: it encourages saving ourselves, and says that we cannot be saved by others, only aided and guided in that journey. 

Captain Marvel cannot be a ‘feminist’ film, no matter how much it celebrates Carol for embracing her individuality and autonomy in a discriminatory system, so long as Carol remains within that system. In contrast, the only way that Utena was able to live in gay happiness with Anthy was by rejecting the patriarchy, structure, and society completely. Carol is a shining, premier, ‘ideal’ example of a woman in the Air Force - tough and independent yet obedient and responsible to her system. Utena is also masc and gnc, but it actually explores how performing that masculinity isn’t a repudiation of the system, it’s just striving to attain status as the oppressor instead of the oppressed (absolutely crucial note that Utena doesn’t strive to be a man, she strives for masculinity). The #girlbosses in Black Panther are characterized by their complete and total loyalty and lack of ambition to authoritarian male figures and autocratic systems (Black Panther is really good and I like it a lot, this isn’t a criticism). Judi in Utena is also completely obedient and loyal to the male-dominated structure of the Student Council, but it’s shown as preventing her from accepting her lesbianism and pursing her desires. Black Widow, #girlboss extraordinaire, is devalued as a woman through her infertility and this is completely played straight and uncritically in a move that’s stunningly 1970s. Nanami in Utena (metaphorically) is confronted with her perceived lack of suitability for maternal life - and how the reason why she’s desperate for this is because it’s the promised unconditional love she never received. This isn’t even getting into the men - Tony Stark using tools of war to end war, which is an oxymoron. Peter Parker’s divorce from his working class roots into mindless imitation of authoritarian paternal figures and him literally being handed the cutsey drone strikes. Women in the MCU are ‘cool’, women in Utena are complex, flawed, and nuanced. 

We know the MCU isn’t woke. I don’t want it to be woke. But it keeps on pretending to try and it’s frustrating me. It continually just gets enough there to make me think about it and give the shiny sheen of that feminism while refusing to engage meaningfully with what they’re doing. I’d rather they didn’t try at all, because they consistently raise the question (hey it’s fucked up that the working class is getting screwed over and the Vulture’s doing what he’s doing for a reason!) and then refuse to answer it authentically or genuinely (but he’s evil so we don’t gotta touch that). I’m not gonna use the word pandering, but...that #girlboss shot in Endgame, come on...

Utena meaningfully treats the women as women who Live In A Society, and how that fucks them up, and how the only way they can be free is if they realize there’s no wizard behind the curtain, recognize the injustices, and repudiate the game. MCU says that a woman can be liberated and strong if she achieves specialness and strength within the system - if she ‘wins’ the game. But women don’t win this game. That’s the point of the game. Because when women win, men perceive themselves as losing, and that’s unacceptable. Captain Marvel and the MCU is a consolation prize for what women are consistently denied: complex and flawed characterizations. 

I’m normally uninterested by #feminism but Utena gets it. Thanks for the ask! 

[littlespaceporgs]

i have a need for more soft plo my dear 💕 how abt “i wanted to say ‘i love you’ for the first time without stuttering, but that failed” with everyone’s fave kel dor? also i love you to the moon and back and am super proud of you

A/N: Yeah that’s right, I’m back mostly fully now and yes I am writing the requests I have! JJ - I hope you like this! I LOVE U TOO! It’s funny to start off with and then goes angsty and then goes super fluffy and is an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. I was aiming for a little 500 word blurb... it stands at 1.7ish i think 💀

So if you haven’t been reading my Clone Wars Reacts series, you probably aren’t aware that I am a massive simp for Plo Koon (and others characters 🤦‍♀️)and if this is you deciding to read them here’s the link to my masterlist, which has all the parts posted already.   

Glimpse

Word Count: 1.7k Pairing: Plo Koon x Jedi!Reader Summary: Anakin running late, an awful sense of foreboding, and one thing that you were yet to say, mixed with a glimpse of a future you couldn’t have. What could possibly go wrong?

Tags for my loves: @peacelandbread @clonewarslover55 @libradusk @catsnkooks @mcu-padawan

The reasons why you agreed to go on a mission on Skywalker seemed to escape you at the moment. His plans, though working occasionally, had the reputation of heavy damage and being absurdly reckless. You did however, enjoy working with Ahsoka, though she could be just as bull-headed as Anakin on occasion. Maybe it was for her sake that you joined the mission?

The plan had originally been for you to lead a small troop of men in quietly, retrieve the data you needed, and then Skywalker would swoop in and distract them so that you could escape. The entry went well, and collecting the data happened without a hitch, but you were spotted on the way out and Skywalker was late. Again. And to make things worse, your comms stopped working a very long time ago.

“If you concentrated on getting out instead of what you’re thinking, we might just survive.”

Ah, that’s why you came on this blasted trip.

“Well maybe if you focused on this, instead of your sarcasm, we may live past the next 10 minutes, Plo.”

You’d known the Kel-dor for many years, almost as long as you’d been a Jedi, but the feelings you had for him were only a few years old, and started shortly after you began going on regular missions with him. He always had put the wellbeing of others ahead of his own, which was frustrating to no end, but endearing all the same. He knew that you had a way of overthinking every situation and very quickly becoming a ‘stress head’, so he always simplified the instructions and looked for the tell-tale signs of you steadily becoming unstuck. Always waiting for the clones to get on board an escape pod, making sure there were enough supplies, somehow always having all the answers and a witty response. It was the little things at any rate.

Like now for example, as you both knelt behind a box, trying to catch your breath, and he was trying to use humour as a way of distracting you from the very real possibility of dying by the hands of a droid.

You stretched up from your crouch and turned to look over the box. Oh shit, there’s an entire battalion of droids just a few meters – oh, and that one’s pointing- oh.

With a sharp tug, Plo pulled you back down, the blaster bolt whizzing past where your eyes had been only half a second ago. Despite not being able to see his eyes and mouth, he still gave you an exasperated expression.

“Be more-”

“I was fine! I saw it coming and I was going to move!” The Kel-dor ran a hand across his forehead, although, at this point he should be used to this type of behaviour from you.

Despite the joking and poking fun, your stomach was sinking further by the minute. As you just realised, if you stepped out, you would surely be shot instantly. A vast majority of the clone troopers had long since been torn apart. Swallowing, you closed your eyes, and leaned back resting your head on the box. There is no way either of you are going to surrender and get captured, but you both were aware of the fact that you likely weren’t making it out of this either.

Your shoulder was burning, and your ribs and abdomen ached, and there was a blaster burn on your leg. Another hand wrapped around your own, and squeezed it tight. Trying to stop shaking, you spoke.

“I – we’re not getting out of this one…” You turned your head and opened your eyes, finding his face. His eyes were turned down at the edges, and his shoulders were slumped the smallest bit. “Are we?”

Plo turned and took a similar position to you, not letting go of your hand.

“We must not think like-”

“Be realistic we-”

“It’s going to be-”

“Don’t- don’t you dare say it’ll be fine-”

“Skywalker-”

“isn’t coming! Or- or if he is, he’ll be too late!” you couldn’t stop your voice from shaking now, stuttering more with every word that came out.  Plo’s head hung and you could see the weight of your words hanging on him.

“At um – at least we’ll go out as we are, teasing the s-shit out of each other, you old man.” He let a laugh drift out of the mask.

“Don’t call me old, youngling.” You laughed back, smirking all the while. If you’re going to die here – if technically you wouldn’t be jedi – your heart raced at the thought. The code was – well if you’re dead you can’t very well follow the code, now can you?

“I- I um I love you.” As soon as it was out, you felt lighter and heavier all at once. His back straightened so fast the back of his head nearly whacked the crate. When he finally turned to you, his brows were sitting much further up on his face than what they had been before, so you traced every corner on his face with your eyes, just in case. His hand squeezed yours tighter.

“I- well I wanted to say it without stuttering, and preferably when we weren’t a few minutes from death, but well- I guess there’s really no time like the present?” He still hadn’t moved, frozen and staring at you. Oh, no. You waved your free hand in front of his face, trying to break his stupor.

“Plo? Are you-”

“I love you too.”

You couldn’t help but smile, your hand moving to his face instead, moving your thumb across his cheekbone. Idly, you noticed that he hadn’t let go of your other hand yet. His hand moved the hair from your face, smudging the ash and dirt also. With a hand on the back of your head, he gently pulled so your foreheads pressed together. Your eyes slid shut, and you concentrated on the feeling of warmth and light that this brought. If this was the last thing you remembered before death, then you would die happily. For now, you savoured the few seconds you had sitting there. You sighed, and opened your eyes.

“I – just-”

“I know.” You pulled away, and despite the happiness of a few seconds before, a sense of foreboding sat heavily in your chest. You swallowed harder, and moved to grab your lightsaber. You grasped it tight, and ignited the glowing blade. Next to you, you heard his blade reveal itself. Your muscles in your legs tensed, and you braced your shoulders. One more time. When you turned to him, he was still looking at you, with a sad expression that rivalled your own. You shuffled so you were instead in a crouch, ready to fight. Might as well go out swinging.

You took a deep breath and steeled your nerves. For a second before you stood, you couldn’t hear anything. When you thought back and remembered it, there was the sound of droid’s legs and chatter, of occasional blaster fire of those who were left, and your lightsaber humming in your ear. At the time, there was nothing. You just kept staring at Plo, hoping that somehow, you’d get more of this, more than 5 seconds.

Faster than a blink, you got a glimpse of a future that could have been. Cold nights on Coruscant, wrapped up in blankets, watching the night sky past by. Daybreak, curled up in each other’s arms, feeling the glow of sun come in. On missions with small troops of trusted clones, being able to be open with your relationship. Sneaking around before council meetings, trying to savour what moments you could before missions. Feeling like young padawan’s again, running around quietly. Visions of you leaving the order, years from now, quoting being unable to stick to the code, Plo following shortly after. Of you building a home, your stomach steadily growing outwards.

And just like that it was over, and you were stuck with a reality of death.

Your throat burned and your vision blurred. Now.

And then Plo’s hand desperately grabbing yours and pulling you down again, a shrill beeping coming from his wrist. Your heart pulsed in your ears and you looked to the sky. Of course.

“Sorry, we were busy dealing with Ventress! How are you holding up?” A scathing laugh burst out of your throat. The droids were falling back, away from your position at the sight of the sheer number of Republic soldiers. You laid back on the dirt, feeling the sun on your skin, soaking up whatever light you could. It was only now that you felt the weight lift, where the light feeling of relief took its place. Plo begun to answer Anakin. You cut him off with a venomous tone.

“We’re a-”

“We’re alive, you’re late, and I am going to kill you, Skywalker.” There was an audible sigh that sounded suspiciously amused from Plo as he made to stand.

“I wasn’t that la-”

“Don’t even finish that sentence.”

Plo’s hand reached down and hovered near your face, though you ignored it and shot up on your own, winding your arms around his neck. He softly grunted as you laughed and the realisations began to sink in. Maker, we nearly died. We were very nearly dead. You nearly had to watch the man you fell in love with die.

Whilst your mind rambled, he pulled apart, and was still brushing the hair from your forehead again. You hadn’t noticed, but he was taking in every freckle, wrinkle and scar you had, like you had been doing to him not too long ago.

You nearly died. Plo nearly died. You almost didn’t get to say – oh, no. You told him. You thought you were going to die and you told him. But now you’re not going to die. And he said it back.

He said your name and whisked you from the spiral. His leathery forehead leant down and pressed against yours.

“I love you.”

Maker, he said it again. You grinned, and pulled him closer. You wanted to say it one thousand times at the top of your lungs, and suddenly the glimpse didn’t seem as far out of reach as it had a few minutes ago.

“I love you too.”

[lokislittlesigyn]

so....that episode of loki amiright? how do you feel abt it?

Ah, Nonny. That's what I've been trying to figure out all day.

I watched the episode twice now, and after a very long and eventful day, full of emotional highs and lows, I'm really not sure where to stand.

Let's start with the good. Spoilers below.

- Sylvie's backstory. I want to know more, and hope they show more. But this episode really solidified how much I like her as a character. I hope she can truly move forward as herself - whether she wants that to be as a Loki or as something different. Maybe both.

- Loki's line about how Lokis (this is from memory, sorry) "We might lose, painfully even, but we don't die. We survive." Hearing those words? After Infinity War? It felt like he was saying them to me. And to all the other fans who need to hear that. Loki is intensely important to a lot of people, and seeing him get hurt in such horrific ways leaves a lasting impression. At the very least, knowing he's never gone for good? That nothing stops him? That helps.

- Hunter B-15. I never disliked her as a person, just felt she was very set in her ways and absolutely devoted to the TVA. When that came crashing down, as we saw, things really changed for her. I'm honestly really glad for this character growth and I wish her the best. And I desperately hope C-2O isn't actually dead... if she is, I want to know who killed her.

- More Mobius and Ravonna being friends. I love that. And I do still like Ravonna, as a person - I believe she truly believed the Time-Keepers were real. Or else, she was afraid of whoever was controlling them. Because we can see in that scene when she walks to them, she looks scared - and the only other beings there are the Time-Keepers, so she has no reason to be putting on a show. I believe she really was that apprehensive. I also think lying to people like she did is wrong, but we have yet to see the fully story of why.

- Lovely to see more of Asgard, even a glimpse. Lovely to see Lady Sif again. Absolutely BRILLIANT to see some myths being worked into the MCU! I plan to write a full fic of Loki cutting Sif's hair! But seeing Loki get repeatedly assaulted? Intensely upsetting. I really didn't enjoy seeing him in so much pain. I am not a male so I don't know how much that kick would hurt, but it certainly seemed to wear him down... sigh.

- Loki being honest with himself. I don't think he's a narcissist, but I do think he needs attention and he's afraid of being alone.. And honestly, I am too. I hate feeling alone. So seeing him say that, hearing that confirmation of what I thought, it really encouraged me.

- Mobius is well-written, though I don't necessarily agree with all his decisions or what he says, I really appreciate how he investigated what Loki said and chose to help him. Also, I think Mobius is going to find Loki in that place where the Variants are and save him. Team up against the TVA.

- The Time-Keepers were fake I KNEW they had to be fake I KNEW it. It remains to be seen if they were ever real or not, and who's behind the TVA (again I don't believe it was Ravonna, especially as we saw her as a hunter earlier, so she likely wasn't there at the start) but I feel rather clever for not believing in the Time-Keepers.

- Loki. Variants. Comic Loki. Young Loki. Alligator Loki. More Lokis. I want all of them, I want every single one of them, Loki in all his forms is wonderful and I want to meet them all.

- Honorable mention: A friend told me that Loki got pruned but showed up later. Honestly? If they hadn't shared that? I don't think I would've been able to make it through the day. That, and some theory posts about pruning being transfer than a murder, saved me.

Now for the things I was mixed on or didn't exactly like...

- The elephant in the room.. Loki and Sylvie's relationship. Now, to be clear, I love the idea of Loki seeing himself from an outside perspective, seeing the potential, and being able to directly empathize and emotionally grow by connecting with someone. I also love the idea of that happening independent of romance because it doesn't have to be romantic.

I can't find a real confirmation of if it's romantic or not. An official Marvel article talked about how the writers created Loki "falling in love with himself" while an interview with Kate Herron said it's "Not necessarily romantic." There are so many mixed signals.

//TW for PTSD, panic/anxiety, mental health here

For a while, I felt absolutely crushed and heartbroken. I didn't anticipate seeing Loki look at someone like that to do that to me. I felt numb. I cried a lot. And this afternoon, for the first time in a long while, I didn't imagine him with me when I was scared. I didn't imagine him being around, telling me it was okay, telling me we'd get through it together. Instead, I was just alone. I had to not think about it or I would've honestly broke down into sobs. My mental health took an incredible downward spiral and I was stuck trying to fight off a panic attack in public for over an hour. it was not easy. I've since pulled myself up and told myself to wait and see what happens. There are options. For instance, this is one version of Loki.. There are obviously other versions of Loki that I can imagine as "mine" if I so choose. Time will tell what happens.

- This isn't necessarily a .. Bad thing, in terms of story. But seeing how broken Loki was after Mobius was pruned absolutely shattered me. I cried. I cannot stand seeing him so upset. That same horrible expression is what he wore in IW for part of the opening scene and I can't get it out of my head. It's horrible. I am really holding on to Loki seeing his friend again. They have to reunite.

//TW ends

- I would've preferred to see B-15's life? Maybe I'm just too invested in the side characters, and the acting in that scene was certainly great! But I just, I really care about her and I want to know what makes her happy. I want her to be happy...

- C-20 is dead. Maybe... I really hope she isn't actually. I really liked her too...

Ah, that's all I can think of for now.

Overall, I feel a lot of emotions. Confusion, hope, worry, sadness. I hope next week's episode will continue the story well, and help make sense of things.

[gildedruinsarchive]

two am thoughts for u from a gal who’s never had a thought in her life : thinking abt ragnarok as presented in the mcu as a very much fated & inevitable event — but very specifically in that odin’s flaws and faults and attrocities brought it about. in securing asgard’s seeming prosperity he also secured its doom. hela was always going to bring about asgard’s death NOT because she is immutable but because odin is.

because — listen. odin created her rage. odin sharpened her blade. odin made her into someone capable of bringing about so much death and destruction. he feared her enough to imprison her — he knew what she could do to asgard if left unchecked. so that is exactly what he did?!? left her alone with nothing but her anger — let it grow and grow and grow until she burned hot enough to set asgard aflame. he knew she’d escape when he died, and he knew that anger would go right to the heart of asgard. and yet he did ? nothing about it ? in fact he so clearly is unwilling to admit any fault with this clearly flawless plan that the second he deems kid #2 a problem it’s instantly “go die on midgard unless maybe you can prove that you’re good enough for me” and oh wait what’s this kid #3 is now condemned to spend the rest of eternity imprisoned under asgard? what could possibly go wrong this time!

like - hela is so fucking angry that she takes out nearly all of the valkyries. clearly she’s more powerful than when odin imprisoned her. and DESPITE knowing this — his only plan is “oh, thor can deal with this when i die.” like excuse me ??? no attempt at reconciliation. not even a true attempt to kill her ( even if she had killed him, which is a big ask, it would have done something to dull her blades before she could’ve launched her attack on asgard. ) what kind of king are you when your actions have made it impossible for your kingdom / society to outlive you?

and i’m thinking about thor ( see ! i am posting this on the right blog! ) maybe being able to make peace with her because of how all this comes back around to odin. like . . . don’t get me wrong ! hel wakes up every morning and chooses violence. but that’s who she was made to be. and she has a claim to asgard’s throne — this thing was never going to end peacefully. but her arriving on asgard and immediately slaughtering everyone in path? seems like it could have been avoided if she wasn’t so angry. like — i think thor coming to terms with how none of the horrible things that have happened in the past decade have been random is really important for his development? understanding how far reaching odin’s legacy is? looking at loki & hela and seeing what odin did to them — he’s got to be able to do it so he can look in the mirror and see what his father did to him. anyways. thor’s not gonna forgive her for what she did. for all the people she killed. for asgard falling. all of those things were choices that she made. but i think he can also understand that she was odin’s weapon - that none of this would’ve transpired without odin. so not forgiveness, but peace. he won’t repeat odin’s mistakes. better the devil you know ? keep em close ? plus i think it’s a nice foil to thor and loki but if i begin to discuss that we will be here allllllll night ( one day folks ! one day )

[dulharpa]

this is for hayley! @whistlingwillows a dear friend <3333

it’s meant to be a birthday present haha. i just want to shower you in love;;; so thought maybe i could go through as many of your fics and comment on them :^)))

(TO EVERYONE ELSE: please go to @whistlingwillows blog and read her fics!!! they are SO FCKIN GOOD AND AMAZING AND UGH HER MIND (it’s a lot of mcu and her bucky and steve fics are a*. i DEFINITELY RECOMMEND))

i wish you a VERY happy birthday and i hope we stay friends for many more years <3333333333 

i’m going through your masterlist heehee ;)))

ah first off, nice theme! i never could rlly see it before because i’m always on mobile heehee. also sorry for not reviewing them before??? i don’t usually read fics on tumblr as you’ve probably guessed;;

anyways, IM GON REVIEW THE SHIT OUT OF THESE >:DDDD

far from home -  bucky x stark sister!reader

firstly, i like how youre introducing the reader from buckys pov, like you can sort of already gather what shes like from them

‘Bucky can hear Tony’s soft inhale, feel the intensity of the man’s glare directed at Steve. He shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but a twitch of muscle would be enough to alert both men that he’s here. With the amount of tension crackling in the air, a brush against the wall would be equivalent to a thousand cymbals crashing in cacophony.’

IM CRYING ALREADY. the imagery in here is GLORIOUS. your tone here is so fitting! oo and the alliteration here is perfecto

ooooooo!! the backstory coming in  👀👀

‘despite what some people think that Steve and Captain America are two different personas, there will always be parts of Steve in the Avenger, and parts of the Avenger in Steve. They both want to believe in something good. They are, after all, one in the same.// Just as how Bucky and the Winter Soldier are the same man despite everything. HYDRA simply amplified the hate, fertilized the seeds of rage, curated the quiet thunder within his soul, within James Buchanan Barnes so that the Winter Soldier could thrive.’

yIKES! lol this is very character study like! nICE. it hurts tho, my poor children, i love you both 

oo ‘starlight eyes’ that is a very nice way of describing them

‘“Then what was London?” The protesters. “São Paulo?” The earthquake. “Vancouver?” Freezing cold water.//“Look, I care if Stark’s gonna run us over trying to find her. I care enough because she’s part of our team. Come off it, Steve. I know she can take care of herself. I’m gonna take a nap. Dr. Cho said no partying post-Singapore and what do you know, we throw the biggest party ever.’

ooo singapore uwu and london? (coincidence? haha jkjk) and the hints abt reader and buckys background are so good?? but so annoying??? like i just wanna KNOW yknow?? 

‘The water runs copper and the sting bites at his palm as he tries not to think. Tries to focus on the numbing cold that runs over his skin.’ 

your imagery is so vivid?? im actually in awe??? i am so regretful i havent kept reading your fics. like i know they are amazing, i just keep putting them off??? idk man. hopefully this makes up for it (gd tho, im still not done with commenting on one fic. this is what im doing with my motivation teehee ;)

‘ He feels weak. Tired. He wants to go back to bed but he also wants to stay out in the sun for a few hours more. The sun kisses his skin through the windows and he squints against the blue sky, wondering ‘

mood during this quarantine lol

‘“Oh, right.” Your voice is flat, uninterested, cold, as you stare at him. “You killed my parents.”Shit.‘

 OUCH LMAO THATS C O L D, O GOT +100 PHYSIC DAMAGE FROM JUST READING THAT

ooo robin as a nickname noice. very much gives me batman vibes lol

oh! and the way of doing the ‘flashback’ is neat! very original. it both tells us what happened AND buckys reaction to it again. he can re-analyse himself and reader. very cool

‘If you walk away now, don’t bother coming back!” Silence. Bucky can hear his own strained breathing, your soft sigh as you soaked in his ultimatum.’

👀👀 yikes that ultimatum. :// not good bucky. tbf theyre both trying to hurt each other but Yikes

eyy!!! readers pov!! finally! and the switch after we find out the outsiders pov? brilliant

oh no :(( more angst

‘When’s the last time you saw your therapist?”“Don’t have one. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”’ they BOTH need therapists;;;;

very good fic!!! :DD they rlly do hate each other! i definitely like how you went back and forth with the timeline! it gave me a v strong idea on what yn was like even before we rlly got introduced. i am now very curious on where reader is? i love your characterisations! 

i will read the 10k+ fics but heck the last one took me ages lolol (i will comment in the future tho!! i promise <3 ) (that took me over an hour jjhghgdjh)

slipping away- amnesiac modern bucky x reader

omg,,, AMNESIA! >:DDDDDD

‘ Put your fucking seatbelt on’

oh no, istg theyre going to have a car crash arent they (’ doesn’t put the seatbelt on to spite you.’ NO PLEASE PUT IT ON U DUMBASS)

ok,,,,, at LEAST he put it on before he got hit, thank heck. but still. youre so cruel to your poor characters lmaoo

oh gosh

‘You fall apart slowly, like pieces of you peeling away until you’re nothing more than your broken heart. The sobs that wrack your body are relentless and you shove your forearm into your mouth to muffle your cries. You want to bite into your skin. You want to distract yourself from the agony tearing you to shreds. You want to feel anything but the pain.///Tears sweep into your hair, cloud your vision and your whole face floods with heat as you try to breathe through the pain. You’re cleaved into pieces on that bed, eyes squeezed shut as the tears keep flowing, and your throat burns’

this hurts damn, it is so vivid?? i can really feel it 

i am so glad you got into writing yk?? so glad

NO PLS, TELL HIM. TELL HIM :((( ‘shes nice once you get to know her?? shes known nat for years now!! years!!

oh god ‘he looks younger without the burden of your time together’ this is so angsty omg

‘Well, he was stumbling through his apology and I just let him finish.” Your body fills with warmth as you remember his embarrassed smile, the way he shoved his baseball cap farther down his head, chin tucked to his chest, trying to hide that face. “When he was done, I opened my mouth to say something polite but what came out was ‘You look like someone I’d very much like to kiss’.”

this is so soft i stg im crying in the club

OH SHITTTTTTTTTTT , you left it off like that!!! thats so cruel!!!! i can’t!!! how dare you!!!! :””””””((( im typing this with tears in my eyes ill have u know!!

anyway!!! very good fic!! you could honestly make that into a longfic very easily lol. i felt too many emotions :(( 

i was just about to say where is the fluff!! where is it!! when i saw the next one and yay :))) pls i cant have more angsty stuff rn

.

cookies and rings and things bucky and reader

‘how much do you love me?’ ‘count the snowflakes, multiply by a million’

did you have to start the fic off with such a SOFT line? its so soft! so TENDER 

‘He wonders what kinda insane person wears socks without any clothes on, but then decides that it’s the kind of person who’s fallen in love with him.’  jesus, the soft moments filled with love are the greatest <3

you can write fluff so well, whyd you have to pain me with all that angst ;””””) (1/10 hurt, 9/10 comfort is the way to go lolol) (jkjk ill read the angsty ones too when i have the spoons) (gonna reread that hydra steve one and ik thatll fuck me UP)

‘ Then, he can feel the cold metal of the ring she slid onto her own finger less than twenty-four hours ago and realizes that he had thought a lot of things shouldn’t be possible, and yet they still are. ‘

you literally brought me to tears reading this softness, you have truly found my weakness

‘ She’s so damn gorgeous with flour on her face and eye bags beneath her eyes that he’s sure she will inevitably make his heart burst ‘

he already likes her so much! i can’t believe this is affecting me so much :’)

‘Bucky is quite sure Sam is in love with his girlfriend in the fact that he’s in love with the fact that his girlfriend is possibly in love with Bucky’

this is so soft??? sam loves reader bc reader loves bucky sm. pls my hear <3333

you do fluff SO WELL DAMN 

‘F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s voice echoes in his small little perch and he still thinks it’s weird without having the side effect of Stark in his suit chasing after him to hear the A.I. but he shoves that uncomfortable feeling of the dead man out of his head. That is too much regret to unpack right now on a mission. ‘

yike bringing back that reminder oof

but thats so soft??? (i am def overusing soft but,,,,, i love it and the vibe) she sent him cookies! god i can feel the love  

‘She expresses her feelings through cooking, which Bucky has learnt the hard way. One time, they got into an argument over something stupid—he can’t even remember what started it—and came to the kitchen at 2AM to see her sitting at the kitchen island crying her eyes out and surrounded by baskets of muffins.’

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 my hEART

you show how much they love each other in so many ways??? i am dying

“Alright, I like it.” Rolling his eyes, he pecks her forehead and she smiles victoriously. It’s so adorable that Bucky, with less than three hours of sleep, adds, “God, I want to marry you.//”“What?”//Oh.Shit.

oh my god! i am literally tearing up!!! AGAIN!!!!!!!!

oh shit o am literally crying

your fluff got me crying harder than your angst i hope youre happy

I really hope you enjoy reading this?? i keep forgetting to like text you but i wanted to do something for your birthday. especially in quarantine when everythings gone crazy. one year i swear ill do something REALLY good for you. not making promises bc i hate if i dont. but ill like, learn how to podfic because you D E S E R V E  I T 

ive spent like three hours doing this lolol 

thank you so much for everything hayley!

[gayyybuckyyy]

sit down, kids

bc im about to tell u a story

ok so abt 2 years ago i was trying to get into comics & i decided if i was gonna do this, i was gonna do it right, so i researched lgbtq+ characters in comics & after bouncing around some wikis for a while, i somehow ended up on the page of a character called Arnie Roth. he’s not a superhero, but he’s credited with being one of the first openly gay comic book characters so i decided to keep digging

& i am so fcking glad i did

this is Arnie Roth:

“But it hadn’t always been like this... No, back when they were both growing up on New York’s Lower East Side, during the depths of the depression, the blond-haired adonis was nothing more than a stick-legged young dreamer with his head in the clouds and his hands forever drawing. Arnie Roth was the same age as Steve Rogers -- but he was bigger, faster, stronger...” (Captain America #270)

sound familiar???/???//

ok but buckle the fuck up bc we just started this wild ride

the parallels between MCU Bucky & Arnie are staggering

they even ���”””borrowed”””” ideas for steve’s story arc in tws

“... While Steve grew even more withdrawn after his mother’s death.”

R U SEEING THIS SHIT???

MCU Bucky is literally Arnie Roth. Instead of “they drifted apart,” the MCU tacked on the winter soldier plotline & called it a day. but is there rly any Bucky in this character? James Buchanan Barnes, the boy who was raised and orphaned on a military base, who became their mascot “Bucky” and later (when he was 16 btw) Captain America’s sidekick?? is that the man Steve is trying to recover? no. it’s Arnie Roth, his gay jewish best friend.

so wtf is the point of all this u ask? well, it’s simple:

MCU Bucky is gay.

marvel stole a story from a gay character to skirt a potential controversy, slapped on another character’s name (again, avoiding “controversy”) & they knew exactly what they were doing. now, i don’t know that they don’t have any plans to make Bucky a gay character. i also don’t know if the sun is gonna rise tomorrow but i’m pretty damn sure it will. 

to give an example: half of the mcs in thor: ragnarok are canonically lgbtq+ (Loki, Valkyrie), but there was absolutely 0 indication of that onscreen.

plus there was that whole thing with andrew garfield (tbh im a little murky on the details there but from what i gather it was... not good)

i could go on probably but that’s another post for another day.

the fact is this is so much more than just a character mash-up. this is about our stories, our history being completely erased.

still not getting it??? ok here’s some icing on the goddamn shitcake:

Arnie Roth was written into Cap’s backstory in 1982, around the start of the HIV/AIDS crisis, and became a recurring character. in a 1984 comic, when the LGBTQ+ community was still fighting the Reagan administration for federal aid in a growing public health crisis, Arnie was brainwashed by Baron Zemo & forced to say this:

From left to right: “No wonder the Nazies wanted my kind -- the weak, the misfits -- locked away in the concentration camps with the other pariahs! I’m a menace to society... a disease! and you, star-spangled idiot -- you call me friend! Wh-what does that say about you? Most people simply hate men like me... yet you always treated me w-with respect. C-compassion. Why? Is it because... you’re one of us?” (Captain America #296)

Cap’s response?

“You are not a freak!”

1st panel: “You’re as good and decent a man as I’ve ever known!”

2nd panel: “... They can’t corrupt your love for Michael with their lies any more than they can corrupt my love for Bernie! Do you hear me, Arnie? They’re the pariahs! They’re the disease! They--” (Captain America #296)

but of course this wasn’t just Cap talking to Arnie; he was speaking to the hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ+ youth who were struggling. & maybe it was just a panel in a comic book, but there is something incredible about a great hero, possibly your hero, saying he sees you, he accepts you, & you deserve love. That kind of story, the kind that works into the life of a character and embodies the history of a people, that can’t be forgotten. That can’t be erased.

& now marvel has, unwittingly perhaps, given this story more power than it’s ever had. imagine Bucky, who lost his memory when homosexuality was still against the law, seeing all the countries in which gay marriage is legal. imagine Bucky, who never saw the stonewall rebellion, going to Pride. imagine bucky, who fought in a war in which people like him were locked up in concentration camps, seeing the strength and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. imagine a character who lived in a time in which he could not be himself discovering 70 years of progress & finding the strength to come into his own identity. 

All of this is within reach.

[userboytatu]

listen. i know it's so gross to get invested in real life people's private lives especially when it's about their dating lives, and that happens SO much in fandom it's crazy. i always had a hard time separating the actors from the characters but now that i'm older i know better. HOWEVER i will never stop thinking about cevans and his eternal bachelorhood, esp bc they make such a big deal of it. there's not a single mcu interview from the past four years or so that whenever it refers to dating and marrying doesn't end up with "oh EXCEPT chris, chris is still single as fuck" like. i have so many feelings about chris being almost 40 and still single, (not bc of his choices he can do whatever the fuck he wants) but about HOW the others treat the topic like. he's a fluke? an anomaly? 

and i mean i get when you have a cast of 10 people and all of them have children and marriages except for one that's gonna stick out like a sore thumb but i just. idk i guess it's the fact that i see that happen ALL the time but to women? women in entertainment (and in all fucking spheres of life tbh) get SO much scrutinization for being single, for not being mothers etc and that's expected at this point, but w chris it feels.. not like they're shaming him per se, more like they're concerned abt him? it's patronizing obviously but i think it's just bc he's perceived as this awesome, laid back disney loving goofball that it baffles people SO much and like he OBVIOUSLY loves children, would be a great father and all that but even getting married is not something i see happening for him any time soon? 

like if tomorrow tmz reported "chris evans gets secretly married in las vegas" or just even announces a relationship i'd be fucking shocked. and this is me completely projecting on him obv but i know he's a sucker for romance and i wonder HOW he copes with it because. when you have that many people reminding you at every chance they get about how you're ""alone"" i'd snap i'd be like DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT? don't you think i'm well aware i'm still alone and i YEARN FOR HUMAN CONNECTION SO DAMN MUCH and for whatever reason it just HASN'T HAPPENED? 

and honestly in an industry like hollywood where people get married and divorced and remarried and have this compulsive dating life that never stops it feels SO strange (yet refreshing) to see a man who's the absolute hunk of hollywood being SINGLE and HAVING A DOG, and generally not participating in either pr stunts of going out with hot models and being photographed with the actress of his next movie etc because he clearly does not like that. his agents must be so fucking aware of his almost monk like celibacy at this point and how that translates into his public perception and they STILL let him be the single dorky uncle with a rescue dog like.... (and tangent here but i'm not fucking naive i am well aware chris evans is not celibate i.. he must be very discrete abt that stuff and i won't touch on that but sometimes i remember that article i read in ny magazine abt the most high profile escorts of hollywood and the type of people they're with and i wonder... anyway) 

and i just wanna say. that as someone who struggles a lot with society’s expectations and views on relationships and how the entire focus of socializing in western culture is for the explicit purpose of GETTING A MAN getting a partner, marrying someone and starting a family bc fuck my life apparently people cannot have platonic connections as the most meaningful connections in their life i guess??? and this is dumb as hell but chris really fucking helps me cope w that like. at this point whenever/if he gets married ima cry BECAUSE we’re in this together chris!! remember? you stay single i stay single? and on and on it goes for eternity, we don’t get married!! nah but seriously, seeing him, one of the most famous celebrities at the moment, being unapologetically SINGLE in this day and age where everybody is always dating or trying to date... it comforts me so much because it tells me there’s NOTHING WRONG WITH ME for having not dated anyone for almost four years. i’m in college where everybody is fucking, dating, breaking up, cheating and getting proposed. EVERYTHING revolves around romantic partners. but not me. i have not had a single date since i broke up w my last boyfriend in 2016. 

and cevans must experience this x1000 because as i said, hollywood has this fucking obsession w romantic couples and being with someone at all times, so. must be really tough for him, NEVERTHELESS he stays who he is. i don’t know him and i have no right to question him or pretend i know his motives but, i like to think he is more or less as who he presents himself as publicly. so having anxiety issues and being someone who lives very much in his head, and being this type of earnest, kind man, it’s probably because he overthinks too much and second guesses every relationship he’s in :/ i must say i really hoped him and jenny slate would be it because it seemed like a very healthy, joyous relationship but alas sometimes things don’t work out. 

anyway this was a thousand word ramble on chris evans’ dating life? because that’s where my priorities are at? please don’t think i’m creepy for this, i just think about this a lot. and i needed to write it down.

[kadywicker]

inifnity war spoilers ahead please leave now if u dont wanna see em

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............

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you had WARNING

anyway heres a rough outline of my thought process thru the movie from what i can remember 

a dude walked in wearing a justice league shirt and it was the biggest power move of the evening

rip heimdall u truly were the hottest bitch in the mcu

i already saw the spoilers that loki died but im still in mourning. my chaotic twink son :( also him tearing up when thor was getting tortured was like, possibly, one of the worst things to happen to me this evening. and his “you will never be a god” and “we will see the sun rise again yet, brother” like i’d rather be dead.

wheres valkyrie you fucking bitches

i know marvel has been trying to make me care about pepper and tony for like.... the entirety of the mcu and in theory i enjoy it but in reality i just heavily do not care

walked into this w out watching dr strange bc i refuse to so seeing him was very unpleasant for me :/

the second that one fuckin... servant of thanos guy showed up that tony called squidward i just burst into fucking laughter bc oh my fucking god. he looks like one of the star wars prequels aliens. i didnt know how i was supposed to react to that??? what the fuck????? kin? 

at least this time tony attempted to get peter away from the fight ig??? also like okay i kno its a running gag but did the russos have to make peter reference old movies like what 3 times in this movie and once in their last one like please..... Please. its done. its over! 

look...... look. look! look. i have made MULTIPLE posts on this website about how ugly i think chris evans is. especially when hes got his weird short, spiky hair. ive made this very VERY clear. i thought i was clear on this, myself. but let me tell u the fuck what when steven grant rogers showed up covered in complete darkness and caught a spear that moves at the speed of light w no hesitation and then stepped out of the shadows i only had one thought: please raw me

also i still dont care about wanda and vision but did wandas accent get slightly less bad or is this just exposure

drax’s reaction to thor was um. Me. also it was this scene that made me realize that ppl saying that the russos reset thor to his previous characterization and that he was nothing like ragnarok thor i....????? hm???? idk i thought he was p in character from what we saw in ragnarok? like did u all expect him to be super light and happy go lucky immediately after his entire planet died and his brother died too like. what.... did u Want. hes still not as grimdark as dark world and he still has the ragnarok vibes but w added “Lifes a Fucking Nightmare So Im Going to Joke Until Someone Murders Me :)” which is just honest to god me, so

oh also in an above part when tony pulled out a flip phone to call steve the dude next to me loudly hissed “what? a fucking flip phone-?” and his wife shushed him. i wanted to lean over and inform him that it was the phone from civil war and if hed been paying ATTENTION he wouldve known that

things arent going to be in much order after this bc im tired and its all a big jumble in my adhd brain but thats okay. its been 6 years and i still couldnt tell u the entire plot of the avengers, so.

tbh the effects in this movie were really fucking gorgeous like.... all the different planets’ scenery was so goddamn beautiful. like idk how to spell it so im not gonna attempt but the planet that gamora died on was literally so fucking pretty i was stunned into a silence what the FUCK was that beautiful nonsense

not enough steve and bucky interaction bc marvels personally out to get me, a known gay

i cant believe buckys a fucking goat farmer like ohfa sdfhadof ?????? just let the man feed his goats in PEACE 

didnt love the whole “thanos really loved gamora” bit but like it makes sense ig. if thats what he thought love was? altho that definitely doesnt mean she loves him or shouldve ever forgiven him bc uuuh Yikes. anyone w abusive parents knows that kind of possessive, overbearing love. and it might be some fucked up twisted form of it but it aint good.

but whoever they casted as baby gamora was spot on? 

when red skull lifted his hood i literally whispered “oh my god” and the lady next to me started laughing at me. 

also while there was a good amount of fighting i rlly appreciated that it wasnt All Fighting and just there to show off that they had cool special effects. like.... it was mostly story and for someone who doesnt give a shit abt action sequences it was v relieving that i didnt have to parse through 2 and a half hours of watching someone do cool but impractical stunts 

man idc abt wanda and dont like mcu natasha bc of the actress but when that chick was like “youll die alone” and natasha said “shes not alone” and then kicked ass i rlly just. hm. thats lesbian.

anyone else agree that when strange said mournfully that there was only one outcome and then said that giving up the time stone was the only way, its basically just telling us that this was all planned and it Will work out fine bc he knew that this was the one path that would lead to them winning. like..... im at least 99% sure thats whats going to happen, here.

steve and bucky may have said 2 sentences to each other but steve reaching out to grab a handful of buckys ashes w a stricken look was literally the worst moment of my entire life and i plan to sue marvel for emotional damages bc that was fucking terrible and i cannot BELIEVE they made me watch that idc if bucky comes back im fuckin pissed

also thats literally every team iron man member to realize that the accords were bullshit and if its 2018 and u still think the accords were right/a good thing i honestly do not know what to tell you

fuckin..... im lookin at captain marvels powers and shes cool and all but hows she gonna save all this........ now im even more curious abt what her movies gonna bring like ???? hello??????

also the only time the theater clapped or cheered was when steve showed up and literally same

i know all the dust ppl r coming back but alsof uc kin......... that was brutal

idk i dont have much 2 add im very sleepy but

i liked it a lot and im excited for the next movie. there were some things that i thought were in poor taste but like..... thats what i expect from every marvel movie, so. im pleasantly surprised by how good this was. idk why but during it it kinda like.... it had the same vibes as return of the king????? like i dont know Why but it has a very.... lotr movie feel to it. but w the staple marvel jokes. idk how to feel about that. i think its good? im not sure. get back to me in a few days after the movie highs worn off and if i still like it then its got my stamp of approval. 

[cindyfelicia]

Hi, I hope you’re doing well!! I was just wondering if you read comics? If so could you recommend some/ how to start getting into them? I want to start reading them, but it’s so stressful trying to figure out where to start. Also I love you blog!

Hi there! you’re all manners of sweet and kind thank u my advice abt approaching comics is going for solo runs first, this is how I, personally, did it and it’s way easier than jumping in on team books, or worse events bc they tend to be messier and need more bg info and pre-existing knowledge than a comic that focus on just the one character; I also feel it’s good to start with current or at least recent comics, you can always read the old stuff when you’re better acquainted with how comics work and which characters, artists and writers you like (or can tolerate).

actual recs under the cut because this got so long

i was gonna do a whole list of mcu characters’ solos because most people entry point to comics rn is superhero movies, and hmu if you want that, but instead I think I’m gonna rec you some good comics that are either separated enough from main marvel continuity as to be intelligible without extensive info gathering, or I just think they’re great and worth a bit of confusion (part of starting out reading comics is not knowing fully wth is going on sometimes, but stiking with it for some good art or for characters you love -I’m not gonna go so far as to say for good writing bc that’s just not realistic):

if you like yourself some spider-people:- silk (2015) and vol 2 (2016) are my absolute favorites- I’m not very much into spiderman but I read renew your vows  and it’s lovely,  it’s just not a main universe comic it’s an au where things are as, imo, they should be with ye old web slinger, and it’s good for getting your feet wet in the huge pool of spider-man comics;- I love miss jessica drew (spider-woman) but her solo is……. questionable if someone has a good jess drew intro rec pls tell me so I can pass it on, - miles morales has been written badly in more ways than one but I love him so I suffer, I can direct you without scruples only to his novel tho, absolutely lovely and not written by brian michaelbendis lmao- anya corazon is a really good character that marvel loves to forget it has, let’s not make the same mistake;- black widow 2014 and 2016 and bw: the name of the rose are all good comics (I know technically nat isn’t a spider person but like nothing about spider-woman’s powers screams ‘spider’ either so..

for wakanda I’d say good recent start-ups would be: - black panther (2016), - black panther: world of wakanda (w/ a lesbian couple as protag), - and rise of the black panther (ongoing)

some non x-men team books that are easier to approach as a beginner imho:-young avengers vol 2 (vol 1 has its moments if you want to start from the beginning with them but a lot of it involves the civil war arc and stuff.. also some characters die, the art is less good and I want to protect people from 17’s yo cassie lang’s nipples poking through her shirt.. I wish someone had protected me tbh) -I want to rec some Runaways but besides the current run (which is alright) there’s a lot to be said against the writing in most of the rest of them maybe vol 1? to have the origins pinned down-I feel like after a small read through of what exactly the hell was going on with secret wars you could approach A-Force vol 1 and the first half of vol 2 (the second half ties in with civil war II and I’m not touching that mess) and that and avenger world and sometimes secret avengers to me are good avengers books-she hulk 2014 and totally awesome hulk are my greens of choice but if you want an intro to bruce banner idont actually know, sorry-for the asgardians: thor 2014 and it’s follow up mighty thor, thor: god of thunder, angela: asgard’s assassin and its sequel angela: queen of hel, and loki: agent of asgard are my pick of this crop-we also have Fun here at marvel comics on occasion and both patsy walker aka hellcat and squirrel girl are nice in their own way although the latter isn’t really my thing

some follow up on the young avengers:- hawkeye (2013) an absolute fan favorite, good to discover that actually clint barton was a good character it’s that the avengers movies are just bad and hate people with disabilities- a couple of follow-ups to that (x) (x) and the kate bishop solo all pretty nice- america chavez’s solo (I’m just here to suggest gay comics, that’s almost all I read really)

I want to rec Champions to people but frankly it’s just a long series of event interruptions and bullshit interspersed with a couple of nice moments so far, so I’m gonna rec you some kids that are in the champions and have solos I haven’t already mentioned:- kamala khan’s book is probably my favorite ongoing series at marvel right now about any non-mutant char, I cannot say enough good about it,- nova is nice,- miles morales (spider-man) and amadeuscho (totally awesome hulk) are also there but I’ve already mentioned themalso in this house we love and respect elektranatchiosand any other attitude just isn’t tolerated.

on to the x-men, gotta love those guys, you just gotta:- like I said I prefer to tell people to start from recent comics but with the xmen that’s so difficult? it’s been 10+ bad years for them because of the movie rights situation and just marvel being shit in general, so my one recent team book to approach the x-men is prob x-men ‘92? because its based off of the xm animated series so you don’t have to straightaway deal with some mutant plague, eugenics plots, and other catastrophic events, but you can still get to know more of the char we all love - I want to say generation x vol 2, it’s not a good starting point for anything really but I love it so so much I had to mention it even tho it was cancelled and I’m still angry as hell about it.

the solo situation is better. I’m gonna be able to breathe without tasting my own bile while I type this, hurray!-all new wolverine follows laura kinney as she takes up the mantle from logan-iceman, good solid comic abt coming out and ice puns, who doesn’t like bobby really-jean grey, yes she’s a teen girl in this, yes it’s weird and I hate de-aging characters but it’s nice to see her train with different mutants, struggling with the incoming phoenix force and her adult self’s shadow, not really great entry point to jean grey but id read it anyway-if you were into the 00’s xmen movies like me, or at least a normal person’s amount the phoenix recently returned and with her adult!jean grey, it was a good book for me and good if you want to later start reading the actual phoenix saga (which is a lot of material so starting small with this might help) -I love wandamaximoff and despite what they’ve done to the maximoffs in order to bring them into the mcu (was it worth it for that result btw? really?) her recent book was good and I genuinely loved it -storm’s solo is so good, you’re gonna fall in love with an het ship and you’re not gonna regret it either-rogue and gambit, is ongoing and it’s good to get a little acquainted with these characters but mostly it’s about explorign their relationship

I’m sure I’m forgetting a lot of good x-men content atm but I can’t stop thinking I need to mention that there are ongoing series you could pick up its just.. I hate them.. some started out promising (xmen gold, astonishing xmen), but they’ve not developed in good directions imo, but I still feel they should be mentioned, there’s also a weapon x comic if you want to go for a more bloody kind of book and xmen blue if you like time displaced teens or something? god its bad

jeez this is so so long and guess what? I haven’t even finished yet.. there’s some excellent indie comics out there and with those you really don’t need to worry abt knowing any 30 years old lore or anything you pick them up and they explain themselves like any other normal media out there, I know, be still my heart:

- lumberjanes is my absolute favorite, a little corny, but so much fun and cuteness and if I could go back in time I’d give it to my little bi self so she’d know she’s not alone and anything I feel that ways about has a special place i my heart js

- Motor crush, there really isn’t any other comic book with a black lesbian as protagonist out there that I can think of, good if you’re into motorcycles but if like in my case that threatens to put you to sleep, it also has a sci-fi streak and solid character work, you won’t regret giving it a try

- moonstruck, cute non-white gay werewolves and other mythological creatures are there, I feel this cathers to me specifically every time I open it?? bless

- Hi-Fi fight club or heavy vinyl (they changed the title) if you want a period piece that’s fun and cute and gay (I meant it about me reading only gay comics as you can tell)

- saga, for a space, well ya know.. saga I feel that I can describe it as romeo and juliet in space with added racial commentary except they don’t kill themselves, I have to say not my favorite but you might stick with it for the characters, I sure do

- the wicked + the divine, I feel very much the same about this as I do about saga, only this is mythology based so like.. I sold my soul to it, but please do tread with care there’s a lot of deaths in it and so many of these dead people are gays and/or poc.. I’m none too pleased about it and I’d understand anyone not wanting to pick it up, I mean the deaths are basically in the premises of the books but that doesn’t change the end result..

lastly like I said dc is not my area of expertise but I’ve been following with pleasure both batwoman and green lanterns, and mr miracle was an amazing comic so I thought I’d mention them

[slurpingmyhashbrowns]

MCU fic recs - completed stories

Here i’ll be listing my favorite mcu fics that are finished. in another list at another time i’ll be doing those that are wip and/or abandond. some of these fics might not exactly be “mcu” but they will be understandable and readable with only mcu knowledge.

(most include romance and tony as the main character)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17248145

Not Exactly What I Wanted by Tahlruil

summary: 

Tony has always been happy to piss off Alphas who try to control him - especially Howard Stark. Unfortunately he managed to push his father just a little too far... and the man arranged to have him auctioned off to the highest bidder. Now he's married to a guy he hardly knows, one that is too damn patient and too damn nice. There's no way that isn't an act, and Tony is resolved to be a little shit until he finds out the limits of his husband's fake personality.

Though he's been back from the war for a while, Bucky has been left scarred by the experience. The most prominent one is the personality that came into being because of Hydra's torture and brainwashing attempts when he was captured. They were rescued before they became the Winter Soldier, but Winter is still very much sharing space in his head. Winter has never responded to anyone positively... until they met Tony at an auction Bucky had been dragged to by a former commanding officer. They are both captivated by the Omega and buy him despite their better judgement.

extra: this is a/b/o but soft, zero dub-con of any kind. The pairing is bucky/tony and the universe it takes place in is an AU. in case it wasn’t obvious this fic is romance centric (m/m). you can read this on ao3.bucky and the winter soldier are seperate personalities. doesn’t include explicit sex. 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12659830/1/Out-of-the-Ashes

Out of the Ashes by VoicesOffCamera

summary: 

  "'We really can't draw any conclusions until we know all the facts.' / 'Like who the hell that Robin Hood wannabe was who outshot my agents using only a couple sticks and a string from the Dark Ages'" When a botched mission sends Phil Coulson after a mysterious archer, he gets much more than he bargained for. [Hawkeye Origin; No Slash]

extra: gen fic, hawkeye/clint centric. i haven’t read this in so many years but i remember it being good. includes zero sex. it’s multichaptered.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13841301/chapters/31833372

Forms of Love by bear_bell

summary: 

Months after the Avengers' dispute in Germany, the team returns to the US and moves back into the tower. As always, everyone pretends that nothing happened. Tony is just fine with this. He's used to pretending, and he'll be damned if he lets any of them see him flinch.

Tony's the bad guy, after all. He's used to it. He's fine with it. He's good at it.

Only now, there's something far worse loitering around the tower - The Winter Soldier. No one notices the guy at first, but when they do, Tony figures that he should have the soldier's back.

Birds of a feather should flock together, and the bad guys should start a book club.

extra: m/m - romance fic, bucky/tony and winter soldier/tony, bucky and the winter soldier are seperate personalities. it includes explicit sex.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10889775/chapters/24202362

All of it Lovely by Ranni

summary:

Tony tells Anna he will stay with her and won't complain. Won't try to escape, won't try to fight her or anyone else. He'll do anything, as long as they don't do to him whatever it is that they have done to Clint.

It won't be hard, he thinks, to get away from her. He's one of the smartest people in the world, and he'll figure it out, even if he has to construct an Iron Man suit from scratch and fly them out. They've been in tighter spots before and made it.They'll be fine in the end. Just fine.

He tells himself that for the next two years.

**or** Tony and Clint are held against their will by an absolutely crazy woman.

extra: this is a basically a genfic - isn’t romance centric, and focused on clint and tony’s friendship, this fic has lots of trigger warnings and includes lots of angst with minimal comfort.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7271731/chapters/16511242

A Wrench in the Machine by withasideofangst

summary:

Tony Stark is barely four years old when Howard and Maria Stark are killed in a car accident, engineered by Hydra.

The youngest Stark was supposed to die as well, but when he doesn't, Hydra realizes they can use the young genius.

Thus begins the story of the nameless hacker known only as 'The Mechanic,' who builds his first weapon at the age of four, Iron Man at the age of ten, and hacks the Avengers at the age of fourteen.

extra: genfic. doesn’t inlcude graphic/explicit sex. multichaptered.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9151150

Sins of the Father by Teeelsie

summary: 

From this prompt on the avengerkink meme:

"I'm probably the only person who hasn't seen AoU yet, but I DO know that Clint has a family, and apparently is a pretty great Dad. Mixing that with comics canon that he had an abusive background? It's awesome that he managed to break the cycle like that and just be a great parent.

As for Tony, I think he's a lot more scared about having kids/turning into his father. There's a moment in Iron Man 3 with Harley, when the kid breaks off the suit's finger and he says sorry, and Tony just says "Are you?" in this hard tone before completely changing tracks and telling Harley not to worry about it. I get the feeling that he was beginning to mimic his father there, but the moment he recognized his behavior, he changed it. That's something I really respect.

So I'd like a moment between these two, dealing with Tony's worry about acting like his father, and Clint saying it doesn't have to be that way."

Basically, that.

extra: genfic, oneshot.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8770927

Stuck with us by petroltogo

summary:

Prompt fill: can u write like a hs au, with avengers as a group of friends. they act like they think tony doesn't have feelings, they seem to never take him seriously and they often tease him or laugh at sth that actually hurts him (they dont know that it makes him feel bad) he usually just takes it, because he thinks he deserves it. but then he has just the worst day ever, and they make some comment abt sth and he just breaks and starts crying, cause he just wants someone to care abt him. they comfort him.

extra: genfic, oneshot, hurt/comfort.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7675678/chapters/17482645

The Thousand Yard Stare by velveteenspirit

summary:

5 times one of the Avengers saw a gap in Tony's mask and 1 time they didn't. The Avengers realise they don't know Tony Stark as well as they thought they did.

extra: genfic

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13462872/chapters/30863187

Illuminate Me by Half_SubmergedinPurgatory

summary:

Tony isn't a healthy man. He's fine with that, really. It makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, he has a job to do that kind of has his health as a major requirement. So he unmakes himself, remakes the Accords, protects every single child super that enters his field of view, and hopes ferociously that the Avengers never come back to the US. He doesn't spend any time at all rebuilding Bucky Barnes' life. Not a single second. Anything he does that contributes to him is simply an accident.

Bucky is a patient man. It's ok if Tony wants to ignore him for now. He won't be able to forever.

(Somewhere in the world, a sense of dread crawls up the back of Tony's spine)

extra: has romance (but it is not the main topic of the fic), bucky/tony (m/m), multichaptered. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15999962/chapters/37331135

A Code Word for Caring by aliaoftwoworlds

summary:

Sam, Steve, Clint, and Scott are attacked on their way back to the US after being pardoned and are taken prisoner by HYDRA, along with none other than Tony Stark. Tensions are high already and HYDRA being involved makes everything worse, but what they’re put through may help Sam to humanize not just Stark, but the rest of his team too, and force him to accept that nothing is really as black and white as he’d like to think.

extra: genfic, inlcudes angst, multichaptered.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10312091/chapters/22800113

Tony's Girl by Crosshairs

summary:

When Tony Stark finally opens his eyes after being rescued from Siberia, he isn't the same man anymore. What happened in that abandoned Hydra base has broken him in ways that even Afghanistan hadn't.

But Tony is famous for his innate ability to fix things, even himself. Slowly, with the help of friends old and new, he learns to deal with his new status quo, picks up the pieces of his destroyed existence and rebuilds it from the ground up.

Until an unusual accident puts a new, interesting spin to his already interesting life.

extra: not genfic but not romance-centric, pepper/tony (m/f), multichaptered.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11985126/chapters/27111240

Anew. by IViv

summary: 

In death, there was no glory, no redemption, no salvation.

Only darkness and ice—or that was what Tony thought. He closed his eyes in a Siberian bunker and opened them again on his 41st birthday, with War Machine flying into the distance.

extra: inlcudes romance, stephen strange/tony (m/m), multichaptered.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17496737/chapters/41211317

Finding True North by NamelesslyNightlock

summary:

When Tony Stark is injured and forgets the past three years – forgets that the team have an Asgardian mage on their side, that the Rogue Avengers have returned to the Tower, that he is engaged to Steve Rogers – most would call it a tragedy. Loki, though, knows an opportunity when he sees one, and he’s not about to walk away from a chance to get what he wants.

extra: romance-centric, steve/tony and endgame loki/tony (m/m), no dub-con, no explicit sex, multichaptered.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9108418/chapters/20703637

The Killer and The Kid by tisfan

summary:

Imagine Tony getting deaged into a 5 or 6 year old, but instead of the team finding him, Bucky, still on the run and struggling with himself and the winter soldier, does. Bucky tries to take care of him, learning of all of Tony's issues and the abuse he went through. Eventually he has no choice but to come in and bring Tony to the avengers. After Tony comes back to himself they deal with the aftermath

CA:CW compliant, happens after Bucky is put back in cryo.

extra: includes romance, bucky/tony (m/m),  no explicit sex.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17254094

ready to comply. by rightsidethru

summary: 

It wasn’t often that Tony himself went to the weapons conventions that those in the business knew about: he’d always been of the opinion that that was what his minions in R&D were for—scoping out the competition, making notes on key elements that they liked, seeing how Stark weapons were assessed by those in attendance. Tony already knew that his designs were top-of-the-line, that the companies who could stand up against the leviathan of his reputation were few and far between—but there were still contenders. Sometimes.

extra: pre bucky/tony (m/m), no sex.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/576665/chapters/1034224

Iron Man Yes, Tony Stark...Not Recommended by lilsmartass

summary: 

Summary: Clint and Steve have both seen Natasha’s report on Tony and expect him to be a certain way. With Pepper now out of the picture, Bruce in India and Thor is Asgard they have no one to show them just how wrong first impressions can be.

extra: gen, no sex, multichaptered.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14830295/chapters/34322903

The Roles We Play by Wix

summary: 

The rumors start almost immediately after Siberia. Whispers floating around that say the man in the armor these days isn’t Tony Stark.

extra: genfic, multichaptered. part 1 of series (the series is not finished). 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1167543

Tony Stark: Appliance Whisperer by Alex5132

summary:

After Tony over-reacts to some SHIELD agents breaking a microwave oven, Steve begins to wonder if there's something the team should know.

extra: genfic, no sex, oneshot

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10426284

fucking frozen wonderland by esama

summary:

Tony is left stranded in Siberia

extra: gen, part 1 of 3 part series, the series is complete, no sex

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11911191/chapters/26913864

Peachy Keen by AnonEhouse

summary: 

What if Tony decided in Siberia that he couldn't just go home? He was used to being the scapegoat, but this time the cost would be more than he could pay.

Ross would have the ammunition he needed to get Iron Man under his control, and what he'd do with the tech didn't bear thinking about.

Tony decided to use Protocol Pass The Torch. He'd be fine. A penniless fugitive's life would make a nice change of pace. Everything would be peachy keen.

(Tony miscalculated the pull the world had on him. He also miscalculated how many people would join him. Ultimately, Thanos underestimated him.)

extra: genfic, no sex, multichaptered.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17817479

sugar and spice and all things nice by deathsweetqueen

summary:

“I don’t like this,” Steve mutters to him, as he shifts awkwardly on his feet in the lounge of Tony Stark’s absurdly large Malibu mansion.

Bucky sighs and resists the urge to roll his eyes. This isn’t the first time (and it certainly won’t be the last) that Steve has expressed that very sentiment, and while Bucky also recognises the futility and drawbacks to this particular job, it’s a job, it’s their job and it puts money in their bank account, which is something that Bucky won’t turn his back on.

“I just don’t understand why someone like Tony Stark needs a bodyguard,” Steve complains, quietly. “Some spoilt little rich boy, so full of himself that he thinks the whole world is out to get him?”

“Shut up, or you’re going to get us fired,” Bucky hisses.

Steve shakes his head. “All I’m saying is that I don’t want to have to spend the foreseeable future looking after some dolled-up, greedy prep school reject.”

Or, alternatively, five times that Tony Stark surprised Steve and Bucky, and one time they didn’t really care.

extra: romance-centric, tony/steve/bucky (m/m/m), oneshot, inlcudes exlicit sex.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16531151/chapters/38725052

Rise Up by Wix

summary:

Tony leaves the Avengers in the wake of Ultron when he refuses to standby and approve of their choices. Fate's quick to step in though and show that where one door closes, another one just might open.

extra: pre-romance, basically gen, no sex