#but bucky is much more realistic about the whole 'greater good' thing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

starshipsofstarlord · 3 years

Text

Perception is Key

Part Two to Hell on Earth

avengers x reader

series masterlist

masterlist

Summary; dread is all you feel as you take up temporary residence in New Asgard. Something big is coming, and you are not the only one that can feel it, but despite that, Thor tries to make you feel safe in his rebuilt kingdom, though all you see is it falling before your knees

Warnings; mentions of death, angst, secrecy

divider by @firefly-graphics

Death, it was a certain doom for all living mechanisms, even Asgard had been demolished by its inevitable demise. Yet here you were, nursing an off handed bottle of ale that came from the gods, whilst you breathed in the salt scent that regarded from the ocean that crashed by. New Asgard, the home of Thor and his brothers in arms, whilst his real sibling was killed by Thanos. It was a shame to see the brave deity in mourning, however, there was nothing that you could do about it. Nothing.

The concept of the end came to all, it was a daunting curse that teased its victims, and pried them into sculpting their own fears of it. But for all the people in the galaxy knew, death could be peaceful; you liked to think that you were the same. A wound cog that did not work for their purpose, a villain that could do some good. And whilst you had never threatened the end of the world, your hereditary abilities sure as hell did. It was another danger to humans and more, thus making you one in regard.

Killing was a route that you didn’t want to take, it was dark, and there was no way back for redemption. Murderers and the bad guys, if they wanted penance, would spend their whole lives trying to make amends for what they did, in exchange for a forgiveness that they would never be granted. And if you did such a thing, as regretting causing exhibitions of death, your father would send for you from the underworld, and have you dragged back down to his bleak halls.

Those heroes would rise, as the ones that you came to know and befriend were brought to bottomless pits of service for Hades, suffering for all eternity as they knelt before the god whom ruled hell. Mother could only prey that he would give up his display of the deceased, he used them like puppets, and it was not a friendly scenic for the next batch of Demi gods that they were planning. You were brilliantly strong, but they would be stronger, as not only would they have the army of warriors behind them, they would be invincible.

Their carriageway into ironic new life, was affecting to you, you could feel it as their existence seared through your veins. There was a war coming, and it was going to be a blood bath, there would be bodies littered on all the planets as they respected their appetites, and they would come for you. It wasn’t silly for you to fear them, they had been around before, it was a rebirth for the ages, a damning revolution that would drain all the breathing from the lungs of species, flushing their external beings into whisperings of blistered remains.

Zagreus and Macaria were coming, pursuing the punishment that was deemed worthy for your scoundrel self, you were nothing more than another revamped version of yourself, raised from the ashes, and taking your overdue time to age. You were supposed to be the cause for the world’s destruction, but they, they would tear every atom down piece by piece, because you were unable to complete your mission of birthright.

Humans, nor other vessels of aspiring and mundane inventions, had the impact of defence to protect themselves from more dominant species. They were simply specks with heart beats in the universe, thumping in their chests as they strived to usher their own planet under the hypocrisy of a dying climate.

“Heimdall once said that Hades had a vision, and he, a seer of all people, couldn’t see how far his faction of thought went. There was no end with his quarrel with the nattering of life, instead, it was competently endless, going on for light years upon light years, straggling the gods into the grand demise. To put it into other words, you are his vision.”

“Well I’m not sure that our Vision back at the compound would be too pleased if I coined his name.” But all joking aside, the air shifted every time that you brought lightness to your words. Continuing, you spoke to Thor, whom had brought you to his evolved demeanour of his homeland, and stole you from the consequences of the violent struggle that you had instinctively conquests upon James Buchanan Barnes. “However, on a more serious note, you are aware of my origin, and the truths that Hades is my father. You know of why he crafted me, but there will be a greater shadow than my foresworn self, and the others need to know of this oncoming riot.”

“We shall tell them, but first; eat.” The god of thunder intended for you to follow through with his kind hearted order, though a heated rumble shook the core of the earth, the energy trembling up your legs. They had been born, sooner than anticipated, and much closer to your break from the ruckus than you had wanted.

“I am not sure we have the time, you felt that cause of apocalyptic foreshadowing, I can tell by the fearful promise on your face. My father will not rest until he has me, a weapon in his hold returned, and to do so, he will tear apart this family, in literal terms, so that I can return to my biological home.”

“Eat.” Thor spoke once more, gulping down the terror that graced his long spanned veins. “If there is to be a fight on earth for the ages, destruction raining down on midguard, then you will need your strength. There is no need to deprive yourself of basic necessities, young warrior.”

Accepting the small loaf from his hand, you watched as the crumbs fled a trail through your palm. Even you appetite was frolicking trauma upon bacteria that swayed in the depths of the bread; the gathered yeast feared you, much like you feared yourself. “I’m going to have to return to the compound, as much as I hate to do so after what I had done, they have to know. And throughout our excursion of informative speech, then they shall have to know of my dreaded secret.”

But what if they already knew?

“A weapon like that...” Steve shook his head as he threw the classified papers onto the desk space he had reserved for his affiliated research. “We have to protect the earth, and if we have to do so from her, then we will have to stretch to any means necessary.” The captain gulped, not pleased as he divulged deeper into this situation with his friend.

Bucky remained shocked from the fleeting threats that had deranged from your form; it was like a curse adorned you, but it turned out, it was just you. Nothing had made you this way, instead, you were born a vigil monster, a daughter of a fraternising god.

“The daughter of Hades... I miss the old days where we believed in one god, and went to church every Sunday morning.” He wasn’t have supposed to have heard Barnes talking, but the figure did as he pressed himself against the wall, his hearing inclined to listen to more.

Peter’s eyes bulged as he was silently affirmed with the truth. He had a web stringing each digression together as he thought of your independence that you had been determined to keep. They were going to tell everyone, swaying their opinions from what they knew, rather than what they did not.

But that made you a legend, a mortal infliction of ancient religion; there must have been more to know. He had to be silent to ensure he didn’t trigger an alert to the super soldier’s enhanced hearing, as the boy that was pursed with a spider bite slipped away, portraying his fawning portrayal of being a vigilante.

His assumed destination that his quiet feet were carrying him too was the library. There’d surely be something useful in the walls of filled shelves, and if there wasn’t, then the internet was a useful friend. As he entered the subjective room for required reading, he saw the Falcon himself, Sam Wilson, seated at a small and solitary table.

Perhaps... no, it’d be wrong to turn him against his close friends... but possibly what was necessary. Peter allowed his doe eyes to scan the various sections. Mythology. Though, all avengers knew that there was some truth to every realistic evolution of belief, though it was usually only a little. But maybe, in your case, there would be more.

Tony had told him there had been an incident, and Peter had believed that Mr Stark was concealing a devise of perception from the rest of the aligned team. It was certainly wrong for him to delve against the ruin of the circumstances, but he was eager to do anyways. Whatever happened must’ve been lined coursing seriousness, and he was afflicted with firm interest to find out what.

Ah, he found something. Adjoined with the abilities he knew that you were capable of, he knew it must have been in regards to you, it just made sense. The spine spoke with integrity, daring anyone to read the biblical novel of fumed remark that raised hell on Earth.

The goddess of invoked, bringer of nightmares and madness, Melinoë.

98 notes · View notes

hollabackholmes · 5 years

Text

THINGS IN ENDGAME (SPOILERS!!!)

-Jesus Christ that first scene with Clint punched me in the throat

-how aggressive nebula was playing games with tony

- The way nebula helped tony up into his seat :,)

- “only a little bit sadistic”

- the cinematography in the moment where Tony lays down and the galaxy is behind him my god

- “I lost the kid” STOP IT RIGHT NOW

- rocket?? Or Build a bear???

- did rdj lose weight for that first section of the film or am I just tripping?

-anyone else find it funny that thanos suddenly became a cook with a nice little home and garden????

- the rest of this list will definitely be all over the place because I can’t remember the order of things happening #soz

-I really liked how they included that LGBTQ+ relationship in that support group that Steve was in.

-Steve saying something really sweet (can’t remember the exact words but it was something along the lines of ‘you took the jump not knowing how far you’d fall’??? Or something??? Sorry I’m awful)

-Clint really does own my ass

-That scene where he was in Tokyo holy shit I would die for him

-“don’t give me hope” “I’m sorry I couldn’t give it to you sooner”

-Natasha crying after cutting a peanut butter sandwich is a MOOD

-NATASHA DOESNT GIVE UP STEVE OFCOURSE IT NEEDS TO BE DONE

- !!make that rat president 2020!!

-Scott is a cutie until you realise how much those past five years (hours for him) must’ve screwed with his mind.

-The way he searches the plaques 😥😥😥😥

- Time machine jokes

-Back to the future jokes

-Scott rushing to eat Nats sandwich

-CLINT LEANING AGAINST THE DOOR, FUCK ME WITH A RAKE

-HIS TATTOOS. I WANT THAT SHOT TO BE TATTOOED ON MY FACE

- Bruce the celeb

-“SAY GREEN! GREEN! Did you get that?” MY FUCKING GOD I LOVE HIM

-Scott feeling embarrassed that the kids don’t know who he is

- “look he’s even shaking his head” SCOTT

-I love this so much

-THOR🤯PLAYS🤯FORTNITE🤯

-ngl I’m Thor. I love beer. But shit...that belly.

-props to the prosthetics team for making that body suit look so realistic

-The way he walks into the avengers headquarters with his sunglasses on hahahaha

-HULK EATING BEN AND JERRIES IS ALSO A MOOD

-Scott being the test run for the whole time travelling stuff was such a good scene

-and then when Scott’s taco gets blown away:( but then Bruce gives him another one :,)

-“is he asleep?” “No, he’s dead” HAHA

-That scene with them all walking together big oof vibe

-Oh I forgot to say how amazing both Carols and Natasha’s hair is like damn ladies

-SEEING THE FIRST AVENGERS ASSEMBLE SEQUENCE OH MY GOD I SOBBED

-hulk being embarrassed

-hulk trying to get angry

-nebula and Rhodes watching Quill dance

-“this is the part where blades come out with skeletons on the end”

-nebula sacrificing her hand to get the stone :,) character development

-Thanos has a small dick for hurting nebula in both versions of her

-Felt weird seeing Gamora from before she became good??

-Bruce and the ancient one talking, I just really like that whole dynamic

-Tony as the security guard omfg

-LOKI BABY

-HAIL FUCKING HYDRA BABY

-STEVE VS STEVE BABYYYYY

-AMERICAS ASS BABYYYYYYYYY 😏😏😏

-Steve And tony going back in time again

-Tony and his dad. So sweet. Him talking about Morgan with him

-OH MY GODNI MISSED OUT A POINT ABOUT MORGAN

-SO BASICALLY IM IN LOVE WITH DAD!TONY AND I LOOOOVEEE YOUUUU 3000 IS THE CUTEST SHIT IVE EVER HEARD

-Steve seeing Peggy :((

-I’m here for the whole ‘Judging-Tony’s-Beard’ thing

-Clint and Natasha.... I don’t wanna talk about this yet :(

-Thor and his mums interaction. Cute. The whole thing about being a failure and feeling like you need to be more is super super relatable idk I just felt very much like Thor in that scene

-okay I’m ready to talk about Clint and Natasha now. So basically I think Natasha died a heroes death. She was so ready to sacrifice herself for the greater good. What made it fuckin hurt though was the fact that Clint was ready to die because he didn’t want to see Natasha go through that death. He wanted to protect her. He even says later on ‘it should have been me’. So I think Natasha would be proud, but Clints gonna have to live with the memory of seeing his best friend die without being able to do anything about it.

- That whole thing about making sure her death was worth it uGH

-also Thor’s denial.... yeah. Same here bud.

-Thor begging Tony to let him do this one good thing :( I was sad :( super sad yall

-genuinely thought Bruce was about to die when he put the glove on

-THANOS IS A GIANT TWAT

-HULK ROCKET AND RHODES ALL HELPING EACHOTHER OUT

-Scott being the real hero out here again

-the fight

-holy shit the fight

-StEVE BEING ABLE TO USE THORS HAMMER

-“I knew it!!!”

-That whole sequence of him using the shield and the hammer. My thighs were trembling bitch.

-THEN WHEN YOU HEAR SAM AND THEN THE YELLOW RING AND EVERYONE FUCKING ARRIVES

-PETER MY BABY BOY YOU DID SO GOOD SWOOPING IN THEN

-DOCTOR STRANGE U HOT STUFF

-PEPPER HOLY SHIT

-EVERYTHING HAPPENED SO FAST

-BUCKY

-THE WASP

-VALKYRIE

-EVERYONEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

-OMG WANDA WAS SUCH A BADASS

-THE TRANSFER OF THE GLOVE WAS SO GOOD AND THE WAY PETERS INSTANT KILL THING HAPPENED UGH SO GOOD

-DOCTOR STRANGE CONTROLLING THAT WATER DAMNNN

-THE FUCKING HUG BETWEEN PETER AND TONY DESTROYED ME. I LEGIT SOBBED OUT LOUD.

-“Hey Peter Parker. You got something for me?”

-THE GIRLS LINING UP SENT CHILLS DOWN MY SPINE

-and now for the sad part my dudes

-doctor strange pointing one finger up. Tony knew. He just knew what he had to do.

-“I am iron man” YES YOU ARE.

-Peter sobbing “we won. Mr stark. We won. I’m sorry”

-Pepper coming to comfort Tony oh fuck i cried

-THE TAPE

-“I LOVE YOU 3000” IS WHAT IM GONNA GET TATTOOED ON ME OK

-“proof that Tony Stark has a heart” wow okay. Hit me deep then why don’t u

-the one shot of everyone at the funeral was so beautiful I loved it

-“your dad used to love cheeseburgers.... I’m gonna buy you all the cheeseburgers in the world” oh my god

-the goodbye between Steve and Bucky was perfect. I don’t care what you say. Bucky knew what was going to happen. And he allowed it because he knew Steve would be happy for a very long time.

-HOWEVER I felt like Bucky had so little screen time and the entire history between Steve and him felt so dead throughout the movie compared to how strong it has been over the past 11 years :(

-Sams panic because he thought he wouldn’t see Steve again :(

-Sam being given the shield :D

-Damn the CGI is so good in this film. Like Steve looked old but you could still see it was him. Which sounds dumb but so often, movies make it way too unrealistic to prove someone has aged. This did it just right.

-The ending scene wow. Beautiful.

-THE CREDITS WITH THE ORIGINALS AND THEIR SIGNATURES OOF!!!

-we all waited til the end of the credits just to be hit in the heart with the sound of Tony building his iron man suit.

-well thanks for going through this list :))

8K notes · View notes

explodingcrenelation · 5 years

Text

Tony Stark and the Messianic Archetype in Avengers: Endgame

* * * * * S P O I L E R S ahead for Avengers: Endgame * * * * *

From a purely analytical standpoint, I don’t have anything against Tony’s character arc in Endgame culminating with his death. His last moments in the heat of battle weren’t rushed, poorly written, or unearned. If Tony Stark was going to die on screen, of course he’d do it like a goddamn badass—and he did.

At this point Marvel is telling a single story to millions upon millions of people and there’s no way they can craft a narrative to suit every single person. When I say Tony's death didn’t work for me, I do so knowing that Marvel wasn’t writing the story for me anyway. And I'm not trying to disparage the creative team's efforts and storytelling choices. They made a call. I don’t agree it was the right one.

For me, Tony’s death traps him inside a Messianic Archetype that doesn’t elevate his character in a wholly satisfying way and doesn’t fit the themes of the established, team-centric universe. In this essay I will…

…actually write a fucking 4000-word essay, so buckle up and read on if you’re in for the ride.

What Is the Messianic Archetype?

The Messianic Archetype is a messiah trope. It’s exactly what it sounds like—one person (usually (but not always) white, usually (but not always) male) who sacrifices themselves for the greater good.

Here’s how TV Tropes puts it:

In media, the Messianic Archetype is a character whose role in the story (but not necessarily personality) echoes that of Christ. They are portrayed as a savior, whether the thing they are saving is a person, a lot of people or the whole of humanity. They endure a sizable sacrifice as the means of bringing that salvation about for others, a fate they do not deserve up to and including death or a Fate Worse than Death. Other elements may be mixed and matched as required but the Messianic Archetype will include one or more of the following:

- The Chosen One. - True Companions who follow him. - Betrayal by one of those followers. - Persecution by nonbelievers. - Crucified Hero Shot (or other parallels to the Passion Play). - Figurative or literal resurrection. - A Second Coming. - The initials JC.

Some examples of Messianic Archetypes in popular narratives are: Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (or Kirk in Star Trek: Into Darkness), Harry Potter in The Deathly Hallows, Superman in Batman vs Superman, or Neo in the Matrix trilogy. The Doctor in Doctor Who is frequently and repeatedly presented as a messiah figure. Multiple incarnations of Sherlock also follow suit in multiple imaginings of the the Reichenbach Falls scenario. (I won’t go into details with any of these characters. I trust the Messianic Archetypes here are obvious to anyone familiar with these stories.)

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself, we see Messianic Archetypes popping up all over the place—like daisies! Steve plays this part when he sacrifices himself in The First Avenger to stop Red Skull's plan to bomb several major American cities. His time in the ice is a kind of death from which he is subsequently “resurrected” in modern day New York. To a lesser extent, he also offers himself up as a sacrifice to save Bucky in The Winter Soldier.

T’Challa follows this pattern in Black Panther when he’s betrayed by W’Kabi, defeated by Killmonger, and subsequently resurrected within the safety of M’Baku’s tribe.

In the first Thor movie, Thor is betrayed by Loki, sacrifices himself to the Destroyer to protect his human friends, and he comes back from near-death with the return of Mjölnir, having proven himself worthy of the hammer.

Carol Danvers destroys Mar-Vell’s engine in Captain Marvel to keep enemies from getting their hands on tech that could harm millions of innocent people. Her human life symbolically ends in the subsequent explosion, and she’s effectively reborn with superpowers.

Pepper Potts is betrayed by her former colleague Killian in Iron Man 3, selected as his “chosen one” for the Extremis injection, and she dies and is reborn from fire.

Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2—

Well, I could go on for a long time, but... you get the idea.

The Messianic Archetype isn’t particularly new to popular media, let alone the MCU.

This trope is deeply, almost subconsciously, woven into the fabric of popular western storytelling. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. Tropes are tropes for a reason—they speak to us on a cultural and instinctual level. We want to hear these stories over and over, replay them in new ways and look at them from different angles precisely because there is something meaningful in the narrative.

And Tony Stark's narrative is no exception. His repeated acts of self-sacrifice fit into the Messianic Archetype very, very well.

Proof That Tony Stark Has a Heart

The MCU kicked off in 2008 with the first Iron Man movie and Tony Stark has ostensibly been the main character of the franchise from the beginning.

The Iron Man movies establish early on that Tony has a savior complex to match the size of his ego. Our genius playboy billionaire philanthropist is a deeply flawed hero who started out his career as a maker of WMDs. He was widely known as “The Merchant of Death” before he saw the error of his ways. Tony understands he has done many Bad Things and he must atone for those Bad Things—with his life, if necessary.

“I shouldn’t be alive, unless it was for a reason. ... I finally know what I have to do and I know in my heart that it’s right.” —Tony Stark, Iron Man

The first Iron Man movie climaxes with Tony ordering Pepper to blow the Arc Reactor to stop Stane’s rampage, even though Tony might perish in the process. In Iron Man 2, Tony is actively dying from palladium poisoning, but he faces down Vanko (sans Iron Man suit) on the speedway of the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. In the first Avengers movie, we see Tony put his life on the line to get a nuclear weapon out of New York.

This is a repeated pattern for Tony, and like an addict, it’s one he struggles to break. Over and over Tony flings himself into the fray, believing he’s the one who makes the difference—he’s the willing sacrifice whose blood saves the world.

Tony selects himself to be “the chosen one” because he sees himself as the one at fault for bringing evil into the world.

“We create our own demons. Who said that? What does that even mean? Doesn’t matter, I said it cause he said it. ...So why am I telling you this? Because I had just created demons, and I didn’t even know it.” —Tony Stark, Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 shows us just how deeply responsible Tony feels for the wrongs of the world. Because he made naive (and selfish) mistakes when he was young, Tony blames himself for creating villains that plague the earth now.

We see this best in the aftermath of the destruction of Tony’s mansion in Malibu.

“Pepper, it’s me. I’ve got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time. So first off, I’m so sorry I put you in harm’s way. That was selfish and stupid and it won’t happen again. ...And I’m sorry in advance because I can’t come home yet. I need to find this guy. You got to stay safe. That’s all I know.” —Tony Stark, Iron Man 3

Yes, Tony absolutely provoked the Mandarin, a known terrorist, and the result is the complete annihilation of Tony’s home. Tony accepts responsibility for the destruction as though he was the one who shot the missiles himself. He goes so far as to volunteer himself for a solo mission to find the Mandarin without even bothering to contact SHIELD or the Avengers for help. He made this mess, he’s going to clean it up. All the while he suffers through crippling anxiety and panic attacks, demonstrating that the burden he’s put on his own shoulders is, in fact, too much for him to handle by himself. Still, Tony denies himself the comforts of home and family until he can atone for his wrongdoings.

Miraculously, Iron Man 3 gives Tony a respite when the tables are turned and, for once, Tony is the one ultimately saved by Pepper. After her rescue (pun intended), Tony gives up the armor, commits to having the shrapnel taken out of his chest, and he starts rebuilding the literal ruins of his life—both physical and metaphorical.

The respite doesn’t last, of course, because recovery doesn’t go in a straight line—oh, and also the franchise isn’t over and the MCU kinda needs Iron Man. And so Tony slides back into familiar, self-destructive patterns.

"Few years ago, I almost lost [Pepper], so I trashed all my suits. Then, we had to muck up Hydra. And then Ultron. My fault. And then, and then, and then. I never stopped. 'Cause the truth is, I don't wanna stop.” —Tony Stark, Civil War

Tony taking on the mantle of the Messianic Archetype once more in Endgame falls perfectly in line with his established need to compulsively and perpetually atone for his sins. As a perfectionist who needs to assuage his guilt for his ongoing (and perceived) failures, Tony simply can’t stop himself from offering up his life in penance. Statistically it was bound to catch up with him, and in Endgame it does.

And not only does Tony give his life in true Messianic fashion, we are “treated” to a hyper-realistic and painfully extended sequence where his life drains out of him as his loved ones gather to witness him gasping out his last breath. (Thanks for that, by the way, Marvel. I’ll put this scene with the dead baby bunnies my childhood cat used to bring home as gifts. How thoughtful.)

Maybe the reason for the intensity of Tony’s death scene is to make the audience believe his death is the Real Thing, not some comic-book-superhero-movie trickery that he’ll be back from in a few minutes’ time. Perhaps it’s the only way to ensure we commit to the emotional depth of the moment. Perhaps the filmmakers see it as an homage to RDJ’s acting talent and commitment to the role. Regardless of the rationale behind the camera’s unflinching gaze, Tony’s excruciating death hammers home the brutal and lonely reality of the Messianic Archetype: it’s cruel to put the fate of the world on one person’s shoulders.

But Tony embraces that end. He throws himself into the machinery of fate, convinced he’s the cog that will make it all work.

And he does make it work.

So why is that a problem?

The Team-Oriented Universe

The problem with Tony doubling (tripling? quadrupling?) down on the Messianic Archetype at the apex of the franchise is that the MCU is an ensemble, team-oriented universe.

“You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe, you just don't know it yet." —Nick Fury, Iron Man

Fury tells us from the get-go that Tony isn’t the be-all-end-all of the MCU. It’s possible for Tony—for them all—to become something greater than the sum of their parts.

“There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more.” —Nick Fury, Avengers

The entire first Avengers movie is dedicated to establishing this premise, to getting these knuckleheads to work together because, alone, they’re too wrapped up in their own bullshit to adequately deal with the forces that threaten the planet. Things don’t start to go right for them until they set aside their personal issues and act as a unit.

As we all know, our team passes the test and they establish an important principle of the MCU: teamwork is powerful and it’s more effective than working solo.

True, Tony’s self-sacrifice in the context of the Battle of New York helps save the day; but it’s only one part of a coordinated effort. Tony chucking the nuke into space would have been pointless without the added efforts of Steve to coordinate civilian safety, Hawkeye to relay enemy movements, Thor to separate Loki from the scepter, Natasha to close the portal, and Hulk to subdue Loki and ultimately catch Tony as he fell from the wormhole. The team achieved a better outcome together than they each could have achieved separately.

But even in the shared afterglow of winning the Battle of New York, the individual members of the team struggle to perfect their dynamic. New challenges present themselves. There’s always room for the team to grow and become stronger together as the franchise progresses. That’s the whole point.

Tony, for his part, waffles back and forth between his desire to be the savior mechanic (to fix everything by himself) and his desire to work cooperatively with his found-family of superheroes for the common good. This internal conflict plays out over the course of the franchise as Tony takes on the Mandarin by himself in Iron Man 3. The issue then escalates in Age of Ultron when Tony convinces Bruce to help him create Ultron, unbeknownst to the rest of the team. Murder-bot problems and team drama ensue. Tony’s cycle of guilt perpetuates itself in the wake of the disaster in Sokovia, which prompts Tony to adopt the Sokovia Accords. He submits himself and the team to UN governance in Civil War. More team drama ensues.

The logical progression of this escalating team conflict should have involved Tony confronting his deep-seated compulsion to destroy himself for the sake of others. This is exactly the problem Pepper keeps trying to point out to him—his Messianic tendencies have started to cause more problems than they solve.

“There is nothing except this. ... There's the next mission, and nothing else.” —Tony Stark, Iron Man

Tony has struggled from the beginning to find the right balance between personal sacrifice and sharing team effort.

Pepper frequently tries to remind Tony that he doesn’t live alone in the world, he can’t do it all by himself. And there are people who want him to live.

“You’re all I have, too, you know.” —Pepper Potts, Iron Man

Imagine how emotionally satisfying it would have been to see Tony outgrow his need for sacrificial penance and internalize a better lesson: that the savior can be saved, the burden can be shared, and life can go on.

A Better Ending for Tony

The MCU had the perfect opportunity to give us an ending that would be happier for Tony and a better fit for a team-centric universe.

In Guardians of the Galaxy we see Peter Quill and his team survive the power of an Infinity Stone by working together to share the burden of its energy.

Peter Quill is the son of a Celestial—he’s basically immortal up until the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. That’s why he and his team could hold the stone without any ill effects.

Also, they only had to channel the power of one stone. Not six.

That’s a fair point.

But by the time Tony had all of the Infinity Stones in Endgame, the battlefield was chock full of all kinds of superheroes. Wanda and Carol by themselves are embodiments of two of the Infinity Stones. Hulk had managed to bear all of the stones by himself earlier in the movie. Steve, T’challa, and Bucky are enhanced super soldiers. Thor, Valkyrie, and the other Asgardians might not be Celestials, but they are gods—and there were a lot of them on that field.

And we’re supposed to believe none of these characters could offer any help to Tony whatsoever? None of them could hold Tony’s hand for a single minute to save his life?

There are plenty of arguments that could be made: Tony was too fast, no one knew what was happening, or everyone else was occupied in battle. But at the end of the day, it’s a choice the creative team made. Tony died because they wanted him to die.

And not much would have to change to save his life.

Imagine this: Tony gets the stones from Thanos and, in true Messianic Archetype fashion, he commits to making the snap, fully expecting it means his death—but then Pepper is there and Pepper has always been the one asking Tony to stop offering up his life to pay for some imaginary debt he thinks he owes. He hesitates, and it’s just long enough for Carol and Wanda swoop in, putting their hands on him and taking the brunt of the energy. Thor and Steve and Bruce and Clint pile on. Peter Parker links up, too, and on and on until the entire rest of the team, all across the battlefield, are in contact with each other and alight with power, channeling the energy of the six stones, keeping Thanos and his monsters at bay.

Tony can still have his ultra-badass “I am Iron Man” moment as he stands at the center of this surging and fluxing cosmic energy—but this time he does it with support. There are people who care about him (and each other) on all sides. And there are so many of them. Tony isn’t the only one who matters, he’s just the lynch pin that holds it all together.

Tony is Iron Man.

More importantly? Together they’re all the Avengers.

*SNAP*

The universe is set right.

Maybe Tony doesn’t escape entirely unscathed. Maybe he loses his arm as suggested by this post. Maybe the others all leave with their own scars, too. But Tony’s alive and he’s finally, deeply aware of what it means to transcend the limits of personal sacrifice and share the hero’s burden with others.

He knows now exactly what the Avengers are capable of. Oh, and by the way? That protective shield he wanted around the world in Age of Ultron? Here they all are. All these wonderful, powerful people are going to protect the Earth. And you know what? They don’t need Tony Stark’s myopic self-sacrifice to do it.

Tony finally feels like he’s done enough—and maybe now he believes there are other heroes out there who can do better than he can. Anyway, he gets to go home to Morgan and Pepper and he finds that it’s not so hard for him to let the new kids do the tough jobs now. He happily goes back to his role as “consultant” for the Avengers, he’s a mad inventor helping change the world for the better, and he also gets to have the long adventure of being a husband and a dad. He doesn’t have to choose one identity over the other—he’s Iron Man. He can redefine what the job means whenever he wants to.

(Also, he finds a way to rescue Nat because she didn’t deserve to be fridged like that. Just saying.)

This ending, or any number of variations like it, would have allowed Tony to finally show real growth at the end of his character arc, instead of succumbing to the same old self-destructive pattern we've seen from him time and time again. And it would have reinforced the theme of teamwork and its power to elevate all those who participate.

Maybe it’s cheesy, but you know what? It’s the ending I wanted. I know I’m not alone.

Tony’s Not Really Dead, You Say?

“There’s no need to be upset about Tony’s death,” some might say. “Tony’s gonna come back!”

Resurrection is a huge part of the Messianic Archetype—and it might be that the filmmakers do intend to bring Tony back in some later movie. It might be they simply want Tony’s death in Endgame to sit a little while longer so it has a greater impact. (Gotta push for that best picture Oscar, right? The Oscars hate superhero movies, but they do love a sad ending.)

While I’m wishing for things, maybe Marvel will also release the multiple alternate endings they filmed for Endgame, essentially creating a “choose your own adventure.” Maybe we’ll all be able to pick the ending we like best and forget the rest exist.

But I can’t make a judgement based on what might be, I can only say how I feel based on what we were given in the theater—for all intents and purposes, that’s the official story Marvel wants to share.

The Endgame narrative insists there’s only one possible path to victory against Thanos. The “one possible path” is basically the equivalent of the creative team saying, “Don’t @ me.” There certainly must have been an impossible number of endings they could have put on film. Tony’s death is the one they picked.

So, sorry for @ing you, Marvel, I guess, but there’s just one more point I want to make...

A Personal Note

RDJ acted the hell out of Tony's final scene. He acted the hell out of the whole franchise. Tony's death was powerful and intensely moving. I wanted to ugly cry in the lobby after the movie was over, and I was upset for days after.

So. Good job, Marvel. You got in some surprises and you wrung out some feelings from viewers like me. Now that the movie’s taken the world by storm, the surprises will play themselves out. So, I guess the big question is: Will audiences want to revisit this adventure and the feelings you ultimately left them with?

For me? My reluctant answer is: no. I don’t want to see Infinity War or Endgame again. Not really. Not in their entirety. I didn’t mind the slog through Infinity War in 2018 because I thought, Hey, maybe this is leading to an ultimately happy and satisfying conclusion for these characters I care about so much. And, to be fair—right up until the last 15 minutes of Endgame, I was ready to say, “All’s forgiven.”

There’s this thing in storytelling called “payoff.” It’s when you deliver a satisfying resolution or fulfillment to your audience after they commit to your narrative journey. Payoff can be extraordinarily subjective, so, again, I acknowledge that there’s no way to please everyone.

For me, there’s no reward in the resolution of Endgame that makes the slog to its conclusion worth it. Tony’s ending is so needlessly sacrificial, so unnecessarily brutal, that it erases much of the enjoyment I otherwise had in watching the entire rest of the film.

Don’t get me wrong. I like sad movies and scary movies in their own context. I like them when I can choose them and know that’s what I'm getting myself into. Sometimes I want the catharsis of being utterly terrified or brought to tears. Sometimes we need stories to give us the chance to feel deep and scary emotions in a safe environment. That’s an important function of creative work.

And, I mean, truly, Endgame gave us some great acting, great effects. Amazing talent. Really fun and creative moments. I’m not trying to disparage all the work that went into its making.

But I feel like someone took me in a limo to a high-class restaurant to eat caviar and watch sad arthouse theater when all I really wanted was to go into town with my friends for some ice cream and a fun movie.

I didn’t need rainbow-colored sprinkles on my ending, but something a bit sweeter would have been nice. So, well done, Marvel. But also—no, thank you.

As it stands, Endgame was too bitter for my taste.

#avengers #endgame #spoilers #negativity #long post #meta #my rambling #tony stark #iron man

68 notes · View notes

epicstuckyficrecs · 6 years

Link

In 1947, Master Sergeant James B. Barnes's surviving field journals were posthumously published as the classic war memoir The Night War. Now a high school history classroom mainstay and required reading at West Point, this highly anticipated 60th Anniversary Edition presents the original, unedited text alongside detailed historical notes that provide important context to the extraordinary wartime heroics of Captain America and the Howling Commandos.

Barnes, James B. The Night War: The Wartime Memoirs of a Howling Commando. Ed. Harold Miller. 60th Anniversary ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. Print.

Guys. Girls. Non-binary friends. PEOPLE. LISTEN UP!!!!

I am here to right a terrible wrong because it is CRIMINAL how little attention this fic is getting on AO3. CRIMINAL I SAY.

Here’s a sample of the comments I left on this fic:

“ok like 99% of the time with this fic I'm scratching my head and thinking "did this actually happen or did she exercice some author freedom?" and that's just a testament of how well this is written that you could truly believe that 100% of what is written is actual factual historical TRUTH.”

“omfg you're amazing. I don't know HOW in the hell you managed to create this story/diary in a way that I fucking ask myself what's real and what's not because you make it seems as if Bucky and Cap and the Howling Commandoes WERE ACTUALLY FIGHTING WW2.”

“So many people have said it before me, and way more eloquently, but god. This fic is amazing in every single way. The format, the plot, the characterization, everything is on point. Everything is an incredible proof of your skill as a writer.”

“To me, this fic is pretty much up there with the NEC series in regards to the best fics in this fandom, (...) This deserves to be a fandom classic. I will rec this until my dying breath. I would print this and put it on my bookshelf. It's a masterpiece.”

“unless you have a phd in ww2, I don't think anyone could read this and feel like it wasn't 200% accurate“

I’m not kidding guys. This is probably my FAVORITE FIC OF THE YEAR! Like I said above, this is one of the very few fics that I would totally print because I wanna hold it in my hands, cradle it like a baby, and cherish it for the rest of eternity. The other fic I feel like that about, off the top of my head? NEC!!!!!!!! So you see how highly I think of this fic, this story, this work of art, this masterpiece.

This fic reads EXACTLY as if you would’ve gone to your local library, picked up a WW2 memoir/diary from a survivor, and read it. As I’ve said above, this is so realistic that you find yourself wondering “did that fight actually happen? Are those OCs or actual people? Did the Allies ever do that thing?” ALL THE TIME. That’s it. The format, the frickin’ footnotes, the manips!!! Everything is 110% ON POINT. The amount of work and research that must’ve gone into this story, I can’t even comprehend it.

And then the fact that it’s Bucky’s diary. Just. Hits you IN THE FEELS. ALL TH TIME.

Just spend two seconds reading the comments. I’ve never wanted to sit down and read the comments that people leave on a fic but I WOULD DO IT FOR THIS FIC because everyone’s comments are so interesting!!! They make me see stuff I hadn’t noticed while reading! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fic where SO MANY PEOPLE leave long, interesting, analytic, rambly comments, and where the author responds with amazing comments of her own. @praximeter is a gift. Shit guys, am I gonna have to sample other people’s comments because they’re way more eloquent than my own? I’ll put them under a read more because this is getting out of hand.

Wanna know the best part? THERE’S A SEQUEL COMING UP :DDDDDD

I absolutely love the authentic feels of this, Bucky's diary. I did not read All Quiet on the Western Front, as another commenter did, but have recently (after having seen Wonder Woman, actually) watched the 1930s movie, and are hitting the tone and content perfectly. I kept this story on my to-read list because I wanted time to savour it. I simply adore fanfic that is set and elaborates on the historical settings of the movies, and can only thank you for putting so much work and knowledge into this. -Vaysh

whoa. this is everything i ever wanted??? bucky is perfectly characterized and the language. the LANGUAGE. it's so true to the time period, and it just works so well, and the historical accuracy is top. notch. how much research you put into this is beyond me. this is definitely going to be my new obsession for a long time. expect comments on the rest of your chapters, i literally cannot express how good this is. -small_queen

This is one of the best Bucky POV stories I've ever read, and definitely the best Captain America story set in the war. I really appreciate your attention to historical detail, and I'm really looking forward to future chapters. -norwich36

I am honestly enthralled with this story. It's a goddamn work of art even(...) I /highly/ encourage the author to work on getting this published. One of the best historical style fictions I've read, who gives a damn that it's fan fiction. It's amazing and so well written with character and emotion in every damn word. I don't have words to do this piece of literature justice. -candlesneedflame

I love the voice you've written for Bucky in this. I've been devouring this over the past few days, but this particular chapter was so good I just had to comment. The confusion, the fear, the uncertainty, the devotion and faith in his brothers in arms, this reads so realistically. I can easily believe this as an in universe classic. All of the extra details - the stories of what happened to everyone after the war, the footnotes tying their exploits in with the greater war, it all helps to flesh this out. -Shazrolane

The more I read your story the more I am blown away by the 'fake' accuracy of the military story side of it. Your story of Bucky is amazing but the historian in me is riveted by your summaries at the end of each chapter. They read like a historical report. I focused on WWII and Germany in my history major over 25 years ago and this takes me back to my research days. I can only assume you've spent some serious time researching the era as this has an amazing amount of detail. It seems real. I know you are basing it off of fact but I could believe this actually happened. -Fraulein

I used to live on Carlisle, Pa, where the Army Heritage Center is. My dad and I used to go to read the handwritten accounts of soldiers who fought in WWII, Kore, and Vietnam. I have read Lt Goranson's personal account of DDay (the person Tom Hank's character in Saving Private Ryan was based on). This story reads like one of those. It is incredibly realistic and engaging. I was so caught up in it i ended up reading it at 3 am in my car because i couldnt put it down. In fact I am still in my car writing this review. I dont understand how this has so few comments. -smac89

Holy wow. Just downloaded your whole fic to read on a road trip and wow, so so glad I did. I'm obsessed with the way you write - it's so true to how I imagine a soldier would write, so matter of fact and difficult to parse how he's truly feeling yet at the same time, so young and boyish and charming. I really have over the last few hours grown to love your Bucky not just because he's Bucky Barnes but because of how you write him, that perfect balance of tortured self awareness of his role in the war with the happy-go-lucky person he must have been pre-war. What can I say, I have lots of feelings about James Buchanan Barnes... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The other thing I adore is how much detail you've put into this - the historical notes are so fun to read, the care and love with which you craft each encounter and scene and its history and importance. You've really created something so beautiful and incredible here. So many kudos and I'm so excited to continue reading it! -jexlane

AND THAT’S ONLY A SAMPLE OF A FEW PAGES OF COMMENTS!!!

#stucky #stucky fanfic #stucky fic #stucky fanfiction #stucky fic rec #ww2 #catfa #diary #ptsd #stucky canon #howling commandos #fave

391 notes · View notes

kinnoth · 3 years

Text

ULTRON MEGATHREAD

- lmao thor acting like he needs the whole afternoon to get barton back to CP when he can literally fly at the speed of sound

- i guess "mutant" is trademarked then? "eNhAnCeD" lol fuck off

- i really just love how these movies are so fucking dark i can't see fucking SHIT unless i watch it completely in the dark of night, no lights

- ok i do like this fish leviathan tho, that's neat

- why is military macho man captain america tending to clint barton instead of LITERAL MEDICAL DOCTOR BRUCE BANNER god it's like bad fanfic where everybody is interchangeable with everybody else

- i simply refuse to believe that tony stark does not have his own stark brand headphones for bruce banner to wear on the plane. i simply refuse to believe that tony stark deigns to use consumer tech products at all. i bet he designs his own fucking bidet

- why do natasha and clint have a more realistic fucking sibling dynamic than literally any actual sibling mcu has shown us.

- it is fucking irresponsible for stark tower to be in as densely populated a place as nyc i don't care if steel and glass is the aesthetic, that shit should be in rural fucking nebraska where the next flying fucking alien army that wants to take it out only has cows and groundhogs for civilian casualties

- TONY STARK CANNOT BE CONCERNED WITH THE WELL-BEING OF THE HUMAN RACE AND A FUCKING TECHNO CAPITALIST I'M SORRY I DON'T MAKE THE FUCKING RULES

- i'm glad that they're giving bruce banner more to do

- is ultron/jarvis a ship? i feel like it ought to be.

- i HATE this party wooooooooooooooooow. i didn't know you could fit this much smarminess into one fucking scene, actually amazing!

- natasha's outfit is cute.

- WHY are they pushing romanoff/banner so hard jesus christ, i'm like, not even sure bruce is allosexual if i'm honest and natasha can just do BETTER

- ok the bit where everybody's trying to move thor's hammer is cute

captain america is the military arm of an imperialist nation so of course mjolnir's into that

- a monster shambles out of depths tony's hubris and into the waking world ready to tear down humanity from it's precarious rungs of existence because tony stark believes himself to be greater than the sum of all the things he does not understand? classic tony.

- "YOU WANT THE WORLD TO BE SAVED BUT YOU DON'T WANT IT TO CHANGE. HOW IS HUMANITY SAVED UNLESS IT IS ALLOWED TO EVOLVE"

ULTRON IS RIGHT TONY STARK IS A THREAT TO WORLD PEACE AND HE SHOULD SAY IT

- actually love how every bad guy the mcu has presented to us so far has been in the moral right but because they threaten the status quo they are villains and must be stopped

its because the mcu is a vehicle for casual authoritarianism no biggie

- god i hate captain america. his naivete isn't even like ww2 era hokey charming, it's just the -- it's what america the narcissist sees when it looks at itself in the mirror. always right, always moral, simple-minded and more concerned about being good than about being effective. it's a dishonest man's idea of what an honest man is and it's disgusting.

- and tony stark is what a technologically illiterate persons' idea of what a technocrat is

- PIETRO IS RIGHT TONY STARK IS PERSONALLY A MURDERER

- every villain so far has called tony stark a murderer and been right to do so where is my tony stark is the villain movie mcu

- it is so fucking weird and stupid to see norse god thor going through boxes of papers like he's in fucking csi lol

- IT IS HORRIFYING THE IDEA THAT PRIVATE CITIZEN TONY STARK HAS A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION IN ORBIT AROUND THE EARTH THAT CAN BE CALLED DOWN AT ANY TIME

WHY IS TONY STARK ALLOWED TO CONTINUE BEING A "GOOD GUY"

- if tony stark is not personally paying out of pocket for all the international damage to infrastructure he causes then there is no justice in the world

"stark relief fund" 🙄

-other people have said it already but man, natasha going on about how not having a uterus makes her a literal monster who is on the same level as "smash everything" hulk is insulting to monsters

also the fact that bruce and natasha are like wah wah we can't have kids, be less heteronormative you literal freaks

- "i watched my friends die" who? who has died in the mcu when avengers ultron premiered? i'm legit drawing a blank. bucky died, but that's steve's friend. loki died, but that's thor's love of his life brother. who died that tony stark cared about?

- this is such a slow, stupid movie about nothing

#the asshole liveblogs #avengers ultron #internal thor tag

1 note · View note

not-close-to-straight · 7 years

Text

Looking at You (Part Four)

MASTERLIST HERE

*****************************

Tony was working on Bucky's elbow again, removing each plate carefully, uploading the design into his systems so he would know exactly where to put everything back.

In the ten or so days since Bucky had first shown up in the lab, Tony had worked his way from the wrist up the forearm, taking it apart and cleaning each piece before reattaching.

They didn't really talk during this time, other than a few sentences here and there, but Tony was loosening up just the tiniest bit every day, and Bucky smiled about it until his face hurt.

After so many good days, and the progress between them, tonight Bucky was feeling brave, so he patted the chair next to him and said, “If you sit next to me I think it would be easier. Easier on your back, maybe?”

Tony stiffened, and their easy silence from a second evaporated in an instant. “I am just fine like this.”

He was bent nearly all the way across the table, leaned way over to get to Bucky's elbow, obviously uncomfortable, flinching every time he tried to straighten.

The soldier sighed a little. “Tony. I'm just saying you wouldn't be as miserable if you would come over here.”

“I'm fine.” Tony jerked away. “I'm fine , alright? Do you want me to work on your arm or not?”

“I just don't want helping me to be hurting you, Tony!” Bucky said in exasperation. “I don't want to hurt you, Tony.”

Tony stared at him for a full ten seconds, chewing on his bottom nervously. ��Why did you say it like that?”

“I didn't say it anyway. I just said it how I meant it.” Bucky replied, never once breaking their stare down. “So why don't you come over here next to me so helping me doesn't hurt you?”

“I think it's been an hour.” Tony said instead. “I think we're done today.”

“Please finish it for me.” Bucky kept his voice as soft as he could. “Please, Tony. I can't do this without you.”

Tony's jaw clenched, but he took a few steps around the table until he was at a better angle to work, and picked the laser back up.

Bucky didn't comment on it, but inside he was cheering.

Even small things like Tony standing closer to him was a victory.

*********************

“Why are we always out of milk!?” Clint snapped and slammed the door to the fridge shut. Most of the team ignored him, scattered around the room eating breakfast or drinking coffee, but Tony jumped so hard he almost dropped his bowl, and started apologizing automatically.

“Sorry, sorry about that. I'll put in a call for food delivery, using a new grocery story now and--”

Bucky coughed loudly, interrupting Tony's apology. “Not your job, Tony. Clint. Take your lazy archer ass down to the store and get some more.”

“Fine.” Clint grumbled and stomped out of the room.

And nobody really noticed, not really. They didn't think anything of Clint complaining, or Tony apologizing so much because it all happened so often that it didn't even register anymore.

They also didn't think anything of Tony apologizing, because that happened all the time too.

But Tony turned in his seat and stared at Bucky for a long time, and Bucky looked steadily back because it was about time someone stepped up and told Tony that it wasn't his job to fix everything. That not everything was his fault.

So when Tony smiled the littlest bit at him, Bucky closed one blue eye in a wink, grinning when Tony looked away almost instantly, running his fingers through his hair nervously.

Damn Bucky liked looking at him.

***********************

“Hey Bucky.” Banner looked up with a smile when Bucky stepped through the doors of the lab. “How's it going?”

Bucky raised an eyebrow in surprise, and if he was being honest--disappointment. “Banner. You aren't usually here this late.”

“I was just finishing up a new design for the helicopter. Tony likes the idea of repulsor type weapons instead of--” he stopped talking with a chuckle. “You don't care about that, do you? Come on and sit down I can get started. Still working around your elbow?”

“Uh, yeah. Tony thinks he can re-calibrate--”

“The rotation angle, yeah. Give you greater range of movement. Less of a battering ram, more of an actual limb, yeah he left me some notes. It's been bugging him for a few days. Come on and sit.”

Bruce worked faster than Tony did, moving with an efficiency that was borderline impressive, especially since he could do it while keeping up a steady stream of conversation.

But Bucky missed Tony's quiet concentration, the way he couldn't help smiling just the smallest bit every time the arm flexed and the way that he would inch closer and closer every time they met up.

He had gone from staying at the complete opposite side of the table to standing next to Bucky now as he worked, and the soldier loved every second of it.

Tony wasn't anywhere near comfortable with him, and they were still maybe not quite friends, but something was changing between them, even if it was something small and Bucky loved it.

“Have you noticed anything different about Tony?” He asked Bruce, hoping the way Tony had started opening up to him had translated over into his interactions with the team.

“What do you mean?” Bruce asked, staring down at a particularly difficult piece through the mounted magnifying glass.

“I mean, have you noticed--” Bucky gestured vaguely. “Does he seem better? Or happier? Or anything?”

“Uh---” Bruce shrugged. “Can't say I have. He and I just kind of work in here together, we don't hang out or anything. I'm pretty private and so is he.”

“And was he like that before… everything? Was he quiet and private and all that before everything else.”

“You mean before Steve chose you over him?” Banner said it casually but Bucky still jerked to look up at him.

“What did you say?”

“Before the whole split, is all I meant.” Bruce clarified. “Tony took it a little personal when Steve was willing to turn his back on him and chase after you.”

“That's not what happened.” Bucky frowned. “Is it? I mean, were Steve and Tony together? Steve never said anything, he just showed up and helped me. I never really knew what happened... otherwise.”

“I couldn't really say one way or another.” Bruce shook his head. “I wasn't here, you know. Hadn't been here for a while by that time, so I missed a lot of things. The Accords, the split, all that.”

“But I have to say,” Bruce put his glasses back on, pushing the magnifying glass away. “It wouldn't surprise me if there had been something there. Tony worshiped Steve, you know? Most days I feel like Steve just tolerated him, but I could be wrong.”

Banner clicked on another lamp, carefully turning Bucky's arm so he could see better. “I'm not really the best at picking up on social cues, so I might not know what happened between them. But realistically?”

Another shrug from the genius. “I think Tony probably just outgrew his compulsive need to be right in the middle of everything and that's why he's happier in the background now. He was kind of a self absorbed jerk for a while and it caused a lot of strife in the team. A lot of what happened to us can be traced directly back to a decision he made. You heard about Ultron?”

Bucky nodded. “Don't get me wrong, I helped design it and all, but it was Tony's baby. He took the blame, took the fall for it, and I think it humbled him quite a bit. New Tony is kind of nice. Just does his job quietly just like the rest of us. No wild parties, no shenanigans, no impromptu press conferences because he was impulsive and reckless. It's been nice.”

Bucky kind of hated the soft spoken scientist, right then, for preferring this Tony to the old one, but kept his face neutral, his tone even. “That's basically what Steve said. That Tony just finally got tired of being the center of attention.”

“Yeah well, the two of them were pretty close for a long time, Bucky, I'd trust Steve on this. Whether he and Tony were together or not, if he says Tony is fine, I'd have to agree with him. He knows Tony better than of us.”

A clatter by the door and they both turned to look.

Tony's face flushed red and he was backpedaling out of the doorway before they could even say anything, apologizing for interrupting their talk, and then he was gone.

“You think he's happier like that? Do you really?” Bucky asked scornfully. “Because the man just apologized for being in his own lab.”

Bruce stared after Tony with a stricken look on his face. “Maybe-- maybe he's worse than I thought.”

#winteriron #tony stark #james bucky barnes #steve rogers #post cacw #tony needs a hug #steve needs a punch #bucky wants to do it all #bucky loves tony #tony has a metal arm kink #marvel #marvel fanfiction

492 notes · View notes

beaniegender · 7 years

Text

Fandom Fic Rec Days - My Personal Favorites Fic Rec List!

In honor of #ficrecdays (happening Feb. 10th, 11th, and 12th), and my stupidly long ao3 bookmarks page which is a pain to go through, I want to make this list of the best of the the best of my favorite fics - the ones that make me gasp or laugh or cry and just generally ache at their beauty each time I read them. I hope you’ll read and enjoy them too! I encourage you to try something even outside a fandom you know well because all of these works are great fiction in their own right.

This list includes a total of 24 fics or series from nine fandoms: James Bond (3 works), The Martian (1 work), Marvel which is mostly Captain America (5 works/series), Soccer RPF which is all FC Barcelona RPF (4 works/series), Star Trek (2 works), Star Wars (1 work), Supernatural (2 works/series), True Blood (1 work), and The West Wing (5 works).

Some of these fics are already wildly popular, but in order to promote less popular fic a bit more, within a fandom works are sorted from least to most ao3 kudos. Read on and discover my absolute favorite fanfics!

James Bond

Search and Seizure by @kryptaria00q and @stephrc79 (16670 words, James Bond/Q/Alec Trevelyan) - After two assassination attempts on MI6 executives, the British Secret Service now requires self-defence training for all high level employees. Bond and Alec have taken it upon themselves to help keep their lover safe, no matter how much Q might hate them for it. Too bad they never seem to be able to stay on track. (a.k.a. frisking porn with plot)

basically trust porn along with being real porn. everyone’s POV gets shown off and it’s just so much fun watching these boys interact when they so obviously care for each other!

Treasons, Traitors, and Treachery by kryptaria and @zooeyscigar (63245 words, James Bond/Q) - All James Bond wanted was a quiet holiday on his luxury motoryacht on the Costa del Sol. Time to recuperate and think about his future with MI6. But his plans get hijacked when a traitor to the crown returns, bringing news of an even greater threat to MI6. And the traitor isn’t working alone. Thankfully, neither is James.

every single character in here is written flawlessly, and the OC is one of the BEST OCs to ever OC. There’s sass and hilarity, believably written government intrigue, and a very realistic level of depth in all the characters.

so you were never a saint. by @paperclipbitch (12319 words, gen) - “I think Bond’s trying to be your friend,” Eve tells him. “…well,” Q says slowly, “this is a new and disturbing development.”

the asexual!Q epic that defined a lot of my Q headcanons. also a lot of my MONEYPENNY IS AMAZING headcanons! it’s sort of an ensemble fic and sort of a character study and it just makes me like MI6 so much.

The Martian

You Know You Have a Permanent Piece of My Medium-Sized American Heart by tricatular [on tumblr but I’m not able to tag them, sorry!] (9151 words, gen) - “Hey Hermes!” The ambient suspicion level in the Rec ratcheted up significantly. Kapoor was disturbingly cheerful. “We’ve sent you some mission updates in the data dump, but Mitch and I wanted to personally let you know—” Mitch visibly rolled his eyes in the background. “—That thanks to some…strong suggestions from the White House, and on Annie and Director Sanders’ recommendation, we’ve started releasing Watney’s Mars logs to the public.”

deftly mixes standard narration, transcripts of recordings, and social media posts to show what Mark’s journal back to Earth would have been like both for him and for everyone who cared about his story (ie. the whole planet).

Marvel / Captain America

Walking Far From Home by TaleWorthTelling (6222 words, various Sam-centric pairings) - Sam’s relationship with birds starts early and inexplicably.

basically, Sam Wilson’s whole life. as the author’s note says, “Sam is the only person with his shit together, but he got there the hard way.” and then we’re treated to 6000 words of what that path was like, including stellar input from Sam’s OC family and the familiar MCU favorites. and Sam can talk to birds!

The Murder Ballads by BetteNoire (160839 words, 3 works, Steve/Bucky) - Something wicked is coming for Steve Rogers. Luckily for him, something even more wicked stands in its way: the unrepentant, unbroken Bucky Barnes. A murder-mystery/action thriller with violence, magic, and several big MCU guest stars.

like most CA fans I’ve read a stupid amount of post-winter soldier fic, so the first praise for this series is that it has a completely original take on that subject. and that take - the plot complexity, the multi-layered characterizations, the sequel - made me fall in love with Bucky all over again and permanently changed the way I think of him.

your blue-eyed boys by Feather (123233 words, 4 works, Steve/Bucky with sides of Pepper/Tony, Bruce/Betty, and Clint/Natasha) - Steve has no plan. Not because he hadn’t tried to make one. He’d tried to make lots of plans. Plan, adapt, plan again, tried to think of every contingency. And then he’d thrown them away, because there wasn’t much point. What could you plan for? He couldn’t guess the possible contingencies, the situations, the potentials. And he sure as sure hadn’t figured on what’s happened now, on coming back to his place and finding Bucky here. He hadn’t even hoped for that. He hadn’t realized he could. [post-Winter Soldier recovery fic]

if you’d like a slightly more typically-plotted approach to your post-WS fic than “The Murder Ballads” you absolutely can’t go wrong with “your blue-eyed boys”. it’s the most realistic version of Bucky’s recovery that I can imagine - heartbreaking and sickening and real. and the love between Steve and him and the team as a whole is obvious. DON’T MISS the associated verse, which is 450000 words (and growing) of shortfic in the same timeline, and which incidentally has the best OCs in the entire fandom.

Hollow Your Bones Like a Bird’s by @scifigrl47 (95514 words, Clint/Phil) - In the wake of the Chitauri invasion, Clint Barton wakes up in a world that he very nearly had a hand in destroying. And confronting a loss he might not be able to cope with. The Avengers always needed something to avenge, but once the crisis is past, what keeps them together?

I have yet to see a better representation of grief in fanfic, and that’s only maybe half of Clint’s problems in this fic. maybe you’ve noticed I like realism when fic deals with hard topics, and this shies away from nothing - and Clint will treat you to excellent analyses of his friends, as well as many bird facts, along the way!

Ain’t No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) by spitandvinegar [on tumblr but I’m not able to tag them, sorry!] (107076 words, Steve/Bucky) - It’s six in the morning, and Steve is heading out on a run when he nearly trips over a bouquet of sunflowers on the front steps of his brownstone. For a second paranoia takes over, and he kicks the flowers a little, waiting for them to explode. They don’t. They also came with a card, which he picks up. The front of the card has a tasteful picture of the Brooklyn bridge at sunset. It’s very nice and sedate, like the kind of card you would buy to give to your boss. On the inside someone has written a short message in big, shaky block letters. I AM SORRY FOR SHOOTING YOU. Steve sits down hard on the steps.

ok yet more wonderfully detailed post-ws Bucky trying to recover fic, except in this one Bucky is homeless and a drug addict and ADOPTS THE BEST OCS with the BEST POVS EVER, oh my GOD. also Steve is smart and kind, Sam is long-suffering (and smart and kind), and the whole thing is hilarious.

Soccer / FC Barcelona RPF

only the children (know what they’re looking for) by therestisdetail (7253 words, gen) - I drew a picture of him, later, but I shall not show it to you for it is a sad demonstration of what will happen if you stop drawing when you are six, and certainly much less charming than its model. He wore a shirt that was too large and had soft dark eyes hiding beneath dark, indecisive hair; it did not seem to know if it was short or long, or what shape it wanted to be. He was very pale, very slight, had no shoes, and held a battered football beneath one arm with an air of pride. (Le Petit Prince redone feat. FC Barcelona)

a young Andrés Iniesta meets an even younger Leo Messi, and they quite simply tear my heart in two. no knowledge of The Little Prince required, but the fic is just as understatedly beautiful as the original.

Like a Hand Grenade by @meretricula (20430 words, 2 works, Cesc/Messi) - Cesc Fabregas is born a girl. She still loves football.

full disclosure, I do not care about Cesc Fabregas. I didn’t care about Cesc Fabregas even before his career got, frankly, weird and dispiriting. but BY GOD these works make me care about genderbent!Cesc and everything she could have been. the sequel is particularly nice for some cameos from other well-loved players!

Go Gentle by @ferritin4 (20977 words, eventually Xaviesta) - Things change, but only some things. In which Barça is indeed més que un club, no one stays on top forever, and it all comes back to Andrés in the end.

hands down my favorite football rpf. uses the A/B/O trope and the idea of pack dynamics to tell the story of the last decade of Barcelona football, which makes a hell of a lot of sense, and although Andrés is quietly the star, the different POVs let a lot of people shine.

It’s Going to Take a Lot to Drag Me Away from You by meretricula (31296 words, 10 works, Xaviesta, Fabregas/Messi/Pique, and Messilla) - Everybody knows Barcelona’s midfielders are psychic anyway. (Soulbonding AU)

try to tell me that a soulbonding AU isn’t the most logical thing in the world for Xavi and Iniesta, just try to tell me that! there’s also a good look at how the politics of this system could get messy quick, which, let’s be real, just makes sense for barça-centric fic.

Star Trek

How Many Roads? or, 27 Times Jim Kirk hit on Nyota Uhura by Deastar (8806 words, Uhura/Spock) - After the bar fight, Nyota thinks to herself that if this is what being hit on by Jim Kirk leads to, she’s very glad she’s never going to have to see him again.

Uhura and Kirk’s relationship goes from the dumpster fire it was in Iowa to the professional respect we get throughout the movies, but we never really see how it happens. this fic shows all of that and much more, and oh my god, I just like these characters so much.

Counteractive Measures by rikke_leonhart (9159 words, loosely Kirk/Spock) - The thing is – giving Jim Kirk a dare will never ever work. “Enlist,” she repeats to herself as Pike’s back disappears out the door. She snorts. It’s one of those things that just keep getting funnier.

Jim Kirk’s whole life - if Jim Kirk were a girl, and slightly less cliche about her motivations and psychology. and if Spock and especially McCoy were just as awesome as ever, because of course they are!

Star Wars

The Last Poem of Jedha by @schweinsty (15486 words, gen) - How Bodhi Rook temporarily misplaced the two most important things in the galaxy, and how he found them again (with a little help).

literally every fic on this list is amazing, I promise, but this one is my favorite out of them all. if you’ve ever cared about star wars for five seconds, please read this. the world-building, the characterizations, the plot structure, the family and team relationships: all stellar!

Supernatural

In His Image by @whitmerule (153067 words, Gabriel/Sam and Castiel/Dean) - Kali can breathe life back into a corpse, but what exactly is Gabriel now? Gabriel flits around various centuries trying to work that out, Dean has another powered-down angel and a little brother to look out for, Castiel has forgotten how to trust, and someone keeps sending Sam annoying little notes on his laptop. Oh, and Bobby would like to remind you all that there’s an Apocalypse still going on. Covers season 5 from Gabriel’s death to the finale.

half season 5 AU, half historical fiction, it feels like one story thread should distract from the other but instead it all works together to make the definitive Gabriel-centric story!

Sammyverse by shangrilada (249230 words, 42 works, gen) - It’s an AU, but not a deep one, until season 4 or thereabouts, where it starts to get kind of weird. Basically, Sam has really hideous asthma, and the boys are both pretty excellent at dealing with it and each other. They’re [not] all from Dean’s POV, and even though I’m branching now into later stuff, I’m going to keep doing pre-Stanford–Season 2 for a long time because that makes me happy. Honestly it’s a lot of H/C porn of the boys just being friendly and affectionate towards each other, because that’s how I like them. It is, to put it simply, gen. To put it more honestly, it’s as fucked up as I see it in canon and not a bit more or less. You can read into it as much or as little as you like.

it’s just like the show, except Sam is chronically ill and also the boys like each other. based on the show you might think the boys already like each other, but my friends, this ‘verse will show you just how much was missing. Dean’s internal monologues are things of beauty, and I love how much Jess is featured in the Stanford-era fics. (note: this master list includes most but not all of the fic in the verse, so if you’d like the rest be sure to check the author’s page or ask me for links!)

True Blood

We Who Are Alive And Remain by @branwyn-says (10448 words, Sookie/Eric) - Terrified by changes she witnesses in herself, Sookie hides from the world and everyone in it. When Eric finds out her secret, she will either find that he is worthy of her trust-or she’ll be dead.

the non-linear timeline makes this fic shine, and from the very beginning the plot is intriguing. before the plot is resolved we get to see a lot about who Sookie is who Eric is to her, and the dynamics between Sookie and nearly everyone in her life.

The West Wing

We Don’t Notice Time Pass by pene (1304 words, gen) - “I’d no idea you’d even met her.” It’s friendship and it’s women.

focusing on female friendship within The West Wing is annoyingly difficult, but this story focuses on what relationships among women can be. Mrs. Landingham acts as a bit of a mentor to Ainsley, and Ainsley’s relationship with her childhood best friend is achingly and heartwarmingly true to life.

Define Your Terms by candle_beck (4443 words, Josh/Sam) - It’s very complicated inside Josh’s head.

Josh is manic and about five conversations ahead of Sam. it works out because these two idiots care about each other very, very strongly. I love Josh’s mental voice in this one!

Vidui by Marguerite (7358 words, gen) - In the fall of 2001, Toby went to shul. In past years he had carried sins enough to confess, sins both petty and great, transgressions against God’s ordinances and those of men.

a beautiful meditation on Toby’s relationship with the people he works with/calls his family, through an explicitly Jewish lense. Toby is the person, and the Jew, that I wish I could be <3</p>

The Thinner the Skin by Jane St Clair (2149 words, Josh/Sam) - Of couches and expensive suits, with some mention of madness.

if you’re going to write a Josh/Sam post-Noel fic, this is unquestionably the way to do it! nothing is shied away from but there’s all the best kind of comfort that h/c can offer, and nice backstory details that make the characters seem realer.

highways and byways and roads in between by @greatestheights (10456 words, Josh/Donna) - “Maps are for losers. Maps are for people with no sense of adventure, like you, and…I don’t know. Toby, probably.” Josh, Donna, the open road, five states, and some of the things they said while they were driving.

Josh and Donna and, just, everything that they are (that is, a well-meaning idiot and better than you, respectively), with a healthy dose of Donna/career. everyone is characterized spotlessly, the dialogue is episode-caliber, and there’s fun local geography/culture!

#ficrecdays #fanfic #fic rec #tricatular #spitandvinegar #tagging authors who i can't @ in the post why does tumblr always do this #if you know any of the other authors are on tumblr tag them for me or let me know please?#james bond #the martian #marvel #fcb #star trek #star wars #r1 #supernatural #true blood #the west wing #*whispering* read these fics read these fics read these fics they're my entire heart in fiction form

8 notes · View notes

tortoisesforhire · 5 years

Text

So Marvel doesn’t Get It

I know I’ve said this before but I really wanted to organize my thoughts on it and look at, realistically what did the MCU actually do.

So Lets rewind, first they brought us Ironman. Now, remember this was back when comic movies weren’t popular or cool, and Hollywood especially didn’t believe they could win. RDJ was still trying to climb his way back from where he had fallen and even if there was a greater plan when that movie was made, it was thin and flimsy and didn’t have a great deal of belief behind it. In that sense the first Ironman really defied everyone’s expectations, it did what no one believed it could do and it launched a franchise that quite literally changed the world. I mean hell, it didn’t even have a script!

So I’m not bagging on what Jon and RDJ created, I will always be so grateful to them for that. What I am pointing out is that Hollywood chose the Richest White Guy Superhero to be their backing. Not Cap cause he was too patriotic, too potentially controversial, not Thor because there was too much of a risk of kitschyness, not Hulk because that horse had been shot in the face one too many times and certainly not any female superhero goodness no. No they took the one Superhero who was the most like them, and then they took away the part of him that made him different. They took Ironman and turned him into the Ultimate Straight White Boi, or at least they tried, I mean can you imagine Tony Stark in the hands of anyone other than RDJ? I shudder to think (Although I do think Luke Evans could have done a lovely job just sayin ok)

And when Ironman succeeded, instead of accrediting that success with the talent and skill of Jon and RDJ, they gave it too the fact that their Straight White Boi appealed the most to the masses. So to really cash in on that success they just kept doing what they’d been doing; thus beginning the Ode to Tony Stark otherwise known as the MCU.

Thor? No, nothing queer here no way! Loki? That evil piece of shit? He’s just an abused daddy’s boy, nope we’re not gonna talk about his magic really, or his gender or his wives or children, just a big ol cry baby yup yup. We’ve got one black guy but he’s just there to look shiny and be a Bro. You know like most black dudes in movies or tv shows. Yup.

What Black Widow? Isn’t she so hot? We’re not gonna give her that many lines, we’re sure ScarJo can just convey her intelligence via facial expressions and her eyebrows. Pepper? Aw she’s so cute and she loves Tony so much, but also she’s a badass CEO only she doesn’t think she can do it! Aw bby, also she always looks great, gives perfect advice and supports Tony no matter what, unless he needs some extra drama/motivation for this scene. She live to serve guys! Lives. To. Serve.

And Bruce? We know all his movies sucked but we have to have him here, oh look they like him! It must be because he is a straight white boi! Well let’s just throw away She Hulk and Red She Hulk, they’re not important. Ooh look he and ScarJo look good together let’s make that a thing, we all know Black Widow really needed a love interest to justify her existence in this franchise. But it can’t succeed because she’s Dark and Mysterious and also Bad Bad.

People really seem to like Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in the comics so lets bring them in! Only we can’t keep Quicksilver cause of licensing so lets just kill him, doesn’t matter how so long as it’s tragic, maybe involve Hawkeye its not like he’s doing anything. Wanda’s here now, yup, oh they don’t really like her, well she’s a woman so that must be why. Can’t have anything to do with casting, writing or the fact that we made a jewish girl a nazi. NOPE NOT AT ALL!

So Tony and Steve need to fight now, Steve also needs a girlfriend, hey Peggy had a niece that seems logical and not at all creepy. Why are they fighting? Ummmmmm, Bucky? Also Tony’s our sacrificial lamb so let’s throw some of that in there a bit. What is emotional consistency or characterization, superhero fight scene! Wanda and Vision are in love! We don’t need to prove it they just are!

What I’m saying is it took them over ten years to give us a female sueprhero movie, and they gave it like nothing. Like begrudgingly here, have some money, I guess. And only after DC had launched Wonder Woman (also begrudgingly) to massive commercial success. And thats -1- movie, after we’ve begged and pleaded for a Black Widow movie they gave us...not Black Widow. Not that I don’t love Captain Marvel but it just kinda feels like a big sparkly distraction.

So, to summarize, the MCU made Tony Stark straight (Ha!) got rid of Betty and Jennifer, minimized Natasha as much as possible, erased Clint’s disability (and entire personality), somehow made Steve even more annoyingly self-righteous than he is in the comics, turned two romani jewish siblins into actual nazi’s, gave us a Black Superhero that has almost zero impact on their greater (white) universe, gave a female superhero who also has zero impact on their greater (male) universe, made Stephen Strange straight (ha!), re-wrote Peter Parker’s entire origin story so that it revolved entirely around Tony Stark (why???) made Loki straight (hahahahahahahaha*cries*) erased his wives, his children, Thor and Sif’s relationship (???) turned Valkyrie into a big ol’ stereotype, called it representation so they didn’t have to include her (beautiful) relationship with Frejya, turned Scott Lang into a joke (??????) introduced Bucky only to give him zero screen time, character growth or any kind of arc really just so they could skip to Falcon as Cap (good god why) added like four straight romances that were really, really unnecessary just so they could erase all mention of queerness and then literally blew it all up so that their Ultimate Straight White Boi could be the Eternal Hero of Marvel.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Tony, I really do (fuck Steve), but he is neither straight nor is he white. So this whole thing just feels really....really...insulting as all heck. (Also did I mention what they did to Loki? Cause that was pretty goddamn bad.)

#marvel #ali rants #fuck the russo brothers

0 notes