#tfatws meta

[staying-elive]

A collection of my thoughts and headcanons to improve TFATWS

(Warning: Long post ahead!)

I was rewatching The Last of Us the other night and I really appreciated how, in a 9 episode (10 really with the 2ep pilot), it delivered so much plot momentum while still delving into multiple characters' backstories, with multiple episodes almost entirely devoted to flashbacks.

Like... with a somewhat modified plot and longer run time, TFATWS could've added so much backstory for both Sam and Bucky. Hell, they didn't mind spending CGI de-aging money on Fury in Secret Invasion so we could've used a little here too, no?

So, in a similar series structure, we could've had a 2ep opening pilot, really setting the foundational themes, then after Walker gets introduced as Walmart Cap, the next episode (after the recap) could've opened with an almost entirely flashback episode of Sam's time in the air force. (Walker might’ve even been in Afghanistan at the same time, depending on age/Blip years, etc. if you wanted to show them crossing paths, show Walker's always been entitled and a loose cannon, etc).

The episode could've A) shown Sam's awesome Falcon skills as a pararescue, B) given us Riley, whose loss we'd see echoed in Sam's grief and mixed emotions about Steve (and NAT!), and C) could've shown more Sam's reasons for being anti-authority and anti-institutional power, and a distrust in power structures that change their minds and agendas.

A headcanon I've had for a while is that even though Sam and Riley were trained and deployed as pararescue, eventually, maybe after their first tour trialling the EXO-7s, the military higher-ups realised that the Falcons could get in and out of certain regions/facilities, far better than a lot of other special forces crew. This meant that very quickly, Sam and Riley were being pulled from their pararescue unit and sent on more and more ops that weren't what they signed up for. Weren't of the 'rescue and recovery, saving people, bringing them home' variety. And this would weigh heavily on Sam's morals. Not only does he either not get all the info on these ops or doesn't agree with them, but he's also leaving his unit, the 58th, without him. Which could lead to guilt if some of his fellow soldiers are killed or wounded and not rescued in time, because the Falcons weren't there to save them. And of course, Riley's eventually death perhaps resulting from one of these dangerous ops. (Covered up officially as that 'standard night mission' which is all Sam's allowed to say.)

I think something like that could've shown Sam's disillusionment with government agencies and military institutions (especially when propped up by propaganda). And mirrored comments made by both Steve and Sam in Winter Solider and Civil War.

"The people giving me orders are down to zero..."

"Agendas change."

"What if this sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there's somewhere we need to go and they don't let us?"

"How long you gonna play both sides?"

Part of Sam's reluctance in taking up the shield could've been his past experience in his abilities being turned to something he didn't sign up for and ultimately misused. (Also a parallel to Bucky!) A conversation prior to Riley's death, between him and Sam, could've shown that growing distrust in what they've been made to do.

Anyway, then (this post's already too long lol), later in the season, there's an almost entirely Bucky-centric flashback episode (like Ellie's ep7 in TLoU). Maybe Sam's injured and in hospital after the fight with Walker for the shield (but also Lemar doesn't get killed, because i say so), and this leaves Bucky in crisis mode for personal and plot reasons.

I haven't nailed down the specifics of these flashbacks as much, but the general scope would include: Bucky being drafted (not freely enlisting), seeing his family happy pre-War (little Rebecca?!), Hydra (not torture porn, just as in he's turned into a weapon and ties in with his guilt/list later), hiding out post CAWS (bonus points if Sam DID find Bucky first, I can't help it 😉), isolation, but sees someone that embodies so much that's good and worth believing in (Sam), starting to heal in Wakanda (like with Ayo) (again, bonus points if Sam's there at least once).

All that to say, Bucky's themes could highlight his displacement and disenfranchisement from his time, all his family, himself, and that clawing back of identity and belief in Good Things. And because in my scenario, I have Sam incapacitated to prompt this time of Bucky self-reflection, these flashbacks show that Sam is one of those Good Things that Bucky has grown to believe in and gravitate to. Which shows onscreen WHY he's been so adamant that Sam take up the shield. (Even though he went about this is a counter-intuitive and unhelpful way, we can fix this too). Sam inspired good in him, 'brought him home' (pararescue parallel!), and Bucky believes Sam can do the same for a broken world.

*Sam obviously wakes up, plot continues, he goes home while Bucky (being unable to verbalise yet everything we the audience now understands) has gone off to find Zemo, beg Wakanda for a fancy, over the top, 'I'm sorry I've been a dick, but I love you, I believe in you, and this is here should you choose it and if you need it' apology proposal present.

(I jest. This can all be read as strictly MCU-approved platonic. But this is tumblr, and me, so let's be real 😉)

I also would add, in the last episode, when Bucky is in NY, a scene of him contacting an older Rebecca. (Maybe this is something Sam asks him early in the show if he's done yet and Bucky brushes off, aggravated. Showing that he knows he has family alive, but his fear and other issues have been keeping him from reaching out - like what's kept him from Sam.) Because then you have back to back scenes of Bucky reconnecting to his old family, leading right into the dock party with Sam (his new family!) Visually showing he's healing that bridge of displacement and isolation.

Anyway, if you've stuck around to the end, thank you! That's how I would've incorporated flashbacks into a rough approximation of a TFATWS show to flesh out Sam and Bucky in relation to the show's themes and each other. (Obviously, we could fix all the Flagsmasher, power broker, serum stuff too. But the general plot outline still works for the purpose of this idea.)

Thanks for reading 😘

#i've forgotten so much while writing this #and the formatting kept doing weird things since i typed this on my phone #i hope this makes sense #tfatws #sambucky #sam wilson #bucky barnes #sambucky headcanons #sam wilson meta #i'll be very surprised if anyone reads to the end of this #long post #this is what i mean when i say all my headcanons interlink into one giant mega rewrite of tweaks #sam wilson headcanons #staying-elive #sambucky meta #tfatws meta

[jbarneswilson]

riling myself up imagining the first time sarah holds a bite of food up to bucky to try and he just opens his mouth and automatically takes it from her fingers. there is something very special and loving and comforting and home-y and safe about a southern black woman who loves you hand-feeding you. especially if it is accompanied by a “here, try this, baby”

#sarah wilson #bucky barnes #sarahbucky #sarahbucky thoughts #sarahbucky meta #tfatws #tfatws meta

[bbyboybucket]

Okay besties, today I’m giving you the run down of Buckys finances and networth. Because as I’ve said multiple times, he’s obscenely wealthy despite the fact you’d never know by looking at him.

Now first off, MatPat (my fav YouTuber who I’m so sad is retiring, literally adore him) did a mini theory a few years ago, calculating Bucky’s compound interest in previously earned money from WWII in his frozen bank account while he was presumed dead. It totaled out to $51,143. This is just the money that he earned in the 30s/40s and has grown interest on. This is assuming the money wasn’t given to his family and for the purpose of this post, we’ll go with that it wasn’t. However, MatPat didn’t account back pay, for disability pay, and other military pay/benefits.

So as a starter point, we’ll use $51,143. Next, I’m going to calculate his back pay from being MIA/POW because he would have been considered active duty. A MIA/POW is given back pay of 50% of the average per diem rate, for each day held in captivity. The 2023 rate is $157 per day, and I assume that would be similar for him because TFATWS takes place in early 2024. So that means Bucky would get $78.50 per day. There is no time limit on how far back pay can date to, so the entire span of Bucky’s capture is accounted for. As per the Smithsonian memorial in CA:TWS, Bucky was captured in 1944, making it exactly 70 years of capture. So, the back pay for those 70 years, is $2,005,675.

Next, we’ll look at the different forms of disability pay he would receive. I’m only going to look at canonical, confirmed disabilities for this. Bucky would be classified under SMC-N 1/2, where one arm was amputated above the elbow and/or was amputated so close to the shoulder that a prosthetic cannot be worn. Now obviously, Bucky does have a prosthetic but it is implanted into his body, as a majority of his left shoulder seems to have been amputated. Since he is single and has no dependents, aka has no children and is not taking care of any family, and he is still able to work, he would be receiving $6,182 a month.

He also has PTSD, which he would most likely get a 70% percent disability rating for, as 100% is very rare to receive for mental and is considered to be extreme impairment in daily functioning. (He could recieve 80 or 90% but I’m being generous here and trying to give the most realistic assessment). All this means, his mental illness pay for PTSD would be $1716 a month.

It’s also canonical that he has brain damage via The Wakanda Files book. We know in that book, he’s described to have pretty severe TBI. However, we don’t know anything of his symptoms and the book only describes of the brain scan looks bad and that the serum is keeping him from being more impaired. The VA uses 10 areas of impairment as criteria to rate the severity of TBI disability. The only canonically confirmed area that we know Bucky deals with is memory. Since we know no other symptoms and we know he’s not extremely impaired, I’m going to estimate he’d be rated at 50%. Which would give him a compensation of $1075 a month.

Now, we can assume Bucky is retired from the military. From being a retired sergeant, we can assume his monthly pension is around $5,482.

Reminder, all VA pay is untaxed. All of these together, his monthly salary is $14,455. However, this is not including disability back pay. The VA sometimes will pay a lump sum from back from when the diagnosis was made. Assuming the Wakandans were involved in Bucky’s trial and pardon, I’d assume some of his medical records were brought in as well. Back dating to when he was being treated in Wakanda, that’s 7 years, however we don’t know if the blip would count so for that reason, I’ll say 2 years. So, his lump sum would be around $215,352.

Now, endgame was in October, six months before TFATWS, meaning it took place around March/April. Within, the span of October to March, Bucky woulda have accumulated $86,730. Because even if his pardon wasn’t official yet in October, he would still receive payment for that month.

Finally, in grand total, all of this is $2,358,900. His networth would be in a similar, slightly lower range. Meaning: yes, Bucky Barnes is a millionaire and nobody would ever guess.

#I really felt like MatPat when doing all this #bucky barnes #meta #bucky Barnes meta #james buchanan barnes #the winter soldier #TFATWS #CA:TWS

[luna-rainbow]

You know, back when I had such high hopes for TFATWS, the therapy scene had introduced three rules:

Don’t do anything illegal

Nobody gets hurt - “it’s kinda a big one”

“The whole point of the amends is to fulfill rule number 3!” - “I am no longer the Winter Soldier, I am James Bucky Barnes and you’re part of my effort to make amends 🙃”

(God typing that out just made my blood pressure go up)

(So the whole point of the amends is him telling people he’s making amends? Him telling people he’s no longer the leader winter soldier? Him telling people he’s Bucky?)

But let’s talk about rule number 2, cos it’s a big one.

In an alternate universe where a show exists that actually treated Bucky’s therapy properly, this was an important rule.

Nobody gets hurt.

And that should have included Bucky.

We know from previous movies he’s someone who frequently puts other people (that other person usually being Steve) before himself: whether it's in the first movie bringing up the rear for Steve or refusing to leave the burning factory without Steve or cheering for Steve without letting him see how upset he feels.

Or even that fated act of picking up the shield to lead the firing away from Steve that ended up with him falling off the train.

This gets worse as he goes through the Winter Soldier: we see him let the other winter soldiers overpower him until he steps up to protect the very guy who ordered them to hit him; we see him willingly submit to the electrocution, we see him stay doggedly on the Helicarrier to "finish his mission" even if that meant certain death for him.

Then post-Winter Soldier we see him placidly let them place him in the electric chair and only tears himself out when he doesn't want Zemo to wake the Soldier. We see him hold back from fighting Tony until Tony shoots at Steve. We see him choose to go back to cryo - the type of place he was imprisoned for 70 years - because he didn't want to hurt people.

Consistently, and particularly post Winter Soldier, Bucky has acted like it's okay for him to be hurt.

In a better universe, an important arc for him should have been realising he could still do the right thing without having to be hurt by it.

Nobody gets hurt - and it is kind of a big deal for a guy who's spent 70 years being punished until he stops acting good - that now doing a good thing no longer comes with pain.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes meta #tfatws critical

[5ummit]

Rumlow & Bucky threatening people with a custom SIG Sauer P226 SCT

At first glance Bucky's gun in TFATWS may not look particularly special or appear to have any narrative significance, but I’m here to tell you that’s almost certainly not the case, whether intentional or not.

I already thought the parallel was fascinating when I first noticed these guns looked similar, but the deeper I dug the more compelling the story got. They aren’t just similar, they’re the exact same gun. Which ordinarily wouldn't be that all that special either, since many people use the same type of gun, but this isn’t some generic off-the-shelf model. In fact, I now think this custom P226 SCT is so unique as to be intrinsically linked to Rumlow, and I’m going to make the case that its reappearance in TFATWS is so remarkable that the gun (and therefore likely Rumlow himself) must hold some sort of significance for Bucky.

Buckle up, I’m about to overanalyze the shit out of this gun.

First, let’s look at the facts:

Out of the dozens of guns seen and used in CATWS, the only person to use a P226 is Rumlow. Even after he loses his customized SCT in the scene above, he's seen with another standard P226 in the next scene, which suggests he heavily favors this model. Side note: Knowing this, my new headcanon is that Rumlow is a former Navy SEAL since P226′s are famous for being beloved and carried by SEALs. Plus, everything we know about him lines up perfectly with that background.

Excluding the Winter Soldier’s P220, no one else in CATWS is seen carrying any SIG handgun model. All other SHIELD and HYDRA agents pretty much exclusively use Glocks, which further confirms this custom P226 SCT is undoubtably meant to be Rumlow’s personal handgun (he’s also seen with this same gun in the scene where they’re hunting Steve down at the mall).

Out of the dozens of guns seen and used in TFATWS, the only person to use a P226 is Bucky. Yet again, no one else in the show carries any SIG handgun model with Glocks by far the most common.

This is the only gun Bucky uses in the entire show. The only other gun Bucky even briefly holds is the submachine gun he takes from one of Selby's goons before dropping it seconds later. Additionally, the fact that Bucky has this gun in two completely different scenes, set days apart in different locations, confirms this isn’t just some random gun he borrowed temporarily in Madripoor, but his own personal gun that he purposefully chooses to carry.

Not only are Rumlow and Bucky’s guns the same basic model, they’re specifically the Super Capacity Tactical (SCT) variant, which is already fairly uncommon, but on top of that and more importantly both guns appear to have the same very specific, very unique customizations to the point where I’m almost certain it’s the exact same prop. While the standard P226 SCT is pure black, multiple parts on both of these guns (hammer, takedown lever, magazine release, decocker, etc) have a silvery finish instead, which you may be able to see a bit more clearly here and here. Some of the parts are reminiscent of the Equinox version of the P226, but it’s not a perfect match and notably the SCT doesn’t seem to have ever been made in an Equinox variation anyway. The most interesting features to me though are the bare-metal front and rear cocking serrations, which again are reminiscent of the Equinox except the rest of the slide is still all black. In all of my research that’s not something I’ve been able to find on any other P226 and is not just a part you could potentially buy and swap out. To achieve that look the slide would have to be very deliberately hand-sanded or machined. This detail, combined with the other custom parts, undoubtably makes this gun one-of-a-kind.

Now some may try to argue that if we look at other Marvel movies we might find that this particular prop has been reused before and this gun is not as unique in-universe as it might seem. Don’t worry, I’ve looked into this too. At least according to IMFDB’s current records, not a single P226 SCT, much less one with these customizations, has ever been identified in another Marvel property. Rumlow’s gun in CATWS and Bucky’s gun in TFATWS are the only instances this gun, or anything like it, has shown up.

Maybe the reappearance of this gun was just meant to be a cool Easter egg for eagle-eyed gun enthusiasts. Maybe it’s meant to be something more. I don’t know and I honestly don’t care. Because here’s the thing, regardless of what was originally intended (death of the author and all that), the facts remain and they paint an undeniably compelling picture of something that has actual narrative weight.

Whatever Doylist reasons this gun may’ve been chosen for Bucky out of the dozens, if not hundreds, of potential options, if we just look at the facts and try to make sense of them in-universe one thing is clear: there’s no way Rumlow and Bucky would both have this exact gun by pure coincidence. It’s not standard issue for SHIELD or HYDRA and it’s not some run-of-the-mill, off-the-shelf weapon Bucky could’ve easily picked up somewhere on a whim. He made a deliberate choice to acquire and carry this gun. And given this custom P226’s extreme uniqueness paired with Rumlow and Bucky’s likely history, there are really only two possible scenarios that I can see:

Bucky sought out and somehow recovered Rumlow’s gun from the wreckage of the Triskelion at some point, making it quite literally the exact same gun.

Bucky tracked down the same already uncommon model and specifically customized it to match Rumlow’s favorite gun (which he would’ve had to have been very familiar with to get all of the details just right).

Either option is intriguing, to say the least. It certainly brings up more questions than answers, namely: What is the significance of Rumlow and/or his gun to Bucky/the Winter Soldier, and why does Bucky care about it so much that he took the considerable time and effort to either recover the original or recreate an exact copy?

[Disclaimer: By no means am I a gun expert, but I did try to be thorough in my research. A lot of my conclusions are based on info pulled from IMFDB, though not all of it. While IMFDB isn’t perfect, as it’s just a publicly run database and not an official source, I’ve found it to be quite comprehensive when it comes to popular shows and movies and its contributors are generally very skilled at identifying weapons. However, if any gun experts think I’ve made a significant error, let me know!]

#bucky barnes #brock rumlow #winterbones #catws #tfatws #catwsedit #tfatwsedit #marveledit #my edit #my words #my meta #marvel meta #[insert always sunny pepe silvia meme] #I'm not saying this is canon evidence of winterbones #but I'm not NOT saying it either #it's been a year and a half since it aired but TFATWS is still somehow the HTP gift that keeps on giving #The Gun

[logicheartsoul]

MattJen & Sambucky Parallels (Finale Edition)

#meta #mattjen #sambucky #sam wilson #bucky barnes #jennifer walters #matt murdock #tfatws #she hulk #mcu #my screencaps #i've been meaning to make a parallels gif series for these two for ages and I thought I'd start with this coz stills are easier #honestly though it's kinda ridiculous the parallels #even down to how the dialogues and scenes are structured it's almost...the same it's a lot lmao

[amarriageoftrueminds]

*points originally in a tag-dump under another post about* Bucky's goodness + Steve's belief in him 

+ the fact that the superserum worked on Bucky is empirical proof of his goodness:

+ this is also why the serum worked on Isaiah Bradley. + imagine if Isaiah had been made the Winter Soldier instead

Seriously it's a pretty eye-opening thought exercise to put any other character in Bucky's place and see just how poorly he's treated.

Do people really think Steve would hear about a man who had the same magic ‘only works on good people’ juice as him, tortured and enslaved by Hydra for decades… and then just NOT help him?

imagine if you had Sam saying 'Steve this 'Isaiah' guy he's not someone you save he's someone you stop.'

Nat saying 'Steve I know this matters to you but let the police handle Isaiah someone will arrest you if you interfere, it will inconvenience us all.' (LOL Nat have you met Steve who wrote this)

Sam agreeing, 'maybe Nat's right maybe we shouldn't bother helping Isaiah against the police in case they shoot at us,' and dismissing the fact that Isaiah could do good: ‘1945, maybe.’ 

When Isaiah was the guy that pulled Steve out of the river?

(And meanwhile the CIA have given police, that Nat and Sam are telling Steve not to interfere with, orders to shoot Isaiah dead on sight? quelle surprise)

Steve would still be arguing that it should be him to bring Isaiah in, since he's least likely to die trying. 

He would still have put taking down the Insight helicarriers first, and been reluctant (but willing) to dislocate his arm for that very important reason. 

He would still have lifted up the steel beam pinning Isaiah down

(and probably still tried to talk him out of his mind-control, even if he failed.)

imagine if everyone (Sam, Nat, Steve, Sharon, etc.) saw Isaiah -- when mind-controlled -- suddenly demonstrating a drastically different personality

and imagine if Steve and Sam saw Isaiah waking up with amnesia.. then proving his memory of his good, non-WS personality... but Sam was still rude/hostile to Isaiah anyway, insisting he and Steve should not be ‘cool' with him (then telling Isaiah he hates him). 

Tony saying 'I don’t care that Isaiah was mind-controlled he killed my mom imma murder him just to spite you for not trusting me not to murder people.'

imagine if you had the therapist telling Isaiah he needs to be monitored by the state to prove he’s not giving into his innate violence, giving him rules to follow like a child, (and he’s pardoned, not exonerated, meaning he had to admit to crimes he wasn’t responsible for in order to get a modicum of freedom) and that it’s bullshit to suggest Isaiah just wants some peace

Ayo telling Isaiah 'you are free' 😌 as he finally escapes his bondage, watching him cry with relief, then: ‘SIKE! we put a booby-trap in ur limb the trust was a lie.’

Sam cracking jokes about Isaiah's trauma, dehumanizing him as a killing machine 

taking part in a plot where Isaiah has to pretend to be WS, be sold to another human being, and have rape jokes cracked about him, 

but then still being like 'listen Isaiah if you really want to apologise f̶o̶r̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶l̶a̶v̶e̶  you should just do the work.' 😔

*event horizon voice* DO YOU SEE? DO YOU SEE?? 😬

#long post #tfatws critical #antisambucky #antitfatws #antitony #bucky meta #bucky's serum meta #mcu meta #dat's me #gunna tag this as anti-[those things] #cuz I don't imagine eg. sambucca fans wanna see this on their dash... 🤐 #meta #steve meta #stucky meta #steve rogers #bucky barnes #stucky #the writing of sam and bucky #f/ws writers room: LOL dehumanizing the disabled is HILARIOUS! #why would we write a black-lead show empathising w/ a former slave who gets profiled by the police and molested by white women?? 🤔 #a mystery for the ages #also I have been recced The Truth limited run of cap comics which feat isaiah... #tho warning: the differences between it + fatws may cause rage palpitations #yet each man queues the thing he loves

[rainbowsuitcase]

This came to my mind thanks to a joke but. Of course my brain made it sad.

The expression on Bucky's face.

The realization that for someone who knows what they're doing, removing his arm is really easy.

The realization that not even the people who helped fix him, the people who made sure he was safe, don't fully trust him.

AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN TELL HIM THEY COULD DO THAT

#just #im probs not putting it into words properly #but idc im just sad #“you still see me as a threat but you were the one who made sure i wasn't” #“will i ever be free” #that kinda thing yea #bucky barnes meta #bucky barnes #winter soldier #tfatws

[gay-jewish-bucky]

Why does everyone at Marvel studios (besides Seb) hate MCU Bucky and say he's never done anything heroic? Why do they constantly force him to suffer as if he was responsible for his victimization? Why do they turn the reveal of his sexual abuse into a joke? Why can they sympathize with Ultron and Thanos, but not Bucky?

Sexism!

The nature of lot of the abuse and exploitation he's faced is, in western media, mainly carried out against women, sometimes queer men (like Arnie Roth). Conversations around his female coding within the MCU have largely stopped but it's very important to remember. The patriarchy punishes all men who step out of line, and this is a very good example of that phenomenon.

To them, because of this, he is a failure of a man. He is weak. He is complicit because men can't be victims and still be men. he is not worthy of respect or accolades.

His fans as a whole tend to be people who are frequent targets of overt misogyny, they generally aren't those who believe in and participate in enforcing the expectations of white, western manhood.

You know who does believe in and patriciate in that? The people who have actual control over his character's arc and treatment in the MCU. The one person with power who actually understood Bucky (Stan Lee) died and since then they've been saying the quiet part out loud.

They've also robbed him of the female coding and anything that could be read as contrary to their oppressive standards of masculinity from his character (this includes cutting his hair and robbing him of the softness he had even after everything he'd been through, not letting him have a cat because yes I've heard people outright state he's "too manly" to own a cat) in an effort to force him to be a "real man".

#marvel #mcu #bucky #bucky barnes #james buchanan bucky barnes #james bucky barnes #marvel meta #bucky meta #sexism #men are hurt by misogyny too #sa mention #tw sa #sa tw #fatws critical #tfatws critical #anti marvel #anti mcu #marvel critical #mcu critical

[captainwidowspring]

🤨🤨🤨

I definitely agree, it really is wild that some people actually think that Nico was some meek innocent victim, or that John's reaction was unreasonable. I guess it's a testament to how effective the show's anti-John-Walker propaganda is, for it is hard to see how else so many people could become convinced of such a clear untruth. Indeed, it's similar to how in Civil War, another propaganda-heavy film, some people actually think Steve was the one who attacked Tony in Siberia, despite the fact that Tony was the sole aggressor. And heck, the efficacy of the anti-John-Walker propaganda is further demonstrated shortly after Nico's death; many people think for some reason that John started the fight for the shield, when it was clearly Bucky, and John literally said "You don't want to do this," when it became clear a fight was imminent. Propaganda is really no joke.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about people acting like Nico was an innocent victim is the fact that he is particularly guilty. From the way many people talk about Nico, one would think he was a random civilian—indeed, the person cited above actually implies that he was a "defenseless noncombatant"—but he was literally a hostile enemy attacker. Now, @captainpikeachu nicely explained why all the Flagsmashers are blameworthy: "if a group of people lured you and your loved ones to a location just so they could kill you and instead got your loved ones killed, does it really matter who physically did the killing when they’re all there to help?" But Nico was much more involved in what happened than most of the other Flagsmashers were.

First of all, Nico played a very active role in the attempted murder of John. Minutes before the tables were turned, Nico had caught John and held him helpless specifically so that Karli could stab him to death. Nico knew full well what he was doing, and he did it deliberately. So it's not like Nico was just standing around chilling, he was actively trying to cause harm.

And this supposed innocent victim very nearly succeeded in taking John's life. It's a really good thing that John ended up deciding to take the serum—he had been agonizing over whether to do it—because this allowed him to confront the Flagsmashers on a somewhat more even playing field. Otherwise, Nico would have been able to murder John himself; he wouldn't have even needed Karli's help. It was only because John was able to so effectively fight back that Nico had to focus his attention on subduing John instead of being able to immediately go for the kill.

And indeed, the fact that the serum helped make it possible for John to hold out against the Flagsmashers for so long is the only reason that Lemar was able to rescue him, as Lemar saved John at literally the last possible second. It really looked for a moment there like John was a goner; that is why Karli got so mad when she was thwarted. If Lemar had been any slower, or John had been imperiled any sooner, Lemar wouldn't have reached John in time: and John's blood would then have been on Nico's hands, probably literally as well as figuratively. So the serum is a major reason why Nico's attempt to get John killed was unsuccessful, but even with that and the presence of Sam and Bucky, John barely survived the attempt on his life.

And second of all, Nico is also directly responsible for Lemar's death. Many people take Nico's cry of "It wasn't me!" at face value, and accept it as the truth, but it is quite thoroughly false. Nico might not have been the one to strike the killing blow against Lemar, but the fact remains that Lemar would not have been murdered without Nico's contributions. Indeed, Nico's attack on John is the reason why the murder attempt bore any fruit at all, because John had been doing a pretty good job of frustrating the Flagsmashers' assassination attempts before Nico assaulted him. But Nico's assault made John vulnerable, and was instrumental in creating the situation that got Lemar killed: for this was the reason that Lemar was forced to throw himself in harm's way, as well as the reason why John was unable to defend Lemar from Karli's subsequent wrath.

It would have been pretty clear that Nico was culpable in John's murder if Karli had successfully killed him, so it is unclear why people cannot see that Nico is culpable in Lemar's murder simply because the victim changed. While the person who ended up dead wasn't the one Nico had been aiming for, the death still happened as a direct result of his actions.

Thus, it's quite frustrating when people try to demonize John for what he did while absolving Nico, completely ignoring the fact that minutes before the incident Nico had been quite determinedly trying to kill John, and was only narrowly kept from succeeding. And those efforts directly led to Lemar getting killed, which is why Nico's claim of innocence would have been particularly galling. Nico simply received a taste of his own medicine.

So, unsurprisingly, that take which adopts the usual tired view that John is a villain while Nico is innocent is quite thoroughly untrue. For not only was Nico neither defenseless nor surrendering, but also, John did actually have jurisdiction in the situation.

First of all, Nico was far from defenseless. It's really quite maddening when people act like Nico was powerless just because he didn't have a weapon on him, for this is not even close to the case. Again, minutes before, Nico had been able to render John completely helpless—which he accomplished without the aid of any sort of weapon—and Lemar had just been killed, also without a weapon. A video nicely summarized why Nico was not defenseless:

"[W]hy do people act like this is Walker killing someone who’s unarmed?. . .We all saw what Steve and Bucky can do throughout the MCU. They can smash through walls, rip doors off their hinges, hold a helicopter in place, throw people around like ragdolls, and as we saw with Lemar’s death, can literally kill people with a single punch. How can you possibly claim that someone is unarmed when [they can do these things]? What’s to stop [Nico] from breaking out when he has the chance to do so, and continuing to help Karli? Which is exactly what he would do, because as we’ve already discussed, he is surrendering [not really but I'll get to that] because he has literally no other choice, not because he stopped because he felt guilty."

In fact, come to think of it, there is absolutely no reason why Nico could not have just grabbed onto John's shield and held it, instead of simply lying there and getting killed. As we saw, he's just as strong as John, so he would certainly have the strength to keep the shield off his chest: and there was nothing to prevent him from doing this, as he was completely uninjured (unlike John) and his arms and hands were not restricted at all. But of course, if Nico had put up such resistance to John, the show would have a much harder time demonizing John and acting like Nico was harmless. Therefore, they got around this by not showing Nico during the incident.

Not only was Nico not helpless, however, getting mad at John for killing an adversary that he had a momentary advantage over is quite hypocritical, for Sam did something similar earlier in the show. In the middle of the fight at the beginning, Sam blew up a helicopter that still had several unconscious bad guys in it. These people actually were defenseless, as they were out cold, and they no longer posed an immediate threat to Sam. So anyone who is angry at John should be angry at Sam too. But the people who bash John rarely bring this up: for because heroic music was playing, and because the bad guys were unconscious and so unable to scream or beg Sam to spare them, Sam killing enemies who were temporarily disabled is not seen as a bad thing. It's only a problem when John does it, apparently. Such blatant double standards really help demonstrate how influential framing can be.

Second of all, not only was Nico not helpless, but he was also not surrendering. For one thing, while Nico was running, he paused to hurl a concrete trash can at John: so it's not even like he was just fleeing, he was still attacking John as he ran. For another, when John managed to knock Nico over—which took several tries—Nico attempted to get back up not once but twice: once after John initially knocked him over, and then a second time which prompted John to put his foot on Nico's chest in order to keep him down. If Nico was actually interested in surrendering, he would have stayed down the first time, as repeatedly getting back up strongly indicates a desire to keep fighting.

And for yet another, Nico yelling "It wasn't me!" is not in any way indicative of surrender (nor is it even true). That was not an attempt to yield, it was an attempt to convince John that he was attacking the wrong person. (Even though he wasn't, for again, Nico was heavily involved in the attempt on John's life that ended up taking Lemar's, and was in fact the reason it was even possible; he is just as responsible for what happened as Karli.) The only thing that could possibly be considered an effort to surrender is Nico having his hands up: but since prior to that point he staunchly refused to stop fighting—throwing the trash can at John and not staying down—and the words he spoke as he made the gesture were trying to divert John's attention rather than actually surrendering, having his hands up was not enough to cancel out the all the other indications that he didn't want to surrender, especially since it wasn't even clear whether he was trying to surrender or just gesticulating. That is why people who want to surrender often put their hands behind their head, to avoid confusion. Considering how stubbornly Nico was fighting before, if he was yielding he needed to make that abundantly clear, and he didn't, not even close.

Third of all, John did actually have jurisdiction in the scenario; he was literally on a government-sanctioned mission to deal with the Flagsmashers. Handling the Flagsmashers was actually his responsibility, and the reason why he was fighting them in the first place. Indeed, it's not even like the government was mad at John for killing Nico, as that meant one less Flagsmasher for them to deal with; they were mad at him for giving them bad press. That is why they chose to give John an other than honorable discharge, for this meant that they would not have to go through the trial that would be required if they gave him a dishonorable discharge, and risk having unfavorable information come out. Thus, John got no chance to stand up for himself, and instead got quickly swept under the rug. Now, John tried to point out the injustice of the situation—"I only ever did what you asked of me, what you told me to be and trained me to do, and I did it. And I did it well," he said—but of course, the show wasn't done demonizing him, so it just ignored him and cut him off so that he would not get in the way of the attempt to discredit him. But in any case, saying that John didn't have jurisdiction in that scenario is completely untrue, because he absolutely did. Sam and Bucky were the ones who didn't have jurisdiction, and in fact they should have been wanted criminals for breaking Zemo out.

So yeah. The rebuttal to the ridiculous framing of Nico's demise that is shown above is quite accurate. John did not kill "a defenseless guy who was surrendering"; John killed a supersoldier who had just willingly and knowingly attempted to murder him (and succeeded but with the wrong person), and who showed no remorse for what he did, just panic that he didn't have the upper hand anymore. It really is insane how completely the propaganda has twisted many people's views of the situation.

#john walker #pro john walker #john walker defense squad #john walker meta #tfatws critical #fandom wank #answering asks

[frosted-luckycharms]

ok so i was thinking about the moment in tfatws when bucky sees the waving cat statue and like, reaches out to stop its paw from waving and seems confused when it keeps on waving anyway. this little moment is so funny and fits so well with bucky the way i see his character (*cough* TYP bucky *cough*).

and it’s not like, oh bucky’s this grumpy dark brooding assassin who hates fun and wants this annoying toy to stop waving at him. 

it’s more like. bucky sees things very analytically. he likes to understand how things work. he pays attention to little details other people don’t think about. so bucky sees this cat waving at him, and he’s curious how it’s doing that, whether it’s powered by inertia or by a motor or something else. so he reaches out to see if he can stop it by holding it still with his hand, and is fascinated when this doesn’t work. he CARES about this little cat decoration thingy and is interested in it and curious about it and confused by it, and i love that.

#i have mixed feelings about tfatws but this moment was one of my favorites #i love bucky so much????? #mcu #marvel #mcu meta #i guess #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws #bucky barnes #mine

[staying-elive]

I so wish Figaro had been in TFATWS. Would've been so easy even if Hollywood doesn't like working with animals.

I can imagine it though.

Figaro chilling in the kitchen as Sam and Sarah talk...

Sam could've given him a cute little boop or a little forehead kissy kiss like he does to the boat. 🥹

Speaking of the boat, Figaro could've been chilling in the background while Sam worked by himself...

*bonus points if he gets another little kiss boop after Sam kisses the engine. (He's so cute 🥹😭)

(I'm just imagining him sleeping on that shelf in front of the window)

Figaro chilling while watching Sam and Bucky work...

(This would be his audition process for future fellow Cat Dad Bucky 😆)

Bucky waking up and Figaro's just chilling on top of him...

('Congratulations, human, you've made it through to the next stage.')

Basically, Figaro would be all of us! 🥰🥰🥰

Also, sets up nicely Bucky going... "Yeah, I want one of these too. This is nice." (Enter Alpine!)

Seriously though, from a more meta angle, Sam being a cat dad would've been a subtle hint to him not being the extrovert open book many people mistake him for. He doesn't open up easily until the time and effort is taken for him to trust someone. Plus I've always headcanoned that Sam adopted Figaro after he left the air force and Riley died. Like he became a support animal that helped Sam get up in the morning and take care of himself because he had a little buddy to also take care of.

Because I also imagine Figaro chilling in the background of Sam's CAWS home...

(Of course Nat would trust Sam right away. He's a Cat Dad! 😁)

And then during Endgame, Nat could've had Figaro with her! (Maybe Sam's neighbour who'd looked after him after Sam was a fugitive also got blipped and Figaro was sent to the Avengers Compound...)

Especially since this scene between Nat and Steve reflects on the people they've lost. i.e. SAM! The missing third person of their fugitive trio 😭😭

Basically what I'm saying is... I want more Figaro! Everywhere. He represents love and grief but also healing.

Love is stored in the Cat. Thank you.

#figaro #figaro meta #sam wilson meta #sam wilson #sambucky #sambucky meta #tfatws #sorry for all the gifs i just like envisioning a cute little cat in every scene #this got more angsty then intended #but still #give Sam his cat! #i'm gonna go give my own cat a little kissy kiss and a boop #sam wilson headcanons

[burberrycanary]

Still Left with the River (The Paradox of Motion) ∘ a Stucky Post-TFATWS Fix-it

I’ve finished Still Left with the River (The Paradox of Motion), which is a post-Endgame, post-TFATWS Stucky fix-it that involves a lot of food.

Food serves many roles in the story, picking up from how eating together can be social and communal as we see at the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Food also holds memories—finding what you ate as a kid again or pulling back up shared memories that haven’t come to mind in a while. And food is part of how this story is a complicated love letter to New York City.

But, especially for Bucky, food is a doorway back into the world. It’s a way to be kind to himself and experience pleasure with his body that was tortured and controlled for so long: turned against him. Food—restaurants, bars—are also a way for Bucky to get out of that brutally bare apartment and be around people again; to have a chance to form new connections in a world where pretty much everyone Bucky has ever loved is gone. What he has left is New York, which like him is still here, however changed—rebuilt over and over, transformed beyond recognition maybe but persisting in its bones, in the essential parts.

But then Steve’s body has experienced a lot of pain in his life, too, and he knows a hell of a lot about loneliness.

In this story when Steve comes back, Bucky is generous enough to want to share with Steve some of what he’s found—parts from their shared past that have endured into the present and some of the tender-pale and fragile-green shoots pushing up out of Bucky’s destroyed and rebuilt life—while Steve is struggling to find his footing in a world that’s once again changed while he was gone.

To borrow a line: I love you. I want us both to eat well.

Of course, Bucky would be generous with Steve. But also, after loss piled on loss, Bucky has somehow gotten back the only other person on earth who could understand so much, who can remember with him. Though regaining something isn’t the same as getting to keep it, which Steve and Bucky know all too well.

“Steve.” Bucky’s thumb runs back and forth through the fine short hairs at the nape of his neck. “C’mon. Come upstairs. You’re gonna love this. Gołąbki and kopytka. They do it right with fried onions and a little sugar on top. Everybody forgets the sugar.”

Leaning closer, Steve thunks his forehead right into Bucky’s, which is a small jarring hurt he didn’t mean.

“But not us.”

“That’s right,” Bucky says quietly. His warm living breath fans out against Steve’s face, from the corner of his mouth across the lower half of his cheek. “But not us. So c’mon, you mook. Up.”

Still Left with the River is a story about survival. It’s a story about food, art and grief.

For those curious, a list of foods in the image from the story are below in the cut.

1) Classic halal cart chicken shawarma

2) Fries, served with aioli not ketchup, that came with their lamb burgers and...

3) Orval trappist ale

4) Grocery store cookies, the kind that come on a plastic tray

5) Pastrami sandwiches

6) Peak summer peaches

7) Sorrel (aka Jamaica)

8) Gołąbki with rice and meat

9) A huge diner breakfast with both pancakes and hash browns

10) Old fashioned sugar cookies

11) Whiskey (I figure Steve has been around enough to pick a good bottle by now)

12) Harissa cake (aka Basbousa)

13) The NYC cheese slice speaks for itself

14) Horchata, and...

15) Oreja tacos

#stucky #stucky fic #steve x bucky #steve x bucky fic #stucky fix-it #stucky meta #post-endgame #post-tfatws #steve rogers #bucky barnes #otp: till the end of the line #otp: even when I had nothing I had you #the existential loneliness of steven g. rogers #bucky barnes needs a hug #bucky barnes treats himself #river!verse #river!verse update #my fic

[dharmasharks]

On the bizarre avoidance of loss in FATWS

Reflecting on Marvel’s phase 4 storytelling, I think we can all agree that much of the content shares the same unifying theme: moving on. It’s an inversion of the question our original heroes reckoned with during the snap:

Where do we go now that they’re gone?

Peter grappled with Tony’s legacy and living up to it. Wanda mourned the stolen future she planned with Vision. Clint confronted his survivor’s guilt and grief over Natasha’s death.

In FATWS, the absence of Steve’s looming presence is felt by the entire planet. And it is so deeply, unbelievably weird that Bucky Barnes has no thoughts or feelings about it whatsoever.

To be clear: I’m not talking about an expression of romantic love, unrequited or otherwise. (Not because I disagree with that characterization, but because, unlike Steve Rogers, I’m still stuck in the darkest timeline.)

No, I’m talking about the 10+ years of storytelling in which the trajectory of Bucky’s life has been determined by the gravitational pull of Steve Rogers.

But it’s more than that (literally) undying loyalty to Captain America. We know that so much of Bucky’s very sense of self is inextricably tied to Steve.

‘Member that time Steve had Bucky, even when he had nothing else? Well, even when the Winter Soldier had nothing—no memories to shape his identity—he had Steve. Steve was the guidepost Bucky followed to find himself again. We know this because we’ve seen his first memories (Steve), that museum visit (giant picture of Steve), and those notebooks (filled with giant pictures of Steve).

But really, it was Steve’s unwavering faith in him that gave Bucky the chance to return to himself. Twice. At a great personal cost, across multiple major blockbusters, Steve saw the good when no one else did—including Bucky. (See CACW’s: “I don’t know if I’m worth all this, Steve.”)

So where do you go when that person is gone?

And why, over the course of a 6-episode series, don’t we see a titular character wrestling with this character-defining question?

The closest (only?) acknowledgement of Steve’s role in Bucky’s life comes from the emotional, heated admission, “If he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me.”

It’s a strong line! Not because it’s one of two scenes that gives poor, talented Sebastian Stan something to work with. But because it’s finally some characterization and motivation based on human connection instead of loyalty to a freakin’ shield. (The shield is an inanimate object! Bucky and Sam just lost Steve, who is a person! Maybe they should talk about Steve, the person who is gone, in therapy! Just a thought!)

Steve’s judgement of Bucky’s character, his trust and recognition is still the compass by which Bucky orients himself.

Let’s say Bucky was happy for Steve and came to terms with his decision. We should still get to see him come to terms with this crucial dang question:

In an unrecognizable future, where do you turn and who do you trust, when you’re still learning to trust and recognize yourself?

Where do we go when they’re gone?

I don’t know why Bucky didn’t get the chance to confront and grow from that loss as Peter, Wanda, and Clint did. I can’t explain why he doesn’t express so much as one measly feeling about the end to a 100-year relationship.

Maybe it’s all the bad therapy. Maybe the writers had to tap dance around a future Chris Evans cameo.

Maybe it’s Disney-Marvel’s aversion to and subsequent devaluation of Steve and Bucky’s relationship.

It’s a real mystery!

Whatever the reason, we’re left tiptoeing around the real, human, and emotional heart of the story. It’s how we ended up with the bizarre love affair for the shield, an object, as a stand-in for Steve, the person.

(And really, why is Bucky so worked up about that dinner plate in the first place? You know, the one Steve dropped, twice, for him? And then kept on helping people without? Because Steve is a person and not a shield, which, again, is an inanimate object?)

Listen, I miss Steve, too, boys! I really miss him! He fucked off to the past and left us all here to fix this shitty boat by ourselves. Sam, Buck, can one of you please mourn his absence even a little bit, so we, the audience can do the same? No?

Why not?

Why don’t fans of the Captain America franchise get any of the closure and catharsis Far From Home, WandaVision, and Hawkeye delivered, or at the very least attempted to? Even Dr. Strange got his closure with Christine, and that relationship had all the juice of a wet noodle.

I’m convinced it all stems from an unwillingness to acknowledge the actual conflict at the heart of this character, at this stage of their journey: where does Bucky go when Steve is gone?

I’m not going to get into the troubling redemption arc Bucky gets saddled with in place of reclaiming or reckoning with that identity. But maybe all that heavy-quote-unquote “character growth” would have felt honest and earned if it was purchased with any of the emotional equity we’ve accrued over the last decade.

Instead, we’re asked to believe that Bucky saw Steve—who was his last connection to the past, who he knew before he knew himself, who was the barometer for his own strength of character—as Some Guy with a Very Important Shield. And mourned his absence accordingly.

Or, hell, I don’t know. Maybe short-haired Bucky is just a skrull, too.

#old man yells at cloud #deep in thoughts about Bucky #marvel #marvel meta #fatws #falcon and the winter soldier #fatws meta #bucky barnes #steve rogers #marvel critical #marvel criticism #stucky #stucky meta #winter soldier #mcu phase 4 #mcu criticism #mcu critical #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #tfatws #the falcon and the winter soldier #captain america #Captain America meta

[luna-rainbow]

Hi! I just saw your post about how Bucky’s rule number two should have included him, and I totally agree with everything you said about that. But something that stuck out to me as odd about the whole rules system thing is, it seems more like something a psychiatrist would use to treat someone who didn’t have a good moral compass or some other issue like that? I could be wrong but “don’t do anything illegal” and “don’t hurt anyone” kind of sound more like things they’d say to someone with anger issues/sociopathic tendencies/other conditions with which harm to others and/or deviant behavior is a possibility. The show seems to imply that he was suffering from PTSD though, which doesn’t match up with that? I don’t know, I thought it was weird.

Thanks for the ask nonnie!

I won't pretend to be an expert on therapy methods but your point is solid and I've seen it mentioned a couple of times by people who do have a background in psychology. (As an aside, difficult anger control can be a part of PTSD - unfortunately it's the way a lot of men have been socialised to deal with fear and anxiety - but that's really not the way Bucky's been portrayed.)

Contract setting within psychotherapy is usually a good thing, because it sets clear professional boundaries and also means both the therapist and client have a common list of goals to work towards.

There was this chain of posts before (in case the gif doesn't work) but I agree. Look at the gesture she makes as she says "With your history, the government needs to know that you're not gonna..."

This is such a fundamental misunderstanding (or misconstruction) of his role in Hydra and of the actual nature of his mental health problem. Bucky's history is one of being tortured, mind-wiped and made to obey orders. Neither the Winter Soldier nor Bucky was ever aggressive until he received the commands to be.

This iconic scene of The Soldier sitting placidly in Pierce's kitchen when someone entered the scene unexpectedly, and Pierce had to execute the maid himself. The Soldier did not inflict violence until ordered to. The only time he was aggressive against command was when he had flashbacks to his capture. And in Civil War, Bucky was only ever shown to be "aggressive" when forced to defend his own life (Don't tell me self-defence is now a mental health diagnosis).

From a therapy perspective, you're right - those rules are about curtailing someone's actions, whereas Bucky's problem was more about learning the confidence to make choices. This isn't someone who's going to act out, he's had 70 years of being tortured and conditioned into obeying orders. This is someone who's going to hesitate about committing to a choice, he's going to defer to others as much as he can, and maybe as he grows more confident, he starts making some questionable choices that tends to position his own well-being last because he's been trained to think he's the least important in the equation (and with a unhealthy dose of guilt).

From a narrative perspective, this was intended to reinvent Bucky as a "bad" super soldier, cos "there's never been another Steve Rogers", and paint Bucky as someone who would regularly do illegal and violent things, and is so sarcastic about the rules (because -- that's the least of his problems!)

#tfatws critical #bucky barnes #bucky is a victim not a villain #bucky deserves better #bucky barnes meta #tw: ptsd

[5ummit]

It’s been 7 years since Civil War and I still mourn for the Bucky Barnes story we should’ve gotten.

I mourn for how quickly they showed him integrated back into society after CATWS. One moment he’s almost killing his best friend... and the next moment he’s living on his own and seems just fine. Sure, he’s a little quiet and awkward and sad, but he’s mostly pretty normal. Outside of the first half of Civil War, there’s very little evidence at all that would lead anyone to believe Bucky used to be the world’s most feared assassin, who was trained and molded into the perfect weapon through unimaginable pain and psychological manipulation. This man spent the better part of his life as a ruthless, mindless killing machine programmed to do nothing more than follow orders. You don’t just walk away from that without being fundamentally and irreversibly psychologically altered. Even the removal of the trigger words wouldn’t change that.

To clarify, I’m not talking about his lingering feelings of guilt and sadness. I think Seb has done a great job with getting that part across at least. I’m talking about his behavior. About way he interacts with other people and how he handles situations. He doesn’t act like a formerly-brainwashed ex-assassin who was treated as less than human for literal decades and who, by all accounts, should have the most severe form of PTSD known to man.

I just don’t buy the Bucky we see post-CATWS and particularly post-Civil-War. I don’t buy that Bucky would be joking around and flirting and basically acting like Just Some Guy – a grumpy guy but still Just Some Guy – and his recent haircut sure isn’t helping the situation either. That he wouldn’t always be a little bit on edge, a little bit animal (kinda like the way we see him at the beginning of Civil War but then never again). That being in the heat of battle wouldn’t sometimes make him either shut down or completely snap and go into a violent fugue state where he subconsciously reverts back to the brutally efficient methods of the Winter Soldier (we almost got this in TFATWS but they couldn’t commit).

Now maybe he received some absolutely incredible therapy in Wakanda. Maybe it worked wonders on him! The problem is I don’t buy it because I never saw it. I never got to see him struggle to learn how to be a person again. I never got to see him fight back against the thing Hydra turned him into.

It just sucks because I love everything about the concept of Bucky and the Winter Soldier, but the parts they’ve chosen not to show or address are, in my opinion, the most interesting parts of his character. But more than that, the lack of follow through and disconnect between what he was and who he seems to be now makes it really hard for me to see him as a fully-realized person in canon. It’s like my brain registers perfectly who he was in CATFA/CATWS and even kinda sorta now in TFATWS, but there’s this giant chasm in between them that mentally feels like fuzzy static.

How long did it take him to fully shake off the brainwashing and conditioning? When did he start thinking of himself as a human being with agency again? Did he ever have to fight the desire to return to Hydra, the only thing he’s known for 70 years, or was it an easy choice? How long did it take him to start recovering his memories? Has he recovered all of them? Does he now remember everything that happened before and during his time at Hydra? How long did it take him to stop flinching at every sound and expecting Hydra to track him down? How long did it take him to relearn how to interact with people like a normal person? How did he afford food and shelter between CATWS and CACW? How and why did he end up in Romania? Did he travel there immediately after CATWS or did he live somewhere else first? Did he get actual therapy in Wakanda or did they just work their science-magic to remove the trigger words and send him on his way? Is the the soldier still in there? Does he still have to consciously stop himself from using deadly force every time he’s in a fight? Is that why he deliberately avoids carrying any weapons now?

I have so many questions.

Fortunately we have fic and fanon to help fill the void but we shouldn’t have to. Bucky Barnes is one of the most interesting and unique characters to ever exist. There’s so much good stuff to dig into here and it’s been wasted.

They squandered the original opportunity to explore this part of his character when they turned Cap 3 into an Iron Man film, a decision I will forever be mad about (fuck you RDJ/Tony for stealing Bucky’s movie), but they finally had the perfect chance to make up for that with TFATWS! Bucky was getting his own show (6 hours of content!), and with it, plenty of time to really dig into his psyche and lingering trauma! I had hoped to see him relapsing a bit and falling into old patterns. Or maybe being triggered by something and having a panic attack. Or even just talking about his time in Hydra and how it felt to be used like that and his struggles to regain his humanity afterwards (instead they fucking gave Hawkeye the emotional “I was a weapon” speech that Bucky rightfully deserved). But other than that opening nightmare, a few brief teasing lines from Zemo about the solider still being in there (which was never followed through on), and the shittiest excuse for “therapy” I’ve ever seen, we really got nothing.

From everything they’ve shown us, and particularly from the ending of TFATWS, it’s clear Marvel believes Bucky has already “healed” and there’s little left to discuss or explore and it makes me incredibly sad.

#I've had this buried in my drafts for more than a year #might as well post it now because my feelings haven't changed #LET 👏 BUCKY 👏 BE 👏 FUCKED 👏 UP #I refuse to get my hopes up about any of his trauma ever being addressed in thunderbolts either #all I can say is he better still be a sad grumpy boy at the very least #if they really do lean into the happy ending of tfatws #I will RIOT #bucky barnes #marvel #marvel wank #my words #my meta