Alice

Also, if you want to comment to discuss/add something/debate anything I said, go ahead. I love talking about character analysis

I think it says a lot about the Boys and the Dead Wife trope that the first memory we see of Becca is sexual, and that they also immediately get very sexual when they're reunited. Though I do like that they're talking about her love of the Spice Girls and why he knows so much about them, he's also very much showing his "I'm a manly man" side by being like, oh if I had to listen to the Spice Girls I'd cut my hands off and whatever, because they don't want to show him being anything less than the macho guy he is. It would have been nice to see him actually enjoy/like them because Becca likes them, kind of like how if you're friends with someone and they talk about something you like you start to become happy whenever you see something about it because you know that the other person likes it. That would have been more important for us to connect to their relationship than watching what is essentially Butcher's sepia toned sex tape

There's also the matter of the female characters that Butcher hates/doesn't like all that much that I think the show should have framed through more of a "I don't like these characters because they remind me of me and I really hate me" lens

I'm going to start with Maeve. Maeve is mean, jaded, and an alcoholic who self-destructs via sex. Sound familiar? I think it would have been kind of cool for them to connect more and have more meaningful conversations. Their sex scene feels in character for both of them though, because they both have sex when they're in a bad place. Also, they both end up outsourcing their moral compass in a way. Butcher to Hughie, Maeve to Annie

Then there's Annie's dynamic with Butcher. At first he hates her because she's both a Supe and gets in the way of him manipulating Hughie. But he never really begins to see her as part of the Boys in his head, at least in my opinion. I think he feels the same way about Kimiko because he only ever uses her as a weapon. And I think it would have been cool if they showed a couple more moments where he respects her and hates her because she's like him. I love that scene where she kills the innocent guy. He gives her an approving head tilt. Then he kind of looks at her with what I think is pity for a moment when he's grabbing the keys - it's great. Quintessential Butcher and Annie. I love whenever they get one of those moments. I actually don't have a lot of critiques for their dynamic but there are moments of sexism there because it's Butcher

He's misogynistic towards Hughie because Hughie is not as "strong" as him. Makes fun of him quite often for not being more of the man he is, despite hating the man he is. But I think that is Butcher in a nutshell, not something contradictory. "I hate myself but I'm the only one who can get anything done because that's all I'm good for". Kind of like how Dean Winchester is macho and makes fun of things that aren't macho on occasion, but his real trauma is deep down he thinks he's nothing more than a weapon. Interesting pattern Kripke. Making this kind of nuanced example of how toxic masculinity is actually really horrible for the same person making fun of you for not being masculine, though I genuinely don't think Kripke means to portray it that way because he usually makes them seem badass for being the way that they are

I'd also argue he has his moments of being sexist towards Homelander. Mainly just when he agrees with Soldier Boy being like "you're a pussy" though

Becca? I can summarize that pretty easily. He puts his wife on a pedestal, makes her "save" him the way he makes Hughie/Kessler/Lenny save him, then he cheats on her because he self-sabotages whenever he can because he likely feels like he doesn't deserve to be loved/trusted by people he deems better than him, then she dies and he uses her as en excuse to punish/isolate himself and to be as destructive as he wants to be

Really Specific Reading List #2: The Ghoul of Steel

Fun Fact: Supergirl’s Adventure Comics run is very 70s teen mystery, so there are a lot of Scooby-Doo-esque mysteries to solve!

Happy Spooky Season! Kara is mystery solving monster fighter who has face real life horror stories.

Honorary and forgotten mentions below:

“You gave me a home.”

This has been floating around in my head for a while and I finally decided to make it.

there goes all my hopes cRUSHED, anon. all of this time spent shipping them meANINGLESS. empty. how will i gO ON knowing that they will never be elevated to the mythic untouchable status of canon. it’s so sad that all i have is

steve riding tony

steve defending naked tony’s honor

the way tony likes to launch himself face first at steve in order to protect him

tony stark: steve rogers’ personal chauffer

it’s

kind of

a thing

for them

but let’s not forget

steve carries tony out of burning buildings in the bridal carry

in fact steve guest stars in an iron man comic just to carry tony out of a burning building

the fireman’s carry is actually reserved for the cartoon

marvel funded & created a CGI animation film featuring 71 minutes of them sassing each other and taking names

once upon a time the current writer for the avengers, jonathan hickman (2012-present) implied that tony’s method of choice to make up to steve were blowies

and yes he might be torturing us all but at least he’s man enough to admit that the avengers is really about their relationship

and is that surprising i mean there’s an entire comic that’s based on a narrative arc, again, aBOUT THEM

comic writer brian michael bendis on how avengers: prime was framed as an adventure they had to go on to remind them why they love each other so much

here it is in tony’s own words

tony looking like he’s having a religious experience and seen the light or smth while being hugged by steve

60′s comics written like all the best terrible fanfiction where tony stark refers to steve rogers’ eyes as clear azure and composes poetry about his grace and daring

“i know you believe in the future, but i believe in people. and i choose to believe in your, iron man.”

retro comics were just really gay

animated tv show avengers assemble opens with steve facing off against red skull, his presumed “death” is the catalyst for tony reforming the avengers. their mid-season finale ended with tony “almost dying”

not very pg-13 for a kids’ show if you ask me

it’s really also extremely gay

tony stark no. 1 fanboy

in all the universes

what’s his username? captain america. what’s his password? captain america. foolproof. no one would ever guess. totally unhackable.

avengers tower: home and HQ of the earth’s mightiest heroes but also the site of the one and only “cap tribute room”

all the best superhero bases have framed portraits of captain america it’s interior designing 101

in fact tony thinks steve’s pretty no matter what skintight navel-bearing costume he’s wearing

tony thinks ultimates cap just so happens to be america’s hottest president

“CAPTAIN HANDSOME”

“good morning beloved” to which steve answers without even batting an eye

are they flirting??? was there really another horse?? we just don’t know

“where is here? is this a dream? tell me it is, tony. tell me you can wake me. tell me i’m not going to die in my sleep. don’t let this old soldier just fade away” – marvel comics?? or soap opera love story?? who can even tell the difference???

pictured: assorted superheroes with representatives from the avengers, the fantastic four, the x-men discussing how much tony and steve love each other while in the background steve and tony have a conversation

a married couple and leaders of the next generation of avengers referring to steve and tony as the mother and father of the avengers

sometimes they hold hands

actual canon universe earth-3490 where cis female tony married steve and their marriage helped end the civil war.

“mr. stark, when i woke up in this era, i had no one, nothing. you gave me a purpose, somewhere to belong. you gave me a home.”

tony and steve’s lips have touched bc tony was giving him cPR TO SAVE his life at the risk of his own

tony referring to the day he met steve as the greatest day of his life

civil war: the confession. where tony stark admits to steve rogers’ cold dead body that worse than the equivalent of selling his soul, alienating half of his friends and family from him, destroying his moral integrity combined, the one thing he couldn’t live with was steve being dead

“maybe… maybe there was a reason you had to be on the other side of every argument. how you could be my rudder, steering me when other’s couldn’t… i don’t know if i can do it without you… i certainly won’t do it as well…”

like they’re standing there reincarnated as walking corpses and steve’s missing half his face and they’re still acting like an old married couple

“guess they’ll have to learn to love me. you did.”

they jOKE ABOUT HAVING THE KIND OF ROUGH SEX THAT REQUIRES SAFEWORDS.

Niche616 is proud to present our THIRD exchange, Don’t Call Me Captain!

Sign-Ups Open: MAY 8 Sign-Ups Close: JUNE 7 Exchange Assignments Sent Out: JUNE 12 Check-In: JULY 6 Creation Period: JUNE 12 - AUGUST 14 Fanworks Due: AUGUST 14 Reveals Start: AUGUST 20 Author Reveals: AUGUST 30

Dedicated to a dream he sometimes keeps alive single-handedly, 616 Steve carries an iconography and mythos so immense that he has, more than once, Just Quit - throwing aside his mantle to brood, regroup, and reflect on a world that often doesn’t measure up to the potential he sees in it. In this round of Niche 616 Exchange, we are celebrating 616 Steve’s many transformative periods of disillusionment and evolution. Who is the man when he is not serving as Captain America? What power does he wield when he is not wearing the flag and can he ever truly put it down? What does it mean to keep the dream alive and what does it mean to walk away from it? Does Tony love Steve or Captain America?

Please read the collection/event [FAQ] before signing up:

Fanworks for this exchange must be comics-exclusive and Steve/Tony or Gen

The focus/main theme of your work must be Steve Rogers beyond/in contention with his mantle

Minimum requirements are 2.5k words for fanfic and lineart for fanart (you are free to do more).

You must be 18 or older to participate.

No AI-generated works or works developed with generative AI/LLMs.

MCU is strictly not allowed in this exchange.

YGMAH will be running thematically complementary book clubs as the creation period progresses! Think Nomad, Armor Wars, Commander Rogers, Civil Warrior, and more. Works exploring Steve as outlaw, artist, activist, fugitive, spy, eugenics experiment, etc. are all welcome.

>>>Sign up HERE if you're ready!<<<

(Niche 616 is a small fanworks exchange focusing on 616 Steve/Tony run through the You Gave Me A Home Discord community + Ao3. Your mods are @starvels, @annthonystark, and @kiyaar.