Quote Originally Posted by Wiccan View Post
I know they weren't written that way. But that's the point I'm making. By the way that their story goes, if Bucky was a female character they most likely would have. It's called heteronormativity. The fact that they were childhood friends doesn't really change anything imo cause there's like a million stories where two opposite-gender childhood friends realize they're in love with each other after they grow up, and/or one has always been pining for the other.

I'm honestly not even criticizing Marvel. Like of course they wouldn't do that. I'm just explaining why I feel like there's more to it than just "they're just guys who are friends and people ship them for no reason".

I actually quite liked Steve/Peggy in the first movie, I think CEvans and Hayley have good chemistry and it was interesting as this sort of tragic romance that didn't get to come to fruition. Then Endgame happened, with no buildup, after Peggy had moved on already on Agent Carter, and yeah, no.
And there are a million stories that don't end like that either. Heteronormativity is a thing but so is toxic masculinity, which teaches men that they can't have a deep love for another man that is platonic. Society is more likely to accept this kind of relationship with women than it is with men. How many 'chick flicks' have we had for decades were you've got two women that have been friends since childhood and at the end of the film, don't end up together as a couple? It never becomes a thing and people rarely ship those kinds of characters because women having deep platonic relationships is normalised and it isn't for men.

Stucky isn't as random as Stony and I can understand how people could read the relationship that way. But in a different way I think it's also not good that people automatically think two men that care for each other deeply have to be in love with each other. It's the opposite extreme end of the pendulum swing and is problematic in its own way.

But to get back on topic, I don't think you have anything to worry about with Wiccan and Hulkling. Disney may not be the most progressive movie studio but I also think they know when to avoid backlash, especially with characters that have an established sexuality. They could get away with Poe and Finn for this very reason.