iamnmbr3:

Ok. But the level of gay in Captain America: The Winter Soldier continues to astound me. 

Like, not only do Steve and Bucky have a phrase like a wedding vow that they say to each other, which gets introduced to the audience in the context of Bucky asking Steve to move in with him, and that later is so emotionally impactful that it breaks through 70 years of brain washing and Bucky remembers it before he remembers his own name. Not only does Steve apparently spend his free time hanging out in his own exhibit in the Smithsonian, staring longingly at old photos and videos of Bucky. Not only does the issue of Steve’s love life get repeatedly raised in the set up before Bucky comes back. Not only do Steve and Bucky’s interactions fit really neatly into a lot of epic romance tropes. Not only is Steve literally willing to die rather than hurt Bucky more than he’s already been hurt, even though as far as he knows Bucky has shown no signs of recognizing him.  

But also on top of all that, there’s the whole “shared life experience” discussion (not “similar” – shared!!!) which could only refer to Bucky, which takes place shortly before the Winter Soldier’s true identity is revealed. I mean, it could hardly have been more obvious if they were like:

Steve: Believe it or not, it’s hard to find someone with shared life experience.

Natasha: Yeah. That makes sense. Where on earth are you going to find someone who lived through your childhood in Brooklyn and the war right along side you but who also understands what it’s like to get the serum and be frozen? I mean, I just have no idea who could possibly fit that description. Why don’t we ask that dude over there with the mask and the metal arm? Maybe he can help.