To me the most heartbreaking thing about Civil War is a single word: “No…”

atlantisburning:

That’s it. That tiny, insignificant little word. That shuddering plea when Zemo begins saying the trigger words in front of Bucky Barnes who hasn’t been the Winter Soldier in over two years. The same Bucky Barnes who is desperately trying to remove himself from that even though he still has decades of broken, fragmented memories of the people he was forced to kill while being used as the Winter Soldier. Because that “no”, that hopeless little prayer that has no chance of being answered means he knows what’s coming.

The Winter Soldier comes out when those words are spoken in the correct order. And Bucky Barnes? He’s helpless to stop it. This is Jekyll and Hyde. This is Bruce Banner and the Hulk. He knows what’s about to happen, he knows exactly what the Winter Soldier is capable of because even though he’s not in control when it happens, he still sees everything. And he remembers everything down to the last microscopic detail. He remembers every face, every plea for mercy, every mission because he was there. Bucky Barnes is not the Winter Soldier but that doesn’t mean the Winter Soldier didn’t use the same body. And if you think for one second that Bucky Barnes doesn’t have screaming nightmares about the things the Winter Soldier did while using his body, while using his hands, then you’re wrong. 

When Bucky Barnes is strapped in that cell, helpless and at the mercy of one more person who wants to use him, all he can say is “no…” Because Bucky Barnes doesn’t want to be the Winter Soldier, he never did, but he never got that choice. He says “no” because that’s not who he is, that’s not who James Buchanan Barnes is. He says “no” because he doesn’t want to hurt people anymore, he doesn’t want more blood on his hands, he doesn’t want to be used as a weapon anymore. He says “no” because Steve is there, Steve who has risked everything to find him and protect him and keep him safe. He says “no” because he knows he can’t stop it once it’s started, he knows he won’t be in control and that people are going to get hurt. They always do.

For anyone who still thinks Bucky Barnes should be treated as a villain and punished for what he did when he was being used as the Winter Soldier just remember that he said “no.” Because Bucky Barnes is not the Winter Soldier, he is not a weapon, he is not a mindless killer. Bucky Barnes, WWII veteran, POW, and Steve’s best friend who never had a choice, said “no…”