[He's silent for a moment. He doesn't like sharing the details, but-- she's someone that needs it. He can lay down on this wire for her.]
Not at first. When I grew up, it was... normal, not to talk about your problems. If there was something wrong with you, up here-- [he taps a finger against his temple] You were considered weak or sick or insane, and you couldn't show that to anybody if you wanted people to think well of you.
[How many men came back from the war and killed themselves? So many people he knew ate a bullet, or drank themselves to death, or simply disappeared. All so the rest of the world wouldn't have to see them bleed.
The world isn't much better now, but with men like Sam-- it's starting to get that way. PTSD isn't shell-shock any longer, it's a recognizable post-combat disorder, diagnosed and treatable. It's not a perfect system, but Steve's glad it exists, and he's glad it's helping people. But coming to terms with his own biases has been harder. Captain America is a symbol, and no one likes to see their symbols break under strains and stressors like normal men. But Steve Rogers is just a man.
He forgets that sometimes, just like the rest of the world.]
The world I came back to after the war was a lot different than the one I'd left. A couple years in, and I met a man - Sam Wilson? He's been around, you might've seen him - who's a counselor for guys like me, coming out of combat. I think I talked more to him than I had to anyone else in the two years before. He'd been there too, so he knew. Asked me about my bed being too soft.
cw suicide/war horrors
Not at first. When I grew up, it was... normal, not to talk about your problems. If there was something wrong with you, up here-- [he taps a finger against his temple] You were considered weak or sick or insane, and you couldn't show that to anybody if you wanted people to think well of you.
[How many men came back from the war and killed themselves? So many people he knew ate a bullet, or drank themselves to death, or simply disappeared. All so the rest of the world wouldn't have to see them bleed.
The world isn't much better now, but with men like Sam-- it's starting to get that way. PTSD isn't shell-shock any longer, it's a recognizable post-combat disorder, diagnosed and treatable. It's not a perfect system, but Steve's glad it exists, and he's glad it's helping people. But coming to terms with his own biases has been harder. Captain America is a symbol, and no one likes to see their symbols break under strains and stressors like normal men. But Steve Rogers is just a man.
He forgets that sometimes, just like the rest of the world.]
The world I came back to after the war was a lot different than the one I'd left. A couple years in, and I met a man - Sam Wilson? He's been around, you might've seen him - who's a counselor for guys like me, coming out of combat. I think I talked more to him than I had to anyone else in the two years before. He'd been there too, so he knew. Asked me about my bed being too soft.
[He snorts.]
Other people didn't get that.
[But Korra will, he thinks.]