capntony:

tony/pepper + taking a break + pepper’s psychological trauma

A lot of people in the fandom are convinced Pepper is either abusive or doesn’t love Tony. Both of these notions are false. There are hundreds of people in the fandom who are bitter about Pepper for taking a “break” from Tony during Civil War (the gifs above illustrate why). Pepper loves Tony unconditionally (ref1, ref2, and ref3), however that doesn’t imply she’s not allowed to love herself. We’re all accustomed to thinking that it’s Pepper’s job to support him through Tony’s poor decisions and reckless behavior, but how much support can a person give until it’s too much? Pepper had her body modified without her consent, she’s been tortured, kidnapped, and threatened. She undergoes as many anxiety attacks as him, but somehow, Pepper’s anxiety is never as relevant as Tony’s. As a fandom, we should all take a moment to consider the trauma that Pepper has been through BEFORE we blame her for temporarily splitting with Tony. A relationship takes time, effort, and energy – and both parties need to love, support, and compromise for each other. Pepperony took a long time to develop and grow and now they’re better than ever. Don’t ever underestimate their dedication for each other because they took time off to focus on themselves. That’s not being selfish, it’s  growing and evolving as a person.