#god ok i'm gonna commit to tagging everyone

[mothy-man]

metric fuckton of doodles i did while watching royal royale. i didn't even draw some of my favorite characters and moments so maybe one day there will be more

[sunnytastic-and-the-olympians]

Fascinating analysis, Isa from 2 years ago

I'm going back to my roots and I'm gonna make blog-style posts about Percy Jackson, but unlike last time, I'm not going to be a coward and instead review each book independently.

I never made it past Son of Neptune during my last re-read but this time I'm committed to reading the whole Riordanverse. I've been trying to find my love for reading again so I'm going to indulge in characters and writing styles I already know I love and let the rest of my joy come back naturally.

So I just finished The Lightning Thief...

... and I loved it!

I enjoyed it even more than I did the last time I read it, about two years ago. Last time, I was very eager to skim through The Lightning Thief and move on to the rest of the series, but this time, I loved every minute of the novel. Maybe it's because I'm coming off of reading Chalice of the Gods, so right now, my fondness for Percy is strong.

Chalice of the Gods has a very simplistic vibe; the quest is (relatively) low stakes, the trio never leaves New York City, and there is a heavy emphasis on Percy as a character study. In Chalice of the Gods, Percy gets to show love to his friends and family without the looming possibility of death.

Minor Spoilers for Chalice of the Gods ahead 

Of the entirety of the books, the scene that defines Percy Jackson best is when he chooses to embrace Geras, the god of Old Age, rather than fight him. In this critical moment, he is compelled by the love he feels for his friends and family to view growing old as more years spent in their company. But this realization isn't what makes this scene so powerful. Instead, it is Percy's ability to extend empathy to Geras and to understand the pain Geras feels when people regard growing old as a negative.

Percy's capability to recognize the pain of others, even those who oppose him, is Percy's greatest strength. Powers and bravery do not make Percy a hero- empathy does.

Percy's empathetic nature is displayed throughout his introduction. At several points in The Lightning Thief, Percy's perspective towards his enemies shifts, and he sees the grief that plagues everyone- mortals, monsters, and gods alike.

Even so, Percy's unshakeable commitment to doing the right thing is what stops his empathy from becoming sympathy. To sympathize with his adversaries is to make excuses for their actions. Percy understands their plight, but he does not believe their pain justifies harming others.

This contrasts nicely with Percy's inability to comprehend betrayal. In The Lightning Thief, Percy does not comment on Luke's betrayal, nor is there time to see how it affects his behavior before the story ends, so I will save my thoughts about Percy and his relationships to loyalty and betrayal for future blog posts.

OK, now about Grover.

I don't remember how child me felt about Grover, which is probably a good indicator of how child me felt about Grover. Even during my last re-read, Grover didn't stand out to me. However, this time I'm struck by how necessary of a character he is.

It seems silly to realize this after so many years of reading this story, but Grover is integral to establishing the world-building. Sure, there are flying monsters, and yes, the Greek Gods are real, but there is also a satyr and he is my friend. So much of this story is fantastical elements, mostly negative, happening to Percy. However, Percy and Grover's friendship is only strengthened by the reveal that Grover is a satyr. They finally see each other without pretense. Grover allows Percy to connect to this magical world in a meaningful way.

While my primary goal for reading this series is to enjoy reading again, my secondary goal is to learn to view Annabeth as black.

I am thrilled Annabeth is going to be black in the Disney+ series. As I said in the tags of another post, it brings me great joy to know a new generation of Black girls will get to see themselves as the hero of a story.

However, years of reading the Percy Jackson books have engrained me to visualize Annabeth as a white blond while I'm reading. I think continuing to view her as white would be a great disservice to her character, and it will weaken my ability to associate the Annabeth from the show with the Annabeth from the books. They are, in fact, one character.

I don't have much else to say about Annabeth at this point. She is very cute in The Lightning Thief (her playing with the City Builder in the Lotus Casino always makes me smile), but I feel like her character isn't fully developed yet. In this book, she really just serves to prop up Percy along his journey, which is understandable as this is the first book. More elements of her personality begin to really shine over the next couple of books.

And now for my mandatory Percabeth squeal: Ahhhhh!!! They are so cute! Man, the princess curls comment had me kicking my feet.

Percy and Annabeth's friendship is well-written. Even if their relationship stayed fully platonic, like it is in The Lightning Thief, their relationship would be just as strong, meaningful, and essential to the plot. But it really is so wonderful (and agonizing) to watch Percy and Annabeth go from being good friends with the potential for more to dancing around fully formed crushes, to finally getting together, and now, to building a life together. I am very eager to put myself through the pain and torture that is the slowest slow-burn of all time.

Anyway, this concludes my Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief blog post. There was also a bit of the Chalice of the Gods in here too but I won't be making a post about that until I finish the rest of the Riordanverse (aka months from now).

As always, TLDR: Empathy is Percy's superpower, Grover is great, I'm excited for more Annabeth, and I love Percabeth. Like so, so much.

Edit: Holy shit, this is 1,000 words. Now, if only my assignments were Percy Jackson based...

Links to the other blog posts in the Isa Rereads Percy Jackson series:

The Sea of Monsters

The Titan's Curse

bro im telling you percy jackson never gets old... like yeah the writing style definitely matures toward the end of the series but that's not to say that the first books aren't incredible in their own right

im reading the percy jackson and the olympians rn for the first time in several years. I prefer to read the heroes of olympus series (what can I say? I love leo <3). but with the disney+ percy Jackson series being greenlit, I figured it would be a good time to revisit all the percy jackson books, in chronological order.

like I said, I haven't read the first series in a while and I honestly didn't have high hopes. I know that younger me loved the original series but I was worried that current me would would not. I was no longer the target demographic for this novel anymore and I was worried I would think it was childish and goofy.

funny enough, it is childish and goofy and yet it endears me. honestly, it reminds me of how im feeling when im watching avatar the last airbender. yes, the characters are young but that only adds to show how dangerous the stakes are in their world. and the humor maybe a little juvenile but it still gives me a smile.

I will say this, the actual writing style in the lightening thief is more simplistic than the books I usually read. but that doesn't mean the writing style is bad, it's just more straightforward and requires less inferences from the reader. but I expected this because again, I am not the intended audience. even so, the simple writing style makes for a quick read. I am not finished with the lightening thief yet but I will definitely make a post about it when im done. even if this is only for me, im really interested to see how my perspective of the characters has changed since first reading the series (im already loving annabeth way more than I remember. even at twelve, she is so cheeky and its adorable).

Im hoping make some more posts about my thoughts on the series as I read the books. these books were such a part of my childhood and ive been meaning to revist them. im on spring break and since the pj&o novels are relatively short, I think I can make it through the first series and should have made some posts about what I think. the heroes of olympus books are much longer and more complex and so those will have longer times in between posts so I can give each book a proper analysis .

[felixwriting]

15 Questions, 15 Mutuals

Tagged by @winterandwords (thank you :D)

Were you named after anyone? My previous middle name before I transed my gender was given to me to honour my mom's mom who died when she was a kiddo. Currently, I am named after a character from my fave show (Orphan Black) and I stole my dad's middle name because I did not have an idea for a new middle name and I figured I would have an easier time getting surgeries and shit if I fully committed to a masc name even tho I'm NB. With my surgeries all taken care of, I really wanna change my middle name to Rose after Rose Tyler lol

When was the last time you cried? I cried from pain pretty recently when my fucking arthritis made my eyes hurt very badly as happens sometimes lmao. Not entirely sure when the last time I cried from emotion was tho? I have memory problems so it could have been as recent as like January and I would have no clue

Do you have kids? Gods no. I really do not wanna be a parent, like at all. I fucking DESPERATELY want to be an aunt/uncle tho but none of my sibs want kids so I am hoping my best friend hasn't changed their mind about wanting to adopt some day lmao pls I wanna be aunty Felix

Do you use sarcasm a lot? My family is VERY snarky, I come by my sass honestly. I am also very sincere tho, most of the time I'm being genuine but I can and will throw in some sarcasm if I think it will be funny (for everyone, not just me lol what is the point of snark if you're not making everyone laugh???)

What's the first thing you notice about people? Personality, I think?? Idk I'm semi-face-blind and I will NOT remember names until it's said to me a few times, but personality shines through

What's your eye colour? Blue da ba dee da ba di

Scary movies or happy endings? Depends on my mood lmao

Any special talents? Uhhhhh do the million cursed facts that I have stored in my head to share at the drop of a hat count?

Where were you born? Canadian prairies. I have continued to live in this same fucking province my whole life and I would honestly like to leave. Granted, the place I wanna move to is in the yeehaw province, but at least it will be a city! And also it's where my siblings are!

What are your hobbies? Writing is obvious lol, but also drawing, occasional doll customization, cosplay (also occasional), reading, video game, learning whatever seems interesting to me at any given moment, TTRPGs (if I could just fuckinggggg GET A GROUP TOGETHER), fanfic, idk probably other stuff too idk I have memy probs ok

Have you any pets? A ball python named Lemony Snakit who I love and adore. She is deeply, deeply stupid and a huge coward and if I loved her any more than I already do I would literally explode from it

What sports do you play/have played? Not really a sports person tbh. I used to be real good swimmer before my body went "fuck you" and I became disabled and I was gonna try out speedswimming lmao. I'm getting back into swimming and I still love it, even if I am shit at it now

How tall are you? 5'9"

Favourite subject in school? I was homeschooled so stuff wasn't exactly separated into subjects or whatever, but I did have the most fun doing art stuff

Dream job? I wanna be a piercer, but that feels like an unreachable dream from where I'm currently standing. If I can make a living (or at least contribute enough to my household to not feel like a leech even tho I know that's just the internalized ableism speaking) off of writing then I'll be happy with that.

Tagging: Open tag! I do wanna read your answers tho so do tag me up top if you do this! I straight up do not have 15 mutuals I think! XD

[clarke-kom-eden]

I wrote something.... I'm scared! Here goes! Ahhhhh!!!!!

I have never written or posed a fic before, I just sort of, had an idea and went for it. It may be terrible, it probably is, but, im giving it a go! Post season 4, bellarke, follows canon, I think. Anything science ish is completely made up though! sorry if ive mis-tagged or anything, I really don’t know what I’m doing! Sorry for the accent. I felt he had an accent.

“Nevermind, I see you.”

If she was completely honest with herself, for the longest time now, Clarke had begun to feel like it would never happen. She had tried to stay hopeful, she really had, but with each passing day it became harder. Had they ever even made it to the ark? Had she spent the past 6 years talking to ghosts?

But here it was, reality, a ship. Until she really looked at it. She remembered talk of Becca testing nightblood on a mining colony, but the people out there were lost, and would have perished long ago, and weren’t they criminals?

Clarke waited back, shielding Madi, and watched as the crew of around 30 men left the ship. She saw as they basked in the sun, felt the drops of rain on their skin, touched the grass around them, and remembered when the Hundred had first landed on earth, filled with hope.

Clarke was unsure how to proceed. From what she had observed,they seemed like ordinary men, but they had been sent away for a reason, and abandoned in space for years, they could be dangerous. However, it was an incredibly small piece of earth to inhabit, and more than likely she and Madi would be discovered soon. Clarke decided she would rather be in control of the situation, and so, eyes sharp, weapon hot, made her approach.

“My name is Clarke Griffin,” she called from a distance,  “I wish to speak to whoever is in charge.”

An older man, with toughened skin and a greying beard took a few steps forward, keeping his hands raised.

“Well I’ll be damned. There really is someone living down here?!” He had an accent Clarke had only ever heard in an old western film she had once watched on the ark.

“More than one. Stay back.”

He stopped.

“Missy we don’t mean no harm or nothing, we just want to get our bearings. Are you from that there bunker she told us about.”

“ How do you know about the bunker?”

The man’s name was Thomas. He followed Clarke to another area while the rest of the men stayed with the ship.

“Start from the beginning.”

“Ok, but I gotta tell ya, I’m not even too sure myself of what’s  happening. I’m just a prisoner, trying make sense of all this.”

He gestured to everything around him.

“You see, I never really could hold my drink. It got me in trouble, well, I got me in trouble. Ended up hurting someone, more than I meant to. You could get a big ol’ reduction on your sentence if you agreed to do some, labour, they called it. Never mentioned much about radiation and injections and being put to sleep. Next thing we know we all wake up, look around the ship, there’s no one. No crew, no guards, just us prisoners all waking up. That’s when we hear someone trying to communicate with us, honest at first I thought it was the voice of God! Turns out she’s on a space station. Says her name’s Raven.”

At this, Clarke could not hold back her tears. It felt as if she had been holding her breath for years, as she finally let go. “Raven? She’s, alive, you spoke to her?”

“ She’s the one woke us up.” Clarke had too many questions, but all she could think to ask,

“did you talk to anyone else?”

“Yeah, there was a Monty too. Smart guy, couldn’t follow a lot of the tech talk but, I tried.” Clarke laughed, yeah, that sounded like Monty. “ Anyone else?”

“ Just those two, really. I’m guessing from your face that’s not the answer you wanted. I wish I could give you more, I’m sorry, it’s been a, well, a damn mess of a time.”

“I understand. So, are they coming down too, why aren’t they with you?”

“ That was the tricky part I’m afraid. See she explained she found us drifting, and that’s when we realised, well, we’d been asleep for gone a hundred years.” He shook his head, “ everyone we knew, our friends, family, all long gone.”

“I’m so sorry, that must have been a shock.”

“To say the least. Don’t think I even really believe it still, you know?” Clarke wasn’t sure how to respond. Ever since they’d been sent to earth it had felt like one shock after another, but to wake to find everything you’d ever known was gone, even with everything she had been through, that would have been unimaginable. Thomas took a deep breath and sat on a rock nearby.

“I’m sorry to press you Thomas, but I need to know about my friends.”

“Course you do. I’ll try n keep it short. Raven said they had been looking for a way to get back to earth, tryin to make fuel or something, but was havin trouble. Thought maybe they could use our ship, had no idea we were still in stasis. Anyways, she directed us to where they were, we were gonna take them on board, but there was a problem. Our airlock was completely ballsed up or something, no way to open her up in space without killing us all.” Clarke felt sick. So they were stuck, if they couldn’t make fuel, that’s it.

“ So that’s it, they’re stuck?”

“ I sure hope not. We had a few escape pods on our ship. She told us how to detach them, direct them toward their airlock. They all still had fuel in them. Not real sure what she’s planning,but they might still have a chance.”

Finally, for the first time in a long time, Clarke’s hope felt real. This was Raven, she could do it.

Clarke had tried every thing she could think of, but she just couldn’t make it work. She threw the tools across the room with as much force as she could muster, narrowly missing Andrew.

“ Clarke, I told you, Raven said most likely once we landed we wouldn’t be able to communicate with the ark anymore.”

She knew this, of course she did, but what else could she do? She had been trying to communicate with them for 6 years. It was her way of staying sane, she couldn’t just stop now, she had to keep trying.

“ Anyway, they’ll be here soon. I’m sure of it!” Andrew was one of the most optimistic people she had ever met, it was impossible to stay mad around him. He was just 18 when he had been put into stasis, although he seemed younger still, and was so skinny he really brought out Clarkes maternal side. Madi had also taken a real shine to him, though as Clarke kept reminding her she was much too young and he was a criminal! Clarke had begun to spend more time with the prisoners over the past few weeks, but still kept herself and Madi at a distance. She had tried to get an idea of the various crimes these men had committed, but as she had no way of knowing the truth, she just had to trust what they told her. Although, in Andrews case, she really felt like he had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, she hoped. Three weeks had passed and still no sign of them, and the prisoners wanted to focus on getting to the bunker. With their mining equipment, they should finally be able to dig the others free, but it was taking time to get the equipment back to working order, as it had been dormant for over 100 years. Clarke knew this should be her focus too, she was desperate to see her mother, but she couldn’t take her mind off of them, up there, alive. She knew that the bunker had only had enough oxygen for 5 years, knew that difficult decisions would have been made, her head should be underground, but her heart was in the stars. She thought of what she would say to him, she thought of the last time he held her. As she picked up the tools scattered around her and calmed herself once more, she heard distant excited shouts.

She stood slowly, as Madi came bounding in. She didn’t even speak, just gave Clarke the biggest smile and reached out her hand. Clarke took it and followed Madi outside, legs shaking with each step. She watched as the rocket she had waited for crash landed into the ocean.

“Well, let’s go get yer friends.” Thomas walked out in front of Clarke and towards the sea.

With every step closer to the crash site Clarke got faster and faster, until she was running so fast that Madi could no longer keep up. She stopped when she realised she had been dragging the poor girl. “Clarke, it’s ok” Madi let go of her hand, “you go, I’ll follow” Clarke nodded, and started running again, no longer feeling the ground beneath her, no longer feeling her own breathing, just running. She ran until she was waist deep in the water. The hatch of the shuttle was just beginning to open, and someone climbed out. They reached back into the shuttle to pull someone else out. One by one they all emerged from the rocket. Clarke stood and watched, silently. She meant to shout, to move, but she was frozen. She watched them help each other down and splash into the water, she watched them help each other swim towards the shore the opposite side of the bay from her, still unaware of her presence.

Finally, they began to remove their helmets. First she saw Murphys face, same smug grin as ever, as he helped Emori off with her helmet. They still looked as in love as she remembered. They all now faced away from her, looking toward the trees. Then she saw him. He ran his hand through his unruly curls and dropped his helmet on the ground. The group all spoke amongst themselves, but he separated himself and walked around a little. Then, finally, he turned to look back across the water. He stopped dead. For what felt like forever, they stared at each other. They were still a fair distance apart. He began to move back towards the water. Clarkes feet finally began to work. She moved deeper into the ocean until she could no longer stand. She tried to swim as best she could, but had never really done it before. She kicked and splashed but got nowhere. Her head dipped below the water. Suddenly, she felt strong arms around her, bringing her back up, carrying her to shore, laying her down on the beach.

“Are you trying to drown yourself, you can’t swim!” she coughed and spluttered and clung to his arms, digging her fingers into his suit. He pushed the hair from her face, then pulled her to him and squeezed her so tightly her ribs hurt, his face buried into her neck.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t, I don’t know, I, just…” she couldn’t finish. She had no answer, her mind had switched off and her body had taken over. He enveloped her entirely, as she wrapped her arms around his back, and cried.

“I left you.”

“you had no other choice!” Clarke finally loosened her grip on him, he pulled back slightly to look at her.

“Are you real?” He asked, as he studied her face. She nodded and laughed. He pulled her in again, this time more gently, and held her. She began to shiver, the water had been cold. “God, Clarke you’re freezing,” he rubbed up and down her arms.

“I don’t care”.

“ Clarke?” It was Raven. Bellamy and Clarke suddenly remembered they weren’t alone. He helped her up, as Raven threw her arms around her, followed by Monty, all the while Bellamy kept his arm around her waist.  Finally, the cold began to get to her,

“We should head back to camp, I’m assuming you probably want something to eat that’s not algi?” At this Murphy jumped in, “Clarke, please tell me you have something meat based? Anything. Honest to god I’ll eat rat right now”

“Just, head that way.” Clarke pointed towards the trees, just as Madi, Thomas and a few others appeared. “Raven, you know Thomas”

“It’s good to meet you in the flesh.”

“I knew you’d make it down, never had a doubt”.

Madi greeted Clarke with a hug and eyed up Bellamy.

“He looks just like your drawing.”

“My drawing? Clarke has drawings of me?”

“Yes. I know all about you. You’re Bellamy.” at this Bellamy raised an eyebrow.

“I, mentioned you, a couple of times. Madi is a nightblood, I found her, alone, after praimfaya, I’ve been teaching her. Your name has come up a few times.” Bellamy smirked, that same way he used to when he’d call her princess. “Madi, could you lead the way back to camp?” Madi looked like she wanted to say more, but did as Clarke asked. They started the walk back, Raven and Thomas in deep discussion, Monty and Harper talking with Andrew, Murphy and Emori keeping together, Echo staying close by them. Clarke and Bellamy fell to the back of the group.

“Clarke,” he said her name in that same deep voice that she had longed for, and it almost felt as if the last 6 years hadn’t happened,

“I still can’t believe you’re alive. You saved us, again, and I, just, left you.”

“Bellamy, I meant what I said. You did the right thing. I’m so glad you went, I told you to go, over the radio. If you hadn’t, you’d be dead, and we wouldn’t be here now. Together.” she reached for his hand. As he locked his fingers with hers, he repeated her words,

“Together”.

[starlightbisexual]

Hullo!!! Shy anon here, you're one of my favorite blogs so i was wondering if you happen to have any marvel fic recs? I'm running low and it's summer, so any fic would be appreciated (as long as it's not explicit). Any suggestions? ^^

hi love, you're so sweet thank you!! 

i have about a million fics to rec so this might be a bit long and im gonna put it under the cut. personal faves are marked with an !!!

(when you say “not explicit” i took that to mean they’re not tagged as explicit on ao3. i cant promise that none of these fics contain sex/other mature themes. it’s probably best to always read the tags on each fic just to make sure!)

ofc this list isn’t exhaustive, just the first ones that popped into my head! if you or anyone else wants some more please come ask, i love discussing fics!

those on mobile: note the read more

slide to answer (mature, 6k)

“What do I do?” Steve appealed into the phone. “I’m freaking out.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. It lasted so long that Steve pulled the receiver away from his ear and frowned at it. Pay phones were old. Maybe this one wasn’t working despite the obvious dial tone when he picked up.

“Ok,” a stranger’s voice said over the phone. “First acknowledge the fact that you dialed the wrong number, but be quick about it because my cab is a few blocks away from my own plans and I’m about to drop some truth bombs on you.”

lonely houses off the road (teen, 17k)

Barnes is now glaring at him for some reason. It’s somewhat terrifying but also, oddly, a little reassuring— because that’s emotion right there, which means there’s still somebody behind those eyes. Somebody who seems to think Sam is being a bit slow on the uptake. “Time parameters exceeded. Mission failed.”

“Wait.” Sam narrows his eyes. “Is this some kind of… report? Debriefing?”

“Mission report,” confirms Barnes, looking pleased. Well, looking slightly less murderous than before.

In which various people deal with things they never signed up for, but at the end of the day no one’s particularly surprised.

i love you like rlb (teen, 3k)

I love you like rlb has become a well-known, accepted and valuable component of American vernacular. The meaning of the letters ‘rlb’ is unknown, but is uniformly considered to be a statement of a great romantic love, commitment and sacrifice.

It was Dernier as first said it. Steve never imagined that something like that could have survived the war and all the years in between.

In which Tony goes insane trying to figure out why that phrase affects the Cap so much, Bucky teases the press, and Steve and Bucky love each other like rlb.

i was found and now i don’t roam these streets (mature, 15k)

They’ve decided to start producing Bucky Bears again, now that he’s all shiny and redeemed and fighting for good on this big Avengers misfits team. “He has a little shiny gray arm,” Bucky says, wiggling the stuffed arm in question, one of the tweaks made in the new model. It takes Steve a second to realize that Bucky’s got a small smile on his face, actually looks a little bit proud around the eyes.

Or, Bucky relearns himself and how to be on a team, the rest of the Avengers try to get answers, and everyone watches too much Criminal Minds.

roll on (mature, 89k)

In 1938, there’s a bar in Brooklyn called Sully’s where people are safe to be themselves. Behind the bar, a girl pours drinks. She’s always got a big smile for Steve and she says queer like it’s a good thing. On a regular basis, she takes his shoulders in her hands and tries to shake sense into him, saying, “When will you do something about that best friend of yours?”

In 2012, Bucky’s gone, but Steve’s not, and the girl’s hands are too old to shake him. She does her best to make him see sense anyway.

Steve had people who loved him before the war, and it turns out a few of them are still around when he finally comes home.

one cloud feels lonely (mature, 72k, !!!)

“I’m going to take a break for a while,” Steve said quietly, not looking at T’Challa, not knowing that this was what he was gonna do until the words were out of his mouth. “I can’t be on a team right now.”

T’Challa nodded as if he understood. “Alright.”

AKAIn which Steve and Bucky both figure out how to be a person again, and it still takes them over 130 years.

barnes & rogers and the goddamn truth (not rated, 18k, !!!)

There are three well-known facts at Shield High:

1. The history teacher Mr. Barnes is a stone-cold terror, and it’s not even because he only has one arm.2. The other history teacher, Mr. Rogers, is a mysterious enigma, and it’s something to do with the body of a Greek God and contradicting stories of his past. (They’re all rumours, anyway.)3. Mr Barnes and Mr Rogers hate each other.

Bucky wouldn’t have it any other way.

asked and answered (teen, 5k)

“You should marry me, Bucky.”

“What?”

“You should marry me.” Steve said again. “Sister Eustace said that marriage is the purest form of love, and I love you more than anybody. So we should get married.”

Steve and Bucky. Five marriage proposals (and one time they didn’t have to ask).

1917 (mature, 15k, !!!)

Born on March 10th, 1985 at the Brooklyn Hospital Center, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes was named after Sergeant Barnes, Captain America’s childhood best friend, who died when he fell off a train in the Swiss Alps.

In 2008, Peggy Carter donates to the Smithsonian letters Captain Rogers wrote to Sergeant Barnes in 1944—

After he fell.

Some lives are eternally entwined.

to be vunerable is needed most of all (mature, 118k)

Steve is a shy comic book artist and meets his new neighbour, Bucky Barnes.

In which there are awkward longings, meddling best friends, comic conventions, heartache, lemons, video games, dorkiness, dancing and two cute boys.

there should be stars (teen, 45k)

“All memories to tell you the truth aren’t good.But sometimes there were good times.Love was good. I loved your crooked sleepbeside me and never dreamed afraid.

There should be stars for great warslike ours. There ought to be awardsand plenty of champagne for the survivors.”- Sandra Cisneros

Or, it takes them decades.

fever dream (mature, 9k)

“Buck.” Steve says, soft as he can, so he won’t start to cough again. The light from the stove hits his face just right, makes his eyes light up bright, spring sky blue. Bucky’s head aches just looking at him.

1942, in fits and starts.

they say love is a virtue (mature, 22k)

“I have a bet,” Tony announces to the room. He stands up, repeating himself a few times so that everyone is forced to stop the game and look up at him. He looks straight into Bucky’s eyes when he goes, “I bet you fifty dollars that you and Steve can’t spend a whole week pretend married without realizing that you’re both in love with each other.”

the smithsonian guard (gen, 8k)

Bucky makes a friend.

cross this river to the other side (teen, 14k)

Here is the truth about Captain America and the Howling Commandos that every World War II historian must come to accept at one point or another: we will never know everything. We won’t even come close.

So much was lost with the untimely death of Captain America. While the man beneath the uniform sunk to the bottom of the North Atlantic, the myth lived on, only to grow bigger and more unwieldy as the years went by. Now, it is near impossible to tell fact from fiction, to separate out truth from propaganda.

In 1943, the Howling Commandos wrote goodbye letters to be given to their loved ones in the event of their deaths.

In 2014, Sharon Carter finds those letters in a tin can in an abandoned HYDRA base.

captain fantastic and the pineapple king (teen, 30k, !!!)

Shit.She hadn’t noticed him yet. Maybe he could turn and leave without them noticing – Sam would understand. Sam was the most empathetic person he knew. He wouldn’t scold Steve for coming home spice-less to avoid an awkward encounter with an ex. Surely.They drew closer.Fuck.Please don’t notice me, please don’t notice me, please don’t notice me…"Steve?”Fuck.In which Steve is saved from his ex in a grocery store, Bucky Barnes is Way Too Chill about absolutely everything, and Sam has had enough of all of these goddamn pineapples in his fucking house.Or: The five times Steve received a pineapple (and one Piña Colada) and the one time he didn’t

haha, jk (teen, 13k)

(A tale of Not Unrequited Love)

Steve: I love you.Bucky: oh no.(and other fallacies)

Bucky learns to never say never when it comes to the effect his best friend can have.

apes debemus imitari (we should imitate the bees) (gen, 15k)

Steve operates a fruit & veg stand at a farmer’s market. Bucky keeps bees and has started up a honey shop just opposite. They’re failing to get along. Steve gets along a lot better with the anonymous friend he’s been writing letters to. In fact, he’s rapidly falling for him.

it’s no coincidence (teen, 109k)

The kids immediately scream, “Trick-or-Treat” before they see who opens the door.

The strange resident looks between the two kids, then at the adults, and his eyes widen in horror.

“It’s October already?”

Okay, Bucky thinks. This guy is probably high.

don’t ask (mature, 21k, !!!)

Captain America and Bucky Barnes were like brothers. Everyone knew that.

most ardently (teen, 9k)

Baron Grant, nothing more than a small, sickly country gentleman with no fortune and very little to recommend him, has just poured a glass of claret over Duke Barnes, a wealthy lord with the world at his feet.