Me: Jeeze, look at all these fics I’ve “marked for later.” I should read some of them.
Brain: OR you could read that one fic you’ve read 6,543 times for the 6,544th time.
Me: Why are we like this?
----
At the table next to me, some students are very seriously debating which Hogwarts house famous people would be sorted into. I’ve heard RDJ, Ansel Elgort, Paul Rudd, Macklemore, Jude Law, and more. You go, little nerds. You go.
----
I’m back home now. It was a tough visit, so I’ll just share one of the lighter thoughts I had. My grandfather was a teacher before he retired, and he reminisces about his students often.
Every single time he waxed on about a woman student who was such a nice, bright girl, she never did get married, such a shame.
Me in my head: Harold, they’re lesbians.
----
My dad: When you were in high school, I thought you might be a lesbian, but you like that Chris Evans guy, so I guess you’re not.
Me in my head: Yeah. Cause bisexuality isn’t a thing. Definitely not.
(Apparently it’s the week for my inner queer to talk back to my relatives.)
----
I wrote myself a note in my RBB so I’d remember to tell you guys the best sight from my flight to my grandfather’s and back. There was a big, burly, mustachioed biker guy with full arm sleeve tattoos in the seat kitty-corner from me, and he accidentally dropped his tablet at my feet. When I picked it up to give it back to him, I saw he was watching Moana.
Soft biker aesthetic achieved.
----
One of these days, some company is going to try and market me “Water for Women,” but it will be a dollar more than normal water and wrapped in pink and designed with Spencerian script.
----
It’s been nearly a decade since I first watched Avatar the Last Airbender, and “The Tale of Iroh” still makes me bawl like a baby.
director: well, you don’t have to go in the lobster tank, tom.
tom hardy: no, I’m gonna.
Captain Americat wishes you a Happy Halloween full of delicious fishy treats.
----
keeperofkats replied to your photo “Captain Americat wishes you a Happy Halloween full of delicious fishy…”
‘Lanna wore that willingly? How? Was blood drawn? Was there bribery?
Horrified kitty is horrified. Especially because the costume designer felt Steve’s costume absolutely needs to have cleavage.
----
I’ve been at a conference for the past couple of days, and I got back late last night. (This is why I haven’t been very active the last couple of days.) This morning I really needed to get groceries, but when I bent over to put on my shoes, Alanna expressed her opinion on my leaving the house by laying on my back and digging her claws in. It took me about five minutes to dislodge her gently.
----
Civic duty cat is back to urge Americans to go vote today.
----
Civic duty cat is here to thank those of you who voted for voting. She knows some of you are feeling proud right now because your votes flipped your state or passed a crucial ballot measure, and she also knows a lot of you are feeling frightened or betrayed or like your voice didn’t matter. She wants you to know that your voice matters to her. She knows this election was emotionally rough, and that the last two years have been emotionally draining. She wants you to know that she supports you, and she wants you to hold onto your hope. She says, “Don’t let the bastards get you down.”
once a day, every day by @silkspectred
Warnings: Non-con, Rape Aftermath, Suicidal Thoughts, Depression. Basically read the tags carefully before you go in.
Why I love this: I love the way Silkspectred writes healing in general. Their approach feels deep and meaningful to me, and their fic, this one included, usually makes me cry, but it’s the good kind of crying.
When Our Day Comes by @thepartyresponsible
Warnings: Sexual content
Why I love this: Gosh, I am just a sucker for friends-with-benefits mixed with a dash of pining and a lot of misunderstanding. I am even more of a sucker for fics where Tony actively tries to take care of Steve, even if he goes about it in a roundabout sort of way.
Into Words by @dirigibleplumbing
Warnings: Past non-con (off screen)
Why I love this: I really like this approach to Tony’s inner self, where his genius is demonstrated to a certain extent. It’s hard for a lot of us to pull off the sense that Tony’s brain moves a million miles an hour, but I felt it here. I also generally enjoy these encyclopedia/definition style fics.
from the ashes of our pasts by @s-hylor
Warnings: Amputation (off screen)
Why I love this: This is another one of those fics about healing that just gets me right in the feels. I love how Ults has blossomed across fandom, and this is one of those ones that I think captures Steve so beautifully.
Shame by @one-and-five-nines
Warnings: None
Why I love this: I know this comic is about on tumblr as well, but it’s great to have it collected all in one place and to be able to comment on it freely. One-and-five-nines has such a distinctive, beautiful style, and I love the way they build story through visuals as well as the words on the page.
Easier (The Shame Remix) by @festiveferret
Warnings: None
Why I love this: My soft spot for the original Shame also runs to this fantastic remix, where Tony finds interacting with his tech so much easier than real people. (Shocking, I know.) Festiveferret is always careful to show characters actually talking and coming to an understanding, and I really appreciate that about their writing.
The White Star of Liberty by Ellidfics
Warnings: None
Why I love this: You may have guessed by my Persuasion rewrite that I’m a sucker for period pieces, so naturally I love this particular period piece. Ellidfics takes historical fictional material and yet somehow manages to imbue it with the characteristics of the characters we know and love.
All Roads and Unweaving by Night by lastdream
Warnings: None
Why I love this: In a similar vein to The White Star of Liberty, Lastdream takes historical fiction and puts it on our modern heroes, framing Steve as Odysseus and Tony as Penelope. These pieces are short and yet so lovely.
Never for the Dragon by @lightshadowverisimilitude
Warnings: Body dysmorphia, body horror
Why I love this: Ladyshadowdrake’s writing is always lovely, but this one in particular is one I remember years later, though it made me cry so hard I haven’t dared reread. Scenes from it come back to me with a wave of melancholy and I am always moved by them.
For Out of Many Waters and Crucible Illustrations by @musicalluna
Warnings: None
Why I love this: I’m cheating a little because these aren’t fics, but they are the illustrations which inspired some of my own fics, so darn it I’m going to rec them. Lu is so skilled at capturing the characters on the page, and her art has always served as an inspiration point for me, so you should definitely go give it some love. Also, Lu’s a pretty great writer, so while you’re at her AO3, you can also just dive into her fics as well.
Lost in a Sigh by orphan_account
Warnings: None
Why I love this: Until these past couple of years, music was a big part of my life, and I always love fics that pull me into the world of music again. I also love the setting of this fic, the way it feels so perfectly in its world and how the characters occupy the space given to them.
Fifty/50 by Mizzy
Warnings: Sexual content
Why I love this: Fanfic doesn’t lend us a lot of opportunities to experiment with form, but Mizzy pulled it off anyway, and thus endeared this story to my heart. I love the play of the fateful decision as it sprawls out on the page: not a choose-your-own-adventure but rather two-paths-in-a-wood.
But the second I walked in, I noticed a stage with a music video back drop. Second thought: “Oh god. Is this a strip club? Is there such a thing as a hamburger restaurant and strip club? Surely not. But then, actually maybe?” It was relatively empty, and the seating hostess let us explore a bit and choose our own table. At this point, I still wasn’t entirely sure what we’d gotten ourselves into, but given that the seating hostess appeared to be in her fifties and was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, I’m thinking my initial (and admittedly ridiculous) fear was likely unfounded. Especially as I was now realizing there were Pride flags everywhere.
The menu was the final confirmation. On the front, there were glamor shots of several featured drag queens, as well as show times. Not a Strip Bar and Grill, but a Drag Bar and Grill.
On the one hand, I was thrilled to discover such an establishment exists. On the other, fascinating but awkward cultural conversations ensued, especially as none of the Chinese or Japanese people know the term “drag” and also because it’s Pride in the city right now. I think it was maybe a good learning experience, though, and I made plans to go to a show with one of the students, so it was not an Utter Cultural Disaster. They even gave us the checks in a sparkly, high-heeled shoe, which was adorable. The more you know!
“My disguise is invincible! No one can see me!”
----
Civic duty kitty reminds you that in many states it is primary elections today, and even if you are not voting in the primary elections, you should check your voter registration and vote in the midterms. Protect your rights and your democracy.
----
I’m not a particularly tall person, but nonetheless, my cat stretches almost the entire length of my leg. Note the proprietary paw wrapped around my foot.
----
Sometimes she just lays like this and watches me in the kitchen.
----
Alanna’s favorite petting style: head pressed against my boob in order to receive vigorous neck scritchies.
----
Unfortunate things I have said to my cat:
“Why can’t you just eat without the butt loving?”
----
I took a nice long bath today with a book right up until my cat, for no reason I can discern, decided she needed to join me. Wet cat is indignant cat.
----
Woke up to this grumpy face this morning. Me too, Alanna. Me too.
Though I might point out at least one of us would be less grumpy if you hadn’t gotten me up at four this morning, at which point I couldn’t fall asleep in bed again (too hot) and thus had to move to the couch (my back! my knee!)
----
Cat snail? Cat snail.
I have not turned on the heat, and Alanna does not approve.
My brain proceeded to do this:
Whose strong and brave, here to haul all your garbage away?
Who vows to toss bags and cans in the trucks night and day?
Who drives around door-to-door for your rubbish bins,
Carries the boxes of glass, junk, and grubby tins,
From Hoboken to Spokane,
The trash spattered Cap’s work begins!
Helpful kitty reapplies fur to furless laundry.
----
Alanna has located a new cat bed.
----
The face of a cat who woke me up at 4:30 this morning, and again at 6:15, in spite of the fact that I didn’t get to bed until 11:45. But she does not care.
----
Do not move, human.
----
This is the look I get in the morning when I wake her up. Little bitch is allowed to wake me up at 4 AM, but heaven forbid I disturb her time upon my thighs.
----
WHILE I PUT MY PANTS ON my little foot fetishist of a cat lays down on me like this.
----
Me: It is too hot to wear the blanket and let you sleep on my thighs.
Cat: LAP!
Me: But it’s hot. You think it’s hot too.
Cat: LAP!
Me: …
Cat: LAP!
Me: Fine.
Cat: *loud motorboat sound*
“You can’t see me.”
Meet my parents’ cat, Pepper. She and my cat have sworn to loathe each other for all eternity.
----
“Who dares disturb my slumber?”
My cat does not take kindly to nap interruptions.
----
@lightshadowverisimilitude has requested cute fuzzbutts due to life, so here is my cute fuzzbutt in gif form freaking out over a plastic ring from a milk jug.
----
My weird dumb cat really loves feet.
----
Can you spot the kitty?
----
Sometimes when I bend over to tie my shoes, my cat takes advantage of the easy stepping stone my back presents.
----
Who is she?
And she does not deserve it! Because I got back, hauled all the drawers indoors, helped along by the friendly gentlemen painting the apartment next door (the apartment I secretly covet because it has more kitchen counter space) and then called for my cat. Who did not come. Or make a peep.
“Okay,” I thought to myself. “It’s the middle of the day. She sleeps during this times. She’s just sleeping.” So I went off to all her usual haunts. Chair? No. Cat tower? No. Sofa? No. Bed? No. Clothes hamper? No, no, no, no. I even checked the closets, even though I definitely didn’t open the closets today.
And then I backtracked and thought to myself, “Could she have snuck out when I left earlier today? Maybe…” So I went back out and checked the upstairs hallway and the basement. Nothing. I even checked in with the painters, since they’d had the doors cracked to vent the apartment, but they hadn’t seen her either.
And then it occurred to me that the nice painter held the outside door open for me. And Alanna likes nothing better than to sneak outdoors where she can roll on the cement. But It’s also freezing, so much so that I couldn’t feel my fingers after I scraped the ice off the car this morning, even with gloves. So in a panic, I ran outside and started wandering the neighborhood calling her name and traipsing through brush and ice. I was out until I couldn’t feel my ears and nose, and I had to go back in, where I checked the basement again.
Defeated, I went back into the apartment to get a sweatshirt to lay out and try and attract her back when I saw a blur of black at the corner of my eye. “Mouse or cat, mouse or cat…” I went to the bedroom, called, and finally, there was a stupid plaintive mewl from under the bed. She definitely hadn’t been there before; I have no idea where she was hiding. She might be able to squeeze under the sofa in a pinch, but it would be very uncomfortable for her. I can only assume that she discovered a pocket dimension in the apartment and is using it to punish me for the holiday travel.
After all the drama, I had lunch and then walked over to the bookstore to get the last of my textbooks, as well as a book I’d been wanting, and then I went home and made hot cocoa. Looked at the clock to discover it was only 2, even though I was thinking it must be at least 4. Now I’m going to work on my WIP and FINISH IT (I think) and then start my coursework for this coming semester.
But the real point of the story is somewhere in there the Chicago Cubs song came on (I don’t know why this very region specific song would be thrown into a generic nationwide Spotify playlist; I’ll assume there was an intern from Chicago.) and I have never heard this song before in my life. And over the noise of the shower, I was getting very few words. I could make out “Chicago” and “Go!” and then a word which began with a “k” sound and my brain decided the most natural word in this context would be “cops.” As in “Go, cops! Get out of here!” Which made perfect sense to me.
But then there was mention of sunshine or something and I thought. Hmmm. Maybe not “cops.” “Clouds?” “Go, clouds, go?” I was still thinking along the lines of “Get out of here.”
And then finally the word “baseball,” and my brain caught up with the program, but for a while I was thinking that it was perfectly logical that the city of Chicago would have a song urging its cops to get out of town.
Choice tidbits:
“To get into them, for the first time, without the assistance of the tailor who had made them, and who, from much practice and patience, and no little ingenuity, was up to every difficulty and device in the art and mystery of ‘trying on,’ was impossible.”
“His blood, being denied a free passage in a downward direction … made his neck and face swell and his eye protrude, and turned his cheeks as red as the gills of a fish … [but] getting out of his trammels was sometimes a more awful trial than getting into them.”
“Truly, my dear Fleury, there never was a more ridiculous affair than this quarrel of ours. To fight for a petticoat might be perfectly natural; but who ever heard of a duel for a pair of black silk shorts?”
I am reminded that immediately after seeing Wonder Woman, I really wanted to write a fic with her and Steve in some way, shippy or otherwise. I mean, we know Diana is canonically bi, so we can even have a lovely threesome with Peggy, or they can just be friends, or she and Peggy can be together and Steve can sigh after them both. There are just so many possibilities. But I think she’d be good for him. The fact that she chooses love, that she chooses hope, I think that would be really good for Steve. He’s already a jaded little cuss even before he joins the army, and then going in and having to see what war has done to Bucky, to his men, I think the light Diana could show him would be something he’d really latch onto, a way of looking at the world that wasn’t completely hopeless or angry. Imagine what good it would’ve done him coming out of the ice, to have a little of that hope, especially if it were magnified by her finding him again.
“I heard there was a man in the ice.”
“Ma’am, who are you? You can’t just–”
Fury: “Yes, she can.”
Steve: “Diana?”
(And then likemymask said: To derail a bit, would that mean Tony would have Diana as another pseudo-aunt like Peggy? Cause then that first meeting between Cap and Iron Man would have gone a lot different in Avengers.
(How much do you wanna bet that Steve went in just as angry/resentful of Tony as Tony went in about “the guy my dad never shut up about” due to the Romanoff Report on Tony from IM2/all the vids of Tony flipping off a Senate subcommittee meeting…which probs would have made Steve like him, come to think of it.)
(Tony would have grown up hearing about too-stubborn-to-die, rules-are-for-people-not-me punk Steve, not the Captain up on Howard’s pedestal and felt good about knowing that even the small can win. Steve would have heard about baby Anthony, so smart and so alone, being constantly compared to a man who doesn’t really exist and been reminded of how everyone likes to forget tinyfighter!Steve existed))
(Just gonna bump this to another ask thread so it doesn’t get too long.)
This could go two ways, and to get to either direction, I think the starting path is relatively the same:
It’s implied in the DCU that Diana kind of fades into the ether and keeps a lower profile. This might be for many reasons, both external and internal. She was only involved in WWI for a very short time, and she was a lady to boot, so it’s very possible that command did not want it getting out that some female and some random spy saved them from a gas bombing. I think her involvement in WWII would then also be very under-the-radar. She’s living in France in modern-day DCU, so maybe moved there after WWI, and maybe she even helped rebuild that little town that was destroyed by the gas. Following that, she’d become a member of the French Resistance when Germany invaded. But it strikes me that she’s not terribly impressed by the men who wage war, and so any involvement she has with the Commandos and any of the Allied armies is on her terms and not under the umbrella of the military.
Now comes the split:
Way 1) THE NO ROMANCE WITH PEGGY WAY: For me, this means Diana is very much her own agent and likely disappears again after WWII. She may have fond feelings for the remaining Commandos and Howard Stark, but she’s not necessarily directly involved with them and because she’s not an agent of the Allies, she’s not going to go back to headquarters to keep fighting the war. This means she’d essentially (and probably purposefully, given that she doesn’t age) let the relationships fade away and only turn up when she found out Steve had been recovered. So in that scenario, no Aunt Diana, although potentially stories about her awesomeness would get passed on to Tony.
Way 2) THE ROMANCE WITH PEGGY WAY: In this, we definitely have Awesome Aunt Diana alongside Awesome Aunt Peggy, and given that we know how Diana feels about babies, I can’t imagine her not looking in on Tony even if Peggy is busy with running SHIELD. I feel like Diana’s presence in the Stark household would definitely soften many things, not least of all Howard, and her presence would also give Tony a second ally, an ally who is very invested in making sure Tony has a happy childhood and that he grows up to be a good man (he is already, but he’d be himself with less of that caustic “Fuck you” attitude). I think then it would go much like you describe, with less vitriol from Tony and Diana quietly in the background telling Steve everything Tony’s been through that he might not have known otherwise.
“What. Is that?”
Steve ignored Bucky and hauled the vase deeper into the shop, heaving it up with all his might and nearly pissing himself when the whole thing threatened to topple off the counter. It would’ve killed him if the damn thing broke now, after he’d hauled it all the way over with his own two skinny arms.
“Steve. What is that?”
“It’s a pack of PBR.” Steve groused, stepping back to stare at the massive bouquet. Even just seeing it again, only slightly worse for wear for being pressed against his face, made him grin like a dope.
“Why the hell would you bring this here? Why did you even buy this thing? Wait, have you got someone I don’t know about? Someone on the side? Stevie, we promised we’d share.”
“I don’t have someone on the side. I told you I was going to say hi to the new florist next door.”
“And he gave you half his shop?”
“I…I might’ve made an impulse buy.”
Bucky turned from the desk where he did the books, and raised one, very loud eyebrow at Steve. “How big of an impulse was this?”
“Uh…um, fifteen.”
“For that whole thing.” Bucky looked nonplussed.
“Fifteen. Plus a hundred.”
“A hundred and fifteen dollars, Stevie!”
“Shut it. I know.”
“A hundred and fifteen dollars for a bouquet that doesn’t even match the decor, Stevie?” Bucky gestured dramatically to the wrought iron gate at the front of the shop, the deep red walls and the diamond black-and-white floor tiles. “This is a tattoo parlor. What were you thinking?”
“You didn’t see the florist, Bucky.”
“Bullshit, you big softie.”
“I’m tellin’ you. Walk over there and say hi before you judge me.”
Bucky stood right up from his seat, and Steve had known him long enough to know he was going to do just that. “I’m going to go over there and say hi. Like you said. And when I get back, you’re gonna rub my feet for an hour because there’s no way whoever this is could be worth a hundred and fifteen dollars.”
“What do I get if I’m right?”
“You ain’t gonna be right,” Bucky tossed over his shoulder as he walked out the door.
“A blowjob then?” Steve could just see Bucky flipping him off.
Ten minutes later, the sound of the shop bell roused Steve from his sketchpad. He laughed so hard he nearly passed out when he saw Bucky carrying not one, but two massive bouquets.No worries. I took a dinner break. And as some of my long-time followers can tell you, sometimes I take forever to get to an ask.
This hearkens to the flowershop/tattoo dichotomy for me, and I always love it when people assign Tony as the florist and Steve as the tattooist. I always want to push it a little further and say that Tony has a bit of plant magic in him, just enough that plants flourish under his care and the herbal tinctures and concoctions and teas he makes from them are always just a little more potent, and there’s something about them. Some ineffable thing.
Steve’s had Tony’s lavender tea. The first time he drank it, he said it tasted like laying on the grass on the first warm day of spring, and Tony laughed and said that was silly. The second time he had it, he said it was like helping his mom make cookies around Christmas time. Every time it tastes a little different to him, and he can never describe what that taste is like without going to some bizarre fuzzy metaphor.
Tony cultivates plants with trimmed stamens for Steve so that there’s never any pollen to worry about. They still produce nectar, so they still smell sweet and fresh, and Steve always asks him how he does it. He just shrugs a little and says he’s always had a knack.
His shop is light and green and sunshine and it always smells amazing, like earth and life, even in the dead of winter. He brews up tea after tea for the Rogers, anything to ease mother and son’s persistent coughing, aching ears, wheezing lungs. Mrs. Rogers swears she’s never seen anything like it in all her years as a nurse, watches with all the intent of a scientist making hypotheses as Tony makes the tinctures for her again and again, but she can never figure out just why his plants would be more potent than others, just why his teas and herbs have such a profound effect where others are mediocre at best.
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timeasmymeasure
