recs and links

A slow, melancholy recovery for Bucky

Steve worries because Bucky seems unresponsive, but Bucky communicates in his own way, in his own time. Aw, heart.

Bucky goes out on his first date since he got himself back. Steve isn't jealous, he's just worried! This is adorable.

Sam meets Tony and Bruce while waiting for Steve to come out of surgery. Oh heart.

Natasha and Bucky, history and memory. Oh heart.

“You’re suggesting we educate America about America?” Billy asks. “Yes,” says Kate. “This could blow up in our faces very easily,” says Teddy. “That’s what makes it fun,” says Kate. The team tries to catch America up on Earth-Earth pop culture. Aw, heart.

Really lovely first-time-with-Steve's-new-body Steve/Bucky.

ghostflowerdreams:

Really excellent outsider POV/use of fake media sources/documentation to tell a story about Steve and Bucky and their place in history and also their online fandom.

Bucky finds himself in a small town. Lovely.

Bucky finds some letters Steve wrote him after he woke up in the future. Lovely.

Team Arrow adopts wee Artemis Crock after her dad ditches her. Adorable. Also, I loved the shoutouts to animated!YJ that cropped up.

Fortunately, Sensei Ping was able to sympathize with her about crappy landlords, because even celibate martial artist monks couldn't go around introducing disrespectful lessors to Pain's River without being chastised by their peers for giving their venerable order a bad reputation. Of course, Sensei Ping's version of sympathy came in the form of stepping up the intensity of the practice exercises and extending the session by several hours when world ending dangers continued to not interrupt them. Wendy figured it was a great alternative to going home and punching Pip in the face, because even though she now knew a chokehold that would induce two day amnesia (with much greater reliability than what those luchadores did to Tyler) so Pip would never remember who hit him, she did still have a conscience. The whole 'with great power comes great responsibility' thing meant that she couldn't go around beating up guys just for making her mad anymore, even though she only had awesome hand to hand combat skills instead of actual super powers. Something's weird in Wendy and Lacey's illegal sublet! Wendy's on the case though. This is so perfectly Middleman, I can't even.

Wendy and the Middleman meet Steve and Bucky while fighting snot monsters. While MM fangirls Steve, "sidekick" bonding ensues.

They've been steveandbucky since they were kids, but that ignores the parts of their lives that don't wrap around each other, that never did. (Bucky needs to figure out who he is, just him, with or without Steve.) Oh Bucky. Oh my heart. *sniffle* This is lovely.

"I was so scared," Steve said. Bucky tucked his head down and thought about this. "Yeah. So was I." "That’s it?" said Stark, who had come into the room at some point and Bucky, bizarrely, had no idea when. "Give him a hug and you’re all good? Wait, does this mean there was a hug test available all along, because if so, I can’t believe there was a hug test available and instead we all got stabbed." Bucky lifted his head and stared at him flatly over Steve’s shoulder. "Are you asking for a hug, pal?" Stark took a step back. "No, no, I’m good." Long, action-packed, highly satisfying story of the Winter Soldier trying to fake it until he makes it as Bucky, but things don't go quite as well as he hopes. There are killer robots involved.

"Did you guys - I mean, in the war?" He laughed. "No. Never." Natasha was fascinated. "How come?" "You know," he said thoughtfully. "I look back on it, and I don't know? I mean, I love Peggy. I probably always will." He smiled, face tight with well-worn pain. "But I - you know those trick pictures where you focus your eyes different and suddenly you can't unsee...? It was like that." He snapped his fingers, a sharp crack. "I was done. And looking back... I still can't unsee. Not really." Natasha tapped her book against her chin, smiling. "That's - that's kind of nice. Like - having everything fall into place and... and finally make sense." "Not quite everything," said Steve. He was watching her and smiling like he knew the secrets of the universe. "But almost." Really lovely Steve/Bucky/Natasha in which it's Natasha who's slow to clue in. Oh honey, your nonagenarian supersoldier boyfriends just want to love you!

lovely meditative character study of Melinda May.

Steve visits Becca Barnes. This starts out sort of melancholy, gets hilarious, and then reverts to melancholy before ending with a bittersweet happiness. *happy sigh*

Really lovely, moving story of a Sam Wilson who has actual wings.

Bucky gets work in a diner to help him come back to himself. Lovely outsider POV.

Bucky's still learning to be a person again. Steve leaves him sticky notes to help. Oh my heart.

Bucky can't sleep. Everyone else tries to help him. Oh my heart! So many team feels!

Bucky Barnes and the Great Sexuality Crisis of 1938. Bucky doesn't want to want Steve, but he can't help himself. Oh, Bucky.

"Listen, Tash. I’m not having a good time if you’re not having a good time, okay?” She snaps her bra into place and looks at him, her head tilted curiously. “What are you talking about?” Sam shakes his head. “Tell me one thing you like. Just one thing. Right now while you’re standing there and I don’t have my hands on you and you can’t distract me.” Natasha pulls her hair out of the collar of her shirt, and smiles slow and dirty. “Oh, I could distract you from over here.” "That’s it, that shit right there," Sam says, exasperated. "That’s what makes me wonder if I’m even fucking you when I’m fucking you.” He knows he’s fucked up as soon as the words are out his mouth. Sam and Natasha, negotiating their relationship. Hot and sweet and a little sad.

An exclusive interview with Carol Danvers. Oh heart.

Four times Steve cooks for the people he cares about. Oh Steve.

Steve and Bucky learn how to be strong at the broken places. Lovely and hypnotic.