The small gift shop was decorated for fall in the most charming collection of pumpkins, leaves, acorns and fairy lights. Darcy gave an approving smile as she made her way to the shelf that held a collection of scented candles. She loved a nice fall candle and now that it was officially September, she’d allowed herself to add to her stash. Noting the sign that encouraged smelling the product, she picked up one labeled Caramel Apple and took a sniff.
“Hmmmm. Yummy.”
She set it down and picked up another candle. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a man nearby stocking some pieces of wall art. He shot a glance at Darcy and her heart skipped several beats at the smile he gave her.
Holy cow. The man is stunning.
“That one’s my favorite,” he spoke, nodding towards the nearly forgotten candle in Darcy’s hand. She forced herself to close her jaw and sniffed distractedly.
“Oh, that is fantastic,” she agreed. “Autumn Apple Pie. My apartment will smell delicious.”
“I guarantee it,” he responded confidently. “Same with The Pumpkin Cheesecake. Brings back memories of my mom’s baking. If you need help finding anything, just ask.”
“Thanks,” Darcy replied gratefully. She took her sweet time selecting the candles, shooting stray glances at the mysterious Shop Guy in the meantime. She couldn’t help but notice his very broad shoulders and the muscular forearms which peaked out from underneath partly rolled up sleeves. There was no sign of a ring on his left hand.
A shelf of festive art prints drew her attention after a few minutes aimless wandering. Darcy caught her breath at how beautiful they were. Piles of pumpkins, apples, and autumn leaves were rendered in colorful and beautiful detail. A sunrise over orange and green forests mesmerized her.
“Excuse me,” she said to the employee, who looked up from the rotating rack of jewelry he was organizing. “Who is this artist? These are incredible!”
Shop Guy looked a touch red, she noticed. Interesting.
“A local guy who likes to dabble now and again,” he said.
“That’s a lot more than dabbling, I’d say,” Darcy exclaimed. “This is real talent. Dude would make a killing at a big gallery somewhere.”
“He doesn’t really like the spotlight,” the man said, looking uncomfortable now. “He prefers anonymity. Life kind of chewed him up and spit him out.”
“Awww, I totally get it,” Darcy sympathized. “It’s been a rough few years.” She clamped her mouth shut before she accidentally trauma-dumped all over poor Shop Guy.
Grabbing the sunrise picture, she added it to her candles and approached the counter.
“Ready to check out?” Shop Guy asked, quickly moving to get behind the register as Darcy set her selections on the counter.
Ready to check you out. Her treacherous brain provided.
“Yep,” she said cheerily, forcing herself to behave.
“What a great place. Is it just you holding down the fort?”
“I have part time help, but he mostly works evenings since he’s still in school. I’ve got a buddy who will come down and man the counter if I’m in a real pinch. That’ll be seventy-one sixty-four.”
Darcy was rather pleased by how she’d stayed under budget this time. But she would definitely have to come back, for multiple reasons.
“Thank you so much,” She said, giving him a warm smile as he handed her her bag. Their eyes locked for a moment and she noticed his widened slightly.
“Who should I ask for if I come back and you’re not here?” She blurted out boldly.
There was a second of silence and then he grinned again.
“Steve.” He said softly. “Nice to finally meet you, Dr. Lewis. I hope you’ll come back sometime.”
Darcy did, in fact, come back to Steve’s shop many many times.
excuse me for stating the obvious but like. james gunn outright calling superman an immigrant and doubling down on it when he got backlash (because he IS an immigrant, that's the point of superman) + the in-movie dialogue of "aren't you going to read me my rights?" "you're an extraterrestrial, son. you haven't got any rights to read." + the violence of his arrest and how they torture and mistreat him unapologetically, all under the guise of "protecting america", in a film releasing during the onslaught of violent ICE kidnappings and abuse... yeah it's really no wonder right-wing knobheads are crying about this being woke. they're being forced to look directly at the reasons one of the most notorious heroes of all time would not be on their side. and that's only ONE of the reasons this movie covers
Hello there! I come bearing recs! You said you were open to any ships, so I picked out a bunch of different ones.
First some fic:
A Light in the Dark by coldfusion9797, Scott/Steve, Rated E
After being freed from prison by Steve Rogers, Scott spends just enough time with the Captain to know that he wants more.
one hundred percent by Marvellous, Scott/Sam, Not Rated
Scott propped himself up on one elbow, squinting at the bright sunlight streaming in through the windows before looking up at his boyfriend, “Hey do me a favor.”
“Hm?”
“Hold this?” Scott asked as he held out his hand.
Unimpressed, a fully dressed Sam raised his eyebrows at the other man, “This…is your hand.”
A chirp of amusement left Scott’s parted lips as he hummed, “Yeah.”
Absolutely Cuckoo by Dresupi, Scott/Maria, Not Rated
“Aww…thanks, Hill,” Scott grinned broadly when she handed him his coffee. “That was really sweet of you. You totally didn’t have to do that.”
She snorted, handing around the other cups to the rest of the people at the table. “I actually did. It’s my job.”
The Art of Compromise by fandomaffected, Scott/Hope, Rated G
Hope doesn't think she'll ever get it - a soulmark that will mark the spot where her soulmate first touched her. In fact, she doesn't think she'll ever find what others seem to have had for years.
Then Scott Lang comes along.
Soulmate AU where your soulmate touches you and a mark appears.
Training Up For Size by rebooting, Scott/Thor, Rated E
Thor is a lot bigger than your average human. Scott can't exactly use the Ant-Man suit to grow juuuuust big enough for that to not be an issue. Luckily, Thor has a solution, even if the implementation is likely to drive Scott a bit crazy by the time it's done.
Screwball Love Story by Sholio, Scott/Maggie/Jim, Rated T
Scott is definitely not Cary Grant but he's probably also not Jimmy Stewart and … yeah, even he's not entirely sure where he's going with this.
quicksand (you're gonna suffer if you don't start breathing) by misura, Scott/Hank, Rated G
Hank has a cunning plan. (Several, actually.)
As for some art recs, here's some Scott/Quill, Scott/Wade, Scott/Jimmy, Scott/Strange, and gen X-Con pieces. Also, I highly recommend this awesome Scott/Wanda video. I also have a bunch of Scott works in my writing and graphic tags and there's a ton of Scott stuff in the rest of my archive.
“Mum! Hurry up!” Your daughter was adorable in her Iron Man costume. You wore a somewhat matching Captain America costume, but your shield was clearly a cheap Halloween prop and was already wobbly and not surviving the evening.
“I was just trying to fix the strap on my shield, Punkin,” you called, hurrying after her, holding her big bag. She’d insisted on a small bucket for treats and then realized she’d need to empty it often if she wanted to get a good haul trick or treating.
“There’s one more floor,” she exclaimed, bounding up the stairs. The three story walk-up you lived in was the perfect place for a five-year-old to trick or treat. There were plenty of doors to knock on, she wouldn’t get cold and you were able to get her into bed at a reasonable time. She waited impatiently at the top of the stairs for you, tapping her little foot impatiently. When you got to the top of the stairs, she moved toward he first door and knocked.
A handsome blond man opened the door, enough stubble across his jaw that is was looking like he was growing a beard. It suited him. You had no idea someone so hot lived in your building and your mouth went dry when he looked between your girl and you and then smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Iron Man And Captain America! What a great duo!” He laughed. “I love what you’ve done with your hair, Tony.” He tweaked one of your daughter’s ponytails and pulled the curl straight gently before letting go and reaching behind him for the candy bowl.
“I think that girls are probably better superheroes than boys. Like, Black Widow is super awesome. But if she had access to the Stark tech in a suit, she would be unstoppable. So why not let Iron Man be a girl?” Your daughter placed her hand in her hip and responded in her most sassy lecture tone. “And Cap is cool, but my momma is so much cooler and she’s kind of like a super soldier because she had to have all kinds of chemicals in her when she had the thyroid cancer.”
“So she’s a warrior and a survivor. Nice.” The man smiled at you. “You know, I think you need to try something. Hold on.” He shut the door and you could hear him walk away and back. When he opened the door, he was holding a really nice copy of Captain America’s shield.
“Wow! Is that real?” Your daughter asked.
“Sure is,” he grinned, handing it to you. “Here, trade me. I’ll hold on to this one, and you use mind for the rest of the night. I’ll come pick it up from you later tonight. You’re on the second floor, right?”
“204, yeah,” you nodded, taking the heavier shield and handing him your flimsy plastic one. “Are you sure? I don’t even know your name.”
He laughed and held his hand out. “Steve,” he said. You should his hand.
“Y/N,” you offered back. “This is really nice. It looks like the real thing.”
Steve smiled again and nodded. “Because it is,” he grinned. Your eyes snapped from the shield to his face, and you stared at him. You tilted your head, trying to imagine him without the beard and suddenly you saw it, your eyes widening.
“Holy shit,” you breathed. “Oh, sorry.”
“I’m a soldier, not a priest,” he laughed. You looked back to the shield in your hand and admired it.
“So this is the real thing?” You asked. “You don’t just keep fancy replicas in your closet to give to awed neighbours?”
“The real thing,” he promised.
“Alright. We’ve only got this floor left. Wanna come by in about 45 minutes? I can offer milk, beer or fizzy water,” you offered.
“Sound great, I’ll see you then,” he nodded. “Enjoy your trick or treating, kiddo.” He winked at your daughter, who was staring in slack jawed wonder at one of her heroes.
Oh, hey. I think I promised you all I'd start posting this the third week of June. And here I am being punctual. The first chapter has been posted to AO3. I'll follow up with 4-5 chapters per week. I'd love for you to join me and read along as I post the entire fic over the next month.
READ CHAPTER 1 HERE
SUMMARY: Bucky Barnes didn’t expect Thursday to begin with a pretty astrophysicist named Dr. Darcy Lewis demanding he meet her in a DC coffee shop to discuss a possible alien invasion. Darcy Lewis didn’t expect the Congressman and Avenger, Bucky Barnes, to listen to her paranoid worries. Over a week later, she's attacked for digging into the mystery and calls Bucky for a rescue. He assigns himself as her bodyguard and pulls in the other New Avengers to help untangle the nefarious plans of a sinister company. All while he also tries to work through his intimacy issues so he can have what he wants: Darcy Lewis. (Special note: The non-con/rape warning is for Bucky's past with HYDRA. The actual acts do not occur in the fic and are not discussed in detail. See the author's note for more info.)
What can you expect?
Approximately 118,000 words across 23 chapters that alternate between Bucky’s and Darcy’s POVs.
Slow burn with some teasing sexual tension sprinkled throughout.
A protective Bucky who is struggling with lingering trauma from his past, his recent decisions that seem to have boxed him in, and how he can best help and protect the people he feels responsible for.
An irreverent but lonely Darcy who is afraid someone is trying to invite potentially unfriendly aliens to the party and has no idea who to go to now that she has no connection to Thor and her best friend has died.
The entire Thunderbolts team.
Bucky and Sam being bros again.
Mixtapes.
SO MUCH FLIRTING.
Bucky’s Vanity Fair photoshoot that Darcy thinks is a twelve out of ten.
Darcy playing with Bucky’s hair.
Bucky exploring his newly returned libido that was kickstarted by a brunette astrophysicist named Dr. Darcy Lewis.
Darcy and Bob being considered the “Auxiliary Avengers” and also being unable to agree on music.
Phone sex.
A very touchy-feely Bucky.
Motorcycle rides.
Sexual stimulation with the vibranium hand.
Darcy’s llama panties.
The New New Avengers, complete with a new base of operations.
Did I mention lots of flirting with a side of longing and a dash of angst?
Darcy Lewis, President of the Bucky Barnes Fan Club.
A very happy ending in which Bucky and Darcy get everything they want.
theartofmadeline
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kaledo-art
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