What is this thing for?

by @thepartyresponsible

36,515 words; Mature; No AO3 warnings apply

Eventual Clint Barton/Bucky Barnes; team and friends fic; background relationships

Summary: The pictures leak on a lazy off-season Sunday, in that muddled bit of midafternoon Clint never knows what to do with when he isn’t training. He curls up with Lucky on the couch and naps through the end of his whole damn life. And that, honestly, is pretty much perfect.

...Have to snicker a little when, in order to fit the fifth member of the core marriage into the shot, I have to stick him half a mile away...

Anyway. This is just to let everybody know that for Pride Month of 2026, the Ebooks Direct Pride Package has been really ridiculously discounted.

...From the product page:

This package contains all our Middle Kingdoms material—some of the first LGBTQ-representing epic fantasy in the 20th-century fantasy field, now continuing into the 21st. It also contains the matter-of-fact exit from the (contextual) closet of two of the best-loved characters in the Young Wizards universe—Advisory wizards Tom Swale and Carl Romeo, on their first canonically-"out" venture as a couple. The main part of the collection spans more than forty years, from the publication of Diane Duane's two-time Astounding Award finalist The Door Into Fire, first published in 1979, through its main-sequence sequels (both also Gaylaxic Spectrum Awards Hall of Fame winners) The Door Into Shadow and The Door Into Sunset, to 2018's and 2019's interstitial Tales of the Five novels, The Levin-Gad and The Landlady. The collection also includes such otherwise hard to find short works as Lior and the Sea and the two current volumes of the "Sirronde's World" group, The Span and Parting Gifts.* And finally, it also includes the Middle Kingdoms novelette Overdue (Tales of the Middle Kingdoms #2), and the short Young Wizards work Owl Be Home For Christmas.

All that for $19.99? Seriously, I need my head felt. So please go validate my mental state by buying the package. ...And happy Pride!

(Meanwhile, a project for the course of the month is to put all the queer, bi, and/or ace characters in my various series into that shot. That bridge should be a little more crowded by the time I'm done...) 😏

Day 2 (swap for i touch myself - Divinyls “I don’t want anybody else)

“Don’t do it,” Natasha warned when she turned to see who Clint was staring at.

“Don’t do what?”

“Don’t go after Barnes. You’re just going to get yourself hurt.”

“Bucky wouldn’t hurt me.”

“You hurt you,” she reminded him. “I’m not saying he’s gonna do anything on purpose, but Clint. You know better.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“Isn’t he still mad at you after that stunt you pulled last week?”

“Probably. I’m gonna go offer him a drink.”

“Promise me this isn’t going to end in tears and heartbreak.”

“You worry too much.” 

He had stopped by the bar before crossing the room to Bucky. Steve caught his eyes as he was approaching and gave him a nod before slapping Bucky on the back and walking off. Clint wanted to lick the confused furrow between his brows; Christ he was down bad.

“What do you want?” Bucky demanded as Clint held out a bottle to him.

“Thought I’d bring you a drink.”

“Don’t you have someone else to hassle?”

“You’re my favorite person to hassle.”

“Lucky me.”

“Aw, don’t be like that baby.”

“Not your baby, Barton,” he said, sounding tired, but finally took the beer.

“You still mad about last week?” The look he got was response enough. “I said I was sorry.”

“Go tell it to one of those dames from Friday.”

“Didn’t take you for the jealous type.”

“I’m not, I’m. I don’t have any claim on you, and I know I’m not anyone’s first choice, but you don’t have to rub it in.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Go find someone else to hassle.”

“I don’t want anybody else.” Bucky gave him another flat look. “I’m serious. Look, I was only showing off on the dance floor ‘cause I was hoping you were watching, not ‘cause I wanted any of them to go home with me.”

“And you want me to go home with you?”

Marjane Satrapi, cartoonist and film director, best known for Persepolis

Welcome to the fourth annual summer fic reading challenge! Sign ups will open the week before, on June 14.

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Reba McEntire charting with a gothic horror song about an innocent man being executed by an incompetent judge and a corrupt sheriff

Willie Nelson being, well, his entire self tbh

Dolly Parton recording the hating capitalism banger of all time

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Luke Combs covering Fast Car and keeping the line "I work in the market as a checkout girl" and doing an interview about how he couldn't change a single word because it's not his story. king shit

Morgan Wallen doing I Had Some Help, literally the first song that spoke to me as a male survivor of domestic abuse. also shoutout to the guy for getting caught saying a racial slur and responding by specifically telling his fans not to defend him and raising a bunch of money for the Black Music Action Coalition. bro had an engraved invitation to the culture war and said "nah I'd rather be normal"

Shaboozey just absolutely obliterating the drunk roadhouse anthem glass ceiling

Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne with a song that okay, released in 2019 but I didn't hear until recently, about how good friends mind their own business and let you love whoever you want and also get high with you when you're broke

Kimberley Perry! If I Die Young Part 2!! "actually I'm glad I lived, bitch" ass song that I bet is gonna mean a LOT to kids fighting depression