Title: Sincerely, Your Pal
Author: lettered
URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3194165/chapters/6943961
Ship: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes
Wordcount: 65620
Summary: “[…] lesbians and gay men writing letters to their lovers and friends faced the special problem of wartime censorship. Military censors, of course, cut out all information that might aid the enemy, but this surveillance made it necessary for gay and lesbian correspondents to be careful not to expose their homosexuality. To get around this, gay men befriended sympathetic censors or tricked others by using campy phrases, signing a woman’s name (like Dixie or Daisy), or changing the gender of their friends. Sailors became WAVEs, boyfriends became WACs, Robert became Roberta. There must exist, hidden in closets and attics all over America, a huge literature of these World War II letters between lesbians and between gay men that would tell us even more about this important part of American history.” – Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women In World War Two, by Allan Berube
Why this fic is awesome: Set post CA:TWS. Wartime. This is the epistolary fic of the fandom. Nothing could top it. A delightful blend of historical knowledge and a wonderful penchant for writing as people might speak – you can hear the voices of Steve and Bucky come through in these letters, as they navigate their relationship away from each other complete with letters back not arriving in order, gaps in correspondence and the circumspection needed due to the censor’s eyes on the letters. I love the way Steve continually evades explaining exactly what the military have hired him for, Bucky’s worry and his experiences in warfare, Steve trying to explain how frightening his new body can be for him without being able to explain what has changed about him.
A glorious, wonderful, sexy as hell read (not safe for reading on the sly in school/work guys!)
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