This is the kind of fic that I should have already read. In fact, finding it and realising that I hadnât already read it and that I got to read something this brilliant for the first time made me very happy. Itâs a post WS letâs smash Hydra rampage story with identity reclamation and hurt/comforty goodness.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
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Ever wondered what itâd be like if Steve had gotten captured? Wonder no more; below are my Top 5 Favorite Stories:Â
âthe long gameâ (M, 6k) by dirtybinary
In 1945, Steve Rogers trades himself to the Red Room in exchange for the Winter Soldier. They accept his offer, but don't let Bucky go. After all, their supersoldiers come as a matched set.
(Featuring crafty Steve, pining Bucky, and a very noisy metal arm.)
+ Fall to WS. Steve and Bucky take turns remembering and play the long con. The one with the Fact Game
-â-
âFalling Back on Foreverâ (E, 24k) by ftmsteverogers
Bucky falls from the train in 1945. Steve jumps right after him.
The Winter Soldier and the Midnight Patriot are the world's most feared duo, serving HYDRA and leaving a trail of bodies a mile wide behind them. But then they remember.
+ Fall to Avengers. They remember each other, break out, and go on the run
-â-
âSteve Rogersâs epic failures meeting the expectationsâ (T, 5k) by StuckySituation
Steve Rogersâs patriotic eyebrows jump up. âHoly cow.â
That was not what Tony would have expected from Captain America. ââHoly cowâ? Did the history books mess up? Was your family actually from India and not Ireland?â
âFuck off, Stark. I ainât shitting on what comes out of your mouth, so you better leave my goddamn cows alone as well.â
Tony doesnât know whether to feel awestruck or betrayed. âYou,â he says and points at Rogers, âare nothing like I expected.â
âSorry to be a fucking disappointment,â Rogers says with a scowl and pulls his ridiculous helmet on, covering the sleekly styled brown hair. It was astonishing how even Rogersâs golden hair had been false propaganda -- but of coursethe great America had wanted to present its figurehead as Aryan perfection in the time of eugenics. âSuit up, everyone. Letâs get this shit done.â
+ Defrosting to WS. A series where defrosted Bucky tries his best without Steve, and then doesnât have to anymore
-â-
âWinterâs Heartâ (NR, 5k) by Speranza
"Good morning, Soldier," and Steve opened his eyes and said, automatically, "Ready to comply."
+ Endgame. Steve uses the time stone to jump after Bucky in the Alps
-â-
âSleeping With Ghostsâ (M, 33k) by rohkeutta
The first two years after Bucky gets out of the ice are-- surprisingly easy. Serve his country, learn to use his charmed robot hand, make friends, donât think about the spark of magic in him thatâs gone out, see the world, try to live with the grief (try to live with the grief, try to--)
Maybe theyâre not that easy, in the end, but heâs settling - until he gets reluctantly pulled out of the Army and has Steveâs shield (Steveâs shield, its magic wary and curious and half-dormant) thrust onto him again, even though heâs already turned it down once before. The world has changed and so has he, but as he tries to immerse himself into a new life, he meets a ghost he could never leave behind.
+ Fall to WS. Magic, bonding, blood binding, and finally coming home to each other.Â
-â-
*More Winter Soldier Steve fics in the Handler Steve list
For some time now, Howl had been edging towards the line between theatrical petulance and true fury. Now he shot across it with all the force of a cannonball.
Fourth Floor by mithborien, dirtybinary, picoalloe
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Characters: Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Other Avengers, Alexander Pierce, Original Cat Character(s), Hydra Agents
Additional Tags: Magical Realism, Tentacle Monsters, shrinkyclinks, Minor Sharon Carter/Natasha Romanov, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Summary:
Steve has his life in order, okay. He goes to wizard college, even if he can't technically do magic. He has his own apartment, even though it's small and dinky and kind of gross, and forgets to exist sometimes, and might also be alive? Plus, he has a crush on the hot cyborg in unit 404 who cooks fiendishly good breakfast foods, and may or may not have some kind of weird connection to the sentient building they live in. He's not sure.
He's dealing, all right, his life is in tip-top condition, or it was until an eldritch monstrosity called the Hydra started posing as a real estate company to try and buy over his new home.
He's really pissed about that.
(The one where Steve is an angry millennial wizard, Sam is a Disney prince, Natasha is a shapeshifter, and Bucky is a spoiler.)
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Author: @dirtybinaryÂ
Link: A03
Rating: Teen and up
Relationship: Steve Rogers/James âBuckyâ Barnes
Characters:Â Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Other Avengers, Alexander Pierce, Original Cat Character(s), Hydra Agents
Tags: Magical Realism, Tentacle Monsters, shrinkyclinks, Minor Sharon Carter/Natasha Romanov, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Summary:Â Steve has his life in order, okay. He goes to wizard college, even if he can't technically do magic. He has his own apartment, even though it's small and dinky and kind of gross, and forgets to exist sometimes, and might also be alive? Plus, he has a crush on the hot cyborg in unit 404 who cooks fiendishly good breakfast foods, and may or may not have some kind of weird connection to the sentient building they live in. He's not sure.He's dealing, all right, his life is in tip-top condition, or it was until an eldritch monstrosity called the Hydra started posing as a real estate company to try and buy over his new home.
He's really pissed about that.
(The one where Steve is an angry millennial wizard, Sam is a Disney prince, Natasha is a shapeshifter, and Bucky is a spoiler.)
Review by Mod Tisfan
Wow. I was hooked like by the end of the fifth paragraph⌠Steve and Sam vs. the IKEA bookshelf.
Sam wasnât listening. He turned the leaflet upside down. âSo these diagrams make no sense whichever way you look at them,â he said, âand paramedic school didnât cover furniture appeasement, but Iâm pretty sure step 6 is a blood sacrifice.â
âIâm anemic,â said Steve.
âItâs a bookshelf,â said Sam. âI donât think it understands human suffering.â
And it just kept going⌠this fic was touching, adventurous, great world building, funny as hell. You know that picture of wet-cat as smol!steve? Thatâs what you get here. Not nice, cozy puppy dog Steve, but bony elbows and shark smiles and ridiculously overblown âIâm angry at the universeâ Steve.
Thereâs a clock-radio shape shifter cat (Radio is awesome, personally one of my favorite OCs ever) and some really interesting Modern Magic theory. There are cameos from a dozen different Marvel characters and itâs fascinating the way they all sort of blend in together.
And oh, my god, the spoiler/twist is just amazing. I donât think Iâve ever read anything that original as a concept before, and I loved it.
On a more technical note, the editing was top notch, the writing was fantastic (and written in past-tense, and I know present tense is the fashionable thing for fic, but I personally hate it and it kept me from reading fic for a LONG long time. Iâve mostly gotten over myself for it, but it really gives every single fic a bonus point to be written in past tense, so thanks for that!) and the art was so cute.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Saturday morning fic rec:
Authorâs summary:
There's a new night guard at the Smithsonian. The Winter Soldier is on a reconnaissance mission, and in a way, so is Steve.
Words: 6403, Chapters: 1/1
Fandoms: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: M/M
Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Stan "the Janitor" Lee
Relationships: James âBuckyâ Barnes/Steve Rogers
Additional Tags: Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, background Steve Rogers/Peggy Carter - Freeform, Bucky Barnes's Notebooks
My notes:
This tackles a time period not that often seen in fics, right after DC when Bucky isnât quite Bucky yet, but they still meet with Steve. I really like how the journey of Buckyâs self-discovery progresses. And the Romanian cat, obviously.
What are some of your favorite Stucky-related works that youâve done?
the long game: [6.8k/M]: What could be more terrifying than the Winter Soldier? Apparently, two Winter Soldiers determined to protect each other and ruin Hydra from the inside while they do it.
murder burgers series [17.6k/T]: The one where Steve doesn't go down with the Valkyrie, and he and Bucky spend the next seventy years thwarting each other over junk food.
poltergeists [17k/T]: Bucky takes Steve with him after the helicarriers go down, and a road trip of revenge ensues, peppered liberally with hugs and explosions.
When was the moment that you shipped it?:
Literally from the time the first blurry gifsets from The Winter Soldier hit my dash back in 2014. I hadn't watched TFA yet, so I honest-to-God didn't even know who Bucky was at that point. Blow-by-blow replay of my thought processes:
> who is this stabby leather dude and why does he look so tragic?
> is Steve okay???
> how many knives does he--THAT SHOULD NOT BE SO HOT
> do I need to watch the thing now
> oh my god they're actually weeping
> brb watching the thing
> sebstanfacedownonfloor.jpg
Anything else?
I wrote an original romance/fantasy novel about a snarky theatre boy and his arch-enemy; maybe check that out if you've enjoyed my stucky fic? [excerpt and deets here]
Dirtybinary will have a new story in NOT WITHOUT YOUÂ â A STUCKY ANTHOLOGY.