fic-rec

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

reciprocity by osprey_archer

Bucky had been treated like a thing for decades. It shouldn’t be a surprise that he’d learned to see other people that way.

Bucky's years as the Winter Soldier have stunted his empathy so badly that Steve's not sure Bucky is capable of emotional connection anymore. But Steve keeps trying anyway, and Bucky is happy to take advantage of that.

For a change, I used the summary from the second fic in this series as the summary for this rec because it sums up the entire premise of this series so well.  This is a breath of fresh air in the post-winter soldier recovery fic genre--Bucky is fucked up and nothing is easy, especially not for Steve.  I love that Steve's limits as a human is addressed in this series--he's not always the saint and it's obvious that he loves Bucky but he gets tired and angry too because there's only so far humans can go before they get exhausted.  But I think the most impressive thing about this fic is that the author effortlessly weaves in Bucky's slow recovery in a way that seems both natural and subtle--it's only in retrospect that I can see the slow progression from piece to piece.  And it's not always moving forward in a straight line--I think a lot of the strength in this fic lies in acknowledging how hard recovery is and how sometimes people slip up and take steps back before moving forward again.  Highly highly recommended. <3

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america, brooklyn 99

you can hear it in the silence by waldorph

When CAPTAIN AMERICA walks into the precinct, Jake staples his finger and doesn't realize it for like, six hours. He can only be happy that Scully and Hitchcock leave every day they can at 4:48pm so that they couldn’t bring shame upon the family.

ONLY THE GREATEST FIC EVER WRITTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

for these i watch tonight by leupagus

This is not a story about a cow.

I am always 100000% down for Howling Commando shenanigans and this is brilliantly written with A++ comedic timing! :DD

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

they're playing our song by lamardeuse

The progress of a relationship over three dances, seventy-six years, and a lot of cheesy Glenn Miller music.

I love this.  It feels very quiet and understated even though it's set to Glenn Miller, haha.  I love the circular arc and how the third part draws from the first.  Wonderful. <3

[fic-rec]

fandom: national public radio rpf

wait wait don't eat me by nestra

"We're going to be cutting our show a little short today, because, as you may have heard, there's an apocalypse happening! But we didn't let the election of Barack Obama stop us, and we're not going to let the zombie hordes stop us either."

I can't believe this "fandom" is going to be a tag on this blog now but I GUESS THAT'S LIFE.  This is perfectly parodied with deft humor--really well done! :DDD

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

cynics are simply thwarted romantics by reccea

"It could be alien technology," Natasha offered, folding her arms over her chest. "Something he stumbled on. They're still finding things from the Chitauri so it's not impossible. But the simplest answer is the most likely."

"How is magic the simplest answer?" Stark asked.

Or

In which Steve is Sleeping Beauty and true love's kiss doesn't have to be requited. Or does it?

This is so charming and lovely!!  It's only mildly angsty with a really great avengers ensemble voice.  I love this! :')))))) <3

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

when i put away childish things by hansbekhart

Bucky gets on a Manhattan bound train around 2:30, heading to 8th St. He watches the Lady far off on Liberty Island as they roll over the East River. The train is crowded and people smile at him, pleased to see a handsome young man in uniform. He smiles back, pleased with the world and everything in it. He wonders where Steve might want to go for lunch. What he'd say if Bucky asked him if he’d ever thought about treating this thing between them as real.

He comes out of the subway a little before 3 o'clock, and the world has changed.

If this isn't my favorite fic in this fandom, it's pretty damn close.  The prose is easy and the fic is warm with life, both from the wonderfully observed details about day-to-day living and the portrayal of Bucky's family.  It's fleshed out and feels incredibly genuine--I'm really impressed.  I love this a lot and highly highly recommend it. <333

[fic-rec]

fandom: princess jellyfish

vanilla, incense, oleander by montparnasse

Kuranosuke keeps a small lifetime in a handful of bottles on his dresser.

The moment I finished the anime I needed about nine million fics exploring Kuranosuke's relationship with his own genderfluidity and this fic absolutely delivers on every single level.  The details here are lush and sensory and Kuranosuke's voice is captured wonderfully.  I love this. <33333

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

shoeless joe and the sunshine kid by nimmieamee

When Bucky was sufficiently recovered, he and Steve took a trip. They saw the baseball hall of fame. They saw a clear blue lake. They saw the countryside, with clumps of trees in many colors. (Something about this is a lie.)

This is such a mindfuck of a fic, I honestly don't even know what I can say about it without giving any of it away.  If you don't have big triggers and feel comfortable doing so, please don't look at the warnings because it makes the entire mindfuck all that much more amazing.  I found it a little dense and confusing for a good portion of the first half of the fic--but for extremely good reasons.  If you're looking for a slightly harder and extremely dark read (seriously, this had the most non-con scene I have ever read in any fic and it wasn't even that graphic), please stick with this all the way to the end because I promise it will pay off.

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

ghosts by mici

Steve dreamed in ice and wakes up in light; now he has ghosts to face.

One of the things I've noticed is that most fics about therapy in this fandom tend to revolve around Bucky (and it's not hard to see why)--but sometimes I think Steve could have the harder job of dealing with his own demons while trying to seem completely normal and not make anyone worry.  This fic traverses through Steve's thoughts in a lovely, dreamlike way that drifts in and out of vivid focus in a really compelling way.  <3

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

interludes and conversations by mici

There was nothing wrong with Howling Commandos, not really. It was new and shiny, made only six months before Steve woke up and on the brink of cancellation until it was announced that Captain America was found, at which point ratings skyrocketed. Steve would have heard of the series, except that he was too busy figuring out his phone, handling alien invasions, and battling crippling depression (that he would not admit to anyone, even himself). The result was that 25 episodes later, Howling Commandos was the most popular television shows about the war on the planet, with a loyal following, and Steve was almost totally oblivious.

(or: Steve has feelings, and shouldn't ever watch television)

followed by: (or: Sam takes Steve to a baseball game)

followed by: or: Steve lives his life in tones of monochrome, until something comes to sharpen his sight into color

Again, this is a series that I took the first story summary (as well as the ends of the summaries of the other two) to use as a summary for this rec but in all honesty, each individual story deserves its own rec.  Everyone is so deftly characterized, the voices are spot on, and it reads so easily that I really really cannot stop singing praises about the prose.

I love every single one of these but the moments that I've turned over in my head weeks after I initially read them: Sam being utterly perplexed by baseball as Steve realizes that modern baseball is different from the one he knew and Bucky's letters at the end of the very last fic--probably my favorite set of letters from any fic I've read thus far. <333

A really wonderful series, highly recommended. :)

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

gravity by mici

You’re twenty years old, and the moment that he’s in your arms and he looks into your eyes, you know that he’s going to break your heart.

I'm extremely picky about my second person POV because it's not always a perspective I have the patience to read from but this was voiced so beautifully that I absolutely can't resist.  I'm a sucker for both outsider POV and fics where family or peripheral characters are drawn in and this delivers wonderfully on both fronts.  <333

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

if my heart were a house (you'd be home) by mici

At the end of the day, there's something about the building, the place, the monument to Captain America, where Steve Rogers lived, that binds their lives together.

I am utterly in love with Mici's prose--how clean and simple it is but not at all lacking in voice.  The details are observed beautifully and the flow of the piece feels effortless.  I'm probably going to be reccing a good number of her fics in the next couple of posts because they're just That Good.

This one in particular is striking because it skirts around the life that Steve and Bucky shared and focuses on how other characters have been affected by them throughout the decades.  I'm in love with the way everyone is characterized here, especially Peggy and Tony.  Recommending with great enthusiasm <333

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

but we can try by hetrez

Bucky said, "These are love letters, Rogers. You've been drawing me love letters."

This fic is lovely and quiet and so beautifully understated for the emotional punch it packs.  Reading this felt a little like walking out into a silent snowfall and watching the world move past.  This is such a believable Steve, struggling with his own issues and being even more messed up than Bucky in many ways because he's laboring under so many expectations he's set up for himself and it's just--so quietly devastating.  I love this.

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

a history of birds by oddityboddity

"You look like him," Bucky says. No prompting, no nothing. He just speaks, like this is a thing he does. "What?" Steve asks. He didn’t really hear it, too stunned by the fact that words were coming out of Bucky’s mouth to understand their meaning. "You look like him. So did Pierce." His voice is soft, gravelly from disuse. "Is that why they picked you?" Steve’s heart plunges like an elevator with the cables cut. “Buck, it is me.” The hard line of Bucky’s mouth softens just a little. “Sure,” he says.

God this is so exquisitely painful and utterly claustrophobic with the horror of the situation but so so well written.

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america / avengers

mixtape by verity

Bucky goes to the big Trader Joe's in Union Square for toilet paper and peanut butter cups. When he gets out, his minder is across the street, conspicuously reading a newspaper in the middle of the sidewalk. Bucky has to squint to make out the headline, which is CAPTAIN AMERICA ARRESTED IN ZUCCOTTI PARK.

"Oh, come on," he mutters beneath his breath.

This is a series of fics set in the same universe but I used the summary of the first fic here.  I love the way that the world is built in these fics--it feels so much wider and all encompassing than just the bits and pieces of places that are inhabited by the main characters.  The city becomes a character all of its own and it's beautiful how much that just breathes life and vibrance into each piece.  The details are perfectly observed and curated and the writing style is clean and engaging.  I love love love this series and would highly recommend it. <3333

[fic-rec]

fandom: captain america

you stand alone to every record i own by thatdamneddame

Bucky Barnes is eighteen, a senior in highschool, and totally in love with his best friend. It's okay. He'll either get over it or sleep with every hipster twink in college who's in a band. At least, that's what Natasha says.

This fic was literally as if someone looked into my brain and was like "HOW DO I CATER TO ALL OF JENNY'S ID?"  A truly ridiculous amount of pining?  Check.  Sharp dialogue and genuinely funny banter?  Check.  Characters being insecure and a little oblivious while I alternate between clawing my face off and smiling way too much at my laptop?  Check check check.  If you're looking for a lighthearted read--even if you're not too much into high school AUs--I would wholeheartedly recommend this. *___* <3333333