#nonymos

[hazel-wand]

… and hereby completing my run of bossy pre-serum Steve fics, here’s one of the ultimate scrappy pre-serum Steves paired with an absolute sweetheart of a Bucky. You’ve probably read this already, but it’s worth rereading.

[penguin--person]

I have the feeling that the alík comic would not be bad because out of everything you’ve put out there, 0 percent of it was bad, and I think that pattern will continue. Please have faith in yourself good sir 🙏🏽🙏🏽 I would read an alík comic in a heartbeat. Genuinely I want to draw her so bad and I can’t even draw. also, actual question: in that ship bingo thing with alík and sanya you said they were apart of a bigger poly relationship. I felt a little silly for wanting to ask so I didn’t, but it’s been like a month and I’m still somewhat curious so could you expand on that? ok I have very few remaining thoughts in my head now goodbye adios

thank you boss!!! so so kind to little ol me... <33 also have faith in yourself also nonymous... !! everyone can draw.. alík is sooo loved everyone wants to draw fanart for her hehehe!!! but, really even if you drew a stickfigure itd be lovely!!

the 'bigger poly relationship' .. i made that back when i was thinking of alík x yana - which, im not into all that much anymore, but i still think its neat!! still think its cute:3 but its not my main focus of alík.. sanyas her one true love... but ! in the little side-au that i dont focus on much! its smth like. alík voice. this is my girlfriend sanya and our girlfriend yana and her boyfriend ivan. i think ivan would be fine with yana having gfs... as long as she's happy! m. this might be a bit ooc, tho.. as slavic teens i dont think any of them have any healthy examples of polygamy. but i think they'd be open to trying. i'd like to think so. i mean, i think for ivan, what matters to him is that yana is happy and that she doesnt break up w him. though i don't think yana would push him, if he was against it. its just a silly idea hehe

[psilactis]

doesn't Into the Good Night by Nonymos mean anything to you people. DOESN'T IT

[dadamilo]

"He suddenly wonders if that’s the reason Bucky’s been staring at him with this burning intensity, trying to understand just who this guy really is, waiting for Steve’s face to peel back and reveal what's underneath."

- Quote from murky waters by Nonymos

[adventures-in-mangaland]

I'm going with 10 All Time Classics from the Captain America (MCU) fandom. I mean, they're all classics to me, at least. In no particular order:

1. This, You Protect by owlet

First installment in the Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail series, which are all amazing. It's a “Bucky escaping Hydra and rebuilding his sense of self” fic, which he does while spying on Steve. With eventual Avengers Family and a lovely cast of OCs bonding with Bucky in the meantime. It has a very distinctive perspective and writing style; Bucky's in constant internal (and sometimes accidentally external) dialogue with himself, making it hilarious and tragic all at the same time. I love it. I've recently been getting into The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells and this Bucky has a similar sassy-but-vulnerable vibe? Read this if you like that, anyway.

2. The One Who Knows by Dira Sudis (dsudis)

This is a Political Animals AU, in that no-powers Steve is inserted into the Political Animals world and Bucky is TJ. Discusses being outed and depression but is ultimately hopeful. The author is one of my all time faves and has written lots of great stories for this and many other fandoms.

3. Blue Scales by chaya

Steve is a merman AU. He's still Captain America, though. It's crack with heart, I love it.

Best line: "May your scales and your love story be our weird secret forever.”

4. Our Lingering Frost by eyres

AU where Bucky is rescued from Hydra in the 50s (?) and so is around for Steve to be found.

5. Assets Out of Containment by follow_the_sun

It's a classic to *me*, OK? Bucky goes undercover at Jurassic World just as that movie's plot kicks off. They're Hydra dinosaurs! It's just great. Also has a podfic and crossovers with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

6. Not Easily Conquered (series) by dropdeaddream and WhatAreFears

Some of the greatest fanfiction I've ever read, the whole series is epic. Anyway, it's a "Steve doesn't go into the ice" AU with added queer angst when (never sent) love letters from Bucky resurface. I particularly like the second installment in the series The Thirteen Letters, which are just Bucky's letters and are insanely well-written.

7. to memory now I can't recall by Etharei

Time travel AU! Featuring post-CATWS Bucky accidentally switching places with CATFA era Bucky.

8. If Wishing Made It So by Leveragehunters (Monkeygreen)

Genie!Bucky AU! This author is great at writing AUs with fantasy/genre elements, it was hard to choose. They've also written an excellent werewolf!Steve AU and a horse!Steve AU that I really love.

9. Into That Good Night by Nonymos

An Interstellar AU! Very angsty and tragic but with an eventual happy ending.

10. Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Speranza

Speranza must be one of the best writers in the fandom, so it was hard to pick just one of their fics. Other strong contenders were All the Angels and the Saints and The Fifties, so check those out too! But this one has a special place in my heart. Steve, Tony and Natasha accidentally time travel to WW2 London, leading to an accidental run-in with CATFA-era Bucky. The author does tragic and romantic time travel tropes so well, but with a happy ending.

I now realise that most of these are AUs, so here’s a bonus rec for a non-AU in-universe story that’s severely underrated and deserves more love:

+1

Heart, Have No Pity on this House of Bone by Sena

This story follows Bucky in-action in the Pacific Theatre. It’s very well written and, from what I can tell, well researched. Steve only appears in Bucky’s imagination and the story focuses on the horrors of war rather than romance, but it’s gripping! And it explores unrequited love, being closeted and period-typical homophobia, which I also enjoyed. I’m still holding out hope for a sequel.

[bulkyphrase]

Avengers in Space - a fic rec list

I love the Avengers and I love outer space, and these are a few of my favorite stories that combine the two.

What do you mean we left Clint on Mars? by sara_holmes (@captn-sara-holmes) (WinterHawk, Teen And Up Audiences, 24,537 words)

Summary: “What do you mean we left Clint on Mars?” Cap’s incredulous voice cuts through the stunned silence of the cockpit, loud and shocked. He’s standing there with his cowl in hand, gaping at the holo-screen at the front of the jet. Next to him, Tony is standing with his hands on his head, mouth hanging open in a similar fashion. Over on the other side of the cockpit is Jane, who has both palms clapped across her mouth like she’s trying to hold back hysterical giggles. For his part, Bucky is just staring at the screen like he can’t quite believe what’s going on.

Straight on till Morning by @sineala (Stony, Explicit, 109,848 words)

Summary: Tony Stark resigned his commission in Starfleet five years ago, after a disastrous away mission, and he swore he'd never go back. He just wants to be left alone to build warp engines in peace. But the universe has more in store for him than that, as he discovers when Admiral Fury comes to him with an offer he could never have expected and cannot possibly refuse: first officer and chief engineer aboard the all-new USS Avenger, a starship of Tony's own design. What's more, the Avenger's captain is Steve Rogers, hero of the Earth-Romulan War. Believed dead for over a century, Steve is miraculously alive... and very, very attractive. But nothing is ever easy for Tony. As he wrestles with his secret desire for his new captain and his not-so-dormant fears, another mission starts to go wrong, and Tony becomes aware that Steve has secrets of his own -- and the truth could change everything. Also available as a podfic read by M_Samro (@msamro)

More below the cut!

A Far Better Thing I Do by @brighteyedjill (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 5,333 words)

Summary: A mysterious man with no paper trail was involved in a bloody attack on a meeting of Starfleet admirals. James T. Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise have tracked him to the Klingon home wold, Kronos, where they have threatened to unleash the experimental torpedoes Admiral Marcus sent with them unless the man surrenders. That man, Steve Rogers, has other ideas.

Into That Good Night by Nonymos (Stucky, Explicit, 73,540 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers has lived for entirely too long—long enough to see the world's end. The heroes are gone, and the Earth is pushing what's left of mankind towards the exit. But when a makeshift team rises from the ashes, when a mysterious presence all but drags Steve there, he begins to think there may be hope yet. As they shoot for the stars one last time, Steve will get proof yet again that the future is nothing if not an echo of the past.

Wandering Stars by @sabrecmc (Stony, Explicit, 24,470 words)

Summary: Alien Steve/Astronaut Tony (oviposition)

Cold Space, Warm Welcome by Annie D (@no-gorms) (Stony, Teen And Up Audiences, 15,572 words)

Summary: Tony’s spent a couple of years flying around the galaxy in his best friend Rhodey’s spaceship the Iron Advance, doing what could perhaps be counted as ‘hero’ work. Among their allies is Steve Rogers, captain of his own crew, with whom Tony has a… potentially friendly relationship. When Steve’s ship is irreparably damaged, Rhodey takes him and his whole crew onto the Iron Advance to recover. Tony’s not at all nervous about this, because so what if this is the first time Steve will see him without the Iron Man armor?

Space Between by NachoDiablo (Samsteve, Teen And Up Audiences, 9,157 words)

Summary: Sam has a quiet life on a newly inhabited planet. He spends his days tending the garden plots and avoiding his past. But right before an impending storm, a fugitive crash lands in his space and upsets his solitude.

The Truth When Captains Meet by Kimra (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 2,303 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers wakes up on an alien’s space ship being carried bridal style by Carol Danvers. As far as first meetings go, it’s memorable.

Brisingr by @ironychan (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 155,649 words)

Summary: When Jane Foster discovers an object on a course for the inner solar system, it looks like a job for the Avengers. But when what looked like a comet turns out to be a refugee ship from another galaxy, it's not clear whose job this is anymore. Tony Stark and the Vision find they have an uncomfortable amount in common with the creatures called the Brisings, while Jane learns that the aliens are being followed by something they thought they'd left behind five million years ago. Set post-AOU, pre-CW.

Liberate Tutemet Ex Inferis (Save yourself from hell) by Terrenis, with art by @kaiwrites (James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson, Explicit, 55,989 words)

Summary: In the Year 2060, Stark Aeronautics and Space Administration's prestige project, the “Event Horizon”, was on its maiden voyage with the newly developed Arc Reactor Gravity Drive, only to disappear beyond Neptune’s orbit without a trace. Now, seven years later, a transmission from the eighth planet is received, along with a very disturbing audio record. Tony Stark, who not only wants to redeem his reputation, but also needs to know what happened on the ship, goes on a mission with the enhanced Inhuman ragtag crew of the Singularity to salvage his baby. Little do they know that this is literally going to be a trip to hell… Or that totally unnecessary Event Horizon AU that no one asked for. But I’m going to write it anyway.

Catch a Falling Star by tsukinofaerii (Stony, Explicit, 42,741 words)

Summary: When Tony was sixteen, he got to meet his hero, Captain Steve Rogers, the Empire's not-literally-golden boy from the Continuity Wars. When he was twenty-seven, the aforementioned Captain turned Pirate picked him up at the outer edges of space. It would have been a good time to appreciate the abundant nudity that came from spending too much time with space colonists, but Tony had bigger worries than even Rogers' amazing hip-to-shoulder ratio. Something was sending the star-encircling computers that power the galaxy into a tailspin, and it was going to take a lot more than luck and skill to clean the mess up.

Luminosity by CSHfic, VSfic (Stony, Mature, 60,922 words)

Summary: The Avengers organize a two month mission to investigate an anomaly in space that appears to be engulfing planets, Steve is worried about leaving Tony alone, and Hawkeye is just worried about being left behind. But then something goes wrong. Steve drags himself out of the wreckage of their ship, on a planet that shouldn’t exist, the Avengers are missing, Iron Man is torn to scraps, and Tony has a lot of explaining to do. Or, in which Steve has no clue that Tony is Iron Man, and it takes crash-landing on an alien planet for him to find out.

Gravitational Pull by @antigrav-vector (Stony, Explicit, 29,718 words)

Summary: A strange temple floating in space is discovered, and Steve and Tony are the logical choices to go investigate. What they find is going to make or break their relationship...

Inquiries into Orbital Dynamics (The Mission Controllers' Remix) by Muccamukk (Stony, Teen And Up Audiences, 5,591 words)

Summary: When a mysterious object appears in orbit around the Moon, NASA teams up with the Avengers to investigate it. This is NASA's story. Inspired by Gravitational Pull

everybody needs a reason why they run by napricot (Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Explicit, 77,888 words)

Summary: Pepper doesn’t often regret the improbable circumstances and choices that brought her, Tony, and Jim to the SGC and then to Atlantis. After all, being an intergalactic explorer is way cooler than being the right hand woman of Stark Industries’ heir Tony Stark. But when strangers show up during her Gate team’s milk run of a trading mission, she’s got a bad feeling she knows better than to ignore. Which is how Pepper’s Gate team ends up picking up a stray in the form of a metal-armed runner with a mysterious past and learning about a dangerous new sect of Wraith worshippers called Hydrans. But the Atlanteans aren’t the only ones interested in the Hydrans: there are stories spreading throughout the Pegasus Galaxy about the Nomad and the Widows, three maybe-heroes who have set their sights on the Hydrans and the Wraith. Meanwhile, Tony’s trying to figure out if there’s something more to Atlantis’s helpful new hospitality-oriented subroutines, and Master Sergeant Sam Wilson is trying to have just one offworld mission where shit doesn’t get weird.

a war could be our only hope by @aceofwands (Stony, Explicit, 62,817 words)

Summary: Steve emerges in the future, where the Federation is fighting a war against the totalitarian Dominion. Traumatised from his experience with the Borg, Tony already has enough trouble coping without Steve's return bringing up unexpected feelings.

[estelior]

Inspired by Summer Don't Own Me No More by alby_mangroves, Nonymos

Inspired by Лето больше мне не принадлежит by fandom Infinity Starbucks 2024 (InfinityStucky)

[film-in-my-soul]

The Best Handjob Of Bucky Barnes's Damn Life | 1,141 | this_wayward_life

Summary: The reason Steve Rogers is the bane of Bucky's existence is because he's very tall, very muscular, and a total sweetheart. He's got this great smile and floppy blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and his all-American Himbo vibe is more than enough to turn Bucky, resident Disaster Homosexual, into a puddle at Steve's feet. Natasha knew this, which is probably why she'd disappeared as soon as Steve had turned that 1000 megawatt smile in Bucky's direction.

Sleepy | 1,969 | Dira Sudis (dsudis) / @dsudis

Summary: Right now, in the middle of the night, in their bed, Bucky was his alone, and Steve could have him if he wanted.

like a sparrow stunned with falling | 2,017 | radialarch / @radialarch

Summary: Steve tries to take a calming breath and ends up with another lungful of the gas. He’s starting to feel a little warm now, his collar too tight around his neck. “What does it do,” he says. Bucky’s lips curl, a little. “Sex,” he says.

Dining In | 2,017 | ipoiledi / @ipoiledi

Summary: “Mornin’,” Steve says. “Get over here,” Bucky replies.

(see below for more recommendations!)

Home is a Feeling | 2,513 | cleo4u2 / @cleo4u2

Summary: Jesus, they'd bonded. He had bonded with a complete stranger over three days of incredible, mind blowing sex, and he'd never even gotten the Alpha’s name. Admittedly, he'd been a little distracted by the overwhelming urge to mate, but he still could have at least asked the guy’s name, right? Wrong.

ride in tandem | 2,530 | mcwho

Summary: “You love acting like you don't love it," Steve says, tugging Bucky’s jacket off his shoulders.

April, 1939 | 2,683 | what_alchemy / @what-alchemy

Summary: Bucky knows what Steve wants when he comes in like that, hair wet, robe slipping off his shoulder.

Adoring | 2,878 | Dira Sudis (dsudis) / @dsudis

Summary: "You don't, Buck, adoring's for saints. I ain't a saint." "Sure you are." Bucky got back to kissing his way down, licking along the slightly sweaty line of Steve's sharp collarbone, and then remembered he'd been in the middle of saying something. "Patron saint of Barnes. Barneses. Me."

seasons may change | 2,998 | hoosierbitch / @hoosierbitch

Summary: They have never truly been equals.

you'll find something waiting | 3,222 | Nonymos

Summary: These times are odd times. Steve’s forgotten what it meant to have a circadian cycle; he’s overtaken the sun around the globe more than once in less than a week. He sleeps when he’s tired, and eats when he’s hungry. There are no more movies he needs to watch, no more books he needs to read, no more small talk, no more silent apartments, nothing beyond the endless string of missions and how he can fit his immediate needs in there. It’s like being back in the European theater, this mixture of constant strain and exhilarating freedom.

should auld acquaintance be forgot (will you kiss me in the morning light?) | 3,819 | VenusMonstrosa / @venusmonstrosa

Summary: The man quirks an eyebrow and delicately removes the cigarette from his mouth, turning to blow the smoke downwind. “I’ll leave you to it. Let me just finish up and get out of your way.” “You can-- I mean-- Well, I don’t live here,” Steve states rather obviously. “You can stay. It’s your roof, I guess.” “How generous,” he says, amused. After a beat, he takes two steps closer and holds his hand out to shake. “Bucky.” “Steve.” Bucky’s hand is calloused, but warm and sturdy. The rest of him appears to be the same way. The supple leather of his jacket looks almost as soft as his hair, and Steve wrestles the physical urge to find out.

Strung Out, Wrung Out | 3,881 | sassbandit / @sassbandit3000

Summary: Steve went running into an evil science lab without backup and now he's been sex pollened. Bucky has to babysit him and he's cranky about it. That's it, that's the fic.

If I didn’t care | 4,221 | danielosbourne

Summary: Steve Rogers is a son-of-a-bitch. It’s not news to any one who’s ever poked their nose down one of Red Hook’s less savory alleyways, and sure as hell isn’t news to Bucky, but Christ, the punk is really driving the point home lately.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow | 4,509 | cjmarlowe / @cjmarlowe

Summary: Bucky turned it over and over in his head that Steve had never been with a girl. It had honestly just never occurred to him, because it was Steve and Bucky thought Steve was just about the greatest guy in town. Everyone else should have thought that too.

you like making me wait for it | 4,714 | Mellaithwen / @mellaithwen

Summary: I’m too old for this shit, Bucky thinks when the idiotic Hydra splinter group decide to attack him. On his birthday no less. Rude.

In the Sunlight | 4,775 | JudeAraya

Summary: “You were so beautiful, in the sunlight Steve,” Bucky whispers. “I had to.”

Complete and Radiant, Sealed by Fire | 4,945 | Carelica

Summary: The dream begins the night after Steve’s first treatment. It’s an asthma attack, he’s fighting to breathe, but the cold is new. It sinks into him at a bone level, merciless. His coughing turns to drowning in cold, pale clouds, and he’s locked behind … ice? Glass? He doesn’t know, he’s gasping ... and then he wakes.

Felt Cute, Might Delete Later | 5,102 | MurphyAT / @magpiemurph

Summary: Steve meets Bucky while canvassing for racial justice. Later that night, he sends him a dick pic (on accident! He swears!). He is the worst volunteer ever and he is totally getting fired for this.

No Place Like Home | 5,136 | asocialconstruct / @a-social-construct

Summary: Bucky's in his undershirt and suspenders with a frayed paperback in his hand, just stood up from the armchair by the bedroom door, the other one in the tub with his hair tied up in a bun like a gal and little pearl earrings besides. Besides, well. The metal arm and all.

A Reason | 5,215 | sirsable

Summary: :I have been overridden by Agent Romanoff to alert you as to the whereabouts of your mate. Captain Rogers is currently in voluntary residence of Isolation Ward Three.: ‘Isolation ward’ echoes through Bucky’s head for a few long seconds before the rest of the sentence catches up to him. “Voluntary? What’s wrong?” He’s already switching his gun out for a knife and shoving on his boots.   :It appears that Captain Rogers’ fertility cycle has reached its peak, and he wished to experience this in private.:  “What the—Steve’s in heat?”

Memorabilia | 5,452 | ipoiledi / @ipoiledi

Summary: “You know,” says Buck, considering, “When I first shipped out, I realized pretty quick that all the guys had something from their girls back home. Letters, handkerchiefs, pictures . . . you gonna give me something to look at?”

if you're into that | 5,652 | Nonymos

Summary: A short sequel from Steve's point of view. What's it like being Bucky's boyfriend? And what's it like being his Dom? Suffice to say, Steve isn't exactly unhappy with his life.

Just Close Your Eyes and I'll Be There | 5,724 | SweetPages (NovelNormandy)

Summary: “Wish I was there right now, could see how you look. Hey, what do you got on Rogers?” He huffs a laugh, flustered but amused. “Bucky…” “See, that’s impossible. Much as I’d love to be on you-“ He laughs harder.

Auld Acquaintance | 5,810 | triedunture

Summary: Due to magic or whatever, Steve is transformed back into his small self while pursuing the Winter Soldier on New Year's Eve. Bucky, seemingly acting on instinct, chooses to protect him despite his mistrust. Also, Steve is a bit of a tiny powerbottom.

What He Needs | 5,937 | toolongtooclose

Summary: Bucky is a moody mess, in need of a certain something. Sex worker Steve Rogers to the rescue.

Roots that clutch | 6,111 | sphagnum

Summary: “What am I?” the Asset rasps. It shouldn’t have said that. It shouldn’t have spoken at all, but it’s never met anyone who could tell it what it is. “Hmmm.” The light touch is back in the Asset’s mind, and the man’s eyes grow angry. The Asset flinches, but there’s nowhere to go, no way to run. The vines hold it too securely. The Asset doesn’t try to fight, it knows better than that, especially when a handler is already angry-- “Oh, sweetheart.” The man’s eyes soften. “You’re a prisoner. An attack dog. They trapped you and stole you and tore you apart to make you obey. They hurt you,” he says, angry again, but his hand is still gentle on the Asset’s throat. “They dared. But you don’t have to be scared any longer. I won’t let them do it again.”

Coming and Going | 6,137 | Speranza / @cesperanza

Summary: Steve covered the key with his hand and drew it toward himself. "I don't want to talk," he said.

utility | 6,201 | yasgorl

Summary: “Oh please let me touch you,” Bucky whispers, “I’ll be as dumb or as smart as you want me to be.”

Illegal, Chantelle | 6,456 | Cristinuke / @cristinuke

Summary: Bucky didn't know if Steve had sex with him because he liked him, or if he just liked to get off on dangerous situations.

Breaking the Ice | 6,693 | Dira Sudis (dsudis) / @dsudis

Summary: It always hurt like this when he came out of the ice. Freezing to death was peaceful at the end, but waking up was fire and pain and this horrible helpless shaking every time. This was the first time he'd had someone to hold on to, though.

Minimal Property Damage | 6,704 | Nejinee

Summary: Everyone assumes Bucky's super soldier body will process the gas that's gone and driven others mad with sexual hysteria. Everyone assumes the evil scientists messed up and Bucky's okay. Everyone assumes wrong because no one ever thinks about Steven Grant Rogers.

Tinder Is the Night | 6,802 | rohkeutta / @rohkeutta

Summary: It’s the quality that gets him first. The profile photo looks like it's been taken with a semi-professional camera: it's sharp and remarkably unposed compared to most people on Tinder. The guy in the photo is the size of a fucking fridge but with Marilyn Monroe’s waistline, accentuated by the way he’s standing half-twisted towards the camera. He’s also in the process of getting arrested. Steve, 28, it says under the photo. New York City. Some say I have an arresting personality. This photo is from my good side. The other has a shiner.

Something Pure Can Last | 6,875 | Dira Sudis (dsudis) / @dsudis

Summary: He was big and Bucky was small now, in this one way; maybe Bucky wouldn't mind too much if Steve wanted to take good care of him. Bucky had always taken such good care of Steve before. It was only fair to take turns.

Only Forever, That’s Puttin’ It Mild | 6,916 | accol / @accol-fics

Summary: Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades... and with cosmic cubes. A mission to take down Advanced Idea Mechanics gives him Bucky back, but it also gives Steve his 1942 body. There's only one thing to do now: Go on secret dates to Coney Island.

Working Out the Kinks | 7,133 | A_Diamond / @adiamond

Summary: The thing was, Steve wasn’t ever all the way healthy. His guts didn’t work right and his lungs didn’t work right and his heart didn’t work right; it made a cruel kind of sense that his dick didn’t work right, either. “I wanna hurt you,” he repeated. “I think about it all the damn time. Every time you come and you’re all blissed out and sweet, kissing me and talkin’ sweet like I’m something special, I wonder how much better you’d look if you were crying. Wanna hold you down, even though I know I couldn’t. Punch you up, make you bleed, black your eye—” “Do it.”

Sweet Sugar | 8,015 | this_wayward_life

Summary: This is not Bucky's scene. Truthfully, most social situations aren't his scene, but particularly this one. He's closer to forty than thirty-five these days, and spending time in an overcrowded bar whose population tends to fall towards the early twenties side of the age scale is not something he particularly enjoys. If it was up to Bucky, he'd be spending his Friday night either in his office catching up on the Martinelli case or half-asleep on the couch, re-watching Criminal Minds and snuggling with his cat. But, since Bucky sold his soul over to the Devil in sophomore year of law school when he made friends with one Natasha Romanoff, he's here, stuffed into a shirt that is a bit too tight around his midsection and jeans that he can barely sit down in.

Sibylla ex Ampulla | 8,411 | Dira Sudis (dsudis) / @dsudis

Summary: Bucky Barnes walked into the apartment he shared with Steve on his own two feet (bought and paid for--he kept the receipts for all of his prosthetics in their own folder in the fireproof filing cabinet). His very long day was over, and the night could begin any time now.

Modern Prometheus | 8,558 | BewareTheIdes15

Summary: Human memory is unreliable. Fallible. Easily diverted given the appropriate application of force.

Unusual Weather | 8,689 | novembersmith

Summary: Bucky’s been at the Avengers Tower for three weeks before he finally gives in to Steve’s gentle coaxing and Stark’s cheerful waving of fistfuls of circuits, and lets them scan the arm. It doesn’t go well.

2024 Reclists · INBOX · Blog Updates

[lies-unfurl]

Hydra Trash Party rec list

It's @tenyearsoftrash's rec day, so I decided to go through my bookmarks and pull out a few of my favorites! Not in any particular order; please make sure to mind the tags for specific warnings.

Sam POV (series) by @appalachianfireflies: One of the first Sam/Steve/Bucky fics I ever read. Found footage and recovery-focused. There's a really lovely, slow building sort of atmosphere here.

Skin Trade by @defilerwyrm: The Winter Soldier learns to trade its body for things that it wants. Great use of the 5+1 format. The oatmeal scene still gets me.

Motions (series) by Nonymos: I don't typically go for modern AUs. But Nonymos manages to perfectly transpose all the key elements and characterizations of CA:TWS into a contemporary setting, blending explicit trash with one of the best recovery fics I've ever read. I cannot see pool balls without thinking of this story.

A Prelude in Ice by aleberg9: This is technically a WIP, but the chapters all work as oneshots. Really fascinating portrayal of Bucky and the Red Room, plus some fantastic young Natasha moments.

Multiple Subcutaneous Hemotomas (series) by @a-social-construct: Sam/Steve/Bucky, navigating relationships post-retraumatization. The end scene is one I still mull over.

pictures came with touch by Nonymos: I'll take "Fics that cater perfectly to my id" for 2000. Bucky being simultaneously touch-starved and touch-averse.

For Science by @clucku and @mumble--bee: Truly one of the Sam/Bucky HTP fics of all time. Forced to do it, forced to watch, forced to have things done to them. The sequel is also great.

And, last but not least, three fanworks which okay, were created specifically for me and which probably say way too much about my psyche, but which everyone else who's into this should still enjoy regardless:

Mindbeast by @defilerwyrm: Brilliantly original Bucky/Creature fic that's trashy, but also like... not as trashy as it could be. It passes the Harkness Test, I swear!

Please by @thefilthiestpiglet: Found footage AND recovery AND touch starvation AND developing relationships. I'm in this picture and I like it.

The Ties that Bind [ART] by @callmekayyyyy: Beautifully detailed post-HTP art that lets you imagine a story all on your own.

[fandomfluffandfuck]

i met the real life preserum steve rogers last night at a gay club in berlin ! tiny and rambunctious and he told me he was a professional dom and also kept calling me sweet names haha (alsoo bonus lots of ear piercings)

Oh my godd, I'm obsessed with that. I love that for you!

And speaking of tiny dom Steve, this made me think of the fic, "we are the things that we do for fun" by Nonymos. I highly recommend it! It's such a good read

[voylitscope]

Stucky Recs: Back To School

It's September, and that felt like the very most appropriate time for a back-to-school-themed rec post.

So: A rec post of 11, very seasonally appropriate, high school/college Stucky AUs.

Note: As part of my personal campaign to combat the persistent idea that every great fic in this fandom was written in 2015, I'm now marking recs of fics written post-2016 and recs of fics written post-Endgame.

🎓 The Daily Rogers | Nonymos | Explicit | 32,154 words | College

We have a (surprisingly?) large number of fics in this fandom that use tumblr as a decently central plot point. Of all of them, I feel like this one is probably the most well-known. (Unless it's this one?) This fic, featuring a defenses-way-up skinny Steve and a very sweet, but also very assertive, Bucky, is super memorable, and so incredibly well done. It's somewhat of a meet-ugly, or, honestly, a first-several-encounters-ugly, and I love the way their relationship develops from there over the course of the story. I also love what that relationship turns into once they're together. Plus, the place this story gets them— both as individuals and in their relationship — before it ends is a satisfying and beautifully done one.

Quote:

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Steve mumbled, handing him the phone back. “She, uh, she’s the one who drove me to the hospital when Rumlow broke my arm that first time. She’s a bit protective now.” Bucky stared at him. Steve—and when had Bucky started to think of him as Steve?—looked fucking adorable in Bucky’s hoodie, with his stupid glasses and his pink lips. He’d also left Bucky’s bed completely covered in blood and dirt after attempting to fight a guy twice his size. Who’d broken his arm before and threatened to do it again. “I think I understand a bit better why they made a whole Tumblr about you,” Bucky said. Steve bristled all over again. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Bucky looked heavenwards. “Somethin’ nice, Rogers.” Steve looked—well, he looked puzzled. Like he didn’t know what to do with that.

🎓stars shining bright above you | cable-knit-sweater @cable-knit-sweater | Teen | 3,339 words | High school & College | **Post- Endgame Rec**

Look, sometimes, you want to read angst. Intense emotions. Canon. Canon divergence. Sometimes, you want to cry about these boys. But then there are times that your heart needs to read about them just being all happy and painfully cute about each other — just being wide-eyed teenagers with wide-eyed feelings about each other. My heart does, anyway. This fic is perfect for that. So sweet, so lovely. A fic that left me smiling and thinking about the two of them on a blanket under the stars.

Quote:

Steve thinks he’s going to die. He wants nothing more than to say yes. To the holding down, that is. But he cannot find his voice at all. He looks up into Bucky’s eyes. It’s dark, but the moon and the stars in the sky already provide enough light to see those eyes sparkle. They’re so close now, almost breathing the same air. Forget stars, forget meteor showers. Steve wants to drown in those grey blue eyes, and he’s barely holding his head above water as it is, judging from how hard it feels to breathe.

🎓He's All That | crinklefries | Teen | 88,665 words | College | *Post 2016 rec*

All of the rom-com AUs forever for these two, please. This is such an engrossing and immersive fic. That's something I really enjoy about college AUs, and that works so well in this particular fic —the way that, because actual college campuses are often their own little world, the world's of college AUs can be these really tight little realities with their own specific sort of pacing and consequences. I love that, and I love it in this fic — it's so beautifully done, and it's such a great read, too, I think, because the original rom-com is both high school set and limited to being movie length/tied to Hollywood standards. There is so much more depth and additional story here, while still having that really fun element of being an AU loosely based on a film. So enjoyable, and such a satisfying read.

Quote:

“You do this often?” he asks, keeping his voice quiet to preserve the stillness around them. “Lay on the ground and play dead?” “Yeah,” Steve quirks a smile. “It was the second trick I learned after fetch.” Despite himself, that makes Bucky grin. “You always have an answer for everything huh?” he says. That makes Steve sigh a little, his shoulders droop enough that it’s only then that they both notice they had been hunched close to his ears. “Yeah,” he says. “Character flaw.” “One man’s character flaw is another man’s personality trait,” Bucky says. He stretches his legs out in front of him, props himself up on his palms behind him. “Pretty sure a personality trait can also be a character flaw, but I appreciate the sentiment,” Steve says with a half-smile.

🎓That Boy is a Problem | 2bestfriends | Explicit | 10,091 words | College | **Post- Endgame rec**

I sometimes debate whether I should go with including fics on these rec posts that fall heavy on the porn side of a porn-to-plot ratio, solely because, at a certain point, smut-heavy fics feel like their own thing that should go in their own post. But! That said, this fic, although it does fall pretty heavy on the porn side of the porn-to-plot-ratio is very, very solidly a college fic. It also does have a really fun plot, and I really, so much, enjoy that it features a Steve POV that is an absolute, just total and complete disaster about Bucky. Also! This fic has vibes and aesthetics that I quite appreciate.

Quote:

Steve grins like an absolute buffoon when he sees him, frozen in place like he's rooted there. Bucky glances around, gaze settling on Steve. The expression that spreads across his face in response to the realization that Steve is in fact there waiting for him is incandescent; Bucky actually brightens like maybe he wasn't expecting Steve to show. He draws his shoulders up and walks to Steve. When he reaches him, Bucky reaches out and grabs him by the front of his hoodie, pulling him into a kiss. Steve goes with a muffled squeak, ducking down to meet the firm press of lips. For a second, Steve doesn't know what to do with his hands, hovering just above Bucky's hips as he grasps tightly at Steve's shirt. Just as Steve's knees go weak and fireworks start to go off behind his eyes, Bucky pulls away, blinking at him with big, sultry eyes. "Hey, pal. You're very punctual. You ready?"

🎓Natasha Romanoff's Dating Service | HMSLusitania | Mature | 12,223 words | College | **Post-Engame Rec**

So, here's a thing about me: I really like it when fics emphasize that Steve and Bucky are meant for each other. That's it always them, In all universes. It's a thing I'm big into for these two. And this is why I enjoy so much when a fic pulls off the thing where there is some sort of doubled get-together or double feelings build. Like, ID porn fics can do this sometimes — falling for each other two different ways at once — as can fics like this one — a fic about Steve and Bucky both ignoring Nat's insistence that she knows the perfect guy for them and instead going out to a bar and meeting a total stranger. A total stranger they fall for basically on sight. A total stranger who, as it turns out, is that exact guy Nat meant the whole time. — Yeah. That's a premise I really enjoy. This is a fic I really, really enjoy. A total delight.

Quote:

“Now I’ve got some ridiculously low resting heart rate,” Steve said, tipping his head sideways towards his wrist. Taking the hint, Bucky pressed his fingers to the pulse point below the base of Steve’s thumb. Maybe he did have a low resting heart rate, but if he did, Steve was not currently at rest. It made Bucky feel a little better, knowing that for some reason – Bucky? – Steve’s heart was racing. “Do you want to, um,” Steve started. When he paused, unsure, he touched his tongue to his bottom lip before chewing on it and something in Bucky’s body short-circuited. He just hoped it wasn’t the actual mechanical hardware attached to his left side, because that would be ill-timed. “Go home with you?” he suggested quietly. “Yeah,” Steve said. “That.”

🎓What a Wonderful World This Would Be | Mambo | Teen | 28,723 words | College

You know how sometimes you read a fic and you find yourself literally making embarrassing sorts of noises out loud about it? And also feel yourself making ridiculous faces at your screen in response to it? Right, that was me reading this fic. Featuring an art major Steve who is completely convinced Fraternity Bucky is going to be some total jerk of a guy when they're paired as project partners — until they have all of one conversation and Bucky is ... you know, sweet, friendly, smart, charming, and generally Bucky-like. So then Steve spends thousands and thousands of words falling hard for Bucky while also being super confused by why Bucky wants to keep spending time with him — and incredibly doubtful that Bucky actually does want to be spending time with him. Even though Bucky spends thousands and thousands of words being the Very Most Obvious that he's super into Steve. It's so ridiculously and delightfully cute. I love it a lot. Also! This fic is actually the start of an entire college AU 'verse. I've only read this first fic, but the rest of the 'verse is on my TBR and is likely equally delightful.

Quote:

Steve’s brow furrows. “How do you know I do?” Bucky moves his laptop off his lap, sets it on the floor. He stretches his arms up over his head, exposing the stretch of tan skin where his shirt rides up over his jeans. And Steve is definitely not looking for purely artistic and aesthetic reasons, but manages to drag his eyes away before Bucky notices. “You always annotate your books. I can see all those post-its from where I sit, even. You don’t talk much but you’re always leafing through your book because you know which exact quote will prove somebody wrong. Don’t try to argue; I totally notice.” That’s not untrue. “No fair,” Steve says. “You sit behind me. I can’t stare at you creepily at all.” “Not starin’, just appreciatin’ the view.” Steve must look confused because Bucky laughs again. “You’re kinda cute,” he says. “‘Specially when you blush.”

🎓Alkynes of Trouble | yammz | Explicit | 11,450 words | College | **Post Endgame Rec**

The author tagged this "enemies to friends to lovers" and "the softest of enemy-ships though," which, honestly, is absolutely perfect tagging for this incredibly sweet fic. It is soft. Everything that happens in this fic is very, very soft. Steve and Bucky are assigned to be lab partners! They spend all semester in this terribly and wonderfully cute slow burn! There's tutoring! There are coffee dates shop hangouts! There is cake! There is a Very Meaningful hug! It's all very, very charming and super adorable. Plus, this is a fic that works with one of my personal favorite tropes: someone slowly realizing that they were wrong about another person and falling for that person — hard — as they do. I'm always weak for that, and I love this fic's delightful — and, yes, very soft — take on it.

Quote:

His notebook was full of eraser marks, his lines uneven and confusing, running into each other when he made his structures too small for the amount of bonds between molecules. He could always see them in his mind, but drawing them out was hell for him, his hands just a little shaky. Steve didn’t seem to have that problem because Steve’s notebook…that shit was just about the prettiest art Bucky had ever seen. He couldn’t help himself from reaching out his fingers and running over the neat, perfect hexagons with their lines and perfect little letters for the attached elements. They looked straight out of a printed textbook. Steve didn’t move, the solid mass of him almost against Bucky’s side. “How long do these take you?” he asked. “Oh, I’m quick,” Steve supplied cheerfully. To prove his point, he drew a quick acetyl salicylic acid, copying its structure from the sloppy one on the board, where the lab’s flowchart was. Bucky was mesmerized, his form perfect and confident and tiny, so at odds with how huge Steve’s hands were. “See?” “Okay, well,” Bucky let out a laugh, “You can definitely write the lab report.”

🎓Lane Lines | sparkagrace @sparkagrace | Mature | 132,519 words | College | **Post-Engame Rec**

A fic I spent a weekend totally engrossed and lost in on first read and that, ever since, has always been sitting somewhere in my brain. I think something that really, really appeals to me about sports AUs is when they're used as a lens to translate some things Steve genuinely struggles with in canon — the ways he handles guilt, the ways he feels responsible for things and people, his loneliness, etc — into these incredibly real-feeling modern, actual world, contexts. This fic does that so unbelievably well. Steve isn't truly okay, at all, during most of this fic, and affects everything. I love that so much. I also love this fic's worldbuilding, with a childhood Steve and Bucky backstory, a college swim team friend group, the pressures of professional athlete life, Olympic sponsorships, world records, and in-verse media like fake tweets and news articles. (This fic is the first fic in an in-progress 'verse, all of which I would also recommend.)

Quote:

“I didn’t want to come,” Steve says, trying to be honest, “but I’m glad I did. It feels nice to clear the air. I think it’s the most fun I’ve had in a while actually.” Steve thinks maybe this has been the happiest he’s been in a long time. He doesn’t want to tell Bucky that or speak it out loud, but the knowledge that this is happiness, and that he truly feels lightness in his bones, thrills him and he wants to keep that feeling close to him as long as he can. “I’m glad you’re here now. Just you.” Bucky says. Steve doesn’t know how to respond to that so he takes another swig of the champagne. There’s bubbles in his stomach but he’s not sure if it’s from the champagne or Bucky’s words. “We’re really going to do this, aren’t we?” Bucky says. It takes Steve a second to understand what he’s referring to.

🎓Targeting | queenmab_scherzo | Explicit | 149,148 words | High school & College

I do not know if I will ever be over the way this fic manages to mirror canon so closely while being about high school and then college football. I feel as if that shouldn't work. And yet it does, and I love it. I also love the way, because this fic so closely mirrors canon, we get a lot of Steve refusing, just absolutely refusing to give up on Bucky. Or doubt Bucky. Or listen to anyone's objections or concerns about Bucky. There is a lot of Steve being determined to get real answers to things, and Steve being determined to make things right, and Steve being determined to not let Bucky take the blame/punishment for things, and Steve being determined to not let Bucky go. So you know, very much like canon. Except it's about football? It's so, so good.

Quote:

Bucky doesn't attack. He backs away instead, an immediate, heartbreaking reflex, crystallizing proof that Steve isn't dealing with a predator. It's inhuman, the raw metal of his eyes and his expression, his hollow features, the way he blinks slowly and deliberately. He just won a football game, for crying out loud, not just any football game, the Game of the Century, he beat the number two team in the country and he can't even crack a smile. There is James Barnes, but where is Bucky. Bucky used to smile through broken bones and blood in his teeth, where is that Bucky. Come back, what happened, come back to me. Heart thudding, Steve surges forward, thinking about 49-yard field goals. "At least take my phone number." For a long time, he doesn't think Bucky will respond, and when he does, it's on an exhale, an inaudible brushstroke on dry canvas: "Fine." "You—do you want to write it down or something?" "I'll remember." The noise of the crowd rises and falls.

🎓Okay, so he can play… (pretty's got nothing to do with it | Darter_blue @darter-blue | Explicit | 50,858 words | College | **Post-Endgame Rec**

I realized when I was pulling this list together that I actually probably should have included this fic back in June as part of my Pride recs post I didn't, obviously, and I'm a little annoyed at myself about it. But, that allows me to rec it now, and this is absolutely a college fic. So I guess that works out. Anyway, like I said when I talked about Lane Lines, I love when a sports AU also works as a lens to look at some of Steve's less-than-healthy ways of dealing with things. This fic, which is about college hockey, is another great example of that. There are a lot of things in this fic — many of them, but not all of them, related to Bucky — that Steve has told himself he Absolutely Cannot Do, and his journey of letting go of some of that over the course of this story is one I enjoyed so, so much. Like I said, I could've rec'd this one in June, so there's a lot centered on sexuality happening here. There are a lot of feelings and a lot of romance. Also, one of my spreadsheet notes in the tropes column for this one says, "GRAND GESTURES." So.

Quote:

Bucky doesn’t know what to do with those smiles. He doesn’t know where to keep them (because he so desperately wants to keep them) that they won't cloud him. That they won’t press into his stupid crush and spill it over into something more dangerous. The team dynamic is flowing, winding, warming into something so comfortable, it bleeds into their game, and it’s like they can’t lose. They win their next two home games, Bucky chasing down Steve’s scoring record and loving every second of it. The way Steve isn’t even mad about it. The way Steve nods at him in the locker room at the end of the games. Claps him on the shoulder now with the rest of the team… All of it leaves Bucky so wholly unprepared.

🎓Persued by a bear | Zenaidamacrouras1 @zenaidamacrouras1 | Explicit | 19,200 words | **Post-Endgame Rec**

So, they're slightly older in this fic than any other fic on this list. (Well, actually, maybe not? They're a bit older in Natasha Romonaoff's Dating Service, too.) Steve is a professor and Bucky is a PhD candidate. This is also the very most academic of all fics on this list, and it's a complete and total delight from start to finish. It's a Shakespeare conference! There are tweed jackets, and suspenders, and pickup lines using Shakespeare, and the cutest Steve POV voice. I'm always, always a huge fan of a fic that features what could have been, should have been, a one-night stand, but that turns into so much more — with some hiccups, but also a lot of shameless flirtation, along the way. This fic delivers that so incredibly well and is just such a fun read.

Quote:

“You’re good at what you do, too, James,” Steve says softly, looking up at Bucky through his lashes, and shit, he didn’t mean for this to get all sexy all of a sudden. Bucky’s just. Really sexy. “You should call me Bucky. If you want," Bucky says softly. "I think I do, Bucky," Steve says because. He does. And Bucky's at a completely different university, and he's obviously a full-on, real-deal grown-up. Maybe this is okay. "Watching you work and listening to you think after following your scholarly writing for so long was incredibly hot,” Bucky says in a rush. “I’m sure you get that all the time. God, now I sound like a groupie.” Steve suppresses a smile. “Believe it or not, I don’t really have groupies."

There are a few additional fics that could be classed college/university fics and that absolutely are on my rec spreadsheet/in my bookmarks, but that I didn't include here. These are almost all fics with a plot about driving home (from campus) for the holidays/car sharing/motel room sharing/etc. that I feel like are holiday fics more than college fics, and holiday fics will almost definitely be their own post. (I didn't realize I had more than one fic like that bookmarked. But apparently, I do.)

I do have an apocalypse/dystopias/etc rec post sitting in my drafts I'm stressing myself out about it. Probably unnecessarily. I swear it's coming soon. Maybe I'll also do something seasonal in October? I haven't thought about that yet, but it's completely possible.

Fic Rec Series

[linddzz]

Whooooo! I found ya! Down to business:

Are there any fic recommendations for baggin/shield or pitch/frost that you like(d)?

I am absolutely feral

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand…..

What are 3 of your most favorite fics that you’ve ever read?

Ya found me! Let me say that the notifications of someone going through old fics and commenting are ambrosia. You are a treasure and a saint of a person!

And oh man I had to dive into my old bookmarks for these! I'm good at remembering snippets or vibes of fics but not the fics themselves. I will warn that a lot of my fave pitch/jack stuff tended to be pretty dark. It's not like, a thing I regret or say is wrong, and I still enjoy/love a lot of it! I was in a dark place mentally and that reflected in the stuff I was reading and creating. Who actually has a good time in their early to mid 20s?

Mostly warning because most of my stuff since then skirts the edges or flirts with the darkness but doesn't feel that need to go deep diving.

Second warning is there may be less here than you'd think! The more I write for a ship the less I read, because my brain gets very dumb and the self doubt gets Real Bad. This is all non-exhaustive of course! I wouldn't even say this is my Best of The Best it's just what's coming to mind at the moment. There's way more in the AO3 bookmarks

Pitch/Jack fics

In the Dark - series by @charmed7293 romancing the monster under the bed is maybe not always the best idea

The Syntax of Programming Languages, and, Why Some Code Talks in Accents - by Midievil. I'm biased here bc this was a gift fic inspired by my The Device Has Been Modified, but it done showed me up bc it was written by someone who knows more about actual coding than me

Shadows and Light - this series by @not-poignant is The Classic of the ship. Since you liked Things That Were you'd most definitely like this one. And unlike me, Pia actually finishes things!

I swear to God there were a lot of fics by @insufferablearchanist that I loved but they nuked their old AO3 and I can't ever remember shit.

Thorin/Bilbo fics

Prayers to Broken Stone - @avelera the beauty and the beast flavored au you didn't know you wanted

Comfort in the Sound - by northerntrash. Ok. Yes. It's Bilbo/Thorin/Bofur but like. Trust me on this. Road trip throuple shenanigans

Patchwork Robe - @hallsofstone2941 I am not immune to stupidly adorable modern college au one-shots

Possession - aljira. You liked Sanzigil, you'll like this :)

Marriage in the Manner of Dwarves - series by diemarysues

Other Fandom Faves (that come to mind. I've been reading fanfic since like 2002 ok there's a lot that has made impressions over the years that I just lost track of dkdjdk)

Taking Everyone For A Ride - by Nonymos. Venom/Eddy+Anne/Dan. typical Eldritch shenanigans plus polyamory. Unhinged and weird, just how I like em

The Only Way Out Is Down - @avelera Newt/Hermann. The second PR movie was so bad I wanna erase it from my memory but my god did it spawn some AMAZING fics, including this one that rewired my brain

After Zero - by what_alchemy Newt/Hermann. A bunch of delightful smut

The Wine Dark Sea - @moorishflower Dream/Hob. Siren! Dream au. Jesus Christ. Holy fuck. Goddamn. Gorgeous, monstrous, surreal, Unhinged4Unhinged behavior. Listen. I work with octopuses. I know what their arms feel like and that has ruined almost all tentacle shenanigans for me ok?? This fic got past that hangup.

If I Please You - @moorishflower Dream/Hob. It feels like a modern retelling of an old medieval fairy romance goddamn

And finally. This series. The series.

So. I very recently refound this series and I'm almost hesitant to post it. Because as I was reading it again I kept having to put it down and sit in horror at the realization that I read this fic when I was in college and it actually rewired my brain. I realized everything I have written was trying to recapture what this fic did to my synapses. I was chasing after vibes that I did not realize originated in this fic for me. Me sharing this risks everyone who reads it and has read my stuff also going "ooohhhh you're just doing this again huh?"

It is the very specific combination of "Character A: openly unhinged, obsessive, violently romantic and unnerving/Character B: seems so chill and just happily rolls with CharacterA being insane, because they are also secretly insane." It's the combo of a codependent bonkers relationship with humorous banality of their day-to-day.

It's also a Johnlock fic.

Anyway, The Paradox Series rewired my brain so deeply that I didn't even realize it rewired my brain until over a decade later. I swear I have been unaware of how much my writing has been leaning on what this did to my brain.

[cthulhu-with-a-fez]

Psst, would you mind linking that Venom fic you mentioned in the tags? Thank you <3

the whole series is fucking magnificent, go forth and be merry :3

[themculibrary]

Horror Masterlist 2

part one

Avengers Unsolved (ao3) - Livesinbooks T, 5k

Summary: Peter drags the Avengers to a haunted house

Broken Shadows (ao3) - dixiehellcat pre-stephen/tony G, 5k

Summary: The new Sorcerer Supreme and his right hand move into their new Sanctum only to find it might already be occupied…by the ghost of one Anthony Stark.

Cyclical (ao3) - Pandagirl23 bucky/tony M, 24k

Summary: An old estate was bought. Under the weeds are tunnels and the halls. Light shall be shed on a wrong that was done.

despite the threatening sky and shuddering earth (they remained) (ao3) - praximeter (Zimario) steve/bucky E, 71k

Summary: “They really didn’t want the mask to come off.” Hill thumbed through the scans, and pulled out a film that she then handed over to Sam, face mostly expressionless but for the flat line of her pursed lips.

Sam accepted the film and held it up to the light, angling so both he and Steve could see it, squinting at the outline of the Winter Soldier’s skull, and the blips of unnatural white that showed up, God, in his brain, not to mention about half his teeth, plus the mask, with its thin protrusions—

“Those are pins,” Steve realized. He looked over at Hill. “The mask—it’s nailed to his face.”

Hill’s face was as unmoved as ever. “Like I said. They really didn’t want it coming off.”

every time it rains (you're here in my head) (ao3) - Writer_Lethogica sam/bucky M, 9k

Summary: Sam Wilson shouldn't have gone into that house.

ghosts are real (ao3) - purplecatsweater T, 652

Summary: The locals had claimed this place was haunted. That people went missing if they went inside; they went in, they didn't come back out.

Sam had said, "There's no such thing as ghosts, man," and Bucky had said, "Uh, yeah, there is."

Haunted (ao3) - ElisabethMonroe bucky/steve/sam M, 12k

Summary: Seeking refuge in a storm after a fight, Sam, Steve, and Bucky get more than they bargained for from a haunted house

Housing Crisis (ao3) - schroedingersfox loki/tony T, 2k

Summary: There was no “staring straight ahead and pretending it's not there”-getting out of this one, not when a ghost was looking right at him and he was staring right back.

God, he had just finished up the last of the bank paperwork. Congratulations, Tony, you’ve signed a thirty-year mortgage for a goddamn haunted house.

If These Walls Could Talk (ao3) - Pokimoko layla/marc T, 22k

Summary: Ever since finding out about Jake and his covert dealings with Khonshu, Marc has been doing everything he can to stay in control, and to prove there is more to justice than violence and vengeance. He sets up the Midnight Mission in the hopes of accomplishing this, but it hasn't been working as well as he'd hoped. That is until he is tasked with finding a missing person who was last seen disappearing through a mysterious, black door...

Into That Good Night (ao3) - Nonymos steve/bucky E, 73k

Summary: Steve Rogers has lived for entirely too long—long enough to see the world's end. The heroes are gone, and the Earth is pushing what's left of mankind towards the exit.

But when a makeshift team rises from the ashes, when a mysterious presence all but drags Steve there, he begins to think there may be hope yet. As they shoot for the stars one last time, Steve will get proof yet again that the future is nothing if not an echo of the past.

light my heart and light my shadow (ao3) - thelilacfield wanda/vision M, 5k

Summary: “And what happened the night you told me about? Why do you want to go back to Ravenpoint?”

“On November 14th 2004, when I was ten years old, I woke up alone in my room. My entire family were dead. The police closed the case less than six months later. Their only witness was a traumatised child, and there seemed to be no evidence of foul play.”

“And what questions do we hope to answer in Ravenpoint?”

“I want to find out what happened to my family. What monsters come out after dark.”

Revenant (ao3) - stele3 steve/bucky M, 73k

Summary: Post-movie AU in which Bucky didn’t just leave Steve on a river bank...he took him.

Spiderland (ao3) - StormCity kate/peter, gwen/peter T, 3k

Summary: Peter, a former college student, along with a scarce few survivors navigate through the wasteland the planet has become. A place where the people they knew are either forever gone, or have turned into murderous and hungry zombie-like beings called “Crawlers”. A place where all nightmares come true. A place they now call “Spiderland”. (One-Shot)

The Devouring Storm (ao3) - blondsak, mysterycyclone mj/peter, ned/flash T, 98k

Summary: The city is unusually quiet tonight. Oh, sure, he’s had his usual crimes: muggings, drug deals, a few break ins. Nothing special. Nothing that could possibly explain the thread of tension winding through him, slowly tightening like a noose. Ever since last night, his spidey senses have set off at a low, maddening hum, distracting him, needling him, filling him with a restless energy that’s robbed him of restful sleep. He’s used to dealing with his super powered anxiety, but this feels different somehow. More ominous. And what’s weirder is that other people seem to be a little more wary, a little more on edge than usual, too. Cops, firefighters, even one of the guys Peter caught snatching a purse commented on it from his web cocoon on a street light.

“You feel that, Spidey? The city’s all weird tonight. Feels like the whole place is holding its breath, waiting on something.”

The End of All Things (ao3) - cakeisnotpie clint/phil, jane/thor, minor steve/sam/bucky M, 17k

Summary: Clint Barton could always see ghosts and monsters, and now that he's a ghost hunter with his partner Natasha, he's about to come across a house that is well and truly haunted, one that seems to be waiting for him.

A seriously spooky bit of horror completely with monsters and ghosts and creepy-crawlies and nightmares just in time for All Hallow's Eve. Happy Samhain, ya'll.

The Horrors That I Promised You I'd Bring (ao3) - Tsimmes T, 2k

SummaryL Perhaps, in retrospect, using Zemo's derelict vacation home in the woods as a safehouse was a bad idea.

The Truth About Ghosts (ao3) - LadySilvertongue, ThePartyPrince jane/thor, frigga/odin, loki/tony M, 52k

Summary: After the traumatic and almost mysterious death of their mother, the three children of Odin are sent to live with Heimdall, a family friend. Each of them learns to cope with their terrible loss and grief in different ways, some more healthy than others. As they grow up and away from one another, the memories of their childhood start to fade and change. When Odin dies, also traumatically and almost mysteriously, the siblings are forced back together again, to try to make sense of their family history and the madness that seems to plague them. But what happens when memories are fickle and malleable? What happens when the thing one fears the most... is oneself?

The Weeping Siren (ao3) - GalaxyThreads T, 90k

Summary: When Vanaheim requests aid dealing with a creature dubbed the Weeping Siren, Sif had never thought Loki capable of doing something so recklessly selfless. Then again, this whole fiasco has made her acutely aware of something: she and the Warriors Three never really knew Loki. (AKA the Warriors Three and Sif realize they were wrong about Loki) gen, Pre-Thor

[kananjarus]

there's an interstellar stevebucky au?? that sounds amazing

YES and it’s even more painful than you’d imagine. the way the author describes steve’s life post avengers and his loneliness is so gut wrenching. and their take on the story overall and how they match it to the mcu is so good as well. I can’t recommend it enough

link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3121055/chapters/6763406

and here’s an excellent fanvid I stumbled upon looking for the fic itself: