#layersofsilence

[mitsususu]

I am lost, I can’t even remember my name. I’ve been (for sometime) looking for someone, please tell me who I am. Amnesia! Below are my Top 5 Favorite fics: 

“Once you’ve fallen from classical virtue” (M, 4k) by lanyon

And, yes, there, leaning against the kitchen table, cradling a mug of coffee between two massive hands, is his blonde mystery man.

“I know this is going to sound strange,” he says, immediately. “But I don’t suppose you know who I am?”

The blonde man blinks and the corners of his mouth turn down. “Damn. I was hoping you could tell me who I am.”

+  Post WS. They both have amnesia and think they must be lovers. They’re wrong. 

-☆-

“Waking Up Slow” (M, 44k) by odetteandodile

In 1945 Steve Rogers crashed the Valkyrie into the Arctic Ocean and was never recovered.

In 2019 Bucky Barnes is walking along the beach below the decommissioned lighthouse where he lives with his sixteen month old daughter when he finds the body of a man washed up in the surf, half frozen but miraculously alive.

Bucky manages to revive him, but finds that the stranger has no memory of who he is or how he got here aside from a name: Steve. Snowed in by a blizzard soon after and unable to get Steve a medevac, Bucky discovers that the funny, good-hearted man slips into the fabric of his and Alice’s life faster than he would have thought possible. The two are undeniably drawn to each other, but as their feelings grow so does the looming possibility that the answer to the question “who is Steve?” might be much more complicated than either of them realized.

+ Shrunkyclunks. Domestic life, falling in love, and figuring out what you want in life  

-☆-

“some grief, some joy” (T, 11k) by layersofsilence

"Well, how are you feeling, what’re you thinking? Let’s get going, you know the debrief drill –”

“Uh,” says Steve, who does not know anything of the sort. “I do?” The other man squints.

“What do you mean, uh? You should,” he says severely, tapping at a tablet in his hand. Steve frowns, trying to remember, but as soon as he does a bright flare of pain goes off in his temples, flooding sharply though his head and not letting up until he’s stopped trying to think about what he should know.

Something on the other side of his bed starts to beep, and the other man looks up from his tablet. “Hang on a sec, then,” he says slowly. “Maybe you shouldn’t. Who are you?”

+ Post WS. Amnesiac Steve falls in love with Bucky all over again and pines when he sees a wedding ring 

-☆-

"i will remember you” (T, 15k) by obsessivereader

Bucky is James now, and it takes Steve losing his memory to bring them back together

He stares at the man, curious and wondering. “Who are you?” “James Barnes.” The man’s voice, and the way he shapes his consonants—soft and smooth and just a touch foreign—is almost, but not quite, familiar. “Are we friends too?” he asks. “Yeah.” Huh. The way his body’s responding to James doesn’t seem very friend-like.

+ Post WS. After Steve recovers from amnesia, the boys have an overdue heart-to-heart conversation

-☆-

“Mission Objective” (E, 8k) by debwalsh

Steve wakes up to the luxurious sensation of a warm body and a hard dick pressed against his back.

Which would be great if he knew who the guy was, or if, in fact, Steve was actually you know, gay.

In which the voyage of discovery holds greater rewards than either of them could have guessed. Plus naked cuddling. And sex. Lots of sex.

+ Post WS. The boys get their minds temporarily wiped in an attempt to save their marriage

-☆-

-☆- And a freebie! -☆-

“Closed Book” (E, 38k) by AggressiveWhenStartled

Bucky woke up with a headache, a mouth that tasted like something had died in it, and hands-down, swear-to-god, the most beautiful man he had ever seen asleep in his lap.

Bucky was also, he realized after a moment, strapped down to a hospital bed with about six different monitors making unsynced, equally piercing, beeps. Beyond that he couldn’t quite see—there was a hideous floral curtain pulled around the bed, and while he could just make out figures moving in the room beyond it, the pattern made his head pound even worse the longer he looked at it.

So. That was concerning.

+ Post WS. Bucky is rescued halfway through another Hydra abduction. An exploration into memories, identity, relationships, and friendships.

-☆-

*More amnesia stories in the Winter Soldier Steve, Handler Steve, and 21st Century/Defrosting list 

[stellahibernis]

Saturday morning fic rec:

Author’s summary:

Steve picks up the picture to be sure of what he saw, but there's been no mistake. "It doesn't even have a Navy stamp," he says, turning the photo toward her. "What is this?"

"Are you asking me?"

"It looks like a pin-up."

"Yes," Natasha agrees. "It does."

---

Post TWS: Steve is trying to find Bucky. Instead, he finds the sexy Navy "propaganda" Bucky somehow never mentioned he modeled for before the war.

Words: 18579, Chapters: 1/1

Fandoms: Captain America (Movies)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Natasha Romanov (Marvel)

Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson

Additional Tags: Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, War Propaganda, Pin-ups, Pining, Survivor Guilt, Spy thriller, Memory Loss, Erotic Art: How To Make Friends and Influence People, Horny Drawing Hours with Steve Rogers, Masturbation, Reunions, Happy Ending, Captain America Reverse Big Bang 2019

My notes:

This story is a great expansion from the very fun art that inspired it, and I especially like the slow reconnecting of the two and Steve’s coming to terms with what he didn’t know and how he should move forward.

[wintersoldierficrec]

Liminal Spaces

A prolific assassin whose career spanned decades, however brainwashed, was always going to cause controversy when it came time for him to try and enter the afterlife. So, a compromise: he is asked to operate a liminal space, to help lost souls to find the crossing-place. No going out and gathering souls, no keeping souls, and no kicking souls out.

It might be lonely work, but James is fine. James is fine, and then Steve Rogers, all blue-eyed sparking passion, marches into his liminal space.

Author: layersofsilence Pairing: Steve/Bucky Rating: Teen and Up Word Count: 14889

Liminal Spaces

[stuckylibrary]

Hi! I was wondering if you guys knew of a fic where Bucky is trying to look after himself and owns an apartment, he has a cat and his next door neighbours are never home, but their young girl (Natasha I believe) is, and he ends up looking after her, and taking her to ballet lessons where he sits with all the other mums and they kind of fawn all over him?

This one?

an irrevocable condition by layersofsilence (oneshot | 13,595 | T)

Maria Elena Popescu’s apartment building might be a faceless grey dump, but it’s her faceless grey dump, and she’s proud of it. It’s small – three floors, and three very poky flats to a floor, except for the bottom floor that was the entrance hall and her own quarters – but that just meant she knew everybody who lived here, and liked them. Nobody was allowed to come in here and make it worse, or disreputable, not even tall dark and good-looking foreigners who reacted with an appropriate amount of fear when Maria eyeballed them.

[brooklynboysficrecs]

Ria’s Top 10 Shrunkyclunks Fic Recs

Okay, let me preface this by saying: I could name about thirty fics and still not be able to tell you, definitively, what my favorites actually are. The top spots change kinda frequently, depending on what I’m in the mood for, and there are always new fics to consider. But these ten are some of the best I’ve personally read, ones I’ve re-read multiple times, even, and I really value whether or not I can see myself re-reading something (published books or fics) when I’m considering how much I actually liked it. Also, I went with lengthier fics that were finished, because otherwise it’d be a completely different list. Anyway, without further ado...

1. The Voyager by notlucy. God, I’ve read this at least three times and I’m definitely going to be reading it again in the future. notlucy is a fantastic writer in general, but this particular fic from them checks a lot of my boxes. I’m not especially into age differences in ships, but I liked the dynamic between Steve (who’s around... six, seven years older than Bucky, I think?) and Bucky here, and it’s made even more interesting because for the majority of the fic, Bucky has no clue who Steve is. There’s a long road trip, Bucky as a burgeoning writer, and Steve coming to grips with his sexuality as well as his place in the 21st century, as this story takes place pretty much right after he comes out of the ice. There’s also art! Which is always great, imo.

2. The Honey Honey series by justanotherStonyfan. This definitely has one of the most unique takes I’ve seen on a Cap!Steve/Modern!Bucky fic I’ve ever seen. It also features a pretty big age difference (Steve is 40, Bucky is 20/21), so if that’s not your thing, sorry. But it’s a long, long, long series, with multiple installments, that tells the story of Stark Industries employee James (who doesn’t go by Bucky because of reasons) and Commander Steve Rogers (who passed on the Captain America mantle to Sam a while ago). Not only has Steve been in the 21st century for almost two decades by the time he meets James, he’s also had a few colorful relationships prior to the start of the story that influence his current relationship with James and who he is as a person. I don’t want to spoil anything, but they’re all mentioned in the tags I think, so. I’m probably safe to say that uh. Steve still grew up with a Bucky Barnes, just not the one we see in the story. 

3. All of Your Love is Sunlight by canistakahari, WarlockInTraining. I can’t express just how cute this story is -- or I can, but I doubt I’d do it justice. Magic Bucky and his flower shop stole my heart the first time I read this, and honestly, I was as giddy as Steve pretty much the whole time. Steve’s kind of a disaster too and it’s frankly adorable. The whole story is adorable. All comfort no hurt, which is right up my alley. Also, come for the cute boys in love, stay for the butt plants. Just saying.

4. sleeping lessons by glim. This is such a good fic, oh my god. Steve’s auditing a college course to try and catch up on history (instead of like being bombarded by not-so-well-meaning SHIELD agents) and Bucky’s the professor, and he’s just. So sweet with Steve. So intuitively kind. I actually reread this one recently because I was on a shrunkyclunks kick and I remembered why I liked it so much, and even why I tend to like this trope/AU as much as I do — because it gives Steve a foothold in the new century, a friend who treats him as Steve and not Captain America, a civilian he feels safe and comfortable around. It’s a way to introduce Steve to the rest of the world through someone he didn’t meet as an Avenger or through SHIELD, which I think a lot of people agree is something he was sorely missing in the actual movies. I don’t know, this fic is great, give it a try!

5. Matchmaking by Nori. OH WOW. Let me just say, the premise of this fic is absolute precious. It’s like. The closest thing I can equate it to is a wrong number AU? Bucky is a gamer and Steve and Sam are on his team for something, and Steve — the dork — uses the in-game chat to respond to Bucky and it’s just. Fantastic and hilarious and so damn cute. Their friendship develops through playing games together and then Bucky gets a crush and... well. Love happens, like in every other fic I’ve read. But really, this is one of my favorites period, and another one I’ve re-read a number of times. It’s so so good.

6. the cold never bothered me anyway by icoulddothisallday. Alright so this is one of two soulmate AUs on here because I’m an absolute sucker for the concept of soulmates. Especially when it comes to shipping, because I adore the idea that two people are meant for each other regardless of the universe they’re in, ya know? Which is why I really love it for modern Bucky and Cap!Steve — proves their circumstances could’ve been completely different and they’d still find their way to each other. The lore for soulmates in this fic was interesting, too; I like the whole world-building that went on, and the mirroring concept they introduced. Bucky kinda got the raw end of the deal with his mirroring, considering Steve was stuck in the ice, but... as always, love conquers all, and Steve makes sure Bucky is never cold again so it’s all good!

7. Where All Roads Lead by alby_mangroves, DrowningByDegrees. Ooooh this was a fun one. There’s time-travel involved!! I love time travel (when it’s done well — looking at you, Endgame) and I really love when you randomly get a person from the past popping up in the present/future, which is exactly what happens here with Steve. Instead of surviving 70 years in the ice, an artifact sends him to the future where he meets Bucky, who’s something of an expert on Captain America. What follows is they’re attempts to get Steve back to the past and to the team he left behind, all while falling for each other along the way. The ending was so good, too; or, I thought so, anyway, but I suppose that’s just something people have to decide for themselves.

8. This Feeling We Carry In Our Souls by jinlinli. The other soulmate AU! In this one, it’s soul marks that people share; whoever has your mark is your soulmate, though technically it doesn’t mean they’re the love of your life. Bucky explains it at some point that sharing a mark can just mean you were meant to meet the person, that there could be a moment that changes your life and they’re a part of it. Obviously the soulmate connection here is of the romantic variety, which is good for Bucky — eventually. He has to deal with people faking his soul mark to try and get to Steve, and the fact that he lost the arm that had his soul mark on it... happy endings guaranteed though! I don’t read things without happy endings, because I don’t really see the point of them? But yeah, trust me to provide only the happiest of happy endings with my recs, and this one is no exception.

9. Waking Up Slow by odetteandodile. This is another author who I follow kinda religiously. I’ve read most of their stuff and I love all it. This fic is up there, though, because a) it’s my favorite AU and b) it involves Bucky living in an old lighthouse with his daughter. It also features an amnesiac Steve, which was a nice change of pace. Instead of being found on the Valkyrie by SHIELD, Steve thaws our and washes up on Bucky’s beach, and with nowhere to go and no one to call, he ends up staying with Bucky and his daughter until he can get back on his feet. They make such a great family, and it’s lovely to see their relationship grow even as Steve’s memories start coming back. Highly recommend this one!!

10. The Roommate by Niitza, layersofsilence. Okay, this is number 10 but by no means is it my least favorite of the bunch. This one features Steve trying to carve out a life for himself and give someone else a break by looking for a roommate for his place in DC. SHIELD (thought Natasha) tries to get him to give up on the idea, of course, but in true Steve Rogers fashion he goes through with it anyway and even picks one of Natasha’s “reject” candidates — one recently discharged James Buchanan Barnes. They prove to be good for each other, with Bucky proving more than capable of protecting Steve’s privacy and helping him integrate into this new century, and Steve helping Bucky find his footing now that he’s back in the States and in need of a friendly face who he can trust. The best (and worst, good lord) part of this fic is how long it takes the rest of the Avengers to figure out Steve and Bucky aren’t just roommates. You’ll be groaning at some of their assumptions, i swear, it’s both hilarious and painful to read them misunderstand the situation to the degree some of them do.

[epicstuckyficrecs]

Hey, what are your recs for fics with no smut. I’m ace so I try to look for fics without smut. Thank you!! ❤️

Any fic on my blog that is marked as “General” or “Teen” should be fine. You could also try looking at the Steve & Bucky tag instead of the Steve/Bucky one. Sadly, I haven’t thought of tagging fics with their rating so I can’t really present you with an easy list of fics I’ve recced that are rated G or T :/  

You could look at this search for General fics and this search for Teen fics, but here’s a few that I’ve read and enjoyed:

General:

But We Can Try by hetrez

The Smithsonian Guard by galerian_ash

How to Woo the Winter Soldier by writeonclara

Our Lingering Frost by eyres

(You Can't Choose) What Stays and What Fades Away by Taste_is_Sweet

I [Heart] You by writeonclara

Misdemeanor by Avaaricious

we carry our lives around in our memories by biblionerd07 

Apes Debemus Imitari (We Should Imitate the Bees) by buckysbees

Werewolf? There wolf by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen)

whose arms will hold you by biblionerd07 

Prisoners of New York by thecommodore_squid (orphan_account)

Teen:

Slide To Answer by relenafanel

United States v. Barnes, 617 F. Supp. 2d 143 (D.D.C. 2015) by fallingvoices, radialarch

lonely houses off the road by Etharei

Critical Feline Mass by Kryptaria, zooeyscigar

just say you do by biblionerd07

5 Times Bucky's Friends Heard About Stevie and 1 Time They Met Him by heartsdesire456

The thing that drives the wolves away by caughtinanocean

Side bitch out of your league by rohkeutta

Save a Horse, Ride a Captain by galwednesday

The Roommate by layersofart (layersofsilence), Niitza

This, You Protect by owlet

Also I think that leveragehunters (Monkeygreen) ‘s fics, regardless of the rating, usually don’t have smut? Check the tags to be sure though!

You could also try to make a search with the No Smut or No Sex tags?

[thestuckylibrary]

Do you know of any fics where Bucky makes friends with civilians (i.e. original characters who are non-Avengers) while recovering from being the Winter Soldier? I recently read "Dear Teacher, With Love" and the "Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail" series and want more but haven't had any luck searching.

Try these:

an irrevocable condition by layersofsilence (oneshot | 13,595 | T)

Maria Elena Popescu’s apartment building might be a faceless grey dump, but it’s her faceless grey dump, and she’s proud of it. It’s small – three floors, and three very poky flats to a floor, except for the bottom floor that was the entrance hall and her own quarters – but that just meant she knew everybody who lived here, and liked them. Nobody was allowed to come in here and make it worse, or disreputable, not even tall dark and good-looking foreigners who reacted with an appropriate amount of fear when Maria eyeballed them.

The Smithsonian Guard by galerian_ash (oneshot |8,927 | G)

Bucky makes a friend.

Impastata by hitlikehammers (oneshot |3,542 | T)

Steve’s desperate to get a glimpse, just a shred of his Bucky back, so of course he tries to take him ‘round their old haunts, tries to spark something within his best friend; his everything.

It doesn’t work out as planned.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.

Part 1 of Chymosin

Home holds the answers* by 22310 (WIP |2,703 | T) *graphic violence

He walked to the Smithsonian. He knows that that’s true - he was Bucky Branes. Or rather - he used to be him. He is not that person anymore. So he can’t go to Steve. And - he put three bullets inside Steve and ruined his face. He killed a lot of people. The government is after him. And so is Hydra. So he decides to walk, running from them. But it’s the 22 October and the temperature is 4 Celsius, and he needs someplace warm to stay. That’s how he finds himself in a apartment with a bit weird roommate in Brooklyn, working nights in a local Russian bar.

The story follows Bucky on the run until the developments of Civil War, and fixes what happened in the movie.

From What Seemed Like A Ruin by alby_mangroves, rohkeutta (complete |25400 | T)

When Barnes stumbles into a small town in Maine at summer’s end, he’s been running a long time and doesn’t expect to stay. But as weeks pass, he starts wondering whether all this time he hasn’t been running away from, but towardssomething - the kindness of strangers, quiet fields, and a curious, yellow-eyed goshawk.

Fics mentioned:

This, You Protect by owlet (complete | 64,326 | T )

The mission resets abruptly, from objective: kill to objective: protect.

Dear Teacher, With Love by fancyh (complete |61,499 | T)

In which Bucky Barnes becomes a teacher. Includes snarky teenagers, copious amounts of Starbucks, a cat named Alpine, and a soft redemption story for our favorite hero.

[mhalachai]

some fic recs: MCU

True to my word, I’m pulling up some year-end fic recs. I’ve got a few from different fandoms, and putting them up in fandom chunks for interested parties. 

Here are five MCU stories I read this year

The Necrofloranomicon by leveragehunters: Bucky didn't want much. Just to keep his head down, to sell his scavenged flowers in peace, and to stay off Shield's radar. His life would have been a lot easier if his flowers weren't dead and if being a necromancer wasn't illegal, but easy or not, he was getting by.

Bucky’s a necromancer. Steve’s a magical null sent to find him. They make it work. Eventual Stucky

ain't really quaint by quietnight, silentwalrus: Natasha stops by on a Tuesday, early enough in the morning that it would have been late by Steve’s old standards. Now, though, it takes him nearly three minutes just to limp to the door, yawning, and when he opens it he has to lean heavily on the doorframe. “Hi,” Natasha says, over the beginnings of birdsong. She’s not alone. “Can we come in?”

Steve’s recovering in the country. Natasha drops a feral cat Winter Soldier in his lap. Best characterization ever.

an irrevocable condition by layersofsilence: Maria Elena Popescu’s apartment building might be a faceless grey dump, but it’s her faceless grey dump, and she’s proud of it.

Outsider POV of the Winter Soldier during his time in Romania. Love the OCs

Show Me Your Teeth by leveragehunters: Things you're supposed to be if you're a vampire: a terrifying, mysterious creature of the night. Things you're not supposed to be: leading a tiny, stubborn child home because you found him all alone in a park and you can't just leave him there.

Bucky’s a vampire. Steve’s a human who keeps popping up in his path Amazing vampire worldbuilding. 2 parts.

What do you mean we left Clint on Mars? by sara_holmes: 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. For his part, Bucky is just staring at the screen like he can’t quite believe what’s going on.

an AU inspired by the Martian, in which the crew leaves Clint on Mars (as one does) and they gotta go back and get him. Eventual Clint/Bucky.

[mitsususu]

Happy 100th Rec List!! 

ModLacy asked for my top favs of all time, so here it is! I reread these stories pretty regularly and if I was stuck on a deserted island, I’d pick the below 5 fics: 

“Cascades” (M, 152k) by orange_crushed

“Holy shit,” Howard says, crackling through the speakers. “You alive in there?” Lying is a sin, of course, but Steve’s not sure what else he can do. He’s already lied to the government and Bucky and God Almighty; and himself, himself most of all. He ought to tell the truth. That he’s not quite what they hoped for. That perhaps they should put him back into the ocean.

“Probably,” he says, instead, listening to Howard’s tinny laughter; and waits for the blast doors to unlock.

+ Alt WW2. From the Mom list. Steve gets powers, Bucky breaks from Hydra, and they are so in love it hurts. 

++ "He only has one try left in him. He only has one chance. He steadies himself. He takes a breath. Please, he thinks, through the hole in the world. Through the last window home. He can’t see the other side from here; just the light it gives off. Please, send me back somehow. Send me back as anything. As a bird that sings on his windowsill, but not too loud. Send me as a ray of sunshine that falls on him in the morning when the bed’s still warm; as someone who’ll always leave a newspaper in the booth for him at Harry’s. Please, send something. Send me back as a kindness. Please. Let me be something for him.”

-☆-

“Metallurgy” (M, 22k) by eyres, art by TheFriendlyPigeon

The battle quieted for the moment, the great metal giant turns, at last, and sees Steve. Dark, almost human hair frames a sharp, steel face - but, Steve is caught by its eyes. They’re bright silver, sparking in the sunlight, shot through with gray and blue, visible even at this distance. Something about them nags at Steve, calls to him, reminds him of…

Instead of making the Winter Soldier, Hydra transfers Bucky’s consciousness to a metal body, locking his mind within a prison of steel and programming. However, Bucky is stronger than they could’ve ever imagined.

+ WW2 to Avengers. From the Robot list. Bucky’s time is running out, and he only wants Steve to be happy. Yearning and devotion

++ “Bucky cracks open his eyes, silver glinting in the growing sunlight. “Steve?” he says and how had Steve not known it was him every time he said his name? No one says his name like that but Bucky.”

-☆-

“jamais vu” (E, 13k) by Claudia_flies

They’re all gathered in the top floor private conference room because Tony wants to set up a Strike team, and he’s making some really excellent points. The Avengers aren’t a stealth operation, Steve has to admit.

He just doesn’t like it.

+ Shrunkyclunks. From the Sex Pollen and a/b/o lists. After a mission gone sideways, omega Steve and alpha Bucky start having hot sex keeping each other company in the evenings

++ “What the hell are you doing?!” Steve bellows, kind of horrified at how he sounds like a scandalized maiden aunt. “Have you ever popped a knot in tactical pants?!” Barnes sounds near-on hysterical. “Kevlar is not known for its give as a fabric!” “You have it on pretty good authority right now that I do not have an idea of what it’s like to pop a knot in tactical pants,” Steve yells, and Barnes goes quiet.

-☆-

“Too Long We Have Tarried” (E, 19k) by kototyph

Bucky picks up the ring and holds it between them. “Steven Grant Rogers,” he says solemnly. “Will you marry me?”

+ Post WS. From the Fake Married list. Bucky’s proposal started as a joke, but quickly escalates to becoming a full-blown wedding. Along the way, Steve and Bucky address their actual feelings.

++  “When I got to Europe, to France, those first few months— everyone, every single guy in the 107 thought you had a sweetheart you were engaged to back home. I couldn’t figure it out, because I never saw or heard about a girl like that. I wondered for a while if you’d been hiding her from me. The guys, they said— they said, when things got bad you wouldn’t shut up about her. [...] Yeah, I was mad. Here was a girl I knew absolutely nothing about, and you were going to marry her? I couldn’t believe it. Some pretty little dame you hadn’t even wanted to introduce me to. [...] It didn’t occur to me until after... after the train. After almost everything. There was only one blue-eyed blond I knew you’d promised to marry.”

-☆-

“where can i put it down?” (T, 6k) by layersofsilence

The beach is deserted, and the waves loud. Today the very sea chatters, buzzing with the news: there’s going to be a mating. There are only four days between the announcements and the ceremony - and then Steve sees his mate’s face, and his heart sinks. He knows that face. He loves - he’d loved that face. Right up until he’d seen it again, and wasn’t that a laugh?

+ Fantasy AU. From the Mermaid list. Merman Steve has an arranged marriage but is still pining after a lost love from five years ago. The drama!!

++ “As if you ever would have come away with me! [...] When our plans were to leave the sea. You would’ve dried out and your steps would’ve felt like walking on knives-” “Fuck you,” Steve says; his vision blurs, his eyes hurt. He thinks he’s crying again, for the first time in years, but it’s hard to tell underwater. “I would’ve done it. It would’ve been worth it. I loved you.” That makes James jerk away like he’s been burned. Steve hates him. “Fuck you,” he says again, blurrily. “I don’t want to talk to you.” 

-☆-

*More Stucky Recs here

[talkplaylove]

Press Play To Start  // a CapRBB 2019 Collab

Art by me, fic by @layersofsilences 

[wintersoldierficrec]

nothing is (but what is not?)

Three years after his best friend (his lover, his Bucky) had been killed in action, Steve receives word that he’s alive. But seeking men back from the dead has consequences, it seems, and in his search Steve finds himself at the centre of an ever-widening conspiracy that’s slowly revealing itself to involve everything he thought he knew.

Author: layersofsilence Pairing: Steve/Bucky Rating: Mature Word Count: 40693

nothing is (but what is not?)

[little-read-a-lot]

Fic Recommendation #207

Comments: Yet another fic leftover from my Stucky binge months ago. Hope y’all have a good Tuesday.

Title: the eldest of the gods

Author: layersofsilence

Fandom(s): Captain America

Synopsis: Only a few people in the world get a soulmark. Soulmarks, it is generally agreed, are for special people. People who make a mark themselves; presidents and heroes and famous artists, famous enough to change the course of their time. Steve is none of those things, according to the system, but he does his little bit as best he can, and is generally happy with the state of his affairs.

Besides, he’s already found his soulmate. He’d met Bucky when he was five and Bucky was six, and Bucky had just pulled one of the MacGregor boys off Steve and delivered a fairly resounding kick to the backside of the other, who was throwing rocks at a stray dog.

Word Count: 10,985

Rating: M

Status: Complete

Location: AO3

[stuckylibrary]

hi, I hope you're well! can I rec some fics? "snapshots" by newsbypostcard is amazing and I'm surprised nobody has recced it before! "tell me we'll never get used to this" by ftmsteverogers HOO BOY look. hear me out. this fucking incredible fic is in second person. I don't even know why I decided to start reading it. but OMG. if you like soulmate stuff, this is for you. bucky and steve always seem to find each other across lifetimes. everyone should give it a shot, it's beautiful

Thank you for writing in!

Snapshots by layersofart (layersofsilence), newsbypostcard (oneshot | 18,579 | M)

Steve picks up the picture to be sure of what he saw, but there's been no mistake. "It doesn't even have a Navy stamp," he says, turning the photo toward her. "What is this?"

"Are you asking me?"

"It looks like a pin-up."

"Yes," Natasha agrees. "It does."

---

Post TWS: Steve is trying to find Bucky. Instead, he finds the sexy Navy "propaganda" Bucky somehow never mentioned he modeled for before the war.

tell me we'll never get used to it* by ftmsteverogers (oneshot | 23,097 | E) *major character death, reincarnation

You would die with him a hundred times and a hundred times again if it meant that you would find him in every life you will live from now to the end of eternity.

[psychicrhubarb]

10 Writer Questions

tagged by @momentofmemory, who is endlessly lovely and kind <3

1. What’s your favorite genre to write?

I don’t know if “character-driven canon-compliant oneshot” is a genre, but that’s what I like to write! Nothing makes me want to open a fresh document like a side character having an underexplored feeling, and then canon leaving a tempting gap for me to fill.

2. Do you pull inspiration from real life, or do you pull things from other books/fanfiction you’ve read?

Both, always both. I really think that all writing is basically a blend of everything the author has ever read, but I also like to tell stories about how weird people are when they’re just--being people, and that’s something I think you have to just observe in the wild.

3. Do you tend to write one-shots, short stories, or longer things?

I have a couple of longer fics and WIPs but my heart lies with oneshots. Short little vignettes. Like, what am I supposed to do, write more than two thousand words about ONE idea?! Come up with PLOT?!?! No thank you.

4. Do you prefer to write description or dialogue?

I definitely default to description, but I’m growing to love dialogue. It turns out practicing is important?! I still probably prefer the power of imagery you get with description but it can be really fun trying to communicate (natural, funny, odd) character in dialogue.

5. Favorite fic/book of all time?

Book: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon. My username is from that book!

“During 1941, in the wake of that outburst of gaudy hopefulness, the World's Fair, a sizable portion of the citizens of New York City had the odd experience of feeling for the time in which they were living, at the very moment they were living in it, that strange blend of optimism and nostalgia which is the usual hallmark of the aetataureate delusion.”

Fic: One fic? ONE?!

I have a lot of favorites, but in the interests of recommending one that I think everyone on the planet should read, but every on the planet has not already read: Triptych by @kaikamahine. Or, since I’m thinking about Star Wars already: to the sky without wings by @leupagus.

6. Favorite Trope?

[sigh] I have trouble with the question because I don’t... like tropes? What I mean is, there aren’t any tropes I specifically seek out. I enjoy many fics that use very common fic tropes, but I don’t like them because of the trope, I just think they’re awesome. Couple examples: @toli-a‘s Justified A/B/O fic and @helvetica-upstart‘s Schitt’s Creek amnesia fic.

7. Are you the kind of person to work on more than one WIP?

I wanted not to be. I told myself I wouldn’t be. I definitely am.

I have I think 4 WIPs with active drafts right now (in the Star Wars, Spiderverse Captain America, and The Office fandoms), plus a bunch of scraps in the Notes app that I’m fooling myself into thinking aren’t drafts because they don’t have their own google doc (The Witcher, CQL, Justified, Black Panther).

8. How long have you been writing?

Three years, maybe? I think a lot of people in fandom spaces have been doing so in one form or another most of their lives, but unless you count papers for school, I didn’t write a single thing between the ages of about 5 and 20. I was a math major. It wasn’t required of me, and doing things that aren’t required is a newfound activity of mine. It’s nice. I like it.

9. Do you tend to write more in the morning, afternoon, or evening?

I tend to write when I’m on a tight deadline for something else, and desperate to procrastinate, independent of time of day. I guess that’s mostly in the afternoons, now, given I hate mornings and try to spend time with the people around me in the evenings, but I used to write mainly LATE-late at night.

10. Do you prefer to post and update your WIP chapter by chapter or wait until it’s 100% complete before sharing it?

My current May Parker/Liv Octavius fic is an experiment in posting and updating chapter by chapter, and the results of the experiment are that I should not do that anymore. It makes it feel like more of a chore, for whatever reason: I now have a pact with myself that nothing unfinished goes up on AO3.

Tagging 10(ish) people: ten is a lot of people, uhhhh @gracelesso @girlbookwrm @layersofsilence @jinlinli @hansbekhart @ everyone who sees this and wants to play

[epicstuckyficrecs]

Weekly recap | June 17-23rd

Here’s what a weekly recap could look like :) Let me know if you’d like me to continue doing this!

Completed fics

💙 I Want to Hear You Whisper (settle down inside my love) by chicklette  (friends with benefits | 12K | Explicit): “We should fuck.” “Whaat?” Of course he’s thought about it, of course. Bucky’s gorgeous, dark hair and pretty eyes, his body long and lithe from years of dance. Steve’s not blind: of course he’s noticed Bucky. But they’re best friends. Adding something like sex to their relationship would be like playing with fire.Wouldn’t it?

Snapshots by layersofart (layersofsilence), newsbypostcard (post-WS | 18K | Mature): Steve is trying to find Bucky. Instead, he finds the sexy Navy "propaganda" Bucky somehow never mentioned he modeled for before the war.

💙 if you're looking for jesus (then get on your knees) by voxofthevoid (canon divergent, SHIELD agent Bucky, vigilante Steve | 8K | Explicit): Hot damn, is his first thought. Threat assessment follows close on its heels because Bucky’s a goddamn professional. - S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Bucky Barnes is captured on a mission and meets Commander Steve Rogers, the erstwhile Captain America.

💙 Under the Hawthorn Tree by odetteandodile (fantasy AU | 57K | Explicit): A young man wanders into the woods one night, and wanders until he isn't a young man anymore—but something else. Seventy years later, another man follows him. Inside of a magic ring, they meet.

💙 happily ever after has bite marks in it by voxofthevoid (canon divergent, werewolf Steve | 29K | Explicit): Bucky Barnes is just fine. He lives by himself in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, hasn’t killed anyone for the better part of a year, remembers nearly all of his life except the parts he spent in a glorified freezer, and has nightmares only three nights out of five. And then he meets a mutant wolf with his dead best friend’s eyes. - In which Bucky is aggressively okay with his self-imposed exile from society, and Steve is a werewolf who’s nothing like the Brooklyn boy Bucky still dreams of.

Sweet Serendipity by velleities (modern AU, phone swap | 26K | Mature): A troubled city-style lumberjack. Sunshine personified in a man. An accidental phone swap. A serendipitous meet-up. Bucky lets out a small scoff. This isn’t the romcom that one looks for, not usually. It is, however, the one that found Steve and Bucky.

💙 couldn't get the boy to kill me by voxofthevoid (series) (shrunkyclunks, Avenger Bucky | 4 parts, 19K, series not complete | Explicit): Captain America and the Winter Soldier are a terrifying duo on the field, working together with a well-oiled precision that tears through their enemies. Captain Rogers and Agent Barnes are distant coworkers, all polite nods and mission briefings. Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are fire and gasoline; the sparks between them have no choice but to roar into raging infernos.

💙 darling heart, i loved you from the start (but that's no excuse for the state i'm in) by voxofthevoid (canon divergent, post-Endgame, 2012 alternate timeline | 19K | Teen): Or, the one where Steve saves the mind stone for last and decides to fuck the timeline beyond all recognition, which regrettably involves crawling delicately up Hydra's asshole and less regrettably involves showering a very confused Bucky Barnes with affection.

💙 miles to go before i sleep by alby_mangroves, obsessivereader (1980′s AU, Vietnam veteran Bucky | 34K | Explicit): Vietnam vet Bucky is just trying to get a hot meal, and maybe a job, in the small town of Hope, but the local law enforcement has other ideas. When their brutality triggers a flashback, Bucky snaps and escapes from their custody. Hunted, exhausted, injured, he finds shelter for the night next to a cabin in the middle of the woods. He means to be long gone before the cabin's occupant awakes. Things don't turn out quite the way he expected.

can't hardly weight by stevergrsno (noxlunate) (shrunkyclunks | 3,7K | Teen): When Steve Rogers woke up in the future he was given a phone and shown how to use social media. Well, no, in all actuality he was given a two week crash course entitled The Future And You, a six hour sensitivity course, a brand new id, and a credit card. In which Steve gets a crush on an instagram gym thot and laments over it a lot to the intern stuck with him.

WIPs

Solitary by exclamation (canon divergent, post-TFA, non-WS compliant | 29/?, 72K | Mature): The Winter Soldier has been a prisoner of SHIELD for about a year and a half, placed in solitary confinement under strict security when it was clear he wasn't going to respond to the best interrogators and deprogrammers SHIELD had available. When Fury asks a newly awakened Steve Rogers to assist, Steve is hesitant. He doesn't understand why Fury thinks he would have a better chance of getting through to this guy than all the people who have tried and failed.

Pole Position by roe87 (canon divergent, post-Avengers, shrunkyclunks, pole dancing instructor Bucky | 3/4, 4K | Teen): "I've signed you up to a pole dancing class," Natasha told him. Steve had no idea what that meant. "What's pole dancing?" he asked. "You'll see," Natasha answered with a sly smile. "And wait till you see the instructor. He's cute."

💙 four dreams in a row where you were burned by voxofthevoid (canon divergent, post-Endgame, 1945 alternate timeline | 3/8, 15K | Mature): When Steve uses the last of his Pym Particles to travel to 1944 and save his best friend, he doesn’t have a plan beyond leaving behind the battlefield and living his life alongside the people he loves. But the life that finds him is not the one he expects.

[thestuckylibrary]

Hi so I feel rlly dumb for this because I literally found the fic on your blog & even rbed it but basically it’s this fic I don’t remember everything coz my memory sucks but like bucky in between winter soldier and civil war and he moves into this building somewhere in Europe and there’s like two ppl named Maria or something and ones an old lady and ones a little girl who does ballet and they don’t actually say it’s bucky until the end except it’s rlly obvious and steve shows up at the end thx!

This one?

an irrevocable condition by layersofsilence (oneshot | 13,595 | T)

Maria Elena Popescu’s apartment building might be a faceless grey dump, but it’s her faceless grey dump, and she’s proud of it. It’s small – three floors, and three very poky flats to a floor, except for the bottom floor that was the entrance hall and her own quarters – but that just meant she knew everybody who lived here, and liked them. Nobody was allowed to come in here and make it worse, or disreputable, not even tall dark and good-looking foreigners who reacted with an appropriate amount of fear when Maria eyeballed them.