#and also i guess: bucky/zemo fic rec

[booksandabeer]

Hi J! I hope you’re having a lovely Sunday! ☺️

I’ve come across quite a few of your comments on AO3 and have see a few of your fic recs. You always put so much thought into your reviews and comments. It’s very inspiring. Your response to your most recent ask about the “legendary stories” was so well written. I hope it doesn’t seem weird, but I’m always excited to come across a comment of yours as a reader, so I can only imagine how your words make the writers feel.

So, with all that said, I’d like to pick your brain a bit and ask a couple of random questions (if feel like answering): Do you have a favorite and least favorite trope? Have you ever read a fic featuring your least favorite trope and it turned out better than expected?

Hello Jae!

First of all, thank you very much for your absolutely lovely message and your kind words. 😘 I did indeed have a lovely Sunday, thank you very much! I hope Monday is treating you well?

I'm a bit of a serial commenter... it's true! See, the thing is, I get to read all these wonderful, lovingly crafted stories by people who put so much time, care, and passion into creating them--and I get to read them for free! So I figure the least I can do is try and put a miniscule fraction of the time and thought it took to write them, and for me to read them, into composing a somewhat meaningful & appreciative comment. I don' t know if I always succeed at the former, but as long as the latter sentiment comes through, I consider it a success!

Also, I don't think it's weird at all to read or get excited about other people's comments. In fact, I think it's a GREAT way to find new fics and authors. I found some of my favorite stories by clicking on the ao3 profiles of people I repeatedly noticed commenting on the same fics or otherwise leaving thoughtful feedback, and they were either writers themselves or had great bookmark collections ("Bookmark Creeping" is one of my favorite pastimes).

Now for the questions you asked:

Do you have a favorite and least favorite trope?

That is a very broad question! Where to even begin?😳 Also with fanfic, I'm always a bit unsure what exactly is considered a trope/a genre/kink because sometimes the lines tend to get a little blurry. Well, let's look at it through a Stucky-lense, shall we? Obviously, I'm a sucker for Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, and Slow Burns; I feel like those are baked into the ship, right? I'm also a bit of an Angst Queen, and I love nothing more than to get absolutely destroyed by a fic as long as there is the promise for at least a bittersweet ending that will gently put me back together. Also, I go WILD for wound care (bonus points if it comes with kissing) and I love a well-deployed(!) pet name.

Now when it comes to things I don't personally enjoy all that much? Hm. I don't read crack fic because it's just not for me and because I feel like it often clashes with the more serious aspects of Steve and Bucky's backstories. I also tend to avoid either super-fluffy (curtain fic, Kidfic, Highschool AUs) or super dark/kinky stuff (heavy BDSM, HTP, Non-Con as a kink). Ymmv, of course and I absolutely do not think it's a "bad" thing to enjoy reading these things!

Have you ever read a fic featuring your least favorite trope and it turned out better than expected?

For the longest time, I only ever read canon verse stories or at least somewhat canon-adjacent, like Shrinkyclinks/Shrunkyclunks, but almost no Modern/No Power AUs. At some point last year I think I got a bit canon-tired (because when you read almost exclusively Steve/Bucky, let's face it, a lot if it is by its very nature just really sad shit). So over the past year I got a bit more adventurous in my reading and I've dicovered so many wonderful stories! Like I said above, I usually tend to avoid Kidfics at all costs (I don't hate children or anything; I just don't want to read about them all that much... Oh God, I sound like a horrible person, don't I? 😬🙈)... Anyway, over the past few months, I've found immense joy in reading @zenaidamacrouras1's stories--and almost all of them feature child characters of various ages. And I didn't just like the stories despite the kids but because of them! Wild! Who would've thought? But I am now a person who enjoys Kidfic, and in fact I have one lined up for tonight!

Also, and I don't know if this is of any interest to you--I would very much understand if it isn't--but there is a series called Called to Heel by Bagheera, which basically pushes all of my NOPE buttons, starting with the fact that it's Bucky/Zemo (!) with some past unrequited Steve/Bucky, and here's only a small selection of the tags: Past HTP implied; Pet Play; Past Rape/Non-con; Rough Sex; Dom/Sub. So, according to everything I just wrote above, I should hate this; it should not work for me at all. And to be fair, it's definitely not what I would call a *fun read*. It's also one of the best fics I have EVER read, part 2 in particular is a goddamn masterpiece, and it's one of the smartest and most complex character studies of both Zemo and Bucky I've come across. So. You really never know what might end up working for you, I guess.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hope this is ok and answers your questions a little bit?

[omg-just-peachy]

a (mostly hurt/comfort) sambucky fic rec list:

@fuckyeahsambucky is doing promo monday today, so i wanted to share some of the sambucky fics i've loved recently!

****

Nurturing by @the-buzz-ao3 | pre-sambucky, friendship, getting together | 3k

Bucky isn't the only one who feels alone after coming back from the Blip.

Light at the End of the Tunnel by @the-buzz-ao3 | hurt/comfort, love confessions, hurt sam and protective bucky | 5k

When Sam and Bucky are trapped in an abandoned mine, they must rely on each other to survive. They also realize a few things along the way.

Only Human by @starkravinghazelnoots | hurt/comfort, hurt sam and protective bucky | 2k

Bucky grabbed a tube of neosporin. “And I’d prefer you stop recklessly throwing yourself into danger like it’s no big deal. Guess we’re both unhappy.”

Sam snorted. “I do not need the geriatric without a lick of self-preservation criticizing me about so-called reckless behavior.”

(Sam gets hurt. Bucky patches him up. They argue—but they patch that up, too.)

Safe Like Springtime by quidhitch | fuff, domsticity | 7k

“I already told you it looks good. What more is there?”

“I don’t know, man, you’re gonna live here. I just wish I knew a little bit more about how that’s sitting with you.”

Sam knows Bucky feels fine. What Sam’s probably actually after is how he feels about the fact neither of them have anywhere else to go, not with Natasha dead and Steve wrinkly. Therapists. Even the good ones, always so circular.

“I like the terrace,” Bucky offers, mostly to appease him.

Mind of Stone by @capnwinghead | hurt/comfort, pining, grief | 6k

Sam is staying with Bucky temporarily when Zemo breaks out of the Raft. Instead of laying low, he invites Sam to dinner.

Behind Everything That We Do by cm (mumblemutter) | hurt/comfort | 5k

Bucky takes care of Sam, in a way.

I wanna be the place you call your home by notcaycepollard | sickfic, hurt/comfort, protective bucky | 2k

Sam is pretty sure he’s gonna die.

He’s been fucking sick with this fucking cold for two fucking weeks now, and he’s reasonably goddamn certain this is how he’s gonna go.

It’s not the cold that’s going to kill him. Bucky’s looked after him so well he’s in no danger of dying on that front. Honestly, Bucky’s the best nurse Sam’s ever had, which is nice and all, of course it’s nice, but he’s still fairly sure he’s gonna die right now, or at least soon, because he is so sexually frustrated he’s just gonna go up in flames.

Keep the Ashes From My Hear (and Walk Away) by coffeeinallcaps | hurt/comfort, mutual pining, idiots in love | 4k

“Jamie asked me out on a date,” Sam says. Bucky swallows. “Took him long enough,” he says, keeping his tone light. He bumps their shoulders together for good measure. “You should go for it.” “You really think so?” Sam asks, looking at him. “Yeah, man,” Bucky says. He fixes his gaze on Torres, high up in the sky, sunlight glinting off his wings. It hurts Bucky’s eyes. He blinks, rapidly. “You should be with somebody who can make you happy.” (In which Sam starts dating someone who is not Bucky, and Bucky pines, gets seriously injured, and proves himself wrong.)

Chicken Soup for the Soul by bioloyg | sickfic, hurt/comfort, sick sam and protective bucky | 4k

“S’not my bed time,” Sam says as he buries his face in Bucky’s upper arm. Bucky laughs. “Tough. You’re sick.” Sam lets out a loan groan and says, “But my bed is cold. I was so warm, why’d you move me?” “Because your neck would’ve hated you if I didn’t.” He tries not to be so amused by how fussy Sam is when he’s both sick and half-asleep. It’s cute.

[figkeele]

my fics in a decade

I wanted to look back on what I’ve written and how much I progressed, so a self-rating, self-ranking of my own fics is in order.

Super cool, I’m proud of them

So the first category is the fics that I’m proud of and I think they did well in their own little niche.

From the World’s End (Loki tv) Sylvie-centric gen, written for MFD

Tell Me My Name (Loki tv) Sylvie/Hunter-B15, written for MFD

Love is Yellow (Life is Strange: True Colors) Alex/Ryan & Alex/Steph, written for my own challenge I’m gonna fail otherwise :D So the thing here is that this Christmas I got a buttload of fresh games as a present, and I managed to get obsessed with a lot of stuff. TC is special in my heart because it’s about grief and it really helped me, it was very cathartic and this fic helped me get back into my writing grooves. (Which btw vastly improved, I promise!)

Please Ignore the Fear Demon (Charmed 2018) Macy-centric gen, written for ToT, one of my worst challenge experiences, my recip was not only a serial non-commenter, they had a locked letter, prompts that were contradictory (only romance prompts for siblings but no inclination for incest), and they didn’t even reply to the mod who I reached out to. I guess the challenge participants wanted to be kind with kudos and a lovely comment. It still left me so sour, I haven’t written for a while after this. (Also I get that sometimes people drop off of challenges and that’s okay, but since the letter and prompts and everything, it was clear my recip didn’t want this fandom anymore.)

Moments: (Debris) Bryan/Finola, written for the AU exchange and for my fandom bestie, hithelleth. :) It’s always a treat to be matched to hithelleth. ♥

Teammates (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) Bucky & Sam & Zemo, gen, written for MFD, and dear God, this was so hard to keep gen. I really didn’t ship them as an OT3, yeah, right until I started this drabble. I still have the big epic OT3 fic WIP this one inspired, though I’m not so sure I’ll ever finish.

But wait, there’s more...

Pretty decent

Next up are fics that I really like and they’re still being read even after all this time. (Also I’d love to note that I scream and cry happy tears whenever I see someone reccing these. :D)

Finding Home (Star Wars Sequel Trilogy) Poe/Rey, written for MFD. My first and pretty much last foray into the SW movie fandoms I think. But who knows.

Bad Taste (In Boys) (iZombie) Liv/Ravi

Pain (Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order) Trilla-centric gen, written for MFD

Now That She’s Here (Agents of SHIELD) Bakshi/Jemma, written for Rare Pair Fest, and you guessed it, for hithelleth - I recently re-read this fic, and I was hit by such nostalgia. :D We do know how to pick our rare ships, don’t we?

How to Deal with Haunted Objects: A Helpful Guide by Jenny Mills (Sleepy Hollow TV) Crane/Hawley - I’m utterly devastated how bad the show turned out at the end, and how they kept writing off good characters. Anyway, still one of my cutest fics.

We’re Not Broken (The Vampire Diaries TV) Elena/Rebekah There was a time when my brain was occupied with nothing but TVD, it was never a perfect show, but it was fun to write for and Elena had to be shipped with every original. HAD TO BE.

You know what? These are pretty niche

They didn’t get a lot of traction but I still love them, and I had to realize at this point that I’m mostly writing the rarest of rare pairs.

Blood and Starlight (The Vampires Diaries TV) Elena/Rebekah

This is How the Story Ends (Once Upon a Time) Ruby/Victor written for Rare Pair Fest - again for a non-commenter or a sock, but at least I enjoyed it.

Love Stories for Dead People (TVD TV) Elena/Klaus - for some reason, this is my only fic translated into Russian. I’m still fucking proud of that. :D

I’ll Be Your Safety (How to Train Your Dragon movies) human!Toothless/Hiccup - Not like it makes it any better that I made Toothless a human cursed into a dragon form (especially that I really rushed this in this particular fic) but you have to understand, in the books Toothless talks like a human being. :D So my brain latched onto this ship. To this day, it still gets kudos, and you know what? You go, people, who ship a dragon with a human. You go.

Pieces of Us (Arrow) Diggle/Felicity/Oliver - my OG OT3, or wait? Was that Klaus/Elena/Elijah? Anyway, this was written for the Rare Ship Swap, and I’m still pissed at how rare this ship was.

Clean Slate (Supernatural) Destiel - this... is so not me. Was a gift fic for a friend.

Just Like You (TVD) Elena/Kol - the shipping goes on even if the characters are dead.

Mirror (TVD) pre-Elena/Elijah - My first ever fic I’ve written in English, and yeah, in some places it shows, it’s very dated, but it helped me to find my voice, and experiment with darker themes.

Come and Find Me in the Dark Now (TVD) Elena/Klaus

A Love Story Starring Monsters (TVD) Elena/Klaus - this fic was recced in the same post as Sandrine’s and adlyb’s fics, so I think I just went to heaven when I saw that. It’s a personal accomplishment I’ll always cherish. Also, this was written for the Rare Pair Fest for hithelleth. :)

Why don’t you love me?

The fics that are not bad but somehow they got crickets. (”Somehow,” I say, when the first fic on the list is the most niche incest ship ever, okay...)

Scarred Heart in Hand (Sleepy Hollow) Abbie/Jenny - yeah, niche incest rare pair

She Belongs to Fairy Tales (Revolution) Charlie/Miles - there was a time, a golden time in fandom when Revolution was a thing. And we all shipped the most glorious ships. Also, admittedly this is only, like, a writing exercise. BTW, did you know someone linked this fic to fanlore??? I am forever immortalized by an incest fic. :D

Scattered Pieces of Who I Am (Revolution) Bass/Charlie/Miles - I really should have written 50k of this.

The Ashes Fell Like Snow (Once Upon a Time) Hook/Emma - what did you say? The fic that contains the most popular canon het ship tanked? Well, it got nominated for a CaptainSwan award iirc, which mildly surprised me, because let’s face it I just killed LITERALLY everyone in this fic, while Hook is brainwashed. (I still remember someone on ffnet complaining why I killed all of the characters when I warned for it. OR ASKING for a sequel to write a happy ending.)

The absolute flop, the trash, the garbage fire

Let’s face it, not every fic we write is good, and not every fic we write is even readable, especially if we’re not writing in our native language. These are not all bad, but rather unknown fandoms... but there’s nightmare-inducing cringe here.

The Way We Fall (Supernatural) Destiel -  Well, it’s certainly a fic... It was supposed to be some sad, told backwards story, but something is definitely missing here.

Introduction (The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare) Sebastian/Clary - So this? This is painfully bad. Awful trash. I’m not gonna delete it because I lol’d when re-reading it and I can see my progress at least. It’s clumsily translated (with the help of two English teachers lol really, not even kidding), and sometimes the Hungarian just shines through. But anyway, it’s also very very very awfully written. The sentence structure, the... I don’t even know. I wrote this sometime when I started COLLEGE. Jesus. Also it’s AO3 locked because of the whole CC drama.

Fairy Tales and Nightmares (The Unwritten) Lizzie-centric gen - Now, this is not a bad fic, but look there are only 6 whole fics written for this fandom, this being one. I don’t even think anyone knows about these comics besides the comic nerds.

[thestuckylibrary]

hey so a lot of stucky fics are written by straight girls and you can tell, i was wondering if you had any fav LGBT ao3 authors or at least authors who aren't girls? i know it sounds weird but when you're not a girl reading these fics you can really tell which ones are written for girls and which ones arent

Yeah I get that actually. Authors who are LGBT+ have a different experiences than straight cis writers. Like I’m a bi ace girl who lives in oblivious land and sometimes even I go... huh.. this author... is straight. I don’t generally pay enough attention to authors notes to have a big ol database, but I do know a couple! However, I’d also like to stress that other LGBT+ people do not owe you their identity, it’s up to them if and when they choose to share. Some of the people you may have assumed to be straight girls may not be straight or girls. Fandom and mlm romance writing as a whole are dominated by straight women writing for other straight women and this tendency has silenced LGBT+ authors and can be harmful to LGBT+ people but LGBT+ people still don’t need to give you their identities? I dunno this is a complicated long ass sentence and I have a lot of opinions about straight cis women dominating communities about mlm, but also like try not to just assume people’s identities just by their writing I guess? I'm actually curious to know some more stucky authors who are men, I'd like to showcase them more often!

Anyways, heres some stuff by LBGTQ+ authors! Anything by any of them is lovely!

a blade with no handle by ftmsteverogers 

“I’m Captain Rogers,” Steve said, once the Winter Soldier had joined them and took off his motorcycle helmet, shaking his mane of hair free. “You must be the Winter Soldier.”

“That’s what they call me,” the Winter Soldier replied. His mask took up three quarters of his face and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of goggles, but Steve could still hear the hostility in his voice.

Steve pasted on a smile and stuck out a hand for him to shake. “Welcome to the Avengers.”

Photo Booth by copperbadge

Seventy years ago, Steve and Bucky had their picture taken.

The Tower by noncorporealform

Peggy Carter recruits Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes to fight against Baron Zemo, a man who desires the powers of the entity that has taken a liking to Steve Rogers. The Howling Commandos search Europe for artifacts with the mission to retrieve them before Zemo's Secret Empire can, but the Baron is ruthless and patient, willing to play the long game.

As the world explodes into a war seeped in occult forces and lead by madmen, Bucky has to admit for his own peace of mind that he's always loved Steve Rogers and would follow him into any kind of war, no matter how strange.

Horror AU set in World War II.

Welcome to Oblivious, Population: Two by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen)

Steve is a wedding photographer in need of an assistant. Bucky is unemployed and in need of a job. Sam and Natasha, in what turns out to be a successful attempt to solve both problems, arrange an introduction.

In a moment of frustrated brilliance, Bucky sets Steve on the path to incredible popularity and the two of them--and their relationship--on the path to complete obliviousness.

Feel free to add your own recs for LGBT+ authors writing stucky especially any mlm writing stucky!