Oh, boy. I do, anonymous reader. Thank you for asking, and welcome to the fandom! It’s never too late 😀
I am so sorry that I’m not able to give you a really good long beautifully-formatted rec list with links and synopses and all. I’d honestly love to do that, but real life is being a butthead currently and I can’t spare the time.
Instead, here’s a quick list of some (mostly multichapter) faves that are set post-WS:
how cold steel is (and keen with hunger) by @jinlinli
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn series by @newsbypostcard [this actually runs from pre-war to post-CW, but I can’t do a rec list without including this author and I love this one so much]
This, You Protect by owlet
through smoke, solid ground by @magdaliny
These American Dreams (ain’t no white picket fences left for me) by kariye
After You’ve Gone by SD_Ryan
under my cypresses by InaccessibleRail
The Bucky Barnes Blues series by @dietraumerei
If They Haven’t Learned Your Name by @silentwalrus1
All’s Fair in [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] by redcigar
The Retreat by Boi_Ginny
The Murder Ballads by BetteNoire
I’m really sorry for the lack of links. These should be easily findable on ao3. I hope you enjoy!! Thanks!
Tag: stucky
Winter’s Herald: a Steve/Bucky Heralds of Valdemar AU
Words: 112,551
Fandom: Captain America (Movies), Valdemar Series – Mercedes Lackey
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships:
James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson, James
“Bucky” Barnes & Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov,
Steve Rogers & Original Companion Character, James “Bucky” Barnes
& Original Companion Character
Characters: Steve Rogers, James “Bucky” Barnes, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Original Companion Character(s)
Additional
Tags: Alternate Universe – Fusion, Alternate Universe – Fantasy,
Captain America Valdemar AU, Alternate Universe – Valdemar Series
Fusion, Marvel Cameos, Fluff, Captain America canon typical violence,
minor Valdemar canon non-compliance, Soulmates, Lifebonds, Additional
Warnings In Author’s Note, absolutely no Valdemar knowledge required,
Heavy Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Happy Ending
“Steve,
if there’s a time when you don’t have to worry about anything, it’s
now. I’m a Herald-Trainee, Winter’s a Companion. You’re exhausted.
Just…trust us. We’ll get you home safely.”For a long moment, a moment in which Bucky felt gifted with sudden
insight into who Steve was, he thought it could go either way. Then
Steve smiled, this one warm and bright and just for Bucky, and it raced
through him, lodging inside him like a miniature sun. “Guess I’d be a
bit ungrateful to say no.”Some Heralds change the world. Some Heralds save it. Some
Herald’s names are woven through the very fabric of Valdemar. But most
don’t, and most aren’t. Most Heralds simply do their duty, their
Companions by their side, their stories recorded in dusty Crown records,
not Bardic ballads.Steve and Bucky figured they were most Heralds—no ballads required, thanks—and they were mostly right. What they didn’t account for was that no Herald was ordinary—and with two of them bound so tight together, extraordinary was sure to happen.
[Absolutely no knowledge of the Valdemar series required for this fic]
All-Time Favorite Stucky Fics
Hey there! I’m GoldBlooded over on AO3 and I want to share some of my personal favorite Stucky fics. These aren’t ones I’ve enjoyed and bookmarked; these are the ones I’ve read, and re-read, and turn to at the end of a shitty day. I love them, I think about them, I’m excited by them, I’ve lost my mind if I was following them as WIPs and they updated.
These fics are there for me and deserve all the love and praise, as do their super talented authors. So here goes!
These Streets by @nejineeee
-I love these versions of Steve and Bucky; Steve is righteous, and a little shit, and funny, and awkward. Bucky is a gruff, scary marshmallow that can’t resist Steve. There are mysteries to be solved, but they’re not overwhelming or too detailed. Heavily features amazing background/supporting roles from many, many Marvel characters, some obscure and some not. It also has so much heart. The Goldilocks of fanfic: everything is just right.Family Placement by @notlucy
-also affectionately known by its unofficial alternate title, ‘Little Steve on the Prairie.’ This fic, like any notlucy fic, has such a distinct and clear narration that submerges you entirely into the world of the fic. Smol Steeb and WS!Bucky on a prairie in 1860′s Kansas? Sounds cheesy and like it would be a disaster. But, like some other strange fusions (the historical rap stylings of Hamilton come to mind) it just fucking works.A Marriage of Ice and Fire by @mystrana & @artgroves
-Apparently supposed to be a GoT mashup, but as I’ve never seen GoT, I just see it as a fantasy/medieval AU with the best damn hatefucking I’ve ever read with my own two eyes. I actually had a pseudo-book club (fic club?) with @leisurelypanda about this fic while it was updating, and we spent a lot of time losing our minds over the story, action, illustrations, and predictions. (There was even some betting involved.) So. Fucking. Good.What the Doctor Ordered by sarahyellow
-Listen. I’ve read almost everything by sarahyellow, and read a lot of it multiple times. Hands down one of my favorite authors. So when I tell you that this fic is the most read out of all of them, I mean that shit. I love firey small omega Steve and gentle alpha Bucky. I love the unspoken, tense history between them. But most of all, I love that it’s the first in a series that explores what happens (and happened) between them in a 1940′s Omega House. Sarahyellow’s worldbuilding, especially in A/B/O ‘verses, is outstanding.Sticky Fingers and Short Circuit by @chiyume
-My very first Stucky fic was a Chiyume fic. Well, probably the first 5 or so. These are the ones I come back to the most, because while probably technically being PWP, the characterizations and the relationships between them sparkle vibrantly. You think there’s no way pure smut can have worldbuilding, nuance, humor, finesse, tenderness, and supa-hot sex with prose that’s both efficient and beautiful? Think again, my friend.Heart of Fools by @claudia-flies
-Look, I know A/B/O isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. But quality A/B/O makes me happy and so does this fic. It’s simple and sweet, a touch angsty, and the concept is really interesting and well-executed. The A/B/O aspect almost takes a back seat to the human aspect, and the characterizations are rock solid. I’ve lost track of how many re-reads I’ve given this.The Shadow & The Soul by fallingvoices
-I’d never even heard of daemons or Phillip J. Pullman’s series until someone in the comments told me what this was based off of. But seriously, this fic is so profoundly, darkly, hauntingly beautiful it makes me sit and contemplate the universe for a while each time I read it. It makes me feel all sorts of complex things the way any Neil Gaiman story or The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss does. I have never encountered another amateur fic like this, ever.Bucky Barnes Has His Shit Together (And Other Lies He Tells Himself) by @bettsfic
-This is the fic I read when I want something fluffy and self-indulgent. I love food/chef AUs, and I love sweet, hunky, humble Steve. There’s so much humor and schmoop and it makes me sigh happily at several points throughout. It’s soft, and lovely, and wonderful.Alrighty, so I think that’s enough to be getting on with for now! I’m sure there’s many fic I’ve yet to discover or that hasn’t been written yet that’s worthy of my all-time faves list, and maybe at some point I’ll do a part 2. Who knows!
Ahhhh, thank you, sweetness! I am overwhelmed and humbled to be in such fine company!
* DOG SITTER * EXCELLENT REFERENCES * SUPER GREAT RATES *
* ENDLESS POCKET OF TREATS *
CALL 323-928-3646 AND ASK FOR STEVE
The notice has been pinned up on the board of Bucky’s local Starbucks for the past week. This morning, Bucky’s finally given up on life and called. He doesn’t like admitting that he can’t be in five places at once, but his new boss is a sociopathic nightmare with zero regard for either Bucky’s contracted hours, or his out of work commitments. After three days of trying and failing to explain to the Devil Incarnate that he has to go home in his lunchbreak, that he has a dog, damnit, and that Sarge might be the best boy ever, it’s not fair to leave him alone for so long, he’s bitten the bullet. ‘Ask for Steve’ picks up after three rings and promises to collect Sarge at seven am the next morning, so now Bucky is here, sat on the cold steps of his front porch, praying to god he’s not about to give his best friend up to some pet killing lunatic.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he pleads, scratching behind Sarge’s ears and trying not to melt at the sorrowful expression aimed up at him from soulful brown eyes. “It’s just for a few hours during the day. You’ll have a great time.” Sarge puts his head on Bucky’s knee and whines. Bucky’s never had a dog before and a year ago would never’ve believed it possible to be so completely wrapped around a fuzzy little paw. Sarge – technically his full name is Sargent Fuzzlefluff – came hand in paw with his ex; a spectacularly flighty son of a bitch, who’s traded Bucky for an older man, a mansion, and a strict no pets policy.
Sarge likes Bucky best, anyway. It works out for them.
“I’m sure Steve’s great,” Bucky says. He’s packed Sarge a little bag, full of his favorite treats, toys, and the red blanket he likes to snuggle up on when he naps. “You won’t even notice I’m gone.”
Sarge’s ears prick up as someone approaches. Bucky’s been imagining Steve as anything from a college kid to a soccer dad and is taken aback by the wall of muscle that jogs up to him, baseball hat pulled over his head and dark shades hiding his face, even so early in the morning.
“Hi,” brilliant white teeth smile with more enthusiasm than anyone has ever shown Bucky at seven am, “I’m Steve. You must be Bucky, right? And you’ve gotta be Sarge! Oh, you are the most handsome boy! Aren’t you? The most handsome!”
The megawatt smile diverts its attention from Bucky, to Sarge, who meets the praise with a cheerful bark and a furious wagging of tail.
Steve gets down on his knees, both hands held out for Sarge to sniff before they are mussing his fur and scratching behind his ears, and Bucky is glad, really glad, that Sarge likes him, because that means his full attention can be focused on the fact that ‘Ask for Steve’ is neither a college kid nor a soccer dad, and is, in fact, Steve fucking Rogers.
Captain America is gonna walk his dog.
“The closest I’ve ever been to the Garden of Eden is the genesis on the battlefield when the shrapnel’s still falling like hail on a tin roof. You look at me with those blue eyes all hot and electric in your face, blood on your cheek, soot smudged over your nose. Bone of my bones. Were you taken from my rib? You must have been, or maybe I was made from yours. And God damn, I want it. I want back inside you. I want you now, same as I wanted you before, prettier than hell even with a bloodied nose and split knuckles. Don’t care you were smaller. Liked it, even — same as I like you this way too. You make me hungry. You understand? You make me hungry. That mouth pink like spun sugar, though it doesn’t stop you from talking fit to cut anyone down to bits with your angry words. A spitfire since you learned how to speak, and I’ll tell you something, it’s hell to love a fighter.”
— “The Thirteen Letters,” drop-deaddream and whatarefears
Hey, I was just wondering if you could rec any sticky fics or writers? You seem to know your stuff!
Hello! Yes, I can rec all the things!
Okay, so I have my standard go tos, @brendaonao3 (brenda on AO3), @boopifer (boopboop), and @thebestpersonherelovesbucky (kellyscams). I’ve been reading their stuff for years, and I’m pretty sure I haven’t missed a single fic from any of them.
So let’s see who else…
I’ll read anything that @spitandvinegar puts in front of me because Ain’t No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) was amazing, and I love their style lots and lots.
Same goes for @queenmabscherzo. If you haven’t read the In the Deed the Glory series, go fix this injustice upon your person. Immediately.
Oh! I have also been on a MAD silentwalrus kick lately. Just, like, devouring everything they’ve ever written forever and ever, amen.
Bucky Barnes Has His Shit Together (and Other Lies He Tells Himself) is one of my absolute favorite fics in the fandom, and it’s honestly embarrassing how many times I’ve read it. @bettsfic doesn’t write for the fandom anymore, which is just a damn tragedy because that fic and the rest of her stucky stuff is the shit.
Recently @marciellaniello wrote a stupidly ridiculously cute birthday fic for me and you should read it and all the things by her. She’s awesome.
@rohkeutta has written a lot of really great stuff, but also wrote probably one of the funniest versions of Bucky I’ve ever read in their Stop interrupting my grinding series.
Finally, @skyisgray, @cesperanza, thecommodore_squid (who, sadly, orphaned their account), perfect_plan, odsbodkins, @marlowe-tops, @gigi-gigi, and @teatotally take up a LOT of space on my several-hundred-fics-and-counting kindle.
So hope that helps! Those are my fave peeps I could think of while eating a late lunch and trying to slog through my workday. HAPPY READING! 😀
ealdor 