Content Notes | Warnings: Alternative Universe where Steve never got the serum and Bucky came home from the war, epistolary but it’s only one letter, Barnes family members make appearances
Additional pairings: none
Summary: Bucky’s crying before he’s off the boat and he’s the least surprised out of anyone to realize it.
Written Work: the wrote and the writ
Podfic Post: [Podfic] the wrote and the writ
Additional Comments: Do you know the feeling when you are in a large, ten year old fandom, loads of stuff has happened in canon that you are not particularly thrilled about, and then, one Wednesday morning, a podfic/fic comes along that reminds you why you loved this pairing so much in the first place. Reminds you like, with a sledgehammer!
This is such a podfic/fic. :)
Quietnighty reads it beautifully, intense and vulnerable, with the right touch of humor and the right touch of despair – all the way to that one letter Steve wrote to Bucky during the war. The soundtrack is The Wrote and the Writ by Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit, the lyrics structure the fic. If you are looking for a happy fic that is also true to canon!Stucky, give this one a chance. It sure made me cry happy tears.
Black Dog
written by @leveragehunters, read by attolia | @untowardsnark
Status: chapter 10/20 podficced
Last updated: 14 February 2021
Comment: Magic AU with an amazing premise, gorgeously read
despite the threatening sky and shuddering earth (they remained)
written by @praximeter, read by AvidReaderLady | @avidreaderlady
Status: Chapter 11/20 podficced
Last updated: 6 February 2021
Comment: head the warnings for this one, new updates
The Long Road Begins At Home
written by owlet | @vmohlere, read by AvidReaderLady | @avidreaderlady
Status: Chapter 30/50 podficced
Last updated: 29 January 2021
Comment: A reading of the sequel to "This, You Protect". Yay! Beautifully read, new updates
Prince Charming
written by Brenda | @brendaonao3, read by @abovethesmokestacks
Status: 8/17 chapters podficced
Last updated: 10 January 2021
Comment: modern AU, bisexual!Bucky, wonderful Bucky voice, regularly updated
Scents and Sensibility: The Working Assassin's Guide to Supersoldier Seduction
written by @galwednesday, @silentwalrus1 and skellerbvvt, read by comrade_bucket
Status: 1/3 chapters podficced
Last updated: 28 December 2020
Comment: Clownfish ‘verse, there is a finished podfic of this fic available. This reading comes with a gorgeous voice, it is beautifully read, unsure if chapters 2 and 3 will be posted
Marvel Internet War
written by Lasgalendil, read by Ravin_Pods | @shadow-ravin
Status: 1/3 chapters podficced
Last updated: 28 August 2020
Comment: Exactly what it says in the summary: Bucky Barnes vs. The Internet, pov Peter Parker, beautiful swearing, reader intends to continue podfic
Dragging You Down
written by @araniaart and Kamiki, read by dance4thedead
Status: 11/27 chapters podficced
Last updated: 2 May 2020
Comment: gothic horror set in WWII, demon!Bucky, engaged reading
Two Colors: White and Gold
written by Carelica, read by @quietnighty
Status: 9/15 chapters podficced
Last updated: 15 April 2020
Comment: a fic like snow and red vines, beautiful writing, beautifully read
The Necrofloranomicon
written by leveragehunters, read by @akaihyou
Status: 10/12 chapters podficced
Last updated: 5 April 2020
Comment: Urban Fantasy AU with Necromancer Bucky, not updated in almost a year, flocked for registered AO3 users
If you know of any Stucky podfic WIPs that are currently being recorded, please send me an Ask.
Content Notes | Warnings: Alternative universe – canon divergence, CA:TWS canon divergence, Steve comes back different, period typical attitudes, canon typical violence, references to period typical homophobia, the fifties
Additional pairings: Peggy Carter/Gabe Jones
Summary:
“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.
Written Work: cascades.
Podfic Post: [podfic] cascades.
Additional Comments: This fic/podfic has become a Stucky classic in the last year; for me it is exemplary of what the best of fanfiction can be. Having said that: this fic reads like an original novel, and the podfic like an original audiobook – only so much better than anything published these days. I cannot say enough good things about the writing – the whole fic is brimming with poignant originality. The plot kept me on edge all through the 32 chapters, the characters are fleshed out and alive in ways that made me care deeply for canon characters like *gasp* Howard Stark or Jim Morita. For all that the fic/podfic is set in a complex canon divergent universe – Steve comes back in 1953, and Bucky is rescued from Hydra in 1958 – it fits into the Marvel universe in ways I never imagined but make perfect sense.
It is best to go into this podfic unspoiled but if you need convincing about the 1950s universe, let me say that yes, there is no Natasha and Sam, but you get Peggy and Gabe, who are wonderful, and you get the Howling Commandos, post-war, with full biographies and personalities. You get the Barnes family, and you get to see them interact with Steve and Bucky, post-war. I don’t think I will ever listen to Bucky seeing Winnie again without tears in my eyes. There is a supernatural element in this fic, or perhaps it is better to call it a philosophical aspect. It makes for some of the most fascinating parts of this fic – let yourself be surprised. :) And then there’s the Stucky. In this fic/podfic it is Steve who has been pining for Bucky all along, and cannot let himself believe that Bucky loves him back. Pears will have a whole new meaning after you listened to this. :)
@quietnighty‘s reading is flawless, especially the way she *owns* the characters’ voices – special shout-out to her crazed Red Skull, her understanding, warm Winnie, her brilliant Howard and always, her self-doubting, courageous Steve. At times it’s hard to believe this is only one person reading this fic. The music quietnighty chose to go with the fic has become my musical soundtrack of this world. (If you need more convincing please read @quietnighty‘s End Notes to her podfic on AO3.)
I’ve had this podfic on my player ever since @quietnighty posted it, it comforted me through my father’s final weeks and death, and I doubt I will take it off anytime soon. I know whole passages by heart. If you’re into Stucky, if you’re into podfic – and even if you’re not: read this fic, listen to this podfic!
i have a very very long car trip coming up, and i was hoping to have some podfic for the road - what are the longest podfics you know of? (besides ITHLYN which i have listened to multiple times, gosh it's incredible)
Hi! Thank you for your ask.
All podfics in the @stuckypodficarchive are tagged by length: Here you can choose podfics by their length.
For your trip, you may check out
cascades. (more than 15 hours)Aint No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) (14 hours and 26 minutes)or the your blue eyed boys series (comes to around 11 hours).
Content Notes | Warnings: Alternative Universe - Canon Divergence, Steve does not join SHIELD, canon typical violence, roadtrip, post-CATWS, memory loss, PTSD, midwestern gothic
Summary: In the dead of the night, a man pulls over for a hitchhiker.
Written Work: winter wheat sunflower peat
Podfic Post: [podfic] winter wheat sunflower peat
Additional Comments: This is a fic/podfic with an AU-canon divergence premise I have not seen very often: Steve never joined SHIELD, he never was on the Lemurian Star and he never fought the Winter Soldier on the helicarrier. This is roadtrip, recovery fic and Bucky and Steve falling in love all over again, all wrapped into one story. It’s funny and touching, devastating and hopeful. It’s one of the most original takes on Bucky coming back to Steve that I know. The title is a striking, complex metaphor for where Steve and Bucky are emotionally after CATWS. Try to go into this podfic unspoiled; it’s awesome to listen to it and realize more and more what is happening. The fic/podfic is mostly dialogue - gorgeous, mind-blowing dialogue, perfect for podficcing - but in the background there is a lot of unspoken and violent action. It really only struck me after I had finished listening to the podfic what it actually meant in this ‘verse that Steve had not joined SHIELD. @quietnighty‘s reading is brilliant. There is a moment early on when Bucky comes up with a random name for Steve (not knowing who he is), and Steve’s reaction to the name Bucky choses is intense - he’s barely able to speak, full of despair and hope at the same time, and Quietnight captures these conflicted emotions in one simple line of dialogue. Bucky has several PTSD episodes in the fic, and Quietnight’s reading is so expressive of Bucky’s sense of displacement, his feeling that “This world is not right”. The podfic comes with music, The National’s “Can’t you find a way”. The music and lyrics are incredibly fitting for the story (”There's a line that goes all the way from my childhood to you”). If you are looking for a podfic that will make you cry and laugh and keep thinking about for days, this is it.
You are the reason I found one of my favorite literary works, The Long Road - thank you !
Thank you! I’ve given up counting how many of the most amazing Stucky fics I discovered because there was a podfic of them. And The Long Road Begins At Home by Owlet is not even archived yet, as both podfics are still WIPS:
The Long Road Begins at Home, read by @avidreaderlady (15/50 ch. read)
The Long Road Begins at Home, read by @quietnighty (43/50 ch. read)
Summary: Steve and Sam are in the middle of nowhere, the absolute opposite of civilisation, just following a lead on Hydra and checking in to a cheap hotel and finding an awesome diner with great food and even better looking pie. Then Bucky Barnes turns up and ruins everything.
Written Work: You Just Had To Make It Weird
Podfic Post: [podfic] You Just Had To Make It Weird
Additional Comments: This fic/podfic features what is perhaps my favorite Captain America trope: Steve and Sam somewhere in the rural USA, looking for Hydra and/or Bucky respectively, ending up in a diner with great food and even better pies. :) This is a brilliant take on the scenario, told from Sam Wilson’s pov. You can study bear with me how to write humor in this fic: insert a pie-eating Bucky Barnes into a serious discussion of how to take out a Hydra lab and write Sam’s inner running commentary of the scene. You get @quietnighty, the “goddess of podficcing characters who talk with their mouths full” (quote by @tipsyxkitty), voicing unforgettable expressions such as, “It's like an angel just came in my mouth.” You are left with an overpowering graving for caramel tart. There is a surprise appearance of a character I never expecting to show up. This fic/podfic is at times violent and funny, serious and sexy, it comes filled with sugar and snark. I’ve listened to it so often, and still laugh out loud.
Content Notes | Warnings: psychological and medical trauma, post-CATWS
Summary: You take the arm off four days later.
Written Work: through smoke, solid ground
Podfic Post: [podfic] through smoke, solid ground
Additional Comments: This fic/podfic tells the story of Bucky coming in and recovering after the events of CA:TWS. It is incredibly well structure, framing the fic with Bucky taking the bionic arm off at the beginning and putting a newly built arm on, almost at the end. The fic is written in second person, a pov choice that underlines Bucky’s dehumanized state of mind, without memories and thus without identity. There is crucial moment in the fic when Bucky can finally think “Here I am” – the “I” is startlingly beautiful against the back-drop of the “you” of the second person narrator. The podfic emphasizes this moment even more, with underlaid music. This is such an unusual recovery fic/podfic – the way it describes Bucky’s intimate relationship to his bionic arm; the different ways Sam, Clint, Lucky, Natasha, Tony, Steve help Bucky in his recovery. Natasha tells Bucky a fairy-tale; Clint teaches him how to sign his name one-handed. Quietnight’s reading is deliberately flat at places, to express Bucky’s state of mind. It’s an intense, amazing podfic that I’ve listened to again and again and always discovered new nuances, both in the fic and the reading of it.
