Unfit for Society Recs

Avengers

Note: All stories are spoiler-free for Cap 2!

And we are remade by biggrstaffbunch
And the thing is. Steve crashed and Bucky killed, but they're not trapped in ice or a weapon anymore, they're alive, they're alive and Bucky knows that Steve can't look at that life as anything other than a gift.

For Bucky, it will take a long while yet to recalibrate his mind to view life as anything more than fragile. Easily expended. Meditative, exquisitely melancholy look at Steve and Bucky in the 21st century.

April, 1939 by what_alchemy
Super hot pre-war Steve/Bucky rimming.

Family is (Mostly) for Children by igrockspock
Maria Hill doesn't trust Natasha Romanoff. Natasha understands that. This is a really sharp look at Natasha's early days with SHIELD.

Ghost Towns by enigma731
Later, they tell Clint that they did brain scans the day they brought Natasha in. She consented to it, or at least didn't physically resist the procedure, according to the records. The results are an aberration, unlike anything even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best scientists have ever seen before. Clint doesn't recognize half of the words in the report he's given, but he knows enough to understand that there are signs of chemical tampering in her brain, of the pathways that form her memories being repeatedly wired and rewired again. The doctors aren't sure what that means for her future, whether it's possible for damage like this to repair itself. Heartbreaking, melancholy look at Natasha's first few months at SHIELD through Clint's eyes.

Introduction to Western Literature by igrockspock
In the beginning, books and reading are the only things Natasha has in common with the rest of SHIELD. Natasha learns to fit into her new life through books. Oh, Natasha. <3

The Last Heretics by Brenda
"You know, it's weird. In some way, I think I know what you must've felt back when we were growing up, when everyone was trying to bully you around, tell you what to do. But you never gave in. No matter what, you never let the bastards beat you down."

Steve nudged at Bucky's shoulder with his own. "Because I always had you by my side."

"Nah, I think you'd have still survived without me. You were destined for greatness."

"Only because I had you as an example," Steve said, and nuzzled Bucky's jaw. "The important thing is we survived." Lovely Steve/Bucky reunion sex.

listen to your heart (but don't say goodbye to me) by CinnamonCake
Lovely and hot Steve/Bucky Hades/Persephone AU.

loneliness, loneliness (is such a waste of time) by summerhall
Bucky washes up on Kate's shore (that is not just a metaphor). Raggedy former sidekicks finding each other! <3

Off by a Thousand Miles by lanyon
Bucky's a cop, Steve owns a flower shop. The course of true love never did run smooth, even without superheroics or Nazis.

Old Souls in a New World by igrockspock
Sweet and slow Steve/Natasha.

Party of Six by Niobium
Team-building via food. Lovely.

The Reconstruction of the Mind by Niobium
Really wonderful story about Jane and SCIENCE and also Thor, and how history has treated women scientists. It made me a little teary at the end. <3

Relics by Brenda
Bucky shifts. Their knees brush under the tiny table. Steve desperately tries not to read too much into it. "Have you thought about what might happen if I never get myself back completely?"

More than once, but Steve knows better than to admit it. Not like it matters. He'd lost Bucky once already. Losing him again just isn't an option. Not as long as he's got breath in his body, and not even then. "No one's asking you to go back and try to be who you used to be. But it's nice to remember where you come from." Lovely, melancholy Steve/Bucky reunion.

spinning as she sprawls by haipollai
Really lovely, melancholy look at a race-bent Bucky.

A Steadfast Heart by fmo
Sleeping Beauty AU where Bucky doesn't become the Winter Soldier but he doesn't age either, so he's there when they find Steve in the ice. Lovely.

When the Sun Sets on Dark Silhouettes by caughtinanocean
AU where Steve and Bucky are CIA agents. Bucky gets captured, and Steve races against the clock to get him back. Lovely, and it's nice to see how the other characters fit into this AU as well.

you're the fireworks flyin' on the fourth of july by IamShadow21
Super hot Steve/Bucky with some light D/s overtones.

~*~

Arrow

non-definitive acts by kittu9
Oliver thought about it, which he hated doing—not that he didn't ever think, exactly. Oliver thought about most things a great deal; Diggle called it "brooding," and he wasn't wrong. Oliver just didn't like to think about Felicity, and about what she signified, because that was a loaded gun he was not yet ready to fire. Not thinking about her was like keeping his index finger set alongside the trigger instead of upon it, like stringing the bow but never nocking the arrow. Lovely, melancholy look at Oliver (not) dealing with the changes in Team Arrow and his relationship with Felicity.

One night stands and vanilla cupcakes by redtoes
Felicity bakes when she's happy. Adorable Oliver/Felicity with some quality Diggle, plus cupcakes. (some dialogue punctuation issues a beta would fix.)

A Stain Covers Your Heart by always_a_queen
AU where Felicity is the one injected with the mirakuru instead of Roy. Nicely done, with a palpable sense of dread and tension.

~*~

Rivers of London

Shoring up the Walls by Philomytha
Peter and Nightingale in the aftermath of Broken Homes. Melancholy and true. (spoilers, obv.)

Zombies of Wimbledon by Philomytha
Nightingale and Peter deal with zombies. They're not quite what Peter expected. Meditative little casefile that takes place after Broken Homes, but touches only tangentially on those events.

~*~