To memory now I can't recall

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Fanfiction
Title: to memory now I can't recall
Author(s): Etharei
Date(s): 2014
Length: 285,262 words
Genre: Slash, Time Travel
Fandom: MCU, Captain America Movieverse
External Links: AO3

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to memory now I can't recall is a MCU, Steve/Bucky story by Etharei. It was written for the 2014 Steve/Bucky Big Bang. As of June 2022, it has over 285,000 hits, 13,900 kudos, 6100 bookmarks, and 1400 comments.

Summary

While on a mission storming a HYDRA facility, James Buchanan Barnes touches one of the many strange alien devices collected by the Red Skull. He does this, in fact, twice— in the past, and in the future.

Next thing he knows, Bucky Barnes is opening his eyes in the 21st century, which is full of great gadgets and coffee, and at least includes his old pal Steve. (And, inexplicably, a different Stark.) Meanwhile, the Winter Soldier finds himself in the middle of World War Two, helping Captain America hunt down HYDRA (which is at least familiar), pretending to be Bucky Barnes (which is not), and figuring out the very noisy group of soldiers who call themselves the Howling Commandos.

Reactions and Reviews

First of all, here’s etharei’s hugely ambitious, whopping +100k time travel fic of epic scope with Avengers and Howling Commandos and Bucky in the present and the Winter Soldier in the past and Peggy being awesome in all timelines. What more could you want? All her hard work speaks for itself.[1]

This fic was so fucking good. I loved it!!!

This was truly a time travel fic done right. It was well thought-out and it shows, with all the little intricacies of the past and future mingling together.

Future Steve and past Bucky was especially painful of course. But I love how both Bucky’s had something to gain from this Tale :)[2]

Recommending To Memory Now I Can’t Recall, by Etharei, wherein a recovering WS!Bucky who’s joined the Avengers finds an Asgardian doohickey while on a mission and swaps places with his WWII self. Expect a slightly different take on Shrunkyclunks, lots of identity porn on WS!Bucky’s side, WWII!Bucky enjoying the future, Peggy Carter being awesome, angst, and a beautiful, happy ending.[3]

Okay, so I almost didn’t finish this fic because I was so confused in the beginning about what was happening in the story. The Winter Soldier without his memories makes the story very hard to understand and get into, but you will be so very very happy if you just push through the beginning. The fic is a time travel story where bucky from the past is switched with the Winter Soldier. It is awesome to read about how the Winter Soldier would handle being in WWII fighting with Captain America and the Howling Commandos. Also, seeing Bucky in the future (where being gay is much more accepted then WWII time, even if not fully) is great! Read this fic. I don’t care if this is the only fic that gets read from all of the reviews that I have made, this one needs to be read.[4]

This is my one of my absolute favorite longfics in this fandom. It has everything: recovering!Bucky, time travel, tragic comparisons of Bucky’s past and current self, somewhat of a twist on outsider POV (in a weird way), and it is beautifully written and plotted.[5]

This my all-time-favorite Avengers fic!!!! IT IS SO FRICKIN GOOD!!!!!!!!! I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!! (PS: It is a Stucky fic). God the foreshadowing was just great. I found all the character dynamics to be great!! I also loved how it showed the differences between modern Steve and WW2 Steve. How you could see how he’s matured and changed. God, it is just such a good fic! Highly, Highly, Highly recommend it![6]

WS Bucky is extremely badass in this fic. But also it’s like. So damn adorable??? Bucky rediscovering himself. Acceptance and forgiveness. Going both directions, past and future.[7]

Guys GUYS!!! You HAVE to read this!! It’s brilliant!!! Omg!!! Soooooooooooo freaking good!!! I read it in just one sitting. It has it all! Time travelling, telling the story in both timelines -amazingly executed. A lot of angst, but also many laughs and heart-warming fluffy fluff. And of course, sizzling smut, which it couldn’t be left out 😏😏 Seriously, if you ship Stucky, this is a MUST READ![8]

It has both pre-TWS Bucky and post-TWS Bucky all in one fic. So, if you’re like me who likes both versions of Bucky, this fic is very satisfying because you don’t have to choose. It also has elements of the body-switching trope (although they don’t switch bodies) that I like–having to pretend you’re somebody else to keep the secret and being forced to live in someone else’s shoes and see things from a different perspective. The past and future Buckys are forced into a time and place totally foreign to them and meet people they never would’ve otherwise (including Steve who, like Bucky, isn’t exactly the same person in the past as he is in the future, although his differences are a lot more subtle).

I loved this fic so much that I just wanted it to keep going. I did feel like it could’ve spent a little more time on the aftermath in the future after they switch back, but it ends in a good enough place.

So, if you like Stucky, go read this fic![9]

When I bookmarked the fic, I noted that it was one of the best-plotted time travel fics I'd encountered, with stuff going on in both timelines very neatly woven together.[10]

I love time-travel and fish-out-of-water tales. Maybe that's one reason Bucky and Captain America are such favorites. This is a truly original, engrossing time travel story. Even in canon Steve and Bucky are time travelers of a sort so the genre works particularly well in this universe. Don't miss this one.[11]

Further Reading

References

  1. ^ "Dec 6, 2014 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-06-25.
  2. ^ "July 26, 2019 post to epicstuckyficrecs". Archived from the original on 2022-06-25.
  3. ^ "March 20, 2020 post to The Stucky Library". Archived from the original on 2022-06-25.
  4. ^ "Feb 25, 2019 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-06-25.
  5. ^ "Any stucky classics I can read. I am new to the fandom n all., 2018 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-06-25.
  6. ^ "Individual Rec– Post CA:TWS Time Travel Fic, Sept 26, 2021 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-06-25.
  7. ^ "April 5, 2022 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-06-25.
  8. ^ "Jan 9, 2017 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-06-25.
  9. ^ "Feb 1, 2015 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-06-25.
  10. ^ Anon comment on fail_fandomanon, August 24, 2018
  11. ^ Comment by Fictitious on International Fanworks Day Feedback Fest 2022
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