Ain't No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down)
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Ain't No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) |
| Author(s): | Spitandvinegar |
| Date(s): | 2015-2016 |
| Length: | 107,076 words |
| Genre(s): | Slash |
| Fandom(s): | Marvel Universe |
| Relationship(s): | Steve/Bucky |
| External Links: | AO3 |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Ain't No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) is a Marvel Steve/Bucky explicit fic by Spitandvinegar.
It has ten chapters (107,076 words). As of July 2019, it had 204,903 hits, 4,918 bookmarks, 9,522 kudos, and 2,574 comments on Archive of Our Own.
Academic Reaction
This fic was extensively quoted and discussed in an article in Transformative Works and Cultures v. 30 (September 2019) by Erica Lyn Massey called "Borderland literature, female pleasure, and the slash fic phenomenon."
Aside from witty dialogue and plain good writing, according to the comments posted on each chapter, readers find the story compelling because it represents two people dealing with trauma in every aspect of their life—including sex. Spitandvinegar documents the minutia of recovery, Steve and Bucky's progress, and setbacks. She follows her characters' struggles with love and lust, self-doubt, and repression. This is part of what makes the work so compelling for readership and subversive in construction. In taking two of the most hypermasculine figures in popular culture and writing not only about the deep and abiding love they have for each other but also their struggles to be intimate because of their environments and histories, Spitandvinegar addresses two topics that remain transgressive in widely produced narratives: homosexual intimacy between equally masculine partners and realistic portrayals of the struggle that queer individuals often have with issues of gender, religion, and trauma. In being a woman producing this narrative not as original content but as a transformative work of a genre that usually opposes such narratives, she introduces a third transgression—the one we've discussed at length—by the very means of the story's construction. Here, Spitandvinegar takes up the work of a threshold person, someone who, according to Anzaldúa, straddles the divide between a binary and creates within this divide a catalyst for representation or change (1987).
In Ain't No Grave, Spitandvinegar addresses trauma recovery on an entirely level playing field. Neither Steve nor Bucky hold primary power in their relationship. They both suffer from many of the common effects of PTSD: panic attacks, flashbacks, nightmares, disassociation, and substance abuse, while Bucky deals with ongoing complications from a TBI: memory problems, time loss, ticking, stuttering, and migraines. Spitandvinegar's handling of both the in-text depictions of trauma recovery and her conversations with readers about their reactions to and appreciation of the characters' struggles reflects Anzaldúa's assertions about the ability of borderlands storytellers to reconstruct trauma in new forms in order to help others and themselves grapple with trauma they personally have experienced. Anzaldúa asserts that these creators can locate themselves in a world between where they can be a healing voice to their listeners, or, in this case, readers (1987). Not only does Spitandvinegar provide an accurate and well-researched portrayal of PTSD and TBI recovery, where neither character is demonized nor turned into a caretaking martyr, she also incorporates sexual and gender exploration into the recovery narrative—something many readers praised in their comments.
Fan Reactions and Reviews
a beautiful, long af Stucky fic is on Ao3 with fluff, smut, and angst. Go read it now.[1]
This fic manages to both deal with really hard stuff and be incredibly funny. Loved it![2]
This fic is another legendary fic in the Stucky fandom. It explores Bucky's brainwashing and impacts in a new and slightly darker light, which makes the fic that much more emotional. The writing has a certain rhythm to it which works with the plot.[3]
HOLY SHIT this is so good. This is one of those fics that makes you look at your current headcanons of a character and reevaluate them and then throw them overboard laughing hysterically.
The BANTER! The way this author writers Sam Wilson is pure magic! Daredevil makes a cameo and holy shit I think I need to watch that show again. Even the OCs (Those Goddamn Kids) are golden. I want approximately one million pages of this and then some, it’s just that insanely good. Read this, read it now, I don’t even care if you’re a stucky fan, this one transcends fandoms.[4]
Alright, buckle up friends, because this is the end-all, be-all of my favorite stucky fics. I have reread it probably four or five times in the four years I’ve been in this fandom, and it hits me just as hard every single time. This is canon-divergent post-WS, where Bucky’s come-down from his Hydra conditioning is accompanied by a drug addiction and two smart-mouthed kids he rescued from the streets. Steve literally loves nothing more than he loves Bucky and he is determined to bring Bucky home, kids included. There is just – so much I love about this story. I can’t possibly fit it all into a little blurb. But this is my favorite stucky fic, hands-down. It’s a must-read if you can handle the incredibly sensitive topics it covers, which means it’s not for everyone. But it has my highest seal of approval.[5]
which you should absolutely read if you love character development and emotional rollercoasters that end well.[7]
There is SO much love in this story, of so many different varieties, love that feels truthful and mean and compassionate and physical and ugly and real. I almost don’t want to tell you anything specific about it because I didn’t know anything going in and that really did it for me. But I will say that the relationships – of every kind, from the most peripheral side characters to the central romance – are SO!!! GREAT!!!! I am particularly over the moon about this story’s SAM, who is SO funny and sexy and true to character and, while integral to and concerned about the lives of Steve & Bucky, also has HIS OWN SHIT GOING ON. [8]
A really inventive take on Recovering!Bucky, with a super rich backstory and a daring characterization.[9]
This fic is BANANAS and I mean that in the greatest way possible. It’s unlike any Stucky post-CATWS fic I’ve ever read. Bucky is taking his revenge against Hydra, whose treatment turned him into a heroin addict. Somehow he ends up taking care of two orphans off the street, who are slowly turning him human again... And then Steve finds him. I laughed, I cried, I silently screamed into my hands.[10]
For Series
MCU, Stucky, focused on how Bucky sort of recovers post-Hydra & how he, Steve, and a couple of stray kids make a life together. Funny, smart, heartbreaking, hopeful, and you will never get "John the Revelator" out of your head again. [11]
Fanworks Inspired by this Story
Podfic
- Podfic by GhostCwtch
Fanfiction
- How Empty They All Seemed Without You by Lasgalendil
Fanart
- Of the Night Time by turn_turn_turn
- Art by SarahBrumbles
- Book cover by KatyObsesses
- Cover art by Amiril
- Where do you want my hands? by alby_mangroves
References
- ^ "July 18, 2018, Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-02-01.
- ^ "May 20, 2016 at epicstuckyficrecs". Archived from the original on 2022-02-01.
- ^ Reviews on Goodread
- ^ "December 8, 2015 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-02-01.
- ^ "Ria's Top 10 Canon-verse Fics". Archived from the original on 2022-02-01.
- ^ "July 30, 2018 Tweet". Archived from the original on 2022-02-01.
- ^ "Panel Recap: Refill Your Hearts: Fandom Librarians Recommend Stories to Get You Through the Bad Times". Archived from the original on 2022-02-01.
- ^ "June 10, 2016 Blog post". Archived from the original on 2022-02-01.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "The Rec Center #16". Archived from the original on 2024-07-20.
- ^ comment by ancientreader on International Fanworks Day Feedback Fest 2022