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Tumblr recs 2015
Periodically, I attempt to rec things when I sort and back up my fic bookmarks at the end of the month. This is my latest effort – and hey, only 11 days late! *facepalm* Without further self-recrimination, my top five stories I read in September:
The Secrets of the Lonely Mountain by Lisafer (LOTR, Legolas/Gimli)
Legolas is sent to Erebor after the War of the Ring, where he’s given the chance to meet up with Gimli again.
A+ PINING LIKE ONLY A FOREST ELF CAN. Seriously though, there is also some excellent dwarvish (dwarfish? @emilyenrose, help) worldbuilding re:Erebor, and Legolas and Gimli’s friendship is portrayed so steadily and affectionately that the romance just sort of naturally follows.
we travel without seatbelts on by victoria_p/@cacchieressa (Avengers/Veronica Mars, gen)
In which Bucky Barnes discovers that Steve Rogers is not the only tiny blonde firebrand who felt betrayed by SHIELD.
Things I never knew how much I needed: the Mars family taking in Bucky and also fighting crime HYDRA. Very believable way to insert Veronica into the MCU by making her as SHIELD agent, top-notch VM banter, good use of the Neptune ensemble, and pancakes. <3
Devil’s Own by gaelicspirit (Daredevil, gen)
Set post S1. Daredevil may be the Man Without Fear, but Matt Murdock is terrified. Especially when the law isn’t enough and Daredevil can’t save everyone. It’s said that there is someone in Hell’s Kitchen who will hear a cry for help, but what if the person calling out is Matt? Who saves him when Daredevil can’t?
Okay, the author’s summary is terrible, but: Matt and Foggy take a case involving Matt’s old orphanage, St. Agnes, and a lot of emotional baggage gets stirred up. Also, Daredevil shit happens! (…okay, maybe *my* summary is terrible). ANYWAY. As I told the author, this story feels like it got pulled out of a six-episode arc of the show, and included many things I love: the whole ensemble (including Father Lantom!), Matt getting beat up physically and emotionally, plot, found-family feels, and action. \o/
The One Where They’re Stars on HGTV by @earlgreytea68 (Inception, Arthur/Eames)
Have you ever seen “Love It or List It”? In which Arthur is the real estate agent and Eames is the designer.
And then in the sequel, they do a guest run as celebrity judges on a design show, wherein things get ridiculous. The characters are so very AU it might as well be orig fic, but it’s nearly 300K of genuinely delightful banter and fluff, so who cares? Aside from being hilarious and charming as fuck, the story has all the cozy, sweet, reliable appeal of a good reality show. A+ choice to curl up with in the fall weather.
Orbit by @primarybufferpanel (Mad Max, Max/Furiosa)
In which Max keeps returning to the Citadel and Furiosa, and slowly heals. Surely everyone in Mad Max fandom has already read this, but it’s SO GOOD. Long, patiently-drawn slow-build romances are my favorite, and when you pile amazeballs worldbuilding and emotional h/c on top of that, you have my sword. <3Max thought he’d never want to see the Citadel again. He doesn’t exactly have a habit of returning to places where he was held captive and tortured. He doesn’t have a habit of returning anywhere at all.
October recs
Yeahhh, two months in a row! I’m practically on a roll! This was a good month for plotty time travel and epic romance, so pull out your tissues and possibly something to draw diagrams on.
J’attendrai by Quasar (Rivers of London, Peter/Nightingale)
Probationary Constable Peter Grant met me for the first time when I walked up to him by the portico of the Actors’ Church on a freezing winter night and said, “Hello. What are you up to?” However, I first met Detective Sergeant Peter Grant when he jogged up to my doorstep on a mild autumn afternoon and said, “There you are, sir. It is you, isn’t it?”
Time travel epic romance the first! In which Peter keeps showing up to save Nightingale’s life over the years due to a spell gone wrong – except things get complicated. This story is lovely and long and twisty, and also a damn well-written Nightingale POV through the century, with his steady devotion and dry wit and bemusedly trying to understand how time paradoxes work via Harry Potter (thanks a lot, Peter).
Love is All You Need To Destroy Your Enemies by davetheshady (Dresden Files/Night Vale, Cecil/Carlos)
There are a few things that Carlos may have neglected to tell Cecil. Like his last name. Or how he hasn’t actually dated anyone since his junior year of high school. Or that he’s a wizard of the White Council and the regional commander of Wardens in the western United States and not, in fact, a scientist. You know. Minor details.
Time travel epic romance #2! In which Warden Carlos Ramirez from Dresden Files is also Carlos the Scientist from Night Vale due to time travel shenanigans. This monster of a story took me a couple of weeks to finish, but was delightful the whole way through, particularly the scientist OCs (esp Julie! <3) that the author created and the sheer tonnage of Cecil/Carlos adorable domesticity. It actually sticks very close-to-canon, using Cecil’s unreliable status as radio narrator to sneak in a ton of DF-related plot, but no apparent spoilers past Old Oak Doors, if you’re behind on Night Vale like I am.
The Surrender of James Hathaway by divingforstones (Lewis, Hobson/Lewis/Hathaway)
And then Robbie finds James’s head has suddenly returned to his shoulder, James’s face turned in so his expression is hidden from both of them. Ah, lad. He’s just in a right, silent state.
Long, patient, cozy threesome epic in which Laura boots Robbie out of his denial, and they both stealthily corral Hathaway into a functional relationship. There isn’t enough well-written Laura POV in this fandom, and this is a particularly good example of why there should be a million more.
The World of Women by seperis (Bourne movies, Jason/Marie)
“You never watch the women.”
I can’t believe I hadn’t read this before, because it’s amazing. Set between Bourne Identity and Supremacy, it follows Marie as she learns to live on the run and how to fight, while she and Jason fall even more in love. Necessarily bittersweet, it’s also so achingly romantic I’m tearing up a little just writing this damn rec. *sniffs* Go on, read it. Shoo.
Dawn by bigsunglasses (The Goblin Emperor, gen)
Five times Vedero Drazhin danced, before and after her world changed forever.
Gorgeous character study of Vedero, featuring her friendship with Csethiro, that absolutely nails the tone of the book.
Sparring Lessons by @fuckyeahisawthat (Mad Max, gen)
The new war girl is a great fighter, but she has one specific problem.
Excellent short story about the Ace training Furiosa out of her trauma-induced panic reactions in close combat. Like all good outsider POVs, there’s tons of emotional stuff going on with Furiosa that we can only guess at through Ace’s perspective, and the author manages to show both how fucked up the Citadel system is and the compassion and human relationships that still survive.
I also did a lot of bookmarking this month, so here’s a few older stories that deserve more love:
War-King Wounded by Irony_Rocks (Bourne movies, Aaron/Marta)
Aaron and Marta can’t breathe until they figure out the scope of the problem, and that means going to the source: Jason Bourne.
While I’m still hoping for someone to write a 30K epic where Aaron and Jason team up to take down their enemies, this is a fantastically written take on how they might get started that hits all the right character notes.
Wicked Ways by freaoscanlin (The 100, gen)
Mechanics and Engineering don’t get along for obvious reasons. Too bad there’s a pesky engineer determined to be Raven’s friend. Some bonding moments with Raven and Wick on the Ark.
Oh my god yes, this is perfect backstory for Raven and Wick. The Rube Goldberg machine! The terrible, beautiful pickup lines! The trash-talking but supportive friendship! Headcanon accepted.
…duly presented halfway through December, naturally. (I haven’t finished my Yuletide fic yet, what do you want from me? Yes, I am procrastinating, shh.)
Also I barely saved anything in November, due to a heavy streak of re-reading. This is gonna be a short one. First three are new, last two are old ones I bookmarked.
First Impressions by potentiality_26 (Longmire, Henry/Walt)
Walt has had worse meals than this one. He just can’t think of them right now, for a variety of reasons.
In which Walt meets Cady’s new boyfriend and his family – and brings Henry along as his date, of course. A mashup of book and TV canon, but so in character that there’s no confusion. One of the great joys of the show is their relationship, and the way this fic portrays their well-aged, exasperated-fond broccoli delights me.
Mark Watney and Starfleet headcanons by @bonesbuckleup (The Martian/Star Trek, gen)
Let’s talk about the older Mark Watney being one of the founding members of Starfleet.
UGH SHEER DELIGHT. Tumblr-ficcy, obvs, but the crossover makes so much sense! And I have a lot of feels about the human and scientific legacy of Mark getting passed on to these people who share his love of both exploration and their crew-family. My only complaint is that it’s so short.
Dear Fellow Traveller by absinthespoons (Due South, Fraser/Ray)
Fraser & Kowalski are a beautiful fairytale romance filled with heroics and insecurity and a bajillion campfires, fight me.
A vid! A lovely vid with a lovely song that made me feel a lot of feels about these two beautiful idiots riding off into the Canadian wilderness.
Your Highnessness by @shadydave (Jupiter Ascending/Guardians of the Galaxy, gen)
Later on – usually whenever they’re in the middle of a firefight or hiding from security forces in the ventilation ducts of a Regenex plant or challenging Titus Abraxas to a dance-off – Peter kicks himself for not thinking a little harder about the way life reflects art, because they accidentally began helping space royalty start the rebellion and he did not sign on for this job.
In which Jupiter drinks Peter under the table to win a covert ride into Abrasax territory. Rollicking, cracky fun, A+ in-character banter, and more Star Wars jokes than you can shake a stick at.
Four Things that Weren’t Adequately Covered in Mulan’s R.A. Training by NaomiK (Disney, gen)
One of the many gems to come out of Yuletide, and a golden example of how to modern-AU a thing.Mulan is a Resident Assistant on a dormitory floor at a college. Gosh, some of the students on her floor come from really screwed-up families.
Booting these out the door before January is over! It accidentally turned into the Awesome Ladies Gen edition plus some token Star Wars dudes, but I don’t think anyone will mind.
Qui Audet Adipiscitur by @leupagus (Miss Fisher, gen)
“JANE - - HOPE ALL IS WELL HOW ARE YOUR EXAMS GOING QUERY PLEASE RETURN TO MELBOURNE ON TONIGHT’S TRAIN 8:30 PM MISS FISHER ARRESTED FOR MURDER HUGH SENDS LOVE AS DOES MR B - - DOT”
This is so goooood! It’s Jane on the verge of adulthood, wielding her foster family’s lessons in life (lines like And now she had his anger, which Miss Fisher always said was better than respect, anyhow made me go eeeee!) to help Miss Fisher and then figuring out her own path, all under the shadow of impending war with Germany. The ending is just – !!!! I want a new TV series all about it.
Jane Foster and the Impossible Library by @niobiumao3 (MCU, gen + background Jane/Thor)
Jane, Darcy, and Thor find a peculiar library, and their afternoon takes a turn for the bizarre.
In which the ladies save the day with SCIENCE and BOOKS. As the author says, the magic is more 616 than MCU, but it’s so delightful, who cares. Niobium writes Jane as she deserves to be written, as such a fierce nerd badass; she needs a million more adventures like this.
No other exile by @queerly-it-is (Star Wars, gen + background Finn/Poe)
By the time Phasma regains consciousness, she’s a prisoner. They remove the locator as soon as they have her armour, which she’d expected. They also find the secondary one, which impresses her a little more. Then they put her in a cell, restrained in a chair, hands fixed to a bare metal table and feet secured to the chair legs, the chair itself immovable on the floor.
For the Resistance, it’s bordering on professional.
Screw Kylo Ben, I want a Phasma redemption arc. This one is my favorite so far, with a scathing Phasma voice and a suitably ruthless perspective.
We Can Work Out the Rest by @onethingconstant (MCU/Jessica Jones, gen)
Jessica Jones gets a new client. One who comes with a metal arm, a duffel bag full of cash, and a surprising willingness to believe in the possibility of mind control. Oh, and a lot of questions about Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.
It’s always a delight to find a Jessica POV that’s the right amount of perceptive and I’m-not-caring-you’re-caring (spoilers: she totally cares), and the author pairs it with their own experience in investigative journalism AND a Bucky crossover for a really great ride. Pulls no punches (the opening PI job that lead Jess to Bucky is quietly disturbing) yet oddly sweet in that very Jessica Jones way. There’s now a sequel, which is much less original but still a fun ‘superheroes get drunk together’ story.
Occupational Safety by @shadydave (Star Wars, gen)
“Like they’re going to make sure no one ever falls down the thermal exhaust shaft.”
Hilarious, cracky action piece in which Finn and Poe go on a mission together, and the importance of grappling hooks is not to be underestimated. I adore the banter, and how the author writes Poe as a complete adrenaline junkie, bless his heart.
Five Things Rey Tried for the First Time by badlance (Star Wars, gen)
I’ve read a lot of stories having feels about Rey and her harsh life on Jakku, but this one is particularly well-observed in its details. It’s a lovely balance of (mostly emotional) h/c and Rey being utterly pragmatic about things while everyone around her is clearly like NO WAIT HAVE MORE COOKIES AND POSSIBLY A HUG.Rey missed a lot, growing up on Jakku.