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Tumblr recs 2016
Procrastinating, as usual, but enjoy! (Almost) everything is Star Wars, and…okay, much of it hurts. :)
STAR WARS
to the sky without wings by @leupagus (Luke/Poe)
Poe dreams of a blue-green tree.
Look at that pairing. Yes, that’s right. Now go read the fic. I don’t care if you’re going ‘wtf, Katie, why’, I don’t care if May-December romances aren’t your thing, this story is the best thing I’ve read in Star Wars fandom ever (and I’m including Timothy Zahn in that, which given my love of Mara Jade is HIGH FUCKING PRAISE) and my favorite thing @leupagus has written. It’s 81K of perfect Poe backstory, with grief and joy and growing up and terrible seduction attempts and action and devotion and hard choices. Gus tells an absolutely gutting version of how the OT trio falls apart and how the Resistance is born, and the amazing, epic romance between Luke and Poe is AGONY and WONDERFUL and STUNNING. And it’s also hella funny, because it’s Gus, and if she isn’t making you laugh through your tears she can’t properly feed off your soul. :D
Anyway, I know I’ve been talking about it for months now and reblogging all the shiny fanart, but in case anyone hasn’t read it yet, GO READ IT. No regrets. I promise.
Song for a fifth child by @deputychairman (Leia/Han, Finn/Poe)
Her daily life doesn’t change when Han dies.
Jesus, bring tissues for this one. It’s a stunning portrait of Leia grieving, with just enough joy and some Poe h/c to keep it from being too devastating. Really layered and lovely.
in this twilight by mardia (Rey/Finn/Poe)
“Oh, you two haven’t met yet, have you?” Finn asks. “Poe, this is Rey. Rey, this is–”
“Poe Dameron,” Rey finishes. “We’ve met before, and you’ve already told me about him, Finn.” He’d talked about Poe Dameron in literally every single holocall they’d had in the past few months.
Poe laughs. “Not nearly as much as he’s told me about you, I’d bet.”
The plot is pretty typical Rey-returns-with-Luke, but it’s elevated by a fantastic Rey POV. She’s prickly because she cares so much, and really bad at her own emotions, and just wonderful. I like that the author didn’t try to push things too far at the end; it’s just right.
Stars To Guide You Home by sholio (Rey gen)
Rey gets migraines. Back in the desert she used to just put up with them.
My feelings about this story, ya’ll, let me show you them. Just a perfect bit of h/c with a spot-on Rey, great backstory paired with her new friendships with Finn and Poe, and Luke Skywalker being an awkward sweetheart (as is right and proper).
Festival by @madamebadger (Rey/Finn/Poe)
The most notable holidays in the Resistance, ironically, aren’t from a planet at all–or they were, but it’s a planet that was turned to dust and nothing before Rey was even born.
In which they celebrate an old Alderaanian holiday. Mostly gen, but a neatly turned out look at the diversity of the Resistance, and how it doesn’t make them any less able to pull together as a weird pseudo-family.
MAD MAX
untitled babyfic by @freshhexes (Max/Furiosa)
Max’s complete failure to cope when Furiosa gets unexpectedly pregnant is just…heartbreakingly perfect, as is the fallout.He knows before she does.
February recs
The Hoth Affair by ester_inc (Star Wars, Finn/Poe)
Getting stranded on an ice planet with Finn after picking a fight with First Order scout vessels is not what Poe expected when he volunteered to do a supply run. On Hoth, a few things (okay, a lot of things) go wrong, and a couple of things go right. Eventually.
There just aren’t enough Space Adventures in this fandom yet, and this one has h/c and good character voices and Finn being Not Impressed that Poe has crashed them on yet another planet. I particularly like this Poe, who’s smart and dedicated and compassionate, but also reckless and flawed and horrible at feelings.
Flares by @skywalkcrs (Star Wars, vid)
A Luke Skywalker tribute
JFC, I keep compulsively watching this and having EVEN MORE feelings about Luke Skywalker somehow, please come join me in my pit of sadness.
Weak Spot by @fuckyeahisawthat (Mad Max, Max/Furiosa)
A scavenging run takes a dangerous turn when Max and Furiosa get taken prisoner.
Heed the warnings, this one’s pretty graphic. But it’s also chock full of my two faves being fierce and competent, damaged but holding their shit together, and mutually breaking out of separate rooms under extreme duress. Everything I love!
Penetration Testing by Toft (Person of Interest, Finch/Reese)
The CIA wants to know what Harold Wren is building for Nathan Ingram, so they set a honey trap. They bait it with John Reese.
I haven’t watched since late S3, but wow, how did I forget how beautifully weird these two are about each other? Great premise for an accessible pre-canon AU, funny and perfectly in character, with lines like Mark scowls over the paired phone, while John tries not to feel special that he gets his very own dedicated Blackberry reminding me of how Reese and Finch’s very special relationship worked. Plus, occasional breaks to punch me in the face with Reese feels, as is right and proper.
The Stars Between Us by @flamebyrd (The Hobbit movies, Kili/Tauriel)
Tauriel tries to adjust to her new life in Dale - helping the Healer, teaching Bard’s children, fighting the strange creatures that are departing Mirkwood, and dealing with the sudden reappearance of Kili in her life. Being a part of the world is complicated.
Unexpectedly lovely AU that’s largely a gen story about Tauriel finding a place and mentoring Bard’s daughters and being a quiet badass, and Kili being just a part of that journey for her. I’d forgotten what a delightfully awkward turtle Tauriel was when written well; it’s so good for me. @cortue, I think you’ll like this one.
Ouroboros by bedlamsbard (Star Wars prequels, Anakin/Padme/Obi-Wan)
Fair warning: reading this fic (400K+, latest story is complete but series still a WIP; yes I made many bad choices starting this at 11pm) will eat your life for at least two days, probably more if you have a job or some nonsense like that. WORTH IT. It’s an epic AU with time-and-interdimensional travel, starting with Clone Wars-era Anakin getting sucked in our timeline post-ESB; the author takes their time and follows through with how Anakin seeing the other timeline affects the characters and the worlds themselves, and how his absence changed things in his own timeline. There’s some hella detailed world-building, and I’m now completely sold on this OT3 so help me, and I REALLY REALLY NEED THE NEXT STORY C’MON ALREADY.Considering that he had picked up what was probably a Sith artifact, promptly passed out in the middle of a war zone, and apparently woken up twenty years in the future with Obi-Wan having taken up residence in his head, Anakin thought he was entitled to have a few questions.
March recs
Lifeline by dance_across (Deadpool, Wade/Vanessa)
Wade and Vanessa have a Real Adult Conversation. With nudity!
The post-credits coda everyone needed. Perfect character voices are perfect.
to memory now I can’t recall by Etharei (MCU, Steve/Bucky)
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.
I can’t BELIEVE I hadn’t read this. It’s all the feels and identity issues you would expect from the premise, plus some amazing action sequences and general awesomeness. I’m probably the last person in fandom to read it, but I had to rec it.
The Fate of the Unnamed Pet by floss (Captive Prince, gen)
King Laurent said, “There is a child.”
“I see!” said Charls, who didn’t.
“His family are unable to care for him. He was brought here by my late uncle,” King Laurent said. “I would appreciate it if you would take him on as an apprentice.”
Yessss, amazing post-series story. Very sweet and fluffy, but with the darker issues dealt with subtlely. Also, Laurent and Damen’s cameos are HILARIOUS.
Reparatio by @astolat (Harry Potter, Harry/Draco)
Draco snorted. “I’m not reduced to penury. I want something considerably beyond money, and I rather think you’re the only one can give it to me.”
“You want the Invisibility Cloak,” Harry said, flatly. He’d half expected as much; it was the only thing he had that Draco could want—
“Don’t be stupid, Potter,” Draco said. “I want my reputation back.”
In which Harry fake-dates Draco in order to convince him to repair a magical artifact that pulled Hermione through a portal. I’m picky about fake-dating stories, but this was layered with competence porn and family feels and also some great actual porn.
Driving with the brakes on by @cacchieressa (Push, Nick/Cassie)
Nick discovers a way to help Cassie see more clearly. It’s a little sketchier than he’s comfortable with.
After watching Push again on a whim, I went on a reading binge and found this. It’s SO dirty-wrong-hot as hell, with some guilty pining to top it off. A+.
Fire, Measured By What Doesn’t Burn by Luna (12 Dancing Princesses, het)
I don’t know what it is about 12 Dancing Princesses, but that story always gets the best Yuletide fic. This one’s a lyrical, entrancing modernization that stuck with me for quite a while after reading.You dreamed about the war. You met the girl of your dreams.
April recs
A Series of Optical Illusions by @fahye (Miss Fisher, Jack/Phryne)
Miss Phryne Fisher sets a trap, throws a party, and reconciles her differences.
God, I am kicking myself for not reading this four months ago at Yuletide, because it is FANTASTIC. Set post-S3 in England, and while I hope we get that movie and more seasons of the show, even if we don’t then I will still have this fic. Everything you could want from a Phryne POV, plus a masquerade ball, catching a murderer, and a stunning beginning to Phryne and Jack’s relationship.
Empty Graves by @unpretty (DCU, gen)
Time travelers who plan to kill Superman never account for Martha Kent in their plans. She may not be the World’s Finest, but she’s a mother with a shotgun, and all told that might be scarier.
So I already reblogged this and flailed about Martha Kent saving the future by being a good mom (and also a good shot), but it’s up at AO3 now where you can leave comments and also read the hilarious fluffy sequel where Bruce and Diana show up for Christmas in Kansas. Amazing.
Introduction to Zero-Sum Anthropology by apocryphal (Teen Wolf, Derek/Stiles)I haven’t watched TW in ages, but the summary for this fic was too hilarious and (as it turned out) too damn accurate to resist. Adorable fluff and shenanigans, plus nice things happening to Derek Hale. What more could you ask for?
princesses and towers by feynites (fairytales, gen)
I love me a good modernized queer/feminist fairytale, and this one is excellent and creative.In fairy tales and fantasy, two types of people go in towers: princesses and wizards.
Peaceable Skills by @dsudis (MCU, gen)
He doesn’t steal, and that means he has to pay. To pay he has to work.
Dira is far too talented at ripping my heart out of my chest with Bucky Barnes feels. Short but quietly devastating look at Bucky before the events of Civil War.
Scheherezade Job episode tag by @theladyragnell (Leverage, gen/OT3)
By the time Eliot gets to Hardison’s place, there’s the sound of violin music floating out the window. Eliot stays on the street for a few minutes and listens. It’s a lot clumsier than it was in that concert hall, but that’s fine. It’s Hardison playing this time, for real.
This is a perfect little tag for The Scheherezade Job that I never knew I needed, dealing with the aftermath of Nate manipulating Hardison. Perfect little snapshot of the trio and their relationship.
Think of This as Solving Problems (That Should Never Have Occurred) by sineala (Marvel 616, Steve/Tony)
No one knows Tony is Iron Man. Then Tony gets amnesia, and literally no one knows Tony is Iron Man.
Identity porn AND amnesia!!! They had me at the summary, really, but then the story itself is beautifully executed. It made me very nostalgic for my early days in Steve/Tony fandom.
as we go along by scorchedtrees (Healer, canon pairings)
Missing moments set after the finale.
Okay, so this is really more of an opportunity to rec Healer, since the story is spoilery as hell for the show. If you too love stories about a super competent slightly amoral dude who is basically a Korean Eliot Spencer retrieval specialist/thief (except more flippy), who ends up falling in love with an idealistic rookie reporter while going undercover in her office For Reasons, while being aided by his crotchety middle-aged hacker lady partner (who schlumps around in her PJs and slippers knitting shit between hacks like any sane computer geek), and trying to figure out who is framing him and why they all have a tragic backstory in common with this gloriously manipulative yet charismatically idealistic famous reporter guy – well. It’s on Hulu, waiting for you. There’s found family feels liek whoa, identity porn, competence, lockpicking and short cons, parkour, and the usual deadly kdrama load of PINING and UST and AGONIZING FEELINGS. If you haven’t ever seen a kdrama, they are the motherlode of trope-tastic storytelling with pretty people crying all over the place followed by happy endings. Enjoy, then come back and read this collection of drabbles to cap off the series and its ensemble storylines perfectly.
Everything Old Is New Again by @siriaeve (MCU/Agent Carter, Steve/Peggy)
I am strangely obsessed with this AU. De-serumed Steve! Teaming up with Peggy vs SSR misogyny! Running around NYC doing spy things! I was so sad when I realized it was over and had to stop reading.So maybe a job as an SSR desk clerk wasn’t as glamorous as punching out Hitler more than two hundred times, but it still put a roof over Steve’s head and food on the table.
War, Children by Nonymos (MCU, Steve/Bucky)
After Bucky was released from the hospital, it only took him a couple of weeks to give up on himself. Difficult to believe in any kind of future when the simple act of staying alive was almost too big an effort.
Out the frosted window, across the street, there was a tiny homeless guy burrowing under an awning.
This AU is entirely made of feels, and I for one approve strongly. (Especially when they’re this well-written.)
Photo Booth by @copperbadge (MCU, Steve/Bucky)
Seventy years ago, Steve and Bucky had their picture taken.
Originally posted on Tumblr, this is just a perfect little triptych, and also somehow magically made me feel better about Bucky going into cryo. Thanks, Sam. <3
Fully Functional by @astolat (MCU, Tony/Rhodey)
“TONY I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD—”
In which Tony attempts to help Rhodey with his paralyzed nether regions, post-CACW. *dies laughing* Much like how I didn’t start to ship Tony/Pepper until after The Avengers, I walked out of Civil War going, “Yeah, okay, I could buy Tony/Rhodey happening now.” And then astolat knocked it out of the park, as usual.
do i tell you i love you or not (cause i can’t really guess what you want) by @notcaycepollard (MCU, Sam/Bucky)
Shampoo, he thinks. Conditioner.
The kind of hair that’s nice to touch, he hears Sam say again, and reaches for one of the bottles.
This story appears to be only vaguely connected to canon (where are they? when? Bucky’s awake???) but who cares. It’s lovely and comforting and involves Bucky learning some self care (I had feelings about hair! So many! Unexpectedly many!) and then making out with Sam. A+.
Local Healing Traditions by resperella (The Eagle, Marcus/Esca)
Marcus accidentally eats the wrong plant; Esca has to administer the cure.
EAGLE SEX POLLEN FIC THIS IS NOT A DRILL HAHAHAHA thank you resperella for providing this important fandom staple.
Well, I almost made it a year without skipping a month of doing these. Let’s blame London!
Signal Towers and Children’s Songs by @cosmic-llin (Star Trek Beyond, gen)
Jaylah and Nyota and language.
Female friendship! Cultural exchange! Linguistics nerdery! Everything I love, and a great bit of closure for Star Trek Beyond.
The Blossoming by eagle_of_idiocy (Star Trek Beyond, gen)
Except it was personal, Spock came to realize. The observations he made after hearing Jim’s comments eventually led him to change his initial conclusion that the doctor sincerely disliked him. He was somewhat perplexed that he had not noticed it before – now that he was looking it was rather obvious.
Or, five revelations Spock discovered about his relationship with Doctor McCoy. Great look at Spock trying to decipher Bones’s grumpy friendship style.
Experto Crede by @sixth-light (Rivers of London, gen)
I went to sleep thinking that a week trapped in the Folly might not be that bad. This was a mistake.
This starts off hilarious, with a magical accident trapping everyone in the Folly, and then the close quarters spark an AMAZING argument between Peter and Nightingale. Very few people write the layers of their relationship as well as sixthlight.
Expectations by Aeriel (The Goblin Emperor, Maia/Csethiro)
Maia broaches the delicate subject of marital… etiquette.
*snickers* Maia and Csethiro trying to talk about sex is DARLING and hilariously in-character.
An Empire of Difference by nooziewoozie (The Goblin Emperor, Maia/Csethiro)
“Art ill, Csethiro?” Maia pitched his voice low for her ears only. Her hand tightened on his, and he heard her quick, nervous inhalation before she said, “No, merely pregnant.” Maia and Csethiro have all the babies.
GAH, my heart. Very sweet and perceptive look at their early marriage, and a brief glimpse of the years after.
Why Talk About Love by @newredfic (MCU, Bucky/Peggy)
Peggy is done waiting, but there’s a reason Bucky says yes.
I saw this recced a few places before giving it a try, because I was all THEY WOULD NEVER, not behind Steve’s back. I’m glad I caved, because I was convinced. Sharp-edged and insightful look at these two, and hot.
Housekeeping by Jude (Ghostbusters, gen)
After the end of the movie, the Ghostbusters deal with even MORE complicated problems: setting up their business.
The team vs the evil forces of government bureaucracy and paperwork. DELIGHTFUL.
Wizardry By Consent by @sixth-light (Rivers of London, Peter/Nightingale)
Also featuring Abigail and the OCs from the Good Grammar ‘verse, for those of you familiar, this is a fantastic AU that doesn’t shy away from Nightingale’s mistakes.Fifteen years after a headless body was discovered in Covent Garden, Thomas Nightingale is still the last wizard in Britain, and Peter Grant, newly appointed Commander for Community Engagement in the Metropolitan Police Service, has just learned the truth about the existence of the Folly. He has one or two questions.
A quiet month for me, fic-reading-wise, belatedly recced:
Two, Side By Side by norah (Temeraire, gen)
The legend of Lung Hong Dao and Hua MuLan.
Really great telling of the historical Chinese MuLan and her dragon, neatly framed by Mei telling Temeraire the story. I can’t believe I’d never read this before!
Warrior’s Work by Melina (Temeraire, gen)
In 1798, Jane Roland and Excidium fight in the Battle of the Nile.
You can never have enough of Jane Roland being a badass, am I right?
You Know What They Say About Foxes (They’ll Break Your Heart) by ozymandias314 (Zootopia, Judy/Nick)
Nick and Judy having sex was an accident. Nick and Judy falling in love was even more an accident. And as long as she repressed her emotions enough, Judy was pretty certain that she could pretend that neither of them had ever happened.
Top quality pining and puns, plus Judy’s neighbors as comedy Greek chorus.
Changing the View by mardia (Rivers of London, Beverley/Peter)
Deals with the possibility of Peter not aging with great insight into his reaction, and those of Beverley and Nightingale.I got used to deflecting, waving it off with a “Good genes, I suppose,” when someone marveled at how I still looked like I’d just left uni, even when I was in fact a decade older than that.
But I kept getting older, and the comments kept coming.
I spent a lot of time fishing around in the Yuletide archives from last year, as is evident from the fandoms below. Enjoy some obscure canons and weird crossovers! I know I did.
By Righteousness Alone by Canon_Is_Relative (Queen’s Thief, gen)
In which an attempt to do the right thing earns Costis a night in jail and a lifelong friend.
*facepalm* Of course this is how Costis met Aris, bless his dumb, honorable heart.
for sins and false alarms by jediseagull (Queen’s Thief, gen)
A single rumor could move mountains, or topple thrones. Sejanus had been very good at this game, but Hilarion knew better than to think it one of his own strengths. Then again, political acuity had gotten Sejanus imprisoned, his brother exiled, and his house doomed to crumble away with no son to inherit it, and Hilarion, for all his faults, would not make the same mistake twice.
But he could not imagine standing before their cranky, sleep-rumpled king and telling Attolis that he ought to be careful of a mere rumor.
Some background Hilarion/Philologos, but mostly just an excellent story about Eugenides’s relationship with his attendants post-King of Attolia, and a lot of political intrigue involving a powerful religious leader.
a thing with feathers by hazel (The Devil’s Cub, Mary/Dominic)
It’s 8am on a Sunday morning and Mary Challoner is desperately afraid her sister is going to make a fool of herself.
Meanwhile, Dominic Alastair doesn’t believe that the social hierarchy defines anyone, which is why he’s always careful to smile and say thanks whenever someone does anything for him.
A modern AU of Georgette Heyer’s The Devil’s Cub, which I think I may like better than the original! (the smut is definitely better, and not just because it exists. *fans self*) Fluffy and hilarious and well-adapted; also, shoutout to Dominic being quietly biracial in this AU, which I didn’t even notice on first read.
The Beneficent Gentleman by mongoose_bite (Kingsman, Harry/Eggsy)
An act of heroism sees an unusual offer made to one Eggsy Unwin; if he can get accepted he can go to Oxford, all expenses paid. All he has to do in return is pass his classes, and keep his mysterious benefactor informed as to his educational progress via the old-fashioned medium of the handwritten letter.
An AU loosely based on Daddy Long-Legs.
Absurdly charming, even if I wasn’t completely weak for epistolary romance.
We Who Wander by Nonymos (Star Wars/Mad Max, Poe/Max)
This isn’t the first time Poe crashes onto a strange planet with no hopes of rescue, but this time he wants it known that this is all Han Solo’s fault.
At least he’s not alone: BB-8’s there to help. And also that confused, wary man over there, who seems to be hearing voices.
This crossover should not work this well, dammit. And yet…. It was surreal but great to see Poe’s kindhearted optimism run headfirst into the Wasteland and all its horrors - and how Max responded to him in turn.
Merry Go Round by @cesperanza (Due South, Fraser/RayK)
“And where’d you get the banana anyhow?” Ray asked suddenly. “You run after the kid, you come back with a banana.”
I somehow missed this on my last spin through DS fandom? Which is a goddamn shame, because it’s perfect: a bantery, tumbling, delightfully chaotic casefile with slashy cherries and feels on top. *happy sigh*
Star Work by grammarwoman (Star Wars, gen, or possibly ladies/kicking ass)
Star Wars bitches get shit done.
My only regret is that I did not watch this vid sooner. *hearteyes*
dance this silence down (the emergency room remix) by @fahye (Les Mis, Enjolras/Grantaire)
He’s sitting in a car with all of his belongings in the back seat and his hands wrapped around the steering wheel, admitting to himself that a stupid, dizzy firework of a one-night-stand with a man he’d barely known is one of the only bright memories he has right now.
[In which Enjolras and Grantaire make some music, make some terrible decisions, and make a habit out of doing everything in the wrong order.]
AKA the fic that sent me into this month’s Les Mis spiral (procrastinating on YT by jumping in an old fandom: a grand tradition of mine). Beautifully written and brutally romantic; the pining is so good in this. Fair warning, though: fahye does not fuck around with portraying Grantaire’s depression and alcoholism.
I Do the Dumbest Things For You by purplefringe vids (SGA vid, John/Rodney)
You told the drunks I knew karate // That was a lie, that was a lie, that was a lie
BWAHAHA PERFECT
Only Found in Lost Cities by @xparrot (SGA/WTNV, Cecil/Carlos)
John and Rodney go looking for a former Atlantis scientist with annoyingly perfect hair, and end up in the most scientifically interesting community in America. Now the question is, will they ever be able to leave…
Grocery Run by noctaval (Burn Notice, gen)
On an ordinary day, Madeline has a not-so-ordinary trip to the grocery store.
Super late to the party reading this, but god, I wish this had been an episode.
Bahamian Style Mooring by @syllic (Shawshank Redemption, gen)
Five times Red got things in Zihuatanejo (and one time he didn’t need to get anything).
Long, lazy post-movie friendship-centric happy ending with gorgeous characterization. <3
Between Sun and Geography by @v8roadworrier (Mad Max, Max/Furiosa)
Like most soulmate fics for me, this one’s success is all in the execution. Lovely.She can barely look at the wastelander’s wings. They’re poor ratty things, the feathers cracking and brittle, dissolving into dust and leaving visible gaps even when he has them tightly furled. Everyone knows that if your wingmate dies you’ll never fly again, but Furiosa has never seen the damage up close like this.
YULETIDE
every sacrifice a gift by TLvop (Midnight Special, gen)
Every mother thinks her child is special. Sarah knows that.
My Yuletide present!!! This is an absolutely gorgeous character study of Sarah set before the movie, dealing with Alton’s early years and the events that guide her to leave the ranch. I loved the writing so much I read it twice in a row, which is extremely rare for me.
The Way Forward by woodironbone (Edge of Tomorrow, genish)
The party has persisted for three hours, and Rita has been drinking for all of them. Cage catches her staring, and even though they’re both pretty well inebriated by now they figure it’s as good a time as any to sort things out.
I don’t know about you, but my life wasn’t complete until I read this story about Rita getting drunk, picking locks and talking to Cage post-movie. This was a present for @inmyriadbits that did a freakishly good job of writing to her favorite things (banter, competence, shenanigans, partnership, etc), which are happily also most of my favorite things.
The Reward of Service by @pamphilia (Temeraire, Laurence/Tharkay)
‘It is no good asking me,’ Laurence said at last, pushing the pattern-book away over breakfast, ‘I am not the one–’ Not the one who would be living with the result, he had been about to say. But they had hardly accepted Tharkay’s invitation as casual houseguests.
Right in the feels, and a lovely post-canon fic.
The Huntsman’s Reel by @philomytha (Vorkosigan Saga, Alys/Simon)
“Somewhere in this party,” said Captain Illyan, “there are four Cetagandan assassins.”
Sheer, delightful competence porn, written with a sharp thriller edge. You really can’t fault Simon’s epic hearteyes at the end of this.
The rest of my pre-reveal recs can be found here on Pinboard, as usual.
LES MISERABLES
As is my habit, I procrastinated on Yuletide by binge-reading in a completely unrelated fandom! Geez, why did no one tell me about the amazing levels of pining? GRANTAIRE.
World Ain’t Ready by @idiopathicsmile (Enjolras/Grantaire)
Enjolras presses his lips together. He already looks pained, and Grantaire hasn’t even opened his mouth yet. That’s got to be a record, even for them.
“I need a favor,” he says at last.
“With what?” says Grantaire. “Ooh, are you forming a cult? Can I join? I’d be awesome at cults, I just know it.” He ticks off his qualifications on his fingers. “I love chanting, I look great in robes—”
I am prepared to call this not only the best fake dating story I’ve ever read, but possibly the best high school AU as well. First off: fake dating for great justice! It’s entirely in-character! The writing is hysterically funny and clever, without any sort of nostalgia white-washing of high school, Grantaire will break your heart in the best way, and EPONINE, omg. A+, highly recommended, set aside a day to read because it’s almost 200K.
study in scarlet by arriviste (Enjolras/Grantaire)
It’s hardly Enjolras’s first time, but this police spy is the most inept tail he’s ever picked up.
In general, arriviste is unfairly good at nailing Grantaire’s twisty, layered dialogue, especially canon-era, and I encourage you to read everything they’ve written, but this fic was particularly egregious. And hot, in an unhappy sort of way.
A Place To Lie Down by ellen_fremedon (Enjolras/everyone, Enjolras/Grantaire)
“A purgation,” Enjolras said. “You make it sound so respectably medical.”
Canon-era sex pollen fic! I saw someone describe this as the most caring gangbang ever, which is accurate, but topped off with some excruciating pining on Grantaire’s part which was so beautifully written that I didn’t even mind that it was unrequited, for once.
You Dance Dreams by @theladyragnell (Enjolras/Grantaire)
For most of college, Grantaire was hopeless over Enjolras, and everyone but Enjolras knew it. Now he’s worked to get over his crush, and for the most part, he’s fine. When Combeferre asks him to choreograph and dance in the Midsummer Night’s Dream-inspired opera he composed as his senior thesis, Grantaire says yes, even though he’s cast opposite Enjolras, as Puck to his Oberon. The chance to dance is worth the potential problems, and he’ll have his friends as a buffer. He doesn’t count on long hours of practicing and choreographing and talking together, while they try to figure each other and their futures out. As much as he tries to avoid it, it seems inevitable that he falls for Enjolras again, and this time it isn’t a crush.
Oh my god, who do I have to kidnap to get to watch this opera for real?!? *wistful sigh*
STAR WARS
On One Wounded Wing by @thistlerosie (Poe/Finn)
Poe Dameron convinces himself that Kylo Ren died when Starkiller Base exploded. Because it’s plausible. Because he needs to believe it, in order to get on with his life.
There is no way that this plan could ever backfire.
Hands down my favorite portrayal of Poe coping (or rather, failing to cope) with his captivity and torture, and I adore his relationship with Finn.
Steady as she goes by noelia_g (Jyn/Cassian, Wedge Antilles/Bodhi)
My favorite Rogue One fix-it! The later stories pull in some details and characters from the old Rogue Squadron EU books, for those of you who are fellow fans, but it’s all completely accessible even if you aren’t.In which they all live and Jyn Erso is on a quest to fix a droid.