Uffish Thought

December recs

2022-01-27T05:49:37Z

In what's starting to be an annual tradition, I got into a new fandom fic-first while procrastinating on Yuletide. But unlike last year, I didn't stop at reading fic, but actually ended up binge-watching all five seasons of 9-1-1! We're gonna be in firefighter found family land for a spell now, ya'll.

I've got a lot this month, so we're back to my five favorites up top, and the rest under the cut. In total, there's sixteen 9-1-1 fics (all Buck/Eddie), plus a handful of fics from ATLA, The Untamed, The Witcher, and Murderbot.

Leave the Light On (I'll Be Coming Home) by @hmslusitania

“We’re here for our grandson,” Helena says.
“Chris is still sleeping,” Buck says.
“I meant, we’re here to take him back to Texas,” Helena clarifies.
“Yeah,” Buck says. He’s too tired, way too tired to be tactful. “Over my dead body.”
An accident on a call leaves Buck with custody of Chris after Eddie is... missing presumed. While they navigate their new family circumstances -- and fight to stay together, despite Eddie's parents' best efforts -- a John Doe wakes up in a coma ward with no memory of his own life beyond the knowledge he has a son named Christopher and, somehow, he needs to get home.

This story came for me personally with a fatal two-hit combination of my beloved amnesia and presumed-dead tropes, and the author absolutely destroyed me with both sides of the story - Buck and Christopher grieving and figuring out their new life together, and amnesiac!Eddie managing to pine without remembering what he's longing for. Heartbreaking, romantic, beautifully written. I've already read it twice!

too many heartbeats for one ribcage by @lamardeuse

Eddie's not queer.

It's always fun running into lamardeuse in a new fandom, because they have been wrecking me emotionally with their fic since...2006? When I found Due South fandom? Good times. This one's a beautiful queer character study of Eddie growing up and growing into himself and falling in love.

all that we need by not1_2write

When Buck buys a Powerball lottery ticket he doesn't think much beyond his need for change to air up his tire. He forgets all about the ticket until word spreads that the winning ticket was sold in LA and hasn't been claimed yet and pretty much dismisses it. After all, there's no way he won the lottery.
Turns out no, he really did win the Powerball, to the tune of 295 million dollars and just in time for Christmas. He's going to make sure the 118 has the best Christmas of their lives. And just maybe he'll have a good one too.

Pure fluffy wish-fulfillment of the highest quality, featuring Buck's enormous heart and love for his family. (Am I weak for thoughtful gift-giving? Yes, yes I am.)

Don't Take the Money by @hmslusitania

“You know, being stuck here isn’t actually the end of the world,” Chimney says, coming up to the table and picking up one of the smoke detectors. “It just feels like it, Buck. Trust me, I know.”
“I’m pretty sure it might actually be the end of the world,” Buck says. “Considering this is the sixth time I’ve lived this day.”
Chimney stares at him for a beat and then his eyebrows lift. “Wait, are you like – dude, are you in Groundhog Day?”
OR: The post-lawsuit time-loop AU literally no one asked for.

Time loop fic set during 3x06 Monsters. Sheer delight, great characterization, and a clever exemplar of the genre - plus the character-dies-repeatedly-in-weird-ways trope is especially apt given 9-1-1 in general and Bobby's fears about Buck in particular.

things we shouldn't do by @ingu

“Why is everybody taking my relationship status so personally? Can’t I be fine with being single?” Buck said.
“Hey, you don’t have to say yes, be sad and alone if that’s what you want,” Josh replied. “But, I’m just saying. I’ve seen photos and this guy is volcanic levels of hot. Also, single dad, super cute kid. Saves lives for a living like you. I think you should give it a go.”
(the one where Buck and Eddie accidentally get set up on a blind date with each other, and everything snowballs from there)

I love fake-dating fic, but I have gotten very picky about it after all these years in fandom. This one is fresh and funny, from the setup to the fake-dating-for-discounts through the denouement, and just the right amount of angst to balance the sweetness.

Many more recs under the cut!

( 9-1-1, ATLA, Witcher, Murderbot, Untamed )

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November recs

2021-12-24T04:55:59Z

Booting this out the door before Yuletide hits! Quite a hodgepodge of fandoms from November: three fics from Nirvana in Fire out of the annual NIF fic exchange, plus fic from The Mandalorian, The Witcher (no S2 spoilers), DCU, Supernatural, The Untamed, and an original superheroes fic.

NIRVANA IN FIRE

with honor by tciddaemina (Lie Zhanying/Jingyan)

For seven months, Zhanying watched his mother grow more thin and gaunt, watched his brothers grow more brittle, the bags beneath their eyes deepening with every long night spent in the workshop. For seven months, Zhanying watched his youngest siblings smile and laugh and try to pretend their stomachs weren't still rumbling when they went to bed, growing thinner every day, and in the eighth month Zhanying said no more and joined the army.

Not my usual pairing, but this slow burn backstory romance was fantastic, following Zhanying through his service in Prince Jing’s army and their changing relationship over the years. Fealty and pining and wordless chemistry, oh my!

Blackbirds by sandalwoodbox (vid, gen)

Cai Quan and Shen Zhui have been waiting for this moment.

This is a great vid for anyone who has feelings about our favorite ministers finding someone worthy to follow, and their friendship.

Lilies That Bloom by circumference (gen)

Liyang, after the trial.

Sweet short piece about Liyang getting some answers re: MCS, and starting to spread her wings again.

OTHER

Crash and Burn by Aureutr_Accoredge (The Mandalorian, Din/Luke)

There had been no Seeing Stone on Tython that Grogu could use to call for a Jedi. They had survived Gideon's light cruiser mostly by luck. And now Din Djarin is trapped between trying to resume his old life with Grogu in tow or facing what wielding the Darksaber truly means for him and his people. Mostly he just wants a nap.
Luke Skywalker is looking for Jedi artifacts he can use to help build a curriculum for the school he seeks to create. Not that he knows where it will be. Or how to find pupils. But then he runs into a shiny stranger whose beskar armor makes him a null space in the Force. And he doesn't know who Luke is.
Intrigued (and in need of parts to repair his ship), he Skywalkers his way into tagging along on the latest bounty.

I LOVED this: it’s very long and plotty dealing with Din becoming Manda’lor, with a great meet-cute to slow burn romance, but mostly this author gets Luke Skywalker in all his dorky-epic glory. Really interesting treatment of Luke’s trauma from his fight with the Emperor and the war generally, and the rare Din/Luke fic that really showcases Leia.

Silver and Copper by Heronfem (Witcher, Geralt/Jaskier)

Geralt is just supposed to pass through the quiet Lettenhove area. He's not anticipating being begged by its people to help save their viscount from a curse that keeps him from daylight. Lord Jaskier, they call him, and he's likely dying.
As Geralt struggles to untangle the ugly web of history that has lead to the increasingly complicated curse, he finds himself spending more and more time with the strange young viscount and wondering just what he might have been before the curse, and who he might be after. But things are not always as they seem, and as the curse tightens its grip on Jaskier, Geralt is forced to face the fear of failing yet another person whose choices were stolen from them.

Very AU, but a gorgeous dark fairytale with a strong backbone of hope and community. Mind the warnings - Jaskier’s father is a definite monster in this.

Exit Strategy by smilebackwards (DCU/Batfamily, gen)

Batman needs a Robin and Batman has a Robin. Tim is just extraneous now, vestigial. He’s a bandage over a healed wound. He doesn’t know what he’s hanging on to.
Or: Tim didn’t expect his exit strategy from the Batfamily to involve quite so much bonding time with Damian over Wayne Enterprises bureaucracy.

*rolls around in the Tim feels* *and the Tim-Damien brotherly feels* Mmm, delicious.

and you can use my skin by unicornpoe (Supernatural, Dean/Cas)

Cas comes back. Dean can’t stop touching him.

This doesn’t break any new ground plotwise for a S15 fixit, but it’s beautifully written: immensely tender and healing and romantic.

Revenge is a Side Dish Best Served With Tea by merakily (The Untamed, Wangxian)

Despite popular opinion, Lan Wangji is actually:
1. Terrible at diplomacy
2. Surprisingly vengeful
3. A master of holding grudges
Five times Lan Wangji gets his petty revenge + one time Wei Wuxian calls him out.

Very fun! Like the summary says, it’s tea-based petty bitch LWJ revenge fluff, with a nice underlying thread of affectionate-and-protective Wangxian.

His Greatest Adversary Yet by architeuthis (original superheroes, slash)

Doctor Nowhere doesn't do the nemesis thing. But the Blue Beacon hasn't been seen in a while, and the more he learns about why, the more it haunts him.

Wonderful mad scientist/superhero piece - Max is such a distinctive and hilarious narrator right from the start, the older-person-figuring-out-they’re-queer feelings are strong, and there’s a lot of deft worldbuilding in the background. [For a little bonus fic-of-fic porn, please enjoy All Along The Watchtower (Or At Least Against The Men's Room Door) by PersianPenName as well, which is very hot and funny.]

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February recs

2020-03-11T05:11:17Z

Have some hobbit birthday recs!

Meet Death Sitting by @bomberqueen17 (The Witcher, Geralt/Jaskier)

“No,” Jaskier sighed. “This is the thing, Geralt. I’m middle-aged and tired and I just think I’d rather meet death sitting down and facing it rather than from behind while I’m running. You know?” He contemplated that a moment, and finally added, “Especially if it’s you.”

So I first encountered this series when @walburgablack linked me to the wonderful standalone Along Came This Song, wherein Eskel (a witcher from the books/games) encounters the effects of Toss A Coin and then meets Jaskier in person, aka everything I wanted. BUT THEN the whole series was fantastic - the first, central story starts right after S1 with Jaskier running into Ciri and Geralt in trouble, and there’s tons of h/c (attn @arsenicjade, very much your speed) and great characterization and worldbuilding. I’m very fond of how she writes them at different ages over the series, especially the more mature Jaskier of MDS versus the younger disaster Jaskier of Little Fishie, and Geralt’s varying emotional damage levels. (Also there’s a story where Yennefer pegs Jaskier, @stele3, I feel somehow this is relevant to your interests *g*)

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Dragonslayers by coveredinfeels (Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dorian/Bull)

Harmon knows how this goes. He’s from Nevarra, and he’s read books. Plural. If you want to fight a dragon you need to find a Kindly Mentor who can teach you all their Secret Strategies.
So all he needs to do is find this old Tal-Vashoth dragonslayer his cousin keeps going on about, get him to teach Harmon about dragons, convince everyone else to go along with his dragon-hunting plans, fight a dragon, and win.

AKA “The Old Marrieds Fight A Dragon”, per the author, which who among us could resist as a concept? I love this older retired version of Dorian and Bull, who are still super in love and also determined to protect these dumb children from themselves AND the dragon. Relentlessly charming and fun read.

World Without End by Sorted (Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dorian/Bull)

Dorian always knew there was a Bad Ending coming for them. A Tevinter altus and a Ben-Hassrath agent–it was doomed, of course. He just didn’t expect the Bad Ending to be quite that Bad. Unacceptable, really.
Rewriting history? That’s the easy part.

Long, compelling fix-it for Bull’s bad ending in Trespasser. Usually I prefer my time-travel-to-the-past-to-fix-things AUs to cause big differences in the timeline, but I enjoyed how so much of the narrative tension is actually in Dorian trying to keep things similar (because Corypheus) while still trying to save Bull. Also, there are some EXCELLENT sparring scenes and tons of great characterization-driven sex and lots of pining, and you know how I feel about those.

Untitled Goose Vid by thingswithwings & eruthros (Untitled Goose Game)

Exactly what you think it is! But with effortlessly funny editing and a perfect song choice that I will not spoil. @doitninetimes and I laughed so hard over this one.

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January recs

2020-02-16T04:37:36Z

Happy International Fanworks Day, everyone! Have some fic recs for Star Wars, The Witcher, The Fugitive, Knives Out, Avatar: the Last Airbender, and Shadowhunters.

STAR WARS

what good are the stars above by fabrega (Rey/Finn/Poe)

“I don’t want to lose you guys,” Poe says quietly.

Post-TRoS OT3 coda of cuteness. <3

a much better dream by rain_sleet_snow (Zorii/Rose)

“Who are you?“ Zorii asked.
"Rose Tico,” said clipboard girl, “and I asked you first.”
Zorii said that this was Babu Frik, and he was an excellent droidsmith, and she was Zorii - just Zorii - and she was good at fighting things and flying things, in-atmosphere for preference, and she’d already parked her yacht, thanks.
“You’ve landed it on top of a navigation sensor and I’m going to have to ask you to move it,” Rose Tico said.

In which Zorii joins the Resistance and gets a massive crush on Rose. Charming romp with two characters who were neglected in the movie, with some great worldbuilding and background OT3 slipped in for a bonus.

MISC

home is nowhere, therefore you by Ark/@et-in-arkadia (The Witcher, Geralt/Jaskier)

“Right, well,” Jaskier says, when he halts before Geralt. Up close, he looks much more nervous. There is sweat on his brow and his collar is damp with it, and his teeth keep catching on his lower lip. “True love’s kiss. There's—ah—there’s nothing to it.” And he bends, the utter imbecile, and kisses Geralt full on the mouth.

*heartclutch* Chock full of fae and their shenanigans, true love, banter, Geralt’s skill at feeling a lot and having no idea how to say most of it, and a good deal of very hot smut.

The Hunter From the Field (The Fugitive, Kimble/Gerard)

He didn’t keep in touch with ex-cons, even innocent ones. He didn’t befriend them and he sure as hell didn’t sleep with them—it was him and them and never the twain should meet.

I didn’t even know I wanted this, but it’s a fantastic follow-up to one of my id’s favorite movies. Great character voices all around, the slow reveal of Sam’s attraction was beautifully handled, and I loved having more closure for Richard’s trauma and grief as well.

If I’m Haunting You, You Must Be Haunting Me (Knives Out, Marta/Ransom)

It seems horribly fitting that when Marta’s soulbond arrives, it’s in the most absurdly ridiculous, horrible way imaginable. It involves the Thrombeys, so of course something that should be wonderful just ends up being terrible in the end.

INCREDIBLY fun and smart remix of the movie, where Ransom is still terrible (I appreciate she didn’t gloss over Ransom’s major flaws) and Marta is still the best but things go rather differently due to their soulbond. But don’t worry, there’s still murder! Also, porn!

Safety First by Haicrescendo (ATLA, gen)

Zuko’s used to feeling unsafe. Zuko is also used to sleeping like shit. Somehow, he’s never considered that these things are connected.
Or, Zuko figures out where he stands with Toph and almost immediately falls asleep on her.

Sweet and soft and right in the feels. I can never have too much of their friendship. <3

you who have come from my old country by paperiuni (Shadowhunters, Magnus/Alec)

A century later, Magnus returns to the city he loves to find it changed for the better.

Yet another fandom I am only in via fic and YouTube videos – but this story is a wonderfully delicate and gentle look at Magnus looking at the world they changed, both grieving and hopeful and still entirely in love with Alec. I don’t often enjoy sad stories, but this was the perfect mix, and I cried throughout and loved it.

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