Uffish Thought

Alright, from my May reading, we've got a selection of recs: 5 Murderbot recs, 4 Untamed, and 3 miscellaneous fandoms (original slash, Supernatural, Wizard of Oz).

MURDERBOT

Demo and Inspection by lick / @indigo

There are a number of things to do, and a number of arguments to be had, before a group can go on a survey trip. Dr. Mensah and Pin-Lee were running out of time to hammer out a deal with the bond company, and the required rental SecUnit had become the sticking point.

Or: Dr. Mensah "meets" Murderbot for the first time.

The first story in an ongoing series following the events of canon from Mensah's POV. The author is SO GOOD at writing Mensah, oh my god, with her compassion and intelligence and carefully stifled fears.

Full Disk Burn by @fallintosanity

While touring the soundstage of one of its favorite serials, Murderbot saves a human from being jumped by thugs. But the human is more than he seems, and Murderbot finds itself entangled in a bigger mess than it had planned.

Immensely fun 'Murderbot gets into trouble because it can't resist helping people, pretends not to care' premise, with a great OC, some nifty worldbuilding around the Corporate Rim media industry, and pitch-perfect bickering with ART.

Not Angry, Just Disappointed by lick

Seth said sternly, “Perihelion, you need to tell us the truth. We can’t leave the home system until we find out what happened. If you’re hiding something—”

Peri cut him off. I am not hiding anything.

Peri might be able to lie astonishingly well to a corporate representative, even impersonate a human over the feed, but it couldn’t lie to Iris. “Yes, you are,” she said.

Great look at how that reveal about "Peri's SecUnit" happened. Iris is also my favorite now as well as obviously being ART's.

In Control by Mayasynth / @bumblebeebats

Four times having a governor module fucking sucked, plus one time [REDACTED: FILE MISSING]. (Or: Murderbot has Emotions for 8,000 words. ART tries to help. So does Dr. Mensah, but like, in a decidedly less assholish way.)

Great/agonizing flashbacks, great/hilarious friendship and boundary negotiations with ART, and a great/emotional punch to the gut.

Threat as Greeting by FlipSpring

I pull close to it in the feed, and say, “You were lucky."    

The rogue SecUnit reacts, physically and in the feed. It sits bolt upright, and a wave of fear ripples off of it like a [cloud of micro-debris], or like an [emergency evasive maneuver that grinds a planet’s upper atmosphere]. It’s unpleasant. It’s unfamiliar. I capture the data, store it, and start chewing on it immediately.

ART meets Murderbot, from ART's POV.

This whole series of outsider POVS is fantastic, but this one does some particularly cool things with ART's perspective and the multitasking cranky vastness of its mind.

THE UNTAMED

This was a GREAT month for stories featuring the Untamed ladies. So great that I don’t have any Wangxian recs this month. Yeah, I was surprised too.

Tether by @withbroombefore (gen, minor Wangxian and Yanli/NHS)

It is unexpectedly easy; he does not even need to lie outright, just let them follow his gaze to where Wen Zhuliu's body sprawls on the floor. “They caught me in Yiling,” he says, and holds out one hand to each of them.

Wei Wuxian tells the truth, sort of. AU diverging when Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji find Wei Wuxian in episode 20.

From the description and the first scene, I thought this was going to be a Wei Wuxian story, but it is NOT, it is a fabulous Jiang Yanli story, where she steps up to cover some of WWX's duties and finds her strength. The subtle fallout from that makes for a great alternate universe fix-it.

Zephyrs Blowing Below the Violet by Comfect (gen)

Yú Zǐyuān realizes that Wang Lingjiao's flare, not Wen Zhuliu's hands, are the greatest danger in Lotus Pier, and acts accordingly.

As a result, everything changes, and she eventually realizes that she does, in fact, have three children.

I'm not a fan of Yu Ziyuan in general, but this fic uses some great unreliable narratation and captures all of her flaws and all of her love and all of her badassery and made me like her, dammit. Most characters wouldn't fight a war and come out the other side more emotionally healthy, but honestly it suits her. Fascinating look at how the war might have gone differently with more experienced sect leaders, as well.

chances are by @wildehacked (Wen Qing/Jiang Cheng)

Five bad ideas and one good one.

or: "Please let me help you,” he tells her, sick with guilt and rage that can’t go anywhere.

She laughs wildly. “I don’t need any more of your help, Jiang-zongzhu.”

Brutally good set of five AUs where things went worse for Wen Qing, plus one fix-it.

alright, I think I’ve found the saddest timeline by @tanoraqui

This ficlet is so short and sharp that any summary or excerpt would spoil it, but it's really hard to argue with that description. Oof.

MISC

(original) Follow the River Down by @sassysnowperson​

"Am I cancelled?" David asked. He didn't know exactly what it meant to be cancelled, but it seemed like the sort of thing that would come with a lot of notifications.

There was an ugly snort on the other side of the phone. "No, Dad, kinda the opposite," Nicole said patiently. "Jonathan Vane said you were his favorite artist!"

Lovely "Older Little-Known Rock Singer/His Younger #1 Fan who is a Famous Actor" romance. If you don't fall in love with David at his very first dad joke and affectionate banter with his daughter, then you will over his deep kindness and compassion towards Jonathan. Also: very hot. Extra recommended for ex-bandom peeps.

(Supernatural) phone calls and photo albums by @bundibird​

Sammy is 18, and off at college. John is 43, and in the wind, chasing whispers. Dean is 22, and alone.

And Adam Milligan is 16, and fighting with his mom, and wants to come and stay with his dad for a while.

Too bad John left his phone with Dean before he fucked off into the sunset.

Fascinating AU. While I would definitely read the 100K epic version of this, it hits the emotional high points and Dean's wounded big brother instincts reactivating despite his shock is always good for me.

(Wizard of Oz) Five Earth Gifts Dorothy Brought Home by ErinPtah

Although Dorothy has lived full-time in Oz for many years (she’s even been promoted to Princess Consort), she pays the occasional visit to America.

And when she returns, she always brings Ozma a fantastical – well, by fairyland standards – souvenir.

*snorts* Come for the talking cat on the Roomba, stay for the adorably married Dorothy/Ozma.