[Fic Recs] Fanfic and other stories!
Apr. 30th, 2021 08:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chocochipbiscuitBorderlands
Pink In The Night (Lilith/Tannis) by Ogygia - 1.9k words - Lilith is quietly drinking away her grief over Roland, so Tannis comes over to talk about feelings. This is a quiet, hopeful little fic and it gave me many non-heterosexual feelings.
Bridgerton
All the Belles and Whistles (Eloise/Penelope) by ForASecondThereWedWon - 11.5k words - Eloise follows Lady Whistledown after freeing her from the queen’s trap, and both of them discover how much more they want from life. Absolutely charming.
Dragon Age
Dragon Age Codex (Frederic of Serault/Minaeve) by Current_Resident - 8.2k words - The trials and tribulations of field research, as told through journals, notes, and miscellaneous codex entries! Sweet, warm, and often hilarious. I love when they talk nerdy to me. :’)
So Familiar a Gleam (Thom Rainier/Zevran) by sunspot - 2.2k words - Zevran breaks Thom Rainier out of prison, which begins a series of conversations. I enjoy the banter between them. <3
Jennies (F!Cadash/Sera) by ziskandra - 1.3k words - Absolutely adorable post-canon pillow talk and cuddles. Malika is looking forward to introducing Sera to her family, and Sera has some reservations.
Diplomatic Relations (Anora/Vivienne) by hibernate - 6.6k words - Anora has a dog!!!! And....Vivienne’s not a dog person. It’s sweet and funny and just the perfect blend of biting commentary (and Vivienne despising Ferelden in general, if not Anora in particular) and pet shenanigans. I adore this to the point of rereading it and dropping comments twice. <3
Heebs Begone (Harding/Bull) by sunspot - 600 words - An absolutely adorable bite-sized huddling for warmth fic. :’)
Set All Trappings Aside (F!Adaar/Josephine) by todisturbtheuniverse - 32k words - “After months of flirtation, a contract on Josephine's life brings Adaar's feelings for her closer to the surface than ever. It highlights, too, all of their differences, all of the reasons a relationship between them would not last. But Adaar is a hopeful woman at heart; if Josephine can set all trappings aside, then so can she.” A really lovely romance, showing each woman in their respective elements and also delivering on beautiful feeeeeels.
Warden’s Retreat (F!Tabris/Zevran) by anneapocalypse - 3.3k words - After the festivities at Denerim, Tabris and Zevran finally have some alone time at Soldier’s Peak. Some lovely bathing and caretaking, also fraught emotional feeeeeelings as Tabris reflects on the decisions that have brought her here.
a brutal harmony (F!Hawke/Meredith) by inquisitor_tohru - 1.2k words - Unhealthy relationship, absolutely, but also exquisitely raw. Hawke’s leveraging sex for favors, trying to protect Bethany, while also trying to make sure that Meredith doesn’t realize she’s being pushed. Mind the tags.
A Song of Hope (Dagna/Sera) by Galadriel1010 - 851 words - Dagna and Sera celebrate Wintersend in Skyhold. Very sweet. <3
Fallout
Don’t Be a Stranger (Gob/Charon) by NothingAlarming - 7.8k words - “Charon is in bad hands. Gob tries to help.” This remains my favorite Gob/Charon fic, and I love how tender it is. This is hurt/comfort in the best ways.
Evidence in action (F!LW/Fawkes) by Eloarai - 8.9k words - Megaton’s prejudice against mutants means that the Lone Wanderer and Fawkes go back to Vault 87 in search of scientific evidence for why he’s not like the others. I fully admit that I am a sucker for this ship, but the heart of the fic comes through how kindness is a choice, and the only evidence that the Wanderer needs.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
A Home for a Songbird (Petra/Dorothea) by SophieAyase - 1.2k words - Post-game, when Petra goes home and steps into her role as crown princess, presenting Dorothea as her fiancee. Dorothea struggles with her insecurities over what that means for them, and it’s a really sweet and lovely fic.
find your freedom (Edelgard/Ingrid/Felix/Sylvain) by magicites - 17k words - “Ingrid, Felix, and Sylvain choose Edelgard's side in the war. Mostly, they choose Edelgard.” This is a gorgeous, bittersweet, emotionally fraught fic about how they’re all broken in different ways and how they’re just trying to do the best with what they have.
before the world was big (Annette/Felix) by mediest - 6.2k words - Adventures of Annette the Stress Baker!!! The things she bakes as ways of coping with traumatic events! And guilt! I love the interactions between the Blue Lions kids here, though fair warning for. Well. The fact that there’s a war, and they do face friends (and friends’ families) on the battlefield.
Diplomacy (Hilda & Claude, Golden Deer ensemble cast) by queenlua - 2.6k words - Board game night with the Golden Deer!!! This is delightful and hilarious. :’)
Harry Potter
Common Household Poisons (Ginny/Luna) by Speechwriter - 2.5k words - Ginny’s always been an adrenaline junkie, and Luna’s catalogued her various injuries over time.
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Expectations (Aloy/Talanah) by Tamoline - 7.8k words - Five times that Aloy accidentally courts Talanah, and then the one time it’s no accident at all! I love this fic so much, I found myself taking breaks between scenes just to stretch it out longer.
The Locked Tomb Trilogy
Inevitable (Gideon/Harrow/Ianthe) by zoicite - 9.7k words - Weird wedding rituals (and canon-typical Third House cannibalism) and also an exquisite character study and emotional interrogation of the precise relationship between all three members of this unexpected triad, especially as with three people they only have two bodies between them. This is gorgeous and searing and absolutely wonderful.
until the cat got her (Coronabeth & Ianthe) by LuckyDiceKirby - 2.6k words - Post-canon terrible sisters, still trying to kill each other on new worlds for the terrible crime of abandonment. This is gloriously messy and gives me feelings.
The Emperor’s Daughter (Harrow/Gideon and Harrow/Ianthe. Ish) by Nary - 2.3k words - The AU where Harrow goes to the ball! Flirtatious rivalry with Ianthe, and indignant ‘I didn’t come here to be propositioned like this!’ with Gideon! Socially inept disaster Harrow is my favorite. <3
Alora Sex and the Lesbian Awakening by Measured_Words - 1.5k words - So just where do all of Gideon’s titty soldier comics come from…? A fun world-building fic, depicting the struggles between ART (and titties!) and PROPAGANDA.
recognize them by their fruits (Ianthe & John) by ceruleanVulpine - 4.7k words - Compelling, multi-faceted character study of Ianthe after the events of Harrow the Ninth. She’s God’s only remaining Lyctor, and rather than bonding over that presumed shared experience, he’s breaking apart and she’s determined not to help. This is a fic I want to chew on, and I pick up more details every time I read back through it.
Break My Heart, Just Do It Slowly (Gideon/Harrow) by Morike91 - 7.3k words - AU where Harrow realizes that the Ninth House will die with her, unless she takes drastic actions. Like marrying Princess Ianthe Tridentarius! Unless Gideon Nav, the Unkillable Fire of the Sixty-third Infantry, stages a dramatic intervention…?!
Mass Effect
(after)life after purgatory by skogr - 7.4k words - A fic about Aria, after Shepard helps her take back Omega. This is beautiful and haunting and lovely and I just love the voice for Aria, the complexity of this character study and all the ways that Aria is aggressive, competent, and quietly grieving while rebuilding the station that’s hers.
A Feral, Vicious Thing (Jack & F!Shep) by captainpeggy - 5.6k words - A character study of Jack, including the parallels and relationship with a Renegade Shep. They’re both bundles of trauma and PTSD, and I love seeing their growth over the course of the fic. It’s warm and healing without being overly sentimental, and I love Jack’s POV.
A Memory Called Empire
Fourth Sunrise (Mahit/Three Seagrass) by queenlua - 3k words - Four months after Mahit left Teixcalaan, Three Seagrass arrives at Lsel Station. This is beautifully written and feels true to the tone of the books, and I love this as the tentative progression of their relationship; the ways in which Mahit recognizes Three Seagrass to be less worldly beyond the empire, and cutting through the deliberate steps of courtship and flirtation. It’s short and full of delight.
Monster Prom
She Looked at Me With Bloodlust and World Domination In Her Eyes (Polly/Vera and Miranda/Vera) - by AlexIsNotHere - 13.4k words - Vera is in a FWB situation with Polly, but also finds herself surprisingly turned on by Miranda’s genocidal tendencies! After helping with some bloody cleanup, Vera gets...proposed to?! And Polly is ridiculously, frustratingly supportive about the whole thing! This fic perfectly captures the zany bloodlust of the original canon, and was a wonderful ride from beginning to end.
Original Work
Goats, and Their Importance (Older Queen/Young Princess of Enemy Country She’s Marrying to Seal the Peace Treaty) by TheseusInTheMaze - 7.4k words - Deliciously messy complicated feelings, through the POV of a young princess who is confused and repulsed by her new wife’s promise to be a good wife.
dead, deadbeat, and deadly by naminobis - 432 words - Technically fanfic for "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." but with only 6 words of canon, I think this is close enough to original.
The Old Guard
two semi-reclining female nudes (Andy/Nile) by angelsaves - 868 words - Short and sweet PWP, in which Nile is really into art history. ;)
When The Cherries White With Blossoms, Be Ready & Be Brave (Joe/Nicky) by chapstickaddict - 17.6k words - Really lovely post-canon character study, with Joe and Nicky adjusting to the new dynamics of their group now that Booker’s gone, Andy’s mortal, and Nile has joined. They are tender and reverential with one another, and just makes me sigh lovingly over everything. (Also, laugh at Copley’s new houseguests.)
night comes on (Nile/F!OC, gen) by hauntedjaeger - 10.3k words - Nile’s been immortal for five years now, and is growing into her own leadership position. Fair warning: Andy dies in this one, but the fic is unbelievably tender.
Stardew Valley
still to be ours (Maru/Penny) by possibilityleft - 588 words - Maru and Penny have a rainy morning in bed together, warm and cozy. <3
Books (fiction)
I've been reading a number of books, most of them delightful, but the past few months have been blurry enough that I haven't had the energy to consider why I liked them.
That said, I've been reading a lot of romance! Courtney Milan and Alyssa Cole are my two favorite romance authors at the moment, and I even got my sister into reading them!
Our mother loves romance novels, but there's a generational divide, or maybe just an immigrant experience vs my sister and I who were raised in the US; my mom doesn't mind having predominantly white authors and characters in the romances she reads, and when I've asked her, she said that she already exhausted all the Chinese romances she could find at the library, and anyways, this is America! Which is still very 'white' to her mind, so she doesn't mind that the American library stocks mostly white romances.
On the other hand...well, my sister and I have different experiences and expectations. We've both been exhausted by whiteness as a default. Like my sister legit squealed when she looked up Courtney Milan and found hey! A romance with ASIAN PEOPLE on the cover!
I used to think I didn't like romances, but I've realized that I was just very tired of the particular stock tropes in the books I had access to when I was younger.
In that same vein, I greatly enjoyed The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite (historical F/F romance!) and Love Kills Twice by Rien Gray (NB/F romantic suspense! The heroine is a Chinese-American artist!). Hurrah for queer romance!!! Especially hurrah for queer romance featuring people of color, because it's still rare enough that sometimes, especially in fandom spaces, I feel like I am being asked to prioritize one part of my identity over the other in terms of representation.
Aside from romances, I devoured Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. It was a much more challenging read than Gideon the Ninth, and even though I enjoyed it, I also want to reread it so I can pick apart some of the narrative threads I hadn't picked up the first time. I've currently loaned them to a friend though, so won't be able to reread them until she's done with them.
I've also been enjoying a lot of professionally published short stories, mostly from Uncanny or Strange Horizons.
That's it! That's the deets! I still have about 3 dozen fics marked for later on AO3, and look forward to more reading! Feel free to share any thoughts or comments on what you've been reading lately! <3
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Date: 2021-04-30 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-05-01 04:45 am (UTC)