First day of my every few years version of the 31 Flavors reccing meme I picked up from raveninthewind many years ago: a rec a day in a different fandom. I would love some company, and that's all you have to do—just make one rec a day. It's been a couple years since I did this last, so there might be some things on this list I've recced in my Yuletide posts, but with Festivids coming up, different exchanges around, and Yuletide just finishing, I hope I will have enough new stuff not to repeat too much!

Since some people might be hungover or tired or still working through Yuletide (or fic-readinged out), I thought I'd start with a vid today.

Rain On Me (The Old Guard, Lady Gaga feat. Ariana Grande) by frayadjacent
Summary: A fanvid about Nile, Andy, and their found family.

I loved the energy of this vid, and its focus on these two kickass women, and its visual excellence.

 A Step Not Taken, Persuasion 

A what-if AU that looks at what would happen if Anne had fallen at Lyme Regis.

My Storm and Strife, Justified (Raylan/Tim)

I hadn't actually intended to read this because I thought it might not be my kind of Yuleporn story, but I'm glad I did--though my gosh, the thermostat really went out of whack in my house for a while there.

Body and Soul, Babette's Feast

I haven't seen this movie in ages but I'm so, so glad I clicked the link because this is a beautiful slice of life after the big feast. Even if it's been years since you've seen the film, do yourself a favor and read it.

Let's Do the Same as They, Singin' in the Rain/Captain America (two poly ships)

Steve sees some things in a USO appearance by Don, Kathy, and Cosmo that open his eyes to his own possibilities in love. Errors that normally make me grind my teeth in fiction I just handwaved here because I loved this so much.

The Rock Star Reunion Irrelevancy, The Middleman

A cute little Middleman casefic with great puns.

The Rubber Shapeshifter Assimilation, The Middleman (Middleman/Wendy Watson)

I usually don't ship MM/WW, but this worked for me, and it's a great take on The Thing full of case adventure and movie/Kurt Russell jokes.

All this darkness past, Edge of Tomorrow (William Cage/Rita Vrataski)

Rita's view of Cage and the events after they win, and what it means.

Counting Stars, Edge of Tomorrow (William Cage/Rita Vrataski)

A kind of time-loopy examination of Rita's point of view as she sees Cage, each time anew, in the story. Both Edge of Tomorrow stories have razor-sharp observations and characterizations.

The Flight, The Fall (2006)

Alexandria spends a day with Roy, trying to tell a new story. Oh my heart.

Slow and Steady, The Good Place (Michael & Eleanor)

The truth about Michael's demon form. Adorable.

Free Netflix Subscription, The Good Place (Eleanor/Tahani)

A funny, believable version of attempt 218, where Eleanor and Tahani were soulmates, and Eleanor figures everything out.

Missing Stars, The Expanse (Drummer/Naomi)

A poignant and sharp look at Drummer between seasons 3 and 4.


UGH still so MUCH to read!!! I hope I can make some more recs soon, I feel like I've barely made a dent.

I made it! 31 different recs (well, 32, because Selfie got a twofer) in 31 different fandom flavors! And not one of them was Stucky! I wasn't sure I could make it, because I'm so behind in my reading of everything and watching vids and just...all the things, but I did. Hopefully, a few people found something new to them they enjoyed checking out.

Prove It On Me (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries)
Summary: Mac is a swanky, dapper lesbian.

This is a delightful Festivid for the wonderful Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries character of Mac, Phryne's BFF and a big old lesbian doctor with the most wonderfully acerbic wit. I haven't finished watching MFMM (I know! What's wrong with me!) but I asked if I needed to have seen all the eps, and was advised I didn't need to--so if you've only seen one or two, or are just osmotically familiar with the character, go forth and watch. It's set to Ma Rainey's old song, and couldn't be a better fit.

Flourish by cookiegirl (A Quiet Place, 2834 words, G)
Summary: The first winter.

I usually read fanfic at night before I go to sleep, since I read all day for work. I ended up having serious Quiet Place dreams after reading this--not quite screaming nightmares, but creepy and sinister, like the movie, and I can't even recall ever having a fic influence my dreams. This captures the feel of the movie, the loving family relationship, the grief, the fear, really well, and has a lot of details I wouldn't even have thought about in terms of how they'd survive the unique challenges of winter. I don't want to oversell the creepy factor, because this is a really sweet story with such genuine humanity.

Two Festivid recs, one from this year and one from last year:

Elevation (The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne)
Summary: You make me feel like I can fly.

I was genuinely surprised to see this microscopically small fandom on the list this year. If you enjoy steampunk and lots of great 19th century action stuff, I think you could watch this without necessarily knowing the fandom.

--

they're good dogs Brent [VID](We Rate Dogs) by bessyboo, Platinumvampyr
Summary: h*ckin good dogs.

I doubt there's anyone who didn't see this last year, but just in case, this celebrates the dogs of the We Rate Dogs twitter account, and it's adorable.

Side Effects May Include (Selfie, 3828 words, E) by scioscribe
Summary: “I’ll be blunt,” Saperstein said. “The released powder appears to be having some unintended side effects. We saw the signs in the lab at first, and soon we’re going to be seeing them up here. Damn this fully-functioning ventilation system!” He paused. “I regret to inform you all that the KinderKare building is about to become a love shack, as chronicled in the song ‘Love Shack.’”

Of all the tropes I never thought I'd ever be interested in, sex pollen was right up there at the top of the list, and I blame Cap fandom for making me actually interested in it. I also never really expected to read anything in Selife, because I loathed the pilot episode so much, it was such a traumatic watch, but my friends who loved it convinced me to give the series a shot as they promised it got much better (spoiler: it did, very much). This story has all the elements that made it a fun show, especially the humor aspects, and it's got some laugh out loud lines, as well as being a very in-character exploration of Eliza and Henry when faced with sex pollen.

(I couldn't decide between this or the other Selfie fic minim calibre got for Yuletide, so have a bonus rec of the zombie apocalypse, Sefie style: TEOTWAWKI by hbthomas. I totally believe that Henry would see finding out his house has a bomb shelter under it as a logistical challenge and make most doomsday preparers look like amateurs.)

The eclipse is still ongoing, but the big part of the event is over, and wow, what an eclipse! It was worth freezing my nips off. I saw a shooting star while I was admiring the stars around the moon shortly before it was completely covered. Sigh. I'm a happy stargazer.

For 31 flavors, have comics Bucky and Tony!

Tony Stark and the Mysterious Marksman (Marvel Noir and 616, 18,510 words, T) by sineala
Summary: The year is 1943, and the war is swinging into an unexpected front: the Allies need to get their hands on every magical item they can find before someone else does. There's no one more qualified for the job than Tony Stark, former adventurer for Marvels magazine. When Nick Fury sends him on his latest mission, Tony finally gets the chance to work with Captain America... and the guy won't stop extolling the wonders of his partner, some kid called Bucky. But when Tony gets back to base, he meets someone even better than the Bucky of Cap's stories: an enigmatic -- and incredibly handsome -- marksman by the name of James Barnes.

In the MCU, I can't imagine anything more NOTP for me than winteriron, but in comics, especially Marvel Noir Tony, I guess I'm game on. I found this really charming, a great way to fill in the art that was created for the Cap Reverse BB a couple years ago. I liked how they got together in this, the respect they have for each other, and it's a super fun adventure for a backdrop. (You don't need to know Noir comics, if you haven't read them, as sineala's notes give you the background. Obligatory disclaimer: I had the privilege of beta'ing this.)

Two movies from this year, both in Yuletide

Heavy (Annihilation, 2820 words, G) by mautadite
Summary: Failure suggests purpose, and if you were ever given one, beyond “find Lena”, then you have forgotten it.

This reverse chronology story looks at the events that led to Kane's "return" in the movie. Like the movie, it's weird and spooky and haunting.


The Bamboo Bridge (Crazy Rich Asians, 5516 words, G) by jehane
Summary: The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.

This looks at Eleanor's thoughts about Rachel and what she "won" at the mahjongg game, and the friendship between Rachel and Astrid that changes into something else, and features so many fascinating cultural and location details that I had to frequently pause to look things up (which I love).

I hit 40,000 words on my Stucky AU Big Bang story yesterday, which is why I missed posting new recs. I was so close to the end scene I could taste it, but my hands and wrists were just hurting so bad that I couldn't continue, and I'd taken as many longish breaks as I could. My house might be a sty and I might have work that I should have done before, but by god, I'm gonna finish this if it kills me. I feel like the artists are just waiting for me and it's terrible that this is taking so long. Hilariously, I'd estimated 20-30k in my signup, and I think I have at least 3-4 more to write to finish this off. Then the slightly less hard but still hard work begins in editing--I'm not a person who can write great drafts, anything decent comes in editing. For an AU of the movie Desk Set, this seems to be stretching things, but I've created all kinds of interior monologues and opened up the story with new scenes and stuff. I know almost no one will read this, but whatever. Baby's first AU.

On to recs!

Man, Band of Brothers has just taken off recently, with muccamuk and kore both writing in it and this year there was a holiday exchange, since it's topped out of Yuletide. But I am so far behind I haven't had a chance to read any of it. ::wails:: So this is a rec from a couple Yuletides ago, when it was still eligible.

You want some bourbon/I want some oranges (Band of Brothers, 18294 words, M) by jouissant
Summary: Dick could take a little tedium for the sake of the men, and he could take a hint of moral turpitude for Nix.

This is a lovely, slow build between Dick and Nix during the war.


Cover of Night by killabeez (Star Trek TOS, 12,533 words, M)
Summary: While waiting to learn what will come of the fal tor pan, Kirk relives memories of his destructive and secret relationship with Spock. How can he find redemption when Spock doesn't even remember him?

A couple years ago, I was talking with killa about stuff and she'd mentioned this story, and I realized it had been, like, decades since I'd read any Trek. This is such a lovely, melancholy K/S story about Kirk's fears of whether Spock will remember him, what he'll remember, and if their future will be different from their past.

these fragments (Thor, The Avengers, 4073 words, E) by Wildehack
Summary: “Someone has to survive this day,” Thor grinds out, pressed briefly close to her by the fight.

“Someone will,” she tells him.

This is a really interesting look at Valkyrie fixing Infinity War via time travel, told through a nonlinear narrative (though that's not mentioned in tags, so I'm mentioning it here in case that's important) and seemingly from a post-Thor: Ragnarok place. Other ladies--particularly science ladies--get to help. It's kind of heartbreaking, and yet also hopeful and beautiful.

Missed yesterday (I got over 3k on my Stucky AU Big Bang, which, considering how much pain I was in, was pretty amazing. I've averaged around just under or just over 3k whenever I've had a chance to write, this thing is turning into a behemoth) so here's two recs:

the pleasure principle (The Good Place, 15122 words, E) by yasaman
Summary: "When Eleanor makes the offer, she doesn’t expect Tahani to actually take her up on it. A woman like Tahani Al-Jamil is not going to stay at a tourist trap motel with Eleanor Shellstrop, Arizona trashbag."
What happens when Tahani does, in fact, take Eleanor up on her offer to stay with her in her Sydney motel room.

I'm still not through the number of Good Place fic in Yuletide yet, but this one seems to be pertty popular, and it's not surprising: it's Eleanor/Tahani, and a funny look at how terrible feelings are and how much Eleanor doesn't want them.

and

with autumn closing in (Logan Lucky, 2405, T)
Summary: Out of all the possible repercussions of a successful heist, Clyde Logan definitely did not anticipate a relationship with Dayton White being the one that turned his life upside down.

This was such a weird little surprise for me--I was scrolling through the list of fandoms and saw the film title, so I thought I'd see what was there. I barely recall anything about the movie, other than Sebastian Stan's three minutes of screen time, and even then I don't remember much of that besides his yoga poses and how nice he looked in a race driver uniform. I couldn't even recall the names of the characters outside of Seb's, and so wasn't sure if this was Adam Driver's character or Channing Tatum's! But I don't know, it sounded intriguing, and I definitely don't regret reading it, there's a dry, melancholy quality to it that I liked a lot, and I could see it unfolding just this way.