somniloquence

Woo-hoo! I managed it again, somehow--(more than) 31 recs in (more than) 31 different fandoms! Since I'm so behind in reading Yuletide, I'm kind of amazed that I was able to do it. (Some of them were crossovers, some of them were bonus recs!) So I'm celebrating by making an actual Stucky rec, even though Captain America has been mentioned in some of the previous recs because it was a crossover fandom. And I'm also going to rec another thing that was written for me because what the hell, bonuses are fun. I've mentioned both of these previously, but they both deserve another mention.

Steadfast by Destina (Captain America, The Avengers, 2731 words, unrated)
Summary: Three snapshots from Bucky Barnes' life.

This is such a lovely little look at Bucky in different parts of his life, with all these wonderful observations and turns of phrase that are so typical of destina's excellent writing.


Picking up the punchlines by belmanoir (The Professionals, 3471 words, M)
Summary: Bodie likes Tommy. He does. He just…didn’t realize when he got himself stabbed that he was agreeing to serve as co-guardian-for-nurture to the principal eyewitness.

I've loved dragging belmanoir into my forever once and future fandom during our pandemic-watching of old TV shows, and then she wrote me two fantastic Professionals stories and zing went the strings of my heart. It's been so fun to see this show through someone else's eyes again, and I love how this one captures so much of what makes Bodie and Doyle so great together even while, in this case, Bodie's fighting against it.

Since Festivids doesn't go live till the last couple days of this month, I thought I'd throw in some recs for last year's challenge.

[vid] Let Me Go by kaydeefalls (Moana, G)
Summary: Lock our eyes on distant horizons -- Moana, coming into her own.

There's some really great movement in this and it really enhances the story of Moana's journey.

The Breath at Your Shoulder by Dorinda (The Sting, 2705 words, T)
Summary: By the time he finally felt he might be sleepy, it was the truly wee hours. And over the quiet breathing of a dozen other people, he recognized Hooker's voice at once.

Too soft to be a shout, too thin and high to be a groan. It was as if Hooker was on a train heading the other way, and this quiet keening noise was all Henry had left as he faded into the distance.

Everything dorinda writes is a freakin' gem, and even though we don't even share a ton of fandoms, I know that I can safely say all those stories I haven't read are fantastic. I'm still behind on this year's Yuletide, where she has a much longer Sting story I'm excited to delve into, but this one from last year is just lovely and has so many beautiful, perfect moments. Dorinda is so adept at writing con men (among many subject)--her Ocean's 11 story from many years ago, Confidence Men, is an all-time fave that I should reread soon. I'm always so intimidated by the concept of writing con artists that I boggle at someone who can do it perfectly.

Slow Show by sisabet (Schitt's Creek, G)
Summary:
I want to start over, I want to be winning
Way out of sync from the beginning

I was so excited when I found out that Sisabet was making vids for Schitt's Creek, and this is one of my faves because it so delightfully captures David and Patrick's romance. Really sweet.

I have been racing to meet a deadline and just haven't had the space to do my daily recs, so here are three today.

Abilities and Affections by avani (Persuasion-Jane Austen, 3853 words, G)
Summary: “They’ve expelled us!” cried Elizabeth Elliot indignantly to her sister. “From the Kellynch League! All this when Father’s been a member for decades! Worst of all, they’ve inducted some civilian who built themselves a suit out of scrap metal instead.Built it, Anne!”

Did you ever want a superpowers AU of Persuasion, set within the canon world? Well, here you go. You're welcome.


No Bad Dogs by Kate_Andrews (Knives Out, 47,327 words, E)
Summary: Ransom has needs.

Okay, I have some massive caveats for this: first, I hate bdsm as a general rule, so the fact that this has that plus a number of related kinks made me hesitant to read this, and I'm not sure if my enthusiasm for the fic would match someone else's who's really into that stuff. Second, I tend to hate stories that turn a vile character into a woobie, especially when it's because they're a hot white guy, so if you're just looking for Ransom woobification, this might not suffice, because it's instead a well-earned redemption story for him and his flaws are never erased or ignored. Third, I only skimmed this in parts because of the dominance/submission aspects, so I really have to still go back and read it thoroughly, but I'm making this rec because I found I wasn't connecting with most of the Knives Out fic this year, for some reason, and this one was really the standout to me in terms of depth of character and writing quality. There really isn't that much of the kink stuff, it's primarily about Ransom working on redeeming himself with Marta's...um, help, and it was just a great deep dive into someone who's trying to change. I especially appreciated that neither one of them really understands what they're doing and so they're kind of figuring things out together. I still have a couple stories to read in the fandom from Yuletide, but this was the standout so far to me.


The Three People, One Dog, and One Non-Human Non-Robot Not-a-Girl You Meet in Heaven by samalander (The Good Place, 4141 words, G)
Summary: On the afterlife, and the people Jason Mendoza found there.

It's funny, Jason was never my fave character in The Good Place, but he makes for a really good POV character for fic! This is a sweet and charming look at him with the other characters and what he learns along the way.

Thanks to a friend who's given me access, I was able to catch the first few episodes of WandaVision this weekend. It's...I don't know. Okay? I'm somewhat irritated with the pacing and I really hope that there will be ( Thoughts on the show )

But I think the real thing I'm wondering is--and I have to rewatch that second episode to see if I'm wildly off base or not--whether ( most curious )


Since I'm talking about Wanda, I thought I'd make today's rec about her.

Pour Back the Ocean by imperfectcircle (The Avengers, 10,907 words, T)
Summary: After the events of Age of Ultron, Wanda has to find a new place in the world. Contains team training exercises, expected grief and unexpected kindness.

This came out after Age of Ultron, and gives Wanda a believable journey toward integrating with the team and finding some peace after the loss of her brother. I really appreciated its accurate portrayal of what losing a twin feels like.

Via Appia by theladyscribe (Fast Color, 1795 words, G)
Summary: Five stops on the way to Rome.

After I fell in love with the movie Fast Color (do you have Prime? If so, why haven't you watched this incredible movie yet!?), I went looking for fic, and there was...a grand total of one. One fic. And one trailer vid thingie. That was the extent of fanworks. Now there are like five things. It's really challenging to want more in this universe.

But anyway, this was that lone fic, and it's a lovely look at Ruth and Lila on their way to find Simona in Rome.

just one single glimpse of relief by biochemprincess (Edge of Tomorrow, 2982 words, T)
Summary: Rita didn't just spring into existence from out of nowhere, nothing but a fever dream of millions of minds to save their lives. She's got history. She was a person once, before.

This is a nice look at Rita's past and what made her who she is.


The Pitch and the Roll by eleanor_lavish (The Hunt for Red October, 2776 words, G)
Summary: Some men live for great things. Other men live for those men. Vasily Borodin lives, happily, for Marko Ramius.

A really lovely and affecting history of Vasily's devotion to Ramius, and how it develops over time.

Wow, the past couple days have been bananas. So I have three recs today because I haven't been able to make time for them.

Only Way To Be Sure by seren_ccd (Alien Series, 1693 words, not rated)
Summary: “So, you going to tell me what happened to Bishop?” Hicks asks as Ripley removes a layer of bandages. “Did he offer you cornbread again?” Post-Aliens. (Aliens 3? What Aliens 3? Did they make an Aliens?)

A nice little look at Ripley and Hicks making a new life.


The Lede Up by LovelyPoet (His Girl Friday, 2524 words, T)
Summary: Walter and Hildy making all the right/wrong turns

This is a fantastic fic that captures everything that makes Hildy and Walter so great together, giving them a backstory leading up to their meeting, and then how they get together.


Nova Satus by Minim_Calibre (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, 4224 words, T)
Summary: "What now?"

Gretel turned to her brother. "What now what, Hansel?

This is a cute story that details just how Hansel and Gretel began their careers as witch hunters when they were still kids, with a true sibling-style relationship.

I couldn't get in to AO3 yesterday at all (I guess there was some kind of site slowdown?), so here are two recs today.


One Warm Line by what_alchemy (The Terror, 15159 words, E)
Summary: In James’s arms and out of the sight of God, Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier was in love.

This is the first The Terror fic I read, and what a way to start out--I love that Jeames and Frauncis stay in the Arctic with the Netsilik, and make a future there. My favorite kind of canon divergence, and lovely writing as always.


Alexander Versus Fandom by galaxysoup (Galaxy Quest, 9700 words, G)
Summary: Five fan interactions that flopped and one that got a curtain call.

I loved this look at what Alexander is like through fannish history, with great graphics that span the earliest days of apa-style zines to bulletin boards to tumblr documenting his changing fan interactions. Just swell.