Look how good I'm being! I may do this whole thing in under three years, which would honestly be a record for me.
THREE-MOON NIGHTS by SIGNE (OXONIENSIS)
brick/skipper, brick/maggie. cat on a hot tin roof.
Brick asked Maggie just a few days prior, didn't she think Skipper was handsome, and she'd laughed and agreed, but said her baby was even more handsome. Brick didn't disagree out loud — couldn't really, not with Maggie kissing him and showing him just how handsome she thought he was — but when he thought about it (which wasn't often, just sometimes, when Skipper was standing next to Brick and he could see their reflection in the mirror above the bar), he thought Skipper was unusually handsome. Maybe not so classically handsome as Brick himself, but there was something about his straight nose and the cleft in his chin and the way his sandy-blond hair curled around his ears that Brick thought was fine.
I really really like fic that fills a void of sorts in canon, or at the very least slips into canon without disturbing what we already know. I was so happy when I found this fic, for that reason. It really brings life to the situation that's only alluded to in the play/movie and does a solid job of capturing the tone of Tennesse Williams' dialogue and style. It also intercuts that with post-play/movie stuff and it's just really satisfying. It supplements canon in a great way, and stands alone very well too. Also I remember the author saying they pictured Redford as Skipper, which yes.
A FRIEND IN NEEDby DIDOXIDATE
stuart/ashley. sirens.
Later, just before he leaves, Stuart says, “If I change your name to the King of Blowjobs in my phone, is that flattering or weird?”
Sirens is one of those cancelled shows that I will be eternally bitter about. I really loved it so much! And it was SO SHORT ugh and now there's that heinous American remake that'll probably last forever because USA never pulls the plug on anything. I didn't really ship anything besides Stuart/Maxine when I watched it, but ofc when I looked for fic, all of it was Stuart/Ashley, which I was not necessarily averse to, though good fic convinced me to like it. I super love this fic, I reread it a lot; it's just perfect porn? Lol. The dynamic between Stuart and Ashley is great, really easy and funny and sexy. The character voices were perfect. I also have a reeeal thing for bffs-with-feels, as will become clear across the entirety of this post.
WHERE MY THOUGHT'S ESCAPING by SNORKACKCATCHER
cho chang. harry potter. mostly gen.
A scholarly gentleman in the Comprehensive Emporium heard her using Accio to retrieve a book from a high shelf -- it took a couple of tries to make it work -- and smiled at her. "You are English, then?"
"Scottish," she said automatically. "But my parents are from Guangzhou. We just moved there."
"I see." He nodded vigorously. "May I be so bold as to offer you a small but helpful suggestion?"
Cho blinked. "Er -- yes, of course, please do."
"A thousand thanks. Well then, allow me to say it will be worth your time and trouble to learn the Chinese forms. A spell and its incantation become as two parts of one whole, tied together and gaining in power by use; where everyone says the same words, the repetition smoothes and strengthens the flow of magic. It is like a river cutting its course through the earth, at once carving out and being guided by the path it has formed. This is a deep law of magic. You will find that the incantations everyone uses in Europe will be less effective here, so far from home, where spells have channelled their power in other forms, and a newcomer must create its own path. And of course this applies in reverse." There was a twinkle in his eye that reminded her of Professor Dumbledore; a sharp pang. "I myself always forget this when I travel to Europe for a conference, so the difficulty is not yours alone."
When I was planning out this post, I just had listed 'that Cho fic' because I lost all my bookmarks way back when my old computer died, and I'd never been able to find this one again. However! I wracked my brains for details and aggressively googled and I was able to find it again!!! This fic really stayed with me for a long time. I just thought it was so impressive. It's about Cho's family moving to China circa Book 7 to get away from the war and it delves into all this incredible world-building, particularly about wizarding culture in other countries and how magic differs in China from how Cho learned it, as well as her feelings of displacement both in the UK and in Guangzhou. I really love fics that explore secondary characters in HP, and also open up the world even wider. There's so much potential for expansion within the canon that it's thrilling when someone really takes advantage of it.
ACHILLES HEEL by MITHRIGIL
finnick odair. the hunger games.
My name is Finnick Odair. I am fourteen years old. I am a citizen of District 4 in Panem, but I wasn’t born in any country. I was born at sea.
That’s what they’re telling me to say for the cameras.
The cameras love me, almost as much as the people back home. They say that too. They, my prep team, my stylist, my mentor Mags, the people she says are already lining up to sponsor me. But if the cameras love me, won’t they believe anything I tell them?
Mags says a flat no to that, tells me that she loves me and she doesn’t take any of this with a grain of salt. I don’t believe her. If she loved me, I wouldn’t be here.
I don’t think love is the right word for what the cameras do to me.
Like almost all the fics on this list, this also fills a void in canon. This fic is about Finnick's Games, and his life afterwards. I honestly wish we could get everyone's Games, I have been intensely thirsting for a fic about Johanna's Games forever, someone pls alert me if you know of one. I really like Finnick in this and how he gets slowly dragged into world of Snow and the Capitol. Because he'd been so young when he won, you see it start to creep up on him until it swallows him whole. And especially I liked his growing awareness of how people view him and react to him. It's all so horribly, wonderfully creepy. It's definitely in the style of Suzanne Collins, which is nice for it feeling canon-compliant.
SEBASTIAN REVISITED by speranza
sebastian/charles. brideshead revisited.
It wasn't until we were sitting out one cool night, eating dates and quietly soaking in Vieux Magon, that I realized that Sebastian had – in that casually miraculously way in which he seemed to do everything - recaptured the lost languor of our youth. I had thought that this relaxation of the spirit had been exclusive to Brideshead, that it had risen like a dryad out of its orchards, its hothouses full of exotic blossoms, the rich depths of its wine cellars. Now I saw that my soul's peace was not captive in that enchanted palace, that there were other sacred places: here, now, with him. Sebastian, born and bred within that house, had understood that, and had tried to tell me that happiness could not be imprisoned within the walls of any castle.
I got this a few years ago for Yuletide and I was so immensely thrilled. It's utterly perfect. It's a little bit wish fulfillment-y which is exactly what I wanted, haha. It gives Charles and Sebastian a happy ending after the events of the novel and does it so beautifully that no1currs if the idea of them finding happiness again is slightly unrealistic (not that I necessarily think it is unrealistic). The language is really just so so so wonderful. I happily accept it as a part of canon.
TOP FIVE FIC TROPES
PRETEND MARRIED :: DOMESTICITY :: ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP
These are not actually all the same thing, but they all exist under the same umbrella, so. Pretend married/pretend dating is like catnip to me. I do not know why this is?? I suppose I just really like people being idiots about their own feelings. And I'm sure it feeds a little into how much I love fics that explore relationship dynamics, etc. The Americans is probably the best non-fic example of how amazing pretend married can be as a storyline, how it dredges up all kinds of unwilling emotions.
______ MADE THEM DO IT
Aliens. Sex pollen. Oddly strict games of truth or dare. I don't care. Usually supernatural-y fics have more of this than other fandoms – I remember nouvou Star Trek in particular had a lot of it, lol. It's fun for a lot of the same reasons fake dating is fun, probably. All that ~suppressed ~desire.
EVERYONE IS BISEXUAL
One I am particularly fond of in my own writing, haha. Nothing deep to it, I just like options.
EVERYONE IS DUMB ABOUT FEELINGS :: FRIENDS WITH SECRET FEELS :: UST
Also not the same things, also under the same umbrella. I always really thirst for those long, slow slow slow slow burn relationship fics. You know those ones? I have zero patience when it comes to writing them myself, but damn do I always look for them to read. There is just something so satisfying about watching relationships blossom and develop between people?? God, now that I'm looking at this list all together, I think all of these boil down to people being absolute emotional idiots.
BAD SEX
I love when things go terribly wrong! Lofty expectations not meeting up to reality, miscommunications, nerves – and then the characters caring about each other despite it, and working through it. Plus it's refreshing to read some bad sex every so often; sometimes the unrelenting perfect sex in fic can get a little, uh, repetititve.
TOP FIVE STEVE/BUCKY FIC RECS
MAKE ONE DREAM TRUE (YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) by BEARDSLEY
A man who looks and moves just like Bucky, exactly like him, is walking towards him and sees Steve, who has a split second to think gloved hands before the man smiles in a breathtakingly, achingly, impossibly familiar way and says in Bucky's voice, 'There you are, I looked everywhere for you,' and pushes Steve against the door to one of the reception halls and kisses him.
James Bondian shenanigans! I love this fic a lot, I re-read it quite often; it involves Steve running into the Winter Soldier in a number of classy locales while wearing a number of tuxes, and them being drawn to each other despite Bucky's lack of memory. Steve is lovely and angsty, there is some nice humor via the other Avengers, and also A++ making out.
NO HEART TO RECALL by KIARASAYRE
He has failed missions before. He knows it the way he knows he's the Winter Soldier, the way he knows how to disassemble a sniper's rifle, the way he knows the most efficient method of killing a man with his bare hands: the knowledge is simply there, with no context, no sense memory. But he still knows it: he has failed missions before, and he has failed this one spectacularly.
As far as I am concerned, this is the best and most satisfying post-Cap2 fic I've come across. The characterization is excellent, achingly slow and well-done. It's from Bucky's PoV and there's this really nice touch of the evolution of names he uses: first he is the Winter Solider and Steve is Captain America, then it shifts to Barnes and Rogers, and finally Bucky and Steve. I'm a real sucker for Bucky being pulled to Steve without remembering or understanding why, and watching him slowly want to protect Steve here is really wonderful. The hesitant way they get to know each other again is great. There's some great stuff with the rest of the team, too.
BEI MIR BIST DU SCHOEN by LAURA JV (JACQUEZ)
"You'll make someone a fine wife someday," Bucky said, and dodged the wooden spoon Steve aimed at his knuckles. It was easier, here at home, not to think about what Steve would be like, stretched out naked in Bucky's arms, or kissing him, open-mouthed; easier, because at home Steve was there, taking up space. His raspy breathing and wry smiles and strong, sure hands drove out the fantasy Steve between Bucky's ears, and a good thing, too, or Bucky might forget and lay one on Steve, forget and press Steve up against the wall, start doing things he oughtn't.
Sometimes I flipflop on 1940s fic – all the repression and stuff can be appealing (lol that sounds horrible to say) but it easily puts me off for two reasons: 1) it often displaces Peggy entirely, which I don't go in for, and 2) everyone suddenly starts talking like Huck Finn, even though the whole first movie was set in the 40s and we saw that this was not the case. I really enjoyed this one, though, because its exploration of Bucky's sexuality felt more real and valid to me than some I've seen. Not eveything is ceaseless angst; not everything is unrealisitc openness. There's also a little subplot of gay OCs Bucky and Steve are friends with that I thought was really nice. But best of all it remains respectful of ladies and Bucky's attraction to them, even if his love for Steve ends up being the stronger emotion. (It's still a little Huck Finnsy with the language but that's okay because it's a very lovely fic.)
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT JUST MAYBE by DESDEMON
The first step was enlisting Pepper, who predictably agreed with JARVIS at first, and who said, “You filmed them? Tony, that is such a huge invasion - I can’t even begin to tell you how inappropriate -” and then sat down and watched the entire recording that Tony had saved as evidence.
“It’s really not my business," she said. “But they both seem very lonely,” which was Pepper code for “I’m on board.”
This is a pretty fun fic, one of those ones where the Avengers just seem to hang out and watch movies and be bros a lot. And also Tony gets it into his head to matchmake with Bucky and Steve, and Pepper sort of reluctantly gets pulled in, and it's just super cute. (It has a sort of sister fic with the same premise that is also very fun.) I particularly dig the Tony-and-Pepper-partners-in-crime aspect, lol.
SAFEWORD: "ERSKINE" BY PARAXDISEPINK
Five times Bucky wondered how everyone can think Steve is an innocent boy scout.
This was actually one of the first Steve/Bucky fics I ever read, so I'd probably be fond of it for that reason if nothing else. It is basically just porn, but very good porn. Just copy+pasted the summary because I feel odd being like GRAPHIC PORN EXCERPT so, yeah.
TOP FIVE NON-GG FIC
THREE-MOON NIGHTS by SIGNE (OXONIENSIS)
brick/skipper, brick/maggie. cat on a hot tin roof.
Brick asked Maggie just a few days prior, didn't she think Skipper was handsome, and she'd laughed and agreed, but said her baby was even more handsome. Brick didn't disagree out loud — couldn't really, not with Maggie kissing him and showing him just how handsome she thought he was — but when he thought about it (which wasn't often, just sometimes, when Skipper was standing next to Brick and he could see their reflection in the mirror above the bar), he thought Skipper was unusually handsome. Maybe not so classically handsome as Brick himself, but there was something about his straight nose and the cleft in his chin and the way his sandy-blond hair curled around his ears that Brick thought was fine.
I really really like fic that fills a void of sorts in canon, or at the very least slips into canon without disturbing what we already know. I was so happy when I found this fic, for that reason. It really brings life to the situation that's only alluded to in the play/movie and does a solid job of capturing the tone of Tennesse Williams' dialogue and style. It also intercuts that with post-play/movie stuff and it's just really satisfying. It supplements canon in a great way, and stands alone very well too. Also I remember the author saying they pictured Redford as Skipper, which yes.
A FRIEND IN NEEDby DIDOXIDATE
stuart/ashley. sirens.
Later, just before he leaves, Stuart says, “If I change your name to the King of Blowjobs in my phone, is that flattering or weird?”
Sirens is one of those cancelled shows that I will be eternally bitter about. I really loved it so much! And it was SO SHORT ugh and now there's that heinous American remake that'll probably last forever because USA never pulls the plug on anything. I didn't really ship anything besides Stuart/Maxine when I watched it, but ofc when I looked for fic, all of it was Stuart/Ashley, which I was not necessarily averse to, though good fic convinced me to like it. I super love this fic, I reread it a lot; it's just perfect porn? Lol. The dynamic between Stuart and Ashley is great, really easy and funny and sexy. The character voices were perfect. I also have a reeeal thing for bffs-with-feels, as will become clear across the entirety of this post.
WHERE MY THOUGHT'S ESCAPING by SNORKACKCATCHER
cho chang. harry potter. mostly gen.
A scholarly gentleman in the Comprehensive Emporium heard her using Accio to retrieve a book from a high shelf -- it took a couple of tries to make it work -- and smiled at her. "You are English, then?"
"Scottish," she said automatically. "But my parents are from Guangzhou. We just moved there."
"I see." He nodded vigorously. "May I be so bold as to offer you a small but helpful suggestion?"
Cho blinked. "Er -- yes, of course, please do."
"A thousand thanks. Well then, allow me to say it will be worth your time and trouble to learn the Chinese forms. A spell and its incantation become as two parts of one whole, tied together and gaining in power by use; where everyone says the same words, the repetition smoothes and strengthens the flow of magic. It is like a river cutting its course through the earth, at once carving out and being guided by the path it has formed. This is a deep law of magic. You will find that the incantations everyone uses in Europe will be less effective here, so far from home, where spells have channelled their power in other forms, and a newcomer must create its own path. And of course this applies in reverse." There was a twinkle in his eye that reminded her of Professor Dumbledore; a sharp pang. "I myself always forget this when I travel to Europe for a conference, so the difficulty is not yours alone."
When I was planning out this post, I just had listed 'that Cho fic' because I lost all my bookmarks way back when my old computer died, and I'd never been able to find this one again. However! I wracked my brains for details and aggressively googled and I was able to find it again!!! This fic really stayed with me for a long time. I just thought it was so impressive. It's about Cho's family moving to China circa Book 7 to get away from the war and it delves into all this incredible world-building, particularly about wizarding culture in other countries and how magic differs in China from how Cho learned it, as well as her feelings of displacement both in the UK and in Guangzhou. I really love fics that explore secondary characters in HP, and also open up the world even wider. There's so much potential for expansion within the canon that it's thrilling when someone really takes advantage of it.
ACHILLES HEEL by MITHRIGIL
finnick odair. the hunger games.
My name is Finnick Odair. I am fourteen years old. I am a citizen of District 4 in Panem, but I wasn’t born in any country. I was born at sea.
That’s what they’re telling me to say for the cameras.
The cameras love me, almost as much as the people back home. They say that too. They, my prep team, my stylist, my mentor Mags, the people she says are already lining up to sponsor me. But if the cameras love me, won’t they believe anything I tell them?
Mags says a flat no to that, tells me that she loves me and she doesn’t take any of this with a grain of salt. I don’t believe her. If she loved me, I wouldn’t be here.
I don’t think love is the right word for what the cameras do to me.
Like almost all the fics on this list, this also fills a void in canon. This fic is about Finnick's Games, and his life afterwards. I honestly wish we could get everyone's Games, I have been intensely thirsting for a fic about Johanna's Games forever, someone pls alert me if you know of one. I really like Finnick in this and how he gets slowly dragged into world of Snow and the Capitol. Because he'd been so young when he won, you see it start to creep up on him until it swallows him whole. And especially I liked his growing awareness of how people view him and react to him. It's all so horribly, wonderfully creepy. It's definitely in the style of Suzanne Collins, which is nice for it feeling canon-compliant.
SEBASTIAN REVISITED by speranza
sebastian/charles. brideshead revisited.
It wasn't until we were sitting out one cool night, eating dates and quietly soaking in Vieux Magon, that I realized that Sebastian had – in that casually miraculously way in which he seemed to do everything - recaptured the lost languor of our youth. I had thought that this relaxation of the spirit had been exclusive to Brideshead, that it had risen like a dryad out of its orchards, its hothouses full of exotic blossoms, the rich depths of its wine cellars. Now I saw that my soul's peace was not captive in that enchanted palace, that there were other sacred places: here, now, with him. Sebastian, born and bred within that house, had understood that, and had tried to tell me that happiness could not be imprisoned within the walls of any castle.
I got this a few years ago for Yuletide and I was so immensely thrilled. It's utterly perfect. It's a little bit wish fulfillment-y which is exactly what I wanted, haha. It gives Charles and Sebastian a happy ending after the events of the novel and does it so beautifully that no1currs if the idea of them finding happiness again is slightly unrealistic (not that I necessarily think it is unrealistic). The language is really just so so so wonderful. I happily accept it as a part of canon.
TOP FIVE FIC TROPES
PRETEND MARRIED :: DOMESTICITY :: ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP
These are not actually all the same thing, but they all exist under the same umbrella, so. Pretend married/pretend dating is like catnip to me. I do not know why this is?? I suppose I just really like people being idiots about their own feelings. And I'm sure it feeds a little into how much I love fics that explore relationship dynamics, etc. The Americans is probably the best non-fic example of how amazing pretend married can be as a storyline, how it dredges up all kinds of unwilling emotions.
______ MADE THEM DO IT
Aliens. Sex pollen. Oddly strict games of truth or dare. I don't care. Usually supernatural-y fics have more of this than other fandoms – I remember nouvou Star Trek in particular had a lot of it, lol. It's fun for a lot of the same reasons fake dating is fun, probably. All that ~suppressed ~desire.
EVERYONE IS BISEXUAL
One I am particularly fond of in my own writing, haha. Nothing deep to it, I just like options.
EVERYONE IS DUMB ABOUT FEELINGS :: FRIENDS WITH SECRET FEELS :: UST
Also not the same things, also under the same umbrella. I always really thirst for those long, slow slow slow slow burn relationship fics. You know those ones? I have zero patience when it comes to writing them myself, but damn do I always look for them to read. There is just something so satisfying about watching relationships blossom and develop between people?? God, now that I'm looking at this list all together, I think all of these boil down to people being absolute emotional idiots.
BAD SEX
I love when things go terribly wrong! Lofty expectations not meeting up to reality, miscommunications, nerves – and then the characters caring about each other despite it, and working through it. Plus it's refreshing to read some bad sex every so often; sometimes the unrelenting perfect sex in fic can get a little, uh, repetititve.
TOP FIVE STEVE/BUCKY FIC RECS
MAKE ONE DREAM TRUE (YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) by BEARDSLEY
A man who looks and moves just like Bucky, exactly like him, is walking towards him and sees Steve, who has a split second to think gloved hands before the man smiles in a breathtakingly, achingly, impossibly familiar way and says in Bucky's voice, 'There you are, I looked everywhere for you,' and pushes Steve against the door to one of the reception halls and kisses him.
James Bondian shenanigans! I love this fic a lot, I re-read it quite often; it involves Steve running into the Winter Soldier in a number of classy locales while wearing a number of tuxes, and them being drawn to each other despite Bucky's lack of memory. Steve is lovely and angsty, there is some nice humor via the other Avengers, and also A++ making out.
NO HEART TO RECALL by KIARASAYRE
He has failed missions before. He knows it the way he knows he's the Winter Soldier, the way he knows how to disassemble a sniper's rifle, the way he knows the most efficient method of killing a man with his bare hands: the knowledge is simply there, with no context, no sense memory. But he still knows it: he has failed missions before, and he has failed this one spectacularly.
As far as I am concerned, this is the best and most satisfying post-Cap2 fic I've come across. The characterization is excellent, achingly slow and well-done. It's from Bucky's PoV and there's this really nice touch of the evolution of names he uses: first he is the Winter Solider and Steve is Captain America, then it shifts to Barnes and Rogers, and finally Bucky and Steve. I'm a real sucker for Bucky being pulled to Steve without remembering or understanding why, and watching him slowly want to protect Steve here is really wonderful. The hesitant way they get to know each other again is great. There's some great stuff with the rest of the team, too.
BEI MIR BIST DU SCHOEN by LAURA JV (JACQUEZ)
"You'll make someone a fine wife someday," Bucky said, and dodged the wooden spoon Steve aimed at his knuckles. It was easier, here at home, not to think about what Steve would be like, stretched out naked in Bucky's arms, or kissing him, open-mouthed; easier, because at home Steve was there, taking up space. His raspy breathing and wry smiles and strong, sure hands drove out the fantasy Steve between Bucky's ears, and a good thing, too, or Bucky might forget and lay one on Steve, forget and press Steve up against the wall, start doing things he oughtn't.
Sometimes I flipflop on 1940s fic – all the repression and stuff can be appealing (lol that sounds horrible to say) but it easily puts me off for two reasons: 1) it often displaces Peggy entirely, which I don't go in for, and 2) everyone suddenly starts talking like Huck Finn, even though the whole first movie was set in the 40s and we saw that this was not the case. I really enjoyed this one, though, because its exploration of Bucky's sexuality felt more real and valid to me than some I've seen. Not eveything is ceaseless angst; not everything is unrealisitc openness. There's also a little subplot of gay OCs Bucky and Steve are friends with that I thought was really nice. But best of all it remains respectful of ladies and Bucky's attraction to them, even if his love for Steve ends up being the stronger emotion. (It's still a little Huck Finnsy with the language but that's okay because it's a very lovely fic.)
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT JUST MAYBE by DESDEMON
The first step was enlisting Pepper, who predictably agreed with JARVIS at first, and who said, “You filmed them? Tony, that is such a huge invasion - I can’t even begin to tell you how inappropriate -” and then sat down and watched the entire recording that Tony had saved as evidence.
“It’s really not my business," she said. “But they both seem very lonely,” which was Pepper code for “I’m on board.”
This is a pretty fun fic, one of those ones where the Avengers just seem to hang out and watch movies and be bros a lot. And also Tony gets it into his head to matchmake with Bucky and Steve, and Pepper sort of reluctantly gets pulled in, and it's just super cute. (It has a sort of sister fic with the same premise that is also very fun.) I particularly dig the Tony-and-Pepper-partners-in-crime aspect, lol.
SAFEWORD: "ERSKINE" BY PARAXDISEPINK
Five times Bucky wondered how everyone can think Steve is an innocent boy scout.
This was actually one of the first Steve/Bucky fics I ever read, so I'd probably be fond of it for that reason if nothing else. It is basically just porn, but very good porn. Just copy+pasted the summary because I feel odd being like GRAPHIC PORN EXCERPT so, yeah.
next post: gossip girl prompts!