wanderings

This entry was written for hollowhearts' prompt, "rec 3 of your all time favourite fics and talk about why you like them".

These are all fic that I've read over and over, downloaded to my device and carried around with me like a security blanket. I have read them on public transit, bundled up in queues, and on dark nights without internet.

meditations ex post facto by singlecrow
Guardian | 9,253 words | PG | Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Summary: "It is very tedious,” Professor Shen agrees, setting down his cup of tea. “I admire your forbearance.”
“I have no forbearance,” Zhao Yunlan assures him. “I get drunk a lot and throw things.”
or, the lawyers AU that no one asked for.
     + This is the one fic that I've been carrying around with me lately - I have an old phone with storage limitations, so this really is my de facto desert island fic right now. I love it. It is team and minor shenanigans and being kind of incompetent at bits of your life and in a little bit of awe of those around you that have their shit together, who are accomplished and wonderful and great, and finding your people and maybe being more competent than you've let yourself realise. It's about idealism and the utter shit show that is administration and the world we live in in general, which is eminently relatable. It's also a stylistic delight, peppered with wonderful lines like, “I am a paragon of virtue. I have all my own teeth and I’m a lawyer. Any mother would be proud.” It reminds me of The West Wing and of Slings & Arrows, a bit, with the way that it approaches life, and it is just about the perfect length, to take me out of the world for a little bit, and return me happier, soothed.

Rumor Has It by gyzym
Glee | 8,351 words | R | Santana Lopez/OFC
Summary: In which Santana Lopez learns the hard way that a life can never be ruined, only lived, and lived, and lived.
     + I read this fic a lot during a time in my life where I was shifting gears a little bit and also actively seeking out in-person queer community, trying to shape my life into something other than it had been. That's kind of what this fic is: it takes Santana from the end of high school to her early thirties and has her meeting her people, figuring out what she wants to do with her life and building that. Santana reconciles with her past in this as a result of that process of finding herself, and that's an important narrative, I think.
I've a visceral negative reaction to the question, "If you could change anything in your past, what would it be?" Because it has felt like such an awful invasive question, and because I don't know who I would be, without that awful thing. Without any awful thing. This is a fic that takes that holistic view and has a character that embraces themselves in answering that question for themselves*, and I just really appreciate that.
*It's never explicitly posed, for the record.

(This Is) Not a Statement by seperis
American Idol RPF | 57,331 words | NC-17 | Kris Allen/Adam Lambert
"You get you don't have to take up a grand gesture lifestyle so I feel secure in your affections, right? I feel pretty secure."
     + It's been a few years, but I have read this fic so many times, and have done the thing where you finish reading and immediately begin rereading the fic - more than once, probably. I loved Adam and Kris' friendship in the beginning of this, how it doesn't quite follow the carefully set out borders of straight male friendship, how it reminds me of, like, intense female academic friendships from the era of Boston marriages, filled with a kind of queer romanticism and friendship in the absence or presence of a sexual relationship. I like the slow unfurling of that friendship into something else. I also like how Katy isn't "shrill", doesn't die, has her own goals, and the dissolution of their marriage is a slow thing. I like how Kris and Adam have fights, and talk about boundaries.
I like that this fic deals with sexual assault by a fleshed out original character, and that it is a teaching thing, a yes, men can be the victims of sexual assault and that assault is never excused, not the victim's fault. I like how fleshed out the characters and their relationships are, that Adam and Kris each have their own separate friend groups and coworkers, and also have relationships with the people in each other's lives.
There's a kind of lush pulpiness in this work that I am forever weak to, and a depth and intensity that I find really compelling; it has things to say, about the media representation of Adam Lambert and about relationships in general. I have a lot of fondness for it.

These are all stories that hit my domestic/home/safe kink and they've all got this element of uncertainty or carefulness in them. It's an excellent combination.

Safe Harbour by softlyforgotten
Bandom
Rating: PG-13; 3,037 words; Z Berg/Tennessee Thomas
Summary: "We're on the lam," Z said.
I've been planning on reccing this fic since I read it. It's this really lovely, kind of quiet, mundane story with all of these undercurrents and bits of wonderful phrasing that all make it the sort of story that's really easy to sink into for me, easy to read again. Z and Tennessee take a road trip with Laena to Reni, Charlotte behind them, and it's just- it's really great.

one foot in and one foot back by inlovewithnight
Snow White and the Huntsman RPF
Rating: PG-13; 1,676 words; Charlize Theron/Kristen Stewart
Summary: This is not her life, but she doesn't want to go home.
It's this gorgeous domestic story about, in part, being all tangled up with wanting something. Kristen is brilliantly written in this and there are some really enjoyable details and bits of humour throughout.

Set Our Watches Forward Like We're Just Arriving Here by summerstorm
American Idol RPF
Rating: NC-17; 5,310 words; Adam Lambert/Kris Allen
Summary: "I haven't actually broken anything, it's just a stupid fracture," or how Kris Allen fractured his wrist and decided to keep his apartment, and also Adam.
This is another fic with cautiousness and uncertainty, with all of that tension that's sometimes there before a relationship happens. I really love the journey that Kris takes in this fic, getting to a place where he's happier, where he's more at home. It's wonderful.

The Power of Myth by mosca
Gilmore Girls
Rating: PG-13; ~2,500 words; Paris/Rory
There is a different President today than there was yesterday. That alone makes it a good day to be Paris Geller. When interviewed, she will say that she didn't have much to do with it, because she was busy exhorting people to educate themselves about local candidates and campaigns.
This is future!fic that was posted back in 2005, before the final two seasons of the show aired. It is wonderful. Paris becomes a pundit and attends the 2012 Inaugural Ball. The future building is really interesting, because it is an AU, and we're not so many months off from that time now and the reality is different; there are things that have and haven't happened. Paris as a pundit is also this really perfect concept; I love where she and Rory end up and I love how things aren't perfect, how, just like the series finale, there wasn't that kind of neat ending. I love the reality of this piece and I love how Rory and Paris talk to each other. I love how they interact, how Joseph Campbell is this thing for them, I love them. I love how this fic brings them together.

The Wrath of The Whatever From High Atop The Thing by amazingly_me
Inception
Rating: PG-13; 8,230 words; Arthur/Eames
“Pictures of Dom tonight, Eames,” Yusuf replies from the doorway. “Pictures of the man who is actually running for president or I swear to you, I will point out to Arthur that he has a stalker with no shame and a thousand dollar camera.”
I love this fic. It's an Eames-centric work and the writing is perfectly in synch with that. It's funny. There are some amazing lines and sections in this. I love how the characters talk to each other in this; I love the banter in this. I love the kind of affection that there is in that kind of speech. I love the things that Eames does to make other people smile and I love how Eames falls ridiculously in love with Arthur. It's the story of that, that relationship, and also Dom's campaign and Mal. There are some fantastic feelings in this. Dom is Dom, running for president; the characters are excellent, it's an excellent alternate universe.

Quod Gratis Asseritur, Gratis Negatur by summerstorm
American Idol RPF
Rating: PG-13; 2,869 words; Adam/Kris
"I can't leave yet, can I?" Kris asked when Adam walked by his desk, voice dry and resigned. Adam was pretty sure it was just him and Kris left in a four-room radius, so it wasn't a strange way for Kris to react to seeing him there.
Adam is the Deputy Chief of Staff and Kris is his assistant. (I think that this is a pretty straight-up Josh/Donna West Wing AU; some day I may watch an episode of the show and know whether or not that is true.) It features an Adam that is kind of boisterous, unsubtle, and has a lot of affection for Kris. There are also long hours and general ridiculousness and inappropriate conversations. I love the argument that Adam and Kris have in this; they have an argument about their anniversary. It is kind of the most amazingly fluffy and squishable thing ever. There's also a fair amount going on in the background of the fic, so that the work feels like this really quick snapshot into this universe.

Theft of Assets, Destruction of Property by helenish
Harry Potter
Rating: NC-17
It’s this glorious Draco/Neville romance that reads like a really awesome romance novel; Malfoy is horribly abused by his mustache-twirling type father, is disgraced and marries to escape the abuse, and then proceeds to spend a lot of time baking and being insecure. It’s lovely, and there are all of these descriptions of food scattered throughout the piece, which makes me happy. I love how genuinely awkward people are in this when reacting to awkward situations; it scans as authentic. It’s this wonderful slow romance.

United States of Hysteria by trinityofone
Stargate: Atlantis
Rating: PG
I love this story; it’s one of my favorites. It’s not a fandom must-read, and was written years ago as a birthday present with a little TBC as the recipient wishes tagged on at the end. It’s the beginning of a story that, as far as I know, has never been finished. It’s wry and funny and sweet, though, and the alternate universe in this is kind of fascinating and wonderful, though a little dark. It’s a Rodney-centric fic and there are a couple really nice scenes of Miller home life in it. Teyla is also a prominent character in this and she is very much herself. It’s lovely.

In Writing by astolat
American Idol RPF
Rating: NC-17
This fic falls under the “strange contractual obligations” section of the post title. It’s this fantastic little piece of crack wherein Kris is contractually obliged to sleep in Adam’s bed. Kris is kind of gloriously sullen about the whole thing; it’s adorable and also kind of hilarious.