wanderings

Other Means by dewdropfae
Dresden Files | 31,952 words | NC-17 | Dresden/Marcone
Summary: Set post Battle Ground.
Harry negotiates, with interludes for beer and punching.
     + John approaches Harry for magic lessons. Obviously they end up fake dating and real fucking. Featuring a Harry with a bit more practicality than his younger self and a John that's about the same, really.

You Could Be the King, but Watch the Queen Conquer by phoenixyfriend
The Good Place | 11,161 words | PG-13 | Eleanor/Chidi, Tahani/Michael, Eleanor/Chidi/Tahani
Summary: When Tahani hears that her little sister is getting married, from what seems like every news site on the planet, she knows what's coming. She knows the media's focus on her will start to shift to why she isn't married yet, and her reputation can't afford another hit after Cleveland.
So she hatches a plan. Platonically marrying a man over twice your age is a good plan, right?
(Funnily enough, it works out perfectly.)
     + An absolute joy of a story wherein Tahani gets everything she wants, and so does just about everyone else.

Heal Thyself by astolat
Harry Potter | 46,905 words | PG-13 | Harry/Draco
"Are you going for the course?" Lovegood asked. "You have the NEWTs.
“What course?” Draco said, then, “No, don’t be ridiculous,” when he realized she meant the notice pinned up on the board he’d been staring at: Applicants To The Introductory Mediwizard Course For The Coming Term Shall Present Themselves In The Chief Mediwizard’s Office By August 24th.
“Oh, I thought you might,” she said. “Well, goodbye.” And off she wandered again in her addled way.
     + What I really enjoy about this fic is that it has Draco suffering, facing an uphill slog, recovering from his youth, and accidentally becoming a better person. I like the way that he stumbles into his choice and that things are hard for a long time before they get better, and that when things do get easier there are still bits of his life that he's dissatisfied with. It's comforting.

Party Invitations and Falling in Love with Your Sworn Enemy: A Tactical Guide by dustmouth
Harry Potter | 129 pages | PG-13 | Harry/Draco
Summary: Chronicling the trials and tribulations of one Draco Malfoy, employee of the Godric's Hollow Postal Office, and the events unfolding around the hottest local party in the calendar year. Featuring: Owlengitis, bingo-based plots, and Julie Bumble's questionable neighbourhood erotica.
     + A 129 page comic of small town enemies to lovers hijinks. The pencil drawings are charming. The character expressions have a Beaton-esque quality about them at times. Draco wears a ridiculous hat. One of the lines is: "It must, at this juncture, be acknowledged that the plan has gone a little awry." I am not sure what more you could want.

The Trouble with Wanting by waldorph
Harry Potter | 60,313 words | NC-17 | Harry/Draco
Summary: Draco Malfoy is cleared of all charges; this is what happens next.
     + Of tattoos and old curses and houses, the friends that are your family, and falling in love. A Draco-centric story with the surviving Slytherin friendships front and centre, about building, after Hogwarts and the war.

Waiting patiently... by Villanargh
Killing Eve | art | G | Eve
     + The colours in here are lovely and there is such expression on her face, and texture in her scarf.

“kate bishop. i’m pretty much an avenger. at your service.” by daisyann-jpg
Marvel | art | G | Kate & Lucky
     + Really hits the style of the comics. The poses here are evocative and the posters in the background are a nice touch.

Achievement Unlocked by miscellea
The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System | 51,283 words | PG-13 | Luò Bīnghé/Shěn Yuán;Shěn Qīngqiū
Summary: One day, after five years of reasonably peaceful marriage with only a few kidnappings and sex pollen incidents, Shen Yuan is sent back to his old body without warning. Luo Binghe makes a deal with an alien entity calling itself the System to perform a mission in exchange for the ability to bring his husband home.
The mission is simple; [Uncover secret transmigrator plotline and flesh out the character wiki!]
At least it will be once he figures out what the words ‘transmigrator’ and ‘wiki’ mean.
Or: That one where Shen Yuan and Luo Binghe don’t realize they’re in a domestic fluff bonus chapter.
     + One of the tags here is "Reverse Transmigration AU", which is always hilarious - there's something about storybook-type characters having to interact with some approximation of the real world that I find both comical and satisfying. There's also some great world-building in this, including fleshing out Shen Yuan's family the character wiki.

Starstruck by Camorra
The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System | 19,844 words | NC-17 | Luò Bīnghé/Shěn Yuán;Shěn Qīngqiū
Summary: His phone buzzes again and Shen Yuan scoops it up irritably. It’s another message from DemonHeart.
DemonHeart: you seem to be a Luo Binghe fan
DemonHeart: we can get you access to him
Shen Yuan scowls.
PeerlessCucumber: do I look like I was born yesterday?
The response is instantaneous. A picture pops up on screen. Shen Yuan vaguely recognizes the woman that plays the drums, still in full stage makeup. Next to her, arm slung around her waist, is a face Shen Yuan would know anywhere. Luo Binghe, giving a wry smile to the camera.
DemonHeart: he’s a fan, you know
PeerlessCucumber: where exactly would we be meeting
     + This one is tagged "Hannah Montana AU". A modern AU wherein Luo Binghe is an idol; Shen Yuan has been his fan for years and deals with being oblivious. Comedy.

AQ by x_los
The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System/Star Trek | 15,348 words | NC-17 | Luò Bīnghé/Shěn Yuán;Shěn Qīngqiū
Summary: Before he rose to captaincy, Shen Yuan attended a briefing given to all command level officers in Star Fleet that outlined the scope of the Q threat. According to Admiral Picard's report, the omnipotent Q are devious, amoral, unreliable, irresponsible and definitely not to be trusted
Orphaned stowaway Luo Binghe doesn't even know he is one.
     + A perfect fusion AU. Of course Luo Binghe is a Q. Of course there is eventual codependency and xenoporn. Startlingly like canon fic, which is basically the ultimate measure of fusion success.

Know All Your Enemies by BAMFspock
Star Trek | 351,857 words | R | Kirk/Spock
Summary: "The thing about being able to tell what people are feeling and thinking is that people generally don't like that."
Jim can't deal with his problems, so he deals with everyone else's instead. Spock can't deal with his emotions, so he pushes them all away. Starfleet can't deal with a post-Kelvin universe in any way except badly.
And what exactly is t'hy'la, anyway?
A story about dangerous conspiracies, doomed crusades, inadequate coping, imperfect control, important connections, and taking care.
     + The summary does a really good job of capturing the tone and style of this fic, which I quickly devoured in its entirety. Full of plot and feelings.

We are Stardust, We are Golden by idiopathicsmile
Stranger Things | 26,374 words | R | Steve/Eddie
Summary: It starts like this: Steve, waiting in his car to pick up Dustin and friends from a session of their Chutes and Ladders club or whatever. Waiting kind of impatiently, to be honest, even though it’s not like he has anywhere else to be because Robin’s busy tonight and, as he well knows by this point, saving the world doesn’t get you a girlfriend or glory or even a second age-appropriate friend, it just gets you another evening shift at Family Video and a long personal to-do list.
In the spring and summer of 1986, Steve Harrington contends with the biases of the day, hatches several plans, and finally really gets to know Eddie Munson.
     + I love this story because it has a character who calls out people's bigoted shit and rants a little. I love it because there's DnD as a teaching tool and queers finding each other and obliviousness and just a tiny bit of pining.

it's just breakfast by screamlet
Boy Meets World/Girl Meets World | 5,585 words | G | Shawn/Topanga/Cory
“I hate school I hate school I hate school,” Maya chanted as she ran into her room and slammed the door.
“It’s a necessary evil and I’m sorry you can’t appreciate that right now!” Shawn called back.
Their shitty home printer jammed twice and there was a vertical line running down each page of Maya’s English essay, but hopefully that wouldn’t matter—it was done, it was printed, there was a neat staple in the top left corner and everything was formatted according to the very detailed 8th grade essay guidelines. They would have breakfast downstairs and it would all be okay.
     + OT3 domesticity, a strong Maya & Shawn relationship developing, emotional vulnerability, and love. Excellent show vibes.

that first, initial feeling by varnes
Buzzfeed RPF | 21,276 words | NC-17 | Ryan/Shane
Summary: “You’re called the Treasure Chest,” Shane says blankly to the man behind the counter, who is looking at him with a completely neutral expression. His name tag suggests that he is called Ryan. “It’s -- literally every sex shop in the history of sex shops was called The Treasure Chest. I’m pretty sure it’s in the by-laws.
“The by-laws ... for sex shops?” Ryan asks.
Shane fixes him with a look. He sells crystals, which means he’s a con man, which means he’s a deviant of at least some kind, which means he’s been to a sex shop and he knows exactly what Shane means. “Listen,” Shane says, and then nothing else, because Ryan The Counter Man pulls an arm behind his head to stretch and the sight of his surprisingly beefy arms short-circuits Shane’s brain.
The man blinks patiently at him. “I’m listening,” he says, encouragingly.
OR: An AU in which Ryan runs a crystals store, and Shane is beguiled by him anyway.
     + One of those if-they-hadn't-met-the-way-they-did-they-would-have-ended-up-in-exactly-the-same-place-anyway AUs. They're just so delighted by each other. The banter in this is great and there's a good amount of feelings, no in this. ♥

Everything by Trelkez
Buzzfeed RPF | 2:09 | PG | Ryan/Shane
Music: Everything by Scruffy the Cat
Summary: Did you just call the demon a motherfucker?
     + This is fun. There's smiling and laughing at each other and Ryan getting freaked out by stuff, a bit. Charming.

Hot Scary Summer by thewindupbird
Buzzfeed RPF | 11,627 words | NC-17 | Ryan/Shane
Summary: The boys hunt some ghosts, make some impulsive choices, and try their best to sort out what it means to get to the heart of this thing.
     + Navigating America, the supernatural, and their own relationship. There's a kiss and then a whole lot of processing.

Begin the Begin, Over and Over by beethechange
Buzzfeed RPF | 33,398 words | NC-17 | Ryan/Shane
Summary: Shane only agrees to be handcuffed to Ryan for a video because he can put up with anything for twenty-four hours. That’s the funny thing about time loops, though—they don’t always adhere to the parameters set by clickbait videos.
     + Groundhog Day, and the thing about the set-up is that he's basically dating Ryan, taking Ryan on all the dates. (This thing reminds me of hockey fic, with the way it ties up the personal and the professional; it feels like cup fic.)

Etta Candy's Last Stand by sanguinity
DCU | 1,788 words | PG-13 | Etta/Diana
This is the way Etta is going to die: trapped between a bed and Diana Prince’s breasts.
     + Funny and adorable. Spot-on voices.

Scandal by Gwen77
Game of Thrones | 21,652 words | NC-17 | Brienne/Jaime
Summary: This is a quasi-Victorian AU, set in a nineteenth century version of Westeros.
     + It's a romance novel (like, there are some strong genre ties happening here) and Brienne's a journalist. lazaefair recced this on fancake and sold me on it.

the unlocking and the lift away by beyond_belief
Generation Kill | 59,262 words | NC-17 | Brad/Ray
Summary: You can't not build a life just because things might change.
Or, Ray gets an MBA.
     + Ray runs away to Brad's/college with a cat, and then they're roommates. Ray makes friends with his classmates and he and Brad fall in love. There's also some stuff with Ray's family.

家教 - or - Domestic Education by rageprufrock
Guardian | 9,034 words | PG-13 | Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Summary: Shen Wei is the Ghost King, born out of the unyielding chaos of entropy that had consumed the underworld before the creation of the wheel of reincarnation. He's the cosmic guardian of death and all her darlings, and the universe through the lens of his eye is rife with demons, hungry ghosts, and shadows creeping out of their places. So there is absolutely no way he is getting sick.
     + He is getting sick and Zhao Yunlan and his take care of him. I love the mundane and domesticity and family-ness of this, and the contrast of that and what Shen Wei is is kind of perfect.

Without A Net Upon The Wire by torakowalski
Marvel | 41,982 words | NC-17 | Clint/Phil
Summary: Since he was abandoned by his brother and then the circus, Clint Barton has resigned himself to making his own way in the world. So when he ends up living on the streets of New York in the middle of winter, he’s not expecting to be taken in by injured army veteran, Phil Coulson, or accidentally involved in an escalating war against the Russian mafia.
     + The one where Coulson lives in the tracksuit mafia building and takes a young Clint in and they are both very stubborn about accepting each other's help and liking each other. (Also features Nick, Barney, and Natasha.)

Counterfeit and Counterpart by Frea_O
Marvel | 28,013 words | PG-13 | Maria & Natasha
Summary: Five times Maria Hill doesn’t understand Natasha Romanoff, and why she might be better off that way.
     + Maria-centric, and awesome. There's a road trip in here, and also their beginnings at SHIELD and it does not read like a five times fic, because it's so fluid and you get swept up in their relationship.

love is for children and other lies by Fahye
Marvel | 30,095 words | PG-13 | Natasha
Summary: War is the child's emptiness, the surrender of identity, the transformation into a simple system: purpose goes in, action comes out. (Natalia Alianovna Romanova, and everything that she became.)
     + Natasha's history and her friendship with Clint. She's asexual in this, though that's not a word that's anywhere but the tags.

Citation Flirtation by scioscribe
Marvel | 3,166 words | PG-13 | Shuri/OFC
Summary: Shuri's paper is refuted in a subclause of a footnote. This means war. (And somehow eventually takeout and fully-funded projects and kissing.)
     + This is so good. Crushes and posturing.

Good Lives by jibrailis
Naruto | 7,637 words | PG-13 | Gai/Kakashi
Summary: Gai accidentally becomes first lady of Konoha.
     + Gai is fantastic. Kakashi starts getting him to do ceremonial stuff and *points at summary*.

cultivating in themselves something by thingswithwings
Schitt's Creek | 5,090 words | NC-17 | David/Patrick
Patrick shrugs with one shoulder. “I just―it’s a nice fantasy. I thought you might like to play with it."
“And the fantasy is . . . ?” David lets his hands roam over Patrick’s sides and back, stroking slowly.
“Hot, repressed gay guy comes into the store,” Patrick says, beginning the scene.
     + God, they're so in love, and there's so much communication in this, and it feels celebratory, of fantasy and sexuality and sex; it's great.

Watching Through Windows by helvetica_upstart
Schitt's Creek | 38,537 words | NC-17 | David/Patrick
Summary: David gapes at the man calling himself David’s husband. “You think I’m falling for the married amnesiac trap? Yeah, no, my sister has been-there done-that and sent me the Embassy’s postcards.”
Or, David falls off a ladder and can’t remember Schitt’s Creek. Things fall apart and come back together.
     + I love how complicated this is, detailed and thought out. This is incredibly rich and full of feelings.

do u expect me, a gay, to remember everything i write by lazulisong
The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System | 3,973 words | PG-13 | Mòběi-jūn/Shàng Qīnghuá
"What?" says Shang Qinghua. "No, he's not. Why would he court me? He thinks I'm like, a hamster.
"Okay, then why is he dropping like, monsters and shit at your door?" says Cucumber-bro. "That's how they like, show people they can provide for them or whatever."
"Why would they do that!" shrieks Shang Qinghua. "I never --"
"It was a plot point, dude," says Cucumber-bro, in the slow, patient voice of someone speaking to a stupid dog. "It was an actual, literal plot point you typed in with your own like, sinful hands."
"No it wasn't," says Shang Qinghua immediately. "I think I would like, fucking remember writing a scene where some chick gets an actual fucking dragon corpse dropped on her door and immediately gives it up for the person who brought it!"
     + I do not know this fandom, but this is very fun and has some entertaining trope takes.

The Rose of Terok Nor by cicak
Star Trek | 12,167 words | PG-13 | Bashir/Garak
Summary: It's five years after the war and everyone's talking about the hottest new publishing sensation out of Cardassia, The Rose of Terok Nor.
In which roses don't shine, spelling over instant messenger is still fraught, limited edition art books are acquired, and it's all true, especially the lies.
     + After he returns to Cardassia Garak rewrites his past as a soppy love story starring serial-numbers-filed-off versions of himself and Julian; a teenaged Cardassian female gets Julian to read it.

A Brief Introduction to Live Action Roleplaying by wldnst
Teen Wolf | 28,171 words | PG-13 | Danny/Stiles
Summary: Jackson tells Danny he's a werewolf. Danny gets werewolf advice from a stranger on the internet. Things escalate from there.
     + Identity porn and teenaged romance. Sweet.

A Fever Moon by morphosyntactic
Teen Wolf | 4,649 words | NC-17 | Danny/Stiles
Summary: Danny has only ever been human, and he’s pretty sure there’s meant to be some kind of rule, an unwritten moral code of the gay scene: you are not obligated to be every straight boy’s experiment, you should leave them to work through their confusion alone. The thing is, though, Danny is one of just two guys who are out and proud in the whole school. Beacon Hills is a small town.
     + Danny and Stiles get drunk and fool around. It's a good thing.