Falling with STYLE

So I made the mistake of asking zeenell what she wanted her annual birthday recs set to be about this year before she'd had her morning coffee. And she rattled off a few fandoms and then said "coffeeeeeeeeee" And because I'm me, I decided that I'd be a little shit and give her a set of recs where the people in question get together around our favorite warm beverage. (Or, a few cases, hot chocolate or tea, which I'd argue is good enough for me!) Happy Natal Anniversary bb! <3333

( 17 fics in 8ish fandoms, depending on how we're counting Marvel )

Hello Secret Santa Friend! If you want some suggestions, I have a few ideas of where to start:

Dark chocolate, and if it's relevant, my favorite extras are caramel and nuts
Coffee, slight preference for dark roast, but I'm really just into coffee (and I have a drip coffee maker, if you're looking for info on how beans should be ground, because I don't currently own a grinder)
Opaque nail polish or sparkle top coats
Spices for cooking or baking (I don't really use anise, but otherwise I cook all sorts of things and enjoy the challenge of incorporating new flavors)
Red wine, rum, or gin
Framed pictures of my friends to hang on my wall (I've got this vague theme of cheap brightly colored plain frames going, but I'm not overly picky there)
Novelty pajama pants, women's size L or XL in most brands (you know, like smiling coffee cups or animated sushi or rubber duckies or whatnot)
Fold-up reusable shopping bags. I've had my eye on some of the ones from this set for a while, but if they're brightly colored or dorky, I'll love them
Kindle, Starbucks, or movie theater giftcards (I'd probably use Regal or Landmark most often, but Arclight or AFI would also get used)
Or if you wanted to write me something, this is my letter from the last time I did Yuletide, and it's still pretty accurate

♥ ♥ ♥

So to get this reccing party started, I am starting with a set of fics dealing with asexuality for my darling zeenell. Because NELL MADE THE MISTAKE OF VENTURING INTO THE AO3 TAG UNACCOMPANIED, and I think it is my duty to keep her from doing that again for a while. ♥ (Some of these I know I've recced before, but I am going to rec them again for completeness sake.)

Gen Fic

so you were never a saint. (12319 words) by paperclipbitch (James Bond, gen, teen) - Q's life is SO CONFUSING to him, but it turns out that he's rather fond of it, in the end.

love is for children and other lies (30095 words) by fahye (Avengers, gen, teen) - Natasha's life before, during, and after the Red Room. (Mix of comics canon and movie 'verse, relationships happen, but aren't really the point.)

Forty Years and Eight Pounds (The Skin Hunger Variations) (2419 words) by bironic (SGA, gen, teen) - John just wants to be touched, but doesn't know how to ask for it for many varied reasons. (Oh bb. I KNOW THIS FEEL.)

Relationship Fic

Electric Feels (12779) by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel (Avengers, Coulson/JARVIS, teen) - the implications of JARVIS being a fully cognizant AI are actually REALLY adorable.

'Til Break of Day (8083 words) by bendingsignpost (The Hobbit, Bilbo/Thorin, teen) - Thorin introduces Bilbo to the joys of snuggling.

Waiting for Duke Nukem Forever by flyingthesky (Bandom, Mikey/Pete, mature) - Pete and Mikey just fit together nicely. If this fic, or some variation of it, didn't actually happen in real life, I will turn in my tinhat.

To live for a moment in unison (9623 words) by SidneySussex (Avengers, Clint/Coulson, teen) - wherein two people who think they are broken discover that either they are broken in complementary ways, or they are not broken after all. Either way, they don't have to break up, which is a huge relief.

and the rivers shall give up their dead (9384 words) by raven (BBC Sherlock, John/Mary, John/Sherlock, teen) - Emotional constipation, polyamory, and people not actually being dead. It's like a trifecta of some my most favorite things! :D

Your Moral Crisis is Stupid (8354 words) by Stochastical (BBC Sherlock, John/Sherlock, explicit) - coercion works both ways Sherlock. It's not that John minds you being ace, it's just that he minds you not telling him. (Also John is being a little stupid, but we love him anyway.)

Allowed (42576 words) by the_ragnarok (Inception, Arthur/Eames, explicit) - All relationships have boundaries, their's just has a few more around the sexual components.

Mosaic (6297 words) by isabeau (X-Men, Charles/Erik, teen) - you know, there are very few couples that I could believe of having quite THIS level of miscommunication. Charles and Erik are one of them, and they are kind of adorable when you want to bop their heads together.

Dulce Domum (2649 words) by busaikko (SGA, John/Rodney/Jennifer, all) - Rodney and Jennifer just want John to know that they are 100% OK with having a group marriage with him.

Relationship Fic involving Kink

Here You Come With Your Open Hands. by (3817 words) by lannamichaels (Les Misérables, Enjolras/Grantaire, mature) - a modern AU wherein Grantaire is sick of having to reexplain his boundaries every time he wants to sub for someone, Enjolras is insufferable, and maybe these two crazy kids are entirely meant for each other.

The Paths of Desire (4936 words) by telesilla (SGA, John/Rodney, explicit) - Pain is GREAT, and John and Rodney come to an understanding that, despite the fact that they have different definitions of what they get from it, they can still work together on this.

Indecorous (55424 words) by basingstoke (BBC Sherlock, John/Mary/Sherlock, explicit) - Written before Mary was introduced on the show, so not canon compliant at ALL, but I think I like this version better any way. Mary and John and Sherlock explore a poly triad, and kink, and being emotionally honest with each other. Possibly one of my most favorite fics in any fandom ever.

Into the Unknown by flyingthesky (The Social Network, Mark/Eduardo, mature) - I mean, going into an unnegotiated D/s relationship is a pretty bad idea ANYWAY, but it's Mark and Eduardo, so even though the story doesn't end with the tragedy, the fact that you know it's looming the entire time somehow makes the whole story seem even more fraught than it already was.

A Country That Has No Language (7818 words) by language_escapes (St. Trinians, Polly/Kelly/Annabelle, mature) - EVERYONE IN THE WORLD should go read all of Chosen and Defined, but this should stand alone pretty well. Kelly and Polly and Annabelle complete each other in different ways, and sometimes those ways involve wax. \0/

The Parity of Zero (4101 words) by busaikko (SGA, John/Rodney, explicit) - Caning is great, and everybody can get something out of it, even if they don't want to get off.

I usually have a large popular fandom that I like to read in, but couldn't care less about consuming the actual source material for. It's a fun, low impact way to keep abreast of some of mainstream fandom and it lets me have a break from the fandoms I'm actually emotionally invested in, which is a win all around! All of which is to say that yesterday I was bemoaning the lack of reccers for any pairings other than the OTP in my current reading fandom of choice, which is Teen Wolf. It's a fine pairing, but I've never been an OTP person, and that makes it difficult to navigate the fandom sometimes. But, you know, I do like reccing! And I have read some REALLY great rarer pairings in the fandom! So if I can be forgiven for not giving much of a crap about the show, please accept my humble offering of ~35 fic recs that don't involve Derek/Stiles as a main pairing. :D?

( Slash, femslash, het - I really do read just about anything guys )

So we've been matched on one of my very favorite fandoms, which pretty much means I already think you're made of ALL the awesome. (I copy and paste this for just about every exchange that I'm in, but seriously - I LOVE ALL OF THESE FANDOMS. I am about a poly-fannish as they come, so while I may have more things to say about some of the fandoms I'm requesting, it's not from a lack of love.) I'm the sort of person who likes really detailed lists of likes and dislikes so that I have as much information to play with as possible, so that's what I'm giving you, but PLEASE don't think that this is a checklist or anything like that. I'm sort of ridiculously easy to please, so as long as you like your story, I bet I'll like it too. ♥

( My general lists of likes/dislikes, C&Ped from past challenges )

( yuletide specific details )

I added this to the posting meme mostly because I am selfish and I want more people to talk about what I'm coming to realize is one of my most favorite categories of fannishness - web comics. This, like so many things in my life, can be blamed entirely on omphale, because I had read some of the major web comics (And, like, we all know about A Softer World and PhD Comics if we're interested in that sort of thing, right?) but I hadn't really explored anything beyond the big name ones until she started flailing to me about this reality TV show called Strip Search. And let me tell you, this show is pretty much the most delightful reality TV show ON THE PLANET for someone like me. Instead of the competitors being mean to each other, they worked together and became friends and it is pretty much a show of 10 full weeks of geeky introverts forming an artist commune with occasional weirdness. And so after I lost an entire weekend of my life to that show (which you can watch at the link above!) I read all of the comics by the people on Strip Search. And then I read all of the comics that THEY linked to, and all of the comics that THOSE people linked to. At which point I had created a bit of a web comic vortex of glee and joy that I pretty much haven't come up from. And since that was back in June, I've got a sneaking suspicion this enthusiasm of mine is here to stay. :D

Plot Oriented:

Shades of A, which I have recced before, and am reccing again, because I JUST LOVE IT THAT MUCH. Two guys (a white kinky crossdresser who is mostly attracted to women and an Indian ace guy who hasn't really dated much) trying to figure out how to have a relationship when the other isn't even remotely what he would have considered to be his kind of person at ALL. It started out as an attempt to make the general plot points of 50 Shades of Gray into something that wasn't rapey, and it has morphed into a delightfully messy story about how sometimes what you really want out of a relationship can be found in the strangest places, even if it isn't easy to get there. Also, this is the PERFECT antidote if, like me, you are just entirely burnt out on stories that draw most of their tension from the main characters just not talking to each other. (Updates twice a week with decent consistency, and the author is usually pretty good about announcing in advance when he is going to have to skip an update or two.)

The Last Halloween. SO DELIGHTFULLY SCREWBALL, OMFG. A young girl is left home alone on Halloween when her town is taken over by monsters and now she has to try and find a way to survive. It is full of such black humor and visual jokes that the part of me that wanted to be a goth has never been more delighted by ANYTHING. It is pretty new, so there aren't a lot of characters yet, but Mona is so freaking charming, I don't even know if I care if the newer characters don't grow on me in the same way. (Updated every Wednesday, pretty much without fail. Her other comic Junior Scientist Power Hour is more hit or miss for me on my love for it, but it also updates once a week with great consistency. When I like them, I really LOVE them, but there are more than a few that I blink at and move on. So while I'm not reccing it entirely on its own merits, there is TOTALLY some awesome stuff worth checking out in it and if you want more of Abby's style while waiting for TLH updates, this is a really fun thing to check out. :D)

My So-Called Secret Identity Original superhero comics featuring ladies FTW! I don't quite know that I'd call this quite as revolutionary as some of the text on the site seems to think it is (although I will grant that the fact that the creative team is almost entirely women is pretty damned awesome) but a college aged lady fighting crime by using her brain! In a non-sexualized uniform! That is basically set in a Batman pastiche world without giving Batman nearly as much power as he has in the DCU! THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THIS COMIC. (Publishes in 22 page updates like traditional print comics, although it usually only comes out once every 2-3 months instead of monthly because this is a donation run operation.)

Girls with Slingshots is my current main jam, mostly because it is the only one of the plot oriented comics that I'm currently following to have a 5 time a week publishing schedule. It has been running for a really LONG time, so if you're going to start at the beginning, I'd wait until you can set aside at least a week, because it will EAT YOUR ENTIRE LIFE. You'll start out going "Oh, ok, so it's sort of sweet and kind of funny, but I'm not sure why Set likes this so much" and then you'll come out on the other end with feelings about every single character and needing ALL OF THE UPDATES EVER, HOLY CRAP. (I have maybe watched both of my sisters go through this. Sorry not sorry?)

Chester 5000 XYV which. Um. So it starts out as a plotty porn comic that tells the tale of the epic love between a Victorian lady and her sexbot, but OH MY GOD I HAVE SO MANY FEELS ABOUT THE CHARACTERS. If anyone ever tries to tell you that porn can't be used to advance characterization, just shove this in their faces, OK? The art is LOVELY (and the artist never uses any words, which actually took me a really long time to notice, because she does such a good job with facial expression she doesn't need any words and it is DAMNED impressive) and the characters are SUPER fascinating and I just can't wait to see where the story goes next! Also, the porn is really hot, fyi. (The author was pretty good about a once a week updating schedule, but she seems to have gotten off of it recently. Still updates at least twice a month though.)

Ava's Demon is SO PRETTY, HOLY CRAP. I mean, the story line is also super interesting, because the space adventures of a young girl who is saddled with the disembodied spirt of an evil dictator is never NOT going to be the best thing since sliced bread, but the art is just SO quality that it is the first thing I think of when I think of this comic. There are some parts of this comic where I feel like it might have been better as animated series than a web comic, because the pace of it is weirdly meandering, but mostly it is so pretty I don't even care. (Updates on some schedule known only to the creator, although zie usually updates in pretty good sized chunks, so it is really easy to pick back up again. Like, it says Thursdays, but the author took a pretty long time off to finish the books for the kickstarter with only some really sporadic updates during that time, and it hasn't been quite long enough since the creator started posting on a regular schedule for me to really believe that it's going to stick this time.)

Slice of Life:

Steve Rogers' American Captain is a DELIGHTFUL fancomic that is basically What If Steve Kept a Diary Comic. There are absolutely some aspects of this comic that don't gel with how I see Steve, but mostly it is so spot-on that I just don't care about the head-scratchy bits. It tackles PTSD, and depression, and Steve's messy transition to the 21st century and I generally do a little dance every time it updates. SO GOOD. (The creator doesn't keep to any kind of an updating schedule at all. I check my feed reader pretty often, so for me just sticking it in my feed reader and forgetting about it works to my advantage, because each update is so self-contained that I don't feel frustrated by following it in the way I do with WiPs. ymmv on this.)

Rooster Tails, which is basically a journal comic of a trans man living in New Zealand, but it is JUST SO FREAKING SMART. I want to meet this dude and talk about gender theory with him all day long. *______* (Updates about once a week, and the creator sticks to that pretty well, although he's not consistent about the day of the week.)

Oh Joy, Sex Toy, which I am just going to link to my previous rec so that I have all of my favorites in one easy-to-point-to-place. SERIOUSLY THE LIGHT OF MY TUESDAYS. ♥

Kate or Die, which you might have heard about when her comic about bisexuality went viral around fandom earlier this year. But just in case you haven't, check this out for some really great stuff about sexuality, women in the comics industry, and life in your 20s. The creator also has a FANTASTIC on-going series about comics culture and fandom over at Comics Alliance, which I highly encourage anyone even peripherally into those things to check out, because it is really quality.

Things which are either abandoned or finished, but with archives that are TOTALLY worth reading:

Cardigan Weather, which is finished, and doesn't have the most extensive archive, but what is there is smart and heart-warming and just makes me happy in general that it exists in the world. I backed the creator's kickstarter for her next comic, and I can't wait until it starts publishing, because I am just SUPER excited to see what Amy does next, because I bet it is going to be FANTASTIC.

Yoga Pants Girl which seems to be abandoned, but is still full of super great comics about disability and ablism and coping with life.

Try It, You'll Like It, which seems to be abandoned, which is SUPER sad to me, because the couple writing it just seemed to be having so much fun with their kinky sex life.

DAR because I think I pretty much just want to rec everything that Erica Moen has ever done? I mean, this is a SUPER GREAT diary comic that ate an entire weekend of my life, but I basically put this rec here to tell you go and check out EVERYTHING ON THAT SITE. You can thank me later. ;-)

Khaos Komix, which, despite the stupid name, is actually QUITE delightful! I'm putting it in the finished category because while the author is currently writing some short sequel comics, this main arc is finished and stands alone. If you've ever wanted a comic about a friends group of queer high school students figuring out their identities and navigating first relationships and trying to carve out a place in the world to belong in, BOY DO I HAVE THE COMIC FOR YOU. The art isn't quite as good as it is in Shades of A, because this was the creator's first on-going comic, but it is still really good and I personally love watching artists come into their own over time. And this is just SUCH a good story. I laughed, I cried, and sometimes I had to put the laptop down and go do something else because it just cut a little too close to home.

Because alpheratz and fleurdeliser asked, and it IS fleurdeliser's birthday, after all. So hurrah for peer pressure, and J, I hope that you have an excellent birthday. :D

( 20ish Steve/Bucky recs under the cut, mix of comics and movie 'verses with a healthy dose of AUs thrown in, as per usual )

25. Your 5 favorite blogs

Or at least 5 of my favorite blogs, because I don't think I could do 5 favorites overall. 5 by each category I divide my feedreader into yes, but 5 overall, not really so much. Although this does remind me that I keep meaning to do recs posts for my favorite food blogs and my favorite web comics, because those are what make up about 70% of my most read blogs in Feedly.

Oh Joy Sex Toy, which may be one of my most favorite things on the internet, period. Erica Moen (whose other work is also superfantasticgreat and you should go read it as soon as you're done with OJST) and her husband work together to produce comics about sex related stuff (not just sex toys, although who cares if the title is misleading because that is the BEST title) that are whimsical, sex-positive, AND super informative. I really don't think that it would be overstating the case to say that this comic has made Tuesday into one of my favorite days of the week.

Tom and Lorenzo which is totally a thing that I started reading because I wanted to look at pretty people in pretty clothing and then stayed for the commentary because they are both hilarious and very smart dudes. My favorite posts from them are the ones where they wind up talking about the strategies of celebrity, but they are consistently funny without being mean and even when I disagree with their style assessments, it's a fun time. (They also do good TV reviews for a few different shows. I don't watch any of them, but I sometimes find myself reading them just because dudes can write well.)

This Ain't Livin' which might actually be one of the blogs that I have followed for the longest, although it's not like I can check any more since Google reader bit the dust. *sob* Zie (S. E. Smith is pretty vocal about being genderqueer, although I can't for the life of me remember hir preferred pronouns /0\) Ou blogs on a variety of different topics, from gardening to YA novels to classism in the United States and the posts are always smart and interesting and usually range from 101 stuff to some really in-depth analysis, so there is usually always something for every level of understanding/interest in social justice issues when those are the topics of the day.

The Pervocracy is another blog that, like TLo, I came for one thing and stayed for another. In this case, I came for the monthly mocking of Cosmo magazine (which has trailed off in recent months, as the author of the blog is in nursing school) and stayed for the smart insights into sexuality and the other hilarious tidbits that popup from time to time. Right now I am being entertained/appalled by the 50 Shades of Grey recap that is going on, which is actually notable for not retreading the exact same ground that all the other 50 Shades of Grey recaps you've read have already tread. (Trod?)

And last, but not least, Adulting, which ranges from having practical tips about how to deal with everyday life to some really funny "tips" and generally makes me feel better about my own life all the time. Like, the author really seems to have her shit together, but she doesn't condescend in her writing about how much more she knows than you or pretend that everything in her life is always perfect. Instead it's more "Oh hey, here's this thing that may be useful to you!" and I love that.

Last weekend I was talking to cinco about how Harry Potter is a fandom that we and many of our friends find ourselves perennially returning to read in when we're in between fandoms, like a bad penny or something. And since the sun is shining and I've been spending the week rereading HP fic like it's my job, I figured I'd use this time to post a set of recs! There is REALLY not any rhyme or reason to this set, other than "Things I have re-read more than twice" so hopefully that means there will be a little something for everyone. Enjoy! ♥

( 22 recs under the cut, with weirdly more involving Draco Malfoy as a main character than I would have predicted O_o )

The Saturday Night Recs Edition. \0/

La Chanson des Vieux Amants (15154 words) by language_escapes
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Elementary (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Joan Watson, Sherlock Holmes, Alfredo Llamosa, Ms. Hudson (Elementary), Tobias Gregson, Marcus Bell, Clyde the Tortoise (Elementary)
Additional Tags: Bees, POV Female Character, POV Character of Color, Platonic Soulmates
Summary:

There are two constants in Joan's life: Sherlock and bees.

The Love Song of the North American Douchebag (25213 words) by gyzym
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Trek RPF
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Chris Pine/Zachary Quinto
Summary:

♪ Doobie doobie do. ♪

Celebration (711 words) by Kass
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Community (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes, Annie Edison, Britta Perry, Jeff Winger, Shirley Bennett
Additional Tags: Community: eid_fic
Summary:

"Abed!" Britta slid into her chair in the study room gracefully. As usual, Jeff pretended he wasn't watching her ass. "Eed mah-bruk."

Mutually Assured Satisfaction (5000 words) by cjmarlowe
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Avengers (2012), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Tony Stark & Steve Rogers, background Tony Stark/Pepper Potts, Tony Stark/Steve Rogers
Characters: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark
Additional Tags: kink bingo, kink meme fill, fisting/stretching, Sex Toys, Size Kink, Voyeurism, unclear consent to voyeurism, Masturbation, Dildos, electronic surveillance, unusual friendship boundaries
Summary:

Tony isn't so much introducing Steve to twenty-first century sex as enabling him. Steve already knows what he wants.

How I Survived My Summer Vacation, by Tamika Flynn, Age 12 3/4 (5432 words) by thingswithwings
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Tamika Flynn/OFC
Characters: Tamika Flynn, various OCs, Intern Paolo - Character, Librarians (Welcome to Night Vale)
Additional Tags: ragged band of misfit kids banding together, librarians want to eat your babies, Friendship, First Kiss, Books, lots and lots of books, Starvation, children in peril, how to instill a lifelong love of reading, the true victory today is for literacy
Summary:

The first book on Tamika Flynn's Summer Reading Program Sticker Chart is Lord of the Flies.

She doesn't really like it.

Dexterity (7910 words) by waldorph, leupagus, screamlet
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Trek (2009)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Amanda Grayson, Winona Kirk, George Kirk, Sarek
Additional Tags: First Meetings, Plotty, Languages and Linguistics, Community: trekreversebang, Bechdel Test Pass
Summary:

Detailing one of Amanda Grayson's first diplomatic assignments, which happens to be on the USS Kelvin.