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2 SVSSS fic recs
Outta My Head
by lavenderandrue
➤ modern au svsss, liu qingge and luo binghe as guests at a wedding, dancing with each other to get shen yuan's attention
➤ the dynamics between all of them here are so perfect, the unwilling attraction between bingliu and the unspoken understanding between them at the end!
➤ 900 words in length
The Scenic Route
by mellicindi
➤ post-canon svsss bingqiu fic
➤ in which luo binghe gets a curse on his dick so it can't be touched
➤ oh no however will bingqiu have sex now!!!
➤ luo binghe definitely hasn't been eager for a chance to turn their usual sexual dynamics on their head what are you talking about
➤ anyway very fun and charming and with a great sqq pov voice
➤ 10k words in length
2 TGCF fic recs
sudden spring fever
by eggfish
➤ xianle era, mu qing has presented as an alpha, and xie lian wants to protect him
➤ mu qing desperately horny and mad about it, xie lian obliviously sublimating all of his feelings into Isn't Swordfighting Great :D
➤ I love mu qing's suspicious and pessimistic pov, it's so perfect and so him!
➤ a delightful little glimpse into this world!
➤ 1k words in length
hot, sour, sweet
by peppaspray
➤ a sweet hualian fic from before they get together
➤ about hua cheng and xie lian cooking together at puqi shrine, and about what makes the feeling of home
➤ lots of great food details!
➤ 8k words in length
1 Mysterious Lotus Casebook fic rec
you and a bottle / the weight of the water
by eggfish
➤ I've never seen MLC and though I've read a bit of fic it's long enough ago that I've already forgotten basically everything I know of what I figured out about the characters and plot 🥲
➤ nonetheless this fic is a delight, Fang Duobing and Li Lianhua with an obviously complex relationship
➤ I love the tone of the fic, very like...deliberately lighthearted and leaning into the ridiculous in a way that clearly hides some depths of emotion
➤ and it's so fun and compelling! I loved it
➤ 2k words in length
1 SGA fic rec
a single piece of cloth
by raven (singlecrow)
➤ SGA fic featuring Elizabeth/Teyla
➤ I love how this combines soft affection, practical conversation, and comfortable sexuality all at the same time!
➤ so lovely
➤ 1k words in length
1 Vorkosigan Saga fic rec
Friends of Cordelia
by PhoenixFalls and sanguinity
➤ document fic about the vorkosigan saga, presented as a posthumous museum exhibit about Cordelia and her role in the queer community of Barrayar
➤ wonderfully done - I loved all the different voices we hear from, and the looks at different aspects of queer culture and history
➤ and the sense of queer joy and love and resilience throughout!
➤ 6k words in length. podfic available.
2 17th Century Theatre Actors RPF fic recs
Nameless
by a_t_rain
➤ historical rpf about 17th century theatre actors associated with shakespeare
➤ I've never heard of these characters before or the play they're putting on that's central to the themes of the fic but the the fic does a good enough job introducing it all that it works nonetheless
➤ a really interesting and thoughtful work about life vs fiction, and acting, and finding a new life, and the realities and ramifications of abusive relationships
➤ I loved it, and I see the author has written other fics about this group of characters and I want to read them too!
➤ 5k words in length
Genesis
by a_t_rain
➤ a prequel to Nameless, which I just recced, about 17th century theatre actors associated with Shakespeare (and Shakespeare himself)
➤ the viewpoint character begins as an an apprentice grocer in the grocer's guild, and his first taste of acting is in reviving the guild play
➤ like Nameless, a really thoughtful and interesting look at this period of history, with many excellent historical details
➤ the development of John's understanding of what it is to act, and what it is to be part of the world of actors (different things!) is so well done
➤ and I love the quiet, solid romance of trust between John and Rebecca
➤ 10k words in length
5 original short story recs
Reconstructing “The Goldenrod Conspiracy,” Edina Room, Saturday 2:30-3:30
by Gabriela Santiago
➤ a short story with the conceit that it's a transcript of a con panel, in a futuristic dystopian world
➤ but even in this future where food is hard to come by, fans still gather to talk about their fave media
➤ I loved the history of the fan relationship to the (fictional) show in question, and in particular the lost episode that the panel is about!
➤ the rest of the worldbuilding about the dystopia was pretty broad-strokes and not particularly developed, but I enjoyed all the fan and panel content so much and that's where the focus really is
➤ 5k words in length
Two Motes in the Zeugma Dark
by Sagan Yee
➤ a short story about a mech pilot taking his date for a ride in his giant robot
➤ I love the uneasy way the narrative sits with the point of view the main character provides
➤ and the way the story opens up to questions about the way this society is structured, the things it values and the things it ignores
➤ and the strength of the ending in its refusal to tie things up tidily
➤ it's really good!
➤ 5k words in length
➤ I also liked the author spotlight in which they were interviewed about this story.
A Pilgrimage to the God of High Places
by Marissa Lingen
➤ a fantasy short story about a disabled woman going on pilgrimage with her mother, and ending up helping out the god whose temple they go to, who has been besieged by another god
➤ I enjoyed the portrayal of the relationship between parent and child, where the parent is very genuinely caring and doing her best to be helpful and has been an important ally against the ableist world.....and also is just. a bit much. and can't accept that actually the child is an adult these days who's very happy with her life as it is!
➤ 3k words
Linden Honey, Blackcurrant Wine
by M.R. Robinson
➤ a lovely short story about a human woman who loves a woodmaiden
➤ about choices, and appreciating your life for what it is, and the passage of time
➤ and old women dancing together in a birch grove in a forest
➤ 3k words
After We Kill Our Father and Before We Reach the Mainland
By Max Franciscovich
➤ that's a very evocative short story title right there and it's like. yeah. that's what the story is about!
➤ a fantasy story about three teens who have escaped their powerful and abusive father figure, who are a team in escaping, who might not always like each other but who are bound together in inextricable ways
➤ the entire story takes place in a boat as they make their way away from the island, hoping to find the mainland, but it never feels static, it's always pushing you onward, as you get more hints of the backstory, of what exactly all the context is for the murder and the escape
➤ it's so good!!!
➤ also. it's told in plural first person? which is so cool. The three teens are the "we" and "us" of the narrative voice. it's so well done! I love when stories play with pov.
➤ also. trans characters!
➤ 5k words
3 original novelette recs
A Brief Oral History of the El Zopilote Dock
by Alaya Dawn Johnson
➤ a near-future novelette telling the story of the dystopian breakdown of the USA
➤ told by the granddaughter of a black woman who escaped prison slavery to head south of the border and found a new community for fellow escapees
➤ I love the voice of the narrator, her efforts to tell Symphonie's story in an objective and appropriate historical style, but with occasional notes to herself interjecting, wondering about if she's approaching her writing in the right way
➤ I also love the relationship between Symphonie and Karla!
➤ and the themes about how the past can't be left behind, it is an important part of what makes you what you are today
➤ 8k words
We Shall Drink Wine
By Andrew K Hoe
➤ a fantasy novelette set in a historical china, and holy shit it is SO SO SO GOOD
➤ about two sword-brothers, meeting again after decades apart
➤ the way the story circles around itself over and over again, uncovering new layers each time, new complexities, new details about what happened and what is happening -- it's so beautifully constructed and leads the reader on so compellingly
➤ and the story it's telling.....one about love, and trust, and classism, and imperialism, and the threat of monstrous creatures inflitrating......about, at its heart, the relationship between these two men, their importance to each other, and the fractures at the heart of their relationship, and the wide-reaching consequences
➤ I love it so much, it's brilliantly and beautifully done and with such fascinating explorations of its themes!
➤ 10k words
The Thirteenth Dancer
By Leah Cypess
➤ A novelette inspired by the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses
➤ about one of the princesses who managed to escape, but who comes back
➤ a fascinating reimagining, leaning into the dangerous appeal of the fae, and the desire for belonging, and what you will and won't do for love -- or for freedom
➤ I've read a lot of retellings of this fairy tale and there are a lot of good ones but this one definitely ranks pretty high on the list!
➤ 10k words
