the mermaid cafe

I wanted to do another set of yuletide recs before the reveal tomorrow, but I kept saying, "let me read one more thing," and then "one more thing," and now it's 11 pm, so I guess I better do it before the year ends!

Abbott Elementary

i only want you under my mistletoe by @[Anonymous].ao3
Gregory arranges a super cute proposal for Janine. The voices here are all perfect, but especially Ava's. I shrieked with laughter when she appeared.

✭

Batgirls
Deny thy father and refuse thy name by @[Anonymous].ao3
Adorable AU where Steph and Cass run a detective agency and get hired to handle an odd case. <333

✭

The Queen's Thief

Fist Fights and Fan Fiction: The Complicated Legacy of Eugenides & Irene by Anonymous
Scholarly article about Gen and Irene's "historical" relationship. This is a lot of fun!

✭

The Expanse

We aren't righteous (or: five times Amos did as Naomi asked, and one time he didn't.) by @[Anonymous].ao3
Exactly what it says on the tin. Sharp look at Amos's relationship with Naomi, from his POV.

✭

The Good Place

Things Janet Knows by Anonymous
♥JANET♥

✭

Only Murders in the Building

1/3 Of What You're Saying by @[Anonymous].ao3
Mabel and Theo as roommates, figuring it out. I enjoyed this a lot! <333

ignition by Anonymous
Fun look at Mabel and Theo getting together, and how everyone else seems to know before they do.

✭

Also, here's the December writing roundup, since I don't have to wait until tomorrow since I don't have anything to reveal:

In the new old-fashioned way (@ AO3)
Batman: Wayne Family Adventures; Bruce, ensemble; g; 3,790 words
Amidst cookies and competition, Bruce learns a little more about Damian.

✭

I made the traditional rice balls and ate some for dinner, and yesterday, I finished making the last few dozen fig cookies, so the holiday cooking is done. I enjoy the tradition of it, and the connection to my parents and grandparents through the recipes and the memories.

Anyway, I wish you all a Happy New Year! <333

✭

I guess since I dumped all my thoughts about Reverse Robins AUs here on Thursday, I should put my money where my mouth is and link ones that I enjoyed. So here we go:

Reverse Robins: Joker Junior by miyaji_08
Reverse Robins AU where Tim is Joker Junior and takes a long, hard road to come back to the family. I enjoyed these two stories.

singing in the dead of night by dukeaubergine
Tim Drake dies alone in a warehouse by the Gotham docks, passed off to the public as a civilian casualty and passed around the vigilante community as a cautionary tale.

Three years later, a wraith comes home to roost. Reverse Robins AU with some lovely Tim/Kon thrown in.

Three Little Birds Sat On My Window by withthekeyisking
Reverse Robins set while Bruce is lost in the timestream and Damian has taken on the cowl. While destroying the Court of Owls, he finds a child Talon and takes him home.

family is family (even in its reflection) by weareallmadeofstardust
Two long reverse Robins stories that made me achy in the chestal area. I think this is the first time Tim as Red Hood has really worked for me.

Reverse Robins by Valkirin, an ongoing series with each Batkid mostly getting their own story about how they joined the family. Damian, Cass, and Steph's stories are complete and Tim's is currently in progress. This is a really thoughtful look at how reversing the ages/order would change things.

another set of issues by danishsweethearts is also part of a series, which I haven't read, but I did read this one and going round the twist (which is still in progress) because they both involve the canon Batfamily meeting their age-reversed siblings. Hijinks, as you can imagine, ensue.

Some of these I've already recced and some I haven't because of the in-progress nature, but I enjoyed them all, if you're interested in dipping a toe into this type of AU.

*

I feel like I intended to post about something this evening when I got home from work, but now I can't remember what it was. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The commute home was fine - I was home by 6:15, so that was good. And it was bright and sunny, unlike my morning commute, which took place in a thunderstorm. 🤨 All I could think was that if I were WFH today, I could have been in bed listening to the rain instead of on the train platform.

Anyway, since I can't remember what I wanted to say, and I am still contemplating various potential yuletide noms, so I don't have anything to say about that yet either.

So let's just have some Thursday recs, "fanart I have liked recently" edition:

= The Tinies by SilverDaye is an ADORABLE Star Wars comic featuring Vader, Padme, and their tiny, mischievous twins.

= A gorgeous portrait of Anakin Skywalker by shukruut

= A Walk Through the Grounds by LoquaciousJargon, which is lovely Regency-era Dick/Kory

= The Batman Tarot by ne0nic0

= Batkids! by artbyavasan

= A stunning drawing of Kaz and Inej in the bathroom during Crooked Kingdom by polartss

= Adorable Catradora by whistiell

= It's Not Easy Being Green, a very cute Jen Walters portrait by heatherbelart

*

Last night, in order to avoid another round of sleeping poorly before having to get up earlier to go into the office, I went to bed at 9:30 am and took TWO benadryl (staggered several hours apart, since there were enough hours to take a second one after the first wore off) which meant I slept pretty well, and woke up 10 minutes before my alarm instead of 90. I'm still exhausted - commuting is hard and I am out of the habit - but it was so much nicer to sleep through, even if I had to close the windows and put on the fan because the rain was blowing in.

Work was fine - though I swear sometimes it's like working at Dunder Mifflin, except in the nonprofit sector. During my 1:1 with my boss, we complained about various co-workers, and later I got to bitch to the CIO about how oldboss3 and her favorite person had terrible file structures and didn't keep anything useful (at least that I can find now that I have access to the files they left behind). He was like, your file structure is very easy to use! And I was like, it is! But sadly I can't force other people to use it. Other people's file systems frequently make no sense to me, but I guess it works for them?

My files are organized by year, and then within in the year by topic/committee, and then within that by subtopic or meeting date, or month, if it's a regular meeting that occurs weekly or biweekly. And file names always have a date in them, or a version number. I will admit, I reuse files a lot (I mean, I save this version as a new version and update it, rather than starting from scratch every time) but I still don't always remember to 'save a copy' before I start editing this week's agenda for next week's meeting, and then I have to undo all my changes, save the file as next week's agenda, and redo the changes. It always reminds me that there is a version history available, but that is not the same.

Anyway, no one cares about my really excellent filing system. *g* Is Thursday recs still a thing? Have a rec:

While I'm not generally a huge fan of Reverse Robins AUs (for a number of reasons, mostly having to do with how Jason's role is handled when someone else is occupying it, but also because Dick's role is so influential on the whole DCU (and Robin is such an important legacy) not just the Batfam and removing him from the equation early on changes the universe in myriad ways), I did enjoy this one where the canon universe Batkids meet the AU family:

another set of issues (8754 words) by danishsweethearts
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: DCU
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain, Damian Wayne, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown
Additional Tags: Role Reversal, Age Swap, Dimension Travel, Introspection, Family Dynamics, Family Drama, wild amounts of confusion, Batfam Week 2020, most people in this fic arent having a good day
Summary: Batfamily, meet Reverse Batfamily. No holds barred, no penalties, no time limit. Cage match.

And the sequel, which is still in progress but updated very recently so will hopefully get finished:

going round the twist (49808 words) by danishsweethearts
Chapters: 14/?
Fandom: DCU
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne
Additional Tags: Role Reversal, Age Swap, Dimension Travel, Family Drama, Family Bonding, self recognition thru the other
Summary: There are never one-off incidents. Not when it comes to this family. (In other words, Batfam meets Reverse Batfam 2: Electric Boogaloo)

I haven't read the other stories in the series (i.e., the ones that take place solely in the AU), so I can't speak to those, but I really enjoyed the first one here, and have been enjoying this sequel as well.

*

I think I mentioned that there's been talk about closing the office the week between Christmas and New Year's next year, and I really hope they do it, because ugh, why do people always need an urgent signature by 12/31 and have not done it before 12/24? All of our signatories are on vacation this week! (Not that they won't sign if you ping them, but the idea is that you shouldn't need to.) Anyway, I think someone else managed to take care of it, so I didn't have to, and now I am off again until Monday.

Before dinner, I made another round of dough for fig cookies, and I'll make more tomorrow and Friday to finish out the year. I'm looking forward to sleeping in though. I am very tired even though I think I slept pretty well last night.

It's Wednesday (I think?) so I will say that I finished Leviathan Falls and thought it was a satisfying ending to a very long, interesting series. I think I like the show better than the books, though the books do add some extra backstory and detail etc.

I also opened up Jade Legacy, the third Green Bone saga book, so maybe I will get that done by year-end. Anything could happen!

Though there's still some yuletide to get through reading as well. Here's another set of recs:

Ocean's Eleven

now you're letting go by Anonymous
"I think it's in our best interest to stay occupied. Don't you?"

Danny's gotten them a job; of course he has. What else is Rusty going to do but say yes?

"What were you thinking?" Rusty asks, and Danny's answering grin is sharp. This is a lot of fun.

✭

Palm Springs

Kissing Wounds by Anonymous
Really fun coda for the movie.

✭

Practical Magic

Know That Not a Thing Could Come Between Us by Anonymous
There's always been one constant in Sally Owens' life - before, during and after everything, there's Gillian. Lovely look at the sisters over the years.

✭

The Queen's Thief

I Think We're Alone Now by Anonymous
The unseen weeks of Eugenides and Irene's engagement as they sneak around the palace and steal moments of privacy for themselves. This is really lovely.

in the moments between by Anonymous
Five times Eugenides and Attolia stole some privacy for themselves and one time they let other people see them. Exactly what it says on the tin. Sweet and hot.

Kay the Scribe by Anonymous
Nice outsider POV on Kamet as he waits for Costis in Roa.

marriage bed by Anonymous
Attolia and Attolis discuss the situation they, and their country, find themselves in. A Conspiracy of Kings missing scene. Really lovely missing scene showing Gen and Irene in private.

✭

So after I posted on Friday about the car service always showing up about 15 minutes early, this time they showed up 45 minutes early, and I was not prepared. So I told the guy to give me a few minutes, and I ran around putting shoes and socks on, gathering my stuff, and hoping I didn't forget anything. (spoiler: I did not forget anything.) There was very little traffic, so I made it to Dom's by about 2:30, and I hung out while they got ready to go to my sister-in-law's side of the family for Christmas Eve dinner. They invited me to go with them, but it's too many people (not just from a covid perspective, but also just from a socializing perspective - I need a lot more prep time to deal with that many people I only have a nodding acquaintance with). When my niece learned I wasn't going, she invited me to her house, but I was like, I'm settled on the couch with the dogs, I'm good. I ate Chinese food and watched Indiana Jones movies (despite them saying they have Prime, I could not make it work, so I couldn't watch this week's episode of The Expanse - I'll watch it tonight) for most of the evening - I did put the yule log on for a while.

Christmas Day was really nice. Despite getting home late, they were up at 6:30 am to open gifts, so that was fun. Then they all napped and I started reading Leviathan Falls. I offered repeatedly to make the ziti for dinner (my brother had fried the chicken cutlets on Friday), but my sister-in-law said she was going to do it, so I just kept reading until it was time to eat. *g* After dinner, we watched The Family Stone, which is their traditional family Christmas movie.

I also read my Yuletide gift and it was spectacular:

No Pleasure Cruise (9372 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: We Are Lady Parts (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Amina Hussein/Saira
Characters: Amina Hussein, Saira (We Are Lady Parts), Ayesha (We Are Lady Parts), Bisma (We Are Lady Parts), Momtaz (We Are Lady Parts)
Additional Tags: Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Touring, Tour Bus, Festivals, Comedy, Oblivious Pining, The Band is Chaotic, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Vomiting, Swearing, Recreational Drug Use
Summary: The Tale of a Tour; featuring mysterious van smells, broken strings, lost merchandise, unexpected teenagers, disaster, triumph, and aunties. Oh, and a Kiss.

This is exactly what I was hoping for with my request and it's so good! Thank you so much, yuletide author!

And I have heard from all three of my recipients with lovely comments, so I feel like my yuletide was a resounding success. (though there is a little weirdness where one of my stories says it has X kudos but when I count them - they are not very many - it only shows X-1 kudos, so I don't know if that's a known glitch or someone successfully removed a kudos or what.)

I haven't really read anything else yet in the collection, but I now have a bunch of tabs open, so there will likely be recs at some point.

This morning, my youngest niece drove me over to my sister's to drop of my gifts for them and pick up her gifts for us, and then I came home. As always, the ride home cost about half what the ride out did. *hands* But even if we weren't still in Plague Times, I would have taken a car, because I had some heavy gifts to schlep: the Into the Spider-verse art book, a couple of hardback cookbooks, a bottle of wine, a couple of candles...It was a good Christmas. *g*

*

A wild Thursday rec appears! This story is still in progress, but the chapter that was posted today wraps up a major arc and could be considered a good ending point if it doesn't ever get updated again, so I feel okay telling you all to read it:

Chirp by AmariT is a long (167K words) AU where 10yo Tim accidentally taps into Batman and Robin's comms while searching for aliens, and decides he wants to help. Things get pretty complicated, pretty quickly. I really like how this lets Tim, Jason, and Steph be friends and also fight crime.

*

After my post yesterday, I couldn't stop thinking about an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, and I discovered that my local bagel shop delivers and you can schedule a breakfast delivery the night before, so I did that and this morning, I had an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese and it was still warm when it got here. I also ordered three bagels without anything and put them in the freezer for when I next want a bagel (because you still have to meet the $10 minimum for delivery). So that was delicious. I can absolutely foresee myself doing this again.

Unfortunately I started feeling cold and achy around 2 pm-ish, and discovered I was running a fever(!!!). I already had been having stomach pains of the sort I haven't had in about 10 months, and I swear, if I get my period for the first time since last July, I am going to be so pissed. Anyway, I told my boss I was going to sign off and lie down and she was fine with that. I took some aleve and slept for two hours and now my fever is gone, and I don't have chills anymore though I still don't feel 100%.

Anyway, I did want to do some Thursday recs. These are all DCU and in progress which have been updated recently, so you have take your chances that they'll ever be finished, but I am enjoying them:

= Stars Over Gotham by madaliz is an AU where Batman never joins the Justice League and the Bats are personally unknown to the rest of the heroes. It kicks off when Conner Kent, a young reporter for the Daily Planet, comes to Gotham to do a story, and meets Tim Wayne. I'm enjoying this a lot - there was a big lull in updates but it did update a couple times recently so maybe someday it will be finished? I hope?

= The Dick/Babs baby AU by thychesters, which is exactly what it says on tin - Babs discovers she's pregnant and she and Dick start telling their families. It's very sweet and a little melancholy - the last interaction with Damian and Babs was really lovely.

= The Return by lurkinglurkerwholurks, which delves into the emotional fallout for Tim and the rest of the family when Bruce comes home after being lost in the timestream. This made me tear up a couple of times.

*

Two more quick yuletide recs:

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

Catch Your Breath (and try again) by Anonymous
AU where Aaron survives and he and Miles get to have a conversation. Oh my heart.

chocolate chip cookies by Anonymous
In which Miles Morales asks himself the all-important question: Did I just volunteer to spend the next few hours wallpapering with a supervillain? (Yes. Yes, he did.) This is adorable.

And a last chance to guess what stories I wrote!

***

The Expanse: "Gaugamela" and "Down and Out"
( spoilers )

***

And with 12 hours left of this longest year, have some links - just 2020 things:

the bucatini shortage (via kass)

I too had trouble finding bucatini and I use it for one of my favorite dishes, so I ended up getting a six pack of it from Amazon late in the summer.

And speaking of pasta, this one's from dine: the top 10 smuggest pastas, which I found hilarious (some of my favorites are on the list!) but how could it not include farfalle!? They're bowties that think they're butterflies! Talk about pretentious!

the year flour was king (also via kass)

There was another article about KAF (I suppose it's KAB now that they've changed their name) earlier this year also about how they were handling the surge in baking during the pandemic, but I can't find it, but they did do a good post about baking bread with less yeast when there was a yeast shortage.

And lastly, an attempt to understand why Four Seasons Total Landscaping.

***

What even was yesterday? I was off and I had things I meant to do but instead I...played several hours' worth of spider solitaire. Whoops. It's just so soothing and it takes longer than the regular 3-turn klondike I usually play.

I did manage to get laundry done, but not folded, at least. And I straightened up a little and changed the sheets as the cleaning crew came today. I wasn't expecting them until next Tuesday, but it's fine. Work is really quiet today so it's probably better this way.

And of course, I read a bunch of yuletide stories. Here are some recs:

Arm of the Starfish

Boom by Anonymous
JOSHUA LIVES! AU where Adam has a crush on Joshua (as well he should) instead of Kali and it changes everything. <333

(This was for me!!! and I want it noted that I guessed who wrote it. ;)

✭

Calvin & Hobbes

the stuff dreams are made of (are someone else's nightmares) by Anonymous
Susie rescues Calvin from faery. <3

✭

Daevabad Trilogy

In Good Time by Anonymous
In their new lives, Ali wants to lay to rest the last secret between him and his brother. this is a really lovely look at Ali and his relationships after the end of the books.

Of Water and Weapons by Anonymous
Zaynab prepares for her departure from Daevabad. I really liked this look at Zaynab's relationships with Nahri and Ali, and (offscreen, but palpable) Aqisa. <333

✭

Devil's Cub

The Lady and the Libertine by Anonymous
Mary and Dominic have one more set of confessions to make. This is lovely.

✭

The Expanse

Front to Back by Anonymous
To Belters, there's no difference between up and down. Front, back, high, low; it's all relative in zero-g. Figures that nothing about the two of them would run in a simple, straight line.

On Naomi, Drummer leaves a mark. I enjoyed this.

✭

Galaxy Quest

Alexander Versus Fandom by Anonymous
This is a fun look at Alexander's evolving relationship with his fans.

✭

The Good Place

The Three People, One Dog, and One Non-Human Non-Robot Not-a-Girl You Meet in Heaven by Anonymous
On the afterlife, and the people Jason Mendoza found there. This is a fantastic look at Jason and his relationships. <3

✭

Killjoys

Lead Me To Your Door by Anonymous
Dutch arrives on a space station to do a job and is surprised to see a very familiar ship a few berths over. Just before his year away is up, Dutch runs into Johnny and Lucy. <3

✭

Ocean's Movies

crime wave by Anonymous
A conversation between Debbie and Danny Ocean. #siblings!

✭

Palm Springs

don't take the money by Anonymous
Excellent coda to the movie - I could totally see things happening this way.

✭

The Queen's Thief

everything else left up to you by Anonymous
"They look just like you." Gen caught and kissed one of Hector's tiny flailing hands.

"They look like babies," she said. They were small and red and impossibly fragile and sometimes when Attolia held them, she could only think of all the things she'd broken.

"They have your nose," said Eugenides, as if he hadn't heard her, "and your eyes." He ran a finger lightly over his son's soft skin. "They are going to be as beautiful as their mother and we are going to have to beat their suitors away with sticks."

"You can exile all of the suitors to Ferria," she told him, finally smiling and nudging him with her knee. "We'll start a colony." This is a fantastic coda to the series, with a pitch perfect Irene voice and a sure and steady hand on the narrative and the plot. Wonderful!

O Divine Poesy by Anonymous
This is a nice glimpse of life after the war.

The Scribe's Tale by Anonymous
Gen tries to matchmake for Costis and Kamet, who definitely need assistance of some sort. I enjoyed this a lot!

that which is worth waiting for by Anonymous
Costis promises to come back for Kamet and Kamet doesn't think he believes him. And yet... Oh Kamet. <333

what slows down the nights to a long lingering crawl by Anonymous
Lovely, meditative future-fic slice of life from Attolia's POV.

✭

I still have a bunch of tabs open, so there could be another set before reveals.

✭

I got up a little early this morning and hooked up my new cable box and modem and router, and everything works! I am most triumphant! There was one minor hiccup due to user error (I input my old account number rather than the new one they'd just assigned me), so I had to spend 20 minutes on the phone with them getting my account login sorted out, but it's all taken care of. The CSR was really helpful. Now I have a big pile of cables and boxes sitting on my floor, which will have to be returned. Sigh.

Two more people wrote comfort prompt ficlets for me:

- The New Style (YJ comics) by gloss, in which Tim organizes a welcome back from the dead party with the core four (+ 1 party crasher *g*).

- I Shelter You (Lucifer TV) by firecat, in which Trixie comforts Maze after a nightmare. (Also available on AO3!)

♥♥♥♥♥

I also posted a quick and dirty evidence post for The Horse and His Boy. Thanks to snacky for looking it over. I'll just keep my fingers crossed now that they accept my logic. *g*

I think that is all the news that fits!

***

I just finished sobbing my face off to Hamilton on Disney+. It buffered and wouldn't play for about 10 minutes after "What'd I Miss" but my signal strength was "excellent" according to my Roku, so I kept trying and eventually (after 10 minutes) it came back.

It was 100% worth watching. The cast I saw on Broadway was mostly very good (the Angelica was not, imo, up to snuff, but that was probably just me) but getting to see the original cast, and especially Renee Elise Goldsberry, Daveed Diggs, and Leslie Odom Jr. was really special.

Also, after seeing Odom perform "The Room Where It Happens," I realized that when we get the Superman movie starring Daveed Diggs (a thing that should exist), it should include Leslie Odom Jr. as Lex Luthor. Because wow.

I recced this previously, but I just sent it to little Anthony, who shares my love of both Hamilton and Anakin Skywalker, so I'm reccing it again: Congratulations by starlady, in which Anakin invents a new kind of stupid.

In other news, I just heard about this Celebrity Fan-Film of The Princess Bride via tumblr, and it looks hilarious and amazing.

I meant to bake a cake today, but I slept for almost 12 hours (!!!!) and didn't get up until 11 am, so I guess I can do that tomorrow.

Ooh, it just got really dark and started pouring. I'm glad I shut the windows and put the AC on just before I started this entry.

***

I have not done any reading of books since this whole WFH thing started - my commute was my book-reading time - and I've mostly been rereading comfort fic and keeping up on the wsip I follow, one of which is Familiar Ghosts, part of the Cor et Cerebrum series. It hadn't updated in a long time but the author is back from hiatus! So of course I had to start rereading the series from the beginning. This is the one where Bruce has a brain tumor, and it does a fantastic job with Batfamily dynamics and introducing a beloved original character as well. I definitely recommend it (and have, previously).

In other news, I don't know why but I have the Ladybug Picnic song from Sesame Street stuck in my head. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

*

I've been doing so well at being focused on work all day every day in the week and a half since I started WFH full-time, but today has just been hard - I was up on time but kept logging into the wrong meeting (this is a hazard of my position, as for some reason, the way it's configured, RingCentral puts all the meetings I schedule for other people onto my calendar, and then I have to copy the info into their calendars, and in addition to my four bosses, I am also now doing scheduling for four other people, so it's a lot sometimes) or not finding a document where I thought I'd saved it, etc.

It was then compounded by a co-worker asking for a contact list, and when I sent it to her, she replied back - cc'ing her boss and mine - that it wasn't in a format she liked* and so her boss was like, "well, Victoria can reformat it, can't she?" And then I had to go for a long walk outside because I find people's pretend helplessness aggravating at the best of times but right now, when we are all busy with a lot of extra, urgent crap, it is downright enraging. So I texted boss3 saying I was going for a walk and when I came back she had replied that she could do the task if I didn't have time. But that was all I really wanted - for someone to acknowledge that I am just as busy as everyone else, and if this marketing person can't manage an excel spreadsheet full of contacts, then what the actual fuck is she getting paid for? But I did it. It took fifteen minutes. Neither she nor her boss has responded to say thank you.

*(when I used the document I had the contacts' first and last name in a cell together; this person wanted them in two separate cells. It was a list of about 50 names. There was no fucking reason for her not to do it herself.)

I went grocery shopping on my walk (store was fairly busy, shelves were somewhat stocked), and then the exterminator came and then I ate lunch and I just haven't been able to get focused back on work again.

Anyway! Yesterday I mentioned that I hadn't been reading my book because I was engrossed in long - but sadly still in progress - fanfic, so I thought I would share both of those links with you today for Thursday Recs:

= Eclipse by SpellCleaver - as recommended by cofax, I think? eta: it was actually havocthecat /eta - is a long, engrossing Star Wars AU where Darth Vader mostly raises Luke and Leia as heirs of the Empire, but various circumstances lead to them starting to question everything they believe in. I generally am a hard sell on "dark" versions of Luke and Leia (the whole point of them, to me, is that 1. genetics is not destiny, and 2. some people can do the work to not fall to the dark side despite life being crappy sometimes), but having them raised by Vader works for me here. This is about 175K words long so far, and it was updated this week, so hopefully the author is still working on it, because I really want to know what happens!

= Into the Brighter Night by shoalsea is an excellent Batfamily fic focusing mostly on Tim, and in particular, on all the things his family doesn't know about his time with (original, comics-verse) Young Justice, as he gathers that team back together to face an old enemy. This is 117K words so far, with 10 of 12 chapters posted (last updated in January) and I enjoyed it SO MUCH because not only does it give good Tim (and Steph and Jason) but the YJ team is heavily centered - and not just Bart and Kon (whom I love) but Cassie, Cissie, Anita, and Greta too - and it's GLORIOUS. I laughed out loud a lot, especially at how Tim's friends interact with his family. So if you've missed them (and missed how Tim was characterized when he was with them) this is a story for you!

Ugh, and now work beckons again. I need get more air in here.

I hope you are all keeping well, and that you've been able to get outside and walk around if the weather is conducive to it! <333

***

For Thursday recs, I bring you 70,000 words of Erik Killmonger + Groundhog Day:

god loves everybody, don't remind me by napricot
Erik gets a do-over. Erik gets a lot of do-overs. Or: Erik Killmonger's own personal version of Groundhog Day, only with a lot more murder, dying, trips to the ancestral plane, awkward family conversations, and divine intervention

This is so fucking great, you guys! Highly, highly recommended!

I mean, I've loved a lot of napricot's fic, but I think this might be the best one yet.

*