redjacketficrecs

[redjacketficrecs]

Nothing to Prove

canary

Summary: Nolan picked a college based on two criteria. One: That it didn’t have a hockey program. Two: That it was in some random corner of the southern USA, where the air was thick enough to bite, and football was the only sport anyone talked about in October.

He should have known his dumb ass was still going to fuck it up.

Recommendation: Oh my god, they were room mates. Nolpat has to retire from hockey at age 19 due to injuries and TK is never headed to the big leagues. They meet in college instead. Lightly angsty due to Nolan’s hockey baggage and then both figuring their shit out and so so well written and good. Both TK and Nolpat are perfect with bonuses of Ryanne and Nolan being besties, Claude being a grumpy fuck and one perfect cameo from Mitch Marner.

[redjacketficrecs]

Sorry, I’ve been away chasing after not my toddlers for a week. Getting this going again!

let me look at you

isozyme

Summary: Two things happen in the same week: Connor texts Leon at two in the goddamn morning to say he’s getting a divorce and Matthew Tkachuk gets outed by a Barstool article.

Recommendation: Two isozyme recs in a row because their shit is awesome. This is still posting but the fic is just being edited I believe. I find this fic and all the characterizations ridiculously compelling. Leon is so great and so oblivious sometimes. Matthew is just perfect, I love him so much. And I just fucking want to hug Connor, he’s having such a rough go of it and someone needs to. Also the cameos in this are lowkey fucking amazing.

Warning: sadomasochism, emotional abuse (not within the main pairing), outing

[redjacketficrecs]

some kind of joke

isozyme

Summary: Officially, the post-game player exchange is a chance for the two teams to meet briefly after the game and communicate about any issues between them that arose on the ice. The public line is that it’s supposed to help get any feathers that were ruffled during the game unruffled via respectful dialogue. Talk it out, clear the air, sit together and chew the fat. Inter-team conflict management at its finest and most appropriate.

In Matthew’s experience, sometimes the guy does just want to chat and look at his phone until about the right amount of time has passed. But mostly not.

Recommendation: Two smutty recs in a row! I also found this one hilarious. Basically, Matthew Tkachuk teachers Leon Draisaitl what a (version of) a winner’s room is because Leon thinks everyone has been pulling his leg for years. But also Matthew is written to perfection and there are a million little world building mentions that made me snort.

[redjacketficrecs]

Let's Not Over Analyse

Lurlur

Summary: “This summer, it seems like all you can talk about is Johnny fucking Gaudreau. You're all 'Johnny thinks this' and 'Johnny did that' and 'check out this sick goal Johnny scored'. I'm just tired of hearing about it."

Zach tried really hard not to laugh, but it was pretty funny.

"Oh my god, Dylan. Are you jealous?"

If looks could kill, Zach would have been dead where he stood. Instead, he just fought another laugh.

"What?! No!" Dylan's face was flushed red now. "I know we're solid. It just feels like you've got a crush on him or something."

Recommendation: This fic is basically an excuse to write some awesome threesome sex for Zach/Dylan/Johnny and it does that super well (and also great smut for Zach/Dylan beforehand). But I also just really, really love Zach and Dylan’s relationship? Like I love them, they’re such a great couple. The fic also has a million little awesome non-smut moments that make is an enjoyable read on top of all the awesome sex.

[redjacketficrecs]

Looking Forward

so_shhy

Summary: There was a kid in Geno's yard.

Recommendation: Happy birthday Geno. Here’s a fic rec of you hooking up with adult Sidney Crosby and looking after kid Sidney. The author calls it sort of de-aging because little kid Sid time travels forward but adult Sid is still around (avoiding him). It’s so good, it really gets into all of the idiosyncrasies Sid has and giving Geno a better understanding of them without making it too fraught because adult Sid is there and is clearly doing okay but there’s still a healthy dose of angst because he absolutely does not when he’s ten. It’s a really interesting exploration. And I just love Geno in this. He’s perfect. He’s so good and so himself.

[redjacketficrecs]

Flip Shut, Hang Up

thehoyden, twentysomething

Summary: By the fourth time Crosby has hung up on him, Alex has to admit that this has gone from funny to, frankly, a little hurtful.

Recommendation: This is very cute and funny as shit and I book marked it for the next lockout that I hope never comes. I adore the way Ovi is written in this, the little chaos gremlin. Sid and Geno as exceptionally sweet with/about each other and react to Ovi exactly as they should. A quick, fun read.

[redjacketficrecs]

made it through the wilderness

hkafterdark

Summary: The main problem with having a thing for Tyler is that he's a total ho.

Recommendation: Not going to lie, I went looking for Bruins fic (which was a struggle, I’m a leafs fan) after Bergy announced his retirement. Instead I found this which I found charming because it’s so unlike most Seguin fics. Not quite believable but still fun! Remember when these two were disasters together? What a throw back.

[redjacketficrecs]

play with fire till your fingers burn

manybumblebees

Summary: Nolan goes through his first NHL camp knowing three things about the guy in the next stall:

1. He talks a lot.

2. He likes to fish.

3. The ducks in his tattoo are named after the Ninja Turtles.

Recommendation: There are the cutest dumbest softest boys. Come for the humour, stay for how heartfelt this actually is. It’s really just TK and Patty being dumb and mean/nice to each other and falling in love as only big dumb boys can over two seasons. Love the way they’re both written in this.

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we've got each other (and that's a lot)

lotts (LottieAnna)

Summary: “I’m gonna be a groomsman,” Mitch says, then flops dramatically into the chair across from Auston, grabs Auston’s glass of whiskey, and takes a long sip. It burns as it goes down, and he makes a face. “Again.”

Recommendation: self aware 27 Dresses Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews au. God I love this one. It’s the cutest shit but also complicated. It revolves around Mitch being everyone’s best friend and also every hockey player in the world trying to get married in the same six weeks. Mitch used to love weddings but now he’s everyone’s single friend they think they’re responsible for setting (and they don’t know he’s gay). Also his life is complicated by the fact his hook up (whose lowkey great though they’re never dating) lives in Auston’s building. Auston is just weird enough in this that I kind of seriously love him. Connor and Dylan are cute as fuck in this too.

[redjacketficrecs]

cover love’s bruise

addandsubtract

Summary: “Monny,” Nick says from the doorway, and jerks his chin. “It’s you tonight.”

Recommendation: A love story told through the winner’s room, which sounds both more and less fucked up than it is. Sean loves and misses Johnny and doesn’t know what to do with either of those things. Luckily, Johnny is not letting him get away with any shit. I also really love Nick Suzuki in this?!

[redjacketficrecs]

through and through

sequestering

Summary: "What?" Sandra asks irritably, still trying to stop the tears smudging her mascara.

Aya ignores her tone. "Big news from housekeeping," she says dramatically. "The Flyers captain has been sneaking in a lover."

(or: half a playoffs worth of bubble nonsense)

Recommendation: I love a good outside POV and this is such a fun one! Sid and Claude and all the shenanigans of the bubble playoffs in Hotel X. There is a high likelihood that you will squeal because you recognize your fav doing something super dumb and going unnamed because the narrator, who works on the hotel front desk, does not know who these people are and does not want to. But it’s the middle of the pandemic and there is literally nothing to do except follow their shenanigans.

[redjacketficrecs]

make a move

bropunzeling

Summary: The first thing Timmy learns about Brady is that he's nice. Maybe it shouldn't have been surprising that Brady is nice, too, when it comes to sex.

Recommendation: Brady will always look like Boss Baby to me and Timmy Stu is the littlest German boy but Brady got married this weekend so I’m saying congratulations by reccing a fic of him blowing his team mates’ back out. Both their characters feel so spot on to me in this fic down to Tim being the bossiest bottom ever to good guy Brady trying to pay for everything all the time. Dumbass for dumbass Ottawa edition. Thank you for the video of you singing Mr Brightside tarps off while your new wife swung your vest around like a trophy and screamed it with you.

[redjacketficrecs]

if this is the start

theundiagnosable

Summary: “Babe,” Mitch says, collapsing onto the couch. “Matts, I just got hit on by the hottest barista I’ve ever seen in my life."

“Nice.” Auston high fives him.

Recommendation: IMO the best Mitch/Auston fic out there with bonus William Nylander. The Mitch/Auston dynamic is my favourite version of these two I’ve ever read. I just love them together in this. They’re perfect. And then you add Willy into the mix and it’s somehow even more perfect. Definite dumbass for dumbass for dumbass but for a plot that hinges on two big non/miscommunications they’re actually really good about taking it out. Anyway, they’re all dumb boys and I love them to pieces and you should read this if you want a laugh and some sap and to feel good.

[redjacketficrecs]

Becoming Real

SomeoneElsesDream

Summary: The Velveteen Rabbit inspired AU no one asked for.

From the time he was very small, Sidney understood that he was not like other little boys. No one could skate like he could, or shoot like he could. No one could see the way a play could unfold or a puck could fly like he could.

Sometimes, alone in the dark after his parents had gone to sleep, Sidney thought he would trade it all for the chance to be Real.

Recommendation: This is a twist on the wish baby trope that just absolutely fascinates me. It’s not long so I won’t give too much away but, basically, wish baby universe except wish babies are different and not considered Real the same way regularly conceived babies are. Not until they Become Real. And Sidney Crosby is a Wish Baby. The concept and the world building in this was really, really interesting.

[redjacketficrecs]

Strange Torpedo

connectknee

Summary: The first time Nolan ever meets TK, he has whiskers drawn on his face in purple marker and his hair is pulled into lopsided pigtails with those clacky little hair ties, the ones with tiny plastic shapes attached to them. Nolan doesn’t know his name yet. It’s a whole thing.

"You’re the teacher?" Nolan asks incredulously.

"Yep," the guy tells him, mouth twitching. "New this year. Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"No problem," Nolan says.

--

In which TK is the unconventional first-grade teacher in charge of Nolan’s niece, and Nolan is trying to figure out what to do with his life after crashing out of hockey.

Recommendation: Who doesn’t love a good kidfic? TK and Nolpat inspire the best AUs, they really do. TK as a chaotic kindergarten teacher is fucking inspired and he’s just so great in this. The kid character feels like they were written by someone who has actually spent time with a child, so that’s great. And also seems like they actually have an idea of what goes in to being a teacher.I like the slow burn of this and Nolan’s hesitation about falling in love. I love how Nolan tries and how prickly he is. And I adore how both of them love, differently but in a way that works for them both. At one point the author describes it as horny and sweet and yeah that’s just about right!

[redjacketficrecs]

pine nuts and the full spectrum of human emotion

theundiagnosable

Summary: “Mother of the bride cried and showed me baby pictures,” Mitch says. “Naked baby pictures.”

Auston’s screwing the lens cap back on his camera, but he shoots Mitch a wry smile. “Drunk groomsman puked on my shoes. I win.”

Mitch makes a face, but he passes Auston a crumpled five dollar bill.

Recommendation: This shit is cute as fuck. Auston is a photographer and Mitch is a lifestyle reporter and they keep bumping into each other at weddings. Mitch loves love and wants to fall in love so badly and it’s keeping him from seeing what’s right in front of him a little bit. The sappiest shit and deliberately hits every romantic cliche it can and it’s so good. Also I love every single one of the cameos. A definite comfort read.

[redjacketficrecs]

dragging myself back home

blaahaj

Summary: Connor doesn’t go to Cologne on a whim. He’s been thinking about it for a long time—since Leon announced his retirement from the NHL more than a year ago. Connor meant to go watch him play, told him so even, the handful of times they’d talked to each other. But the NHL season was what it was, and even when they were teammates Connor never followed Leon home for the offseason.

Recommendation: Linking to the second part of a two-parter because the first part, while awesome, is mostly them having rookie sex and being awkward with each other. The biggest chunk of the story feels like it’s here, with Connor and Leon finally talking to each other and figuring out they want to try after finishing their nhl careers and being dumb boys the entire time. Only 4K so not very long but satisfying. I want more good fic of these two!