#author: MarieJacquelyn

[yeehanfrf]

Week 9 Recs: I'm Working, Here!

The Week 9 theme was, "I'm Working, Here!" I asked people to tell me about their favorite works-in-progress. We got some works still updating and some on hiatus, but all WIPs recommended from around the Yeehan community. Behind the cut, you'll find the recs gathered from the Yeehan community, organized by rating and then alphabetically by title!

Mature

Jack Rabbit by SmutWithPlot [WIP; 112,261 words] Reccer comment: "Hands down the best thing I've read in fandom"

If you want something a little different (and maybe a lot Western) that's an odd little bar in Koenji run by legitimate cowboy and westerner, Jesse James McCree, who sells his home cuisine of nachos, enchiladas, tacos, and quesadillas with salsa fresca and guacamole that is alleged to be made with tequila. It is a well-kept secret, but don't let his profuse amount of English and Spanish overwhelm you - his Japanese is also quite good, and there is Japanese staff. Just be careful: he flirts back. With anyone.

Macchiato by CommonNonsense [WIP; 64,661 words] Reccer comment: "I also love 'Macchiato,' the coffee shop AU that isn't a coffee shop AU, by CommonNonsense, & I regularly struggle to find a way to say, 'I hope this continues!' without applying any pressure"

Overwatch takes an extended mission undercover in a coffee shop in the heart of Seattle, a prime location to stake out their current targets. McCree's not one for the big city or fancy coffee, but the work needs doing, and it's not like anyone outside Overwatch will get it done. It should be a straightforward, if tedious, mission.

Then Hanzo Shimada complicates things by walking in, unaware, for want of a simple mocha.

Redemption Blues by clownsick, JessenoSabaku (orphan_account) [WIP; 71,658 words] Reccer comment: "It's probably abandoned but oh my good, I love this fic. Great side characters, especially the Omnics and a very intriguing Yeehan."

While on a mission to redeem himself in the eyes of his clan, Hanzo Shimada becomes indebted to a reckless vigilante, who constantly throws himself headlong into danger. The two clash in every way, except on the battlefield. There, Hanzo rediscovers the feeling of having someone to cover his own weaknesses.

Silver N' Gold by KittenzCaboodle [WIP; 542,989 words] Reccer comment: "Silver N' Gold by KittenzCaboodle 🥰 my all time favourite slow burn that gets you right in the FEELS❤️"

Some things just pair up perfectly.

The sun and the moon.

Stars and the night sky.

Thunder and lightning.

Some things are just meant to be.

Even a bounty hunter cowboy and a lone wolf mercenary who discover how two loners can help each other be a little bit less lonely and how good life can actually be when you have the right person by your side to help change it for the better.

Some things just go together.

Like Silver N’ Gold.

Undercover by lyriumveins [WIP; Series; 22,535 words] Reccer comment: "I love the character interactions in this fanfictio , the really on point writing of each one, and just the way Hanzo and Cassidy go back forth when Hanzo sees the writing and tries to figure it out while it gets more obvious 😭 and the second one in the series is just as amazing, wish I could real them both one more time"

Hanzo is a new member of Overwatch, working undercover in a coffee shop with a few other agents. He’s adjusting to his new life – and making good progress on his missions – when he starts finding ridiculous messages scrawled on coffee cups… Messages that are, apparently, for him. While he’s convinced it’s all just a ridiculous prank, D.Va calls them “pick-up lines” and insists that he has a “secret admirer.”

Explicit

Afterdrop by ClaroQueQuiza [WIP; 638,116 words] Reccer comment: "HaVe YOU heArD aBouT a fic whoSe cALLeD AFTERDROP?! (I am the worst, I'm pestering everyone and their mothers about this fic but hey, read this fic it's really cool and ClaroQueQuiza is a great dude 👍)"

Overwatch can be forgiven for keeping Hanzo at arm's length despite the endorsement of his intended murder victim. Six months of provisional membership, spent in the field, is a reasonable compromise.

But not everyone is on board with giving Hanzo a chance.

Cassidy, least of all.

The Chain by midgetnazgul [WIP; 188,243 words] Reccer comment: "I'm following a lot of WIPs, but 'The Chain' by midgetnazgul is definitely a fave!"

It wasn't that Jesse had lived his whole life with nothing - it was about keeping what he'd managed to cobble together.

For Hanzo, it was about trying to make anything truly his own.

And for both of them, the virtue of letting go.

Coyote Lovely by t_pock [WIP; 38,969 words] Reccer comment: "the best-smelling fic I've ever read, with great characterizations and incredible descriptions, and a massively oblivious Hanzo"

After a mission gone wrong, Hanzo and McCree must lie low in New Mexico for a week. Together.

In the Pocket by robocryptid [WIP; 11,002 words] Reccer comment: "I recently reread 'Not that I'm complaining' and after that this Sequel intrigued me more than ever."

An AU in which both Shimadas joined Blackwatch and Cole Cassidy fell in love dick first, but that was almost 15 years ago. Now Overwatch is being Recalled, and Cole has to make up his mind.

Look Up and Wonder by MarieJacquelyn [WIP; 131,796] Reccer comment: "I will never ever shut up about Look Up and Wonder. I feel like Cass stans in particular will find his characterization quite enjoyable. (Idk if this will ever be finished, but even if it isn't, it's definitely worth the read, TRUST ME.)"

Jesse McCree gets a job offer to rescue one H. Shimada at 3:23 AM. He accepts it at 3:54 AM. It does not go according to plan. (An Overwatch/Firefly AU)

Mismatch by MsTrick [WIP; 15,280 words] Reccer comment: "I don't read a lot of ABO, but this fic grabbed me by the balls"

“And the only way your intel will be believed is if it appears your alpha’s claim on you has been overwritten." Hanzo sank into thought. “I…suppose, if intercourse is necessary, for this plan, then we should go through with it,” he said hesitantly, as though his insides weren’t fizzing hot with the possibility.

To his chagrin, Jesse burst into laughter. “Boy, how could any beta resist such saccharine sweet talk?"

One Man's Hero by mataglap [WIP; 99,485 words] Reccer 1 comment: "A very cool superhero AU with great atmosphere :D"

Reccer 2 comment: "Love Hanzo and Cole in this. Prickly old men."

Hanzo Shimada is an assassin, a murderer, and decidedly not a hero, let alone a superhero — and yet.

The Only Ten I See by robocryptid [WIP; 65,380 words]

Hanzo and Cassidy investigate a gang running guns through a small town in rural Tennessee. There's only one bedroom in the safehouse, half the town thinks they're dating, and Hanzo is weirdly angry about Cassidy's tight pants.

It can only escalate.

And that's it for the Week 9 recs! Thank you so much to everyone who submitted a fic rec. Come back next time for the Week 10 theme: "When We Were Young," i.e. all the young Yeehan fics your heart desires.

In the meantime, you can also check out the Week 8 recs here or check the list of past and future themes here!

[kbstories]

9, 10, 11, 12, 21!

9 What is the longest fic you’ve read?

That’s… a good question actually, I had to google the ones that came to mind and I think the longest is An Expected Journey by @mariejacquelyn with whooping 295k!! I loved it so much I wrote a paper about it, the time travel fix-it trope is one of my favorites and this one is so so well done! Plus, the author is super nice c:

A close second is The Meaning of Pain by BlackDewInTheMorning, one of my long-time favs even if it’s potentially discontinued at 276k. Very inspiring and to this day a paragon of character-driven writing, at least for me!

10 Favorite trope/element/scenario in fic?

Oof. It really depends on my mood like, when I’m feeling like fluff, domesticity of any kind slays me. Anything that shows the dynamic between characters in a relaxed moment with lots of details about their time together makes me swoon, I love it so much.

When it comes to angst, I’m absolute trash for H/C, most of all if it features one character selflessly protecting the other. Combine it with emotional H/C and I’m hooked. 

11 Least favorite trope/element/scenario?

Hmmm… The thing is: there’s little that’s a hard no for me. I read most of everything, even if the initial glimpse through summary/tags seems “eh”. If done right, even tropes I was indifferent about or even despised can work in a story, so I like to give things a chance before I decide if I wanna read on or not.

That being said, I don’t particularly enjoy a first or second person narrator. It just feels… off to me, in a sense. I’m most comfortable with third person + present tense, which is what I use for my stories as well.

12 What turns you away the most from a fic?

When there’s no character development or, alternatively, when something completely out of the blue happens. Like, I’ll follow a plot to the end of the earth and back (or else I wouldn’t enjoy long fics as much) but if everything ultimately amounts to nothing, character-wise, story-wise, whatever-wise, then what’s the point y’know? If the plot doesn’t affect the characters in any way, if they stay static throughout the whole thing… I don’t know. If I want more of the same of what canon delivers, I’ll just go watch/read/play that.

Similarly, if something happens that hasn’t been properly set up or at least hinted at somewhere, it’s a sure-fire way to make me go “???”. Playing with expectations, yes please, but being blindsided by a story element without a redeeming aspect to it, a meaning to whatever happened, feels like a weird sort of betrayal.

This is why I always ask myself, “Where do I want to go with this? What’s the idea/concept behind this story? How do I express it effectively?”, before I start writing. A lot of it comes through writing the thing, a few things are completely unexpected but work nonetheless, etc. but every story has a thought process behind it, right? Let it shine through what you mean. Show me why this exact scenario, this interaction, this idea is interesting, and I’ll follow.

21 How and when did you get introduced to smut fic? Any horror stories?

The first time I read a NSFW fic was the first time I read fic at all! It all started when poor teenage me googled the short story behind Brokeback Mountain (which you can find here, btw) and came across A Love Born From Steel by MaineWriter instead. I practically devoured that, and then went to check fics for other movies I liked, and there went my innocence.

The first proper smut fic in the sense of PWP was… something from the MCU fandom, I can’t recall which one exactly. Or Supernatural? Hm. Sometime around 2011/2012 for sure. It took aaall the way till January 2016 for me to write my own, though. And now we’re here.

As for horror stories, I… can’t really remember? Like, I know I was probably pretty shocked the first time I stumbled over ABO, and the whole watersports mix-up is a thing everyone has to go through at one point or another, but all in all I think between my first fic being M-rated and my fast descend into fandom madness, I just took all this stuff as a given and ran with it. It certainly was - and still is - a learning experience.

Send me numbers and I’ll talk about fic!