#was very much thinking about amarguerite's stories while drawing

[mathildejr]

life drawing with friends : ice skating edition!! thanks to the great Anaïs who came with her outfit and ice skates :) and kept the pause with her legs up there for a couple minutes, which, how. I was very impressed and very grateful to get to draw it

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

Fandom Fic Rec Days - My Top 15

I’d been meaning to make some sort of fic rec list for a while, so when I saw @barduil’s post about Fandom Fic Rec Days (Feb. 10-12), I finally did it!

This started as a top 10, but I couldn’t narrow it down enough and so settled for 15(-ish). I tried to keep some semblance of variety, though many of these are still for POTC and Star Wars. I hope you all enjoy these! If you read any off my list, you should tell me what you think and go give the authors some much-deserved love.

Fandoms included in this list: Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, and Marvel.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

“Mutiny On The Dauntless” by Marnie - Governor Swann and Lieutenant Norrington narrowly skirt disaster at the hands of a ruthless captain and dangerous crew on the crossing from England. [19k+. No ships but the floating kind. TW: minor character death, naval discipline.]

“Marooned” by @honorat - A delightful fic/“scene novelization” about Jack and Elizabeth's brief marooning in COTBP, based primarily on the deleted scenes. Alternates between humorous and dark and even includes some philosophy. [28k+. Jack & Elizabeth, can be read as Sparrabeth if so desired. TW: alcohol.]

☆ “Crossing The Bar” ☆ by Honorat - My absolute uncontested favorite POTC fic and quite possibly my favorite fic of all time. After the events of COTBP, Norrington thinks he has Jack cornered, but the pirate has other ideas.  A story of truly literary proportions ensues, ft. philosophy, hilarity, feelings, and sheer badassery. [156k+. Canon divergent: written pre-DMC. Ships: light Jack/Anamaria. TW: Battle injuries, period-accurate medical practices, minor character death. Other warnings posted in fic.]

STAR WARS

“Ka Mate! Ka Ora!” by @kaasknot - Author’s description: “‘Imagine the entire Torrent Company doing the haka’ / In which the clones have a ceremony of their own to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies.” [3.5k+. No ships. TW: implied character death, space ethnocentrism.]

“Illuminations” by @stitchyarts - Chirrut/Baze. Details Chirrut’s early life, how he came to be at the Temple of the Whills, his life as a Guardian, the growth of his relationship with Baze, and how the Clone Wars finally come to Jedha. [15k+. Ships: Spiritassassin. TW: childhood injury.]

“Un Nouvel Éspoir” by kaasknot - Star Wars told in the style of Victor Hugo, specifically a pastiche of Les Mis. Apparently it updated and I didn’t know (!!!), but the first chapter at least is all about Obi-Wan’s time on Tatooine. [41k+. No ships (thus far). TW: minor character death, implied slavery and experimentation, graphic depictions of Tatooine.]

“They'll Never Stop Us” by bagof4grapes - Luke/Biggs.  Details some of their youth together and has Biggs survive The Battle of Yavin. [39k+. Ships: Skylighter. Canon divergent. TW: eventual NSFW.]

“Into the Storm” by blank101 - Part One of the Sun of Suns trilogy. In an AU where Vader manages to capture the Falcon’s passengers after their attempted escape from Bespin, everything you know and love goes spectacularly to shit. Extremely dark and cannot-tear-your-eyes-away engaging. Not for the faint of heart but HIGHLY recommended. [147k+. Ships: eventual Luke/Mara, background Han/Leia. TW: Palpatine (hence all the other TWs), imprisonment, interrogation, manipulation, gaslighting, grievous bodily harm, torture, space politics, the Dark Side.] (Part Two, Three)

“The Bronze Boy” by M_Leigh - Ben Organa/Solo’s childhood, with appearances by Luke and small Poe Dameron. Shows Han and Leia struggling to be parents in the post-ROTJ political situation. Wonderfully written, though probably no longer canon-compliant. [16k+. No ships. TW: referenced stillbirth, iffy but very sincere parenting, Snoke.]

“Stuff” by Gheorghe2 - A classic Luke/Mara fic written in 1995-6. Drinking, detective work, snarky humor, impulsive decisions, and tension abound. Mentions other Legends characters and events, but Wookieepedia can get you through if you, like me, have only read parts of Legends. [131k+. Ships: Luke/Mara. TW: alcohol, mild NSFW.]

“The Future Prince” by StarMaple - Finn/Poe, and the cutest one I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. In which Finn is the long-lost prince of Yantu. Includes a waltz arrangement of the SW theme and some really pretty fanart. [22k+. Ships: Stormpilot. No TWs; this one’s pure fluff!]

LES MISÉRABLES

“Some Friendlier Sky” by @amarguerite - Cosette/Courfeyrac (yes, really!). One of my favorite Les Mis fics ever. Featuring truly astounding French puns, fantastic OCs, tons of history, fluff, angst, and the ending everyone really wanted. [127k+. Ships: Cosette/Courfeyrac, Joly/Musichetta. TW: cholera, the barricade]

“Paris Burning” by @thecitysmith - Enjolras/Grantaire. One of the first Les Mis fics I ever read. In an AU where cities are personified, long-lost Paris lives on as Grantaire. Stylistically, it is very different from my usual fare, but to this day the City!verse draws me in and breaks my heart like nothing else. (If you, like me, are not really into NSFW, those bits can easily be skipped.) [45k+. Ships: e/R, Cities/others. TW: NSFW, major character death, references to suicide.]

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

“Flashes of a Lifetime Together” by @littlelonghairedoutlaw - Erik/the Daroga. Erik and the Daroga unite again in Paris many years after the rosy hours of Mazandaran. A beautiful relationship ensues, solving half the (beloved) nonsense that occurs in POTO proper. [14.8k+. Ships: Pharoga, R/C, platonic E/C. TW: implied torture and murder, attempted assassination, very mild/implied NSFW.]

MARVEL (CAPTAIN AMERICA)

“Steve Rogers At 100: Celebrating Captain America on Film” - Actually the greatest Cap-related fic ever to exist. Technically a Steve/Bucky fic, but tbph I’m just here for the hilarious fake film/pop culture analysis. [10.7k+. Ships: Steve/Bucky, Steve/Peggy. TW: war.]