fancake | Entries tagged with theme: disability

Fandom: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System
Pairings/Characters: Luo Binghe/Shen Yuan
Rating: T
Length: 143,334
Creator Links:

mellicindi
Theme: Food & Cooking, (Secret) Hobbies, Asexual & Demisexual Characters, Alternate Universe - Modern, Book Fandoms, Canon LGBTQ+ Characters, Characters of Color, Disability, Families of Choice, Favorite Fanworks, No Canon Required, Novel-Length Fic, Trauma & Recovery.

Summary: Shen Yuan isn't lonely. He's just overseas in a new city, trying to muddle his way through a business degree, and dealing with the side effects of his stupid intestines trying to kill him. So, maybe he sometimes watches ASMR to cope with his too-quiet apartment. Maybe he has a little bit of a parasocial-relationship-thing going on with one particular cooking ASMR channel. It's 2016, who doesn't? The point is, he's content with his quiet life.

And then Shang Qinghua strong-arms him into watching one Hallmark Christmas movie, and it all goes to hell.

Or: Shen Yuan is a Hallmark movie protagonist, Luo Binghe is a Lifetime movie protagonist, and somehow they make it work.

Reccer's Notes: I read this fic over three days right in the middle of Battleship and it instantly became one of my favourite fanfics of all time. I could seriously gush for hours about this fic and its themes: the recurring thread of food as a love language (especially given protagonist Shen Yuan's digestive disability he's too self-conscious to talk openly about), the differing nature of familial, romantic, and friendship bonds and the varying privileges and presumptions behind each, this Luo Binghe's long-term trauma that manifests in the best goddamn depiction of Borderline Personality Disorder I've seen outside Crazy Ex Girlfriend seemingly entirely on accident - and among all of that, it's just a goddamn well-written story, incredibly easy to read and funny and heartfelt and true to its characters while being 100% readable fandom-blind and just - if any of the above appeals to you, I really can't advise anything other than to read it ASAP. <333

Fanwork Links: Life is (not) a Hallmark Movie

sinesofinsanity

Fandom: Avatar The Last Airbender
Pairings/Characters: Zuko, Toph, Lu Ten, Sokka, Katara, Aang, Suki, Hakoda, Ty Lee
Rating: Author did not rate it, I'd call it G
Length: 20,008 words
Creator Links: thetrickisnotminding
Theme: Marriage of convenience, arranged marriage, fork-in-the-road AU, diplomatic marriage, disability (blindness), families of choice,

Summary: In some facet of reality, there /was/ a way to help Lu Ten. And so the Avatar woke into a world where no one was questing for the Avatar yet, because certain soldier boys had different methods in their march home.

Reccer's Notes: I love this take on the different ATLA characters. Zuko is trying so hard in this to both prove himself and make up for how terrible his father is, but he's ultimately still the awkward turtle-duck we know and love. His "proposal" to Toph basically amounts to "you give our side a ton of money, I'll take you away from your over-protective parents and let you boss me around." Which she LOVES and takes full advantage of. Being a prospective princess does absolutely nothing to stop Toph from being a goblin-child and it's beautiful.

Content Notes: Some reference to suicidal behaviour; canon-typical reference to child abuse, war, and genocide

Fanwork Links: Lu Ten's Hawk on AO3

eratoschild

Fandom: Trails of Cold Steel
Pairings/Characters:
Laura S. Arseid/Duvalie, Ines/Ennea, Victor S. Arseid/McBurn
appearances by other assorted Cold Steel characters and hints of other ships Rating: M
Length: 22442 words
Creator Links: Rosie_Rues
Theme:
Grief/Mourning, Dreamsharing, Recovery, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, changing roles in life, loss of limb
Summary: With the Great Twilight over, Duvalie follows Laura home to Legram. She's not entirely sure why she's here, or when she's going to leave, but she can't bring herself to regret her choice.

Meanwhile, Victor's dreaming of the only man in the universe still willing to offer him a challenge...

Reccer's Notes: While I have read this fic several times, the most recent was some time ago, I always remember it as being roughly half of one ship and half of another- I note this here because one of those ships is M/M. In my rereading, I see the balance is more 2/3 to 1/3, with the bulk of it being the theme-compliant Laura/Duvalie, who begins as something of a lost and reluctant guest in Laura's home in the wake of the loss of the woman who saved her. The emotional metamorphosis of Duvalie's canonical hostility towards Laura- already very much blunted as the story opens, turn to friendship and later towards attraction is an absolute treasure. There are many smaller moments of many relationships of varying sorts between her and otter female characters throughout the story, some of which absolutely beg for stories of their own.

The M/M ships is Victor/McBurn, and they are a prominent part of the story- really a story occurring in parallel, but separately- until it suddenly isn't. While I don't want to dwell on them in this post as they are not germane to the theme, it bears mentioning that they are there in case they would turn anyone off from reading. But I will say that their development is quite astounding, a sword master who has lost an arm, a god who has lost his world and any connection to it and what they become to each other.

This fic deals with grief in many forms, over many different kinds of loss, from loss of friends, comrades in arms, loss of a limb, loss of connection to oneself and an entire world. It's all very sensitively written, and even the absolutely fantastical loss of a god from another dimension with his entire world somehow becomes much less fantastical than one might expect.

There are also themes of many different changes in life that come with time passing and with dealing with these griefs. Oh, and the very cracky-sounding, but utterly sincerely dealt with coping with the shock of learning that your father is banging the demon god from another dimension. (that needs to be a tag, ok)

This is just one of my favorite ever fics, by one of my favorite authors.
Fanwork Links: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45897169

full_metal_ox

Fandom: Kushiel’s Legacy - Jacqueline Carey
Pairings/Characters: F/M; Favrielle nó Eglantine/Original Male Character
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Length: 4,701
Content Notes: Ableism (not narratively endorsed), Contract Assault, Disabling Injury, Mayhem, Nudity
Creator Tags: Clothing Porn, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Healing, Disability, Banter, Romance
Creator Links:

edonohana,

rachelmanija
Theme: Competence, Trauma & Recovery, Arts & Crafts, Backstory, Disability, Genius in Action, Post-Canon, Worldbuilding

Summary: Favrielle gets a commission from a silver-tongued diplomat with scars of his own.

Author’s Notes: For crowmomma.

A Yuletide Treat.

Reccer's Notes: Favrielle nó Eglantine allows herself to be persuaded to accept a last-minute commission for a Midwinter Masque costume to flatter a client disabled in a hunting accident; the challenge proves to be mutual therapy, as the full horror and trauma behind Favrielle’s own injury surfaces.

The topic question becomes finding power in beauty not defined by perfection; be assured that there are (accessible!) Clothing Porn particulars galore to luxuriate in, precise enough to serve as cosplay tutorial—as well as fraught nudity solely for professional reasons, you understand! (Readers familiar with 80’s seasonal color typing may catch that Favrielle diagnoses Julien as a Winter—who needs to throw out those mousy earth colors yesterday.)

And the flirtatious banter feels organic: Favrielle’s arrogance may be a defense mechanism, but it’s a check her creative genius can cash; Julien is likewise a formidably intelligent and accomplished person seeking to regain agency, and they share interests.

(And oh, yeah, she finishes that year's dress for Phèdre, too. As well as one for herself…)

Fanwork Links: Kushiel’s Fall, by

Edonohana for

crowmamma.

22degreehalo

Fandom: I Hear the Sunspot
Pairings/Characters: Kouhei/Taichi
Rating: E
Length: 7,769
Creator Links: n/a
Theme: Happy Endings, Canon LGBTQ+ Characters, Disability, First Time, Fix-it, Small Fandoms

Summary: Tonight was the first time anyone’s ever just held Taichi while he cried, and being welcomed into Kouhei’s home instead of shuffled back to his empty one feels a little like a step into the future. A future where neither of them ever has to go home alone again, if they don’t want to. A future where they’ll always have each other even on the shittiest nights, where they’ll wake up together the next morning and things will be a little bit better just because they’re both still there.

But that doesn’t mean everything comes easily between them, and one of their sore spots just had to go and flare up tonight.

//

Taichi and Kouhei talk things out instead of going to sleep.

Reccer's Notes: I would recommend this fic to absolutely everyone who has read this manga - and if you haven't read the manga yet, I highly recommend that as well!! (Incredibly good slow-burn blurring lines between friends and lovers and some of the best representations of disability I've ever seen). 'Fix-it' calls to mind a certain out-of-character idealism - 'what if these characters had no hangups and said exactly what they meant?' but this isn't that: it really, truly feels like a bonus chapter that could have been written by the author themselves. The characters are still every bit as flawed and awkward and shitty at communicating and understanding themselves, but just this once they manage to work past it, and the result is magical - and also, incredibly hot.

Fanwork Links: for tomorrow

_{I need a fandom tag please, mods!!}

sinesofinsanity

Fandom: Star Wars (The Bad Batch)
Pairings/Characters: Echo, Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, Tech
Rating: Teen+
Length: 61,122 words
Creator Links: Tanwyn
Theme: Trauma & recovery, disability (arm and leg prosthesis), hurt/comfort, team as family, series

Summary:
The Bad Batch protects their own. It’s their most sacred promise to each other, come hell or high water. When a reg named Echo joins Crosshair’s squad, Crosshair makes that promise again.

However, in the stark halls of Kamino, Crosshair discovers that Echo’s decision to join the Bad Batch is only the beginning. On Kamino, Crosshair and his brothers are helpless to watch as Echo’s augmentations thrust him into the sights of the Kaminoan scientists. The Bad Batch promised to protect Echo, but the promises of clones are fragile things.

As Echo struggles to heal in the midst of a war and the Batch’s loyalties are tested, darkness creeps ever-closer, irresistible and unrelenting. The war is nearing its end, and none of them will escape unscathed.

Reccer's Notes:
The story that basically goes "Oh you thought Echo went through some trauma? Let's make it worse." The author is inspired by the fact that Echo becomes a lot more serious and closed off in The Bad Batch series than he was when he's rescued in The Clone Wars show, so what could have happened in between there? The story does a really good job of showing different ups and downs of Echo's recovery, and how the Batch try to help. Crosshair ultimately is terrible at this, but he's also one of the only people to never treat Echo like he's made of glass, so ends up being Echo's confidant and primary support despite (again) being really terrible at it.

The rest of the series includes an alternate ending, some stories that expand on some of the OCs from the main story (that get pretty heartbreaking but earn the hurt/comfort tag), as well as a glimpse into Omega's life on Kamino.

Content Notes: Torture, medical experimentation, non-consensual body modification, referenced human dissection, vomit

Fanwork Links: Sing Me A Song on AO3

beatrice_otter

Fandom: Jeeves & Wooster
Characters/Pairings: Bertie Wooster
Rating: not rated
Length: 13,340
Creator Links:

thecat_13145
Theme: disability, amnesia, trauma and healing, gen, old fandoms, book fandoms, small fandoms,

Summary: There are some things Bertie can't talk about with Jeeves. Or what happened after Sir Roderick came to lunch

Reccer's Notes: It is an oddity of Wodehouse's writing that World War I never seems to have happened. Although his books take place in some vague Jazz Age era, focusing on men who would have almost certainly been of age to fight in the war, it's never mentioned once in all his books, nor even alluded to. This is an omission that fanfic fixes; there are several fics where Bertie and/or Jeeves was in the War, with various explanations for why they never mention it.

In this story, Bertie has been struggling with PTSD (then called shell shock, with no real treatment) for six years, and covering it up as best he can with jokes and a vapid exterior because he's terrified of being thought mad. It's not sustainable; something has to give. And it does.

Fanwork Links: A Little Space to Weep

beatrice_otter

Fandom: Star Trek
Characters/Pairings: OC/OC
Rating: Teen
Length: 316k words
Creator Links:

sixbeforelunch

sixbeforelunch
Theme: trauma and recovery, domestic, family, female characters, worldbuilding, arranged marriage, AU, xeno/alien biology, psychic powers, novel-length fic, epic works, series, disability,

Summary: Pi'maat - (n.) family, kin; lit. small clan. [Vulcan Language Institute]

Reccer's Notes: I recced this series several years ago, back when it was only 51k long. Now it's 316k! But you do not have to read all of it, each fic is complete in itself. It takes place during and after the Dominion War, and it's about a family of Vulcan OCs and their friends. The main couple for most of the series both suffered trauma during the war; one, psychological, the other physical. There is a child abuse ring that gets busted. A side character came to Vulcan because it was a safe haven from her stalker, and she's pretty messed up about it. The most recent story in the series is about a woman rebuilding her life despite being really messed up by child abuse. There's a lot of trauma, and it's all handled fairly realistically and with compassion.

And also, there's a lot of healing. There's a lot of support. There's a lot of people going out of their way to help one another. It's lovely. (So is the worldbuilding, BTW)

Fanwork Links: Pi'maat
Pi'maat at AO3

sinesofinsanity

Fandom: Star Wars (The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch)
Pairings/Characters: Echo, Hunter, Tech, Crosshair, Wrecker, Rex, Fox
Rating: Gen
Length: 72,891 words
Creator Links: Moxibustion on AO3
Theme: Trauma & recovery, (secret) hobbies, action/adventure, arts & crafts, disability (arm and leg prosthesis), friendship, hurt/comfort, novel-length fics, team as family

Summary: Echo had never had any particular talents. He'd never sought to be special, never tried to break the mould. He'd never aspired to be anything more than a clockwork soldier, watching his far more brilliant brothers rise up above him. He'd never expected to wake up one day and find out that he was, in fact, the last of them.

Funny old galaxy, really.

Now he was in the Bad Batch and one thing he was rapidly beginning to understand is this: in a galaxy filled with combat engineers, the Bad Batch are artists. Echo had never really known much about art. At least... that's what he'd always thought. New body, new squad - maybe it was time to look at things in a whole new way.

A story about art, war, coping, hanging on, letting go, restoration, reforging, plotting in a brig, military intelligence isn't, Wrecker's diplomacy doesn't, cooking, the thin line between genius and madness, starting over, struggling with loss, team bonding, art therapy, guerilla knitting therapy, big boom therapy, shaking down shinies for fun and profit, guilt, rage, forgiveness, waging war by fitting in...

... and making your peace with standing out.

Reccer's Notes: Set between when Echo joined the Bad Batch and Order 66, this is an absolutely brilliant take on Echo finding his place with the new team, and the Batch running missions and blowing up droids. The main framing is some type of art for each of the Batch, allowing the fic to also highlight the importance of arts for practicality, team building/bonding, creative expression, beauty, comfort, and other things that matter more than you expect in wartime. Meanwhile Echo is also dealing with the loss of Fives and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. How Echo handles his grief about Fives is neither easy or linear, and is beautifully done.

Also, Echo gets to weaponize being a regulations nerd, and it's glorious.

Content Notes: Canon-typical violence with both guns and fists, consensual and non-consensual body modifications, referenced suicide attempt, bullying, PTSD and PTSD flashback, dissociation, dehumanizing language, field medicine, sibling death

Fanwork Links: Art of War on AO3

alexseanchai

Fandom: Yuri on Ice
Pairings/Characters: Victor/Yuuri
Rating: Teen
Length: 39K
Creator Links:

Glaucus_Atlanticus
Theme: No Canon Required, Time Travel, Canon LGBTQ+ Characters, Comfortfic, Disability, Domestic, Established Relationship, Future Fic, Parallel Universes and Dimension Travel

Summary:

A time-traveling shower transports 18 year old Yuuri into the body of his future self—and into the arms of his idol, Victor Nikiforov. Now Yuuri must pretend to be his older self until he can return to his own era. Which would be a lot easier if Victor weren't so attentive. Or so affectionate.

But as time goes on, Yuuri finds himself torn between his old life, and a new one that would hand him everything he ever wanted...but at the cost of his real identity.

Reccer's Notes: This is comfortfic for me largely because how Victor (a year and a half after canon) handles Yuuri (visiting from five years before canon) and his anxiety. While people reading this in full knowledge of canon will therefore figure many things out before Yuuri learns them—or wince knowing Yuuri doesn't learn them in time—anyone going in knowing only this rec post will simply know exactly as much as Yuuri does. Which specifically does not include any sort of assurance that Yuuri's future, after he returns to the time he came from, will include this Victor's past; in particular, there is passing mention of the death of a loved one (who survived take two) and of a pet (who didn't, despite Yuuri's efforts).

Fanwork Links: Seven Years and Twenty-Four Hours

headstone

Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi
Pairings/Characters: Jiang Yanli/Jin Zixuan
Rating: E
Length: 1,753
Creator Links:

sophia_sol
Theme: Trans & non-binary characters, book fandoms, disability, unconventional format & style, family

Summary: Five firsts and one last; Jiang Yanli builds her identity.

Reccer's Notes: I love the reverse chronological storytelling device this fic uses. The threads of disability and gender are woven together in a really compelling way, and I appreciated the overall through-line of Yanli taking strength and personal identity from her relationships and roles in different settings, even when she doesn't feel she's adequately living up to them.

Fanwork Links: I know what that song means now

stranger

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis AU
Pairings/Characters: John/Rodney
Rating: mature
Length: 11,518 words
Creator Links: Toft
Theme: Unusual Jobs

Summary: Rodney is a composer and conductor, John Sheppard is the apparently-average violinist son of a famous violinist. Rodney has written a violin concerto and hears John as his ideal soloist. There is negotiation.

Reccer's Notes: Rodney as 3rd-person POV narrates the current-day classical music milieu with bitchy accuracy. Rodney McKay, John Sheppard and other SGA characters interact very recognizably as their original selves, within the changed setting.
Rodney has agoraphobia to a degree that affects his life, and refuses to let it cripple his career. John has understandable self-image problems. They eventually come to an agreement.

Fanwork Links: String Theory: A Concerto for Violin in D Minor

sinesofinsanity

Fandom: Star Wars: Rogue One
Pairings/Characters: Chirrut Îmwe/Baze Malbus
Rating: T
Length: 5404
Creator Links: hellotailor
Theme: Pre-Canon, action/adventure, backstory, disability (blind)

Summary:
Baze and Chirrut meet for the first time on an Imperial prison ship, a long way from home.

'You're not a doctor, are you.'
'I'm a monk,' said Chirrut, and patted him on the chest. 'So if you die from your wounds, I'll know what to do with your spirit.'

Reccer's Notes: Baze and Chirrut meet during a prison break, naturally. This story has great action and a fun plot while brilliantly capturing the characters and the chemistry between them. Baze is a grumpy and bitter mercenary and Chirrut is eternally hopeful with enough faith in the Force to give Baze something to be grumpy about. How quickly and easily they come to rely on each other is beautiful and suits them so well.

Fanwork Links: wrong place wrong time on AO3, podfic by GodofLaundrybaskets (also on AO3)

runpunkrun

Fandom: The Expanse (TV)
Pairings/Characters: Camina Drummer
Rating: Mature
Song: "5 out of 6," by Dessa
Length: 3 min
Format: 252 MB .mov, .srt subtitles available
Creator Links:

thingswithwings,

twwings
Theme: Women Being Awesome, In Space, Disability, Characters of Color, Canon LGBTQ Characters

Summary: tryna see my descent? you're gonna have to play the tape backwards

Reccer's Notes: Camina Drummer, flying out of her own ashes as she builds and breaks alliances in her rise to power. I love Drummer so much and this song—completely new to me—is perfect for her, the words describing her unapologetic command style, the driving beat like her booted stomps on the deck, and the clips twings chose remind us of everything and everyone she lost along the way. That moment in the lift when they leave the artificial gravity and she literally starts rising up, back in her element, her pain momentarily eased, is particularly powerful in this context.

Contains violence, blood, spinal injury, mobility aids, brief nudity, and spoilers through season 6.

Fanwork Links: Download or stream The Phoenix on AO3 or watch on YouTube

beatrice_otter

Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Pairing: clone!Jack/Cam, Jack/Sam, Cam/Daniel
Length: 235k+ words
Author Links:

synecdochic,

ivory_gates,

ivorygates
Theme: novel-length, disability, epic works, rare pairing, genderfuck, future fic, competence, fork in the road, alternative professions, backstory, clones, family, fandom classics, fanvids, favorite, never met in canon,

Summary: A serial story of what-if: what if Cam had been a little more injured, and what if Jack's clone had been a little less willing to walk away.

Reccer's Notes: Colonel Jack O'Neill was cloned in an episode of SG-1; the clone looks like he's sixteen, but has all of Jack's memories. At the end of the episode, he was given a cover identity and went back to high school, pretending he really was that age, and was never seen or mentioned on camera again. Cameron Mitchell was a pilot who was shot down defending SG-1 over Antarctica, and almost died. In canon he was perfectly healed, but there is a canon-AU in which he was confined to a wheelchair and permanently disabled. This Cam is somewhere in between. Broken Wings is a fascinating look at what might have been if the two had met, and become partners. It's beautifully written, and with a deep understanding of what it means to live with a disability. The story isn't about Cam's disability, but about their life together, with a realistic picture of how Cam's disability affects every aspect of their lives. It's not written for effect or for disability porn; it is what it is.

Back in the heydey of SG-1 fandom,

ivory_gates was

synecdochic's frequent partner in crime, and the two shared a couple of AUs. One of them is the Mezzanine-verse, in which they redid the Broken Wings premise (though not its plot) with a genderbent Cameron Mitchell. It, too, is very good.

Story Links: Broken Wings, Mezzanine

Bonus:

wyomingnot made a vid of Broken Wings.

mific

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard, Rodney McKay/Rod McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir, Jeannie Miller, Radek Zelenka, Samantha Carter, Madison Miller, Kaleb Miller
Rating: M
Length: 21,967
Content Notes: Contains injury, adaptation to permanent disability, references to PTSD and depression.
Creator Links: estora on AO3
Theme: Fork in the Road, friends to lovers, family, hurt/comfort, disability, clones & doppelgangers

Summary: You shot me, McKay tries to say, and in another world where Sheppard was holding something clumsy like a P90 in one hand and the bullet only grazed McKay’s side, Sheppard might reply Yes, Rodney, I shot you and I said I was sorry! It might even be kind of funny. You shot me, McKay wants to say, and all he can taste is blood.

Reccer's Notes: This takes the Season 3 episode "Phantoms" and makes the outcome a lot worse for McKay, with mind-whammied Sheppard's bullet taking out his larynx and rendering him mute. The story paints an accurate picture of Rodney's shock but also his denial that the injury's permanent, and Sheppard of course is devastated and guilt-stricken, until Rodney browbeats him out of the worst of that. Inevitably, Rodney's denial can't last and he battles with depression and PTSD, while still somehow managing to do at least part of his job, although Radek becomes the CSO. Estora switches episode order after the story goes AU, following this trauma with the events of "McKay and Mrs Miller" as McKay, voiceless, reconciles with his sister Jeannie and encounters Rod, his AU counterpart. It's really well written, following Rodney as he struggles to continue, in the process becoming closer to John as their relationship deepens. I like the realism of Rodney's journey and that there's no magical fix-it for his disability, but there's still a positive ending. An engrossing read.

Fanwork Links: Tacet

quailfence

Fanwork Type(s): Fic
Fandoms: Various Star Treks (mostly TOS and AOS), MASH
Pairings/Characters: Kirk/Spock, BJ/Hawkeye/Peg in all combinations, Hot Lips/Bones, Amanda/Sarek, Radar/OFC
Creator Links:

PrairieDawn
Theme: Series, Psychic Powers, AU: Fork in the road, Hurt/Comfort, Science Fiction, Novel-Length Fic, Worldbuilding, Plotty Fic, Interspecies Pairings, Interspecies Stories,some others that apply to individual series.

Reccer's Notes: Prairie always writes wonderful fics. They’ve put a lot of thought into exactly how telepathy and other psycic powers work in the Trekverse, and those concepts come up a lot in their work. They also write a lot of fork-in-the-road AUs, which are generally very well thought out and diverge in places that most people wouldn’t consider diverging, making them fun and interesting. Medical casefic is another thing they write a lot of, and it always is detailed without being too gross/gorey. Overall a great writer that does a good job at worldbuilding and fleshing out aspects of canon that didn’t get a lot of attention in canon.

Favorite Fanworks: Changesverse series (Star Trek TOS, 121k). 3 works, Ongoing. Rated E but smut is clearly marked and skippable. Major unreality warning, especially for the first few chapters. This fic is based on two premises: 1. Kirk has become telepathic as a result of “some unfortunate side effects from the Tantalus device”, and 2. A good chunk of “The Menagerie” was an illusion created by the Talosians. The former is used to explore what it’s like to be a telepath in the Trek-verse, the latter to give the Talosians a lot more depth and motivations than in canon. The next two fics are rewrites of “Devil in the Dark” and “Spectre of the Gun” in this ‘verse, both of which are really good and interesting.
(Themes: Marriage, Friends to Lovers, Epic Works, Action/Adventure, Asexual & Demisexual Charcaters, Xeno/Alien Biology)

Link

The Importance of Choosing the Right Pediatrician (Star Trek AOS, 64k). 10 works, Ongoing. Mostly G and T with one skippabke E fic. I’ll let the summary of the first fic speak for itself:
“The first in a series of short pieces chronicling Spock's early childhood through his well baby visits.
I noticed that, at least until the destruction of his homeworld, reboot Spock is a little more balanced than his original counterpart was, perhaps just a little bit more comfortable in his own skin. This series assumes that one of the butterfly effects propagating backward and forward through time included a change in infant Spock's medical care, which had a consequent effect on his social skills.”
(Sybok [who becomes a rabbi named Solomon in this ‘verse] and Michael are there too).
(Themes: Kidfic (as kids), Minor Characters, Family, Backstory)

Link

I’m a Doctor, not A Diety (Star Trek TOS, 52.7k). 4 works, ongoing. T and M fics. McCoy is present for Where No Man Has Gone Before (unlike in canon), and ends up with psychic powers as a result. Very strong psychic powers that make some people very afraid. My favorite of this series is the fourth fic, “Nor Iron Bars A Cage”, which is the start of using McCoy’s powers to fix “The Menagerie”.
(Themes: Fix-it, Research, Disability)

Link

A few months ago I aslo reced PrairieDawn’s Star Trek/MASH crossover series “Welcome to 1951”, which you should definitely check out as well:

Link

beatrice_otter

Fandom: Captain America
Characters/Pairings: Bucky/Steve
Rating: Mature
Length: 123k
Creator Links:

feather
Theme: disability, novel length, au, hurt/comfort, series, epic works, character development, favorite fanworks,

Summary: Steve has no plan. Not because he hadn't tried to make one. He'd tried to make lots of plans. Plan, adapt, plan again, tried to think of every contingency.

And then he'd thrown them away, because there wasn't much point. What could you plan for? He couldn't guess the possible contingencies, the situations, the potentials. And he sure as sure hadn't figured on what's happened now, on coming back to his place and finding Bucky here. He hadn't even hoped for that.

He hadn't realized he could.

[post-Winter Soldier recovery fic]

Reccer's Notes: There are quite a lot of post-Winter Soldier recovery fics about dealing with Bucky's trauma, but this is one of the best. Bucky gets better, but he'll carry the scars the rest of his life. This isn't the kind of trauma you just get over. It's heart-breaking and sometimes uplifting and very well-written. And there are several other series that are either sequels or dealing with other characters in the same universe.

Fanwork Links: your blue-eyed boys
Related Series: (even if i could) make a deal with god, Settle in and find your home, [to see you there]

beatrice_otter

Fandom: Deep Space Nine
Pairing: Jake Sisko/OMC
Length: 102,673
Author Links:

macedon
Theme: novel length, series, characters of color, future fic, au, disability, family, friends to lovers, minor characters, old fandoms, pre-AO3 works, favorite fanworks, worldbuilding, fandom classics

Summary: When Bajor hosts an interstellar music festival, to which a very unusual star singer is invited, Jake must face questions about friendship, manhood and culture, as well as freedoms of belief.

Reccer's Notes: This is my favorite of Macedon's stories, in large part because I love how he writes Vulcans. Macedon's greatest gift is the ability to take an idea, a theme, a moral (or a set of them, for his longer works) and make them come to life in the lives and thoughts of his characters. He explores issues realistically, without ever becoming preachy or moralistic or filled with platitudes, and he does it because everything (plot, theme, world-building, etc.) flows naturally from the lives of his characters. He makes every character he writes (original or not) be realistic, three-dimensional, and fascinating. Jeu-Parti is the story of Jake Sisko, the son of Commander Benjamin Sisko, and his relationship with a Vulcan named Salene. But it's also about choosing to be different, about choosing to pursue your dreams at the expense of normality, about dealing with society's disapproval, about friendship, about love, about family, about mental illness, about the difficulty of building a relationship--friendship or other--across cultural lines. It does all that while being an engaging and entertaining series that I love to read and re-read.

Story Links: Jeu-Parti

stepps

Fandom: MCU: Captain America
Pairings/Characters: Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers
Rating: M
Length: 107,076 words
Creator Links:

spitandvinegar
Theme: comfortfic, found family, hurt/comfort, amnesia, kidfic, domestic fic, so many more (see tags)

Summary:

It's six in the morning, and Steve is heading out on a run when he nearly trips over a bouquet of sunflowers on the front steps of his brownstone.

For a second paranoia takes over, and he kicks the flowers a little, waiting for them to explode. They don't. They also came with a card, which he picks up. The front of the card has a tasteful picture of the Brooklyn bridge at sunset. It's very nice and sedate, like the kind of card you would buy to give to your boss. On the inside someone has written a short message in big, shaky block letters.

I AM SORRY FOR SHOOTING YOU.

Steve sits down hard on the steps.

Reccer's Notes: There is a theme with my MCU comfortfic, and it's that Bucky takes charge of himself (however tenuously), realises his agency, takes his own revenge, finds his own support network, and figures out how to heal along the way. These kinds of fics just give me so many feelings! The Goddamn Kids in this one are some of my favourite OCs, and the fact that Bucky does not heal in a linear, perfectly complete way is so real and wonderful.

And on a personal note Bucky calling Steve sweetheart or honey or babydoll is just my favourite thing ever.

If you're not familiar with the fic, please do heed the tags/warnings as some of the coping mechanisms Bucky uses are not healthy, and the characters do discuss his (and their) past abuse and trauma.

Fanwork Links: Ain't No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down)

em_kellesvig

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairings/Characters: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Rating: Mature
Length: 83k
Creator Links:

esteefee and

esteefee
Theme: essential starter recs
Content Notes: Physical Disability

Summary: Everything in life has a price.

AU in which John owns a coffee roastery, Rodney designs exhibits for science museums, Teyla is a physician in internal medicine, and Ronon is an orthopedic surgeon all living in San Francisco.

Reccer's Notes: This is the OG SGA coffee shop AU. Coming in at a respectable 83k, it's long and comforting but not rambling or tiring. It has a good plot in each part of the series, and strong voices for all the characters, canon and original. It's sad and funny and heartbreaking and exciting. It also has cats. This is the coffee shop AU you wish every fandom had, the one that feels like real life, and maybe is.

Fanwork Links: Fair Trade

mific

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Carson Beckett, Radek Zelenka, Jim Banks (an OC), et al
Rating: E
Length: (Whole series) 247,760
Creator Links: Sgamadison on AO3
Theme: Action/adventure, Amnesty, AU, Canon alternate realities, Character development, Clones & doppelgangers, Disability, First time, Friends to lovers, Established relationship

Summaries:
Rodney knows...he's done the math. Atlantis needs a John Sheppard.
No wonder Sheppard missed McKay. He was an impossible act to follow.
He wasn't the one they wanted. He was the one they had.
Major John Sheppard always wondered what his life would have been like if he had gone on the Atlantis Expedition.
The Pegasus Expedition needed a Rodney McKay. They just didn't know it yet.
Not everyone gets a second chance...
He never saw this sort of thing coming...

Reccer's Notes: I just re-read this series and wanted to rec it. There are seven stories, all about Johns and Rodneys from alternate universes finding each other and adjusting to a new universe, and to each other. There are sad aspects in the background as usually either John or Rodney died in the past so as to create the need for their alter to fill that role, but that's not too prominent and it leads to some interesting explorations of identity, self-confidence, guilt, and self-worth. Plus, Madison's into happy endings so in the end all the stories work out. Some of them are interlinked, and the last fic references all the others. They can all be read as stand-alone stories, but I've summarised the linkages below. They're all well written, engaging, sometimes with gripping action and plot-lines, and all with a core McShep arc playing out. Two are longer, being written for Big Bangs. This may also be the series where Madison invented tormack, beloved of Rodney and of fanon, and another fave is Jim Banks the horse trainer, Sheppard's OC alternate dad. Anyway, all the fics are very much recommended!

Fanwork Links: The Second Series
(In order of writing, and with the wordcount for each):
Second Best, 29,302
Second Fiddle, 30,043
Second to None, 28,022 (sequel to Second Best)
Second Chance, 58,981
Second Verse, 59,257
Second Time Around, 21,609 (sequel to Second Chance)
Second Sight, 20,546 (references all the other universes)

runpunkrun

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairings/Characters: McKay/Sheppard, Cameron Mitchell
Rating: NC-17
Length: 10,100 words
Creator Link:

bluflamingo &

bluflamingo's fic index on LJ
Theme: Getting Back Together, Disability, Pre-AO3 Works

Summary: John believes in miracles, in last minute saves, in the impossible. He's lived all of them. He also believes in small, random things that kill people; in the end you don't see coming, in the impossible-in-a-bad-way.

Reccer's Notes: John's living outside of Colorado Springs, deep in the woods, and trying his best not to think about why he's there, taking his pills, deleting the emails that come from Atlantis, and deflecting Mitchell's attempts to befriend him. John's sense of loss is quiet but deep, and his loneliness is echoed in the remote, woodsy atmosphere and his empty house. That is until Rodney McKay shows up on his doorstep.

John and Rodney's relationship is unexpectedly tender here, both in its intimacy and its uncertainty, and I like the way the story slowly reveals what happened and how Rodney's arrival gives John back some hope for the future.

Fanwork Link: Never Going Home on LiveJournal

cuddyclothes

Fandom: Jeeves And Wooster, Jeeves - P.G.Wodehouse
Pairings/Characters: Bertie Wooster/Reginald Jeeves
Rating: T
Length: 5836
Creator Links: godsdaisiechain
Theme: Getting back together

Summary:

Bertie and Jeeves struggle toward a reunion during the festive yuletide season after WW2. Jeevesian wits and Wooster kindheartedness must save the day. For the fan_flashworks "Season" challenge.

Warnings: Bertie and Jeeves are both injured during the war.

Reccer's Notes: This is a bittersweet fic with a lovely happy ending. Jeeves's war injuries include a head injury that muddled his memory, and a lame leg which has left him unable to return to work for Bertie. Bertie,now Lord Yaxley, doesn't know where Jeeves has been and longs to see him again. They meet when each of them are taking their young nieces to see Father Christmas. The author is excellent at writing mildly angsty fluff.

Fanwork Links: Jeeves And The Christmas Grotto

beatrice_otter

Fandom: Star Wars
Pairings/Characters: Darth Vader/Tarkin
Rating: Explicit
Length: 275k words
Creator Links:

soulshrapnel
Theme: novel-length, rare pairing, telepathy, older characters, epic works, disability, competence, character development, bdsm,

Summary: Darth Vader has, at some point, discovered BDSM. When his schedule allows, he's been spending time at a very discreet sex club somewhere in the Outer Rim, where he has his pick of the Empire's starstruck submissives. But even in a risk-aware consensual context, intimacy with a man like Vader can be a perilous undertaking. Grand Moff Tarkin thinks he's up to the challenge.

Reccer's Notes: I am not normally a villain stan, I don't tend to go for dark or supremely messed-up stories about terrible people. But this series is SO GOOD, you guys, I couldn't stop reading even though it wasn't normally my thing. These are both terrible people, who have done and continue to do terrible things. They are both messed up in different ways. And yet, together, there's something almost sweet in the trust and care they show for each other. And it's a compelling picture of intimacy between these two men, and what they see in one another, and how they grow together as a couple.

Fanwork Links: Playing With Fire

mific

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Rating: E
Length: 21,362
Creator Links: fiercelydreamed on AO3 and old website on Wayback
Theme: Character Development, hurt/comfort, disability

Summary: He wondered if this was how it felt to go crazy -- you didn't lose your mind, it just stopped synching up with the world around you. The Pegasus galaxy makes Rodney an expert in what he can survive without.

Reccer's Notes: Rodney goes through enforced character development due to an injury - in this case, poisoning with a toxin that takes away his ability to recognize or speak any language. The fic is about his initial despair and rage, and later his adaptation to the loss, which is aided by an Ancient device John locates which offers a partial workaround, and means John becomes his translator, and much more. Rodney never regains his lost grasp of language, but together, John, his team and his friends help him weather the trauma until he's able to resume work and even rejoin the team. Beautifully written and an absorbing read.

Fanwork Links: Rebuilding Babel (podfic by wintercreek is here)

chibifukurou

Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Gen, Bill Potts, The Master
Rating: Teen/ PG13
Length: 17,088
Creator Links: natalunasans
Theme: Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies

Summary: if "World Enough and Time" had featured a different version of Simm!Master, it could have been a lot more fun, and Bill could have had better chances like she deserved.

Reccer's Notes: A spinoff from one of the author's other series. But can be read as stand alone. I love Bill so much and Cant bring myself to watch the Original World Enough and Time. So this was a nice bridge that stays on track for parts of the plot and changes others in pleasing ways that involve access intimacy and disabled led revolution. And a Tardis being a good bud.

Fanwork Links: Bill & Razor's (not so) Excellent Adventure

esteefee

Fandom: Person of Interest
Characters/Pairings: Finch/Reese, previous Harold/Grace
Rating: NC-17
Length:18,015
Creator Links:

toft
Theme: amnesty, disability, BDSM (light)

Summary: Harold and John begin a casual sex arrangement. It doesn't go particularly well.

Reccer's Notes: Harold Finch is the kind of character who overthinks things to their ultimate death. I suppose it comes from being not very typical in the brainpan, being left on his own too much in his childhood, and getting all his schooling on human interaction from books. I really wouldn't know anything about it.

In any event, Toft is very skilled in writing from this particular unreliable perspective in such a way that you positively ache for Harold and John's characters despite the scenes of very hot and awkward sex they engage in on their broken road to happiness, even as these two clams save the world on a daily basis. This story is a total delight.

Major plus points for Toft's handling of Harold's disabilities, which are present in his thoughts as roadblocks and causes of chronic pain but don't stand in the way of him having said hot sex because he has been living with accommodating his limitations for a while. I like that his disabilities aren't ignored but also aren't treated as pitiable or, I dunno, woobie factors.

Fanwork Links: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8687080?show_comments=true&view_full_work=true

meretricula

Fandom: Tiān Guān Cì Fú | Heaven Official's Blessing
Characters/Pairings: Huā Chéng/Xiè Lián
Rating: Teen & Up
Length: 6k
Creator Links:

etymologyplayground
Theme: Amnesty, Disability, Hurt/Comfort

Summary:

Ling Wen and Shi Qing Xuan establish the communication array, and then Ling Wen leaps into the well and disappears. Shi Qing Xuan walks over and sits in front of Xie Lian and Hua Cheng. "So," she says. "Dianxia. Crimson Rain Seeks Flower. Fancy meeting you here."

--

Book 1 ended on a cliffhanger. I fell off.

Alternate summary: "Xie Lian's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" Slowly Animorphs Into "Xie Lian And Hua Cheng Have A Nice Day, Actually"

Reccer's Notes: Ignore the summary, it does not at all describe what is happening in this fic. Do you want to see a very good but very vulnerable character emotionally tormented past the breaking point, so that his extremely dangerous and devoted immortal demon boyfriend can show up and rescue him, and then comfort him through a meltdown that leaves him partially nonverbal and fantasizing about self-harm? Do you want that pure shot of tender hurt/comfort straight to your heart? Click the link, that's exactly what you're getting.

Fanwork Links: Animal and Real

ceares

Fandom: Leverage
Characters/Pairings: Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer, Nate Ford/Sophie Devereaux, Josie/Molly Connelly
Rating: Teen
Length: 31,877
Creator Links: page_runner
Theme: Post Canon

Summary: It's been seven years since Nate and Sophie walked away; two since circumstances forced Hardison, Parker, and Eliot into retirement. Meanwhile, the kids they met during jobs have grown up, influenced by the strangers who briefly entered their lives, and who are about to make a reappearance.

Reccer's Notes: Leverage is still, technically a closed canon until Leverage 2.0 airs. This amazing story is a look at what a Leverage 2.0 might have looked like if the children whose lives the Leverage team touched came together. This story explores the consequences and collateral damage of what the Leverage team does and perfectly fills every role in the team with a new crew.

Fanwork Links: Make Way for Ducklings

beatrice_otter

Fandom: Mad Max Fury Road
Characters/Pairings: Max/Furiosa
Rating: Mature
Length: 36k words
Creator Links: ArwenLune
Theme: post-canon, worldbuilding, apocalypse/dystopia, competence, cuddling, disability, ghosts, first time, future fic, road trips,

Summary: Max thought he'd never want to see the Citadel again. And yet here he is and he isn't sure why. Furiosa greets him like this was always the plan, like he is one of her scouts. She looks strong and healthy again, recovered from her wound. Perhaps that is what he came to see?

He tells himself: 'One day. Supplies and water and food'. And then 'Maybe a night rest'.

Three days later he drives away, determined not to return.

(Three months later the Citadel comes into sight again)

Reccer's Notes: This is a story about trauma, about healing, about building a home and a life. It's exactly what I wanted at the end of the movie, and I love how it explores what the Citadel might grow into.

Fanwork Links: Orbit

runpunkrun

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Rating: Explicit
Length: 18,463 words
Creator Link:

esteefee
Theme: AU: Complete AU: Food Service, Disability, Alternative Professions

Summary: Everything in life has a price.

(AU in which John owns a coffee roastery, and Rodney is Customer Zero who will tell him where to stick his beans.)

Reccer's Notes: John's got a bum hip and a coffee shop. Rodney is seduced by John and John's coffee, and it's a funny, sexy, lightly ~~roasted~~ angsty fic with lots of atmosphere. It's one of my favorites, and I'm not just saying that because esteefee named Sheppard's cat after me.

Fanwork Link: Fair Trade

runpunkrun

Fandom: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series
Characters/Pairings: James T. Kirk/Spock, Leonard "Bones" McCoy & Spock
Rating: Teen
Length: 19,466 words
Creator Link:

scifishipper
Theme: Hurt/Comfort, AU, Disability, Friendship

Summary: Spock, retired from Starfleet due to a grave telepathic injury, finds relief living in an isolated oceanside cottage. His peaceful life is disturbed one day when he discovers a mysterious man clinging to life on the rocky coast. Now, with the help of his friend Doctor Leonard McCoy, he must find way to help this compelling stranger recover his identity and keep him safe from those who tried to take his life.

Reccer's Notes: This is a quiet story about Spock, now retired from Starfleet, living on the beach and minimizing his contact with people because his telepathy has become a source of pain. But that quiet life soon becomes very exciting thanks to Jim, who washes up on the beach one day and—through a series of decisions that differ from canon—turns out to be just what Spock needs. Spock and McCoy's friendship is wonderful, and I love how they meet each other halfway.

Fanwork Link: Silent Stranger

sinesofinsanity

Fandom: Mass Effect (spoilers up to ME2 only)
Characters/Pairings: EDI/Jeff "Joker" Moreau Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Rating: Gen
Length: 6860 words
Creator Links: skogr on AO3
Theme: In Spaaaaace, Interspecies pairing (Human/Alien, Human/AI), Disability (brittle bone disease), robots androids & AI,

Summary: Join Cerberus, see the galaxy, turn your alien colleagues into xenophiles. That one wasn't on the recruitment posters.

Reccer's Notes: Joker's perspective on ME2, with particular focus on his ongoing mission to find out who Garrus's secret human girlfriend is. I love the character interactions in this one. It starts out fairly fluff and fun with Joker's typical banter and EDI's pointed snark, and then takes a dive into some of the more heavy and emotional beats from the game. Joker is such a neat character, it's great to see him fleshed out a bit, and EDI's development into someone who cares for the organic beings in her life peeks through in really sweet ways.

Fanwork Links: Not All It's Cracked Up To Be

beatrice_otter

Fandom: Batman
Characters/Pairings: Talia al Ghul, Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, Damian Wayne
Rating: Gen
Length: 9767 words
Creator Links:

Ionaperidot
Theme: domestic, fork-in-the-road AU, kidfic, fixit,

Summary: "The boy is clearly ill, and while she’s almost certain that he is, impossibly, Jason Todd, almost is not good enough. She can’t drop heartbreak on her beloved’s doorstep, and she can’t run the necessary tests when Damian is vulnerable to her father’s wrath. There’s no way around it. He’ll have to come home with her."

Unexpectedly in charge of a second son, Talia struggles to raise her children without unwanted attention from the Demon's Head.

Reccer's Notes: In canon, Talia found a resurrected-but-catatonic Jason Todd, took him with her, dipped him in the Lazarus Pits, and supported/encouraged him in his quest for vengeance on Bruce for not killing the Joker. In this fic, Talia finds Jason and takes him home with her and Damian. It's an odd family they build, under pressure from Ra's, but it's good, and it changes everything. Great fic.

Fanwork Links: Rebirth

chibifukurou

Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Characters/Pairings: Julian Bashir/Elim Garak
Rating: Mature
Length: 62k
Creator Links:

Hanna
Theme: xeno/alien biology, disability

Summary: If you’re sending yourself out to the edge of civilization, people expect it to be done for fame and glory – but then, Julian Bashir has never been what’s expected of him. He’s quite happy to agree with the reasons other people provide, because he isn’t sharing the private whys and wherefores when people are more than happy to fill in the gaps themselves. There are other, better things to worry about, work to be done and friends to be made – possibly even a lover, if he’s lucky…

...all while fighting to maintain his worth, and remain exactly who he’s always been.

Reccer's Notes: A delightful take on Bashir/Garak told through the eyes of Garak, and other citizens and crew of Ds9

From toilets to birth control and literature there a lot of differences between races that overlap and interweave to create a colorful tapestry through which to understand neurodiversity and how it effects Bashir's journey to find both a home and love.

Fanwork Links: Stubborn Mouths: Humans In Translation

beatrice_otter

Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: Severus Snape, Dobby
Rating: gen
Length: medium
Creator Links:

tales_of_josan
Theme: AU, pre-ao3, future-fic, older character, disability,

Summary: After the war, injured veteran Severus Snape buys property.

Reccer's Notes: Snape, disabled by the war (but alive and still as sour as ever) buys an old house in the country and retires there. Dobby shows up with the (former) Malfoy house elves, whom nobody wants. Together, they settle into a quiet domestic life. I'm pretty sure this was written before the last book came out, so the fact that Snape lives isn't a fixit, but it's probably the best realistic thing that could have happened to Snape if he hadn't died. He's got a place of his own, with a lab for research, no students, no masters, nobody he doesn't want to see, but enough company to not be lonely. There's lots of lovely domesticity, and his disability is very well-written.

Fanwork Links: A Man of Property

sinesofinsanity

Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels
Characters/Pairings: Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, C1-10P (Chopper)
Rating: G
Length: 3199 words
Creator Links: Redrikki on AO3
Theme: Five Things, Backstory, Interspecies stories, Team fics, Disability (blind)

Summary:
Four meals Kanan made for his crew and one he made for himself.

Reccer's Notes:
I'm not sure where the fanon idea the Kanan likes to cook originally came from, but this story runs with it in such a great way. The author uses simple scenes to show how food and cooking can bring people together. I love how comfortable Kanan is in the kitchen, which makes the final scene of him first returning to cook once he's blinded that much more poignant and meaningful.

Fanwork Links: Chicken Soup for the Jedi Soul on AO3

meretricula

Fandom: DCU (Justice League-centric)
Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Hal Jordan, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Rating: Explicit
Length: 51804
Creator Links:

FabulaRasa
Theme: Amnesty, Disability, (Not Really) Character Death, Mutual Pining

Summary: Hal has suffered a serious injury, but his recovery is not going well, and Bruce has to step in and take over his care. Because where could that go wrong?

Reccer's Notes: I hope you like screaming internally 'cause this fic is gonna make you do that a lot!!! The level of anguished miscommunication going on here is God-tier, and the catharsis is worth it. What could be better than watching your secret crush slowly die of a mysterious, debilitating illness? Well, you could definitely do your best to drive him away because you're afraid he's only showing interest in you because he can tell you're attracted to him and feels obligated! Oh, and you could get your entire family invested in his well-being too, so when you inevitably fuck everything up they're pissed at you and everything is even more terrible! (Seriously, the "be better" speech Alfred lays on Bruce is a thing of beauty and worth the price of admission all by itself.) Never was there a tale of more class conflict, failure to communicate and general fuckup-ness than this of Hal Jordan and his walking collection of neuroses dressed up like a bat, but rest assured: it's all going to work out in the end, and when you finally get there it feels wonderful.

Fanwork Links: On Fridays We Wear Taupe

jainas

Fandom: Daredevil
Characters/Pairings: Matt Murdock & Franklin "Foggy" Nelson
Rating: PG
Length: 1992
Creator Links: Kat_C_Lyon
Theme: Backstory/pre-canon, disability, languages & linguistics

Summary: “What the hell do you mean, ‘It’s not available yet?’ It’s a compulsory course! You can’t force people to take courses and then not have textbooks for them!”

Matt has trouble getting accessible course materials. Foggy has a solution.

Reccer's Notes: A really lovely story about Foggy reading Law books to Matt during their studies.

Fanwork Links: Bedtime Stories

meretricula

Fandom: Daredevil (TV)
Characters/Pairings: Matt Murdock/Franklin "Foggy" Nelson
Rating: Teen & Up
Length: 19k
Creator Links:

lady_ragnell
Theme: Secret Identities, AU: Complete AU: Hotline/Radio, Disability

Summary: Matt hears a lot in the city at night, sirens and crime--and the late-night radio show Foggy With a Chance, which sometimes runs a Daredevil Watch if he's been particularly active, but which mostly plays music. He probably shouldn't call in and request a song, but he does it anyway.

Reccer's Notes: On principle I am opposed to the concept of an AU where Matt and Foggy don't know each other, because it's such a fundamental change in both of their lives, but. This story is SO ADORABLE. Matt keeps calling into Foggy's radio station and asking Foggy to pick a song for him! And then it turns out they're neighbors. My heart.

Fanwork Links: We Just Lost the Beat

jainas

Fandom: MCU
Characters/Pairings: Mainly Steve(s)/Bucky(s), but also some Steve/Sam/Bucky and Natasha thrown in for good mesure and a few mention of other pairings
Rating: NC-17
Length: 27 914
Creator Links: spitandvinegar
Theme: multiverse people, wrong universe, parallel universe and dimensional travel, science fiction, disability, hurt/comfort, identity porn, apocalypse/dystopia,

Summary: Steve is dead. Sam's a wreck. Bucky's barely coping.

Then Bucky shows up.

Reccer's Notes: This is such a strange fic, with multipe versions of Bucky running around, all broken in their own way and looking for "their" Steve... And it's both pretty wacky and at times pretty dark but also funny and ultimately a fix-it fic... Sam's POV is really great.
It totally deserve a read and Alby-mangrove's art is gorgeous as always. I love how she manages to differenciate all the differents versions of a same character.

Fanwork Links: Except it Abide in the Vine (AO3 locked)
Art masterpost

jainas

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Characters/Pairings: Clint/Bucky, all Avengers
Rating: M
Length: 75,597
Creator Links: flawedamythyst
Theme: Spells and Curses, established relationship + plot, established relationship, hurt/comfort, soulmate-identifying marks, rare pairings, plotty fic, soulbonding, disability

Summary: When a dragon attacks Manhattan, Clint is hit by a curse, and both he and Bucky have to face that this might be the end of his time as an Avenger. Neither of them cope well.

But at least it gives Clint an excuse to get a dog, right?

Reccer's Notes: This story is Part 3 of the Complications series, but stands well on it's own if you accept that it is a Post Age-of-Ultron Soulmate AU where Clint and Bucky discovered that they were soulmate against all odds, and eventually managed to make it work.
The curse in this story is pretty nasty and deals with sensory deprivation, but has a good level of confort to balance the hurt, a solid plot and good writting, I really enjoyed reading it as it came out as a WIP.

Fanwork Links: Sensations

meretricula

Fandom: Hockey RPF
Characters/Pairings: Paul Kariya/Sirpa Selanne/Teemu Selanne
Rating: Explicit
Length: 27k
Creator Links:

thefourthvine
Theme: Amnesty, Bodyswap, Disability, Family, Kidfic: Has/With Kids, M/M/F Threesomes, Mythical Creatures: Elves (how do we not have a tag for elves?), Older Characters, Threesome, Urban Fantasy

Summary: Teemu Selanne's midlife crisis: leftover elf parts.

Reccer's Notes: TEEEEEEEMU. (Gotta get it out of the way.) So if you, like me, were into all the nineties era Mercedes Lackey et al. fantasy novels where there were elves but they just kinda hung out in the real world occasionally banging humans: you're going to love this fic, it's like that only well-written. If you're not into nineties urban fantasy, I don't know what's wrong with you, but you will still love this fic, because it's also a beautiful tropefest that then looks at what the tropes really mean and your mind will be blown while also still loving your favorite trope because it is that great. It's a bodyswap fic, and it has all the "oh no my body doesn't work the way I think it will -- on no my body is HOT" trope-y goodness you expect, but it also doesn't shy away from talking about bodies in a way that isn't necessarily sexy. Paul has post-concussion syndrome and that (as well as the coping mechanisms that he's evolved to deal with it) hugely affects his daily life, in ways that only really become clear once he's in Teemu's body and is still trying to cope with a condition that isn't actually affecting him. I've also literally never seen bodyswap used to explore the question of whether sexuality is in the mind or the body before (I don't want to spoil how this goes down, but it's not sad, I promise). Teemu's family feature prominently, not as plot moppets but as interesting characters in their own right. And at the heart of it all is the idea of a friendship strong enough that you'd give somebody else your body, not knowing if you'd ever get it back, because you love and trust them so much, which is just... ugh, so good. The best. If you want to have a lot of feelings about a near-hermit introvert who understands way too much about self-sacrifice but needs to learn how much people (including but not limited to his extroverted golden retriever of a best friend and his wife) love him, grab your tissues and dive in.

Fanwork Links: You So Quite New

gekko11

Fandom: Skam
Characters/Pairings: Even Bech Næsheim/Isak Valtersen
Rating: Explicit
Length: 123,400 words
Creator Links:

felix_atticus
Theme: Novel-length Fic, Disability, Future fic, Bisexual/Pansexual Characters, Canon LGBTQ Characters, Slow Burn

Summary: This is about potential--realized or not--memory, bravery, movies, accidents, and the nature of stories. Also love, because what other kind of story could it be?

Reccer's Notes: A beautiful Even-centric fic that focuses on Even dealing with mental health, forgiveness, and allowing himself to be happy.

Fanwork Links: All Stories Are Echoes

jainas

Fandom: Teen Wolf
Characters/Pairings: Peter/Stiles
Rating: PG-13
Length: 7676
Creator Links: Taylorpotato
Theme: Disability, au: fork in the road, enemies to friends (to lovers), languages & linguistics,

Summary: Peter is a Deaf werewolf. Stiles is a CODA (Child of a Deaf Adult). They’re a kind of unlikely pair. But sometimes things you wouldn’t think of as a good combination, end up turning out to be the perfect combination, you know?

Reccer's Notes: I am usually extremely wary of fics making a character disabled because in my experience most are usually poorly researched and not really accurate in their depiction, or worst, are just an excuse for H/C and somehow romanticize the disability... Even if they are otherwise very good, fic with deaf characters for example almost never translate the ASL signing in a realistic way, and gloss over a lot of things...
But this fic is absolute gold. The dialogues are written in ASL gloss and really convey the way sign languages work; there are a lot of details on what could Peters experience of the world be as a Deaf werewolf from a non-signing familly, and the relationship growing between him and Stiles feels very organic. This is a rewriting of the Nogitsune arc (which I haven't seen, but it doesn't really matter anyway).

A must read!

Fanwork Links: Our Skin, Our Bones, Our Silent Poems (Ao3, locked)

imogeneherdman

Fandom: Assassin's Creed (Video Game Series)
Characters/Pairings: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad/Malik A-Sayf
Rating: PG-13
Length: 31k
Creator Links:

tactician
Theme: Royalty AU, Disabled Character, Character of Color, AU: Slavery

Summary: Originally a kink meme request that just totally spiraled out of control. AU: Altair is the young king of Masyaf, and he has just acquired two very fascinating slaves.

Reccer's Notes: The day is won with the power of friendship and UST. I love fics that incorporate video game mechanics, like Altair's Eagle Vision (hint: blue = ally, red = enemy, gold = target).

Fanwork Links: The Right Hand Possesses

imogeneherdman

Fandom: Assassin's Creed (Video Game Series)
Characters/Pairings: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad/Malik A-Sayf, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad/Kadar A-Sayf
Rating: NC-17
Length: 25k
Creator Links:

wanderingflame
Theme: Royalty AU, Disability, Characters of Color

Summary: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad al-Tayyib is bored and restless, so when he comes across the brothers after a unsatisfying skirmish with Robert de Sable's men, he decides, on a whim, to bring them back to his castle. Malik is less than grateful but must accept there are larger issues at hand than just their freedom when he realizes what Altaïr wants from him...and his little brother. Meanwhile, Robert remains a threat, continuing to harry and evade Altaïr's men but seemingly drawing no closer to the castle.

Reccer's Notes: :D

Fanwork Links: The Eagle's Two Swords

dirty_diana

Fandom: Daredevil (TV)
Characters/Pairings: Matt Murdock/Foggy Nelson
Rating: Mature
Length: 27 000 words
Creator Links:

Mizzy
Theme: mutual pining, superpowers, slow burn, pretend couple, friends to lovers, first time, disability, action/adventure

Summary: Matt's come up with a long list of lies to cover for his night-time activities. Foggy pretending to be Matt's boyfriend wasn't on that list for a very good reason.

Reccer's Notes: Tropey crime-fighting fun! An entertaining action fic that involves lots of Matt punching things in Foggy's defense and stubbornly missing the totally obvious.

Fanwork Links: In the City of Blinding Lights

dirty_diana

Fandom: Daredevil (TV)
Characters/Pairings: Matt Murdock/Foggy Nelson
Rating: Explicit
Length: 33 000 words
Creator Links:

poisonivory

pluckyredhead
Theme: mutual pining, superpowers, slow burn, marriage of convenience, friends to lovers, first time, disability

Summary: If Matt and Foggy get married, Foggy will never be forced to testify against Daredevil. It doesn't mean anything has to change, right?

Reccer's Notes: Two dumb New York lawyers decide to get fake-married, which ends up not being all that fake because of the real feelings they've both been pretending not to have. Engaging, adorable ride.

Fanwork Links: Something Dumb to Do