December recs: 8x FIAB
Dec. 10th, 2024 09:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkI had a busy week and then I got so distracted by MCCI fishing that I didn't even post about FIAB yet (nor read or commented as much as I wanted, or do Christmas shopping...)
I got two great gifts:
somewhere a clock is ticking by![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
Odaigahara, Life Series SMP
10.9k, gen, Grian & Cleo & Etho, space AU
Summary:
Scar had sounded friendly, over the comm. Delighted to hear Grian’s voice, the longing of a terraformer who’d been stuck away from living planets for ages creeping into his tone. Wait, Grian, are you coming in person? Can’t you stretch your delivery window a little? We could always say there were asteroid beasts trying to eat us. Etho would back me up, and it’s not like they could extend our contracts–
If there’s asteroid beasts, I’m staying right in my pilot’s seat where I can flee them in style, Grian had retorted.
No, no, only good things here, Scar had protested, the reports of beasts have been greatly exaggerated, and you know, we have algae, we all like algae, we’re all about eating your greens–
Scar had aimed for Grian’s center of mass. His stunner had been set one level below lethal. If it had hit where he was aiming, Grian would’ve had worse heart palpitations than this, bordering on deadly. Trouble breathing.
Certainly trouble escaping.
Why I love it: The worldbuilding is very smart and cool, the action and tension work so well, the character voices are excellent, the mix of serious and banter is great, the writing is so good and so is the pacing, many feelings. (Do mind the "ambiguous ending" tag!)
How to tell if Etho likes you? Asking for a friend byalice_not_alice, Hermitcraft SMP
1.2k, Etho & Scar & ensemble, Hermitcraft season 10
Summary: “I have a question. Don’t ask me why I need to know, that knowledge lies beyond the realm of any mortal mind. My question…is this: how do you tell whether or not Etho likes you?”
Why I love it: This is very sweet and touching, so many of the answers and interactions were absolutely perfect, and the ending is great.
So it has been a very good FIAB for me. I got a very nice comment from my recip on one of my stories; not yet on the other work but I did get some comments from other people which helped me rein in my anxious impatience.
Plus, some recs for FIAB works not for me:
the dark is singing songs byamaranthinecanicular, Hermitcraft
14.7k, Etho/Bdubs, android AU & deep sea horror
Summary:It’s strange. Only now, confronted with the very thing he came down here to find, is reality enforcing itself upon Bdubs.
This is impossible. Maybe the blackbox of Etho’s AI could be retrieved, but at a depth of 36,000 feet his netherite-fibered body would have lasted six seconds at most before his lovely face pulverized. Whatever’s left might as well be a husk of radiation. He is not outside the submersible. No one is.
And still. A knock on the door. One-two-three. Polite and patient.
(At the bottom of the ocean, Bdubs studies microbes with the help of the CONCORP android Etho. They are not alone.)
Why I love it: Haunting and fantastic. The way the tension builds is so good. I love the worldbuilding with the androids and the water and the characters and the slow build of the relationship between Bdubs and Etho.
make hope from every small disaster byOdaigahara, Hermitcraft
2k, Scar & Grian, gen, Borrowers AU
Summary: “Scar, I know how it looks, but I’m not trespassing,” Grian blurted. He was scraped up all over, now that Scar was really paying attention: his face and arms and legs were torn, clothes tattered like he’d dived right through a rosebush. He was trembling. “I’m– I’m resting for a brief moment, nothing else. I’ll be out of your hair in the morning, I’ll make that a promise, and the next time I come by, I’ll bring you a dead mouse to repay you, or a live mouse, or I’ll just, I’ll owe you, I don’t know–”
“I mean, sure, if you say so,” Scar agreed, and Grian cut off, shrinking away. Scar’s heart twisted. “A dead mouse, a live mouse, an unspecified IOU to be collected at a later date, all of these currencies and more are accepted here at Trader Scar’s. We have a very strict non-discrimination policy, I’ll have you know. Very strict.”
Grian blinked at him and unfurled the slightest bit. His bad wing– and it was a bad wing, Scar could tell, a very injured wing indeed– tucked in, wound weeping sluggishly onto the basement’s concrete windowsill. Scar had to take a second to reinforce his smile, gentling his whole demeanor so Grian would stop looking at him like that.
Why I love it: I know nothing about Borrowers but I enjoyed this a lot, I loved the character voices and hints of worldbuilding and the h/c.
You Might Wanna See A Doctor About That bymidnightmusic, Dream SMP
Technoblade, gen, in-universe medical report
Summary: Hey, man, sometimes you just need to consult a doctor about the clairvoyant voices in your head. Yes, even if you keep insisting it's fine and not a big deal. Yes, even if you'd rather deal with the constant migraines than initiate a social interaction.
Why I like it: I really enjoy this look at the voices and the comments by both Techno and the doctor and the form itself.
when at last we knew byBeatrice_Otter, Star Wars
11k, Luke Skywalker & Mace Windu, gen, AU - canon divergence
Summary: One of the Rebel Alliance's intelligence sources asks for the Alliance's only Jedi to collect their information. Luke learns more than he bargained for.
Why I like it: I really enjoyed this AU, I really liked both Luke and Mace here and the meeting between them was great, and the resulting changes.
Making Amends byambiguously, Star Wars
4.1k, gen, Luke Skywalker & Huyang
Summary: The mysterious Fulcrum has returned to the Rebel Fleet with an important task for Luke: rebuild the droid who may hold the key to all Luke's questions about his father.
Why I like it: I enjoyed this a lot, especially all the things Huyang did not say, and Luke learning more things about the past.
A Knot in a History of Rope bythe_rck, Naruto
4.5k, Tenten&Gai, gen, time travel
Summary: Tenten gave herself a fraction of a second to assess the scene then deliberately turned off all of her strategic thinking.
She was never going to go a different way when she found Gai-Sensei-- no matter how young he looked-- fighting anyone, let alone half a dozen white masked ninja. Especially not when he was bleeding and had clearly opened at least three Gates.
Why I like it: I really liked Tenten here and her approach to realizing she travelled back in time and her relationship with Gai who understandably does not know what to make of her.
I don't really understand why I got so into MCCI fishing (but at least it happened to many people.) MCC Island is a Minecraft multiplayer server connected to MCC and used to have only several of those minigames and that was not that appealing to me because I'm not really into parkour or combat etc., but a few days ago they added fishing and it's surprisingly addicting. You fish for rare and bigger fish and for treasure and for pearls and spirits to upgrade your equipment and on higher levels you can visit different islands, it hits a very nice mix between not much concentration required but not totally brainless, and it's great to play while e.g. listening to a podcast or watching a video. I got to level 22 today; leveling up after level 20 is rather grindy unfortunately but soon I will be able to upgrade my crab pot even further and surely that will help.
I got two great gifts:
somewhere a clock is ticking by
10.9k, gen, Grian & Cleo & Etho, space AU
Summary:
Scar had sounded friendly, over the comm. Delighted to hear Grian’s voice, the longing of a terraformer who’d been stuck away from living planets for ages creeping into his tone. Wait, Grian, are you coming in person? Can’t you stretch your delivery window a little? We could always say there were asteroid beasts trying to eat us. Etho would back me up, and it’s not like they could extend our contracts–
If there’s asteroid beasts, I’m staying right in my pilot’s seat where I can flee them in style, Grian had retorted.
No, no, only good things here, Scar had protested, the reports of beasts have been greatly exaggerated, and you know, we have algae, we all like algae, we’re all about eating your greens–
Scar had aimed for Grian’s center of mass. His stunner had been set one level below lethal. If it had hit where he was aiming, Grian would’ve had worse heart palpitations than this, bordering on deadly. Trouble breathing.
Certainly trouble escaping.
Why I love it: The worldbuilding is very smart and cool, the action and tension work so well, the character voices are excellent, the mix of serious and banter is great, the writing is so good and so is the pacing, many feelings. (Do mind the "ambiguous ending" tag!)
How to tell if Etho likes you? Asking for a friend by
1.2k, Etho & Scar & ensemble, Hermitcraft season 10
Summary: “I have a question. Don’t ask me why I need to know, that knowledge lies beyond the realm of any mortal mind. My question…is this: how do you tell whether or not Etho likes you?”
Why I love it: This is very sweet and touching, so many of the answers and interactions were absolutely perfect, and the ending is great.
So it has been a very good FIAB for me. I got a very nice comment from my recip on one of my stories; not yet on the other work but I did get some comments from other people which helped me rein in my anxious impatience.
Plus, some recs for FIAB works not for me:
the dark is singing songs by
14.7k, Etho/Bdubs, android AU & deep sea horror
Summary:It’s strange. Only now, confronted with the very thing he came down here to find, is reality enforcing itself upon Bdubs.
This is impossible. Maybe the blackbox of Etho’s AI could be retrieved, but at a depth of 36,000 feet his netherite-fibered body would have lasted six seconds at most before his lovely face pulverized. Whatever’s left might as well be a husk of radiation. He is not outside the submersible. No one is.
And still. A knock on the door. One-two-three. Polite and patient.
(At the bottom of the ocean, Bdubs studies microbes with the help of the CONCORP android Etho. They are not alone.)
Why I love it: Haunting and fantastic. The way the tension builds is so good. I love the worldbuilding with the androids and the water and the characters and the slow build of the relationship between Bdubs and Etho.
make hope from every small disaster by
2k, Scar & Grian, gen, Borrowers AU
Summary: “Scar, I know how it looks, but I’m not trespassing,” Grian blurted. He was scraped up all over, now that Scar was really paying attention: his face and arms and legs were torn, clothes tattered like he’d dived right through a rosebush. He was trembling. “I’m– I’m resting for a brief moment, nothing else. I’ll be out of your hair in the morning, I’ll make that a promise, and the next time I come by, I’ll bring you a dead mouse to repay you, or a live mouse, or I’ll just, I’ll owe you, I don’t know–”
“I mean, sure, if you say so,” Scar agreed, and Grian cut off, shrinking away. Scar’s heart twisted. “A dead mouse, a live mouse, an unspecified IOU to be collected at a later date, all of these currencies and more are accepted here at Trader Scar’s. We have a very strict non-discrimination policy, I’ll have you know. Very strict.”
Grian blinked at him and unfurled the slightest bit. His bad wing– and it was a bad wing, Scar could tell, a very injured wing indeed– tucked in, wound weeping sluggishly onto the basement’s concrete windowsill. Scar had to take a second to reinforce his smile, gentling his whole demeanor so Grian would stop looking at him like that.
Why I love it: I know nothing about Borrowers but I enjoyed this a lot, I loved the character voices and hints of worldbuilding and the h/c.
You Might Wanna See A Doctor About That by
Technoblade, gen, in-universe medical report
Summary: Hey, man, sometimes you just need to consult a doctor about the clairvoyant voices in your head. Yes, even if you keep insisting it's fine and not a big deal. Yes, even if you'd rather deal with the constant migraines than initiate a social interaction.
Why I like it: I really enjoy this look at the voices and the comments by both Techno and the doctor and the form itself.
when at last we knew by
11k, Luke Skywalker & Mace Windu, gen, AU - canon divergence
Summary: One of the Rebel Alliance's intelligence sources asks for the Alliance's only Jedi to collect their information. Luke learns more than he bargained for.
Why I like it: I really enjoyed this AU, I really liked both Luke and Mace here and the meeting between them was great, and the resulting changes.
Making Amends by
4.1k, gen, Luke Skywalker & Huyang
Summary: The mysterious Fulcrum has returned to the Rebel Fleet with an important task for Luke: rebuild the droid who may hold the key to all Luke's questions about his father.
Why I like it: I enjoyed this a lot, especially all the things Huyang did not say, and Luke learning more things about the past.
A Knot in a History of Rope by
4.5k, Tenten&Gai, gen, time travel
Summary: Tenten gave herself a fraction of a second to assess the scene then deliberately turned off all of her strategic thinking.
She was never going to go a different way when she found Gai-Sensei-- no matter how young he looked-- fighting anyone, let alone half a dozen white masked ninja. Especially not when he was bleeding and had clearly opened at least three Gates.
Why I like it: I really liked Tenten here and her approach to realizing she travelled back in time and her relationship with Gai who understandably does not know what to make of her.
I don't really understand why I got so into MCCI fishing (but at least it happened to many people.) MCC Island is a Minecraft multiplayer server connected to MCC and used to have only several of those minigames and that was not that appealing to me because I'm not really into parkour or combat etc., but a few days ago they added fishing and it's surprisingly addicting. You fish for rare and bigger fish and for treasure and for pearls and spirits to upgrade your equipment and on higher levels you can visit different islands, it hits a very nice mix between not much concentration required but not totally brainless, and it's great to play while e.g. listening to a podcast or watching a video. I got to level 22 today; leveling up after level 20 is rather grindy unfortunately but soon I will be able to upgrade my crab pot even further and surely that will help.
