redbellesrecs - Tumblr blog

[redbellesrecs]

as it grows dark

by: under_the_rose fandom: shadow and bone pairing: the darkling/alina starkov rating: explicit warnings: no archive warnings apply status: complete

rec notes: a delicious, show-centric take on what alina’s life would look like had she been born on the wrong side of the ravkan border. features a stubborn, determined alina and a wonderfully uncompromising darkling. the bones of the plot—minimal as it is, given that this is a fairly short oneshot—carry the story beautifully, and the sex is scorching hot.

summary: "Aleksander," she whines.

He tisks, nose tucked against the underside of her jaw. "So impatient, lapushka. It's as if no one has ever made love to you properly."

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

this is all addition by subtraction

by: @missgoalie75 fandom: gilmore girls pairing: rory gilmore/jess mariano rating: teen warnings: minor physical abuse, mentions of alcoholism status: complete

rec notes: a lovely season one au that flows so effortlessly it doesn’t feel like an au at all. which, to be fair, is what i say about everything missgoalie75 writes, because wow do they have a knack for writing gilmore girls in general and jess in particular. the tone, dialogue, and emotional beats are always spot on, and this fic is no exception. it doesn’t shy away from character flaws and some of the unpleasantness the show liked to gloss over, but it still leaves you smiling at the end. as i said: lovely.

summary: "Oh, honey, you won't be sorry," is what Rory's mom said to her last Friday in regards to going to Chilton. Rory is actually starting to feel quite sorry.

In which Jess attends Chilton with Rory in season one.

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

I just wanted to say I came here for the Kastle fic recs and discovered Jonsa?? And that’s all I’ve been reading the past like two weeks?? Thank you for showing me this and I hope you keep up with this page!

omg, i’m so thrilled i was able to help you find a new pairing to love! and both kastle and jonsa are absolutely blessed with an abundance of excellent fic. my goal is to keep the recs pretty diverse, but i have plenty more lined up featuring these ships!

speaking of recs: i’m definitely going to keep this page going! everything has just been [static noises] for the last month-ish or so, but i’m finally starting to find my feet again. so! more recs soon!

thank you for being patient and sticking with me ❤️

[redbellesrecs]

Between the Sinners and the Saints

by: @angel-deux-writes​ fandom: daredevil; nmcu pairing: frank castle/karen page rating: teen warnings: no archive warnings apply status: complete

rec notes: a long, deftly-plotted look at karen in the aftermath of daredevil season two. she’s sharp, smart, and painfully real; you breathe and bleed and ache with her, and it makes the moments of quiet joy that much more impactful. in short: frank told her to use two hands, and by god, she does. 

summary: A new villain with killer aim nearly takes Frank out, and he makes the call to go to Karen for help. Karen, who hasn't seen him in months, who has been wishing she could take back those words she said to him in the woods. She never thought she'd get the chance to repair what they both broke that night, so once he's back in her life, she's not going to let him disappear again so easily.

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

Don’t Look Back

by: @onyx-and-elm fandom: harry potter pairing: draco malfoy/hermione granger rating: explicit warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings status: incomplete

rec notes: dark, tense, and emotionally fraught, this is a fresh, delicious twist on both hp werewolf lore and the sixth-year au premise. not for the faint of heart, but absolutely worth the read. mind the tags. 

summary: It’s the smell of it. Chemical. Bitter and sharp as a raw edge on metal. Just a hint of it as she passes him at breakfast — but enough to stop her dead, mid-step.

There is Wolfsbane in his tea.

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

Beasts of Seasons

by: simonetta fandom: a song of ice and fire pairing: jon snow/sansa stark rating: teen warnings: no archive warnings apply status: incomplete

rec notes: shivery and sharp yet still deeply indulgent, this fic is a unique look at how bookverse jon and sansa might reunite to take back the north. the language is gorgeous, sansa’s characterization is spot on, and jon, well. suffice it to say there’s a reason this is one of the only dark!jon stories i’m interested in. an absolutely stellar read.

summary: She had prepared her words and her actions meticulously.

She hadn’t prepared to actually see him.

Or, Jon and Sansa reunite and things don't go according to plan, forcing Sansa to reevaluate her identity and her loyalties and forcing Jon to come back to himself.

Post-ADWD, bookverse fic. Jon and Sansa reunite on campaign to win back Winterfell.

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

Apple Pie and Other Amends

by: @thudsonwrites​ fandom: harry potter pairing: draco malfoy/hermione granger rating: mature warnings: creator chose not to use archive warnings status: complete

rec notes: the bittersweet, often difficult work of recovery and redemption, paired beautifully with the promise of better days. this fic is a study in contrasts: sharp and gentle, painful and soothing, funny and sad. like the desserts it features, it’s an absolute treat, one that deserves to be savored. mind the tags.

summary: It’s not until she’s brought a basil and strawberry sponge cake to Neville Longbottom and his new girlfriend, Hannah Abbott, a dozen rhubarb hand-pies to Luna and Xenophilius Lovegood, and another basket of ganache-covered muffins to Dean and Seamus, that Hermione admits to herself what she’s actually doing: she’s making a thing of this. It’s a veritable PTSD tour.  With pastries. And hand-skimmed clotted cream. And she has no idea why she’s doing it, but it’s becoming very apparent that she is.

Sometimes you're sad. Sometimes you need dessert. And sometimes, it's a little of both.

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

canis

by: peradi fandom: star wars: original trilogy pairing: n/a rating: not rated warnings: graphic depictions of violence, major character death status: complete

rec notes: a story that burns; harsh, brutal, and absolutely glorious, it’s a breathtaking look at what one moment of realization could have changed in canon. the language and the characterization are absolutely devastating, and they make the strange, dark levity of the final lines both a shock and a relief.

summary: Rather than obliterating Alderaan, Anakin makes a different choice. How the universe changes; how the Force sings.

(The Jedi and the Sith should have known: Anakin Skywalker will do anything for his family.)

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

The Longest Night

by: @mygutsforgarters​ fandom: avatar: the last airbender pairing: zuko/katara rating: teen warnings: no archive warnings apply status: incomplete

rec notes: post-war politics! zuko as a guest in the south pole! mutual pining! idiots in love! a delightful reversal of the classic “katara as a water tribe ambassador in the fire nation” trope, and i adore it. there’s some nuanced exploration of katara’s cultural heritage and how it impacts her post-war life, some meddling iroh, and a delicious, singing tension between zuko and katara as they both try to navigate their unspoken attraction. the whole fic is just *chef’s kiss*

summary: Before the iceberg, before Aang, before everything, Katara used to tell herself bedtime stories about what life would be like after the war. She imagined that her father would come home, that the Avatar would return, that her tribe would rebuild and prosper. Most of all, she imagined that she’d never again have to stand at the outskirts of her village and watch Fire Nation ships crest the horizon like iron sea serpents, belching toxic smoke and turning the snowfall black.

She never would have guessed that those ships would sail South in times of peace, and she certainly never conceived of a world in which she would find herself falling slowly in love with the Fire Lord—but then, life's just full of surprises, isn't it?

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

fine young cannibals

by: @janedazey fandom: star wars: sequel trilogy pairing: rey/kylo ren rating: explicit warnings: no archive warnings apply status: complete

rec notes: reylo, but make it twilight, but make it funny, but make it sexy. i don’t know how it manages this either, but boy howdy it does! it’s sharp, funny, delightfully self-aware, and deliciously sexy. for real! seriously, just read it. 

summary: Kylo raised his head to the sky as he inhaled, his broad chest expanding even wider. His eyes fluttered shut, savoring the scent like a sumptuous meal. He grinned.

“Oh,” he murmured, so softly Rey wasn’t even sure it was meant for her ears. His eyes slid to meet hers, scarlet and violent and hungry. “You brought a snack.”

And then all hell broke loose.

About three things, Rey is absolutely positive:

First, she is totally, completely, and madly in love with her vampire boyfriend, Poe.

Second, there is another vampire—an older, evil, definitely-not-hot vampire—that thirsts for her blood and wants nothing more than to kill her.

And third, she is maybe not absolutely positive about either of these things.

[reylo twilight fusion au, only kylo ren is the third act villain and rey is for sure not into him, like, even at all]

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

Take the Heat Out of Me

by: @quipquipquip fandom: dcu pairing: dick grayson/jason todd rating: explicit warnings: no archive warnings apply status: complete

rec notes: dark, tightly-plotted, and absolutely delicious. funnier and sweeter than you’d expect from something i’ve just described as ‘dark,’ but that’s the story in a nutshell: it hits a range of emotional notes, and every note it hits is pitch-perfect. this is the fic that sold me on batfam and dc in general. listen, it’s a fandom classic for a reason. 

summary: Lost Days!Jason trolls Officer Grayson!Dick in Blüdhaven. Dick counter-trolls with the power of love. (It’s super effective.)

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

What Signs Remain

by: @littlelindentree​ fandom: the walking dead pairing: beth greene/daryl dixon rating: explicit warnings: graphic depictions of violence status: incomplete

rec notes: the fic that single-handedly got me into twd. vivid, richly imagined, and emotionally devastating. the writing is spare and tense until it isn’t, easing toward lush and tender as the story progresses and beth and daryl manage to find a little peace. a genuine masterpiece. mind the tags.

summary: In the middle of the empty, unlit highway, crouching with his hands resting on his knees and his hair dripping sweat into his eyes, Daryl stops.

 The tail lights of the car are long gone.

Beth’s gone. They’re all gone, now. He’s alone.

A Bethyl AU that splits off from canon during Beth's kidnapping in 4x13 "Alone."

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

The Place Between

by: @psicygni fandom: star trek: aos pairing: spock/nyota uhura rating: mature warnings: no archive warnings apply status: complete

rec notes: an absolute delight! by turns hilarious, tense, and thoughtful, this is the spock/uhura academy-era fake dating au you never knew you needed. but trust me: you need it. you really, really need it.

summary: “No, Gaila. I am not, absolutely not going to walk into Commander Spock’s office and suggest that we pretend to date for an entire summer. I mean we… I… he’s not… I couldn’t even spend that much time with him, nor would I want to. He’s so… he’s just really… I have professional mores, Gaila. Standards of conduct that this… just, no. No. No, thank you for the idea, but no.”  

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

Беда́ не прихо́дит одна́ (trouble never comes alone)

by: @soyonscruels fandom: marvel; gen rating: mature warnings: graphic depictions of violence, major character death, rape/non-con status: complete

rec notes: holy fuck. brutal but compulsively readable, this is a sharp, incisive, well-researched look at the winter soldier’s operational history. mind the tags.

summary: There’s a tracking device beneath his skin, wrapped around his carotid artery, and if he pulls it out, he’ll die in seconds. They’ve got a wolf on a leash and he’s never heard them so pleased with themselves, so sure that this is the only weapon they’re ever going to need. They did not win the first war in Chechnya, but a second time and the story is rewritten. (He knows that this is a thing they truly believe. He’s lived more history than they have. He knows better.) He rides on tanks, jumps from helicopters onto ground solid with snow. He stands, ringed by ruins, in a capital that burns. He lost his last war in Grozny. This time, he slings his rifle on his back, breathes smoke, knows what it is to watch history being made.

read on AO3

[redbellesrecs]

hello! i’ve been reading more fic than ever because [gestures vaguely at the state of the world] and since i get asked to share recs pretty regularly, i figured it was time to actually organize/promote my faves? in a way that doesn’t involve me digging through an 80+ page google doc? because i gotta be honest, that sucks. to that end: let me introduce my new sideblog: @redbellesrecs

give it a follow if you’d like hand-selected, gourmet fic recs delivered to you via your tumblr dash at least three times a week! but probably more often than that, because i really do read a truly ridiculous amount of fic! fandoms range from asoiaf to veronica mars and everything in between. recs will start going up on 02/07/21 and continue probably forever! or least until i run out of fic to read, whichever comes first.

enjoy ✨