#i can dualwield these if i try hard enough ...

[prismatic-cannon]

(slides these face down towards you)

[todaydreambelieversfic]

Author Spotlight: lilyvandersteen day 4

This is honestly one of the finest rec lists because it’s thematic. I couldn’t make all of the authors tag so have tried to list them in the tags too

Day 4: Recs!

Ooooh… I LOVE reccing fics! Only five, though? All right, then… 

I’ll try and stay off the beaten path for this. It would be easy enough to mention one of the classics by @anxioussquirrel, @chazzam​ , @mrscriss2012, @zavocado​, @missbeizy , @nadiacreek​, @heartsmadeofbooks​ or Rainjoy, but you already know and love those stories, so what’s the point?

 1.      One of our fandom’s most original and imaginative writers is @sunshineoptimismandangels​. I love her stories. She can take an age-old trope and completely turn it upside down and inside out. I love her take on Kurt and Blaine, and she writes Cooper so well, too. The fic of hers I’m going to rec is Missing Pieces. I’m not going to spoil the plot for you. All I’ll say is that I’ve read and re-read this story countless times, and it never fails to move me. Absolute must-read!

Excerpt:

"Why did those men think we were gross?" he asked. "What did we do wrong?"

"Nothing," Kurt said, turning in his seat to face B. "We didn't do anything wrong. Some people just don't like to see two men together."

"But… They were all men and together."

"Yes, but they thought we were on a date, and they don't like gay people."

"They don't like people just because they are gay?"

Kurt sighed. He hated that this was something B had to learn about the world. "Yes."

"People are scared of things they don't understand," B said, remembering the words Kurt had told him before.

"Yeah, and sometimes people don't want to understand."

B was quiet for a moment and Kurt watched him closely, trying to determine what he was thinking. Slowly, a smile grew on B's lips.

"They thought we were on a date?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and laughed. "That's what you got from what just happened?"

B shrugged and smiled. "I don't mind people thinking we were on a date."

 2.      I’m a fluff writer, and I also love to read fluff. Nothing brings me more joy than waking up to a new story by @hazelandglasz​, @whatstheproblembaby​, @a-simple-rainbow, @chatterboxrose​, @sir-pyllero​, @notthetoothfairy​, @skivvysupreme or @fablewriter . They never fail to make me smile and they improve my mood a thousand-fold. If you’re fever feeling blue, I encourage you to look up these authors on AO3 and read some of their offerings – it will make you feel happier in no time.

The piece of fluff I’m going to rec here, though, is a wonderful cross-over between Glee and Enchanted called That’s How You Know, and written by the lovely @afterthenovels . It’s still a WIP, but there’s more than enough of it to capture your attention, and there’s no cliffhanger that will make you count the days until we get the next chapter. And oh, I love this story SO much. Kurt and Blaine are so sweet and shy and oblivious, and they complement each other so well. *Happy sigh* Read it, you’ll LOVE it, that’s a guarantee.

 Excerpt:

Blaine steps closer as quietly as he can, but Kurt doesn’t even stir, his eyelashes fanned out over his cheeks as he sleeps. He looks... younger. Less like a prince and more like a regular man.

“I guess you really were tired,” Blaine says quietly.

He unfolds the blanket in his arms and spreads it carefully over Kurt’s body, making sure it covers him from neck to toe. Kurt shifts in his sleep, huddling closer to the warmth and letting out a pleased hum, his lips curling into a small smile, and Blaine can’t help the smile that spreads over his own face.

His hair is a mess, he has no idea where his boyfriend is or why he missed their date tonight, his best friend is worried about his love life, and there’s a strange man sleeping on his couch, looking surprisingly at home for someone who’s clearly very far away from home.

Yeah. Maybe he can deal with all of this tomorrow.

 3.      Much as I hate scary movies, I love to read scary stories once in a while. Ghosts and vampires and djinns and the like stirring up no end of trouble. I’m reading a delightfully eerie nail-biter right now called Callaway Place (also by @sunshineoptimismandangels), but the story I’m going to recommend here is All the Beautiful Pieces by @lady-divine-writes​. Once again, it’s a WIP, but I hope you won’t let that scare you off, because this story has everything to keep you spell-bound: a house with a dark past, voodoo magic, a protagonist with second sight, and a sweet love story between Kurt and Blaine, because of course they find each other and fall in love in spite of all the craziness surrounding them.

Excerpt:

Blaine slips a hand beneath the puppet’s shoulder and another behind his head, lifting him ever so gently and relocating him the final distance.

“Just a few more inches,” Blaine says in a soothing voice, “and we’ll wrap you up and put you in the box.” Blaine gazes at the puppet’s face, into his single good eye. He smiles wider as he lays the puppet on the blanket, but his hand beneath the puppet’s head starts to feel warm. It begins at a spot in the center of Blaine’s palm and radiates like a single ray of golden sunshine. It’s liquid heat, pouring into his veins, shooting out to his fingers, filling his body up like a cup of cocoa on a cold winter’s day.

His eyes are open, his mind awake, but the haze returns. It obscures his vision in a veil of white mist. It drifts in front of his eyes. He can only peek through in random spots where it thins, revealing shimmering images that disappear like the dreams you hold on to in those seconds right before you wake.

“Can you feel that?” Blaine hears his own voice whispering inside his head.

“I do,” another voice replies. It’s high and lilting, pure as silk and singing in his ears.

“What does it feel like?” 

“It feels like…like summer all over my body…”

Blaine laughs, pressing his lips to cool skin. “And what else?”

A giggle answers him in that same musical voice. “It feels like…”

The voice gasps, and Blaine feels his body tighten.

“It feels like you,” the voice whimpers breathlessly. “Everything is you…all around me…it’s you…”

Blaine closes his eyes as the world collapses in on him. Behind his eyelids he can see another set of eyes gazing back at him – perfect blue eyes, patient blue eyes, loving blue eyes that shift to grey and glimmer like rare jewels. Quivering pink lips smile at him, part, and then whisper a single, blissfully choked-off word.

“Blaine…”

 4.      I much admire writers who can make their readers laugh their heads off. So the fourth fic I’m going to recommend is a very funny one. In this category, honourable mentions go to @skivvysupreme’s Drunk Kurt fics, Sexy101 by Sweet Emii, Seduction & Straight For A Week by @Crazy4Klaine and When you read my mind by @alexwishington​. But the story I’m choosing to spotlight is called Teenage dreams and movie scenes, and it’s written by @saraklaine100​. Both Kurt and Blaine are famous in this fic, and Kurt has a huge crush on Blaine, so his best friends corner Blaine until he agrees to meet Kurt. Cue a very embarrassed Kurt, and an instantly smitten Blaine. This story is amazing. Guaranteed to cheer you up however blue you’re feeling.

 Excerpt:

 Kurt was working on autopilot. He had no conscious decision to outstretch his hand or the time to process it. He just stared at those hazel eyes he found so fascinating one moment and the next he could feel Blaine's warm hand squeezing his own. He felt prickles all over his skin. Well, up until the moment James and Oliver clasped their hands and all but yelled "We now pronounce you Kurt Hummel and his teenage dream" and Kurt facepalmed at this, ripping his hand away from Blaine's hold.

 "Get the fuck out" Kurt hissed at his friends and they knew better than to stay. They patted Blaine's shoulder like he's an old friend, still smiling and he could swear he heard Sean say "Condoms are under the sink" before they left.

 Kurt was still craning his face in his hands. "Please just leave" he said. "Just...Look, I'm gonna keep my face covered and you can just run away and you can pretend this never happened. Send me the bill from therapy. "

 5.      And of course my fic rec list wouldn’t be complete without a smutty fic rec. It’s so difficult to narrow this down to just one fic. Some authors you should definitely check out in this category are @dualwielding, @stellata, icedwhitemochas, flyblckbirdfly and rayychel infinity, but the fic I’m going to recommend is by @caramelcoffeeaddict. It’s called Desperate Times… and it’s absolutely smut-a-licious, but definitely more than just PWP. It’s a wonderful story, and I promise you that you will love it.

Excerpt:

Devon takes a few steps back, so he’s now standing in front of Angel, and starts teasing the removal of his pants; all while dancing seductively to the music. His fingers twist in the waistband of his pants and then he yanks hard, pulling the breakaway pants off, and throwing them at the wall behind Angel. He’s left in just a tight red thong that leaves nothing to the imagination.

Once again, Devon straddles Angel, hovering just above his lap. He stretches his arms above his head, crossing them at the wrists, and rolls his hips down, teasing Angel. Devon turns himself around, bending at the waist, showing off his ass. He cranes his head around to see Angel licking and biting his lips as he stares at Devon’s ass. Devon smirks, and then smacks his own ass once, before righting himself and winking at Angel.

Turning around to face Angel, Devon starts to play with the straps of his thong, giving Angel tiny glimpses of his cock. He straddles him once again, gyrating to the music. “Would you like to touch me, Angel?” Devon asks in a low, sultry voice.

Angel visibly gulps, lets out a shaky breath, and slowly nods his head.