#mfmm rec list

[door]

my friend asked me for murder show recs and i put together a list of a bunch of them and thought i'd also share it here in case anyone else who was not raised by the glow of mystery! on pbs might want an intro. extremely subjective commentary, obvs. enjoy.

hello. welcome to the world of finding television shows about people getting killed comforting. it's fucked up, but who isn't. here's a list of the ones i like and why and where to watch them.

midsomer murders (1997-current): this is one of those sterotypical "it ran for 25 years and did nearly 18 episodes" british shows. it was adapted from a book series, which are the early eps. they're really fucked up and great imo. the later ones lose that sharpness, but until seasons 20+ i think it's a really solid show. the theme song is performed on a theremin. pluses: every great british actor shows up at least once, incredibly great deaths, lots of hyper niche hobby groups, tom barnaby is the best. minuses: showrunner brian true-may quoted as saying that his version of "english countryside" is entirely white. he was booted from the show at that point, however. i've watched the entire series 2-3 times, except for s5e3 "Ring Out Your Dead" because there's a death in it that i found particularly tragic the first time i watched it and have no desire to revisit it (but ymmv). robyn's fave ep is s3e3 "Judgement Day," because a brass band plays the show's theme song at a village fete and also Orlando Bloom is run through with a pitchfork. (ACORN)

Poirot (1989-2013): truly the goat. David Suchet bodies this role. i don't know how familiar you are with christie, but hercule poirot was her recurring detective character, a fastidious little belgian living in 1930s England. in this show, it's the late 1930s for 20 years, and the sets and costumes are so good. not a single streamline moderne property in england is overlooked. the early episodes are short--40ish minutes each--but they transition to 90 minutes at some point. they adapt all of the poirot books, with the big ones--murder on the orient express and death on the nile--done as higher budget tv movies. (BRITBOX)

marple (2004-2013): another christie adaptation, with 2 actresses playing miss marple in sequence. they also adapted a bunch of non-marple stories to have miss marple in them. set post-WWII, mainly countryside english mysteries. (BRITBOX)

miss fisher's murder mysteries (2012-2015, film in 2020): set in 1920s melbourne, mfmm follows independently wealthy private eye phryne fisher. it's an adaptation of modern novels, so it's less conservative than the christies. phryne's best friend is a suit-wearing lesbian doctor. it's a sharp, smart show, and phryne herself (as well as her relationship with buttoned-up detective jack robinson) is very sexy. it ran three seasons and was followed by a crowd-funded film in 2020, which isn't GOOD, but it is FUN. there's another a spin-off set in the 1960s called miss fisher's modern mysteries, which follows phryne's niece. again--not good, but fun. nothing beats the og series tho. (ACORN)

lewis (2006-2015): this is technically a spin-off of the inspector morse series, which started in the 80s, but i've never watched it so you should be fine. this follows very un-academic inspector lewis and his very academic assistant DS hathaway in EXTREMELY academic oxford england. i really dig the pacing of this, as well as how profoundly weird smart people can be. the big downside is the actor who played hathaway is laurence fox, who's a real stinker of a dude. right-wing, racist, etc. so. ymmv. (BRITBOX)

vera (2011-current): vera is a nearly retired, irascible, set in her ways detective in northumberland. she heads her own department, so part of the appeal is definitely trim youngsters dashing to do her bidding with a "yes mum." she drives a huge old land rover, wears a raincoat everywhere, has no patience for class barriers, and in short i love her. in the newer seasons there is also a detective in her squad called Jaq who is a very cute butch. (BRITBOX)

dalgliesh (2021-current): adaptation of pd james novels following detective-poet adam dalgliesh. set in the 1970s, which sets it apart and which i quite enjoy. his character is really sensitive and thoughtful is a way that's unusual for cop shows. (ACORN)

annika (2021-current): i'm gonna dive into some of the weirder ones now. annika is still pretty serious, but the title character has a habit of breaking the 4th wall to loop the audience in on the meta nature of her thoughts--usually relating to a book or story. it's set in glasgow and they investigate marine crime specifically. annika is played by nicola walker, who full disclosure i find VERY attractive. she's norwegian, she's odd, and she's trying her best. she has a teenage daughter who's gay. (PBS)

queens of mystery (2019-current): this one is VERY odd. think british murders meets pushing daisies. there's a narrator, and occasional technicolor flights of fancy. it follows a very serious detective who was raised by her three aunts after her mother was killed. she comes back to work in her home town and has to navigate both sides of her life, plus still wanting to know who killed her mother. production was interrupted by covid, so the main actress changed between seasons, but the new person is also very good. (ACORN)

brokenwood mysteries (2014-current): this one is sort of...sillier than the rest? it's a new zealand show set in a small town. it's fairly queer (although not nearly queer enough), and one of the things i love the most about it is it maintains a roster of recurring characters (which i think is only possible because of the small size of the NZ film industry). pretty good maori rep, especially jared, a local who seems to know or be related in some way to everyone in town. i adore him. he's off the show now, and i miss him. (ACORN)

mcdonald & dodds (2020-current): set in bath, this is an odd couple partnership of an ambitious young cop lately from london and a shy older cop who has lived in bath all his life and hasn't seen action in a decade. their interactions are funny and lovely, and it's refreshing to see a black woman character allowed to be ambitious. (BRITBOX)

[laiqualaurelote]

“World Enough and Time” by laiqualaurelote. 52K words, rated Teen. Fandoms: Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Doctor Who; Ships: Phryne Fisher/Jack Robinson, Hugh Collins/Dorothy “Dot” Williams Recced by: Chestnut_pod Backstory: MFMM is a TV series (and series of novels) set in 1920s Melbourne, in which the eponymous daredevil lady detective Phryne Fisher solves pulpy crimes with much dash and verve. Doctor Who follows a shapeshifting, time-traveling alien around a differently pulpy universe. A fusion works remarkably well, likely because the zane-factor is so high in both. Rec: This is a rip-roaring, episodic crossover in which Phryne is, in fact, a Time Lord, and sweeps straight-laced detective inspector Jack Robinson off on a transdimensional time-traveling adventure. The elan of MFMM and the sincerity of Doctor Who come through in spades, as does both shows’ penchant for lighthearted quirk. A delightful read! Content warnings: Temporary amnesia

Thanks Chestnut_pod for this very kind rec in The Rec Center's crossover special! they always have impeccable taste so I'm honoured that this fic has come to their notice.

[thetideseternaltune]

Tagged by @rachaeljurassic to list 8 shows to get to know me!!! (These are in no particular order btw)

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: my current obsession, also the reason I realized I'm queer as fuck 🥰 Literally changed my life and I'm insanely happy and grateful for it. Mac/Rosie means more to me than any other pairing I've ever shipped and words cannot express how much I love them 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 I'm not crying you're crying

Wentworth: another current obsession. Came for Tammy, stayed for all the amazing characters (and Tammy. Obviously) A+ show for a newly-realized sapphic btw 😏 Fridget are forever my OTP, Kaz is my smol ball of fury, and I desperately wish we'd gotten to see her and Bea become friends 😭 You could make a drinking game for every actor who shows up who was also in MFMM except you'd probably die of alcohol poisoning 🤣

Supernatural: do I recommend anyone watch this show? Absolutely not. Did it have a profound impact on who I am that I am forever grateful for? 1000% 🥰 The show that got me through the worst of my depression, the show that got me writing more fanfic than I'd ever written before, and of course, Destiel, aka the other pairing that's meant the most to me 🥰

Schitt's Creek: god I fucking love this show 🥹 It's absolutely amazing, hilarious, inclusive, lovely, beautiful, everything I adore. David/Patrick are my OTP and dear god do I have a crush on Alexis. Definitely one of my comfort shows 🥰🥰🥰

Parks and Rec: one of my oldest obsessions. Yes I am young, don't judge 😅 Ben/Leslie was... if not my first OTP, it was very close to it, and I'm pretty sure this is the show that introduced me to fanfic 😈 I have seen s3 so many times that there are multiple episodes I know by heart (long story) and there are so many episodes that make me cry and/or super emotional. This is another comfort show and I'm so glad that ppl (finally!) started giving it the recognition and love it deserved once it was almost over 😒

M*A*S*H: I have watched many classic tv shows, and this is by far my favorite. It's honestly one of the best shows ever made, and it's funny and poignant and emotional and I love it so much 🥹 Hawkeye and BJ are friendship goals and I will never stop referencing the spam lamb 😁

Elementary: best Sherlock Holmes adaptation imo and it's absolutely amazing 😍 The cases are wild and some in particular are actually genius, Jonny Lee Miller is incredible, Lucy Liu is incredible, everyone is incredible, and agh I love it so much! Not to spoil anything, but the Moriarty arc was ✨PERFECTION✨ Some of the best tv writing. And this is also a comfort show for me. (Is that weird? Probably 😂)

The Society: I will be forever sad that COVID got this canceled 😭😭😭 I need to know what happened! I need Sam and Grizz to be together! I need Elle to escape Campbell! I need Allie and Will to be freed! I wanna know who Eden's dad is! And who the fuck is Pfeiffer and why is their world in a different place in the universe and WHY CAN THE DOG CROSS BETWEEN WORLDS??????????? I NEED ANSWERS DAMMIT!

Tagging: @pigstubborn @three-seperate-johns @scruggzi @galadriel1010 @eternally-conflicted @know-the-way @midnight-els @leliesblou and anyone else who wants to do it!

[whopooh]

Hullo!

I've been absolutely loving your rec lists for Miss Fisher! I only recently got into the Fandom, and I'm having such a good time :)

There's a writer you recommend quite a lot, but those stories I can't seem to access anymore - Sassasam. They sound like they're a lot of fun to read. You wouldn't know of any place on the net that those fanfictions are still available? I would love to read them.

Hi there! Thank you for you message -- I'm really glad to hear the rec lists are a help. And that readers find their way to the wonderful world of MFMM fanfics <3. The author you asked for unfortunately deleted all their fic, so as far as I know they can't be accessed anywhere. Sorry I can't be of more help than that!

[glamorouspixels]

Fanfic Writer Appreciation Day - Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Fanfic Recs

I've never made a rec list before, but I wanted to follow @aurora-australis-tumbles's example and put together a short little rec list of my own. Thank you for the inspiration, Aurora! In honor of making the first rec list that appeared on my dash today, I'm starting off my own list with one of your fics.

Friendly Fire by @aurora-australis-tumbles​ *starts giggling just thinking about it* This fic is a perfect blend of hurt/comfort and puns after Jack obtains the most hilarious injury. And the Phrack feels in this one are absolutely amazing. 🥰 Seriously. I love this fic so much that I recommended it to my mom. 😂

Speaking of fics I've recommended to my mom (yes, really), I can't make a rec list without including Kneeling at the Altar by @scruggzi​, my all-time favorite MFMM fic for personal... kink-related reasons. 😂 My mom doesn't speak English very well and she didn't realize what was going on, or even that the fic was smutty. But I promise it very much is, and it's glorious!

Also by @scruggzi, we have The Catacombs of Rylia, which I am currently reading. It is an MFMM/Doctor Who AU set on the planet Rylia whose inhabitants live in caves underneath the planet's crystalline surface. The world and the writing are absolutely beautiful. I'm a big fan of spa settings, and in this one we have underground spas and an underground ocean perfect for skinny dipping. 😏 Also, everyone's wearing a towel for the entirety of the fic.

that lucky old sun by @fitzawkwarddarcy Y'all, this is hands down the softest fic I have ever read. We all know I love to leave long comments, but nothing has ever beaten the 800-word comment I left on this 3000-word fic because I just had to squee about every tiniest detail. It is a hurt/comfort fic set in 1950. Jack's had a bad day at work and his old leg injury is acting up. Phryne takes care of him in the gentlest way possible, they share a bath, and there's even a cat. Would highly, hiiighly recommend it <3

No Big Deal by deedeeinfj An absolutely beautiful modern AU in which Phryne and Jack are college students. Jack has never had sex, and Phryne offers to sleep with him. College-aged Jack is adorable, and he's incredibly gentle with Phryne as she guides him through what she likes. Plus they're both hopelessly in love with one another. 🥰

To end the list with a stealthy self-rec, my favorite fic I have ever written is Say You'll Stay With Me Tonight. Here I tried my hardest to combine all of my favorite (non-smutty) ship tropes into one fic. Phryne and Jack spend a rainy night at Jack's bungalow and Phryne gets her period. It's full of banter and cuddling and I'm extremely proud of it.

[village-skeptic]

Tagged in this quarantine quiz by @fantasticalnonsense18!

Are you staying home from work/school?

I’m feeling very thankful that I’ve been able to work from home, yes!

If you’re staying home, who’s with you?

My husband. We’ve got years of practice working in each other’s space, though, so this is fine. 

Are you a homebody?

Honestly, yes, probably. I miss going on errands, and to my favorite coffee shops, but in comparison to the potential consequences, it has not been a hardship at all to mostly be inside with books and shows and movies and the Internet and phone calls/Zoom calls/DMs. The people who spent months snowed in on the Plains in the 19th century would have KILLED for even a tenth of the pleasant distractions that I have. (You know...as opposed to killing for land. But I digress.)

What movies have you watched recently?

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (excellent!); Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (not great, Bob!), and about fifteen minutes of the Doctor Strange movie over dinner (not my thing). 

Show?

You MAY have noticed me falling into Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries lately. I also dipped my head in on SYFY’s Xena: Warrior Princess marathon (every Thursday for the next few weeks!) And I just binged I Am Not Okay With This, which I definitely enjoyed, in part for the extremely profound Rust Belt vibes. (TYVM @stillscape and @pantsaretherealheroes for the rec!)

An event that was cancelled that you were looking forward to?

I was supposed to go to the West Coast to visit dear friends in mid-March (plane tickets and everything), and had inchoate but exciting plans to go to the East Coast to visit another beloved friend this spring. I really haven’t minded being at home, but the idea that I literally don’t know when I will be able to safely travel to see people (especially my parents) again is one of the things that makes the grief and anxiety sharpen a little bit. 

What music are you listening to?

Less than usual, tbh. Not going anywhere has made me realize how much I still listen to the car radio!  (@sullypants, I have not forgotten about that music meme tag!) I have listened to “This Year” by the Mountain Goats about fifteen times in the last twenty-four hours, though, so that’s something. 

What are you reading?

Finishing a book on Italian fascism; preparing to start Ellen Ruppel Shell, The Job: Work and Its Future in a Time of Radical Change. I also have Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending loaded in my e-reading app (someone on here keeps quoting from one of his other works, but this is what I could get!), and I am on the waiting list for Sarah Waters’ The Paying Guests (thanks for the rec, @burberrycanary!)

Real talk: I am also reading a ton of MFMM fanfic.  

What are you doing for self care?

...see above.  Seriously though: reading, baking, sleeping a lot. Gardening, to the degree that the weather will cooperate. Making sure to stay in regular contact with the people I love and who bring me joy.  Anyone who feels like doing this one...consider yourself tagged!

[nossbean]

Top 7 comfort movies

I’m roughly 12 years late to the party but I was tagged by @ajoblotofjunk and @ilikeblue ! Thanks so much!

So confession up front - when looking for comfort stuff I actually tend towards TV! So here’s a mix of comfort media XD Also, like, in which I ramble only semi-coherently about things I love. 😅

1. Singin’ in the Rain

I... have no deep reasons for loving this. I just - I love Cosmo Brown. I love tap dancing. I love the earnestness of this whole flick and the OT3-ness that is just, like, everywhere in this damn movie. The songs are catchy, the dancing is impressive as all get out, it’s a lot of fun. The dorky scenes about enunciation - even if I could do without the sexist overtones to Lena’s storyline. I used to work in TV, so the stuff about where to put the mics was RELATABLE (if... not exactly the same ofc). The cast is attractive. There is 1 space mom (Debbie Reynolds) and 1 space aunt (Cyd Charisse) in it, which tickles me xD 

Let’s see, I’ve given random headcanons on Singin’ before, but let’s go with this one. When watching it the first time in my twenties and “Make ‘em Laugh” came on, my pal said with such deep earnest and pained joy, “Cosmo is doing all this just to make Don laugh,” and I think about that every time I watch that sequence. 

THE LOVE. it’s eVERYWHERE.

2. Parks and Recreation

Look, I can totally see how Parks & Rec isn’t for everyone. But to me, it’s a half-hour long televisual hug of people doing their best to love each other and make the world better, with helpings of political commentary and utterly absurd comedy. It definitely doesn’t come without caveats and is already dated in some ways, but in a weird way, I appreciate that Schur & Goor have grown in their politics that missteps taken in P&R aren’t repeated in and are often actually rectified in B99 & The Good Place. I deeply, deeply love the relationship between Ben and Leslie, and how hard Leslie loves: people, Pawnee, politics, public service. The families-of-choice vibes are strong in this one and there are few things I am more of a suck for than families-of-choice. I could ramble endlessly on this one, so I’ll cut myself off there.

Anyhoops, I have very many feelings about P&R and if you’ve been wondering whether to watch it but holding back for whatever reason, please DEFINITELY message me and I will share with you my many thoughts on why you should watch, where there might be squicks, and why you should actually start with season 2, episode 21 (yes, even the completionists amongst you).

Bonus gif:

3. Jurassic Park

... I love dinosaurs, and I love Dr Ellie Satler. She is amazing and if there was a gif of her with the triceratops I would have chosen that one. Between her general personality/competency, her unabashed feminism and her face, she remains the best 🥰Also I appreciate that Lex also got to save the day, in a way v specific to her skillset and that the film didn’t dismiss her despite being v scared and way outside her comfort zone in the outdoorsy survival parts of the film. 

I also have fond memories of going to see it for my sixth birthday and going to the bathroom when the T-rex eats Gennaro, so not totally understanding why all my pals were terrified when I got back. Ofc I then had fears that a t-rex would stomp and crush our home, but *handwaves* I grew out of that fear. And grew a new one.

4. Avatar: the Last Airbender

Ho-hum. Where to start with Avatar. Lmao, in the context of Game of Thrones (to which it has been ofc compared lately) just having a long-form television show which delivers on the vast majority of its themes and premises is a relief and satisfying. But, I liked Avatar long before I was back in the GOT-verse so. It’s a compelling narrative, carefully constructed and mindful of the stories and values it’s putting out into the world. And those stories, values and themes aren’t light. It tackles war, genocide, familial abuse, revenge, and redemption alongside things like building family, accepting differences, forgiveness, and honesty. That said, it balances those things with children-being-children, and moments of grace and humour. Each character is well-drawn, their personalities and choices respected, and the idea that character-drives-plot is masterfully demonstrated. Hey look - we’ve got some families-of-choice vibes here too!

I think I’ve previously rambled in the tags of a post about Katara specifically. But as someone who has, ah, an appreciation for anger and an awareness that women + anger = bad, societally speaking, Katara was a breath of fresh air. She is as compassionate as she is angry, and while there are philosophical differences between characters when it comes to her acting on her anger, the anger itself is never questioned or denigrated, by other characters or by the narrative itself. Her anger is never used as a tool to invalidate her other characteristics, or the reverse (her compassion, her nurturing side, etc, are never used to invalidate her anger), and she means a lot to me.

Also idk what this is but it came up when I searched Avatar and if I have to see it and be slightly confused and embarrassed then so do you:

5. Pacific Rim

lmao I rambled so much about the past few I’m tempted to just say: I JUST LOVE IT OK. Which is true, but. A bit more. Pacific Rim is like two hours of hope. I think I have in my queue a post that describes the relationship between Mako and Raleigh as two hurt & hardened warriors who nonetheless find softness with each other, and that is 100% true. But that ignores how in many ways, the same is true for Stacker and Mako, and even Stacker and Raleigh to degrees. Stacker’s adoption of Mako is very important. A black man with an East London accent being the most vital person in the movement to save the world is important. The multi-national, scrappy and semi-guerilla response to a weird af global threat, and the related deep humanity in facing the end of the world and hoping against hope that there’s a chance, also deeply resonant. 

It’s also stunning: Guillermo del Toro and his colour schemes, y’all. The fight scenes are so GOOD and INTERESTING and just so blatantly done by someone who knew exactly what they were doing and loved every minute of it. The idea of the drift and of drift compatibility is lovely: that philosophical belief in the interconnectedness of people. The (somewhat blink-and-you-miss-it) background class commentary (del Toro, icu) 👏. 

And, ofc, as with many on this list: the centering of Mako, the dedication to playing out the full emotional arc, of her having complex emotions which are respected and acknowledged by other characters and the narrative... yes please thank you.

6. Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

Women being competent and supported is deeply comforting. I’ve particularly found myself rewatching MFMM as the world is on fire. Just - watching Phryne build her family (families of choice!) and her community, get her men, and win the day through cleverness and determination is heartening.

7. The Holiday

I love Kate Winslet’s arc in this. But honestly I think much of my love for this centres on the fact that I saw it when v much longing to move to the UK and it is the most charming/romantic portrayal of Britain and that appealed to 20 y-o K who was so desperate to go. That said, the arc between Iris & Arthur (eg the gif below) makes me cry every time, so there’s that.

As mentioned, I’m v late to this game so I don’t know who’s been tagged! If you haven’t done it yet, please consider yourself tagged & let me know when you’ve done it! (Yes, I definitely do mean you!)

[sonicenvy]

life updates: (under the cut if you’re interested)

walked to the 24 hr kroger alone at 10PM to go buy breakfast stuff for tomorrow. impulsively splurged on cereal and bough kashi cinnamon harvest which is so good??? love that cereal but its so pricy > $3 per box pricy

dragged more people into the mfmm fandom

secured 3 days off of work this week to move my stuff since they’re kicking us out on saturday

brought a good friend of mine into the estate sale life recently

went swimming in the river this weekend on the day that it did not rain at all.

sewed a pocket on my senior robe but still need to add the second one

bought a blender at an estate sale for $10 like im a real adult

found 8 still useable keyboards in our supply room at work that just need to be cleaned before i can put them out into the library to replace the keyboards from 2009 that are on the floor

looking to buy some vintage doc martens mary janes

finally asked my coworkers for suggestions about oral surgeons around here since most of them have lived here for years and I have not. i need to find out if any of them take my dental insurance now. my jaw hurts like a bitch and i would like to get my wisdom teeth removed before the holidays.

bought new clothes hangers -- also a real adult task

did my laundry (finally). need to find more laundry money so i can actually do the wash again this week. i only have 25 cents left :(

2 out of my four oregano plants are dead now :( not sure whats up with that.

working on updating the fic rec list excel file. there are now 135 fics on there.

i need to not buy any of these 5 vintage dresses i have open in ebay tabs since they are all $50+

P A C K I N G is looming i am taking a whole day off work to do that and im not really about that.

[glamorouspixels]

Hello! Do you have any recs for fics that center Jane and Phryne's relationship? I love the show but I feel like Jane as a character needed more attention.

Oh, I am delighted that you would come to me with this, thank you! I know you asked specifically for Phryne & Jane stuff, but the second part of your question (giving Jane as a character more attention) can be interpreted to include Jane & Jack fics too, so you're getting both! :D

Phryne Fisher & Jane Ross Fanfic Recs

a safe place to land by missymeggins

This one is about Jane struggling to feel at home at Wardlow, and feeling restless and having an almost instinctive desire to leave. It focuses 100% on Phryne and Jane's relationship. Because of her own past, Phryne can relate to Jane's experiences and she helps her feel more comfortable at Wardlow. I'm really in awe of this fic. It's super nuanced and full of feelings!

Bon Goût non Raffiné by QuailiTea

Phryne helps Jane with her French lessons by introducing her to a scandalous and surprisingly sexual etiquette book. I just reread this one and I'm in love with how Phryne-esque Phryne's parenting style is 🥺🥰 It may be unconventional, but it works and she clearly knows just what Jane needs to feel better.

Friends and Relations by @rain-sleet-snow

Mac wants Jane to have more positive role models in her life and starts tutoring her in science. What starts out as weekly after-school lessons turns into an adorable friendship. The focus is more on Jane's relationship with Mac than with Phryne, but it's still Jane-centric and I would highly recommend it!

In Time with Miss Jane by @aurora-australis-tumbles

In this one we see Jane interacting with almost everyone, but Phryne keeps appearing all throughout the fic. It's about six different expressions of love portrayed through six different interactions between Jane and various members of the Wardlow family and all of the scenes are wonderful 😍

All Wrapped Up in Each Other by @omgimsarahtoo

While not exactly Jane-centric, this fic contains what is probably my all-time favorite exchange between Phryne and Jane so I'm putting it on the list. It's a wonderful mix of family fluff and romantic Phrack moments, including a pre-Christmas weekend getaway where Phryne and Jack manage to stay naked the whole time. We also get a brief hint that Jane might be into girls, which is an idea I have a massive soft spot for myself <3

Jack Robinson & Jane Ross Fanfic Recs

of fate and plaits by @leliesblou

A university-aged Jane has an injured wrist and needs help with her hair, and Jack, being the only one around, gives her schoolgirl braids. He tells her about his sister and nieces and "contemplaits" (pun stolen from the fic's summary) his family. Yep, it's just as adorable as it sounds and you should go read it :D

Unconventional by @rubycaspar

*dissolves into a puddle of fluff and feelings* Jane runs into Rosie at a book sale. Without knowing that she is Jack's ex-wife, Jane tells Rosie what Jack means to her 🥺🥰 Jack shows up a short time later. He and Jane eventually return to Wardlow with a ridiculous number of books, and they talk about who they are to one another, which results in the cutest and most heartwarming conversation everrr. Go read iiit as soon as you possibly can!

Mistaken by Skald_of_Askr

Please don't be scared away by the fact that this is incomplete. The two chapters currently posted can be read as standalones and they're both wonderful. The premise of the fic is that Jack slowly realizes that he's Jane's dad, and it's told through various slice of life-type of scenes. The two chapters posted are wonderful. I especially loved chapter two, in which Jane gets sick and Jack takes care of her, but both chapters are amazing.

Basement by whosrickygoldsworth

Jack and Jane get trapped in a basement and they use the opportunity for some father-daughter bonding time while they wait for Phryne to rescue them 😂 Jack teaches Jane about Shakespeare, which means the fic is both fluffy and educational!

Old-Fashioned by @gaslightgallows

This one could fit into either category. I'm putting it with the Jack & Jane fics because it involves Jack's Christmas present to Jane, but it's really about the three of them as a family and it is heartwarming and adorable. They're all sleepy and soft and wearing pajamas, and there are hugs and hot cocoa, and by now I've read it more times than I can count 🥰

The Way You Roll Your Eyes by yours truly :D

Another "Jane is queer" fic with Phrack elements set at Christmastime! Jane and her friends are throwing a pre-Christmas party. Jane's invited over one of her friends, whom she has a crush on, so they can get ready together. Because Jane is nervous and she's never done another person's makeup before, she asks Jack if she can practice on him. While the first half consists almost entirely of Jack & Jane bonding time, chapter two is when Phryne comes home and discovers that she rather likes the sight of him in makeup 😇

[whopooh]

If I may, can I ask about 10 & 11 on the fic readers ask please

Thank you for your questions, @merch-wyllt!

10 – How do you find new fic?

Oooh, this is a great question! I wish I was more organised, but I have to work with the person I am. :)

When I’m already truly into a fandom, and it’s not overwhelmingly big, I usually simply check the AO3 page for new updates. I keep an eye out for people I know or already read, and I find it helpful when people post self-promos about their new fic. Sometimes people tell me I really should read a specific fic because they know my taste.

When I’m newer and dive into a fandom, I read the most kudosed/commented on first, and then just keep going. (Although, with MFMM I started when there weren’t so many fics so I also think I just went through them chronologically.) When I find a writer who really checks all my boxes, I tend to read through most of their backlog, and I check bookmarks of people whose writing I really like. Unfortunately, when I’m in that first voracious dive, I’m less good at leaving comments. I also like to go back and read older fics, from when the canon show had fewer seasons – that’s really interesting with regard to characterisation. I am also happy to find fics via recommendation lists.

11 – How do you organize your fic bookmarks?

Sadly, I don’t, at all. I am a patchy bookmarker, and then I have to suffer when I can’t find fics I wish to find again. I wish I had understood the bookmark feature on AO3 earlier and made something of it. So, me bookmarking a fic means I really like it, but I also forget to bookmark a lot of fics I really like.

When I was newer in fandom, I tried to make analytic rec posts on tumblr, but I have fallen off that horse now. Via The Wardlow Collection (the MFMM librarians on tumblr) I help keeping up a little bit of that; I really wish I had more time for it.