#plz somebody send some recs to me

[rhaenyra-first-of-her-name]

So..... Fellow Armand enjoyers, can I get fic recs where I just get to see Armand being happy?

[illumynare]

RvB Rec Day

I have a theme this month and it is SIDEWINDER. Because I absolutely cannot ever read enough versions of how the Reds & Blues decided to adopt an ex-Freelancer, or how Wash felt when he woke up and found he was being adopted. 

(If you know of any gen Sidewinder fics that aren’t on this list, MESSAGE ME PLZ. I want to read them all.)

Not Like This by @darkfrog24 (Gen, 2.3k)

"Look, if you want a diabolical master plan with contingencies and secret alien tunnels, you should probably stick with Project Freelancer. 'Switch the thing with the other thing' is about as advanced as we get.”

So this one is Wash’s POV on waking up, and it just...beautifully captures how utterly gobsmacked he is by the situation. How being helped is such a foreign thing to him, it nearly makes him short-circuit. Also it has great voices for Tucker and Caboose, and Grif gets his arms stuck in two different vending machines, so there is nothing not to like about it.

Extend the Olive Branch by @silvokrent​ (Gen, 7.5k)

"We can't just leave him out here to die! It would make us no better than…well, him. And I technically can't turn away an injured soldier since I took an oath. Besides," Doc said, "I don't want to have his blood on my hands."

"Son, you already have Wash's blood on your hands!" Sarge gave an ominous chuckle.

Oh. Right. From coming into contact with the bloodied armor.

Canonically, all we know about the Reds and Blues deciding to help Wash is that Caboose kept asking “Can we keep him?” So one thing that’s really interesting to me about Sidewinder fics is seeing which characters push to save him, and which ones have to be persuaded. In this fic, it’s Doc, and it’s great because you get to see him being a (mostly) decent medic. There’s also a fantastic part for Caboose, who gets to say so much more than just “Can we keep him?”

Bah Humbug by @momfrienddonut (Gen, 3.6k)

Epsilon’s avatar shrugged. “Look man, I don’t know. All I know is that you royally fucked up, and I’m supposed to send you on some kind of soul searching journey so you don’t end up like me.” 

“Trapped in a memory unit?” 

“I was thinking more along the lines of alone, isolated, and responsible for the pain of people who could help me, but yeah let’s go with that.”

So far as I know, this is the first Christmas Carol remix fic in the fandom. Which is kind of surprising, given RvB’s themes of memory, ghosts, alternate selves, and nightmare simulations. ANYWAY. While he’s sick after Sidewinder, the ghost of Epsilon informs Wash that he’s going to be visited by three spirits (Delta, Sheila, and the Meta). Christmas Past is an adorably heartbreaking memory of Freelancer; Christmas Present is the Reds and Blues arguing about whether or not to keep Wash; and Christmas Yet To Come is . . . great, but I don’t want to spoil it. Snappy character voices, utterly heartwarming. PASS THE EGGNOG.

Under the Weather by @eponymous-rose (Gen, 18.7k)

"Sorry," Maine says, after a moment. "I had orders."

"I know," Wash says. "It's okay. I owe the Director, too."

Maine's shoulders roll once, signaling discomfort, and Wash looks down, focusing on peeling back the lid of the jello one-handed. "Hey," he says. "South told me earlier there's a storm coming. You ever get that feeling, too?"

Maine gives a long, slow sigh. "Always."

This isn’t just a Sidewinder fic; it’s a story about Wash’s entire relationship with Project Freelancer and Maine, and how it ended at Sidewinder. There are a lot of different ways to characterize PFL and the Freelancers; this is one of the more hard-edged, military takes on them. It’s still incredibly human, and the end is guttingly tragic. Also, this fic has probably the most hurty Wash-wakes-up-on-Sidewinder scenes I’ve ever read. And did I mention that the prose is gorgeously elegant?

The Long Road Back to Good by @littlefists​ (Gen, 55k)

There is a line drawn in the sand, Wash thinks, and he is on the side where there is nothing but cold iron bars and static on dead radio frequencies and purple handprints. He could stay here, he knows. He could leave, turn away, and tell himself that he tried, and over time, he might even be able to make himself believe that.

Or he could step over the line on the long road back to good, and he could say—

“I’m sorry.”

THIS FIC.

So this one starts with Sidewinder, but covers all the missing time between S8 and S9, as Wash bonds with the Blue Team and Red Team and starts to reconstruct himself. It’s beautiful and it’s heartwarming and it’s what got me into RvB. Seriously. 18 months ago, RvB was just “that really confusing thing that half the people on my dash are so excited about, maybe I should check it out, BUT IT’S SO CONFUSING.” Then I saw somebody rec this fic, and I was like, “Oh, is this a guilt trip story? I like those. I understand them.” So I started reading it and I fell in love with Agent Washington and I started watching the show and HERE I AM.

Also, this fic has Caboose writing self-insert Harry Potter fanfic, and if that’s not the most perfect thing in the history of ever, I don’t know what is.

the story of a very successful adoption by comatoseroses (Gen, 0.5k)

I’m not quoting anything because this piece is so short, but it’s just a little Wash POV full of Blue Team feels that WARMED MY HEART AND RIPPED IT OUT in the same minute. ❤️❤️❤️

[rhaenyra-first-of-her-name]

Now that s2 is over, what the hell am I supposed to do with my life?

Somebody plz send me some fic recs, preferably about Armand, before I die of waiting for season 3