#zimbits outsider POV

[montrealmadison]

eighteen to nine

hey y'all! you know that part of being eighteen where you just want to be a baby for five more minutes? well. this is a fic about that. featuring zimbits outsider pov (from their kid!), all the hurt/comforty vibes, and seriously so much fluff. (background zimbits, 3k, oneshot)

Ellie's first strike is that Dad doesn't even look surprised to see her out of bed. He just looks over from whatever he's doing on his laptop, smiles a little, and says, “Hey, peanut.”

“Hey.” She squishes the carpet between her toes. It was cream-colored once, but Puck and Pie have made it kind of gray. Maybe they'll get a new one once she's gone. “Whatcha doin’?”

Dad sighs. “Work stuff.” He turns the screen toward her so she can see: a stock photo of a smiling chef in a white coat that's cleaner than any she's ever seen him come home in, and above that the words Proper Handling of Dairy Products. It all looks very... corporate. "Gotta get re-certified so I don't—"

“Ew,” Ellie interrupts, in her flattest Valley Girl accent, and Dad laughs.

“Same. Well, lucky me, 'cause the perfect distraction just wandered right in.” He closes his laptop and sets it on the nightstand. “You okay? Thought you were sleeping.”

She shrugs as nonchalantly as she can manage, watches his eyebrows lift. Strike two. “I was trying to, but... um... can I—?”

Thankfully Dad gets it, because his eyes go soft and he pats the bed next to him. “Sure thing.”

read on ao3

[appalamutte]

seeds to supper [rating: general | words: 2.0k | pov outsider, memoirs]

You're sixteen, moseying through your local bookstore— You're twenty and in college, downtown with some friends— You're thirty-one and packing up the few things you've managed to keep through the years— —when you come across it.

a rewrite-slash-continuation of my little zimbits memoir ficlet

read the rest on ao3!

[parvuls]

I saw several people wondering how to participate in this bingo event. so this is how it goes: you look through your recs, you fill out the card, and... you post it 😉

to make this even more interesting, every author that gets tagged in a bingo card is now challenged to fill their own. I said what I said.

---

main character is a side character to fail better by orphan this is an unusual rec for me since the main character is camilla collins, and the main relationship explored here is jack/camilla. but really, I adore it because it's a rare example of an outsider pov on jack through the eyes of someone who likes him, and maybe sees more of him than he know. there's something very sad about jack at this point of his story, but his and canilla's awkward attempts to make something real of what they almost have are really endearing. plus: even if jack didn't fall in love with camilla, I definitely did.

still a WIP Increasing Engagement by always1895 I have a problem of hoarding WIPs and occasionally checking on them like I'm waiting for them to return from the war. this is one of those WIPs. there are two things I can never turn down, and those are social media fics and an enemies to lovers arc. just know my ass is sat down for whenever this fic is finished, and yours should be too. (*) if anyone knows the author's tumblr handle, please tag them!

short fic Patient as Pie by @edgarallanrose no fluff hits quite as hard as zimbits fluff. this short fic has jack being needy and affectionate and domestic, and it just makes me warm and gooey inside whenever I read it. which, you know, is often.

inspired you to write Two Things Only by @thewesternredcedar I'm going old school with this one, because whenever I think of a fic that inspires me I think of the summer I read this fic six times to get through my own fic. this may be in my top ten favorite fics of all time. it has endless amounts of pining, hilarity, silliness, and to top it all off, it's set during my favorite time to read about: right after graduation and before Y3. it does such a good job of nailing that jack and bitty essence that I just can't help coming back to it for inspiration.

bookmarked recently (...ish) say my name (and call me a liar) by @weneedtotalkaboutfic it may be cheating to rec a fic that was written for you, but uh, I don't care. this fic just hits all the right spots. it's smart, it's funny, it's mysterious, it's sexy, it's emotional. it has both super slow-burn and whatever the opposite of that is, thanks to a wonderful two-person-love-triangle. and if that's not enough, the real star of this fic is jack zimmermann and the journey of his sexuality and his happiness, which just blew me away.

BONUS: canon divergence But this place still stands, this place remains unchanged by @doggernaut I already have my bingo but I have more to rec, so. this fic is a really fun glimpse into a future that could've been, and it's supported by a wonderful ensemble cast (of both canon characters and realistic-feeling OCs). this fic made me laugh out loud and clutch my chest, and even though I knew where the story is headed, I couldn't wait to arrive there with it.

BONUS: isn't on AO3 lighthouse au by @appalamutte this is one of those tumblr snippets I wish I could will into becoming a full fic. just that one scene, along with the bonus background, made me fall instantly in love. historical au's can be hit or miss for me, but this was so unique and so intriguing, and (as already established) I can't resist a good enemies to lovers action.

BONUS: FREE here you come again by @ivecarvedawoodenheart honestly, no one rips my heart out of my chest quite like syd does. the first time I read this I was too emotional to think thoughts, but the second (and third, and fourth) I was just like: tell me everything about this. immediately. the phrasing lives in my head rent free? this short fic literally does.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (7-13 Apr 2024)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰 If This Is As Far As We Go (BeauRadley) - 124K, stucky no-powers AU - after a year of being phenomenal hookup buddies, bucky ends their arrangement & throws steve into a tailspin - slow burn, angsty, oblivious steve slowly realizing his true feelings, good supporting cast

😊 Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid (Ngozi Ukazu & Mad Rupert) - cute graphic novel about art students forming a softball team to exploit a financial aid loophole

😍 Death in the Spires (KJ Charles, author; Tom Lawrence, narrator) - historical murder mystery set in 1905 Oxford - another KJC absolute banger: incredible sense of place, fantastic characters, perfectly done 'whodunnit' tension and a HIGHLY SATISFACTORY resolution. Loved every word

💖💖 +76K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

The Man, the Myth, the Legend (sparklyslug) - Check Please!: gen, 2.9K - Holster's beatboxing skills brings all the a capella groups to the Haus - a short, fun, funny, outsider POV fic

Say it louder for the people in the back (redhook) - MCU: shrinkyclinks, 14K - reread, forever fave - sometimes you just get a yearning to reread the best glory hole fic ever written

In Focus (sparklyslug) - Check Please!: zimbits, 6K - Jack's photography eye knows what's up before his conscious brain does

Entering Orbit (museaway) - Star Trek AOS: spirk, 30K - good post-AOS canon-divergent fic where Jim goes home to Iowa to escape the press & Spock joins him

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Hot Ones - Conan O'Brien

QI - series S, ep 13

Game Changer - s6, e5 {Bingoception}

Um, Actually - s9, e4

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "Dawn of Justice" (s21, e14)

D20: Adventuring Party - "We're Running on 200%" (s16, e14)

Death In Paradise - s11, e4-8; s12 e0-8, s13 e0-8

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Working - How to Be Both a Critic and a Creator

Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #10: Of the Reaching Green

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for WWW ep10 "Of the Reaching Green"

Short Wave - How Climate Change And Physics Affect Baseball

Consider This from NPR - Bad Omens Or The Cycle of Nature? How The Ancient World Viewed Eclipses

⭐ Armchair Expert - Anna Kendrick [Rerelease from 1/9/23]

Today, Explained - Is college still worth it?

The Sporkful - Jewish Food Is More Than Matzoh Balls

WikiHole - BEYONCÉ (with Zoë Chao, Nat Faxon and Poppy Liu)

⭐ All Songs Considered - Songs to make you laugh, with 'Weird Al' Yankovic

In Defense of Fandom - Season 2 Episode 2: Putting my theory to the test

Dinner’s on Me - Orville Peck

⭐ Switched on Pop - Chasing old sounds: Djo's "End of Beginning" with Joe Keery

⭐ 99% Invisible #577 - The Society of Ambiance Makers and Elegant Persons

⭐ Vibe Check - A Special Conversation with Ada Limón

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Brown Mountain Lights

Short Wave - The Order Your Siblings Were Born in May Play a Role in Identity and Sexuality

⭐ Code Switch - How Frederick Douglass launched generations of Black and Irish solidarity

⭐ Decoder Ring - Can the “Bookazine” Save Magazines?

⭐ Imaginary Worlds - African Sci-Fi Looks to a Future Climate

Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #11: Promises Promises

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for WWW ep11 "Promises Promises"

What Next: TBD - Does Google Suck Now?

Short Wave - What To Know About The New EPA Rule Limiting 'Forever Chemicals' In Tap Water

Code Switch - Reflecting on the legacy of O.J. Simpson

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Atlas Obscura Live: Two Places And A Lie

Dear Prudence - I Lost a Lot of Weight and Now I Enjoy Being a Mean Girl. Help!

It's Been a Minute - The car culture wars; plus, the problem with child stars

Endless Thread - RIP Lil Miquela

Shedunnit - You Probably Imagined It!

Armchair Expert - John Cena

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - [One Shot] A County Affair: Prologue

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Presenting Bonnie Raitt

Lowrider Oldies

Huge House Anthems

Djo

Classic Soul BBQ

A LA SALA [Khruangbin] {2024}

Presenting Khruangbin

Happy Beats

'80s One-Hit Wonders

Feel-Good Classic Rock

[zimms]

my favourite genre of omgcp fic is zimbits with their kids. and like i'm not talking children, i'm talking the random 20-somethings that they've adopted and the outsider povs they bring. like yeahhhh jack's falcs rookies my beloveds <33 freshmen my beloved <33 literally any member of smh looking in on the zimbits relationship my beloved <33

[wrathofthestag]

There are so many great OMGCP fics out there that I love, read, and rec, again and again.  I decided to group some together, by theme, and share with you.  I’ll be posting one or two themes a month. Most of the fics are Zimbits-centric.

Theme: Outsider POV

The First Day of My Life  by orphan_account

Summary:  Terry likes Jack. This seems to mystify the sad bastard. And Terry can't figure out why.

OR

A Guide to Being an Emotionally Stable, Independent Young Man: By Terry Beaumont, Jedi Master, for Jack Zimmerman, Padawan

Just Guys Baking Pies by Jenrose  @jenroses​

Summary: Josh Urben is just a guy from Ohio who wants to play hockey in the NHL. It's an honor to stay with Jack Zimmermann during his rookie year. He never believed all that gossip anyway. And he has the nicest roommate, who is such an amazing cook. They're such good friends! If only they'd stop trying to get Josh on social media.

maybe i'm waking up  by  idrilka (One of my all-time favorites <3)  @idrilka​

Summary:  It’s almost funny. All he ever wanted was to play hockey, to play in the NHL, to win the Cup. This—Samwell, the team, the Haus—was supposed to be just a detour, but now it feels more like a destination he failed to realize he’s already reached.

(Or: Jack signs with the Falconers, graduates, and leaves. It's the hardest thing he's ever done. What comes after is even harder.)

Honors Thesis (4970H) – required course by BellaTheReal

Summary: Marisol needs to write her honors thesis but she put off asking a faculty advisor. Dr. Jack Zimmermann is an intimidating professor, but as Marisol procrastinates her way through the essay, she sees there's much more to the man everyone on campus either fears or wants to bang.

Ethics of Journalism by rosepetals42 @petals42​

Summary: When Dan Erikson is assigned to write an article about Jack Zimmermann's years in college, he thinks he knows what he's getting into.

Then he meets Professor Simpson, Jack's photography professor.

Production Values by chocoholic2

Summary: ESPN Films presents… as part of the widely anticipated revival of the acclaimed sports documentary series “30 for 2030”…

Out On The Ice: The Jack Zimmermann Story.

How Jack Zimmermann rocked the sports community and the world when he came out as the first openly gay professional hockey player in the NHL, all while living out his storybook romance with cooking star, Eric Bittle.

Produced and directed by Cassidy Hernandez

Reblog and show these amazing authors some love.

[supersonic-womanofyou]

My first attempt at an interview fic! Read this on Ao3, or under the cut. 

Spotlight on Eric Bittle

 Interview by Elizabeth Chu

Photographs by Jack Zimmermann

  The internet personality, author, and baker talks about his childhood, his relationship with Providence Falconers captain Jack Zimmermann, being a LGBTQ role model, why he struggled with his overnight success, and his upcoming cookbook.

 I meet Eric Bittle in person for the first time on a Saturday afternoon, in a trendy coffee shop in downtown Providence. Even though I’ve heard of it in passing, I’ve never been inside. Eric obviously has, since when I approach the table where he’s chosen to sit, Eric is already chatting familiarly with one of the waitresses. 

 But after a couple minutes talking to Eric, I mentally revisit that assumption. Eric Bittle has a way of putting people at ease, of making even the most distant strangers feel like long-lost friends-- through his warm personality, but also through his seemingly-never ending supply of homemade baked goods. By the time I sit down across from him, I’m already in possession of a whole pie and two jars of jam. 

 Most of the celebrities I’ve met have on screen personalities that are vastly different in person, but the Eric Bittle I meet that Saturday could have been pulled directly out of his Netflix series or one of the episodes from his vastly popular vlog. He’s perennially bright and cheery, with a Southern drawl that’s been blunted by years in New England, but is still very present. When I mention it, Eric laughs. “I used to hate my accent, but I think it’s become as part of my brand as pies are. I’d probably lose all of my followers if I started talking like a Yankee,” he jokes.

 The source of Bittle’s accent is his hometown-- Madison, Georgia, a town of barely four thousand people. When I ask what drove him to move up north, he gestures to himself as a whole. “Not too many opportunities for a baking, skating, Beyonce-loving gay boy in Morgan County.” He turns more serious, though, when he continues: “I was bullied a lot as a child. When I think back to my childhood, to living in Georgia-- for people who looked or acted different, it could be suffocating. I remember feeling like my future was just so starkly outlined for me-- going to a state school, settling down with a nice girl, spending the rest of my life just pretending. It sounds like overdramatic teenage angst now, I know, but I always knew if I wanted to live honestly, I needed to get out.” 

 And so Eric applied-- and was accepted to--Samwell University in Massachusetts, which touts itself as one of the most LGBTQ friendly schools in America, under the motto “one in four, maybe more.” According to Eric, it’s where he began to come to terms with himself and his identity, where he finally said the words “I’m gay” out loud, where he continued to bake and vlog and began to think seriously about a career in both, and where, perhaps most famously, he met his now-husband, Providence Falconers captain Jack Zimmermann. 

 “We both played on the hockey team, but we weren’t exactly friends at first,” Bittle says about his relationship with Zimmermann.

 So, of course, I have to ask him-- what is it like, being a baker married to a hockey player? Eric and his husband seem like almost comical counterpoints in every aspect of their careers and personalities. Eric makes his living through baking and cooking, Jack plays in the notoriously-macho NHL. Eric has built a brand and a food empire off of cheeriness and Southern hospitality, Jack has a reputation of being a “hockey robot,” with his cold, generally disagreeable demeanor during interviews.

 “Well, with it all laid out like that, it really does sound like we’re night and day,” Eric laughs. “But honestly? We just work. We both love skating-- that’s what we bonded over in college, actually. We also both technically majored in history, even though we have very different specialities and did so for pretty different reasons. But even our differences are compatible. Like, I love talking, he doesn’t, so we’re never talking over each other or silent. Also, pro hockey players have to eat an insane number of calories, so Jack’s always there to eat my cooking, and that’s really all I can ask for.”

 Eric and Jack, who played on a line together briefly at Samwell, took the sports world by storm seven years ago when they kissed on the ice after the Falconers won the Stanley Cup, making Jack the first openly LGBTQ player in the NHL. The pair broke yet another barrier for LGBTQ people in hockey soon after, when Eric became the first openly gay NCAA Division I hockey captain. 

 When I ask Eric if he ever thought about following in his partner’s footsteps and pursuing a career in professional hockey, he just laughs. “Oh, definitely not. I love being on the ice, but I don’t think I would have made it very far in the NHL or AHL.”

 His fame may have started out in the (relatively niche) world of professional hockey, but since graduating from Samwell, Eric has found incredible success beyond the legacy of that historic kiss. His first book, published five years ago, spent several weeks on the New York Times Food and Diet bestseller list, and was applauded as a fresh, vibrant take on Southern cuisine and desserts.  Check, Please  reads as seventy percent cookbook, thirty percent memoir, with every page infused with Bittle’s indomitable, ubiquitous personality. His vlog, which he started in high school and has updated continuously ever since, has millions of subscribers, who tune in every week to hear Bittle talk about everything from pies and cookies to relationships and family. Finally, and perhaps most famously, Bittle hosted his own Netflix series last year, applauded as a combination of Marie Kondo and Queer Eye, in which he taught baking with his usual brand of positivity and universal appeal, interspersed with feel-good moments and life lessons.

 It strikes me that while Bittle’s career may have been jump-started by his relationship with Jack Zimmermann, he’s certainly managed to make a name for himself in the years since. To the hockey world, he may still be an afterthought to Jack Zimmermann, but to the baking world (and a good portion of Netflix’s viewership), the name Jack Zimmermann is an afterthought to that of Eric Bittle. 

 “Jack definitely gets a kick out of it when we’re in public together and I get recognized, and he doesn’t,” Eric says. “It’s kind of crazy, actually-- I definitely couldn’t have imagined all this ten years ago, back in college or in high school.”

 And what did Eric imagine himself doing? “To be honest, I don’t think I had any idea. When I decided to go to Samwell, I didn’t even have a major in mind or anything. I just wanted to get out of Georgia. And at Samwell-- I mean, I majored in American History, of all things. Talk about a useless degree! I literally just chose the major that let me take the most baking or baking-adjacent classes.” He pauses, and laughs. “It drives Jack crazy, actually-- I never have a plan for anything, really, big or small. I’m the kind of person who just crosses my fingers and hope it all shakes out for the best.”

 His husband’s opinion aside, this tactic seems to have worked out pretty well for Eric. His next, eagerly anticipated cookbook, which follows much in the vein of his Netflix show, is due to come out in two months this August. “It’s going to be focused on easy, cheap cooking and baking that’s still healthy and fulfilling. I think there’s a mindset that to make tasty, healthy food you need to have expensive ingredients and tools, or a lot of time on your hands, or have a lot of experience. But like-- I made food for an entire hockey team in a frat house on a college student’s allowance for four years, so I know something about cooking healthy on a budget,” he jokes. “I really just want to make good, healthy food accessible for everyone.”

 Well, he’s managed to do that, and more. Eric Bittle’s career so far has certainly been a whirlwind. He’s gone from publishing his first cookbook to hosting his own show in what’s only been a matter of years.

 “I do have to pinch myself sometimes, “ Eric says about his dizzyingly quick ascent to fame. “Like, Carrie Underwood tagged me in a tweet about hockey husbands the other day. Carrie Underwood!” The disbelief is clear in his voice. “I mean, Jack’s always been the bigger fan of country music, but the Georgia boy in me had to lie down for a moment when I saw the notification. So I think-- I still can’t really believe all of it, you know? It feels like yesterday I was still about to graduate college, with barely any plan and procrastinating on my thesis. And I guess sometimes-- sometimes I do feel a bit guilty, you know? Like-- there’s so many people fighting for this, fighting for what I’ve got-- getting books published, getting a show, everything else. I definitely had a leg up in name recognition because of Jack and hockey, and even when Jack and weren’t married yet, I never had to worry about having a roof over my head if the vlog wasn’t bringing in enough money or the cookbook wasn’t selling well enough.” He pauses, pensive, and it’s not the first time in this conversation that I mentally reassess my first assumptions about Eric Bittle. Behind the nationally famous smile and welcoming accent is a thoughtful young man still grappling with becoming a public figure and a role model, with a sprinkling of imposter syndrome, who doesn’t understand exactly what millions of people across the country see in him. 

 But perhaps that as well is an unfair assessment. It’s clear that Eric has a refreshing genuiness that few public figures possess, and that this is part of what has managed to speak to so many people from all backgrounds. That on some level, his modesty about his own fame is part of what constitutes his appeal. 

 When I mention this, Eric flushes a bright shade of pink. “Oh, aren’t you a flatterer. Well, I suppose so.”

 So after this cookbook, what’s next? Is fatherhood on the horizon? 

 “I did mention that I never have a plan, didn’t I?” he quips. But he does confide that he and Jack have been talking about having a family. “We’ve always wanted kids, but there’s always been something going on. Jack’s job and being on roadies all the time, me trying to get my career started. We don’t want our kids to be raised by babysitters and nannies, you know? We want to be there for them, so while it’s definitely something we’re considering, we’re trying to balance timing. But it has been a couple years, so.” He blushes. “We’re revisiting the idea.”

 “But other than that-- I have been approached about the possibility of some other projects and shows in the future, but I probably can’t talk about those,” he says. “And though it’s always been a dream of mine to own a bakery, that would be a pretty huge commitment. So I guess I’m just trying to say that I’m not really sure exactly what comes next.” Nevertheless, he grins, as if to say,  and isn’t that exciting ?

 Fatherhood or his own bakery-- I’m sure that no matter what comes next for Eric Bittle, he’ll forge ahead with his characteristic positivity and Southern grace, with plenty of baked goods along the way. *

[checkplease-fanfic]

Author: PorcupineGirl Rating: gen Status: Complete Length: 8K

Jesse Snowden knows all the best restaurants and gourmet food shops in Providence, so when Jack Zimmermann starts bringing in incredible baked goods, he's eager to find out where the new bakery is. When he meets the man behind the pies, he decides that there's no way Jack could really appreciate this guy's talent the way he does, even if they are friends. He starts hiring Jack's chef on the side, in the hopes that maybe once Bitty's done with college he'll come work for Jesse.

Good thing there is absolutely no way whatsoever that Jesse could possibly be misinterpreting this situation.

[omgcpausandstuff]

I kinda want to read a Zimbits fic where one of their presences in the story is akin to Columbo's wife - often referenced but never actually appearing in the flesh. The outsider POV gradually builds a picture of what they think Jack/Bitty's partner is like.

Actually, we did get something akin to this in canon with Lardo's introduction - Shitty/Lardo might actually work better for this if the goal is for the descriptions to paint a wild and seemingly incongruous picture. Shitty is totally the type to bring up those kinds of anecdotes too.

[doggernaut]

12 and 26 for the fic asks?

12. favorite character to write about this year

When it comes to fic, I am a creature of habit. It’s been years since I’ve written fic outside of the Check, Please fandom and all of my fic is Zimbits-centric. The majority of the fic I’ve posted this year is written from Bitty’s POV, but there are a couple of Jack POV pieces in there, and my upcoming Big Bang fic, which I’ve spent most of the past six months working on and is 41K, is a dual-POV fic. So it’s safe to say my “favorite” character to write this year was both of them. That said, I do have a preference for writing Jack’s perspective. Sometimes the story demands to be written from Bitty’s POV, though.

26. number of favorites/bookmarks you made this year

I don’t use ao3’s bookmarking feature nearly enough. It’s only been in the past two years or so that I’ve actually started bookmarking favorites, and a lot of my more recent bookmarks have been made when I’ve reread old favorites I don’t want to lose.

I’ve only added 15 bookmarks this year. Many, if not most, are old fics I revisited. Most are Check, Please fics but there are also some new Ted Lasso and Black Widow fics in there, as well as some old favorite Parks and Rec fics.

I read A LOT of amazing fic that didn’t get bookmarked which isn’t a reflection of the quality of the fic or my level of enjoyment; I just am not the best at remembering to use that feature.

Thank you for the asks!

[jackzimmermannturns30]

Jack Zimmermann’s 30th Birthday: Prompt Claiming!

Claim your prompt now to help celebrate Jack’s 30th birthday on August 3, 2020!

Please read the rules and be sure you know what you’re committing to before you claim.

As a reminder: Each prompt can be claimed for one fic and one art, and each claimer can claim one fic prompt and one art prompt (they don’t have to be fic and art for the same prompt, but they can be). There are likely more prompts than will be claimed, so if people finish their first fic/art early I’ll open it up for a second round later.

Claims are on a first-come, first-served basis. To claim a prompt, please fill out this Google form with the prompt #. If you want to claim one fic prompt and one art prompt, please fill it out twice.

I will email you letting you know whether you’ve been assigned your 1st choice prompt, your 2nd choice (if you provided one), or if you’ll need to submit a new choice.

Note: If your 1st choice is taken, I will assign you your 2nd choice before moving on to the next-submitted claim, so for the best chance of getting one of your top choices it’s best to provide a 2nd choice if you have one.

I will regularly update this post, crossing out the FIC and ART next to each prompt as they are claimed, and will reblog here each time I do.

Thank you all for submitting so many great prompts! Some are very similar (you guys love surprise parties), but unless they were exactly the same, I included everything. I also tried to keep exact wording when possible, unless you were just over the 5-word limit but I could squeeze it in by rewording.

Prompt list below the cut!

A cat FIC ART

Amusement park FIC ART

Another lifetime FIC ART

Birthday Fluff FIC ART

Birthday magic FIC ART

Book tour FIC ART

Bragging about Bitty FIC ART

Detective/cop AU FIC ART

“Dirty Thirty” weekend away! FIC ART

Falconers Official JLZ Birthday Fundraiser FIC ART

Golf is stupid FIC ART

Gray hairs 😏😏😏 FIC ART

House hunting FIC ART

Ice cream FIC ART

Interaction with the media FIC ART

Jack cooks dinner FIC ART

Jack gets a bad haircut FIC ART

Jack secretly loves surprise parties FIC ART

Jack’s instagram FIC ART

Jack’s mini-me billet kid FIC ART

Jack’s weird internet purchases FIC ART

Live in concert FIC ART

Mentorship FIC ART

Montréal FIC ART

No graduation kiss, still BFFs FIC ART

Paramedics from Emergency! AU FIC ART

POV outsider FIC ART

Quiet night-in, zimbits, baby, love FIC ART

Roadtrip! FIC ART

Rum-runner Jack, Prohibition Agent Bitty FIC ART

Skiing FIC ART

Sleepover FIC ART

Social media romance FIC ART

Surprise party FIC ART

Surprise party full of misunderstandings! FIC ART

Switched at birth FIC ART

Tater’s wedding FIC ART

The guys, but as doggos FIC ART

Time travel FIC ART

Toddler skating 🥺 FIC ART

Vlog guest star JLZ FIC ART

Zimbits from friends’ POV FIC ART

[rftwfic]

It’s International Fanworks Day!

Or at least it was, since it’s now past midnight at my house. On my old blog I had an ongoing tradition where on this day every year, to show my appreciation for my fellow fanfic writers, I would post a recommendation list for some fics that I think deserve more love. I adore my fellow creators now just as much as I did then, so I’ll be moving my tradition over to this blog now. The rules: For every ship I read for in the past year post no more than 3 fic recs. It’s always so hard to narrow it down, but if I don’t this post would turn into an absolute monster every time. Of course, I’m always available for more recommendations upon request.

Zimbits:

Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy by PorcupineGirl

My favorite kind of miscommunication is the hilarious kind, which is exactly what this is. Snowy thinks that Bitty is just Jack’s college friend who he severely underpays for his cooking. Snowy just wants Bitty to know what he’s worth. This fic is funny and cute but also protective Jack in this is so good. This is a fic I’ve come back to read multiple times. Outsider POV.

A Tolerance for Pain by uniqueinalltheworld

Jack and Bitty’s soulmate indicator is that they can feel each other’s pain. At this point Bitty doesn’t even flinch when Jack burns his tongue on his coffee. This of course provides exactly the kind of angst I enjoy, so you can imagine how much I love this fic.

Edible Arrangements by CoffeeStars

As you can see, I quite enjoy outsider POVs. This one also provides wonderful amounts of hilarity. Realistic portrayal of frat boys for sure, the utter chaos one would expect. Hilly is a tadpole and is pretty sure Bitty has a sugar daddy. This fic is very sweet but also makes me laugh a lot.

Spirk:

This pairing in particular was almost impossible to narrow down my choices for.

rhadamanthus by spqr

Set (mostly) just after the events of ST:ID, Jim finds out Spock is trying to access his medical records. I really enjoy the way this fic is told, the way it occasionally jumps around in the timeline to specific points. For a short fic it does a very good job of bringing up some very intense emotions, and I’m always a slut for Spock finding out about Tarsus.

Echolocation by Darksknight

Super cute fic. Plays on the idea of Vulcan mental bonds in a really adorable way. Definitely a fic I’ve read multiple times at this point. Jim and Spock’s bond is affecting them in ways they don’t even realize, but the crew certainly does.

A Monument to All Your Sins by sinestrated

Oh the protective Spock is so good in this fic. The angst is exactly what I signed up for, and Spock being full willing to commit murder for Jim always hits so good. After the events of ST:ID Jim is asked to retake the Kobayashi Maru. Spock is very not pleased at the effect this has on his t’hy’la.

Reylo:

Soul Searching by OptimisticBeth

This was actually the very first Reylo fic I ever read and really set the tone of the pairing for me tbh. I totally blame this fic for my obsession with Modern AUs for this pairing now. I’ve found perfection once and I’ve been searching for it again ever since. For real though I felt that the characters were captured really well in this fic, especially since they were ported over into an AU, and the plot is super original and handled very well in my opinion. There’s angst, there’s fluff, I laughed, I cried, it hit the whole range of my emotions. Rey is in high school when she finds out she’s soulmates with her English teacher. This goes about as well as you’d expect.

The Trail Bride by SecretReyloTrash (BadOldWest)

I actually just finished reading this fic a few days ago and it was a wild ride from start to finish. I took a lot of joy in telling my friends I was reading an Oregon Trail AU, but also just really enjoyed reading this fic. The author obviously knows the details of the story’s setting very well (I certainly learned a few things), and Rey and Ben both experience very well done character development throughout the course of the fic. Another fic where I’ve been made to feel a lot of different emotions and loved every minute of it. Rey’s husband dies on the trail, and unfortunate circumstances lead her to needing a new one quick. Of all the available bachelors, Ben Solo looks to be the least terrible.

Until You by Ever-so-reylo (Ever_So_Reylo)

I feel like this fic just really cuts to the core of why I enjoy Reylo, which is Ben Solo saying “I hate literally everyone except for my wife.” This fic really captures the essence of that and delivers it in a pure, concentrated dose, which is something I really appreciate. An ABO Modern AU where the rules around caring and keeping Omegas are very strict and Ben will ignore as many of them as he has to in order to make his mate happy.

[bittysvalentines]

Love in the Morning

From: @ivecarvedawoodenheart

To: @amessnamedwidogast

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 2461

I hope you like it!! I had a really good time with this :) Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Summary:

“Don’t you dare, you had better not, I’ll call your dad and the press, I’ll tell ‘em—” “I think ‘Jack Zimmermann helps out teammate with checking drills’ would be a good headline, actually. I give you my blessing.” “Not when you’re threatening to pour water all over me you big ole—” “‘Big ole’ what, exactly?” ___________________________

Zimbits, from Bitty’s POV. Focusing primarily on waking up in the morning.

(AO3)

Someone throws a pillow at his face. Bitty jolts upright, looking around wildly, almost falling out of bed. It better not be — oh Lord, he’s gonna murder him —

“Bon matin, Bittle.”

Bitty check his watch and screams internally.

“Jack, were you dropped as a child? Is that why you feel the need to force me out of bed at four in the morning?”

He thinks Jack raises his eyebrows. It’s hard to be sure when it’s so dark in here, but the vaguely Jack-sized blob in the doorway gives off a distinctly amused vibe.

“My uncle Wayne did, actually,” Jack says. “My parents forbade him from holding me until I could do backwards crossovers.”

“Mmph.” Bitty closes his eyes and pulls his blankets up under his chin. “Go bother Shitty, Mr. I’m-Friends-With-NHL-All-Stars. I have a test today.”

Jack says, “That was yesterday, Bittle.”

“I could have another one today, Zimmermann.”

“You, having a test and not tweeting about it? Impossible.”

Bitty cracks open an eye at that. “It’s too early for you to be chirpin’ this much,” he says, but he swings his legs out of bed and lets Jack bundle him off to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wake up somewhat. They’re on their way to the rink, Bitty in an oversized Pens sweatshirt because he couldn’t find one of his in the dark, before he realizes that means Jack reads his tweets.

____________

“I’m asleep, my eyes are closed, go away Jack, can’t you see I’m sleeping—”

“You’d be much more convincing if you weren’t talking, Bittle. You’ll have time after to take a nap, let’s get at it—”

“Oh my god . ‘Let’s get at it’? Are you actually eighty years old—”

“Yes, okay, Old Man Zimmermann, ha ha, that hasn’t been played out. If you really want to make fun of me you’ll get your butt to the rink, that’ll really show me.”

Bitty scowls at him when they get to the locker room. Jack laughs, just once, and it’s so surprised and quick a sound that Bitty almost misses it. He wants to hear it again.

____________

Midnight, and there’s a knock at his door. Bitty presses Señor Bun tighter to his chest and wipes his eyes hastily, catching his French book before it slides to the floor. “Yeah?”

“Can I … can I come in?”

The door makes it difficult to hear, but he thinks it’s Jack. He squeezes his eyes shut, biting his lip. Then he forces himself to perk up as best he can.

“Of course! Why’re you up? It’s so late.”

Jack eases the door open and shut behind him. Bitty watches him scan the room, taking in the flashcards strewn across his bedspread and his laptop. He wishes he hadn’t left it open on Google Translate.

Jack rubs the back of his neck. A little sliver of his shirt rides up, and Bitty knows this shouldn’t be anything — they’ve all seen too much of each other in the locker room — but it’s almost too much on top of everything. His hair sticks up in all directions. Bitty holds Señor Bun tighter to keep from crossing the room and making his hair even wilder.

“Your light’s still on,” Jack says. He looks so unsure of himself here. Bitty’s not sure he’s ever been in his room outside of waking him at godforsaken times in the morning. “I wanted to, euh. Make sure everything’s okay.”

“I’m fine,” Bitty says quickly. Jack shoots him an unimpressed look, first nodding to Bitty’s flashcards, then raising his eyebrows at the clock. “Well. Not quite okay, but. I will be fine, which is what matters.”

Jack still doesn’t look like he believes him, but when he crosses the room to sit on the bed, his face softens. He picks up a flashcard with le fromage written on it. “You’re learning food words?”

“Oui,” Bitty says. Even that has such a pronounced twang to it. He sighs. “I’ll be honest, it’s not going great.”

He’s fiddling with the card now, flipping it back and forth, playing with the corners. Bitty watches him gather the rest of the flashcards in a neat stack and shuffle them.

Jack says, “I can quiz you,” and Bitty’s about to cry again.

He wipes his eyes. “You don’t have to.”

It must catch in his voice, because Jack looks up then. His eyebrows crease. “I mean — I don’t want to overstep, but. I do speak French, so.”

“Oh do you?” Bitty asks, and Jack rolls his eyes. He tosses a card at him and le jus hits him in the Adam’s apple. Bitty swallows reflexively.

He doesn’t think he imagines how Jack watches him.

Jack bumps their knees together. “If you want,” Jack says softly. “I don’t mind.”

“Okay,” Bitty whispers. He clears his throat. “If you’re fine with how badly I’m going to pronounce these words, that is.”

“I’ll live,” Jack says.

Bitty smacks him with his pillow, and he laughs quietly. A little thrill runs through Bitty at the sound.

“Okay, Bittle,” Jack says. “Let’s do this.”

____________

In the morning, Jack yawns loudly in the faint morning light and says, “Up and at ‘em, let’s go—”

“You can’t be serious,” Bitty says, grumpy. “We were up the whole night doing flashcards and you took up the whole bed, I didn’t get to sleep for a second.”

“That’s a lie, you snored the whole time, I didn’t—”

“You and your big ass stole all the blankets, I couldn’t’ve snored because I have to be asleep for that—”

“Couldn’t’ve? Are you joking—”

Jack goes on a rant about how difficult it is to understand him, and then how hard it must be to understand either of them, and then segues into a scheme to confuse everyone next time they come back from a break and their accents are stronger. Bitty chimes in now and then. Mostly, though, he drinks in how this feels: Jack in his bed, flashcards still everywhere — there’s one stuck to Jack’s cheek now, he thinks it’s les fraises — and his eyes still sleep heavy.

Bitty wants this so badly he outright gasps in the middle of Jack’s sentence.

“You okay, Bitty?”

“Fine,” he says, trying to push the feeling aside. “You’re kidding though, right? About checking practice today?”

Jack holds out a hand in a may I? gesture that Bitty doesn’t understand until he pouts, glancing at Señor Bun. Bitty hands him over tentatively. Jack tucks Señor Bun neatly under his chin, cuddling him with his eyes closed, and this all but knocks the air out of Bitty.

“‘M joking,” Jack says. Beneath the covers, Bitty feels him gently nudge his side with an elbow. “‘M tired. Bonne nuit.”

“No French when I’m trying to sleep, Mr. Zimmermann,” he says softly. Jack nudges him again.

He drifts off. In his dreams, he sees Jack holding Señor Bun like he’s something precious.

____________

Bitty has Canadian bacon on the stove when Jack stumbles downstairs. He quietly pours himself some orange juice, then Bitty feels rather than sees him join him at the stove.

“There’re some eggs in the fridge,” Bitty says, “if you wanna do somethin’ with them.”

He bumps his shoulder against Jack’s chest just to touch him and prove to himself that they’re standing here, together. Jack’s golden in the dewy morning sun.

“Your checks are getting better,” he says then, and Bitty says, “Oh, shush, you.”

Jack scrambles some eggs and fries some, and it’s peaceful between them.

____________

“Don’t you dare, you had better not, I’ll call your dad and the press, I’ll tell ‘em—”

“I think ‘Jack Zimmermann helps out teammate with checking drills’ would be a good headline, actually. I give you my blessing.”

“Not when you’re threatening to pour water all over me you big ole—”

“‘Big ole’ what, exactly?”

“I — it’s early, okay? My mouth hasn’t woken up yet.”

“Seems like it has to me.”

Bitty crawls out of his blankets at that, cheeks burning. “You tryin’ to tell me I talk too much?”

Jack takes a sip of water. “No, I’m trying to tell you to get your ass out of bed so we can go to Faber before the early skate. Do you think I enjoy being up at four?”

“Yes.”

“Well.” He tilts his head to the side. “Look, it’s prime running time—”

Bitty narrows his eyes. “Jack Laurent Zimmermann, you could get mugged—”

“—not if I’m running faster than my mugger, which is what I was about to say when I was so rudely interrupted, and how else am I to outrun a mugger than to practice running?”

He looks so pleased with his logic. Bitty says, “People like you are what’s wrong with this country,” and he grins broadly.

“I’m Canadian, remember?”

Bitty beats him for the first time in their end of practice race.

____________

Bitty’s alarm wakes him for the first time in ages, which of course means Jack died or something because no way in hell would he miss an opportunity to push him into the boards for an hour and a half.

Lord. He wouldn’t mind being pushed against the boards.

He’s had enough dreams that end up against the boards, for various reasons, and … he shouldn’t be thinking this, now, but.

He checks the weather and his school email and then, shivering, pads across the hall.

“Jack?” An answering mmph gives him the okay to open the door, so he does. He blinks to adjust to the darkness. Jack peeks blearily out from his blankets. “They’ve called classes for the day, it’s too cold out.”

Jack says, “Mmph,” and Bitty connects the dots. “You knew that already, I’m sorry! I’ll just—”

“Bittle.”

Bitty stops midway to the door.

“Yeah?”

Jack jerks his head toward the bed, peeling back his blankets. “It’s cold,” he mumbles, “c’mon.”

Bitty’s heart about stops. His mouth moves wordlessly for a few seconds before his mind catches up from where it stopped on Jack’s asking me to get in bed with him .

“Are you sure?” he asks, and Jack nods.

“No point losing more body heat,” he says sleepily. “Besides. My bed’s bigger than yours, we’ll fit fine.”

“Chirp chirp.”

So Bitty does. He climbs into his bed carefully, trying not to jostle Jack too much. Jack clumsily tucks the blankets around them and when Bitty tugs on the covers himself, their hands brush. Jack squeezes his briefly, then lets go. Bitty shivers again, but not from the cold.

“Oh — here —” Jack shifts his pillow and then presses a balled up sweatshirt into Bitty’s hands. “If you want.”

It’s the Pens sweatshirt he’d borrowed months ago. It still smells like him. The fact of Jack, sleeping with this so close to his face, breaks so sweetly in Bitty’s chest. He pulls it on.

“Thanks,” he whispers.

Jack says, “Mmph,” but Bitty can see him smiling slightly.

____________

Bitty wakes up after graduation to two texts. They’re timestamped 4:02 AM.

They say,

I’m sorry if it’s too early to say this , but I’ve been wanting to tell you for awhile now

I think I fell in love with you in the morning

He touches his lips with his fingertips and wonders when it was he got so stupid lucky.

________________________

A pillow lands on his face, yanking him out of a stress dream about playoffs.

Something in their bedroom smells delicious. He opens his eyes and blinks to be sure he isn’t dreaming.

Jack’s filled their nightstands with plates and plates of food. There’s a heap of pancakes stacked high and half buried under blueberries and strawberries and what smells like 100% Canadian syrup on one of them, and toast shining beautifully with butter stacked next to eggs cooked every which way of the other. Jack himself is sitting at Bitty’s feet, wearing the Schooners shirt Bitty had gotten as a signing perk two years back. It still looks so, so good on him. Bitty’s never gotten over the thrill at seeing Jack in a shirt with his last name on it.

“Oh sweetheart,” Bitty says, yawning. “How did you—”

“I have my ways,” Jack says, handing him a plate and Bitty smiles.

“It all smells so good.”

“That’s only because you missed about an hour of me burning everything on the stove.”

Bitty throws up his hands in mock exasperation. “This boy.”

Jack crawls next to him and leans against the headboard. He rests his arm around Bitty, pulling him gently against his side, and presses a kiss to the side of his head. “Your boy, you mean,” he says, and Bitty about melts.

“For half a second there I thought you were wakin’ me up for checking practice again,” Bitty tells him, after they’ve kissed a little.

Jack says, “I still could,” and Bitty kisses him some more to distract him. From the way he huffs a laugh, he knows Jack knows what he’s doing. “Though you don’t really need it now.”

“Yeah, I had a really good, really strict captain for that.”

They’re quiet a moment while they eat. Bitty sneaks peeks at Jack now and then, liking the way the sun still loves him. Jack catches him a few times and chirps him softly.

“I don’t think I ever told you,” Bitty says, when they’ve stacked all their dishes out of the way. “It was when you said you read my tweets, for me. Or with Señor Bun that first night in my bed, when you looked at him like he was a new bucket of pucks.”

“When…” Jack starts, frowning a little. Bitty waits for him to puzzle it out, leaning fully against him now. He sees the realization before Jack says it. “Oh,” Jack says. “When you…”

“When I fell in love with you,” Bitty says simply. “That was when.”

Jack tips his chin up with two fingers and Bitty savors this kiss more than any other they’ve had, except for the one after that one, and the one after that.

“I love you,” Jack says afterward. He presses their foreheads together.

Bitty says, “I love you no matter how many eggs you burn,” and Jack laughs another quick, surprised laugh. Hearing now is even better than the first time.

Jack helps him out of bed and they wash the dishes together, stopping now and then to bump into each other and kiss softly and be at home here, together in their kitchen with the sun just coming up. Even after all this time, this feels like the start of something.

Bitty takes Jack’s hand as the radio plays. They stay like this, dancing their way through cleaning up, well past when the sun rises fully in the sky.

________________________

[zimms]

top 5 gen/non-ship-centric check please fics?

i went to my bookmarks and i had exactly 5 gen fics bookmarked, so it must be fate!

1. we are the crowd by @omgcphivemind

this is one of my favourite check please fics that anyone's written and i love it so much! it has so many of my favourite tropes from social media to outsider pov to nhl!chowder

2. let the words fall out by chasingflower

this is one of those fics where i didn't realise how much i liked it until i found myself thinking about it multiple times. it includes whiskey bonding with bitty's parents and a bit of a plot twist.

3. highways and bi-ways by palateens

this series lives in my mind rent free. it's a fic where bitty's parents are queer and i really love it! i'd strongly recommend this entire series

4. duke errens by @shitty-check-please-aus

i think this is one of the first check please fics i bookmarked and i love it so much! it's vaguely shippy (nurseydex), but it can be enjoyed solely from a gen point of view as well! if you enjoy identity porn, i'd fully recommend it!

5. fearless. completely fearless. by moontyrant

this is a really nice fic that explores bitty's relationship with his parents and, although it has minor zimbits, focuses mainly on coach and Suzanne.

put “top 5” anything in my ask and i will answer it

[wrathofthestag]

Chapters: 1/3 Fandom: Check Please! (Webcomic) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann Characters: Eric "Bitty" Bittle, Jack Zimmermann, Kent "Parse" Parson, Alexei "Tater" Mashkov, Justin "Ransom" Oluransi Additional Tags: Social Media, spoilers for 3.26, Coming Out, Mixed Media, Homophobia, Biphobia Summary:

"James @piesnthangs UMMMMM @OMGCHECKPLEASE SO I GUESS WE KNOW WHO YOUR SECRET BF IS NOW HUH

Angel Washington @angelicaaaa98 Sooooo. I hope this means that fuckyeahzimmermann will stop receiving daily asks about him and Mashkov secretly dating. #CongratsZimmboni"

Jack and Bitty kiss on live television. Social media reacts accordingly.

This was such a fun read!  

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

Great OMGCP fanfics

All the Sights of Paris by writingonpostcards

Eric and Jack meet atop the Eiffel Tower. It's the beginning of a few whirlwind days together, but Eric's leaving soon. How much can really happen between them in just a few days?

--

Jack holds out his hand and Eric takes it. Instead of shaking it like Eric was expecting, Jack pulls him in gently, and kisses him once on both cheeks. “See you around,” Jack says with confidence.

Like breathing was easy by lillaseptember (part 7 of a series)

Jack has a panic attack. Bitty (and the kids) help him through it.

--

“We have seven kids downstairs who all think you’re their hero. And it’s not because of the reasons you think it is. It’s because you pick them up from practice with the same terrible puns every Tuesday, actually listen to what they know is their ridiculous teenage gossip, let them win wrestling matches in the most dramatic way imaginable, watch Aristocats with them 17 times in a row, kiss their injuries better, memorize presidents with them, make that godawful mac ‘n’ cheese for ‘em.”

Set Your Old Heart Free by IBoatedHere*

Jack doesn’t find Bitty after graduation. They don’t kiss. Jack doesn't go to Madison for the 4th. They still fall in love.

falling into place by furyofthetimelords

Your soulmark doesn’t settle until you’ve met your soulmate.

Neither Jack or Eric notice when it happens.

Irreplaceable by JustLookFrightenedAndScuttle

Bitty gets too wrapped up in his worry that his relationship with Jack could cost Jack too much.

Breakaway by AntarcticBird

The first time Jack sees him is at the beginning of his sophomore year at Samwell, a completely normal Monday night, and at first he thinks he has gone insane.

Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy by PorcupineGirl

Jesse Snowden knows all the best restaurants and gourmet food shops in Providence, so when Jack Zimmermann starts bringing in incredible baked goods, he's eager to find out where the new bakery is. When he meets the man behind the pies, he decides that there's no way Jack could really appreciate this guy's talent the way he does, even if they are friends. He starts hiring Jack's chef on the side, in the hopes that maybe once Bitty's done with college he'll come work for Jesse.

Good thing there is absolutely no way whatsoever that Jesse could possibly be misinterpreting this situation.

Mother’s Weekend by rosepetals42*

Hello there! Long time, no see (my bad I know) but, here: an Alicia Zimmermann-centric piece as she goes to Parents’ Weekend during Jack’s freshmen year. [focus on Alicia, Jack, and Shitty] 6k

Imagine being a tadpole though by rosepetals42

Outsider POV, zimbits, canon-compliant, 2nd person, 4k ish, yes this got way longer than expected

when it’s over (you’re the start) by onawingandaswear

Jack goes to sleep in Providence next to his boyfriend and wakes up in Montréal to discover he’s been in a coma since 2009. Refusing to believe Samwell, Bitty, and the Falconers were all a dream, Jack tracks down the real Shitty, Lardo, Ransom, and Holster to find they’ve shared the same group hallucination for years. Now, they’re on a mission to find Bitty, the love of Jack’s non-existent life, and the only member of SMH they can’t seem to get in contact with.

ABC by alphardhy

effort, n.

It is worth it.

Jack and Bitty's relationship told through short dictionary entries. (The title is quite self-explanatory, really.)

Ice Crew Please! by rosepetals42*

Jack Zimmermann was drafted first by the Providence Falconers when he was eighteen years old. He is good at hockey. Very good. His team won the Cup his second year and now, in his third year, they are looking good. Jack should be on top of the world. And some days, he manages to convince himself he is.

He’s not, of course.

Enter the Ice Crew.

a tale of love and how it finds you by nightswatch 

Bitty sees Jack Zimmermann almost every morning, but he’s never said a single word to him. Honestly, Jack Zimmermann probably doesn’t even know that he exists.

Revenge is best served @ by Perpetual Motion (perpetfic)

The ESPN hockey anchors take a cheap shot. Bitty takes one back.

i'll see you with your laughter lines by the_one_that_fell*

Eric Bittle was fourteen when his soulmate died.

They'd never even gotten to meet.

Hold on Forever by an orphan account (part 2 of a series)

Eric Bittle doesn't think he's going to be standing at his boyfriend's sledge hockey game holding a sign that says, "Yo, Go To Prom With Me Jack Zimmermann," at almost thirty years old and yet...here he is.

these hands are meant to hold by worth_the_risk (part 1 of a series)

There are a select few times over the course of Jack and Shitty’s friendship when Jack, frozen like the Pond in January, has to be told to move.

Plans For The Future by ticktockclockwork

Contrary to popular belief, when Jack was spiraling, things did not move in slow motion. The frantic beating of his heart was anything but slow; the rapid fire thoughts pinballing around his mind almost incomprehensible in their speed.

In therapy, he'd often heard people describe their attacks as a slow motion train crash, a suffering drawn out experience that they were helpless to stop.

But for Jack, while ’train crash’ was definitely apt for what he felt, it was anything but slow and, in fact, he was usually the one at the controls.

All this to say, Jack was in a very bad place.

The Little Things That Give You Away by annathaema (moony)

"S'fine," says Jack, trying to keep it hidden from Shitty. "I wasn't really doing anything, just-"

"Knitting!"

--

Jack has an unusual hobby, but it helps.

Alive and Loved by Piehead

Bitty has depression. He lives with it.

Love Is To Be Made by DoubleNegative

“Jack turns in a slow, aimless circle in the middle of his living room. Blank white walls. Bare floor. A sofa, a TV, a coffee table: just the basics, really. Well, no wonder it doesn’t look like home; he can’t blame his apartment’s sudden coldness and its empty echoing spaces solely on the absence of one Eric R. Bittle. It just… doesn’t look like anyone lives here. It doesn’t feel like anyone lives here. He has no idea how to change that.”

(Or… Jack comes home from Madison to an apartment that doesn’t smell like cinnamon, and teammates who don’t know what he means he says ‘swawesome. It feels like it should be easier, turning the place he lives into a home and the people he plays hockey with into teammates. But even ‘easy’ things have always felt harder than they should.)

Puck Aversion: The Birth of A Goalie Superstition by Betweenthepies (Reikiari)

Every hockey player has their thing. Goalies? Even more so. So what is Chris Chow's? He will never touch a puck with his bare hands. (Five times Chris Chow won't touch a puck and one time he does.)

one of the gays by heyfightme

Bitty isn’t even sure whether he wasn’t meant to hear. It’s a party, and they’re all public, and it’s Bitty’s Haus too. More than that, it’s Bitty’s kitchen. There’s no discernible secrecy in operation.

“I mean, Bitty’s gay. One of my best friends; he put these curtains up.” The girl Holster is talking to – brown curls, white jeans, suntanned shoulders – looks to the curtains and coos, “Aww, that’s so cute.”

Bitty’s neck twinges.

—

in which bitty and jack are like: [sarcastic laughter] straight people

Wizarding sports by prongsyouignoramus and awfullyruby (not really a fic)

so @prongsyouignoramus and I had a convo that spun into a full blown hc so I thought I’d share this in the hopes it will one day inspire a fanfic author  *nudge nudge, wink wink*  or just for funsies, I guess

just two kids without their jackets by the_one_that_fell (3 part series)*

Jack makes a difficult decision and finds a new calling.

and not waving but drowning by the_one_that_fell (part 1 of a series)

Jack considered himself an Icarus of sorts. He never thought he’d learn to love the sun.

like a handprint on my heart by the_one_that_fell*

“Dude, we’ve got an over-competitive golf dad, a badass art freak, a pre-med lax bro on the verge of a breakdown, a chronically naked rugby player, a beat-boxing giant, and an itty-bitty, baking figure skater - there’s no way we came together accidentally. This wasfate.”

“Or it’s the normal progression of human beings making friends. Chill out, bro.”

(Or, the one where no one plays hockey, but it still manages to bring them all together.)

the messes of men by decinq (4 part series)

His first year in the NHL isn't easy, but Jack has spent his entire life playing through the hurt.

My Words on Your Skin by There_Once_Was_A_Girl (no. 1 in a 6 part series of standalones)*

Jack and Bitty have a unique soul connection, they can write back and forth to each other by writing on their own skin. They know each other long before they've ever met. But when Jack overdoses Bitty thinks he's lost the love of his life forever.

Your Fake Name is Good Enough by DoubleNegative

Eventually Jack came back to himself, as he always did, shaky and exhausted but alive, and Shitty wrapped up his rambling story. “Anyway, man, that’s why if you ever have kids you shouldn’t make bets with your hedge fund buddies on their names. You’ll end up with a son named Barnaby Sylvester Knight, and trust me, that is no way to start a father-son relationship.”

“That’s a pretty awful name,” Jack whispered. “Thanks, man.”

Shitty just squeezed him tighter and didn’t protest at all when Jack finally drifted off, drooling a little on his pillow.

you’ve got my number by ambrosius*

It’s not as if Jack was totally inept when it came to technology. He could handle his Tweeter (Tweety? Twits? Twitter? Did it really matter?) just fine and if he’s honest, he much preferred texting to calling most days. So when he gets added to a group chat full of strangers, well, he’s pretty sure he can handle whatever comes next.

Graduation Day by IBoatedHere

It takes Jack 50 days to finally see what's been right in front of him for the past two years.

Will Wonders Never Cease by PorcupineGirl*

Eric has landed his dream job: social media manager for the Providence Falconers! Not only does he get paid to tweet, for an NHL team at that, but it’s a job where he’ll be able to make good use of his magic - when nobody’s looking, of course. Everyone on the Falconers is a joy to work with… with the notable exception of Jack Zimmermann. Eric understands that Jack doesn’t like social media, but he could certainly be a little more polite about it.

Luckily, Eric has support from his Samwell buddies, as well as his best friend - a man whose face he’s never seen, and whose name he doesn’t know. They met on an online forum where witches can gather anonymously, since it isn’t safe for them to advertise their existence in a world where magic isn’t trusted. They’ve been friends for years now, but Eric is only just starting to realize that he might have deeper feelings for someone he can never meet face-to-face.

i didn't know i was lonely til i saw your face by dharmainitiative*

Still rebounding from a breakup, Derek Nurse moves into a loft in downtown LA and attempts to navigate living with five former college hockey players.

Or, a New Girl AU.

if you're going through hell (keep going) by onawingandaswear*

Eighteen years ago, Samwell suffered the tragic loss of one of their most promising young athletes. Ever since rumors have circulated that the school is haunted by the ghost of Eric Bittle. At least, that’s the only way anyone can seem to explain why the locker rooms smell like freshly baked apple pie on game days instead of the usual, omnipresent hockey funk.

Now in the twilight of his career, Jack Zimmermann is facing his own mortality and the last item on his bucket list?

Return to Samwell and disprove the rumor that his long-dead boyfriend is haunting Faber Memorial Rink.

And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here? by RabbitRunnah

Bitty goes to bed after his "lucky shot" having made a decision. When he wakes up he ... is not where he expected to be. He has a career, and a baby, and -- this is the biggest surprise of all -- a husband who looks a lot like Jack Zimmermann.

And you may say to yourself, my god, what have I done? by RabbitRunnah

The last thing Jack Zimmermann remembers saying to Eric Bittle is "lucky shot." That doesn’t explain, at all, why he just woke up in Bittle’s bed.

A companion piece -- this time it's Jack's turn to get a peek at his future -- to And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?

Inertia by foryouandbits

At the age of seven, Eric Bittle is tackled so hard in peewee football, it feels as though he's been knocked into another dimension. At the encouragement of his father, he avoids contact sports until he receives a scholarship to play hockey at Samwell University. The result is the same: every check on the ice hurts so much that Eric hallucinates another world. Eric spends the rest of his freshman year attempting to prove himself to his captain and his coaches. He questions his worth, his talent, and his sanity, and in his search for answers, he uncovers long-hidden secrets that change everything he has ever known.

Merry Christmas, I'm Yours by RabbitRunnah

It takes Jack only a couple months after graduation to realize he's in love with Bitty.

It takes him almost 20 years to actually do something about it.

(Or, five Christmases Jack and Bitty spend together.)

right as things grow by wit

Loving and longing, one thousand miles apart: the summer of 2015, in which Jack realizes what he wants just in time for it to get on a plane and leave for Georgia.