recs and links

“People are saying I’m fake?” Could they really not compare his recent photos to the newsreels and article photos and his films from the war? “They’re saying I was never found and I’m just…some guy wearing a Cap uniform?” Steve discovers modern day conspiracy theories about Captain America. Oh Steve.

To keep Han out of an alien prison, Luke and Leia have to pretend to be married to him. This is only the beginning of their problems. Aw, this is a lot of fun.

In which Dick and Bruce catch up in the kitchen sometime after episode 11, "Not It," Dick peppers his speech with condiment-related puns, and Bruce is sort of amazed by his life sometimes.

The Red Hood didn't have anything urgent to do after breaking into Titans Tower to fight the new Robin. Winning the fight was easy. Kidnapping Robin was easy. What to do next was more of a problem. Jason has second thoughts about kidnapping Robin. Bruce just wants his sons home safe.

Perhaps Petunia Evans had looked at Vernon Dursley as a rebellion, perhaps as an escape. Either way, it hadn’t been Petunia’s best moment, and now she stood on her little sister’s doorstep with nothing but bad news and a baby. I enjoyed this AU where Petunia breaks up with Vernon and reconciles with Lily (and magic).

Really fun and excellently edited Crows vid.

Dick does not like filling in as Batman when Bruce is in space again. Damian wants to be taken seriously and resents the implication that he should be cheerful as Robin. So they switch. Adorable!

Red Hood doesn't know that Stephanie Brown is the new Robin. Tim Drake doesn't know anything about Red Hood or why he wants to fight Robin. All Tim knows is that a man in a red helmet just broke into his house. Jason needs to figure out what's going on, Tim needs a dad, and Stephanie needs to figure out just how long she's going to last as Robin.

Tim Drake knows that Batman needs a Robin. When Bruce and Dick aren't interested in what he has to say, Tim makes his way to the cemetery to say a few words to the boy he's trying to replace. Tim has the chance to say far more than he expected when Jason digs himself out of his grave that night. Tim does his best to get Jason home to Bruce. The League of Assassins finds them first. I enjoyed this a lot!

Damian gets hit with some kind of truth serum and Tim helps him out. This felt really true to both of them and I enjoyed it.

Batman needs a Robin and Batman has a Robin. Tim is just extraneous now, vestigial. He’s a bandage over a healed wound. He doesn’t know what he’s hanging on to. Or: Tim didn’t expect his exit strategy from the Batfamily to involve quite so much bonding time with Damian over Wayne Enterprises bureaucracy. Oh Tim.

Upon realizing any gifts he or his sons receive for Christmas would be more than superfluous, Bruce decides that all the presents exchanged this year will be handmade and from the heart. It goes about as well as you'd expect. Hilarious!

Damian finds a litter and decides to take care of the orphans. It's not like Wayne Manor hasn't seen its share of those. ADORABLE.

Since leaving Henrietta after high school, Gansey and Blue have been bouncing around the world looking for a place that fits. After more than ten years, they are almost ready to make some decisions, but first they decide to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail together. Along the way, Gansey revisits memories of the childhood that turned him into a lover of forests, mysteries, and traveling the world. Meanwhile, Ronan and Adam are creating their own family back at the Barns. Thoughtful and wistful look at Gansey as he and Blue make their way back home.

Another AU branching off "My Sun Sets to Rise Again" (previously recced), where Sirius goes back to 1994, clears his name, and takes Harry away from the Dursleys. Long, inventive and engrossing read.

Two years after the end of Developmental Milestones, Gotham is starting to look like a brighter city. But old villains and old problems come back to haunt them and the Wayne family starts to wonder if anything can really change for good. Long, engrossing entry in the Cor et Cerebrum series.

After the Blue Spirit frees the Avatar from the Pohuai Stronghold, Admiral Zhao captures Prince Zuko under suspicion of treason. Isolated from his Uncle and his crew, Zuko has only one ally: the chatty prisoner one cell over. Sokka breaks Zuko out of prison and immediate starts planning to make friends with him in order to end the war. This is a lot of fun.

He knows he's Bucky Barnes. He knows he's dangerous. The rest of it's going to take some time to figure out. Aw, heart.

“Appendicitis,” Tim breathed in disbelief. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Tim - and his internal organs - just can't catch a break. Oh Tim.

The thing about never really being wanted anywhere is that Steph's gotten pretty good at getting people to begrudgingly bond with her via sheer force of will. Dick Grayson, with that sad little downturn at the edge of his smile, is no match for Steph's friend-ification beam. Oh heart.

Two nights dealing with the aftermath of fear toxin, or, Dick and Jason, trying to be there for each other with food and storytelling. Sequel to "Shelter" (previously recced) with Dick and Jason building on the trust and friendship that began in that story.

Everyone knows Wayne Manor is haunted--that's why the last several sales fell through. Selina doesn't care; she's got plans. I enjoyed this.

Alfred didn’t mean to raise a costumed vigilante. Excellent look at Batman's origins from Alfred's POV.

Following a couple of Very Bad Weeks™ (which may or may not have involved being kidnapped and mildly tortured), Jason decides the best way to cheer himself up is to break into the Manor for a 3 a.m. snack. Turns out he isn’t the only one awake. Siblings!

Luke gets taken by Inquisitors at 10, which makes for a very different trajectory for him. Long, engrossing read.

All Damian wanted was to spend the day alone with his father. Then Drake had to go and ruin everything by getting himself kidnapped ... I enjoyed this.

THE MOON LANDING IS REAL NOW: STEVE ROGERS IN SPACE, PROTECTING PLANET EARTH! And maybe finding love with a buxom space babe?? “Jesus Christ,” Sam mutters. “This Steve on the moon conspiracy is getting out of control.” Except it turns out that it might not just be baseless conspiracy theory fodder for the tabloids. Not when Natasha has returned, alive and well, and certain that Steve, their Steve, will come back home too, if he hasn't become totally lost in the vastness of spacetime. Ha! I enjoyed this a lot.

There are few rituals among the girls of the Red Room, and fewer still that retain some innocence, but this is one of them. The Widows play with each others’ hair, combing and curling and brushing and braiding. It’s a practical enough pastime that the handlers have never cracked down on it, though they have looked askance whenever the Widows get too creative with their makeshift hairdressing. Five times someone braids Yelena's hair, and one time she braids someone else's. I'm not crying, you're crying.

Anakin, having defected from the Empire after being its most notorious monster for years, questions whether he can ever truly be anything other than a Sith. Ahsoka, after finding her old master again, nearly being killed by him, and then being saved by him, questions what it means to be a Jedi or not to be one. And the Empire continues its path of destruction across the galaxy even without Darth Vader to lead it. I enjoyed this a lot. (It probably helps to read the other stories in the series, previously recced.)

When Zuko frees Appa from the Dai Li, he’s forced to flee Ba Sing Se along with Sokka. Separated from Iroh and the Gaang, the two boys end up camping together while waiting for the dust to settle. The catch? Zuko is still disguised as the Blue Spirit, and Sokka wants to be his friend. Sokka's life-changing road trip with Zuko happens a little earlier than canon. I enjoyed this a lot.