recs and links

Reverse Robins set while Bruce is lost in the timestream and Damian has taken on the cowl. While destroying the Court of Owls, he finds a child Talon and takes him home.

Princess Shuri wants to see if there are any differences between Wakandan magic and Newtonian. The Folly is happy to oblige her. The crossover I didn't even know I needed! This is wonderful!

It is strange, she thinks, as they return home, relieving the babysitter and ensuring none of the safe boxes have been found or tampered with. All her life, Melina has been taught the essential value of precision. Lack of precision meant misunderstanding; misunderstandings created mistakes; mistakes lead to failure. Yet here they are, a widow and the Red Guardian, capable of laughing at each other, at themselves to an extent, over one such instance; a misunderstanding that has led not to failure, but to clarification. Camaraderie, even. “Good night. Try to resist murdering me in my sleep,” Alexei says to her before turning out the light. A joke, incredibly enough. "I would never." She rolls her eyes, but not before she drops a mocking little kiss on his forehead, smiles sweetly. “Easier to poison your coffee, my darling.” The three years Melina spends with Alexei, Natasha, and Yelena. This is heartbreaking and beautifully done.

SHIELD has fallen and the Winter Soldier is in the wind, and far more formidable than anybody thought. Not only is he staying hidden from all the world’s intelligence agencies (how), but he’s doing so while modeling for fashion magazines (what), posting videos about himself (why), gaining an internet following that absolutely includes Clint (and to his regret, Sam), and punching a whole lot of Nazis (in the face. with bullets). Steve is absolutely supportive, much to everyone else’s concern. HILARIOUS.

Hot on the trail of Deadshot threatening mayhem in Japan, Dick and Damian find themselves going undercover as a father-son duo on House Hunters International. Deadshot won't be the only source of chaos in Tokyo this summer, and Dick's only a little apologetic. This is super adorable.

everyone in the Barrel assumes Kaz is having sex with Inej and he's not sure how exactly he feels about that. This is sweet and hot.

the town of Lij is endlessly fascinated with the mysterious Mr. and Mrs. Rietveld each and every time they visit. I really enjoyed this outsider POV on Kaz and Inej's relationship, told from the POVs of the townspeople of Lij, where Kaz was born.

five times someone realizes that Kaz has ever deepening feelings for Inej, and the one time he realizes it for himself. Oh Kaz, you're not as inscrutable as you think.

Generally, thieves of their caliber avoid Gotham. There are always exceptions that prove the rule, however. (Or: five times that a member of Leverage met a member of the Batfamily, and one time that they teamed up.) Ah, the best kind of crossover, where everyone gets to be competent and amazing. I would happily read a million more words of this.

Moments before the monthly family brunch, Bruce Wayne gets taken down and out by some fear toxin baked into bread. Alfred and all four prodigal sons work to pull him out of his hallucination, even as they heavily feature in Bruce's worst nightmare. It comes down to a choice, and the realisation that brunch might actually be cursed. Oh my gosh this is hilarious and also heartfelt.

Remus Lupin's mission with the werewolves goes wrong, but it provides him with an opportunity he would never have otherwise. Remus kills Voldemort. Here's what happens next... Oh Remus.

A rescued Robin and the Team head back to the Watchtower. Sequel to "not as I am but as I am" (previously recced), in which comics!Jason begins figuring out the differences in the animated YJ universe.

On a mission with Jason to deal with pirates in the Caribbean, Bruce finds himself ejected overboard and accidentally lost at sea. Being a castaway gives Bruce ample time to indulge in self-discovery and survivorman-ing, as Jason boats across Pit-green waters in search of this dumb, fine man. Or, things go incredibly wrong for Bruce and Jason while out at sea, but with help from a dedicated boat captain, The Fellowship Of The Rings, and banana-leaf-pants, they're actually unstoppable. This is sweet and funny and highly adorable.

Ahsoka gets an offer from a Force ghost that she can't refuse, and travels back in time to before the Clone Wars to help Anakin avert his terrible future. This is a lot of fun.

Stephanie Brown arrives at Wayne Manor to be governess to Bruce Wayne’s young son, Damian. Once there, she begins to suspect the manor is a place shrouded in darkness and secrets, where the shadows seem to follow her, where doors lock mysteriously and questions go unanswered. And most dreadfully of all, her own secrets are just as likely to catch up to her and bring her to ruin. Putting the traditional Gothic in Gotham! I enjoyed this a lot.

What if, when Talia offered for Damian to join her again, he accepted? Oh Damian. Oh Dick.

Zoya finds her life with Nikolai to be equal parts triumph and tragedy. Triumph that it should happen at all, and tragedy that it should come to an end.

Force Ghost Obi-Wan gets to know Leia.

After Ohio, the not-choices just kept coming. It was not her choice to return the girls. Not her choice to become Dreykov’s personal Widow, his scientist, his strategist, the architect of his new regime. Not her choice to never see Yelena again, to hear of her only in mission reports and be kept far, far away from the girl who’d thought her her real mother. Not her choice to make the cut on Natasha’s insides—“You used to care about her once, da? I think you did. Look at her, she is mine now. She has always been mine, just like you. My girls. Do you want to know how I know? Do you want to know if I do to her the same things I did to you?” Except they are choices. She knows from the faces that haunt her dreams, the pacing at night, the vodka in the freezer, the hours she spends in the weapons cache with the doors locked, assembling and disassembling and assembling her sniper rifle again and again as the world closes in around her. Count the ceiling tiles. Just breathe. They are choices, and Melina keeps making them. Excellent look at Melina.

Batman decides to recruit some backup for work on a trafficking ring based in Havana, Cuba. He hadn't expected the case to be anything out of the ordinary, and he certainly hadn't expected Jason of all people volunteering to come help, but he learns that it's probably fair to say that we're all living in interesting times right now. Or, Through costumed vigilanteism, Hawaiian shirts, and corned beef dinners, Jason and Bruce rebuild a relationship a day at the beach at a time. This is both hilarious and heartfelt. I enjoyed it a lot.

Bruce and Dick take to the steppes and ride across Inner Mongolia, bringing justice, mare's milk, and help in their wake. I enjoyed this A LOT.

Dick was forced into becoming a host for an entity of unknown strength, unknown motive, and unknown reach. The only thing he did know? It needed him alive. This was a compelling read, and it does a great job with the Dick & Donna friendship.

Damian gets de-aged. This is fine. The real problems arise after he turns back into an eleven-year-old. Oh my heart. #we were the best richard

Five times Bruce brings Dick to Watchtower during his time as Robin, and one time Dick brings Damian. Oh heart.

This isn't a songvid, but more like a highlight reel of s1 - I teared up a couple of times.

This is a long, brilliant, emotional gutpunch of a story where Jason gets whammied by a spell that makes everyone start to forget him and the Batfamily has to work together to reverse it. Really spectacular and highly recommended if you have ever loved Robin in any incarnation (but especially Jason and Dick). I sobbed my face off several times. #being robin gives him magic

This is an amazingly hilarious modern, no-magic AU where James texts Lily but neither of them know who the other one is and they strike up an adorable friendship and get to know each other while also being too dumbstruck by each other to interact in person.

There’s no be-all-end-all way to carry proof of vaccination on your phone. We make sense of how different options approach your privacy, ensure your security and try to spot counterfeits.

Jason, newly returned to Gotham as the Red Hood, keeps accidentally helping out the Bats. It's really frustrating. Oh Jay.

The whispers started in Ketterdam almost overnight, of a ghost ship with a vengeful streak. They said she was made of fog, that she sunk her misty fingers into their ships and pulled them below the surface before anyone could even scream. Kaz knew that particular rumor wasn’t true, however. Inej would never let slaves die. - Inej's first year at sea. Everyone spends a lot of time pining. I enjoyed this a lot! #otp: we never stop fighting