recs and links

Two months ago, Emperor Palpatine died, and his presumed heir passed the galaxy off to the newly-elected senator from Alderaan. She finds her second-in-command in the strangest of places. Vader and his new Empress learn a little bit about each other while discussing interior decorating for the Imperial Palace.

Zoya, navigating her losses and the country she wants to build, Nikolai by her side. really lovely post-Rule of Wolves Nikolai/Zoya.

After Dick loses all his personal memorabilia in the apartment explosion/fire at Haly's, Tim gives him some of it back. Oh heart.

Carol finds Natasha and brings her home. Quiet, lovely, post-Endgame fix-it.

Neal paints a miniature portrait, of Elizabeth, for Peter. This is really warm and lovely, suffused with the delight of loving and being loved in return.

Rebecca and Keeley have a girls' night. Shit gets a little real (but remains fabulous). ♥♥♥ I love their friendship so much and it shines in this little gem of a story.

Scott is about to promise Cassie the world, but Hope is still shaking her head and Luis is mouthing no, and with this A+ parenting team in his pocket, he chews his words thoughtfully instead. Or, the Ant-Fam is having some post-Snap growing pains. Sweet and funny.

Success turns to dread, but she's weathered that storm before. All Leia has to do is rescue some Jedi, find a clone army, stick it to Palpatine a few more times, and... save the galaxy. From her embarrassing teenage father. Before he loses his mind. She can do this. She can. Shmi will help. Padmé too. Probably. Sequel to "Like Fire in Our Bones" (previously recced). Excellent and compelling read with more of Leia's adventures in trying to stop the Empire from happening, her father from falling, and Padme from dying.

Batman doesn't make it to the warehouse in time. Red Hood does. Red Hood!Jason from the comics rescues YJ!Robin!Jason from the Joker. I would read a million more words of this.

Jason had made a number of jokes about his death before. Sometimes, as a way to cope and sometimes, purely because he found them genuinely funny. They had never garnered quite that reaction before, though. Also, someone apparently wanted to murder him again so, you know, fun times. Or: five times Jason made a death joke and one time someone else did it for him. I enjoyed this.

Jim Gordon recognizes a catatonic Jason on the street and brings him home. Oh my heart.

Adam's perspective throughout Mister Impossible, as his worry reaches a fever pitch, and the two versions of himself begin to converge. this is a really great Adam voice and also kind of a necessary POV that's missing from the book.

Jason's having panic attacks, he misses his family and he wants to go home. It's that simple. But Jason's never been good at making things easy for himself. Aw, Jason.

Tim, Dick, Damian, and Jason get stuck in the elevator at Wayne Tower. Hilarity ensues.

Gotham's favorite version of Bruce Wayne isn’t the “Brucie Wayne” of the tabloids. It’s their TheBruceWayne, insta sensation, well known for his insta snaps of his daily life and positive vibes. OR Bruce tries out insta after reading a self-help book. He still maintains that the rest of Gotham is weird about it. Aw, Bruce.

In the aftermath of a Justice League body swap incident, Clark is concerned about Bruce's well-being. Bruce is not thrilled about this. Clark is trying to be a good friend and eventually, Bruce lets him. Oh heart.

Din starts to figure out what the Darksaber means going forward, and Luke is there to help.

Dick finds himself in an alternate universe where he and Bruce are evil, and has to figure out how to fight them and find his way back home.

Long, fun AU where Zuko ends up with the Southern Water Tribe fleet mid-season 1 and ends up being adopted by Hakoda. No, really.

5 times the Batkids bonded with Damian. Oh heart.

Police Officer Grayson kills the Joker while on duty. I liked this a lot.

Before the fall of the Soviet Union, the Winter Soldier was sent to the American arm of Hydra - only there was a malfunction in the cryo-unit that meant it couldn't be opened, and it was left, powered but abandoned, in an underground base. 25 years later, the Avengers find it. I enjoyed this AU of how Steve gets Bucky back.

Another really fun vid of the Crows being badass.

"I'm that knife in your boot, girl / I'm your number two man in a fight." Fun vid of the Crows being badass.

How Nikolai became Sturmhond.

This is a long, thoughtful, heartbreaking (and mending) story dealing with the fallout of Bruce's treatment of Jason (and Tim and Dick and Damian) during rebirth, including the best use of "Ric" Grayson I've seen.

In which Inej tries to get the best of Kaz. Her feelings get the best of her instead, whoops. Inej keeps trying to sneak up on Kaz without him catching her. This is exactly how it happens.

Kaz and Inej give each other gifts, small and large. Oh heart.

Kaz Brekker has spent years building walls between himself and others. He begins to tear them down the same way he does everything else. Brick by brick. Oh Kaz. This is really good.

Both Kaz and Inej have been known by many names throughout their lives--Dirtyhands, the Wraith, Bastard of the Barrel, Lynx. Some are more preferable than others. But there are some names that simply are not meant to fit. Neither Kaz nor Inej ever carry the name “Mother” or “Father,” but they do their fair share of parenting anyway. Oh heart.