deadfinch | driveby recs, february 2023

some bite-sized (and one not-so-bite-sized) recs from candyheartsex:

docile, unkind, fraught
T, The Locked Tomb, Harrow/Ianthe, 2k
By the time you returned to Ianthe’s room from another practice session for Ortus the First’s ill-advised murder, it was late, or the Mithraeum’s moorless definition of late.

Or: Ianthe invents intricate rituals to touch Harrow. Harrow has a twisty time about it.

i love when TLT works go the extra mile to pastiche muir’s style, and this, i think, is a very successful example of that. ianthe is just the right combination of terrifying and pathetic and sensual and gooey, too.

Embrace
T, Annihilation, Lena/Ventress, <1k
The final encounter of Lena and Dr. Ventress goes a little differently.

beautiful, romantic, transcendental body horror. lovely language.

shut up and dance
M, Star Trek, Seven/B’Elanna, <1k
“B’Elanna says that sometimes, you just have to go with your gut. So Seven goes with her gut the first time they kiss.”

Seven and B’Elanna embark on a whole new stage of their relationship.

a little peak into how b7 might happen post-series. such nicely-rendered character voices in so few words. i’d love to see more of this ‘verse, but i'll have to be content with what i've been given!

Rewarding Her
NR, Sailor Moon, Usagi/Haruka, <1k
"Is this why you wanna hang out, kitten? To avoid your study group?"

haruka is smooth and usagi is adorable and everything about the interaction is just so very them.

The first time of many to come
G, Star Trek, Janeway & Tuvok, <1k
It was an irrefutable fact that humans were a tactile species, and after many years of working alongside them, Tuvok was more aware of it than he personally cared to be.

i love tuvok's thoughtfulness, and his willingness to try to reach out to janeway in a way that's unfamiliar for his species speaks, i think, to the sort of vulcan who would choose to become a starfleet officer.

say whatever we think actions are
T, The Good Place, Janet & the humans, 1k
Good Place Reboot #185, from Janet's POV: Tahani watched the paddle of platypuses circle one of the tables. “Janet, can you help rescue my guests? This is such a fiasco. It's the surprise party I organized for Tom Hiddleston’s cat in 2014 all over again.”

good janet characterization & good humor. i love when a sitcom fic manages to be funny in the same way that the show is.

糸吉 / t i e
G, Hunter X Hunter, Alluka & Killua, Killua & Illumi, art
Braiding a sibling’s hair — how wholesome and normal!

this artist has such a soft, round, comforting style, with excellent use of color.

towery city amongst the stars
T, The Locked Tomb, John-centric, 7k
On the third day, God raised the Mithraeum from the waters. This made a swarm of ghosts very angry, and the Eighth Saint privately regarded it as a very bad move, but she kept quiet about it.

Or: John tries to keep his looming mid-dismyriad crisis at bay, with varying results. Featuring awkward father-daughter bonding and Cohort gossip; Sarpedon is also there.

i'm running out of steam on commentary, but know i put this one last because it's my favorite of the bunch, and i wanted to take full advantage of final-position bias. every character's pov on john feels IC. i'm simultaneously like - god, i hate this guy, but i'm so charmed by him, which is nail-on-the-head for him, i think. (and that gideon pov at the end! my heart!)