Ilentari’s current fic recs 🎉
Just some fics I’ve read recently that I’ve enjoyed and found interesting and think deserve more love.
Nothing More Compelling by emjam
“It don't line up the exact same, but my mama told me stories.” Fiddleford caged himself with his arms, looking away. “About Blue Ridge travellers ran off by ghostly black dogs with big red eyes. In some stories, the dog's a protector. But in others, it's an omen.”
A tale Ford had dismissed as a child, convinced that the varied and vague reports indicated this particular oddity was only fictional. Perhaps his child self had been hasty. He tilted his head. “An omen of?”
Fiddleford uncurled himself and looked Ford in the eye. “Death.”
(Ford Pines is intrigued by a new anomaly.
Stan Pines, as the unwitting new anomaly, is having a bad time.)
Red Light Go, Green Light Stop by iguana8llama
He did it. Stanley tricked the demon to his end and now it's time to face the music himself...
Or: Stanley gets shipped back to a pivotal moment in his life and has a chance to rebuild bridges and live a life once thought lost forever.
Stan^4 by Lost_in_Thoughtless
The Sea Grunks are at it again, this time accidentally disturbing an unusual rift left by Time Baby's ironically untimely demise.
Now they're in the 80s, and ready to protect the younger version of their twin... hey who are those kids.
(A frankly insane Twins in Time AU where each Stan gets paired with their Child and 80s Brother variants, and their own Teenage variant - resulting in 4 pairs of twins roaming the most dangerous time of the 80s)
break no more by FluffyAngstWriter
Ford's head snapped up, eyes narrowing. The phone? Who on earth would be calling him at this hour? Certainly not any of his professors. One of his colleagues? More likely, but he had told them repeatedly not to call him late at night.
The man made his way over to the landline, glaring for a brief moment and imagining letting it ring–
–But who knew how long they would try to call him for. He wasn't keen on adding a headache to everything.
This had better be important.
With a long-suffering sigh, he picked up the phone, "Hello? Stanford Pines speaking."
Hello, this is Head Nurse Vandermeer from Henry County Hospital, calling regarding a John Doe patient currently held in the ICU...
And Ford's world, so simple, tipped on its axis.
or: Ford gets a call regarding Stanley's failing health in the hospital. It all goes downhill from there.
The AXOLOTL’s Blessing by BlackFoy
Bill Cipher had been a human for over thirty years. Finding out that the prophecy of the zodiacs, when completed, would turn him into a weak, defenseless human had been the shock of the century, but now that he had lived life as a human… he wouldn’t have it any other way. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a choice, as time traveling randomly into the past robbed him of said human body. Oh well, guess he had about thirty years to kill! Time to wrangle his humans into some form of healthy habits!
closed doors and broken bottles by carpetchewer
it doesn't take much for a deal to go wrong, out in the multiverse, and, despite going through the portal together six years ago, stan and ford pines still run into trouble from time to time--especially because of all the baggage they're carrying.
but this trade is essential. will their own shortsightedness cost them crucial, life-changing technology?
cws: ptsd, derealization, guns/violence, unhealthy codependency, murder, and panic attacks
my take on the blind faith au by @pinesinthewoods.
a business transaction by anonymous
After spending the last two days rereading the same paragraph, Ford decides to look for chemical assistance in staying awake long enough to complete his thesis.
Meanwhile, Stan’s life since he was thrown out on the streets hasn’t exactly gone great. But things are looking up now that Stan is finally making it as a small time drug dealer selling to college students with too much spending money on their hands.
Or: The Stan twins' reunion goes down at a drug deal.
If I should try, would you catch me? by ArtistRedFox
Stan's footsteps crunch in the dead leaves. The closer he walks to the edge, the less leaves there are, until he stands only on green grass and earth. He leans forward, peering over the edge. When the height barely even makes him dizzy, he moves even closer. The wind brushes his hair back, running cold fingers over his jaw. The injuries still ache, so the coolness is welcome. The whole of Gravity Falls is spread out below him.
How was the Fall? by longthroes
During his time in the portal, Ford woke up on a bed of golden flowers at the bottom of a mountain.
What is this, some kind of under tale?
Would it be autocannibalism to eat your twin brother? by ArtistRedFox
What if the House of Leaves loved you. What if it didn't want to let you go. What if it was lonely, so hungry for companionship that it refused to let you find an exit?
What if it was your twin brother?
The Negotiator by Lost_in_Thoughtless
Dejected, Stan leaves Ford's house - prepared to bury his dumb journal somewhere on the other side of the world. That is, until, a new player introduces himself to the game - one who speaks a language Stan understands well.
Stan wants to be a twin again - and if the portal is the only thing getting in the way, then surely that can be easily fixed. Plus, the offer of godhood is a pretty cool perk to round that off with.
Why should he care about the world? It's never cared about him or his brother in turn.