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Week 4 Fic Rec Part 2: Heated Rivalry

💖 I may be bad (but I'm perfectly good at it) by gurlsrool [Ilya/Shane, M, 5k] — The characterization of Shane is so wonderful, especially through the point of view of several other characters. The author writes him so incredibly well, it’s excellent.

5 times someone's shocked to learn that Shane's a little freaky, +1 time someone isn't

💖 flushed by @probablily [Ilya/Shane, E, 1k] — Oh my god oh my god oh my god 🥵. The author always writes them well, but something about this particular fic just got me. Also! Shane is 100% and affectionate drunk (which, with Ilya translates to handsy) and you can’t change my mind!!

A drunk, handsy Shane chases his release on Ilya's lap.

💖 Slip of the Tongue by @opal-apparition [Ilya/Shane, E, 4k] — 100% Shane and Ilya would discover they’re into this on accident (or rather realize they’d already built the vague shape of this) and then run with it! The author has them dead to rights on that front, and their characterization overall is so fucking good!!

Shane accidentally calls Ilya Dad and realizes he might have a daddy kink

Week 4 Fic Recs Part 1: 9-1-1

🤍 call you home by ashavahishta [Buck/Eddie, G, 6k] — I really really really love this! The outsider POV is really well done, the characterizations are amazing, and the fic is just so sweet!!!

"Eddie Diaz drinks his 'I fucking love my husband' juice for 6,000 words." OR "5 Times Eddie Told The Firefam About Buck and 1 Time They Actually Met Him".

🤍 What's Your Love Language? by @songbvrd [Buck/Eddie, E, 18k] — This fic is so well written and the pacing is perfect and the characterizations and dialogue are all spot-on. Genuinely one of the best buddie fics I’ve ever read, simply because the focus is just on them and how much they love each other, regardless of what form it comes in (the beautiful writing style certainly helps as well).

After finding out that Eddie doesn't know what his love language is, Buck sets about finding out for him. He begins a five week experiment, one for each love language, to figure out which will make Eddie feel the most loved.

🤍 Closer (series) by EiraLloyd [Buck/Eddie, T, 190k, 7 works] — oh my GOD!!!! The writing style for this is gorgeous and engaging, the characterizations are perfect, and it’s the perfect blend of AU and regular good ole fashioned canon divergence. Also it’s a baseball player au, which, upon further reflection of my bookmarks, is an au type I have accidentally stumbled upon and absolutely adored in three completely different fandoms of mine. I genuinely cannot recommend this series enough!

Eddie Diaz is a baseball player for the L.A. Dodgers. Evan Buckley is an LAFD firefighter at the 118. For better or worse, they're stuck with each other.

🤍 The Suffering of Maddie Han by @songbvrd [Buck/Eddie, T, 8k] — This is funny and sweet and so perfectly in character that it’s a little insane. The writing style is so fucking good—descriptive and evocative and engaging and fantastic—and the author really nailed Maddie’s POV.

Maddie is trying to help her brother and his boyfriend keep their relationship quiet; they are torturing her about it.

🤍 I Would've Read Your Love Letters Every Single Night by @this-is-moony-lovegood [Buck/Eddie, T, 11k] — Excellent writing, amazing characterization, and the dialogue (and the letters!) are so on brand that I can practically hear them!

When Buck is in the hospital for a small injury, Eddie swings by the loft to pick up some of his things so that he and Chris can supervise him during his recommended concussion watch. While packing a bag, Eddie stumbles across a series of letters addressed to him that Buck never meant to send. And Eddie…. Once he starts reading, he can’t stop.

🤍 There's No Need To Ask Directions by @tanktopdiaz [Buck/Eddie, E, 21k] — Jesus fucking christ. The author writes them well as FUCK. Like the characterizations are so incredible and the dynamic works so so well and I may be chasing the high of reading this forever because how am I ever going to find anything else that hits as perfectly as this does?? Genuinely I don’t know. Devastatingly good fic!!

Eddie forgets to disable auto-pay on rent for South Bedford after Buck moves in. They’re as normal about it as you can expect.

🤍 The Christopher Diaz Reddit Takeover. by dylaesthetics [Buck/Eddie, M, 7k] — This made me LAUGH, holy shit! It was so well written and just so fucking funny! The characterization is great, and the format cracks me up!

Christopher takes out his frustrations with Buck and Eddie on Reddit.

🤍 like a diamond (like a song) by SafelyCapricious [Buck/Eddie, M, 5k] — Oh my god this is such a cool au!! I love magical realism! And the characterizations are fucking perfect!

Evan Buckley doesn’t smell like anything and it’s driving Eddie insane. There’s an itch under his skin that says it’s wrong — which is weird since he’s hardly the only person that Eddie’s ever met that’s using a block.

🤍 Mr. and Mr. Diaz by @beforejuko [Buck/Eddie, G, 12k] — The characterization is fucking flawless and the concept is so fucking funny and so well done! I enjoyed this so much!!

Buck and Eddie get married the night of Chimney's bachelor party. Buck and Eddie do not know they got married the night of Chimney's birthday party. At least, they don't until months later, when Chris' new school asks Eddie for documentation of his spouse: one Mr. Buck Diaz.

🤍 What If I Fall In Love Backwards? by RedRidingStiles [Buck/Eddie, M, 9k] — This is so well written and so fucking funny! Idiots to lovers, indeed 🫶

Five Times Buck and Eddie saved each other by pretending to be together and the one time Christopher helps

🤍 Pauses, then says, "You're my best friend." by @this-is-moony-lovegood [Buck & Chris, Buck/Eddie, T, 7k] — The author has such a descriptive and grounded writing style, and it brings everyone to life in such a gorgeous way. And Buck and Chris’s relationship is everything to me and they write them so fucking well here.

When Buck walks in on Chris kissing his best friend, Aiden, Buck and Chris settle in for an overdue conversation about love, family, and being brave.

Week 3 Fic Recs Part 2: 9-1-1

❤️‍🔥 wreck my plans (that’s my man) by @anchrblack [Buck/Eddie, E, 34k] — I apparently have a thing for text fics this week (see my recs for The Pitt from this week to see the extent of the format rabbit hole I fell in) and genuinely this fic is kind of why & the one that kicked it off. It’s so fun, and it captures the truly nuclear levels of pining that Buck and Eddie have got going on. I love how much story they can tell in texts, and how much the gaps between texts and unspoken subtext and time between communication is just as much a part of the narrative. They use the negative space of the format (implied non-texting conversations and the like) incredibly well without it feeling awkward. It’s just such a good story from a format perspective AND from a Buck/Eddie perspective. I enjoyed the hell out of it :)

being in love with your best friend is quite often an embarrassing affair, especially when your entire (extended) family is there to witness it.  or, the texting fic with an ungodly number of groupchats & shenanigans

❤️‍🔥 a guy like you should wear a warning by @livesincerely [Buck/Eddie, E, 14k] — The author writes them perfectly!! Their characterization is literally so SO good, and the way they write Buck especially is perfect! (And the smut… my god 🥵)

Eddie’s rut leave gets postponed last minute, but he says he’s fine to get through one more shift. Frankly, Buck’s more concerned about surviving Eddie. (Part of a series of stand alone fics)

❤️‍🔥 this pounding in my heart just won't die by @livesincerely [Buck/Eddie, E, 6k] — As I said in my comment on the fic: “Oh hot damn!! 🥵” Like the other stand-alone fics in this series, the author writes them extremely well, and it’s such a good read.

Buck gets dosed with inducers while on shift. Eddie is his port in the storm. But, Buck has trouble believing he can have the things he wants. (Part of a series of stand alone fics)

❤️‍🔥 i think he knows by @livesincerely [Buck/Eddie, G, 630] — Something about the simplicity of this is so endearing and so incredibly correct. It’s just.. them.

"Oh," Buck says quietly, soft and startled. Which is fair enough, given that Eddie's crawled up his body and flopped down right on top of him, a leg thrown over his hips and an arm slung across his chest, tucking his face into the curve of his shoulder. He feels Buck's breath shudder through his lungs, feels his heartbeat pick up just a little. Then a warm hand settles over the back of his head, fingers raking carefully through his hair. "Oh," Buck says again, a little wondrous. Like Eddie's something worthy of wonder. "Are we doing this now?"

❤️‍🔥 fever dream tangerine sweat by unicornpoe [Buck/Eddie, E, 17k] — The writing style is so fucking gorgeous and evocative! And the way the author writes them is excellent—the characterizations are perfect!! This was such a fucking great to read. (And it may or may not have made me an omega Eddie truther because my GOD. Usually if I’m reading them with the omegaverse it’s the reverse but Christ alive this fic is so good I’ve maybe been converted)

Eddie hasn’t gone into heat since he presented at seventeen. But living with an alpha who takes care of him for the first time in his life is about to change that.

❤️‍🔥 Take Me With You (Or Even Just My Pieces) by Grangers_apprentice [Buck/Eddie, M, 58k] — The writing style is so engaging and evocative, the characterization is excellent, and the author’s ability to create emotional tension and balance it with just enough relief to keep the story progressing while still feeling poignant is incredible. I love the omegaverse world-building too, and how much that element drove the plot but didn’t really change any of the characters. Genuinely such a good fic!

Buck is an omega, but he isn't Eddie's omega. Chris, while a teen, is still a pup, but he isn't Buck's pup. As such when the decision to leave LA for Texas to be with Chris comes up, Buck isn't invited. Why would he be? He and Eddie are just friends. Which Buck is fine with… Until he pretty suddenly, pretty decidedly isn't. Alternatively, Buck is suddenly left behind by the closest thing he has to a pack, and he does not take that well.

Week 3 Fic Rec Part 1: The Pitt

💛 that’s the way my baby likes it by @lunarfuneral [Mel/Langdon, E, 5k] — Thought I hated infidelity at all as a trope until Kingdon now I’m out here losing my mind because of amazing fics such as this one. Sweet Jesus fucking Christ. The way I barely even have words…

“We don’t have swimsuits.” Neither of them are looking for an out. They’re seeing how far they can go. “I don’t mind,” she says again. The humid air makes everything feel frozen in time. This is a line. Langdon smiles. “Good girl,” he says, crossing it.

💛 texting from schrodinger’s pitt (series) by smallpox_in_wallaboutbay [Mel/Langdon, E (only the last 2 works), 91k, 18 works] — Such a fun and interesting series!! It’s about 90% texts, but there are some narrative bits in the later works as well. The format actually works so fucking well, and the characterizations are incredible. HARD recommend!!

langdon and mel are varying degrees of open and honest about what exactly is going on with them depending on who they're talking to. and also when. mostly told in texts.