#albawrites

hang the fool: my buddy @arcanebarrage writes this one!! it was the first overwatch fic i read, actually … we both came up from warcraft RP days & when i saw she was writing for this pairing that i’d been drawn into (via the vortex of my girlfriend’s fan art, mostly, gj sophia, live with your actions) i was like, heck yes. it does not disappoint! it’s essentially the story of hanzo coming to join overwatch, but in reality it’s far more broad than that–pretty epic in scale, really, as it brings in quite a few characters/relationships/etc.

 sam’s writing is tightly plotted, lush and evocative; she has an excellent eye for sensory detail, punchy diction, and sharp characterization. her atmospherics are top-notch, and the later chapters really kick it into high gear–the specificity of place, the heightened stakes, the genuine emotion that doesn’t slide into treacly melodrama–it’s good stuff. also sam is sweet as pecan pie, so that’s nice too :*

let sleeping dragons lie / the beast that devours itself: written also by a buddy, @albawrites!! i met her through RP, too, heheh (this is just how i make friends, i guess), because i write for McCree on dreamwidth. but in fact i had read and enjoyed these stories before we ever got to talking much!! in them, hanzo first permits capture by talon for genji’s sake, and then he has to deal with the long and painful recovery of this experience once he’s free. i think yall can guess who’s on hand to help out with that situation.

alba’s writing flows like a clear stream; it’s affecting, moving, and lovely. her characterization of hanzo is multifaceted & nuanced, and she writes the terrible history of his life with great empathy and sensitivity. the dynamic she’s established b/t mccree & hanzo is so warm and good; i grin like an idiot through all her chapters. alba, too, is a big ol sweetheart!!

truce: NOT BY A FRIEND BUT STILL HUGELY ENJOYABLE!! i’m interested to see where this story goes. it’s an AU wherein hanzo never left the shimada clan and overwatch didn’t disband in an inglorious blaze x years ago. OW captures hanzo, and what follows is their (mccree’s …) effort to convince him to join blackwatch. 

there’s a lot going on in this story!! the writing is polished & entertaining, but i like it so well because the dynamics between everybody are so crisply rendered–particularly between mccree & hanzo + genji & hanzo. there’s some stuff goin’ on between mccree & genji also that i find intriguing … anyway, hanzo as a booze-soaked crime lord is A+ no matter what, but this fic treats the concept real nice.

four days: i need to tell yall that fake dating / marriage is like … my #1 favorite fic trope LMFAO I LOVE IT SO GODDAMN MUCH. and it is the premise of this story; very simply, mccree asking hanzo to act as his boyf in order to please his fam (who are anxious for him to have a special somebody). 

something i very much enjoy about this story is its sense of place. jesse’s family and his homelife are drawn with such strong detail, and their interactions felt so easy and natural. there’s so much tenderness and warmth in this story–it’s just straightforward sweet, but not saccharine in any way. genuine af. 

good fences make good neighbors: AGAIN … I LOVE … FAKE MARRIAGE (someone RP this trope with me OK). this is the mission flavor of the concept; ie, basically mccree & hanzo get assigned to pretend they’re husbands while investigating a desperate housewives style suburb for Vishkar shadiness. it is legit hilarious & it plays on suburban stereotypes very sharply, lmfao. very curious to see where it goes.