The Five Fanfic Recommendations Of Christmas
Happy holidays, dear readers! And if you don’t celebrate anything this month; happy last month of the year! There was a litany of topics that I’d wanted to scream about in my space here for this last post of the year; sadly the world does not stop spinning for holiday cheer. There was also the challenge of beating that good ol’ seasonal depression in order to get my eyes open and get typing. (Jury’s still out on whether I truly won that war, by the way.)
Usually I spend a lot more time introducing the topic of my articles, but this one is pretty straightforward. You can garner a lot of context from the title, I presume, and I think my reviews of the works really speak for themselves. All I have left to say before you head into the heart of this month’s work is: thank you. No matter how you came to read my writing, whether you’ve read every article or even just a paragraph; whether you’re a friend, family, or complete stranger, thank you. Thank you for giving my little digital soapbox an audience. Writing can be an incredibly isolating craft when it’s just an author and our words with no one to see them yet, and still, taking that leap of faith to share our work can be a horrifying endeavor. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you for making that leap a lot less horrific.
Now that the emotional part is over, on to the reviews!
I PLEDGED ALLEGIANCE — agentx13
I think I’ve read this work at least 15 times throughout my life, and I can say with certainty that every time it’s kept the drama, the laughs, the twists and the romance as fresh as the first. In this fanfiction, we’re introduced to a world in which Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter are, firstly, married. Secondly, Rogers is running for the United States presidency. The first perspective we get into this world is Bucky Barnes’. A dedicated Secret Service member, a bit down on his luck, but nonetheless dedicated to his job. He’s stationed on the security detail for Rogers’ opposition, who we learn quite quickly is no match for Rogers’ political prowess.
Steve Rogers wins the presidency, Bucky is transferred to First Lady Sharon Carter’s security detail, and we’re plunged into a wonderfully chaotic world of U.S politics through the lens of a Secret Service guard who’s falling in love with the president, A.K.A the husband of the woman he’s been hired to protect.
The story is wildly damn engaging. Honestly, 78K words have never flown by faster or with more ease. The POV rotates among Bucky, Sharon and Steve, allowing the narrative to flesh out character relationships and tensions fully. And golly, are there relationships to fill!
The endgame couple — err, throuple- of Bucky, Sharon and Steve is a beautifully done subversion of the scorned wife of the unfaithful husband trope. Honestly? The author deserves a Pulitzer for progressing the relationship from the tense and turbulent scene of Sharon discovering the two men in bed together to the grounded yet wholesome ending of the three sharing a well deserved life of happiness together. It was a tall order, but they damn well delivered.
Aside from them, the side characters are charming, pulling from the canonical MCU and twisting their roles into this universe with a cleverness and grace that only someone who deeply cares about the characters can pull off. The fic even introduces some new friendship concepts, my favorite of which has to be Bucky and Agent May from the MCU-adjacent Agents of SHIELD. May’s callousness is never overdone, and the author masterfully showcases May’s multifaceted personality in a way that many writers don’t deem necessary. The rapport between Bucky and May is hilarious when it needs to be, and twists your heart when it needs to do that. Plus it makes the team up that happens between them in the last act of the fic so very satisfying.
Even the tertiary characters with hardly any page time or lines of dialogue feel real, unique and necessary. There’s an arc for Agent Morse that you don’t even realize is an arc until the climax of the fic, and it’s so rewarding, especially for fans of the Bobbi Morse character. Sharon’s friendship with each of her cabinet members is unique and wonderful in their own ways, and Steve’s cabinet of close friends keeping him on his toes while also never failing to have his back throughout the turbulence of his presidency is sob worthy.
The re-read value of this fic is invaluable as well. Every time I come back to this work, I pick up on subtle clues that the author drops as to what the big plot is and who the main villains are. Also, I should add that going into the comments (another invaluable aspect of fic-reading) just to see others theories and how elated the writer is to answer everyone and goad us along into trying to figure out their plot would be a massive favor to yourself. Definitely one of the sweetest, most dedicated authors in the Marvel fandom.
A JOB A MILLION PR’S WOULD DIE FOR — saiansha
I’m certain none of my friends will be surprised to see this one on the list. This work has consumed me, readers. The reader-fic, or Y/N (shorthand for Your Name) subsection of fanfiction isn’t one I frequent when I’m looking for, and no offense to the writers of Y/N works, anything of substance. But this isn’t to say they’re not good! Personally, they tend to be fun reads when I want something less heavy and less plot centered. But A Job A Million PRs Would Die For, or, err, JMPWDF as I’ll call it going forward, took that attitude of mine and took me for the literary ride of my life.
You, yes, you, are a freshly graduated Public Relations student who has just so happened to land an invite to the infamous Avengers Tower to one of the even more infamous Tony Stark’s parties. And, as luck would have it, after a witty, fast paced and rather mysterious conversation with the man in question himself, you’ve landed yourself an interview to do PR work for — get this — the Avengers.
Showing up to the interview and being met with Stark’s pre existing PR staff, Avengers Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton *ahem* “milling around”, an on edge Tony Stark and a truckload of non-disclosure agreements that need your signature, well, it’s no wonder you’re left with a mountain of questions. Most importantly: was this a joke? What are you doing here? Who would you be representing? And why would it include all this fuss?!
The answer to that last one? Loki of Asgard.
This fic takes place a few months after the canon of Thor: The Dark World, so the Loki we get to enact a painfully slow enemies-to-lovers burn with isn’t the power hungry weasel dipped in grease that the in-world public knows him as, but he’s still got that maddening devil-would-care attitude about him. Your challenge as his PR (other than just surviving) is to somehow get the public to forgive the man — um, god — who not too long ago threatened doom and hellfire and subjugation and death upon the Earth. Oh, with a couple twists: he’s a sly uncooperative bastard, every word he says to you drives you up a wall, and he refuses to apologize for his attack on New York City. Should be a walk in the park, right!
This 60 chapter, over 300K word fic is so charming, pulling you into the world of Public Relations with entertaining realism. This is deftly done by the beast of an author, saiansha. She is the first author to make me really feel at home with their work. Every chapter update was an experience. She remained deeply engaged with her audience from start to finish, not just making her audience feel comfortable with her, but expanding the world of her work through swapping silly headcanons in the comments. Posting various memes to her Tumblr. Setting up a community playlist for the fic. Promoting works based off her fic with genuine joy and excitement. (I can personally attest to that. My love for this work is so large that I’d written and posted a one shot based on a chapter, and saiansha’s comments make me smile every time I see them. Her support for it meant and still means the world to me.)
The story matches the radiance of the author as well. Some of my all time favorite quotes live in this fic. “Everything I had done, every choice I had made had led me to this moment of blessed serendipity. I was alive to see the universe — and the universe was created for me to see.” “I do not offer flowers and empty promises — I offer blinding dedication and searing passion.” These are quotes that can blow William Shakespeare out his grave, into the water, and out of the water right back into his grave to start rolling in it. Not only is the writing achingly beautiful, but the reader character is real. She’s capable, but also young, frightened, confused. And she acts like it. There are laugh out loud relatable moments such as my personal favorite where after dropping her takeout on her apartment floor, instead of leaving it or cleaning it up, she begins to tiredly scoop the food off the floor and into her mouth. She lashes out, she’s harsh, but she’s also kind, caring, lovable. Usually Y/N fanfiction works because authors write the reader character as bland. A blank slate for the audience to paint whichever way they want. But JMPWDF works because of the exact opposite. The reader character is full of personality, but she’s relatable to the audience because she’s just like us. Saiansha uses her understanding of the median personality of the average Loki, and further Loki/Reader, fan to her advantage, creating a character that can stand on her own while also being relatable enough for us to feel comfortable slipping into her role. Scandal, as she’s called by most everyone within the world, is as much of her own person as you, the reader, are. But it’s easy to feel like Scandal, and that’s what really pushes this work above a lot of other Loki/Reader fics that I’ve read.
There are an infinite amount of things to adore about this work. From the author’s enchanting and down to earth personality to Scandal’s relationship with Loki and all the Avengers and everything in between, this work is a masterclass in relatability and reality within Y/N fanfiction.
ANYTHING THAT BLEEDS — mypedia
Okay, I might get some eyebrow raises for this recommendation. Not only is the BDSM dominant/submissive subsection of fanfiction a minefield to navigate, but there’s some very valid critiques of the sub genre that have been made. I even agree with them! But I’d stumbled upon this work out of sheer morbid curiosity. And even if the last chapter has, as of writing this, yet to be posted, I am extremely glad to have found it.
The story follows Natasha Romanoff in a world in which ‘submissive and dominant’ aren’t simply sexual preferences, they’re genetic. Typical of Natasha centric works, our main character has battled her way out of the Russian child soldier organization — the Red Room. The only submissive Widow to do so.
Experiencing that trauma has given her a complex on what it means to be submissive. It taught her that they are genetically weaker than those who are dominant, and it taught her to hide her submissive traits. Unless, of course, it benefits the mission.
We begin the story with Natasha being told by her best friend and confidant Clint Barton that he’s run out of an illegal drug called Substop, an outlawed substance that helped submissives stop all of their natural instincts, and it’s virtually impossible for him to get more.
This, for Natasha, is a problem. She’s been on Substop for years, not only that, but if she comes off of Substop, she’ll have to face the consequences of lying about her ‘Bearing’ to her job, friends, teammates (who are all either dominant or ‘switches’, who can be both) and, as an Avenger, the public.
Anything That Bleeds subverts several expectations of what a dom/sub BDSM fanfiction has to be, and does it superbly. More a character study and a delve into the societal operations of this new world, the author zeroes in on Natasha’s interpersonal relationships, how grappling to accept her Bearing affects those, and how she’ll be treated by those around her now that they no longer think of her as a dom.
As a hardcore Black Widow fan, I’m pretty critical of the works written in her perspective and voice. Anything That Bleeds does a wonderful job of presenting Natasha as a multifaceted, emotional human being, avoiding falling into the trap of portraying the assassin as someone stone hearted and unfeeling. Natasha’s relationships with the Avengers are unique, rich with humour and heart. The author makes it easy for the audience to fall in line with The Avengers’ dynamic, with writing that is so true to the human experience that for 20 chapters, it’s frighteningly easy to become one with their new world.
Not to mention, despite being written very recently, the author has a few callbacks to the stereotypical dynamics the Marvel fandom had assigned to the Avengers characters. Thor loves a good Pop-Tart, Clint stalks through the vents, they all live in Avengers Tower like a great little sitcom; but they take these rather silly tropes and turn them into genuine, believable character traits that make sense.
I never expected to fall in love with this work, but mypedia blew me away, chapter after chapter.
WHERE THE DEVIL DON’T GO — Lise
I’m shaking things up with a series! Each work is only one chapter, and with eleven works in the series, it’s identical to an eleven chapter read. Be prepared for eleven chapters of hurt, though, because Lise does not hold back.
Where The Devil Don’t Go is a slight canon diversion from Thor: Ragnarok. Instead of being found by Korg after being betrayed by his brother, Loki is found by the Grandmaster. A Grandmaster who, in this work, is a lot less Jeff Goldblum lovable and a lot more power hungry eternal being with an affinity for manipulation. And unfortunately Loki is dragged into Grandmaster’s clutches with nowhere else to run.
At its core, this work is an in depth and harsh look at the reality of how sexual and emotional manipulation can wear down not only a person, but an entire system of people. There are so many of Lise’s works that I’ve enjoyed and would recommend in a heartbeat, but this was the first one I’d read, and it’s also the one that resonates best with me as a victim of emotional manipulation myself. The author showcases a heartbreakingly accurate portrayal of manipulation during the chapters that focus on how Loki copes with being held captive by Grandmaster, and an equally accurate portrayal of life after the active abuse once Thor finds and rescues him.
There are even a few chapters in which the author includes Natasha Romanoff, a character they write superbly in my opinion, as a neutral third party who stumbles upon Loki’s misfortune. Natasha delivers some hard hitting lines of dialogue that honestly left me speechless.
I wish I could be as in depth with this recommendation as others, but the heart of this work lies within chipping away at all the character work Lise lays out for you, and you should go into it with as fresh of an eye as I can allow.
fight like girls for our place at the table — napricot
I made use of a random number generator to decide the order in which I reread these works for this article, and I think it’s fairly poetic that this work should be last, because it is hands down my favorite thing on the entire AO3 site.
fight like girls for our place at the table is a four chapter epic told by author napricot through the lens of my favorite underrated MCU badass, Sharon Carter in which she saves the day, destroys some Nazis and gets the girl. Taking place during Sharon’s introduction to the MCU (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) where she’s assigned the task of being Steve Rogers’ security while being undercover as a sweet nurse next door, we follow Sharon as she protects her mark while falling in love with Natasha Romanoff- the mysterious and entrancing S.H.I.E.L.D icon.
I love this work for a myriad of reasons. Firstly — the author makes it their mission to humanize the character of Sharon Carter to their readers; a task the Marvel movies have fumbled the ball on quite a bit. Napricot’s interpretation of Sharon is so easy to fall in love with; her dialogue is relatable and funny, vulnerable and earnest as she navigates hurdle after hurdle in her increasingly interesting life. The author also makes falling in love with Natasha so easy. Seeing Natasha through the adoring lens of Sharon allows us as readers to view the usually intimidating assassin as exactly what she is to Sharon: a human. Someone just like us, while also being someone to blush and fantasize about because she’s just that amazing. Not to mention, the author masterfully avoids making Natasha a stone hearted robot. Always a win in my book!
The chapters are also so rich and distinct in personality. I’ll leave it up to you, dear reader, to discover and fall in love with the gems within each chapter, but I do have to commend the author on being able to make each chapter wildly memorable and thematic, while keeping the story cohesive and easy to read.
And, as with every other work I’ve mentioned, the relationships between the characters! It’s always important in every media to establish meaningful and deep connections between your characters, but the trick with fanfiction is that it is the defining trait of what your audience comes for. Nailing the relationships is essential, and napricot does it with beautiful ease. The shy, budding when-will-they of Sharon and Natasha, witnessing Steve’s change of heart towards the woman who, in his eyes, lied to him to spy on his life, seeing how Sharon and Bucky build what is now one of my favorite friendships in fiction through absolutely adorable shenanigans; all of it builds to a four chapter spectacular that I’ve come back to time and time again when I’ve needed a pick me up.
Sharon and Natasha are two of my all time favorite characters, and as a neurodiverse person who latches on to characters like family, it gives me endless joy to see people give care and love to putting out more stories with them at the center. The love that napricot builds up for the pair is so warm, so soft and sweet and real. It’s embarrassingly effortless to relate to the story, and even more effortless to fall in love with the story itself.
