SSR Confidential recs! Plus one extracurricular.
ssrconfidential, the Agent Carter exchange, is such an embarrassment of riches! Starting with the delightful 13K (!!!) caper that my person wrote me: Leave Interrupted, in which Peggy just tries to take a damn holiday, but work just never stays at the workplace. Really fun voices and a definite romp-y atmosphere that fits pretty well with the vaudevillian elements of S2.
Some further recs, which I wolfed down in one big sitting last night! (Except for the last one; the last one just got posted and oh man, it's the good shit.)
Teamwork (3900 words, Jarvis, Ana, Peggy)
One of the great joys of this exchange has been watching people nail character voices, and this Jarvis, who, alas, finds himself kidnapped, is an utter, utter delight.
"Darling!" a voice cried in familiar RP tones. He'd never been so glad to hear it in all his life, particularly because it wasn't Ana's.
Like a House on Fire (3700 words, Jarvis, Howard, Ana)
I'm always here for stories about Howard utterly failing and refusing to deal well with grief, particularly when they're outside POV.
"It’s picturesque, wouldn’t you say? Give it a few hours, the sunset makes everything glow." Mr Stark rolled to the ball of his feet and nodded to himself, cocksure.
"Have you thought about shooting scenes here? With a few modification, you would have a convincing Amazonian forest." She crouched to examine a purple orchid.
Mr Stark’s smile faltered.
All of Me (2400 words, Ana-centric)
Oh, this one is so, so good. Ana as survivor, and that that entails. Best of all, Ana as Jew, to whom Howard can speak in Yiddish.
Ana can’t help it. When Whitney Frost aims a gun at her and pulls the trigger, one of the thoughts going through her head is the indignant: You looked far more convincing when doing that to William Holden in Born Bad!
Redacted (2600 words, Peggy/Dottie)
A longitudinal look at a series of stolen kisses. Wonderful, feral Dottie and a Peggy who's more than her match.
“You didn't save my life,” Peggy corrected Dottie with all the indignation she could muster. “You saved me time. I would have escaped on my own. I will grant you that you enabled me to do so more quickly.”
Dottie's smirk was more eloquent than any words would have been. “I've cleared the top three floors. We can exit via the roof. You did bring a rappel line, didn't you?”
Peggy snorted. “Of course I've brought a rappel line. Try to kill me if you wish, but don't condescend to me.”
Rose in the Spring (4500 words, Rose-centric)
Rose! The delightful, devious, surf-loving Rose! A really fun character piece about why she'd want to flee New York for sunny Los Angeles.
"During the war, we could just say 'loose lips sink ships' and people would stop wondering." Rose sighed. "These days … you have no idea how hard it is to keep it a functional cover op."
Four Times Peggy Tried to Run Away (and the one time it finally worked) (3300 words, Michael and Peggy)
The mysterious Michael is the POV on this piece, but it's Peggy who's the real star. Does what it says on the label; great narrative voice, and nothing saccharine about how it portrays kids.
"What are you doing?" Michael held her at arm's length and took in the sight of her. She'd put on her shoes, which showed unusual foresight and planning for a four-year-old, the buckled toes peeking out under the ribbon-decked hem of her nightie.
The King Is Dead (Long Live the Queen) (2500 words, Peggy, Angie, Violet)
Interesting, impressionistic look at three great and often underserved women.
Sometimes in her dreams she feels the tingling of the kiss and the burn in her muscles. When she wakes up, Peggy thinks of Steve dying with smudges of her lipstick in the corners of his mouth and she doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Out of the Cave (3300 words, Whitney Frost, Dottie)
This piece is tagged "Howard Stark Is a Sexy Lamp," which should be reason enough to make you click. But it also supposes that Dottie and Whitney don't just have a use for each other - they need each other. Great voices, again.
The moment she discovered the first of the listening devices in the air vent of her asylum cell Whitney started to feel better. She wasn't forgotten, a nobody, a failure. She was merely a force in retreat, and her enemies still feared her.
Dulce et Decorum Est by
Polexia_Aphrodite (4200 words, Steve/Sharon, porny)
This is part of a series, and I can't tell you enough how much I love this characterization of Steve and Sharon both: ferocious and capable and visceral and vulnerable. Plus the sex is fuckin' great.Considering the sad attempts she’s already seen Steve make at being inconspicuous, for once he’s pulling it off. It takes her a moment to spot him - sitting at the bar with a can of Rainier and a bowl of pretzels. He’s grown out his beard a bit and shaved his head, leaving just a half-inch of stubble mostly hidden under a dingy Seattle Seahawks ballcap. He’s traded in his soft leather jacket for a tan Carhartt vest and a flannel shirt. Sharon gives him an approving glance as she takes the seat next to him.
“I’m buying,” he tells the bartender, nodding in Sharon’s direction, and a cold can of beer appears on the counter in front of her.
“Thanks,” she smiles at him and he nods, letting just the corner of his mouth quirk up - the slightest betrayal of whatever stoic mountain-man cover he’s been working on.
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