Birds, Rain, and Recs. This week: Old Guard, Harry Potter, MCU-NCIS-Sentinel cross
In general, the state of New Mexico has been getting quite a bit of rain for the last 6 weeks. Too much rain in some areas, especially over the burn scars of this summer's big fires, which have led to flash flooding. The exception has been the very southeastern corner -- probably about 5% or less of the whole state -- which, of course, is where I live. I've had 1/10th inch over the past 6 weeks. But I did get a nice, slow rain yesterday, that eventually totaled an inch. Yay! Meanwhile, the evening news had reports of Hobbs flooding (10 miles away), and the flooding at Carlsbad Caverns (90 miles away) washed out the road and stranded tourists for over 12 hours. It really does depend on where you live. On the silver-lining side, my acupuncture doctor's wife wants some prickly pear cactus, and I have loads to give her... but it's been too dry for me to dig any up. Hopefully, I can manage to dig up three or four in the next couple of days. (The trick is to use a metal tongs to handle them.)
Wasn't it just last week that I was complaining about the birds eating 3 bowls of jelly per day? I knew they'd start migrating soon and the amount would drop off, but wow! I filled up the bowls Friday morning. The birds had eaten about 30% of it by the evening, instead of the expected 80%. I thought they'd eat it all yesterday (Saturday), but they barely touched it. Very strange -- the rain was quite gentle all day, and there were periods when it didn't rain, so they could have come to eat -- either flying through the rain, or during the clear times -- but they didn't. I stirred up the half-full bowls yesterday evening, to break up the dried top skin and mix it all mushy again, and they came today (though not in the expected numbers) and finally emptied the bowls about 7:00 this evening. I filled only two bowls about 3/4th each, so we'll see how much interest there is tomorrow. I did see a male oriole at the feeder today, so I know some are still around. Maybe they're leaving in shifts, but I kind of thought they'd try to bulk up on free food before taking off. OTOH, maybe they've been doing that with the emptying-three-bowls-a-day of the past few weeks and now they're taking off. But it'll be warm/hot here for at least another month; I'm surprised they're leaving so soon. (If they are.) But, as you can tell, I really don't know how they live, LOL!
And that's enough meandering.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Fanwork Links: The Power of One Word
Category: M/M
Rating: Gen
Length: 89,600 words
Summary: The day of Harry's twelfth birthday had set all-new scores for worst ever. Between Aunt Petunia's abuse, aching hunger and his horrible family deciding to have a dinner party that he most emphatically was not allowed to interrupt, he didn't think it could get worse.
Until it did.
Discovering that his friends actually did care, that their letters had been stolen pushed Harry to the very edge of disaster. He needed those letters, no matter what Dobby said or did. But...
...It was a trap. Saying "no" to that trap has a power beyond anything Harry has ever known. There's a greater freedom in "no" than in anything Harry has ever learned.
For Draco Malfoy, though, saying "yes"?
Changes everything.
Reccer's Notes: Harry says "No" -- he'll no longer acquiesce to bad things happening without fighting to change them. Draco says "Yes" -- he'll fight to bring good things to fruition. Together, they gather people to help them fight against the Dark that disguises itself as Light; their determination of "yes" and "no" will change Magical Britain for the better for generations to come. This story is vast in scope and thoroughly engaging, not to be missed.
Characters: Everyone in Harry Potter universe, plus OCs
Relationships: Harry/Draco (potential)
Themes: Fork in the road, Fix-it, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Novel
Content Notes: Mind control, evil Dumbledore, implied/referenced rape, referenced past abuse, major character death.
Status: Complete
Fandom: MCU x NCIS x The Sentinel
Fanwork Links: Stick Around
Category: M/M
Rating: Explicit
Length: 24,000 words
Summary: In the aftermath of the battle of New York, Nick Fury recruits a sentinel to be the new handler for the Avengers. Dominic Rossi doesn’t want the gig, but Tony Stark thinks he’d like it if Dom stuck around.
Reccer's Notes: I really enjoy competent!Tony DiNozzo paired with just about anybody else in fandom, and Jilly excels at this. Here, Tony DiNozzo is a sentinel who changed his name to Dominic Rossi some time ago (details explained in the story). When Dom Rossi and Tony Stark interact during the battle of New York, their interest in each other is sparked, and they gradually develop a relationship. This is a great, feel-good story, and I particularly like how each man fully accepts the totality of the other, whatever their quirks -- these are the characters as we seldom see them on the screen, but fanfic shows them at their best.
The sequel is longer, as Dom and Tony develop their relationship amid all the obstacles the world throws their way, and just as much fun -- Demons. 73,000 words, Explicit.
Characters: Tony Stark, Dominic Rossi, Jarvis, Dum-E, Nick Fury, Bruce Banner, OCs
Relationships: Tony Stark / Tony DiNozzo (a.k.a Dominic Rossi)
Themes: Action/adventure, Crossovers & fandom fusions, AU: Sentinels and Guides are known
Content Notes: Canon-level violence
Status: Complete
Fandom: The Old Guard
Fanwork Links: A Reflection Bereft, Not Dark
Category: M/M
Rating: Teen
Length: 7,000 words
Summary: Nicky always knows where Joe is. Maybe not precisely, geographically, but he always has a sense of “present” or “away” and “present” includes a general sense of where they are in relation to each other. There is no slipping out without the other noticing for them, any more than Nicky would absentmindedly lose track of his own arms or Joe misplace his head. But now there is an absence...
Reccer's Notes: I watched as chapters were posted, waiting 'til the story was marked 'complete', and it was so-o-o worth the wait. I love a good 'characters switched between universes' story, and this is wonderful. A little confusing (trying to remember which 'side' we're on), a little mysterious (how? why?), and thoroughly captivating.
Characters: Andy, Joe, Nicky, Nile, Booker, Quynh.
Relationships: Joe/Nicky
Themes: Doppelganger, Post-canon, Parallel universes, Dimension travel
Content Notes: Implied/Referenced Suicide
Status: Complete
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