Welcome to my perfumed garden

 

Just what the title says. This post is mostly for me; I need a place to keep cute animal vid links to share with Cindy. But if you want to watch 30 to 60 seconds of animals being cute -- mostly on TikTok and/or BlueSky, enjoy!

Music vid, Ilya/Ducky comparison. 3 minutes


petting a squirrel


parrot matches colors


cat appalled at bath water


dog with ball skills


dog break dancing


dog on skateboard


Uzbek bread making


dog pulls cat on sled 3:20 minutes


silent letter day 4:40 minutes


“easy open” desk 3 minutes

 

Fandom: Stranger Things
Pairings/Characters: Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson
Rating: G
Length: 2,489 words
Creator Link: insignificant457
Theme: Siblings, Gen

Summary: "See, the problem is this: in the past few weeks there's been a distressing increase in the thickness and darkness of the peach fuzz on his upper lip, to the point that it's becoming noticeable and also gross. He should be happy about it, really, because it's a sign of manhood, isn't it?"

Sometimes, not having a dad around really, really sucks. But recently acquiring a big brother does have its perks.

Reccer's Notes: As the author says, "They're brothers your honor." I love the way Steve and Dustin adopted each other in the show, and this fic feels like it could be a missing scene. The voices are spot on, and the vibes are good.

Fanwork Link: Problems of a Follicular Nature

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: Ronon Dex/John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Dave Sheppard
Rating: Teen, Gen
Length: 3158 (Homework is 963)
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply
Creator Links: Rheanna on AO3, busaikko on AO3, susan_voight on AO3
Themes: Siblings, Friendship, Going home, Established relationship

Summaries:
Ronon starts his e-mail correspondence with Sheppard's brother more or less by mistake.

For some reason, after his father's funeral Dave Sheppard keeps getting e-mail from Ronon Dex.

Reccer's Notes: This is a remix of Homework by busaikko, and they can be read in any order - this is basically a rec for both fics, Fieldwork being from Ronon's POV, and Homework, which is just as good, from Dave's POV. Ronon's in a relationship with John and as part of learning English he starts emailing John's estranged brother, Dave. Rodney then gets involved as Ronon goes to him for help. The characterisations of Ronon, John, and Rodney here are spot on, and it's both funny and moving - a wonderful set of stories.

Fanwork Links: on AO3: Fieldwork and Homework
Alternate DW links: Fieldwork and Homework
Susan_voight podficced both stories, both separately and collated.

I think I commented on Ms Calico's very strong predator instinct back in the day

Tabby Little is not so keen on stalking birds. Good.

She's caught two mice. Excellent

My garden contains flowers. Flowers attract pollinators. Tabby Little has brought in four monarch butterflies this summer. Very much not so good.

*sigh*

Please join us for the TS chat on Saturday, March 7th, at 7 pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)/19:00 UTC. That could be as early as 11 am if you’re on the west coast of North America, or 2 pm if you’re on the east coast, or 7 pm in the UK, or Sunday morning in Australia or New Zealand.

 

We’re in the usual place: http://us25.chatzy.com/81935648447483. There’s nothing to download or install, just choose a name and a color and click on “join chat.”

 

It’s the first Saturday of the month, so it’s time for an episode watch. This month we’re watching The Rig. Let’s watch Jim get oily and discuss just exactly what Blair was looking at when Jim got out of the shower.

 

And for US and Canadian folks – next week chat will be an hour later, thanks to Daylight Savings Time starting. That will happen for folks in the UK and Europe when DST starts over there, and for those in the Southern Hemisphere, chat will be an hour earlier when DST starts.

 

See you there!

 

Fandom: The Protomen
Pairings/Characters: Protoman & Megaman, Protoman & Dr. Thomas Light, Protoman & Dr. Albert Wily
Rating: Unrated, estimated to be Teen and Up
Length: 3,178
Creator Links: ricefu on Ao3
Theme:
Siblings, Science Fiction, Apocalypse/Dystopia, Robots, Androids and AI, Trauma & Recovery, (Not Really) Character Death, Old Fandoms
Summary:
You have heard me tell this story many times before you sleep... This time listen carefully.
Reccer's Notes:
A beautiful and sad character study of Protoman, the older sibling of two tragic brothers in the Protomen universe. It connects his backstory and dives into psyche throughout the canon storyline, including his relationship with his younger brother, his father, and the main antagonist. Although I'm tagging the Not Really Character Death theme for a reason, this is a tragedy, so tread carefully.

Fanwork Links:
The Inevitable Fall of the Firstborn on Ao3

Fandom: Batman - All Media Types
Pairings/Characters: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Length: 4,742 words
Creator Links: Wisetypewriter
Theme: siblings, complicated relationships, drinking & talking

Summary: Dick drinks on a rooftop.

Jason shows up.

Reccer's Notes: Really interesting fic! I love the exploration of Dick and Jason’s relationship, especially how the story weaves in elements from different comic continuities. It hit me right in the feels <3

Fanwork Links: Brothers around a beer

Fandom: The Protomen
Pairings/Characters: Megaman & Protoman & Quint
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Length: 53,236
Creator Links: VioletVulpini on Ao3
Theme:
Siblings, Science Fiction, Time Travel Fix-it, Alternate Universe, Hurt/Comfort, Trauma & Recovery, Apocalypse/Dystopia, Robots, Androids, and AI, Old Fandoms, Gateway Fanworks
Summary:
"The sound of Machines marching into a screaming mass did not cause Megaman to turn. The sound of children crying for their mothers would not pull his gaze from the far edge of the city."

And then he kept walking.
Reccer's Notes:
This fic takes the premise of an existing Mega Man character from the games, who was used as a minor sad character, and makes him the main character of a time travel fix-it in this alternate universe of The Protomen. Megaman goes back in time to before he killed his brother Protoman in an attempt to fix things, and manages to save his brother -- but now both his past self and his brother are after him, not to mention Dr. Wily, whose iron grip still holds the city. It has some of the best robot hurt/comfort I've ever read and amazing looks at the family dynamics between the characters.

Fanwork Links:
Through the Window to the Mirror on Ao3

Fandom: Mega Man (Cartoon 1994)
Pairings/Characters: Mega Man & Proto Man, Mega Man & Roll
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Length: 342,087
Creator Links: BlackRussian on FFN and BlackRussian on Ao3
Theme:
Siblings, Action/Adventure, Enemies Working Together, Plotty Fic, Series, Science Fiction, Gateway Fanworks, Epic Works
Summary:
Fighting Dr. Wily while watching your rebellious sister is tough for anyone, even a robot. Add an evil brother who's determined for you to join his side (or else battle to see who's strongest), things get ugly. Retcon of the Ruby-Spears Mega Man cartoon.
Reccer's Notes:
An amazing AU take on the Ruby-Spears Mega Man cartoon from 1994 which adds heart and multiple intertwining subplots, as well as fixing major plot holes and including more background for various characters. The central character relationships are between Mega Man and his (evil?) older brother Proto Man, and Mega Man and his sister Roll, but there's plenty of background relationships that keep the story engaging, along with a lot of clever worldbuilding and cheesy moments to fit the original cartoon's tone. It's part of an ongoing series, but seasons 1-2 are complete.

Fanwork Links:
Read it here on Ao3 and here on FF.net

Fandom: due South
Characters/Pairings: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Maggie Mackenzie/Francesca Vecchio, Benton Fraser/Frannie Vecchio, Ray Kowalski/ Maggie McKenzie
Rating: Explicit
Length: 7587
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply
Creator Links: luzula on AO3, and on the Audiofic Archive.
Themes: Siblings, Marriage, Family, Domestic, Kidfic, Polyamory, Bisexual characters, AU

Summary: Sedoretu AU. Glimpses from the marriage of Fraser, Ray K, Maggie, and Frannie.

Reccer's Notes: I love the 4-person marriage invented by Ursula Le Guin - the sedoretu - and luzula makes it work perfectly here. In this 'verse there's the category of gender, plus another category called moiety - morning and evening people. In a sedoretu there are two same-sex and two opposite-sex couples, and two pairings (morning-morning and evening-evening) that are forbidden. Here, the forbidden pairings include the half-siblings, Fraser & Maggie. Luzula writes them all beautifully and lets us see how well this poly marriage works. We also get glimpses of how the sedoretu is the usual form of marriage in this AU, with their parents also in sedoretus. Domestic and lovely.

Fanwork Links: Puzzle Pieces, and luzula also recorded it as a podfic here.

Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (Granada)
Pairings/Characters: Mycroft & Sherlock
Rating: G
Length: 523 words
Creator Links: Blistering_Typhoons
Theme: Siblings

Summary: The Sherlock Holmes that sits in front of him may as well be dead.

Reccer's Notes: A little story of Mycroft meeting with Sherlock during the years he was on the run post-Reichenbach.  Poor Sherlock is not doing well, and Mycroft tries to care for him in his own way.

Fanwork Links: AO3

Our theme for March is siblings—whether assigned or chosen.

The tag for this round is: theme: siblings

If you're just joining us, be sure to check out our policy on content notes. Content notes aren't required, but they're nice to include in your recs, especially if a fanwork has untagged content that readers may wish to know about in advance.

( Rules! )

( Posting Template! )

( Promote this round! )

Please join us for the TS chat on Saturday, February 28th, at 7 pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)/19:00 UTC. That could be as early as 11 am if you’re on the west coast of North America, or 2 pm if you’re on the east coast, or 7 pm in the UK, or Sunday morning in Australia or New Zealand.

 

We’re in the usual place: http://us25.chatzy.com/81935648447483. There’s nothing to download or install, just choose a name and a color and click on “join chat.”

 

Our topic this week: we’re doing a fic club in memory of Alyjude, who passed away recently. We’ll be reading and discussing Polar Ice Caps,which you can find here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1134234 Although please feel free to bring any and all recommendations and thoughts about any of Aly’s stories.

 

See you there!