Rec-cember #11
Dec. 31st, 2025 05:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eddishelenHellooo this is my last rec-cember post of the year! These are three fandoms I’ve been in over the past few years with a LOT of fic posted. I gave myself a hard limit of six fics/fic series per fandom, to avoid going overboard.
Downton Abbey
The Trees Sweetly Blooming (series) by DarthNickels
https://archiveofourown.org/series/1581772
Thomas Barrow/Edward Courtenay, alternate universe. Lots of outsider pov (a fave of mine) and a lovely building-a-life together post-S2
take my eyes to borrow by northriding
https://archiveofourown.org/works/26961076/chapters/65804821
Canon divergence, where Thomas Barrow meet much earlier, then meet again and again after. I like how Ellis screws Thomas over in their first meeting but develops feelings for him later, but that first meeting colors and complicates so much of what comes later.
“Mr Barrow Has The Flu” by chiaroscure
https://archiveofourown.org/works/23719534
Daisy has been told that Thomas "has the flu," but something about the situation doesn't sit right with her. She sets out to discover why. Daisy & Thomas friendship fic post-Thomas’s suicide attempt
If Birds Fly by likehandlingroses
https://archiveofourown.org/works/23347714/chapters/55933195
The friendship between Lady Sybil Crawley and Thomas Barrow is puzzling, inconvenient, and bound by ties few others can see.
It saves them both. Thomas Barrow & Sybil Crawley friendship fic! Canon divergence at the end of s2 and gay-lesbian bonding (background ships)
An Unexpected Kindness by orphan_account
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17562140/chapters/41388218
On the night of September 18, 1920, two men left Downton Abbey and the county of Grantham under the cover of darkness. Thomas Barrow/Tom Branson, canon divergence where they both leave Downton at the end of s3 and cross paths, I really enjoyed seeing who they are/could be away from Downton. And a return of Tom Branson’s politics!
Halo Effect (series) by Alex51324
https://archiveofourown.org/series/1435963
Canon divergence, where Thomas becomes friends with Anna and is more accepted in the house, and has a romance. I particularly love the second fic, focusing on WW1!
Formula 1 RPF
like today wants tomorrow by distressedgremlin
https://archiveofourown.org/works/27480013
One year after they have both retired, Sebastian and Lewis try Le Mans. Lewis Hamilton/Sebastian Vettel, really really beautiful fic
head over heels by jolach
https://archiveofourown.org/works/36614101
“So," Seb says, "Are you going to show me your collection or not?”
Lewis can feel his eyebrows fly up. “Really?” He’s smiling, he realises. People say a lot of shit they don’t actually mean when they’re trying to fuck him. Lewis Hamilton/Sebastian Vettel, I love it when a fic makes me really understand how something that is not generally my kink can be scorching hot. In this case it’s shoe kink!
in the lonely hour by avinguda
https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356033
And Lewis finally gets it—can't not get it, when just two years ago he'd been in the exact same place; being handed a second-placed trophy that weighed as heavily as it had been worth nothing at all, replaying all the mistakes he'd made throughout the season in his head, over and over and over, thinking about where he could've been faster, where he could've been smarter, where he could've been better; thinking about who he'd lost it to, about how losing it stacked up against all the other things he'd already let slip from out of his grasp.
(or: Lewis wins the Championship; Sebastian doesn't. They both gain more than they ever bargained for.) Lewis Hamilton/Sebastion Vettel, post 2018 season
somehow chance and fate are synonyms by trailsofpaper
https://archiveofourown.org/works/33204970
Lewis was giving him an opportunity to back down. But Sebastian didn't know how to back down; he knew how to block the sight of Nico from this picture even if it was just for one night. Lewis Hamilton/Sebastian Vettel, complicated relationships where hooking up doesn’t resolve the tension
the heartbeat is a hunger by withfeathers
https://archiveofourown.org/works/40702578/chapters/101986659
2019 FORMULA ONE SPORTING REGULATIONS
Art. 34: BONDING
Teams are required to register all bonds between drivers with the FIA at the beginning of each season. New bonds must be formally recognized through a bonding ceremony under supervision of at least one FIA representative [...].
Art. 34.1 [added on 1.01.1993]
Bonds between drivers competing for different teams are prohibited.
*
I'm so unused to being - well, understood perhaps.
- Vladimir Nabokov's first letter to his future wife, Véra Lewis Hamilton/Sebastian Vettel, playing around with and inverting the soulbond trope
perturbation theory by ambiguouspace
https://archiveofourown.org/works/32088208
“Who is the first guy you ever slept with?”
Sebastian sighs and screws his eyes shut, like he’s bracing himself for disaster but can’t see another way out.
“It was Mark.”
“Mark who?” Charles asks automatically, before his brain catches up. He blinks. “Mark Webber?”
Sebastian nods, eyes still closed, still flushed, and Charles stares at him.
“What the fuck?” he asks. “You hated each other.”
*
Charles learns about Sebastian’s past and thinks about his future. Charles Leclerc/Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc/Sebastian Vettel/Mark Webber, excellent use of a threesome to explore dynamics
Our Flag Means Death
Take Down the Moon by Andraste
https://archiveofourown.org/works/53222590/chapters/134676943
Two months ago, Izzy Hands failed at dying several times in a row. His crew sailed away without him, and now he's stuck in a shack with the man he (still, somehow) loves and his new boyfriend. Can he survive the awkwardness of this situation, the travails of getting Jeff's Bar and Grill started in the hospitality business, and repeated visits from the latest challengers for the title of worst pirates in the Caribbean*?
*For certain definitions of 'worst'. Ed/Stede/Izzy, post s2 if Izzy had survived the bullet wound
the worst was this (my love was my decay) by oopshidaisy
https://archiveofourown.org/works/51032329
Trust Izzy not to fucking explode when you want him to.
(Or: The second two toes.) Ed/Izzy in a complicated and ambiguous way, angst
no feeling is final by firstaudrina
https://archiveofourown.org/works/51755464
Frenchie cracks during casual sex. Frenchie/Izzy, The Box gets a bit structurally unsound
Your Own Icarian Carrion by ryry_peaches
https://archiveofourown.org/works/52486783
Izzy eyes the knife warily but obeys, as he almost always obeys Edward.
“Take off your boot,” Edward says.
Izzy falters, his heart stuttering. “My boot, Captain?”
“You know which boot.” Edward's eyes are wide and dark and his hair is falling around his face like a silver shroud and they used to be kids, once, fresh-faced cabin boys scheming and causing all sorts of trouble and putting England and all of the scars it gave them at their backs together.
“Captain —”
“I warned you, Izzy.”
He did, didn't he.
Or, how Izzy lost the other toes. Between s1 and s2, no one's having a good time
for all that was lost by dinoromance89
https://archiveofourown.org/works/52900363
Harrow the First, newly minted and poorly functional Lyctor, is stuck on the Mithraeum, burdened with a weapon too big to wield. Luckily, the Emperor has a helpful dead man in storage - the former best swordfighter of the Caribbean. Crossover with The Locked Tomb!
Name of the Play by house_afire
https://archiveofourown.org/works/53049448
Stede used to believe he would always be the supporting character in someone else's story. He knows all too well how Izzy feels right now.
It doesn't help.
(“You don’t understand,” he said helplessly, watching Izzy gather up the few belongings he had, gradually, been persuaded to leave in Stede’s cabin. “It’s just … it’s Ed.”) Stede leaves Izzy for Ed, so lovely and painful
Have a Happy New Year!
Downton Abbey
The Trees Sweetly Blooming (series) by DarthNickels
https://archiveofourown.org/series/1581772
Thomas Barrow/Edward Courtenay, alternate universe. Lots of outsider pov (a fave of mine) and a lovely building-a-life together post-S2
take my eyes to borrow by northriding
https://archiveofourown.org/works/26961076/chapters/65804821
Canon divergence, where Thomas Barrow meet much earlier, then meet again and again after. I like how Ellis screws Thomas over in their first meeting but develops feelings for him later, but that first meeting colors and complicates so much of what comes later.
“Mr Barrow Has The Flu” by chiaroscure
https://archiveofourown.org/works/23719534
Daisy has been told that Thomas "has the flu," but something about the situation doesn't sit right with her. She sets out to discover why. Daisy & Thomas friendship fic post-Thomas’s suicide attempt
If Birds Fly by likehandlingroses
https://archiveofourown.org/works/23347714/chapters/55933195
The friendship between Lady Sybil Crawley and Thomas Barrow is puzzling, inconvenient, and bound by ties few others can see.
It saves them both. Thomas Barrow & Sybil Crawley friendship fic! Canon divergence at the end of s2 and gay-lesbian bonding (background ships)
An Unexpected Kindness by orphan_account
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17562140/chapters/41388218
On the night of September 18, 1920, two men left Downton Abbey and the county of Grantham under the cover of darkness. Thomas Barrow/Tom Branson, canon divergence where they both leave Downton at the end of s3 and cross paths, I really enjoyed seeing who they are/could be away from Downton. And a return of Tom Branson’s politics!
Halo Effect (series) by Alex51324
https://archiveofourown.org/series/1435963
Canon divergence, where Thomas becomes friends with Anna and is more accepted in the house, and has a romance. I particularly love the second fic, focusing on WW1!
Formula 1 RPF
like today wants tomorrow by distressedgremlin
https://archiveofourown.org/works/27480013
One year after they have both retired, Sebastian and Lewis try Le Mans. Lewis Hamilton/Sebastian Vettel, really really beautiful fic
head over heels by jolach
https://archiveofourown.org/works/36614101
“So," Seb says, "Are you going to show me your collection or not?”
Lewis can feel his eyebrows fly up. “Really?” He’s smiling, he realises. People say a lot of shit they don’t actually mean when they’re trying to fuck him. Lewis Hamilton/Sebastian Vettel, I love it when a fic makes me really understand how something that is not generally my kink can be scorching hot. In this case it’s shoe kink!
in the lonely hour by avinguda
https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356033
And Lewis finally gets it—can't not get it, when just two years ago he'd been in the exact same place; being handed a second-placed trophy that weighed as heavily as it had been worth nothing at all, replaying all the mistakes he'd made throughout the season in his head, over and over and over, thinking about where he could've been faster, where he could've been smarter, where he could've been better; thinking about who he'd lost it to, about how losing it stacked up against all the other things he'd already let slip from out of his grasp.
(or: Lewis wins the Championship; Sebastian doesn't. They both gain more than they ever bargained for.) Lewis Hamilton/Sebastion Vettel, post 2018 season
somehow chance and fate are synonyms by trailsofpaper
https://archiveofourown.org/works/33204970
Lewis was giving him an opportunity to back down. But Sebastian didn't know how to back down; he knew how to block the sight of Nico from this picture even if it was just for one night. Lewis Hamilton/Sebastian Vettel, complicated relationships where hooking up doesn’t resolve the tension
the heartbeat is a hunger by withfeathers
https://archiveofourown.org/works/40702578/chapters/101986659
2019 FORMULA ONE SPORTING REGULATIONS
Art. 34: BONDING
Teams are required to register all bonds between drivers with the FIA at the beginning of each season. New bonds must be formally recognized through a bonding ceremony under supervision of at least one FIA representative [...].
Art. 34.1 [added on 1.01.1993]
Bonds between drivers competing for different teams are prohibited.
*
I'm so unused to being - well, understood perhaps.
- Vladimir Nabokov's first letter to his future wife, Véra Lewis Hamilton/Sebastian Vettel, playing around with and inverting the soulbond trope
perturbation theory by ambiguouspace
https://archiveofourown.org/works/32088208
“Who is the first guy you ever slept with?”
Sebastian sighs and screws his eyes shut, like he’s bracing himself for disaster but can’t see another way out.
“It was Mark.”
“Mark who?” Charles asks automatically, before his brain catches up. He blinks. “Mark Webber?”
Sebastian nods, eyes still closed, still flushed, and Charles stares at him.
“What the fuck?” he asks. “You hated each other.”
*
Charles learns about Sebastian’s past and thinks about his future. Charles Leclerc/Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc/Sebastian Vettel/Mark Webber, excellent use of a threesome to explore dynamics
Our Flag Means Death
Take Down the Moon by Andraste
https://archiveofourown.org/works/53222590/chapters/134676943
Two months ago, Izzy Hands failed at dying several times in a row. His crew sailed away without him, and now he's stuck in a shack with the man he (still, somehow) loves and his new boyfriend. Can he survive the awkwardness of this situation, the travails of getting Jeff's Bar and Grill started in the hospitality business, and repeated visits from the latest challengers for the title of worst pirates in the Caribbean*?
*For certain definitions of 'worst'. Ed/Stede/Izzy, post s2 if Izzy had survived the bullet wound
the worst was this (my love was my decay) by oopshidaisy
https://archiveofourown.org/works/51032329
Trust Izzy not to fucking explode when you want him to.
(Or: The second two toes.) Ed/Izzy in a complicated and ambiguous way, angst
no feeling is final by firstaudrina
https://archiveofourown.org/works/51755464
Frenchie cracks during casual sex. Frenchie/Izzy, The Box gets a bit structurally unsound
Your Own Icarian Carrion by ryry_peaches
https://archiveofourown.org/works/52486783
Izzy eyes the knife warily but obeys, as he almost always obeys Edward.
“Take off your boot,” Edward says.
Izzy falters, his heart stuttering. “My boot, Captain?”
“You know which boot.” Edward's eyes are wide and dark and his hair is falling around his face like a silver shroud and they used to be kids, once, fresh-faced cabin boys scheming and causing all sorts of trouble and putting England and all of the scars it gave them at their backs together.
“Captain —”
“I warned you, Izzy.”
He did, didn't he.
Or, how Izzy lost the other toes. Between s1 and s2, no one's having a good time
for all that was lost by dinoromance89
https://archiveofourown.org/works/52900363
Harrow the First, newly minted and poorly functional Lyctor, is stuck on the Mithraeum, burdened with a weapon too big to wield. Luckily, the Emperor has a helpful dead man in storage - the former best swordfighter of the Caribbean. Crossover with The Locked Tomb!
Name of the Play by house_afire
https://archiveofourown.org/works/53049448
Stede used to believe he would always be the supporting character in someone else's story. He knows all too well how Izzy feels right now.
It doesn't help.
(“You don’t understand,” he said helplessly, watching Izzy gather up the few belongings he had, gradually, been persuaded to leave in Stede’s cabin. “It’s just … it’s Ed.”) Stede leaves Izzy for Ed, so lovely and painful
Have a Happy New Year!
