In which the Hummel clan wins a congressional election, and everybody is extremely impressed, including the White House. Omg, West Wing fusion! How have I never seen this before. This is heart-hurtingly lovely and pitch perfect.

In which Kurt considers who to write in for the Teacher of the Year award. This fic gives some really brutal insights to Kurt and Blaine, but I thought the tone that the author struck in their considerations, particularly in Kurt's internal POV, really fit with them as characters. It's a fic that packs a meta punch, but the blows are pulled just enough to allow for understanding and a fair measure of forgiveness.

Oh my GOD, so cute.

In which Tony and Steve become friends and eventually something more with the help of boxing robots and baseball and kickass elderly women and an entire mansion's worth of superheroes both powered and mundane. WHELP, THIS FIC. An explosion of Tony feels and Steve feels and Steve/Tony feels nestled skillfully between beautifully insane moments of family and togetherness (refreshments provided by Clint and Miriam, soundtrack provided by Chumbawamba). But honestly, this fic was a true delight. It was continually surprising reactions out of me, whether it was a laugh or a coo or a moan or a tear, and I really have to hand it to a fic that can keep me not only engaged but on my toes for nearly 40000 words.

pphhhhwoaaarrrrr. Translated into real words: holy shit.

In which Blaine is an artist who's still searching for something, and Kurt is the teenage runaway who walks right into his life and changes everything. This fic should be the worst. Really, the absolute dregs of the worst. And I'm sure to some it will yet be. But to me, this is the sort of fic where after you finish it you stare at the computer for a long while in dumb incomprehension, and then you numbly close your laptop, and then you wander outside blinking up into the sky, and then you finally, finally ask yourself if that really just happened. And the fact is that it did. Out of a smattering of disparate tropes that shouldn't work for you came this story of art and love and terrible need and miraculous solutions, and it was something unquestionably beautiful and you read it. And really, it's moments like these that I'm in fandom for, and I wouldn't trade that for the world.

In which Dum-E is a good robot. Oh my GOD. I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS. AND THEY'RE MOSTLY ABOUT A ROBOT??? I JUST. DOES NOT COMPUTE? EXCEPT SOMEHOW IT COMPUTES PERFECTLY?

In which Mike is a good friend, and toothbrushes figure prominently. Excuse me while I go weep into my hands at how precious and perfect this is. MIKE CHANG.

In which Blaine and Kurt get it into their heads that it would be better for them to take a break once Kurt leaves for New York, but there are pitfalls and heartbreaks to any break up, even an amicable one. A fic about growing apart badly, and growing back together inexorably. Just the way things should be with these two. Lots of great things about this fic: earned and really heart-breaking angst (LOTS of this, omg), a really great cast of characters both canon and OC (and speaking of, a great speculation on Glee club next year), actually believable depictions of college applications (and college relationships, and New York City), and some really over-the-top romantic moments and declarations (in addition to countless smaller moments that ultimately mean just as much). All in all this was a beautiful fic, but I'm glad I only came on board after chapter three. This is not the sort of fic you want to sit around waiting for, unless you LIKE staring at your computer monitor yelling "NO, FIX IT."

In which Cooper grew up before his time trying to make sure Blaine had the chance to grow up well. LORD ABOVE, DON'T DO THIS TO ME, WRITERS. ALL OF MY CO-DEPENDENT SIBLING FEELS, HELP. That being said, this fic is really gorgeous. The canon's not quite there, but I rather love the Cooper this author speculated on. You get a sense of him being an effervescent and outgoing guy while constantly being blindsided by his feelings as a terrified and only-too-loving brother. That contrast of his inside and outside, and how it's juxtaposed with his witnessing of Blaine's growth--his retreat into and eventual emergence from his shell--really worked. I honestly just loved these two boys, and how connected they were across so many kinds of distances except the most important one-- the way no matter what they kept hold of each other's hands. Really, it was beautiful. But you know, maybe I'm just an only child creying about what she'll never have, what do I know.

In which Kurt and Blaine are happily married in New York when Kurt gets in a terrible accident that results in amnesia, setting him back to age 14. One of those times when a terribly cliche premise yields to stellar writing and emotional realism. For how much you shouldn't believe it, you end up falling in love with this fic's Kurt and Blaine, the life they've built, the people they've become, the unflagging belief they have in each other in every iteration of themselves-- past, present, and future. A heartbreaking beginning that flows into an infinitely more heartwarming story that's worth every bit of the investment you put into it.

In which the rule change is announced before Rue dies, and that changes everything. This left me with goosebumps everywhere on my body. Powerful and haunting and poignant.

In which Loki and Darcy join forces, for good or for ill, for Batman and apocalypses. I loved this in a deep and furious and overidentified way.

In which Artie keeps the Glee kids afloat through a lot of different methods (blatant trickery, ASL, sexual experimentation), but mostly through music and dance and /winning/. An off-the-wall (or maybe off-the-chain) S4 fic that's only crack in that Glee wishes it could handle this level of narrative mahem. Somewhere between the riotously funny revolving door of choir directors and the frank portrayal of kids who are disenfranchised by the world and determined to do something about it, I got whiplash from the gusts of awesome coming at me from every angle. And just as a note, Klaine is 100% preserved in this fic, despite the pairings listed. Just trust me, this fic's amazing and you want to read it.

Oh GOD, I have no words. ;________________;

In which Blaine's father is cursed with a quietness that comes between him and his son for years. This was so hard to get through because horrible things coming from a good place makes me want to put my face in the ground and not come up for a while, but it was worth it for the breakthrough. Those Hummels, man. They work magic. But apart from them, this was a terrifically compelling POV voice that illuminated so much in such touchingly intimate ways, which only added to how horrifically poignant his self-imposed silence in the narrative was. Don't do this to my heart, fanfic writers! (Except please, please, always do this to my heart.)

In which the Hudson-Hummels are home for Blaine, and he's staggered to think of how much. Wow, my heart. Reading this with the suggested song on repeat was a mistake, I am seriously verklempt. I don't know whether I'm :'( or :') but I do know that I love this lovely boy, this promising young man, and the family he's found. Which contains the lines:

"But he loved this the most. He loved being close to Kurt, in the quiet, with the shadows of the raindrops against the window cast on the rug, elongated and strange. He loved Kurt’s arms around him, holding on, and Kurt drifting to sleep, comfortable and safe enough to relax that much. He loved the knowledge that he was the only person who had ever seen Kurt like this besides his family. It was a trust that made him feel loved, and safe. It made him feel -- chosen. Wanted. Worthy. Nothing, nothing had ever made him feel so worthy as being with Kurt, alone, and quiet, and open. The first time they had been together, opening night of the musical, was this terrifying, incredible revelation to him. I was so proud to be with you. And then that trust, and all of the care and gentleness and whispering, broken love love love, with nothing between them but their breath. The thought of it still made Blaine glow, silent and content and beautifully, perfectly happy, the way he had never been before. He had never been so happy."

In which we see the rest of the night after the infamous BIOTA party, Blaine drunk and clingy and terrifyingly, confusingly earnest. Why did this fic start with Fake Plastic Trees, omg, so many feelings. Blaine, how dare you be this awful and this lovely at the same time, and to Kurt? My heart absolutely could not take this fic, and I loved it for that.

In which Kurt and Blaine meet a couple different ways, but most importantly through Rocky Horror. OMFG, this fic. The dramatic irony in it was DELICIOUS AS FUCK. The sex scenes were HOT AS FUCK. The unhurried romance was SWEET AS FUCK. The Rocky Horror shadow cast family was PERFECT AS FUCK. This fic was just GREAT AS FUCK, okay? FUCKING GREAT. I have lost my ability to filter my love into a coherent review. Everything is just adoration and swear words.

In which there is a dystopian forced marriage AU, and it's by Rainjoy. Officially angry at the world for not putting this in front of my eyes sooner. My chest legitimately feels like it got run over, but lord, I can't tell if it was for happy or sad reasons. This fic is bittersweet, harsh, scary, sad, but so wonderfully and awe-inspiringly full of love and trust and luck, too, gorgeous luck. And breath-taking prose. I literally gasped at some of the similes used here. Rainjoy has a frankly terrifying way with metaphor. I'm going to be thinking about glowsticks in an entirely new, beautiful light. Triggery for rape/non-con, but for discussion of, rather than actual events. In fact, the sex scene was just... amazingly evocative, hot, warm, emotionally charged, perfection? God. GOD, yes. And this is not related to anything, but I don't think I've ever loved Burt Hummel more than when he said "three times" in this fic. MY HEART.

Full-body goosebumps. I seriously can't get over it. Fuck you, Pavlovian reaction to the Inception soundtrack. No, but really, excellent use of Chris Nolan's oeuvre.

In which Molly has her own life, and it's more complex than people tend to give her credit for, and she /lives it/. Lord above, this fic was a commitment and a half. 25,000 words of life happening, which was interesting and lovely, but not, you know, gripping literature, but then the reward is 25,000 more words of mind-blowing perfection going off like a bomb in my face and my /heart/, CHRIST. There are no words for the faces I made reading this. There was one point where I was smiling so hard I actually felt my face go manic and creepy and had to corral my features into something more normal just to make sure they didn't stick that way. /Christ/, this fic. Yes.

OOOHHHH MYYYYYY GOOOOOODDDDDDD. Yes. Just yes. Completely.

In which Gregory Lestrade is Georgiana Lestrade, and she's amazing, and so are the Holmeses, when they're not occupied with being terrible. Yes, yes, yes, seriously, yes. I was screaming with laughter and blushing with pleasure and completely won over, 100%, a thousand times yes.

This vid is actually unfair. I started out loling because of the song choice and a questionable use of the ~so heterosexual~ spin from TBB, but around the halfway point I was sucked in and suddenly violently choking up. By the end, I was completely gone. On my tombstone, I want it to read "strangled by Sherlock feels," and I want this vid brought up on charges of involuntary manslaughter. Fuck this fandom, seriously. The hiatus turned us all into sentimental sadomasochists.

In which Kurt is an up-and-coming wedding planner who hires a complete unknown to be his career-making wedding band, a decision based entirely on the charisma of their bowtie-loving frontman. This was simply pitch-perfect, hilarious and giddy and tender in all the right and most endearing of ways. One extended thrill ride of not-at-all-guilty pleasure.

In which Santana grows up, healthy and well and whole. Well, this hit me in the stomach in the absolute best way possible. All of my crazy Santana feelings resolved in one sweet, strong chord.

In which Benedict falls in love with his costar, and then slowly finds his way out of the mire of it. This was unbelievably, beautifully, heart-rendingly done. I wouldn't have thought I'd care enough, but this fic made me care a thousand times over, deep into my bones.

In which John works, and waits, and isn't crazy. It's really unfair to have read The Perfect Post-Reichenbach Fic less than a week after the damn episode aired. The catharsis in this fic is a force to be reckoned with. The infinitely careful and yet brutal honesty of it something to cherish.

In which Blaine frets his way into picking a specialty and Kurt frets his way into an understanding of Ophelia. Continuance of the Unscripted verse. I seriously cannot with Rainjoy. I never, ever can. All the heart sighs and all the heart eyes forever.

In which, if Kurt and Blaine are sinning, at least they're sinning together. A five things fic, seven deadly sins style. This fic is practically perfect in every way. Engaging, warm, clever, romantic, and outrageously funny. I cackled not only unattractively, but also obtrusively at more than one moment in this fic. Particularly during Wrath and Greed. Basically, this fic was fucking delightful, and that's the truth of it.

In which Charles is an archaeologist, but Erik makes him an adventurer. An Indiana Jones AU that felt a bit [quieter? grittier?] than that exactly implies. But this fic was a slow build of history and suspense and emotion and power that led to an ecstatically thrilling conclusion. Not entirely unrelatedly, my bulletproof kink for telepathic sex was pushed mercilessly in this fic, and I've never been more satisfied having it so abused. In conclusion, thehoyden killed it, and possibly me. Business as usual, then.

In which Kurt is very unhappy to be entering into a contractual marriage, but his new husband is willing to do anything to convince him they have a chance at a future together. Sexy, sexy sex scenes, a masterful third-person limited perspective, and a compelling emotional arc. This fic is pure indulgence, but it's spectacularly well-conceived and well-executed indulgence that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

In which Kurt is grieving profoundly in an alternate version of S2, and Blaine arrives on the scene almost too late to be of any help, but it's Blaine, and it's KURT, and they try for each other. This was hard and sad and desperately, desperately beautiful. As is usual when this author is at her best, Rainjoy writes the most amazingly evocative, compelling prose out there--grabbing your heart and taking it for a journey, dragging it through water and fire, ice and earth, until she finally sets you down somewhere new, blinking and awed and miraculously unharmed. It's weird to call a fic this hard and sad a joy, but its quality is so exhilarating I hardly know what else to say.

In which Blaine sends a text to the wrong number, and they become texting buddies. AU where they don't meet in high school. This is completely delightful in every way. I think I've laughed obnoxiously at something in every part so far. Can't wait to see where this goes.

In which we see Steve's slowly growing understanding of the enigma that is Tony Stark, broken and earnest and loveable just as he is. Steve's POV to Ready Fire Aim, and it is perfect. So many feels. All of the feels. I love just Gyzym's fics. She always breaks my heart, but the hurt is always so beautifully, carefully done, and the healing after is somehow even more so. I felt that in this fic more than usual.

Well, that was intensely well done.

In which there is the time after the first time, and it's just as amazing--maybe even better because the pressure's off and they can still have this and it's still, always, really amazing. It's hard to believe a fic this good exists, where it's just these boys being these boys, exploring each other in a way that reads as perfectly, warmly in character. A little funny, a lot sexy, and overwhelmingly right.

“Can I touch you?” Kurt asks in a whisper against Blaine’s jaw.

“You don't have to ask,” Blaine assures him.

Kurt shrugs his shoulder and doesn’t move his hand. “Maybe I like to hear you say yes.”

Blaine pulls back so that he can look into Kurt’s eyes, because he knows this is serious even if he can’t understand all of why this very second. “/Yes/.”

"Some context: I'm Autistic/possessed of an extraordinary set of Bad Brains, and I work(ed) in an intensive special education classroom where 4/9 students had abusive parents and 1/3 were no longer with their biological families. I was told by the teachers that this was a typical ratio for this classroom. I consume and interpret media and entertainment in a context that often feels more like a war-zone. Probably this is why I like Glee." A beautiful piece of writing, and a provocative piece of meta.

In which there is Steve, and things that stay and things that slip away, things that are always changing and things that endure. Steve's voice in this was pitch perfect, deeply in character and grounded with touches of historically appropriate cadences and slang. The artistic affect in it was lovely, too.

In which Blaine tries to find a niche to fill with Kurt and keeps getting niche-blocked by all of Kurt's friends. This was wholly, utterly hilarious, and perfectly, ridiculously fun, and still lovingly, brilliantly in character. Also, adorable to extremes I can't express. Just a joy, from start to finish, in every way, from the thrill of recognition I felt at Blaine's terrible logic and motives to the snorts of laughter I could not hold back watching him fail miserably (but so earnestly!) at every turn.

In which Kurt and Blaine return to Lima for the first time in a long time since Burt died, and they prove that grieving and healing are both long processes, but the love that goes along with them are always, always worth it. This fic had me so, so verklempt, it's not even funny. It's so hard--between all the hardships of growing up and of processing conflict and loss, I suspect there's going to be parts of it that will hit too close to home for every single person that reads it--but so lovely and so full of all the best of humanity and its intentions, you forgive it wholeheartedly. It ends with home, and with love, as all things should.

In which Kurt and Blaine have the Anderson house to themselves for a night, and they make that night theirs. This was beautiful and funny and so carefully, perfectly in character. I just loved it. Also, Sondheim totally WOULD go for that.

In which, when they're both just starting to find out who they are, Kurt and Blaine find bikes and books, respectively. And then they find each other. If something about the summary of this fic strikes you the wrong way, or something about the author's notes or the fandom or something, anything, makes you think this fic is not for you, I urge you to reconsider. This fic is perfect. It's perfectly conceived and perfectly crafted and perfectly poignant. If at some point during this fic you still think, nope, still not for me, I really, really implore you to finish, just for the sex scene at the end. I haven't seen such senuous, emotive, and compelling writing done in a long time. In an AU fic where Kurt and Blaine developed very differently from how we see them in canon, that sex scene strips them away to the core characters we've come to know and love, baring the whole of themselves to each other and to the audience in a way that left me almost shakingly in awe. I've run out of words to describe what I'm feeling, so have these, which are almost too poignant after what we saw of Blaine in 3.05:

"He’d been aware—very keenly aware—of how much he’d had to hold himself in check around Kurt, but he hadn’t known, there was no way he could have known, what permission would do to him, how fundamentally it would undo him from the inside out until he felt like nothing more than a collection of desperate hungers."

Please drop whatever you're doing and read this.

In which Tony finds he's grown up kind of by accident, Steve re-acquires his best friend, also sort of by accident, and the team and the house are all kinds of great together, absolutely and amazingly by accident. Sequel to Ready, Fire, Aim. I have to wake up and catch a plane in less than 6 hours. Worth the lost sleep a thousand times over. Gyzym and her Marvel universe own my story- and character-loving heart and soul.

In which Steve proposes in the flush of victory after the Marriage Equality Act passes in New York, leading to a spontaneous party and a spontaneous "exclusive interview" between Peter, Tony, and Steve. This fic series is just the greatest. It seems like it would be mindless fluff, but Tony's laundry list is on full display here, and there are some really interesting moments of weakness on both Tony AND Steve's sides. That being said, a lot of this is an unrepentant riot of team-related snark and shenanigans, with extra helpings of Peter, Thor, Pepper, and Rhodey being amazing and hilarious. The word threesome gets tossed around a lot, to the point where it's temporarily stopped being sexy for me and has instead become the trigger for instantaneous gigglesnorting. All in all, two thumbs way, way up.

In which Tony is perfectly content to privately nurse a crush on Steve, until Steve poses in his underwear for a charity calendar and suddenly "manageable crush on" becomes "raging hardon for" and apparently Tony (along with the rest of the free world) is just unable to handle seeing that much of Captain America with any amount of maturity or tact. At first I loled in delight when I saw this fic was about 10000 words. That lol quickly became a crey, because I realized this fic was only 10000 words, when obviously it should be a billion, and never end. It's just that great.

In which Logan joins the X-Men when Erik and Charles come to call and basically rewrites the entire course of the movie with the force of his awesomeness. BOSSEST BOSS TO EVER BOSS, WOW.

Oh my GOD. Intensely well-edited, with a high concept that's nothing short of entrancing.

WOAH.

In which Steve wakes up in a dystopian version of the modern day where America isn't really the land of the free anymore, but Tony Stark has a plan to change all that--with Captain America's help. Oh my god, dystopian future with political and personal intrigue, including a marriage of convenience??? This fic is amazing and I will weep forever that it's an abandoned WIP. Seriously, so so good.

In which Tony tries to buy Steve's affections, and Steve is adorably clueless, but gets there eventually. I absolutely fell in love with Steve's voice in this fic, it was just perfect. Also, greatest helicarrier origin story or GREATEST helicarrier origin story?

In which Tony has always loved his machines best. OH MY GOD IT'S JUST TONY BONDING WITH JARVIS AND DUMMY AND STEVE FOR AN //ENTIRE// //FIC//. LOVE OF MY LIFE.

In which Tony gets the impression that Steve doesn't like him very much, but slowly impressions mend. I JUST. CANNOT. STOP SMILING. I might have cried a little bit? (Maybe a lot bit.) Tony and his stupid issues and his stupid LOVELINESS and Steve just catching him as he freefalls, them catching at each other, I CAAAAAN'T. MY HEART. Also, regarding everyone else in this story, most importantly Thor: I love EVERYONE in this multi-billion-dollar penthouse mansion.

As much as I love this writer's fanfic, it doesn't hold a candle to what her meta makes me feel.

"Giving Kurt a “hero’s journey” on Glee was always going to be a daring choice, because he’s a gay kid and because he performs gay in the particular way he does. But to take a gay kid who the world too easily wants to read as weak and make him a magician — that is, someone with the power to change others and bend reality to his will — is a truly risky and starling choice. It makes Kurt powerful, threatening, and seductive. It normalizes his gender presentation through function (because in a dichotomous system magicianship requires a union of the genders and an ability to step outside that union); and it confronts, side-steps and perhaps even embodies Glee‘s awkward preoccupation with the “predatory gay” stereotype, with a sort of enviable power.

Kurt, like most of Glee‘s main characters, has another year in Lima, but his season two arc shows us that he’s already gotten out."

In which Santana and Kurt and Blaine decompress after Jean's funeral. I love this so much it's a physical ache in my chest. Beautifully clear-eyed and hopeful. Which contains the lines: "Kurt wanted Blaine and knew to wait. Maybe it wasn't a lack of courage. Maybe he could just tell that Blaine wasn't ready for what they are together - that odd relaxed intensity, that acceptance so utter it's a little alarming - before Blaine knew him, really knew him, and trusted him. Kurt kept on believing in white knights against all the odds, and somehow managed to create one out of that belief. Not the stiff, formal, overconfident boy he first met, but this smiling creature he can casually bicker with and love as hard he likes knowing he'll get exactly as much back. Maybe no-one had ever let Blaine be everything he is before. Maybe no-one else ever saw all of him and didn't frown over at least part of him."

"You’re so sensitive. You’re so emotional. You’re defensive. You’re overreacting. Calm down. Relax. Stop freaking out! You’re crazy! I was just joking, don’t you have a sense of humor? You’re so dramatic. Just get over it already! Sound familiar? If you’re a woman, it probably does. Do you ever hear any of these comments from your spouse, partner, boss, friends, colleagues, or relatives after you have expressed frustration, sadness, or anger about something they have done or said? When someone says these things to you, it’s not an example of inconsiderate behavior. When your spouse shows up half an hour late to dinner without calling—that’s inconsiderate behavior. A remark intended to shut you down like, “Calm down, you’re overreacting,” after you just addressed someone else’s bad behavior, is emotional manipulation—pure and simple." I'm really depressed I needed to have this pointed out to me, but HOLY JESUS.

In which it takes a while for Burt to warm up to Blaine, but though the process isn't instantaneous, it is pretty thorough. MY CREYS. MY EMOTIONS. This was so sweet and so lovely. BUUUURT. Personal canon, oh God. I'm just gonna go and continue to scream internally over this fic somewhere else now.

In which they're all American Idol contestants, and the journey to self-acceptance can sometimes be hard and and sometimes be nationally televised. This was... amazing, is probably a good word? Scandal, emotional breakthroughs, friendships, romance, sweet scenes, sexy scenes, and a shit ton of giddily perfect musical numbers (OH GOD, GOLDEN SLUMBERS/CARRY THAT WEIGHT) make this fic the best kind of roller coaster you could possibly ask for. Blaine's journey in this fic was riveting and heart-warming and really, embarrassingly cathartic for me, and if you want to grin your mouth off you should just open this fic and begin reading immediately. P.S. The addition of Jesse St. James to any fic automatically increases it's awesome by a factor of about a hundred, but this fic really capitalizes on him in an unabashedly hilarious way. He WOULD be on Idol. Perfection.

In which the Hummels own a moving company and Kurt meets Blaine while helping him move to New York. LOOPY GRIN ON MY FACE. SO CLEVER, SOOOOO CUTE. I WANT TO BUILD A FORT OUT OF SHEETS WITH THIS FIC AND THEN CUDDLE IN THERE FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER.

In which Arthur is a cranky senior and Eames is a professor of Dream Psychology. This fic is full of three of my favorite things, unending snark, romcom level feeeeeeeeeeeeelings, and hot professor smut. For a while I couldn't decide if the author was making Arthur sweat so often on purpose or not, but then I decided I didn't care. This fic is so perfect I want to scream Pink lyrics at it in the heat of the morning.

In which Kurt and Blaine have a bad date that they then proceed to make better. Well, that was just fantastically beautiful. Funny. Full of love. Full of wonder. Which contains the lines: "Blaine sits up to stretch his back, and Kurt slides up to sitting. When Blaine looks at him, Kurt's face is milkweed white and tender, a loose constellation of freckles barely visible across his cheeks, and Blaine wants to tell him how beautiful he is and how like the photo of his mother, how fragile, how strong, how stunning and how much a miracle."

In which everybody's getting back together for Tina's wedding, but that means something a little more to Kurt and Blaine. I've said before that reading a great Kurt/Blaine fic is like going to a wedding. In this great Kurt/Blaine fic, they actually GO TO A WEDDING. As you can imagine, MY EMOTIONS. I made it all the way to the morning of before I broke down, and then I was weeping before the ceremony even started, hyperventilating with All Of The Feelings, straight through to the end. It's Wordplay, so it's amazing. The characterization is sosoclose to pitch perfect. The ensemble is gigantic and there are a few discordant notes, but never with Kurt or Blaine or anything important really. Of the many things she gets 200% right: She writes everyone growing up SO well. The emotional arc is almost choking in its poignancy. Also, as usual, stunningly well-written, almost uncomfortably graphic sex. Still haven't quite gotten over the fact that this author can do that, but damn, it works.

In which Charles is a wedding planner. A WEDDING PLANNER. Excuse me, I must crey. IT'S LIKE HE CAN ~READ~ THEIR ~MINDS~. This is so beautiful.

I've not been posting many saves lately because I've been reading this series in all the spare time I can muster. Just finished Double Down, and GUH. The romance in this series is sort of like if you took Harry/Draco fanon's physicality and stubbornly unspoken fondness, combined it with Peter/Neal's professional dynamic of friendly one-upmanship, and then rounded everything off with a little of Erik/Charles's star-crossed idealogies destined to forever get between what should be the love of the century. And then, like all of the fandom's I'm comparing it too, there's also a fascinating cast of side characters adding their own explosive pinch of cheerful mayhem to the mix. Et voila, Shadow of the Templar, as I see it so far. Also, this fic has droves and droves of amazing dialogue, including some of the most brilliant zingers I've ever encountered and more gems of sarcasm than you can shake a stick at.

In which Blaine has impulse control issues and he and Kurt meet under very different circumstances. OH MY GOD, RAINJOYOUS DOING BADBOY!BLAINE, I CAN'T, I CAN'T, I CAN'T.

In which Kurt grows up to inhabit the spotlight like he's always wanted, and Rachel Berry forces him to admit he's wanted something else all along. This was mesmerizing and the final part of the opera anecdote at the end made everything three thousand times more poignant and gorgeous, how did it even DO THAT.

In which Kurt enacts a ritual and Finn is heartrendingly supportive. Missing scene from Grilled Cheesus. I wish this was canon. What rankled me most about this episode was how separate Finn and Kurt's storylines were, and this fic fixes that in a beautifully concise 3000 words.

In which we see the Hudmel family clan from the eyes of the matriarch. MY CREEEEYS. MY SWEET, FREELY GIVEN CREYS. This fic earned every moment of mistiness it wrenched out of me and it was perfection.

This fic is 100% perfect. Also, I may never stop laughing. Actualfacts tears in my eyes.

In which Kurt and Blaine get snowed in together, just the two of them at Blaine's house, and domesticity is sexy. This is just perfect. Not everything this author writes is perfect, but a truly distressing amount of it is, and this fic qualifies. It's the diction and the baking and the future and Blaine understanding passion yet still being a giant puppy of a boy and everything, everything, and then the sex, somewhere farther down the list, somehow not as important, but just as perfect.

In which we see Blaine and his father's visit to Arizona from Blaine's point of view. Part of this author's Ben!verse. This, oh, this. So perfectly sad and perfectly lovely and perfectly important.

In which we see what the last few years of Hogwarts were like for the Marauders with great wars and great loves and great pranks looming on the horizon. Might as well save this since it basically defined my life for three years straight. The greatest fic that will never finish. Accept no substitutes. Better that it didn't finish anyway, who wants to see all this fall apart?

In which John is a BNF author and fandom's darling, while Sherlock is a combative BNF fanartist who can't seem to keep himself off fandom_wank. Together, they fight sockpuppets (also, crime). A complex and utterly delightful love letter to the Sherlock Holmes fandom in all of its many interpretations and reincarnations. Completely wonderful. // YESSSSS, MASTERPOST. Usually I'd just go back and edit my save of the kinkmeme entry, but that's so full of roleplaying accounts and various reader-based ephemera that I actually want to save both of these. This version is probably more readable though. :)

In which Blaine reconnects with an old friend, and it only deepens his connection with Kurt. I loved this so, so, so much. This fic is about loving the family you choose, and it's so warm and full of forgiveness and hope and the quiet, sure kind of joy, it fills you up with that love in a lingering way.

In which Burt works through the developments of Original Song in his own ploddingly amazing way. I love everything about Burt Hummel and his son and his son's amazing boyfriend and I wish all fic could make me feel this good about the world. And I still have to fight down giddiness over the fact that this fic is expanding upon canon (CANON).

In which we see what dealing with Blaine was like in the aftermath of Rachel's party. This fic is so canon it's not even funny. I don't care if I have to storm the writer's room or something, I'm getting this forcibly retconned into Blame It On The Alcohol. It's just /that/ perfect. Which contains the lines:

“I’m totally your lamp.”
“Excuse me?”
“The lamp. It likes the lampshade. It thinks the lampshade is awesome. It’s pretty and it makes the lamp way more interesting and the lamp wants the lampshade around all the time but it’s so used to shining without the lampshade and it doesn’t know what to do and what if it burns the lampshade, Kurt? It’s not even good enough for the lampshade anyway and then the lampshade will be gone and the lamp will…get cold. Or something. Wouldn’t it be fun to be a lightbulb, Kurt? They’re so shiny.”

In which we see small scenes of Kurt and Blaine just learning each other and this whole boyfriends thing together. I found it frustrating that this fic followed canon episodes and yet avoided talking about stuff that happened in them, but obviously the author had other stories to tell. And what we do see is so beautifully right, awed and loving with an age-appropriate voice that was never vapid or, worse, pretentious. Blaine's fixation on Kurt's hands was an ingenious touch because it fits well with canon, but was also utilized for maximum romantic effect. Such a heart-warming and sweet fic.

Merlin reveals his magic in this stunningly crafted vid. Jesus, the quality!

In which Kurt and Blaine and Satana are all broken and lovely and good for each other. This fic is gorgeous and hilarious and practically perfect in every way. Also, I think the Blaine POV broke me. It shook my heart apart in a lovely, fluttery way, like butterflies alighting or something equally corny. ONLY THE CORNIEST OF ANALOGIES WILL DO FOR BLAINE "PUPPY PUPPY YOU JUST REFERRED TO YOUR HEART AS A PUPPY" ANDERSON. This Kurt and this Blaine are beautiful souls and I'm glad Santana gets to be friends with them.