In-progress fics are so much fun to watch develop, and are one of my favorite reading experiences. I hope that you all give these ones a chance <3
I have a weakness for Bloodletting, so most of these are going to be Doc and/or Owen centric. However, there are a couple of Abolish fics in here as well!
The Work-Afterlife Balance by @blockcat-safari
Circulatory by @jackdaw-sprite
Attrition by @voidindite
Grim Purpose in All We Do by @audioeidolon
Nobody Has To Understand by @venusplantt
Slay the Vampire by @uncannyfig
Memories Over Coffee by @bardicc-inspo
Guard dog duty by @smootnytechnik
Let Me Help by TheoTheHero
Descriptions and gushing under the cut!
The Work-Afterlife Balance by @blockcat-safari
* A simply delightful episodic comedy (with sides of angst) which follows Abolish as he mentors (babysits) the Organization’s two newest recruits after the events of Oakhurst rendered them both a little directionless. Each mission is loosely based on a different fictional work, and I have laughed out loud many *many* times due to Abolish’s dry humor and Cat's glorious sense of wit.
Circulatory by @jackdaw-sprite
* A time loop fic! This one is fun because it’s Doc and Owen trapped in the loop together and hating every minute of it. Owen is determined to make everything as horrible as possible for Legundo, while Legundo is being forced into some rather uncomfortable realizations about himself and his fellow townsfolk. Oh, and the magic isn’t following the rules. That feels important.
Attrition by @voidindite
* The second time loop fic I want to recommend. It’s just Doc in this one, and he is *traumatized* so badly by what Owen did in canon that his first couple of loops center around just avoiding Owen entirely. So we get to see him develop some really cool relationships with Pyro, Abolish, Martyn, etc… but also grow distant from friends he had in the first place (like Cleo). This one is lonelier and more melancholy than Circulatory, but I love it dearly.
Grim Purpose in All We Do by @audioeidolon
* Lovebitten! (technically, that’s not the only focus). Audio is known for her weird vampire biology/society/hierarchy stuff, and it is in full force here. If you ever wondered what Oakhurst would look like if Louis was alive and starting a competing coven to Scott’s, this is the story for you! (Also, Louis as a bat is adorable. Just saying)
Nobody Has To Understand by @venusplantt
* More Bloodletting, but this one is… strange. It is tagged as Human?Legundo, and I am not yet convinced he’s not one of our starting vamps. The fact that we’re six chapters in now with no confirmed vampires (though I’ve got my eye on Legundo and Pyro) is very fun. Owen however is definitely human, still very sick, and just so very much in need of the good Doctor’s help.
Slay the Vampire by @uncannyfig
* Just started this one and it is *delightful*. It is loosely based off of the game Slay the Princess (and some beautiful art by @dogerbooger), so expect more time loop(?) shenanigans in this one. Just Doc and Owen so far, and just an isolated, winter-bound cabin. Really looking forward to seeing how this develops.
Memories Over Coffee by @bardicc-inspo
* 2006 NYC Abolish is suddenly confronted by a reincarnation of Dr. Legundo. There are other reincarnations mentioned (not gonna spoil them), and I’m really looking forward to the NYC vampires meeting and dealing with those later. Right now, just seeing Abolish have to unpack and deal with all of the emotions and trauma surrounding canon Legundo’s death is plenty enough to tug at my heartstrings.
Guard dog duty by @smootnytechnik
* Another Abolish-centric fic (though it also has many Owen POV sections). This one is an AU that supposes that Owen was taken in by Abolish's organization shortly after the massacre of Oakhurst 200 years ago, and then turned into a weapon. Poor Owen is subjected to very dehumanizing treatment for literal centuries, before Abolish is born, trained and discovers his existence. The two are eventually paired together and it is beautiful to watch Abolish draw Owen out of his shell.
Let Me Help by TheoTheHero
* Was quite excited to see that this one is getting updates again! Let Me Help is an explicitly romantic Bloodletting fic (with kissing), set in a modern AU wherein the Doc catches Owen stealing blood bags from the hospital he works at and decides to help. Beautifully descriptive language, also quite wintery and cold feeling. (Theo, idk if you are on Tumblr but feel free to comment and I’ll add your handle if you like).
Anyway -- go read these! Comment and give kudos! You'll feel an amazing sense of whimsy, joy and accomplishment. <3
So, I don’t normally rec non-VSMP fics, but I figure that there is probably enough Hermitcraft/Life Series crossover with you guys that some of you might appreciate this one.
My friends, please allow me to draw your attention to The Incandescence of a Dying Light by the lovely @quaranmine!
Here’s the mile high view:
The year is 1989. Grian takes a job as a seasonal fire lookout in Shoshone National Forest — the same wilderness that his best friend Mumbo disappeared into the year before. Despite the intervening months and Mumbo’s increasingly grimmer prospects, Grian refuses to give up hope. If no one else will find Mumbo, he will.
Accompanied only by his determination and a lone voice on the radio (Scar), Grian works to unravel the mystery of Mumbo’s disappearance while also processing the enormity of his loss.
This is a powerful story. You know I love angst, and this one has it in spades. But the angst in this fic is quiet, it is heavy, and it is *earned*. TIOADL is, above all else, a story about grief — how we react to it, process it, and how it ripples through every facet of our lives. It is a story about friendship, both new and old. And it is a story set so firmly in place that even people who never experienced the 80s OR visited a national park will likely feel nostalgia for a time they’ve never known.
(Note: this fic is loosely based on the game Firewatch. Or at least the setting is. The author did a ton of additional research to make their own story come alive, and you don’t have to play the game to enjoy it. I hadn’t!)
Anyway. This is obviously a firm rec from me. It’s well-paced, gorgeously detailed and the writing is fantastic. Many of you have probably even read it before — I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m late to the party here!
So the MCYT-Battleship fics have just hit Ao3, and I am eating them up. Such a treasure trove! There are 95 works in the VSMP fandom space (so far), and possibly more to come(?)
The collection is labeled 18+, but I stuck to non-explicit works for my recommendations.
(Full disclosure — I did *not* participate in this, so I’m free to gush about these as much as I like :P)
Here are my favorites so far:
monsters, cut off from all the world
* Scary (SCARY!!) vampire Doc wants Owen to help with his research on vampirism. Owen makes little scared chirps and is *not* having a good time. (Mind the tags on this one, but it’s delicious. Medical malpractice enjoyers, come and get your meal. 18+ but not explicit)
Grave Goods
* The sunflower crew get back together (kinda)! Martyn revives as a vampire sometime in the 1980s. Pearl and Cleo are there to walk him through it and provide a safe place to land. Found this one very heartwarming 🌻
the cares, they bite me back
* Abolish is thralled and turned into a killing machine by a rogue vampire. His sire has to go and get him back.
The Gift of a Curse
* Alternate ending to episode 1 — what if Owen accidentally turned Pyro instead of Scott? What would he do if suddenly thrust into the role of sire, especially so soon after losing Louis?
All of you need to SUFFER with me through this horribly painful time loop fic. (/vpos). The things that @jackdaw-sprite are doing to Legs should be considered a WAR CRIME, and I am so so scared for the remainder of this loop. My poor heart. Oh, Legs </3
Anyway. Go read Circulatory if you haven’t already. Doc and Owen are caught in a time loop torment nexus together, continually making it (and each other) Worse. No promise of an HEA from the author yet, either, so mind the tags and proceed at your own risk xD
And maybe I’m feeling maudlin this morning, or maybe I just want all of you to hurt a little bit with me, because today I am recommending You: My Hunger - My Ruin by @venusplantt.
I’ve mentioned her work before on this blog, but I want to drive this point home:
This thing will hurt you.
“This man had been made of mercy, broken by duty.”
This thing might just make you weep — both for the beauty of its prose and the stunning clarity of its characters.
“The kiss was soft. Almost timid. A brush of lips that lingered just long enough to ask if it was allowed to exist.”
This thing made me love Louis. (I hadn’t before)
This thing has one of the most singularly beautiful kisses I’ve ever read. (And I’ve read a lot)
This thing did, indeed, make me cry.
“You were never unlovable,” he whispered. “You were just loved by the wrong kind of forever.”
I am currently rereading My Childe, Why Do You Do This To Yourself by the lovely @cityofangeisislying, and am realizing just how deeply it inspired me while writing Reversal.
This was where I got the idea and the general rules for Childe/Sire emotional bonds.
This is the source of Owen calling himself “defective” in chapter two.
This is one of the first places I’d seen strike throughs used for hidden/repressed thoughts (which turned into something I use quite a bit in my own writing).
While I may have gotten the inspiration to write Scott’s unhinged revenge arc from That Old Monster by @venusplantt (*please* go read her work if you haven’t yet), I definitely owe a debt of inspiration and gratitude to MCWDYDTTY as well.
(The point is, fiction is rarely written in vacuum. I am so grateful that we live in a time where a community of authors and readers like this can exist, and that I get to be a part of it)
Anyway. Go read the cute vampire fluff piece about Scott being a good parent to both Owen and Pyro. It’s good for the soul. <3
