As the winter holidays approach, we have another batch of fitting reqs, this time focusing around family! Traditional family relationships or otherwise.
Stay warm out there! Or nice and cool, if you're on the other side of the globe from me.
Sauceman Chorizo & Lyrthindor do a Ratatouille by LulaMillay (11205, Mature)
Content Notes: Ratatouille-typical consent issues, humor, no smut, comfort, domestic fluff, happy ending, healing from trauma
Pairings: Sauceman Chorizo & One of Lyrthindor's Rats, Sauceman Chorizo / Sorn, Shadowheart & Yurgir
The chef at Sharess' Caress learns how to bake Ratatouille-style from the last surviving rat of Lyrthindor. The rat is a bit unhinged. Together, they need to create a fantastic cake to celebrate the grand re-opening of Sharess' Caress after the events of the game.
Reccer One says: Very funny lighthearted crack taken seriously. The found family at Sharess' Caress is lovely and the relationships are grounded and genuine. Also Sorn/Sauceman Chorizo as a married couple is an adorable fluffy rarepair. Reccer Two says: one of the funniest things I've EVER read, genuinely delightful
The Vegetable Seller by Anonymous (2103, Teen)
Content Notes: None
Pairings: Wyll & Ulder
Wyll reunites with Ulder and can actually show him what happened when he was 17. It goes well this time.
Reccer says: Ulder positivity! Also, I love that it's based on an actual painting
We Are Family by SheDragonOfTheWest (10,468 (four chapters), Teen)
Content Notes: Shadowheart's mom has some form of dementia, racism against githyanki
Pairings:
Lae'zel and Shadowheart visit Shadowheart's parents to announce their engagement. Things become complicated when Lae'zel founds out that Shadowheart has told her parents that they are just friends.
Reccer says: It's basically a secret relationship comedy. There are some sad and frustrating moments, but it's mostly pretty funny and cutesy. Also, Gale and Tav make a guest appearance.
A stack of letters, neatly wrapped in ribbon, unsent by writesoftheratt (730, Teen)
Content Notes: None
Pairings:
Unsent letters from Jaheira to her children
Reccer says: So much character in under a thousand words! Great look into Jaheira's head and her relationship with her family. Fun format.
Compensation by AnonymousOtter (5190, Explicit)
Content Notes: Rape/Non-con, dead-dove, and this author’s note: “Fair warning that while this is not technically incest, it's still pretty damn weird.”
Pairings: Mephistopheles & Raphael, Raphael/Original characters, Mephistopheles/Original Characters
Raphael has the Crown of Karsus and is about to become Lord of the First. His dad takes him out to an Infernal bathhouse to talk shop, as “equals.”
Reccer says: This fic really leans into Raphael’s daddy issues AND Raphael being bad at sex, and how the two of those things are tied together. It’s a delicious Freudian horror show.
A Home In The Darkness by chaus_cobolorum (39049, Explicit)
Content Notes: Death, Grief/mourning
Pairings: Astarion/Shadowheart, Astarion/Karlach(past)
Recovering from loss and making a new family for oneself.
Reccer says: It made me cry, repeatedly, sometimes sad crying, sometimes happy. I love the acceptance and resolution at the end.
Per Local Custom by longjensilver (3437, General)
Content Notes: None
Pairings: Githyanki Hatchling Xan & Lae'zel, Lae'zel/Tav, Lae'zel & Shadowheart
On Xan’s second birthday, Lae’zel is sent on a sabbatical to the Orphic Temple in Baldur’s Gate, where Ardak and Shadowheart have built out a crèche, hidden in plain sight. Things have changed since she was last in the city, and during the happy celebration, she isn’t sure if she has a place in Xan’s life at all.
Reccer says: An absolutely gorgeous post-game Lae'zel character study. Made me legitimately weep while reading.
The Angels Won’t Receive Me by VestigialPersonality (1845, Teen)
Content Notes: Major Character Death (offscreen but characters dealing with the aftermath.)
Pairings: Jaheira & Jaheira’s Children
Jaheira learns that her (problematic) grandson has died, and has complicated feelings about it.
Reccer says: A really well-written, thoughtful character study of Jaheira and her family: the still-living and the (many) deceased. I really love the way the story explores her mental state— she’s a person who has to leave a lot of things unsaid but here we can really get into the tension that she feels between being a parent raising children, and being a Harper raising soldiers. It’s a short fic but it packs a punch!
No Prattle by Gally (23351, Mature)
Content Notes: Ableism
Pairings: Gen
An AU where Astarion survived the beating that killed him in canon, but has disabilities afterwards, including expressive aphasia.
Reccer says: An exploration of his possible family, one he does not remember anymore in the canon timeline, and how they respond to his new reality. Also his mother is great.
The Christmas Brew by Shadowfallen (5,211 and counting, Explicit)
Content Notes: None
Pairings: Shadowheart/Tav
A gorgeous holiday "gay Hallmark" AU where Shadowheart and Clara spend Christmas at a mountain lodge with their found family: Wyll, Gale, Karlach, Aylin and Isobel.
Reccer says: It's filled with hunour and delight, and effortlessly evokes the camaradie of the crew amid a beautifully rendered Christmas setting.
My Girl by SheDragonOfTheWest (17192, Explicit)
Content Notes: Pregnancy, alien biology, erotic breastfeeding, pregnant sex
Pairings: Shadowzel
Lae'zel and Shadowheart have a baby together. The story goes from when they decide to have a baby to a few months after the child is born.
Reccer says: It's very sweet, but also a little angsty as it deals with intercultural/interracial relationships and new parent anxieties
