Unsung heroes

Choose 3 underrated fics from your bookmarks!

I’ve seen people do this a while ago so I decided to give it a shot, but only 3 of them??? My, my, my. How can I only pick 3 of them? So instead of only picking 3 underrated gems, I, uh, have picked 3 from my 3 main fandoms (Glee/Klaine, Carry On/Snowbaz and OMGCP/Zimbits), so here’s 9!

Glee

Wild Child by @klainedreams34 (T, ~17K)

I might be a bit biased here, because I absolutely love the movie this fic is based on and I never expected someone to Klainify it, but it’s here! Wild Child is an absolute blast to the past. I don’t think it was a wildly popular movie, which is why I was also surprised to see a fic based on it and this fic delivers. It follows the plot of the movie and the author makes it work with the glee characters. Hello Hummel, Kurt Hummel.

Chloe and Me by @legallyblained (M, ~13K)

Full disclosure: I haven’t read this since I first read it around the time it got posted. That’s because a) it fucking hurts (affectionate), but also b) my mind has unfortunately connected it with a real life tragedy and I can no longer separate them. But every time I go through my bookmarks and I pass Chloe and Me, I get a smile on my face. It’s based on the movie Marley and Me, so if you know that movie, you know you’re in for some tears! And oh how much I cried.

The Most Popular Boys in Dalton by Bridget, goddamnit I’ve forgotten your URL and you didn’t put it on your AO3 (M, ~800)

Is this cheating? This technically isn’t a glee fic, but it also is? For some OG Klainers in the room, this is a DaltonFic fic! Yes, that Dalton. CP Coulter burned down Dalton Academy before it was cool! But it’s based on the Most Popular Girls In School, and it’s hilarious. I unfortunately have a habit of reading it in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep.

Carry On

Icarus by @mostlymaudlin (T, ~500)

Do you ever want to feel what it’s like to get shoved to the ground and kicked in the gut? Because that is what this fic does to me (affectionate). It’s just 500+ words of pure grief. Simon died and Baz lives with it. It’s painfully beautiful and gorgeously written. @facewithoutheart also did a remix, which is another gutpunch, but I accept it!

namesakes by @tea-brigade (T, ~1,1K)

If the previous recommendation killed me, then this fic revived me! It’s a future fic and Simon and Baz tell their families the names (yes, names) of their newborn son. All the names make me cry and I just love how much this baby is going to be loved goddamnit!!

Of Remorse and Second Chances by @aristocratic-otter (G, ~9K)

A wonderful exploration of Mitali Bunce as a character! It takes place after AWTWB and Mitali finds out that Simon is Lucy’s son and she is overwhelmed with remorse of her treatment of Simon. And you can argue that she’s done nothing wrong, because she couldn’t have known, but it still feels incredibly cathartic to see Simon and Mitali have closure. 

Check, Please!

I am afraid I may have miscalculated. I tried to see ‘underrated’ as fics under 200 kudos, but it turns out that either the Check, Please! fandom is very active with fic reading (which I can believe, since it’s the only fandom that picks up on my fics on tumblr!) or that I just read super popular fics without knowing. Like, I wanted to recommend this fic that I thought was a niche feel good enemies-to-lovers, but it turns out it has over 2000 kudos! So, the three fics that I recommend here are the 3 with the least amount of kudos (all between 200 - 600, I believe).

Graduation Day by IBoatedHere on AO3 (G, ~27K)

Groundhog Day who? I don’t know her! I only know Graduation Day. This fic does what it says on the tin: Jack has to relive his graduation day and he doesn’t know why. I really liked how Jack got familiar to his day and how he used that to play around with his actions, but what I liked the most was reading how Jack was feeling about all of this. The time with the meds. The time with Shitty. The time he fucked off. Jack really did it all, huh.

i didn't know i was lonely til i saw your face by dharmainitiative on AO3 (T, ~59K, WIP)

So, this is a New Girl AU, but I’ve never even watched New Girl. Still, I am so hooked on this story and its ensemble cast. It’s a WIP and will it ever be finished. who knows? But it definitely deserves a spot on this list and I think it’s a must read, because all the characters work so well together. Also, there’s a Johnson running gag. I can always appreciate a Johnson cameo.

it's punch a homophobe day by Liji on AO3 (G, ~170)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I don’t know who still has to do this in the Snowbaz fandom, so I’ll just tag some gleeks! @quizasvivamos @thnxforknowingme @esperantoauthor @coffeegleek (god, Tumblr...) @redheadgleek @blurglesmurfklaine​

oh, to be a fifty-year-old jewelry store clerk when three youngsters (a jock, a goth and a hipster pot-head) enter your boutique. oh, to see them looking at expensive wedding bands. oh, to politely ask them their range of price, only to be answered, “eh, it doesn’t matter much.” oh, to swallow your surprise and help that gentleman choose two expensive but simple wedding bands. oh, to come back home that night and tell the anecdote at the dinner table. 

oh, to be a fifteen year-old hockey fanatic at that dinner table suddenly struck with the forbidden knowledge that jack zimmermann is planning to propose to his boyfriend sometime soon.

Who me? Attempting to write a cozy Zimbits slice-of-life romance? It’s more likely than you think …

It would be too kind to say Jack Zimmermann, Pulitzer Prize winner and son of legendary newspaper publisher Bob Zimmermann, resigned in disgrace mere days before the biggest story of his life broke without his name on the byline. That’s what his father is telling people. That’s what Jack himself is telling people, even though the lie goes against everything he’s been taught as a journalist. 

But somehow it seems slightly less bad then the truth, which is that Jack was fired, by his own father, for getting too close to a source, blowing his chance at breaking the story he’d been working on for six months, and compromising the paper’s integrity as a purveyor of unbiased journalism, all in one fell swoop.

Jack was twelve when he started his first blog. “This is a Hockey Blog” was a digital shrine to his favorite players when he’d been a hockey-obsessed kid who wasn’t quite athletic enough to move on with all of his friends when they made the local elite travel team. Jack wasn’t a great hockey player, but even at twelve he was great at writing about hockey, and it gave him access to a world he still wanted to be part of. By the time he graduated from college it was a semi-professional publication, with gear reviews and player interviews and Jack’s own hockey opinions. He could have gone into sports reporting, taken a job with ESPN or Sports Illustrated, and maybe he should have. If he’d stuck with sports, he wouldn’t be where he is now.

Which is living with his parents, unable to get an interview with any reputable newspaper, and seriously considering submitting an application for a job at the INNquirer, a bi-weekly paper in Vermont. The posting is for a writer/editor/photojournalist, but under “additional duties,” is an unusual requirement:

“Applicant will also be scheduled to man (or woman, or nonbinarily represent) the front desk of a small Victorian hotel for two or three shifts a week.”

The listing goes on to indicate that lodging and meals (“and all the coffee you can drink and pie you can eat”) are included and honestly, the whole thing sounds kind of bizarre, like maybe it’s somebody’s idea of a prank—or a hallucination Jack has dreamed up in order to avoid facing reality. But he clicks on the link to the paper’s digital edition and it seems to be real, even if the “INNquirer’s” most recent stories are about a small fire at a nearby garbage dump and a missing parrot who recently returned to its owner.

It’s not ideal. The work sounds much slower-paced than what Jack is used to. Answering phones and checking guests in doesn’t sound enjoyable. But it’s a job. It would get him out of this house and this city. It’s far enough away that he won’t accidentally run into Kent at the grocery store.

Jack is running out of options. Forget the L.A. Times and Washington Post; he can’t even get somebody from the Sacramento Bee to call him back. He could go the standard route of other former journalists, get a job as a publicist at a university or hospital, but he’s always been better at asking the questions instead of answering them. Especially now, when the question everybody’s asking him is, “What were you thinking?”

Jack’s had plenty of time to think about all the ways he’s fucked up his life, but he still doesn’t have an answer. It’s something he’d prefer not to address in a job interview, yet it’s going to be impossible to avoid.

But … this job is in a remote area of Vermont, so remote Jack’s never even heard of it. It’s obvious the person who wrote the ad doesn’t know the first thing about journalism, or possibly even running an inn, so they’re unlikely to recognize Jack as the Jack Zimmermann who just blew up his personal and professional life in a very public way. The work he’s done for the hockey blog, though out of date, is better than work being done by most entry-level reporters. It’s certainly good enough to include in his application.

Jack’s considering the best way to word his cover letter when his phone lights up with an incoming text.

You there, Zimms?

Kent. Jack ignores the message and turns back to his computer. A few minutes later, three more texts arrive in quick succession.

You’ve been ignoring my texts.

I know your old man shit canned you and I feel partially responsible, so I’m gonna make it up to you. 

I’m announcing my mayoral candidacy at a press conference next week. I’d like you to be my communications director.

Jack first instinct is to reply, something along the lines of Are you delusional? or Fuck off, Kenny, but he resists the urge. To respond would be to give Kent what he wants, a way in. Jack has been down this road before. Kent has this way of making himself comfortable, of making Jack forget why they don’t work. The last time Jack lost himself to Kent, he lost everything. 

Jack blocks Kent’s number and turns his phone to ‘Do Not Disturb.’ If Jack’s request not to contact him hasn’t gotten through to him, maybe this will.

Before he can second guess himself, Jack dashes off a cover letter and sends it, along with his resume and link to the hockey blog, to the paper in Vermont. He probably won’t get the job. It’s probably not even real.

To be continued …

hello check please fandom, where did the ’jack and holster don’t like each other’ thing start?

What’s that? More Check Please podfic? Um, always, my friends.

Title: Hi

Author: @wrathofthestag

Rating: Teen

Length: 17 minutes ‘n change, brahs

Link: Listen here!

Summary: Jack keeps seeing the same cute stranger in line at the coffee shop. Should he just say hi? The universe is sending him mixed messages.

Podficcer Notes: A little thing you need to know about me: I will Never. Get. Tired. of Pining!Jack, with a side of Awkward!Jack and Clueless!Jack. Never! [Shitty with a megaphone.jpg] Thank you @wrathofthestag for writing this, and for having a blanket permission statement on your profile! 😍

The thing is, Jack Zimmerman can sing.

If you were to tell him this, he'd probably laugh and brush it off. That is, if you were lucky enough to hear him sing in the first place. Oh, he might hum along to his favorite song every once in a while, but actually singing?? That was a rare occurrence ance.

Bitty didn't find this out until a few years into their relationship. He wakes up one morning to the sound of quiet singing coming from the bathroom. It takes him a solid minute to realize it's Jack, which he's a bit embarrassed about after the fact considering they live alone. He gets up and sits outside the bathroom door to hear it better, and he is just absolutely stunned. His boyfriend, the love of his life, who never sings no matter how much he loves the song? Has the voice of an angel.

And Bitty knows better than to bring it up, because he doesn't want to embarrass Jack. But secretly, he wants nothing more than to hear Jack sing again. Jack, being a good partner, knows how important music is to Bitty. So, surprisingly enough, Bitty gets to. A few years later, at there wedding, Jack surprises Bitty by singing the first dance; his rendition of Halo, reminiscent of when they first kissed.

That's the one and only time Jack ever sings in front of a crowd, and Bitty thinks it's a damn shame. But after that, sometimes, when Bitty's having a bad day and Jack wants to cheer him up, or just because, Jack will sing for him. And Bitty thinks there's no better sound in the world than his husband's voice.

Cover art for @doggernaut’s super-cute Zimbits time travel/future fic “And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?”

A sweet moment between Bitty and Jack while they wait to pick up Bitty’s parents at the airport, inspired by Chapter 8 of the same fic.

Many thanks to @fandomtrumpshate​! 

we’ve got a plot, friends, we’ve got a plot 😌

ever since i saw that post that mentioned jack is good at singing i can’t stop thinking about him singing to bitty and every time bits just absolutely melts. it’s early in the motioning and the sun is peking through the window and hitting bitty’s face just right as jack sings halo to him softly as he plays with his hair. They’re in the shower and jack is doing a very dramatic performance of iris by the goo goo dolls while bitty is doubled over in laughter. They’re at their wedding and the dj is playing tiny dancer and jack is singing every word in bitty’s ear as they swing around the dance floor. just jack singing to bitty <3

Fic Update

Writing is extremely hard

jack with beard burn im screaming. bitty with beard burn im screaming. those boys. screaming crying.

right?! bitty loooves the playoffs for a reason. he doesn't get too much stubble burn though when jack's beard starts growing in faster with age. and jack goes absolutely mad for bitty with a stubble/very neat beard, and it's usually short enough that it does burn. but he kind of loves it? though he knows the looks he's getting in the locker room when a few of the guys notices it on his butt, though. 😌

Okay friends, it's

FIC REC TIME

Got a favorite romantic long-fic to Rec in

Check, Please!

Teen Wolf

Harry Potter

Good Omens

The Old Guard

Being(s) in Love

Red, White and Royal Blue

Heartstopper

Jane Austen

Dr who

Bridgerton

Fandoms? (May add more later)

Help... 👀 📚 Emergency... RIP me

jack keeps booking a book at founders’ for his seminar on american food and culture but every time he has it another student books it for the next week so he has to return it, and they go back and forth like that for a few weeks until jack opens the book and finds a post-it with “hi! :)” written on it. 

of course, he replies with, “STOP it, I need it for a class.”

(he doesn’t know the other student is the cute blonde who also needs it for the same class.)

“good evening, husband,” lardo says, a smirk on her face. a young, blonde man steps up to her. he bows at jack, with a tiny nod of his head (“emperor.”), before lardo makes introductions. “this is eric bittle. he’s well-read, mannered, and enjoys discussions about history. also, he’s got a massive cock. he will be your lover.” 

jack glances up from his book. “I don’t need a lover.”

“of course you do. you’re bored and it reflects badly on the empire. think of it as politics.”

jack glowers. “I don’t need a lover.”

she smiles, in a way that jack knows is useless to argue with her. “I’ll leave bittle with you, but if you’d prefer another one, you may swap them as you wish.” she looks at the young man -- bittle -- with slight exasperation on her face. “make him happy, would you?”

bittle nods, and the moment the heavy doors close behind lardo, he hesitates. it takes him another minute, but he finally comes to sit, primly, his back straight, on the loveseat, right in front of jack.

jack turns his next page, slowly. 

bittle’s cheeks are pink, and he’s still smiling, as if it’s the only defence he has against the rest of the world. that man will be gobbled up by the court in a day or two. “hi,” he says, still smiling. 

unbearable. does his face know no other expression?

jack turns another page.    

listen dex/bitty is SO.... yeah. (full on twitter)

The first night Bitty stays at Jack’s apartment in Providence

Bitty: jack, hon, gentle—please

Jack: what’s that?

Bitty: you gotta be gentle while you do it

Jack: oh, okay, how gentle?

Bitty: like not so fast

Jack: okay

Bitty: and don’t rub too hard

Jack: oh—

Bitty: well, actually don’t rub at all

Jack: don’t…rub? then how am i supposed to do it?

Bitty: you just…gimme the towel, sweetheart. i’ll dry your face for you

jack zimmerman is mirrorball. i will take no questions.

(also peace is such zimbits, it actually hurts)

I feel robbed that we never got canon Canadian tuxedo!Jack

Chapters: 5/? Fandom: Check Please! (Webcomic) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann Characters: Eric "Bitty" Bittle, Jack Zimmermann, Shitty Knight, Samwell Men's Hockey Team, Original Characters, Justin "Ransom" Oluransi, Adam "Holster" Birkholtz, John Johnson (Check Please!) Additional Tags: ocs used to fill out world, johnson gets a nickname, Figure Skater Eric "Bitty" Bittle, still at samwell, figure skating, synchronised figure skating, group chats, News Articles, News Media, Wordcount: 50.000-100.000, don't ask me to get more narrow on the word count i can only do that when, im done, Team as Family, they actally play hockey, also lots of figure skating Summary:

Eric Bittle never became a hockey player at Samwell. Instead, the national-level senior men's figure skater tries to face school with a scholarship to the Sammies, Samwell's synchronized figure skating team. He has no access to an oven, has to deal with homework, programs, hostile teammates, and very few friends.

And then there is this guy he has to share morning ice time with.

Jack just has to survive when the freshman he skates with in the morning catches his eye.

-

Chapter Four is UP! please enjoy!!

i wish you would write a wlw zimbits fic

the wlw roller derby zimbits with mtf!jack HAUNTS me at night, anon. but I have sooo many projects. I'd really like to get to it one day, though 😌

I like to think about when bitty gets the chop -- she probably goes all in and gets a tomboy pixie cut and jack is hearteyeing all over her, and I don't know yet if she grows it back but she'd look so cute with her hair in a bob + a fringe.

one of the things I like best about stories including trans characters is all those first times, or the activities you do that bring you gender euphoria, and I can totally see jack being a bit shy about going out shopping for bras so she usually orders them in, but when bitty learns about it they definitely go together, they hold hands and aw at the bras, but once bitty's got jack in a cabin it's really not some sexy trying-one-bras, it's just bitty, tongue between her teeth, making sure that jack's properly fitted and everything before she starts cooing at her girlfriend about how gorgeous she looks. 😌