Music recs: Boh Runga, Carbon Leaf, Chicago June 22, 2019

I’ve been mostly doing 3 songs per artist, but some of them really resist limitation. Maybe I should kick it up to 4 as a standard?

Boh Runga: Chinese/Maori pop-rock musician from New Zealand. Originally the lead for the band stellar*, which had a more aggressive sound — I prefer her more mellow solo work. (Boh Runga’s channel.)

Sadly, she’s been basically-retired from music for the past decade, the better to focus on her jewelry design. (Boh Runga’s jewelry Instagram.)

Carbon Leaf: folk-rock, alt-country, apparently with a mix of Celtic and bluegrass influences? Lyrically, they’re kind of like They Might Be Giants — offbeat, sometimes fun, sometimes wistful. (Carbon Leaf playlist.)

Having gone through a bunch of their albums in chronological order now, I’d say the earliest stuff is pretty meh, and Indian Summer is when they really hit their stride.

Chicago: classic rock, with lots of jazzy horns and soft-but-emotionally-wrenching ballads. (Chicago playlist.)

They make the top 20 in a lot of Billboard all-time-best-bands charts! And yet in my corner of the internet, which manages to drop references to Bon Jovi or Queen or Simon & Garfunkel, Chicago barely ever comes up. (I guess they do have a lack of odd-enough-to-be-memeable lyrics.)

Multifandom Recommendations – Temeraire, The Hobbit, Sailor Moon, His Dark Materials, Madoka Magica, Doctrine of Labyrinths, Beauty and the Beast, To Whatever June 19, 2019

• Temeraire, The Hobbit | Temeraire/Smaug, Laurence | M | Thunder On the Mountain
  Temeraire has searched long and hard for his lost captain, in a strange and distant land. One very large obstacle presents itself and demands his attention. And other things.

  Fulfillment of his quest comes with a price, and Middle-earth’s future is subtly altered.
  crossover,series:temeraire,series:lord of the rings,pairing:temeraire_smaug,kink:bdsm,fic:one-shot

• Temeraire | OCs, Temeraire | G | A Most Distinguished Guest Speaker
  “Come on, Cef!” Samaritan said, practically vibrating with excitement. “I wanna see Temeraire!”
  series:temeraire,fic:one-shot,genfic

• Temeraire | Laurence/Roland, Tharkay, ensemble | G | One for the Corps
  Life in the Peak district takes a fresh turn when Jane makes an announcement. Laurence is mortified, Lady Allendale delighted, the Corps love the gossip, Temeraire battles jealousy, and Tharkay just wants to read his newspaper (because as we know, all infants look alike).
  series:temeraire,fic:chaptered,trope:kidfic,pairing:laurence_roland

• Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Usagi, Ikuko | G | Can’t Let Go
  Usagi shows up at her house the morning after the earthquake with a baby in her arms and tears in her eyes.

  Ikuko opens the door and takes one look at the fresh wounds and the distant, broken look in her daughter’s eyes, and she envelopes Usagi in a hug.
  series:sailor moon,trope:kidfic,fic:one-shot,genfic,kink:identity porn

• Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Mamoru, Motoki | T | The Aftermath of Bachelor Parties
  “I take it this isn’t going to be a fun, sexy story where we look really awesome and cool.”
  series:sailor moon,genfic,fic:one-shot

• Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | ensemble | T | Last October
  Last October is set five hundred years from now, and uses somewhat sped-up worst-case-scenario official projections of the effects of climate change as a result of unchecked pollution, and the failure of a patchwork half-magic weather and sustainable energy system, and it applies them to the doomsday event that heralds the dawn of Crystal Tokyo.
  series:sailor moon,fic:chaptered,trope:apocalypse,genfic

• Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Haruka/Michiru | G | Disguises or the Femme Fatale
  Michiru was abducted by an undefeatable demon, and Uranus lost her transformation wand. What horror! To save her partner, Haruka is prepared to do everything, even if it means embracing her feminine side.
  series:sailor moon,pairing:haruka_michiru,yuri,fic:one-shot,crackfic

• Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Minako/Kunzite | G | Bottom of a Phone Booth
  And now he was sitting in front of her – the leader of the Sailor Senshi, his murderer twice over, and a woman who he’d… who had meant a great deal to him once. She still did, even though he had never met her, and he did not know her name.
  series:sailor moon,pairing:kunzite_minako,fic:one-shot,kink:identity porn

• His Dark Materials | Lyra/Will, Mary | T | Salutation, Valediction
  What a grown Lyra and Will might do, upon discovering a door between their worlds remained open.
  series:his dark materials,fic:chaptered,pairing:will_lyra,trope:hurt-comfort

• Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Homura/Madoka, Sayaka, Kyoko | M | Misbehaving Angels
  “I need you to come home. Madoka and Homura are about to start having some kind of deity sex in the kitchen. I’m safe, don’t worry, but there is about to be some seriously supernatural sex going down in the kitchen, any minute now.”
  pairing:homura_madoka,yuri,series:puella magi madoka magica,kink:weird.sex,fic:one-shot

• Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Homura/Madoka, Sayaka | G | Shadow of a Doubt
  “Sayaka called earlier. She said she’d been worried about you lately, so she invited you to the arcade for a chat. While she was leaving, she heard a commotion, so she went back in case you’d gotten into trouble. Did you really shoot out the glass of an arcade game and steal that toy?”
  series:puella magi madoka magica,fic:one-shot,yuri,pairing:homura_madoka

• Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Kyuubey, Homura | T | A severe miscalculation was made
  If he could feel pride Kyubey would congratulate himself on coming up with this plan. Now that Homura had been defeated, it was time for him to move to a new planet and start over. What could possibly go wrong now?
  fic:one-shot,series:puella magi madoka magica,genfic

• Doctrine of Labyrinths | Mildmay/Felix | M | A Theory of Reversals
  The Celebrants of the Gardens have healed Felix, but it seems he may still suffer from a deeper malaise.
  fic:one-shot,series:doctrine of labyrinths,pairing:mildmay_felix,trope:incest,trope:hurt-comfort

• Beauty and the Beast | Belle/Adam | M | Which alters when it alteration finds
  Belle fell in love with the Beast. What if she isn’t as into him as a human?
  series:beauty and the beast,pairing:belle_beast,series:disney,fic:one-shot,kink:xeno

• To Whatever | Ethan, Whatever | G | Correspondence
  After discovering that I’d saved my correspondence from the early days of our acquaintance, the author of these notes asked for equal time. As you might expect for a translation from a pandimensional runic language that is not actually written as much as it is instantiated, this is only an approximation.
  series:to whatever,genfic,fic:one-shot

Multifandom Recommendations – Hellsing, Addams Family, Stargate, Steven Universe, Fake News, Temeraire, Sherlock Holmes June 12, 2019

• Hellsing | Integra/Alucard | T | A Voice and Thought
  Integra and Alucard have conversations no one can hear.
  series:hellsing,fic:one-shot,pairing:integra_alucard,kink:soulbond

• The Addams Family | Morticia/Gomez | G | Cleopatra’s Needle
  At fifteen, Morticia Frump is as interested in her graveyard gardening as her older sister is in her suitors. But gardens and suitors do not always stay in their separate worlds.
  series:addams family,fic:one-shot,pairing:gomez_morticia

• Stargate: Atlantis | McKay/Cadman, McKay/Sheppard | T | Panthalassa
  In free Lantea, eight years after the war ends, all the children look like John Sheppard.
  series:stargate,pairing:sheppard_mckay,pairing:mckay_cadman,trope:kidfic,fic:chaptered

• Steven Universe | Blue/Pink/Yellow | R | Creator
  Blue and Yellow have ways of making use of Pink’s special talents.
  series:steven universe,pairing:blue diamond_pink diamond_yellow diamond,yuri,fic:one-shot,kink:bdsm,trope:non-con

• Steven Universe | Connie, ensemble | G | The Stranger in Me
  An accident bonds Connie to a strange new entity, one who might not have her best interests at heart. With the threat of a mysterious invasion on the horizon, she and the Crystal Gems will have to look for answers and keep the peace as potential disaster arises from within one of their own.
  genfic,series:steven universe,fic:chaptered,fic:epic

• The Daily Show | Jon, “Stephen” | T | Breaking News
  There’s always time for at least one more spat, even if it is the Rapture.
  series:fake news,fic:one-shot,pairing:jon_’stephen’,trope:apocalypse

• Fake News | Jon/Stephen | M | Both the Absurd and the Unexpected
  An alien lands in New Jersey, bites Jon Stewart, and gives him tentacles. Stephen and Jon benefit immensely from these turn of events.
  pairing:jon_stephen,series:fake news,fic:one-shot,kink:tentacles

• Temeraire, Sherlock Holmes | Holmes, Watson, Temeraire | G | Like a Dragon in a China Shop
  When Holmes’ investigation into a series of murders in Chinatown reaches an impasse, Watson must call upon an old acquaintance for help.
  series:temeraire,fic:one-shot,series:sherlock holmes,crossover,genfic

• His Majesty’s Dragon | Laurence/Tharkay, Temeraire, Iskierka, Granby | M | To Timbuktu (And Back Again)
  In which Arkady manages to be a great nuisance, despite never appearing in the story, and Tharkay is thoroughly unsettled.
  pairing:laurence_tharkay,series:temeraire,fic:one-shot

• Temeraire | Laurence/Tharkay, servants | G | Upstairs, Downstairs
  Mr. Tharkay was entirely clever, entirely self-sufficient, and the Admiral was a true gentleman, respectful and warm towards the servants without being permissive, and they were both, Mary supposed, very great men in their own rights. It was only that, when they were together, she couldn’t fail to think that they were not in their right mind.
  series:temeraire,trope:outsider.pov,pairing:laurence_tharkay,fic:one-shot

• Temeraire | Laurence/Tharkay | T | This is Your Requiem
  Temeraire is dead. The entire country knows his name after the Battle of Dover, and now Temeraire is dead.
  “Well,” says Admiral Croft, “At least you can join the navy again, eh, Captain?”
  series:temeraire,pairing:laurence_tharkay,trope:trauma,fic:one-shot

• Temeraire | Laurence/Tharkay, Temeraire, others | T | Five Times Dragons Tried to Make Them Do It
  Temeraire has a plan.
  series:temeraire,fic:five times,pairing:laurence_tharkay

• Temeraire | f!Laurence, Temeraire, team | G | genderswap ficlet
  Though Laurence is relieved to join the British ship in Nagasaki, her arrival only leads her to more questions.
  genfic,series:temeraire,fic:one-shot,trope:genderplay

• Temeraire | Laurence/Tharkay, others | G | Lost in Translation
  Tharkay learns to speak Durzagh. It somehow leads to a series of realisations.
  series:temeraire,fic:one-shot,pairing:laurence_tharkay

• Temeraire | f!Laurence/Tharkay, Temeraire | M | softly
  Laurence is happy in Scotland, happy with Tharkay and Temeraire and their new life.
  Mostly.
  series:temeraire,pairing:laurence_tharkay,fic:one-shot,trope:genderplay

Multifandom Recommendations – The Good Place, Harry Potter, Red Dwarf, Star Trek, Temeraire, Discworld, She-Ra June 5, 2019

• The Good Place | Jason, Chidi | G | Life, Death, and Breakfast
  During the year in Australia Chidi and Jason fall into a routine and a friendship.
  fic:one-shot,series:the good place,genfic

• The Good Place | ensemble | G | And A Thousand Other Variations
  It wasn’t always Eleanor who figures it out: ten separate resets.
  fic:five times,series:the good place,genfic,pairing:eleanor_tahani,pairing:chidi_jason,pairing:eleanor_jason,pairing:eleanor_gunnar,yuri

• The Good Place | Tahani | G | Making It On Her Own
  When you get arrested in the Hamptons, you get arrested in real life.
  fic:one-shot,series:the good place,genfic

• Harry Potter | Pince, Umbridge, Fred & George | G | Desk Duty
  There was nothing quite so nice as a totally quiet library, Madam Pince thought fondly.
  fic:one-shot,series:harry potter,genfic,trope:library.science

• Red Dwarf | Lister/Rimmer, Cat | G | Home
  A very brief snippet of a cozy evening with our Boys.
  series:red dwarf,pairing:rimmer_lister,fic:bite-size

• Red Dwarf | Rimmer/Lister, Cat, Kryten, Rimmerclones | M | Cloning Around
  “Rimmer/Lister, The Great One/Lister. During Rimmerworld, ‘The Great One’, despite finding the human/gerbil hybrid ugly, wants him for himself. Lister still thinks he’s Rimmer, and so is maybe quite up for it.”
  series:red dwarf,pairing:rimmer_lister,kink:identity porn,fic:one-shot

• Red Dwarf, Star Trek | Kryten, Borg Qeen, Q, Picard | G – Mopping is Optional
  The Borg Collective encounter to their regret a neurotic cleaning droid.
  genfic,series:red dwarf,crossover,series:star trek

• Temeraire, Discworld | Temeraire, DEATH | G | Expectations
  Years after the last Laurence passes, Temeraire has a new visitor…
  series:temeraire,series:discworld,fic:one-shot,genfic,crossover

• Temeraire | Laurence, Temeraire, ensemble | G | Reckless Captain
  The Regal Copper Laurentius accidentally acquires a captain, Tharkay spectates, Temeraire is Not Actually an Orphan, and no one really knows who’s leading France. Someone should probably get on that, considering England is at war with the place.
  series:temeraire,fic:one-shot,genfic

• Temeraire | Granby, Laurence, Temeraire | G | On Dragons and the Prospect of Marriage [Archive of Our Own]
  Wherein Lord Allendale hires a knight to rescue his son from a dragon, and it’s all just a big misunderstanding.
  series:temeraire,genfic,fic:one-shot

• Temeraire | Laurence/Tharkay, Temeraire | T | Memories of Unreal Things
  A man lay upon the cot, his face bruised and battered, his hands curled against his chest bloody, and Laurence did not know him. (Or, a little part of Blood of Tyrants goes differently.)
  series:temeraire,fic:one-shot,trope:amnesia,pairing:laurence_tharkay

• Temeraire | Laurence, Temeraire, Perscitia, dragons | G | Animal Husbandry
  Weeks after finding a dragon egg in the Amitie’s hold William Laurence reluctantly turns away and lets the Corps take Temeraire – but he doesn’t return to the Navy.

  He’s not an aviator, but somehow Laurence still ends up going down in history as the instigator behind the Great Dragon Rebellion of ‘06.
  series:temeraire,genfic,fic:one-shot

• Temeraire | Laurence, Temeraire, OCs | T | Pirate King Laurence
  It’s bad luck to have a dragon aboard a ship, and this tiny black creature can’t be natural at all. Slowed by a gale and bad-luck, the Reliant mutinies and puts Laurence and Temeraire alone on the Amitié. The journey back to England is difficult, and on the way Laurence accidentally finds himself leading a small fleet of fighting ships. As one does.
  series:temeraire,genfic,fic:chaptered

• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power | Hordak/Entrapta | G | lover caught me off guard
  in which entrapta’s a tax evader & hordak’s the IRS agent that’s come to arrest her
  series:she-ra,fic:one-shot,pairing:entrapta_hordak,trope:genderplay

• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power | ensemble | T | with all the powers of grayskull
  The one who gets the sword is the one who has to use it. Five people who never became She-Ra, and one who never wanted to.
  fic:five times,series:she-ra,genfic