I didn’t read much this month. My brain is starting to float away from fanfics and back into tradpub. It’s funny how these things float around. I thought I’d have much more drive to read FF after S3 but…yeah.

First: Until It Is by Sakascal. Post-canon angst-driven story of capture, torture, rescue, and (finally) talking. This was sooooo good. I might be a bit biased because 1) the author is a friend and 2) I helped beta the first five chapters. Still. I was feral asking for the next chapters to edit while this was ongoing, heh.

Second: Where We Land by badwolfgirlicouldkissyou. This is a story about a (literal) fall and the fallout (no pun intended) for both the person hurt and his caregiver. No punches are pulled. This is a heavy but also hopeful story.

Third: Still We Know Each Other So Well by PaperclipNinja. I have been following this story for two years now. It feels strange to add it to May’s tally, as only the last two chapters posted in 2026. But that’s how it is sometimes in fanfic, and I was never worried that Ninja wouldn’t finish this one. It’s a lovely story that shot me right in the chest from the beginning. It’s a memory-wipe fic where Az and Crow unknowingly learn what it is to experience humanity from within, rather than living beside it, and all the complications that entails. It’s tender and sweet and bittersweet and hard in places, and in the end, so worth everything. This has long been one of my favorites, and I can’t wait to go back and read the whole thing as a completed fic.

Fourth: All the Pieces You Are by Create_Serenity. This is the second of three (so far) novels in this series. I’ve read the first and the third, and finally got the last chapter of this one this month. It came out the day before the season finale, and I read it two days later. I didn’t realize it was going to leave on a major angst cliffhanger. Gah! I adore the author, she’s a lovely person, and I’m going to strangle her for doing this to me while also encouraging her to get back to the page so she can write the resolution for all of us!