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The Old Guard Fic Recs

@theoldguard-recs / theoldguard-recs.tumblr.com

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When Copley first learns of the God Killer, a new drug promising euphoria and invincibility, he doesn’t think much about it. The Old Guard isn’t in the business of catching drug traffickers, after all. But when he learns that people who shouldn’t have started dying of old age, the job suddenly seems more up their alley than he originally thought. With only what Copley’s been able to glean from his files, the Old Guard embarks on a journey to track down the warehouse manufacturing the new drug and to find out who’s behind the sudden deaths. What follows is intrigue, mystery, and more introspection than is required before Andy’s morning drink. Can the Old Guard stop the production of the God Killer before it’s too late? And who will they be when they come out on the other side?

No Archive Warnings Apply, canon-typical violence, unhealthy coping mechanisms, non-linear timeline, angst and feels, past relationships, background relationships, pov alternating, post-canon, mission fic, ensemble fic, communication, character study, families of choice.

gen, background canon relationships | 57k | Mature

Author Recommendation: I had a lot of fun planning and writing this fic, most especially because the fic went in a direction I hadn’t intended when I first wrote the prologue. I am particularly proud of the characters and the plot and in the end, this fic turned out to be mostly “found family goes on a mission and there’s action and mystery and intrigue with a little bit of dark humor.” Which, if I’m being honest, is my new type of fic to write. 

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[From:] Journal of Medieval Studies ([email protected]) [Subject:] Ad-hoc note from the editor
I have noticed an uncommon level of animosity in your responses to your reviewers (or rather, one reviewer in particular). I am writing to ask if you would please do your best to keep your interactions civil. In fairness, I have also sent a similar request to the reviewer you seem to have this friction with. I trust you will both try and remain more professional in the future.
Again, thank you for submitting your work to this journal.
Sincerely, James Copley, PhD Editor-in-Chief Journal of Medieval Studies

No archive warnings apply. AU- Academia, College/University, Modern Setting, No Powers. Humour, eventual romance, developing relationship, enemies to lovers, getting together, epistolary, mistaken identity, identity porn, research level: some effort to sound like I know what I’m talking about, actual scholarly accuracy: questionable!, snippy academics, academic diss-course.

Joe/Nicky | Gen | ~20,000 words

If you aren’t familiar with academia and scholarly peer-review processes, this fic makes it easy and enjoyable to understand! If you are or have been involved in publishing research… then this fic is hysterically funny. I had to keep catching myself to make sure the formatting wasn’t actually an email. The voices of each speaker and the presentation feel perfect to me. Some of the disses had me raising my eyebrows gleefully... and the only thing that can bring these two academics together are two other academics who are even more wrong. Always a sucker for epistolary, I cannot recommend this one enough! 

The author has written other fics for the Old Guard!

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There is a particular gap in Nile's life experiences that shows up at the most inopportune moment.

No archive warnings apply. Genuary 2021, OG Crazy Horse Girl Andy

Nile-centric | ~3900 words | Gen

What I loved: Dunking! On! FRACKING!  Horse girl Andy!!! This fic evokes the feeling of riding a horse for the first time (and given that it’s been years since I was last on a horse with supervision, I was feeling it). Plus, Nile gets back on the horse when she falls off! I dunno, feels like a great metaphor for her learning to be immortal.

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*leikʷ-, *li-ne-kʷ- "to leave behind" in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language.
Andy reflects on a habit all the immortals share.
No archive warnings apply. Meta/Headcanon in the form of a fic

Andy & Nile | ~600 words | Gen

What I loved: I’m obsessed with the reference to PIE and to all the possible lands they may have walked through! This one’s beautiful and poignant and a bite-sized fic. Love it.

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There is a woman cut in two by his window. Limned in moonlight, she is every bit as glorious and vicious as the others have recounted. Yet, Booker can see a fragility in her, a hesitancy - were they not cursed with immortality, she would not suffer herself to live. -- Quỳnh-centric piece: 100 word drabbles in the POV of each guard in relation to Quỳnh.

No archive warnings apply. Family, loss/grief, reflection, self-reflection, character study, drabble

Quynh-centric. | 600 words | Gen

What I loved: Succinct, gorgeous imagery and wording, lovely conclusion. I think this is a great exploration!

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Help me, Andromache of Scythia. You're my only hope.

No archive warnings apply. Alternate Universe – Star Wars Fusion. Andy as Obi-wan, grief-stricken and alone, Nile as Leia, Joe and Nicky as Han and Chewie if they were also simultaneously Chirrut and Baze, Booker as Owen Larsson, you’ll never guess who gets to be Darth Vader. Mod tag: alcohol use!

Genfic | ~1500 words

What I loved: This is the kind of Fusion AU that’s long enough to be satisfying and short and compact enough that I’m left wanting more! It’s a fic I think deserves more love – it’s so creative!

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It's a tradition that had been born after a particularly awful job in northern Sweden; a simple affirmation that there were good things in the world even when they were up to their necks in the absolute worst it had to offer.
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When the fighting is over and the mission has ended the family takes some time to take care of themselves and each other.

No archive warnings apply. Team as family, domestic fluff, fluff without plot, established relationship, showers, family dinners, family feels, post-canon, literal sleeping together, found family

Team as Family | ~2600 words | Gen

What I loved: Nothing makes me happier than the team being a family. Domestic fluff and how they take care of each other? Destroy me. The thing of this fic is that it goes back to how they’re not meant to be alone and them taking care of one another is something so special here. I love that this is an established thing they do and how they recenter themselves with the team.

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Highest rating: Explicit, Lowest rating: General

No archive warnings apply, graphic depictions of violence, and major character death as archive warnings.

Drabble. Additional tags vary. Pairings vary.

The ensemble is all here | 100 words each, 8600 words and counting overall | ratings vary

What I loved: I am breaking all my own conventions while making this fic rec post but I think it’s worth it! Why? Well, like me, you might be working on an Old Guard Big Bang fic, and don’t have time to read as many full-length fics! Or (given the time of year) you might be doing a gift exchange, working on finals, busy at work, or just need something chill. These fics are literary snacks. They’re 100 words each and span so many pairings, scenarios, and tones that you’ll find something you love!

Personal faves include

  • 04. Firsts (Nile, slice of life);
  • 07. Time (Andy; historically accurate reference to mammoths
  • 24. Sunrise (Nile POV; references to Quynh’s return)
  • 55. Greed (Andy; prehistoric, her time as a god)
  • 73. Heat (Joe/Nicky, pre-relationship, pining)

I had forgotten how much I love and appreciate the art inherent to a well-crafted Drabble. These are so good! The author is on Tumblr as @aimmyarrowshigh - show some love!

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"Is this a date?"
And Andy waits only a beat before saying, "No," at the same time that Joe nonchalantly says, "Yes," right at the TV.

No archive warnings apply. Post-canon, developing relationship, friends to lovers, team as family, slice of life, ficlet.

Andy/Nile | ~300 words | General

What I loved: This was one of the earliest Andy/Nile pieces in the fandom that I know of, and it’s a very sweet dinner-night-in-that’s-not-a-date! The author is on Tumblr as @rhubarbdreams and has written extensively for the Old Guard!  

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Andy did this on purpose, she’s sure of it. No matter how many excuses about skillsets and plans and 'you’ve been working on your Arabic, it’ll be good practice, Nile'… she knows now it was all a bunch of lies. There can be no other explanation for why she has been here, stuck with Joe in the middle of a hot, Italian summer while Andy has taken Nicky to the northern most part of France. It is a unique and unexpected kind of hell.
(A series of seven stories, snapshots of the first few years of Nile's time with the team. I'm trash for Nile & Nicky & Joe dynamics so there's a lot of that in here, but the others are all part of the craziness as well.)

Creator chose not to use archive warnings; additional warning in the author’s note at the start. Team as family, POV Nile Freeman, Canon-typical violence, slice of life, what would they do without Nile, We are just here for 13k of fluff and bonding and minor angst people, some plot, sharing clothes, protectiveness.

Team as Family with background Joe/Nicky and Andy/Quynh | ~13000 words | Not Rated, Gen

What I loved: So much of this fic feels warm and cozy to me (perfect for what’s a blustery November day in my part of the world) – I love the bonding, I love the vignettes, and there’s some very sweet Joe/Nicky content throughout. Nile getting used to the dynamics of the team takes centre stage, as do some extended convos between her and the other Old Guard folks.

The author has written other fic for the Old Guard!

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There are names that came both before hers and after. Andromache struggles to remember them, but for all that she does, she calls on them. She pleads to Tiamat, drain your ocean dry for her, sobs to Nu and Ağ Ana, raise her back up, bring her home where she belongs, begs Yam, I will take on any burden, trade my life for hers, place me in those depths instead.
She asks Bangpūtys, Lạc Long Quân, Aruna, Tsovinar, Mazu; How did I wrong you? What can I do? Any trial, any task. Tell me! Show me!
Andromache appeals to the names before them, those lost to time and memory. It is a desperate hope that they would stir for her, for Quynh, but if ever they were to, perhaps it would be for ones with equally long memories.

No archive warnings apply. angst, fluff, the bargaining stage of grief, i play fast and loose with mythology, my apologies, there is a happy ending for them, you and me - until the end, reunion AU

Andy/Quynh | ~1700 words | Gen

What I loved: This one starts with so much grief and rawness and ends tender and sweet! It’s a great Andy / Quynh fic that I think deserves a lot of love : )

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After Andy loses her immortality, Joe and Nicky aren't sure exactly how to treat her. Nile does not have the same problem.
"Out of all of us here, who's spent the last few years sparring with mortal people just about every day without killing them?" Nile raised her own hand. "Right. So you two go dance sword ballet or whatever it is, and Andy and I are going to punch the shit out of each other."

Graphic Depictions of Violence. Sparring, canon-typical violence (actually significantly LESS violent than Canon), Banter, POV Nile Freeman, Nile Freeman-centric, Gen or Pre-Slash, (in the author's heart it's pre-slash)

Andy & Nile | ~1900 words | Teen

What I loved: The action and the banter feel delightfully familiar, and I love this as a post-canon piece! 

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What is the rate of grey cast iron (Fe 94.3, C 3.4, Si 1.8, Mn 0.5%) corrosion in seawater? Joe wonders.
Joe sparks ideas. Booker does the technology—he loves the mechanics. Nicky noodles through the art of the possible. Andy pulls them all together and executes the plans. And, honestly, Andromache the Scythian would never stop looking – have you met her?

Creator chose not to use archive warnings. World War II, Unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Gen relationship | ~5600 words | Teen

What I loved: An inventive take on the “finding Quynh” story where the Old Guard works through different methods of search, eventually including modern technology! I found the ending rather hilarious, and the fic formatting really enjoyable.

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Nile’s world is upended. But she doesn’t lose family. Not all the way.

No archive warnings apply. Grief/mourning, team bonding, birthday presents, friendship, platonic cuddling. Nile-Centric | Gen | Teen and up | 9,781 words What I Loved: At the heart of it, this story is about family. It’s family and grief and the changes one goes through. Nile is so interesting in this respect, she’s given space by the others and biblionerd07 does such a great job of showing the parts that Nile is still adjusting to and the parts that Nile still grieves. I love how Nile settles into her family by the end. The author is on tumblr as @biblionerd07 and has written other fic for The Old Guard!

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Figs and Pomegranates - sabrina_il (marina) - Your Fave Friday

Summary: Nile’s favorite times are after a long, difficult job, when they all feel the need to spend time together, sleep in the same house, eat and drink together every day, pair up for trips and excursions. Content Warnings: N/A Nile, Andy, Nicky, & Joe | < 1000 words | Gen What I Loved: This is just so sweet, so wholesome, and so pure. I love how Nile’s settling into the team, and Joe’s cooking and music–and the links to the songs that inspired the fic are a fun bonus!

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Nile has had it. She’s tired and she’s telegraphing her moves and she’s done caring. There is nothing that matters except beating her. She crowds up to Andy and swings for her face; Andy leans out of range. Nile puts everything she’s got into the backstroke, and Andy raises her stick to block with her hands set wide. It snaps in half. That doesn't count as a point, but damn if it doesn’t feel great anyway. Andy steps back, staring at the two halves. Nile puts the tip of her stick under Andy’s chin. That’s a point. There’s something new and electric in Andy’s eyes. She nods, as if to the beat of a song Nile can’t hear, and tosses the broken pieces away.

Graphic depictions of violence, Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim fusion, canon-typical mentions of torture, canonical character death, world building, angst, dystopia

Nile-Centric | Gen | 16,767 words

What I Loved:

Full disclosure - I love any and all AUs and especially Pacific Rim fusions. I love the way that the history of both Pacific Rim and of The Old Guard is woven into this fic. It’s a rich and wonderful bit of world-building, and - who doesn’t want to see Nile in a Jaeger?

The author is on Tumblr as @hauntedfalcon and has written other fic for The Old Guard!

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