Candy Hearts 2026: reveals and recs
Feb. 18th, 2026 12:27 pmThe Candy Hearts collection opened this weekend and I come bearing recs. First, my gift:
The author went with my arranged marriage prompt, resulting in some absolutely delightful enemies-to-??? fiancés flirting. I love them and I love this.
Then, a smattering of fics I liked, ordered by length:
Dancing & Desire (The Goblin Emperor, Csethiro/Maia, Teen, 700 words)
Maia and Csethiro's first kiss, ft dancing lessons and Csethiro speaking her mind. Just a wonderful Valentine's chocolate of a fic.
I Just Texted to Say (Heated Rivalry, Scott/Kip, Gen, 1.5k)
Texts between Scott and Kip from their breakup to the Big Damn Kiss. Impeccable character voices, a really fun take on their dynamic.
Humans Need Chess Periods (The Murderbot Diaries, Murderbot&Ratthi, Gen, 1.9k)
Things I did not know I needed: Murderbot playing board games with Ratthi (recovering from concussion) and being good at chess.
Adrift (The Murderbot Diaries, Murderbot&Ratthi, Gen, 2k)
Murderbot and Ratthi are stranded in a small shuttle for several days. Beautiful dynamic, sort of really understated emotional h/c.
Missing the Point (FAQ: The "Snake Fight" Portion of Your Thesis Defense - Luke Burns, herpetology students, Gen, 2.2k)
The herpetology students have very different questions about the snake fight portion of their thesis defense. Pitch-perfect academic emails, adorable concept, made me laugh several times.
paradise (Original Work, Female Elf Noble/Her Male Drow Hostage-Secretary, Teen, 2.5k)
The original ship tag is "Male Drow Used To Being A Disappointment/His Female Captor Who Thinks He's Pretty Great". Moderately gnarly cultural conflict, lovely subdued developing relationship, vivid worldbuilding.
disorderly, and marvelous, and ours (Homestuck, Equius♦Nepeta, Teen, 3.1k)
Humanstuck, still moirails (and also childhood friends). Really lovely warm take on the concept.
how do you speak with your tongue pressed so tight to your teeth? (Fullmetal Alchemist, Roy & Riza & Olivier, Teen, 4.2k)
Riza shows up with injured Roy at Briggs, Olivier thinks a lot about this impressively competent adjutant. Fantastic character voices and character dynamics.
I have two fics in the collection, one even more obvious than the other. :D
Vienna Blood Waltz (734 words)
Fandom: Invisible Inc. (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Brian Decker/Maria "Internationale" Valdés
Characters: Brian Decker, Maria "Internationale" Valdés
Additional Tags: Arranged Marriage, Pre-Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Flirting, Enemies to ???
Summary:The moves to this dance are more complicated than Decker's used to.
The author went with my arranged marriage prompt, resulting in some absolutely delightful enemies-to-??? fiancés flirting. I love them and I love this.
Then, a smattering of fics I liked, ordered by length:
Dancing & Desire (The Goblin Emperor, Csethiro/Maia, Teen, 700 words)
Maia and Csethiro's first kiss, ft dancing lessons and Csethiro speaking her mind. Just a wonderful Valentine's chocolate of a fic.
I Just Texted to Say (Heated Rivalry, Scott/Kip, Gen, 1.5k)
Texts between Scott and Kip from their breakup to the Big Damn Kiss. Impeccable character voices, a really fun take on their dynamic.
Humans Need Chess Periods (The Murderbot Diaries, Murderbot&Ratthi, Gen, 1.9k)
Things I did not know I needed: Murderbot playing board games with Ratthi (recovering from concussion) and being good at chess.
Adrift (The Murderbot Diaries, Murderbot&Ratthi, Gen, 2k)
Murderbot and Ratthi are stranded in a small shuttle for several days. Beautiful dynamic, sort of really understated emotional h/c.
Missing the Point (FAQ: The "Snake Fight" Portion of Your Thesis Defense - Luke Burns, herpetology students, Gen, 2.2k)
The herpetology students have very different questions about the snake fight portion of their thesis defense. Pitch-perfect academic emails, adorable concept, made me laugh several times.
paradise (Original Work, Female Elf Noble/Her Male Drow Hostage-Secretary, Teen, 2.5k)
The original ship tag is "Male Drow Used To Being A Disappointment/His Female Captor Who Thinks He's Pretty Great". Moderately gnarly cultural conflict, lovely subdued developing relationship, vivid worldbuilding.
disorderly, and marvelous, and ours (Homestuck, Equius♦Nepeta, Teen, 3.1k)
Humanstuck, still moirails (and also childhood friends). Really lovely warm take on the concept.
how do you speak with your tongue pressed so tight to your teeth? (Fullmetal Alchemist, Roy & Riza & Olivier, Teen, 4.2k)
Riza shows up with injured Roy at Briggs, Olivier thinks a lot about this impressively competent adjutant. Fantastic character voices and character dynamics.
I have two fics in the collection, one even more obvious than the other. :D
