The Used Recs

[why_me_why_not]

So, there's this band called The Used. I know, I know, like 87% of my flist right now is going "what the fuck" and skipping this post for something un-bandom-related. BUT! THE USED IS MADE OF AWESOME! I really should have paid more attention to this fact earlier. (Seriously, like if I would have fallen for them LAST YEAR when irisgirl12000 and I watched Berth while I was in TX, I would have had like a whole extra year to be flaily about them!) Alas, I am slow. But I'm catching up!

I mentioned something about wanting to do a picspam / rec post, but I decided to split them up, only because I realized that I've somehow accumulated over a hundred random pics of The Used in the last few months and I don't want anyone to miss out on the recs just because the picspam post crashes their computer (because of the sheer awesomeness, of course!). So: The Used Picspam

For the uninitiated who don't know who The Used are, here's a few links to get you started:

turnyourankle created an awesome two part primer: Part 1 and Part 2 (this was later compiled into one post over at bandom_primers, but for whatever reason the embedded videos in that one don't work for me, so I figured I'd link the originals.)

And A mini-primer on The Used by apiphile.

sinsense made a post about the awesomeness of Bert McCracken

And another Bert post, this one by valerie_z.

Now, FIC RECS! (B/c that's what we're all here for, really, right?) There unfortunately isn't a lot of fic out there, but what there is ficwise is usually FANTASTIC. This also means that you'll see the same names repeated a bunch as authors.

It's Not Over Yet by sinsense
GSF // sex pollen // NC-17 // 10500 words
Quinn gets some bad gatorade. A sexpollen fic.
(this was one of the first fics I read featuring The Used, and as such it earned a place as one of my favorites and I've come back to read it more than once.)

**okay, so I think sinsense is fabulous. Her characterizations and the interactions between the boys and her writing style is all awesome. And the sex is a bonus! So, here are some more of her fics:

Held and Holding
Jepha/Dan // NC-17 // 19500 words
Jepha's known Dan a long time, been friends with him since practically the first day they toured together. He's seen Dan drunk and high, climbing a bus naked on a bet. Jepha should really be as horrified by the idea of Dan having sex as he is by the idea of Bert and Quinn. Jepha should be, that is, but he really isn't. Warning for fully consensual B&D (bondage and domination) relationship.

If You're Married and You Know It
Bert/Quinn // NC-17 // 5200 words
Quinn's mom is super weird, sometimes, but Quinn didn't realize how embarrassing she could be until Bert comes to stay. The day Bert dumps his garbage bag full of stuff on Quinn's floor, she yells up the stairs, "Bunny rabbit, are you doing your homework?" Bert and Quinn over the years.

I Think I Might Trust You Maybe
Bert/Quinn // R // 3500 words
Quinn's life is cooler once Bert shows up, but it's infinitely more confusing. Warning for emetophobes in the first section.

As Long As They Don't See It
Bert/Quinn // NC-17
the story opens with a scene that could offend emetophobes, there's cussing every which way, the main characters are (vaguely) underage, and piss plays a central role in the sex. The story summary could be "RUN AWAY OMG RUN RUN RUN."
(despite the warning/summary, I still love this a ridiculous, embarrasing amount.)
SEQUEL: Let's wreck their precious, perfect town

Doing Bert
Bert/Quinn, briefly NC-17
This is the upside of doing Bert.

Into You Like a Train
Jepha/OFC // NC-17 // 9200 words
Pretty much just pegging porn, with a dash of adolescent angst.

Another author of The Used fic that I like is valerie_z. You can find her bandslash here, but here are a couple of my favorites:

Dean Butterworth Thinks You Are a Flaming Homosexual
Bert/Quinn, Bert/Alison implied // R
Dean Butterworth comes to do the drum tracks for the album, and he has to deal with the Used. Being, y'know, the Used. Utterly fantastically hilarious, seriously.
(I seriously laughed so hard at this, and I've read it several times. It always makes me smile, and I could totally see an actual youtube video of some of this shit.)

The Master of Fractions
Bert/Quinn, Bert/Quinn/Jeph // NC-17
"No fucking way, man," Bert said. "How about we go cheer up Jepha? I know exactly how."

A few others I have marked as "favorite":

Hapalochlaena lunulata cecum howardii by apiphile
Dan/Jepha // rated C for CRACK // 5,621 words
the one where Jepha is an octopus and Dan eats him...

a sorta fairytale by gonnafeelgood
Jeph/Quinn, Jeph/Bob, Bert/Quinn // R-ish // 6500 words
At one point, they all started off in the bookstore, at least Jeph’s pretty sure that they did. He did, he definitely knows that, even now that he’s forgotten most everything else. This is set in an AU based on the “All That I Got” ‘verse.

The Bridge by foxinmyhands
aka the Vegan Coffee Shop of Kink AU
Dan/Jepha. Bert/Quinn // NC-17 // 13,006 words // Kink warnings for: D/s, knifeplay, outdoor sex
Wherein Jepha owns a coffeeshop and Dan is a hot construction worker.

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out by 7iris
Dan/Jepha // NC-17 // ~2600 words
His first clue that something is wrong is when he wants to lick Dan's neck during the interview. a variation on sex pollen fic.

The Simplest Terms, The Most Convenient Definitions by eleanor_lavish
Bert/Quinn, Dan/Brendon, some Branden/Jepha, Bob/Frank // NC-17 // ~27,500 words
Bert and Brendon have always had each other's backs. It's senior year for Orem High's Class of 1960 and the arrival of the new kid forces them to learn a little about themselves, and about the people they thought they knew.
(really, HS AU, The Used, and Brendon Urie? Yeah, there's no way this wasn't going to end up one of my favorites.)

Odds Of Roughly A Billion To One by apiphile and swear_jar
GSF // NC-17 // 35000 words
Jepha and Dan make a bet. Essentially 35000 words of PWP.


And some more, in random order:

For Now by gigantic
Bert/Quinn // PG // 3,000 words
The one about the extra days spent away together.

You Are Not Ill And I'm Not Dead (Doesn't That Make Us The Perfect Pair) by femmequixotic
Bert/Quinn // NC-17 // 4100
Bert supposes he should wonder why he likes spending his day watching Quinn circle around a sand trap.

Oneirology by ficbyzee
Bert/Quinn // NC-17 // 5847 words
The study of dreams.

Enough Ain't the Test by foxinmyhands
Dan/Jepha // NC-17 // 7500 words // kink warnings for: D/s, facials, mild humiliation with cuddles

Obligation by eleanor_lavish and sinsense
Bert/Quinn // NC-17 // ~11000 words
Bert wears tiny red shorts when he cleans the pool. Quinn is only human, and kind of a bitch. They are stupidly in love, if only they can get over themselves.

The Over My Dead Body Tour by eleanor_lavish
Used, MCR // gen (Quinn/Bert, former Gerard/Bert implied. Duh.) // PG13 // 1422 words
No one expects Bert to say yes. But everyone is kind of happy he did.

Poker by 7iris
Bert/Dan/Jepha/Quinn // NC-17 // ~725 words
The a/c on the bus craps out somewhere in the Midwest, which is why everyone is sitting around in their underwear not moving a lot when Dan gets back.

Mirror, Mirror by just_katarin
Bert/Quinn (Quinn/Bert/Quinn) // NC-17 // 6,052
“Don’t fucking fall asleep on me,” Quinn tells him, pinching his side as hard as he can. “Go get that kid you fucked out of the bathroom and kick him off the bus. I have to piss. I’ll piss in your bunk, you know I will.”

made me that much stronger by gonnafeelgood
always-a-girl!Jepha/Dan // R // 4500 words
Jepha’s always been strong. She’s always been hard because that’s what you have to be when you grow up a girl on an Army base, when you’re a girl playing in a band, when you’re on the road 300 days a year with a cabal of boys and men who don’t always have your best interests in mind.

5 Times Dan Made Jepha Happy by foxinmyhands
Dan/Jepha // NC-17 // 2557 words // Kink warnings for: D/s, breathplay

Number one on my list of things to do by swear_jar
Jepha/Dan, GSF // R
Jepha would just kind of like a gangbang is all.

Low standards are the key to happiness by 7iris
Dan/Jepha // NC-17 // ~1000 words
But what Dan thinks about for days afterwards is the feeling of Jeph still and quiet underneath him. He tries, but he can't figure out how to replicate the situation.

Do you want to? by ix_tab
Dan/Jepha // PG13 // 1120
Being the Used is a unique, and awesome, and disgusting experience. Jepha is glad Dan is here with him.

Black and blue and read all over by 7iris
TU/MCR // Jepha/Frank // NC17 // 1400 words
"Jepha fucking Howard," Frank says, sprawled out on the grass behind their van, waiting for soundcheck on the most awesome tour of his life. "I don't know if I want to do him or be him. Or maybe just have his tattoos."

Five Stages of Grief by savorvrymoment
Dan/Jepha, past Branden/Jepha // R
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, & Acceptance. And ‘shit happens’ is something you say when your dishwasher stops working, or when you accidentally put a rip in your favorite shirt, or when you break your instrument on stage – not when someone who’s been an integral part of your life simply walks out of it.

And We're Coming to the Chorus Now by 7iris
Bob/Jepha // PG // ~3,500 words
An AU where Bob joined The Used instead.

Modern Alchemy by apiphile
MCR/TU // Bob/Frank, Jepha/Frank, Jepha/Dan, Bob/Dan, just … GSF // ADULT. SO VERY ADULT. I mean, it's a very nuanced examination of cultural – y'know, it's not. It's pretty much just PORN. DO NOT READ IT AT WORK. // Warnings: Pee, GSF, D/s // 8,800 words
It starts with a phone call, because a lot of things do that; this particular phone call is from some magazine or other - Bob doesn't catch the name - and when Brian hangs up he gives them all this forced smile and says, "And it's with The Used--"

And we can't forget the epic fic that is Thursday 'verse, aka WeekFight Hotel, cowritten by swear_jar and apiphile, and increased in awesomeness by the fanart and fanmixes and cosplay of many. I totally cannot rec this 'verse enough.

That's enough to keep you busy for a while now, right? *g*