monthly members' rec list
Hey all! The wonderful fairygrrl45 asked me to rec this month's member rec post, and um, since I have quite the collection of BTR fic bookmarked, I was like SUREE. I wish I had the ability to a proper picture icon thing to express how much I love the BTR fandom and the quality fic that comes from it, but alas, I only have a picture of intrigued Camille and James to tide you all over.
The theme is fic that turned me onto a ship and or fic that, for me, epitomize a pairing.
Which, basically mean fic that I consistently go back to, over and over again, despite the myriad of pairings that make up the collection, because they make me feel gooey and I love reading them and shipping everyone that is anyone in the BTR universe. (And to spare you a list that would be about 100 recs long, I've decided to omit RPS, because, well, I know that's not everyone's cup of tea, and frankly, that helps a lot with the narrowing down.)
James/Carlos
Memories We Never Made by jannika
A what-if they never became a boy band? AU. The summer after high school graduation. Angst. And also angst.
Apparently this is a WIP, but the only chapter that exists works fine as a stand alone. Oh, the angst! You'd think James/Carlos and angst don't go hand-in-hand, but wow. This fic, does things to my insides. James goes off to pursue his dreams of a popstar, but he goes off alone, since Kendall and Logan have firmly decided to stay in Minnesota, to go to college and become hockey players. This fic covers the dwindling summer before James has to leave for L.A. He decides to experiment with his sexuality and has to bite his lip to keep from desperately asking the three boys to drop their plans and come with him. And then there's Carlos, who says nothing and wistfully waits for James to make a move. I LOVE THIS FIC SO HARD.
You Got These Little Things That You're Running From by fajitalicker
James and Carlos meet at university and fall in love. Only, it isn't quite that simple. Or, the one where James has mommy issues, Kendall is sarcastic, and Camille is the best method actress ever.
I'm a huge sucker for AUs in any fandom, especially of the college variety. This is a great one, and it's lengthy, so the characters, who are a little OOC, have room to breathe and grow, in which Kendall and James are roommates, live across the hall from a zany Carlos and Logan, and down the hall from Camille and Jo. Carlos makes his presence obviously known, and he and James soon become inseparable. fajitalicker delicately addresses James' mommy issues and some homophobic issues as well, and presents a piece of work that's easy to read and easy to gobble up in one go.
Heartbeat Racing The Interstate by technicallysane
"They can solve a surprising number of problems, road trips." - Colin Singleton. In a fit of pure impulsiveness, James and Carlos decide to go on a road trip to Cedar Point. They just happen to discover a few things about themselves along the way.
I will rec this fic until the end of time. I absolutely love technicallysane's grasp of the two boys' voices and their mannerisms and the motivations behind their actions, and out of all of her fic, this is the one I keep coming back to. I've already recced this before on my personal LJ, but I want to make sure everyone EVERYONE has a chance to read this fantastic gem. James and Carlos get bored and antsy, cooped up in the studio and recording songs, and take Train's car on a road trip to Cedar Point, and then feelings get in the way, and awesomness and fluff ensues.
Take What Comes and Keep on Going (Five Things That Never Happened, And One That Did) by lyricsandhearts
"We have to meet. It's like... Like destiny, or fate. Or some crap like that."
I never knew how much I loved the five things meme, and this fic in particular, until I was trying to find this fic and realized I had bookmarked it on my other computer that I'd crashed and burned and left in my apartment, while I'm stuck all the way out in Canada. There's no real way I can explain my love for this fic, so I'll just quickly sum up each section. 1) Carlos is James' number one fan, and then he gets to live out his fantasy of meeting him. 2) Princess Mercedes cannot stand that Prince James is prettier than her, so she kidnaps him, and it's up to Carlos to save him. Camille and Jo make delightful cameos. 3) Carlos and James are rival hockey players, with substantial simmering sexual tension. 4) James is a new student at Fellows High School, and he's mute. Carlos is a little obsessed with him, and tries his hardest to befriend him. 5) Carlos is Carla Garcia. And James is painfully in love with her.
Kendall/James
Never Did Run Smooth by queenitsy (also with Lucy/Camille, Kendall/Jo, Kendall and James with OCs in passing)
The problem isn't really that Kendall's been in love with James for as long as he can remember. The problem is the jealousy. Oh, and the lying. For a guy who hates lying, Kendall sure does an awful lot of it.
Despite the summary sounding way angsty, this is a lengthy fic that all boils down to this: Kendall loves James. James loves everyone and is oblivious to Kendall's feelings. Lucy and Camille kick all kinds of ass by orchestrating a plan for Kendall to become this alluring object of lust that James cannot and will not be able to resist. But in true BTR wacky fashion, things go wrong, there's a lot of funny facial expressions made, a lot of drinking and telling of truths, and an undercurrent of sexual tension to help lead the way. I absolutely love the backstory queenitsy weaves in throughout the fic - Logan's uncle being gay, for example - and it helps flesh out the showverse to fit within the context of the story.
Higher Than the Empire State, Brighter than the Sun bylilahfrost (side Camille/Carlos, past Kendall/Jo, past James/Logan)
Two messed up kids in New York City. Also, they fall in love.
This is a Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist AU, which means that it is just perfect. Camille is goofy and flirty and sexual and all Miss Instigator, Carlos pops up everywhere in the fic, and Logan and Jo both take up the interesting role as the evil ex who must be shooed away in the quest that is Kendall/James. Other than that, this fic just works, and there's a lot of looking-inside-of-one's-self, and I just love it.
Nothing and Nowhere is Golden by garnetice (with minor Curt/Logan, Curt/Mercedes, Logan/Camille)
"That's the other thing C.S. Lewis doesn't tell you. Universe hopping is exhausting."
I think this was the second Kendall/James fic I read in this fandom, and whoo boy was it a good one. The brilliant garnetice latches onto the weirdness that was the unaired pilot of BTR, when Dak Zevon was masquerading as Curt Hansen, and proceeds to create a story that is at once goofy and heartwrenching and tear-jerking and breathtaking all at once. James and Kendall manage to find each other, despite James being less vain and more soulful than his universe's James Diamond. I can't say much else lest I spoil anything for anyone who has been unfortunate enough not to stumble upon this fic, but all I can suggest is to arm yourself with a box of tissues and be prepared to laugh and cry while gobbling up every extremely well-written word.
Best-Laid Plans by notbrothered (with a side helping of Carlos/Logan)
Logan shakes his head. I think we should definitely not get James in on a plan that you've creatively titled Make Kendall Happy by Curing His Loneliness; the James Diamond Make-Out Itinerary. Good word by the way."
Anything with Carlos scheming is golden and a must-read for me. Sadly, I am unable to track down a similar fic, in which James and Logan have a bet on whether James can make Kendall kiss him and zany things like James seriously serenading Kendall with "Worldwide" in the middle of class, but this one is just as awesome, and it ships Carlos and Logan on the side, which is awesome and unexpected. Carlos can't stand any of his friends being sad, and since James is such a good kisser and general ego-booster-upper, he figures he can get them to kiss and then good things will happen and the universe will be righted. This fic is just awesome in its fluffiness.
Kendall/Carlos
Free Hugs by rensahannou
"It's about a week before Carlos's 18th birthday when Kendall finally figures out what to do with all of those coupons."
Fluffy Kendall/Carlos is the best kind. rensahannou, who has an uncanny ability to capture the showverse boys' voices to a tee, takes the idea of Carlos making schmoopy homemade coupons for any occasion, and turns it into the greatest plot bunny ever: how Kendall comes to realize that he lurves Carlos, and he needs to come up with a really good gift, on par with Carlos' carefully created coupons, and how to sneak in both a declaration of his love and a kiss coupon at the same time.
Kendall/Logan
Billboards Lighting Up the Block bymoonspoken
An AU in which Kendall and Logan have never met. Logan goes clubbing with James and Carlos, and meets a beautiful playboy named Kendall.
Honestly, I was suckered into reading this fic the minute I read that summary. This is a seriously sexy fic, and all the boys are completely in character (at least as of season one). Logan is lovable as a pepper spray toting virgin (on all counts - in clubbing, in dancing, in having sex with boys), Carlos and James are rampantly sexual and gay for each other, and Kendall is all cool and confident.
One Two Three Call Your Girls and Boys by folkloric_feel (with James/Carlos, Jo/Camille, a pinch of Kendall/James, and bitchy!Mercedes
It all starts when the girls of Beta Theta Rho decide to throw a party. College AU.
I can't get enough of college AUs. And I just realized that Beta Theta Rho stands for BTR, doy. Anyway! On to the goodness. Mercedes and the Jennifers are a bitch. Jo, Camille, and Stephanie are in the same sorority and try their hardest to keep the mean girls from embarrassing the geeky and dorky guys on campus, which include an adorably shy and fumbly Logan and a goofy and vulnerable Carlos. Kendall and James are both slutty, and are in some sort of hockey fraternity, and they save the day, which then segues into make out time for the both of them with their respective new found boyfriends. I love love LOVE this fic, and I want everyone else to as well.
James/Logan
Sticky Dating Situations by smallearthcat
A look at a few of James and Logan's double dates.
This was the FIRST James/Logan fic I read in this fandom, and I kind of measure all other James/Logan fic to it, and by that, I mean that this has become my head canon, despite that I majorly ship James and Carlos together. Ah well, that's why I love fic and its persuasive powers. The fic follows the boys from freshmen year in high school until current time in Hollywood as Big Time Rush, and slowly shapes up the relationship between the two boys, which go from them being Kendall's friends and not having much else in common, to a sudden surge in shared interest in video games and girls, and then to Logan being ballsy and letting James know that he likes him. I absolutely love the characterization of Logan in this fic, and how James isn't stupid, just charming and naive and focused on being a good friend.
Whisper the Wrong Name bygarnetice (James/Kendall kind of, onesided Kendall/Logan)
James and Kendall compete over Logan.
What starts as a goofy look into the competitive relationship between James and Kendall turns into a great character study of the two boys, and their complicated feelings about each other, and how Logan fits into that picture. The fic switches back and forth from them as kids to present day BTR, and as usual, garnetice manages to fit all kinds of feeling and angst into the story.
James/Camille
Significant Caps by queenitsy
Camille's feeling down and finds a way to cheer herself up.
The summary basically spells out what's going to happen in this brief ficlet. Camille finds out that Logan is gay, and while she doesn't lose her spirit, really, it's understandable that she's a little downtrodden at having been rejected by a boy she'd set her sights on. Then she stumbles upon James AND ALL OF MY JAMES/CAMILLE FEELINGS ARE SATISFIED. I don't know why I haven't included more of queenitsy in this rec post because she's one of my favorite writers and has the uncanny ability to turn me onto any ship she writes on.
Camille/Jo
Leave All Your Love and Your Longing behind (of Fantasy Movies and Hellos) byfolkloric_feel (background Kendall/Logan and Carlos/James)
Five Ways Jo and Camille didn't meet.
Like I said, I have certain kinks in fic that I love finding and reading, and this fic was the one to intrigue me onto the ship that is Jo/Camille. While the show does a very good job at fleshing out its main girl characters, I love that they are on full focus in this fic, and that the first scenario is Jo taking on the role of Kendall in a genderswapped show. Doesn't that just sound delicious on its own? And I think my favorite part of this fic is the one where the two girls meet at the boys' underground concert, and Jo is channeling her inner Kendall, wearing plaid and exuding hipster-ism and meets the bouncy and flamboyant Camille. Just read it. It'll do you good.