Girl Factor Recs: The Football and Kittens Edition
BANDOM
I do miss bandom and its AUs about mermaids and vampires and daycare centres.
Best Friends/Ex-Friends, That Broken Record Trainwreck by verbosewrdsmith
The Like gen. One-shot. In which Annie and Laena live with Z and some dark supernatural shit has gone down. This is freaking awesome. The light-hearted banter between the three girls fits so well with the darker stuff, and the tiny glimpses of things like Tennessee, and Z's relationship with Ryan, and Alex's past, all made me crazy intrigued, and that, basically, is my only complaint. This is an out-take of a larger (unwritten) universe, and there's no real plot resolution, and I want the rest of the universe so very badly. (R)
Live and Love Beneath Fluorescent Lights by wasoncedelight
Lyn-Z/Gerard. One-shot. Mallrats AU. Mikey drags Gerard out to the mall. Ooh, this is darling; I just smiled at them the whole time. No plot to speak of, and the only conflict is Gerard's nervousness, but Gerard and Lindsey, fumbling teenaged mallrats: who's gonna resist? (R)
See You In The Morning Light by harborshore
Lyn-Z/Gerard. Ficlet. A girl in strange diving gear washes up in the storm. This is one of my favourite things in the world. (PG)
Glitter, Stars and Matchbox Cars by shihadchick
Ashlee/Travis. Short one-shot. In which Ashlee and Travis are early childhood educators at a creche with a visible-ink-allowed policy. This is so ridiculously charming; just the right mixture of funny and adorable while keeping the tone real and the characters adult. I really enjoy Ashlee here. (PG)
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM
In my head there's this amazing pan-canon fandom of girls-own-sports-flick movies, with crazy crossovers between Bend It Like Beckham and Whip It and Bring It On and maybe Blue Crush or even A League of Their Own. Which makes it pretty tragic that so far I haven't managed to compile enough Whip It or Bring It On recs to actually make a Sportsgirl Special rec set. In my head this imaginary fandom? Is epic.
New Kind of Real by afrai
Jess/Jules. One-shot. Jess loves America, loves getting to play football, but nothing feels real here. Damn, this is excellentness. The joyful feeling between the two girls, the yawning sense of freedom, and how terrifying that is too. Thoughtful and characterful and leaves you in a really great place. (PG)
Five Times Jess & Jules Kissed in Public by osprey_archer
Jess/Jules. One-shot. Jess and Jules from England to America and back again. As little in the way of plot as the Five Things structure usually suggests, but such a great tone, that giddy best friends in love feeling. (PG)
California Dreaming by tigerlady
Jess/Jules. One-shot. Jess writes a letter to Joe, and Jules has an epiphany in San Francisco. Just a really nice fic, with a smile-making final scene. (PG)
LEVERAGE
Goddamn, when fic in this fandom is good, it's so good \o/
The Underwire Job by Betty & Emeraldwoman
Parker/Hardison, Eliot. One-shot. Parker has decided she wants Hardison, maybe, and the only way she can think of to get what she wants is to run a con - so she recruits Eliot. This is hilarious, the best kind of over-the-top no-filter robot-emotions Parker, and Eliot so horrified. Also kittens. (aphelant's podfic of it is also really great) (PG-13)
+ The Cat-Burglar Job by Betty & Emeraldwoman
Parker/Hardison/Eliot. Novelette. Sequel to 'The Underwire Job'. Somebody kidnaps Parker's cats. I love this Parker so much, her awkward danger and her off-kilter smile and her vulnerabilities. I really enjoyed the platonic relationship she and Eliot had in the previous fic, but I enjoy the way that changers in this one, too, how natural it feels. The OT3 is a little clunkier - there wasn't quite enough Hardison in the dynamic, and things come together a little too swiftly - but the whole thing is hilarious and darling and great, and the characterisation for all five members of the team is stellar. (Or aphelant's podfic version.) (PG-13)
+ House Rules by Betty & Emeraldwoman
Parker/Hardison/Eliot. Ficlet. Sequel to 'The Underwire Job' and 'The Cat-Burglar Job'. They all have house rules. Funny and pretty darling, with the necessary Hardison-voice that was missing from the previous two stories. (R)
I Lie, I Cheat, I Steal (and I Just Don't Get Any Respect) by fiercelydreamed
White Collar crossover. One-shot. The Leverage crew steal a con artist. This has UST in every direction, but isn't exactly pairing fic. It feels as though it would be, if only it were allowed to continue as the epic it wants to be. As it is, it's a brilliant opening and the beginning of a beautiful friendship. (PG)
I do miss bandom and its AUs about mermaids and vampires and daycare centres.
Best Friends/Ex-Friends, That Broken Record Trainwreck by verbosewrdsmith
The Like gen. One-shot. In which Annie and Laena live with Z and some dark supernatural shit has gone down. This is freaking awesome. The light-hearted banter between the three girls fits so well with the darker stuff, and the tiny glimpses of things like Tennessee, and Z's relationship with Ryan, and Alex's past, all made me crazy intrigued, and that, basically, is my only complaint. This is an out-take of a larger (unwritten) universe, and there's no real plot resolution, and I want the rest of the universe so very badly. (R)
Live and Love Beneath Fluorescent Lights by wasoncedelight
Lyn-Z/Gerard. One-shot. Mallrats AU. Mikey drags Gerard out to the mall. Ooh, this is darling; I just smiled at them the whole time. No plot to speak of, and the only conflict is Gerard's nervousness, but Gerard and Lindsey, fumbling teenaged mallrats: who's gonna resist? (R)
See You In The Morning Light by harborshore
Lyn-Z/Gerard. Ficlet. A girl in strange diving gear washes up in the storm. This is one of my favourite things in the world. (PG)
Glitter, Stars and Matchbox Cars by shihadchick
Ashlee/Travis. Short one-shot. In which Ashlee and Travis are early childhood educators at a creche with a visible-ink-allowed policy. This is so ridiculously charming; just the right mixture of funny and adorable while keeping the tone real and the characters adult. I really enjoy Ashlee here. (PG)
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM
In my head there's this amazing pan-canon fandom of girls-own-sports-flick movies, with crazy crossovers between Bend It Like Beckham and Whip It and Bring It On and maybe Blue Crush or even A League of Their Own. Which makes it pretty tragic that so far I haven't managed to compile enough Whip It or Bring It On recs to actually make a Sportsgirl Special rec set. In my head this imaginary fandom? Is epic.
New Kind of Real by afrai
Jess/Jules. One-shot. Jess loves America, loves getting to play football, but nothing feels real here. Damn, this is excellentness. The joyful feeling between the two girls, the yawning sense of freedom, and how terrifying that is too. Thoughtful and characterful and leaves you in a really great place. (PG)
Five Times Jess & Jules Kissed in Public by osprey_archer
Jess/Jules. One-shot. Jess and Jules from England to America and back again. As little in the way of plot as the Five Things structure usually suggests, but such a great tone, that giddy best friends in love feeling. (PG)
California Dreaming by tigerlady
Jess/Jules. One-shot. Jess writes a letter to Joe, and Jules has an epiphany in San Francisco. Just a really nice fic, with a smile-making final scene. (PG)
LEVERAGE
Goddamn, when fic in this fandom is good, it's so good \o/
The Underwire Job by Betty & Emeraldwoman
Parker/Hardison, Eliot. One-shot. Parker has decided she wants Hardison, maybe, and the only way she can think of to get what she wants is to run a con - so she recruits Eliot. This is hilarious, the best kind of over-the-top no-filter robot-emotions Parker, and Eliot so horrified. Also kittens. (aphelant's podfic of it is also really great) (PG-13)
+ The Cat-Burglar Job by Betty & Emeraldwoman
Parker/Hardison/Eliot. Novelette. Sequel to 'The Underwire Job'. Somebody kidnaps Parker's cats. I love this Parker so much, her awkward danger and her off-kilter smile and her vulnerabilities. I really enjoyed the platonic relationship she and Eliot had in the previous fic, but I enjoy the way that changers in this one, too, how natural it feels. The OT3 is a little clunkier - there wasn't quite enough Hardison in the dynamic, and things come together a little too swiftly - but the whole thing is hilarious and darling and great, and the characterisation for all five members of the team is stellar. (Or aphelant's podfic version.) (PG-13)
+ House Rules by Betty & Emeraldwoman
Parker/Hardison/Eliot. Ficlet. Sequel to 'The Underwire Job' and 'The Cat-Burglar Job'. They all have house rules. Funny and pretty darling, with the necessary Hardison-voice that was missing from the previous two stories. (R)
I Lie, I Cheat, I Steal (and I Just Don't Get Any Respect) by fiercelydreamed
White Collar crossover. One-shot. The Leverage crew steal a con artist. This has UST in every direction, but isn't exactly pairing fic. It feels as though it would be, if only it were allowed to continue as the epic it wants to be. As it is, it's a brilliant opening and the beginning of a beautiful friendship. (PG)