Fic Rec Post #1
OKAY, because I suck pretty hard at single recs, I'm giving in and compiling a number of recs into one big rec post.
I read too much SJ fic...I'm going to refrain from reccing things I've already seen recced on miracle______ and go for pimping some things I think haven't gotten as much attention. :'3
Recs are, of course, personally biased.
SUPER JUNIOR
toe the line by black_goose
QMi | PG | drabble/introspection/angst
summary: There's a line between Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun that they will not cross.
thoughts: Of course I start off with an exception - this fic was recced, but I have to do my own rec of it. It's a short little thing, but it says a lot. If Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun really did have any slightly-more-than-platonic feelings for each other, irl, I really think this is how it would happen. Even if they cared for each other, loved each other, a little more than just as friends...I still see them drawing that line in the sand and refusing to cross it because...real life? It has consequences and obligations and so many other considerations. It's not so easy to just act on your feelings. It's heartbreakingly real, I think, how Zhou Mi sometimes thinks about blurring that line and making something more of it...but doesn't, in the end. (Speaking from a personal, TMI point of view: I particularly clicked with this because I am kind of in the same situation as Mi. :|)
An Open Letter to Ni by civilized_era
QMi | PG | humor/romance
summary: Dear you with the face (is what Kyuhyun would say), dear you with the smile and the criminally large nose. Thanks for messing everything up.
thoughts: This is hysterical and spot-on with Kyuhyun's grumpy voice and just absolutely, absolutely perfect. I love this so much. I love how Kyuhyun is so >:| and yet still signs it "Kui Xian". I love the references to Heechul and Hankyung, and every little detail just makes Zhou Mi pop alive with real character. It's fantastic. I will quit this rec before I start quoting everything, but: Kyuhyun knows Zhou Mi's favorite colors in order. That is probably my favorite part. QMi, what you do to my heart.
edge of the world by fabriclies
HanChul | PG | romance
summary: Heechul and Hankyung on a road trip with no end in sight.
thoughts: it's been three thousand seventy two years they've been here, heechul and hankyung. three thousand seventy two years spent in a station wagon with no end in sight and miles of horizon and strips of the highway. This how it starts.
God, it's absolutely gorgeous. I really, really adore the flow and the rhythm of this fic, how it's almost like poetry but is, even better, still prose. I love the imagery and the repetition (though this is not something that works for everyone...but, hey, rec = personal taste). I love the way the author strings her sentences together, and. Yeah. It's poignant without being sad, thoughtful without being entirely pointless.
Basically, beautiful. ♥
days without aging by fabriclies
Heechul, Hyukjae | PG | angst/introspection
summary: heechul smiles, smiles even as he softly disentangles himself from the hug, holding his breath. he ruffles the younger's hair playfully, bites his tongue, and doesn't say out words that could harm.
thoughts: It's the last line that gets me. It's the whole facade of friendship when one person loves and the other person seemingly accepts it but, inside, wonders how real that love is when "you don't even know me". Another drabble that just struck a chord with me. Heechul, Heechul is so complex and so my favorite.*
(And it's not necessarily that Hyukjae is perfect or unmarred, only that Heechul thinks that he is, or thinks that he is in comparison to Heechul, and that is what I love about POV fic.)
(*After Donghae. Everyone is always after Donghae. This is a baseline assumption, like: you must be alive to be reading this.)
eskimo kisses by fabriclies
KangTeuk | PG | humor/fluff
summary: It's been three painful days for the leader of Super Junior, without kisses.
thoughts: This is so cute, so so cute. I know everyone's missed some feel-good KangTeuk that's light-hearted and not burdened with angst, right? So have some and enjoy it. It's so cute. :3
You Can't Stay Young Forever by sandboxskyline
Heechul | PG | angst/future introspection
summary: Heechul's just waiting for the day when they won't be Super Junior anymore.
thoughts: This is perfect. This is Heechul, loving Super Junior, refusing to think about the end. This is Heechul, aging, not looking towards the future if he can pretend just a little bit longer. This is Heechul, himself, eccentric and loud and not as beautiful as he used to be, but still beautiful because I love him. :( I will never not love him.
This is heartbreaking and realistic and poignant and sad (and I'm redundant, I know, but bear with me here). I am no good with words but this fic. Just.
He's a little scared. He's been with them so long, done this for so long, he doesn't know what he'll do when the inevitable end comes.
your smile makes my heart sing by frictionoflips
QMi | PG | AU/romance/humor
summary: Everyone thinks Kyuhyun's got a thing for Chinese boys. He doesn't, really. Just Zhou Mi.
thoughts: This is cute and hilarious, and I love, love school!AUs, okay? Don't judge.
All the little things like Ryeowook's crush on Henry are perfect and amusing; Hankyung being deemed too Korean to be exotic, and how fantastically adorable and irresistible Donghae is. (I even didn't mind the EunHae...!) Kibum and Siwon working out, Heechul being so utterly himself, and Sungmin. Oh Sungmin. ♥ I love him and I love that Kyuhyun loves him too.
And ahaha Kyuhyun's awkward blurting in front of Zhou Mi, both in Chinese and in Korean (I like your pants) - hysterical, adorable. Read this fic!
And! Everything, as always, by coley_merrin and naninande (over at unliterati). I am shamelessly in love with both their writings, forever.
MERLIN
The Weight of Words by waldorph
Merlin/Arthur | NC-17 | romance
summary: Merlin is not the only one for whom words have power.
thoughts: This is lengthy and so very satisfying to read; it's probably the classic fic for this series I didn't know I wanted until I read it. She really gives depth to Arthur, taking us back to his childhood and development into the person he is now, before adding Merlin into the mix.
I really like the emphasis on, well, the weight of words, for both Arthur and Merlin (as it is, you know, the theme of the fic). It's really shown, not told. I like the way Arthur knows about Merlin's magic all along, their dialogue, the want Arthur harbors at first without acting upon it...
The pace is slower than in a lot of fics, but that's particularly lovely and works in this context. Morgana is also lovely, as is the little detail about her air-kissing Arthur rather than actually kissing him, because to leave paint on his skin from her lips would just be scandalous. Little details throughout the fic really build up to very hot sex, and a really, really nice ending that ties up the theme and the story and, just. /helpless love
The Incident with The Thingy or Arthur's Adventures in Spying by sparky77
Merlin/Arthur | R | spy!AU/crack/humor
summary: Arthur is a spy. Merlin is his handler. What? It makes perfect sense. Really.
thoughts: Hysterical. The fic's told non-linearly with snippets from their life, but it works out so, so well. I can't even rec this properly so let's just c/p a little bit of dialogue:
"Is it dangerous?"
"It is. But you need to activate it first." Merlin explains while turning to his horrifyingly messy desk and rummages for a folder.
"How do I activate it?"
"Oh. Right." Merlin says, still hunting through the piles of paper on his desk. "Ask nicely."
"Merlin!"
"No, really, that's how you activate it. You ask it nicely."
:D :D :D Guaranteed to make you grin and/or laugh.
STAR TREK XI
How to Avoid Kicking Puppies and Other Valuable Lessons in Leadership by sparky77
Gen with UST | R | humor
summary: Kirk attempting to be an authority figure.
thoughts: Again with my inability to properly rec humor fics except to say that they were hysterically funny. Also, it's refreshing that this is gen! Sometimes it's a nice break from all the shipping on in fics; this just highlights the camaraderie of the group on the Enterprise more. And, of course, Kirk's ability to be authoritative. Snicker.
“Chekov…”
“Punched a superior officer,” Jim interrupted her.
“Who’s an asshole,” Uhura protests.
“That’s your opinion.”
“That’s everyone’s opinion,” Uhura objects.
“If people just went around punching superior officers because they were assholes, there would be anarchy, and I’d be very bruised.”
How to Win Friends and Influence Vulcans by green
Kirk&Spock (friendship) | G | humor
summary:Having a best friend who didn't know he was your best friend was frustrating. That did not, however, deter Kirk.
thoughts: Funny. :'D And a lovely, lovely Kirk-voice. I love POV fics! Kirk's attempt to give Spock relationship advice is priceless.
Afterward, Spock was in the infirmary, getting his shoulder tended to. Kirk had other duties, which sucked because he should have been there for him in his hour of painful need. In a sparkling fit of brilliance, however, he sent Uhura off the bridge with a wink, currying her favor and comforting Spock in one fell swoop. Sometimes he was so amazing at this best friend thing that he astounded even himself.
This is a little example of the humor and Kirk's voice in the fic. ♥
however improbable by tabled
Kirk/Spock (ish) | R | drama
summary: James T. Kirk doesn't get passionate about something unless it has breasts. Leonard McCoy knows this. And then something changes..
thoughts: The fic's told from Bones' point-of-view and, oh, did I mention I love POV fics? skldhg his voice is spectacularly grumpy and bitchy but you can tell what a good friend he is to Kirk anyway. It's a little heartbreaking and a little entertaining (both at once!) to see Kirk through McCoy's eyes, see how he changes, how Spock sets off that fire in Kirk that no one else can. It's a little one-sided at first (so you should read the sequel~), but it's a great progression. This fic mostly covers events in the movie, but the sequel veers off on its own drama and plot. I love plot! I am also amused by Captain Pike and Bones' natural BFF inclination to hate Uhura on principle (for daring to be dating the man of Kirk's dreams). Funny and sad and sweet and dramatic! Good and lengthy too. :)
A Beautiful(ly Illogical) Mind by waldorph
Kirk/Spock | NC-17 | AU/drama/romance
summary: Jim never takes up Pike's dare to do better.
thoughts: Holy shit. Epic AU where Kirk doesn't join Starfleet after meeting Pike in the bar...but how he still ends up friends with Bones, and a little bit of Good Will Hunting plot twist in here, and alksdgh. Just, epic and so satisfying and so good. Kirk is so, so smart, and I love that. I love how he's still himself, brash and casual, a bartender, but still making impressions on all the people who kind of have to be in his life. The Kirk-Bones friendship is awesome, as usual, and the Kirk/Spock dynamic...I love it. (The porn is also hot, mm.) Just. The ending veers toward angst, tight in your chest, where you can't help feeling for Kirk, but it ends happily. ♥ Such a great AU where the author managed to incorporate all the main events from the movie, but still kept it distinctly separate, and all the characters are just so 3D and real. I love this fic. (It's first in a series; the rest are all good too, but this is undoubtedly my favorite.)
GOOD OMENS
Goodbody by sam_storyteller
Crowley/Aziraphale | R | smut :D
summary: Aziraphale upgrades to a new human body and isn't quite sure he likes it. Until Crowley shows him the benefits.
thoughts: alskdfg very, very hot GO smut that is funny as well as sexy, and keeps everyone in character. Also does not ignore the fact that Aziraphale was probably a little chubby in the actual book; these are details that fandom so often likes to gloss over or ignore completely, but makes for a perfect premise to this fic. :D Yay.
I read too much SJ fic...I'm going to refrain from reccing things I've already seen recced on miracle______ and go for pimping some things I think haven't gotten as much attention. :'3
Recs are, of course, personally biased.
SUPER JUNIOR
toe the line by black_goose
QMi | PG | drabble/introspection/angst
summary: There's a line between Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun that they will not cross.
thoughts: Of course I start off with an exception - this fic was recced, but I have to do my own rec of it. It's a short little thing, but it says a lot. If Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun really did have any slightly-more-than-platonic feelings for each other, irl, I really think this is how it would happen. Even if they cared for each other, loved each other, a little more than just as friends...I still see them drawing that line in the sand and refusing to cross it because...real life? It has consequences and obligations and so many other considerations. It's not so easy to just act on your feelings. It's heartbreakingly real, I think, how Zhou Mi sometimes thinks about blurring that line and making something more of it...but doesn't, in the end. (Speaking from a personal, TMI point of view: I particularly clicked with this because I am kind of in the same situation as Mi. :|)
An Open Letter to Ni by civilized_era
QMi | PG | humor/romance
summary: Dear you with the face (is what Kyuhyun would say), dear you with the smile and the criminally large nose. Thanks for messing everything up.
thoughts: This is hysterical and spot-on with Kyuhyun's grumpy voice and just absolutely, absolutely perfect. I love this so much. I love how Kyuhyun is so >:| and yet still signs it "Kui Xian". I love the references to Heechul and Hankyung, and every little detail just makes Zhou Mi pop alive with real character. It's fantastic. I will quit this rec before I start quoting everything, but: Kyuhyun knows Zhou Mi's favorite colors in order. That is probably my favorite part. QMi, what you do to my heart.
edge of the world by fabriclies
HanChul | PG | romance
summary: Heechul and Hankyung on a road trip with no end in sight.
thoughts: it's been three thousand seventy two years they've been here, heechul and hankyung. three thousand seventy two years spent in a station wagon with no end in sight and miles of horizon and strips of the highway. This how it starts.
God, it's absolutely gorgeous. I really, really adore the flow and the rhythm of this fic, how it's almost like poetry but is, even better, still prose. I love the imagery and the repetition (though this is not something that works for everyone...but, hey, rec = personal taste). I love the way the author strings her sentences together, and. Yeah. It's poignant without being sad, thoughtful without being entirely pointless.
Basically, beautiful. ♥
days without aging by fabriclies
Heechul, Hyukjae | PG | angst/introspection
summary: heechul smiles, smiles even as he softly disentangles himself from the hug, holding his breath. he ruffles the younger's hair playfully, bites his tongue, and doesn't say out words that could harm.
thoughts: It's the last line that gets me. It's the whole facade of friendship when one person loves and the other person seemingly accepts it but, inside, wonders how real that love is when "you don't even know me". Another drabble that just struck a chord with me. Heechul, Heechul is so complex and so my favorite.*
(And it's not necessarily that Hyukjae is perfect or unmarred, only that Heechul thinks that he is, or thinks that he is in comparison to Heechul, and that is what I love about POV fic.)
(*After Donghae. Everyone is always after Donghae. This is a baseline assumption, like: you must be alive to be reading this.)
eskimo kisses by fabriclies
KangTeuk | PG | humor/fluff
summary: It's been three painful days for the leader of Super Junior, without kisses.
thoughts: This is so cute, so so cute. I know everyone's missed some feel-good KangTeuk that's light-hearted and not burdened with angst, right? So have some and enjoy it. It's so cute. :3
You Can't Stay Young Forever by sandboxskyline
Heechul | PG | angst/future introspection
summary: Heechul's just waiting for the day when they won't be Super Junior anymore.
thoughts: This is perfect. This is Heechul, loving Super Junior, refusing to think about the end. This is Heechul, aging, not looking towards the future if he can pretend just a little bit longer. This is Heechul, himself, eccentric and loud and not as beautiful as he used to be, but still beautiful because I love him. :( I will never not love him.
This is heartbreaking and realistic and poignant and sad (and I'm redundant, I know, but bear with me here). I am no good with words but this fic. Just.
He's a little scared. He's been with them so long, done this for so long, he doesn't know what he'll do when the inevitable end comes.
your smile makes my heart sing by frictionoflips
QMi | PG | AU/romance/humor
summary: Everyone thinks Kyuhyun's got a thing for Chinese boys. He doesn't, really. Just Zhou Mi.
thoughts: This is cute and hilarious, and I love, love school!AUs, okay? Don't judge.
All the little things like Ryeowook's crush on Henry are perfect and amusing; Hankyung being deemed too Korean to be exotic, and how fantastically adorable and irresistible Donghae is. (I even didn't mind the EunHae...!) Kibum and Siwon working out, Heechul being so utterly himself, and Sungmin. Oh Sungmin. ♥ I love him and I love that Kyuhyun loves him too.
And ahaha Kyuhyun's awkward blurting in front of Zhou Mi, both in Chinese and in Korean (I like your pants) - hysterical, adorable. Read this fic!
And! Everything, as always, by coley_merrin and naninande (over at unliterati). I am shamelessly in love with both their writings, forever.
MERLIN
The Weight of Words by waldorph
Merlin/Arthur | NC-17 | romance
summary: Merlin is not the only one for whom words have power.
thoughts: This is lengthy and so very satisfying to read; it's probably the classic fic for this series I didn't know I wanted until I read it. She really gives depth to Arthur, taking us back to his childhood and development into the person he is now, before adding Merlin into the mix.
I really like the emphasis on, well, the weight of words, for both Arthur and Merlin (as it is, you know, the theme of the fic). It's really shown, not told. I like the way Arthur knows about Merlin's magic all along, their dialogue, the want Arthur harbors at first without acting upon it...
The pace is slower than in a lot of fics, but that's particularly lovely and works in this context. Morgana is also lovely, as is the little detail about her air-kissing Arthur rather than actually kissing him, because to leave paint on his skin from her lips would just be scandalous. Little details throughout the fic really build up to very hot sex, and a really, really nice ending that ties up the theme and the story and, just. /helpless love
The Incident with The Thingy or Arthur's Adventures in Spying by sparky77
Merlin/Arthur | R | spy!AU/crack/humor
summary: Arthur is a spy. Merlin is his handler. What? It makes perfect sense. Really.
thoughts: Hysterical. The fic's told non-linearly with snippets from their life, but it works out so, so well. I can't even rec this properly so let's just c/p a little bit of dialogue:
"Is it dangerous?"
"It is. But you need to activate it first." Merlin explains while turning to his horrifyingly messy desk and rummages for a folder.
"How do I activate it?"
"Oh. Right." Merlin says, still hunting through the piles of paper on his desk. "Ask nicely."
"Merlin!"
"No, really, that's how you activate it. You ask it nicely."
:D :D :D Guaranteed to make you grin and/or laugh.
STAR TREK XI
How to Avoid Kicking Puppies and Other Valuable Lessons in Leadership by sparky77
Gen with UST | R | humor
summary: Kirk attempting to be an authority figure.
thoughts: Again with my inability to properly rec humor fics except to say that they were hysterically funny. Also, it's refreshing that this is gen! Sometimes it's a nice break from all the shipping on in fics; this just highlights the camaraderie of the group on the Enterprise more. And, of course, Kirk's ability to be authoritative. Snicker.
“Chekov…”
“Punched a superior officer,” Jim interrupted her.
“Who’s an asshole,” Uhura protests.
“That’s your opinion.”
“That’s everyone’s opinion,” Uhura objects.
“If people just went around punching superior officers because they were assholes, there would be anarchy, and I’d be very bruised.”
How to Win Friends and Influence Vulcans by green
Kirk&Spock (friendship) | G | humor
summary:Having a best friend who didn't know he was your best friend was frustrating. That did not, however, deter Kirk.
thoughts: Funny. :'D And a lovely, lovely Kirk-voice. I love POV fics! Kirk's attempt to give Spock relationship advice is priceless.
Afterward, Spock was in the infirmary, getting his shoulder tended to. Kirk had other duties, which sucked because he should have been there for him in his hour of painful need. In a sparkling fit of brilliance, however, he sent Uhura off the bridge with a wink, currying her favor and comforting Spock in one fell swoop. Sometimes he was so amazing at this best friend thing that he astounded even himself.
This is a little example of the humor and Kirk's voice in the fic. ♥
however improbable by tabled
Kirk/Spock (ish) | R | drama
summary: James T. Kirk doesn't get passionate about something unless it has breasts. Leonard McCoy knows this. And then something changes..
thoughts: The fic's told from Bones' point-of-view and, oh, did I mention I love POV fics? skldhg his voice is spectacularly grumpy and bitchy but you can tell what a good friend he is to Kirk anyway. It's a little heartbreaking and a little entertaining (both at once!) to see Kirk through McCoy's eyes, see how he changes, how Spock sets off that fire in Kirk that no one else can. It's a little one-sided at first (so you should read the sequel~), but it's a great progression. This fic mostly covers events in the movie, but the sequel veers off on its own drama and plot. I love plot! I am also amused by Captain Pike and Bones' natural BFF inclination to hate Uhura on principle (for daring to be dating the man of Kirk's dreams). Funny and sad and sweet and dramatic! Good and lengthy too. :)
A Beautiful(ly Illogical) Mind by waldorph
Kirk/Spock | NC-17 | AU/drama/romance
summary: Jim never takes up Pike's dare to do better.
thoughts: Holy shit. Epic AU where Kirk doesn't join Starfleet after meeting Pike in the bar...but how he still ends up friends with Bones, and a little bit of Good Will Hunting plot twist in here, and alksdgh. Just, epic and so satisfying and so good. Kirk is so, so smart, and I love that. I love how he's still himself, brash and casual, a bartender, but still making impressions on all the people who kind of have to be in his life. The Kirk-Bones friendship is awesome, as usual, and the Kirk/Spock dynamic...I love it. (The porn is also hot, mm.) Just. The ending veers toward angst, tight in your chest, where you can't help feeling for Kirk, but it ends happily. ♥ Such a great AU where the author managed to incorporate all the main events from the movie, but still kept it distinctly separate, and all the characters are just so 3D and real. I love this fic. (It's first in a series; the rest are all good too, but this is undoubtedly my favorite.)
GOOD OMENS
Goodbody by sam_storyteller
Crowley/Aziraphale | R | smut :D
summary: Aziraphale upgrades to a new human body and isn't quite sure he likes it. Until Crowley shows him the benefits.
thoughts: alskdfg very, very hot GO smut that is funny as well as sexy, and keeps everyone in character. Also does not ignore the fact that Aziraphale was probably a little chubby in the actual book; these are details that fandom so often likes to gloss over or ignore completely, but makes for a perfect premise to this fic. :D Yay.