What I Read on Tuesday (5/27) - TS, XF
The Sentinel: Jim/Blair
Future Tense
by Alyjude
Not post-TSbBS, but a future AU that goes in a different direction *before* the dissertation disaster. Read this before, recently, but didn't remember it till I was a ways in. Which isn't a complaint, btw. Blair finishes his dissertation and when Jim doesn't ask him to stay, he leaves. *sigh* Three years, you'd think he'd remember that Jim isn't very good at asking for his emotional needs. On the other hand, Blair has a past filled with people who moved on without him, so it's a mutual mix-up. So Blair goes on an expedition with Eli Stoddard and it's just not the same, his heart isn't in it. Eli gives him some good advice, which he follows, about a possible new career path. He ends up in San Francisco with Naomi. There's more mix-ups between him and Jim with messages that go awry making both of 'em think the other isn't interested in holding on to the friendship. Eventually, Blair's job brings him back to Cascade and Major Crimes and Jim. Lots of UST and unrequited love and angst for both of Our Boys, mostly in the first half. Then things get better. There's banter, and Alyjude is a master at that, she has the delivery and rhythm down for the whole cast. Speaking of which, there's also good use of the whole cast. Lots of fun to be had. *recommended*
X-Files: Mulder/Krycek (what else?)
Photographic Memory
by Morgan Peterson
So I was looking for something schmoopy but plotty with Spooky and Ratboy, but not something off my usual favorites list. So I went to Slash Slut's recs site (see note below) and looked for something from the old favorites listed there. And she didn't let me down. This story takes the convoluted plot of the movie Dead Again as its basis and adjusts the story to fit Mulder and Krycek and parts of the Conspiracy to it. In case you're not familiar with the movie, Mulder and Krycek are reincarnated lovers who are reliving the incidents surrounding their deaths in order to (1) find resolution, and (2) stop the bad guys again. The kicker is, in their previous incarnations, "Krycek" was a naive and loyal young military officer and "Mulder" was the double-agent and assassin who changed sides because of his love for "Krycek". It ended tragically the first time, but the ghostly presences of their previous incarnations -- and the determined Agent Scully -- are determined that history will not repeat itself. Intriguing premise, mostly well-handled. The ending feels a little rushed after all the set-up. *recommended*
Slash Slut's Recs - back when I was a newbie to online fanfic-reading fandom and just dipping my toe in slash fandoms other than Highlander, I discovered Slash Sluts Recs site. *wallow* *pig heaven* In the fandoms we share, we usually also share the same tastes in (1) pairings, and (2) stories. We both like happy endings, we both like long stories, we both like stories that have more than sex in them. Slash Slut hasn't updated since September of last year, at least not at the above link or at her Web Journal. I don't know if she's gafiated or is just taking a long breather. But I still love her Recs listings, it's like a long annotated list of my favorites in a bunch of different fandoms: The X-Files (M/K); The Sentinel (J/B); Stargate-SG-1 (J/D); Highlander (DM/M); Due South (BF/RK); Buffy and Angel (various); Smallville(Clark/Lex); Andromeda (Dylan/Harper); X-Overs (various). And there are several more fandoms listed that I don't follow.
I have similar fond, nostalgic feelings about several other recs pages, btw. There's lots of great recs pages and I tend to visit a lot of them from time to time, but there are a few that are real stand-outs.
So, my question is: Would anybody be interested in reading more rec page listings?
Future Tense
by Alyjude
Not post-TSbBS, but a future AU that goes in a different direction *before* the dissertation disaster. Read this before, recently, but didn't remember it till I was a ways in. Which isn't a complaint, btw. Blair finishes his dissertation and when Jim doesn't ask him to stay, he leaves. *sigh* Three years, you'd think he'd remember that Jim isn't very good at asking for his emotional needs. On the other hand, Blair has a past filled with people who moved on without him, so it's a mutual mix-up. So Blair goes on an expedition with Eli Stoddard and it's just not the same, his heart isn't in it. Eli gives him some good advice, which he follows, about a possible new career path. He ends up in San Francisco with Naomi. There's more mix-ups between him and Jim with messages that go awry making both of 'em think the other isn't interested in holding on to the friendship. Eventually, Blair's job brings him back to Cascade and Major Crimes and Jim. Lots of UST and unrequited love and angst for both of Our Boys, mostly in the first half. Then things get better. There's banter, and Alyjude is a master at that, she has the delivery and rhythm down for the whole cast. Speaking of which, there's also good use of the whole cast. Lots of fun to be had. *recommended*
X-Files: Mulder/Krycek (what else?)
Photographic Memory
by Morgan Peterson
So I was looking for something schmoopy but plotty with Spooky and Ratboy, but not something off my usual favorites list. So I went to Slash Slut's recs site (see note below) and looked for something from the old favorites listed there. And she didn't let me down. This story takes the convoluted plot of the movie Dead Again as its basis and adjusts the story to fit Mulder and Krycek and parts of the Conspiracy to it. In case you're not familiar with the movie, Mulder and Krycek are reincarnated lovers who are reliving the incidents surrounding their deaths in order to (1) find resolution, and (2) stop the bad guys again. The kicker is, in their previous incarnations, "Krycek" was a naive and loyal young military officer and "Mulder" was the double-agent and assassin who changed sides because of his love for "Krycek". It ended tragically the first time, but the ghostly presences of their previous incarnations -- and the determined Agent Scully -- are determined that history will not repeat itself. Intriguing premise, mostly well-handled. The ending feels a little rushed after all the set-up. *recommended*
Slash Slut's Recs - back when I was a newbie to online fanfic-reading fandom and just dipping my toe in slash fandoms other than Highlander, I discovered Slash Sluts Recs site. *wallow* *pig heaven* In the fandoms we share, we usually also share the same tastes in (1) pairings, and (2) stories. We both like happy endings, we both like long stories, we both like stories that have more than sex in them. Slash Slut hasn't updated since September of last year, at least not at the above link or at her Web Journal. I don't know if she's gafiated or is just taking a long breather. But I still love her Recs listings, it's like a long annotated list of my favorites in a bunch of different fandoms: The X-Files (M/K); The Sentinel (J/B); Stargate-SG-1 (J/D); Highlander (DM/M); Due South (BF/RK); Buffy and Angel (various); Smallville(Clark/Lex); Andromeda (Dylan/Harper); X-Overs (various). And there are several more fandoms listed that I don't follow.
I have similar fond, nostalgic feelings about several other recs pages, btw. There's lots of great recs pages and I tend to visit a lot of them from time to time, but there are a few that are real stand-outs.
So, my question is: Would anybody be interested in reading more rec page listings?