Meta and Recs on RPF
For my policy on things such as spoilers, warning, and ratings, please [ see my policy post].
Here's a bit of meta on the topic of RPF and some fic recs.
RPF (real person fanfiction) kind of freaks me out. I know that the stories are fake, made up, pretend. That they're based off of the public persona and then filtered through the author's brain. I know all of this. It doesn't stop it from being really weird for me to read RPF-- the back of my brain is screaming the whole time: this is a real person. I suppose it's related to the part of my brain that had issues with me initially reading fanfic written in universes with actors (I've never had issues with fanfic where the canon is solely textual-- they're the canon author's mental playthings and now they're ours because we've read the books too. Regardless of if we write about them, we were going to be thinking about them anyways, so may as well put the words on the page. *derails this discussion* nb: this is not discussing the *legal* complexities of fanwork)-- because actors actually exist! And one of the things that can squick me out when reading fanfic based on live-action canon is too-true physical description (especially in a sexual context... When CharacterA is lusting after CharacterB's wrists or elbows or whatnot, there's the voice in the back of my brain going 'ummm, real person!')-- it simply feels like an invasion of privacy to me. So generally I've steered clear of RPF. But as I'm sure you know, even if you are avoiding reading something in fandom, you'll run across it eventually and then just sort of randomly read it.
But I have discovered that there's a few ways I can read RPF and not be squicked out by it:
Hmm, *ponders* evidently this translates roughly to 'I'm okay with RPF when I can pretend it's original fiction'.
To my surprise, I've come across RPF fics that I can read without hitting the back button. I haven't really been looking for them, so I don't know how exactly I've found these, but all's well that ends well! And if you know of other good RPF fics that you think might meet some of these criteria, then let me know :)
RPF fics I like despite being wigged out by RPF:
SGA RPF/SGA crossover, 1 fic/podfic
Story: And Be One Traveler On LJ or off of LJ
Authors: amireal and trinityofone
Fandom, etc: SGA RPF crossed into SGA-verse, nine chapters (total word count: 69K), NC17, David Hewlett (the actor who plays McKay)/Rodney McKay/John Sheppard; David Hewlett/John Sheppard; Rodney McKay/John Sheppard.
Podfic: mp3 or audiobook (m4b) read by multiple people.
Author's Summary: None given.
My summary: David Hewlett wakes up and he's not in Kansas LA anymore.
My Notes: Long and plotty and wonderful. It was nice to see Atlantis through the eyes of someone who knows that it can't exist (and also to see the Lanteans go, 'Eh, whatever. Our lives are weird and this is just another weirdness.'). David Hewlett plays Rodney a time or two, which is always good fun. Plot spoiler for the end:The story does bring David Hewlett back into the real world at the end of it, which leaves him a bit 'I went to the universe that I portray on TV, wtf? And also I miss it.' And much as I might like to be annoyed at the authors, if they returned him to the real world, that's the way that it would have had to happen. And really, what could an actor do on Atlantis? So he needed to come back. And the concern of Joe Flanigan (who plays John Sheppard) is very well-done too.
Why I can read this RPF: Most of this story takes place in the SGA-verse, so it is very clearly not-real fiction. There are a few explicit sex scenes, but I was able to skim/skip them and be okay. (If you are a bit pickier than me about watching the character development happen (instead of just acknowledging that it did and you didn't read that exact bit of text), then you might want to read the sex scenes. Or at least pay attention to what you are skimming.)
Technical notes: The story is under lock on LJ-- you have to become a member (not just 'watch') to view it. The off-LJ link does not require LJ membership and it has the story in multiple formats for your ease of downloading-- txt, html, pdf, and word doc. It also has links to fanart. I haven't had a chance to listen to the podfic yet (nearly 8 hours long!) but I really, really, really want to! It is read as an ensemble cast-- with different readers voicing different characters and that is utterly awesome. (Side note: it was the podfic showing up on my flist that let me know of the existence of this story, so yay podfic!)
Supernatural RPF, 1 fic
Story: When I Feel That Something
Author: balefully
Fandom, etc: Supernatural RPF, I claim gen, the author claims Jared/Jensen (the folks who play Dean and Sam. Not that I know which one is which.), PG, 1500 words
Author's Summary: Jared and Jensen get pranked royally in retribution. Luckily, it turns out to be an eye-opening experience.
First line: They really, really shouldn't have taken a page out Dean's book and filled Manners's shampoo bottle with Nair.
My Notes: The crew retaliates for the Nair trick with a trick of their own which is all fun and good until someone loses an eye has to go to a job interview. What really makes this story happy for me is watching J-whichever picking up confidence from the reactions of those around him. Plus, the pranking thing is always amusing. (I'm always up for reading -- or hearing -- about prank wars. Mmmmm, prank wars!) I claim that this is a gen story because it feels like that to me, but then again, I classify the very beginnings of flirting as gen (if the flirting is still in the 'it can be denied later' stage. Yes, my head is weird, we've covered this before. Moving on...) YMMV as far as gen/pairing.
Why I can read this RPF: Very tame rating and I've never actually seen Supernatural (despite having read some of the fanfic), so I have no idea who anyone really is.
6 American Idol RPF, including 1 podfic and 1 cross-over with Merlin
Story: Crown Prince
Author: celli
Fandom, etc: American Idol RPF fused with Merlin, David Cook/David Archuleta, PG, 2400 words
Author's Summary: His Royal Highness David of Roland, Knight of the High Court and Crown Prince of the finest kingdom in all the land. And his, um, servant, Archie. My apologies to the BBC series Merlin.
My Notes: A sweet piece. There's singing and magic and destiny (and confusion about destiny) and the stocks and some kissing. Do you know what I want to see? I want to see Merlin fused with American Idol but in the other direction! So the characters from Merlin but in American Idol! Have I been smoking the bad crack again or would this not be awesome?
Why I can read this RPF: I've read a decent amount of Merlin fanfic, so there's a part of my brain that considers this story a Merlin story not an RPF story. But even when I am considering it an RPF, the rating is tame and the story is sweet.
Story: Woke Up Married LJ or An Archive of Our Own
Author: celli
Fandom, etc: American Idol RPS, David Cook/David Archuleta, R, 17K words.
Author's Summary: Archie, we got married at--at Elvis's Chapel O' Love and Rainbows. And you're fine with that?"
My Notes: How much do I love this fic? RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS! Premise-- the two Davids wake up one morning in Vegas after having gotten married the night before (some amount of drink was involved...), realise they'd rather pretend it was intentional for a while than admit to the paparazzi immediately that they have no idea why they've woken up with rings on their fingers and vows said. And I'm fairly certain that you can extrapolate from here as to where the rest of the story goes. (It's great-- there's pretending and doubt and having fun and then deciding to go with it! With extra bonus evil!paparazzi) I would love to have the funny hijinx-full story of how the marriage happened and especially how come they both have wedding rings! Seriously, most spur-of-the-moment Vegas weddings don't have rings. Or so I suppose. The author drops details throughout the fic about the wedding/lead-up, but only as the characters (mostly David Archie, who was a wee bit less drunk [on cactus juice! only it turns out tequila is alcoholic and no one told him. Which in real life would make me angry, but this is fic, so I can play the 'no harm, no foul' game]) remembers them. I actually think the lack of detail on the wedding is a good authorial choice (I just want the prequel because I have this tendency to want more and more and more when I like a fic/'verse.)
Why I can read this RPF: My love for this trope is so great I'll even read the gen version (where instead of realising that they are madly deeply in love at the end they simply realise that they are quite good buds. And I don't care if it was aliens (with odd trading rituals but really boss guns), or drunken-night-at-Vegas, or a dare or whatnot that lead to the 'being in/pretending to be in a relationship' so long as it leads to the uncovering/developing of strong bonds between the folk involved.). (Not that this is gen, it's definitely a pairing.) Plus, really fun story!
Story: Claused
Author: [shalott] (astolat)
Fandom, etc: American Idol RPF, David Cook/David "Archie" Archuleta, 5100 words, adult
Podfic: Does not exist, totally should! Actually, according to [the audiofic archive] there are no podfics of this pairing, which kind of surprises me. There's now some [David Archuleta/David Cook] podfic!
Author's Summary: So there was this clause in the contracts, where as long as he was single, he had to go out with another 19E client for at least four weeks at their request.
My Notes: The combination of the summary and the fact that it was astolat made me click on the link and I'm really glad I did. The good, believable slow build in the emotions was really what sold me on this story.
Why I can read this RPF: As I might have mentioned earlier, I love this trope so damn much.
ETA: 'Verse: She wrote a sister-story set in the same verse with Adam/Kris ([In writing (at her website)] or [ In writing (at LJ)]
Story: Time Of Your Life
Author: [shalott] (astolat)
Fandom, etc: American Idol, David Cook/David Archuleta, some David Archuleta/OFC and minor David Cook/OFC (but no faithlessness), adult, not explicit, 27K words
Podfic: [mp3] and [m4b], read by phela (aphelant), 2:29:24
Author's Summary: David stared up at him as he came to the table, and then Cook put a hand on David's shoulder and leaned over him. There was a really--really--weird moment when David thought for a second that Cook was about to--was going to--and David's stomach squeezed into a tiny knot, but Cook was just reaching over to grab the jacket he'd left on his seat.
My Notes: I love her Archie's voice to begin with, but in this story it is utterly awesome. This is a solid ensemble fic, with lots of participation by the other AI folks. It is also a story about coming out and of all the fics that she's written in AI, this one feels the most realistic on that front. Plot spoilers:The one where it starts on tour when DC gets dumped, celebrates by picking up three girls in a bar who all end up writing reviews online (oh the power of the internet) and by the end of the story, the Davids are dating and the tabloids hadn't figured it out for a year.
My Notes, podfic: Phela does very well with confused-Younger-David voice, which he uses quite a lot. She also does well with enthusiastic!David. Occasionally I was slightly confused as to who was speaking because the dialogue tags weren't always placed well for podfic. I spent a lot of the time that I was listening to this podfic with a silly grin on my face.
Why I can read this RPF: I don't know American Idol at all, there are no explicit sex scenes, there is minimal-to-no excessive physical descriptors (I seriously have no idea what these guys look like, other than one? both? is tall?), plus, astolat, which means a very well-done story. (I really did like the way that the coming out plot was woven into the story over all. It was important but didn't dominate to the exclusion of all else.)
Story: Madrigals and Misadventures
Author: [shalott] (astolat)
Fandom, etc: American Idol RPF set in a magical medieval fantasy land. David Cook/David Archuleta, adult, not explicit, 14K words
Author's Summary: Wherein there is magic, daring rescues, accidental kissing, not-so-accidental kissing, Clive Davis is evil, and everyone lives happily ever after.
My Notes: In this universe singing is magic. David Archie is a page, David Cook has the plot of land next door, and there is accidental kissing and then intentional kissing and courting (it ends in fireworks).* The fantasy-world that is built here is fairly detailed in that excellent 'the details just get slipped into the story' sort of way. And I really wouldn't mind reading more stories set in this 'verse, be they original or fanfic or RPF. (Why, yes, I'm a gigantic sucker for interesting fantasy worlds. But that's a good thing, really!)
*I swear I wrote that before I looked at her summary again! (Unintentional plagiarism for the win?)
Why I can read this RPF: Set in a magical 'verse that keeps my attention, no explicit sex (though I might have faded to black a bit earlier than the story actually did).
ETA: Podfic: [mp3, 1:18:16, 72MB, (Madrigals...)] and [m4b, 1:18:16, 37MB, (Madrigals...)]] read by rhea314. I haven't listened to this reading yet.
Story: Mastermind
Author: [shalott] (astolat)
Fandom, etc: American Idol RPF, David Cook/David Archuleta, explicit sex, 4600 words
Author's Summary: Okay, David recognized the value of having everyone think he was, like, a total fluffhead, but he still hated seeing all these stories going, aww, poor helpless little David, controlled by his dad! Even if he had planted a few of them
Contains: They both end up drugging each other and then having sex, but the next morning they decide they should continue in that fashion minus the drugging, so it didn't squick me. YMMV.
My Notes: Aww, look at the cute little evil masterminds! Plotting to take over the record company and being all devious under their cute little mops! (I actually have no idea how either of these guys look, but I imagine them both with fuzzy hair, Archie especially.)
Why I can read this RPF: After reading the preceding nice-guys stories, it's a nice switch-up to make them evil. :) (I did skim/skip the sex scene, but the non-sex parts of the story are amusing enough that I'll forgive the existence of the sex.)
I think all of these fics would make good podfics (except, of course, for the ones which are already podfics and thus already are good podfics!).
As per usual, if I've got inaccuracies or missing info (especially podfics, DVD commentaries, and sequels/prequels), please do let me know.
[ Originally posted] at fish-echo on 6 March 2009.
Here's a bit of meta on the topic of RPF and some fic recs.
RPF (real person fanfiction) kind of freaks me out. I know that the stories are fake, made up, pretend. That they're based off of the public persona and then filtered through the author's brain. I know all of this. It doesn't stop it from being really weird for me to read RPF-- the back of my brain is screaming the whole time: this is a real person. I suppose it's related to the part of my brain that had issues with me initially reading fanfic written in universes with actors (I've never had issues with fanfic where the canon is solely textual-- they're the canon author's mental playthings and now they're ours because we've read the books too. Regardless of if we write about them, we were going to be thinking about them anyways, so may as well put the words on the page. *derails this discussion* nb: this is not discussing the *legal* complexities of fanwork)-- because actors actually exist! And one of the things that can squick me out when reading fanfic based on live-action canon is too-true physical description (especially in a sexual context... When CharacterA is lusting after CharacterB's wrists or elbows or whatnot, there's the voice in the back of my brain going 'ummm, real person!')-- it simply feels like an invasion of privacy to me. So generally I've steered clear of RPF. But as I'm sure you know, even if you are avoiding reading something in fandom, you'll run across it eventually and then just sort of randomly read it.
But I have discovered that there's a few ways I can read RPF and not be squicked out by it:
- If I have no idea who the real people are, this bothers me less-- because then (as far as my mind knows) this is simply a fictional story with fictional people set in the present-day. (But then I do the canon-osmosis thing and then it sometimes starts being weird again.)
- The story has to stand entirely on it's own without knowing the 'canon'.
- If the rating is somewhere around PG-13-- keep the sex off-screen and keep the laudatory physical descriptors minimal-to-nil-- because then it feels less voyeuristic.
- If there is explicit-ness in the story, I'll likely skim over it or skip it entirely, so it cannot be crucial to plot.
- It's a cross-over into something clearly not of the real world-- Buffy/Angel, Farscape, Stargate, etc., etc., etc., because then it's clearer to my brain that the entire thing is fiction and thus I can treat the RP as fictional people. (Oh is there an RPF/Valdemar or Pern crossover anywhere? Because the reactions of the RP could be awesome!)
- If it uses a plot device that I love. Because I'm willing to venture into scary RPF-land for the sake of a damn good trope. (Some day I might well list the plot devices I love, but this entry is long enough already.)
Hmm, *ponders* evidently this translates roughly to 'I'm okay with RPF when I can pretend it's original fiction'.
To my surprise, I've come across RPF fics that I can read without hitting the back button. I haven't really been looking for them, so I don't know how exactly I've found these, but all's well that ends well! And if you know of other good RPF fics that you think might meet some of these criteria, then let me know :)
RPF fics I like despite being wigged out by RPF:
SGA RPF/SGA crossover, 1 fic/podfic
Story: And Be One Traveler On LJ or off of LJ
Authors: amireal and trinityofone
Fandom, etc: SGA RPF crossed into SGA-verse, nine chapters (total word count: 69K), NC17, David Hewlett (the actor who plays McKay)/Rodney McKay/John Sheppard; David Hewlett/John Sheppard; Rodney McKay/John Sheppard.
Podfic: mp3 or audiobook (m4b) read by multiple people.
Author's Summary: None given.
My summary: David Hewlett wakes up and he's not in Kansas LA anymore.
My Notes: Long and plotty and wonderful. It was nice to see Atlantis through the eyes of someone who knows that it can't exist (and also to see the Lanteans go, 'Eh, whatever. Our lives are weird and this is just another weirdness.'). David Hewlett plays Rodney a time or two, which is always good fun. Plot spoiler for the end:The story does bring David Hewlett back into the real world at the end of it, which leaves him a bit 'I went to the universe that I portray on TV, wtf? And also I miss it.' And much as I might like to be annoyed at the authors, if they returned him to the real world, that's the way that it would have had to happen. And really, what could an actor do on Atlantis? So he needed to come back. And the concern of Joe Flanigan (who plays John Sheppard) is very well-done too.
Why I can read this RPF: Most of this story takes place in the SGA-verse, so it is very clearly not-real fiction. There are a few explicit sex scenes, but I was able to skim/skip them and be okay. (If you are a bit pickier than me about watching the character development happen (instead of just acknowledging that it did and you didn't read that exact bit of text), then you might want to read the sex scenes. Or at least pay attention to what you are skimming.)
Technical notes: The story is under lock on LJ-- you have to become a member (not just 'watch') to view it. The off-LJ link does not require LJ membership and it has the story in multiple formats for your ease of downloading-- txt, html, pdf, and word doc. It also has links to fanart. I haven't had a chance to listen to the podfic yet (nearly 8 hours long!) but I really, really, really want to! It is read as an ensemble cast-- with different readers voicing different characters and that is utterly awesome. (Side note: it was the podfic showing up on my flist that let me know of the existence of this story, so yay podfic!)
Supernatural RPF, 1 fic
Story: When I Feel That Something
Author: balefully
Fandom, etc: Supernatural RPF, I claim gen, the author claims Jared/Jensen (the folks who play Dean and Sam. Not that I know which one is which.), PG, 1500 words
Author's Summary: Jared and Jensen get pranked royally in retribution. Luckily, it turns out to be an eye-opening experience.
First line: They really, really shouldn't have taken a page out Dean's book and filled Manners's shampoo bottle with Nair.
My Notes: The crew retaliates for the Nair trick with a trick of their own which is all fun and good until someone loses an eye has to go to a job interview. What really makes this story happy for me is watching J-whichever picking up confidence from the reactions of those around him. Plus, the pranking thing is always amusing. (I'm always up for reading -- or hearing -- about prank wars. Mmmmm, prank wars!) I claim that this is a gen story because it feels like that to me, but then again, I classify the very beginnings of flirting as gen (if the flirting is still in the 'it can be denied later' stage. Yes, my head is weird, we've covered this before. Moving on...) YMMV as far as gen/pairing.
Why I can read this RPF: Very tame rating and I've never actually seen Supernatural (despite having read some of the fanfic), so I have no idea who anyone really is.
6 American Idol RPF, including 1 podfic and 1 cross-over with Merlin
Story: Crown Prince
Author: celli
Fandom, etc: American Idol RPF fused with Merlin, David Cook/David Archuleta, PG, 2400 words
Author's Summary: His Royal Highness David of Roland, Knight of the High Court and Crown Prince of the finest kingdom in all the land. And his, um, servant, Archie. My apologies to the BBC series Merlin.
My Notes: A sweet piece. There's singing and magic and destiny (and confusion about destiny) and the stocks and some kissing. Do you know what I want to see? I want to see Merlin fused with American Idol but in the other direction! So the characters from Merlin but in American Idol! Have I been smoking the bad crack again or would this not be awesome?
Why I can read this RPF: I've read a decent amount of Merlin fanfic, so there's a part of my brain that considers this story a Merlin story not an RPF story. But even when I am considering it an RPF, the rating is tame and the story is sweet.
Story: Woke Up Married LJ or An Archive of Our Own
Author: celli
Fandom, etc: American Idol RPS, David Cook/David Archuleta, R, 17K words.
Author's Summary: Archie, we got married at--at Elvis's Chapel O' Love and Rainbows. And you're fine with that?"
My Notes: How much do I love this fic? RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS! Premise-- the two Davids wake up one morning in Vegas after having gotten married the night before (some amount of drink was involved...), realise they'd rather pretend it was intentional for a while than admit to the paparazzi immediately that they have no idea why they've woken up with rings on their fingers and vows said. And I'm fairly certain that you can extrapolate from here as to where the rest of the story goes. (It's great-- there's pretending and doubt and having fun and then deciding to go with it! With extra bonus evil!paparazzi) I would love to have the funny hijinx-full story of how the marriage happened and especially how come they both have wedding rings! Seriously, most spur-of-the-moment Vegas weddings don't have rings. Or so I suppose. The author drops details throughout the fic about the wedding/lead-up, but only as the characters (mostly David Archie, who was a wee bit less drunk [on cactus juice! only it turns out tequila is alcoholic and no one told him. Which in real life would make me angry, but this is fic, so I can play the 'no harm, no foul' game]) remembers them. I actually think the lack of detail on the wedding is a good authorial choice (I just want the prequel because I have this tendency to want more and more and more when I like a fic/'verse.)
Why I can read this RPF: My love for this trope is so great I'll even read the gen version (where instead of realising that they are madly deeply in love at the end they simply realise that they are quite good buds. And I don't care if it was aliens (with odd trading rituals but really boss guns), or drunken-night-at-Vegas, or a dare or whatnot that lead to the 'being in/pretending to be in a relationship' so long as it leads to the uncovering/developing of strong bonds between the folk involved.). (Not that this is gen, it's definitely a pairing.) Plus, really fun story!
Story: Claused
Author: [shalott] (astolat)
Fandom, etc: American Idol RPF, David Cook/David "Archie" Archuleta, 5100 words, adult
Podfic: Does not exist, totally should! Actually, according to [the audiofic archive] there are no podfics of this pairing, which kind of surprises me. There's now some [David Archuleta/David Cook] podfic!
Author's Summary: So there was this clause in the contracts, where as long as he was single, he had to go out with another 19E client for at least four weeks at their request.
My Notes: The combination of the summary and the fact that it was astolat made me click on the link and I'm really glad I did. The good, believable slow build in the emotions was really what sold me on this story.
Why I can read this RPF: As I might have mentioned earlier, I love this trope so damn much.
ETA: 'Verse: She wrote a sister-story set in the same verse with Adam/Kris ([In writing (at her website)] or [ In writing (at LJ)]
Story: Time Of Your Life
Author: [shalott] (astolat)
Fandom, etc: American Idol, David Cook/David Archuleta, some David Archuleta/OFC and minor David Cook/OFC (but no faithlessness), adult, not explicit, 27K words
Podfic: [mp3] and [m4b], read by phela (aphelant), 2:29:24
Author's Summary: David stared up at him as he came to the table, and then Cook put a hand on David's shoulder and leaned over him. There was a really--really--weird moment when David thought for a second that Cook was about to--was going to--and David's stomach squeezed into a tiny knot, but Cook was just reaching over to grab the jacket he'd left on his seat.
My Notes: I love her Archie's voice to begin with, but in this story it is utterly awesome. This is a solid ensemble fic, with lots of participation by the other AI folks. It is also a story about coming out and of all the fics that she's written in AI, this one feels the most realistic on that front. Plot spoilers:The one where it starts on tour when DC gets dumped, celebrates by picking up three girls in a bar who all end up writing reviews online (oh the power of the internet) and by the end of the story, the Davids are dating and the tabloids hadn't figured it out for a year.
My Notes, podfic: Phela does very well with confused-Younger-David voice, which he uses quite a lot. She also does well with enthusiastic!David. Occasionally I was slightly confused as to who was speaking because the dialogue tags weren't always placed well for podfic. I spent a lot of the time that I was listening to this podfic with a silly grin on my face.
Why I can read this RPF: I don't know American Idol at all, there are no explicit sex scenes, there is minimal-to-no excessive physical descriptors (I seriously have no idea what these guys look like, other than one? both? is tall?), plus, astolat, which means a very well-done story. (I really did like the way that the coming out plot was woven into the story over all. It was important but didn't dominate to the exclusion of all else.)
Story: Madrigals and Misadventures
Author: [shalott] (astolat)
Fandom, etc: American Idol RPF set in a magical medieval fantasy land. David Cook/David Archuleta, adult, not explicit, 14K words
Author's Summary: Wherein there is magic, daring rescues, accidental kissing, not-so-accidental kissing, Clive Davis is evil, and everyone lives happily ever after.
My Notes: In this universe singing is magic. David Archie is a page, David Cook has the plot of land next door, and there is accidental kissing and then intentional kissing and courting (it ends in fireworks).* The fantasy-world that is built here is fairly detailed in that excellent 'the details just get slipped into the story' sort of way. And I really wouldn't mind reading more stories set in this 'verse, be they original or fanfic or RPF. (Why, yes, I'm a gigantic sucker for interesting fantasy worlds. But that's a good thing, really!)
*I swear I wrote that before I looked at her summary again! (Unintentional plagiarism for the win?)
Why I can read this RPF: Set in a magical 'verse that keeps my attention, no explicit sex (though I might have faded to black a bit earlier than the story actually did).
ETA: Podfic: [mp3, 1:18:16, 72MB, (Madrigals...)] and [m4b, 1:18:16, 37MB, (Madrigals...)]] read by rhea314. I haven't listened to this reading yet.
Story: Mastermind
Author: [shalott] (astolat)
Fandom, etc: American Idol RPF, David Cook/David Archuleta, explicit sex, 4600 words
Author's Summary: Okay, David recognized the value of having everyone think he was, like, a total fluffhead, but he still hated seeing all these stories going, aww, poor helpless little David, controlled by his dad! Even if he had planted a few of them
Contains: They both end up drugging each other and then having sex, but the next morning they decide they should continue in that fashion minus the drugging, so it didn't squick me. YMMV.
My Notes: Aww, look at the cute little evil masterminds! Plotting to take over the record company and being all devious under their cute little mops! (I actually have no idea how either of these guys look, but I imagine them both with fuzzy hair, Archie especially.)
Why I can read this RPF: After reading the preceding nice-guys stories, it's a nice switch-up to make them evil. :) (I did skim/skip the sex scene, but the non-sex parts of the story are amusing enough that I'll forgive the existence of the sex.)
I think all of these fics would make good podfics (except, of course, for the ones which are already podfics and thus already are good podfics!).
As per usual, if I've got inaccuracies or missing info (especially podfics, DVD commentaries, and sequels/prequels), please do let me know.
[ Originally posted] at fish-echo on 6 March 2009.