Leverage Recs! Whee!
Look what I found lying around in my 'to be posted' folder!
I have a shiny new fandom and it makes me ever so happy. So now I shall share it with you!
*offers up Leverage*
*you may commence with the ooh-ing and aaaah-ing now*
*everyone ooh's and aaah's*
The show is Ocean's 11 crossed with The A Team and Robin Hood as a TV show. If you actually know anything about the topic of the week, you'll likely find something that makes you yell at the screen 'it doesn't work like that!', but that's okay, you're not watching it for accuracy, anyway. You're watching it because there's loads of great banter and lots of silly faces.
Sidenote about episode ordering-- evidently S1 episodes were shown out of chronological order on TV, but they're in the right order on the DVDs. So depending on which scheme for numbering the episodes the author uses, an episode number might refer to one of two episodes. In cases where it's obvious which episode the author meant, I'll add the name of the episode. If I have to refer to a list of episodes to figure out the relevant episode, well, that's (a) clearly not much of a spoiler and (b) too much work. In that case, I'll just report the episode number as given by the author.
Here's the cast of characters:
My policy on how I do my recs (including for things like warnings and spoilers) can be found at [ my policy post], for those interested.
Story: Checking In
Author: donutsweeper (fic comm: donutville)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, G, 100 words
Contains: Spoilers for S1 finale
Author's Summary: Parker needed to be sure.
My Notes: a beautiful Parker+Hardison friendship drabble, takes place between seasons 1 and 2. I could happily have this as canon.
Story: It's All So Clear to Me Now
Author: fools-game
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen (background Hardison/Eliot and Nate/Sophie), PG, 1 LJ post
Author's Summary: Parker sees more than some people think.
My Notes: Great character study of Parker. Also a study of the team through her eyes. Features Parker's office plant :)
Story: Lessons
Author: wenchpixie (writing comm: women_differ)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, g, 100 words
Author's Summary: prompt: More than meets the eye.
My Notes: A lovely little character study on Parker with Hardison & Parker friendship and Hardison teaching her about people. It's short but makes me grin.
Story: An Exercise in Friendship
Author: [zvi] (
zvi)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen (Sophie and Parker), g, 2700 words
Contains: Spoilers for The Stork Job and The Second David Job (S1 finale)
Author's Summary: Parker knows what she wants, but she doesn't have the tools to get it. Her consultation with Sophie got pretty weird, pretty fast.
My Notes: An interesting look at Parker and what she wants out of friendship (with good Parker voice), but there's an even more interesting insight into Sophie here. This is not necessarily how I see Sophie on the show, but it's worth reading for the possibility. Plus, there's completely platonic napping at the end, which I love.
Spoilery reveal of what I was talking about above: Sophie reveals to Parker that Sophie is actually a role she plays, and offers Parker what is either insight into her actual self or another role, but regardless, that persona comes with offers of friendship with Parker. ETA: So after seeing all of the summer season 2 episodes, I must commend zvi for this insight into Sophie-- as in one of the latter episodes of the season she tells Nate that she's leaving in part because she doesn't know who she is under all of her aliases, or something to that effect.
Sequels: This is story three in the [$ Universe] series.
Story: Fall Stories
Author:
thingswithwings
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Parker/Peggy, Parker/Sophie, rated M for mostly makeouts, ~3500 words
Contains: Perhaps not spoilers for 'the Juror #6 Job', but makes more sense if you've seen that episode
First line: On Saturday, Parker - or Alice - meets Peggy for coffee. [no author summary given.]
My Notes: This is a quiet, understated story that sucks me in almost instantly. I read this because it's by thingswithwings-- an author I really like-- even though I was a little uncertain about the Parker/Sophie pairing. But she develops/reveals it in such a manner that I can completely see it in this fic. The story is a little less madcap than I tend to go with Leverage fic, but the pace suits the story well.
Story: still wearing my slippers (and eat all the candies at home)
Author: chash (fic journal: longsufferingly)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Hardison/Parker, G, 500 words
Contains: minor spoilers for 109
First line: The first day, he brings sandwiches. [no author summary given.]
My Notes: Really, really sweet. Yet another fic that uses food to show love, which is always a plus in my book. The key to any relationship is understanding the other person and this fic does very well at letting you know that Hardison watches Parker and cares about her by how he cares for her. Um, not sure if that made sense.
Story: Some People Paint
Author: chash (fic journal: longsufferingly)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Alec/Parker/Eliot, R, 800 words
Contains: Parker seduces Eliot and Hardison while she's high (FWIW, I did not feel like there were consent issues in this fic). Spoilers for 110 (which I think means 'The 12 Step Job').
Author's Summary: none given. Pull quote: "Because I'm bored," says Parker, as if nothing awkward had happened at all, "and I want to have sex."
My Notes: Good use of dialogue to inform action (it's not a dialogue fic, but it feels like one). I like the Hardison voice here. There's also extra bonus fun of Parker being Parker and making Nate and Sophie blush (but not the reader! My embarrassment squick is gigantic and I had no trouble here).
Story: Friends are a lot like plants
Author: [amaresu]
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, G, 800 words
Author's Summary: Friendship isn't something that can be taught.
My Notes: Parker asks Hardison for advice on how to be a friend and Eliot is confused by the results. One of several fics which mentions Parker's office plant (I heart Parker's office plant!). A sweet gen fic with great grasps on the characters and their motivations.
Story: Four Invite Codes
Author: [zvi] (
zvi)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Hardison/Eliot, PG, 500 words
Author's Summary: You know what Hardison did on April 30, Dreamwidth's Open Beta Launch.
My Notes: A silly little character study that's also a shout-out to DW.
Story: Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady
Author: hackthis
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Parker/Maggie, side Hardison/Eliot, PG-13 for language, 1500 words
First line: "I'm going to ask Maggie out," Parker announces during lunch, which is mostly a loaf of bread and a jar of jelly. [no author summary given.]
My Notes: Fun interactions. The majority of the fic is Parker, Hardison, and Eliot talking, but the occasional cameos by Sophie and Nate are used well.
Story: The 40 mg Job
Author:
norah
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Alec/Parker/Eliot, PG, 4000 words
Contains: Spoilers for potentially all/any episodes of season 1
Author's Summary: Parker takes the Second Act Rehabilitation Center therapist's advice seriously.
My Notes: Alec-POV on how the OT3 gets together. It takes some time and miscommunication. Everyone is in character, and the Alec characterisation in particular is full of little throw-away geek things, which is great.
Story: The Bear Job
Author: halcyon-shift
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, PG-13 for violence, ~2200 words
Author's Summary: Eliot fights a bear and definitely isn't eaten by wolves. Sophie-Sue is unleashed, Hardison is not your secretary and Parker probably wants people to plz r/r.
My Notes: Eliot's banged up from a job and the rest of the team is attempting to write the after action report to give to Nate. I love Parker's enthusiastic writing. Actually, I love the whole thing. This is the sort of crazy team hijinks that I could almost expect to see from the show :)
Story: Bait and Switch
Author: ijemanja
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, teen, 1500 words
Author's Summary: Parker and Sophie need to get out of a tricky situation.
My Notes: On-the-job fic! Things go slightly wrong (as per usual) and Sophie and Parker have to use their wits to get out of it. Title is apt. Funny.
Story: y/n
Author: chash (fic journal: longsufferingly)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Hardison/Parker, rating, 800 words
Contains: spoilers for The Wedding Job (possibly numbered 107?)
First line: "Man, I was this close to hooking up with a bridesmaid," says Hardison. [no author summary given.]
My Notes: Hardison ropes Eliot into helping him determine if Parker is into him [Hardison]. Much lol'ing (and eventual hooking up) ensues. I really, really love Eliot in this one. Chash is great at funny, smart dialogue and that's really shown well here.
Story: when come back bring pie
Author: Livia (liviapenn)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Parker/Hardison/Eliot, R, 1800 words
Author's Summary: So Alec had randomly mentioned that he was actually just gonna stay home on Thanksgiving and yes, as Eliot so awesomely put it, "play stupid video games."
My Notes: This fic wins on title alone. Parker is perfect here, not just the voice but her actions as well. Watch out for lovely lines. Such as this quote: It took him almost the whole shopping trip to realize that Parker's enthusiasm wasn't just about the stealing. She wasn't just keeping her skills sharp or even showing off (although Alec was still impressed, because seriously, not that it was his specialty or anything, but shoplifting cranberries, marshmallows and yams three days before Thanksgiving seemed like it had to be the freakin' triathalon of shoplifting, and where the hell did those yams go anyway.) No, apparently it was Parker getting excited about helping. Actually contributing something to the get-together.
Story: Petty Larceny
Author: dotfic
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, PG, 1500 words
Contains: set right before 'The Bank Shot Job' in season 1
Author's Summary: Prompt: Hardison, Parker, pie
My Notes: Fun ficlet, with good voices and good Parker-rationalisation. Mmmm, pie! Leverage seems to be a pie fandom and I can't remember if this springs from canon at all, or if it is simply because pie is awesome and so is Leverage.
Story: Sorted
Author: FayJay (pandarus)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Hardison/Eliot, PG, 1400 words
Author's Summary: Hardison, bless his geeky wee heart, ponders which Hogwarts House each of the team would be sorted into. Eliot just wants his damn headset fixed. (Dialogue-only)
My Notes: Fun banter between Hardison and Eliot as Hardison fixes Eliot's comm which then leads to sexytimes. One of the things about this fic that amuses me is that it was written for the Courtship Rituals square on her cliche-bingo card. Yay, geekery! And sidenote, who is with me on voting for Parker to be a Hufflepuff?
Alternate link: [ on LJ]
For the sake of completeness, there is one Leverage fic series I've already recced (and it has podfics!). My [earlier rec] is of 'The Underwire Job' and 'The Cat-Burglar Job' by brown-betty and emeraldwoman, the podfic is read by phela (
aphelant).
Leverage seems to get lots of crossovers. Some of it seems to be the shared last names thing (Spencer seems to be popular on TV, which gets you Psych and NCIS, at least), some of it is the "we're both running cons" thing (that gets you SPN and Psych and the Stargates*), and then there's the "we're running a con and the law notices to some degree" (which gets you every procedural show ever, plus the Stargates). And then there's whatever other crossover the author can make work.
*not that the Stargates are running cons so much as they are full of massive secrecy and bad cover stories, which just happens to smell the same as running a con.
Story: Exotic Particles
Author: [facetofcathy]
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/SGA, gen, G, 1K words
Author's Summary: A woman named Parker stops for coffee and meets an unusual man.
My Notes: Parker and Rodney meet up in an airport cafe and bond over being bad with people and having great teams. This story has a great handle on both Parker and Rodney and does nice showing-not-telling. If you know both shows, you'll get much more out of it, but it should be readable if you know only one.
Story: A Man Short
Author: robinyj
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/Psych, gen, PG-13 for swearing and violence, 7 chapters (in 8 LJ posts)
Author's Summary: The team is a man short for a job, luckily Eliot has someone he can call, even if he doesn’t like it. His cousin, psychic detective Shawn Spencer.
My Notes: I love the Shawn & Parker interactions. The con is amusing and fast-paced. There's even a car chase! There are some times where the author gets the voices absolutely spot-on, but there are other times where they seem a bit off to me and the writing is occasionally clunky. Overall, a fun story.
Series: In the same verse: [The One That Got Away (prequel)] and [ Outside Help (sequel)].
Story: Love Bipolar
Author: nilchance
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/SPN, gen, PG13, 1 LJ post long
Contains: references to past child abuse (including sexual)
Author's Summary: First meredevachon [wrote Wee Parker and John], and then I wrote this.
My Notes: John Winchester devoted himself to ridding the world of supernatural evils, so what's to say he didn't occasionally do something about a non-supernatural evil? Parker runs away from home and the Winchesters take her in. Solid story with some amusing moments (I love the bit where John thinks Sam is talking to an imaginary girl). I would love sequels or at least follow-up comment fics showing what happens as Parker is raised with Sam and Dean. Or what happens when Parker & the Leverage crew run into the brothers Winchester during SPN? There's so many great possibilities here to mull on, which is part of why I like this story.
Prequel: The [prequel] was also linked in the author's summary.
Story: And Today We Have Naming of Parts
Author: medjai_trowa
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/SPN, gen, G, 1500 words
Warnings/Spoilers: implications of child abuse
Author's Summary: How Eliot Spencer became Eliot Spencer
My Notes: This time John takes in Eliot and Eliot's little sister. I like the John we are shown here-- he's good at analyzing situations and people quickly without being over-the-top omniscient. And the final scene takes place between Nate & Eliot (so during Leverage's timeframe). So what we have here is clearly a possible background for Eliot rather than an AU. I really want to see more in this 'verse-- what we currently have is great.
Story: A Dead Body, A Lot of Cash, and a Whole Heap of Crazy and the sequel Did Someone Eat A Red Pill?
Author: chaletian
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/SPN, gen, PG, each are a short LJ post in length
Author's Summary: A small town is visited by more FBI agents than is truly feasible. || What are the odds you’d have so many FBI agents in such a small town?
My Notes: The Leverage crew pretends to be FBI agents and the Winchester boys pretend to be FBI agents. The Winchester boys are often involved in weird happenings (supernatural weird, usually) as is the Leverage crew (Nate's plans get weird, you may have noticed). Clearly this can only end in amusing times (and confusion for the locals). :) Really funny banter.
Story: Five Times Sam and Dean Ran Into the Leverage Crew
Author: rsadelle
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/SPN, gen, PG, two comments long
Author's Summary: see title.
My Notes: There are some great Dean and Parker moments in here and I really loved it when Dean and Parker were in the same scene. It's fun to watch the two crews interacting or not interacting, depending on the job. NB: It's a comment-fic, so the link goes to the comment with the prompt.
Hmmm, looking over this rec list I can spot some themes that evidently tickle my fancy for this show. Also, where are the longer fics? Is it just that the fandom's new (this is by far and away the earliest I've ever gotten into a fandom) and they haven't had time to be written yet, or am I not finding the longer works, or is Leverage tending to produce shorter stories?
As always, if you spot any inaccuracies/dead links/missing info/additional transformative works (e.g., podfics, commentaries), please let me know.
I have a shiny new fandom and it makes me ever so happy. So now I shall share it with you!
*offers up Leverage*
*you may commence with the ooh-ing and aaaah-ing now*
*everyone ooh's and aaah's*
The show is Ocean's 11 crossed with The A Team and Robin Hood as a TV show. If you actually know anything about the topic of the week, you'll likely find something that makes you yell at the screen 'it doesn't work like that!', but that's okay, you're not watching it for accuracy, anyway. You're watching it because there's loads of great banter and lots of silly faces.
Sidenote about episode ordering-- evidently S1 episodes were shown out of chronological order on TV, but they're in the right order on the DVDs. So depending on which scheme for numbering the episodes the author uses, an episode number might refer to one of two episodes. In cases where it's obvious which episode the author meant, I'll add the name of the episode. If I have to refer to a list of episodes to figure out the relevant episode, well, that's (a) clearly not much of a spoiler and (b) too much work. In that case, I'll just report the episode number as given by the author.
Here's the cast of characters:
- Nate who's a 'good guy turned bad guy with morals' who is nominally there to keep everyone on the straight and narrow, morally speaking. He functions sort of, some of the time, as a father-figure with Sophie as a mother-figure to the rest of the team. I don't want to go too much into Nate's character here because that would be a large chunk of meta and I want to get on with the recs. Feel free to ask me though, if you are interested.
- Sophie who's a thief who steals stuff through dressing up, putting on fake accents, oozing sex appeal and just generally running rings around the mark's common sense. NB: Sophie has effectively left the team by the end of this most recent season due to the actress having a baby.
- Alec Hardison is the computer/tech geek. He has a fun sense of humour. He breaks two geek stereotypes, which is nice to see: he's fit and he's black. He plays massive amounts of Wow and drinks Jones soda pop, which is a nice move on the part of Props.
- Eliot Spenser is the muscle guy. He loves to cook and does things like liberate Croatia when he gets bored.
- Parker is the thief who steals things by sneaking around. She is also my very favourite character on the entire show. She is not at all good with people and feelings (her own or others).
- Seven of Nine Tara is who Sophie recommended to replace her on the team. I've only seen the one episode with her, so I don't know what her character is like yet.
My policy on how I do my recs (including for things like warnings and spoilers) can be found at [ my policy post], for those interested.
Story: Checking In
Author: donutsweeper (fic comm: donutville)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, G, 100 words
Contains: Spoilers for S1 finale
Author's Summary: Parker needed to be sure.
My Notes: a beautiful Parker+Hardison friendship drabble, takes place between seasons 1 and 2. I could happily have this as canon.
Story: It's All So Clear to Me Now
Author: fools-game
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen (background Hardison/Eliot and Nate/Sophie), PG, 1 LJ post
Author's Summary: Parker sees more than some people think.
My Notes: Great character study of Parker. Also a study of the team through her eyes. Features Parker's office plant :)
Story: Lessons
Author: wenchpixie (writing comm: women_differ)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, g, 100 words
Author's Summary: prompt: More than meets the eye.
My Notes: A lovely little character study on Parker with Hardison & Parker friendship and Hardison teaching her about people. It's short but makes me grin.
Story: An Exercise in Friendship
Author: [zvi] (
zvi)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen (Sophie and Parker), g, 2700 words
Contains: Spoilers for The Stork Job and The Second David Job (S1 finale)
Author's Summary: Parker knows what she wants, but she doesn't have the tools to get it. Her consultation with Sophie got pretty weird, pretty fast.
My Notes: An interesting look at Parker and what she wants out of friendship (with good Parker voice), but there's an even more interesting insight into Sophie here. This is not necessarily how I see Sophie on the show, but it's worth reading for the possibility. Plus, there's completely platonic napping at the end, which I love.
Spoilery reveal of what I was talking about above: Sophie reveals to Parker that Sophie is actually a role she plays, and offers Parker what is either insight into her actual self or another role, but regardless, that persona comes with offers of friendship with Parker. ETA: So after seeing all of the summer season 2 episodes, I must commend zvi for this insight into Sophie-- as in one of the latter episodes of the season she tells Nate that she's leaving in part because she doesn't know who she is under all of her aliases, or something to that effect.
Sequels: This is story three in the [$ Universe] series.
Story: Fall Stories
Author:
thingswithwings
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Parker/Peggy, Parker/Sophie, rated M for mostly makeouts, ~3500 words
Contains: Perhaps not spoilers for 'the Juror #6 Job', but makes more sense if you've seen that episode
First line: On Saturday, Parker - or Alice - meets Peggy for coffee. [no author summary given.]
My Notes: This is a quiet, understated story that sucks me in almost instantly. I read this because it's by thingswithwings-- an author I really like-- even though I was a little uncertain about the Parker/Sophie pairing. But she develops/reveals it in such a manner that I can completely see it in this fic. The story is a little less madcap than I tend to go with Leverage fic, but the pace suits the story well.
Story: still wearing my slippers (and eat all the candies at home)
Author: chash (fic journal: longsufferingly)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Hardison/Parker, G, 500 words
Contains: minor spoilers for 109
First line: The first day, he brings sandwiches. [no author summary given.]
My Notes: Really, really sweet. Yet another fic that uses food to show love, which is always a plus in my book. The key to any relationship is understanding the other person and this fic does very well at letting you know that Hardison watches Parker and cares about her by how he cares for her. Um, not sure if that made sense.
Story: Some People Paint
Author: chash (fic journal: longsufferingly)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Alec/Parker/Eliot, R, 800 words
Contains: Parker seduces Eliot and Hardison while she's high (FWIW, I did not feel like there were consent issues in this fic). Spoilers for 110 (which I think means 'The 12 Step Job').
Author's Summary: none given. Pull quote: "Because I'm bored," says Parker, as if nothing awkward had happened at all, "and I want to have sex."
My Notes: Good use of dialogue to inform action (it's not a dialogue fic, but it feels like one). I like the Hardison voice here. There's also extra bonus fun of Parker being Parker and making Nate and Sophie blush (but not the reader! My embarrassment squick is gigantic and I had no trouble here).
Story: Friends are a lot like plants
Author: [amaresu]
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, G, 800 words
Author's Summary: Friendship isn't something that can be taught.
My Notes: Parker asks Hardison for advice on how to be a friend and Eliot is confused by the results. One of several fics which mentions Parker's office plant (I heart Parker's office plant!). A sweet gen fic with great grasps on the characters and their motivations.
Story: Four Invite Codes
Author: [zvi] (
zvi)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Hardison/Eliot, PG, 500 words
Author's Summary: You know what Hardison did on April 30, Dreamwidth's Open Beta Launch.
My Notes: A silly little character study that's also a shout-out to DW.
Story: Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady
Author: hackthis
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Parker/Maggie, side Hardison/Eliot, PG-13 for language, 1500 words
First line: "I'm going to ask Maggie out," Parker announces during lunch, which is mostly a loaf of bread and a jar of jelly. [no author summary given.]
My Notes: Fun interactions. The majority of the fic is Parker, Hardison, and Eliot talking, but the occasional cameos by Sophie and Nate are used well.
Story: The 40 mg Job
Author:
norah
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Alec/Parker/Eliot, PG, 4000 words
Contains: Spoilers for potentially all/any episodes of season 1
Author's Summary: Parker takes the Second Act Rehabilitation Center therapist's advice seriously.
My Notes: Alec-POV on how the OT3 gets together. It takes some time and miscommunication. Everyone is in character, and the Alec characterisation in particular is full of little throw-away geek things, which is great.
Story: The Bear Job
Author: halcyon-shift
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, PG-13 for violence, ~2200 words
Author's Summary: Eliot fights a bear and definitely isn't eaten by wolves. Sophie-Sue is unleashed, Hardison is not your secretary and Parker probably wants people to plz r/r.
My Notes: Eliot's banged up from a job and the rest of the team is attempting to write the after action report to give to Nate. I love Parker's enthusiastic writing. Actually, I love the whole thing. This is the sort of crazy team hijinks that I could almost expect to see from the show :)
Story: Bait and Switch
Author: ijemanja
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, teen, 1500 words
Author's Summary: Parker and Sophie need to get out of a tricky situation.
My Notes: On-the-job fic! Things go slightly wrong (as per usual) and Sophie and Parker have to use their wits to get out of it. Title is apt. Funny.
Story: y/n
Author: chash (fic journal: longsufferingly)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Hardison/Parker, rating, 800 words
Contains: spoilers for The Wedding Job (possibly numbered 107?)
First line: "Man, I was this close to hooking up with a bridesmaid," says Hardison. [no author summary given.]
My Notes: Hardison ropes Eliot into helping him determine if Parker is into him [Hardison]. Much lol'ing (and eventual hooking up) ensues. I really, really love Eliot in this one. Chash is great at funny, smart dialogue and that's really shown well here.
Story: when come back bring pie
Author: Livia (liviapenn)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Parker/Hardison/Eliot, R, 1800 words
Author's Summary: So Alec had randomly mentioned that he was actually just gonna stay home on Thanksgiving and yes, as Eliot so awesomely put it, "play stupid video games."
My Notes: This fic wins on title alone. Parker is perfect here, not just the voice but her actions as well. Watch out for lovely lines. Such as this quote: It took him almost the whole shopping trip to realize that Parker's enthusiasm wasn't just about the stealing. She wasn't just keeping her skills sharp or even showing off (although Alec was still impressed, because seriously, not that it was his specialty or anything, but shoplifting cranberries, marshmallows and yams three days before Thanksgiving seemed like it had to be the freakin' triathalon of shoplifting, and where the hell did those yams go anyway.) No, apparently it was Parker getting excited about helping. Actually contributing something to the get-together.
Story: Petty Larceny
Author: dotfic
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, gen, PG, 1500 words
Contains: set right before 'The Bank Shot Job' in season 1
Author's Summary: Prompt: Hardison, Parker, pie
My Notes: Fun ficlet, with good voices and good Parker-rationalisation. Mmmm, pie! Leverage seems to be a pie fandom and I can't remember if this springs from canon at all, or if it is simply because pie is awesome and so is Leverage.
Story: Sorted
Author: FayJay (pandarus)
Fandom, etc.: Leverage, Hardison/Eliot, PG, 1400 words
Author's Summary: Hardison, bless his geeky wee heart, ponders which Hogwarts House each of the team would be sorted into. Eliot just wants his damn headset fixed. (Dialogue-only)
My Notes: Fun banter between Hardison and Eliot as Hardison fixes Eliot's comm which then leads to sexytimes. One of the things about this fic that amuses me is that it was written for the Courtship Rituals square on her cliche-bingo card. Yay, geekery! And sidenote, who is with me on voting for Parker to be a Hufflepuff?
Alternate link: [ on LJ]
For the sake of completeness, there is one Leverage fic series I've already recced (and it has podfics!). My [earlier rec] is of 'The Underwire Job' and 'The Cat-Burglar Job' by brown-betty and emeraldwoman, the podfic is read by phela (
aphelant).
Leverage seems to get lots of crossovers. Some of it seems to be the shared last names thing (Spencer seems to be popular on TV, which gets you Psych and NCIS, at least), some of it is the "we're both running cons" thing (that gets you SPN and Psych and the Stargates*), and then there's the "we're running a con and the law notices to some degree" (which gets you every procedural show ever, plus the Stargates). And then there's whatever other crossover the author can make work.
*not that the Stargates are running cons so much as they are full of massive secrecy and bad cover stories, which just happens to smell the same as running a con.
Story: Exotic Particles
Author: [facetofcathy]
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/SGA, gen, G, 1K words
Author's Summary: A woman named Parker stops for coffee and meets an unusual man.
My Notes: Parker and Rodney meet up in an airport cafe and bond over being bad with people and having great teams. This story has a great handle on both Parker and Rodney and does nice showing-not-telling. If you know both shows, you'll get much more out of it, but it should be readable if you know only one.
Story: A Man Short
Author: robinyj
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/Psych, gen, PG-13 for swearing and violence, 7 chapters (in 8 LJ posts)
Author's Summary: The team is a man short for a job, luckily Eliot has someone he can call, even if he doesn’t like it. His cousin, psychic detective Shawn Spencer.
My Notes: I love the Shawn & Parker interactions. The con is amusing and fast-paced. There's even a car chase! There are some times where the author gets the voices absolutely spot-on, but there are other times where they seem a bit off to me and the writing is occasionally clunky. Overall, a fun story.
Series: In the same verse: [The One That Got Away (prequel)] and [ Outside Help (sequel)].
Story: Love Bipolar
Author: nilchance
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/SPN, gen, PG13, 1 LJ post long
Contains: references to past child abuse (including sexual)
Author's Summary: First meredevachon [wrote Wee Parker and John], and then I wrote this.
My Notes: John Winchester devoted himself to ridding the world of supernatural evils, so what's to say he didn't occasionally do something about a non-supernatural evil? Parker runs away from home and the Winchesters take her in. Solid story with some amusing moments (I love the bit where John thinks Sam is talking to an imaginary girl). I would love sequels or at least follow-up comment fics showing what happens as Parker is raised with Sam and Dean. Or what happens when Parker & the Leverage crew run into the brothers Winchester during SPN? There's so many great possibilities here to mull on, which is part of why I like this story.
Prequel: The [prequel] was also linked in the author's summary.
Story: And Today We Have Naming of Parts
Author: medjai_trowa
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/SPN, gen, G, 1500 words
Warnings/Spoilers: implications of child abuse
Author's Summary: How Eliot Spencer became Eliot Spencer
My Notes: This time John takes in Eliot and Eliot's little sister. I like the John we are shown here-- he's good at analyzing situations and people quickly without being over-the-top omniscient. And the final scene takes place between Nate & Eliot (so during Leverage's timeframe). So what we have here is clearly a possible background for Eliot rather than an AU. I really want to see more in this 'verse-- what we currently have is great.
Story: A Dead Body, A Lot of Cash, and a Whole Heap of Crazy and the sequel Did Someone Eat A Red Pill?
Author: chaletian
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/SPN, gen, PG, each are a short LJ post in length
Author's Summary: A small town is visited by more FBI agents than is truly feasible. || What are the odds you’d have so many FBI agents in such a small town?
My Notes: The Leverage crew pretends to be FBI agents and the Winchester boys pretend to be FBI agents. The Winchester boys are often involved in weird happenings (supernatural weird, usually) as is the Leverage crew (Nate's plans get weird, you may have noticed). Clearly this can only end in amusing times (and confusion for the locals). :) Really funny banter.
Story: Five Times Sam and Dean Ran Into the Leverage Crew
Author: rsadelle
Fandom, etc.: Leverage/SPN, gen, PG, two comments long
Author's Summary: see title.
My Notes: There are some great Dean and Parker moments in here and I really loved it when Dean and Parker were in the same scene. It's fun to watch the two crews interacting or not interacting, depending on the job. NB: It's a comment-fic, so the link goes to the comment with the prompt.
Hmmm, looking over this rec list I can spot some themes that evidently tickle my fancy for this show. Also, where are the longer fics? Is it just that the fandom's new (this is by far and away the earliest I've ever gotten into a fandom) and they haven't had time to be written yet, or am I not finding the longer works, or is Leverage tending to produce shorter stories?
As always, if you spot any inaccuracies/dead links/missing info/additional transformative works (e.g., podfics, commentaries), please let me know.