X-Men recs week two: rarer comicsverse characters
I'm reccing X-Men fics on sequentialcrack all February, and this is a round-up of week two: rarer comicsverse characters.
Title: The Lay of James Madrocke
Author:
jamaillith
Fandom: Marvel 1602
Characters/Pairings: James Madrocke (Jamie Madrox)
Length: 2000 words
Warnings: Character death
Spoilers: For the concept of 1602
Jamie Madrox is an odd character, never quite at the centre of the mutant world, but tremendously connected to everyone in it, from the government to the X-Men to, in at least one universe, Mister Sinister. This Jamie is isolated and yet, through his power, connected to versions of himself all throughout the kingdom, the perfect spy network. Jamie gains little from his service but experience piled on experience, more than he can bear, and grows more hollow and lonely the more company he has. This fic shows the contradictions of Jamie Madrox, even though it's set in a different universe, and the splintered prose perfectly portrays a man in increasing turmoil.
***
Title: Story World
Author:
eva_roisin
Fandom: X-23, Dark Wolverine, X-Men
Characters/Pairings: Laura Kinney, Daken, Julian Keller, Remy LeBeau
Length: 5000 words
Warnings: Ableism
Spoilers: None
Happy Birthday, X-23! Actually, this fic is from Daken's confused and angry POV as he is invited to Laura's birthday party. Daken is filled with hate for the world and himself, but there's some weird connection to his sort-of-sister and he can't damn her in the way he is determined to destroy and discard everything else. In fact, when she invites him to her birthday party he attends, and the horrific awkwardness of the whole situation is the pivot for an amazing character study. Laura herself refuses to react but doesn't push him away either, and he can't understand anything about her. He tries to scorn her, humiliate her friends, argue and be spiteful and vile; at the same time he tries to get close to her and understand her life in a strange, almost shy way.
Daken is a surprising character, and the writing brings out unexpected flashes of colour in his dark life, emotions that he tries to push away and the sharp hooks of knowledge, desire and beauty that distort his attempts to be the soulless killer he was raised to be.
***
Title: It's Not too Early for Dreamin'
Author:
handyhunter
Fandom: X-Men
Characters/Pairings: Jubilee, Hisako
Length: 800 words
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Utopia storyline from 2009-2010.
A gem of a story that shows the absolute best of Jubilee, the girl who is tough, irreverent and damn well makes the best out of any situation. She's bored, stuck on a stupid island, doesn't have any powers and the internet is too slow for shopping…so obviously the answer is rollerblading! A collision brings Hisako on board with the idea, sort of, but enthusiasm is infectious. An adorable character study that leaves me smiling whenever I read it.
***
Title: Unidentified Human Remains and the Nature of True Love
Author: Amanda Sichter
Fandom: Excalibur
Characters/Pairings: Kitty Pryde, Pete Wisdom
Length: 33000 words
Warnings: Depictions of graphic violence, torture and murder
Spoilers: None
(Link goes to archive page - scroll down to find fic listed alphabetically by author surname. I've also put in chapter-by-chapter links at the bottom of this post for easy reading.)
If you like mutant and magic-driven murder mysteries, old lovers getting back together to find the other person isn't who they expected, Kitty's thoughts on being with the X-Men most of her life, and how the British deal with supernatural or supernormal killings, this is the fic for you. Years after their break-up, Pete Wisdom calls Kitty Pryde for help on a series of particularly gruesome murders. He's now advising Scotland Yard, helping police deal with telepaths and faeries and alternate dimensional crimes; Kitty is still with the X-Men but increasingly dissatisfied with their methods and goals. Both of them have a rather idealised picture of the other in their head, but now that they are working in close quarters on a series of violent murders apparently by a superhuman, both Pete and Kitty find that things aren't so simple.
The murder mystery that forms the backbone of this story is tense and scary, and watching the way that Pete works with people and Kitty works with data, and both of them with knowledge and experience of what superhumans can do, is fascinating in the way of a really good X-Files episode. Clues build, groundwork needs to be done, and the integration of their methods with police methods - and police who are mutants themselves - is the kind of semi-real-world plotting I really enjoy in comics like "Powers", seeing how the fantastic blends with the everyday. This story is set in a very thoroughly described world where every last walk-on character has a personality and purpose and the stakes feel absolutely real. The writing is superbly paced and builds to a terrifying climax, which I certainly won't spoil here.
Fans of Ellis-era Excalibur will enjoy the cameos scattered about the fic, but its real strength is the Ellis-style plotting and characterisation, drawn together by skilled writing. I have re-read this fic many times over the years and I hope you take a chance on it too.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9
***
Title: Getting Paid
Author:
octopedingenue
Fandom: X-Men, X-Force, Deadpool
Characters/Pairings: Deadpool, Warren Worthington and ensemble
Length: 2300 words
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Early issues of the current incarnation of X-Force (the one where they kill people and wear black a lot)
It's hard to write Deadpool, with the constant stream-of-consciousness rambling, the jokes and the finely honed edge of slapstick tragedy. On the other hand, one of the best things about Deadpool is that he's a permanent outsider and ideally placed to comment on the absurdity that is the X-Men. Even though his greatest desire (apart from the desire for the late, beloved Bea Arthur) is to join the team, to get the respect, to get the name recognition. Yes, Deadpool is playing in the major leagues now!
This is a fic from Yuletide 2011, and a hilarious look at the ever-changing X-Men roster and the costs of being on the A-list. And, like all good comedy, there's a sweet sting in the tail.
***
Enjoy! Next week: Movieverse.
This entry was originally posted at http://lilacsigil.dreamwidth.org/78114.html - comments are welcome at either location.
Title: The Lay of James Madrocke
Author:
jamaillith
Fandom: Marvel 1602
Characters/Pairings: James Madrocke (Jamie Madrox)
Length: 2000 words
Warnings: Character death
Spoilers: For the concept of 1602
Jamie Madrox is an odd character, never quite at the centre of the mutant world, but tremendously connected to everyone in it, from the government to the X-Men to, in at least one universe, Mister Sinister. This Jamie is isolated and yet, through his power, connected to versions of himself all throughout the kingdom, the perfect spy network. Jamie gains little from his service but experience piled on experience, more than he can bear, and grows more hollow and lonely the more company he has. This fic shows the contradictions of Jamie Madrox, even though it's set in a different universe, and the splintered prose perfectly portrays a man in increasing turmoil.
***
Title: Story World
Author:
eva_roisin
Fandom: X-23, Dark Wolverine, X-Men
Characters/Pairings: Laura Kinney, Daken, Julian Keller, Remy LeBeau
Length: 5000 words
Warnings: Ableism
Spoilers: None
Happy Birthday, X-23! Actually, this fic is from Daken's confused and angry POV as he is invited to Laura's birthday party. Daken is filled with hate for the world and himself, but there's some weird connection to his sort-of-sister and he can't damn her in the way he is determined to destroy and discard everything else. In fact, when she invites him to her birthday party he attends, and the horrific awkwardness of the whole situation is the pivot for an amazing character study. Laura herself refuses to react but doesn't push him away either, and he can't understand anything about her. He tries to scorn her, humiliate her friends, argue and be spiteful and vile; at the same time he tries to get close to her and understand her life in a strange, almost shy way.
Daken is a surprising character, and the writing brings out unexpected flashes of colour in his dark life, emotions that he tries to push away and the sharp hooks of knowledge, desire and beauty that distort his attempts to be the soulless killer he was raised to be.
***
Title: It's Not too Early for Dreamin'
Author:
handyhunter
Fandom: X-Men
Characters/Pairings: Jubilee, Hisako
Length: 800 words
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Utopia storyline from 2009-2010.
A gem of a story that shows the absolute best of Jubilee, the girl who is tough, irreverent and damn well makes the best out of any situation. She's bored, stuck on a stupid island, doesn't have any powers and the internet is too slow for shopping…so obviously the answer is rollerblading! A collision brings Hisako on board with the idea, sort of, but enthusiasm is infectious. An adorable character study that leaves me smiling whenever I read it.
***
Title: Unidentified Human Remains and the Nature of True Love
Author: Amanda Sichter
Fandom: Excalibur
Characters/Pairings: Kitty Pryde, Pete Wisdom
Length: 33000 words
Warnings: Depictions of graphic violence, torture and murder
Spoilers: None
(Link goes to archive page - scroll down to find fic listed alphabetically by author surname. I've also put in chapter-by-chapter links at the bottom of this post for easy reading.)
If you like mutant and magic-driven murder mysteries, old lovers getting back together to find the other person isn't who they expected, Kitty's thoughts on being with the X-Men most of her life, and how the British deal with supernatural or supernormal killings, this is the fic for you. Years after their break-up, Pete Wisdom calls Kitty Pryde for help on a series of particularly gruesome murders. He's now advising Scotland Yard, helping police deal with telepaths and faeries and alternate dimensional crimes; Kitty is still with the X-Men but increasingly dissatisfied with their methods and goals. Both of them have a rather idealised picture of the other in their head, but now that they are working in close quarters on a series of violent murders apparently by a superhuman, both Pete and Kitty find that things aren't so simple.
The murder mystery that forms the backbone of this story is tense and scary, and watching the way that Pete works with people and Kitty works with data, and both of them with knowledge and experience of what superhumans can do, is fascinating in the way of a really good X-Files episode. Clues build, groundwork needs to be done, and the integration of their methods with police methods - and police who are mutants themselves - is the kind of semi-real-world plotting I really enjoy in comics like "Powers", seeing how the fantastic blends with the everyday. This story is set in a very thoroughly described world where every last walk-on character has a personality and purpose and the stakes feel absolutely real. The writing is superbly paced and builds to a terrifying climax, which I certainly won't spoil here.
Fans of Ellis-era Excalibur will enjoy the cameos scattered about the fic, but its real strength is the Ellis-style plotting and characterisation, drawn together by skilled writing. I have re-read this fic many times over the years and I hope you take a chance on it too.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9
***
Title: Getting Paid
Author:
octopedingenue
Fandom: X-Men, X-Force, Deadpool
Characters/Pairings: Deadpool, Warren Worthington and ensemble
Length: 2300 words
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Early issues of the current incarnation of X-Force (the one where they kill people and wear black a lot)
It's hard to write Deadpool, with the constant stream-of-consciousness rambling, the jokes and the finely honed edge of slapstick tragedy. On the other hand, one of the best things about Deadpool is that he's a permanent outsider and ideally placed to comment on the absurdity that is the X-Men. Even though his greatest desire (apart from the desire for the late, beloved Bea Arthur) is to join the team, to get the respect, to get the name recognition. Yes, Deadpool is playing in the major leagues now!
This is a fic from Yuletide 2011, and a hilarious look at the ever-changing X-Men roster and the costs of being on the A-list. And, like all good comedy, there's a sweet sting in the tail.
***
Enjoy! Next week: Movieverse.
This entry was originally posted at http://lilacsigil.dreamwidth.org/78114.html - comments are welcome at either location.