As I begin to lose my grip on these realities you're sending...
So, there's no Music Monday this week, obviously. I'll pick up with 'C' this coming Monday. Promise. For now? Fanfic recs. Because these are the best I've read recently, and I feel like I need to share. This means that you need to come and squee with me about this stuff. They're all oneshots, so you have no excuses not to read at least one and
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That out of the way, I really enjoyed all of these. Especially "To The Moon and Back" as that is right up my alley as were "Flashes of Red" and "Breathe" (...it's almost as if you made this list with my sadistic streak in mind...). And The Star Trek fic had me giggling away.
Oh, man. Where to get started on gushing on these?
First of all, I loved "Flashes of Red" because it revealed so much of my own interpretation of Vesper in Bond's life. As he told her, she saved his soul and it's hers now. But she's gone, and Bond's left to pick up the pieces. You can't blame him for being bitter because as he points out in the fic, there were many signs. Signs he couldn't miss because he's JAMES BOND and yet, he ignored them. Now all he has left of Vesper is this bitterness because he knows that if he hadn't ignored the signs and come up long enough from his fantasy that she would still be with him. Who knows how long he stays in that hotel room, just holding onto what little remains of her?
"Breathe" was lovely too. After reading the rest of the fics, I was bracing myself for the sucker punch to the heart. That being said, I stood no chance for "He looks at her like he's memorizing her face." GAH. That right there. That one line slammed this fic from an enjoyable read to a fic I'm not likely to forget. That line highlights Jason's entire mindset - he knows that she's too good for him to keep but he'll take any time he has with her over none. Urgh. I want him to go kill her murderers all over again, except that would be against her wishes and bad.
"How to Avoid Kicking Puppies..." was just pure fun, which I needed after all the angst cake.
Finally, the one I know you want to hear about the most - "To The Moon And Back". Where to start? First of all, I love the fact that Ariadne and Arthur didn't have the same ending that Mal and Dom did and yet, there are a lot of parallels. Both Arthur and Mal reach a point where they can no longer function outside of the dream - Mal claims that she is still caught within the dream and Arthur can no longer handle change or rather, events outside of his control. Both need to escape and the only way to do that is death. But neither can take the final plunge alone. Mal needs Dom to come with her and tries to force him into a suicide pact. Arthur forces Ariadne into a position where she has to pull the trigger, effectively putting her into the same position that Dom was at the beginning of the movie. And then there is just the way Arthur and Ariadne fall apart - it's so subtle and then, it's this massive elephant in the room. They've reached a point where they're both unhappy and yet, they can't break up even though the person they loved is long gone. I just love the irony of this fic - they tried so hard to avoid becoming Mal and Dom, yet in the end, they followed the same story.
Okay - now some Inception recs for you: You aren't the graduate (and she isn't Mrs. Robinson) and Minotaur.
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"Flashes of Red" is just beautiful and amazing. It's a technical marvel. The author tunes words and phrases so well, and there is something so raw and hurting and everything. It's a record of the exact moment that James Bond dies and 007is truly born. Every flash of red that James remembers is a stab to the gut. My favourite line from that fic is this one:
And it was red in every scene, beginning, middle, end like the way they taught it to you in grade school and he was foolish not to see it.
It's just so potent and sums up absolutely everything that fic was trying to do. You bleed right there with James. As those following his story, we should have seen it too, and we feel that regret.
Like I said, that last section of "Breathe" BROKE me. That section where Jason ends up sleeping on the floor in Morocco was just amazing. I loved how the writer didn't describe the expression on his face and yet we know what kind of horror Jason was experiencing at that moment in time. It's a wonderful voice for Marie. I agree with you -- reading that fic makes me want Jason to track down her murderers and kill them again. There's so much development of Marie in this fic you feel like you truly know her, and through her bits and pieces of Jason are drawn out. That final line just clinches it. If I could write anything with a final line that hits like that one, I would die happy.
I can't help but love "To The Moon And Back". It's so bloody poignant, and the breakdown of their relationship is so natural and so painful at the sames time. The fact that they are still are drawn together in the end and she keeps her promise...oh, hell. The author breaks Arthur so well too: we don't see it, so we can impose anything we want on him, which is more effective than the author outright telling us what he's been through in the meantime. I think what the most effective part of the whole fic is when the two of them know that it's over even though they're still together, and Arthur makes her promise him. It's this heartwrenching moment that everything pivots around; the two of them aren't there anymore despite their presence, and it's ended...though really, it doesn't end. Gah. I just love it.
"You aren't the graduate (And she isn't Mrs. Robinson" was actually freaking adorable. The OC was quite likeable, which is rare in fanfic. I like the idea that Arthur and Ariadne would keep the
As much as I love Ariadne, and as much as I love Arthur and Ariadne, Arthur steals the show in that fic. I adore how he appears. His nonchalant "So, why were you kissing my wife?" was brilliant, the fact that he just 'appeared' in the St. John's hotel room was great, and his threat was just perfect. I love Arthur. I love Arthur so much.
"Minotaur" just...wow. I love how Arthur becomes the anti-Mal. Instead of being bent on destruction, he becomes something of a guardian angel for Ariadne and the team. It's short, but punchy and wonderful, and Arthur is so quintessentially him. Thank you for sharing that one in particular.
Are you familiar with the first "Iron Man" movie? Because I have the most amazing, amazing rec for you if you are.
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