I always wanted to be the face in front of me.
Ladies and gents of the Flist, it's time for fanfic recs from Percy. And why yes, there are an inordinate amount of Inception recs today. Mainly because I've been on a kick. You'll also note that most of the Inception stuff here tends towards Arthur/Eames. Bizarrely enough, while Arthur/Ariadne is my favourite ship there, most of the really good fic comes from the Arthur/Eames corner of the fandom.
Fic: Tse Atcai Aela (Inception)
Summary: Everyone dies eventually. Everyone.
Why You Should Read It: The funny thing about this fic is that when I tell you that there's character death and intense brutality in it, I'm not even spoiling you. Go figure that one out.
On a more personal note, this fic gave me absolute shivers the first time I read it. It's dark, violent, and through all this manages to be both a narrative and technical marvel. It's delivered in short, sharp sentences. While this is normally a turn-off for me, the author makes it work. This is to say nothing of how they manage to juggle a timeline that jumps all over the place without managing to lose the reader. And good GOD, the violence. You feel it.
There's some Arthur/Eames slash involved, but that's really not the point of this fic. It's an examination of the mind as it slowly breaks, and a character study of Arthur.
Fic: The Replacements (Inception)
Summary: "I'm going to kill them," Ariadne said flatly when the line finally picked up. "They're dead men. Yusuf's pretty confident he's planned the perfect murder and Saito's promised to cover the legal fees just in case."
Why You Should Read It: On the exact opposite end of the spectrum from "Tse Atcai Aela", this is pitch perfect humour. The entire Dream Team is present, and while it may not match the tone of the film itself, the characters are still recognizably themselves. There's references to 'Clue', there's Eames and Arthur at one another's throats, really bad coffee, homicidal Ariadne, conniving Yusuf, and oatcakes. It's laugh out loud hilarious, and I've yet to see anything quite like it in the Inception fandom.
Really, I think the summary speaks for itself in terms of what you can expect. This is my most highly recommended fic from this batch.
(And yes, the author's name is Lithium Doll. No relation.)
Fic: Six Times Bobby Drake Helped With The X-Men's Taxes (X-Men Comicverse)
Summary: Bobby wasn’t entirely sure how he had ended up having to check all of the X-Men’s taxes.
Why You Should Read It: I found this one a long time ago, and have recommended it to people before, but it really cannot get enough love. The mundane details of the X-Men's lives are often forgotten, but this examination of such a simple aspect of their lives delves right in to it. The author manages to not only nail a sense of humour on Bobby's part, but sneaks in some fantastic characterization for everyone else. Short, sweet, and guffaw inducing.
Fic: Lions and Tigers (Inception/Calvin and Hobbes)
Summary: What were you like as a kid?” Eames asks him.
“Quiet,” Arthur says. “I lived in my head a lot. You?”
“I did too,” Eames replies. “Only I was never quiet about it.”
Why You Should Read It: More Arthur/Eames slash. Heads up for both language and a touch of sexyteims. This sort of thing wouldn't normally be up my alley. This fic though? This has to be the most brilliant origin story for Eames that I have ever, ever seen. You will note that it's a crossover between Inception and Calvin and Hobbes. This sounds like it would come off as absolute crack, but this author plays it completely straight while managing to not only be funny, but to link the two 'universes' perfectly. My one criteria for crossovers is this: do I actually buy this mix in that I feel like these two universes could co-exist? I read this, and I did.
Fic: People Who Know My Sins (Iron Man)
Summary: Dancing is not in her job description, but neither is mopping up blood at 4 in the morning. She does it anyway.
Why You Should Read It: This is set post-Iron Man, and was written before Iron Man 2, so it doesn't take the second film into account. It's not an especially long fic, but it's a lovely examination of what Pepper and Tony's relationship should could look like. It manages to be serious, romantic, bitter and sweet at the same time. (Note that I said bitter AND sweet. Not bittersweet.) Tony's voice is spot-on -- I really cannot emphasize this enough -- and good GRAVY is Pepper's narration wonderful.
Right. So there you have it.
Hey, flist? Howzabout you throw some recs back at me? What fanfic have you read recently that's really, really good? I've got a free evening, have had something of a rough day that I don't feel like talking about, and could use some fandom-y distraction.
Fic: Tse Atcai Aela (Inception)
Summary: Everyone dies eventually. Everyone.
Why You Should Read It: The funny thing about this fic is that when I tell you that there's character death and intense brutality in it, I'm not even spoiling you. Go figure that one out.
On a more personal note, this fic gave me absolute shivers the first time I read it. It's dark, violent, and through all this manages to be both a narrative and technical marvel. It's delivered in short, sharp sentences. While this is normally a turn-off for me, the author makes it work. This is to say nothing of how they manage to juggle a timeline that jumps all over the place without managing to lose the reader. And good GOD, the violence. You feel it.
There's some Arthur/Eames slash involved, but that's really not the point of this fic. It's an examination of the mind as it slowly breaks, and a character study of Arthur.
Fic: The Replacements (Inception)
Summary: "I'm going to kill them," Ariadne said flatly when the line finally picked up. "They're dead men. Yusuf's pretty confident he's planned the perfect murder and Saito's promised to cover the legal fees just in case."
Why You Should Read It: On the exact opposite end of the spectrum from "Tse Atcai Aela", this is pitch perfect humour. The entire Dream Team is present, and while it may not match the tone of the film itself, the characters are still recognizably themselves. There's references to 'Clue', there's Eames and Arthur at one another's throats, really bad coffee, homicidal Ariadne, conniving Yusuf, and oatcakes. It's laugh out loud hilarious, and I've yet to see anything quite like it in the Inception fandom.
Really, I think the summary speaks for itself in terms of what you can expect. This is my most highly recommended fic from this batch.
(And yes, the author's name is Lithium Doll. No relation.)
Fic: Six Times Bobby Drake Helped With The X-Men's Taxes (X-Men Comicverse)
Summary: Bobby wasn’t entirely sure how he had ended up having to check all of the X-Men’s taxes.
Why You Should Read It: I found this one a long time ago, and have recommended it to people before, but it really cannot get enough love. The mundane details of the X-Men's lives are often forgotten, but this examination of such a simple aspect of their lives delves right in to it. The author manages to not only nail a sense of humour on Bobby's part, but sneaks in some fantastic characterization for everyone else. Short, sweet, and guffaw inducing.
Fic: Lions and Tigers (Inception/Calvin and Hobbes)
Summary: What were you like as a kid?” Eames asks him.
“Quiet,” Arthur says. “I lived in my head a lot. You?”
“I did too,” Eames replies. “Only I was never quiet about it.”
Why You Should Read It: More Arthur/Eames slash. Heads up for both language and a touch of sexyteims. This sort of thing wouldn't normally be up my alley. This fic though? This has to be the most brilliant origin story for Eames that I have ever, ever seen. You will note that it's a crossover between Inception and Calvin and Hobbes. This sounds like it would come off as absolute crack, but this author plays it completely straight while managing to not only be funny, but to link the two 'universes' perfectly. My one criteria for crossovers is this: do I actually buy this mix in that I feel like these two universes could co-exist? I read this, and I did.
Fic: People Who Know My Sins (Iron Man)
Summary: Dancing is not in her job description, but neither is mopping up blood at 4 in the morning. She does it anyway.
Why You Should Read It: This is set post-Iron Man, and was written before Iron Man 2, so it doesn't take the second film into account. It's not an especially long fic, but it's a lovely examination of what Pepper and Tony's relationship should could look like. It manages to be serious, romantic, bitter and sweet at the same time. (Note that I said bitter AND sweet. Not bittersweet.) Tony's voice is spot-on -- I really cannot emphasize this enough -- and good GRAVY is Pepper's narration wonderful.
Right. So there you have it.
Hey, flist? Howzabout you throw some recs back at me? What fanfic have you read recently that's really, really good? I've got a free evening, have had something of a rough day that I don't feel like talking about, and could use some fandom-y distraction.