Bumper bunch of recs
Recs (mainly for fic) from the fandoms of Alias, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, CSI, Dark Angel, Dawson's Creek, Firefly/Serenity, Harry Potter.../Lord of the Rings, Lord Peter Wimsey, Pirates of the Carribbean, Smallville, Star Wars, Veronica Mars, X-men Movieverse.
Alias:
Gen
James Bond Meets General Hospital - (post ’Trust Me’ ) celli.
Celli writing Weiss pov should be all that you need to know. Set after Eric was shot, it’s got snark, it’s got a moving glimpse of Weiss and Vaughn’s friendship, a strong Syd and it’s hilarious.
Various canon and uncanonical het pairings:
Irenicon: yahtzee NC-17 (contains spoilers for 3 finale)
Brilliant novel of a fic that follows on really plausibly from ‘Resurrection’ and is true to the show - character voice throughout is fabulous, and the range of it!!! Plus it offers plotty goodness - everything that good fanfiction should be. It’s one of those stories that I’d urge you to read now, if you haven’t. Which you probably have already, yes?
Syd/Weiss
A friend in need: helsinkibaby (general s3 spoilers)
Sweiss bubblefic, well, almost. Cute, funny, just right.
Two Spies in a Bar: Dress Casual: butterflykiki.
AU. Weiss has a conversation with another spy. Funny and intriguing, sharp and smart.
Think about cheating: helsinkibaby (spoilers for s3 finale)
Absorbing fic that deals with the Syd-Vaughn-Weiss triangle.
BtVS
Fic (assume spoilers up to 'Chosen', just in case.):
Giles/Anya
In the deepest deep: Lori R
Mind you, the pair of you have a rather eccentric notion of ‘good.’ And don’t we love them for it? Fabulous series of inter-linked stories with vibrant, witty characterisation, plot and style. It feels like a 'further adventures of' while, somehow being more grown up than the Buffyverse - the links to the Angelverse work so well. So much depth in these stories. If you have a fondness for Giles/Anya, you should make the time for this series.
And two short stories:
X Miles to the rest stop: Princess Twilite
Great character voices, lovely writing, an obsession with lips, evocatively looks at beginnings and endings. A really good piece of character and relationship development within a wider group dynamic that takes the possibilities of the show and runs with them.
Timetables - dodyskin (R)
Giles/Anya in England. Just like this.
Buffy/Oz
Experiments with normal: glossing
I love the way this connection which becomes a relationship ties so well into the context, Buffy’s S3 emotional state(s), the Scooby cross-currents, and how the character voice is so consistently authentic
Little Hours in the Last Forever: dodyskin Buffy/Oz that, as you'd expect with this pairing, does something different.
Gen
Complaint Department: bethynyc
Giles in transition from Ripper to Giles comes Anyanka's way. (Gen) Funny and very good D'Hoffryn.
Meta:
Neat analysis of Once More, With Feeling by andrastewhite in the context of the difference between a fan watching TV and a mundane...
stakebait on Joss, s6, and why it lost its metaphor
Antidote to the shriller, solely for comedy Anya in some of my recs, an excellent essay by valancy 'All about Anya' that does a great job of looking at her journey up till 'Selfless', and explaining why she was my favourite character of season 7.
CSI
Teacher’s Pet: Wintertime
A parodic high school AU that manages to poke fun at CSI fandom, particularly Grissom/Sidle shippers' most extreme fanaticism, whiile making the characters and pairing work in this setting. Extremely funny.
Dark Angel
Dark Angel/Buffy the Vampire Slayer cross-over
Making the best of a bad situation: restive nature
Her words: 'An unusual case arises in the world of Vengeance.'
Mine: oh, yes, that'd be Alec. This made me grin.
Max/Alec
And still hope: alethelia
IC, well-written, gripping fic that has fab M/A interaction, and a really plausible take on what'd happen after FN.
There are sequels that I hope to read in the new year.
Dawson's Creek
Untitled Pacey ficlet: (fits in before the finale) by callmesandy Great Pacey voice, great caputre of the Trokia's dynamic.
Firefly/Serenity
ASSUME SPOILERS FOR SERNITY.
Mal/Kaylee fics:
I'm not sure if I have or haven't recced moonwhip's Mal/Kaylee fics, or if the links got lost somewhere on my to do lists. Either way, they deserve the rec, particularly So Long and it coda.
False Idols: musesfool Rated adult (Mal/Kaylee, Mal/Serenity)
True to the characters, their voices, yes, but to so much more than that about them
The mechanics of it:jengrrrl Adult.
Intense vignette that's just right.
If you've been reading the above Mal/Kaylee recs and thinking 'huh?' it'd be worth your while to give this a try
In Small Degrees (Everybody Falls): musesfool
A story that allows the post-movie Mal/Kaylee relationship to develop; excellent character voices all round, lovely writing.
Gen:
Wayward mechanic: indiana_j (Mal, Kaylee) Recced if you like teh cuteness. Which I do.
‘Never': thetoofster A simple but beautiful post-Serenity Zoe-centric drabble.
And Bind Up Every Wandering Tress: musesfool All the Firefly women (some Kaylee/Inara)
Lovely use of a simple ritual for a look at the four female characters of Firefly and companionship.
Other:
River and Kaylee drawings - gorgeous. By rebzy
Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings
HP vs LOTR (spoilers for HBP) although this is movieverse.
Completely hilarious series of drawings byu glockgal
The Lord Peter Wimsey books
Meta:
Thoroughly fascinating and erudite series of 'essaylets' by truepenny on Dorothy L. Sayers ' Wimsey series. As it deals with the whole canon, there's a lot of cross-referencing, so it's best appreciated if you've read them all
http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=truepenny&keyword=DLS&filter=all
POTC
fabu asks why on earth people think Elizabeth is a Mary Sue, which leads to a really interesting discussion of the character's strengths and weaknesses, immaturity, anachronism, similarity to Jack and all.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/fabu/361042.html
Smallville
A lovely Chloe/Clark ficlet by savage_midnight here
Star Wars
[Disclaimer or backround: I'm not really into Star Wars. I've read the novelisations for the 'prequels', but not realyl watched more than clips of those films. I sat through Attack of the Clones because of Ewan MacGregor, and out of boredom, started shipping Obi Wan/Padme. Yes, it is sort of one of those 'they're so pretty' UC ships. I don't know the canon material that well, but I do know good writing. Below is good writing.)
Obi Wan/Padme:
Stand: cupiscent
Rumours of my demise: cupiscent
It occurred to him sometimes that he spent more time with the dead than with the living.
Gorgeous, beautiful writing and story.
Not Lost Yet: misbegotten Powerful vignette.
Veronica Mars - I added a few meta links to my VM catch-all post.
X-Men (Wolverine/Rogue, Scott/Rogue, gen]
[W/R]
musesfool spins out how it could turn out for Logan/Marie
Detailed supposition or ficlet? You decide.
For the good times: Donna Bevan (NC-17)
Angsty post X-1 futurefic that's well-paced with both psychology and sensuality organic to the story. I like the summary: Rogue can touch - so what's with the angst?
Little things: Elizabeth (R)
A story about Rogue, Scott, Logan, Jean. I really, really liked the growing power of this story and its revelations.
Safety in Numbers: Elizabeth (R)
She stared at her gloves, her long plain black gloves, one of three pairs she owned, and she battled down the urge to go and find someone, anyone, and take off her gloves and touch them and absorb their memories so she wouldn't have to deal with her own feelings.
Very believable Marie and Logan, and a genuinely good use of the pathetic fallacy.
A while after reading and thoroughly enjoying the above fics, I found out that their author passed away this year.
[Scott/Rogue] Clinging Cures: Molly (post X1.) Rogue's first love never came back. She stayed at the Mansion, and found that Scott understood her. Beautiful, although occasionally a little too oblique for it own good.
[Gen]
A touch: moonwhip. Scott Rogue f'ship (but there’s almost subtext, though that’s not the point). A wonderful, nuanced and complex Scott, gorgeous writing.
Sugar and spice and…: Te X2 humour fic. Xavier gets his revenge on Logan - the reader gets a laugh, guaranteed. Great idea, very well executed.
And that was an interesting (and exhausting) look back at my fic reading for the past six months or so.
More recs here and my reccing manifesto.
Alias:
Gen
James Bond Meets General Hospital - (post ’Trust Me’ ) celli.
Celli writing Weiss pov should be all that you need to know. Set after Eric was shot, it’s got snark, it’s got a moving glimpse of Weiss and Vaughn’s friendship, a strong Syd and it’s hilarious.
Various canon and uncanonical het pairings:
Irenicon: yahtzee NC-17 (contains spoilers for 3 finale)
Brilliant novel of a fic that follows on really plausibly from ‘Resurrection’ and is true to the show - character voice throughout is fabulous, and the range of it!!! Plus it offers plotty goodness - everything that good fanfiction should be. It’s one of those stories that I’d urge you to read now, if you haven’t. Which you probably have already, yes?
Syd/Weiss
A friend in need: helsinkibaby (general s3 spoilers)
Sweiss bubblefic, well, almost. Cute, funny, just right.
Two Spies in a Bar: Dress Casual: butterflykiki.
AU. Weiss has a conversation with another spy. Funny and intriguing, sharp and smart.
Think about cheating: helsinkibaby (spoilers for s3 finale)
Absorbing fic that deals with the Syd-Vaughn-Weiss triangle.
BtVS
Fic (assume spoilers up to 'Chosen', just in case.):
Giles/Anya
In the deepest deep: Lori R
Mind you, the pair of you have a rather eccentric notion of ‘good.’ And don’t we love them for it? Fabulous series of inter-linked stories with vibrant, witty characterisation, plot and style. It feels like a 'further adventures of' while, somehow being more grown up than the Buffyverse - the links to the Angelverse work so well. So much depth in these stories. If you have a fondness for Giles/Anya, you should make the time for this series.
And two short stories:
X Miles to the rest stop: Princess Twilite
Great character voices, lovely writing, an obsession with lips, evocatively looks at beginnings and endings. A really good piece of character and relationship development within a wider group dynamic that takes the possibilities of the show and runs with them.
Timetables - dodyskin (R)
Giles/Anya in England. Just like this.
Buffy/Oz
Experiments with normal: glossing
I love the way this connection which becomes a relationship ties so well into the context, Buffy’s S3 emotional state(s), the Scooby cross-currents, and how the character voice is so consistently authentic
Little Hours in the Last Forever: dodyskin Buffy/Oz that, as you'd expect with this pairing, does something different.
Gen
Complaint Department: bethynyc
Giles in transition from Ripper to Giles comes Anyanka's way. (Gen) Funny and very good D'Hoffryn.
Meta:
Neat analysis of Once More, With Feeling by andrastewhite in the context of the difference between a fan watching TV and a mundane...
stakebait on Joss, s6, and why it lost its metaphor
Antidote to the shriller, solely for comedy Anya in some of my recs, an excellent essay by valancy 'All about Anya' that does a great job of looking at her journey up till 'Selfless', and explaining why she was my favourite character of season 7.
CSI
Teacher’s Pet: Wintertime
A parodic high school AU that manages to poke fun at CSI fandom, particularly Grissom/Sidle shippers' most extreme fanaticism, whiile making the characters and pairing work in this setting. Extremely funny.
Dark Angel
Dark Angel/Buffy the Vampire Slayer cross-over
Making the best of a bad situation: restive nature
Her words: 'An unusual case arises in the world of Vengeance.'
Mine: oh, yes, that'd be Alec. This made me grin.
Max/Alec
And still hope: alethelia
IC, well-written, gripping fic that has fab M/A interaction, and a really plausible take on what'd happen after FN.
There are sequels that I hope to read in the new year.
Dawson's Creek
Untitled Pacey ficlet: (fits in before the finale) by callmesandy Great Pacey voice, great caputre of the Trokia's dynamic.
Firefly/Serenity
ASSUME SPOILERS FOR SERNITY.
Mal/Kaylee fics:
I'm not sure if I have or haven't recced moonwhip's Mal/Kaylee fics, or if the links got lost somewhere on my to do lists. Either way, they deserve the rec, particularly So Long and it coda.
False Idols: musesfool Rated adult (Mal/Kaylee, Mal/Serenity)
True to the characters, their voices, yes, but to so much more than that about them
The mechanics of it:jengrrrl Adult.
Intense vignette that's just right.
If you've been reading the above Mal/Kaylee recs and thinking 'huh?' it'd be worth your while to give this a try
In Small Degrees (Everybody Falls): musesfool
A story that allows the post-movie Mal/Kaylee relationship to develop; excellent character voices all round, lovely writing.
Gen:
Wayward mechanic: indiana_j (Mal, Kaylee) Recced if you like teh cuteness. Which I do.
‘Never': thetoofster A simple but beautiful post-Serenity Zoe-centric drabble.
And Bind Up Every Wandering Tress: musesfool All the Firefly women (some Kaylee/Inara)
Lovely use of a simple ritual for a look at the four female characters of Firefly and companionship.
Other:
River and Kaylee drawings - gorgeous. By rebzy
Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings
HP vs LOTR (spoilers for HBP) although this is movieverse.
Completely hilarious series of drawings byu glockgal
The Lord Peter Wimsey books
Meta:
Thoroughly fascinating and erudite series of 'essaylets' by truepenny on Dorothy L. Sayers ' Wimsey series. As it deals with the whole canon, there's a lot of cross-referencing, so it's best appreciated if you've read them all
http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=truepenny&keyword=DLS&filter=all
POTC
fabu asks why on earth people think Elizabeth is a Mary Sue, which leads to a really interesting discussion of the character's strengths and weaknesses, immaturity, anachronism, similarity to Jack and all.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/fabu/361042.html
Smallville
A lovely Chloe/Clark ficlet by savage_midnight here
Star Wars
[Disclaimer or backround: I'm not really into Star Wars. I've read the novelisations for the 'prequels', but not realyl watched more than clips of those films. I sat through Attack of the Clones because of Ewan MacGregor, and out of boredom, started shipping Obi Wan/Padme. Yes, it is sort of one of those 'they're so pretty' UC ships. I don't know the canon material that well, but I do know good writing. Below is good writing.)
Obi Wan/Padme:
Stand: cupiscent
Rumours of my demise: cupiscent
It occurred to him sometimes that he spent more time with the dead than with the living.
Gorgeous, beautiful writing and story.
Not Lost Yet: misbegotten Powerful vignette.
Veronica Mars - I added a few meta links to my VM catch-all post.
X-Men (Wolverine/Rogue, Scott/Rogue, gen]
[W/R]
musesfool spins out how it could turn out for Logan/Marie
Detailed supposition or ficlet? You decide.
For the good times: Donna Bevan (NC-17)
Angsty post X-1 futurefic that's well-paced with both psychology and sensuality organic to the story. I like the summary: Rogue can touch - so what's with the angst?
Little things: Elizabeth (R)
A story about Rogue, Scott, Logan, Jean. I really, really liked the growing power of this story and its revelations.
Safety in Numbers: Elizabeth (R)
She stared at her gloves, her long plain black gloves, one of three pairs she owned, and she battled down the urge to go and find someone, anyone, and take off her gloves and touch them and absorb their memories so she wouldn't have to deal with her own feelings.
Very believable Marie and Logan, and a genuinely good use of the pathetic fallacy.
A while after reading and thoroughly enjoying the above fics, I found out that their author passed away this year.
[Scott/Rogue] Clinging Cures: Molly (post X1.) Rogue's first love never came back. She stayed at the Mansion, and found that Scott understood her. Beautiful, although occasionally a little too oblique for it own good.
[Gen]
A touch: moonwhip. Scott Rogue f'ship (but there’s almost subtext, though that’s not the point). A wonderful, nuanced and complex Scott, gorgeous writing.
Sugar and spice and…: Te X2 humour fic. Xavier gets his revenge on Logan - the reader gets a laugh, guaranteed. Great idea, very well executed.
And that was an interesting (and exhausting) look back at my fic reading for the past six months or so.
More recs here and my reccing manifesto.