QAF U.K. + Angst Recs
*slumps* So tired. We have house guests coming tomorrow and staying for three nights (!) so there was a big flurry of cleaning and preparing today. The apartment looks relatively pristine, but I'm pooped!
This morning I finally finished watching the U.K. version of Queer as Folk. I started it months ago, but it never really drew me in the way the U.S. version did. However, watching the last five episodes more or less in a row allowed me to get caught up in it a bit more, and I really did start to like it. (And, unlike the U.S. version, it didn't make me want to slit my wrists at the end. *g*)
I must say it was a little weird to be rooting for the equivalent of Brian/Michael rather than Brian/Justin, but it felt right for this storyline and these actors (Stuart and Vince have wonderful chemistry together, unlike Brian and Michael). And I kind of like the way they left things a bit open...though I choose to believe that Vince and Stuart did finally get that shag, plus hundreds more. ;-)
Last night I read a most marvelous fic that snegurochka_lee had brought to my attention, and it got me in the mood to finish putting together those angst recs I mentioned the other day. After all, sometimes a girl just needs to get her heart ripped out. Right?
Please note that the following fics do not have happy endings (though in some cases you could read them as ambiguous, I suppose). There are character deaths and separations and all manner of ouchy things. So, you know, have a fluffy fic open in another window or something if you're a wuss like me about such things. :-D
HARRY POTTER
I Envy Not the Beast by gyzym (Sirius/Regulus, some Remus/Sirius, R, incest and a spot of noncon)
Summary: None given
My Comments: I don't like Blackcest, don't really like Regulus, don't like reading Sirius with anyone but Remus...and yet none of that mattered as soon as I started this fic. Simply put, this is great writing -- imagery that sings and a narrative voice that inexorably draws you into Sirius's life. His love and desire for Regulus are painful and real. This is the first fic that has ever really sold me on this pairing.
In the Turning by casirafics (Remus/Hermione, heavy R, character death)
Summary: None given
My Comments: This fic is so good it gives me chills. The intricate plot centers around Hermione using her Time Turner in a dizzying series of chronological jumps (all in the service of the Order) against the backdrop of an increasingly oppressive war. I love the way the author has drawn the characters -- a strong but human Hermione carrying out her duty even as she frays around the edges, and a Remus defined by his bravery and quiet dignity. The last scene destroys me every time.
Bonus! If you're interested, the author has done a commentary on this fic here.
Bedlam Boys by traveller (Remus/Sirius, R)
Summary: None given
My Comments: This fic is like a song or a poem rather than a piece of prose, working through impressions rather than literal meanings. The stream-of-consciousness style and nursery-rhyme rhythms capture the struggle Sirius must have had to stay sane in Azkaban and to re-enter the world again afterward -- because he must have been more than a little bit mad.
QUEER AS FOLK
Not Your Leaving but Your Not Coming Back by mojokid (Brian/Justin, no rating given but I'd call it an R to be safe)
Summary: post 414 tragic little justin goes to hollywood tale.
My Comments: This was written pre-S5 as an attempt to imagine a scenario in which Brian says "I love you" in a realistic way, and for me this is second only to canon. The whole fic is quietly moving, with believable dialogue and wonderful insight into Brian's mind on the eve of Justin's departure for Hollywood, but the ILY scene...gah. Perfect.
Boys of Melody by sweetestdrain (Brian/Justin, Brian/Other, no rating but I'd give it an R, character death)
Summary: They gave Brian four boxes of Justin’s sketchbooks, with an apologetic smile and a “He would have wanted you to have them.”
My Comments: Oh god, maybe I'm a masochist, but this one hurts so good. As you might guess from the summary, the character death in question is Justin's, and the story centers around the way Brian deals -- or doesn't deal -- with it. It's absolutely devastating (without going melodramatic or OOC).
There are plenty more I could have recced, but it's late and if I read any more angst I'm going to have to go throw myself off a bridge.
This morning I finally finished watching the U.K. version of Queer as Folk. I started it months ago, but it never really drew me in the way the U.S. version did. However, watching the last five episodes more or less in a row allowed me to get caught up in it a bit more, and I really did start to like it. (And, unlike the U.S. version, it didn't make me want to slit my wrists at the end. *g*)
I must say it was a little weird to be rooting for the equivalent of Brian/Michael rather than Brian/Justin, but it felt right for this storyline and these actors (Stuart and Vince have wonderful chemistry together, unlike Brian and Michael). And I kind of like the way they left things a bit open...though I choose to believe that Vince and Stuart did finally get that shag, plus hundreds more. ;-)
Last night I read a most marvelous fic that snegurochka_lee had brought to my attention, and it got me in the mood to finish putting together those angst recs I mentioned the other day. After all, sometimes a girl just needs to get her heart ripped out. Right?
Please note that the following fics do not have happy endings (though in some cases you could read them as ambiguous, I suppose). There are character deaths and separations and all manner of ouchy things. So, you know, have a fluffy fic open in another window or something if you're a wuss like me about such things. :-D
HARRY POTTER
I Envy Not the Beast by gyzym (Sirius/Regulus, some Remus/Sirius, R, incest and a spot of noncon)
Summary: None given
My Comments: I don't like Blackcest, don't really like Regulus, don't like reading Sirius with anyone but Remus...and yet none of that mattered as soon as I started this fic. Simply put, this is great writing -- imagery that sings and a narrative voice that inexorably draws you into Sirius's life. His love and desire for Regulus are painful and real. This is the first fic that has ever really sold me on this pairing.
In the Turning by casirafics (Remus/Hermione, heavy R, character death)
Summary: None given
My Comments: This fic is so good it gives me chills. The intricate plot centers around Hermione using her Time Turner in a dizzying series of chronological jumps (all in the service of the Order) against the backdrop of an increasingly oppressive war. I love the way the author has drawn the characters -- a strong but human Hermione carrying out her duty even as she frays around the edges, and a Remus defined by his bravery and quiet dignity. The last scene destroys me every time.
Bonus! If you're interested, the author has done a commentary on this fic here.
Bedlam Boys by traveller (Remus/Sirius, R)
Summary: None given
My Comments: This fic is like a song or a poem rather than a piece of prose, working through impressions rather than literal meanings. The stream-of-consciousness style and nursery-rhyme rhythms capture the struggle Sirius must have had to stay sane in Azkaban and to re-enter the world again afterward -- because he must have been more than a little bit mad.
QUEER AS FOLK
Not Your Leaving but Your Not Coming Back by mojokid (Brian/Justin, no rating given but I'd call it an R to be safe)
Summary: post 414 tragic little justin goes to hollywood tale.
My Comments: This was written pre-S5 as an attempt to imagine a scenario in which Brian says "I love you" in a realistic way, and for me this is second only to canon. The whole fic is quietly moving, with believable dialogue and wonderful insight into Brian's mind on the eve of Justin's departure for Hollywood, but the ILY scene...gah. Perfect.
Boys of Melody by sweetestdrain (Brian/Justin, Brian/Other, no rating but I'd give it an R, character death)
Summary: They gave Brian four boxes of Justin’s sketchbooks, with an apologetic smile and a “He would have wanted you to have them.”
My Comments: Oh god, maybe I'm a masochist, but this one hurts so good. As you might guess from the summary, the character death in question is Justin's, and the story centers around the way Brian deals -- or doesn't deal -- with it. It's absolutely devastating (without going melodramatic or OOC).
There are plenty more I could have recced, but it's late and if I read any more angst I'm going to have to go throw myself off a bridge.