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anghraineI don't think any of them will be new to -- er, anybody, since I've never done a recs post. However, there have been a few things I've wanted to rec lately, so I figured I'd just rec the best of all my fandoms.
Austen (P&P)
Indiscretions in the Life of an Heiress by Alison: Georgiana Darcy's near-escape at Ramsgate, told in letters between Wickham, Mrs Younge, Georgiana, Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam. Completely and utterly canon-compliant, so there are no Bennets at all.
Profanation of Our Joys by Malini: Wickham's obsession with Darcy is sexual. Somehow this works. And somehow it's canon-compliant. Also, this makes his predation on Georgiana Darcy the creepiest thing ever. It's a bit unfortunate that this is one of the only portrayals ofhomosexuality non-heterosexuality at all, but I blame that more on the fandom than this story in particular.
Passion's Proud Prejudice by Mags: Hilarious parody of the typical overblown Austen fanfic and/or romance novel (the line between these is sometimes ... blurry). Reading it aloud makes it even funnier, by the way, if you can keep from screaming with laughter.
A Comfortable Life by Beatrice Otter: ace!Charlotte for the win. I'll admit that I find the book she references intensely problematic from either the psychological or literary perspective, but it works for fanfic. In fact, I enjoyed seeing an at least marginally sympathetic Mr Collins for a change -- he's usually amped up to supervillain proportions. And ACE CHARLOTTE. Oh yeah -- canon-compliant too. (WIN.)
Sarah's Story by Stacy B: the Darcys' marriage as seen by Elizabeth's maid. Much better than I expected, and proof that you don't really have to agree with an author's interpretations if she presents them well enough. Also, it makes me cry and that ... very rarely happens. Canon-compliant!
A More Prosperous Trial of the State by Victoria CL (crossover with MP): a sequel to P&P AND a sequel to MP AND a Caroline fic, and one of the best I've ever read in each category. Also, the crossover is seamless. My biggest complaint is that she refers to Darcy as "William," which is one of my pet hates. Okay, and it's a bit long. But still, excellent.
A Wild and Distant Shore and Drowning in the Absolute Yes bytree. The porn all porn should aspire to. Warning: porn. (I also heartily recommend Hearing Light, which is technically not porn, but somehow every bit as hot as the others. Also, fluffy and well-characterised to boot.)
Austen (MP)
Love and Marriage by solvent90. The best MP fic I've ever seen, bar none. I can't call this darkfic, exactly -- but it's a decidedly unsentimental take on the fan-preferred couples of Edmund/Mary and Henry/Fanny. Some of the best characterisation and most powerful writing this side of Austen.
Everingham by Katharine T. On the face of it, this is the exact reverse of Love and Marriage -- a long, careful, essentially optimistic take on Henry/Fanny. Mary/Edmund doesn't work out nearly so well, contrary to what canon tells us wowe're told in canon, but Katharine writes them all so well that she manages to sell it. And I don't even like Henry/Fanny. The Price of a Good Education, by the same author, is likewise excellent -- one of the few moderns to work both as, well, a modern and an interpretation of the original.
Doctor Who
Let's Do It bycharamei. Four/Romana. Well, Four and Romana, trying to be Four/Romana and never quite getting it. I don't read a lot of Whofic, but this was everything wonderful and them and day-brightening and, oh yeah, ace!Doctor + ace!Romana GUUUUUH. Seriously, I cannot recommend it highly enough. <3∞
Does the Doctor Know Where His Towel Is? by Astrogirl. DW/Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy crossover. Everything that crack should be.
The Rather Odd Couple by rosa_acicularis. I don't like the Doctor/Rose. I really, really don't like the Doctor/Rose. I don't like the Doctor/Anyone, but I especially don't like the Doctor/Rose. This is post-Journey's End Doctor/Rose, something I would expect to hate with the fire of ten thousand suns, but it's ... I don't know, I loved it. Somehow.
Good Omens
Iconography bydaegaer. She's hands-down the best GO writer out there, and has the best approximation of Pratchett and Gaiman's style in the fandom. She's more serious, I think, but in a good way -- she mostly explores the things Pterry and Gaiman skipped over or vaguely alluded to, but which wouldn't have fit in GO-proper. Iconography is a sort of overview of Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship over the millennia, with a focus on, of all things, WWI. Her Aziraphale is pitch-perfect, but it's really Crowley who shines here, clawing towards his own kind of redemption.
Extract from Trouble at St Hilda's by afrai. Afrai is another fantastic writer and all her GO fic is wonderful (and/or traumatising), but this little one-shot is my favourite (yes, even above the much more well-known -- and ETERNALLY SCARRING -- The Sacred and the Profane). Likedaegaer's Ordinary People (another one I wholeheartedly rec), it posits Aziraphale and Crowley as, well, ordinary people. No flaming swords and no wings and no Armageddon. But whereas daegaer's Ezra and Tony are essentially the book's characters in mortal wingless bodies, afrai's Azalea and Antonia are 30s schoolgirls. Somehow this works brilliantly. (Also, the femmeslashy vibes are things of beauty.)
Harry Potter
Redemption by pearlette. I just found this, but already it's one of my favourites. Somehow, this brief one-shot does more credit to Snape's and James' characters than 100,000 word epics by more ... earnest ... fans. It's fair, balanced, well-written, and well-characterised.
Nice Girls Don't by after_the_rain. I love pretty everything after_the_rain has written -- she does some of the best Blackfic and Marauderfic in the fandom -- but this snapshot of Petunia is, for me, her best work. It's neither vilification nor apologetics. It's just a thoughtful glance at Petunia Evans Dursley, Nice Girl par extraordinaire.
Reclamation bysam_storyteller . Like several of the other authors, he's much more well-known for some fairly substantial epics. I've enjoyed most of them, but Reclamation worked the best for me. This is a Tom Riddle who never fell, but continues to be plagued by the temptations he snatched at in canon. It's quick, sharp and original, so much so that it doesn't seem to matter that it includes one pairing I dislike and dismisses my favourite in the entire canon. Because awesome is much more important than shipping.
Blood Magic by gateway_girl. The only Snape-is-Harry's-father fic that I can unreservedly recommend. It's not without faults and the central pairings make no sense to me (Snape/Lupin and Harry/Hermione, for the record), but it's exceptionally well-done, and manages to avoid nearly all the pitfalls of the genre.
The Goblin, the Snitch and the Werewolf by Iniga. I had enough issues with the last two books that I don't read many sequels. I couldn't resist Harry and Teddy and Andromeda fic, however, and I'm glad I didn't. It addresses ... everything, pretty much, without being heavy-handed, and the Andromeda in particular hits the perfect note. I'll also add that it's one of the few fics that makes Harry/Ginny work for me.
Back Again, Harry? byjedibuttercup. Oh, Peggy Sue. Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue. I want to love you. I really do. But most of the time I end up just wanting you to die in a million fires. This Peggy Sue, on the other hand, manages to pull me back to Harry Potter fandom every time it's updated, just on the strength of its awesome. Harry doesn't magically fix everything. Nor does everything inexplicably stay on the same rails -- going back causes very real problems. It also allows him to avoid other ones. Every single character is exactly right. This is the Peggy Sue fic I always wanted, and my only (hypocritical) complaint is that her updates vary between 'slow' and 'glacial.'
The Guiltless by Branwyn. I have an enormous weakness for Snape-Harry reconciliation, but the genre usually comes with enough problematic tropes to fill the Grand Canyon. This one avoids nearly all of them, the writing is powerful, the Dumbledore is imperfect but not horrifically evil, Snape is not a woobie and -- gasp! -- neither is Harry (well, not completely). I will say that I hated, hated, hated the ending to the sequel, which hit one of my most intensely personal squicks. It's a spoiler, so I won't get into it here, but what happens there makes it much more difficult for me to enjoy the dynamic of this one. Still, taken by itself, this is brilliant.
Middle-earth
Fragments of a love story by Nesta. I only waited for this for five years. It's every bit as wonderfully tragic as I hoped it would be, full of squicky Gondorian racism, Númenórean powers, a complete rejection of the idea that no platonic or familial bond could possibly compare to the glory of ~ROMANCE~, and the gentle but proud and iron-willed Faramir that Nesta specialises in. In light of recent conversations, it's also a splendid example of an OFC who is both extraordinary and the focus of the story and emphatically not a Sue.
A Black Evil by Nesta. Middle-earth has plenty of dark corners, but I never entirely thought this one out until I read this story -- but of course it's what must have happened. If Saruman was interbreeding Men and orcs, there must have been people -- women -- to bear the hybrid children. Here, these women are given the chance to tell their own story, and to choose their end. It's horrifying, but it's also immensely well-told, and absolutely worth telling. (Warning: rape.)
Stars in Silence by Losseniaiel. Faramir through Gollum's eyes. The story highlights both Faramir's fierce otherworldliness and how horrifyingly deranged Gollum is. It's easily one of my favourite portrayals of either.
Fell Fire by Finch. Apparently, there is actually fic of my favourite Middle-earth OTP: Aegnor/Andreth, the Elf-lord and the mortal maiden who fell in love but couldn't overcome the obstacles that the more lastingly famous Beren and Lúthien and Idril and Tuor did. To add insult toinjury tragedy, she outlived him. Anyway, this is Aegnor/Andreth fic, and it's good and deliciously tragic and bittersweet and all of that.
Narnia
The Made-Up Things by Rose. This one is actually a Narnia/HP crossover -- and though the emphasis is on the HP side of the crossover, it's the Narnia connection that gives it its power. This fic has a wonderfully sympathetic Susan without engaging in bashing, an excellent Petunia, glimpses of Lily and Lucy, and a surprisingly smooth melding of two quite different universes.
No Story But Our Own by miladygrey. I have exactly one OTP for Narnia: Cor/Aravis from The Horse and His Boy. They're not Pevensies and they're not even from Earth, so they tend to be overlooked by the fandom -- but they're also about the most adorable thing ever. And the fact that Aravis is a Calormene and supposedly descended from Tash (you know, SATAN) just makes it better. And this story provides the Cor/Aravis fluffy goodness that I always wanted when I finished HHB for the umpteenth time. Is it dazzlingly insightful or written in deathless prose? No. But it makes me happy.
Queen of Morning by Sister Coyote. Susanfic -- snippets from across her life. It definitely takes a sympathetic view of her, but without engaging in the usual over the top apologetics. Also, it has Aravis, and the dynamic between them is perfect.
O My Beloved and O the Delight of My Eyes by True River. Cor/Aravis fluff -- well, not fluff exactly, especially since it takes place before Cor and Aravis are Cor/Aravis, but a short, introspective, quasi-romantic piece. It's probably my favourite of the (tragically small) genre, mostly because of the distinct authorial voice and the portrayal of Aravis: fierce, restless, arrogant, short-tempered and loyal.
Growing Up by sheldrake. This isn't so much Susanfic as a story about Susan and Lucy, together and separately, that jumps across different spots in their shared/unshared lives. It's not the only one of this kind by any means, but I think it's the most heartbreaking.
The Wastelands by fire_and_a_rose. Pevensiefic, from early in their reign to the recovery of Edmund's, Peter's, and Lucy's bodies. Where the previous one is heartbreaking, this one varies in tone from part to part. Overall, it's less devastating than bittersweet, which I think encapsulates the feeling I've always had about Narnia.
Simple by edenbound. More Cor/Aravis fluff, because I'm weak. First kiss + proposal (with a distinct suggestion of lots of hot angrysex in their future -- well, a slightly more distinct impression than the one we already got in canon). Yay!
Firsts by weetinyfic. Okay, so maybe I tracked down every Cor/Aravis fic on the Internet. DON'T JUDGE ME. This one is really good too! And ... and cuddly.
Someone Else's Story by Andi Horton. I have Pevensie recs, and I have Cor-and-Aravis recs. For this one, I have both. This fic is ... meh, I'll just steal from my delicious description: The best Narniafic I have ever read, in the closest approximation of Lewis' style, about my favourite characters in my favourite Narnia book, with a pitch-perfect Susan to boot. ENDLESS WIN.
Star Wars
Hexaptych, byirnan. In fact, I recommend everything she's ever written (except the Supernatural stuff, and that's only because I haven't read it), and -- well, I was going to point out some of the particularly good ones, but that would take forever. For me, the hex series is both the most enjoyable, the most impressive, and the most representative of all her works.
Each story consists of five glimpses at five entirely distinct and self-contained universes, as seen by Luke and Leia (hexaptych), then Anakin and Padmé (hexagram), and finally Obi-Wan (hexagon). She manages to paint these complex, fascinating universes in just a handful of words, each fic presenting different sides of the same five AUs. Each version of the characters is at once wildly different from their counterparts in the other universes and clearly recognisable as the original characters.
She even manages to make me love something (the Luke/Leia twin twist) that I usually dislike: such is the power of this utterly kickass multiverse. I ended up desperately wanting elaborate epic-length AU fics for each 'verse ... but it doesn't need them.
About Fathers, bydarthcynique. This story manages to comment both on fatherhood and on the people who are commenting on fatherhood -- Vader, who (at this point) values only the ties of blood, Leia, who dismisses them entirely, and Luke, who -- as always -- tries to find a middle way.
The Rise and Fall of the Second Republic, by4thofeleven. Faux-academia is (shockingly, I'm sure) one of my favourite things in fandom the world. In terms of breadth of detail, creativity and sheer verisimilitude, this one (and its sister fic, the hilariously probable Vader Identity Controversy) is unquestionably the best academiafic in the fandom. Endless kudos.
Anabasis, byfialleril. I love all of fialleril's fics (...and icons), but this careful, detailed AU is her best work. I think it's all the more impressive because the premise isn't wildly original, but a popular and well-established genre. There are a lot of 'Anakin is raised as Vader and then redeemed' fics. I mean, a lot. But Anabasis blows them all out of the water. There are a lot of reasons for that, not the least of which is the simple fact that fialleril is a far better writer than nearly everyone, but what clinches it for me is that she not only doesn't veer away from the ramifications of the premise, the story begins by addressing them, leaving the whys and wherefores to be revealed later.
The Jedi Way by jedinemo. I re-read her other fics more often, probably because this one is unutterably depressing, but I think this really shows something that I (and others -- I'm not pretending to be original here) have always felt: Palpatine wasn't the problem, he simply took advantage of it. Even if Anakin had done what everyone thought he was born to do, destroying the Sith wouldn't have improved his situation any. And jedinemo manages to get all this across from the perspective of a young, bewildered Luke Skywalker, brought up in the Temple in approved Jedi fashion. (It'skind of horrifying.)
Benediction by tartanshell. Something I see surprisingly little of: Luke grieving for Anakin. Whatever the man may have been as either Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader, Luke loved him. Luke has the right to grieve: his father is dead. TEAR OUT MY HEART AND RIP IT OPEN, WHY DON'T YOU.
Ten Things Watto bywyncatastrophe. Yes. WATTO FIC. This exists. And is good and complicated and also there's Shmi and -- yes. Also, while a lot of people write Ten Things fic (*whistles*), this is one of the ones that depends on the format, uses it, and is the better for it.
Jedi, Istari and Wizards: A Secret History bysunnyskywalker . Star Wars/Star Trek/Harry Potter/Middle-earth/X-Men crossover crack meta: best thing ever, or best thing ever?
A Sunset on the Road, Reappearing bybantha_fodder and Tatooine Messiah by VaderLVR64. They're both Dune/SW crossovers but they're incredibly different in both structure and style. The first is, oddly enough, a more straightforward one: Dune and SW simply take place in the same universe, and Paul and Alia cross paths with Luke, Leia and Han. It's short, meandering, and somewhat nonlinear, which suits the mood of the story.
The latter is a much more conventional (...unfinished) narrative -- and a full-blown fusion, where Dune characters are conflated with their SW quasi-counterparts to decidedly odd but fascinating effect: Anakin is Paul, Shmi is Jessica, Padmé is Chani and Irulan (yes, this works), Luke is Leto (... I don't know how this would work out), so on and so forth. The first fic is much more sophisticated and polished, but the sheer creativity (and, y'know, existence of a plot) of the latter makes it more enjoyable for me.
Fire and Ice, by talesofyesac. This is probably my favourite Obi-Wan and Anakin fic. The latter half is good, and powerful, and all that, but it's the horrifying first half that wins the Internets for me. Like so very many other fics posit, F&I's Obi-Wan elects not to dismember Anakin. F&I's Anakin is touched by this ... in a warped, utterly creeptastic way. It's not often that I get goosebumps while reading a fic, but Anakin's light explanation -- because you raised me, and he did not -- had me shivering in my chair.
After the Last War Is Won by Tenshi. This fic combines many of my favourite things in a SW sequel: ignoring the EU, restoring the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, active Force-ghosts-not-excluding-Anakin-thank-you-very-much, Luke being made a Jedi Master by someone other than himself, Leia being part of the whole Jedi-Skywalker-Force thing and Han being awesome. Obi-Wan appearing in his young hawt form to Leia is just a plus. It's beautifully written and well characterised, too. (Best line: And so Luke was both made a master and granted a seat on the Council in less time that it had taken the Jedi Council of the Old Republic to order lunch.)
i am young, but i have aged, byshoiryu. Somewhere between meta and fic, a powerful and devastating take on Anakin Skywalker. Even a tar-hearted prequel hater like me felt like crying.
a day of bedsided gold, bylotesse. Han/Luke/Leia OT3: 1/4 pr0n to 3/4 thoughtful EU-ignoring character exploration. I do not know why it is so hard to find Han/Luke/Leia, btw -- it has more subtext than dozens of random popular pairings (yes, Anakin/Dormé, I'm looking at you).So very much more . And I can't think it's because it is just so hard to imagine Han Solo in a threesome with a pair of twins. But anyway, here it is, intelligent and hot and awesome and all of it. Hurrah!
Between Flight and Longing, by Sheila Snow. Vader, Han and Luke go camping. So very much better than it sounds.
Three Weeks After the End of the World And Counting by Penknife. Han/Leia/Luke post-apocalyptic fic. I had no idea how this would work but it's both subtle and thoughtful and, oh yeah, ENDLESSLY TRAGIC.
Austen (P&P)
Indiscretions in the Life of an Heiress by Alison: Georgiana Darcy's near-escape at Ramsgate, told in letters between Wickham, Mrs Younge, Georgiana, Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam. Completely and utterly canon-compliant, so there are no Bennets at all.
Profanation of Our Joys by Malini: Wickham's obsession with Darcy is sexual. Somehow this works. And somehow it's canon-compliant. Also, this makes his predation on Georgiana Darcy the creepiest thing ever. It's a bit unfortunate that this is one of the only portrayals of
Passion's Proud Prejudice by Mags: Hilarious parody of the typical overblown Austen fanfic and/or romance novel (the line between these is sometimes ... blurry). Reading it aloud makes it even funnier, by the way, if you can keep from screaming with laughter.
A Comfortable Life by Beatrice Otter: ace!Charlotte for the win. I'll admit that I find the book she references intensely problematic from either the psychological or literary perspective, but it works for fanfic. In fact, I enjoyed seeing an at least marginally sympathetic Mr Collins for a change -- he's usually amped up to supervillain proportions. And ACE CHARLOTTE. Oh yeah -- canon-compliant too. (WIN.)
Sarah's Story by Stacy B: the Darcys' marriage as seen by Elizabeth's maid. Much better than I expected, and proof that you don't really have to agree with an author's interpretations if she presents them well enough. Also, it makes me cry and that ... very rarely happens. Canon-compliant!
A More Prosperous Trial of the State by Victoria CL (crossover with MP): a sequel to P&P AND a sequel to MP AND a Caroline fic, and one of the best I've ever read in each category. Also, the crossover is seamless. My biggest complaint is that she refers to Darcy as "William," which is one of my pet hates. Okay, and it's a bit long. But still, excellent.
A Wild and Distant Shore and Drowning in the Absolute Yes by
tree. The porn all porn should aspire to. Warning: porn. (I also heartily recommend Hearing Light, which is technically not porn, but somehow every bit as hot as the others. Also, fluffy and well-characterised to boot.)Austen (MP)
Love and Marriage by solvent90. The best MP fic I've ever seen, bar none. I can't call this darkfic, exactly -- but it's a decidedly unsentimental take on the fan-preferred couples of Edmund/Mary and Henry/Fanny. Some of the best characterisation and most powerful writing this side of Austen.
Everingham by Katharine T. On the face of it, this is the exact reverse of Love and Marriage -- a long, careful, essentially optimistic take on Henry/Fanny. Mary/Edmund doesn't work out nearly so well, contrary to what canon tells us wowe're told in canon, but Katharine writes them all so well that she manages to sell it. And I don't even like Henry/Fanny. The Price of a Good Education, by the same author, is likewise excellent -- one of the few moderns to work both as, well, a modern and an interpretation of the original.
Doctor Who
Let's Do It by
charamei. Four/Romana. Well, Four and Romana, trying to be Four/Romana and never quite getting it. I don't read a lot of Whofic, but this was everything wonderful and them and day-brightening and, oh yeah, ace!Doctor + ace!Romana GUUUUUH. Seriously, I cannot recommend it highly enough. <3∞Does the Doctor Know Where His Towel Is? by Astrogirl. DW/Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy crossover. Everything that crack should be.
The Rather Odd Couple by rosa_acicularis. I don't like the Doctor/Rose. I really, really don't like the Doctor/Rose. I don't like the Doctor/Anyone, but I especially don't like the Doctor/Rose. This is post-Journey's End Doctor/Rose, something I would expect to hate with the fire of ten thousand suns, but it's ... I don't know, I loved it. Somehow.
Good Omens
Iconography by
daegaer. She's hands-down the best GO writer out there, and has the best approximation of Pratchett and Gaiman's style in the fandom. She's more serious, I think, but in a good way -- she mostly explores the things Pterry and Gaiman skipped over or vaguely alluded to, but which wouldn't have fit in GO-proper. Iconography is a sort of overview of Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship over the millennia, with a focus on, of all things, WWI. Her Aziraphale is pitch-perfect, but it's really Crowley who shines here, clawing towards his own kind of redemption.Extract from Trouble at St Hilda's by afrai. Afrai is another fantastic writer and all her GO fic is wonderful (and/or traumatising), but this little one-shot is my favourite (yes, even above the much more well-known -- and ETERNALLY SCARRING -- The Sacred and the Profane). Like
daegaer's Ordinary People (another one I wholeheartedly rec), it posits Aziraphale and Crowley as, well, ordinary people. No flaming swords and no wings and no Armageddon. But whereas daegaer's Ezra and Tony are essentially the book's characters in mortal wingless bodies, afrai's Azalea and Antonia are 30s schoolgirls. Somehow this works brilliantly. (Also, the femmeslashy vibes are things of beauty.)Harry Potter
Redemption by pearlette. I just found this, but already it's one of my favourites. Somehow, this brief one-shot does more credit to Snape's and James' characters than 100,000 word epics by more ... earnest ... fans. It's fair, balanced, well-written, and well-characterised.
Nice Girls Don't by after_the_rain. I love pretty everything after_the_rain has written -- she does some of the best Blackfic and Marauderfic in the fandom -- but this snapshot of Petunia is, for me, her best work. It's neither vilification nor apologetics. It's just a thoughtful glance at Petunia Evans Dursley, Nice Girl par extraordinaire.
Reclamation by
sam_storyteller . Like several of the other authors, he's much more well-known for some fairly substantial epics. I've enjoyed most of them, but Reclamation worked the best for me. This is a Tom Riddle who never fell, but continues to be plagued by the temptations he snatched at in canon. It's quick, sharp and original, so much so that it doesn't seem to matter that it includes one pairing I dislike and dismisses my favourite in the entire canon. Because awesome is much more important than shipping. Blood Magic by gateway_girl. The only Snape-is-Harry's-father fic that I can unreservedly recommend. It's not without faults and the central pairings make no sense to me (Snape/Lupin and Harry/Hermione, for the record), but it's exceptionally well-done, and manages to avoid nearly all the pitfalls of the genre.
The Goblin, the Snitch and the Werewolf by Iniga. I had enough issues with the last two books that I don't read many sequels. I couldn't resist Harry and Teddy and Andromeda fic, however, and I'm glad I didn't. It addresses ... everything, pretty much, without being heavy-handed, and the Andromeda in particular hits the perfect note. I'll also add that it's one of the few fics that makes Harry/Ginny work for me.
Back Again, Harry? by
jedibuttercup. Oh, Peggy Sue. Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue. I want to love you. I really do. But most of the time I end up just wanting you to die in a million fires. This Peggy Sue, on the other hand, manages to pull me back to Harry Potter fandom every time it's updated, just on the strength of its awesome. Harry doesn't magically fix everything. Nor does everything inexplicably stay on the same rails -- going back causes very real problems. It also allows him to avoid other ones. Every single character is exactly right. This is the Peggy Sue fic I always wanted, and my only (hypocritical) complaint is that her updates vary between 'slow' and 'glacial.'The Guiltless by Branwyn. I have an enormous weakness for Snape-Harry reconciliation, but the genre usually comes with enough problematic tropes to fill the Grand Canyon. This one avoids nearly all of them, the writing is powerful, the Dumbledore is imperfect but not horrifically evil, Snape is not a woobie and -- gasp! -- neither is Harry (well, not completely). I will say that I hated, hated, hated the ending to the sequel, which hit one of my most intensely personal squicks. It's a spoiler, so I won't get into it here, but what happens there makes it much more difficult for me to enjoy the dynamic of this one. Still, taken by itself, this is brilliant.
Middle-earth
Fragments of a love story by Nesta. I only waited for this for five years. It's every bit as wonderfully tragic as I hoped it would be, full of squicky Gondorian racism, Númenórean powers, a complete rejection of the idea that no platonic or familial bond could possibly compare to the glory of ~ROMANCE~, and the gentle but proud and iron-willed Faramir that Nesta specialises in. In light of recent conversations, it's also a splendid example of an OFC who is both extraordinary and the focus of the story and emphatically not a Sue.
A Black Evil by Nesta. Middle-earth has plenty of dark corners, but I never entirely thought this one out until I read this story -- but of course it's what must have happened. If Saruman was interbreeding Men and orcs, there must have been people -- women -- to bear the hybrid children. Here, these women are given the chance to tell their own story, and to choose their end. It's horrifying, but it's also immensely well-told, and absolutely worth telling. (Warning: rape.)
Stars in Silence by Losseniaiel. Faramir through Gollum's eyes. The story highlights both Faramir's fierce otherworldliness and how horrifyingly deranged Gollum is. It's easily one of my favourite portrayals of either.
Fell Fire by Finch. Apparently, there is actually fic of my favourite Middle-earth OTP: Aegnor/Andreth, the Elf-lord and the mortal maiden who fell in love but couldn't overcome the obstacles that the more lastingly famous Beren and Lúthien and Idril and Tuor did. To add insult to
Narnia
The Made-Up Things by Rose. This one is actually a Narnia/HP crossover -- and though the emphasis is on the HP side of the crossover, it's the Narnia connection that gives it its power. This fic has a wonderfully sympathetic Susan without engaging in bashing, an excellent Petunia, glimpses of Lily and Lucy, and a surprisingly smooth melding of two quite different universes.
No Story But Our Own by miladygrey. I have exactly one OTP for Narnia: Cor/Aravis from The Horse and His Boy. They're not Pevensies and they're not even from Earth, so they tend to be overlooked by the fandom -- but they're also about the most adorable thing ever. And the fact that Aravis is a Calormene and supposedly descended from Tash (you know, SATAN) just makes it better. And this story provides the Cor/Aravis fluffy goodness that I always wanted when I finished HHB for the umpteenth time. Is it dazzlingly insightful or written in deathless prose? No. But it makes me happy.
Queen of Morning by Sister Coyote. Susanfic -- snippets from across her life. It definitely takes a sympathetic view of her, but without engaging in the usual over the top apologetics. Also, it has Aravis, and the dynamic between them is perfect.
O My Beloved and O the Delight of My Eyes by True River. Cor/Aravis fluff -- well, not fluff exactly, especially since it takes place before Cor and Aravis are Cor/Aravis, but a short, introspective, quasi-romantic piece. It's probably my favourite of the (tragically small) genre, mostly because of the distinct authorial voice and the portrayal of Aravis: fierce, restless, arrogant, short-tempered and loyal.
Growing Up by sheldrake. This isn't so much Susanfic as a story about Susan and Lucy, together and separately, that jumps across different spots in their shared/unshared lives. It's not the only one of this kind by any means, but I think it's the most heartbreaking.
The Wastelands by fire_and_a_rose. Pevensiefic, from early in their reign to the recovery of Edmund's, Peter's, and Lucy's bodies. Where the previous one is heartbreaking, this one varies in tone from part to part. Overall, it's less devastating than bittersweet, which I think encapsulates the feeling I've always had about Narnia.
Simple by edenbound. More Cor/Aravis fluff, because I'm weak. First kiss + proposal (with a distinct suggestion of lots of hot angrysex in their future -- well, a slightly more distinct impression than the one we already got in canon). Yay!
Firsts by weetinyfic. Okay, so maybe I tracked down every Cor/Aravis fic on the Internet. DON'T JUDGE ME. This one is really good too! And ... and cuddly.
Someone Else's Story by Andi Horton. I have Pevensie recs, and I have Cor-and-Aravis recs. For this one, I have both. This fic is ... meh, I'll just steal from my delicious description: The best Narniafic I have ever read, in the closest approximation of Lewis' style, about my favourite characters in my favourite Narnia book, with a pitch-perfect Susan to boot. ENDLESS WIN.
Star Wars
Hexaptych, by
irnan. In fact, I recommend everything she's ever written (except the Supernatural stuff, and that's only because I haven't read it), and -- well, I was going to point out some of the particularly good ones, but that would take forever. For me, the hex series is both the most enjoyable, the most impressive, and the most representative of all her works. Each story consists of five glimpses at five entirely distinct and self-contained universes, as seen by Luke and Leia (hexaptych), then Anakin and Padmé (hexagram), and finally Obi-Wan (hexagon). She manages to paint these complex, fascinating universes in just a handful of words, each fic presenting different sides of the same five AUs. Each version of the characters is at once wildly different from their counterparts in the other universes and clearly recognisable as the original characters.
She even manages to make me love something (the Luke/Leia twin twist) that I usually dislike: such is the power of this utterly kickass multiverse. I ended up desperately wanting elaborate epic-length AU fics for each 'verse ... but it doesn't need them.
About Fathers, by
darthcynique. This story manages to comment both on fatherhood and on the people who are commenting on fatherhood -- Vader, who (at this point) values only the ties of blood, Leia, who dismisses them entirely, and Luke, who -- as always -- tries to find a middle way. The Rise and Fall of the Second Republic, by
4thofeleven. Faux-academia is (shockingly, I'm sure) one of my favourite things in Anabasis, by
fialleril. I love all of fialleril's fics (...and icons), but this careful, detailed AU is her best work. I think it's all the more impressive because the premise isn't wildly original, but a popular and well-established genre. There are a lot of 'Anakin is raised as Vader and then redeemed' fics. I mean, a lot. But Anabasis blows them all out of the water. There are a lot of reasons for that, not the least of which is the simple fact that fialleril is a far better writer than nearly everyone, but what clinches it for me is that she not only doesn't veer away from the ramifications of the premise, the story begins by addressing them, leaving the whys and wherefores to be revealed later.The Jedi Way by jedinemo. I re-read her other fics more often, probably because this one is unutterably depressing, but I think this really shows something that I (and others -- I'm not pretending to be original here) have always felt: Palpatine wasn't the problem, he simply took advantage of it. Even if Anakin had done what everyone thought he was born to do, destroying the Sith wouldn't have improved his situation any. And jedinemo manages to get all this across from the perspective of a young, bewildered Luke Skywalker, brought up in the Temple in approved Jedi fashion. (It's
Benediction by tartanshell. Something I see surprisingly little of: Luke grieving for Anakin. Whatever the man may have been as either Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader, Luke loved him. Luke has the right to grieve: his father is dead. TEAR OUT MY HEART AND RIP IT OPEN, WHY DON'T YOU.
Ten Things Watto by
wyncatastrophe. Yes. WATTO FIC. This exists. And is good and complicated and also there's Shmi and -- yes. Also, while a lot of people write Ten Things fic (*whistles*), this is one of the ones that depends on the format, uses it, and is the better for it. Jedi, Istari and Wizards: A Secret History by
sunnyskywalker . Star Wars/Star Trek/Harry Potter/Middle-earth/X-Men crossover crack meta: best thing ever, or best thing ever?A Sunset on the Road, Reappearing by
bantha_fodder and Tatooine Messiah by VaderLVR64. They're both Dune/SW crossovers but they're incredibly different in both structure and style. The first is, oddly enough, a more straightforward one: Dune and SW simply take place in the same universe, and Paul and Alia cross paths with Luke, Leia and Han. It's short, meandering, and somewhat nonlinear, which suits the mood of the story. The latter is a much more conventional (...unfinished) narrative -- and a full-blown fusion, where Dune characters are conflated with their SW quasi-counterparts to decidedly odd but fascinating effect: Anakin is Paul, Shmi is Jessica, Padmé is Chani and Irulan (yes, this works), Luke is Leto (... I don't know how this would work out), so on and so forth. The first fic is much more sophisticated and polished, but the sheer creativity (and, y'know, existence of a plot) of the latter makes it more enjoyable for me.
Fire and Ice, by talesofyesac. This is probably my favourite Obi-Wan and Anakin fic. The latter half is good, and powerful, and all that, but it's the horrifying first half that wins the Internets for me. Like so very many other fics posit, F&I's Obi-Wan elects not to dismember Anakin. F&I's Anakin is touched by this ... in a warped, utterly creeptastic way. It's not often that I get goosebumps while reading a fic, but Anakin's light explanation -- because you raised me, and he did not -- had me shivering in my chair.
After the Last War Is Won by Tenshi. This fic combines many of my favourite things in a SW sequel: ignoring the EU, restoring the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, active Force-ghosts-not-excluding-Anakin-thank-you-very-much, Luke being made a Jedi Master by someone other than himself, Leia being part of the whole Jedi-Skywalker-Force thing and Han being awesome. Obi-Wan appearing in his young hawt form to Leia is just a plus. It's beautifully written and well characterised, too. (Best line: And so Luke was both made a master and granted a seat on the Council in less time that it had taken the Jedi Council of the Old Republic to order lunch.)
i am young, but i have aged, by
shoiryu. Somewhere between meta and fic, a powerful and devastating take on Anakin Skywalker. Even a tar-hearted prequel hater like me felt like crying.a day of bedsided gold, by
lotesse. Han/Luke/Leia OT3: 1/4 pr0n to 3/4 thoughtful EU-ignoring character exploration. I do not know why it is so hard to find Han/Luke/Leia, btw -- it has more subtext than dozens of random popular pairings (yes, Anakin/Dormé, I'm looking at you).So very much more . And I can't think it's because it is just so hard to imagine Han Solo in a threesome with a pair of twins. But anyway, here it is, intelligent and hot and awesome and all of it. Hurrah!Between Flight and Longing, by Sheila Snow. Vader, Han and Luke go camping. So very much better than it sounds.
Three Weeks After the End of the World And Counting by Penknife. Han/Leia/Luke post-apocalyptic fic. I had no idea how this would work but it's both subtle and thoughtful and, oh yeah, ENDLESSLY TRAGIC.
no subject
on 2011-01-20 08:42 am (UTC)sincerely,
the porny one
no subject
on 2011-01-21 04:32 pm (UTC)Honestly, if Austen fandom produced porn like yours, I wouldn't hate it so much.
no subject
on 2012-06-08 01:54 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2012-06-08 09:15 pm (UTC)