ten recs

Sep. 9th, 2011 07:27 pm
inmyriadbits: oranges on blue (castleteaparty)
I've had some fics I've been wanting to rec just hanging around for a while. Here goes:

1. Close To Home (DCU, Tim/Kon)
I feel like I must've recced this one before, but perhaps not. It's one of my favorite Tim/Kon pieces out there, and I have a huge soft spot for the pairing as it is. Basically, Kon ends up investigating the murder of a gay boy who went to his high school, and ends up tackling all the hate-crime issues and casual small town homophobia that goes along with it. Tim helps, being infinitely better at murder mystery stuff than Kon is. This makes it all sound much more serious than it is; Tim and Kon are the older and more mature versions you see around now, it's true, but it's not a downer by any means. There's plot and intrigue and a lot of Kon trying to figure out who is and Tim being slightly crazy and Bat-like, and generally is just a fun read all around. I ♥ this fic.

2. No Yesterdays on the Road (XM:FC, Charles/Erik)
This is probably my favorite XMFC fic that I've read so far. The basic idea: slightly AU from the beach divorce, where Erik still kills Shaw but the rest of the mess doesn't go down (with the subtle departure point of Erik simply not putting the helmet on, which lets Charles speak to him more directly. Kind of a cool alteration.) Anyway, they're working on the new school when Charles gets kidnapped, and Erik has to team up with Moira to find him. This story's characterization of Erik is brilliantly spot-on, and believably vulnerable in a way I think most authors ignore in favor of his harder edges. The plot is terribly fun and roadtrip-y, Moira gets to shine and snark and be competent in a way she wasn't given space to in the movie, and the interactions are just a joy. There is also a good deal of pining going on on Erik's part, which is one of my favorite things in the world. All in all, a wonderful read.

3. Telephone (Captain America/Avengers movieverse, gen-ish)
I almost skipped this one because I'm not the biggest Thor/Loki fan, and this was marked as such. I'm not sure why, though; any subtextual interpretation is on the reader's part, because this was as gen as the movies. More gen, even, because there's any any het going on here either. ANYWAY, I'm glad I did read this, because the Steve voice here is SO GOOD, and the story as a whole is hilarious and surprisingly touching and really just adorable. I really recommend this to anyone who loved Steve Rogers in the Captain America movie. Or maybe just anyone who finds the idea of Loki texting Steve Rogers out of boredom as hysterical as I do. :D

4. Pants on Fire (Inception, Arthur/Eames)
This was such a fun use of the amnesia trope. Helenish did her usual magic here in taking a strange concept and making it really work, and her Eames and Arthur characterizations were excellent. I feel reluctant to try to explain the plot; it's a lot more effective to just let it unfold, so I'm going to send you in blind. Cheers!

5. Captain America's Art Crawl Adventure (The Middleman/Captain America crossover, gen)
I love [livejournal.com profile] musesfool SO MUCH for writing this, I can't even tell you guys. I mean, she not only wrote a story featuring Art Crawl (o/!), but she added Steve Rogers to the mix as well. SO MUCH LOVE. This is hilarious, and I fell in love with Wendy Watson's fabulous ass-kickery and wacky art-related shenanigans all over again. (And Noser, and Lacey, and the Middleman, and of course Steve. SO MUCH LOVE, did I mention?)

6. Nerds of the Earth, take note! (Leverage/Iron Man crossover, gen)
Everyone loves Alec Hardison, am I right? I mean, he's the nerd of all our hearts (talks Doctor Who AND takes down evil doers with his geekery!), and he is a damn good-looking man. *SWOON* Anyway, my point is, this fic is all about putting Alec Hardison in the same room with Tony Stark, who is also a really hot geek, and having them work together to save the world in typical geek fashion while snarking at each other. It's wonderful, and hilarious, and even a little heart-breaking. Two thumbs up!

7. Dr. Sandburg Finds a Sentinel (The Sentinel/Stargate: SG-1 crossover, gen)
And by "gen," I mean "as gen as TS ever was," which really means "rife with subtext." Anyway, Blair is working at the SGC as one of their geeks, which is a brilliant job for him, and Jim gets caught up with a bunch of NID/rogue CIA/Chinese spies shenanigans (as you do), and the rest is history, explosions, and wackiness. I enjoyed the hell out of this story.

8. make your wars (XM:FC, Charles/Erik pre-slash)
This is a quiet little modern, no-powers AU that I really liked. I've not been overly impressed with those, but this one really caught me. Charles is a shrink, Erik's a war vet with a bunch of PTSD issues, and Erik would really like to be annoyed by Charles but can't quite manage it. It's just lovely and low-key, and I really liked it. There's a sequel as well, linked at the bottom of this post.

9. Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc (Sherlock/The Addams Family crossover/fusion, eventual Sherlock/John)
This is the first of three stories in a dark little Sherlock AU that [livejournal.com profile] duia recced to me -- it's a strange concept (John Watson is actually an Addams, on his mother's side), but the author really makes it work for the characters and the world. Fair warning, it can be pretty violently visceral and graphic in places, so that might turn some people off the story, but it digs into the creepier side of Sherlock in a way that I found fascinating.

10. You do know you're completely mad, don't you? (Sherlock, gen)
The meme prompt for this story was: When John says to Mike "who would want me for a flatmate?" Mike doesn't ask "what do you mean by that?" He also doesn't say "oh, what'd be wrong with you as a flatmate?" He just accepts that John would be a difficult person to find a flat for and moves on to Sherlock. Given that Mike knows at least a little of how odd Sherlock is and yet suggests Watson as a good match, does this imply that John has some weird habits of his own, without regard to his experiences in Afghanistan?

Which means the story itself is all about John's wacky shenanigans at university -- in John's usual unassuming yet awesome style. It's told from Stamford's POV, and is on the whole warm, affectionate, and very funny. I love the idea that John Watson is the most normal weird dude on the face of the planet, which is why he and Sherlock get along like gangbusters, and everyone else is totally fooled by the tea-drinking and ugly jumpers. ♥
inmyriadbits: oranges on blue (summeryellowbooksmile)
The smack of sound as our newspaper hits the front step around this time of morning is always a little disconcerting. As is the fact that I've been awake at this time of night frequently enough that it's become a trend.

Anyway. I've read a few wonderful fics recently, so it's recs time:

The Wrong Avalon (Doctor Who/Merlin crossover; Amy/Rory, Merlin/Arthur)
This was SO MUCH FUN. The tones of these two shows mesh incredibly well, and the characterization was great -- you can practically hear Matt Smith saying the dialogue in this. Also, Amy is wonderful, Rory is sweet, Arthur is...Arthur, Merlin is extravagantly devoted, and the Doctor is cray-cray in the best and most expected of ways. I loved reading this.

Synergy (Inception/Criminal Minds crossover, pairing that I won't spoil)
This was SO GREAT. I mean, you take Inception and Criminal Minds and stick them together, I'm so there (because hey, people's minds are fascinating, and that's a double-whammy). But if you also deliver an actual plot, really excellent characterization across the board, and bonus Spencer Reid? I AM SO THERE. This was lots of fun -- an honest-to-god casefile fic; it's what my sister calls "gen-ish", i.e. gen in all of the non-romantic-plot-prominent ways. It doesn't avoid pairings entirely, but it's really not the focus. The real focus is Spencer Reid and Eames and Arthur and the rest of their teams being brilliant together, and that's always a good time. (Also, I giggled a LOT when Eames and Reid inevitably faced each other in a game of poker. HEE.)

Guerrilla (Vorkosigan series)
I am not the easiest of Bujold-fic readers on the best of days. However, this was AWESOME -- it's an AU from Diplomatic Immunity: Miles fails rsther thsn beating the odds, and the Cetagandans invade Barrayar. Of all people, Ivan Vorpatril ends up leading the rag-tag resistance planetside. This is so good -- Ivan remains essentially Ivan-ish even while growing up remarkably fast, and the action and characterization is uniformly awesome and genuinely thrilling. I can't recommend this enough. (Note: this story is a complete, resolved entity. However, the author is in the middle of a WIP sequel -- which is already awesome; she's already brought in Mia Maz the Vervani diplomat from Cetaganda back and stuck her in the same room as Cordelia Vorkosigan, so I'm really totally in favor from the start -- but fair warning if that sort of thing bothers you.)
inmyriadbits: oranges on blue (inceptiongravity)
Hey, so I have this Archive Of Our Own invitation languishing in my inbox. Does anyone want it?

In other news, I think the one thing Inception fandom really needs is for someone to take the movie posters where they're all standing around dramatically, and manip them Dick In A Box-style. I'm thinking something like [livejournal.com profile] slodwick's hysterical SGA and SPN manips here and here. :D You know that's right.

We should really make that happen. Maybe Slod can be bribed...
inmyriadbits: oranges on blue (b13leito)
EXCITING HAPPENINGS OF THE PAST THREE WEEKS:

Okay, so that's misleading. But here's what I've been watching, fannishly speaking:

1. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 of Ugly Betty
2. The delicious mindfuck of Inception
3. Trying to hook my family on Mad Men
4. Banlieue 13 (aka District B13) and its sequel!
5. BBC's Sherlock miniseries

Thoughts (no spoilers, just cut for length/interest):

- Ugly Betty, I don't know why I ever quit you! )

- Oh, Inception. How so brilliant?

- Mad Men + martinis + live swing music last Monday = Lindsey is a very happy, thematically appropriate camper. swing dancing and adorable old people, yay! )

- Sherlock is a completely awesome modern adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. I didn't think you could translate them quite so well out of the Victoriana, but it turns out you CAN, and this Watson and Holmes are most excellent. )

- Last but not least, those of you who have never seen or heard of Banlieue 13 or its sequel, you really don't know what you're missing. I was idly looking for something to watch when I read [livejournal.com profile] etben's recent pimp post, and I am SO GLAD THAT I DID. The premise is a bit silly/contrived, and the plots are all kinds of ridiculous, but they're terribly fun anyway, and the two main characters are awesome and hit a lot of my personal buttons.

One of them, Leïto, is played by David Belle, one of the founders of parkour, who did his own stunts. He's one of those athletic, graceful people who are sheer fascinating joy to see in motion on film – like Douglas Fairbanks or Bruce Lee or Fred Astaire. I think it's beautiful, in a very unironic way. Watch even the first thirty seconds of this video, tell me you're not impressed, and I will eat ALL of my hats. Honestly. The man makes things like "climbing into the front seat of a van" into effortlessly beautiful spectacles of grace and hotness, okay; the movie is worth watching just for that.

But it's not all that's worth watching for! Leïto is sort of like a French, dystopian-future Aladdin. ) Leïto also appears to be highly allergic to shirts. This is a-okay with me, since David Belle has a fantastic body (see: everything he can do in previously-linked video, hell-o NURSE is he fit):

shirtless pictures ahoy! you know you wanna )

Instead of a spirited young Arabian princess, B13 gives Leïto some insanely good buddy-cop slashiness with Damien, our other protagonist. He's an incorruptible, highly competent Parisian cop who Believes In The Law and Helps The Citizenry and Is Very Earnest and Unironically Quotes The National Motto of France. Bless him. Damien goes undercover a lot and is totally badass ). And then he meets Leïto, and they are even more fun together than they are separately, with the banter and the mocking and the intense sociopolitical arguments with their faces held inches apart and the joint ass-kicking. They're both smart and capable and quick on their feet, and that makes for a great time.

So what I'm saying is, you should all see these movies! There's awesome fight sequences! Parkour through Paris! Manly eye candy! Dystopian future setting! Idealism! Buddy-cop-like saving of the day! Breaking people out of prison! Handcuffing each other to things! Hugging! Fighting back-to-back! Crossdressing! (no, really)

Seriously, just watch them. The first is on Netflix instant viewing, if you have it (and I'm willing to lend out my account if you don't, plus *cough* help you find the second if you like).

*cough* Okay, enough of that. /pimp

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