there will be a fish

I have never read an entertainment news article that made me laugh this much:

Charlie Hunnam pulls out of Fifty Shades Of Grey, leaving it begging to be filled

I thought it was worth clicking through just for the title, but the entire article is just gold.

Also -- thank god, because I really loved Charlie Hunnam in Pacific Rim (oh shit after reading that article now I want to make a horrible joke) and I didn't want him to become That Guy.

I recently managed to read a couple of therapy-related fics in short succession, and since fic featuring therapy is one of my favorite things, I thought I'd put together a recs post:

1. Eight Sessions (Due South, Fraser/Kowalski)
My very favorite of all my favorite therapy fics: after a bad on the job shooting, Ray and Fraser have to go to mandatory counseling sessions. And if anyone needs therapy more than Benton Fraser, or could possibly be worse at it, I would really like to see that. This is hilarious, heartbreaking, and heartwarming by turns. I'm sure most DS fans have already read this story, but it's always worth another read. ♥

2. Like Sailing and Home Runs (Sports Night, Dan/Casey)
Dan Rydell, and his therapy sessions following the end of the series. I just re-read this, and it's wonderful. It reads just like an episode of the show, and Dan's therapist Abby is brilliant, and the ins and outs of his sessions are complex and beautifully crafted.

3. Cartography By Touch (Stargate: Atlantis, McKay/Sheppard)
So, there's a reason that the Atlantis expedition has a psychologist on board. Sheppard is traumatized on an off-world mission, and slowly works through it. Great Heighmeyer, great dealing with the issues, great world-building stuff on Atlantis. (Watch the warnings, though.) There's also a Rodney-POV sequel/companion piece, History of Maps.

4. Therapy and Grapes (Life/In Treatment crossover, gen)
I was looking for In Treatment fic (of which there is very little) and found this in the process: Dani gets referred to Paul Weston for an assessment after the events of "Powerless", and he works his usual therapy magic. I kind of wanted a million more words of this, but it's quite good as it stands. Even if you've never seen In Treatment, it serves as a nice outsider-POV of Dani.

5. Abnormal Psychology (Bones/SGA crossover, gen)
This fic never fails to make me laugh. The concept? Lance Sweets becomes the new psychologist on Atlantis after Heightmeyer. AHAHAHAHAHA omg it's so good, you guys. Her Sweets-voice is genius, and if there is anyone who would mix worse with Sweets in a therapy session than John Sheppard.... HEE.

and

6. untitled commentfic (Bones/Hawaii Five-0 crossover, gen)
This is sort of a follow-up to the previous rec, although it's really unrelated in anything but spirit. Because the only person worse than John Sheppard at therapy? Is Steve McGarrett. This, of course, does not stop Sweets.

Okay, so I have a larger recs post upcoming, but I just spent a delightful amount of time laughing my ass off while reading this fic, so I had to share:

Mission: Dinosaur Adventures (3781 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: The Losers (2010), Jurassic Park (Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez/Jake Jensen
Characters: Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez, Jake Jensen, Franklin Clay, Aisha al-Fadhil, Linwood "Pooch" Porteous, Tim Murphy, Lex Murphy
Summary:

Jensen couldn't decide whether he was having the best week ever, or the worst.

OH MY GOD, AHAHAHAHAHA. For starters, this is a crossover between The Losers and Jurassic Park. You really shouldn't need more than that. Jensen is hacker internet-friends with Lex Murphy, and she needs a favor. As you can guess from the title and/or summary (and/or the tags many dinosaurs were harmed in the making of this story and science took a pretty big hit as well), this favor does not involve his sitting-in-front-of-a-computer skills, but rather his shooting-things-with-large-weapons skills. The story is hilarious and wonderful from beginning to end, from the initial concept right down to the pitch-perfect hilarity of the Jensen-POV voice. I would quote something from the story to prove it, but this was definitely one of those "my favorite part was ALL OF IT" fics, so you should really just go read it already, okay?

This is one of those reasons I love fandom. ♥!

(ugh, LJ just did an obnoxious thing and stripped out all my coding, and I'm too tired to go back and fix all the italics tags, so just imagine they're there making my prose even more flaily, okay?)
(also whoops, I posted this last night and then private-locked it because LJ fucked up my cuts and I didn't want to spoil anyone, and then of course I forgot to make it public again. SIGH.)

1. The Hobbit trailer! I'm sure you have all seen it by now. I've seen it many times, including in 3D, because my place of employment is awesome. The song gives me the shivers every time, and MARTIN FREEMAN'S EVERYTHING makes me happy, and god it looks gorgeous. I AM EXCITE.

2. Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol. PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING ABOUT IT, OKAY. This is sort of like when Live Free Or Die Hard came out, and it was a huge shock when it was actively good. I want to go back and see it again! Brad Bird's direction is excellent; the action sequences were tight as anything (like, he doesn't just planting Chekhov's gun and then fire it, he shows you the gun and fires it, and then uses it as a hammer, and then five minutes later as a doorstop, and then... and it's all unexpected and realistic and creative), and marvelously innovative. But I love that he's kept the Pixar tendency to keep everything character-based, and character-driven; even when the characters are fighting people in Big Fight Scenes, it's still about them. And I really loved the team! Jane was awesome: kick-ass, vulnerable when she should be and competent when she needed to be, smart and funny and good at being a spy. I want her to come back! Which is entirely possible, since they also brought back Simon Pegg's Benji from #3, and his face is worth the price of admission alone. God, I love Simon Pegg, and the man is a genius comedian. And then there's Brandt, who was awesome (more on him later). It just had such a sense of fun to it, which is what I want in my action movies. I mean, I want be thrilled, too -- and let me tell you, I was clutching Katie's hand until it lost circulation during ( that one sequence, you know the one ) -- but I want it to be in a fun way; I want breathless joy from people throwing themselves through the air in unbelievable ways, and adrenaline-inducing explosions, and fighting people who need to be fought with a team of decent people, and winning. And I think Brad Bird is in agreement with me, and J.J. Abrams as well, so this was just really good for me. ( spoilers! )

3. Jamie Bell. There was a trailer for Man on a Ledge before MI4, and basically Jamie Bell + heist = key to my heart (with bonus Sam Worthington and apparently them being brothers). But then it also appears that he's going to be in a movie with James McAvoy in which they will both be Scottish and cops (and, in James McAvoy's case, batshit crazy) in a story written by the same guy who did Trainspotting. All this in addition to Tintin, which I am super duper excited about. WIN ALL OVER.

Speaking of, Tintin was excellent! It's very much a Stephen Spielberg movie, if you know what I mean -- in the 'teenage boy (and his dog) fight evil-doers and have wacky adventures while uncovering a sekrit treasure!' sense, complete with Rube-Goldberg-like chase scenes and plenty of swashbuckling slapstick. I personally really enjoy that, in moderation, so I had a great time. The animation/motion-capture stuff turned out very nicely, IMO, and it let them do some really cool stuff with the camera (or, "camera") during action sequences; there's one long chase that is entirely one shot, which would've been completely impossible in live-action, and makes for a really awesome effect. Jamie Bell is marvelous as Tintin; I love the "intrepid reporter" character type almost as much as con men and thieves/rogues with a heart of gold, AND the Tintin books were childhood favorites of mine, so it was just really delightful to see. And they curse like The Middleman ("Great snakes!" LOL) and Tintin nerdily talks to himself Snowy while investigating things and being a giant geek, and Haddock is a big, drunk-ass teddy bear of hilarity. Basically, I had a lot of fun. :)

4. Also Michael Fassbender. Is the man in every movie that's coming out? It's like I turn around, and he's in yet another trailer. Or article. Or something. AND he's getting to play with all the cool kids, it's awesome.

For the record, I am totally okay with this state of affairs. :D

THINGS STILL TO SEE (when I am not working and/or staring in despair at my Yuletide story and/or not working opposite schedule to Katie):
- Sherlock Holmes (I KNOW OMG)
- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (once I read the book...)
- Hugo (I hear it's adorbs, plus Martin Scorcese does 3D, I am intrigued)
- Shame (HI MICHAEL FASSBENDER)
- Arthur Christmas (MAYBE. This has nothing to do with me realizing James McAvoy voices the main character, nope...)
- Young Adult (because Charlize Theron. Don't judge me.)

5. ...Okay, and also some fanfic things! Nine Eleven Ten updated yesterday, so I feel a great need to press it upon everyone again. But if you like The Dresden Files (or even if you don't; it's a pretty accessible AU, now that I think about it), and have somehow missed the Stars & Scones Bakery AU, hie thee over there now, because she just finished! AND IT IS DELIGHTFUL. The whole wacky ensemble is there, and Harry is faily and damaged and utterly endearing, and Marcone is delightful, and basically it will make you want to curl up with a cup of tea and some spice cookies and sigh happily. It's perfect for cold weather and the holidays, is what I'm saying. GO. READ. *shoos*

I've had AUs on the brain (XMFC fandom is rife with them), so apparently the thing to do with that situation is to rec some of my favorite AUs. In alphabetical order by fandom:

1. The Art of Running & Fearless on My Breath (The Fast & The Furious, Brian/Dom)
Because what the world really needed was for someone to take a massively testosterone-infused fandom like this, and change one of the main characters into a woman. That's right, people -- this is Brian genderswap (of the always-been-a-girl variety), and it's really good. Brian is totally crazy in the exact same way, but then also crazy in some other new and fun ways, but it's all excellent. I think what I love best about this is that the author preserves their friendship and mutual respect from the movies; Dom doesn't treat Brian like a girl, he treats Brian like a person. IDK, it's genderswap fic! They drive really fast cars while being attractive! It's great! The sequel (Fearless on My Breath) then takes on the second movie, and it's kind of better this way.

2. Sixteen Days In September (Generation Kill, Brad/Nate)
This is an amazing story. Fair warning: it's a really intense war story, so there's violence of many kinds and very heavy subject matter. That said, don't be scared off! I can't imagine there's someone out there who hasn't read this yet, since it was recced to high heaven, but it's one of those stories that deserves every scrap of praise it gets. This is a point-of-departure AU: instead of joining the Marines, Nate joins the Peace Corps, and is sent to East Timor...and then a civil war starts up, and Nate, of course, does whatever he can to look out for people and do the right thing, but his pragmatic idealism takes a real beating from the war. A lot of the rest of the ensemble show up (as Marines still; actually, RL Nate went to East Timor as part of the peacekeeping force when he was a Marine), and everyone is just perfectly characterized. The Brad/Nate is a delicious slow burn that I love to pieces. Seriously, I cannot recommend this highly enough.

3. Play It Again, Jeeves (Jeeves & Wooster, gen-ish Bertie/Jeeves)
And now for a 180-degree tonal shift! The last was epic and very serious; this is short and completely ridiculous. The author did it on a request for "cracky retelling of Casablanca with Jeeves and Bertie." It's a very brief little piece (set in the last scene of the movie, so DON'T READ IT if you haven't seen the film, if you care about spoilers), but it makes me just die with laughter. Imagine recasting Rick with Bertie and Captain Renault with Jeeves, and then shifting the tone of the whole thing way into the Wodehouse range of things, and there you are. And by "there" I mean "laughing your ass off." Hee.

4. Next of Kin (The Losers, gen-ish)
This author writes the best damn Jensen in The Losers fandom, hands-down. If you like Jensen -- and who doesn't? -- you should read everything else she's ever written, basically. Anyway, this AU is also a point-change: Jensen never joins the Losers...and then Max gets his hands on his niece and sister and blackmails Jensen into working for him as his pet hacker. So Jensen is left to do an impossible task with his family's life on the line, and he has no backup. And then the Losers hear about Max's computer expert and decide a little bad guy kidnapping is in order, not realizing that Jensen's about as not-bad as you can get.... ♥ I've re-read this many many times, and it continues to delight me.

5. Apotheosis (Sherlock, gen-ish John/Sherlock)
AWESOME AU IS AWESOME. This is an inversion of "The Empty House" (the ACD short story wherein Holmes was revived after supposedly dying at Reichenbach Falls) setup -- after the confrontation with Moriarty at the pool, instead of Sherlock going after Moriarty alone for three years, John does. Long, plotty, full of pining, and lots of badass John! Truly excellent, and really creative in certain ways that I refuse to spoil for you.

Anyway, that's it. Enjoy!

(This is still not my Dear Yuletide Author letter, like it should be. Oops? /Rick Perry)

Oh my god I should totally be asleep because I have an important doctor's appointment at 9am tomorrow, but I am not.

I am not asleep, because I just read a wonderful, 21k Avengers Steve/Tony fic OF AWESOME. Seriously, you should all go read Ready, Fire, Aim right now. Her movieverse-Tony voice is off-the-charts good, and she wrote Steve just the way I like him (a really good guy, if occasionally a sanctimonious jerk for all the right reasons, and fish-out-of-water with a sneaky sense of humor). And the rest of the Avengers team is along for the ride, with all the alcohol-drinking, structural-integrity-destroying, sleeping-with-eyes-open, scary assassin-ness and one-eyed glaring shenanigans that entails. And...Thor is Tony's favorite! Tony is in charge of the 80s! Jarvis is evil about Tony's hangovers! There's even a delightful cameo by the X-Men! HOW CAN YOU RESIST.

(also on a serious level, if you like that sort of thing, the author deals fantastically with the Pepper/Tony breakup [I teared up a little shh don't tell], and Tony is so deeply messed up for such a productive person, and the Steve-Tony friendship progresses in a really lovely fashion. ♥!)

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 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 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. ♥

First: did you guys know that Sports Night is streaming on Netflix? Time to go a-pimping, my fellow SN fans! And second -- man, how much fun was that ridiculous NCIS:LA episode this week? It had many of my favorite things -- Deeks showing cracks in that obnoxious/cheerful act he tries to pull off, lots of fun Kensi/Deeks interaction, undercover shenanigans, character backstory, and explosions. I was pretty well pleased. :D

I'm sitting around insomniac-ly being bored tonight, again. *sigh* Do you ever get into that mood where you want to re-read something, but what you really want is to be reading it again for the first time? Like you want to re-experience exactly how awesome it felt when you first read that story, not actually re-read it. I'm in that kind of mood right now.

So, recs! The top five seven things I wish I were re-reading (for the first time):

1. Look Here, Look Back, Look Ahead (Marvel Comics, Iron Man Noir) by marinarusalka
So, I was looking back through my journal to find where I originally recced this so I could link to that post, and discovered to my horror that I'd never actually posted my rec for it. *facepalm* Which is just wrong, because this story is AWESOME. I am maybe a little biased because I helped beta it, but not really -- it's just really fucking awesome. See, Iron Man Noir is basically a canon AU where Tony Stark becomes Iron Man during WWII instead of modern day. And, well, you know, Steve Rogers was kind of around then, too...and Marina picks up that idea and runs with it. It's amazing, and even if you haven't read the comics, WHO CARES, because it's Captain America and Iron Man fighting the Nazis (FTW!), you really don't need to know much more. Marina is fantastic with plot and characterization, as always, and she just kicks ass with all the period stuff and the action shenanigans and EVERYTHING. I really love this fic. I might actually go re-read it now, in fact....

2. What You See Is What You Get (If You're Looking Hard Enough) (The Mentalist)
This came out of the most recent Yuletide, and it's excellent. It's a steampunk/fantasy AU of The Mentalist -- which is an extremely bizarre concept that seems like it would never work, right? But instead, it's pretty much exactly the same as the show, only slightly more magical -- which is a neat trick; the execution is just stellar. The Lisbon POV is absolute perfection and forms the steel-solid core of the fic, the rest of the team is spot-on, the plot is long and interesting, and this story is just so clever. I can't even tell you what a fun ride it is.

3. Aral Vorkosigan's Dog (Vorkosigan series) by philomytha
Amazing, amazing story. I've never really read much Vorkosigan fic because it's so hard to find people who can mimic Bujold's style, and without that it just doesn't feel right to me. I also have no real desire to read fic about Miles -- his story is told perfectly to my satisfaction in the novels, so why would I want fic? Philomytha is the perfect answer -- she writes so eerily like Bujold that I sometimes am a little suspicious that she's actually LMB herself, and she writes entirely about the secondary characters and canon ships -- with special love and attention to Simon and Alys, who are clearly her favorites. This particular story is Epic and deserving of that capital -- it's Simon's story, a gen epic starting when he meets Aral after the events on Sergyar in Shards of Honor, and following him through the Escobaran War and some small way into the events of Barrayar (so mind the warnings, seriously). And oh my god, it's SO GOOD. Simon's characterization is superb, his developing relationship with Aral gripping, and the action sequences utterly thrilling. It's like the Simon-POV novel that Bujold never got around to writing, and it makes me really happy. *hearteyes* (The rest of Philomytha's fic is excellent as well, if you're looking for Vorkosigan stuff -- I particularly love Secrets and Lies, probably the best Byerly story out there, Vorkosigan's Day, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, Dancing Lessons, and Five Conversations in Alys' Office)

4. Switch (Star Trek reboot)
I am normally not a Kirk/McCoy girl, for whatever reason -- but if they were all like this fic, I totally would be. Long, intense, slow-burn, Bones-POV set largely during their time at the Academy, but stretching through the movie and beyond. Friendship! Pining! Hurt/comfort! It's like everything I want in a fic. It's enormous, too -- 230k+ words, which makes for a really delicious read.

5. Drastically Redefining Protocol (Merlin) by rageprufrock
I may be thinking about this one because of the Royal Wedding, SO SUE ME. :D I'm pretty sure everyone in the world has read this, because, come on. Pru's always good, and this story is certainly no exception.

6. The Student Prince (Merlin)
So, I was going to leave it at 5, but DRP always makes me think of the other epic Merlin modern!AU that I adore. I may even love TSP a little bit more, actually, because I prefer slow-burn romance over love-at-first-sight every time, and their friendship in this is so lovely. The atmosphere of the school setting is wonderful and heart-soothing in the way that only stories about school can be (god knows actual school was never like that). This one's another monster -- 145k words, FTW.

7. Next of Kin (The Losers)
I feel obligated to rec at least one non-novel-length fic here. So here's this one: an AU where Jensen never joins the Losers, and Max kidnaps his sister and niece to force Jensen to work for him. I LOVE this trope so so so much, and it's done terribly well here. ♥

I woke up waaaay too early this morning and couldn't go back to sleep, ugh. Then I wasted several hours of my life to the tentacled embrace of the state bureacracy, bought an enormous amount of sushi, and ate it while watching NCIS:LA with my sister. (Let me just say: KENSI AND DEEKS, I LOVES THEM. I still love Sam and G, too, but Kensi is the bomb, and I am incredibly fond of Deeks' puppyish facade and badass/marshmallow center, and I totally ship them, which I haven't done for a m/f cop partnership since, hmm, Life I think. I know it's not the most brilliant show in the world (HAHAHA), but it still makes me happy. ♥). I did pass the time waiting on Godot bureaucrats by re-reading Dorothy L. Sayers' awesome essay "Aristotle on Detective Fiction," though, so it wasn't a total waste of time. I like to read that essay and think about TV crime procedurals. I was thinking, I could scan it and put it up here if anyone's interested? It took me a lot of effort to obtain a copy of Unpopular Opinions in order to read it in the first place, so I'm okay with loaning it out to y'all, so to speak.

In other news, I was reading some fic earlier that made me want to put together a short rec list of chase-related stories. I love chase stories a lot -- especially when they manage to involve either spies, or falsely-accused innocent persons.

1. The fic responsible for this list: Paper Chase (Sherlock/White Collar, genish) by copperbadge. He just wrote a sequel to it, Rematch, hence the rec, because I was just thrilled. I mean, it's a Sherlock/White Collar crossover with plot! Even if it weren't written brilliantly by Sam, I would've wanted to read it. Really, really fun, I highly recommend it. (Bonus: if you're a podfic person, there's a great co-read one of Paper Chase -- the Sherlock&John-POV sections read by a Brit, and the Neal&Peter bits read by an American, which is fun.)

2. The classic: Finders Keepers (The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Illya/Napoleon) by Taliesin. I know most of the young 'uns on my flist won't know this fandom, but I don't care, you should still read it. It's got spies! Running around 1960s New York! There's pie! Flirting! Shenanigans! Tie-dye! Bathhouses! Seriously, I love this fic. It's just so darn playful.

3. The remake: The Fugitive (Numb3rs). I almost didn't read this because a) I'd never seen Numb3rs before, b) it features an OFC, and c) it's on The Pit of Voles. Seriously, that's a lot of negatives. But I adore The Fugitive, so I gave it a shot, and it's really really fun. It made me want to watch Numb3rs, after which I re-read this and realized just how well-characterized it actually was. The OFC turns out to be rather awesome, and the entire team is well-written, and Don is excellent. Long! Plotty! Interesting! *thumbs up*

4. The one pretending to be just one thing: Okay, so I'm technically recommending Little Girl Lost (The Pretender, Parker/Jarod) by neonhummingbird and butterflykiki, but I kinda also just want to rec the entire show in general, which is one long, delicious game of cat-and-mouse. It also has Miss Parker, one of my favorite female TV characters ever. You think your favorite TV lady is badass? Yeah, so...Parker would have her in a quivering, submissive little puddle in about five minutes flat. She's the best. Her and Jarod's whole "you run; I chase" dynamic is probably one of the reasons I love the trope so much that I post a list like this. Warped, I tell you, warped while I was young and impressionable... :)

Okay, I guess that suffices. Um...enjoy! If you have your own favorite chase-related stories, please feel free to share.

So I just realized I never posted about Yuletide stuff! Which is terrible of me; bad Lindsey, no cookie.

My gift was the utterly awesome Black Shuck, written for Neil Gaiman's A Study In Emerald. My author (WHO I LOVE) wrote a retelling of The Hound of the Baskervilles, and it's just completely wonderful -- it just nails the pastiche-but-not-quite-the-same-world writing and this version of Holmes and Watson, while also managing to be a thrilling adventure and a truly creepy horror story. I am so, so, so delighted by it, and you should all go read it immediately! Um, unless you're planning to go to sleep right afterward, in which case you might want to wait until it's light outside. :D?

I've been reading my way through the fics in a very random manner, but have some ( recs for Alice, Hawaii Five-0, Banlieue 13, Calvin & Hobbes, Calvin & Hobbes/Foxtrot, James Bond, Lord Peter Wimsey, Old Spice Guy metafic, Temeraire/Pride & Prejudice, and Wishbone/Vorkosigan )

I feel vaguely guilty for having the deathplague and defaulting rather than risking a crappy fic for my recipient, but them's the breaks, I guess. I tried to make up for it by beta-ing like a mofo (up till 3am two nights in a row with my sister, what what), but I may also have to do a NYR, too...