April recs

May. 22nd, 2022 12:50 pm
spatz: an AT-AT crashed face-down on Hoth with caption *headdesk* (SW headdesk)

A bit late this month since I had to send my computer off for repairs (RIP my stickers, but at least it was mostly cosmetic damage), but I made it! I'm putting the 7 Star Wars fics of various pairings above the cut, and the 5 miscellaneous fandoms (Nirvana in Fire, Life 2005, Lord Peter, The Untamed, Our Flag Means Death) underneath.

STAR WARS

Cody/Obi-Wan

Worth a Thousand Words by @glimmerglanger

“You need to show him what you have to offer,” Fives said, which sounded shockingly like relevant advice. Cody blinked over at him.

“What?” he asked, because, honestly, he’d take any advice he could get, at this point. The war had been over for nearly six months, and he’d made no progress on his own.

Fives slammed back a shot of his own and then--kind of leered over. “You need to give him a look at the goods,” he said, and then, pointedly, dipped his gaze down.

OR, the one where Cody takes some very bad advice and has to deal with the consequences.

*wheezing with laughter* AKA the one where Cody sends a dick pic. Post-war, no Order 66, very funny and sweet. Also, it didn't really hit my embarrassment squick despite being tagged for that, because it's not mean-spirited about it, and has some good perspective about how there's a huge gap between the clones' life experience and their socialization for things outside of fighting a war.

Strong Bones by missmollyetc

We must all start as we mean to go on.

Triptych of stories about Obi-Wan and Cody set post-Order 66, with absolutely GORGEOUS prose. The first two will break your heart (especially #2, how DARE), but the last one will gently patch it.

Din/Luke

Blood Ties by scheidwrites

A few things are slightly different, which means everything is different. Boba and Fennec arrive just a bit later, Din takes his jetpack back up to the temple, and so he and the child are both taken prisoner by the Empire.

Fascinating AU and a lovely h/c series that deserves a lot more hits than it currently has.

Pragmatics by Derkish

Admittedly, this is not the first time Luke has wound up at someone else’s kitchen table in someone else’s clothes. But it’s not breakfast, Luke’s not an undergrad scarfing down bacon and eggs to cure the common hangover, and Din doesn’t strike him as the kind of guy he’d meet at a house party. The baby is definitely a first.

Luke is a grad student trying to finish his linguistics PhD after an unexpected leave of absence. His neighbor, Din, is a single dad and delivery guy at Pizza Parsec. (Actually, Pizza Parsec is just a front for the bounty hunters' guild. But Luke doesn't need to know that.)

Fantastic modernish AU that hit the sweet spot for me regarding Luke being a emotional mess with disaster family issues but ALSO a very smart and competent person in his field. I also really enjoyed how the Skywalker family drama was translated into this setting.

A Warrior Dance by twoseas

Luke reacts strangely to Din’s bared face and an overheard conversation leads the Mandalorian to believe the Jedi thinks he’s ugly. Things spiral out of control from there.

Featuring Mandalorian combat without armor, Han and Leia being a little into Din, and Luke being so much into Din he accidentally makes him think he’s unattractive.

This one has been widley recced already, but I finally read it and it's just as charming as promised without the secondhand-embarrassment I feared.

Obi-Wan/Anakin

if i only knew by wanderlove

Newly knighted Obi-Wan Kenobi and his padawan, Anakin Skywalker, have been sent to Ryloth on a simple diplomatic envoy. While there, an unsettling incident causes Obi-Wan to look at Anakin in a new light and re-evaluate...everything.

The Galaxy will never be the same.

aka: "come for the obikin, stay for the tzai and deep emotional discussions that dismantle every single misunderstanding in the prequels."

Very satisfying fix-it AU on many levels, with lots of time and detailed work on building their relationship in a healthier way.

More recs below!
 

Read more... )

 

spatz: Dani Reese in profile against a sunlit wall (Life Dani sunlight)
So I completely failed to reveal what I wrote for Yuletide this year --

stumble to prevent a fall
Life
written for [archiveofourown.org profile] mskikiiv
gen, post-canon
2200 words

The first thing Dani says after Bodner pulls the car over is, “Crews, you're an idiot. What the hell were you thinking?”


--before posting a little something yesterday that I co-wrote with Lindsey:

see a church by daylight
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
co-written with [livejournal.com profile] inmyriadbits
explicit, established relationship
2300 words

Perhaps Dot’s decision to ignore Phryne’s advice to elope had a bright side after all.


...possibly my next fic should NOT be titled in five lowercase words starting with the letter 'S'. Huh. And before that it was two six-word titles starting with 'T'! o_O
spatz: Dani Reese in profile against a sunlit wall (Life Dani sunlight)
Anyone who wants a look at what [livejournal.com profile] inmyriadbits and I talk about after episodes should visit her post about 2x16, because it is pretty representative. Also, since she's talking about POI vs Batman, I thought I should link to this article: Why Person of Interest is a Superhero Show Done Right

now let's talk about Sarah Shahi being awesome )

Anyone who didn't come out of that episode with the urge to watch/rewatch Life: GO WATCH LIFE. I love Shahi's Dani Reese even more than John Reese, and you can watch Damian Lewis loom over her in a similar albeit far more ginger-and-Zen fashion. And there's a lot of parallel exploration of redemption/vengeance, and difficult slow-build partnership, and surviving trauma but having to live with the broken pieces, which POI fans should enjoy.

I always wish I was more fannish about Life, but the show gave me almost all that I wanted from its ending (best finale ever, still), and I got out the rest I needed with Precession. So now I just kinda sit back and think about it with a warm fuzzy feeling, and go, "yep, I'm good." It's fun, and somewhat unique in my fannish experience.
spatz: Amy tackle-hugging Eleven in front of a beautiful vista of stars (DW Eleven Amy stars)
Merry Christmas, everyone! Or if you celebrate something else, happy that, or happy December 25th!

I participated in Yuletide this year for the first time - which feels a little embarrassing, since I've been in fandom for almost ten, though I guess Yuletide only started in 2003 - and I received Under, A Study in Emerald fic about Mary Morstan set in 1883. The author did an awesomely creative job with the details of the universe, the dark warping of the canon, and the secondary characters that Gaiman's story left out like Mary and Mycroft, which was exactly what I wanted! There are some great that is such a cool idea moments, and Mary will break your heart. *hugs author*

Hilariously, Lindsey got a Study in Emerald fic for her gift as well, Black Shuck, which is a deeply creepy retelling of Hound of the Baskervilles that had her saying "I really should not have read this at 4am." That's my sister. :D

I beta'd All Fall Down (Life), which is a quietly disturbing genish-ambiguous-Charlie/Rachel story that is not my normal cup of tea at all, but the author's characterization of Rachel is stunning. (and I don't consider this violating the Yuletide secrecy, because I have no previous online connection to the author other than this beta job, so there)

I haven't read much else, between the archive 502s and hosting Christmas at our house, but I highly recommend No Second Coming (The Dark is Rising), which is the post-series fix-it fic I have waiting for all my life. (Well, okay, just since I read the books, but that's still at least a decade.) And it's LONG for the fandom, at 16K. If you like Will/Bran, epic stories, intricate attention to detail, ensemble stories, creative-but-true reinterpretation of canon, Jane being an awesome human being, and/or gorgeous prophetic dreams, go read!

*****

In other news, I'm thinking about disabling the hit counter on my AO3 stories, because it is turning me in a twitchy neurotic mess as I wait for my recipient to comment (ETA: Ahahaha, nm, stalking revealed reason for delay, and it is an AWESOME reason). [personal profile] inmyriadbits can testify. She saved my ass while I was writing my story, as I was editing literally up to the minute the archive closed, with her expert assistance and moral support. I can't credit her on the story yet, obviously, but y'all should know she's a badass, and my story would have been several thousand words and several degrees of quality less without her.

Also: I would die of shock if anyone guesses what I wrote, but if someone does I will write them a story of their choosing. (From beyond the grave, obviously.)

Fic: Here

Jun. 23rd, 2010 01:43 pm
spatz: Dani Reese in profile against a sunlit wall (Life Dani sunlight)
Here
Life. Post-series finale, gen, 825 words. Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] gingerwall for the lovely beta. Archived at AO3

Dani lay in the quiet of Crews' guestroom and tried not to feel exposed. )
spatz: sparrow perched on a branch (Life title sun)
I don't develop "personal canon" the way I've seen many writers do - all the little details like favorite color, first kiss, number of pets, etc., that are interesting and fun but never come to light. I usually start with core principles and canon details and go from there, reinventing the personal details to suit my purposes (for fic or meta or whatever).

But there's an exception: character sexuality.

When I develop an opinion about a character's sexuality, I will stick to it. I supposed a dramatic event in canon could theoretically change my mind, but it hasn't happened yet. It's weirdly opposite to my approach in real life, where I usually don't try to figure people out unless I'm deciding if I want to flirt with them. For many characters, I don't have a *conscious* idea of their orientation, but odds are I can give you an answer if you give me 30 seconds to consider it. For some, I've got very strong opinions.

Take Charlie Crews, for example. My fanon evaluation of him: straight. I used to read (and still enjoy) Charlie/Ted, but by the end of S1 I was convinced that Charlie just *loves* women, platonically and romantically. Any homosexual activity in his past was situational (i.e., prison) [and possibly not consensual], and while he's not going to have a freak out about it, he's not going to seek out male partners now that he's free.

On the other hand, Dean Winchester = bisexual, though he skews way more to the hetero end of the spectrum. I've considered him bi since well before Castiel ever showed his pretty face. If he wants to get laid, he'll usually pick up a woman, but sometimes he goes for guys - like the difference between craving a bacon cheeseburger and a double decker. Dean may be the type of guy who's very concerned with the trappings of masculinity, but I figure sex is sex is sex to him. (Falling in love, though -- that's a whole different barrel of monkeys, regardless of gender.)

Emily Prentiss: prefers women. I don't have much evidence for my opinion, and I don't think she's been in many relationships (if any) because repression thy name is Emily, but it's very clear in my mind. Hotch and Reid are both firmly heterosexual, though Reid doubtless knows reams of studies about sexuality and would be suprised-but-chill if he were ever attracted to a man.

Neal Caffrey: so very bisexual. He has strong tendencies towards clever people and committed-but-open relationships - the 'open' part being a necessary condition of his profession, where being able to seduce anyone is an advantage. If he met any aliens, he'd definitely pull a Jack Harkness and give it a try, and he's cool with polyamory.

Parker: bisexual. Obviously not shy about her sexuality, considering she hit on Nate's ex-wife in front of him, though she's as unlikely to talk about it as give away money.

Sherlock Holmes: nearly asexual, a state reinforced by his (self)conscious pursuit of logic, but he's got a weakness for people who admire him and who he considers an equal. However, in such rare events, he would only start a relationship with someone he trusts (*cough*Watson*cough*), and then only after overcoming his own self-imposed "love is a danger to logic" principles. After jumping all those hurdles, a metropolitan student of humanity like Holmes is not going to be concerned with something minor like gender.

Do any of y'all have this sort of personal canon? Want to test my opinions by throwing characters at me, or just argue with me about one of the above characters? Bring it!

TGIF

Oct. 2nd, 2009 02:23 pm
spatz: sparrow perched on a branch (Default)
A few links of awesome for [livejournal.com profile] celli:

-A collection of funny protest signs: I think the first one is still my favorite.

-Hilarious analysis of response rates to online dating messages: I am especially amused that using the word "zombies" has a 40% response rate (above average).

-Information is Beautiful: a blog that analyzes information in pretty ways, or collects graphics from elsewhere. Like time travel in pop culture.

And to kill time before I have to start cleaning again, this week's [livejournal.com profile] fannish5: What 5 series would you resurrect if you could?
1) Firefly. Yes, I am still bitter, and probably always will be.
2) Life
3) The Middleman
4) Jake 2.0
5) Sports Night

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