lunabee34

Come at the King The Wire
What a fabulous backstory for Omar. This story is bittersweet, so full of hope and yet so very deeply sad. Omar wants so much more than he can have, and so he takes and takes until, well, you guys know how that ends even if this story doesn't. *sniffle*

Ready or Not
The not-quite-zombie apocalypse of The Wire--I love it! Brilliantly done with Carver and Randy on the roof watching the world end maybe.

Invasion and Inscrutability Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
The Raven King and the man with the thistledown hair meet quite early on; lovely narrative voice that rings very true to the source material.

Because the War is Endless M*A*S*H; Hawkeye/Father Mulcahy
Oh my broken heart. All in bitty bits. This is set in the immediate aftermath of Henry's death, and it makes me sob like a baby.

Brotherly Affection by Bangles; Importance of Being Earnest; Earnest X 2
This is so funny and the voices are so authentically Wildean.

Cloak and Dagger by Adaptation Decay; Fairy Tales
Y'all know how much I love reworkings of fairy tales and I love what the author has done here with this version of Little Red Riding Hood. It is many things at once: cutting commentary on gender roles and on urban encroachment, creepy as fuck, and infinitely sad. Excellent read.

Cold Dawn by GrayCardamon; Dark is Rising;
When thelastgoodname and I read this series, one of the things I liked the least was the way that Will must be alone at series' end. He has to bear everything alone. This is the ultimate fix it fic and an interesting twist on what the end of the series really means.

Dirty Laundry by Curtana; Venture Brothers
I don't want to give away the emotional crux of this fic, but I will say that a long forgotten secret comes to light. I will also say that this fic made me laugh out loud and that I could see the action happening in an actual episode of the show.

Fanfare, Fanfiction and the Fourth Wall by Casey; Boston Legal
I freely admit that I've only seen one or two episodes of this show; at some point I want to Netflix and watch them all from the beginning. But even with very little familiarity with the source material, I found this hysterically funny.

Five Kindnesses Charles Emerson Winchester III Performed (but would never acknowledge) by Amilyn; M*A*S*H
Just what it says on the tin. *sniffles*

Five Ways Omar Remembers Brandon by Rustler; The Wire
I am currently slogging my way through The Wire (one disc into season 4) and I am so impressed with the way this fic has captured the voice and the tone of the show. This is gritty and raw and oddly sweet, as Omar always is. What I love most about this show is that it makes you care about and sympathize with these people who are absolute shitheads (on both sides of the law) and when an episode is done you are angry and amused and your heart hurts and you can't wait to pop another one in. That's how this fic makes me feel.

Five Deals the Robot Devil Almost Made by Sionnain; Futurama
Didn't this happen on an episode? Tales of Interest, anybody? LOL

In His House at R'lyeh (Squid of the Baskervilles) by Scott; Neil Gaiman's A Study in Emerald
This story is in Gaiman's Fragile Things and is one of the best pieces in that collection. It is perfectly evocative of the Victorian period, of Sherlock Holmes, of the Cthullu mythos and of Lovecraft all at once. It is at once the most wonderful homage to horror's antecedents and an intriguing story in its own right. This fic is more light hearted than the source and is a wonderful read.

In Which Worlds Collide and Eeyore Investigates a Terrible Crime by Torch; Winnie the Pooh and Discworld XOVER
Do I even need to say anything about this? Dude, read.

It's A Nice Day (For A White Wedding) by Livia; White Christmas
I love this movie. I love it. I have watched it every Christmas since I was in the womb and I love the music and all the dancing and the clothes and yeah. I'm a sap for this movie. This fic reminds me of all the reasons why.

Learning is Fundamental by Kweevil; HLOTS
Baltimore's finest are asked to make presentations to the cadets at the academy. Hijinks ensue.

Left Behind by Karabair; HLOTS
I love Megan Russert; she is an amazing character who is serverly underutilized in the series. This is a quiet throwaway moment between Tim and Megan in the diner that is incredibly revealing and insightful.

Man and Legend by Lady Sarai Robin McKinley's Outlaw of Sherwood
I loved this book growing up; it's such an interesting version of the Robin Hood story. What I love about this fic is that it gives us Marion's POV in a pivotal moment in the book. This is powerful.

Guess who's been dipping her toes in the Yuletide Archives?

The Listening Game by Adrienne
Fandom: Toy Soldiers
Pairing and Rating: Billy/Joey; Adult
This was my first rebellious movie, the first movie I watched despite being forbidden to do so. We watched Toy Soldiers at Sandy's thirteenth birthday party, five or so girls huddled around a tiny TV and eating popcorn while braiding each other's hair. This movie further cemented my infatuation with Wesley "I got a fucking machine gun" Crusher and began my lifelong love of the boy who would grow up to be Middle Earth's gayest most loyal hobbit. Toy Soldiers resonated so strongly with me as a teenager; the adults can't fix the situation, but a group of kids can outwit a terrorist strike group. I've also always been a major fan of angst and so I found Joey's death incredibly compelling. I rewatched this movie a year or so ago and was floored by all the slashy subtext I'd missed the on the first viewing. From that moment on, I've wanted TS fanfic like breathing but unfortunately could never find any until now. This fic strips away all the cheesiness of the movie and leaves behind its emotional intensity, the rawness that sometimes takes you by surprise. If there's gotta be only one TS fic, I'm really glad it's this one.

I Would Not be You For a Kingdom by Jane Carnall
Fandom: Charlotte Bronte's Villette
Rating and Pairing: Lucy/Ginevra; PG
I am very fond of Villette. I taught it several years back and while most of the students hated the novel, several really got what what Bronte was trying to do and made the teaching experience a true joy. Ginevra is such a fascinating character and what this fic does is offer us a femslashy and completely believeable explanation for her strange repulsion/attraction to Lucy. This fic very much inhabits the spirit of the novel and is a wonderful read.

Puerio Solivagi by Dira Sudis
Fandom: Dead Poet's Society
Rating and Pairing: Charlie/Todd, Neil/Todd; PG
I hate to reduce this to a pairing because there really isn't one even though there's a snog or two. This is about the hole that Neil leaves behind and what the others do to fill it. *cries* I was once obsessed with this movie and although I no longer remember every single line of dialogue verbatim, I do still remember the way this film made me feel. This fic takes me back to that place.

The Childing Autumn by Elizabeth de Epee et du Mot de Eau
Fandom: Dead Poet's Society
Pairing and Rating: Todd/Neil; PG
This fic is structured around the idea of firsts and it's seriously gorgeous--beautiful language that makes my heart ache in the most pleasant of ways. It's set in that magical time before everything falls apart, but we know what is to come and that knowledge hurts. The third paragraph from the end through the fic's conclusion is pretty much as close to perfect as anything I'd ever care to read.

In Truth No Beauty by Epigone
Fandom: M*A*S*H TV series
Pairing and Rating: Winchester/Klinger; Adult
This should not work. It should not work at all. It should not be beautiful and inevitable and right. It should not sting so much at its end. But oh, oh, it does.

the hours between dawn and nothing by anotherjuxtaposition
Fandom: M*A*S*H TV series
Pairing and Rating: Hawkeye/BJ; PG-13
This is one of those marvelous stories that skirts the line between friendship and romance. The author never truly makes clear whether Beej and Hawk ever laid hands on each other, but what she does make clear is that sex or no, their relationship is the most important one that each of them has ever had. I didn't rate this PG-13 for sexual situations because there aren't any. Instead I based the rating on a fairly graphic and incredibly well done description of PTSD. In this fic, BJ flounders after the war is over. He's uncomfortable in his old skin and his old life and the one person he truly needs has made himself unavailable. To paraphrase another commenter, I knew when I was dreading the end of the war that this fic had gotten to me. LOL You wanna see what the gold standard looks like, my friends? Read this. You will not be disappointed.

OMG! I just finished mainlining season one of Veronica Mars and I am speechless. Completely speechless. An almost flawless 22 episodes of television. I mean, so good I had to change the subtitle on my journal. I am mostly unspoiled for season two, so don't give me a headsup unless it's to tell me that Weevil and Logan totally get it on in detention cause, wow. They should. So, rec me some Veronica Mars fanfic, please! Het, slash, gen, all donations accepted. I know you guys know where the good stuff is.

A couple M*A*S*H recs to get us started off:

Letters Home by likethesun2 Hawkeye/Charles Winchester PG-13ish. You know how you had NO IDEA you wanted to read something? Sorta thought maybe if you did it'd be ridiculous or else a wee bit squicky? And then you read and you realize it was the very thing you'd been wanting all along? This fic is a lot like that. It's the Hawkeye we see more and more toward the end of the series, the one who's fragile and emotionally damaged, and the Winchester voice is spot on. Hawkeye stands in the gloom at the door of the Swamp, peering in. There isn’t that much different in him, Charles thinks, at least not when you look at him head-on. It’s when he doesn’t realize that he’s under scrutiny—there, as he throws a glance back over his shoulder, obliquely—that you see a faint flash. The white of the eyes, the twitch of the lips. It’s when he turns away that you see how he’s going away, and away, and away.

The Third Incurable Affliction by likethesun Hawkeye/BJ PG-13ish This is told from BJ's POV and mainly concerns his first experience in the OR.

Every Reason by garnettrees Hawkeye/BJ PG-13ish I think this is really lovely. Very sad. Very wistful. There's two narratives going on at once; a future perspective woven in with the events of the past that's done very well and makes for a very heart hurty piece.

SPN

there's gotta be a punchline in here somewhere by lyra_wing Sam/Dean Adult I really like fics where the boys switch bodies and that switch leads to really, really hot sex.

Battering Ram by astolat Sam/Dean Adult This fic is based on the concept of the Costner movie The Postman. It's Sam and Dean in a post-apocalyptic world and it's absolutely beautiful. I *believe* this fic; it feels very much like something that could happen.

Sinking like the Setting Sun by tigriswolf Dean-centric, variety of pairings including Wincest, Adult This is written in list format, which I love, and is an excellent character study. Little slices of the things that make Dean Dean.

Problem, Plan, Solution by albydarned J2 Adult This makes me laugh. Oh it makes me laugh. The Jared voice here is stellar--just shy of cracky and loads of fun. Then there's also the OMG!smokinghot Impala sex scene. *fans face*