Thirty Days of Fic: Day 1

[sumeria]

So, a thing people don't know about me is that I really like memes. The reason no one could possibly know this is that I have a degree of lazy that overpowers well nigh all else, and so I never actually do any of those I mean to. But I always mean to start posting more regularly to my lj, and it always strikes me as an excellent way to get into the habit.

I also really like fanfic. Like, a lot. I consume... well, a really kind of frightening amount of it. (I don't write any, alas.) And I always mean to start reccing some, because really, what's the point of reading something you absolutely love and not sharing it with anyone?

Clever observers will notice that I never get 'round to posting any recs either.

So! Then I thought, "I will find a fic rec meme! It will fulfill both my desires!" only, it turned out, I could not find any. So I cried out to psiten (who has to listen to a lot of my strange complaints) "The internet has betrayed me! Its job is to contain All the Things but it does not contain the Thing that I want!"

And she spake unto me and said, "Dude. I'll make you one if it will stop the complaining." And she did.

Without further ado,



Ah... hrm. Right away, a Challenge. First fanish thing of which I was a fan, first thing I was a fan of when I was aware of the existance of "fandom", first thing I read fanfic for...?

My choices here would appear to be Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, or um, Sailormoon Don't judge; I was eleven. Of those... I don't read LotR fic, really, and though I did consume more Sailormoon fic than I am entirely comfortable admitting to, it was three computers ago on fic archives that, on cursory search, do not any longer exist. Conclusion: Star Trek.

Of course, the fact that I do read Trek fic is a pretty damn recent development*; I never really shipped anyone in Trek until oh, say, 2009. And though I will be the first to admit that there is plenty of excellent fic out there that is not shippy, it is also true that I don't generally bother to seek out fic for fandoms in which I ship no one. I'm shallow, I know.

But what can I say? Kirk and Spock never really slashed me that slash vibe in ToS, which yes, I am aware of the irony given orgins of term 'slash', etc. Until recent movie. Apparently, I think New!Spock's "kill a bitch" face and his "throw a bitch over a terminal and Have His Way With Him" face are very similar.

So have a twofer:

You'll Get There in the End (It Just Takes A While) by seperis and its sequel, War Games.

Oh my, I have no words for how awesome this duology is. The author plays with the timeline in both, running an interweaving past/present narrative in parallel, but it works just brilliantly in my own totally without bias opinion. In the first, mental contamination from the mind meld with Old!Spock causes Kirk to spontaneously enter Pon Farr (oops), which was kind of startling for all involved, and Dr. McCoy has a legitimate beef in re: having done nothing to deserve All This. Also they have to try not to go to war with the Romulans, which is not always easy because the Romulans aren't really all about Trying to Avoid War.

In the second, that whole Let's Not Go To War Today plot takes center stage, with Vulcans Really Can Be Dicks Sometimes taking up the mantle of of B plot, but this story is also noteworthy for, of all things, it's original characters. Like most people, I regard original characters in my fanfic with a certain degree** of dubiousness. A necessary evil, at best, I would usually say. The "usually" exists because of fic like this one, because, dear god, I would read fic solely about T'Prina if I were offered the option.

But yes, you should read both of these fics, for they are genius. The character voices are spot-on, the plotting is tight and does not take a background role to the shipping, the relationships all feel "real", and well-earned, and if I am not mistaken, this fic is also the reason I found it necessary to create a "badassery" tag in my delicious bookmarks. Every character in here rocks the awesome so damn hard.

*Discounting novels, of which, ye gods, I think I read damn near all.
**specifically, "fucktons"

Coming Soon:

    02) Something from your current favorite fandom
    03) Your all-time favorite fic
    04) A good romance
    05) A "bad romance"
    06) Something from your favorite author
    07) An Epic
    08) Something under 1000 words that you've never forgotten
    09) A fic for feeling better
    10) A PWP
    11) A good angst fic
    12) A fic for your kink
    13) A well-done blanket scenario
    14) An amnesia fic
    15) The fic with your favorite narrative quote
    16) The fic with your favorite dialogue quote
    17) A fic you strongly associate with a song or a soundtrack (may be a song fic)
    18) A time-travel fic
    19) An alternate timeline fic
    20) An alternate universe fic
    21) A well-done fusion fic
    22) Something for your favorite pairing
    23) Something for your favorite character
    24) Something for your OT3 (or higher)
    25) Favorite example of gen fic
    26) Something with character death
    27) Favorite example of slashiness
    28) Favorite example of het fic
    29) Something with genderswap
    30) Something that couldn't be more perfect

Comments

[psiten]

Glad I could be of service. And it was fun to read! I love reading about things you've read...

Yes, you already knew I was crazy.

[sumeria.livejournal.com]

Despite the fact that I never shut up about them, and so you spend a significant portion of every day *already* hearing about What I've Been Reading Lately?

[psiten]

I'm not sure I see your point.

[sumeria.livejournal.com]

I suppose I shall just be grateful that I have friends willing to sit through the hundred and thirty first iteration of Why Kurapika and Kuroro Would Make A Great Couple, Even If One Of Them Did Slaughter The Other's Entire Race.

[psiten]

You do realize I agree with you on that one. And it's not as if I express no repeated vexations to you over how certain characters need to get their heads screwed on straight. Not to mention the fact that you constantly sit through me narrating what I want to write into fics, and then are willing to beta it when the words actually go down on virtual paper.

[sumeria.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, but you must admit it is fundamentally an unreasonable proposition.

And possibly I regard the other as just repayment for things like that time I nattered at you about Itachi and Sakura until Certain Things happened in Certain Fics?

[psiten]

Fair enough.

And ... I assume you mean Certain Things that will happen in Certain Fics? I'm dead certain I haven't actually written that yet.

[sumeria.livejournal.com]

Once Certain Things are established in timeline, I regard them as "done" under the assumption that they are established in canon, even if no one but you, me, and the poor people who have to listen to us plot know it.

[psiten]

Toenail painting, here we come.

Or possibly reasons why AU Itachi needs a stiff drink?

[sumeria.livejournal.com]

Dude, canon Itachi needs a stiff drink.

[psiten]

Is he invited to the giant booze-up with the LotR elves?

[sumeria.livejournal.com]

Not really-- he is human, and they're shown out the back.

[putsoneinmind.livejournal.com]

What is funny is when I was looking through my bookmarks trying to plot out what I will post, I thought about using these for day 27, but since I haven't actually read them yet, I decided I wasn't allowed to.

[sumeria.livejournal.com]

Well, you do have 26 days in which to fix that tragic flaw in your otherwise stellar character?