Penfold_X's Fandom Journal

The second season of Sherlock has rekindled my passion for the fic. I've found a few favorites among the many that have been posted, including a shocking number from the meme: ( Spoilers Ahoy )

I'm still making my way through all the Cabin Pressure fic fandom sees fit to make available. Here are a few of the ones that worked best for me.

Home Is Where the Horizon Is by Anonymous: "He could feel his face turning red, the tips of his ears burning brightly. He felt suddenly light-headed and nauseous. It was a familiar feeling, since he started school and the bullies had given him his first taste of mortification. He had forgotten how it tasted metallic and sour. He mumbled, 'I don’t have the money.'" When Martin's van work dries up, he's kicked out of his apartment and forced to rough it on Gerti. Of course, he can't keep it from his co-workers for long. Classic h/c plot, perfectly executed.

Boggle by Firelight by Anonymous: MJN gathers to celebrate Arthur's 30th birthday, and get snowed in together. Sweet and adorable.

If Wishes Were Horses by Errentcomment: Just after the events of 'St. Petersburg', Martin is having difficulty dealing with the degree of danger they faced during the bird strike. Sweet, thoughtful Martin/Douglas friendship story.

All in All by Anonymous: In a world where everyone has wings, Martin's don't work. Premise should be cracky, but the story is quite serious and moving.

Given More for Less by LadyT220: After his van breaks down, Martin is desperate to find the money to repair it without quitting MJN, and forces himself to try prostitution. Douglas ends the career of the world's least likely rent boy and discovers its possible for him to act without ulterior motives. Warning for descriptions of prostitution and violence, of course.

And a Good Day Was Had By... Martin by Cleo_2010: Martin has one good day. Wonderfully sweet!

A Captain's Worth by thricetroubles: One joke too many, and Martin's had enough--he's quitting MJN. A bit overwrought in places and folds up a bit too fast but if, like me, you have a need for fic where Everyone Is Nice To Martin, this will satisfy.

It's snowing here in the capital region, which is doing nothing to put me in the Halloween spirit. As with most things, I think a little fanfic is the cure! Here are a few of my favorite stories from the spooky side of Sherlock.

Elements of the Supernatural

Vanilla by Imrebelow: "He tries explaining to Auntie Iris that he's not sad because Grand-mère isn't really gone, and she hugs and coos over him in response. Uncle Erasmus asks Daddy if he's sure Sherlock understands what death is." Subtle, gentle story; very well written.

However Improbable by Brate: "Honestly, John didn't see what the big deal was—people fall down stairs all the time. It was odd that all three died within two months, but each of the victims had been alone in the house at the time of their demise. Still Sherlock was convinced there had been foul play..." A clever take on Sherlock's logical nature, with a delightful h/c bonus.

Five Ghost Stories by Morgan Stuart: "The sky seems to moan; the thunder sounds suspiciously like a still-remembered voice: 'Martha.' For several moments she curls into herself, foetal and forlorn, her wild heartbeats indistinguishable from the reverberating echoes of thunder." Moody and atmospheric, but also a sophisticated character study.

A City on the Head of a Pin by Mad Maudlin: "He knew better than to tell anybody; he already had a history of PTSD and conversion disorder on his file, and no desire to add hallucinations to the list. Besides, aside from being bloody distracting they weren't hurting anything--they were just there, and occasionally they moved or twitched, but once he got over the novelty of it he could pretty much ignore them." Quiet, touching story.

John's Midnight Garden by Anonymous: "For as long as John can remember he has dreamt of the garden. It isn’t a place that he’s ever been to in real life, but when he closes his eyes and drifts off he sometimes finds himself there." Can't say much without spoiling it, but a wistful story that could be sad, if not for the ending. Clever concept executed with style.

Texting the Runes by Snycock: "Despite his resolve not to feed Sherlock’s ego any more than was absolutely necessary, John couldn’t resist flashing a look of admiration at his friend. But there was something about Sherlock’s analysis that was bothering him. 'I’m not an expert on animal attacks,' he said, rising to his feet, 'but… to make wounds of that size, Sherlock, wouldn’t the animal have to be…' 'Eight to nine feet tall,' Sherlock agreed." A superatural-oriented casefic with plenty of action.

Horror

Untitled Mycroft Kidnap/Torture by Whorecoture: "This cell is not made for thinking." A promptmeme fill; the prompt called for "visceral torture" and Whorecoture delivered. It's close to the line of what is too much for me, but the long-ish rescue and comfort section made up for it. Especially because she manages to keep Sherlock in character while still genuinely comforting. Still, NC-17 for violence.

Enclosed, Imagined, and Recorded by Morgan Stuart: A series of short but powerful horror vignettes. Starts with Sherlock receiving an envelope with enclosures and a demand. Incredibly tense and well written, but no comforty ending, so reader beware.

Today's theme at sherlockbb's Sunday Recday is travel. My contribution:

Unthinkable by lindentreeisle: Sherlock and John solve a case in Japan. Long, thoughtful, satisfying. PG-13, gen, but note the warnings.

A Week in the Country by chainsaw_poet: Sherlock is exhausted from work. Mycroft persuades John to take Sherlock into the country for a break. Naturally, Sherlock can't leave his business at home. Great h/c! Not rated, but I'd say PG, at least. Gen.

Apotheosis by mad_maudlin: John is given the chance to take the fight to Moriarty. A reverse Empty House scenario. Lots of action, interesting character development. Hard R, author says S/J, but I read it as gen.

I fell face-first back into work after MediaWest, so I haven't read much fic recently. Fortunately, brate7 showered me with podfic. I've been listening while running errands, and have some new favorites:

All the King's Horses by RobinC. Podfic'd here "A star empire is menaced by deadly creatures from the time of Rassilon. Will one lone Time Lord and a human companion be enough to defeat them?" A delightfully long Tenth Doctor story. Taking place shortly after Planet of the Ood, Robin takes advantage of the events of that episode to give Ten a little Year-That-Never-Was/Time War PTSD. With the Ten/Donna friendship firmly established, Donna is in place to give some well-needed and wonderfully in-character comfort. Extra kudos for the intricate, plot-supporting world-building, including two nicely done OCs.

How the Winds Are Laughing by Kathryn Andersen. Podfic'd here. Journey's End fix-it. "Lance is dead, H. C. Clemens is dead, her place of work is closed down. Is this some kind of joke? If it is, it's not funny, and Donna is going to find the person responsible and give them a piece of her mind." Another great, in-character Donna. Would the Donna Noble we grew to know and love take having her memory wiped lying down? Hardly. Kathryn's Donna puts the pieces together on her missing time, and with a little help, fights her way back. In light of The End of Time/S5, now AU.

Still existing almost entirely on a diet of fresh air and Sherlock, but brate7 managed to sneak in a rec for a delightful Doctor Who fic, Mad Nursing Skills by Sahiya. It's a very sweet, gentle hurt/comfort fic, appropriately leavened with humor and completely in character. Sahiya has all of the voices down, but she's especially good at allowing Rory to shine, in his understated way, and remind me of why he was my favorite part of S5:

"No," the Doctor said with a sigh. "Look, Rory, I appreciate the concern, but all I really want is to be left alone in a dark room for six hours."
Rory looked at him. Then he sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Walk to the loo and back."
The Doctor opened his eyes. "What?"
Rory shrugged. "If you can walk to the loo and back in a reasonable amount of time without falling over, I'll leave you alone. Otherwise you're stuck with me. You're ill. I'm a nurse. I'm constitutionally incapable of leaving you on your own like this."
The Doctor groaned and sat up. Or tried to. He got about halfway there and stopped, bracing himself with his arms and breathing deeply. "I hate you."
Rory stood up to give him some room. "You're not the first to say that."

Took a break from rewatching S3 of Angel because I'm not sure I want to revisit Wesley's slow, two and a half year descent into self-hatred, addiction, and suicide for no particular reason, and rewatched Buffy S7. I enjoyed this season a great deal when it first aired (though, coming off of S6, almost anything would seem brilliant and uplifting), and I think it holds up well.

Season seven still suffers from too much emphasis on potentials that seem to come and go with scarcely enough time or reason to learn their names (same deal with Dawn's high school friends), while the characters we've invested in are given less screen time and development. However, the main trio are on their way to completing a cycle of growth--learning from mistakes, finding their place in the world, taking their destiny into their own hands--and the season leaves them better than where they started, on a trajectory to a more fulfilling life. I'm especially pleased that Xander was given a stable, supportive role for Buffy, that highlighted his new maturity. His steadiness, despite his injury, is a wonderful summing up of the support he's given to Buffy through the past seven years ("And if you die, I'll just bring you back. It's what I do."). There are a number of well thought out call backs to the previous seasons, with Buffy returning to the high school (bringing perspective and experience), old villains and dead friends (well, at least, their shells) coming back to exploit the our characters' psychic wounds, and the return of key supporting characters--Faith, Giles, and Angel--to resolve outstanding plot threads.

While 'The Gift' was a more artistically satisfying end to the series, 'Chosen' is a solid second best. 'The Gift' was more emotionally powerful, but 'Chosen''s resolution is a great capstone on Whedon's theme of female empowerment (even if it isn't quite logical, plot-wise, depends on the seeming last minute insertion of the scythe, and what's all this babble about choosing when Buffy has Willow non-consensually insert the demon-tinged slayer power into all those girls? Um, 'splainy, please). That last turning shot of Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles in the school hallway, in which Giles echoes his comment from the conclusion of 'The Harvest', perfectly captures the mood of the series and is a lovely shout-out to its long-time fans.

[Poll #1495492]

I've been reading a lot of Buffy fic recently, and happened to read a few post-'Chosen' stories worth your time:

Now Leaving Sunnydale and Now Entering Elsewhere by Annakovsky are wonderfully friendship-focused tags for 'Chosen' that deal with the immediate emotional aftermath.

And Away We Go by Thistlerose is a brief, comics-compliant trip through Giles' head as the group prepares to set out on their individual missions. Good characterization.

Seeing Africa by Huzzlewhat and The American Stranger by NWHepcat are thoughtful accounts of Xander's journeys in Africa.

My friend b7kerravon made the mistake of asking "If I was marooned on a desert island, what ten fanfics would I want with me?" Of course, being the geeks we are, if we knew we were going to be marooned on a desert isle, we'd have a laptop and a external drive packed with fic with handy solar power converters. Even if I'm only flying to Cleveland, I make sure to have more than ten fics with me because the last thing I want is to be trapped on a mystical, time-traveling island with nothing but Watership Down to read.

But just contemplating being limited to ten stories, even favorites, is enough to bring on fangirl angst. Some of my favorite fandoms, such as Supernatural and Stargate SG-1 are so rich in well-plotted, beautifully written gen H/C stories it is difficult for me to compose even a 'favorite ten authors' list without leaving out a lot of extremely worthy stories. Yet, if I did have to choose, I think I would want: longer stories, to prolong the joy; stories across the fandoms I enjoy, to give me a multitude of mental starting off places (isn't the epilogue or missing scene you write in your head a part of what you love about a favorite story?); and stories that epitomize my favorite aspects of the characters' relationship. With those characteristics in mind, I have selected a favorite from each of my fandoms:

I. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Observare by Jeanne DeVore
BTVS fandom was dominated by ship and slash parings, but there were some gems of friendship-focused stories among them. Observare, originally published as a print zine lovingly illustrated by Linda Fairbanks, is a wonderful example of the Buffy/Giles mentoring genre. Giles receives word that the father from whom he is somewhat estranged is dying, and asks Buffy to accompany him to England. It's the perfect set-up for Buffy to learn more about who her Watcher is, to explore the Watcher/Slayer relationship, and for Giles to open up to his charge.

I lost most of my BTVS fics in a harddrive crash a few years ago, and many of the sites that I used to enjoy have decayed or disappeared, but a few stories are still available. I really enjoyed Gail Christison's episode tags; fortunately her Once More With Feeling site is still up and running. I also adore, adore, adore ELG's Wesley de-aging story, Childish Things, which is everything I've ever loved about that genre of fic.

II. Doctor Who: Susurration by Patrice
I'm new to OldSchool!Who fic, so I count myself fortunate to have found Patrice, who has written eleven full-length novels, most set in the Fifth Doctor era. Truly, I recommend all of her novels; her work is consistently excellent and she has a wonderful command of Five's companions, who can be irritating (Adric/Tegan), boring (Nyssa) or unsympathetic (Turlough) in the wrong hands. Her plots generally feature some element of H/C, and her Five is a gentle if imperfect mentor as well as loyal and caring friend. In Susurration, Five brings Tegan and Turlough to a planet with a location renowned for its healing powers, in an attempt to comfort his companions after Nyssa's decision to stay behind at the end of Terminus. Unfortunately, they stumble into a bloody civil war that threatens Turlough's life and Tegan's sanity.

Unfortunately, I haven't found very many longer gen OldSchool!Who stories, but another I would strongly recommend is Lost Luggage and Lost Souls by Nemo the Everbeing. Seven and Ace are an odd pair, especially if all you've seen is the outside; it's not immediately obvious why a slightly bumbly-looking middle-aged Scotsman might be traveling with a streetwise teenage English girl. Lost Luggage and Lost Souls is a beautifully rendered outsider perspective on Seven and Ace's relationship, chock full of my favorite things: witty banter, mortal peril, compelling original characters, and happy endings.

III. Harry Potter: Resonance by Greengecko
Snape/Harry mentorship stories are my drug of choice in Harry Potter. My favorite of these is Resonance by Greengecko, in which the author builds a believable set of circumstances in which Snape and Harry would begin to overcome their enmity and eventually heal each others' figurative (and literal) scars. Resonance has many classic H/C moments, wherein the author provides fully satisfying peril and recovery while maintaining the characters' distinct, often difficult personalities. She's also adept at world-building, going beyond Rowling's original setting to provide us with a fascinating set of spells and magical laws, the exploration of which bring us insight into the characters.

Of course, if I could sneak them onto the island, I'd have the other classics of this genre, A Year Like None Other by Aspen in the Sunlight and Blood Magic by GatewayGirl^*.

IV. Lord of the Rings: Fate and the High King's Falcon, by Baylor
Set immediately after the final battle in Return of the King, Fate is the story of Pippin's recovery from near fatal troll-squashing. Baylor has a talent for capturing the voice and manners of Tolkien's characters, and her comfort is among the gentlest and sweetest I've ever read. For me, her take on the hobbits is definitive, and if I had room, I'd be chucking in I Always Know You (pre-LOTR, Merry caring for a frequently ill Pippin) and The Care and Feeding of Hobbits ("Ruminations on the Little People by Boromir, Man of Gondor").

V. Real Ghostbusters: Highway to Hell, by Kitty Woldow
The story that sets the standard for smarm in RGB fandom, from the woman who invented the term. The noble sacrifice of a friend for the lives of his companions is a well-worn path in traditional media and fanworks, but I haven’t read any story that so unflinchingly examines the way such a sacrifice can shatter its survivors. Of course, our fallen teammate is only mostly dead, and after several clever plot developments and acts of heroism, is reunited with his fellows, but not before a lot of teamwork, daring-do and bonding.

RGB is a small fandom but punches well above its weight in fan fiction, especially if you love H/C, smarm or friendship-focused fic. It is difficult to pick a favorite out of all of the quality stories published over the past twenty years; there are plenty of stories I would love to sneak into my desert island collection, including just about anything written by Brenda (start with Christmas at Columbia). Sheila Paulson has an unbelievably enormous back catalogue of RGB fic with a heavy friendship focus. Her novel Paths of the Dead is my favorite but doesn’t appear to be online (or was lost in the move when AOL shutdown Hometown), but The Night Between the Stars and Buster and the Beast are close seconds.

It is difficult to even select among authors in RGB; the entire fandom is a smorgasbord for friendship-focused fans. Just click over to Sheila’s site and have a blast. Don’t be put off by the fact that the source material is a cartoon; the episodes made for syndication were much more mature and sophisticated than what passes for kids’ shows these days, due in part to its story editor, a young J. Michael Straczynski.

VI. Stargate SG-1: Fate's Reflection, by Yum@
Epic. Stunning. Brilliant. Yum@ uses SG-1’s mirror device to produce a deeply engaging post-apocalyptic vision of the Stargate universe. The best part of this device is that we get to see the ‘mirror’ characters contrasted with their ‘real’ counterparts, a wonderful method of illuminating aspects of those characters, as well as forcing them to face intriguing or painful might-have-beens. Yum@ kills on every metric: an intricate, intriguing plot with fascinating and unpredictable development, a keen grasp on the motivation of her characters, and an incredible depth of emotion, artfully expressed. I couldn’t put it down which, at over 350 pages of very small font, posed a problem for little things like eating, sleeping and keeping my job.

I am fortunate that SG-1 was my introduction to fan fiction; there was so much quality H/C fic and the fandom was populated with especially generous and welcoming folks willing to take a newbie under their wings. My best memories of fandom are from Stargate, so it’s particularly difficult to choose among these stories. I would certainly want to take along as many as I could fit in my grass hut. All of ELG’s novels are excellent; The Quality of Mercy was the first ‘net story I enjoyed so much I had a copy formatted and bound. Scribe’s True Foundations and Jmas’s Walls are also well executed stories that have a particular resonance for me.

VII. Supernatural: Strangers and Angels by Reading
Wet, tired, caked in mud, and still reeling from the events of Faith, Sam and Dean pull into the only roadside motel in the middle of nowhere and find an unexpected respite from a world intent on wearing them down. Not a hurt/comfort story so much as a comfort story, this fic is a sweet cup of hot cocoa enjoyed under a warm fleece in front of a crackling fire. Reading has created a set of realistic, three-dimensional original characters that compliment and illuminate our boys. I would use some creative accounting to include the entire Strangers and Angels AU, which continues in several sequels, in my ten desert island fics.

Supernatural has given friendship fic fans a golden age I haven’t seen the like of since the hayday of Stargate, so it’s extraordinarily difficult to choose among my favorite stories. Gekizetsu’s Month of Open Doors series is one of the first things I read in this fandom; she keeps the tension at a fever pitch and makes perfect use of the ‘supernatural’ elements of this universe to peel back the boys well-constructed defenses. Payment Plan by Minkmix is my favorite third party POV story; her narrator’s callous practicality is more chilling than a thousand moustache-twirling villains. Dodger Winslow consistently blows my mind with her use of perspective, rich characterization, and unique style. All of her Wee!chester is amazing, but I come back to The Constancy of Pain again and again. There’s really too much to choose from—early in the fandom I bound one anthology of favorite stories but there are so many excellent fics I’m switching to full ‘complete works of’ collections.

^* Warning: unlike my other recs, this story contains some mild ship and slash; I'm not sure why, but this author was set on making every character in HP bisexual. Still, the romantic pairings are not the main thrust of the story, so I would still consider this gen, and I don't recall sexual content to be explicit.

(Posted to bigfinishlove this morning, but I think my flist is a completely different audience:)

Doctor Who was one of my childhood fandoms (crate full of old novels--check; loooong homemade multi-colored scarf--check; Tardis USB hub--check; unreasonable fear of saltshakers and plungers--check). I've recently gotten back into watching/reading classic stories, and just discovered the Big Finish audios. What a treat to have new stories, read by the original actors! With an enormous back catalogue to choose from!

The drawback is not knowing where to start (and having a limited budget). I would value your recommendations. My preferences from the series/novels are Seven/Ace (I didn't hate Mel, but didn't particularly love her either) and Five (no particular favorite companion from this era; they all have their pluses and minuses). I watched and enjoyed the Eight movie, but haven't read any of the books. I found it hard to enjoy Six's personality as much as the others (the usual complaints, although I enjoyed the wind-up for Trial of a Time Lord).

Thus far I've enjoyed The Genocide Machine, Colditz, The Harvest, and Night Thoughts (I found Dreamtime dull). I'm really enjoying Hex!

For Five, I've enjoyed The Eye of the Scorpion, The Church and the Crown, The Axis of Insanity, The Roof of the World, and The Kingmaker. It only took one Erimem episode for me to decide I loved her (and download four more stories)! The writers are toning down Peri's whining, and having someone to take care of seems to bring out the best in her.

I've also listened to The Sirens of Time, Omega, and the first of the Eight/Charley stories. I enjoyed Storm Warning, but it felt like the writers were really trying to hammer home Charley's Spunky!-ness, to the detriment of the character. Does it get better? Should I try a different companion?

Any particular recommendations for Seven or Five stories? I'm unexpectedly enjoying Peri; should I a chance on Six, and if so, which ones? It would especially help to know why you love a particular story/series/companion.

One of my favorite authors, K. Hanna Korossy, just finished her 100th Supernatural story! What does it say about a show when someone's muse is turned on that hard and that quickly? I'm constantly amazed by the energy of this fandom.

Only about 60 of K. Hanna's Supernatural stories are available on her website; some are reserved for zines, others are in editing, and still others just haven't been posted yet. However, she did put up three of my very most favorite of her stories: Worthy, Wealthy, and Wanted. They are a series of stories that follow on the events of Faith and explore the issues generated the wake of those events. K. Hanna has an amazing talent for building in lovely moments of friendship and character exploration. If you're searching for some quality gen h/c, give them a try.