Diary of a Suburban Squeen

Some recs, because I like sharing awesomeness. Maybe at some point I will tell you about my hols and what I've been up to, but that day is not today.




Toboganing Anebody [Chalet School, Gen] by RroseSelavy
I gather there was some challenge about writing Mary-Lou's accident in the style of another writer. This is perfect.
"Funker!" Emmy repli, and set off wizz down the mountain just as Mary-Lou come dashing up the slope like the skool dog after Grabber hav given it a kick.

another time (round the wheel) [Chalet School/Doctor Who, Gen] by Nightwing
What is better in this world than some timey-wimey fic? Nothing, that's what. Non-linear, confusing at first, clever, and awesome. (It's only barely a DW crossover; that part doesn't really matter.)
Someone screamed – it sounded like Con – and a babble of voices, harsh and high-pitched reached her ears. Joey quickened her pace, her heart beating rapidly from both the exertion and the frightening thoughts that were filling her head. She reached Con’s bedroom door just in time to see – “But that’s impossible,” she gasped, “there can’t be – ”

The First Year [Chalet School, Len/Reg] by Nightwing
This is adorable university!Len and Reg, with sweetness and misunderstandings (with bonus Con being ace). I have to admit a softness for Len and Reg, and this makes Reg a very sympathetic character. (If you like this sort of thing, you could also try *cough*pimp*cough* my Cherry Ripe, which is thematically not dissimilar, though inferior.)
And what did Hamilton know, Reg thought furiously as he entered his own room. He had never been in love. At least, he amended, not the same way that Reg was. Hamilton was sighing after a new girl every week, but Len was the only girl there had ever been for him. He glanced over at the stack of notepaper he'd bought, just especially for writing to Len. Maybe he should tell her so? She had only just left, it was true, but it would be a while before the letter arrived for her anyway...

Mad Medusa [Chalet School, Gen] by chattie
This is a war story, about two anonymous Chalet girls in the Resistance. A bit harrowing, actually. Beautifully done.
Only God knew what had really happened and perhaps it was better that Béatrice remained a ‘lost’ Old Girl, known to God and commemorated by this window marking her call to Higher Service.

William Brown is a fan of Theremins [Just William, Gen] by AdaptionDecay
William Brown, the eternal eleven year old, is on Facebook. As are the Outlaws. And Violet Elizabeth.
Violet Elizabeth Bott added The Outlaw's Secret Hideout to the Places I've Been application.

The Conscience of a Queen [LPW, Gen] by Ione
Harriet has to solve a mystery. Lovely Yuletide fic, with bonus Mr Ingleby and Miss Meteyard.
Before Harriet could politely demur Miss Climpson whisked herself out of her own office, her manner brisk and efficient. Harriet's protest would have been mere politeness; though she did regret interrupting Miss Climpson's obviously busy day, she also knew that Miss Climpson was never happier than when she was being of use--particularly when she could do so in a covert manner.

teach us not to be too loud [Wild Child, Poppy/Kate] by summerstorm
Written for the lovely Awesome Ladies Ficathon. I love this film and these characters.
"It'll work out for us," Poppy says, and Kate has to frown at her before Poppy realizes using the word 'us' is kind of weird when you just kissed someone out of the blue for the first time.

The Starkadder Switchback [Cold Comfort Farm, Gen]
Cold Comfort Farm meets noir detective LA. Flora has to rescue Seth from an accusation of murder. This is perfect.
The detective slammed his glass down on the desk, so the liquid licked up the sides like a drunk licks out his first hit of the day. "Lady, I don't care if you got the studios on your side. I don't care if you've got the cops. Hell, I don't care if you got the goddamn Pope - I've been out of the confessional too many years to bother about him. Your cousin killed a small-town kid with big dreams and bigger problems, and I'm going to see him fry for it."

Flora frowned. "You didn't kill anyone, did you?" she asked Seth. It was best to be certain in such matters.

Starkadder's eyes were smouldering. He looked at his cousin with a face like a bull in a bush fire. "Happen I might," he growled.

"'Happen' nothing, Seth," said Flora sharply. "This is a very serious matter, and it's no time for melodrama. Did you kill her?"

Seth glowered at her, then decided there was more mileage in glowering at the rug instead. "No," he said, sulkily.

And I have recced these before, but they're appropriate to these fictional works, and I like them, so hey.

Green Ice [LPW/Jeeves & Wooster, Gen] by adina_atl
One of the most intriguing crossovers I've ever read, this tells the story of Lord Peter Wimsey's first ever case (the Attenbury emeralds), which happens to require a visit to Market Snodsbury. Brilliantly written, and the most fascinating characterisation ever of Bertie Wooster. I recommend this unreservedly.
The second bird was not overly tall, with hair the colour of corn silk, arrayed in the outer crust of a gentleman in a style Jeeves could not but approve. It was the monocle screwed into his left eye that fired the old brain cells, however. "Flim! Flim Wimsey! I say, it's been a few years, what?"

The Subway [Narnia, Gen] by DJ Caligula
A story about Susan, post series. It's odd and a little freaky and very, very satisfying.
Susan gaped - and although her skin crawled in horror - her mind did indeed flicker back on the games that she and her siblings used to play, a long time ago. Games with kings, and queens, and centaurs and mermaids and fauns and cruel Eastern princes. God-like lions and villainous giants; unspeakably ancient cities, harsh deserts, icy northern peaks. Susan used to make maps, because she was clever at things like that, and with colored pencils and paper, she was able to create whole worlds, where forests were marked carefully with green, oceans had beasties springing out the depths, and southern cities had minarets and gates straight out of National Geographic. It had been jolly good fun, for a while, and it had helped pass the time, after they had been relocated to the countryside while London was being bombed by the Nazis.

OMG, everyone needs to watch the film Wild Child. It is adorable. Boarding schools FTW.

What's up, peeps? Hope everyone's had a good weekend (even ungratefulwench, labouring away *g*) - I didn't get as much done today as I hoped, but I haven't been too unproductive, so yay. Am just sitting down after a second foray to Sainsbury's and watching Kingdom (oh, Sir Stephen...), and thought I would do my rec post, as promised.

(Incidentally, I did some more WFG on Wikiquote, and discovered half yesterday's work gone, because there's a two-quote limit for half-hour episodes - pah, I say!)

Anyway. Yes. Recs.

One Life to Ascend To [SGA, Gen -> Slash] by rageprufrock
I'm sure most people who would be interested in this have read it already, but it's a hilarious look at the Ancients being mentalists and awesome Atlantis dailylife!fic. I could happily recommend any of rageprufrock's SGA fics. (There are sequels to this one - listed on her stories page - also beautifully funny.)
By late afternoon, there's an unofficial channel guide posted to the Atlantis BBS, and anybody with an ATA gene is stalked and harassed until they find another Ancient television to turn on--most of the programs are incomprehensible enough that the only true couch potatoes are the anthropologists. But the universality of bad soap operas makes One Life to Ascend To an instant hit, and at midnight, when John checks his email for the last time before crashing out, he finds that somebody's sent out a request for an episode summary. John rolls his eyes and goes to bed.

Lust Over Pendle [Harry Potter, Draco/Neville] by AJ Hall
This is probably one of the oldest recs I could make - I've loved this story for years. After the War, Draco tries to keep Malfoy Manor and his relationship going once he and Neville are outed in the Daily Prophet. Golden age detective novel-esque, beautifully written, hilarious, and, best of all, well be-sequeled.
"Well, I suppose I could try to get a job. Can't say what I'm actually qualified for, though. I mean, all the guidance I can ever remember on the subject assumed 'Heir Apparent to the Dark Lord's Number Two' was my only viable career option, really. Perhaps I should set up as a consultant, pointing out the great glaring clangers in would-be Evil Overlords' cunning plans. Soul destroying work, but someone's got to do it."

Skuka, Holod i Granit [Babylon 5, Ivanova/Marcus(ish)] by not jenny
My favourite ever B5 fic - the style perfectly complements Ivanova's character and the language is the perfect reflection of her attitude to life. Amazing writing.
Later, sitting together in her quarters, they do not speak. She is drinking vodka, straight and cold and deadly. He is watching her and sticks to water. When his arm slips around her, she doesn't think to shrug it off; she is not drunk, not yet, so it is not the alcohol dictating her behaviour. They do not talk; it has been a long year, and there is no end in sight.
She is thinking about Tolstoy. About the Psi-Corps. About anything but the feel of him, next to her.
("This will all end badly," she reminds herself, "everything does. 'And again hope and despair, alternately chafing the old sores, lacerated the wounds of her tortured and violently fluttering heart.' Oh, yes, this will all end very badly.")

Ten Nonlinear Moves [NCIS, Gen] by sequiturfic
I know I did an immediate excitement-fuelled rec of this when I read it, and I also recced it on crack_van, but hey, I'm sure there are still a few people who haven't read it... In the hiatus when Gibbs is off building hot tubs, Tony has to take charge of the team. Beautifully written and structured, and very well characterised, whilst being vee funny, as the only the best NCIS team fic can be.
The motto is not always WWGD. WWGD is brought out at half-time when the center just sprained his ankle and the other team has that one guy who has to be at least seven feet tall. Most of the time, Tony gets by on various second-string techniques.

Green Ice [LPW/Jeeves & Wooster, Gen] by adina_atl
One of the most intriguing crossovers I've ever read, this tells the story of Lord Peter Wimsey's first ever case (the Attenbury emeralds), which happens to require a visit to Market Snodsbury. Brilliantly written, and the most fascinating characterisation ever of Bertie Wooster. I recommend this unreservedly.
The second bird was not overly tall, with hair the colour of corn silk, arrayed in the outer crust of a gentleman in a style Jeeves could not but approve. It was the monocle screwed into his left eye that fired the old brain cells, however. "Flim! Flim Wimsey! I say, it's been a few years, what?"

life, the universe and everything [SGA, Sheppard/McKay]
Parallel universe where John is Joanne and she and Rodney have a child... who finds her way to our universe.
Here’s the thing, the diary begins, a familiar spidery scrawl that spans several hundred pages, I never meant to get Sheppard pregnant.

The Subway [Narnia, Gen] by DJ Caligula
A story about Susan, post series. It's odd and a little freaky and very, very satisfying.
Susan gaped - and although her skin crawled in horror - her mind did indeed flicker back on the games that she and her siblings used to play, a long time ago. Games with kings, and queens, and centaurs and mermaids and fauns and cruel Eastern princes. God-like lions and villainous giants; unspeakably ancient cities, harsh deserts, icy northern peaks. Susan used to make maps, because she was clever at things like that, and with colored pencils and paper, she was able to create whole worlds, where forests were marked carefully with green, oceans had beasties springing out the depths, and southern cities had minarets and gates straight out of National Geographic. It had been jolly good fun, for a while, and it had helped pass the time, after they had been relocated to the countryside while London was being bombed by the Nazis.

Woo. Part Two of my Star Trek XI recs post. Are you excited? I'm excited.

Pressing the Point by jedibuttercup
After the events of the film, Pike has a conversation with Kirk. I really love Pike's insights into Kirk - through him, we can see how Kirk has matured (which, you may notice, is a theme I favour).
Pike clears his throat. As entertaining as this conversation is, it's not why he requested Kirk's presence, and if the young man has to stand there awhile feeling the consequences of a day's worth of picking fights with opponents stronger than himself, so much the better. Maybe it'll give him a little more perspective.

Chaotic Systems by eponymous_rose
This was the conversation I wanted in the film: McCoy and Spock Prime. Lovely.
"My friend Jim's got problems of his own," says McCoy. "They're either going to lynch him or promote him, and I'm not sure which would be the more dangerous proposition." He shrugs. "But that's Jim Kirk for you - had to go and save us all, just to prove he could. Him and that green-blooded sonuvabitch."
The Vulcan beside him chokes on his water, and McCoy's nearly ready to attempt his first-ever cross-species Heimlich by the time he catches his breath. "My apologies," he wheezes. "I believe I should pay closer attention when I drink at my age."

To Boldly Go by ninamonkey
How McCoy ended up enlisting in Starfleet.
McCoy squinted at the sun, not even sure what the hell day it was. Or what month it was. He had a few credits left to his name, but not a hell of a choice when it came to living. He could've psychoanalyzed himself; he was still in shock, maybe. Or he would be, if he didn't keep anesthetizing himself to prevent himself from feeling anything at all.

Iowa by misfit_fandoms
Kirk's stepfather is usually shown as being a cock, but here, he's still irritable and frustrated with Jim, but he cares. I really liked this.
“You can do better than this,” he finishes. Shit, the kid's sucked all the fight out of him, and he hasn't even opened his fucking mouth. After a long moment of silence, he shakes his head. “Just go to your room, okay? Go.”

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing by hjpatience
The things Kirk knows, the things he doesn't know (despite, um, knowing them) and the things he doesn't want to know. A great look at the whole lot of them.
He doesn’t know about the euphemistically named “solvent production facility” that Scotty has set up in a storage room off desk 6. He has absolutely no idea where the forty percent proof booze came from that had the usually reserved Nurse Chapel dancing with Chekov at the last impromptu it-was-a-total-disaster-but-we’re-not-dead-yet-so-let’s-celebrate-the-end-of-the-mission party. It’s just one of those things.

Candle by igrockspock
Yes, I'm all about the gen, but this is Spock/Uhura, and it's so delightful! Spock is so precise in his courtship, and yet romance is still in him.
Now he is ready for his final task: learning to cook her favorite meal. He believes this task will take 2 to 4 weeks, not very long in comparison to how to 6.2 months he has already required to identify his feelings and resolve to act on them. It is, however, potentially long enough for her resistance to Cadet Kirk to crumble. He resolves to learn to cook a bit faster.

a fucking space opera by oxoniensis
...or six characters who didn't board the USS Enterprise. Cracky crossover joy. (With bonus S.E.T.)
Winchester grins, and Jim's suddenly taken back years, racing his borrowed car off the edge of a cliff, the sheer joy of speed like he'd never felt before. It's all on Winchester's face. For all his posturing and scars, he looks like a kid. "Nah, warp 6," he says proudly. "I installed a tetryon plasma drive system last year."

But Not Jim Kirk by jedibuttercup
Again, this is looking at how Kirk has matured over the course of the film's events, by looking at his earlier relationship with Gary Mitchell. One of the reasons I like it, other than the excellent characterisation of New!Kirk, is the references to TOS-esque things. Very nicely done.
"How do I ever get myself into anything?" Jim parried, with a wan attempt at his usual smirk. "Don't go getting all jealous on me, though. I don't even know if they're going to lock me up or commend me when we get back; Pike's talking promotion, but who the hell even knows."



Also, bonus fan comic here, another bit of fan art (so cute!), and anything by turntap2 here.

The urge has come upon me to do a recs post. These will mostly be Star Trek (Reboot), because that, obviously, is my current obsession, with maybe a few random bits thrown in for good measure. OK, so I will get to the Star Trek recs later!!

So, onto the fic...

The Unified Theory of Everything [The Big Bang Theory, Penny/Sheldon] by montycrowley
I don't really have the words to explain why this is so wonderful. The characterisation is perfect, and the plot is lovely, and the style just blew me away. It's in turns funny and sort of heart-breaking. (Technically it's part one of two, but it stands alone perfectly well.)
"Has a polar bear eaten Howard yet?"
"Penny, polar bears are from the Arctic and I am in Antarctica. They are quite literally the separate poles of the world. I could not get any farther from polar bears if I tried."
"Well, what do you have there, then?"
"Penguins."
"Has a penguin eaten Howard yet?"

The Office Incident [The Big Bang Theory, Penny/Sheldon] by ruby_caspar
Just because the premise cracked me up!
“Oh no? Is that all you have to say?” Howard demanded. “Leonard, this is like a 9.5 on the Sheldon Scale - if he realises that someone’s had sex in his office he’s… it’s…”
“It’ll make the Laundry Room Incident look like a walk in the park,” finished Raj. Howard nodded emphatically.
Leonard winced. Sheldon had made him drive him to a Laundromat forty minutes away every week for three months until the Laundry Room was ‘sanitised’ properly. The Office Incident was bound to be even worse.

AU post-apocalyptic P&P roadtrip [Pride & Prejudice, Lizzie/Darcy] by ninevah_uk
Elizabeth swears she will not have Darcy if he were the last man on earth. So. About that...?
‘Mr Darcy! I cannot believe that you sought me to tell me about Maggie Grey’s sewing, or the kittens at Holme Farm. Nor that when you did so last week you were so deeply occupied with the inconsistency that Georgiana had found in one of Fordyce’s sermons as you appeared.’

Four Ghosts [Buffy, Gen] by holli
By the end of your sophomore year of high school, you're pretty sure that Sunnydale High is haunted.

The Other Man [SGA, Parrish/Lorne] by l57371
This is seriously, seriously adorable. Parrish has a thing for Lorne, but becomes a bumbling idiot whenever he's around him.
Lorne watched as Parrish finally turned his attention to his mangled sandwich and forlornly started to eat, gaze fixed on his tray. He wondered sadly if it was just that the botanist didn’t like him or if he was scared or intimidated by him. Either way, he thought, I have to find out. If it was dislike, he could transfer Parrish to another team, as much as it would hurt to do so. If it was fear or intimidation, maybe he could fix this. He grit his teeth in steely determination. He wasn’t going to give up that easily.

Starcrossed [SGA, Sheppard/McKay] by lavvyan
Rodney is a musician. John is an alien. This is lovely (and has great art).
The alien had been slumped unconscious over the controls of his ship. It had seemed human enough, looking like a regular – if unreasonably attractive – guy. Except for how it – he – had taken Rodney's patting down of his person as a marriage proposal. Marriage proposal. Rodney had only been looking for injuries as he'd carded his fingers through the alien's dark, feather-soft hair, no matter what it might have looked like! But when he'd said as much, the alien's eyes had gone all flinty and he'd pulled out what was undoubtedly a ray gun and asked in an icy tone if Rodney was planning to sully his honour, or something. Rodney had always been inclined to follow a compelling argument, and death or marriage seemed pretty compelling to him.

Dean and the Company Picnic [Supernatural, Gen] by ficwriter1966
Hee, I love this. Dean, being the blatant little family-whore that he is, makes Sam go to the company picnic of some random place he worked once for about two days. Adorable.
“I sold stuff,” Dean said proudly. “I was a Sales Associate. Had the red shirt and everything.”

A Couch at Need [Bones, Gen] by monjinator
Post Mayhem on a Cross, Sweets spending time at Booth's. So sweet - I love how eager Sweets is to be let in, and how Booth and Bones let him.
“My parents took me to an Amish family-style restaurant once,” he commented, his mind hooking back on Booth’s emphasis on family. “They had like thirty kinds of pie.” He took another sip of scotch.

Homing Pigeon [Wonderfalls, Jaye/Eric] by osprey_archer
Jaye burns down her trailer. This is my favourite perfect Wonderfalls fic.
Jaye fed the face cards one by one into her toaster. “This,” said Jaye, watching the cards curl and blacken and sputter into smoke and ash, “is the last time you ruin a game of strip poker. I’m telling Eric that graven images are against my religion, you demonic—”
The toaster exploded.
Jaye hated losing arguments with inanimate objects. Especially when they got the last word by burning her trailer down, and her car with it.

The One Where Tony and Tim Read Fanfiction [NCIS, Gen] by xanthelj
Does exactly what it says on the tin, basically. *g*
“Nope…I got something even better!” Tony said. Tim looked up suspiciously.
“Better than that one where Agent Tommy and Agent Lisa were locked in the evidence garage overnight?” he asked, frowning. It didn’t seem fair to him that Agent Tommy seemed to get some of the best – and hottest - storylines while Agent McGregor – who was clearly the hero of the book – mostly just got mothered. Or beaten up. He got beaten up a lot. And then mothered.

Sympathy for the Devil [Supernatural/Babylon 5, Dean & Garibaldi] by lyrstzha
I love this fic so much. It's not so much a crossover of Supernatural and Babylon 5 as an intersection of two characters who must make sacrifices for those they love. Beautifully written.
And that’s when Garibaldi decides to go with it. “I don’t care what you look like. You can wear a rubber chicken on your head if that’s what floats your boat. A buddy of mine told me you could make deals. That true?”
“Rubber chicken,” the demon muses. “I like that. Might try that one sometime. Eternity’s kind of a long time, y’know—it’s the little things that keep you going.” His teeth flash white in the dimness, and the streetlights make pinpoint reflections in his black eyes like stars in the night sky.

This was just recced on GO and it's so fine I'm posting here:

http://www.livejournal.com/community/indeedsir/62400.html

Green Ice - PG
Wodehouse/Dorothy L Sayers

>>> while ago I read an absolutely wonderful Wimsey/Wodehouse crossover
>>> called Green Ice based on the idea that as Wimsey affects the silly
>>> ass persona as a way of covering his own war trauma, then perhaps
>>> Bertie could have been doing the same. It could have been a dreadful
>>> mess, but it works astonishingly well. Quite upsetting, too.