epic_recs | RR -- It's Jane's Birthday!

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recs by our readers

RR -- It's Jane's Birthday!

It's my birthday (well, it was last Thursday, but I was out of town)! What do I want most for my special day? Recs! Specifically, any of the following:

-Marriage of Convenience fic (this also includes forced bonding fic, but please no non-con!)

-Non-Creepy Snape-is-Harry's-father fic (non-creepy means that the story isn't all about corporal punishment and that there isn't any incest)

-Super-Duper Epics (fics over 100,000 words, in any fandom I've ever recced. Other fandoms are fine, as long as the fic is accessible to someone who doesn't know the fandom at all:)

Things to keep in mind:
-Recced stories can be any length, any fandom, and any pairing, as long as they fit the theme
-You don't need to write a review (unless you want to). All that you need to include are title, author, and link to the story (all parts if there are more than one). We are actively seeking new reccers at the moment. If you'd like to be considered, be sure to do a full review similar to the reviews posted on the comm.

That said, have at it!

Today's Topic: Jane's Birthday

Previous RR topics can be found here.

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Happy Birthday!!!

I love the way we love the same kinds of fics. :-)

Marriage of Convenience

Chelle's Catch-19 (http://community.livejournal.com/mcshep_match/7221.html) is classic! SGA, McShep, R. John has to get married to Rodney in order to stay on Atlantis.

Babbling Brook's When the Cat's Away (http://www.hpfandom.net/eff/viewstory.php?sid=16596). HP, Snarry, NC-17. Harry pretends to be engaged to Snape to save Snape from the Ministry's scrutiny, but the Potter family bonding bracelets have another idea. Bonus Aunt Petunia redemption as well.

Leela's The Betrothal Contract (http://asylums.insanejournal.com/snarry_games/249775.html) HP, Snarry, NC-17. From the latest Snarry Games: At 25, Harry learns he's betrothed to Severus Snape. Wonderful courtship!

Abi's Stocks and Bonds of Holy Matrimony (http://smallville.slashdom.net/archive/41/stocksand.html) SV, Clex, PG. Lex wants to marry Clark because it turns out to be good for his image.

Henry Jones Jr's With This Ring (http://www.sabershadowkat.com/smallville/withthisring.html) SV, Clex, R. Lex and Clark solve their homicidal-women problems by marrying each other.

I know what you mean about the non-creepy Snape-is-Harry's-father fics! The only one I've liked is E.M. Snape's In Blood Only (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2027554/1/In_Blood_Only). It has a bit of background Harry/Tonks, but is mostly gen. Snape and Harry have to work through their lifelong antipathy and adjust to their new relationship, meanwhile fending off Lucius's dangerous curiosity.

Super-Duper Epics

Philo's The Apple Tree (http://www.hpfandom.net/eff/viewstory.php?sid=19708) HP, Snarry, NC-17. Harry has built a second identity for himself, as he remains "Harry Potter" for school purposes and explores his growing powers on his own time. (293K words)

Edited 2009-10-18 19:43 (UTC)

EEEEEE! SV MoC fic! EEEEEE!

Ahem. I do have a quick question -- how significant is the mpreg in While the Cat's Away? I've been avoiding the fic because of it, but if it isn't a central plot point I can give it a shot.

Thank you!

Er, it's pretty central to at least half the story? It's a requirement of the bonding. Petunia ends up giving Severus advice on dealing with being pregnant. :D The actual birth, though, fades to black between the first contractions and holding the baby.

And if whatseeds is going to rec <100K fics, I have to rec my favorite from the Snarry Games:
Gingertart's The Fourth Deathly Hallow (http://asylums.insanejournal.com/snarry_games/255690.html) Crossover - Sherlock Holmes/HP. Snarry, PG. 56K words. Fabulous adventure when Snape, Harry, and Draco end up in Sherlock Holmes's London. All the characters get to be smart and competent; the Muggle and Wizarding worlds and OCs are richly drawn; the Watson outsider POV and language is perfect; there's real rivalry and real growth in the characters; the Holmes mystery is just as smart as the source material; and there's a smidgeon of Snape/Harry romance on top. I read this twice through immediately.

Ooo, I *loved* Gingertart's fic (don't tell anyone, but that one's pretty much guaranteed a rec:)

Thanks for the update!

\o/ I want everybody to read that fic! :-)

Happy Birthday!

I'm not sure if you've read or rec'd these, but in case you haven't:

In the category of super-duper epics, similar to the snape-is-harry's-father but actually in the genre of snape-is-not-biologically-related-but-adopts-harry:

A Year Like None Other, by Aspeninthesunlight, complete with over 760,000 words and one or two sequels:
http://archive.skyehawke.com/story.php?no=5036

Other epics:

Alex, Convergence (Qui/Obi slash, 132K words)
http://www.masterapprentice.org/archive/c/convergence.html

Katbear, Master's Voice (Qui/Obi slash, 167K words)
http://www.masterapprentice.org/archive/m/mastersvoice.html

Tira Nog, Until Proven (adult!Harry/Severus slash)
http://tiranog.southroad.com/harry_potter/Until_Proven_Part-I.htm

Sinick and ac1d6urn, The Snidget (adult!Harry/Severus slash)
http://www.thebejeweledgreenbottle.com/2009%20Mixed%20Games/Fic%20Snitch/snitch-sinick-ac1d6urn.html#taxonomy

Lamardeuse, Defenders of the Real (Merlin/Arthur slash, 50K words, so not super-duper-epic)
http://boxofmagic.talkoncorners.net/viewstory.php?sid=23&warning=5

Staraflur, A long way to go before we are truly divine (Merlin/Arthur, 45K words)
http://boxofmagic.talkoncorners.net/viewstory.php?sid=27&warning=5

Shine, In Time of Trial (Merlin/Arthur slash, 37K words)
http://boxofmagic.talkoncorners.net/viewstory.php?sid=29&warning=5

Suiane, Deluge (Merlin/Arthur slash, 51K words)
http://boxofmagic.talkoncorners.net/viewstory.php?sid=12&warning=4

Astolat, The Crown of the Summer Court (Merlin/Arthur slash, only 24K but absolutely awesome)
http://www.intimations.org/fanfic/merlin/The%20Crown%20of%20the%20Summer%20Court.html

Rosemary, The Damage Control Affair (Napoleon/Illya slash, only 32K but also absolutely awesome)
http://tiranog.southroad.com/UNCLE/damage-control-affair.htm

And they're all single file sources! Thank you!

Quick question, though -- do you know if Master and Apprentice is down? I can't access the Star Wars fics.

Thanks again:)

Hope you enjoy some of 'em!

I don't know why the star wars ones aren't coming up for you - I just double-checked the links, and they are working on my end. You can try the homepage of master and apprentice, here:
http://www.masterapprentice.org/html/index.html

The archive feature is easy to use if you know what author you're looking for - I browse by author's last name to look up stories. I hope you can get to them that way, if the above links still aren't working!

*headdesk* Now the links are working -- when I tried earlier, nothing (not even the main page was working). Clearly the internet hates me.

Thanks for checking for me!

tira nog is a golden god!

I get most of my marriage of convenience reading via Harlequin (the publisher, not the SGA challenge), but I do have one, from bandom:
A Marriage of Convenience (http://jae-w.livejournal.com/158412.html) by

jae_w. 40,000 words, rated NC-17, no warnings.
A young nobleman is forced to marry the low-born but wealthy son of a businessman in order to save his family estate. Then they fall in love, but only after much mutual awkwardness. Technically RPS, but I have no clue who these people actually are and it's set in a Regency AU (albeit a regency AU where guys can marry other guys), so it might as well be original fic. I reccommend search-replacing the names to appropriately Regency-romance-esque things like "Lord Ravencrest," for extra amusement value.

And if you're brave enough to try another Mag7 fic:
When Shadows Fall (http://web.archive.org/web/20070228150712/http://www.magnificent7.com/fanfiction/shadows.html). Endless, rated PG-13, the bad guys are a little over-the-top evil at points, and there's vomiting in one part.
Evil villains try to split the seven up in order to take them down more easily, and an injured Buck and Vin are captured. It's the longest Mag7 fic around, well over 100,000 words, and the first one I ever read. All seven guys play a major roll, and Ezra doesn't get beaten up at all (Vin and Buck get beaten up kind of a lot, and Chris is kind of a dick to Buck for no good reason and then is terribly sorry, but at least no one is going to be terribly sorry for being so mean to Ezra?).

Edited 2009-10-18 21:18 (UTC)

Thanks! I actually had Shadows (all zillion parts of it) downloaded but I've been so hesitant about the Mag7 fandom that I didn't want to risk it. I'll definitely move the fic to my read now folder. Thanks!

Super-Duper Epic aka The Story that Ate My Brain:

What Might Have Been by Keira Marcos.

http://keiramarcos.com/what-might-have-been-series-atlantis-au/

The link takes you to the tale's index page. It's totally made of win.

Thank you!

The biggest fandom that hardly anyone's heard of... The Professionals. All you have to know of canon is that Bodie and Doyle are (in this story, were) spooks for CI5, which is more or less counterterrorism, in the late 1970s, and their boss is George Cowley, and that Bodie was once a mercenary in his youth.

Catch a Fallen Star, by Rosemary, falls under Super-Duper Epics: http://www.thecircuitarchive.com/tca/archive/15/catcha.html

Happy late birthday!

Edited 2009-10-18 21:48 (UTC)

Dude, I love Tira Nog's fic. Thanks!

Happy B-day.
Here are some of may fav.fics I would rec every time. Unfortunately some are WIP's. But all Storys and Series have at least 100k Words. Have fun.

Harry's First Detention by kbinnz
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4307359/1/Harrys_First_Detention
AU one-shot about Harry’s first detention with Snape. Take one mistreated boy, one misinformed man, mix well and watch what happens.
Harry's New Home
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4437151/1/Harrys_New_Home
Sequel to "Harry's First Detention". AU.

The Dragonmasters by Naia
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/979216/1/The_Dragonmasters
AU. Harry Potter disappeared! While the Wizarding world sink into war, Harry is thrown in a whole new world and left to fend for himself. He will have to prove himself worthy of bonding to the long thought dead Magical Dragons and becoming a Dragonmaster.WIP

A Different Start: American Harry Prequel by DarkeStar
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3870764/1/A_Different_Start_American_Harry_Prequel
Harry's godmother gains custody of a young HP and escapes to America where he learns a new way of magic and carves a new path for himself. Powerful/Independent Harry, eventual slash, OCs, pre-Hogwarts. WIP

Harry Potter: Dark Memories by Blueowl
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3655940/1/Harry_Potter_Dark_Memories
Voldemort didn’t just give Harry some of his powers that night. He gave him all of his memories. With them, his allies and friends, Harry shall change the Wizarding World like no one ever before. LightHarry. GoodDumbledore. Chaotic magic. WIP

What They Don't Know by Lil Nezumi
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4544781/1/What_They_Dont_Know
How much does anyone really know about Harry Potter? Things could have been very different if Hagrid saw more then just the Boy-Who-Lived and saw much more than just the little one he dropped off at No. 4 Privet Drive, on Dumbledore’s orders. What if.. AU WIP

A Twist of Chance by MockV
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3598487/1/A_Twist_of_Chance
AU: Honestly, what were the odds of Uzumaki Naruto running into his only surviving relatives in the middle of the marketplace? Slim to none, right? Too bad the odds never mattered to the luckiest and most unfortunate genin in Konoha. [Not 367 Compliant] WIP

Holding Destiny With Your Own Two Hands by MKofGod
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3996804/1/Holding_Destiny_With_Your_Own_Two_Hands
“There is a scroll. It has a jutsu that can stop this from happening. You can go back in time. You can change all this.” The remnants of Konoha strive to change not only their history, but many other tragedies as well. Currently Gen-Fic. WIP

Watch and learn by esama
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3775246/1/Watch_and_learn
When God gives Hikaru his wish, he begins his journey again with a new goal in life, to prevent Sai from fading. Prequel to "Trial and error".
Trial and error
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4642426/1/Trial_and_error
With another wish granted, it's Sai's turn to uptake a new journey in life with Hikaru there to help all the way. WIP

A Chance at the Road Not Taken by The13thHour
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4605848/1/A_Chance_at_the_Road_Not_Taken
Naruto relaxed then, and let the howling winds batter at his body. His task was complete now. Konoha had been avenged. Idly wondering what it would have been like had the war never happened, Naruto never noticed it when he died. Time travel fic. WIP

Harry Potter and the Soul Gems by shedoc
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4186278/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Soul_Gems
Coming as it did a scant 10 hours after his defeat of Voldemort, the Minsitry's exile of Harry Potter must have come as a crushing betrayal...
Harry Potter and the City of Tents
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4507997/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_City_of_Tents
Sequel to HP and the Soul Gems. Harry finds that Remus reappearance in his life tips off something of a domino effect.

If you like long Buffy Crossover Fic's visit Voracity's Imagining's. Every story from her is at least worth a read.
http://e-fic.com/voracity/

And Miranda Flairgold's Series: A Second Chance at Life and its sequel Changes in a Time of War are finished. A Magical World the sequel of Changes in a Time of War has the first chapter up.
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/100447/Miranda_Flairgold

Thank you!

I hope some fics are to your taste. kbinnz storys has Harry being adopted by Snape.

This series is a super-duper epic and I consider it one of the best in SGA, which is a fandom just filled with incredible writers. And I say that even though they haven't even gotten to Atlantis yet.

Black Helicopters by Whizzy

http://whizzy.livejournal.com/617937.html#cutid1

It's ongoing. Enjoy!

Thanks!

So, I'm not sure your thoughts on Bandom or RPF, but I strongly recommend Like the tide by Arsenicjade and Untappedbeauty. It's an AU about 2 kids that grow up in foster care, and can be read by people who know nothing, NOTHING, about bandom. It's delicious and wonderful, definitely of the hurt/comfort variety with a nice ending and it's slash and LONG (124k!) and just--I don't think I can say enough kind words about it.

http://not-often.livejournal.com/3747.html

Give it a chance?

Thanks!

Omg an Arsenic fic I haven't read before!! One warning for Jane--Arsenic does not back away from the whumpage in her fic.

Here are some I hope you like. The first (Red Tape) is a particular favorite of mine.

Smallville:
Red Tape by Lenore / scribblinlenore (NC-17): Metropolis Mayor Lex Luthor convinces Superman to marry him since he is an "illegal alien."
http://scribblinlenore.wordpress.com/home/smallville/red-tape/
OR
http://scribblinlenore.popullus.net/red_tape.html

Omiai by Rose Emily (NC-17): Disowned by Lionel, Lex secretly marries Clark for a year in order to gain the thirty million dollar bequest his mother left him. Clark, in return, gets a full scholarship to Met U. Secrets, plotting, interfering journalists, and Lionel.
http://smallville.slashdom.net/archive/37/omiai.html

House:
A Modest Proposal by ignazwisdom (NC-17): Tritter's case against House still depends on subpoenaed testimony from Wilson. To save House from losing everything, the doctors of PPTH decide on an unusual solution, which in turn leads to unexpected consequences.
http://betweenthepages.org/ignaz/amodestproposal.html
OR
http://geocities.com/holdenesque/amodestproposal.html

Stargate Atlantis:
No Refunds Or Exchanges by astolat (NC-17): Rodney McKay is stationed at a mostly safe and, apparently, not too classified Atlantis and is in desperate need of a maid. Unfortunately, any and all support personnel are immediately sucked up by the severely understaffed labs, so Rodney goes for the obvious second choice, mail-order bride. The tall, dark haired man he gets (John Sheppard) is not what he expected.
http://intimations.org/fanfic/stargate/No%20Refunds%20Or%20Exchanges.html

The Spare by Rachael Sabotini / wickedwords (NC-17): John, several steps removed from the crystal throne, agrees to a contracted marriage to Rodney, science minister of a neighboring country. And then they fall in love.
http://www.mediafans.org/rachael/sga/atlantis_thespare.html

Rules of Engagement by velocitygrass (NC-17): In order to secure lab time to do research for his Nobel and to make himself seem more personable, Rodney asks John to enter a marriage of convenience.
part 1: http://velocitygrass.livejournal.com/62709.html
part 2: http://velocitygrass.livejournal.com/62879.html

Weddings, Plural, and a Yak by Speranza (NC-17): By the eighth time John Sheppard married Rodney McKay, they were old pros at the wedding thing, having weathered not only an Ouishan blood wedding, but also a twelve-hour Avalonian handfasting, a Malanese necklace exchange, and a Thurtu joining ceremony that invoked a fire god and featured seven kinds of cake.
http://www.trickster.org/speranza/cesper/weddingsplural.html

Harry Potter:
How Do You Mend a Broken Heart? by mahaliem (R): In order to keep custody of his children, Draco needs to find a spouse that will shore up the Malfoy family's tattered reputation. But what starts off as a means to an end gets more complicated when Draco's target reawakens feelings in him that he hasn't had in a long while, and Draco starts to feel alive for the first time since his wife's death.
http://hdworldcup.onnedhiel.net/teamepilogue/mend_a_broken_heart.html

Good Faith by Meri (NC-17): After the defeat of Voldemort, the Ministry puts into action a Marriage law so that Halfbloods and Muggle-borns have to marry wizards and witches more integrated into wizarding society. "Draco Malfoy will use what ever means available to get what he wants. And he wants Harry Potter"
http://solo4.abac.com/CircuitArchive/goodfaith.html

-Jenna

Yay! Thank you!

Speaking of Smallville MoC fics...if you haven't already read it, I recommend Rivkat's Repent at Leisure (http://archiveofourown.org/works/5283?view_adult=true). Happy Birthday, Jane!

Author's Summary: "To save Lois's life, Clark makes a bargain with Lex. Complications ensue. R for sexual situations and Lex being a big jerk; also (mainly offscreen) violence. If you think things like mating bonds pose issues of consent, then there are definitely issues of consent here, though not exactly mating bonds. Well, Lex in himself is a walking issue of consent, isn't he? I should probably mention that I'm ignoring much of anything past S5."

Yay, thanks!

Well… none of these quite fall into your categories, so perhaps you can bookmark them for later consideration. It's also possible you've already sampled the first two recs, since they hail from the latest Snarry Games:

Harry Potter

Rapture (http://asylums.insanejournal.com/snarry_games/260054.html) by

mia_ugly. I adored this story. The last bit of the plot isn't as tightly constructed as the rest (possibly due to deadline rush) but it's still glorious and intensely romantic.

Death and the Open Mind (http://asylums.insanejournal.com/snarry_games/258099.html) by

loupgarou1750. This has an incredibly canon Snape, albeit with fouler mouth and greater wit. It's a variation on a locked-room fic, and it's unexpectedly moving and thought-provoking.

Stargate: Atlantis

Both McShep.

And Glory Has No End; or, Clementine (http://rinsbane.livejournal.com/64192.html) by

rinsbane. I'm not sure but I think I read somewhere that you don't care for fics that play around with structure? This isn't linear, so be warned. But it is beautiful. (I beta'd it, but this isn't an instance of favoritism, I swear. It's just one of those rare fics that's both heartbreaking and uplifting.)

I second the rec for Black Helicopters at Dawn (http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dn6qd8v_48kv8z6k57) and its sequel Black Mountainside (http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dn6qd8v_59cgvz8qg4) by

whizzy. I can only hope she continues the series. The writer's extraordinarily talented, and the fic is complex on so many levels. Fantastic Rodney. He's actually believable as a genius.

Sherlock Holmes

H/W slash.

Minor Interludes for the Solo Violin (http://liquidfic.net/soloviolini.html) by

katieforsythe, in three parts. Beautifully written. Also very romantic.

I hope your (late) birthday is a happy one!

New Sherlock Holmes fic!!!! Yay! Thank you:)

And I second Death and the Open Mind. That is Snape in all his glory, not some easier to love fanon version (which can also be a lot of fun).

So, I'm gonna be weird and rec you (gasp) het MoC HP fic! It's an MLC fic called His Draught of Delicate Poison by Subversa, and it's amaaaaaaaaaaaazing. Seriously, if you haven't read it you need to. It's technically not MoC, since all the couples are married willingly, but MLC does push the boundaries a bit. Here is the link, or if you want I can send you the e-book I made of it (yeah, that's right, I want to be able to carry it around with me at all times).

http://ashwinder.sycophanthex.com/viewstory.php?sid=11664

Now that others have cracked open the crazy that is bandom, I thought I would rec you one or two awesome bandom fics.

The Forever Now 'verse, by passe_simple. It's an AU MCR kid-fic, so you can don't need to know the background at all, really. It's just an absolutely awesome epic H/C fic with two sequels (for those, click on the "kid!fic" tag) called Star Shaped and The Lines You Amend.

http://passe-simple.livejournal.com/tag/forever+now

You Can Sit Beside Me When the World Comes Down, by Sunsetmog is another AU; it's P!atD high school AU and it's hilarious and sweet with just enough angst to pull it back from tooth-achingly too much. I pretty much recommend everything by her, ever, but this is one is a favorite. It's a Bandom Big Bang fic, so it definitely meets the length requirement. I can also e-mail this in e-book form if you want :D
http://sunsetmog-fics.livejournal.com/43459.html

Lord Drake's Bequest is a sweet MoC in the Merlin fandom starring (of course) Merlin and Arthur.

http://community.livejournal.com/harlequinmerlin/1855.html

Also, you've read Drastically Redefining Protocol, right? Because if you haven't, you need to. I sincerely hope that everyone you know who has read anything in Merlin has already recommended it to you. Yet another one I have converted to e-book :D

http://www.glitterati.talkoncorners.net/drp/drp.html

Thank you! (Just out of curiosity, what's MLC?)

MLC= "Marriage Law Challenge"; way back in the beginning of time (or maybe for some fest? I don't really remember) the Marriage Law Challenge was issued as a fic prompt, something along the lines of "The Wizarding World has passed a law requiring all people (of marriageable age/able to reproduce/17-35 etc) to get married in the next year or go to the Office of Last Resort to be matched with an appropriate person. How do our heroes face this challenge?"

There are a ton of MLC fics out there, hence the codename. A lot are "this is a dastardly Death Eater plot!" or "this is the Ministry being stupid!" and many, many of them are Hermione/Snape.

Ah. I've read a few of those and wasn't thrilled, so I'm excited to see a rec -- gives me a reason to give it another chance:)

Yeah the problem with MLC is that there are faaaaaaar too many people who attempted that prompt. Quality control is definitely an issue, but when they're good they're, well, good!

I second Drastically Redefining Protocol but recommend reading the series (http://archiveofourown.org/series/211) as a whole. Five Secrets That Ought to Be Kept (And One for the Road) (http://archiveofourown.org/works/5963) is interesting for it's contrast to the rest.

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RR -- It's Jane's Birthday!

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Marriage of Convenience fic

Re: Marriage of Convenience fic

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