Title: Frank Iero AI
Fandom: Bandom (My Chemical Romance)
Pairing: Frank Iero/Gerard Way; Gerard Way/Lindsey
Categories: AU, Apocalypse, Science Fiction
Length: Medium (4k)
Warnings:

Author on LJ: theladysnarkydame
Website:

Summary: post apocalypse or cyberpunk detective agenc

Review: The wold building in this fic packs a real wallop for its length. The fic is a casefic, so the backstory on all the characters is left purposely vague.

Part Noir novel, part post apocalyptic Virtual world, it makes for a dreamy and dark cocktail that will drag you under and not let you back up for air until it's finished.

Frank Iero AI

Title: Na Na Na (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Fandom: Mad Max
Pairing: Gen
Categories: Action/Adventure, Apocalypse, Fusion, Future, Science Fiction
Length: 4 minutes
Warnings: Canon Typical Violence

Author on LJ: violace
Website: Violace's Youtube Channel

Summary: This is simultaneously a tribute to my favourite movie of the year and a nod to my favourite band and one of my favourite music videos of all time.
I know many of my old MCR era friends loved the movie as much as I did and it inevitably reminded them of Danger Days as well, so if any of them are reading this, know that I thought of you and the times we had on tour a lot while making this vid. ♥

Review: The Epic mashup between two post-apocalyptic desert and car themed fandoms.

Violace did a great job matching up elements of the movie with elements of the song. I particularly love how they wove in the drum beats of the song with drum beats of the movie.

A fun vid to get your blood pumping.

Na Na Na (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Title: Skywalkers
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts/FF7/FF8/Advent Children
Pairing: Leon/Cloud, Sora/Kairi
Genres: AU, Crossover, Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Sci-Fi, Wingfic, Action
Length: Epic
Warnings: Attempted suicide, past non-con, past abuse, past torture, body horror, past major character death

Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: Lady Karai @ Adult-FanFiction.org

Author's Summary:
Leon was used to living alone and going through the motions of his easy but dull life. Then, one night, a strange blond crashed into his bushes from out of nowhere, and he was drawn into a world no human ever dreamed of.

Review:
Leon, going through the motions as he writes trashy romance novels and mourns the death of Rinoa, his only contact with the outside world his little brother Sora (of KH fame), has his lonely life shaken up by the abrupt entry of Cloud. Damaged physically and mentally, Cloud is a fallen soldier bearing unwanted enhancements in the form of wings and superhuman power, and embroiled in a war he has never wanted any part of. A lot of this fic is about his slow recovery and the equally slow development of his and Leon's relationship. The hurt/comfort is a balm against all the horrors that Cloud has been subjected to - which are all thankfully offscreen, keeping this story from being pure angst despite its dark themes. The other half of the fic is devoted to the action, with Sephiroth and his three clones the antagonists, Clouds former torturers who are eager to claim him back. Leon's protection of Cloud is definitely satisfying, but best of all is that even when Cloud is understandably fragile, his bravery and compassion still shine through, and he fights at Leon's side.

The characters are all either their KH or Advent Children versions. There are some Organisation X cameos and the KH trio of Sora, Kairi and Riku are main characters, but as long as you know those three you hopefully won't be too confused. Leon is pretty much an older and less bratty Squall. Cloud is definitely his angstier Advent Children self, as is Sephiroth.

Skywalkers

Title: Unsettled
Fandom: Sherlock BBC/His Dark Materials
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Genres: AU, Fusion, Sci-Fi, Drama, Angst, Romance, Hurt/Comfort
Length: Long (33,879 words)
Warnings: Past child sexual abuse, torture

Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: AxeMeAboutAxinomancy @ AO3

Author's Summary:
Sherlock's dæmon hadn't settled. Once John realised that, so much made sense. Though so much else didn't, because it practically wasn't possible.

Review:
I absolutely love daemon!fic. Seeing what reasons different authors give for their decisions about what daemons characters should have is something I find interesting in and of itself, and daemon-related angst and hurt/comfort pleases me even more. The presence of daemons gives an extra dynamic to any drama, being an obvious physical avatar to look at matters of the psyche and the soul through.

It's HDM canon that intense trauma can cause a daemon settle early, or in this fics case not settle at all. John struggles with his growing feelings for Sherlock as he finds out just how strange the man and his daemon are. As expected, Sherlock's daemon is far from normal, even aside from being unsettled, and the gradual revelation of all their idiosyncracies was a compelling read. I loved all the daemons in this fic, and thought that the authors 'casting' decisions for them were fitting and well-reasoned. The inclusion of a daemon-specific crime to solve adds a new avenue for drama, and is just as tense and horrifying as it should be when we're talking about toying with peoples souls. The romance is gradual as Sherlock's past and with it the reason for his daemons unsettled form are revealed. The author is careful to show that not all wounds can be fully healed, and the ending is all the more heartwarming for its realism.

Unsettled

Title: Son of Man
Fandom: Marvel (MCU)
Pairing: Gen
Categories: Body-swap, Science-fiction, Post-Canon
Length: Medium (35k)
Warnings: Body Dysphoria/Dysmorphia
Author on LJ: copperbadge
Website: Copper Badge's Ao3
Summary: JARVIS did not want to be a real boy. He was quite happy being a building.

Review: I really love how solidly copperbadge handles Jarvis' POV. Both how he would think and precieve the world as a AI, and then how that would change if he was forced to become human.

Sensory processing disorders aren't usually so well written. The plot is straightforward, but that is a benifit to the story, because it allows most of the focus to be on Jarvis' character growth.

Son of Man

Title: All the Eastern Marks
Fandom: Pacific Rim
Pairing: Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb
Categories: Apocalypse, Domestic, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-canon, Romance, Science Fiction,
Length: Medium (15k)
Warnings: Transphobic behavior and language

Author on LJ: what_alchemy
Website: what_alchemy Ao3

Summary: Maybe someday Newton will forgive him.

Review: Definitely make sure you read the authors note with warnings before you start reading the fic. Some of the scenes can be triggering.

This fic combines some of my favorite themes, domesticity, trans characters, and positive character growth.

Herman is an ass at the beginning of this.It is understandable given the circumstances, but it is still something he has to move passed.

A lot of the stories conflict is following not only Herman's learning how to deal with Newt's changing gender, but with the consequences of his original reaction. What makes this so great is that unlike a lot of fics based on the same premise it doesn't shy away from dealing with the different relationships that two people can have with each other.

All the way from Newt and Herman's first love, to their falling out, to them coming back together for work and learning how they fit together, first as coworkers, then friends, and finally as lovers once more.

All the Eastern Marks

Title: Symbolic Constant
Fandom: Person of Interest
Pairing: Root/Sameen Shaw, very faint Harold Finch/John Reese if you're inclined
Categories/Genres: Post-Canon, Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Alternate Universe, Future, Sci-Fi, Action/Adventure, Angst, Romance, Established Relationship, Dark, Drama, Time Travel (from the characters' perspectives)
Length: Long (18078 words)
Warnings: Previous (Temporary?) Repeated Major Character Deaths (because clones)

Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: LithiumDoll

Summary:

Here's the thing about constants: their value never changes.

Review:

In celebration of Person of Interest taking that ultimate step of making their subtexty lesbians officially and irrefutably canon, I'm gonna do my damned best to rec Root/Shaw every Saturday through the end of January.

To be honest, I've never been very fond of the apocalypse and dystopia genres. But my distaste stems from childhood trauma, and probably nobody wants to hear about that, so let me just say, Symbolic Constant is the apocalypse/dystopia fic for people who can push through the painful parts of a fic to reach the happy ending. And by painful, I mean repeated major character death. But it's okay, because they come back, thanks to clones and science and all the best cheat codes that are part and parcel of any decent sci-fi fic. And by happy ending, I mean the next generation of clones wakes up in the post-post-apocalyptic future without having to deal with any of the crap that came before.

So, y'know, don't let the warning scare you off. Please.

If nothing else, read for the lesbians. Shaw and Root's relationship is, as ever, complex at the best of times, a spicy simmer that gives the narrative delicious flavor. An older iteration of Root adds another layer of complexity that the author takes advantage of to portray a version of their relationship where their sizzling sexual tension for once isn't the backbone of their interactions.

LithiumDoll's portrayal of Finch and Reese are such perfect recreations of canon that it brings a tear to my fannish eye. The understated devotion that pervades their every interaction is just as prevalent here, allowing the reader the same freedom to interpret their relationship as the show's writers have taken such pains to cultivate. My favorite scene of the fic, even though it's really, really damn sad, involves a heartbreaking display of their bond to each other, particularly Reese's to Finch.

Basically, I freaking love this fic. I'm gonna go lay down and cry tears of joy now.

Symbolic Constant

Title: And Seven For A Secret
Fandom: Torchwood (Dr Who)
Categories: gen, historical, action/adventure, war story, science fiction
Length: Epic (58,000 words)
Warnings: Character death (it is Jack), secondary character death (it is a war story), violence and coarse language (ditto).

Author on LJ: aeshna_uk
Author on AO3: Aeshna

Summary:
If you are reading this then I am dead, and with my death dies a promise I made a long, long time ago... When Ben Haldane is left a cryptic note in his grandfather's will, it leads him to a story far stranger than he could ever have imagined.

Review:
Somehow it seemed fitting for that my review for Epistolary/Historical week is a WW2 story that commences with a letter.

This story would have made an excellent Torchwood special. It involves Jack Harkness on a mission to a Nazi PoW camp, a castle that conceals more than just bored prisoners, and the men who get caught up in events. It's not a pretty sight; this Jack is not infallible, and his small screw-ups do cost lives. The main threat is credible, particularly in being a threat to Jack that he might not recover from, and the finale is suitably action-packed and bloody.

It goes without saying that the writing and pacing are excellent. (Disclaimer: I've known aeshna_uk since her first con, and she is responsible for getting me writing, so I would say that.) A particular grace, and one of the reasons it would make an excellent episode, is that the story is told from the point of view of a third party, Private Bert Fletcher. This helps the pacing by removing any strain in not knowing the details of Jack's mission until as late as possible. Bert is also an amiable viewpoint character, as much as anyone could be under the circumstances, and I found it quite easy to identify with his reactions.

Eminently readable, and highly recommended.

And Seven For A Secret (multi-part)

Title: A Miracle of Science
Medium: Webcomic
Categories: Science Fiction
Length: Long (if not Epic) (435 pages)
Warnings: None

Author Website: Project Apollo (Mark Sach's main page)

Summary:
In the year 2148, the biggest threat to interplanetary civilization is a plague of mad scientists. The Vorstellen Police were formed to track down and neutralize these threats to society using whatever technology they can bring to bear.

Review:
Science-Related Memetic Disorder has it's own page on TV Tropes. This is the webcomic that coined the term.

The plot is, in theory, simple: Vorstellen Policeman Benjamin Prester is teamed up with Caprice Quevillion of the Martian Police to search out the cause of some concerning trends in AI research. Writer Jon Kilgannon and artist Mark Sachs take this basic odd-couple detective story and write it up to the epic scale of the background. Our heroes tour the entire inhabited solar system before cornering their prey, with plenty of chase scenes and property damage along the way. Even before the Mad Science makes itself evident, there's enough strangeness and extreme science to keep the most ardent fan's sense of wonder happy.

I am particularly fond of the way that the various abilities of the protagonists are played out, how their strengths become weaknesses and vice versa. As befits a society that views Mad Science as a memetic disorder, the denouement is as much a matter of psychology as power, and is very convincing.

The art is sometimes a little simplistic for my tastes (though it's still a million times better than anything I could do), but it does its job very well. There are some subtle visual cues introduced right at the start of the story that will tell you what is happening at the end much sooner than the dialogue would have you realise. It's important stuff too; in many ways it's the crux of the whole story, but understanding it only makes you more anxious about the characters.

You should read this comic not just because it's a ground-breaker, but because it's a good story well told.

A Miracle of Science

Title: We Are Stardust
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Categories: Sci-fi/Space AU, romance, first time, action/adventure
Length: Epic (43,097 words)
Warnings: None

Author on LJ: fuzzytomato02
Author Website: fuzzytomato

Author's Summary:
The crew of the merchant ship Avalon are a good lot if a little odd. The captain, Morgana, has weird dreams. The first mate, Arthur, is an unpleasant ex-lieutenant of the Phoenix Guard. The ship itself is falling apart. When they take on a new engineer named Merlin at Tintagel drift to help with repairs, they not only get a genius, they get much more than they bargained for.

Review:
I don't know if this is intentional, but this story definitely has a little bit of a Firefly vibe, which I really liked. That doesn't mean you have to be a Firefly fan to enjoy it, not at all. There is so much to love in this story, from the phenomenal world-building to the well-developed characterizations and excellent writing.

I really, really loved seeing Merlin as a technopath, and for his gift in this world to be as rare and powerful as his canon abilities. I loved the element of risk involved, that he might merge with the machines in an irrevocable fashion, perpetually trapped in cyber-state. The use of paradoxes as a test for this state was an interesting detail that I really enjoyed.

Arthur is just a little bit broken, and as we see his initial mistrust of Merlin fade away and their friendship develop, it all feels very natural and organic. When the truth about Merlin's abilities comes out in a time of crisis, Arthur can't stop being concerned about Merlin despite his anger. Seeing them come together again, and seeing Arthur's protectiveness and caring for Merlin, as well as the depth of his feelings finally made physical was immensely satisfying.

Last but certainly not least, I adored Morgana's role as Captain and Seer. Fuzzytomato portrayed a Morgana as I love to see her: an awesome, steadfast, confident woman. She doesn't back down, is fierce in her defense of her family and crew (which in this case, are essentially one and the same), and is everything one could ask for in a strong female lead.

We Are Stardust

Title: Through the Blue Vault of Varda
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis/Lord of the Rings
Categories: SF/fantasy
Length: Medium (3,900 words)
Warnings: None

Author on LJ: jedibuttercup (ditto on Dreamwidth)
Author on AO3: jedibuttercup
Author on TtH: jedibuttercup
Author Website: Jedibuttercup.com

Summary:
The city sang to John, and he understood at last why the scholars always spoke of the earliest days of Middle-earth through the medium of music.

Review:
When you think about it, there is an epic sweep to the whole idea of Stargate Atlantis: going to another galaxy to find a city out of legend is about as epic as it gets. Mix this with the epic that is the Silmarillion, and you could end up with a clash of gears as two mutually inconsistent background fight for supremacy.

Fortunately, Jedi Buttercup is a lot better than that. "The truth was probably a lot less metaphorical," the narrator muses early on, and just like that the backgrounds are sweeping in the same direction. That's typical of this story; gentle writing, perfectly evoking Tolkien, leads you through this short story in such a natural way that you accept the incongruities as perfectly natural. At heart it's a character study of someone bridging the gap between the two backgrounds, and it works so well that by the end I was completely sold.

This fic is quite simply beautiful.

Through the Blue Vault of Varda

Title: Second Empire
Fandom: Dr Who
Categories: action/adventure, humour, CGI
Length: Super!Epic (714 full-size pages)
Warnings: War story (major character deaths), no Doctor in sight

Author Website: MechMaster's Lair

Summary:
General Xenol, Commander of the Dalek First Conquest Army, has a problem. He seems to be at odds with the Emperor over the future of the Dalek race.

Review:
This is a magnificent fully-CG webcomic charting the course of a civil war between our favourite floating pepper-pots, the Daleks. It's set fairly early in the Daleks' history — there is no time travel or more than usually outrageous technology, and no sight of Time Lords or their pesky companions. There are cameos from other Dr Who aliens (remember the Mechanoids?), but all the important action takes place between the Dalek factions.

The storytelling is a little slow to start with, leaving us with a bit much time to marvel at the gorgeousness of the CG design and rendering. That's OK, though, because the artwork is gorgeous, and most pages repay a second look for the little jokes scattered through the comic. While this is a war story, it is told with great humour and many parodies throughout. The segment with the Dalek James Bond is bizarre in a good way, and the grand, climactic single combat between Xenol and the Emperor can't be seen as anything other than a lightsabre fight. For all that, you do get drawn into the characters and the storytelling, and some of the character deaths really do bring a tear to your eye.

We don't really have a length gauge for webcomics, but at over seven hundred pages I feel safe in calling this a Super!Epic. An excellent epic too, and I say that as someone who isn't particularly visual. Go. Read.

Second Empire

Title: Too Much Is Just Enough
Fandom: Glee
Pairing: Kurt/Blaine
Categories: AU, sci-fi, romance, smut
Length: Medium (7,500)
Warnings: Tentacles, barebacking

Author on LJ: n/a
Author's website: missbeizy on tumblr

Summary: Alien!Blaine + human!Kurt. Tentacle porn.

Review:
Just a short one from me today, seeing as I stayed up until birdsong last night and really need my beauty sleep.

This little ficlet is absolutely smoking hot, like the kind of hot that actual requires a cold shower or a freezer-full of ice cubes tipped over your head. Beizy certainly does not shrink on the details of what we're reading, putting it all out there, using her clever way with words and extremely apt vocabulary to really do what she does best--draw you right into the fic. And the delicious, gluttonous feast that is tentacle porn.

Don't be fooled by thinking this is all smut, though--as delightful as that may sound, the little addition of plot here is key to really bringing this fic to another level. And, as always, the plot--the knowledge of the characters and their circumstances--just makes the not-plot even hotter.

Too Much Is Just Enough

Title: 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101
Fandom: DCU
Pairing: Tim Drake/Kon-El
Categories: AU, science fiction, androids, romance, slash
Length: Medium (10,800 words)

Author on AO3: Meeya8587

Summary:
In the midst of all the white, chrome and plastic skin coating metal skeletons, the only splash of color present was his workmate's blue eyes. An AU where Tim is human and involved with his work colleague, Conner, who happens to be a prototype 'doll' going through a series of puzzling changes.

Review:
Before you ask, the title is the ASCII code for "love" in binary. And that's a good indication of how weird reading this story felt.

This is one of those AUs that almost just takes the names. We see things from Tim's point of view, which is a confused place to be. This Tim is a lot more tentative than the usual portrayals of him as the super-competent Robin. He aware that his colleague is an android, meaning that Conner's personality is very muted indeed. Tim is attracted to him all the same. There are things that don't add up about Conner either, from his behaviour to the way Tim convinces himself he can hear Conner's heartbeat. It's all very disorienting.

I quite like the basic story, I like the confused way things proceed as neither Tim nor Conner really know what they're doing or why. It's the small things that tend to annoy me about this story, like writing small numbers as numerals rather than words. While I don't find various small bits of the story construction convincing, the overall effect works. We do empathise with Tim, even when he's not sure he likes himself much. I'm not entirely sure that the grand denouement works, but that's mostly for the sheer amount of new information — not completely unexpected stuff given the source material, but still — that gets thrown our way. Oddly, I found the story a lot easier to handle a few months ago when I first read it; re-reading it for this rec was much stranger experience.

Well worth a read, though, and not just for the binary.

01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101

Title: Stickytape and String
Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Categories: SF/horror, post-canon, fix-it
Length: Medium (10,000 words)
Warnings: None

Author on LJ: smallship1
Author Website: Avevale

Summary:
“All irregularities will be handled by the forces controlling each dimension...”

The voice continues, enumerating the rules, calling the roll...and then there is a pause. A long silence, somehow redolent of whispered, panicky argument just beyond hearing. When the voice returns, it is with the hysterical edge somewhat more perceptible, along with a note of dazed incredulity at the words it is uttering.

“Stickytape and String have been assigned.”

Review:
If you aren't a filker, Zander Nyrond may not be a familiar name to you. That's because while Zander has been writing since the days of Blake's Seven, he tends to write original SF with considerable verve and humour, often starring the Nyronds from whom he takes his nom de plume. This is a sad loss on your part, and it is up to me to try to rectify matters.

If you are a filker, any introduction to Zander Nyrond is redundant. Pretend I didn't write the above paragraph if it makes you feel better.

This story is a little outside Zander's normal style, in deference to the darker shades of the original material. While it starts with an edge of humour, as the rework of the show's opening credits I quoted as the summary shows, it quickly turns into something a lot more serious. Probationary "elements" Stickytape and String find themselves walking into exactly the same trap that caught Sapphire, Silver and Steel at the end of their final story, and have to come up with their own solutions if the are going to survive their very first assignment. It does pay to have seen that episode, but the writing gives you enough to work with as long as you generally know about S&S.

The story fits the style of the series very nicely. Most of it is dialogue, with relatively spare action and description, and could be turned into a script in short order. Critically, the characters work and are recognisable from their speech patterns. While String and Sapphire have a lot in common, String's youthful enthusiasm shines through against Sapphire's maturity; likewise while Stickytape and Steel are both prickly characters, Steel's solidity contrasts with Stickytape's teenage all-or-nothing attitude. The only time it's difficult to tell characters apart are when it's supposed to be difficult to tell characters apart, and more than that you'll have to read to find out.

All in all, this is an ingenious story fitting very well into its source material, and I heartily recommend it to you. And if you should happen on more Nyrond stories on his website, so much the better.

Stickytape and String in four parts on LJ: part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

Alternatively as a single MS Word file: Stickytape and String

Title: Welcome to Cyber Vale
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale
Pairing: Carlos/Cecil Palmer, Dana/Leann, Kevin/Original Male Character
Categories/Genres: Alternate Universe, Sci Fi, Action/Adventure, Romance, Fluff, Humor, Amnesia, Mystery
Length: Epic (49906 words)
Warnings: Very temporary character death

Author/Artist on LJ: N/A
Author/Artist Website: Hubris_And_Crafts

Summary:

Based on an AU SciFi concept by freedomconvicted on tumblr. Carlos is a scientist who has been called in to assist with C.E.C.I.L, an A.I. that runs the artificial planet known as the Vale Colony. However, none of his superiors bothered to inform him that the A.I. appears to be completely insane. And prone to falling in love.

Review:

When is a Night Vale not a Night Vale? When it's a Night Vale in space!

I've always been a fan of science fiction, a love instilled in me in the early days of reading when at least a dozen of my father's science fiction books were lying around at any given time. So for there to be a full-length sci fi AU of Night Vale? Well, sign me up!

The fictional future of Welcome to Cyber Vale is a subtly realized world, left mostly blank for the reader's imagination to fill in, assisted by the little tidbits of information that are fed to us, mostly by casual mention of the characters. It's minimalist worldbuilding, which seemed a little odd to me as a veteran sci fi reader, until I realized that that very minimalism is precisely characteristic of the canonical Welcome to Night Vale itself.

It's that very sense of in-character atmosphere that makes this fic stand out among the many Alternate Universe fics I've read. So much of the time, writers will take characters out of their original canon to put them in settings and circumstances that bear little to no resemblance to the source setting. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. I can think of few things more thrilling than seeing how a character exists in and reacts to a world they weren't originally created in. But Hubris_And_Crafts's ability to write so many parallels with canon while creating a world new and different took my breath away. I found myself grinning at all the characters and their familiar quirks and laughing with excitement at all the phrases and stories lifted from the canon to be given new homes in this new universe. Reading Cyber Vale, everything was the same even while nothing was the same.

And that's the very charm of Welcome to Night Vale itself, I think. That sometimes things that are so strange can be so comfortingly familiar in spite of their alienness.

Welcome to Cyber Vale

Title: This Hell We've Made
Fandom: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Categories: AU, superheroes, slash
Length: Epic (68,000 words)
Warnings: Violence, brief mentions of past abuse and self-harm.

Author on LJ: bewaretheides15
Author on AO3: BewareTheIdes15
Author Website: The Sam/Dean Archive author's page.

Summary:
Except for the fact that they were both born with remarkable superhuman abilities, and a seething mutual dislike, Jared and Jensen have nothing in common. Turns out, though, that they may also be the only ones who can save each other from themselves.

Review:
That's a pretty good summary of this X-Men-esque story, to be honest. Jensen is a young delinquent with Wolverine-like levels of self-healing. Naturally enough that means the author has license to do huge amounts of damage to him, since he'll be back up and ready to go in seconds, though this happens less often and less viciously than in some comic books I've read.

Being more cocky than careful, Jensen gets pulled in and recruited by a UN-sponsored secret superteam. Jared, ostensibly a precog, is the team's field leader. It's somewhat unfortunate that being around Jensen makes Jared feel ill, because Jared is actually an empath. Naturally enough that means the author has license to mentally torture him, though again I've seen far worse in print.

The story works through a lengthy investigation/manhunt, but the focus is solidly on the working out of Jensen and Jared's relationships, personal and professional, and the cartload of issues both of them have to deal with. This is the crux of the story; both boys have been mentally scarred by the effects of the powers they have, and it is in dealing with things as they come up that they come to recognise each other has people.

The supporting cast are nicely done, though sometimes a little predictable. Superstrong Tom Welling in particular might as well have been called Clark Kent, but it's not something that matters a great deal. This is the sort of RPS that is far more fantasy film-casting than anything that might be expecting to present real people, after all, and in that context Tom has already been cast as Clark once, so why not do it again? Far better used is Jeff Morgan as the non-powered organiser cum father-figure of the team, who is entirely smart and devious enough to get his "family" to take care of each other.

This is a solid romance disguised as an adventure story. You should enjoy it either way.

This Hell We've Made

It's Small Fandoms week! Since I've been reccing small fandoms every week this month, I thought I'd do something special. So here is a story featuring not just one fandom that has less than five recs here, not two, not even three, but fo— er, five small fandoms. Six if you count Captain Scarlet, which only gets a walk-on part. Well, fall-on, but still.

Title: They Saved Milton Keynes
Fandom: Top Gear/Yes Minister/Wallace & Grommit/The Sky At Night/The Clangers/Captain Scarlet
Categories: Gen, crack, filkish associations, did I mention crack?
Length: Medium (7,800)
Warnings: May cause cackling, coffee snorting and uncontrollable bouts of whistling.

Author on LJ: ffutures
Author Website: Marcus's profile on Twisting the Hellmouth

Summary:
When Britain is in danger, and there isn't enough time to get help from the other major powers, the Prime Minister turns to a team with a history of solving unusual problems. After all, how hard can it be?

Review:
Really, all I should need to say is that this is another example of Marcus Rowland's brilliantly twisted imagination. An asteroid is detected approaching Earth, on a collision course with the city of Milton Keynes. Couldn't happen to a nicer place, but Prime Minister Jim Hacker is aware that some voters do live there, and letting them get squashed might not look good on his public record. With a limited budget and a space programme that consists of one man and his dog, he calls on a team used to doing stupid things with not much money: the Top Gear presenters.

From there on, things only get sillier.

The most wonderful thing about this story is that despite the ludicrous things going on, all the characters remain spot on. Marcus has the voices of everyone exactly right — I can well imagine Clarkson, Hammond and May delivering their lines exactly as written — and somehow makes the mix of real and imaginary characters seem perfectly... well, natural isn't the right word, but you know what I mean.

While a lot of this story (and all of the fandoms) is very British, I don't think that matters a great deal. As long as you are aware of Top Gear and Wallace & Grommit (and many people are), you'll have enough to understand what's going on. Besides, you'll be too busy laughing at the utterly insane logic driving the whole exercise to care.

They Saved Milton Keynes

It's Small Fandom week here at ER!
We'll be reccing in fandoms that have 5 or fewer reviews here, regardless of actual fandom size.


Title: (o>------
Fandom: Solar System (anthropomorphic)
Pairings: Ison/Dark Matter, Ison/Neptune, Ison/Jupiter, Ison/Sol
Categories: Journal entries, self discovery, crack that turns more serious, humor, loneliness, romance
Length: Medium (5,177 words)
Warnings: Discussion of future major character death

Author on LJ: fresne
Author Websites: fresne

Author's Summary: So, hey I'm ISON, or you know Ison, not to be all shouty at you, because I'm not a shouty Comet. Not like some. I also go by C/2012 S1, but I like totally prefer Ison.

I use this journal for writing about my thoughts and dreams and stuff. Okay, mostly my love life, which... gets complicated.

But I'm looking for that special someone, who makes me light up.

Review:
I'm a sucker for anthropomorphism; give me a mitten on a quest to find a lost mate or a deflated old basketball remembering the glory days, and I feel compelled to give it a look. So the first thing I read from Yuletide this year was the comet Ison's online chronicle of the trip through our solar system.

The glib way Ison speaks had me thinking I was in for a quick, funny read, and it is that, in part. But as Ison grows through disappointing experiences and moves from darkness toward light, we end up with a relatable story about loneliness and connection. Even as a young sounding Ison never drops the use of "like" and "dude," there's a depth to this story that has me thinking back to it weeks later. Ison finds serial monogamy a bit soul crushing, and Sol talks about the creation of the universe and the events leading up to Ison's one way journey, about the stuff that made us all coming from the same place.

But back to the humor... Earth especially made me laugh, and the images from 'LOL-stars' and online quizzes add to the cracky charm. Plus I loved the way Ison's up and down posts reminded me of LJ journals.

(Shout out to margi_lynn whose rec led me to this.)

(o>------

Title: Grey
Fandom: Glee
Pairing: Kurt/Blaine
Categories: Romance, angst, superhero AU
Length: Super Epic (390,000)
Warnings (In the author's own words): Glee spoilers only tangentially, we're *crazy* AU from season one. Spoilers for All the Other Ghosts, obv. And oh my god warnings, okay: exactly what went for AtOG goes here. We are dealing with actual superheroes in actual capes and yes there is a certain degree of suspension of disbelief going on here, but where I think things deserve being treated with honesty I do try to do that. So, the warnings are broad and serious: if you read about it in a newspaper, it could easily turn up here. Violence, drugs and alcohol, sexual assault, homophobia, bigotry, abusive relationships, more or less anything you might want a superhero to help you with if it came up. Also, this fic is brought to you by the theme of miscommunication and the space between people failing to understand each other: so, yeah, expect some angst . . . And as always, character says =/= writer says and if someone decides to get snotty about the physics of superpowers when people are actually wearing capes oh my god, I will not be amused. So your warning *there* is that if you get snotty, I'll be unamused at you, boys in fricking *capes* guys ;P

Author on LJ: rainjoyswriting
Website: N/A

Summary: The sequel to one of the fandom's best known and loved fics, All The Other Ghosts. Identity, relationships, and the famous online fandom are put into question in this darker and angstier tale. Everyone's got to learn.

Review:
Wow, okay. I just need to take a moment to breathe before I can start reccing this astounding fic.

So many of you who are in the Glee fandom will probably have already read Rainjoy's fantastic superhero AU, All the Other Ghosts. Remember how good that was, and how you cried and laughed and angsted over it for the months it was posting?

This is even better.

Grey goes further into exploring our boys' identities as both Kurt and Blaine and as their superhero counterparts, The Ghost and Phalanx, and the murky grey area that lies between those two sides of themselves. We're looking at heavy issues here, folks. Consent, trust, hopes for a future--all things that contribute to a lot of hanging-off-the-edge-of-your-seat drama. While All the Other Ghosts focused a lot on the past, Grey focuses on the present and the future. And it's a very scary present, and a very bleak future.

But, as usual, we're safe in Rainjoy's extremely capable hands. Grey isn't without its bursts of joy and humour--the "Ghostlanx phandom" is back and at its strongest, bringing not only additional light to Kurt and Blaine's story, but its own stories of love and sadness as well. The way Rainjoy writes those fans really makes you look at yourself, and your fandom, and then sit and think for a moment.

It's rare that I read fic that has such well-handled plot, action, romance and angst--to be quite honest, I feel privileged to be reading this. That's how good it is. The double-meaning sentences, the plays on words and even punctuation, everything, just leaves me stunned. Every update left me reeling and jittery with excitement. And yes, at the end, I cried. A lot. (Happy tears! I was mostly just sad that this epic saga was over.)

So settle back, put on some music, and grab a box of tissues. You'll need them. Then let yourself be immersed in the wonderful world that is Grey.

Grey