Title: Twenty Times Uzumaki Naruto Didn't Die
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: gen
Categories: five twenty things, future fic, darkfic, gore
Length: Medium, 14,849 words
Warnings: Blood, torture, gore, body horror and then some. Character deaths. Attempted suicide.

Author on Livejournal: n/a?
Author Website: Kraken's Ghost on fanfiction.net

Summary: Over time, Naruto learns what it means to be a Jinchuuriki.

Review: Had anyone bothered to search, they could've found shrapnel from the log almost a mile away. The boom is loud enough to scare birds into flight three miles away. An orange piece of fabric that used to be part of Naruto's distinctive suit drifts on the winds all the way to Lightning Country.

I love the device of writing a complete story composed of interconnected themed ficlets, whether it's five things or twenty things. This gruesome and thought-provoking what-if? fails to kill off Naruto multiple times in a variety of different ways as it addresses the consequences of being the host of a Jinchuuriki.

It's one of those stories that's told on a much larger scale than its word count should contain, rolling out enough emotion and imagination for a novel. The timeframe it's told over covers years, with the lives and deaths of other characters embedded in the tale along the way, leading to the most chilling of conclusions.

This is an old fic and was a future-fic at the time it was written. I've not read/seen Naruto-the-manga/anime since a while after the timeskip, so I can't attest to how it stands with where canon is now, but I doubt it could ever not still be worth reading.

The fic is linked by its format and a few references to two others by the author, but is not part of a series in a linear sense.

Twenty Times Uzumaki Naruto Didn't Die

Title: Moving Forward
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing: gen
Categories: character study, fanvid, MMV (Manga Music Video)
Length: vid, 4min12s
Warnings: Some blood/horror and child characters in dire situations as per canon.

Author on Livejournal: n/a?
Author Website: Csakuras on YouTube | On AMV.org (as greyrose)

Summary: A tribute to Edward Elric.

Review: I will not be beaten//You have yet to see me shining, shining//I wont take this lying down

If you haven't stumbled across MMVs ever, they're simply still comic strip manga panels trimmed and edited and then vidded to music... the same as AMVs are the animated clips vidded to music. I think this particular video was the first MMV I ever encountered and it made an impression, managing to achieve unexpected heights with monochrome manga panels, song choice and timing, and I've always found it to have a real emotional impact in delivering the character's story.

The song (which I suspect I might not like so much in other circumstances) is perfect, and the vid captures all the arrogance and failure, pride and strength and contradictions and tragedy of Edward Elric, in a fashion I've yet to see matched by vidding the anime. This is one of those favourites I used to play on repeat when I was desperately awaiting the next chapters of the manga.

The vid is downloadable on AMV.org or streaming on YouTube.

Moving Forward

Title: Defender
Fandom: Haven
Pairing: gen
Categories: friendship, kids, bittersweet, pre-canon, child pov
Length: Medium, 2,820 words
Warnings: Bullying (perpetrated by a teacher, no less) and prejudice, cruelty to animals, implied childhood abuse (physical or psychological) and implied neglect (pretty much canonical). Some blood.

Author on Livejournal: n/a?
Author Website: Kalliopeia on fanfiction.net

Summary: Nathan and Duke, age seven, shave their second grade teacher's cat. Come for the shenanigans, stay for the implications. Not intended as a fluff piece.

Review: Again I bring a fic that to all intents and purposes should be fluffy, and comedic, and cute, and in actuality definitely isn't. The adorable moments and the funny moments (there are a few) are far outweighed by the depths of Haven's history and vast divisions lurking in the background underneath. From a seven year old perspective of innocence, nothing is spelled out, so this fic rewards canon knowledge for what exactly is going on between the adult characters. There are some downright disturbing implications between the lines, to be honest. We know what happened to this relationship next, but not exactly what happened to degenerate things to the level of the Tacks Incident.

But everything is so simple and innocent here, in this snapshot of a childhood event between two friends supposed to be on opposite sides of the town's divide. The basic idea, of seven year old Duke deciding to be the defender of Nathan, is just too heartbreaking in context.

You may get another bonus Haven rec from me today or tomorrow, if I have chance, to celebrate this week's return of the show's (probable) final season.

Defender

Title: Redeem the Blood
Fandom: Farscape
Pairing: gen
Categories: dark, family, character study
Length: 2,456 words/medium
Warnings: Rape/Non-con in backstory, and prior to events in the fic.

Author on Livejournal: alara_r
Author Website: Alara J Rogers on AO3 | Alara Rogers on ffn

Summary: Scorpius, a Peacekeeper, and a baby. No, not romance, not humor and not fluff.

Review: "You may not thank me for saving your life, later on, you know. In fact, there's a good chance you may curse me for it. You might be better off if I disposed of you now."

As the summary says, nothing about Scorpius is ever truly going to be fluff, but this is an intriguing little fic about motivation and where the character comes from that does convincingly sell the idea of him deciding, after his own fashion, to make himself a family.

Most of what is here is still extraordinarily bleak. But all the same, Scorpius and baby, and it's kind of heartwarming too, in a weird way.

Redeem the Blood

Title: Deep
Fandom: Farscape
Pairing: John Crichton/Scorpius
Categories: fanvid, dark, slash,
Length: VID, 4mins 8s
Warnings: Many, many warnings. Violence, torture, body horror, bloodplay, and definitely a non-con vibe. All of it direct from the source material. (Vidder rates Teen, I'd rate Mature.)

Author on Livejournal: rhoboat
Author Website: Rhoboat on AO3

Summary: You make me feel there's a part of me that I want to get back again.

Review: I'll start by quoting the prompt that sparked this vid, as the vidder does: "I have long wanted a vid that explores the creepy, sexualized, intertwined nature of their relationship, right down to the blood-licking in the last season. It would also focus somewhat on the Scorpius that lives in John's head, and how he can never get away from his tormenter, and their twisted relationship." - Prompt from Destina

Considering how overtly sexual the relationship was on-screen, there's not a whole lot of Crichton/Scorpius around. I guess that's because Scorpius is very much not a pretty boy in the conventional sense, but he was a unique and oddly tragic/sympathetic figure, and his enemy/ally(/enemy) relationship with Crichton was fascinating from any angle. This vid plays up the sexual, slash angle and makes as much a meal of the stuff that was on the screen as Scorpius lunching on Crichton's brain matter. (sorry.)

Great vid that captures the performances of the two actors and what they did with this relationship, which started out as interrogator/victim, and ended with the characters living so much in each other's minds and goals. The vid is also very violent and definitely has a non-consensual vibe to it.

Deep

Title: There's Just People Like Us
Fandom: Firefly
Pairing: Saffron/Jayne Cobb
Categories: het, post-canon, developing relationship
Length: Medium, 2,344 words
Warnings: none

Author on Livejournal: n/a?
Author Website: Miss_M on AO3

Summary: Third time’s the charm: Jayne’s path crosses that of the woman of many names and talents. Turns out, they go well together, even if she (almost) never gives him a straight answer to any of his questions.

Review: Jayne jerked half upright when the woman snapped her fingers right next to his nose. After that, he saw no point in pretendin’ to be dead.

“Gorram it, woman,” he said as he heaved himself up and squared his shoulders, pretendin’ he had another gun concealed somewheres on his person. “No one ever teach you not to disturb a man when he’s fully armed and restin’?”

She had to tip her head way back to look him in the eye. Her red hair caught the desert sun somethin’ awful nice.

“You’re about three guns short of being fully armed, and you’ve been playing possum so long you’re starting to burn,” she said.

It's been forever since I'd read Firefly and I can't say this is a pairing I'd ever thought of before, but Saffron is my favourite underhanded femme fatale in the 'Verse, so I jumped to read this when I saw it posted in Rare Pair Fest. And it works! It's like these two fit together in a tiny-underhanded-smart-and-sneaky x big-dumb-and-sneaky-with-a-tiny-core-of-decency sort of way.

Jayne's voice recounting it is just perfect, I can hear them so well in this, and the development of the relationship between them... It almost ends up a weird sort of sweet.

There's Just People Like Us

Title: Confusion and Consequences
Fandom: Haven
Pairing: Audrey Parker/Duke Crocker/Nathan Wuornos
Categories: casefile, threesome, genderswap (sort of), polyamory, established relationship (het), first time (threesome)
Length: Long, 20,765 words
Warnings: I'm... not sure how to warn. Duke and Nathan end up with some girl parts, but not completely genderswapped, and the fic revolves around the issues of masculinity and sexuality that come out of that. If that's likely to be a problem or potentially triggery in some way, don't go there? There's also a warning for mild mind control, but it doesn't go too far with anything happening consent issues-wise in terms of the main trio. There are maybe a few potentially triggery things happening in the background with the other people affected by the gendermixing Trouble.

Author on Livejournal: n/a?
Author Website: guiltyreasons on AO3

Summary: Nathan thought he had seen everything until a half naked woman walks up to him claiming to be Duke Crocker....

Review: “It’s Haven. Trans hate is the least of our worries...”

Oh, I enjoyed the hell out of this one. Last week I was emailing the link to friends after I read it, so it's still pretty hot off the presses. Yes, there is the odd typo and grammar hiccup, but really, with all the other goodies on offer here, I find myself disinclined to care about those.

I love the stuff that really digs into the questions of sexuality and masculinity and sexual dysfunction and this goes there and then some, as this particular Trouble turns Haven upside-down and Duke and Nathan end up kind of not their usual manly selves. The fic is told from Nathan's point of view, and I love the POV -- getting to watch him angst in his low-key way about all these things, weird sexual situations and hangups and shame, is entirely wonderful. I also love how his senses are used in interesting ways in the smut. :)

The fic is established Audrey/Nathan leading into an Audrey/Duke/Nathan threesome, and while usually I'm more partial to the latter and the Duke/Nathan dynamic, I've seldom loved Audrey and Nathan's relationship more than the way it's presented here. They are so understanding of each other, and such good friends as well as lovers, who talk about all the knotty things and work through the changes that have happened to Nathan's body and how those effect their sexual relationship. And how they make the decision together when it comes to taking Duke on... they are so sweet and down to earth in this.

Anyway, this is just so hot and odd and interesting, with such a good POV, and the issues of gender and questioning sexuality I felt were nicely dealt with.

Confusion and Consequences

Title: Titanium
Fandom: Agent Carter
Pairing: gen
Categories: action, character study, fanvid
Length: fanvid, 3mins51
Warnings: canon level violence

Author on Livejournal: gwyn_r
Author Website: Gwyneth rhys on AO3 or http://www.gwynethr.net/

Summary: You shoot me down, but I won't fall, I am titanium.

Review: Today I bring a vid rec! Which, in all honesty, wasn't what I was searching for in this fandom, but I stumbled over it and it blew me away with its portrayal of Peggy Carter nonetheless. The vid is a character study of Peggy in all facets of action and adversity, much of which adversity is provided by the men who are supposed to be her colleagues and allies.

I've seen this song vidded before a few times (albeit not this exact version). Its use feels totally earned here, though, far too perfect a match to the message to be replaced by anything else. The cutting is pretty much spot on throughout, and some of the clips to lyrics matches are particularly poignant with the period sexism addressed in the show.

The video is streaming on Vimeo and you can also download it on the Vimeo link.

Titanium (LJ link here.)

Title: Internment Camp 317
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Pairing: gen
Categories: action/adventure(ish), hurt/comfort(ish), team, friendship
Length: medium, ~9,000 words
Warnings: none

Author on Livejournal: bjewelled
Author Website: Bjewelled

Summary: Julian Bashir spent a month in Internment Camp 317 as a prisoner of the Dominion, and he never really spoke much about it later...

Review: “You are going to help us,” Tain said, implacably. “I can understand your reluctance to reveal how you are going to help us, but you really don't have a choice. While I've been able to secure the hardware components needed for transmission, I still need to decrypt the code walls around the power system so that I can divert sufficient energy for our needs. That's where you come in.”

Julian frowned. “I'm a Doctor,” he said, “Not a mathematician.”

“Come now,” Tain said, faint annoyance audible in his voice, “You and I both know you have certain hidden talents which you seem to be rather embarrassed about.”

So this fic is a few years old but I read it for the first time the other day, following someone else's bookmarks, and it rocks my socks because it ties the genetic enhancements thread to canon. Or at least, as much so as I think it's ever possible to tie that into canon, and into Dr Bashir's characterisation, given how in 4 and a half seasons canon had never so much as tipped a sly nod towards it until it sprung that upon the viewership in what generally always seemed like a one-off episode where continuity had left the house, street, and was heading way out of the quadrant.

Martok and Tain and the rest of the prison camp inmates are nicely written and the fic hinges on its capacity to illustrate Dr Bashir's growing relationships within the little group. In fact, of Julian interacting with a diverse bunch of species with differing points of view, who aren't so much interested in the rigid point of view of the Federation on... certain very personal subjects that might be considered illegal and taboo.

It feels odd to label it 'team' fic when it's not the DS9 team in question, but nonetheless, it's about how this little group become knit together by necessity to survive and eventually escape. And how Dr Bashir gains an odd freedom, of sorts, that he's never actually had among his Federation compatriots, in the midst of all this strife.

Internment Camp 317

Title: Black Water Rising
Fandom: Agent Carter
Pairing: gen
Categories: casefic, action/adventure, hurt/comfort, huddling for warmth, team, friendship
Length: long, 29,221 words
Warnings: none

Author on Livejournal: sholio
Author Website: Sholio on AO3

Summary: An apparently abandoned Hydra facility turns into a deathtrap for Peggy and the SSR team. Set after 1x08.

Review: It really could not be more of a stereotypical villain lair if they'd taken the design straight from one of those execrable Captain America comics, Peggy thought, shining her torch above and around the empty, echoing halls. And it was entirely cleaned out. Not a stick of furniture, not even so much as a bolt. When Hydra cleared out, they really cleared out.

This is a solid gen adventure that delivers something I'd very much had the desire to see after watching the series -- our three favourite SSR agents working together and respecting each other for their strengths and understanding each other's weaknesses, all of which get showcased during the course of the story. It's a great teamfic full of banter and tropeyness (but never too much to take over the story) which makes me wish there was more of its like out there.

Thompson's *cough* still a prat, but he's their prat and still wants to do the right thing, even if he always(?) falls down with the execution, even if we're still not sure he'd come through in the crunch, but he gets the chance to be brave and tenacious here and show some real strength. Sousa gets to be quietly smart and self-sacrificing. Peggy is competent and in-charge despite the nominal ranks, but also permitted to be human, isn't invulnerable or without fear. Above all it's teamwork that enables them to survive their situation in this fic, and every member of the trio playing their part.

Black Water Rising

Title: Being Small

Fandom: due South
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Categories: casefic, adventure, slash, crack
Length: medium, 6234 words
Warnings: none

Author on Livejournal: n/a?
Author Website: arrow (esteefee) on AO3

Summary: Being small is a real education.

Review: For reasons that do not need exploring at this juncture, Ray is now tiny. The reasons do not need exploring because Ray does not want to explain to anyone why he's suddenly the size of an action figure, only minus the Kung Fu grip. But let's just say there was a shrink ray involved (there always is) and no puns, thanks, because this is Not Fun.

So this is my second shrunk!fic rec of the day. This one serves added slashiness with the crack!

I mean, to be absolutely up-front about it, this is bonkers. There are no shrinking rays (ha. ha. HA!) in due South and Fraser is keeping Ray in his belt pouch and feeding him Cheetos. But there is action!tinyRay and arming up for battle at Toys-R-Us, with gratuitous vintage action figure references, and who can resist? So freakin' adorable and so much fun.

I should probably add that the smut happens once the size issue is resolved, although who knows, some of us may be disappointed by that...

Being Small

Title: Trouble shared is Trouble halved

Fandom: Haven
Pairing: gen
Categories: casefic, adventure, crack
Length: short...ah, dammit, it's just into medium, wasted opportunity for a size gag. 2247 words
Warnings: none

Author on Livejournal: tanaquific
Author Website: Tanaqui on AO3

Summary: When Nathan finds himself in trouble as the result of a Trouble, Audrey and Duke ride to the rescue. But, of course, this is Haven and things are never that straightforward..

Review: Duke tried to look like he hadn't been thinking it would be fun to gently push Nathan around with his finger once Audrey's back was turned. Maybe even pick Nathan up by the scruff of his jacket and dangle him from a great height. He didn't intend to do him any serious harm, just have a bit of fun....

So today's recs come as a result of a conversation yesterday about how I love shrinking fics (or shrunk!fic, depending on your preferred grammar). As a trope it is adorable crack and there should be more of it out there. Feel free to point me toward more in comments.

This cute lil' fic is an abbreviated casefile wherein Duke and Nathan find themselves on the short end of a Trouble, while Audrey basks in her customary immunity. It's freakin' adorable.

It's listed gen but the trio relationship reads as pretty fond and there manage to be a few Nathan and Duke moments packed into this mini adventure.

Trouble shared is Trouble halved

Title: Regression

Fandom: Haven
Pairing: gen-ish, early seasons canon-level Audrey Parker/Nathan Wuornos
Categories: casefile!, adventure, angst, friendship, amnesia (sort of), hurt/comfort (sort of)
Length: medium, 14,717 words
Warnings: Implied past childhood abuse (heavily hinted in canon), and it's rated mature for a catalogue of dark themes but nothing heavily described.

Author on Livejournal: n/a
Author Website: author unrevealed (author link will be added when the challenge is revealed).

Summary: In the beginning it was almost funny. Audrey figured the photo of Duke clutching the teddy bear should be worth free coffee-the good stuff-at least once a week. If only it hadn't brought up the past quite so viscerally.

Review: The crying stopped and Duke stiffened. "Uh, Nathan? Care to fill me in on why I am half naked and crying into your chest?"

It's a Haven casefic! Here's a Trouble that regresses people, psychologically, back to the worst times of their lives. From Duke's initial somewhat amusing/simultaneously embarrassing/even horrifying re-experience of childhood, to the awfulness of poor, poor Dwight under the influence, to Nathan's struggle at the climax, that's a Trouble which paves the way for some truly interesting things to be explored.

The Troubled Person is an interesting original character in his own right, with history and motives that feel human and true. The story isn't afraid to look into a few dark corners. But it's got a vein of humour and acknowledgement of the ridiculous of the Troubles and Haven in general running through it, that never lets it get *too* dark. (Plus, bonus appearance by Dr. Lucassi, who has to be one of my favourite understated minor characters of the show.)

It's labelled Audrey/Nathan plus Duke & Nathan and reads in line with a gen-ish season 2 type canon piece, and ends with a sleepover on the Cape Rouge, so really how you want to interpret the relationships in it is up for grabs.

This fic is a product of the recent Troubled Tales fic exchange, so it is currently author anonymous.

Regression

Title: Burn it Back

Fandom: Haven
Pairing: Jordan McKee/Mara
Categories: femslash, villain POV, AU/canon divergence, dark (ish)
Length: medium, ~11,000 words
Warnings: for general Evil! with a glad cry

Author on Livejournal: n/a
Author Website: author unrevealed (author link will be added when the challenge is revealed).

Summary: There's nothing quite like fury to bring people together. Jordan and Mara have been burned by the world - together, they just might burn it back.

Review: “So, you’ve ruined lives, you’ve ruined people, you-” Jordan stopped, lifted her chin, and steadied her aim. “So I’m going to kill you, I’m going to do what someone should’ve done as soon as they found out what you are.”

“You don’t actually want to do that,” Mara said, unconcerned.

“I really do,” Jordan replied, teeth bared.

Haven is pretty infamous for having a lot of different, interesting female characters who get to actually do key things and who invariably come to a bad end. In this fic, Jordan McKee gets resurrected as a Fury courtesy of one of Mara's Greatest Hits from back in the old days, and the two of them form an unholy alliance to make Audrey and Nathan and co. pay and get the hell out of Haven. And it kinda feels weird to tag this as darkfic when it's based around resurrecting a character that I really, really like, but I guess that's the tag it's closest to fitting...

Then again, Mara's voice is saturated with manipulation and confidence and evil!plots! Really, considering Jordan's Trouble, there should be more fic out there shipping her with x incarnation of Audrey, and here the relationship evolves with perfect logic for a Mara who uses sex as part of her arsenal, who knows Jordan's weakness for touch through Audrey's memories, and knows how best to woo her to turn her into a weapon that Mara can best use.

It also holds that strange and perverse fascination of letting you see the heroes get kicked around while the villains take centre stage for a while. Mara and Jordan's thoughts on Nathan, Duke and Audrey aren't complimentary, but they do get some interesting moments between the lines. I think I spy some OT3 hints in there.

This fic is a product of the recent Troubled Tales fic exchange, so it is currently author anonymous. You might get a second rec this week courtesy of this exchange.

Burn it Back

Title: Refugees

Fandom: Due South
Pairing: Ray Kowalski/Ray Vecchio
Categories: slash, breakup, post-canon, first time
Length: medium, ~12,000 words
Warnings: none

Author on Livejournal: china_shop
Author Website: china_shop on AO3

Summary: "What? No, Frannie. No! I am not with Kowalski! I am not gay! Jesus, could you concentrate on your own problems? Stella and me called it quits. I needed a place to stay."

Review: Ray looked around at stacks of newspapers and magazines, dirty cups and plates, scattered laundry. There was a half-played game of chess on the coffee table, with a beer bottle sitting in the middle surrounded by pawns. There was a bicycle half-in, half-out the open window, and Christ, there were novelty lights hanging in the kitchen. What was this, Santa's Little Grotto? But more importantly: "Where's Fraser?"

Kowalski threw him a fake careless glance and picked up the beer bottle from the chess board. "He's in Canada. Where do you think he is? What are you doing here, Vecchio?"

Ray stepped over a pair of hiking boots and took the bottle from his hand. "You owe me fifteen hundred dollars. I've been paying your utilities, and I'm here to collect."

So I tend to read these on my e-reader, offline, removed from the fandom response like kudos and comments, and looking this one up now for the links and info, I'm startled to discover how little response this fic seems to have. All I can think is that maybe fics don't so easily win people over if their starting point is the disintegration of canon happy endings. Both Rays' post-Call of the Wild relationships have crashed and burned. Vecchio's split up from Stella, Kowalski's split up from Fraser, and they're back in Chicago and both a mess.

If you can get beyond that concept, I thought this was a delightfully lively, amusing fic that fairly jumped out at me from the many, many Due South fics I'd stuck on aforementioned e-reader to binge read. Ray (Vecchio) discovers that due to the identity confusion hangover from his undercover days, he's been paying for the utility bills of Ray (Kowakski)'s apartment, and figures that as Kowalski owes him the money he'll just move on in and crash there, since he can't face anyone he actually knows and likes or resuming his life in general after the disaster of his marriage.

Inevitably, slowly the enforced company does them each some good and they start to -- somewhat reluctantly -- bond. It's fun.

Refugees

Title: points on a map

Fandom: Haven
Pairing: Audrey Parker/Duke Crocker/Nathan Wuornos
Categories: threesome, domestic, post-canon, non-specific future fic
Length: medium, 4,388 words
Warnings: none

Author on Livejournal: templemarker
Author Website: templemarker on AO3

Summary: The one thing they realized early on, about this relationship they figured out between all three of them, is that there was no way they could live together.

Review: This is just a lovely look at the Audrey/Duke/Nathan relationship examined through the lens of their living spaces, and the living practicalities of a three way relationship outside of the sex. I love that it's dealing with them as three different relationships between two people as well a relationship between three people. The acceptance in general here that people need space, even people who love each other, and particularly accepting Nathan still needing his own space and not having his quieter and less-social tendencies magically 'fixed' by being in a relationship with two more outgoing partners. How the character of the spaces they choose for their own illuminates the characters, and how the ways they collectively choose to spend their time in each defines the relationship(s).

Also, this fic may manage to lay out my ideal Haven future and conclusion to the series. No perfect endings and answers, but a continuation of their adventures while moving and changing at the same time.

points on a map

Title: The penny jar theory

Fandom: due South
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Categories: slash, established relationship, post-canon
Length: medium, ~13,000 words
Warnings: none really

Author on Livejournal: deputychairman
Author Website: Deputychairman on AO3

Summary: “How - ” Fraser cleared his throat. “How long is the contract?”
“Six months,” Ray told the stew.
“And will you,” he stopped. Ray heard the deep breath he took. Taking it on the chin, attaboy, Ben. “Are you planning to come back here, afterwards?”

Review: The last two weeks I've read nothing but due South, so with due permission--it's someone else's reccing fandom--I'm sneaking in a rec of my favourite so far of the fics that seem to have appeared since last I read dS.

The question that seems to have the strongest pull on me post-series is What does Kowalski do in Canada? and this fic is centred around the practicalities of him trying to find an answer to exactly that, and the ways Fraser and Ray's relationship has to shift around it. The fic exists in a world where the answers aren't perfect and the characters have to make compromises. It's not an unhappy fic, not really, but oddly bittersweet.

I love to bits the central images of the dubious gift of the Penny Jar -- and the time limit/death-knell of a relationship that it starts off by proclaiming -- and Ray Kowalski heading off to work on the isolation of an oil rig without Fraser's approval.

The penny jar theory

Title: Megamind Tries to Be Like Grace Kelly

Fandom: Megamind
Pairing: Megamind/Roxanne
Categories: Fanvid, romance, humour
Length: video, 3.02 mins
Warnings: none

Author on Livejournal: n/a?
Author Website: raspberryseedz on YouTube

Summary: ... Roxanne doesn't like it.

Review: I could be brown / I could be blue / I could be violet sky
I could be hurtful / I could be purple / I could be anything you like

This may not be my favourite song in the world (Grace Kelly by MIKA) but it's perfect for Megamind's exuberance in this good-natured, fast-paced vid. The clipping and timing is spot-on and it manages to make the song its own.

My favourite aspect of this is probably the use the vid makes of the shapeshifter/master of disguise element in the movie, matching the lyrics to Megamind's attempts to be anyone but himself.

Megamind Tries to Be Like Grace Kelly

Title: Balance of Power

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing: gen
Categories: action/adventure, crack, caper, time travel, post-canon
Length: super epic, ~328,000 words
Warnings: Only that it's left fairly open-ended, and the sequel looks to be in a permanent state of unfinished.

Author on Livejournal: n/a?
Author Website: Crackbunny Syndrome on fanfiction.net

Summary: Time travel. Conspiracy theories. Leylines. Pop culture crack and bad movie references. Hackers, ghost hunters and detectives, oh my! When crossing the gate, be sure to look both ways. Post series.

Review: "Maul?!" Ed asked. His eyes had gone wide as he stared around at all the different stores. The place was two floors high, bigger than any market he'd ever seen, and a cacophony of lights, sounds, and enticing aromas.

This is going back a few years now, to before the manga had an ending, before Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood had been made, and when the 'ending' for the series was that of the original anime and sequel movie Conqueror of Shamballa. This ridiculously epic gen fic, with its entourage of well-written original characters plus a surprise addition back-from-the-dead, is set after the movie, as a time travel incident propels Edward and Alphonse Elric into the modern world. They are helped to survive and navigate it by the dropouts, hippies and dissidents they meet along the way.

The story is a giant collaborative effort and exceedingly well written. The original characters and their voices are distinct. It's kind of the neverending fic, but it's also a lot of fun. According to the author profile, the plot was an accidental discovery, but I couldn't really tell, though it's in no hurry to rush enjoying all the gags about Edward in the modern world and the character moments along the way. It also has the capacity to turn surprisingly dark in its serious moments -- bear in mind that Ed and Al have time travelled from 1920s Germany, unknowing of the future that was to come.

Balance of Power

Title: How Far Down

Fandom: Dredd
Pairing: gen
Categories: casefile, crime, backstory
Length: medium, 6,452 words
Warnings: author warns for 'threat of rape/non-con' but it's pretty minor

Author on Livejournal: n/a?
Author Website: Eli on AO3

Summary: 17,000 serious crimes are reported every day. How many more aren't?

Review: No matter how much confidence she has gained as a judge, where Anderson is truly comfortable is in other people's heads. She's not sure what that says about her.

This is both a small casefile following the events of the movie and a backstory fill-in for Psi Judge Cassandra Anderson. I like the extrapolation here for where Anderson goes next, with the struggle to find Judges willing to work with her, and her ending up by circumstance working alongside Dredd again anyway.

I like this fic for the opportunity to see Anderson in action again and these two partnered up once more, in a platonic sense, and it makes some good use of the psychic powers -- those scenes of Anderson busting into other people's heads were always the thing I loved best in the Anderson Psi Division comic strips.

There are also a few neat little character observations of Dredd along the way.

How Far Down