[ Sherlock (BBC) | Sherlock/Molly | WIP ] - He could fix this.
[ cinematic Avengers | Steve Rogers/Tony Stark ] My love for epistolary fan fiction is no secret. In this story, the implications of Steve exploring the internet for the first time are explored through series of email exchanges with Tony.
[ X-Men: First Class | Raven, Charles/Erik | 13k ] - Exquisitely worded character study of Raven and, through her eyes, of Erik and Charles. I’ve been elbows-deep in the First Class fandom for the past few weeks, and this story struck me not only for its unflinching honesty but also for the way it elaborates on the relationship between Charles and Raven.
[ Mercedes/Sam | R ] Some things grow in summer.
This story is fairly sweet little peak into the relationship between Sam and Mercedes. The prose reflects the heat and slowness of a teenage summer. Plus, there is a lot of pizza and Kurt planning dates.
[Sherlock (BBC) | John/Sherlock | Vampire AU] In which vampires have enslaved humans and control, well, everything. Vampire!Mycroft insists his little brother get a slave — even though it didn’t work out with the dog — and Sherlock chooses the one guaranteed to irritate his brother the most: an unassuming little doctor with an ugly past and absolutely no style to speak of.
Roll with it. A Priori is the first story in the universe and the best. The codependent relationship between John and Sherlock translates well to the universe that Rubberbutton establishes.
[SNL | Seth/Stefon] This fic has everything: curtains, barfing, a lesbian from Pensacola, a surprise kiss at the end, and a Sunday morning that is just normal enough for Weekend Update’s city correspondent.
What little fanfic there is featuring Stefon usually sets him in an environment we’d expect of him: the club. This story reaches beyond that to show us Stefon at home. He’s still the club kid we’ve come to love, but he has Sunday mornings too. Sometimes they just turn out to be Sunday mornings with Seth.
[ Veronica Mars | Veronica/Logan | 159k ] - In Neptune, the brighter the summer sun, the deeper the shadows.
I’m recommending this fic with reservations - it’s a collaborative effort, which lends a piecemeal feel to the writing, and the denouement is unsatisfying - but it is a solid story driven by both the case and the relationship between Veronica and Logan. Also, it’s long, which seems strangely rare in this fandom? I don’t think I’ve found another story over maybe 60,000 words.
Best of all, this monster is set in the summer immediately after season two. Season three had moments, but man oh man, I could read post-S2 AUs all month long and still not be sick of them. This one doesn’t linger on the fallout of Cassidy’s and Aaron’s deaths, but the characters are definitely emerging from trauma. Not exactly angst; the darker moments come from the case itself.
[ X-Men/Spider-Man ] - A week after Black Tuesday’s telepathic attack on the world, Peter Parker took some pictures for a story on “the mutant problem.” Ten years later, he’s still taking pictures. The only difference is his definition of “the problem.” This story is essentially a mock-up of a photoessay done for the New York Times by Peter Parker on mutants. The first line of the article reads “You know that television show, Big Bang Theory where all the geeks live in one floor of a college dorm?” (Which is not exactly accurate, but: *FLAILS*) The Peter voice is perfect, and the sweet background Peter/MJ moments are perfect, but even more this story actually makes you think about what life would be like for mutants if they really existed. There are all these ground-level snapshots of human beings and how they reflect on and interact with the larger world, and the photographs are just perfect and everything about this is perfect. I think I feel a little bit in love with Rogue and Wanda, not that I needed any help there, and let me say it again: PERFECT.
[ Mad Men | Don Draper/Peggy Olson ] - In 1981, Peggy is keeping a secret.
Over a decade removed from the main action of Mad Men, everyone is moving on with their lives. Don and Peggy seem to have reached a relationship that will work for both of them and Don’s kids are all grown up. This story deals with everything in a realistic manner and is a joy to read.
[ Veronica Mars | Logan/Veronica | R for adorable ] - N/A (“nice, happy, goofy and domestic Logan/Veronica”)
I have a serious weakness for curtain fic, especially in canon that seems determined to give me anything but. This is seriously adorable, with banter! and Target! and absolutely no heart-wrenching conflict. The frame hits another of my narrative kinks, the outside/media POV, and even though he isn’t quite, I love Logan as a nearly-a-trophy husband.
Also, adorable. Really adorable. Did I mention that this story is adorable?
[ Sherlock (BBC) | Sherlock/John ] - Sherlock: “If you were dying, if you were murdered, in the very last seconds, what would you say?” / John: “Please God, let me live.” / Sherlock: “Use your imagination.” / John: “I don’t have to.”
And now for something completely different: “Secondary Exposure” tells the story of teenaged John’s kidnapping and John and Sherlock’s eventual encounter with the kidnapper. This is a rare delight in a fandom largely devoted to retelling the same sorts of stories; the author both manages to balance the unfolding case with a developing relationship and to refine and expose the characters in surprising ways. One of my favorites!
[ How I Met Your Mother | Ensemble | 3k ] - Zombies are attacking NYC. Luckily, Robin knows what to do.
Crack and zombies, what more do you want? This is wonderfully in-character and taken in just the perfect direction for the fandom, that is, lots of bonding and Barney using the apocalypse as an excuse to nail random women and Robin taking everyone up on the roof to teach them to shoot. The future!Ted narration really worked for me, too; in some fic the device feels gimmicky or forced, but here it’s used for fantastic effect.
[ Sherlock (BBC) | Sally Donovan/Sherlock Holmes, John Watson/Sherlock Holmes | 12k ] The real reason Sally Donovan hates Sherlock so much? They have a child he never sees.
This story dips into the mind and possible back story of a character we see in the series as only hostile. It works off of the premise that Sally had Sherlock’s child. The story conveys some of the emotional struggles of being a single mother, but also of having to deal with a person like Sherlock.
[ Buffy the Vampire Slayer | gen/ensemble | 3k ] - Some spells are stronger and further reaching than you’d think.
Metafic as meta has never been ficced before. Funny and clever; take a peek even if you aren’t a Dawn fan, because this just nails fandom.
