makoyi | Entries tagged with fics non-fans can enjoy

Title: The Victors Project
Author:

Oisin55
Fandom: Hunger Games
Genre: Gen
Length: Epic (311,626 words)

Author's Summary:
Before Katniss and Peeta, seventy-three children won the Hunger Games. Some were brutal. Some were clever. Some were lucky. A few were almost decent. These are their stories. This is the Victors Project.

Review:
Absolutely fantastic! Every chapter is a new one shot of a games and each one is beautiful in the same terrible way as canon. This is a fic you don't need to read in one go - it can be read chapter by chapter over time - but it can also be really enjoyable as a whole, driven by the diversity of narrator voices (some chapters are POV of the victor they focus on, some of viewers, some of Capitol fans or Gamemakers, even some of mentors), the overarching themes of Hunger Games history and the lives pre- and post-war of some canon favorites and the continued human drama/trauma of the canon verse expanded. The characters and plots are amazingly well written from the first to the last and at 77 chapters and more than 300,000 words, this is a complete and classic epic every Hunger Games fan should read.

The Victors Project (on ff.net)

Title: 3 Slytherin Marauders
Author:

severusphoenix
Fandom: Harry Potter
Genre: AU, Snape-adopts-Harry, Snape has a family, Good!Tom Riddle (sort of), Families of Choice
Pairing: Snape/Rosmerta, various
Length: Epic (582,712 words)

Author's Summary:
Harry & Dudley flee an abusive Vernon to Severus Snape. Severus finds a new home for himself & the boys with dragons and hunt the Horcruxes from there. The dragons, especially one become their allies. Tom R is VERY different.

Review:
I've read this epic several times and love it. It starts off asking you to stretch your suspension of disbelief a bit far for some but stick with it - it gets really good very fast and goes on for more than half-a-million words that seem like just enough (but you still aren't sure you want it to end). Dragons! Smart plots! Great world-building and fantastic characterizations all around, pro-Slytherin, without any sustained bashing (except for Vernon) though some characters do get bashed into character development but it's always well-played. Outstanding fic!

3 Slytherin Marauders (on ff.net)

Title: Angry Harry and the Seven
Author: Sinyk
Fandom: Harry Potter
Genre: AU, Independent!Harry
Pairing: Harry/Daphne
Length: Epic (490,097 words)

Author's Summary:
Just how will Dumbledore cope with a Harry who is smart, knowledgeable, sticks up for himself and, worst still, is betrothed? A Harry who has a penchant for losing his temper? Ravenclaw/Smart(alek)/Lord/Harry Almostcanon/Dumbledore

Review:
I wouldn't say Harry is so much angry as informed and supported - he gets a whole host of adult magical mentors before Hogwarts and it makes for an interesting independent!Harry with excellent plotting and character development. I like when independent!harry fics manage to keep Dumbledore from turning into too much of a caricature and this one does, so all around a good fic.

Angry Harry and the Seven (on ff.net)

Title: An Unexpected Evening
Author:
Fandom: NYPL '67 Reference Cards
Genre: ?
Pairing: Uncertain Female Caller/Fellow Who's Worth Twenty Seven Million Dollars
Length: Short (1,931 words)

Author's Summary:
New Year's Eve 1966 - a mystery man and a fancy party - what more could a girl ask for?

Review:
I love the New York Public Library's find of old Reference questions. This fic is the imagined backstory to one of the more intriguing cards:
Phone message left mid-afternoon by a "somewhat uncertain female voice" on New Year's Day 1967: "I have two questions. The first is sort of an etiquette one. I went to a New Year's Eve party and unexpectedly stayed over. I don't really know the hosts. Ought I to send a thank-you note? Second, when you meet a fellow and you know he's worth twenty-seven million dollars because that's what the told me, twenty-seven million, and you know his nationality, how do you find out his name?"

The author reveal won't be for a bit yet, but this fic is lovely so I had to rec it right away.

An Unexpected Evening (on AO3)

Title: Qualia
Author:

imogenbynight
Fandom: Supernatural
Genre: Scifi AU (Near future Earth, AIs, no aliens, no space), interspecies romance, asexual romance
Pairing: Castiel/Dean
Length: Medium (26,600 words)

Author's Summary:
When Sam & Jess move into a smart home, Dean finds an unlikely match in the AI that keeps it running.

Review:
Cas' canon character has always been a bit alien, a bit out of touch, and that translates really well into Cas-as-AI. This is an amazing story about an AI learning to feel and its also a great total-AU Destiel. Dean's journey is a big part of the story too, and for Charlie fans - she's a great friend to Dean here.

Qualia (on AO3)

Title: What The Mayflies Leave Behind
Author:

MayFairy
Fandom: Doctor Who
Genre: Friendship, Character Study (Jack)
Length: Short (3,826 words)

Author's Summary:
The first time she meets the promised Captain Jack Harkness, he's so unaware of his own curse she can barely look at him. The second time, he knows all too well, but is not yet ready. The third time, he stretches out his hand and she takes it.

Review:
Ashildr meets Jack (no prior knowledge of the 12th Doctor series or characters needed, including Ashildr - you could substitute any older human-turned-immortal and the story would still work). It's a character study for how Jack changes through the series. I really liked the contrast between the two immortals and the sense that their journeys to accepting their new natures has been different and even though Ashildr, whose POV the story is from, seems to think that her view is inevitable and Jack will/does get there eventually, I don't read Jack by the end in the same way as Ashildr reads though there is clear character development that sort of runs parallel - that balance makes for a really interesting dual character study.

What the Mayflies Leave Behind (on AO3)

Title: Pageant of Death
Author:

Azure_K_Mello
Fandom: Hunger Games
Genre: AU - Gale takes Peeta's place in the 74th games
Pairing: Gale/Peeta, Katniss&Darius
Length: Long (61,269+ words)

Author's Summary:
Gale goes into the arena to save Peeta, his young man, from going in. Things would have been very different if Katniss and Gale were together: two kids from the Seam who know how to hunt. They play the Games and they play them well but regardless of how well they play, regardless of whether either of them survive, nothing will ever be the same for them or the country.

Review:
I stayed up way to late reading this fic straight through (and have reread it several times since) and just loved it. Don't expect a copy of canon with Gale written in over Peeta - it's creative and original and Gale is a much more intelligent and aware character than either Katniss or Peeta so putting him in cahoots with canonically brilliant Haymitch from the start is fantastic and it was just plain fun seeing him manipulating the games with the same kind of cunning as he analyzed the problem of the The Nut in Mockingjay. I also really like Haymitch's character and the way that Gale, and later Katniss, treat him. Know though that Katniss and Gale had some serious plot armor and genre savvy throughout - it didn't break the suspension of disbelief, but it's clear that this is a best case scenario for them... Considering how dark some Hunger Games AUs are, this can be a breath of fresh air (I felt that way) or it may not be your cup of tea.

What's written so far is equivalent to the first book of the series and it ends differently enough that I don't know where it's going so I'm really looking forward to seeing where the next story in the series goes.

Edit: I've been given a sneak peak of the next book in exchange for catching the typos and it's at least as awesome as the first! I can't wait for it to be finished and posted :D

Pageant of Death (on AO3)

Title: Our Skin, Our Bones, Our Silent Poems
Author: taylorpotato
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Genre: Friends to Lovers Romance, Deaf character, Language and Linguistics (uses ASL Gloss)
Pairing: Peter/Stiles
Length: Medium (7,675 words)
Warning: Stiles is underage
Admin note: I don't have a tag for differently abled characters - I will keep an eye out for more fics in the future that could go under such a tag and come back and change it but for now and so I can find it later, I'll tag this neurovariant as the closest thing I've got even though they're not the same at all. WIll fix later.

Author's Summary:
Peter is a Deaf werewolf. Stiles is a CODA (Child of a Deaf Adult). They’re a kind of unlikely pair. But sometimes things you wouldn’t think of as a good combination, end up turning out to be the perfect combination, you know?

Review:
I LOVE this fic. I really like ASL gloss (I like ASL in general a lot and wish I knew more, and could use it more often without crazy pressure to not screw up - I should probably study harder) and love to see it included in fic about deaf characters. I already know a passable amount about ASL grammar so I didn't have any trouble following the gloss - I would guess it's pretty followable by anyone with a couple of exceptions that can be worked around with context so don't ignore this fic is you're not familiar with ASL - it's really cool, you'll probably like it. The ship isn't treated as being as important in the fic as the general bond between Stiles and Peter over ASL and challenges of being deaf and having deaf family - it's more a Friends-to-Lovers fic. It should also be noted that the dark parts of canon are pretty strongly downplayed or ignored altogether and the age difference issues (including how Stiles is underage) are lampshaded lightly and not dealt with again - this may not be okay with everyone - I was a pretty meh about it, but can't pass up ASL Gloss in a fic.

Our Skin, Our Bones, Our Silent Poems (on AO3)

Title: Need To Know
Author: ellen_fremedon
Fandom: Torchwood, Star Trek
Genre: Crossover, PWP
Pairing: Jack/Naraht
Length: Medium (10,523 words)

Author's Summary:
Jack loves working the Federation timezone. You meet the most interesting people.

Review:
Found this rec'd on fancake as the best truly-omnisexual!Jack fic and decided I had to read it. It is that, and also a fantastic sci fi. I usually avoid food kink as a personal squick but I didn't pay attention to what I was getting into and then this appeared and I had to keep reading:

Excerpt:
"I'm not asking you to spawn," Jack said. "I'm asking if you'd like to have dinner with me." He leaned down and spoke low. "I want to watch you enjoy something else as much as you enjoyed that hull plating," he said, "and I want to know you're letting me." Just the thought was making his heart pound, and he was pretty sure Naraht could tell. Anyone watching should have been able to tell, should have seen in his face what a wonderfully, filthily carnal proposition he'd just made to this sweet young thing, and yet people were walking past as though their conversation couldn't be anything but professional. "That's what I want," Jack said. "But only if you want it, too."

I so rarely read straight PWP (I'm gray-ace so not really my thing) but that part actually really speaks to me (in some ways better than things written by other aces) and I almost never see that kind of thing represented so I had to come and share it here, and the story is so well written and wonderfully science fictiony, even the food part, that I didn't even mind the food kink.

Need To Know (on AO3)

Title: Tik Tok
Author:

binz and

shiplizard
Fandom: Rivers of London, Forever
Genre: Crossover, Friendship, Time Travel
Length: Medium (9,519 words)
rec'd on fancake

Author's Summary:
Well, tonight he either saved Henry from being spied on by UNIT or he got a British visitor drunk and gave him a really fun club crawl to cheer him up. Either way, victory. Good job, team.

Review:
Excellent crossover, great geeky Peter&Lucas friendship fic, touching Henry&Lucas character fic --- all around a really good fic. This brings together two tiny fandoms - you only need to know one or the other to love this fic... knowing both makes it twice as good.

Tik Tok (on AO3)

Title: Love Worth Waiting For
Author:

BooklandReeve
Fandom: Disney (Frozen and Mulan crossover, plus assorted Disney cameos)
Genre: Romance, Soulmates, Soulmarks
Pairing: Mulan/Elsa
Length: Medium (15k+ words)

Author's Summary:
Every child is born with the name of their true love in the palm of their hand, but the marks on the palm of Elsa's hand are broken and meaningless, and it must be kept secret.

Review:
OMG, I love this. I work at an elementary school so I'm totally sick of Frozen and want to cry every time someone starts Let it Go, but Mulan is my favorite Disney princess so I wasn't going to pass this one up and, luckily, this fic is gorgeous. As far as Soulmarks go, I usually prefer the first words variation, but I really like the way the language barrier works in this fic, especially with Elsa's canon character arc. Also, f/f Disney princesses :) Also, cross-cultural romance :) And the characterizations are fantastic! This is still a WIP and I might up the score on this one depending on how the author finishes it up.

Love Worth Waiting For (on AO3)

Title: What I Did On My Summer Vacation
Author: grimm
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Genre: AU, Werewolves Are Known/Magic Is Known
Pairing: Stiles/Derek
Length: Long (118,749 words)

Author's Summary:
There's something weird about Beacon Hills that Stiles can't quite put his finger on. The way everyone in town knows his name the day he arrives. The way they insist the melancholic howling that echoes through the forest every night is just a dog. The way his dad denies getting a dog, even though Stiles comes home to find one sprawled across his bed, some big black thing whose eyes gleam red in the right light. The way that massive oak tree out in the woods vibrates under his touch, pulsing with sickly life.
There's something weird going on in this town, and Stiles is determined to get to the bottom of it.

Review:
A little bit Werewolves are Known, plus a little Laura Lives, plus Derek is stuck as a wolf, plus Stiles is the only one in town who doesn't know what's going on... Stiles is only visiting his father, the town sheriff, and he gets a summer job at the library working for Laura Hale, and slowly he notices that weird things happen here but no one else seems to think its a big deal so he has to figure it out himself. As Teen Wolf fics go, this one is fairly light in tone (though there is angsty and a lot of sadness associated with the Hale Fire still). I like this fic as an example of the everyday magic type of Urban fantasy - Beacon Hills as a whole supernatural town/enclave headed by the Hale Pack makes for a good premise.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation (on AO3)
podfic by lunchee

Title: Colors
Author:

Quesarasara
Fandom: Sherlock BBC
Genre: Romance, soulmates - Red String of Fate, casefic
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: Very Long (140,845 words)

Author's Summary:
Everyone on earth is born with eyes that see in black, white, and an endless series of greys.
When you meet your soulmate, you finally see the world in color.
We're all searching for the person who brings color to our lives.
John and Sherlock are no exception.

Review:
Have a romance rec for Valentine's Day ! The summary outlines the premise of the fic very well and I think it's a lovely variation on the standard soulmate (Red String of Fate trope) fic. It's a sweet romance while also an interesting casefic, which is cool. The case even involves the tropefic premise!

Colors (on AO3)

Title: To Let
Author: amand_r aka amand_r
Fandom: Torchwood
Genre: Outsider POV
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Length: Medium (12,283 words)

Author's Summary:
Ianto Jones is a good housemate.

Review:
Amand_r has written a lot of good Torchwood fanfiction (and also good fics in several other fandoms) and this fic is no exception. It's from the point of view of a total outsider to all things Torchwood - an OMC who rents a room in his house to Ianto. The OMC has zero Gary Stu qualities - he's very well written with enough detail to be clearly and realistically his own person while also balancing the need of a Torchwood fic to contain enough story about Torchwood - basically, the whole fic works really well and is really very well crafted. It's no epic adventure and there's very minimal Jack/Ianto romance (so it's very different than pretty much everything else in the fandom), this fic is just simply one of the best Outsider POV stories I've found.

To Let (on LJ), (on AO3)

Title: Unrealized Peacekeeper
Author: OneEye the DRD
Fandom: Farscape
Genre: AU
Pairing: John/Gilina, Others I won't to spoil
Length: Very Long (178,804 words)

Author's Summary:
AU: In the fourth season episode "Unrealized Reality", we saw an alternate John Crichton who became a Peacekeeper captain. This is the story of how that might have happened.

Review:
This is a great fic and easily one of the best Farscape fics I've come across. The characterizations are fantastic and the plot, though meandering, keeps the story moving along at much the same pace as canon and every time I think maybe my interest might be lagging just a little, something new and exciting happens so really a very good read.

Unrealized Peacekeeper (on ff.net)

Title: Performance in a Leading Role
Author: Mad_Lori
Fandom: Sherlock BBC
Genre: Total AU - Actors, Romance, Secret Relationship, Coming Out
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: Very Long (156,714 words)

Author's Summary:
Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?

Review:
Wow. I did not expect to be so blown away by this fic. I mean, yeah it's got 7000+ Kudos on AO3, but whatever my expectations were, it beyond exceeded them. I am especially impressed with Sherlock's characterization but really everything about this fic is top quality - all the characterizations are good (and the backstories to explain the total AU too), perfect spelling and grammar, compelling take on the plot, the setting/world building is great (I mean, I have no idea what Hollywood is really like, but the story version is totally believable and it works well for the pl,ot) and the the coming out story is just awesome. Plus, a happy ending for Sherlock and John (though I do want to warn that that's not true of the film within the story, which is depressingly standard - sometimes I feel like there's a no happy endings for gay people policy in the movies). This fic is right on that border between getting tagged Best Ever versus Outstanding. A great read and highly recommended.

Performance in a Leading Role (on AO3)

Title: The Presbury Letters
Author: Katie Forsythe
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes ACD
Genre: Romance, Historical - WWI
Pairing: Sherlock/Dr. Watson
Length: Long
Admin Note: rec'd on fancake

Author's Summary:
[[none given]]

Review:
I found this fic when

alessnox rec'd it on fancake summarized it very well: "This story is set after the last Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.. The premise is that Sherlock Holmes and John Watson had been in a committed relationship for over a decade, but of course no one mentions it out loud because of the buggery laws which would mean their imprisonment and hard labor. This makes it difficult when they are separated by World War One. Sherlock works in the intelligence office in London with his brother Mycroft, and John Watson is an Army doctor working in the trenches in France. The story is in the form of letters sent back and forth between the two during their separation."

I love this fic. It's really great as lgbt historical fiction. I don't think any knowledge of ACD canon is really necessary beyond knowing the basic facts about who Sherlock, Mycroft, Watson, and Lestrade are.

The Presbury Letters (on the author's site)
podfic by

mific (on AO3)

Cover art:

Attribution: Poppies, Letters

Title: Prince Among Wolves
Author:

zimothy
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Genre: Romance, family, kidfic,, lgbt, Complete AU
Pairing: Derek/Stiles
Length: Very Long (101,000 words)
Note: rec'd on fancake

Author's Summary:
Looking for full day/evening sitter. 2 twin boys age 4. Must have exp. w/werewolves. Must be human. No pedophiles. No teenage girls. Pay negotiable.

Review:
Adorable kidfic, sweet romance, parenting fic, one of Derek's kids is trans and Stiles is totally awesome about it and, eventually, Derek is too. Really a feel-good fic.

Prince Among Wolves (on AO3)

Title: Pack Up Your Troubles: Guide Thomas At Downton
Author:

Alex51324
Fandom: Downton Abbey
Genre: Sentinel/Guide, Romance
Length: Medium (Words: 36,795)

Sequel to previously rec'd Thomas and the Society of Sentinels

Author's Summary:
In the sequel to "Thomas and the Society of Sentinels," Guide Thomas and his Sentinel, Gerald Pellinger, visit Downton Abbey. Are Thomas's trouble truly behind him, or will be fall into old ways?

Review:
Great sequel to a great fic. Gerald, and therefore Thomas as well, is invited to Downton - their return visit leads Thomas to realize how far he's come and that he's happy with the person he's grown to be. There's more of Thomas being happy in this one, which is a great addition to the first fic (most of which, he spends very upset). I also really like the reaction of Morgan (the personal guide of Gerald's friend and the guide that Thomas had the most trouble with) upon meeting the Downton staff and getting some perspective on Thomas' behavior when he first started Guide training.

Pack Up Your Troubles: Guide Thomas At Downton (on AO3)

Title: Antimony Heart
Author: mia6363
Fandom: Supernatural
Genre: Non-magic AU/Total AU, Romance
Pairings: Sam/Gabriel, Dean/Castiel
Length: Medium

Author's Summary:
The night Gabriel sat down across from him, Sam had been looking for life’s answers in a stained napkin.

Review:
This is the fic where Gabriel and Castiel mix custom fireworks for shows that they create and perform and they're completely amazing at it. The romance is kind of... off, a little? It's like Gabriel has decided he wants Sam and set out to have him - not in a creepy way, just... very driven? But it works and creates this sense that Gabriel (and Castiel) are such unique, charismatic, and captivating people that the Winchester brothers are inevitably and happily pulled into their orbit - which is an interesting romance plot but also a cool way to twist the canon power relations for a non-magic AU.

Antimony Heart (on LJ)

Makoyi's Fanfic Recs and Other Stuff

The Victors Project / by Oisin55 (PG-15)

3 Slytherin Marauders / by severusphoenix (PG-15)

Angry Harry and the Seven / by Sinyk (NC-17)

An Unexpected Evening / by Anon (PG)

Qualia / by imogenbynight (R)

What The Mayflies Leave Behind / by MayFairy (G)

Pageant of Death / by Azure_K_Mello (PG-15)

Our Skin, Our Bones, Our Silent Poems / by taylorpotato (NC-17)

Need To Know / by ellen_fremedon (NC-17)

Tik Tok / by binz & shiplizard (PG-13)

Love Worth Waiting For / by BooklandReeve ()

What I Did On My Summer Vacation / by grimm (NC-17)

Colors / by Quesarasara (NC-17)

To Let / by amand_r (PG-13)

Unrealized Peacekeeper / by OneEye the DRD (PG-15)

Performance in a Leading Role / by Mad_Lori (NC-17)

The Presbury Letters / by Katie (PG-15)

Prince Among Wolves / by zimothy (NC-17)

Pack Up Your Troubles: Guide Thomas At Downton / by Alex51324 (PG-15)

Antimony Heart / by mia6363 (NC-17)

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