shut up and let me see your jazz hands

So apparently I've felt like reading fic a lot lately? idk.

Harry Potter

Souvenirs and Lost Luggage by girl_tarte Rec
5900 words. PG. In 2003, Petunia leaves Little Whinging for good. It is four years before she can talk about it.

The Dursleys are so over the top in canon, they really don't fit with the rest of the story. It's like for those sections, she's telling a fairytale, but for the rest it's a more realistic story. It's not just that the Dursleys are bad people, but they're bad people in a way that is ver cartoon-y, so I really like fics that try to humanise them. Not erase all their flaws and make them perfect, but make them more realistic. This does a really great job of that with Petunia.

Dudley Dursley and the Elusive Difference by kahvi Rec
4800 words. R. Dudley is intersex, outwardly appearing male. Vernon and Petunia choose to keep this fact from everyone. Even Dudley.

Another one that doesn't make the Dursleys less horrible, just makes them more human. I liked this a lot, and I especially like that things aren't wrapped up all neat and tidy at the end. (And I'm always amazed at fics (especially this long!) that manage to avoid using pronouns altogether and still feel natural.)

Unity by notalwaysweak Rec
4400 words. Teen. Scorpius feels more at home in his Animagus form than in human form. Al likes boys instead of girls. And Rosie's more in love with knowledge than with people. Sometimes people don't fit into the places expected of them.

Having a boy/boy/girl friend trio feels kind of like trying to do Harry/Ron/Hermione all over again, but I do like these three together, and aside from Rose being The Smart One who helps the two boys with their studies, their personalities are different enough that it doesn't feel like a clone of H/R/H. This has a bit of Al/Scorpius, but mostly it's a friendship story touching on various issues of growing up. I enjoyed it.

Sherlock Holmes

Intemperance by basingstoke Rec+
17,800. Mature. "Intemperance," a story from the secret journals of Doctor John H. Watson, intimate friend and long-time companion of the infamous Sherlock Holmes: A most curious and instructive report of the great man's improbable fecundation, gestation, and parturition.

The fic already has well over a hundred comments, so I'm sure most people who might be interested have already read it, but I will rec it all the same! I clicked on it because I am interested in Holmes transfic, and it was excellent in that regard (I really love how everything was handled), but my absolute favorite part was Mary. How so awesome? This Watson is prudish and easily shocked and Mary is just the opposite (omg the ending, ha; I love the idea of Mary going off and having adventures with Holmes, too). This is such a great mesh of books and movie, too. It's not Holmes/Watson, but Holmes is queer and while John is straighty mcstraighterson with eyes only for Mary, the story is from his oblivious POV, so there is certainly room to see Holmes as having a thing for Watson (and I can't see movie!Holmes not). Anyway, I highly recommend this to anyone with the slightest Holmes knowledge. It's a really great story.

Supernatural

I'm Your Villain by fleshflutter Rec+
2900 words. NC-17. The only thing of the old life that Dean keeps is Crowley, and that's only because he can't figure out how to get rid of him.

Wow, this was very cool. I haven't seen more than a couple eps of S6, but so I haven't been too interested in SPN fic lately, but this seems to be written just after the end of S5. I love how things slowly progress between Dean and Crowley as Dean makes deal after deal.

Harry Potter

By Sulfur and Salt by elf Rec
16,000 words. Snape's idyllic life with Lily is disrupted when the Ministry of Magic takes an interest in them.

This is a really interesting premise and it's one of those things where I really wish I could have gone into it completely unspoiled, but the pairings, tags, and fest info in the header give enough info that I could guess what was going on very quickly. ( Spoilerish )

I really liked the details of the potions and the minor characters (who weren't onscreen very often but were well-characterised when they were there). Not sure why Snape was randomly alive and no one thought it odd; that was never explained, so I guess just one of those random AUs (why was that not tagged for? Or is Snarry fandom like TPM where it's so common to AU that you note when he does die? I don't think I've read a lot of Snarry that was written post-DH).

The reason I clicked on it was that it was tagged transsexual and I check through the trans tags on AO3 every once in a while to gather new fics for my master list. Not everything people tag as trans* qualifies for my list. A lot of times it's clear from the summary or characters that it's appropriate, but other times I have to read or skim the fic to figure it out. In this case, it turned out that no one was trans (I had hoped from Petunia's wording at the beginning that maybe Snape was ftm, but no), so I am a little irked that the tag was used, but on the other hand, I likely would not have seen it if it hadn't been tagged like that, so...


Stargate: Atlantis

Dulce Domum by busaikko Rec
2600 words. Jennifer would be the first to admit that she'd never planned on a life that looked like this, but it worked.

I really liked this. It's John, Rodney, and Keller in a poly relationship, but John is asexual. And it's not about trying to make it a sexual relationship, just about John living with them and them being a family. It's one of the most canon fics I've ever read.


Supernatural

Gunning for the Buddha by busaikko Rec+
1500 words. "Ain't gonna be no redemption," Dean said, breathing in long. "Reckon I. Well." He waved his hand, describing a circle. "End of the world, right. So put them on." Episode tag for 5x04

This is hilarious and hot and just really, really awesome. I love Dean's voice here. I love the little details. (I loved this line: Maybe older Dean did guys a lot more often, but he should remember that the 2009 model of him was in a pretty much long straight phase ever since Dad had -- ever since Dad.) And I really loved the ending. I'm even more impressed that such a well-written fic was done in such a short time (within hours of the episode airing). I'm not normally one for doppelganger sex, but this really worked.

Ask What Answer Can I Find by elliemurasaki Rec
500 words. Susan Talley remembers her brother.

This is just a quick glimpse at Jake's sister's reaction to his death, but I really liked it. It makes me want a whole bunch more fic about her and about Jake.


Winnie the Pooh

And Is There Honey Still for Tea? by tryfanstone Rec
19,000 words. If you happen to have read another book about Edward Bear, you may remember that he lived with his friends in a wood called the Hundred Acre Wood. It was a small wood, and small things happened, the kind of things that happen to bears in places where even if elevenses are late there is always a little something for tea. This isn't that story.

Wow, this worked really, really well. When I first saw there was a Winnie the Pooh apocafic, I was like um, okay, but then I started reading and was like ooh, yes! It makes perfect sense for the time period.

I was eyerolly at the footnotes, though.

One Big Bang and a couple others. All recs! Amazing.

As I Descend the Stair by busaikko 4/5 Recommended
5900 words. Life, as it flashes before the eyes: "I don't know how to be what anybody expects --" and Sam's hand draws a sharp head-to-toe line -- "but I was halfway to figuring out how to be me."
( Finally an SPN transfic that's not about Dean! )

Dead Soldiers: An Oral History of the End Times by fryadvocate 5/5 Recommended
43,400 words. Although much has been written about the sociological and theological importance of the "End Times War", there has been much less written about the individuals directly involved. Using interviews with primary sources, this paper seeks to examine how Dean and Sam Winchester, two criminals with a history of violence and petty theft, became commonly known as a prophet of the Lord and the Anti-Christ.
( How could you not want to read it with that summary? In a word: awesome. )

Accidents Will Happen by holli 4/5 Recommended
6400 words. Some Goth teenagers accidentally resurrect John Winchester. No, seriously.
( Hilarious. )

Just a handful of short fics here. I really have not been reading a lot of fic lately. I need something to suck me back in...

Untitled by lunabee34 3/5
300 words. Most of Eldon Thompson's left cheekbone is ground into Jo's low ponytail.
( Enjoyable. )

Wind from the North-North-West by tabaqui 5/5 Recommended
300 words. Megan scrubbed the towel through her hair - looked at the girl in the mirror. New girl - pretty girl. Girl who was going places, doing things - not running away, just....
( Oh, oh, oh, love. )

Lazarus Falling by rivkat 3/5
1300 words. Castiel smiled, dimpled and guileless. Dean wished he hadn't. "I am commanded to make you fit for what is to come."
( Interesting, though not as much so as I'd hoped. )

Family Resemblance by fryadvocate 3/5
1400 words. Dean's first three years of life.
( The summary talks about Dean, but this is really a story about Mary (incorporating the new info from S4). )

True Blue by firedragon9 1/5
Fall Out Boy. 1300 words. Patrick isn't thrilled with cameras in his face, but he does like being able to hold Pete's hand in public, so he figures it's worth it.
( Oh man. Bad. )

Dorothy and Ozma in Oz by biichan 2/5
Wizard of Oz. 1300 words. Dorothy finds out that there are still ways in which her best friend can startle her.
( Doesn't really feel like a story. )

Immutability by miramiraficfic 3/5
Harry Potter. 1200 words. Miss Bones has a problem Minerva doesn't think she can solve. She's more right than she realizes.
( Enjoyable, though suffers a bit from the same problem as the one above. )

Like Any Other Night by rose71 2/5
Harry Potter. 2500 words. Remus has just come out. So why is everyone still talking about Quidditch?
( Cute, but clunky. )

Learn as You Go by marinarusalka 4/5 Recommended
Supernatural. 2300 words. John comes home to find Dean on the couch with a boy.
( Definitely believable. )

Wow. All recs. O_o How often does that happen?

Five Times Dean Winchester Gave a Blowjob by ifyouweremine 5/5 Recommended
400 words. What the title says.
( Wow. Just wow. )

They Do Things Differently There by kroki_refur 5/5 Recommended
2600 words. The future changes all the time, and maybe so does the past. And then there are some things that never change at all.
( Awesome, awesome fic about memory. )

Flood of Water by sevenfists 4/5 Recommended
10,000 words. Dean gets turned into a woman and nothing they do changes him back.
( Avoids 99.9% of the horrid cliches of the genre. )

Freak by zillah975 4/5 Recommended
3800 words. Sam wants to be normal; Dean can't understand why.
( Great stuff. )

Cross-country by zillah975 4/5 Recommended
4400 words. On their way back from a hunt, John and Dean discover worse things in the woods than a vengeful spirit.
( Could totally be canon. )

But first, I have to share this. Bruce got a spam today, one of those that's just random snippets of stuff, that included the phrase, "Are you suggesting President psychosomatic Bush sees guarantee everything in black and white". If I weren't so enamored of BumAccess4All.net, I'd change my journal title to President Psychosomatic Bush. Since I'm not, I'm throwing it out there in hopes one of you will take it. It really is a journal title waiting to happen.

And now, on to the reviews. Yeah, it's a random bunch of fandoms again, because I've just been reading here and there what I've seen on my flist or on delicious, rather than choosing a fandom and sticking with it. I don't normally like to do more than one fandom per post because the tags get a bit out of hand, but oh well.

Of a Sort and A Rough Start by ignipes 5/5 Recommended
2300 words and 5400 words. SPN/HP. Dean Winchester goes to Hogwarts.
( I love this Dean so, so, so much! *_* )

Once Upon a Time by ethrosdemon 3/5
20,400 words. SGA. In which Elizabeth is captured by the Genii, Daniel Jackson comes to Atlantis, and John falls apart.
( Loved the first sections, but not so much the last one. )

Fifteen Things You Never Knew About Hogwarts by siriaeve 3/5
1100 words. HP. Exactly what the title says.
( Interesting. )

iSex by telesilla 3/5
700 words. Joe Flanigan/David Hewlett. Joe calls David on his new iPhone.
( Banter and phonesex FTW. )

I went through the fics submitted for my Imperfect Sex challenge and read the ones in fandoms I knew (which actually turned out to be most of them). It was a pretty mixed bag, but there was some good stuff, and even the ones that had problems or I didn't like still had interesting ideas.

Wake by cesperanza 2/5
SGA, pairing withheld for spoilers. 3400 words. ( Interesting and in many ways so much my thing, but had one thing that kept me from really liking it. )

Worst Second Base Ever by shrieking_ell 3/5
John, Rodney, Teyla gen. 800 words. ( Rodney tells about his worst time having sex. Funny stuff. )

In the Morning by helena_s_renn 1/5
Viggo/Bean. 2200 words. ( Props for the subject matter, but the less said about the writing, the better. )

Spur of the Moment by brigantine1 2/5
Viggo/Bean. 300 words. ( This was so close to being a 3. I like the idea a *lot*, but the writing needs work. )

Full of Grace by nixwilliams 2/5
Supernatural RPS. 700 words. ( Funny, but tell-y. )

Smooth Operator by zillah975 4/5 Recommended
SPN, Dean/Jo. 2700 words. ( Hilarious. )

It Ain't Hay by witchqueen 3/5
Original f/f. 1000 words. ( A perfect fit for the challenge. )

Okay, starting with my new ratings system today.

0/5 - Really absolute dreck. I can't imagine giving this rating too often, because I probably wouldn't click on the fic in the first place.
1/5 - Pretty bad. Had some major problems and not much to balance it out.
2/5 - Disliked it either because it had too many problems or because it really wasn't my thing.
3/5 - Liked it. Enjoyable, but just didn't excite me, or maybe had problems I couldn't quite overcome that kept it from being a four. Most fics will probably be a three.
4/5 - Liked it a lot. Really interesting things going on and I want to share it and think people should give it a try, but it's still not the best thing ever.
5/5 - The best thing ever. Okay, maybe not the best, but these are the fics that really excite me. These are the ones I think of as "recs", even though I would also recommend fours. These are the best of the best to me.

And now I'm still unsure what to do with all this. Should I keep crossposting my recs to delicious or just have them on my journal? It seems like with all the handy tags on LJ now, it's very easy to organise, and I don't have to limit my comments the way I do on delicious. I was briefly infatuated with the idea of delicious, but now I just don't know. Also wondering if I should go back through all my reviews and rate them, and perhaps add a tag for each rating (though I do batches rather than one entry per review, so that might not be much help). It's not like I need an extra project, but the lure of organisation is strong.

Ink by makesmewannadie 5/5 Recommended
Sam/Dean. 5500 words. ( Really, really cool. Highly recced, even if you don't really know the fandom (I don't). )

The Way That Light Attaches to a Girl by circe_tigana 3/5
Draco. ( Very funny crack. )

Sugar Moon by alchemia 3/5
Remus. 3500 words. ( Really interesting (though jossed by HBP) story of how Remus was bitten. )

Twenty Four Hours with a Rodneysaur by maryavatar 3/5
John and Rodney. 4200 words. ( Um. Rodney gets turned into a dinosaur. Cute and funny. )

At the Violet Hour by linaerys 5/5 Recommended
John/Rodney. 3400 words. ( LOVED IT! )