thefourthvine: Two people fucking, rearview: sex is the universal fandom. (Default)
Keep Hoping Machine Running ([personal profile] thefourthvine) wrote2011-10-09 11:05 pm

220: The Past Is the Future

So, Delicious is not exactly tasty, at least not right now. I have a Pinboard. (Although I am, yes, totally the kind of fan who responds to the Fans Are All Right with, "What, are you crazy? KIRK doesn't drill SPOCK. Spock does all the drilling there is to do, my good sir.") And I have hope that Delicious may eventually reach some kind of functionality again.

But in the meantime, I thought I would try to go back to the way we used to do things before Delicious. Recs! Really! We used to make these lists that had links in them, and sometimes we would put notes to explain why we liked them, and it was very - no, really, it worked. Where are you all going?

So I am throwing caution to the winds and recommending stuff. The theme for this set turned out to be Awesome Stories That for Some Reason Made Me Uncomfortable, but It Turned out I Loved Them Anyway. I - will probably not be adding this as an actual tag, on account of the tag system would just laugh in my face. But there's a theme! And a recs set! Today, we are partying like it's 2006, baby.

The One in Which We Ask Ourselves: When Will Villains Finally Learn That Kidnapping Tony Stark Only Leads to Sorrow and Explosions? Kidnap Someone Else, That Is My Advice to the Ambitious Marvel Villain. Tomorrow Belongs to Me, by [livejournal.com profile] valtyr. Thor and Captain America and Iron Man, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark.

(WARNING: Animal harm, and animal death. I dealt with this by a) telling myself that they were really extradimensional evil creatures that simply looked like animals, and b) skipping the bad bits. It worked, and I believe it was worth it. However, I cannot in good conscience recommend this to anyone who shares my squick. If you want to give it a go anyway, though, I will be happy to tell you when to skip.)

I realize I'm perhaps in for a pillorying, but one of the reasons I sometimes want to slash a particular character is that I really cannot believe that any woman, anywhere should have to put up with him. My feeling about this small subset of guys tends to be: This is a dudely problem. Let dudes handle it. And perhaps the foremost example of this kind of character is Tony Stark.

See, I like Tony. But he's an asshole. (This dichotomy is fully explored in the story, let me just note.) He's such an asshole I could never feel entirely good about him ending up with Pepper Pott, who surely did not deserve that level of bullshit in her life. I just knew that sooner or later he'd, like, inadvertently fuck the entire U.S. Supreme Court on public television and then make a fist of triumph and shout, "FUCK YEAH, motion OVERTURNED!" for the cameras, and she'd be left dealing with the aftermath. So after I watched the first movie, the only romantic happy ending I could see in sight was Tony/robot sex machine, and that's not really fan fiction; that's canon. (Which is not to say I wouldn't read it. I would! I have! Happily! But it just isn't the same when it's canon.)

But I am entirely willing to pair Steve Rogers up with Tony Stark, turns out. And not just because it turns out their true love is the key to saving the universe. (No, really, there is actual canon documentation of this.) Steve Rogers is a good guy, sure - basically the archetypal good guy, good in absolutely every single way. And he has had, you know, a hard life - a couple years of WWII followed by being dead for a while, and then waking up and having to deal with Tony Stark. And yet I am happy to see him really dealing with Tony Stark, if you get my drift.

And not just because Steve makes Tony ask himself the hard questions. (Like, "Why is it always my fault? Is there something I'm doing? That I could perhaps not do?" Believe it or not, a lot of people get to middle age without ever once considering this. We call these people politicians, mostly, but I guess maverick billionaire CEOs might also fit the bill.) I also love this story because of Steve, adjusting to the 21st century, and Thor, being - you know, Thor. And General Fury, who is generally the lone adult in charge of the circus. (A circus, I might add, where the acts are, like, Nuclear Knife Juggling and Stampeding Elephant Riding.) There is a lot to love here, is my point. Go love it! Do mind the warnings, though.

The One That I Totally Forgive for Suggesting That Librarians Are Actually Quiet. The Barest Hint of a Thought, by [archiveofourown.org profile] Helens78. X-Men: First Class, Charles Xavier/Erik Lehnsherr.

You know how sometimes there is something you just cannot watch, but you have to or at least you want to, so you watch through your fingers, as though you can somehow, if things go bad, close them fast enough to stop yourself from seeing what made you want to close your fingers?

That's pretty much how I read this story. It's also what this story is about.

I mean, I was actually, seriously horrified through a lot of this story. "See?" I wanted to say to the imaginary band of critics that lives in the back of my head, disagreeing with every word I say. "See? This is what is so evil about telepathy."

The imaginary band of critics pointed out that that was insane, of course. Because there's no such thing as telepathy. So instead of using this story to justify my perfectly logical and rational fear of telepaths, I will say: this is why Charles Xavier was a character Marvel should never have made. He's ridiculously overpowered. Ridiculously. He's a god. Except he could do a lot more than fuck Leda in the shape of a swan. Basically, in any universe in which Charles Xavier exists, the only real conflicts are the ones in his own head.

"But he's good!" you say. "He has morals and he chooses not to use his powers for evil and that's why he can work as a character."

Right. Yes. And, I mean, I love Charles, I love Charles/Erik, I have been reading about Charles and Erik since long before I got into fandom, but. Here's the thing. The excuse they use for having Xavier around - Morals! Goodness! - doesn't actually work. And this story explains why - why having someone so ludicrously powerful destroys the framework of the universe whether he's Charles Xavier or Sauron with the One Ring securely on his bony little hand.

I mean, yes, this story is also a fabulous exploration of consent issues, and kink, and all the stuff I've come to expect from [personal profile] helens78, and, yes, it's like a fairy tale for adults only (moral: if you take the shortcut to your goal, you will likely get your head eaten), but I'm in it for the simple question of whether there is any meaning to anything if Charles Xavier exists. (No.) Definitely read the tags and warnings, but if you can possibly stand it, read this story.

And then join me, won't you, in the fight against telepathy? (And the fight against the imaginary critics. I'd like to wipe them out, too.)

The One That Shows Us That Fish, Too, Can Meet Cute. What It Feels Like, by [personal profile] cimorene. Finding Nemo, Gill/Nemo.

FISH SLASH. Between mentor fish and mentored fish, I might add, just in case fish aren't a problem for you, but age differences are. (And, yes, I can think of several people off the top of my head who will look at this all, "YES FINDING NEMO - oh, wait. Big age difference. No." This is #31 on the list of reasons I love fandom, just below "Not the only catboy story I've read today" and just above "Can't really remember the days when I thought snake MPreg was out there.") A measure of my discomfort with this story is that it took me two years to read it. (And during those two years, the earthling went through a Nemo phase. That didn't help. Parents of babies, read this story now, that's my advice.)

So. You know. Fish slash. That happened. And the thing is, it's fucking adorable. Nemo is the same intent, curious, determined fish he was in the movie. Gill is the same badass in fish form. All the voices in this, in fact, are absolutely perfect. And, I mean, I can absolutely believe this ending. (And in fact would greatly prefer to believe this ending over the one the movie gave us, which horrifies me every time I watch it. Nemo is home and happy! Marlin is home and happy! Dory is home and happy! And the fishtank fish are trapped in plastic and about to die. Seriously, Pixar, it's like you're trying to take the coveted Destroyer of Children's Happiness mantle from Disney's clutching hands.) And why shouldn't two boy fishes who love each other very much be happy ever after in a story that earns its explicit rating?

Just. I find myself eyeing the earthling's DVDs with trepidation, now. When awesome and adorable fish slash is already old news, what comes next? Is Bob the Builder going to show us some of the special short films on his computer, which feature uses for his equipment that totally void their warranties? Are the Penguins of Madagascar going to provide a whole new perspective on four-way teamwork with a strict chain of command? Are Eve and Otto going to get caught in a bad romance, leaving Wall-E to find consolation in the arms of Mo? Anything is possible. Anything.

But this story is worth the mental images that will never leave my head, I tell you what. It's just. Cute. Cuter than fish having sex has any right to be.

The One That Shows Exactly How Irritating Arguing with Someone Who Can Apparate Must Be. Getting the Last Word Must Be an Art Form in the Wizarding World. The Death of Narcissa Black: A Potion, by [livejournal.com profile] massicot. (That's a deleted and purged journal, unfortunately. Does anyone have a more current link for her?) Harry Potter, gen.

Oh my GOD. This is. Okay. You know how there are stories that you settle into happily, because you know the author and you know the fandom and you know the genre and you just know this is going to hit you square in your comfort zone? This is not that story for me. It is outside my comfort zone in absolutely every way - the artwork, while gorgeous and perfect for the story, is really far from what I can usually parse. The main character is a villain from a fandom I don't read that much in anymore. The storyline is dark and grim. And yet. And yet. This story is also an excellent example of why I'm in love with fandom.

See, this takes a minor villain (or at least I think she is; she may have a more major role in the two books that came after I gave up on the series) and makes her into a real person, a person with some remarkably unfortunate ideals and some remarkably positive traits. And then it carefully, clearly, and beautifully details how those ideals combine with circumstance to wipe out the positive traits, not to mention basically every trace of who Narcissa was.

It's so amazing, and so perfect, and so unlike anything else I've read in fandom, that I re-read it on a regular basis even though there are some pages - um, a fair number of pages - that still make me genuinely recoil from the screen. (Really. Please pay attention to the warnings. She is not kidding about any of that.)

So, you know, this is incredible. It's also just about the darkest thing I've ever seen written for a darkfest. (Not that I am inviting further links on that score. Uh, no. Feel free to hand me the white feather on this one; I will wear it with, if not pride, at least total acceptance of my limitations.)

But even if this is normally the kind of thing you would walk a mile in wet shoes to avoid - well. I can't tell you to read it. But I can tell you I read it, despite the warnings, against my better judgment, and I was totally, totally glad. It's the kind of story that makes me want to applaud for fandom. Even as, okay, yes, I am reaching for a safety tab story.
ct: a shooting star (Default)

[personal profile] ct 2011-10-10 06:56 am (UTC)(link)
So, you know, this is incredible. It's also just about the darkest thing I've ever seen written for a darkfest.

Seconded. On both counts. When I read this for the first time (just the other day, actually), whoever sent me the link sent me directly to the story, bypassing the page on LJ with the warnings. I had no idea whatsoever that it had been written for a darkfest. Amazingly well done, but ouch.

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[personal profile] silver_spotted 2011-10-10 07:14 am (UTC)(link)
I always enjoy reading your recs, whether or not it sounds like the fic will be my kinda thing (sometimes they are! even better)

I felt compelled to comment today though because several discussions at [livejournal.com profile] fanficrants have led me to believe that there is actually a pretty active Penguins of Madagascar fic fandom. The more you know?

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samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)

[personal profile] samvara 2011-10-10 07:34 am (UTC)(link)
I AM SO WITH YOU ON THE X-MEN THING.
lea_hazel: I am surrounded by tiny red hearts (Feel: Love)

[personal profile] lea_hazel 2011-10-10 08:14 am (UTC)(link)
Great, now I really want bee-fic.
feanna: The cover of an old German children's book I inherited from my mother (Default)

[personal profile] feanna 2011-10-10 08:52 am (UTC)(link)
And I felt the impulse to remind everybody of the SGA hothouse AU where John and Rodney are a sunflower and a tulip and if I remember this right there were totally pollen involved.

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torachan: (Default)

[personal profile] torachan 2011-10-10 08:29 am (UTC)(link)
drwahejkwlhejkwhaekjqwhejwq

I love The Death of Narcissa Black so so SO much. I just went and read it again now that you linked it. It's so powerful and amazing.

Narcissa never really became a major character in canon, but she became an interesting character, and I really like stories about her (and about her and Lucius).
andraste: The reason half the internet imagines me as Patrick Stewart. (Default)

[personal profile] andraste 2011-10-10 08:37 am (UTC)(link)
Basically, in any universe in which Charles Xavier exists, the only real conflicts are the ones in his own head.

But if Charles didn't exist, then there would be THE AGE OF APOCALYPSE. Or some other, less capitalised apocalypse that would be equally bad.

Also, if he had never been invented, I might never have started writing fanfic. I would certainly sit around feeling a sad sense of emptiness that I would be at a lost to explain.

(Reposted because I fail at html.)
ratcreature: RatCreature's toon avatar (Default)

[personal profile] ratcreature 2011-10-10 08:50 am (UTC)(link)
[livejournal.com profile] massicot doesn't have an LJ anymore but her art site has a blog for her illustration work:
http://winkout.com/wordpress/

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metaphortunate: (Default)

[personal profile] metaphortunate 2011-10-10 01:52 pm (UTC)(link)
The death of del.icio.us has one hell of a silver lining if it makes you star posting recs again!
sinensis: kaylee smiling with her parasol (kaylee)

[personal profile] sinensis 2011-10-10 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
yay, recs!

hey, if you really don't mind--I have Tomorrow Belongs To Me bookmarked, but I haven't read it yet, and I am seriously disturbed (ha, yes, well) by animal harm. I would love any guidance you have to offer about where to look away from the screen, so to speak.

This is a dudely problem. Let dudes handle it.

I have this subset of characters, too, and Tony definitely belongs in it. (Run AWAAAAAY, Pepper Potts, just run away.)

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sothcweden: birds flying high at sunset/dawn (Default)

[personal profile] sothcweden 2011-10-10 03:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Your response to The Fans Are All Right cracked me up.

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celli: an animated Iron Man flying a little, then getting squirted in the face by a robot (Iron Man)

[personal profile] celli 2011-10-10 03:56 pm (UTC)(link)
a) Yes all that about Tony Stark! That's one of the best things about many best things in that story, Steve just being like, hi, you're a douchebag, PAY ATTENTION. (And how he gets Tony to pay attention is AWESOME.)

b) My friend Caro likes to talk about fishslash a lot, particularly that pairing. She feels immensely validated. :)
paxpinnae: Inara Serra,being more awesome than you. (Default)

[personal profile] paxpinnae 2011-10-10 07:10 pm (UTC)(link)
And, yes, I can think of several people off the top of my head who will look at this all, "YES FINDING NEMO - oh, wait. Big age difference. No."

I am one of those people, so, thank you for that! It really is astounding how fandom helps you find your line. Slask? Okay! Dubcon slash? Okay! Dubcon slash about people who have dog-like penises? ... Okay. Dubcon slash between a rainbow and a sunbeam? ... O-kay. But a mentor/mentee relationship? OH GOD NO TAKE IT AWAAAAYYYYYYYY.

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hollyberries: (Default)

[personal profile] hollyberries 2011-10-11 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
I had to stop reading the Narcissa story and go cry in the middle. Thank you for that rec, and now I'm going to read that Tony/Steve fic because it sounds like it will cheer me up.

There's a new-ish XMFC fic collab-ed by Lavvyan and Berlinghoff that's utterly gorgeous and has Charles as a tree and Erik as a phoenix. The artwork's so delightful, you should definitely read it.

... I may have just recc'ed something on a rec post. Sorry if that's a breach of etiquette. Um. Shutting up now.
concinnity: (Default)

[personal profile] concinnity 2011-10-11 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
(And, yes, I can think of several people off the top of my head who will look at this all, "YES FINDING NEMO - oh, wait. Big age difference. No.".

THIS. THIS IS ME. Because I have totally hunted down all of cimorene's stuff because she is amazing, but I totally stopped at the age difference. It is about CONSENT, okay? *twitch* I'm willing to give a try, though, if you say it is okay. With my hand on the safety tab.

Also I am like 98% sure I have seen Bob the Builder fic.

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azurelunatic: Vivid pink Alaskan wild rose. (Default)

[personal profile] azurelunatic 2011-10-11 12:56 pm (UTC)(link)
This is a dudely problem. Let dudes handle it. And perhaps the foremost example of this kind of character is Tony Stark.

YES YES YES.

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out_there: I *heart* El! (WC: El by  btfl_decadence)

[personal profile] out_there 2011-10-11 10:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Memo to self: do not read TFV while drinking hot liquids of any kind. If you do, you'll come across phrases like "This is a dudely problem. Let dudes handle it. And perhaps the foremost example of this kind of character is Tony Stark." and then nearly choke while trying not to spray said liquids across your keyboard.

Also, I've missed your recs. I've missed recs that have phrases like "He's a god. Except he could do a lot more than fuck Leda in the shape of a swan."
metaphortunate: (Default)

[personal profile] metaphortunate 2011-10-13 10:48 am (UTC)(link)
Damn, these are great! Especially the Steve /Tony &the Bellatrix Black ones!
cesy: "Cesy" - An old-fashioned quill and ink (Default)

[personal profile] cesy 2011-11-06 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I love reading your recs - they brighten my day.

[identity profile] delurker.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 08:15 am (UTC)(link)
Pinboard! Such a delightful welcome post. :) I don't think I've ever seen anyone so happy to see fans suddenly appear.


Re: What It Feels Like - I'm still not sure how anyone managed to a) write explicit fish slash, and also b) do it so well. Fandom! How so skilled? And the art in that last one is incredible.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I am still fairly mystified by the explict fish slash myself. It's good! Fans are amazing, is what that proves.
ext_7850: by ev_vy (Kirk)

[identity profile] giandujakiss.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 08:18 am (UTC)(link)
What, are you crazy? KIRK doesn't drill SPOCK. Spock does all the drilling there is to do, my good sir.

I swear to god, that was my reaction, as well.
Edited 2011-10-10 08:18 (UTC)

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 08:28 pm (UTC)(link)
THANK GOD. I actually quoted the post at [identity profile] frostfire-17.livejournal.com, solely because I knew she would react the same way. I DID NOT WANT TO BE ALONE. But I should have had more faith in fandom. Of course I wasn't the only person who knew instinctively that that was wrong, wrong, wrong.

[identity profile] rosaleendhu.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 09:09 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I'd forgotten just how good you are at getting me to read outside the fandoms I know and love. I know exactly how I am avoiding my graduation project tomorrow.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 08:29 pm (UTC)(link)
I am here to assist you in your procrastinatory endeavors!
ext_3572: (Default)

[identity profile] xparrot.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 11:39 am (UTC)(link)
Heh - I've always loved Xavier because he's always been such a gray, gray, gray shade of morality - I've always seen him as creepy and scary and fascinating for it. Who he is might be a good man; but what he is is so terrifying that really for the good of humanity he ought to have been executed, because no one, no matter how decent, is decent enough to wield that ability - absolute power, etc, etc. But he's still an awesome and compelling character.

I loved the First Class movie for showcasing that scary wrongness while still making him irresistibly charming. And the fic did a brilliant job of it as well (Charles & Erik are so perfectly matched; they deserve each other in all the right and wrong ways...)

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, exactly! One of the things that drove me crazy, back when I was reading the comic books, is that they failed to acknowledge that Xavier is, as you say, gray, gray, gray, gray. At least when I was reading, the comic books did not seem to get how frightening Xavier really was. Helens78, on the other hand, totally does.

(I admit I haven't seen the movie, though. I plan to! At some point! Having a small child has seriously affected my movie watching.)

[identity profile] impatient-dream.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 01:55 pm (UTC)(link)
*When awesome and adorable fish slash is already old news, what comes next?*

I've found, in fandom, that that's an extremely dangerous question to ask:

http://crimsonclad.livejournal.com/128460.html

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, god, I had forgotten about that! It is WONDERFUL. (The first time I read it required some hasty googling to determine who Grimace and Hamburgler were, followed by horrified recoiling because Ronald McDonald is the most terrifying creature in existence (http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2011/09/26/happy-meal/).) So touching! THE TRAGEDY BEHIND THE BURGERS.

[identity profile] hannahrorlove.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 02:51 pm (UTC)(link)
I didn't see The Death of Narcissa Black as all that dark. I've read all the books, so I went into it knowing how it'd turn out in the end, which made it less of a darkfic and more of a classic tragedy - I felt more and more pity and sorrow for her as her life continued to narrow down into its inevitable conclusion.

(And yes, there's Bob the Builder slash out there. I've seen it in the form of a crossover with the Engineer character from the videogame Team Fortress 2. Some days I think a lot of fandom activity is done out of a sense of competition.)

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
I pretty much agree with the creator's statement that the obliteration of self is about as dark as it gets. I mean, obviously this is a YMMV situation, but for me OH GOD THE DARKNESS. And not just for Narcissa - Bellatrix's insanity and self-mutilation are dark dark dark for me, too.

[identity profile] tavella.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 06:12 pm (UTC)(link)
The [livejournal.com profile] valtyr fic is _so good_. I feel guilty because I haven't left a comment yet, because I feel like I need to go into elaborate detail about how awesome it is.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 08:41 pm (UTC)(link)
It really is fantastic. I just left kudos; I am never able to convey the awesomeness in actually commenty words.

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