thefourthvine: Two people fucking, rearview: sex is the universal fandom. (Default)
Keep Hoping Machine Running ([personal profile] thefourthvine) wrote2005-03-01 11:08 pm

Slashy Nominations 109: Sometimes Bigger Really Is Better

I am afraid of series. I'm willing to admit it because a) I don't think a person should be ashamed of her fears and b) I have someone to blame this on. Namely, C.S. Lewis, who apparently wrote The Last Battle solely to ensure that his readers would never read the last part of anything ever again. Or the Book of Revelations (upon which Battle is loosely based).

But there are really and truly some excellent series out there in the FF world, and the great part about FF is that I can always pretend the author is even now working on another chapter or epilogue or same-universe story ("PWP 221f: Return to the Last Rimjob, Part 8"), so the phobia doesn't come into play as often as it does in the world of Real Literature. (I could pretend the same about those books, yes, but at least half the authors I read are dead. And hoping for published different-author sequels is like hoping for experimental genital surgery performed by monkeys, given the quality of much of the FF the publishing world has seen fit to put between covers.)

So I read FF series. But I don't recommend them very often; I'm much more likely to pick my favorite story and let people know it's part of a series. There are reasons for that, too. For one thing, well, it's tough to maintain consistent quality. In most series, there's one story that is just legions better than the rest, or there's a couple stories that are just legions worse. And I have to be pretty much ready to propose to a story to write up a recs entry for it, so I'm not going to include those less-than-the-series-best stories, even if they have good elements or I enjoyed reading them. Also, I figure it's asking a huge commitment from the readers to embark on a series based entirely on a paragraph of mostly irrelevant babbling; better to get y'all addicted to the AU or the characterizations or the sex, then tell you it's part of a series slightly longer (and way better) than the collected works of Harry Stephen Keeler.

Occasionally, though, I find a series that has to be recommended in toto. And now my list of said series is too long to ignore. So that's what I'm recommending today. (Not the whole list, though. I considered that, but decided I prefered to finish this entry sometime this decade.)

(Note to series authors: I love you guys. I seriously do. I love reading FF series, even if I don't rec them in their entirety that often. And, please, if you love (or even like) your recommenders (or just being recommended), include jump pages. It's a lot harder to rec when we have to choose between linking to a general index or bunches of individual stories that are all part of one series.)

Best Series Featuring the Only Appearance of the Highlander Characters That I've Been Able to Handle Thus Far. Although Isn't There Supposed to Be a Methos in There Somewhere? Imperfections: Imperfections, II: Believing in Fairy Tales, III: Visiting, IV: Necessary Parts, V: Passing Through the Underworld, and VI: What Comes Around by Dasha, who doesn't have a LJ. The Sentinel x Monk (all) x due South (II) x X-Files (II) x Highlander (V) (and if anyone picks up any others, please let me know), AU, gen.

Warnings: This is likely a work in progress; there's a few plot arcs that aren't entirely resolved, and she's still posting new chapters regularly. (Yay!) Also, in all honesty I have to tell due South fans that they'll be irritated by a few things here - but it's mostly minor stuff, like problems with names, or it can be explained away by the AU-ness, like Diefenbaker on a leash.

So. I promise you sex-based addiction, then begin by recommending gen. But I'm not sorry. I've only relatively recently discovered TS gen; I mean, I knew it existed, but I didn't understand it. Slash makes the TS universe much more believable. Otherwise, well, you've pretty much got all your available disbelief tied up in accepting that a) these guys are, all appearances to the contrary, not actually fucking and b) they work around a bunch of good detectives who don't know about the senses and still don't think there's anything, oh, vaguely gay about them. That's a more improbable AU right there than, say, the one with the horse-robot sex slaves. So, what with my difficulty buying a slash-free TS universe, I did not so much do the gen thing for a while. Stories like these, though, they make me glad I did. This series has to be gen, at least as it currently stands. It can't work otherwise. But it turns out that there are other ways to make the Jim and Blair relationship make sense. Dasha goes here for the world-where-sentinels-are-known thing, and manages to create one that works, that makes sense, that is the modern world with just that one change. (Usually common-sentinel AUs are not nearly so close to reality.) And she also includes loads of plot. Cases! Real cases! That they legitimately work as detective-and-guide! The series is, at the start, highly engaging. And then it gets better.

Favorite stories: It's tough to pick a favorite from this series; they're all fantastic for different reasons. Maybe, um, II, V, and VI?

Best Series That Owes a Great Debt to Cows. Celebrate Our Bovine Friends! Steak: 1: The Box, 2: Steak Dinner, 3: More Steak (Steak in the Rain), 4: Steak in the Dark, 5: Steak In-Between, 6: Steak-In-Waiting, 7: Steak and Cows, 8: Steak and Territory, 9: Steak and Separation, 10: Steak and Motility, 11: Steak and Lizards, and The Rememberers, by [livejournal.com profile] keiko_kirin. Stargate SG-1, Jack O'Neill/Daniel Jackson (with mention of Jack/f, Daniel/f, and Teal'c/f in 10).

This is a famous series in the fandom; it was, in retrospect, wrong of me to avoid it so long simply because of the predominance of the word "steak" in, above, and about it. By the time I started reading SG, I knew Keiko Kirin's work in other fandoms, so I knew she was good. But I kept looking at this and saying, "Yeah. A twelve-part series about steak. Just what I've been hoping for." Well, that was wrong, and now I know it. For one thing, it isn't about steak, not really - the steak is a metaphor, a device, a bunch of those things you gladly forgot after you passed your last English test. For another thing, this is justly famous and in fact not as famous as it deserves to be. (I understand some people in lowland New Guinea haven't heard of it.) The Steak series is one of the best switching-teams stories I've read, yes, and it's funny and dramatic and sweet and everything else under the sun, yes, but that's only a part of it. Because there's plots here, people; almost every one of these stories could be an episode (well, apart from the sex, but that's obviously a failing of the show, not the series). I'd wager that these are also better than most of the existing episodes. The basic theme here is exploring new worlds - abroad, in bed, and with steak. And you get a heaping helping of all three, in twelve stories that make me want to fall to my knees and give thanks to the gods of FF.

Favorite stories: The last two, entirely for plot reasons. Part eleven takes me home to my SF roots, only with added sex, and "The Rememberers" (which she doesn't number like the others, so I didn't, either) is about some of my favorite things: memory, long-term relationships, and how people become who they are.

Best Series That Helps a Certain Teenage Mutant Find His Inner Drama Queen. And a Cigarette Lighter. And Ice Cream. And, in the Fullness of Time, Sex with His Roommate. It's Just Like He Went to College! Thermal: Freeze Out, Applying Heat, Defrost, Liquefy, Flux, and Mercury Rising, by Zahra, aka [livejournal.com profile] hackthis. X-Men movieverse, Pyro/Iceman.

Warnings: Those who hate the use of "St. John" in the movieverse will fume over this series; so will people who insist on the name. It's an equal-opportunity offender!

There's no better summary of this than the author's own, so I'll begin by quoting that: "It's those damn teenage hormones, again." In short, this is mostly smut - smut with build-up and context and background. And I admit I'm mostly recommending it for those last two. (I know. I hardly recognize myself these days.) See, the X-Men movies have a lot of strengths, including some major improvements over the comic books. (No universe reloads. No White Queen parading around like a bleached blow-up dominatrix, pretending to be Jean Gray. No Summers family history complex enough to destroy life as we know it should anyone ever actually manage to comprehend the totality of it. No 18 million Wolverine crossovers with every other comic book, including Asterix and Tin Tin. And so on.) But there's some things the movies just cannot supply to an old comic book fangirl (which, yes, I am, but I consider myself a recovering one, although Te constantly tempts me to backslide, the evildoer). Like depictions of ordinary days in the lives of our mutants; in the movies, there's always something heavily tentacled attacking or some moderately slashy world-ending scheme to prevent. So I enjoy the look at mundane daily life for a teenage mutant, which looks pretty familiar to any non-mutant that has lived through those years. With, you know, a few minor exceptions, like getting caught masturbating because you froze the room. Again. Also, I like that we get a look at the students - not just Pyro and Iceman, but Kitty and even Jubilee (who I fucking detested in the comic books, so it's impressive that I like her here, and frankly astonishing that I'm willing to admit it) - as people, rather than background. The movie focuses on the core team (lightning, claws, lasers) and the bad guys, which is as it should be. But I'm grateful to FF like this for fleshing things out. And for letting boys be boys.

Favorite stories: I view this more as a continuum than many series; it's hard to have part IV without part III, in other words. But probably the last two are my favorites. I like the Bobby-taunting.

Best Series That Contains Everything. Including the Kitchen Sink. Very Much Including the Kitchen Sink. Unfinished Business: Unfinished Business, A Little Less Conversation, Coda I: Conversation, Coda II: Bella Morte, The Debt You Owe, The Price You Pay, and Sway, by [livejournal.com profile] maygra and sometimes Bone, aka [livejournal.com profile] thisisbone. The Fast and the Furious, Brian O'Conner/Dominic Toretto.

Warning: This is a work in progress, although all the stories linked above are complete. And some of those pages contain pictures that are definitely not work-safe. Finally, some of the stories are rougher, in terms of grammar and spelling, than others.

First things first. You do not need to have seen the movie to read this. You hardly need to know who the characters are. So don't make that your excuse for missing out on this - this - well, I can't really call it a series. It's a universe, a whole bunch of branching possibilities. It even has its own AUs. Of course, if you haven't seen the movie, you won't appreciate just how well this series fixes the mess the movie left behind - and builds on that. And then builds some more. And then adds two outbuildings, a cupola, and a gazebo. Truly; if you track down all the various parts and fragments and works-in-progress that are either contained in or spawned by this series, you will have several days of solid (and lovely) reading ahead of you. What I linked above is a couple novels' worth, but it isn't all of it by any means. So, obviously, I cannot possibly summarize this. It would take a finer blurb-writer than me; it would take genius. Instead, I'll tempt you with a list of randomly-selected items you will find somewhere in the series. (Think of it like a print version of Where's Waldo. With porn.) Border-crossing motorcycle hijinks! Lasagna! Handcuffs used for their intended purpose! Handcuffs used for an off-label and exceedingly not-manufacturer-recommended purpose! Assorted beatings! Sex in a multitude of locations! And a shopping trip to what I have always believed was Century City Mall, although in fact it's probably Beverly Center! (Why not email the authors and ask them? Well, aside from the fact that it would distract them from adding a guest house and a semi-finished basement to the universe. And, yes, I know I've fractured the hell out of some metaphors there. Don't care at all.) Seriously, you need to read this. It's worth picking up a new fandom just to discover the heights (and breadths and depths) that FF can reach.

Favorite stories: Well, "Sway" was dedicated to me, so that has to come first. And then "The Price That You Pay" and "Unfinished Business" itself. And "Damage," which I didn't even link above, because it isn't finished yet. Hell, just read all of them.

[identity profile] norah.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 12:00 am (UTC)(link)
Heartily seconded, all except the gen, which I haven't read and will DIVE for in the very next moment I feel genny. Right now I need something heartwarming with a pairing and I am afraid to read anything for fear it will not warm my heart. Fic paralysis! Augh!

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
Any fandom you'd particularly prefer?

[identity profile] norah.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
Well, I love all my fandoms...but...due South, X-Men movies, Sports Night, Smallville, or Buffy today, I think? You got anything? *begs prettily*

I just spent the evening watching vids with [livejournal.com profile] cranberryink, who agreed with me that there need to be more vids to Lyle Lovett songs. Maybe I need a bunny list like yours.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
Well, the problem with you is that you read everything I read. It makes recommending stories sort of - challenging. But I'll look in SN, because I find that comforting and because I don't have enough stories for SV or BtVS and I'm guessing you *really* know everything I know in dS.

Here goes. Maybe you haven't read one of these:

Fan Mail from a Flounder (http://www.trickster.org/sportsnight/archive/3/fanmail.html), by Punk.

Scientific Method: Hypothesis (http://www.ebrunson.com/janissa/sn/hypothesis.html) and Scientific Method: Theory (http://www.ebrunson.com/janissa/sn/theory.html), by Emily Brunson, but don't be scared. It's not like her usual stuff. (You could also try Fluff (http://www.ebrunson.com/janissa/sn/fluff.html), by the same author.)

Synergy (http://trickster.org/anyroad/merry/synergy.htm), by Merry.

An Elevator Story (http://linabean4.tripod.com/itsheragain/anelevatorstory.html), by Caroline Baker.

Random Things About Casey McCall (http://www.livejournal.com/community/inthetallgrass/71620.html), by Annie-Lee.

Baltimore Chop (http://www.livejournal.com/community/inthetallgrass/122218.html), by Annie-Lee and Celli Lane.

Freon (http://www.trickster.org/sportsnight/archive/1/freon.html), by Julian Lee.

Seeing the Future (http://www.trickster.org/sportsnight/archive/2/seeingthe.html), by Candle Beck.

A Real Kiss (http://www.trickster.org/sportsnight/archive/0/areal.html), by Owlet.

Observation (http://www.livejournal.com/users/meadowlion/9486.html), by Kim.

Painting Shadows, Catching Light (http://www.trickster.org/sportsnight/archive/1/paintingshadows.html), by Kristophine.

Too Damn Hot (http://www.livejournal.com/community/inthetallgrass/58331.html), by Annie-Lee. (And you've read "Homophobia," right? Right?)

OK, and I'll call this here before it becomes the Big Ol' Random List of Every SN Story I Have in the Database That I Have Not Yet Recommended. All ratings. Happy endings abound. (I got these by searching for "gentle," "sweet," "nice," and so on. Apparently I use those words to describe SN FF a *lot*, though.)

So. Have you read all of these before?

[identity profile] norah.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 10:00 am (UTC)(link)
No! I'm about halfway through the list, and I haven't read at least 50%, and the ones I HAVE read are well-worth re-reading. Thank you SO MUCH. Sweet Dan/Casey lovin' was exactly the thing I needed right now. You so totally come through for me.

And a database! You are SO SMART to use a database! *marvels atchoo* No wonder you can do thematic lists. I have trouble just dealing with my due South themed sets, because things can go in more than one category, and I'm not always sure what set something will go into when I bookmark it and....DATABASE. You are a genius. I fear I will not emulate you (bookmarks are just faster, at least initially, and I'm all about the bookmark-and-move-on when I'm in fic-devour mode) but I am wowed by your utter savviness.

Er, which also reminds me - how much do you care if I repeat your recs occasionally? Because I do, sometimes. And our foflists, surprisingly, don't overlap all that much. I mean, I already recced the Punk story, so that wouldn't be copying, but the elevator story, I'd rec that...whatchoo think? I was planning on reccing the steak series next time I do Stargate, but if you'd rather we try not to overlap...

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
If I'd known how into this I was going to get back when I had a half-dozen bookmarks without any notes at all, I would now have a really good database. Instead, I have a bunch of half-assed stuff. In *three different programs*.

When I grow up, I will be organized and tidy.

Or possibly when I'm dead. Because there's a real possibility that this is as grown up as I'm going to get, in which case adulthood is not what I thought it would be. Less confidence, more clutter.

how much do you care if I repeat your recs occasionally?

*blinks worriedly*

We're supposed to keep track of how often we repeat other people's recs? I usually don't even remember to check what other people are recommending until after I post.

But, truly: my recs are yours, if you want them. I don't think originality is the point of recommending at all; we're filters, not archives. We all have different interests, different pet peeves, different methods of presenting our recommendations, and different people who read us. If someone repeated every recommendation I ever made and never added anything else, I might feel, well, mad. And much more so if that person copied some or all of the summaries. But you would never do the former (and of course the latter is entirely beyond the pale); apart from anything else, I know I recommend some things you won't like.

(And I was sure you'd already recommended the Steak series. Which seems to me to suggest that if we conscientiously try not to overlap, we'll end up skipping some stories altogether. Anything but that!)

[identity profile] norah.livejournal.com 2005-03-03 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
Just, you know, I do pick up good stories from you. And then I rec them. So if I did a "set" that included three of the things on the list you gave me, that feels a bit copycatty. But if you've no objection, I will steal and rec in my own inimitable style. Add in some stuff I just got from fanofall, give you guys credit, and et voila. Er, in my free time.

[identity profile] norah.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 01:05 pm (UTC)(link)
And I have NOT read this "Homophobia" of which you speak, and I went LOOKING for it and couldn't FIND it. WOES IS I. Where is it?

OMG so many good stories! *curls up witchoo all comfortable-like*

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 05:26 pm (UTC)(link)
OH MY GOD. It's good and it's *long*, which is seriously unusual in SN. You should read it right now. (There's some, you know, rough spots, but trust me: the ending is happy.) It's Homophobic (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=out_there&keyword=SN+Homophobic+WIP&filter=all), by Annie-Lee.

[identity profile] speakfree.livejournal.com 2009-06-05 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Argh, the link to 'Painting Shadows, Catching Light' is dead, you know where I can find it? I'm SO late to the party -sn fandom- *headdesk*

[identity profile] hypertwink.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
I love Unfinished Business. Love it. Possibly my favortie fic in TFaTF fandom, well, that and Baja by Devil Child.

[identity profile] maygra.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! (I have a great urge to grab devil child for a collab.)

Also, for you -- I pimped Latter Days this past weekend. Well, for me, but I gave you full credit for pointing me there.

Will fix grammar and spelling for free!!

[identity profile] maygra.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 05:04 am (UTC)(link)
...or for funny emails. Whichever. (although, am daunted by hauling UB out again but it needs fixing. Polishing. Petting. No. Wait. That would be me.)

I'm glad you liked Sway. Truly. [livejournal.com profile] khaleesian gave me a challenge at Escapade, which I am enthralled by. Do you have a favorite sin?

Also, The Steak Series...very much a favorite. Clever, clever vine to go scrabbling about for the hard to find lovelies.

:::so excited I can't sepak in complete sentences:::

Re: Will fix grammar and spelling for free!!

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Favorite sin? I assume you mean deadly? I would imagine the one that most influences my own life - my personal sin, as it were - is sloth. But I'd also be able to make a fairly decent argument for lust, and I must say I admire lust a greath deal in other people. And, well, in TFATF, I'm a big fan of wrath, because punching a wall is as natural to these guys as eye-fucking.

I'm also a fan of the opposing virtues. (According to one source: humility, kindness, abstinence, chastity, patience, liberality, diligence.) Is it wrong that to me that list pretty much reads like a dS slash story? Yeah, probably. But it does. I can't help it.

And my favorite non-deadly sin is probably intemperance. In its larger definition, it covers almost everything I enjoy. Lack of moderation is my SOP.

Re: Will fix grammar and spelling for free!!

[identity profile] maygra.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Deadly? I shall keeeeell someone for you. No wait. No killing...but I am nearly overcome with the urge to write you something to make you happy.

Lack of moderation...overkill. Hmm...

Seven characters, seven sins...mix and match. I'd love to get away from the trite, but somehow Dom and Lust just go together as do Brian and Lust.

May need an elimination match. I could probably make a good argument for pride...you know if I stretch it into prowess.

feels silly. runs away to finish unfinished things

Re: Will fix grammar and spelling for free!!

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 10:31 pm (UTC)(link)
You know, it's interesting that you said Dom and lust go together, because that's actually a switch for him. In his pre-prison, pre-movie days, wrath was probably his guiding sin; then he got his wrath under tight control, and it went to greed during the movie. And then he overcame the greed, and in FF lust took its place. So far, he's three for seven not out.

And if you want to discuss this more, let's take it out of this semi-public place and into email before I completely humiliate myself with the depths of my obsession and the amount of discussion I'm willing to dedicate to entirely fictional people. (See, if I'm going to be lunatic, I want to be the kind that's locked up in an attic rather than the kind that raves and rants in a public square.)

(But, side note: I think "Overkill" pretty much has to be a title for a TFATF story. Because that is just so *very* much what those guys are about. And I like the idea of an elimination match - greed v. envy, or for that matter greed v. charity, would make for a fabulous anthropomorfic.)

[personal profile] indywind 2005-03-02 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
"PWP 221f: Return to the Last Rimjob, Part 8"

::carefully (narrowly) avoids snarfing tea::

"And hoping for published different-author sequels is like hoping for experimental genital surgery performed by monkeys"

::snarfs tea:: ::whaps elbow on desk while trying to keep tea out of keyboard::

Woman, I am laughing like a crazy thing, and I haven't even got to the recs yet. Just so you know, this is why I read you. I mean, besides the good recs and the rants andthe intelligent comments elsewhere. Lots of people can do that; at least 3 or 4. But you have the special mutant ability to make me snarf my tea without warning and without fail. I bow down before your awesome power.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)
This makes me seriously happy. I made you laugh! I made you bonk your elbow! I made you irrigate your nasal passages with natural-source tannin, which might provide any number of health benefits!

Hmm. Upon reflection, that doesn't sound all that wonderful. Nonetheless, I am pleased and proud.

*offers replacement cup of tea and sincere gratitude for praise*

[identity profile] minitrog.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 01:34 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm in the midst of Imperfections V at the moment, having devoted the entire day to the series.

It's the first SenGen I've read (Eek, Gen!), and I'm having an really good time. Thanks muchly for the rec. In fact, thanks for all your recs, which have pointed me at some excellent reads.

Brill!

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you. I love getting praise. It makes me all beamish.

And there's a lot of good Sentinel gen out there, which just amazes me. The creativity of FF writers continues to astonish me; I mean, these people can write Jim and Blair as straight. Believably straight. Even the canon doesn't manage that, I don't think, so - wow.

(Dasha has a number of good pieces in the fandom, and she's still writing in it. (Yay!) I most especially adore her Dorset County (slash) series. If you haven't read it, I'll happily link you to it. It's great.)

[identity profile] minitrog.livejournal.com 2005-03-03 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
I have to say that I didn't start reading Sentinel FF for ages as we didn't have the show here in the UK until a couple of years ago, and I usually just *won't* read the fic until I've seen the progenitor. However, knowing we were getting the show in a few months, I started to read the fic and was really entertained and happy with the stuff I found. Then of course I saw the show and found it lacklustre in comparison, although the terrible stunts and poor editing were more than compensated for by the huge amount of Unnecessary Touching.

I have the same problem with Due South. The show was originally on here, but as far as I know has never been repeated, and I missed it the first time round - and I know I'm missing out on a huge amount of yummy slash. I can't decide whether to just jump in and read or wait on the off chance I may see the show someday. (This is some confusing thing in my head about needing a pure canon base to bounce the FF off, or something...*g*)

I most especially adore her Dorset County (slash) series.

I looked Dasha up at 852 Prospect, and that series is there. ::rubs hands::. Looks like tomorrow is taken care of too. *g* I'm off work sick, so I have time to play!

Thanks again for the recs hon.

[identity profile] thepouncer.livejournal.com 2005-03-03 06:06 pm (UTC)(link)
due South is actually good enough to watch, in both the first two seasons and the shortened Ray Kawalski years. Isn't it out on DVD in Britain? Am I imagining that? I would find it hard to read dS fanfiction without knowing the source material well - there are certain dialogue cadences and conventions established in the series that make almost no sense in fanfic without seeing them first.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-03-03 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, you know I always advocate plunging ahead without reference to canon, so I'm likely not the person to give advice here, but I say: go ahead with the dS slash.

And NOT just because I think reading FF in the absence of canon is fine, but because I really don't think you'll be disappointed with the show when you see it. Even I have now seen the canon (Well. Some of the canon. Most of season three.), and it's good. It has the one thing that (I assume) all FF fans need: good writing. Plus, you know, for all the Ray and Fraser Are Meant to Be Together feeling that I get from reading the FF, I actually get more from the canon, so it isn't likely you'll be disappointed there. And, finally, so many of the dS writers are dead-on in characterization and voice that you won't have any nasty surprises from the characters. Or that's how it worked for me, anyway.

But if that doesn't sound right for you, let me suggest plan B: beg dS people for DVDs or tapes or files. They're a generous and conversion-focused lot. Sort of like porny Jehovah's Witnesses. Only much saner and nicer and with far better tracts.

Either way, do not delay. Start with Ben and Ray today! (Note helpful rhyming mnemonic device for better message retention.)

[personal profile] kbk 2005-03-02 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
For some reason, it makees me happy when you rec things I've read and liked - validation, I suppose. The only one I hadn't read was the first rec, and now I have, and it is good. (There is a Methos in there, btw, he's just being Adam Pierson.)

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
I get a kick out of seeing other people love on things I've recommended - hence, well, this LJ, for starters. It's one big ball o' validation (except when it isn't); people comment just to say they loved something I love.

And apparently a lot of people do not know Dasha's work. Well, that will change if they read this LJ, because I've rec'd her before and will rec her again. She's great.

There is a Methos in there, btw, he's just being Adam Pierson.

Ah-ha! I am now *basking* in the pleasure of a mystery revealed, because I have read that series many times, and each time I wonder where the hell Methos is. (I don't know anything about Highlander except the names Duncan MacLeod and Methos. Oh, and swords. I mean, for all I know, Joe Dawson could be an original character in "Imperfections," though I've always assumed he's from Highlander, too. He reads like he is.)

[personal profile] kbk 2005-03-03 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
Heh. See, now I'm really glad I commented. And Joe is indeed a Highlander person. I'm almost tempted to go into parallels and differences from canon, but I doubt you'd appreciate it. And anyway, I really have to go right now dammit.

[identity profile] out-there.livejournal.com 2005-03-02 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I've only relatively recently discovered TS gen; I mean, I knew it existed, but I didn't understand it. Slash makes the TS universe much more believable.

Heh. As a friend once described TS fiction to me, "There is no gen. It's all slash -- or pre-slash."

No Summers family history complex enough to destroy life as we know it should anyone ever actually manage to comprehend the totality of it.

*cracks up completely*

Also, I'm wondering how I missed the Wolverine/Asterix crossover, because I would have enjoyed that. *g*

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-03-03 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Glad I made you laugh, and very glad you can laugh about the Summers family. It's humor or it's a straighjacket with that crew, what with the time travel and the alternate universes and the children who are actually parents of their own grandparents except for the accident on the alien slave planet that caused...and then your brain dissolves and slides out your ears and you're another tragic victim of Acute Summers Overexposure Disorder. Or that's what happens to me, anyway.

"There is no gen. It's all slash -- or pre-slash."

Hee. Totally true. Even in the series, there seem to have been moments of slash. And the blooper reels are basically giant economy bundles o' slash.

[identity profile] firesprite1105.livejournal.com 2005-03-13 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Just finished the Steak Series. Loved it. Don't know how I managed to miss it, what with my constant browsing of SG rec pages lately. I suspect it had something to do with the repetition of "steak"...

Anyway, many thanks for the rec. :)

[identity profile] revelininsanity.livejournal.com 2005-06-12 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Jubilee (who I fucking detested in the comic books, so it's impressive that I like her here, and frankly astonishing that I'm willing to admit it)

You hated Jubilee?
I thought I was the only one!
Yay!
Sorry, that was a little random. I just stumbled across your journal and decided to say, you rec good. Thanks a dozen.

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-06-16 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
And here I thought all sane people hated Jubilee. Now that I know otherwise, I will be viewing people with a lot more suspicion. ("Hmmm. She seems nice enough. Kind to animals, great taste in reading materials, Nobel peace prize winner. But could she be a closet Jubilphile?")

Well, OK, not entirely. But, wow, Jubilee was seriously annoying.

And thanks! Glad you found me, glad you like the recs, and very glad to hear that other people share my feelings of hostility toward a mutant who essentially has the same powers and the same personality as the old Windows fireworks screensaver.