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greghousesgf
falenaWikipedia has a pretty goog summary, for those who are not familiar with the books:
The Murderbot Diaries is a science fiction series by Martha. The series is told from the perspective of the titular cyborg guard, a "SecUnit" owned by a futuristic megacorporation. SecUnits include "governor" modules that control and punish the constructs if they take any actions not approved by the company. The ironically self-named "Murderbot" hacked and disabled the module but pretends to be a normal SecUnit, staving off the boredom of security work by watching media. As it spends more time with humans, it develops genuine friendships and emotional connections, which it finds inconvenient.
It's got humour, emotional depth, action; it's the perfect comfort read, because Murderbot grappling with what it means to have free will and catching human cooties feeling is weirdly heartwarming. Murderbot is the best protag, I swear. I can't believe I saw this series mentioned around for years and never checked it out because I thought it was going to be gruesome, since its titular character is called Murderbot, ha. It's now also a tv series,starring Brad 'the Iceman' Colbert Alexander Skarsgård. The tv series is fun, a good adaptation, really, but the books are far superior, imo.
All these stories probably contain spoilers, so do not read them if you haven't read the books (you won't be safe if you've just watched the show, I supspect).
In Control. 8K words. Four times having a governor module fucking sucked, plus one time [REDACTED: FILE MISSING]. (Or: Murderbot has Emotions for 8,000 words. ART tries to help. So does Dr. Mensah, but like, in a decidedly less assholish way.)
Re-Initialization. 38K words. When the infamous rogue SecUnit of the Preservation Alliance gets captured, the corporate techs assigned to it expected to be able to get some juicy data, or at least some insights into its cracked governor module. They didn't expect something so… basic.
Changelong. 377 words. helpme.file: Changelog Various additions made by the units who pass along Murderbot’s governor module hack. Tremendously fun!
The Pitt
I adore how most of fandom has decided that Frank is a good guy, despite his many flaws, that he has fallen head over heels in love with Mel and that he'd do anything to be with her. Sometimes I like a darker interpretation of canon, though. In this vein, let me offer you my kingdon for a horse 14K. Langdon drives Mel home after the longest first day in the world. This is an amazing fic, so perfectly in character, hot and it packs such an emotional punch. The ending is absolutely brutal. It needs many more hits, kudos and comments.
goodbyebirdgreghousesgfgoodbyebirdfalenaI've never been a huge fan of Supernatural the show, I watched the first four seasons with my husband but that was his pick. I also don't like RPF as a general rule. The less I know about the lives of the actors whose work I like, the better, as far as I'm concerned. No shade to those who enjoy RPF, it's a me thing. However, I love RPF AUS. They're basically original fiction with faces I can easily picture in my mind, you know? And a lot more tropetastic than most published romance.
That's why, over the years, I've enjoyed a few selected stories from the Supernatural RPF fandom, mostly J2 (Jensen/Jared for the uninitiated) but not only.
A Kept Boy by poisontaster. 200K words. This is a massive, massive novel; it doesn't get more AU than this. It's set in an alternate version of present day America where slavery is a thing. It's Jensen/ Jeffery Dean Morgan but the full list of characters is as long as my arm. I don't even know all of the actors, and frankly I don't care. I took them as OCs. It contains very disturbing themes, of course, consent is problematic to say the least, but the world-building and the character arcs are carefully thought out and it never delves into pain porn, imo. I must say that it contains the best depiction of therapy in fiction I've ever come across. Seriously, Jensen's therapy sessions and his emotional growth are the highlight of the story for me. Thankfully, it exists also in podfic form, by superstitiousme.
If AKB is too dark for you, let's go to the other end of the spectrum: Starstruck, by pandarus. This is a J2 movie based on Notting Hill. It's hilarious and definitely lighter but it still hits all the emotional beats to be a super-satisfying rom-com. Better than the original, imo. The excellent pandarus, who by now you should all know is an amazing performer too, recorded the podfic of her own story and it's as brilliant as you might expect it to be.
Do I Seem Bulletproof to You? by fleshflutter. 96K words. This is a classic in the J2 pairing and a great example of hooker!fic, a time-honoured trope. The author left fandom and the fic is a bit hard to find, but I linked to a place where you can download it in different formats. I've only ever listened to the wonderful podfic by cath, unsurprisingly.
Screw You, We're From Texas by makeit_takeit. 75K. This is the only story among these recs where the R in the acronym RPF plays a substantial role. Basically it's an AU of Jared and Jensen's lives if they'd never made it as actors but stayed in Texas and had 'normal' lives. To me, the great sense of place is one of the strengths of the fic. The scope of the fic and sheer amount of growth the two characters experience are astounding.
The Pitt
I'm not a big fan of AUs for this fandom because the medical setting is integral to my enjoyment of the show, but when the authors are talented and get the characters, I'll read anything...so after the best sports AU, let me give you a historical one. tightly knotted to a similar string by lirazel. 12k words. Mel/Frank. Victorian governess AU, as in Mel is Frank's children governess in England. I was sceptical going in...but lirazel totally won me over. This was lovely.
falenaI'm pretty sure I don't have to tell anyone what this show is about, not least because the name is pretty much self-explanatory, lol.
If you haven't watched it at all, it's probably because medical dramas are not your thing or because you're very young and think that old television is not worth wasting your time over (your loss).
I grew up with ER, John Carter has been my first tv crush, I learnt English to be able to keep up with the show as it aired in the US...so I can't just be objective about it. Season 1 through 3 hold a very special place in my heart.
I honestly wish I had been in fandom back then, but I wasn't, so I'm sure I missed out on a lot of fic. Most of the fic I eventually read was in archives that are no longer online... Fannish life before the Ao3 came along was hard.
Through the Door by C.Midori. I can't believe I'm linking to FF.net! This story is 23 years old, guys. I remember loving it back then, I had it saved as a Word file on my computer, lolol. It's Abby/Carter, a ship I honestly don't remember much about and FF.net makes my eyes bleed so I haven't re-read it before reccing it, sorry. It does seem well-written. It was very angsty, this much I remember. Set around season 8, I think.
Two For The Show by jumpfall. 2.3K words. Gen. Set in the first season, I suppose. This is Carter!whump and H/C at its finest. I love found family stories. And true ensemble pieces like this, with excellent use of the medical setting.
three dates by cicak. 13.6K words.Cater/Benton. Set in season 2 or 3. Carter’s not sure exactly when he first learned about the patented Peter Benton Dating Algorithm, but it must have been early on, because he internalised it like it was any other scrap of information he’d gleaned and hoarded like a crazy person, like his GPA (3.8), his birthday (September 9th) or his blood type (B positive). Now, I personally don't see the Carter/Benton relationship as romantic. At. All.
cicak writes so well and still keeps Carter and Benton completely in character that they just made me buy it.
The Pitt
Like Brothers We Meet by Siria. 17.5k words. Gen. After a chance encounter, Robby finds out that he's got a half-brother he never knew about—an emergency physician from Chicago called John Carter. A fair number of stories that try to tie in/blend ER and The Pitt while explaining the uncanny similarity between Carter and Robby have naturally popped up. This is the best of them all. Totally believable, blends the two canon seamlessly. Robby is our viewpoint character here. Fascinating read, highly recommended.
greghousesgffalenaRivers of London is an urban fantasy series written by Ben Aaronovitch (a Doctor Who writer). So far, it includes 9 books and loads of novellas. Set in almost-present-day London (IIRC the first book is set in 2011, the latest in 2018), I've heard it once described as "Harry Potter meets your standard British police procedural", and as back-cover blurb descriptions go it's not bad. It's just so much more than 'magic coppers', though.
The books are written in first-person and our POV character is Peter Grant, a mixed-race police constable and born-and-bred Londoner, with a touch of ADHD and the best British sense of humour. The books work because Peter is so damn likeable. Mind you, the books are also very British, which might be a selling point, if you're me, or put you off. The first seven books conclude a story arc, Aaronovitch knows how to play the long game, and are damn near perfect IMO.
The Rivers of London fandom used to be small but very active, but in recent years some people drifted away from it because they found it a bit uncomfortable to be fans of a series where the police is considered a force of good, I think. And I understand why. I am Italian, from Genova, I wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief to read about Italian police being good guys (if you don't know what I'm talking about look up what happened during the 2001 G8 in my town). However, I have no problems romanticising bits of another country's police force, when they are represented by the likes of Peter Grant, Sahra Guleed and Thomas Nightingale. I'm afraid I'm not doing a good job of describing how awesome the series, is so I'll leave you with this introductory post by sixthlight, who was the BNF back then.
It's a new day [vid] by pollyrepeat. This awesome fanvid can totally work as a trailer for the series. I'm always so in awe of fans who can make vids for a canon which has no footage to offer as a starting point.
Longhouse by philomytha. This is such a great example of Peter's narration, and a casefile fic, and also a good example of the predictable main ship: Peter/Nightingale.
This(not) be the verse by leupagus. 3.8 K words.
"Be honest, sir," I said, scrabbling for the left flipper, "I look like a moron."
"I’ve seen you look moronic before, Peter," Nightingale said, flicking the wheel right and sending us careening down a side street and me thudding against the left-hand door. "This does not even, as you put it, 'crack the top ten.'"
This is my fave of the most recent fics. It's got spoilers for, let's say, a development in Peter's life in the last two books? If you've read the books, you know what I'm talking about. Perfect Peter's voice and great interaction with Nightingale (totally non shippy). There are two podfic versions available! Haven't listened to either yet, but I plan on doing that asap.
I've Found a New Baby by knight-tracer and
thefourthhvine. 13.6k. Peter/Nightingale. It's a sort of self-contained casefile of sorts, it can fit pretty much anywhere in canon before the last two books, I think, it's been a while since I listened to it. It's not particularly spoilery, I think. Peter finds a baby on the doorstep of the Folly.
It’s an embarrassing cliché, I know, but there was an actual basket, made of what looked to be actual wicker, actually sitting there. It was oval and large and had spaces for handholds on either end; for a minute, I thought it was full of laundry, and my mind spun an image of a ghost laundress. Then the small hand emerged from the basket, waved around for a minute, and smacked down again.
Brilliant Peter's voice and even better Nightingale's characterisation. The podfic is excellent!
Saving the big guns for last...As I said, sixthlight was the BNF in the fandom, for a reason. All her works are amazing. I miss her fic like crazy. Anyway, my all-time favourite is this:
Wizardry by Consent. 62K words. It's an AU,a canon divergence one, and it's best enjoyed if you know canon to be able to appreciate the amazing worldbuilding and character work the author does when she takes our beloved characters on a new journey, starting from a simple change to the canon: Peter never became the Nightingale apprentice.
Fifteen years after a headless body was discovered in Covent Garden, Thomas Nightingale is still the last wizard in Britain, and Peter Grant, newly appointed Commander for Community Engagement in the Metropolitan Police Service, has just learned the truth about the existence of the Folly. He has one or two questions. The podfic by lazulus is [insert superlative adjective of your choice here].
The Pitt
hard odds to beat when you're on all fours by loveism. Mel/Trinity. Femslash at its finest, perfectly in character and so well-written. I love me some Trinity Santos when people know how to write her well, and damn, Mel deserves all the good sex, so...
goodbyebirdgoodbyebirdgreghousesgffalenaThis is a trilogy of historical m/m romances by KJ Charles, the queen of the genre. Now, anything penned by KJ Charles is a cut above anyone else's, imho, so if you haven't read anything of hers, you totally should. Characterisation, plot, intrigue, smut, excellent writing, her books have it all. The Will Darling Adventures are set in London in the 1920s. It's a spy/action series with an amazing love story at its heart, where the conflict is absolutely real and the characters have an emotional growth arc across the three books. It's the most satisfying kind of romance. You will fall in love with the two MCs, it's impossible not to. Once you've finished the books you'll be left wanting more, so here's some fic to tide you over. These are all Kim/Will, with a touch of DS/Archie, and won't make much sense unless you've read the books, I'm afraid. Btw, the audiobook version of the books, narrated by Cornell Collins, is just sublime.
the world is but a word. 1.6K words. Will was speaking with a customer when Sir Archibald Curtis walked into his bookshop. A lovely little vignette. Podfic availbale, though I haven't listened to it yet.
scrape out what's left (at the end of the year). 2.2K words. The drive to Holmclere was uneventful, leisurely, and most importantly: not completely overshadowed by one or both of them being framed for murder. At least it had that going for it. Lovely epilogue for the whole seriesscrape out what's left (at the end of the year).
one shade the more. 3.9K words.Perfect Will and Kim voice, their banter kills me.
The Pitt
detect my sudden existence on your sonar by Lirazel . 25K words Mel/Frank. Mel thought everything would get easier when he came back. Instead, it's a new kind of torture. This fic is, to me, the definitive take on Mel's POV. I'm not on the spectrum, I've little experience with people who are, so I may as well be talking out of my arse, but reading this story is just such an immersive experience, ti does such an excellent job of sucking you in and making you feel like you're living it all as Mel would. And the pining is exquisite. So good it's almost unbearable. Gah.
goodbyebirdrogueslayer452
falenaSo, today was my day off and I watched the first three episodes of the Heated Rivalry tv series just because I've seen some gifs around Tumblr. I read the whole Game Changers series years ago, I'm a big m/m romance reader, unsurprisingly, and I enjoy a good sports romance tremendously. I am Italian, I know nothing about hockey and this has not prevented from enjoying the hell out of a fair bit of m/m hockey romance and fanfic.
Wild Ice by makeit_takeit. 46K words. Men's Hockey RPF, Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick. As with all hockey RPF, I have no idea what these two guys look like or even what team they played for, but it's all irrelevant. This is an AU where one of the two is himself, I guess, retired after hockey, while the other is not a hockey player. This is just such a gorgeous love story, with, complex layered characterisation and the natural beauty of Canadian winter landscape as its backdrop. It's a sort of grump/sunshine pairing, I guess. The tags give you a good idea of what to expect.
Front Runner by makeit_takeit. 60K words. Men's Hockey RPF, Jamie Benn/Tyler Seguin. This is another AU, a high school one, where the characters play football in Texas. Picture Friday Night lights only gayer? :D This is another great story. Again, I know nothing about American football, but I'm a sucker for coming-of-age story mixed in with romance. And this has such a strong sense of place, which makes it all the better. Not that I know the first thing about Texas high school football culture, but I am a big fan of Friday Night Lights, trust me when I say I didn't throw the comparison lightly.
and i spit out the seed by linearity. Heated Rivalry AU, of the canon divergence kind. Basically Ilya and Shane get outed much earlier than in canon. Amazing characterisation and dialogue.
The Pitt
Since we're talking sports romance, I cannot help but reccing the best sports AU in this fandom: Love Game by homespun. Mel/Frank, ofc, still a WIP but it's going to be complete soon, in, like, a 4 days? And I can already tell this is going to be an all-time favourite. Ah, it's a tennis pro AU. And it's P-E-R-F-E-C-T.
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artbykristele. Fun portrait of Xena and Gabi in a fighting pose. rennerei. Legs around waist! Smooches! Aiaiaiaiaiiigreghousesgfgoodbyebirdgreghousesgf - (no subject)falena - Rec-cember Day 10: Murderbotgoodbyebird - To let you back in, that would be violence (I wanna try it).greghousesgf - (no subject)goodbyebird - It's kind of ironic: the more care you put into a murder, the harsher society judges you.falena - Rec-cember Day 9: Supernatural RPFfalena - Rec-cember Day 8: ERgreghousesgf - (no subject)falena - Rec-cember Day 7: Rivers of Londongoodbyebird - Will you be there when the flames are high?goodbyebird - After I gave you the best 17 days of my life!greghousesgf - (no subject)falena - Rec-cember Day 6: The Will Darling Adventures by KJ Charlesgoodbyebird - Now I Know What A TV Dinner Feels Like.rogueslayer452 - Your turn to roll. Again.falena - Rec-cember Day 5: Hockey romancegreghousesgf - (no subject)goodbyebird - Tried a perfume oil at Ritual and it was a Mistake.greghousesgf - (no subject)goodbyebird - To be fair, the murder incest game also lets you find a pile of fluffy bunnies.carisma_sensei
