Fish Recs

For my policy on things such as spoilers, warning, and ratings, please see [my policy post].


If you'd like to see this rec set with all cuts intact (nicely hiding everything), clicky clicky: [This post with cuts intact].


I've had to split this rec set into two LJ posts due to size, but it's also kind of convenient from a thematic point of view. [The first part of this rec set] is in my regular format for recs, but I've done something a bit different with this part. (And I know the requester mostly cares about fic, but I really couldn't write these up any other way, sorry).

There were two constellations of fanworks which I wanted to include on this list which were troublesome to my normal format for the happy-making reason of having too many associated fan works to be able to apply my usual header template unaltered. What I have here are two fics (both fanfic of the Harry Potter series) which each spawned a number of works in a variety of media.

I really really love cases like this-- where we see fen springboarding off of another fan's work. I think the dynamic in these cases is subtly different than that between canon and fanwork-- possibly because of the complete loop which feedback goes producing different sorts of things or possibly it just has to do with the differences in perceived playing field between the two cases and then with that being something that shows up in the work which they create, or possibly it has more to do with how I perceive it, but regardless, it's awesome). Irregardless of the exact reason why, I do love it, and hopefully you do/will too.


The way I've formatted this is to divide this post up into three sections, the first being this blathery section and the second two being the fanwork constellations associated with each fic. In those two sections, I first rec the initiating fic and then the entire constellation. As always, but especially with these works, please do mention any related works which I've unintentionally overlooked!

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( 'Let's Pretend the War Is Over', two arts, one podfic, and a Fish who natters on. )

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( 'Lamp in the Cooling Room', plus three art and one fic. And lots of Fishy rambles )


As always, if anyone spots any inaccuracies/dead links/missing info/additional transformative works, please let me know.

For my policy on things such as spoilers, warning, and ratings, please [see my policy post].

Last post I recced really short podfic so it seems fitting to discuss really long podfic today. There's a sharp drop-off in number of submissions at the [audiofic archive] that are >2hours long, so I'm going to use that as my criterion for 'long'.

I like to listen to podfics mostly in one go, so it is much more difficult for me to find the time to listen to long podfics than really short ones. (Especially now that I've no longer got huge chunks of time full of mindless tasks on my hands. This is good for my brain not petrifying, but not so great from the point of view of having hours at a single go to listen to podfic.) So I've listened to less of the really long fics than I might like, especially recent ones. But I have managed to listen to some long fics, so here's some recs!

( Three podfics, one SGA and two HP )

FYI: It looks like I'll be doing five days of podfic recs, so this is mid-meme! :)

[Originally posted] at fish-echo on 26 August 2009

For my policy on things such as spoilers, warning, and ratings, please [see my policy post].

The motivation for this rec set is thusly: A few weeks ago winkingstar mentioned how it was sad that Madame Pince, Hogwarts Librarian, only ever showed up in the books when she was flying into a rage and shushing students. I pointed out [Every Librarian Has Her Day] (because fanfic always comes to the rescue). winkingstar then asked me if I had any recs of comforting/canon-repairing, non-trio-focused, non-explicit Harry Potter fics. Sadly, many of my Harry Potter bookmarks have been lots to the electrons of time (rather like the Dodo) so this list is the best stab I can make at the moment.

Story: The Last Mudblood 2.0
Author: furiosity
Fandom, etc: Gen, PG-13 to R, 10K words
Author's Summary: The war is over, and Voldemort has won. Harry Potter is dead. Neville Longbottom is a Death Eater, and together with Draco Malfoy they lead a manhunt for Hermione Granger. It's really that simple. Or is it?
Contains: Character death. Violence. Language. Allusion to rape. Dark themes.
My Notes: Even though this story is on the darker side I like it quite a bit. (Spoilerwarning--Neville isn't actually evil.) Neville is a really lovely secret agent in this. It is sad looking at how far the resistance has fallen, but Neville himself and the ending give me hope that things might be on the upswing in this universe. (N.B.: The '2.0' in the title is because this is a rewrite of one of her earliest stories to bring it in line with HBP canon.)
Why it fits: Neville is being awesome in a difficult situation.

Story: The Little Ones
Author: furiosity
Fandom, etc: PG, gen, 2K words
Characters: Ginny, Molly, Luna, Neville
Author's Summary: Not all is well at Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
My Notes: Another one I love for the realistic aspect. This is a scene I doubt JKR would have written and her stories are poorer for it.
Why it fits: Minor characters behaving courageously.

Story: Goyle's War
Author: meddow
Fandom, etc: PG, gen, 7200 words
Author's Summary: Voldemort has fallen and Hogwarts along with him and now a new wizarding world exists, one that does not seem to have a place for Gregory Goyle.
My Notes: I'm generally not a big fan of Crabbe or Goyle, but this fic made Goyle sympathetic. I loved watching Goyle figure out how he fits into this new world.
Why it fits: Minor character plus 'what happens after'.

Story: The LoP 'verse
Author: AJ Hall
Fandom, etc: Draco/Neville, R, two novels and several short stories/novellas.
Contains: Contains references to topics which some might find triggering.
My Notes: I like this series kind of an amazing amount. I love the author's characterisations of Neville and Draco and her portrayals of Narcissa and Neville's Grandmother are awesome (her Ginny, who shows up only briefly, is one of my favourite Ginnies ever). There are realistic and wonderful OCs, tricky plot-lines, and a crossover with Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan universe ('Time Shall Not Mend').
Why it fits: Lovely Neville characterisation. These stories were written before book seven, and as such, they show a different war against Voldemort. 'Ships That Pass' and 'Time Shall Not Mend' both take place during the war, and in my opinion, offer a more interesting (for the reader) war (written pre-Horcrux).

Story: Upon Reflection
Author: Nope
Fandom, etc: gen, PG (for potty-mouths), 1000 words.
Author's Summary: None given
My Summary: Sirius gets stuck in Draco's mirror after he goes through the veil.
My Notes: A funny, short piece.
Why it fits: Sirius's death made many fen angry. Not that I'm certain being stuck in Draco's mirror is a much better fate :)

Title: Switch
Author: corvidae9
Fandom, etc.: gen, G, 1900 words.
Author's Summary: The Sorting Hat has sorted thousands of students in the course of its life. If it makes a mistake or two, who's to say it's wrong? Certainly not Fred or George Weasley.
Author Notes: Written for the omniocular September challenge - The Harry Potter AU Extravaganza prompt 40 - A prank by Fred and George confuses the Sorting Hat in Harry's first year, resulting in horrible house mismatches.
My Thoughts: This is the first in a series of stories ('verse tag [here]) which retell (in short-story length, not novel-length) the HP books, but with the students in the Houses assigned to them by the drunken Sorting Hat (WIP, first two years are complete). There is a strong ensemble cast and many of the minor characters from canon have larger roles.
Why it fits: I like funny, light-hearted fics. Also, I know some fans don't like the idea of Sorting (either at such a young age or at all), so this turns that on its head.

As per usual, if I've got inaccuracies, broken links, or missing info (especially podfics, DVD commentaries, and sequels/prequels), please do let me know.

[Originally posted] at fish_echo on 10 April 2009.

For my policy on things such as spoilers, warning, and ratings, please [see my policy post].

leviticus_lied [has asked] for suggestions for things to turn into podfics, and I've been meaning to post recs. So I've decided to combine those at the moment, and here's some fic that I like and that I think would be nice as podfics.

The Ones Where They are a Unicorn and a Rainbow (and a Dolphin and a Warm Spring Breeze):
Part One-- But Where Would They Live and Part Two-- The Dreams That You Dare to Dream (Or, But What Would the Children Look Like?) by thingswithwings
Fandom etc: Crack. I highly doubt any knowledge of the canon is even necessary, but for the sake of completeness, the fandom is SGA. John/Rodney, side Teyla/Ronon. PG
Author's Rating/Warning: Part one: this is fic in which RODNEY IS A UNICORN AND JOHN IS A RAINBOW. no ratings or warning will sufficiently prepare you for this. the MPAA doesn't have a category for this. it is pure, unadulterated crack, and I have nothing to say in my own defense. Part two: I just don't know where to start. it's now unicorn/rainbow kidfic.
My Review: Pure awesome crack. Completely ridiculous. I have a very large soft spot for crack and the absurd. I'm positive that no knowledge of the fandom or canon is necessary for these stories. However, these are well-told crack!fics. It is the little moments that make the story worth re-reading when the crack-craving hits. The interpersonal interactions are done very well. I'm kinda shocked that I'm writing that about, well, a rainbow and the rest of the motley crew, but yeah, it works. Plus, rainbow/unicorn kidfic! Don't worry, Unicorn Rodney spends most of the second story being as confused by how that works as you are. There's an amazing amount of canon-compliant characterization for a rainbow and unicorn fic--hey, a grumpy unicorn Rodney, that's gotta be worth the price of admission alone.
EDIT 5 April 2009: general_jinjur recorded these for me as a bribe for me to donate to [Archive of Our Own] and she did an absolutely wonderful job. She manages to make thoughts inside the characters' heads sound different from their spoken dialogue. She does an excellent job of doing the tone of voice when reading. Aaaand she made lovely covers for the audiobooks from art done for the fic. *squishes the podfics tightly to her chest*
Audiofic (m4b): Both stories (30:17), Part 1 (11:34), Part 2 (18:42), read by general_jinjur
Podfic (mp3):Part 1, Part 2

Minerva McGonagall and the Insurance Salesman, Part 1 by googlebrat
Fandom etc: Harry Potter, G, Gen, Humour, 1300 words.
Author's Summary: The hapless insurance salesman squirmed. "If you will recall, Professor McGonagall, last time we spoke I told you we wished to cancel your policy. The amount of issues the school has . . . it's simply too high-risk for us..."
My Review: A humourous piece--- It's really not fair to sic Professor McGonagall on an unsuspecting Muggle insurance salesman, but since he thought when his daughter turned out to be a witch that the Wizarding World would be a good place for insurance, I don't feel too bad for him. No wait, I do, because he has no idea what he's getting in for. In theory, there is a Part Two, but my search-fu is weak and can't find it.

Every Librarian Has Her Day by Martha (marthas_library/mad_martha)
Fandom: Harry Potter. Gen, PG, 965 words.
Author's Summary: What did Madam Pince do during the Battle of Hogwarts?
My Summary*: The Hogwarts Librarian contributes to the battle... Battle Tomes! Actually, it's more of her musing on duty and knowledge before releasing The Battle Tomes. Dum Dum Dum!
Review: This is a wonderful short story that somehow manages to sound really crappy when summarized but is really awesome when you read it. Which I guess means that the all the rest of the words that the author used really were necessary :P Madam Pince's thoughts while preparing to protect her library and the school show her great strength of character. The writing of this piece is very tight, but doesn't seem over-written. Whenever I re-read it I realize that a good portion of what I remember-- atmosphere, fact-lets, etc-- was merely suggested and not explicitly stated. As I said before, excellent writing here. I really wish the muse would poke Martha in the brain with the companion piece that is Madam Pomfrey's (the school nurse).
*really, I just wanted an excuse to write "the battle tomes" repeatedly
Podfic version!: winkingstar recorded this for me! [mp3] and [m4b]
My notes on the podfic version: This is lovely! Her calm voice is perfect for such a contemplative story and the emotions still ring strong. The final line of the story contains a large punch and she delivers it perfectly. (Plus, I love getting to the end of any podfic by winkingstar because she always sounds happy at the final 'the end', and the 'finis' here is lovely.) There may have been actual flailing of hands when I got to the end, but if there was, I'm not telling you about it, so you can't prove anything. EEEEEEE happy :)[originally posted here]

Also, one art link, because consistency is a sign of a small mind (quote mangled, I know):
art: http://pics.livejournal.com/iltaru/pic/000420y9/ by iltaru
summary: is sooo awesome and cute!
Fic: Drop Dead Gorgeous by Maya


As per usual, if I've got inaccuracies, broken links, or missing info (especially podfics, DVD commentaries, and sequels/prequels), please do let me know.


[Originally posted] at fish_echo on 11 June 2008