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.

Here's my entry in the 2010 Podfic Critical Feedback Exchange! Feel free to skip my long blather and just listen or read the fic :)

Podfic: [Method Acting (mp3)] and [Method Acting audiobook (m4b)]
Read and written by: malnpudl
Etc: NCIS, Tony DiNozzo/Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NC-17, 22:37, mp3: 7.7 MB, m4b: 10.7 MB, ~3900 words
Contains: [skip] Dubious consent and forced voyeurism of the the bad guys make them have sex to prove their cover sort.
Author Summary: Porny "fuck or die" undercover-in-a-gay-nightclub cliché!fic, with only the vaguest semblance of plot.
My Notes (story): The story does what it says on the tin. I actually would really love follow-up story(ies), both for the case and the relationship, which IMO says that there must have been some plot along with the porn here :)

[ link to Fish Echo's critique of 'Method Acting' on Dreamwidth]

[ link to Fish Echo's critique of 'Method Acting' on LiveJournal]


And if you have feedback on how I do my feedback, I am interested in that too! Or maybe you also have thoughts on this podfic which you'd like to share? :)

Posted to fish_echo and fish_echo.
Linked at fish_recs, podficmeta, amplificathon and amplificathon. Sorry if you get this multiple times!

Are you in the middle of December stress? Do you need fanworks which remind you that the world is indeed an awesome place? Did you think that the next rec set I posted was going to be Shawn/Gus from Psych? Are you surprised that evidently I had remembered a bunch of Psych stories as S/G when in fact they were gen? Are you going to be at all suprised that this isn't a Psych rec set?

Anyway, onto the recs!

( As always, these are in no particular order. 2 WIPs (now both finished): SPN (gen, Hockey AU), Star Trek Reboot (Spock/Kirk, detective AU), 1 vid (Mythbusters, Adam/Jamie), 1 completed fic and art and podfic (SPN, Sam/Castiel). ETA: updated entries in the 'Five for Fighting' story 18 May 2011 )

ETA
18 May 2011: updated and elaborated the 'Five for Fighting' entry

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


Reposting my recs from spngenlove week 14.

Theme: Free For All
[First day of posting] and [the tag].

This month the theme at the comm is H/C with focus on various characters. Which isn't quite my cuppa. So I think I'm going to be focusing on reccing other fandoms this month. Current in-progress rec list: rare fandoms! After that, either Star Trek Reboot (which everyone and their uncle has already recced), or Psych (with an emphasis on Shawn/Gus), or Sentient!Atlantis (because I've missed SGA fic!), Wincest-I-can-read (okay, it's SPN but it's not gen), or Harry Potter, or something else that strikes my fancy. Feel free to tell me which you'd prefer :)

( 9 fics (incl. 1 podfic), 3 crossovers with: Star Trek Reboot, Psych, Doctor Who )

My policy on how I do my recs (including for things like warnings and spoilers) can be found at [my post about my recs], for those interested.

When I first poked around fandom after watching the Star Trek Reboot movie, I was surprised to see fic about Gaila because she's onscreen so very little. But after reading a bit, I've found I quite like who Gaila is in fandom. So here's my Gaila character manifesto in fic rec list format.

Story: You're Gonna Make It After All
Author: igrockspock
Fandom, etc.: Star Trek Reboot, Gaila, Uhura, Kirk, Spock, R, 1 LJ post long
Author's Summary: Two indecent exposure citations, one best friend, one amazing sex partner, one unexpected mentor, and a Starfleet-funded study of intercultural sexual norms. Sounds like a normal academic year for Gaila.
My Notes: If the author's summary doesn't make you curious, I'm not sure what else I can say. This story is beautifully done. The author has great control over the different character voices and shows how four so different people can come together (not always without miscommunications and disagreements). Spock has a mentoring role to the group, which I just love. (Because you know he spent a lot of time very logically trying to figure out how to interact within a human-dominated situation.) I could quite happily have this as canon.
ETA 15 July 2011; Podfic: jaebi_lit recorded this as a podfic and I recced it over here: [Rec of podfic of 'You're Gonna Make it After All'] /ETA

Story: Lunch and Other Obscenities [on LJ]//[on AOOO]//[on author's website]
Author: rheanna27
Fandom, etc.: Star Trek Reboot. In spite of a whole lot of sex, nudity and people eating in public, this is firmly a PG-13. The main dish is Uhura & Gaila friendship, with a tasty side order of Spock/Uhura. 9,786 words
Author's Summary: Nyota liked her roommate just fine until she met her.
My Notes: This is a story about culture shock and taboos and fitting in and such. It's lovely and really well-written.

Story: The Ransom
Author: ninhursag (writing journal: vaingirlfic)
Fandom, etc.: Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/Gaila, R, 1 LJ post
Contains: Discussion of child abuse and slavery. Not explicit.
Author's Summary: Pirate!Gaila kidnaps teenage!Kirk for ransom. Hijinks ensue.
My Notes: I love Gaila and Kirk together (either shippy or BFFy), they work so well together, and ninhursag has done a wonderful job of showing us this here. In this story Gaila has very little practical knowledge of Earthling behaviour and is thus constantly being confused in the way that Kirk and how he was raised does and doesn't line up with what she read in a book. The AU is well-done and feels real.
Sequels: Can be found at the [verse tag].

Story: A Sexy Think Tank
Author: atomicskull
Fandom, etc.: Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/Gaila, R, 1 LJ post long
Author's Summary: In which sex is had, dinosaur band-aids are dispensed, Uhura's bunny slippers are used as projectiles and Bones is plotted against.
My Notes: A silly little fic that does what it says on the tin.
ETA 24 Mar 2011: As the little line through the author's LJ implies, this story is no longer available at the above link. I'm looking for a current link to the story, if anyone knows of one. /ETA

Story: Redemption Song
Author: igrockspock
Fandom, etc.: Star Trek Reboot, gen, R, 1.5 K words
Contains: rape
Author's Summary: No one is going to rescue Gaila. Except maybe herself.
My Notes: Possible Gaila backstory. Pull quote: Five years later, she is at Starfleet Academy, making good on all her promises. Every night she studies (or goes out drinking), every class she attends (or skips), every cadet she lies under (or on top of), her litany is the same: I choose. I choose.
ETA 15 July 2011; Podfic: jaebi_lit recorded this as a podfic and I recced it over here: [Rec of podfic of 'Redemption Song'] /ETA

Story: A Brief History of Lt (j.g.) Gaila Aboard the USS Enterprise (NCC 1701)
Author: ljc taraljc
Fandom, etc.: Star Trek Reboot, PG, Gaila, Gaila/Kirk, Gaila/Scotty, Gaila & Nyota, Gaila & Keenser, 1 LJ post long
Contains: death of redshirts, attempted (but shut down) unwanted sexual advances
Author's Summary: Her first month aboard Enterprise, Gaila is put on Gamma Shift in Engineering.
My Notes: This is a great fic for showing Gaila growing into her role aboard ship. I love Gaila and Keenser bonding over the trials and tribulations of minding their adopted humans (Uhura and Scotty, respectively).

Story: The Proper Treatment of Sexorexia
Author: igrockspock
Fandom, etc.: Star Trek Reboot, gen (Gaila & Uhura), Teen, 1 LJ post long
Author's Summary: Gaila does not get her new roommate at all. They've been at school 3 whole weeks now, and she hasn't had sex with anyone. Not even once. She wonders if she should do something. Sex is as important as food, after all. If her roommate were anorexic, she should definitely try to help. Sex anorexia (sexorexia?) is probably just as bad and life-threatening. Plus, it seems to put her roommate in a really bad mood. The situation definitely calls for action. But what should she do?
My Notes: Gaila and Uhura and roommates with culture shock and learning how to fit in together. One of the things that I love about this fic is Spock giving advice on humans and social mores. In this fic Nyota and Gaila end up more in that roommate-truce sort of place than BFF, which is certainly one possibility given how different they are.


Are your favourite Gaila fics not on this list? Feel free to drop links in comments! :) (This is such a prolific fandom that I'm sure I've missed many wonderful fics.)

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

My policy on how I do my recs (including for things like warnings and spoilers) can be found at [my post about my recs], for those interested.


I've been sitting on this one for ages because I've been having a hard time writing up my recs for each of these. I've decided that I want this rec list out more than I want my thoughts on these stories to be coherent (I've tried for coherency, honest! I'm not sure if I actually found it.). And you can always just click on the story links if you'd rather not read my verbal flailing about. :)

This is a rec list of SGA fics that deal with being closeted in some fashion. There are more fics that deal with this theme, especially in this fandom, but these five fics taken together say something to me. Not quite sure what it is (this is how I make mix tapes/CDs, by the way. I go searching for some emotion and I put stuff together until I've achieved that emotion.).

Fic spoiler warning: While I generally attempt to not spoil the plot of the fics I rec, I can't avoid it for this list. So there are massive spoilers here. If you would like to read the fics on this list without any spoilers (beyond the fact that I've placed them on this list), here are the links to the stories: [Scenes From a Lesser War] by amireal, [DADT, Damyata, Dayadhvam] by trinityofone, [ If You Want To Kiss The Sky] by siegeofangels, [The Known World] by vanitashaze, and [Time-Keeping] by thingswithwings.

( Recs under the cut )

As always, please let me know if I am missing anything or have any errors.

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


WHEEE! PODFIC OF MY FIC!!!! IT IS AWESOME!!!

( squee goes here. And also thoughts of hearing recipes verbally )

FYI, the non-tl;dr version is: Yay for juniperphoenix's [recording] of [Bread Mountain Dreams] and [Harvest Bread Recipe] from [De Re Coquinaria Pegasi]!!! (14 min, 13 MB, 1400 words)


[Originally posted] at fish_echo on 6 October 2009.

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


Podfic is, at a fundamental level, different from fic. It is out loud, sounds and hearing, instead of sight, characters on a screen or page. Sometimes this difference can be minimized, but sometimes it is accentuated. These recs all, to one extent or another, exploit some aspect of the podfic format in order to better tell the story.

( Written specifically to be read as podfic (2 SGA podfics.) )

( Ones which work ever so well as oral tales-- originally written down as fic, but reading aloud adds so much to the story. And also, the fun of having multiple readers on a series. (One Star Trek Reboot RPF and a trilogy of Merlin podfics.) )

( When multiple readings exist for the same story. (2 stories * 2 readings each = 4 podfics total. All SGA.) )

( One which isn't a podfic but that I think would do quite well. Merlin fandom. )

[Originally posted] at fish-echo on 28 August 2009

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

Short podfics are easy to overlook but often can be great. If you line up several of them, they're an excellent way to pass a short trip without worrying that you'll only be half-way through by the time you arrive. But I think listeners are sometimes wary of downloading the very short podfics, because the effort to length ratio is too large. So! Here's some great short podfics!

( 5 podfics, all under ten minutes, in SGA, Bones, Doctor Who, Discworld, Torchwood, Harry Potter, and Supernatural (yay for cross-overs!) )


[Originally posted] at fish-echo on 23 August 2009

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

Reposting my recs from this week's spngenlove.

Week 3 theme: Delight in Dean
[Link to first day of recs] and to [the 'delighting in Dean' tag]

( 4 fics, all SPN, one podfic )


[Originally posted] at fish-echo on 17 August 2009