Paste, paste, paste...

Reading
havocthecat discusses what she wants from femslash: characterization.

I thought I'd have time to write a few words for each fic but this will have to be a drive-by reclist instead as I was distracted by a reading marathon of Kingdom chapters. ^^; Hope you enjoy the reads.

( Recs: Avengers (10), Glee (5), Harry Potter (4) (warning: adult, not work-safe) )

( Works in Progress Recs: Avengers, Glee, Pitch Perfect (11) )

Curently Listening to a free download:

Since somniesperus will be taking down her website at the end of May, I've updated all of my links on the DWP Notables page to link to her works on AO3 (even the ones on Dreamwidth).

Please let me know on this post if there are other dead links to update and hopefully I'll be able to get to them before I have to travel again...

*goes back to hiatus*

Just finished watching Tetraninja's play through of Bioshock Infinite, and was impressed with the storyline. :DD Would totally recommend playing / watching if you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan. Another series I would recommend watching from Tetraninja is Catherine,a dating / puzzle game.

Currently listening to:

Reading
Rule 63 & #femslash february
Is genderswapping a male/male (or less commonly, a female/male) pairing in the spirit of the femslash february celebration? girlgay members chime in.

Shousetsu Bang*Bang Special Issues
For those who don't know, "Shousetsu Bang*Bang is a webzine for original gay fiction/boy's love oneshot stories." Anyway, the special issues in this webzine are focused on original yuri! :DD I've seen a couple of good stories rec'ed on pinboard. I thought I'd show some love, as I'm looking forward to the next issue next month, Tea for Two. (sign-up info)

Recs
10 Things I Hate About You
Priceless by impertinence (Kat/Missy, Bring It On x-over)
"Kat's looking forward to a calm second year at Sarah Lawrence. Her new roommate makes that less than easy."

Written for Yuletide! Hot, awkward, and cute in its fumblings, it also had some very smart writing...

Avengers, The
fighting fire with firewood by siria (Natasha/Clint)
"Natasha was not the kind of person to be curious."

This was an interesting character study.

James Bond
Untouchable by telanu (M/James Bond)
"Sometime between Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, Bond and M have been drugged with an aphrodisiac."

I'm not sure that this got on enough people's radars when it came out, but this ought to be showcased as a master class in how to maintain knife-edged tension in a scene. Don't be misled by its premise; I think my brain short circuited on how hot and awesomely written it was.

A couple of days ago I kind of stumbled upon http://fanfictionreviews2012.freeforums.org, a forum for fanfics reviews, while googling something related. What's awesome is that most of the fics highlighted in the 'Fiction' section are femslash, alt/uber, or f/f original fics. While it's a little light on the "review" end (usually the posts are story descriptions and a link to the story) it's become a nice curated listing of works across several archives.

The forum looks to be well-moderated (no spam, for one) and the fic rec section looks pretty active, with a post every few days, which is a plus. The fiction recs section has a lot of posts by Norsebard and Lori (not sure if this Lori is Lori L Lake?), whose names I recognize from updates on RAOB. Kudos to them and all the others for posting so often! :) Some of the stories are works that are quite familiar if you've been reading RAOB / xenafiction.net fics for a while, while others are new to me, which is exciting.

Posting alt/uber fic recs on LJ used to be leavethesky's domain, but she hasn't been posting very much recently, so if you are/were interested in that sort of thing you might want to check the forum out. :) It looks like there's also some DWP fic recs too.

To be quite honest, my own alt/uber fic recs tended to be responses to whatever theme leavethesky was writing about at the time, and the reason why I started the Notables list was so that I could keep track of what I had written to people about. lol The concept has evolved into more of a curated list, but my original section still remains quite limited and fragmentary. Hope you enjoy the reads! :)

Update: Seen in the forums - Free ebook: Photographs of Claudia by KG MacGregor - Apparently Bella Books is giving away this book for free for a limited time. Download Formats: PDF, mobi, and epub. Getting it was fairly hassle-less. You can sign in as guest and put anything in the customer form, and the code worked by making it free! :)

I liked it (I finished it in about 2 hours), though I think some of the concepts could be fleshed out a little more (I wanted more :D). Since it's put out in printed format, I understand limiting the page numbers to keep the cost of the book low, though. :)

Recommendations
The Avengers

I'm Gonna Be A Part Of It (Whether I Want To Or Not) by fringedweller (Darcy/Bruce)
"Relocated against her will to New York, Darcy Lewis has to juggle working as an admin monkey for SHIELD, covertly finishing her degree and falling in love. Only one of these things is easy, and it's not the one that she thinks it will be."

For those who don't remember, Darcy Lewis is the girl who majored in Political Science and was Jane Foster's assistant in Thor. She's the one who was hired because she was the only one who applied, and had her ipod taken by S.H.I.E.L.D. I don't know why there are so many fics dedicated to her and Bruce but this one was amusing and shows off the author's potential. It's not without it's problems (some of the ideas border on the ridiculous--and the author knows it), but I enjoyed it as the fun read it was meant to be.

Kick Off Your Sunday Shoes⁷ by leiascully (Natasha/Steve, WIP)
"Natasha thought it was a shame that Steve had never been dancing (among other things)."

This was a very cute read and would be good for those who like to read about dancing and shameless smut. *chuckles and sighs* I miss Anik La Chev's Small Steps. ^^;

love is for children and other lies by fahye (Natasha/Clint, Natasha/Maria)
"War is the child's emptiness, the surrender of identity, the transformation into a simple system: purpose goes in, action comes out. (Natalia Alianovna Romanova, and everything that she became.)"

A nicely thought out story.

I've merged the Ironman recs into the Avengers section as the Natasha fics should be in one place.

Recs
Avengers, The
Fractures by tamoline (Natasha/Pepper)
"Everyone has weaknesses, faults, flaws, fractures. The things they're not quite rational about. The things that inform their every action. The things that can be used against them."

Nice solid progressive development.

masks that the monsters wear, the by beardsley (Natasha/various; dark AU, please read warnings)
"Natasha joins SHIELD. Four years later, the Winter Soldier starts targeting the Avengers. But the real story starts in 1935, in Stalingrad. Or maybe 1950, when the Red Room sends her on her first mission. Or maybe 1959, when Natasha meets the Winter Soldier. Or maybe..."

Thought provoking, this one cuts deep with its vivid imagery and many layers. All at once chilling, grim, and fragile. I have to say that this fic may be one of my favorites this year. Not every fic can give you goosebumps, but this one did, for me.

For those who don't know who Yelena Belova is, the author (also known as troublesteady / troublesteady) gives a quick primer here. For those who are interested in that kind of thing, the author also wrote some interesting meta about Natasha being sexual and aromantic.

Recs
Alice in Wonderland
Red Country, The by jibrailis (Queen of Hearts/White Queen) (kudos to sophieisgod)
"Before Alice ever fell down the rabbit-hole, there were two girls who found Wonderland first and who became, respectively, the White Queen and the Queen of Hearts. [Alice in Wonderland prequel]."

This happens to be one of those grand meta world-building narratives. An interesting, marvelous read that's surprisingly restrained, given the possibilities. Personally, I think it's greatest strengths lie in the character studies.

Avengers, The
this bullet lodged in my chest, covered with your name by cinaed (Natasha Romanov/James "Bucky" Barnes)
"Some of Natasha’s memories are true, some are false, but throughout all of them runs one thread of remembrance: a cool metal hand gentle upon her back, tender against her cheek, tight around her throat; an assassin with a crooked smile and eyes like winter."

I loved the epic narrative, the way the author managed to keep the reader in the dark and guessing as to what was going to happen next. Of course, it helps that Natasha is awesome in this one.

Iron Man
Five thousand roses by forestgreen (f!Tony/OFC, f!Tony/OMC, f!Tony/Rhodey)
"She is broken and all the more dangerous for it. The world should tread carefully around the shards of her former self lest they cut themselves on Antonia Stark's sharp edges." (kudos to katemonkey)

I suppose one might think of it as a more damaged and elaborate version of the previous stories I've rec'ed in this genre, which tends to look at and question societal expectations and gender norms. A very nicely written story.

Recs
Avengers, The
a perception of sweethearts passing through by thingswithwings (Maria/Natasha, BDSM, caning) (kudos to katemonkey)
"Maria touches her forehead to the cool rough sheets, spreads her legs, and closes her eyes tight."

This PWP is so so sexy. XD Soooo glad Kate Bolin rec'ed it.