sequentialcrack (original) (raw)
So you want to rec in April? Sign up here!
Recers are chosen on a first come, first served basis. But please do sign up for your fandom, even if someone's beat you to it. We might need you as a pinch hit recer. As this is our first month back, we'll be taking whatever fandoms you guys want to rec, in addition to our four permanent fandoms.
We are seeking recers for Avengers, Batfamily, X-Men and Watchmen. We're also looking for two recers in medium size fandoms, and two more in small or obscure fandoms.
Pitch us your small fandom--we want to hear about it, and we want your recs!
March 25th, 2012
**Title:**Baltic
**Author:**arachnidism
**Fandom:**Young Avengers,
**Characters/Pairings:**Kate/Eli, Billy/Teddy
**Length:**4000, give or take a few hundred
**Warnings:**none
Spoilers:
noneWhy **this must be read/seen:**Normally, in a fandom where the slash pairing (and canon couple) is popular, the female characters tend to get overlooked. The YA fandom does confound that rule somewhat, and Kate Bishop is the reason why. As (arguably) the only genetically unaltered human on a metahuman team, she holds her own. She's smart, tough and commands loyalty amongst her team mates. This story shows why. In that her father finally gets a clue, realises the extent of her superheroing and sends her away to boarding school. Her teammmates decide to come to her boarding school and- ah, ah, that would be telling. The story is true to them, and I found myself laughing at various turns. Go read.
YA rec: A Good Man Is Hard To Find
March 25th, 2012
**Title:**A Good Man is Hard to Find
Author: Oneangrykate
**Fandom:**Young Avengers, Marvel, Captain America
**Characters/Pairings:**canon pairings
**Length:**2000 words, give or take
**Warnings:**none
Spoilers:
Captain America's death post civil war
Why
**this must be read/seen:**I don't know if you remember the atmosphere in the Marvelverse post Captain America's death. It was a dark place, and for a long time there, the superhero community seemed rudderless, the world a little colder. So the YA, with best intentions, decide to bring Captain America back to life. The intentions are grand, and the experiment works. Sorta. But as the YA realises, sometimes, you have to let certain situations be. This fic works as a touching 'What If', and somewhere in another alternate universe, Uatu is shaking his head
I hope this link works, guys. Between my internet and LJ being wobbly, well.
March 21st, 2012
**Title:**Raise It Up
**Author:**damalur
**Fandom:**Young Avengers
**Characters/Pairings:**Kate Bishop, Jessica Jones, Daniel Cage
**Length:**1226
**Warnings:**none
Spoilers:
none
Why
**this must be read/seen:**In short, it’s sisters doing it for themselves. It’s about finding and rejoicing in the bonds of sisterhood, as well as mentorship, and passing one kindness to the other over the span of generations. The story is short and punchy, and worth the fifteen minutes of reading on the phone, while taking the bus to work
YA rec: Grab A Blanket, Brother
March 21st, 2012
**Title:**Grab A Blanket, Brother
**Author:**Traincat
**Fandom:**Young Avengers
**Characters/Pairings:**Tommy Shepherd, the cast of Young Avengers
**Length:**13000 words
**Warnings:**none
Spoilers:
None. Assumes basic canon knowledge of the characters, but the story is easy enough to get into
Why
**this must be read/seen:**Unlike the other characters in Young Avengers, Tommy Shepherd is relatively undeveloped, in that we don’t know his family background, nor do we know his motivation for joining the Young Avengers. In this story, Traincat attempts to answer both by having Tommy stay over by Billy and his family for a time, with flashbacks to his own. It’s great to see the family dynamics through Tommy’s eyes, and how he and them get on. Then, it widens to him and the rest of the Young Avengers. They say family isn’t the one you’re born into, it’s the one that you create. Tommy seems to have his hands full, here. The great thing is, this story feels like Tommy Shepherd, and the Young Avengers. Very teenage, very brash
March 18th, 2012
**Title:**Coming in From The Cold
**Author:**lilpocketninja
/>**Fandom:**Young Avengers
**Characters/Pairings:**Tommy centric, canon pairings
**Length:**3587
**Warnings:**none
Spoilers:
none
Why this must be read/seen:
Tommy Shepherd, although well liked by the fandom, doesn't seem to attract much fic as his own person. He's normally cast with Eli or Kate, but never given a chance for the focus to be on him alone. This fic corrects this oversight handily. As a late addition to the team, with an attitude of not giving a toss, Tommy doesn't really play well with others. It's his wary cynicism and distance from the team that causes the others to react as they do, and the atmosphere is tense. However, the YA being the YA, everyone tries, and at the end of the fic, you sense that Tommy might just be a little closer to understanding what this teamwork malarkey might mean.
March 11th, 2012
(Eeeeek, so sorry this post is late, everyone!)
Do you want to rec in March? Sign up here!
Recers are chosen on a first come, first served basis. But please do sign up for your fandom, even if someone's beat you to it. We might need you as a pinch hit recer. As this is our first month back, we'll be taking whatever fandoms you guys want to rec, in addition to our four permanent fandoms.
We are seeking recers for Avengers, Batfamily, X-Men and Watchmen. We're also looking for two recers in medium size fandoms, and two more in small or obscure fandoms.
Pitch us your small fandom--we want to hear about it, and we want your recs!
Heroes and Devils, Avengers 616
March 1st, 2012
Title: Heroes and Devils
Author: 
marinarusalka
Rating: Teen
Fandom: Avengers 616/Echo Bazaar
Characters/Pairings: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Luke Cage/Jessica Jones, Jessica Drew, Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson, Natasha Romanov, Sam Wilson, Wong
Length: 35k
Warnings: Some supporting character death.
I'll say upfront that while this is a crossover, you don't need to be familiar with Echo Bazaar to know what's going on. I'd never played the game before reading, and I found the world fascinating; the author does a great job of - not quite worldbuilding, I guess, as the world's pre-built, but of giving us the tour, showing us piece after piece so we build a picture of a strange fantasy New York. Don't let it put you off, or you'll miss out on something great!
marinarusalka's work is always great to read, but I love this one in particular because it's such a perfect crossover; if you didn't know it was a crossover, it would be a perfectly reasonable comic plot. Doctor Doom threw Manhattan into a weird hell dimension? Sounds legit. And the characters very much treat it like that - sure, it's a crisis but it's another in the long list of crises which is life in the Avengers. They adapt, they work, they solve. They fit themselves into the new way of living at the same time they're looking to undo it. The way the stress of their situation wears on them in different ways is also very well-done.
There's some delightfully creepy moments, and some very tender ones; the Steve/Tony relationship is understated but sweet, their long years of friendship moving naturally into a romance. They're both very well drawn, and I particularly like the depiction of Steve. He can often be written as too perfect, but here we see his flaws and quirks and the things about him that make his friends roll their eyes. Supporting characters have some delicious banter, and the plot is fun and intriguing.
X-Men rec: Carry That Weight by selenak
March 1st, 2012
Although it's actually the 1st of March here, I had one more rec to squeeze in. Thanks for reading my recs this month and I hope you found new fic to enjoy.
Title: Carry That Weight
Author: selenak
Fandom: X-Men movieverse/Alias (comic)
Characters/Pairings: Jessica Jones, Mystique
Length: 4300
Warnings: mentions of rape
Spoilers: Alias, X1, X2
Carry That Weight by selenak
Jessica Jones is a foul-tempered, foul-mouthed private investigator, but one thing she hates is deception. Mystique, of course, operates on deception, so when Jessica Jones gets wind of something odd going on in Senator Robert Kelly's office, she investigates in her usual stubborn way.
This is a complicated and quite painful story, as Jessica ruthlessly insists on the right of Senator Kelly's wife to know who she's sleeping with, no matter the cost to Jessica or her tentative friendships in the mutant world. Jessica's own past influences the story heavily, but that same bullheaded drive for justice that lets her be close to fearless also means that she's trying not to be unfair to mutants either – if she goes public with her suspicions that Senator Kelly is a shapeshifting impersonator, the Mutant Registration Act will be passed and things will get dramatically worse for innocent people. Instead, Jessica has to assume the risk herself, and her aggressive approach leads to a confrontation with Mystique that goes to unexpected places.
A terrific, complex fic with no easy resolutions or forgiveness, only a ferocious drive for knowledge and fairness, and a cool-eyed examination of what the isolationist stance of mutants really means.
Thor fanart rec: Never leave the past behind, by kaiser_chan
February 29th, 2012
**Title:**Never leave the past behind
Author: kaiser-chan
Fandom: Thor
Continuity: Comics
Characters/Pairings: Kid Loki & Ikol
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Why this must be read/seen: It is pretty art of Kid Loki looking wonderfully mischievous. :p
Hope you guys have enjoyed my recs as much as I've enjoyed giving them. See you! :3
Thor fic rec: What Once Was Lost Returned, by demonqueen666 (Teen)
February 29th, 2012
**Title:**What Once Was Lost Returned
Author: demonqueen666
Fandom: Thor
Continuity: Movie + Norse mythology
Characters/Pairings: Loki, Thor, Sif, Laufey, Helblindi, Býleistr, Angrboða, Frigga, Odin, Warriors Three, Thrym, Heimdall; Loki/Angerboda
Length: 74,057 words
Warnings: None.
Spoilers: None.
Why this must be read/seen: This story explores what if, during the attack in Jotunheim, the Frost Giants had also realised Loki was one of them, and brought him back to Laufey as a rescued Prince, once stolen away by the Aesir. And so, what if Loki had to come to term with his heritage right there, in direct confrontation with the people he considers monsters. The result is a long character driven plotty fic that develops all the Jotun characters and their culture in a marvellous way. What especially makes it work, I think, is that it isn't particularly forgiving with any one, be it the Aesir or the Jotun, Laufey or Odin, or Loki for that matter. Everyone has some pretty blatant flaws that are not glossed over. It deals with the culture clashes and mutual misunderstandings in ways that are very interesting, and allow Loki to grow in way he often cannot in other configurations.
Thor fic rec: Crimson, by Nonny (Explicit)
February 29th, 2012
Title: Crimson
Author: nonny
Fandom: Thor
Continuity: Comics
Characters/Pairings: Thor/Loki
Length: 1,914 words
Warnings: Well, dubious use of a possessed body. Otherwise, none.
Spoilers: Set in Stracyzinski's run, Thor #9
Why this must be read/seen: This is mostly a PWP piece between Thor and Loki in his female body, and one with a raunchy sort of humour, but also with an interesting mood and characterisation! bickering complicty between siblings that lends it a sort of bitter-sweet contentment that has little to do with hopefulness and much with weariness. Also it's hot. And it's frequent for Thor to be dumbed down in fanfics it's a relief when he isn't so much.
Batfamily rec: Able to Succeed by brown_betty
February 29th, 2012
Title: Able to Succeed
Author: brown_betty
Fandom: Batman Comics
Characters: Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 1152 words
Warnings: None
Why this must be read:
This is a story that I've recommended to Batman fans who are unfamiliar with fanfic but are curious because this is brilliant and it could so easily be canon (and I think it is actually better than what we do get in canon in some cases). As part of Tim's training, Bruce sets him the assignment of creating strategic plans for various scenarios that he might encounter and we get to see Tim's answers in essay form. The ending is a punch in the mouth and yet it is the only possible solution. One of the fascinating things about the story is that it perfectly highlights the many similarities between Tim and Bruce's approaches to their work, because you couldn't quite imagine this particular scene playing out this way with any of the other Robins.
February 29th, 2012
Title: Magnetic
Author: boombangbing
Rating: Explicit
Fandom: Avengers Movieverse
Characters/Pairings: Pepper Potts/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Length: 120,000 words in five stories.
Warnings: None
This being 
sequentialcrack, we're supposed to focus on comicsverses, but I'm going to rec a movieverse one here.
It's Pepper/Tony/Steve, with a Tony/Pepper prequel. There's a couple of things that really make this stand out to me.
One is the great dynamic between the central threesome; Tony and Pepper are a pretty functional couple, and their careful manouevring to fold Steve into that relationship is sweet, funny and very in-character. The three of them have distinct and individual relationships with each other; Steve and Pepper's fond attachment is different from Pepper and Tony's deep and slightly angsty love is different from Tony and Steve's cute mutual infatuation. The three of them balance out nicely, each bringing something valuable; while I believed the Tony/Pepper relationship worked, I feel like the addition of Steve added to it, and benefitted them, and him. I like the way they all take care of each other.
The other thing is the great attention given to the supporting characters. While the focus of the story is very much on the three main characters, the supporting characters are given a great deal of depth and personality in a small space. Natasha and Clint's dedication, and their different ways of showing that, Thor's passion and enthusiam, and Bruce's struggle with himself, they all build on what we see in canon in a very believable way. The attention to detail is great, showing us the balance of humour and seriousness in their lives.
The series is marked as a WIP, but each individual story is a complete work.
Thor fic rec: Paper Planes & Playground Games, by Memlu (G)
February 28th, 2012
Title: Paper Planes & Playground Games
Author: Memlu
Fandom: Thor
Continuity: Movie
Characters/Pairings: Loki/Sif, Thor, Frigga
Length: 14,438 words
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Why this must be read/seen: A delightful portrayal of Sif as a young girl growing up in Asgard and how she relates to both Thor and Loki. It is very charming and lovely.
Thor fic rec: Halo, by paxlux (M)
February 28th, 2012
Title: Halo
Author: paxlux
Fandom: Thor
Continuity: Movie
Characters/Pairings: Loki/Ironman, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Phil Coulson, Nick Fury, Bruce Banner, Pepper Potts, Captain America, Jarvis
Length: 35,912 words
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Trailers for the Avengers movie
Why this must be read/seen: An Avengers fic in which Loki reconciles with Thor (or pretends to) and starts hanging out with the Avengers, to Tony Stark's horror and paranoia. It is excellently written and characterised, and quite amusing in a wry way.
Thor fic rec: Old Hope, by soda_and_capes (T)
February 28th, 2012
Title: Old Hope
Author: soda_and_capes
Fandom: Thor
Continuity: mix of myths, comics, and film
Characters/Pairings: Loki, Balder, Thor, Tyr, Odin, Freyja, Heimdall, Amora, Doom, Namor, implied Loki/Thor, Loki/Balder, Loki/Doom
Length: 8,046 words
Warnings: Some parental cruelty. Reference to Mpreg.
Spoilers: Nope.
Why this must be read/seen: This is a portrayal of Loki growing up, as he relates with the various people, always feeling at odd and different. It is wonderfully nuanced and heartbreaking. It tackles on Jotun-as-Genderqueer especially, and on gender in general, in a way that is brilliant.
Batfamily rec: From your memory to this instant; Or, Forensics by gloss
February 28th, 2012
Title: From your memory to this instant; Or, Forensics
Author: gloss
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Tim Drake/Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Holly Robinson
Rating: Explicit
Length: 36744 words
Warnings: Underage
Spoilers: This story takes place a couple years after Infinite Crisis. It follows canon through 52 and early OYL arcs in ROBIN, CATWOMAN, NIGHTWING, OUTSIDERS and JLA before it diverges.
Why this must be read:
Dick stops fronting and trusts Tim. Maybe that's backwards.
This is without a doubt my favourite Dick/Tim story and it is one I reread frequently. It is a beautiful and layered piece of writing where Dick finds himself investigating a blackmail case that has the potential to change the way he looks at Tim forever. The story follows Dick's journey of discovery through Tim's Gotham as he tries to work out exactly what has changed between him and Tim and what exactly is going on in Tim's twisty little head. On the way, Dick is helped by Jason Todd, Holly Robinson and Oracle, and it touches on many of the Batfamily interrelationships, particularly the bonds between the male Robins. While Bruce doesn't actually appear, his presence is felt strongly throughout.
From your memory to this instant; Or, Forensics
Batfamily rec: No Dawn, No Day by quipquipquip
February 28th, 2012
Title: No Dawn No Day
Author: quipquipquip
Fandom: Batman Comics, Batgirl Comics
**Characters/Pairings:**Damian Wayne/Stephanie Brown
Rating: Mature
Length: 78974 words
Warnings: Major Character Death: highlight to read spoiler Steph dies at the end of the main story. Graphic Depictions Of Violence.
Spoilers: Batman #666, #700, Batgirl Volume 3
Why this must be read/seen:
This story is a sprawling epic au, which takes place is the future of Batman #666 and #700, where Damian Wayne is the Batman with no soul. It explores what would happen if that Damian started spending time with Stephanie Brown, the Batwoman. It is a tragic love story, which manages to balance darkness with humour (and it is so very funny at times) as Steph bonds with Damian. The growing relationship between Damian and Steph is developed beautifully with believable characterisation and although quipquipquip certainly wasn't the first to write Damian/Steph, this fic has played a very big part in making it one of the most popular new ships in Batman fandom.
If you are more of a fan of happy endings, there is an alternate, gentler ending, You Left Me in The Dark, which draws heavily on Steph's run as Batgirl and has spawned its own very entertaining sequels.