Peering out at the Infinite

Movie Squee

2008-08-12T20:54:10Z

Why did no one ever tell me of the awesomeness that is Hot Fuzz? I mean, my brother mentioned it, but he watches every comedy movie ever made and I desperately hate slapstick and fart jokes. But this, this was dead pan perfect, no winking at the camera, no acknowledgement of anything besides what was going on in the screen. And they had a SWAN ON THE LOOSE! Seriously, that's coming back to school with me.

Saw Prince Caspian again yesterday, this time with most of family. Got ten minutes in before mom leaned over with the "Aha! I see why you wanted to watch this movie!" Which, okay, yeah. But more for Peter really. Spent most of the time giggling because of seeing things through the perception of fandom. Am now desperately dunking myself back into Narnia fandom because There must be more! And am now off to read

mistful's recap/parody Peter the Magnificent and Caspian the Super Fine Because that is basically what the movie ended up as.

DLF: So who are you crazy kids?
PETER: I am Peter the Magnificent!
EDMUND: I am Edmund the Just So Embarrassed My Brother Said That.
DLF: Oh my God, Narnia is doomed.

Fic: Doctor Who/Torchwood "After Work"

2008-08-05T21:06:25Z

Title: After Work

Author: westingturtle

Rating: PG

Summary: In an unfamiliar place, sometimes all you need is a friend.

Discliamer: Doctor Who and Torchwood belong to their creators, as do Rose and Tosh.

“Wait!” Rose calls out, bending down to pick the object up from the sidewalk. The slick dark head in front of her jerks and stutters to a stop.

She is in London, her new London, on lunch one block away from the office building where she works as a consultant cum researcher for Torchwood. Field Agent, they told her when she started, was something she didn’t have the experience for, no matter what she said she’d done. And Rose wasn’t stupid, don’t think she hadn’t caught the emphasis, those sidelong knowing looks they gave to Pete Tyler’s daughter when she asked for something more.

“Yes?” called a hesitant voice in front of her, and Rose looked up.

“Oh! You dropped this…” Rose glances at the object in her palm, curiously cold in the August heat. Metallic-seeming, but reflecting very little light over the contours of its smooth surface. “…paperweight?” she finished, smiling a little for the first time that day.

The woman takes it gingerly from Rose’s hand before settling it in her bag. Her eyes dart quickly to the side, the dark reflective windows of the Torchwood building staring blankly back at them. “A paperweight, yes. A gift from my brother.” She ducks her head, seemingly uncomfortable talking to Rose.

“Well, it’s a very beautiful design.” Rose says, smiling as serenely as she can manage. “A little like the marriage plates of Vorelloon, but I’ve never seen them in blue before.

The woman’s jaw drops, just a little, and her eyes swing from the closed top of her bag to the young blonde woman in front of her. Rose is grinning fit to burst, but at last she takes pity.

“Rose Tyler,” she offers, sticking her hand out in front of her. “Torchwood Research and odd jobs.”

The woman distractedly takes the hand. “Toshiko Sato, Tech Interpretation. How did you?” Toshiko stops, glances around again. “Can we even talk about this here?” and Rose laughs.

“You’d be amazed what people don’t notice right in front of their faces.” She checks her watch. “But you’re right, my break is almost over.” Rose looks up and down the road they stand on, then points to a pub down the street. Nothing too posh, b with a steady business of white-collar workers winding down. “Meet me for drinks, after work?”

Toshiko follows her arm, nods, then breaks into a smile of her own. “It’d be…nice, to have someone to talk to about all this for a change.”

Rose sighs a little, on the inside, but keeps herself focused on the small, dark-haired woman in front of her. Maybe a friend.

“I’ll be waiting for you, Toshiko Sato.”

These lazy hazy days

2008-07-24T03:20:10Z

Narnia, which I've been reading quite a lot of lately, is a marvelous thing. And the inspiration for the first fic I"ve posted in something like five years. Most of which owes credit to these amazing stories below.

Lives By Breaking by Lady Sarai
The Pevensies, in Narnia and after.
     Edmund surprises her, appearing in the looking glass over her shoulder with a thoughtful expression. "You know," he says, "my voice changed years ago. I'm not looking forward to going through that again."
     He understands.

Between Sunset and Sunrise by mirkat
While Peter deals with his memories by alcohol, and Susan pretends not to remember at all, Lucy waits up for Edmund when he comes home smelling of women’s perfume.
     She doesn’t need, any longer, to know everything, and she thinks that might be a sign that she’s grown up again.

Long Forgotten Wars by bedlamsbard
I love love love basically all of bedlamsbard’s stories, and how they show the Pevensies in and out of Narnia. For example:
     They didn't call it the golden age when I was king.

These Last Golden Days of Summer by bedlamsbard
This was a bit different from the others in that its an outside POV on the Pevensies during their reign in the Golden Age at a summer fair, seen by a young faun with her family. However, the characterization of the Kings and Queens still comes through brilliantly.
     Faun wine isn’t brewed, and Tilse’s is hardly new – his father put it away before he went off to war – but no one corrects a queen of Narnia.

And also
     “Ed, it is Peter!”
     “Who else would it be?” Edmund says, even though Lucy’s attention is already elsewhere. “It’s not as though there are exactly a lot of people out there with a personalized horn call.”
And now go and read the rest of the stuff.

Where No Carnations Fade by lassiterfics
A series of one-sentence pictures that is incredibly evocative, and fills me with an aching sadness at this view of Aslan’s Country. Spoilers for The Last Battle
     Lucy tries to miss Susan sometimes, and she tries and she tries and she tries.

Always Spring and Never Summer (The Once A King, Always, Immortal Remix) by tartanshell
In and out of Narnia, and the similarities between.
     "Thank goodness it isn't Christmastime," she whispered once, to Peter. "I couldn't live through it."

Legacy (The Spy Who Loved Me Remix) by liminalliz
Tumnus and Edmund talk of their checkered paths, and how best to protect Narnia. Featuring Edmund as spymaster, which is a trope I confess to love.
     "And who best to organize such a network but one who has been a spy and a traitor himself?"

Lioness by anachronisma
     "I wasn't always a child," Lucy said, turning away, and looking at Trumpkin.

Many and Beautiful Things by loki013
Susan, Peter, and Caspian, and the intersections in between. Spans from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to The Last Battle in reverse order.
     Caspian takes a moment to let that sink in. “The Kings and Queens have left us,” he pauses, and the truth forces its way out of him. “And two of them may never return. So I suggest we all get used to that and start rebuilding.”

Sea Legs by st_aurafina
When Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace come back from the Dawn Treader, Edmund is prepared to pass the torch on.
     He and Lucy and Edmund are raw and unwieldy, like lobsters that have shed a perfect skin and have yet to form a new protective layer.

High Time (try to feel okay) banthafodder
There is a description that I absolutely love for this piece:
High King Peter will never let Queen Susan leave Narnia. In England, things don't work quite the same way. (from unfitforsociety)
This has the potential to be really disturbing, but instead it has the same quiet rightness as the books themselves, at least in Narnia. Back in England, things become just so much more difficult. And more than that, it seems to get the unity that is the four Pevensies together.
     Peter sprawls on the couch in the library, leafing through a novel he's never read before. Beside him, Susan lies, using his shoulder as a pillow as she reads aloud to Lucy. On the floor, Edmund draws.

Fic: Narnia "Sons of Adam, Daughters of Eve"

2008-07-23T22:38:55Z

Title: Sons of Adam, Daughters of Eve
Author: westingturtle
Rating: PG
Summary: The line of succession must not falter.
Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Narnia and settings and characters therein belong to the estate of CS Lewis and Walden Media.

In the fortieth year of the reign of Aslan’s chosen, High King Peter the Magnificent rode into battle against the giants of the north, was knocked from his horse, and died.

The news was announced to the full court at Caer Paravel, Edmund emerging from his study in the tower, Lucy called back from the summer palace by the sea. They each sat in their thrones as the messenger approached from the back of the hall.

“Your majesties,” the young panther’s voice shook, and he had eyes only for the empty throne between King Edmund and Queen Susan. “Your majesties, the High King Peter is dead.”

The Queen Lucy uttered a shout, the Queen Susan’s fingers tightened around the arms of her throne. She glanced to her right to see the King Edmund unmoving, just as he had been since they sat down; hands curled tightly into fists, eyes steady on the tile of the floor. She abruptly stood.

“You have done well to bring this news so quickly, Firith, but you need to rest. Someone will bring you food from the kitchens.” Here, she gestured sharply at a page in the corner, “and by the time you are finish a room will be made ready for you.” The High Queen Susan turned to the rest of the Great Hall, “Court is dismissed for the day,” she said calmly, and then bolted from the room.

By the time Edmund and Lucy found her she was in a small sitting room of her suite looking out into the gardens. Her face had once again returned to the composure and beauty that marked her apart in the court, the grace that halted court battles as surely as Peter’s sword. Susan looked up at the sound of Edmund’s boot and the swish of Lucy’s skirt. She solemnly filled the three glasses at her side and handed one to each of them.

“So,” she began as they studied the satyr wine in their hands. “The time has come.”

“Susan, mightn’t it be better to leave it a few days, let us,” here Edmund gulped, “grieve a bit.”

Susan looked back at him steadily. “Peter has already been dead four days, and we are at still at war. Peter is our brother, but I do not think that the giants at Harfang will be so respectful of our grief as to call off this assault.”

“I just thought—” Edmund began, and Susan’s voice softened.

“I know. But we do not have time for that now. Lucy?”

Lucy, her face averted, nodded. “Our faith must be to Narnia first. Our feelings must be second.” Her voice was distant.

Edmund bowed his head. “Very well, although by Aslan’s will I would have it by another way.”

“Aslan willing, Peter should not be dead,” Susan whispered, and smoothed once again the paper held in her hands, drawing the others’ attention to it. “I have his list.”

She spread it out on the table before her, and Edmund and Lucy leaned forward. The three heads bent over the sharp, angled names written in their brother’s hand for hours, muttering to themselves and to each other.

“Ethan is too much of a hot-head; we’d have more wars on our hands than even the early years…”

“No, not Gloria, she’s far too cooperative for a war queen…”

“Stephen might do, he married Ann so he’s part of the family, but he offended half the woodlands with that comment last year, I’m not sure they’d accept him…”

Late into the night, the three finally sat up. “It is done,” Susan said, and called a servant to summon their niece, Peter’s fourth daughter, into the room.

The next morning, Queen Margaret Peter was crowned in gold at Caer Paravel by the High Queen Susan, King Edmund, and Queen Lucy in the name of Aslan. That same afternoon, the Queen Margaret rode out with a company of six hundred, glorious in chain mail and the red and gold surcoat as she led them towards Harfang. At the head of her soldiers, she turned back to raise a sword in salute to the three dark figures watching from the North tower.

--- --- ---

In the fifty-third year of their reign, King Edmund the Just took a cough that could not be silenced by Queen Lucy’s cordial, and called all his sister-queens to the study of his tower rooms.

“It is time for me to step down as King,” Edmund announced as soon as the door was closed.

Margaret protested, but when Susan and Lucy merely waited, he smiled.

“I believe this time is a gift, a chance to train my successor in all the subtleties of my rule. Also,” and here his smile widened, teeth showing white against his black and silver beard, “a chance for my men to learn trust in him. They are wary, my people, and someone thrust suddenly into ruling over them,” he tugged Margaret’s hair gently, to show he meant no offense, “even a King, would not be advisable.”

Susan smiled in return “You are wise, my brother,” and bent her silver head to kiss his brow. “Do you have a list?”

He pulled from the bedside a sheet of paper with eight names, much shorter than Peter’s list of years before, and let Susan read it aloud to the others. “I favor Anthony,” he stated as she finished.

Lucy looked at him, eyebrows raised.

“He’s a good boy, your son. He’s been one of my assistants for the last four years, so he has a good grasp of the basics of the craft already. And he did Service in the courts for ten years before that. I read his reports now, and I’ve read his briefs from then. I like the way he thinks.

Lucy smiled a little, proud of the only one of her children to survive infancy, “Do you think he is best for Narnia?”

Edmund nodded. “I do.”

Susan pursed her lips, “He’s much older than we were, older than Margaret was.”

“Well, he’s much younger than we are now,” Edmund replied with a grin, and Lucy and Margaret both giggled. “Besides Su, thirty-six is a good, steady age, an experienced age. Back, at the very beginning, there should have been half as many assassination attempts to slip past my guard if I’d known what to look for. And had the wisdom to tell the real threats from the idle ones.”

“You did quite well enough,” Margaret broke in tartly, then turned to Susan. “I like Anthony, and so does most the court. He puts people at ease when he speaks, even as he turns their opinions right around.”

Susan met Edmund’s steady gaze and nodded her head, and the three queens filed out of the room as Anthony was summoned to the study to learn the hidden work of a kingdom.

Three months later, full of very little sleep for either of the two men as agents were met with and codes passed down, an assembly was called to the Great Hall of Caer Paravel. Anthony, son of Queen Lucy the Valiant was called before the thrones, and bowed. King Edmund rose, leaning heavily on the cane he had begun to use, to stand with him. Then, King Edmund took the silver crown off his own head, and placed it upon Anthony’s blessing him as King Anthony Edmund in the name of Aslan, followed by the High Queen Susan, Queen Lucy, and Queen Margaret, as the entire court broke into welcoming cheers.

It was another month before Edmund succumbed to death, kept out of pain by his doctor. In the end, he left with Susan and Lucy holding either hand, and Margaret and Anthony standing at the foot of his bed, tears and wisdom growing in their eyes.

--- --- ---

In the fifty-seventh year of their reign, High Queen Susan was still beautiful, although the rich darkness of her hair had long turned to silver. She rode with her ladies in the morning and danced with them in the night, and during the days she read reports from all corners of the kingdom.

She allocated shipments of food to areas in drought and ordered lumber for houses and dams washed away by flood. She settled the ruffled tempers of the nobility with seemingly idle conversations and brought great musicians and artists to court to entertain.

And at last, after a fine meal in celebration at the victorious return of Queen Margaret Peter from Vorell, High Queen Susan the Gentle danced merrily with her ladies until the early hours of the morning, went to bed, and did not wake up.

Lucy, at the frightened summons of the chambermaid, kissed her beautiful sister on the brow and whispered, “With Aslan, sister,” before pulling from the desk an annotated list of names that had been resting there for close to a decade.

Then, Lucy had the maid call Anthony and Margaret to the same garden room where she had sat seventeen years before.

The discussion between the three was short, helped along by the merits and concerns Susan had left besides the names of each of her candidates. A message is sent by ship that night same recalling Susan’s granddaughter from Dorn, where Susan’s daughter had married the Viscount many years before.

Maria had ruled her father’s island during the long years of his last illness, while her elder brother fought in Queen Margaret Peter’s army. But since her father’s death and brother’s return, she had her brother had made little use of her talent.

The twenty-year-old girl, as beautiful as her grandmother had been but with her father’s fair hair, arrived within a week, crowned Queen Maria Susan by her great-aunt Lucy.

--- --- ---

The High Queen Lucy the Valiant reigned over all of Narnia for only a year.

From the words of her attendants, the High Queen had stopped abruptly in the middle of picking flowers in the Eastern Meadow, staring into the distance, and then had broken into a laugh so full of joy that all who heard it smiled. She pulled a scrap of parchment from her pocket, scribbled on it with a piece of charcoal, and then handed it to the faun at her side. Then, with a sprightliness surprising for her years, she broke into a run with one arm held out to her side, and disappeared into the woods. By the time her party had caught up to, there was nothing to be seen but her silver circlet, lying in the middle of the path.

This circlet the faun nervously held to the Queen Margaret Peter, along with the slip of paper. “I shall take another search party out myself. Immediately,” he stammered, as Queen Margaret raised her eyebrows at the paper, showing it first to King Anthony, then to Queen Maria.

“But she’s not there,” came a small, high voice.

The court members stepped to the side, revealing a small girl with her great-grandfather Peter’s blue eyes and blond hair.

Queen Margaret leaned forward in her chair even as King Anthony leaned back with a small smile and Queen Maria bit her lip.

“Sylvia?” Margaret asked the girl, granddaughter of her brother and no more than ten years old. “Sylvia, what do you mean?”

The girl hesitated, then stepped bravely forward and pitched her voice high and clear above the crowd. “She went with Aslan.” There was a many-throated gasp in the crowded room.

“He appeared in the meadow and said to her ‘It is time.’ Then she laughed, and went to him, and then they ran for the woods with her hand upon his back. Only they never got that far, they just faded away.”

The silence in the room turned to muttering, some excited and some angry, but the small fair-haired child’s eyes were steady in her conviction.

The High Queen Margaret Peter glanced at the herald and the centaur rapped his staff against the floor for silence.

“Do you know, Sylvia," Queen Margaret asked, “What Queen Lucy wrote on the paper?”

“No, your majesty.” Sylvia spoke softly now, shy once that her announcement was complete. “I didn’t see.”

The High Queen’s voice grew louder, to be heard by everyone in the hall. “The Queen,” she rose from her throne, King Anthony and Queen Maria rising with her. “The Queen wrote the name of her successor.”

With the silver circlet still in her hands she stepped forward. “In the name of Aslan, and by his blessing, I crown you Queen Sylvia Lucy of Narnia.” Anthony and Maria took either of the girl’s shoulders, and the four of them turned toward their people.

“In the name of Aslan,” the four kings and queens shouted together, and the crowd roared back at them.

Up, Up and Away!

2008-06-27T18:32:10Z

Today is a day for superheroes of all kinds.

BATMAN
Able to Succeed by brown¬betty
Tim has homework to do. This makes my geeky teacher side so very happy.
      When he gets assignments back from teachers, they usually have a few minor corrections and scrawled comments like interesting! Good Work! Keep it up! Bruce has neatly pencilled all his comments in the margins: Risk unacceptable. Have you considered low ceiling? This figure incorrect. Rewrite. Source? Sloppy. Unclear. And those are just the ones he understands.

The Beginning of All Things Are Small by thedeadparrot
Bringing Dick Grayson into the world developed by Batman Begins

HEROES
Runaways by Selena
They may not know it, but this wasn’t the first time they had come together. When the Petrellis, Kaito Nakamura, Charles Deveaux, and Linderman come together, Nathan is put in charge of the assembled children. And when you find out your parents are plotting world domination, there’s only one sensible answer.

IRONMAN
Four Times Pepper Considered Quitting and One Time She Actually Did by seren-ccd
     “Pep-perrr,” he drew out the –errr. “Pepper Potts. Are you sure I didn’t order you?”
     “Order me for what exactly?” she asked frowning.

SMALLVILLE
Sentry by zeplum
Somehow, Chloe ended up den mother to the Justice League.
     Oh, if they could only see her now.

SUPERMAN
Lost by aforgottenwish
She only realizes what she had once she’s lost it.
     “No,” he said, as though determined not to let her finish a thought. “Did you think I just showed up one day, and decided to save the world?”
     She didn’t answer, but let her eyes flutter shut as she imagined a ship, landing far north of here, opening slowly and revealing a tights-clad superhero, his primary coloured suit reflecting copiously in the glazed snow.

The Obituary by perkulator
Perry realizes he might have the story of his life as Superman lies in the hospital and the world waits.

X-MEN
Ave, Verum Corpus by loneastronomer
Through the few memories they share between them, Logan and Rogue piece together a part of his past.
     He closes his eyes for a moment as he always does when the music strikes him: he breathes deeply and smells sweetbread and apple pie over the mansion's overtones of old oak and Christmas holly, and he can hear echoes of a woman's laughter. If he concentrates hard enough he can almost feel a small, cold hand in his own.

Twenty Random Facts About Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters by penknife
I love this fic beyond anything. It’s completely random but ties together perfectly. Set post X2, so there’s a bit of wistful aching. Breathtaking.

These Aren’t the Droids by C. Elisa (X-Men Evolution)
The Superintendent catches sight of Kurt, and the students ponder the lengths Xavier goes to protect them. Hilarious.

The Man on the Flying Trapeze by trollprincess
Warren, on growing his wings, learning to fly, and the taste of freedom.
     His wings are still too small, he thinks, but maybe.
     Maybe.

A Heap of Broken Images by musamea
After taking the cure, Marie becomes herself all over again in a new world.
     She looks up, game forgotten, as station after station breaks the same message. The cure is failing, has failed.
     Hank is watching her, waiting for a reaction. She looks down at the board; the pieces blur. Then, very carefully, she reaches out and tips her king over.

Paideia by musamea
Five times Scott taught a lesson, both in the classroom and out. I love the relationship it shows with the individual students.
     Scott pondered using 'Ro's flowers as an illustration for... for something. Something about how the showy orchids drew the eye, but in the end it was the quieter, more delicate honeysuckles that he favored. Then he decided that would be a really dumb thing to say.

Shortcuts and Bypasses (How to Get from Here to There with the Fewest Left Turns) by jadeddiva
A story of how Kitty manifested, slow and thoughtful.
     It is twelve noon on a Sunday. Her parents are weeding the garden. She is supposed to be at the mall but a low (by her parent’s standards) grade in Chemistry is keeping home.
She is alone, and will one day appreciate this fact, because others have not been so lucky.

"Hello officers, there's a naked man in my basement who I summoned up with a satanic ritual..."

2008-05-24T05:03:44Z

SUPERNATURAL
Six of One by vee_fic
     This is a long, intricately plotted fic that takes a couple of loops and turns but in the end ties everything back up, even while allowing for some of the fallout. Mostly about Sam and Dean who, in the wake of a difficult hunt, aren’t exactly who they’ve been before, with Jo playing a strong supporting role.
     And then his decision was made for him, as the fat man -- had to be Alvin -- turned to put away some tool and looked up.    Sam put on his brave face and walked in to meet the guy, leading with a handshake. "Hi, um, I'm trying to track down a mechanic," he said. The music was loud in his ears and he didn't know whether Alvin could hear him. He stood there awkward while the man looked him over, head cocked. Sam schooled himself and didn't glance at the roller under the car.
     "Somebody told me he works here. His name is Sam?"

A Little White Lie Here and There Never Hurt Anybody by trollprincess
Twenty things Jess never told Sam.
15.
In high school, she was a goth.
Oh, knock it off. It was just for two months, and the black dye washed out of her hair eventually.
She burned all of the pictures, sure, but she still cringes a little every time she walks past a Hot Topic.

The Father We Never Found by likethesun2
      AU. Sam and Dean Winchester bury their father.
      They can’t release Dad’s body, at least not right away. That’s what Dr. Robinson said as he ushered Sam and Dean down the hall, before he was called away on another code. Now they’re sequestered in the room where he left them, and the only people who’ve come by are nurses who can’t tell them anything, who offer them only condolences and coffee refills. Sam can’t drink his; he passes each cup over to Dean, who’s been steadily downing them like shots all morning.

The Wonder of Each Hour by destina
     Apparently there’s an episode where the first five names in Dean’s cellphone are seen. Here’s how they got there, and why.

That’s My Story by Tolakasa
      Sam, in college, trying to cut enough details to compete in the impromptu “my family is worse than your family” competition in the Stanford dorms.
      “Dad said the same thing Dean did.” He sighed. “To quote, ‘if they scare off that easy, you don’t need them for friends in the first place.’”

Accidental Documentaries by tassoss
     The Winchesters in high school. But more than that, it’s a commentary on high school itself, through the eyes of one girl who wants to remember everything about her senior year. But the one thing she doesn’t want to remember, is happening again. A fully fledged character and view point that slowly reveals itself as a mystery more complex than those a one-hour timeslot can usually indulge in.

Accidents Will Happen by holli
      Author Summary: Some Goth teenagers accidentally resurrect John Winchester. No, seriously.
      I resisted reading this for so long, but eventually succumbed to the inevitable. Because it would happen JUST LIKE THIS.
      "Should we call the police?" Leslie offered.
      "And tell them what? 'Hello, officer, there's a naked man in my basement who I summoned up with a Satanic ritual,' oh god, my parents were right, I am toying with unholy forces--" Allie took another shaky puff off her inhaler.

Fifty Miles of Humiliation by kellifer_fic
     One of the ways that Jess and Sam could have met, with Jess as the awkward one instead of Sam for a change.
     He was still standing and she was sitting on the ground so when Jess shot out her own arm, she managed to knock her hand against his groin because, well, apparently the Universe hadn’t quite had enough fun with her.

How to Save a Life by trollprincess
     Author Summary: Four Times at college that Sam was a Winchester, whether he liked it or not.
     "How did you do that, man?" Kenny asks, still that bone-white pale.

I Am the Very Model… by vorpalblades
     Author Summary: Jake killed Sam, but Sam came back. Sam killed Jake, and Jake stayed dead. That means Sam won, and to the victor goes the spoils, right? Yeah, that’s what the rest of Hell thought too.
     Sam is now leader of the armies of Hell. And they aren’t taking no for an answer.

Nothing Up My Sleeve by trollprincess
     With Sam’s powers finally under control and the demon population decimated, Sam and Dean have to find another way to live.
     "Sam, you have superpowers. It's either this or I slap you into tights and send you out to fight crime."

Paper Weight by vaznetti
     Officer Hudak joins Henrikson on the search for the Winchesters, but she’s not sure what she believes anymore.
     "But you got closer than anyone, Officer Hudak." Now it's Henriksen, leaning toward her across the table. "You spent more time with Winchester than anyone. Anyone still alive, anyway."

Straight On ‘Til Morning by trollprincess
     What Mary Winchester remembers later of those first few weeks is a haze of pain and numbness, bandages and anesthesia, the scent of her own burning flesh that may never entirely leave her.
     Thirteen times Mary knew her scars were beautiful.

On Warm Summer Nights by lyra_wing
     Mary works the nightshift at a diner, and talks to the young marine, and the two boys who seem so familiar. Warm and sweet and lazy, just like its name.
     Don't mind me," says the young man standing there. He's got dark serious eyes, but he's smiling a little bit as he tucks his hands into his pockets. "You were on a roll."
     "I'll go on all night once I get started," says Mary, grinning, and the guy looks surprised, laughs a little bit.

When you take a souvenir, you don't screw around

2008-04-04T03:03:30Z

In rich anticipation of tomorrow's new episode, here is an exciding passel of fic recs (and a vid rec that makes me giggle)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

Calliope by rheanna27
The Colonial Fleet is more than just Galactica and Colonial One. Written for the common people challenge.

Compensating by inlovewithnight
The real reason Lee read Zarek’s book. I really really hope this is the reason why.
     [She] cornered him by the punch bowl, rolled her eyes at the uniform he was still wearing because Kara had picked him up straight off duty, and launched into a diatribe about how any man who flew a Viper was obviously attempting to compensate for tragic personal shortcomings.
     "What about female Viper pilots?" he asked when she paused long enough to take a sip of her punch.
     She didn't hesitate. "They're attempting to cover for a deep-seated emotional wound."

Hestia’s Ashes by thepouncer
Another story for the common people challenge, this one centered on Boxey, the boy Boomer and Helo rescued in the miniseries.
     He was about to leave for school when it happened.

Scenes from New Caprica by runawaynun
What is best about this is that it isn’t just individual scenes of the women, it’s their interactions. Seven women, ten scenes, and a great final line.

Jealous Gods by rose_griffes
Sam and Kara on New Caprica. Too much happiness tempts the jealousy of the gods.
     He didn't say it tenderly; they weren't that kind of couple and she'd mocked him the only time he tried. Now he said it when she was annoyed so it was okay not to say it back then. Or he waited until they were in the middle of a game of pyramid, on opposing teams. "Love you, babe," he'd yell after she tried some illegal block. ("It's only illegal if you're caught," she would mumble later.)

Vid Rec
Kiss the Girl vid by heliotitans, song by Get Set Go
Matching up the women of BSG with the women mentioned in the song, this is almost entirely perfect. I’m not sure I like the characterization of Dee, it matches Ellen much better, but I admit this way I get to see Billy, and I just rewatched “Sacrifice” so I’m full of the Billy-love.
Six, Dee, Cally, Sharon, D’Anna, Kara, Tory.

Success!

2008-03-26T21:53:28Z

I have finally gone through all of my postings and fixed the formatting! If you ever had trouble with the links, they should work now. And if there are any more problems, drop me a line and I'll figure out what else I"ve done wrong.

-westingturtle

It's wooden, and it's round, and actually it might be a spoon

2008-03-26T20:11:35Z

CROSSOVERS

Harry Potter/???
Gone to Hell, Back Later by florahart
DH complaint crackfic that really must be read. Snape.
Author Summary: It was a chance, and there hadn't been enough of those in his life these last ten years.

Harry Potter/Btvs
Dead Trouble by Marcus Rowland
When Auror Harry Potter is asked to escort the body of Albus Dumbledore’s great-great-grandniece, he incurs the wrath of Slayers protecting their own. I love how MR handles exposition, letting any explanations take place out of frame. And the bureaucratic details of the Ministry seem hilarious because you know everyone wouldn't be all peaches and cream and trust up front.

Doctor Who/House
The Doctors by avendya
When Rose becomes ill, the Doctor and Jack take her to the best. And then Jack flirts with anything that moves.

SGA/Doctor Who
The Holes in the Ground by mercurial_wit
Rodney McKay has many encounters with the Doctor over the years. Destroying Rodney’s sanity and quoting science-fiction ensue.
     "Weeell," the Doctor says, looking shifty, and runs a hand through his hair. "Spacetime is a bit more durable than people give it credit for. More like rubber than tissue paper. Bendy," he finishes lamely.
     Rodney thinks this sounds like a whole lot of elusive nonsense, and he should know, but he contents himself with scowling and echoing, "Bendy," in tones that are as flat as he can manage.

Heroes/West Wing
No Flying in the House by tangleofthorns
Will Bailey thinks there’s something off about the new congressman from New York.

Dead Like Me/Grey’s Anatomy
Untitled by whisp
     Natural causes is one of the nicer assignments for a reaper. Especially in a hospital. No chasing anyone down, everyone's got a nametag. Nice gig. Five souls Alex took, and the place he can’t escape.

Firefly/Battlestar Galactica
Resting Place by Vaznetti
On the run from Adama, Roslin and Apollo hide on a ship with secrets of its own.

SPN/Gilmore Girls
Grabbing a Shark by the Tail by kellifer_fic
Rory Gilmore on the tail of a story. I love this story. Both the boys reactions to a reporter and Rory’s reactions to her fear ring true to me.
     Rory is sitting in a booth in a small diner when someone slides in beside her.
Link Fixed!

SPN/Veronica Mars
The Better Angels of Our Nature by kajikia
A realistic intersection of canons because, bloody ghost of Lilly Kane or not, I don’t think Veronica’s going to just go “Ghosts and monsters, okay!” This pushing to the side to get the job done is very much her, as is the confrontation.
     "Good morning, sunshine," the blonde said, and she didn't look nervous or helpless anymore. "We're going to play a game now, you'll like it. It's called 'Tell me where your brother took my dad and you won't find out what a taser to the balls feels like.' "

Superman/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Strong by Shayne Terry
      I have never watched Lois and Clark, which this is apparently a bit of an adaption of, however I followed along with the basic knowledge of who Lois Lane is and who Clark Kent is, and everything is accessible from the story. More than that, this story is long and beautifully plotted, with everyone having their own motivations and hang-ups, without the feeling that the author is just trying to push the information out there. It comes at it’s own pace.

      Basically, Lois comes back to the Daily Planet and a new partner after working on a story abroad. She is not thrilled with the partner, but after what happened three months ago, she isn’t thrilled about anything. She and her new partner are sent to report on the Sunnydale crater. And that’s when things get interesting with about five secrets too many.

And with outstretched hands, we touched the face of God

2008-02-12T22:13:26Z

So, this month's theme is space, because I decided I didn't have enough already written up in one fandom to qualify an individual rec post. And Doctor Who gets a special exemption, because it'll be recced with Torchwood whenever those get up.

FIREFLY
Finale Canto (Speaker of the Dead Remix) by Jen
The story of how Jayne got his guitar, and what it means that he still plays it. The voice is poetic but at the same time still Jayne.
     Jayne didn't have much, but what he had, he took care of.

Mercenary by slipstream chan
Behind the blast doors, Jayne knows what his job is. A creepy truth as Jayne plans to protect his crew in the only way that’s left.

Turn of the Wheel by Hawkmoth
I’d read this a year or two ago, and only just found it again. Set about three years after the end of the series (before news of the Big Damn Movie) this is a way Serenity’s crew could go. Verging on dark, but there’s too much hope for me to write it off completely. Besides, can’t you just see Simon slowly becoming this man?
     Don't know how, but we're still flying.

STARGATE ATLANTIS
Zoh-onna Ohmote by Vega
Miko, on Atlantis, remembering the culture of her home.
     Every morning, Miko Kusanagi rises at five am (Atlantis Time), and goes to the Alpha Physics Lab. She restocks Doctor McKay’s supply of powerbars, throws away Kavanaugh’s manky damp teabag from the day before, tidies Simpson’s ever growing collection of random wires, and waters Zelenka’s potted plants. She boots up the main computer, checks the database download update, brews two pots of coffee, then fetches a plate of muffins from the commissary, still steaming from the oven.

Coping Mechanisms by Ifylla
Brief drabbles on how each of the characters reacts to being returned to Earth. We don’t know how they came to be there, or what happened to Atlantis, but this is how they would react.

A Beautiful Lifetime Event by Shalott
I don’t usually rec slash, but this is an exception. Due to an Ancient incubating device, Rodney and John co-father a baby. They rearrange their lives around one of the cutest OCs in the internet. (Although I freely acknowledge a bit of weakness for baby-fic). Towards the end, it does develop into a romantic relationship, but that’s almost ten years in the making.
     "Rodney, she's going to be in kindergarten," John said. "It's mostly singing songs and eating milk and cookies."

     "Oh, yeah, that's what they make it sound like," Rodney said. "That's just a front. They're going to try and teach her things, like the alphabet and counting. I was telling her about infinite series yesterday; what the hell good is A-B-C going to do her?"

Friendly Competition by siegeofangels
What starts as a “thank-you hug, with overtones of the thank-god-we're-alive hug” grows into a full-scale hugging competition across Atlantis. Two points for Daedalus personnel.
     Jack held up one finger--wait--to each of them. "This is not a game," he said, and backed away slowly to disappear down a corridor and, probably, stake out personal quarters to establish as a hug-free zone.
     They watched him go. "Well," Elizabeth said. "If it was, we'd be tied."
     Rodney looked at her. She looked back, and raised an eyebrow.

Rise by minnow1212
Author Summary: Every job has its fringe benefits. Theirs have more than most.
     The troupe probably wouldn’t do it to strangers, but the expressions of dismay on Sheppard and McKay’s faces are too funny to pass up, and Teyla doesn’t call him on it. Instead she says, straight-faced, "We would be pleased to assist you in this matter."

and the band’s playing “hail to the chief” by synecdochic
A sequel to Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose , a perfect continuation set five years later as one of Rodney’s “children” makes a discovery.
     "I need you," Rodney says, and bulls straight past anything she might have said by virtue of only pretending to pause at the punctuation. "Both of you, tonight, as much firepower as Ronon can smuggle past the TSA goons without submitting for inspection, and every single press contact you can possibly drum up on my campus at oh-nine-hundred sharp."

     To her credit, he can't even hear her flinch. "So. We're ready?"

STAR WARS
After the Last War Is Won by unknown
Luke, restoring the Jedi Temple.
     "All the Jedi were dead."
     Luke looked out over the lower colonnade below, the sweeping staircases littered with rubble. "That doesn't mean they left."

Novel Rec-Supernatural

2008-01-29T21:37:40Z

In Reverse by sodakey

Characters: Sam, Dean, Assorted OCs
Author Summary: After Faith, a job has the boys looking for missing hikers in Wyoming. While Sam worries it’s connected to what happened to Dean ten years ago, Dean wonders if Sam would be better off back in the world of normal.

I can't say that this works as an episode. It's far too complicated to fill forty-some minutes of broadcast time. Instead this is a movie, focusing mostly on the boys themselves but also including the various elements that running into a group of Sam's old college friends brings back. There's the contrast of another set of brothers, normal brothers, and the question of the differences between Hunting Sam and Stanford Sam and how Dean might react when faced with the life his brother had away from him. The tie-ins between the 'ninety-six attack weave beautifully into the story, and the supernatural elements are never neglected even as the emotional aspects are heightened.

Excerpt:

Dean and Sam looked up to see a perky brunette with dark ringlets coming toward them. "Guys, look! It's Sam Winchester!"

They looked to where she was calling and saw a group of young twenty-somethings packed around a table in the opposite corner. Dean looked back at Sam for confirmation that he either knew them, or that the brunette was crazy. Sam was in the process of standing, total surprise on his face. "Kim? Wow," he stepped out from their table just in time to catch "Kim" in a hug. "What are you guys doing here?"

"What are we doing here? What are you doing here? Nobody's heard from you in months!"

Dean stood awkwardly as the rest of Kim's table descended, two additional girls giving Sam quarter-hugs while a quartet of guys gripped Sam's hand or thumped him on the back.

"Yeah, I've been…busy," Sam stuttered to the queries, making an uncomfortable gesture at Dean. "I've been…traveling with my brother…we're just passing through."

"Right, right," said Kim. "You mentioned you were on a road trip with your brother a while back. I thought you would have been done with that by now," she continued, as though traveling around with your big brother was a juvenile phase Sam should have outgrown, or worse, a bad habit she'd expected Sam to have finally kicked. Nevertheless, Kim looked at Dean and held out her hand. Dean hesitated before reaching to grip it, returning her completely-insincere and overly-polite smile with one of his own.

I finally figured out the links!

2008-01-24T04:01:24Z

Some of these are actually quite old, but I should warn for Deathly Hallows spoilers below and in the stories themselves. It's been a few months, but you can never be too careful.

HARRY POTTER

untitled by florahart
I just had to link to this. George, Molly, and Percy, the morning after. Heartbreaking.

Chivalry by rozarka
Before the Yule Ball, Viktor goes to ask Professor McGonagall a question.
"As head of Gryffindor, being ze closest to be in ... parents' role for Herm -- Hermy -- Miss Granger ... I haff come to ask your permission--" He took a deep breath, furrowing his brow in concentration.

Little Hearts by sache8
In the first years after Voldemort’s defeat, Fleur watches the small parade of visitors to Shell Cottage’s backyard. Full of little details of life after the war, and how irritating it might be having a war memorial in the garden.

Twenty-Eight Points by magnetic_pole
Dear God I love Lily. Although they broke up before leaving Hogwarts, James is determined to get just one more chance. With Scrabble.
"You'd just be another friend, enjoying take-away at James' flat," James said. "We do it all the time, you know," he added, improvising madly. "Thursday nights. It's famous, take-away at James', Thursday nights."
What the hell, it sounded stupid, but he was desperate to see her again.

Coda to an Epilogue: Twenty Years Later, Or The Kids Are All Right by mistful
Hilarious and touching story that makes me fully embrace the epilogue that JKR randomly tacked on the end. Harry and Malfoy are forced to work together to find their sons who may or may not be in danger of being eaten by giant albino alligators. Featuring very cunning plans, a surfeit of sandwiches, receding hairlines, and James Potter being a tool.
Part Two
Part Three
“Yes, about that,” Harry said between his teeth. “Why does Durmstrang have giant alligators in its sewers?”

“I’m sure I don’t know. Why does Hogwarts have giant spiders in its environs? These things happen.” Professor von Bosau was starting to look distinctly miffed. “Mr Potter, I understand that you’re upset-”

“You lost my children in the sewers! The sewers which are crawling with giant alligators!”

Tower of Air by cluegirl
Albus keeps his own private gallery of burdens, a portrait for every single life paid too quickly, taken before its time. After the battle at the Ministry, he carries Sirius Black.
“Want the spot next to me?" A hope stands bare in the youth's tone -- forgiveness, renewal, reconciliation that might be possible now that neither one possesses a beating heart. "Good view of the Quidditch pitch."

Not to mention that it faces James and Lily's portrait, and the empty spot beside it which Albus is decidedly NOT saving for Remus Lupin.

All Too Sweet To Last by annakovsky
Sixth year ended abruptly when Hermione blew up Hogwarts, forty-five Death Eaters, and Harry Potter in a blast of blue magical flame that could be seen at a distance of thirty miles. For this she was awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class; a thousand galleons; the grateful adoration of the wizarding public, including an article in the Daily Prophet declaring her "The Girl Who Ended the Second War"; and the honor of identifying Harry's charred body.

Touch the Face of the Stars by lyras
Scenes from Lily’s life as she grows into her life and into this war. All are strong, and the end will make your eyes tear up.
"That was him," he said seriously. "Lily, you're going to have to be bloody careful after this."

All Our Tomorrows by sandrine
Rose, growing up at Hogwarts in the years following the war. Life isn’t always like what your parents tell you.
"Admit it, you're only dating me to get back at your father!" She's joking, but there's a grain of genuine worry underneath it that he must have heard because he suddenly grows serious, and when he says, "I would want to be with you even if you were a pureblood Slytherin," it sounds like a solemn vow.

Summer Holidays by penknife
Hermione tries to figure out what comes next. This is quiet but covers so many angles of what is going on and what must be done. And despite all the aches that are left behind, there are surprising flashes of humor that keeps it going. And the ending is so perfectly Hermione, that this is my personal idea of what happened next, even if there is so much other fic to be entertained by.
She closes her eyes, just for a minute, Harry's feet against her knee and Ron's hand resting on her thigh. She could stay just like this for a long time.
Later, she tells herself, and gets up and leaves them sleeping.

Getting Ready by florahart
The eight Weasleys each have something to bring to the funeral. I started feeling the family vibe at Percy, Ron made me teary, and Molly made me outright cry.
He's hoped it would be him. Or even--and he closes his eyes as he thinks it, because it feels like betrayal, even Molly. He knows it would have hurt all their children, blood or spirit, but burying a parent is the way of the world. Burying a child is not.

Molly’s War by a_t_rain
Molly Weasley, Remus Lupin. While the children are at school, Molly fights fear and prejudice.

A Life in Obscurity by rosemaryandrue
The life of Ignatus Peverell and his game with death is woven seamlessly by the author into the into the Arthurian legends. I have expect to see mention of Ignatus and his Hallows the next time I go into my Pendragon phase.

A month after he arrived, the fort's steward, who was one of the few who would find his way back again, took the cart to Caerleon to trade. He returned solemnly with the news of Uther Pendragon's death, and Ignotus knew at last where Death had vanished to that day.

He waited eagerly for Merlin's command, but it never came. At last he understood that the boy was meant to grow to manhood here, where even Death could not find him.

A Beneficial Arrangement by vivien529
Taking a sharp left turn at canon, this is the tale of how, at a holiday party, Tom Riddle accidentally got Minerva McGonagall knocked up. Naturally this puts a bit of a kink in his plans. Hilarious.
Minerva’s wand appeared in front of his nose with a violent swish. “You’re going to do the honorable thing by me, you Slytherin bastard. To think you’d abandon your own flesh and blood, just as you’d been abandoned as an infant.”

How dare she compare him to his filthy Muggle father? He glared at her and reached for his own wand.

“Don’t you dare even think about it,” Minerva snarled

Not Just Anybody

2007-10-29T15:03:06Z

BSG
Set Light To Me Some Surprising Day by mercurial_wit
Post-Maelstrom Dee fic, as she holds the Adama men together with both hands. The connections this draws between Dee and Tigh made me smile.
      Later, she pulls out the missing half and tapes the two together, and then places the whole picture inside the cover of a book. She remembers the day of the Galactica’s decommissioning, and the Old Man unwrapping a photograph of his sons, and thinks that maybe some day many years from now she will put this safely behind glass and a polished frame and give it to her husband, and it won’t hurt him at all; it will just be a picture of his brother and a woman he once loved.

for whom it is reserved by sangga
Kara and Lee in the aftermath of 33. The guilt Lee feels and the breakdown he observes in both Kara and himself is perfectly constructed.

Multiplicity of Life by ana grrl
A series of AUs based around Hera Agathon, each long enough to leave a shivery-good taste behind.

Possibility: Bright, Shiny Future by Mystic83
Speaking of AU’s…. Kara never suffered a knee injury and therefore followed her first vocation: professional pyramid player. She’s on a celebratory vacation on Cloud 9 when the attacks occur and, signs up to train in the first batch of pilots after Flattop’s death. There she meets the Adamas, all three of them. The events are written to reflect the first two seasons, and while it seems a little sappy at times, I think the conclusion is very well handled on all parts. This Kara is not so different from the one on the show, arrogance of a professional athlete mirroring arrogance of a kick-ass pilot.
      “You two are cheating,” Lee hissed, throwing a handful of cubits into the pot.
      “You’re just mad because you’re getting your ass kicked by a girl,” Zak pointed out.
      “I’m mad because my baby brother has no concept of family loyalty.” Lee glanced over at Kara. “Didn’t I tell you that your addiction to blondes was going to get me in trouble one day, Zak?”
      “I don’t see any trouble,” Kara pointed out. She threw a pair of cigars into the center of the table. “I just see an intelligent man who clearly knows a winner when he sees one.”

know well the gathering of stars by stars_like_dust
Laura Roslin, in the early days of her presidency, trying to lead the world forward and not get left behind.
      When she gets back to her quarters, she gets Billy to find her a book on Colonial resources. She reads about tylium every night until she's memorized it all.
      When the reporter snidely asks her about tylium again, Laura tears her to shreds.

If Not, Winter by olga_theodora
Laura Roslin lives under the Cylon occupation of New Caprica with ill grace, balancing submitting to the enemy with keeping her people safe. Written post Season Two, so some conclusions are drawn differently. The way that escape is plotted here is clever and subversive, and Kara in particular’s characterization shows a lot of the personal growth that could have occurred were she given the circumstances that olga_theodora places her in, rather than the show’s version.
     On the day the Cylons invaded New Caprica, several important things happened: the union went on strike, an early spring flower bloomed too soon, and Laura Roslin discovered she was pregnant.

Every Good Mother’s Son by nifra_idril
I know Billy from the miniseries, and little more than that, where’s he’s just adorable but capable and rather out of his depth with Dee (they shouldn’t have cut those scenes!) I have no idea how he died, only that he did, but this story, shown through his mother’s eyes and through the president's, makes me cry for him.
     Around the hundred and sixtieth hour without any real sleep, Billy is talking to her about the scarcity of grain based foods throughout the fleet, and it occurs to Laura that she has no idea how old he is.
     He’s startled when she asks, and then stops for a second to half chuckle and it sounds broken, hollow. “Uh, actually I think I turned twenty…maybe two days ago now,” he tells her.
     “Oh,” Laura says, because there’s nothing else to say. And then the clock strikes the thirty-three minute mark, and they brace for a jump.

Best Left Unsaid by wisteria
The weeks following Crossroads II, from Samuel T. Anders point of view. I love Sam, I wasn’t sure I would at first, but here he’s observer and participant all at once. I particularly love the circling suspicions he has about himself and his relationships, and the way the fact that he has a life beyond being Mr. Starbuck.
     Sam shoots to his feet, catching his balance on the chair. "My wife is not a Cylon, and if I hear you or anyone else say that, I'll personally shove you out an airlock."
     They both back up, palms raised. "Sorry, man," one mutters before getting the hell out of there. Sam suddenly wants to laugh. He thinks to himself, Yeah, I'm the Cylon, and who knows what the hell I'll do to you?

Illegal Zombie-Actor Cage Fighting by Amy and Jennifer Oksana
RPS. Okay, I usually stay away from RPS, but this is absolute and total crack that even the author declares has more to do with taking advantage of the situation then the people. How Mary McDonnell manipulates everything in Canada (and some things in LA) to drive Ron Moore nuts. Involves pretty much every Canadian sci-fi actor in the process.
     "Anyway, Grace, remember what I told you. If Ron comes up with notes today, you tell him you're in-character and will only answer to Sharon. And then when he calls you Sharon, tell him he's asking for the wrong Sharon. That Sharon's being downloaded, so he needs to ask ANOTHER Sharon. Who doesn't know the answers."

Tesselation by mercurial_wit
The filling in the gaps in cannon left between Season Two and Season Three, as one of the reviewers put it, Leoben and Kara are two sick motherfrakkers.
      “Ah-ah, Kara.” Leoben stands up in a movement so fast that it’s startling, but his smile is as kind as ever. “Don’t be stupid. This isn’t an interrogation room; I’m the one who can call for backup, this time.” His eyes shift deliberately to Sam, who Kara knows – knows – will be glaring back, and possibly mustering a rude remark. Sam, who might be dying. The knot in her stomach tightens as she straightens up, slowly, her empty palms held out in front.