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Forniamo Vantaggio by Birdhouse (Leverage)
AU; gen; Characters: Team and supporting; 17225 words

This fic is a gleeful steampunk Western AU with some fantasy elements mixed in, and it's just incredibly entertaining. (I'm already looking forward to reading it again.) I really like the worldbuilding and the way the backstory slowly unravels.

Summary: Nathan Ford is a veteran of the Unkind War and the mildly-corrupt sheriff of the land rush town of McRory, while Sophie Devereaux is a brilliant actress heartlessly abandoned by her troupe (or so she'll tell anyone who'll listen). When Alec Hardison and Eliot Spencer ride into town and right into trouble with the banker's Changeling daughter, they bring with them secret pasts that threaten everyone's futures.

Steps by Birdhouse (Leverage)
Gen; Team + Bonnano; Genre: drama/mystery/angst/team; 38440 words
Warnings: Rape; Spoilers: Radio Job, Last Dam Job
Summary: The team has to work without Nate when a mysterious attack leaves their mastermind hospitalized in a coma.

As soon as I started reading the story had me gripped. (The non-con warning first had me lurking around the link for a while and it's a tough read at times, but I found it well-handled and integral to the story.) The story flows easily as the mystery plot unfolds on more than one level. The author's got a great handle on the team and how they react in a situation where their entire foundation got shaken up. Parker especially is just amazing to watch. But all of them are, really!

Snagging this one from alinaandalion:
Waiting for the Click by fleurlb (Leverage)
Hardison/Parker, PG-13; romance, humor; 2,728 words
Summary: Hardison plans a special gift for Parker's birthday.

A sweet story with many great little moments and Parker and Hardison being utterly themselves. Make sure you click the link in the end!

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eta: bonus rec, just in: Otters Who Look Like Benedict Cumberbatch... which was apparently trending on twitter earlier today. (snagged from legionseagle)

Leverage ficlet: My Team by downbythebay_4
Gen, team, 550 words; Spoilers for The Radio Job and The Last Damn Job
Summary: Nate reflects on his meeting with Dubenich.

Short but beautiful team character study. *hearts*

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One of my housemates has a vidding question: Is there a word for the kind of vid that illustrates the song lyrics very literally, with matching scenes for every part of the lyrics? (like chayiana's Be a Rockstar for example).

Venice by wontquitmydayjob (Leverage)
Sophie/Nate UST; casefic; pre-canon; ~6000 words
Nate surprises Sophie in the middle of a con but he's not the only one with backup plans.

Part of the series "Pursuit", which clocks in at 33,292 words of backstory goodness, UST and cons set against a colorful European backdrop.

And by the same author,
5 Times Nate and Sophie Weren't Sleeping Together
...and one time they were.
Sophie/Nate and cameos by other characters; PG-13; 3,021 words

Six times Maggie heard "you're adorable", and one time she said it by ellabell (Leverage)
Gen; Maggie & team; genre: family/friendship; 6264 words

Maggie, bonding with our merry band of criminals.

Okay... normally I prefer to wait with reccing a story until it's totally complete. This one is sort of complete, but in a 'The Empire Strikes Back' kind of way. Like, holy shit Han Solo's just been frozen in the carbonite, the end?! So, I really need to know how the story continues (and as I understand it a sequel is already being written. :) It's a novel-length gen post-apocalyptic fusion fic which I guess makes it something of a harder sell, still I don't understand why I doesn't have more comments. Maybe it is just hidden too well.

If you like dark-ish apocafic with action this is a good read, check it out! I hope I can point a few more readers that way and hopefully drum up some more comments too, because I really want that sequel and, I don't know about those guys but I know that personally I'm just more motivated when I get some feedback. :)

Fire and Fast Bullets by errant_evermore and thejokerlaughs
Post-Apocalyptic Leverage AU fusion with the Jericho and Miracles settings (sans characters)
56,663 words; Gen; team/casefic; PG-13

Summary: The September Attacks changed everything, and not just in the 23 cities that were wiped off the face of the map. Boston may have been one of them, but the Leverage crew escaped through the interference of Paul Callan and the other members of Soldaritas Queritas, fleeing the city for the relative safety of the small towns. Events beyond their control, however, drive them to split up and the battered Leverage team is forced into a confrontation that they’re not quite prepared for.

In a town already ravaged by the aftereffects of the bombs, they discover that children and adults alike have gone missing, and the carnival just outside of town looks awfully suspicious. Now they have to work there for a living, keep one of their own safe, and play detectives in a situation where they might just be in over their heads.

With a mysterious illness and outside influences to contend with, they have their work cut out for them...

Today's rec, two tags for The Last Dam Job:

Say Goodbye to the Old Ways by lillypilly11
Nate/Sophie and team; PG-13; post-ep banter; 952 words
Summary: After 'The Last Dam Job' there is time to regroup, reflect, and move on.

"Hey, I been in more wars than I can count, an' I've only been shot twice." Eliot paused. "Twice that counted."
Sophie nodded, glad to be supported on this. "Right? I'm saying, it's like he walks around with a target painted on his chest."

Understanding People by ellabell
Gen; PG; episode tag; 2442 words
Summary: Parker has something she has to follow up on after the end of "The Last Dam Job."

People always said that she didn’t understand emotion, that she possibly didn’t even feel at all, but she knew she did. She just never had any idea of how to express it, or what any of it meant. But Archie knew, without her even saying anything, and he told her about his family.

All The More For That by nightcamedown (Leverage)
Nate/Sophie; PG-13; comment fic, 442 words

Inevitably he would be asked, whether it was by law enforcement, or rival investigators, or just the blank pages of his report staring up at him. "Did you get a look? Can you give us a description?"
It irked him that they wanted her height and weight, or that they thought the color of her hair would help them catch her. She has sin in her voice and victory in her eyes, he wanted to say, and if you let her speak you've already lost.

Leverage fic and vid recs - main post

insta-rec!
The Justice League Job by Eatsscissors (Leverage)
Hardison-centric teamfic with H/P and background S/N; PG-13; genre: caper fic; 24042 words
Summary: The granddaughter of a famous comics author and illustrator comes to the team for help in recovering the rights to one of her grandfather’s last creations.

An episode-like caper fic: set in the comic-book milieu, with a twisted plot in the vein of the show, spot-on characterization, an interesting client... and a nicely slick villain. Terrific Hardison POV!