astridv

Zinc Man, by Selena

Tags: Case Fic, Afghanistan, set mid-s3

Characters: Elizabeth Jennings, Philip Jennings, Arkady Ivanovich, Gabriel, Oleg Igorevich Burov, Yuri Victorovich Silfigarow (OC)

Summary: Elizabeth and Philip are charged with tracking down a young soldier from Afghanistan who has gone rogue. But what will they find? (6007 words)

This is the same level of honest writing and authentic feel that I’ve come to expect from the show itself. Really, this could have easily been an episode.

I recommend this fic even if you have never watchted The Americans. The story stands on its own, it’s like a mini-episode. (Does contain a significant s2 spoiler, though.)

Mrs. Cupid by Frea_O (Arrow)
Oliver/Felicity, Diggle; fake marriage; G; 2792 words
Summary: This time, it's not Oliver's fault.
Or, the story of how Felicity's quick thinking in Kazakhstan might stay with them...til death do them part.

Harry Potter fic rec:
Secrets by edenfalling
Gen; Ginny Weasley and ensemble; teen; 155290 words
Summary: CoS according to Ginny. Nobody noticed anything wrong for an entire year -- how did she slip so far from her family and friends? Angst and betrayal, but also mysteries, jokes, an enchanted suit of armor, and a guaranteed happy ending.

"Secrets" is a retelling of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets from Ginny Weasley's point of view, designed specifically to give her a coherent character arc, to make sense of her actions, and to put the focus of the story back where it belongs: on the person who was possessed by Tom Riddle for months and then fought him tooth and nail for several months more, rather than the person who stumbled upon the plot late in the game and beat the villain nearly by accident.

Staring At Emotion by nerdwegian (shield)
Skye/Jemma; teen; 1235 words
Summary: "You got drugged," Jemma says with a slight apologetic wince. One of her hands smooths Skye's hair back from her forehead, and it feels really nice.

Very cute fic.

The Space Between by magnetgirl (Galaxy Quest)
Gen-ish with heavy subtext; Alexander, Gwen, Jason, OCs; future fic; G; 5366 words
Summary: Alexander Dane is asked to come out of retirement to play Lazarus Prime in the reboot of Galaxy Quest.

This is one of the most intriguing stories I've read from this year's Yuletide batch. I had no idea what to expect, and the story takes a few surprising turns. I loved every bit of it.

Grains of Gold Among the Sand (The Americans) by jae
Philip/Elizabeth, Paige, Henry; backstory; rated teen; 21,159 words
Summary: Philip Jennings throughout the years, navigating the minefields of marriage and family.

This story does a great job showing the complexity of their relationship, the inevitable clashes resulting from their different personalities and worldviews - Elizabeth's rigid idealism and the more pragmatic Philip, who has little trouble assimilating into their fake lives. The kids, who are so much more than a cover to both of them. The characterization is spot on and a ton of research must have gone into writing the background setting. As a child of the eighties, it all feels authentic.

She grabs him by the wrist. "Don't try to make this about our training, or our cover. This is about you. You actually like playing house in our shiny American suburb with our big American car and our perfect little American jobs." Her mouth twists in disgust.

It's like she's punched him. This family's so much more than an act, even for her, but she's so committed to the cause that she can't let herself see that. He jerks his hand away and leans in toward her, his face so close to hers that he can feel her breath on it. "Yeah, well, I'm so sorry for actually enjoying my job instead of treating it like some noble burden I have to bear for the motherland."

Into the Woods (Hansel & Gretel)
Gen; origin story/action/humor; teen; 3062 words
Summary: The first time Hansel and Gretel deliberately set out to hunt a witch, they didn't even want to save the kid she stole. Little Gretchen Hasmanstorper was a real piece of work.

Great origin story. In which our badass witchhunter siblings get started in their career.

and hate the bright stillness of the noon by psocoptera (Huge)
Amber/George; Dorothy/Wayne, and Will, Becca, Poppy; set post-S1; teen; 12506 words
Summary: As Camp Victory faces a heat wave, Amber, George, and Dr. Rand struggle to make it through the last few weeks of camp.

Huge was a really good show (so of course it was cancelled after one season). This story makes a great coda to the series. She nails the characterizations and the feel of the show - it read like I was watching it on tv.

A few ficlet recs...
Sleepy Hollow
Ten Clicks by hollimichele
Gen; Ichabod & Abbie; G; 2050 words
Summary: “So you’re saying this device is a library, of sorts,” Ichabod said, reaching out to prod at one of the keys on Abbie’s laptop. “Or an encyclopedia?”

In which Ichabod surfs Wikipedia.

Agents of SHIELD:
Polyglot in Collective by BlackEyedGirl
Gen; Skye & Ward, plus ensemble; teen; 1928 words
Summary: The thing she realises? It's not that Fitz and Simmons don’t speak English, it's that Ward doesn't speak person.

She can’t imagine him as James Bond, doesn’t know what he would look like if he was acting, using the spy techniques she’s sure someone taught him back in ‘the Academy’ or whatever. She only knows what he looks like when he’s with her, which has so far mostly been either ‘dead inside’, ‘shooting things’ or ‘what the hell?’.

How Ward Thought Fitz and Simmons Were Shagging When They Were, In fact, Not by Stargazing
Gen; FitzSimmons & Wards; teen; 441 words
Summary: What it says on the tin. Featuring awkward confrontations, long sciencey conversations, geeky movies, Grant Ward trying to find his place, and a sort of love not often seen with this level of stunning perfection and intensity.

Technically chapter 1/?, but this works as a short standalone ficlet. Though I hope the writer will continue because I like the sense of humor in it.

Sleepy Hollow fic rec! Read the day after I watched the pilot! Fandom is nothing if not reliable. *thumbs up*
Is There a Law? (The Demon Machine remix) by blathering_kat, fiarra
Gen; Abbie & Ichabod; fluff with fancy coffee; G; 1553 words
Summary: “Put your seatbelt on. We’re going to Starbucks.”

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Have been (actually still am) on an Avengers re-reading spree so I haven't recced a lot of Avengers recently. But I still have a full bookmarks folder so regular recs should resume shortly.

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(Also haven't posted much last week 'cause I hurt my hand a little and I want to be back in climbing shape ASAP, so, avoiding typing too much.
I'm not sure how I hurt it because it seems to be a tendon of the pinkie finger and that's pretty much the only part of the body that's not used for climbing. I mean, huh?)

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I mainlined all 23 aired episodes of Shingeki no Kyojin in 2 days. Two. Definitely a record for me. Ep 24 airing tomorrow...
Have ordered book 9-11 of the manga from the Japanese bookstore in Düsseldorf. If S1 of the anime covers chapter 1-35 like I heard, that should carry me over smoothly.
Expensive as $%#§$, though.
Ah well. At least it's tax-deductible in the name of further education.

Is anyone here watching The Americans? jae has written a wonderfully deep backstory for Elizabeth that does her character and the show justice.

Five Points Down by jaegecko
Gen; Elizabeth Jennings; backstory/character study; rated Mature; choose not to warn; 23904 words
Summary: Elizabeth Jennings, both in the early years of that name and before it.

(If you've never watched The Americans but have a general appreciation of fierce, complex Russian spy ladies *koffNatashaRomanoff*, I think you might really find this story intriguing even if you don't know the canon.)

I was feeling under the weather yesterday and did practically nothing but read this Les Mis time loop fic. Full of drama and tension and at times pretty bleak... the time loop as purgatory. The story is really long (90k) and I thought the middle 5-10k dragged maybe a leetle bit, but then again not being in the fandom I'm not that invested in the characters themselves... though in the end I really cared for them all, especially her Javert (superb character development) and I couldn't put it down.
(It's book canon but I never read the brick myself, only saw the musical and I could follow along fine.)
Toil Until the Old Colours Fade by drcalvin
Javert/Valjean and ensemble; genre: time loop/AU; rated M; ~95,000 words
Summary: After his leap into the Seine, Javert finds himself back in Montreuil-sur-Mer on the morning of his first appointment with M. Madeleine. He soon discovers that while his choices can change the outcome of things, nothing can stop death from delivering him back to that same morning.
Now he has to defeat the game of fate or keep returning to 1820, eternally dying without finding peace.