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beth_h2012-07-08 05:30 pm
bethbethbeth) wrote in beth_h2012-07-08 05:30 pm
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RECS: July 8, 2012
It's a million degrees outside: clearly the best plan for the day is to sit in front of a fan and read fic.
Avengers
BewareTheIdes15: "After All of the Sparks [You're Still Alone in the Dark]" (Avengers/Iron Man/Captain America. Steve/Tony. “Tony has always struggled with the concepts of positive versus negative attention." This Tony may be further along the self-destructive-and-needy spectrum than I usually imagine him and the same is true for Steve where his natural protectiveness and take-charge attitude is concerned, but despite that, there's something at the core of the way both men are characterized in this story that feels right emotionally. Potentially spoilery content information: alcohol abuse)
calicokat (calicokat on LJ): "for today or the rest of my life" (Iron Man. Pepper/OC, Pepper/Tony. "Pepper finds a boyfriend. Tony hates to share." Only takes Iron Man into account officially, but the characterizations feel completely believable in a post-Avengers world. Good sense of how conflicted Pepper would likely be regarding Tony on a personal level and just generally smart.)
calicokat (calicokat on LJ): "my life with the thrill kill cult " (Avengers/Thor/Iron Man. Tony/Pepper, Tony/Loki. "One heart can hold hatred, lust, devotion and fear, whether the heart of a human or of a god." Dark and often powerful. Potentially spoilery content information, comprised of the penultimate lines of the story, so be advised that these are actual spoilers: "There's no happy ending. Not for anybody. The edges are frayed, the jigsaw pieces ill fitting, the world coarse to the soul. Loki ever half-mad, Tony ever half-human and Pepper ever dignified, though greying and slowly gravitating toward the world beyond the veil.")
deadpool (ohvegeta on tumblr): "The Archer and the Monster" (Avengers/Hulk. Bruce/Clint, the Team. "Bruce's stress limitations keep him from being intimate with Clint. When Tony gets wind of this he makes it his personal crusade to find a way to fix this for his friend (with some hesitant help from Steve along the way)." an established relationship story, although - initially - one that doesn't involve sex, and really, more stories need to deal with this absolutely canon issue, i.e., that the Norton Hulk movie establishes Bruce’s inability to have sex without transforming. Good pacing and when a plot of sorts rears its head [that's not the point of the story, but still!] it's actually pretty suspenseful.)
DevilDoll (devildoll on LJ): "Hold My Breath and Jump Right In " (Avengers/Hulk. Bruce/Natasha. "She won't be happy until she's pushed back at him, shown him she's not afraid, proven she can handle him." Post-movie, character-based...and very hot.)
galaxysoup (galaxysoup on LJ): "Darkness, Flooded in Light" (Avengers/Thor. Loki, OCs, Asgardians. "Loki falls. Injured and unable to access his magic, he must struggle to restore himself physically and mentally before the Bifrost is repaired and Asgard comes to find him. That would be difficult enough, but one of Asgard’s deepest secrets has followed him..." Loki-centric AU and very sympathetic to his traumatic post-Thor fall from the Bifrost, but in no way unfair to Thor himself (there are some very touching flashbacks to their shared childhood on Asgard) or the rest of the Avengers, regardless of Loki's estrangement from his brother. Good world building and original characters (just this side of 'too good to be true,' but just what's needed in this sort of hurt/comfort story. Potentially spoilery content information: Issues throughout the story include mental illness/dissociative identity disorder, homophobia (although only from some characters; most are perfectly fine with LGBT folks), and a rather horrible - possibly triggery - scene involving children in chapter 16)
ghostdude101 (ghostdude101 on LJ): "Money, Happiness and All That Jazz" (Avengers/Iron Man/Hulk. Bruce, Tony. "In which Tony buys Bruce things, Bruce is confused, and neither of them is very good at talking." Post-Avengers. Simple and honest...and very touching.)
hollimichele (holli on LJ/DW): "Protocol 1985" (Avengers/Captain America. Natasha, Clint, Tony, Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, others. "“Holy crow, it worked," someone says." A time travel story, with a nod to "Back to the Future" and a perfect one at that. Smart, thoughtful, and a lot of fun. Potentially spoilery content information: Steve/Peggy happy ending, so there. *g*)
hollimichele (holli on LJ/DW): "Run to Ground" (Avengers/Captain America. Natasha, Steve, Bucky Barnes, others. "They bought-- what? A body in cryo?" Maria Hill looks skeptical. “How’d one guy fresh out of the ice kill a whole room?" Intel suggests the Winter Soldier is back, and Natasha sets off to take him down. Or bring him in. Steve Rogers ends up being a more useful mission partner than she could have imagined.Potentially spoilery content information: Leads to Natasha/Bucky/Steve.)
ignipes (ignipes on LJ): "The Last Great Border Town Hotel" (Avengers. Natasha/Clint, although this is really Natasha’s story. “Natasha has a lot of weapons in her arsenal. Trust hasn't always been one of them. Perfect voices - including Phil’s - and a perfect backstory. I’m fairly certain that this has now become my head canon for Natasha’s recent years.)
lindmere (lindmere on LJ): "All that is now, all that is gone" (Avengers/Hulk/Iron Man. Bruce & Tony, Tony/Pepper, the Team. "When the Hulk seriously injures Tony during a mission, Tony must decide whether he can trust the Hulk again--or Bruce." The plotting is perfectly paced, the characterizations are spot on, and the psychological wars raging in both Tony's and Bruce's heads in the wake of their inadvertently near fatal interaction rings completely true. Very highly recommended, especially if you care about stories that deal with the nature of trust and friendship, particularly the trust and friendship of these two men)
lyra_wing (lyra_wing on LJ): "bedrock and brick" (Avengers/Iron Man/etc. Tony, Team, some Tony/Steve. "" Tony does some renovations and then...it's moving in month at the Avengers university dorms, sort of - except this is not an AU. Really charming team 'stuff,' and the relationship building up - or springing into existence - between Tony and Steve is just right and incredibly lovely. Also, very hot.)
redfiona (redfiona99 on LJ): "Walking in These shoes" (Iron Man. Pepper/Tony. "Pepper Potts is the woman she'd always wanted to be. It's probably not all Tony's fault that her well-ordered life has just been blown to pieces. But it's definitely mostly his fault." Written for the lgbt fest on LJ, this Pepper was, as a child, a boy named Scott Potts. When Tony indicates an interest in changing the nature of their relationship from boss/employee to...something else, Pepper has to decide whether - and if so, when - to tell Tony about her past. Really nicely done. Very honest and real.
shell (umbo on LJ): "The Same, but More" (Avengers/Captain America. Steve/Bucky. “"I know you're still you, Rogers," Bucky said. "You're just…" he trailed off, studying Steve closely. / "Just what?" Steve asked, flushing. / It was Bucky's turn to shrug. "Just more, I guess." " The first part of a series called "Long Range Reconnaissance," this story is particularly insightful and touching. Very nicely done!)
Signe (oxoniensis on LJ): "Tex-Mex, Lies and Facebook " (Avengers. Pretty much everybody. " Darcy's not exactly sure how she came to get an invite, but Jane said party so Darcy was all over it. And then Jane texted her the address, and Darcy nearly peed herself. She's at a party at Avengers Mansion, which is like, the coolest, most exclusive place in New York. Probably in the entire world. Tony Stark said hi to her when she arrived, and what is her life that she knows Tony fucking Stark, and he knows her name?! / "This is totally going on Facebook!"" A series of post-movie vignettes and just right.)
snowdarkred (snowdarkred on LJ): "you’re a rich little boy (who’s had to work for his toys) " (Avengers/Iron Man/Captain America. Tony/Pepper, Tony/Pepper/Steve. "Your name is Tony fucking Stark, and this is how it goes: Start, stop, start again. Rinse. Repeat." Tony-centric and very insightful. Written pre-Avengers, but works with current canon, and...difficult to read at times, this being Tony Stark after all, but ultimately hopeful/happy. Potentially spoilery content information: Tony suffers a permanent injury in the course of the story)
thatdamneddame (thatdamneddame on LJ/tumblr): "Hope is Not a Course of Action" (Avengers. Clint/Phil, past Clint/Natasha. “Clint loved Natasha like he loved a lot of stupid ideas." Clint is introduced to SHIELD and then Clint is introduced to Phil Coulson. A really excellent origins story - if non superheroes get to have origins stories. Smartly written and utterly believable.)
As I've noted before, I will clearly never catch up with old stories. If you have a favorite story (your own or somebody else's) that you think I might have missed and it's in a fandom that I've recced before (see my main recs page) and especially stories from one of the following fandoms: Avengers, Discworld, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Lewis, Sherlock Holmes in all varieties, or White Collar, feel free to leave a link below
Avengers
BewareTheIdes15: "After All of the Sparks [You're Still Alone in the Dark]" (Avengers/Iron Man/Captain America. Steve/Tony. “Tony has always struggled with the concepts of positive versus negative attention." This Tony may be further along the self-destructive-and-needy spectrum than I usually imagine him and the same is true for Steve where his natural protectiveness and take-charge attitude is concerned, but despite that, there's something at the core of the way both men are characterized in this story that feels right emotionally. Potentially spoilery content information: alcohol abuse)
calicokat (calicokat on LJ): "for today or the rest of my life" (Iron Man. Pepper/OC, Pepper/Tony. "Pepper finds a boyfriend. Tony hates to share." Only takes Iron Man into account officially, but the characterizations feel completely believable in a post-Avengers world. Good sense of how conflicted Pepper would likely be regarding Tony on a personal level and just generally smart.)
calicokat (calicokat on LJ): "my life with the thrill kill cult " (Avengers/Thor/Iron Man. Tony/Pepper, Tony/Loki. "One heart can hold hatred, lust, devotion and fear, whether the heart of a human or of a god." Dark and often powerful. Potentially spoilery content information, comprised of the penultimate lines of the story, so be advised that these are actual spoilers: "There's no happy ending. Not for anybody. The edges are frayed, the jigsaw pieces ill fitting, the world coarse to the soul. Loki ever half-mad, Tony ever half-human and Pepper ever dignified, though greying and slowly gravitating toward the world beyond the veil.")
deadpool (ohvegeta on tumblr): "The Archer and the Monster" (Avengers/Hulk. Bruce/Clint, the Team. "Bruce's stress limitations keep him from being intimate with Clint. When Tony gets wind of this he makes it his personal crusade to find a way to fix this for his friend (with some hesitant help from Steve along the way)." an established relationship story, although - initially - one that doesn't involve sex, and really, more stories need to deal with this absolutely canon issue, i.e., that the Norton Hulk movie establishes Bruce’s inability to have sex without transforming. Good pacing and when a plot of sorts rears its head [that's not the point of the story, but still!] it's actually pretty suspenseful.)
DevilDoll (devildoll on LJ): "Hold My Breath and Jump Right In " (Avengers/Hulk. Bruce/Natasha. "She won't be happy until she's pushed back at him, shown him she's not afraid, proven she can handle him." Post-movie, character-based...and very hot.)
galaxysoup (galaxysoup on LJ): "Darkness, Flooded in Light" (Avengers/Thor. Loki, OCs, Asgardians. "Loki falls. Injured and unable to access his magic, he must struggle to restore himself physically and mentally before the Bifrost is repaired and Asgard comes to find him. That would be difficult enough, but one of Asgard’s deepest secrets has followed him..." Loki-centric AU and very sympathetic to his traumatic post-Thor fall from the Bifrost, but in no way unfair to Thor himself (there are some very touching flashbacks to their shared childhood on Asgard) or the rest of the Avengers, regardless of Loki's estrangement from his brother. Good world building and original characters (just this side of 'too good to be true,' but just what's needed in this sort of hurt/comfort story. Potentially spoilery content information: Issues throughout the story include mental illness/dissociative identity disorder, homophobia (although only from some characters; most are perfectly fine with LGBT folks), and a rather horrible - possibly triggery - scene involving children in chapter 16)
ghostdude101 (ghostdude101 on LJ): "Money, Happiness and All That Jazz" (Avengers/Iron Man/Hulk. Bruce, Tony. "In which Tony buys Bruce things, Bruce is confused, and neither of them is very good at talking." Post-Avengers. Simple and honest...and very touching.)
hollimichele (holli on LJ/DW): "Protocol 1985" (Avengers/Captain America. Natasha, Clint, Tony, Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, others. "“Holy crow, it worked," someone says." A time travel story, with a nod to "Back to the Future" and a perfect one at that. Smart, thoughtful, and a lot of fun. Potentially spoilery content information: Steve/Peggy happy ending, so there. *g*)
hollimichele (holli on LJ/DW): "Run to Ground" (Avengers/Captain America. Natasha, Steve, Bucky Barnes, others. "They bought-- what? A body in cryo?" Maria Hill looks skeptical. “How’d one guy fresh out of the ice kill a whole room?" Intel suggests the Winter Soldier is back, and Natasha sets off to take him down. Or bring him in. Steve Rogers ends up being a more useful mission partner than she could have imagined.Potentially spoilery content information: Leads to Natasha/Bucky/Steve.)
ignipes (ignipes on LJ): "The Last Great Border Town Hotel" (Avengers. Natasha/Clint, although this is really Natasha’s story. “Natasha has a lot of weapons in her arsenal. Trust hasn't always been one of them. Perfect voices - including Phil’s - and a perfect backstory. I’m fairly certain that this has now become my head canon for Natasha’s recent years.)
lindmere (lindmere on LJ): "All that is now, all that is gone" (Avengers/Hulk/Iron Man. Bruce & Tony, Tony/Pepper, the Team. "When the Hulk seriously injures Tony during a mission, Tony must decide whether he can trust the Hulk again--or Bruce." The plotting is perfectly paced, the characterizations are spot on, and the psychological wars raging in both Tony's and Bruce's heads in the wake of their inadvertently near fatal interaction rings completely true. Very highly recommended, especially if you care about stories that deal with the nature of trust and friendship, particularly the trust and friendship of these two men)
lyra_wing (lyra_wing on LJ): "bedrock and brick" (Avengers/Iron Man/etc. Tony, Team, some Tony/Steve. "" Tony does some renovations and then...it's moving in month at the Avengers university dorms, sort of - except this is not an AU. Really charming team 'stuff,' and the relationship building up - or springing into existence - between Tony and Steve is just right and incredibly lovely. Also, very hot.)
redfiona (redfiona99 on LJ): "Walking in These shoes" (Iron Man. Pepper/Tony. "Pepper Potts is the woman she'd always wanted to be. It's probably not all Tony's fault that her well-ordered life has just been blown to pieces. But it's definitely mostly his fault." Written for the lgbt fest on LJ, this Pepper was, as a child, a boy named Scott Potts. When Tony indicates an interest in changing the nature of their relationship from boss/employee to...something else, Pepper has to decide whether - and if so, when - to tell Tony about her past. Really nicely done. Very honest and real.
shell (umbo on LJ): "The Same, but More" (Avengers/Captain America. Steve/Bucky. “"I know you're still you, Rogers," Bucky said. "You're just…" he trailed off, studying Steve closely. / "Just what?" Steve asked, flushing. / It was Bucky's turn to shrug. "Just more, I guess." " The first part of a series called "Long Range Reconnaissance," this story is particularly insightful and touching. Very nicely done!)
Signe (oxoniensis on LJ): "Tex-Mex, Lies and Facebook " (Avengers. Pretty much everybody. " Darcy's not exactly sure how she came to get an invite, but Jane said party so Darcy was all over it. And then Jane texted her the address, and Darcy nearly peed herself. She's at a party at Avengers Mansion, which is like, the coolest, most exclusive place in New York. Probably in the entire world. Tony Stark said hi to her when she arrived, and what is her life that she knows Tony fucking Stark, and he knows her name?! / "This is totally going on Facebook!"" A series of post-movie vignettes and just right.)
snowdarkred (snowdarkred on LJ): "you’re a rich little boy (who’s had to work for his toys) " (Avengers/Iron Man/Captain America. Tony/Pepper, Tony/Pepper/Steve. "Your name is Tony fucking Stark, and this is how it goes: Start, stop, start again. Rinse. Repeat." Tony-centric and very insightful. Written pre-Avengers, but works with current canon, and...difficult to read at times, this being Tony Stark after all, but ultimately hopeful/happy. Potentially spoilery content information: Tony suffers a permanent injury in the course of the story)
thatdamneddame (thatdamneddame on LJ/tumblr): "Hope is Not a Course of Action" (Avengers. Clint/Phil, past Clint/Natasha. “Clint loved Natasha like he loved a lot of stupid ideas." Clint is introduced to SHIELD and then Clint is introduced to Phil Coulson. A really excellent origins story - if non superheroes get to have origins stories. Smartly written and utterly believable.)
As I've noted before, I will clearly never catch up with old stories. If you have a favorite story (your own or somebody else's) that you think I might have missed and it's in a fandom that I've recced before (see my main recs page) and especially stories from one of the following fandoms: Avengers, Discworld, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Lewis, Sherlock Holmes in all varieties, or White Collar, feel free to leave a link below