Recs by Jane Elliot

Title: Ain't Seen the Sunshine (Since I Don't Know When) by emungere
Fandom: Sherlock
Pairing: John/Lestrade (pre-slash)
Categories: AU, kid-fic, humor, drama, action, family, favorite
Length: ~26,500 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
Back from Afghanistan and struggling to make ends meet, John gets offered a very unusual job: nanny for a five-year-old Sherlock and a twelve-year-old Mycroft.

This one just makes me smile like crazy. I love Mrs. Holmes, who has decided (quite rightly) that surviving a war is perfect practice for being a nanny for Sherlock and Mycroft. I love John, who feels utterly unqualified but who loves his two charges immensely, even when they're being irritating. I love Lestrade, who is sweet and wonderfully calm under pressure. And I absolutely adore the young versions of Sherlock and Mycroft, who are unique characters all of their own though you can clearly see the seeds of the men they will grow to be. A brilliant AU that makes me smile every time I read it.

Note that there are sequels to the original fic. I'm not reccing them specifically (since they are more focused on the growing relationship between John and Lestrade and less on John interacting with the kids, which is my favorite part of the series) but they're enjoyable stories and the link to the series is below.

Ain't Seen the Sunshine
Sequels to Ain't Seen the Sunshine

Title: Disaster Stories by agatestones
Fandom: Suits
Pairing: Harvey/Mike
Categories: hurt/comfort, drama
Length: 22,000 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
Mike's life as a series of environmental and personal disasters, and how they all turned out all right in the end.

For anyone who's watched Suits, it's probably not surprising that the fandom is heavily BDSM oriented. For better or worse, BDSM isn't really a kink of mine and, honestly, I find the power-inequality in canon to be a bit more than I really like, so I've been a bit wary of the fics. Thus I was really happy to find this little gem, in which Harvey is not quite as much of an asshole (or quite as invulnerable) as he is in canon and in most fic and Mike isn't quite as much of a spineless pushover as he is in most fic (though not so much in canon). Even better, both characters grow over the course of the story, as their relationship slowly and believably gets closer and as Mike comes to grips with his potential bisexuality in fits and starts. As a bonus, you get some extremely entertaining Donna scenes, and Rachel is simply phenomenal.

If you're in the mood for some non-D/s Suits fic or maybe just want to see Harvey Specter recovering from the flu (spoiler: he's a terrible patient), this is the story for you.

Disaster Stories

Title: Higher Education by Resonant
Fandom: Breakfast Club
Pairing: John Bender/Brian Johnson
Categories: post-canon, drama, favorite
Length: 15,200 words (story and coda)
Warnings: n/a

Review:
After dropping out of high school, John Bender has a whole lot of growing up to do. Just when he's finally gotten his feet firmly under him, Brian Johnson makes a surprise reappearance in his life.

This is one of my absolute favorite fanfics of all time and has inspired pretty much all of the Bender/Brian fic out there (of which there can never be enough). I'd never even considered the pairing (hell, I'd never even considered the fandom) till I stumbled on this fic and ever since I've been totally hooked. Resonant does a brilliant job of mapping the change from asshole!teenage!Bender to adult!John, using a sparse writing style that never gets bogged down in the incidentals, but which still spends just the right amount of time on all of the really good bits (read: any scene with Brian and John together). Mix in some interesting OCs, the wrapping up of just enough loose ends, and some really smoking hot sex, and you have an absolute must-read fic for anyone who likes good writing and brilliant characterization. Highly recommended.

Higher Education
Bare (coda)

Title: When All of New York City Misses You by leupagus and sutlers
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0
Pairing: Steve/Danny
Categories: angst, humor, hurt/comfort
Length: 15,400 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
When Steve and Danny finally have sex, the last thing Danny expects it to wake up alone. The call from the governor informing him that Steve has been recalled to the military just makes it worse.

I tend to think of this story as the Star Trek: Reboot Hawaii Five-0 fic. Which isn't to say that it's a fusion or an AU (it's neither), but it has the same feel as the vast majority of ST:R fics: wackiness, humor, a bit of angst here and there, and some more wackiness. And while that style of writing has been way overdone in the ST:R fandom, it's rather novel in the Hawaii Five-0 fandom and is a very enjoyable contrast to the endless hurt/comfort banter fics out there. The ending isn't exactly what I was hoping for, but that's more than made up for by very good writing, the most put-upon OC ever (seriously, I would never want to join Five-0 if this is how they treat people), some very smoking smut, and some very lovely Steve/Danny scenes.

When All of New York City Misses You

Title: The Fast and the NBTs series by Jedi Buttercup
Fandom: The Fast and the Furious/Transformers (Bay 'verse)
Pairing: Brian/Dom
Categories: crossover, drama
Length: 22,000 words (so far)
Warnings: n/a

Review:
For reasons that don't really matter (and which, to be honest, I didn't really understand), Brian was in Mission City when Sam released that pulse of Allspark. Which means that, given enough time and motivation, he can fulfill the ultimate dream of car geeks everywhere: he can create his own Transformers.

A few notes up front: first, this series is apparently still in progress, though each story stands on its own. Second, unfortunately every story in the series thus far has had a bizarrely rushed and abrupt ending. Third, there's a lot of references to the movies of both franchises and if you haven't seen the movies (or if, like me, they went right out of your mind the moment you left the theater) you might be a bit confused.

Normally I wouldn't rec a fic with this many caveats, but this is one of those rare cases where the premise is good enough to carry a story (or a series of stories) despite the fics' flaws. Brian's transforming talent is positively inspired and the Transformer OCs he creates are both adorable and wonderfully unique personalities. Honestly, I'm reccing the story for them, because they're likable enough that even with the rushed endings and the random movie exposition, I wanted more stories so I could see more of the various Transformers Brian has created. Mix in solid characterizations for Mia and Dom, some cute Rome family connections, and cameos from nearly every other Fast and Furious secondary character and you have a fun, light, entertaining set of stories.

The Fast and the NBTs series

Title: Ordinary Life by Shalott and Speranza
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Categories: action, drama
Length: 20,200 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
On their first trip back to Earth, Rodney picks up a cushy consulting gig and John tails along for the free perks. Pity things don't go quite to plan.

I don't read much SGA fic these days, but I'm making my way through my old possible recs folder and came up with this fun first-time fic, full of action and humor and John in a speedo. It's a joint venture by Shalott (aka astolat) and Speranza, so you know it's well-written and the characters are vividly drawn. Mix in some some light-hearted relationship sorta-angst (seriously, I almost gave this a 'fluff' tag), John and Rodney being treated to lots of exotic and upscale goodies, and an action-packed climax and you have a light but very enjoyable and satisfying read.

Ordinary Life

Title: Switch: A Comedy of Terrors by RivkaT
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Categories: humor, friendship, bodyswap, fluff
Length: 35,400 words
Warnings: underage (Clark is 16), super!creepy!handsy!Lionel

Review:
After getting electrocuted while surrounded by meteor-rock infested Christmas trees, Clark and Lex find they've switched bodies.

Ah, the halcyon days of early Smallville fic, where everything was either light and fun or black as pitch. Fortunately, this is an example of the former, where Secrets Are Revealed, Lust Is Assuaged, and Friendships Are Destiny. Funny, light-hearted, well-written, and very much in character for early seasons of the show, this is a great fic for anyone who wants a piece of Smallville fluff.

Switch: A Comedy of Terrors

Title: Time to Grow by zarah5
Fandom: X-Men: First Class
Pairing: Charles/Erik
Categories: fix-it, angst, post-canon, friendship
Length: 21,000 words
Warnings: An overabundance of commas, many with dubious grammatical correctness.

Review:
With two small changes during Charles and Erik's fight on the beach, the course of history can be changed.

From what I've seen, the X-Men: First Class fandom is going to be dominated by fix-it fics, which totally makes my day as I wasn't happy with the ending either (no matter how pre-ordained it might have been). This fic is the best of the ones I've read so far, with solid characterizations and a firm grasp of real life history and genetics that give the story an impressive amount of depth and weight. Full of shades of grey and tough decisions, but with a happy (or at least hopeful ending), Time to Grow should appeal to any fan of X-Men: First Class.

Time to Grow

Title: The Magic of Deduction by TheShoelessOne
Fandom: Sherlock BBC (with a dash of canonical Harry Potter characters)
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Categories: angst, drama, friendship, suspense, crossover (sort of)
Length: 65,000 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
In a world where John and Sherlock are wizards, there is still a Moriarty and the Game is still on. AKA John and Sherlock Do Hogwarts.

First, I want to note that this fic is tough to categorize, because while it's technically a crossover with the Harry Potter universe, the only Harry Potter characters to make an appearance are the teachers (and they get dramatically less face time than in the books). Thus I'm calling this a fusion with cameos.

Second, I want to announce that, after reading this fic and The Best Revenge, I want more Hufflepuff fic. (Recs welcome.)

Preliminaries out of the way -- this was a great fic! I loved the way that John and Sherlock's relationship developed organically throughout their seven years of school, I loved the large cast of Sherlock characters who were used in unexpected but ultimately perfect ways, I loved Mycroft and Mummy, I loved that Irene and Moran were significant to the plot, and most of all I loved that John is a Hufflepuff, because Hufflepuffs rock.

There are a couple of issues in the fic: you know going in that Moriarty is the bad guy (hence the 'suspense' tag rather than the 'casefile' one) and the POV does drift a bit in places. Still, those are very minor quibbles with a fic that not only has a great plot and great characters, it also has one of the best friends-to-lovers romances I've ever read. Very entertaining and wonderfully satisfying.

The Magic of Deduction

Title: other things the road to hell is paved with by LuciaZephyr
Fandom: Dresden Files
Pairing: Dresden/Marcone
Categories: action, angst, hurt/comfort, drama, AU, pre-slash (at least until the very last bit)
Length: 140,000 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
The first (and thus far only completed) book of The Matter of Chicago series, an AU in which Marcone coerces Harry into signing an extremely sketchy contract during Fool Moon. Through the rest of the events of Full Moon and the events of Grave Peril, Harry comes to grip with his position as Gentleman Johnny's wizard as well as his growing feelings for his boss.

I thought about waiting until this series was finished to rec it as a whole, but as that could literally take years (or, considering my luck with WIP series, never be finished at all) and as this story stands perfectly well on its own, I'm going to rec it as is with the understanding that if the rest of the series holds up as well as this fic, I'll be reccing that down the road.

That said: damn. This is a hugely epic story, with a word count that rivals the combined word count of the two books it's based on and with nearly as much action. Marcone and Dresden are both in character and both of them grow and develop throughout the course of the fic so slowly and naturally that it's barely noticeable until you get to the end and suddenly realize how much they've changed (an inevitable change, and one that stays very true to the canon characters). Their relationship builds equally slowly over course of a year and a half as Dresden gradually adapts to the concept that a) he's working for Marcone and b) that might not actually be the worst thing in the world to ever happen to him. The end result is probably the most leisurely and believable Harry/John pairing I've ever read.

The biggest downside of the story is one that is unfortunately inevitable considering the premise but still makes me sad: Harry and Murphy's friendship doesn't survive the new alliance. That said, I'm hoping that future stories in the series will change this (as well as bring back Thomas, who barely got a cameo). To make up for the lack of Murphy you have Hendricks, who is dramatically more fleshed out than he is in canon and who ends up being surprisingly endearing, and considerably more time spent with the Carpenter family, who are universally awesome.

While this fic is sadly lacking in my favorite guilty pleasure (melodrama), it is a well-written action story that should appeal to anyone who likes the Dresden Files novels.

other things the road to hell is paved with