Recs by Jane Elliot

Title: Lord of the Tansy Cakes by thesexbots
Fandom: A Knight's Tale
Pairing: Chaucer/Wat
Categories: humor, smut, crack
Length: ~3,000 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
Chaucer, Wat, and Roland undertake a challenge of gastrointestinal fortitude to win the right to be Will's best man. Somehow, this leads to smut.

This fic is as light and lively as a tansy cake. (For the record, I have no idea what a tansy cake is.) As cracky as the movie and just as much fun, this is an entertaining morsel for anyone needing a smile.

Lord of the Tansy Cakes

I'm heading out of town and may not have internet access. Thus, as an early Christmas present, I'm posting all of my remaining recs at once. Enjoy!

Title: Big Damn Zombies, Sir by shrift
Fandom: Firefly
Pairing: gen
Categories: humor, crack, favorite
Length: ~3,500 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
Jayne gets turned into a zombie. Hilarity ensues.

Sometimes you just want something that makes you smile and nothing is quite as smile-inducing as Jayne lumbering about the ship, gnawing on people's heads and plaintively asking for brains. Characterization is spot-on all around and as a special treat, you get a little Zombie!Jayne ditty at the end. Enjoy!

Big Damn Zombies, Sir

Title: Coffee May Be Hot by BlueMorpho
Fandom: Dead Zone
Pairing: Johnny/Bruce
Categories: humor, angst, virgin (to gay sex)
Length: ~22,000 words
Warnings: really, really bad sex

Review:
Starbucks is making Johnny gay. Or maybe it's just all of the sex-with-guys he's had in visions over the years. Either way, Bruce is looking pretty damn fine right now.

It's been a long time since I've seen the Dead Zone, so I can't promise that these characters are at all in character. That said, they're certainly entertaining characters, from Bruce's hysterical laid-backedness to Johnny's would-put-Woody-Allen-to-shame neuroses. I especially love Sarah, who is completely awesome, even when having to have The Talk with Johnny. Fair warning, though: when the sex comes, it's very, very bad. Which I sort of liked (too much sex in fanfic is blandly perfect), but must admit is sort of icky. Still, the end result is a fun ride, and there's even hope by the end that Johnny will one day have actual good sex. Eventually. Bruce willing.

Coffee May Be Hot

Title: The Team Player by Cori Lannam
Fandom: Sports Night
Pairing: Kim/Sheer Awesomeness (there's some secondary pairings, but they really don't matter)
Categories: humor
Length: ~3,500 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
The epic tale of how Kim saved Sports Night single-handedly through her mad guerrilla PR skills.

I'll be honest: I don't even remember the actual canon!Kim from Sports Night. Maybe she was awesome, maybe she wasn't. However, fanfic!Kim is unequivocally badass and she's never more badass than she is in this fic, in which she pulls in every favor she has to save Sports Night from cancellation. Every time I read this story, I find myself grinning madly with vicarious glee. Go Sports Night!

The Team Player

Title: The Crown of the Summer Court by astolat
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Categories: AU, action, drama, humor, fantasy, favorite
Length: ~24,000 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
A troop of elves comes to Camelot to pick their next king. (Uther is not pleased.) Turns out Merlin is in the running. (Uther is really, really not pleased.) And Arthur is his champion. (...Uther? Uther!)

This story isn't quite as silly as my summary would lead you to believe -- in fact, it's a damn good old school fantasy, full of challenges and intrigues and the aphrodisiac qualities of magic. The beauty of the story, though, and what truly makes it worth reading over and over again, is the fact that astolat doesn't take her premise or her plot too seriously, which results in a lot of banter, a lot of humor, and a truly engaging tale of bravery, sacrifice, and magic.

Reminiscent of season 1 Merlin (with a less dickish Arthur), The Crown of the Summer Court is a fantastically fun way to while away a few hours.

The Crown of the Summer Court

Title: Let Us Dare by kianspo
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Categories: AU, drama, humor
Length: ~29,500 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
When Arthur is born, Uther dies instead of Ygraine. This changes everything.

I love the first half of this story so much. Watching Merlin and Arthur grow up together (two-year-old Merlin is adorable) is hugely entertaining and the writing is tight and fast paced. Things slow down quite a bit once Merlin and Arthur are grown and it isn't quite as engaging as the first half is. Still, it's a good read and you've got some court treachery to keep things interesting. Bonus: fantastic characterizations from all of the side characters, especially Morgana and Ygraine.

If you like canon!era Merlin AUs, this is definitely one you'll want to try.

Let Us Dare

Title: A Slight Misunderstanding and Dangerous Assumptions by Coragyps
Fandom: Sherlock BBC
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Categories: angst, humor, hurt/comfort, drama, action, casefile, virgin (to gay sex), favorite
Length: ~64,000 words (combined)
Warnings: In A Slight Misunderstanding, there are three instances where John thinks of Sherlock as *Sher*. (*shudder* -- that was almost bad enough to turn this rec into a rant.) Fortunately it's all in one scene in Chapter 9. Unfortunately it kind of ruins the climactic relationship scene.

Review:
In which John accidentally convinces Sherlock that he's in love with him. Or, from Sherlock's POV in the sequel, how his plan to turn John from his Assistant into his Lover goes horribly awry.

These are both highly entertaining stories that cover essentially the same time frame, but from John and Sherlock's POV respectively (though the author says that they both stand alone, I strongly suggest reading Misunderstanding first). My personal favorite of the two is A Slight Misunderstanding, because it has one of the most interesting and engrossing plots I've ever read in Sherlock fic, namely how Sherlock Holmes would commit and cover up the perfect murder (the victim in this case is Moriarty). I found the entire process fascinating to read, even more so than John's baffled and winding journey from friendly mates to physical love with Sherlock. While John's journey is hugely enjoyable as well and is laced with plenty of humor to cut the angst, the plot is what earned this fic its 'favorites' tag.

Dangerous Assumptions is more of a character study of Sherlock than a true retelling of Misunderstanding. Coragyps has given an intriguing backstory to Sherlock that's a lot of fun to read, and Mycroft is hysterical as he tries to give Sherlock advice in the most vague and unhelpful way ever.

In the end, these two stories have the best of both worlds. If you're in the mood for a plotty fic with a silly (but entertaining) romantic subplot, A Slight Misunderstanding is perfect for you. If, on the other hand, you want an in-depth character study, check out Dangerous Assumptions. Either way, you're in for a great read.

A Slight Misunderstanding
Dangerous Assumptions

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: Out of the Ordinary by Eruanna17
Fandom: Gokusen
Pairing: Yankumi/Shin
Categories: humor, drama
Length: 119,000 words (!)
Warnings: n/a

Review:
A novelization of the first season (i.e., the season with Shin) of the live action TV show, from Shin's POV.

I'll admit, I wasn't sure about this fic in the beginning, as I didn't particularly like the live action version of Gokusen and because the author consistently uses incorrect punctuation with regard to dialogue. Then again, epic Gokusen fic is rare and epic Gokusen fic based on the manga is nonexistent so I stuck with this fic through the first couple of chapters and by the end found myself hugely impressed. Between the slow build of Shin's affections, the smooth integration of Shin's internal monologue with canon dialogue, and the slight shift in characterization that makes Yankumi just a bit more like her manga version, this proved to be a truly engrossing story. Best of all, it continues past the incredibly unsatisfying TV ending and gives you a couple more chapters of Shin and Yankumi that's even more satisfying than the end of the manga.

For those who have only read the manga or seen the anime, this fic can easily be read as a canon-verse AU. For fans of the live action show, this fic offers you an in-depth look into Shin's mind as he learns to trust Yankumi (and more!) Fans of either should find lots to love in this fantastic story.

Out of the Ordinary

Sequel: The Substitute (apparently not complete, but I didn't realize that until after I finished reading it and looked up the link for this rec. At any rate, the first three chapters stand alone perfectly well.)

Title: Everything's Better with Bunnies by khilari and Persephone_Kore
Fandom: Thor
Pairing: gen
Categories: crack, humor, angst
Length: 12,700 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
Authors' summary: "When frightened or stressed, Loki transforms into a bunny and sometimes he needs to be cuddled to calm down enough to turn back. Unfortunately, the events of the movie are extremely stressful."

I passed on reccing this the first time I read it, because... well, because it features a Loki who turns into a bunny. Besides, I figured that if the Thor fandom is churning out well-written and interesting Loki is a bunny fics, the non-cracky fics must be phenomenal.

Since then, however, I've found that well-written and interesting Thor fics are not quite as plentiful as I'd hoped and none of the fics I've read so far are anything near as entertaining and engaging as this story. Khilari and Persephone_Kore have done a brilliant job of taking a premise that should, by all accounts, be pure crack and giving it a gravitas and sincere realism that manages to surpass the movie. If anything, having Loki randomly turn into a rabbit gives him more reason for the actions of the movie, because unlike in the movie (where he doesn't find out about his origins until part of the way through), in this story he has a reason going in for feeling outcast and different.

I will say that this story does hinge a little too much on the movie's plot, but it makes up for it with its latter half which takes place after the end of the movie and which explores how Loki might've felt if he'd survived to face the consequences of what he'd done. Even better, nearly every single Asgard character makes an appearance so you get to see Loki truly owning up to his mistakes.

All in all, if you're looking for a serious, interesting, and entertaining Loki character study (and can either overlook the bunny thing or, even better, embrace it), this is the fic for you.

Everything's Better with Bunnies