Recs by Jane Elliot

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: 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: Precession by Spatz
Fandom: Life
Pairing: Charlie Crews/Dani Reese (pre-het)
Categories: post-canon
Length: ~3,000 words
Warnings: I have no idea if this story is AU or not (Tidwell ruined the show for me and I never did make it to the end)

Review:
Charlie's on suspension and keeps calling Dani at work to bug her.

The dialogue in this story is amazing! Crews and Reese are such distinct and unique characters that it sometimes can be a challenge to write their dialogue in such a way that it rings true, but Spatz handles it brilliantly. It's been years since I've watched the show and I can still hear the characters' voices in my head when reading this story; that's a rare feat for me. A small but delicious treat for fans of Life.

Precession

Title: How to Learn Latin in 10 Days by demon rum
Fandom: The Eagle
Pairing: Gen
Categories: crack, humor, favorite
Length: ~8,000 words
Warnings: foul language (which I wouldn't normally warn for, but woah)

Review:
For reasons that don't need to be explained here, Marcus has to teach Esca how to speak Latin. Like, immediately. And, let's face it, the most memorable words are the dirty ones.

This is absolutely hysterical! My favorite part of the story may be the way that Marcus's broken British and Esca's broken Latin are distinctly different from each other in English (and that takes a hella amount of talent, so my hat's off to demon rum), but even folks who aren't grammar and language geeks should get a kick out of Marcus's increasingly desperate attempts to cram even the slightest bit of Latin into Esca's thick head (not to mention Esca's initial reluctance turned to gleeful enthusiasm as Marcus turns to obscenities to make conjugating verbs just a little more interesting. Also? Latin is a filthy, filthy language.)

If you love language or humor or just want some Eagle fic that *isn't* full of angst and drama, give this story a try. If you're anything like me, you'll be laughing out loud (and getting strange looks from your coworkers.)

How to Learn Latin in 10 Days

Title: Brokdown by OnYourMark
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: gen
Categories: angst, h/c, friendship, favorite
Length: ~6,100 words
Warnings: Depression (with a capital D)

Review:
Neal has a breakdown.

I'll admit this up front: I have a depression kink. Well, to be more precise, I have a getting-over-depression kink, which means that this story hits absolutely all of my buttons. It's hard, but Neal gets there in the end, in spite of Peter's (oh so awful) attempts at nurturing. Featuring a different (and IMO better) resolution to the whole Nazi treasure storyline, as well as most of the White Collar crew being awesome.

Brokedown

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: SnaG-22 by Slybrarian
Fandom: Supernatural/Stargate Atlantis/Stargate SG-1
Pairing: Gen
Categories: Humor, crack, crossover, action
Length: 62,000 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
The continuing mis-adventures of SG-22, which is comprised of Evan Lorne (forcibly ejected from Atlantis by its original owners), Neill Jackson (smart-ass clone), and the Winchester brothers (semi-press-ganged civilians).

I'm a sucker for stories that buck fandom trends, which makes this the perfect Supernatural story for for me. Unlike every other long Supernatural story I've ever tried this fic is light and funny and just plain old fun to read. While the story does get a bit serious at times, the overall feel is one of a romp through the galaxy, leaving a string of demolished (uninhabited) worlds in its wake (thanks, Dean!) As a bonus, you also get a couple of surprise cameos.

On the Stargate side of things, I absolutely adore fics that heavily feature Jack's clone and this is one of the best. Neill Jackson is snarky, sly, and very intelligent and he gets on with the Winchester brothers beautifully, whether he's sharing his glee for blowing shit up with Dean or playing gay with Sam.

Though that does bring me to one quibble: the whole Sam/Neill thing goes nowhere, which is disappointing (and, honestly, inexplicable) considering how much that was built up throughout the fic. At first I thought that was something that would be addressed in the sequel (when I realized this was part of a series), but it turns out the other 15 stories in the series all feature Sheppard and Mitchell (?) and appear to have nothing whatsoever to do with this fic. Here they are if you're interested (no promises on quality - I haven't read them).

Still, flopping romances aside, this is a great read, especially if you're in the mood for something funny, light, and exciting.

SnaG-22

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

Title: What Partners Do by cheride
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: gen
Categories: drama
Length: 10,700 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
Set in season one, Neal slips his anklet. Peter, despite his better judgment, decides to go after him on his own. Some much-needed communication ensues.

This isn't my usual cup of White Collar tea. Elizabeth doesn't make an appearance, for one, and there isn't even a hint of UST. What this fic does offer, however, is Peter and Neal having some long talks about honesty and trust that I always wished had happened on the show but never did. As a bonus, Neal confronts the Kate issue! (I should note that some parts of this story might be considered out of character based on later events, but for S1 it is definitely in character.)

It's hard to say who would enjoy this fic the most. If you like well-written fics with trust issues (realistic ones, not the overly contrived nonsense from the current season) and/or just like it when two characters actually talk to each other, this is a good fic for you.

What Partners Do

Title: The Substance of Things Hoped For by vega rin
Fandom: Haven
Pairing: gen
Categories: angst, hurt/comfort
Length: 7,500 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
While chasing a Troubled serial killer, Nathan and Audrey end up stranded in the middle of the snowy woods on a very, very cold night.

There isn't much Haven fic out there, and the majority of what I have found has been very middling. Not so this fic, which is beautifully written, has tone-perfect Audrey and Nathan voices, and manages to incorporate an unusual and quite intriguing Trouble. There's also a stab at creating a mythology for the show's central mystery (namely: who, what, and why is Audrey Parker) that gives readers something to think about.

If you've found yourself stuck in the mire of mediocre Haven fic, give this fic a try. It's definitely the best of the fics I've read so far in the fandom.

The Substance of Things Hoped For