gensplosion | Entries tagged with bittersweet

FANDOM: Firefly (+ Serenity) / Buffy the Vampire Slayer
FIC LINK: A Friend to the Spirit
AUTHOR LINK:

ChronicBookworm
RATING/WARNING(S): T
WIP?/WORD COUNT: complete, 3190 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: River Tam, Buffy Summers

FIC SUMMARY: In her dreams, there was an angel, like in legends from Earth-that-Was, with blonde hair and a kind smile, and River knew that this angel meant her well; that she was here to protect her; that she was River’s sister.

RECCER'S NOTES: The entire idea of this story is such a fantastic way to make this crossover work - there are some brilliant reveals that I'm not going to spoil. It's a relatively dark fic (it deals with River's past abuse and current trauma) but ultimately it's full of hope. I love how elements from both canons and all the characters ring 100% true, which means that it can go from poignant to humorous and back again, often in the same paragraph, just like the source material does. Other than the central, touching relationship between Buffy and River, my favorite part of this story are quips between Buffy and Mal.

It's another exchange gift I got, this time at

x_ship. :)

longlivehumour

M*A*S*H leans heavily towards the slashy side, for obvious reasons, but there's some excellent genfic in the fandom too. Here's some of my favourites:

FANDOM: M*A*S*H
FIC LINK: Sanity Will Be Graded on a Curve
AUTHOR LINK:

OldToadWoman
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | vague references to wartime violence and gore
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 5,000
MAIN CHARACTERS: Main cast (Season 1)

FIC SUMMARY: They're all this crazy because it's the only way to stay sane. The 4077th as seen through the eyes of a terrified new recruit.

RECCER'S NOTES: I read this as a newbie with barely any knowledge of the story; I loved it anyway. The story takes place during the Korean War in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital where all the personnel, from the army-obsessed surgeon to his fishing-obsessed CO to the crossdressing corporal, are a little bit mad. No further canon knowledge is required.

He hadn't even noticed the gunfire until then. Funny not noticing gunfire. Maybe it was the background music. You never missed the important parts of the picture, because the background music always let you know when the good bits were coming. The music reel was broken today. They should ask for free popcorn. It was only fair.

( Four more beyond the tent flap. )

longlivehumour

FANDOM: Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin)
FIC LINK: Hands Clean
AUTHOR LINK:

bmouse
RATING/WARNING(S): PG | Canon-typical violence | Major spoilers for Ch.43 / Ep.31
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 1,700
MAIN CHARACTERS: Levi, Annie Leonhart

FIC SUMMARY: When they are sent out on a joint mission Levi and Annie find a common ground. Future-fic, speculative AU [following chapter 43].

RECCER'S NOTES: A commander is responsible for his squad’s happiness.
Fittingly enough the dub just hit Episode 31, so this fic is now safe for everyone in the English-speaking fandom. A beautiful, vivid little oneshot about two people who might actually get along, and also all the feels. ALL OF THEM. After reading this I found myself desperately craving more Annie-Levi fic which of course does not exist. Dammit.

longlivehumour

FANDOM: Star Trek: TOS
FIC LINK: Errors on the Edge of Forever
AUTHOR LINK:

louiseb
RATING/WARNING(S): G
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 11,000
MAIN CHARACTERS: Spock, James T. Kirk, Christine Chapel, Leonard McCoy

FIC SUMMARY: "A joyless smile, a shuttered look, a turn of shoulders. Is this how friendship ends?" Set after "The City on the Edge of Forever". Spock fears the worst.

RECCER'S NOTES: Second-person narrative is a rare choice for fanfic and, for that matter, also for profic, but oh how this story makes it work. It does a great job of portraying the careful balance of reason and feeling in Spock's mind, and the disconnect between "what you think" and "what you end up saying" was painfully familiar. Also: Christine Chapel is awesome.

(There is a leeetle bit of non-gen-ness in the interaction between Spock and Chapel, but it holds close to what we see in canon.)

thady

FANDOM: Harry Potter, Real Person Fiction, Disney RPF, The Perfect American
FIC LINK: Nineteen Sixty-Six.
AUTHOR LINK:

PurpleFluffyCat
RATING/WARNING(S): G | none
WIP?/WORD COUNT: one-shot | ~ 4,000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Albus Dumbledore & Walt Disney

FIC SUMMARY: Albus likes Disney films. He decides to meet their creator.

RECCER'S NOTES: This is poignat and heartbreaking and sweet. Love their interactions, and how Walt Disney reacts to the wizarding world. Love the celebrations of two kinds of magic.

sixbeforelunch

FANDOM: Star Trek: AOS
FIC LINK: The Rule of Silences
AUTHOR LINK:

genarti
RATING/WARNING(S): G, no major warnings apply
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 1,921
MAIN CHARACTERS: Sarek, Spock Prime

FIC SUMMARY: It is not logical, and yet it is true.

RECCER'S NOTES:
I kind of don't want to write anything about this to avoid spoiling any of it, so here's a very brief rec: This is well written and heartbreaking and hopeful. I think you'll enjoy it.

thady

FANDOM: The Lord of the Rings
FIC LINK: Voices at the Door.
AUTHOR LINK:

rhymer23
RATING/WARNING(S): G
WIP?/WORD COUNT: novelette | ~ 16,000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Bilbo Baggins, Aragorn

FIC SUMMARY: Bilbo spent nineteen years in Rivendell, as both he and the world changed. This is those nineteen years charted in scenes between Bilbo and Aragorn, plus occasional letters that remained unsent.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This is a wonderful story depicting the frienship between Aragorn and Bilbo Baggins. Both of them are very much in character (more-so with their book versions, though). I can hear them clearly.
This fills the gaps of the "The Lord of the Rings" with life. I love Bilbo's voice here, and how he sees (and not-sees) the world and the happenings around him.

thisbluespirit

FANDOM: Blake’s 7
FIC LINK: On the Far Shore
AUTHOR LINK:

Clocketpatch
RATING/WARNING(S): PG | References to death, the afterlife, spoilers
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 4126
MAIN CHARACTERS: Oleg Gan, Zen, Slave, Jenna Stannis, Cally, Vila Restal, Roj Blake, Del Tarrant, Dayna Mellanby, Soolin, Servalan

FIC SUMMARY: Nothing is needed but good company

RECCER'S NOTES: This is a hauntingly unusual and beautiful post-series fic (so, if you don't know B7, beware, spoilers ahoy). The evocative descriptions of the setting, the way it slowly unfolds as to what this is, and the author’s characterisations, particularly of Zen and Slave in unfamiliar forms is wonderful. It does have some brief mentions of two marriages, but that’s not the focus of the fic at all, and it really is too good to omit.

thisbluespirit

FANDOM: Doctor Who
FIC LINK: Prime (Also at the Teaspoon here)
AUTHOR LINK:

Roach-Patrol
RATING/WARNING(S): All ages | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 2192
MAIN CHARACTERS: Amelia Pond, Seventh Doctor, Ace McShane

FIC SUMMARY: In which young Amelia Pond attempts to seek both her fortune and the Doctor, talks to strangers, feeds a dog, and loses her bicycle in the woods (though not exactly in that order).

RECCER'S NOTES: I did say that I loved wee Amelia a lot, and I do, so here’s another brilliant fic featuring her, as she gets impatient waiting for the Doctor and goes out to find him - which she does, just not the one she expected. It’s a beautiful piece, keeping up Amelia’s POV, and the theme of fairy tales, while also delivering some lovely, true little character touches for the Doctor and Ace.

thady

FANDOM: Temeraire - series
FIC LINK: Captains.
AUTHOR LINK:

StrangerWithMyFace
RATING/WARNING(S): G
WIP?/WORD COUNT: one-shot | ~ 2,180 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Perscitia, Arthur Wellesley, Excidium

FIC SUMMARY: Perscitia encounters two men at the London covert, and one of them is her captain.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This is a wonderful character study of Perscitia. I would have loved the see more of her in canon, and this story fills my need a little. Love her thought progress, and I like the ending for the hope it gives me.

thady

FANDOM: Doctor Who/The Chronicles of Narnia
FIC LINK: From a World More Full of Weeping.
AUTHOR LINK:

Azar
RATING/WARNING(S): PG
WIP?/WORD COUNT: one-shot | ~ 3,080 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Susan Pevensie, 10th Doctor, OCs

FIC SUMMARY: Two people meet who have nothing in common… except a world of loss.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This is a great crossover, which is so believable. I love Susan here, her voice, her grief and how she handles it (or not), and how she grows.
There is hope here, even with the sadness.

thady

FANDOM: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
FIC LINK: The Real You
AUTHOR LINK:

brutti_ma_buoni
RATING/WARNING(S): PG
WIP?/WORD COUNT: one-shot | ~ 2,000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Tara Maclay, Dawn Summers

FIC SUMMARY: Tara's trying to work something out, with magic and memories.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This creates such a beautiful picture of Dawn and Tara. Love how Tara deals with the reality of Dawn, and to the conclusion she comes. Haunting and poignant.

heliopausa

FANDOM: Ballet Shoes - Noel Streatfeild
FIC LINK: With Love, Posy
AUTHOR LINK: deepdarkwaters
RATING/WARNING(S): G
WORD COUNT: 5203, Complete.
MAIN CHARACTERS: Posy Fossil, Pauline Fossil, Petrova Fossil, Nana,Gum, Sylvia Brown, Manoff

FIC SUMMARY: Posy, studying ballet in Czechoslovakia in the1930s, writes to her family, and especially to her sisters, reflecting on her new life, cut adrift from almost everything and everyone she knows to follow her passionate drive to learn from and dance with the brilliant Manoff.

RECCER'S NOTES: Great evocation of Posy's view of her life and career - and of her sisters' lives and careers - as war descends on Europe. Terrific character studies and exploration of the dynamics of the many cross-cutting relationships.

thady

FANDOM: Babylon 5
FIC LINK: Matters of Faith (The Ouroboros Bridge)
AUTHOR LINK:

bessemerprocess
RATING/WARNING(S): PG-13 | ( spoiler )
WIP?/WORD COUNT: one-shot | ~ 2,530 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Susan Ivanova, Delenn

FIC SUMMARY: The noble Ivanova was known as the Strong, for she was strong in heart and in mind, in body and in faith.

RECCER'S NOTES: This story is a remix of

Beatrice_Otter's Faith in Three Movements, which is a wonderful story too.

Matters of Faith (The Ouroboros Bridge) is a great character study of Susan Ivanova. She is fleshed out here, and when I read the story I could see the Ivanova I saw on the show, and how she grew.
It is also an interesting look at faith and religion, and how she saw it and how it shaped her life.

ozqueen

FANDOM: Doctor Who
FIC LINK: Transferrable Skills
AUTHOR LINK:

elstaplador
RATING/WARNING(S): G
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 2137
MAIN CHARACTERS: Donna Noble, The Doctor

FIC SUMMARY: Temping: an underrated profession. Five things that Donna has learned in her time as an agency worker.

RECCER'S NOTES:

A fic that focuses less on 'fixing' what canon did to Donna, and instead just focuses on Donna herself. This is brilliant, and sad, and perfectly demonstrates exactly what is so tragic about Donna's ending.

-

FANDOM: The X-Files, Supernatural
FIC LINK: Northern Lights
AUTHOR LINK:

se_parsons
RATING/WARNING(S): PG | Moderate violence
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 9,800
MAIN CHARACTERS: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, John Winchester

FIC SUMMARY: Sam & Dean and Mulder & Scully get in each other's way during a case.

RECCER'S NOTES:

Oh man - perfect Mulder and Scully. The observations of the Winchester clan are amazing as well, and I love that somebody has taken the time to combine these two fandoms. Perfect and subtle, I could paste any given paragraph from this fic to demonstrate why I love it so much.

ozqueen

FANDOM: Doctor Who
FIC LINK: Experimental Science
AUTHOR LINK:

entanglednow
RATING/WARNING(S): G
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 3,523
MAIN CHARACTERS: Donna Noble

FIC SUMMARY: Donna thinks she's just about back to normal.

RECCER'S NOTES:

Great Donna voice. This fic touches on the bittersweet aspects of Donna's story really well, and mixes humour and more touching moments perfectly. One of my favourite "what happened after" fics. ♥

sixbeforelunch

FANDOM: Burn Notice
FIC LINK: Lessons
AUTHOR LINK:

ollipop
RATING/WARNING(S): General Audiences. Possible trigger warnings for allusions to domestic violence.
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 1,193 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Madeline Westen. Fiona Glenanne.

FIC SUMMARY: "You clean the weapon, I’ll fix us some tea."

RECCER'S NOTES: I fell down the Burn Notice rabbit hole last week. Fanworks are thin on the ground, but tonight I was craving Madeline & Fiona and came across this little gem. Madeline is probably my favorite thing about Burn Notice (aside from Jeffrey Donovan's forearms, but this is a gen community, so we won't go there). Women over a certain age don't show up much on television, certainly not in the form of opinionated, complex characters. This is a short story, more character study than anything else. It highlights her relationship with Fiona, and touches on the contradictions and regrets that Madeline has to live with. If you're familiar with the source, it's worth taking a minute to read this one.

ozqueen

FANDOM: Pirates of the Caribbean
FIC LINK: Apparitions
AUTHOR LINK:

ponderosa
RATING/WARNING(S): T | Major character death
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 1167
MAIN CHARACTERS: James Norrington, Jack Sparrow

FIC SUMMARY: He dreams of cannonfire and cursed treasure, of tangled hair and a gold-studded smile, but most frequently he dreams of the day he ordered that Will Turner be detained, and of the sailor's bright-feathered bird that cursed on high when Jack Sparrow did the gallows dance.

RECCER'S NOTES:

An alternate timeline in which Jack did not escape at the end of the first movie - and his spirit lingers to haunt Norrington. This is a really bittersweet fic, almost unsettling to read at certain points, but beautiful as well.

The Espresso Addict

Diary & multifandom recs

gensplosion!

Entries tagged with bittersweet

Firefly/BtVS: A Friend to the Spirit, by ChronicBookworm

mas*h: Five fics

Attack on Titan: Hands Clean, by bmouse

ST:TOS: Errors on the Edge of Forever, by louiseb

Harry Potter: Nineteen Sixty-Six, by purplefluffycat.

Star Trek AOS: The Rule of Silences

LotR: Voices at the Door, by Rhymer23.

Blake's 7: On the Far Shore by Clocketpatch

Doctor Who: Prime by Roach Patrol

Temeraire: Captains, by StrangerWithMyFace.

DW/Narnia: From a World More Full of Weeping, by Azar.

BtVS: The Real You, by brutti_ma_buoni.

With Love, Posy, by deepdarkwaters

Babylon 5: Matters of Faith (The Ouroboros Bridge), by bessemerprocess.

doctor who, supernatural x the x-files

doctor who: experimental science, by entanglednow

(no subject)

pirates of the caribbean: apparitions, by ponderosa

The Espresso Addict