gensplosion | Entries tagged with did the research

FANDOM: Voltron: Legendary Defender
FIC LINK: Routine Maintenance
AUTHOR LINK:

VelkynKarma
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Violence/Injury
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 50777
MAIN CHARACTERS: Shiro, Hunk, Lance, Pidge, Keith, Allura, Coran

FIC SUMMARY: Being an amputee with a prosthetic limb is difficult enough. Having a solid metal alien prosthetic forced on you by another species entirely is even worse.

OR:

Five times Shiro’s Galra arm caused him trouble in some way and another member of the team helped him out with it, and the one time the same arm is the only reason any of them survive.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This fic is incredible. Amazing character voices, a huge, huge amount of hurt/comfort, and incredible tension and emotion. Shiro learning to deal with his Galra arm, not just physically, but emotionally, and all the Paladins + Allura + Coran helping him as best they can (even when he's doing his best to ensure he battles on alone, goddamn it Shiro). I mean seriously, this fic is incredible.

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. )

merryghoul

FANDOM: Duel after a Masquerade Ball - Jean-Léon Gérôme (painting)
FIC LINK: L'Abécédaire d'un duel
AUTHOR LINK:

MmeBahorel
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen
WIP?/WORD COUNT: No/7002
MAIN CHARACTERS: Original characters inspired by the painting named above.

FIC SUMMARY:

Critic Edmond About suggested, "At forty years old, before one steps on the dueling ground, one might forget to make his will, to write to his wife, or to provide for his son's future, but one doesn't forget to put on real pants."

But About forgets the history that takes an affair from a general insult to blighted honour. Each participant, from beginning to end, lends his past to the careering force of history.

RECCER'S NOTES:

MmeBahorel did an amazing job for this Yuletide fic; it's filled with meticulous research that tells the story of what lead up to the duel in the painting.

sixbeforelunch

FANDOM: Star Trek: TNG/Firefly
FIC LINK: Lost In The Woods
AUTHOR LINK:

Ardwolf
RATING/WARNING(S): Rated M by the author. There's very little that might be objectionable here, IMO, but it really doesn't pull punches when it comes to how creepy and dangerous the Reavers are.
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 39,901, complete
MAIN CHARACTERS: Jean Luc Picard, Mal Reynolds, Q.

FIC SUMMARY: Captain Picard’s bad day just got a lot worse, courtesy of Q. Which is nothing compared to the day Malcolm Reynolds is about to have when River starts babbling about the kindly t’ien lung and his curious bunny rabbit... ST:TNG/Firefly crossover.

RECCER'S NOTES: This is an amazing story. I'm a pretty hard sell when it comes to crossovers between two space-based fandoms, but this works astonishingly well. It's a brilliant exploration of the Reavers, the Firefly universe, the Prime Directive (and the limits thereof), Q, and moral dilemmas. I loved every bit of it. It's mostly a Mal and Picard story (with bonus Q), but nearly all of the characters from both 'verses get a good showing in.

ozqueen

[* sly mod note: banner posts for May & June will be up this weekend, I promise! I'm so sorry for the delay; work has been crazy busy lately. Keep on gensploding, gensploders ♥ *]

FANDOM: MCU/Iron Man
FIC LINK: Almost No One Makes It Out
AUTHOR LINK:

atrata
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 28,101
MAIN CHARACTERS: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, James 'Rhodey' Rhodes

FIC SUMMARY: What would have happened if Tony hadn't been born filthy rich? A military AU.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This rec has been floating around my flist lately, though it's not a new fic. I haven't seen it posted here yet (?) so -- enjoy! This is a fabulous, gritty, well researched story. I'm very picky with my AUs and this is absolutely one of the best I have ever read. I love Tony and Pepper's friendship here (you can maybe read a little more into it, but affectionate friendship is pretty much the limit of it, and it's tagged as gen). The other details of the fic, including how Iron Man ends up fitting into the world, are wonderfully done.

sixbeforelunch

FANDOM: Star Trek: The Next Generation
FIC LINK: All My Children
AUTHOR LINK: Tribal Graces
RATING/WARNING(S): T, no common content warnings apply
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 16,051, complete
MAIN CHARACTERS: Clare Raymond, Deanna Troi, OCs

FIC SUMMARY: Awake after nearly four centuries in cryogenic storage, Clare Raymond wants to find whoever is left of her own family. But this is the 24th century. How will she find them all? And what if they're not quite what she expects? Takes place after "The Neutral Zone" (season 1) and overlaps "Family" (season 4). Human, Andorian, & Vulcan OCs. About 95% canon friendly.

RECCER'S NOTES: This is my favorite type of ST fic: the one with original characters that takes place mostly outside of the classic episodic mold. The one that looks at how the ST universe would really work. The one that weaves together canon into something both familiar and original.

All My Children is a story about losing and finding family, about moving on and staying connected to the past. I've read it three times all the way through and I could read it three more times. And, bonus, I really don't think you need to be familiar with the source material to enjoy it. It's a perfectly little self-contained story all on its own.

heliopausa

FANDOM: The Chronicles of Narnia
FIC LINK: Food for Thought
AUTHOR LINK: rthstewart
RATING/WARNING(S): G
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete; 8249 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Susan Pevensie, Polly Plummer, Aslan, OC

FIC SUMMARY: A modern teenage girl goes into the Wardrobe, meets Aslan, and learns a secret locked away for over 60 years.

RECCER'S NOTES: I love this fic! It explores the canon falling-out among the Friends of Narnia through the viewpoint of someone discovering the story, slowly and partially, long after. It is humane, sharp, funny, illuminating and very moving.

thisbluespirit

FANDOM: Doctor Who
FIC LINK: The Spartans
AUTHOR LINK: JJPOR
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Violence, Slavery
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 69,883
MAIN CHARACTERS: Second Doctor, Polly Wright, Jamie McCrimmon, Ben Jackson

FIC SUMMARY: Greece, 480 BC: As the vast armies of the King of Kings prepare to battle the outnumbered defenders of the Hot Gates, the Doctor and his friends find themselves where they often find themselves at times like this – caught in the middle.

RECCER'S NOTES: As I’ve said, I have a weakness for Doctor Who historicals, and this is one of the very best. The author is amazing (consider this also an author rec: JJ is an incredible fanfic writer and pretty much never puts out a duff fic) and also has a clear love of history, which shines through. It’s an all-out action-adventure piece at novel length, although that’s not to say there’s not some great characterisation, with the TARDIS team being split up (as ever) but into two lesser-explored combinations, which allows for some lovely development between the still-new group, as Polly and the Doctor have to work together while Ben and Jamie find themselves in some surprising situations, not always easy for a 20th century English seaman and an 18th C Scottish Jacobite.

(There’s a tiny bit of canon-typical Ben/Polly at the end, and a little bit of slightly more unexpected Ben/Jamie along the way because of plot, but nothing to render it non-gen.)

Anyway, it’s long, fabulous, enthralling, and novel-style (and length) enough to be read on its own strengths if you’re not all that familiar with this TARDIS team (who have after all been especially unfairly hit by burnination).

thisbluespirit

FANDOM: Doctor Who
FIC LINK: Planes, Trains and Horseless Carriages (Among Other Conveyances)
AUTHOR LINK:

nam_jai
RATING/WARNING(S): G | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 2111
MAIN CHARACTERS: First Doctor, Steven Taylor, Vicki

FIC SUMMARY: The Doctor, Vicki and Steven journey over land and sea to make a date with history.

RECCER'S NOTES: This fic is such a gem – it’s a beautiful little historical/team TARDIS piece, with the Doctor, Vicki, and Steven in a race against time to see history in the making. The use of these (too-rarely written) characters as opposed to any other TARDIS crew is just perfect, too. Old-school historical fics are one of the joys of Doctor Who fandom when they’re done well, and this one definitely is.

espresso_addict

FANDOM: The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff (Eagle of the Ninth series)
FIC LINK: A Siren Call
AUTHOR LINK:

Riventhorn
RATING/WARNING(S): PG | none
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~4,600 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Honoria

FIC SUMMARY: Helping her great-nephews, Flavius and Justin, recalls a winter twelve years before when Honoria also found herself caught up in a rebellion.

RECCER'S NOTES:

The Silver Branch is the sequel to the better-known Eagle of the Ninth, following Marcus Aquila's descendants in Roman Britain. Honoria is one of several vivid minor characters, the elderly & idiosyncratic matriarch of the Aquila family. Riventhorn's characterisation of her is perfect, shrewd, proud, brusque yet loyal & loving in her own inimitable fashion, with a lovely dry humour. The story foregrounds friendships between women & the behind-the-scenes networking of Romano-Britain. There's an interesting & realistic original character, and she & all the major characters are women who have left their youth behind. Subjects touched upon include female aging & that fanfiction taboo the menopause -- without the slightest hint of issuefic. Apart from the frame, the story is set more than a decade before the novel opens, during an uprising against Rome's rule, and gives a window into a part of Romano-British history that Sutcliff doesn't cover. No canon knowledge is necessary.

ozqueen

FANDOM: Twilight
FIC LINK: This is My Beloved Son in Whom I am Well Pleased
AUTHOR LINK:

minisinoo
RATING/WARNING(S): PG | description of disease/death
WIP?/WORD COUNT: complete | 7799
MAIN CHARACTERS: Carlisle Cullen, Edward Cullen

FIC SUMMARY: Why, after more than two centuries alone, did Carlisle break down and turn a 17-year-old boy? He told Bella it was because Edward's mother had demanded it, but in all his years of life, surely she wasn't the first. Why did this boy get under his skin so?

RECCER'S NOTES:

I find Twilight canon pretty unbearable but also completely fascinating. Fandom is often there to fall back on, and it can provide amazing, in-depth character study or backstory. This fic is a great example of that - I love the inner conflict Carlisle battles with, and the setting and time of the entire piece is really well written and researched. (I've linked to FFN despite the request in the author's note, as it looks like the author's site has since been taken down.)

espresso_addict

FANDOM: Blood Feud by Rosemary Sutcliff
FIC LINK: Born in the Purple
AUTHOR LINK:

bunn
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Forced marriage
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~3,250 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Anna Porphyrogenita

FIC SUMMARY: To pay for the Viking army that helped the Emperor Basil defeat the Bulgars, the Princess Anna was sent to the North to marry the barbarian prince, Khan Vladimir. She wasn't happy about it.

This is not a graphic story: there's no sex and no violence. But it is a story about a woman who is forced into a marriage she doesn't want at all.

RECCER'S NOTES: Gen purists be warned, as the summary states this is all about Anna's arranged marriage to Khan Vladimir, but it's in no way a shipping story and, unlike many forced marriage stories, there's no clichéd falling in love with the partner and no rape scenes. Instead it examines the choices available to a princess being coerced into a marriage for political reasons. Bunn develops a wonderful voice for Anna, tough, clever, yet ultimately realistic about her fate. The rich world-building is a particular treat. A standout story from the excellent batch at this year's Sutcliff Swap.

Although this is set within Sutcliff's Blood Feud, afaik, Anna is a minor character in the source & I can testify that it stands alone as historical RPF (I've still not laid hands on a copy!).

espresso_addict

FANDOM: Frontier Wolf (Rosemary Sutcliff)
FIC LINK: Not the Emperor's Bodyguard
AUTHOR LINK:

bunn
RATING/WARNING(S): General | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~1600 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Julius Gavros, Hilarion

FIC SUMMARY: Julius Gavros arrives at Castellum in charge of the Third Ordo Frontier Wolves. It's not really the job that he'd hoped for...

RECCER'S NOTES:

Apologies for the hiatus in my recs; I'll try to be more energetic for the remainder of the month!

Frontier Wolf is a novel in Rosemary Sutcliff's Eagle of the Ninth series about members of the Aquila family in Roman Britain. Since the film The Eagle the FW fandom's taken flight, but gen is particularly hard to find. Bunn here takes a charismatic minor character and explains how such a competent & intelligent man came to end up in a punishment posting at the back end of the Empire. The long-abandoned fort is carefully created in sight and sound and smell to imbue the piece with a wonderful sense of place. Bunn's work is always based on impeccable historical research and her author's notes make an interesting read. No canon knowledge is required to appreciate the story.

ozqueen

FANDOM: Community
FIC LINK: Course History
AUTHOR LINK:

iamtheenemy
RATING/WARNING(S): G
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 4081
MAIN CHARACTERS: Annie Edison, Troy Barnes, Abed Adir

FIC SUMMARY: “Damn it!” Troy shouted. He pushed out of his chair and slammed the mouse down on the desk, attracting the attention of the rest of the class. “I don’t even know what ‘dysentery’ is!”
Some of the classes that Annie, Abed and Troy have taken together at Greendale over the years.

RECCER'S NOTES:

Amazing fic that really captures the feeling and tone of the show, and the friendship between Annie, Abed and Troy is fantastic. The classes crack me up too, as do some of the original characters teaching them.

( Miss Fisher: Staying Afloat in the Tunnel of Love, by st_aurafina )

(Also I know for a fact some of you are hoarding recs for your own gensploder of the month sprees, but don't forget anyone can rec at any time. I'm sorry it's just me choking the the comm at the moment hehe - I'll try to rec something a bit different each time!)

ozqueen

FANDOM: Supernatural
FIC LINK: Red
AUTHOR LINK:

BigPink
RATING/WARNING(S): T | There are strong implications of noncon/underage sexual activity, but nothing explicit. Also, as someone who is easily squicked, injuries and gore had me squirming a few times...
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 82,000
MAIN CHARACTERS: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester

FIC SUMMARY: Something evil is killing treeplanters in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, possibly the same predator that Dean narrowly escaped years before. How Grimm will things get before the brothers figure it out?

RECCER'S NOTES:

A mutated/dark take on Little Red Riding Hood and OH MAN so amazing. One of the best examples of 'did the research' ever, this fic just transports you to places and times and occupations in the best/worst ways. There are times where it's not an easy read - there's angst, and injuries, and dark content, but it's the boys hunting down a horrible creature and having to go through the daily, awful suffering that comes with Hunting sometimes.

It's long and it's plotty and it's a great/dark/disturbing/wonderful read.

ozqueen

FANDOM: Harry Potter
FIC LINK: Healer
AUTHOR LINK:

fahye_fic
RATING/WARNING(S): R (language, disturbing imagery, non-explicit sex)
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 4,506
MAIN CHARACTERS: Padma Patil, George Weasley

FIC SUMMARY: Padma feels crowded with the words that are already scrawled on every inch of her, the power that she alone possesses, and she wonders if this new graffiti of education is overwriting that which already exists.

RECCER'S NOTES:

Yes, there's a relationship in this fic, but it isn't the main focus by any means. Padma learns muggle medicine and it is amazing - the way she recovers after the war, the way she focuses herself and figures out what to turn to. George is lovely in this fic too, and I love the parallels between he and Padma.

This is a fantastic character-based fic, with brilliant world building, and one of the best examples of Did The Research I have ever read.

The Espresso Addict

Diary & multifandom recs

gensplosion!

Entries tagged with did the research

voltron: legendary defender - routine maintenance, by VelkynKarma

mas*h: Five fics

L'Abécédaire d'un duel by MmeBahorel

firefly/tng: Lost In The Woods

marvel/iron man: almost no one makes it out, by atrata

Star Trek: TNG: All My Children by Tribal Graces

Narnia: Food for Thought

Doctor Who: The Spartans by JJPOR

Doctor Who: Planes, Trains and Horseless Carriages by nam_jai

Sutcliff's The Silver Branch: A Siren Call, by Riventhorn

twilight: this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased, by minisinoo

Sutcliff's Blood Feud: Born in the Purple, by Bunn

Frontier Wolf: Not the Emperor's Bodyguard, by Bunn

two recs: community & miss fisher's murder mysteries

supernatural: red, by bigpink

Harry Potter: Healer, by fahye-fic

The Espresso Addict