gensplosion | Entries tagged with no canon knowledge needed

FANDOM: Runaways (TV)
FIC LINK: Do You Want To Build A Snowman
AUTHOR LINK:

supersonicsidekick
RATING/WARNING(S): G
WIP?/WORD COUNT: complete, 644 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Gertrude Yorkes, Molly Hernandez

FIC SUMMARY: Molly and Gert enjoy something they never thought they would get to experience living in Los Angeles: a snow day.

RECCER'S NOTES: A pre-canon ficlet about Molly, Gert and their best/worst snowman ever. It's funny, touching and sweet, and it always makes me smile. :) If you just want to read a happy story, this one doesn't require canon knowledge, but at the same time it's perfectly in character.

I got it as a gift during the Marvel/DC Holiday Bingo Exchange.

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: 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.

thisbluespirit

FIC LINK: Turnabout
AUTHOR LINK:

roseveare
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Blood, Injury, Guns
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 6419 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Sid Halley, Charles Roland, Marina Halley

FIC SUMMARY: 'I'd been held at gunpoint before, but it was one area that experience didn't make any less daunting.' Set a few months after 'Under Orders'.

RECCER'S NOTES: The great thing about both these fics is the relationship they focus on, which is an unusual and appealing one – Sid’s a private detective and ex-jockey while Admiral Charles Roland is his father-in-law, except that his friendship with Charles outlasted his marriage.

You don’t need to know the fandom (I didn’t the first time), as this fic is not only beautifully written but also helpfully covers the development of their relationship from initial dislike to the point now where Sid regards Charles as the person he values most in the world – just as he’s in danger of losing him. It's all deftly done, and true to canon, where the depth of the emotion always remains unspoken but understood between them.

FANDOM: Sid Halley series – Dick Francis
FIC LINK: Unbreakable
AUTHOR LINK:

edonohana
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Violence
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 2401
MAIN CHARACTERS: Sid Halley, Charles Roland

FIC SUMMARY: Sid never meant to bring trouble back to Aynsford.

RECCER'S NOTES: Whereas the other fic covers the whole of Sid & Charles’s relationship, this one snapshots a moment in which (again) Sid’s detective work brings trouble to Aynsford and Charles, but the unspoken understanding they have between them is enough to enable them to turn the tables on a criminal.

thisbluespirit

FANDOM: Press Gang
FIC LINK: End of the World News
AUTHOR LINK:

unoriginal-elizabeth
RATING/WARNING(S): K+/Teen | Apocalypse, No spoilers (AU for post-S3, I think)
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 5478
MAIN CHARACTERS: Lynda Day, Kenny Phillips, Colin Mathews, Frazz Davis, Sarah Jackson

FIC SUMMARY: It's the end of the world, AND it's a Monday - but people still show up for work.

RECCER'S NOTES: Where to start? So, it’s Press Gang fic. Perfectly characterised Press Gang fic. Lynda won’t give up and go home, and neither will anyone else, till they’ve done what they came to do. It’s got all the mix of distinctive characterisation, humour, and unexpected blows to the heart that you get in the very best Press Gang episodes. There’s Lynda being Lynda, even at the end of the world, Colin refusing to give up his love affair with money, and briefly, but brilliantly, glimpses of the Sarah-Lynda dynamic and the way that has always shaped the Junior Gazette. And it’s also, always, about the friendship between Lynda Day, the Junior Gazette’s resident ~~dictator~~ ~~megalomaniac~~ fearless editor and Kenny “so nice that teddy bears sneer at me” Phillips. Right to the end of the world, because where else would they be?

Press Gang's a small fandom (a 1990s UK teen drama that's still without equal), but I think this is well-written and powerful enough that it could be read without canon knowledge, as a group of young people facing the unimaginable in their own unique way.

(There’s a background understanding of the Spike/Lynda relationship running through the fic as per canon, but nothing overt.)

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.

akamine_chan

FANDOM: Bandom (MCR)
FIC LINK: Séance Weather
AUTHOR LINK:

dear_monday
RATING/WARNING(S): General Audiences / No content notes
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete at 20,286
MAIN CHARACTERS: Frank Iero, Donna Way, Gerard Way, Mikey Way

FIC SUMMARY: It all begins with the worst storm in fifty years. Or, in other words, how Frank meets the Ways and learns to embrace the dark side. An Addams Family AU.

RECCER'S NOTES:

dear_monday has done an amazing job with this Addams family fusion. Mikey and Gerard are two brothers who live in a haunted house on a hill, and Frank's a kid who likes scary things. Together, they find friendship and adventures together.

This story is perfect in tone, the Way family is so atmospheric and creepy (cobwebs! pet octopi! creepy door knockers!) and Frank just loves it. It's the first time he's fit in anywhere. These kids are so charming and sweet and I heart-eyed my way through this story.

ozqueen

FANDOM: James Bond
FIC LINK: Iterations
AUTHOR LINK:

rheanna
RATING/WARNING(S): G | character death
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 2396
MAIN CHARACTERS: James Bond, M

FIC SUMMARY: Bond keeps dying in service, and they keep bringing him back; every time they do, he has a different face.

RECCER'S NOTES:

Oh, wow. This is so intense and creepy. It's such a clever idea, and

rheanna writes it so well. Even if you're not fully familiar with the Bond franchise, I would recommend this.
Bond's mission starts to consume him, and the intensity during his search for answers will stay with you past the end of the fic. So so so good.

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!).

intrigueing

FANDOM: Starsky & Hutch
FIC LINK: The Beginnings and Endings Series
AUTHOR LINK:

kuonji14
RATING/WARNING(S): varies from PG-13 to NC-17, contains scenes of both statutory and violent rape
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 8 installments, 27,789 words total
MAIN CHARACTERS: Kenneth Hutchinson, David Starsky, OMC

FIC SUMMARY: A case taking a bad turn reveals a part of Hutch's past that he had thought long buried.

RECCER'S NOTES: My first rec here! It's a plot that's rarely tackled in gen fics, but this series is one of the best stories I've ever read about a character struggling to deal with and communicate his experience of child sexual abuse. It's subtle, sensitive, and thoughtfully-crafted, with a keen, sophisticated awareness of how to structure a scene. It's candid about sordid details and stigma, and contains breathtaking displays of intense affection and intimate observations and conversations between the two main characters that few authors have the maturity to portray in a platonic friendship.

redsnake05

FANDOM: Just So Stories - Rudyard Kipling
FIC LINK: Places
AUTHOR LINK:

thimblerig
RATING/WARNING(S): General, no content notes apply
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 1021
MAIN CHARACTERS: First Woman, The Cat Who Walks By Himself

FIC SUMMARY: No summary given

RECCER'S NOTES: I received this fic as a gift, and I was delighted by it. If you've ever read Just So Stories, or even if you have a love for times long ago and far away, this story is a perfect fit. The Woman is the driving force of the world, and the Cat - well, he is every cat all rolled together into one. The story tells how the First Woman developed agriculture, but don't be put off by that, because it is wrapped up in the most delicious storytelling.

redsnake05

FANDOM: Saki's Short Stories
FIC LINK: The Feather in his Cap
AUTHOR LINK:

parhelion
RATING/WARNING(S): General, no content notes apply
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 1586
MAIN CHARACTERS: Clovis Sangrail

FIC SUMMARY: While on Home Leave, Clovis indulges in Christmas

RECCER'S NOTES: No one has a pen quite as sharp (and possibly slightly poisoned) as Saki, and the author captures the tone perfectly. This is a delightful, satirical story that shows you Clovis at his devastating best. No canon knowledge needed, just a taste for Edwardian satire.

espresso_addict

FANDOM: Vorkosigan Saga (Lois McMaster Bujold)
FIC LINK: Kindred Instruments
AUTHOR LINK:

ollipop
RATING/WARNING(S): General audiences | No authorial warnings; Jackson Whole ethics
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 4500 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Lotus Durona, Lilly Durona, Vasa Luigi Bharaputra

FIC SUMMARY: They know just as much about Lotus as she knows about herself. They know her aptitudes, her weaknesses. They have tweaked the neurochemical bath on her copies, for maximum effect. They are her, improved. She is them, unedited. She hates them.

Lotus Durona: Nature or nurture?

RECCER'S NOTES: A chilling piece that unpacks Lotus's defection to House Bharaputra. Ollipop skillfully fleshes out the villain PoV to gain the reader's sympathies for Lotus, and the story also explores the complex ethics of Jackson's Whole in a much more nuanced fashion than canon. The canonical pairing of Lotus/Baron Bharaputra forms one strand, but it's not a shippy fic; coming of age as one of a set of clones in the ultimate dysfunctional family is at the heart of the story.

espresso_addict

FANDOM: The Lord of the Rings
FIC LINK: The Strange Case of the House at Hollinport (rtf download)
AUTHOR LINK: The Burping Troll
RATING/WARNING(S): Unrated | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~13,500 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Original characters, [mystery]

FIC SUMMARY: From his hospital bed, a man recalls inheriting his uncle's house in the town of Hollinport. Taking up residence was only the first step of a dark and terrifying journey. A Gothic encounter with Shadow that is not, after all, quite vanquished from the world ... A classic horror must-read!

RECCER'S NOTES: Set in the Fourth Age, the story kicks off from the quotation 'There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world.' It's written in a very convincing pastiche of a Poe or Lovecraft short story, yet eventually comes to mesh perfectly with Tolkien's canon. Russ has a gift for atmosphere, and there's great slow-building tension as the mystery unfolds. I wrote back in 2004 that this is 'one of the most unusual LotR-inspired fiction I've ever encountered,' and it stands up very well to rereading a decade later.

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.

The Espresso Addict

Diary & multifandom recs

gensplosion!

Entries tagged with no canon knowledge needed

Runaways: Do You Want To Build A Snowman, by supersonicsidekick

mas*h: Five fics

L'Abécédaire d'un duel by MmeBahorel

Star Trek: TNG: All My Children by Tribal Graces

Dick Francis's Sid Halley series: Turnabout by roseveare & Unbreakable by edonohana

Press Gang: End of the World News by unoriginal-elizabeth

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

Bandom (MCR) : Séance Weather by dear_monday

james bond: iterations, by rheanna

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

Starsky & Hutch: The Beginnings and Endings series, by kuonji14

Just So Stories: Places by Thimblerig

Saki's Short Stories: The Feather in his Cap by Parhelion

Vorkosigan: Kindred Instruments, by Ollipop

Lord of the Rings: The Strange Case of the House at Hollinport, by Russ

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

The Espresso Addict