gensplosion | Entries tagged with team

FANDOM: MCU
FIC LINK: the way out is through
AUTHOR LINK:

Nokomis
RATING/WARNING(S): G
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 1529
MAIN CHARACTERS: Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Steve Rogers

FIC SUMMARY: Little by little, Natasha becomes part of the team.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This is a gorgeous fic set just after the Battle of New York. Natasha is still trying to figure out how to fit into the team, and the team is trying to figure out how to be a team. Steve is adjusting to his new time, Clint is trying to rid himself of the guilt of Loki's possession, and Bruce can't forget that Hulk almost killed Natasha.

It's all these tiny little steps and character moments all winding together to reveal broken little pieces and the attempts to fix them. This is just a beautiful character-driven fic.

ozqueen

FANDOM: Marvel Cinematic Universe/The Avengers
FIC LINK: A Glossary of the 21st Century
AUTHOR LINK:

kinky_kneazle
RATING/WARNING(S): T
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 17402
MAIN CHARACTERS: Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, Logan (X-Men), Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Wade Wilson

FIC SUMMARY: Steve's sick of not understanding what's going on, and the team are not all that helpful, so he starts keeping an illustrated notebook for further research. With the help of wiki, google and Logan he starts to settle in and find his place in the twenty-first century.

RECCER'S NOTES:

I loved this -- it's not just a fic about Steve trying to adjust to the 21st century, it's a fic about Steve trying to adjust to the Avengers, and how he fits in with them. His relationships with Tony and Natasha are particularly well done, and the little glimpses of his backstory and time during the war are beautifully woven through Steve's efforts to establish himself in his current situation.

dirty_diana

FANDOM: The Flash with Arrow cameos
FIC LINK: Zero-Sum Game
AUTHOR LINK:

Rokesmith
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen
WIP?/WORD COUNT: complete / 67 000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Barry Allen, Iris West, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Joe West

FIC SUMMARY: Three months after the singularity, a wave of impossible robberies strikes Central City, and there is one obvious suspect: the Flash. But as Barry and his friends unite to track down the real culprit, they find themselves facing a dangerous new enemy in a pursuit that may cost them everything.

Post season 1.

RECCER'S NOTES: An epic, plotty imagining of what might have happened after the season one finale. If you spent the summer hoping Iris would finally get to be part of the gang, or wondering what DCU villains might make an appearance, this is the fic to scratch that itch. Plus: friendship and teamwork! So many feels.

thady

FANDOM: Stargate: Atlantis
FIC LINK: 5 ways to go crazy without trying.
AUTHOR LINK:

bratfarrar
RATING/WARNING(S): PG-13 | dark
WIP?/WORD COUNT: ficlet | ~ 590 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: team

FIC SUMMARY: see title.

RECCER'S NOTES:

Creepy and realistic, perhaps even more because it's easily imaginable. I could easily see this happening were SGA a darker show.

thady

FANDOM: Marvel Cinematic Universe
FIC LINK: Closing the Circuit.
AUTHOR LINK:

AlchemyAlice
RATING/WARNING(S): PG-13
WIP?/WORD COUNT: novelette | ~ 14,500 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: team, ensemble

FIC SUMMARY: SHIELD's down, Captain America's AWOL, and on the whole, things are kind of FUBAR. On the other hand, Tony might have some semblance of a plan.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This was a great and believable story, about team-building and beginning friendships. The characterization was spot-on for me, and the interactions between the characters build from this.

The plot is paced well, and I like how all the strands come together.

starwatcher

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FANDOM: NCIS
FIC LINK: Cape Fear
AUTHOR LINK:

Emerald1
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen and Up / No warnings
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete / approx. 55,000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: McGee, Gibbs, Hetty

FIC SUMMARY: Humans fear what they do not understand. A member of Team Gibbs faces that fear when he discovers the truth about himself. Angst and humor in equal parts in this study of what it means to be human, and what it means when others question your humanity.

RECCER'S NOTES: The summary doesn't do this story justice; I was blown away with the story and the world-building behind it. Because of a past incident (explained in the story; I won't spoil it), Superheros are tightly controlled and restricted by the government. When one of the team -- who never knew his heritage -- develops powers, the changes not only affect him, but also affect his team, the LA team, and eventually the government and the world.

The author makes note that the story developed from a plot-bunny because of a resemblance between Hetty (NCIS:LA) and Edna (The Incredibles). I have never seen The Incredibles, or any superhero film; I have no idea if the other Superheros who make appearances are characters original to the author, or based on some other source. It doesn't matter; the story is well-thought-out and engaging without any background knowledge. I particularly enjoyed how the whole NCIS teams rallies round to support their newly-"superfied" friend, both physically and emotionally, as he develops his new abilities. The addition of a mystery to solve -- how did Superheros go from "admired" to "despised and feared"? -- and finding the answers makes this a thoroughly good read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Mods: My apologies. I tried 3 times to make the name-link properly in HTML, and it's just not working.

Edited to fix username link. Thanks to Espresso_Addict for the help.
.

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: Sapphire and Steel
FIC LINK: Daisy Bell
AUTHOR LINK:

usernamegoeshere
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Canon-typical horror, ghosts, death
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 32,278 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Sapphire, Steel, Silver, Diamond, Radium, Original Characters

FIC SUMMARY: In 1979, Sapphire and Steel arrive at the Howard Street Hospital to investigate a time break. They have a chance encounter with the receptionist, Daisy. In 1999, Diamond, Radium, and Silver arrive at the Howard Street Hospital to investigate a time break. They have a chance encounter with the receptionist, Daisy.

RECCER'S NOTES: Sapphire and Steel is the most beautifully weird TV show I have ever encountered (as one TV guidebook described it: “There are many ways of holding a TV audience... Total lack of explanation is not supposed to be one of them.”) and also one of the most interesting fandoms for fic, as authors each try in their own way to interpret those mysteries and transpose that sense of otherness in the mundane to their writing, and nobody does it quite the same way, so I’m hoping to rec some more S&S before I’m done here.

Anyway, this fic one of the best examples - it’s marvellous, long, plotty, completely true to canon-weirdness (if you can say such a thing) and sharply characterised, with every bit of Sapphire-Steel-Silver interaction a delight. Plus – always a huge bonus for me – not only does it include Silver but it brings in some additional ‘operators’ from the opening credits, and explores just how strange they might be. And if you don’t know the series, but you like exploring the weirdness of time or enjoy ghost stories, why not give it a try? It’s a glorious fic and you really won’t know any less than those of us who have watched the canon, honest…

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.

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.)

dirty_diana

FANDOM: Marvel Cinematic Universe / Captain America
FIC LINK: The Not-Christmas Not-Truce of 1944
AUTHOR LINK:

drop-deaddream

dropdeaddream
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen, explicit but not gory combat violence, off-screen death of an animal for food
WIP?/WORD COUNT: complete / 1400 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, the Howling Commandos

FIC SUMMARY:

Bucky stabs a man in the neck.

The cow moos.

RECCER'S NOTES: Adorable snapshot of Our Heroes on the front lines, tangling it up with the Germans over a cow. As you do. Reminds me a bit of Brubaker-era flashback scenes in the way that it balances the Captain America and Howling Commando mythos with the fact that they're really just dudes doing a job. As well as the fact that war is terrible and ridiculous, sometimes simultaneously.

Not actually a Christmas story, if that's the kind of thing you like to know.

thady

FANDOM: Stargate SG-1
FIC LINK: Beauty in Skill.
AUTHOR LINK:

sg_fignewton |

fignewton
RATING/WARNING(S): PG
WIP?/WORD COUNT: one-shot | ~ 1,200 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Teal'c; Bra'tac, team

FIC SUMMARY: The Goa'uld have always prized style over substance, but Teal'c finds beauty elsewhere. (Or "Why most Jaffa suffer from the Stormtrooper Effect, and why Bra'tac is awesome.")

RECCER'S NOTES:

This is really a fantastic look on early Teal'c. I love this thoughts and internal dialog. I like his interaction with the rest of the team, how they are still trying to fit together.

ozqueen

FANDOM: The Avengers
FIC LINK: Imprint
AUTHOR LINK:

hetrez
RATING/WARNING(S): G | none
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 7619
MAIN CHARACTERS: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanov, Nick Fuy, original characters

FIC SUMMARY:

"The next day, Steve and the other Avengers are just settling into a meeting on the flight deck when there's a muffled yell, and Alvarez falls out of the ceiling."

--

Or, Steve builds a training program, a team, and new life for himself.

RECCER'S NOTES:

I had to double check to make sure I hadn't rec'd this one here before! This is one of my favourite team/found family fics. It focuses on Steve training SHIELD recruits, teaching them skills and how to be part of a team, and it makes him focus on himself and his own team too. It's got just the right amount of sad/feels, and it's funny and sweet. All of the character voices are perfect.

thady

FANDOM: Torchwood
FIC LINK: The Thing with Feathers That Perches in the Soul
AUTHOR LINK:

blue_fjords
RATING/WARNING(S): PG-13 | mentions of canon pairings
WIP?/WORD COUNT: novelette | ~ 20,000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Toshiko Sato, Team; mentions of canon pairings

FIC SUMMARY: Torchwood has to deal with threats from an alien species and Myfanwy has gone missing. Plus, it is time for Tosh's five-year review by UNIT, and things do not go well. Takes place a few days before Season 2's 'Fragments'.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This story might be best described as a Tosh-centric team fic. It actually reads like an episode. It's extremely well written, fast paced with wonderful character moments not only for Tosh, but for all the characters. A wonderful entertaining read.

thady

FANDOM: Stargate: Atlantis
FIC LINK: The Killing Frost
AUTHOR LINK:

sholio
RATING/WARNING(S): PG-13
WIP?/WORD COUNT: novel | ~ 100,000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: team, with emphasis on McKay, Sheppard, Caldwell

FIC SUMMARY: A scientific mission gone wrong leaves the Daedalus stranded on an ice planet with Atlantis's top scientists and a ruthless saboteur. Will rescue come before injuries and the elements take their toll? General (mostly vague) spoilers for Season 2 plus one mild one for "McKay & Mrs. Miller".

RECCER'S NOTES: This is a great suspense/mystery/action/adventure team story. I love the characters here, and how they interact, and the plot is intriguing and tense. At times I could feel the cold and was glad I was warm and safe.

thady

FANDOM: Stargate: Atlantis
FIC LINK: Empty Vessels (or on their website)
AUTHOR LINK:

rhymer23
RATING/WARNING(S): PG
WORD COUNT: 32,400
MAIN CHARACTERS: team; Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Rodney McKay, John Sheppard

FIC SUMMARY: Four people awake separately in the darkness with no memory of who they are, and there is something in the darkness, and it wants them.

RECCER'S NOTES: How much of our personality is learned, how much is innate? It's not easy to write amnesiac people. rhymer23 manages to balance this. It's an intriguing view on people we know, or we think we know. The voices of each of the team members is very distinctive, so the reader knows who each person is even though they don't know themselves. I love the insight we gather.

Beside this, the story is very well plotted, very engaging. I couldn't stop reading even though it was way past my bed time.

sixbeforelunch

FANDOM: Marvel Cinematic Universe
FIC LINK: Four Life-Affirming Meals and Assorted Inevitable Disasters
AUTHOR LINK:

nwhepcat
RATING/WARNING(S): rated "T", presumably for language
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 6,810 words, complete
MAIN CHARACTERS: Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Thor, Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers
JARVIS

FIC SUMMARY: Tony has opinions about the non-life-affirming qualities of packaged ramen on any but the grad-school population. Bruce really wishes he would piss off with his opinions, but finds himself struck with the urge to cook.

RECCER'S NOTES: This story has been the treat of my day. It's a brilliant little character study in which Bruce learns to cook and takes care of his teammates at the same time. There's not too much in the way of plot, but the character moments are sublime. It has my favorite type of Bruce characterization: tough, sarcastic, and prickly, with a tread of sadness running through him (BBY! *sniff*) but with underlying gentleness and a heart of gold.

chordatesrock

FANDOM: Marvel Cinematic Universe
FIC LINK: Love Is For Children (link goes to the AO3 series main page; see also the Dreamwidth version, because the comment discussions there have turned interesting lately)
AUTHOR LINK:

ysabetwordsmith
RATING/WARNING(S): There are warnings and other content notes in the tags on AO3 and the headers on DW. The entire series is rated G but contains occasional possibly-disturbing material of a nonsexual nature that doesn't usually have to do with violence or other standard warnings.
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Nine completed works, one WiP (apparently completed and being updated three times per week). The completed works together total over 156,000 words.
MAIN CHARACTERS: Phil Coulson, Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Bruce Banner, and Steve Rogers at first. Later on, Betty Ross, Hulk and Bucky Barnes.

FIC SUMMARY: The Avengers pretend to be kids and play kiddie games as a way to learn to trust each other and work through their super-sized (pun intended) baggage. Later on, they also take care of each other in other ways. It's very much a series about fixing things.

RECCER'S NOTES: The characters cry a bit more than I find plausible, but no, no one's utterly woobified. Certainly they're more IC than the premise would seem to suggest, and no, no one lisps. At most, there's the very occasional "'kay" instead of "okay". The strengths of this series are in showcasing care, how needs are met, and how to deal with problems constructively. The series's main theme is probably psychological healing. It probably sounds like it's not your thing. Try it anyway. Read the first fic, Love Is For Children, and see if the rest of the series appeals to you. My personal favorite is Splash. Birthday Girl is the one where Natasha Romanova has a birthday party, and there's so much buildup that it's actually plausible. Also, Fury is a dick in this fic. Note that Guys and Dolls does contain minimal mostly-implied romance (nothing that actually happens on-screen couldn't be platonic, though). Heads-up that Hide and Seek is very YMMV in terms of quality, and Eggshells might hit some squicks even if you like the rest of the series.

ozqueen

FANDOM: Captain America/The Avengers
FIC LINK: Selective Service
AUTHOR LINK:

Kroki_Refur
RATING/WARNING(S): No rating provided, I'd call it G/PG
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 10,935
MAIN CHARACTERS: Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Thor, Natasha Romanova, Clint Barton

FIC SUMMARY: The serum's given Steve a lot, but it hasn't taken anything away from him. Not even the things he never wanted in the first place.

RECCER'S NOTES:

I can't explain why, but for some reason, the idea of Steve not being 100% cured of all his ailments after the serum is one I really like. This fic is fantastic - some lovely hurt/comfort, great humour, and fantastic team dynamics. Steve's voice is wonderful, and Tony is definitely a star here too.

When Steve comes round, the first thing he realises is that he isn't dead. The second is that the bone-deep cold he'd felt before is now just a slight chill in his extremities, and his breath is moving easily in and out of his lungs, although his throat feels a little sore. For a second, he's reminded of waking up in a fake recovery room in New York, the same disorientation, the same sense memory of having recently been so cold.

Then he opens his eyes to find Stark glaring at him from way too close.

“You know that was a dick move, right?” says Stark. “Do you know how many extra bodyguards I would've had to hire before telling Fury I killed Captain America? I'm not talking for, like, a day, either. That guy plays the long game.”

merryghoul

FANDOM: Burn Notice
FIC LINK: http://halfshellvenus.livejournal.com/389402.html
AUTHOR LINK:

halfshellvenus
RATING/WARNING(S): PG/none
WIP?/WORD COUNT: no/1842
MAIN CHARACTERS: Michael Westen, Sam Axe, Fiona Glenanne, Madeline Westen

FIC SUMMARY: A friend of a friend is still a complete stranger in the end.

RECCER'S NOTES:
In the tradition of the show before season 6, Sam finds a client who's missing someone. Michael and his team (Sam and Fiona, in this case) have to look for that person. Meanwhile, Michael's still in denial that he has a mother.

What I really love about this fic is, unlike some fics in the fandom, it starts off in Michael's POV and stays in it. And HalfshellVenus' Michael voice is good. Not bad for a first fic in the fandom.

The Espresso Addict

Diary & multifandom recs

gensplosion!

Entries tagged with team

mcu: the way out is through, by nokomis

mcu: a glossary of the 21st century, by kinky_kneazle

The Flash: Zero-Sum Game by Rokesmith

SGA: 5 ways to go crazy without trying, by bratfarrar.

MCU: Closing the Circuit, by AlchemyAlice.

NCIS / NCIS:LA / Incredibles(?): Cape Fear, by Emerald1

Doctor Who: The Spartans by JJPOR

Sapphire & Steel: Daisy Bell by nemo_the_everbeing

Doctor Who: Planes, Trains and Horseless Carriages by nam_jai

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

MCU/Captain America: The Not-Christmas Not-Truce of 1944 by dropdeaddream

SG-1: Beauty in Skill, by sg_fignewton.

the avengers: imprint, by hetrez

TW: The Thing with Feathers That Perches in the Soul, by blue_fjords.

SGA: The Killing Frost, by Frienshipper (Sholio).

SGA: Empty Vessels, by Eildon Rhymer.

marvel cinematic universe: Four Life-Affirming Meals and Assorted Inevitable Disasters by nwhepcat

Marvel Movieverse: Love Is For Children

Captain America/Avengers/Marvel: Selective Service, by Kroki_Refur

Burn Notice: Loose Connections by HalfshellVenus

The Espresso Addict