garryowen: (sv xenosexual)
Fandom: Smallville
Pairings/Characters: Clark/Lex
Rating: E
Length: 103,242
Creator Links: [archiveofourown.org profile] toomuchplor
Theme: Marriage of convenience
Content notes: The author has a note for this, but there are two attacks on women, one of which is a sexual assault. These are not graphic, nor do they involve main characters. There is mention of (poorly managed) mental health care facilities and life in them.

Summary: A long story about Froot Loops, celery salt, dorkdom, and -- oh yeah -- marriage.

Reccer's Notes: I first read this fic twenty years ago (!!) on LJ, and loved it. I was skeptical about whether I'd still like it since I'm not into Smallville anymore, and, you know, twenty years. Reader, it is still good. I stayed up late reading. I was nearly late to appointments because I was reading. It's that kind of story. Surprisingly few things seem dated. The phones are not smart, of course, and there's maybe more attention paid to Clark's bisexuality than would occur now. But, other than that, it has held up remarkably well, and only has about five typos. 🥰

Essentially, Lex's father, Lionel, has disowned him, and Lex needs to be married for a year in order to get an inheritance set aside by his mother. Clark needs money for college. They sign an agreement to be married for a year.

The trajectory of the story is absolutely what one would expect from this trope, but what sets the story apart is the quality of the writing. The plot is well thought out and the pacing and character development are excellent. I also appreciate that the supporting cast get their screen time: Pete, Chloe, Lois, Lionel, Mr. and Mrs. Kent. (Lana makes an appearance, but her screen time is blessedly minimal.) The story also takes on issues like Clark's abilities--and the ethics of using them--and his development as a reporter.

There's a good amount of humor in this story, too, which is a bonus. I mean, Clark is such a dork, and it's great. The requisite Smallville farm jokes are here for you.

Fanwork Links: Omiai
runpunkrun: combat boot, pizza, camo pants = punk  (punk rock girl)
We've got a bonus banner for this month's theme! Invite all your friends to a Marriage of Convenience!!

Graphic in the style of a wedding invitation with flowing script: You are cordially invited to a... Marriage of Convenience (at) fancake.dreamwidth.org, August 2025. The color palette is white with dusty rose and muted pinks, and there are flowers—what looks like dogwood and lenten rose—in the upper right and lower left corner.
Just straight up steal this image and slam it into your social medias, or calmly copy the following code to share on Dreamwidth and other LJ forks:

runpunkrun: combat boot, pizza, camo pants = punk  (punk rock girl)
Photograph of a young Vietnamese couple in a sunny urban environment, with added text: Marriage of Convenience, at Fancake. A bride in a white dress and sunglasses leaves her groom behind at a bus stop. The bride is smiling and carrying a bouquet of lilies as she hikes up the long skirt of her dress and walks away. The groom is in the background, wearing a dark grey suit and sitting on a bench. He's blurry, but it looks like he might be smiling at her.
Our theme for August is marriage of convenience!

These partnerships are made for practical, political, or professional reasons rather than personal ones, but they rarely stay that way...

Since this is a Flashback Round where we revisit a theme from the early days of the comm—marriage of convenience was a Cupcake Round back in 2014—this month it doesn't matter if a work has already been recced for this theme, go ahead and rec it again!

The tag for this round is: theme: marriage of convenience

If you're just joining us, be sure to check out our policy on content notes. Content notes aren't required, but they're nice to include in your recs, especially if a fanwork has untagged content that readers may wish to know about in advance.

Rules! )

Posting Template! )

Promote this round! )

pronker: barnabas and angelique vibing (Default)
Fandom: Star Wars
Pairings/Characters: Kleya Marki & Luthen Rael from the Andor series
Rating: K
Length: 7,108
Creator Links: FFN Profile
Theme: Working Together

Summary: He was never meant to survive. So why is she risking so much to save the man who killed her family?

Reccer's Notes: Kleya does her duty, as does Luthen, in aid of the rebellion. When their wishes and deeds clash, it takes forever and a day to reach an equilibrium. I especially enjoyed the scenario of two rebels diminishing status once their seminal work concludes, because how do they fit in now? And do they want to? Fine characterization, and a what-if that we hope happens, in some other timeline, perhaps.

Fanwork Link: Questionable Provenance
mific: John sheppard looking sad or worried against stone wall, half out of frame (Shep - sad)
Shows: SGA
Rec Category: Alternate Universe
Characters: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Elizabeth Weir, John's mother, Rodney's mother
Categories: M/M
Words: ~18,500
Warnings: No AO3-type warnings apply
Author on DW: [personal profile] minnow 
Author's Website: [personal profile] minnow 
Link: Fair on DW
Why This Must Be Read: This is a lovely AU in which John's a fairy and he and Rodney meet as children, and then, many years later, as in canon. Meanwhile, there are shenanigans with an Ancient memory device, and of course there's angst and drama once John's heritage is revealed, and his mother gets involved. The story's beautifully written and a cracking good read, with plenty of feels and a satisfying ending. It's only available on DW so may not be as well known as stories on AO3. Very much recommended.

snippet of fic )
mific: (Shep - oh crap)
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Stephen Caldwell, Elizabeth Weir, Laura Cadman, Radek Zelenka, Lindsay Novak - the usual Daedalus and Atlantis suspects.
Rating: Teen
Length: 100,449
Content Notes: Contains descriptions of serious injuries, animal attacks, extreme environmental conditions, violence, murder. No AO3 warnings apply.
Creator Links: Sholio on AO3, Sholio's old SGA website
Themes: Working together, Action/adventure, Competence, Hurt/comfort, Novel-length, Epic work, Genfic, Worldbuilding

Summary: When a scientific mission goes wrong, the Daedalus crashes on an ice planet along with Atlantis's top scientists and a ruthless saboteur. Will rescue come before injuries and the elements take their toll? Roughly season two era.

Reccer's Notes: This is a gripping, full-blown novel. The Daedalus crash-lands on a Gateless, uninhabited, icy planet while carrying a number of Atlantis personnel (Rodney, Radek, Elizabeth and Cadman), while back on Atlantis, realising something's gone badly wrong, John, Simpson, Carson, Lorne, et al try frantically to locate them, then to reach them by puddlejumper. It's a thriller about surviving both a disastrous crash and the freezing, inhospitable planet, plus searching for the saboteur or saboteurs who caused the crash. There's tons of detail about how the two groups separately work together to survive, and to find and reach the crashed ship, and then once the relief party arrives their troubles aren't over, with the saboteur still working against them and the logistics of only having puddlejumpers to perform a complex rescue. Sholio weaves it all together masterfully and it's an extremely good read with excellent worldbuilding, better than most pro thrillers. Highly recommended.

Fanwork Links: The Killing Frost on AO3, or here

cassiope25: Typical Rodney meme, wrong-wrong-wrong (Rodney meme 1)
Show: SGA

Rec Category: Rodney McKay
Characters: Rodney McKay, Laura Cadman
Pairings: Rodney & Laura
Categories: gen, emotional hurt/comfort, angst, discussion of consent issues, episode related, post-episode: s02e04 Duet
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Words: 2,884
Author's Journal: [personal profile] wonkyelk
Author's Website: WonkyElk on AO3
Link: Crossing Line

Author’s summary: Rodney and Laura talk about the events in Duet. (AN: An attempt to get a little resolution for a few things in Duet.)

Why This Must Be Read: The awesome Wonkyelk did an amazing job with this aftermath fic, written in alternating POVs and creating a long-overdue moment between Rodney and Cadman that addresses the unique and emotionally painful experience they both went through in Duet.
She combines lighthearted and somewhat funny glimpses with deeply emotional and meaningful ones, allowing both Rodney and Cadman to express themselves with honesty, thoughtfulness, and sensitivity. It shows that there’s not just right or wrong, but understandable reasons, and offers thoughts that bring balance and a first step toward healing for both of them.
This fic gives you what should have been in canon, and it stays with you in the best way.

snippet of fic )
musyc: Black and white image of multiple stacks of books (Reading: So many books)
DNF and picture books )

And now the goal set!

Nadine Harris - Deepest Well. NF, psychology and trauma. While the information about traumatic events and their cumulative effects on health was interesting, I ran into the same problem I always do with psych books. Not enough case studies/details. I really wasn't interested in the blather about her personal life, or the multiple chapters devoted to getting a clinic set up and so on. More memoir than case studies and that's not what I wanted. 5/10

Hannah Maehrer - Assistant to the Villain. #1 in series. I love this recent trend of books from the perspective of someone who works for the "villain". Hench was another favorite in the genre. Enjoyed this very much, though it did feel fanficcy at times, and I really don't think there were enough clues pointing to the identity of the Actual Problem. Have bought, though, as well as the second in the series waiting on my TBR. 8/10.

Boyd and Beth Morrison - Lawless Land. #1 in series. Now, I love me some medieval drama, and this had that in spades. The story itself was great, no troubles there, but there was so much telling where there should have been showing. 6/10, will not continue.

Terry Pratchett - Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook. I had some confusion on this one, as I had it on my "owned" list but definitely didn't have it on my shelf. Finally found it buried in my "ebooks to read" folders. XD A lovely addition to the Discworld's world, great illustrations and fun facts. Not something I'd want to buy, since I'm not a completionist, but a grand time for those curious about exactly what sort of travel book the woman from Raising Steam would have written. 8/10.

Eliot Stein - Custodians of Wonder. NF, history. Some individual sections of this were more interesting than others, but that's always the way in a NF book with discrete topics. Overall a good look at some people with skills/training/jobs that are on the verge of disappearing. The Swedish night watchman was a particular favorite, as was the Cuban cigar factory reader. 7/10.

Evie Woods - Lost Bookshop. Bit of a slow and dreamy read, but that really fit with the book overall. At no point was I actually bored or tempted to move on to a different book, it just wasn't a "can't put down" sort of read for me. 6/10.

Tanya Guerrero - Cat's People. I had a note in my tbr file that said "be careful about cat", as the book blurb itself said the cat gets sick. Fortunately, it didn't become one of my "hurled book across room" notes.
Spoiler for people like me who get upset about cats in peril.There are actually two moments of peril: A. Physical. The cat interrupts an attack/assault on one of the characters and the attacker grabs him by the neck. He isn't hurt much, just really scared. and B. Illness. It's toward the very end, and the cat is found ill. He's found relatively quickly and immediately rushed to a vet where he gets diagnosed with kidney disease. He's treated and taken in by one of the characters.
Lovely book about caring for a stray cat, found family, and the interactions between strangers that become more. 8/10.

Daniel O'Malley - Royal Gambit. #4 Checquy Files. I just love this series. The characters, the world-building, the variety of powers and skills. Overall, fantastic. Finished in two days and only because I had to sleep at some point. XD 10/10, to buy when my fun budget refills.

WOOHOO! Have achieved my expanded goal of 15 complete books read! Shall we push it to 25? Let's see if I can make it! Still four months to go!
goddess47: Emu! (Default)
Show: SG-1, SGA

Rec Category: Jack O'Neill
Characters:Pairings: Jack O'Neill/Daniel Jackson, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Categories: slash, pre-slash, DADT
Warnings: none
Word Count: 2048
Author on DW: none found
Author's Website: AO3 Profile

Link: road less traveled



Author's Summary:

The repeal of the US military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy changes John Sheppard’s life in more ways than one.


Why This Must Be Read:

John is on mandatory leave from Atlantis but Woolsey has decided that command staff should not take leave at the same time. So John is hanging out at the SGC because, well, he has no where he wants to go. While he's there, DADT is officially repealed.

An interesting character study of John Sheppard when he really understands what the repeal of DADT might mean to him.

As a side note, it's illuminating to see the effect DADT had on at least John... It's easy to forget that DATA was in effect when the show was running.

If you like this, check out Arya's other stories... they're nicely done!



snippet of fic )
annathecrow: screenshot from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. A detail of the racing pod engines. (sw: pods)

Hi!

it's Legends week again, and our discussion topic is the novel https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dawn_of_the_Jedi:_Into_the_Void, a 2013 release that explores the Jedi Order before it became the Jedi Order.

(You might have seen "Je'daii" mentioned in fanfic, this book and the Dawn of the Jedi comic series is where that's from.)

Have you read it, and would you recommend it? If you haven't, are you interested?

In case you don't have anything to say about it: are you interested in the ancient past of the Star Wars universe, or is that something you don't care about? If you could choose the era where the next SW movie will be set, what would you chose, and why?

fignewton: (don't say ka)
This entry will be open through the 31st. The August reccers post will hopefully go up some time on Friday.

Comment with the username you'll be using to rec and the category you want. Choose a category from the list below or select a more rare category that has been used in the past. If you want to rec a category that is not on the list below or in Memories, that's fine, too: you may volunteer for a category that isn't listed.

By signing up, you are committing yourself to reccing at least two (preferably four) stories in that category during the month of August. July reccers who wish to sign up again should rec their minimum two for this month before doing so. You don't have to check the Memories before choosing which stories to rec. If you have a good fic to rec, go for it! Do remember, though, that story links must be freely accessible, without requiring any sort of login to view. The FAQ and rec template, with detailed instructions, can be found here. Reccers may add self-recs once they have done their minimum two for their category of the month, and see more details at the FAQ entry.

You must be a member of [community profile] stargateficrec in order to post. So if you're a new reccer, be sure to join the community.

Common but not exclusive categories )

Remember: first come, first claimed!
◾ Tags:
goddess47: Emu! (Default)
Show: SG-1, Leverage

Rec Category: Jack O'Neill
Characters:Pairings: none
Categories: gen, crossover, alphabet soup, mission gone awry, humor
Warnings: none
Word Count: 2,138 (total, across 2 parts)
Author on DW: [personal profile] tallulah_rasa
Author's Website: AO3 Profile
Link: A is for... Another Day at the Office


Author's Summary:

Same old, same old.


Why This Must Be Read:

It's a crossover with Leverage! It's cute, fun and short... there are two parts, read them both. It will brighten up anyone's dreary day!



snippet of fic )
petra: A blonde woman holding an electric guitar (Corner Gas - Wanda rocks out)
97 years isn't long enough to have someone that amazing around.

My favorite song by him, as an old erotica-peddler, is "Smut."



What's your favorite?
silvercat17: Winnie from William of Newbury considering while she holds her axe (consider)
What are you working on? What have you finished? What do you need encouragement on?

Are there any cool events or challenges happening that you want to hype?

What do you just want to talk about?

What have you been watching or reading?

Chores and other not-fun things count!

Remember to encourage other commenters and we have a discord where we can do work-alongs and chat, linked in the sticky
smilebackwards: john with left yellow stripe (Default)
Show: SGA

Rec Category: John Sheppard
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay
Pairings: John/Rodney
Categories: Slash
Warnings: None
Author’s Website: [archiveofourown.org profile] candle_beck
Link: Fundamentals of Shipwreck Prevention

Why This Must Be Read: John acquires a head injury after falling down a well off-world and Rodney and the team have to get him home. Really good voices for the characters and I found the prose style unique and interesting.

First paragraph to get you started )
mific: (Teyla serious)
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: Teyla Emmagan, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex
Rating: Gen
Length: 1934
Creator Links: Punk on AO3, DesireeArmfeldt on AO3, DesireeArmfeldt on Audiofic Archive
Themes: Working together, Teams, Friendship

Summary: The sun is high overhead, the sky a brilliant, cloudless blue.

Reccer's Notes: This is told from Teyla's POV, on a somewhat frustrating off-world mission where John and Rodney are being particularly dense and snarky. Luckily, Ronon's there to unexpectedly save the day! I especially love the strong sense of place and of the natural world in the story.

Fanwork Links: A Hundred Hundred Bolts of Satin on AO3, and the podfic read by DesireeArmfeldt

mific: Sepia pic john sheppard and rodney mckay leaning heads together, serious (McShep - intense)
Shows: SGA
Rec Category: Alternate Universe - canon divergence, Time travel
Characters: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Radek Zelenka, Aiden Ford, Dillon Everett, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir, Teyla Emmagan, Oma Desala
Categories: M/M
Words: ~12,400
Warnings: Author chose not to warn. Open but hopeful ending.
Author on DW: n/a
Author's Website: Gaiaanarchy on LJ, Gaia's old site on Wayback
Link: Carousel on Wayback (easier to read version), Carousel on Wayback (with odd characters replacing m-dashes)
Why This Must Be Read: In this AU, John dies on his suicide-run delivering the bomb to the hive ship in the Siege, but suddenly wakes up a day or two before, the timeline having been reset. It's not a timeloop story as there's just one reset of the timeline. Finding himself back in the recent past, John learns that, even with hindsight, it's hard to alter the future, especially with senior officers like Colonel Everett! It's a gripping story, and fascinating to see John trying to make changes and sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing, and eventually having to come to terms with what he can't change. He does get to change his relationship with Rodney though, this time acting on his feelings. The ending is hopeful, but is left open - I choose to believe it's happy.

snippet of fic )

petra: Barbara Gordon smiling knowingly (Default)
I love hearing about the phrases people have incorporated into their family dialect (familect) that require explanation.

Here are some examples from around my house:

A "fuzzy" is a polar fleece jacket. (source: unknown)

Cat food comes in two varieties: gooshy (wet) and crunchy (dry). (source: Two Lumps webcomic)

"Bloop bloop?" means "Would you care to engage in sexual intercourse with me?" (source: a Tumblr post from someone who heard elk mating calls, parsed them as 'bloop bloop,' and started using the noise with their partner for the purpose, which cracked us up)

"One day... when you least expect it..." means, "I am contemplating taking you to bed." We almost never say the "I WILL HAVE SEX WITH YOU!" bit. (source: the second linked George Takei PSA)

The cat, as is the way of cats, has a zillion nicknames, including "Bunny," "[The] Fur," "Miss Fuzzbutt," and "Catface." T. S. Eliot violently underestimated the number of names my cats tend to accumulate, and none of the options are effin' ineffable. (reference: not how he officially spelled it but what we all heard)
petra: Barbara Gordon smiling knowingly (Default)
"Honey, why does the person you're playing a game with and watching a stream of look like that?"

"He's wearing a Mickey Mouse skin."

"I didn't know you could skin Mickey Mouse in your game."

"Yep."

"And you're the one with the socially acceptable hobby."
petra: Batman in silhouette with his hand on Spoiler's shoulder (Bruce & Steph - Keep the comm on)


If Jeangu Macrooy gets two new fans today, one of them is me. If they get 1000 new fans today, I hope some are them are because [personal profile] buggery linked me to this video and I passed it on.

It's an earworm.

Profile

speedgeek: (Default)
speedgeek

April 2025

S M T W T F S
  12345
67 8910 1112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930   

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags