WARNING: There are SPOILERS for The Avengers in all these links.

The Avengers' Rebel Spirit by The One True b!X is a thought-provoking and articulate meta about he importance of sentiment and empathy in the movie:

In the end, then, Fury’s “response team” doesn’t win because they are soldiers, despite what he tells the Council. They win because of empathy. They win because of Coulson’s old-fashioned sentiment that we can be heroes.

They win, in fact, because they make the exact same decision as Malcolm Reynolds and his crew: to take action on behalf of others because they deserve it. Because we all do.
. . .
The animating ethos of the film is the sentiment of empathy, and perhaps Joss Whedon himself might argue that, in this day and age, the sentiment is very much a rebel spirit.

It's written in response to The New York Times review, which reminds me of why I have such dislike for A.O. Scott and all pretentious, pompous people who have disdain for the very pop culture that gives them an importance in the world. Samuel L. Jackson's tweet in reply, though, almost makes it worthwhile, thereby confirming that he is the coolest person on Earth. (I was about to write "on God's green Earth," but Samuel L. Jackson may, in fact, be God, so it seemed unnecessary.)

"The Avengers' Rebel Spirit" also reminded me of this blog post about the relationship between Bruce and Tony. Those two articles combined made me realize that, on the surface, Tony seems the least kind to Bruce, but he's actually the most sympathetic. Everyone else treats Bruce with kid gloves, like he's this out-of-control, big, scary monster. Tony treats him like he's just an ordinary guy, even joking with him. Tony trusts Bruce's control and doesn't treat him like a freak, because he sees his own mistakes in Bruce. It's that recurring theme of seeing yourself in another--of empathy.

Also, about THAT BIGGEST SPOILER, I've read some interesting reactions to why it won't stick here, here, and here. At first I was like, "Nobody but Uncle Ben!" Now, I'm not sure if it won't undercut the significance. My prediction: We'll know one way or the other in the tag to Iron Man 3.

ETA: It just dawned on me that emotions in general and empathy in particular are commonly considered female traits--and derisively so: to show feelings is "girly" or makes you a "little bitch." However, it's this "feminine" trait of sentiment that truly wins the day, not the things that are popularly admired as "masculine" or "mannish": violence, war, the soldiers that the Council wants. (I take what Fury says about not believing in sentiment but winning with soldiers with a grain of salt. I figure Fury lies for the greater good 66.7 % of the time. His secrets have secrets, after all.)

Maybe it's not showing barefoot women physically beating up bad guys that's Whedon's greatest feminist message: it's what his characters accomplish through empathy; his admiration of an often dismissed female trait.

Well, maybe, it is both working in tandem. After all, the two things that matter the most to Joss are emotional resonance and rocket launchers.

rarewomen, the fic exchange for rare women in fandoms both large and small, is live (Masterlist). Well, technically, it went live a few days ago, but I just finished reading all the fics in fandoms I knew and have two recs:

Subject to Change by Pervyficgirl (Mature), a post-The Avengers story, where the changes in Natasha's schedule parallel how being part of a team has changed her; and

Crazy Cat Lady by Illyrias_Acolyte (General Audiences), a post-"Reichenbach" tale, in which Molly Hooper stays true to herself.

I know I've written before that I didn't really see the point of Sherlock fanfic, since the entire series is essentially one big modern day AU. However, I feel that quibble doesn't really apply to Molly fanfic, since she's a wholly original character to that permutation (right?). The character study of Molly in "Crazy Cat Lady" reminds me of the otherwise wholly unrelated Sherlock/Molly fanfic The Undiscovered Molly by tristesses / tristesses (NC-17), in which Sherlock decides to have sex (with Molly) as a scientific experiment, in order to deduce why the act is so important to the rest of humanity, and ends up having a much more trouble remaining a detached, objective observer than he anticipated.

Entries for Remix Redux X are up on Archive of Our Own. [The authors are still anonymous.] My favorite stories this year are:

Firefly
Your Mechanic's Hand (The Permission Remix) by lls_mutant (General Audiences) - Simon wants to ask Kaylee to marry him and needs some advice on how to go about it. The only people he has to ask, however, are the remaining Serenity crew. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

I love that Simon simultaneously manages to get the best and worst advice possible from the crew. Also, I love how the author's Kaylee has a sense of dignity that has nothing to do with politeness.

Marvel
The Captain and the Man of Iron, a Saga by Thor Odinsson, beta by Loki Laufeyjarson (Steve Rogers Must Die: the In Tony Stark’s Arms Mix) by arysteia (Teen And Up Audiences) - Everything you need to know is in that title. Finding out, though, that SOPA and PIPA were a nefarious scheme by Loki explains everything.

Pirates of the Caribbean
A Broken Silence, Mended (The Tide Calls Remix) by ViaLethe (General Audiences) - James haunts Elizabeth. A beautiful, melancholy friendship fic.

White Collar
Contingencies (The Know Thyself Remix) by Teaotter (General Audiences) - A remix of karaokegal's / karaokegal's Jive [previously recced], which was written from my prompt. So, it's like this fic is a remix gift for me (without me having to do any actual work, that is)!

Next time: Neal vs. Batman!

My final rec in this set isn't actually a remix, but I found it by clicking around AO3 from Remix Redux X, so I'm counting it in this set:

Doctor Who / Eureka
Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey Invisibling Thing, or Four Times Jack Carter Met The Doctor And One Time He Didn’t by galaxysoup / galaxysoup (General Audiences) - “That’s very funny! But you can’t drink and time-travel, Jack. You wind up with disco.”

At this point, I can't decide which lack of reveal is frustrating me more: that Merlin Emrys has magical powers or that Shawn Spencer doesn't.
( This meta contains SPOILERS for 'The Sword In the Stone, Part II' and 'Santabarbaratown,' mildly pretentious allusions to Pride and Prejudice, and some adult language and ended up being as much about Gwen and Jules as Merlin and Shawn. )

fancake is a fanfic recs community, where each recs set is based around a certain theme. Last time, it was female characters, and it helped me discover some wonderful stories.

The Addams Family
Cleopatra's Needle by Fuschia (PG) - One thing in particular this theme did was inspire me to read in fandoms I never otherwise would have considered. This story is sensual and macabre, with a wonderful black humor--just like Morticia herself. At fifteen, Morticia Frump is as interested in her graveyard gardening as her older sister is in her suitors. The scenario leads to a completely believable beginning to Morticia and Gomez's courtship. You can see how it's start of the kinkiest canon couple ever.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Umad Learns Sumerian by Annakovsky / annakovsky (General Audiences) - Not a discovery, so much as a rediscovery. I can't believe I've never recced this before. (Unless I have, and I just can't find it on my Livejournal.) Someday, I really *am* going to have to take out my old computer and transfer all the bookmarks. Anyway, this story considers how Dawn knew so many ancient languages in Season Seven, since canon couldn't be bothered to explain that she had ever studied them.

DC
Escape Artistry by David Hines / hradzka (Teen and Up Audiences) - I'm a Marvel, not a DC, so, once again, this is not a fandom I usually would read, but the rec was so intriguing that I clicked. I really like Diana in this fic: she's practical without being boring, competent without being arrogant, and funny without being silly. If this is what Diana is like in canon, I really should read (and watch) more DC. Despite not knowing all the canon, even I know that the man who originally designed and wrote Wonder Woman back in the early 1940s was a polygamous psychologist into BDSM. Due to this, canon!Diana lost her powers when she was bound by a man. This fic's Diana is way too pragmatic to try to overcome this weakness, so she asks Batman for lessons in escape. All that, plus eventual Diana/Bruce, and competent yet likeable female paired with intense, uptight man is My Thing.

Harry Potter
Could You Be a Little Less by brighidg (Teen And Up Audiences) - Rita Skeeter's society notes column. This fic fills me with RAGE; not for the author or the story but for its real-world implications. Women are told they will not be taken seriously if they are too pretty. Women are told that no one will want to listen to them, unless they doll themselves up. Women are told they'll never get a man unless they change everything about themselves. Women who have a man are told they should be grateful that they were chosen by someone. Mothers are criticized for actions, but fathers who do the exact some things are not censured. Most infuriating of all is that all these snipes are made by another woman, who has built a career on mundane pettiness.

Star Trek
Thanks, But No Thanks by Jedi Buttercup / jedibuttercup / jedibuttercup (PG) - Yet another fandom I never read, but the summary for this story intrigued me: The thing is, Uhura has met boys like Jim Kirk before. Uhura has a no-nonsense look at the world around her, including Jim Kirk.

I, also, of course, felt the need to tell everybody else what to think to share some of my own recs, two of which were for stories I had not recced here, at my personal journal, before (both Psych):

Julie & Julia & Juliet & Lassiter by lawson_227 (T) - Jules decides to do the Julie & Julia experiment. This premise is such a great concept for a fic, given that, in canon, Jules tends to get overly enthusiastic about projects.

In order to recreate fully the Julie & Julia project, Jules decides she needs someone for whom to cook, like Julie and Julia did for their respective husbands. At first, she thinks of Shawn, because it involves food. However, it also involves recipes, which are basically rules, and Shawn is never good at following those. He'll randomly throw Fruit Loops or pineapple slices into the mix, just because. So, she finds a new victim recipient of her burgeoning culinary skills: Lassiter.

The Revised Zombie Survival Guide by jacqui_hw (R) - The outbreak of a mysterious virus is causing the dead to return to life. With a zombie apocalypse now fact and not fiction, Shawn, Gus, Lassiter, and Juliet must try to survive in a strange new world.

For a story filled with death and despair, this fic made me smile an awful lot. There's so many things I love about this fic: the blatant pop culture references (Once this was over, [Shawn] was going to make a movie. He wondered if John Cusack was too old to play him. Then he wondered if John Cusack was still alive.); the more subtle allusions ("You've got red on you"); the creative scenes, like Lassiter's awkward yet sincere attempt to comfort Juliet after she shoots a zombie up close and is covered in brains and blood; the juxtaposition of scenes, such as Shawn admitting to Lass that he's not psychic but has an eidetic memory honed by his father interspersed with flashbacks to Henry asking Shawn to kill him after he's been bitten by a zombie, so he won't turn into one; the wit -- heck, I love the whole thing.

I also adore Jules in this fic so very much. I love that she's *angry* about her lack of agency. She doesn't know what's going on or why the dead are rising, and she's frustrated by it. (Of course, the boys are in the same boat but much less self-aware.) Being a police detective isn't just what she does for a job, it's who she is, and she's upset that there are no clues to follow or way to solve this case. However, for her, being a police officer has also always been about protecting and serving. So, she uses her police training--such as her high speed driving ability and shooting skills--to do just that: keep herself and her friends alive. She's not perfect--none of them are, but she and the boys are all the best versions of themselves in the worst of worlds.

I want to provide an excerpt (although it's really hard to pick just one section when the whole thing is so quotable) but I'll try:

( Lassiter was still shooting, trying to kill as many as he could before they got too close. )

There's also a minor crossover here, but I didn't want to label it as such, since the author doesn't. However, I knew exactly who the other survivors Our Heroes encountered were as soon as one was named Jeff and Shawn was jealous of his hair.

Leverage
Be My Creepy Valentine by momma_66 (G) - In which Hardison makes the perfect Valentine for Parker.

Psych
Lassiter and the Valentine by loafer13 (T) - Delightful and charming! I know "confined in a tight space" is a cliche, but the sheer absurdity of it makes it perfect for Psych! I can completely imagine something like this happening in the series. (Well, I can also imagine it happening to Shawn and Gus, but that's an entirely different category of fanfic.) There's a balance of humor and warmth in this story, just like there always should be with Carlton/Jules.

NCIS
Lebanon Tree by arsenicjade (G) - Technically, not a Valentine story, but written for 14valentines, so I'm including it in this set. 14valentines is an annual celebration, occurring the first fourteen days of February, based on the idea of fandom as a community composed of women and their allies and the power of the relationships there. Each day is themed, and Day One was "Body Image," for which arsenicjade made this contribution. I adore the rhythm of this fic. I like how the author gives Ziva an understanding of her own agency and choice, after she's been manipulated and used as someone else's weapon. I admire her fortitude, not just her physical strength.

. . . at least, for fandoms I even vaguely recognize, and I have a few recs!

FIC REC:

Les Miserables
God and Chance by Beth Winter / bwinter (General Audiences) - Beautiful AU where Fantine survives. This fanfic's pairing (Jean Valjean/Fantine) should not work at all, but Beth Winter makes them convincing. There is an understanding between them and between BethWinter and her audience. There is so much not said in this story, but the author respects her readers and expects them to be familiar enough with the source material to be able to fill in the gaps. (Although, I will admit there are scenes I would love to see, like Javert going to the Thenardiers', to rescue Cosette, instead of Valjean. Maybe we can poke this author with sticks for a companion piece?)

VID RECS:

Ghostbusters
Ballroom Blitz - Amazing cutting and timing! The best bits are "his eyes are red" and when the music slows down and becomes angsty when the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man arrives. This vid accomplishes exactly what a fanvid should do: It made me want to watch the movie again! This is one of my favorite vids of the fest--and, judging by the number of comments, this was one of everyone's favorite vids from festivids!

Yes, (Prime) Minister
A Little Less Conversation - I *had* to watch this vid when I saw it on the Masterlist, because my first thought was, "How the heck do you vid this fandom?" It's such a dialogue-dependent series. I am gob-smacked at the vidder's ability to find clips that tell the entire story through images. Also, this may be the most perfect song choice to subject matter I've ever seen in a vid. You *know* it's what Hacker is thinking all the time!

*It was originally going to be a Top Ten list, but I cheated. Plus, it's only two weeks late!

12. "Do You See What I See?" Eureka

11. "Paradigms of Human Memory," Community

10. "The Doctor's Wife," Doctor Who

9. "The Poisoned Chalice," The Borgias

8. "This Episode Sucks," Psych

7. "Regional Holiday Music," Community

6. "Remedial Chaos Theory," Community

5. "The Queen's Gambit Job," Leverage

4. "Indelible," CSI: New York

3. "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux," Community

1./2. "The Impossible Astronaut"/"Day of the Moon," Doctor Who

For fandom_stocking, misura / misura gave me the most amazingly awesome female characters crossover, Wishful Thinking (General Audiences), in which Fiona Glenanne, Jo Lupo, and Juliet O'Hara play a drinking game. It's not possible to be better than that! Fi's answer genuinely made me giggle.

scintilla10 gave me Introduction to Pancake-Making, a charming Troy, Abed, and Annie friendship (well, unless you count the unintended shapes of the pancakes as pornographic) fic, written as a cooking segment on Troy and Abed In the Mo-o-rning.

Finally, bring_me_sugar / Missy / rise_your_dead gave me a beautiful Lassiter/Marlowe ficlet, Settling In (PG). Missy may be the Queen and Savior of Fandom Stocking, as she wrote almost thirty fanfics. (Actually, I think it was 29, but I might have lost count.) My favorite of her not-for-me fics is Civic Duty (General Audiences), with Shawn and Gus RESCUING BUNNIES. I am overwhelmed by its cuteness.

The only thing that comes close to it in levels of adorableness is Netgirl_y2k's / netgirl_y2k's / netgirl_y2k's The Trouble with Witches (at least the evil get to go home early on Fridays) (General Audiences), where Morgana and her pet ( spoiler ) get their happy ending (as soon as Morgana stops being in denial about it). I like that ( that same spoiler ) guides Morgana to her destiny.

I would have completely forgotten about fandom_stocking, since Livejournal never e-mailed me my notification, if daria234 hadn't posted on her LJ about her gifts. Speaking of daria234 and fandom gifting (my transitions are subtle), daria234 wrote Rock and Roll is Here to Stay--an unapologetic Pizzazz-centric Yuletide treat for anyone who ever realized that the fundamental problem with Jem and the Holograms is that the Misfits really *were* the better group.

ETA: From a conversation with captlebubbles in the comments, I'd also recommend to Burn Notice fans bring_me_sugar's / Missy's / rise_your_dead's stories 5 favorite Chuck Finley identities + 1 time he couldn't use his favorite persona (Teen and Up Audiences) and Peanut Butter and Jelly Balloons (General Audiences). The latter could be subtitled "Why You Don't Let Fiona and Sam Babysit."

FIC REC:

Psych
Bulletproof @ AO3 / Bulletproof @ FanFiction.Net by Eldritch_Elegy (Teen and Up Audiences) - I was originally just going to post this fanfic to my Lassiter/Juliet fanworks recs list, but, then, I re-read it and concluded that it is so powerful, it deserves its own separate rec. I want to take the author's depiction of Carlton home and hug him. I like this fanfic's comparisons of how Victoria and Jules value Carlton's opinions and how they contribute to his sense of (non-work-related) self-worth. I also like how this story captures that he wants to be different and has taken some steps towards becoming more human, but he can't quite make that final leap.

Excerpt:

Useless details, unrelated to cases of any kind, unrelated to anything except in the way they slow down days and interrupt monotony, things he’d learned to avoid because honestly, who needed a day to be longer? Who really stops to smell the goddamned roses?

And it’s always her. That voice in his head, its slight sandpaper texture like a cat’s tongue. Look at that, Carlton. Look at this. Oh, that’s beautiful.

He could go back to not noticing.

At first, I misread that last line as "He could not go back to not noticing," which, I think, is the truth, even if it is not quite what he wants to admit to himself.

VID REC:

Leverage
Bulletproof Thief by china_shop (General Audiences) - Pitch perfect Parker! I love the syncing of the images and lyrics. It's hard for me to pick a favorite part: the beginning, with lyrics about defying gravity matched with Parker hanging upside down; the lyrics about "I'm who I've got to be" syncing with Parker in a bunch of different disguises; the lines about running with shots of Parker running; or when the music picks up tempo, matched with Parker jumping off roofs. The fast-cutting throughout this vid is so well done and so hard to do!

I'd like to say peace on Earth, good will toward man, but I'm going to go for something much more mundane and obtainable:

I'd like to be able to buy decongestant without being carded and having each purchase recorded. I'd like to be able to go into a store and buy enough for both myself and my father for a month. Actually, I'd like to be able to buy both of us a few months' supply, so we don't have to run to the store all the time. We take decongestant all year long.

I have many, many pages of tests by allergy doctors to prove my and my father's allergies are not fake and that we have tried alternatives, to no avail. The allergy nurse who ran my last one said that she had been doing this for over twenty years, and she'd never seen someone with such a severe reaction to ragweed. She also stopped the skin test after about seven minutes, instead of the normal 15-20 minutes, because I was having such an extreme reaction. The doctor never saw someone with SO MANY different allergies. I've also had lung tests done, so I know it is not asthma, but 100% allergies.

At least, we're both adults. If I were a single parent with a teenager and we both had allergies, then one or the other of us would have to suffer.

I can buy as much alcohol and cigarettes as my heart desires, but God forbid I have trouble breathing. Then, I'm treated like a criminal.

By the way, I do understand that the objective of these laws was to stop small meth makers and that they've achieved their goal. Now, all the Mom-and-Pop meth makers are out of business, and the violent Mexican drug cartels are more powerful than ever!

I promise I'm not cooking meth. I don't even cook dinner!

The Muppets Chirstmas Carol. It truly is the best film of A Christmas Carol. Besides, of course, the Muppets, Michael Caine really is brilliant as Scrooge. You actually see him transform bit-by-bit as the night progresses. Most actors playing Scrooge are miserable throughout, then are suddenly redeemed after they wake up on Christmas Day--like the only thing that gets through to most Scrooges is seeing their gravestone and being faced with their own mortality.

Also, "Light the lamp, not the rat! Light the lamp, not the rat!" comes in handy more often than you'd expect.

I don't actually have one. If I did, it would be one of Parker accidentally, obliviously hitting Nate in the face with her reindeer antler hat in "The Ho Ho Ho Job," while Nate just takes it in stride.

This entry may be a not-so-subtle way of asking if anyone has seen a gif of this moment and could point me in the right direction.

There are some fanfic authors I should mention more often. By "more often," I mean "should rec all the time." One of those is bring_me_sugar / Missy / rise_your_dead. I had previously recced her Psych story Happiness: Or: How Shawn Spencer Learned To Love His Best Friendenemy's Girlfriend (Teen and Up Audiences) when it was a WIP, and I wanted to mention it again, now that it's finished. After "This Episode Sucks," I went off in search of Lassiter/Marlowe fics, and this one was my favorite. Yes, I wanted Lassie/Marlowe, even though I also still ship Lass/Jules. Somehow, my brain does not explode from the cognitive dissonance. captlebubbles suggested to me that the correct answer is Lassiter/Everyone. She might be right.

Anyway, other recent stories by Missy that are worth reading:

- Her delightful The Logfiles of Carlton Lassiter (Teen and Up Audiences), in which Carlton keeps a log of the night Shawn and Gus spend in the SBPD's drunk tank after too many shots of pineapple vodka;

- Persephonic (Explicit), a story that attempts to explain why, in canon, Jules seems to have a completely different personality as Shawn's girlfriend than in any other context; and

- Powder Burns (Teen and Up Audiences), a Carlton Lassiter/Fiona Glenanne (Burn Notice) story, where the author plausibly pairs Carlton with a character who finds Justice outside the Law. (I'm pretty sure Carlton thinks in capital letters.) Also, of course, there's gun porn. How could there not be, with those two?

---

Another writer who I should point out more often is dollsome / dollsome. I used to follow her on my flist, because we used to share a few ships: Giles/Jenny, Norrington/Elizabeth, Lassiter/Juliet. (WHAT?! I know I have a type.) However, our fannish interests began to diverge, so I dropped her from my flist. Recently, though, netgirl_y2k recced dollsome's Merlin story, And I am done with my graceless heart (General Audiences). While, technically, it contains SPOILERS for "Lancelot du Lac" (which I haven't actually seen), this fic presents all the conversations and interactions you've wanted Gwen and Morgana to have since Morgana went evil all of a sudden and forgot about her best friend(s). If you only read one fanfic between now and the end of the year, READ THIS ONE.

Reading this story lead me to revisit the author and to read all the stories that she's written since I last checked her journal. My favorites:

- starstruck, a Wesley/Cordelia Angel ficlet;

- five people cordelia chase never fell in love with, containing the immortal phrase, "bad hair day of the soul";

- Let's write a song for us (and sing it 'til we're old and gray), Six things that never happened to Jenny Calendar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer);

- Had we but world enough, and time (PG), another Giles/Jenny, featuring soul-sucking evil groundhogs; and

- This love will be your downfall, in which Merlin and Morgana start by meeting over coffee like old friends, waiting for Arthur to wake up, and proceed backwards through time.

Just in time for the holidays, I have listed several dolls on eBay. I am gwynevere8 there. I am selling Danbury Mint American Indian dolls for Thanksgiving and Byers' Choice dolls for Christmas. I will likely be uploading more in the next week or so. Thanks to everyone who takes a gander!

Happiness: Or: How Shawn Spencer Learned To Love His Best Friendenemy's Girlfriend by bring_me_sugar (Teen and Up Audiences) - Missy is the *best* crack dealer! She somehow always knows what I need exactly when I need it!

Shawn's and Gus's voice are just perfect in this fic. I can hear the actors delivering the dialogue in my head:

“Gus, don’t be DeVoe when you could be Bel or Biv!”

“Biv had one fine-ass solo career,” Gus shook his head. “He won’t take her out, Shawn. You’re going to end up pouting in the office with egg on your face and I’m gonna be stuck holding the handbag of sadness again!”

“You don’t. And it’s a fine handbag! It wears the sequins of eternal optimism.”

This story appears to be a WIP, and I'm definitely looking forward to more!

Lassiter: Terror In The Night, Not So Much by Loafer (T) - This baby!fic is so fluffy that I really *should* find it nauseating, . . . but I just *can't*. Maybe I would be more cynical about it if it weren't my favorite pairing (Lassiter/Juliet, obviously), but I find it genuinely sweet, not saccharine.

I think it's completely in-character for Lassiter to over-think being a parent. Plus, Lassie would completely think having a conversation about self-defense would be an appropriate nighttime story for a baby.

Also, yes, they should have a daughter. It feels right.

Silent Messages by Lawson227 (T) - First, I *dare* anyone to read this story without really wanting hot chocolate afterwards. As for the story itself, I like how mature it is. There's a sensuality to the author's writing, which I think fits well with the pairing. Something I like about Lassiter/Juliet is that it's about two adults, not puppy love. I also like how Lawson227's story plays off the canon that Lassie and Jules don't have to speak in order to communicate, like a long married couple. Finally, seriously, I *really* want hot chocolate, now.

Untitled ficlet by trolllogicfics (Unrated, also) - trolllogicfics was looking for prompts as a warm-up to nano. Of course, I gave her(?) Lassie/Jules, and she was kind enough to fill it. The resulting fic makes me happy, especially this bit:

He can't pinpoint the change because in all actuality, nothing changed. Juliet is Lassiter's best friend. Everything else is just a bonus.

Uncertainty in the darkness by moon_destiny (NC-17) - There's not enough femmeslash in this fandom, and this one is wonderful! I love the descriptions of Jules in it:

Lauren learns later that while Juliet is all fumbling fingers and nervousness in front of the camera, when the recording equipment is off, Juliet is like a quiet force to be reckoned with. Juliet is not outwardly brash and confident like Lauren's brother, Carlton, but she is sure of herself.

ETA: I added the appropriate stories from above to my Lassiter/Juliet fanworks recs list.

I mentioned karaokegal's Drabble-a-Day project before, but there are two more drabbles that she's done that I want to point out:

Doctor Who - True To Life (G) - I agree with the other comments on this entry that the world needs more Canton fic.

White Collar - Jive (G) - Neal tries to understand his mentor. I laughed at the final line.

In celebration of New York's legalization of same-sex marriage, bree_black ran a Let's Get Gay Married!" commentfic meme. There are some lovely fics there, especially in small fandoms. I particularly liked ellensmithee and rillalicious's funny and adorable Shawn/Gus Psych ficlet, Viva Mexico! (G), and an anonymous fill for a Bert/Ernie Sesame Street story, Things That Start With B (G). (It's just dawned on my that Shawn/Gus and Ernie/Bert are essentially the same pairing, what with an uptight, responsible one and a quirky idiot-genius. It's just the shape of their heads that's switched.)

My favorite fic, though, is Wedding Gifts by kittydesade (PG), a White Collar story about Diana and Christie's wedding. This is such a wonderful concept: A canonical same-sex couple, who canonically live in New York, in a show that's actually filmed in New York. I also love the character detail in this and the call-backs.

About two weeks ago, canaana recced karaokegal's Doctor Who Jack/Rose drabble Just What I Needed (PG-13). In her rec, canaana wrote:

It's not romantic and it's not sweet, but it's very, very honest--and brilliant with it.

I'm quoting her directly, because there's really no more accurate description I can think of for it.

I then discovered that karaokegal is doing a Drabble-a-Day project for 2011, which lead me to another one of her wonderful drabbles, an NCIS fic, Partners in Mourning (G). It's a very nice missing scene from "Pyramid" [SPOILERS for that episode, obviously]. I don't want to give too much away (for either the drabble or the episode), but there's a parallel at the end of this ficlet, with two characters each using words from their respective religions (in Arabic/Hebrew) that is genius.

karaokegal is also taking prompts for her Drabble-a-Day, and I asked for a conversation between Rose Tyler and Wilfred Mott (Doctor Who). She generously replied with Love Calling Earth (G), in which Wilf is finally allowed to have a computer camera. The resulting drabble is lovely, sweet, and perfect.

---

Then, there's the stories I would have prompted, except I discovered that they already existed.

Breakout Kings
The Yellow Wood by bialy_lally (T) - I absolutely wanted Lloyd/Jules fanfic and was so glad to see one by an author I already knew and liked from other fandoms. This fic is four different "What Ifs?" spinning off from one initial event.

The final section (#4) is my favorite, and I think the best line in the fic comes from it:

He feels like he's seventeen and trying to fit in with a high school crowd he kids himself he's grown out of, when the truth is he never even grew in – stooping, pock-marked, skinny and smarter than it's worth his while being, lonely as hell with nothing even close to a happy home to go back to.

Wow, do I relate to that sentiment. (Although, thankfully, I've never ended up in prison, like Lloyd.)

Firefly / Leverage
Jacaranda by ijemanja [LJ?] (Teen And Up Audiences) - The other day, during some Firefly marathon or another (maybe on The Science Channel), my mom and I were discussing whether the Serenity crew would have become more Robin Hood-esque and less out for themselves, if the series had been allowed to continue. Basically, would they have become Leverage In Space.

Of course, that conversation made me start thinking about Firefly/Leverage crossovers (my mind is a strange place), and the two characters who most needed to meet, I felt, were Parker and River. ijemanja clearly felt the same way, writing this epic, seamless crossover. Parker and River both have such an intense internal logic that it makes sense that they'd be friends. This story's concept--that Parker spent time at the Academy--also explains a lot about her personality and childhood development. Plus, there's some great imagery with a cat.

---

Now, if someone would just write me a Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Psych AU merger, where O'Hara is a Slayer and Lassie is her Watcher, my fannish life would be *complete*.

When trolllogicfics starts a new fandom, she always ends up asking herself a very important question: "If they all played hockey, what position would they play?" Hence, her multi-part Hockey!AU (PG-13, overall) was born. At first, she was only writing a Supernatural Hockey!AU. Since I know nothing about Supernatural, I skipped right over it. However, she began to weave in crossovers with many other series and something magnificently cracky, completely ingenious, and utterly happy-making sprang forth. You *know* you need a universe where:

- Sherlock Holmes is an eccentric goalkeeper who is all start caliber but considered locker room poison and keeps getting traded until he runs across a team with blueliner!John and starts rooming with the man.

- Shawn Spencer is a 3rd line winger who seems to stay in the league only because his crazed antics make him a fan favorite. He's ridiculously talented when he decides to be but most of the time just can't be arsed. He also makes a series fake Twitter accounts for the team's crusty old captain and no-nonsense defenseman, Carlton Lassiter, and proceeds to start Twitter wars with those fake accounts and his real one.

- Donna Noble is a hockey fan. More accurately, Donna is a fan of all the fighting that goes on during hockey games. Lucky for her, . . .

- Harry Dresden is an enforcer with a heart of gold. He starts fights all the time but only with people he *knows* deserved it.

Doctor Who
The Care and Feeding of Tiny Humans (and slightly larger Time Lords) by netgirl_y2k (General Audiences) - The one where the Doctor comes back for little Amelia Pond.

The Dresden Files
The Top Ten Reasons Harry Dresden Hates Latin, written anonymously for dresden_kink (NSFW) - 1) No language needs that many fucking ways of forming the plural. When Harry Dresden wants to change the numbers of things, he just points his staff at them.

Eureka
Pink Sparkly Unicorns and Terrible Tea, or How To Survive A Roommate Situation by galaxysoup (General Audiences) - Jo's homeless. Carter has hideous taste in linens. Somehow there is no actual violence.

Three days into their cohabitation, Carter shows up with a set of horrifically floral flannel sheets, a novelty bath towel branded with one of the reality TV shows she watches on the sly, and a proud expression that distinctly reminds her of a puppy with a tennis ball in his mouth.

Merlin
A Cautionary Tale About Tomatoes (and zombies) by netgirl_y2k (G) - Armed with two swords, a slightly dented helmet and a wooden spoon, our heroes fight zombies.

Today, we have Baby!fic, Bad romance, and Boys who are Back in town.

FIC RECS:

Doctor Who / Sherlock
Thy Mother's Glass by sciosophia (PG-13) [WIP] - Amy and Rory are Mycroft and Sherlock's parents. Now, tell me that growing up in the TARDIS doesn't explain everything about the Holmes brothers from their alien names, to their Doctor-like arrogance, to their inability to connect with normal humans who live linear lives?

Law & Order: Criminal Intent
At Home With the Gorens by piecesofalice (FLUFF-TASTIC) - Law & Order: Criminal Intent has never been one of those shows I watch religiously. It's usually something that comes on after something else. However, I have intentionally watched the first three episodes of the new season, possibly because I already know it will be the show's last. Somehow, this new-found interest eventually lead me to an old Goren/Eames baby!fic. Yes, I know that's a concept that should. not. work. ever. The author makes it convincing, though, and I agree with some of the comments left by others on the story: this is *exactly* how Bobby would be as a father. Nevertheless, the true stand-out moment of the fic is where Bobby asks Eames to marry him: ( Excerpt cut for length, not for content )

Psych
From The Circus to Conception in One Easy Step by piecesofalice (PG) - I read this Lassiter/Juliet baby!fic a long time ago, but I've never recced it. Admittedly, the plot doesn't entirely hold up to close scrutiny. However, there's some wonderful use of language in this fanfic. There are moments and lines in this story that have crossed my mind years after I read it. Things like:

“Carlton?” She keeps her voice as steady as she can, because her shoes are wet and that’s kind of more disconcerting than the pain, “Uh, my water’s just broke.”

She’s pretty certain from the sound that comes through the phone that he’s either fallen off his chair or slammed into a filing cabinet, and she smiles.

or

In the early morning, as the conception started to happen, he spoke to her of police codes with his body against hers and his hands in her hair, and she knew it was something like a love song.

How can you not smile and swoon at that?

VID RECS:

Merlin
Bad Romance by such_heights - What else is Lady Gaga for but taking family-friendly source footage and reworking it to be about a partly incestuous femslash triangle dripping with sexual intrigue? At least, that's the story I think such_heights's creative editing is telling: Morgana lusts after a bad romance with Morgause, even though she recognizes that Gwen is the better, more loving choice. Actually, I think Merlin would be a *much* better show, if that were its main plot. Right now, I'm pretty much just watching for Giles in chainmail.

DC Comics
Bad Romance by sisabet - Oh, right. There's one other thing Lady Gaga is good for: Foe!Yay. There's no other explanation for many, many supervillian/superhero obsessions than a desire to shag each other's brains out. Admittedly, I'm a Marvel, not a DC, so I really don't know Superman canon that well. However, sisabet uses footage from every Man of Steel media from the past fifty years--with Smallville as the cog in the wheel--to depict the never ending bad romance tragedy between Clark and Lex. It's a triumph of fannish devotion, and I'm convinced of this doomed ship.

(Although, what I don't understand is, if Lex wants Clark locked up that much, why doesn't he just have Clark arrested for being an illegal immigrant? Where's your Green Card, when you came to Kansas, Kal-El?)

Sherlock Holmes
The Boys are Back by Elderberryinkblot - A multi-era Holmes/Watson fanvid, showing how the boys are the same, yet different, across the decades (even when they're cartoon mice). The section with the violin just about slayed me!

Doctor Who
Dreaming by calapine - Nyssa/Tegan! Old school femslash for the win!

I love calapine's clip selection. I know is not easy to find good footage in older fandoms and that it's hard to find Doctor Who images that aren't all focused on the Doctor. So, her(?) accomplishment is doubly (triply?) awesome! I also adore that the vidder selected an era-appropriate (late 1970s/early 1980s) song!

In conclusion: Yay!

When I Was a Boy by beccatoria - A lot of fanvids are just pure fun, but this one actually has Important and Fascinating things to say about gender roles. It's probably the definitive Amy/Rory vid, about how they turn gender roles on their heads and have both become accepting of each other in those parts. There's also a larger analysis at work here, as the vid also explores traditional gender roles in fairy tales and how restricting and offensive those can be. Which begs the question, why are we still telling children tales that re-inforce stereotypes that should have been outdated a hundred year ago? Moffat has often referred to Doctor Who as a modern-day fairy tale and that vision is exactly what this vid captures--i.e., a re-imagining of childhood storytelling for the modern world, removing and even defying the prejudices of the old tales. As beccatoria illustrates, Amy is the Hero and Rory is the Damsel--and they're both OK with that.

Before this rec gets too pretentious: This vid is very pretty, too.

ETA: The Adventure by calapine - Just when I thought I had finished this entry comes this vid, brand new today! It's a BEAUTIFUL and EPIC tale about the Eleven Doctors and all the companions--and the TARDIS (since she's the most important one). calapine's knowledge of canon is amazing, as she picks complimentary scenes across space and time.

Merlin
Handlebars by such_heights - I didn't watch this vid for a long time, because "Handlebars" is the Tenth Doctor's anthem. However, when I finally broke down and watched this vid, I realized how the song is appropriate to both series. They're both about white men who abuse their power, because they believe their cause is righteous, even if the show has given very little supporting evidence of said belief.

Psych
The Dark Knight Trailer 2 by indyhatesnakes - Quick story: I recced this fanvid once before. Then, I deleted the entry, because I thought it was too far away from the traditional concept of a "fanvid" (i.e., clips music). It's Psych footage, set to the audio from the second theatrical trailer for The Dark Knight. Despite my misgivings about how to categorize it, I decided to re-rec it, because it is absolutely brilliant. The vid is a mini meta commentary on the original canon, itself. It's a character study of Shawn, in a way, and how his sense of lawlessness and chaos aren't that far away from the Joker's. The vidder creates some striking parallels and underscores how, with the right motivation, Shawn could be pushed into psycho serial killer territory. Given the similarities between Shawn and Yin in canon, you realize that Shawn isn't that many steps away. There's a fine line between genius and insanity--and I'm not always sure which side Shawn is on.

Just Dance by noxika - This vid put a smile on my face! I would be asking all of you right now why you didn't recommend this vid to me sooner . . . except everyone kinda did rec it when it first came out, and I'm just getting around to watching it right now.

I love how it captures everything that's cracky, delightful, weird, wonderful, and happy-making about Psych. There's some great editing in this vid, and I like noxika's use of color-shifting effects at the beginning. I also like that she(?) had the sense to limit she use of vidding effects to the beginning and not use them as a crutch. (Also, I read some OT4 vibes, here. I'm not sure if that's intentional, but I like it!)

Anyway, EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH THIS VID, EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT A PSYCH FAN, because it's so SHINY and FUN that I think it CAN MAKE ANYONE GRIN!