Fandom: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Pairing: Mark/Eduardo
Length: 8,000 words
Author on LJ: isnt_brains
Why this must be read: Harvard Fic! You know they were getting up to ~shenanigans while they were there...

Dustin and Mark have a bet to see who can make Eduardo smile the most. Dustin likes smiley faces and Mark likes a challenge. Sadly, Mark is, well, he's not exactly a natural...

It was a date.

A date. Mark had indirectly taken Wardo on a date. And Wardo had gone along with it. Happily, even. It was almost too much.

That realization didn’t exactly bring much comfort though. Now that Mark knew it was supposed to be a date, all he could do was look back and count all the things he had done wrong (at least twenty). Eduardo had even payed for dinner. Oh god. Mark felt a little nauseous again.

He had ruined it. And after only one time!

After panicking mildly and taking an extremely hot shower Mark googled “post date etiquette”.

The worst part was that Dustin wasn’t even acting any different, he was just being his normal quirky (stupid, lame) self. He didn’t even have to try and he was winning.

Hi! I'm Phoebe, and I'm back to drive the Van for my new-ish crush, the manga (and anime, and musical) series Kuroshitsuji. Since it's never been featured here before -- it's a tiny fandom in LJ terms, despite being fairly large and active in its home jurisdictions -- I have the excellent good fortune to be able to write the Fandom Overview for the series.

There's just one tiny problem. A crucial part of the entire premise of the series is a big, gaudy spoiler. Trying to give you any sense of the series without giving it away is difficult verging upon impossible; but if you haven't already been spoiled for it, via fannish osmosis or incautious fic consumption, and you're someone who would appreciate the series as it deserves, I would be sad to ruin it for you. So if you've managed to avoid knowing anything about Kuroshitsuji beyond what I tell you here, my advice will be to put this down, avert your eyes from the spoilery full overview that will follow this, and read the first four chapters of the manga. (It's licensed in English, and available from all the usual sources; if you can't wait for the physical book to arrive, you can probably find places to read online while you wait for the order.) And stay away from all fanworks until you have: the very first fic you look at, no matter what it is, will contain the key spoiler.

Here's what you need to know to decide whether it's worth your trouble. Kuroshitsuji -- Black Butler, in English -- is about the life and adventures of Ciel, Lord Phantomhive, a Victorian earl who is, semi-secretly, the ruler of the Empire's criminal underground, intervening in it as necessary to protect the Queen's interests. At the same time, he manages his own legitimate business interests and does his best to also manage the expectations of his aunts and his fiancee.

He's not quite thirteen years old when the series begins, but the underworld treats him as an adult, and a dangerous one, and they're not wrong. That's him in the picture, along with the person who helps make it all possible: his remarkably gifted butler, Sebastian Michaelis.

The series overall is more dark comedy than gothic melodrama -- in Western terms, think more John Wilmot than Charles Dickens, more Congreve than Bronte. If you need to admire your protagonists' moral values, this probably isn't a series for you. But if you often find yourself preferring the antagonists or villains in other series to the protagonists, and wishing you could see more of them, there's a good chance you'll love it. And if you're in a position to read it spoiler-free, I envy you.

I'd burble on at you about it right now, but that would defeat the whole point. Go, read. And then we'll talk.

Think a more empathetic Boardwalk Empire, relocated to St. Louis with plenty of jokes, a couple of strong female characters, and everyone is cats.

Whatever you do, don't be put off by the fact that everyone is cats. They're just cat faced humans, pretty much.

Look, I'm not going to lie, everyone should comic. It's not very long and extremely worth it.

It's worth also reading the various previews and gallery extras, which provide back story, drawing tips, and laughs.


Partly because of author and artist Tracy Butler's stunningly rich art
( Read more... )

(Cut for a bunch of big damn pictures.)

The fics I'll be recommending for the remainder of the month are from assorted lj accounts, the lackadaisy fan comm and AO3. If any one has any suggestions, have at it!

Mods, I am really late, and I'm sorry. While I'm begging forgiveness, can I have a lackadaisy tag? Pretty please?

Fandom: Wilby Wonderful
Pairing: none, Carol-centric
Length: 300 words
Author on LJ: thursdaynext_27
Author website: AO3

Why this must be read:

Carol can be one of the more difficult characters to write in the fandom, as she's less accessible in the movie.  Here the author gives her a fresh start, giving her a sympathetic flavor that is as refreshing as it is intriguing.

Reboot

Fandom: LACKADAISY
Pairing: Viktor Vasko/Mordecai Heller
Length: 2000
Author Website: handful_of dust's fic tag on LJ
Why this must be read: It's a hilarious, insightful and really hot story in which Mordecai wakes up tied to Viktor's bed and starts demanding answers. All of handful_ofdust's Lackadaisy stories are fantastic, and I chose Saturday Morning as something of a gateway drug.

Have an excerpt: ( Read more... )



Lackadaisy Saturday Morning on LJ

Fandom: BIG TIME RUSH
Pairing: Kendall/Logan, James/Carlos, Jo/Camille
Length: ~9,000
Author on LJ: folkloric_feel
Author Website: theborogoves
Why this must be read: Because everyone loves a good AU! This one is a lot of fun and features a lot of the reasons why I love Big Time Rush -- by which I mean lots of scheming, on the parts of both the goodguys and the badguys. And I particularly wanted to include this one because the chief antagonist is Mercedes Griffin, who's only a bit character on the show, but is incredibly fun and one of my very favorites. And as it happens her mean girl persona translates perfectly from canon into a college AU. So without further ado, shenanigans! Sorority parties! Drunken hookups!

( excerpt )

one two three call your boys and girls

Fandom: INCEPTION
Pairing: Mostly Gen - Mal/Cobb (background), Arthur/Eames (pre-slash)
Length: ~ 13,300 words
Author on LJ: amazingly_me; and_backagain
Author Website: Fic Masterpost
Why this must be read: Continuing in the spirit of fascinating Alternate Universe stories, this is a Lawyer AU. What I really admire about this one is how the author still manages to work in the key events from the movie. Arthur's a prosecuting criminal attorney working with the Cobbs at their law firm; Eames is the premiere defense attorney. Arthur and Eames keep winding up facing one another on cases and their relationship becomes something akin to friendship. At least until Arthur is cautioned about seeming too friendly with "the enemy," and forces himself to take a step back.

However, when Cobb is taken into custody for allegedly killing Mal, Arthur turns to the best defense attorney he knows for help: Eames. Together they piece together what's happened - including the dream-sharing connections - and even with two great legal minds applied to the case, Arthur and Eames can recognize Cobb will be convicted. There's one alternative, but can two men who've sworn to uphold the law give up everything they've worked for in order to save Cobb from prison?

I really enjoy the relationships in this story. Arthur and Eames are adversarial, but also very collegial, much as they are in the movie. There's a grudging respect for one another even when they're working on opposite sides, and it says a great deal that when everything goes to hell, Eames is the person Arthur turns to for help, both personally and professionally. This is a good story with a well-thought out plot and strong characterization with appearances by all the movie's major players; the "pairings" are secondary to the story itself, so if you're not a fan of overt slash or het give this a read. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

( 'Arthur,' Mal had said with a smile, 'meet the enemy. Eames, this is Arthur. He’s our newest hire in criminal law. Arthur, this is Eames.' )

On LJ: The Inescapable Charm of The Countdown

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