The Shape of a Sooner State by Cherryice (G)

[wendelah1]

Hi! I'mwendelah1 and I'm driving the van for small fandoms, which this month is featuring the television series Fringe. I've been a fan of the show since summer 2010 when I mainlined two boxsets in ten days in preparation for season three. Since this is the first time Fringe has been featured on crack_van I'll be reccing as many stories as I can cram in during November. There will be a fandom overview, eventually. Never apologize, she reminded herself. Never explain.

On with the recs.

Fandom: FRINGE
Pairing: Olivia Dunham/Peter Bishop
Length: 2,595
Author on LJ:  cherryice
Author Website: http://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryIce
Why this must be read:
It was hard to choose which story to rec first, especially in a small fandom, where everyone has already read it all. So this is for the people who haven't read much Fringe fic, the readers who are just window-shopping a little while looking for the new recs for Sherlock BBC or H50. This story is a must-read, whether you ship the pairing or not, whether you've seen the series or not. This story blew me away.

This is one of those times where I regret the emphasis fandom places on pairings, because that's not what this story is about. This is about what it's like to be Olivia, trapped and brainwashed into believing she's her doppleganger. It's about what it's like to be at war with an enemy who looks just like you but who can't understand what makes you tick, not really. I especially love the way cherryice uses the structure of alternating POV, with Alt-Olivia's being left-justified and Our Olivia's being right, a clever device which also signals the differences in how their brains work, and perhaps even the difference between life here and life Over There.

Read The Shape of a Sooner State