Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: vanillafluffy
Author Website: fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

Vanillafluffy continues her love of expanding on minor characters in this suspenseful ghost story. Campa is one of El Mariachi's mariachi friends from Desperado. Unfortunately he doesn't survive that movie, and in this story he finds himself a ghost just following his final shootout. What is your purpose in "life" if you're a ghost? Campa finds himself attached to a diminutive thief, a young girl, who needs his help and may be able to help him. All without knowing he exists.

Happy Hallowe'en!

The Road From Santa Cecelia

This is Mojave Dragonfly signing off of driving the van for a small fandom. Thanks, y'all!

P.S. Email me if you'd like recs of some great WIPs in this fandom. Mojavedragonfly at cox dot net.

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/El Mariachi possible pre-slash
Author on LJ: ficangel
Author Website: fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

I once asked on medical_geeks for information on the realities of Sands's injuries and what the results would be in terms of pain and infection. I was so appalled to learn how bad Sands's first few days would be that I, like many other writers, recoiled away from writing that level of unpleasant realism.

Mari . . . doesn't.

This is the story of Sands's experience after being maimed and wounded on the Day of the Dead, and for the next two days. It's beautifully written. El Mariachi's characterization is more complex than I'd expect in a short piece and Sands's voice is perfect.

He can imagine El Mariachi smiling in the short silence that follows his words. It is not an unpleasant image. "Fortune enjoys making a joke of me." El's fingers whisper across the bandages that hide Sands's stigmata from the world and, goddamnit, he can feel the mariachi smirking. "As it would seem that she does with you, as well."

Three Days

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/El Mariachi
Author on LJ: hmcgirl
Author Website: Deviant Art site
Why this must be read:

It's really hot and has a twist. How is sex different without sight?

Without Sight

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: coelogyne
Author Website: fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

Short and gentle, with a lot of emphasis on how Sands's world sounds to him as he sits in the sun in the dark.


"He was especially mindful of words and tones these days.

He sighed and shifted in the chair, turning towards the sun until he felt it full on his face. No amount of heat could warm him, now. He smirked and tossed his hair until it fell over his face, masked in dark sunglasses. He hadn't seen a girl in. . .

Well, he tried not to think about it."


Mexican Girls

Vidder: Smutcutter
Musical Artist: Bon Jovi
Pairing: El Mariachi/Agent Sands
Vidder on LJ: smutcutter
Vidder's Website: Master Productions
Why this vid kicks ass: First of all, it's the perfect, violent, raucous love song for this fandom. Shot through the heart/And you're to blame . . . Bon Jovi's driving beat synchs wonderfully with gunshots and when the percussion gets very rapid - automatic fire, naturally. It has a clear POV, El Mariachi's, who is a singer/musician, after all. Just look at some lyrics from his point of view, regarding Sands:

Shot through the heart (that happens a lot in this movie)
And you're to blame (well, who is it who's to blame for almost everything in the movie?)
You give love a bad name.
I play my part (El Mariachi, the semi-willing game piece and also musician)
You play your game (again, who would that be?)
You give love a bad name.

Some things just write themselves. *g* Of course, Smutcutter doesn't let it write itself; she elevates it to a sublime level. Besides having a clear POV, the vid has a perfect mix of literal and metaphor, in a lovely constructed reality. I can't get enough of this vid.

Smutcutter asks that you please download the file and watch it from your own computer rather than streaming it off of her web site.

What Really Happened Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: hippediva
Author Website:Crow-Witch's Croft
Why this must be read:

And from Hippediva a powerful Day of the Dead tale suitable for Hallowe'en season. In fact, read her notes at the end for why Oct. 27 is the perfect day for this rec. *g*

El finds Sands and the kid where circumstances have forced them to stay.

( Read more... )

Wind in Late October

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: none
Author on LJ:mojavedragonfly
Author Website:
Why this must be read:

Yes, I'm reccing my own story. I can't see in the rules that it's forbidden, though it's clearly not the convention to do so, and I can see why. But as a small fandom, OUaTiM will go off the screen come November, so it's my job to get you all the good stuff I can this month, and I honestly think this story shouldn't be left off. I'm sure you'll consider the source in deciding what you want to read.

Rather than toot my own horn too much, I'll quote someone else's review. You can find Rusalka's review here. She wrote a better review than I could, and probably a more honest one than I would.

( The first part of rusalka's review is comments on the fandom )

Things go boom real good in Sons of Mexico. El Mariachi and Lorenzo take on yet another cartel and it all goes horribly, violently wrong. It's all Sands' fault, of course, but Sands is having problems of his own, and being blind and psychotic is the least of them. There are gunfights and explosions and big nasty villains, and I could totally see Robert Rodriguez filming it all in my head. And in the middle of all the boom, there's actually a really interesting characterization of Sands and the way he and El relate to each other. The writing is a bit clunky in places, and the villains are totally two-dimensional, but it's all part of the charm. Just relax and enjoy it.

Sons of Mexico

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/El Mariachi
Author on LJ: copper_rose
Author Website: not that I know of
Why this must be read:

A Sands introspective. This short piece is dusty with despair.

"Until I will beg at the last. Please…just put a coin where my eyes used to be; I’ve already paid the toll and then some. Can’t you see that? Don’t you know? Someone must know, the world is full of assholes who know…"

Sanctuary

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/El Mariachi
Author on LJ: hippediva
Author Website: Crow-Witch's Croft
Why this must be read:

Hippediva tells us in her author's notes that Mictlan is the Aztec land of the dead. This is an atmospheric Day of the Dead (suitable for Hallowe'en) story. El is lead to his destiny.

Hippediva's many wonderful stories are in her memories

The Path to Mictlan

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: evilmissbecky
Author Website: fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

Like a series of short AUs, El reflects on what might have been if he had made different choices. Some are poignant, some are predictable, but some are quite surprising. Miss Becky never disappoints.

What If

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/El Mariachi
Author on LJ: coelogyne
Author Website: fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

Another well-written PWP vignette, this one with a theme and a point. It could almost be sweet if it were anyone but these guys. Sands seems to be El's prisoner, but . . .

"It isn't a sadistic urge that compels the Mariachi to keep the blind man here, it is compassion. It is something he had almost forgotten he possessed. Without compassion, the world is a heartless place and people live and die at others' hands, never having a choice.

For all his complaints, Sands is not a prisoner here. In fact, he could leave at any time and the Mariachi wouldn't lift a hand to stop him. The squabble about freedom is a necessary lie, told to each other around the real facts of the matter: neither is equipped for a normal life outside of this small town because their experiences, in different ways, have crippled them."

Good stuff in a small, tight package!

Lies and Lessons

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/El
Author on LJ:evyg
Author Website:fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

It's a lovely, sad, haunting story of El's grief over all his lost lovers, including the blind one who speaks to El in his head and returns to take him in the end. It's a good story to read as we slide toward Hallowe'en.

Dark Night

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/OFC
Author on LJ: no
Author Website:fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

This is the story that sucked me into the fandom. I'm such a fan now that it's almost hard for me to remember when I thought the movie sucked and almost walked out of the theater when I wasn't. Someone sent me a link to this when it was still a WIP and it made me see the immense potential for angsty fanfic in post-movie scenarios.

Sands is rescued in Culiacan by a mysterious woman who won't tell him her real name. She has reasons for this, and when he learns her family affiliations Sands believes she is selling him to a cartel for bounty money. El Mariachi appears and the three of them end up in the middle of cartel wars.

( excerpt )

At the end of this story, Intuitive says "End Part 1," so this could be considered a WIP. The storylines do all wrap up, but she gives a surprise ending with sudden, violent (this is OUaTiM, after all) canon character death. Just thought I should warn you.


El Hombre que Llora las Lágrimas de Sangre

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/El Mariachi
Author on LJ: kukkurkurat
Author Website:fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

Morphine mellows the maniac. Sorry, couldn’t resist the alliteration. But, truly, this is a mellow vignette with El providing comfort to a drugged-up Sands's hurt. El manages to keep up with Sands's symbolic, metaphor-laced meanderings. Lyrical, like all of Kerttu's writing, and it leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy.

Morphine mellows the meandering maniac. Stop me! Stop me, now!

Quote from the story:
“You are high. You will regret this.”
“I am a sociopath, I do not do regret.”

Held Like a Spanish Guitar

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/El, brief Lorenzo/El
Author on LJ: fangirl_lizzie
Author Website:fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

Some stories defy summarizing. In this case, almost anything I could say is either spoiling or is putting my own interpretation on things the author meant to leave up to the reader.

El visits Culiacan on the Day of the Dead. Yes, that much happens, for sure. Then he ... dreams about Sands. Is any of it real? Is insanity catching? Lyrically written, surreal vignettes, with this line from Sands: "I want you in me, and I’ll shoot you if I don’t get what I want."

I love that line!

It's not a long story. Give it a try. What do you think is going on?

Day of the Dead

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/El Mariachi
Author on LJ: auburnnothenna
Author Website: Allusions
Why this must be read:

A classic example of an El-Comes-Back-For-Sands story, and a wonderfully well written one, too. This is the most believable version of that setup that I've read, and the story goes on into a gripping plot and character driven tale. Auburn opens and closes with versions of the "legend" surrounding these two, which sets the tone nicely for the story in between.

( The setup to the El-Comes-Back-For-Sands scene )

La Cancion de Los Pistolas

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: vanillafluffy
Author Website: fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

Vanillafluffy's take on things is always innovative. This story starts almost immediately at the end of Clockwork Mexico, but with a surprising protagonist. Lisiado is a cartelista who has worked for the Gomez cartel for some time. He has married into the family and is raising a son. The Gomezes have suffered a serious setback compliments of the mysterious gun-slinging characters from the previous story, and the internal power struggles that ensue are, at first, of only cynical interest to Lisiado, a world-weary veteran of the cartel wars. Then his own past returns and a meeting with the enemy - El Mariachi himself, and his sunglasses-wearing American associate - opens doors of opportunity for himself and his family. Vanillafluffy warns that this is not a Sands story, and it isn't, though Sands is in it and remains a vital force behind the action. Sands threw "the shapes" that Lisiado "catches." It's great fun to view our two, er, heroes through the eyes of their enemies. This story is not to be missed.

( excerpt )

Taking Care of Business

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: El Mariachi/Lorenzo
Author on LJ: osirisbrackhaus
Author Website: Fafnir's Lair
Why this must be read:

By far the most common pairing in OUaTiM is Sands/El. (Duh!) But if you went looking for a second most common, I believe you would find it is El Mariachi/Lorenzo. This is a haunting and sad vignette of Lorenzo's desire for his tormented friend and the cruel way fate has of giving you what you want.

Fifty Pesos A Night

Title:The City by Guede Mazaka
Pairing: Dean Corso/Miguel/"Green Eyes," Sands/Frederick Abberline, Sands/El/Frederick Abberline/Carolina, References to El/Domino/Campa/Quino
Author on LJ: guede_mazaka
Author Website: Tangible Schizophrenia
Why this must be read:

What a grand and glorious mix of fandoms! We are not in Kansas anymore. I've been waiting half the month to rec this.

Guede Mazaka is another shining light in our dark little fandom, though she's prolific in other fandoms, as well. The City is a multi-fandom AU set in a prohibition-era Los Angeles doppleganger called Los Diablos. A plot to kill the Mayor and pin the murder on El's "family" brings together this eclectic bunch of characters, no small number of whom are played by Johnny Depp. *g* She's even added an OMC, Miguel, whom she tells us looks a lot like Antonio Banderas. If you're new to OUaTiM, please don't start with this one; the crossover characters, not to mention canonically dead ones, will make your head spin. But, for the well- and multi- versed, this is a rare and delicious smorgasbord. Bon Apetit! (or, whatever the Spanish equivalent may be)

( a rare, light moment )

The City

I'm going to be AFK most of tomorrow, so in honor of this month's Small Fandom, a crossover to enjoy:

Title: Mexican Holiday and Creative Sportsmanship by Laylah
Pairing: Sands/Methos
Author on LJ: laylah
Author Website: Taking Undue Liberties
Why this must be read: I'm not sure I heard the question correctly. This has Methos. And Sands. As partners. Blood and sex and blowing people's heads clean off, and sometimes all three at once. Of course they must be read.

Oh, you need more? Well, here's a quote then:

"Sometimes it's a beautiful, kind-hearted girl with six months to live. And sometimes it's a man who was still standing, still fighting, when the trauma he'd just been through should have broken him completely." That made Sands go completely still, barely breathing -- too much, too soon, so Methos continued, "Who also, now that I think about it, was wearing blood all over his pretty face, and that's a look I've always had a weakness for."

If sex and violence isn't enough to do it for you you obviously aren't in the Mexico fandom anyway I'd recommend these stories even so; Sands, blind and newly immortal, lets Methos show both of his extremes - the gentle, caring mentor-friend and the bloody sociopath - and Laylah brings the ends together with such delicacy and skill that you find yourself saying, oh, *that's* who Methos is, after all--

Mexican Holiday and sequel, Creative Sportsmanship

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/El Mariachi
Author on LJ: hippediva
Author Website:Crow-Witch's Croft
Why this must be read:

And, so long as I'm recc-ing Hippediva, did I mention that she is the QUEEN of hot, twisted PWPs? I'm a plot slut myself, but who wouldn't get sucked into ( this? )

It's hard to pick just one of her PWPs, and this one may not be as twisted as some, but here we have one pissed-off mariachi, conflicted about whether he wants to kill the irritating gringo or do him. Great stuff.

Mexican Standoff

She has many other wonderful shorts stored in her memories, here.

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: none, consensually
Author on LJ: hippediva
Author Website:Crow-Witch's Croft
Warnings: prison and rapefic
Why this must be read:

There are those writers who are so good their stories are sublime, and Hippediva is one. She also has a very dark and disturbed muse, and you can see the results in this story. Set well before the events of the movie, CIA Agent Sands is in a Paraguayan prison. Hippediva lays out her story in brutal scenes punctuated by Sands's own dreams/hallucinations/delusions of performing musicals on stage. Yes, musicals. It's a surreal escape and a bizarre backdrop to the violence. This story may establish the origin of Sands's psychotic break, or his insanity may have already been there. Hippediva is too good to be explicit; infer what you will. This is the first story in her "Show Tunes" series, but you can read them all at the link below.


Show Biz (and the Show Tunes series)

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: El Mariachi/Kate Martin
Author on LJ:vanillafluffy
Author Website: fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

This story is a wild and woolly "Mexico" ride. Just like in the movie, the action never stops, unless you call the pauses for steamy hetsmut stopping. Into the same universe as her story Darkness Bound, Vanillafluffy introduces Kate Martin, who works for the same mysterious organization, Millenium Consulting, that Sands learned about in the earlier story. A fast-driving, fiery-tempered, techno-twink with a gun, she is sent to Mexico because this Sands person, whom her boss calls "Lucifer," has gone missing. I expected her, in proper OFC fashion, to fall in love with Sands, and I love it when an author surprises me. Kate can not be said to fall in "love" with anyone, but she enthusiastically falls into bed with the smoky Latin gunslinger. She and Sands do not get on at all, which is fun to watch. And no, none of this is the point of the story. The plot is about a drug cartel, the Gomez cartel, which is trying to move in on Culiacan. After all, the Barillos left a power vacuum there. Unfortunately, one insane, blind ex-CIA agent has decided that Culiacan is his territory and the Gomezes were not invited. Much mayhem ensues.

Vanillafluffy's writing sparkles with her inventive uses of metaphor and language, as well as with the somewhat manic "voice" of her main character. The results are fresh and funny.

( Kate meets El Mariachi )

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that Vanillafluffy calls this story a crossover with Silence of the Lambs, because she used the-girl-down-the-well in that movie as inspiration for Kate. What becomes of someone after such an experience, she asked, and thus was born Kate Martin, determined to be competent, prepared, and never someone's victim again. But Silence of the Lambs serves only as obscure backstory for a character who is in all other ways original. This is a Mexico story, and a thoroughly enjoyable one. It has a sequel, called Taking Care of Business, which is more about the Gomez cartel and does not have Kate in it.

Clockwork Mexico

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: Sands/El Mariachi
Author on LJ:evilmissbecky
Author's stories on LJ:missbeckymexico
Author Website: fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

And now for something completely different. Different for Miss Becky, that is. After committing herself so wonderfully and thoroughly to the scenarios in her Still Standing trilogy (After the Dust has Cleared, When All is Said and Done, and Que Quieres en la Vida) Miss Becky changes gears and writes a completely different scenario. End Game is darker than the others, and is unabashedly slash. This time it is El Mariachi who is slipping into the abyss of insanity and Sands who is relatively sane. Don't miss this one; it's my favorite.

( excerpt )
OUaTiM Overview

End Game

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: none
Author on LJ:melodywilde
Author Website:fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

It's a well-written, satisfying post-movie fic, with some grand Sands torture. *eg* El Mariachi hears of an attempt on El Presidente's life, and reasonably enough, assumes Sands must have been involved. He goes looking for the man, knowing nothing of what became of him after the coup. All is not as it seems, and El inadvertently leads some old enemies to Sands's location. Then, as the CIA agent is tortured, El has to decide if he cares enough to mount a rescue. Very angsty, and Sands is wonderfully in character with the snark. The story goes on to show Sands how there can be people in the world who care for him. Aw.

( excerpt )

OUaTiM Overview

Survivors

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: vanillafluffy
Author Website: fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

This story has the most realistic portrayal I've read of Sands dealing medically (and painfully) with his own wounds. It's all from his POV, so we get a lovely glimpse into our beautiful psychotic's twisted mind. Vanillafluffy's writing is always fresh and creative, and I'll be reccing others of her stories.

It's almost a fandom cliche, now, to start OUaTiM stories from the end of the movie where the wounded Sands is propped against a wall in the streets of Culiacan. I did it myself, in a story, though it wasn't necessary, just as a nod to the convention. It's rare though that an author can believably pull off Sands caring for himself, considering what bad shape the movie left him in. In Darkness Bound, Sands gets a little help from the kid, but most of his medical problems, including pain and infection, he deals with alone. Then, Vanillafluffy introduces RC, a mysterious colleague of Sands's, who helps him get revenge on the remains of the Barillo cartel, and offers him an independent position outside the CIA. This sets up the situation for others of Vanillafluffy's exciting stories.

( excerpt )



OUaTiM overview

Darkness Bound

Fandom: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
Pairing: None, in this first story
Author on LJ: evilmissbecky
Author's stories on LJ:missbeckymexico
Author Website: fanfiction.net profile
Why this must be read:

Miss Becky's first OUaTiM trilogy, called "Still Standing" is an absolute classic in the fandom, and I can think of nothing better to rec first in order to introduce people to OUaTiM. After the Dust Has Cleared is followed by When All is Said and Done and finally, by Que Queires en La Vida. The first two stories are action-adventure, but not slash, though the relationship between El Mariachi (El) and Sands is angsty and intense. In the third story (which is in English, despite the Spanish title) Miss Becky satisfyingly gives us a slash relationship. I guess you could refer to the first two as pre-slash. I have a friend who has trouble believing in many slash relationships, but she totally accepted this one because of the intense build-up to it in the first two stories.

In After the Dust has Cleared, which, like many OUaTiM stories begins right at the end of the movie, El Mariachi, a man who often operates more on instinct than on reason, kidnaps the injured Agent Sands from the home of Jorge Ramirez, for reasons even he isn't entirely clear about. Sands slowly heals while El drives them aimlessly from town to town, telling the blind Sands nothing about where they are going or why. For some reason, one of my favorite moments in all of Miss Becky's stories is the scene where they eventually try to kill each other, and reach some kind of understanding.

( In Which War Breaks Out And A Truce is Declared )

OUaTiM Overview

After the Dust Has Cleared

Boom! Pow! Bang! Welcome to the wild world of Once Upon a Time in Mexico fandom. This colorful, shallow, campy shoot-'em-up movie inspires angsty slash, frequently including bullet wounds and insanity. If sociopathic hurt/comfort is your kink, welcome home.

OUaTiM fandom includes two previous movies, El Mariachi and Desperado, as backstory, but, to my knowledge, those movies do not have their own independent fandoms, and knowing their storylines is not critical to being able to enjoy OUaTiM fic. Only in this third movie is Antonio Banderas (El Mariachi) joined by Johnny Depp (CIA Agent Sheldon Jeffrey Sands). A lot of what makes OUaTiM fandom-worthy is the two pretty men with guns and the rest of what makes OUaTiM fandom-worthy is the beautiful Johnny Depp playing a character both crazy and vulnerable.

( Read more! )