Fandom: STARSKY & HUTCH
Pairing: No pairing
Length: 1,154 words
Author on LJ: vedette_ciel
Author Website: http://vedetteciel.angelfire.com/ and http://starskyhutch911.livejournal.com/ under tag author:vedette_ciel
Why this must be read:

The extremely close relationship between Starsky and Hutch was mirrored in real life by the close friendship between Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul, which continues to this day. Starsky & Hutch fans were writing Real Person Fiction (mostly slash) while the show was still on the air, and according to Fanlore, may have produced " the first known and confirmed examples of RPS fan fiction in media fandom." In recent years, examples of RPF in S&H have been rare. Nexus gives us a moment between PMG and DS just prior to a public event held in February 2012. As Paul thinks about seeing David for the first time after a long separation (PMG lives in Los Angeles, David in England), his recollections of working with his friend when they were young and his anticipation of seeing him again after this most recent separation rings so vividly true it's hard to believe it didn't actually happen. Which is exactly what good fiction is all about—making us participants in a moment in fantasy, and making us believe it is real. This charming story is a tribute to friendship and love.

Nexus by Vedette Ceil

Fandom: INCEPTION
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Length: ~16,580 words
Author on LJ: sawsha12
Author Website: Sawsha12's list of fic prompts and fills
Why this must be read: Last season Supernatural had an episode called The French Mistake wherein Sam and Dean end up in an alternate reality where they're the actors who play them on TV. This Inception fic borrows the same premise and runs with it. What if Arthur and Eames ended up in a place where everyone else thinks they're actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy? What if they're filming a movie called Inception?

The story is by turns funny, sweet, and tense as Arthur and Eames try to sort out who they're supposed to be in this new reality, and who they are to one another (in any reality). More importantly, they need to figure out if there's any way they can get back to the world they belong in before they're expected to carry on with the lives that Tom and Joe have established for themselves. There are some elements of RPF ... but it's really a story about Arthur and Eames.

( 'And…cut!' someone shouted from afar. 'Let’s try one more go at that, but this time I want Dileep to push Joe backwards.' )

On LJ: Reality Check, Part 1
Reality Check, Part 2

If you enjoy the story, remember to feedback the author!

Fandom: HIPSTER RPF
Pairing/Characters: Marilyn Monroe/Marlon Brando, Audrey Hepburn/Gregory Peck, Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton. James Dean, Natalie Wood, Debbie Reynolds, Richard Burton, Frank Sinatra, and Grace Kelly.
Length: 5900 words
Author on LJ: jada_jasmine
Author Website: fic tag on lj
Why this must be read: Finally we're going to end where it all began. This is a Classic Hollywood rpf set today. Here the original cool kids, those screen gods and goddesses of yesteryear are tweeting, going to rooftop parties, wearing red soled louboutins and listening to Lady Gaga. It is a testament to jada_jasmine's skill as a writer that she pulls it off in a way that feels effortlessly.


The thing about Hollywood is half the people believe their whole lives are movies, and the other half believe movies are their whole lives.

You'd look good in black and white

Fandom: HIPSTER RPS
Pairing: Ellen Page/Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Emile Hirsch
Length: 3300 words
Author on LJ: goddesspharo
Author Website: fic tag on lj
Why this must be read: What would a month of hipster recs be without one or two roadtrip fics? In this Joseph Gordon-Levitt (while high on pain killers) gets it into his head that he and Ellen need to drive to Canada. Because he can, Emile Hirsch invites himself along.


( An excerpt )

summer teeth

Fandom: HIPSTER RPF
Pairing: Rose Byrne/Matthew Goode, Rose Byrne/Hugh Dancy, Claire Danes/Hugh Dancy, Diane Kruger/Michael Fassbender.
Length: 3250 words
Author on LJ: falseeeyelashes
Author Website: masterlist on lj
Why this must be read: I had trouble choosing which falseeeyelashes story to rec this month. She writes the most intricate, bittersweet and terribly poetic things. In this she writes about friends and disaffected lovers who never quite say the right thing or manage to have the right timing. One of the people who reviewed this said "they're friends but not really friends and not only do you write them this way, you take it a step further and there's this underlying understanding that they need each other whether they want to or not..." and that encapsulates why this is a must read.

( An excerpt )

mutual assent

Fandom: HIPSTER RPF
Pairing: Kirsten Dunst/Jason Schwartzman
Length: 850 words.
Author on LJ: fated_addiction
Author Website: fated-addiction's lj
Why this must be read: This is a gorgeous sunlight drenched fic that drifts into and out of Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman lives before and during the filming of Marie Antoinette. It's about two people who are friends, and who remain friends while being more than friends. It captures that slow transition in the most beautiful way, referencing the long history they share in such a way that makes it all feel inevitable.

It’s really strange because he recycles she’s like a sister to me to the point where he swears it’s going to drive her insane.

We’re the neighborhood kids

Fandom: HIPSTER RPF
Pairing/Characters: gen. PJ Ransone, Chloë Sevigny, Stark Sands, Alexander Skarsgård, Stellan Skarsgård, Paul Betteny, Jude Law, and Johnny Depp.
Length: 5,500+ words
Author on LJ: __sine
Author Website: masterlist on LJ
Why this must be read: Two words. Chloë Sevigny. Or if the human hipster trump card isn't enough to sway you, what if I tell you that this is perhaps the most eccentric zombie fic I have had the pleasure of reading? It's set in post apocalyptic England which is overrun with the undead and where, through the intervention of Paul, PJ and Chloë are recruitment into a local zombie killing franchise. Together they find themselves teaming up with Stark and Alexander who once thought they were the same person, Paul whose world revolves around tea, and rivals with Jude Law who has a Swiss on his team and is thus luckier than PJ and Chloë's team.

There is something so off kilter about all of the characters and the way they interact with each other and the world around them. The rather gruesome reality of their situation isn't ignored, but __sine employs black humour in a wonderfully batty and sharp way, making this one very rollicking read.

This fic is part of a wider zombie 'verse called the plague_project (which is also excellent) created by laiqualaurelote. I would highly recommend you take the time to check it out also.

( An excerpt )

A Little Madness In The Spring

Fandom: HIPSTER RPF
Pairing: Aaron Tveit/James Franco
Length: 3225 words
Author on LJ: margottenenbaum
Author Website: masterlist on lj
Why this must be read: Any list of hipster recs would not be complete without the angel haired hipster James France. In this, he is an enigma to Aaron Tveit. Set during the filming of Howl, margottenenbaum in many ways, compares Franco to the poem itself. Both are somewhat incomprehensible to Tveit. He has moments of brief understanding, but only moments and after they are over he finds himself, more or less, back where he began.


( An excerpt )

new york city blues

Title:'Bones Become Rainbows 'verse'' by verbyna.
Fandom: HIPSTER RPF/BANDOM
Pairing: Spencer Smith/Andrej Pejic
Length: 3000 words
Author on LJ: verbyna
Author Website: masterlist (links to all crossposts on LJ, AO3 and DW)
Why this must be read: Okay, perhaps this is a little stretch but according to rumours Andrej Pejic make about to sign on to his first film project, so he is or is about to be come an actor, and thus counts (if you squint). Bones Become Rainbows is the first part in an ongoing ‘verse of the same name. verbyna is a sophisticated, and emotionally raw writer. Here she intelligently writes about gender and queer issues in her depiction of two quite different, yet similar people who consciously choose to be together.

Andrej and Spencer only have each other in common.

Bones Become Rainbows on AO3 LJ DW

Fandom: HIPSTER RPF
Pairing/Characters: Mila Kunis/Andrew Garfield, Mila Kunis/Max Irons, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone and in brutalsong's own words "just the right amount of James Franco."
Length: 6000 words
Author on LJ: brutalsong
Author Website: masterlist on lj
Why this must be read:This is something special. Despite the presence of Andrew Garfield (and thus making this a fic that technical skirts the edges of the somewhat established Social Network rpf fandom), this never really received the attention it deserved when it was initially posted which is a shame because it is brilliant. In it, Mila, Andrew and Max are cast in a film where they play a love triangle. Almost immediately life begins to mirror art.

There is something very measured about brutalsong's Mila. There are parallels between her and the character she is playing, but her voice remains strong throughout the piece. Because of this the ending is both difficult to guess and in a way, makes perfect sense when you consider the story as a whole. (If after reading all of that you're still on the fence, read it for James France. He is pure dirty hipster gold in this.)



There's a film and then there's real life. Sometimes they create parallels and other times shit just happens.


Like shattered glass (we never stood a chance)

Fandom: HIPSTER RPF
Pairing: pre-Armie Hammer/Zac Efron, Garrett Hedlund/Andrew Garfield, Chris Hemsworth/Gemma Arterton (post-Henry Cavill/Gemma Arterton).
Length: 2300 words.
Author on LJ: titians
Author Website: masterlist
Why this must be read: There is something soft and sweeping about this au. titians melds Hollywood and myth in an almost dreamy way, creating a world where is makes complete sense that Armie Hammer is Dionysus and he finds his family in costars, with the help of google, and sitting in the front row of fashion week.

( An excerpt )


Hollywood Is No Mount Olympus

Fandom: HIPSTER RPF
Pairing: Nora Zehetner/Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page/Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel//Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emma Stone/Andrew Garfield, Kat Dennings/Jesse Eisenberg, Kat Dennings/Matthew Gray Gubler, Gillian Jacobs/Matthew Gray Gubler, Gillian Jacobs/Joel Mchale
Length: 9000 words
Author on LJ: hazyflights
Author Website: masterlist on lj
Why this must be read: This exemplifies the six degrees of separation rpf genre, however it is far more than an example of how many connections to different actors and actresses one can reference or imply within one piece of fiction. Rather, this is a bittersweet and complex fic about friendships and relationships and the limbo in between. Lightening the tone are fantastic moments of humour and some of the best dialogue out there.

For those intimidated by the list of names/pairings, this one even comes with a handy hipster flowchart to make sense of it all. And if that isn't enough to tempt you, there is also an Emma Stone/Andrew Garfield companion fic, which is well worth taking a look at too.

( An excerpt )

Your mind is just like mine (all filled up with things benign)

Hi, I'm reccing rpf: Actors and Actress this month. This sprawling fandom can be defined a dozen different ways, and be divided into a hundred specific rpf fandoms (lotr, spn, CW, ect). What I'll be reccing this month will be gems and rare pairings, stories that on the whole don't quite fit, or fall just outside of more defined rpf fandoms. They could be lazily called hipster rpf, but more accurately they're the fandom equivalent of six degrees of separation. As such, my recs will follow the same vague formula. But firstly, let’s start the month with a bang.

Fandom: HIPSTER RPF
Pairing: Zach Condon/Shia LaBeouf,
Length: 21,000 words.
Author on LJ: subterrain
Author Website: masterlist on lj
Why this must be read: This is a non-linear story about two people, Shia LaBeouf and Zach Condon from the indie band Beirut, who maybe love each other but mostly don't know each other except in all the painful ways they do. It’s an emotionally complex and challenging read, but well worth the effort.

( An excerpt )

The Fatherless

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: short short story
Author on LJ: elapses
Author Website: I'm still looking. halfbysea
Why this must be read: Remember that scene in Fight the Future? The almost-kiss? Of course you do. This is about that scene and what happened (and didn't happen) later.

There's a practiced art to not kissing, and that's their spring, 1997. Hallways, soundstages, outside trailers, their dedication to choreography is practically maudlin. It's all in the timing, though, and pretty soon their unkisses are down to a beat, their hands never falter on each other's faces, always missing by inches.

They don't miss fifteen times, but that's not when it happens.


History of a Kiss

This is my last rec for the month (and what a perfect story to end with). I hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I have.



Screencap courtesy of http://fuckyeahdavidgillian.tumblr.com/

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: short story
Author on LJ: scullyseviltwin
Author Website: Fic Master List
Why this must be read: I love stories about missed opportunities. In "The Moon is High," I like how the emotional landscape between them shifts in the course of one long-distance phone call from drunken denial to plainspoken need.

The Moon is High

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: short short story
Author on LJ: downstreet
Author Website: Yes, but then again, no.
Why this must be read: This fic is a realistic, sharply written, and non-sentimental look at their relationship, written by yet another writer in the parent fandom who strongly disapproves of RPF but decided to try it anyway, hence the sock puppet. This was originally posted to homeby_five but I can't find that link. Maybe the writer took it down? Read it while you can, I guess.

Reposted to the author's own journal.

Mind the Gap

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: short short story
Author on LJ: hauntsme
Author Website: Yes and no. This is a sock-puppet.
Why this must be read: It's lyrical and bittersweet, with characters I can believe in. What's even rarer in fanfic, it has wit. This fine writer gave us only one story in this fandom, but it's a memorable one. Dear hauntsme, if you are lurking out there somewhere, we miss you.

For a time, she was everything wrong with his life. She was infidelity, a job he was sick of and professional uncertainty all wrapped up in blue eyes, full lips and a sense of us-against-the-world that led them time after time after time to bed. They were nothing alike and everything alike; caught up in so much craziness that they truly believed they were the only ones who could understand each other. Familiarity breeds contempt, they say, but it can breed other things too. She taught him that you can need someone wholly without being in love with them. It was a hard lesson, but a good one, and one they wrote on each other's bodies until it seared the flesh and worked down to the bone.

Inches Apart

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: vignette
Author on LJ: not_as_we
Author Website: fic tag; there is a "Heather" at Gossamer but I'm not sure it's the same writer.
Why this must be read: This is another IWTB fic, (mostly) David POV. This happy-sad short-short story weaves reality and fiction together seamlessly. There are some great lines, but it's too short to quote from. Just read it.

Little Histories

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES (kind of)
Pairing: truthfully, none
Length: 1:34
Vidder on LJ: n/a
Vidder's Website: http://www.exeterstreet.net/
Why this must be watched: I couldn't bring myself to post a "snogger" vid. But I did find this brilliant mock-up by Lyle posted on You.tube. It's a marketing video for two imaginary episodes of A&E's Biography, featuring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. Now I really want to see those non-existent episodes. Not safe for work, however.

The concept: It's X-Files week on A&E's Biography channel in cross-channel promotion for the worldwide theatrical release of THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully's alter egos David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, media darlings of the 1990s, feature prominently in two spots.


"Promos" for David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson on Biography

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: short short story
Author on LJ: severuslovesme
Author Website: her fic tag
Why this must be read: I love stories about people who fall for someone when they know they shouldn't. I also love stories where the line between the role and the actor becomes blurred. This story is about both, and severuslovesme hooked me with the very first line: "There are days that David Duchovny really hates being Special Agent Fox Mulder."

The Year After the Year of Living Dangerously

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: 1,263
Author on LJ: dashakay
Author Website: at AO3, at Gossamer, secretprobation
Why this must be read: The famous hallway scene from "Fight the Future" has a left-on-the-cutting-floor kissing sequence that was put on the Blu-ray release, which subsequently was posted to YouTube. "Cut" was inspired by that very passionate kiss. Yeah, it's very sexy, too, but tempered with sharp observations, and a hint of defiance.


Cut

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: 302 words
Author on LJ: michellek
Author Website: lj tag list
Why this must be read: I'd forgotten I'd saved this to memories from Porn Battle VI (thank the goddess for porn battles). It's a nuanced portrait in miniature of a sexy, complicated relationship.

There are years that live between them, a history.

And We Move in Circles

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES/THE X-FILES
Characters: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Fox Mulder, Dana Scully
Length: It's in the novel annex at Gossamer.
Author on LJ: Not that I am aware of. If you know differently, let me know.
Author Website: Again, none that I am aware of, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
Why this must be read: This crossover was written and posted back in September, 1998, back when RPF didn't exist in this fandom, at least not to my knowledge. It's a classic body-swap story with a twist. David and Gillian are flying to Los Angeles to attend the the 1997 Golden Globe Awards at the same time their characters, Mulder and Scully, who are also Real People, but in an Alternate Dimension, are flying to a conference. They swap bodies! With the characters they play! While they are on the planes! David and Gillian get new insights into their characters! Scully and Mulder get to solve the X-File! Yes, it's total crack, but it's really, really cute. I could hardly wait for crossover day to rec this.

Best Performance By

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: vignette
Author on LJ: trustingno1
Author Website: her fictags are organized by fandom: http://trustingno1.livejournal.com/
Why this must be read: This portrays the characters as I envision them during the filming of IWTB. Re-reading this, there are lines that make me catch my breath, they are just so right.

He says nothing when the first rain falls; a tiny muscle in his cheek tightens, and her laugh is the helpless laugh of someone who hasn't slept in what feels like a week - and he can only stand there, the cold seeping slowly through his clothes - and it's Canada and the fucking rain and Mulder and Scully and a life he thought he'd said goodbye (good riddance) to years ago.

Living Out of Memories

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: vignette
Author on LJ: icedteainthebag
Author Website: http://archiveofourown.org/users/icedteainthebag/
Why this must be read: She has written sharply characterized, sexy stories in every fandom she's been in, so it came as no surprise that she could write great RPF as well. I avoided reading this for over a year because I was toying with writing something similar. Damn, I thought, when I finally broke down and read it. No need to bother with that scenario now. This is really, really good, with a wicked little twist at the end. "They're really hot together, and tragic," ITITB said about the pairing, which works fine as a summary for this, too.

The Reading

Fandom: RPF: THE X-FILES
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: very short
Author on LJ: amalnahurriyeh
Author Website: her fic tag
Why this must be read: This poignant vignette was written in response to a rather controversial (in my head, at least) porn battle prompt. In the hands of a less talented writer, it could have been awful. Instead, as one of the commentators said, "...it feels like David and Gillian, so that the sex fits into their reality, instead of David and Gillian being squeezed into a reality where they have sex." RPF was still so controversial back then in our quaint little fandom that Amal never re-posted it to her LJ, so you will have be content to read it at the Porn Battle.

The Kitchen

Fandom: RPF: The X-Files
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: vignette
Author on LJ: sarken
Author Website: http://archiveofourown.org/users/sarken
Why this must be read: I imagine this story was inspired by this excerpt from Charlie Rose's interview of David Duchovny in the summer of 1998, but this time, we get Gillian's POV.



Sleep Outside Your Window

Fandom: RPF: The X-Files
Pairing: David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson
Length: vignette
Author on LJ: veils
Author Website: crookedhalt
Why this must be read: Since that was the heyday of this tiny fandom, at least in terms of fanfic, I thought it would be appropriate to start with a story inspired by the filming of the second movie. There have been many, but this is a favorite. It's beautifully written: perfectly shaped, sharply characterized, sexy, short and sweet.

They're All About Kissing In Sandboxes

Hi! I'm wendelah1 and I'm going to be driving the van for RPF this month. Sorry for the late start. I'll try to make up for it with plenty of great fic.

This fandom has only made one appearance here, back when The X-Files was in the midst of a mini-revival centered around the lead up to the release of the second movie, I Want to Believe. In April of 2007, veils and elapses created the community where you can find most of the stories I'm going to rec: homeby_five. Probably if the 2008 film had done better at the box-office, or had even been a critical success, the parent fandom might have kept up a little more momentum. Since then the number of people actively writing RPF: The X-Files has declined dramatically. As things currently stand, the fandom qualifies for Yuletide, and as gorgeous and sexy and messed up as these people are, I don't see that changing anytime soon.



( read more here )

Fandom: RPF - Gen/Het/Misc. Fanfic Recs (Stargate: Atlantis)
Pairing: Joe Flanigan/Torri Higginson
Length: ~5,900 words
Author on LJ: phrenitis
Author Website: tags
Why this must be read:

Torri/Joe (SGA) RPF at its best. The imagery is beautiful, the writing clear and descriptive, the actorisations awesome and perfect. If you like good writing and excellent storytelling with deft touches of romance and drama and angst, this is the story to read.

Certainties