Okay, my last rec for the month! I appreciate all of you being kind on my first time out, even though it was a bit of a bumpy ride! For my last rec I come bearing the first RPF fic to ever fully move me. As an RPF pairing Simon Pegg/Nick Frost is deceptively rare - their epic bromance well charted to the point where they actively ship themselves. But, from within this very small sub-genre I have found a piece based on an actual story that they tell on chatshows that epitomizes them as best friends and for those like me (with slash goggles firmly implanted) their unique relationship.

Fandom: RPF (British Comedy
Pairing: Simon Pegg & Nick Frost
Length: ~1,000
Author on LJ: kindkit
Author Website: On AO3
Why this must be read:

Sadly, very few people write RPF for Simon & Nick... fortunately it allows this amazing slice of life piece to be a shining example of what can be done. This short (but amazingly sweet) piece is a take on the story Simon has told many times about sleeping (as in actual sleeping, not sex) together one last time the night before Simon's wedding. This is gen, but the guys do fall into a very homosocial arena in real life as well as fiction.

When I came up to rec for the fandom, this was the one I knew I had to close with. A story of doors closing and opening, and everything changing while remaining delightfully the same. It is the first RPF fic that moved me to the point of tearing up. Honestly, it's well worth the first read - and every one after. Absolutely amazing work.

Best Man

I'm sorry for being such a bad driver this month, between life and LJ downtime it's been difficult! That said, I am back tonight with a delightful bit of ultra-fluffy Noel and Julian goodness. (fingers crossed it makes it through)

Fandom: RPF (British Comedy)
Pairing: Noel Fielding/Julian Barratt
Length: 2835
Author on LJ: thieving_gypsy
Author Website: On AO3
Why this must be read:

I have stalked the Boosh fandom for a few years now, and this year finally took the leap to write my own with aspirations of drawing as much of Noel's playful and childish side out as I could. This fic is precisely why.

Deepdarkwaters has an amazing bead on Noel as a character and through each work she's done her command of Noel (and also Vince, but that is another topic) is exactly the parts I want to see shining through - whilst managing to maintain a very entertaining, thoughtful, and well written story. I had to pick just one piece that I thought defined Noel & Julian's relationship over the years - and this was the hands down winner.

A cute, fluffy retelling of their life... with a bear.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees

Back again with a little more David Mitchell goodness.

Fandom: RPF (British Comedy)
Pairing: David Mitchell/Charlie Brooker
Length: 4179
Author on LJ: valderys
Author Website < href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/valderys/works">On AO3
Why this must be read:

Two men trapped in Jonathan Ross' panic room. What could possibly happen? Well, mostly scrabble. Mostly. Sort of.

This is one of the first pieces of Brookerfic that really got me loving him just as much as I adore David. Valderys is excellent with creating the level of awkwardness inherent in any story involving David Mitchell. Layered on top of that delightful awkwardness is this delightful bit of smutty goodness that comes out of the boredom of being trapped for who knows how long in a bunker.

Distraction, Double Word Score, 28 points

And here we are again, I promised some Mitchell and Webb, and have come to deliver.

Fandom: RPF (British Comedy)
Pairing: David Mitchell/Robert Webb
Length: 4039
Author on LJ: marginaliana
Author Website: On AO3
Why this must be read:

David figuring out what he's missed is a rather common (though always adored to me) trope in Mitchell-centric fic. That said, this piece brings something amazingly fresh and unexpected to the party. I will say that this piece deals heavily with Rob's marriage and how David copes (or doesn't) with it. I find that while the overall tendency in shippy RPF is to either ignore or break up a "canon" relationship, BritCom tends much more towards a slightly more realistic exploration of relationships that don't take that road. This story is no exception, the real-life relationship is handled excellently and doesn't detract anything from the shippy value.

Marginaliana's command of David's tone and inner workings is fantastic. The concept of David sorting his world into three compartments (things that were worth thinking about, things he can't afford to think about, and things that he's allowed to think about only insofar as they contribute to the comedy) leads to his views on Rob - being a bit of category #3 and increasingly category #2. As the story progresses, it parallels the relationship that Rob has with his wife and their soon-to-be baby with their own development and birthing of This Mitchell and Webb Book. And the ending just feels right. Trust me, if you read only one Mitchell and Webb fic (and why would you?) I strongly recommend this one.

Category #2

I swear I will get into three a week once the days get a tiny bit longer! Either way, I'm back round the block today with another dose of Brit goodness; this time in the form of The Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt. I'm a huge fan of double acts, and while the Boosh are a five man team Noel and Julian are frequently treated as their own separate entity and classed as a double act. They have a strange energy between them, Noel's flighty and frequently child-like behavior mashed up against the more reserved and 'classic' Julian seems like a team doomed to burn itself out, but I firmly believe there will always be something special there.

Fandom: RPF (British Comedy)
Pairing: Noel Fielding/Julian Barratt
Length: 5820
Author on LJ: sheldrake
Author Website: sheldrake on AO3

Why this must be read:
Up front, this piece is a mind trip. It's told in third person, but apparently from the inside of Noel's head - as the title suggests he's having difficulty dealing with the implications of time. Time is weird, as the story states strongly, it moves forward and sometimes back or sidelong. It stretches, thick and thin, creating an altered reality in Noel's mind.

While there is Noel/Julian content - this story is not really about Noel and Ju. It's about everything.

It's beautiful, really. This is one that I'll let speak for itself.
( Excerpt Below )

So, while it may not be everyone's cuppa - I thought it was a delightful journey into the altered state of Noel's mind. Really, just a beautiful read.

Living With the Effects of Involuntary Temporal Slippage -- A Case History

Heya, back again! This time I come bearing another pairing of my favorite sort - socially awkward and difficult. I'm a huge fan of David Mitchell and outside of his partner in crime Robert Webb (whom I'll cover later - promise) I had never actually read fic involving him with someone else. And then I got a delightful tip in my inbox that lead me to Calico's doorstep (or, you know, AO3 page). I was peripherally aware of Brooker's writing and had seen him on the odd programme but until I caught him paired with David on the Big Fat Quiz 2009 I hadn't really taken much notice of him. So, seeing him paired against David in fic was something totally new and unexpected. I read the first few in the archive and fell in love with her characterization of Charlie's insecurity played against David's (much more apparent yet somehow totally different)neurotic tendencies. I could quite readily recommend all of her stories but this one in particular really stands out from anything like it.

Fandom: RPF (British Comedy)
Pairing: Charlie Brooker/David Mitchell
Length: 20,568 (sort of)
Author on LJ: ukcalico
Author Website: On AO3 & On LJ

Why this must be read:

The first thing I'll cite is the premise, I'm a sucker for accidental dating - particularly when you have a character like David that is nervous at the mere prospect of potentially dating. Calico handles this with amazing ease - regardless of the path you choose to take our characters to their end.

Which leads me to the second, and perhaps most amazing, reason to read this - you get to choose your own ending. I've not seen very many choose your own ending pieces, and never in my favorite little RPF fandoms... so that alone blew me out of the water! Will they? Won't they? It's up to you. And, if you're like me, you get to read all of the variations!

It's a simple story, but full of depth and the certain delightful self-deprecation that no David Mitchell fic would be complete without.

Trajectory Unknown

Hi! My name is Amber, and I'll be driving the RPF van this month! As it's my first time behind the wheel I've picked a rather scenic country lane to drive and gone with a somewhat more rare niche of RPF fandom, that being British Comedy RPF. For the most part you can expect gen or slash (or slash if squint) pieces starring various individuals from BBC staple comedy programmes including sitcoms, sketch shows, and panel games... or, in most cases, crossover double acts that are a little bit of all of the above. So, sit back and enjoy the ride!

Fandom: RPF (British Comedy)
Pairing: Stephen Fry/Hugh Laurie
Length: ~2k
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: On AO3
Why this must be read:

For my first RPF pairing I come bearing a bit of Fry & Laurie - staples on both British television and Hollywood... which is where this piece picks up.

Just Trying To Maintain gives us the perspective of an increasingly Americanized Hugh as he struggles to pin down his identity in LA and acclimate to the way things work in Hollywood. I've found that for many friends who have started in the House M.D. fandom, this piece is a great stepping point the tight, but very well written world of Fry & Laurie RPF. morganya's style is very fitting to Hugh's character, and she does a brilliant job of capturing the vague sense of emptiness that LA is for Hugh. The ending gives us a bitter-sweet reality with just a hint of what he left behind, namely Stephen. The subtlety of the Hugh/Stephen subtext creeps on you, as you realize exactly what it is that Hugh is searching for in his day-to-day life. It's funny, in a way that makes me chuckle... but also in a way that's sort of sad.

Just Trying To Maintain