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There are actually more Life on Mars crossovers than I had anticipated. There are the crossovers with Ashes to Ashes, Doctor Who (and related fandoms) as well as other shows featuring John Simm and Philip Glenister. And then there are crossovers that don't seem nearly as intuitive, until you finish reading them just *knowing* that they actually happened. In both canons. Title: An entrance somewhere else Pairing: Gen Length: 1,400 Author on LJ: petronelleAuthor Website: hereWhy this must be read:Oliver Welles finds himself transported to 1970s Manchester, where he offers helpful advice to Sam and Gene and is then forced to spend more time in CID than he may have wanted for his trouble. Petra's Oliver, Sam, and Gene are wonderful as always, and this fic combines Oliver's thinking about his past and continued attention to ways he could stage everything around him with his observations of Sam and Gene. It combines humor with moments of sadness and is an excellent character study/ casefic. ( excerpt )An entrance somewhere else | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: none Length: 2302 words Author on DW: PetraAuthor Website: Fic on AO3Why this must be read: Before I turn in the keys to the van, I'll leave you with this fic by one of the the best writers in S&A fandom. It's a Canadian Shack (with bonus team building) tale about five people who shouldn't be left alone anywhere without supervision--but we're glad they are because we wouldn't have this otherwise. Petra does an amazing job with the characters, from Richard's enthusiasm and cluelessness, to Darren's gleeful snarkiness. But most of all, we do see the affection among this delightfully screwed up group, and you wish you could join them as they read aloud from Shakespeare. And thanks to Anna, you may never look at alphabet soup the same way again. ( A preview... )You can find Now Is the Winter of Our Management Retreat on AO3 or DW, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: Oliver Welles/Geoffrey Tennant, Ellen Fanshaw/Geoffrey Tennant Length: 1805 words Author on LJ: sphinxvictorianAuthor Website: Fic on AO3Why this must be read:Because who better than Frank and Cyril to give Ghost!Oliver the nudge he needs to move on? In this post-series fic, sphinxvictorian captures Oliver--melancholy, lost, dramatic--in what would've been a perfect epilogue to the finale as he makes peace with himself and with Geoffrey. And the final paragraph is classic Oliver. ( A preview )Thou'lt Come No More can be found here, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: none Length: 1311 words Author on LJ: quiesceAuthor Website: Fic on AO3 and LJWhy this must be read: Crisis!Management!Fic! Because the only thing more awesome than Anna and Nahum are Anna and Nahum when they team up to deal with Darren-related drama. Plus, we get bonus Maria, who doesn't show up nearly enough in these stories. The first time I read this, I could envision it playing out in an episode. Quiesce does a great job with the voices to bring all four characters to life. I'm amazed--and sorry--that this is her only S&A fic. ( A preview... )Castles in the Sky can be found on LJ and AO3, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: none Length: 337 words Author on LJ: On DWAuthor Website: Fic on AO3Why this must be read: Akamine_chan's snippet about Geoffrey at his discharge hearing from the mental institution is both funny and heartbreaking--often in the same sentence. She deftly captures a man who's not completely sane but can act it if necessary, who's about to take his first steps back in the world that broke him in the first place. ( A preview... )You can find Play the Part on LJ or AO3, and don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Title: After Fortinbras, by Brigantine Pairing: Ellen Fanshaw/Geoffrey Tennant, Ray Kowalski Length: 3250 words Author on LJ: brigantine1 (also on DW) Author Website: Fic at AO3Why this must be read:Geoffrey and Ellen pick up a stray: Ray, who's gone on a walkabout of sorts. First, you need to know this is a corollary fic or sequel to katallison's due South story, Go Gentle (warning: have tissue on standby). After Fortinbras is the perfect balm to Go Gentle, a hopeful story that'll leave you weepy, but in a good way. She nails the characters: Ray's bruised and grieving, and looking for new purpose to keep going. Ellen's nurturing but still prickly and very much Ellen. Geoffrey's terrified and excited, but willing to take a leap of faith fueled by the need to see what happens next. All three relationships, Geoffrey and Ellen's as well as the one they each begin to form with Ray, shine through. ( A preview )After Fortinbras can be found on her LJ, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Title: Scenes from a Cultural Exchange, or The Muppets Take New Burbage by LovelyPoet Pairing: none Length: 2300 words Author on LJ: lovelypoetAuthor Website: Fic at AO3Why this must be read: You have to ask? Slings & Arrows + The Muppets = one of the most funniest, stories I read in 2011. I knew this would be a crack_van rec as soon I finished reading it. LovelyPoet's Yuletide fic is a series of vignettes about an unusual acting troupe's visit to New Burbage. She matches the Muppets with their Slings & Arrows counterparts so well (Miss Piggy and Ellen!), and the result is a comic gem that meshes perfectly within the wackier elements of S&A. It's sheer crack, yet it feels like it could be canon-compliant. I would happily read more about the Muppet's New Burbage season. ( A preview... )Scenes from a Cultural Exchange, or The Muppets Take New Burbage can be found on AO3, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: Darren Nichols/Geoffrey Tennant Length: 1300 words Author on LJ: sdwolfpupAuthor Website: fic tag on LJ (and DW) Why this must be read:It's a great pre-series story of Geoffrey and Darren, with voices so spot-on that you'll believe these two really are the younger versions of the two we saw on the show, years later and far more adversarial. Even Ellen, who's only discussed, comes through as vividly as the men talking about her. And the banter here is an absolute delight. ( A preview ) Melpomene can be found on LJ and DW, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: none Length: 372 words Author on LJ: bertybertleAuthor Website: Point of Origin (her website) Why this must be read:A fun little story about Anna's crisis-management skills vs. Geoffrey and Darren being themselves ( A preview )Necktie can be found here, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: Ellen Fanshaw/Geoffrey Tennant Length: 1881 words Author on LJ: sageness (also on DW) Author Website: Fic on AO3Why this must be read: Shakespeare! Genderplay! Smut! It starts out as a raucous, sexually charged rehearsal of Twelfth Night, directed by Oliver at the top of his game. It turns into what may be the hottest fic in S&A fandom, when they take their work home. Geoffrey is still caught up in being Orsino and brilliant, adventurous Ellen plays along. The shifting dynamics and roleplay between Geoffrey (Orsino) and Ellen (Cesario), feel effortless and completely in-character. And very hot. ( A preview... )As great a pang of heart can be found at AO3 and LJ, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: Ellen Fanshaw/Oliver Welles Length: 1750 words Author on LJ: elementalvAuthor Website: website and Fic on AO3Why this must be read: This is a wonderful "missing scene" story to answer one of the show's big questions: why Oliver slept with Ellen during the Hamlet production all those years ago. His reasons for doing so--from a director's desire to "control" his actress, to a need to be closer to Geoffrey--are bad, ridiculous and yet perfectly Oliver. elementalv gives us a warts-and-all portrait of Oliver, with his brilliance and arrogance on full display. As he comes up with and sounds out his rationalizations, we see an Oliver that's absolutely full of crap, and so very, very wrong about about how Geoffrey will react when he finds out. ( A preview... )Rationale can be found on AO3, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: Ellen Fanshaw/Geoffrey Tennant Length: 521 words Author on LJ: spuffyduds (also on DW) Author Website: Fic on AO3 Why this must be read: Because it's a heartbreaking and insightful look at Geoffrey's sex life (or lack thereof) during his time in the mental institution, and the years following. As always, Spuffyduds packs so much in so few words, in this case building on a simple confession Geoffrey makes to Ellen about their time apart. ( A preview... )A Different Kind of Haunting can be found on AO3, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: Ellen Fanshaw/Geoffrey Tennant Length: 1399 words Author Website: Fic on AO3Why this must be read: Ellen is one of the more challenging characters in S&A, to like as well as to write. lalaietha captures Ellen's in all her complexity, on what's the worst day of her life. Her anger (at Geoffrey and the world), her rage, her grief are so palpable and completely in-character. And Anna being the one to reach out to Ellen, in her apologetic/helpful way, is both awesome and comforting. ( A preview... )Not Cleopatra-esque can be found on AO3, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Happy New Year! I'm thursdaynext_27, your guide for this month's drive through some fantastic Slings & Arrows fic. This is one of my favorites among the still-growing list of C6D fandoms, and easily one of the best shows of the last 10 years. If you need an introduction or refresher on the dramatis personae, please check out isiscolo's fandom overview. Expect to see a mix of recommended stories over the next 31 days: comedy, drama, gen, porn.... So without further ado: Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: Darren Nichols/Geoffrey Tennant, if you squint Length: 1253 words Author on LJ: isagelAuthor Website: AO3Why this must be read: Because every fandom should have at least one great zombie fic, and this might be the one for S&A. Only at a Darren Nichols production of A Midsummer Night's Dream would someone confuse a zombie with one of the actors. And the threat of imminent zombie violence won't stand in the way of Darren and Geoffrey arguing about the play and the meaning of Shakespeare. Great dialogue and an awesome save by Nahum make this a great (undead) read. ( A preview )Is This a Zombie Which I See Before Me? can be found on AO3 or LJ, and please don't forget to leave feedback for the author. | |
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Fandom: DUE SOUTH / SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: Geoffrey Tennant/Ellen (Fanshaw), Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski Length: 1,428 Author on LJ: [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]Author Website: [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]'s fic tagWhy this must be read: This is one of those stories that never fails to make me laugh. The premise of Geoffrey portraying Fraser in a television show is done in both a way that is inspired and entertaining while keeping the characters' personalities intact. ( Excerpt )Now Heaven Hath All | |
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Title: Dramatis Personae Pairing: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski Length: 20k plus Author on LJ: lucifuge_5Author Website: at AO3Why this must be read: because it's an awesome crossover casefic that takes advantage of the fact that Benton Fraser and Geoffrey Tennant were played by the same actor...plus, the due South/C6D Big Bang archive just opened up last night and this was the first story I read. lucifuge_5 does an excellent job in giving voice to her characters. This story has the true feel of a due South episode - full of ghosts and magical realism and homoerotic subtext and deaf half-wolves. Plus all the drama of the actors at New Burbage putting on Twelfth Night. This is what lucifuge_5 is best at - making wacky-seeming crossovers and AUs seem...not so wacky. Read this one and see what I mean. ( A taste... )Dramatis Personae | |
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Vidder: heresluckMusical artist: Kris Delmhorst Pairing: Ensemble, Geoffrey Tennant/Ellen Fanshaw Vidder on LJ: heresluckVidder's website: Her WebsiteWhy this vid kicks ass:Firstly, it's heresluck who is one of the best vidders in fandom. Told from Geoffrey's POV, this is an amazing journey through all three seasons of Slings & Arrows. Because this is one of her vids, the quality is high, the song choice is poignant and the transition between one character and the next is never choppy. Additionally, the way she focuses the spotlight on several characters in relation to Geoffrey has such a high level of respect and love that it's impossible not to smile and tear up at the same time. Sea Fever | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: Geoffrey Tennant/Ellen Fanshaw, Darren Nichols, ensemble. Length: Novella Author on LJ: troyswannAuthor Website: Outside the Box (her website) Why this must be read:This is my all-time favourite fic in this fandom and one that I'm sure even non-fans of the show will most definitely dig because it's that awesome. As the story begins, we find a woman named Mary who is equal parts anxious and eager to meet with Geoffrey to discuss the contents of a mysterious box. Soon enough and tempted to spill the beans because he's offered soup, Geoffrey starts to talk about a production worthy of the S&A universe. Next thing you know, you too have been swept by the increasingly horrific (fake severed heads as props! Literal rotten meat on stage) and funny (Darren's revised sketches for the costumes! Geoffrey's madcap adventures in Europe alongside a guy named Hans!) Interwoven with Geoffrey's priceless account of the downward spiral in Darren Nichol's production of The Plantagenets are postcards from Geoffrey, e-mails, newspaper articles and interoffice memos--all which add yet one more level of both awesome and fun. ( An excerpt )And At Every Corner Have Them Kiss | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: present Geoffrey Tennant/Ellen Fanshaw, past Geoffrey Tennant/Darren Nichols Length: Flashfic Author on LJ: loneravenAuthor Website: Her websiteWhy this must be read:Geoffrey talks to Anna, Ellen, Cyril, Frank and Darren himself as a way to keep Darren from staging The Taming of the Shrew the way Darren wants to. We learn a little bit more of what's behind Geoffrey and Darren's mutual antagonism. Seeing Geoffrey grow more exasperated as he keeps telling everyone the level of ridiculousness involved in Darren's project is absolutely hilarious. ( An excerpt )Counterpoint (Ecstasy, Fury, Revolution!) | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: (no abbreviations, please) Geoffrey Tennant/Ellen Fanshaw Length: 7,600 words Author on LJ: atrata Author Website: Her websiteWhy this must be read:While I do understand the S&A fandom's fascination with Geoffrey ('cause I adore him just as much), it is in fic where I look to hear (read) stories about him and everyone else. In this fic, we get an Ellen origin story including her first meeting with Geoffrey as well as her bumpy relationship with her family. It is a very exhilarating ride along Ellen as she clicks and connects with Geoffrey again and again. The ending is somewhat bittersweet as Geoffrey's disastrous Hamlet performance is still far away in the future. However, this is more about Ellen making choices and breaking through her walls to become muse, lover and friend. ( An excerpt )Come Ruin or Rapture | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: None Length: 758 words Author on LJ: N/A Author Website: Here at the AO3. Why this must be read:This is very short piece in which we find Geoffrey reflecting on what the theater means to him, beyond Shakespeare and acting. The Geoffrey in this story is feeling a little melancholy perhaps. The reader will usually finish it wanting to give him a hug. ( An excerpt )These Dark and Quiet Spaces (Link goes to AO3) | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: None Length: 726 words Author on LJ: N/A Author Website: All of Scribe's fic is here at AO3Why this must be read:Let's see . . . because it's a Pirate AU? Yup, that's right, Scribe's taken some of the S&A characters and have made them actual pirates. Sure, it's a cracky premise (I actually did a double-take when I read the summary), but you know what? It works!Scribe flips the S&A canon in such a clever way and using so few words that the reader can't help but ask for MOAR stories from that 'verse. Hilarious in its inherent crackiness and very much IC for everyone down to 'Oliver', this is a ficlet that deserves to be read again and again. ( An excerpt )A Thousand Furlongs of Sea (Link goes to AO3) | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: None Length: Flashfic Author on LJ: inlovewithnightAuthor Website: Her LJWhy this must be read:Geoffrey, Anna and Richard have a sit down with Darren to discuss Darren's latest production for the New Burbage Festival. An argument between Darren's ideas about what art is versus Geoffrey calling him on his ridiculousness ensues. Oh, and Geoffrey 'discovers' the internet. Enough said. ( An excerpt )alt.shakespeare.burbage | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: None Length: Short Author on LJ: curtanaAuthor Website: Her LJWhy this must be read:Though debatable, it can be said that Anna is one of Geoffrey's closest friends. To me, it seems like curtana looked at the canon and though 'well, why him and not Ellen?' In this very IC fic, Anna gives Ellen a ride home. Once they are away from the theater, Anna's personality grows somewhat more assertive while retaining her sweetness. In contrast, Ellen's divaness gets put on ice, giving way to a particular kind of vulnerability. It's a sweet story of people reaching out and connecting. ( An excerpt )You Could Help, It Wouldn't Be That Hard | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: Geoffrey Tennant/Ellen Fanshaw, unrequited Oliver Wells/Geoffrey Tennant Length: 3,900 words Author on LJ: petronelle Author Website: Her Delicious TagsWhy this must be read:A better question would be what are you waiting for to sit down and read it? For those who don't know, petronelle's Slings and Arrows fics are fantastic. In this story, for example, she takes what is a ridiculous premise (Sloan and dead!Oliver write a play) and infuses it with so much humour and heart that it is virtually impossible not to love it. ( An excerpt )A Foolish Wit | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: None Length: 3,800 words Author on LJ: tangleofthornsAuthor Website: Her website Why this must be read:Because even though we know how things went down the night Geoffrey Tennant went mad, we can't help but be swept away into seeing it again through Cyril's eyes. As it stands, Cyril is one of the series' secondary characters, but he is also someone whose theatrical knowledge (as an actor, at least) is very much alive. Intertwined with that particularly terrible Hamlet performance, we get to see a little bit more of what Cyril's life is like. There is some humour in Cyril's reflections about his relationship with the absent Frank. A worthy read. ( An excerpt )Those That Play Your Clowns | |
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Fandom: SLINGS & ARROWS Pairing: None Length: Flashfic Author on LJ: rue_du_hoquetAuthor Website: Here is her Fic Master List. Why this must be read:I like to think that Darren's adventure in Germany went something like this. The lure of vital, true-to-the-core-of-what-makes-the-theater-experience is too power for a self-proclaimed brilliant artist with post-modernist sensibilities like Darren crumbling into a convoluted mess. We go along with Darren as he meets and tries to direct a rather loopy group of theater folk. The fic keeps building up until a New Burbage connection brings him back to Earth. rue_du_hoquet gives us a Darren who is both perplexed and fascinated by the situation he finds himself in. A very fun read. ( An excerpt )Four Ways that Darren Nichols Failed at Germany and One Possible, Partial Sucess | |
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Fandom: Slings & Arrows Pairing: Geoffrey/Darren (sorta) Length: A little over 1,900 words Author on LJ: spuffyduds Author Website: Her LJ Why this must be read: Written for the 2008 yuletide , this is a story that taps into the idea that Geoffrey and Darren must have had some really crazy-but-fun times when they were younger. Just in case you don't know, spuffyduds is a total riot when it comes to writing humour. Peppered with both Darren's quirks and Geoffrey's brilliant theatrical mind, this is one story that brings out the LOLs. Bonus points for the way the story segues into Geoffrey and Darren in bed. Their smexin' is as organic and prickly as I imagine it would be.
( An excerpt )
Five times Geoffrey Should Have Admitted that Darren is a Fucking Genius (Link goes to spuffyduds ' AO3 page.) The story can also be found here at her LJ.
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