Theodosia (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
theodosia21) wrote2010-04-27 08:01 pm
theodosia21) wrote2010-04-27 08:01 pm
Entry tags:
Ten of My Favorite Short Fics
So, in my previous post, annotated_em asked me what my "top ten favoritest fics ever" are, and what my "favorite characters/fandoms and why" are. Both of those questions require an extensive response, especially the first, so I'm breaking my answers up into several posts. In fact, asking me to list my 10 most favorite fanfics is really, really hard, so I've decided to tackle them in two groups- short fics and long fics- and then I might have another post about some WIPs I'm excited about, and maybe another about some awesome authors I might not have mentioned yet.
It's still a difficult task, but at least this way I don't have to bring out the "creative mathematics" and redefine 10 as, say, 50. *sparkles*
TL;DR- I'm going to start with 10 of my favorite short fics, where I'm defining "short" as "less than 20,000 words." There will be lots of really awesome short fics that I'm not mentioning, of course. You can see some of them here.
Anyway, in no particular order, here they are:
1. Leaving New York, by Meredith T. Tasaki
Fandom: Young Wizards
Summary: When mercenary Carmela agrees to take on a young wizard client, the job starts striking a little too close to home...
Author Notes: AU, futurefic, character death, Carmela/OFC.
Length: 15,541 words
My reason: Because this is an awesome, original character study of an amazing women and what she can accomplish without special wizardly powers. It isn't always a happy story- there's references to past character deaths- but there's a persistent sense of hope nonetheless. If you don't know the canon, not everything here will make sense to you, but I suspect you could enjoy it anyway, as the focus is on someone who was a minor character in the books and it's set in an AU future.
2. On Being A Sith Lord, by DarthAmmonite
Fandom: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Summary: Having a Sith Lord in your head is bad...having a Sith Lord with a really foul sense of humor is even worse.
Length: 17,936 words
My reason: Because it is at once hilariously funny and heartrendingly sad. What would *you* do if you found out that you used to be a Sith lord? No canon knowledge is necessarily, really, as long as you know Sith = bad guys and Jedi = good guys.
Have a quote!
3. The Sun Always Rises, by Lacewood
Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Summary: In a different world, Tsuna had a different Sun guardian - Kyoko.
Length: 10,581 words
My reason: Because Kyoko should be awesome. And in this fic, she really, really is, without ever feeling out-of-character. Warning: in order to justify that change, Ryohei is killed just before the story starts.
4. got a boy in the war, by Lisse (aka![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gotosleeplisse)
Fandom: Naruto
Summary: Naruto's parents don't so much fall in love as accidentally trip over it.
Length: 4,339 words
My reason: Because this is the most adorable love story ever. And the ending is a punch in the gut.
5. Triage, bymercurial_wit
Fandom: Naruto
Summary: Sasuke comes home.
Length: 7,838 words
My reason: Because my OTP for Naruto will always be a OT3, and this is the *realest* Sakura/Sasuke/Naruto story I've ever read. Their relationship isn't easy. But when they finally sort themselves out, it's all worth it. All three of them are so very much themselves.
6. Going Marching to the Sea, bygotosleeplisse (aka Lisse)
Fandom: Hetalia
Summary: The first step towards living up to your own ideals.
Length: 1,149 words
My reason: Because this is what's beautiful about my country. All you need to know is that countries have personifications. In this story, America's personification deals with the Civil War.
7. Variant, by Jamjar
Fandom: DCU
Summary: Made and manufactured by the good people at Cadmus... Now, a Tim Drake for every occasion. And all dysfunctional and creepy in their own, special way!
Length: 6,888 words
My reason: Tim Drake is my favorite DCU character, bar none. This is a fascinating AU, and I love how the ending line flips your understanding of the entire story.
8. How the Four Traveled to India, or, Somebody's Been Sleeping In My Bed, byciceqi
Fandom: Saiyuki
Summary: Once upon a time, on the way to India...
Length: 4,688 words
My reason: 46 drabbles that tell how four messed-up people made their way to India, through the lens of fairy tales. Beautiful and creative, without a single word out of place.
9. A Maze of Twisty Passages, All Alike, by Merry
Fandom: Vorkosigan Saga
Summary: Loyalty and familial concern had driven him to join the search for Gregor; he'd never for a moment considered he might actually find him.
Length: 9,927 words
My reason: Because I've never believed that Ivan could really be as stupid and incompetent as the books made him appear. This fic lets Ivan shine while remaining completely in character. I think you could enjoy this without previous canon knowledge; I'm not sure. I suggest you give it a try anyway! Then go and buy the books- Lois McMaster Bujold's awesome. ^_^
10. The Invisible City; or, Dick Mayhew and his Marvellous Cat, by calliope85
Fandom: Neverwhere
Summary: Of the Evils Besetting the City of London; the Return of the Great Warrior; his Travels and Travails in the company of de Carabas the Traitor; and the Tale of the Lord Mayor of London.
Length: 14,077 words
My reason: Because it's beautiful and evocative and makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time. You don't need much canon knowledge- I've never read the book myself and I loved this fic.
By the way, if you want to leave your own question or prompt, you still can. ^_^
annotated_em asked me what my "top ten favoritest fics ever" are, and what my "favorite characters/fandoms and why" are. Both of those questions require an extensive response, especially the first, so I'm breaking my answers up into several posts. In fact, asking me to list my 10 most favorite fanfics is really, really hard, so I've decided to tackle them in two groups- short fics and long fics- and then I might have another post about some WIPs I'm excited about, and maybe another about some awesome authors I might not have mentioned yet.It's still a difficult task, but at least this way I don't have to bring out the "creative mathematics" and redefine 10 as, say, 50. *sparkles*
TL;DR- I'm going to start with 10 of my favorite short fics, where I'm defining "short" as "less than 20,000 words." There will be lots of really awesome short fics that I'm not mentioning, of course. You can see some of them here.
Anyway, in no particular order, here they are:
1. Leaving New York, by Meredith T. Tasaki
Fandom: Young Wizards
Summary: When mercenary Carmela agrees to take on a young wizard client, the job starts striking a little too close to home...
Author Notes: AU, futurefic, character death, Carmela/OFC.
Length: 15,541 words
My reason: Because this is an awesome, original character study of an amazing women and what she can accomplish without special wizardly powers. It isn't always a happy story- there's references to past character deaths- but there's a persistent sense of hope nonetheless. If you don't know the canon, not everything here will make sense to you, but I suspect you could enjoy it anyway, as the focus is on someone who was a minor character in the books and it's set in an AU future.
2. On Being A Sith Lord, by DarthAmmonite
Fandom: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Summary: Having a Sith Lord in your head is bad...having a Sith Lord with a really foul sense of humor is even worse.
Length: 17,936 words
My reason: Because it is at once hilariously funny and heartrendingly sad. What would *you* do if you found out that you used to be a Sith lord? No canon knowledge is necessarily, really, as long as you know Sith = bad guys and Jedi = good guys.
Have a quote!
"You…" said Darth Malak, closing his hand into a fist, "are Darth Revan."
Sabine glanced over her shoulder briefly to see who he was talking to. Carth? No, the surgery involved would be ridiculous. Bastila? Well, anything's possible, and she does like to hear herself talk, but I wouldn't have guessed—
"You," said Malak. "In front of me. With the purple lightsaber." It was difficult for cybernetics to look nonplussed, but he managed.
"Who, me?"
"Yes."
Sabine stared at him for a couple of seconds, and then started laughing.
"I'm what?"
"You're Darth—"
"No, I heard you, I just don't believe you. That's…just…Are you trying to lay the groundwork for some kind of insanity defense?" She gestured with the lightsaber, setting it humming. "Because I was just planning on killing you, frankly, so don't go to any trouble on my account."
She stopped. The quality of the silence behind her had gotten awfully loud.
She turned and looked. This probably wasn't the smartest thing to do with a Sith lord standing in front of her, but she looked anyway.
Carth was glaring at Bastila. Bastila had her eyes pinned on Malak, but her expression was pure guilt.
"It occurs to me," Sabine said slowly, "that I am the only one laughing."
3. The Sun Always Rises, by Lacewood
Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Summary: In a different world, Tsuna had a different Sun guardian - Kyoko.
Length: 10,581 words
My reason: Because Kyoko should be awesome. And in this fic, she really, really is, without ever feeling out-of-character. Warning: in order to justify that change, Ryohei is killed just before the story starts.
4. got a boy in the war, by Lisse (aka
gotosleeplisse)Fandom: Naruto
Summary: Naruto's parents don't so much fall in love as accidentally trip over it.
Length: 4,339 words
My reason: Because this is the most adorable love story ever. And the ending is a punch in the gut.
5. Triage, by
mercurial_witFandom: Naruto
Summary: Sasuke comes home.
Length: 7,838 words
My reason: Because my OTP for Naruto will always be a OT3, and this is the *realest* Sakura/Sasuke/Naruto story I've ever read. Their relationship isn't easy. But when they finally sort themselves out, it's all worth it. All three of them are so very much themselves.
6. Going Marching to the Sea, by
gotosleeplisse (aka Lisse)Fandom: Hetalia
Summary: The first step towards living up to your own ideals.
Length: 1,149 words
My reason: Because this is what's beautiful about my country. All you need to know is that countries have personifications. In this story, America's personification deals with the Civil War.
7. Variant, by Jamjar
Fandom: DCU
Summary: Made and manufactured by the good people at Cadmus... Now, a Tim Drake for every occasion. And all dysfunctional and creepy in their own, special way!
Length: 6,888 words
My reason: Tim Drake is my favorite DCU character, bar none. This is a fascinating AU, and I love how the ending line flips your understanding of the entire story.
8. How the Four Traveled to India, or, Somebody's Been Sleeping In My Bed, by
ciceqiFandom: Saiyuki
Summary: Once upon a time, on the way to India...
Length: 4,688 words
My reason: 46 drabbles that tell how four messed-up people made their way to India, through the lens of fairy tales. Beautiful and creative, without a single word out of place.
9. A Maze of Twisty Passages, All Alike, by Merry
Fandom: Vorkosigan Saga
Summary: Loyalty and familial concern had driven him to join the search for Gregor; he'd never for a moment considered he might actually find him.
Length: 9,927 words
My reason: Because I've never believed that Ivan could really be as stupid and incompetent as the books made him appear. This fic lets Ivan shine while remaining completely in character. I think you could enjoy this without previous canon knowledge; I'm not sure. I suggest you give it a try anyway! Then go and buy the books- Lois McMaster Bujold's awesome. ^_^
10. The Invisible City; or, Dick Mayhew and his Marvellous Cat, by calliope85
Fandom: Neverwhere
Summary: Of the Evils Besetting the City of London; the Return of the Great Warrior; his Travels and Travails in the company of de Carabas the Traitor; and the Tale of the Lord Mayor of London.
Length: 14,077 words
My reason: Because it's beautiful and evocative and makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time. You don't need much canon knowledge- I've never read the book myself and I loved this fic.
By the way, if you want to leave your own question or prompt, you still can. ^_^