fanfic love

A place to celebrate fanfiction and share our love for specific fics :D this is a sideblog run by brooklynboos

[ao3love]

Why I love A Series Of Optical Illusions by @fahye

This is truly literally unequivocally one of the best fics I've ever read. Not just in the Miss Fisher fandom. No, I mean ever. One of the biggest challenges in writing fanfiction of any kind is to understand the characters you are writing. You didn't create them, but you have to understand who they are and extrapolate from there what they might do and how they might think in a setting or situation that was not covered in the source material. And that is what is so Right about this fic. It /gets/ Phryne and Jack and who they are both individually and together. 

What's more, it allows the reader a beautifully in-depth look into Phryne's thought processes, which is absolutely delightful. The images evoked by the language are wonderfully rich in voice and texture. The plot is engaging, but not overpowering. There is a character arc that feels like the real closure, more so than what was provided by the tv series. My favourite part is Jack offering Phryne the choice and decision to join him in solving the mystery of who they might be together, rather than asking her to let him in. This is such a balancing of equals. I am blown away.

[ao3love]

why i love: Critical Feline Mass by @kryptaria &  @zooeyscigar

This fic is an absolute classic in the fandom, as far as I’m aware. Since it has been around for such a (relatively) long time (it was posted May 2014), it also works to compare the way stucky fanfic has developed over that time, in what fandom accepts and wants and how certain characters are conceptualised. I finally got around to reading it yesterday (September 20, 2016). And it helped to actually define for myself why I (and possibly the fandom at large) love modern AUs so much for this particular pairing.

There is not a whole lot of plot to this story. Bucky is done with the war, he’s looking for a place to live, and Sam suggests Steve. Bucky is flirty and Steve is a looming character (to him) initially and shenanigans ensue. Much fluff and some mild smut, all good stuff. This is a general pattern for most modern AUs (there are definitely many exceptions as well). Canon-compliant fics, especially those set before or during the war, tend to be lower on the fluff factor (which like. the Great Depression and homophobia and WWII and all, it makes sense there is more of a permeating atmosphere of tragedy).

So I guess modern AUs work as a refuge for that pain, a way to give Steve and Bucky the happier stories and endings they deserve. But reading Critical Feline Mass I finally managed to articulate for myself it’s even more than that. Because most modern AUs also contain a certain narrative of hope in them. At the beginning of each story in this genre, Steve and Bucky tend to be on autopilot, spinning their wheels, struggling, figuring things out, generally not realizing / accepting that something vital is missing from their lives.

I’m not saying that we all need romance in our lives or anything like that. But we enjoy these narratives where as soon as Steve and Bucky come in contact with each other, they both start growing personally. They make each other better. They blossom and find their callings or even carve out a niche for themselves. And I really dig how these fics feel like they’re glowing with love and hope and the belief we can all be better and there’s good in the world and we can work to have it too.

[ao3love]

why i love: The Daily Rogers, by nonymos

It’s refreshing to see Steve depicted with some flaws, and to see his flaws depicted so well. I feel fandom tends to put him on a pedestal, and this characterisation shows that even the best intentions can have negative repercussions, as his stubbornness and self righteousness are extrapolated from and taken to extremes.

I also appreciate that the writer tries to show Tony’s side of the issue, although it’s clear that the reader is supposed to side with Steve and (especially) Bucky. This was definitely true for me at least. 

Finally, I am a big fan of stories that incorporate social media, and here is a fic where social media play an active role in the characterisation and plot development. This is something I hadn’t really come across before, and I love it!