(no subject)

[katallison]

For the most part, I had a quiet, low-key Thanksgiving, just hanging out with my brother and sister-in-law, people in whose company I am deeply comfortable and happy. We nattered pleasantly about many things, watched some football, ate coma-inducing amounts of good food, had much excitement when a small hawk (a kestrel? a sparrowhawk?) appeared at their birdfeeder.

But there was one rather head-spinning moment early on when my brother said to me, "So, um, I have a question--do you know somebody named Destina?" Now while my brother is the only person in my RL who's privy to my Sekrit Identity as Kat, *this* particular question totally came out of left field, so I ulped and said, "Uh ... yes? She's a buddy of mine, very cool person, and you came across her name where exactly?" So he explained he'd done a search on my pseud and had come across a rec Des had done of some of my dS fiction, and had followed links and read a couple of my stories--Roots Rain and Executor. He had really, *really* nice things to say about them, which was -- just amazingly lovely.

Because, see, by and large I'm all about the compartmentalization, keeping the various parts of my life cleanly separated from each other, Kat-the-fannish-person over here and my RL self over there. But my brother knows me better and more deeply than anyone else in the world, and it was really starting to *pinch*, not being able to talk freely with him about all these other engrossing parts of my life. Especially because he's someone who has a lively interest in the meta aspects of fandom, both the sociological complexities and the myth-creating, world-building elements.

As I said, he sort of knew about this stuff--I'd talked with him in a very general sense about fanfiction, and had shown him some vids. But it was all still in the abstract, distanced, and I felt nervous about actually showing him any of my stuff.

Anyway--after a while he talked about how he'd nosed around and found a bunch of other fanfiction, most of which was pretty awful. I said, "Yeah, there's a ton of crappy fanfic out there, but the good stuff is, like, really *really* good," and then I halted again, because I'm still not clear on how cool he is with the whole slash thing, and most of what I'd really like to steer him toward ends up being slash, mostly because that's what I know best.

And then Green Bay scored, and then the turkey came out of the oven, and the conversation moved in other directions. And now it's hours later and I'm sitting here still with the head-buzz, skimming back over my stories and trying to decide how embarrassing various of them might be for him to read, and also trying to put together a set of links to really good stuff I think he'd enjoy. He's not deeply familiar with a lot of the shows I know, though I'm getting him into dS (lent him the first season DVDs, for starters, and will then walk him through the rest of the seasons), but I know he's a big old Star Trek fan-boy, and has at least some knowledge of Buffy and HL and XF.

So does anybody want to contribute recs for either gennish or not-too-wildly slashy stuff in those fandoms? For starters, I'm thinking Anna's Season Noir, and Sylvia Volk's HL stuff, and LoneGunGuy's XF, and maybe Oklahoma; and on the nonfictional side, Jane Mortimer's wonderful essays on fanfiction. Other suggestions warmly welcomed, though.

And, um ... eeeeeeeep. (Oh, and K.? You may have found this LJ, if you've looked at my home page, so, uh ... ::weak wave:: hi. Let's continue the conversation, eh?)

Comments

[thete1.livejournal.com]

LoneGunGuy is definitely key. On the Buffy side of the force, send him to read Yahtzee and Rheanna and... hmm. I will think on this.

torch's work, in general, should be pretty safe, too.

[katallison.livejournal.com]

Yahtzee, yes, and thanks! And you know, *I* haven't even read Rheanna's stuff, so ... ::making notes::

And I'll definitely point him toward some of torch's work, though not all of it, at least to start with (we'll hold off on the boybands for now, and Jeeves/Wooster might make for explodey-head ... *g*)

[thete1.livejournal.com]

Oh! And at least a few of Melymbrosia's stories, too...

And Rheanna is here.

[thete1.livejournal.com]

Actually, a better site for Rheanna is here.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

You made me smile big, Te. I wouldn't have thought of mentioning my stuff. The current site is here (http://melymbrosia.gatefiction.com), though.

Kat, is the issue that you don't feel comfortable recommending very sexual stories or very u/c ships to your brother, or slash specifically? Because I could recommend XF het or XF gen or, in many cases, XF casefiles from an MSR perspective, but they're a slightly different set of recommendations. I think you've probably read most the XF slash I'd recommend; I'm much less familiar with that.

I have a bunch of XF recs here (http://melymbrosia.gatefiction.com) under "raves," if you're interested.

[thete1.livejournal.com]

You made me smile big, Te. I wouldn't have thought of mentioning my stuff. The current site is here, though.

Hee! Thank you! I *thought* you'd moved.

And really, you have a gift for writing stories that make me say "yes, *this* is why fanfiction exists" -- in a way that can easily be explained to the mundane. *g*

[lapillus]

I'd second those and add Rheanna's Stargate fiction if he wants to venture into SG. Oh and for XF RivkaT's "Acadia" is good the original is gen although I think she also put out an MSR missing scene.

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

Does he like MST3K? If so I can recommend some fantastic MSTings and a great, non-MSTing gen story, "3000: A Space Oddity." The fandom is pretty much dominated by gen-writing, slash-politely-ignoring nerd guys so it might suit as well. :-)

[katallison.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yeah! I even mentioned MSTing to him, in the context of "crappy fanfiction," and he seemed interested. I know you've got some great recommendations on your site, so I'll go browse and harvest. Thanks!

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

:-) One caveat--Web Site Number 9 is down for maintenance right now, so some links won't work. Direct Actual Workin' Links:

3000: A Space Oddity, by Mike Barklage (Gen story: Joel's adventures on Earth after his escape from the SOL. Widely acknowledged fandom classic that manages to be completely canonical and completely original all at once.)

The Marrissa MSTings, by multiple authors (MSTings of Star Trek fanfic by Stephen Ratliff, all featuring his Mary Sue to End All Mary Sues, Marrissa Amber Flores Picard. Lots of MSTings, some of them very long, so while WSN9 is down this should keep 'im busy.)

And Two More Workin' Links...

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

Shinji's Vault of Anime MSTings

The MST3K One-Act Play Project

[panisdead.livejournal.com]

Vehemently's XF casefiles (the Sovereignty trilogy). And there was an XF writer, MSR but within the context of casefiles--name started with an N? I think it was Nascent. She seems to fit in with the tone of your previous recs too.

God, Oklahoma. I haven't thought about that in years.

[katallison.livejournal.com]

Yes and yes, and thanks! God, I've been away from XF for so *long* ... ::sniffle::

And I was just rereading Oklahoma recently, due to a recommendation someone posted somewhere. That was the first real piece of fanfic I ever read, back when it was first posted, and hoo boy. I mean, it gets a bit out of control at times, but what an amazing ride.

[kittygoslingp.livejournal.com]

You know I'm really delighted by your post. I am a person who tends to keep various aspects of their life in different boxes so I totally relate but, sometimes, there comes a point when you want some of your boxes to do a little Venn intersection and that can be hard and awkward, particularly if it transpires that one of the boxes you want to show to someone important to you is, in fact, some years old now. So that allied to your anxiety as to how they will react to this newly revealed facet may be some concern as to whether they will feel hurt by the fact that you weren't more open with them earlier. Actually, this doesn't relate to you, this isn't what you said, this is me thinking of aspects of my life but, to cut a long story short, I'm really glad that your brother was nice and encouraging about your work (as well he might be because, subject matter to one side for a moment, you are a seriously good writer as no-one can deny).

One of my sisters knows that I have livejournal (thanks to you! Thanks again.) and now has one herself and knows that I read slash, I don't know how she feels about that, we haven't discussed it merely mentioned the quality of writing involved in a particular story but, as she is the one I'm closest too, I tell you our relationship has, even over this short period of time, broadened and deepened as a result of this new openness in a way which I am really grateful for.

I have no recommendations to make - I would have suggested Eliade's Noir but you already have that and, as for the rest, I think you are better qualified that I to choose.

[ardent-muses.livejournal.com]

There are probably zillions I'm forgetting, but in DS I'm a big fan of Shay's "Wait Until Dim". I think you can read it as pre-slash, but it's technically gen and one of my faves.

Glad you had a good day, and I'm glad that this development with your brother was happy and not threatening (as it would be in my case). Sounds like you have a good relationship. :)

[hafital.livejournal.com]

I always enjoyed Beck McLaughlin's gen stuff for HL. Her Mythos series does go into slash, but (and I haven't read it yet, so I don't know just how slashy it is or anything. Although I do plan on reading it soon!) that's on her other page, and I don't think the previous two suffer for not reading a third part. :)

[logovo.livejournal.com]

XF has so many good stories that are *gasp* not slah. Have you thought of these?

Bargains - Amperage and Summer
Burning Book - Vickie Mosley and Summer
Etched - Sean Smith
Iolokus - RivkaT and Mustang Sally
Tikkun Olam - RivkaT and Mustang Sally

HL gen recs

[dorothy1901]

Along with Sylvia Volk, I'd recommend Amand-r, Teresa Coffman, MacNair and Sandra McDonald. Also, Killa has a page of gen recs.

[falzalot.livejournal.com]

I've always loved Gentlemen's Rules (http://lmg1138.home.mindspring.com/hl/gr_cover.htm), and not just because Marg let me help torment Duncan. :-)

fun list!

[axiom_of_stripe]

oh, definitely oklahoma and jane mortimer's essays. hmm. what can i recall offhand (and actually find!)....

gen:
* kris williams -- sentinel gen
* d.l. witherspoon -- sentinel and others gen, often frames stories with expository lumps for newbies
* house rules by merry -- sentinel gen

non-explicit slash:
* everything you need in one convenient location by julad -- sentinel preslash
* long time looking by anna -- sentinel slash
* and when he falls by torch -- good omens slash
* falling rain by aria -- good omens preslash

damned if i know:
* orleans by hth -- buffy femslashish

funny:
* gun wounds again? by quoth -- star trek frippery

ooh, this is fun! maybe i should send this to my brother....

Recs

[taverymate.livejournal.com]

Single best place to start off for Trek recs, especially TOS of any stripe, is Killa's rec page & her linkpage.

She recs gen, het and slash, with a primary focus on ST-TOS, Kirk & Spock focus (continum of friendship to lovers).

She gives enough info with her annotations to actually help you decide what to check out. The rec page is for individual stories, while the linkpage is for sites (authors/archives/lists/newsgroups). I've never run across a clunker there and I've found some absolute gems.

ST-TOS gen writers that get a lot of recs are Kathleen Dailey, Claire Gabriel and Chris Dickensen. Killa lists their sites on the linkpage, I'm sure.

Killa's link & rec entry page
http://seacouver.slashcity.net/killa/linkpage.html

Killa's ST rec page
http://seacouver.slashcity.net/killa/linkpage3.html

Killa's ST linkpage
http://seacouver.slashcity.net/killa/linkpage_trek.html

Rabble Rouser also has an excellent ST rec page with an ST-TOS focus. Again, excellent annotations - she also notes award winners in red font.
http://www.geocities.com/rabble_rouser_st/Good_Reading.htm

Both Killa & Rabble Rouser note which stories are gen/het/slash so you could pick and choose for your brother - or he could sort through with relative confidence that he knows what he'll find at the other end of the URL.

Orion Press Archive has a good group of ST gen writers. (Link can be found at either Killa's or RR's page).

Killa also recs for HL as I'm sure you know - gen and slash pages are separated out so that might help with your search, and a number of other fandoms - her Starsky & Hutch page is excellent.

And for some stuff that I don't have URLs handy but should be easy to find -

One of my favorite XF gen humor stories is Queeqeg Gets Even by Laurie Maher. I know that it was archived in several spots.

Also, Punk had some gen XF vignettes, I seem to remember. And some of Pares' XF stuff is gen, too. Justine Glasser has some good gen XF; I seem to remember at least one joint effort with Pares.

Cici Lean - not active anymore in XF but her stuff is still archived I think.

XF - Brighid has some achingly bittersweet stories with a focus on Scully.

And though the work is slash, it is still the funniest stuff I've ever read in XF - anything by Ethan Nelson (aka Mallory Klohn). Her XF stuff is archived now at AnneZo's site
http://trickster.org/radiofree/annezo/

She also wrote two of the best humor pieces in due South (Free Parking & One Man's Kink - both F/RayV). Her dS is at Ex-wood as well as at Pares' site.
http://www.debchan.com/skalab/bent.html

due South - AC Chapin has some superb gen stories, as well as one of my all time favorite F/RayV stories (Acharnement). I know that's in Ex-wood as well as her site. A couple of her dS stories may only be on her site - at least at one time a fair bit of her work wasn't archived.

Happy hunting!

[brancher.livejournal.com]

Kat,

I have just the thing for you.

Macedon & Peg's braided Voyager novel, known as the "Talking Stick/Circle" stories. They can be found here:
http://members.aol.com/MacedonPg/

Now, I *hated* Voyager, but these stories are what that series *could* have been. The last story, The Rose and the Yew Tree, is simply one of the best s.f. novels I've read. And it's not slash.

Enjoy!

[halimede.livejournal.com]

Talking Stick/Circle & The Rose and the Yew Tree recs seconded. It's been a couple of years since I read them, but they blew me away.

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

I sure hope your brother has some free time.

[destina.livejournal.com]

Oh dear god. I'm mildly freaked out by that whole surreal identity crossover accidental facilitation thing. Well, I guess it's time to go back and update all the oldest pages on my site with nifty no-index tags. *g*

[killabeez.livejournal.com]

{{{commiseration}}} Over Thanksgiving, my mom asked me if she could see some of my videos and read some of my stories. I showed her (and my dad) some vids. Nervewracking!! I'm still waffling on the story thing. You should share some of yours with your brother, though - your writing is too good not to share. Maybe Xeriscape? I always thought that story would move anyone, even if they'd never seen the movie. Although, really, I think you could share anything you've written and be proud of it.