Haven't read any fanfic. Which one should I start with?

Thanks for the plug, even if it was unintentional!!

I've finished a nice long chapter 8 but am waiting for an edit from a friend before posting!

I was hoping to get a conversation going as to people's views on crossovers in general.

How many out there think that they're embarrassing self indulgent rubbish?

For those who don't like them, who is brave enough to admit that weird and unlikely combinations intrigue them just a bit as to how that might work?

Does anyone have a bizarre crossover they want to suggest? I could always wrack my brains for a short story that might work!

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I'm not actually a crossover fan at all - I find that too often either the physical crossing is handled badly or one or more of the characters tends to be OOC. Maybe it's just the ones I've read. I live in hope...

Anyway, in response to the original question - if you never read a single fanfic again, make sure you've at least read these three, in no particular order:

* Next of Kin, which I only know of at the author's livejournal - http://eustacia-vye28.livejournal.com/ and go back four pages to find the first post. (At the moment it's four pages... chapter 1 is currently sitting at the bottom of the fourth page back, so you may need to look further. Posted on November 9th 2005 in case it drops into calendar.) It starts out slightly pedestrian but very quickly shifts into that rarest of gems, an utterly plausible post-BDM Rayne, with a superb supporting cast of OCs (Jayne's mother Vera!) and a star turn from Regan Tam.

* The Fish Job, which I'm surprised nobody's mentioned yet as it got rave reviews when it was being posted - very good pre-BDM story, perfectly paced, perfectly characterised and, at points, psychologically terrifying. Start from Mal4prez's profile at http://www.fireflyfans.net/fulluserbluesunlist.asp?un=mal4prez.

* Bed and Wine, by Kaynara, starting at http://www.fireflyfans.net/fulluserbluesunlist.asp?un=Kaynara. It's the sequel to a two-parter called Strange Bedfellows and a longfic called Bedlam; you need to read the others first. They're very good. Bed and Wine is brilliant. Again, the characterisation is the winner.


I tend to navigate by author as much as fanfic; the remainder of my top ten authors list, therefore, comprises an author already mentioned, LJC, and several who haven't, namely Maantre, 2x2, Amdobell, Kispexi2, and Leiasky (on this site) and Roseveare (on fanfiction.net). I always tend to go for long fiction that's well-characterised.

***
http://forums.ffonline.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19
Creative Writing

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Next of Kin...oh let me just second and third this! That is such a great tale. She posts a chapter per week, usually on Tuesdays. And she's not even half way done with it.

Definitely a must read. Pairings are S/K and J/R.


"A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned."

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Leiasky:
Next of Kin...oh let me just second and third this! That is such a great tale. She posts a chapter per week, usually on Tuesdays. And she's not even half way done with it.

Definitely a must read. Pairings are S/K and J/R.

"A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned."

---

I've tried to read this and the writing is good, but I just cannot abide authors who have River refer to herself as "she" or "the girl", when she never does that in the show except in one or two occasions, one of which, in Objects in Space, just happens because Mal is talking over her head about her to Simon, with her just at his side. He asks Simon "does she understand that?" and River answers "she understands. She doesn't comprehend", and you can't tell me she hasn't a perfectly valid reason to refer to herself as "she" in the context of the conversation (and she was making a point, at that). I just get mad to see everyone -- even authors that seem to write well -- falling into that particular trap. Didn't they watch the series and the movie?

Sorry for the rant...

Edit: I have read a little more into the story and the author seems to gradually loose the whole "she" and "girl" thing (that I've been able to see, as I'm only in the 3rd chapter), but I would have liked that she hadn't even gotten into it in the first place. Oh well...

*******************************
Wash: This landing is gonna get pretty interesting.
Mal: Define "interesting".
Wash: [deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die?

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So, after reading this thread, I'm losing my life to fanfic. I'm such a geek. But in that good way. Right? ... Right?

Anyhow, I thought I'd mention one that hasn't been posted yet. Well, it's a series. I ran into it here: http://words-in-flight.livejournal.com/tag/retro-rec

http://firefly.populli.org/archive/2/spacepirates.shtml
http://firefly.populli.org/archive/2/catand.shtml
http://firefly.populli.org/archive/3/recurringnightmares.shtml
http://firefly.populli.org/archive/3/timeto.shtml

Absolutely amazing.

Now, I have a request. I'm looking for some good post-BDM fic. I read Forward Motion, and that started so well, but kinda lost its momentum towards the end. (If the author is reading this, don't be offended! I read the whole thing and it's the best post-BDM fic I've read yet.) I have to say that I'm a bigger fan of canon pairings (not so much on Jaylee and a big no on Mal/River).

Anybody got a rec?

Thanks ... and a big thanks to all of you writers out there.

-J

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Shanna's stories are excellent. I absolutely love them.

For stories to read, do you want recs that are heavy on plot? Fluff? A mixture? Do you prefer to read specific pairings? Like not M/I but S/K or vice versa?

Janafae writes S/K and R/J fluff.

leighkohl writes S/K. Most of her stuff has a plot, I think.

Kaynara does a lot of M/I with some S/K and is definitely plot driven.

TamSibling has done some post and some pre BDM stuff and its very good. Mostly plot driven.

Wanmei does a lot of S/K stuff. She also does non-cannon pairings.

AMDOBEL writes cannon pairings with plot.

FrellingBlonde writes S/K fluff.

I do some of all of it tho' never any non-cannon pairings.

Off the top of my head, that's all I can think of for Post BDM fic.


"A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned."

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Thanks for the prompt response.

In response to your questions, I'll say that I'm a plot kind of fan (but who isn't?). Some of the "extended vignettes" are fun, but I'm a sucker for a story.

I've got no specific pairings that I like to read, and even though it's all kinds of cathartic to read people's versions of how Mal and Inara finally get together, maintaining a tension definately helps the stories pop.

I'll look into the authors you mentioned, and if you're feeling kind, maybe you (or anyone else, for that matter) could make a specific recommendation. All y'all are a prolific bunch!

:-)

Thanks again.

-J

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Eridu:
Now, I have a request. I'm looking for some good post-BDM fic. I read Forward Motion, and that started so well, but kinda lost its momentum towards the end. (If the author is reading this, don't be offended! I read the whole thing and it's the best post-BDM fic I've read yet.) I have to say that I'm a bigger fan of canon pairings (not so much on Jaylee and a big no on Mal/River).

Anybody got a rec?

-J

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I pointed a few above in a previous post in this thread (Red Run, New Prospects, GeekUSA's second season) but you can also try this one: Antebellum (multi-chaptered but still WIP). Start here: http://www.fireflyfans.net/sunroomitem.asp?i=6402

If you find more good Post-BDM fic out there, let me know, since that's the kind I tend to prefer. :)

Ah, and if you read Red Run, stick to it despite it being a bit slow on plot after the first 2-3 chapters until later chapters, it has the most amazing character development I've seen post-BDM yet for all characters, especially River. In fact, the chapters that are part of the Group Therapy and afterwards are incredible and funny and profound. I recommend this series highly, so stick with it even if the first couple of chapters seem a bit slow. It gets better and better. I thought the author might have given up on it after not posting more chapters since January but they recently published another, so I'm hoping they write more.

*******************************
Wash: This landing is gonna get pretty interesting.
Mal: Define "interesting".
Wash: [deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die?

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Xeyra:


Ah, and if you read Red Run, stick to it despite it being a bit slow on plot after the first 2-3 chapters until later chapters, it has the most amazing character development I've seen post-BDM yet for all characters, especially River. In fact, the chapters that are part of the Group Therapy and afterwards are incredible and funny and profound. I recommend this series highly, so stick with it even if the first couple of chapters seem a bit slow. It gets better and better. I thought the author might have given up on it after not posting more chapters since January but they recently published another, so I'm hoping they write more.

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It can be incredibly nerve-wracking when you read a work in progress and get caught up ; only to discover that there hasn't been any progress in over 6 months.
I must be waining on continuations of at least a dozen fics(here and fanfic.net) at the moment.

Waiting.

I could stand to hear a little more.

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