ladybusiness | Fanwork Recs

Fanwork is awesome and sharing fanwork is even more awesome. Join us as we keymash and squee over our favorite fanwork, from fic (both written and podfic) to art to vids and meta and back again. If you find something you love, we encourage you to comment/favorite and let the creator know you enjoyed their work. :D

Recommendations included:

Captain America: Civil War — art (1), fic (1)
Crossover: Marvel Cinematic Universe/RPF — fic (1)
Critical Role — art (2), fic (2)
Dragon Age — fic (2)
Elder Scrolls Online — art (1)
Ghostbusters — art (1)
DC's Legend of Tomorrow — fic (6)
Marvel Cinematic Universe — vid (1)
Overwatch — art (1)
Person of Interest — art (1)
Saiyuki — fic (1)
Star Wars Rebels — fic (1)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens — art (1), vid (1)

Jaime is a lifelong nerd who loves video games, romance novels, found families, music of every flavor, and fandom in all its forms. She's been reading and writing fanfic since the days it had to be done in notebooks and zines, which yes, does make her feel old, thank you for asking. You can find her talking about all sorts of things on Twitter at jaimewrites, and if you like any of the things mentioned above or recced below, you'll find her obsessing over them on Tumblr at shadowedhills.

Jaime

I was utterly thrilled to be asked to contribute guest recs for Lady Business; like everyone, I take whatever opportunities I can to share my favorite fannish pleasures with the world! My list is a mix of fic and art, from the fandoms that have consumed my life, one way or another, in 2016. Hopefully, someone out there reading loves these things as much as I do.

[FIC] [Dragon Age] Royal Pains by

satine86 (21,052 words) (Cassandra Pentaghast/Varric Tethras)
A modern AU, in which Cassandra is the reluctant future Queen of Nevarra, Varric is a biographer, and there is a fake engagement. I'm a sucker for that trope, what can I say? And this is a particularly delightful example of it, full of witty dialogue that I can hear in each character's voice. Lovely and fluffy, a fic I read to cheer myself up when I'm feeling down.

[FIC] [Dragon Age] Between the Lines by

tarysande (2,835 words) (Cullen/F!Inquisitor)

tarysande's Rose Trevelyan is possibly my favorite of all Inquisitors who are not my own; however, this really isn't a story about her, but about Cullen and his lifelong love of books and stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Quiet and full of emotion, looking at his history from childhood to Templar to the Inquisition. A great character piece.

[FIC] [Star Wars Rebels] Tetraptych by

MementoVivere (5,981 words) (Sabine Wren/Original Female Characters)
This is a lovely, lyrical character study of Sabine, told in brief vignettes about her past love/sex life. Mostly f/f, with a very brief mention of an m/f relationship, it traces Sabine's possible journey from Mandalorian Imperial cadet to rebel artist by looking at the people she's been drawn to over the years. I love the language in this, simple and evocative.

[ART] [Critical Role] Untitled by

alienfirst (Percy/Vex)
One glance at my Tumblr will tell you the tale of my last few months, and that tale consists entirely of Critical Role. As no one has asked me here to write a million words about why I love it, I will simply say that Percy and Vex are my new favorite OTP, and

alienfirst's depictions of them are 100% the best. I particularly love just the brief hint of blue on both of them in this picture.

[FIC] [Critical Role] A Civilized Discussion by

curriebelle (~2,000 words) (Percy/Vex)
Written from the point of view of Trinket. Who, if you don't know, is a bear. Yes, an actual bear. This is the most adorable story I've read in a really long time, and made it into my recs at the last moment because I read it today and literally clapped my hands over my mouth to keep from squealing in delight.

[FIC] [Critical Role] I'll show you how it's done by

sabinelagrande (3,088 words) (Percy/Vex) (NSFW)
And if you like your fic a lot less G-rated, here's some excellent femdommy smut. It's brilliant and perfectly in character for both of them and OH so hot, and I need a million more fics like this for them.

[ART] [Critical Role] The Twins by

kerriaitken (Vex, Vax)
The half-elf twins (and Trinket) doing what they do best. I love the lighting in this picture - it makes the setting look like first light on a cold day, while their expressions just make me very sorry for whoever they're staring at just off screen.

[ART] [Overwatch] Hanzo by

artgerm (Hanzo)
There's a lot of really amazing Overwatch artwork out there - I could probably do a whole rec post just for that - but this is the one that made me literally gasp when I was scrolling down my Tumblr dashboard. The tattoo detail is really unbelievable.

[ART] [Elder Scrolls Online] Thieves Guild by

spader7 (Quen, Velsa, Zeira)
Not enough people on Tumblr/in fandom play ESO, which is a shame, because I love it a lot. So when I come across fanworks for it, they make my day. Especially when they're awesome portraits of my favorite thieves in the game.

Clare

[FIC] [Marvel Cinematic Universe/RPF] Keeping Up With The Kardashians by

drop-deaddream (3,047 words) (Captain America, Kim Kardashian)
This is a lovely fic about the strange prices of fame, reinvention, and owning your image even against forces that would take it away from you. I’ve read a handful of really fascinating profiles of Kim Kardashian lately, so this feels like a part of that.

Jodie

I fell down a Coldwave fic hole. Halp!

[FIC] [DC's Legend of Tomorrow] Capital and Labour by

punkrockyuppie (1,818 words) (Leonard Snart/Mick Rory)
Four times Leonard and Mick had to act like a couple on a job. Coldwave fake boyfriend fic with a resolution at the end - yes, I approve! I also totally dig the choice to put Mick in a suit and make him go to a fancy party. The thought of down and dirty Mick in a suit is just delicious.

[FIC] [DC's Legends of Tomorrow] A Whole Lotta Money (That's Ready to Burn) by

Sckikopathic (10,351 words) (Leonard Snart/Mick Rory)
Drunk-fic is possibly my favourite thing ever. Drinks and clubs allow for so much sloppy emotion, easy physicality and terrible/great ideas. It's SO much fun. This fic contains the most ridiculous Vegas wedding at gunpoint and it is glorious. And the fleshed out detail of this fic is all to my taste (Mick Rory is not just a meathead sidekick).

[FIC] [DC's Legends of Tomorrow] Beautiful by

dragonspell (2,254 words) (Leonard Snart/Mick Rory) (Warnings: Underage)
A really cute fic about moments when Mick tells Leonard he's beautiful, and the fact that Leonard doesn't believe him. I especially liked the drinking scene (of course), and the bit that references the fact that no one touches Leonard Snart. This was just super sweet.

[FIC] [DC's Legends of Tomorrow] Stars by

believesinponds (3,129 words) (Leonard Snart/Mick Rory)
Lovely flashback scenes. Romance under the stars. Tattoos as a form of commitment. The writing feels so natural as well (which means it's well-crafted).

[FIC] [DC's Legends of Tomorrow] Snow Miser by

Rivulet027 (741 words) (Leonard Snart/Mick Rory)
Mick and Leonard get a cat! A sad, dirty cat that they find in a trap. Mick feeds it ham. And the cat is really an access point into learning more about their relationship. <3 Also, this fandom is so into cute domestic fic which is great because that is exactly what I want for this pairing.

[FIC] [DC's Legends of Tomorrow] Silver Jubilee by

ajremix (2,000 words) (Leonard Snart/Mick Rory)
I feel like I'm just repeating myself but here is another fun, adorable fic. This one's about how most of the Legend's team is totally oblivious to Mick and Leonard's obvious relationship, and the Coldwave team angsting over an anniversary gift competition. Mick's choice is PERFECT.

KJ

[VID] [Star Wars] Fingertips - A Star Wars: The Force Awakens vid by wyomingnot (4:38) (Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren, Hux, BB-8, Poe Dameron, Han Solo) - Set to "Fingertips" by They Might Be Giants, which is actually a collection of 21 "microsongs", each a few seconds in length. I'm not sure how this plays to someone who isn't already familiar with "Fingertips", but I thought the song/scene matches were inspired, and the editing is excellent.

Renay

[FIC] [Captain America: Civil War] you touch me within and so i (know i could be human once again) by

notcaycepollard (12,435 words) (Sam/Bucky)
Here is an alternative universe story where Bucky was turned into a werewolf and used as a supernatural weapon by Hydra, featuring: lots of delicious pining, scent marking, jokes that go over the line from "funny" to "incredibly hot", Bucky "soft lumberjack chic" Barnes, Sam Wilson being totally out of his depth against Bucky with his hair in a bun, and daring rescues. This was great.

[ART] [Captain America: Civil War] Sam/T'Challa by

busylilblop
I was always going to end up here after Sam Wilson asked the ruler of Wakanda if he liked cats.

[ART] [Ghostbusters] Holtzmann by

pixiepunch
Okay, my new sexuality is Jillian Holtzmann, so I'm super happy about all the Ghostbusters art coming out. Here is a GREAT piece of art that captures badass!Holtzmann perfectly. :D :D :D

[ART] [Star Wars: The Force Awakens] Rey by

norhuu
I love all the art featuring Rey that paints her time on Jakku in sunset colors. This piece is beautiful but really bittersweet; she's paused, watching the scene in front of her. We can't see her face, but the time of day given by the colors makes me think about how much her hopes must have risen and fell every day that ended with her still trapped on Jakku with no sign of anyone coming for her. And now I've made myself sad. >.>

Susan

[ART] [Person of Interest] And Despair by

hagar (Sameen Shaw)
This is not my fandom, but I think this art is quite cool? I think the code overlapping the city is a really cool effect! And I love the way that Shaw is highlighted against the background.

[FIC] [Saiyuki] untitled by

memlu (1,003 words) (Genjyo Sanzo, Goku)
Saiyuki was one of my super early days fandoms, so its one of the ones I keep circling back to for comfort reading. And this fic is a pretty good example of why! It has the correct degree of complicated and unspoken feelings, and Sanzo not necessarily being the best at looking after Goku, but doing the best in the face of everyone else being worse.

[VID] [Marvel Cinematic Universe] Glitter & Gold by grable424 and djcprod (2:47) (Ensemble)
I love this vid, it just makes me smile. The song is great, the clips they choose fit it quite well and the sounds they leave in work really well with the music. Fair warning though, it doesn't seem to work on mobile devices! (There is also a REALLY ATMOSPHERIC AND SPOILERY Hannibal video for this song as well, and I quite like that too. <3)

What fanwork have you loved recently?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

stardreamer

KJ: I hadn't heard the song before, and having done so I don't care for it -- but you're right about the excellence of the vid-to-lyrics matching and the editing.

Susan: Congratulations, you've just made me add another song to my Amazon mp3 cart. :-)

ETA: I cannot believe that nobody's done a Hobbit fanvid for "Glitter and Gold" yet! The style and the lyrics both fit so perfectly that I can almost see it in my head. Sadly, what I know about vidding could be inscribed on the head of a pin and leave room for the OED.

Edited Date: 2016-07-23 09:05 am (UTC)

owlmoose

Thanks for letting me know that the vid works for you, even if you didn't much care for the music! :) For me, part of the enjoyment was being familiar with the songbits and trying to predict what clip would be used to match the next one -- sometimes I was right, sometimes I was pleasantly surprised.

spindizzy

Haha, success! Glad to have helped. ;)

bluemeridian

Renay: I've passed up that werewolf Bucky fic at least twice but your rec had me clicking over and I'm super glad since it was excellent and just what I was looking for tonight. :D

readingtheend.com

Y'all are great per uzhe! Loved the Bucky werewolf story, and I have bookmarked the Star Wars Rebels one to read later, once I've watched more than the first episode.