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sophia_sol) wrote2023-04-20 01:23 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2023-04-20 01:23 pm
A "don't need to know canon" rec list
I was having a conversation with some folks on mastodon a little while ago about the practice of reading fics for fandoms you're not familiar with, and why it works for some people and not others. I understand both approaches, but I am firmly in the camp of being happy to read a fic whether I know the fandom or not, as long as it looks interesting to me!
The particular pleasures are different, but both ways are good: fic about fandoms you know is pleasurably wallowing in an ongoing conversation about something you love (...or love to hate), whereas fic for unfamiliar fandoms is having fun eavesdropping on someone else's conversation and working out a puzzle while enjoying a good story.
But some fics work better than others for reading without canon to contextualize them, and although I'm up for some challenges, you don't actually have to play this game on hard-mode. So I'm here to provide a rec list of fics I have enjoyed without canon knowledge that I think are more broadly successful for that purpose. I hope you find some to enjoy here too!
Arranged alphabetically by fandom.
The Improbable Future, by marycontraire
6k words, not rated
The fandom: crossover between Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World, which are presumably related to each other, though I don't even know what medium they are in.
The fic: A story about family, especially the relationship between a preteen girl and the surrogate father figure in her life. Extremely heartwarming!
Sentimental Reasons, by Frostfire
16k words, rated T
The fandom: Casablanca, one of those famous classic black and white movies, about war
The fic: focuses on the story of a character who is a minor character in the original movie, which allows you to follow the story easily without knowing the original. All Sam wants to do with his life is play music, but racism and war have a tendency to intervene. The story revolves around his relationship with another man, Richard. I love Sam, and I love his pov in this fic. It's an incredible read!
One More Time With Feeling (or, Charlie Brooker and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day), by marginaliana
50k words, rated E
The fandom: british comedians rpf, ft. comedians I've never heard of
The fic: Timeloop! The classic groundhog day experience! And this was a really impressively done timeloop fic. I was particularly impressed with how well the character arc for the protagonist went from totally-an-appalling-asshole to only-normal-level-sympathetic-asshole, and how it shows some of the ways that being in a timeloop can be really awful. And yet - happy ending! Impressive.
The Retirement of Gabriel Argent, by Sixthlight
5k words, rated T
The fandom: Daniel Blackland, which is, I believe, a book series?
The fic: is about two characters who are not Daniel Blackland. It's about finding a way to live a peaceful life that actually makes you happy, when you never thought such a thing would be possible. It's lovely!
go pick out a white dress, by novembersmith
1k words, rated G
The fandom: Deepwater Bride, by Tamsyn Muir, which I'm guessing is a short story.
The fic: a delightful uhhhh one-sided romance about an eldritch sea monster who is really into a human, much to the dismay of, well, everyone. But the eldritch being will not be disheartened! Such a charming voice.
Hesitation Waltz, by cranialaccessory
20k words, rated T
The fandom: From Eroica With Love, which I know literally nothing about
The fic: Two cold war era spies have to pretend to be married for a case. One of them is flamboyant and foppish, the other is grouchy and bad at acting. Together they learn things about teamwork and trust! (and that they're into each other.)
confirmation bias, by novembersmith
14k words, rated E
The fandom: Integrate, which I'm guessing is a book
The fic: This is the fic that instantly came to mind when I first thought of making this rec list. I love it. It's a totally adorable alien/human interspecies romance, from the pov of the alien, who of course finds the human the alien one. Every single thing in the fic is a delight.
Get Up, and Go Forth, by Frostfire
15k words, rated T
The fandom: the tv show Kings, which I once tried and failed to watch, but is loosely based on the biblical story of David and Jonathan
The fic: Hey, it works just fine as bible fanfic instead! (I'm afraid I don't know how it would read if you aren't familiar with the biblical story. My parents were rigorous about making sure I would be biblically literate.) The fic focuses on the Jonathan character, here called Jack, as he explores what it means to be on David's side instead of his father's. I have reread this fic so many times. It's just so well done!
A Divinely Attractive Arrangement, by Fahye
6k words, rated T
The fandom: the movie Love and Friendship. I've read the book Love and Freindship [sic] but the movie, despite the name, is not actually based on the book!
The fic: featuring the pov of the most amiably oblivious person in the absolutely entire world as he settles into his recent marriage. He's so genuinely happy about everything in his life! Even as it is obvious to the reader how much the other characters in the story are manipulating him. I love him very much.
This Episode Brought To You By, by ryfkah
6k words, rated T
The fandom: a kdrama, Mr. Queen. Going in I did in fact know a very slim amount about the actual canon, which I believe is a useful starting point for reading the fic: it's a show about a modern chef who transmigrates into Korean history, into the body of a queen; the queen, meanwhile, ends up in the future in the chef's body.
The fic: is about both the chef and the queen, as they explore their identity and their desires through the medium of food, and it is a complete delight.
Sweet In the Gale Is Heard, by Toft
11k words, rated T
The fandom: Pegasus, by Robin McKinley, a novel I've never read despite generally being a McKinley fan because I heard it ends on a cliffhanger and the sequel was never published.
The fic: A fixit for the cliffhanger! Interspecies romance between a human and a pegasus, and absolutely lovely.
Things Which Catch the Eye, by petrichoral
3k words, rated G
The fandom: The Pillow Book, by Sei Shonagon, which is a book I have heard of often over the years but have never actually read.
The fic: ships Sei Shonagon with another woman who presumably appears in the book as well, showing the arc of their relationship in short snatches that come together skilfully. Truly excellent.
you wait and you wonder who'll take on your odds, by paperclipbitch
138k words, rated E
The fandom: The Queen's Gambit, a tv show which I gather is about chess
The fic: An "exes to friends to spouses to lovers" marriage of convenience story. I love how well balanced this is between all the different aspects of things going on: the feelings between Beth and Benny, the working out how to make a life together (separate from the feelings), the chess, the simmering sexual attraction, the other people in Beth's life who are important to her, and Beth's understanding of herself. Really good!
Lebenswerk, by Serena
10k words, rated T
The fandom: Sunset Boulevard, a classic movie about movie-making
The fic: A director's relationship with his star actor, and the things he does and doesn't choose to prioritize over the years. It is interesting, and also rather uncomfortable in places, in ways that are entirely fitting to the story. I was really captivated by it!
Moab, by Parhelion
13k words, rated G
The fandom: an old-school sci-fi book series called The People, by Zenna Henderson
The fic: reads like a lovely, quiet, thoughtful, and kind original scifi story itself, about a human-looking space alien orphan stranded on earth with supernatural powers he has to hide, raised by a woman he calls Aunt, as he finds his place in the world of the early 20th century.
Transformers Works, by astolat
331k words, ratings ranging from T to E
The fandom: Transformers. A tv show (or multiple?) and toys and possibly other media as well? About robot war.
The fic: this is actually a link to all of astolat's fics about transformers. Pretty much every transformers fic Astolat has written is basically: given different base assumptions about how the universe works, how to end the war. And I love all of it, omg, both the different choices of worldbuilding in each fic and also the commitment to ending the war. Pick and choose between the fics for what you want to read!
Variations on a Theme from Turandot, by Ada Hoffman
7k words, not rated
The fandom: Turandot, which I'm guessing is an opera, or maybe a ballet?
The fic: A professionally published story which also happens to be fanfic. Does what it says on the tin! I'm not quite sure I followed the ending, but somehow it works like that even so. I found it so interesting.
A Good Bargain, by Neery
11k words, rated E
The fandom: Word of Honor, a wuxia-genre tv show that I have heard goes as hard on gay themes as it possibly could within the censorship rules it was produced under.
The fic: Does the thing where someone enters a marriage of convenience, but takes their marriage vows seriously and is now firmly working on the side of their spouse. And in this case the spouse knows this about them and planned it on purpose! DELIGHTFUL. I adore it.
The particular pleasures are different, but both ways are good: fic about fandoms you know is pleasurably wallowing in an ongoing conversation about something you love (...or love to hate), whereas fic for unfamiliar fandoms is having fun eavesdropping on someone else's conversation and working out a puzzle while enjoying a good story.
But some fics work better than others for reading without canon to contextualize them, and although I'm up for some challenges, you don't actually have to play this game on hard-mode. So I'm here to provide a rec list of fics I have enjoyed without canon knowledge that I think are more broadly successful for that purpose. I hope you find some to enjoy here too!
Arranged alphabetically by fandom.
The Improbable Future, by marycontraire
6k words, not rated
The fandom: crossover between Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World, which are presumably related to each other, though I don't even know what medium they are in.
The fic: A story about family, especially the relationship between a preteen girl and the surrogate father figure in her life. Extremely heartwarming!
Sentimental Reasons, by Frostfire
16k words, rated T
The fandom: Casablanca, one of those famous classic black and white movies, about war
The fic: focuses on the story of a character who is a minor character in the original movie, which allows you to follow the story easily without knowing the original. All Sam wants to do with his life is play music, but racism and war have a tendency to intervene. The story revolves around his relationship with another man, Richard. I love Sam, and I love his pov in this fic. It's an incredible read!
One More Time With Feeling (or, Charlie Brooker and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day), by marginaliana
50k words, rated E
The fandom: british comedians rpf, ft. comedians I've never heard of
The fic: Timeloop! The classic groundhog day experience! And this was a really impressively done timeloop fic. I was particularly impressed with how well the character arc for the protagonist went from totally-an-appalling-asshole to only-normal-level-sympathetic-asshole, and how it shows some of the ways that being in a timeloop can be really awful. And yet - happy ending! Impressive.
The Retirement of Gabriel Argent, by Sixthlight
5k words, rated T
The fandom: Daniel Blackland, which is, I believe, a book series?
The fic: is about two characters who are not Daniel Blackland. It's about finding a way to live a peaceful life that actually makes you happy, when you never thought such a thing would be possible. It's lovely!
go pick out a white dress, by novembersmith
1k words, rated G
The fandom: Deepwater Bride, by Tamsyn Muir, which I'm guessing is a short story.
The fic: a delightful uhhhh one-sided romance about an eldritch sea monster who is really into a human, much to the dismay of, well, everyone. But the eldritch being will not be disheartened! Such a charming voice.
Hesitation Waltz, by cranialaccessory
20k words, rated T
The fandom: From Eroica With Love, which I know literally nothing about
The fic: Two cold war era spies have to pretend to be married for a case. One of them is flamboyant and foppish, the other is grouchy and bad at acting. Together they learn things about teamwork and trust! (and that they're into each other.)
confirmation bias, by novembersmith
14k words, rated E
The fandom: Integrate, which I'm guessing is a book
The fic: This is the fic that instantly came to mind when I first thought of making this rec list. I love it. It's a totally adorable alien/human interspecies romance, from the pov of the alien, who of course finds the human the alien one. Every single thing in the fic is a delight.
Get Up, and Go Forth, by Frostfire
15k words, rated T
The fandom: the tv show Kings, which I once tried and failed to watch, but is loosely based on the biblical story of David and Jonathan
The fic: Hey, it works just fine as bible fanfic instead! (I'm afraid I don't know how it would read if you aren't familiar with the biblical story. My parents were rigorous about making sure I would be biblically literate.) The fic focuses on the Jonathan character, here called Jack, as he explores what it means to be on David's side instead of his father's. I have reread this fic so many times. It's just so well done!
A Divinely Attractive Arrangement, by Fahye
6k words, rated T
The fandom: the movie Love and Friendship. I've read the book Love and Freindship [sic] but the movie, despite the name, is not actually based on the book!
The fic: featuring the pov of the most amiably oblivious person in the absolutely entire world as he settles into his recent marriage. He's so genuinely happy about everything in his life! Even as it is obvious to the reader how much the other characters in the story are manipulating him. I love him very much.
This Episode Brought To You By, by ryfkah
6k words, rated T
The fandom: a kdrama, Mr. Queen. Going in I did in fact know a very slim amount about the actual canon, which I believe is a useful starting point for reading the fic: it's a show about a modern chef who transmigrates into Korean history, into the body of a queen; the queen, meanwhile, ends up in the future in the chef's body.
The fic: is about both the chef and the queen, as they explore their identity and their desires through the medium of food, and it is a complete delight.
Sweet In the Gale Is Heard, by Toft
11k words, rated T
The fandom: Pegasus, by Robin McKinley, a novel I've never read despite generally being a McKinley fan because I heard it ends on a cliffhanger and the sequel was never published.
The fic: A fixit for the cliffhanger! Interspecies romance between a human and a pegasus, and absolutely lovely.
Things Which Catch the Eye, by petrichoral
3k words, rated G
The fandom: The Pillow Book, by Sei Shonagon, which is a book I have heard of often over the years but have never actually read.
The fic: ships Sei Shonagon with another woman who presumably appears in the book as well, showing the arc of their relationship in short snatches that come together skilfully. Truly excellent.
you wait and you wonder who'll take on your odds, by paperclipbitch
138k words, rated E
The fandom: The Queen's Gambit, a tv show which I gather is about chess
The fic: An "exes to friends to spouses to lovers" marriage of convenience story. I love how well balanced this is between all the different aspects of things going on: the feelings between Beth and Benny, the working out how to make a life together (separate from the feelings), the chess, the simmering sexual attraction, the other people in Beth's life who are important to her, and Beth's understanding of herself. Really good!
Lebenswerk, by Serena
10k words, rated T
The fandom: Sunset Boulevard, a classic movie about movie-making
The fic: A director's relationship with his star actor, and the things he does and doesn't choose to prioritize over the years. It is interesting, and also rather uncomfortable in places, in ways that are entirely fitting to the story. I was really captivated by it!
Moab, by Parhelion
13k words, rated G
The fandom: an old-school sci-fi book series called The People, by Zenna Henderson
The fic: reads like a lovely, quiet, thoughtful, and kind original scifi story itself, about a human-looking space alien orphan stranded on earth with supernatural powers he has to hide, raised by a woman he calls Aunt, as he finds his place in the world of the early 20th century.
Transformers Works, by astolat
331k words, ratings ranging from T to E
The fandom: Transformers. A tv show (or multiple?) and toys and possibly other media as well? About robot war.
The fic: this is actually a link to all of astolat's fics about transformers. Pretty much every transformers fic Astolat has written is basically: given different base assumptions about how the universe works, how to end the war. And I love all of it, omg, both the different choices of worldbuilding in each fic and also the commitment to ending the war. Pick and choose between the fics for what you want to read!
Variations on a Theme from Turandot, by Ada Hoffman
7k words, not rated
The fandom: Turandot, which I'm guessing is an opera, or maybe a ballet?
The fic: A professionally published story which also happens to be fanfic. Does what it says on the tin! I'm not quite sure I followed the ending, but somehow it works like that even so. I found it so interesting.
A Good Bargain, by Neery
11k words, rated E
The fandom: Word of Honor, a wuxia-genre tv show that I have heard goes as hard on gay themes as it possibly could within the censorship rules it was produced under.
The fic: Does the thing where someone enters a marriage of convenience, but takes their marriage vows seriously and is now firmly working on the side of their spouse. And in this case the spouse knows this about them and planned it on purpose! DELIGHTFUL. I adore it.