swim through the fires to stay in this world

Right now, I have too fantastic (and extensive) comment memes in open windows. So to keep track of the fics that I want to be able to easily re-read, I'm going to be compiling links for my favorites. Which means that my lucky flist gets quick access to some of the best. (FYI, if you visit this post in a week, there will be more fics than there are now.)

Animorphs:

There Is No Such Thing As Neutral (Rachel)
We Happy Few (Rachel)

Anne Of Green Gables:

Fairy Princess

Atonement:

My Hand Is Growing Weak (Briony)

Avatar:

As To Matters Of Dress (Sokka/Suki)

Batman:

Lick Your Eyes & Then Mine (Catwoman/Batman)

Beauty & The Beast:

Hold Me Down (Belle/Beast)
Learning Humanity (Belle/Beast)

Being Human:

You Said Your Soul Would Linger On (Annie)

Bones

One Year Later (Brennan)
Turn Around Again (Angela)
Bones Break (Brennan)
Trust Not The Coyote (Caroline)
Conceptual Art Is Bullshit (Angela)
A Reasonable Explanation (Brennan)
Spent So Long Waiting Here (Booth/Brennan)

Buffyverse:

American Girls (Buffy)
Plans (Faith)
Tired Of Being Cautious (Fred)
Travel It All (Faith)
Razor's Edge (Buffy)
But You've Got The Headstone All Ready (Buffy)
There Is No Prince (Buffy/Giles)

Casino Royale:

Juggernaut Heart (Vesper)

Castle:

Takedown (Beckett/Demming)

Carmen Sandiego:

The Catch Is You Stay & See What Becomes Of Us (Carmen/Waldo)

Castle:

Fatherhood (Alexis)
The Magnificent Seven (Martha)

Community:

Do Not Go Gentle (Annie)
It's My Heart, Not Me, Who Cannot Drive (Britta, Jaye)
Take The Wheel (Britta)
On Hiatus (Britta)
My Smile Can Distract You (Annie)
Like A Child (Annie)
With The Lights Out It's Less Dangerous (Annie/Jeff)
Come A Little Bit Closer (Jeff/Annie)
Hey, Hey, You, You (Annie/Jeff)
TV Marathon (Jeff, Abed, Jeff/Annie)
In Limbo Part One and Part Two (Britta)
Sawdust (Britta/Abed)
This Could Be A Brand New Start (Britta)
Temporary (Jeff/Annie)

Criminal Minds:

Close To Home (JJ)
They Are My Own (Haley)
My Heart Has Lost It's Wind Now (Emily)
When It Doesn't Rain It Pours (Emily)
Self-Esteem Is Good For You (Garcia)
I'll Sing You All The Lullabies (They Never Sung For Me) (Elle)
Wrong Number (Garcia/Morgan)
Friday Night Goddess (Garcia, Reid)

Dark Angel:

The Tenderest Touch Leaves The Darkest Marks (Max)
Songs For Fighters (Max/Alec)

Dexter:

A Lion-Hearted Fucking Woman (Deb)
After The Deluge (Deb)

Doctor Who

I Think To Die Would Be An Awfully Big Adventure (Amy)
Climbing Back (Rose)
These Accidents of Faith and Nature (Amy)
Too Much Like A Fairy Tale (Amy)
The Good Wife (Martha)
We'll Be Their Storybook Heroes (Sally Sparrow)
Got A Sky Full of Stars (And Nothing Else) (Amelia Pond)
No Hero In Her Sky (Amelia)
First Run (River Song)
Lionesses (River Son/Liz X)

Dollhouse:

Painting The World You Want To See (Priya)

Dracula:

Phantom (Mina/Dracula)
Firefly:

Your Absence Has Gone Through Me (Inara/Nandi)
Meta (River)
Wolves (Zoe, Kaylee, River)

Fullmetal Alchemist:

Steadily (Riza)
There Goes My Gun (Riza & Rebecca)

Gilmore Girls:

A Perfect Haircut Every Day (Lane)

Glee:

Waegukin (Tina)
Inscrutable (Tina/Mike)
As If You'd Just Woke Up (Rachel/Jesse)
Fathers and Mothers (Rachel)
Linear Progression (Shelby)
Sweep The Room With A Glance (Emma)

The Good Wife

I Lost My Teeth On The Edge Of A Glass (Kalinda)
Something To Think About (Kalinda)

Gossip Girl:

Wants (Blair)
Snapshot of the Artist (Vanessa)
You Know You Love Me (Gossip Girl)
Everything Marissa Cooper Could Have Been (Serena, Summer)

Harry Potter:

On the Nature Of Hatred & It's Uses (Hermione)
Human Behavior (Bellatrix)
When Choice Means Leaving Everything Behind (Hermione)
No Take-Backs (Narcissa)
You Counting On My Failure Make Me Live (Lily/James)
It's Not A Joke (Tonks)
Blow Me Blue-Bell Bubbles (Alice)

Hercules:

Heart & Heaven (Meg)

How I Met Your Mother:

That Girl (Robin/Ted)

The Hunger Games:

REBELLION (KATNISS)

Trust (Rue)
Rise & Fall (Prim)

In Plain Sight

The Art Of Ninja Origami (Mary/Marshall)
Hard Hats (Mary & Eleanor)
Ice Cream (Mary/Marshall)

Iron Man:

The Sea Makes Your Eyes Strange (Natasha Romanova)
Dust Out The Demons (Tony/Pepper)
Fast, Thorough, & Sharp As A Tack (Pepper/Tony)
Brutality (Tony, Emma Frost, Pepper)

Labyrinth:

Missed You All Along (Sarah)
Dreams (Sarah)

Legally Blonde:

Sugar, We're Going Down (Elle)

Legend of the Seeker:

Immune To Pathos (Cara)
It Feels Like Being Broken (Cara/Kahlan)
Dress Code (Kahlan/Cara)
Contrast (Cara/Kahlan)
Life Comes With A Rush (Cara/Kahlan)
Been A Long Road To Get Here (Kahlan)
Where Goodness Used To Be (Cara)
A Friendly Assist (Cara/Kahlan)

Leverage:

I've Looked At Love (Sophie)
Kisses (Parker)
A Lie Will-Told Is Immortal (Sophie)
Translations For Broken & Breaking Out (Parker, Nate)

Life:

Pretty As A Diagram (Reese)

Merlin:

Under The Greenwood Tree (Morgana/Merlin)
Pennies In A Jar (Morgana)

Mulan:

My Story Is Not Like Yours (Mulan)

Mythology:

We Laugh Indoors (Lilith)
She Doesn't Wanna Be (Just A Little Light Turning The Key) (Lilith)

Narnia:

One of those Mink-Coated Ladies (Susan)
The Story Of An Umbrella (Susan)
Just Like The Edge Of The World (Lucy)

The OC:

Houses Out Of Cardboard Boxes (Julie)

Pirates Of The Caribean:

O The Blood And The Treasure And Losing It All (Elizabeth/Will)

Practical Magic:

Fine As A Bridesmaid (Gillian)

Push:

Drove Like Bandits On The Freeway (Nick/Cassie)
Seeing (Cassie/Nick)

Sunshine:

Story (Constance/Sunshine)

SG-1:
What I've Found (Vala)
Conflicting Mission Reports (Vala & Teyla)
5 Times Vala Threw Daniel A Birthday Party When It Wasn't His Birthday (Vala/Daniel)

Sherlock Holmes:

Play The Cards With Spades To Start (Irene)
"Damnation!" (Mary)

Star Trek:

Many Worlds (Naomi, Seven of Nine)
Lethal Poison Through The System (Uhura)
Maybe You Could've Been Something I'd Be Good At (Uhura/Gaila)

Speak:

I Cast My Face Towards The Pavement (Melinda)

Supernatural

And I Don't Owe You A Damn (Bela)
Money (Bela)
An Endangered Species (Ellen, Jo)
Ongoing Arguments (Anna, Castiel)
Fractured (Jo)
Better Find Your Ticket (Bela)
Hurricane (Bela)

Tortall:

Light Is Less (Alanna)
Risk-Taking (Alanna)

True Bood:

Lay Down Your Burden (Jessica)
Language (Jessica)
In The End I Possess My Birthplace (Tara)
Looking For Her Ordinary World (Jessica)
Remember Me When Noses Start To Bleed (Pam/Eric)
I Used To Be A Bad Girl Too (Faith/Jessica)
When Life Gives You Lemons (Tara/Franklin)

The Vampire Diaries:

Roaring Twenties (Anna)
Child Of Mine (Pearl, Anna)
Take The Safety Off (Bonnie)
Old Relations (Bonnie/Elena)
Evolution Is Corruption (Damon/Elena)

Veronica Mars:

Lies, Damned Lies, & Statistics (Veronica)
Leave The Light On (Veronica/Logan)

Wimbleton:

That's How You Know (Lizzie)

White Collar:

Put Another Dime In (Diana)

this week's fannish5 :

Name five effective uses of songs in movies or tv shows.

5.) Sarah McLaughlan's "Full of Grace" in Buffy's second season finale. Such a classic, I couldn't NOT put it on this list.

4.) "Don't Fear The Reaper" in Supernatural's "Faith" while the Reaper kills that jogger. I like loving that moment (or at least laughing with the show) is a make-it-or-break-it fannish moment.

3.) Chuck 2x07, the end of the episode. I saw the plot twist coming a mile away, but the cuts ( spoilers )

2.) Gossip Girl 1x10, Blair/Chuck make-outs to "You're A Wolf" by Sea Wolf.

1.) Life 2x01, "Living In A Devil's Playground" while Reese and Crews find the bodies lock in a truck. Everytime I hear 'there's some man who's started a war and I feel like knocking on heaven's door' I see them climbing the staircase up to the third body.

The Sandwich Story (Calvin & Hobbes). I almost starting cry after reading this. I had to tell myself several times that this isn't how Calvin grows up; that he turns into Frazz from Frazz  and still talks to Hobbes when his fiancée isn't around instead of a normal kid.

All The World is from Diane Duane's Young Wizards Series. The beginning is the best: it's Kit and Nita trying not to put their partnership at risk and keep their hearts safe and the consequences of that.

Reaction Mechanism (Dr Horrible). "Billy loves fighting losing battles." His origin story.

I have always known that going west was never (just) the wonderful adventure that Pa and Laura lived, and Wisconsin and A Land So Wild & Savage show that beautifully. Wisconsin is from Caroline's perspective, realizing the pros and cons of raising her children as she is, and A Land So Wind is Charles realizing that he's gone as far West as he can.

Lloyd's Still Got Them Polaroids Tidwell on Reese

Really Awkward Lesbian Sex Is Better Than No Sex At All (Twelfth Night). Because it doesn't end with True Love for everyone.

Bis vivit qui bene vivit (Tortall series) Alanna worries during her first pregnancy.

From this week's fannish5 :

Name 5 characters who you think are great parents, or who would be great parents.

I picked five characters who 'would be', because I've done great fictional parents already, and I love speculating on who would be good parental figures based on what we know.

1.) Hakkai. I don't have words to describe what an awesome dad I think he'd make. He'd love and (probably over) protect his kid(s), but he'd make sure they grew up smart and strong and awesome-tastic. With great eyes and pretty, platonic hair.

2.) Gojyo. Would be the male equivalent of Lorelai Gilmore. He would be possibly one of the funniest dads ever and he'd love his kids to death and when/if they got bullied he'd teach them how to fight back and sure, that may not be the best option, but his kids would grow up scrappy and loved and badass. Actually, they'd probably be the kids getting into fights with bullies who are picking on OTHER kids, 'cause I think Gojyo would raise empathic little spitfires like that.

3.) Katara. She'd be a great mix of loving and strict and would always raise her kids up and gently push them to be the best they could be.

4.) Charlie Crewes. Would drive his kid(s) crazy and it is only looking back that they'd realize what an awesome dad his is. This is partially inspired by the fact that I watched Life today, and Rachel and Charlie's interactions are made of sheerest win. (This is also how I think Kakashi would parent.)

5.) Iruka. Arguably the only teacher who has saved the world by buying a student ramen.

Honorable Mention: The Mayor. Yeah, he was evil, but he gave Faith the attention and love that she was thirsting for. If Giles had been her Watcher instead of Wesley... well. I think it would have worked out far, far differently.

(Note: I realize that four out of five of these answers are guys. This is partially a reflection of my own preferences/issues/dreams and partially because I didn't want to just point to a female character and go, 'she's got a womb, she's sane, smart and patience -she'll make a great mom', thereby making the assumption that she wants kids because all chicks want kids. Plus, I see Katara as a mother much more easily than characters like Maka, Sakura, and Veronica. They need a decade to get their wild oats sewn and to find the right guy to say, 'you know... babies have adorable little socks.' Whereas I would STRONGLY argue that Iruka, Gojyo and Hakkai want and should have kids. And yes, I realize that the men I listed are older than the women, which throws those dynamics off.... but now I'm just rambling.)

Comment on this post and I will choose seven interests from your profile. You will then explain what they mean/why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.
I got this from ryanitenebrae, who asked about....

elaborate lives

This is a reference to pzb's Hakkai x Yaone fic "Elaborate Lives", and sums up both that OTP, and most of my other OTPs. (I don't go for simple relationships.)

dani reese

The fabulous Detective Dani Reese is the female lead on the tv show life. What's great about her, besides the fact that she's the no-nonsense, tough, bad cop in the Dani Reese/Charlie Crewes partnership. Also, she is not just there to give information or reflect the male protagonist; she has her own history and damage.

labyrinth

Awesome movie. David Bowie being the seductive Goblin King we all want to want us. That last scene with them ("love me, fear me, and I will be your slave.") is incredibly hot, even on multiple rewatch.

 paris is overrated

I did a study abroad program for three months last year, and unlike everyone else on the planet who had a fabulous, life-changing experience, my time was pretty evenly split between awesome and awful. Also, the single most awesome day I had was across the country from Paris.

 sakura/kakashi

My current OTP. The final boot to get me to read Naruto was that I wanted to write fanfic and needed to get speech patterns down so I sounded in character. (I am not even joking.) Kakashi is the single most awesome character in Naruto, and despite Kishimoto's cockblocking tendencies with his female characters, Sakura has grown from a superficial young woman into a strong, compassionate, slightly less young woman. Kakashi was her teacher and sucked at it, but as a couple, I think they would work brilliantly. They are both ninja for the same reasons (to protect their village) and both of them are survivors - they are going to stay behind and protect Konoha while their friends die or leave. Also, Kakashi would treat Sakura right while being a bad enough boyfriend that she wouldn't take him for granted, and Sakura would knock Kakashi out of his self-imposed emotional shell and get him living again.

tremaine valiarde

Tremaine is the awesome main character of The Wizard Hunters. It a world of warriors and mages, she isn't trained to use a sword or magic, nor is she the nominal leader, yet, as the author herself described Tremiane: "she makes decisions and other people have to deal."

women with realistic bodies

I cannot tell you how much I enjoy having characters like Rose of Doctor Who or Tsunade of Naruto who actually look like real women, instead of woman after woman who have the perfect, flat, toned tummy that I desperately want and have yet to get. (And you don't even want to know how many crunches and ab work I do. The fact that I'm still a bit poofy on my belly and no where else, really, is just torturous.)