There are many fics from that era that were memorable for me, the way that something you read when you're young can stick with you forever. Here are the six that float to mind for me. I would love to hear what yours are!
I've roughly sorted this by first encounter:
freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose, by![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
synecdochic. Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
I was never actually in SGA fandom, but years later, I read what was left from its heyday. This was, of course, one of the most popular fics in the fandom, and the first time I read it, I was too young to really understand the ending. Rereading a few years later, I realized that somehow I had come around to it being a happy ending in a way that I hadn't understood before. It was also one of the first extended DVD commentaries of fic that I had read, and the insight into how the story was constructed was /fascinating/ to me.
Database Unavailable, by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
unrequitedangst. Fandom: Johnny's Entertainment
There are many fandom AUs: this is the only one that stuck with me because of the sharp insight into ridiculous fandom drama. Fandom AUs tend to be mundane in a high school AU sort of way; this one is so rooted in what fandom felt like in certain circles that it escapes the generic trap. I have since asked myself about many an unreadable style, IS [THEIR] BRAIN LOWERCASE 6 PT FONT?
Another Story, byyhlee . Fandom: Princess Tutu
yhlee kindly reuploaded this just now! This was the first encounter I had with this kind of mixed meta/fic. It's a genre I really like, and I'm so glad I could discover that.
Wings to Fly, byabyssinia . Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
I think this sort of quiet gen fic, about the unexplored backstory of a character-- it's still some of the most satisfying fic to me. Something about the idea of a Ms. Watson, a teacher who cared and changed the life of a child, quietly stayed with me.
Jeu-Parti, by Macedon. Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
This skirts towards original work, in the sense that Jake is a minor character and the other member of the pairing is an OC, but mostly this is so memorable because it was the first time a fic from literal decades ago still felt recent to me. Due to style and trope drift over time, older fics (and original works) are inevitably of their era; there's that trivia game someone put together about trying to identify the year a fic came out by its summary and it works because of this. Yet this fic felt like something that could have been written now (well, a decade ago lol). It made me start to more seriously seek out old Star Trek zine fic to try and see what styles and tropes had shifted and what had stayed the same.
When I Look in the Mirror I See Double, byetothepii. Fandom: BBC Sherlock
This one is memorable in the sense that the central conceit, one mind in two bodies, is one that I pondered for quite a while after. (And Ancillary Justice brought it to mind again, which prompted this list in the first place!)
I've roughly sorted this by first encounter:
freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose, by
synecdochic. Fandom: Stargate AtlantisI was never actually in SGA fandom, but years later, I read what was left from its heyday. This was, of course, one of the most popular fics in the fandom, and the first time I read it, I was too young to really understand the ending. Rereading a few years later, I realized that somehow I had come around to it being a happy ending in a way that I hadn't understood before. It was also one of the first extended DVD commentaries of fic that I had read, and the insight into how the story was constructed was /fascinating/ to me.
Database Unavailable, by
unrequitedangst. Fandom: Johnny's EntertainmentThere are many fandom AUs: this is the only one that stuck with me because of the sharp insight into ridiculous fandom drama. Fandom AUs tend to be mundane in a high school AU sort of way; this one is so rooted in what fandom felt like in certain circles that it escapes the generic trap. I have since asked myself about many an unreadable style, IS [THEIR] BRAIN LOWERCASE 6 PT FONT?
Another Story, by
yhlee . Fandom: Princess Tutuyhlee kindly reuploaded this just now! This was the first encounter I had with this kind of mixed meta/fic. It's a genre I really like, and I'm so glad I could discover that. Wings to Fly, by
abyssinia . Fandom: Stargate AtlantisI think this sort of quiet gen fic, about the unexplored backstory of a character-- it's still some of the most satisfying fic to me. Something about the idea of a Ms. Watson, a teacher who cared and changed the life of a child, quietly stayed with me.
Jeu-Parti, by Macedon. Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
This skirts towards original work, in the sense that Jake is a minor character and the other member of the pairing is an OC, but mostly this is so memorable because it was the first time a fic from literal decades ago still felt recent to me. Due to style and trope drift over time, older fics (and original works) are inevitably of their era; there's that trivia game someone put together about trying to identify the year a fic came out by its summary and it works because of this. Yet this fic felt like something that could have been written now (well, a decade ago lol). It made me start to more seriously seek out old Star Trek zine fic to try and see what styles and tropes had shifted and what had stayed the same.
When I Look in the Mirror I See Double, by
etothepii. Fandom: BBC SherlockThis one is memorable in the sense that the central conceit, one mind in two bodies, is one that I pondered for quite a while after. (And Ancillary Justice brought it to mind again, which prompted this list in the first place!)
