Posted by: runpunkrun

ALT

Our theme for April is outsider POV!

This round is for fanworks from the point of view of a third party to some situation, such as canon events or character interactions—an outside perspective—or, taken more literally, from the perspective of an outsider.

Since this is a Flashback Round where we revisit a theme from the early days of the comm—Outsider POV was a cupcake round back in 2014—this month it doesn’t matter if a work has already been recced for this theme, go ahead and rec it again!

The tag for this round is: theme: outsider pov

If you’re just joining us, be sure to check out our policy on content notes. Content notes aren’t required, but they’re nice to include in your recs, especially if a fanwork has untagged content that readers may wish to know about in advance.

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comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: garryowen

Fandom: Star Trek TOS
Pairings/Characters: Kirk/Spock
Rating: Explicit
Length: 4,736 words
Creator Links: Jesmihr via sidebyside_archivist
Theme: Outsider POV

Summary: Just another encounter in the Turbolift - from the Turbolift’s POV.

Reccer’s Notes: I have a deep love of inanimate object POV in fic, and this one basically gives me outsider-POV-gasms. The sly and observant turbolift narrator of this fic says things like:

I’m not sure if you’re aware, but there’s something about getting into a turbolift that seems to make some men want to take their penises out of their pants.

This turbolift is Kirk-sexual (who isn’t?), but also sympathetic to Spock’s needs when his captain risks his life yet again. It uses its powers to speed up travel when the situation is urgent, and then slow it down when Kirk and Spock need a moment alone.

This fic is obviously totally silly and ridiculous, but I’m sure someone out there needs that right now.

As a side note, this fic was imported to AO3 from the Side by Side archive, so it’s kind of a little piece of fannish history, too!

Fanwork Links: Turbo Tale

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: mific

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: Gen: background OFCxOMC, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay
Rating: Mature (for violence)
Length: 9462
Content Notes: Canon-level violence, explicit depiction of extreme pain. Killing of background OMCs. Briefly mentioned off-screen killing of a pet animal.
Creator Links: sadly, no. Rivier’s LJ is locked now.
Theme: Outsider POV, Action/adventure, Team as family

Summary: see below

Reccer’s Notes: This is the John Sheppard of The Storm/The Eye, in this story using cold ruthlessness to rescue Rodney from allies of the Genii. It’s told entirely from the POV of an original female character, the wife of a powerful local man who’s been complicit in capturing and torturing Rodney. John’s taken her as a hostage to force Rodney’s return, and we see the drama play out through her eyes. There’s some great worldbuilding conveyed through her perspective, and her appraisal of John and Rodney is interesting. The bond between John and Rodney is intense but it’s left unstated whether they’re more than close friends and found family to each other. Beautifully written, gripping, and a great read, especially if you like a dark, fiercely competent John.

Fanwork Links: Exigencies (scroll down for text)

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: sasheneskywalker

Fandom: Batman/DC
Pairings/Characters: Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Rating: Mature
Length: 2,484 words
Creator Links: DariaHernandez
Theme: outsider pov, therapy, angst and humor, established relationship, arguing

Summary: Two vigilantes and a couples therapist walk into a room.

Reccer’s Notes: A fun fic told from a perspective of couples therapist who has to deal with Tim and Jason’s relationship problems without knowing they’re vigilantes.

Fanwork Links: The Talking Cure

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: birdylion

Fandom: Leverage
Pairings/Characters: Amy Palavi, Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 8,606 words
Creator Links: Laughsalot3412
Theme: Outside POV; characters of color, competence, female friendship, polyamory

Summary: So, apparently Amy’s boss was part of a criminal gang.

Reccer’s Notes: Do you remember Amy Palavi, the waitress in Leverage’s brewpub from The Broken Wing Job? This story follows her as she grows closer to the trio. It’s an interesting perspective on them, and also she gets to have a really satisfying story of her own, interwoven with theirs. Her developing friendship with Parker (and to a different degree also Hardison and Eliot) is wonderful.

Content Notes: [in the original post at Dreamwidth.]

Fanwork Links: Motion Parallax on ao3

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: 22degreehalo

Fandom: The West Wing
Pairings: Sam/Josh
Rating: T
Length: 11,539
Creator Links: thegoodthebadandthenerdy
Theme: Outsider POV, Happy Endings, Missing Scenes, Politics, Post-canon, Worldbuilding

Summary: It was practically fable around the office after that: Sam Seaborn, his old friend, and the state of New Hampshire.
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Or: A story told in six parts by three people who remember the guy that walked out on his future in the middle of a rainstorm.

Reccer’s Notes: It’s unusual to tag a nominally ‘our universe’-setting fic with 'Worldbuilding’ but this fic does just such a stellar job fleshing out Sam’s network of relationships through his time as a lawyer with Gage-Whitney into the future, it really deserves it! Every character here feels just so real and full it’s almost hard to believe they’re all OCs, and each provides their own form of comparison and contrast to Sam and his relationship with Josh. This really is a fic about that scene in particular and the way it is mythologised in-universe (because, really: what kind of romantic comedy climax scene even was that, even in canon?!), but by the end, the fic has also provided my current favourite depiction of Sam’s career progression post-canon. It reads like such a labour of love, and the result is so impossibly satisfying. <3

Fanwork Links: Heard the Grapevine Got Twisted

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: mific

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: Kaleb Miller/Jeannie Miller, Madison Miller, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex
Rating: G
Length: 9865
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply
Creator Links: Martha on AO3, SEF on AO3
Theme: Outsider POV, Domestic, Family, Character development

Summary: The English major at home.

Reccer’s Notes: This story is told from the pov of Kaleb, Rodney’s brother-in-law. We see Kaleb first as a devoted father, then interacting with some difficulty with Rodney, when he comes to visit. Things go badly awry and Kaleb feels he’s a failure for not being brave in a crisis, but Jeannie talks it through with him. The characterisation is marvellous and we see Rodney, and his team, through a new lens. The legend of the Green Knight is woven in as a metaphor, and it’s complex, layered, and an excellent read.

Fanwork Links: Kaleb Miller and the Green Knight on AO3, and there’s a great podfic, read by SEF

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: pedanther

Fandom: Coco (2017)
Pairings/Characters: Miguel Rivera, Elena Rivera, original characters
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 24,677 words
Creator Links: skater_of_the_surface
Theme: Outsider POV, epistolary, future fic

Summary: The thrilling sequel to Coco that you’ve all been waiting for! Miguel visits … wait for it… wait for it… A LIBRARY.

Or : Miguel probably can’t prove that Ernesto is a murderer, but stupendous fuckbucket is still on the table.

Reccer’s Notes: The story of Miguel Rivera attempting to get his ancestor the recognition he deserves, and establish some independent evidence of the things he’s learned about Ernesto de la Cruz, told through newspaper articles and TV interviews interspersed with social media posts, all by people from outside the family who don’t know what the audience knows about the origin of Miguel’s quest.

It’s a great story, hilarious and touching by turns, and the characters are beautifully well-observed. I particularly love Abuela Elena’s insistence that her grandfather was a good-for-nothing, but nevertheless he’s the Riveras’ good-for-nothing and she better not catch anyone outside the family disrespecting him.

Fanwork Links: Ernesto de la Cruz vs. The Court of Public Opinion on AO3

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: marginaliana

Fandom: Star Wars
Pairings/Characters: various charactes from the prequel trilogy
Rating: general audiences
Length: 57, 657
Creator Links: deniigiq
Theme: Outside pov

Summary: They arrive as a pack. (This fic explores Academic Outsiders’ POVs of the Jedi Order)

1. Anakin gives his first presentation at an academic conference. Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and the troopers show up to cheer him on.
2. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon encounter a child development researcher shortly after Obi-Wan’s time on Melida/Daan.
3. An old tailor tracks the fall and revival of the Jedi through their clothing.
4. The clones get a perfume made just for them by a couple of troublemaking perfumer students.
5. A biochemist attempts to study Grogu.
6. Ahsoka teaches a food writer, Luke, and Ezra about Jedi cuisine.
7. A scholar of social media experiences the GAR’s meme-making machines in real life.
8. An researcher studying Mandalorian coverts finds himself in the Armorer’s forge.
9. An archaeologist discovers a jedi artifact within their own family and tries to determine what to do with it.
10. Shmi Skywalker asks some questions before she gives her son to the jedi.
11. A cashier’s dying mother drives him to join a cult that worships the jedi.

Reccer’s Notes: I love the worldbuilding in these ficlets - the academic pov allows us to see the jedi with a level of detail that comes from careful examination. There’s a contrast/synergy, though, with the way we get to see jedi as beings, flawed and funny and all. Also, the prose is stunning - liquid and jewel-toned.

Note: the piece is marked as incomplete but each chapter stands alone.

Fanwork Links: center stage

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: beatrice_otter

Fandom: Star Wars
Characters/Pairings: none? Vader, Obi-Wan, and Luke?
Rating: gen
Length: both short
Creator Links: 4thofeleven
Theme: outsider perspective, future fic, worldbuilding

Summary: Excerpts from Encyclopaedia Galactica, tenth edition

Reccer’s Notes: So what kinds of evidence would there actually be for historians to put together a report on Vader’s identity and the Empire and the old Jedi Order and the formation of the New Republic? Not much, given how enthusiastic Palpatine was about destroying the Jedi and the fact that the Jedi and the Rebellion were trying to stay covert. And, let’s face it, the truth as shown in the movies is pretty improbable without the kind of evidence to back it up that simply wouldn’t exist any more. These two ficlets are a great look at the kinds of theories that historians have put together many centuries later, long after the questions are safely academic.

…the Order of Skywalker Knights believe that their founder, Luke Skywalker, was the son of Anakin, and it was the relationship between the two that allowed the younger Skywalker to survive his encounter with Darth Vader during the First Battle of Endor. However, as many historians have pointed out, this only serves as evidence to support the theory that Vader was Luke’s father; it does nothing to prove that Anakin and Vader were one and the same. As the Jedi of the late Republic were traditionally celibate, most mainstream historians consider Luke Skywalker’s claims to be dubious at best…

Fanwork Links: Vader Identity Controversy and Second Coruscant Republic

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: beatrice_otter

Fandom: Star Wars OT
Pairings/Characters: Darth Vader
Rating: Gen
Length: 13k
Creator Links: ophelia_interrupted
Theme: outsider POV, gen, missing scenes, worldbuilding, missing scenes, fandom classic

Summary: An Imperial officer loses a bet and has to get Darth Vader a present for Life Day.

Reccer’s Notes: I am shocked that this classic gem hasn’t been recced before. The original character is very interesting, as is his perspective on events as a loyal Imperial minion. And of course we know why Vader reacts so strongly, but the viewpoint character doesn’t.

Fanwork Links: The Sith Who Brought Life Day

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: beatrice_otter

Fandom: X-men/Spider-Man
Pairings/Characters: Peter Parker
Rating: Teen
Length: ? Medium, I guess?
Creator Links: Katt’s Aerie, xenokattz
Theme: outsider POV, gen, minor characters, old fandoms

Summary: New York Times Op-Ed: As a starving student, Peter Parker took a job photographing “the mutant problem.” More than ten years later, his definition of “the problem” has changed.

Reccer’s Notes: This is such an interesting look at public opinion, the role of the news, and the way it affects people on a personal level. The website was originally coded to look like the website of the New York Times, but that’s degraded. The text and images are still there, however, even if it’s a bit more confusing to find the relevant stuff. There are two parts: the main story, and a series of pictures and interviews Peter did with various mutants. I’ve linked to both sections, and to see the pictures larger and the interviews that go with them, click on the thumbnails.

Fanwork Links: The Mutant Problem (Opinion Piece)
The Mutant Problem (Portraits and interviews)

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: beatrice_otter

Fandom: Batman
Pairings/Characters: Jim Gordon, Cassandra Cain
Rating: K+
Length: 3974 words
Creator Links: hradzka
Theme: outsider POV, family, gen, secret identities

Summary: Jim Gordon takes a late-night walk and gets more out of it than he bargained for.

Reccer’s Notes:hradzka  was one of my favorite gen writers, back when he was still around. His characterization is great. In this short fic, we get so much about Gordon, about his relationship with Babs, with the Batfam, and Cassandra. Very well written.

Fanwork Links: Fathers and Daughters

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: full_metal_ox

Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi, Chen Qing Ling
Pairings/Characters: Gen; F/M (one-sided); M/M (background); Lan Qiren, Original Female Character, Lan Huan, Lan Zhan
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 1,765
Content Notes: No Archive Warnings Apply, Sexual Harassment (comically ineffectual), Written in Russian

Creator Tags: (Pingwina): Humor, Crack, крэковые намеки на Лань Цижэнь/лиса (hints about Lan Qiren/Fox), ещеболее крэковые намеки на несуще ствующих вжужэней (even more crack hints at non-existent Ruoren, вансяни упоминаются, (Wangxian mentioned), Pre-Canon, Post-Canon

(tell_some_storm): Illustrations, Foxes, Watercolors, Fanart, Pre-Canon, Fox Spirit, fanfic illustration, One-Sided Attraction, Attempted Seduction, Lan Qiren is So Done, Poor Lan Qiren, Good Parent Lan Qiren, Routine, Childhood, LWJ is young but already unimpressed, LXC is ever caring and helpful

Creator Links: (AO3): Pingwina; tell_some_storm.
Theme: Outsider POV, Asexual & Demisexual Characters, Humor, Pining, Pre-Canon, Trope Subversion & Inversion

Summary: Трудно бедной лисице любить праведного Ланя. (It is hard for the poor fox to love the righteous Lan.)

Reccer’s Notes: I don’t speak Russian, and read this fic by running it through MTL; my renderings of Pingwina’s summary and certain of her tags are italicized.

The story of Yunqiao (a poor innocent fox maiden only two hundred and seventy-nine years old!) and her determined campaign to seduce Lan Qiren. Unfortunately, her crush is not only Grand High Curator of The Rules™, but way out of her power league, staunchly aroace, and fiercely protective of his little nephews (and we know how the Twin Jades turned out); nobody’s buying what she’s got to sell. Poor persistent Yunqiao winds up as the Wile E. Coyote of qi predators, although Word of God is that she eventually becomes an ally to the Lan Sect.

This story came to my attention thanks to tell_some_storm’s hilarious fanart, portraying the Lan family reacting to Yunqiao’s beguilements with all the enthusiasm that would greet a Tumblr pornbot.

Fanwork Links: It’s the product of a Fandom Kombat involving the two, and so they ought to be acknowledged as collaborators:

Чаровница Юньцяо (Enchantress Yunqiao), by Pingwina;
Illustration - The Temptress, by tell_some_storm.

comments & original content @ fancake

Posted by: beatrice_otter

Fandom:  Iron Man movieverse
Pairing: Christine Everheart, Howard Stark/Maria Stark
Length: 6432 words
Author Links: quigonejinn
Theme: Outsider POV, Female Characters, gen,

Summary:   “Oh, Mrs. Stark. She was a character.” the woman sighs, then smiles and looks at Christine. “Which publication did you say you were with, sweetie? Women’s Wear Daily? Vogue?”

Christine makes herself wait a beat, counts to five. “Vanity Fair. Ma’m.”

Reccer’s Notes:   There are a few really good Christine Everheart stories out there, but this is my favorite.  It hits my competence!kink very hard.  Christine is an ambitious, hard-hitting reporter, and this fic shows that to a tee.  Handed a puff piece on the late Mrs. Maria Stark, Christine realizes that there is something fishy, and goes digging.  I love watching her figure out how to find the pieces to the puzzle, and then put them together, and I love learning about Maria Stark, too.  Very well done and worth the read.

Story Links: Ambition and History

comments & original content @ fancake