Ever wonder what happened to a character in their past to make them the person they are in canon? Sure you have! Luckily for us all, there are authors out there who've taken the time to flesh out some truly interesting backstories for various characters that fit perfectly and enrich the character's development on-screen.

These backstory fanfic recommendations may not be established canon themselves, but they also won't violate it too badly either. They are plausible, often make a lot of sense, and only add to the character's depth and fascination. You may even find yourself so convinced by these backstories that you end up claiming them for your own personal headcanon!

The Making of the Character of the Characters

( Fic Recs - Pre-series Backstory )

Sure, there's lots of stories out there about characters that can shapeshift. Werewolf AUs are a dime a dozen, and some supernatural-based fandoms have even made it canon. This rec list isn't gonna be about any of those though. This list is for fanfics where characters who normally remain human shapeshift into something completely unexpected for the fandom...

... and thus all the more interesting for it!

Shapeshifting into Unusual Creatures

( Fic Recs - Shapeshifting Creature!fics )

Crossovers when two or more fandoms are blended together into one story usually involve fandoms that have some basis of similarity among them. Similar timeframes, landscapes, themes, or characterizations... nodes of nexus from which blending their realities becomes imaginable. Even if the fandoms themselves are very different, there is one least one point of commonality that makes it not only possible but probable to see them mixed.

Then there are the stories like these... crossovers of fandoms so disparate you would never even conceive they could mix. Sure, you could cheat by making one or the other AU; fusions are the very definition of that. But these crossovers aren't fusions, these may make small changes but the do their best to follow the flow of canon. In the expert hands of the most talented authors, you'd be surprised how reasonably these unconventional fandoms can indeed come together.

Unlikeliest Crossovers That Work Unbelievably Well

( Fic Recs - Unlikely Crossovers )

Yeah okay, I finally migrated. Had to, one of my most used communities is moving here permanently. I'll be keeping my LiveJournal account too, though.

Now let's try this crossposting thing!

Figured I should give a progress report...

Seven weeks since falling down the stairs and breaking my humerus bone at the shoulder, the orthopedic surgeon confirms it is firmly attached in place. A small retroversion of the humeral head remains, but since I'm young I should regain full enough range of motion as to make no difference. It'll still take up to a year to properly remodel new bone growth, but the bone itself is stable.

Unless I have another klutz attack and fall again, of course. But I promise I am trying very hard to avoid that!

( My physiotherapist is like the Energizer Bunny, but my batteries are obviously not Duracell... )

Next challenge, putting my arm through a sleeve! Tank tops and fleece vests have got me through autumn, but there's snow on the ground now. Time to figure how to wear real clothes again. Progress!

Gakked from zortified because, hey, this was actually funny!




Alright, it's true, I admit it... jade_dragoness, I love your fic! "As Morning Shows The Day" is one of my fave ST: AOS fics ever. Can't wait until the next part is out! (Whew! Glad I got that off my chest. What a relief!)

::snerk::

As for the other resolutions, I already do go to the crossovers every month. Crossover fanfics rock! (In fact, I apparently just hit 666 crossover recs on my Pinboard bookmarks, lol!)

And I'd love to take some classes in Merlin. That'd be awesome. I know there are some colleges/universities where you can take classes in Buffy, maybe it's the same thing. Ooh, or magic lessons! Then I could use the magic to keep my seaQuest clean, cause damn that's a big boat!

I don't think I'll have any luck finding a better psych though. :P

..., because then maybe fandom would stop making me feel like I'm a broken freak who needs to be "fixed" to find true happiness.

I would like it if (just once even!) I could a find an angsty fic that doesn't pull a complete turn-around into a so-called "happy ending" by essentially saying: 'Oh, hey? That thing that was making you miserable? All your own fault! Just admit I'm right and you're wrong, and presto! All fixed! Now we can be together forever!' Tadda, instant happy ending!

Because I don't buy it. Relationships don't just magically fix everything. And, hey, guess what? That's okay! People have flaws, they have fears, they have angers... it's part of life. It doesn't mean they're "broken" and need fixing to be happy. They can, wonder of wonders, learn to be happy with themselves flaws and all, you know. Love doesn't always conquer all.

But the message all these fics are sending is that no, really, I'm wrong. If I just change who I am, I can find love and then suddenly everything in my life will be so much better, yay! And that makes me feel horrible and alienated after reading these fics because, sorry, I don't buy their happily ever after endings. Because I want the characters to hold out for once, to not compromise themselves to make the 'happy ending' possible. Because I am not only not satisfied by the relationship working out, I am actually upset by it. Because it's not goddamn FAIR to the character, okay? It's just not. And it's not fair to me either.

Why can't these characters be allowed to be themselves and not have to change to suit someone else instead? Why aren't they allowed to hold on to their so-called "hangups" and have the other person adapt to live with them? To accept them as they are?

Why do they, do I, have to be "fixed" to find happiness?

Answer: We don't. I'm just fine the way I am, and so are most of them. That's why we love those characters in first place, isn't it? So, please, just someone... leave them be. Let them live however they want, let them find happiness in themselves for once.

Even if that means being alone.

Um, is it just me or does LJ look... different? ::scratches head::

I always feel like I'm the last one to know these things.

In completely unrelated news...

How many tabs can you have open in Firefox simultaneously before it crashes? ;P

I don't usually rec fics here on my journal, because that's what Pinboard (and, ostensibly, Delicious - for now, until they screw up again) is for, but omg, you guys have to read this!

The Chuck Writes Story: An Unauthorized Fandom Biography by Lettered (PG-13)

It is on the surface a Supernatural story and if you have or have had even the smallest passing interest in Supernatural fandom, you need to read this fic. I stopped watching SPN in Season 4, which is right about when this story is set, so it worked out perfectly for me. But I think anyone with even the smallest knowledge of Supernatural or just the teensiest understanding of the fandom will be blown away by the sheer awesomeness of this incredible metafic.

( Because that's what it is about: The Meta. (Cut for summary/spoilers.) )

But the levels of meta go deeper than just the obvious. It is also an examination of how fandom as a whole works and responds, how people react, why it is so important to us, and what it all really means, if it means anything at all in the Grand Scheme of Life. It's like holding up a mirror and microscope and magnifying glass on ourselves and our concept of fandom and what is reality all at the same time! It's drama and humour and angst and crack and wank and of course so much meta that your brain actually hurts trying to keep it all straight. It's real and it's not, but it feels like it is, like it could be, and the author actually made sockpuppets for the "supporting" evidence, and some the "characters" could be real fen you know, maybe on your Flist, maybe even you, because we've seen this all before but it's all new, and how can we tell where fandom ends and reality starts or is it all the same?

::cue mind-breaking::

I think you'd probably have to have some understanding of Supernatural to really grasp the depth of this fic, but even without it is a fascinating portrayal of the existence of Fandom in general and the world we all live in here on LJ anyway. Well worth the read for anyone!

WTF, LJ? Stop eating my cut text! Argh!