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2.16.06
I've read so many wonderful hockey fics and I don't want to forget about any of them, so I'm going to try and and start writing recs to help me remember. *grin*
FICS I LOVE
7.26.07
Title: Stratagems
Team: Toronto Maple Leafs
Pairing: Carlo Colaiacovo, Jason Spezza
Author Website: Come around for tea
Why I love this fic:
At its heart, Stratagems is a coming of age story. It's about change, growing up, sex, love, doubt, trust, accountability, responsibility and honesty.
Usually, these kinds of stories are narrowly focused on just a few characters (four boys hiking to a dead body in Stand By Me), but here we get to meet not just a love interest, but also numerous teammates (both minor and major league) and family members of Carlo.
Heartbreak is part of growing up, and there definitely is some of that in this fic, but the scenes that were the most emotional to me were the ones about support and acceptance, and the way people can exceed your expectations if you give them the chance.
Every character in this fic feels real and behaves in a manner that's consistent with their motivations; there are no one-dimensional villains that exist only to ruin lives and relationships, and there are no saints to fix everything that goes wrong. This fic is epic not because it is crammed full of tragedies and triumphs, but simply because growing up always is.
Stratagems (scroll to the bottom)
8.24.06
Title: The Detroit Red Wings Story
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Characters: whole team
Author Website: Detroit Red Wings
Why I love this fic:
This is a parody of the 2002 Detroit Red Wings, and it's hilarious in the same absurd, non sequitur vein as Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Legace gets his foot stuck in the toilet (again), Fischer strips, Hasek gets his head stuck in a pinata, and Draper can't remember the name of that big country north of the US--and this all happens in the first part!
The Detroit Red Wings Story (scroll to the bottom of the page)
8.17.06
Title: Pale as Snow
Team: Colorado Avalanche
Pairing: Patrick Roy
Author Website: LePurrrrr33
Why I love this fic:
This is a fairy tale--not one of the modern, sanitized Disney fairy tales, but a traditional fairy tale, the kind filled with horror and death. Patrick Roy takes his kids to Fargo for a hockey tournament, and they end up reliving an incident from his childhood.
Christiane is a wonderful storyteller, and has a great sense of pace. Pale as Snow is also full of vivid descriptions that create a sinister, foreboding atmosphere. Patrick's experience from twenty years before is interwoven with his son Jonathan's experience, their stories unfolding in parallel as they reach their dramatic conclusion.
Pale as Snow (scroll to the bottom of the page)
8.10.06
Title: none
Team: Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers
Pairing: Ales Hemsky, Petr Prucha
Author Website: Two Minutes For Slashing
Why I love this fic:
Everything flows from the beginning to the end like warm, smooth brandy. Kate adds delicious details, all the little things Petr appreciates about Ales, and you're always aware of what his mental state is throughout the fic.
The mood is slow and sensuous; there's a sense of desire that's strong, but not desperate. What I like the most about this fic is how it captures perfectly the simple pleasure of two people being together and enjoying each other.
I know you might roll your eyes at this / but I'm so glad that you exist
8.3.06
Title: Truth or Pong
Team: Edmonton Oilers
Pairing: Jason Arnott and Doug Weight, Ryan Smyth and Boyd Devereaux
Author Website: Perchance to Dream
Why I love this fic:
Jason Arnott and Doug Weight unwind after a game by playing some ping pong. Ryan Smyth and Boyd Devereaux join their game, turning it into a doubles match with stakes, and predictable results.
Frala writes smut that's incredibly hot, but beyond that, it's often warm and personal as well, which somehow ends up making the sex even hotter. Even though this is not a long fic, each of the four guys' personalities comes through, and their banter is laugh-out-loud funny. I especially like the younger guys versus vets dynamic going on in the fic.
7.27.06
Title: Evolution
Team: New Jersey Devils
Pairing: Jason Arnott, Petr Sykora
Author Website: Tammy's Fics
Why I love this fic:
Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora are old. The time for hockey is long over, and Petr's Cup ring won't even fit on his swollen fingers most of the time.
It's
interesting and different to read a fic set in the future, in the
aftermath of hockey, something that so strongly defines the players;
it's a story that reaches almost to the end.
Tammy writes about
love, jealousy, grief and the enduring bonds between people in a way
that you can relate to. She does it by including all the little details
that really shape the experience, and not just the big emotions.
7.20.06
Title: How Now Brown Shower
Team: Edmonton Oilers
Pairing: Mike Comrie, Ales Hemsky
Author Website: walking on december
Why I love this fic:
Mike Comrie is not handy at all. This is a problem because he owns a house that seems to keep developing problems that require handiness to fix.
SDQ comes up with hysterical, unconventional and brilliant descriptions, one after the other. Mike is endearingly inept, and his panic-stricken train of thought is hilarious.
7.13.06
Title: Sundown
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Pairing: Sergei Fedorov, Pavel Datsyuk
Author Website: Come around for tea
Why I love this fic:
This fic reduced me to tears the first time I read it, so be warned--don't read this where/when you don't want to be seen crying.
Sergei Fedorov is an observer, an outsider, and has been all his life. He's not a loner, and his interactions with other people - his friends and lovers - pull him more into the world, but it's only temporary, at least until he meets the one person who doesn't let him slip away.
Bernie conveys Sergei's alienation well, and she describes his thoughts in a way that makes him seem more relatable, despite his distance from other people. The simplicity with which she describes true love forever is perfect, and it makes the ending that much more beautiful and devastating.
7.6.06
Title: In the Desert We Get Sunburned
Team: Ottawa Senators
Pairing: Jason Spezza, Antoine Vermette
Author Website: untitled
Why I love this fic:
Lira's fics are full of breathtakingly beautiful descriptions, and this one is no exception. It's short, but not a single word is wasted; the imagery is vivid and evocative.
In the Desert We Get Sunburned conveys the wonder and allure of a road trip in the simple things: a chance encounter with a coyote, pointless arguments and their inevitable resolution, too much sand. It illustrates how getting away can be the best way to find yourself.
In the Desert We Get Sunburned
6.29.06
Title: Wanderer
Team: Edmonton Oilers
Pairing: Mike Comrie, Mike York
Author Website: M2 Archive
Why I love this fic:
Amnesia is a cliched plot device, but in Wanderer, it's written in a convincing and refreshing way. Mike Comrie suffers a blow to the head that causes him to lose his memory, and Mike York is left with the responsibility of helping him restore his memory so that he can return to playing hockey and resume his normal life. Will he succeed? And if he does, will everything truly go back to normal?
Comrie's perspective on the world after losing his memory - feeling as if everybody around him wants him to be somebody he's not - is anguishing, and York's reaction to him - resentful at first - is complex, as are the issues that Comrie has blissfully forgotten.
This fic is full of careful observations and unexpected behaviour that makes sense when you think about it. The supporting characters all have their own motivations and everyone is realistically selfish. Enjoy.
4.13.06
Titles: Vanilla, Tradition
Team: Team Canada 1998 Olympics
Pairing: Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan
Author Website: Angels in
the Architecture
Why I love these fics:
What's better than a wonderful fic based on an awesome bit of spam? Two wonderful fics based on awesome spam.
Brendan Shanahan and some other athletes, including Steve Yzerman, started a tradition of eating ice cream together in the cafeteria at night while staying at the Olympic Village in Nagano. Chrissy offers two very different interpretations of how the ritual started; one is sweet and poignant, while the other is playful and hot--both are warm and funny and thoroughly enjoyable.
You get a great sense of the familiarity between Yzerman and Shanahan from the conversations they have, the comfort of a relationship that's lasted for years. Both fics give you a peek into their world.
Vanilla
(NC-17)
Tradition
(PG-13)
4.6.06
Title: It's Thunder
Team: Ottawa Senators
Pairing: Jason Spezza, Antoine Vermette
Author Website: red
planet
Why I love this fic:
It's Thunder is a fic with a nonlinear timeline that captures moments with just the right amount of detail to make them feel like memories.
The pace is wonderful, and the ending is pure and hopeful, and absolutely heartbreaking.
3.30.06
Title: Silviculture
Team: Future MoDo, various NHL teams
Pairing: Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund, with Niklas Sundstrom
Author Website: Perchance
to Dream
Why I love this fic:
Silviculture takes place in Sweden in the summer of 1990 and follows the lives of three teenaged boys from Ornskoldsvik who will end up playing for Team Sweden together, and eventually make it to the NHL, playing for different teams.
What I love about this fic is that it's written from the perspective of boys; there's a feeling of summery wonder throughout the fic, and an appreciation of simple joys like swimming at a lake with friends, naps on the bus ride home after a hard day of planting trees, riding ferris wheels and roller coasters when the fair's in town, and the electricity of the first kiss.
The friendships feel real, and so does the sense of family and community. The world is very alive around Peter and Markus, even if they're a little too preoccupied with each other to notice.
3.23.06
Title: The Longest Week of my Whole Fucking Life
Team: New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars
Pairing: Arnott/Sykora
Author Website: Peanut Butter Sandwich
Why I love this fic:
The Longest Week... takes you day by day through the heartache of being traded away from your team and, even worse, the one you love.
The simple, understated language flows so well, and just makes certain lines sting more because the pain is so clearly evident.
3.16.06
Title: The Boys of Summer
Team: Various
Pairing: Pavel and Valeri Bure, Paul and Mike Comrie, Tomas and
Frantisek Kaberle
Author Website: Come around for
tea
Why I love this fic:
Bernie paints a vivid picture of the way three pairs of brothers spend their "summer hibernation" from the NHL. The fic flows seamlessly from pair to pair in a soft, dreamy manner, with some truly beautiful descriptions in every scene. There is playful dialogue and tender concern, what you'd expect between brothers, and the ways they express their love for each other make my heart sigh.
My favourite thing about this fic is the way there are no separators between the scenes; they just melt into each other, into one contiguous summer.
3.9.06
Title: Algebra
Team: San Jose Sharks
Pairing: Nolan/Thornton
Author Website: makeshift
wings
Why I love this fic:
Algebra employs a nifty way of describing a relationship; Scott tries to write an equation with a few too many unknown variables.
Robyn always picks the perfect words to use in her fics, and this one contains the loveliest phrases. Even though it's short, it's still rich and full and delicious. It's amazing how she can convey the feel of a relationship with so few words.
3.2.06
Title: ...who is like god?
Team: Team Sweden
Pairing: Renberg/Tellqvist, with Tommy Salo
Author Website: Tammy's
Fics
Why I love this fic:
When you fall in love, should you expect it to last forever? Do you immediately fear that you will lose that love? Do you get "better" at falling in love as you get older?
These are some of the questions considered by the characters in ...who is like god? and there are no clear answers, which is what I like about this fic, because it leaves me thinking after I finish reading.
Mikael Renberg and Mikael Tellqvist are in a relationship, together at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Tommy Salo is the starting goaltender for Sweden, and the POV switches between all three. What's revealed is a relationship on the brink, and something happens, something that's the catalyst for the end... or is it?
Tammy is great at describing the complex situations that can arise from simple emotions or motives. You see what's going on but there's no clear solution that will resolve everyone's problems, much like life, but the fic itself will leave you satisfied after you finish reading it.
2.23.06
Titles: Every Blinding Curve, Taste of
This
Team: Vancouver Canucks
Pairing: Linden/OC
Author Website: Perchance
to Dream
Why I love these fics:
Every Blinding Curve and Taste of This are the first two
fics in the amazing Happiness... Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch
series by Frala. I'm mentioning them both because I can't read the
first without wanting to read the next immediately.
Trevor
Linden is an 18-year-old rookie in 1989, adjusting to life in the NHL.
As if that isn't enough to deal with, he's also got to be careful not
to let everyone find out he's gay. The fic is full of the casual
observations and (sometimes silly) concerns you could imagine Trevor
having: the perils of driving in a big unfamiliar city, the fear of
being caught checking out another guy's equipment in the shower, and
the need to consume massive amounts of food.
The one word I'd
use to describe this fic is "comfortable". There's a conversational
tone throughout the fic, and as Trevor develops relationships with his
billets and teammates, it starts to feel like he has a real support
system. Even when he faces adversity, everything is still "comfortable"
because you know that there are people to help him get through it.
The
plot is refreshingly realistic, and problems don't magically appear or
disappear; everything is organic, with imperfect people handling
situations as they arise the best they can, without knowing all the
answers.
And oh, the smut. The desires and urgency of the
characters are in the forefront the whole time, and the characters'
personalities are evident while they're having sex. The fic never
switches abruptly from story mode into smut mode and back; sex is part
of the story.
Every
Blinding Curve
Taste of This
2.16.06
Title: Clumsy
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Pairing: Devereaux/Yzerman
Author Website: Angels in
the Architecture
Why I love this fic:
Chrissy
is wonderful at writing believable characters that make you care about
them, and she does it by making them flawed, by exposing their
insecurities and fears, while subtly showing their strengths at the
same time. She conveys the feelings of the characters clearly, and
there is no distance between you, the reader, and them, because it's
all laid out there.
Clumsy alternates between the
perspectives of Boyd Devereaux and Steve Yzerman; Boyd is the kid with
the secret, terrified of what will happen if it gets out, and Stevie is
the captain, used to looking out for the team, but perhaps not entirely
used to looking after himself. But secrets can't remain hidden forever,
and even the best captains don't know what to do sometimes.
Both
perspectives are written with care and detail, and the subplots
involving the supporting characters Mathieu Dandenault and Brendan
Shanahan are nicely integrated into the storyline. With Brett Hull and
Chris Chelios on the team, there's a fair amount of hilarious banter as
well!
There are several follow-up fics set in the same universe, so check
those out too.
Clumsy