don't be dull, be fannish

"Even the Stars Are Not Safe in Heaven" by elrhiarhodan | Peter/El | Warning: Non-Con | In the two years following Elizabeth Burke’s kidnapping and her safe recovery, Peter has cut Neal out of his life, unwilling to forgive his part in Elizabeth’s trauma or the betrayal of their own partnership. The story begins with Neal’s successful completion of his work-release, and he says goodbye to Peter. It is a moment of finality. But time passes, some wounds heal and tragedy brings them back together. | ~21.000 words

Peter gritted his teeth – this was the hard part and he lied like a rug. “I’m his legal next of kin.” And still another lie. “He’s also part of my team.” He willed the woman to understand, to not demand proof.

What a sad, yet touching story. Reading this, I crossed both my fingers and toes in the hope that the show won't go that way, that Peter and Neal won't stay at odds after what happened in the mid-season finale...

I got myself White Collar S2 for Xmas and watched all the extras today. I was quite disappointed that there were only 3 audio commentaries (S1 had like 8 or something), one featurette, a gag reel and a bit in which the writers of WhiCo and BurNo dissed each others' shows jokingly. I mean, I bought the box set really cheap for the original retail price, that's very little (compare it to Leverage's DVD box sets' content and weep!). Also, the audio commentaries felt a bit... lame, not as energetic as on the S1 DVDs...

But! It totally stoked me for S3.5! The new promo looks great! And Matt Mitovich praised the S3.5 premiere as a strong episode with unexpected ending!

And a fic rec:

"Brokedown" by OnYourMark | Gen | Neal has hit his breaking point; telling Peter about the treasure might get him thrown back in prison but, between the arrow through his arm and the constant exhaustion, he can't be bothered to care anymore. | ~6.100 words

"Neal, what am I going to find in the storage room?"

Neal watched him, unblinking, too tired to explain. Peter would go away and find the treasure and maybe then he'd have to explain, but maybe they'd just send him away to Riker's, then back to supermax, and he could sleep day by day in his cell.

Finally Peter sat back, then stood up. He put his hands on his hips. "Are you going to be here when I get back?"

I really love the way Neal's burn-out is depicted in this story. Really love it.

"my lips have the sin" by hoosierbitch | Neal/OMC, Peter/El/Neal | Non-con, PTSD | Neal ends up in prison. It takes Peter three years to get him out. A lot can happen in three years. | ~30.000 words

Sad, yet wonderfully written story about PTSD and rape-recovery. Peter and El are really amazing here, especially when you find out what they did, what they sacrificed to get Neal out. Heed the warnings, though, folks. It's a dark story!

"Never Leave a Trace" sam_storyteller | Peter/El/Neal | Paranormal AU | Neal Caffrey can steal souls. Peter Burke has two shadows. Everything's normal...except when it isn't. | ~16.000 words

In dark corners, in quiet voices, at other times they said this: that he could do magic, real magic, prison magic. He'd once drawn a bird so real it flew off the page. He couldn't be tattooed; the ink ran right out of his skin while he slept. On the outside, he'd jumped off a ledge four floors above ground and walked away unhurt. He could walk through prison bars. He could tell your fortune in the color of your eyes. If you gave him a lit cigarette, he could hypnotize a man just by flicking it back and forth. He could steal your soul if you let him draw you, but he wouldn't (but he had once). His name wasn't even Neal Caffrey. They said there was a priest on the outside who owned his shadow. They said that he was a ghost who'd just disappeared one day straight out of his cell. They said he'd come back. Some people believed it; some didn't.

This is amazing! Seriously amazing! The best WhiCo fic I've read so far. The magical reality of this story is incredibly fascinating, it's WhiCo, except it's not, not entirely and it reminds me so much of Gaiman's "American Gods"... Wow!

"Jeffrey Nullier's 'Man With Fedora'" by Sam Storyteller | Gen | Case!fic, humor, h/c | A routine investigation into an art theft turns up Neal's fingerprints on a stolen painting. Neal swears he's never stolen a Nullier painting, but that's only half the truth... | ~19.000 words

Peter felt his brain whirr to a sharp halt. This invalidated everything, and he hated how Neal could just do that -- say something, do something that changed all the rules of the game in an instant. Basic assumptions no longer seemed basic. Everything had to be rewritten.

What an awesome fic. It has a little bit of everything and I really do hope that the writers use a similar plot for one of their episodes. It would be perfect!

This ficlet needs rec'ing like whoa!

"Trust Games" by adina. Gen. Summary: Running the FBI annual retreat is never easy. Outsider POV. Length: ~350 words.

Burke never lost his scowl; Caffrey smiled and lowered his hands, straightening out the cuffs on his overly-formal jacket. He must not have been given the memo about casual dress, poor man--another victim of closed-group harassment, no doubt.

This fic gave me a giggle-fit! So much fun in such a small package!

"Five Missing Pieces -- The One Where Neal Expresses" by dragonfly. Peter/El implied. Summary: A missing scene from Vital Signs - how did Peter get Neal out of the clinic? Words: ~2.400.

“Can you walk?” he asked. “There is no way I can carry you out of here without anyone noticing.”

“Sure,” Neal said and demonstrated by wobbling to his feet and falling against the wall. Peter caught his arm and helped ease him down the wall to a sitting position. “Sorry, black out when I stand.” For the first time Peter wondered with apprehension what on earth they had given Neal. If it was a harmless drug it must have been a huge dose, and maybe it wasn’t harmless. “Need a wheelchair,” Neal said to the floor he was looking at. “Thaz how I got Moz in.”

I can so see it happening that way! Neal singing and Peter being all... action-hero-y! Yay!

"Kate, Short for Kevin" by moonythestrals. Peter/El/Neal. Summary: Neal Caffrey being his partner amuses him probably much more than it actually should. Hopefully no one notices. Words: 2.100.

It's hilarious to Neal how Peter always assumes that Neal sleeps with every single person he flirts with. Other than the fact that Peter should remember how they both have this terrible habit of loving the chase more than the follow-through, he should also realize that if his theory were true, Neal would have to be sleeping with Peter for more consecutive hours than there are in the day.

Neal tried to explain this to Peter once, but he just answered, "Yeah, but I'm a guy," which made Neal want to slap him in the head with the 21st century.

Okay, I'm smitten with this fic. No, really. It's so feel!good that you want to bounce off the walls!

Yeah, yeah, another one - but this one is so good that it needed to be rec'ed right away!

"Manifest Destiny" by idyll. Peter/El/Neal. Summary: Peter receives a promotion. El's not happy. Length: ~1.900 words.

An hour before the alarm goes off, Peter is already awake. Neal is in the center of the bed, his cheek tucked against Peter's shoulder. El is using Neal's chest as a pillow, one hand stretched across him to rest against Peter's ribs.

A few minutes of staring later, El opens her eyes and blinks at Peter before smiling sleepily. Peter takes her hand, twines their fingers together, and rests them on Neal's chest.

"He would have come with us," Peters whispers. It's a surprise to him, since this thing with Neal, this unexpected and insane thing, is part of what he was trying to make up to her. But he means it. He would have called in every favor he had, kissed every ass in sight, and put himself in debt to anyone that would take a marker from him to make it happen.

I love their relationship in this fic. Neal bemoans ruined China, Peter loves macaroni and cheese and El's being her awesome self!

"The World on a String" by speccygeekgrrl. Gen. Summary: They've been having this conversation for weeks now, in bits and pieces, and finally it was coming down to the heart of the matter. Length: 890 words.

"You're just going to have to wait for me to come visit instead of stalking me."

"I never stalked you."

"No, stalking is what you did to Elizabeth. So if you start, I might get the wrong impression."

Aww! That's all I can say - aww! \o/