Positivity and Recs

I have been really, really busy these last two weeks, but now nearly everything is done and I can go back to normal. Hope to answer properly on comments and messages again. Yay. Here some of the things I've been up to:

1. Finished not only my fest fic on time, but wrote another little thing. The latter was a collaboration and that's just the best. I'm so much more motivated when I see someone else working on the same story. And isn't it the greatest to see two brains come up with the most intersting things? Yay for collaborations! I'm so glad, I can do all this with my wonderful partner in crime.



2. I gave my first presentation about western medicine and alternative medicine before cancer patients and their relatives and it went pretty well. It has been the first time I've talked to patients and not scientists or co-workers (where we all talk in some sort of gobbledygook). So, I'm proud that I managed to get them all to listen to me for around 50 minutes and they even were interested in asking questions afterwards.



3. We've celebrated the birthday of our little one this afternoon. Now Mr. Kantorka and I are knackered, but it was a lovely little party. Everyone seemed to have fun, the kids loved their little guest presents (Lego or Fillys - whomever invented these Filly ponies, I f**** hate you). But now we can live in peace for a year. LOL

Oh, and I've read some wonderful fics, most of them non HD, not even HP, and two lovely books. But I just want to rec two fics today:

Title:Sixteen Days in September
Author/Artist: tevere
Fandom: Generation Kill
Pairing(s) Brad Colbert/Nate Fick
Rating: R
Word Count: 43,428
Warnings: This is a war story, and as such contains some violence, civilian deaths including children, and a non-explicit reference to sexual violence. If you're all right with canon, you should be right with this.
Tags: Peacekeeping, Historical, Muslim Character, AU, 1990s, Indonesia, East Timor, War

Summary:
When Peace Corps assigns Nate to East Timor, a tiny half-island in eastern Indonesia, he figures he'll have a lot of time to catch up on his reading. But the year is 1999, and the shock fall of military dictator Suharto is still reverberating throughout the country, triggering changes nobody ever thought possible. As East Timor moves inexorably towards freedom – or war – Nate is drawn into events that will define the future of the province forever.

Why I loved it:
It'd been recced during Rectober by noeon and it took me a while to build up my courage to read a war fic. I still remember the news about East Timor during the 1990s and to read something which could have been happened like this, is always difficult for me.
I'm so glad though that I read Sixteen Days in September because it's incredible. Nate here was the most brilliant character. I loved his enthusiasm to change something and to make the world a better place. And to see him being backed up by Brad to 100% - it was amazing to read. Once started there was no way to stop reading. And I wasn't even disappointed that not very much happened between them physically. This fic wasn't about sex or smut. It was about life, friendship, fight, peace, good intentions and wearing oneself out because of the conditions (when politicians hold their interests higher than the lives of [poor] people).

Excerpt:
Rolling Stone looks at him earnestly. "This is the proof we need. All the UN has to do is something, fucking anything, to stop what we already know's going to happen here."

"Get me a translation asap," he orders, feeling cautious hope. This is concrete evidence, and the act of sending it places it on the permanent record. If anything at all is going to force the SRSG and Godfather to act, this is it.

Brad's more pessimistic when Nate tells him about the documents. "None of this is even about East Timor," he says. "You think any of those countries out there give a fuck about the Timorese? They're too worried about bilateral trade, domestic politics, the global balance of power. None of them really wanted to have the referendum in the first place. And if the shit hits the fan, they'll be happy to give Indonesia a slap on the wrist and let Timor burn."

Title:Northwest Passage
Author/Artist: kryptaria
Fandom: Sherlock TV
Pairing(s) Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Rating: NR-17
Word Count: 95,159
Warnings: PTSD, Mention of drug addiction, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Description of previous torture, Explicit Sexual Content, Angst
Tags: AU, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Rimming, Porn With Plot, BAMF!John, Canadian!John, Subtle D/s overtones but no BDSM

Summary: Seven years ago, Captain John Watson of the Canadian Forces Medical Service withdrew from society, seeking a simple, isolated life in the distant northern wilderness of Canada. Though he survives from one day to the next, he doesn't truly live until someone from his dark past calls in a favor and turns his world upside-down with the introduction of Sherlock Holmes.

Why I loved it:
gracerene recced this fic and her recs are always worth a closer look. And this fic, OMG, it was wonderful. It all starts when Sherlock is send by Mycroft to Canada after his third rehab. Sherlock is so bored about everything that he doesn't even want to try to get better. And then he meets John, who lives in the middle of nowhere, and this man is the riddle Sherlock needs.
It's an intense journey for both of them (and the reader) but it's wonderful as well. Between hurt, angst and PTSD the reader can enjoy a lot of gorgeous sex and - even more important - the most hilarious humour ever. Just take a look at this Sherlock. LOL

Excerpt:
Somehow, just knowing that John was in the next room made even this boring, primitive cabin into something wonderful.

Sherlock rolled onto his side to face the bathroom door, thinking that the person he’d been just a month ago would have looked at this future-self and probably shot himself to avoid this very future. Well, even he had his moments of idiocy. At least he’d resisted falling into the trap of love before, leaving himself available to John instead of some lesser creature acquired earlier in life.