I now stand, humbly, ready to reap the smutty harvest of my labors. (others labored, too, blah blah blah...)

*checks time*

LET THE RECCING BEGIN!!!

Alternates: Versions 1 & 2 by Lizbetann (PG-13)
Fandom: Alias
Pairing: Sydney/Danny
Author on LJ: lizbetann
Author Website: Personal homepage here, fanfiction.net author page here.
Why this must be read: Nine times out of ten, when someone tells me they're just starting in Alias and ask me what stories to read, I send them here first. (Sometimes I send them here even if they didn't ask me.) I read this story out of politeness, because a friend wrote it, and whomp! There I was, sucked into a new fandom.

This is actually two stories in one, two AUs that take place immediately after the pilot. ( spoilers for pilot ) Considering that we have two years of canon after the fact, the characterization and style hold up really well. And it's a good introduction to both the show and the fic, I think; both are often about doing the unexpected. It can be argued that the show has AUed itself a time or two. :)

Fandom: Buffy (but this is also A:ts as are many in this fandom)
Pairing: several and none
Author on LJ: viggorlijah
Author Website: http://www.oggham.com/words/
Why this must be read: Dale is famous wherever she goes for her stunning ability to impart haunting and deep truths in language that makes other writers wish they could be half that good. This story cycle touches on one of the major themes of the Buffyverse: that nothing good or bad lasts, everything is ephemeral and temporary.

This is a series of vignettes, and my favorite one is the Xander portion, but they are all brutally beautiful. They are linked from part to part, therefore I can't just cull out the Xander bit by itself.


Joyce
Faith
Riley
Xander
Lindsey
Phantom Dennis
Spike
Giles

These stories aren't happy, and they aren't super smut. But I always felt like Buffy was a fandom that really respected well-made fic dealing with concepts and emotions to go alongside the porn. So, I choose this out of the gate, and the porn will come later. This takes some Buffyverse knowledge to really understand, but I think almost all of the really good fic in this fandom is like that.

Well, it is difficult to have spoilers for a series 30 years old, so I guess there will be no surprises here :)
Warnings for excessive rambling ~g~

( Pics & Bios )

( Overview of the Show )

( The Fandom )

( Major fic Archives and Links )

Further to Fly by Nomad (PG-13)
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: It's really an ensemble piece (though there's some Jed/Abbey, but not more than's actually on the show.)
Author on LJ: nomadicwriter
Author Website: Nomad's Realm
Why This Must Be Read: This story...while still in progress, definitely has enough to keep you going for a long, long while. It's epic and huge and brilliant. It's got the whole cast and everybody has something to do here. The dialogue, especially, is wonderful. Nomad's got the "sound" of Sorkin in her fic, and after reading this, you'll swear you were watching the show.

There are spoilers through season 3, definitely, then it goes AU. There are a few spoilery points in later chapters that have popped up through season 4--particularly "Holy Night" and "Debate Camp". But it's nothing major.

Previously on Popslash: We reviewed the basics of *Nslash.

Today on Popslash: Remember (PG-13)

Fandom: Popslash
Pairing: Justin/JC (JuC)
Author on LJ: jae_w
Author Website: I will not be afraid of boybands
Why this must be read: While coming up with a list of fics to rec, I had a minor melt down regarding the widespread popularity of some of my choices -- including this brilliant story. In the resulting panic, I found myself whining to neverbeen2spain. ( A short dramatization of that conversation follows. )

Threats to my personal property aside, the thing is that neverbeen2spain is right -- I do love this story. It's funny. So funny. And so well written. And so charming -- which, for a story that involves the words "kissing", "tongue", and "Carson Daly" in the same sentence, is quite a feat. Best of all for this community, though, is the fact that Remember is a perfect, accessible introduction to both *Nsync as a group and *Nslash as a fandom. It doesn't require the reader to possess intricate knowledge of the relationships within the band and it's understandable to readers who don't want/have the time to wade knee-deep through fandom politics and 12 months of pop fan's backlogged LJ posts.

I would go on with the praises here, but discussing almost anything written by jae_w makes me sort of incoherent with envy, so instead I'll just send you off now to go and enjoy the hilarity.

( The Supporting Cast: Additional Info. )

Friday on Popslash: "This is what Justin left behind."

Fandom: CSI
Pairing: Gil/Warrick
Author Website: The Thwarted Invasion
Why this must be read: CSI fandom is a strange animal. One of the most difficult things I find as a reader and writer in this fandom is keeping the characters in character. They're quirky and sometimes hard to read because of the format of the show; there's not much delving into personal lives and getting to know the characters outside their jobs is tough. So when I find a fic that's written in character, regardless of the pairing, it's exciting. This fic is one of the best characterizations of Gil and Warrick that I've read, and the fact that it's Gil/Warrick slash is pretty ironic considering they're two characters I would never slash myself. But Julian Lee does an amazing job of convincing me that they could work, and she keeps the flavor of the show and the characters' voices and interactions intact throughout.

There are two versions of this fic, sort of a double your pleasure rec. The first was written as a five-minute-fic, and you can find it here:

Outside the Box -- PG five-minute-fic version

The second, extended version is here:

Outside the Box -- Extended NC17 version

I was really happy to see that Julian had expanded on this fic, because in the extended version you really get a taste for the characters and how well she handles the fandom. (And okay, my favorite thing about it is the little hint of my personal favorite CSI slash flavor, Nick/Greg. Hey, it's rare, I'll take what I can get.)

Before anything else, be aware of the following:
This overview, as well as most of my story recs will contain OotP Spoilers. I'm talking THE SPOILER. Be warned.
Otherwise, please let me know what I've missed, cause this is a huge universe to recap.

( So who's the kid with the glasses? )

( “Muggle? )

( Five books? )

( “Give )


Bloody heck. That was a long intro.