Fandom: Horatio Hornblower
Title: The Ransom series (or, Watch and Watch, Following Sea, Welcome to My Nightmare, Ransom, En Route, In Vino Veritas, Vindication) by Calypso
Pairing: Horatio/Archie
Author on LJ: mzcalypso
Why This Must Be Read: This series has made the rounds or recommendations for a good reason, not the least of which is the mere fact that Calypso is an amazing writer. Lyrical and engrossing, the story sends a rush of adrenaline down your spine or places a wicked/satisfied smile on your face. And I have two words for you -- Carriage. Sex. Regency sex on wheels. Believe me, it works. Beginning during "The Duchess and the Devil" this relationship is developed from mere fantasy to fruition, from delicious angst to the tweaking of canon. And there's a minor crossover, at least in mention, with the Aubrey/Maturin novels.

The Ransom Series

Fandom: FASTLANE
Pairing: Van/Deaq
Why this must be read:

Drugs and sex. Just a quick little read. Guh.

X-rated

Fandom: LORD OF THE RING

Pairing: Sam/Frodo

Author on LJ: Merripestin

Author’s Website: Merripestin’s Page

Why this must be read: I’ve decided to do a dark fic theme for this week’s recs. :) And this is one of the best dark fics I’ve read. It tells of what could’ve happened if Frodo kept the Ring. I love the author's exploration of the demons inside Frodo that could cause him to do it.

Engastrimyth

Fandom: LORD OF THE RING
Pairing: Gandalf/Frodo
Author Website: Least Expected is down at the moment but here's the url anyway: http://www.femgeeks.net/tolkien/
Why this must be read: Remember the part where Gandalf is adamant about not taking the Ring from Frodo? This story tells of an AU were his love for Frodo makes him take it even if he knows it would destroy his soul. I love the concept and the language in this fic is wonderful.

No Windows

Fandom: WITCHBLADE
Pairing: Ian/Irons
Author on LJ: none known
Author Website: FFN Profile

Why this must be read:

For me, the most interesting dynamic on the show was the twisted relationship between Sara, Ian and Irons. This short vignette provides an interesting perspective on that relationship, focusing on Ian and Irons. It is a well written scene, set entirely in Ian's bedroom. As Irons looks in on his sleeping servant, both his pride of ownership and his growing concerns with regard to Ian's loyalty are on display.

( Excerpt: )

What I enjoy most about this story is the fact that it is all about power and control, yet it is more subtly told than some of the more coercive approaches to Ian/Irons slash (not that there's all that much of it- which is a damn shame). In addition, both the characterizations of Ian and Kenneth work for me. Kenneth's jealousy rings very true, as does his means of re-establishing his 'ownership' of Ian. And Ian... the guy is stuck in the middle and completely screwed, which is exactly how I like him!

Ashes

Fandom: Firefly
Pairing: Simon/Jayne
Author on lj: debchan
Author website: http://www.debchan.com
Why this must be read: Sometimes it's the earliest stories in a fandom that stick with you and become the classics, and Tetchy is certainly an example of that. It was written only a few weeks in Firefly's short run, but it still stands up as one of the best stories in the fandom. Like Big Damn Zombies, Sir, it has the virtues of having great character voices and being very funny. Unlike the other, though, this one concentrates mainly on two characters, Simon and Jayne, and their twisted, snarky courtship rituals.

Tetchy

The following fandoms need reccers for December and beyond: Blakes7, Boondock Saints, Professionals, Roswell and Starsky & Hutch.

To sign up, please go HERE.


Some of these may be more appropriate as recurring "small fandoms" rather than trying to keep them on full-time, so if no one steps up they'll be removed from the active fandom list on Decmeber 1st. (executrix and blktauna, this does not apply to you!)

Fandom: STARGATE SG-1
Pairing: Jack O'Neill/Daniel Jackson
Author on LJ: (if applicable) eliade
Author Website: http://www.drizzle.com/~eliade/index2.html
Why this must be read: This is yet another case of you should just read everything by Anna S. (including and especially her X-Files stuff, but I'm not reccing XF stuff here). In The Other Half, an alien child gives Jack a gift of a chain (it's not a necklace) that causes Jack to obey Daniel's every order. He can't disobey, nor does he want to because his hormones do a happy dance whenever Daniel gives him an order and he feels sick if he doesn't obey. He wants Daniel to give him orders. He needs Daniel to give him orders. Daniel tries to avoid giving Jack orders but eventually gives in to his baser instincts, thank God. Along the way, they try to figure out how to remove the device and why it was given to Jack in the first place.

Anna S. is a terrific writer with a wonderful flair for words and she has put her original stamp on this variation of the sex under the influence of an alien device theme.

The Other Half

Fandom: STARGATE SG-1

Pairing: Jack O'Neill/Daniel Jackson

Author on LJ: xochiquetzl

Author Website: http://www.geekiness.com/fic/sgfic.shtml

Why this must be read: You know how when you're in the honeymoon phase of a new fandom and you think the first few stories you read are sooo wonderful, but then when you read them again a year or two later you wonder why you liked them in the first place? Well, that didn't happen to me with this story. I Never was one of the first Stargate stories I ever read, and I still love it. The story revolves around a drinking game called I Never, the object of which is to get the other people to drink by making statements such as, "I never drank cactus juice." Whoever has, must take a drink. The game leads to a revelation about Daniel and a realization about Jack. It's witty, funny and sexy.

I Never

Fandom: LORD OF THE RING
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: Elke Tanzer
Author’s Website: Elke's Archive
Why this must be read: I love the language in this story. The tone is so desperate and yet determined. This story depicts the horrors of slowly losing yourself in such a powerful way. Here's the author's summary: Drawing past the edge between reality and the shadow world, Frodo begins to doubt what is real.

Wraithcall

Fandom: X-MEN COMICVERSE
Pairing: Gambit/Courier
Author on LJ: diamonde
Author Website: Er, well, there's Peeing in the Jean Pool, but this story isn't there.
Why this must be read:
Courier, AKA Jacob Gavin, was Remy's unwilling sidekick-of-sorts in the now-defunct Gambit book. (Marvel: "We're streamlining so we can focus on all the core books. For about five minutes. Then we'll start again with the squillions of solo books and unnecessary limited series, but by then it'll be too late for this book! Bwahahaha!") Remy and Jake bickered and pushed buttons and generally complained about each other, and any slasher knows that means they were really secretly in love.

Jake is a metamorph, but his mutation isn't quite the same as the more famililar Mystique's. Jake has total and complete control over every cell in his body, to the point where he can grow back body parts, and even manipulate cells in said detached body parts from a distance. (Which Gambit proved to all of us by cutting off Jake's finger and giving it to Sinister. It'strueIswear!) Another noted difference is that it takes Jake several hours to complete a drastic change, such as turning himself into a woman.

A woman. Funny I should mention that...

See, Jake and Gambit went back in time, got all mixed up with Sinister, Jake ended up back in the present as a woman, and he had a little trouble changing back to himself and staying that way.

Let the wacky hijinks ensue!

Followed by sex, both hetero and homo. Okay, we don't know if they did it (either it), but Gambit did kiss Jake while Jake was in female form, and generally spent lots of time leering at him/her. Which pissed Jake off.

God, they were cute. So. Cute.

A more detailed, highly amusing, and much naughtier version of post-time travel events can be found in Diamonde's story, and it's worth a read just to laugh at and sympathize with poor Jake as he deals with life in a female body. Remy's guilt over the situation, and his attempts to genuinely help Jake despite the fact that he's often baffled and amused by Courier's behavior, give the story a sweet feel that balances the humor nicely.

Faux Pas

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Author on LJ: miriam_heddy
Author Website: http://fangirlz.net/miriam.heddy/
Why this must be read: One slip of the tongue while he's drunk, and Bodie finds himself inexorably moving down a path that he'd rather not be on.

Miriam Heddy is one of my favorite authors; I love everything she's written, regardless of fandom. She has a fantastic grasp of what makes people tick, and she uses it to great advantage here. The characters and scene are pitch-perfect and the story is slow and sweet, unfolding like a flower.

Disclaimer: I originally published this story in my Professionals zine (The Bisto Kids) and so I have to admit to some bias. :-)

Fancy That