Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Ron Weasley / Hermione Granger Hermione Granger / Severus Snape
Author on LJ:yahtzee63
Author Website: Yahtzee: Genre Edition
Why this must be read:

Because the 'What happens if Voldemort wins?' genre is a significant part of the fandom. Yet not often a terribly satisfying one. After all, if Voldemort wins the overwhelming probability is that everyone dies, probably unpleasantly -- which is hard to work up into a satisfying narrative.

Yahtzee never flinches away from the reality of her premise, but there's a thin thread of hope running through the story as well. And the world she creates isn't merely a trite re-working of apocalyptic stereotypes, but a real one that might, in the context, come to be.

The same applies to her characters. Hermione, despite her traumas and defeats, is still recognisably Hermione -- but a Hermione who has suffered traumas and defeats. That balance runs through the story, and makes its dark aspects all the more effecting.

It's also one of the very few Snape / Hermione stories which deserves to be described as plausible. Although anyone wanting hearts and flowers is, as you've probably gathered, in quite the wrong place.

The Bloody Stare of Mars

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing:Padma Patil / Susan Bone (One line worth, I'd call it Gen)
Author on LJ: acadine
Author Website: Arithmancy.net
Why this must be read:

Because it's often said that fanfic is a means of critiquing the text -- and it's very rarely true.

But it is here.

Specifically, this short story looks at whether the Potter-verse could be considered bi-racial.

Even more it manages to do that -- and do it well -- while also being a good story.

Only at Hogwarts, they joke, would history actually be taught by a dead white European man.

Acadine requests that people not link directly to her stories without permission. 'Oral History' can be found from her website by clicking 'enter' then 'femmeslash'. It's worth the trouble.

Fandom: ROSWELL
Pairing: Michael/Liz, with mentions of Max/Liz, Michael/Maria and Isabel/Alex
Author on LJ: uhmidont
Author Website: http://www.ficorama.net
Why this must be read:

Well, this is my first time reccing here at crack_van and it's for Roswell, a show that I used to be enchanted by, once upon a time. It's been almost two years since I spent any major time in the Roswell fandom, so this will be a rediscovery of sorts for me, remembering all the stories that touched my heart so deeply and having the chance to share those stories with others. Needless to say, I'm totally stoked! :)

For my first rec, I'm choosing my favorite Roswellian story ever. It's not especially long, but it is the one story that has really stayed with me the most over time, even while others faded away in my memory.

Elizabeth has written some of the most intensly beautiful fanfiction for this fandom that I've ever seen. Of course, she's written lots of wonderful fanfiction for many other fandoms as well, but it was in Roswell that I first came across her exquisite work.

"Twenty-Seven Echoes Neverland" is set just after season 1 of Roswell, making it very much an AU. It takes the story of Peter Pan and weaves it into the Roswellian lore effortlessly, bringing to light all of the bittersweet beauty that people feel when coming across J.M. Barrie's classic again later in life and seeing it through adult eyes that aren't as easily distracted by the swashbuckling pirates and adventurous little boys with swords.

When one rediscovers Peter Pan as an adult, they are touched by a sense of longing for their lost innocence and the child-like belief that everything will always turn out perfectly and love will always conquer all. But they know now that it doesn't. And in TSEN, Liz Parker finally comes to terms with that. She realizes that love doesn't always stay inside the lines, sometimes it's messy and complicated and even painful. She comes to grips with the fact that you can't have the fairy tale, not really. And she finally accepts that nobody can be perfect, no matter how much they might wish they were.

This Liz is a girl that finally realizes that one can't live their life when placed up on a pedistol, because it must always eventually topple over. And watching her make that emotional and psychological journey to realization is both beautiful and painful at the same time.

Life isn't perfect, love isn't perfect, and it isn't always forever. But that doesn't make it any less meaningful.

A short snippit for you...

There are twenty-seven steps from my window to my bed. The interesting thing about that is it's twenty-seven steps no matter which direction you start from. If I stand next to my window--it doesn't matter where, as long as I can reach out and touch it--it's always a twenty-seven step journey.

I think it's actually mathematically impossible for this to happen. I'm sure there is a theory out there somewhere that could prove what I know false. I could also move the bed a little. If I slid it to the right, just a tiny bit, I think it would only be twenty-six steps from one point.

But if I moved the bed, would my story still be the same?

Twenty-Seven Echoes Neverland

Fandom: STARSKY AND HUTCH
b>Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: http://www.squidge.org/~flamingo/starskyhutchslash

Why this must be read: I was going to say because I said so, but realized that only works on my kids.

I'm new at this, so here I am, jumping in the deep end.

This hot little piece must be read because it's, well, hot!! And it's funny. Did I mention hot?

It's a classic seduction piece, using a classic method: Food. Who wouldn't want to be seduced with food?

But a hot dog? Weird, yes, but in the hands of a certain dark-haired detective, it may as well be edible underwear.

From the episode Savage Sunday, we learn that Hutch likes his hot dogs plain, and Starsky likes his with a bit of everything. So, in a brazen game of "taste my weinie", good ol' Starsk coaxes and seduces TwoCentsPlain!Hutch into a walk on the wild side. It's the least Hutch can do after making poor Starsky drink goat's milk and dessicated liver in the episode Pariah.

Of course, Hutch, never one to stand on the sidelines and let Starsky run the entire show, throws down his own gauntlet:

"My treat, partner," Hutch said. "Besides. For some reason . . . I've got this sudden urge for that famous nine-inch, warm, juicy, plump hotdog you keep telling me about."

That alone was worth the read, but there's more.

Seeing a chance for some good old fashioned debauchery, Starksy picks up the gauntlet with ease...

"Okay. That sounds fine, Hutch. But maybe I'd better warn you—not everyone can eat those special dogs. For some people—well, it can just be too much to handle."

Indeed. You go, Starsky.

So they tease and taunt each other, including a hilarious Starsky riff on virgin taste buds and strippers, which is one of the funniest paragraphs I've ever read.

I won't say anymore because it'll spoil it, but trust me... try it, you'll like it.

Read this because it's hot, because it's steamy, and in my honest opinion, the combination of hot guys, hot dogs, a hot night in a deserted parking lot makes for damned hot fun. Flamingo has a knack for writing about every day, ordinary things,like a stakeout or a innocuous hot dog, and making you forever laugh and blush whenever you think about them.

Enjoy it. I did.


goatsmilk

This is the overview for your small fandom supplement for February:

Hercules: the Legendary Journeys was set in a neverland version of ancient Greece that looked amazingly like New Zealand, complete with monsters, interfering gods and an off-the-wall spin on Greek mythology.

( Hercules and Iolaus )

Hercules and Iolaus have known each other since they were children and learned to be warriors together at Cheiron's Academy. They fight together, travel together, sleep in the dirt together, tend each other's wounds, bicker, tease, and tend to express lots of affection for each other: ( More Images )

There were five TV movies as prequels to the parent series, a spin-off called Young Hercules that centered on Hercules, Iolaus and Jason in Cheiron's Academy, a Young Hercules movie that told the story of the voyage of the Argonauts, and some Xena crossover episodes. There was a large cast of great recurring characters, most of whom have their own fandoms. This is going to be a mostly Hercules and Iolaus-centric overview, because I'm going to rec mainly stories about them (gen, het and slash) since that's what I read. But the next time HtLJ's turn comes up, someone else is going to be doing recs from the other areas of the fandom, focussing on the other characters.

( Key Elements: Gods, Wives, Xena, How Come That Guy Looks Like That Other Guy, and He May Have Been Dead Four Times But He's Still Pretty )

( Other Important Characters )

Hercules is a fun show, with comedy, adventure, hurt/comfort, amnesia, time-travel, men in drag, portals to other worlds and angst-loaded drama. It has attractive people wearing leather, which sometimes gets wet, and they fight a lot. If you'd like to check it out, reruns have been airing again in the US on the SciFi Channel, and it's also now being released in box season DVD sets.


( Archives and Other Useful Sites )

Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Author on LJ: tempe
Author Website: moon river
Why this must be read:

Hi there - I'll be doing your Stargate recs for the month of February. My reading in the fandom is almost all J/D and gen, so that's what you're going to be getting - all due apologies to the other pairings in the fandom. (Well, there's that one story... never mind. We'll get there when we get there.)

All but one of my recs will be stories by authors who haven't previously appeared here. This story is the exception, because as far as I know it's only appeared on Tripoli's lj and thus it's not like any of y'all are likely to find it on your own.

Tripoli's great gift, or anyway what I react most strongly to in her writing, is the ability to say something in a way that goes straight to the heart of things. A little more than half the time she goes to the heart of things carrying a knife, but, well, it's a dangerous universe out there. This story - which consists of one hundred and forty-nine words, not counting the title - is one of those times.

...he isn't thinking anything in particular, and if he were, it might be that contentment could creep up on you when you weren't looking.

8 April 2004, 3:51pm

Fandom: HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS
Pairing: n/a
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: The Less Than Legendary Journeys
Why this must be read: Naomi's writing is excellent and her sense of humor fits right in with the tongue-in-cheek quality of the Hercules series. Also, unlike too many writers in the fandom, she writes fantasy adventure very well. Her plots are original, sometimes drawing elements from fairy tales but giving them her own special spin, and her stories have the feel of a great episode of the show. She writes the relationship between Hercules and Iolaus particularly well, capturing the affection, humor, and warmth that the characters show onscreen. Like most of the stories on the Less Than Legendary site, and like the show itself, her stories can be read as gen, but are a bit slashy on the edges.

In "Reputations," Kainos, an emissary from Ptasis, tells Hercules that his people are being attacked by man-eating ogres, and asks for the demigod's help. It's obvious right away that this won't be any picnic, as the people of Ptasis have strict ideas as to how warriors should act, and the easy give and take of Hercules and Iolaus' friendship doesn't fit into their narrow definitions. Also Kainos has difficulty seeing Iolaus as a warrior and wants to think of him as Hercules' servant. They know dealing with this situation isn't going to be easy, but Iolaus has suspicions that something more is going on. He's proven right, of course.

This is a long meaty story you can relax into and enjoy, and I feel it's a good introduction to the Hercules universe.


Excerpt:
Few people were indifferent to Hercules. They tended to hold one of two opinions about him: he was a champion of the common man and thus merited admiration or, conversely, he was an interfering pain-in-the-ass and thus merited killing. It was the latter opinion that held sway with most of his present company.

Iolaus, who subscribed to a third, and possibly quite unique, view of the demigod, slid his plate of food out of the way as a ruffian bounced over the table. "Herc," he complained, "I'm trying to eat here."

Reputations

Fandom: WEST WING
Pairing: Sam/Josh focus, includes Sam/OFC, Sam/OMC, and Josh/Amy
Author on LJ: therealjae
Author Website: http://www.jaegecko.com
Why this must be read:

I'm probably going to regret reccing this all as one series. That's my absolute favourite set of stories in this fandom all gone in one fell swoop. Oh well.

This is a series of self-contained stories. It's a WIP, in that new stories are still being added, but each story could stand alone, so this doesn't affect the reader's pleasure too much. It's an epic, a re-telling of canon in the light of a Josh/Sam involvement, and will take you at least a couple of days to plough through. And it's perfect. It's heart-breaking and realistic and this, right here, is how a Josh and Sam relationship would happen on the show.

If, like me, you tend to only go for the stories with the happy endings, please don't let that put you off. There is romance and hope as well. This series has to be read. It should be required reading for the fandom.

I'm not going to quote, simply because finding the 'best' quote out of this series is impossible. Just... read it.

The Turning-verse

Just as an introduction, I'll be reccing West Wing fic for all of this month. I'm almost exclusively a slasher, and I tend to go for the Josh/Sam stories, although I'll try and dig up some good other pairings. Most of the stories I rec will have happy endings. Because sad endings don't exist. No. *puts hands over ears and sings 'la la la la'*

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Harry/Snape; Draco/Hermione
Author on LJ: kaiz
Author Website: The Zone
Why this must be read: Being a multifandom community, I think people around here understand that one looks for something particular in each fandom one skips into. Porn is universally granted. But for anything else, each fandom has it's own flavor, it's own quirks. For me, in HP, I look for a few things, but one is for the villains not to be stupid. Why don't the DE's just kill of Voldemort in a coup and focus on galleons instead of revenge? Ah, the eternal question! you say. Yes.

This story is brilliant on many levels. The conceit with which is written: partially as a historical text written by Hermione explaining recent history; partially as simple narrative. The entire backstory she invents for the unfolding of the war. The spells! How I love a cracking good story with clever spells!

Let me be clear, this is not chan. Also, Harry/Snape normally would put me off my grub for a week, but this story is so good, I didn't even mind.

Contemporary Magical Innovations

Fandom: X-MEN MOVIEVERSE
Pairings: Scott/Jean, Scott/Logan
Author on lj: 3jane
Author's website: Janefic
Why this must be read:

Scott and Logan strike sparks in the movies from the moment they meet, and it's tempting for slash writers to see attraction under that animosity. But it's a hard pairing to make work, especially pre-X2, since Scott so clearly adores Jean. And there's the sexual tension between Jean and Logan to deal with as well, which is strong enough in canon not to be easily brushed aside.

In "All of the Animals," Jane St. Clair handles all three of them beautifully, in a hot, complex story where everybody gets some of what they want but no one gets it all. Her Scott is believable and strong, with Jean at the center of his world and love and lust tangled and hard to sort out. As usual in her stories, the sensory details in the story are rich and telling, and the sex stays perfectly in character (and is very, very hot).

All of the Animals (NC-17)

Also, by way of introduction, I'm penknife, and I'll be doing X-Men movieverse recs for February. I read and write both slash and het in XMM. You're likely to see a lot of Magneto this month, but I'll try to cover a variety of slash and het pairings as well as some good gen stories.

Fandom: ALIAS
Pairing: Sydney/Sark
Author on LJ: brynnmck
Author Website: Brynn's Page
Why this must be read: Set in Season 2, this story has all the makings of a great Sarkney pairing: death, sex, and Sydney changing sides. But the best part is the twist at the very end. Brilliantly conceived.

Blood. Blood everywhere, on the couch, the floor, smeared in a heart shape on the TV screen. It hits her like a physical blow, and her brain shuts down, but her training takes over, and when she hears a weak, “Syd?” she rushes to find its source.



Another Orpheus

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Author on LJ: koimistress
Author Website: Story Teller at Illuminated Text
Why this must be read:

Originally published in June 2002, ‘Mercy’ unquestionably remains the most controversial fic in the fandom’s 2 ½ year history, and is deservedly regarded as among the best of the best.

In it, Lex is abruptly confronted with Clark’s alien “otherness” by his father who has, we see through heartbreaking flashbacks, conditioned his son not to love, nor trust. This Lex shockingly does not welcome Clark’s long-sought-after truths with quick acceptance and a “series of mutually beneficial blowjobs” (tm koi), but instead his razor-sharp scientist’s mind begins to reclassify his once-friend. If Clark’s not human, what is he? To begin with, he is chillingly dehumanized.

But not without a severe cost to Lex. At times you can almost see the smoke pouring out of his ears as he tries to reconcile memories of the boy he had dared to love with the possibility that boy is nothing more than a pleasing construct, engineered to hide his true purpose. There are no easy answers here, for Lex or for the audience.

About eight months after ‘Mercy’ first appeared, Koi archived a second version which she hoped would address elements of the story that some readers struggled with and objected to. Personally, I was opposed, having found the original so compelling, and not wanting to see it dumbed down for broader acceptance. In fact, the new version is not dramatically different from the original and nicely expands on the overall theme. I am linking the revised version, as I know it would be Koi’s preference, but I believe the original is still available at the Level Three archive, and if anyone is interested, comment below, and I will try to provide a link.

Koi discusses reader response to the original, her decision to make changes, and the inspiration for Mercy in her live journal, here and here. It’s a very thought provoking set of posts and good follow-up to reading the story. (post edited on 9/16/04 to add Koi's DVD commentary on 'Mercy' in three parts, beginning here.)

Mercy (152 K)

HOMICIDE:LIFE ON THE STREET
Rating: He didn't list one...I'll say soft R, ok, babe?
Author's Website:Unknown A bunch of his stories including this one can be found at the Autofocus archive http://evolfic.com/autofocus.
Author on lj:Unknown
Link: http://evolfic.com/autofocus/shaddrea
Pairing:Munch/Kay(As you'll get to know me you'll find I'm all about the Munch/Kay. I tell my non-H:LOTS-loving friends that in my view they are Hepburn/Tracy with gunbelts. They think I'm insane, but fellow shippers understand.)
Summary While waiting for a file from the Fugitive Squad, Munch and Kay catch up, and Munch's thoughts turn to...well, his favorite thing after conspiracies and drugs.
Why this must be read:
Jason has a real feel for these characters and his dialogue's just fricking perfect. And the 'shippy scene is actually sexy...I think I had to turn the fan on when I read it. And it's still funny.
Excerpt:

"Have you seen the squadroom? It looks like the ladies' room from Sotto Sopra."
"How would you know what the ladies' room looks like?"
"I have my sources. Reliable, well-placed contacts."
"I doubt your contacts would be allowed inside the building, let alone the ladies' room. she teased

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Harry/Draco (yes, yes, just shut up, thank you)
Author on LJ: fearlessdiva
Author Website: Fearless Fiction, Recs, Odds and Ends
Why this must be read: What's that? You think all HP fic is written in the same, trite, hackneyed voice? People just steal baskstory from The Big Five Fics and fill in their own porn? Fall in line, I'll take you to the good stuff.

I think this story deserves all of the lauding other, more famous fic, gets because this is all those are cracked up to be without the credit.

Plot, wit, beautiful phrasing, clever dialogue, angst, Ideas. You will find them ALL here. This is one of those rich, complex stories that when you're done you can't remember what she invented and what happened in the books. No plagiarism, no controversy, no fandom_wank, just real talent and a deft touch for detail and internal cohesion. There is also a sequel and tangential stories to keep you occupied until winter ends, and we can all go sailing again.

Tissue of Silver

So I sucked at OC reccs, but this month I have OZ and since I have no desire to be shanked (though I have no problems going into the supply closet with Keller) I swear I will be better.

Fandom: OZ
Pairing: Beecher/Keller
Author's Web Site: Riley's Cannon Fodder
Author on LJ: rileyc

Why this must be read: All right, prags, let's get some things straight. Oz is not happy land filled with fucking yellow brick roads and little girls who talk to god damn scare crows. Oz is about pain, love, redemption, and naked men. Mostly these stories hurt and if you're too much of a pussy to take it, that ain't my problem. This story is silly, but don't think they're all going to be like that. Think of this story as the last meal before the execution, the blow job before you get your neck snapped, the sweet kisses before your bones go crunchity crunch. Get in this last breath of sweet, silly air before its too late because these reccs certainly have nothing to do with lands over the rainbow and I ain't Glenda.

Write to the Heart

Hard Core Logo is one of the Small Fandoms of the Month for February, and I'm your HCL source for that month, so I'm going to get started with an overview of my favorite film of all time.

The movie was based on a book, but the two canons diverge *considerably*, and I don't know of any fic based on book canon rather than the movie, so the movie's what I'm talking about.

Warning: There are important things that happen in the movie that you may not want to be spoiled for. I refer to these things as obliquely as possible in this overview, but if you read any fic without seeing the movie, you will definitely be spoiled.

( You don't know shit from good chocolate, babies--The Hard Core Logo overview. )

HOMICIDE LIFE ON THE STREET
author's website: http://www.geocities.com/aphrealstar
Author's name on lj:[Unknown site tag]
Pairing: Munch/Kay(Told you. Though I promise before the month is out, I'll rec some other things.)
Summary: An introspective(but still consistent, bravo!) Munch reflects on the changed nature of his relationship to Kay, and the death of Gordon Pratt.
Why this must be read: My friend once compared fanfiction.net to a giant bazaar that you have to pick through to find the good stuff. To extend that metaphor out even further, this little story is like a picture frame you pick up for a song and then find out is worth a lot on Antiques Roadshow. (The fact that it plays into some of my current fanfiction preoccupations:first person Munch and the Pratt murder, is only part of the attraction...although I'd love to talk to Aphreal about What Kay Knew and When She Knew It sometime) but it's the narrative voice that grabs hold from the first, playing up the underlying softness in Munch without softening him out of recognition.
Excerpt: :If I flirted, it was only because it was impossible not to be myself around her. Or at least, a part of myself.
Link::http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=506990

Fandom: HARD CORE LOGO
Pairing: John/f
Author on LJ: katallison
Author website: http://www.katallison.com

Why this must be read:

I guess there might be a few people out there who haven't read anything that Kat has written, but I would hope they're few and far between, because she is quite seriously an incredible writer. She's written in due South, Highlander, X Files, and Hard Core Logo, and there's not a single story that isn't great. But I think Xeriscape is the best thing she's written. As a matter of fact, if I had to pick one story as the best example of fanfiction I've ever read, it would be this one.

Xeriscape takes one of the supporting characters in the movie, John Oxenberger, and looks at his life a few years after the movie ends. He's living in Austin, Texas, playing for a country band, and married to a deaf woman, Mattie, who does xeriscaping, landscaping that uses native plants that suit the central Texas heat. His life is calm. His life is safe. He's happy, or what passes for happiness in Kat's writing.

And then he finds a message on his answering machine from Billy.

It's hard to know what to say about this story beyond rhapsodizing on its absolute perfection. John's first-person narrative is completely recognizable and totally compelling, and Kat's very dark view of post-movie Billy is completely canon-supported. Her knowledge of everything from xeriscaping to the side effects of psychotropic drugs is amazing, and it all fits seamlessly into the story.

Kat doesn't write happy stuff, and this story is no exception, but the ending, while absent any hearts and flowers, at least leaves the reader some hope for John and Mattie.

From the story, John describing what happens those rare times someone approaches him after a show, wanting to know about his old band:

It's never just John, never Ox.  "John Oxenberger?"  And by then they're close enough to take in the grey hair, the tics and twitches, and you can see them slow down, the confusion—but having made it this far, they push on, and I could sing the chorus in harmony with them.  "Hey, man ... aren't you the guy who / weren't you the one that / didn't you used to play with Hard Core Logo?"

That's my cue to give them the shiteating grin and the agreeable nod and turn and get the hell out of there.  I learned the hard way not to get into conversation with these guys.  I can't ever give them what they want—what they want is a time machine, a ticket back to the Days of Young and Stupid—and nothing they have to give me does me anything but harm.

I don't care if you've never seen the movie, if you never *do* see the movie, if you've never even heard of *fanfiction*, for christ's sake--*everyone* should read this story. It's that good.

Xeriscape.

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Pairing: Buffy/Spike, Spike/omc
Author on LJ: herself_nyc
Author website: Bugger This
Why this must be read:

These are actually two stories, What She Deserves and its sequel Lovingkindness. They really do go hand in hand, and I didn't think I could rec one without the other.

WSD takes place post-Grave (the season six finale), when Buffy is still trying to get her bearings again after being brought back from the dead and an entire season of emotional wreckage. Spike's newly souled and feeling the weight. They both have so many issues to deal with, and most post-Grave Buffy/Spike fic doesn't approach any of it realistically. Herself knows these characters, shows you their hearts and their souls, makes you ache and break and mend with them. She takes Buffy and Spike to New York in WSD, then back to Sunnydale in Lovingkindness, all the while having them work out how they feel, what they feel, separating the past from the present while showing just how much the past affects them. The story is just stunning, and I'm going to stop now before I gush any more.

Now, read What She Deserves and Lovingkindness.

Hi! I'm Green, and I'll be your BtVS reccer for February!

Fandom: EVERWOOD
Pairing: Bright/Ephram
Author on LJ: lierdumoa
Author Website: The Den (But it is on hiatus)
Why this must be read: Here, the writer shows us bittersweet snapshots of those left behind in Everwood after Colin's death. Yes, there is slash between Bright and Ehram but what i really loved about this is the way that the theme of communication/understanding (and the lack thereof) are weaved throughout the story. Between Bright and Amy, between Bright and his father, even with himself. Surprisingly, it is only with Ephram with whom Bright finds the smallest bit of connection. It is a moving glimpse into Bright's despair and alienation.

Journey to Babel

And a little about your Everwood Driver for February: I love fanfic. I like writing and reading it. The fandoms that I enjoy include: QAF, Oz, X-men Movieverse, X-Files, Jossverse (AtS & BtVS), Comicverse, Stargate, Fast and the Furious, Harry Potter, CSI, and my newest fave -- Everwood. Though I love Ephram, I really have a major soft spot for the lovable oafishness that is Bright. So like the rec above, expect all my recs to be Bright-centric...

Fandom: FIREFLY
Pairing: Jayne/Simon
Author on LJ: writingpathways
Author Website: Writing Pathways ~ Rachel Elisabeth's Writing Archive

Why this must be read:
First, this is a nice long read, and there's still relatively few longer stories in the Firefly fanfic verse, even fewer of which are long shippy stories. I am a shipper fic addict, and this being February, the month of love, I absolutely had to start with a pairing-centric fic.

Counter to a lot of Simon/Jayne stories, it's Jayne, not Simon, that first begins to find their no-strings sexual relationship untenable. This highly angsty fic slowly draws together a shuttered Simon and an emotionally thick-headed Jayne down a rocky path (filled with lots and lots of sex) toward happiness.

There's a nice blend of ribaldry and plot, plus an examination of the potential complications of a Simon/Jayne relationship, including how it affects their relationships with some of the other people aboard Serenity.

Starless