Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Author on LJ: stone_princess
Author Website: Starcat's Room With A View
Why this must be read:

There really is no way to rec just one of these stories; the entire series really needs to be read for the full impact.

This series was started late in Season One after the episode Stray. It is a classic series in this fandom and one that probably couldn't be written now with the changes the last two seasons have wrought on our boys. It is angsty, that's for sure. No one loves angst quite like Jacyn and she gives a nice, heaping plate of it. But it is also steamy, hot, desperate and really intense.

The stories making up this series left people aching for months inbetween installments and I've never been as proud of a fellow author as I was when Jacyn finally finished this series. It was really moving for me to see her accomplishment.

Let me explain a little about what I mean by that. The stories in this series aren't necessarily consistent in quality with regards to storytelling and writing. I don't think that Jacyn would be unhappy with me saying that. Part of the joy of this series is watching the author grow with each step along the way. Jacyn was learning as she went along, (something I can relate to), and by the end she had reached a new level of writing that can be seen in her other stories (which you can find on her website).

There are six parts to this series, each part more and more skilled and fascinating. The love and despair felt by the characters is palpable and wonderfully resolved. Those of you who get to read the series as a whole are so lucky because it was a very scary thing to wait between installments as she was writing! The first two stories are important and interesting, but the series really hits its stride with Ballestra which has, hands down, the hottest opening line of a fic ever.

Read! Enjoy! Cry and love! Send feedback! Yay!


1. Parry: First story in the Fencing Lessons series. At the end of "Stray" Clark never asks Lex to stay, so Lex takes Lionel's offer and goes back to Metropolis. Parry: a block of the attack, made with the forte of one's own blade.

2. Riposte: Second in the Fencing Lessons series. Lex may return to Smallville after all. Riposte: an offensive action made immediately after a parry of the opponent's attack.

3. Balestra: Third in the Fencing Lessons series, follows 'Riposte.' Balestra: a forward hop or jump, typically followed by an attack such as a lunge or fleche.

4. Feint: Fourth in the Fencing Lessons Series. Follows "Balestra." Feint: an action intended to draw a response from an opponent. It can be offensive or defensive.

5. Reprise: Finale in the Fencing Lessons Series. Follows "Feint." Reprise: renewal of an attack that missed or was parried, after a return to en-garde.

6. Trompement: Epilogue in the Fencing Lessons Series. A trompement: deception of the parry. (previously posted as "I'll Be Gone") ETA: The epilogue contains a character death after a long and happy life. If you feel that you can't deal with that, you might want to just end with Reprise and skip the epilogue.

Fandom: STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE

Pairing: Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan

Author on LJ: ???

Author Website: http://www.ravenswing.com/MJLee/index.html

Why this must be read: This is an extremely seductive AU in which the Roman General Quintus Gaius meets a young Celtic slave named Benion. There's something inherently appealing about a young and innocent slave!Obi-Wan, and MJ gives both him and Quintus (known in other realities as Qui-Gon) a depth I've rarely seen in fanfic, complete with faults and misunderstandings that get in the way of their growing relationship. She has a beautiful way with words that drew me into Benion's world and lingered with me long after I finished reading.

Pilgrim Soul

and its sequel

A Heaven in Hell's Despair

Fandom: MAN FROM UNCLE
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya
Author on LJ: astrid_olivia
Author Website: apparently none

Why this must be read: Because it's one of the most hysterically funny, over-the-top MfU stories ever, with snarky dialogue, a good sense of time and place, and wonder of wonders, Illya and Napoleon are very much in character. This story could easily have been an outstanding third season episode (third season is known for its outlandish plots and wacky situations), because even though absurdity is present in spades, the characters are very grounded and recognizable.

The setup: Napoleon attends a class reunion at his alma mater and Illya tags along. It's an eventful evening, for they run afoul of a very covert CIA operation.

( read an excerpt )

Nominally a slash story, there is no sex here, just a couple of references to their relationship. The story focus is on poking fun at everything and everyone, including the CIA and the US educational system. I'm not an Ivy Leaguer, so I laughed until my sides hurt.

The PG rating is for the occasional curse, a bit of violence... and a lot of singing. As the author says in her foreword: You have been warned!

The Whiffenpoof Affair

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Author on LJ: dkwilliams
Author Website: Spiral into the world of Diana Williams' fiction
Why this must be read:

In this story, the wizarding world practices pederasty (an older man takes a boy as a lover under the supposition that he will provide education/protection/something to the boy). When a fellow teacher shows an expressed interest in Harry, Snape feels obliged to throw himself into the mix.

I'll admit it - I have a kink. I get the biggest thrill out of stories where Snape is forced into a relationship with Harry. This story is fabulous with its laugh-out-loud moments and the smoldering, shudder-inspiring hotness of Snape. Uh, yum.

The Courtship of Harry Potter

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Author on LJ: cursive
Author Website: Isolde's HP fanfics on skyehawke.com
Why this must be read:

The beautiful thing about scifi slash is that you get a little bit of the extraordinary with your romance and, for me, this story is a great example of this exact phenomenon. In this story, an aspect of the link between Voldemort and Harry is discovered. Something *dire* and *life-threatening*. Da da DUM. So, Sirius has to beg Snape to marry Harry. *sigh* YES, this fulfills the kink I was talking about in my previous rec. Cranky Snape plus confused Harry equals very happy me.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Author on LJ:
Author Website: http://trickster.org/speranza/
Why this must be read:

This is my favorite due South story, hands down. The first half of the story is about Ray and Stella, how they came together and how they fell apart. I love the history that Speranza creates for them. The second half of the story is Ray realizing he doesn't know Fraser as well as he thinks he does. I cry EVERY SINGLE TIME, no matter how many times I've read it.

( Excerpt )


The Border Between Life and Death

Fandom: Simon & Simon
Pairing: Rick/AJ Simon (incest)
Author on LJ: blakefancier
Author Website: http://www.geocities.com/ztovarich
Why this must be read: This is the single most intense story I can recall reading.

It is dark. Dark, dark, dark. Rape, incest, blackmail, abuse.
( The opening paragraphs )

Zenia has managed to make this hot, sexy, squicky and vicious all at once. AJ learns to protect himself from Rick's violence with desire, and we're swept along with him as his much loved brother becomes his tormentor.

The characters are right, the voices are perfect and the scenario reads almost like an actual episode.

Through the Darkness

Fandom: POPSLASH
Pairing: Nick Carter/Wipeout
Author on LJ: bettyp
Author Website: http://www.waxjism.org/betty/
Why this must be read:

( Excerpt. )

An AU and a crossover, sort of. Once upon a time there was a television show called MMC, and it spawned all sorts of famous people, like your Britney Spears and your Justin Timberlake. And your JC Chasez. On MMC, there was a mini-soap opera called "Emerald Cove", in which JC played a character called Clarence "Wipeout" Adams. Wipeout was a surfer, in language and in action.

Add in an AU Nick Carter who ran away from home at the age of thirteen and has had a hard go of it since, and you've got Narrative.

( I think some visual aids are in order. )

The story itself is told beautifully in second-person POV, and it all has a bit of a dreamlike quality to it. The characters are wonderful - Nick still shows some of his superstar qualities, and Wipeout has a lot of JC in him. Angsty and joyful and wonderful all around.

Narrative