::climbs behind the wheel::
::honks::
All aboard for Star Wars recs! Fasten your seatbelts because they let me, Angel, have the wheel again! ::points to the Harrison Ford Pimp Shoes:: Let's get this show on the raod.


Fandom: STAR WARS
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: valarltd (me, sorry)
Author Website: Lady Angel's Den of Debauchery
Why this must be read: This is a Palpatine PoV piece. That, in and of itself is a rarity. I'd almost forgotten it, when I found it this evening on the Jedi Abusers' Site

Art comes only through suffering. The artist suffers, exerts himself, and
deprives himself in service of his art. In the end, the quality of the art
is only as good as the pain that goes into it.

I've been told my Palpatine is in rare form, and this fic still gives me chills when I read it. It's PG for non-explicit torture (IOW, about the level of the movies).

Art for Art's Sake

Fandom: QUEER AS FOLK US
Pairing: Brian/Justin
Author on LJ: rhiannonhero
Author Website: Rhiannon Rave

Why this must be read:
Rhi explores why Brian might have chosen to take a chance on love with Justin. Fans often write (or read) fanfic to supply missing scenes or "do over" what the producers and writers did on the show. Because Brian wasn't very expressive verbally about his emotions, this story satisfied the part of me that wanted to know what was going on in Brian's brain at this point in the series.

Deeper Than Death

Fandom: ALIAS
Pairing: gen; Robin Dixon
Author on LJ: yahtzee63
Author’s Website: Yahtzee!
Why this must be read:

Another Alias Femme (Fatale) Ficathon response, this fic is a reply to wyoluvr’s request for a Robin Dixon piece, set after her abduction in season three.

As always, Yahtzee’s work is solid: entertaining, well-written, and well-characterized. Especially of note is Robin’s voice in this story. Children and young teens are hard to write, but Robin’s voice shines through, a perfect mixture of the child she was and the woman she’s growing into.

Also, the Spyfamily fan in me adored the glimpse of Syd and Jack from an outside point of view.

Dad's room hadn't changed since Mom died, since this
space became off-limits to her. Same bedspread, same
paintings on the walls. But it felt emptier – like a
hotel room, maybe. It felt like he didn't really live
there. Robin wondered if that was just because she
came in so rarely.

She went through the drawers, one by one. Underwear,
T-shirts, socks – everything's folded and neat, just
the way Dad expects them to keep their rooms. When she
opened the lowest drawer, Robin paused as her eyes
filled with tears: This was all Mom's stuff. He gave
away most of it after she died, but these things –

--a pink silk slip, one of her brown-and-gold scarves
with horseshoes on it, the reading glasses with the
beaded chain—

--Dad kept these. They were all so specific, so
beautiful, so Mom that Robin couldn't stop the sobs
that spilled out of her. If only Mom were there, she
would explain about Dad, and she would put her arms
around Robin, and she would keep them safe and
everything would be all right.

But Mom was gone, forever.

Kid Gloves

Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: Hisoka/Tsuzuki
Author on LJ: wordsofastory
Author Website: http://chosenone.envy.nu/home.html
Why this must be read:

In celebration of the heat wave currently sweeping through my neck of the woods, I bring to you an even hotter piece of fiction. At first glance, Summer's Day might seem like your average PWP. The author's summary of the fic describes it as nothing more than Tsuzuki and Hisoka with a cup of ice. But there is a lot going on under the surface of this story that leads me to rec it here. Brighd has a good grasp of what's going on in Tsuzuki's head during this story, of the playfulness and caution with which he approaches his sullen partner. Hisoka's crankiness at the beginning of the story seems like just his old self or a reaction to the particularly strong heat of the day, but as the story moves forward, a deeper reason for Hisoka's mood is revealed. There's an undercurrent of hurt in this fic, a touch of darkness and sorrow that skims lightly around the edges as these two people find an unexpected next level in their connection. And there's also an undercurrent of healing: Hisoka melts like the ice under Tsuzuki's touch. Layer upon layer of character insight is built into this story, and I give it a hearty two thumbs up.

( Excerpts )

Summer's Day

Fandom: ALIAS
Pairing: gen; Marcus Dixon
Author on LJ: zarahemla
Author’s Website: If: Multifandom Fic by Zara Hemla
Why this must be read:

Dixon doesn’t get much play in fanfic, but Zara Hemla moves to rectify that situation. She focuses on one of the more painful incidents in Dixon’s life: the realization that he had been working for the enemy all along.

Marcus Dixon, traitor: the pain of it wells up in him like a geyser. Damn Arvin Sloane and his sweet promises to hell. If Marcus could get a stranglehold on his boss right now, he'd squeeze the life out of him without blinking. Marcus Dixon, traitor? Marcus Dixon, who had belted the National Anthem at every Twins game since he could talk? Marcus Dixon, who had met his wife at a meeting of the Young Republicans? It hurts him like poison, like boiling oil.

Knock the Smile Off My Face

Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: eag
Author Website: Rainkitty
Why this must be read:

Five drabbles from different perspectives, each based on a Chinese character, each beginning with an haiku. Spare and elegant, I most like this piece for the small, haunting insights it gives to various characters.

Zhen

Fandom: QUEER AS FOLK US
Pairings: Gen, but various canon pairings are mentioned
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: None, as far as I know

Why these journal entries must be read:
The backstory: Way back in season 1, Showtime posted journal entries for each character after each episode on the board. They stopped after season 1, and one of the members of the Showtime message board decided to continue. She's been faithfully producing the journals after every episode, and she is fabulous at getting into the heads of the characters and capturing their voices. She explains the stupid errors that the fans hiss at, and she adds some charming details that don't take the characters too far from canon. Tara might have preferences as to pairings, but she's so even-handed that shippers of all stripes enjoy reading her journal entries. The journal entries appear on the Monday or Tuesday after each new episode, in the current episode's thread on the Showtime QAF board. The only problem is that Showtime erases the threads eventually, so you'll have to join the board to read seasons 3 and 4 soon, before they disappear.

For those of you who don't want to join the board to read the current entries, I kept copies of S3 entries (and S4 entries up through 412, the current episode) that I can forward as e-mails to anyone who asks for them in the comments to this post. I think I also have the first season offical journals in a document on my hard drive, too, if you are interested. I have hard copies of the season 2 journal entries stashed away somewhere that I keep meaning to re-key, but for now those are unavailable.

( Journal Excerpt from episode 401, just to give you a taste )

The Showtime QAF message board--Sorry, accessible only in the U.S.

I'm reposting this rec, now with a working link.

Fandom: THE WEST WING
Pairing: Ensemble
Author on LJ: eolianbeck
Author's Website:But there's a Devil in the Lookingglass

Why this must be read:

I thought I'd start off my month with an ensemble piece. I also favor episode-related stories, and this one fits both bills. It's a small character study of each of the major characters as they, one by one, look in on Josh the night of the sniper shooting at the White House.

We get a little of each character's musings and a short conversation between each of them and Josh who patiently endures their well-meant concerns even though each time he's interrupted in the middle of an important phone call, the completion of which ends the story once all the others have finally left.

The characters are very well drawn. The author has chosen well the small details of thought that each of them is occupied with on this evening, revealing a tremendous amount about them and their roles -- public and private -- in a very short time.

In the end, though, it's a Josh-centric story; I won't deny that. And it concludes with just enough of the requisite Josh-angst to make me very, very happy. (But not too much for those who like their angst lite).


A Few Cards Short of a Full Deck