Fandom: STARSKY AND HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Author on LJ:
Author Website: http://www.geocities.com/jat_sapphire/

Why this must be read:
A twist on the old fanon standby of Starsky fighting his way back to health to regain his partnership with Hutch after Gunther's hit, this fic treats us to a world in which Starsky resigned. Having dissolved the partnership because he realized he couldn't get back to the level he needed to be in order to really protect Hutch on the streets, Starsky finds himself suffering through a brutal heat wave 10 years later, contemplating the way things were and the way things are, and falling into a heatwave of his own -- that just happens to involve one Kenneth Hutchinson. This is prose at its finest, and an intriguing look at a David Starsky who was able to let go of his career and redefine himself, and a Hutch who had trouble making the same journey. Oh, and did I mention this story features one of the HOTtest scenes you'll even read? Go. Read. Melt.

( Excerpt )

Another Day, Another Miracle

Fandom: STARSKY AND HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: unknown
Why this must be read:

The ending to this one just guts you, and yet you have to read it to appreciate the genius of it all. It will leave you hurting, and longing for something else, and desperately hoping you read it wrong. You didn't. Beautiful and brutal, and not to be missed.

One Bite of the Apple

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Fraser / Vecchio
Author on LJ: cara_chapel
Author Website: none to my knowledge
Why this must be read:

An epic Fraser/Vecchio (I figure we need one to balance all the epic Fraser/Kowalski's) that gives great Vecchio in particular. It is an AU or AR where Vecchio doesn't take the shot that prevents Fraser from running off with Victoria and what Vecchio will do to make things right afterwards and how his definition of 'what is right' changes although it remains wrapped up in Benny. Often Vecchio ends up being portrayed as a carbon-copy, homophobic, Italian goomba and people don't acknowledge that he has been consciously resisting that all his life most overtly by his choice to become a cop. Vecchio is a huge risk-taker in fighting his upbringing as seen by his accepting the Las Vegas undercover assignment so it always strikes me as very out-of-character to have him wallow in un-examined prejudice. Here Ray examines and fights and resists and Benny benefits.

( Sometimes Ray woke up sweating, convinced that if he called the Consulate he'd learn that Benny had gone. Again.  )

Follow Without Pride (Paths I Fear to Tread 1 - R)

Breathe Your Breath (Paths I Fear to Tread 2 - PG)

Day of Knowing (Paths I Fear To Tread 3 - NC-17)

Fandom: X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully, Mulder/Scully/Doggett Friendship
Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: Horatio's Fic
Why this must be read:

Season nine seemed to be an awful lot about Scully, about how the other agents dealt with her and how she handled William and Mulder's absence. That theme is explored so very well in this post-finale story.

More generally, this story deals with complicated interpersonal relationships that can probably be appreciated by anybody who enjoys character-driven stories. Mulder, Scully, and Doggett don't form a love triangle, but theirs is an odd sort of relationship with both Mulder and Doggett so fiercely, devotedly protective of Scully, someone who doesn't particularly need protecting but who accepts their care. It's a strange, delicate balance, these three people's lives, and Horatio writes about it with realistic, heartbreaking ease.

Two Such Men

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Author on LJ: Not that I'm aware of
Author Website:
Why this must be read:

One of my favorite AU, where Blair is a world known model who is bored with his life and needs a change. Enters Jim, Rangers Special Ops being shipped out to Peru in the next few days. They have one day and one night together. It could have been over the top, not believable, rushed but it's none of these things.

Both Jim and Blair are in character but it's a Blair centric story. Of course, it does push my buttons of romantic, angsty story. The sequel, yes there is a sequel, is as interesting, set after Jim is found and recovered by the Army. The second one is more a Jim centric story.

Lonely hearts Club 1

Lonely hearts Club 2

Comments always welcome

Fandom: X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read:

Is there anybody who's read X-Files fic but hasn't read something by Karen Rasch, if not this particular series? If that is you, quit reading what I have to say and click the story link now!

Karen's stories (which you can find at Gossamer) are always rich with emotion, full of some of the best dialogue ever, and positively drenched with romance. She writes Mulder and Scully the way that they pretty much never are on the show but how I'd love to see them in an ideal world, one without all those pesky aliens where they can just be eternal soulmates and love all over each other all the live long day. But there'd still have to be some angst, of course, because with that in mix, all UST and RST becomes that much more sweet.

This series of four stories (Of Cabbages and Kings, Impossible Things, More Than Nothing, and Joining the Dance) is the one of hers I can (and have) read over and over and feel like I'm reading it for the first time. Especially Impossible Things. All four stories are just marvelous and one big entry in the list of reasons why the cancer arc was quite probably the best thing to ever happen for X-Files fanfic.

I'm sure I'm not doing the stories justice with this rec.

The Wonderland Series

Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Dorian Gray on Phantom Moon
Why this must be read:

This is one of those perfect little slices of calm between cases, a moment of leisure that illustrates how much better suited both Tsuzuki and Hisoka are for combat than simple companionship. While the situation is rather tragic, the story's view is unsentimental, and the author strikes just the right tone with her Tsuzuki POV.

The Deposition

Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka, Muraki/Hisoka implied
Author on LJ: ciceqi
Author Website: http://ciceqi.slashcity.com
Why this must be read:

This may be, hands down, one of the best Hisoka character studies in the all of fandom. Winding its way through the series, from Nagasaki to Kyoto, we live inside Hisoka's head and see/hear/feel Tsuzuki's growing influence on the young empath's reactions and actions. The story flows nicely from start to finish, with a perfect buildup of tension all the way to the emotionally charged payoff. If you're new to the YnM fandom, you should definitely look at all of SleepsWithCoyotes' fanfic, and if you're in love with Tsuzuki/Hisoka, this is not one to miss.

( Excerpts )

Little Things