Fandom: OZ
Pairing: Beecher/Keller
Author on LJ: hth_the_first
Author Website: Hth's Slash Fic
Why this must be read:

Because this is a gorgeous, gorgeous, *gorgeous* story. If you've ever wondered what might have been going on in Beecher's mind after the kidnapping of his children - and how he ultimately ended up blaming Keller for the murder of his son - man, just let Hth take you there. "Hours and Days" treads that particular emotional minefield with absolutely no holds barred, picking up insights and even an epiphany or two along the way. This is a devastating story that asks a hundred questions about love, life and everything in between, and there are never any easy answers to be found, certainly never in Oz. Grief isn't tidy or self-contained, it is painful and pitiful and pathetic. Love isn't always hearts and pretty flowers; sometimes it's jagged and bloody and downright incomprehensible. Justice isn't always served, and the truth doesn't always set you free.

Things that mar the surface are beautiful, I'm dimly and unreasonable convinced. A flaw is a fortune. There's a uniformity to hell on earth that makes every tiny rip and stain and scar a fucking gift, a treasure, something to wrap your sanity around for its shape.

Sometimes there are little things that are not Oz. Cracks in the walls that let light in.

Go read Hours and Days.

Fandom: CSI
Pairing: Grissom/Sara, Catherine/Sara with some implied Grissom/Catherine and Grissom/Greg, and Grissom/Nick
Author on LJ:michellek
Author Website: The Dizzy Dancing Way

Why this must be read:

I don't think squealing and screaming, "OHMIGOD!!!! You HAVE to read this fic because it is SOOOOO awesome in a totally GIL way!!!!11", really captures why this fic by Michelle K is so great, but it was my first reaction, so I thought it should be included.

So, why is this fic OHMIGOD inducing? Because Michelle K shows us Gil through his isolation. This is another of those '5 Things that Never Happened' fic, but this is only similar to Julian Lee's fic in its basic set up of how the story is told. Michelle K tells us five tales of Gil's isolation that only happened in her very fertile and awesome imagination. We see Gil as a seven-year-old. We see Gil as a depressed and quietly dangerous teenager [because it's always the quiet ones]. We see Gil having his version of a mid-life crisis with a one-night stand. We see Gil attempting to step out of his own isolation that he doesn't usually realize, and we see Gil as he takes the first step out of his own isolation.

They're five completely different stories with five completely different endings, and if Michelle K ever wants to take one of them and go all the way, I am SO there. Until then, these five pieces of insight to five different Gils are [really, I mean this] awesome. Very few writers tackle Gil as a complete character, and to tackle five Gils that never were makes it all the more interesting.

[I would like to mention, on a totally personal squeal note, that there is no Gil/Warrick pairing to this story, which means that in Michelle K's little universe of ficlets, they, perhaps have happened. Hey, a girl can dream.]

I Was Other People You're Never Gonna Know

Fandom:: POPSLASH - *NSLASH
Pairing: Justin/JC
Author on LJ: foxmonkey
Author Website:: giddy!

Why this must be read:

I like that this story seems to be about one thing but is really about something entirely different. It makes you think. There's something inherently right in it, something I felt from the moment I read it and still feel.

( Read more... )

Yella.

Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Remus Lupin/Sirius Black
Author on LJ: throughadoor
Author Website: writers of unpopular fiction are trying to drink more
Why this must be read:

This story is subtitled "Remus Lupin and the Order of the Phoenix" and it is exactly that - selected scenes from OotP from Remus's POV. Beautifully realized alternate POV with spare and lyrical language and a sure feel for the characters. Sad and clever and funny and hurtful.

( an excerpt )

Past and present, love and guilt and regret - this story really does a masterful job of retelling Order of the Phoenix from Remus's point of view, and breaking your heart all over again.

And of course, there's a sequel, equally fabulous, well-written and heartbreaking, Nobody Said It Was Easy by lisew, which brings Remus back to Hogwarts in Harry's sixth year, from Harry's POV, and deals with grief and healing and trust. I pretty much read this story through teary eyes, so have your tissues handy.

No One Ever Said It Would Be This Hard by throughadoor

Nobody Said It Was Easy by lisew

Fandom: STAR WARS: TPM
Pairing: Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon
Author on LJ: ciceqi
Author Website: Blood, Love & Rhetoric
Why this must be read:

The Angstapalooza continues with this heartbreaker from Sleeps with Coyotes (AKA “Ladonna King” at Master Apprentice), in which Qui-Gon finds himself in a most unexpected and unpleasant afterlife.

Obi-Wan was dreaming of him, of watching the fight, watching him die, and it was the most bitter jest of all when he felt the Sith's lightsaber skewer him once more. Staggering, he slumped to the bed, strangely unwilling to snatch his hand away and give up even this devastating contact. He understood...he understood everything.

It was Obi-Wan...Obi-Wan's nightmares that kept him in such torment, Obi-Wan's fears that orchestrated his pain, all unknowing. The blood-soaked cord that had drawn him here had once been brilliant white, a bond unacknowledged while he bided his time, arrogantly certain he would have all the time in the world to explore its depths when Obi-Wan was ready. Infinitely stronger than the training bond, it had turned like a viper in his hand, because this, this unfinished need, was what had kept him here, chained to Obi-Wan's side. Where he had always wanted to be, but not like this...Force, not like this...

“Down”

Fandom:: POPSLASH - *NSLASH
Pairing:: Lance/Chris
Author on LJ: synecdochic
Author Website: Venus in Furs

Why this must be read:

For off, I can't believe no one has recced this yet. This story is beautiful, so wonderfully researched, so seemingly valid, that you don't doubt a bit of it for a moment. There's never the thought of 'What?! That could/would never happen.' From the very first word, you're entirely in this world that Syn has created and you believe in it 100%.

The way the story is written is brilliant. It gives you back story to the main plot without being obvious. It's so subtle that you aren't even aware that you're reading back story. The characterization is brilliant and--man, I'm just babbling now. Go forth and read.

( Read more... )


Rake at the Gates of Hell.