Hi! I'm Clio, I'll be your Due South driver for the month of January. Sorry I'm getting such a late start.

Fandom: Due South
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Author on LJ: cesperanza
Author Website: Speranza's Website
Why this must be read:

This is my absolute favorite among Speranza's fics. I adore this fic. Oddly, I think this is one of those fics that turns a lot of people away. People seem to either love it or they won't read it. I think the main reason is it's a "kid fic" and some people are put off by that. It's the best damn kid fic I've ever read. Speranza puts her own spin on it. She took the epilogue to the season finale and switched around all the scenarios of how everyone's lives turned out. With Fraser and RayK ending up with the 6 kids through immaculate conception (adoption). It's not an easy life for them, but one they are damn happy with. We see this life through the eyes of RayV and Stella when they come to visit. Learning how it all came about as they do. She weaves a wonderful tale with some great kids that you just want to take home and adopt. (I think Ray would kick you in the head for thinking it though.)

This is a terrific fic, one you shouldn't miss. So off with you. Go read it.

With 6 You Get Eggroll

Fandom : Due South
Pairing : Fraser/Kowalski
Author on LJ: sihayab
Author Website: Sihaya's Sentinel Fics
Why this must be read:

(I'm going to be throwing a few recs out tonight in order to catch make up for my tardiness.)

This story is an AU. I mean like way AU. Remember the movie The African Queen with Boggart and Hepburn. Well, this is Fraser and RayK set in that movie. It's that AU. Yet, it works. It absolutely works. The guys are spot on in character even though the are in a completely different time period and situation all together. The ability to throw the characters into a situation so different from canon and have them completely recognizable is the mark of a good AU to me and Sihaya hit it dead on. This is an AU story I point people to when I want to show them an example of how to do it right. It's one of my favorite AU's of all time. I'd recommend anyone to read it whether a Fraser/RayK fan or not. Just to see how to create and amazing AU.


Two Men in a Boat

Fandom : Due South
Pairing : Fraser/Kowalski
Author on LJ: thisisbone Unknown for Aristide
Author Website:Bone's Website and Aristide at the Homeless Shelter
Why this must be read:

This story starts out after Fraser and Ray's adventure. With Fraser back in Canada and Ray in Chicago. When going through some things Fraser happens to find a diary (a weather diary) that Ray kept while on their adventure. It starts out simply talking about the weather, but Ray begins to reveal more of himself and what he's feeling as it goes along. Spurred on by what he finds within Fraser comes to Chicago to talk to Ray about it. Only problem is Ray is doing a little undercover gig as college professor for a little while. Well, knowing they need to talk, but to avoid breaking his cover Fraser joins the class. Things pretty much progress from there. It's a lovely story, that is just scorchingly hot in places. One of my favorite collaborations by these two authors.

The Course

Fandom : Due South
Pairing : Fraser/Kowalski
Author on LJ: resonant8
Author Website:in media res
Why this must be read:

In this story RayK seems to be having a bit of a problem getting a date. Well, after being shot down a lot he comes up with a solution. He decides that maybe he and Fraser can help one another out once in a while. Oddly, enough Fraser turns down the idea of being a "fuck buddy". Almost too late Ray realizes that he wants more than that from Fraser. Almost. This is a sweet fic about realizing what you want and that sometimes it's your approach and not you that people are turning down. I just adore this one. It's one of this fics I can read over and over again. Enjoying it each time just as much as I did the first. I really can't recommend it highly enough.

A Modest Proposal

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: It's mostly Remus gen, with some Remus/other males.
Author on LJ: penknife
Author Website: Pen(knife) to Paper
Why this must be read: Penknife is probably best known in this fandom for writing Ephemeris (Remus/Sirius), but my particular torch is held for Breathe Out Anger. It's very powerful for its minimalist prose and simple, subtle storytelling. The summary goes: After James and Lily's deaths, Remus wants answers. It would help if he knew the right questions. It's not an uncommon subject, but so often it reads like nothing more than the writer attempting to wrestle it to the ground, in some hopes of understanding this aftermath from the perspective of arguably the most elusive character in canon. Penknife makes it look easy; all of it is inevitable and not drawn out beyond that, and in this it is heartbreaking.

Breathe Out Anger

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Author on LJ: sabershadowkat
Author Website: http://www.sabershadowkat.com
Why this must be read:

This is a happy, "comfort" fic for me. Sort of the narrative equivalent of a warm bowl of potato soup on a cold day.

( read why )

Family, Friendship, and Love

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Author on LJ: ddayspring
Author Website: http://www.skeeter63.org/~dayspring/

Why this must be read:

I'm a huge fan of Dayspring's, and I can make pretty much a blanket recommendation for any Smallville story she's written, but besides "Time and Chance," which I've previously recced, this is one of my favorites. In this story, Clark reminisces about his past and the development of his relationship with Lex. I love the writing here, and the plot twists, and the characterization of Clark and Lex. Clark is forced to grow up too quickly because of the closed-mindedness of Smallville and his parents when it comes to judging Lex. And Lex is damaged by his experiences in Smallville, but with Clark’s support and love, he recovers and their relationship is stronger than ever. Great story.

Memoirs of an Alien Who Fell to Earth

Fandom: STARGATE
Pairing: Jack/Sam, Jack/f, implied Jack/Daniel
Author on LJ: 0livia
Author Website: keep me secret
Why this must be read:

liv is a born poet, and getting lost in the words she chooses and the images she creates is like eating chocolate death cake. This story exposes the two military members of SG-1 at their dysfunctional, trainwrecky best. It's also got some great character moments and, as a bonus, a hint of Jack/Daniel.

( One. Two. Three. He's feeling reckless, drunk-oh-so-drunk. Four. )

Eating Angel Cake

Fandom: SILMARILLION
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: wiseheart
Author Website: Otherworlds
Why this must be read:

First Age dwarf-centric stories are rare. While the Petty Dwarves (a race of dwarves exiled from the main dwarf cities) play a major role in the story of Turin in The Silmarillion & Unfinished Tales, they don't seem to have caught the imagination of fanfiction writers. Indeed, as far as I'm aware, Soledad's story is unique. Soledad gives us a great insight into this neglected race through the eyes of an OC, and incidentally a lovely external peek at one of the Silmarillion's few good guys, Finrod Felagund.

( A snippet of a taster )

Felagund and the Noegyth Nibin

Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Pairing: Duncan MacLeod/Methos/Kronos
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website:Welcome to Margaret's Place
Why this must be read:

Ah, revenge.

There is really is nothing like it. This is a story that walks on the dark side, and is not for the faint hearted. Dark magic, revenge, sex, kidnapping, a bound and gagged Highlander, more revenge, violence, a tied up Methos, more sex, a Quickening, and more! (Not all in that order, of course.) And at the end, Joe comes and drives them home.

Kronos is back, let the nasty fun begin.


( 'Though Lovers Be Lost' Sampler )

Though Lovers Be Lost

Fandom: THE O.C.
Pairing: Lindsay/Ryan
Author on LJ: the_rocklobster
Author Website: None
Why this must be read:

Lindsay was introduced early this season as a potential new love interest for Ryan. She’s not from Newport, and she lumps him in with all the water polo playing jocks she despises. Of course, her opinion of him changes over time, but this story takes place early on when they’ve been forced to work together as lab partners in physics class. ( See pictures of Lindsay and Ryan )

This story plays on the way that hate and passion can intertwine. Hot and telling.

(I Hate) Everything About You

Fandom: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Pairing: Dawn/Faith
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author's Website: Wyndgyrl Fan Fiction
Why this must be read:

Last time, I recced a long, charactery darkfic; in the interest of contrast, today's rec is still long and charactery, but far lighter in tone.

Often, what draws me to a fic is the writing. Call me a grammar whore, but technical brilliance and carefully chosen details are way up there on my list of reasons to love a story. That's not the case with "I Have Never Been To Boston". Wyndgyrl's writing is certainly proficient, and she has a talent for first person POV, but it's actually the idea behind this story that makes it so eminently reccable.

In season five, a group of monks altered Buffy's memories in order to make her protect the Key to Hell at any price--by making Dawn her sister. The fake-memory love was supposed to stop Buffy from killing Dawn before she was used to open the portal between dimensions. But what often isn't touched on is the fact that Buffy wasn't the only Slayer at that point. What if Dawn needed another protector...and, therefore, other fake memories of a relationship, a love, that would endure beyond all cost?

That is the set up to "I Have Never Been To Boston", and its sequels "I Choose To Believe" and "The Box". (Though the first story is a one-parter and can stand alone, I think you'll be drawn in to the entire series). Dawn travels to Boston to prove to herself that her fake memories are nothing more than the monks' make-believe...and she finds a truth she never suspected.


I Have Never Been To Boston
I Choose To Believe
The Box

Fandom: ALIAS
Pairing: Sydney/Sark
Author on LJ: superswank
Author Website: Unknown
Why this must be read: Sydney goes rogue after her father is killed. Now this is enough to keep me interested in the fic but what pulls me in is the fact that she goes to Sark to seek out information. Although this fic involves sexual activity it wasn’t so much that that got me hooked. The plotline is thrilling. It’s up to par on what JJ himself would create his characters to do.

The details slide across the screen into your mind and you are just captured by the pure creativity of it all. The relationship between Sydney and Sark is brutally honest and never lies with the false pretense of a happy ending. But you can’t help but root for them a little bit as their characters seem so perfectly entwined.

The Lesser of Two Evils