Digging out a classic now...

Fandom: Oz
Pairing: Beecher/Keller
Author on LJ: not that I know of
Author website: No, but the rest of her B/K fics can be found on C5 Fiction

Why this must be read: Because it will make you feel good. *g* Oh, and also because it's a beautifully realized AU take on the guys, tweaked enough for them to fit smoothly into this alternate reality, but with enough traces of their canon selves to still ring true.

Technically, this story is a prequel to one called "Desperately Seeking Rebadow," but sadly that is a WIP likely never to be completed. Thankfully we have this complete fic, though, and two others in this universe -- "Gibraltar May Tumble" & "Gibraltar Revisited" to provide plenty of reading satisfaction. Don't skip DSR, though; it may be incomplete, but what's there is choice.

The gist is: this Chris is a cop, this Toby is an actor, and much angst and drama ensues as they fall head over heels in love.

( excerpt to whet the appetite )

In this case, I'm not sure if you even can send feedback now, but even so -- go, read, enjoy; if you like your B/K romantic, you won't be disappointed.

How Toby Fell

Another from the oz_magi challenge...

Fandom: Oz
Pairing: Beecher/Keller
Author on LJ: pirl
Author website: no, but a few more fics can be found at Unit B & C5 Fiction

Why this must be read: Because it's a hoot. *g* It's Lockdown fic, daring to suggest that not every single moment in the Pod 'o Love was a smut-filled honeymoon.

( an excerpt to illustrate )

It's short and snarky, and completely spot on. Go, read, comment.

Tipping Keller

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Lex/Clark
Author on LJ:sabershadowkat
Author Website:Smallville fiction
Why this must be read:

An AU that springs from Superman canon President Lex and Reporter Clark.

Very well written. It plays on cliches and assumptions we all have. I love the way Lex and Clark reconnect after all these years. Not a lot of angst, funny and romantic. What more can you ask for.

Date with the President

Please send feedback to the author if you want to.

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This rec was brought to you by Lex's Lamborghini ; )

Fandom: CSI
Pairing: None, Grissom-centric
Author on LJ: ---
Author Website: Light In The Mirror
Why this must be read: VR is a brilliant writer - one of my favorites withing the fandom - and has an iron-firm handle on Grissom's character.

The story itself is intensely plausible as well as intensely sad, set in 2023, eighteen years ahead of canon. There's really not much more I can say; And Eat It, Too speaks for itself. (Not, in case you're wondering, a deathfic.)

And Eat It, Too

Don't forget to leave feedback!

Fandom: CSI
Pairing: Grissom/Sara
Author on LJ: kerlin
Author Website: Dare to be Naive
Why this must be read: This was the first really long CSI fanfic I read, and it's stuck with me.

Bed of Roses is an alternate universe taking place after season two. At the beginning of the fic, Sara and Grissom have been involved and broken up; Sara has returned to Boston. The two are, against the apparent wishes of both, forced into each other's presence again by forensics conference. The conference isn't the only thing going on - Sara is working through it and is faced with a particularly harrying case file and a co-worker who has a stick up his bum with a stick up its bum, in addition to Grissom showing up at a number of inopportune moments.

They whys and wherefores of their history is explored through a number of flashbacks; Kerlin takes a literary device I usually consider trite and cheap and makes it artful.

The plot is tight, the OCs likeable and well-rounded, the case file intricate and the pace quick. One feels the characters' exhaustion. It really is wonderful.

Bed of Roses

Don't forget to leave feedback!

I have a theme and it is threesomes. When you've got two partners who are really in sync with one another, the results can be magical. They can also be angst-ridden and that's what we're gonna focus on.


Fandom: Starsky and Hutch

Pairing: Starsky/Hutch

Fic Link: http://www.squidge.org/~flamingo/starskyhutchslash/classic/Phillips/desperados.htm

Why this must be read: Originally published in the zine "No Pants, No Badge, No Gun." They offered Kira a threesome at the end of Starsky versus Hutch, but she declined. This story takes on the notion that she actually agreed. And one request from their bedmate is enough to put their whole relationship into a tailspin. But once they stopped running and started talking, a whole lotta truths come out about why they fell apart over the last year. They're living on a timebomb and somebody's gonna break.

Fandom: Starsky and Hutch

Pairing: Starsky/Hutch

Fic Links: A Nod to Regret http://meandthee.shahrazad.net/display.php?storyid=642 and Just Enough http://meandthee.shahrazad.net/display.php?storyid=646

Why this must be read: A Nod to Regret was originally appeared in Venice Place Chronicles, Volume II and Just Enough was never before released. The first story sets up a long relationship that exists between SH, a very delicate and complex relationship that nobody can really explain, it just works. Hutch's divorce became final and Starsky wanted to do something to cheer his partner up, so he picked up two ladies for a night out. Except, one passed out and the other was more than willing to be their play-thing. It's not a happy situation, but when your emotions are wrung out, you need to do something.

There had been too much booze, and as he stole a look at her- -Tammy, he remembered her name was Tammy-- Hutch realized that she was passed out, though she emitted an occasional groan from Starsky's attentions. Her lack of participation made the experience for Hutch totally pointless -- both physically and emotionally -- but the feel of his partner's thick organ driving on the other side of the thin membrane of tissue within her body was enough friction for Hutch to stay somewhat erect.

The second story picks up years later, after Avenger. Hutch reveals that he's just as much on the edge as Slate, able to be pushed to taking the law into his own hands if Starsky was threatened. It's not a shocking revelation, one we all knew about the partnership. They're still those same men, bound to each other throw thick and thin. And there's gonna be a whole lotta thick to deal with. When life gets to be too much, you just have to get away. And once you're back to the basics, things become much clearer and much simpler.

Fandom: WEISS KREUZ
Pairing: Youji/Ken
Author on LJ: aoeliveshere
Author Website: Bleeding Hearts

Why this must be read:

Ken, who's got a crush on Aya, keeps setting up "seductive" situations in the hopes that Aya will stumble across him and get a clue. But it's Youji who ends up taking what's offered...

Yes, I know, I've had this author before, but this *is* my favorite Youji/Ken story... Mostly because the author is one of the few people who can make me like Ken.

There is a sequel, with a different pairing, but it's really much more fun if you let yourself be surprised. If you do want to know, it's behind the ( spoiler cut )

Seeing the Light

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The author has one more story arc (future AU) that makes good reading: New World Order and Old Souls. Other authors have also written in this AU, but none are as good as Aoe.

Fandom: WEISS KREUZ
Pairing: Schuldig/Farfarello
Author on LJ: ningengirai
Author Website: Noctuidae (fanfiction can be found at Nephente at the Gate)

Why this must be read:

Schwarz go to Ireland to pick up an insane Irishman, and from there on, things go downhill.

The story starts with Farfarello joining Schwarz, but goes AU soon after.

Schuldig/Farfarello is not exactly a pairing that lends itself to fluffy, happy fic, and this is a very nice representation of what you can do with a bunch of evil sociopathic assassins. This is darker than any of the WK stories I've recommended so far - dark *and* good stories are rare.

Bonus point: Author is German, so German-speakers can read this without weeping over bad fangirl German.

The Hollow Night (4th story from the top)

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Ningengirai is one of the big Farfarello fans out there, if you follow the links on her site, you'll find most of the Farfarello-themed WK sites that exist.