March 11th, 2005 
06:16 am Thanking the Whiting by Calico (PG)
Fandom: QUEER AS FOLK: UK
Pairing: Stuart/Vince
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] ukcalico
Author Website: Calico's Lair

Why this must be read:
I'm not recommending this story for that happy feeling you get when a romance turns blazing hot, but rather because it answers a what-if that Russell Davies addressed himself in the canon in series 2: What if Stuart asked and Vince said "no"? I think this is a plausible scene, and I urge anyone who hasn't read it to take a look. It's not angsty; it's more in the spirit of a bird perching on a ledge before leaping off in flight.

Thanking the Whiting
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07:33 am The Chameleon's Dish by Kitty Fisher
Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: http://www.devinemadness.com/kittyfisher/home.htm
Why this must be read:

This story has just the right amount of dark for me. Grim but not hopeless, it's a look at what the lads could be driven to without turning them into caricatures. Bodie's pain is almost palpable as he goes about seeking his revenge. And while I certainly understood Bodie's motivation, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Doyle whose guilt and sorrow are slowly eating him alive.

I do have a small quibble...and it is small, indeed. Eight years is a long time. I think I could have more easily bought into it if their time apart had been three or four years at the most. But that one item certainly doesn't detract from my enjoyment. And the image presented of the older Bodie and Doyle more than make up for it.



The Chameleon's Dish
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08:45 am Birthday Boy by Steph (PG-13)
Fandom: QUEER AS FOLK: UK
Pairing: Stuart/Vince
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] iamtheenemy
Author Website: Steph's stories on Across the Pond

Why this must be read:
This story is a glimpse of Vince and Stuart in their late teens, and I can believe this happened. It's a short piece, but the emotional feeling is the same as I get from certain scenes in the series. (My favorite of Steph's stories is Sherlock Jones because it's from a teenage Alfred's POV, but that one's unfinished, so I can't rec it.)

Birthday Boy
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09:29 am "Unbound" by Gemma Files (NC-17)
Fandom: Oz
Pairing: Beecher/Keller, Beecher/Schillinger
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] handful_ofdust
Author Website: http://strangeplaces.net/gemma
Why this must be read:

Sadly, this is an "abandoned" story, but it leaves off in a good enough place that it's still well worth reading. Well worth it.

Ultimately, maybe my favorite of Gemma's fever-dream, twisted-canon AU stories (because it's the most Keller-centric one, and what can I say, I am a Keller girl at heart). It's like Gemma takes canon events, and throws them into a blender, whipping up a fresh concoction from all the same ingredients.

In this universe, Beecher is still actively pragged to Vern Schillinger when Keller arrives in Oz -- so, no "Operation Toby" here. But, Keller being Keller, seduction must be afoot...

Yes, Vern owned Beecher about as completely as it was possible to own someone. But Chris knew something that Vern, apparently, had forgotten.
(Anything you own and can't let go of, owns YOU.)
And after all, if there was one thing Chris had a particular talent for, it was... insinuating himself into someone's affection. For all Vern's power -- perhaps *because* of Vern's power -- Schillinger didn't know nearly as much as Keller did about subtlety. About manipulating, rather than crushing, someone's emotions. About seducing allegiance rather than commanding it.
(You can mess with their minds, Vern, and fuck with their bodies. But when it comes to putting hooks into somebody's heart, their soul... that's MY ball park. And you just ain't in my league.)


Read: Unbound
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10:42 am For God and Country, by Peg Keeley (PG)
Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Pairing: None
Author Website: The Seventh Dimension Archive
Why this must be read: God and Country is one of those great, "coulda been an episode" fics, with Richie going with his gut instead of listening to Mac, learning the hard way that things aren't black and white, and that the line between good guys and bad guys can become very blurry when dealing with another culture and another set of values.

Hsin avoided Richie's move and struck close. Richie missed the counter and the blade cut his leg. He gave a yelp of pain and this time MacLeod looked up. The blades grated together and came close for a moment before Hsin pushed Richie back. With a sudden countermove, he sent Richie's sword flying from his hand. It jammed into the wall on the far side of the room. He stood there panting as Hsin slowly resheathed his sword. "Get this message, young friend: China does not wish you to contaminate her young with your rebellious attitude."

For God and Country
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11:13 am If the World Should End in Fire by Lovesbitca (NC-17)
Fandom: ANGEL: THE SERIES
Pairing: Wesley/Faith/Spike
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] lovesbitca
Author Website: buggerthis.net
Why this must be read:
Both If the World Should End in Fire and If the World Should End in Ice were posted as WIPs in Lovesbitca's LJ, and they had so many of us addicted. Lovesbitca is one of those people who can love the characters and still recognize their faults, and she writes some of the sexiest fic out there. This fic is sexy, incredibly sad, and more than a little twisted.

If the World Should End in Fire
And the sequel If the World Should End in Ice
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03:52 pm "Tales from the Turboflush" by Anna Orr (PG-13)
Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 1978
Pairing: Starbuck/Apollo, Troy/Dillon
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] annaorr
Author Website: Apollolover
Why this must be read: I've already recommended one of Anna's long, plotty epics, "Mapping the Human Genome." This time, I'm recommending one of her short, almost realist stories, in which we see something of Apollo as a father to a boy who's growing up into something other than a cutesy plot device. "Tales from the Turboflush" is a father/son bonding story, and Anna gets teenaged Troy's petulance and fear just right.

Tales from the Turboflush
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03:53 pm "Just As Well" by Flora Hart (PG)
Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 2003
Pairing: None (Kara)
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] florahart
Author Website: None
Why this must be read: "Just as Well" is another wonderful story largely inspired by the episode "33." Flora Hart shows us exactly how much has been lost, by letting us see beneath some of the chinks in Starbuck's otherwise impregnable armour of snark and attitude. Touching and poignant.

Just As Well
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06:51 pm 'The World Turned Upside Down' by Gloria (R)
Fandom: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Pairing: James Norrington/Jack Sparrow
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] viva_gloria
Author Website: Imagin'd Glories
Why this must be read: Sparrington: Fanfiction that explores the relationship between Captain Jack Sparrow and Commodore James Norrington. I would say this story is one of the top two examples of the genre (the other being [livejournal.com profile] firesignwriter's Moonverse, which has already been posted to [livejournal.com profile] crack_van). In the best Sparrington, the dynamic between these two great characters is explored, and the slashy sex results as a natural progression of this exploration. So it is with this wonderful short story, written from Norrington's pov. The canon events have altered his life, and he feels utterly alone...
It was not a language that he had ever learnt...He smiled, remembering his governess, Miss Grey, and her earnest repetition of each simple French phrase. My mother likes apples. I live in Portsmouth. The coin is on the table.

But the coin was not on the table. (Brief nightmare shudder of fire and blood and bone.) Nothing was as it should be any more. Everything was wrong: the world had turned upside down...

But then, at Will and Elizabeth's wedding, he is introduced to one 'Mr. Byrd', and discovers there is, indeed, someone who understands.

The World Turned Upside Down

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09:35 pm Sing Choir of Angels, by nekosmuse (PG13)
Fandom: CSI
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Author LJ: [livejournal.com profile] nekosmuse
Author Website: www.nekosmuse.com
Why this must be read:

As unfortunately has happened a lot lately, Neko has left the fandom, which is sad as she is one of my favorite authors (but not too sad, as I love the girl to death and she will never shake me;)) But this is just one of many examples of the glory that is her writing style. This was written for the "Crime Takes a Holiday" challenge that carolinecrane issued a while back, and describes Christmas for the newly christened CSI, Greg. Lyrical and beautiful, this is more than worth the read.

Sing Choir of Angels
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