Fandom: POPSLASH
Pairing: Nick Carter/Justin Timberlake
Author on LJ: eponymous
Author Website: juppy.org
Why this must be read:

Nick Carter is wandering aimlessly around the Playboy Mansion. He's wearing bunny ears. Justin Timberlake finds him and seduces him. Really, what could there be to dislike about this story? It's a hot little PWP but what makes it stand out from the rest is how brilliantly Nick is portrayed. He's a little drunk and a little naive but still retains his show business savvy. This dichotomy is showcased gleefully by the reader seeing Justin's obvious motivations while Nick remains oblivious to them until late in the game.

And to clinch the deal, while, most dirty talking dialogue doesn't do it for me, this story delivers it believably with all the imperfections and awkwardness of reality. I love every awkward, clueless Nick thought and word. Dialogue that I would find overblown and too Harlequin ends up being perfectly sexy and playful because neither Nick nor Justin is taking themselves seriously.


( "The party's this way, bunny!" one of them calls over her shoulder. )


Bunny by Georgina

Fandom: STAR TREK TNG
Pairing: Picard/Troi
Author on LJ: zakhad
Author Website: A Good Universe Next Door
Why this must be read:

"The Captain and Counselor" AU series (40+ stories to date, many of them novel-length) has allowed all of the Enterprise characters to grow and change remarkably over time while still keeping them recognizable as their canon selves. A cursory recital of the major developments--Picard and Troi are married, and Troi is the First Officer--doesn't do justice to the richly textured and beautifully written narrative. This particular story (actually, novel) can be appreciated on its own, and is an amazing and rewarding read. In a nutshell, during a delicate diplomatic mission, Picard is severely injured and the ship and the away team are forced to flee in opposite directions after a terrorist attack. Seeing Troi cope on both a professional and personal level, the fascinating twists and turns in the plot, the sheer *alienness* of the species involved, all combine to make this an unforgettable adventure.


On The Madhouse Boards

Fandom: HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS
Pairing: Hercules/Iolaus
Author Website: Amplexus
Why this must be read:

The heart of this story is that Hercules and Iolaus are trying to rebuild their relationship in the face of mortality.

Nym writes tough, emotionally challenging, uncompromising stories, and her Hercules and Iolaus are more grim than we've usually seen them on the show, but she makes it work. She sets up tensions and undercurrents in their relationship that feel believable and real, not something the author tacked on to create Teh Angst.

There's something Iolaus says, near the end, that has moved me to tears several times. But it's not the line, not really - it's the way the whole story builds toward it. And no, I'm not quoting it here, but I think you'll know it when you see it.

( Excerpt )

Hero Worship
(The author doesn't want her stories hotlinked, so I'm linking to the main page. Please click on 'Fanfic' and scroll down a bit.)

Fandom: STAR WARS
Pairing: Blink and you'll miss it refs to Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon/Xanatos, Anakin/Padme
Author on LJ: monkeycrackmary
Author Website: http://inkstigmata.net
Why this must be read:

Because Count Dooku is a vital figure in the prequel trilogy. A well-respected Jedi who left the order and led the Seperatist movement. Yet the films show so little about him and his life, either as a Jedi or one of the lost twenty. And he remains greatly unexplored during fic.

This story takes a moment of meditation before the battle of Geonosis and threads its way through the Master-Padawan line - from Yoda to Dooku to Qui-Gon to Obi-Wan to Anakin. It's an insight to his state of mind, hinting why he made the decision to leave the order. It's also a powerful reminder that the bad guys rarely think of themselves as such.

And if that isn't reason enough then read for the mental image of a Mini!Jedi!Dooku who wants a hug.

( Excerpt )

Mandlebrot equation

Fandom: FIREFLY
Pairing: GEN, implied Simon/Kaylee
Author on LJ: not found
Author Website: http://vrtrakowski.4t.com/
Why this must be read:

Kaylee's characterisation in this story is really good, she's sweet yet practical, and the interaction between her and Simon is pretty spot on. But what makes this story really worth reading is the encounter with Zero Gee, it leaves you floating along with Kaylee. All the little details and descriptions come together in this story in a way that just makes it feel real.

Flying Lessons

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Author on LJ:unknown
Author Website: Stories by Alelou

Why this must be read:

And now for something completely different:

What if Mulder and Scully were real people? I mean, actual FBI agents.

Have you ever met an FBI agent? Because I have, and, um, they didn't look anything like Mulder or Scully, or Skinner, for that matter. Well, Skinner was closer, but still ... Skinner was impressive in a way that I never felt any of my cousin's colleagues were. Any.

So, say Mulder and Scully (and Skinner) were real, and Mulder, like any guy who watches a lot of porn spends oh, a fair amount of time on the internet. The internet, where people write porn, not just about fictional television/book/movie characters, but about real people. 'Cause you have to admit, real people who looked like Mulder and Scully (and Skinner) might prove too much of a temptation for somebody's fervid imagination.

Here's Alelou's hysterical idea of what might happen if Mulder found RPF written about him and Scully ... and Skinner.

RE Your Website

Yami no Matsuei recs are back after a year's absence! Please refer to the excellent overview if you are unfamiliar with this wonderfully insane animanga series about the angst-riddled members of a bureaucratic afterlife. My softest spot is for gloomy ex-teen Hisoka and his puppy-like partner Tsuzuki, and my preference is for happy(ish) endings. I'm not wedded to any strict notions of seme/uke order; unless stated specifically by the author, I'll probably just list pairing characters in POV order.

Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: Hisoka/Tsuzuki
Author on LJ: velvetglove
Author Website: Glovebox
Why this must be read: I wanted to recommend this story first up not just because it is exceedingly cool - encompassing elements of drama, humour, horror and eroticism - but because it provides such an evocative sense of JuOhCho and the people who work (or shirk) there. Set three years after the Kyoto arc, it begins by following Hisoka in deliberate and well-drawn footsteps through a typical morning at the office, complete with departmental meetings, doughnuts and neverending paperwork. Ordinary conversation serves to illustrate not just the usual routine but the frustration and guilt simmering beneath it; Hisoka and Tsuzuki are so protective of one another that they have fallen into the habit of masked wariness. A particularly creepy case upsets the status quo; Hisoka is attacked by a malevolent spirit at an otsuya (Japanese wake) and has an uncomfortable awakening of his own. The subsequent breakdown and the passion that follows are so beset with misunderstanding and awkwardness that they feel all the more cathartic for their realism.

( excerpt )

Otsuya

Fandom: ALIAS
Pairing: Julian Sark/Will Tippin
Author on LJ: iscaris
Author Website: Mystical Intrigue
Why this must be read:

This story details a short moment during the time that Will remembers in "Cipher" (2x03). It's on the plane ride to Taiwan, after Sark captures Will, but before Will is tortured. It's very, very short, only a couple of pages, but...god. Just...it's so unbelievably hot. I'm not sure words can properly explain it, but I'll try.

The thing about this story is that by the end, I'm feeling conflicting emotions. First, I'm feeling sadistic like Sark, because the story is so sexy, and I like it and it makes my stomach quiver. Then, I'm also feeling desperate like Will, because I need more, and the ending makes me cringe in embarrassment. But, like, in the GOOD way.

Cryptic, I know, but read the story and you'll understand. Fantastic Sark. Fantastic, dark, evil Sark that will melt your bones and make you wish you were on that plane instead of Will. It's so short that I won't even give a quote, because I don't want to ruin it.

Aqua Vitae

Fandom: HORATIO HORNBLOWER
Pairing: Horatio Hornblower/William Bush
Author on LJ:dastier
Author Website:Black Adios
Why this must be read:

Because it was written by dastier. Pretty much all the reason you need. Her Hornblower fic is like a delicious buffet, where you can't help but go back for more.

Garden of Proserpine is bookverse Hornblower set during Flying Colours. It is a story of physical and spiritual mutilation and the struggle of both Hornblower and Bush to raise themselves from the depths of pain and loss. As they try to rebuild they both find that there is perhaps .... more.

As always, the voice of her characters are true in tone and spirit to Hornblower and Bush as C.S. Forester wrote them.

This is again, well past the reach of the A&E adaptations and is spoiler rich.

Garden of Proserpine

Fandom: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: liz_marcs
Author Website: none (link to author’s memories on LJ)
Why this must be read:

In this story liz_marcs focuses on Tony Harris and his utter and consuming disdain for Xander. Even as he privately disowns the boy he is told is his son, Tony's bullying obsession with him (and grave misperceptions of him and his friends) continues to make Xander absolutely central to his worldview.

Liz deftly creates depth in the events and characterizations so that the reader gradually gains a sense of pity for the unlikable Tony even in the face of his brimming contempt and anger. A smart, riveting work that delves into the emotions and narrative logic of a minor character, revisiting and reshaping the reader's sense of canon events.

Cukoo in the Nest

Fandom:  STARGATE ATLANTIS

Pairing:   None

Author on LJ:  kate98

Author Website:  None

Why this must be read:   This is a well written vignette, a character stud of Rodney McKay.  It is direct and very in-character.  A  good read.

Count as Lost

Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: Hisoka/Tsuzuki
Author on LJ: gaudior
Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read: The title of this post-Kyoto story is apt because it's a great deal of fun to read. It's really just one long conversation - careful, funny, weird, awkward and unbelievably tender in turn - between Hisoka and Tsuzuki concerning Tsuzuki's notions of 'fun' (read: sex!) and how they can possibly coincide with either character's past experiences. There's much discussion of 'issues' in this dialogue-heavy story, and both Hisoka and Tsuzuki have more than their fair share of baggage to rummage through. They talk with, at and over each other in a realistic manner - sometimes sombre, sometimes sparkly, and always striving for sympathy - and it ends up being a healing experience for the characters and readers alike.

( excerpt )

Fun

This will be my last Brian/Justin rec for a while. Next time we begin with the rarer pairings of the fandom.

Fandom: QUEER AS FOLK US
Pairing: Brian/Justin
Author on LJ: throughadoor
Author Website: through a door
Why this must be read:

Just Take What You Need is a post season 4 fic about Justin finally graduating from college, and deciding what to do with his life afterwards. But that makes it sound so boring when it's really poignant and funny and incredibly true. kel taps into a universal feeling of confusion that can come at times such as these, plus every character that makes an appearance, even if only for a moment is so spot on.

( Excerpt )

Just Take What You Need

Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka
Author on LJ: b_hallward
Author Website: Hints & Whispers
Why this must be read: This is a little heartbreaker that turned up during yami_valentine earlier this year; I've read it on numerous occasions since then with great appreciation and a certain disquiet. It traces an ordinary day in Hisoka and Tsuzuki's life together, and there is something profoundly unsettling about their 'settled' relationship. The writing is spare and lovely, creating a mood of wistfulness and suspension; the little domestic details of forgotten washing, old ballgames and the ceaseless memory of rain all serve to remind the reader that this is a story about the dead.

( excerpt )

This Unique Distance From Isolation

Fandom: THE OC
Pairing: Ryan/Seth, Ryan/Theresa
Author on LJ: amerella
Author Website: Without Gravity - fanfiction by amerella
Why this must be read: This is set post-season 1. It’s AU after the finale. And did I mention that this fic is heart wrenching and utterly believable? Cause it is. Go read!

( excerpt )

Greetings From Planet Seth