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Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI Pairing: Muraki/Tsuzuki Author on LJ: ciceqiAuthor Website: Blood, Love & RhetoricWhy this must be read: Because a horror story isn't really doing its job until the reader is feeling almost as much pity for the monster as for the victim. Lost is a disturbing little creepshow that leads the Kyoto story to a tragic place, not least of all for Muraki. There are impossible choices to be made, and a sense of needless yet somehow unavoidable waste saturates the writing to stomach-churning effect. It's not a happy read by any means, but will resonate strongly with any YnM fan who has wondered what might've been. ( excerpt )Lost | | |
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Fandom: HORATIO HORNBLOWER Pairing: Edrington/Kitty Cobham, Edrington/Pellew (implied) Author on LJ: commodorified Author Website:The Scriptorium Why this must be read:
Another brilliant offering from commodorified set in the "All the King's Men" (ATKM) universe. From Drury Lane to Vauxhall Gardens and back again, this story focuses on a relationship that winds over the course of a decade against the backdrop of the Napoleonic war. Edrington and Kitty move from young love to mature realization, dealing with the consequences of war, separation, class divide, and social constraint.
This story is saturated with historicism in layers that are deep, robust, and at the same time gracefully subtle. The emotions and events portrayed bleed through the prose to color the story with a tone purely evocative of the period. Told in a most eloquent and accessible style.
Sensual, sexual, heartbreakingly beautiful.
A Lying Sort of Summer, Part I A Lying Sort of Summer, Part II | | |
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Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI Pairing: Tatsumi/Hisoka/Tsuzuki Author on LJ: ranaloreAuthor Website: Into the MysticWhy this must be read: Because Tsuzuki's physical presence is a different thing from his ghost. A sequel to the previously recommended In Your Arms, This Lonely Place, All Is You and Here closes the distance between Tsuzuki, Hisoka and Tatsumi in a natural and ultimately passionate manner. The deceptive distance of Tatsumi's POV is belied by the immediacy of the present tense narration and the rawness of his understated emotions, and the tricky steps of a threesome are well-navigated via name and gesture to achieve a gentle balance. ( excerpt )All Is You and Here | | |
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Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI Pairing: Tatsumi/Tsuzuki, Tatsumi/Hisoka, Hisoka/Tsuzuki Author on LJ: velvetgloveAuthor Website: GloveboxWhy this must be read: A remix of the previously recommended All Is You and Here, this story turns out to be more of a flipside than a cover. It explores the bitter place outside Tsuzuki and Hisoka's circle of love and exercises Tatsumi's shadow manipulation in an act of erotic futility. Tatsumi's loneliness is an ugly thing, more palpable than the shadows that trail him, but despite his contemptible behaviour, the reader will find much with which to empathise. ( excerpt )All Is You and Here (Burning Bridge Remix) | | |
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Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI Pairing: Watari, Tatsumi Author on LJ: trensaddictionAuthor Website: N/A Why this must be read: This is a quirky little piece in which a reluctant and enormously busy Watari is dragged kicking and flailing to the afterlife; Tatsumi's got his work cut out for him on this particular assignment. The story wasn't proofread (and it shows, although just a little) but it's so filled with joyousness and sparkling geekery that extra polish might've had a deleterious effect. ( excerpt )For Death = 3 - 2, for very high values of 2 | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7 Pairing: none Author on LJ: vilakinsAuthor Website: http://www.farsight.net.nz/Why this must be read: Because it's brilliant. This is a short, gen one-shot set during the second series episode 'Gambit'. In response to a ficathon challenge from hawkeye7, vilakins skilfully ties together the answers to a number of questions, including: What would have happened if Avon and Vila had bumped into Jarriere? Does Avon like mangon ice-cream? and, most important of all, what happened to Servalan's dove? The dialogue - so vital to Blake's 7 stories - is perfect, and the characterisation is also spot on. This really could have happened. I'm not providing an excerpt because you need to go and read the whole thing. Now. Chance Meeting | | |
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Fandom: HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS Pairing: Hercules/Iolaus Author on LJ: therienneAuthor Website: Therienne's Fanfiction Corner Why this must be read:The author's first story in this fandom is called Many Deaths, was written before 1999 and already recced here. And then, in 2004, the author resurfaced and wrote another lovely snarky, sexy fic, and there was much rejoicing. To appreciate this story to the fullest, you should know that 'Hercules and Iolaus spend a romantic night at an inn' is something of a cliché in the fandom. In the series, what they mostly do at inns is get into brawls, but apparently no slashfic is complete without feather beds, rose petal strewn baths and a gourmet meal or two. There's an inn in this story too, but it's...different. Also? Snark = foreplay. I'm just saying. ( Excerpt )Bed And Breakfast | | |
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