Fandom: POPSLASH
Pairing: NSYNC gsf (group slut fic, ie-Justin/JC/Lance/Chris/Joey)
Author on LJ: apetslife
Author Website: Bury Me Deep
Why this must be read:

Like high school AUs, group slut fics are another integral facet of the popslash community. Sometimes they're badly done, and come out ridiculous. Sometimes they're hot porn and nothing else (not that there's anything wrong with that). And sometimes, like in "Break," they show the guys as a connected, loving group that can't get along alone. Now, of course events in the canon (aka, their lives) have proved that this isn't the case, but for fans, it's always nice to imagine our boys as affectionate best friends dependent on each other.

The premise of "Break" is that while on tour, the guys work themselves so hard that eventually one of them has to "break." When that happens the other four members are there to put him back together. Only when we meet them, Justin has done something bad to JC (we never find out what exactly, and it doesn't really matter) and is alienated from the group. Now he's an outsider, and he doesn't have that support that he's come to rely on during the grueling months of the tour. Written in the second person, you can feel Justin's complete exhaustion as time goes on. By the end, you're just as desperate as he is for the support he needs.

Pet does a great job of writing a fictional NSYNC that is like one entity all smooshed together. That characterization helps you understand that Justin doesn't only miss the Joey, Chris, JC and Lance because of the comfort they provide him, but because he feels as though he's missing parts of himself when they're gone. The story has a rich, melancholy tone that holds throughout the whole piece.

( Excerpt )


Break

Fandom: DC COMICS
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: jbmcdragon
Author Website: McDragon's Lair
Why this must be read:

Loads of reasons, really. First, the DC universe is the perfect place for psychological horror (as the author describes this fic). Second, this is amazingly well-written, tense and believable. Third, it's Tim Drake, aka Robin III, aka my favorite DC character ::grin::.

This is the kind of story I figured I wouldn't like, but then I couldn't stop reading until I got to the end. See, Tim's been kidnapped and he figures he should be able to escape. Except that he can't.

( Read an excerpt )

Survival

Fandom: Doctor Who
Pairing: 4/Turlough, 5/Turlough, 8/Turlough
Author on LJ: viridian5
Author Website: The Green Room
Why this must be read:

Turlough is a very interesting character. Princeling, political exile, Trapped in a foreign culture and forced to live as someone other than himself, Manipulated over and over by beings more powerful than himself... So, where is *Turlough* under all of these external influences? The different parts of this trilogy could probably stand by themselves, but together they paint a very thorough picture of this character, his interactions with the Doctor, and what those interactions mean to each of them.

In Escape, Turlough wakes up a bit unsettled by everything that went on concerning his exile to Earth, and the Doctor... helps him deal with that a bit.
In Full Circle, Turlough meets the Doctor before the Doctor ever meets him (one of the many hazards of time travel) and the scarf gets put to good use.
In Revenant, the 8th Doctor goes to Trion to find Turlough in order that he might help him reconstruct some of his lost memory.

Escape
Full Circle
Revenant

Fandom: LOTR (crossover)
Pairing:Legolas/Chopper
Author on LJ:simon_lloyd
Why this must be read: I normally don't bother with crossovers, but Simon is such a good writer that this works better than you can imagine. Legolas is normally written as passive and weepy, but this author has a different approach. You don't forget that Legolas is indeed a warrior, and capable of bloody deeds. This the last part of a series but it can stand alone. Links to the other parts are included.
To whet your appetite :
( Read more... )
Mad Things

Direct Link: The Same River
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Rating: NC-17
Author on LJ: isagel
Author Website: Isagel's LJ

I'm very excited about being this month's crack_van driver for Smallville. I've been looking forward to it since I signed up, and I decided that I'd really like to do themed recs.

My first theme is one of the biggies in this fandom, stories that explore Clark's alien nature. I'll been reccing four of them (although there are dozens more I love), starting with my favorite one of all.

Why this must be read: Because it's too beautiful and too sad not to read it. Clark is like humans in pretty much every way when it comes to sex, except that every 200 days he goes into heat. Sounds kinky, huh? Well, it is. But it's also so much more than that. It's a very poignant look at Clark's otherness, the way he struggles with it, the way Lex is the only one who can really understand and make it okay, and the intimacy that knowledge creates between them. It explores what happens when Lex does something Clark can't forgive, that breaks their trust, but the old need is still there, demanding to be satisfied.

Beautifully written, insightful and moving. isagel makes the characters breathe and bleed on the page. It's a story you'll still be thinking about long after you've finished reading it.

The Same River

Fandom:QAF:US
Pairing:Brian/Justin, Mel/Linds, Michael/Ben, Others
Author on LJ-Myrna1_2_3
Author Website:Myrna's fiction

Why this must be read: This is my first future fic rec, and it's one of my absolute favorite stories. I've read it several times. Myrna's vision of the future just *works*. It's told from Gus's POV. A Gus who is a real teenager with all the joy and problems that brings. His view of his more than mundane extended family with all of it's ups and down, lights and darks is well worth a look.

Growing Up Kinney

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 2003
Pairing: None.
Author on LJ: trajictale
Author Website: Fic archived in memories.
Why this must be read: trajictale always pays meticulous attention to detail, which makes everything she writes a delight to read. History Erased is no different, and this story has a premise that makes almost too much sense. You’ll never look at one character the same way again.

History Erased

*

(Hi, I’m Claira, and I’ll be driving the Battlestar Galactica van for August.)