Fandom: Doctor Who
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: loneraven
Author Website: Sleeping With Ghosts
Why this must be read:

Rose leaves a sort of time capsule for her mom. We get to see all the different little things and the stories that they represent, from riding the rails to a close encounter with Woodstock and several other planets in between. It is all very well done. And, there is almost some 9/R in there, but only almost.

Effects

Fandom: THE O.C.
Pairing:  Summer/Ryan
Author on LJ: lalejandra
Author Website: apostatize
Why this must be read:

Real life's been crazy lately, in that sort of "it makes my head want to explode" kind of way. So my solution? I've spent the past four hours online, reading porn. Clearly a good plan, right? 'Cause lord knows, if there's going to be any head-exploding going on, I want it to be for good reasons, and what better reason than our favorite fictional characters getting it on? So just in case any of you are in the same boat, over the next few days I'll bring you some deliciously sexy recs, which hopefully you'll enjoy as much as I did.

Today's entry is by the fabulous lalejandra, she of such porny gems as Some Girls Wander By Mistake (which I totally was going to rec before I realized someone had beaten me to it). This is another Summer/Ryan piece, and it was good enough to lure me away from slash, for once. Why should you read it? Well, porn. But also, really intelligent!Summer with a lifetime subscription to the Wall Street Journal, Ryan listening to Dido, and a surprisingly sweet ending. And, did I mention it's totally hot?

Twenty One Days of AP Economics

Fandom: ALIAS
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: poohmusings
Author Website: Poohmusings.com
Why this must be read:

Ah, Lauren. She doesn't get a whole lot of love in the Alias fandom, which just makes me love this fic even more. It's a short story about how Lauren was raised to mirror Sydney in every possible way, and the author manages to create an amazingly creepy atmosphere. We know that what's happening to her is horrible, even as Lauren tries to convince herself she's a lucky girl.

Second Person POV is used well in this story to make you identify with Lauren, who is alienated from any real human contact and emotion. Poor Lauren never really has anything to herself, no matter how lucky her mother tells her she is.

Lucky Girl

Fandom: THE WEST WING
Pairing: Josh/Sam
Author on LJ: none?
Author Website: author's stories at the Big Block of Cheese Archive
Why this must be read:

This one is long, and funny and hot and it sort of reminds me a bit of zarah5's Natural Progression (lotrips Viggo/Orlando) because that's what this story feels like. A natural progression. Plus, Candle Beck's Sam is stunningly accurate at times.

Josh was lying on his side, and when he blinked his eyes open, he saw Sam lying on his back beside him, staring up at the ceiling, emitting a remarkably intense aura of panic for someone not moving or speaking.

That, right there, that's my Sam, a guy who is fully capable of panicking at the drop of a hat and having Josh be able to pick up on it no matter what.

The Best Idea Ever

Fandom: X-MEN COMICVERSE
Pairing: Hank/Bobby
Author Website: Janefic and Teland
Why this must be read:

Not a lot gets written about Hank's transformation to fuzzy blueness; most authors just take it as read that Hank is furry. Homecoming is a look at the radical adjustment Hank and his friends have to make to the change. Plus, it's teh hot.

This happened before?"

"Now and then. The hormone surges are quite intense."

Bobby pulls back and studies him.

"Tell me it wasn't Scott last time."

Hank shakes his head. "I fear our leader has romantic trouble enough without my interference."

Bobby pricks his ears up. "Scott and Jean are fighting? That's it. Hell's freezing over. The Professor'll get a toupee next. Emma might even wear clothes."

Homecoming

Fandom: Blake's 7
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: msmanna
Author's Web site: Manna's Slashfic Archive

Manna is a firm favourite amongst Blake's 7 fanfic readers, and it's not hard to see why. This is a very short fic, which asks the question "Realistically, if you were around at the end of the series, how would you have reacted?" This is the end of the series as seen through a telescope. The slightly distant tone contrasts well with the disturbing turn of events taking place in the background, viewed through the eyes of Every Man as he wrestles with his conscience.

Face In The Crowd

Fandom: FARSCAPE
Pairing: John Crichton and sorta OFC but not really
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: URL is broken
Why this must be read:

I actually found this story off of an archive but it isn't the author's homepage. I'm not even sure if she's writing anymore. I like this story because it has an episodic feel to it. It takes place between A Dog With Two Bones and Crichton Kicks. And sort of takes an interesting look into how that time was filled.

I also get a kick out of the John and Harvey moments that divide up the scenes here. They work sort of as an odd comedy relief between the more 'dramatic' moments.

After Never Too Late

Fandom: Doctor Who
Pairing:
Author on LJ: calapine
Author Website: Worlds As I Know Them
Why this must be read:

This one is hot off the presses. It is a regeneration fic of a different colour. The ninth Doctor dies and has one last journey to make and, along the way, he meets his previous selves who exist as metaphores for his previous selves. It is all very moody and dreamy and the end is a real kicker.

Time's Scythe

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Author on LJ: fabularasa
Author Website: Fabulae
Spoilers: All of second season
Why this must be read: Sometimes a whole lot of really good plot gets in my porn - but when the porn is so freaking fantastic, I don't mind. This story has the best ( spoiler ) scene I've ever read. And trust me, I've read alot.


John took a deep swig of his beer and swallowed it like it didn't make his mouth explode. After all those months without, the sharp musky taste of the hops, the way it expanded in his mouth – it was almost too much. He didn't know whether to close his eyes and quietly moan, or to splutter it out over top of the little table. But Rodney was knocking his back like he hadn't noticed any change, so John took another swig and tipped his chair back, surveying the bar. They were drinking in silence, because the bar was a little too noisy for much of anything else. John brought his chair down with a thump.


Close Enough

Fandom: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya, Illya/Marion Raven; refs to Illya/OMC, Napoleon/various
Author on LJ: kelliem
Author Website: http://kellie.mrks.org
Why this must be read:

It's a new story by Kellie Matthews! I first encountered her fics in the due South fandom, but when I began reading Man from U.N.C.L.E. I was delighted to learn that Fraser/Kowalski wasn't the only witty brunet/blond pairing in her literary harem.

This story follows Napoleon and Illya's relationship from their first meeting (when Illya all but literally trips over Napoleon while bugging the venue of an upcoming THRUSH summit) to their official pairing as partners. During this period their feelings deepen from instantaneous respect and affection to true friendship and trust — and meanwhile there's what Napoleon refers to as "that elephant in the room we're pretending not to notice," i.e. the blazing sexual attraction.

Kellie puts the dashing duo in several classic slashfic situations: there's a lot of hurt/comfort, a Canadian shack of sorts (actually a long-forgotten yet fully stocked bolt-hole), the ol' hypothermia cure ("the warm hands continued their roaming, down his neck, over his shoulders, down his arms, back up again, down his chest..."), massages, psychotropic substances ("Give me your arm." "I can't. It doesn't come off"), a trip to Paris, and a bathhouse ("I'll take you and hold your hand so you are not frightened by any golyye babushki [naked grandmothers] who will not be there anyway on a Thursday night"). She also works in references to characters (including Angelique, Harry Beldon, and Satine) and scenes from various Affairs, which will delight U.N.C.L.E. cognoscenti but won't prevent readers less familiar with the series from enjoying the story.

Lost & Found

Note: This story is also archived at the Chrome and Gunmetal Madhouse.