Fandom: STARSKY & HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky & Hutch (gen)
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: SH Gen Archive
Why this must be read:

TAG: A short scene which comes after the climax and wraps up the teleplay.

CODA: Section added to the form proper of a composition as a conclusion.

DAVID SOUL: What the show really is, is a love story between two men who happen to be cops.

This is the MS fic to end all MS fics. Teri's Coda takes on the none-too-small task of establishing an additional 'tag' for every episode in the series (because Lord knows quite a few of them needed help). Missing scenes, extended scenes, and added scenes, written in a variety of styles, all factor into filling in the gaps within individual episodes, filling in the gaps between episodes and establishing two overriding arcs -- one that shows the development of our boys' relationship across four seasons, and one that traces the shift of Hutch's character from the bright, White Knight of early years to the tarnished, tired soul of latter days. Though the zine (originally published in 1985) is archived on the Gen site, it tracks the same wavy line the series did, sometimes shifting into slash territory, sometimes staying on safer ground. The characters aren't ever completely sure what they are to each other, what they could be, and neither are we. All any of us knows is that they love each other...and that's enough.

( Excerpt )

Coda

Fandom: Farscape
Pairing: N/A
Summary: Thea and I were feeling domestic; set 16 years after PKW.
Email: thassalia@yahoo.com; feldman@40kfightclub.com
Author's Website: Feldman’s, anyway. http://www.wideopenwest.com/~lshirk0824/
Livejournal: thassalia and rubberneck
Posted: April 2005

This is my last fic recommendation for the month, so I'll leave you with a story that's one of the most hopeful, one of the best, written by two of the best in the fandom.

Quite simply, this is the future I want to see.

The Break-out Club, Part One
The Break-out Club, Part Two

Fandom: STAR TREK ENT
Pairing: Archer/T'Pol
Author on LJ: snowballjane
Author Website: unknown
Why this must be read:

Set in the far future, this is a tender and moving story, illustrating T'Pol's devotion to Archer and her reflection on a shared lifetime. Although it was written much earlier, it reminds me of the episode "Twilight" and the lovely A/T relationship depicted there.

The Last Journey

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Author Website: Terri Botta's Fanfiction
Why this must be read:

Poor Blair. In Sentinel fanon, he's often caught between the extreme personalities of his partner, Jim, and his mother, Naomi, and I think this excruciating moment of talk-show hell is one of the most compassionate takes on that strained balance I have ever seen. It's very easy for authors to solve the problem by making Naomi evil or selfish and writing her off. Terri, on the other hand, shows how Naomi could raise Blair to be the brilliant and compassionate person he is, but still leave gaps in his life that only Jim can fill.

True Confessions

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Author Website: Stories found at 852 Prospect
Why this must be read:

Karen is one of the most talented comedic writers I've ever seen in Sentinel fandom. All of her stories are hysterical, but this is one of my top two of hers. The summary? Blair gets kidnapped, again. But, as with most things, execution is everything.

Gavin felt bound and determined to point out a few facts that the short, curly-haired man sitting cross-legged on the floor in jeans and a flannel shirt seemed to be missing in his mindless academic fury. "I have a gun." He stuck out his chin as two blue eyes lifted to stare at him for a few seconds before going back to the new paper in his lap. "I might have to shoot you."

Blair deigned to look up again. "I know. You kinda brought it to my attention when you dragged my ass out of the store and forced me into your car." He tilted his head. "I may not look it, but I'm scared shitless. I hate it when this happens, man." Weary shoulders rose and fell as he sighed. "But if I'm gonna be held hostage then I'm gonna have to take advantage of the downtime and get this marking done. I've been putting it off for, like, way too long, man. Trust me, I'm terrified here; I've just learned how to multi-task really well these last few years."

Getting There

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Author Website: Stories found at 852 Prospect
Why this must be read:

It's hard to pick a favorite story in Sentinel fandom; there are so many fantastic stories and authors to choose from. But this was one of the first I ever read, and it's remained special to me. Blair is Jim's Blessed Protector, but in ways that are so in keeping with his usual strengths that this is less a story about reversal and more a story about seeing clearly, for the first time, the things that have always been true.

Reversal

Keeping up the theme of quality stories with different pairings...

Fandom: STAR WARS PREQUELS
Pairing: Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon/
Xanatos, Xanatos/Bruck Chun
Author on LJ: splix
Author Website: http://creed207.tripod.com/alex/
Why this must be read:

For those of you who haven't read the Jedi Apprentice books, Xanatos is a cool glass of water. Tall and slim with long black hair, a lot of fen imagine him as Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. He was Qui-Gon's apprentice before Obi-Wan, and he turned to the dark side. Son of a corrupt king, he witnessed Qui-Gon killing his father, and snapped. He killed himself rather than be captured, but fandom knows how to work around something small like death, no?

Bruck Chun is described as brown skinned with shocking white hair. Fangirls assume *all* his hair is white, which makes for a nice visual. Bruck was Obi-Wan's nemesis when they were Initiates trying to become Padawans. Chun was turned to the dark side by Xanatos, and ended up dying after attacking Obi-Wan and Obi's fishy friend Bant. Again, a small matter that is easily worked around.

If you think there's a ton of dark, dramatic fic dealing with Qui/Xan, Xan/Obi, Obi/Bruck, you'd be right. A ton of PWPs as well. Alex's fic has dark moments, but is more in the spirit of ANH, a rousing, intricate story that grips you right away and propels you into hyperspace. A ripping good yarn. Oh, and with sex. Lots of sex. Yum.

Beyond the Pale

Fandom: X-Men (Movieverse)
Pairing: Wolverine/Rogue
Author on LJ: jjblazer
Author Website: blazeplace

Why this must be read:
This is the woman who showed me Wolverine/Rogue. I had never read anything like it before I found this fic, and once I had, I was firmly in the W/R camp. This fic is AU, and it's another post Legacy. And it's absolutely amazing. She pulls the characters into it and changes them around. She make you think it's possible. The way she portrays how humans return to the Survival of The Fittest and Pack mentality is breath taking. It's not only about the mutants, and about what happens to them, but it's a story about human nature and how humans react to things that scare them. Extremely well written and well worth the read.

( He had won. She was his. )

Northern Territories

Fandom: POP SLASH
Pairing: Justin/Lance
Author on LJ: sarahq
Author Website: A Likely Story
Why this must be read:

This was written for the Reunion Challege so, quite understandably, it's a future-fic about the guys getting back together. I love the way this was written, the use of the future tense in this story is so perfect for the subject matter. The entire story is like an explicit telling of one possibly future in which the guys get back together. I hope I'm not making it sound boring because it's not at all boring. I love the complexities and simplicities of the relationships in this story. Also, it's set in 2011 and there's a lot of cool new technology, which, if you're geeky like me, will be a huge bonus. This story is hopeful, gorgeous, and thrilling if you're a long time fan (and probably if you're a fairly new one, too.)

Between Lance and the house, Justin will ignore the problem of exactly how he'll convince the others that what the world needs right now is an entirely new kind of music that only the five of them will be able to pull off. Ignoring the details, Justin will decide, is the only viable option because first of all, he's not exactly sure what this music is going to sound like, other than different and good, and second, he'll know that planning will only make it seem impossible.

Foreshadow

Fandom: LOST
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: eponine119
Author Website: A Concern for Dark Corners
Why this must be read:

There was always going to be a huge fight between Jack and Locke right? Such completely opposing points of view - there was bound to be a blow up? Right? Well, this fic isn't it, but it's so close, you can taste the tension. You can feel it shimmering in the air as they talk. That's all they do. Talk. But you hold your breath anyway when you read it. You have to. It's that good. Spoilers up to Deus Ex Machina.

Hunting

FANDOM: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya?
Author on LJ: ceindreadh
Author Website: not known

Why this must be read:

This is a charming little set of six scenarios which Ceindreadh has chosen not to develop into full-blown fanfics. Each of them will make you smile as you read it, and the whole collection will take only a few minutes to read. It's a lovely, affectionate poke at the show. My favourite is number four, but Illya's last line in number five is so good that I can hear him.

The Ideas That Were Too Short For Fanfics Affair

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Author on LJ: minnow1212
Author Website: None, but her fic is indexed in this post.
Why this must be read:

Telepathy is a staple plot device in sci-fi fandoms but Minnow gives it the best kind of twist -- the fact that even though McKay can read most peoples surface thoughts, he can't read Sheppard's. It's a great turn around and makes for a wonderful story.

And it's not just the Sheppard/McKay part of the story that's enjoyable, it's also the way the other major and minor characters react to the situation. The first part with Beckett makes me laugh every time and I love the way Minnow threaded the McKay/Zelenka friendship through it all.

( excerpt )

Face Value
Part One
Part Two