Fandom: THE WEST WING
Pairing: Sam, gen (with a hint of Josh/Sam)
Author on LJ: littleloonlost
Author Website: no frills
Why this must be read: Sam's leaving, so he takes a hundred words for each of his friends and tries to sum up. This is a small, delicate, heart-ache-inducing fic with a lovely Sam-voice which makes you want to sit down and sniffle through 'Red Haven's On Fire', just one more time.

He gives himself one hundred words, because he knows that once he starts he'll never want to stop and he'll only want to stay.

Fandom: DC COMICS
Pairing: N/A
Author on LJ: mizzmarvel
Author Website: Fic archived in user's memories
Why this must be read:

I am a total sucker for superheroes in their mundane, everyday lives, and this is one of my favourite stories of this type. As with all good fiction of its kind, there is some heavy-duty character exploration beneath all the domesticity.

Kon's characterisation here is absolutely spot-on, with a depth he's been sorely lacking in recent canon. This Kon is the logical follow-on to the Kon from the pages of Superboy and Young Justice, a Kon who remembers everything that happened in the past, and is still reacting to it; and yet, he also somehow manages to fit his current Teen Titans characterisation.

If you're not a big fan of Kon, this fic may help sway you somewhat. I find him much easier to relate to in this story than I do in current canon – I may have never had to deal with being mind-controlled by my evil genius father, but I can totally understand a lot of what Kon's going through here.

A Day in the Life



Hi, I'm Apathy, and I'll be dealing out the DC crack this December. My favourite teams are Young Justice and Justice League International/Superbuddies, and I have a particular obsession with fondness for speedsters and second-stringers. I like gen, het, and slash, and will be reccing mostly comedy and character pieces, with some porn on the side. Hopefully, there'll be something there for everybody. ;)

Fandom:  Queer as Folk: US
Pairing: Brian/Justin
Author on LJ: peggin
Author Website: n/a
Why this must be read:

Brian wasn't at the hospital when Gus was born.  Think he regrets it?

The answer, when it came, wasn't quite what I expected. But, then again, when it comes to life with Brian Kinney, few things ever are.

"I had better things to do that night."

No Regrets

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 2003
Pairing: Lee/Kara
Author on LJ: literarylemming
Author Website: Sweetest Reflection
Why this must be read: Lee/Kara (aka Apollo/Starbuck the new version) is one of the most widely known pairings in this young fandom. But it's about more than "teh pretty" -- literarylemming's done a great job of capturing the competitive attitudes and bantering byplay that's such a joy in this pairing. Plus, there's lots and lots of lovely smut without losing the playful quality of the narrative and the characters' interactions.

Spoiler alert: Set in the middle of the season two ("Home, Part One" -- 2.06) and a great example of a "missing moments" story.

( Excerpt )

Lee and Kara, Kara and Lee Part One, Part Two

Fandom: SPORTS NIGHT
Pairing: Various
Author on LJ:minervacat
Author Website: when the floods roll back
Why this must be read:

Outside of setting fire to all one's possessions, a drabble may be the most ephemeral of art forms: as a writer, restricted by a 100-word limit, one goes to great pains to make sure that every one of those words is exactly the right one, set in exactly the right place, saying exactly the thing that needs to be said. Then it's posted, a handful of people take an average of a couple of minutes to read it, and it's almost instantly forgotten.

Here, minervacat has found the perfect 100 words not just once, but 45 times: one drabble for every episode (far too few!) of Sports Night. Even if one or two of the drabbles fell below par, this would be a remarkable achievement. As it happens, they don't: every one of them sparkles as brightly as the show itself. And minervacat remembers everyone – Isaac, Kim, Elliott and all – and, for a moment, brings all of them back to life.

It's wonderful. I'm in awe, I'm deeply envious, but most of all, I'm grateful that she did this.

And the Crowd Goes Wild: Still, it'd be nice to see a list of the 100 funniest people in sports one day, or the 100 people in sports most likely to be nice to women. He'd make those lists, he's sure.

Hey guys. *waves* I'm taking the wheel for Oz in December, so let's get started, shall we? I'll start off the month with an "oldie" which remains one of my very favorite stories in the fandom.

Fandom: OZ
Pairing: Keller/Beecher
Author on LJ: handful_ofdust
Author Website: Segregation
Why this must be read:

If you read Oz fan fiction at all, it's likely that you are already familiar with the writing of Gemma Files. Even in this fandom, which has more than it's fair share of talented writers, Gemma's stories are unique -- and often unforgettable. Reading her writing isn't really like "reading" at all - it's more like experiencing the story as it unfolds around you, seeing it and smelling it and *feeling* it. Her prose is dense with sensory details, so dense you get lost in it until it's all over -- and if you're anything like me, you then have to go back to read the story again immediately, just to try to figure out how she does it, how she digs *so* deeply into a scene that you forget you're reading a story at all.

"Detente" is a short fic, a post-New Year's Eve lockdown story (someone once said that every Oz writer has one, and I thank the gods for it!), and Gemma tackles it from Chris Keller's point of view. In her typical fashion, she digs deep into her chosen moment and shows it to us from the inside out, with all its blood and glory intact.

An excerpt:
A minute later, it was just mouth on mouth and limb on limb, crammed up against the back of the lower bunk with a blanket between them and any passing hacks--a half-year's worth of poison leaching from them both in one explosive burst, quick and dirty, almost *painful*. A slow-motion nuclear blast, with both of them ridin' that bomb ALL the way down.

Go read Detente.

Hey, Lenore here. I'll be your recc'er bee for The Sentinel in December. It's actually been a while since I was actively involved in the fandom, but I still have all these great old favorite stories, many of which had not been recommended before, so I thought I'd take a turn.

I always enjoy stories that have Jim and Blair working a case, and my first few recs touch on that theme.

Fandom: The Sentinel
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Author on LJ: lanning
Author Website: Lanning Cook's Fiction

Why this must be read:
Lanning's a great storyteller, and in "True Minds," Jim and Blair are on the case, helping the battered wife of a Cascade crime boss, facing some of the worst danger of their lives. At the same time, they're dealing with the aftermath of the near death at the fountain and untangling their feelings for each other. It's a long, involving read that will have you primed for the two sequels Little Company and Many Waters.

Go read and leave the author some love:
True Minds

Fandom: Angel
Pairing: Gen, references to Wes/Lilah
Author on LJ: eloise_bright
Author Website: Unknown
Why this must be read:

eloise_bright has the most pitch-perfect Wesley Wyndam-Pryce voice out there. "Uncontrolled Circumstances" has one of the most ingenious premises of any fic I've read, and I don't want to spoil it, but it bears a certain relationship to the Season 4 episode "Spin the Bottle". This story might also be of particular interest to "Harry Potter" fans (although it's not an explicit crossover, the phrase "Sirius Black meets Percy Weasley" always comes up when I try to describe Wesley's characterization in this fic).

Uncontrolled Circumstances

Fandom: HOUSE
Pairing: House/Wilson
Author on LJ: ducks_in_a_row
Author Website: None
Why this must be read: This story is all about the build. It starts with what seems to be fairly typical House/Wilson interaction, but as the story goes on, the situation becomes more and more fascinating, lovely subtleties of characterisations emerge, the dialogue takes on an understated sharpness that cuts like a knife, and House and Wilson's relationship becomes completely riveting! I ended up really, really enjoying this one.

Lost Causes: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Hi, I'm Bettina and I'm the SGA driver this month. I'm going to rec some of my favorite SGA stories and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did :-).

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Author on LJ: thegrrrl2002 and mmmchelle
Author Website: The Grrrl and chelle's nightstand
Why this must be read: I can't believe this story hasn't been recommended before, because it's one of my favorite stories in this fandom. It's got wonderful John and Rodney characterization and lots of hot sex, because what would you do with your last two weeks? ;-)

Two Weeks

Fandom: STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: Cardie-ologist's Fanfic Pages
Why this must be read:

Cardassia's occupation of Bajor is central to the show, yet surprisingly few fan stories choose to address this period. 'Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth' (part of a series about Odo on Terok Nor) is a realistic, subtly-characterised story dealing with an appalling act of Bajoran terrorism & the terrible Cardassian countermeasures it threatens to provoke -- a situation as relevant now as it is within the Trekverse. Cardie-ologist cleverly uses the plot to delve into the complex relationship between Odo & Dukat, and between Cardassia & Bajor.

( A taster )

Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth

Hi, I'm Erilyn, and I'm driving the popslash van this month. One of my favourite aspects to popslash is crossovers that feature Nsync and Backstreet Boys, as I'm a fan of both groups. Double the groups, double the fun! Plus, there are some interesting parallels and differences between them that make for great dynamics. I want to highlight some BSB-centric crossovers and BSB stories this month (since they haven't been recommended as much), but this doesn't mean that there's not going to be lots of Nsync too. I read all pairings, and I hope to rec a good variety of stories.

hnix did a fabulous intro to BSB here, but I just thought I'd include a little ( update )

Fandom: POPSLASH
Pairing: Howie/Justin, Howie/Nick
Author on LJ: zoicite
Author Website: Commoner's Tales
Why this must be read: Zoicite has been mentioned here a number of times for good reason - she's one of the best BSB writers around, and I couldn't not rec her again. One of her greatest strengths is how well she writes all the relationships between the Boys, not just the pairing(s) each story is focused on. The interactions between them all (and wives/bodyguards/friends who are in the stories too) are delightful and ring so true. Howie/Nick is one of my favourite pairings, and this also features a crossover pairing that you don't see often - Howie/Justin Timberlake. Set around now, it's a very sweet tale of relationships going wrong and being fixed again, and how badly two people can still misunderstand each other, despite knowing each other so well. Also, it's damn funny - I will never look at Justin's calves the same way again.

( a quote and pictures )

Any and Every

Hey all! It's bitchygrrl here and they have given me the keys to the LOST van for this month so buckle up.
Fandom: LOST
Pairing: Sawyer/Sayid
Author on LJ: lillyjk
Author Website: ?
Why this must be read: I know Sawyer/Sayid doesn't suit everyone's taste, but this fic gets them right. Sawyer doesn't think his plan for revenge out very well, and Sayid as always sees right through him. This isn't fluffy or sweet, just one hell of an apology. When Sorry Ain't Enough

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: RayK/Fraser
Author on LJ: doll_revolution
Author Website: Wet Blanket
Why this must be read:

This is an adorable ficlet written for the Documents challenge at ds_flashfiction. It's told through post-its passed between two women working at a bookstore. They meet Fraser and RayK and spend their time speculating and betting on the status of their relationship. I think I'm making it sound silly or trite, but it's not. It's short enough to keep your interest piqued the whole time, and I love outsider perspectives on my favorite relationships. Their squeeing and playful bickering makes them sound like any two slightly bored saleswomen suddenly faced with the hotness of Ray and Fraser to break up the monotony of the work day.

( Excerpt )

It's short, it's cute and you'll love it, I promise.

Untitled: Welcome To My World

Hi all! I'm Kellygirl and I'll be driving the Firefly van this month. I'll be reccing all kinds of stories so stay tuned. I hope to give you something interesting to read.


Fandom: FIREFLY
Pairing: Simon/Inara
Author on LJ: Inalasahl
Author Website: 'Troublesome Little Nook'

Why this Must be read:
Because Simon and Inara both seem lost during the series. Because once you think about it they make sense. This takes place after the movie so save it if you want to see that first. It's a beautiful story with hope and faith. It doesn't ignore the other people on the ship either.


She thinks this is what it is Mal imagines she pretends to sell, as if she had even known such a thing existed before Simon.


Story