Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Author on LJ: audrarose
Author Website: Audra's Slash Garden
Why this must be read: Another pivotal episode in The Sentinel fandom is "Sentinel Too" where Blair drowns in the fountain at the university. The series almost ended there, and it's an episode that launched a thousand fics. "Into the Summer Sea" manages to be both mysterious and moving. Blair is changed by his experience in the fountain--profoundly changed. He's become intimate with death, and although the doctors say he should be fine now, Blair knows that he isn't. Jim's watching Blair fade away, but he's so consumed with his own guilt and his hidden feelings for Blair that he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know how to stop Blair from disappearing, and he's terrified.

The alternating first person POV is occasionally confusing--it requires the reader to shift from inside Blair's head to inside Jim's--but I'm not sure the story would've been as effective without that inside POV. It references a number of TS eps, but even if you're not intimately familiar with the series, the story still works extrememely well. It's surreal and erotic and emotional, and you'll feel the fear, the desperate need to hold on to something real, the chill of rain on your skin. The best word I can use to describe this story is "haunting" - it's absolutely beautiful.

( I don't let myself think about it, I just slip my hands beneath the loose collar of his shirt and touch smooth, heated skin. )

Read the story: Into the Summer Sea, and let the author know you enjoyed it!

There are two sequels that I'm aware of:
Sand and Water
Still the Deep

Fandom: LORD OF THE RINGS
Pairing: Frodo/Sam
Author on LJ: None
Author Website: Gillian's Fan Fiction
Why this must be read: This story is written in the most page turning "I wanna read more" prose. Yes, this is mpreg, but it's really *enjoyable* mpreg, and it sucked me in so much that when I got to the end I wanted *more* (there is in fact a sequel; you'll find it if you go and poke around Gillian's site). I can't express to you how much I enjoyed reading this, even while I was waiting for the usual toxic mpreg badness to set in. It never did.

Many Aspects: One, Two, Three, Four (Warning: mpreg.)

Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Pairing: (Duncan/Methos)
Author on LJ: mandragora1
Author Website: Pandoemonium
Why this must be read:


A lovely, bittersweet love story, interspersed with poignant flashbacks ,which give ample reasons as to why the oldest man is reluctant to love and give all in love. The title comes from The Lymond Chronicles and is perfect for this beautiful story.



Tant Que Je Vive

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: jjtaylor
Author Website: none
Why this must be read:

Four drabbles about October 31, 1981, from four points of view: James, Remus, Peter and Sirius. They are all excellent, but James's in particular gave me new insights into what he might have felt at that moment, and made him so much more real to me.

Four Ways to Be Guilty (Even If You Didn't Commit the Crime)

Fandom: STAR WARS PT
Pairing: Xanatos/Obi-Wan
Author on LJ: keelywolfe
Author Website: Keelywolfe's Fanfiction
Why this must be read:

Xanatos/Obi-Wan is one of my favourite rare pairings from the SW:PT universe and their encounter in this fic by Keelywolfe feels believable and possible, though it does not travel the path of extreme angst and violence as one would expect from this pairing.

An attempt by Xanatos to hold a teenage Obi-Wan hostage, as bait to lure Qui-Gon in, ends with the two of them trapped together in a cave during an electrical storm. Obi-Wan though much younger and less experienced than Xanatos still stands his ground, and gives as good as he gets. Their encounter is at times tender, at times aggressive, and really quite hot.

Any Port in a Storm

There's also a sequel to the story here

Fandom: QUEER AS FOLK US
Pairing: Brian/Justin
Author on LJ: triciaqaf
Author Website: Fic can be found in memories
Why this must be read: When I want good PWP I stop by Tricia's journal. Her fics have it all: sexual tension that builds throughout, quality kink, and, best of all, great Brian characterization. Her newest fic, Photo shoot, doesn't disappoint.

Photo shoot