It's a theme of lists, yay lists!

Fandom: STARSKY/HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Author on LJ: ginalin

Why this must be read: Starsky's looking in Hutch's glove compartment for The Book and comes across The List. And when you find out your lover has written down a "Things that Annoy Me about Starsky" list, you tend to react negatively...as you would;) And they bicker and battle, just like the old married couple they are. And when it's Starsky's turn to return the favor, he comes up with a whole new list. One that makes Hutch see the love.

The List

Lists are sometimes not used for good.

Fandom: STARSKY/HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Author on LJ: elizabethhelena
Author Website: http://rebelcat4.tripod.com/id25.html

Why this must be read: This is not a happy story, but it's a realistic story. Had Starsky died in the Gunther attack, I could see Hutch becoming the person we see in this story. Hutch is a list-maker and he has a list of people he's going through to see his revenge on. He failed Starsky, but he's determined to make it up to his lost partner by taking down those that took Starsky away from him. It's his mission, it's his life, and he knows it will be his death.

Wayward Son

Fandom: VERONICA MARS
Pairing: Lianne/Keith, with references to Keith/Alicia
Author on LJ: katjanka
Author Website: Author's page at Fanfiction.net
Why this must be read:

Lianne got a lot of flak for her actions in the S1 finale, deservedly so. This story takes us into Lianne's head, and while it doesn't precisely make her sympathetic, it manages to make her understandable to a degree. Lianne in this story is self-aware, with a combination of quiet desperation and almost dispassionate resignation that is both maddening and immensely sad. Some lovely insights into the character here, and the writing is sparsely beautiful.

( excerpt )

The Earth Is Made of Glass

Fandom: VERONICA MARS
Pairing: Logan/Veronica, Logan/Lilly
Author on LJ: svilleficrecs
Author Website: Fictabulous
Why this must be read:

Even though we haven't seen Lilly since the S2 opening, I'd often like to think she's still around, haunting people and messing with their heads. Logan and Lilly were so fucked-up individually, but it's odd how they could combine their massively dysfunctional selves and come off almost... whole together. In this story, Kate takes that evil line of Logan's when he ran into Veronica outside Duncan's room--"If cudding is the best part, he didn't do it right."--and runs with it, giving it a believable back-story, with a lot of Lilly and a decided emphasis on the dirty, messed-up and hot. The result is scorching, not a little creepy, and weirdly sweet.

( Excerpt )

Proxy

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Cedric/Cho, Cedric/Viktor
Author on LJ: hackthis
Author Website: dysfunctional
Why this must be read:

This is Cedric Diggory's story, and it brings him to life brilliantly. The other secondary and original characters are also very real and believeable. The story lets the reader understand what it means to be a Hufflepuff, and provides a great look at inter-house relationships. Reading about these events from Cedric's point of view reminds me that Harry Potter isn't the center of every wizard's world.

It's easy to get wrapped up in this story and to forget that we already know how it has to end. And it's topped off with an absolutely perfect, powerful ending.

( excerpt )

What is Right and What is Easy

Fandom:  BUFFY
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Author on LJ: lit_gal
Author Website: Worshipping the Geeks - Litgal's FanFic
Why this must be read: 

Warning - dark fic: slavery, non-con, D/s, hurt/comfort, torture, bondage.   Xander is captured by demons and spends six months being brutally trained to be a slave.  Spike finds the seemingly broken man at an auction and buys him.  Outwardly Xander gives every appearance of being broken, but his inner babbling shows that his spirit is still alive.  Slowly Spike helps Xander realize he is not as broken as everyone, including himself, thinks.  A well written fic that manages to keep both Xander and Spike in character as they try to deal with the new master/slave dynamic.  Bonus:  some amazing art work by Velvet Virago that is not work safe at all! 

Instead Spike just stormed away without even a touch on Xander's shoulder or picking up the leash, leaving Xander motionless on the floor waiting. Xander could hear his trainer clucking disapprovingly, and he panicked that he had missed a command, but he couldn't remember a tap or a command to heel, so he stayed in place, quietly dying. That and quietly killing Spike for leaving him behind in this place with this demon. And quietly hoping that Spike would come back for him, and when he reached a point that he found himself praying for fangless to come get him, he knew that his suspicion about being broken was more fact that suspicion, but he couldn't really change that now.

Beautiful Broken

Well, folks, just a few stops left! We're going to take a quick detour today over to the Ensemble Theatre to get a look at the world-renowned WW Staff in action. Make sure you take your valuables with you when you exit the Wingnut Bus!

Fandom: WEST WING
Pairing: Staff Gen
Author on LJ: circusgrl (cinnamon), tangleofthorns (violet)
Author Website: http://www.sparkgirls.com/stories/index.html, http://www.obsessivetendencies.net/gypsy/ (cinnamon)
Why this must be read:

One of the greatest strengths of The West Wing is the stellar cast and how well they play off each other and the material. In the heyday of the Sorkin Years, these characters could have walked in circles and spoken in tongues and we would still have tuned in every week; they are just. that. good.

Dance, Then... is a great example of a dialogue-heavy, light-on-action fic that immediately brings to mind the Sorkin Years. The story takes place in a single day as the White House prepares for a state dinner and deals with a tragedy along the way. Everyone is in character, marvellously so, and Cinnamon and Violet capture the delicate balance between serious and humorous -- something that all too often eludes writers in this fandom.

( excerpt )

Dance, Then, Wherever You May Be

Fandom: SPORTS NIGHT
Pairing: Dan/Casey
Author on LJ: shrift
Author Website: shift's fan fiction
Why this must be read:

You can pretty much guarantee that no matter what fandom Shrift's writing in, her characterisation, dialogue and plotting will be spot-on. This is particularly important when it comes to Sports Night, a character-driven show with dialogue that can make your head spin.

The other thing with Shrift's stories is that they're often laugh-out-loud funny and this one is no exception, with Dan getting his pants in a twist, Casey in full-on denial mode and Kim expounding on a woman's right to own quality porn. How can you go wrong?

Things to Get Arrested For in Singapore

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Sheppard/McKay
Author on LJ: skoosiepants
Author Website: Skoosie Pants
Why this should be read:

Sometimes I'll read a fic and it simply makes me happy. Happy about fandom, happy about my show, happy that I can come across stories like this on-line. As the title says, this fic is about a furry octopus. In Atlantis. A furry octopus named Ernie, who is not particularly bright. It's also also a story about the effect of Ernie on everyone in Atlantis, and how they have to deal with Ernie in their day-to-day lives. It's all just incredibly charming and funny. Fabulous entertainment!

( Read an excerpt )

Read Once Upon a Furry Octopus

Fandom: FIREFLY
Pairing: Mal/Nandi
Author on LJ: maystone
Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read:

This fic shows a missing quiet moment from "Heart of Gold". Playing Nandi and Mal nicely off each other, Maystone poetically describes the post- and pre-coital moment between the two on That Night. I can't really think of any way else to describe this except lyrical. There is a lot of truth in what both the characters say and don't say. And, as the dawn before the storm, it's a nice moment of peace before all hell breaks loose.

The Hours In Between

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Author on LJ: nifra_idril
Author Website: neon nights

Oh, how I love this story! First of all, it's College!Clark, and I have a thing for SV college fic. The story structure is interesting, the characterisation is spot on, and it's just completely lovely and fun.
The rift in Clark and Lex's friendship has happened, and they have been estranged for three years. And then Clark receives an email from one very drunken, snarky, lonely Lex Luthor, which sends him into a tailspin.

One email from Lex should *not* be enough to put him back on that sick, sad, twisted path toward neurosis that hopes things between the two of them work out in anything less than tragedy.

Clark crosses his arms, and glares at the letter with what he’s sure is a pretty formidable expression. It doesn’t burst into flames, which is (on the whole) a good thing, but Clark is still tempted.

Of Epistles and Epiphanies

Fandom: FIREFLY
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: defender82
Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read:

This is a Shepard Book fic, set early in the series, most precisely at that moment in the Pilot when we see him standing over Kaylee's body, taking her hand. Book is a mystery, but defender82 nicely alludes to his possible background here, while tying in the strength of his faith and his desire to help and save the children on the ship with him. I particularly like how the author describes Kaylee as "a beacon of light". Another beautiful fic about how young and how old both Kaylee and River are, in their injured minds and bodies.

A Prayer for Injured Children

Fandom: ANGEL
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: katemonkey
Author Website: none
Why this must be read:

Because it’s such a dark, twisted AU that’ll make you grind your teeth and want to look away. And also, it features Cordelia. The real Cordelia, mind you, before she went saintly on us and changed her name to Mary Sue.

...like the maidenhead on a ship from Hell

Fandom: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: None (Gen)
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Bill Koenig Timeshift Series

Why this must be read:

Looking at the list of MFU stories in crack_van, when I started this round of recs, I got the strong and unpleasant impression that the whole body of gen stories and gen authors were somehow neglected. So I tried, since the beginning, to award them a fair share of place and praises and, with more time, I could have presented much more of them I always re-read with most interest and pleasure, especially when I want to rediscover the features and the flavour of the show.

That's peculiarly true with Bill Koenig's stories, which, in spite of his timeshift setting, could be easily taken as scripts for some episodes of an hypothetical U.N.C.L.E. revival, with their fast pace of action scenes, accuracy of the U.N.C.L.E. background and fidelity to the international organization's ideals, great villains and likable innocents. It's interesting to note that his original characters are seldom helpless or shallow, and it's especially true of his female characters who are not the conventional and one-dimensional figures you so often find, curiously, in female authors' works. In his stories, women are usually quite smart, lively and realistically depicted. They don't swoon at the first appearance of a brave, bold, and good looking male agent, would he be Solo or Kuryakin; that's really a refreshing experience for a seasoned MFU fanfiction reader! Could it be that male writers are the most apt to render a faithful picture of the other half of mankind?

Let's come back to this story; I chose it because it's not pure action and adventure: it gives as much importance to the emotional life and moral consciousness of the heroes, dealing honestly with the inner conflicts and traumas they are exposed to in the line of duty. Here Napoleon Solo is held captive in a fake psychiatric hospital and submitted to a "treatment" based upon reactivation of guilt feeling, a feeling he cannot avoid when confronted to his partner's supposed demise and the memories of the many people whose death he has been involved with, had he killed them as enemies or endangered as innocents. After his rescue (by a very clever and professional U.N.C.L.E. female agent), he will remained deeply affected as his partner, lucidly, acknowledges:

The American lay back down and seemed as if he would go back to sleep. Illya looked at him for a moment, and wondered if should say something more.

Kuryakin held back. Although Illya knew only some of the details, he knew in a way Solo had been violated. Not physically, of course, but in a way that was just as real to Napoleon. In the end, it would be up to his friend to mention it. For Kuryakin, the best he could do is be there when that happened.

The idea that true communication and understanding between friends is more present in shared silence than in idle talks or untimely confidences is still righter between agents but...leaves the reader curious about what could have been said later (if ever) by the partners after such an experience...

The Treatment Affair Affair

Fandom: ANGEL
Pairing: Cordelia/Faith/Wesley
Author on LJ: fox1013
Author Website: The Inner Geekdom
Why this must be read:

Hmm, I seem to be developing a Cordelia trend this month… you don’t mind, right?

As it is, this fic was the one that cemented by love for Cordelia. She was one of the Scoobies, she was one of Fang Gang—or was she?

( Read more... )

Shadows

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Author on LJ: khohen1
Author Website: kHo's Writing
Why this must be read: kHo is a girl after my own heart. She *loves* porn. And she definitely knows how to push my hot buttons! This is an oh-so hot little PWP told in 1st person Clark POV. He's visiting Lex in Metropolis, staying at the penthouse. The size and configuration of Lex's penthouse makes it possible for Clark to stand in his bedroom window and watch Lex through his own bedroom window. But who's watching who? Voyeuristic, hot, naked things happen, and OMG, just go read it! *g*

Through the Window