Hi! I'm asjbg, and I'll be your due South driver for February. I'm a Fraser/Rayk girl with a side of Turnbull/RayK, but I'll be reccing at least one Fraser/RayV, Ray/Ray and maybe one het story as well. Sorry, no gen. I just can't read dS gen; I guess it just depresses me too much when no one gets the lovin. Really -- given the opportunity, wouldn't you kiss Fraser?

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalksi
Author on LJ: joandarck
Author Website: Her Memories
Why this must be read: Joandarck is a fabulous new writer to the dS fandom. She has the quirky tone of Due South down perfectly, and her RayK voice is just divine--one of the best I've ever read. In this fic, she employs one of fandom's (and my) favorite cliches: amnesia. It was written for ds_flashfiction's amnesty challenge for the cliche challenge. It's a 'first time' fic with all the essentials: great characterizations, spot-on humor, a dash of angst, and a wonderful ending. The last paragraph just blows me away. Also, if you're a fan of the "minor" characters Welsh and Dewey, you're in for a treat. Enjoy!

You Can't Take That Away From Me

Hello. :D I'll be your driver for the Star Wars fandom this month, and I have a whole slew of fics to share. I'll mostly rec recent stuff, as I'm the type to prefer fics that include the canon of all six SW movies. I'll try to present recs for original, canon-tight, and well-written fics. Hope you enjoy them all as much as I did.

Fandom: STAR WARS
Pairing: Dooku/Qui-Gon
Author on LJ: stella_belli
Author Website: Madpash.com
Why this must be read: Because this fic just haunts me, and I can't not think about it when I think of Dooku and Qui-Gon's younger days. The characterization of both characters strikes me as dead on and the writing is fluid and solid, while the subject matter is disturbing and darkly fascinating. The things Dilly tries to say and show within this story amaze me. There's little bits of Expanded Universe gracefully weaved in, and I remain impressed with it even on re-read. The entire fic will punch you in the gut, and you will love it. It's memorable, and that alone makes it worth reading.

( Excerpts from 'Another Life' )

Another Life

Fandom: ANGEL
Pairing: Wesley Wyndham-Pryce / Lindsey McDonald
Author on LJ: nasty_shrew
Author Website:
Why this must be read:

A dark, quick, little punch of a story where season 3, despondently suicidal Wesley runs into Lindsey while both are out drinking away their sins. The author nicely captures characters on two separate, but equally devastating, paths of self-loathing and spiraling despair. They attack each other in passionate acrimony that turns into straight passion. I like Wesley's inner dialogue. His thoughts are by turns bitterly revealing and just plain weary. I also particularly like the last thought by Wesley- it is a a final, strong ouch.


( I wouldn’t know - I recall falling unconscious. Did you molest me when I was asleep? )


A Sickly Rainbow by Nasty Shrew


I'm sperrywink and I'm excited to be rec-ing Angel this month. I'm fairly focused in this fandom, so expect a month of Wesley recs with the occasional Spike one thrown in.

Fandom: QUEER AS FOLK: US
Pairing: Brian/Justin
Author on LJ: severina2001
Author Website: Here and Now
Why this must be read:

You mean why must this be read besides that fact that it cracked me the fuck up early in the morning, which is no small feat?

How about excellent characterization, and such a talent with writing that she even manages to make Justin giving Brian a pet name believeable. And hilarious. Rip-roaringly so.

Seriously, if you don't read this fic? You'll regret it forever.

Why Alcohol and Justin Don't Really Mix

Fandom: STARSKY AND HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Author on LJ: kassidy62
Author Website: Starsky and Hutch, a slash fansite
Why this must be read:

Because every time I read this story it makes me cry. Kassidy takes tragedy to a while new level in just a few well-chosen words. Love, passion, and pain, all tied up together.

It's a short story, but it's not a quick read. It leaves you with a sense of deep dread, but also clinging to the hope that maybe, just maybe, things aren't really as awful as they seems. At least, that's how I read it.

Otherwise it would hurt too bad.

Blood on the Sun

Fandom: LOTRIPS
Pairing: Elijah Wood/Orlando Bloom
Author on LJ: montmorency
Author Website: Story Listing
Why this must be read: I love it when authors take a challenge and then succeed with it in a wildly wonderful way, which montmorency certainly manages with "Autodidact". She creates an Elijah with the hottest mouth, and Orlando clearly thinks so too.

Autodidact

Fandom: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Pairing: N/A
Author on LJ: Not that I know of.
Author Website: None
Why this must be read:

Why read this fic? It's the fic that started it all. Namely the ATF Alternate Universe in the M7 fandom. An AU that is almost as popular as the original universe. Mog did such a great job of writing the guys in the present, that countless other fans joined in the sandbox.

( And you were there, and you, and Toto too. )

A Birthday in the Present

Fandom: X-MEN COMICVERSE
Pairing: Wolverine/Jubilee
Author on LJ: thelasteuropean
Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read:

I’m a big fan of stories written about the events of Uncanny X-Men #423. The events in that book should have had at least some kind of impact on the people involved. They didn't. It would have been nice if they had. Hell, it would be nice if ANY events (other than Jean biting it for the 39480932842 time) had some kind of lasting effect on the X-Men. So, I love stories that explore events as though they actually matter. Novocaine does just that. The story assumes that, no matter how resilient a superhero is, getting nailed to a cross by religious fanatics, dying and then getting brought back to life is going to have some negative effects. It also assumes a long-standing, secretive, sexual relationship between Wolverine and Jubilee that is co-dependant, destructive and one that neither of them seems to think they can be without. It’s dark. It's sad. It’s kind of gross. I totally love it. I hope you do too.


( Excerpt )

Novocaine: The Irresistible Orbit

I am franciskerst (a little late because of an unexpected overload of work at my usually quiet office) and I will drive the van this month, for my pleasure but maybe not for yours! For I must warn you, I am a great fan of Cowley and, more precisely, of the Bodie/Cowley pairing. I am aware it's not everybody's taste but I also suspect that if I don't rec the B/C stories I so much enjoyed, nobody will do it and it would be a shame because they rightly belong to "The Professionals" fanfiction. Of course they will be interspersed with stories of a more usual type but, I wish, with a strong Cowley bias/flavour. Anyway, be patient; a month is quickly over.

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Cowley
Author on LJ: Not any more, alas!
Author Website: Jane Carnall's site At least I think it's here because I was unable to find the home page and the real title if there is one.

Why this must be read

Because it's a very sweet and moving story, with no sex scene and nothing shocking or provoking for the people who think they cannot suffer the B/C pairing. As it's commonly done to cure allergy by desensitizing the patient's body with tiny doses of the harmful substance, I intend to progressively accustom the reader to the offending idea.

The plot is simple: caught as hostages during a mission, Bodie and Cowley, after a plane crash, have to find a shelter for the night in a very inhospitable and frosty country. Cowley is wounded and soon gets more or less delirious; during long hours, they are isolated in space and time and Bodie is coming to know some surprising things about Cowley's past; taken in the stream of reminiscences he could become involved more than he would have expected.

The Lych-Wake Dirge