Fandom: The OC
Pairing: Ryan/Seth
Author on LJ: edie22
Author Website: Edie's Slash
Why this must be read:

Sexy poptart, with a nice lead-in. Perhaps an overuse of "Ry," but really, easy to ignore.

Ryan was really going to start locking that door. First, Kirsten had walked in on him, and then it had been Sandy. Kirsten had been embarrassed and apologetic, saying "That never happened with Seth." That comment had freaked him out for a good twenty minutes until he realized she meant that she’d never walked in on Seth with a girl, not that she’d never walked in on him and Seth. Sandy had grinned and apologized, but when Marissa had left stammering apologies, he’d clapped Ryan on the back. The next day there were condoms in his medicine cabinet. He really tried not to figure out which one of his pseudo-parents had given them to him.

Interrupted

Since I began this month with fics from one of the most loved Starsky and Hutch episodes, it seems appropriate to end it with stories that tackle one of the most despised bits of S & H canon: Starsky versus Hutch.

No, don’t run away yet! You may end up surprised by how canon lead can be transformed into gold. Besides it’s not like I’m trying to inflict Huggy Bear and the Turkey fanfic on you. *shudder*

Fandom: STARSKY & HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Kira and Hutch/Kira implied
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Writer's Block: Fanfic by Lola
Why this must be read:

Because this short piece by Lola is a gentle way to start Skank week -- I mean Kira week. Now, most of Lola’s writing is too sweet for my admittedly depraved tastes, but I love it when she plays with Hutch's dark side, and the bitter, unforgiving man she creates in this post-S versus H story is convincing and memorable. In “A Thin Line,” Starsky still loves her, but Hutch now hates her, or does he? Lola skillfully takes advantage of all of our preconceptions, and in the end, delivers an emotionally satisfying story about the ordeals we willingly undergo for the ones we love.

A Thin Line

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 2003
Pairing: None (although there are mentions of Helo/Sharon)
Author on LJ: wisteria_
Author Website: Her BSG fics in LJ Memories
Why this must be read: At the beginning of S2, the show had a chance to really develop the Helo/Kara friendship. Alas, that never particularly happened. Thankfully wisteria_ provides us with great insight to their friendship in "Live for This."

Here, we get to see these two be friends as they joke, laugh, tease, and taunt. What I love the most about the story is how normal it all feels, and yet both characters are aware nothing is -- or can ever be -- normal again.

( snippet )

Live for This

Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Pairing: Duncan/Methos
Author on LJ: sidhe_woman
Author Website: Taterville

Why this must be read:
Methos does rationalisation with the best of them. And this story shows an intimate glimpse of those thought processes. All tied together with a clever little plot that hangs together well. A fast engaging read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Decisions

Fandom: THE WEST WING
Pairing: Josh/Donna
Author on LJ: yanatya
Author Website: Yana's West Wing Fanfiction
Why this must be read:

Looking through the list of stuff that's already been rec'd I was surprised not to find anything there of Yana's because she writes some of the best Josh and Donna smut around! And of course, the trailer for next week's show has sent my mind straight to the gutter...!( Read more... )

Negative Ions

Fandom: STAR WARS OT
Pairing: Gen
Length: 38,000 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Elana's Fanfiction.net Profile

Why this must be read:

As with any fandom, Star Wars has its various camps of fans and fanfic authors, which can be divided and subdivided almost endlessly into increasingly specialized fannish interests. Beyond the usual slash, gen, het, and pairing-specific categories, there are fans that favor certain fanfic scenarios. Some favored scenarios include Revenge of the Sith AUs wherein Anakin does not turn (there are lots of these!), or Original Trilogy AUs in which Vader discovers one or more of his children prior to the events of A New Hope. (Earlier this month I recced Force Bond, an excellent example of this genre.)

This particular fic illustrates yet another subgenre within Star Wars fanfiction: telling the story of the Original Trilogy from Darth Vader's point of view. There are many fics that have attempted to do this; there was even a blog that did it. Some are more successful than others, but of the completed fics in this category that I have read -- a number higher than I would really care to admit! -- this one is the best so far.

Most such fics were written before the completion of the Prequel Trilogy, but this one takes into account everything we know from The Phantom Menace forward. It fits nicely into canon (despite some easily ignored minor canon inaccuracies) and draws intriguing parallels between the two trilogies, especially between Palpatine's turning of Anakin and attempted turning of Luke. In fact, it included some parallels I had not thought of before.

What more can I say? Read the tale, and once again watch the Original Trilogy with a brand-new perspective.

* * *

( Excerpt )

From My Point of View

Fandom: VERONICA MARS
Pairing: Duncan
Author on LJ: boyfriendincoma
Author Website: none
Why this must be read:

This is AU. Pre-pilot AU, to be exact. A slight twist here, a small change there, and what you get is a fantastic, dark look into Duncan Kane's head with a powerful gut-punch of an ending. I really can't say much more about it, as it would give things away. You want to go into this one blind, folks.

He will never love her more than on the morning of the fifteenth of May. It's the church of St. Mary - she will wear a white gown, demurely high-collared up to her neck, in her hair those tiny white flowers whose name he can never remember. But he doesn't know that yet.

Myths Projected Onto A Passive Body