Okay, so the first rec was a bit of a tease, but hey, that seemed appropriate for a week devoted to Kira fic. Although I suppose the "I only need one name" Cher-wannabe didn’t so much as tease as ..., but I digress. For now it’s time to plunge into the hardcore Starsky versus Hutch angst, with the novel that all other S vs. H fanfics are measured against.

Fandom: STARSKY & HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Kira, Starsky/Meredith, and Hutch/Kira (busy lads)
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Suzan Lovett Artwork
Why this must be read:

If there was a Starsky & Hutch Fanfic 101 course, The Thousandth Man would have a place of honour on the required reading list. As Flamingo observed in her introduction, Suzan not only tackled the weaknesses of the episode itself, but also dealt with the problem that Starsky versus Hutch was aired out of order, disrupting the show’s final arc. Instead of ignoring or fudging these canon obstacles, Suzan confronted them, and in the process, created a masterpiece depicting a long term friendship on the rocks, and a cop on the edge of self-destruction.

With a nail-biting plot, skillful use of canon characters (including the return of Starsky’s kick ass ex-girlfriend/temporary partner Joan Meredith!), and some chilling original villains, The Thousandth Man transcends its source material. This novel is rightfully acknowledged as one of the seminal works in this fandom, and I am honoured that I'm the one who gets to recommend it here.

The Thousandth Man

Finally, I end Starsky versus Hutch week with a S & H Slashfest story that made me fall on my knees and whimper, "Yes ma’am, may I please have another?" If you think all the boys need to do is "kiss and make up" after the credits ran on this episode, you’re in for a pleasant shock.

Fandom: STARSKY & HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch with Starsky/Kira and Hutch/Kira implied
Author on LJ: tiranog
Author Website: unknown
Why this must be read:

In A Diamond in Your Eyes, Hutch is guilty, Starsky is dangerous, and if you thought Ioannia’s "Sojourn. . ." was kinky -- that was literally just a walk in the woods, babe. Now, I admit that this story’s warning listed a damp sex act that made me want to run away, but let me assure you that Rosemary will hold your hand through the squickiest stuff. So, if you’re willing to brave some very-hot-man-on-man bondage, humiliation and whipping, you will receive at least two rewards for your courage.

( Yes EH, tell us all about the prizes our lucky contestants will receive! )

A Diamond in Your Eyes

Fandom: The OC
Pairing: Seth/Ryan
Author on LJ: torchthisnow
Author Website: Riders on the Storm
Why this must be read:

This story has Anna overhearing a conversation she probably didn't expect to be privvy to. Please note minor voyeurism kink thingie. Also, great Anna voice.

Well, actually, Anna could see why Summer had picked Wonder Woman. She was the spitting image and plus, she’d looked hot. Even though she’d accessorized with only one power bracelet, Summer still would have been the main attraction at any of the comic cons Anna had been to, and that included the one where three of the Lord of the Rings guys showed up.

Superhero Hype

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 2003
Pairing: Kara/Lee
Author on LJ: daygloparker
Author Website: as you sleep
Why this must be read: While this story is definitely an AU in light of certain events in S2 -- yes, I'm trying to be somewhat vague to avoid spoiling those who haven't seen S2 yet -- it still contains the perfect Kara, the perfect Lee, and the perfect Kara/Lee. What transpires in the story? I can totally see it happening on the show, every last word of it.

( snippet )

At the Battle, With Lovely Arrows

Fandom: LOTRIPS
Pairing: Viggo Mortensen/Orlando Bloom
Author on LJ: traveller
Author Website: buddhist punk
Why this must be read:

Just for the idea, this deserves reccing. It's original and delightful, and while it takes a minute or two to figure out how to read this, please, please, give it that minute. It won't be wasted, I promise.

I don't want to explain this story, this set of ten drabbles-but-not, overmuch, but I'll say that traveller has a witty way with a phrase that just burrows under your skin and lives there. Her work is incandescent, in the very best way.

magnetic south

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: brenk
Author Website: ariadne's webspace

Why this must be read:

It's a sort of challenge for a reviewer to introduce this story with enough information to give a hint of the topic, without telling too much and so, spoiling the writer's carefully prepared effects. For, given the nature of the facts involved and the developments of events, to save the suspense, it would need warnings at the very beginning of the presentation.

So, what is it about, roughly? Roughly, it's all about responsibility: making a choice and facing the consequences; and about the loneliness of the one who had to take irrevocable, "life or death" decisions and must cope as he can with the aftermath. And, of course, the doomed one, in a "Pros" story, cannot be anybody else than Cowley, the "Controller", a very modest title for a man awarded with a "life and death" power.

A power with heavy counter effects and some severe setbacks, which cannot easily be ignored or suppressed, even with the help of the best of pure single malt scotchs, as long as a man's memory is working and keeps on feeding his dreams with pictures and words:

He'd gone through one such a period where the wee nightcaps - a ritual since longer than he could remember - had become a great deal more than 'wee'. That had meant mornings where his brusque manner wasn't just part of his persona but because his head was pounding and his tongue was furred.

So, the excesses had had to stop. He couldn't afford it - not yet anyway - but he did wonder if, when retirement came, he'd spend more time staring at the bottom of a whisky bottle than at his golf clubs.

Though the responsibility of power cannot be shared, it can be supported and somehow alleviated by the trust and loyalty of the same ones who have to bear its weight. As usual Bodie will get the last word: "You win some, you lose some," he said. "And sometimes you don't have the choice in this job (...) "I'd say that puts it in a nutshell. Making choices. Living with consequences."

The author's writing has the kind of style I admire most and can the least master: taut, dense and sober; and that restraint gives her text its strength.

Living with the Consequences

Fandom: CSI
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: pinn2480
Author Website: none
Why this must be read: Nick Stokes is the official damsel of CSI. Season after season, the writers of the show rejoice in doing really horrible things to poor Nicky, who reacts with a patented "I'm almost about to cry" look. Following season 5's "Grave Danger" episode, there was a whole slew of Nick-centric fics cataloging his recovery. They're all lovely, but Pinn's fic stands out. Her Nick manages to be both private and empathetic; he keeps his trauma to himself but fears that equally horrible things will happen to his coworkers. It'a a very realistic portrayal, and the ending suggests that it'll be a long time before Nick's truly better. The prose is truly beautiful, and Nick's inner thoughts will break your heart just a bit.

When he goes to a scene where a boy no older than twenty was beaten because he was standing outside a gay club, it's not the victim that Nick sees but Greg, bruised and bleeding. A suicide in Hendersonville, a woman with no family and no one to claim the body is Sara. An old man killed for his social security check and left to rot in a freezer looks so much like Grissom that Nick vomits at the crime scene for the first time in years.


You Have To Break It Before You can Fix It

Fandom: STAR WARS PT
Pairing: Anakin/Padmé
Length: 23,000 words
Author on LJ: lily_handmaiden
Author Websites: Notebook Mythology, Eridala's Fanfiction.net Profile

Why this must be read:

On the surface, this story is of how Anakin and Padmé went from declaring their love on Geonosis to exchanging vows on Naboo at the end of Attack of the Clones. But that's just the surface. Underneath it all, both Padmé and Anakin suffer from repeated doubts about what they are doing, but feel pulled by inevitability, by destiny, by the will of the Force even, to admit their love and to marry as soon as they can. Padmé in particular has many concerns, especially about certain facets of Anakin's character. Of course, she ultimately sets her concerns aside and marries him anyway. She optimistically believes they can work through any difficulty to come.

Irony runs deep in this story. With every thought and action that carries Anakin and Padmé closer to their wedding, the reader is reminded over and over again of the tragedy of Revenge of the Sith. Even their marriage vows are ironic!

Behind the scenes, Palpatine lurks. His few brief scenes are potent and full of hidden meaning. The reader can see Palpatine oh so very carefully and subtly manipulating the young couple into going to Naboo and forming an unbreakable bond. He also sets up the possibility of discrediting and getting rid of Padmé when the time comes.

"Surrender" can be termed an Anakin/Padmé fic, but it's really a story of how they are blinded by their love and by the whirlwind of events surrounding them. They both also misinterpret certain events and each others' actions and motivations. Their blindness and misinterpretations bear bitter fruit in Revenge of the Sith.

This fic is as canon compliant as it is possible to be. It explains very well what happened at the end of Attack of the Clones, and the character voices all ring very true. Anakin and Padmé's interactions are especially well written.

This story has a sequel in Home Again, but that story is much less ironic or portentous. It's much more of a fluffy story than this one.

* * *

( Excerpt )

Surrender

Fandom: Lord of the Rings
Pairing: Erestor/Elrond, Erestor/Haldir, Glorfindel/Haldir, Celeborn/Orophin
Author on LJ: morgana_avalon
Author Website: Slash FanFiction by Morgana

Why this must be read:
Well, almost the end of the month and we've been through pwps and sad fic, kinky sex, plot, plot with sex, more sex than you shake a stick at and now it is time for the cream of LOTR fic, AU fics! Wooohooo :) I mean, really, all fics not written by JRR Tolkien himself are AUs one way or the other, but some people try to pay attention to canon and such things, the really AU stories don't give one damn hoot about stuff like that, which is okay, some readers like them! So here it is and enjoy.

Heart In Chains hits most of my kinks and that's so nice that it makes me like it even more *g*
There's not a lot I can tell you about it without ruining any surprises the plot might have so I'll put here some of the notes and warnings the author has one the story:

Who is Erestor and what happened to him in his long life? What caused him to save Elrond's life when the High-King died, leaving his lover alone and hurting?
Some Elves are out of time, like Haldir and his brothers. For this story to work I had to make them a lot older than what most people usually think they are. Let's spell it out for the canon obsessed -- > THIS IS AU! AND NOT CANON!

Heart in Chains