Fandom: due South
Pairing: RayV/Irene Zuko
Author on LJ: hth_the_first
Author's website: Fierce Flawless

Why this must be read: This is a very short story about Ray on a secret date with Irene Zuko when they're teenagers. It takes five minutes to read this story, but when you're done it, the picture of Ray Vecchio as a teenager that Hth paints just leaves you breathless and sad that someone so young understands so much. It's so easy to see this boy in the man Vecchio becomes.

So take five minutes and read a story that will make you love Ray Vecchio.


Classic

Fandom: DC COMICS
Pairing: gen
Author on LJ: shrift
Author Website: Shrift's fan fiction
Why this must be read:

This story is a good look at both Mia and Roy as Mia feels her way toward fitting into the "family." The dialogue here is particularly good, fast and clever and sounding like canon at its best.

100 Ways to Be a Good Girl

Fandom: LOTR
Pairing: Frodo/Faramir
Author on LJ: aprilkat
Author Website: http://aprilkat.livejournal.com/profile
Why this must be read:

It took me awhile to pick an interspecies story to rec this month, because there are so many great possibilities to choose from. I decided to highlight The Wings of the Shadow because it's a lovely example of a long story, of a pairing I really like, and of gap-filling fanfiction in general.

I tend to read shorter stories, but TWotS is a long story (eleven parts) that kept my attention with beautiful language and a well-paced arc, as well as beautiful expansions of canon characters such as Ioreth. (Really, even without the love story and the lovely characterization of everyone mentioned, Ioreth alone would be a reason to read this story.) TWotS is also a beautiful balance between bookverse and movieverse, with Frodo and Faramir being equals in age and details coming from both works; because of that it's accessible whichever direction one is coming from.

And then there's the central pairing, whose love affair this story is. Frodo and Faramir have an intriguing pair of relationships, whether one goes with the friendship and generosity of the books or the adversarial complexities leading to alliance of the movie. TWotS pays homage to both, and reconciles them into the potential for deep closeness of kindred spirits that lies beneath the surface of both. Many interspecies stories are about characters finding their compatability across their cultural differences, and this one does a great job of elucidating that connection, bringing post-War Minas Tirith to life, and just about all the tasks it sets for itself as a story.

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The Wings of the Shadow

Fandom: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Pairing: Buffy/Spike
Author on LJ: treacle_a
Author Website: Treaclefic
Why this must be read: This is a long, moreish PWP that's all about the red-hot chemistry between Spike and Buffy. Treacle has a real knack for coming up with intense situations, and the banter in this is great.

Clearance

Fandom: LOST
Pairing: Charlie/Sawyer, Charlie/Jack
Author on LJ: lunadatura
Why this must be read: lundatura writes gorgeous prose, with unique insight into the characters. The pairings she writes are fairly unusual, but they are absolutely believable in her capable hands. Here, she uses Jack as almost an observer to great effect. The reader rides along with him, feeling his confusion and his longing. At the same time, the small details she chooses make the story spring to life.

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Possession

Fandom: STARGATE SG-1
Pairing: Sam/Janet
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: n/a

Why this must be read: Divide and Conquer is one of those love-it-or-hate-it episodes. If you're a Sam/Jack shipper, you probably love it. If your OTP is Sam/anyone else you probably hate it. But the fannish reaction to the episode frequently overlooks another significant relationship that came to a tragic end during this ep: Sam's relationship with Martouf, which ended when she was forced to kill him herself.

Rutherford takes the relationships given such shallow treatment onscreen and in this short story unveils them in all their complexities. Though the established relationship in this story is Sam/Janet, Rutherford doesn't ignore the Sam/Jack subtext, nor does she allow the characters any easy answers. Told largely from the point of view of a Janet who is afraid she is losing Sam, this is a gut-wrenching look at what might have happened after the credits rolled.

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Side Effects: Divide and Conquer

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair, Jim/F
Author on LJ: basingstoke
Author Website: Basingstoke's Home
Why this must be read: basingstoke is a great writer with a unique, quirky tone to her fics. She writes great dialogue that reminds me of Aaron Sorkin (Sports Night, West Wing). I love her style. This is a short fic where Blair torments Jim a bit in the name of love and insecurity.

Nefarious Device

Fandom: NINJA TURTLES
Pairing: none, gen-fic
Author on LJ: Not that I know of
Author's webpage: Ria-angelo's TMNT Homepage - Her fics are posted here, but it isn't her site.
Why this must be read:

I declare it young-TMNT week!

If you're going to play in TMNT fandom at all, you're eventually going to encounter Kim's work. Her longer stories, Dark Journey and Soujourn are well-known in the fandom and DJ placed in the 2nd Annual TMNT Fanfic Awards.

Little Trouble is a cute story set when the Turtles are about ten. Splinter's gone out for supplies and they decide to launch an unsupervised expedition to Central Park. There are only two problems: They don't know where they're going and Splinter's going to be so mad when he finds out.

Kim manages to give each of the guys a personality that is childlike, yet still their own. Raph is pushy, but not antagonistic. Don's a bookworm, but not withdrawn. Leo's the huffy responsible one, but he's not yet become burdened. Mike is Mike. ^_^

"Then plot our course Navigator."

"Aye, Cap'n. Course plotted and locked in." Don folded the map for easy reference, and picked up the compass. "Warp speed available now."

"Wait a minute, if he's Helm, then how come he's talkin' like Scotty?"

"Double duty. Helm got killed."

"But they don't wear red shirts!"

"We can't trust you with a map. You'd have us lost in five minutes."


Little Trouble in Big New York by Kim Garvin

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Gen
Length: 50,000 words
Author on LJ: persephone_kore
Author Website: Andrea13 and Persephone Kore's Sugar Quill Profile Page, Andrea13's Homepage

Why this must be read:

This series was always an AU, but it became even more so when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released. Rowling's characterization of young Tom Marvolo Riddle, his mother Merope Gaunt, and Slytherin's other descendants differs significantly from what appears in this series, but that does not make the Stepbrothers stories any less of a great read.

The story veers off from canon at the birth of Tom Riddle. What if his mother lived, the authors ask. And what if she eventually married Rubeus Hagrid's father? I know it sounds far-fetched, but the authors make it work remarkably well.

The whole point of the AU is that Tom Riddle has a family, and most importantly, has a "little" brother whom he loves and takes care of. This significantly alters many events, not the least of which are those surrounding the Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk in Tom's fifth year.

The entire series is a delightful read, written in Rowlingesque style. Tom grapples with his heritage, his absent father, and his sometime darker impulses, but the outcome is very different from canon. As of the final story, the authors did indicate that they have more ideas for the series' continuation, but they have not added to it in some time. It is complete as is, however, and the series ends with Tom's confrontation with his Muggle father Tom Riddle. This confrontation ties up several plot threads and provides a satisfying conclusion to the series, although I certainly would like to see more of this AU. Highly recommended.

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Tea Leaves

( Other Stories in the Series )