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Fandom: YU YU HAKUSHO Pairings: None, but you could interpret it a couple different ways if you want to. The author says she originally intended it to be Kurama/Yuusuke in later chapters. Author on LJ: kahnAuthor Website: umm... somewhere. She also mods reikawritersWhy this must be read:Deathfics are not rare in the Yu Yu Hakusho fandom. This is to be expected, considering the series kills its characters off regularly (though they usually bring them right back). However few of them touch on the aftermath of a loss quite as well as this piece. Whether it was intentional or not, one thing Kahn did with this story that I really liked, is that we only see three characters react to Kuwabara's death, and those three are the three immortals. Hiei, Yukina and Kurama are all at least a century old and have experienced loss before, but still find themselves somewhat floored by this one. The First Wake is technically the first story in the series 41 Funerals but it stands alone perfectly. This is fortunate since it's also the only story in the series so far. ( I think it's different when you love them. )The First Wake by KahnFull disclosure: kahn and I are both co-mods over at reikaiwriters and she wrote this story as a companion piece to something I had written. So I'm definitely pre-disposed to like this, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a beautifully written piece. | | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Michael/Jan Author on LJ: agateAuthor Website: livejournalWhy this must be read:'shippy fic is one thing; writing a first person Michael Scott this hilarious and misguided? That's art. You'll never convince me this isn't how a canonical Michael/Jan sex scene would go: "The night before, she had been so forceful. Even with her words slightly slurred, she knew how to give direction. “Take off your shorts, Michael. Get on the bed. Wait, are th...take off your socks, Michael. No, take off your socks, Michael.”"Improvisation | | |
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Fandom: WILBY WONDERFUL Pairing: Duck MacDonald / Sandra Anderson Author on LJ: pearl_oAuthor Website: But George You're a CommunistWhy this must be read:Another high school story, but this time the sweetness is tinged bittersweet harsh. Sandra is dumped by her boyfriend, who goes back to his girlfriend and spreads rumors abound Sandra. She turns to Duck for solace and comfort seeing more in it than is being offered. This is one of those stories that packs an extra punch because we know where these characters end up and why they are acting the way they are even when they are confused by it themselves. It's a deft use of everything we know from the movie, stripping it all of polish and cynicism so that it is raw and fresh. ( "Have you ever had sex before?" Sandra whispered, and Duck's smile faltered. )Let Me Go On | | |
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Fandom: SUPERMAN Pairing: Lois/Clark Author on LJ: htbthomasAuthor Website: ff.netWhy this must be read: Another seasonal story from the 12days_of_clois community. Superman Returns is predicated on the hero's five year absence from Earth and, consequently, the life of Lois Lane (and, later, her son, Jason). What happens when, after his return and reconciliation with Lois, Clark tries to make up for five years of missed Christmas? There are trips around the globe (and to Smallville, of course!) but the most important journey is that of the heart. This story, set in htbthomas' Déjà Vu universe, is a perfect, sweet holiday treat. ( Excerpt )Christmas Times Five | | |
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Fandom: ANTHROPOMORFIC Pairing: Qualitative/Quantitative Author on LJ: makesmewannadieAuthor Website: mmwd's writingWhy this must be read: I adore odd-couple stories, and this is the oddest couple of them all. Boggle at the miscommunication! Snicker at the differing worldviews! Be utterly charmed by makesmewannadie's wicked sense of humour. Qualitative/Quantitative | | |
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Fandom: TORCHWOOD Pairing: Jack/Romana (Doctor Who crossover) Author on LJ: lizbeeAuthor Website: mirrorDanceWhy this must be read:Anybody who knows me knows one of my favorite "totally not gonna happen, but damn fun anyway" pairings is Jack/Romana. It's the sadistic side of me I think as I find great glee in the idea of Jack running off with Romana. So it was inevitable that a Jack/Romana fic sneak its way into my recs this month and I have so much love for this one. The summary pretty much starts the glee for me: "A UNIT officer and a Torchwood agent walk out of a bar."and is quite possibly why I let out a rather girlish squeal when Jack referenced UNIT in an episode. But yes, what would happen if Romana met up with Jack in a bar? The Truth Is Hidden In Plain Sight | | |
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Fandom: The Pretender Pairing: Gen Author on LJ: unknown Author Website: seanachaisWhy this must be read:Years ago, 'the Centre steals their DNA and makes amazingly talented little Pretender babies' was an original, thought-provoking concept. Now it's a bit of a stock-standard cliche, but that doesn't stop some stories from taking this idea and shaping it so it's fun, interesting and thoughtful. Little Girl Lost is a series of fics that split off from the Pretender canon after Flesh and Blood (3.08). It starts slow but it becomes a great gen, character-driven piece. Some of the turns of phrase are not as smooth as they could be, but in a piece this long and this fun, such minor quibbles can easily be overlooked in favour of the chase and the mystery. ( an excerpt )Little Girl Lost | | |
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Fandom: BAND OF BROTHERS Pairing: Skinny/Liebgott Author on LJ: Unknown Author Website: Unknown Why this must be read: "A Hollow Target" is another of the gems that came out of Berlin by Christmas 2004. It takes as its inspiration a scene from "Points" in which Liebgott tries to enact (vigilante) justice on the suspected CO of a German concentration camp. In the series, the drama in this scene derives mainly from the conflict between Liebgott and Webster, but Lamadeleine cleverly adds to its moral ambiguity by narrating from the perspective of Skinny Sisk--a young soldier who spends the story emulating both Liebgott and Webster as he tries to learn the meaning of war. What's special about this story is how, in a relatively small space, it manages to flesh out a character who barely speaks in the series, and does so in often very beautiful language that never feels inappropriate to its narrator or subject. ( An excerpt )A Hollow Target | | |
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Fandom: GETBACKERS Pairing: none Author on LJ: archangelbethAuthor's Website: none Why this must be read: Because people in GetBackers keep talking about "professionalism" and this fic is a sterling example of Professionalism At Its Finest. Hevn gets short shrift in fandom - she's outwardly not very interesting, seeming to be something between a plot device and a stereotype - but once you take a little longer to look at her, she's just as fascinating as the main characters. And Akabane at his cheerful, bloody best is always worth a read. That would have been chilling, she decided as she blinked, if you didn't know that Doctor Jackal was a selective psychopath. It would have been more dangerous for her to be unconscious in the midst of a kindergarten; they'd have had permanent markers. Akabane wouldn't bother to torture an unconscious non-combatant. There was no test in it.untitled | | |
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Fandom: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN Pairing: Jack Twist/Ennis del Mar, Ennis del Mar/OMC Author on LJ: no_reinsAuthor Website: Index postWhy this must be read:As the author states: My goal here was simple: get Ennis out of the damn trailer at the movie/novella’s end, a place where he had nothing and needed nothing, into a place of possibility, where he could stand in the middle of life as a participant, not as a helpless observer.He does just that with a style that’s evocative of Proulx but stands all on its own. Blunt, lyrical, and straightforward, Riding Fence explores just what happens to a man who lives in the shadow of death and how he can remember life when the ones you love remind you what’s worth being here for. Even though in the fandom this type of story is deemed MO!Ennis (for moving-on Ennis), Jack is so deeply infused into this story that I am completely confident in listing Ennis/Jack as the primary pairing. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking, and hopeful, and a wonderful compliment to the canon. ( Excerpt )Riding Fence: Chapter 1 Riding Fence: Chapter Index
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Fandom: TWIN PEAKS Pairing: Cooper/Audrey Author on LJ: yahtzee63Author Website: http://www.thechicagoloop.net/yahtzee/Why this must be read: I’ve been seeing Yuletide icons all over my friends list today, so it seems like an appropriate time to spotlight a story from the Yuletide archive. This story incorporates many of the show’s recurring visual motifs: red draperies, velvet, the contrast of white against black. It also captures some of the dreaminess of life in Twin Peaks. Agent Cooper, for one, finds himself subject to extremely vivid and enlightening dreams during the Laura Palmer investigation. This one, however, concerns a very different matter... ( ‘I have a clue for you,’ she promised. Slowly, Audrey uncrossed her legs... ) Black and White and Red All Over | | |
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