June 13th, 2007 
06:44 am The Price of Expedience by Kaneko and Speranza (PG)
Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Authors on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] kaneko and [livejournal.com profile] cesperanza
Author Websites: Kaneko at Anyroad and Speranza's Fiction

Why this must be read:
Great Fraser voice, hilarious use of Dead!Bob, and the canonesque ridiculousness of the plot make this a light-hearted, enjoyable story. It's a short piece, and those unfamiliar with the show will still enjoy this tale of an unexpectedly expedient coming out.

The Price of Expedience
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07:44 am Our Dancing Days by SDWolfpup (PG-13)
Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Benton Fraser/Ray Vecchio
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] sdwolfpup
Author Website: Wolfpup Serenade and LJ Memories

Why this must be read:
This is my favorite sort of Fraser/Vecchio, angstless and full of done-deep love and friendship. The side order of Vecchio snark is much appreciated, as is the Ray POV.

I chuckled out loud as I read this established relationship, "Fraser & Ray's Excellent Adventures in Canada" story.

Our Dancing Days
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08:07 am When Harley Met Kory by David Hines (PG)
Fandom: DC COMICS
Characters/Pairing[s]: Harley Quinn, Starfire, Killer Moth, Gotham City
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] hradzka
Author Website: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/524676/
Why this must be read:
Hey, look, it's a story without a NC-17 rating! I am actually more of a fan of non-smut stories than might be thought. [livejournal.com profile] hradzka writes awesome stories, gen and het mostly, and his gen never makes me feel as if the setting has been artificially sanitized to keep sex from intruding. This particular story is like a Harley-centric episode of Batman: The Animated Series with Perez&Wolfman's Kory flying around in it; it’s dangerous, delightful, and every victory is earned. It’s got a perfect Harley voice, a great twisty caper, The Philosophy of Team-ups, original characters that breathe, and is just gloriously fun story all around.
An Excerpt )

When Harley Met Kory
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09:37 am Minuet by penknife (PG)
Fandom: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Pairing: Gen - with background Will/Elizabeth
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] penknife
Author Website: Penknife to Paper
Why this must be read: Governor Swann! I love Governor Swann! I don't know why Weatherby doesn't get more love in this fandom. I can't possibly be the only one who finds Jonathan Pryce hot. There's a lot of opportunity for angst from him, and he's such a good reflective surface for the other characters.

“Minuet” finds Weatherby reflecting on the events of CotBP on his daughter. [livejournal.com profile] penknife has such a strong understanding of the characters: she acknowledges their flaws without villianizing anyone. I particularly like the section of this story about how Elizabeth's abduction would have affected her reputation (which is totally something no one goes into in a PG-13 Disney flick), how Norrington wouldn't have held it against her, and how Will wouldn't have thought about it.

Minuet
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05:48 pm Someone to Watch Over Me, by Firefox (PG)
Fandom: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Black Raptor listing
Why this must be read:

Buck, Vin, and Ezra are assigned to protect a visiting English school matron who witnessed a crime. All does not go well. Think the Marx Brothers meet Super Nanny. This light-hearted romp had me laughing out loud. Enjoy!

Take a peek )

Someone To Watch Over Me

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07:20 pm Freeport by Maldoror (NC-17)
Fandom: GUNDAM WING (fandom summary)
Pairing: Duo Maxwell/Chang Wufei
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] maldoror_gw
Author Website: a little piece of gundam wing or Gundam Wing Addiction
Why this must be read:

Because aside from being great fanfiction, it's also an amazing sci-fi story, and showcases some very talented world-building.

Maldoror creates an unsettling post-war world, one where Endless Waltz, and the rosy picture of peace it left us with, never happened. Instead, the Earth Sphere Unified Nation is plagued by terrorism and continuing economic crises in the worst-hit areas. Crime and drug addiction are rampant, and relentlessly cheerful television programming serves to pacify the population.

In AC 200, Wufei is working for the Preventers. He's less than pleased when his newest mission requires the cooperation of his wartime ally, Duo, an occasional petty smuggler. Duo is the Preventer's entry into Freeport, an independent colony renowned for its shipbuilding---and its unsavoury reputation for criminal activity. Wufei is prepared to blend in with a crowd of smugglers, drug dealers, and pirates...but Freeport turns out to be unlike anything he was expecting....

Excerpt )

Freeport is slash, but for most of the story it reads more like gen. It's long (34 chapters), with an engrossing, tightly-woven plot. And it's even surprisingly funny in places.

Freeport
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07:49 pm A Hell of a Yarn, by SaraQ [NC17]
Fandom: POPSLASH
Pairing: JC Chasez/AJ Maclean
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] sarahq
Author Website: http://www.kekkai.org/sarahq/
Why this must be read:

This is a gorgeous AU (written for DWNOGA 2005) in which JC is the owner of a yarn shop, and AJ sells skateboards. I covet this JC characterisation more than I can say. He's got the cute and fluffy side and, at the same time, he's a smart and capable businessman. We need more stories in which JC is both intelligent and adorable.
Read more... )
A Hell of a Yarn
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08:00 pm Delicate Procedures by WhittyOne (R)
Fandom: ER
Pairing: Elizabeth Corday/Rocket Romano
Author on LJ: none (I think)
Author Website: ff.net profile
Why this must be read:

Written in season 8, pre-chop and thus building off the early spark between Elizabeth and Romano instead of the season 9 angst, this sexy, smart fic imagines Elizabeth coming to terms with an unbidden and at least half unwanted attraction to Romano, weaving in between the events of the show starting in season 5. At the pivotal moment, smartass banter turns into genuine connection.

WhittyOne takes their razor-sharp wits and fierce rivalry and ratchets up the intensity, writing a spot-on Elizabeth voice that stays true to the spirit of the woman who once propositioned Peter Benton with a hard-boiled egg, and digging deep into the boredom and frustration that ate away her ambition and spunk. And what relieves boredom and frustration? Hot doctor-doctor sex, obviously...

Excerpt )

Delicate Procedures
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09:54 pm Awakening Series by Nix (PG)
Hi, Kweevil here! M. is letting me take the [livejournal.com profile] crack_van out for a quick spin around the block, and here's what I'm bringing back for your reading pleasure:

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Gibbs/DiNozzo
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] crimsonquills
Author Website: www.crimsonquills.com

Why this must be read: The Awakening series combines two of my favorite things: NCIS and speculative fiction. I don't know about you, but I've always wondered what it would be like if our world were exactly the same, only everyone had...powers. Nix answers the question brilliantly. There's no hint of hyperbole here, nothing over the top; in this three-story series, their emerging psychic abilities are just another reality Gibbs and DiNozzo—and everyone else in the world—have to deal with.

The description of one of the stories includes the phrase "world building," and I hope it really is. I would love to see more of this world!

Not everyone had showed the signs, at first, and those who talked about what was happening were labeled crackpots. But only for a few days. Soon enough the Awakening came to everyone.
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10:21 pm Grounds for Annulment by Sub Rosa (PG)
Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Author profile on A Teaspoon and a Open Mind
Why this must be read:

As Doctor-Companion relationships go the Sixth Doctor and Peri didn't get off to the best of starts, what with him trying to strangle her and all, but they quickly settled down into a sort of odd couple relationship. Sub Rosa gets under the skin of both characters and shows us that underneath all the bickering they really are the best of friends.

Also, it's incredibly funny and makes smashing use of one of the oldest cliches in fandom.


Peri giggled. “Sooo, are we really married now?” she asked sweetly.

A peel sailed through the air and landed on her head with a “Thwap”.

“What do you think?” the Doctor asked. His tone indicated that he was not amused.

Peri guessed he was only mildly annoyed by her impertinent question. She wiped fruit residue off her forehead.

“I figure since we were coerced into pledging ourselves to one another in the sight of a god neither of us believe in I would say no, we’re not.”

That earned her a smile. “If you had it all figured out, why’d you ask?”

Peri grinned. “I thought it might make you feel better to yell at me. Besides I was gonna divorce you and take half the TARDIS.”

The Doctor made a huffing sound. “I think not. My TARDIS is not ‘property in common’.”



Grounds for Annulment
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