Fandom: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: ambiguous - Napoleon/Illya, depending on your interpretation
Author on LJ: azdak
Author's Website: See her LJ.
Rating: PG-13 because of the emotional content.
Why this must be read:

Angst over the loss or the potential loss of a partner in this fandom is nothing new.  While many authors have skillfully explored the emotional fallout and resulting revelations (the St. Crispins universe, shayheyred's Phoenix, Patricia Foley's Partners and Taliesin's Revenant series are but a few of the previously rec'd that come to mind), one would think that in all the combination and permutations of fanfic out there the subject has been covered to death (apologies for that poor unintentional pun).

Thankfully azdak has convinced me otherwise.  Ice Prince Illya masking a bleeding heart is a cliche that I'd like to bury with all the Thrush goons who didn't succumb to sleep darts, but our author is too skilled to fall into such a simplistic character trap.  I love her portrayal of a coolly professional, older Illya coming to terms with the possibility that not all is what it seems with the demise of Napoleon Solo.  We have some illuminating commentary from other UNCLE HQers past and present - her OC Sam Parks is hilariously believable but no mere comic relief.  But what stands out most are the brief interactions between Napoleon and Illya that tell us so much more than what some authors take entire fics to say.

Please waste no time in reading Divided Halves.

Fandom: STARGATE: ATLANTIS
Pairing: Teyla Emmagan/Elizabeth Weir
Author on LJ: quasiradiant
Author Website: poorly kept secrets
Why this must be read:

As I peruse the previous Atlantis recs on this community, all 166 of them, to make sure I don't bore you with duplicate recs, I can find exactly one femslash story. One. It seems like a small number. And it's either an accidental, tragic oversight, or no one really wants femslash around here. In which case I'm not judging you, I'm just saying that you're going to be really bored right now. There will be boys in the next set, I'm almost mostly completely certain.

But I think I'm supposed to be telling you this why this particular story is great, not extolling the virtues of girls kissing each other in general. Right. It's great because in it, Elizabeth has a dildo. And there is no way for that not to be interesting, you would think, but then the story is sexy and sweet and has Teyla learning just that little bit more about Earth. And maybe Elizabeth learning some things too. PWP in the best sense.

Also, Teyla and Elizabeth are pretty.

Teyla's standing there in her sitting room holding a small cardboard box. She's obviously come directly from the avian action, and her hair is mussed and her flak vest is open and her holster is still strapped tight around her thigh and -- Elizabeth realizes she's staring.

Cultural Exchange

Fandom: STARGATE: ATLANTIS
Pairing: Teyla Emmagan/Sora
Author on LJ: queenzulu
Author Website: Moebius Imaginings
Why this must be read:

From the annual femslash07, which always brings the multifandom girl-kissing fabulousness. Atlantis fandom is full of pairings which are based on minor characters and relatively little interaction, but make perfect sense once in the hands of the right authors. (Just in case, this is Sora.) From the few details in Sora's short arc, Zulu crafts a lovely Five Things AU. Five ways that Teyla and Sora might have gotten their own ever after, with the cumulative effect creating a ghost-story of the reasons that, in our universe, they never, ever, could. Filled with elegant details, and bittersweet.

And they're pretty.

Sora straightens her shoulders--she is, she always has been, very proud--and Teyla notices for the first time the dirt that covers Sora's skirts, the sweat that has dried in her red-golden hair. "What has happened?" she asks, reaching out to take Sora's arm. Sora steps back, out of her reach, and only stares tight-lipped defiance at her.

Happily Ever