Fandom: STARGATE: ATLANTIS
Pairing: Beckett/Sheppard
Author on LJ: zortified
Author Website: Gila's Cave
Why this must be read: This is a terrific little fic featuring a rare SGA slash pairing. James writes Beckett really well. I love the way she packs so much into such a short fic: the knocking theme, evolution of a romance, a misunderstanding, angst, humor, and a happy resolution. Perfection!

( Excerpt )

Knocking

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website:
Why this must be read:

Blair's nomadic childhood is the stuff of much TS fic. This story distills nicely (and almost poetically) the general fanon sense of what this must have been like for him and what his friendship with Jim represents.

( An excerpt )

Counting in Fives

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: None
Authors on LJ: drjetb and unknown
Author Website: JET's stories are at Starfox's Mansion and MegaRed's are at MegaRed's Big Mess.
Why this must be read:

My final rec of the month! It's been fun. I hope you've found something you like!

Jim's fear of betrayal is a common theme in canon and in fanfic. In this story, this fear almost leads to tragedy.

I come back to this story over and over.

( An excerpt )

Endureth for the Night

(or, five Valentines Cuddy never gave House)

Fandom: HOUSE
Pairings: Cuddy/Tritter, Cuddy/Foreman, Cuddy/Wilson, Cuddy/Julie Whitner, Cuddy/Cameron/Chase, Cuddy/Cameron, Cuddy/House
Author on LJ: ijemanja

Why this must be read: A lovely and hilarious crack!fic written post-Insensitive, when House interrupts Cuddy's date. Cuddy doesn't get mad, (ok, she does get mad) she gets even. And obviously, hilarity ensues. If you need something to smile about, this fic will definitely help!

Revenge is best served smokin' hot

STARSKY AND HUTCH:
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch
Author on LJ:http://loyseofverlaine.livejournal.com
Author Website: http://shslash.kassidyrae.com (scroll down for Verlaine)
Why this must be read:

This a long and fabulously constructed AU. Verlaine has a beautifully clean and fluent style that carries you off into her universe, and makes you believe every word of it, no matter what your prior expectations and preferences might have been.

In this dark and intense story, Starsky and Hutch respond to a late-night call to a disturbance in a museum, get separated, and suddenly, in a kind of Alice through the Looking Glass way (but that's a terrible analogy, you have to see for yourself) find themselves separated and living completely different lives. In the parallel world that we know, they are both trying to find the other who appears to have vanished. The two worlds are woven together perfectly. I don't really know how she did it!

It's nearly impossible to find a perfect representation of this story without giving anything away, but I'll try.


( Read a short excerpt )

But an excerpt can't possibly do this story justice.


A World Full of Jokers

Fandom: HEROES
Pairing: Peter/Nathan
Author on LJ: just_katarin
Author Website: Not to my knowledge.
Why this must be read:

This little fic is a beautiful take on the development of the incestuous relationship between Nathan and Peter as they grow up together. And while it is hot and moving and even adorable, it also has just the right undercurrent of disturbing, considering the subject matter. This has remained one of my very favourite views of Nathan/Peter.


Some Things Never Change

Fandom: HEROES
Pairing: Nathan/Peter
Author on LJ: entangled_now
Author Website: libraryofsol
Why this must be read:

This story is a frankly remarkable description of how Nathan helps Peter put himself back together again after he explodes above New York. The way Corona invokes Peter's absolute brokenness is dizzying, startling, breathtaking, and the endless depth of the relationship between the brothers here is gorgeous beyond words. To me, this is easily one of the best Heroes stories out there.


World Turned Upside Down

Fandom: HEROES
Pairing: Matt/Mohinder
Author on LJ: out_there
Author Website: Amazed by the Mathematics
Why this must be read:

The M3 household - little Molly Walker and her two daddies, Matt and Mohinder - was an instant fic writers' magnet at the start of Heroes season two. The sheer adorableness of the canon set-up was just hard to stay away from. Sadly, this has resulted in a veritable flood of M3 bad!fic. However, there are a few writers who consistently bring the awesome to the Matt/Mohinder pairing, and out_there is one of them.

Start Me Over features a Matt filled with insecurities, poised on the verge of restarting his life, discovering the full scope of what his new family can be, and a Mohinder who is every bit as startlingly brilliant and beautifully tender as he should be. This fic is domestic, sweet and insightful, and if nothing else, you should read it for Matt's windows into Mohinder's thoughts, which floored me with the pure rightness of the character portrayal.


Start Me Over

STARSKY AND HUTCH:
Pairing: none (gen)
Author on LJ: myrebelcat
Author Website:http://community.livejournal.com/starsky_hutch/608072.html#cutid2
Why this must be read:

This is about the rape of a main character, and it's disturbing and intense, and many folks might avoid it because of the topic. There really isn't any right or wrong way to do justice to the issue in a rape fic, but usually authors resort to cliches, and trite outcomes, and don't seem to understand how complex the aftermath of a rape is for the victim and friends/family. Especially when the victim is male, and a cop. This is the only rape fic I've come across that in my opinion gets it right. Not so much in the specifics of how these particular characters handle the trauma, but in the way their thoughts, feelings, and responses are shown.

The author made the unusual but brilliant choice to write [I originally typo'd "right" which is also true] in second person, present tense. I think she did it instinctively, maybe without thinking, hmm, this story needs to be written this way, but she made absolutely the right choice, and I think it's the one single most important reason why the story works so perfectly. The second person is so typical, so normal, when a victim relates a trauma, and that's what makes this sound so real.

It's dark, yes, and emotional, yes, but it's absolutely brilliant, and in my opinion, this consistently excellent writer's best work.



( Read some: )



Any Day Now

Fandom: STARGATE SG1
Pairing: gen
Author on LJ: none that I know of
Author Website: Sylvia at Alpha Gate
Why this must be read:

This long, absorbing story is filled with drama, sacrifice and friendship. It is violent, disturbing and contains slavery. READ THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Warnings aside, this story is worth the risk. SG-1 is dropped into a disturbingly similar to Ancient Rome, right down to the people who inhabit it. In a world that is both alien and strangely familiar, the team must find a way to navigate through this world at at a distinct disadvantage, not knowing who is friend or foe.

For every step taken forward, two are taken back. There are both emotional and physical conflicts. You'll be sorry once this story reaches its conclusion.

Without further ado, I give you

When In Rome

Attn. Drivers: Tomorrow is the last Friday of the month, which means it's time for Friday Night Drive-In, a.k.a. Fan Vid Recs! Reccers may post 1 vid rec for their fandom, formatted as follows:

Subject Line: VID REC: Fandom - Song Title

Vidder:
Musical artist:
Pairing:
Vidder on LJ:
Vidder's website:
Why this vid kicks ass:


Because the vidder community has some unique ownership issues, it’s important that reccers be extra careful when making vid recs. Depending on the vidder’s preferences regarding public access to their work, please link your rec in the appropriate manner:

1. If the video is publicly accessible, direct link to the web page the vid is linked on, or if it’s the vidder’s request, to the HTML splash page of their site.

or…

2. Link to the site with instructions on acquiring the password, if the site is protected – do not reveal the password yourselves.

or…

3. Provide contact info for the vidder if their vids are only available privately (tapes, dvd-R’s, collections, etc.).


Do not:
Hotlink, i.e. link directly to the video file rather than the webpage.
Re-upload videos that a vidder has removed from the web.
Delay in removing a vid rec if requested to do so by the vidder.

Thank you!

Fandom: THE X FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully (also features Mulder/Other and Scully/Other)
Author on LJ:
Author Website: X-Files Fanfic
Why this must be read:

For my last rec this month, I wanted to offer something hopeful. aka 'Jake' has written a long and intricate tale of colonisation and post-colonisation predicated on the the question: what if colonisation happened early? Her answer is as dark and bleak as one would expect from the end of the world. And yet there is ultimate redemption at the hands of an unexpected source. Through faithful incorporation of canon Mytharc and vividly imagined original twists, aka 'Jake' delivers a sometimes difficult, but honest and ultimately rewarding, story about courage and humanity in all its forms.

Read Abaddon's Reign.

Fandom: DC COMICS
Pairing: Connor Hawke (Green Arrow)/Kyle Rayner (Green Lantern)
Author on LJ: keelywolfe
Author's Website: Keelywolfe's Fanfiction
Why this must be read:

Uh, 'cause it's hot? And we don't have nearly enough Green Arrow/Green Lantern fic, darn it! This is kind of a canon fix, but you don't have to have read Connor's miniseries to appreciate this fic :) (You must love Connor and Kyle. It's like a law or something. They are woobies.)

( Read an excerpt )

Through High Windows

Fandom: HOUSE
Pairing: Cuddy, gen
Author on LJ: jadesfire2808
Author Website: House fic index

Why this must be read: It's a series of interconnected drabbles chronicling Cuddy's life over the years. The flow between them is just lovely, and jadesfire2808 is able to portray a complex an nuanced Cuddy in very few words. It's an excellent character study with revealing cameos from House and Wilson and is overall a very satisfying and enjoyable read!


Songs for the asking

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Chloe Sullivan/Kal, Clark Kent/Chloe Sullivan, mentions of Lana/Clark
Author on Lj: all_you_wanted
Author Website: QueenC's section at "Two of Us" = http://two-of-us.svtometropolis.com/viewuser.php?uid=2

Why this fic must be read:

all_you_wanted has a talent for creating indelible images with a few well-chosen words and an even greater talent for creating a heart-breaking and twisted AU scenarios in the Smallville universe. This story goes AU sometime around season 5 and deals with the aftermath of the worst decision Chloe ever made and, while you're appalled by her actions, you're still rooting for her to find that happiness, even if she hasn't earned it...or, maybe she has.

Excerpt:

I have fallen.

I have sinned.

I have destroyed so many lives in one action.

I sold my soul and lost everything and everyone I cared about all for piece of red rock and a space of time in the arms of the man I've loved since I was no more than a child.

I hurt Lana, my friend and sister, who found us afterwards. Naked, our bodies intertwined, the air of the loft smelling like sex and sin.

I hurt Mr. and Mrs. Kent, who treated me like their own. They trusted me with Clark's secret and then I went and used it against him.

And Clark. He will never be able to forgive me.

(In the Pursuit of Happiness)

Fandom:Popslash
Pairing:Chris/Justin, mentions of Chris/JC
Author on lj:stubbleglitter
Author website:http://boudicca.com/unaware/maggie.html
Why this fic must be read:

This is one of my favorite cute, fluffy fics. It's just Chris and Justin, smoking up and watching Magical Mystery Tour, but somehow they manage to have a conversation about Justin's place in Chris's life. It's sweet, but it's got a longer shelf life than your normal fluff.

"I'm Lennon," Justin sing-songed quietly, watching something weird happen to a stuffed cow onscreen. Chris snorted mightily.

"Julian, maybe," he scoffed. "Sean, perhaps. But not John. I'm John. It's so obvious."

"I'm Paul?" Justin asked hopefully.

Chris's hand started to smooth along his side, ticking off each rib thoughtfully. "What about JC, then? Y'don't think he'll be upset if he's not one of the principals?"

"He can be Yoko."

"ooooh -- is that a little resentment I sense there, Jup?"

Justin jumped a little as Chris's hand brushed over his stomach before moving over and tracing back up his side. He screwed his face up into a moue. "Nah. Just. Y'know."

"I know what?" Chris's fingers danced over Justin's collarbone. "You just nominated JC to be the reason the Beatles broke up. That's pretty harsh."

Ballad of Chris and Juju

(My apologies for the gap in between recs-I had a hard drive crash and it took me awhile to find the cd with my bookmarks. Sorry about that.)

Fandom: STAR WARS PT
Pairing: Gen
Length: 3,300 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: VA-Parky's Fanfiction.net Profile

Why this must be read:

This short story is set soon after the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. Darth Vader is still unaccustomed to his new name and his new limbs. As he struggles to find equilibrium (both literally and metaphorically), he receives a package addressed to his former self. Padmé had arranged to send her husband a message in the event of her death. She inadvertently reveals far more than the newly minted Darth Vader is prepared for.

Though this story is short, it packs quite a punch. I won't lie; this fic is quite angsty. However, it's the good sort of angst. Vader needs to know the truth, and we--the audience--need him to know the truth. We already know the revelation that's coming, but there is a certain satisfaction we derive from Vader discovering it for himself.

Vader is completely in character, which is good, since the fic is from his point of view. He is no longer Anakin Skywalker, but he retains Anakin's insecurities. He's also not quite the Darth Vader of the Original Trilogy, for he is still feeling out his power and how to use it in the new regime. Somewhere in the middle between the two, this Vader is just what he ought to be for the time period.

Overall, this is an excellent story, and the ending is certainly memorable. Read this fic. You won't be disappointed. Highly recommended.

* * *

( Excerpt )

Messages from the Grave