so i've been reading the Drinking 'n' Fighting archive a lot lately, because it's always fun to catch up on new and old authors.  i ran across an old pair of favorites by Eclipse and Stan Lee set in the Escorts AU.  above and beyond the angst-ridden past and present of the boys in this AU, the blatant sensuality - the joy they take in sex in all it's myriad variations - is one of the things that attracts me most to this setting.  it's one of the most well-done 'hooker universes' out there.


Fandom: Magnificent 7: Escorts AU
Pairing: Chris/Buck, Buck/Vin, Chris/Buck/Vin, Chris/Vin, Vin/Ezra, Vin/JD
Length: 27k words, sequal 71k words (and yes, they should be read as a set)
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Eclipse on Drinking 'n' Fighting

Why this must be read:

I love reading stories that deal with Chris's continuing reactions to Sarah's and Adam's deaths.  It's such an integral part of his personality that it deserves frequent consideration.  The Escorts AU is one of the darker versions of Chris out there - in this AU, he's really not entirely stable, although he passes well, and his and Buck's relationship, although long-standing and deep, has an equal thread of unhealthy, twisted anger running through that seems to bounce around between them.  Sometimes it's not really noticeable, but just as often it's expressed in ways that would never be considered healthy in normal people, but that work for them.

You always hurt... and the follow-up sequal The Ones You Love deal with Chris' reaction to a client that reminds him very much of Sarah.  The results of this are predictably disastrous for Chris' and Buck's relationship.  But the stories themselves flesh out much of the universe background, and include truly well-done BDSM scenes.  And this is important, because the I can count on one knuckle the number of times I've seen reasonable, realistic, non-creepy BDSM scenes outside the Escorts AU.  Yet we also get to see Chris as a sweet and caring lover. 




You Always Hurt....

The Ones You Love

-bs

Fandom: NUMB3RS
Pairing: Don/Charlie
Length: ~1,200 words
Author on LJ: missmollyetc
Author Website: Numb3rs tag on LJ
Why this must be read: Because there is something very, very hot about Don fighting his attraction to Charlie. And then finding out he didn’t have to. Did I mention hot? *g*

He'd promised not to bother Charlie while he was working. He'd promised himself no to take what Charlie really wasn't offering. He wasn't--hadn't. A drum began to beat in Don's chest, rolling and lush.

Lazy Saturday

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Ray Toro/Bob Bryar, Frank Iero/Gerard Way (Mikey Way/Alicia Simmons-Way)
Author on LJ: cimness, bexless
Author Website: Strange Delight and cimorene.net
Why this must be read:

Week three of my recs are going to be AUs. There's an abundance of absolutely fabulous AUs in this fandom, so I'm not sure how I'll be able to narrow it down, but I'll do my very best. I'm cheating here, because this is actually three amazing stories all in the same universe. cimness wrote the first and second, both of them Ray/Bob stories. bexless wrote the third, which is a Gerard/Frank story.

This is a real world AU, where the band members are just guys living in New Jersey. The first story takes place in 2003, and shows Ray and Bob getting together. There's lots of misunderstanding (I won't give it away, but Ray makes one of the most hilarious and awkward mistakes I think I've ever read) and lots of sex, and it's basically awesome. We meet college-aged Frank Iero in this story. The second story is the continuing adventures of Bob and Ray, which kicks off two years after the end of the first one. Frank is the main character of the third installment, which takes place in 2006. Frank now heads an indie record label, and Mikey Way is his right hand man. Frank needs a roommate, and Mikey hooks him up with his basement-dwelling artist brother, Gerard. What follows is one of the most adorable courtships ever textually rendered. There's more misunderstanding - it wouldn't be a romantic comedy without people being stupid - and lots of cuddling.

If you don't want to dedicate your whole day to these stories, know that the first and third ones can be read on their own. The second story is pretty dependent on the first one, though, so that you understand Ray and Bob's relationship. You should totally dedicate your day to them, though.

( Excerpt )

1 - ABSENCE SORT OF DOES MAKE THE HEART by cimness

2 - WORTH IT by cimness

3 - CONCLUSIONS by bexless

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Pairing: Gen; Simon, Six
Length: 1500 words
Author on LJ: brokenmnemonic
Author Website: link to fics on his LJ
Why this must be read: Cylon mentality is fascinating to me; I love reading fic that explores the differences between them and humans, and the changes from one model to the next. This is an insert piece for the episode 'The Farm.' Simon and Six discuss Kara, the other cylon models and their purposes... a well-written, interesting story.

(Written for the first challenge at the bsg_hiatusthon; a complete list of the first challenge fics is here.)


Prompt #9

Fandom: HOUSE
Pairing: none
Length: 1560 words
Author on LJ: namasteyoga
Author's website: all of Namaste's House fic can be found here
Why this must be read: Well, first of all, beacuse it's Namaste, who is one of the best authors in the fandom. I was surprised to see that only one of her fics was recced before. Although it was Tracking Time, her longest (if I am not mistaken) and most epic story. In the Beginning is a wonderful introduction into Season 4. It captures the reactions of all the newbies to House. It manages to create convincing characters in just a few words, and through all their different eyes House emerges in all his complexity. 

In the Beginning

Fandom: DEATH NOTE
Pairing: Light/L
Length: Oneshot
Author on LJ: edmondia
Author Website: Edmondia's Abode
Why this must be read: I was hard-pressed to pick an individual story by Edmondia; her ongoing Light/L/Misa divergence AU is absolutely phenomenal in every way, and her oneshots are no less superb. I chose "Missing" because it does something that is very difficult to do, which is convince me of a Light who has any emotional attachment to L after he you-know-whatted him (something I saw no indication of in canon). It works because Edmondia's prose is elegant and guttingly intense, and her Light is vicious, twisted, intelligent, and compelling. I love the way she writes him, and I bet you will too.


Missing

Title: 68 Wives
Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Pairing: Methos/OCs
Author: Hmpf MacSlow (hmpf)
Author Website: Hmpf's fan fiction
Why this must be read:
They're all here, resident in Methos's mind and revived in snatches of memory. I really like Hmpf's meticulous writing and the careful joining and flow of these descriptions. The descriptions, in waves, are sensual and evocative and give a feeling of great age and timelessness. I said originally that they led Methos to a thoughtful conclusion, but on rereading, that's wrong. It's the reader who draws conclusions. (ETA to add a bit.)

( A taste )
68 Wives