I mentioned the sacred spaces of bandom before, right? There are many: vans, backstage at venues, Pete Wentz's mansion, Angels&Kings, and of course various parts of New Jersey, Las Vegas, and Chicago. It's that last one this story focuses in on. Not the suburban Wilmette of early FOB stories, but the more urban anonymous Chicago of the lonely Jon Walker story. I love this Chicago, where it almost always snows.

Fandom: Bandom (Panic-centric)
Pairing: Jon/Spencer
Length: 7,100~
Author on LJ: beingothrwrldly

Why this must be read: After touring, the three Vegas boys go home, and Jon goes back to Chicago and rattles around in his silent apartment. And then Spencer knocks on his door with snowflakes on his eyelashes, and Jon has to let him in, because it turns out he's run away.

He's wearing a jacket that's probably something designer, something that's definitely too thin for Chicago in January, and Jon tightens his grip on the doorknob and stares at him. "They joined PFLAG," Spencer says with a sigh, his words coming out in small puffs of white breath. "My parents joined PFLAG, and I can't handle it anymore." He takes a deep breath and winces a little. "And dude, is it always this fucking cold here? Because I might have to rethink my escape plan."

Jon takes him inside and gives him jammies and lets Spencer play with his cat. And we learn the reasons Spencer's parents join PFLAG, and just how much Jon is involved, and my heart gets all trepidatious and clench-y with how they move around each other quietly in Jon's apartment, listening to each others sounds and hoping - hoping all kinds of things.


The Brightest of all the Colors by Beingothrwrldly

Fandom: HOUSE MD
Pairing: House/Wilson
Length: 4497 words
Author on LJ: magie_05
Author Website: None (fic is on her LJ)
Why this must be read:

The author's summary tells the story better than I can: "Wilson has imagined his first time with House so many times, he just knows that when it happens, it's going to be perfect."

Canon has demonstrated time and again that Wilson's idealistic imaginings almost never come out the way he pictured them.

magie_05 shows us how, in this case, that's a good thing. Hot, and funny, and insightful -- bliss.

Phantasmorgasm

Fandom: STARSKY & HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch (slash)
Length: 188K total
Author on LJ: DNA (I don't believe)
Author Website: http://www.thepitsarchive.com/stories/Reggie/Reggie.htm
Why this must be read:

I only just discovered this author and this series in particular. I'm so glad I found her! She isn't someone I'd heard a lot about. Of course, perhaps there are entire lists devoted to discussing her work, and I just don't know about them. There are/have been a lot of authors writing in S&H, past and present, so it's difficult to keep tabs on everyone.

I'm not usually a fan of songfic, as I find a lot of it overly sentiment and not particularly well done. That can't be said of this series, which was inspired by the music of Paul Simon. Negotiations & Love Stories is a series of seven stories. None of them are particularly long. They range is size from 22K to 34K. When read together, it feels as if you're viewing snapshots, instances or moments plucked from the lives of these two men.

The series begins post-SR. Despite a recent setback, Starsky has recovered to the point where he could qualify for reinstatement with the police force. But he doesn't want to. He wants to do something else with his life and fears dropping that bombshell on his partner.

Hutch takes the announcement better than Starsky had thought he might. So Starsk decides to reveal something even more earth-shaking. He's fallen in love with his partner. When Hutch takes that too in stride, the men begin a tentative journey into the next stage of their lives.

They move in together. Hutch gets a new partner and Starsky goes back to school. These stories trace how their lives weave together in ways both tender and pretty darned funny. There's a bit of angst thrown in, and one story gives me my hurt/comfort fix. But for the most part, this is a gentle series that doesn't really focus on the momentous events in the guys' lives, but the quiet, everyday ones. Not a ton happens in each story, but the cumulative effect is one of an entire universe being reshaped in ways that are utterly new, yet at the same time familiar and almost inevitable. It's a lovely, satisfying read.

( Read a bit from Negotiations & Love Stories )

In order, the stories included in the series are:

Something So Right (34K) - NC-17
A Good Time (25K)
Hearts & Bones (22K) - NC-17
Still Crazy (23K)
After the War (23K)
Late in the Evening (29K)
St. Judy's Comet (32K) - NC-17

 

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Fraser/Vecchio
Length: About 13 K
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: There are a bunch of her fics here; you'll have to scroll down a bit
Why this must be read:

In this story, Ray agrees to help give Diefenbaker a bath, largely because of the prospect of seeing the Mountie all wet and flustered. I truly enjoy seeing Fraser through Ray's lust-clouded eyes, because although Fraser is obviously beautiful, it's only from Ray's point of view that I can generally see him as sexy.

I realize this is probably not true for anyone else. Nevertheless, you are sure to find this story enjoyable. (It might also be a good idea to watch Vault or at least dig up some screencaps to help you properly visualize Fraser soaked to the bone.)

Ulterior Motives

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski/Vecchio (also Fraser/Vecchio, Fraser/Kowalski, and Kowalski/Vecchio)
Length: 4,100 words
Author on LJ: etben
Author Website: etben's due south tags
Why this must be read:

I generally do not go in for threesomes; due South is one of the only fandoms I will make an exception for. The thing is, I want these guys to end up happy, and I don't want anyone to be left out. Fortunately, Fraser is so loving and generous and unwilling to compromise on what's really important, and Kowalski and Vecchio love him so much in their different ways, that you can see how they might make it work.

This story was written for the due South Match challenge, for Team Romance (as opposed to Team Angst), which means that things work out okay for them, and it's a fun ride, with nice Vecchio point of view. (Aside: are F/K/V fics always from the point of view of one of the Rays? I can't at the moment think of any exceptions. Anyone know of any?)

Not My Usual Thing

Fandom: BOONDOCK SAINTS
Pairing: Connor/Murphy
Author on LJ: dien
Author Website: BDS tag at author's journal
Why this must be read: Beautiful, tragic, sad. This is a short fic and I don’t want to give too much away. A prayer for forgivness from a brother who wants what he can't have.

( Excerpt )

Yuletide Archive: Devotion

Fandom: BOONDOCK SAINTS
Pairing: Gen
Author on LJ: ranalore
Author Website: Author’s BDS Fic at her website
Why this must be read: Because everyone who saw the movie wondered where the boys got their tats. This story gives us one plausible explanation that rings true in a sad and bittersweet way.

Pre-film, this gives us a glimpse into men who are set to become more than the sum of themselves.

Author's Summary: Of tattoos and partings.

( Excerpt )

Yuletide Archive: Wholly of Blue

Fandom: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
Pairing: None
Length: 2,102
Author on LJ: my_fool_took
Author's website: Yoyo-Anarchy's FF.Net page

Why this must be read:

This is a cute, fluffy, adorable and utterly pointless little fic about Don, Mike and how being a patient big brother means listening to someone ramble about nothing at five in the morning.

No, it couldn’t be. His little brother wasn’t really shouting at him, he was still dreaming. Subconsciously he knew it was still dark even on the surface, so it was illogical that Mikey would be awake and shouting. Illogical for two reasons; one, Mikey rarely woke before daybreak unless absolutely necessary, and two, he knew his brothers were perfectly within their rights to murder him if he awoke them before six thirty.

Duty by Yoyo-Anarchy

Fandom: BOONDOCK SAINTS
Pairing: Connor/Murphy/Smecker
Author on LJ: guede_mazaka
Author Website: Author’s BDS Tag
Why this must be read: Smecker is too old to be blinded by nothing more than a tight ass in blue jeans.

But the Saints offer more than temptations of the flesh.

This was beautifully done and haunting. Smecker is in over his head…

Author's Summary: The fleeting nature of sacrament.

( Excerpt )

Communion

Fandom: CW RPS
Pairing: Jared Padalecki/Jensen Ackles, Jared/Sandy (brief)
Author on LJ: raina_at
Author Website: Nutters Incorporated

Why this must be read: The author just writes Jensen and Jared perfectly - in character and acting like guys. The premise of this story is that Jared and Jensen were once childhood friends, but a bitter family feud tore them apart. Now years later, they meet again and this time Jensen needs Jared's help: pretend to be his boyfriend and in return Jensen will help Jared save his family's company.

A great read like any Harlequin-esque story should be.


The Billionaire's Bidding

Fandom: Death Note
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: louder_louder
Author Website: Death Note Tag at Author's LJ
Why this must be read: This is a Mello gen fic that absolutely broke me when I read it. I’m wasn’t Mello’s biggest fan, but reading louder_louder’s excellent Mello fic has changed my mind.

The prose is sparse and piercing, and totally perfect for this moment.


Author's Summary: But me, I'm scared.

( Excerpt )


See

Fandom: Death Note
Pairing: Mello/Matt
Author on LJ: fallen_woman
Author Website: Death Note tag at Author’s LJ
Why this must be read: Because Matt is one of the most intriguing characters in the fandom - and that's saying a lot with this particular cast! This is a short fic, but it strikes the perfect notes.

There is a very vague crossover in here which most people won't notice, and doesn't matter. Consider it a challenge to find it. :)


Author's Summary: Matt started smoking because of television.

( Excerpt )


Hero Worship in Three Messy Steps

Fandom: Death Note
Pairing: Mikami
Author on LJ: elwing_alcyone
Author Website: Death Note tag at Author’s LJ
Why this must be read: Because Mikami is an interesting character that is often overlooked. This story tells us what happened to him after he became the right hand of god…


Author's Summary: Mikami doesn’t just lose his memories: he watches them fall apart.

( Excerpt )


Shadow Play (The Crazy Bastard Remix)

Fandom: Death Note
Pairing: L/Light
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: FF.net Profile
Why this must be read: This story is a series of short chapters that tell the tale of L and Light after the end. Set entirely post series, this tale does venture slightly into the fluff and slightly into the sugary, but… it has some truly beautiful moments and is well worth the read.


Author's Summary: ( SPOILERS )

( Excerpt )


Oh, Angel