Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Pairing: Sharon/Tyrol, Sharon/Helo
Length: One shot
Author on LJ: spamdilemma 
Author Website: Her BSG Memories
Why this must be read:

Okay, I promise no more Boomer stories after this. Spamdilemma picks the words she uses very deliberately, and consequently, every line in her fic matters, helping to drive the story she is telling.  The Sharon she wrote here is totally different than what I had originally imagined, and yet Spamdilemma builds such a convincing backstory that the character is utterly believable and utterly in keeping with the show's canon.  Her use of symetry and repetition also helps to tie the story together.

"When Sharon was Sharon she never returned home.

Her childhood spent on Troy was a mixture of patchwork memories and long spans of time that fell blank in her mind. Too many details were either blurred or she was completely unable to recall. It frustrated Sharon, not able to remember further back than that first day wandering up the temple stairs. She had a small pack with her and the clothes she wore were ill-fitting; a flour sack, she would later realize, was what she was wearing. But at the time, it seemed a shapeless dress that caught her around her knees and itched at the seams."


From the stories on their faces

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: One shot
Author on LJ: rynne
Author Website: Fanfic tag on LJ
Why this must be read: This story was written for remixredux08. A remix of vespertanmer's "Relativity," it's a set of different scenarios for Dana Scully over the years, with a post-"all things" take that touches my hidden 'shipper soul. It's a very smooth take on all the different kinds of lives Scully might have lived; you see the Scully you know well in every scenario. rynne has a light touch, and you'll enjoy the pace and dialogue.

One of the best stories to come out of this year's Remix Redux, "Ouroburos" is a fantastic trip back and out of time. In light of the new film, it takes on an even better flavor.

Ouroburos (Points in Time and Space Mix)

(also be sure to check out the original, Relativity by vespertanmer, a Mulder vignette along the same theme)

Fandom: STARGATE SG1
Pairing: Sam Carter/Cameron Mitchell
Length: series; between short and medium.
Author on LJ: synecdochic
Author Website: Venus in Furs
Why this must be read:

( Comments may be a bit too spoilerish for the stories... )

I would love to read the stories set in season 9 and 10 where Cam finds out about what Sam has really been doing; I want to see his reaction to what his baby girl has gone through. And how she lets him behind her walls again. I love how synecdochic skirts around Stargate mythos without actually saying anything. I love the words she uses. They're so descriptive and create worlds in my head, in technicolor and surround-sound. I especially love how very Southern Cam sounds in his speech/thought patterns. I hear him. My most favorite thing about this series is how very much Cam loves Sam. And she him.

The Christmas Series

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Snape/Luna
Length: 6300 words
Author on LJ: thetreacletart
Author Website: Her Skyehawke Page and Tart Confections.
Why this must be read: The Treacle Tart introduces this pre-DH story by saying she likes "the idea of taking two characters who have *absolutely* no business being together and trying to make a relationship between them plausible." On the surface, she's absolutely right about bitter, sharp, angry Snape and accepting, insightful, other-worldly Luna having no business being together, yet in the hands of a very good author, this pairing works - as it does here - extremely well.

"Implausible, Irrational, Preposterous, Peculiar, and Just Plain Luna" is far more than just a romance (what romantic interactions there are in this story are more suggested than seen): it is a story of friendship, of understanding, of hope, and of what makes life worth living. And...given that last, it's interesting that the story begins with Severus thinking he's no longer alive...

( A little taste of the story... )

Treat yourself: read "Implausible, Irrational, Preposterous, Peculiar, and Just Plain Luna"

Hi, I'm PT, and I'm your reccer for RPS this month. Sorry for the late start. Largely, what I read is CWRPS, but I like rare and unusual pairings, so I'm going to interpret that pretty liberally. Hopefully, you'll be as excited about some of the things I rec as I am.


Fandom: RPS
Pairing: David Boreanaz/TJ Thyne, David Boreanaz/Jason Behr, David Boreanaz/Christian Kane, implied Jensen Ackles/Chris Kane
Length: 6,000(ish)
Author on LJ: lostakasha
Author Website: None.
Why this must be read: I had a lot of debate about whether to rec this story because it has a (small) personal connection, but the fact that I didn't know lostakasha when she wrote it, I think mitigates any guilt I have about it. The truth is, I find the story too excellent to scruple much about it anyway. I love it SO MUCH that when she purged her insanejournal where it was originally posted, I hunted her down through mutual friends and begged her to repost it somewhere. That's love, man.

The short version of why this should be read: Because it's hot and smart.

( The long version. )

( Excerpt. )

Rest In Pieces

Fandom: HORATIO HORNBLOWER
Pairing: William Bush (gen)
Length: ~1500 words
Author on LJ: romanticalgirl
Author Website: A Multitude of Voices
Why this must be read:

Most of the fic in Hornblower fandom draws at least partially on the A&E movie series, but some of the best pieces out there are those inspired rather by CS Forester's original books. I particularly love stories dealing with the careers of Hornblower and Bush after the period covered by the movies, and in this piece romanticalgirl paints a sharp, complex portrait of Bush's life as Resident Commissioner of the Sheerness dockyard during the interlude between Flying Colours and The Commodore. (Significant spoilers for Flying Colours are present.)

He knows each scar like a wife, when and where and why, can catalogue his battles by the silvery lines in his skin. He can trace his commanders on his skin, the reckless and the wise, and those deep cuts now healed tell him more about haste and carelessness and unpreparedness.

Reflection

Fandom: Bandom (FOB/Cobra Starship/everyone ever)
Pairing: Pete/Patrick, Pete/Ryan (tons)
Author on LJ: queenofhell
Author Website: pristineserene
Why this must be read: When I first sorta started reading the fic in this fandom, I had Certain Opinions on Pete Wentz. I still do, of course (as does everyone who has ever heard his name, I believe). Pete is in turns vulnerable, manipulative, tragic, dark, and charismatic. Guess who else could fit that description? Yeah, scary ass freaks.

I was pondering writing a story where Pete was the spider at the center of a very scary web when I stumbled on this story. The heavens opened--this fandom has a whole corner where people happily write stories where their beloved band members are psychotic maniacs? People revel in it? SIGN ME UP!

The amazing part of all of this is that the source material supports all of these conjectures with only the tiniest amount of squinting. Maybe you don't even have to squint at all.

This isn't a happy-go-lucky fluffball of a fic. It's also just the first installation of a UNIVERSE. If you like what you find here, you can spend a week gobbling up more. Probably longer if you shower and eat. If you're looking for something more than "dirty boys in a van drinking too much" or suspect that Pete Wentz is out to corrupt the youth, this is for you.


It's Like the Pied Piper (Only It's a Little Bit More Like a Cult)