Fandom: POSLASH
Pairing: Kevin/Nick
Length: Between novella and novel. It's multi-chapter
Author on LJ: blueboxers
Author Website: His fic tag
Why this must be read: Well here we are, the end of the month... and I'd like to go out with a bang. I must warn you before we go on: the series is supposed to be mpreg. I won't tell you who, but I wanna put that out there.

David is one of those authors who slips under the radar, but shouldn't. He sticks to promoting in sync_the_street, which is friends only and very moderated membership (but if you write you'll get in). Anyway... this story is the first part of a multi-chapter AU where Kevin is a porn star and Nick is a college freshman. Their lives intertwine when Nick goes with Lance and Justin (who are a side pairing in the story) to Vegas, and is fake-ID'd into the casinos. He meets Kevin, they get married Vegas style, and have sex (all assumingly drunk). Nick sleeps the drunkenness off, wakes up in bed with Kevin the next morning - and that's where the story starts.

What makes this story amazing is the Nick character. I love characters who are naive, because I love the coaxing/coddling/teaching the other half of the pairing (in this case Kevin) has to do. And porn star!Kevin is never a bad thing.

( Teaser, from chapter 1 )

What Happens In Vegas... Well Not Always Chapter 1

Fandom: STARGATE SG-1
Pairing: Cameron Mitchell/Sam Carter/Daniel Jackson
Length: medium
Author on LJ: _minxy_
Author Website: Fanfic Archive Post
Why this must be read:

There is a lot of history between Sam and Daniel and Jack. And some of it is a mess. Cam gets pulled into the middle. Poor Cam is not even real sure what's going on. I like the small details that really give this story depth and richness. I especially like the vagueness of the ending. The possibility of it is interesting.

Penumbra

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Narcissa/Lucius, Snape/Narcissa, Snape/Narcissa/Lucius.
Length: 11,500 words
Author on LJ: femmequixotic
Author Website: Femme's Fic on The Archive and on Skyehawke
Why this must be read: It's odd, perhaps, that my final rec is for a story that contains two of the elements I ordinarily shy away from (i.e., dubious consent and adultery), yet "Monna Immaculata" - which in a less deft writer's hands could have been "just" a pwp - is a story with both depth and heart.

The premise of the story is simple: Lucius - no longer in Voldemort's favor - returns home from Azkaban, only to discover Severus Snape has required compensation of a rather intimate kind from Narcissa for the role he's played (and continues to play) in protecting the Malfoy family. What's worse, Lucius's wife doesn't seem to have raised any particular objections to Snape's demands. However, the tale that's told is anything but simple, for these are three-dimensional characters, and Femme makes each one sympathetic in his or her own way, while not allowing the reader to forget the responsibility each bears for the positions in which they find themselves.

The ending is bittersweet (keep in mind that this story was written post-DH and is canon compliant), but always real and always brimming with honest emotion. Narcissa, Lucius, and Severus are three people whose anger and love and fear and desire can no longer be contained - probably because all three are just too damned exhausted to keep their feelings hidden (like "proper Slytherins") any longer.

( A little taste of 'Monna Immaculata' )

Read "Monna Immaculata"

---

And that's it for me! It's been a pleasure reccing so many Snape-centric stories for you this month. Ciao!

Fandom: DC COMICS (Elseworlds)
Characters: Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson (sort of)
Pairing: Bruce/Selina much later on
Length: novella (~75,000)
Author on LJ: [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]
Author Website:
Why this must be read:

I'm going to squeeze in one last rec this month because it's a combination my two favourite things: Bruce-as-a-dad and Kon-el. Sort of.

Syl takes Kon's travel through Hypertime, the Elseworlds story Speeding Bullets where Martha and Thomas Wayne raise Kal-el, and various other comicverse bits to make this utterly awesome plotty fic. The premise: Jor-el, having lost his son to Krypton's death throes, agrees to send his nephew, Van-Zee, to the planet Earth in an attempt to save him. Mary and John Grayson arrive at Schuster's Field moments before Martha and Jonathan Kent and so find the baby Kryptonian who they raise as their son, Dick.

Dick's arrival into Bruce' life follows canon but everything after that is just a little bit different because of his powers. Syl depicts a powerfully loving Bruce. He makes mistakes but his affection for his adopted son shines through. Because he doesn't have Dick's (Van Zee's) spaceship, the process of figuring his powers out is slow and, at one point, fraught with danger. This was another story I read in one sitting. The numb-bum syndrome was worth it.

Robin, the Boy of Steel: An Elseworlds Tale

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: One-shot
Author on LJ: onpaperfirst
Author Website: See journal
Why this must be read: Reach back in your The X-Files memory bank to season 7's comedic departure, "Hollywood A.D." Add a little comfy, drunken MSR and you get this gem from onpaperfirst.

If Mulder and Scully had a Bureau credit card and were in the very best stages of their relationship, what would they do on a trip to LA? That question is answered and it's a humdinger, folks. The writing is melodic and reading this is kind of like eating key lime cheesecake at a beachside cafe.

If you've not read an X-Files fic in years, or if you devour it on a regular basis, this is definitely the fic you should read tonight.

Maps

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Scully/Byers
Length: One-shot
Author on LJ: aloysiavirgata
Author Website: See journal
Why this must be read: Finally, a departure! Scully/Byers is a secret love of mine. You have to love the tall, quiet, well-dressed member of the Lone Gunmen, and who doesn't love Scully? Put them together, and you've got quite the pair, IMHO.

Aloysia Virgata got this duo as a prompt for the xf_pornbattle, along with "40-year-old virgin." Um, you do the math ;-D What I can promise you is a sweet, and hot, walk on the wild side for these two buttoned-up lonely hearts. Set post-"Three Words" (season 6), it's a believable scenario to boot!

There are two titles because this was originally posted in two parts, but it's a short, tasty snack if you're looking for a pick-me-up.

Pair of Aces/Double or Nothing

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: Medium
Author on LJ: marigoldbalcony
Author Website: See journal
Why this must be read: For my last rec this month, I find myself returning to the beginning, sort of. I started out with Marigold earlier this month and I had to come back to her for the last one.

I admit it, I love angsty XF fic (you couldn't tell?!), though it does need to have a tone of plausibility, and few authors have struck the right chord like Marigold does here. "50 Way to Leave Your Lover" is a tale of painful, desperate partings. Set post-series and pre-movie (no spoilers for the latter), this story finds Scully on the run - from Mulder. It's a dark look at the path she might have taken in between. Beautifully written, this one will evoke a sniffle or two. You'll be drawn in to Scully's plight and sympathize utterly with her decisions, all the while questioning her motive.

Marigold also wrote a sequel for this, called "Go in Glory." You can find it on her LJ.


( excerpt )

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

Fandom: Sapphire and Steel
Pairing: None
Length: drabble
Author on LJ: eponymous_rose
Author Website: http://eponymous-rose.livejournal.com/21929.html
Why this must be read: This is a tag for Assignment #2. Assignment #2 has an ending that tends to shock people and eponymous rose does an excellent job of capturing the emotions and feel of the characters right at the end.

Eastertide


And I'm done for the month. Thank you.

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair (mention of Blair/OFC)
Length: ~10 k
Author on LJ: bluebrocade
Author Website: tagged fic on their LJ
Why this must be read:

I started with something slightly dark and angsty, so I thought I'd end with something clever and funny. This was written as part of the ts_secret_santa fic exchange in 2007. Simon's suspecting Jim and Blair have a little secret, and Blair and Jim are just worried about Simon. When Simon decides to bite the bullet and take matters into his own hands, misunderstandings and revelations ensue. The characterizations are fantastic, and the dialogue is spot on. Here's a sample:

“Awesome?” Jim asked incredulously.
“Awesome,” Blair verified, grinning broadly.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means cool. Awesome. Really great. Terrific even.”
“I bare my soul to you, and you come back at me with ‘awesome’?”
“You call that baring your soul? I had to pry it out of you!”
“I will kill you, Chief. I’ll kill you and tell everyone you left for an expedition to Borneo and no one will even question me.”

Contrary Effects, part one
Contrary Effects, part two

Thanks for letting me drive the van this month; I had a great time, and I hope you did too! Don't forget to give feedback to the writers if you liked their stories...

Fandom: STARGATE SG1
Pairing: Cameron Mitchell/Danielle Jackson
Length: loooong
Author on LJ: ivorygates
Author Website: two gates of sleep
Why this must be read:

ivorygates has a series of stories for SG-1 where Daniel Jackson is and always has been a woman, Danielle. I love fic where an author takes an established character from a show and completely turns them on their head. I love to see how they translate a character and make them different and still keep them very much themselves. This Danielle is just as battle worn, scarred, and flawed as Daniel, but at the same time, so very much *Danielle*. The previous story arc is available on her site.
These particular stories are set after Cameron joins SG-1. They are wonderful storytelling, full of unexpected twists and turns, with a good plot, good dialogue, and best of all, a good Cameron. Set aside some time and get caught up in them.

Waterloo Bridge
Never Pay The Reaper With Love Only

Just under the wire with the last rec. I hope that you've enjoyed reading these stories as much as I have. And if Cameron wasn't able to steal your heart away like he did mine, I hope he was at least able to take enough of it that thinking of him will bring a smile to your face.