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Fandom: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Pairing: Lyla Garrity Length: 1200 Author on LJ: cartwheel_dizzyAuthor Website: In MemoriesWhy this must be read: In season two, a lot of Lyla's character development happened in scenes that hit the cutting room floor. Not a fan favorite from the start, the missing scenes left the audience scratching their heads and disliking her even more. In this character study Cartwheel_dizzy does an exceptional job of getting inside Lyla's head and taking us on the journey of Lyla finding religion. I can't promise you'll like her at the end of the fic if you didn't like her at the beginning, but I can promise her season two storyline will make a lot more sense. ( excerpt )playing at a game called remembering your name | |
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Fandom: HIGHLANDER Pairing: implied Duncan/Methos Length: ~9800 words Author on LJ: elistaire on IJ Author Website: TatervilleWhy this must be read:This is a summer vacation story with a wonderfully original premise: while on a fishing trip with Duncan and Richie, Methos is abducted by a water nymph. Will Duncan be able to get him back? This story just has a wonderful summery feel to it. I love the understated characterizations and the contrast of the relaxed summer-house atmosphere with Duncan's growing concern. The whole thing feels like sunlight dancing on the water. ( a teaser )The Siren | |
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Fandom: DC Comics Pairing: Owen Mercer/Mark Mardon; Owen Mercer/Len Snart Length: ~4500 words Author on LJ: vangeAuthor Website: ??? Why this must be read:I don't understand why there isn't more fanfic centred around Owen Mercer. As the Kid Boomerang 101 post points out, he's got all sorts of angst, and secrets, and moral ambiguity for people go in and play with. And then he even gets an incredibly slashy torture hurt/comfort scene which ends with him naked in Nightwing's arms. You'd think the stories would write themselves at that point! But, even if there were lots of stories centered around Owen Mercer, this story would stand out. Vange completely gets the rage and need to belong that drive Owen pre OYL and doesn't pull punches or sugar coat these things, yet at the same time makes readers understand (and even sympathize a little) with a guy who's making some very bad choices. ( Snippit )But, despite his need to belong, Owen was always his own man, and that meant his relationship with the senior Rogues was threaded through with some ... interesting tensions, and Vange's (very hot) take on them is my personal canon. Cheap Tricks of All Trades | |
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Fandom: HOUSE M.D. Pairing: House/Wilson Length: 2,814 Author on LJ: Author's LJ profile Author Website: None Why this must be read: genagirl writes, hands down, the best stories featuring Julie, Wilson’s never-seen third wife. In this one, set after their divorce, Julie drops in on Wilson at House’s place and finds him shockingly changed. House's caustic contempt of her has a pitch-perfect House voice that cuts to the bone. This is House being as cruel as possible -- he's protecting Wilson, after all -- and he's using every weapon at his disposal. ( Excerpt )Julie, Julie, Julie, Do You Love Me? is the third in a series of fics. The others are Fading Light and Watching the Light Fade. | |
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Fandom: DRAKE’S VENTURE Pairing: Thomas/Francis Length: ~300 words Author on LJ: blakefancier Author Website: None Why this must be read: A tiny story, more of a poem than a story, really. The images, economical and bladed, cut to the heart – and end on a note of surprising hopefulness. Thomas closed his eyes and heard the beating of the drum. It reminded him of his heartbeat and then it was his heartbeat and he could taste it in his mouth.
It tasted of autumn apples: crisp and tart and firm.Crossroads | |
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Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Pairing: Kara/Leoben and Kara/Sam/Leoben Length: 6,161 and 6,674, respectively; together, almost 13,000 words of porny goodness! Author on LJ: sionnain/ sionnain_ficsWhy this must be read: If you're already a Kara/Leoben fan, then you probably don't need a lot of persuading to hit up these fics. The electrically sharp, deeply disturbing sexual tension between Starbuck and her Cylon captor/mentor speaks for itself, and sionnain's a great writer. Her smut is sexy and her characterizations are thoughtful. On the other hand, if you've never dipped into Kara/Leoben before, these are great fics to get you started! Set after the last S4 episode before hiatus, they show Kara's confusion, fear, and indomitable will -- and, of course, her penchant for intense and complicated sexual liaisons. ( A sample from 'In a Wild Sky' ) sionnain wrote "Hopelessly Tangled" first, but "In a Wild Sky" is a prequel; read them in whichever order you prefer. In a Wild Sky & Hopelessly Tangled | |
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Fandom: POPSLASH/FIREFLY Pairing: Inara/Justin Length: 1900 words Author on LJ: randomling Author Website: The Wandering Wombat Why this must be read:There's a certain art to pulling off two specific genres: the AU/AR, and the crossover. The first I'll deal with later on, but in this post I'm reccing an excellent crossover that exemplifies the kind of story that's sheer sensory pleasure to read. Lucy puts Justin in the Firefly 'verse and makes it work, creating a gentle, evocative, almost fragrant character-study that suggests more than it explains and offers insights into both characters. One of the things I love best about popslash writers is their ability to take ideas that sound completely insane on paper and turn them into lyrical fics like this one, with such thoughtful and lovely exploration of the people and places. these foolish thingsEnjoy! | |
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Fandom: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER & ANGEL THE SERIES Pairing: Xander/Angel Length: ≅ 6,000 Author on LJ: tesla321Author Website: Here in memories Why this must be read:Let me begin by saying that one of my favorite things about Xander is that he's human. Not in the heartbeat-having sense of the word, but in the flawed, normal person sense of the word. So when I opened this story and found Xander being kind of an ass to a post-Shanshu Angel, I was perhaps more gleeful than might be expected. But Xander isn't only flawed, he's also a pretty decent guy, so the unfolding respect and romance between Xander and Angel in Shards works. This is sweet without being schmoopy, and it has bonus!Spike and Faith, both of whom bring the expected snark and an unexpected heart to the story. ( little bitty snippet )Go. Read. Love. Tell the author. Shards Part 1Shards Part 2Shards Part 3Shards Part 4Shards Part 5Shards Part 6Shards Part 7 | |
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Fandom: GRAVITATION Pairing: Yuki/Shuuichi Length: one shot Author on LJ: mousapelli Author Website: http://www.theratbox.com/fanfiction.html Why this must be read:Yuki always seems like he doesn't need Shuuichi, but this fanfiction is about discovering one of the ways he does. And it's sweet and cute, and its nice to see Yuki really show that he needs Shuuichi, even if it's only for a little thing. Two rings into the phone call, Yuki nearly hung up, but due to the curse of modern technology, Shuichi's phone would have recorded his number anyway."Yuki?" Shuichi picked up after the third ring. "What's wrong? Are you dying?!""No." Yuki sat the phone down on the desk and twiddled with the earpiece a little."Is the apartment on fire? Has there been a tsunami?!" Yuki heard some noise in the background, and then the low murmur of Hiro's voice, followed by Shuichi's slightly muffled, "I think Tokyo is being invaded by aliens!"Calling Your Bluff | |
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Sorry for the late start, although it's kind of appropriate considering this middle child of the Star Trek franchise rarely gets the attention it deserves. nostalgia_lj wrote this fab overview for Deep Space Nine back in 2003, so I just have a couple of specs to add and some updated links before I start reccing. Deep Space Nine was the only Trek series that figured out that it was a waste of time and dilithium crystals to boldly go looking for trouble, when trouble was perfectly willing to come to them. ( Remember: Below Warp Five, Arrive Alive ) | |
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