Fandom: PROS (THE PROFESSIONALS)
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Length: 13k
Author on LJ:loyseofverlaine
Author Website: Verlaine at The Circuit Archive
Why this must be read: Because those of us who love her Older Guys fic in the Starsky and Hutch fandom rubbed our hands in delight when she turned her attention to Older Lads... Bodie and Doyle post-active duty in CI5 require careful handling in fanfic. Too domestic and they come across as a pair of neutered housecats (her words, btw:)), too active and lethal and it doesn’t ring true. Which is why I love how she writes them. She slows them down enough to convince, but still has them as these rogues, completely in character, who have simply never given on the tender snark they've had with each other their whole lives. Oh, and it’s set at Christmas, which just about makes this perfect for this week of festive recs.

"Tell you what, mate. Get the tins down for me, and then you can have--"

"Raymond on the table?" Bodie rubbed his hands gleefully.

Eyebrows raised, Doyle considered the table. "Right there in the shortbread crumbs?"

"Lick 'em off you. Best of both worlds, innit?"

Doyle was filling the last tin when he noticed he was no longer having to dodge fingers alternately attempting to filch shortbreads and distract him with caresses. Turning, he saw Bodie sprawled across the table, propped up on one elbow, unbuttoning his shirt with the other hand.

Doyle raised his eyebrows. "Bodie on the table?"

"Just getting comfortable." Bodie waved a hand in his direction. "I haven't watched you strip off for me in a while. Give us a show. New Year's pressie."

Beautiful Year by Verlaine

Title: Frozen
Fandom: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: None
Rating: PG-13
Length: Short
Author on LJ: graceandfire
Author Website: graceandfire
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary:Derek loses Kyle.

This fic gets Derek. I mean really, really gets him. It takes a man who was nothing more than a boy and shows how he was forged by apocalyptic fires. And through him, we see Kyle - the man who changed time.

It's beautiful and powerful and so good it gave me chills.

I want to quote it all. But, I won't, so here's a snippet to tide you over until you can hit the link and go see how good it is for yourself.

( Excerpt )

Frozen

Title: John Connor's Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day
Fandom: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: None
Rating: R
Length: Short
Author on LJ: dramady
Author Website: dramady
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary:John sees something he really, really, really didn’t want to see.

It can't all be drama and angst. And this fic proves that even in the direst of situations, being a teenager still manages to make mountains out of molehills. Only, not.

This fic is laugh out loud funny. The rating is for humorous and slightly sexual subject matter, but if you can handle boy humor, you can handle this fic with ease.

No Excerpt this time. Just go and read it. And laugh!

John Connor's Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Length: 700 words
Author on LJ: aleathiel
Author Website: Aleathiel's Fics
Why this must be read: Aleathiel specialises in stories which riff on the larger Arthurian canon. This one is a brilliantly done glimpse into what the future holds for Merlin.

Melvin

Fandom: GUNDAM WING
Pairing: Duo/Heero
Length: Oh heavens. The first five novellas come to 164,000 words. Judging by the average chapter-length, I'd estimate the whole thing to be about - well, something wonderfully ridiculous. 700,000 words, maybe?
Author on LJ: sunhawk16
Author Website: She's archived on raygunworks, and she had a page on the now sadly defunct deathndragon site.
Why this must be read:

So. It's Christmas week. Maybe there's family sleeping in the spare room & clogging up the bathroom rota. It seems like half your time is spent cooking, and the other half spent buying things /to/ cook. So what do you need?

700 thousand words of fic to read, obviously!

When I promised to bring the epic, at the beginning of this month? I meant it. So much happens in every single story within this arc, it's absolutely exhilirating to read. And the way its broken into stories is ideal for reading a little bit now, a little bit then, and a little more later on. Whilst the entire arc isn't finished, each novella more than stands on its own.

Starting in the middle of the war with Oz (although only the first two sections are within the war), these stories span several years of Duo's life, and more than a few tragedies. This Duo - he's sarcastic and irreverant and so, so broken later on. This is a Duo I can believe in; Sunhawk really /gets/ him. Brain-hamsters and all XD

( Read more... )

The Ion Arc (Scroll halfway down the page)

Fandom: LAW & ORDER (ORIGINAL)
Pairing: Jack McCoy/Claire Kincaid
Length: 805 words
Author on LJ:
Author Website: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/142221/Kyllikki
Why this must be read: There are roughly 7,589 love stories about Jack and Claire, and at one point they made up roughly 78% of all Law & Order: Original Flavour fics. Approximately 7,538¹ were "Claire Died and Everyone Cried, Especially Jack." This is probably the best I ever read; restrained, free of mush and schmoop, yet packing a solid emotional punch.

Kyllikki's summary is "Digital detritus in the postmodern age."

Deus Ex Machina




¹: All numbers quoted are complete fabrications, made up entirely by me. I wouldn't be surprised if they were accurate, though ;)