Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Chloe/Clark/Bart
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: tobywolf13
Author Website: Effulgent and Smoking Cool
Why this must be read:
This is a fic that was written at my request by the author, and I have to say, it's hilarious. Bart and Clark are both looking to have a little fun with their favorite blonde reporter, but Miss Sullivan is apparently in the mood for bribes. Little do her favorite pair of speedsters know, the joke is on them. Be prepared for a few surprises in this one, the tiniest bit of slash, and in particular, a reference from the original trilogy of American Pie movies.

( an excerpt )

If I've Learned Anything From Movies...

Fandom: EARTHSEA
Pairing: Tenar/Flint
Length: 1650 words
Author on LJ: antoshevu
Author Website: On KIA Repository
Why this must be read:

The gulf between The Tombs of Atuan & Tehanu in terms of Tenar's character is huge. Le Guin tells us little about what kind of a man her deceased husband Flint was, and for those who believe Ged & Tenar are destined to be together, it's easy to forget that he ever existed. However, Tenar chose to marry Flint rather than remain Ogion's apprentice, so he must have had something that drew her to him, and she stayed with him for twenty years, so he must have had a huge influence on how her character developed during this period.

Fanfiction that explores Flint is sadly rare, and the little that exists mostly takes Tenar's point of view. 'To Market' allows Flint to tell us the story of his first meeting with Tenar, and the ghost of the character in Tehanu really comes alive in this subtle, well-shaped vignette. In a move that mirrors Tenar's grief for him at the opening of Tehanu, Antosha takes the unusual step of making him an older grieving widower, which feels surprisingly plausible. The story also features a lovely bonus cameo from Ogion.

( Excerpt under the cut )

To Market by Antosha

Fandom: MARVEL COMICS
Pairing: Scott Summers gen with some background Scott/Emma (this is Astonishing-era)
Length: 1,600 words
Author on LJ: handyhunter
Author Website: HandyHunter’s LJ fic tag
Why this must be read:

Over at the xmen_on_lj community, we hosted a discussion post about What If? scenarios X-Men fans would love to see. The conversation spawned from an issue called What If? House of M, in which every powered person in the world, mutant or otherwise, lost their powers. Especially interesting, to me and to others, was the fact that Scott Summers, despite the loss of his optic beams, still wore glasses, this time of clear glass. handyhunter decided to run with that idea, and the result is this brilliant fic.

Essentially, this fic takes a look at a situation familiar to X-Men readers – the loss of powers – and works out the finer points of what that loss would mean for the characters. Sure, big dramatic things, like death and illness and insanity, could result. But what about Scott Summers having to get used to not needing to wear glasses anymore? How would he cope with that seemingly simple problem – that of a major life habit changing completely overnight? This is the kind of thing that the comics – including that What If? -- never seem to have time to dwell on, and this fic fills in that gap with eloquence and pitch-perfect characterization. Glimpses of other characters, like Logan and Emma, as well as glimpses of the post-powers Xavier Institute in general, all help to flesh out the universe and ground Scott’s emotional journey, and there isn’t a detail that feels out of place. This fic is must-read for Scott fans, and for anyone who’s curious about what the loss of powers might mean for former mutants in every day life.

What If Scott Summers Lost his Powers?

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Donald 'Ducky' Mallard/Tobias Fornell. (Mentions Leroy Jethro Gibbs/Donald 'Ducky' Mallard - unrequited.  Leroy Jethro Gibbs/Tobias Fornell - past/unrequited)
Length: 2,550
Author on LJ: slash4femme
Author Website: None of which I am aware
Why this must be read:

Slash4Femme doesn't just write her favourite pairing (Gibbs/McGee) she writes a couple of others. Again, this breaks my OTP reading habits and this is not a pairing I have ever even considered. However, as I'd enjoyed her Gibbs/McGee stories so much and as I love both Ducky and Fornell, I thought I'd give it a go. In truth I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

Once again Slash4Femme has a superb grasp on the characters and writes them so well, so in character and in such a believable way. There's a great deal of poignancy in the story as in effect Ducky and Tobias both have something in common: their unrequited love for Gibbs and in part this draws them together. But it's not just a case of 'second best'. Yes, it brought them together, but it's more than that.

The build up is slow and very fitting as it the title - Ducky truly is 'an old fashioned gentleman'.

This is not just a rare pairing, this is the only story I have actually come across about this pairing. But the way Slash4Femme writes them once more had me asking for more. It's gentle, in many ways it's chaste, it is chaste, it has a lot of friendship and affection between Gibbs and Ducky and Gibbs and Fornell, we see NCIS vs. the FBI, which I always love and is a really good read.

( Extract )

---

An Old Fashioned Gentleman

Well, here we are at the penultimate rec of my month driving the crack_van.

Fandom: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin
Length: 2,753 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Taliesin's Reach

Why this must be read:
This rec is by Taliesin deals with what happens when two injured UNCLE agents are sent home from the infirmary to heal on their own. This plays on a recurring theme within fanfiction where one or both of the agents are injured and can be liable to get cliched.

In this case, Illya has a bandaged knee and is on crutches whereas Napoleon has bandaged hands. For me though, this fic manages to avoid most of the cliches and delivers an intimate look into our favourite agent's lives "off the screen" so to speak. Napoleon is peeved at Illya for getting them kicked out from the Infirmary but once back at Napoleon's apartment things start to get interesting :-)

The boys are on top form here, Napoleon getting annoyed because he is unable to take care of himself properly and Illya seems to be split between being helpful and being snarky (sometimes both!). Illya finally draws the line when Napoleon hasn't changed clothes for four days and manhandles his senior partner into the shower....

( Excerpt )

Anytime

Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing: gen; Jack, Gerald, and Harriet
Length: ~3200
Author on LJ: sparking_off
Author's Website: Masterlist of Fic

Why this must be read?: This is Jack post-World War I suffering from shell shock and survivor's guilt. This is Jack letting go the only way how. This is a raw and painful Jack who can't let the horrors he's seen go. This is also the story of Gerald as the leader of Torchwood 3 and how he deals with Jack as a friend and colleague when Jack can't deal with himself any longer.

This is a wonderful fic that helps to fill in Jack's story as well as Gerald and Harriet's. Take a few minutes and savor this great bit of fic!

( Snippet )


Shell Shock by sparking_off

Fandom: SUPERNATURAL
Pairing: Sam/Dean
Length: ~5,000
Author on LJ: lyra_wing
Author Website: Memories (There's no tags, and her site isn't totally up-to-date)
Why this must be read: Summary: Sam gets whammied in an unexpected way. This is a genderswap fic. Kinda. I love genderswap and crack!fic, especially when there's a twist even beyond that. There's a succubus involved, and it's overall completely awesome.

( Excerpt )

Stop me if you've heard this one

Fandom: HEROES
Pairing: Matt/Mohinder
Length: ~2100
Author on LJ: shrift
Author Website: shrift's fan fiction
Why this must be read: The practicalities of holding down a job and a life has just gotten more complicated for Matt now that life involves superpowers and apocalypses. Matt and Mohinder and Molly are all domestic and awww. There's an appealing solidity to their relationship despite their uncertainty of definition of what exactly this thing between them is.

Matt's telepathy's shown as a thing of textures and smells, as he picks up on the echoes around him. This starts to backfire when Matt's domestic and working lives start to overlap. Coworkers looking in from the outside - making assumptions, the things they're saying and what they're avoiding. And getting away from people's opinions is a lot harder when you're reading their thoughts.

It's sweet and sad for chances missed or just not taken, and will so leave you wanting to give Matt a hug.

( Excerpt )

Easy Way Out