Well, here we are at the end of the month. Is it just me, or did that whizz past at warp factor seven?

It's been a total blast bringing Reboot to the Van, and I hope you've enjoyed it too. Thanks for coming on the ride with me. *fist bumps all round*

ETA: And I meant to say that if you fancy a drive in a Trek fandom of any stripe, the sign-up sheet is here. You know you want to. Think of all that Kirk/McCoy and Spock/Uhura and Sulu/Chekov that needs reccing! :)


Fandom: STAR TREK: REBOOT
Pairing: Kirk/Spock
Length: novella
Author on LJ: seperis
Author Website: indulgence
Why this must be read: I feel pretty recced (wrecked even, heee, and kind of punch-drunk too) out today, so I can't do this story justice. I'll just say that, this? Is quite simply the pon farr story that will make you crave pon farr stories like never before.

You'll Get There in the End (It Just Takes a While): one, two, three, four

We are now coming in for final approach to shuttle bay one. For your safety, stay seated until the jumper is docked, and ensure you have all your personal items before you disembark. Please leave the craft in an orderly fashion -- gene-carriers to the left, riff-raff to the right. Thank you for flying with Atlantis Shuttles, and have a pleasant stay in Atlantis. *g*

See you all next month, when I'm back to rec Merlin!

Fandom: STARGATE: ALTANTIS
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Length: 20,000 words
Author on LJ: mhalachaiswords
Author Website: Mhalachai's Writing
Why this must be read: I'm finishing up with a new favourite, because not only is this genderfuck with something new to say, it's a clever riff on multiverses. It's long and plotty, and beautifully written, and it shows a John torn apart by his own decency. It's that good. Run, don't walk, to read this one!

Rosemary, for Remembrance: one, two, three

Fandom: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Illya/Napoleon
Length: 3,936 words
Author on LJ: utopiantrunks
Author Website: East of Sanity

Why this must be read:

This fic takes the affection that Napoleon and Illya have for each other and sets it against the backdrop of a world about to end. The story describes the genuine paranoia, helplessnes, and quiet desperation of the Cold War world and of a real threat too big for UNCLE to take down, while the slash element is understated but present in every line. Wonderfully done; even the dialogue sounds like poetry.

Excerpt:

Floating above a fifty-mile expanse of dawn-lit salt water, half a world away, the hands of mortal men with mortal fears and failings were poised above the levers that could shift the earth. In the basement beneath Del Floria's, U.N.C.L.E.'s War Room stood dark and empty but for a thousand maps, files and notes which could do nothing to sway those hands. Not forty miles east, on a quiet hillside, Illya put his hand over Napoleon's heart and found it racing.

Three Minutes to Midnight

Fandom: STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
Pairing: Riker/Troi
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: leyenn
Author Website: bookofpages; her early Riker/Troi fic is archived here
Why this must be read:

Leyenn’s thoughtful, spot-on characterizations place her among my favourite writers in this fandom, and her “Icarus and Psyche” is one of my go-to R/T fixes. Set just after Riker’s father’s visit in S2, this quiet fic sees Riker and Troi having a late-night conversation about, well, lots of things. The dialogue (particularly the early banter) is wonderful, and their relationship is presented as the complicated thing it ought to be at this point in the series.

( excerpt ) 

Icarus and Psyche

Fandom: STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
Pairing: Riker/Troi
Length: 7000 words
Author on LJ: malinaldarose
Author Website: none
Why this must be read:

This is a sweet, funny tale of the misadventures that occur when Riker and Troi visit Betazed to take part in a Betazoid betrothal ceremony. Lwaxana Troi steals the show, Deanna Troi saves the day, and it’s all great fun.

( excerpt )

Descent

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Ray Kowalski/Benton Fraser
Length: About 2500 words; took me seven minutes to read but I read fast.
Author on LJ: miss_zedem
Author Website: Fanfic Masterlist
Why this must be read: Because Benton Fraser's idea of duty is informed by empathy, and because his life experience makes him vulnerable to hurt. Because we all should have someone who cares about our state of mind as much as Ray Kowalski cares about Benton Fraser. And because this is a subtle and finely delineated piece of writing that is a Platonic ideal of the phrase "show, don't tell."

Excerpt:

"You wanna get something to eat?" Ray glances in the rearview mirror, expecting a bark from Dief. But even Dief's picked up on whatever the hell's biting Fraser's ass, and has his head tucked under his tail. Jesus.

Fraser scratches his eyebrow. "That would be - yes. Thank you kindly, Ray. We'd love to."

"Greatness." Ray flicks the turn signal and hangs a right, heading for that Japanese place he knows Fraser likes. Maybe that'll cheer him up. And they do really good gee -, go -, little dumpling things, so it's not like it's a hardship for Ray.


Duty

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: None, although there's a hint of Severus Snape/Albus Dumbledore
Length: 500 and 1,000 respectively
Author on LJ: magnetic_pole
Author Website: Maggie's list of fics on her LJ
Why this must be read:
Thus we come to my final rec, lovely readers. Perhaps it's cheating, but these two fics are yoked together in my mind, despite being written nearly two years apart. One is Severus at the beginning and one is Severus at the end, the perfect bookmarks to an imperfect life.

magnetic_pole's style is spare and careful, restrained, pragmatic. She's honed her skill at picking out tiny psychological details, unexpected moments of clarity, and setting them unadorned on the page. Put enough of these together, and you get cascading echoes of implication, ringing silences, pauses, and possibilities caught between the lines. It's the reader's job to intuit these gaps and connect the dots. There's a slight sense of mystery to Maggie's characters: depths and pasts hinted at, desires barely spoken aloud, if at all. There's also humor and forthrightness and a fleeting touch of poignancy.

Maggie's Snape shifts in a twinkling from simple to complex and back again. He's not polished, not refined, not typically noble. But I root for him like hell, and to the not-so-bitter end I love his attitude. "Hard Bargain" has a moment of revelation that snaps everything into perspective for the reader, just enough to twist your insides with sorrow and pride. In "Valediction," the small moment of shock belongs to Snape himself. It taps the surface of this fic like a pebble dropped into a pond, sending out concentric ripples of light. It makes me glad for him, which is good, because the author's note, "Happy birthday and farewell, Severus Snape," is bittersweet.

These are both precise and haunting little fics, which is a trademark of magnetic_pole's. They say a lot by saying little, and that's a talent so alien to me, I gasp as if it's magic. *g*

So this wraps up my month of HP recs. I had a fabulous time spouting off, and these fics and vids are all dear to my heart. Some came down rather heavily on the angsty side, but I hope you enjoyed them nonetheless. Thank you all for taking a chance, and don't forget to leave the authors your comments!

( A few lines from 'Valediction' )

Hard Bargain and A Valediction Forbidding Mourning

Fandom: STARGATE SG-1
Pairing: None
Length: ~1200 words
Author on LJ: minnow1212
Author Website: http://minnow1212.livejournal.com/tag/fanfiction:+sg1
Why this must be read:

Excerpt: They gave her food and water and drew her a map to the city of Reata far away, where perhaps she could find the men she sought. "Stargate. Chapa Hi?" she said, so perhaps it was a farewell. "Chapa Hi," they said in return, and sent Thaywood-ware-thees on her way with their best wishes.

This is a fantastic story of Sam separated from her team, lost and on her own, yet never stopping as she tries to find Daniel and Teal'c. Short, but it packs in a lot. A perfect portrayal of Sam's perseverance and determination.


West

Fandom: LIFE ON MARS - UK
Pairing: Sam Tyler/Gene Hunt
Length: 5,300~
Author on LJ: adelphi23
Author Website: none
Why this must be read:

Sometimes a fangirl just needs a good hosing down dose of smut with a touch of humor and a rollicking bed plot. This is a funny, naughty, and downright smoking hot story that I love reading over and over again. It never gets old! In LoM fandom, it's known as "The Dildo Fic" and for really good reason. heheheheheh Adelphi has, alas, been spirited away to that place they call "RL" and has not written much since, and this story will make you understand why that makes me sad. It was written fast so be forgiving, it is worth your time, trust me!

Story: A Case of the Hysterics


~

Sometimes I have all my recs lined up way in advance. Other times I just wander aimlessly and they present themselves. Like this month!

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: none
Length: 16K
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Tazy at 852 prospect

Why this must be read:   It’s a different job path for Blair, post TSbBS – isn’t that worth a look?

 

I first came across Tazy when someone spoke highly of the only story she posted online, “Where Friendship Takes You”. I recced it here  last year. I sent her feedback and hoped she would write more. She said she had some stories but wasn’t ready to post. Well, I guess she decided to do some housecleaning because she posted six stories in the past two weeks at 852 prospect. I picked this one because:

1) it’s from an outsider’s POV

2) It has Simon who, IMO, doesn’t get enough face time, and

3) it shows a different TSbyBS resolution other than Blair becoming a cop, consultant, moving away, committing suicide or becoming world-famous after Jim renounces the press conference.  

 

And it has a smirky ending. What more could you ask for as my turn on the CV comes to a close? Thank you all for wandering the fandom with me. 

 

Explaining Mr. Sandburg

BTW, if you are a zine fan, you might recognize one or two of Tazy’s stories. She wrote them under different pseudonyms.  

Last reminder for the month: show the authors that you appreciate their stories with feedback. It costs so little and means so much! Ta until next time.

Fandom: YAMI NO MATSUEI
Pairing: Muraki/Hisoka, Tsuzuki/Hisoka
Length: 9,500+
Author on LJ: ravenbell
Author Website: Fic index
Why this must be read:

Because it's sheer genius, that's why. Oh, you probably want elaboration. It's a fresh, fascinating look at the relationship between Muraki and Hisoka. Everything I love about the characters and the way they interact is here, but Ravenbell takes it a step further, pulling back complex, conflicting layers to create a spellbinding story.

Better the Devil You Know is a sequel to In the Warmth of the Darkness, but it stands well on its own.

( Excerpt )

Better the Devil You Know (And now linked to an unlocked version of the story. I suck.)

Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Pairing: gen (Ten, Donna)
Length: 1200
Author on LJ: owlyscribblings
Author Website: doctor who tag
Why this must be read: A lovely, quiet little post-Midnight story that gets to the heart of the relationship between these two.

"Remember when I kissed you?"

"Think so, yeah. Ah. Were you thinking of doing it again?"

Little too much worry in his voice for Donna's taste, so she smacked his arm. "A shock, you said, and I thought, I know what would shock me. And it did, mate, I can tell you. I mean, human. Alien. Different species. No."

"Oh, right." There was a pause. "Did I forget to say thank you for saving my life?"

She knocked his shoulder with hers. "Can't say it too much, can you?"

When he'd come to her off that tour ship, he hadn't seemed all that alien. He'd stood in front of her like any man falling apart.

On Water