Title: Nobody Does it Better
Fandom: Burn Notice
Pairing: Michael/Fiona
Author on LJ: anonymous_sibyl
Author Website: Her LJ
Why this must be read: The relationship between Fiona and Michael is one of the most complex and interesting, not to mention entertaining, on the show. Fiona is devoted to Michael, often despite himself, but she has her ways of keeping him in line.


Author's Summary: A good spy learns from his mistakes.

Excerpt: When Fiona smiled after that last fight and said “one more for the road, Michael?” I thought she meant sex. I meant sex. We always meant sex. Every fight, every celebration, Fiona and I ended them all with sex. Usually began them that way, too. So I said yes, then headed for the shower to wash off the blood and grime from the last forty-eight hours. Only half of it came from the fight I’d been in before coming back to the hotel we were calling home this week. The rest was all Fiona.

Nobody Does it Better

So I bet you thought I would follow the apocalypse with something light and fluffy? No such luck! Next up is a real angst-fest!

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair, surprise pairings
Length: see individual stories
Author on LJ:polly_b, caarianna, chryssalys
Author Website: Polly at Dreamwidth , Arianna’s Aerie ,  Chryssalys’ Coccoon(also at 852prospect)

Why this must be read: Rare premise, varied treatments.
The explanation for this post is complicated – bear with me. Polly wrote the original story “Five in the Stink” for a Sentinel Thursday prompt last spring. For the Moonridge charity auction, she and another fan offered to donate money if anyone wrote a follow-up story to “Five”. Three people did: Arianna, Chrys and Polly herself. Arianna and Chrys wrote sequels. Polly wrapped her original story in a prologue, a sequel and an epilogue and changed the name to the “Forget Regret” series. Still with me? ^_^  Now, on to the story description.

Despite the trust issues brought up in canon, deliberate partner betrayal of any sort doesn’t make up a lot of Sentinel fanfic. There’s even fewer stories that deal with betrayal of a lover. However, “Five in the Stink” is a “Jim cheats on Blair” story. Fascinating because Jim is normally portrayed as loyal to a fault; so what would cause him to cheat? Blair’s the son of a woman who purportedly had many liaisons – would he understand and forgive? The three writers give completely different treatments of the issue – all worth a read.

So, how do you read them? I would suggest that you read them the way they were created. Read “Five” first, then read Arianna’s or Chrys’ sequels. Then read Polly’s entire series to see what she had in mind.

Five in the Stink by Polly Bywater and Love’s Forbearance by Arianna 57K words
EDIT: Love's Forbearance is now found at AO3:  http://archiveofourown.org/works/310672 

Five In The Stink by Polly Bywater
Building on Ashes by Chrys (NC-17) 52K

Forget Regret series by Polly Bywater (NC-17) 7800 words

Then, let the authors know how you feel about their work -- feedback!  Enjoy.

Fandom: CW RPF
Pairing: Jared Padalecki/Jensen Ackles, Dave Boreanaz/Christian Kane, Steve Carlson/Chad Michael Murray
Length: Long series
Author on LJ: [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]
Author Website: RPS Fic on LJ
Why this must be read:

This fic starts off with Jared Padalecki, ranch owner, meeting Jensen Ackles, actor/singer.

Their arc focuses on fixing the damage a bad relationship can do, while developing a smoking hot new relationship, with fascinating power relationships.

At the same time, the author introduces entwining story arcs for other CW/WB characters that are equally as hot and interesting.

If you enjoy stories focusing on character development and relationship issues, while being incredibly sexy, this series is for you.

Break Loose Ranch

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Length: 329 words
Author on LJ: wihluta
Author Website: LJ
Why this must be read:
There are comic books (or "graphic novels," if you prefer) that are primarily images with a small amount of explanatory text. There are also illustrated fics, which are mostly text with a few associated images. These kinds of things interest me because I am an art historian.

Then there's this.

It has text and images in pretty much equal amounts and they have nothing to do with each other, except that they totally do. It's two stories in one; one that challenges you to read text and image differently to see where they collide and balance. The style is childlike and charming, but the apparent simplicity is deceptive.

Keep an eye out for the details, and enjoy.

That Time Coyote Tried to Impress His Friend Raven

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Abby/Ziva
Length: 1555
Author on LJ: jaina47
Author Website: None that I know, other than the author’s journal
Why this must be read: At first glance, Abby and Ziva would seem an unlikely pairing as they are such complete opposites. But just as concave and convex fit together so do these two. jaina47 does a wonderful job in showing the softer side of Ziva and the quiet more intimate side of Abby.

.Everything I Love About You