Fandom: LORD PETER WIMSEY
Pairing: Peter/Harriet
Length: 7,300 words
nineveh_uk
Author Website: See the wimseyfic tag on her LJ
Why this must be read:

Fanfic notoriously falls into two broad categories, "more of" and "more than". "More of" strives to give the reader more of what they loved about canon. The characters, type of events, even – in a literary fandom – the style all aspire to be the kind of thing the author might have written. "More than" gives us all the lovely fanfic tropes – steamy sex, hurt/comfort, rarepairings, AUs, mpreg, tentacleporn – that the author for some reason failed to include in canon. Wimsey fandom, perhaps surprisingly, has an abundance of both types of fic (with AUs being the honourable exception), and I shall be picking recs from both, to give an idea of the range and diversity of writing available, and to show just how much fun can be had with DLS's characters.

My first rec, though, is a classic of the "more of" variety. Or perhaps I should say an "instant classic", since it was only posted last week. I apologise to all those on nineveh_uk's flist who have already read this, but for the sake of those who haven't, and for all the new fans who come along in the future, I can't think of a better fic to start with. That a Lover have his Desire gives us a few missing scenes from Gaudy Night, after Peter has proposed and Harriet accepted, and it is quite simply astonishing. There are those of us who suspect that, if nineveh_uk is not actually the reincarnation of DLS, then she at least has a direct line to the Nether Regions which enables her to take dictation. You could insert this story into Gaudy Night and defy anyone to spot the seams.

‘Peter, I promise faithfully that when we are married, I’ll spoon with you at the Picture Palace to a programme of exhibition diving and a newsreel on industrialization in the Ukraine. But I’d rather like a little practice before venturing on a public performance. Surely we can find a quiet corner somewhere or other?’

That a Lover have his Desire

Fandom: HOUSE
Pairing: House/Wilson
Length: 6930 words (Asphyxiation) + 8070 words (In High Seas)
Author on LJ: nieded
Author Website: Speculations
Why this must be read:

In this pair of fics, Nieded paints a haunting picture of Wilson who quite literally is suffocating in life, followed by House, cast adrift and looking for an anchor. These fics still stick with me, years after I first read them.

( Excerpts: )

Asphyxiation
In High Seas

Vidder: Jarrow
Musical artist: Scissor Sisters
Pairing: Various
Vidder on LJ: jarrow
Vidder's website: Boy Avoids World
Why this vid kicks ass: Is this the sharpest, funniest vid ever made in the notorious genre of accidental dancing and funky moves? Why yes, yes it is. :)

Paul McCartney (click on 'Originals' and scroll down)

Fandom: EUREKA
Pairing: Allison Blake/Jo Lupo
Length: One-shot
Author on LJ: fai_dust
Author Website: Beautiful Dead Girl
Why this must be read: I was enjoying this story, especially since Allison/Jo is a rare pairing, but it's the final line that made me want to rec it.

Coming Home

*Waves* Hi everyone! I'm going to try and do two or three recs a week. Most will be Connor/Murphy but I will through some gen in every once-in-while.


Fandom: BOONDOCK SAINTS
Pairing: Could easily be seen as Connor MacManus/Murphy MacManus
Length: One-Shot
Author on LJ: TsukiKarp is no longer on LJ
Author Website: Unknown
Why this must be read: This is a Gap-filler for the night the boys spend in the prison cell. I like it because it's a good look into Connor's head. It also shows what the boys childhoods could have been like. The author doesn't ignore how close the boys but shows that they always been this way.

( Excerpt from Security )

Security

Fandom: FAIRLY ODDPARENTS
Pairing: Timmy/Chester
Length: 1528 words
Author on LJ: She doesn't have one.
Author Website: PorcelainDoll304@FF.Net
Why this must be read:

Timmy and Chester are both kept wonderfully in character, despite talking and acting a bit younger than do in canon. The story is cute, and young!Timmy and young!Chester are adorable.

( Excerpt  )

Practice

Fandom: FAIRLY ODDPARENTS
Pairing: Timmy/Chester
Length: 1249 words
Author on LJ: She doesn't have one.
Author Website: PorcelainDoll304@FF.Net
Why this must be read:

All the characters are both kept wonderfully in character, despite being in a vampire!AU. Porcelain chose a wonderfully in character role for AJ to have in the AU, and she did a good job establishing Timmy and Chester as lovers in the AU verse. Even more amazingly, she did it all in an oneshot.

( Excerpt )

Fifteen Minutes

Fandom: PRIMEVAL, HORNBLOWER, DR WHO
Pairing: Nick/Stephen, Horatio/Archie
Length: Four-parter (11,497 words all-in)
Author on LJ: kristen_mara
Author Website: None – check LJ masterlist for stories
Why this must be read:
Time to Go is a poignant, angsty and, at times, witty, crossover with Primeval, Hornblower and Dr Who (the eighth doctor, plus Jack Harkness in tow!) It's also a fixit for the end of Primeval 2.6. And it doesn't matter if you're not familiar with all the shows – there's enough information given to clue you in.


Time To Go part 1
Time To Go part 2
Time To Go part 3
Time To Go part 4

( Embrace the Knight )

Fandom: THE AVENGERS
Pairings: Steed/Emma, background OMC/OFC
Length: 11,051 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Mia's Mar Vista News
Why this must be read:

Because it shows us Steed and Emma among friends, which the show rarely thought to attempt. TV characters in those days weren't given nearly as much backstory as they are now, because there just wasn't any apparent need for it. Steed and Emma appear to do pretty much everything together, living in their own private world and only inviting the few old friends we did see in when the plot required it (the friends' odds of surviving the episode were not good).

In this story, Mia McCroskey takes a serious look at the consequences of this sort of lifestyle, buried within a fun story of a luxurious, prank-filled weekend getaway. Oh, and your heart will ache for Steed, who has just come back from an emotionally difficult mission and whose pain is made worse by the fact that he can't tell Emma about it. This story is unabashedly shippy (see the rating!), but what I like most about it is how it underscores that, above all, Steed and Emma are friends. I do personally ship them, but I don't need that to enjoy a story -- just the acknowledgement of how close their friendship undeniably is, and how much they both need each other.

( Excerpt )

A Fine Bag of Rats