Hi everyone, first of all apologies about being a little late in getting started, all the snow has made it impossible to get the van up and running, but I am now ready to go with my Life on Mars recs for this month.

Fandom: LIFE ON MARS
Pairing: Sam/Gene
Length: 3600 words
Author on LJ: severinne
Author Website: Link to the memories at Life in 1973 community
Why this must be read: I thought I would start with one of my favourite authors and the truth is I could have recced any of Sev’s fic to you. The set up is straightforward: they are in a club where Gene sees Sam dancing with a woman and gets turned on/possessive and proceeds to show Sam how he feels. Along the way we get to see Gene being jealous, teasing sexy dancing, Sam being the strong character we see on the show, realisations, vivid imagery, real feeling, spot on voices, perfect characterisation, and sex so hot it will melt your brain. Just spectacular from start to finish.

( Excerpt )


Sting Like I Feel


And if you enjoy the story there is a sequel Drive Like a Car

Hey again! This is your friendly neighborhood Lyr here, and I'm back driving the van for Firefly this January. As always, I'm going to attempt to bring y'all a wide range of shinies, from gen to het to slash to femslash. All aboard!

Fandom: FIREFLY
Pairing: Gen
Length: 3275 words
Author on LJ: fresne
Author Website: Life Am Good
Why this must be read: This story is about a group of original characters holed up during a Reaver attack, and using the last of the air to tell a story. The premise alone is intriguing, but Fresne does wonderful things with it. Even in such a short word count, the characters feel beautifully realized. The language is exquisite, vivid, and lush. The story-within-a-story structue works excellently to create layers of tension and meaning and texture. Fresne's writing is at once strikingly original and perfectly true to the 'verse. I simply can't come to the end of this story and not really want to know more about these characters, and that is perhaps the finest thing I can say about any story.

( read an excerpt )

Words Rise

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Tim/Abby (Abby/Kate, Gibbs/Abby, Tony/Tim)
Length: 612
Author on LJ: M Kari (meinterrupted)
Author website: M Kari's website, profile on ff.net, and fic tag on lj.
Why this must be read:

This fic has a fair number of comments, but it's several years old and has no bookmarks on delicious, so I think it still fits my theme.

Like many NCIS fans, I'm sort of desperate to know exactly what went on in Tim and Abby's mostly offscreen relationship in Season Two. But the show kept it mysterious, so we're left with fanworks -- which, in my opinion, fill the gap admirably. This is "Four Ways Abby and Tim Break It Off, and One Way They Don't. Kind Of." Five things stories are one of my favorite fandom innovations, and this is a great example of the genre. Humor abounds; affection, whether romantic or sexual or platonic, runs through all the scenarios. I like to think that the last one was the way it happened.

"Abs?"

Abby moaned and rolled over, reaching out blindly for Tim's warm body. "Hmm?"

"You think this is going to work in the long term?"

The answer to that question is why I keep rereading this fic. It's sweet and quiet and lovely. So! Go. Read. Enjoy. Review.

Could Be Miles

Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (NEW)
Pairing: Gen, mentions of Kara/Lee and Kara/Sam
Length: About 1500 words
Author on LJ: taragel
Author Website: Her fic tag
Why this must be read:

A beautiful and almost painfully evocative look at Kara as her destiny catches up with her in Maelstrom; her fear and determination, and the faith that sustains her through it all. It's a hard look at a character who's had almost everything stripped away from her, but there's also a strong sense of hope, as befits her indomitable spirit.

You’re in your bird and you’re flying again. The sky is clean and white. You start to believe once more. Maybe your luck will hold out. You’re not quite comfortable, but you’re…copacetic.

And then it appears, ducking and weaving, flying circles around you.

Unable to do anything else, you give chase. Apollo calls for Starbuck on the radio, over and over, but it’s easy to ignore. Starbuck is not in this cockpit. Her wings were clipped. All you have are hands with tender skin.

Faith Like Wings

Title: Ouroboros
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Lisa/Ianto
Author on LJ: valderys
Author Website: valderys
Why this must be read:

The author says: Ianto never gives up, and he never surrenders. Not even when he’s forgotten what he’s meant to be fighting for…

I think this is a fantastic look at who Ianto really is and what he is capable of. He's not the innocent people often make him out to be and sometimes, it's good to be reminded of that fact.

Excerpt: The sound of gunfire was dreadful in that small space, and Ianto stared into… Lisa’s unfamiliar eyes and smiled his love in those last few seconds. But then the noise stopped and he was still alive. He thought he was alive. The smell of cordite almost overwhelmed the smell of blood, but he could move, he could breathe, the air still stung his throat. It seemed good enough. He didn’t move though. He curled his fingers into the girl’s shirt, and hung on. She stared at him, but didn’t try to talk, and Ianto was grateful for that.

He’d done everything he could. He’d lied for her, he’d whored for her. He’d cheated, and stole, and been responsible for murders. The only way he could give her up now was if they pried her from his cold dead fingers.

Ianto realised he still had the gun Jack had given back to him. It was on the floor by his shoulder where he’d dropped it as he’d moved. He took it up again, in the ringing silence after the gunfire, he took it up again and then he turned once more, making sure his body was still a shield. But he had to see them, he had to know what they were going to do. He couldn’t afford to turn his back, or to let them sedate him – Owen could be sneaking up behind him with a needle, even as he cowered.

Things were far from over, and he had to be strong – he had to remain strong – for Lisa’s sake. Nothing had really changed. Lisa still needed his help. It was still the two of them against the rest of the world.

He looked up into four sets of appalled eyes, and slowly raised the gun.

Ouroboros

Fandom: DC- Superman Returns
Pairing: Clark/Lois
Length: 56,000 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: FFN Profile
Why this must be read:

I love reading fics from different points of veiw than the norm. Sometimes, no matter how good the fic is, you do get tired of the same characters over and over again. This fic is pretty much everything I'd been looking for in a multiple perspective story. It tells the story of the aftermath of the movie from many different points of veiw- if the title hadn't clues you in already (seven to be exact).

While the plot isn't too original when you think hard about it, the way of telling the story is so interesting you don't even realize. The author manages to get into the heads of the characters so well you feel as if you're actually there int eh story feeling what they feel and seeing what they see.

( Excerpt )

POV

Title: five times Death stopped for Jack (and once he didn't)
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing: Jack/Ianto-centric
Author on LJ: kaydeefalls
Author Website: kaydeefalls
Why this must be read:

Because the idea that a man can't die, no matter how many times he's killed should be morbidly funny and heartbreakingly sad in the end.

Excerpt: It's not the first time she's seen Jack die, and it probably won't be the last, but that doesn't make it any easier. She kneels down beside him, no longer caring about the muck and wet on her trousers or the rain trickling down the back of her neck, and waits.

five times Death stopped for Jack (and once he didn't)